South Africa: Stakeholders warned against misleading Parliament committees

The Portfolio Committee on Higher Education, Science and Innovation has warned stakeholders in the higher education sector about the seriousness of deliberately misleading parliamentary committees on the real state of affairs on the ground.

The committee sent the warning during its oversight visit in Ehlanzeni District Municipality in Mpumalanga on Friday.

The committee visited Ehlanzeni Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) College and Mpumalanga Community Education and Training (CET) Centre, as part of its oversight on the higher education sector's readiness for the 2023 academic year.

During the visit in Ehlanzeni TVET College, the committee was informed that the college is ready for the 2023 academic year, with preparations started in 2022 for classes commencing on 18 January 2023.

The college noted that at one of its campuses, classes were hampered by the delay in results for students writing National Certificate Vocational exams. However, the matter has since been resolved.

The college said applications to study at Ehlanzeni College are fully online. However, if students struggle with the online application process, provision is made to accommodate in-person and on-campus registrations.

According to Ehlanzeni College, 91% of students are funded through the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS), while 9% are funded through the Sector Education and Training Authority (SETA).

Portfolio Committee chairperson, Nompendulo Mkhatshwa, said the committee was concerned after hearing differing views on the state of affairs at Ehlanzeni College from the student representative council (SRC) and organised labour.

The committee was also concerned about the filing of vacant funded posts and called for the college to speedily address this as a matter of urgency. The committee proposed the immediate creation of a stakeholder engagement structure that would include all role players, Mkhatshwa said.

The committee was joined by Members of the Mpumalanga Provincial Legislature education committee members during the visit. The province committed itself to assist Ehlanzeni to deal with some of its problems so that it can function more efficiently.

The committee also held a meeting with Mpumalanga CET Centres regional office on its readiness for the academic year ahead.

The centre has 108 learning centres within the Ehlanzeni District Municipality. Some of the challenges it faces include insufficient funding to cover all its needs for effective service delivery and funded programmes.

The committee reiterated that a discussion is needed on the proposal to move CETs from Basic Education, and that the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure (DPWI) needs to be engaged to release unused buildings to CETs.

Some of the successes highlighted by the CET include the training of students in upholstery skills. However, the centre does not have its own facilities to train students.

The committee commended the work of the Mpumalanga CET and called for it to share its good practices with other struggling neighbouring centres.  SAnews.gov.za

This story has been published on: 2023-02-06. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
Vietnam's rice export prices hit two-year high

Vietnam is enjoying global rice price rises as local exporters are receiving more orders.















Vietnam's rice export prices hit two-year high. Illustrative photo







The export price of Vietnamese rice on February 5 increased by USD15 per tonne compared to last month, with broken rice prices reaching USD453-473 per tonne, the highest level recorded over the past two years.



However, prices were still lower by USD 20 and USD 10 compared to that of Thai and Pakistani rice, respectively. Last December, Vietnamese broken rice enjoyed the world's highest prices, ranging between USD 418-438 per tonne, about USD 20 higher than Thai rice.



According to Do Ha Nam, vice chairman of the Vietnam Food Association, rice prices are rising in the first months of 2023 due to the prolonged Ukraine War and the world's fluctuating socio-economic situation.



"Some of our big customers including China, the Philippines, and some African countries made larger orders," Nam said. "The Philippines, our biggest importer, have decided to maintain an import tax at 35 percent, which is a positive sign for our exports this year."



Pham Thanh Binh, director of Trung An High-Tech Farming Joint Stock Company said that they have just successfully agreed deals to export about 30,000 tonnes of high-quality rice to South Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, Australia, the US and the EU by the second quarter of this year.



"Our export prices have sharply increased to between USD 600-1,250 per tonne," Binh said.



A representative of Loc Troi Group has announced that they have received orders of over 40,000 tonnes of rice for the European market in 2023. With such good signals at the beginning of this year, Loc Troi Group believed that Vietnamese export firms would continue to receive more orders and would surpass the export revenues of USD3.5 billion made last year.
Photo: The Canadian Press

Patriot missile batteries that Poland acquired from the U.S. last year have been deployed to the country's capital Warsaw as part of military exercise, according to Poland's defense ministry.

Poland is taking additional steps to strengthen its defensive capabilities as Russias war in neighboring Ukraine enters its second year later this month.

At least three ground-to-air missile launchers were seen Monday at Warsaws Bemowo airport.

Defense Minister Mariusz Blaszczak said on Twitter over the weekend that the redeployment of the missile batteries from their base in Sochaczew, central Poland, to Warsaw was an important element to the training" of the 3rd Warsaw Brigade of Missile Air Defense.

The Patriot batteries are part of Polands multibillion dollar armaments purchases from the U.S., South Korea and elsewhere.

Poland has also received Patriot batteries from Germany, to boost its air defenses in the east, where a stray missile came from across the border with Ukraine and killed two civilians last year.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis got married at Disney World in 2009. Joe Raedle/Getty Images and AaronP/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images

Disney will sue Florida for dissolving its self-governing status, predicted Democratic state Sen. Jason Pizzo.

Florida lawmakers are deciding Disney's financial fate this week.

DeSantis retaliated against Disney for saying it would fight the law critics call "Don't Say Gay."

Walt Disney World's strategy to avoid taking on new costs amid its ongoing battle with Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis will be to simply run out the clock, a top Florida Democrat predicted Monday.

Florida lawmakers are in Tallahassee for a special session over the next two weeks to decide the fate of Disney, one of the state's biggest employers, in a costly dispute over who should take on the theme park's considerable debt.

DeSantis wants the legislature to give him the power to appoint a state-run oversight board, Fox News first reported, now that the company is set to soon lose its special self-governing status.

State Sen. Jason Pizzo, a Democrat representing parts of Broward and Miami-Dade, predicted Disney was angling to challenge the law in court, and then to resolve the problem when DeSantis leaves office, likely to run for the 2024 Republican nomination for president.

"I think Disney anticipates having to litigate on this issue, to sue, hope to get a stay from the court to keep things status quo, and then basically just drag it out until DeSantis is gone and people need, or don't care, about Disney," Pizzo told reporters during a press conference in Tallahassee.

Pizzo made it clear throughout the press conference that he anticipated DeSantis would run for president. Should DeSantis not seek the nomination, then he would have four more years at the helm of the state.

"We are all hoping the governor makes a decision real soon about what he wants to do with his future, so he can leave the business of legislating in Florida to Floridians," Pizzo said.

Jeff Vahle, president of Walt Disney World Resort, told Insider through a spokesperson that the company was "monitoring the progression of the draft legislation," saying it was complex given the history of the district. The company didn't address any possible litigation plans.

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"Disney works under a number of different models and jurisdictions around the world, and regardless of the outcome, we remain committed to providing the highest quality experience for the millions of guests who visit each year," Vahle said.

The governor's office did not immediately respond to an email from Insider seeking comment. During his 2022 reelection campaign, DeSantis said Disney was free to take a position on the bill but "they are not free to force all of us to subsidize their activism."

DeSantis signed the bill into law last year to sunset Disney's self-governing status. His actions burnished his political brand as combative against what he calls "woke" corporations.

The Disney measure isn't scheduled to take effect until June of this year, however, and lawmakers have to clarify the bill to abolish the possibility that Orange and Osceola County residents would face tax hikes, which could amount to more than $1 billion in bond debt. Residents filed a lawsuit over the matter last year, but a judge dismissed it.

DeSantis has insisted that he won't saddle residents with higher costs. The state board idea he proposed would have Disney pay $700 million dollars toward its debt, Fox News reported. House lawmakers introduced a formal proposal Monday afternoon, which would have the state Senate approve governor-appointed board members.

Pizzo, the minority leader pro tempore  which has a GOP supermajority  called the governor's board proposal "socialism."

"It's the government controlling the means and production of goods and services and pricing, and governing over corporations," he said.

Sen. Jason Pizzo, a Democrat from North Miami Beach, speaks to the media Monday, February 6, 2023 in the Senate Office Building at the Capitol in Tallahassee, Fla. Florida legislators are meeting in a two-week special session to take up a list of issues proposed by Gov. Ron DeSantis. Phil Sears/AP Photo

Disney's power in Florida appears to be waning

The regular legislative session in Florida isn't expected to begin until March 7, though DeSantis called a special session early to have lawmakers address the Disney question, without explaining what necessitated the accelerated timeline.

Other areas state lawmakers will consider would allow Florida to transport migrants from other states and to give the state more power to prosecute election fraud.

House Democrats on Monday accused DeSantis of setting up the timeline to clean up legislative language dictating his political stunts on voting and immigration, contentious matter that have landed the governor national headlines. Pizzo is among those who has sued DeSantis after he authorized planes to transport migrants from Texas to Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts.

DeSantis' actions against Disney last year were retaliatory after the company opposed his Parental Rights in Education Act. Critics call the law "Don't Say Gay" because it bans teachers from instructing students about sexual orientation and gender identity until third grade, and contains nebulous language that could further restrict discussions in higher grades.

"Let's not forget how this happened: Disney spoke out about something they didn't feel was wright, that the governor was doing, and so he decided to punish them," Sen. Lauren Book of Broward County, the minority leader, said at Monday's press conference.

Disney has long been powerful in Florida. The special taxing and governance district dates back to 1967, when Florida state legislators created the Reedy Creek Improvement District, in which Disney would fund its own municipal services, such as power, water, roads, emergency services, and fire protection.

Today, more than 40 lobbyists represent Disney before the Florida legislature, according to an Insider review of lobbying disclosures.

The feud originated under ex-CEO Bob Chapek. His successor, Bob Iger, hasn't said how the company would fight Florida but told employees during a town hall leaked to CNBC that "one of the core values of our storytelling is inclusion and acceptance and tolerance."

This story has been updated to include a statement from Walt Disney World and to note the introduction of a House bill on Monday afternoon, after the initial story published.

Read the original article on Business Insider
Jaxon Feeley with two-year-old Weimaraner Rambo whose life was saved after strangers donated more than 20,000 to a fundraiser for vets bills. (Jaxon Feeley)

A dog owner desperate to keep his beloved pet alive has thanked strangers who donated more than 20,000 to save her life.

Jaxon Feeley launched a GoFundMe appeal on 27 January after his two-year-old Weimaraner, Rambo, went into hypovolemic shock - an emergency condition in which severe blood or other fluid loss makes the heart unable to pump enough blood to the body.

Feeley said he had had to take Rambo to the vet six days before after she began vomiting repeatedly throughout the night.

Rambo started to deteriorate rapidly and, as the vets monitored her, the bills started stacking up. Feeley, a prison officer, said that while the initial 6,500 had been covered by insurance, the bill had since risen to 11,500 and intensive care costs were approximately 1,000 per day.

Feeley set up the crowdfunder fearing he could not pay the mounting bills, saying at one point that he was prepared to sell his house to raise the necessary cash.

After sharing it with friends and family, it quickly went viral and people from across the country began to donate.

On 4 February, Feeley posted an update revealing that Rambo was now home.

Rambo [left] is now home and has been reunited with brother Rocky. (Jaxon Feeley)

He wrote: "Over the last three days, Rambo has pulled off a miracle. Hour by hour she has increased her oxygen efficiency, started eating and drinking, her lungs are slowly recovering and we started to see that beautiful little personality resurface.

"Yesterday, after doing every test under the sun and assessing her incredible progress over the last few days, the team of staff at the vets have been gobsmacked by the power of love, presence and true fight for life.

"My little angel is by no means all better, it will be a long road to recovery for her and she still requires 24/7 observation at this point along with a significant amount of medication. However, we did what we said we would, we came home.

"If anything has made me believe even more that real hope and fight can bring you through hell it is this little girl. Life can change in an instant, anyone who is taking that for granted or not grasping life with both hands please take a look in the mirror, ask yourself some questions and start fighting for your own life."

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He added: "There are no words to express how grateful I am for everyones love, support & donations over the last 2 weeks. It genuinely means more than you will ever know. These dogs have saved my life more than once and I will stop at nothing to save theirs. Thank you for everything from the bottom of our hearts."

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Here were some of the comments on the GoFundMe page set up by Feeley:

Alisdair Castle-Smith: "My dog is my first born. Dont how I would feel in your position mate. All the best to the little woofer and your family."

Christopher Tewkesbury: "From one dog owner/lover to another, no words can describe the ache you are going through. If I was ever in your shoes, I'd pray this many generous and thoughtful people would help."

Ross Hepburn: "I've been in this situation. Spent thousands over and above the insurance payout trying to save my dog Toby. Dogs are family and you'd do anything for them. Wishing Rambo a speedy recovery!"

Katrina Grears: "Having reading your update, it brought tears to my eyes. Im so glad your beautiful baby is home. Ive fundraised for my pooch in the past; I can identify with how youre feeling. If my contribution isnt used towards medicine and treatments if required then lots of toys and treats for your gorgeous fur baby. Well earned Id say! Sending hope and well wishes and lots of love."

Anton Jones: "I had to pay 2k to save my cats life. My mam is a single parent struggling and she couldnt afford it. Im 20 and had put away 3k for a house I used 2 of it to help my mam. I know the feeling hope rambo gets well soon."

Sandra Morgan: "I have a Weim myself & know how precious they are. The very best wishes to you & your family & I cannot fault you on your love and loyalty to your dog. Good vibes sent your way & lots of love."

Rebecca Layfield: "Youre an amazing fur dad, I hope this small donation helps Rambo so she can continue to fill your heart with joy for many more years. Sending you lots of love and strength from a doggie lover in Australia."

Desiree MacDonald: "I cant afford much at the moment but Im so proud of you being such a great doggie dad and Rambos amazing fighting spirit. Almost like you knew her to be a fighter from the beginning, hey?! Sending love and what I can from near (her namesakes hometown) Hope, BC, Canada."
Federal authorities say this photo is of Sarah Beth Clendaniel, one of two people charged with plotting to attack the Baltimore-area power grid.

Federal authorities say this photo is of Sarah Beth Clendaniel, one of two people charged with plotting to attack the Baltimore-area power grid.

Federal authorities have arrested and charged two neo-Nazis for allegedly plotting to attack Baltimore-area power substations, in what would be the latest attempt by far-right extremists to destroy energy facilities across the country.

The Justice Department announced Monday that law enforcement arrested Sarah Beth Clendaniel of Maryland and Brandon Clint Russell of Florida on charges of conspiracy to damage energy facilities. The two planned to inflict maximum harm on the power grid with the aim to completely destroy Baltimore, U.S. Attorney Erek Barron said at a press conference.

According to authorities, Clendaniel told an FBI confidential source on Jan. 29 that she planned to shoot up energy substations surrounding Baltimore, including in Norrisville, Reisterstown and Perry Hall, Maryland. The 34-year-old said she was determined to carry out the infrastructure attacks and said they would probably permanently completely lay this city to waste, according to a criminal complaint unsealed on Monday.

Clendaniel, under the online moniker Nythra88, told the source that she had a kidney-related terminal illness and was unlikely to live more than a few months, the complaint said. She allegedly wanted the FBI source to purchase a rifle for her within the next couple of weeks so she could accomplish something worthwhile before she died.

The complaint included a photo of a woman, who authorities say is Clendaniel, wearing tactical gear bearing a swastika, holding a rifle and carrying a pistol in a drop holster on her left leg. The FBI also said a search of Clendaniels Google accounts revealed a document she allegedly wrote that referenced the Unabomber and Adolf Hitler.

I would sacrifice **everything** for my people to just have a chance for our cause to succeed, the document said, according to the complaint.

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Clendaniel is accused of conspiring with Russell, the 27-year-old leader of the neo-Nazi group Atomwaffen who was sentenced to prison in 2018 after the FBI found an explosive device and extremist materials belonging to him. Russells roommate, who was charged with killing their other two roommates in 2017, told authorities they were planning to attack U.S. infrastructure.

According to the complaint, Russell encouraged attacks on power stations and gave guidance on how to inflict the most damage while speaking to the same FBI source. Russell allegedly said the attacks would cause a cascading failure of the power grid, and that putting holes in transformers ... is the greatest thing somebody can do.

Russell directed the source to speak with Clendaniel, who allegedly discussed potential attack sites during the first week of February. She sent links to the FBI source for infrastructure maps that showed the locations of five specific electrical substations, according to the complaint.

Driven by their ideology of racially-motivated hatred, the defendants allegedly schemed to attack local power grid facilities, Assistant Attorney General for National Security Matthew Olsen said in a statement. The Justice Department will not tolerate those who threaten critical infrastructure and imperil communities in the name of domestic violent extremism.

In a statement, the power company Exelon said it had been notified that the alleged plot targeted several Baltimore Gas and Electric power stations. BGE is a subsidiary of Exelon.

Law enforcement acted before the perpetrators were able to carry out their plan, and there was no damage to any of the substations, nor was any service disrupted, the statement read. The substations are not believed to have been targeted out of any connection to BGE or Exelon, or because of any particular vulnerability.

Various extremists have recently attempted to destroy a number of electrical facilities across the country. In the last three months, people have attacked at least nine substations in Nevada, Washington, Oregon, and North and South Carolina. The attacks resulted in massive power outages for tens of thousands of people during the winter months, exposing the U.S. electrical grids vulnerability to domestic terrorism.

The federal charge of conspiracy to attack energy facilities is punishable by up to 20 years in prison.

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The 20-foot-tall Donald Trump baby blimp was flown over Parliament Square in the UK during Trump's visit to London in July 2018. Reuters

Donald Trump Jr. retweeted photos showing his father in balloon form.

The photos depict former President Donald Trump as an angry orange baby in a diaper.

Trump Jr. tweeted that it would be "funny" if the Trump baby balloon were flown over Beijing.

On Sunday, Donald Trump Jr. retweeted some unflattering photos of his father  in the form of a gigantic, orange baby blimp wearing a diaper, mouth wide open mid-shout.

The initial post was made by Twitter user Ricky Diaz, who tweeted: "Honestly, if I were Trump, I'd be flying this beauty over Beijing by morning." The tweet appears to be a reference to the suspected Chinese spy balloon the US Air Force shot down over the Atlantic Ocean on Saturday.

Trump Jr. retweeted the images, writing that the idea of flying the baby-Trump balloon over Beijing is "funny."

At press time, Trump Jr.'s tweet had been viewed over 2 million times and liked more than 56,000 times.

The 20-foot balloon of Trump in question was created by British protesters in 2018, who rallied against Trump's visit to London that year.

The blimp was flown over London's Parliament Square when Trump visited London in July 2018. It appeared again in London in June 2019 during Trump's diplomatic visit to the UK.

The massive balloon later surfaced stateside at a protest in Washington, D.C., in July 2019.

While it's unclear what Trump thought of his son's Twitter post on Sunday, Trump said in 2018 that the baby blimp made him feel "unwelcome" in the UK.

"I guess when they put out blimps to make me feel unwelcome, no reason for me to go to London," Trump told The Sun in 2018.

The Trump baby blimp was re-inflated in January at its current home at the Museum of London. The Museum told The Guardian that it plans to put it on show in an exhibition in 2026.

Representatives for Donald Trump Jr. at the Trump Organization and a spokesman for the former president did not immediately respond to Insider's requests for comment.

Read the original article on Business Insider
It might be obvious to point out that an important part of the investing game is to find the stocks that are undervalued  that is, the companies with sound fundamentals that the market is presently not fully appreciating. Luckily for investors, after 2022s widespread carnage, there are still plenty of names out there still at relatively depressed levels.

In fact, even after the strong rallies seen in the years opening stretch, such was 2022s merciless bear, there are scores of stocks out there that have put in a recent strong showing but are still down significantly over the past year, for whom the Streets analysts see more upside in store.

Delving into the TipRanks database, weve pulled up the details on two tickers which offer just that; excellent recent performance but still looking rather cheap once you zoom out a bit more. And even better, Wall Streets experts consider both as Strong Buys with plenty of upside ahead. Lets see why.

RumbleON, Inc. (RMBL)

The first cheap looking stock well look at is RumbleOn, the U.S.s biggest retailer of powersports vehicles. The company utilizes cutting-edge technology to aggregate and distribute used vehicles and offers dealers technological solutions including virtual inventory and a 24/7 distribution platform. The business is split into three separate units; Powersports (motorcycles included), Automotive (cars and trucks), and Vehicle Logistics and Transportation (automotive transportation services).

RumbleON is expected to release its 4Q22 numbers next month, but a look back at the third quarter results may be informative. Specifically, revenue climbed by an impressive 112.6% year-over-year to $470.3 million, just edging ahead of the Streets call by $3.93 million.

However, the company missed badly on the bottom-line, with adj. EPS of $0.27 falling well short of the $0.83 anticipated by the analysts. The company blamed the lackluster showing on margin compression affecting activities. As for the outlook, for the full year, RumbleOn sees revenue hitting the range between $1.85 to $1.90 billion. Consensus had $1.96 billion.

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Investors were not impressed with the performance and sent shares tumbling following the print. And while the shares are up by 41% year-to-date, they are still down by 75% over the trailing 12 months.

Covering this stock for B. Riley, analyst Eric Wold, thinks many have yet to clock the opportunity at play here. He writes, With our belief that RMBL exited 2022 with a healthier powersports inventory balance and management affirming that underlying powersports vehicle demand has remained resilient, we remain confident in the company's ability to drive market share gains in 2023 and more efficient operations as the new fulfillment centers come online in 1H23. We also expect a better understanding of RMBL's strong liquidity position and cash flow outlook to help propel shares higher in the coming quarters.

Evidently, he also thinks the shares still look cheap. His comments underpin a Buy rating while Wolds $26 price target suggests the shares will deliver returns of 185% over the coming year. (To watch Wolds track record, click here)

Two other analysts have been tracking RMBLs performance over the past 3 months, and both are also positive, providing the stock with a Strong Buy consensus rating. At $16.33, the average price target suggests the shares will climb ~79% higher in the year ahead. (See RumbleOn stock forecast)

ACM Research, Inc. (ACMR)

Our next cheap-looking stock comes from the chip sector although not directly so. ACM Research is a provider of high-end equipment to global semiconductor manufacturers. The company has a strong focus on cleaning equipment, although it has been transitioning to more diversified solutions. Established in California back in 1998, most of the companys business, however, is done in China, where ACMs research and development as well as production, takes place.

In 3Q22, the last reported quarter, revenue almost doubled year-over-year to $133.71 million, trumping Street expectations by $20.4 million. Likewise, at $0.42, adj. EPS came in some distance above the $0.23 anticipated by the analysts.

In early January, ACM reaffirmed its full year 2022 revenue outlook of $365 million to $385 million and said that for 2023, revenue is anticipated to be in the range between $515 million to $585 million. That is significantly higher than the $425.52 million consensus estimate.

Investors liked the January update and that has helped the shares push ahead this year to the tune of 56%. However, considering the high exposure to China and the associated overhangs (U.S. curtailing the sale of semiconductor equipment and the Covid situation in China), the shares are still down by 55% over the past 12 months.

Benchmark analyst Mark Miller thinks these events have 'depressed' the shares, but he sees plenty to be upbeat about.

With 47% y/y top line growth expected for FY23 which follows 40% y/y top line growth in 2022, ACM is the top growth story among semi equipment firms, the 5-star analyst explained. This growth is being driven by ACMs SAPS and TEBO cleaning tools that offer superior yields as well as incremental contributions from new customers and newer products, including ACMs Ultra C wb, ECP map, ECP ap, and Ultra Furnace products. The firm has recently announced entry into the Chemical Vapor Deposition market, significantly expanding its served markets.

Based on the above, Miller keeps a Buy rating and $32 price target on ACMR shares. Should his thesis play out, a potential twelve-month gain of ~166% could be in the cards. (To watch Millers track record, click here)

Looking at the consensus breakdown, based on 4 Buys vs. 1 Hold, the analysts view this stock as a Strong Buy. The forecast calls for one-year gains of 57.5%, considering the average target clocks in at $18.98. (See ACMR stock forecast)

To find good ideas for stocks trading at attractive valuations, visit TipRanks Best Stocks to Buy, a newly launched tool that unites all of TipRanks equity insights.

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the featured analysts. The content is intended to be used for informational purposes only. It is very important to do your own analysis before making any investment.
A view of the destroyed buildings after earthquakes jolts Turkey (Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

More than 50 people have been reported dead and dozens trapped under debris after a powerful 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck southeast Turkey and Syria during the early hours of Monday.

The quake struck at a depth of six miles near the southern Turkish city of Kahramanmaras, according to the German Research Centre for Geosciences. The chances of a tsunami risk were evaluated.

The powerful jolt, which was followed by at least six aftershocks, toppled hundreds of buildings, sending residents into the snowy streets for safety.

Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that "search and rescue teams were immediately dispatched" to the areas hit by the quake. "We hope that we will get through this disaster together as soon as possible and with the least damage," he said in a tweet.

Turkeys disaster and emergency management agency said the earthquake was also felt strongly in the provinces of Hatay, Adana, Osmaniye, DiyarbakAr, Malatya and Sanliurfa.

Interior minister Suleyman Soylu said the government's priority was to bring out people who are trapped under the rubble and rush them to hospitals. He has urged people to not enter the damaged buildings and stop using mobile phones.

Early estimates by officials suggested the death toll was at least 23 in Turkey's Malatya province, 17 in Sanliurfa, six in Diyarbakir and five more in Osmaniye.

Strong earthquake levelled hundreds of buildings in Turkey (Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

"I have never felt anything like it in the 40 years I've lived," said Erdem, a resident of the Turkish city of Gaziantep, near the quake's epicentre. "We were shaken at least three times very strongly, like a baby in a crib," he told Reuters.

Across the border, Syrian authorities said at least 62 people have died in the earthquake while dozens remain trapped in the countrys northwest region.

A collapsed building is seen following an earthquake in Pazarcik, in Kahramanmaras province, southern Turkey (AP)

Syrian state media reported that the quake levelled some buildings in the northern city of Aleppo and the central city of Hama, while people were forced to rush to the streets in Damascus.

The quake jolted residents in Lebanon from beds, shaking buildings for about 40 seconds. Many residents of Beirut left their homes and took to the streets or drove in their cars away from buildings.

Turkey sits on top of major fault lines and is frequently hit by quakes. In 1999, a powerful earthquake killed some 18,000 people in northwest Turkey.
A driver looking to evade a trooper trying to pull them over wound up hitting a small grocery store and other businesses in southeast Atlanta early Sunday morning, the Georgia State Patrol said.

At around 1 a.m., a trooper attempted to stop a Dodge Charger on I-20 West for speeding.

The driver briefly stopped on the shoulder of I-20 near Boulevard before driving up an embankment onto the exit ramp. Then, the driver turned northbound on Boulevard and sped away, GSP said.

The driver lost control and entered Carroll Street, crashing into multiple cars and businesses, causing damage. Littles Food Store was among the businesses that suffered damages, according to a Facebook post from the store.

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Both the driver and a passenger of the car ran away after crashing. The passenger was found, but GSP did not say they found the driver.

GSP said they identified the driver and have a warrant out for his arrest.

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GSP said it was still working on an incident and crash report.

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The Lubbock County Courthouse.

Alexander May faces two to 20 years in prison after a Lubbock jury found him guilty of manslaughter in the 2017 death of 18-year-old Jonathan Pesqueda after a high-speed, wrong-way head on collision on an overpass on South Loop 289.

Jurors deliberated for about 30 minutes Friday before returning to the 140th District Court where May, 31, stood silently next to his attorneys as District Judge Douglas Freitag read their verdict.

Jurors believed May recklessly caused Pesqueda's death in the early morning hours of Aug. 3, 2017. They also had the option of finding May guilty of a lesser included charge of criminally negligent homicide, a state jail felony that carries a punishment of six months to two years in a state jail facility.

Prosecutors alleged multiple reckless acts they believed May engaged in, including speeding, driving while under the influence of alcohol, driving westbound in the eastbound lane of Loop 289, failing to yield right of way or applying his brakes or maneuvering his vehicle to avoid the crash.

Prosecutor Chris Schulte compared May's actions that night to someone firing a gun in the air, disregarding the risk the stray bullet would hit someone.

"But instead of a bullet, Mr. May drove a two-ton vehicle like a missile down (Loop) 289," he said.

Jurors only needed to find May did at least one of those acts beyond reasonable doubt and they did not have to be unanimous on which act. They also found May used his Toyota Tacoma that day as a deadly weapon.

May's defense attorney Fred Stangl told jurors in his closing argument there was no question his client caused the collision. However, the evidence against his client fell short of proving he acted recklessly that night, he said.

To find his client guilty, Stangl argued the evidence should show May consciously disregarded a substantial and unjustifiable risk he would cause a crash that night. Instead, he said argued his client's actions were closely aligned with negligence, saying his client ought to have known that his actions would have caused the fatal crash, which Stangl also argued was an unavoidable.

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Stangl argued prosecutors failed to show his client knew he was driving the wrong way on the Loop and disregarded the risk.

"You have to believe he knew he was doing that," he told jurors. "Who in their right mind would do that?"

Lubbock police crash investigators told jurors the evidence at the scene showed both vehicles approached each other as they were driving up on either side the overpass above Indiana Avenue. They said neither May nor Pesqueda would have been able to see each other in time to avoid the head-on collision.

A Lubbock police crash investigator said he used video footage from a nearby building that caught May driving on the Loop moments before the crash and calculated that the Tacoma was traveling about 89 mph.

However, prosecutors argued that the evidence clearly showed May's recklessness.

"This isn't a hard case, this isn't a tricky case," said Mandi Say, the Lubbock County first assistant district attorney.

She said a reasonable person would know that driving the wrong way on the Loop was reckless. Under the law intoxication is not a defense.

"You cannot have that and the death of one of your citizens and call it an accident," Say told jurors. "You all know sitting here that you cannot get on the loop and act that way. 'Cause if you do that you would be reckless."

She said but for May's actions, Pesqueda would still be alive.

"Make no mistake, it's not just a tragedy -- it's manslaughter," Say said.

She said there was enough evidence to show that May was driving under the influence of alcohol that night.

May's passenger, Cody James, did not testify at the trial. However, jurors were presented his statements to paramedics at the scene, saying he didn't think May was drunk until he began making random U-turns that resulted in them traveling the wrong way on the loop.

Jurors were also presented May's medical records from Covenant Medical Center where he was treated for his injuries from the crash.

Medical records also showed that May's blood-alcohol level that night was .232 percent. However, that evidence was inadmissible in court since prosecutors were unable to call on the technician from Covenant to testify about how the analysis was made.

Instead, prosecutors used medical records that showed multiple physician's statements indicating they believed May was intoxicated. May was also given a prescription for medicine that would treat alcohol withdrawal.

Stangl argued the evidence that indicated his client's intoxication was unreliable.

A Lubbock police officer who spoke to May at Covenant Medical Center said the defendant appeared confused and incoherent. He said May's demeanor coupled with the odor of alcohol he smelled from the defendant's breath led him to conclude that May was intoxicated that night.

However, Stangl told jurors his client's demeanor could also be explained as effects from a dose of fentanyl a paramedic who treated May at the scene said she gave him for pain before taking him to the hospital.

The punishment phase of the trial began after the jury's guilty verdict was announced and continues Monday with defense attorneys presenting evidence to show that May, who is eligible for probation, was not a danger to the community.

To recommend probation, jurors will have to hand May a prison sentence of up to 10 years, which will be suspended for a term of up to 10 years of community supervision.

While on probation, May will have to obey court-ordered conditions. He faces up to 10 years in prison if his probation is revoked and a court determines that a prison sentence is appropriate. However, the law provides probationers a way to petition the court to get out of their community supervision after serving about a third of it.

This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Alexander May found guilty of manslaughter in 2017 fatal crash
By Michael Erman and Patrick Wingrove

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Pharmaceutical companies that made billions from the pandemic over the past two years selling vaccines and treatments are now up against a steep COVID cliff and investor pressure to spend their windfalls wisely.

Western drugmakers including Pfizer Inc, BioNTech SE, Moderna Inc, Gilead Sciences Inc, AstraZeneca Plc and Merck & Co are estimated to have brought in about $100 billion in revenue from COVID vaccines and treatments in 2022.

Company and analyst estimates suggest those sales could fall by nearly two-thirds this year due to built up product inventories around the world including in the countries that pay the most. Population immunity from high rates of vaccination and previous infections means that demand for treatments could dip as well.

These companies are used to steep revenue drops known as patent cliffs that occur when their exclusivities on big-selling drugs expire and generic rivals move in, but they strategize for those swings for years.

"When you think about traditional drug and vaccine development and longevity of sales, it's usually much more spread out," Morningstar analyst Damien Conover said. "This is very, very concentrated."

The sudden inflow of revenue should prod companies to strike deals and link up with new partners, he said. BMO Capital Markets analyst Evan Seigerman said companies should use the quick cash for transformative deals.

"Pfizer did these $10 billion deals to build their portfolio and I think they need to do something bigger and more impactful," he said, referring to the $5.4 billion buyout of Global Blood Therapeutics and $11.6 billion purchase of migraine drugmaker Biohaven Pharmaceutical.

Pfizer has been the biggest corporate beneficiary of the pandemic financially, with more than $56 billion in 2022 revenue from the vaccine it developed with German partner BioNTech and from its COVID-19 antiviral treatment Paxlovid.

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Pfizer has said it expects that revenue to drop to around $21.5 billion in 2023, although some analysts believe that forecast is overly optimistic.

"We remain skeptical that COVID revenues will grow in 2024 and beyond," JP Morgan analyst Chris Schott said in a research note, adding that vaccination rates could fall even further than the significant decline seen with booster shots in 2022.

A woman receives a booster dose of Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine against the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), ahead of brace of an influx of Chinese tourists as COVID restriction are dismantled, at the Police hospital in Bangkok, Thailand, January 5, 2023. REUTERS/Athit Perawongmetha

Vaccine maker Moderna also expects 2023 revenue to fall sharply. The company's only product - its messenger RNA COVID vaccine - pulled in around $18.4 billion in 2022. Analysts expect that to drop to around $7 billion in 2023. The company is due to report earnings later this month.

Oppenheimer & Co analyst Hartaj Singh said investors are "frustrated Moderna hasn't used their firepower more effectively to prepare for revenues and earnings going down in 2023 or 2024."

Moderna shares are up in recent months, but a $173.25 closing price on Friday is more than 65% off their pandemic high of close to $500 in August 2021.

"There are examples of companies that have sat on their hands and the share price has not done well, and Moderna could go down that path," Singh cautioned.

MERCK, LILLY PLAN FOR DECLINE

Other companies have seen a more modest impact from their COVID businesses.

"We are not counting on Lagevrio as a driver of growth for our business," Merck Chief Executive Rob Davis said in an interview last week of the company's antiviral pill. "We very much saw Lagevrio as an opportunity to make a meaningful difference at a time of need."

Merck reported sales of $5.7 billion from the treatment last year. Analysts expect that to drop below $1 billion this year. Merck had over $59 billion in total sales in 2022.

Eli Lilly and Co made $2 billion in 2022 from monoclonal antibody COVID treatments and is not expecting any revenue from the business in 2023.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration pulled its authorization of Lilly's latest antibody bebtelovimab in November because it was not effective against circulating Omicron subvariants.

"We did fine with COVID," Eli Lilly CEO Dave Ricks said in an interview. "We made a little bit of money with it. What we did with that was we mostly reinvested it in R&D (Research and Development), and last year was a record R&D spending year for the company."

(Additional reporting by Khushi Mandowara in Bengaluru; Editing by Caroline Humer and Bill Berkrot)
A drunken duo wreaked havoc onboard a transatlantic flight after being denied more alcohol, leading to an emergency landing in Maine, officials said. Both men could face up to 20 years in prison.

The pair, both 36-year-old British men, were passengers on a TUI Airways flight from Mexico to England on Jan. 2, according to a Feb. 2 news release from the U.S. Attorneys Office for the District of Maine.

Attorneys for the men could not be reached for comment by McClatchy News.

The men, who had been served alcoholic beverages, became agitated when the flight crew denied them any more alcohol, officials said.

In response, they fished out a large bottle of alcohol from their carry-on luggage and continued to drink, becoming increasingly intoxicated, officials said. They then became aggressive and used racial slurs.

At one point, one of the men assaulted a flight attendant and the other assaulted a fellow passenger, officials said.

The Federal Aviation Administration was notified that the men had repeatedly interfered with members of the flight crew and flight attendants while over U.S. airspace, according to the release.

Following multiple warnings from the captain, the plane made an emergency landing at Bangor International Airport in Maine, and several federal agencies, including the FBI, responded.

The unscheduled stop cost TUI Airways, a British charter company, $26,589, according to the release.

The safety and security of our customers and crew is always our highest priority, and we have a zero tolerance policy to disruptive behaviour on our flights, a spokesperson for the airline said in a statement provided to McClatchy News. The customers involved were offloaded and the flight then continued its journey home shortly after.

Both men pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court to charges of interference with a flight crew and assault on Feb. 2, one month after the reported in-flight fiasco.

They face a maximum of 20 years in prison for the interference charge and up to a year in prison for the assault charge, officials said. Additionally, they could each have to pay up to $350,000 in fines.

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They will be sentenced upon the completion of an investigation by the U.S. Probation Office.

Like the apocalypse: Videos show devastation after huge earthquakes in Turkey, Syria

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Photo: The Canadian Press

Israeli forces killed five Palestinian gunmen linked to the Islamic militant Hamas group in a raid on refugee camp in the occupied West Bank on Monday, the latest bloodshed in the region that will likely further exacerbate tensions.

The Palestinian president's office called the violence a crime, urging the United States to pressure Israel to hold back on its incursions. The military said the raid was meant to apprehend a militant cell that staged a botched shooting attack on a restaurant in a Jewish settlement in the West Bank.

The violence extends one of the deadliest periods in years in the West Bank and comes during the first weeks of Israels new government, its most right-wing ever, which has promised to take a tough stance against the Palestinians.

The Israeli military said it was operating in the Aqabat Jabr refugee camp to apprehend the suspects behind a failed shooting attack last month at a West Bank restaurant, where attackers allegedly were thwarted by a weapon malfunction. The attackers then fled the scene, the military said, adding that they were members of Hamas, which rules the Gaza Strip and has elements in the West Bank as well.

The military said it was searching Monday for the militant cell behind the shooting that it said had sealed itself inside a home in the refugee camp. During the search, troops encountered gunmen and a gun battle erupted. The military said several of the gunmen who were killed were involved in the attempted attack on the restaurant.

The new Israeli government is continuing its series of crimes against our Palestinian people, a statement from Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' office said.

In Aqabat Jabr, bullets were strewn across a blood-streaked floor at the scene of the gunfight. Bullet marks pocked a door and glass shards from a broken window littered the ground.

Jihad Abu al-Assal, the governor of Jericho and the Jordan Valley, said the military was holding on to the gunmen's bodies. The Palestinian Health Ministry later confirmed that five Palestinians had been killed.

Speaking at an event at the site of a recent deadly Palestinian shooting attack, Netanyahu confirmed earlier reports by Israeli security officials that five gunmen were killed.

Hamas said all five of those killed were members of its armed wing. Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem said the violence would be met with a response.

Our people and their resistance will not delay in responding to this crime, he said.

The raid comes days after an earlier incursion in the Aqabat Jabr camp, which is near the Palestinian city of Jericho, a desert oasis in an area of the West Bank that rarely sees such unrest, where troops were also searching for the suspects.

Since the shooting at the nearby settlement, the Israeli military has blocked access to several roads into Jericho  a closure that has placed the city under a semi-blockade, disrupting business and creating hourslong bottlenecks at checkpoints that affected even Palestinian security forces, footage showed.

Mondays violence comes days after an Israeli military raid on the Jenin refugee camp killed 10 Palestinians, mostly militants but also a 61-year-old woman. The next day, a Palestinian shooting attack outside an east Jerusalem synagogue killed seven people, including a 14-year-old.

The Israeli army has ramped up near-nightly raids in the occupied West Bank since a series of deadly Palestinian attacks within Israel last spring. Over the last year of escalating raids, Jericho has remained a sort of sleepy desert town, spared much of the violence.

The Palestinian Authority, in retaliation for the raid into the Jenin refugee camp, declared a halt to security coordination with Israel.

Nearly 150 Palestinians were killed last year in the West Bank and east Jerusalem, making it the deadliest year in those areas since 2004, according to figures by the Israeli rights group BTselem. Since the start of this year, 41 Palestinians have been killed in those territories. Palestinian attacks against Israelis killed some 30 people in 2022.

The Israeli army says most of the Palestinians killed have been militants. But stone-throwing youths protesting the incursions and others not involved in confrontations have also been killed.

Israel captured the West Bank, Gaza Strip and east Jerusalem in the 1967 Mideast war. The Palestinians seek those territories for their hoped-for independent state.
Red carpet run-in. Trevor Noah and Jack Harlow, walked the Grammys 2023 red carpet minutes apart from each other.

Noah is the host of the 65th annual Grammy Awards, while Harlow is nominated for three awards, including Best Melodic Rap Performance for First Class, Best Rap Song for Churchill Downs, Best Rap Album for Come Home the Kids Miss You. (Noah also hosted the Grammys in 2021 and 2022.) Noah walked the red carpet first, while Harlow followed less than an hour later. Its unclear if Noah and Harlow interacted at the awards show, but Harlow was seen in several shots as Noah made his way through the audience during the Grammys opening monologue.

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Dua Lipa and Noah were linked in September 2022 after The Daily Mail published photos of them at dinner at Miss Lilys in New York City. The pictures came after Noahs breakup with actress Minka Kelly in May 2022. They were quietly sat away from everyone else at the restaurant. It was clear they were into each other and sat close together throughout the meal. They left together and walked, stopping for long embraces and on the second kiss with hugs, a source told The Daily Mail.

Lipa seemed to respond to the rumors in an interview on the Dua Lipa: At Your Service podcast in October 2022, where she confirmed she was single. For me, this is the first year Ive not been in a relationship for a very long time, she said. Its been really great to just be alone and only think about myself and kind of be quite selfish, which Ive never really had the opportunity to do. But when you find someone that really softens you and calms you down. I think it is the Leo thingit makes a big difference. Page Six confirmed in December 2022 that Lipa and Noah didnt see each other again after they were photographed at Miss Lilys. They havent spoken since, the insider said.

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Click here to read the full article.

Trevor Noah. Image: Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images

News broke of Dua and Jack in December 2022 when Page Six reported that the two were talking. The news came seven months after the release of Jacks song, Dua Lipa, from his second album, Come Home the Kids Miss You, in May 2022. In the song, Jack raps that hes tryna do more with Dua than do a feature. Jack confirmed in an interview on The Breakfast Club radio show at the time that he reached out to Dua and played her the song over FaceTime before he released it. I wanted to get her blessing, so I FaceTimed her and played it for her because I didnt want her to be blindsided by that or feel like creeped out or anything. Jack said. If she had said, Yo, I hate it. I dont want it to come out, it wouldnt have come out.

He continued, Oh, I mean its not my song. I suppose its OK. She was just kinda thrown off and she just kinda let it go. Jack added that he and Dua had since spoken since the call and their relationship was less awkward.

Dua and Jack met for the first time in person at the Variety Hitmakers Brunch in Los Angeles in December 2022. A source told Page Six in December 2022 that the two had been in constant communication since then. He was very interested in her, and was going to strongly pursue [her], the insider said. The site also reported that Jack flew to New York City to meet up with Dua after her Z100 Jingle Ball the Friday before the news about them. The two were also seen arriving separately at a restaurant in New York Citys Meatpacking District for lunch the next day. He is going to do his best, as he has always been a fan of her, a source told Page Six.

Image: Amy Sussman/Getty Images.

When are the Grammys 2023?

The Grammys 2023 air on Sunday, February 5, at 5 p.m. PT / 8 p.m. ET on CBS and Paramount Plus.

Where are the Grammys 2023?

The Grammys 2023 will be held at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, California.

Who are the Grammys 2023 performers?

The Grammys 2023 performers at the main show include Harry Styles, Adele and Bad Bunny. See below for a full list of Grammys 2023 performers at the pre-show and main show.

Grammys 2023 Pre-Show Performers

The Blind Boys of Alabama, La Santa Cecilia, Bob Mintzer, Shosana Bean, Buddy Guy, Maranda Curtis  I Just Want to CelebratE

Samara Joy  Cant Get Out of This Mood

Arooj Aftab, Anoushka Shankar  Udhero Na

Madison Cunningham

Carlos Vives

Grammys 2023 Main Show Performers

Bad Bunny

Brandi Carlile

Harry Styles

Kacey Musgraves, Sheryl Crow, Mick Fleetwood, Bonnie Raitt, Quavo, Maverick City Music  In Memoriam: Coal Miners Daughter (tribute to Loretta Lynn); Songbird) (tribute to Christine McVie); Without You (tribute to Takeoff)

Lizzo

Luke Combs

Mary J. Blige

Sam Smith, Kim Petras  Unholy

Steve Lacy

Stevie Wonder, Smokey Robinson, Chris Stapleton

LL Cool J, Questlove, The Roots, Big Boi, Busta Rhymes with Spliff Bar, De La Soul

DJ Drama, DJ Jazzy Jeff, Missy Elliott, Future, GloRilla, Grandmaster Flash, Grandmaster Mele Mei and Scorpio/Ethiopian King, Ice-T, Lil Baby, Lil Wayne, The Lox, Method Man, Nelly, Public Enemy, Queen Latifah, Rahiem, Rakim, Run-DMC, Salt-N-Pepa and DJ Spinderella, Scarface, Swizz Beatz, Too $hort  50 Years of Hip-Hop

DJ Khaled, Jay-Z, Lil Wayne, Rick Ross, John Legend, Fridayy  God Did

Who are the Grammys 2023 nominees?

Beyonce had the most nominations at the Grammys 2023 with nine nominations, including Song of the Year for Break My Soul and Album of the Year for Renaissance. Kendrick Lamar had the second most nominations with eight nominations each. Adele and Brandi Carlile had the third most with seven nominations each. With a total of 88 nominations, Beyonce tied her husband, Jay-Z, as the most nominated artists in Grammys history. See below for the Grammys 2023 nominees in the Big Four categories: Record of the Year, Album of the Year, Song of the Year and Best New Artist.

Record of the Year Grammys 2023 Nominees

Dont Shut Me Down  ABBA

Easy on Me  Adele

Break My Soul  Beyonce

Good Morning Gorgeous  Mary J. Blige

You and Me on the Rock on Time  Brandi Carlile featuring Lucious

Woman  Doja Cat

Bad Habit  Steve Lacy

The Heart Part 5  Kendrick Lamar

About Damn Time  Lizzo

As It Was  Harry Styles

Album of the Year Grammys 2023 Nominees

Voyage  Abba

30  Adele

Un verano sin ti  Bad Bunny

Renaissance  Beyonce

Good Morning Gorgeous  Mary J. Blige

In These Silent Days  Brandi Carlile

Music of the Spheres  Coldplay

Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers  Kendrick Lamar

Special  Lizzo

Harrys House  Harry Styles

Song of the Year Grammys 2023 Nominees

ABCDEFU  Gayle

About Damn Time  Lizzo

All Too Well (10 Minute version)  Taylor Swift

As It Was  Harry Styles

Bad Habit  Steve Lacy

Break My Soul  Beyonce

Easy on Me  Adele

God Did  DJ Khaled featuring Rick Ross, Lil Wayne, Jay-Z, John Legend, Fridayy

The Heart Part 5  Kendrick Lamar

Just Like That Bonnie Raitt

Best New Artist Grammys 2023 Nominees

Anitta

Omar Apollo

Domi and JD Beck

Samara Joy

Latto

Maneskin

Muni Long

Tobe Nwingwe

Molly Tuttle

Wet Leg

The 65th Grammys air on Sunday, February 5, 2023, at 8 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT on CBS. Heres how else to watch them for free.

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Ihlas New Agency (IHA) via REUTERS

A magnitude 7.8 earthquake that hit Turkey and Syria early Monday morning has set off a cascade of destruction, as strong aftershocks have buffeted the region and killed thousands.

A magnitude 6.7 aftershock followed the first tremor at around 4 am local time; then, nine hours later, another massive shock measured to be a magnitude 7.5 struck the north, which was followed by smaller aftershocks. These aftershocks are devastating in their own right, causing buildings to collapse and knocking down an ancient Roman castle, putting people in constant danger. And unfortunately, this may be just a taste of what the region will contend with for many, many more months.

The number of aftershocks will decrease with time, but large events can continue to occur, for months or longer, Jascha Polet, a geophysics researcher at Cal Poly Pomona, tweeted Monday morning. And experts on social media and in the press conveyed similar sentiments.

This animation shows the series of earthquakes that have just occurred in Turkey. The initial M7.8 mainshock was followed by a M6.7 aftershock, and many smaller aftershocks. Nine hours after the M7.8 quake occurred, a M7.5 quake struck to the north, followed by more aftershocks. pic.twitter.com/kUReRRNz9N  EarthScope Consortium (@EarthScope_sci) February 6, 2023

According to the U.S. Geological Survey, the region in which the quake occurred is seismically active, yet only three other quakes of magnitude 6 or above have hit the area since 1970most recently, a magnitude 6.7 earthquake that killed dozens and injured thousands in 2020. A magnitude 7.0 earthquake hit Aleppo, Syria in 1822 and killed tens of thousands of people. Aftershocks were felt up to a year later.

To understand why the region could be in danger for such a long time after the initial event, we have to unpack how the earthquake occurred in the first place. The region sits on top of whats called the East Anatolian Fault, a strike-slip fault defined as two blocks of rock sliding past one another. People who live around the Pacific Ocean should already be familiarthe infamous San Andreas Fault is another example of this kind of fault.

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Judith Hubbard, a structural geologist at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore, explained on Twitter that as the Arabian Plate collides with the Eurasian Plate to its north, the Anatolian Block squeezes out westward, like a watermelon seed out from your fingers. The East Anatolian Fault lies at the intersection between the Anatolian Block and Arabian Plate, which are moving about 15 millimeters relative to each other per year, stretching the Earths crust across the fault.

Second Century Roman Castle Destroyed in Deadly Earthquake

The tectonic movement between earthquakes is slow but the catching up isntthat snapping motion is what causes the seismic energy to emanate out from the fault, causing the Earth to quake, Hubbard wrote.

Major earthquakes are usually followed by hundreds or thousands of aftershocks that occur along and adjacent to the fault displaced during the mainshock, according to the Incorporated Research Institutions for Seismology Consortium.

With rare exceptions, all magnitude 7 to magnitude 9 earthquakes have a collection of smaller aftershocks that can occur for weeks, years, or even centuries after the mainshock, the consortium said in a 2019 video.

Thousands Feared Dead in Massive Overnight Earthquake

The mainshock of an earthquake represents two tectonic plates overcoming friction to slip past one another. In contrast, aftershocks typically represent minor readjustments along the portion of a fault that slipped at the time of the mainshock, according to USGS, which is now listing nearly 60 aftershocks in the region since Monday morning. In Turkey, it seems like some of these aftershocks are not occurring along the same fault line as the mainshock, but rather one splaying off it.

Another important factor is depth: Shallow earthquakes are much more likely to cause aftershocks than ones that occur more than 18 miles underground. The mainshock of this earthquake occurred about 10.5 miles underground, Curtin University Earth and planetary sciences researcher Chris Elders told Al Jazeera English.

The full scope of the disaster has yet to be realized. There are still many people to be rescued, and many more who will be at risk as more aftershocks hit the region in the weeks and months to come.

Read more at The Daily Beast.

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Earthquake victims receive treatment at the al-Rahma Hospital in the town of Darkush, Idlib province (AP)

The devastating 7.8 magnitude earthquake has brought more carnage to parts of Syria already facing massive destruction and great suffering during a decade of brutal civil war.

Shocking images have emerged of whole villages and hamlets flattened, with reports of dozens of families buried under the rubble, adding to a death toll of hundreds of bodies were being recovered from twisted piled of metal and concrete.

Some families in opposition-held have been living in homes half-destroyed during airstrikes and bombing by the forces of President Bashar al-Assad. Buildings which had been hastily erected in the years of conflict were the first to collapse as the earthquake and aftershocks tore through the the country and neighbouring Turkey.

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More than four million people are packed into the remaining opposition-held enclaves of Syria, many displaced by fighting in other parts of the country, surrounded by the Russian-backed regime forces with frequent raids by warplanes.

Villages like Sarmada and Besania in the northwest where virtually nothing has been left standing in the wake of the earthquake. There has also been extensive damage to the towns of Azaz and Salquin, both key staging posts for rebels going from Turkey into Syria to fight regime forces during the battle for Aleppo in 2012. Access from the main cities to the affected areas have been made extremely difficult by fallen bridges and road subsidence.

Medical centres, already under pressure from lack of facilities and rising number of patients before the earthquake, were quickly filled with the injured. Some, including a maternity clinic had to emptied with casualties pouring in by the hour.

Abdel Saad Hamoud, a teacher who fled to Idlib from Aleppo with his family when the city was retaken by Russian and Assads forces described the first wave of quakes like  feeling we are getting bombed again."

"Everything, everything was shaking, plaster started falling from the ceiling and then a big noise, like a roar. I shouted to my wife to gather the children and we all managed to get out. Half the building fell away a bit later.

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Rescue workers who have worked through the civil war and Russian military intervention say the damage caused in some places have been equally severe, if not even more so. The White Helmets civil defence group said a  state of catastrophe has befallen the people. The death toll is expected to rise as hundreds of families are still trapped under rubble. Our rescue teams are providing response efforts, it added.

The tremors have come as the temperature plummets and communities are already facing acute fuel shortages with humanitarian assistance dwindling as the situation in Syria has faded in the Western public consciousness.

Chris Doyle, director of Council for British Arab Understanding (CABU) said: The world has ignored Syria for ages yet the suffering has been worse than ever. The conditions even without this earthquake were worse than during the war. Syrians have needed our help. These people have had over 10 years of war, bombings, a brutal regime, sanctions. It is winter, they have no fuel.

Members of the White Helmets carry an injured woman after rescuing her from the rubble of a collapsed building (AFP via Getty Images)

The UK foreign secretary, James Cleverly, said that Britain would be sending aid, among the dozens of nations who have pledged support.

The UK is sending immediate support to Turkey including a team of 76 search and rescue specialists, equipment and rescue dogs. In Syria, the UK-funded White Helmets have mobilised their resources to respond. We stand ready to provide further support as needed. he said.

Israel, which has carried out frequent air strikes inside Syria, said it would be offering aid to the stricken areas. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said I ordered to send, at the request of the Turkish government, rescue teams and medical aid. Since a request was also received to do this for many victims of the earthquake in Syria, I instructed to do this as well. There was no immediate reaction from Damascus to the offer.

Humanitarian groups warned of the scale of the task ahead in Syria. Tanya Evans, country director for the International Rescue Committee (IRC) aid organisation said : This earthquake is yet another devastating blow to so many vulnerable populations already struggling after years of conflict. It is a crisis within multiple crises - temperatures are plummeting to below zero leaving thousands exposed.

Women and children will find themselves particularly at risk of exploitation and abuse should they find themselves once again displaced. Many in northwest Syria have been displaced up to 20 times and with health facilities strained beyond capacity, even before this tragedy many did not have access to the health care they critically need.
By Umit Ozdal and Ece Toksabay

DIYARBAKIR/ANKARA, Turkey (Reuters) -A major earthquake of magnitude 7.9 struck central Turkey and northwest Syria on Monday, killing hundreds of people as buildings collapsed across the snowy region, triggering a search for survivors trapped in rubble.

The quake, which hit in the early darkness of a winter morning, was also felt in Cyprus and Lebanon.

"I have never felt anything like it in the 40 years I've lived," said Erdem, a resident of the Turkish city of Gaziantep, near the quake's epicentre, who declined to give his surname.

"We were shaken at least three times very strongly, like a baby in a crib."

Turkey's disaster agency said 76 people had been killed, and 440 hurt, as authorities scrambled rescue teams and supply aircraft to the affected area, while declaring a "level 4 alarm" that calls for international assistance.

Syrian state media said more than 100 people were killed and dozens injured there, most in the provinces of Hama, Aleppo and Latakia, where numerous buildings had been brought down.

"The situation is very tragic, tens of buildings have collapsed in the city of Salqin," a member of the White Helmets rescue organisation said in a video clip on Twitter, referring to a town about 5 km (3 miles) from the Turkish border.

The rescuer on the clip, which showed a rubble-strewn street, said homes were "totally destroyed".

Many buildings in the region had already suffered damage in fighting during Syria's nearly 12-year-long civil war.

People in Damascus, and in the Lebanese cities of Beirut and Tripoli, ran into the street and took to their cars to get away from their buildings in case they collapsed, witnesses said.

In Turkey's Gaziantep, Erdem also said people had fled from their shaking homes and were too scared to return.

"Everybody is sitting in their cars or trying to drive to open spaces away from buildings," Erdem said by telephone. "I imagine not a single person in Gaziantep is in their homes now."

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The United States was "profoundly concerned" about the quake in Turkey and Syria and was monitoring events closely, White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said on Twitter.

"I have been in touch with Turkish officials to relay that we stand ready to provide any and all needed assistance," he said.

The region straddles seismic fault lines and is prone to earthquakes.

FOCUS ON SEARCH AND RESCUE

The tremor lasted about a minute and shattered windows, according to a Reuters witness in Diyarbakir, 350 km (218 miles)to the east, where a security official said at least 17 buildings collapsed.

Authorities said 16 structures collapsed in Sanliurfa and 34 in Osmaniye.

Broadcasters TRT and Haberturk showed footage of people picking through building wreckage, moving stretchers and seeking survivors in the city of Kahramanmaras, where it was still dark.

"Our primary job is to carry out the search and rescue work and to do that all our teams are on alert," Turkish Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu told reporters.

The German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ) said the quake struck at a depth of 10 km (6 miles), while the EMSC monitoring service said it was assessing the risk of a tsunami.

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) reported a series of further earthquakes following the initial tremor, which it put at a magnitude of 7.8. There was a quake measuring 6.7 in Gaziantep and another of 5.6 in the city's Nurdag area.

Turkey's Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD) put the magnitude of the quake at 7.4 near Kahramanmaras and the larger city of Gaziantep, close to the Syrian border.

Tremors were also felt in the Turkish capital of Ankara, 460 km (286 miles) northwest of the epicentre, and in Cyprus, where police reported no damage.

"The earthquake struck in a region that we feared. There is serious widespread damage," Kerem Kinik, the chief of the Turkish Red Crescent relief agency, told Haberturk, issuing an appeal for blood donations.

Turkey is among the most earthquake-prone countries in the world. More than 17,000 people were killed in 1999 when a 7.6-magnitude quake struck Izmit, a city southeast of Istanbul. In 2011, a quake in the eastern city of Van killed more than 500.

(Additional reporting by Akriti Sharma in Bengaluru, Maya Gebeily in Beirut, Kinda Makieh in Damascus, Jonathan Spicer and Daren Butler in Istanbul and Humeyra Pamuk in Washington; Writing by Jonathan Spicer, Robert Birsel; Editing by Tom Hogue and Clarence Fernandez)
Elon Musk has been branded an agent of misinformation for amplifying an article on Twitter that falsely claimed Nato troops were dying by the thousands in Ukraine.

Musk responded to a tweet from a pro-Kremlin Twitter account early on Monday that claimed that 157,000 Ukrainian soldiers had been killed since February, along with 234 US and British Nato military trainers and thousands of Nato soldiers.

A tragic loss of life, Musk wrote, in a post that received nearly 11 million impressions in just over 12 hours.

The post from the @RuNews Twitter account, which linked to a little-known Turkish language news site, was quickly debunked. Nato member countries including the US and Britain have supplied weapons, money and logistical support, but have decided against sending in troops.

Musk, who has a history of making dubious claims about the war that have been interpreted as being pro-Russian, was heavily criticised.

You literally own one of the biggest social media companies and you are spreading this absolute misinformation, former Congressman Adam Kinzinger tweeted.

Elon is really an agent of misinfo or he is so desperate for approval he picks the alt right.

Turkish journalist Ilhan Tanir wrote in response that he had never heard of the news site that Musk was relying on, and pointed out there was no source or attribution for the figures it quoted, other than to say the numbers had come from the Israeli intelligence service the Mossad.

Even my aunt would be more careful, Mr Tanir tweeted. What r u doing? @elonmusk. Embarrassing.

Elon Musk testified at a civil trial in San Francisco last month (Associated Press)

Author and journalist Michael Weiss pointed out that after Musk had fallen for the easily disprovable claim that thousands of Nato soldiers and military trainers had been killed in fighting, the same pro-Kremlin account invited him to play peacemaker.

Elon Musk, evidently very concerned about media corruption and fake news, takes the bait, then is asked by the account to mediate.

After his tweet came in for criticism, Musk asked Community Notes, a crowdsourced factchecking system on Twitter, to correct the figures.

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A supplemental post was added to show that General Mark Milley, the USs top ranking military officer, put the total number of Ukrainian soldiers killed in the fighting at about 100,000 in November.

It also linked to an article on the BBC debunking Russian claims that Nato soldiers or military trainers were operating in the country.

Musk has previously argued against sending tanks to help the Ukrainian forces, which military leaders say are vital to the continued defence of the country.

Tanks are a deathtrap now, Musk tweeted in January. With neither side having air superiority, youre left with infantry & artillery  essentially WW1.

In October, he issued an unsolicited peace plan that called for elections in Russian-occupied parts of eastern Ukraine and for Crimea to be recognised as part of Russia.

He also claimed that civilization is over if Ukraine doesnt give in to Russias demands.

Prominent Russia expert Fiona Hill said Musk appeared to be transmitting a message for Vladimir Putin in an interview with Politico.
House Republicans are gearing up to grill former Twitter employees at a Wednesday hearing, escalating their accusations that social media companies are censoring content with an anti-conservative bias.

The hearing is largely based around a slew of information dubbed the Twitter Files released by Twitter CEO Elon Musk after taking over the company last year.

In the data are details about who at the social media platform decided to limit the spread of a story about President Bidens son Hunter Biden during the 2020 presidential race.

The tweets revealed in the thread largely showed internal debates among employees over the decision and lacked details of influence from Democrats. Nonetheless, it fueled outrage from GOP lawmakers, who are using their newly claimed House majority to dig into the debate.

The dynamic, Im afraid, is going to be one of castigating the pre-Elon Musk Twitter as having been in the pocket of Biden, the Democrats and the radical left, said Paul Barrett, deputy director of NYU Sterns Center for Business and Human Rights.

Democrats may have their own set of questions for Twitters former Chief Legal Officer Vijaya Gadde, former Deputy General Counsel James Baker and former head of trust and safety Yoel Roth. Most of them are likely related to Musks takeover of the company and overall handling of misinformation online.

Twitter, as well as other social media companies, has faced scrutiny on both sides of the aisle. Democrats have slammed Twitter over what they see as allowing too much misinformation and hate speech to spread on the platform.

Democrats, however, will likely feel obliged to counteract the hyper partisan allegations from Republican members, and probably wont be able to make a lot of constructive progress at the hearing, Barrett said.

If the Republicans just want to beat up on the pre-Musk Twitter and suggest the Biden administration has been involved in all kinds of nefarious communication or influence or something, thats what the hearing will end up being about, he said.

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A platform struggling

Tesla and SpaceX Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk speaks at the SATELLITE Conference and Exhibition on March 9, 2020, in Washington. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)

Roughly two months into his time serving as Twitter CEO, after closing a $44 billion deal that he tried to back out of in court, Musk released the four-part Twitter Files series through threads posted by journalists.

The first of which, posted by longtime political journalist Matt Taibbi, focused on Twitters decision to suppress the New York Posts story about Hunter Bidens laptop.

The thread of internal communication seems to lack evidence to back up the claims from Rep. James Comer (Ky.) and other Republicans that the Biden campaign worked with Twitter to slow the spread of the story.

But it does highlight concerns experts raised about how social media companies interact with government requests.

Taibbi at the time wrote that both Democrats and Republicans could request for tweets to be reviewed or removed and that Twitter honored requests from both the Trump White House and Biden campaign in 2020.

Barrett said a discussion about how influential social media platforms ought best to interact with political elites or structure their relationships with the governments is warranted.

What I see is a platform struggling to figure out what to do with tricky situations like a political campaign or a presidential administration coming to you and telling you  this content you have on your platform is incorrect, Barrett said.

What do you do then if youre the platform? How should that communication be structured? Right now all of this has been handled in a very ad hoc way, and I think thats not optimal, he added.

Anthony DeAngelo, head of public affairs and strategic communications at the Institute for Strategic Dialogue, which studies extremism and disinformation, said members of both sides of the aisle should be looking for ways to ensure full trust and faith in the internets public square.

Accountability requires openness and transparency, and members should press former and current Twitter executives for transparency on algorithmic preferences, inconsistencies on content moderation policies and how theyre applied, and their recent decision to remove free access to Twitter application programming interface, DeAngelo said in an email.

The hearing may be just the start of House Republicans agenda attacking social media companies over their content moderation decisions.

Other committees may look to hold hearings to investigate the decision, as well. At the time the Twitter thread was posted by Taibbi, Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), now chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, told The Hill the revelations in the thread warrant investigation.

Theres probably not an email from [FBI agent] Elvis Chan to [then-Twitter CEO] Jack Dorsey saying take down the whole story. But theres weekly briefings where they say, We think theres real potential for hacking-and-leak operations, Russias going to try to interfere with the election, Jordan said.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Emma Pattison's body was found next to that of her husband and daughter at their home on Sunday morning. (BPM Media)

Police believe the head of a prestigious school and her daughter were shot dead by her husband before he took his own life, it has been reported.

The bodies of Emma Pattison, 45, head of award-winning Epsom College in Surrey, her husband, George, 39, and their daughter, Lettie, seven, were found in their home at the school on Sunday morning.

Both the BBC and The Telegraph have reported that police are investigating the possibility that their deaths were the result of a murder-suicide.

The Telegraph reported the school would close on Tuesday evening and would not open again until after half term.

Emma Pattison: Key points that emerged on Tuesday

Surrey Police said Mr Pattison, a chartered accountant, had a shotgun licence and had been in contact with police about it last week.

Police said the gun was found at the scene.

The BBC reported the police believe he shot Mrs Pattison dead before killing their daughter and then himself with the same gun.

Epsom College head Emma Pattison, left, her husband George, right, and their daughter Lettie, seven. (PA)

The Times reported that Mrs Pattison had contacted a close relative with concerns about her husband in the hours before the killings, and when they arrived at the house they found all three members of the family dead.

On Tuesday Surrey Police confirmed that officers have launched a homicide investigation.

The police have referred themselves to the Independent Office for Police Conduct over the case.

Detective Chief Inspector Kimball Edey, senior investigating officer on the case, said: This is an incredibly traumatic incident and we are working around the clock to investigate and understand the exact circumstances which led to this point.

"We understand the public concern and upset, and we will clarify what we can, when we can, while respecting the right to a level of privacy for the families of those who have lost their lives.

Police are investigating at Epsom College in Surrey after the school's head, Emma Pattison, was found dead alongside her family on Sunday. (Getty)

"We are cooperating fully with the IOPC in relation to the referral we have made, and we await the outcome of its assessment of what further action may be required. Until this has been completed, we will be unable to provide further details on a number of matters."

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According to reports from the Telegraph, a member of staff called 999 after hearing shots fired before the familys bodies were discovered. It has also been reported that a rifle range on the school grounds was cordoned off on Monday.

However, police said the gun range is not part of their inquiry. It is understood that no live ammunition is kept at the range and that guns are stored in a secured armoury.

Police stood guard at Epsom College on Monday as police cordoned off the school's indoor rifle range. (Getty)

Pattison has been described as a wonderful teacher and a delightful person who had a distinguished career.

Police were called to the 42,000-per-year school at 1am on Sunday.

Surrey Police said it was treating the deaths as an isolated incident and officers were not seeking a third party in connection with the find.

Forensics officers have been seen entering the family home and a blue tent has been set up nearby.

Who was Emma Pattison?

Pattison joined Epsom College as headteacher in September. She was previously head of Croydon High School in south London and deputy head of St Johns School Leatherhead.

Pattison became the first female head of the private boarding school when she joined last August.

Until leaving five months ago, she spend six years as head at Croydon High School in Selsdon, south London, where her daughter had also been a pupil.

Watch: Colleagues pay tribute to headteacher found dead with daughter and husband

Surrey Police has said no third party is being hunted in connection with the incident. (Getty)

More than 850 boys and girls attend the school, which was founded in 1853, and its acting head has been listed as Paul Williams.

Mrs Pattisons husband George was a chartered accountant who was director of a management consultancy firm called Tanglewood 2016, according to Companies House.

Tributes to Emma Pattison



Dr Alastair Wells, chair of the Board of Governors at Epsom College, said everyone at the college was in "utter shock and disbelief" at the tragedy.

He said: "Our immediate thoughts and condolences are with Emmas family, friends and loved ones, and to the many pupils and colleagues whose lives she enriched throughout her distinguished career.



"Emma was a wonderful teacher, but most of all she was a delightful person. In time we will commemorate Emma and her family, in the appropriate way, and in line with the wishes of her family."

The bodies of Emma Pattison, her husband George, and 7-year-old daughter Lettie, were found dead in a property on school grounds early on Sunday morning. (Getty)

Croydon High girls' school, where Pattison worked until five months ago, also issued a tribute, adding: "The whole of the Croydon High community are immensely shocked and saddened by the news about our former head, Emma Pattison, her daughter Lettie who was a pupil at our Junior School and her husband George.

"Emma was a hugely respected and much loved Head of Croydon High.

"She was a warm energetic compassionate leader, dedicated teacher and generous, insightful colleague and friend."

Tributes to the popular head were posed on social media on Monday, and flowers laid near the scene.

Emma Pattison: Tributes to Lettie

Chloe Rathbown, 27, a nursery worker who used to look after Lettie, told The Times she was "utterly heartbroken".

She added: "They were such a lovely family and Lettie was perfect in every way.'

Photographer John Wildgoose, who photographed the family after Ms Pattison's headship announcement, told the newspaper: "Emma was very excited about the job and the little girl was an absolute angel.

"It was amazing how she was for the camera, its heartbreaking."

A past neighbour of the family told The Daily Telegraph: "You used to hear her playing in the garden, she was always asking them questions and just seemed like a happy, inquisitive little girl."

'Really big changes'



In December - four months after becoming the school's first female head teacher - Pattison told a student podcast that her family was experiencing some "really big changes" including taking new jobs, moving house and getting a new dog.

A flag flew at half mast at the school on Monday. (Getty)

She said: "I've got a new job, my husband has got a new job, that wasn't meant to happen but it did and my daughter has started a new school so there's been a lot of change for us as a family."

She then said she wanted to "grow, learn, explore and live life to the fullest".

What has Epsom College said?



Epsom College was named Independent School of the Year 2022 at an annual awards ceremony that celebrates the very best in education and student experience in UK independent schools.

The school flew its flag at half mast on Monday.

A statement on the Epsom College website read: "It is with the deepest sadness and regret that we have to announce the news of the deaths of Emma Pattison, Head of Epsom College, her daughter Lettie, and her husband George.

"Our thoughts, condolences and sympathies are with their families at this tragic time.

"The College is working with the police in what remains an ongoing investigation. We must now focus on the welfare and wellbeing of our pupils and staff, and work to ensure that they receive all the comfort, warmth and support required from the Epsom College community.

"The news is heartbreaking and we need time and space to come together and process this loss."

Following the announcement by the police relating to the discovery of the gun the school announced it would close early.

In a letter to parents seen by the Telegraph, the acting head said they'd stayed open on Monday to come together as a community but "the details that have emerged today are incredibly distressing and we feel it is best to close the College from this evening."

Day pupils will not be expected to return until after half term, with boarding students expected to be collected between Wednesday and Friday.
ERP gantry. (FILE PHOTO: Yahoo News Singapore)

SINGAPORE  Electronic Road Pricing (ERP) rates will go up by $1 at five locations from next Monday (13 February).

The Land Transport Authority (LTA) said in a media release that, based on its monitoring of traffic conditions last month, traffic has built up at various stretches of expressways. The latest ERP rate adjustments is needed to manage congestion at these locations during the nine specified time periods.

INFOGRAPHIC: Land Transport Authority

Rates for the other previously-announced time-slots and gantries remain unchanged. LTA said that, even with these adjustments, the number of ERP locations and time-slots charged is still fewer than the number charged pre-COVID.

LTA said it will continue to monitor traffic speeds and congestion levels closely and assess if ERP rates need to be further adjusted.

Do you have a story tip? Email: sgnews.tips@yahooinc.com.

You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and Twitter. Also check out our Southeast Asia, Food, and Gaming channels on YouTube.
Russian gasoline can now be imported to Estonia only in tanks

The agency reiterated that the transitional period for sanctions imposed by the European Union on petroleum products originating in Russia ends on Feb. 5 and the purchase and import of such products into the European Union will be prohibited from Feb. 6.

Read also: Oil depot on fire after explosions in Russias Belgorod Oblast, factory that produces structures for Crimean Bridge damaged

As from Feb. 6, it is prohibited to buy, import and deliver petroleum products which originate in Russia, said Piret Tinkus, head of the prohibitions and restrictions division of the customs security area at the customs department of the Tax and Customs Board.

The list of prohibited goods also include fuel used for consumption in motor vehicles. It is estimated that today, on the first crossing into Estonia, approximately 80% of passenger cars are accompanied by a 10-litre canister of fuel in addition to the fuel in the cars standard fuel tank.

Read also: Russia misses out on $8 billion in January due to oil price cap

Pursuant to the legislation, a resident of the European Union has the right to purchase fuel from Russia if it is necessary for completing the trip and returning to the territory of the European Union.

It is prohibited to bring fuel purchased from Russia in a fuel canister into the European Union, as it is not considered necessary for basic needs, including completion of the trip, said Tinkus and pointed out that the prohibition of importing goods in a canister uniformly applies upon entering all Baltic countries and Finland from Russia.

Read also: Estonia Requests German permission to export cluster munitions to Ukraine

Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
Re. Mary-Anne MacDonalds letter Asking to be enlightened (Castanet, Feb. 3)

I read this and thought it was either sarcasm or someone listening to disinformation.

Enlighten me as to how, when and why there was a paradigm shift from listening to well-respected authorities in their field to considering them no longer credible or more importantly, censoring or ostracizing them? Too many people listen to disinformation and conspiracy theories.

Enlighten me as to how the populace continues to put faith in a prime minister who (I believe) has not only abused his position but is responsible for the (governments) profligate spending, plays favourites with certain companies, pressured his own ministers in the SNC Lavalin scandal and compared a Tylenol shortage to a orange crop shortage? Well he has delivered for the Canadian people and did not abandon them, but rather financially supported them during the lockdowns under a pandemic

Enlighten me as to why health care in Canada is no longer considered universal but each province is advising Canadian travellers to buy additional health insurance if they travel to other provinces? As one who has worked in group benefits, out of province coverage has always been in place. Nothing new here.

Enlighten me as to why all provinces, with the exception of B.C. and Nova Scotia, have lifted their vaccine mandates? Since healthcare is provincial, each province is allowed to impose ot lift whatever mandates the choose to protect their residents.

Enlighten me as to how the federal government can restrict oil production in Canada but still import oil via super-tankers across the Atlantic Ocean to Montreal? I would ask if there are oil wells and refineries in Quebec. If not, then it needs to come from oil rich Alberta is my guess.

Enlighten me as to how two provinces, Ontario and Quebec, seem to have the balance of political power in (Canadian) confederation? They always have and will continue to as seats are awarded by population.

Enlighten me as to why the B.C. government has 23 cabinet ministers from the Lower Mainland and three from the remainder of the province? What is that telling the rest of the province? You would have to ask the premier, but my understanding is cabinet members are based on experience and what they bring to the table. Seems unfair, but you can ask.

Enlighten me as to why is the federal government the keeper and manager of the Canada Pension Plan, when it was set up between employers and employees? (Former U.S. President) Ronald Regan stated the nine most dangerous words are Hi, I'm here from the government to help you. Hmmmm. It has always been manage by the government and set up as a payroll deduction from working people and sent to the government to invest and ensure it is kept safe to be given back to you once you retire. Same goes for EI and income tax deductions. You need to stop trying to fit Canada into the U.S. mould who else is to look after you and help you if not the government.

Enlighten me as to when did schools become (in my mind) primarily focussed on sexual orientation instead of education? Again you are listening to disinformation out of the U.S. I have two grandsons in school, no one is teaching them sexual orientation at all. Only to be kind, accepting of anyone that might appear different than you. Something everyone needs to do at any age.

Better yet, enlighten me as to why the elites of the world would want to get advice on the future of the planet from (environmental activist) Greta Thunberg, a 20-year-old woman? Why not listen to her? She might just have some knowledge and trying to save the planet from destruction, as scientist have been doing for years.

Enlighten me as to why people think that reducing carbon dioxide is healthy for the planet? Well if carbon dioxide completely destroys all the oxygen then we all die. Just like if you ran your car in a closed garage. Is this a serious question?

Enlightenment is supposed to be about using logic, science and in general, knowledge. What's happened ? Too many people get lost listening to conspiracy theories and disinformation. Remember the War of the Worlds (radio drama in 1938) by Orson Wells. Had the whole world petrified on a made up story on a radio show.

Carole Kormendy
The European Commission has neither confirmed nor denied information about potential visit of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to Brussels to participate in the summit of leaders on 10-11 February.

Source: European Pravda

Details: At a briefing on 6 February, Eric Mamer, spokesman for the European Commission, answered questions from the media regarding Zelenskyy's possible visit.

Quote: "The answer is no. I can't confirm, I can't comment, I have no information on that. As you can imagine, it's not something we would comment on here in the press room," Mamer said.

The Financial Times reports that the EU plans to have Volodymyr Zelenskyy attend a summit of member state leaders this week.

Sources of the news outlet emphasised that security problems could disrupt the visit of the Ukrainian president.

Last week, Zelenskyy said he could visit Brussels in person to express gratitude for Ukraine's support, if there was a chance to receive long-range weapons and if the security situation allows for a visit.

On 9 February, 27 EU leaders will gather in Brussels for a summit, where they are expected to discuss Ukraine, migration, and the bloc's reaction to the US inflation control law.

Journalists fight on their own frontline. Support Ukrainska Pravda or become our patron!
By Jamie Freed and Allison Lampert

(Reuters) -Europe's aviation regulator has ruled out an industry push to allow planes to be crewed by just pilot by 2030 but said it is considering allowing limited single-person operation for parts of flights as early as 2027.

The regulator is weighing a pitch from European planemakers Airbus SE and Dassault Aviation SA for solo flying in the cruise phase, which is less demanding than take-off and landing, when at least two pilots would still have to be in the cockpit.

The proposal included such limitations as barring pilots with medical conditions or too few hours of experience from being solo in the cockpit, Andrea Boiardi, a manager with the regulator, the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), told Reuters, revealing previously undisclosed details.

The aviation industry wants solo flying to help ease a challenging labor shortage, since the relaxation of regulations would allow pilots to rest during long-haul trips without replacements being aboard.

However, Boiardi said an earlier proposal from the industry for totally single-pilot flying by 2030 was "absolutely not realistic", because automation had not advanced far enough and solo flying required a level of safety equivalent to existing operations.

Solo flying, even in cruise, needs approval from the United Nations' International Civil Aviation Organization, individual airlines and their pilot unions. The U.N. agency is expected to begin studying the issue early this year.

Boiardi said only the most advanced planes, equipped for a higher level of safety than required by minimum certification standards, could be used for solo flying in cruise. They would include Airbus A350s and potentially Boeing 787s and 777Xs.

EASA was seeking input on the matter from airlines and pilots in a process expected to wrap up in March, Boiardi said in the first in-depth interview EASA has given on the subject.

The less ambitious proposal for solo operation in cruise, which would not start before 2027, would initially target improved pilot rest during regular flights, he said. A fatigued aviator could plan to sleep in a bunk rather than take short unplanned naps on the flight deck.

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If the safety were proven, eventually long-haul crews that now required three or four pilots could be reduced to two, with both in the cockpit for take-off and landing, Boiardi added.

Even limited solo flying, however, is dividing airlines and raising public fears, while sparking a growing backlash among pilot groups like the European Cockpit Association.

"The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and Transport Canada are very much aware of our position that two pilots on the flight deck is the most safe," said Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA) Canada president Tim Perry.

The FAA declined to comment. Transport Canada said it would "monitor developments."

While Hong Kong's Cathay Pacific Airways has talked with manufacturers about reduced-crew operations, Air France chief executive Anne Rigail told Reuters single-pilot operations were not a priority.

An industry source familiar with Airbus's project said an A350 used for single-pilot flight in cruise would feature extra automated protections against such threats as fire and engine failure and maintain autopilot functions in more circumstances than today.

Airbus said in a statement it was studying the concept of a single pilot in the cruise phase but not wholly single-pilot flights. Dassault did not respond to requests for comment, while Boeing deferred questions to regulators.

Boiardi said the concepts under review did not differentiate between cargo and passenger flights. Consumer resistance, however, could result in single-pilot flying starting with cargo flights, industry officials said.

(Reporting By Jamie Freed in Sydney and Allison Lampert in Montreal; Additional reporting by Tim Hepher in Paris; Editing by Ben Klayman and Bradley Perrett)
By Philip Blenkinsop

BRUSSELS (Reuters) -The European Union has made progress in its talks with the UK on the trading arrangements of Northern Ireland but difficulties remain, European Commission Vice-President Maros Sefcovic said on Monday.

Sefcovic, who oversees EU relations with Britain, said his team wanted a breakthrough every week, referring to recent reports on advancing talks.

"Progress is being made, but difficulties remain," he told a news conference after a meeting of EU ministers in Brussels.

"What we are focusing on is gradual, incremental work. We are looking for the possible landing zone for the possible joint solution and this work continues."

Sefcovic said it was important for the EU to re-establish trust with London and commented that after recent closer contacts: "We are getting there".

Northern Ireland occupies a unique place after Britain's exit from the European Union, remaining in the EU single market for goods.

The arrangement, to avoid a hard border with EU member Ireland and preserve peace, has meant checks are required on some goods arriving in Northern Ireland from the rest of the United Kingdom, angering pro-British unionists in the province.

Britain has proposed creating green customs lanes for goods bound only for Northern Ireland and red lanes for products heading into Ireland or elsewhere in the EU.

The Commission has said it is open to the idea of "express lanes" so long as safeguards are in place.

"A very important element I'd like to underline is, it's a very clear equation, the more and stronger safeguards we can get, the more flexibility we can explore," he said.

Sefcovic said an agreement on access to British data on goods being shipped to Northern Ireland would "dramatically" improve the flow of information required to protect the single market.

(Reporting by Bart Meijer and Philip Blenkinsop; Writing by Benoit Van Overstraeten; Editing by Charlotte Van Campenhout and Ed Osmond)
An accused drug dealer who was in court on fentanyl distribution charge Monday has been charged with murder in the fatal daytime shooting of 13-year-old Tyler Lawrence as he walked along the street in Bostons Mattapan neighborhood, authorities said.

An arrest warrant has been issued for Csean Alexander Skerritt, 34, who faces a first-degree murder charge in Lawrences murder on Jan. 29, Suffolk County District Attorney Kevin Hayden said during a press conference Monday afternoon.

We do know that a 13-year-old was gunned down on a city street on an early Sunday afternoon and we know that a monstrous event has shaken our city to its core. We hope that today will be the first step in the pursuit of justice: justice for Tyler Lawrence, justice for his family and justice for this entire city, Hayden said.

Hayden said the evil intent of the shooter in this case should not mar the communitys best reflections of Tyler, whose memorial was held over the weekend.

Tyler, a Norwood resident, was shot and killed just before noon on Sunday, Jan. 29 near 119 Babson St. in Mattapan. He was staying at his grandparents house when he was killed.

Responding police officers found the teenage boy at the shooting scene suffering from multiple gunshot wounds.

Tyler lived in Norwood and attended Coakley Middle School in Norwood.

In a statement, The Rev. Kevin Peterson, founder of the New Democracy Coalition, said hes glad an arrest has been made in Tylers murder, but the religious leader also shared the communitys outrage that Tyler, a middle schooler, had been gunned down in a brazen targeted attack.

Moments after his murder I stood watching his lifeless body on the ground on an otherwise quiet Sunday morning. I cried, Peterson said.

The arrest of the alleged perpetrator follows expressed outrage from a community besieged by violence that is disproportionate to the rest of the city, Peterson said. Tyler Lawrences life was snatched away within the boundaries of what many in the black neighborhoods call a triangle of death. Mattapan and Dorchester is where the majority of murders take place and we continue to demand that law enforcement devise specific strategies that speak to the unprecedented amount of homicide that pertains to the citys black community.

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City leaders and the community are morally obligated to respond to violent crime in Boston neighborhoods in ways that treat this violence like an and epidemic and an emergency, said Peterson.

Hayden, the district attorney, asked the public to assist investigators in seeking justice for Tyler.

There is still we do not know about this terrible crime. Its still an ongoing investigation. We still need your help and assistance, Hayden said.

The boys family has shown extraordinary courage and strength during this time of loss, said Hayden, who attended Tylers memorial on Sunday.

Boston Mayor Michelle Wu, speaking during the press conference, said Tyler was a shining young child who had his entire life ahead of him.

We are all robbed of that possibility and potential, that we knew he would step into, Wu said.

In addressing Tylers family and friends, Wu said: Im so sorry for your loss and we know that the space, the pain, the hole in your lives that has been ripped apart wont be filled by any announcement or press conference, Wu said.

Skerritt appeared in federal court in Boston on the fentanyl distribution charge on Monday, and was detained pending a hearing scheduled for Feb. 14.

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

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The Manhattan district attorney possessed sufficient evidence to convict former President Trump last year and was wrong to not seek charges, an ex-prosecutor in the case contends in his forthcoming book.

Mark Pomerantz argued his team built a solid case for securing Trumps conviction on financial crimes, and he offered a searing criticism of how Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg (D) oversaw the probe upon taking office, according to an advance copy of the book obtained by The Hill.

The 304-page book details Braggs reluctance to seek an indictment after succeeding District Attorney Cy Vance Jr. (D), which ultimately led to Pomerantzs resignation in February 2022.

We developed evidence convincing us that Donald Trump had committed serious crimes. As we put the facts together, many of us came to believe that we had enough evidence to convict him, and we could present a solid case in court that would lead to a guilty verdict, Pomerantz wrote.

Pomerantz argued Bragg did not follow through on plans to move forward with an indictment because he was not familiar enough with the evidence, adding that since Bragg was so new, the cases imperfections loomed particularly large.

The district attorney agreed and authorized the new prosecution. But then the district attorneys office went through one of its very infrequent regime changes. The new regime decided that Donald Trump should not be prosecuted, and the investigation faltered, Pomerantz wrote.

The book is titled People vs. Donald Trump and will be released on Tuesday by Simon & Schuster.

Bragg in a statement said he didnt read the book, but he criticized it for jeopardizing the offices ongoing investigation. When reached for comment, his office also provided a copy of confidentiality rules in the employee handbook and a series of statements from prosecutor groups raising concerns.

After closely reviewing all the evidence from Mr. Pomerantzs investigation, I came to the same conclusion as several senior prosecutors involved in the case, and also those I brought on: more work was needed. Put another way, Mr. Pomerantzs plane wasnt ready for takeoff, Bragg said in a statement.

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Our skilled and professional legal team continues to follow the facts of this case wherever they may lead, without fear or favor. Mr. Pomerantz decided to quit a year ago and sign a book deal, he added.

The former president, meanwhile, has lashed out at Pomerantz.

With all of this vicious disinformation being revealed by a prosecutor, how can I ever be treated fairly in New York, or anywhere else? End the Witch Hunts! Trump posted on Truth Social on Sunday.

The probe began prior to Pomerantzs arrival with the investigation of a $130,000 hush money payment Trumps longtime fixer, Michael Cohen, made to adult-film star Stormy Daniels days before the 2016 presidential election.

Eventually, Pomerantz and the other prosecutors began focusing on a new prong: whether Trumps businesses financial statements were manipulated unlawfully for tax and loan benefits.

They convened a grand jury in late 2021 and decided just before Vance retired that the office had enough evidence to prosecute Trump.

Pomerantz conceded the case wasnt a slam dunk, but he argued Bragg ultimately declined to bring charges to the grand jury after being largely unavailable for much of the transition and spending most of one investigation meeting on his phone.

The ex-prosecutor said he began a Hail Mary effort to change his new bosss mind, including emails to Bragg that bluntly expressed Pomerantzs frustration.

You need to respect our judgment, our decades of experience as prosecutors and defense lawyers, and the work that we have put into the case, more than you have to this point. Of course, you are the elected DA, and you must make your own judgment, Pomerantz wrote in one email.

In the months since Pomerantzs departure, Bragg has gone on to convict two business entities owned by the former president and secure a guilty plea by former Trump Organization Chief Financial Officer Allen Weisselberg.

The probe has now returned to how it began: the hush money payment made to Daniels, the adult-film star whose real name is Stephanie Clifford.

Braggs office reportedly empaneled a grand jury last month, and legal experts say prosecutors appear to be considering state falsifying business record charges against the former president.

Pomerantz described the prong as the zombie theory in the book, noting it has faded before but has never died. Pomerantz reluctantly said he hopes they pursue the matter.

If the zombie case is the only case that [Bragg] brings against Trump, notwithstanding the trove of evidence that has now been made public about Trumps fraudulent financial statements, that would be a very peculiar and unsatisfying end to this whole saga, he wrote.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Ukrainian fighters fire from a German howitzer Panzerhaubitze 2000 near Bakhmut, February 5

(Russian troops) may try (to launch) a new offensive before Feb. 24 to wreck all these events planned by the Ukrainian president for this anniversary, Ponomarev told Radio NV.

Read also: Ukraine does not rule out new offensive by Russia in February, says Reznikov

He noted that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had planned to go to the UN and speak there, as well as start the process of creating a tribunal and officially condemning the war crimes of the Russian Federation.

To wreck all this, to disrupt it, they can start (actions) on the battlefield. But the success of this is very unlikely, the Russian opposition leader said.

According to him, the Russian military as professionals, believe that it is impossible to create any successful strategic offensive now.

Meanwhile, he said that if Russian dictator Vladimir Putin orders them to advance, they will go (ahead) and die, because it is their duty, from their point of view.

Read also: Russia unlikely to succeed in its spring offensive, experts say

Ukraines Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov stated in an interview with NV sister publication Ukrainska Pravda that during a possible new offensive of Russia in Ukraine in February, the invaders will not try to seize the entire territory at once, but will conduct focused battles in specific directions. According to Reznikov, now the key risks are the east, the south and only then the north.

On Feb. 5, Reznikov stated that Ukraine does not rule out a new offensive by Russia in February, but so far, no strike formations have been detected.

Meanwhile, UK newspaper the Financial Times reported on Feb. 5 that new large-scale offensive by the Russian invaders might begin within the next 10 days, before Ukraine receives new supplies of weapons.

Read also: Russians training in Belarus, no offensive group formed, says State Border Guard Service

Citing sources in the Ukrainian Armed Forces, the newspaper said that Kyiv had received very reliable intelligence about Russias intentions to launch a renewed offensive.

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According to Bloomberg, Russian dictator Vladimir Putin expects that a new offensive by the Russian army in February-March 2023 will allow the occupiers to seize the initiative in the war.

Meanwhile, he is determined to wage war against Ukraine for many years, Bloomberg said.

Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
Authorities have warned an explosion is imminent after a train derailed in Ohio near the Pennsylvania state line, sparking evacuations.

About 50 cars derailed in East Palestine at about 9pm Friday as a train was carrying a variety of products from Madison, Illinois, to Conway, Pennsylvania, rail operator Norfolk Southern said. No injuries to crew, residents or first responders have been reported.

Officials escalated pleas for anyone within a one-mile radius of the inferno to evacuate on Monday after a drastic change in a chemical was detected.

Five of the derailed cars were carrying that chemical, vinyl chloride.

Anyone who refuses to evacuate could face arrest, Columbiana County Sheriff Brian McLaughlin warned, as fears grow that an explosion could launch shrapnel as far as a mile.

There is a high probability of a toxic gas release and or explosion, the sheriff said. Please, for your own safety, remove your families from danger.

East Palestine Fire Chief Keith Drabick added: We are at a risk now of a catastrophic failure of that container. Measures are being taken to try and control that and prevent that from happening.

Ohio Gov Mike DeWine called for anyone living in the evacuation zone to get out immediately on Sunday as he activated the National Guard to respond to the smouldering wreckage.

Mayor Trent Conaway, who declared a state of emergency in the village, said one person was arrested for going around barricades right up to the crash during the night. He warned that more arrests would follow if people did not to stay away.

I don't know why anybody would want to be up there; you're breathing toxic fumes if you're that close, he said, stressing that monitors of air quality away from the fire showed no levels of concern and the town's water is safe because it is fed by groundwater unaffected by some material that went into streams. Environmental protection agency crews were working to remove contaminants from streams and monitor water quality.

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Fire Chief Keith Drabick said it was so important to avoid the area because a train carrying hazardous material wrecked in the town and is burning. Doesnt get any simpler than that.

Sheriffs went door-to-door Sunday to count residents remaining and urge people within the evacuation area to leave. We are asking residents to please evacuate and cooperate, officials said in a statement. Schools and village offices will be closed Monday and officials would determine that afternoon whether the school closure would be extended.

Norfolk Southern said 20 of the more than 100 cars were classified as carrying hazardous materials  defined as cargo that could pose any kind of danger including flammables, combustibles, or environmental risks. Some cars carried vinyl chloride, and at least one was intermittently releasing its contents via a pressure release device.

The National Transportation Safety Board said only 10 cars carrying hazardous materials derailed and five of them were carrying vinyl chloride, not 14 as was said earlier. And officials stressed again late Saturday that they had not confirmed the release of vinyl chloride other than from pressure release devices operating as designed.

Vinyl chloride, used to make the polyvinyl chloride hard plastic resin in a variety of plastic products, is associated with increased risk of liver cancer and other cancers, according to the federal governments National Cancer Institute. Norfolk Southern was to provide a fact sheet listing all chemicals involved.

The evacuation order covered homes of 1,500 to 2,000 of the towns 4,800 to 4,900 residents, but officials said it was unknown exactly how many were actually affected. About eight residents remained at an emergency shelter. Norfolk Southern opened an assistance center in the village to gather information from affected residents; village officials said 75 people went to the center Saturday and about 100 had been there Sunday morning.
The claim: '15-minute cities' are really 'climate change lockdowns'

A Jan. 28 Instagram post (direct link, archived link) features a depiction of a busy urban street along with text that warns about a supposed government plot.

Climate Change Lockdowns disguised as 15 Minute Cities under the UN Agenda 2030, reads part of the text. "Your Government is pushing ahead with plans to bring 15-minute cities to a location near you. They are a brainchild of the UNs Agenda 2030, and are in effect Climate Change lockdowns."

The post was liked more than 4,000 times in two days. Other social media users reshared the post on Instagram.

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Our rating: False

The creator of the "15-minute cities" concept says the post misconstrues the nature of the plan, which aims to increase goods and services for residents. There's no mention of lockdowns or confining residents to their communities on the "15-minute cities" website or in the United Nations' 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

No mention of lockdowns in 15-Minute Cities plan or UN Agenda

The post appears to be referring to the 15-minute cities concept created by Carlos Moreno, a professor at Pantheon Sorbonne University. The premise is that all residents of a city should be able to access all essential services they need within a 15-minute walk or bike ride.

According to Moreno, the post significantly misrepresents the goals of the urban planning concept.

The core of the '15-minute city' is an open city, a human city, an interconnected city, Moreno said. Of course, all citizens are free to go where they want. There are no constraints.

The "15-minute city" concept was designed with the goal of reducing emissions related to transportation, according to Moreno. But the notion that the residents would be confined or restricted in order to reduce their carbon footprints is totally false, he said.

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Dan Luscher, founder of the 15-Minute City Project, agreed.

The '15-minute city' is first and foremost about choice, the very opposite of coercion, Luscher said in an email. It is about enabling people to get their needs met within their own neighborhood, not confining them to that neighborhood. It is about mobility, not lockdown.

Fact check: False claim UK city will test 'climate lockdowns' in 2024

Florencia Soto Nino-Martinez, associate spokesperson for the U.N. Secretary-General, said the U.N.s 2030 agenda for sustainable development does not mention climate lockdowns or "15-minute cities." As USA TODAY previously reported, the agenda is a resolution the U.N. adopted in 2015 outlining 17 goals it seeks to achieve by 2030.

Furthermore, the U.N. does not have the power to force cities to adopt the "15-minute cities" plan, according to Soto Nino-Martinez.

While the concept has been discussed in various climate forums because it can help cities reduce their emissions, the U.N. cannot mandate cities to adopt this concept, she said in an email. Each country and each city are free to decide how they want to make themselves more sustainable.

USA TODAY previously debunked a claim that a traffic reduction plan in Oxfordshire would confine residents to their own neighborhoods.

Our fact-check sources:

Thank you for supporting our journalism. You can subscribe to our print edition, ad-free app or electronic newspaper replica here.

Our fact-check work is supported in part by a grant from Facebook.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Fact check: False claim 15-minute cities plan will confine residents
LAGOS (Reuters) - Nigeria will elect a new president on Feb. 25 to take over from Muhammadu Buhari in a contest pitting the old guard against a third-party candidate seeking to upset the established political order.

There are 18 candidates on the ballot, but only three are considered the top contenders.

Bola Tinubu, a veteran from Buhari's ruling party, will face off with the main opposition's Atiku Abubakar, a former vice president and veteran presidential contender, and Peter Obi from the smaller Labour Party.

Here are some details on the candidates and their running mates.

BOLA AHMED TINUBU

Tinubu is the flagbearer for the ruling All Progressives Congress, a party he helped form with Buhari in 2013.

A Lagos governor between 1999-2007, the 70-year-old is an influential figure in the southwest, earning him the nickname "Godfather of Lagos." Over the years the wealthy businessman has been followed by allegations of corruption, which he rejects.

He forged his political career opposing military rule in the early 1990s. This is Tinubu's first presidential election run, which comes after years of forming political, ethnic and religious alliances across Nigeria. He is an ethnic Yoruba and a Muslim.

He aims to continue Buhari-era policies like building public infrastructure and greater central bank intervention in the economy but end a costly fuel subsidy and channel the money to agricultural and social welfare programmes while expanding the military.

Tinubu's running mate Kashim Shettima is a Muslim from northeastern Borno state, where he was governor at the height of an Islamist insurgency. The choice of Shettima was a departure from the established norm where presidential candidates choose a running mate from another religion.

ATIKU ABUBAKAR

Atiku is running on the ticket of the main opposition People's Democratic Party, the party of Olusegun Obasanjo which was ousted from power in 2015.

The 76-year-old former vice president is running for the third time after his loss to Buhari in 2019. Atiku, like Tinubu, has been dogged by allegations of corruption, which he has dismissed as baseless.

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He plans to privatise the state oil company, ensure a greater role for the private sector in the economy, liberalise the exchange rate and provide more equipment to the military.

A northern Muslim from the Fulani ethnic group, Atiku has businesses in port logistics among several ventures.

His running mate is Ifeanyi Arthur Okowa, a Christian governor from oil-producing Delta state. The choice of Okowa points to a strategy by Atiku to generate support in the largely Christian south.

PETER GREGORY OBI

Obi has generated substantial buzz among young voters and is looking to harness Nigerians' anger with the status quo to drive his third-party presidential bid.

The 61-year-old bespectacled former governor and banker was Atiku's running mate in 2019. He says he is happy to stand on his record as governor of Anambra state, which posted a rare budget surplus in 2014.

He promises to triple power generation, dismantle a multiple-rate naira exchange rate regime, gradually wean the economy off its reliance on oil by ramping up agriculture output and exports, and better fund the military.

Obi is a Christian from the Igbo tribe in the volatile southeast, where some members are agitating to secede from Nigeria. His running mate Yusuf Baba-Ahmed is an economist and former senator from northern Kaduna state, who is also the founder of Baze University in Abuja.

(Writing by MacDonald Dzirutwe; Editing by James Macharia Chege and Hugh Lawson)
Photo: The Canadian Press

A former Liberal MP is seeking the dismissal of two criminal charges connected to his time in office.

Raj Grewal's lawyer argues that prosecutors have not presented enough evidence to find him guilty of the two breach of trust charges, and the Crown has failed to establish essential elements required for such a finding.

The Crown has sought to prove that Grewal used his political office for personal gain, offering access to events with the prime minister and help with immigration files in exchange for large loans that went toward his gambling debt.

In written arguments filed in Ontario Superior Court, the defence says his conduct falls squarely within the non-criminal category, and the prosecution's case doesn't hold water.

Grewal appeared in court Monday via videoconference as his lawyer, Nader Hasan, put forward his motion for a directed verdict and an acquittal on all charges.

Hasan says in his written arguments there is a difference between misusing one's official status for a corrupt purpose and making a mistake  or even acting dishonourably  while serving in office.

"The latter is not a breach of trust," the document says. "It may be an error in judgment deserving of administrative sanction, or it may simply be a personal failing that has no sufficient nexus to merit sanction at all. Either way, it is not criminal."

Grewal, who was first elected to represent the Ontario riding of Brampton East in 2015 and is himself a lawyer, did not disclose a series of large loans to the federal ethics commissioner.

An analysis of Grewal's bank accounts offered during the prosecution's evidence found that he had taken in some $6 million worth of deposits larger than $10,000 in the time after he was elected as an MP, and that significant amounts of that money went to payments at the Casino Lac-Leamy.

The most politically salient allegations against Grewal are that he offered lenders face time with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in exchange for their financial help.

Two Brampton-area businessmen who each provided a $200,000 loan to Grewal also attended events during Trudeaus storied trip to India in 2018.

A former Liberal staffer testified that both Yusuf Yenilmez and Andy Dhugga were on a shortlist of people whom Grewal invited to a private meet-and-greet with Trudeau.

But neither stated that they expected such access in exchange for the loans  and Hasan argues that the evidence at trial "flatly contradicts" the notion.

Both businessmen described themselves as friends with Grewal and testified that they were unaware their names had been put forward for an exclusive event. Moreover, neither described the opportunity for a photo-op with Trudeau as "particularly valuable,"the defence submission recounts.

The prosecution also alleged that seven other lenders received immigration-related assistance from Grewal's office, most commonly in the form of letters supporting applications for temporary resident visas.

Hasan notes that such letters are "not scarce," as MPs' offices regularly provide them to constituents, and they are not a necessary part of the application packages.

The idea that loans were provided in exchange for the letters as a quid pro quo "defies common sense," the defence says.

If such letters and even invitations to meet-and-greets are standard activities for an MP's office, it would have been more problematic, Hasan argues, if Grewal had "refused to provide these men with these standard constituency services simply because he had a personal relationship with them or obtained personal loans from them."

To meet the standard for a breach of trust charge, the Crown must have presented evidence that Grewal was acting in connection with the duties of his office, that his conduct represented a serious and marked departure from the standards expected of someone in his position or that he acted with the intention to use his public office for a purpose other than the public good.

The Crown has not succeeded in that, the defence insists.

Grewal resigned as a member of the Liberal caucus in 2018 after his gambling problem came to public attention, and he did not run for re-election.

In 2020, the RCMP charged him with four counts of breach of trust and one count of fraud over $5,000, but only two breach of trust charges remain.

His trial began last summer, and only the prosecution has wrapped up its case after nine weeks' worth of evidence. If the defence does not succeed in obtaining a directed verdict from the judge, the trial could continue into the spring.
(Reuters) -Governments and international organisations from around the world have responded with offers of support after an earthquake of magnitude 7.8 struck central Turkey and northwest Syria.

Below is a list of some of those announcements of support:

UNITED STATES

Two U.S. Agency for International Development teams each comprised of about 80 people plus search-and-rescue dogs, will arrive in Turkey on Wednesday and head to the southeastern province of Adiyaman to focus on search and rescue, said a USAID disaster assistance response team leader, Stephen Allen.

CHINA

A Chinese earthquake rescue team sent by China arrived in Turkey's Adana on Wednesday, state broadcaster CCTV reported. The team of 82 members and four search dogs, brought 20 tonnes of supplies and equipment. Rescue teams from several provinces were also on the way, CCTV said.

INDIA

Two teams from India's National Disaster Response Force of 100 personnel with dogs and equipment were ready to be flown in. Medical teams were being readied and relief material was being sent in coordination with Turkish authorities.

JAPAN

Japan has sent 73 rescue personnel to Turkey with equipment such as life detectors, drills, portable generators, medical kits and food.

BRITAIN

The government said 76 British search and rescue specialists with four search dogs and rescue equipment had been sent to Turkey and a British emergency medical team would assess the situation.

THE UNITED ARAB EMIRATES

The UAE said it would set up a field hospital in Turkey and dispatch search and rescue teams to Turkey and Syria. It said it would provide urgent relief to Syria's hardest-hit areas.

SPAIN

Spain was sending an A400 military plane with firefighters and equipment, along with an Airbus A330 with civil defence staff to work with rescuers. Spain also sent two warships, Juan Carlos I and Galicia, towards Turkey with aid and 500 Marines.

SAUDI ARABIA

Saudi Arabia ordered an air bridge to provide aid and organised a campaign through its "Sahem" platform to help in Turkey and Syria.

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IRAQ

Iraq said it would send civil defence teams to Turkey and Syria with emergency aid and relief supplies.

QATAR

The government said it was operating relief flights to Turkey to transport search and rescue teams along with vehicles, a field hospital, tents and other supplies, Qatar's state news agency reported.

Qatar-funded Qatar Charity said it was distributing 27,000 hot meals in the Turkish city of Gaziantep, where it has an office, and is supplying relief items to shelters in Turkey and Syria. The group allocated $6 million for the first stages of its response.

PAKISTAN

Pakistan said it was sending two C-130 planes with relief supplies and 36 search and rescue personnel.

THE VATICAN AND ITALY'S CATHOLIC CHURCH

Pope Francis has sent a telegram offering his "heartfelt condolences" after earthquakes in Turkey and Syria.

The Italian Roman Catholic Church allocated 500,000 euros ($537,800) for emergency aid.

GERMANY

Interior Minister Nancy Faeser said the federal civil protection agency could provide camps with emergency shelters and water treatment units and that it was preparing relief supplies with emergency generators, tents and blankets, in coordination with the Turkish authorities. Chancellor Olaf Scholz has promised more support.

CANADA

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau pledged C$10 million ($7.5 million) in immediate aid to Turkey and Syria, and said Canada would continue to provide support as the situation evolved.

AUSTRALIA

Australia said it would provide A$10 million ($7 million) in aid and deploy an urban search and rescue team of up to 72 people to Turkey, with the aim to have boots on the ground by the end of the week.

U.N. WORLD HEALTH ORGANISATION

The WHO said its network of emergency medical teams had been activated to provide essential health care for the injured and most vulnerable.

ITALY

Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said Italy's Civil Protection was standing by to contribute support and provide first aid.

POLAND

Poland will send rescue group HUSAR consisting of 76 firemen and eight rescue dogs, a government minister said.

EUROPEAN UNION

European Commissioner for Crisis Management Janez Lenarcic said the EU's 24/7 Emergency Response Coordination Centre had contacted Turkish authorities and had activated its emergency Copernicus satellite mapping service to help first responders.

TAIWAN

Taiwans fire department said a team of 40 rescuers along with three rescue dogs and four to five tonnes of aid had been se to Turkey. It earlier said it was ready to offer a team 130 people, along with five search dogs and 13 tonnes of aid, and was awaiting Turkey's response.

UKRAINE

President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said Ukraine was ready to send support. "We are in this moment close to the friendly Turkish people, ready to provide the necessary assistance," he said.

RUSSIA

Russia's emergencies ministry said two IL-76 aircraft with 100 rescuers were ready to fly out to Turkey if required.

President Vladimir Putin sent messages to Turkey and to Syria, where Russian troops have been supporting the Syrian military, expressing condolences to the presidents of both nations and offering support.

GREECE

Greek Prime Minister Kyrikos Mitsotakis offered condolences and support to Turkey, saying Greece was mobilising its resources and would assist immediately.

ISRAEL

Israel has sent search and rescue teams, medical staff and supplies. It was also prepared to help victims from Syria, which is an enemy state, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said.

NORWEGIAN REFUGEE COUNCIL (NRC)

"NRC is assessing the situation in order to provide direct support to those most affected across Syria. A massive scale up is needed and our organisation will be part of it," said the group's Middle East regional director, who also appealed for more international support for Syria and Turkey.

SWITZERLAND

Switzerland has sent about 80 Swiss Rescue experts and eight search dogs to Turkey. The rescue team includes disaster response specialists from the Swiss military.

FINLAND

Finland said rescue experts would be sent to Turkey as part of EU aid.

(Reporting by Reuters bureaus; Compiled by Stephen Coates; Editing by Robert Birsel)
Welcome to our first edition of a new monthly story bringing you a round-up of higher education news in Kentucky.

This year, the Herald-Leader will publish a story each month with news about colleges and universities from around Kentucky. The focus will be on Lexington-area schools, but the goal is to highlight news from schools around the state, too.

Well highlight several different aspects of higher education news involving faculty, campus, healthcare, awards, research and other bits of news that may otherwise fly under the radar.

Have something that should be considered for next months round-up? Contact higher education reporter Monica Kast at mkast@herald-leader.com.

Faculty changes at UK

At the beginning of the year, UK named Danelle Stevens-Watkins as the acting dean of the College of Education. Stevens-Watkins is the first woman of color to serve as the dean of the college, according to a release from UK.

She has been the associate vice president for research and inclusion at UK since 2020.

I am honored to serve the College of Education and the university in this capacity, Stevens-Watkins said. I am a proud UK College of Education alum. Our faculty, staff and students are leaders in impacting positive change across the Commonwealth of Kentucky and beyond. As a native Kentuckian, I take pride in this historic moment.

The previous dean of the college, Julian Vasquez Heilig, left UK at the end of last year to take the position of provost and vice president for academic affairs at Western Michigan University. He had been the dean at UK for three years.

Another former dean was also up for a new position: David Brennen, who was the dean of the College of Law from 2009 to 2020, was a finalist for the president of Eastern Illinois University. Brennen is still a law professor at UK, and one of four finalists for the job in Illinois. The new president was named on Friday, with the position going to Jay Gatrell, the universitys provost and executive vice president for academic affairs.

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UK also announced the search committee for the next executive vice president for health affairs, who will lead UK HealthCare. The committee will be led by Seth Himelhoch, professor and chair of the department of psychiatry, and Nancy Cox, vice president for landgrant engagement and dean of the College of Agriculture, Food and Environment.

Provost Robert DiPaola and executive vice president for finance and administration Eric Monday are the co-executive vice presidents for health affairs of UK HealthCare, after Mark Newman, who previously held the role for five years, became the university advisor for health care innovation and growth.

People walk along the University of Kentucky campus in Lexington, Ky., on Monday, Aug. 22, 2022.

KCTCS president steps down

Paul Czarapata, who has been president of the Kentucky Community and Technical College System since 2021, stepped down last week for a new role outside of education.

Czarapata has worked for KCTCS for more than 20 years, the college system said in a news release.

The 23 years I have been here have been some of the most fulfilling not only in my career, but in my life, Czarapata said. My passion and career background have been in technology, and I am at a point in my life that I want to head back in that direction. I want to thank the faculty, staff and KCTCS Board of Regents for all of their support during my tenure and I wish the system nothing but the best as it plays a most vital role for the Commonwealth of Kentucky.

Larry Ferguson, president and CEO of Ashland Community and Technical College, will be the acting president of KCTCS while the board assembles a committee to appoint an interim president and begin a search for the next president, according to the release.

UK enrollment continues upward

UK is reporting an enrollment increase for the spring semester, with over 1,000 more students enrolled this spring compared to last, President Eli Capilouto said in an email. There were 31,000 students enrolled at UK at the start of this semester, he said. This comes after UK reported a record enrollment in the fall.

UKs retention rate  the number of students who returned this semester from the previous semester  is at a record 95%, up almost 1.5% over last spring, Capilouto said. Retention also up among students of color, first-generation students and out-of-state students.

These powerful numbers speak to the outstanding quality and persistence of our students, Capilouto said. But they also are undergirded by the tireless commitment and efforts of thousands of faculty and staff.

Other news

UK announced a partnership with Simmons College of Kentucky, a private historically Black college in Louisville. Administrators for both schools signed an agreement in January, giving Simmons College students opportunities within three UK colleges: The J. David Rosenberg College of Law, the College of Arts and Science and the College of Education, according to a news release.

The partnership will include Simmons College students in activities and events hosted by UK, allowing students from both colleges to participate.

We know there is tremendous promise in the idea of the University of Kentucky and Simmons College of Kentucky working together, guided by our shared commitment to students and service, said UK Provost Robert DiPaola. The collaborative, transdisciplinary, interconnected nature of this agreement stands at the core of how we will move forward together.
Rescuers search for survivors at the site of a collapsed building, following an earthquake, in Latakia, Syria (Via Reuters)

At 4.17am, Ismail Abdalla says doomsday came to his building in Idlib northwest Syria, violently tearing everyone awake.

The Syrian first responder grabbed his one-month-old baby. With just seconds to spare, he dived for cover as part of the roof caved in on top of his bed where they had been sleeping.

Next door was not so fortunate. The neighbouring apartment block collapsed, killing 15 members of an internally-displaced family who had already fled multiple frontlines. Around Abdalla  buildings in the opposition-held area that have been battered by more than a decade of civil war  crumbled one by one.

Follow the latest in our Turkey earthquake live blog here

It was like someone was shaking all the apartments, it was like doomsday. The roof was waving, it was seconds of terror,  says the 36-year-old father-of-three who volunteers with the Syria Civil Defence organisation, known colloquially as the White Helmets. He is now working to free the injured and dead.

Entire families are trapped under the rubble, until now we are trying to save people. But the situation is bigger than the White Helmets. It is bigger than any non-governmental organisation, this needs a state-level response to handle it. 

Im talking about whole villages, whole areas of cities, destroyed.

More than 2,300 people have been killed and thousands injured when the massive earthquake of magnitude 7.8 struck Turkey and northwest Syria, including around 1,500 in Turkey. The quake, which hit in the freezing darkness of a bitter winter morning, was also felt in Cyprus and Lebanon.

In Syria, already devastated by more than 11 years of fighting, a government health official said more than 430 people had been killed in government-hled areas, most in the provinces of Hama, Aleppo and Latakia. In the Syrian opposition-held northwest, rescuers said more than 380 peole had died.

Abdalla said his teams were working fast in sub-zero conditions and snow to try to scrabble for survivors.

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The White Helmets shared videos with The Independent showing volunteers in head torches desperately trying to reach civilians entombed in massive slabs of concrete, they were breaking up with chainsaws.

The two major earthquakes that struck Turkey  with Syria also taking major damage (Datawrapper/The Independent)

We need a massive amount of help because we simply cannot handle this catastrophe on our own, Abdalla continued with a shake in his voice.

Most of the people living here were displaced many times from war. The medical care sector here is fragile, weak and exhausted by every pandemic we have suffered and the war.

There is no where to go.

In Gaziantep southern Turkey, which was close to the epicentre of the earthquake, residents described also being thrown from their beds and buildings collapsing in the snow and freezing rain.

People carry a man injured in an earthquake into the al-Rahma Hospital in the town of Darkush, Idlib province (AP)

Mazen Kewara, Middle East regional director of the Syrian American Medical Society (SAMS) spoke to The Independent from his car in the city, where he was taken shelter after his building was partially damaged.

He said every one of SAMS hospitals in northern Syria is overwhelmed. Their main facility at the Bab al-Hawa crossing between northern Syria and Turkey had started turning patients away as they were beyond capacity.

Every single Emergency Room is full, we are treating patients in hallways which are also all full across all of our hospitals, he told The Independent with desperation.

Four of our facilities have been damaged and evacuated, he said.

He said at the maternity hospital they support in Idlib - which had been damaged - a pregnant woman was killed in the earthquake, although medical teams had managed to save the unborn baby.

We had to evacuate the newborns from incubators to another hospital. We are trying to deal with this situation.

10-year-old rescued under rubble after Turkey earthquake (Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

We have never experienced this level of destruction across such a huge area ever before. He added.

He said northern Syria in particular urgently needed medical supplies, as the healthcare sector was already on its knees before the earthquake hit.

Half of the population are internally displaced from war-ravaged areas of Syria, and one third of them are living in camps. As winter has hit, they were already dealing with a humanitarian crisis.

We need everything from emergency health response equipment to shelters. The international community needs to send every kind of humanitarian support possible, he added.

People gather as rescuers search for survivors under the rubble, following an earthquake, in rebel-held town of Jandaris, Syria (Reuters)

In the Turkish city of Adana, one resident said three buildings near his home collapsed. "I don't have the strength anymore," one survivor could be heard calling out from beneath the rubble as rescue workers tried to reach him, said the resident, Muhammet Fatih Yavus.

Farther east in Diyarbakir, cranes and rescue teams rushed people on stretchers out of a mountain of pancaked concrete floors that was once an apartment building.

Turkey sits on top of major fault lines and is frequently shaken by earthquakes.

Some 18,000 were killed in powerful earthquakes that hit northwest Turkey in 1999. The US Geological Survey measured Monday's quake at 7.8. At least 20 aftershocks followed, some hours later during daylight. Another strong earthquake, measuring at least 7.5 magnitude also late struck central Turkey, authorities said.
DECATUR, Ga. (AP)  The environmental activist killed by authorities in an Atlanta-area forest last month was shot at least a dozen times, the slain protesters family said Monday while urging officials to release more information about the death of the 26-year-old who went by the name Tortuguita.

The news conference was held outside a Decatur courthouse just as a large contingent of law enforcement officers accompanied contractors and heavy equipment near the South River Forest about 6 miles (10 kilometers) away, to begin clearing the woods for a planned police and firefighter training center that opponents call Cop City," news outlets reported.

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation has said officers killed Tortuguita in self-defense on Jan. 18 after the protester, whose given name was Manuel Esteban Paez Teran, shot a state trooper while authorities cleared activists from the forested site.

Tortuguitas mother, father and brother, as well as their attorneys, said the GBI has been silent instead of responding to the familys pleas for information about last month's fatal shooting.

Civil rights attorney Jeff Filipovits said the details offered by authorities so far do not make sense with those who knew Tortuguita to be a kind (and) compassionate person,"  not a domestic terrorist, a charge that has been filed in recent months against nearly 20 protesters accused of being part of the leftist Stop Cop City" movement.

The family needs answers, Filipovits said. So far we've had selective information released by the GBI. They are not answering questions. They are not providing the family with any information to understand what happened in the forest.

The GBI has said no body camera or dashcam footage of the shooting exists, and that ballistics evidence shows that the injured trooper was shot with a bullet from a gun that Tortuguita had legally purchased in 2020.

Filipovits said the GBI refuses to say whether there was any audio or video recordings from drones, helicopters or other surveillance cameras that could have been in use during the incident.

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Following the news conference, the GBI released a statement asking for patience, saying it is not releasing any videos currently because agents are continuing to conduct key interviews and want to maintain the integrity of the investigation.

We owe it to the Trooper and (Paez) Teran to complete a thorough investigation, the GBI said. When we began our case, we contacted and spoke with (Paez) Terans family. We intend to follow up with the family as the investigation progresses.

Filipovits' law partner Brian Spears said that Tortuguitas body was released to the family last week and that they had an independent autopsy conducted. They said the autopsy found that Tortuguita was shot 12 or 13 times, perhaps more, from multiple firearms.

The protester's body was riddled with bullets, Spears said.

City Council approved the $90 million Atlanta Public Safety Training Center in 2021, saying a state-of-the-art campus would replace substandard offerings and boost police morale, which is beset by hiring and retention struggles in the wake of violent protests against racial injustice that roiled the city after George Floyds death in 2020.

In addition to classrooms and administrative buildings, the training center would include a shooting range, a driving course to practice chases and a burn building for firefighters to work on putting out fires. A mock village featuring a fake home, convenience store and nightclub would also be built for authorities to rehearse raids.

Tortuguita had moved from Florida months ago to join the activists in the woods who had been protesting for over a year by camping out at the site and building platforms in surrounding trees.

Self-described forest defenders say that building the 85-acre (34-hectare) training center would involve cutting down so many trees that it would be environmentally damaging. They also oppose investing so much money in a project which they say will be used to practice urban warfare.

Tortuguita chose the moniker  which is Spanish for Little Turtle  over their given name.

Manuel was a warrior for the whole of humanity," Tortuguitas father Joel Paez said Monday. I told him, 'Manuel, you cannot worry about the whole world ... You are not Greta Thunberg. I was wrong.

Tortuguita's death prompted a large Jan. 21 demonstration in downtown Atlanta that erupted into violence as a masked contingent lit a police cruiser on fire, and threw rocks and launched fireworks at a skyscraper that houses the Atlanta Police Foundation, shattering windows. No injuries were reported, but six people were arrested that night and charged with domestic terrorism.

Since then, local officials have vowed to continue to move forward with the project, with Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens announcing last week that land disturbance permits had been approved for the project.

The GBI said in a news release that authorities from multiple law enforcement agencies conducted a clearing operation of the site Monday as part of an ongoing effort to ensure that the site of the future City of Atlanta Public Safety Training Center is safe and secure. The GBI said no arrests were made.
It was date night for Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck at the 2023 Grammy Awards.

The couple was noticeably absent from the red carpet at the Feb. 5 ceremony in Los Angeles. However, they were later photographed cuddling up inside the Crypto.com Arena at their designated table.

65th GRAMMY Awards - Show (John Shearer / Getty Images )

While Lopez  who presented Harry Styles with the best pop vocal album award early in the show  brought her usual A-game to the event in a Gucci dress and Bulgari jewelry, many people on social media joked that Affleck looked like he would rather be at his favorite coffee shop, Dunkin.

Ben Affleck looks like hed rather be at Dunkin #Grammys pic.twitter.com/tpRxT3x4ZJ  philip lewis (@Phil_Lewis_) February 6, 2023

Another Twitter user used the same still captured from the telecast and, "someone get ben affleck a cigarette and a dunkin coffee stat."

"Can we get Ben some Dunkin'," another person tweeted, while one other added, "Ben Affleck wants to be at home with a Dunkin coffee so bad."

Can we get Ben some Dunkin  William Goodman (@goodmanw) February 6, 2023

"We got Bennifer on the #Grammys audience cam and tbh I expected to see a double-cupped large iced regulah Dunkin on the table," one user tweeted. "Maybe J-Lo made him put it on the floor or leave it in the limo? No way Ben Affleck is getting through this day w/o dunkies."

We got Bennifer on the #Grammys audience cam and tbh I expected to see a double-cupped large iced regulah Dunkin on the table. Maybe J-Lo made him put it on the floor or leave it in the limo? No way Ben Affleck is getting through this day w/o dunkies. #Grammys2023 #GrammyAwards  Delia Harrington (@DeliaMary) February 6, 2023

The comments continued to roll through, with no end in sight when you searched Ben and Dunkin.

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Someone bring Ben Affleck a Dunkin iced coffee, homeboy would rather be anywhere else    (@alxxndrg) February 6, 2023

i wonder if ben affleck brought dunkin with him to the grammys  gabagool frost (@gabby_frost) February 6, 2023

But why does Ben Affleck look like hed rather be at Dunkin? pic.twitter.com/pDniLh1nt7  Zoe Hall (@starbop) February 6, 2023

isnt Chris Olsen there, can he deliver Ben Affleck emergency Dunkin #GRAMMYs pic.twitter.com/e6SM7sUE29  T (@trinawatters) February 6, 2023

Ben Affleck 100% wondering if he can just wait at the closest Dunkin' #Grammys  Roberto (@roberto_dr) February 6, 2023

Ben is ready to go to bed and get Dunkin bright and early tomorrow. Let him leave.   Priya P. (@MissPriyaP) February 6, 2023

The jokes all reference Affleck's affinity for the coffee and donuts chain. Affleck, who is originally from Cambridge, Massachusetts, has been photographed many times over the years holding a cup of Dunkin' coffee.

In 2019, the actor told Collider he drinks Dunkin' coffee every day.

Lopez and Affleck at the Grammys

The Feb. 5 event marked the first time that Lopez and Affleck have made an appearance at the Grammys together.

The awards ceremony was the same one that Lopez made fashion history at in 2000 when she wore her now-iconic green Versace dress.

The couple, dubbed Bennifer, first dated in the early 2000s, getting engaged in 2003 and splitting in 2004. They would later reunite almost 20 years later and get who got married in 2022.

65th GRAMMY Awards - Show (Kevin Mazur / Getty Images )

Meanwhile, Lopez and Affleck were in good company during the 2023 awards ceremony as they were seated and shared a table with Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson and his wife, Lauren Hashian.

The couples were photographed during the telecast, and if you look closely Bad Bunny in a green hat can be seen in the back.

65th GRAMMY Awards - Show (Kevin Mazur / Getty Images )

Hosted by comedian and former Daily Show host Trevor Noah, the 2023 Grammys are broadcast live from the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT. They are available to watch on CBS and various streaming platforms.

Beyonce leads the list of nominees with nine nominations, with stars like Harry Styles, Adele, Bad Bunny and more also up for awards. Performers include Styles, Lizzo, Bad Bunny and more.

Follow TODAY.com for complete Grammys coverage, including this years winners, unexpected moments, and cant-miss performances from the biggest names in music.

This article was originally published on TODAY.com
Reese Witherspoon and Ashton Kutcher have left fans amused and confused after the co-stars were photographed posing awkwardly together at the red carpet premiere of their new romantic comedy.

On 2 February, Witherspoon, 46, and Kutcher, 44, who star alongside one another in the upcoming Netflix film Your Place or Mine, in which they play longtime best friends who decide to swap houses, attended the Los Angeles premiere of the film together.

However, despite playing love interests in the upcoming rom-com, the actors appeared uncomfortable as they stood next to each other on the red carpet. In one photo, Witherspoon, who wore a strapless teal mid-length dress and black heels, could be seen giving a slight smile as she leaned slightly toward an expression-less Kutcher, who was dressed in a charcoal suit and a denim shirt for the occasion.

The red carpet photographs have since gone viral on social media, where fans have questioned the apparent lack of chemistry between the stars.

The chemistry is palpable, one person tweeted sarcastically, while another said: Im losing my mind, they look like siblings forced by their mom to take a photo.

If theyre actually believable in the movie its just going to be an extra testament to their acting skills because what is this, someone else said.

Others claimed the photos were evidence the stars did not like each other, with one person alleging: To me these photos say that they really dont like each other at all. Like at all.

I have been laughing all day at the Your Place or Mine premiere/press photos pic.twitter.com/B8p5RQvEtP  Mike (@michaelcollado) February 3, 2023

They absolutely HATE each other lmao, someone else wrote.

This is giving divorced parents forced to be in a photo by their kid energy https://t.co/OuCMqbEatS  KB (@Kbethery) February 5, 2023

The awkward red carpet premiere photos also prompted many to circulate promotional press photos of Kutcher and Witherspoon posing together for the film, which fans suggested were further proof of awkwardness between the pair.

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In one photo, Witherspoon could be seen posing with her arms crossed as Kutcher stood behind her, while another sees the Legally Blonde star standing with her arms clasped in front of her, as her co-star stood with his arms held behind his back.

Its the arms folded one for me, like do you know how much hate you must have for a costar to cross your arms on the red carpet? one person tweeted, while another said: It looks like theyre in two separate places and they copy and pasted them together in Photoshop.

Who said romantic comedies are dead? Look at these two and their wonderful chemistry, someone else joked.

The photos also prompted many comparisons to the red carpet moments captured between Oscar Isaac and his Scenes From A Marriage co-star Jessica Chastain at the series red carpet premiere in 2021.

The actors walked the red carpet together at the Venice Film Festival in 2021 to promote the American remake of the 1973 Swedish miniseries. During the occasion, Isaac appeared to stroke Chastains arm before leaning into her shoulder, at which point Chastain gave her co-star a hug and cradled his face with both hands as the pair smiled and laughed together.

Wheres Oscar Isaac when you need him the most? one person asked in response to the photos of Kutcher and Witherspoon, while someone else sarcastically said: The new Jessica Chastain and Oscar Isaac.

This is how you do it https://t.co/wBTJHMln0m pic.twitter.com/hvor1Hnb0U  sad fairy  (@ghostnly) February 4, 2023

Although the photos of Kutcher and Witherspoon prompted amusement and speculation about the reasons for their apparent awkwardness, others pointed out that there were some red carpet photos taken of the co-stars in which they could be seen laughing and smiling together.

(Getty Images)

(Getty Images)

There were also those who defended the pair from criticism on the basis that they are actors, and should not have to fake romantic chemistry on a red carpet. Am I the only one that doesnt think this matters and that this should become a professional norm? Theyre not on set as a couple lol, one person wrote.

i lowkey think this is on purpose to get us to go check the movie and see if their chemistry is nonexistent in it too https://t.co/1ws1pm1xaT  vick van dyke  (@spaceyvicky) February 6, 2023

As for whether the pair were able to pull-off on-screen chemistry, Witherspoon, who is also a producer on the film, told The Hollywood Reporter that she and Kutcher had to work on it in the lead-up to filming, and that she was actually closer with his wife Mila Kunis.

We really worked on it, we talked every day for the month leading up to it, Witherspoon said of creating chemistry. We sent each other videos every single day so that we got to know each other so that by the time we got to set, he knew my dogs name, he knew all of my kids, Id seen him get his coffee.

Kutcher also confirmed that viewers will be able to tell on screen whether he and Witherspoon were successful, before revealing that he had more fun making this than maybe anything Ive ever made as an actor.

According to Kutcher, who hasnt starred in a rom-com since 2011, when he starred in New Years Eve and No Strings Attached, he enjoyed creating the movie so much because he had fun every single day he showed up to work.

He also revealed that he signed on to the project because he wanted to do it, rather than because he needed to.

Honestly, I think I had more fun shooting this movie than I ever had, Kutcher told Variety. It was genuinely a choice. I didnt need to do it. I didnt have to do it. It wasnt like a career-building block. It was like: I want to do this.

As for how he felt working with Witherspoon, he described his co-star as a genuine movie star.

Shes such a movie star. It was so wonderful and fun and funny and light. There was never a dark day. There was never a day that everything went wrong. I got spoiled, he said.

Your Place or Mine premieres on Netflix on 10 February.
A view of the substation while work is in progress as tens of thousands are without power on Moore County after an attack at two substations by Duke Electric were shot at in Carthage NC, United States on December 05, 2022. Photo by Peter Zay/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

The FBI says its agents thwarted a plan to take out Maryland's power grid.

The FBI said the people accused of planning the attack blabbed to an FBI informant online.

Sarah Clendaniel and Brandon Russell were charged with conspiracy to destroy an energy facility.

FBI agents said they thwarted a plan by a neo-Nazi and his girlfriend to take out Maryland's power grid after the couple blabbed to an informant in an online chat room.

The Department of Justice filed charges in the United States District Court for the District of Maryland on Monday against Sarah Beth Clendaniel and Brandon Clint Russell. Clendaniel and Russell were charged with conspiracy to destroy an energy facility.

"This alleged planned attack threatened lives and would have left thousands of Marylanders in the cold

and dark," Maryland US Attorney Erek L. Barron said in a press release shared with Insider. "We are united and committed to using every legal means necessary to disrupt violence, including hate-fueled attacks."

In a probable cause affidavit, the FBI detailed the accusations against Clendaniel and Russell and alleged that the couple planned an attack on an "encrypted communication application."

Russell, who the FBI said admitted to subscribing to Nazi beliefs during an interview, "made statements in direct messages to [an FBI informant] throughout much of 2022 regarding conducting critical infrastructure attacks, including statements about sniper attacks against substations, and how conducting a small number of attacks on electrical substations could cause a 'cascading failure,'" the affidavit said.

"The threat posed by domestic violent extremists is evolving and persistent," FBI Special Agent in Charge Thomas J. Sobocinski said.

The FBI alleges that starting in September of last year, Russell encouraged the informant to plot their own infrastructure attack before including the informant in his planned attack on the Maryland electrical grid.

Russell told the informant he "wanted to 'maximize impact' and '[w]ould love to coordinate to get multiple [substations] at the same time,'" the FBI alleges in the affidavit.

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The FBI alleges that Clendaniel was brought in on the plan in January 2023, telling the informant she wanted to "accomplish something worthwhile" before her death. Clendaniel said the plot would be "legendary" if they pulled it off, the FBI alleges in the affidavit.

The FBI alleges that Clendaniel was very specific about the weapons she would need to carry out the attack, engaging with the informant in a two-hour call during which she listed her requests for weapons and detailed weapons she already possessed and what the informant should use.

According to th affidavit, by the end of January, the couple had finalized the locations they wanted to attack and requested more weapons from the informant.

"If we can pull off what I'm hoping... this would be legendary. This is MAJOR tier, and definitely doable," Clendaniel said, according to the affidavit. "It would probably permanently completely lay this city to waste if we could do that successfully."

Russell and Clendaniel have been linked since at least 2018, the FBI said. History of Clendaniel's Amazon account showed she sent Russell a lock-picking kit in May 2022, the FBI said.

The number of power grid attacks or incidents of vandalism on high-voltage power equipment nearly doubled in 2022, Insider previously reported. Electrical substations are a tempting target for neo-Nazis, including so-called accelerationists who believe that causing chaos through power outages could lead to race war.

The power industry has taken steps to protect important substations that could prompt cascading outages if damaged. But most of the more than 40,000 transformer stations throughout the US are protected by little more than chain-link fences.

Perpetrators behind most attacks aren't apprehended. And some of them aren't right-wing or even ideologically motivated; two men accused of causing $3 million in damage to four substations and cutting power to some 14,000 people were trying to cut power to a business they planned to rob, an FBI agent said in court papers.

But the arrests of Russell and Clendaniel are the latest example of federal authorities pointing the finger at far-right extremists. Last year, three men between the ages of 20 and 24 pleaded guilty to making plans to try to knock off substations across the US to instigate a race war or an economic catastrophe.

Read the original article on Business Insider
ABC News

In the early morning of April 25, 2010, 911 dispatchers received a frantic call from Heidi Firkus, 25. "Someone's trying to break into my home," Heidi Firkus told the dispatcher in audio obtained by ABC News. Just 65 seconds later, another call came in  this time from her husband, Nick Firkus, 27.
The U.S government is working on a digital currency backed by the government, according to a former investment banker, Catherine Fitts, who also was a government official under (former U.S. president) George H.W. Bush.

(She) is warning the system is government encroachment on financial liberties.

Fitts believes the word currency is a misleading term. " It is more of a financial transaction control grid. Central bankers can turn off money if someone does not follow the rules they create.

Our country is doing the same thing. The Bank of Canada admits it is building the capability to issue a digital currency version of the Canadian dollar. You can be sure the spin will be positive, making it sound very convenient and trustworthy.

It also says the government of Canada will decide if and when to use a digital currency.

According to Fitts people are used to living with financial transaction freedom but they dont understand the seriousness of the situation.

When the gates close on us, we will be literally sitting in a system where the central banks believe our assets belong to them and they can dictate where we spend our money and what we can spend it on, she says.

After the trucker convoy last year, the federal government froze certain Canadians' bank accounts at will and the banks complied. How much more control will it have with digital currency? We need to push back against this system, our current financial system has worked forever, lets not let (the government) take it away for its own purposes.

Countries around the world have used digital currencies, IDs and vaccine passports to control the movement of their citizens. Lets not fall into the same trap.

We have always enjoyed financial freedoms. If this digital currency becomes reality, and the government doesnt like anything you say or do, even your political views, it could turn off the tap to your money until you comply.

The people are the majority and the majority still rules. We need to be aware and push back against these proposed digital ID and currency systems before its too late.

Jacinta Jay, Summerland

(Editors note: The freezing of bank accounts as a result of the trucker convoy was a temporary measure under provisions of the Emergenies Act. Accounts were unfrozen less than two weeks later.)
Canadian Defense Minister Anita Anand on Feb. 5 shared photos of the first Leopard 2 battle tank from Canada arriving in Poland, where Ukrainian soldiers will be trained on its use.

"The first Canadian Leopard 2 main battle tank that we've donated to Ukraine has now arrived in Poland. Alongside our allies, well soon be training the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the use of this equipment," Anand wrote on Twitter, adding that Canada "will continue to stand with Ukraine."

Following Germany's long-debated and awaited decision on Jan. 25 to green-light the delivery of German-made Leopard tanks to Ukraine, Anand announced that Canada would send four of its Leopard 2 tanks to help Ukraine fight Russia.

The German-produced Leopard 2 main battle tank is considered to be one of the worlds best and is expected to give Ukraine an advantage against Russia's Soviet-era tanks.
H&R Block's Josee Cabral maps out the key tax-filing dates to keep in mind over the next few months.

The only things certain in life are death and taxes, as the old saying goes. And the 2022 tax-filing season is quickly approaching.

There are five key dates Canadians should be mindful of, according to H&R Block, to make the most of their tax file and avoid being charged late penalties or having government benefits interrupted.

February 20

This is the first day the federal government will start accepting electronic income tax returns and the first day the government's free tax-filing softwares, NETFILE and ReFILE, are available.

It's Tax Time: Get all the info you need for your least favourite day of the year

For those looking to get their tax filing out of the way early, H&R Block senior tax specialist Josee Cabral says it might be beneficial to hold off until the end of February to file. That's because employers have until the end of February to issue T4s and financial institutions don't have to issue T3 and T5 documents until the end of March.

"Don't get too ahead of yourself to file your taxes because it's also important to have all your documents in hand to have an accurate result," Cabral told Yahoo Finance Canada.

February 28

Employers are required to give tax-related documents to workers by the end of February, or face penalties.

Even if an employee left the company last year, this deadline does not change.

March 1

Canadians have until this date to take advantage of their RRSP to reduce their taxable income for the 2022 tax year.

RRSP contribution and deduction limits can be found on the previous year's assessment notice (the 2021 notice of assessment in this case) or by logging into My Account on the CRA website.

The rule of thumb is the RRSP deduction limit is roughly 18 per cent of your pre-tax income or the limit set by the CRA, whichever is lower. Contribution room is specific to the individual since unused room is rolled over.

"It's important that you do not exceed your contribution limit as the CRA can penalize you with 1% interest until you withdraw that exceeding amount," Cabral said.

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Last-minute RRSP top-ups can typically boost an individual's tax refund.

May 1

Since April 30, the usual annual tax-filing deadline, falls on a Sunday, May 1 will act as the deadline this year.

It's important to note that if an individual owes taxes to the government, compound daily interest will be charged starting May 2. Anyone who is concerned they might owe money will likely be better served to file earlier to determine the outstanding balance and pay it off to avoid interest charges.

If you miss the filing deadline, late-filing penalties are five per cent of the balance owed for 2022, plus an extra one per cent fee for each full month after the deadline, up to a maximum of 12 months.

Filing on time is also crucial to avoid disruptions to government benefits such as the Canada Child Benefit and GST payments, Cabral says.

"If you don't file by the tax deadline, you're taking a risk of a payment interruption, although they will pay out those amounts once you file," she added.

June 15

For self-employed Canadians, the deadline to file their taxes is June 15. However, similar to the May 1 general deadline, if any taxes are owed, the CRA will begin charging interest on unpaid balances beginning May 2.

Michelle Zadikian is a senior reporter at Yahoo Finance Canada. Follow her on Twitter @m_zadikian.

Download the Yahoo Finance app, available for Apple and Android.
With spring in full swing and summer just around the corner, we're all eager to switch on our "Out Of Office" messages and go into vacation mode. If you are one of the lucky ones who has a trip planned and booked, your mind has probably turned to a packing list as long as a CVS receipt. We talked to the people who have literally made flying their job  flight attendants  to get their expert recommendations on travel products.

Cindy Kowalewski, a private flight attendant with 10 years of experience, has traveled to 100 countries including Seychelles, Myanmar, Maldives, Slovenia and many more. Valerie Fraser is an in-flight crew member, photographer and foodie who catalogs the best dishes for every layover and leisure trip on her secondary Instagram account, @flightattendantfoodie.

Now let's get ready for takeoff with their tried-and-true must-haves.

Amazon Urophylla Inflatable Travel Pillow Having an inflatable travel pillow not only ensures your neck stays nice and comfy en route, it also saves space in your luggage! This one comes with a handy carrying pouch and easily inflates with just three breaths. $15 at Amazon

Amazon Macks Dreamgirl Soft Foam Earplugs, pack of seven pairs These comfy earplugs are designed to actually stay in your ears so they can block out noise on airplanes and in hotel rooms. Plus, wearing earplugs can help prevent painful popping during flights! $7 at Amazon

Amazon American Trends Blanket Scarf Planes can be really cold, and sometimes those flimsy blankets they hand out just don't cut it. This pretty scarf doubles as a soft blanket so you'll stay nice and toasty in the air while looking effortlessly stylish. $12 at Amazon

Amazon Bucky 40 Blinks Eye Mask These polyester and foam sleep masks are lightweight, comfortable and washable. The contoured design gives your eyes some breathing room, and they come in 17 colors, from a shiny magenta to the pretty purple shown here. $11 at Amazon

"My must-pack items are an inflatable neck pillow, Macks Dreamgirl earplugs, a big warm scarf that can double up as a blanket and a sleeping mask. I love Bucky 40 Blinks Eye Masks, because they have molded cups, cute colors and patterns, and are so comfortable," says Kowalewski.

"Flying can dehydrate your skin like no other, so I have to have a good lotion on hand," says Fraser. "One of my favorites is from La Roche Posay."

Amazon Laneige Lip Sleeping Mask This mask contains the ultra-hydrating ingredients of coconut oil, shea butter and muramura seed butter to help your kips feel smooth and flake-free by the time you reach your destination. $24 at Amazon

"I always bring a hydrating lip balm when I fly. A flight attendant friend just gifted me the Laneige Lip Sleeping Mask, and I really like it," Kowalewski says.

Zappos Hoka Mach 5 There's a reason Hoka sneakers have become a favorite of people who are always on the go  they are incredibly supportive and comfortable. The popular Mach 5 model comes in nine fun colors, like the yellow pair shown here. $140 at Zappos

"I always pack extra underwear in case of delays, a swimsuit for sunny destinations and a pair of leggings, so I can run downstairs at a hotel without putting on a full outfit. I also make sure to pack a comfortable pair of sneakers for walking," says Fraser.

Amazon CHI Handheld Garment Steamer Weighing in at just one pound, this steamer is made for taking with you  it even comes with a travel bag. It heats up in less than a minute so you can give yourself a quick once-over before you arrive at your destination. $44 at Amazon

"I keep a mini steamer in my bag when I travel because hotel irons arent the best," Kowalewski says.

Amazon Rag & Bone Panama Hat A wide-brimmed Panama hat is the perfect travel accessory. Not only will it hide unkempt vacation hair, it'll also shade your face on sunny days  and it's super cute, too! $230 at Amazon

Nordstrom Nordstrom Paper Straw Panama Hat This Nordstrom hat is another fantastic option, and under $50! It comes in four neutrals, from ivory to white to the tan shade pictured here. $39 at Nordstrom

"When youre really on the go, Panama-style hats can hide a lot of things  especially that unwashed, messy hair  and will still make your outfit look fab! Rag & Bone has an exceptional one," says Kowalewski. For a more affordable option, try Nordstrom's $39 version. (It comes in four colors, too).

Nordstrom Herschel Travel Organizer, set of three This set of packing cubes is perfect for storing and separating clothing in your suitcase (think shirts from socks or clean from dirty). Each set has one small, one medium and one large zippered pouch, along with a dry bag. $40 at Nordstrom

"I really love my Herschel packing cubes. The set I have comes with a wet bag too, which is perfect for when I have a bathing suit that didnt dry completely," Fraser says.

Nordstrom Longchamp Large Le Pliage Tote Longchamp's water-resistant nylon and leather tote cleverly folds small for easy packing, then unsnaps once you need it. Its roomy size and classic good looks have turned it into a cult favorite among frequent travelers. $155 at Nordstrom

"For an everyday travel bag, I cannot live without my Longchamp. Its waterproof  and with travel something always explodes in my purse  so its easy to clean up," Kowalewski says. "Be sure to pack your carry-on with possible delays or detours in mind. Bring a snack, refillable water bottle, change of clothes and a great book." Kowalewski isn't the only one who loves this tote  it happens to be a favorite of Kate Middleton, who's been a fan of the bag since her college days and has been spotted carrying it throughout airports. Talk about traveling like a royal!

Away Away The Carry-On This cute carry-on is most famous for its handy TSA-approved USB phone charger. It's small enough to fit into the overhead bins of most major airlines, but can hold plenty of clothes, thanks to its interior compression system. $295 at Away

Amazon Traveler's Choice Pagosa Carry-On As a more affordable alternative, this Traveler's Choice carry-on also has a built-in USB port and comes in four colors, including a light pink and this lovely blue! $88 at Amazon

"I love all the colors of Away luggage," says Kowalewski. "I have pink and it's easy to spot when it comes through the baggage carousel because it's unique. The lie-flat design and two compartments easily separate my clothes to stay organized." Trying to save some souvenir money? This Traveler's Choice carry-on is a great affordable option.

The reviews quoted above reflect the most recent versions at the time of publication.
A Central Florida deputy shot a troubled man after, as seen in bodycam footage, he came at him with two knives Sunday in New Smyrna Beach.

Michael Collmar, who suffers from schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, was having a mental health episode at his parents home before the violence occurred, according to the Volusia County Sheriffs Office.

The 43-year-old suspect was wounded, but after surgery is in stable condition, and expected to survive his injuries, according to the agency.

READ MORE: Florida cop barricades himself inside home

WARNING: VIDEO CONTAINS GRAPHIC CONTENT

According to a news release, deputies responded to reports of a man acting erratically at the house at around 1 p.m. Officers attempted to peacefully negotiate with Collmar, with no success.

READ MORE: Florida cop heading home from work encounters reckless driver

In newly shared bodycam footage, you can see the chaos leading up to the shooting. Deputies are stationed outside the back door, trying to persuade the barricaded subject to come out.

Put the knife down! Put the knife down! yells a deputy.

Theres nothing to talk about, man! screams Collmar.

Officers eventually deploy Tasers and a less lethal shotgun, but they also proved unsuccessful.

About an hour into the standoff, the suspect advances out of the front door and charges the deputy, who fires his gun. You see Collmar fall to the ground on his stomach, and his hands are cuffed behind his back.

Deputies treated him for his injuries before transporting him to the hospital.

When he came through that door, at that speed he came through the door, all bets are off, said Volusia Sheriff Mike Chitwood during a press conference on Monday. Hes armed with two knives and theres nowhere to go.

Collmars parents were not injured, nor were any of the deputies involved.

This was the second call to the house in three weeks involving Collmar, who has an extensive criminal record and has falsely claimed to work for the CIA, DEA and FBI.

The last police call was Jan. 17, when Collmars mother reported her son was armed, screaming, paranoid and possibly hallucinating. The VCSO says the man was not receptive to deputies attempts to communicate with him and connect him with counseling services.

The VCSO notes that the defendant was last released from jail in October of last year, serving four years for stabbing a Port Orange man multiple times in July 2017.
Recreational marijuana is a step closer to being legal in Florida.

A proposed constitutional amendment has cleared its first big hurdle.

Country music stars The Bellamy Brothers launched the Smart and Safe Florida Campaign.

Watch: Nearly 300K Floridians sign petition to get recreational marijuana on 2024 ballot

The campaign has received more than 223,000 signatures, meaning the Florida Supreme Court will review the amendment.

The justices will look at the legal language, to make sure it is clear enough for voters to understand.

Read: War on drugs locked him up; now hes a cannabis entrepreneur

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The lawsuit alleges that Linda Stephens, a 70-year-old retired teacher, suffered a fractured nose during the process of her arrest after an incident at the MidFlorida Credit Union.

A Florida woman is suing a credit union for racial discrimination after getting arrested in whats being referred to as another case of banking while Black.

The matter got out of hand when Black retired teacher Linda Stephens, 70, entered the MidFlorida Credit Union in Bartow in April 2021 to inquire about a $600 ATM deposit. Now, the financial institution is the subject of a civil lawsuit brought by renowned civil rights lawyer Ben Crump, The Credit Union Times reported.

Crump claims that his client, a member at MidFlorida for nearly 50 years, was subjected to racial discrimination, resulting in her arrest for disorderly conduct, as well as mistreatment and abuse by police officers.

Retired Florida teacher Linda Stephens (left), 70, who is represented by famed civil rights attorney Ben Crump (right), has filed a lawsuit against MidFlorida Credit Union in a situation being referred to as banking while Black. (Photo: Screenshot/YouTube.com/WKMG News 6 ClickOrlando)

Stephens made a $600 cash deposit to pay her mortgage at the Bartow branch ATM on the morning of April 13, 2021, at around 1 a.m., and she left with a deposit receipt. According to the lawsuit, Stephens became visibly distraught and concerned about her $600 when it still hadnt been posted the next day after two additional visits to the bank. The branch manager then came into the office and demanded that an irate Stephens calm down, then proceeded to call the police.

A Bartow Police officer showed up shortly after and silently waited behind Stephens. The lawsuit asserted that after a brief interval, a different officer rushed into the office brandishing his weapon and saying he believed the voice on the phone mentioned someone was carrying a gun.

The lawsuit claims that Stephens, now terrified for her life, explained to the police that she only needed access to the deposited ATM funds. She added that she had never had a gun or even fired one.

A few moments later, the police officer placed Ms. Stephens under arrest and led her out to his car, per the lawsuit, the CU Times reported. She was kept in the hot police car in 90-degree heat for 20 minutes while the officers met outside. In the interim, it alleges, none of the MidFlorida employees said a word in Ms. Stephens defense or tried to explain the situation to the police officers.

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However, Stephens complaint and a police report gave very different accounts of what happened at the bank that day.

According to the police report, Stephens was causing a loud disturbance by screaming and yelling in the branch. The MidFlorida manager warned they would call the police if she did not calm down, they asserted.

Two police officers arrived, and Stephens allegedly claimed law enforcement was here to shoot her and tase her, the report stated.

The police detained Stephens for disorderly conduct, but she refused to get up and leave the branch or get in the police car. She was allegedly dragged from the police vehicle, thrown on the ground, and then taken into a 4-by 6-foot holding area at the Bartow Police Station.

Later that day, authorities took Stephens to the Polk County Sheriffs Office, where she received further mistreatment.

While at the Sheriffs department, Ms. Stephens was stripped naked and transported to the jail annex, according to the lawsuit, CU Times reported. What followed was 24 hours of a living hell in which Ms. Stephens spent a night completely nude on a cement floor of a jail annex cell. Humiliated, dehumanized and exhausted, she was released the next day.

The lawsuit alleges that Stephens suffered a fractured nose during the process. Stephens further asserted that she was diagnosed with PTSD and receives psychiatric and therapy treatment due to the emotional distress and trauma she endured.

A MidFlorida regional manager visited Stephens at her home days later, on April 16, 2021, and expressed regret for the incident and criticism of the credit unions handling. Stephens received a voucher for a $300 mortgage payment.

In a statement, MidFlorida officials expressed regret to Stephens but also took pride in its inclusive and equitable culture and the superior service it claims to offer to all its members.

Were sorry for any wrongful treatment that Ms. Stephens may have encountered while in police custody, MidFlorida said in a prepared statement. Police were contacted to calm an escalating situation with an irate customer because we have an obligation to provide a secure environment for all members in the branch conducting financial transactions.

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The former president of Temple Beth El was sentenced to two years of probation Monday after pleading guilty to a child pornography charge.

Evan Roy Wilkoff, 56, who served as president of the Charlotte congregation for two years until June 2020, will be also required to register as a sex offender for 30 years.

Wilkoff was arrested on six felony charges in March 2021, as part of an investigation by the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Departments cyber-crimes unit. The charges alleged that he possessed and distributed video showing girls as young as seven engaged in sex acts. But in a plea deal with prosecutors, the five most serious charges were dismissed.

Soon after his arrest, Wilkoff resigned his position on the temples governing board, according to the congregations senior rabbi, Asher Knight.

I cant rewrite history. But I give my word that I will never repeat it, Wilkoff told Superior Court Judge Donald Cureton, reading from a typewritten statement that shook slightly in his hand.

Im so sorry to you all, he added.

Evan Roy Wilkoff

Wilkoff had no prior criminal record, and theres no evidence that he abused children, Cureton said. Still, the judge said, the defendant may represent a danger to children.

As a registered sex offender, Wilkoff will be prohibited from having contact with children  with one exception. If he has grandchildren in the future, he will be allowed to spend time with them, as long as adults are present and parents consent, the judge ruled.

At the sentencing, Wilkoffs attorney, Brian Cromwell, asked the judge if he would also let his client have contact with children in his extended family, including nephews and nieces.

He cant spend Thanksgiving with his family because of this, Cromwell told the judge.

But the prosecutor in the case, Assistant District Attorney Kathryn Boswell, objected to that request. That was not part of the plea agreement, Boswell said, and the court has already been very generous in allowing him to have contact with his grandchildren.

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The judge sided with the prosecutor.

Temple Beth El, a Reform Jewish congregation on Providence Road, is the Carolinas largest synagogue, with more than 850 families as members.

Rabbi Knight said last week that temple leaders have not heard any allegations that Wilkoff engaged in inappropriate behavior at the synagogue. Wilkoff focused on the synagogues governance and budget while serving in his volunteer role as president , and he was not involved in programming or childrens activities, temple leaders said.

Wilkoff has worked for years as manager of Hembstead Capital, LLC, a consulting and real estate investment firm, according to Secretary of State records.
A federal jury last week found a former Palm Beach County firefighter guilty of wire fraud related to the theft of more than $150,000 from the Piper's Angels Foundation, a North Palm Beach-based charity.

The verdict in the case of Elizabeth Genna Suarez came Wednesday, following a three-day trial before U.S. Judge Donald M. Middlebrooks at the West Palm Beach federal courthouse. Jurors found Suarez guilty on three of the four counts she faced and not guilty on the other. Her sentencing is scheduled for April.

Suarez worked as a Palm Beach County Fire Rescue firefighter and EMT from March 2019 until her resignation last November.

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Federal prosecutors filed charges against her in December, alleging that she stole from the foundation, a nonprofit that provides assistance cystic fibrosis patients and their families. Cystic fibrosis is a genetic disorder that causes problems with breathing and digestion.

Suarez at one time was married to the charity's founder and CEO, was a member of its board of directors and performed its bookkeeping duties.

She was accused of falsifying comments in a bookkeeping program to make it appear that withdrawals she had made were for legitimate business purposes. In reality, prosecutors said, Suarez was using charity funds for personal use, including spending for cosmetic surgery, improvements to her car and items such as sunglasses.

In all, she misappropriated $158,960, prosecutors said.

Suarez provided restitution for the full amount and acknowledged that she acted alone, Piper's Angels Foundation board president Paul Smolchek said in a letter to foundation members in December.

She was also given a lifetime ban from the organization.

Julius Whigham II is a criminal justice and public safety reporter for The Palm Beach Post. You can reach him atjwhigham@pbpost.com and follow him on Twitter at@JuliusWhigham. Help support our work:Subscribe today.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Jurors find former Piper's Angels bookkeeper guilty of wire fraud
NEW YORK (AP)  Tulsi Gabbard, the former Democratic representative from Hawaii who clashed often with her party and eventually left it, has a memoir coming out Oct. 10.

Gabbard's memoir, currently untitled, is the first of a two-book deal with Regnery Publishing, the longtime conservative publisher. Regnery is calling the book the full story of her electrifying break with the Democrats. Gabbard served in the House of Representatives from 2013-2021, and over time would become a prominent critic of party leadership, including on its support for Ukraine against the Russians. Gabbard once called Hillary Clinton the embodiment of corruption, and personification of the rot that has sickened the Democratic Party for so long. She endorsed Sen. Bernie Sanders' run against Clinton for the 2016 presidential party nomination and briefly ran herself for the 2020 election before dropping out and backing the eventual winner, Joe Biden.

In recent years, she was a frequent guest on the Fox network and is now a paid contributor. Last October, she left the Democrats, saying they were dominated by an elitist cabal of warmongers" and woke Democratic Party ideologues," and supported numerous Republican candidates in the fall's elections.

This book will share my experiences at the highest level of Democratic politics, and why I can no longer call myself a Democrat, Gabbard, 41, said in a statement Monday. Todays Democratic Party is unrecognizable from the party I joined 20 years ago.
The SoulFood Lounge chef and owner Quentin Love at his North Lawndale restaurant on Feb. 1, 2023. (E. Jason Wambsgans / Chicago Tribune)

What can one business do for a community? Someday, you might ask Quentin Love.

His restaurant, The SoulFood Lounge, was the place to be on a recent, bitterly cold night in the North Lawndale neighborhood. The ambitious establishment generated its own warmth, a dining room packed with both people and good intentions on the West Side.

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Good intentions mean nothing, though, if no one shows up. It means everything that they have.

Love, executive chef and owner, opened the restaurant in the Dr. King Legacy Apartments building four months ago. Already, reservations tend to be booked about two weeks out.

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Thats remarkable with any new business in Chicago, but notably so on a street lined with vintage brick two-flats and three-flats punctuated by vacant lots where their neighbors once stood.

When Love first told me his big plans for the small restaurant, I was skeptical. Developers had promised a restaurant for the space for over a decade. Then he revealed a signature Grand Tasting menu priced high for the neighborhood, at $59.

Somehow, its working.

Five nights a week, the modern and minimalist 30-seat room fills with the people from the neighborhood, Love said. The elders from down the street. They grew up in the area, they live in the area and they just talk about how proud they are to be able to come in to an establishment in their neighborhood.

People come from all over the city too.

Theres a lot of value in that $59 dinner, which includes a nonalcoholic drink and your choice of three entrees. The tasting menu portions are big, but one-third the size of a la carte dishes so large, I cant help but think of family-style platters served on a Chinese restaurants lazy Susan.

Your server will perhaps recommend the Marsala-braised pot roast, and its side of fried Brussels sprouts. Its a good suggestion to take. The deeply delicious bowls of tender, sauced beef and crisp cruciferous greens will tempt you to eat too much, before you remember theyre just one course. Theres much more to come.

The Marsala-braised pot roast at The SoulFood Lounge is a delicious bowl of tender, sauced beef. Executive chef and owner Quentin Love opened the restaurant four months ago. (E. Jason Wambsgans / Chicago Tribune)

Thai honey-fried Brussels sprouts at The SoulFood Lounge on West 16th Street. (E. Jason Wambsgans / Chicago Tribune)

I want you to take food home for your family, or for you to have some food to eat tomorrow for lunch, said the chef. Thats the whole purpose of the portion.

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The skilled servers time each course with wave after wave of carefully plated dishes, until your table is covered in abundance.

It becomes a moment, the chef said. And hes right.

The couple on a date night at the table next to me couldnt help but turn their heads together every time a dish arrived on my table. I nearly burst out laughing when a young boy, seated with family behind the couple, received what looked hilariously like his own personal casserole. It felt like wed all ordered exactly right.

The fan-favorite dish so far remains the lobster macaroni and cheese. The familiar comfort dish is generously studded with perfectly poached seafood and gilded by a judiciously truffled Parmesan breadcrumb crust.

Truffled lobster mac and cheese at The SoulFood Lounge is a fan-favorite dish. (E. Jason Wambsgans / Chicago Tribune)

This is Loves second restaurant. At TurkeyChop Gourmet Grill, the casual restaurant he opened in Humboldt Park in 2014, the chef gave away food to people in need every Monday, with lines stretching down the street. He continued when the pandemic and protests hit.

We fed over 400,000 people, Love said. I wouldnt say it was a great thing. Thats an unfortunate thing. Were feeding different people for different reasons, for free, at a number almost close to a half a million.

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Last year, after projects involving vaccine awareness events and COVID-19 testing, the chef realized he was ready to do something different.

In June, TurkeyChop named Marissa Terry as the new chef, and she introduced her stuffed turkey legs to the menu.

As for Love, he found himself asking, Whats the next work? Whats the thing thats also connected to the mission of really healing people through food?

Thats how The SoulFood Lounge began.

I just want to make sure you understand the journey of how we went from one thing to the other, said the chef, who grew up on the South and West sides and now lives in West Humboldt Park. So you get the intentionality of why my restaurants would be smack dab in the hood.

I can only speak about the African American experience, Love said. And from the Chicago perspective. The violence has been overwhelming, especially in this area. So when you open up businesses on the thoroughfare, it instills a high level of pride from all the people in the community. Im talking about the young person too, the guy who may be affiliated with the streets.

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This is his first time going upscale, which was also done with intention, said the chef.

Im always learning about cultures and cuisine, and how to properly run a restaurant of this magnitude, he said. Its evolving every single day coming off COVID.

Maple-glazed fried chicken is served with grilled pound cake and crispy herb potatoes. (E. Jason Wambsgans / Chicago Tribune)

Perhaps paradoxically for a chef who now offers spicy maple-glazed fried chicken served with grilled housemade pound cake, Love also owns several gyms, where he leads intense classes himself.

I love helping to transform bodies that way, he said. But its nothing like having it done through food.

Its not just bodies. Hes hoping to transform communities. The chef said hes seeing change already.

Oh so we care now? Is this what were doing? Love said, laughing as he imagines the questions people in the community might be asking.

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Thats what were doing.

Samuel Savoirefaire Williams plays for diners at The SoulFood Lounge in North Lawndale on Feb. 1, 2023. (E. Jason Wambsgans / Chicago Tribune)

That care comes through with charred and buttered bounty within the catfish, crawfish and crab dish. Do note the side of fufu candied yams come mashed silky smooth, a lovely tribute to the chefs grandmothers recipe, but not the stretchy texture of the traditional West African dish I wished theyd been.

You should also try the lush Korean-inspired short ribs, more yielding than grilled galbi, served with garlicky mashed potatoes; and a smoky blackened salmon garnished by fat shrimp scampi; as well as the golden grilled pound cake finished with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and fresh berries.

The wonderful cake of the day might be caramel cake from Brown Sugar Bakery, the legendary Black woman-owned business based in the Chatham neighborhood on the South Side. Here, on the West Side, it gets dressed up with drizzles of chocolate and caramel too.

Caramel cake at The SoulFood Lounge gets dressed up with drizzles of chocolate and caramel. (E. Jason Wambsgans / Chicago Tribune)

I almost couldnt get enough of the aromatic lemonades and herbal teas infused in spa water dispensers displayed across the open kitchen window sill. A sip reveals berry and basil, mango and mint or another delicately sweetened drink. Every diner seemed to hold a cup, refilled freely, from the couple to the family to a table of teens, as if raised in a communal toast.

The SoulFood Lounge might be just a restaurant anywhere else, but here, it feels revolutionary.

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Its so much bigger than the cuisine, said the chef. Its a healing time.

The SoulFood Lounge

3804 W. 16th St.

773-799-0620

Eat. Watch. Do. Weekly What to eat. What to watch. What you need to live your best life ... now. By submitting your email to receive this newsletter, you agree to our Subscriber Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy >

thesoulfoodlounge.com

Open: 4-8:30 p.m. Wednesday to Friday; noon to 8:30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday; closed Monday and Tuesday

Prices: Entrees, $29 to $39; desserts, $9; drinks, $5

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Noise: Conversation-friendly

Accessibility: Wheelchair accessible with restroom on single level

lchu@chicagotribune.com

Big screen or home stream, takeout or dine-in, Tribune writers are here to steer you toward your next great experience. Sign up for your free weekly Eat. Watch. Do. newsletter here.
Feb. 24 will mark one year since Russia launched a large-scale attack on Ukraine, escalating the conflict that first erupted in 2014.

More than 7,000 Ukrainian civilians have been killed in the year-long war, including more than 400 kids, according to the United Nations.

Our Washington News Bureau spoke one-on-one with former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine, John Tefft.

Tefft served in the role from 2009 to 2013.

We asked Tefft what outcome he expects from the war and how long he expects it to last.

I think the honest answer is we dont know, said Tefft. Putin seems determined to try to continue to do this.

Tefft lived and worked alongside the Ukrainian people while he worked as a diplomat and said watching the destruction and death toll over the last year has been heartbreaking.

Its indescribable sadness more than anything else, said Tefft. We have a lot of friends still there. I communicate with Ukrainian employees who work at our embassy in Kyiv.

Tefft calls this a key moment in history.

Its one that Tefft said other authoritarian leaders are closely watching.

I think the longer we look at this, I think we see this is going to have not just an impact on Europe and Eastern Europe on Ukraine in particular, but its going to have broader implications, said Tefft. In places like Central Asia, the Russians are losing influence there because they are watching this horrible battle and seeing whats happened, what the Ukrainians have been able to do to the RussiansWeve got a whole new world thats coming, and we dont know yet how thats going to look. But its a critical moment for American leadership.

The Biden administration has committed around $113 billion in humanitarian, economic and military aid for Ukraine so far.

The U.S. support for Ukraine has been largely bipartisan in Congress and among Americans.

But criticism by some, particularly among Republicans, has been growing, with some questioning if the U.S. is spending too much and whether there is enough oversight of how the money is being spent.

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I would argue that this is one of those really big events in history where we have to go all in, said Tefft. Yes. Its a lot of money. I understand that. But I think its going to a really important, strategically important, purpose.

Ukraines Defense Minister has warned they believe Russia is preparing a new major attack that could coincide with the Feb. 24 one-year mark of the start of the war.

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

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By Marine Strauss

PARIS (Reuters) - France will present this week a digital-certification mechanism to oblige pornography websites to effectively control the age of viewers on their sites from September, French digital minister Jean-Noel Barrot said on Monday.

People who want to visit these websites will have to install an application for government-licensed digital certification on their mobile phones to prove that they are at least 18 years old. Sites which do not comply will risk being banned from publishing in France.

"I intend to put an end to this scandal ... In 2023, it is the end of access to pornography websites for our children," Barrot said in an interview with French daily Le Parisien.

France will become the first country in the world to take such measures, according to Barrot.

Under current legislation in France and most European countries, users have to 18 to be able to access pornography. But there is no effective control mechanism and users can simply enter a fictional birth date on their screens.

According to a 2018 OpinionWay poll published on the French government's "I protect my child against pornography" site, nearly one in three children have been exposed to pornography by the age of 12 and 62% by the age of 15.

(Reporting by Marine Strauss; Editing by GV De Clercq and Hugh Lawson)
PARIS (AP)  Frances parliament on Monday started debating a deeply controversial pension bill aiming to raise the minimum retirement age thats touched off a wave of strikes and large street demonstrations, with more protests set to come this week.

The lower house, the National Assembly, began debating the planned raising of the minimum retirement age from 62 to 64 a day before a third round of protests called by eight main workers unions, with more demonstrations planned Saturday.

French President Emmanuel Macrons government is now facing a harsh political battle in parliament that could span weeks or months.

Macron vowed to go ahead with the changes  his second presidential terms flagship legislation  which he described last week as indispensable when you compare to (other countries) in Europe.

Despite opinion polls consistently showing growing opposition to the reform and his own popularity shrinking, Macron insisted that he's living up to a key campaign pledge he made when he swept to power in 2017 and again ahead of his reelection in April.

Labor Minister Olivier Dussopt vigorously defended the bill Monday, saying: We are here! I believe deeply in this reform. We will be part of improving our social model, were not deceiving people!

Public Accounts Minister Gabriel Attal took it a step further by calling it a stark choice between reform or bankruptcy.

But left-wing opposition leaders said many voters cast their ballots for Macron without embracing his election platform, including pension reform. They argued votes for Macron in last years runoff were primarily cast to rebuff his far-right rival Marine Le Pen.

Last week, an estimated 1.27 million people took to the streets, according to authorities, more than in the first big protest day on Jan. 19. Unions and political opponents hope massive mobilization will force the government to revise its plans.

Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne said the government understands people's reluctance and concerns, but we are asking French people for a collective effort." She said the reform aims to save" the French pension system, which is expected to plunge into deficit in the coming decade in light of France's aging population.

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More than 20,000 amendments have been proposed by opposition lawmakers  mostly by the left-wing Nupes coalition.

In a parliamentary election in June, Macrons centrist alliance won the most seats but lost its majority. That led centrists to try and forge an alliance with The Republicans party, conservatives who have also in recent years tried to raise the retirement age.

The Republicans leader and lawmaker Eric Ciotti said in an interview with Le Parisien newspaper Saturday that a very large majority of his party would approve the reforms on condition that the government listens to its accurate proposals."

That would secure passage through the National Assembly and the Senate, where The Republicans have a majority.

The bill would gradually increase the minimum retirement age from 62 to 64 by 2030 and accelerate a planned measure providing that people must have worked for at least 43 years to be entitled to a full pension. It would also raise the minimum pension for a full career to 1,200 euros ($1,298) per month, among other measures.

It would allow early retirement for those who had started working between 16 and 19 years of age, as well as for workers with serious health issues.

In response to a demand by The Republicans, Borne told the Journal du Dimanche weekly newspaper that she agrees with allowing those who started working at age 20 to claim their pension at 63.

Some technical issues could complicate Macron's plans.

The government would have the legal power to enact the reforms through decrees if neither the National Assembly nor the Senate hold a vote on them before a 50-day deadline expires next month.

Analysts argue that could trigger allegations of skirting proper democratic debate in parliament on an such a major issue.

Moreover if the bill passes, the Constitutional Council is expected to rule on the reforms, possibly condensing its scope if they aren't deemed to be in line with the wider budget bill.
Nancy Pelosi and John Fetterman each received $2,900 from an FTX executive. It is unclear if the pair have given any money back. Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images; Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images; Drew Angerer/Getty Images

FTX employees donated a total of $90 million to political causes, per the NYT.

The bankrupt crypto exchange previously asked for the money to be returned in December.

Now, they're sending letters to politicians calling for it to be sent back by February 28.

Bankrupt FTX is asking politicians and political action committees to return donations made by company employees by the end of the month.

The bankrupt crypto exchange said Sunday that it is contacting anyone who received payments made by Sam Bankman-Fried, other FTX executives, or any of the affiliated companies that have filed for bankruptcy. In total, FTX employees donated $90 million to politicians, per The New York Times, and the debtors are trying to claim that back to reimburse customers.

FTX CEO and founder Sam Bankman-Fried's previously donated $40 million to Democratic causes, making him the party's second-largest donor ahead of the 2022 midterm elections, behind only George Soros' $128 million, per OpenSecrets. Bankman-Fried also said he donated just as much to Republican causes, using "dark money" to avoid criticism.

After Bankman-Fried, the former CEO of FTX's Bahamas company, Ryan Salame, donated $23 million  making him the 15th top donor in the US, per OpenSecrets. OpenSecrets also shows that Nishad Singh, FTX's former director of engineering, whose 7.8% stake in FTX was worth $572 million last March, donated $7.9 million.

The lawyers handling FTX's bankruptcy first requested the donations be returned in December. But in January, CoinDesk reported that just five of the 196 politicians who received money from FTX said they had successfully returned it.

FTX added that if the payments aren't returned by February 28, the politicians could be taken to the bankruptcy court with interest added on.

Well-known politicians Nancy Pelosi and John Fetterman were among the donor recipients who had not yet returned funds as of mid-January, according to CoinDesk. It was unclear at the time of publication if either had returned any donations.

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Insider reached out to these individuals for further comment but did not immediately hear back.

According to the Federal Electoral Commission, Pelosi and Fetterman each received $2,900 from Singh. He also received a $543 million loan from Alameda, per bankruptcy filings, previously reported by Insider.

JD Vance  the Peter Thiel-backed Republican associated with the "New Right"  received $2,900 from Salame per the FEC. Salame was the first executive to blow the whistle on FTX's alleged commingling of customer funds.

CoinDesk reports that Vance donated the money to a non-profit, but FTX has warned that this "does not prevent the FTX debtors from seeking recovery."

Bankman-Fried has pleaded not guilty to eight criminal charges, including campaign finance violations and conspiracy to defraud the United States.

Authorities are also looking into whether Bankman-Fried's younger brother, Gabe, had any role in the alleged campaign finance scheme, The New York Times reported.

Read the original article on Business Insider
FTX told the political world Sunday the bankrupt crypto exchange wants its money back, after millions of dollars flowed into the hands of candidates and action committees under the direction of founder and former CEO Sam Bankman-Fried or others in his regime.

FTXs newly-appointed CEO John John Jay Ray III, who was installed to oversee the exchange's Chapter 11 bankruptcy after it collapsed in November, had previously said that donations linked to the exchange should be returned.

But Sundays statement was firmer, requesting contributions or other payments to be returned by Feb. 28, and echoing a previous warning that the company would go after funds not returned voluntarily through legal means with interest accruing from the date any action is commenced.

The FTX Debtors are sending confidential messages to political figures, political action funds, and other recipients of contributions or other payments, the press release states.

The company also reiterated that recipients whove donated funds connected to FTX to third parties like charities are not off the hook, and that the company will still seek to recover the money regardless.

FTX Now Seeking 'Prompt Return' of Sam Bankman-Fried's Political Donations

FTX, once valued at $32 billion, filed for bankruptcy last year following a steep drop in the price of its exchange token FTT that sparked a run on the exchange and ultimately revealed that it did not have sufficient reserves of customer assets as it failed to honor withdrawals.

Bankman-Fried was later arrested and charged with eight financial crimes, such as securities fraud, money laundering, and campaign finance violations by federal prosecutors in the Southern District of New York.

While Bankman-Fried has pleaded not guilty to the series of charges and his trial is set for October, hes been accused of misappropriating billions of dollars worth of customer funds to fuel activity at his trading firm Alameda Research, purchase private real estate, and donate to political campaigns.

Story continues

Before his crypto empire imploded, Bankman-Fried had been public about his support of Democratic candidates and was one of the partys largest donors in the 2020 election cycle. Last month, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre refused to comment on whether President Joe Biden would return funds he received as a candidate.

The disgraced crypto mogul revealed that he also gave money to Republican candidates in an interview with influencer Tiffany Fong, claiming he "donated about the same amount to both parties."

"All my Republican donations were dark," he noted, referring to contributions where the source of funds is not disclosed. He said the donations were kept discrete because journalists "freak the fuck out if you donate to Republicans.

Major Democratic PAC to Return $3M in FTX Executive Donations: Report

A public spreadsheet maintained by OpenSecrets.org, a nonprofit that monitors U.S. campaign finance and lobbying, has tracked more than $84 million in donations to political candidates and organizations between Bankman-Fried, former FTX co-CEO Ryan Salame, and FTXs former head of engineering Nishad Singh.

Last month, documents filed with the Federal Election Commission revealed multiple high-level employees that had worked for FTX maxed out campaign donations to George Santos (R-NY), the congressman that faces public scrutiny for statements about his past that are allegedly false.

And some politicians have moved to return funds they received from Bankman-Fried, such as former representative Beto ORourke (D-TX), who said he returned a $1 million donation just before the exchange filed for bankruptcy.

Other officials, including Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), have stated theyll make donations to charities in amounts that match funds they received in connection to FTX. The offices of senators Durbin and Gillibrand did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Decrypt.

But the extent to which candidates and political groups benefitted from FTX and its affiliates may not become entirely clear until after the newly-established deadline, depending on what actions the bankrupt exchange will take.
AUSTIN, Texas (AP)  Like thousands of other Austin residents, Darin Murphy began a sixth day Monday with no power in his home, wrapping his head around the city's latest demoralizing update: Getting the lights fully back on may take another week.

We are planning for worst-case scenario, he said.

Making any plans has been difficult  and downright infuriating  for nearly 20,000 customers who still had no electricity Monday nearly a week after a deadly ice storm crippled the Texas capital and brought down power lines under the weight of fallen and frozen tree limbs. Schools finally reopened, but noisy generators rattled before dawn and outdoor extension cords running 100 feet (30 meters) or longer became lifelines between neighbors who had power and those who didn't.

The boiling frustration over the slow pace of restoring power, and officials repeatedly saying they could not offer timetables for repairs, escalated Monday as the future of Austin's top city executive plunged into jeopardy even as the number of outages continued falling.

Austin Mayor Kirk Watson, a Democrat, called a meeting for this week that will put City Manager Spencer Cronk's job on the line. The move reflected the rising discontent in America's 11th-largest city, where late Sunday night, Austin Energy issued a statement in the face of growing criticism that full power restoration may not happen until Feb. 12  nearly two weeks after the outages began.

To all our Austin citizens who are furious about the ongoing power outage, youre right, Watson tweeted. There must be accountability.

Cronk, who oversees city staff, responded by telling reporters he was focused on the storm recovery and restoring power. Watson did not outright say whether he thinks Cronk should be fired but said Thursday's meeting would evaluate the employment" of the city manager.

For the vast majority of Austin residents, the lights were on Monday or never went out in the first place. At the peak of the outages, about 170,000 homes and businesses  nearly a third of utility customers in Austin  had no electricity, and in many cases, no heat. By Monday, the outages were down to about 4% of all customers.

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But in neighborhoods still without power, familiar scenes unfolded.

Spoiled food piled up in trash bins. Power outlets in coffee shops and restaurants were snatched up by people charging battery packs and devices. And on text message groups and social media apps, the sights of repair crews were treated as urgent developments.

Katy Manganella, 37, grew so fed up that when Austin Energy came to her neighborhood Sunday with a charging station for residents  but still no repair trucks  she paced in front of the station holding a poster that read, This pregnant lady is over it!

Its been pretty miserable, said Manganella, a therapist who is seven months pregnant and was unable to work last week because of the outages. How is there no plan for this?

Austin Energy has described the remaining outages as the most complicated and time-consuming. The storm plunged temperatures near or below freezing and coated trees with ice across Austin, weighing down branches that eventually snapped and crashed onto power lines. Iced-over equipment and crews driving on slick roads also slowed recovery efforts, according to city officials.

Crews have also come across irate customers out in the field, said Craig Brooks, director of operations for Austin Energy, including one instance in which police were called. He did not provide specifics about the encounters, describing them as, Some verbal. Some people protecting their property.

The utility warned Monday that a new front of high winds and potential storms starting Tuesday could further hamper restoration efforts.
Rep. George Santos, the embattled Republican Congressman from Long Island, has now been accused of sexual misconduct and an ethics violation by a prospective staffer, who detailed the allegations on Twitter on Friday.

"This is not about attention; it's about holding the actions accountable," the accuser, 30-year-old Derek Myers, told CBS News.

Santos' congressional office referred questions to his attorney, Joe Murray, who declined to comment.

According to a letter Myers sent the House Ethics Committee, the 34-year-old Santos allegedly asked him on Jan. 25 if he had a profile on Grindr, a popular LGBTQ+ dating app. Santos then allegedly told Myers that he had a profile on Grindr, Myers said in the letter.

Rep. George Santos (R-NY) leaves the U.S. Capitol on January 12, 2023 in Washington, DC. / Credit: Win McNamee/Getty Images

Later that day, Myers alleged that he was in Santos' office reviewing mail, and Santos invited him to sit next to him on a sofa.

"I proceeded to move forward with a discussion about the mail, but the Congressman stopped me by placing his hand on my left leg, near my knee and saying, 'Hey buddy, we're going to karaoke tonight. Would you like to go?'" Myers wrote in the letter.

Myers said he declined the invitation, and that Santos then allegedly "proceeded to take his hand and move it down my leg into my inner-thigh and proceeded to touch my groin." Myers said Santos told him that his husband was out of town, and then invited him over.

"I quickly pushed the Congressman's hand away and grabbed the mail from the table and proceeded to discuss the topic of constituent correspondence," Myers said in the letter. "Shortly thereafter, I left the personal office and returned to my desk."

Myers wrote that days later, on Jan. 30, he was called into the congressman's office and asked about his "background as a journalist."

"I was questioned about matters that had already been disclosed in my conversations with hiring managers from the Congressman's office prior to my job offer. On Wednesday, Feb. 1, I was informed that my job offer was being rescinded."

Story continues

When asked to describe Santos' office, Myers remembered the neatness of the papers, the plentiful green Post-It notes, and the CLIF bars on the coffee table  though, as he says, "I was never in there to admire the decor."

Last year, Myers, the editor-in-chief of local Ohio news website Scioto Valley Guardian, was charged with felony wiretapping by the Pike County Sheriff's office after his outlet published audio leaked from a murder trial. The Committee to Protect Journalists denounced the charges.

Myers says he pleaded not guilty, and after 60 days of no indictment being brought, the case was automatically dismissed under Ohio's criminal rules of procedure.

When asked why he would want to work with Santos, Myers told CBS News, "Congressman Santos doesn't have many people knocking down his door asking for a job. The people of the district still deserve quality representation and the staff is the one who does all the work."

Myers tweeted the letter requesting an investigation from the House Ethics committee, and also said he has filed a police report with the Capitol police.

"Sexual assault is not something anyone should be subjected; no matter the level," Myers told CBS News.

"There are victims of violent assaults who have to live with trauma everyday for the rest of their lives because they were taken advantage," Myers said. "My brush with assault was non-violent and my thoughts are with those who have to live with nightmares from their horrific experiences. No one, no matter the extent, should be violated."

These matters will not be litigated on social media or through news media. They are serious offenses and the evidence and facts will speak for themselves if the committee takes up the matter. This tweet is being made public in light of transparency. pic.twitter.com/oSs4F3xyqc  Derek Myers (@DerekMyers) February 3, 2023

Myers wrote on Twitter he has chosen to be "public in light of transparency," but he told CBS News that ultimately, "the matter will hopefully be handled by the appropriate bodies and not litigated through the news media."

Myers made a point of telling CBS News about the significance of his allegations, which could potentially be used to oust Santos from his congressional position.

"All the previous allegations and ethical complaints filed against him by outside agencies and other members of Congress mostly pertain to his conduct prior to taking the oath and arguably can't be used to expel," Myers said. "The claims I have filed have occurred while he has held office."

While Myers doesn't believe that much will be done to remove Santos from office this term under a Republican majority, he thinks Santos is unlikely to win reelection.

Myers alleged that after being offered a role in Santos' office in January, he was given the title of "volunteer" until his paperwork was processed "through the payroll" department. He said his responsibilities included escorting Santos, answering phones, writing to constituents and other duties.

"My complaint pertains to violations of House Ethics in which I was an unpaid volunteer performing staff duties with the promise of employment and compensation, only to be released after several days of work without compensation," wrote Myers.

"Since this, I have learned that such volunteer work within a Congressional office without the correct procedures being followed is a violation of House Ethics," wrote Myers in his letter to the House committee.

According to the House Ethics Committee website, a House office can accept temporary volunteer services  where a volunteer is defined as "an individual performing services in a House office without compensation from any source"  only if there is a program in place to assure that "(1) the voluntary service is of significant educational benefit to the participant; and (2) such voluntary assistance does not supplant the normal and regular duties of paid employees."

Myers provided emails dated Jan. 24 from Santos' chief of staff, Charley Lovett, which showed that Myers was offered the role of "staff assistant for the Office of George Santos," with an agreed-upon salary of $50,000 a year, plus benefits. The emails also show Myers agreeing to "volunteer" in Santos' office until his onboarding paperwork had been approved.

An email exchange between Myers and Santos Chief of Staff, Charley Lovett. / Credit: Derek Myers

An email exchange between Myers and Santos Chief of Staff, Charley Lovett. / Credit: Derek Myers

"I simply want to be in the room and help," Myers told Lovett.

Santos has claimed that Myers' previous history of wiretapping was cause for the rescinding of his job offer. On Thursday, Santos told news outlet Semafor that he expected Myers to publish recorded conversations between the two online, saying that Myers "violated the trust that we had in him."

The next day, Talking Points Memo published audio recordings between the two, provided by Myers himself, in which Santos gave Myers an opportunity to explain his previous charges before ultimately firing him.

"We know that the hiring managers and senior staff were aware of my history as a journalist and the 2022 controversy, which is what the Congressman cited as the reason to let me go," Myers told CBS News. "He claims this fully-disclosed 2022 chapter in my previous job was the reason for my dismissal, despite it being disclosed before an offer was made in the interview phase." Myers reiterated the disclosure in his letter to the House as well.

"These matters will hopefully be appropriately addressed by the police and the Ethics Committee, respectively, in due time," Myers said.

An officer at the Capitol Police told Myers that his report had been received, and "forwarded to CIS for further processing."

Rep. Susan Wild, D-Pa., a ranking member of the House Ethics Committee, confirmed to CBS News that the committee had received Myers' letter.

The Capitol Police told CBS News on Monday that they "could not discuss any potential investigations."

Ill forever be grateful for the friendship I have with @VishBurra. The man, himself pictured here, always working and grinding. No surprise theres a phone glued to his ear. pic.twitter.com/qrvmBjLL68  Derek Myers (@DerekMyers) February 2, 2023

When asked whether he believed that he was removed from Santos' office as a form of retaliation for the alleged sexual misconduct, Myers said, "Unfortunately, I have no evidence to support the true motive. The timing certainly raises the prospect of the answer being 'yes.'"

Santos, who was elected to Congress in November, has been mired in multiple controversies ignited by revelations that he fabricated parts of his biography.

New York State and federal prosecutors have announced investigations related to Santos, and he is the target of complaints to the Federal Election Commission and the House Ethics Committee over alleged campaign spending.

The FBI is also investigating Santos' alleged role in an effort to raise funds for a veteran's dying dog, a representative for the veteran told CBS News on Wednesday.

Santos recused himself from serving on House committees earlier this week.

On where he goes from here, Myers believes that these allegations will have a permanent impact on his future in politics.

"With this, my career on the Hill  thanks to Congressman Santos  is over," he told CBS News. "These are not light allegations; they are very serious. Filing a police report is serious; filing a false police report is a crime."

"This is why many people subjected to unwanted advances don't come forward; it's a career killer."

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Embattled Republican congressman George Santos latest resume fabrication has now come to light  and its perhaps one of his most bizarre.

During his run for Congress, Mr Santos allegedly told prospective donors that he had been a producer on Broadways Spider-Man: Turn Off The Dark musical, multiple sources told Bloomberg.

Michael Cohl, the actual lead producer of show  which ran from 2011 to 2014 after a somewhat unsuccessful run  has confirmed to the outlet hat Mr Santos never worked on the musical.

This marks just the latest in a growing list of lies pushed by the New York congressman on his campaign run.

It comes as he is also facing accusations of sexual harassment and ethics violations from a prospective staffer.

Derek Myers, who claims he briefly worked in Mr Santoss office and had a job offer rescinded, sent a letter to the House Committee on Ethics on Friday alleging the congressman invited him to karaoke and touched his groin. He also claims that the congressman asked if he had an account on Grindr, a popular queer dating app.

Key points

George Santos admits he obviously f***** up

Santos treasurer quits campaign  days after he falsely named a new one

FEC sends letter to Santos campaign requesting answers after treasurer change

George Santos stands down from House committees

George Santos latest resume fabrication: producing Spiderman on Broadway

George Santos admits Ive obviously f***ed up in secretly recorded tapes

22:55 , John Bowden

A bizzare new saga has opened up in the seemingly unending spiral that has become George Santoss arrival on Capitol Hill after a reporter published leaked audio from the congressmans office on Thurdsay evening.

The audio, obtained and published by Talking Points Memo, was reportedly recorded in the congressional office of Mr Santos without the congressman or his staffs permission.

In the clip, the reporter (Derek Myers) is informed that his potential position with the Santos office will not be moving forward following a review of his background, and in particular a legal case that arose from the course of his reporting.

Story continues

George Santos admits Ive obviously f***ed up in secretly recorded tapes

George Santos embarrassing karaoke account

21:55 , Alex Woodward

What appears to be the karaoke account of scandal-ridden congressman George Santos has been unearthed on the singing app Smule.

The account is registered under the name georgedevolder, according to Rolling Stone. Mr Santoss full name is George Anthony Devolder Santos.

Gift that keeps on giving: George Santos karaoke account has been revealed

George Santos latest resume lie? He produced Spider-Man on Broadway

20:15 , John Bowden

George Santos has yet another accusation of deceiving people for campaign donations to answer for.

The latest accusations come from Bloomberg, which reports that the congressman himself told multiple people that he was involved in the production of the Broadway flop Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark during his bid for a House seat in 2022  a false fact that was apparently part of his pitch for donations.

The news triggered a statement of condemnation from the shows actual producers, who reached out to Entertainment Weekly through a spokesperson  read it, here, in The Independent:

George Santos latest resume lie? He produced Spider-Man on Broadway

Lincoln Project attacks Elise Stefanik over Santos support

19:08 , John Bowden

The conservative anti-Trump group The Lincoln Project is out with a new ad attacking House Republican Caucus chair Elise Stefanik over her support for George Santoss campaign in 2022 even as rumours were already circulating about his many deceptions.

Watch it on YouTube:

George Santos office vandalised with graffiti

18:19 , John Bowden

New York Congressman George Santos woke up to another piece of bad news last week.

Police said on Friday that his local district office in New Yorks 3rd Congressional District, which includes parts of Long Island and Queens, was vandalised with graffiti which used expletives in multiple languages to describe the scandal-ridden Republican.

George Santos is [s***], the scrawling reportedly read in three languages  Mandarin, Greek, and Spanish.

The congressman confirmed the graffitiying in a statement to CNBC.

Read more:

George Santos campaign spent more than $26,000 at Italian restaurant  enough for 1,700 Margherita pizzas

16:08 , John Bowden

According to his campaign finance disclosures, George Santos team managed to spend more than $26,000 at a single Italian resturaunt since his first run for Congress in 2020.

The campaign held 32 different events at Il Bacco Ristorante Italiano, a typical haunt for a number of New York Republicans, including events it listed as fundraisers and dinner meetings.

On at least seven occasions, he ate meals at the restaurant that cost exactly $199.99  one cent shy of the $200 threshold at which campaigns are required to submit reciepts for their spending.

George Santos campaign spent more than $26,000 at an Italian restaurant in Queens

George Santos offers bizarre explanation to tweet stating 9/11 claimed his mothers life

15:00 , Andrea Blanco

Speaking to One America News Network, the representative for New Yorks third congressional district addressed a 2021 tweet in which he said that 9/11 claimed [his] mothers life. The post, and another tweet in which Mr Santos later said that his mother died on 23 December 2016, resurfaced last year along with many inconsistencies in his resume and now-debunked remarks made by him.

Mr Santos said he never claimed his mother died on the day of the terror attacks, but that she had died as a result of [them].

George Santos accused of ethics violations and sexual harassment by would-be aide

Would-be aide accuses George Santos of ethics violations and sexual harassment

14:00 , Andrea Blanco

Journalist Derek Myers made the allegations in a letter to the House Committee on Ethics on Friday. Mr Myers worked in Mr Santos Office from 24 January until he was terminated earlier this week because he is facing criminal wiretapping charges in Ohio, The New York Times reported.

Mr Myers said that while they went through mail from constituents on 25 January, Mr Santos asked him whether he was on the dating app Grindr, with the congressman allegedly sharing that he had a profile. Mr Myers claimed that Mr Santos asked him to sit closer and allegedly started touching his leg.

Read the story:

George Santos accused of ethics violations and sexual harassment by would-be aide

George Santos campaign spent more than $26,000 at Italian restaurant  enough for 1,700 Margherita pizzas

13:00 , Alex Woodward

According to his campaign finance disclosures, George Santos team managed to spend more than $26,000 at a single Italian resturaunt since his first run for Congress in 2020.

The campaign held 32 different events at Il Bacco Ristorante Italiano, a typical haunt for a number of New York Republicans, including events it listed as fundraisers and dinner meetings.

On at least seven occasions, he ate meals at the restaurant that cost exactly $199.99  one cent shy of the $200 threshold at which campaigns are required to submit reciepts for their spending.

George Santos campaign spent more than $26,000 at an Italian restaurant in Queens

George Santos latest resume fabrication: producing Spiderman on Broadway

12:00 , Rachel Sharp

Embattled Republican congressman George Santos latest resume fabrication has now come to light  and its perhaps one of his most bizarre.

During his run for Congress, Mr Santos allegedly told prospective donors that he had been a producer on Broadways Spider-Man: Turn Off The Dark musical, multiple sources told Bloomberg.

Michael Cohl, the actual lead producer of show  which ran from 2011 to 2014 after a somewhat unsuccessful run  has confirmed to the outlet hat Mr Santos never worked on the musical.

Show spokesperson Rick Miramontez also told Entertainment Weekly in a statement: Of all the tribulations the producers of Spider-Man: Turn Off The Dark had to endure, we are very pleased, proud and relieved to report working with George Santos was not one of them.

This marks just the latest in a growing list of lies pushed by the New York congressman on his campaign run.

George Santos treasurer jumps ship amid probes into campaign finances

11:00 , Alex Woodward

George Santos campaign treasurer has resigned as the New York Republican congressman faces probes from the US Department of Justice about campaign finance irregularities.

His now-former treasurer Nancy Marks submitted a letter to the Federal Election Commission signifying that she resigned her position as Mr Santos campaign treasurer.

George Santos treasurer jumps ship amid probes into campaign finances

Heres how George Santos could still be removed from office

09:00 , Alex Woodward

The congressmans colleagues in the House could end up being the final arbiters of judgement for the scandal-ridden New York Republican.

Despite wave after wave of revelations surrounding his past and present fictions and lies, the embattled congressman has remained adamant that he will remain in office. Even in the face of members of his own party calling for his ouster, Mr Santos has stood firm.

But none of that may matter if the machinations of the US House of Representatives conspire against him.

The Independents John Bowden explains:

Heres how George Santos could still be removed from office

'Ive obviously f***ed up and lied to him, like I lied to everyone else

07:00 , Alex Woodward

In recordings obtained and published by Talking Points Memo from inside the congressional office of George Santos, the New York Republican makes some of the most self-aware comments about the scope of his deceptions that he has made in any setting so far.

George Santos admits Ive obviously f***ed up in secretly recorded tapes

A timeline of George Santos many scandals

05:00 , Alex Woodward

Dogged by surely one of the oddest scandals to hit American politics in the last few years, George Santos was facing calls for his expulsion and resignation even before he was seated as representative for New Yorks 3rd Congressional District.

As he concludes his first month in the chamber, lets take a look back at how this scandal evolved, from the beginning to now:

From first questions to GOP rebukes : A timeline of George Santos many scandals

The lies George Santos has been accused of telling

03:00 , Alex Woodward

It can be difficult keeping up with the list of fictions that George Santos has been accused of telling, admitted telling, or merely been caught spinning red-handed following a contradictory statement.

But, do not fret: The Independent is here, and were keeping track of the whole list of lies even as it continues to grow  both in number and in the sheer scale of the humiliation that it presents for not just Mr Santos, who remains adamant that he will serve two years in office as representative for New Yorks third district, but for the Republican House caucus as a whole.

Every lie George Santos has been accused of making

'Give him some credit, George Santos has performed a valuable public service

01:00 , Alex Woodward

The Independents Richard Hall writes:

Kevin McCarthy was faced with a choice: He could listen to the Republicans who live and work in the district Santos now represents and remove the imposter from the United States Congress  weakening himself further in the process  or he could ignore the problem entirely. In choosing the latter, McCarthy reaffirmed the lengths to which he is willing to go to maintain his tenuous grip on his party. It tells us something about the state of the Republican Party, and perhaps Congress, that a conman can be allowed to sit in the most powerful legislative body in the world, to cast his vote on matters of life and death and war, in the interests of serving one party.

Give him some credit, George Santos has performed a valuable public service

FBI interviews veteran who says George Santos took money intended for dying dog

Sunday 5 February 2023 23:00 , Alex Woodward

Federal law enforcement agents are reportedly investigating claims that George Santos raised money to pay for surgery for a Navy veterans dying dog before allegedly disappearing with the money.

FBI interviews veteran who says George Santos took money intended for dying dog

Heres how George Santos could still be removed from office

Sunday 5 February 2023 21:00 , Alex Woodward

The congressmans colleagues in the House could end up being the final arbiters of judgement for the scandal-ridden New York Republican.

Despite wave after wave of revelations surrounding his past and present fictions and lies, the embattled congressman has remained adamant that he will remain in office. Even in the face of members of his own party calling for his ouster, Mr Santos has stood firm.

But none of that may matter if the machinations of the US House of Representatives conspire against him.

The Independents John Bowden explains:

Heres how George Santos could still be removed from office

Watch: All the times comedians impersonated George Santos

Sunday 5 February 2023 19:00 , Alex Woodward

George Santos clarifies tweet stating 9/11 claimed his mothers life, says she died of toxic dust in 2016

Sunday 5 February 2023 18:00 , Andrea Blanco

Embattled congressman George Santos is now saying that his mother, whom he previously claimed died in the 9/11 terrorist attacks, actually died as a result of toxic dust from 9/11 in yet another bizarre explanation.

In his first sit-down interview since taking office, Mr Santos said he never claimed his mother died on the day of the terror attacks, but that she had died as a result of [them].

The toxic dust that permeated throughout Manhattan and my mother being present, downtown Manhattan  that is was what I was referencing, Mr Santos told OANs Caitlin Sinclair in an interview that was published in full on Saturday. My mom died in home-hospice in 2016.

Read more:

George Santos clarifies controversial tweet stating 9/11 claimed his mothers life

George Santos and the fascinating psychology of compulsive liars

Sunday 5 February 2023 17:00 , Alex Woodward

He seems to have lied about everything, from the straightforward to the utterly absurd. The Independents Holly Baxter speaks to experts on lying  and reports on why we all become complicit when a prolific liar reels us in:

George Santos and the fascinating psychology of compulsive liars

George Santos accused of ethics violations and sexual harassment by would-be aide

Sunday 5 February 2023 15:21 , Andrea Blanco

Journalist Derek Myers made the allegations in a letter to the House Committee on Ethics on Friday. Mr Myers worked in Mr Santos Office from 24 January until he was terminated earlier this week because he is facing criminal wiretapping charges in Ohio, The New York Times reported.

Read the story:

George Santos accused of ethics violations and sexual harassment by would-be aide

A timeline of George Santos many scandals

Sunday 5 February 2023 15:00 , Alex Woodward

Dogged by surely one of the oddest scandals to hit American politics in the last few years, George Santos was facing calls for his expulsion and resignation even before he was seated as representative for New Yorks 3rd Congressional District.

As he concludes his first month in the chamber, lets take a look back at how this scandal evolved, from the beginning to now:

From first questions to GOP rebukes : A timeline of George Santos many scandals

In George Santoss district, setting of The Great Gatsby, cries of imposter abound

Sunday 5 February 2023 14:00 , Alex Woodward

Nearly 100 years after F Scott Fitzgerald set The Great Gatsby in these same opulent shores, the 34-year-old Republican congressman has once again drawn the eyes of the world onto the eastward-stretching leg of New York City, and invited comparisons to the titular character of that Great American Novel along the way.

Where Jay Gatsby ultimately failed in his efforts, Santos succeeded in his. A man who repeatedly lied about his own history, from claiming his mother died on 9/11, to falsifying his education and net worth  not for love, but for donations, votes and influence  was elected to a seat in one of the most powerful legislative bodies in the world.

So, how did he do it? How did he fool so many people? How did no one know? The truth is, many did. But no one listened to them.

The Independents Richard Hall reports from Long Island:

In George Santoss district, setting of The Great Gatsby, cries of imposter abound

ICYMI: George Santos admits Ive obviously f***ed up in secretly recorded tapes

Sunday 5 February 2023 13:00 , Alex Woodward

A bizzare new saga has opened up in the seemingly unending spiral that has become George Santoss arrival on Capitol Hill after a reporter published leaked audio from the congressmans office on Thurdsay evening.

The audio, obtained and published by Talking Points Memo, was reportedly recorded in the congressional office of Mr Santos without the congressman or his staffs permission.

In the clip, the reporter (Derek Myers) is informed that his potential position with the Santos office will not be moving forward following a review of his background, and in particular a legal case that arose from the course of his reporting.

George Santos admits Ive obviously f***ed up in secretly recorded tapes

George Santos campaign spent more than $26,000 at Italian restaurant  enough for 1,700 Margherita pizzas

Sunday 5 February 2023 11:00 , Alex Woodward

According to his campaign finance disclosures, George Santos team managed to spend more than $26,000 at a single Italian resturaunt since his first run for Congress in 2020.

The campaign held 32 different events at Il Bacco Ristorante Italiano, a typical haunt for a number of New York Republicans, including events it listed as fundraisers and dinner meetings.

On at least seven occasions, he ate meals at the restaurant that cost exactly $199.99  one cent shy of the $200 threshold at which campaigns are required to submit reciepts for their spending.

George Santos campaign spent more than $26,000 at an Italian restaurant in Queens

Watch: The imposter in Congress

Sunday 5 February 2023 09:00 , Alex Woodward

The Independents senior US correspondent Richard Hall visited Long Island and Nassau County to find the real George Santos for the latest episode of On the Ground.

Tucker Carlson defends George Santos in sarcastic attack on the press

Sunday 5 February 2023 07:00 , Alex Woodward

In a Thursday night rant, one of the most-watched cable hosts in the US suggested that journalists have elevated the congressman  who was elected to represent a district of nearly 800,000 people  from relative obscurity to become the single most dangerous and historically significant figure on the global stage.

Ignoring some of the most egregious allegations and fabrications involving Mr Santos, who is under federal scrutiny and the subject of serious campaign finance complaints, Tucker Carlson instead fixated on his claims about his collegiate volleyball experience, sarcastically labelling them a tissue of lies constructed to deceive the American people.

Tucker Carlson defends George Santos in sarcastic attack on the press

A timeline of George Santos many scandals

Sunday 5 February 2023 05:00 , Alex Woodward

Dogged by surely one of the oddest scandals to hit American politics in the last few years, George Santos was facing calls for his expulsion and resignation even before he was seated as representative for New Yorks 3rd Congressional District.

As he concludes his first month in the chamber, lets take a look back at how this scandal evolved, from the beginning to now:

From first questions to GOP rebukes : A timeline of George Santos many scandals

FBI interviews veteran who says George Santos took money intended for dying dog

Sunday 5 February 2023 03:00 , Alex Woodward

Federal law enforcement agents are reportedly investigating claims that George Santos raised money to pay for surgery for a Navy veterans dying dog before allegedly disappearing with the money.

FBI interviews veteran who says George Santos took money intended for dying dog

The lies George Santos has been accused of telling

Sunday 5 February 2023 01:00 , Alex Woodward

It can be difficult keeping up with the list of fictions that George Santos has been accused of telling, admitted telling, or merely been caught spinning red-handed following a contradictory statement.

But, do not fret: The Independent is here, and were keeping track of the whole list of lies even as it continues to grow  both in number and in the sheer scale of the humiliation that it presents for not just Mr Santos, who remains adamant that he will serve two years in office as representative for New Yorks third district, but for the Republican House caucus as a whole.

Every lie George Santos has been accused of making

Watch: All the times comedians impersonated George Santos

Saturday 4 February 2023 23:00 , Alex Woodward

Heres how George Santos could still be removed from office

Saturday 4 February 2023 21:00 , Alex Woodward

The congressmans colleagues in the House could end up being the final arbiters of judgement for the scandal-ridden New York Republican.

Despite wave after wave of revelations surrounding his past and present fictions and lies, the embattled congressman has remained adamant that he will remain in office. Even in the face of members of his own party calling for his ouster, Mr Santos has stood firm.

But none of that may matter if the machinations of the US House of Representatives conspire against him.

The Independents John Bowden explains:

Heres how George Santos could still be removed from office

George Santos and the fascinating psychology of compulsive liars

Saturday 4 February 2023 19:00 , Alex Woodward

He seems to have lied about everything, from the straightforward to the utterly absurd. The Independents Holly Baxter speaks to experts on lying  and why we all become complicit when a prolific liar reels us in:

George Santos and the fascinating psychology of compulsive liars

George Santos embarrassing karaoke account

Saturday 4 February 2023 17:00 , Alex Woodward

What appears to be the karaoke account of scandal-ridden congressman George Santos has been unearthed on the singing app Smule.

The account is registered under the name georgedevolder, according to Rolling Stone. Mr Santoss full name is George Anthony Devolder Santos.

Gift that keeps on giving: George Santos karaoke account has been revealed

FBI interviews veteran who says George Santos took money intended for dying dog

Saturday 4 February 2023 15:00 , Alex Woodward

Federal law enforcement agents are reportedly investigating claims that George Santos raised money to pay for surgery for a Navy veterans dying dog before allegedly disappearing with the money.

FBI interviews veteran who says George Santos took money intended for dying dog

In George Santoss district, setting of The Great Gatsby, cries of imposter abound

Saturday 4 February 2023 14:00 , Alex Woodward

Nearly 100 years after F Scott Fitzgerald set The Great Gatsby in these same opulent shores, the 34-year-old Republican congressman has once again drawn the eyes of the world onto the eastward-stretching leg of New York City, and invited comparisons to the titular character of that Great American Novel along the way.

Where Jay Gatsby ultimately failed in his efforts, Santos succeeded in his. A man who repeatedly lied about his own history, from claiming his mother died on 9/11, to falsifying his education and net worth  not for love, but for donations, votes and influence  was elected to a seat in one of the most powerful legislative bodies in the world.

So, how did he do it? How did he fool so many people? How did no one know? The truth is, many did. But no one listened to them.

The Independents Richard Hall reports from Long Island:

In George Santoss district, setting of The Great Gatsby, cries of imposter abound

Give him some credit, George Santos has performed a valuable public service

Saturday 4 February 2023 13:00 , Alex Woodward

The Independents Richard Hall writes:

Kevin McCarthy was faced with a choice: He could listen to the Republicans who live and work in the district Santos now represents and remove the imposter from the United States Congress  weakening himself further in the process  or he could ignore the problem entirely. In choosing the latter, McCarthy reaffirmed the lengths to which he is willing to go to maintain his tenuous grip on his party. It tells us something about the state of the Republican Party, and perhaps Congress, that a conman can be allowed to sit in the most powerful legislative body in the world, to cast his vote on matters of life and death and war, in the interests of serving one party.

Give him some credit, George Santos has performed a valuable public service

George Santos admits Ive obviously f***ed up in secretly recorded tapes

Saturday 4 February 2023 11:00 , Alex Woodward

A bizzare new saga has opened up in the seemingly unending spiral that has become George Santoss arrival on Capitol Hill after a reporter published leaked audio from the congressmans office on Thurdsay evening.

The audio, obtained and published by Talking Points Memo, was reportedly recorded in the congressional office of Mr Santos without the congressman or his staffs permission.

In the clip, the reporter (Derek Myers) is informed that his potential position with the Santos office will not be moving forward following a review of his background, and in particular a legal case that arose from the course of his reporting.

George Santos admits Ive obviously f***ed up in secretly recorded tapes

A timeline of George Santos many scandals

Saturday 4 February 2023 09:00 , Alex Woodward

Dogged by surely one of the oddest scandals to hit American politics in the last few years, George Santos was facing calls for his expulsion and resignation even before he was seated as representative for New Yorks 3rd Congressional District.

As he concludes his first month in the chamber, lets take a look back at how this scandal evolved, from the beginning to now:

From first questions to GOP rebukes : A timeline of George Santos many scandals

Watching: 'The imposter in Congress

Saturday 4 February 2023 08:00 , Alex Woodward

The Independents senior US correspondent Richard Hall visited Long Island and Nassau County to find the real George Santos for the latest episode of On the Ground.

Tucker Carlson defends George Santos in sarcastic attack on the press

Saturday 4 February 2023 07:00 , Alex Woodward

In a Thursday night rant, one of the most-watched cable hosts in the US suggested that journalists have elevated the congressman  who was elected to represent a district of nearly 800,000 people  from relative obscurity to become the single most dangerous and historically significant figure on the global stage.

Ignoring some of the most egregious allegations and fabrications involving Mr Santos, who is under federal scrutiny and the subject of serious campaign finance complaints, Tucker Carlson instead fixated on his claims about his collegiate volleyball experience, sarcastically labelling them a tissue of lies constructed to deceive the American people.

Tucker Carlson defends George Santos in sarcastic attack on the press

The lies George Santos has been accused of telling

Saturday 4 February 2023 05:00 , Alex Woodward

It can be difficult keeping up with the list of fictions that George Santos has been accused of telling, admitted telling, or merely been caught spinning red-handed following a contradictory statement.

But, do not fret: The Independent is here, and were keeping track of the whole list of lies even as it continues to grow  both in number and in the sheer scale of the humiliation that it presents for not just Mr Santos, who remains adamant that he will serve two years in office as representative for New Yorks third district, but for the Republican House caucus as a whole.

Every lie George Santos has been accused of making

Watch: All the times comedians impersonated George Santos

Saturday 4 February 2023 03:00 , Alex Woodward

Democratic congressman: Hucksters, fraudsters, and ripoff artists, people like Donald Trump and George Santos, will always look for new ways to defraud the American people

Saturday 4 February 2023 02:00 , Alex Woodward

Democratic US Rep Jamie Raskin, stressing the crucial role of federal oversight to prevent rampant fraud, told MSNBC that, after all, this is a country that produced people like Donald Trump and George Santos.

Hucksters, fraudsters, and ripoff artists, people like Donald Trump and George Santos, will always look for new ways to defraud the American people, but we can use strong oversight as a defense against the conmen who would take advantage of social relief programs. pic.twitter.com/R5tDKeiMWR  Rep. Jamie Raskin (@RepRaskin) February 3, 2023

Heres how George Santos could still be removed from office

Saturday 4 February 2023 01:00 , Alex Woodward

The congressmans colleagues in the House could end up being the final arbiters of judgement for the scandal-ridden New York Republican.

Despite wave after wave of revelations surrounding his past and present fictions and lies, the embattled congressman has remained adamant that he will remain in office. Even in the face of members of his own party calling for his ouster, Mr Santos has stood firm.

But none of that may matter if the machinations of the US House of Representatives conspire against him.

The Independents John Bowden explains:

Heres how George Santos could still be removed from office

Give him some credit, George Santos has performed a valuable public service'

Saturday 4 February 2023 00:00 , Alex Woodward

The Independents Richard Hall writes:

Kevin McCarthy was faced with a choice: He could listen to the Republicans who live and work in the district Santos now represents and remove the imposter from the United States Congress  weakening himself further in the process  or he could ignore the problem entirely. In choosing the latter, McCarthy reaffirmed the lengths to which he is willing to go to maintain his tenuous grip on his party. It tells us something about the state of the Republican Party, and perhaps Congress, that a conman can be allowed to sit in the most powerful legislative body in the world, to cast his vote on matters of life and death and war, in the interests of serving one party.

Give him some credit, George Santos has performed a valuable public service

Did George Santos claim to be a producer for a Spider-Man musical?

Friday 3 February 2023 23:00 , Alex Woodward

George Santos reportedly told some potential donors while campaigning in 2021 that he was a producer on the musical Spider-Man: Turn Off The Dark, according to Bloomberg, citing people familiar with the discussions.

The shows producer Michael Cohl denied the congressmans involvement, and Santoss name never appeared in the playbills for the show.

The notorious production lost tens of millions of dollars and suffered technical issues and actor injuries.

Watch: The imposter in Congress'

Friday 3 February 2023 22:00 , Alex Woodward

The Independents senior US correspondent Richard Hall visited Long Island and Nassau County to find the real George Santos for the latest episode of On the Ground.

George Santos and the fascinating psychology of compulsive liars

Friday 3 February 2023 21:00 , Alex Woodward

He seems to have lied about everything, from the straightforward to the utterly absurd. The Independents Holly Baxter speaks to experts on lying  and why we all become complicit when a prolific liar reels us in:

George Santos and the fascinating psychology of compulsive liars

House GOP promotes Santos on its Follow Friday'

Friday 3 February 2023 20:15 , Alex Woodward

While George Santos faces mounting scrutiny into his alleged campaign finance violations and other inquiries attracting the Justice Departments attention, and after he removed himself from House committee assignments days after getting them, House Republicans are now promoting the embattled congressman on Follow Friday.

Full story: Tucker Carlson  who admitted to lying to Fox News viewers  defends George Santos in sarcastic attack on the press

Friday 3 February 2023 19:46 , Alex Woodward

The most-watched right-wing media personality suggests journalists have rocketed the congressman from obscurity into 9/11 in human form

Tucker Carlson defends George Santos in sarcastic attack on the press

Secret recording captures George Santos offering advice about Botox

Friday 3 February 2023 19:10 , Alex Woodward

Leaked audio from the office New York Representative George Santos office reveals the newly elected Republican giving botox advice to a would-be employee in his office.

Secret recording captures George Santos offering advice about Botox

Tucker Carlson defends George Santos

Friday 3 February 2023 18:23 , Alex Woodward

In his Thursday night rant, Fox News personality Tucker Carlson launched into a sacrastic commentary to assail media scrutiny into George Santos for transforming him into the single most dangerous and historically significant figure on the global stage.

Ignoring some of the most egregious allegations and fabrications involving Santos, who is under federal scrutiny and the subject of serious campaign finance complaints, Carlson instead fixated on his claims about his colleagiate volleyball experience, satirically labelling them a tissue of lies constructed to deceive the American people.

He suggested journalists have transformed him into 9/11 in human form.

Carlsons sacrastic remarks disingenuously claimed Santos merely deceived voters believing he had played collegiate volleyball on a scholarship and he hadnt.

And yet tonight, ladies and gentlemen, this thief of volleyball glory strides the halls of the United States Congress unimpeded by law enforcement. Its like another insurrection, he said.

George Santos gives remarks on House floor in support of Israel and the Jewish community as he support Ilhan Omars ousting

Friday 3 February 2023 17:00 , Alex Woodward

George Santos  who had claimed that he is Jew-ish when pressed about his claims of Jewish heritage and that he was descended from Holocaust survivors  was roundly condemned for his remarks on the House floor on Thursday to support ousting Ilhan Omar from the House Foreign Affairs committee.

Republicans passed a resolution condemning antisemitism and voted to remove the congresswoman for her past comments that were critical of Israel and which Republicans have wrongly conflated with antisemitism.

The resolutions passage sends a strong message that we support Israel and the Jewish community, Santos said. I urge the 118th Congress to now stand together, proudly upholding every single American, no matter race, pedigree, religion nor creed, as any less American than their neighbor, that Jewish Americans are patriotic Americans and that we all have a role fighting bigotry and antisemitism in our country.

Santos: I rise to congratulate my colleagues on voting to remove representative Omar from the foreign affairs committee. The passage of H.R. 76 sends a strong message that we support Israel and the Jewish community.. pic.twitter.com/vuqqcaYL64  Acyn (@Acyn) February 2, 2023

Federal law enforcement interviews Navy veteran over claims that George Santos took money intended for his dying dog

Friday 3 February 2023 16:20 , Alex Woodward

FBI agents interviewed a disabled US Navy veteran following allegations that George Santos raised $3,000 for live-saving surgery for the veterans dog and then ghosted with the funds.

Two agents contacted Richard Osthoff this week, he told Politico.

Im glad to get the ball rolling with the big-wigs, he said in an interview. I was worried that what happened to me was too long ago to be prosecuted.

More from The Independent on the bizarre case here:

FBI interviews veteran who says George Santos took money intended for dying dog

ICYMI: George Santos admits Ive obviously f***ed up in secretly recorded tapes

Friday 3 February 2023 15:20 , Alex Woodward

A bizzare new saga has opened up in the seemingly unending spiral that has become George Santoss arrival on Capitol Hill, after a reporter published leaked audio from the congressmans office on Thurdsay evening.

George Santos admits Ive obviously f***ed up in secretly recorded tapes

George Santos faces backlash on Twitter for weighing into Ilhan Omar vote  after lies about 'Jew-ish' heritage

Friday 3 February 2023 14:20 , Rachel Sharp

George Santos is facing backlash on Twitter for weighing in on the vote ousting Ilhan Omar from the Foreign Affairs Committee  after is lies about his Jewish heritage and his grandparents fleeing the Holocaust.

Regrettably @RitchieTorres who calls himself pro Israel voted to keep an antisemite in the foreign affairs committee so much for supporting Israel & the Jewish community, I guess its all lip service when you come to #NY03 & fundraise from my Jewish constituents, he tweeted on Thursday night.

Ms Omar was voted off the committee after Republicans accused her of past antisemitic comments. Democrats claimed the GOP was actually motivated by racism.

Mr Santos comments on the issue come after he lied about being Jewish and claimed his grandparents escaped the Holocaust. Both turned out to be false and the congressman then claimed he meant he was Jew-ish.

There has also been accusations of him making antisemitic comments in the past, with a vile Facebook post about Adolf Hitler and the Jews and blacks coming to light in recent weeks.

Several social media users slammed him for his tweet about the House vote around Ms Omar, with gun control activist Fred Guttenberg tweeting: Hey @Santos4Congress, I am a real JEWISH person. From the bottom of my heart, just wanted to let call you an a**hole but with some sympathy as I suspect you are drunk. Anyway, @RitchieTorres is an example of a great Congressman, and a friend of Israel, and I support him.

George Santos campaign spent more than $26,000 at Italian restaurant  enough for 1,700 Margherita pizzas

Friday 3 February 2023 13:20 , Rachel Sharp

Rep George Santos campaign has provided no shortage of mysteries for political reporters and observers to try to unravel.

One of the latest, from his campaign finance disclosures, is exactly how Mr Santos team managed to spend more than $26,000 at a single Italian resturaunt since his first run for Congress in 2020.

The campaign finance disclosures released this week showed Santos campaign spent $26,032.06 over the last three-plus years at Il Bacco Ristorante Italiano in Little Neck, New York  an Italian spot located in Queens.

Read the full story:

George Santos campaign spent more than $26,000 at an Italian restaurant in Queens

George Santos offers Botox advice

Friday 3 February 2023 12:20 , Rachel Sharp

Secret tapes which caught embattled GOP congressman George Santos confessing to lying also revealed a moment where he offered Botox advice.

The audio, obtained and published by Talking Points Memo, was reportedly recorded in the congressional office of Mr Santos without the congressman or his staffs permission.

In the clip, the reporter (Derek Myers) is informed that his potential position with the Santos office will not be moving forward following a review of his background, and in particular a legal case that arose from the course of his reporting.

At one point, Mr Santos is heard offering advice about Botox.

Mr Myers was telling Mr Santos about a trip to Colombia to get my Botox, saying: Its like $100, but its $400 here.

Mr Santos replied: I spend a lot more than that on Botox, but I trust the people.

Later, Mr Myers was given the parting advice from the congressman: Stop going to Colombia for your diluted Botox.

Bombshell secret tapes catch embattled George Santos admitting he lied to everyone'

Friday 3 February 2023 11:20 , Rachel Sharp

A bizzare new saga has opened up in the seemingly unending spiral that has become George Santoss arrival on Capitol Hill after a reporter published leaked audio from the congressmans office on Thurdsay evening.

The audio, obtained and published by Talking Points Memo, was reportedly recorded in the congressional office of Mr Santos without the congressman or his staffs permission. In the clip, the reporter (Derek Myers) is informed that his potential position with the Santos office will not be moving forward following a review of his background, and in particular a legal case that arose from the course of his reporting.

In it, Mr Santos makes some of the most self-aware comments about the scope of his deceptions that he has made in any setting so far.

Ive obviously f***ed up and lied to him, like I lied to everyone else, Mr Santos says in the clip, while referring to his chief of staff Charley Lovett.

Read the full story here:

George Santos admits Ive obviously f***ed up in secretly recorded tapes

FBI interviews veteran who says Santos took money raised for dying dog

Friday 3 February 2023 09:30 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar

The FBI is investigating claims that Representative George Santos raised money to pay for surgery for a Navy veterans dying dog before allegedly disappearing with the money.

Richard Osthoff says that he was contacted by two federal agents on Wednesday on behalf of the US Attorneys Office in the Eastern District of New York, according to Politico.

He told the outlet that he gave the agents text messages from Mr Santos, whom he claims raised $3,000 to save pit bull mix Sapphire but never handed it over.

Graeme Massie has more.

FBI interviews veteran who says George Santos took money intended for dying dog

All the times comedians impersonated George Santos

Friday 3 February 2023 08:30 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar

Comedians have been giving George Santos a bit of roasting since the congressman was caught telling lies about his life.

Harvey Guillen and Nelson Franklin are among those who have impersonated the New York Republican.

This video gives a glimpse of all of the times comedians mocked the politician on their late-night slots.

Mr Santos responded to the fun-poking on Twitter, saying: I have now been enshrined in late-night TV history with all these impersonations, but they are all TERRIBLE so far.

Watch here.

All the times comedians impersonated George Santos

George Santos ridiculed for speech about Jewish community

Friday 3 February 2023 07:30 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar

George Santos was ridiculed on social media following his House floor speech about his support for the Jewish community.

The congressman has been accused of lying about being a descended of Holocaust survivors.

Today I rise to congratulate my colleagues on voting to remove rep Ilhan Omar from the foreign affairs committee, Mr Santos said.

The passage of HR 76 sends a strong message that we support Israel and the Jewish community, he continued.

Following his speech, people tore into him on Twitter.The nerve. The pure, unadulterated nerve would be admirable if it werent so aggravating, wrote user Danny ONeil.

The nerve. The pure, unadulterated nerve would be admirable if it weren't so aggravating. Launch this dude into the sun. https://t.co/t7C8ZSgBqu  Danny O'Neil (@dannyoneil) February 2, 2023

You lied that you were Jewish, used a fake Jewish-sounding last name and said, Oh well, the Jews will give more if youre a Jew, and made up that your family survived the Holocaust, you ghoul.

You lied that you were Jewish, used a fake Jewish-sounding last name and said, "Oh well, the Jews will give more if you're a Jew," and made up that your family survived the Holocaust, you ghoul. @Santos4Congress https://t.co/zFalXtHi3Y  MeidasTouch (@MeidasTouch) February 2, 2023

George Santos campaign spent more than $26,000 at Italian restaurant

Friday 3 February 2023 06:30 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar

Representative George Santos campaign has provided no shortage of mysteries for political reporters and observers to try to unravel.

One of the latest, from his campaign finance disclosures, is exactly how Mr Santoss team managed to spend more than $26,000 at a single Italian restaurant since his first run for Congress in 2020.

The campaign finance disclosures released this week showed Santoss campaign spent $26,032.06 over the last three-plus years at Il Bacco Ristorante Italiano in Little Neck, New York  an Italian spot located in Queens.

Abe Asher reports.

George Santos campaign spent more than $26,000 at an Italian restaurant in Queens
This image contained in a court filing by the Department of Justice on Aug. 30, 2022, and redacted by in part by the FBI, shows a photo of documents seized during the Aug. 8 search by the FBI of former President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida. The discovery of classified documents at the home of former Vice President Mike Pence is scrambling the blame game in Washington. Now, lawmakers from both parties seem united in frustration with the string of mishaps in the handling of the U.S. government's secrets. (Uncredited/AP)

U.S. officials have offered to brief congressional leaders on their investigation into the classified documents found at former President Donald Trumps Florida residence, people familiar with the matter said Sunday.

A briefing could come as soon as this week. But it may not meet demands from lawmakers who want to review the documents taken not just from Mar-a-Lago but also from the Wilmington, Delaware, home and former private office in Washington belonging to President Joe Biden and the Indiana home of former Vice President Mike Pence.

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Six months after federal agents conducted an unprecedented search of a former presidents home for classified documents, the White House faces bipartisan pressure to share what it found with lawmakers who say the are concerned about the potential damage to national security and intelligence sources. Separate special counsels are investigating the documents found in the possession of Trump and Biden.

Officials have declined to answer most questions in public or private about what they found citing the ongoing criminal investigation and a separate risk assessment of the possible damage to intelligence sources.

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Rep. Mike Turner, who heads the House Intelligence Committee, told NBCs Meet the Press on Sunday that the administration notified him it would brief on the documents this week.

This administration needs to understand we do have national security urgent matters, said Turner, R-Ohio. he also called on the White House to brief him on the Chinese balloon shot down Saturday.

Whats interesting is that the moment this balloon became public, I got a notice not from the administration that Im going to get a briefing on this balloon, but they have to rush to Congress now to talk to us about Donald Trumps documents, he said.

Three people familiar with the matter confirmed a congressional briefing was offered to the Gang of Eight  the Republican and Democratic leaders of the House and Senate and of both intelligence committees. The people spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss intelligence matters.

Any briefing is not expected to include direct access to the documents that were seized, the people said.

Sens. Mark Warner, D-Va., and Marco Rubio, R-Fla., the leaders of the Senate Intelligence Committee, asked for that access in a letter last week to Attorney General Merrick Garland and Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines.

Its also unclear whether the administration will discuss the records found in Bidens and Pences possession. Turner told NBC that the records linked to Biden and Pence would be included, while two people familiar said the briefing was expected to focus only on Trump.

The director of national intelligences office and Department of Justice both declined to comment Sunday.

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The Justice Department says roughly 300 documents with classified markings, including at the top-secret level, have been recovered from Mar-a-Lago after being taken there after Trump left the White House. Last August, FBI agents executed a search warrant at the property after developing evidence that led them to believe that Trump and his representatives had not returned all the classified files.

The material taken at that time included roughly 13,000 government documents, including about 100 bearing classification markings. Some of the material was so sensitive that Justice Department prosecutors and FBI counterintelligence investigators required additional security clearances to review them.

A special counsel, Jack Smith, is investigating whether to bring charges against Trump or anyone else related to the documents. Prosecutors have revealed that they are investigating possible violations of multiple criminal statutes, including willful retention of national defense information and obstruction. A grand jury in Washington has been hearing evidence and federal prosecutors have interviewed multiple Trump associates. It is not clear how much longer that investigation will last.

Trump has claimed that the materials were declassified and that he had the power to do so just by thinking about it, though his lawyers have not repeated that claim. They tried to have an independent arbiter conduct an outside review of the documents, though a federal appeals court late last year ended that work and said Trumps team was not entitled to that assessment.
New York Congressman George Santos woke up to another piece of bad news last week.

Police said on Friday that his local district office in New Yorks 3rd Congressional District, which includes parts of Long Island and Queens, was vandalised with graffiti which used expletives in multiple languages to describe the scandal-ridden Republican.

George Santos is [s***], the scrawling reportedly read in three languages  Mandarin, Greek, and Spanish.

The congressman confirmed the graffitiying in a statement to CNBC.

This act of cowardly behavior is beyond unacceptable and compromises the safety of my staff as well as my constituents, wrote the congressman.

My staff should never have to worry about entering the workplace, nor constituents who require federal assistance. A report was filed with the NYPD 111th Precinct, and I encourage anyone who may have information to contact them directly, he continued. I would like to personally thank the NYPD for their commitment to public safety, and for keeping my district staff safe.

Its just the latest indication that Mr Santos faces a reckoning back home after being caught telling a cascade of lies about his background and experience. Among the more offensive claims was one insisting that his grandparents had survived the Holocaust. Despite his freshman status, his appearances on Capitol Hill are often accompanied by a veritable sea of journalists asking him to comment on the latest revelations regarding his dishonesty and checkered past.

Mr Santos had also falsely claimed that he was a producer of Broadways Spider-Man: Turn Off The Dark musical. Mr Santos was recently accused of sexual harassment by a would-be aide in his congressional ofice.

Polls of Mr Santoss district have shown that a majority of both Democrats and Republicans want the first-term congressman out, but he has resolved to stay in office for two years even as he was forced to resign his committee assignments under a barrage of pressure.

A number of New York politicians including members of both parties have called on him to resign; the list includes the Nassau County Republican Party, the largest GOP organisation active in Mr Santoss home district.
Georgia Tennant has once again left David Tennant fans in hysterics with a tweet about her husband.

The actor posted a screenshot of a text exchange with Doctor Who actor David on Sunday (5 February), which happened to be the birthday of their Staged co-star Michael Sheen.

Georgia had texted David to say its Michaels birthday, seemingly reminding him to send their friend a message. After getting no answer, she replied to her own text with: David?

Hours later, when there was still no response, she sent a message, comedically hinting that David might have been hiding away for the day.

No reception in the basement? she sent, to which David answered: Send water...

Georgia uploaded the photo on social media alongside the post: Happy Birthday @michaelsheen . Thanks for the respite x.

Sheens partner Anna Lundberg replied to the tweet: Can I come live in yours? For a break? Georgia replied: Only if you dont mind me locking us both down there?

Meanwhile, one fan responded: This is a Staged 4 premise just waiting to be picked up.

Sitcom Staged was predominantly filmed using video conference apps from the stars respective homes during the Covid-19 lockdown.

Georgia Tennant shares text exchange with husband David Tennant (Twitter)

Georgia and David first met after appearing on Doctor Who together in a 2008 episode called The Doctors Daughter.

Georgias father is Peter Davison  another former Doctor Who star.

In 2021, David, who played the 10th incarnation of the Time Lord from 2005 to 2010, previously said he felt stupid marrying the daughter of a fellow Doctor Who actor.

Davison played the fifth incarnation of the Time Lord from 1981 to 1984.

David will return as the Time Lord in special episodes set to be broadcast on BBC One later this year.
By Jake Cordell

TBILISI (Reuters) - A Georgian court on Monday rejected an appeal to release former President Mikheil Saakashvili from prison on health grounds, a decision the ex-leader said was akin to a "death sentence."

Saakashvili, who led the former Soviet republic as a pro-Western reformer from 2004 to 2013, is serving a six-year sentence for abuse of power, a charge he and his supporters say was politically motivated.

In a statement shared by Saakashvili's team, the ex-leader said the court hearing was a "joke," stage managed by his political opponents to deny him adequate healthcare.

"The government's experts did not even bother to see me once, but the court believed them, and not the international team that included a Nobel Prize winner, that said if I stay in prison I will die," he said. "Now I've basically got a death sentence."

Saakashvili has staged multiple hunger strikes while in prison and alleges he has been poisoned. His health has drastically deteriorated and he has lost over 40% of his body weight since October 2021, according to health records shared by his political ally and family spokesman Giorgi Chaladze.

Georgian officials say the ex-president is simulating the seriousness of his condition in order to gain early release and that they have provided adequate healthcare in a clinic in Tbilisi where he has been held for months.

He was originally tried and sentenced in absentia for abuse of power on cases related to presidential pardons issued while he was in office and for allegedly ordering the beating of a political opponent. He has denied the charges and says the cases are politically motivated.

During the hearing that concluded on Monday, Saakashvili's team were seeking permission for him to be released or allowed to be transferred abroad for medical treatment.

CONTROVERSIAL REFORMER

A small bunch of supporters gathered at the court in the Georgian capital of Tbilisi on Monday, chanting Saakashvili's name in protest of the ruling.

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Saakashvili lawyer Shalva Khachapuridze said his team plans to take the case to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, while another member of Saakashvili's team told Reuters it was planning a new campaign to exert "diplomatic" pressure on the Georgian government over his fate.

The United States and European Union have both publicly highlighted the plight of Saakashvili during the two-month court hearing, saying the Georgian authorities were responsible for the former leader's health.

Saakashvili, 55, swept to power at the start of 2004 after Georgia's pro-democracy Rose Revolution ousted the previous president in late 2003. He ushered in sweeping anti-corruption reforms in a bid to haul the country out of its ex-Soviet legacy, but his outspoken nature frequently upset his opponents.

Under his leadership Georgia fought a short war with Russia over the status of pro-Moscow breakaway republics in 2008 and he eventually appeared to lose popular support for his reform program. He stood down for election in 2013 - according to Georgia's two-term limit - in a vote that saw his political rivals in the Georgian Dream party emerge victorious.

Before returning to Georgia in 2021, Saakashvili worked in Ukraine as an advisor to various administrations, including President Volodymyr Zelenskiy's, and as governor of the Odesa region.

(Reporting by Jake Cordell in Tbilisi; Additional reporting by David Chkhikvishvili in Tbilisi; Editing by Mark Trevelyan, Hugh Lawson and Mark Porter)
By Blake Brittain

(Reuters) - Stock photo provider Getty Images has sued artificial intelligence company Stability AI Inc, accusing it in a lawsuit made public on Monday of misusing more than 12 million Getty photos to train its Stable Diffusion AI image-generation system.

The lawsuit, filed in Delaware federal court, follows a separate Getty case against Stability in the United Kingdom and a related class-action complaint filed by artists in California against Stability and other companies in the fast-growing field of generative AI.

Getty declined to comment on the Delaware lawsuit. Representatives for Stability did not immediately respond to a request for comment Monday. Reuters News competes with Getty in the market for images for editorial use.

London-based Stability AI released Stable Diffusion, an AI-based system for generating images from text inputs, and image generator DreamStudio last August. The company announced in October that it had raised over $100 million in funding, and has been valued at $1 billion.

Seattle-based Getty accused Stability of copying millions of its photos without a license and using them to train Stable Diffusion to generate more accurate depictions based on user prompts.

Getty said its pictures are particularly valuable for AI training because of their image quality, variety of subject matter and detailed metadata.

Getty said it has licensed "millions of suitable digital assets" to other "leading technology innovators" for AI-related purposes, and that Stability infringes its copyrights and competes with it unfairly.

The lawsuit also accuses Stability of infringing Getty's trademarks, citing images generated by its AI system with Getty's watermark that Getty says could cause consumer confusion.

Getty asked the court to order Stability to stop using its pictures and requested money damages that include Stability's profits from the alleged infringement.

The case is Getty Images (US) Inc v. Stability AI Inc, U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware, No. 1:23-cv-00135.

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For Getty: Benjamin Marks and Jared Friedmann of Weil Gotshal & Manges

For Stability: attorney information not available

Read more:

Lawsuits accuse AI content creators of misusing copyrighted work

(Reporting by Blake Brittain in Washington)
Girls5Eva is an underrated gem has enough energy and emotion to fill stadiums (Heidi Gutman/Peacock)

What happens to a one-hit-wonder girlband when their allocated 15 minutes of fame comes to an abrupt end, and theyre no longer the hottest young things in coordinated but subtly different outfits?

Its a question answered in all-singing, all-dancing style by effervescent sitcom Girls5eva, which debuted on US streamer Peacock in 2021 but is now finally available to stream on Netflix, where a third season will arrive later this year. Created by Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt writer Meredith Scardino and exec-produced by Tina Fey, this underrated gem has enough energy and emotion to fill stadiums, and more Nineties-style pop treats than an ancient Now Thats What I Call Music disc. Its This Is Spinal Tap for turn-of-the-millennium girl groups, turning the synths up to 11.

Wickie, Dawn, Summer, Gloria and Ashley make up Girls5eva, a Spice Girls knock-off who peaked in the late Nineties. The bands name  and many of their lyrics  stem from that eras philosophy of why use a word when you could use a number? (see also: Boyz II Men, 2 Become 1). As we learn in their biggest hit Famous 5eva, which doubles up as the shows theme song, theyre Girls5eva because 4evas too short to capture a) their era-defining fame and b) their ever-lasting friendship. Sadly, real life is rarely as simple as song words. Twenty years later, the group is barely a footnote in pop culture history, and the now fortysomething girls arent exactly living the dream.

Dawn (Sara Bareilles) is assistant manager at her familys Italian restaurant, where her brother is her boss. Gloria (Paula Pell) is a dentist and one half of the first gay couple to divorce in the state of New York. Summer (Busy Phillips) formed a Christian pop duo, singing pro-purity anthems like Cant Wait 2 Wait with husband Kev (Andrew Rannells in a blonde wig, looking like an off-brand Ken doll), but now spends her days unsuccessfully auditioning for Real Housewives franchises. Wickie (Hamilton star Renee Elise Goldsberry) fakes a private jet lifestyle for Instagram. And tragically, five has become four, after Ashley (Ashley Park) died in a freak infinity pool accident.

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When rapper Lil Stinker samples a hook from Famous 5eva on his new track, though, their fortunes change. The quartet reunite as a nostalgia act on The Jimmy Fallon Show and decide to grab their second shot at relevance with both hands. Soon theyre performing at derelict malls, blagging their way onto the bill at the Jingle Ball and dealing with recurrent knee injuries triggered by ill-advised death drops. Eventually, its time to engage album mode  which, as perma-OTT resident diva Wickie puts it, is a state of mind that started when our [record] deal was announced and ends when I am at the Met Gala in a catheter because my dress is too complicated.

They soon discover, of course, that its much easier to keep reaching for pop stardom when youre naive twentysomethings who dont have to worry about joint pain, mortgages and biological clocks. The latter concern plays out in one of the shows brilliant genre-hopping songs, written by Scardino and composer Jeff Richmond, who is married to Fey and has written songs for 30 Rock, Kimmy Schmidt and Mean Girls: The Musical. As Dawn frets that her son will never have siblings if the band hits the big time again, the Simon & Garfunkel parody New York Lonely Boy strikes up in the background, affectionately skewering the niche phenomenon of Manhattans super-sophisticated, hyper-articulate, only children (sample lyric: Forget the Power Rangers/ He prefers small talk with strangers).

A musical comeback makes for great TV, a cocktail of bruised egos, long-simmering resentments, dormant camaraderie and, of course, assembly-line pop bangers. Just look at Bross After The Screaming Stops documentary, which melded the Goss brothers preparations for their O2 Arena reunion show with philosophical musings on conkers, Stevie Wonder and the letters H. O. M. E.. Or, on the other end of the spectrum, ITV2s Big Reunion reality format, which brought groups like Atomic Kitten and 5ive back for a UK tour, and later threw together Gareth Gates, Dane Bowers, Kavana, Adam Rickitt and Kenzie from Blazin Squad in the Mizz magazine supergroup of dreams.

Girls5eva plays out like an even funnier fictional version. It is, as Richmond put it in an interview with Slate, a love letter to the era of team-driven pop music, when everybody was allowed to have their turn and sing their verse, and their verses come from their character The sassy one, the hot one, the sporty one. You get the impression that Summer was very much the groups Victoria Beckham: her remit, we learn, was to end songs with a sultry femi-nasty phrase rather than do too much vocal heavy lifting.

Busy Philipps, Renee Elise Goldsberry, Sara Bareilles and Paula Pell in Girls5Eva' (Zach Dilgard/Peacock)

But although theres plenty of room for nostalgia, Scardinos show also sharply satirises the grim misogyny of the Nineties pop machine. Their creepy manager Larry locked them into a contract that gave them zero freedom and almost no royalties. They were leered at by talk show hosts. Lets talk about your music career  are you a virgin? asks one presenter in a flashback segment that echoes similar clips from the documentary Framing Britney Spears. And their songs were exclusively written by older men, resulting in some seriously questionable (but somehow weirdly believable) lyrics in songs like Jailbait (Great at Sex But Its Our First Time) and Dream Girlfriends. Weve got the kind of birth control that goes in your arm, the group trills in the latter, Tell me again why Tarantinos a genius.

Even in the present day, things arent much better. When the group visit Swedish songwriting guru Alf Musik (a cameo from a practically unrecognisable Stephen Colbert) he presents them with two potential hits. One is an identikit bop called Side Pieces for Life, the other is Invisible Woman, a spooky track he composes after being haunted by their sad existence.

Eventually, all four women get to sing songs that better reflect their messy, resilient, endearing selves, culminating in Bend Not Break, a track thats ostensibly about Glorias knee surgery but also an ode to sticking together and supporting each other. Everyone loves an underdog story, and these obstacles just make you root for Girls5eva and their tentative assault on the music industry all the more. The punchlines land especially hard if you grew up over-identifying with one particular Spice Girl, or trying to learn complex choreography in front of the telly. Girls5evas new home on Netflix will hopefully win over legions of new members for the groups fan club. So, in the words of the girls themselves, What are you waiting five?

Girls5Eva is available now on Netflix
Google is girding for a battle of wits in the field of artificial intelligence with Bard," a conversational service aimed at countering the popularity of the ChatGPT tool backed by Microsoft.

Bard initially will be available exclusively to a group of trusted testers" before being widely released later this year, according to a Monday blog post from Google CEO Sundar Pichai.

Google's chatbot is supposed to be able to explain complex subjects such as outer space discoveries in terms simple enough for a child to understand. It also claims the service will also perform other more mundane tasks, such as providing tips for planning a party, or lunch ideas based on what food is left in a refrigerator. Pichai didn't say in his post whether Bard will be able to write prose in the vein of William Shakespeare, the playwright who apparently inspired the service's name.

Bard can be an outlet for creativity, and a launchpad for curiosity," Pichai wrote.

Google announced Bard's existence less than two weeks after Microsoft disclosed it's pouring billions of dollars into OpenAI, the San Francisco-based maker of ChatGPT and other tools that can write readable text and generate new images.

Microsoft's decision to up the ante on a $1 billion investment that it previously made in OpenAI in 2019 intensified the pressure on Google to demonstrate that it will be able to keep pace in a field of technology that many analysts believe will be as transformational as personal computers, the internet and smartphones have been in various stages over the past 40 years.

In a report last week, CNBC said a team of Google engineers working on artificial intelligence technology has been asked to prioritize working on a response to ChatGPT." Bard had been a service being developed under a project called Atlas," as part of Google's code red effort to counter the success of ChatGPT, which has attracted tens of millions of users since its general release late last year, while also raising concerns in schools about its ability to write entire essays for students.

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Pichai has been emphasizing the importance of artificial intelligence for the past six years, with one of the most visible byproducts materializing in 2021 as part of a system called Language Model for Dialogue Applications," or LaMDA, which will be used to power Bard.

Google also plans to begin incorporating LaMDA and other artificial intelligence advancements into its dominant search engine to provide more helpful answers to the increasingly complicated questions being posed by its billion of users. Without providing a specific timeline, Pichai indicated the artificial intelligence tools will be deployed in Google's search in the near future.

In another sign of Google's deepening commitment to the field, Google announced last week that it is investing in and partnering with Anthropic, an AI startup led by some former leaders at OpenAI. Anthropic has also built its own AI chatbot named Claude and has a mission centered on AI safety.
Google

Google will trial its own artificial intelligence chatbot to prepare it for public release in the coming weeks, the chief executive of its parent company Alphabet has announced.



The chatbot, called Bard, will compete with the popular Microsoft-backed ChatGPT, which launched in November.



It comes as Microsoft on Tuesday is expected to announce ChatGPTs integration into its search engine, Bing.



Google has also said search engine users will be able to benefit from the technology behind Bard, which allows for more complex questions to be given straightforward answers.



Alphabet chief executive Sundar Pichai said in a blog post on Monday that it will first open the AI service to its testers before launching it publicly in a few weeks time.



Well combine external feedback with our own internal testing to make sure Bards responses meet a high bar for quality, safety, and groundedness in real-world information, Mr Pichai said.



Googles AI-driven chatbot will run off the back of LaMDA, which is a large language model. It attracted widespread controversy when a Google software engineer claimed it was sentient, a view that has been widely rebutted by other experts.



Such language models digest huge amounts of text to learn how to respond to text-based queries.



ChatGPT drew excitement around the world only a few months ago with its ability to pass exams, write poems and even job applications.



Bard seeks to combine the breadth of the worlds knowledge with the power, intelligence, and creativity of our large language models, Mr Pichai said.



He said Bards planned integration into Google would help people turning to the search engine for deeper insights and understanding.



AI can be helpful in these moments, synthesizing insights for questions where theres no one right answer, he said.



The move marks the start of a race between the largest tech companies, with Microsoft announcing a multibillion-dollar investment in the company behind ChatGPT, OpenAI, last month.



Google has not explained how Bard will differ from ChatGPT. Mr Pichai said the new chatbot would draw on information from the internet, while its competitor's knowledge is up to date as of 2021.


Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) says he is tired of caving on the debt limit and is dialing up the pressure on Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.) not to swoop in to strike a last-minute deal with President Biden.

Scotts full-court press on McConnell is an extension of their battle last year over the leadership of the Senate GOP conference, which McConnell won in a closed-door leadership election in November.

Scott tried to oust McConnell from the top Senate Republican leaders spot after Republicans failed to win the Senate majority in November and helped lead the fight against passing the $1.7 trillion year-end omnibus spending package.

Scott said hes not giving up his effort to cut federal spending and that hes willing to clash with McConnell again over the debt limit, which has already expired, forcing the Treasury Department to use extraordinary measures to make payments.

Im not going to back down, Scott told The Hill during an interview in his Capitol office after McConnell decided to remove the Florida senator from the powerful Commerce Committee, a move that conservatives viewed as fallout from the November leadership race, which Scott lost 37-10.

McConnell also removed Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah), who nominated Scott for Senate Republican leader in November and helped lead the fight against passing last years omnibus spending bill, from the Commerce panel.

Scott has been gearing up to battle McConnell over the debt limit since April of 2021, when he pushed to amend the Senate GOP conference rules to require that any increase in the debt ceiling must be accompanied by cuts in federal spending of an equal or greater amount as the debt ceiling increase, or meaningful structural reform.

Scott said McConnell then caved in the fall of 2021 when he worked out a deal with Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) to create a one-time procedural exception to allow debt-limit legislation to advance on the Senate floor without having to face a filibuster.

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The Florida senator launched a nationwide television ad last month calling for change within the Republican Party and urging GOP lawmakers to stop caving to Democratic demands.

McConnell said in 2021 that he struck a deal with Schumer to let Democrats raise the debt ceiling with votes from their conference because he wanted them to take full responsibility for expanding borrowing authority  although 10 Republican votes were needed to create the procedural loophole.

I took an amendment vote [in] April to the conference, we adopted it and then  the leader caved, Scott told The Hill, noting that the Senate GOP conference had agreed unanimously that we were going to cut cost or we were going to have structural change in exchange for raising the debt limit.

Scott said he and other conservatives who signed a recent letter to President Biden stating outright opposition to a debt-ceiling hike without real structural spending reform that reduces deficit spending want to send a message to McConnell that they dont want him to negotiate any deal that paves the way for Democrats to pass a clean debt-limit increase.

You saw [in 2021] he came out and said in July that we would not participate in raising the debt ceiling and then  he organized 11 people to say well allow the Democrats to do it on our own. We didnt follow conference rules. Im tired of caving, Scott said.

Twenty-four Republican senators signed the letter to Biden declaring they will not vote for a debt-ceiling increase that doesnt include structural reforms. McConnell did not sign the letter, nor did two other key members of his leadership team, Senate GOP Whip John Thune (S.D.) and Sen. John Cornyn (Texas).

McConnell later downplayed his lack of a signature. I wouldnt read too much into it. There are letters floating around in our conference all the time. Most of the time, I dont sign them, he said.

McConnell said he cant imagine any debt-limit deal negotiated in the Senate could pass the House so he will leave it to Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) to work out an agreement.

Were all behind Kevin and wishing him well in the negotiation, he told reporters last week.

He also called for Democrats to agree to spending cuts, noting that Schumer used the debt-ceiling as leverage to negotiate a $320 billion discretionary spending increase under former President Trump.

McConnells allies say Scotts leadership of the National Republican Senatorial Committee in the last election cycle raised questions about his strategic decisionmaking. They argue that he burned up too much money prospecting for online donors and that his 12-point plan calling for bold reforms put GOP candidates on the defensive.

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), who voted for Scotts leadership bid, is predicting that Biden and McCarthy will hit an impasse and the debt-limit negotiation will shift to the Senate, just like it did in 2011.

I think [McConnells] position is, Lets see what the House can do that makes sense. But heres the reality, the likelihood of the House being able to propose something seems to be questionable, Graham said.

Eventually Schumers going to bring up a bill to increase the debt ceiling, a clean debt-ceiling increase, and were going to have to vote on it in the Senate, he added.

Graham said he wants McConnell and Schumer to be aware that theres going to be strong pushback to passing a clean debt-ceiling increase if Biden fails to reach a deal with McCarthy.

Im hoping that our folks will start thinking about how to deal with what I think is the most likely scenario which is the House cant get there with the president, he said. Im not going to vote for a clean debt-ceiling increase. I want Mitch to know that. I want Schumer to know that. I think it would be impossible to get 60 [Senate] votes for a clean debt-ceiling increase.

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), who drafted the final language of the conference rule requiring spending reforms to be linked to debt-limit legislation, said his Senate colleagues need to stand firm against a clean debt-ceiling increase.

I can tell you that is the position of the Republican conference as written in the rules of the Republican conference, he said. Unless someone affirmatively stakes out a different position, my assumption is that will be the position of Republicans. It certainly should be, he said.

He pointed out that the debt limit was used as leverage in the past to enact two of the biggest fiscal reforms in decades: the 2011 Budget Control Act, which McConnell negotiated with then-Vice President Biden, and the Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act, which first enacted budget sequestration.

Cruz voted for Scott to replace McConnell as leader in the fall.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
A new governor offers hope that the chronic underfunding of the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection will finally end. This underfunding has compromised the departments ability to regulate the oil and gas industry, monitor and reduce air and water pollution, protect the Chesapeake Bay and clean up hazardous waste sites. Gov. Josh Shapiros upcoming budget proposal should fully fund DEP.

The best measure of the DEPs strength over time is its number of filled positions, i.e., the number of people paid to come to work each day. In 2002, DEPs authorized complement was 3,211 positions. That was before the shale gas boom placed significantly more responsibilities on DEP. This past September, the department was down to 2,337 filled positions. Thats almost a 30% reduction in staff over the last 19 years, despite this increase in responsibilities.

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro gives his inaugural address outside of the Capitol in Harrisburg on Jan. 17, 2023.

Oil and gas program

DEPs oil and gas program has regulatory authority over more than 116,000 active wells in Pennsylvania. It also has responsibility for plugging an estimated 200,000 orphaned or abandoned oil and gas wells.

In 2015, the oil and gas program had an authorized complement of 226 positions. Last September, the program had just 167 filled positions.

A December DEP report found the improper abandoning of oil and gas wells and the widespread failure to report required drilling activity was almost a routine practice by the conventional drilling industry.

This DEP report indicated that  to effectively administer increased oversight  DEP will require additional resources  particularly more field inspectors and enforcement personnel 

Air quality program

In 2005, the DEPs air quality program had 349 filled positions. Last September it was down to 250 filled positions  a reduction of over 28%. According to DEP:  fewer Department staff to conduct inspections, respond to complaints, and pursue enforcement actions will result in less oversight of regulated industry [and]  reduced protection of the environment and public health .

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Insufficient staffing has also contributed to inordinate delays in the enactment of important air regulations regarding the reduction of volatile organic compound emissions by the oil and gas industry and Pennsylvanias entry into the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative.

A high-level DEP official recently informed me that the air program needs 15 more positions.

Water program

In 2007, the DEPs clean water program had 778 filled positions. Last September, it was down to 650  a reduction of about 16%.

Last January, DEP released a report showing one-third of Pennsylvanias streams  27,886 miles  have impaired water quality making them unsafe for aquatic life, recreation, fish consumption or drinking water supply.

A high-level DEP official recently informed me that DEP needs an additional $15 million in the Clean Water Fund to support the operational expenses charged to this fund, including staff time.

Chesapeake Bay

About half the land area of Pennsylvania drains into the Chesapeake Bay. Pennsylvanias poor progress in reducing its agricultural runoff  particularly nitrogen and sediment  has contributed to the bays recent D + grade by the Chesapeake Bay Foundation.

In 2014, Pennsylvania, along with six other jurisdictions, entered into an agreement to reach bay pollution reduction goals by 2025.

This past November, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency informed DEP that Without long term dedicated funding and programmatic commitments, EPA lacks confidence that Pennsylvania will achieve its portion of the 2025 Goal.

Hazardous sites cleanup program

DEPs Hazardous Sites Cleanup program (HSCA) is responsible for remediating contaminated sites where hazardous substances, such as PFAS, have been released. In 2013, this program had 245 employees. In September of 2022 it was down to 209. If HSCA doesnt receive additional funding, DEP will have to shut down or delay existing cleanup projects and not take on any new cleanups.

Shapiro must take a leadership role if DEP is to receive the resources needed to carry out its mission to protect public health and the environment. Proposing a budget on March 7 that significantly increases the departments funding and staffing would be a good first step.

State Rep. Greg Vitali, D-Delaware, has been the Democratic Chairman of the House Environmental Resource and Energy Committee. E-mail: gvitali@pahouse.net

Rep. Greg Vitali

This article originally appeared on Bucks County Courier Times: Pennsylvania environment spending Gov. Josh Shapiro can have impact
NEW YORK  Money had come in from raffles and sales of gift baskets; a few pets had found new homes. All in all, the adoption charity event at a Pet Oasis store on Staten Island had been a success.

But then the charitys leader made an odd request: He insisted that the store owner give him the proceeds in a check made out to his name, Anthony Devolder.

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The owner refused and made the check payable to the charity, Friends of Pets United. Days later, when he looked at his bank records, he noticed that the check had been altered: The charitys name had been blotted out. When it cashed, it was crossed out, and it had Anthony Devolder written on it, said the owner, Daniel Avissato.

Anthony Devolder is now better known as Rep. George Santos, R-N.Y., whose election to Congress in November was upended by revelations of falsehoods in his background and irregularities in his personal and campaign finances.

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Federal and local prosecutors are investigating whether Santos lies on the campaign trail or his unusual campaign expenses and fundraising practices merit criminal charges. And FBI agents are now apparently looking into some of his work with Friends of Pets United, according to news accounts.

Santos has said he founded and ran the charity from 2013-18. In that time, Santos campaign biography once asserted, the organization rescued more than 2,500 animals. He recently characterized his involvement with the charity as a labor of love and hard work.

Santos has not substantiated his claims. Few public records exist to corroborate them, and Friends of Pets Uniteds operations appear to have centered on a Facebook group that is now defunct. Only traces of the organization remain on public social media posts and GoFundMe campaigns, and Santos campaign biography no longer mentions it.

Santos lawyer, Joe Murray, would not answer questions about Friends of Pets United, citing pending investigations into Santos.

Screenshots from the Facebook group and interviews with former volunteers and associates of Santos help construct a fuller picture of the charitys operations. They recalled scattered efforts: Some pets were rescued; charitable events were held; and money and supplies were donated to animal groups.

But they also suggest that Santos penchant for falsehoods and exaggerations extended to Friends of Pets United. Several people said Santos assured them he was operating a registered nonprofit, but no records exist to confirm that.

They said the group rescued far fewer pets than the more than 2,500 animals that Santos claimed it saved. The group was not registered as a rescue organization in New York state, and there was no record that it was authorized to take dogs from New York City shelters.

And several people took issue with how Santos handled his groups funds, saying they never received the thousands of dollars he raised on their behalf, often through GoFundMe.

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Regina Spadavecchia, who runs the Adore-a-Bullie Paws and Claws rescue in the Bronx, said Santos boasted of his fundraising prowess, saying he was a financial money manager with connections. In reality, he had worked for a Turkey-based hospitality technology company, eventually moving on to work at a small company that organized conferences for investors and fund managers.

Spadavecchia accepted his claims and, with at least a dozen dogs in her care, was eager for the help. In March 2017, Santos posted on Facebook that he was raising money for Adore-a-Bullie, through a $5 raffle for a dinner cruise and Broadway tickets.

But Santos never fully followed through on his promises, Spadavecchia said, sending her about $400 instead of the thousands of dollars he had suggested. She decided to cut ties with him.

If youre doing fundraising in my name, and youre claiming you can make a couple of thousand, and youre sending me $400, then somethings off, Spadavecchia said. Youre either boasting about stuff you cant do, or youre keeping money on the side. I dont know.

Dogs and cats in need

In October 2015, Santos used one of the charitys earliest Facebook posts to boast that the group had participated in 20 adoptions in its two months in operation. (His campaign biography indicated the group began work far earlier, in 2013.)

Screenshots of the Facebook group provided to The New York Times show that Santos often reposted photos from other rescues or other Facebook pages, pleading with the groups members to help save dogs and cats in need.

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Monica Cunha, who first connected to Santos through a Facebook page for Brazilian pet lovers, recalled his taking dogs whose owners could no longer care for them and trying to find them new homes. But she said he rarely posted details of successful adoptions.

Existing posts on Facebook and screenshots also show that Santos was frequently fundraising through GoFundMe pages, direct solicitations to a PayPal account and supposed raffles.

In those solicitations, Santos consistently referred to the charity as a tax-exempt organization. Yet, federal and state officials could not find records of a registered charity named Friends of Pets United. New Yorks Department of Agriculture and Markets said it had no records that the organization was registered as a rescue, as would have been required starting in September 2017.

The Animal Care Centers of NYC, New York Citys contracted provider for animal-related services, said it had no record of working with Friends of Pets United nor any indication that such a group was authorized to pull dogs from its shelters.

Santos has not explained his descriptions of the charitys status. In an interview in December with City & State, he equivocated but appeared to lay the blame on somebody else.

You know, somebody along the line  and again, this is all stuff that are being looked into, to show and get that taken care of. Because, again, I wasnt alone on this, Santos said, even as he maintained that he handled the bulk of charitys operations.

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I was the guy picking up poop, cleaning, getting people, doing campaigns online, he said. But we had a broader group of folks who helped out.

Spadavecchia was not the only person to raise concerns about how Santos was handling Friends of Pets Uniteds funds. In late 2016, GoFundMe received a complaint about a fundraiser that Santos operated to help a veteran, Richard Osthoff, raise money for his dogs surgery, a spokesperson said.

Osthoff, whose encounter with Santos was reported earlier by local news site Patch, has not responded to requests for an interview. But a friend, Michael Boll, who became involved in the situation, provided screenshots of text messages between Santos and Osthoff.

According to Boll, Osthoff learned that his dog, Sapphire, had a tumor that required $3,000 of surgery. At the time, Osthoff, 47, was suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder and living in a tent, Boll said.

A veterinary technician named Andrea Dos Santos connected Osthoff to Santos, saying that Friends of Pets United could probably provide support.

I felt bad because Rich is like, I dont have the money, this and that. And hes crying, Dos Santos said. I knew Anthony at the time, and I told him, Can you help this guy? Because, you know, he was helping me.

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According to Patch, Santos set up a GoFundMe page in May 2016. It met its goal in June, ultimately raising $3,055. Yet, months passed without Osthoffs receiving any money. By November, Osthoff  still unable to pay for Sapphires operation  was clearly frustrated.

Osthoff told Santos in text messages that he felt he had been used for my family and friends donations and that he was sick of being jerked around. The $3,000, he said, belongs to an innocent pooch, and shes been taken advantage of.

Santos responded that Osthoff was overreacting, accusing him of being needy and uncooperative. He refused to give the funds directly to the veteran, arguing that the money had been raised for Friends of Pets United, and stressed it was in safe hands.

We are audited, Santos wrote, again asserting his organization was a tax-exempt charity. He added, We are with the highest standards of integrity.

Hoping to mediate, Boll, who runs a veteran outreach charity, stepped in. He was surprised when Santos suggested the funds might go to other animals.

I said, You cant just do what you want with the money. This is under false pretenses, Boll said.

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Sapphire died in January 2017. Santos has denied any wrongdoing. In an interview with One America News on Saturday, he insisted he never handled the finances of Friends of Pets United.

The spokesperson for GoFundMe, Jalen Drummond, said the site ultimately asked Santos for proof of the delivery of funds. When he did not respond, the site removed the fundraiser and blocked the email associated with it from being used in the future.

Karmas gonna get you

In 2017, Friends of Pets United held an event to benefit a farm in New Jersey owned by Dos Santos. The organization said it planned to use the farm for rescue operations.

Dos Santos, who was out of touch with Ostroff and did not know about his interactions with Santos, said Santos told her that he could help raise money to repair her barn and build fences for a private sanctuary for abused animals. So, she agreed to host an event at the farm, soliciting donations from friends and laying out her own money for refreshments, she said.

For $50, guests to the farm would get live music, drinks and barbecue. Dozens of people came, according to Dos Santos and another person who attended, and the turnout raised Dos Santos hopes. A GoFundMe page for the event raised $2,165.

But after the event, Santos, who had handled all the money, was hard to reach, Dos Santos said.

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It was excuse after excuse after excuse, Dos Santos said, adding that she never received the money.

In their final conversation, Dos Santos remembers issuing a warning. " Karmas gonna get you, I said, and if it does, youre going to remember me. Because you are going to deserve everything you are going to get.

GoFundMe would not provide more information about Santos use of the site or whether it received other complaints about his fundraisers.

It was unclear how much money he raised on PayPal, or whether PayPal had received any complaints. A representative for PayPal declined to comment, citing privacy issues.

There were examples of the charity having done legitimate work. In September 2015, Santos raised $470 to help pay vet bills for Zizi, a dog found in Queens who he said needed vaccines and examinations. His fundraising pitch included a $124 bill that he said he paid.

In October 2017, Santos and a group in FOPU-branded T-shirts took part in a Halloween event at a Pet Oasis store. The next month, Pet Oasis said on Facebook that Friends of Pets United was officially partnered up to do pet adoptions every Saturday.

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Weeks later, he said he needed another $340 to help Zizis mother and sister.

Santos also had ties to an animal shelter in South Carolina, the Berkeley Animal Center. Jenna-Ley Jamison, a spokesperson, said the shelters records showed it sent just two dogs to Friends of Pets United, on Dec. 8, 2017.

Judi Eskenazi, who once helped run an animal rescue in New Jersey, said Santos asked her in January 2018 to help him with six dogs he took from a South Carolina shelter. A friend of hers at another rescue took the animals.

At the time, Santos told Eskenazi that he was closing his rescue, she said. Months later, he was back with a similar story: He was about to shut down and urgently needed to place his last remaining animals. He would repeat the spiel throughout the year, she said.

By December, Eskenazi was tired of Santos entreaties and started swapping stories with a friend who ran an animal rescue and had similar experiences.

That friend decided to learn more about Friends of Pets United and the man behind it, Anthony Devolder. Days later, she sent Eskenazi a Facebook message.

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Wait this is so weird, she wrote. Im pretty sure his name is actually george.

c.2023 The New York Times Company
A drone has exploded in the air near Kaluga, a city located 160 kilometers southwest of Moscow, Kaluga Oblast Governor Vladislav Shapsha claimed on Feb. 6.

He didnt specify the origin of the drone, but local media claimed it was flying toward a military facility.

There were no casualties and no damage to civilian infrastructure, the governor said.

Russia has previously accused Ukraine of attacking several regions south of Moscow. Ukraine has neither confirmed nor denied the reports.
(Bloomberg) -- Nigerias demonetization plan is causing a schism within the ruling All Progressives Congress.

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Three state governors  from Kaduna, Kogi and Zamfara in the north of the country  all belonging to the ruling party sued the federal government, seeking the suspension of the central banks plan that has caused a cash crisis and disrupted transactions in Africas largest economy.

The governors appealed to the nations Supreme Court to rule on the legality of the Central Bank of Nigerias decision to replace 2.7 trillion ($5.86 billion) worth of high denomination bills with redesigned notes, the reasonableness of the six-week window to phase out the old bills, and whether the central government is exceeding its powers.

The governors asked the court to immediately suspend the exercise until the government complies with relevant provisions of the law, according to a document filed with the Supreme Court and seen by Bloomberg.

Chaos because of Nigerias demonetization mirrors the situation in India after Prime Minister Narendra Modi outlawed 86% of the nations cash. Confusion prevailed at bank branches across Africas most populous country as Nigerians struggled to to get new currency in exchange for their existing 200, 500- and 1,000 naira notes ahead of a Feb. 10 deadline, after which the bills cease to be legal tender.

The Naira (whether old or new) is scarce, the state governors said in a statement supporting their court case. Economic activities are furiously grinding to a halt. Vast quantity of official worktime is spent looking for the scarce notes and hunger stalks the entire landscape of Kaduna, Kogi and Zamfara States. The States are on the verge of anarchy.

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The governors said that rural residents, who live far from bank branches, have so far been unable to deposit their life savings, which are still in the old naira notes.

President Muhammadu Buhari last week asked for a week in order to resolve the crisis. He blamed selfish and inefficient banks for the chaos and that an extension of the time frame for the exercise will not make any difference as long a greed and selfishness continue to guide our actions.

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Dr Sarah Myhill, has been suspended from practicing medicine after promoting vitamins and iodine as cures for COVID-19. (Wales News)

A doctor has been banned for practicing for nine months after recommending high doses of vitamins to treat COVID-19.

Private practitioner Dr Sarah Myhill, 64, posted online videos and articles advocating taking vitamins and other substances in high doses.

The Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service found her recommendations "undermined public health" without proof that they worked.

A disciplinary hearing was told she was also selling the substances she recommended on her website - and that some could have caused "serious harm" and "potentially fatal toxicity".

The tribunal was told that Myhill uploaded a series of videos and articles at the start of the pandemic between March and May 2020.

She described substances as "safe nutritional interventions" which she said meant vaccinations were "rendered irrelevant".

Sarah Myhill also discredited the effectiveness of face masks in the fight against the spread of COVID-19. (Getty)

But the substances Myhill promoted were not universally safe and had potentially serious health risks associated with them, the panel was told. There was also no evidence to suggest they would be effective.

According to the British Medical Journal, Myhill endorsed high doses of vitamins and the inhalation of iodine through a salt pipe for the treatment of infections such as COVID. She also promoted the use of ivermectin on her website without making clear the potential risks.

These agents risked patient safety in that they exposed patients to potential serious harm, including toxicity, said tribunal chair Julia Oakford.

She said Myhill should have notified the public and her patients that the treatment was not licensed, not universally safe, and that there were potential health risks associated with using the treatment in the manner she recommended.

Myhill also discredited the use of face masks.

The tribunal found Myhill "does not practice evidence-based medicine and may encourage false reassurance in her patients who may believe that they will not catch COVID-19 or other infections if they follow her advice".

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A General Medical Council tribunal tribunal was told that substances Myhill recommended were not universally safe and had potentially serious health risks. (GMC)

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Myhill was also found guilty of serious misconduct in failing to reconsider her treatment plan after she failed to diagnose a fractured hip in a patient who had a fall, and in not recommending his admission to hospital when his condition had not improved. It said her fitness to practise was also impaired as a result.

Myhill previously had a year-long ban lifted after a GMC investigation into her claims of being a "pioneer" in the treatment of chronic fatigue syndrome.

The hearing was told there had been 30 previous GMC investigations into Myhill, but none had resulted in findings of misconduct.

The tribunal concluded: "Given the circumstances of this case, it is necessary to protect members of the public and in the public interest to make an order suspending Dr Myhill's registration with immediate effect, to uphold and maintain professional standards and maintain public confidence in the profession."

Myhill, of Knighton, Powys, did not attend the hearing.
You never know what to expect from the Grammys, and the Grammys fashion of 2023 is a prime example of that. were a few of the stars that walked the red carpet at the 64th annual Grammy Awards on February 5, 2023, at Cyrpto.com Arena in Los Angeles.

At the 65th Grammy awards, Trevor Noah will host for his third consecutive year in 2023. He told AP that he feels a bit more comfortable with the gig than in previous years but he still gets the jitters. The nerves come in because youre standing in front of not just some of the best, but some of the biggest performers in the world, he said. Nerves are part of what I do.

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The Grammys, which were originally known as the Gramophone Awards, started in 1959 as a way to honor artists and executives in the music industry in the same way that movies and television have the Oscars and the Emmys. The first award show was held on May 4, 1959, at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, California, as well as the Park Sheraton Hotel in New York City. However, it wasnt until later that year that the show was televised for the first time. Its first live telecast was with the 13th Grammys in 1971.

Since the Grammys started more than 60 years ago, thousands of artists have received the coveted award: a gold-plated, gilded gramophone trophy made of zinc alloy. Though there are more than 80 categories across more than 25 fields and music genres, the Grammys are best known for their General Field categories (also known as the Big Four categories): Album of the Year; Record of the Year; Song of the Year; and Best New Artist. Artists will often see a boost in album sales and streaming numbers after taking home a Grammy in whats called a Grammy bump, but the size of the bump often correlates with how many awards are collected and when in the ceremony the wins occur, Billboard reported in 2022 of the significant of the Grammys. Generally, primetime award wins and showstopping performances during the main telecast will yield bigger gains.

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Click here to read the full article.

But back to the red carpet. As we said, the Grammys fashion in 2023 didnt come to play. Read on ahead for what stars like Taylor Swift, Doja Cat and Lizzo wore to the 65th annual Grammy Awards.

Grammys Fashion 2023

Lizzo

Lizzo. Photo by Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic

Lizzo is nominated for 5 Grammys: Record and Song of the Year for About Damn Time, Album of the Year for Special, Best Solo Performance, and Best Pop Vocal Album. Lizzo wore custom Dolce & Gabbana.

Doja Cat

Doja Cat. Photo by ROBYN BECK/AFP via Getty Images

Doja Cat is nominated for Record of the Year, Best Solo Pop Performance and Best Music Video for Woman; Best Pop Duo/Group Performance for I Like You (A Happier Song) with Post Malone, Best Rap Performance for Vegas. Doja Cat wears Versace.

Harry Styles

Harry Styles. Photo by Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images

Harry Styles is nominated for Record and Song of the Year, Best Music Video for As It Was, Album of the Year, Best Solo Performance and Best Pop Vocal Album for Harrys House. He was dressed in a harlequin jumpsuit in collaboration with Swarovski.

Sam Smith & Kim Petras

Sam Smith, Kim Petras. Photo by Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images

Sam Smith and Kim Petras performed at the 2023 Grammys. Theyre nominated for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance for Unholy.

Ashley McBryde

Ashley McBryde. Photo by Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images

Ashley McBryde is nominated for Country Album of the Year at the 2023 Grammys for Ashley McBryde Presents: Lindeville, having won Best Country Duo/Group Performance for Never Wanted To Be That Girl earlier in the day.

Trevor Noah

Trevor Noah. Image: Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images

The 65th Grammy Awards host Trevor Noah arrives at the awards ceremony.

Taylor Swift

Taylor Swift. Photo by Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images

Taylor Swift is nominated for Song and of the Year and Best Music Video for All Too Well (10 Minute Version) (The Short Film), Best Country Song for I Bet You Think About Me (Taylors Version) (From The Vault), Best Song Written For Visual Media for Carolina [From Where The Crawdads Sing]. Taylor wears Roberto Cavalli.

Brothers OsborneT.J. & John Osborne

T.J. Osborne and John Osborne. Photo by Amy Sussman/Getty Images

Brothers OsborneT.J. and Johnarrive at the 65th Grammy Awards red carpet. They were nominated for Best Country Duo/Group Performance for Midnight Riders Prayer.

Sza

Sza. Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images

Sza presented the award for Best Musica Urbana Album at the 65th Grammy Awards, which was awarded to Bad Bunny.

Anitta

Anitta. Photo by Jon Kopaloff/WireImage

Anitta is nominated for Best New Artist at the 65th Grammy Awards.

Pharrell Williams

Pharrell Williams. Photo by Lester Cohen/Getty Images

Pharrell Williams is nominated alongside Kendrick Lamar for Album Of The Year as a collaborator on Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers.

Camila Cabello

Camila Cabello. Photo by Neilson Barnard/Getty Images

Camila Cabello arrives at the 65th Grammy Awards. Shes wearing PatBO and looking like a literal angle.

Heidi Klum

Heidi Klum. Photo by Lester Cohen/Getty Images

Supermodel Heidi Klum stepped out on the red carpet.

Jack Harlow

Jack Harlow. Photo by Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images

Jack Harlow arrived at the 2023 Grammys in a taupe monochrome suit. Hes nominated for Best Melodic Rap Performance for First Class, Best Rap Song as a collaborator on Churchill Downs, Best Rap Album for Come Home The Kids Miss You, Producer Of The Year, Non-Classical for Churchill Downs and Nail Tech.

Cardi B

Cardi B. Photo by Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images

Cardi B arrives at the 65th Grammy Awards.

Paris Hilton

Paris Hilton. Photo by Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images

Paris Hilton arrives at the 65th Grammy Awards. She and her husband Carter Reum welcomed their first child on January 24, 2023.

Mary J. Blige

Mary J. Blige. Photo by Kevin Mazur/Getty Images

Mary J. Blige is nominated for Record of the Year, Album of the Year, Best R&B Album and Best Traditional R&B Performance for Good Morning Gorgeous, Best R&B Performance for Here With Me, Best R&B Song for Good Morning Gorgeous.

Shania Twain

Getty.

Shania Twain arrives at the 65th Grammy Awards.

Machine Gun Kelly & Megan Fox

Machine Gun Kelly, Megan Fox. Photo by Lester Cohen/Getty Images

Machine Gun Kelly and Megan Fox arrive at the 65th Grammy Awards. Hes nominated for Best Rock Album for Mainstream Sellout.

Who are the Grammys 2023 performers?

The Grammys 2023 performers at the main show include Harry Styles, Adele and Bad Bunny. See below for a full list of Grammys 2023 performers at the pre-show and main show.

Grammys 2023 Pre-Show Performers

The Blind Boys of Alabama, La Santa Cecilia, Bob Mintzer, Shosana Bean, Buddy Guy, Maranda Curtis  I Just Want to Celebrate

Samara Joy  Cant Get Out of This Mood

Arooj Aftab, Anoushka Shankar  Udhero Na

Madison Cunningham

Carlos Vives

Grammys 2023 Main Show Performers

Bad Bunny

Brandi Carlile

Harry Styles

Kacey Musgraves, Sheryl Crow, Mick Fleetwood, Bonnie Raitt, Quavo, Maverick City Music  In Memoriam: Coal Miners Daughter (tribute to Loretta Lynn); Songbird) (tribute to Christine McVie); Without You (tribute to Takeoff)

Lizzo

Luke Combs

Mary J. Blige

Sam Smith, Kim Petras  Unholy

Steve Lacy

Stevie Wonder, Smokey Robinson, Chris Stapleton

LL Cool J, Questlove, The Roots, Big Boi, Busta Rhymes with Spliff Bar, De La Soul

DJ Drama, DJ Jazzy Jeff, Missy Elliott, Future, GloRilla, Grandmaster Flash, Grandmaster Mele Mei and Scorpio/Ethiopian King, Ice-T, Lil Baby, Lil Wayne, The Lox, Method Man, Nelly, Public Enemy, Queen Latifah, Rahiem, Rakim, Run-DMC, Salt-N-Pepa and DJ Spinderella, Scarface, Swizz Beatz, Too $hort  50 Years of Hip-Hop

DJ Khaled, Jay-Z, Lil Wayne, Rick Ross, John Legend, Fridayy  God Did

Who are the Grammys 2023 nominees?

Beyonce had the most nominations at the Grammys 2023 with nine nominations, including Song of the Year for Break My Soul and Album of the Year for Renaissance. Kendrick Lamar had the second most nominations with eight nominations each. Adele and Brandi Carlile had the third most with seven nominations each. With a total of 88 nominations, Beyonce tied her husband, Jay-Z, as the most nominated artists in Grammys history. See below for the Grammys 2023 nominees in the Big Four categories: Record of the Year, Album of the Year, Song of the Year and Best New Artist.

Record of the Year Grammys 2023 Nominees

Dont Shut Me Down  ABBA

Easy on Me  Adele

Break My Soul  Beyonce

Good Morning Gorgeous  Mary J. Blige

You and Me on the Rock on Time  Brandi Carlile featuring Lucious

Woman  Doja Cat

Bad Habit  Steve Lacy

The Heart Part 5  Kendrick Lamar

About Damn Time  Lizzo

As It Was  Harry Styles

Album of the Year Grammys 2023 Nominees

Voyage  Abba

30  Adele

Un verano sin ti  Bad Bunny

Renaissance  Beyonce

Good Morning Gorgeous  Mary J. Blige

In These Silent Days  Brandi Carlile

Music of the Spheres  Coldplay

Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers  Kendrick Lamar

Special  Lizzo

Harrys House  Harry Styles

Song of the Year Grammys 2023 Nominees

ABCDEFU  Gayle

About Damn Time  Lizzo

All Too Well (10 Minute version)  Taylor Swift

As It Was  Harry Styles

Bad Habit  Steve Lacy

Break My Soul  Beyonce

Easy on Me  Adele

God Did  DJ Khaled featuring Rick Ross, Lil Wayne, Jay-Z, John Legend, Fridayy

The Heart Part 5  Kendrick Lamar

Just Like That Bonnie Raitt

Best New Artist Grammys 2023 Nominees

Anitta

Omar Apollo

Domi and JD Beck

Samara Joy

Latto

Maneskin

Muni Long

Tobe Nwingwe

Molly Tuttle

Wet Leg

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Jezelle Shawanokazic of HGM MUSIC GROUP speaks in support of the "Free Leonard Peltier," movement on Feb. 6, 2023, in Green Bay, Wis. Peltier, an activist with the American Indian Movement, is serving life in prison for his involvement in a shootout on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota in the 1970s that left two FBI agents dead. (Photo: Sarah Kloepping/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin)

GREEN BAY - Members representing the American Indian Movement, Wisconsin Chapter, rallied in Green Bay Monday calling for the release of Native American activist Leonard Peltier, who has been in federal prison since 1977.

He has proven his innocence, said Jezelle Shawanokazic, director of the American Indian Movement in Wisconsin. All he did was advocate for our people and treaties, and against corruption. He didnt place harm on anyone.

Peltier was sentenced for his suspected involvement in a 1975 shootout on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota that left two FBI agents dead.

In his 1999 memoir Prison Writings: My Life is My Sun Dance, Peltier admitted he was at the shootout, but said he did not kill the agents.

Nelson Mandela, Mother Teresa and the 14th Dalai Lama have each campaigned for Peltiers release.

Peltier is a prominent member of the American Indian Movement, which formed in Minneapolis in 1968 and has called global attention to tribal sovereignty issues in the U.S.

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Members of the organization had occupied the abandoned U.S. Coast Guard Station in Milwaukee in 1971 under an apparent federal treaty provision that abandoned federal land would revert back to Indigenous tribal ownership.

That reasoning led to the occupation of other abandoned federal sites at the time by American Indians, including Alcatraz Island in 1969.

The occupiers of the abandoned Milwaukee Coast Guard station had been armed, but there was never any confrontation, and the group was successful in negotiating the relocation of a culturally based alcoholism treatment program and the Indian Community School to the site.

The Forest County Potawatomi Community took over the site and had operated a school there, and eventually opened a casino in Milwaukee.

Shawanokazic said Peltier, 78, has become ill with age-related issues and is still forced in solitary confinement.

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Hes an elder and no harm to anyone, she said.

More: Latest on Lac du Flambeau land dispute and road closures: State lawmakers call on Gov. Evers to step in as some non-Native landowners organize

More: New book gives an insider's view of the 20-year power struggle between Oneida Nation and village of Hobart

Seven others, including citizens of the Oneida and Menominee nations, joined Shawanokazic in the rally Monday, which was held outside the Fox 11 studio on Lombardi Avenue.

They are also affiliated with Shawanokazics Appleton-based music label HGM Music Group, which features local Indigenous hip-hop performers.

Shawanokazic, who goes by the stage name J25, is a citizen of the Chickasaw Nation and was recently inducted into the Recording Academy as a judge for the Grammy Awards. She took on the role of director of the American Indian Movement in Wisconsin in October 2022.

Frank Vaisvilas is a Report for America corps member who covers Native American issues in Wisconsin based at the Green Bay Press-Gazette. Contact him at fvaisvilas@gannett.com or 815-260-2262. Follow him on Twitter at @vaisvilas_frank.You can directly support his work with a tax-deductible donation online at GreenBayPressGazette.com/RFA or by check made out to The GroundTruth Project with subject line Report for America Green Bay Press Gazette Campaign. Address: The GroundTruth Project, Lockbox Services, 9450 SW Gemini Drive, PMB 46837, Beaverton, Oregon 97008-7105.

This article originally appeared on Green Bay Press-Gazette: Green Bay rally calls for release of Leonard Peltier, Native activist
The state of Texas is ordering state agencies to ban the use of TikTok, as well as other software connected to Chinese and Russian firms, by the middle of next week, governor Greg Abbott announced on Monday.

The security risks associated with the use of TikTok on devices used to conduct the important business of our state must not be underestimated or ignored, Mr Abbott said in a statement.

Owned by a Chinese company that employs Chinese Communist Party members, TikTok harvests significant amounts of data from a users device, including details about a users internet activity, he added.

State agencies have until 15 February to formulate plans banning the downloading of TikTok, as well forbidding conducting state business on government or personal devices where TikTok is installed.

The plan also makes similar requirements surrounding the popular Chinese messenger app WeChat, the Russian cybersecurity software Kaspersky, and the Chinese mobile electronics maker Huawei.

This is a breaking news story and will be updated with new information.
Reality TV stars such as Love Islands Luca Bish and Jack Fincham have visited Turkey for dental work (PA/Getty)

A woman unleashes a howl as blood dribbles down her chin. Tiny shark-like stumps become visible as her mouth opens, revealing her raw gums to the camera. #Turkeyteeth, reads the caption. The woman in the video is in a dental clinic in Turkey, mid-way through a cosmetic procedure that involves shaving down your natural teeth to miniature pegs and having pearly white crowns affixed to achieve a flawless smile.

This beaming, milk-white, spotless grin has been popularised by reality TV stars such as Love Islands Luca Bish and Jack Fincham, who have both publicly confirmed they visited Turkey to get the work done. While critics of the Love Island smile cruelly liken it to Donkeys chompers in Shrek, piano keys or Ross after his notorious teeth-whitening experience in Friends, thousands of young people yearn for it.

On TikTok, twenty-somethings share videos recommending overseas clinics offering all-inclusive holiday deals that include a trip to Turkey and cosmetic surgery in the price. Its not all smiles, though. The grim reality of this trend is that thousands of people are returning to the UK with botched treatment that could lead to lifelong health issues. Last year, the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons (BAAPS) found that the number of Brits being treated for serious complications following cosmetic surgery abroad rose by 44 per cent, with more likely coming: social media is awash with clinics promoting their package deals via influencer endorsed marketing. Among the most coveted treatments are Turkey teeth, Brazilian butt lifts (BBL)  a surgical treatment that makes the buttocks perkier and rounder  tummy tucks and hair transplants.

Molly arrived in Turkey last year after making an appointment to get what she thought were veneers. The 25-year-old paid around 3,000 for a package deal, which included a consultation via WhatsApp, luxury hotel accommodation for three days, airport transfer, breakfast and brand-new teeth. Molly considered this a fair price since a similar procedure would cost more than double in Manchester, where she lives. Plus, the experience had come recommended by some of her friends.

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Molly left Turkey three days later with teeth that she says are too big for her mouth. She then started experiencing difficulties with her speech. Disappointed with how blocky and unnatural they looked, Molly says her gums also began feeling sensitive. She later learnt that her previously healthy teeth had been completely destroyed and she had not received veneers, but 20 chunky, glistening crowns  a treatment that is irreversible.

Dr Sam Jethwa, vice president of The British Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry and leading cosmetic dentist at Bespoke Smile in Marlow, Buckinghamshire, believes that patients are having their teeth completely mutilated at clinics in Turkey. He worries that people are being lured in by the all-inclusive appeal of these deals without considering the end result. So far, hes seen patients return with nerve problems, dead teeth, abscesses and infections that need root canals.

You just trust the dentists and it all happens so quickly

25-year-old Molly

Dentistry cant be sold digitally or in holiday packages, Dr Jethwa tells me. A medical procedure involves an assessment, diagnosis, and then finding the best option for that situation. Whereas when you go to Turkey, its not tailored to the patient. He points out that some clinics market the deal as crown slash veneer, but those are two entirely different treatments. While a veneer is minimally invasive and keeps the patients existing enamel intact; crowns can require filing down up to 70 per cent of the original tooth before 360-degree helmets are placed over each peg.

At Bespoke Smile, where Dr Jethwa is the lead clinician, the process of creating ultra-thin veneers takes up to three weeks in comparison to Mollys three days. By contrast, Dr Jethwas consultation process includes making a trial set of teeth for the patient to look at. Then, each hand-made veneer takes about a day to make. Dr Jethwa questions the quality of the materials being used by some Turkish clinics and the severity of the work being done. No one ever comes in needing 20-plus teeth unless theyve got a mouth that really needs reconstruction, he tells me, noting that patients who want their Turkey teeth removed and reconstructed could face a bill up to 60,000.

Molly admits that she felt misled by the clinic she visited in Turkey. All I wanted to fix was the roundness of my teeth and get the square look, she tells me, explaining that she already had healthy, relatively straight, white teeth  no overhaul necessary. I didnt know about the danger of drilling down the teeth. You just trust the dentists and it all happens so quickly, she sighs, saying that she was stripped of the opportunity to preview her new teeth before going through with it. Its just like a machine process [at the clinic] that isnt personal to you at all. Now, at [age] 25, Ive got these big blocky teeth, which is going to cost a fortune to correct.

Dr Jethwa recently saw a 21-year-old man who had received dental work in Turkey and had resorted to using chewing gum to secure his two front crowns because they kept disconnecting. He showed us what it looked like underneath the crowns and there must have been about two to three millimetres of tooth left, says Dr Jethwa. They were just destroyed. The patients teeth needed to be removed and replaced with implants. This would involve rebuilding his gum (when the gum tissue is lost and needs to be grafted), which would take up to 18 months to look normal again, explains the dentist.

Love Island stars Luca Bish and Jack Fincham have both publicly confirmed they visited Turkey for dental work (Getty)

Plastic surgery procedures such as liposuction are similarly marketed by Turkish clinics as glamorous holiday experiences with a seemingly budget-friendly price tag. Marc Pacifico, BAAPS president, has seen Brits return from Turkey with burns from overaggressive liposuction, litres of fluids collecting around their abdomen after the same treatment and dead skin from tummy tucks. These popular surgical treatments are, like dental work, much cheaper in Turkey. Pacifico explains that the cost of adhering to strict safety regulations in the UK is what makes the treatments more expensive in comparison to abroad. The reality is that if you have surgery, complications can happen even in the best of hands, he warns. But if youre going somewhere that doesnt have the same regulatory framework and the safety standards, theres a much higher risk.

In the UK, cosmetic practices are regulated by the Care Quality Commission, a public body of the Department of Health and Social Care, which monitors medical services from cosmetic surgery clinics to mental health services. Both Dr Jethwa and Pacifico reiterate to me that some excellent dentists and plastic surgeons practice in Turkey, but its often about finding the right clinic that prioritises the quality of the treatment over quick turnarounds.

When I speak to 27-year-old Kristian, who visited Turkey to get liposuction and a BBL four months ago, he tells me that research is crucial when choosing the right clinic. He, like Molly, visited Turkey for the cheaper cost and had been recommended the experience by some friends. Kristian describes his experience as painless and says that hes pleased with the outcome. When I bring up Turkey teeth and the gruesome videos circulating social media, he reassures me that there are excellent clinics while some are merely trying to make quick money. I know Im going back [to the same clinic] because they were so good, he tells me, saying hes considering getting a facelift next time.

Dr Jethwa and Pacifico both agree that effusive influencer marketing behind overseas surgery deals is dangerously normalising the idea of quick fix procedures. The word trend makes Pacifico feel uneasy when it comes to surgery. Im very nervous when there is something that appears to be fashionable and can be achieved by surgical procedure, he says, before pointing to a popular trend called buccal fat removal  a face gouging, cheekbone sculpting procedure  that has been popular among celebrities in recent months. Making a decision about surgery is a lifelong decision, he reiterates. By glamorising the procedure, and making it sound like its a holiday, it takes away the reality of the risks and problems.

On 31 January, it was reported that an 81-year-old man called Clive Worthington took his own life after fighting for compensation over botched dental work that left him in agony. Though Worthington received dental surgery from a UK-registered dentist, the story is a pertinent reminder of the pain and mental health impacts inflicted by surgical complications.

While Molly is in the process of seeking professional advice from UK dentists about the best option for mending her smile, shes been left with financial anxiety and regret. She hopes to find a payment plan to help her afford the costs. Do your research in the UK and think before you go, she says, cautioning people considering flying out for cosmetic work. I wouldnt have got the work done if I had known about the long-term effects and now I have to pay to try and correct that.

If you are experiencing feelings of distress and isolation, or are struggling to cope, The Samaritans offers support; you can speak to someone for free over the phone, in confidence, on 116 123 (UK and ROI), email jo@samaritans.org, or visit the Samaritans website to find details of your nearest branch
(Bloomberg) -- More than 2,100 computers around the world were infected over the weekend with ransomware that exploited a two-year-old vulnerability in server software made by VMware Inc., according to cybersecurity researchers and authorities.

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The infected machines represent a fraction of the more than 66,000 internet-connected computers that could be potential targets, said Patrice Auffret, founder and chief executive officer of Onyphe SAS, a French cybersecurity firm that scanned the internet for fingerprints of the attackers code in the wild. Cybersecurity agencies in France, Italy, Canada and other countries published advisories disclosing the attacks and urged organizations using the vulnerable software to fix it.

What is interesting here is the speed at which they attacked the machines, Auffret wrote in an email.

Hackers started infecting vulnerable computers on Friday, compromising more than 2,000 machines within 24 hours, Auffret said. Exactly which victims were breached in the effort remains unclear.

The time was chosen wisely  system administrators and security teams are nearly out for the weekend, he said. The attackers probably wanted to finish their dirty job during the weekend for a maximum impact.

The breaches were the latest example of hackers leveraging old vulnerabilities in widely used software. In this case, they used VMwares ESXi hypervisor code for servers in order to extort organizations that failed to apply the necessary fixes long ago. The company issued a fix for the software issue in 2021.

From the moment a software company publishes a fix for a security vulnerablity in one of its products, hackers study the public information to determine whether attacks are possible, according to security experts. Its a race that has been ongoing for decades, as hackers aim to jump through holes in corporate technology at the same time that security personnel scrambles to fix the issues. Microsoft Corp.s so-called Patch Tuesday, a monthly roundup of the flaws in its enterprise technology, often is the spark for the race to fix such flaws.

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The vulnerability being targeted is two years old and should have been patched by now, but evidently many servers are still not protected, Stefano Zanero, professor of cybersecurity at Italys Politecnico di Milano, said in an interview.

In a sign of the limited impact of the weekend breaches, just one of the 426 cryptocurrency wallets associated with the breaches showed a balance  of about $11,700, according to Alexander Leslie, an analyst at the threat intelligence company Recorded Future Inc.

So far, the scale of disruption and destruction likely outweighs any financial gain for the threat actor, Leslie wrote on Twitter.

A spokesperson for the US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, known as CISA, said, CISA is working with public and private sector partners to assess the impacts of these reported incidents and providing assistance where needed.

It remains unclear if the latest campaign is related to a ransomware attack last week against ION Trading UK that disrupted derivatives trading globally, security experts said. That breach was conducted by a notorious extortion group called LockBit, which the US Department of Justice estimates has been active since January 2020, conducting breaches at as many as 1,000 victims globally and extorting as least $100 million from those organizations.

LockBit, the gang behind last weeks attack on ION Trading UK that upended derivatives trading, said it received a ransom and unlocked those files. The company described that attack as involving VMWare servers, but its not known if the incident was related to the campaign targeting the two-year-old flaw. ION has declined to comment on whether a ransom was paid.

--With assistance from Andrew Martin, Ian Fisher, Ryan Gallagher and Tommaso Ebhardt.

(Updates with additional details throughout.)

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2023 Bloomberg L.P.
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP)  Haitis prime minister on Monday formally appointed a transition council charged with ensuring that long-awaited general elections are held in a country with no democratically elected institutions.

While many doubt the creation of the council will help the government hold elections this year as envisioned, Prime Minister Ariel Henry said it was a significant step toward that goal.

It is the beginning of the end of the dysfunction of our democratic institutions, he said.

Haiti has failed to hold elections since the July 2021 assassination of President Jovenel Moise. Henry assumed power shortly after Moise's death, and promised that his administration would do so.

In early January, the terms of the remaining 10 senators expired, leaving no elected officials in place for a country of more than 11 million people.

Henry called on all Haitians to unite and fight for change as the country continues to spiral, with poverty and hunger deepening and violence spiking. The prime minister also thanked the councils three members for agreeing to join the government in the noble and thankless task of serving our country in these difficult times.

The councils three members are Calixte Fleuridor with Haitis Protestant Federation, who will represent civil society; Mirlande Manigat, a law professor and former first lady and presidential candidate who will represent political parties; and Laurent Saint-Cyr, president of the Haitian Chamber of Commerce, who will represent the private sector.

The council also will be responsible for working with government officials to reform Haitis constitution, implement economic reforms and reduce violence as gangs continue to grow more powerful since the presidential assassination, leading to a rise in killings, kidnappings and rapes.

The High Transition Council, as its known, also will choose the members of a provisional electoral council that needs to be in place before election planning begins.

Henry stressed that elections can't be held until Haiti becomes safer: It would not be acceptable for the state to ask politicians to campaign if the state cannot guarantee their security, he said.

He noted that the new council also supports his call for the deployment of foreign troops to help quell violence in Haiti, a request he made in October that remains unheeded by the U.N. Security Council.
To get a sense of who is truly in control of Halcyon Agri Corporation Limited (SGX:5VJ), it is important to understand the ownership structure of the business. The group holding the most number of shares in the company, around 46% to be precise, is institutions. In other words, the group stands to gain the most (or lose the most) from their investment into the company.

Given the vast amount of money and research capacities at their disposal, institutional ownership tends to carry a lot of weight, especially with individual investors. Hence, having a considerable amount of institutional money invested in a company is often regarded as a desirable trait.

Let's delve deeper into each type of owner of Halcyon Agri, beginning with the chart below.

Check out our latest analysis for Halcyon Agri

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Halcyon Agri?

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.

Halcyon Agri already has institutions on the share registry. Indeed, they own a respectable stake in the company. This can indicate that the company has a certain degree of credibility in the investment community. However, it is best to be wary of relying on the supposed validation that comes with institutional investors. They too, get it wrong sometimes. 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 Halcyon Agri's historic earnings and revenue below, but keep in mind there's always more to the story.

Hedge funds don't have many shares in Halcyon Agri. The company's largest shareholder is China Rubber Investment Group Co., Ltd., with ownership of 36%. For context, the second largest shareholder holds about 29% of the shares outstanding, followed by an ownership of 5.3% by the third-largest shareholder.

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To make our study more interesting, we found that the top 2 shareholders have a majority ownership in the company, meaning that they are powerful enough to influence the decisions of 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. We're not picking up on any analyst coverage of the stock at the moment, so the company is unlikely to be widely held.

Insider Ownership Of Halcyon Agri

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.

We can see that insiders own shares in Halcyon Agri Corporation Limited. It has a market capitalization of just S$646m, and insiders have S$10m worth of shares, in their own names. It is good to see some investment by insiders, but it might be worth checking if those insiders have been buying.

General Public Ownership

The general public-- including retail investors -- own 18% stake in the company, and hence can't easily be ignored. While this size of ownership may not be enough to sway a policy decision in their favour, they can still make a collective impact on company policies.

Private Company Ownership

We can see that Private Companies own 35%, of the shares on issue. It might be worth looking deeper into this. If related parties, such as insiders, have an interest in one of these private companies, that should be disclosed in the annual report. Private companies may also have a strategic interest in the company.

Next Steps:

It's always worth thinking about the different groups who own shares in a company. But to understand Halcyon Agri better, we need to consider many other factors. Consider for instance, the ever-present spectre of investment risk. We've identified 4 warning signs with Halcyon Agri (at least 2 which are a bit unpleasant) , and understanding them should be part of your investment process.

Of course this may not be the best stock to buy. Therefore, you may wish to see our free collection of interesting prospects boasting favorable financials.

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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In this photo provided by Chad Fish, a large balloon drifts above the Atlantic Ocean, just off the coast of South Carolina, Saturday, Feb. 4, 2023. The balloon was struck by a missile from an F-22 fighter just off Myrtle Beach, fascinating sky-watchers across a populous area known as the Grand Strand for its miles of beaches that draw retirees and vacationers. (Chad Fish/AP Photo)

WASHINGTON  Republican lawmakers on Sunday accused China of deliberately surveilling sensitive U.S. military sites with a suspected spy balloon and said the Biden administration had given Beijing an intelligence opening by not downing the balloon during its high-altitude drift through American airspace.

The balloons presence in the sky above the United States before a military jet shot it down over the Atlantic Ocean with a missile Saturday further strained U.S.-China ties. Americas top diplomat abruptly scrapped a trip to Beijing and Chinas defense ministry said in a statement after the balloon fell into the waters off the Carolina coast that it reserves the right to take necessary measures to deal with similar situations.

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Clearly this was an attempt by China to gather information, to defeat our command and control of our sensitive missile defense and nuclear weapon sites, said the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, Rep. Mike Turner, R-Ohio, among the members of Congress on the Sunday news shows. And that certainly is an urgency that this administration does not recognize.

U.S. defense and military officials said the balloon entered the U.S. air defense zone north of the Aleutian Islands on Jan. 28 and moved largely over land across Alaska and then into Canadian airspace in the Northwest Territories on Monday. It crossed back into U.S. territory over northern Idaho on Tuesday, the day the White House said President Joe Biden was first briefed on it.

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It defies belief to suggest there was nowhere between Alaska and the Carolinas where the U.S. could have safely shot down the balloon, said Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said the full Senate will get a briefing next week on the balloon, including details about its surveillance capabilities, and that the administration is considering measures against the Chinese for their brazen activities. He said the GOP criticism was political and premature, and that the U.S. had sent a clear message to China that this is not acceptable.

Biden issued the shootdown order but had wanted it to happen earlier, on Wednesday. He was advised that the best time for the operation would be when it was over water, U.S. officials said. Military officials determined that bringing down the balloon over land from an altitude of 60,000 feet would pose an undue risk to people on the ground.

The message they (the Chinese) were trying to send is what they believe internally, and that is that the United States is a once great superpower thats hollowed out, thats in decline, said Republican Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida, vice chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee. And the message theyre trying to send the world is, Look, these guys cant even do anything about a balloon flying over U.S. airspace. How can you possibly count on them if something were to happen in the Indo-Pacific region?

By Wednesday the balloon was over Montana, home to Malmstrom Air Force Base, which has fields of nuclear missile silos.

The Chinese didnt go and look at the Grand Canyon, Turner said. They went and looked at our nuclear weapon sites and the missile defense sites throughout the country.

On Thursday the Pentagon publicly exposed the balloon, and after that, China maneuvered the balloon to leave the U.S., Schumer told reporters Sunday. A U.S. official who was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly and spoke on the condition of anonymity confirmed that the balloon changed course at that point.

That it could be maneuvered ran counter to Chinas contention that the balloon  claimed to be a civilian airship used mainly for meteorological research  had limited self-steering capabilities and had deviated far from its planned course because of winds.

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This was not an accident. This was deliberate. It was intelligence, you know? said retired Adm. Mike Mullen, a former Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman.

Asked whether elements of the Chinese military may have wanted to disrupt Secretary of State Antony Blinkens planned visit, Mullen responded: Clearly, I think thats the case.

He said this really damages a relationship between us and China and puts a big dent in moving forward in a constructive way, which we really need to do.

To Rep. Mike Gallagher, R-Wis., who leads a new House committee on China, the message conveyed by Beijing is look what we can do to you and get away with. Your corporations, your career politicians, they will come crawling back.

The flight came to an end at about 2:39 p.m. EST Saturday, when an F-22 fighter jet fired a missile at the balloon, puncturing it while it was about 6 nautical miles off the coast near Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, defense officials said.

The debris landed in 47 feet of water, shallower than officials had expected, and it spread out over roughly 7 miles. Officials estimated the recovery efforts would be completed in a short time, not weeks.

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Defense officials who briefed reporters have said the U.S. was able to collect intelligence on the balloon as it flew over the country. They said the military concluded that the technology on the balloon didnt give the Chinese significant intelligence beyond what it could already obtain from satellites, though the U.S. took steps to mitigate what information it could gather as it moved along.

Turner was on NBCs Meet the Press, Rubio was on ABCs This Week and CNNs State of the Union, Mullen was on ABC and Gallagher appeared on Fox News Channels Sunday Morning Futures.

Associated Press writers Michael Balsamo and Tara Copp contributed to this report.
Update: SpaceX has launched a Falcon 9 rocket carrying a Spanish communications satellite.

See our previous story in the version below:

SpaceX is about to launch a Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on Monday evening.

The rocket will carry a commercial communications satellite for Hispasat, a company from Spain.

Hispasats Amazonas Nexus satellite, which will provide coverage over the whole American continent, the Atlantic corridors North and South (air and maritime traffic area) and Greenland, and will enable the provision of leading-edge telecommunication services in Ku-band.

Read: I dont know what more we could have done: sheriff releases video of deputy-involved shooting

The launch at Space Launch Complex 40 is scheduled for 8:32 p.m.

Watch it live on Channel 9 or by clicking here.

SpaceX said the first stage booster supporting this mission previously launched SES-22, ispaces HAKUTO-R Mission 1 and three Starlink missions.

Read: Avoid walking alone: Search underway for man who robbed, sexually attacked 2 women near bus stop

After separation, the first stage will land on the Just Read the Instructions droneship, which will be stationed in the Atlantic Ocean.

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.
Happy Valley has come to an end with a dramatic showdown between Catherine and Tommy Lee Royce. (BBC)



Happy Valley star James Norton has shared a behind-the-scenes selfie with Sarah Lancashire to mark the finale of the BBC crime drama.

The actor - who plays escaped convict Tommy Lee Royce - celebrated his character's final showdown with police officer Catherine Cawood by posting a series of backstage photos from all the series of Sally Wainwright's hit show.

These included a selfie with publicity-shy Lancashire, 58, taken during filming for Tommy Lee Royce and Catherine's explosive confrontation which has been hailed by critics for its performance as well as Wainwright's writing.

Read more: How will Happy Valley end? All the fan theories

Norton, 37, also shared images of his transformation in the hairdresser's chair for the final series, in which Tommy Lee Royce had grown shoulder-length hair in prison, captioned: "New series, new look #happyvalley #bts"

Norton wrote: "Dropping some Happy Valley nostalgia before the finale on Sundaythese were taken nearly 10 years ago"

These included a series of pictures of himself and Rhys Connah, who stars as Tommy Lee's son and Catherine's grandson Ryan, and was just eight-year-old when he made his debut in the first series of Happy Valley in 2014.

Multiple endings were filmed for the finale so that even the cast did know how the story finished.

Amit Shah, who played drug dealing pharmacist Faisal, told BBC Breakfast: "I was aware of what was going to happen to my character, but regarding scenes involving other characters - those scenes were taken out of my version of the script, so I was watching as an audience member last night."

Sarah Lancashire has been hailed for her performance as police officer Catherine Cawood in Happy Valley. (BBC)

Norton said: "I think the reason this series is particularly exciting is because everyone knows its the last and so everyone is going to be waiting for something to happen, and everyone is sort of predicting and guessing how Sally wants to end it.

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"I have been predicting for the last seven years how she is going to end it so it was really wonderful to read the script and hear her ideas - and they dont disappoint."

The second series aired in 2016, and the seven year wait for the final series was explained by Wainwright because they were waiting for Connah to grow up.

James Norton shared behind-the-scenes of Tommy Lee Royce on his social media. (BBC)

She explained: "I waited six years because I wanted to get to a point where Ryan would be old enough to start making choices about whether he wanted to have a relationship with his dad or not. And could he have a relationship with his dad, and how would Catherine feel about that? I really wanted to be able to explore that.

"Its been great that we got Rhys (Connah) back to play Ryan which has been fantastic, and he has done a really lovely job in that.

Read more: Where is Happy Valley filmed?

"That was always the intention, to have a gap and it has worked out just about right. Just the right period of time because he is now 16, so he can travel places by himself, he can make choices. He can do things behind Catherines back."

Watch: James Norton recalls his school days
Vice President Harris on Monday announced a nearly billion-dollar investment in Central America as part of the Biden administrations efforts to address root causes of migration in the region.

The investments will be made as part of a public-private partnership by a range of U.S.-based companies, from Columbia Sportswear Company to financial institutions like Microwd, which offers microloans to female entrepreneurs.

Harris will detail the funding commitments and next steps for the administrations efforts during a Monday afternoon meeting with private sector leaders and government aides to strategize on next steps and announce progress weve made in this effort, according to a senior administration official.

The Partnership for Central America, a nonprofit organization, and the United States Agency for International Development will coordinate the investments and make a call to action for other companies that wish to invest in the region through the same mechanism.

The investments are meant to create job opportunities in Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador, three countries that over the past two decades played a large role in shifting migration patterns in the Western Hemisphere.

The current debate over regional migration is largely framed on the flows of Central Americans, who in 2014 and 2019 pulled the Obama and Trump administrations attention to the U.S.-Mexico border.

But Central Americas decades-long economic stagnation is seen as the primary culprit in creating a steady flow of migration to the United States.

With Mondays announcement of $950 million in new commitments, private companies have committed more than $4 billion total since Harris first launched her call to action for private investment in May 2021.

On top of the new investments, Harris will outline the Central America Forward initiative, which will aim to create at least 1 million jobs in the region by 2032, provide education and training to 75,000 individuals by 2027 to prepare them for employment and facilitate at least $500 million in infrastructure deals by 2027.

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The vice president since 2021 has led the White Houses efforts to address the root causes of migration from Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala, a task that has brought her scrutiny as critics tie her work to a surge in migrants at the southern border.

Harris drew criticism from humanitarians when in 2021 she told migrants not to come to the U.S., but she has also faced fire from conservatives, who argue her work has not yielded progress because the southern border is overwhelmed.

But senior administration officials argued there is hard evidence to show Harriss work is producing results. They described Harriss work on root causes as a long-term effort while the administration works on short-term improvements to the processing situation at the U.S.-Mexico border.

The officials noted that despite record-setting apprehensions near the southern border in 2022, the number of migrants coming from Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala has decreased 71 percent since August 2021, and there has been a month-by-month decline in encounters from those countries in the past eight months.

As the vice president is working to address root causes of migration  our administration is simultaneously working to ensure a safe, orderly and humane processing situation at the border, a senior administration official said Monday on a call with reporters.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Harry Styles won album of the year for "Harry's House" at the 2023 Grammys on Sunday.

"This doesn't happen to people like me very often," he said during his acceptance speech.

The comment sparked confusion among viewers, many of whom noted that white men win Grammys quite often.

Harry Styles made a comment that raised eyebrows while accepting album of the year at the 2023 Grammys.

The 29-year-old British star took home the top prize on Sunday for "Harry's House," his third solo album.

"On nights like tonight, it's obviously so important for us to remember that there is no such thing as 'best' in music. I don't think any of us sit in the studio thinking, making decisions based on what is gonna get us one of these," he said during his acceptance speech, gesturing to his trophy.

"This is really, really kind. I'm so, so grateful," he continued, adding, "This doesn't happen to people like me very often."

It's unclear what Styles meant by "people like me"  former members of a boy band, perhaps, or people who grew up without connections to the music industry. But given the Recording Academy's history of favoring white artists, the comment sparked mild backlash online. (A representative for Styles did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.)

In the 65-year history of the Grammys, only 11 Black artists have won album of the year.

White men  including bands and duos fronted by white men  have won nearly half the time, beginning with the Cleveland-born composer Henry Mancini in 1959. Styles is the 33rd white man to accept the award, following artists like Beck (2015), Daft Punk (2014), and Mumford & Sons (2013).

hey man nice tweet (@jazz_inmypants) February 6, 2023

Many viewers were particularly confused by the comment given Styles' diverse competition for the award.

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Beyonce, who has been nominated for album of the year four times, has never won; a Black woman hasn't won since Lauryn Hill in 1999. Kendrick Lamar has similarly lost all four of his bids for the Grammys' top prize.

Additionally, Bad Bunny's "Un Verano Sin Ti" made history this year as the first all-Spanish album to be nominated for album of the year. Only a couple of Latino artists have ever won, including the Mexican-American legend Santana (2000) and Brazilian guitarist Joao Gilberto (1965).

"As artists from so many marginalized groups are fighting so hard to be properly recognized and represented in the industry's mainstream, for a good-looking cis white man  who's spent nearly his entire career at the top  to claim any kind of underdog or outsider status doesn't quite track," Andrew Unterberger wrote for Billboard.

Unterberger notes this is especially true "when a Black woman like Beyonce  who's been around for decades longer than Styles, performing at a consistently sky-high commercial and artistic level  still can't get through that door."

Styles received four additional nominations this year, including record and song of the year for "As It Was," but lost to Lizzo and Bonnie Raitt, respectively.

In addition to album of the year, he won best pop vocal album for "Harry's House."

You can see a full list of the nominees and winners here.

Read the original article on Insider
Alina Kabaeva, the chairwoman of the board of directors of the National Media Group in Russia, has stated at the anniversary events of the group that the activities of propagandists are in no way inferior to military weapons, in particular, the Kalashnikov assault rifle.

Source: Latvia-based Russian media outlet Meduza

Quote: "Friends! Congratulating each other on the anniversary, we wish success to each of us, and to all of us together. Our people need this success because today, the information work  in the conditions, in which we live and fight for our country  is like a combat weapon. And in terms of importance, it is in no way inferior to a Kalashnikov assault rifle."

Details: Kabaeva added that the so-called Russian military reporters know about it. She concluded her speech with the words: "We are working, thank you!".

Background: At the end of January, Dmitry Medvedev, Russia's Deputy Chairman of the Security Council, has said that Russia's war against Ukraine is a "new Patriotic War" for Russians [a Patriotic War is how Russians call their wars against occupying forces  ed.]. "Accordingly, Ukrainian Nazis and Western Europe are the direct heirs of those who fought against Russia. And the war with them, therefore, is the new Patriotic War. And the victory will be ours. As it was in 1812 and 1945," he wrote.

Journalists fight on their own frontline. Support Ukrainska Pravda or become our patron!
ILYAS AKENGIN - Getty Images



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A 7.8 magnitude earthquake hit Turkey and northern Syria Monday morning, killing thousands.

The quake concentrated on the town of Pazarcik, in Turkey's southeastern Kahramanmaras province, and was followed by a 7.5 quake and several powerful aftershocks. Photos and videos show massive buildings collapsing to rubble and terrified residents running through the streets to escape the destruction.

More than 22,000 people have died from the disaster in Turkey and Syriaat least 19,388 across Turkey, per officials, and at least 3,507 across Syria, according to the Ministry of Health and the White Helmets.

Turkish Vice President Fuat Oktay said in a press conference Tuesday that about 6,000 buildings have been damaged or destroyed.

Getty Images

The Ministry of Interior Disaster said Monday that nearly 10,000 search and rescue workers, 216 vehicles, and 1,511 pieces of construction equipment had been deployed to the affected area. Meanwhile, both Turkey and Syria declared a state of emergency.

The United Kingdom announced Monday that it is deploying emergency response teams to Turkey to assist in rescue efforts, with U.K. Foreign Secretary James Cleverly tweeting, "The UK is sending immediate support to Turkiye including a team of 76 search & rescue specialists, equipment and rescue dogs. In Syria, the UK-funded White Helmets have mobilised their resources to respond. We stand ready to provide further support as needed."

President Joe Biden said the United States is also providing any help needed. "I am deeply saddened by the loss of life and devastation caused by the earthquake in Turkiye and Syria. I have directed my team to continue to closely monitor the situation in coordination with Turkiye and provide any and all needed assistance," he tweeted Monday morning.

And on Tuesday, Mexican Secretary of Foreign Affairs Marcelo Ebrard shared photos and videos on Twitter of rescue dogs headed from Mexico to Turkey to help with the rescue operations.

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The earthquakes have caused the worst disaster in Turkey since 1939, when a quake of the same magnitude as Monday's (7.8) first struck the country, killing approximately 30,000 people.

Ahead, see the ways in which you can help survivors after the tragedy.

Getty Images

Donate

Doctors Without Borders is one of the many organizations quickly responding to the disaster through their teams in northern Syria and providing aid for the injured. Send your donation here.

World Food Program USA, the U.S. affiliate of the United Nations World Food Programme, is actively supporting the WFP's aid efforts with teams on the ground in Turkey and Syria. WFP also serves as the primary logistics arm of the United Nations in emergency situations. Donations can be made here.

Mercy Corps, a global team of humanitarians working on the front lines of crisis, is currently responding to the tragedy in northwest Syria. "Our team is working quickly to provide clean water, hygiene kits and shelter supplies (blankets, solar lamps, mattresses, carpets and more) in camps across North West Syria. We have worked in Syria since 2008 and in the North West, we have provided essential support including water, food, shelter, sanitation services, and livelihoods assistance to Syrians displaced multiple times throughout the course of the conflict," they said in a statement to BAZAAR.com. You can donate here.

UNICEF and partners are on the ground assessing the current situation and humanitarian needs in the countries. They are currently focusing on assessing impact on main water stations and providing water to those displaced, providing aid to separated or unaccompanied children, giving food to those in need, and assessing damages in schools, especially those being used as shelters. You can help here.

"The number keeps increasing. There is a sense of panic, including among children. Many people, including children are displaced and remain outside in streets and open areas. The government of Syria closed schools and universities for today and some are being used as shelters," UNICEF Representative in Syria Angela Kearney said in a statement to BAZAAR.

Oxfam, a British-founded confederation of 21 charitable organizations "focusing on the alleviation of global poverty," is on the ground today helping victims and survivors of the devastating earthquakes. You can help their efforts here.

The International Medical Corps has deployed mobile medical teams in Syria to provide emergency medical care to people affected by the quake. They are also working with local partners in Turkey to respond to the crisis. You can donate here.

Humanity & Inclusion has emergency response teams on the ground supporting those injured and disabled in Turkey and Syria. The organization has also launched an emergency earthquake appeal. You can donate to the relief efforts here.

UNHCR, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, has teams present in Turkey and Syria responding with emergency relief items including high thermal blankets, mattresses, kitchen sets, plastic sheeting, jerry cans, sleeping mats, winter clothing kits, and winter jackets. You can donate here.

Direct Relief, a humanitarian medical aid group specializing in disaster response, is collecting donations to provide aid for those affected in the area. Help here.

Mercy Chefs, a Virginia-based disaster relief and humanitarian aid organization that serves chef-prepared meals in national emergencies and natural disasters, is responding to the devastating TurkeySyria earthquake. You can donate here.

CARE's teams are delivering blankets, food, mattresses, tents, and other goods and supplies to people in need in the area. You can help here.

LaunchGood, a crowdfunding platform focused on the Muslim community worldwide, launched a fundraiser to help those affected by the earthquake. "As Muslims, it is our duty to come together in times of hardship and support those in need," they wrote. As of Monday morning, they have raised nearly $8,000. Donate here.

AKUT, an entirely voluntary, non-governmental organization involved in searching, assisting, and rescuing all who require aid in natural disasters and all other emergency conditions, is also taking donations. It is one of the biggest search and rescue organizations in Turkey.

The Turkish Red Crescent, which is the largest humanitarian organization in Turkey and part of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, is also assisting in the tragedy. It provides shelter, food, health aid, blood, and social services to those in need. You can donate here.

Donate to the International Committee of the Red Cross, which provides aid in crisis situations around the globe.

Molham Volunteering Team, a nonprofit founded in 2012 in Jordan, by a group of then university students, has already raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for aid for those affected. Offer your own donation here.

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A 6.3 magnitude earthquake sent powerful shockwaves through Turkey and Syria Monday in regions still reeling from a massive 7.8 magnitude earthquake on Feb. 6 that left at least 41,000 dead in Turkey and several thousands more in Syria.

Early reports from officials in the two countries confirmed injuries and further damage to already devastated buildings. The quake, which was followed by a 5.8 magnitude aftershock, struck in Turkeys Hatay province and was strongly felt in Aleppo, Syria, and as far away as Egypt, officials said.

Mondays heavy shaking exacerbates a humanitarian crisis that has forced more than 1 million people to seek refuge in temporary shelters amid the winter cold.

USA TODAY identified dozens of humanitarian organizations accepting donations from the public to support their efforts helping victims in Turkey and Syria. Here's what to know about them.

Live updates: Turkey rocked by 6.3 magnitude quake 2 weeks after temblors killed more than 41,000

Deadliest quake in more than a decade: Earthquakes in Turkey, Syria are among the deadliest in recent history

Charity Navigator tips

Charity Navigator, which rates charities, gives the following tips on giving to disaster relief.

Donate to reputable, registered charities.

Monetary donations are the most effective.

Consider giving monthly donations for long-term recovery efforts as many disaster relief groups see donations taper off after just a few weeks.

Charity Navigator has also published its own list of organizations aiding in Syria and Turkey.

Turkish Red Crescent (Red Cross affiliate)

Red Crescent organizations in both Turkey and Syria said their teams were helping with recovery and aid efforts. Both organizations are members of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent movement, an international network of disaster relief agencies.

The American Red Cross said Turkish Red Crescent workers and volunteers were distributing food and medical aid.

Turkish Red Crescent asks for cash donations on Twitter:

Story continues

 Since the earthquake;



How can I help?,

How can I donate?



Here are our bank details to answer all these questions: pic.twitter.com/QZgyrYjASV  Turk Kzlay International (@RedCrescent) February 6, 2023

The White Helmets

The White Helmets, also known as Syria Civil Defense, are a humanitarian aid organization that operates in rebel-controlled areas of Syria. The volunteer group has experience providing emergency services to the victims of the countrys civil war.

The White Helmets said it had mobilized 3,000 volunteers to help search for earthquake victims. It asked for donations to support its efforts.

Syrian American Medical Society

The Syrian American Medical Society is an international medical relief organization that has for years provided medical assistance to victims of war in northwestern Syria. The group has set up a quake relief fund and its teams are currently providing earthquake relief.

Doctors Without Borders

Doctors Without Borders is another humanitarian medical aid group.

The nonprofit said its staff was providing medical supplies and support to 23 hospitals treating earthquake victims in Idlib and Aleppo in Syria. It started a donation page for its earthquake recovery efforts.

Damaged archaeological sites: Earthquake pulverizes chunks of nearly 2,000-year-old Turkish castle in Gaziantep

International Blue Crescent Relief and Development Foundation

The International Blue Crescent Relief and Development Foundation has offices in Gaziantep, Turkey, near the epicenter of the quake, and has been providing aid to victims since the first quake struck on Feb. 6. The foundation set up a relief fund.

GlobalGiving

GlobalGiving connects emergency relief nonprofits around the world with donors. The group launched a disaster relief fund to support recovery efforts in Turkey and Syria. The fund had received $2.7 million out of its $5 million goal by Monday.

Save The Children

Save The Children, the international youth humanitarian aid group, set up an emergency relief fund for the earthquake victims. You can donate here.

Project HOPE

Project HOPE, a U.S.-based international humanitarian aid nonprofit, said it deployed emergency response teams to Turkey and Syria and set up a disaster relief fund.

Jewish Federations of North America

The Jewish Federations of North America set up a disaster response relief fund to help aid victims of the quake. The organization has in the past helped respond to natural disasters in the United States and abroad.

Turkey earthquake damage: Photos capture devastating aftermath of powerful 7.8 magnitude earthquake

More organizations helping earthquake victims

Contributing: John Bacon and Jorge Ortiz, USA TODAY; The Associated Press

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Where to donate: How to help earthquake victims in Turkey, Syria
A Central Florida school district is asking for the communitys help to name its new elementary school.

Polk County Public Schools is asking for people to vote in a poll before Feb. 20 to help pick the name.

The school, located at 9525 State Highway 653 in Winter Haven, is expected to open in August 2023, and will serve approximately 996 students.

After researching the surrounding area, officials said a naming committee comprised of school, district and community leaders has selected four possible names for the school:

Read: SeaWorld Orlando offering limited-time BOGO sale on 2 parks

Sensabaugh Elementary: Effie Reeve Sensabaugh was a beloved elementary teacher in Winter Haven. Her career ended in 1943 after more than five decades of service - with more than 40 years spent teaching students in Winter Haven.

South Pointe Elementary: This option refers to the new schools location, which is being constructed within the southernmost point of Winter Haven.

Osprey Elementary: The osprey is a bird found commonly year-round in Florida, including the area where this new school is being built.

Osprey Landing Elementary: The osprey is a bird found commonly year-round in Florida, including the area where this new school is being built.

You can click here to vote.

Read: Daylight saving time 2023: When do we change our clocks and spring forward?

After voting closes, the winning name will go to the Polk County School Board for consideration at an upcoming meeting.

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.
Sister Mary Therese Harrington, a pioneer in special religious education, is honored with flowers on Feb. 5, 2023, at the SPRED Chapel in Bridgeport. Harrington is retiring after 60 years of service to the developmentally disabled. (Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune)

Sunday morning church under a Special Religious Development program is a bit different from other services.

Actors play out Scripture; acoustic walls keep sound in. Instead of pews, there are single seats.

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The service is set up to help disabled parishioners, and Sunday, at the chapel at the former St. John Nepomucene Parish in Bridgeport, a blessing was included for one of the people who started it all.

Growing up with someone with disabilities gave Sister Therese Mary Harrington, 87, what she calls a sixth sense.

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A native of Montana, Harringtons father was injured as a mine worker. She said her first memory at 4 years old was holding up orange juice for her father. From then on, you know, you knew if somebody couldnt do stuff, you had to step up, she said.

Harrington continued to step up to help those who needed it, and when a priest needed assistance in bringing disabled parishioners to Mass, Harrington jumped on that opportunity.

Decades ago, the learning material available to disabled parishioners was awful, she said.

Sister Mary Therese Harrington, a pioneer in special religious education, warms up with the choir she conducts on Feb. 5, 2023, before Mass at the SPRED Chapel in Bridgeport. Harrington is retiring after 60 years of service to the developmentally disabled. (Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune)

Harrington, who is retiring, started her 60-year career developing religious education in France. There, she studied a method that would later be adopted by St. John in 1964, and the program was established as an agency of the Archdiocese of Chicago in 1966.

According to a statement from the archdiocese, Harrington is credited with changing the program to move away from clustering people with disabilities in one or two locations and instead establishing parish-based classrooms staffed by parish volunteers.

She made the disabled visible, the statement said.

In 2022, the program was serving nearly 700 people with special needs in 114 parishes in the Archdiocese of Chicago, the statement said.

Parishes were initially skeptical of the approach, Harrington said, and she recalled butting heads at a National Convention on First Communion for the intellectually disabled in 1984 at DePaul.

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A lot of people just didnt think that people with intellectual disabilities were qualified for First Communion. If they were intellectually slow, they wouldnt learn enough, she said.

Harrington said not knowing how to say prayers and recite confession was beside the point as long as parishioners could find a relationship with Jesus.

Part of the program includes painting, providing closer attention to students, and being aware that things like loud sounds and bright lights can be a distraction.

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Youre always on the alert. You dont have time to think about yourself. You know, because youre always trying to figure out whats going on. Prevent disaster and help them to be comfortable, Harrington said.

There are still challenges today.

Sonia Reynoso said she thought it was going to be impossible for her autistic 8-year-old son to get the education he needed to take the sacrament. She had visited three churches before finding St. John.

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We were tired. We were fearful of what the future would have been, said Reynoso. She said people in previous churches would look at her son for making sounds and being himself.

Joe Quane, the director of the religious education program, blessed Harrington and said he looks forward to expanding on the foundation she has spent her life building.

Quane said he is going to miss Harringtons wit, knowledge and ability to listen, fly through books, and digest dense theology.

In turn, Harrington said, I love the people. Theyre very collaborative and very helpful. And I love their families, she said. Theyll do anything (for their children). So they make wonderful volunteers.
Getty Images

In the early hours of Monday morning, a 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck Turkey and Syria. Millions of people across Turkey and Syria, as well as Lebanon, Cyprus and Israel, felt the impact and dozens of aftershocks have occurred since. So far, more than four thousand people are confirmed to have died (although, that figure is expected to rise sharply), with even more being rushed to hospital with injuries.

According to the BBC, the earthquake happened in a region of instability called the East Anatolian fault. A fault  for those who can't remember their GCSE geography lessons  is a crack in the Earth's crust that can move over time, causing earthquakes. Seismologists have long recognised that the East Anatolian fault is very dangerous, although there has not been any significant activity for more than 100 years. Back in 1882, however, a 7.4 magnitude quake on the fault caused immense damage to towns in the area and claimed the lives of at least 7,000 people. Damaging aftershocks continued for nearly a year after the earthquake, too.

With Monday morning's earthquake having a significantly higher magnitude than that of the 1882 disaster, it is expected that the impacts will be far greater and a rescue operation is currently underway across much of southern Turkey and northern Syria. But what can those of us here in the UK do to help? As the desperate recovery efforts continue, heres how we can help support the victims of this disaster.

How to help the victims of the Turkey/Syria earthquake

Get information from reputable sources

The first thing to be aware of during a disaster like this is that misinformation spreads fast, especially on social media. As such, it's important to get your information from reputable sources, like the BBC. Although social media can play a great part when it comes to raising awareness, it's vital to fact-check what you've seen online, particularly if you're considering donating money and want to ensure your funds are going to the right place.

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Donate

Doctors Without Borders

Doctors Without Borders (also known as Medecins Sans Frontieres) has mobilised with local partners to respond to the increasing needs in northwestern Syria. "We are very shocked and saddened by the impact of this disaster on the thousands of people touched by it, including our colleagues and their families," said Sebastien Gay, Medecins Sans Frontieres' head of mission in Syria. "Health facilities are impacted and overwhelmed, and medical personnel in northern Syria [are] working around the clock to respond to the huge numbers of wounded arriving at the facilities."

Support Doctors Without Borders here.

International Medical Corps

The International Medical Corps has mobilised a response to the Turkey/Syria disaster, deploying mobile medical teams in Syria to provide emergency medical care to people in the region affected by the quake. The International Medical Corps is also working with local partners in Turkey to respond, and is in discussion with the World Health Organization regarding a potential deployment of its Emergency Medical Team.

Donate to the International Medical Corps here.

British Red Cross

The British Red Cross has issued an emergency appeal for donations to help victims of the Turkey/Syria earthquake. The charity is supporting the Turkish Red Crescent, which has launched a crisis response operation and mobilised teams in more than 10 regions across the country, while the Syrian Arab Red Crescent is delivering assistance and support to those in need in the regions of Hama, Aleppo and Lattakia.

Donate to the British Red Cross here.

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Save the Children

In northwest Syria, Save the Children is working closely with partner organisations to assess the scale of the damage and provide support that children desperately need as the situation becomes clearer. Similarly, in Turkey, the charity is working to assess needs and has established a response team which will be supporting the national emergency response across the region. On the ground, Save the Children's teams are planning to support affected communities with winterisation and emergency kits, including blankets and winter clothing.

Donate to Save the Children's emergency fund here.

The International Blue Crescent Relief and Development Foundation



The International Blue Crescent Relief and Development Foundation (IBC) has offices across the affected region and is currently assisting local authorities in their rescue efforts.

In a public appeal, the IBC stated that its current "urgent needs" are:

Tents

Heaters

Blankets

Thermal clothes

Ready-to-eat food

Basic first aid kits

For more information on the IBC's work and how to donate, head to the IBC website.

Union of Medical Care and Relief Organisations

The Union of Medical Care and Relief Organisations (UOSSM)  which has provided independent and impartial relief and medical care to victims of war in Syria since 2012  has put out an urgent call to the international community to release emergency funds to provide aid and rescue resources immediately. In a statement, the UOSSM said its hospitals and medical facilities are overwhelmed and will need support to ensure lives are saved during this crisis.

Donate to the UOSSM here.

Humanity & Inclusion

Humanity & Inclusion has launched an emergency response to support disabled people affected by the Turkey/Syria earthquake. Currently, the team are providing people with physical rehabilitation, mobility aids and mental health support. "We expect a huge need for rehabilitation care," said head of mission for Syria, Myriam Abord-Hugon. "There are thousands of injured people, and many of these injuries may worsen or turn into permanent disabilities if they do not receive appropriate rehabilitation services. In addition, people have suffered significant trauma and will need psychosocial support."

Support Humanity & Inclusion here.



Our thoughts are with all those affected by the Turkey/Syria earthquake.

This story will be updated with developments.



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Story at a glance

Strong earthquakes struck parts of Syria and Turkey early Monday morning.

The earthquakes have claimed the lives of more than 2,600 people.

Millions of people in surrounding nations felt the quakes.

Devastating earthquakes struck southern Turkey and northern Syria early Monday, claiming the lives of more than 2,600 people and causing widespread destruction.

The first 7.8 magnitude earthquake was the most powerful to strike the region in decades and was followed by a 7.5 magnitude quake. Hospitals, roads and homes are among the destroyed infrastructure. Thousands more individuals were injured in the disaster.

Rescue operations are underway and countries from around the world are offering support to the nations.

Several organizations are mobilizing to collect donations for the victims.

America is changing faster than ever! Add Changing America to your Facebook or Twitter feed to stay on top of the news.

Doctors Without Borders teams are on the ground in Syria to respond to the areas needs and distributing blankets and lifekits to those displaced by the disaster. Individuals can donate to the organization here.

CNN has launched a website for those looking to donate to relief efforts, with donations benefiting the Cooperative For Assistance And Relief Everywhere (CARE), Humanity & Inclusion, International Rescue Committee (IRC), Mercy Corps, Save The Children and World Vision International.

The Europe Office of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies has been providing hot meals and drinks to victims and shipping blood stocks to affected areas. The organization is the worlds largest humanitarian network. Donations can be made here.

Both the Turkish and Syrian Red Crescent teams are aiding in search and evacuation efforts throughout the region.

The British Red Cross is also accepting donations for earthquake victims, in addition to the Union of Medical Care and Relief Organisations, which has provided relief to victims of the Syrian war since 2012. The organization has called on the international community to release emergency funds to provide immediate resources.

Story continues

The International Medical Corps has deployed medical teams in Syria and is working with partners in Turkey to respond. Donations can be made here.

The World Food Program USA, the U.S. affiliate of the United Nations World Food Programme, is also supporting the response in Turkey and Syria. Individuals can donate here.

Additional organizations accepting donations include:

This article was updated at 3:50 pm to include the World Food Program USA.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Alexander in 2018 (Getty Images)

Fashion journalist Hilary Alexander has died on her 77th birthday.

The journalist, who was one of the first fashion reporters on Fleet Street, died on Sunday (5 February).

Born in New Zealand in 1946, Alexander began her career as a reporter for publications in her home nation and Australia, before moving to and working in Hong Kong.

In 1985, she became The Daily Telegraphs fashion editor, and in 2003, the newspapers fashion director. She left the publication in 2011.

Alexander was said to have coined the term supermodel and was friends with high-profile fashion figures such as Gianni Versace and Zandra Rhodes.

Alexander was also a known TV personality, appearing as a guest on shows such as Britain and Irelands Next Top Model and Strictly Come Dancing: It Takes Two.

Alexander (second right) meeting the Queen Consort in 2016 (Getty Images)

In recent years, she continued to work as a stylist and broadcaster, as well as editor-at-large of Hello! Fashion Monthly. Alexander was awarded an OBE in 2013 for her services to fashion journalism and in 2019, became the honorary president of the Graduate Fashion Foundation.

Paying tribute, US Vogue editor Anna Wintour said: Hilary was irrepressible in everything she did. She lived life to the fullest and her reporting on fashion was just as committed. I threw a party for her in Paris when she retired except she never retired! Hilary could never quite leave an industry that she loved so much.

With designer Zac Posen at New York Fashion Week in 2005 (Getty Images)

British Vogues editor-in-chief Edward Enninful wrote: Hilary was one of the original, old-school fashion journalists. I remember she was really kind to me when I was first starting out in the industry. Everybody wanted to read what she had to say about fashion, but also she was hilarious, you could always feel her energy. She was so alive.

Writing in British Vogue, fellow fashion journalist Julia Robson described Alexander as a self-confessed workaholic and a blur of activity living a life dedicated to her craft.
Chancellor Jeremy Hunt - Jordan Pettitt/PA Wire

Consumers will be blocked from hoarding new digital pounds issued by the Bank of England because officials fear a run on high street banks, according to a consultation paper that suggests a new form of money could be introduced by 2030.

Governor Andrew Bailey and Chancellor Jeremy Hunt revealed a roadmap on Monday night for creating a new central bank digital currency (CBDC)  dubbed Britcoin in the press  that could enter circulation by the end of this decade.

It comes after the The Telegraph revealed the pair would throw their weight behind its creation, saying a digital currency will likely be needed in future as cash use continues to decline.

It is understood that Britons will initially be limited to transferring a few thousand digital pounds into their accounts under plans being drawn up. The limit will be imposed in order to prevent large and rapid outflows from traditional high street banks.

Officials fear that the frictionless nature of digital money would allow people to shift their wealth almost instantly between accounts, giving rise to the risk that banks could quickly collapse if they find themselves under stress and customers begin to withdraw their funds.

Mr Hunt insisted on Monday that protect[ing] financial stability was a top priority, adding that cash is here to stay.

A limit on individuals holdings would apply at least in the introductory phase, the Treasury said. This would strike a balance between both encouraging use and managing risks, such as the potential for large and rapid outflows from banking deposits into digital pounds. These limits could be amended in the future.

Mr Hunt and Mr Bailey emphasised that CBDCs offer a new way to pay for consumers. Bank and Treasury officials believe it will promote competition and lead to cheaper financial services.

The Bank will provide a platform for private sector companies to provide financial services. However, officials are not exploring a route that would allow people to open an account at the Bank of England.

Story continues

Officials stressed that any state-backed digital currency would sit alongside cash and be worth the same as its banknote equivalent. However, the plans are likely to fuel fears that banknotes could one day disappear altogether.

A digital pound would be issued by the Bank and would not bear interest. Unlike other digital currencies such as Bitcoin, it would also be risk-free.

The consultation, which will invite comments from businesses and the wider public over the next four months, stresses that no decision on whether to go ahead with a digital currency will be made until 2025 at the earliest.

The Bank's annual report reveals that millions of pounds has already been spent researching the economic benefits of a CBDC. Launching a digital currency will involve significant public investment that suggests the project could potentially cost the taxpayer billions of pounds.

Former Bank of England governor Lord King warned last week that the introduction of a CBDC offered risks but no obvious benefits. He cautioned against creating something the public didn't need just because it had the sexy name of a digital currency.

Mr Hunt said on Monday: We want to investigate what is possible first, whilst always making sure we protect financial stability.

Mr Bailey added: This consultation and the further work the Bank will now do will be the foundation for what would be a profound decision for the country on the way we use money.
Police continue to search for the person who placed antisemitic fliers inside clear plastic baggies at the homes of Jewish families across north metro Atlanta.

One of the people who received them was a state lawmaker currently working on legislation to combat antisemitism in Georgia.

State Rep. Esther Panitch, a Sandy Springs Democrat, awoke Sunday morning to find antisemitic fliers in her driveway.

She learned later that many other Jewish families received the same fliers.

I was a little stunned, Panitch said. We had heard of this happening in other neighborhoods over the last few months.

TRENDING STORIES:

Panitch is co-sponsor of a bill, along with State Rep. John Carson, a Marietta Republican, that would give a legal definition to antisemitism to make it easy for law enforcement and prosecutors to go after the kinds of people who left the fliers on her driveway.

So these people really didnt know whose driveway they were affecting when they did what they did, Panitch said. This happens to be the week were debating and discussing HB 30 which provides a definition for antisemitism.

Carson said he was appalled by what happened to his colleague. He and dozens of other House lawmakers stood with Panitch in the well as she addressed the gathering.

Absolutely deplorable, Carson said. It kind of makes the case for my bill. That group is trying to get headlines, and they got them, but as a result, I think its going to help our case in regards to why this is needed.

A House committee could vote on the bill tomorrow.

RELATED NEWS:
A Hudson doctor has been sentenced to prison for his role in a prescription drug scheme where he was compensated for issuing prescriptions for a drug that treats uncontrollable bouts of crying and laughing.

Dr. Deepak Raheja, 66, faces 30 months in prison and was ordered to help pay $2,163,995 in restitution and a $50,000 fine for his role in promoting the drug and issuing prescriptions to patients who did not need it.

U.S. District Judge Sara Lioi on Friday also ordered Raheja on Friday to surrender his medical license.

The case centered around a pharmaceutical kickback conspiracy.

What is Nuedexta?

Federal prosecutors say Raheja along with Gates Mills Dr. Bhupinder Sawhny conspired with pharmaceutical representatives Frank Mazzucco of Dublin, Ohio, and Gregory Hayslette of Aurora to prescribe and promote a drug called Nuedexta.

The drug is used in the treatment of Pseudobulbar affect (PBA), a condition where patients who have a neurologic or brain injury suffer involuntary, sudden and frequent bouts of crying or laughter.

Akron doctors involved in misconduct:Greater Akron doctors run afoul of medical board over sex, other misconduct with patients

Prosecutors say that between February 2011 and July 2016, Raheja received kickbacks and other perks for prescribing the drug to patients whether the treatment was warranted or not.

The representatives of drugmaker Avanir Pharmaceuticals created a speakers bureau where doctors, including Raheja, were invited to high-end restaurants where they gave presentations using slides prepared by the company.

Hudson doctor prescribed the most Nuedexta in the country

Court records show Raheja gave some 211 such presentations at restaurants and doctors offices betweenOctober 2011 and April 2016 and was paid about $1,500 for each talk.

Prosecutors say he received about $331,550 in payments from Avanir and wrote about 10,088 prescriptions for Nuedexta  the highest in the country.

Some of these prescriptions, prosecutors say, were given to patients who did not have PBA, or he falsely diagnosed patients with PBA and even recorded fictitious symptoms in patient records to support the diagnosis.

Story continues

Mazzucco and Hayslette are both scheduled to be sentenced later this month.

Sawhny has already been sentenced to serve three years probation and must pay $40,126.22 in restitution.

Craig Webb can be reached at cwebb@thebeaconjournal.com.

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Hudson doctor headed to jail, must repay $2.1 million for drug scheme
A human skull found in a remote Alaskan river valley in 1997 has been genetically linked to a New York man who was likely killed by a bear 20 years earlier, Alaska State Troopers say.

The remains were confirmed to be Gary Frank Sotherden, 25, who had gone missing while exploring the Alaskan interior in the late 1970s, spokesperson Tim DeSpain told the Associated Press.

Based on the shape, size and locations of tooth penetrations to the skull, it appears the person was a victim of bear predation, Mr DeSpain told the AP.

Sotherdens fate had remained a mystery for nearly 50 years until last month, when Alaska State Troopers using genetic testing and genealogy mapping were able to confirm the identity of the remains.

Sotherdens brother Stephen Sotherden toldthe New York Times that after his free spirited brother went missing in 1976, their parents had hired a mountain guide who had canoed down the Porcupine River and located Garys broken glasses and identification.

The family initially thought that Gary Sotherden, from Clay, in upstate New York, may have died of hypothermia due to a spell of bad weather passed through the area.

Then in 1997, a hunter contacted authorities to say he had found a skull near to the Porcupine River, about 8 miles (13kms) from the Canadian border.

A human skull found in Alaska in 1997 has been confirmed to belong to Gary Frank Sotherden (Stephen Sotherden)

Troopers searched the area but found no further remains. The skull was listed as unidentified, and the medical examiners office said the likely cause of death was put down to bear mauling.

Mr DeSpain said in a statement that recent advances in genetic genealogy sciences led a cold case unit and the medical examiners office to send samples from the skull to public DNA databases.

The Porcupine River in Alaska, a tributary to the Yukon, where a skull belonging to Gary Frank Sotherden was found (Google Maps)

A tentative match was found, and last year troopers asked a second cousin of Gary Sotherdens to submit a DNA sample.

Stephen Sotherden told the New York Times he received a call in December to say that genealogists had linked the skull to a second cousin, and ask that he provide a DNA sample.

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He had recently submitted his DNA to the 23andMe ancestry site, and troopers were able to use the same sample to confirm the link to his brother.

After Garys disappearance, Stephen Sotherden told the Times the family had placed a tombstone in his brothers memory in the family cemetery plot with the words: Lost in Alaska in the 1970s.

After finally getting confirmation of his brothers fate, they would hold a memorial later this year for him, he said.

Weve been working on it for 45 years, and its nice that things came to a conclusion, he told the Times.
Hundreds showed up for a celebration of life honoring a 13-year-old boy who was murdered one week ago.

No arrests have been made in the murder that happened last Sunday around 11:30 a.m. in Mattapan.

Tyler Lawrence, who lived in Norwood and attended Coakley Middle School, was staying at his grandparents house when it happened.

He was out for a morning walk when he was shot multiple times near Babson and Fremont Streets.

People have been rallying around Tylers mother, grandparents and other relatives since then.

So many people showed up to Lawrences memorial that some had to be turned away after it concluded.

The line wrapped around the parking lot and down the sidewalk at Norwoods Rama Center.

I never in my wildest dreams knew that Tyler touched so many people, said grandfather Stanley Lawrence. I wish everybody couldve been able to come inside. The amount of people who came. Ill never forget this in my life.

Grandfather Stanley Lawrence said the family continues to deal with the raw emotions of the tragedy without knowing who murdered Tyler or why.

The outpouring of love for my grandson is what is holding us together as a family right now, he said.

The crowd who lined up to show their sympathy to Tylers family included classmates, parents, neighbors and local leaders.

We should all be outraged because its not normal. We cant normalize this, said Massachusetts State Senator Liz Miranda.

The principal at Coakley Middle School said the entire school community has been rocked by the loss.

He was a 13-year-old boy who had so much life in him and had so much life left to give, said Coakley Principal Margo Fraczek.

Boston Police are still not speculating on a motive in the murder.

Investigators have also not revealed how many suspects may have been involved in the fatal shooting.

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

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People march in the Loop to protest the killing of Tyre Nichols on Jan. 30, 2023 in Chicago. (Armando L. Sanchez/Chicago Tribune)

As the nation grapples with the police killing of Tyre Nichols in Memphis, and as Chicagoans prepare to vote for mayor Feb. 28, crime remains at or near the list of top issues candidates are sparring over with a few weeks to go before votes are counted.

Mayor Lori Lightfoot is seeking another term and standing by her record on public safety and her handpicked Chicago police superintendent, David Brown. Homicides were down last year from 2021, but still higher than pre-pandemic levels and the years before Lightfoot took office.

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Most of her challengers have seized on that fact, pledging to fire Brown and push a focused return to community policing as a major initiative, saying many city residents feel unsafe and blaming crime for Chicagos slower-than-desired recovery from COVID-19 shutdowns. Paul Vallas was among those to stress the strategy at candidate appearances last week.

That is pushing the police officer down to the local beat, Vallas said at a forum held by WGN.

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U.S. Rep. Jesus Chuy Garcia, another challenger, joined in at the same event.

They need to get out of the cars, they need to talk to people, Garcia said. I think the representatives from the district councils can be a great bridge to that.

Chicago is, for the first time, set to have local police councils, and voters will see candidates for those posts by district on their ballots. Three representatives from each of the citys 22 police districts will be responsible for collaborating with department officials on community-policing issues.

District members also will help select seven individuals for the Community Commission for Public Safety and Accountability, which is tasked with helping select and remove the heads of the citys Police Department and police oversight bodies and setting Police Department policy.

Mecole Jordan-McBride, now part of the Chicago Neighborhood Policing Initiative, was previously coordinator of Grassroots Alliance for Police Accountability, or GAPA. That group was made up of many community organizations across Chicago and worked to create the ordinance for the commission and district councils.

Lets be honest, in a city as large as Chicago, seven commissioners cannot possibly have their eyes and ears on the pulse of every single community in our city, but thats where your district council members come into play, Jordan-McBride said at a panel organized by the City Club of Chicago on Wednesday to discuss community policing. These are people that are running to be these liaisons, to be able to hear the voice of the community and to be able to  in real time  address concerns.

Jordan-McBride also spoke generally about what a philosophy of community policing would look like in the Chicago Police Department going forward.

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Community policing is not just the responsibility of a subset of officers, but its the responsibility of every single beat officer, she said. That is, working in our community to build relationships, to understand the needs of the community, and most importantly, to talk to community members to understand from their perspective, what the challenges are and what the answer is.

CPDs first community policing strategy was the Chicago Alternative Policing Strategy, also known as CAPS, which started in 1993 and still continues today. Its goal was to bring the community, the Police Department and other city agencies together to proactively address crime in neighborhoods and communities across the city through districtwide community programming.

Police Officer Jamil Brown plays chess against Ronan Hadj-Chikh as the Chicago Police Departments Office of Community Policing hosts a Cops and Kids Invitational Chess Tournament for Chicago Public Schools students on Dec. 6, 2022. (Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune)

CAPS has been tragically underfunded, Jordan-McBride told the Tribune. It is dependent on every single administration that comes in or leadership that comes in with CPD, which has a different strategic focus. And a lot of times that focus shifts with what they see as a priority or strategy to fight crime.

In January 2019, the Chicago Neighborhood Policing Initiative was launched as a joint project between CPD and the Policing Project at New York University School of Law in order to enact community policing by developing one-on-one relationships between district coordination officers and the communities they serve.

Demonstrators march during a peace walk on East 79th Street in Chatham, on June 7, 2020, in solidarity with George Floyd and families broken by police brutality. (Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune)

The initiative showed promise but faced setbacks, including the pandemic and the Black Lives Matter protests during the summer of 2020, which frayed trust between the community and police, according to the findings of a 2021 report by the Northwestern Neighborhood & Network Initiative.

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The Police Department also may not have adequate staffing in the office that handles community policing, according to report last year from the citys independent monitor, underpinning complaints from Lightfoots challengers. The report also said its unclear how CPD will merge its two community policing programs  Chicago Alternative Policing Strategy and its Neighborhood Policing Initiative  despite the monitoring team asking for clarification for two years.

In August, Robert Boik, CPDs executive director of constitutional policing and reform, was fired by the superintendent after sending an email asking for a reversal of a decision to distribute his staff to patrol instead of officer training, according to multiple police sources. Boik had been in the role for about a year and a half, and the move was criticized in the latest consent decree report.

In Boiks email, which was obtained by the Tribune, he said that if those individuals were moved to patrol, there would be 21 fewer instructors at the academy and the department would no longer be able to offer an eight-hour gender-based violence course to officers.

Robert Boik addresses the department's progress in meeting consent decree deadlines, at police headquarters, Sept. 8, 2021. (John J. Kim / Chicago Tribune)

Despite the long-standing existence of Chicago community-policing efforts that have succeed and failed on various levels, experts believe the new police district councils will represent a much-needed step toward ensuring that communities have a direct say in how they are policed.

We have a hope that the district councils will provide an independent way to engage with CPD, Jordan-McBride said. And that it would be a way that community members can have a stronger voice in how policing happens in their area and across the city. Which, again, has historically never happened in Chicago  policing has always happened in a vacuum.

But not all experts are as optimistic.

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Sheila Bedi, a law professor at the Northwestern Pritzker School of Law and director of the Community Justice and Civil Rights Clinic, said that community policing is too often used as a sort of branding instead of an intentional practice.

Chicagos got a long history of community policing and of using the term community policing to justify increased police intrusion into peoples lives, Bedi said.

Still, Bedi expressed hope in the potential of the new police district councils, especially as a tool for myth-busting around the idea that more police equal more safety. They will also provide more oversight into how policing resources are used, effectively giving the community some form of control over the police, she said.

What the district (councils) would do is provide oversight and, to some extent, management and input on how policing resources are used, and that would allow a community some form of community control of the police, she said. And the idea behind community control is that the police would then be working for the people  not treating the people as an occupying force.

Voters will select three councilors to serve in each of the citys 22 police districts, who will be elected in regular municipal elections every four years.

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The district councils roles include building stronger connections between the police and community at district levels and ensuring that the community is a partner in anti-violence work.

The district councils will also share their communitys input with the commission, now made up of an interim group of community leaders Lightfoot appointed last summer.

The commission has the power to advance systemic reform. It holds a central role in selecting and removing the police superintendent, police board members and the Civilian Office of Police Accountabilitys chief administrator.

And it has already been outspoken on several issues, including pushing back on the Police Departments relaunch of a gang database and speaking out against polices delayed response times to 911 calls.

Law professor Craig Futterman, director of the Civil Rights and Police Accountability Project at the University of Chicago, said he believes in community policing, but in the original and true version of it, which isnt what Chicago has experienced.

That is policing in which theres a partnership between police and community, with community being the senior partner, meaning that the police are both a part of, responsible and accountable to the community, he said.

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In Chicago, police tell the community what they want to do, and police want the community to help them do what the police believe is important, Futterman said.

Futterman said he has also seen that community policing is more of a public relations part of the Police Department in Chicago that isnt integrated into the overall attitude or culture of the force. The department declined to comment for this story.

In discussions about the race for mayor, police and public safety are usually at or near the top of the list of talking points, especially given the departments issues and its placement under a consent decree, Futterman said.

The mayor is the single most powerful person in the city when it comes to determining what the police force looks like, its policies, its practices, he said. That person has the single most power than anyone to determine what policing looks like in Chicago.

Anthony Driver Jr., interim president of the community commission, said he hopes those who are eventually elected to the councils are hyperfocused people who have the best interest of their community at heart.

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Once those members are elected and sworn in they will undergo training with the commission, the Civilian Office of Police Accountability and the police board, Driver said. Theyll learn about the structures of the organizations, histories and responsibilities.

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I am very optimistic about the district council elections, Driver said.

The biggest piece is the residents of Chicago: getting them to buy in to this, and to believe in it, he said.

As the days till the election dwindle, activists are joining the mayoral candidates who are speaking out about the importance of voting for council members.

I want you to grit your teeth, do whatever you got to do, but get out there on voting day. And vote. And vote, said Frank Chapman, educational director and field organizer for the Chicago Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression. And I aint talking about the mayor. I aint talking about the aldermen. Im talking about: Vote for the district council.

pfry@chicagotribune.com

adperez@chicagotribune.com
WASHINGTON  The curtain goes up on House Republican investigations into President Joe Biden and his family with a hearing Wednesday about how Twitter blocked messages about Hunter Bidens laptop.

The House Oversight and Accountability Committee hearing opens the panels door on investigations into Hunter Biden and potential attempts to influence his fathers politics through business deals in Ukraine or China, or through high-price sales of his own paintings.

Were going to start with the hard drive because theres a lot of evidence on the hard drive that suggests Joe Biden knew very well what his family was involved in," Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., the Oversight chairman, told reporters last month. "We want to make sure that our national security isnt compromised because China is an adversary right now."

Hunter Biden's art and the GOP: Hunter Biden's art dealer says his work is 'important.' Why the paintings factor into GOP probes.

Joe Biden has denied discussing business or benefiting from his sons deals. Hunter Biden's lawyers have asked the Justice Department and Delaware attorney general to investigate the distribution of information from the laptop for possible criminal prosecution.

The Oversight hearing, coming the day after Bidens State of the Union speech, offers a showcase of Republican investigations into the Democratic president. But Democratic lawmakers blasted the inquiry as hyper-partisan conspiracy theories that have been debunked.

Hunter Biden lawyers on offensive: Attorneys urge probes of Trump allies, demand Tucker Carlson retract reporting

Heres what we know about the committee investigation so far:

Hunter Biden's laptop: What does it have to do with Trump, Giuliani and the 2020 election?

Hunter Biden, the son of President Joe Biden, is seen during the annual White House Easter Egg Roll on the South Lawn of the White House on April 18, 2022.

The laptop has become a focal point of Republican investigations because it contains a trove of documents and pictures of Hunter Biden.

A computer repairman, John Paul Mac Isaac, gave the laptop information to the FBI after Hunter Biden failed to pick up the MacBook Pro following repairs in April 2019. Mac Isaac later gave the laptop to former President Donald Trump's personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani. Giuliani gave the laptop to local police and shared the contents with reporters.

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The New York Post reported in October 2020  weeks before the presidential election  on emails about Hunter Biden's business dealings in Ukraine and possible links to his father.

Jim Jordan subpoenas FBI, Ed. Department: Rep. Jim Jordan subpoenas FBI, Education Department over school board memo

The story described 2015 emails indicating then-Vice President Joe Biden met with a high-ranking official at Burisma Holdings, a Ukrainian energy company whose board employed Hunter Biden. The meeting would have come at a time when Biden was pressuring Ukraine to fire its prosecutor general, who was investigating the company.

But Bidens campaign said, No meeting, as alleged by the New York Post, ever took place.

When Trump raised questions about the laptop at a presidential debate, Biden replied that it was Russian disinformation. The laptops legitimacy has since been confirmed by CBS News, but the contents remain under investigation.

Wednesday's Biden hearing: Biden family hearings to begin Feb. 8 as House GOP probes Twitter, Hunter Biden laptop

Hunter Biden asks DOJ, Delaware attorney general to investigate distribution of laptop information

Hunter Bidens lawyers sent letters Wednesday asking the Justice Department and Delawares attorney general to investigate who accessed, copied and disseminated information from the laptop.

Abbe Lowell, one of Hunter Bidens lawyers, said the actions taken with the laptop more than merit a full investigation and, depending on the resulting facts, may merit prosecution under various statutes.

Timeline of Biden documents probe: From office to beach house

The committee seeks Treasury documents about 'suspicious' Hunter Biden banking transactions

Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., chairman of the House Oversight and Accountability Committee, speaks at a media event at the National Press Club on Jan. 30.

The committee asked the Treasury Department for documents about 150 alerts from U.S. banks about suspicious transactions involving Hunter Biden and James Biden, the president's brother. The committee also asked the Prewitt Mahler Tucker Private Wealth Management Group about its management of Hunter Bidens finances including questionable business dealings.

The suspicious transaction reports dont necessarily flag wrongdoing because they generally cover transactions greater than $5,000 and the department received 3.6 million reports last year.

Comer said documents suggest Hunter Biden was paid $80,000 per month by Burisma and benefitted from a $5 million deal in China, which was wire-transferred through corporate intermediaries. Comer said he would like to find out what Hunter Biden provided in exchange.

Comer argued the payments were "influence peddling," and acknowledged there might be nothing to the suspicious reports, but he wants to review them.

Ian Sams, a White House spokesperson for oversight, called the request for banking records a political stunt driven by the most extreme members of the Republican conference.

House GOP take on Biden in lead-up to 2024: Bidens most vocal Republican antagonists emerge from the sidelines  with subpoena power

Joe Biden denies profiting from son

Joe Biden denied repeatedly he received any benefit from his sons business deals. But Republicans questioned his truthfulness.

I have never spoken to my son about his overseas business dealings, Biden said in 2019.

But Comer labeled the claim false because of documentation of meetings from Hunter Bidens personal calendar and White House visitor records.

Joe Biden earlier denied receiving foreign payments during a 2020 presidential debate.

I have not taken a penny from any foreign source at any point in my life, Biden said.

What do the Secret Service and FBI know?

The committee is also investigating how federal agencies such as the Secret Service and the FBI have dealt with Hunter Biden.

The panel asked who had access to Joe Bidens former office and his home, where classified documents from his time as vice president were discovered in November and December.

Ron Klain, Bidens chief of staff, told the panel the White House doesnt maintain visitor logs for the house. But the Secret Service generates law enforcement records for people who visit, so Comer asked the agency for those records from when Biden left the Obama administration in January 2017.

FBI searches Biden's beach house: FBI searches Biden's Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, house as part of classified documents probe

U.S. Secret Service agents are seen in front of Joe Biden's Rehoboth Beach, Del., home on Jan. 12, 2021. The FBI is conducting a planned search of President Joe Bidens Rehoboth Beach, Delaware home as part of its investigation into the potential mishandling of classified documents.

The committee asked the FBI for information about Hunter Biden's relationship with JiaQi "Jackie" Bao, whom lawmakers identified as having ties to the Chinese Communist Party. Bao helped Hunter Biden broker a 2017 deal for a U.S. purchase of liquefied natural gas through CEFC China Energy, according to the committee.

But the deal collapsed in 2019 when CEFC's leaders were arrested in the U.S. and charged with corruption for projects in Africa, according to the committee.

Previous Senate investigation found no evidence of wrongdoing

Republicans on a pair of Senate committees investigated Hunter Bidens alleged corruption in Ukraine and found in September 2020, before the existence of the laptop was known publicly, that there was no evidence of wrongdoing or corrupt actions by Joe Biden in connection with his son.

The 87-page report found Hunter Bidens role at the Ukrainian energy company Burisma problematic but said it was unclear whether he influenced U.S. foreign policy while Joe Biden was vice president.

But Republicans serving in the minority didnt have the authority to subpoena witnesses, which Comer now has.

Biden, Trump, Pence aren't alone: Millions access sensitive documents, mishandling is common

Who is testifying from Twitter?

Republicans have accused social media companies such as Twitter of suppressing information about Hunter Bidens laptop in the weeks before the 2020 election.

Jack Dorsey, Twitters CEO at the time, said later that blocking the article with zero context was unacceptable.

The committee called former Twitter executives as witnesses for the hearing: Yoel Roth, former global head of trust and safety; Vijaya Gadde, former chief legal officer and James Baker, former general counsel.

Baker is a former general counsel for the FBI, an agency lawmakers accused of encouraging social media companies to suppress stories before the election because of concerns about hacking. Gadde explained at the time how Twitter revised its policy allowing tweets about the laptop after suppressing them for days.

Biden and Trump documents expose wider problem: Missing classified records not uncommon

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Hunter Biden investigation hearing: GOP takes on laptop, China deals
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla (AP)  A Florida nursing home administrator charged with causing the overheating deaths of nine patients after Hurricane Irma in 2017 went on trial Monday, with a prosecutor calling him a captain who abandoned ship while his attorney said he's a scapegoat for failures of the electric company to restore power.

Prosecutor Chris Killoran told the six-member jury that Jorge Carballo is guilty of manslaughter because he failed to give adequate direction to his staff at the Rehabilitation Center at Hollywood Hills after power to the facility's air conditioning system was lost. He said Carballo went home even as it became ridiculously hot inside the 150-bed, two-story facility and failed to order his patients' evacuation to Memorial Regional Hospital across the street, which had working air conditioning.

Prosecutors must prove Carballo acted recklessly and showed gross and careless disregard for his patients' safety. Carballo, 65, could face 15 years in prison if convicted, although a sentence of that length would be unlikely as he has no previous record. He was originally charged with 12 deaths, but three cases have been dropped. Charges were also dropped against three of his employees, who will testify against him.

This is a case of a captain who abandoned his slowly sinking ship, and left not only his crew but the passengers to fend for themselves, Killoran said. As temperatures rose inside the center, Carballo basically did nothing, he said.

He had his staff buy some fans to push some hot air around and had some portable AC units installed, he said, but that wasn't done properly, making the temperatures on the second floor where the deaths occurred even worse.

But defense attorney James Cobb said Carballo did everything within his power to protect his patients. He had his staff notify Florida Power & Light that the air conditioning's power was down right after it happened and several more times over the next two days, Cobb said, but the company didn't send a crew until an executive saw news reports about patients dying. He said the problem took 10 minutes to fix.

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He said Carballo was following published research that shows moving frail, elderly patients comes with a high risk of death.

This case can be boiled down to one word  scapegoat," Cobb said. The attorney previously won the acquittal of two New Orleans nursing home owners who were charged after 35 patients drowned during flooding in 2005 after Hurricane Katrina.

Cobb, scoffing at Killoran's characterization of Carballo abandoning ship, showed the jury two photos of Carballo working with his staff during the emergency. He said Carballo is on trial to avoid placing the blame where it belongs  on the power company.

Hurricanes are unpredictable. Stuff happens during hurricanes that can't be planned for. If something happens that can't be planned for, you do the best you can, he said.

The victims, ranging in age from 57 to 99, had body temperatures of up to 108 degrees (42 degrees celsius), paramedics have reported.

The deaths began three days after Irma knocked out a transformer that powered the cooling system. Otherwise, the facility never lost power.

A state report said that before the storm hit on Sept. 10, 2017, Carballo and his staff made appropriate preparations. They purchased extra food and water and fuel for the generator.

Administrators also participated in statewide conference calls with regulators, including one where then-Gov. Rick Scott said nursing homes should call his cellphone for help.

After the air conditioner failed, Carballo and his facility manager contacted the power company. When that didnt work, they called Scotts cellphone and county and city officials. No help came.

Temperatures that week were in the upper 80s (about 31 degrees Celsius). On Sept. 12, two days after the storm, patients from the nursing home began arriving at Memorial Regional's emergency room with temperatures of 103 degrees (39.4 Celsius) and above.

About 6 a.m. on Sept. 13, after more patients arrived, Memorial's then-head nurse Judy Frum and her assistant, Tracy Meltzer, walked to the home to offer assistance. Both testified Monday that when they entered, the heat struck them and the home's staff seemed frantic. Paramedics were already there.

It was really hot. I can only relate it to opening a car door and the heat hits you in the face, Frum said.

Meltzer said that when she reached the second floor, she found two men dead in one room and a woman lying in a diaper filled with urine and feces. She heard one of the home's nurses say, They are dropping like flies. We have to get these people out of here. After she, Frum and paramedics conversed, the fire department decided to evacuate the home and take everyone to the hospital, where a mass casualty alert was called.

Patients were being compromised to the heat. Some were expired. We made a group decision to take patients out of the building, Frum said.

Under cross-examination, Carballo attorney David Frankel tried to get Frum and Meltzer to concede that they over-reacted and that the patients would have been better off staying at the home. At one point, Frankel insinuated that by calling a mass casualty alert, the nurses had attracted national media attention to the situation it otherwise wouldn't have received.

Frum and Meltzer responded they could feel the heat, see dead patients and others in distress.

It was not a safe place to be. We removed the patients from harm," Frum said.

The trial is expected to last about three weeks.
The family of slain University of Idaho student Kaylee Goncalves is fighting back against a unusually restrictive gag order placed on the case.

A gag order was issued in early January following the arrest and charging of Bryan Kohberger with the quadruple homicide of Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin in Moscow, Idaho, on 13 November.

On 18 January, the gag order was broadly expanded to also ban any attorneys representing survivors, witnesses or the victims family members from talking or writing about the case.

In an appeal filed in court on Friday, the Goncalves family attorney Shanon Gray asked the judge to pull back the scope of the order, describing it as unconstitutional and facially overbroad and vague.

The judge is yet to rule on the motion.

This comes after the FBI pushed back on a report that its surveillance team lost Mr Kohberger during his cross-country drive from Washington State University to his family home in Pennsylvania in mid-December.

An FBI spokesperson denied the shocking account calling it false information which is not helpful to the case against Kohberger or to the American public.

Key points

FBI denies claim it lost Kohberger during surveillance operation

Bryan Kohberger attorneys receive trove of evidence in case

Kohbergers attorney has ties to second victims family

Xana Kernodles mom feels betrayed by attorney who dropped her for daughters alleged killer

Bryan Kohberger met local police chief and sent him gushing email  months before murders

Chilling online comments from suspect as teen revealed

Idaho students recall seeing Bryan Kohberger staring on campus

14:30 , Rachel Sharp

Several students have recalled seeing Bryan Kohberger  a PhD student at Washington State University  on the University of Idaho campus in the weeks before the murders.

Three separate students told People that they believe they saw him in the Student Union building, with one saying he was sitting staring at people.

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It was really early in the semester, sophomore student Chelsea said. He was at the food court, drinking water. He sat by himself.

He was the type to stare. He wouldnt look away if you caught him staring. Like he wanted you to notice that he was looking at you. He didnt smile, didnt nod, didnt say anything. Just stared.

Chelsea said that his behaviour prompted her to point him out to a friend.

I told my friend to not be suspicious but to look at him, because the eye contact was making me uncomfortable, she said. It was so weird that we ended up leaving and eating outside, because we wanted to get away from him.

Another student told the outlet she recognised Mr Kohberger after his arrest as she had seen him often around the campus  despite the fact that he did not go to UI.

Its not a huge school; its like a small town, she said.

So you start seeing the same faces again and again. They become familiar, like you know that youve seen them in class or around campus. I definitely saw him more than once. He was just really quiet and really intense, staring. He made me uncomfortable.

Their accounts support comments previously made by a law enforcement source to People that the suspect spent some time on the UI campus before the 13 November killings.

No connection is yet known between the suspect and the victims.

ICYMI: Bryan Kohberger was interviewed by local police chief for internship months before Idaho murders

13:36 , Rachel Sharp

A criminology PhD student accused of murdering four University of Idaho students was interviewed by a local police department for an internship position months before the slayings.

New emails show a brief exchange between Washington State University student Bryan Kohberger and the then-chief of Pullman Police Department Gary Jenkins regarding Mr Kohbergers interview process for the research assistantship for public safety position in April 2022.

In his email to Mr Jenkins, Mr Kohberger wrote that it was a great pleasure to meet with you today and share [his] thoughts and excitement. Mr Jenkins replied that it was great to meet and talk with you as well.

Read the full story here:

Bryan Kohberger was interviewed by police chief for internship months before murders

Why we should defend the surviving roommate in the Idaho murders

10:01 , Megan Sheets

There are many chilling similarities between the murders of four Idaho students in November and a 1992 attack at a student home in Buffalo  none more so than the experiences of the roommates who survived.

Alanna Zabel tells The Independents Rachel Sharp why she feels the need to defend the surviving roommate in Idaho and how she understands the way trauma can shape reactions to such horrifying events:

She slept through an attack in her home - and has a message about the Idaho murders

BTK killers daughter sensed her father in the Idaho murders

07:01 , Megan Sheets

Kerri Rawson had a nagging sense as she followed every development in the Idaho murders case. After the arrest of Bryan Kohberger, she tells Bevan Hurley how her stomach sank when she realised a link between the suspect and her father, notorious serial killer Dennis Rader.

My father is the BTK Killer. The arrest in the Idaho murders took my breath away

These were the items seized from Bryan Kohbergers Washington state home:

04:01 , Megan Sheets

An unsealed search warrant revealed the evidence that was seized from Bryan Kohbergers apartment in Pullman and his office at Washington State University (WSU) during searches in late December.

- one nitrite type black glove

- one Walmart receipt with one Dickies tag

- two Marshalls receipts

- dust container from a vacuum

- multiple possible hair and hair strands

- one possible animal hair strands

- two cuttings from uncased pillow of reddish/brown stain

- two top and bottom mattress cover with multiple stains

- items with a dark red spot

- a computer tower

- a Fire TV stick

No items were seized from his office which he shared with other PhD students.

Xana Kernodles mother slams betrayal by Bryan Kohbergers lawyer

01:00 , Megan Sheets

The mother of slain University of Idaho student Xana Kernodle has claimed that she gave her power of attorney to the public defender now representing her daughters alleged killer.

Anne Taylor, the chief of the Kootenai public defenders office, filed on 5 January to recuse herself from representing Xana Kernodles mother Cara Denise Northington in order to become the lead defence attorney for Bryan Kohberger.

In an interview with NewsNation on Wednesday night, Ms Northington spoke out over the sense of betrayal she feels after her attorney stepped down from her case, saying she had given Ms Taylor power of attorney over her.

The Independents Andrea Blanco has the full story:

Idaho murder victims mom says she gave Bryan Kohberger lawyer power of attorney

The unique facial feature that may have linked Bryan Kohberger to the Idaho murders

Sunday 5 February 2023 22:01 , Megan Sheets

Bryan Kohbergers distinct eyebrows may have been among the first in a string of details that linked him to the Idaho murders, according to a new report.

Air Mails The Eyes of a Killer: Part Two offers a vivid description of the Moscow police hunt for evidence that would ultimately materialise in Mr Kohbergers arrest for the murders of four University of Idaho students, based on an affidavit released earlier this month and sources close to the investigation,

According to the report, a lead investigator first had an inkling that Mr Kohberger would become a suspect in the crime after he ran the Washington State University PhD students licence plate and noticed his bushy eyebrows.

One of the surviving roommates at the 1122 King Road home had recounted how she unknowingly saw her friends killer leaving the scene before going back into her room in a state of shock. The woman said the killer was wearing a mask, but his bushy eyebrows stood out to her.

Andrea Blanco has more:

One unique facial feature may have linked Bryan Kohberger to the Idaho murders

FBI denies claim it lost Bryan Kohberger before Idaho college murders arrest

Sunday 5 February 2023 19:01 , Megan Sheets

The FBI has denied claims that it lost accused mass killer Bryan Kohberger while he was under surveillance for the brutal murders of four University of Idaho students.

Surveillance teams had been tasked with keeping eyes on the 28-year-old criminology PhD student after he became a person of interest in the 13 November murders of Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin in Moscow, Idaho.

But, law enforcement sources told Air Mails The Eyes of a Killer: Part Two, that in the early hours of 13 December, Mr Kohberger set off on a cross-country drive with his father from Washington State University (WSU) to his family home in Pennsylvania and the surveillance team lost him.

However, on Thursday an FBI spokesperson denied the shocking account calling it false information which is not helpful to the case against Kohberger or to the American public.

The Independents Rachel Sharp has the story:

FBI denies claim agents lost Bryan Kohberger before Idaho college murders arrest

Bryan Kohbergers trial for the Idaho murders is months away. How strong is the case against him?

Sunday 5 February 2023 16:01 , Megan Sheets

It will be another six months before Bryan Kohberger and the families of his alleged victims come face to face in court again, after his preliminary hearing was postponed until the summer.

The 28-year-old criminology PhD student could face the death penalty if convicted when he eventually goes on trial for the murders of Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin  the four students who were found violently stabbed to death in an off-campus home in Moscow, Idaho, on 13 November.

For more than six weeks, the murders remained a mystery and left the small college town racked by fear.

Then, on 30 December, Mr Kohberger was arrested 2,500 miles away at his family home in Pennsylvania and charged with four counts of murder and one charge of burglary.

Details about the murders and his alleged role in them were laid out in the damning probable cause affidavit released earlier this month.

But just how strong is the case against him? What can we expect next from the defence and the prosecution? And why has Mr Kohbergers attorney requested evidence about a co-defendant?

Duncan Levin, a former assistant district attorney in the Manhattan DAs office who has no official connection to the Idaho murders case, speaks to The Independent about the strength of the criminal case and what to expect next as it makes it way through the courts:

How strong is the case against Idaho murders suspect Bryan Kohberger?

BTK killer Dennis Rader says Bryan Kohberger is very lonely'

Sunday 5 February 2023 13:01 , Megan Sheets

Serial killer Dennis Rader has expressed sympathy for Bryan Kohberger as he awaits trial in the Idaho murders.

Rader who gave himself the title of the BTK killer because he bound and tortured his victims before killing them  is serving ten consecutive life sentences in a maximum security prison in Kansas after he confessed in 2005 to killing 10 people over a span of three decades.

In an interview with Fox News Digital on Wednesday, Rader said he understands how Mr Kohberger must feel while in solitary confinement at Latah County Jail ahead of his preliminary hearing on 26 June.

Since I spent from February 2005 to April 2005 in a cell by myself, I know how he feels. Very lonely, Rader told the outlet, adding that his situation improved when he was allowed to receive mail. And soon letters started to come in ... [I] read a lot of the Bible and wrote poetry.

Andrea Blanco has the story:

BTK killer Dennis Rader shares sympathy for Idaho murders suspect Bryan Kohberger

Why police arent sharing more information on the case

Sunday 5 February 2023 09:00 , Megan Sheets

A court in Idaho recently extended a gag order prohibiting law enforcement officials from revealing information about the murders of four University of Idaho students and the arrest of their accused killer Bryan Kohberger.

The order, issued by the Latah County Chief Magistrate on 4 January, was extended on 19 January and will remain in place throughout court proceedings until a verdict has been reached or unless the mandate is modified by the court.

The earlier court order banned investigators, law enforcement personnel, attorneys, and members of both the prosecution and the defence from sharing any new information about the investigation or the suspect before a verdict is reached at trial.

As a result Moscow Police Department, which had been sharing updates on the investigation, said in a statement that it will no longer be communicating with the public or the media regarding the case.

The order both extends and expands the earlier measure.

According to court documents any attorney representing witness, victim, or victims family, as well as the parties to the above-entitled action, including but not limited to investigators, law enforcement personnel, and agents for the prosecuting attorney or defense attorney, are prohibited from making extrajudicial statements (written or oral) concerning this case.

Defence team receives thousands of documents and photos as evidence in Idaho murders case

Sunday 5 February 2023 05:01 , Megan Sheets

Attorneys representing Bryan Kohberger this week received thousands of documents and photos as evidence in the University of Idaho murders case.

Court filings reveal that prosecutors in Moscow, Idaho, handed over the huge trove of evidence to lawyers for the 28-year-old suspected mass killer last week, including 995 pages of documents, one audio/video file, and 1,865 photos.

The evidence  which shows what led investigators to arrest the criminology PhD student for the murders of Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin  came in response to the defences discovery request in the case.

However, the state objected to handing over some information in the case, including the identity of potential informants.

The State objects to requests by the Defendant for anything not otherwise addressed above on the grounds that such requests are outside the scope of I.C.R. 16 and/or are not subject to disclosure under ICR 16(g) (work product and informants), prosecutors wrote in the court filings.

Students launch fundraiser selling bracelets in victims honour

Sunday 5 February 2023 02:01 , Megan Sheets

University of Idaho students have launched a fundraiser selling bracelets in honour of the four murder victims.

The Vandal Strong bracelets are black silicon bands featuring the names of Ethan, Maddie, Xana and Kaylee.

They are for sale on the UI website with funds from the sales set to go towards a memorial for the victims.

Student fundraiser organized by @ASUIDAHO selling #vandalstrong bracelets to raise money towards building a permanent memorial on @uidaho campus for Xana, Ethan, Madison, and Kaylee. A way for us to honor and remember them forever, tweeted Xana Kernodles family member Sheldon Kernodle.

Bryan Kohbergers attorney has ties to family of second Idaho murders victim

Saturday 4 February 2023 22:00 , Megan Sheets

Bryan Kohbergers public defender once represented a relative of not one but two Idaho murders victims.

Court records obtained by Inside Edition reportedly show that Chief of the Kootenai Public Defenders Office Anne Taylor was the attorney for slain University of Idaho student Madison Mogens stepmother as recently as June 2022.

Earlier this week, the Idaho Statesman revealed that Ms Taylor also represented Cara Denise Northington  Xana Kernodles mother  before recusing herself to take on Mr Kohbergers quadruple murder case.

Mr Kohberger is accused of brutally stabbing Kernodle, Mogen, Kaylee Goncalves and Ethan Chapin on 13 November in the college town of Moscow.

He was arrested on 30 December at his parents home in Pennsylvania before he was extradited to Idaho on 5 January.

The records also reveal that Ms Taylor was Benjamin Mogens legal counsel in late 2020, and represented his wife Korie Hatrock in the summer of 2022.

Mr Mogen pleaded guilty to drug charges at the time and received a three-month prison sentence. Ms Hatrock pleaded guilty to one charge of felony drug but it is unclear whether she served any time in prison, per Inside.

In an interview with NewsNation on Wednesday night, Ms Northington spoke out over the sense of betrayal she feels after her attorney stepped down from her case, saying she had given Ms Taylor power of attorney over her.

Id already signed over power of attorney so that she could help me with getting into rehab and whatnot, said Ms Northington, who has a long history of brushes with the law. I trusted her. She pretended that she was wanting to help me. And to find out that shes representing him  I cant even convey how betrayed I feel.

Read more from Andrea Blanco:

Bryan Kohbergers attorney has ties to family of second Idaho murders victim

Idaho students recall seeing Bryan Kohberger staring on campus

Saturday 4 February 2023 19:00 , Megan Sheets

Several students have recalled seeing Bryan Kohberger  a PhD student at Washington State University  on the University of Idaho campus in the weeks before the murders.

Three separate students told People that they believe they saw him in the Student Union building, with one saying he was sitting staring at people.

It was really early in the semester, sophomore student Chelsea said. He was at the food court, drinking water. He sat by himself.

He was the type to stare. He wouldnt look away if you caught him staring. Like he wanted you to notice that he was looking at you. He didnt smile, didnt nod, didnt say anything. Just stared.

Chelsea said that his behaviour prompted her to point him out to a friend.

I told my friend to not be suspicious but to look at him, because the eye contact was making me uncomfortable, she said. It was so weird that we ended up leaving and eating outside, because we wanted to get away from him.

Another student told the outlet she recognised Mr Kohberger after his arrest as she had seen him often around the campus  despite the fact that he did not go to UI.

Its not a huge school; its like a small town, she said.

So you start seeing the same faces again and again. They become familiar, like you know that youve seen them in class or around campus. I definitely saw him more than once. He was just really quiet and really intense, staring. He made me uncomfortable.

Their accounts support comments previously made by a law enforcement source to People that the suspect spent some time on the UI campus before the 13 November killings.

No connection is yet known between the suspect and the victims.

The unique facial feature that may have linked Bryan Kohberger to the Idaho murders

Saturday 4 February 2023 16:01 , Megan Sheets

Bryan Kohbergers distinct eyebrows may have been among the first in a string of details that linked him to the Idaho murders, according to a new report.

Air Mails The Eyes of a Killer: Part Two offers a vivid description of the Moscow police hunt for evidence that would ultimately materialise in Mr Kohbergers arrest for the murders of four University of Idaho students, based on an affidavit released earlier this month and sources close to the investigation,

According to the report, a lead investigator first had an inkling that Mr Kohberger would become a suspect in the crime after he ran the Washington State University PhD students licence plate and noticed his bushy eyebrows.

One of the surviving roommates at the 1122 King Road home had recounted how she unknowingly saw her friends killer leaving the scene before going back into her room in a state of shock. The woman said the killer was wearing a mask, but his bushy eyebrows stood out to her.

Andrea Blanco has more:

One unique facial feature may have linked Bryan Kohberger to the Idaho murders

FBI denies claim it lost Bryan Kohberger before Idaho college murders arrest

Saturday 4 February 2023 13:01 , Megan Sheets

The FBI has denied claims that it lost accused mass killer Bryan Kohberger while he was under surveillance for the brutal murders of four University of Idaho students.

Surveillance teams had been tasked with keeping eyes on the 28-year-old criminology PhD student after he became a person of interest in the 13 November murders of Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin in Moscow, Idaho.

But, law enforcement sources told Air Mails The Eyes of a Killer: Part Two, that in the early hours of 13 December, Mr Kohberger set off on a cross-country drive with his father from Washington State University (WSU) to his family home in Pennsylvania and the surveillance team lost him.

However, on Thursday an FBI spokesperson denied the shocking account calling it false information which is not helpful to the case against Kohberger or to the American public.

The Independents Rachel Sharp has the story:

FBI denies claim agents lost Bryan Kohberger before Idaho college murders arrest

Bryan Kohberger allegedly followed the three female victims on Instagram

Saturday 4 February 2023 09:00 , Megan Sheets

Bryan Kohberger is believed to have followed all three slain female University of Idaho victims on Instagram and repeatedly messaged one of them prior to the brutal stabbings, according to a report.

An investigator familiar with the case told People that the 28-year-old criminology PhD student followed the accounts of Madison Mogen, Kaylee Goncalves and Xana Kernodle but neither of them followed him back.

Then, in late-October  around two weeks before the 13 November slayings  Mr Kohberger allegedly messaged one of the victims repeatedly on the social media platform, the source said.

It is unclear which of the three female students was the recipient or if she even saw the messages.

However, the source said that the victim did not respond to Mr Kohbergers messages.

He slid into one of the girls DMs several times but she didnt respond, the investigator said.

Basically, it was just him saying, Hey, how are you? But he did it again and again.

A survivor is defending the surviving roommates in the Idaho murders

Saturday 4 February 2023 05:01 , Megan Sheets

There are many chilling similarities between the murders of four Idaho students in November and a 1992 attack at a student home in Buffalo  none more so than the experiences of the roommates who survived.

Alanna Zabel tells The Independents Rachel Sharp why she feels the need to defend the surviving roommate in Idaho and how she understands the way trauma can shape reactions to such horrifying events:

She slept through an attack in her home - and has a message about the Idaho murders

Bryan Kohbergers trial for the Idaho murders is months away. How strong is the case against him?

Saturday 4 February 2023 02:01 , Megan Sheets

It will be another six months before Bryan Kohberger and the families of his alleged victims come face to face in court again, after his preliminary hearing was postponed until the summer.

The 28-year-old criminology PhD student could face the death penalty if convicted when he eventually goes on trial for the murders of Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin  the four students who were found violently stabbed to death in an off-campus home in Moscow, Idaho, on 13 November.

For more than six weeks, the murders remained a mystery and left the small college town racked by fear.

Then, on 30 December, Mr Kohberger was arrested 2,500 miles away at his family home in Pennsylvania and charged with four counts of murder and one charge of burglary.

Details about the murders and his alleged role in them were laid out in the damning probable cause affidavit released earlier this month.

But just how strong is the case against him? What can we expect next from the defence and the prosecution? And why has Mr Kohbergers attorney requested evidence about a co-defendant?

Duncan Levin, a former assistant district attorney in the Manhattan DAs office who has no official connection to the Idaho murders case, speaks to The Independent about the strength of the criminal case and what to expect next as it makes it way through the courts:

How strong is the case against Idaho murders suspect Bryan Kohberger?

BTK killer Dennis Rader shares sympathy for Bryan Kohberger

Friday 3 February 2023 22:01 , Megan Sheets

Serial killer Dennis Rader has expressed sympathy for Bryan Kohberger as he awaits trial in the Idaho murders.

Rader who gave himself the title of the BTK killer because he bound and tortured his victims before killing them  is serving ten consecutive life sentences in a maximum security prison in Kansas after he confessed in 2005 to killing 10 people over a span of three decades.

In an interview with Fox News Digital on Wednesday, Rader said he understands how Mr Kohberger must feel while in solitary confinement at Latah County Jail ahead of his preliminary hearing on 26 June.

Since I spent from February 2005 to April 2005 in a cell by myself, I know how he feels. Very lonely, Rader told the outlet, adding that his situation improved when he was allowed to receive mail. And soon letters started to come in ... [I] read a lot of the Bible and wrote poetry.

Andrea Blanco has the story:

BTK killer Dennis Rader shares sympathy for Idaho murders suspect Bryan Kohberger

These were the items seized from Bryan Kohbergers Washington state home:

Friday 3 February 2023 20:11 , Megan Sheets

An unsealed search warrant revealed the evidence that was seized from Bryan Kohbergers apartment in Pullman and his office at Washington State University (WSU) during searches in late December.

- one nitrite type black glove

- one Walmart receipt with one Dickies tag

- two Marshalls receipts

- dust container from a vacuum

- multiple possible hair and hair strands

- one possible animal hair strands

- two cuttings from uncased pillow of reddish/brown stain

- two top and bottom mattress cover with multiple stains

- items with a dark red spot

- a computer tower

- a Fire TV stick

No items were seized from his office which he shared with other PhD students.

FBI denies claim it lost Bryan Kohberger before Idaho college murders arrest

Friday 3 February 2023 18:00 , Rachel Sharp

The FBI has denied claims that it lost accused mass killer Bryan Kohberger while he was under surveillance for the brutal murders of four University of Idaho students.

Surveillance teams had been tasked with keeping eyes on the 28-year-old criminology PhD student after he became a person of interest in the 13 November murders of Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin in Moscow, Idaho.

But, law enforcement sources told Air Mails The Eyes of a Killer: Part Two, that in the early hours of 13 December, Mr Kohberger set off on a cross-country drive with his father from Washington State University (WSU) to his family home in Pennsylvania and the surveillance team lost him.

However, on Thursday an FBI spokesperson denied the shocking account calling it false information which is not helpful to the case against Kohberger or to the American public.

The Independents Rachel Sharp has the story:

FBI denies claim it lost Bryan Kohberger before Idaho college murders arrest

Bryan Kohbergers attorney says defence has no evidence to hand to state

Friday 3 February 2023 17:00 , Rachel Sharp

Court filings show the suspects defence attorneys has now responded to the states request for discovery in the case.

In a court filing on 30 January, public defender Anne Taylor writes that the defence so far has no evidence to turn over such as books, documents, papers and photos.

There are also no results or reports of mental or physical exams or tests, the documents state.

Bryan Kohbergers attorney responds to states request for discovery (Idaho courts)

Bryan Kohbergers attorney responds to states request for discovery (Idaho courts)

Bryan Kohbergers attorney has ties to family of second Idaho murders victim

Friday 3 February 2023 16:00 , Rachel Sharp

Bryan Kohbergers public defender once represented a relative of not one but two Idaho murders victims.

Court records obtained by Inside Edition reportedly show that Chief of the Kootenai Public Defenders Office Anne Taylor was the attorney for slain University of Idaho student Madison Mogens stepmother as recently as June 2022.

Earlier this week, the Idaho Statesman revealed that Ms Taylor also represented Cara Denise Northington  Xana Kernodles mother  before recusing herself to take on Mr Kohbergers quadruple murder case.

Mr Kohberger is accused of brutally stabbing Kernodle, Mogen, Kaylee Goncalves and Ethan Chapin on 13 November in the college town of Moscow.

He was arrested on 30 December at his parents home in Pennsylvania before he was extradited to Idaho on 5 January.

The records also reveal that Ms Taylor was Benjamin Mogens legal counsel in late 2020, and represented his wife Korie Hatrock in the summer of 2022.

Mr Mogen pleaded guilty to drug charges at the time and received a three-month prison sentence. Ms Hatrock pleaded guilty to one charge of felony drug but it is unclear whether she served any time in prison, per Inside.

In an interview with NewsNation on Wednesday night, Ms Northington spoke out over the sense of betrayal she feels after her attorney stepped down from her case, saying she had given Ms Taylor power of attorney over her.

Id already signed over power of attorney so that she could help me with getting into rehab and whatnot, said Ms Northington, who has a long history of brushes with the law. I trusted her. She pretended that she was wanting to help me. And to find out that shes representing him  I cant even convey how betrayed I feel.

What forensic experts say about evidence seized from Bryan Kohbergers home in the Idaho murders case

Friday 3 February 2023 15:00 , Rachel Sharp

A search warrant was executed at Mr Kohbergers apartment in Pullman, Washington, on 30 December, the same day he was arrested at his parents home in Pennsylvania on charges for the 13 November stabbings of Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin in Moscow, Idaho.

A record of evidence recovered during the apartment search was unsealed on Wednesday, revealing the seizure of 15 items including hairs, receipts, a computer tower, a disposable glove and items with peculiar stains.

The record reignited a frenzy of speculation online - despite its simplicity and lack of conjecture.

But what significance, if any, can actually be gleaned from the list? The Independent spoke to two experts - Dr Monte Miller, a former crime scene investigator and forensic expert for the Texas Department of Public Safety; and former FBI agent Jennifer Coffindaffer - for their takes on each item.

Read the story:

What forensic experts say about evidence seized from Bryan Kohbergers home

BTK killer Dennis Rader shares sympathy for Idaho murders suspect Bryan Kohberger

Friday 3 February 2023 14:00 , Andrea Blanco

Serial killer Dennis Rader has expressed sympathy for Bryan Kohberger as he awaits trial in the Idaho murders.

Rader who gave himself the title of the BTK killer because he bound and tortured his victims before killing them  is serving ten consecutive life sentences in a maximum security prison in Kansas after he confessed in 2005 to killing 10 people over a span of three decades.

In an interview with Fox News Digital on Wednesday, Rader said he understands how Mr Kohberger must feel while in solitary confinement at Latah County Jail ahead of his preliminary hearing on 26 June.

Since I spent from February 2005 to April 2005 in a cell by myself, I know how he feels. Very lonely, Rader told the outlet, adding that his situation improved when he was allowed to receive mail. And soon letters started to come in ... [I] read a lot of the Bible and wrote poetry.

The Independent has the story:

BTK killer Dennis Rader shares sympathy for Idaho murders suspect Bryan Kohberger

Bryan Kohbergers bushy eyebrows may have first linked him to the Idaho murders

Friday 3 February 2023 13:00 , Andrea Blanco

Bryan Kohbergers distinct eyebrows may have been among the first in a string of details that linked him to the Idaho murders, according to a new report.

Air Mails The Eyes of a Killer: Part Two offers a vivid description of the Moscow police hunt for evidence that would ultimately materialise in Mr Kohbergers arrest for the murders of four University of Idaho students, based on an affidavit released earlier this month and sources close to the investigation,

According to the report, a lead investigator first had an inkling that Mr Kohberger would become a suspect in the crime after he ran the Washington State University PhD students licence plate and noticed his bushy eyebrows.

Read the full story.

Idaho students recall seeing Bryan Kohberger staring on campus

Friday 3 February 2023 12:00 , Rachel Sharp

Several students have recalled seeing Bryan Kohberger  a PhD student at Washington State University  on the University of Idaho campus in the weeks before the murders.

Three separate students told People that they believe they saw him in the Student Union building, with one saying he was sitting staring at people.

It was really early in the semester, sophomore student Chelsea said. He was at the food court, drinking water. He sat by himself.

He was the type to stare. He wouldnt look away if you caught him staring. Like he wanted you to notice that he was looking at you. He didnt smile, didnt nod, didnt say anything. Just stared.

Chelsea said that his behaviour prompted her to point him out to a friend.

I told my friend to not be suspicious but to look at him, because the eye contact was making me uncomfortable, she said. It was so weird that we ended up leaving and eating outside, because we wanted to get away from him.

Another student told the outlet she recognised Mr Kohberger after his arrest as she had seen him often around the campus  despite the fact that he did not go to UI.

Its not a huge school; its like a small town, she said.

So you start seeing the same faces again and again. They become familiar, like you know that youve seen them in class or around campus. I definitely saw him more than once. He was just really quiet and really intense, staring. He made me uncomfortable.

Their accounts support comments previously made by a law enforcement source to People that the suspect spent some time on the UI campus before the 13 November killings.

No connection is yet known between the suspect and the victims.

FBI denies claims it lost Bryan Kohberger

Friday 3 February 2023 10:55 , Rachel Sharp

The FBI has denied claims that it lost Bryan Kohberger while he was under surveillance as a suspect in the murders of Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin.

Law enforcement sources told Air Mails The Eyes of a Killer: Part Two that on 13 December, when he set off on a cross-country drive with his father from Washington State University (WSU) to his family home in Pennsylvania, the surveillance team lost him.

For the next several alarming hours  or more, Mr Kohberger had seemingly vanished, the outlet reported.

However, on Thursday an FBI spokesperson denied the account calling it false information which is not helpful to the case against Kohberger or to the American public.

The FBI is aware of reports detailing alleged FBI surveillance on Idaho murder subject Brian Kohberger, the spokesperson told the New York Post.

There are anonymous sources providing false information to the media.

Publishing of false information attributable to anonymous sources is not helpful to the case against Kohberger or to the American public, the spokesperson said.

BTK Killers daughter sensed her father in the Idaho murders

Friday 3 February 2023 09:30 , Andrea Blanco

Kerri Rawson had a nagging sense as she followed every development in the Idaho murders case. After the arrest of Bryan Kohberger, she tells Bevan Hurley how her stomach sank when she realised a link between the suspect and her father, notorious serial killer Dennis Rader.

My father is the BTK Killer. The arrest in the Idaho murders took my breath away

A survivor is defending the surviving roommates in the Idaho murders

Friday 3 February 2023 08:00 , Andrea Blanco

There are many chilling similarities between the murders of four Idaho students in November and a 1992 attack at a student home in Buffalo  none more so than the experiences of the roommates who survived.

Alanna Zabel tells The Independents Rachel Sharp why she feels the need to defend the surviving roommate in Idaho and how she understands the way trauma can shape reactions to such horrifying events:

She slept through an attack in her home - and has a message about the Idaho murders

Reddish-brownish-stained items were seized from Bryan Kohbergers Washington state home on the day of his arrest

Friday 3 February 2023 07:00 , Andrea Blanco

In the search warrant record, investigators list several items with stains, including cuttings of a mattress cover, a reddish/brown stain on an uncovered pillow and a collection of dark red spot.

Dr Monte Miller, a former crime scene investigator and forensic expert for the Texas Department of Public Safety; and former FBI agent Jennifer Coffindaffer told The Independent that police likely believe those stains could be blood.

A reddish or brown stain is a euphemism for, We found something that looks like blood, Dr Miller said. It might be blood from the victims, might be his blood. They dont know until they test it, but theyll be able to get DNA if it is blood. We dont know what the stains in the cover sheets look like, but again theyre looking for any kind of DNA, evidence that might have come from the crime scene.

Bryan Kohberger is facing murder charges in the killings of four University of Idaho students

Ms Coffindaffer added: They dont call it blood, but its definitely inferred that it was blood.

Dr Miller noted that while stains on clothing and bedding are not necessarily unusual, investigators will try to link the evidence found at the Pullman apartment to the crime scene in Moscow.

The likelihood that any of those stains came from the crime scene, is going to be dependent on how well he cleaned up, he said.

Ethan Chapins family opens up about finding the little victories in their grief journey

Friday 3 February 2023 05:30 , Andrea Blanco

In a Facebook post on Monday, Stacy Chapin said she and her husband had visited her two surviving triplets, Mazie and Hunter, at the University of Idaho over the weekend. The Chapin triplets were all enrolled at the college in the town of Moscow when Ethan was killed on 13 November.

Ethans girlfriend Xana Kernodle her roommates Madison Mogen and Kaylee Goncalves were also brutally murdered in the attack in their off-campus rental home. Washington State University PhD student Bryan Kohberger, 28, was arrested and charged with the slayings on 30 December.

Speaking out about life after losing her son, Ms Chapin said she had early on agreed with her husband that Maizie and Hunter would be returning to school for the spring semester. The mother-of-three said that she wanted to keep her family close but also allow her children to heal at their own pace.

During their visit, Ms Chapin said, the parents fed over 20 of their childrens friends and enjoyed long conversations, coffee dates and hugs.

The Chapin family also spent time remembering Ethan and sharing stories before Ms Chapin and her husband returned to their home in Washington.

Judge extends gag order in Idaho murders

Friday 3 February 2023 04:00 , Andrea Blanco

A court in Idaho has extended a gag order issued earlier this month prohibiting law enforcement officials from revealing information about the murders of four University of Idaho students and the arrest of their accused killer Bryan Kohberger.

The order, issued by the Latah County Chief Magistrate on 4 January, was extended on 19 January and will remain in place throughout court proceedings until a verdict has been reached or unless the mandate is modified by the court.

The earlier court order banned investigators, law enforcement personnel, attorneys, and members of both the prosecution and the defence from sharing any new information about the investigation or the suspect before a verdict is reached at trial.

As a result Moscow Police Department, which had been sharing updates on the investigation, said in a statement that it will no longer be communicating with the public or the media regarding the case.

The order both extends and expands the earlier measure.

According to court documents any attorney representing witness, victim, or victims family, as well as the parties to the above-entitled action, including but not limited to investigators, law enforcement personnel, and agents for the prosecuting attorney or defense attorney, are prohibited from making extrajudicial statements (written or oral) concerning this case.

Idaho murders suspect Bryan Kohberger was interviewed by local police chief for internship

Friday 3 February 2023 02:30 , Andrea Blanco

A criminology PhD student accused of murdering four University of Idaho students was interviewed by a local police department for an internship position months before the slayings.

New emails obtained by The New York Times show a brief exchange between Washington State University student Bryan Kohberger and the then-chief of Pullman Police Department Gary Jenkins regarding Mr Kohbergers interview process for the research assistantship for public safety position in April 2022.

Mr Kohberger, 28, is facing four murder charges in the brutal stabbings of Madison Mogen, Kaylee Goncalves, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin in an off-campus rental home in Moscow, Idaho, on 13 November. Mr Kohberger was arrested in Pennsylvania on 30 December before he was extradited to Idaho on 5 January.

In his email to Mr Jenkins, Mr Kohberger wrote that it was a great pleasure to meet with you today and share [his] thoughts and excitement. Mr Jenkins replied that it was great to meet and talk with you as well.

It is not clear whether Mr Kohberger was offered a position with the department.

U of I students launch fundraiser selling bracelets in victims honour

Friday 3 February 2023 01:00 , Andrea Blanco

University of Idaho students have launched fundraiser selling bracelets in honour of the four murder victims.

The Vandal Strong bracelets are black silicon bands featuring the names of Ethan, Maddie, Xana and Kaylee.

They are for sale on the UI website with funds from the sales set to go towards a memorial for the victims.

Student fundraiser organized by @ASUIDAHO selling #vandalstrong bracelets to raise money towards building a permanent memorial on @uidaho campus for Xana, Ethan, Madison, and Kaylee. A way for us to honor and remember them forever, tweeted Xana Kernodles family member Sheldon Kernodle.

One unique facial feature may have linked Bryan Kohberger to the Idaho murders

Thursday 2 February 2023 23:21 , Andrea Blanco

Bryan Kohbergers distinct eyebrows may have been among the first in a string of details that linked him to the Idaho murders, according to a new report.

According to Air Mails The Eyes of a Killer: Part Two, a lead investigator first had an inkling that Mr Kohberger would become a suspect in the crime after he ran the Washington State University PhD students licence plate and noticed his bushy eyebrows.

The Independent has the story:

What forensic experts say about evidence seized from Bryan Kohbergers home

What forensic experts say about evidence seized from Bryan Kohbergers home in the Idaho murders case

Thursday 2 February 2023 21:17 , Andrea Blanco

A record of evidence recovered during the apartment search was unsealed on Wednesday, revealing the seizure of 15 items including hairs, receipts, a computer tower, a disposable glove and items with peculiar stains.

The record reignited a frenzy of speculation online - despite its simplicity and lack of conjecture.

But what significance, if any, can actually be gleaned from the list? The Independent spoke to two experts - Dr Monte Miller, a former crime scene investigator and forensic expert for the Texas Department of Public Safety; and former FBI agent Jennifer Coffindaffer - for their takes on each item.

What forensic experts say about evidence seized from Bryan Kohbergers home

Ethan Chapins family opens up about finding the little victories in their grief journey

Thursday 2 February 2023 20:23 , Andrea Blanco

In a Facebook post on Monday, Stacy Chapin said she and her husband had visited her two surviving triplets, Mazie and Hunter, at the University of Idaho over the weekend. The Chapin triplets were all enrolled at the college in the town of Moscow when Ethan was killed on 13 November.

Ethans girlfriend Xana Kernodle her roommates Madison Mogen and Kaylee Goncalves were also brutally murdered in the attack in their off-campus rental home. Washington State University PhD student Bryan Kohberger, 28, was arrested and charged with the slayings on 30 December.

Speaking out about life after losing her son, Ms Chapin said she had early on agreed with her husband that Maizie and Hunter would be returning to school for the spring semester. The mother-of-three said that she wanted to keep her family close but also allow her children to heal at their own pace.

During their visit, Ms Chapin said, the parents fed over 20 of their childrens friends and enjoyed long conversations, coffee dates and hugs.

The Chapin family also spent time remembering Ethan and sharing stories before Ms Chapin and her husband returned to their home in Washington.

BTK killer Dennis Rader shares sympathy for Idaho murders suspect Bryan Kohberger

Thursday 2 February 2023 19:09 , Andrea Blanco

Serial killer Dennis Rader has expressed sympathy for Bryan Kohberger as he awaits trial in the Idaho murders.

In an interview with Fox News Digital on Wednesday, Rader said he understands how Mr Kohberger must feel while in solitary confinement at Latah County Jail ahead of his preliminary hearing on 26 June.

Read the full story:

BTK killer Dennis Rader shares sympathy for Idaho murders suspect Bryan Kohberger

Idaho murders suspect Bryan Kohberger was interviewed by local police chief for internship

Thursday 2 February 2023 18:01 , Andrea Blanco

A criminology PhD student accused of murdering four University of Idaho students was interviewed by a local police department for an internship position months before the slayings.

Emails obtained by The New York Times last month show a brief exchange between Washington State University student Bryan Kohberger and the then-chief of Pullman Police Department Gary Jenkins regarding Mr Kohbergers interview process for the research assistantship for public safety position in April 2022.

Mr Kohberger, 28, is facing four murder charges in the brutal stabbings of Madison Mogen, Kaylee Goncalves, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin in an off-campus rental home in Moscow, Idaho, on 13 November. Mr Kohberger was arrested in Pennsylvania on 30 December before he was extradited to Idaho on 5 January.

In his email to Mr Jenkins, Mr Kohberger wrote that it was a great pleasure to meet with you today and share [his] thoughts and excitement. Mr Jenkins replied that it was great to meet and talk with you as well.

It is not clear whether Mr Kohberger was offered a position with the department.

What can we expect from the preliminary hearing?

Thursday 2 February 2023 17:00 , Rachel Sharp

Further evidence and information about the case is not expected to be made public until the preliminary hearing on 26 June, after a judge issued a gag order preventing officials from talking about the case.

Behind the scenes, both sides will be conducting investigative work, examining discovery and moving the case forward, attorney Duncan Levin told The Independent.

In the preliminary hearing, the prosecution and the defence will then both lay out their cases in court for the first time, witnesses will likely be called and the defence will have the opportunity to cross-examine them, and Mr Kohberger will enter a plea on the charges.

I think this case looks like it is headed to trial, Mr Levin, adding that due to the complexity of the case it could take some time.

As a case where the death penalty is on the table, it will take a long time to wind its way through the courts and it will be a lengthy court proceeding, he said.

Its not the kind of case a court regularly handles so whether its in 2023 is an open question.

Bryan Kohbergers trial for the Idaho murders is months away. How strong is the case against him?

Thursday 2 February 2023 16:00 , Rachel Sharp

It will be another six months before Bryan Kohberger and the families of his alleged victims come face to face in court again, after his preliminary hearing was postponed until the summer.

The 28-year-old criminology PhD student could face the death penalty if convicted when he eventually goes on trial for the murders of Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin  the four students who were found violently stabbed to death in an off-campus home in Moscow, Idaho, on 13 November.

For more than six weeks, the murders remained a mystery and left the small college town racked by fear.

Then, on 30 December, Mr Kohberger was arrested 2,500 miles away at his family home in Pennsylvania and charged with four counts of murder and one charge of burglary.

Details about the murders and his alleged role in them were laid out in the damning probable cause affidavit released earlier this month.

But just how strong is the case against him? What can we expect next from the defence and the prosecution? And why has Mr Kohbergers attorney requested evidence about a co-defendant?

Duncan Levin, a former assistant district attorney in the Manhattan DAs office who has no official connection to the Idaho murders case, speaks to The Independent about the strength of the criminal case and what to expect next as it makes it way through the courts:

How strong is the case against Idaho murders suspect Bryan Kohberger?

Thursday 2 February 2023 15:00 , Rachel Sharp

Court filings show the suspects defence attorneys has now responded to the states request for discovery in the case.

In a court filing on 30 January, public defender Anne Taylor writes that the defence so far has no evidence to turn over such as books, documents, papers and photos.

There are also no results or reports of mental or physical exams or tests, the documents state.

Bryan Kohbergers attorney responds to states request for discovery (Idaho courts)

Bryan Kohbergers attorney responds to states request for discovery (Idaho courts)

One unique facial feature may have linked Bryan Kohberger to the Idaho murders

Thursday 2 February 2023 14:00 , Andrea Blanco

Bryan Kohbergers distinct eyebrows may have been among the first in a string of details that linked him to the Idaho murders, according to a new report.

According to Air Mails The Eyes of a Killer: Part Two, a lead investigator first had an inkling that Mr Kohberger would become a suspect in the crime after he ran the Washington State University PhD students licence plate and noticed his bushy eyebrows.

The Independent has the story:

What forensic experts say about evidence seized from Bryan Kohbergers home
Ihor Abramovych

According to Arakhamia, it was Abramovychs resignation from the OPZZh faction on the first day of Russias full-scale invasion that laid the foundation for its further collapse in the Ukrainian parliament.

Therefore, I hope that his decision today to vacate his seat will also become an example for other OPZZh parliamentarians, Arakhamia said.

He noted that Abramovych now has a pro-Ukrainian position, and he was never associated with the ideology of the pro-Russian party, while the Restoration of Ukraine parliamentary group, created by him, consistently supports all legislative decisions important for the future of the country and repelling the aggressor.

Read also: SBU detains member of banned pro-Kremlin party who worked for Russian military intelligence

Arakhamia also called Abramovych one of our own among the ranks of the fifth column.

On Feb. 3, Arakhamia announced that another three members of the former OPZZh faction would be ejected from parliament in the near future. These are Oleg Voloshyn, Natalia Korolevska and her husband Yuriy Solod. They decided to give up their mandates as lawmakers.

Earlier, Ukraines parliament voted to deprive of their mandates several MPs from the former OPZZh faction, namely Viktor Medvedchuk, Taras Kozak, Renat Kuzmin, Andriy Derkach, and Vadym Rabinovych, as well as Ihor Vasylkovskyi from the Servant of the People faction.

On Feb. 2, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy responded to a petition calling to deprive OPZZh lawmakers of their deputys seats. He asked the Verkhovna Radas leadership to draw up such a proposal for voting.

Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
BRASILIA (Reuters) - Illegal gold miners blamed for causing a humanitarian crisis on Brazil's largest indigenous reservation are asking authorities to help them leave, one of their leaders and a Brazilian senator said on Monday.

Aware of an imminent military enforcement operation to evict them, Jailson Mesquita, head of the Garimpo e Legal movement (Wildcat Mining Is Legal) called on the government to airlift miners from Yanomami territory or lift a no-fly zone to allow them to fly out on small planes from clandestine airstrips inside the reservation where mining is banned under Brazil's Constitution.

In a video he posted on social media, Mesquita asked the government to unblock rivers for 10-15 days for the miners to leave the reservation in the northern state of Roraima.

"It is important to protect indigenous people, but we cannot criminalize the miners who are looking for a living to survive," Roraima Senator Chico Rodrigues told Reuters. "What matters is that the miners leave peacefully and protected," he said.

Mesquita is organizing a demonstration on Thursday in the main square of Roraima's capital Boa Vista which has a large monument of a wildcat miner.

More than 20,000 miners have occupied the reservation bringing disease, sexual abuse and armed violence that has terrified the Yanomamis, estimated to be about 28,000 in number, and led to a malnutrition and deaths.

President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva declared a medical emergency for the Yanomamis and his recently installed government is planning to expel the miners with a task force involving the military, police and agencies that protect the environment and Brazil's indigenous peoples.

Some of the miners that are beginning to leave the Yanomami reservation are expected to head across the border into neighboring French Guiana, Suriname and Guyana.

Later on Monday, Indigenous Affairs Minister Sonia Guajajara said illegal miners were "escaping" to larger mines on the reserve, where they could get together and have more protection.

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"The territory is completely taken over by mining. It is not possible to differentiate between an indigenous community and a mining area. There is not even water to drink," she said following a visit to the Yanomami territory.

Guajajara said it was difficult to deliver even basic food packages to indigenous communities.

The Yanomami have lived in isolation on a vast reservation the size of Portugal on the border with Venezuela. Their mineral-rich lands have attracted wildcat miners for decades, especially after a military government built a road through the Amazon rainforest in the 1970s.

When the reservation was marked out and recognized by the government in 1992, authorities mounted an operations to evict thousands of gold miners.

The miners started to come back in numbers that surged under Lula's right-wing predecessor, Jair Bolsonaro, who advocated mining on protected indigenous lands and whose government turned a blind eye to invasions of indigenous reservations by wildcat miners and illegal loggers.

(Reporting by Anthony Boadle; Editing by Andrea Ricci and Sandra Maler)
INDIANAPOLIS (WXIN)  The Indiana Senate passed a bill that would legalize throwing stars under certain conditions.

Throwing stars are currently illegal in Indiana, but the bill, introduced by State Sen. Linda Rogers, would lift that ban for recreational use. Star-throwing is allowed in other states, where its sometimes found at axe-throwing businesses.

Senate Bill 77 actually came from a constituent who owns a putt-putt golf course called Ninja Golf, explained Rogers. Nearly everyone that I spoke with said, Hey, look, if we can throw axes, we can certainly throw throwing stars.'

Some say additional safety measures need to be considered since throwing a star is different from throwing an axe.

Its a double-edged sword, said Richard Deschain, co-owner of Ragnarok Axe Throwing LLC in Indianapolis. He said throwing star blades can get bent and hooked over, increasing someones odds of getting cut.

I would say the easiest way for that to have any kind of solution is to require a layered Kevlar glove to be worn when theyre throwing any other object like a throwing star, he said.

The bill does include some restrictions. Star-throwing would only be permitted at certain businesses, and children ages 12 to 17 could only throw stars with a parents written permission.

There are also requirements for fencing between throwing lanes.

Theyre a ton of fun, and I think as long as we are being safe and we are educating people about them, I think its absolutely something that we should allow, Deschain said.

The bill passed the state Senate on a 48-1 vote. It heads to the House next for consideration.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Remnants of a large balloon drift above the Atlantic Ocean, just off the coast of South Carolina, with a fighter jet and its contrail seen below it, on Feb. 4, 2023. An F-22 fighter downed the suspected Chinese spy balloon with a missile, drawing crowds reacting with a mixture of bewildered gazing, distress and cheering. (Chad Fish / AP)

If you thought the Chinese spy balloon saga would deflate as fast as the balloon did over the Atlantic Ocean, youre sadly mistaken. Days after a U.S. F-22 destroyed the device with a single air-to-air missile at 58,000 feet, the story continues to hover over the news cycle like a blimp over Mile High stadium. The only difference is we cant use a fighter jet to bomb the conversation out of existence.

Take the emotion out of it, and the discovery of the spy balloon is a relatively mundane event. By the Pentagons own admission, this isnt the first time Beijing has pulled something like this  and its not even the first time it has occurred over U.S. territory. Indeed, as members of Congress and pundits were running around with their hair on fire about the balloon blocking the sun, another one was spotted somewhere over Latin America. Such incursions arent ideal, of course, but they arent surprising either  and if U.S. defense officials can be taken at their word, they also arent very effective in scooping up information.

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Nor is spying some new development in the world of statecraft. People have been spying on one another since the dawn of time; the ancient Greeks, the Romans, the British Empire, the Persian Empire, the Soviet Union, Saddam Hussein, Vladimir Putin, they all have done it. Even friends conduct espionage on one another; in 2013, Frances former chief of domestic intelligence said Paris often practiced the dark arts against Washington.

The U.S., too, tries to get as much information as it can on its allies decision-making. The U.S. tapped the phones of three French presidents between 2006 and 2012, and the National Security Agency did the same thing to then-German Chancellor Angela Merkel, which caused a significant diplomatic dust-up at the time.

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The uproar over the balloon, it seems, is less about China trying to gather intelligence than on the fact that the balloon was allowed to drift across U.S. territory for nearly a week before President Joe Biden ordered the Air Force to shoot the thing down. Mix in the typical partisanship and the politics of looking tough on China, Washingtons most significant competitor in the world today, and the entire conversation becomes laughably juvenile. In the view of some lawmakers, China was attempting to peer into the private lives of the American people and the Biden administration exposed itself as a weak miscreant hesitant to pull the trigger.

Back on planet Earth, the balloon was shot down over water. The amount of intelligence the balloon captured was minuscule, perhaps even redundant to what Beijing already possesses. U.S. divers are in the Atlantic collecting the debris. And Chinas Xi Jinping, who likes to project himself as a leader in total and full control, looks like a fool internationally for his limp excuses about the device being a meteorological tool. If anything, the affair is as much a controversy for Xi as it is for Biden.

Whats done is done. The more important issue on the table is how the U.S. and China choose to go forward. Do they let a common instance of espionage derail attempts at establishing guardrails over the worlds most important bilateral relationship? Or do both countries press ahead on the diplomatic initiative outlined by Biden and Xi during a bilateral summit last November, when the two committed to preventing U.S.-China relations from going deeper into the sewer?

The early indications are troubling. Secretary of State Antony Blinken was scheduled to visit China this past Sunday, a trip that included a sit-down with Xi  the first time in nearly six years Americas top diplomat would set foot on Chinese soil. In the heat of the moment, however, Biden decided to cancel Blinkens meeting after Washington discovered the Chinese spying device drifting over Alaska and Canada into Montana.

Beijings actions, Blinken told reporters Friday, created the conditions that undermine the purpose of the trip, including ongoing efforts to build a floor under the relationship and to address a broad range of issues that are of importance to the international community. While Blinken left open the option of visiting China when conditions allow, he didnt outline what those conditions would be.

Given the sensationalism surrounding #BalloonGate, the administration likely felt it didnt have a choice but to do something, beyond destroying the balloon, to register its disapproval of Chinas actions. The political environment in Washington being what it is  overwhelmingly hawkish on China policy, with a sprinkling of reasonable voices that press for responsible competition mixed in  the White House would have suffered if it allowed Blinken to fly to Beijing. Postponing the trip was one of those simple moves that could be taken immediately, and one whose diplomatic fallout would be minimal.

Thats the hope, at least. Its also the best-case scenario, for the last thing Washington and Beijing need right now is a relationship in even deeper turmoil. We arent talking about two pipsqueak countries with next to no geopolitical significance but rather two economic giants that make up around 42% of the worlds gross domestic product and more than half its military spending and have a booming trade relationship of their own.

These are two countries whose navies frequently traverse the same congested Asian waters, including but not limited to the 100-mile-wide Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea. And these are two countries that, systemic foreign policy and economic disputes notwithstanding, really dont have a choice but to learn to live with each other.

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Daniel DePetris is a fellow at Defense Priorities and a foreign affairs columnist for the Chicago Tribune.

Submit a letter, of no more than 400 words, to the editor here or email letters@chicagotribune.com.
NEW DELHI (AP)  India is preparing to relaunch its INS Vikramaditya aircraft carrier after a major refit, a critical step toward fulfilling its plan to deploy two carrier battle groups as it seeks to strengthen its regional maritime power to counter China's increasing assertiveness.

The Vikramaditya, a former Soviet carrier acquired from Russia, is expected to be launched imminently and will join Indias first domestically built carrier that was launched in September, the INS Vikrant, in undergoing outfitting and sea trials, with the plan to have both fully operational later this year.

This is significant in terms of India's power projection capabilities, primarily within the Indian Ocean, said Viraj Solanki, a London-based expert on Indo-Pacific defense with the International Institute for Strategic Studies.

This really gives India an option to display its ability to counter China within the Indian Ocean, which is the Indian navy's priority.

Chinas Peoples Liberation Army Navy has been expanding and modernizing for more than a decade and is now the world's largest. In June, it launched its first domestically designed and built aircraft carrier, the country's third overall, as part of a program to extend its range and power and become more of a blue water force that can operate globally.

At the same time, China's Peoples Liberation Army has undertaken massive investment in ballistic and cruise missile technology, and the U.S. Defense Department says it will have the ability to conduct long-range precision strikes against land targets from its submarine and surface combatants in the near term.

As Beijing increases its naval presence around Taiwan and pushes its claims in the South China Sea, the U.S., Britain and other allies have responded with regular naval exercises in the region and passages through the Taiwan Strait as they pursue a policy of a free and open Indo-Pacific.

China has not yet sailed an aircraft carrier into the Indian Ocean but is expected to do so within the next few years. It already has other vessels operating regularly in the region and has established its first overseas base in the Horn of Africa country of Djibouti, which gives it easy access to the Indian Ocean.

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China set off alarm bells in New Delhi in August when it docked what India called a spy ship in Sri Lanka's Hambantota port off of India's southern coast, a facility that was leased to China in 2017 for 99 years.

New Delhi sees Beijing as encroaching into its traditional sphere of influence, especially in the Indian Ocean region," said Ridzwan Rahmat, a Singapore-based analyst with the defense intelligence company Janes.

"While a potential war with China will likely be fought inland, Chinas presence in the Indian Ocean region can severely disrupt Indias sea lines of communication, which will be essential in sustaining the war effort. The Indian navys recent modernization track is to ensure that scenarios like these will not take root," Rahmat said.

Like China, India has nuclear weapons and has been building nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines as part of its nuclear triad of air, sea and land-based platforms. It currently has two such subs and plans for two more, as well as nuclear-powered attack submarines.

Its fleet also includes 10 destroyers, 12 frigates and 20 corvettes.

India and China clashed on their land border in 2020, with 20 Indian and four Chinese soldiers killed. The skirmish turned into a long standoff in the rugged mountainous terrain where each side has tens of thousands of military personnel.

Retired Indian navy chief Arun Prakash suggested that experience could make the seas more important in the event of a future conflict.

"The 30-month-long Sino-Indian military impasse in the Himalayas and Chinas strategic posturing in the South China Sea should be clear pointers for Indias decision-makers that maritime power will have a critical role to play as an instrument of state policy in future outcomes, Prakash wrote in December in The Indian Express.

With two carriers, India's plan is to have one stationed on each coast, said Capt. D.K. Sharma, a retired Indian navy spokesperson who now consults on defense issues.

India's focus has tended to be toward Pakistan in the west, but with the presence of Chinese vessels in critical shipping lanes east of India, it is prudent for the Indian navy to make its presence felt there as well, Rahmat said.

He cautioned, however, that India still lacks many of the support systems, among other things, to make its carriers effective.

The vessels themselves may be operational but the Indian navy is still several years away from being able to project its forces credibly into the Indian Ocean region, he said.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi hailed the launch of the Vikrant as a victory in his Make in India campaign to become more self-reliant in defense.

The navy has been pushing for another carrier to be made at home, but political concerns coupled with the lengthy delays and massive cost overruns in the construction of the Vikrant have left many skeptical it will ever come to pass, said Indian defense analyst Rahul Bedi.

The government doesn't really have the money or the vision to go in for another aircraft carrier, he said.

In its proposed 2023-24 budget presented Wednesday, the government increased defense spending by less than 2%, further calling into question major new investments in carriers. Even if it does go ahead, a third carrier would take years to build.

As it outfits the Vikrant, India is expected to decide soon on the purchase of 26 maritime strike fighters  either the French Rafale-M or American F/A-18. The Indian air force already operates a version of Dassault Aviations Rafale, which would make maintenance easier, while Boeings F/A-18 can carry more missiles.

The Vikramaditya will continue to operate Russian-made MiG-29K fighters India already owns.

India has been seeking to lessen its reliance on equipment from Russia, which currently provides about 60% of its inventory, with the war in Ukraine raising questions about their effectiveness and the availability of spare parts. The United States and other allies have been pitching themselves to New Delhi as alternatives and are increasing their cooperation with the key regional player as they intensify their own focus on the Indo-Pacific.

However, experts say that even with domestic production and diversification of acquisitions, it could take India 20 years to get past its dependence on Russian supplies and spares.

Even before the Russia-Ukraine war, India was increasing its diplomatic engagement with the Quad grouping of the U.S., India, Japan and Australia, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, and other countries individually, Solanki said.

This really accelerated after the June 2020 India-China clashes on the border, he said. That is when we've seen a real shift and focus to engage with the Quad, with France, to engage with the U.K. more actively, work with Europe further  and work with the ASEAN countries as well.

___

Rising reported from Bangkok.
BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraq will discuss with Washington this week how to pay dues owed to Russian oil companies despite sanctions, Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein said on Monday.

"We will discuss this problem with the American side. There are sanctions in place that should not be imposed on the Iraqi side because the cooperation with Russian companies is ongoing and there are active Russian companies in Iraq," Hussein said during a news conference with visiting Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Baghdad.

Russian investments in Iraq are believed to be worth more than $10 billion, mostly in the oil industry. Huessin said that one of the main issues he and Lavrov talked about was how to pay bills owed to Russian energy companies such as Lukoil and Gazprom that do business in Iraq even though Russia is under international sanctions.

The goal is to "protect Iraqi banks and central banks from sanctions".

Iraq's foreign minister is due to fly to the United States on Wednesday to discuss recent tight regulations imposed by the New York Federal Reserve on international dollar transactions by commercial Iraqi banks and their impact on Iraq's economy, official sources said.

The West, previously Russia's main energy market, has responded to the invasion of Ukraine by targeting Moscow's energy revenues through sanctions that also restrict sales to third countries and are set to tighten further.

Hussein stated during a joint press conference with Lavrov that Iraq is calling for peaceful solutions and encouraging dialogue between Russia and Ukraine to end the war.

(Reporting by Ahmed Rasheed in Baghdad and Amina Ismail in Erbil; Editing by Peter Graff)
Israel's Iron Dome interceptors seen on the left as rockets are launched from Beit Lahia, northern Gaza, on May 14, 2021. Anas Baba/AFP via Getty Images

Israel is looking into sending its Iron Dome system to Ukraine, Prime Minister Netanyahu said.

Israel has a complex relationship with Russia and has so far held off aiding Ukraine militarily.

But Netanyahu now says he is open to considering Ukraine's request.

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that his government is considering sending its Iron Dome to Ukraine.

The Iron Dome is arguably the world's most advanced missile defense system, designed to intercept barrages of rockets and artillery shells.

In an interview with French TV outlets TF1 and LCI broadcast on Sunday, Netanyahu was asked about sending the missile defense system to Ukraine, in response to the country's continuing appeals for military support.

He told the interviewer: "I'm looking into it. I said I'm looking into it and I'm doing just that," echoing a statement he made to CNN last week.

While it has sent equipment like helmets and protective vests, as well as humanitarian aid, Israel's government has so far held off on sending lethal military aid to Ukraine.

Ukraine made a formal request to Israel for Iron Dome and other high-tech defense weaponry in October last year, as The Times of Israel reported.

Asked when Israel might make a decision, Netanyahu  who only re-entered office as the country's prime minister in late December  said he had to establish his government first.

"I wouldn't make any firm commitment," he said.

Israel's then-Prime Minister designate Benjamin Netanyahu presents his new government to the Knesset in Jerusalem on December 29, 2022. Amir Cohen/Pool/AFP via Getty Images

Israel has a complex relationship with Russia over both countries' activities in Syria, as Insider's Jake Epstein reported. This is likely to be part of the calculation.

Russia wields considerable military control in Syria, but appears to tolerate Israel's activities targeting groups there that have ties to Israel's regional foe, Iran, experts told Insider.

In late January, drones struck an Iranian defense manufacturing site in an attack that the Pentagon has attributed to Israel. Iran has been accused of supplying drones and other weaponry to Russia, which are then being used to attack Ukrainian infrastructure and troops.

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Asked about the attack, Netanyahu stopped short of denying responsibility, but gave no definitive answer as to whether Israel was responsible.

He also said he respected the US decision in January to transfer 300,000 155 mm shells from its stockpile in Israel to Ukraine, even while calling it "a pretty big drawdown."

Read the original article on Business Insider
Eli Cohen

We are waiting for the visit of my colleague, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Israel, who, at my invitation, will arrive in Kyiv, Kuleba said.

Read also: Israel signals its prepared to provide Ukraine with military aid

Here we will have a frank conversation behind closed doors, in a safe environment, on how cooperation between our countries will develop further.

Kuleba recalled that Ukraine has lists of required weapons, which are based on the capabilities of every particular country. He confirmed that such a list had been shared with Israel and other countries.

Read also: Israel to help with post-war rebuilding of Ukraine

We have an equitable relationship with Israel and we are ready to start a dialogue with the new government of Israel without preconditions, the minister added.

Read also: Israel supports Ukraine behind the scenes, says Israeli ambassador to Germany

Officially, Israel has condemned the Russian full-scale invasion of Ukraine, and provided humanitarian aid, short of weapons. The New York Times wrote that Jerusalem secretly helps Kyiv with intelligence sharing, in particular when it comes to countering Iranian kamikaze drones.

Earlier, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, during a meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron, said he was ready to transfer military items to Ukraine.

Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
AQABAT JABR, West Bank (AP)  Israeli forces killed five Palestinian gunmen linked to the Islamic militant Hamas group in a raid on refugee camp in the occupied West Bank on Monday, the latest bloodshed in the region that will likely further exacerbate tensions.

The Palestinian president's office called the violence a crime, urging the United States to pressure Israel to hold back on its incursions. The military said the raid was meant to apprehend a militant cell that staged a botched shooting attack on a restaurant in a Jewish settlement in the West Bank.

The violence extends one of the deadliest periods in years in the West Bank and comes during the first weeks of Israels new government, its most right-wing ever, which has promised to take a tough stance against the Palestinians.

The Israeli military said it was operating in the Aqabat Jabr refugee camp to apprehend the suspects behind a failed shooting attack last month at a West Bank restaurant, where attackers allegedly were thwarted by a weapon malfunction. The attackers then fled the scene, the military said, adding that they were members of Hamas, which rules the Gaza Strip and has elements in the West Bank as well.

The military said it was searching Monday for the militant cell behind the shooting that it said had sealed itself inside a home in the refugee camp. During the search, troops encountered gunmen and a gun battle erupted. The military said several of the gunmen who were killed were involved in the attempted attack on the restaurant.

The new Israeli government is continuing its series of crimes against our Palestinian people, a statement from Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' office said.

In Aqabat Jabr, bullets were strewn across a blood-streaked floor at the scene of the gunfight. Bullet marks pocked a door and glass shards from a broken window littered the ground.

Jihad Abu al-Assal, the governor of Jericho and the Jordan Valley, said the military was holding on to the gunmen's bodies. The Palestinian Health Ministry later confirmed that five Palestinians had been killed.

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Speaking at an event at the site of a recent deadly Palestinian shooting attack, Netanyahu confirmed earlier reports by Israeli security officials that five gunmen were killed.

Hamas said all five of those killed were members of its armed wing. Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem said the violence would be met with a response.

Our people and their resistance will not delay in responding to this crime, he said.

The raid comes days after an earlier incursion in the Aqabat Jabr camp, which is near the Palestinian city of Jericho, a desert oasis in an area of the West Bank that rarely sees such unrest, where troops were also searching for the suspects.

Since the shooting at the nearby settlement, the Israeli military has blocked access to several roads into Jericho  a closure that has placed the city under a semi-blockade, disrupting business and creating hourslong bottlenecks at checkpoints that affected even Palestinian security forces, footage showed.

Mondays violence comes days after an Israeli military raid on the Jenin refugee camp killed 10 Palestinians, mostly militants but also a 61-year-old woman. The next day, a Palestinian shooting attack outside an east Jerusalem synagogue killed seven people, including a 14-year-old.

The Israeli army has ramped up near-nightly raids in the occupied West Bank since a series of deadly Palestinian attacks within Israel last spring. Over the last year of escalating raids, Jericho has remained a sort of sleepy desert town, spared much of the violence.

The Palestinian Authority, in retaliation for the raid into the Jenin refugee camp, declared a halt to security coordination with Israel.

Nearly 150 Palestinians were killed last year in the West Bank and east Jerusalem, making it the deadliest year in those areas since 2004, according to figures by the Israeli rights group BTselem. Since the start of this year, 41 Palestinians have been killed in those territories. Palestinian attacks against Israelis killed some 30 people in 2022.

The Israeli army says most of the Palestinians killed have been militants. But stone-throwing youths protesting the incursions and others not involved in confrontations have also been killed.

Israel captured the West Bank, Gaza Strip and east Jerusalem in the 1967 Mideast war. The Palestinians seek those territories for their hoped-for independent state.

___

Goldenberg reported from Tel Aviv, Israel. Wafaa Shurafa contributed reporting from Gaza City, Gaza Strip.
By Gabriela Baczynska

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni will ask European Union peers this week to give more money to Africa and create "European humanitarian corridors" to curb irregular immigration, a document showed.

The paper, seen by Reuters, lays out Rome's position for a Thursday-Friday summit of the 27 EU nations' leaders in Brussels to discuss increasing arrivals from the Middle East, north Africa and south Asia.

It called for a "more tangible commitment" by Europe "underpinned by meaningful financial resources" to work on everything from border controls to combatting human trafficking with countries along migration routes.

It also sought a new "Pact for Africa" to help investment, education, training, business and jobs around the world's poorest continent.

The summit has been convened after Austria and the Netherlands led complaints about increasing irregular arrivals.

The bloc's border agency Frontex reported 330,000 irregular border crossings last year, the highest since 2016 as global mobility restarted following the COVID pandemic.

The number is still a far cry from 2015 when more than 1 million people crossed the Mediterranean, risking their lives in unsafe dinghies and overwhelming the bloc.

DIVISIONS

EU countries fought bitterly over how to provide for those coming, and migration has since been a highly sensitive issue.

Higher immigration numbers have now revived ideas seen as inadmissible for years, from EU financing for border fences to handling asylum requests in centres outside the continent.

Last December, Austria cited migration concerns in blocking Bulgaria and Romania from joining the Europe's open travel zone called Schengen.

Meloni took her plan to EU capitals including Berlin ahead of the summit, though notably skipped Paris after locking horns with France over migration.

When they meet in Brussels, EU leaders will also discuss NGO search-and-rescue operations in the sea after Meloni already sought to limit such activity through a national decree.

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The Italian paper said "not carefully coordinated activities might place an additional burden on coastal states" and proposed the creation of "European humanitarian corridors" to bring people into the EU in a safe and legal way.

EU countries remain bitterly divided over how to provide for those who win asylum.

Italy's paper called for mandatory relocations, an idea under which each EU state needs to host some people to support countries of arrival like Italy and the most popular destination countries like Germany.

That is, however, anathema to EU members including Hungary and Poland where conservative governments promoting what they say are traditional Christian values refuse to host any of the new arrivals.

Poland has, however taken in several million Ukrainians since Russia invaded the EU neighbour a year ago this month.

(Additional reporting by Jan Lopatka in Prague, Krisztina Than in Budapest, Writing by Gabriela Baczynska, Editing by Andrew Cawthorne)
(Bloomberg) -- Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida dismissed a secretary from his position after remarks criticizing same-sex marriage, Kyodo News reported.

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Kishida was responsible for the aides appointment and took the matter very seriously, the agency reported, citing comments the premier made at a press briefing on Saturday.

This dismissal followed an interview on Friday by the aide, Masayoshi Arai, in which he said he wouldnt want to see same-sex marriages or want to live next to them.

Kishida rebuked Arai when announcing the dismissal, saying that his comments were outrageous and completely out of line with the Cabinets concept of respecting diversity and realizing an inclusive society, Kyodo reported.

Japan is the only G-7 country that doesnt have a legal system for same-sex unions, with Kishida recently rebuffing calls for same-sex marriage in parliament.

Japans Kishida Rebuffs Calls for Marriage Equality Ahead of G-7

(Corrects spelling of aides name in third paragraph)

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The "Becoming Free Indeed" cover. Harper Collins.

Jinger Duggar Vuolo no longer believes in the IBLP teachings on which she was raised.

The "19 Kids and Counting" star discussed her journey to a different kind of Christianity.

She also talked about her relationship with her parents and commented on Josh Duggar's conviction.

Jinger Duggar Vuolo's home was silent.

Her husband, Jeremy, had taken their young daughters  Felicity and Evangeline Jo  to a nearby art gallery that January morning, most likely singing a song from Disney's "Frozen," their favorite soundtrack, along the way. She wore a gray sleeveless top that exposed her shoulders, behind which sat a bookshelf home to several Funko Pop figurines. A mounted gray-and-white sneaker graced the wall.

These may seem like mundane details. But hanging many types of art on the walls, exposing one's shoulders (as a woman), and watching mainstream movies are forbidden in the controversial Christian organization known as Institute in Basic Life Principles.

Jinger Duggar in 2019. Michael Kovac/Getty Images

The IBLP was founded in 1961 by Bill Gothard, an American minister who promised to get his followers into heaven and based the organization on his beliefs, with requirements for women to wear only dresses and skirts and to bear children until they're physically unable to do so. As a child, Vuolo and her family introduced millions of television viewers to the organization in the 2004 Discovery special "14 Children and Pregnant Again!" and the later spin-off TLC reality "19 Kids and Counting" and "Counting On."

For nearly two decades, Vuolo had been labeled a "rebel Duggar" on the internet because of choices she's made that go against the norm in her family, like leaving Arkansas and opting for fashions that go against IBLP teachings. Now 29, she's speaking with me about her journey to redefine what Christianity meant to her, as detailed in her new memoir, "Becoming Free Indeed."

Jessa Duggar, Jinger Duggar, Jill Duggar, and Jana Duggar visiting the "Extra" studios in 2011. Photo by D Dipasupil/Getty Images for Extra

She's hoping people who are still in the IBLP community or similarly restrictive religions will understand that sometimes the teachings of men, including the IBLP founder, Gothard, aren't the teachings of God. She's not seeking the spotlight again to not to feed the rumor mill surrounding her family but instead to publicly explain how she unlearned fear-based beliefs in hopes that her story helps others.

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On the way to free, Vuolo had to untangle her personal beliefs about faith from the ones she learned growing up. She said she realized, "Oh, wow, the Bible is silent in so many places where I thought it was speaking to me, but it was actually just a man telling me how I should live my life."

Below, we talk about what her personal and family life looks like today, how she copes with social anxiety, and her feelings about her brother Josh's recent child-pornography conviction.

Vuolo says she felt a 'responsibility' to speak her truth

Jinger Duggar and Jeremy Vuolo got married in 2016. Jinger Duggar/Instagram

What inspired you to write "Becoming Free Indeed"?

While I was at an IBLP conference, I met a lot of families who told me stories of kids who had just totally left Christianity or the faith altogether because they were so harmed by those teachings. I thought, "Should I write about this?" Because it's something that's also so deeply personal and hard to speak about publicly. My entire life was wrapped up in this teaching.

But I felt like I had a responsibility to say something because I had not only grown up in this teaching, but I also promoted it with my sisters in our 2012 book, "Growing up Duggar." I now strongly disagree with those teachings, so it was an opportunity for me to come back and say, "Hey, I don't believe that anymore."

How has your life changed now that you're more open to experiencing modern culture?

Oh, goodness, I didn't know any normal references from movies or culture and all of that. I've been playing catch-up. I remember watching "The Truman Show" with Jeremy, and I was struck by that movie, like: "Huh, interesting. That feels like my life."

Michelle and Jim Bob Duggar. Peter Kramer/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images via Getty Images

How did your parents react when you told them you were writing the book?

I love my parents, and even though we have differences I've sought to share those with them along the way. So with this book, I for sure told them about it and said, "Hey, I'm writing this book." I know that since they still follow these teachings they may disagree on things, but I know that they just want what's best for me.

I have talked with my parents about a lot of different differences we've had, and I've sought to just be up front with them and tell them, "Hey, this is where I lean towards in my understanding now." I'm also gracious because they gave me the best life possible. As parents, you make what you think at that time are the best decisions for your children.

So, what was the end result of the conversation? You disagreed, but they supported you?

Well, this has been my story from the start. I told them this is not about my family  it's just about me. I just told them I want to share my story, and I'm not sharing anybody else's story, so I'll let them speak for themselves.

Vuolo hopes her brother Josh feels 'truly broken' about his crimes

Josh Duggar and Jinger Duggar Vuolo. Handout/ Tommaso Boddi/Getty Images

I realize that it's your story, but you do mention your brother Josh and note that he's in prison for his crimes. I know you haven't spoken to him in two years, so I'm just wondering what you would want to say if you did speak to him?

Well, I will say it's difficult for me to talk about that for sure because it's just tough. And my heart, it really just breaks for the victims and their families and all that they've gone through. And I'm so thankful that justice has been served with my brother, and ultimately I just would pray that he would be truly broken about what he's done. And so that's about all I want to say on it. My heart just breaks, and it's so hard to talk about.

Is there anything you would want him to get from your book if he did read it?

Well, I think the most important thing for any one of us is that we would come to know that we will each stand before God. And so I know that Josh will give an account for his crimes before God. I would pray that he would just cry out in repentance, ask forgiveness from God, and realize how wrong he has been. God can forgive even the worst of sinners. So that's just where my heart would be for him. But as of now, I think I'm really grateful that the justice system is set up for these situations and that justice is being served.

Freeing herself from IBLP teachings has taught Vuolo to care less about what others think of her

Jeremy and Jinger Vuolo. Jinger Vuolo

One of the most vulnerable aspects of the book was when you talked about your social anxiety. Can you give me an example of what goes through your mind?

A lot of it was based on what I thought I was supposed to say. And so a lot of that has been me just trying to get outside of myself and not worry about what people think. Because I know people have strong opinions about my family, my life, and my upbringing.

I still feel that fear at times, and then I realize, "Oh, that's all it is, is fear." I don't need to think about that. Because the more you think about it, then the bigger it feels and becomes. But getting outside of myself and trying to engage with others has been so helpful for me. Even just thinking, "OK, I know who I am and I don't need to change. I don't need to be anybody else but Jinger in this moment."

What are some of the biggest misconceptions people have about you that you'd like to correct?

I want them to see that we are real people too, with feelings, with lives that you may or may not understand. And it's just a beautiful thing to be able to share that with the public. And hopefully, other people can see, this is who Jinger is. I love my kids. I probably won't have 19 kids, but I love them all. I want to be the best mom, be the best wife. Jeremy's a joy. He's so much fun. He makes me laugh more than anybody in the world. So just them seeing that side of my life, that even though I've walked through all of these challenges, I came out on the other side stronger because of what I've walked through.

Jinger Duggar and Jeremy Vuolo on their wedding day in 2016. Jinger Vuolo

Speaking of kids, I was compelled by the section where you talk about family planning. Have you had any more conversations with your parents about your choice to have a smaller family?

I hope that they can just see my heart. At the end of the day, I think they can see that I want to live my life to glorify God. To be convicted by the word of God, not by a man's tradition or somebody who claims to speak for God but doesn't. That's how I live my life every day, and I want my girls to see that. I want everyone to see that, that I'm not going to be tossed about by all these different opinions.

My life may look different than theirs, but it doesn't mean that we can't still love each other and be gracious towards one another, which I'm so thankful for. So we'll have differences. And I think that's the beauty of life.

What situation has your new life found you in that you think your younger self might have found to be the most extreme? And what would you tell her now?

I would say my younger self probably would've been crippled by fear because Bill Gothard taught her that life is a very delicate cause-and-effect sequence. If you go live your life by these principles, you'll be blessed. If you don't, your life will be one disaster after another. That's what I grew up believing. "If I wear pants, I'm going to be punished by God. If I listen to music with drums in it, I'm going to be punished by God." I'd tell my younger self, that's not true. God doesn't operate like that. God has given us those things to enjoy, art, beauty, music, food, all the things to enjoy as beautiful gifts from his hand.

What does your future look like?

I'm just so thankful for this past year and looking forward to the new year. I don't know what it has in store, but I'm excited for it.

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.

"Becoming Free Indeed" is available now.

Read the original article on Insider
Correction: A previous version of this story inaccurately described a previous position held by Castro.

Former Obama Cabinet member Julian Castro said recent polling that shows President Biden lagging behind former President Trump in a potential 2024 rematch should raise some eyebrows in the Democratic Party.

An ABC-Washington Post poll this week showed that Trump had a 48 percent to 45 percent advantage over the incumbent president, a gap that was within the polls margin of error. The tight match-up was paired with the finding that a majority of Democratic voters would prefer for the party to nominate someone else for the position in 2024.

Its the general consensus that Dems are content with Biden in a Trump rematch, tweeted Castro, a former San Antonio mayor and 2020 Democratic presidential candidate who now serves as a political analyst for NBC and MSNBC. But this poll undermines Bidens central argument for re-nomination.

Biden has not formally announced his reelection campaign but has said he plans to run again. Trump jumped into the race early, announcing his campaign after the 2022 midterms. He is expected to face opposition from a number of Republican candidates.

Thus far, Democrats have left the field open for Biden to run, deferring to the sitting president. But Castro maintained the poll highlights potential issues for the Democratic incumbent.

Two years is forever and its just one poll, but if hes faring this poorly after a string of wins, that should be worrisome, said Castro, who served in the Obama administration as the Housing and Urban Development secretary.

Bidens approval rating in the poll of 1,003 people reached its highest mark, 42 percent, since April. The poll also found that Republicans were nearly evenly split on wanting Trump to be the nominee in 2024.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Mayoral candidate Willie Wilson greets supporters at his election night event on Feb. 28, 2023 at the Swissotel in Chicago. (Lou Foglia/for the Chicago Tribune)

The rabbits have landed Willie Wilson in hot water. I am not talking the cuddly, hopping kind.

The business owner, philanthropist and Chicago mayoral candidate recently sparked an uproar when he declared that, as mayor, he would allow the police to chase down and arrest criminal suspects.

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Somebody run, chase somebody by foot or car, that police officer should be able to chase them down, and hunt them down like a rabbit, OK? Wilson pronounced at a Jan. 19 mayoral forum hosted by WLS-Ch. 7.

Last week, he was questioned about his rabbit remark at a WGN-TV forum and what constitutional policing means to him. Wilson defended his assertion, noting that he lost his 20-year-old son to gun violence.

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It is disgusting that we have a 70-plus-year-old man on this stage who was a sharecropper from down South who will get on TV and constantly double down on hunting people down like rabbits, fellow candidate JaMal Green responded at the forum.

Mayor Lori Lightfoot piled on. First of all, Mr. Wilson, when you say that youre going to hunt people down and allow the police  to hunt people down like rabbits, youre talking about Black and brown boys in our city, Lightfoot said. And its offensive. I cant believe you continue to say it. But that is really what youre talking about. And you have no concern for their lives, but I do.

Were losing people every day that are getting killed due to crime, Wilson argued.

And if this particular mayor here aint done nothing about it, people still continue to kill people. And nobody gets caught. If somebody comes and kills somebody in her family, then she would know how it feels. Were trying to protect our citizens (who are) living by the law.

In 1995, his son, Omar, was murdered in his own home in a drug-related shooting.

I think about what I went through and what other parents have gone through. I have more of a personal problem with this crime, Wilson explained in a recent interview with the Chicago Crusader.

As a Tribune editorial noted last week, Wilsons rabbit comments deserve condemnation. Criminal suspects cannot be hunted down like animals. Police must use their training and skills to properly apprehend and hand over suspects for prosecution.

When officers fail to follow the rules and uphold a suspects constitutional rights, we end up with horrific cases like the police killing of Tyre Nichols and the murders of Laquan McDonald, George Floyd, and more.

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Wilson, 74, is a down-to-earth, self-made millionaire who speaks his mind, at times, too frankly.

Yet, there is an uncomfortable kernel of truth within Wilsons comments. In Chicago, Black people are killing each other and getting away with it.

Last year, there were 695 homicide victims in Chicago. Of those, more than 3 out of every 4 were African American, according to data analyzed by WTTW-Ch. 11. Nearly 87% of the victims were male. One in three victims were in their 20s.

An even greater insult to that injury: In 2021, the Chicago Police Department closed 400 out of 797 homicide cases that year, amounting to a clearance rate of a little better than 50%, according to a Chicago Sun-Times analysis.

Half of those cases  199  were closed exceptionally, meaning no one was charged, the Sun-Times found. Under departmental policy, detectives are allowed to clear a case when the suspect is dead, prosecutors refuse to make a charge or police believe they know who did it but dont make an arrest.

In other words, at least half of the people who committed homicide that year remained at large to shoot and kill again.

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When fathers and other family members like Wilson lose a loved one to violence, the trauma is unspeakable. They are right to be angry and devastated. They look to our public safety professionals for justice.

The police are charged with protecting us, by stopping crime lawfully and humanely. They should be held accountable when they dont.

I think we have to get tough with the people who are doing this, Wilson told the Chicago Crusader. We have to lock them up, and if they get out and repeat their crimes, we have to lock them back up because there are too many people losing their lives.

Gun-fueled street violence is crippling Black communities. Black-on-Black crime is a form of genocide.

In segregated Chicago, violent crime is geographic. People usually kill those near them. In segregated Chicago, that usually means Black people are killing each other. Much of the mayhem occurs on the South and West sides of the city.

Yes, there are racist cops who prey on Black people. Yes, African Americans have been subjected to structural and historical racism. Our challenged neighborhoods need meaningful economic development, robust anti-violence programs, jobs with a future, and recreational alternatives and mentoring for youths. We need to blast the illegal guns off the streets.

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But the criminals are not rabbits. They are murderous, brazen, unrepentant aggressors who at times can even put the police on their heels.

We must get real about the violence in our communities. About who is killing who.

How much longer will African American leadership stop making excuses that obscure the self-destruction of their own communities? When will Black leadership loudly and fervently condemn the murderous criminals and gangbangers who are killing Black people and destroying Black families? And demand accountability and well-trained professional law enforcement and prosecutors who will apprehend and get the offenders off the streets? No one wants to talk about that.

In the run-up to the Feb. 28 mayoral election, that would be an overdue and powerful conversation.

Laura Washington is a political commentator and longtime Chicago journalist. Her columns appear in the Tribune each Monday. Write to her at LauraLauraWashington@gmail.com.

Submit a letter, of no more than 400 words, to the editor here or email letters@chicagotribune.com.
Jupiter has overtaken Saturn to have the most moons in the solar system. (Getty Images)

Jupiter has overtaken Saturn to have the largest family of moons in the solar system  perhaps fittingly for the biggest planet.

Astronomer Scott Sheppard and his team at Carnegie Institution for Science in Washington D.C. found 12 previously unreported Jupiter moons  taking the total to 92.

Sheppard said more discoveries are expected to be made.

Saturn, the one-time leader, now comes in a close second with 83 confirmed moons.

Read more: There might once have been life on the moon

The Jupiter moons were added recently to a list kept by the International Astronomical Union's Minor Planet Center.

They were discovered using telescopes in Hawaii and Chile in 2021 and 2022, and their orbits were confirmed with follow-up observations.

These newest moons range in size from 0.6 miles to two miles wide, according to Sheppard.

He said: "I hope we can image one of these outer moons close-up in the near future to better determine their origins."

Saturn has now fallen behind its gas giant rival Jupiter. (Getty Images)

In April, the European Space Agency (ESA) is sending a spacecraft to study Jupiter and some of its biggest, icy moons  Ganymede, Callisto and Europa.

Next year, Nasa is leading the Europa Clipper mission to explore Europa, one of the many moons orbiting the planet.

And Nasa's Dragonfly mission team will send a rotorcraft in 2027 to Saturn's largest moon, Titan.

Sheppard  who discovered a slew of moons around Saturn a few years ago and has taken part in 70 moon discoveries so far around Jupiter  expects to keep adding to the lunar tally of both gas giants.

Read more: Exoplanet twice the size of Earth 'could be habitable'

Jupiter and Saturn are loaded with small moons, believed to be fragments of once bigger moons that collided with one another or with comets or asteroids, Sheppard said.

The same goes for Uranus and Neptune, but they're so distant that it makes moon-spotting even harder.

Uranus has 27 confirmed moons, Neptune 14, Mars two and Earth one. Venus and Mercury come up empty.

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Jupiter's newly discovered moons have yet to be named. Sheppard said only half of them are big enough  at least one-mile-wide or so  to warrant a name.

Watch: Alan Shepard walks on the moon in 1971
Getty Images

The Education Department launched a new website to help defrauded student-loan borrowers apply for debt relief.

It provides details on what exactly borrowers need to include in their claims, and what makes them eligible.

While this website may ease the application process, many defrauded borrowers continue to wait for relief.

If student-loan borrowers believe they were defrauded by a school they attended, it may have just gotten easier for them to get relief.

Last week, President Joe Biden's Education Department launched a new website to help student-loan borrowers submit borrower defense to repayment claims  a type of claim for those who believe a school misled them or engaged in certain misconduct that was in violation of the law. Approval of those claims means the department will discharge any debt the student took out to attend the school in question.

The new website is intended to ease that application process. It includes information on reasons borrowers apply for borrower defense, what type of misconduct qualifies for debt relief, specific details on information borrowers should include in their claims, and what happens after a borrower applies.

"The new borrower defense webpage is filled with guiding language and tips to help borrowers successfully complete their applications and get the loan relief to which they are entitled," Richard Cordray, director of the Federal Student Aid office, said in a statement to CNN, which first reported the website's launch.

"For all those who lost time, money, and the promise of an education, we will continue to work to make them whole," Cordray said.

A section of Federal Student Aid's new borrower defense website detailing information to include in a claim. Federal Student Aid

The website said borrowers can "submit the strongest borrower defense application possible" by providing as much detail as possible, and addressing all required elements of a claim. That includes proving the school engaged in substantial misrepresentation of its programs; if there has been a prior judgment against the school that found it violated the la; or if the school breached a contract.

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Since Biden took office, his Education Department has taken a number of steps to get relief to defrauded borrowers who had been waiting on approval of their claims for years.

Under former President Donald Trump's Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, borrower defense claims had a 99.4% denial rate and ran up a significant backlog, leading Biden's Education Secretary Miguel Cardona to streamline the approval process. He has since carried out the largest group approval of borrower defense claims to date by wiping out $5.8 billion in student debt last year for 560,000 borrowers defrauded by major for-profit chain Corinthian Colleges  and later did a similar group discharge of $3.9 billion for former ITT Technical Institute students.

Still, some borrowers continue to remain in limbo for this relief. Insider previously spoke to Kevin, a student-loan borrower who was a part of the Corinthian group discharge. Cardona told those borrowers their debt would be "immediately forgiven," but six months later, Kevin  who requested his last name be withheld for privacy  was still waiting, and he said the uncertainty is frustrating because his debt remains on his credit report.

"In my world, immediately means immediately," Kevin said on November 18 of the June announcement. "It's been 168 days until they sent that email, and then that email says it will take some time. So if we take the definition of 'immediately' to 'some time,' and if 'immediately' was 168 days, what is 'some time?'"

Read the original article on Business Insider
Its in addition to the company's patents for the product in the US, Europe, Japan and Israel. The patent grant strengthens the company's assets for the planned Phase IIa clinical trial in the U.S.

Ness Ziona, Israel --News Direct-- Kadimastem Ltd.

Kadimastem Ltd. (TASE: KDST), a clinical stage cell therapy company developing a treatment for ALS, and developing a potential cure for diabetes, has received a patent from the Australian Patent Office for production technology of AstroRx containing healthy functioning astrocytes for the treatment of ALS and drug screening.

This patent accompanies the company's patents for the product in the US, Europe, Japan, and Israel, and is significant to have been granted before the planned phase IIa clinical trial in the US scheduled for the coming year.

The patent protects the manufacturing technology of the company's leading product, AstroRx, for the use and treatment of ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis). In addition, the patent protects the use of the company's platform cell-based drug screening technology to discover compounds with therapeutic potential.

AstroRx contains astrocytes

AstroRx contains astrocytes, the supporting cells of the central nervous system (brain and spinal cord) whose activity is impaired in many neurological diseases such as ALS. In ALS patients, the ability of astrocytes to maintain a normal survival environment that supports the motor neurons is impaired and as a result there is massive cell loss of the motor neurons, which are responsible for the movement of the voluntary muscles.

The company's assumption is that the injection of healthy, functioning astrocytes into the spinal cord fluid of ALS patients in a standard lumbar puncture procedure is expected to compensate for the dysfunction of the diseased astrocytes and support the survival of the suffering motor neurons, thereby slowing the progression of the disease. Unlike small chemical drugs that usually work with a single mechanism of action, the astrocytes operate with several different mechanisms of action at the same time, each of which individually may protect the motor neurons that are affected by the disease.

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Kadimastem completed a clinical trial (Phase I/IIa), in which the cells were injected into the spinal cord fluid using a standard lumbar puncture procedure in 10 ALS patients. The results of the trial demonstrated a high safety profile, as well as a clinically meaningful effect maintained over the first 3 months period after treatment, as measured by the pre vs post slope change of a clinical score known as ALS Functional Rating Score (ALSFRS-R)

Asaf Shiloni, CEO of Kadimastem, commented: "The patent granted in Australia, which joins the patent we received a few months ago in the U.S., continues to strengthen our patent portfolio in the field of treatment for ALS and other neuro-degenerative diseases. This is a testimony and recognition of the innovation of the science developed at Kadimastem and we are working intensively to complete the filing of an IND submission in anticipation to begin clinical trials in the U.S.".

Prof. Michel Revel, Kadimastem's Chief Scientist, said: "The ALS program continues to move forward as the company's patent technology continues to strengthen. The company's vision of providing treatment to ALS patients continues to advance, and I am confident that the science developed in the company will greatly help patients in the future."

In Australia there are currently about 2,000 ALS patients, with about 730[1] ALS patients diagnosed each year.

About Kadimastem

Kadimastem Ltd. is a clinical stage cell therapy company, developing and manufacturing "off-the-shelf", allogeneic, proprietary cell products based on its technology platform for the expansion and differentiation of Human Embryonic Stem Cells (hESCs) into functional cells. AstroRx, the company's lead product, is an astrocyte based cell therapy in clinical development for the treatment for ALS.

IsletRx is the company's second product in development. IsletRx is comprised of functional, insulin producing, pancreatic islet cells intended to treat and cure patients with insulin-dependent diabetes.

Kadimastem was founded by Professor Michel Revel, CSO of the company and Professor Emeritus of Molecular Genetics at the Weizmann Institute of Science. Professor Revel received the Israel Prize for the invention and development of Rebif, a multiple sclerosis blockbuster drug sold worldwide. Kadimastem is traded on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange (TASE: KDST).

Forward Looking Statement

This document may include forward-looking information as defined in the Securities Law, 5728  1968. Forward-looking information is uncertain and mostly is not under the Company's control and the realization or non-realization of forward-looking information will be affected, among other things, by the risk factors characterizing the Company's activity, as well as developments in the general environment and external factors affecting the Company's activity. The Company's results and achievements in the future may differ materially from any presented herein and the Company makes no undertaking to update or revise such projection or estimate and does not undertake to update this document. This document does not constitute a proposal to purchase the Company's securities or an invitation to receive such offers. Investment in securities in general and in the Company in particular bears risks. One should consider that past performance does not necessarily indicate performance in the future.

Company Contacts:

Asaf Shiloni

CEO

INFO@kadimastem.com

For more information and/or a meeting with the company's management: Lior Gottlieb, lior@gotlive-ir.co.il, 050-9200194

[1] https://medicalrepublic.com.au/unravelling-the-complexities-of-als/57092

Contact Details

Kadimastem Ltd.

Asaf Shiloni

INFO@kadimastem.com

Company Website

https://www.kadimastem.com/

View source version on newsdirect.com: https://newsdirect.com/news/kadimastem-awarded-patent-in-australia-for-its-astrorx-r-technology-for-the-treatment-of-als-and-drug-screening-329130896
Vice President Harris joins NARAL Pro-Choice America President, Mini Timmaraju and Groundswell Fund Senior Capacity Building Director, Julieta Garibay for a moderated discussion on reproductive rights at LBJ Presidential Library on October 08, 2022 in Austin, Texas. Rick Kern/Getty Images for NARAL Pro-Choice America

Kamala Harris' aides had to replace the chairs in her office because they were too big for her.

The chairs had been the right size for her predecessors, all men of average height, the New York Times reported.

Harris, the first female Vice President, stands at just 5-feet-2-inches tall.

When they first arrived at the Office of the Vice President in 2021, Kamala Harris' aides had to buy the nation's first female VP all-new desk chairs because the ones already there were too big.

Current and former Harris aides revealed a series of hiccups the former senator has faced since stepping into office in a New York Times article published Monday. The piece detailed concerns that Harris had failed to establish herself as a political force within her party,

Jamal Simmons, Harris' former communications director, told the Times that he had to change all of the desk chairs in Harris' office to suit her height.

The chairs already in the office were suited for the "average male height" of those who came before her, the Times reported.

"She forces us to recalibrate our assumptions," Simmons told the Times.

Harris previously said she'd "proudly" run with Biden again in 2024 if he seeks reelection. But CNN previously reported that Harris and her allies felt sidelined by the White House and passed around an Onion article mocking her treatment.

Read the original article on Business Insider
Katherine Schwarzenegger has opened up about the downsides of fame, and why she tries to avoid responding to criticism of her husband Chris Pratt.

Schwarzenegger, 33, spoke candidly about life in the spotlight, and what she learned growing up with her famous parents, journalist Maria Shriver, and actor and former governor of California, Arnold Schwarzenegger, while speaking to The New York Times.

According to the author, who shares daughters Lyla, two, and Eloise, eight months, with the Guardians of the Galaxy star, she tries to ignore negativity at the guidance of her mother, who warned her against the never-ending trap of trying to correct the record.

Schwarzenegger also revealed that hearing negative things about her family growing up helped prepare her for the criticism she faces as part of a celebrity couple.

However, that doesnt mean that the childrens book author doesnt see what people say, as she told the outlet that she is aware of the negative comments often centred around her husband.

The newspaper recalled two instances where Pratt found himself the target of criticism: in 2020, when he was declared the worst Chris in Hollywood, and in 2021, when he praised his wife for giving birth to a healthy daughter, which many took as a dig at the actors first wife, Anna Faris, who gave birth to their son Jack prematurely.

Growing up, hearing people say certain things about my parents, my siblings, my extended family was difficult, Schwarzenegger told the outlet.

And while she avoids attempts to set the record straight, she said the negativity is far from the reality.

I see what people say, she said. But I just know that its so far from the reality.

During the interview, Schwarzenegger, who said she likes to keep details about her relationship with Pratt private, revealed that the pair met at Zoe Church in 2018.

And although Schwarzenegger had experience growing up in the spotlight, her relationship with the actor meant the attention grew to another level.

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I wasnt getting questions about my love life or who I was dating or anything like that, she said of her life before Pratt.

As for the life she shares with the Jurassic World star, the mother of two said people would be surprised by how down to earth it is.

If you would ask anybody how I was at home, theyd be like: She walks around with her hair in a banana clip and a box of crackers with one of the children on her hip, she said, adding that eating too many crackers is a constant thing that my husband is always making fun of me for.

I should have bought stock in Marys Gone Crackers, she added.

After beginning their relationship in 2018, Pratt and Schwarzenegger got engaged in January 2019. The couple tied the knot in Montecito, California, later that same year.

As for how Pratt feels about the negativity, he told Mens Health that the publics reaction to his comment about his daughter made him cry.

The actor shared his response while reflecting on the media coverage around his comment, with Pratt telling the outlet: A bunch of articles came out and said: Thats so cringeworthy. I cant believe Chris Pratt would thank her for a healthy daughter when his first child was born premature. Thats such a dig at his ex-wife.

And Im like, that is f**ked up. My sons gonna read that one day. Hes nine. And its etched in digital stone. It really f**king bothered me, dude. I cried about it, he continued. I was like, I hate that these blessings in my life are - to the people close to me - a real burden.
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp (R) condemned antisemitic flyers found on residents driveways in Atlanta, Ga. suburbs over the weekend.

Residents of the Sandy Springs and Dunwoody neighborhoods, which are predominantly Jewish, found antisemitic flyers encased in plastic ziploc baggies on their driveways Sunday morning.

This kind of hate has no place in our state and the individuals responsible do not share Georgias values, Kemp wrote in a tweet on Sunday.

The governor added that state law enforcement is ready to assist the local police departments with their investigations into the matter.

Both the Dunwoody and Sandy Springs police departments have said they are investigating the incidents, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

We will always condemn acts of antisemitism, Kemp concluded in his statement.

Kemp was among a number of local officials and lawmakers who denounced the antisemitic act.

Please be kind to each other and speak up for each other. I want to personally thank the neighbor who picked them up on my street  so if you know who it is please let me know, former state Rep. Mike Wilensky (D), who lives in Dunwoody, said in a Facebook post.

The Anti-Defamation Leagues Center on Extremism told the Journal-Constitution that the fliers were being distributed by antisemitic groups Goyim Defense League (GDL) and White Lives Matter, which it describes as racist networks focused on espousing hate in the Jewish community.

Welcome to being a Jew in Georgia-my driveway this morning, wrote state Rep. Esther Panitch (D) on Twitter, along with photos of the flyers, which she said Sandy Springs police had taken for testing.

Govern yourselves accordingly, GDL and Anti-Semites who seek to harm/intimidate Jews in Georgia. Im coming for you with the weight of the State behind me, she added.

The Atlanta metro area has seen a rapid rise in reported antisemitic incidents in the past year, the Journal reported.

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In response to the rise of antisemitic incidents, state lawmakers introduced legislation last month that would provide an official state definition of antisemitism and require state agencies to consider such definition when determining whether an alleged act was motivated by discriminatory antisemitic intent.

Dunwoody Mayor Lynn Deutsch said in a statement. Sunday that hateful, divisive, and anti-Semitic rhetoric has no place in the community.

We live, work, serve and play together, she added. At our Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service, Jews, Christians, and Muslims worked together planting daffodils in memory of those who perished in the Holocaust.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Kendrick Lamar accepts the Best Rap Album award for "Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers." (Johnny Nunez / Getty Images for The Recording Academy)

To no one's surprise, Kendrick Lamar's "Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers" was named best rap album at the 2023 Grammys. It's his third nomination and win in the category, following victories for "To Pimp a Butterfly" and "DAMN." in 2016 and 2018, respectively.

"Thanks to my family for giving me the courage to share my vulnerability," Lamar said when accepting the award at Crypto.com Arena.

Other albums nominated in the category were "God Did" by DJ Khaled, "I Never Liked You" by Future, "Come Home the Kids Miss You" by Jack Harlow and "It's Almost Dry" by Pusha T.

Lamar looked inward throughout "Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers," attempting to sort through a litany of personal and family traumas, ranging from sexual abuse to transgender identity to unhealthy coping mechanisms. He tapped German spiritual teacher Eckhart Tolle to serve as his personal guru on the album lecturing Kendrick on detaching from "the pain body," among other life lessons.

"I was very favorably impressed by him," Tolle told Complex about working with Lamar. "We got on very well. I found him soft-spoken, quite present, and more introverted than extroverted. We had a talk, and while we were talking, I couldn't detect any ego in him. He was very present, so I had a good feeling about him."

The album debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, moving 295,000 album equivalent units in its first week.

Earlier on Sunday, Lamar's "The Heart Part 5" won for rap song and rap performance.

Tyler, the Creator won the rap album Grammy in 2022, for "Call Me If You Get Lost."

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP)  Facing an early test in her bid to become Kentucky's next governor, Republican Kelly Craft is trying to navigate turbulence caused by one of her first ads, which aimed at connecting the wealthy ex-diplomat with voters by highlighting the state's heart-aching struggles with drug addiction.

In a recent TV commercial, Craft said the fight against drug abuse is personal, confiding she's experienced that empty chair at my table. The former United Nations ambassador  seen as a top-tier candidate in a large GOP field  didn't disclose personal details in the widely aired ad. As questions swirled about its meaning, Craft told Kentucky Health News that she had a close family member who went to rehab and was able to overcome the addiction and move on with their life.

The details stirred backlash from some Kentuckians who viewed the ad as insensitive because they first interpreted the empty chair reference to being about someone who died. Some of the most pointed criticism has come from people whose loved ones lost their lives to addiction.

The blow-back has garnered considerable attention in a race being closely watched to see if popular incumbent Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear can overcome his partys weak standing in Kentucky. Beshear is seeking re-election in the GOP-trending Bluegrass State.

A group of grieving mothers showed up at a Craft campaign appearance last week, hoping to confront her about the ad and press for details about how she'd curb drug addiction if elected. They were blocked from attending, WLEX-TV reported. A campaign staffer collected contact information from the group, in case they might speak to Craft another time.

Craft can set a good example" by meeting with such groups, since it's understandable that some people have questions about the ad, said Scott Jennings, a Kentucky-based Republican political commentator who once served as an adviser to former President George W. Bush.

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Kelly could show some leadership skills here by having the guts to meet with people who are upset with her, Jennings said.

Her campaign didnt immediately respond to an email from The Associated Press seeking additional comments.

As the matter has festered, a Lexington Herald-Leader columnist wrote that Craft either was getting bad advice or misunderstands the empty chair mess shes in right now.

Craft  among a dozen GOP candidates competing in the state's May primary  entered the governor's race with an overwhelming money advantage. She's set a fast pace in raising and spending campaign cash, and can tap into her family's enormous wealth to bankroll her campaign.

She got a head start on competitors with TV ads meant to raise her name recognition and take a stand to fight the seemingly intractable drug abuse problem. Fatal drug overdoses rose nearly 15% in Kentucky in 2021 and surpassed 2,000 deaths, the state said last year.

Instead of backing off as pushback against the ad mounted, Craft's campaign has pressed ahead with messaging on the drug issue. She has said an empty chair can mean many things.

In a recent follow-up video, the wife of Craft's running mate explained what an empty seat at the table has meant for her family.

I firmly believe that means different things for different families, Heather Wise, the wife of GOP state Sen. Max Wise, said as she spoke about how addiction has ravaged her family.

An empty seat can mean the absence of loved ones in rehab or in jail due to addiction, she said. She said she also lost close family members to addiction.

"Not every family has had the worst-case scenario - that permanent empty seat at their table that we have experienced, she said.

As part of her anti-drug theme, Craft has tried connecting Beshear to President Joe Bidens immigration policies on the nations southern border. She blames those policies for contributing to an influx of illegal drugs to Kentucky.

Beshear responded that a strong national security requires strong border security, and said Kentucky has done its part during his term. He noted that hundreds of Kentucky National Guard soldiers have deployed to the nations southwest border during his tenure and that a Kentucky guard member died as part of the mission.

For somebody wanting to be governor to talk about the border and to not mention the sacrifice and heroic service of our National Guard, and recognize their loss, I think is disrespectful and disqualifying, the governor said.

The back-and-forth enables Craft to portray herself to GOP voters as a fighter, Jennings said.

Thats what this entire primary is missing so far  someone explaining why they are the best person to defeat Beshear, and how they plan to do it, Jennings said.

Other GOP contenders for governor include Attorney General Daniel Cameron, state Agriculture Commissioner Ryan Quarles, state Auditor Mike Harmon and Somerset Mayor Alan Keck.
ATLANTA (AP)  Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger wants his state to become an early presidential primary host  just not in 2024, as President Joe Biden and the Democratic Party are pushing.

The Republican election chief, who garnered attention for rebuffing then-President Donald Trumps efforts to overturn his 2020 loss in Georgia, told The Associated Press hed back an early primary in 2028.

Its the first time Raffensperger, who sets Georgia's primary election dates, has endorsed the idea of Georgia as an early nominating state, though not as soon as the Democratic National Committee and the White House want.

Georgia would be a great early primary state in 2028, Raffensperger told the AP.

It has a good cross-section of engaged voters from both parties, and, as everyone seems to now recognize, we run great elections, the secretary added in a dig at Democrats assertions that he and Republican Gov. Brian Kemp have worked to limit ballot access.

Raffenspergers position highlights the Democrats' challenge in reordering their nominating calendar to elevate racially diverse electorates and de-emphasize Iowa and New Hampshire. Those overwhelmingly white states have opened the nominating process for both major parties for decades and still lead Republicans 2024 calendar as it's currently set  with national GOP officials showing little interest in reconsidering their slate.

The secretary's announcement nonetheless shows Democrats arent alone in wanting Georgia, now a premier general election battleground, to expand its burgeoning influence into presidential nominating politics.

The question is whether Democrats can find momentum among the Republicans who control the Georgia statehouse and with the national GOP forces necessary to make such a change. That's decidedly harder than Atlanta's push to win the 2024 Democratic convention, a decision that will be made entirely within the party.

Top Georgia Democrats including Sen. Raphael Warnock and U.S. Rep. Nikema Williams of Atlanta support a presidential primary move, and the state partys former executive director, Scott Hogan, has taken on the role of the top unofficial lobbyist for the idea, reaching out to Republicans and the business community.

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This isnt just a political conversation. This is very much an economic conversation, Williams, who is also the state Democratic chairwoman, said in an interview before Raffensperger's latest statements about the matter. Its a benefit across the board, whether Republicans or Democrats.

Audrey Haynes, a University of Georgia professor tracking the debate, cited studies showing how much more influential an average American voter becomes when they live in an early nominating state. The economic boon, she added, ranges from candidates' television advertising to a year's worth of tourism and consumer spending by traveling national media and the top campaigns' permanent field staffers.

There's just all this spending to go along with the attention on voters and on local elected officials, Haynes said.

Under the Democratic National Committee plan approved Saturday, the partys 2024 presidential primaries would begin Feb. 3 in South Carolina, the state that propelled Bidens campaign in 2020. That primary would be followed by Nevada and New Hampshire on Feb. 6, Georgia on Feb. 13 and Michigan on Feb. 27.

The national party has given Georgia Democrats until June to show they can comply with that calendar, though deadline could be extended.

Raffensperger noted the Republican National Committee has locked in its 2024 calendar, with the usual opening slate of Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina and Nevada. The GOP also plans to limit convention delegates from states that move up to disrupt that traditional quartet.

This type of move would need to be equitable, take place on the same day, and ensure that no one loses delegates, Raffensperger said, offering no indications that hed try to persuade the RNC to reconsider.

Jordan Fuchs, Raffenspergers deputy, said calendar reshuffles must at the start be a bipartisan decision, a tacit acknowledgement that Biden being the genesis of Democrats plan does it no favors in Georgia.

Just because one party is pushing it doesnt mean it has bipartisan support, she said.

Williams, the Democratic chairwoman, nonetheless suggested in response to Raffenspergers latest position that the secretary has created an opening on the issue. Stakeholders from both parties and the business lobby, she said, agree that Georgia is the perfect state to host an early presidential primary. She said Democrats look forward to continuing to work alongside all those with a vested interest in Georgia to secure this long-term source of investment in our state.

Kemp, meanwhile, has given no public sign that he wants a change ahead of 2024. Additionally, Kemps advisers have noted he has no official role in setting the primary dates.

That said, Kemp is at the apex of his influence as a second-term, battleground governor who won reelection by nearly 8 percentage points; he defeated Democratic power player Stacey Abrams for a second time after dominating a Republican primary challenger who had Trump's backing. So he would be key in any eventual shift.

A top Kemp adviser, who wasn't authorized to speak on the record about an issue the governor isn't actively pursuing and requested anonymity, said Kemp and his inner circle do not dispute the long-term benefits Georgia would accrue as an early state.

Yet the considerations for the GOP arent as straightforward as for Democrats.

Multiple recent presidential cycles  Barack Obamas nomination in 2008, Hillary Clintons in 2016 and Bidens in 2020  have highlighted the power Black voters in the South already have in Democratic politics. Bidens path was especially emphatic, as he stormed to the nomination in a matter of weeks after finishing fourth in Iowa and fifth in New Hampshire, effectively highlighting their shortcomings as Democratic bellwethers. Those two states, though, still reflect the Republican Partys overwhelmingly white base, giving the GOP little incentive to depose them.

National Democrats, meanwhile, have made clear they want their early nominating window to be stacked with November battlegrounds; that would give their eventual nominee early exposure in key Electoral College states. Georgia Republicans, conversely, are still adjusting to their state's tossup status after dominating at all levels of government for decades before 2020, when Georgia opted narrowly for Biden and two Democratic senators.

I certainly believe its a two-party state, said Chip Lake, a veteran GOP campaign operative. But the conversations among Democrats on what all this means at the presidential level is just more advanced than it is for Republicans right now, Lake said.

And, he added, Kemps previous statements have effectively cut off any bipartisan movement on primaries.

No one, Lake said, wants to get out in front of the governor.
Washington has signaled that when it comes to Iran, diplomacy is out, and hostility is in. The U.S. began conducting joint air exercises with Israel on Jan. 23, employing more than 100 aircraft including strategic bombers and advanced F-35 fighter jets. This comes after President Joe Biden stated, Were going to free Iran, during its recent wave of protests and adding recently that the Iran deal is dead and that Iran will have a nuclear weapon. But the possibility of a nuclear Iran is less dangerous than the certainty of a war that would erupt from a preventive strike.

While these joint exercises are primarily meant as a deterrent, Iran likely will not view them that way and for good reason. Israel is already hoping to double its purchase of advanced U.S. fighter jets as multiple Israeli officials hint at options for striking Irans nuclear facilities. Doing so would likely necessitate U.S. assistance, primarily with air refueling. Consequently, the U.S. would likely become entangled, whether it took the lead or supporting role in a strike. But the consequences would be catastrophic.

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The idea of a surgical strike is a myth. In a strike on Irans nuclear facilities, fighters would have to penetrate hundreds of miles of contested airspace, encountering multiple layers of Iranian air defenses, not just in Iran but in Syria as well. To do so without risking American casualties would mean first setting the stage with hundreds of airstrikes on Iranian air defenses and air bases. That would not go unanswered, and Irans arsenal of thousands of ballistic missiles and hundreds of thousands of proxy fighters would likely be brought to bear against Israeli and American forces in retaliation.

This means U.S. forces in Iraq, Syria, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates would be targeted. Likewise, oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz, sourcing a fifth of the worlds oil supply, would also be disrupted. The effects would immediately prove militarily and economically disastrous for the United States.

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With U.S. arsenals already depleted from sending aid to Ukraine, igniting a war in the Middle East would be even more dangerous. The United States has been moving away from a two-war force posture for the last decade, formalized most recently in the 2022 National Defense Strategy. This means the United States cannot fight everywhere at once; 100,000 troops in Europe to deter Russia and more than 300,000 in the Pacific to deter China necessarily mean that the U.S. cannot afford to fight a war with Iran.

[ Daniel DePetris: Is there still hope for a new Iran nuclear deal? ]

The urgency of Irans nuclear development is likewise exaggerated. The Biden administrations 2022 Nuclear Posture Review released in October revealed that U.S. intelligence still assesses that Iran is not pursuing a nuclear weapon. As far as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahus track record goes, Iran has been imminently close to obtaining a nuclear weapon for at least 30 years. The premise underlying a preventive strike rests on a foundation of sand, namely that this threat will materialize.

But is a nuclear Iran a more catastrophic outcome than a preventive war?

The United States has allowed three enemy nations to nuclearize: the Soviet Union, China and North Korea. In none of these cases was the outcome unmanageable. Rather, the United States has learned to establish deterrence with nuclear-armed states. The same model can be applied to Iran, which pales in comparison to the conventional and nuclear threat posed by the communist bloc.

Possessing a nuclear weapon is also different from using a nuclear weapon. Iran cannot use a nuclear weapon even if it obtained one because its chief foe, Israel has a nuclear deterrent of hundreds of weapons already. Iran is conventionally overmatched by Israel and its Arab rivals in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

Many of the proponents of a military strike put forward the mad mullahs argument, namely that the Iranian regimes revolutionary vision makes its leaders undeterrable and suicidal. But its hard to carry out a theocratic utopia if your regime doesnt exist. The Islamic Republics founder, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, went as far as to say in a book that the survival of the Islamic Republic was more important than Imam Mahdi, the end-times savior of Shiite Islam. If Khomeini was insufficiently zealous to fulfill the suicidal ideation of the mad mullah hypothesis, then its really hard to argue that this would apply decades after the revolutions fervor subsided.

Striking Iran would prove disastrous for the United States. A strike would not guarantee that Iran never nuclearizes, but it would immediately backfire against both Israel and the United States. Deterrence and diplomacy, not preemption and provocation, should guide Washingtons relationship with Iran.

Geoff LaMear is a fellow at Defense Priorities.

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Preteen siblings missing from Missouri for nearly a year were found with their non-custodial mother in a Florida grocery store, police say.

Brooke Gilley, 11, and Adrian Gilley, 12, were missing from Clay County, Missouri, since March 15,according to the Liberty Police Department. It was believed they were with their non-custodial mother.

The Liberty Police Department said in May it was told the children may have been in California, but the investigation led authorities to Florida.

Officers in High Springs, Florida, were conducting a routine vehicle tag check on Wednesday, Feb. 1, when they spotted the vehicle of Kristi Gilley, who was accused of kidnapping the children, police said.

Kristi Gilley and the children were found shopping in a Winn-Dixie grocery store while disguising their identities, according to a Feb. 2 news release from police.

Gilley was arrested on a kidnapping warrant, police said. Brooke and Adrian were considered safe and will be reunited with their birth family.

High Springs is about 20 miles northwest of Gainesville and more than 1,100 miles from where the children had last been seen.

Man vanished in 2020. His remains were just found in warehouse, Missouri sheriff says

Woman 31 weeks pregnant found dead in Missouri, cops say. Her baby was found elsewhere
One of the most hotly debated murders from one of Charlottes most turbulent times went before the states highest court on Tuesday  not to determine Rayquan Borums guilt or innocence, but how much time he should spend in prison for the fatal shooting of Justin Carr.

The state Supreme Courts decision later this year likely will hinge on a subtle distinction  the type of malice Borum harbored in committing the crime. What the court decides could cut off a third of Borums current sentence of at least 24 years.

Carr was shot and killed on the night of Sept. 21, 2016 during a large, emotional and sometimes violent demonstration in uptown Charlotte following the police killing the day before of Keith Lamont Scott.

Shortly before he planned to leave the demonstration on College Street, Carr, a 26-year-old truck driver, according to court documents, called his mother to say the event had been peaceful and that he hoped it would bring change.

Twenty minutes later, he was lying on the pavement with a bullet wound in his head.

Police arrested Borum and charged him with Carrs murder on Sept. 23. While other demonstrators had been chanting Black lives matter and No justice, no peace, Borum had shouted F--- the police and Grip a Glock, shoot back, according to court documents.

A friend who was with Borum that night later testified that Borum made good on his threat. He pulled a 9mm handgun, aimed at a police line outside a nearby hotel, and pulled the trigger. The gun did not fire.

Borum, according to court documents, tried again. This time, according to a witness, the 21-year-old wildly took aim in the general direction of the police and other protesters. This time the gun went off.

That the killing occurred amid weeks of nightly Keith Scott protests over police violence only intensified the scrutiny that followed Borums arrest. For months some demonstrators blamed police for Carrs killing, describing Borum as a scapegoat.

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On March 8, 2019, a Mecklenburg jury convicted Borum of second degree murder and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. Superior Court Judge Gregory Hayes of Catawba County sentenced him to a combined prison term of 290 to 370 months.

My son was down there for a cause, taking a stand for something he strongly believed in. And he was murdered, Vivian Carr, the dead mans mother, told the court after the verdict, according to WFAE. He had just discovered his purpose in life. He was about to have his first son.

Borums attorneys appealed. But their arguments were rejected, save one. And it arose from the small print of North Carolinas sentencing procedures.

Evidence of malice

Under N.C. law, second degree murder can either be a class B1 or B2 felony, with the former designation carrying a far heavier sentence. How the crime gets classified one way or the other depends in part on the degree of malice that the defendant carried.

Thus, during its deliberations, Borums jury not only had to decide guilt or innocence but malice as well. Three types of malice were listed on the jurys verdict sheet. The top two choices justified the more severe B1 classification.

The third, the so-called depraved heart malice, distinguishes a B2 classification. It was defined on the Borum verdict sheet  and in state law  as malice that arises when an act which is inherently dangerous to harm life is intentionally done so recklessly and wantonly as to manifest a mind utterly without regard for human life and social duty and deliberately bent on mischief.

Hayes told the jurors that if they found Borum guilty, they had to check one or more of the malice boxes. They checked all three.

In an unpublished ruling on Nov. 3, 2020, the N.C. Court of Appeals ruled that Borums arrest and trial had been proper. But the three-judge appellate panel unanimously ruled that his sentencing was ambiguous. Borums prosecutors had presented evidence to support both B1 and B2 designations, the panel found, and the jury had not differentiated between the types of malice that distinguish the two classes of the same offense.

When in doubt, according to N.C. law and court precedent, the decision goes in favor of the defendant. The panel ordered the case returned to Mecklenburg County for a new sentencing under the B2 classification for Borums crime.

The Attorney Generals Office, which handled the case on appeal, petitioned the state Supreme Court to review the Court of Appeals decision, arguing that the jurys verdict was clear on the topic of malice.

The high courts decision, if it upholds the Court of Appeals, could cut years off of Borums prison time.

A new sentencing hearing brings into play all sorts of outcomes. But if Borum is sentenced at the same range and criminal history as he was at his trial, the new B2 felony designation would cut 96 months off his minimum sentence for second degree murder  from the 276 months he received three years ago to 180 months. His maximum sentence would drop by almost a decade, from 334 months to 228.

Borums sentence of 14 to 26 months for the firearm violation would remain unchanged.

Charlotte attorney Darlene Harris, part of Borums defense team at his trial, did not respond to email and text messages by The Charlotte Observer on Monday seeking comment.

Bill Bunting, the Mecklenburg DAs homicide chief, declined an interview request, saying he cannot comment on a pending case.

As for now, Borum is being held in Pasquotank Correctional Institution in Elizabeth City. The N.C. prison website says the 28-year-old currently is scheduled for release in 2043.
REUTERS/Mario Anzuoni

Taking the stage to receive the Grammy for Best Pop Group/Duo Performance, Kim Petras quickly made sure the audience knew how important this win was. Petras, who shares the award with her Unholy collaborator Sam Smith, is the first openly transgender woman in the shows history to win in that category.

Smith let their fellow performer commandeer the mic for the pairs acceptance speech, knowing the landmark status of Petras win. And Petras made sure to thank Smith for it, as well as for those who helped break down barriers for trans and queer musicians over the years. (Her collaborator Smith is nonbinary.)

Sam graciously wanted me to accept this award because Im the first transgender woman to win this award, Petras said during her speech. I just want to thank all the incredible transgender legends before me who kicked these doors open before me so I could be here tonight.

Petras called out two artists by name: the late influential electronic musician Sophie, who worked with Petras and contemporaries like Charli XCX and died tragically in early 2021, and Madonna, whos spent decades platforming queer artists and dancers in her work.

But the sweetest shout-out went to the 30-year-old artists mother: I grew up next to a highway in Germany, Petras said, and my mother believed me that I was a girl, and I wouldnt be here without her and her support.

Kim Petras on Religion, Abortion, and Making History as a Trans Pop Star

The audience took to their feet to give Petras an ovation as soon as she noted how groundbreaking her win was. And fans of the pop artist, whose featured spot on Unholy marks her first No. 1 hit in a career spanning nearly 15 years, have been celebrating online since she and Smith were nominated. The excitement is not just because one of the internets favorite pop girlies has taken home the music industrys highest mainstream honorits that Petras winning this kind of mainstream honor as a member of the trans community is something novel, special, and hopefully just the start of more to come.

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I want to thank all the transgender artists before me who helped kick open these doors.



Kim Petras just made history and is now a Grammy winner, showcasing trans excellence on a global stage. Congrats, @kimpetras!  Human Rights Campaign (@HRC) February 6, 2023

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As a condition of employment, King County and City of Seattle employees will no longer require proof of vaccination against COVID-19, according to a media release.

The announcement is effective Monday.

According to the media release, King County and the City of Seattle officials have used the latest recommendations from Public Health to inform their decisions, including the 2021 requirement that all county and city employees, contractors, and volunteers show proof of receiving the COVID-19 vaccine.

Due to recent lower levels of community spread of the virus and hospitalizations having remained at lower levels, officials believe the overall risk was low enough to lift the mandate.

Since the earliest days of the COVID-19 pandemic, King Countys policy has been to follow the science, listen to the experts, and protect life and health. Establishing a vaccine mandate for employees and contractors was critical to keeping employees and the public safe, and keeping services flowing. Today our experts advise that immunity has reached a level that allows these requirements to be relaxed, said Executive Dow Constantine. With high vaccination rates and effective, updated boosters available, we are in a different place in the pandemic, and our policies and regulations will change to reflect the best information we have available today, as they have throughout the last three years.

The vaccine mandate was an effective and necessary tool for protecting the health and safety of City workers and the public we serve, said Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell. The Citys actions then and now have always been informed by the science of the pandemic and recommendations of public health officials  an approach based on data and dedicated to saving lives. Rooted in our shared values of safety and health equity, we will continue to follow this approach as we respond to next steps in the pandemic and continue to advance efforts to ensure a thriving and equitable recovery for all Seattle residents and neighbors.

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According to the media release, more than 98% of King Countys nearly 15,000 employees provided proof of vaccination and nearly 4,000 employees were hired since.

Less than 2% of employees were fired for failure to provide proof of vaccination.

For the City of Seattle, more than 99% of the employees provided proof of vaccination and less than 1% were fired.
The Catholic Diocese of Knoxville is asking a judge to grant greater secrecy as the church continues to defend itself in an explosive sexual abuse lawsuit. The effort is in large part due to the reporting of Knox News.

The Catholic Diocese of Knoxville has asked a judge to allow it to keep secret internal documents as it defends itself in an explosive sexual abuse lawsuit.

The diocese, citing ongoing coverage by Knox News, requested the protection of materials related to the churchs sexual abuse review board and from private meetings of priests of the Diocese. The diocese also refiled a request to protect investigative documents related to complaints filed against Bishop Richard Stika.

The lawsuit was filed by a former church employee who says he was raped by a church seminarian. The man says the diocese, led by Stika, interfered with the investigation and worked to discredit him. Knox News is not naming the man because he says he was the victim of a sexual assault.

The diocese argues it needs protection specifically because of the continued publicity that this litigation has garnered over the past year  most recently exhibited by the multitude of articles published by the Knoxville News Sentinel over the past month.

Jim Wogan, diocesan spokesperson, told Knox News in an email the diocese is only seeking to protect "a very, very small percentage of the total materials provided" and "would not restrict the use of the materials in litigation.

What the church wants to protect

Documents and communications of its sexual assault review board

Review boards were created by the Roman Catholic Church to address a flood of sexual abuse findings in the early 2000s.

A review board advises a bishop when allegations of sexual abuse are made against church leaders, primarily priests, and are supposed to give victims the opportunity for validation from the church, especially in old cases protected by statute of limitation rules.

In a sexual assault lawsuit filed against the Diocese of Knoxville, a former church employee says Bishop Richard Stika interfered with the investigation and worked to discredit him.

In this case, before a lawsuit was filed, the church's review board hired retired Tennessee Valley Authority investigator George Prosser, an outsider who isnt Catholic, to investigate the claims.

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Prosser was fired soon after he began, he and a former review board member told Knox News.

The diocese ended up replacing Prosser with another investigator, Chris Manning, who told the Catholic news publication, The Pillar, he interviewed only the former employee and not the man who said he was sexually assaulted. The lawsuit relies heavily on revelations unearthed by The Pillar, which first reported on Stika's removal of Prosser in May 2021.

Documents and communications of private meetings with priests

This broad request could be seen as a cover to blanket any interactions Stika has had with priests over the past two years, and it's certainly a way for the church to suppress specific comments from the bishop, who told priests that the man who said he was sexually assaulted was a predator, according to his lawsuit.

Documents related to Vos Estis,' and why its important

Beginning in 2019 the Catholic Church created a way for priests and others to make complaints about bishops, said James Connell, a whistleblower priest of the Archdiocese of Milwaukee and canon lawyer.

The name of this new reporting process is Motu Proprio Vos Estis Lux Mundi, or simply Vos Estis, and it was created by Pope Francis himself.

The church would like to keep these investigative reports secret and previously asked Judge E. Jerome Melson to protect them. The judge declined the church's request last summer but gave it the opportunity to revisit the request.

Those documents are not supposed to be privileged or private, per church law, said Tom Doyle, a former Jesuit priest and canon lawyer who is an expert in clerical sex abuse.

In a similar case in November, a New York State Supreme Court justice ordered the Archdiocese of New York turn over its entire Vos Estis investigative file after the lawyers argued the documents should remain secret.

Its likely, Connell said, that the Vos Estis reports about Stika are what prompted a visit to the diocese last fall by high-ranking church officials.

In that case, the Vos Estis investigation would have been conducted by the Archdiocese of Louisville (which oversees the Knoxville diocese), he said. If that's what occurred, either Archbishop Joseph Kurtz (the former bishop of Knoxville) or new Archbishop Shelton Fabre reported their findings to the Vatican.

It makes sense, then, Connell said, that the Vatican gave approval for the apostolic visit that took place the last week of November. That visit is a signal church authorities are concerned, experts told Knox News.

Simply put, Doyle said, something had to trigger the apostolic visitation.

A pattern of secrecy

Three months after the diocese and Stika were named in the lawsuit, leaders made the churchs sexual abuse review board meetings much more secretive, including requiring members to sign nondisclosure agreements and disallowing note taking.

The diocese says a more tight-lipped board better protects sexual abuse victims, but sex abuse victim advocates say it protects abusers.

Last week the the man who said he was sexually assaulted refiled his lawsuit after a judge sided with the church in requiring him to file the lawsuit under his legal name, a move abuse experts said was intended to intimidate the man and anyone in the future who considers suing over sexual abuse.

Tyler Whetstone is an investigative reporter focused on accountability journalism. Connect with Tyler by emailing him at tyler.whetstone@knoxnews.com. Follow him on Twitter @tyler_whetstone. Make our community, our society and our republic stronger by supporting robust local journalism. Subscribe online at knoxnews.com/subscribe.

This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Knoxville diocese asks judge to protect investigative documents
(Bloomberg) -- The network established by conservative billionaires Charles Koch and his late brother David Koch is signaling it wont support Donald Trump in the 2024 GOP presidential primaries, saying it plans to back a candidate who can lead our country forward, and who can win.

Most Read from Bloomberg

Americans For Prosperity said in a memo to staff and activists released on Sunday that to get leaders who can overcome the broken politics in Washington  and to get better candidates than Republicans have been nominating  the group must get involved in elections earlier, starting with the presidential race.

To write a new chapter for our country, we need to turn the page on the past, Emily Seidel, the chief executive officer of AFP and a senior adviser for its affiliated super political action committee, said in the memo. So the best thing for the country would be to have a president in 2025 who represents a new chapter.

The American people have shown that theyre ready to move on, and so AFP will help them do that, she said.

Seidels memo didnt say how much the group plans to spend on the 2024 GOP presidential race. AFP Action spent almost $80 million on behalf of candidates in the 2022 cycle, according to OpenSecrets  including in 22 primaries at the federal level and almost 200 more in the states, according to the memo.

Trump is making his third White House bid with a potential rematch with President Joe Biden. But some polls show a majority of GOP voters are looking for an alternative  like Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, whos widely expected to enter the race  who support Trumps policies but dont have his political baggage.

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The former president is the only declared GOP presidential candidate. Former South Carolina Governor and Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley is expected to announce her candidacy on Feb. 15, and several other candidates besides DeSantis are considering a bid.

A Trump spokesman didnt comment on Seidels memo, but the former president has been critical of the Koch network in the past. I have never sought their support because I dont need their money or bad ideas, he said in 2018.

Trump also had a falling out with the conservative Club For Growth, a former ally that supported candidates in high-profile GOP primaries last year against Trump-endorsed candidates and has suggested it could back DeSantis over the former president in 2024.

The Club For No Growth is a GLOBALIST group that I have been taking to the cleaners for years, Trump said in a Jan. 30 post on his social-media site.

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2023 Bloomberg L.P.
By Jessie Pang

HONG KONG (Reuters) -The much-anticipated trial of 16 Hong Kong democracy activists charged under a national security law imposed by Beijing began on Monday with security tight for a case that some observers say will be a test of the city's judicial independence.

The defendants are those who pleaded not guilty out of 47 arrested in a dawn raid in January 2021 and charged with conspiracy to commit subversion for participating in an unofficial primary election organised by democracy supporters in 2020.

More than 100 people queued for seats in the court's public gallery with dozens of police on standby and a bomb disposal vehicle deployed.

"There's no crime to answer. It is not a crime to act against a totalitarian regime," defendant and former lawmaker Leung Kwok-hung, known by the nickname "Long Hair", told the court.

Judge Andrew Chan responded that the hearing was a "solemn occasion" and asked for respect from the defendants and members of the public.

Prosecutors have described the primary election - held to select the strongest candidates to contest an election for the city's assembly, the Legislative Council (LegCo), as a "vicious plot" to subvert the city government and to wreak "mutual destruction" on it by taking control of the city parliament.

In opening arguments, prosecutor Anthony Chau said:

"This case involves a group of activists who conspired together and with others to plan, organise and participate in seriously interfering in, disrupting or undermining the performance of duties and functions ... by unlawful means with a view to subverting the state power."

Among the 16 are former journalist Gwyneth Ho, activist Owen Chow and labour unionist Winnie Yu.

The trial is expected to last 90 days, with four out of the 47 who were arrested more than two years ago set to testify against the 16, prosecutor Jonathan Man told the court. The defendants face sentences of up to life in jail if convicted.

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Prosecutor Jonathan Man identified the four he said would testify against their old colleagues as former legislator Au Nok Hin, former district councillors Andrew Chiu and Ben Chung, and businessman Mike Lam.

Those who pleaded guilty, including former law professor Benny Tai and the prominent young activist Joshua Wong, will be sentenced after the trial.

INTERNATIONAL CRITICISM

The then British colony was returned to China in 1997 under a "one country, two systems" formula meant to guarantee its freedoms and an independent legal system for 50 years.

China denies interfering with the city's way of life but some Hong Kong residents over the years criticised what they saw as the erosion of freedoms by an increasingly assertive Beijing.

Beijing imposed a national security law on the city in 2020 after months of at times violent pro-democracy protests.

Western governments have criticised the law, which punishes subversion, collusion with foreign forces and terrorism with up to life in prison, as a tool to crush dissent.

Chinese and Hong Kong authorities say the law has brought stability to the Asian financial hub.

Since the law was imposed, more than 230 people have been arrested, including newspaper editors following police raids on media outlets, while labour unions and civil society groups have disbanded.

Thirteen of the 47 arrested were granted bail in 2021, while the other 34 - including 10 who pleaded not guilty - have been in pre-trial custody.

The case has drawn international criticism, as government prosecutors repeatedly asked for more time to prepare legal documents and gather evidence.

Among a number of departures from established common law procedures, Secretary for Justice Paul Lam declined to let the defendants face a jury trial. It is being heard by three High Court judges designated under the national security law: Andrew Chan, Alex Lee and Johnny Chan.

(Reporting by Jessie Pang; Editing by Anne Marie Roantree and Robert Birsel)
By Mike Scarcella

(Reuters) - Two major U.S. law firms are feuding over which one will lead a consumer antitrust class action against Meta Platforms Inc's Facebook, after a judge scrapped a prior order appointing them both as co-leaders for the plaintiffs and started from scratch.

U.S. District Judge James Donato in San Francisco said in January that he would make a new determination to select one of the firms to lead the class action amid quarreling between Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro and Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan. Part of the clash included a Hagens Berman partner accusing Quinn Emanuel of discounting her views based on her gender. Quinn Emanuel denied the allegation, calling it a "mystery."

"I have significant experience-based qualms about these multi-headed plaintiff-side structures," Donato said at a recent hearing in the case, as he heard about the dispute and wiped out a 2021 order by another judge who appointed both firms. "You don't need them."

The underlying case involves class claims from consumers and advertisers that Facebook exploited user data to maintain its market power. The company has denied the allegations from both sets of class plaintiffs.

The two law firms on Friday night submitted their pitches to Donato about why he should appoint them solely rather than jointly to lead the consumer class.

In its filing, Quinn Emanuel said partner Kevin Teruya was the "architect of the consumer class's case." Hagens Berman in its submission questioned Quinn Emanuel's rates, suggesting they were too high.

Plaintiffs' firms routinely vie for court-appointed leadership roles in class actions, allowing them to steer litigation and potentially to recover bigger portions of legal fees in cases that settle or win at trial.

A representative from Hagens Berman did not immediately comment, and a Quinn Emanuel spokesperson declined to comment.

The lawyers who are seeking to lead the consumer class  Shana Scarlett of Hagens Berman and Teruya of Quinn Emanuel  did not immediately respond to messages seeking comment.

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In court last month, Scarlett said "this case has presented a set of circumstances where I feel that my voice has not been equally heard." Teruya said at the hearing that his firm has "worked very hard to be cooperative with all counsel on the case, including female counsel."

Donato told the lawyers "it sounds like it's been more than just honest differences of opinion."

Hagens Berman is a 80-lawyer plaintiffs' firm based in Seattle, and Los Angeles-based Quinn Emanuel, with more than 900 attorneys, represents plaintiffs while also defending companies in business litigation. Hagens Berman and Quinn Emanuel have been on opposite sides in other cases.

The case is Klein v. Meta Platforms Inc, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, No. 5:20-cv-08570.

Read more:

U.S. appeals court tosses $185 million Quinn Emanuel fee award in Obamacare case

U.S. judge warns law firms in Clearview AI lawsuit over 'disarray'

In Facebook antitrust case, Quinn Emanuel feuds with rival law firm over leadership role

(Reporting by Mike Scarcella; editing by Leigh Jones)
[Source]

U.S. lawmakers are urging the Chinese government to release Mark Swidan, an American who has been jailed in China for over a decade.

On Feb. 1, Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) introduced a resolution calling for the release of Swidan, a Houston resident who has spent the last 10 years in a Chinese prison after his purported erroneous arrest in 2012. The resolution is cosponsored by Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) and U.S. Representative Michael Cloud (R, TX-27).

Swidan was 38 years old in 2012 when he went to China on a business trip to purchase construction materials. Chinese authorities arrested him on Nov. 13, 2012, over drug trafficking allegations and detained him throughout his trial. Records later revealed, however, that Swidan was not in China when the alleged crime happened.

More from NextShark: 'She was everything to me': Husband of Pasadena jogger killed by driver who ran stop sign seeks answers

Swidan was sentenced to death in 2019 and is currently awaiting the results of his appeal.

Sen. Cruz said in a press release:

Mark Swidans captivity must come to an end for himself, for his family, and for the United States. Secretary Blinkens upcoming trip to Beijing should be the final chapter in this tragedy. I am calling on the Biden administration to use all the tools at our disposal to secure his release, and on the government of China to finally release him and return him home. More from NextShark: 'She's my everything': Athlete Sun Wenjing comes out as gay on Weibo in the face of government crackdown

Swidans mother, Katherine Swidan, who has not been able to speak with him since 2018, shared that her son has lost over 100 pounds since he was detained, claiming that his health is now deteriorating.

"I was on the phone with him and I heard banging," Katherine told Fox 26. "He said, Hold on mom theres someone at the door. It was Chinese police. They said they wanted to check his phone. I was just a crazy person trying to find him."

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Katherine also accused the Chinese authorities of torturing her son to force him to confess.

More from NextShark: Irvine police arrest California dermatologist accused of poisoning husband

"Whatever they do to him, he will not ever confess to something he did not do," she added.

Katherine hoped that her son would be discussed during the planned meeting between Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang.

The meeting was postponed on Friday after a suspected Chinese spy balloon was discovered hovering within the United States' air space.

More from NextShark: Chicago Chinatown residents push for karaoke bar to close after shooting kills woman, wounds 2
The Lexington Police Department wrongly withheld some records relating to a man acquitted in a recent court case, according to a recent attorney generals opinion.

In a separate opinion also released Monday, Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Camerons office said LPD was correct to withhold a video of a driving under the influence traffic stop that did not involve the client of the person who requested the video.

In the first opinion, Joshua Powell, an investigator with the Department of Public Advocacy, requested under the states Open Records Act all documents where LPD employees discussed his client and his clients recent trial.

In its response, Lexington police said did not possess any documents relating to his client or the clients trial but said there were documents related to previous contact the department had with Powells client.

The department withheld those documents.

Under the states Open Records Act, the department must cite specific exemptions under the law on why those records can be withheld.

The department failed to provide those exemptions, the ruling found.

One exemption allows police to withhold information if a criminal prosecution is ongoing. Powells client had been acquitted and there was no pending criminal investigation, the ruling said.

The department provided the attorney generals office the documents it withheld. One of those documents involved a summary of a domestic violence incident involving Powells client.

The client wasnt charged and the department failed to prove it was part of an active investigation, the ruling found.

Lexington police were correct to withhold some records involving a suspect fleeing from a scene, the decision said.

The other category of records do appear related to a separate prospective law enforcement action regarding a vehicle fleeing the scene of an accident, the decision said. The records indicate that a decision to prosecute that crime has not yet been made.

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The department was also allowed to withhold internal communications between police agencies regarding a social media account. A decision not to prosecute had not yet been made, the attorney generals office ruled.

Officials with the Department of Public Advocacy, which represents clients who cannot afford a lawyer, were not immediately available for comment. Its not clear if DPA will appeal the attorney generals opinion on those records the office deemed were properly withheld.

DUI videos

In a separate opinion released Monday, the attorney generals office said the city had the right to withhold a video of a DUI stop which involved a witness who could have testified against Powells client.

The client is not named. Its unclear if the client is the same client involved in the other attorney general decision released Monday.

In that decision, Powell asked for police body-worn camera footage of a field sobriety test. Powells client is the not the subject of the DUI test, the ruling noted.

State law says DUI footage can only be shown or viewed for three reasons: In court, preparation by defense or prosecutors for court, or an administrative review by the police department. Police sometimes review body-worn camera footage of police officers to ensure they are following procedures or if there is a complaint about an officers conduct.

In the ruling, lawyers for the attorney generals office said preparation for court by defense and prosecutors should only be construed as lawyers that were parties to the the DUI proceeding  the clients defense attorney or the prosecutor.

The statute does not allow some other defendant in an unrelated criminal proceeding to use the video for his defense, the ruling said.

Powell said the information was sought because the person in the DUI video was someone who could testify against his client.
The faces of Chicagos City Council are changing. Around a quarter of Chicagos 50 wards will see new representation following an unusually large number of aldermanic retirements and resignations.

Why are so many heading for the exit? Most likely, further evidence of the great post-COVID rethinking of life. Being an alderman is a tough job in the best of times, and recent months it has been especially challenging. These on-the-ground positions, though, are vital to the city and the relatively small size of the electorate in each ward means that each vote profoundly matters. These races can turn on just a few hundred votes. With that in mind, the Tribune Editorial Board today kicks off its endorsements in every contested aldermanic race.

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1st Ward

The 1st Ward includes parts of Logan Square, Wicker Park, Humboldt Park and West Town. The incumbent is Daniel La Spata, who is being challenged by Sam Royko, a Chicago attorney and son of the famed late Tribune columnist Mike Royko; community activist Stephen Andy Schneider; and Proco Joe Moreno, who served as alderman here from 2010 to 2019 before losing to La Spata.

Stephen "Andy" Schneider, 1st Ward candidate, puts a campaign button on his jacket during a meet and greet at The Old Plank restaurant and bar in the Logan Square neighborhood on Feb. 2, 2023. (John J. Kim / Chicago Tribune)

Moreno has a complicated past. He was charged with insurance fraud and obstruction of justice for falsely reporting that his car was stolen. Even as that case was pending, he was separately charged with drunken and reckless driving after crashing his vehicle. Moreno pleaded guilty and received probation. We respect his statement that he has now received treatment for alcoholism, but he long has been associated with heavy handedness and old-school Chicago ways. Moreno has an endorsement from Ald. Tom Tunney. But we dont think the ward needs him back.

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Royko is a likable young lawyer with an infectious good humor, a lively mind and a famous surname. He tells us he was motivated to run for office partly as a result of suffering through a carjacking incident in the ward. We think Royko has much to contribute to the future of his city.

[ Read Tribune election coverage ]

La Spata has been prolific when it comes to crafting legislation and has many admirers and endorsers. But he ran into a serious issue last spring when hardware store owner Alan Gillman said that new protected bike lanes on his stretch of Milwaukee Avenue had removed parking and ruined his 75-year-old business. To the chagrin of some of the wards small business owners, La Spata appeared more defensive than sympathetic.

Schneider has a distinguished, decadelong record as a preservationist in Logan Square, a historic neighborhood that has benefited greatly from his work. Ive worked with five or six different aldermanic organizations, Schneider told us. Ive always worked hard to build consensus. Theres no arguing with Schneiders 15-year history fighting for Logan Square, close to half of this ward, and residents there have told us theyre impressed by his commitment, his experience and the projects for which he has chosen to fight. Schneider is endorsed.

4th Ward

The elongated 4th Ward, currently served by mayoral candidate Sophia King, is atypically diverse in terms of race and income. The eastern boundary of the ward mostly is Lake Michigan. The ward encompasses parts of Kenwood and Bronzeville, and stretches north to include North Michigan Avenue, including condo and apartment dwellers downtown.

State Rep. Lamont Robinson during a news conference outside Mercy Hospital in Chicago on Oct. 23, 2020. Robinson is running for 4th Ward alderman. (Youngrae Kim / Chicago Tribune)

A slew of candidates are vying to replace King, including Tracey Bey, who describes herself as a proactive voice for the advancement of the entire community, Prentice Butler (Kings chief of staff and a University of Chicago graduate who grew up on the South Shore); Matthew Khari Humphries, former director of the Boys and Girls Club of Chicago who has experience in Mayor Lori Lightfoots administration; Ebony Lucas, a real estate attorney; Rep. Lamont Robinson, an insurance agent who says he is the first Black LGBTQ member of the Illinois House; and Helen West, a former teacher and a retired manager from Lucent Technologies who has been running a committed campaign.

Butlers personal commitment is impressive and Lucas tells us that her background and experience in real estate will allow her to address the investment disparities in the 4th Ward. Humphries also is clearly qualified for this job, having been a 2018 Fellow of the University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policys Civic Leadership Academy and having servedChicago youths for more than 20 years in various capacities.

[ Tribune Editorial Board endorsements for the 2023 Chicago municipal election ]

But Robinson, who is backed by Gov. J.B. Pritzker and Cook County board President Toni Preckwinkle, brings the most impressive level of experience, including at the state level. He tells us he wants to come home to be better able to focus his work locally. Robinson says he understands crime is the top issue for voters in his ward, but he also says that a primary focus will be on replacing lead pipes. Constituents will benefit from his experience on the issue in Springfield.

We also like Robinsons views on property tax relief. It has to be long term property tax relief with a solid, responsible plan to pay down debts, he told us. Robinson is endorsed.

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5th Ward

An epic slate of candidates is vying to replace the retiring Leslie Hairston in the 5th Ward, covering parts of Indian Village, Hyde Park, Jackson Park, South Shore and Greater Grand Crossing. This ward will see a lot of change in coming months. Its the home of the Obama Presidential Center, a crucial venture that does not need excessive aldermanic obstruction.

The candidates include: Renita Ward, an attorney and former judicial clerk; Marlene Fisher, a community organizer and an administrator at the University of Chicago; political consultant and entrepreneur Joshua Gray; teacher Robert Palmer; Martina Tina Hone, Lightfoots former chief engagement officer; Jocelyn Hare, Policy Lab director at the University of Chicago and a previous candidate for this office; Dialika Dee Perkins, a professional boxer; Desmon Yancy, a labor and community organizer with several union endorsements; Kris Levy, a South Shore wine and spirits distributor and ward resident with a strong focus on law and order; Gabriel Piemonte, a former writer and editor for the Hyde Park Herald and a community organizer who has run for this ward before; and Wallace Goode, Jr., a former director of the Hyde Park Chamber of Commerce.

[ 2023 Chicago aldermanic candidates answer Tribune questionnaire ]

Hone justifiably points to her long public service, Levy has some solid ideas on crime and we admire Piemontes long commitment. But we were most impressed with Ward, who told us that public safety is a primary function of government. If we fail in this regard, we have failed to effectively govern.

Ward also said that we do not need deadlock and political drama. We just do not need another presentation or slideshow with cool graphics. We need elected officials who can ultimately listen to one another, work together and deliver results.

Exactly. She might be a relative newcomer but Ward is an impressive young leader and will work effectively and positively with Obama Center staffers. She is endorsed.

6th Ward

With Roderick Sawyer exiting to run for mayor, the 6th Ward (covering parts of Chatham and Englewood) has many hopefuls.

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Candidates include Sylvester Baker, a retired Cook County sheriffs sergeant; Richard Wooten, a former police officer; O. Patrick Brutus, who worked for the Illinois Department of Transportation and now is on leave from the City of Chicagos Department of Planning and Development; Barbara Ann Bunville, a police officer and therapist; Kirby Birgans, a teacher and 2022 candidate for U.S. House of Representatives; Paul Bryson Sr., Sawyers former campaign manager; William Hall, senior pastor of St. James Community Church and a community organizer; Aja Kearney, district director for state Rep. Marcus Evans; Sharon Pincham, a rehabilitation counselor; Tavares Briggs, an elementary school dean of students; and Kimberly Kim Egonmwan, an attorney and WVON radio host.

Baker and Wooten havent run much of a campaign. But most of the others offer similar positions when it comes to fighting crime, improving the CTA and promoting economic development. Hall, a mainstay of the community and admired by other faith leaders, is the best choice.

I have seen every side of this ward, Hall told us. We have to reimagine public safety in a way that includes the voices of residents, support for mental health services, and policing that is rooted in serving alongside the people in the ward. We agree. Hall is endorsed.

This editorial has been corrected to note that O. Patrick Brutus no longer works for the Illinois Department of Transportation but currently is on leave from the City of Chicagos Department of Planning and Development.

Join the discussion on Twitter @chitribopinions and on Facebook.

Submit a letter, of no more than 400 words, to the editor here or email letters@chicagotribune.com.
Owning a British passport had lulled me into a perhaps misguided sense of security - Getty

As with so many things in life, getting stopped at Passport Control was something I had assumed happened to other people. Somehow or other, owning a British passport had lulled me into a perhaps misguided sense of security and I imagined that the worst I could expect might be an infuriatingly long, post-Brexit queue when arriving or departing.

All this changed a few weeks ago, when my nine-year old daughter Georgie and I were returning from what had been a dream-come-true trip to Disneyland Paris.

Within a few hours Georgie went from spellbound at the sight of Mickey Mouse to sobbing silently at Gare du Nord station  and all thanks to a little-known rule which its all too easy to fall foul of. I share my experience in order that other parents might be forewarned and, therefore, forearmed.

On handing over our passports at the UK Border Force control booths before boarding the Eurostar, the officer looked us up and down before demanding "And what is your relationship to each other?"

"Im her mother," I replied, slightly affronted.

"And what proof do you have of this?" she snapped.

"None," I replied. "Nobody has ever asked me for any."

At this point I should explain that, though my daughters father and I have been together for 19 years, we are not married, and we chose to give our daughter her fathers surname.

Eddi and her daughter Georgie had a nasty shock when returning from a trip to Disneyland Paris

"Do you have your daughters birth certificate?" came the next question.

I shook my head. Not with me.

"You need documentation," the Border Force Officer continued. "Have you heard of child trafficking?"

"Yes," I replied, anxious and beginning to bristle at her tone.

"Section 55 of the Borders, Citizenship and Immigration Act 2009 is intended to prevent child trafficking. And I need you to show me proof of your relationship."

I repeated that I didnt have any proof and the conversation proceeded to go round in circles. Meanwhile Georgie, sensing the escalating stress of the situation, began to cry. That was when the Border Force officer explained that I should see how "my behaviour" had caused this.

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By this time I was almost shaking with anger, not only at being unable to protect my daughter, but at the prospect of being prevented from returning home, too.

Eventually, it transpired that a photo of my partners passport would be sufficient to prove his relationship to our daughter  which he duly texted to me  and finally the Border Force officer let us pass.

We made it onto the train less than two minutes before it rolled out of the station, still both feeling a little sick.

What you need to know

So what is Section 55?

According to Gov.uk, "Section 55 of the Borders, Citizenship and Immigration Act 2009  requires the UK Visas and Immigration to make arrangements to safeguard and promote the welfare of children in discharging its immigration, nationality and general customs functions." Well thats clear and specific then.

After asking the Home Office Press Office for more information, they referred me to a leaflet titled "Children Travelling to the UK" which apparently Border Force Officers "may" hand out to passengers. The leaflet explains that the Border Force also "work to protect vulnerable children and those who may potentially be trafficked". This is, of course, a necessary safeguard which serves an important function  but that doesnt mean innocent travellers cant also find themselves ensnared by it.

Who needs to be aware of Section 55?

Anyone who is travelling with a child under 18, but has a different surname to the child, can potentially be stopped at the UK Border and asked to provide proof of their relationship.

This includes more people than you might think.

According to a 2022 House of Commons Paper ("Common Law Marriage and Cohabitation"), the number of couples choosing to cohabit rather than getting married has risen by 144% over the last few years  from around 1.5 million in 1996 to around 3.6 million in 2021.

There are also obviously a whole host of other reasons why a parent or relative may have a different name to their children, from divorce and blended families to women who get married but choose not to change their surnames. Not to mention people in civil partnerships.

What documentation should you carry to avoid being detained?

The government website states that you may be required to provide copies of: A birth or adoption certificate showing your relationship with the child, divorce or marriage certificates if you are the parent but have a different surname to the child or a letter from the childs parent/s giving you authority to travel with the child.

Where can I find Home Office Guidance on Section 55?

A publication on The Home Office Press Offices website titled "Guide to Faster Travel Through the UK Border" contains a single paragraph on "Advice for families travelling with children", stating that if you are travelling with a child who has a different name you may be asked to provide proof of your relationship. "Section 55" does not appear under any searches within the site, so unless you know exactly where to look, this information is almost impossible to find.

So why is it not more widely publicised?

I telephoned the Home Office Press Office to try and find out but the Press Officer I spoke to told me Section 55 was not something he was familiar with. I explained that this was precisely my point.

When I asked the Press Office for a comment, they repeated that information about Section 55 was available on the government's website.

It is, but unless youre travelling to a country with specific visa or vaccination requirements, how many of us feel the need  or have the time  to randomly check for any unknown rules or regulations? I certainly dont. There is also, according to the Press Office, no current plan to publicise Section 55 more widely. My advice? Go armed with all the relevant documentation, and save yourself an unpleasant experience.
How far off is ALS Limited (ASX:ALQ) from its intrinsic value? Using the most recent financial data, we'll take a look at whether the stock is fairly priced by estimating the company's future cash flows and discounting them to their present value. The Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) model is the tool we will apply to do this. Don't get put off by the jargon, the math behind it is actually quite straightforward.

Companies can be valued in a lot of ways, so we would point out that a DCF is not perfect for every situation. For those who are keen learners of equity analysis, the Simply Wall St analysis model here may be something of interest to you.

Check out our latest analysis for ALS

Step By Step Through The Calculation

We're using the 2-stage growth model, which simply means we take in account two stages of company's growth. In the initial period the company may have a higher growth rate and the second stage is usually assumed to have a stable growth rate. To start off with, we need to estimate the next ten years of cash flows. Where possible we use analyst estimates, but when these aren't available we extrapolate the previous free cash flow (FCF) from the last estimate or reported value. We assume companies with shrinking free cash flow will slow their rate of shrinkage, and that companies with growing free cash flow will see their growth rate slow, over this period. We do this to reflect that growth tends to slow more in the early years than it does in later years.

A DCF is all about the idea that a dollar in the future is less valuable than a dollar today, so we need to discount the sum of these future cash flows to arrive at a present value estimate:

10-year free cash flow (FCF) estimate

2023 2024 2025 2026 2027 2028 2029 2030 2031 2032 Levered FCF (A$, Millions) AU$314.0m AU$350.0m AU$355.5m AU$361.1m AU$367.2m AU$373.7m AU$380.5m AU$387.5m AU$394.7m AU$402.2m Growth Rate Estimate Source Analyst x2 Analyst x2 Analyst x2 Est @ 1.58% Est @ 1.69% Est @ 1.76% Est @ 1.81% Est @ 1.85% Est @ 1.87% Est @ 1.89% Present Value (A$, Millions) Discounted @ 7.4% AU$292 AU$303 AU$287 AU$271 AU$257 AU$244 AU$231 AU$219 AU$208 AU$197

("Est" = FCF growth rate estimated by Simply Wall St)

Present Value of 10-year Cash Flow (PVCF) = AU$2.5b

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We now need to calculate the Terminal Value, which accounts for all the future cash flows after this ten year period. The Gordon Growth formula is used to calculate Terminal Value at a future annual growth rate equal to the 5-year average of the 10-year government bond yield of 1.9%. We discount the terminal cash flows to today's value at a cost of equity of 7.4%.

Terminal Value (TV)= FCF 2032  (1 + g)  (r  g) = AU$402m (1 + 1.9%)  (7.4% 1.9%) = AU$7.5b

Present Value of Terminal Value (PVTV)= TV / (1 + r)10= AU$7.5b ( 1 + 7.4%)10= AU$3.7b

The total value is the sum of cash flows for the next ten years plus the discounted terminal value, which results in the Total Equity Value, which in this case is AU$6.2b. The last step is to then divide the equity value by the number of shares outstanding. Compared to the current share price of AU$13.2, the company appears around fair value at the time of writing. Remember though, that this is just an approximate valuation, and like any complex formula - garbage in, garbage out.

dcf

The Assumptions

The calculation above is very dependent on two assumptions. The first is the discount rate and the other is the cash flows. You don't have to agree with these inputs, I recommend redoing the calculations yourself and playing with them. The DCF also does not consider the possible cyclicality of an industry, or a company's future capital requirements, so it does not give a full picture of a company's potential performance. Given that we are looking at ALS as potential shareholders, the cost of equity is used as the discount rate, rather than the cost of capital (or weighted average cost of capital, WACC) which accounts for debt. In this calculation we've used 7.4%, which is based on a levered beta of 0.921. Beta is a measure of a stock's volatility, compared to the market as a whole. We get our beta from the industry average beta of globally comparable companies, with an imposed limit between 0.8 and 2.0, which is a reasonable range for a stable business.

SWOT Analysis for ALS

Strength

Earnings growth over the past year exceeded the industry.

Debt is well covered by earnings and cashflows.

Dividends are covered by earnings and cash flows.

Weakness

Dividend is low compared to the top 25% of dividend payers in the Professional Services market.

Opportunity

Annual earnings are forecast to grow for the next 3 years.

Good value based on P/E ratio compared to estimated Fair P/E ratio.

Threat

Annual earnings are forecast to grow slower than the Australian market.

Next Steps:

Whilst important, the DCF calculation ideally won't be the sole piece of analysis you scrutinize for a company. DCF models are not the be-all and end-all of investment valuation. Preferably you'd apply different cases and assumptions and see how they would impact the company's valuation. For instance, if the terminal value growth rate is adjusted slightly, it can dramatically alter the overall result. For ALS, we've put together three relevant factors you should consider:

Risks: As an example, we've found 2 warning signs for ALS that you need to consider before investing here. Future Earnings: How does ALQ's growth rate compare to its peers and the wider market? Dig deeper into the analyst consensus number for the upcoming years by interacting with our free analyst growth expectation chart. Other Solid Businesses: Low debt, high returns on equity and good past performance are fundamental to a strong business. Why not explore our interactive list of stocks with solid business fundamentals to see if there are other companies you may not have considered!

PS. The Simply Wall St app conducts a discounted cash flow valuation for every stock on the ASX every day. If you want to find the calculation for other stocks just search here.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.



This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.

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Today we'll do a simple run through of a valuation method used to estimate the attractiveness of Magni-Tech Industries Berhad (KLSE:MAGNI) as an investment opportunity by estimating the company's future cash flows and discounting them to their present value. The Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) model is the tool we will apply to do this. Believe it or not, it's not too difficult to follow, as you'll see from our example!

Companies can be valued in a lot of ways, so we would point out that a DCF is not perfect for every situation. Anyone interested in learning a bit more about intrinsic value should have a read of the Simply Wall St analysis model.

Check out our latest analysis for Magni-Tech Industries Berhad

Step By Step Through The Calculation

We are going to use a two-stage DCF model, which, as the name states, takes into account two stages of growth. The first stage is generally a higher growth period which levels off heading towards the terminal value, captured in the second 'steady growth' period. In the first stage we need to estimate the cash flows to the business over the next ten years. Seeing as no analyst estimates of free cash flow are available to us, we have extrapolate the previous free cash flow (FCF) from the company's last reported value. We assume companies with shrinking free cash flow will slow their rate of shrinkage, and that companies with growing free cash flow will see their growth rate slow, over this period. We do this to reflect that growth tends to slow more in the early years than it does in later years.

Generally we assume that a dollar today is more valuable than a dollar in the future, so we need to discount the sum of these future cash flows to arrive at a present value estimate:

10-year free cash flow (FCF) forecast

2023 2024 2025 2026 2027 2028 2029 2030 2031 2032 Levered FCF (MYR, Millions) RM80.4m RM78.3m RM77.7m RM78.1m RM79.2m RM80.8m RM82.9m RM85.2m RM87.8m RM90.6m Growth Rate Estimate Source Est @ -5.31% Est @ -2.64% Est @ -0.78% Est @ 0.53% Est @ 1.44% Est @ 2.08% Est @ 2.53% Est @ 2.84% Est @ 3.06% Est @ 3.21% Present Value (MYR, Millions) Discounted @ 12% RM71.7 RM62.3 RM55.1 RM49.4 RM44.7 RM40.7 RM37.2 RM34.2 RM31.4 RM28.9

("Est" = FCF growth rate estimated by Simply Wall St)

Present Value of 10-year Cash Flow (PVCF) = RM456m

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After calculating the present value of future cash flows in the initial 10-year period, we need to calculate the Terminal Value, which accounts for all future cash flows beyond the first stage. The Gordon Growth formula is used to calculate Terminal Value at a future annual growth rate equal to the 5-year average of the 10-year government bond yield of 3.6%. We discount the terminal cash flows to today's value at a cost of equity of 12%.

Terminal Value (TV)= FCF 2032  (1 + g)  (r  g) = RM91m (1 + 3.6%)  (12% 3.6%) = RM1.1b

Present Value of Terminal Value (PVTV)= TV / (1 + r)10= RM1.1b ( 1 + 12%)10= RM351m

The total value, or equity value, is then the sum of the present value of the future cash flows, which in this case is RM806m. To get the intrinsic value per share, we divide this by the total number of shares outstanding. Relative to the current share price of RM1.9, the company appears around fair value at the time of writing. Valuations are imprecise instruments though, rather like a telescope - move a few degrees and end up in a different galaxy. Do keep this in mind.

dcf

Important Assumptions

We would point out that the most important inputs to a discounted cash flow are the discount rate and of course the actual cash flows. You don't have to agree with these inputs, I recommend redoing the calculations yourself and playing with them. The DCF also does not consider the possible cyclicality of an industry, or a company's future capital requirements, so it does not give a full picture of a company's potential performance. Given that we are looking at Magni-Tech Industries Berhad as potential shareholders, the cost of equity is used as the discount rate, rather than the cost of capital (or weighted average cost of capital, WACC) which accounts for debt. In this calculation we've used 12%, which is based on a levered beta of 1.066. Beta is a measure of a stock's volatility, compared to the market as a whole. We get our beta from the industry average beta of globally comparable companies, with an imposed limit between 0.8 and 2.0, which is a reasonable range for a stable business.

SWOT Analysis for Magni-Tech Industries Berhad

Strength

Currently debt free.

Dividends are covered by earnings and cash flows.

Dividend is in the top 25% of dividend payers in the market.

Weakness

Earnings declined over the past year.

Opportunity

Annual revenue is forecast to grow faster than the Malaysian market.

Good value based on P/E ratio compared to estimated Fair P/E ratio.

Threat

No apparent threats visible for MAGNI.

Next Steps:

Valuation is only one side of the coin in terms of building your investment thesis, and it is only one of many factors that you need to assess for a company. The DCF model is not a perfect stock valuation tool. Rather it should be seen as a guide to "what assumptions need to be true for this stock to be under/overvalued?" For example, changes in the company's cost of equity or the risk free rate can significantly impact the valuation. For Magni-Tech Industries Berhad, we've compiled three additional aspects you should look at:

Risks: As an example, we've found 1 warning sign for Magni-Tech Industries Berhad that you need to consider before investing here. Future Earnings: How does MAGNI's growth rate compare to its peers and the wider market? Dig deeper into the analyst consensus number for the upcoming years by interacting with our free analyst growth expectation chart. Other High Quality Alternatives: Do you like a good all-rounder? Explore our interactive list of high quality stocks to get an idea of what else is out there you may be missing!

PS. Simply Wall St updates its DCF calculation for every Malaysian stock every day, so if you want to find the intrinsic value of any other stock just search here.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.



This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.

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Youll receive a US$30 Amazon Gift card for 1 hour of your time while helping us build better investing tools for the individual investors like yourself. Sign up here
In this article we are going to estimate the intrinsic value of PT Resources Holdings Berhad (KLSE:PTRB) by projecting its future cash flows and then discounting them to today's value. We will use the Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) model on this occasion. There's really not all that much to it, even though it might appear quite complex.

We would caution that there are many ways of valuing a company and, like the DCF, each technique has advantages and disadvantages in certain scenarios. If you still have some burning questions about this type of valuation, take a look at the Simply Wall St analysis model.

Check out our latest analysis for Resources Holdings Berhad

Step By Step Through The Calculation

We use what is known as a 2-stage model, which simply means we have two different periods of growth rates for the company's cash flows. Generally the first stage is higher growth, and the second stage is a lower growth phase. To start off with, we need to estimate the next ten years of cash flows. Seeing as no analyst estimates of free cash flow are available to us, we have extrapolate the previous free cash flow (FCF) from the company's last reported value. We assume companies with shrinking free cash flow will slow their rate of shrinkage, and that companies with growing free cash flow will see their growth rate slow, over this period. We do this to reflect that growth tends to slow more in the early years than it does in later years.

Generally we assume that a dollar today is more valuable than a dollar in the future, so we discount the value of these future cash flows to their estimated value in today's dollars:

10-year free cash flow (FCF) estimate

2023 2024 2025 2026 2027 2028 2029 2030 2031 2032 Levered FCF (MYR, Millions) RM20.2m RM20.1m RM20.2m RM20.5m RM21.0m RM21.5m RM22.2m RM22.8m RM23.6m RM24.4m Growth Rate Estimate Source Est @ -2.19% Est @ -0.46% Est @ 0.75% Est @ 1.60% Est @ 2.19% Est @ 2.60% Est @ 2.89% Est @ 3.10% Est @ 3.24% Est @ 3.34% Present Value (MYR, Millions) Discounted @ 10.0% RM18.3 RM16.6 RM15.2 RM14.0 RM13.0 RM12.2 RM11.4 RM10.7 RM10.0 RM9.4

("Est" = FCF growth rate estimated by Simply Wall St)

Present Value of 10-year Cash Flow (PVCF) = RM131m

Story continues

We now need to calculate the Terminal Value, which accounts for all the future cash flows after this ten year period. For a number of reasons a very conservative growth rate is used that cannot exceed that of a country's GDP growth. In this case we have used the 5-year average of the 10-year government bond yield (3.6%) to estimate future growth. In the same way as with the 10-year 'growth' period, we discount future cash flows to today's value, using a cost of equity of 10.0%.

Terminal Value (TV)= FCF 2032  (1 + g)  (r  g) = RM24m (1 + 3.6%)  (10.0% 3.6%) = RM394m

Present Value of Terminal Value (PVTV)= TV / (1 + r)10= RM394m ( 1 + 10.0%)10= RM152m

The total value is the sum of cash flows for the next ten years plus the discounted terminal value, which results in the Total Equity Value, which in this case is RM283m. To get the intrinsic value per share, we divide this by the total number of shares outstanding. Relative to the current share price of RM0.6, the company appears around fair value at the time of writing. Valuations are imprecise instruments though, rather like a telescope - move a few degrees and end up in a different galaxy. Do keep this in mind.

dcf

The Assumptions

The calculation above is very dependent on two assumptions. The first is the discount rate and the other is the cash flows. If you don't agree with these result, have a go at the calculation yourself and play with the assumptions. The DCF also does not consider the possible cyclicality of an industry, or a company's future capital requirements, so it does not give a full picture of a company's potential performance. Given that we are looking at Resources Holdings Berhad as potential shareholders, the cost of equity is used as the discount rate, rather than the cost of capital (or weighted average cost of capital, WACC) which accounts for debt. In this calculation we've used 10.0%, which is based on a levered beta of 0.800. Beta is a measure of a stock's volatility, compared to the market as a whole. We get our beta from the industry average beta of globally comparable companies, with an imposed limit between 0.8 and 2.0, which is a reasonable range for a stable business.

SWOT Analysis for Resources Holdings Berhad

Strength

Earnings growth over the past year exceeded its 5-year average.

Debt is not viewed as a risk.

Weakness

Earnings growth over the past year underperformed the Food industry.

Current share price is above our estimate of fair value.

Opportunity

Annual revenue is forecast to grow faster than the Malaysian market.

Threat

Annual earnings are forecast to grow slower than the Malaysian market.

Looking Ahead:

Although the valuation of a company is important, it ideally won't be the sole piece of analysis you scrutinize for a company. It's not possible to obtain a foolproof valuation with a DCF model. Rather it should be seen as a guide to "what assumptions need to be true for this stock to be under/overvalued?" If a company grows at a different rate, or if its cost of equity or risk free rate changes sharply, the output can look very different. For Resources Holdings Berhad, we've put together three additional items you should further examine:

Risks: Case in point, we've spotted 2 warning signs for Resources Holdings Berhad you should be aware of. Future Earnings: How does PTRB's growth rate compare to its peers and the wider market? Dig deeper into the analyst consensus number for the upcoming years by interacting with our free analyst growth expectation chart. Other Solid Businesses: Low debt, high returns on equity and good past performance are fundamental to a strong business. Why not explore our interactive list of stocks with solid business fundamentals to see if there are other companies you may not have considered!

PS. The Simply Wall St app conducts a discounted cash flow valuation for every stock on the KLSE every day. If you want to find the calculation for other stocks just search here.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.



This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.

Join A Paid User Research Session

Youll receive a US$30 Amazon Gift card for 1 hour of your time while helping us build better investing tools for the individual investors like yourself. Sign up here
U.S. troops on a NATO mission in Orzysz, Poland in April 2017. Associated Press

NATO leaders have been worried by the heavy casualties and massive ammunition usage in Ukraine.

"The scale of this war is out of proportion with all of our recent thinking," NATO's top general said in January.

The heavy casualties and massive ammunition consumption seen during the war in Ukraine has top NATO commanders worried.

NATO was created in 1949 to stop a massive Soviet invasion of Western Europe, and it has added new members since the end of the Cold War, but many of its militaries shrank in the decades after the Soviet threat disappeared. Now the scale and intensity of the fighting in Ukraine has raised questions about the alliance's ability to fight a big-unit war against Russia.

"Scale, scale, scale," US Army Gen. Christopher Cavoli, NATO's Supreme Allied Commander Europe, told a Swedish defense conference in January. "The magnitude of this war is incredible. The Ukrainians have 37 frontline brigades, plus dozens more territorial brigades. The Russians have lost almost 2,000 tanks. If we average out since the beginning of the war, the slow days and fast days, the Russians have expended on average well over 20,000 artillery rounds per day."

"The scale of this war is out of proportion with all of our recent thinking," said Cavoli, who is also head of US European Command. "But it is real and we must contend with it."

A Ukrainian artillery unit fires toward Russian positions on the outskirts of Bakhmut on December 30, 2022. SAMEER AL-DOUMY/AFP via Getty Images

One lesson is the importance of an adequate defense industrial base capable of providing the necessary equipment and supplies to satisfy the voracious appetite of large-scale, high-intensity warfare. The US, Russia, and Europe are already scrambling to ramp up production of artillery shells after letting their munitions stockpiles and factories run down after the Cold War.

"Production capacity remains vital, absolutely vital," Cavoli said. "A healthy and elastic defense industrial base is just as important" as the number of troops.

Cavoli also took aim at the belief  until recently touted by Germany and other countries  that soft power has become a substitute for military power.

Story continues

"Hard power is a reality," Cavoli said, adding that diplomacy, cyber-warfare, and economic strength are important, "but the great irreducible feature of warfare is hard power, and we have to be good at it."

"If the other guy shows up with a tank, you better have a tank," Cavoli said.

Interestingly, Cavoli pointed to Ukraine's surprising battlefield successes as evidence that "precision can beat mass." But there's a catch: It takes time for quality to beat quantity, and "that time is usually bought with space. To use this method, we need space to trade for time. Not all of us have that, and we have to compensate for this in our thinking, our planning."

For Russia's smaller neighbors that lack strategic depth  such as the Baltic States  that's an admission that NATO may not have time to come to their rescue should Russia invade.

Polish soldiers at the end of an exercise with US and British troops in eastern Poland in September 2022. Artur Widak/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

As for NATO, the alliance never did fight the war it dreaded against the Soviet Union. But after the Cold War ended, the NATO did engage in several military operations.

NATO aircraft conducted bombing operations in Serbia in 1999 and Libya in 2011. The alliance also sent troops on peacekeeping missions in Bosnia and Kosovo and to fought alongside US forces in Afghanistan.

But these were small operations involving limited numbers of troops, aircraft, and munitions. Even then, it became clear that NATO  which has expanded from 12 founding members to 30 members today  was dependent on US support. In Libya, for example, NATO air forces ran short of precision-guided bombs after the first month.

That Moscow is buying artillery shells from North Korea suggests that Russia's military is no shape to fight NATO and Ukraine. However, NATO's frantic attempts to scrounge up weapons and ammunition for Ukraine shows the alliance doesn't have much depth to its arsenals.

The US is probably the best prepared for a long war, and even then, America's defense industry will need years to ramp up production of artillery shells. Big war is something that no one wants, but Ukraine is a reminder that it is a possibility that cannot be ignored.

Michael Peck is a defense writer whose work has appeared in Forbes, Defense News, Foreign Policy magazine, and other publications. He holds a master's in political science. Follow him on Twitter and LinkedIn.

Read the original article on Business Insider
Several people in Dunwoody and Sandy Springs have reported anti-semitic flyers they said were left in their neighborhoods.

Dunwoody mayor Lynn Deutsch told Channel 2s Veronica Griffin that police are checking security cameras to try and identify who is behind them.

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

Channel 2 Action News learned this the story has an even wider reach after receiving an email of one of the same flyers from a viewer in Cartersville.

We noticed something shiny almost like piece of paper that had fallen out of the mailbox, said Greer Mendel.

That something shiny was actually a plastic sandwich bag filled with numbing anti-Semitic messages.

TRENDING STORIES:

The fact that the anti-Semitic propaganda is making its way around is really disturbing, she said.

Mendel lives just blocks from the Jewish community center she attends with her family.

I assure the community that the city doesnt tolerate hate, Dunwoody Mayor Lynn Deutsch said.

Deutsch believes the flyers came from outside of the community.

I really believe that love conquers hate and that community that we come together and stand with each other, and that hate has no place, she said.

[SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter]

IN OTHER NEWS:
Maddie Abuyuan / BuzzFeed News; Johnny Nunez / Getty Images

Of my several hobbies (yoga, painting, reading classic American novels and leaving two-star reviews on Goodreads just to feel alive), perhaps my favorite is trying to find the most miserable person at an awards show . For famous people, awards shows arent just parties; theyre also industry events that require attendees to perform civility and fun. Periodically, their masks slip  the camera catches them looking sour in the front row at the Dolby Theatre , and the gig is up. Its the equivalent of going to your friends wedding with your new boyfriend, but somehow the two of you are caught hissing at each other in every single photo.

Last night at the Grammys, the one where Beyonce won but also somehow lost , we met that couple. Nestled together at a table in front of a charcuterie board with too many grapes was The Couple You Just Wish Would Call It Already: Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck. A particular clip of the two has been circulating overnight: In it, Affleck whispers in his wifes ear, looking bored, and she responds by whipping around to look at him, gently patting his chest with the back of her hand, seemingly scolding him. It could certainly be innocuous  Ive certainly had more aggressive fights with the DHL guy  but it also looked like a woman trying to get her husband to just keep his shit together for three hours on a Sunday night. When Lopez notices the cameras on her, she stiffens slightly before plastering on a big smile.

This footage has only fed gleeful speculation that Ben and Jens marriage is like so many other marriages in the United States: a union between two people who kind of resent each other but have sunk too deep into the fantasy of their relationship. This is hardly the first time the two of them have looked like theyre being held hostage while at public events. TikTok users have been trying to read their lips in clips of the couple at the premiere of Lopezs latest movie, Shotgun Wedding. Is Affleck, as the internet surmises, trying to convince her that he hadnt been drinking, while J.Lo sips from a drink that some people think belonged to Ben? Who knows what the truth actually is? Not us, but we sure do love to think about it a lot.

What is clear is that these two suckers have created a relationship public enough that we can all theorize about any possible cracks. Boy, did they really lay it on thick when Bennifer 2.0 first launched: Their marriage was decades in the making ! There were photos of them making out on the street and an abjectly weird marketing tie-in to a coffee chain ! They were doing it all, loudly, for the rest of us to see. But based on the stern tiff they seemed to briefly have at the Grammys last night, the romance of the idea of a wedding has settled into the reality of marriage.

For those who have been tracing Afflecks blank, dejected facial expressions for years (me), this development is a little familiar. The way he looks at this woman named Jennifer who is his wife is markedly similar to the way he looked at the first Jennifer who became his wife. Affleck and Jennifer Garner were often seen in public together looking sour and miserable until they split up in 2015. Now, Affleck is going to the Grammys as if by gunpoint, and Garner is tenderly caressing Rita Moreno. (Good for her.)

But theres a difference in visibility. Garner and Afflecks misery played out via fights in cars or on the side of the road, places where they thought they were unseen. Lopez is a far more public person. Their interactions unfold at camera-ridden events, launches, and parties, putting Afflecks apparent moodiness on blast. Watching him at the Grammys was like watching the most dynamic woman you know have a great time at a party while her drag of a boyfriend tugs on the back of her dress at 10:28 p.m. and whisper-yells, Can we GO yet? This isnt to argue that Lopez is in the right, but these glimpses of their dynamic make me want to grab Affleck by the lapels and say, Sit up! Shes at a work event and she needs you to behave yourself! If you didnt want to come, then just stay home next time, Christ!

J.Fleck has steadily become my Zodiac killer, my Pepe Silvia. It is a mystery I have to solve. Nightly, I pore over video footage of the two of them like Im going to solve the Kennedy assassination. My motives are not entirely pure  a year ago, I accepted defeat in my own marriage and had to listen to all my friends tell me that, for years, they saw it coming. They had seen us argue at their weddings and birthdays, and heard about the brittle little texts we sent each other when we bought the wrong yogurt. (Greek yogurt? With Indian food??? Please.)

For this A-list couple, the patina of a new relationship seems to have worn off, and its easy to project that the actuality of the relationship has dawned on them. Certainly, there is some perverse schadenfreude in watching two people who were once so aggressively and publicly in love struggle to swim through the shit of a promise intended to last forever.

Im not rooting for their failure; weve all argued with our partner in public. I still take hawkish pleasure in surveilling every new interaction, any small sign of change in their relationship. If theres ever evidence of a true rupture, I will sympathize from a healthy distance. Take it from me: There is real pleasure in finally admitting that your relationship has stalled and that your efforts are futile! Theres also comfort in knowing that, even in marriage, true hell is just other people. 

More on this
By Mert Ozkan and Kinda Makieh

KAHRAMANMARAS, Turkey/DAMASCUS (Reuters) - A huge earthquake killed more than 3,700 people across a swathe of Turkey and northwest Syria on Monday, with freezing winter weather adding to the plight of the thousands left injured or homeless and hampering efforts to find survivors.

The magnitude 7.8 quake brought down whole apartment blocks in Turkish cities and piled more devastation on millions of Syrians displaced by years of war.

It struck before sunrise in harsh weather and was followed in the early afternoon by another large quake.

In Diyarbakir in southeast Turkey, a woman speaking next to the wreckage of the seven-storey block where she lived said: "We were shaken like a cradle. There were nine of us at home. Two sons of mine are still in the rubble, I'm waiting for them."

She was nursing a broken arm and had injuries to her face.

"It was like the apocalypse," said Abdul Salam al-Mahmoud, a Syrian in the northern town of Atareb. "It's bitterly cold and there's heavy rain, and people need saving."

The earthquake was the biggest recorded worldwide by the U.S. Geological Survey since a tremor in the remote South Atlantic in August 2021.

In Turkey, the death toll stood at 2,316, the Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD) said, making it the country's deadliest earthquake since a tremor of similar magnitude in 1999 devastated the heavily populated eastern Marmara Sea region near Istanbul, killing more than 17,000.

GRAPHIC : Strong earthquake hits Turkey - https://www.reuters.com/graphics/TURKEY-QUAKE/znpnbklxjpl/graphic.jpg

At least 1,444 people were killed in Syria in Monday's quake and about 3,500 injured, according to figures from the Damascus government and rescue workers in the northwestern region controlled by insurgents.

Poor internet connections and damaged roads between some of the worst-hit cities in Turkey's south, homes to millions of people, hindered efforts to assess and address the impact.

Story continues

Temperatures in some areas were expected to fall to near freezing overnight, worsening conditions for people trapped under rubble or left homeless. Rain fell on Monday after snowstorms swept the country at the weekend.

More than 13,000 people were injured in Turkey from the quake.

In the Turkish city of Iskenderun, rescuers climbed an enormous pile of debris that was once part of a state hospital's intensive care unit in search of survivors. Health workers did what they could to tend to the new rush of injured patients.

"We have a patient who was taken into surgery but we don't know what happened," said Tulin, a woman in her 30s, standing outside the hospital, wiping away tears and praying.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan, preparing for a tough election in May, called the quake a historic disaster and the worst earthquake to hit the country since 1939, but said authorities were doing all they could.

"Everyone is putting their heart and soul into efforts although the winter season, cold weather and the earthquake happening during the night makes things more difficult," he said.

The second quake was big enough to bring down more buildings and, like the first, was felt across the region, endangering rescuers struggling to pull casualties from the rubble.

In Syria, already wrecked by more than 11 years of civil war, the health ministry said 711 people had been killed. In the Syrian rebel-held northwest emergency workers said 733 people had died.

The United Nations says 4.1 million people, many of them displaced by the conflict and living in camps, depend already on cross-border humanitarian aid in northwest Syria and international support efforts are stretched and underfunded.

"Syrian communities are simultaneously hit with an ongoing cholera outbreak and harsh winter events including heavy rain and snow over the weekend," U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters in New York.

In the government-controlled city of Aleppo, footage on Twitter showed two neighbouring buildings collapsing one after the other, filling streets with billowing dust.

Two residents of the city, which has been heavily damaged in the war, said the buildings had fallen in the hours after the quake, which was felt as far away as Cyprus and Lebanon.

In the Syrian government-held city of Hama, a Reuters journalist saw an apparently lifeless child carried from the ruins of a building.

'NO ONE CAME OUT'

In the rebel-held town of Jandaris in Aleppo province, a mound of concrete, steel rods and bundles of clothes lay where a multi-storey building once stood.

"There were 12 families under there. Not a single one came out. Not one," said a thin young man, his eyes wide open in shock and his hand bandaged.

Raed al-Saleh of the Syrian White Helmets, a rescue service in rebel-held territory known for pulling people from the ruins of buildings destroyed by air strikes, said they were in "a race against time to save the lives of those under the rubble".

Syrian state television showed rescue teams searching for survivors in heavy rain and sleet. President Bashar al-Assad held an emergency cabinet meeting to review the damage and discuss next steps, his office said.

In the Turkish city of Diyarbakir, Reuters journalists saw dozens of rescue workers searching through a mound of debris, all that was left of a big building, and hauling off bits of wreckage as they looked for survivors. Occasionally they raised their hands and called for quiet, listening for sounds of life.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke by phone with Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu on Monday about the earthquake, State Department spokesperson Ned Price said.

He made the call "in the first instance to offer condolences and to make clear...that anything Turkey needed that we could provide, they should pick up the phone and let us know, Price said. Erdogan said 45 countries had offered to help the search and rescue efforts in Turkey.

The earthquake also halted operations at Turkey's oil export hub in Ceyhan and stopped crude flows from Iraq and Azerbaijan.

Turkey's lira hit a record low of 18.85 in early trade and the country's stocks tumbled around 5%, although both pared losses later with the currency ending the day flat and equity indexes closing 1.3%-2.2% lower.

In the Turkish city of Malatya, a rescue worker crawled into a collapsed building, trying to identify a survivor trapped under the wreckage, in footage released by emergency agency AFAD.

"What colour are you wearing? Are you wearing pink? Please take care of yourself for the moment, I cannot see anything else," the rescue worker could be heard saying.

(Additional reporting by Ece Toksabay and Huseyin Hayatsever in Iskenderun, Turkey, Umit Ozdal in Diyarbakir, Ezgi Erkoyun, Jonathan Spicer and Daren Butler in Istanbul, Nevzat Devranoglu in Ankara, Maya Gebeily in Beirut, Suleiman al-Khalidi in Amman, Michelle Nichols in New York and Simon Lewis in Washington; Writing by Tom Perry, Dominic Evans and Alistair Bell; Editing by Angus MacSwan, Hugh Lawson and Howard Goller)
A mariachi band provides musical accompaniment as Margarita Quinones Pena, right, leads a group yoga class at Self-Help Federal Credit Union in the Little Village neighborhood on Jan. 28, 2023. (John J. Kim / Chicago Tribune)

Yoga was not something Teodora Patron thought shed ever try, let alone ever like. The idea of yoga, she said, seemed foreign, almost like a luxury. In Little Village, there are no yoga studios, and in her more than 30 years living in the area, there have been few or no programs to enrich and foster a healthy lifestyle.

On Jan. 28, Patron, who likes to go by Lola, tried yoga for the first time at a free community event that took place in a spare room at the Self-Help Federal Credit Union near 26th Street and Pulaski Road. At first, she was nervous, looking around to make sure her positions mirrored the instructors. Her daughter and a few neighbors joined the class, which was greeted by a mariachi band.

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Lola smiled during class. She was glad to experience something new so close to home.

Here, we older adults need (the classes) to de-stress for even a little while, she said in Spanish.

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The instructor, Margarita Quinones Pena, who was raised in Little Village, knew that. And its the reason why she looked for a way to offer yoga classes in the neighborhood. She wanted to provide an activity and a space for the immigrant community, which often has been stigmatized by its crime and underserved in mental health resources, she said.

George Salazar, top right, stretches during a yoga class at Self-Help Federal Credit Union in Chicago's Little Village neighborhood on Jan. 28, 2023. The class, sponsored by Urban Warriors, a youth safety and violence prevention organization, plans to hold yoga sessions every other weekend at the location. (John J. Kim / Chicago Tribune)

Thanks to Urban Warriors, a nonprofit that focuses on youth safety and violence prevention, Quinones Pena will teach a free bilingual yoga class at 12:30 p.m. every other weekend at the credit union as part of the organizations mission to provide the community with free mental health resources.

Now members of the community will have access to the meditative and physical aspects of yoga as well as spiritual, personal and emotional growth through the practice, said Quinones Pena.

The class will be first come, first served, and mats and other equipment will be provided.

For Lola, the news came as a pleasant surprise. Before the pandemic, she used to spend some of her free time doing Zumba classes, but most of the activities were closed off during the COVID-19 shutdown. During this class, she learned that yoga not only made her feel relaxed, it helped her reflect and meditate.

I hope others in the neighborhood also try it, she said. It can benefit them all.

Lola attended the class with her daughter Nancy Patron, 27. The two set their mats side by side and tried yoga for the first time.

Margarita Quinones Pena, center, leads a yoga class at Self-Help Federal Credit Union in the Little Village neighborhood on Jan. 28, 2023. (John J. Kim / Chicago Tribune)

Like Quinones Pena, Nancy Patron was also raised in the neighborhood and though she loves its culture, she had few opportunities while growing up to attend extracurriculars, leisure activities or developmental programs because there was nothing available in the area, she said.

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We always kept to ourselves and I just went from school to home every day, she said. The new program gives her hope that the neighborhood is changing for the better and now her three children, whom shes raising in the area, can have access to experiences and opportunities she did not have.

The mother and daughter duo is the epitome of the strong family and cultural ties in the neighborhood and an example of why the area deserves investment to enrich their lives and promote mental health, Quinones Pena said.

Quinones Pena is an engineer by profession and a yoga instructor at CorePower Yoga, one of the largest chains of yoga studios in the country. She wants to ensure that other youths  particularly those in the immigrant community  have access to her classes.

It makes her proud yet emotional to see her immigrant family, friends and neighbors attend an activity that they once deemed too distant or exclusive. Quinones Pena said she is grateful to have aligned with Urban Warriors to ensure that the classes are free and accessible for all.

She initially offered classes at Cook County Jail and also provided a class for students at Little Village Lawndale High School. She realized that outside of jail and school, the classes were not accessible.

Participants conclude a yoga session at Self-Help Federal Credit Union in the Little Village neighborhood on Jan. 28, 2023. (John J. Kim / Chicago Tribune)

Were doing this for them and to ensure that the children of Little Village have a different experience growing up here, Quinones Pena said. And being able to give back and bring it back to my community is an honor. We want this to be for us and by us.

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Ernesto Gonzalez, a co-founder of Urban Warriors, said one of its goals is to enrich the lives of Little Village residents and promote mental and physical health in Spanish and English. Yoga is just one of the programs it is implementing this year, Gonzalez said. He emphasized that the classes are bilingual, making sure that they cater to the older generation of Latinos in the area.

People are eager to attend these types of events; we just dont have enough, Gonzalez said.

Lola and her daughter said they have their yoga mats ready to attend the next class.

larodriguez@chicagotribune.com
A majority of adults in the United States support policies that prohibit the sale of menthol cigarettes and all tobacco products according to a new study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The CDC survey, published Thursday in the peer-reviewed electronic journal, Preventing Chronic Disease, assessed support for commercial tobacco retail policies among 6,455 U.S. adults. Overall, about 57% of adults supported a policy prohibiting the sale of all tobacco products and about 62% supported a policy prohibiting the sale of menthol cigarettes.

"A majority of adults supported tobacco retail policies aimed at preventing initiation, promoting quitting, and reducing tobacco-related disparities," the study said. "These findings can help inform federal, state, and local efforts to prohibit the sale of tobacco products, including menthol cigarettes."

Policy support varied by demographic groups and current tobacco product use, according to the study.

CDC researchers found that there was widespread support for a policy to prohibit menthol cigarette sales across all demographic groups. Support for bans on tobacco sales was only lower among current tobacco product users, according to the study.

VAPING PRODUCTS REJECTED: FDA rejects menthol flavored e-cigarettes in latest vaping knock-down, cites harm to youth

Marketing behind tobacco products

Commercial tobacco products, including products with menthol, are disproportionately marketed and advertised to youth, those who identify as LGBTQ+, and racial and ethnic minorities, according to the study.

Our findings are generally consistent with previous research showing support for menthol cigarette sales prohibitions, including among population groups historically targeted by unjust marketing practices and with a high prevalence of menthol cigarette use (eg, non-Hispanic Black adults), the study reads.

The survey was conducted in 2021 before the Food and Drug Administration proposed a ban on menthol cigarettes and flavored cigars in 2022. In its announcement on the proposed ban, the FDA said rules prohibiting tobacco products would prevent youth from becoming the next generation of smokers and significantly reduce tobacco-related health disparities.

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'EXTRAORDINARILY TROUBLING': 1 in 6 high school students vape, smoke or use tobacco, study finds

Packs of menthol cigarettes are pictured in New York City.

Legislation on tobacco products

Although the FDA is still considering its proposal, some states have already enacted bans or restrictions on tobacco product sales.

According to the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, Massachusetts became the first state to restrict the sale of all flavored tobacco products, including menthol cigarettes, in 2019. The next year, New Jersey, New York and Rhode Island banned the sale of flavored e-cigarettes.

California voters in 2022 passed a ballot measure that prohibits the sale of flavored and menthol tobacco products at retail locations and vending machines.

While cigarette smoking in the U.S. has declined since 2005, the CDC said about 30.8 million adults currently smoke cigarettes and more than 16 million Americans live with a smoking-related disease.

Cigarette smoking remains the leading cause of preventable disease, disability, and death in the U.S., according to the CDC. More than 480,000 deaths every year, or about 1 in 5 deaths, are caused by cigarette smoking.

VAPING PRODUCTS REJECTED: FDA rejects menthol flavored e-cigarettes in latest vaping knock-down, cites harm to youth

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Most US adults support a ban on the sale of all tobacco products: CDC
BAMAKO, Mali (AP)  Mali's government has ordered the U.N. peacekeeping mission's human rights chief to leave the country by Tuesday, declaring him persona non grata in the latest sign of tensions between Mali's leaders and the international community.

A government statement Sunday criticized Guillaume Ngefa-Atondoko Andali for choosing someone who represented Malian civil society at a U.N. Security Council briefing. The communique accused the human rights director of "destabilizing and subversive actions.

The U.N. peacekeeping mission known as MINUSMA said in a statement Monday that it deeply regrets this decision.

MINUSMA reaffirms its commitment to continue to work impartially to implement its mandate to promote and protect human rights, which is an important component of Malis stabilization efforts, the statement said.

Mali's government has taken issue in particular with the choice of Aminata Dicko to appear at the U.N. hearing late last month. Dicko, the vice president of a human rights NGO called Kisal, denounced alleged killings by the Malian army and the shadowy Russian military contractor the Wagner Group.

Andali's expulsion announced Sunday comes as Mali's government faces growing questions about its human rights record and its relationship with the Wagner mercenaries.

Last week independent human rights experts working with the U.N. called for an investigation of possible abuses, war crimes, and crimes against humanity committed by Mali's government forces and Wagner mercenaries.

We are particularly worried by credible reports that over the course of several days in late March 2022, Malian armed forces accompanied by military personnel believed to belong to the Wagner Group, executed several hundred people, who had been rounded up in Moura, a village in central Mali, the experts said in a statement.

Mali has been battling an Islamic insurgency since 2012 and has seen its international partners dwindle since a 2020 military coup. Last year France withdrew its forces after nine years of helping to fight Islamic extremists in its former colony amid rising tensions with the country's military leaders.
An East Pittsburgh man is facing a slew of charges after state police say he ran at them with a knife after barricading himself in a home for three hours Sunday.

State police responded to a domestic incident along Collins Avenue in East Pittsburgh around 1:30 a.m., when they said Edward Acrie, 32, was breaking items, threatening a resident and threatening to burn the home down.

Troopers formed a perimeter around the home and for about three hours, attempted to get Acrie to come out by using emergency lights, sirens, a PA system and the phone, according to the complaint. Acrie sent messages stating that he was not coming out and police were going to have to come in and kill him, police said.

Acrie barricaded the front door and window using a couch and mattress. As troopers attempted to enter, he ran toward them holding a knife, ignoring their orders to drop it and stating they were going to have to shoot him, according to the complaint.

Troopers tased Acrie and eventually were able to take him into custody, they said.

Acrie is charged with assault of a law enforcement officer, burglary, terroristic threats, simple assault, criminal mischief, resisting arrest, disorderly conduct and harassment.

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The sheriffs office said that a man was shot and injured after charging at a Volusia County deputy.

According to a news release, Michael Collmar, 43, armed himself with two knives at his parents home on Lakeshore Drive in New Smyrna Beach in an erratic mental health episode.

Read: Investigation underway after deputy-involved shooting in New Smyrna Beach

Deputies said they tried to talk to Collmar, but after they were unsuccessful, they entered the house through the back door and used a taser and a less-lethal shotgun to try to stop him.

Collmar went out the front door, charged at a deputy outside the house, and then the deputy fired at Collmar, who fell to the ground, deputies said.

Read: Volusia County firefighter hurt during surfing accident dies from injuries, sheriff says

Deputies treated Collmer at the scene and transported him to a hospital, where he underwent surgery Sunday evening.

Investigators said Collmars parents nor any of the deputies involved were injured.

Volusia County deputies received the call around 1 p.m. and said this was the second call in the last three weeks of a similar incident involving Collmar and two knives.

Read: Death investigation underway after Stetson University student was found unresponsive, police say

Deputies said Collmars mother had reported on Jan. 17 that he was armed, hallucinating and screaming during a mental health episode. After deputies could not communicate with Collmer, they referred him to counseling services.

Neighbors nearby said the road had been blocked several times before Sunday.

The sheriffs office said that this year, all of the calls for service in that area have come from the same home - Collmars parents home.

Its a little disturbing when things happen like that in your neighborhood, Vickie Luksan said.

Collmar was released from prison last October after he stabbed a man in 2017. Volusia County deputies said Collmar also faces over 30 felonies and 30 misdemeanor charges in Florida.

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The Florida Department of Law Enforcement is conducting a standard investigation of Sundays shooting.

A press conference is scheduled for Monday morning, where Volusia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood will give an update. The sheriffs office is also expected to release body camera footage during that time.

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.
Manchester City are accused of more than 100 breaches of the Premier Leagues financial rules (Getty Images)

Manchester City have been charged by the Premier League with numerous breaches of their financial rules, following a four-year investigation into the finances of the current Premier League champions.

In an unprecedented statement, the Premier League alleged that the breaches came over nine seasons, from 2009 to 2018. Manchester City won the Premier League three times during that period.

The Premier League said the alleged breaches referred to accurate financial information that gives a true and fair view of the clubs financial position in particular its revenue, sponsorship revenue and operating costs and potential punishments range from fines to points deductions or even expulsion from the league.

The Premier League listed over 100 breaches of its rules during the nine-season period, and the club released an official statement in response saying they are surprised by the allegations, given the extensive engagement and vast amount of detailed materials they have provided but welcome the review and  look forward to this matter being put to rest once and for all.

Follow all the latest updates with our live blog below:

Man City acused of breaching Premier League financial rules

Man City charged with breaching Premier League financial rules

The club is accused of over 100 breaches between 2009 and 2018 after a four-year investigation by Premier League

City also accused of not co-operating with the investigation from December 2018

A Man City club statement says they are surprised by the charges and confident of being exonerated

Footballs landmark moment and how white paper can change game forever

Erling Haaland might have picked the wrong club, says Jamie Carragher

14:13 , Michael Jones

Jamie Carragher has suggested that Erling Haaland might have joined the wrong club and insisted that Manchester City are yet to get the best out of their Norwegian striker.

Haaland already has 25 Premier League goals after a summer arrival in Manchester, but struggled to make an impact during Sundays defeat to Tottenham.

Story continues

The 22-year-old failed to register a single shot or touch in the Spurs box as Pep Guardiolas side missed an opportunity to close the gap to league leaders Arsenal.

While Haaland remains on track to complete the most prolific individual scoring season in Premier League history, former Liverpool defender Carragher does not think that Guardiola has yet worked out how to fully utilise the forwards considerable threat.

Haaland might have picked the wrong club, says Carragher

History-making Harry Kane steals the show to leave Man City trailing

14:04 , Michael Jones

This young stadium enjoyed a special moment, as Pep Guardiola endured yet another bad evening here. The Manchester City manager could only watch as his side failed to do what Harry Kane has now made historic virtue out of. The Tottenham Hotspur legend has become their leading goalscorer, going one better than the great Jimmy Greaves with his 267th goal for the club. It proved the only goal of an invigorating 1-0 win over the champions, as they still havent scored at the Spurs Stadium since it was built in 2019.

That was this time without the recovering Antonio Conte present in the ground, as Guardiolas problems only mounted. His side failed to take the chance to go within two points of Arsenal after the leaders loss at Everton on Saturday and that, most aggravatingly for the City manager, after his side barely mustered a chance at all.

Spurs will put that benefit to their great rivals out of their mind, just as they did for all of this game. The evening is of course about Kane, to dominate all headlines, but that only after a display of ultra-focus from Spurs. You could say that is because they now know this tactical approach against City so well but that is precisely what was missing in the 4-2 defeat in Manchester - as well as so many other games over the last few weeks.

History-making Harry Kane steals the show to leave Man City trailing

Who will be on the independent commission panel?

13:56 , Michael Jones

Stephen Taylor Heath, JMW head of sports law, told Sky Sports: The commission will have a legal representative on the panel, and youd expect that representative to be a pretty heavyweight Kings Counsel.

Manchester City have had an obligation to comply with the Premier Leagues investigation and they now have an obligation to comply with the commissions procedure. If they dont comply then a dim view will be taken.

If the charges relate to administrative errors then the sanctions will be a slap on the wrist. You would think, if the Premier League have taken it this far, they either think there is a case to answer or theyve simply got to the point where they havent been given the answers, and theyre now putting it to a commission to get those answers.

Government pushes back publication of White Paper on football

13:50 , Michael Jones

The publication of a Government White Paper expected to support the creation of an independent regulator for football has been pushed back.

This is not supposed to be linked with any of the news concerning Manchester City today but rather due to the volume of other business needed to get through by the government.

Government pushes back publication of White Paper on football

The Erling Haaland issue that Manchester City must solve

13:43 , Michael Jones

As Pep Guardiola sat down to his post-game press conference, there were a few comments that could have been construed as swipes. He referred to Tottenham defending with nine men, and said he wouldnt again describe them as the Harry Kane team as he didnt want to upset Mauricio Pochettino. In truth, though, none of this was delivered with enough energy to feel any way deliberate as barbs. There wasnt much energy at all, which was pretty much like his Manchester City team in their 1-0 defeat to Spurs.

The difference with his press conference after his previous match against the same opposition, just a few weeks ago, couldnt have been more pronounced. It was then that Guardiola went on an impassioned monologue, referring to happy flowers. While his meaning was often difficult to decipher, the intention wasnt.

Guardiola wanted a response out of his team. He wanted hunger. On the evidence of this, and even his response, he hasnt got it.

The Erling Haaland issue that Manchester City must solve

What punishments can the independent commission impose on a club?

13:34 , Michael Jones

Manchester Citys potential financial rule breaking is now being reviewed by an independent commission. The commission will the decide which punishment, if any, City will face.

There are a number of penalties with points deductions and heavy fines the most likely. Heres what could happen to Man City if theyre guilty of breaking financial rules:

- Suspend a club from playing league matches

- Points deductions

- Recommend to the board that league matches be replayed

- Recommend to the board that the league expels the respondent club

- Order compensation

- Cancel or refuse registration of players

- Conditional punishment

- Order the club to pay costs

- Make such other order as it thinks fit

Man City statement after being charged with over 100 financial rule breaches

13:24 , Michael Jones

Manchester City insist they are surprised at being charged by the Premier League with more than 100 alleged breaches of financial regulations.

The reigning champions could potentially be hit with a points deduction or even expulsion from the league if found guilty following a four-year investigation.

The unprecedented series of allegations from Premier League concerns a nine-year period from 2009 to 2018, with the club insisting there is irrefutable evidence to prove their innocence.

Man City statement after unprecedented Premier League charges

Man City charged with over 100 breaches of financial rules after four-year investigation

13:18 , Michael Jones

Manchester City have been charged by the Premier League with over 100 breaches of their financial rules.

It follows a four-year investigation into the finances of the current Premier League champions.

In an unprecedented series of allegations, the Premier League said the breaches referred to a requirement to provide accurate financial information that gives a true and fair view of the clubs financial position in particular its revenue, sponsorship revenue and operating costs.

Manchester City announced their surprise at the Premier Leagues announcement and denied the charges. The club insisted there is irrefutable evidence to prove their innocence.

Man City charged with over 100 breaches of Premier League rules

Every trophy Man City won during period of alleged financial breaches - and who missed out

13:12 , Michael Jones

Manchester City won eight pieces of silverware across a nine-year period in which they have been charged by the Premier League with more than 100 alleged breaches of financial regulations.

The champions have reacted to the alleged breaches, claiming to be surprised and that there is a comprehensive body of irrefutable evidence to support their innocence.

City overturned a two-year ban from Uefa in 2020 and will now brace themselves for the findings from an independent commission.

A number of punishments are available to the Premier League, should City be found guilty of the breaches, including expulsion and a points deduction.

Man City trophies won during alleged breaches - and who missed out

Man City unhappy with Premier Leagues announcement

13:06 , Michael Jones

The BBCs Simon Stone says Manchester City are confident about their position in this case though the club are unhappy that the Premier League gave them no warning that an announcement was being made.

He says: Man City were not given advance warning of the Premier League statement.

They were called at the same time as the statement went out. They believe some journalists were given advance warning of the statement, which evidently, they are not impressed about.

They also note the timing of the statement given the White Paper on football governance is scheduled to be published soon. It is felt that bringing this case it likely to be used by the Premier League as evidence of them being able to deal with governance issues itself.

City are confident in their position and that includes the charges that were time-barred in their Uefa case. The club are understood to have provided the relevant evidence around those charges to the Premier League some time ago.

Man City will fight charges

13:00 , Michael Jones

Its taken the Premier League four years to get to this point and form a case to the point where they are confident of bringing charges against Manchester City who will now do their utmost to respond to the accusations.

Do not expect a resolution to this case any time soon.

For years Manchester City have denied financial wrongdoing. Details into their finances were published by Der Spiegel - when it was passed information by Football Leaks - but the club claimed this information was incomplete.

Uefa then launched its case against City but the club had no faith in that investigation and, when it went against them, they went straight to the Court of Arbitration for Sport. Cas cleared them of the substantive allegations, even though some were timed out.

The Premier Leagues charge sheet includes five years of allegations that City have not assisted with their inquiry - which is all of it. The club will now have their lawyers on the case and it will be an expensive and time-consuming matter before any resolution is found.

Man City will fight charges

12:56 , Michael Jones

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has always said he was assured by his employers that they have done nothing wrong in terms of breaking finanical rules but the charges brough forward from the Premier League claim otherwise.

City will be challenging this allegations and should they win legally they will be clear, reputation untouched - mostly.

Should they lose, the punishments handed down would be unprecedented. The Premier Leagues scope in that sense is completely open-ended and this is a precedent setting case.

Citys reputation is on the line and the outcome, whenever it comes, will be fascinating.

Arbitration panel ordered City to provide documents to Premier League

12:50 , Michael Jones

An arbitration panel ordered Manchester City to provide certain documents and information to the Premier League and to make inquiries of third parties, after the club lost a challenge over an arbitration panels right to hear the case.

The Court of Appeal ruling stated: For the Premier League it was submitted that the tactic that the club has adopted has been to make as many procedural applications and complaints as it possibly can to slow the day when it will actually have to provide the information.

The Court of Appeal ruling stated:



For the Premier League it was submitted that the tactic that the club has adopted has been to make as many procedural applications and complaints as it possibly can to slow the day when it will actually have to provide the information.  Miguel Delaney (@MiguelDelaney) February 6, 2023

Man City respond to being charged with over 100 financial rule breaches

12:45 , Michael Jones

Manchester City insist they are surprised at being charged by the Premier League with more than 100 alleged breaches of financial regulations.

The reigning champions could potentially be hit with a points deduction or even expulsion from the league if found guilty following a four-year investigation.

The unprecedented series of allegations from Premier League concerns a nine-year period from 2009 to 2018, with the club insisting there is irrefutable evidence to prove their innocence.

Man City respond to unprecedented Premier League charges

Kyle Walker insists Erling Haaland is a not a problem for Manchester City

12:39 , Michael Jones

Kyle Walker has leapt to the defence of Manchester City forward Erling Haaland following Sundays 1-0 defeat at Tottenham.

Premier League top goalscorer Haaland cut a frustrated figure in the capital and failed to have a single shot on target.

Haaland has scored 31 goals in 28 appearances since a summer switch from Borussia Dortmund, with 25 of them in the top flight but City remain five points behind leaders Arsenal after their fourth league loss of the campaign.

Kyle Walker insists Erling Haaland is a not a problem for Manchester City

Man Citys alleged breaches of Premier League rules

12:34 , Michael Jones

1. In respect of each of Seasons 2009/10 to 2017/18 inclusive, the Premier League Rules applicable in those seasons that required provision by a member club to the Premier League, in the utmost good faith, of accurate financial information that gives a true and fair view of the clubs financial position, in particular with respect to its revenue (including sponsorship revenue), its related parties and its operating costs, namely:

(a) for Season 2009/10, Premier League Rules B.13, C.71, C.72, C.75 (amended to C.79 from 10 September 2009 for the remainder of Season 2009/10) and C.80;

(b) for Season 2010/11, Premier League Rules B.13, C.78, C.79, C.86 and C.87;

(c) for Season 2011/12, Premier League Rules B.13, E.3, 4, E.11 and E.12;

(d) for Season 2012/13, Premier League Rules 16, E.3, E.4, E.11 and E.12;

(e) for Season 2013/14, Premier League Rules 15, E.3, E.4, E.11, E.12 and E.49;

(f) for Season 2014/15, Premier League Rules 16, E.3, E.4, E.11, E.12 and E.50;

(g) for Season 2015/16, Premier League Rules 16, E.3, E.4, E.11, E.12 and E.50;

(h) for Season 2016/17, Premier League Rules16, E.3, E.4, E.11, E.12 and E.51;

(i) for Season 2017/18, Premier League Rules B.16, 3, E.4, E.11, E.12 and E.51.

2. In respect of:

(a) each of Seasons 2009/10 to 2012/13 inclusive, the Premier League Rules applicable in those Seasons requiring a member club to include full details of manager remuneration in its relevant contracts with its manager, namely:

(1) for Seasons 2009/10 to 2011/12 inclusive, Premier League Rules Q.7 and Q.8; and

(2) for Season 2012/13, Premier League Rules P.7 and P.8;

(b) each of Seasons 2010/11 to 2015/16 inclusive, the Premier League Rules applicable in those Seasons requiring a member club to include full details of player remuneration in its relevant contracts with its players, namely:

(1) for Seasons 2010/11 and 2011/12, Premier League Rules K.12 and K.20;

(2) for Season 2012/13, Premier League Rules T.12 and T.20;

(3) for Seasons 2013/14 and 2014/15, Premier League Rules T.12 and T.19; and

(4) for Season 2015/16, Premier League Rules T.13 and T.20.

3. In respect of each of Seasons 2013/14 to 2017/18 inclusive, the Premier League Rules applicable in those Seasons requiring a member club to comply with UEFAs regulations, including UEFAs Club Licensing and Financial Fair Play Regulations, namely:

(a) for Season 2013/14, Premier League Rule B.14.6

(b) for Seasons 2014/15 to 2017/18 inclusive, Premier League Rule B.15.6.

4. In respect of each of the Seasons 2015/16 to 2017/18 inclusive, the Premier League Rules applicable in those Seasons on Profitability and Sustainability, namely:

(a) for Season 2015/16, Premier League Rules E.52 to E.60; and

(b) for Seasons 2016/17 and 2017/18, Premier League Rules E.53 to E.60.

5. In respect of the period from December 2018 to date, the Premier League Rules applicable in the relevant Seasons requiring a member club to cooperate with, and assist, the Premier League in its investigations, including by providing documents and information to the Premier League in the utmost good faith, namely:

(a) for Season 2018/19, Premier League Rules B.16, B.19, W.1, W.2, W.12 and W.13;

(b) for Season 2019/20, Premier League Rules B.16, B.19, W.1, W.2, W.12 and W.13;

(c) for Season 2020/21, Premier League Rules B.16, B.19, W.1, W.2, W.12 and W.13;

(d) for Season 2021/22, Premier League Rules B.15, B.18, W.1, W.2, W.15 and W.16; and

(e) for Season 2022/23, Premier League Rules B.15, B.18, W.1, W.2, W.15 and W.16.

Which rules have Man City been accused of breaking?

12:29 , Michael Jones

Expulsion from the Premier League is on the table for Manchester City after being accused of breaching more than 100 financial rules.

The Premier League has concluded a four-year investigation and has now referred a number of the alleged breaches to an independent Commission.

Having successfully overturned a two-year ban from Uefa in July 2020, City are now tasked with another battle to save their reputation.

The champions are alleged to have broken rules relating to the provision of accurate financial information across nine Premier League seasons from 2009 to 2018, and that the club had failed to cooperate with the leagues investigation since the start of the 2018/19 campaign, among wide-ranging alleged breaches.

Which rules have Man City been accused of breaking?

Man City issue response to Premier League accusations

12:24 , Michael Jones

Manchester Citys statement seems to show that the club are confident no rule breaking has been done by them.

They welcomed the review of an independent comission and believe the evidence they have already provided to the Premier League is enough to absolve them of any wrongdoing.

Well just have to see how this all plays out.

Man City issue response to Premier League accusations

12:20 , Michael Jones

Manchester City have released a statement is response to the Premier Leagues accusations over financial breaches on the club website.

It reads: Manchester City FC is surprised by the issuing of these alleged breaches of the Premier League Rules, particularly given the extensive engagement and vast amount of detailed materials that the EPL has been provided with.

The Club welcomes the review of this matter by an independent commission, to impartially consider the comprehensive body of irrefutable evidence that exists in support of its position.

As such we look forward to this matter being put to rest once and for all.

Barrister Murray Rosen to chair independent comission

12:16 , Michael Jones

Dan Roan of the BBC reports that barrister Murray Rosen KC will chair the independent commission to hear the case of alleged financial rules breaches by Manchester City and that he will appoint other members of the panel.

The Premier League has charged Manchester City with more than 100 breaches of its rules following a four-year investigation and the independent comission will decide if these charges should be upheld.

No time-barred breaches for Premier League

12:10 , Michael Jones

Manchester Citys finances also came under investigation a couple of years ago from Uefa who found that City had breached their own financial rules an issued them with a two-year ban for European football.

In 2020, City overturned the Champions League ban for a serious breach of Uefas financial rules at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (Cas).

Cas found that, while the club had failed to comply with Uefas investigations, many of the alleged breaches were either not established or time-barred.

The Premier League does not time-bar breaches so there is no restriction on the length of time since alleged offences have taken place.

This means that Manchester City would have a more difficult time fighting these accusations should the independent commission find that breaches of the financial rules have taken place.

Premier League expulsion among possible Man City punishments for alleged financial breaches

12:06 , Michael Jones

Manchester City could face expulsion from the Premier League or a points deduction if the club are found to have committed breaches of financial rules.

After a four-year investigation, the Premier League has referred a number of alleged breaches to an independent Commission.

It is alleged that Manchester City broke rules relating to the provision of accurate financial information across nine Premier League seasons from 2009 to 2018, and that the club had failed to cooperate with the leagues investigation since the start of the 2018/19 campaign, among wide-ranging alleged breaches.

What are Man Citys possible punishments for alleged finance breaches?

Footballs landmark moment and how white paper can change game forever

12:00 , Michael Jones

In the discussions to inform next weeks white paper on football, many stakeholders were attempting to get the government to understand this is much more than a once a generation moment. They described it as possibly the only opportunity to properly assess the English game and where its going, since nothing like this has ever been done before. It is quite a thought, that illustrates the enormity of what this government are taking on. In 160 years of codified English football, there has never been anything like an attempt at a holistic assessment of the sport and what it should look like.

Even events since the Super League, like Chelseas spending, illustrate it is now more important than ever. There are reservations within the game over whether Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Michelle Donelan gets this, as eyebrows were raised over recent statements and questions.

This is a really important opportunity for football, says Niall Couper of Fair Game, but the most important thing is it has to have teeth.

The landmark moment that can change football forever

Premier League accuse Man City of breaching financial rules

11:54 , Michael Jones

A crucial difference between Uefa and Premier League is that alleged breaches can't be "time-barred" - no restrictions on length of time since alleged offences.  Miguel Delaney (@MiguelDelaney) February 6, 2023

Independent commission proceedings to go ahead in private

11:49 , Michael Jones

The independent commission tasked with figuring out whether Manchester City broke any Premier League financial rules will undergo their proceedings in a confidential and private manner.

A Premier League statement announcing the referrals said: The proceedings before the commission will, in accordance with Premier League Rule W.82, be confidential and heard in private. Under Premier League Rule W.82.2, the commissions final award will be published on the Premier Leagues website.

This confirmation is made in accordance with Premier League Rule W.82.1. The Premier League will be making no further comment in respect of this matter until further notice.

Carragher reacts

11:44 , Michael Jones

Jamie Carragher has reacted to the news of Man City potentially breaking the Premier Leagues financial rules.

He cheekily wrote on Twitter: This cant be right, Man City bring in more commercial revenue than Real Madrid, Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Man Utd & Liverpool.

This cant be right, Man City bring in more commercial revenue than Real Madrid, Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Man Utd & Liverpool  https://t.co/OPDaMHnws1  Jamie Carragher (@Carra23) February 6, 2023

Why did the Premier League wait so long to act?

11:38 , Michael Jones

The Premier Leagues charges against Manchester City cover a period of over 10 years. They were investigating the club from 2009 onwards yet only brought the charges forward now almost 14 years later.

This week there is a government white paper passing through the House of Commons which is being described as possibly the only opportunity to properly assess the English game and where its going, since nothing like this has ever been done before.

That will likely be known on Wednesday 8th February, which is when the white paper is expected to be published and it is expected that the document will call for the much-debated football regulator, albeit with its powers to be determined, and announce its intention to properly recognise the community role of clubs and ensure there cannot be future collapses like Bury.

Is the Premier League trying to get ahead of a crisis it sees coming further down the line?

No retrospective punishment for Man City

11:27 , Michael Jones

During the time frame of the alleged breaches from Manchester City (2009/10 to 2017/28), the club won a lot of trophies.

City won the Premier League three times (2011/12, 2013/14 and 2017/18) and finished inside the top five in every season. They also came runners-up in 2012/13 and 2014/15, won the FA Cup in 2011, and the League Cup in 2014, 2016 and 2018.

However, if they are found guilty of breaching the Premier League financial rules there should not be any retrospective punishment meaning their titles and honours will all still count.

Figures involved don't seem to think any prospective punishments would be retrospective or "looking backwards" (ie stripping titles) but this is all described as "unprecedented"  Miguel Delaney (@MiguelDelaney) February 6, 2023

What are the possible consequences for Man City?

11:23 , Michael Jones

Manchester City have been referred to an independent commission who will determine whether the club have broken Premier League rules.

If the club are found guilty, punishment could range from a points deduction to a possible exclusion from the Premier League.

Manchester City are expected to defend themselves against the charges but have yet to respond.

Man City charged with over 100 breaches of financial rules after four-year investigation

11:20 , Michael Jones

Manchester City have been charged by the Premier League with numerous breaches of their financial rules.

It follows a four-year investigation into the finances of the current Premier League champions.

In an unprecedented statement, the Premier League alleged that the breaches came over nine seasons, from 2009 to 2018. Manchester City won the Premier League three times during that period.

The Premier League said the alleged breaches referred to accurate financial information that gives a true and fair view of the clubs financial position in particular its revenue, sponsorship revenue and operating costs.

Man City charged with over 100 breaches after four-year investigation

Man City face charges over finanical rules breach

11:17 , Michael Jones

Here are the sections of the rules that the Premier League say Manchester City breached:

- Seasons 2009/10 to 2017/18 - rules that required provision, in the utmost good faith, of accurate financial information that gives a true and fair view of the clubs financial position, in particular with respect to its revenue (including sponsorship revenue), its related parties and its operating costs.

- Seasons 2009/10 to 2012/13 - rules requiring full details of manager remuneration in its relevant contracts with its manager.

- Seasons 2013/14 to 2017/18 - rules requiring club to comply with Uefas regulations, including club licensing and financial fair play.

- Seasons 2015/16 to 2017/18 inclusive - rules on profitability and sustainability,

- From December 2018 to date - requiring club to cooperate with, and assist, the Premier League in its investigations, including by providing documents and information in the utmost good faith.

Premier League accuse Man City of breaching financial rules

11:14 , Michael Jones

This is not the first time Manchester Citys finances have been called into question.

In 2020 City had a two-year ban from European club competitions overturned by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (Cas), after Uefa had ruled that City committed "serious breaches" of Financial Fair Play (FFP) regulations between 2012 and 2016.

That period of time is covered in the Premier Leagues investigation as well.

Premier League accuse Man City of breaching financial rules

11:11 , Michael Jones

The Premier League has charged Manchester City with breaking its financial rules.

A long-running investigation into the clubs finances found alleged breaches of the rules between 2009 and 2018, and the report accused City of not co-operating with the investigation from December 2018.

The Premier League has referred the club to an independent commission over the investigation.

In a statement released on this morning the Premier League said City breached rules requiring them to provide accurate financial information that gives a true and fair view of the clubs financial position.

This information included the clubs revenue, including sponsorship revenue and operating costs.
A Sacramento jury convicted a man of first-degree murder in the shooting death of a man at a North Sacramento apartment complex.

Tamon Malik Rodgers and his family were visiting friends in the complex parking lot Jan. 1, 2020, when Brelen Ray Page, now 25, drove by multiple times, according to the Sacramento County District Attorneys Office.

On his final pass, authorities said, Page fired a 9mm handgun six to eight times at Rodgers.

One of the rounds hit Rodgers in the head and he died in the hospital three days later.

Detectives identified Pages vehicle and he was taken into custody the next day, prosecutors said.

An unregistered handgun was found in the vehicle, according to authorities, and was analyzed by the District Attorneys Crime Lab and identified as the weapon used in the murder.

Page is at the Sacramento County Main Jail without bail. He faces a maximum sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole at a March 3 hearing.
From left: Yuliana Garcia, 17; Juan Duarte Raya, 18; and Jacob Montgomery, 19, were three of the four victims of a 2019 shooting in Palm Springs. A photo of the fourth, Carlos Campos Rivera, was not available.

A man was convicted Monday of shooting and killing four people in Palm Springs during what prosecutors called a drug deal turned violent.

A jury found Jose Larin-Garcia, now 23, guilty of four counts of murder. He's eligible for the death penalty because the jury also determined he committed multiple murders and that he lay in wait to kill the victims.

The verdict came just over four years after the deaths of Yuliana Garcia, 17; Jacob Montgomery, 19; Juan Duarte Raya, 18; and Carlos Campos Rivera, 25.

The penalty phase of the trial will begin Wednesday, and Larin-Garcia can only be sentenced to death if the jury unanimously agrees.

Defense attorney John Dolan said he'll appeal and added, "It's a horrible outcome. There's no way that the jury could have arrived at that verdict in the amount time they had."

Jurors began deliberations Monday morning after hearing closing arguments last week. And before noon, court officials announced a verdict would be read Monday afternoon.

On Feb. 3, 2019, Palm Springs police officers were dispatched to the 3700 block of East Sunny Dunes Road, where in a crashed car Raya, Montgomery and Garcia were found shot dead. The body of Rivera was found several blocks away on Canon Drive.

Each victim was shot at least twice in the head, said Riverside County prosecutor Samantha Paixao, who called the deaths "executions" and told the jury blood spatter evidence made clear the shooter was in the backseat of the car. Paixao said Larin-Garcia was the only person to escape the car alive and the only possible shooter.

Larin-Garcia's attorney, Dolan, said he wasn't the shooter but instead a survivor who ran for his life when someone else opened fire.

The day of the shootings, Larin-Garcia was found hiding under a truck just off Sunny Dunes Road, a few blocks away from where the victims were found. His lawyer said he was there because he feared he was the final target.

Larin-Garcia was taken to the hospital for treatment of a laceration, then left that night wearing a hospital gown and without being discharged by doctors. He walked to the home of a friend who helped him gather belongings and buy a bus ticket to Florida under a fake name, investigators said. He was arrested at an Indio bus station just before boarding.

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Larin-Garcias first trial ended without a verdict. It spanned late 2021 and the early months of 2022, before a mistrial was declared in March of that year after a jury could not reach consensus.

The second trial began in September but was nearly called off after months of testimony when a Palm Springs police employee found evidence that was previously reported as lost.

Larin-Garcias attorneys asked for a mistrial, saying further analysis was needed of the contents of a bag found in the trunk of the crashed car. Court debate on the matter revealed that it contained glass shards collected at the scene and a bullet casing thought to have been missing.

Judge Anthony Villalobos excluded the new evidence, denied the motion for mistrial and ordered the trial to continue.

This is a developing story and will be updated.

Christopher Damien covers public safety and the criminal justice system. He can be reached at christopher.damien@desertsun.com or follow him at @chris_a_damien.

This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Man convicted of murdering four people in Palm Springs in 2019
Really Ty? Youre going to pull a gun out on me? were the last words of a man killed in Columbus homeless camp, according to witness statements to detectives.

Quincy Ty Hill, 36, pleaded not guilty in Columbus Recorders Court to the Jan. 15 killing of Kameron Holcey in a Third Avenue homeless camp.

Two witnesses told detectives they saw Hill and Holcey, 23, get into a verbal argument prior to the shooting, according to testimony by Columbus Police Department Det. Robert Nicholas.

Hill admitted to the verbal altercation but told police he was a few blocks away at the time of the shooting, Nicholas testified.

Nicholas said neither witness saw Hill shoot Holcey that morning around 3 a.m.

Hill was arrested at Phenix City hotel on Feb. 2 and extradited to Columbus on Feb. 3. The case has been bound over to Superior Court with no bond set.
A North Carolina man was sentenced on Friday to 25 years in prison for a Yonkers armed home invasion, Westchester County District Attorney Mimi Rocahs office said.

Confessor Soto, 50, was acquitted of charges of second-degree attempted murder and first-degree attempted assault, but a jury found him found guilty in October of second-degree assault, two counts of first-degree burglary, first-degree attempted robbery, and second-degree criminal possession of a weapon, all felonies.

Soto will also be subject to five years of post-release supervision.

On April 23, 2018, at about 7:30 a.m., Soto entered a Leighton Avenue home through the backdoor with zip-ties and armed with a .45 caliber semi-automatic handgun, and restrained the 82-year-old homeowner, according to the district attorneys office.

Soto, wearing sunglasses and a bandana, forced the homeowner into her 54-year-old daughter's bedroom and demanded the younger woman turn over money at gunpoint before firing a shot that grazed the top of the daughters head, the Journal News reported. The daughter said she didn't have money. The daughter ran out of the home and got someone to contact the police as the gunman left.

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Soto was captured on video surveillance fleeing the scene, according to the district attorneys office, and police recovered the gun used during the incident, along with the defendant's clothes, bandana and sunglasses, in the vestibule of a South Broadway apartment in the Bronx.

Soto's lawyer could not be immediately reached for comment.

At the three-week trial's end, Soto testified it was a case of mistaken identity, acknowledging being in the neighborhood, visiting the area to help a friend scout out businesses like one she wanted to open in North Carolina, Soto's lawyer has said.

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Soto said the jacket and gun weren't his, but that a bandana and hat found near them were his.

Soto also attributed DNA on the gun and jacket to secondary transfer after police had picked up his bandanna. The jury rejected that assertion.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation took Soto into custody in Fayetteville, North Carolina, on April 30, 2019, after a joint investigation among Yonkers police, the Westchester County District Attorneys office, the Westchester County Department of Public Safety, and FBIs Westchester Safe Streets Task Force.

Michael P. McKinney is a breaking news reporter with The Journal News, Poughkeepsie Journal and Times Herald-Record of Middletown.

This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: North Carolina man gets 25 years for Yonkers NY home invasion
Maria Shriver talks about her 'journey to re-evaluate everything in my life' after her marriage to

Arnold Schwarzenegger ended. (Photo: Bonnie Biess/Getty Images)

Maria Shriver says she completely reevaluated her life after her split from Arnold Schwarzenegger and their subsequent divorce.

The Emmy-winning journalist, best-selling author and member of the famed Kennedy clan, 67, appeared on the Making Space with Hoda Kotb podcast to discuss her "continual quest to learn about myself." She said after her 2011 separation from The Terminator star and former California governor, she visited a convent as part of healing journey and got sage advice. She also spoke about feeling "invisible" during her marriage  something she felt throughout her life within her famous family.

Shriver, who split from 75-year-old Schwarzenegger, with whom she shares four children, after he admitted he fathered their housekeeper's teenage child, said when her marriage ended, it gave her the "freedom" to do some soul searching and "go and figure out" her truth.

"I did so many things," on that journey. But one ... was I went to a convent, a cloistered convent ... to be in silence and look for advice, said Shriver, who was raised Catholic. "The reverend mother there  she said, 'I think you came here looking for permission.'"

She said it felt like "a scene out of The Sound of Music... She goes, 'You can't come live here  but you do have permission to go out and become Maria.' I was, like, sobbing... I had never given myself permission to ... be vulnerable, to be weak, to be brought to my knees. And the world did it to me. And then I was like, 'OK, God, let's go. And I'm going to take this and learn everything I can about my role and what I need to learn ... When the universe knocks you like that, I think you have to not focus on the other person [but] ... what do you learn from this experience? So I gave myself permission to start learning."

Arnold Schwarzenegger and Maria Shriver in 1994. (Photo: Ron Galella, Ltd./Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images)

"I did everything that was available that I could find to heal myself. I still look at myself as on a healing journey," she said, adding, "I will never abandon myself again."

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Shriver, who is "single" while her ex has been in a relationship with physical therapist Heather Milligan since 2013, said she felt "invisible" in her marriage with Schwarzenegger  a feeling that plagued her throughout her life.

"I grew up feeling invisible in an incredibly public, famous family," said Shriver, whose mother, Eunice Shriver, was the sister of former President John F. Kennedy, Sen. Robert F. Kennedy and Sen. Ted Kennedy. "There were a lot of really big characters in that family ... If you, as a child, are standing next to the president of the United States, two U.S. senators, the first lady, nobody's looking at you. You are background noise. And you take that with you really through life, and you end up putting yourself in situations where that continues until you learn your lesson."

The lesson, she said, was, "That it's not about other people seeing you. It's about you seeing yourself. And that took me a really long time, a really long time to learn."

When she married Schwarzenegger in 1986, "I would find myself getting angry at people who ... didn't acknowledge that I existed when I was standing next to Arnold... or my uncle." Now she sees, "They were teaching me a lesson. That it's not about whether they see me. Do I see me? Am I visible to me?"

She talked about getting together with the Austrian bodybuilder turned actor in 1977 after an intro by NBC News's Tom Brokaw. Her family had reservations  and expressed them.

"I grew up in this big Democratic family," she said. "I was taught to believe that people who were Republicans were the enemy and then I fell in love with a Republican."

Shriver said she "could see people in my family having judgments about the person I was choosing" because he "hadn't gone to the same kind of schools that people I grew up with [did and] wasn't the same political party and wasn't this and wasn't that... Then I moved to Los Angeles and my family was like: 'Oh my god.' ... My mother was like: 'You're in Hollywood and that's terrible.' I was like, 'Is it?' ... I feel blessed to have had obviously the parents that I had," she said, also referring to Sargent Shriver, "but they're very different than me" despite also sharing many similarities.

Maria Shriver with her philanthropist mother, Eunice Shriver, founder the Special Olympics, in Los Angeles in 2004. (Photo: Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images)

Shriver said some of her self-growth was also in making an effort to "be a different kind of mother" and a "different kind of wife" than hers was as well as generally "a different kind of woman."

"I wanted to have a different kind of marriage than my parents did," she said. I wanted to have a different kind of life that my parents did and the ending of all of that definitely sent me on a journey to reevaluate everything in my life. Every aspect of my life. How I had gotten where I was? What was my role in it? What could I do better? What had I done that put me in that place? ... I looked at everything."

Today, "I'm moving through the world in a different place and a different way than I was 10 years ago, 15 years ago," she said.

Shriver said growing up she wasn't able to talk to her parents about a lot of things. There had been two assassinations in her family. There was a lot they were going through that was never spoken about and it had a "detrimental" impact on her. As an adult, she sought a journalism career that was "chaotic." She's since looked at and asked, "Why was I attracted to chaos? ... I actually wrote myself a poem [about being] addicted to chaos ... to show myself that it was me and that I could take myself out of it."

With her now adult kids, she sees her home as a "fueling station" for them, where they can come back at any time and get food, love, encouragement and truth.

Christina Schwarzenegger, Maria Shriver, Patrick Schwarzenegger and Katherine Schwarzenegger together in March 2018. She's also mom to son Christopher. (Photo: Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images)

She said her children's relationships  including daughter Katherine's marriage to Chris Pratt  is "so radically different that my generation" as far as "what people expect in a spouse or a partner today." It's also "very different from than I went into [in my] marriage."

Her role as mother is one she's most proud of.

"I always said to myself... I knew that my kids would end up in therapy at some point but I knew that they wouldn't able to say: 'She wasn't there,'" she said. "They could say she was this, this or this, but I didn't want them to say I had chosen something over them. I wanted them to know they were my priority and I wanted them to feel that."

Shriver and Schwarzenegger separated in 2011 and took 10 years to finalize their divorce, which was complete in December 2021. Since their split, they have publicly appeared together at events in support of their children's projects.
The first thing incumbent Ald. Daniel La Spata needs to do to hold onto his 1st Ward City Council seat is weather a former rivals resurgence.

Former Ald. Proco Joe Moreno, attempting a political comeback following a series of scandals, is running for the seat he held for nearly a decade in the 2010s but lost in 2019 to La Spata.

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But La Spata, a member of the City Councils Democratic Socialist Caucus, will face challenges beyond his old foe. Two other candidates are well-known in the ward and have relatively deep pockets in the competitive race. Sam Royko, an attorney, is the son of Chicago newspaper legend Mike Royko. And community organizer Stephen Andy Schneider has long led influential historic preservation and development efforts in the area.

Rich campaign coffers have made the race particularly tight as each candidate entered the campaign season with about $100,000 to spend, according to state campaign records. The competitive race has also at times gotten ugly. A man threw a red Solo cup of beer at La Spata during a campaign bike ride in October, Block Club Chicago reported. And on Friday, two vandals smashed the windows of the aldermans campaign headquarters, according to a campaign spokesperson.

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[ Search to find out what Chicago neighborhood, community area and ward you live in ]

If no candidate wins over 50% of the vote in the Feb. 28 election, the top two vote-getters will compete in an April 4 runoff.

Ald. Daniel La Spata speaks at the UIC faculty protest on Jan. 19, 2023. (Shanna Madison / Chicago Tribune)

In defeating Moreno four years ago, La Spata not only knocked off an embattled incumbent, but also rode a wave of support for Democratic Socialist aldermanic candidates who are building their power base on Chicagos City Council. In 2019, La Spata was one of six socialists to join the council, among the most for any city council in the nation.

During his first term, hes been an active alderman, championing affordable housing, building out more bike lanes on city streets and other progressive causes. He has said that democracy, transparency and equity are focal points of ordinances he introduces.

He also pushed efforts for a guaranteed basic income pilot program that Lightfoot later initiated, as well as environmental sustainability efforts and affordable housing projects.

There is a lot that we need to expand on and build on, and there is no one running against me who shares those values, La Spata said.

But while La Spata might have been busy with ordinances during his first term, constituent services in the wards near northwest neighborhoods of Wicker Park, Logan Square, Bucktown, Humboldt Park, Ukrainian Village and West Town have gone down and crime has gone up, his three challengers say.

Schneider, who works in real estate and film journalism, supported La Spata in 2019 after finding Moreno difficult to work with. But the new council member hasnt been present enough in the community, Schneider said.

First ward candidate Stephen "Andy" Schneider greets a friend with a hug during a meet-and-greet at The Old Plank restaurant and bar in Logan Square on Feb. 2, 2023. (John J. Kim / Chicago Tribune)

As president of Logan Square Preservation since 2012, Schneider worked closely with both La Spata and Moreno on preservation and development issues in the neighborhood  work Schneider says has taught him how to collaborate with community groups and engage residents.

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Under his leadership, the group has raised more than $700,000 and helped preserve the Grace United Methodist Church as a community center, he said. The organization also successfully fought to have speed bumps installed in Palmer Square and for Logan Squares circle to be redesigned, he said.

While Schneider notes his local bona fides and hits La Spata for not doing enough in the ward, he said council members need to take a broader focus to City Hall.

Hed like to create a sister neighborhoods program that connects areas so volunteers are better able to work together and, on crime, hed focus on root causes with programs for jobs and housing stability at a city level, he said, adding anecdotally that several friends have recently been carjacked.

I would be a voice that would think more about the city as a whole and less parochially, he said. The central issue of my campaign is finding a way to tie disparate communities together. Schneider has raised over $120,000, much from area businesses, and he had about $89,000 to spend at the start of the year.

Like Schneider, Royko pointed to recent carjackings in his neighborhood as one reason hes running. His girlfriend, he said, was carjacked while driving his vehicle in January 2021. He thinks Chicagos biggest systemic issues, like disinvestment in the South and West Sides, need to be addressed to confront crime. Hed also push for more police, a return to the community policing model and expanded city mental health services, he said.

People feel less safe now than they did within the last couple of years, Royko said. We cant let that become a norm. We have to address it.

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Sam Royko, aldermanic candidate for the 1st Ward, talks with attendees during a meet and greet at the Rainbo Club on Feb. 1, 2023. (Armando L. Sanchez / Chicago Tribune)

Other issues hed focus on, he said, include affordable housing, filling in empty storefronts and improving schools.

After his girlfriends carjacking, Royko said he founded the crime-focused Greater West Town Community Coalition, sparking Facebook discussion and catching press attention. The media wrangling might come naturally for Royko, the son of legendary Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist Mike Royko, who died in 1997 after writing for the Tribune, Sun-Times and Daily News.

The columnist, a journalistic fixture and an outspoken critic of City Hall corruption whose words for many spoke to the citys conscience, grew up above a Milwaukee Avenue tavern in the same ward his son is now running to represent. The candidate has long lived with the legacy of his fathers fiery love for Chicago, and the connection has certainly helped with name recognition.

Its a big shadow to live up to, and Ill be fighting every day to do that. I want to give back, he said.

After he decided to run, Royko was able to get campaign staff recommendations from David Axelrod. He has hauled in around $150,000 in campaign contributions and had about $100,000 left at the start of the year. Now a commercial litigation attorney, he previously interned for U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, and has been endorsed by Ald. Brian Hopkins, 2nd, and former Cook County Clerk David Orr.

[ Will there be a new face in City Council and what would his famous father, Mike Royko, think of it all? ]

Voters with memories long enough to recognize Roykos last name are likely to also remember Morenos name.

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In January 2019, he was accused of lending his Audi to a woman he was dating and then reporting it stolen. Soon afterward, a former staffer accused him of sexual harassment, which he denied. In December 2020, he was charged with a DUI and speeding after he drunkenly crashed into several cars in the Gold Coast neighborhood.

He pleaded guilty in both cases, receiving second-chance probation for obstructing justice and giving a false report to authorities in the January 2019 incident, as well as court supervision and community service in the December 2020 crash.

Former Ald. Proco "Joe" Moreno holds a campaign fundraiser for his 1st Ward run at the Ogden Bar and Gril on Jan. 26, 2023. (E. Jason Wambsgans / Chicago Tribune)

The scandals followed the traumatic death of a friend that he chose to handle in a very unhealthy way, but didnt involve in-office corruption, Moreno said.

I make no excuses for the personal mistakes that I made in my life, Moreno said.

[ After legal scrapes and guilty pleas, ex-Ald. Proco Joe Moreno says he wants another shot at City Council ]

The former alderman remains in the race after an unsuccessful attempt was made to strike him from the ballot because of the false-report guilty plea. Royko was behind the effort, said Moreno.

Moreno, who now works for a printing company, was appointed to his former seat in 2010 by former Mayor Richard M. Daley and won reelection twice.

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As he runs to return to the office he once held, Moreno said La Spata has ended programs that Moreno thinks should be revived, including one that distributed supplies to schools in the ward, an anti-graffiti program and a concerted effort to clean up the land under the many areas where the L runs.

While La Spata is aligned with Democratic Socialists, Moreno describes himself as a progressive, pro-business Democrat who sponsored a reparations ordinance for victims of police torture victims and supported a $15 minimum wage.

But like Royko, public safety is the main focus for Moreno as he campaigns, and he criticizes La Spata for his support of efforts to cut police department funding. One solution, he said, is building a satellite police station in East Village. He also said he wants to better fund violence interruption programs and mental health services for police and people in need.

As he tries to rebuild his political career, Moreno has been endorsed by former council colleagues, including ex-Aldermen George Cardenas, 12th, and Joe Moore, 49th, and outgoing Ald. Tom Tunney, 44th, who just endorsed former CPS CEO Paul Vallas for mayor. Hes raised about $85,000, which came from local business leaders and developers, as well as a $30,5000 loan from himself, and he still had about $81,000 on hand at the start of the year, records showed.

Chicagos new ward map

Not sure which ward you live in? Type your address into the search box below.

Source: City of Chicago

Still, that pales in comparison with what La Spata has to spend on his campaign. Much of the more than $155,000 he has raised in the last year comes from unions, particularly the Service Employees International Union and Chicago Teachers Union. The incumbent has a long list of union endorsements and has also been backed by many local progressive groups and politicians.

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Its a different story than the one that faced La Spata four years ago when on the night he won, he described himself as an outsider upsetting the system-backed alderman who was out of touch and uninvolved in combating gentrification.

People would say  politicians only come up four years, and then you dont see them for another four years. And thats not right, he said during his victory speech, according to Block Club Chicago. La Spata won with 61% of the vote, part of a wave of progressives elected to City Council.

The incumbents current campaign also argued violent crime is down in the ward compared with the last four years of Morenos administration.

A Tribune analysis of city crime data comparing La Spatas first term with an equivalent part of Morenos last term showed mixed trends in violent crime. While the rate of carjackings has nearly tripled under La Spata, overall violent crime has decreased 16% and robbery and shooting victimizations have dropped since he took over from Moreno.

La Spata agrees with his challengers on some issues, including the need to address economic inequality and the trauma that underlies city violence. He also wants mental health and social workers to be able to respond to certain emergencies and bike infrastructure to be built throughout the city. He also seeks to pass environmental justice legislation.

La Spata said hes been working to make the wards once corrupt, opaque zoning process a more open and inclusive process by providing early looks at new developments for community members. He has also used a participatory budgeting process to allow residents to submit ideas and vote on how some discretionary infrastructure money will be spent.

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While saying he thinks his office has handled constituent services well, he also said hed continue to address citywide issues and continue his work in a council that is more enabled to be a full legislative body after seeing some legislation get bottled up.

I think the council needs to work more independently of the mayor, he said.

jsheridan@chicagotribune.com
Martin Lewis has shared his helpful tips for staying warm this winter without having to resort to putting the heating on.

The Money Saving Experts comments come as nine out of 10 UK adults report that their living costs have increased in the last three months due to rising energy bills and food prices.

In an episode of his ITV programme from November, The Martin Lewis Money Show, Lewis said his team had carried out research on ways to heat the human and not the home.

It was really depressing, the fact that we needed to do it because of the way energy prices were going and the way some people wouldnt be able to turn their central heating on, Lewis said.

As it turned out the research that we did has been really useful, not just for people who are in desperate states... but for many who just want to reduce their central heating.

Lots of stuff from how you effectively layer clothes, but the one that really took off was small electrical items for heating the person.

Lewis said his team had identified a number of cheap and cost-effective electrical items, including heated gloves, handwarmers, an electric gilet and heated insoles.

Some of the items cost as little as 1p per hour based on a rate of 34p/kw.

Heated gloves cost around 5, and are USB powered. Lewis said they could cost as little as 1p per hour to run.

He also recommended the use of microwave wheat bags (around 4) and hot water bottles (around 5).

Sharing his own personal hack, Lewis advised wrapping up in a sleeping bag and putting the hot water bottle inside while sitting at home as this traps the heat and keeps you warm for longer.

The wheat bag costs around 1p per hour, while the cost of the hot water bottle is around 7p per hour.

Lewis noted that while electrical gilets can be expensive to buy (they cost around 50), they can be run for as little as 1p per hour and are effective in keeping the whole body warm.

Also, during the programme, Lewis urged the public to check the temperature setting of their thermostat in what he is calling the one degree challenge.

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He said the World Health Organization has recommended that a temperature of 18 degrees is fine for healthy adults.

Its not for me to tell you what to do but Id like you to try reducing it by 1 degree, Lewis said, adding that most people have their thermostat set around 21 degrees.

That could save you around 10 per cent on the heating bill, Lewis said.
Soldiers from the Massachusetts National Guard were feted Sunday at a send-off ceremony before being deployed to various locations across the Middle East to support the United States ongoing military actions against ISIS.

The guardsmen, stationed at Camp Edwards on Cape Cod and in Westfield, are part of the 3rd Battalion, 126th Aviation Regiment and are being deployed to participate in Operation Inherent Resolve, the Mass. National Guard said. It is the battalions fourth deployment in support of Operation Inherent Resolve and first since 2019.

The Massachusetts National Guard is a dual mission force. We have to be ready to meet the needs of both our state and the country. Today, we are reminded that our primary mission is to fight and win our nations wars, Maj. Gen. Gary Keefe, the states adjutant general, said. With nearly a dozen deployments in support of contingency operations in the Middle East, the men and women of the 126th Aviation are once again prepared to serve their nation overseas.

The Mass. National Guard said that it has participated in each of our nations conflicts since it was formed in 1636. Since the wars in the Middle East began in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, more than 20,000 Mass. National Guard soldiers have been deployed overseas.

On Saturday, jets from from the Mass. National Guards 104th Fighter Wing in stationed at Barnes Air National Guard Base in Westfield were part of the efforts to shoot down a Chinese spy balloon off of South Carolina.

Were very proud to have taken part today, Col. David Moon Halasi-Kun, the units commander, said in a statement. As part of our 24/7/365 mission to protect the United States from aerial threats, we launched two F-15C Eagles in support of the successful downing of the Peoples Republic of China surveillance balloon.

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Rep. Matt Gaetz. Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

Matt Gaetz wants the Biden administration to "blow up" TikTok next.

Gaetz's tweet about TikTok came after the Air Force shot down a Chinese balloon.

"TikTok is a bigger threat than the Balloon," Gaetz tweeted on Sunday.

Rep. Matt Gaetz wants the Biden administration to "blow up TikTok" next.

The US Air Force shot down a suspected Chinese spy balloon on Saturday using an F-22 fighter jet. Later the same day, Gaetz tweeted: "Now blow up TikTok."

He posted a second tweet on Sunday, writing: "TikTok is a bigger threat than the Balloon."

Gaetz was likely referring to a renewed push in the right wing to ban TikTok, the popular app owned by the Chinese company ByteDance. The initiative has roots in an August 2020 move by then-President Donald Trump to ban the app. President Joe Biden rescinded Trump's executive order in June 2021.

In December, Gaetz told Florida ABC affiliate WEAR-TV that he thinks TikTok is a "security threat."

"It is an intelligence tool for the Chinese communist party, and no spunky dance is worth having the Chinese communist party being able to exploit information from almost every American family," Gaetz told WEAR-TV.

"Remember, they only allow their version of TikTok to be used 40 minutes a day in their country. Yet in our country, it seems to be addicting a generation to its vices and I think its a real challenge," Gaetz added.

Gaetz was partially accurate in his claim about TikTok time limits in China.

In China, the TikTok app is known as Douyin. Only children under 14 are given a time limit on their Douyin use under the app's "youth mode." Adults can use the app for as long as they like.

Lawmakers like Josh Hawley of Missouri have echoed Gaetz's sentiments about TikTok. In January, Hawley introduced in the Senate the "No TikTok on United States Devices Act," which tables a ban on downloads of the app in the US.

"TikTok poses a threat to all Americans who have the app on their devices. It opens the door for the Chinese Communist Party to access Americans' personal information, keystrokes, and location through aggressive data harvesting," Hawley wrote on his website. "Banning it on government devices was a step in the right direction, but now is the time to ban it nationwide to protect the American people."

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Hawley's bill came after a bipartisan bill also aiming to ban TikTok was introduced on December 13. This bill was introduced by Sen. Marco Rubio and House Reps. Mike Gallagher and Raja Krishnamoorthi. The bill is called the "ANTI-SOCIAL CCP ACT, " which stands for "Averting the National Threat of Internet Surveillance, Oppressive Censorship and Influence, and Algorithmic Learning by the Chinese Communist Party."

The US government has also taken steps to curtail the use of TikTok: More than 20 states have banned the app on government-owned devices.

Representatives for Gaetz and ByteDance did not immediately respond to Insider's requests for comment.

Read the original article on Business Insider
From the beginning of her marriage to the end, the Harlem star received love from her Oscar-winning industry sister.

Some say you should never meet your heroes, but for Meagan Good, meeting hers exceeded her expectations. During an appearance on The Jennifer Hudson Show, the actress revealed how Halle Berry showed her love during both the peak and downfall of her marriage.

In 2012, just a few days before her wedding, Good met the Academy Award-winning actress at a restaurant. After some nervous contemplation, Good introduced herself, which led to a heartfelt and emotional conversation about Berrys influence on her career.

I was like, I love you so much. Youve been such an inspiration to me. I know youve gone through so many things publicly and privately and in your career, and youre just so strong, Good disclosed. First, I got emotional, and then she got emotional because I got emotional. And she just was so sweet. And then, two years later, she started following me on Instagram and she comments on my pictures.

Meagan Good, left, revealed that Halle Berry showed her a lot of support and love during a difficult period. (Photos: Getty Images)

Fast forward a few years later in 2021 when Good and her husband, Devon Franklin, announced the end of their nine-year marriage. Good described the highly-publicized split as a time of transition, intentional growth and healing during which Berry offered her a supportive ear.

We share the same makeup artist  shoutout to Jorge back there, Good exclaimed. He was saying she was wanting to know [if] she should reach out to me when I was going through my divorce. So I was just like, thats really sweet that there was a lot of support and love.

Berry was not the only Hollywood icon to support Good during her divorce. Good has recently revealed how Whoopi Goldberg was instrumental in helping her get through this period.

On Amazon Primes, series Harlem, Good emphasized that her costar continuously looked out for her, despite their complex fictional relationship. I have to give you your flowers, Good said to Goldberg on The View. Youre so nurturing and amazing and kind  Its been a joy. I feel very, very privileged.

TheGrio is FREE on your TV via Apple TV, Amazon Fire, Roku, and Android TV. TheGrios Black Podcast Network is free too. Download theGrio mobile apps today! Listen to Writing Black with Maiysha Kai.

The post Meagan Good reveals Halle Berrys sweet gesture during her divorce appeared first on TheGrio.
PARIS (AP) 

Media watchdog Reporters Without Borders along with 14 French media outlets and production companies on Monday called on Afghanistans Taliban rulers to release a journalist imprisoned for a month in Kabul.

In a joint statement, RSF and French media said journalist Mortaza Behboudi, with dual French and Afghan citizenship, was arrested on Jan. 7 in the Afghan capital, two days after he arrived in the country as part of a reporting assignment. They said they decided to make the case public after trying in vain for a month to obtain his release.

RSF and French media called on Taliban authorities to end this senseless situation and that the respected and appreciated journalist was said to be accused of spying.

According to the statement, Behboudi, 28, began his career as a photojournalist at the age of 16 in Afghanistan, where he was born. He came as a refugee to Paris at 21 because he had been threatened in his home country and later worked as a freelance journalist for numerous French media.

Behboudi was awarded the Bayeux Prize for War Correspondents last year for a series of reports about life in Afghanistan under the Taliban regime.
One of the best investments we can make is in our own knowledge and skill set. With that in mind, this article will work through how we can use Return On Equity (ROE) to better understand a business. To keep the lesson grounded in practicality, we'll use ROE to better understand Medical Properties Trust, Inc. (NYSE:MPW).

Return on Equity or ROE is a test of how effectively a company is growing its value and managing investors money. In short, ROE shows the profit each dollar generates with respect to its shareholder investments.

See our latest analysis for Medical Properties Trust

How To Calculate Return On Equity?

The formula for ROE is:

Return on Equity = Net Profit (from continuing operations)  Shareholders' Equity

So, based on the above formula, the ROE for Medical Properties Trust is:

14% = US$1.3b  US$8.8b (Based on the trailing twelve months to September 2022).

The 'return' is the amount earned after tax over the last twelve months. Another way to think of that is that for every $1 worth of equity, the company was able to earn $0.14 in profit.

Does Medical Properties Trust Have A Good Return On Equity?

One simple way to determine if a company has a good return on equity is to compare it to the average for its industry. Importantly, this is far from a perfect measure, because companies differ significantly within the same industry classification. As is clear from the image below, Medical Properties Trust has a better ROE than the average (6.8%) in the REITs industry.

roe

That's clearly a positive. Bear in mind, a high ROE doesn't always mean superior financial performance. A higher proportion of debt in a company's capital structure may also result in a high ROE, where the high debt levels could be a huge risk . Our risks dashboardshould have the 3 risks we have identified for Medical Properties Trust.

How Does Debt Impact ROE?

Companies usually need to invest money to grow their profits. The cash for investment can come from prior year profits (retained earnings), issuing new shares, or borrowing. In the first two cases, the ROE will capture this use of capital to grow. In the latter case, the debt required for growth will boost returns, but will not impact the shareholders' equity. In this manner the use of debt will boost ROE, even though the core economics of the business stay the same.

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Medical Properties Trust's Debt And Its 14% ROE

Medical Properties Trust clearly uses a high amount of debt to boost returns, as it has a debt to equity ratio of 1.07. There's no doubt its ROE is decent, but the very high debt the company carries is not too exciting to see. Debt increases risk and reduces options for the company in the future, so you generally want to see some good returns from using it.

Summary

Return on equity is useful for comparing the quality of different businesses. Companies that can achieve high returns on equity without too much debt are generally of good quality. If two companies have the same ROE, then I would generally prefer the one with less debt.

But when a business is high quality, the market often bids it up to a price that reflects this. Profit growth rates, versus the expectations reflected in the price of the stock, are a particularly important to consider. So I think it may be worth checking this free report on analyst forecasts for the company.

Of course Medical Properties Trust may not be the best stock to buy. So you may wish to see this free collection of other companies that have high ROE and low debt.

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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Lt. Frank Luke can be seen here in this 1918 photo standing next to the wreckage of a kill. He was famous as the "Arizona Balloon Buster," having taken out 14 German observation balloons before he was killed in combat. CORBIS/Corbis via Getty Images

A F-22 raptor that shot down a Chinese spy balloon on Saturday used the callsign "FRANK."

The callsign was a tribute to a legendary World War I pilot named Frank Luke Jr.

Luke downed 14 German balloons and four aircraft during a short combat period in France.

A US Air Force F-22 fighter jet using the callsign "FRANK" fired a single air-to-air missile at a high-altitude Chinese surveillance balloon on Saturday, sending debris plummeting off the coast of South Carolina and calling attention to a famous WWI pilot.

The operation over the weekend brought a dramatic end to a days-long public saga during which the balloon traveled across large portions of the US, raising tensions between Washington and Beijing.

The callsign of the F-22 that shot down the Chinese spy balloon was a nod to Frank Luke Jr., a legendary World War I pilot who destroyed over a dozen German balloons and several aircraft during his brief time in combat as a member of the United States Army Air Service. For his efforts in the skies above the battlefield, Luke became famous as the "Arizona Balloon Buster," according to the US Air Force.

Luke was a star athlete during high school in his hometown of Phoenix. Shortly after the US entered World War I in the spring of 1917, the 20-year-old enlisted in the military and trained to become a pilot. He was later sent to France to join the 1st Pursuit Group, 27th Aero Squadron flying the SPAD S.XIII, a French biplane fighter.

Amid the brutal trench-style warfare of World War I, hydrogen balloons played a major role in allowing militaries to gather intel on what was happening behind enemy lines. These expensive assets were protected by anti-aircraft guns and aircraft, so trying to attack them was "practically suicide," the Air Force said.

Luke shot down his first enemy aircraft on Aug. 16, 1918, according to Air Force History and Museums, and his first balloon on Sept. 12, 1918. During his time in the war, he successfully shot down 14 German balloons and four planes.

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On the day of his last flight, Sept. 29, 1918, over a dozen French villagers said they watched Luke brave enemy fire from the ground and the sky. Wounded and flying a damaged plane after taking fire from enemy Fokker planes and ground batteries responding to his destruction of three observation balloons in the Meuse region, Luke redirected his fire to enemy ground troops near Murvaux, killing six and wounding several more before he had no choice but to land.

American World War I fighter ace, Frank Luke Jr (1897 - 1918), with his SPAD S.XIII biplane, France, 18th September 1918. Getty Images

On the ground, as the enemy called on him to surrender, Luke used a pistol to defend himself until he died from a wound to his chest, according to the account from the French villagers. According to the Air Force, Luke's endeavors posthumously earned him the Medal of Honor, the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Aero Club Medal for Bravery, and the Italian War Cross.

"No one had the sheer contemptuous courage that boy possessed," said Luke's commander Maj. H.E. Hartney, according to the Air Force. "He was an excellent pilot and probably the best flying marksman on the Western Front. We had any number of expert pilots and there was no shortage of good shots, but the perfect combination, like the perfect specimen of anything in the world, was scarce. Frank Luke was the perfect combination."

Capt. Edward V. "Eddie" Rickenbacke, who was the top US ace of the war with 26 aerial victories, hailed Luke as "the most daring aviator and greatest fighter pilot of the entire war. His life is one of the brightest glories of our Air Service."

Luke Air Force Base in Arizona is named after Frank Luke Jr., and the ace pilot also has a statue in Phoenix.

Dogfighting and shooting down balloons are far less common nowadays. Saturday's Chinese spy balloon take-down marked the first air-to-air kill for the F-22 Raptor, a stealth fifth-generation air superiority fighter. The aircraft, which was flying at an altitude of 58,000 feet, fired a single AIM-9X Sidewinder missile at the balloon operating somewhere between 60,000 and 65,000 feet, a senior US defense official said.

Gen. Glen VanHerck, commander of NORAD and US Northern Command, told reporters on Monday that it was "fitting" to see the F-22 with the callsign "FRANK" down the Chinese balloon in US airspace within the country's territorial waters.

There was no collateral damage or harm to civilians as a result of the mission, the official said, adding that the debris landed in 47-foot-deep water off the coast of South Carolina.

Read the original article on Business Insider
MSNBCs Mehdi Hasan mocked Republican leaders for their fear of and devotion to Fox News host Tucker Carlson, the far-right conspiracy theorist who increasingly sets the partys agenda.

Hasan said he doesnt often agree with serial liar Boris Johnson, who last week said he was amazed and horrified over how much the GOP is intimidated by Carlson.

What is it with this guy? the former British prime minister asked in disbelief.

Its hard to disagree with that sentiment from Boris, Hasan told fellow MSNBC host Ayman Mohyeldin.

Hasan dismissed Carlson as a former bowtie-wearing frozen-food heir who hosts a nightly white power hour on Fox.

Yet the GOP lives in fear of him, he said.

Tucker Carlson basically now decides the GOP agenda on everything from aid to Ukraine to the green M&Ms. He sets the tone, he decides the official enemies every night, and you dare not criticize him or cross him if you have an R next to your name, he said. Its kind of crazy. Its kind of embarrassing, is it not?

Mohyeldin agreed, calling it beyond embarrassing how much the GOP cowers to him, then as an example played a clip of Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) groveling before Carlson.

The party that prided itself on standing up to communism and the USSR now lives in fear of two privileged white men: Donald Trump and Tucker Carlson, Mohyeldin said.

See the full discussion:
The Mental Health Cooperative is partnering more mental health clinicians with first responders again, but this time there's no police involved.

The Cooperative will launch REACH, or Responders Engaged and Committed to Help, with the Nashville Fire Department later this month. It'll be the city's first "non-law enforcement mental health crisis response program," according to a news release from the Mental Health Cooperative.

Every behavioral health incident is different, and each requires a different response, Mental Health Cooperative CEO Pam Womack said. I would like to thank our local government leaders and the Nashville Fire Department for making mental health a priority and ensuring our community has access to adequate and appropriate care.

More:Nashville program teaming police with mental health workers is now permanent

The Cooperative currently partners with the Metro Nashville Police Department to run Partners in Care, a program that puts clinicians in the car with officers as they respond to calls where a person may be having a mental health crisis.

In September, the Metro City Council voted to make the program permanent. In its first year, they responded to 1,344 calls with 4% of the them resulting in arrest.

This new program, launching Feb. 13, works under the same premise as Partners in Care, except they respond with a paramedic from the Nashville Fire Department to behavioral health incidents that do not require a police officer. The program is meant to cut down on response times and decrease the number of people who are transported to emergency rooms after a call to 911.

This program will allow our responses to be more efficient, Fire Department Chief William Swann said. With REACH, the Nashville Fire Department can approach a situation with the right resources the first time, helping individuals in crisis more quickly and reducing the demand on emergency resources.

REACH clinicians will be partnered with paramedics Tuesday through Friday from 10 a.m. until 8 p.m.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Nashville Fire Department partners with Mental Health Cooperative
During a press conference Monday morning, Aurora Police Chief Keith Cross, at the podium, discusses the officer-involved shooting of a man on Sunday. (Megan Jones / The Beacon-News)

A man remained in critical condition Monday afternoon after being shot by an Aurora police officer after allegedly charging at the officer armed with knives outside a home in the city Sunday morning.

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Aurora Police Chief Keith Cross during a press conference Monday said officers responded to a house in the 900 block of Colorado Avenue around 10:38 a.m. after receiving a 911 call from a family member inside the home. The person said another family member was armed with multiple knives and threatening people inside the house.

When officers arrived on the scene, Cross said they found a man holding multiple knives in the doorway of the home and threatening to kill everyone.

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Cross said officers made efforts to verbally de-escalate the situation, making multiple commands for the man to drop his weapons. The man then turned his attention to the police officers and threatened to kill them, according to police.

Meanwhile, officers were working to evacuate the family members from the home, police said.

The man exited the home and engaged with the officers in the garage, officials said. The man, still armed with the knives, then charged at an officer, who then shot the man, according to police. Police declined to say how many times the man had been shot due to the ongoing investigation.

Police said they rendered aid until Aurora Fire Department paramedics arrived and took the man to a hospital, where he is now listed in critical condition, officials said Monday.

The situation unfolded quickly, with eight minutes between police responding to the call and the paramedics being dispatched, police said.

Cross said the officers used other de-escalation tactics, but declined to say what specific tactics were used.

Cross said there were no mental health professionals on the scene during the incident. Since 2020, the department has used a co-response method with social workers to help individuals in a mental health crisis that may pose a risk to themselves or others, according to the departments website.

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The officer involved in the shooting was also taken to a hospital, per the departments policy, and was later released, police said.

All officers who responded to the incident have been placed on paid administrative leave, in keeping with police policy, officials said.

The Kane County Major Crimes Task Force is conducting the investigation into the shooting in accordance with Illinois law.

Police declined to give the age or name of the man who was shot. Cross said he could not answer many questions because the case is under investigation.

This was a very unfortunate situation for everyone involved, Cross said. An officer-involved shooting is traumatic for everyone involved. We are providing support for our officers as well as the family of the subject.

mejones@chicagotribune.com
Daniel Motaung

Daniel Motaung Credit - Aart Verrips for TIME

A Kenyan judge on Monday rejected Metas attempt to have its name struck from a lawsuit alleging widespread failings in its safety operations in Africa, in a significant blow to Facebooks parent company.

The ruling means Meta will be significantly subjected to a court of law in the global south for the first time in its history, according to Amnesty International.

The lawsuit alleges that Meta and its local outsourcing partner Sama are responsible for multiple violations of the Kenyan constitution, including union-busting and worker exploitation. Those alleged abuses undermined the platforms safety efforts targeted at millions of people across Africa, lawyers argue.

The lawsuit was filed by Daniel Motaung, a former Facebook content moderator for Sama in Kenya, who says he and his colleagues suffered severe post-traumatic stress disorder after being exposed on the job to graphically violent images and videos. Motaung alleges he was unlawfully dismissed after leading an effort to unionize his colleagues for better pay and working conditionsin events that were first reported by TIME last year.

Read More: Inside Facebooks African Sweatshop

Metas lawyers had argued that because Meta does not formally operate in Kenya, the countrys legal system lacked the proper jurisdiction to hear the case.

But a judge in Nairobis employment and labor relations court ruled on Monday that Meta is a proper party to the case. Nairobi is the hub for Metas outsourced content moderation workforce in sub-Saharan Africa, which handles over a dozen languages spoken throughout the region.

Meta declined to comment.

The aim of the case is to force Facebook to reform its exploitative moderation system, which has hurt Kenyan workers and undermined the safety of millions of Kenyan and other Africans, Foxglove, a London-based legal NGO that is supporting Motaung, said in a statement.

We are extremely pleased Facebook have been found to be proper parties to this case and we look forward to the day when Facebook will face justice for exploiting content moderators like Daniel, said Cori Crider, co-director of Foxglove, in a statement. We think its right that this trial be heard in Kenya, where the abuses happened. Mark Zuckerberg advertises his service to African users and profits from Kenyan advertisingbut he refuses to invest enough resources to keep Kenyans safe and treat the key workers who protect Facebook with the dignity and humanity they deserve.

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The next hearing in the case is scheduled for March 8.

The ruling that Meta is susceptible to Kenyan law could also have implications for another major case against Meta in the Kenyan legal system. That case accuses the company of failing to prevent hate speech and incitement to violence in Ethiopia, where ethnic tensions fueled a brutal civil war in the Tigray region from November 2020 to November 2022.

The case, which like Motaungs is also supported by Foxglove, argues that Facebook failed to hire enough content moderators with expertise in Ethiopian languages at its Nairobi hub; that its algorithm amplifies hateful content; and that Facebook had failed to invest appropriately in safety for its African users.

Sama, Facebooks outsourcing partner in Kenya, announced in January that it is exiting the content moderation business, and that around 200 of its Facebook content moderators would lose their jobs. It had previously denied allegations of workers rights abuses and inadequate mental health support.
For the third year in a row, an eight-foot, black metal fence will surround the U.S. Capitol complex during an address to Congress by President Joe Biden. The fencing was erected this weekend and will remain in place through at least Wednesday, surrounding the 175,000 square-foot Capitol grounds complex.

The fencing, which is plastered with signs reading "Area closed by order of the United States Capitol Police Board," has become an increasingly common and controversial security measure in the two years since the Jan. 6, 2021 U.S. Capitol attack.

Security fencing outside the US Capitol in Washington, DC, US, on Monday, Feb. 6, 2023. / Credit: Photographer: Sarah Silbiger/Bloomberg via Getty Images

"It's traumatizing to our children and it sends a message that something is wrong with our country and our Capitol," said Denise Krepp, a mother of two, who is raising her children in the Capitol Hill neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Krepp told CBS News she and other parents are growing more uncomfortable with the imposing image of the police fencing. "Our children are seeing this and asking their parents 'What's wrong? Why are we barricaded in again?'"

The fencing was ordered by the U.S. Capitol Police Board, a group of congressional security officials who oversee the Capitol grounds, but whose meetings and reports are not made publicly available.

A president's State of the Union address to Congress is regularly designated as a national special security event by federal homeland security officials, allowing for temporary and significant increases in security precautions and manpower. In a statement, the Capitol Police said, "National Special Security Events require a robust security plan, so out of an abundance of caution, the U.S. Secret Service and the U.S. Capitol Police temporarily put up a fence around the U.S. Capitol Building."

Security officials installed the same eight-foot metal fencing in the immediate aftermath of the Capitol attack in 2021. It has reappeared multiple times in the months since, including ahead of a Sept. 18, 2021 protest by supporters of Jan. 6 criminal defendants and former President Donald Trump.

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Similar fencing was also installed for weeks around the U.S. Supreme Court in 2022, after the release of a draft opinion indicating the court was poised to overturn the 1973 Roe v. Wade abortion rights ruling.

FILE: The U.S. Supreme Court Building is seen through a temporary security fence on June 23, 2022 in Washington, DC. / Credit: Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

Rep. Eleanor Holmes Norton, the longtime Democratic delegate representing the District of Columbia in the House of Representatives, told CBS News she plans to introduce legislation to prohibit any permanent fencing on Capitol grounds.

"Already, the distance between government and the people has grown, with trust in government at historic lows," Holmes Norton said. "We should not entrench that distance further by placing intimidating barriers between ourselves as public servants and the people we serve, especially when such barriers are neither effective nor necessary."

Multiple federal law enforcement officials tell CBS News they are not aware of any specific nor credible threats to the Capitol, though they said cite a "heightened threat environment" as well as the widespread attention the State of the Union address routinely attracts.

U.S. Capitol Police reports show a sizeable number of investigations of threats against members of Congress. Over 7,000 investigations were undertaken in 2022, with nearly 10,000 investigations in 2021. Both represented a dramatic increase in yearly totals compared to the 2010s.

Justice Department prosecutors have filed a series of recent criminal cases against people accused of making death threats against congressional representatives of both parties. They've also opened a federal case against the California man accused of attacking the husband of former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. In Maryland, federal prosecutors have charged a man with traveling across country to allegedly make an assassination attempt against Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh in the D.C. suburb of Chevy Chase, Md.

Rep. Glenn Ivey, Democrat of Maryland, said, "Unscalable fencing should not be a metaphor for the United States Congress. We must overcome division, discord, and address discontent; not barricade against it." Ivey added, "I believe in our Capitol Police, and first responders and precautions like these are necessary. However, it is a sad state of affairs and sign of our times that barriers need to be erected to keep democracy in action protected."

Holmes Norton said that the fencing is affecting neighborhoods and businesses, preventing deliveries and blocking access by first responders. "Anytime a fence is erected around the Capitol, it should come down as soon as possible," she said.

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Beyonce breaks record with Grammy wins
[Source]

Michelle Yeoh revealed that she entered and won the Miss Malaysia beauty contest in 1983 to shut her mother up.

In an interview on The Graham Norton Show on Feb. 3, Yeoh recalled how her mother, Janet, signed her up for the beauty pageant when she was in her early 20s.

The Everything Everywhere All at Once actor, 60, recounted coming home for the holidays from England when she was 21 years old to find her mother was suddenly looped into this whole thing about how she should be on stage more.

Im thinking, "What on earth is she on about?" Next thing I knew, my brother  she looped my brother into doing [the same], he was like, "Yeah, yeah, you should try that." She had entered me for Miss Malaysia. She actually signed the form, so technically, Im not legit. More from NextShark: My Hero Academia Season 6 trailer teases all-out war between heroes and villains

As Yeoh laughed along with the audience, host Norton said, But youd think, Oh, terrible thing to do, but  you won!

I did it to shut her up. Because she wouldnt stop about it, so we had a deal. If I do this, you will never do something like this again, Yeoh replied.

In the interview, Yeoh also spoke about how her strict mother would chaperone her dates when she was a teenager.

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Now, you have to remember moms are very protective, right, for all the right reasons. She always went on a date. Always, until I went to England to study. I dont even know why she let me go to England.

The Golden Globes Best Actress winner also recounted an awkward moment when she sat between her mother and the boy she was on a date with when she was 17 years old.

I suddenly realized, "Why are there two hands on my leg?" So, it was his hand on my moms hand. He was holding the hand he thought was mine, and then I looked at it and go like, "Excuse me, guys." More from NextShark: 'We are Americans': Greys Anatomy sheds light on anti-Asian hate in latest Season 18 episode

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Yeoh, who was notably praised for her recent work in films Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings and Everything Everywhere All at Once, was named Time magazines Icon of the Year in 2022 and became the first Asian to win National Board of Review Award for Best Actress in its 45-year history.

The actor was recently nominated for Best Actress in the 2023 British Academy of Film and Television Arts Awards and for the 95th Academy Awards.

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Recent addition Mike Campbell, left, and longtime Fleetwood Mac members John McVie, Stevie Nicks, Christine McVie and Mick Fleetwood appear at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony in New York 2019. (Charles Sykes / Invision / Associated Press)

Fleetwood Mac no longer plans to perform together as a band after one of its longtime members, Christine McVie, died late last year. That's what drummer Mick Fleetwood told The Times Sunday on the red carpet for the Grammy Awards.

Fleetwood said he plans to still perform, but "not as Fleetwood Mac."

"I think right now, I truly think the line in the sand has been drawn with the loss of Chris," Fleetwood said, referring to McVie. "I'd say we're done, but then we've all said that before. It's sort of unthinkable right now."

Fleetwood said surviving members of the band, past and present, are busy with other touring and performing duties, mentioning current members Stevie Nicks, Mike Campbell, Neil Finn and former member Lindsey Buckingham.

"They all get out and play, so I'm gonna be doing the same thing, finding people to play with," Fleetwood said.

"Anyone out there?" he teased, leaning in to the camera before chuckling.

McVie, a British vocalist and keyboardist, died at 79 on Nov. 30 after experiencing a short illness.

This is a day where my dear sweet Friend Christine McVie has taken to flight... and left us earthbound folks to listen with bated breath to the sounds of that song bird ... reminding one and all that love is all around us to reach for and touch in this precious life that is gifted to us, Mick Fleetwood wrote shortly after her death.

"Part of my heart has flown away today. I will miss everything about you Christine McVie. Memories abound.. they fly to me.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
The military did not detect previous flights of Chinese spy balloons over the U.S. that took place during the Trump administration, a top general said Monday, due to a "gap" in the Defense Department's ability to track certain airborne objects.

Gen. Glen VanHerck, head of North American Aerospace Defense Command, cited the issue as the reason that at least three spy balloon flights were not briefed to senior Trump officials at the time.

"So those balloons, so every day as a NORAD commander it's my responsibility to detect threats to North America," he told reporters at the Pentagon. "I will tell you that we did not detect those threats. And that's a domain awareness gap that we have to figure out. But I don't want to go into further detail."

He added that the intelligence community later determined the flights had occurred using "additional means of collection."

The Defense Department first brought up the Trump-era flights on Saturday, not long after an F-22 fighter shot down a Chinese spy balloon off the coast of South Carolina. Republicans had for several days blamed the Biden administration for its handling of the incident, but a senior DoD official on Saturday noted that flights had also occurred during the previous administration.

The remark caused an uproar in Republican circles, with several former Trump officials denying the incidents on Sunday, saying they never received any briefings from the military.

"We were never briefed, we never heard any of it," former national security adviser Robert O'Brien told POLITICO.

During his meetings with reporters, VanHerck also addressed why the military didn't shoot down the balloon last week before it began its seven-day journey over the U.S. and Canada.

"It was my assessment that this balloon did not present a physical military threat to North America, this is under my NORAD hat," he said. "And therefore, I could not take immediate action because it was not demonstrating hostile act or hostile intent."

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The news from VanHerck comes as members of Congress demand further briefings from the Pentagon, both on the previous balloon incursions and on the current administration's handling of the newest flight.

Rep. Michael Waltz (R-Fla.) said in an interview Monday that the Pentagon told him the military had actually tracked eight such incidents, although the timeframe of those flights was unclear.

I had a conversation with someone at the Joint Staff that used the number eight, said Waltz, a member of the House Armed Services Committee, in a Monday interview.

Two of the Trump-era incidents occurred over Florida, and one over Texas, Defense Department officials told Waltz separately by phone on Sunday. Officials declined to provide details about the other incidents, he said, including under whose administration they occurred.

Since last week, administration officials have conducted a series of briefings for members of Congress and staff. On Thursday, the staff of the "Gang of Eight" lawmakers received a classified briefing, followed by a briefing for national security committee staffs on Friday.

Before the balloon was shot down on Saturday, the Pentagon notified the chairs and ranking members of the House and Senate Armed Services committees and the defense panels of the House and Senate Appropriations committees, and followed up with a briefing after the operation, a White House spokesperson said.

During a separate Sunday briefing, representatives from the Office of the Secretary of Defense read an opening statement about the three incidents over Florida and Texas but did not take questions, Waltz said. They also did not disclose details about the nature or size of the balloons, or whether the incidents were reported up the chain of command.

Waltz said he spoke separately with a member of the Joint Staff, who told him similar incidents had occurred eight times.

Senior Biden administration officials have since said the information was discovered after the previous administration had left office, and have offered to brief former officials on the new intelligence.

However, O'Brien said that as of Monday afternoon, he had not been contacted about any potential briefings.

Waltz said he was not satisfied with the briefing he received on Sunday and is asking for additional information from the Pentagon.

You cant just put that out there that our airspace was violated multiple times and not give us any details, he said.

The developments come as the military begins the work of recovering debris from the balloon in the waters off the East Coast.

A Navy dock landing ship, the USS Carter Hall, is near where the balloon splashed down off of South Carolina and is collecting and categorizing debris, VanHerck said. The USNS Pathfinder, an oceanographic survey ship, is also working to produce a map of the balloons debris field. He noted that rough seas hampered recovery operations on Sunday.

Meanwhile, forces trained in removing unexploded ordnance went out to the site in a rigid-hull inflatable boat this morning, and will deploy unmanned underwater vehicles equipped with side-scan sonar to locate debris.

The military is concerned the remnants of balloons payload could contain explosives or hazardous material, and wants to ensure the safety of the site, VanHerck said. The balloon was as much as 200 feet tall, with a payload the size of a jetliner that weighed "in excess of a couple thousand pounds.
A 14-year-old boy was found shot and killed weeks after he went missing, Texas police say.

Officers were dispatched to a field in northern Houston on Saturday, Feb. 4, for a report of a body, police said. When officers arrived, they found an unidentified body in a state of decomposition, the Houston Police Department said in a Feb. 6 news release.

An autopsy revealed the victim was Carlos Lugo, who was reported missing Jan. 23, according to police. Lugos last known location was about a mile away from where his body was eventually found.

The teenager was shot multiple times, police said.

According to the mother, she had dropped her son off in the area to get together with some friends, detective Kyle Heaverlo told KPRC. She dropped him off (and) then never heard from him again. That was unlike him. He would call and check in with her and she said she had not heard from him in about two weeks.

There is no known suspect or motive for the killing. Anyone with information is asked to contact Houston police at 713-308-3600.

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A still from the teaser for Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning - Part One. (Paramount Pictures)

This summer, Tom Cruise will return as Ethan Hunt for a seventh time in Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One.

Back in 1996, few expected an enduring franchise to emerge from Mission: Impossible. In the 26 years since Brian De Palmas taut espionage thriller was first released, weve seen five sequels, four different directors, and a film series that has cemented itself as one of the slickest action film series that Hollywood has ever put out.

After numerous production setbacks, were finally about to experience the seventh Mission: Impossible movie in 2023.

Read more: Tom Cruise did over 500 skydives for biggest stunt yet

Titled Dead Reckoning Part One, it immediately follows on from the events of 2018s Mission: Impossible - Fallout, and is the first of a two-part swansong for Tom Cruises thrill-seeking superspy Ethan Hunt.

Heres everything we know about Dead Reckoning so far

Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One release date

Tom Cruise takes flight in the first poster for Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One (Paramount)

Dead Reckoning Part One will finally hit cinemas on the 14 July, 2023. Production was initially supposed to commence in February 2020, but the Covid pandemic halted proceedings to such an extent that the cameras only began rolling seven months later.

Several reports emanating from the Dead Reckoning set since the original delay would confirm a number of hold-ups, including a leaked audio recording of Cruise lambasting crew members for not following Covid prevention protocol.

It would take a year and a half from when filming was supposed to begin that principal photography had finally wrapped up in September 2021.

Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One director and writer

Tom Cruise with Christopher McQuarrie at the premiere of Mission: Impossible - Fallout, 2018. Brent N. Clarke/Invision/AP)

After writing and directing the previous two Mission: Impossible movies in Fallout and 2015s Rogue Nation, Christopher McQuarrie is back again to helm Dead Reckoning.

The filmmaker has also enjoyed a fruitful partnership with Cruise, having worked with him on both Jack Reacher and critical darling Top Gun: Maverick  with the latter currently in the running for Best Picture at this years Academy Awards.

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Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One plot

A still from the teaser for Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning - Part One. (Paramount Pictures)

For a film thats scheduled for a worldwide release this summer on 14 July, its somewhat surprising that Dead Reckonings plot is still under wraps at the time of writing.

A pulsating trailer was dropped back in May 2022 though, which revealed little on the films central premise but showcased the thrills and stunts that weve grown accustomed to and have adored over the years.

Watch a trailer for Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One

Given that both Dead Reckoning sequels are believed to mark the closing chapters of Hunts escapades, its very likely that well see a few faces from his past that may turn out to be deadly threats for his Impossible Missions Force (IMF) team.

Read more: Tom Cruise's most daring stunts

As explicitly shown in the trailer, we know that there will be at least three major action set-pieces that will definitely happen in Dead Reckoning: Cruise ramping off a cliff on a motorcycle before jumping off and opening a parachute, a city-wide car chase that leaves Rome in tatters, and Cruise and Morales fighting atop a high-speed train before it crashes in another homage to the first movie.

Watch: Go behind the scenes on Mission: Impossible 7's big stunt

Cruise stated that the motorcycle stunt was by far and away the most dangerous thing theyve ever attempted, leaving little doubt that more rip-roaring sequences will be revealed once the official trailer drops nearer to Dead Reckonings release.

Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One cast

A still from the teaser for Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning - Part One. (Paramount Pictures)

Joining Cruises Hunt is his core team of tech whiz Luther Stickell and fellow field agent Benji Dunn (Pulp Fictions Ving Rhames and Simon Pegg of Shaun of the Dead respectively), with Dunes Rebecca Ferguson making her return as former MI6 operative Ilsa Faust.

The Crowns Vanessa Kirby also reprises her part as Alanna Mitsopolis, a mysterious arms dealer who stole the show in Fallout.

A still from the teaser for Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning - Part One. (Paramount Pictures)

A still from the teaser for Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning - Part One. (Paramount Pictures)

Others confirmed for Dead Reckoning include Hayley Atwell (Captain America), Shea Whigham (Joker), Pom Klementieff (Guardians of the Galaxy), and La Bambas Esai Morales  who replaced Nicholas Hoult (The Menu) as the films lead antagonist.

Tom Cruise (left) as Ethan Hunt and Henry Czerny as IMF Director Eugene Kittridge in the restaurant scene from Mission: Impossible, 1996. (Murray Close/Getty Images)

Perhaps the most notable cast addition so far has to be Henry Czerny, who reunites with Cruises Hunt as former IMF director Eugene Kittridge  a character we havent seen since the first movie way back in 1996. Czernys Kittridge is definitely an intriguing addition to Dead Reckoning, and all signs point to him playing a major role in connecting the dots to Hunts storied past.

Having cemented itself in the pantheon of seminal action franchises over the years, the Mission: Impossible film series is on course to unleash another winner in Dead Reckoning Part One.

With Part Two scheduled for release next year, expect more questions to be answered in the coming months thats sure to excite adrenaline junkies craving more death-defying antics from Cruise and company.

Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One will arrive in cinemas on 14 July, 2023. Mission: Impossible  Dead Reckoning Part Two will be released on June 28, 2024.
[Source]

A Mississippi state senator has come under fire on Twitter after posting a racist meme referencing the suspected Chinese spy balloon that breached U.S. airspace last week.

Sen. Joel R. Carter, Jr., a Republican who represents the 49th District, shared an image of a weather balloon superimposed with the words Weather Barroon and Totary NOT For Spying. In the tweet, he wrote: Biden Administration currently.

The alleged spy balloon was first spotted over Montana, which houses three of the nations nuclear missile silos.

Over the next few days, it traveled across the continental U.S. before it reached the Atlantic Ocean off the Carolina coast and was shot down by an American F-22 fighter jet.

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In response, Chinas Foreign Ministry denied any espionage activity, claiming that the object in question was an unmanned civilian airship used for research, mainly meteorological, purposes.

The airship is from China. It is a civilian airship used for research, mainly meteorological, purposes. Affected by the Westerlies and with limited self-steering capability, the airship deviated far from its planned course. The Chinese side regrets the unintended entry of the airship into US airspace due to force majeure. The Chinese side will continue communicating with the US side and properly handle this unexpected situation caused by force majeure.

President Joe Biden, who wanted the balloon down as early as Wednesday, hailed the balloons destruction as a success.

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Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have cheered the military response.

Carter was among those officials. But his meme using a mock Asian accent immediately drew backlash on Twitter, with many calling him out for blatant racism.

Does the R. in your name stand for Racist? attorney and MSNBC host Katie S. Phang wrote under Carters tweet.

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Entrepreneur Dave Lu replied, Might as well have been your big white hood that was floating up there.

I hope someone on your staff is competent enough to tell you that this is a racist post, pastor and Asian American Christian Collaborative President Raymond Chang commented.

Carters tweet has received nearly 2,500 replies as of this writing. Others advised him to apologize, deal with more urgent problems or delete his account altogether.

You are an embarrassment to my state.  Kathy L (@kathylarue76) February 4, 2023

Shouldnt you be spending your time fixing the fact that Mississippi is at the bottom of almost every quality of life metric instead of tweeting racist shit?  Tim Fullerton (@TimFullerton) February 5, 2023

Delete your account.  Feodor Chin  (@FeoChin) February 5, 2023

Apologize  pink haired communist (@CarrieB82746763) February 4, 2023
Firefighters work to put out a blaze at an industrial building, in Chicago Heights Monday morning. (Vincent D. Johnson/for the Chicago Tribune)

Multiple fire departments responded Monday to an extra alarm fire at the Morgan Li warehouse, 1101 Washington Ave., Chicago Heights, shortly after 6 a.m., said city spokesman David Ormsby.

The warehouse, which sells furniture and fabrics, was fully engulfed in flames, Ormsby said.

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The cause of the fire was not immediately known.

Flames from a natural pipe continues Monday morning from an industrial building fire in Chicago Heoights. (Vincent D. Johnson / Chicago Tribune)

In a Facebook post, Morgan Li confirmed the massive fire but stated the most important thing is that all our people are safe and accounted for.

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Morgan Li, a family-owned and run business, has four other manufacturing facilities and will continue to support our customers throughout the other operational locations, according to the post.

We consider all our employees an extension of our family; we will do everything we can to rebuild what was lost and continue to support our people and the entire Chicago Heights community, the company said.

Company officials are working with authorities and cooperating with the investigation, according to the statement.

Firefighters from the Frankfort Fire Department pour water near a natural gas pipe after the majority of a fire at an industrial building in Chicago Heights was extinguished. (Vincent D. Johnson / Chicago Tribune)

Police officers blocked off East 12th and East 11th streets off Washington as firefighters worked.

Ormsby said the fire was extinguished at noon, but crews remained on scene to put out hot spots. No injuries were reported and the fire did not spread to any surrounding structures, he said.

The Illinois State Fire marshal began an investigation Monday afternoon, Ormsby said. ComEd and Nicor Gas crews responded to the scene and found no issue with any electrical or gas lines, he said.

James Muhammad, who lives a block from the warehouse, said he and other residents stood outside to watch the fire at about 7:15 a.m. He said he could smell the smoke from his front door and there was a large emergency crew response.

Ive never seen anything like this before, only in movies, Muhammad said.

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Catelyn Jones, who also lives a block away, said she heard commotion and when she went out on her porch she saw smoke. Jones said she didnt stand outside long because she was worried about her allergies.

Firefighters work to put out a blaze Monday in Chicago Heights. (Vincent D. Johnson / Chicago Tribune)

The biggest part of the fire I saw was on TV, Jones said.

David Zaber, a consulting toxicologist, said he saw the fire from the back porch of his Homewood home.

Immediately I knew something was on fire, Zaber said.

The dark color of the smoke made him concerned about toxic chemicals moving through the air, Zaber said. As he drove to the scene, he said he could smell chemicals as the smoke traveled west.

Zaber, who grew up in the area, said Chicago Heights and the surrounding towns, while still struggling economically, have been slowly rebuilding after businesses in the area and Gary, Indiana, started closing a few decades ago.

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My heart breaks for people who are out of a job, Zaber said. This is the sort of massive fire that could cause distress.
Missouri Gov. Mike Parson has confirmed that the execution of Leonard Taylor will go forward Tuesday.

Taylor was convicted in the 2004 murders of Angela Rowe, his girlfriend, and her three children in the St. Louis area. The 58 year old has maintained that he is innocent and was in California at the time of the fatal shootings.

The governor disagreed.

Leonard Taylor brutally murdered a mother and her three children. The evidence shows Taylor committed these atrocities and a jury found him guilty. Courts have consistently upheld Taylors convictions and sentences under the facts and the Missouri and United States Constitutions, Parson said in a statement Monday.

Despite his self-serving claim of innocence, the facts of his guilt in this gruesome quadruple homicide remain. The State of Missouri will carry out Taylors sentences according to the Courts order and deliver justice for the four innocent lives he stole.

In recent weeks, Taylors attorneys have highlighted new information in a push to stop the lethal injection.

Prosecutors in St. Louis County declined to directly intervene, but supported a motion to stay the execution filed Jan. 31 by Taylors attorneys. That motion was opposed by the Missouri Attorney Generals Office, who said delaying the execution simply frustrates the interests of justice, and was later denied.

The Midwest Innocence Project on Thursday asked the governor to convene a board of inquiry to look into the innocence claims.

A petition remains under review with the Missouri Supreme Court.

Quadruple murder

On Nov. 26, 2004, Taylor flew to California to meet one of his daughters for the first time.

Eight days later, the bodies of Rowe and her children Alexus Conley, 10, Acqreya Conley, 6, and Tyrese Conley, 5, were found shot in their Jennings, Missouri, home.

The autopsies initially indicated the homicides had taken place two to three days before the bodies were found, which would have eliminated Taylor as the killer.

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But at trial, St. Louis County medical examiner Phillip Burch told jurors that the temperature in the house had been in the 50s, which led to the estimated time of death changing. The murders could have taken place two to three weeks before the bodies were discovered  when Taylor would still have been in town.

In an affidavit signed less than two weeks before the execution date, forensic pathologist Jane Turner cast doubt on the medical examiners determination on the time of death. There was evidence of rigor mortis when the victims were discovered. That would not last more than a week after death even with the cold temperature in the house, according to Turner. Other postmortem changes that would occur a week or more after death were not present.

That meant the condition of the bodies suggested the victims were killed after Taylor left town.

Prosecutors also relied on information from Perry Taylor, who told police his brother had confessed to the killings. Perry Taylor recanted at trial. Policing expert James Trainum said in a Jan. 25 report that the tactics police used during their interrogation of Perry Taylor were extremely coercive and have been known to produce false statements.

On Wednesday, Missouri Attorney General Andrew Baileys office said competing expert testimony was not enough to prove innocence.
Chelsea Jovanovich and her youngest, Stetson. Kriste Tiana photography

Chelsea Jovanovich was born without a fully formed uterus, and thought she'd never be pregnant.

But after a rare uterus transplant from a living donor, she delivered her first son in 2021.

Jovanovich just had her second son in October, she told Today.com.

Chelsea Jovanovich had always wanted to be a mom, but knew she couldn't carry a pregnancy due to a rare condition called Mayer-Rokitansky-Kuster-Hauser Syndrome, or MRKH, in which the uterus never fully forms.

"It got really hard going to my friends' baby showers, seeing my friends get married and have families of their own," Jovanovich told Today.com.

But then the Montana resident learned of an experimental uterus transplant program at Penn Medicine in Philadelphia. After applying and being accepted, she underwent a 12-hour uterus transplant procedure in February 2020.

Chelsea Jovanovich and her husband before her uterine transplant surgery. Courtesy of Chelsea Jovanovich

The uterus came from Cheryl Urban, a woman who'd already had two children and wanted to help someone else create a family. The two women remain close, according to Today.

After two embryo transfers, Jovanovich became pregnant and delivered her first baby in May 2021. "I went my whole life thinking I wasn't able to carry a child," she told Today back then. "It was like something out of a dream."

Chelsea Jovanovich with her uterine donor, Cheryl Urban. Memories By Maria

Then, in October 2022, Jovanovich gave birth to a second son, who's only the 25th baby born to a woman who had a uterus transplant in the US, Dr. Kathleen O'Neill, the lead investigator for the uterus transplant program, told Today.

"I look in my rear-view mirror and there's little feet back there," Jovanovich said. "I don't take for granted all the toys that I pick up. I'm like, 'Thank you, God. This is what I wanted.' And now, I get to do it."

Uterus transplants are still considered 'experimental'

According to Penn Medicine's website, only about 70 uterus transplants have been conducted worldwide, most from living donors. But not all of these transplants have resulted in live pregnancies.

In June 2019, a woman delivered a baby from the transplanted uterus of a deceased donor through a Cleveland Clinic trial, marking the first reported birth of its kind in the US and the second in the world, Insider's Lauren Frias previously reported.

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Using a deceased donor, the Cleveland Clinic said, eliminates the risks posed to living donors, like surgical complications including urinary tract infections.

In November 2019, the second US baby was born to a mom with a uterus transplanted from a deceased donor, Insider reported. That mom, like Jovanovich, was part of Penn Medicine's trial, the only one in the country actively enrolling patients for uterus transplants, its website says.

People may be eligible for a uterus transplant if they're born without a uterus, had their uterus removed, or have a nonfunctioning uterus. Research suggests so-called uterine-factor infertility affects about 3% to 5% of the population.

"These women have ovaries, they have eggs, they just don't have the uterus to gestate the pregnancy," O'Neill told Today in 2021. "Once we're able to give them that uterus, the vast majority get pregnant and have babies."

Kriste Tiana photography

After they deliver, the uterus is removed so that the women can stop taking drugs intended to prevent the body from rejecting the foreign organ. For Jovanovich, who's moving back to Montana with her husband and boys, that means resuming the "normal" life she never thought she'd have.

"She is like any other mom at this point and Jake's like any other dad," O'Neill told Today. "I mean, they're just a family. That is really professionally and personally one of the best things I've done."

Read the original article on Insider
Screenshot of Marvel's Moon Girl & Devil Dinosaur.

Marvel has been dominating pop culture for 15 years, but it arguably wouldnt be as strong a brand if it didnt have its animation slate. Cartoons like X-Men and Avengers: Earths Mightiest Heroes have helped define Marvel in the eyes of viewers. But for the last several years, many Marvel cartoons have focused on established or then-upcoming MCU heavy hitters in an effort to remind young audiences of their favorite cinematic superheroes through shows like Marvels Spider-Man and What If...?.

Moon Girl & Devil Dinosaur, which premieres February 10, breaks away from the trend of the more recent animated Marvel outings. Its the first original Marvel cartoon in years, in the sense that it isnt releasing ahead of any cinematic plans for the title characters (at least, that we currently know of) and is allowed to stand as its own thing. Not that it ultimately matters: on its own terms, the new Marvel cartoon is really good and a nice burst of fresh air for Marvels animation slate. With a striking art style and a delightfully fun energy, the show has the potential to hit it off with audiences and introduce them to a new hero that really thrives in the specific realm of animation.

Read more

Based on the comics of the same name by Amy Reeder, Brandon Montclare, and Natacha Bustos, Moon Girl & Devil Dinosaur focuses on New York teen Lunella Lafayette. Billed as the smartest person in the world, Lunella takes it upon herself to come up with a solution for a series of power blackouts affecting her neighborhood, and family in particular, and accidentally opens up a portal that brings a giant red T.Rex to the modern day. After bonding with the T.Rex, named Devil, Lunella opts to use the dino to become a superhero dynamic duo and fight crime.

Ahead of the shows premiere, io9 talked with executive producer Steve Loter and supervising producer Rodney Clouden, along with cast members Diamond White (Lunella/Moon Girl), Fred Tatasciore (Devil Dinosaur), Gary Anthony Williams (Pops Lafayette), and Libe Barer (Casey).



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Justin Carter, i09: Diamond, how did your assumptions about Lunella when you first got the role compare to actually voicing her throughout the first season?



Diamond White: At first, I thought that Lunella would be like a lot of superheroes, all-powerful and undefeatable. But after seeing that she was just a 13-year-old girl whos insecure about things in life just like everyone else, I found her endearing. Thats ultimately what drew me to the charactereven with her genius and Devil, shes still relatable and real.

io9: Fred, youve played so many Marvel characters throughout the years, such as the Hulk and Beast. What was the process like for bringing Devil to life, since he doesnt communicate like everyone else?

Tatasciore: Its been a fun, artistic challenge, because its all about sounds and spirit. I have a sense of what the line is, we come in with the traditional dinosaur sounds, and try to soften him up without going too far. That way, he ends up having an emotional language with Lunella. Its been fun to do Lunella, Im really worried about you! to [dinosaur growls] and being able to bring some emotion to that tone. Its been a really fun marriage for me, doing it this way.

io9: Diamond and Fred, what was it like forming the dynamic between the two, particularly since a lot of it is based on visuals or Lunella having to interpret Devils grunts or growls?

Tatasciore: The relationship between Lunella and Devil has been built on huge trust. Hes dedicated to her because he loved that she was able to interpret his grunts and growls so easily. That was love, and its why hes so loyal to her as a family member. That, and hot dogs.

White: Definitely hot dogs. [laughs]

Image: Marvel Animation/Disney

io9: Gary, youve been around the voice acting block for years, but I think the characters youre best known for have been pretty larger than life. Does Pops feel more grounded than those previous roles youve done?

Gary Anthony Williams: Pops definitely does, but what I love about him is the whole [Lafayette] family connection. Compared to some of the roles Ive done, where its just some weirdo character, its been fun to embrace that whole familys love and acceptance. He has his wild times, believe me, but when it comes to it, his core of loving and caring for his family is great.

io9: Casey is Lunellas best friend and created specifically for the show. For their relationship, Libe, what did you two draw on to make their friendship feel authentic, or was it something that just clicked for you both right away?

Libe Barer: From the beginning, the creators wanted to make Casey and Lunellas friendship feel as real and authentic as possible, so they had Diamond and I record together. They wanted us to play and riff off each other. And they also wanted it to feel messy, like a sort of PEN15 for cartoons relationship, which I very much had in middle school.

So when Diamond and I got in the booth together, it felt really special. Sometimes, wed stumble over things, and those real awkward 13-year-old moments came out. And also, Diamond and I just get along, so it was fun! Theres a lot of friendship in love there for both us and Lunella and Casey.

io9: Lunella is a character whos pretty young, which means she relies on her friends and family more than if she were an adult superhero. What has it been like for you both to play these two key members of her inner circle, and what was it about your characters that you were really able to work with?

Williams: For Pops, I got a lot out of the family connection. I come from a huge family; I have six sisters, two brothers, and cousins are family, to me. So the show really making this about family, which then becomes community? Its what drew me to Pops, theres true love in the Lafayette family.



Barer: Its the same thing for me. I have a big Mexican and Jewish family, and thats so important to both sides of my culture. And I also think that another important family is your chosen family. People talk about that being more of a thing as you get older, but I think that as kids, you make some of those key friend-family connections. I know it was like that for me growing up, where some of my real life best friends are still my some of my best friends from high school. Theyre truly friend-family to me, and I loved getting to create that friend-family dynamic with Lunella and Casey.

Image: Marvel Animation/Disney

io9: For Rodney and Steve, the Marvel cartoons that came before Moon Girl were all pretty connected right from the start, but this show exists in its own world. There are Avengers, but its not clear who those Avengers even are. Was having that freedom something you envisioned from the start, and how did that affected the villains and characters you were allowed to use?

Rodney Clouden: Were really getting the latitude to make these characters our own, in terms of bringing it to our style, and making them a little bit more funky. It makes it a lot more fun, and Marvels been a great partner in terms of letting us play around with their legacy.

Steve Loter: Marvels been an amazing collaborator on the series, and were all fans of the MCU. We consider Moon Girl to be complementary to that universeyoull see characters from the films appear. But youll also see a lot of deep cuts, characters from the comics whove never made it to film, TV, or any other medium before. Its been great to be able to bring all these kinds of characters to life.

We start out in the first few episodes establishing Lunella Lafayette and her world, and making her the central part of it. But as the series goes on, we bring in more Marvel elements to enhance the story.

io9: Steve, youve been in the animation industry for years and worked on shows like American Dragon and Kim Possible. What did you bring over from your time on those shows over to Moon Girl?

Loter: Ive worked on a lot of shows, but something thats been consistent is my love of music. Im a music collector and a music nerd in my free time. So to be able to do a show where the musics so infused in the visuals, and the action, and the writing is just so special to me. I feel like animators are all music video directors at heart, so for me the music feels unique in this show compared to other things that Ive done in the past.

io9: Lunellas coming to the wider world as Marvels put a spotlight on Black characters, particularly those in the STEM field like Shuri and Riri Williams. How do you think Lunella adds to that larger legacy?

Clouden: With this show, Lunellas appearance creates more visibility and inclusivity in terms of seeing Black girls in the science field and STEM. You dont always get to see that, so providing a character like her who can inspire young Black children is important to see.

Loter: Lunella Lafayette is the first African American teen superhero in the Marvel universe whos been in animated form like this. Its a really important moment, and were just hoping that the audience loves her as much as we do.





Moon Girl & Devil Dinosaur premieres February 10 on Disney Channel, followed by its arrival on Disney+ beginning February 15.







Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, whats next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.

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Sgt. 1st Class William Bryant is one of the few Black Fort Bragg soldiers to receive the Medal of Honor.

For some minority veterans, its taken acts of Congress to get recognized.

The 2022 and 2023 National Defense Authorization Acts give officials until Oct. 1, 2024, to complete the review process that determines if at least five service members are eligible for the Medal of Honor.

According to the 2022 and 2023 defense bills, service members being reviewed are:

 Pfc. Charles Johnson, a Black soldier part of the 15th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Infantry Division, who was killed June 12, 1953, during the Korean War.

 Pfc. Wataru Nakamura, a Japanese soldier part of the 3rd Battalion, 2nd Infantry Division, who was killed May 18, 1951, during the Korean War.

 Pvt. Bruno Orig, a Filipino soldier part of the 2nd Battalion, 2nd Infantry Division who was killed Feb. 15, 1951, during the Korean War.

 Cpl. Fred McGee, a Black soldier part of the 17th Infantry Regiment who rescued fellow soldiers under enemy fire June 16, 1952, in Korea.

 Master Sgt. David Halbruner, a Special Forces soldier who exposed himself to enemy fire to help unarmed American civilians during a Sept. 11-12, 2012, operation in Benghazi, Libya, according to his citation.

 Spc. 5 Dennis Fujii, an Asian American soldier part of the 61st Medical Battalion, and Staff Sgt. Edward Kaneshiro, a Japanese soldier part of the 1st Cavalry Division were awarded the Medal of Honor last year for their roles during the Vietnam War.

The Medal of Honor is the nation's highest award for valor given to servicemembers who risk their lives during military operations against opposing forces.

According to the Congressional Medal Society, of the 3,515 recipients, 93 are Black; 59 are Hispanic or Latino; 35 are Asian or Pacific Islander; 33 are Native American; and 18 are Jewish.

More:These are the stories of Fort Bragg's Medal of Honor recipients

Push to recognize Black soldier

Retired Col. Paris Davis, a Special Forces veteran, is one of the Black soldiers whos been recommended for the Medal of Honor.

Story continues

In a 2021 opinion letter to USA Today, then-acting Secretary of Defense Christopher Miller directed the Pentagon to resubmit Davis lost nomination packets.

More:Fix a decades-old injustice with a Medal of Honor for one of nations first black Special Forces officers

According to the New York Times review of an after-action report, Davis was deployed to Vietnam in June 1965 when his unit was pinned down by enemy fire.

Davis rescued a wounded weapons specialist and was wounded attempting to rescue a master sergeant before successfully rescuing the sergeant and being wounded again.

Davis refused to be evacuated in order to rescue his medic.

A team sergeant recommended Paris for the Medal of Honor.

When his commander and the Army determined his 1965 packet disappeared into the bureaucracy, a subsequent recreated packet also was 'lost' in 1969, Miller wrote.

According to military.com, Davis' nomination was approved in November by Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

More:Contributions of Black service members recognized by North Carolina, Army general at FSU

More:'Hispanic representation': Notable Hispanic service members who served at Fort Bragg

Acts of Congress

On Oct. 21, 1987, Rep. Joseph DioGuardi, of New York, and Rep. Mickey Leland, of, Texas, co-sponsored a bill that sought the Medal of Honor for Pfc. Johnson, but the bill received an unfavorable recommendation by the Army at the time.

In 1993, the Army commissioned a study with Shaw University in Raleigh to determine if there was a racial disparity in the way Medal of Honor recipients were selected.

The study found that the medal was not given to Black soldiers who served during World War II and led to President Bill Clinton granting the medal to seven Black soldiers in 1997.

A similar study introduced into legislation by Sen. Daniel Akaka led to 22 Asian Pacific American World War II veterans receiving the medal in 2000.

In 2002, Congress requested a review of military records of Hispanic, Black and Jewish veterans who served during World War II and the Korean and Vietnam Wars; and by 2014, President Barak Obama recognized 24 of those veterans.

Staff Sgt. Melvin Morris is awarded the Medal of Honor by President Barack Obama.

Fort Bragg soldiers included Staff Sgt. Felix Conde-Falcon, a paratrooper killed April 4, 1969, in Vietnam; Pvt. Joe Gandara, a paratrooper killed June 9, 1944, in France; Sgt. 1st Class Jose Rodela, a Special Forces soldier wounded by enemy fire Sept. 1, 1969, in Vietnam while recovering a wounded comrade; and Staff Sgt. Melvin Morris, a Special Forces soldier who was wounded three times while leading a team to recover a fallen commander near an enemy bunker Sept. 17, 1969, in Vietnam.

In August 2021, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin issued a directive for the secretaries of the military departments to review cross medals awarded to Black and Native American veterans to determine if the veterans actions warrant the award of the Medal of Honor.

The reviews are due August 2026.

Staff writer Rachael Riley can be reached at rriley@fayobserver.com or 910-486-3528.

This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: Medals of Honor pending for minority veterans
Troopers say a 5-year-old is dead and his mother is now in jail following a weekend crash in Bartow County.

The Georgia State Patrol said troopers were called out to a wreck just before 5 a.m. Saturday along Gordon McCormick Road.

Investigators said Autumn Nicole Teems Clark, of Rockmart, went off the road into the grass median. The car then hit a culvert and overturned several times before stopping.

TRENDING STORIES:

Clarks son, Malich Clark, 5, was in the backseat and did not survive the crash.

Autumn Clark and a 1-year-old were taken to a nearby hospital with minor injuries.

GSP said Autumn Clark was arrested and charged with DUI and other traffic-related charges.

The infant was released to his father, GSP said.

IN OTHER NEWS:
(SWNS)

A woman who has been diagnosed with colon cancer said her symptoms completely disappeared after giving birth.

Jennaca Russ, 37, started experiencing blood in her stool and anaemia  lack of enough healthy red blood cells  in her second trimester of pregnancy.

Russ, who is a nurse, noticed the problem and visited a doctor who assured her that her symptoms were caused by the pregnancy. She went on to book a colonoscopy  a test to check inside your bowels  for November 2022.

After giving birth to her first child in October 2022, Russs symptoms stopped. As a result, she did not feel it was necessary to go to her appointment, but her mother advised her otherwise.

Russ attended her colonoscopy and was diagnosed with colon cancer. She was told she had a 10 per cent chance of survival.

The nurse from Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, US told SWNS: It was a pretty dark day for us, I got the news two or three days before Thanksgiving.

Initially they thought I would be stage one or two but the next day I had a CT where we found out it had spread to my liver.

Going into the holidays I thought it would be my last with my family but it was also the first one for my baby.

Jennaca Russ was diagnosed with colon cancer in November 2022 (SWNS)

The nurse said it was in her second trimester when she started experiencing blood in her stool but was told by doctors it was caused by internal haemorrhoids  lumps inside and around your bottom.

Russ said of the diagnosis: It was devastating, speaking to my doctor and he told me I had a year to live.

After Thanksgiving, I had an appointment with an oncologist who changed my prognosis.

He said I have years but it will be a long fight as the survival rate is poor.

I have a 10 per cent chance that I will live for five years, she added.

Russ attended an MD Anderson Cancer Centre in Houston, Texas, in December. Russ said: The doctors there said that my cancer is surgical and they believe they can remove my liver tumours.

I have my colon cancer surgery at the end of February, they said the cure rate is about 40 per cent which is light years ahead of what I was told before.

Story continues

Doctors are still deciding when I will have my liver surgery.

Since being diagnosed, Russ has had four rounds of chemotherapy to help shrink the tumours before the operation.

Russ said: It has been very emotional, the beginning was very hard.

I want people to be aware to advocate for themselves, colon cancer in younger people is rising dramatically.

Since I have been talking about my story I have found a lot of people in the same situation as me.

Russ lost her job as a nurse due to her illness and a GoFundMe page was set up to help pay for her cancer treatments. So far the page has raised $29,598 (24,616) of the $50,000 (41,585) target.

Additional reporting from SWNS.
SPRING VALLEY - Sabrail Davenport's heart ached when she learned a judge dismissed charges against a former village building department official resulting from the investigation into the fire in which her firefighter son died.

Davenport fears no one will be held responsible for the deaths of her son Jared Lloyd, 35, and adult home resident Oliver Huested, 79.

So far, Wayne Ballard's dismissals fold in with charges earlier being dropped against two adult home workers charged in the investigation of the March 22, 2021, inferno at the Evergreen Court Home for Adults on Lafayette Street.

Two remaining cases related to the Evergreen Court investigation include charges against former inspector Ray Canario and Rabbi Nathaniel Sommer and his son Aaron, who faces felony counts including manslaughter related to causing the fire and deaths. They've pleaded not guilty, and their next court appearance is scheduled for Feb. 14.

Firefighters work at the scene of a major fire at the Evergreen Court Home for Adults in Spring Valley March 23, 2021.

While Davenport said she understands Ballard and Canario, a former fire chief, didn't have a role in causing the fire, her confidence in Rockland District Attorney Thomas Walsh has lessened. Walsh, when announcing the six arrests after the 2021 blaze, promised there would be justice for Lloyd and Huested and jail for the guilty.

"I am disappointed," the still-grieving mother said Friday. "I am concerned that this case is setting me up for major disappointments with the upcoming trials. I pray not. Somebody should go to jail for Jared's death."

Evergreen Court fire: Charges against former Spring Valley Building Inspector dismissed

Lawsuit: Jared Lloyd's mom and other victim's family files wrongful death lawsuit against Spring Valley, rabbis and others

Evergreen Court fire: Cases against two employees resolved, DA says

Davenport said the prosecution should have had a stronger case before bringing the charges before a grand jury.

"Why bring them if they had nothing to do with the fire?" she said. "They should have had a stronger case with more evidence if they were going ahead. Where's the criminality in their case?"

Story continues

Firefighters concerned about prosecutions

Other firefighters and advocates for stricter fire and safety code enforcement were also concerned.

Judge Kevin Russo, after hearing testimony, dismissed two charges against Ballard on Thursday. Russo found two of Walsh's prosecutors failed to prove Ballard knowingly provided false information in a state report on the village Building Department's inspections and had any intent to defraud the New York State Department of State in the report.

A grand jury had charged Ballard with offering a false instrument for filing in the first and second degrees. Russo dismissed the grand jury's third count of second-degree falsifying a business record.

Rockland County District Attorney Thomas Walsh speaks at the Rockland County Fire Training Center April 1, 2021 about the investigation of the fatal fire at the Evergreen Court Home for Adults in Spring Valley.

Walsh's Chief of Detectives Peter Walker responded: "We are saddened and disappointed by Judge Russos decision. The people believe that sufficient evidence was presented to establish the defendant's guilt beyond a reasonable doubt."

Walsh is up for re-election in November. A former judge, Walsh won a four-year term in 2019 on the Republican and Democratic ballots lines.

Ballard's lead attorney, Sanford Talkin, said the prosecutors lacked a case against Ballard, once the elected Clarkstown public works superintendent. He asked Russo to dismiss the charges after prosecutors closed their case on Thursday. The non-jury trial kicked off Tuesday.

"The judge agreed that there was clearly no intent to defraud by Mr. Ballard, and there was absolutely no evidence that Mr. Ballard knew that any of the information in the report was false," Talkin said. "The information, in fact, was not false."

Russo's assessment of the prosecution's presentation of witnesses and evidence left several fire officials shaken.

Evergreen fire: Felony counts against rabbis in fatal adult home inferno upheld

Evergreen Court: Before Jared Lloyd's death in Evergreen Court, calls to facility raised concern

Nathaniel Sommer, far right, and his son Aaron Sommer appear in court at Rockland County Court in New City Oct. 28, 2021. They were charged with mansaughter-2, arson and other charges resulting from the fatal fire at Evergreen Court for Adults in Spring Valley in March.

The Evergreen Court inferno erupted hours after the Sommers used a 20-pound blowtorch to cleanse the Evergreen Court ovens and kitchen for Passover on March 22, 2021.

Firefighter George Cich, whose firefighter-son was seriously injured in the Evergreen Court fire, said Friday that he expects similar court results for Canario, who also is charged with filing false paperwork. Canario also is charged with filing false information for using an old address on an employment application with the Rockland Personnel Department.

Cich, a leader of the Rockland Illegal Housing Task Force, said the District Attorney's Office brought the paperwork cases after Spring Valley police didn't find enough evidence to show wrongdoing by Ballard and Canario.

Cich said Davenport and firefighters are waiting to see what happens with the Sommers and if the case goes to trial or if there's a plea agreement. He noted Walsh said someone will have to go to jail for the fatalities.

"We have to see which way the upcoming cases go," Cich said. "This (Ballard's case and Canario's) was all about paperwork. This had nothing to do with the fire. I expect that case against Ray to be dismissed as well. We will see how this all plays out."

Gordon Wren Jr., a Hillcrest firefighter, former Ramapo building inspector, and former Rockland Fire and Emergency Services coordinator, said the Ballard dismissal was discouraging. He had worked with investigators during the early stages of the multi-agency investigation.

Wren said many people have concerns that no one will be held accountable for the two deaths. Wren has been critical of the lack of inspections, enforcement of codes, and major court fines for violators to discourage violations.

I think the prosecutors were doing their best," Wren said. "The judge made his decision based on the evidence presented. It didnt work out. I feel really bad for Jared's mother, a woman of courage."

Justin Schwartz, a housing task force member, was critical of Walsh, asking, Where is the justice for Jared Lloyd?"

"Most of the key players in the double-fatal Evergreen fire are walking," Schwartz said. "Walsh never had a case. He promised justice. He carries a big stick, over-promises, over indicts and he comes up empty.

Steve Lieberman covers government, breaking news, courts, police, and investigations. Reach him at slieberm@lohud.com. Twitter: @lohudlegal. Read more articles and bio. Our local coverage is only possible with support from our readers.

This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Judge finds DA failed to prove case against ex-Spring Valley official
MrBeast is the most-followed individual YouTuber in the world. MrBeast via TikTok

MrBeast filmed a TikTok review of a struggling local business with emerging creator Keith Lee.

In the video, Donaldson tried what he said was his first taco that was not from Taco Bell.

Donaldson appeared to give the restaurant owners $10,000 to thank them for the "delicious" meal.

MrBeast gave a restaurant owner $10,000 after trying one of their tacos  which was most likely the first taco he's ever eaten that wasn't from Taco Bell, he said.

The YouTuber, whose real name is Jimmy Donaldson, starred in a food review video on TikTok with emerging influencer Keith Lee, after he challenged Donaldson to film a collaboration with him.

In a video posted on January 6, Lee, who often goes viral with reviews of local and family-run businesses, responded to a comment Donaldson left on one of his TikToks, asking if he could send Lee some of his chocolate products, called Feastables.

Lee responded by saying he would review the product on one of three conditions: Donaldson had to either follow his wife on TikTok, post the review on his social media pages, or come to Lee's hometown of Las Vegas so the two of them could review a "struggling family-owned business" together.

Donaldson not only followed Lee's wife  who the TikToker said was a huge MrBeast fan  on TikTok, but he also agreed to review a Las-Vegas-based business of Lee's choosing. Lee went on to make a series of videos narrowing down local businesses to select for the collaboration.

On February 2, Donaldson and Lee posted their review of the business chosen by Lee: Aloha Mamacita, a Hawaiian, Asian, and Mexican fusion restaurant.

In the video, Donaldson and Lee said they were going to try a taco dish from the restaurant, while two of the business's owners watched, rating the dish out of 10.

Before eating the dish, Donaldson said, "I've only ever had Taco Bell," at which point Lee asked, "You've never had any other taco except for Taco Bell?"

Story continues

"Honestly, I don't think so," Donaldson replied.

Lee gave Donaldson a demonstration of how to dip the taco in sauce before biting into it, and they both tried the dish together.

"Oh my God, that is crazy," Donaldson said, giving it a high rating. "On a scale of Taco Bell to 10  10" he said.

The pair also tried another taco dish, which Lee bit into and described as "a perfect taco," before Donaldson turned to the restaurant owner's and asked how long they've been running their business.

One of the owners, Kimberly Ann Nguyen, explained that she was eight months pregnant when she started making tacos, hoping it would allow her husband to come back to Nevada, as he was staying in Oklahoma for work at the time.

Lee jumped in, telling Donaldson that when he previously went to the restaurant to try it on his own in early January, someone broke into the store shortly afterward, but the owners insisted on reopening on the same day.

"That's why I went back," Lee said.

"Oh wow," Donaldson said, before he pulled out a briefcase that appeared to be filled with cash.

"Just for coming out here, and making this delicious meal, I want to give you guys $10,000. This is literally the best thing I've had in like, the last 100 days," he said.

The creators' videos about the restaurant have received a combined total of more than 18 million views so far across both of their individual TikTok accounts.

Commenters said the video made them feel emotional and happy for the restaurant owners who were awarded money, and others said they enjoyed seeing Lee and Donaldson finally upload their highly anticipated collaboration.

Donaldson, who is the most-subscribed individual YouTuber in the world, has developed a reputation for altruistic videos where he gives away large sums of money. In 2022, he gave away at least $3.2 million  plus a $2.5 million jet and a private island  in challenge prizes, according to all the YouTube videos he posted that year.

Lee is an emerging creator on TikTok who has recently skyrocketed to fame, gaining more than five million followers on the platform over the past two months, according to analytics tracker SocialBlade. One of his most viral moments during this time was in early January, when he posted a glowing review of a "struggling" business called Frankenson's Pizzeria, leading to an "overwhelming" wave of business from new customers at the restaurant, its owner told Las Vegas-based ABC affiliate KTNV.

For more stories like this, check out coverage from Insider's Digital Culture team here.

Read the original article on Insider
News spreads fast in Evanstons dog community so when the city recently announced its reopening its popular dog beach, dog owners were exuberant.

We couldnt be happier that its reopening, said Cliff Barber, who was recently walking his puppy Spencer along the Evanston lakefront.

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The city tentatively plans to reopen the dog beach for public use on March 1, 2023 if weather and conditions permit, the city said on its website. Evanstons Parks & Recreation Department, Public Works Agency and Facilities Management Division have been working toward reopening the dog beach in 2023 following several years of closure due to high Lake Michigan water levels.

Evanston lakefront dog beach was recently covered in snow and deserted but dog owners are eagerly anticipating the reopening of the beach in March following three years of closure due to lake high water levels. (Brian L. Cox / Chicago Tribune)

Barber moved to Evanston from England with a dog in 2012 and he said that one of the things that attracted him to the city was its dog beach. The Evanston Dog Beach, more than 100 yards long and 50 feet wide, is located just north of the Church Street boat launch facility, where Church Street meets Lake Michigan.

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Theres a little bit of a community there, Barber said. People and dogs.

Cliff Barber, of Evanston, said he plans to take his puppy Spencer to the Evanston dog beach as soon as it reopens. (Brian L. Cox / Chicago Tribune)

It gave our dog at the time a place to play and we met new people from all over, he said. Its just a great time to commune with people. Its a unique part of Evanston. A whole beach dedicated to dogs.

Dog beach passes are required to enter the beach, and pet owners need to provide proof of a pet license from the city where they reside, or provide proof that their city does not require one, according to the citys website. It also said 2023 Evanston pet license applications were due on December 31, 2022, but may still be submitted without penalty. Community members can buy an Evanston pet license online, by mail, or can purchase a license in person at the City Collectors Office at the Morton Civic Center, 2100 Ridge Avenue.

The Cook County Department of Animal and Rabies Control requires that Evanston verify a pets vaccination information before issuing a dog beach pass. To receive a dog beach pass when they become available, pets must have current vaccinations or antibodies for Rabies, Distemper (CFV), Hepatitis (Canine Adenovirus-2), Parainfluenza (CPIV), Parvovirus (CPV), Leptospirosis and Bordetella (kennel cough) and have had a negative fecal test for internal parasites within the past 12 months at the time of pass application.

Evanston is encouraging community members to sign up for dog beach notifications to find out when and where dog beach passes will be available for purchase and to get updates on the dog beach opening. The city anticipates that dog beach passes will be available for purchase in mid-February, according to the citys website.

Spencer was too fascinated with a scrap of paper on the ground to comment on the dog beach reopening, but Barber said he plans to be one of the first people there when the beach reopens.

Its great to take your shoes off and walk along the sand on the shore and have the dogs, he said. Its a great institution here.

The beach attracts all sizes and breeds of dogs, who all seem to get along for the most part and Barber said there may be a lesson there.

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Evanston is one of those places where it is clearly known for diversity, he said. If these dogs can get along, we can get along. Those dogs out there, find a way.

Brian L. Cox is a freelance reporter with Pioneer Press.
By Fransiska Nangoy, Gayatri Suroyo and Bernadette Christina

JAKARTA (Reuters) - Armed with the world's largest reserves of nickel and a ban on the export of nickel ore, Indonesia is making itself indispensable for the electric vehicle industry, which uses the metal extensively.

In just three years, Indonesia has signed more than a dozen deals worth more than $15 billion for battery and electric vehicle production in the country with manufacturers including Hyundai Motor, LG Group and Foxconn.

Next up is the mammoth Tesla Inc, the world's most valuable automaker. President Joko Widodo has pulled out all the stops to convince CEO Elon Musk to manufacture electric vehicles or batteries in the sprawling Southeast Asian archipelago.

"I'm very confident this industry will grow quickly, will grow very fast," the president, popularly known as Jokowi, said in an interview last week.

Indonesia has a total of 21 million tonnes in proven reserves with nickel content, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. That is nearly a quarter of the world's reserves.

The country mined 1.4 million tonnes of nickel in January-November last year, according to the International Nickel Study Group. That's far ahead of the second-biggest producer, the Philippines, which mined 290,000 tonnes in the same period, and more than double Indonesia's output of 606,000 tonnes in 2018.

Jokowi banned exports of nickel ore in 2020, but allowed export of higher value nickel products - forcing companies to process and manufacture onshore.

Indonesia's exports of processed nickel then swelled to more than $30 billion in 2022 from about $1 billion in 2015.

Indonesia is expected to account for half of the global production increase in nickel between 2021 and 2025, according to the International Energy Agency, as demand for electric vehicles surges. Each vehicle uses up to 40 kg of nickel.

"The Indonesian government is building a whole value chain for servicing electric vehicle factories," said Victor Chin, principal consultant at metal consultancy firm CRU.

Story continues

"So it only makes sense for Tesla to consider Indonesia, both for a gigafactory and also for car manufacturing," he said.

Musk's goal is to sell 20 million electric vehicles in 2030, more than a 15-fold increase over the 1.3 million vehicles Tesla sold in 2022. For that, it would need to build seven or eight more "gigafactories" - facilities that produce electric car batteries on a large scale - at an average of one every 12 months or so.

Indonesia has similarly ambitious goals - Jokowi said in the interview nickel exports can grow by 200 times from pre-export ban levels of around $1 billion if the country successfully manages to build the electric vehicle ecosystem. Brazilian mining company Vale has predicted a 44% jump in nickel demand by 2030 from 2022 levels due to high demand for batteries meant for electric vehicles.

Jokowi did not give a timeline for the exports growth but said Indonesia was aiming to establish an integrated supply chain for electric vehicle batteries by 2027.

In other moves, Indonesia will also ban exports of copper ore and bauxite in June, both of which are used in electric vehicle production.

PERSONAL STAKE

The nickel export ban has been challenged at the World Trade Organisation by the European Union. The WTO ruled in the EU's favour, but Indonesia has filed an appeal.

But Indonesia's success has already prompted other countries to emulate its steps, with the Philippines planning to tax exports of nickel ore to encourage miners to invest in processing.

The development of the industry in Indonesia is a pet project for Jokowi. He has taken it upon himself to convince Musk to invest in Indonesia, holding talks with the Tesla chief twice.

Last week, Jokowi said he has even offered Tesla a nickel mining concession and tax breaks to invest in the country, and that he was confident a deal would be finalised.

While Tesla is looking for additional manufacturing hubs, it has not commented on any firm plans in Indonesia. South Korea, Canada and Mexico have also been trying to entice the carmaker.

The company has signed nickel sourcing contracts worth about $5 billion from companies in Indonesia, a government official has said.

One area of concern for potential investors is the nickel mining industry's environmental impact and Indonesia's use of coal for power generation.

The process of making nickel suitable for EV batteries has a high carbon footprint and produces waste that environmentalists fear could be dumped in the ocean.

Still, global automakers are investing or sourcing from Indonesia due to limited alternatives and booming demand, analysts say.

"There is not enough nickel capacity expansion outside Indonesia. Indonesian nickel production has grown its share from less than 20% to nearly 50% in last four years," said ANZ's Soni Kumari.

Even buyers from the developed markets who are more conscious of sustainability credentials will be forced to buy from Indonesia, Kumari said.

"As battery-grade nickel demand continues to grow, battery and auto companies cannot just ignore (criticism) that 'Indonesian nickel is not green enough' when most of the future growth is going to come from Indonesia," she said.

(Reporting by Fransiska Nangoy, Gayatri Suroyo and Bernadette Christina in Jakarta, Mai Nguyen in Hanoi; writing by A. Ananthalakshmi; Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan)
[Source]

Nathan Chen was named Most Valuable Skater at the 2023 International Skating Union (ISU) Awards on Sunday.

The recognition came a year after the 23-year-old Utah native became the first Asian American male figure skater to win gold at the Winter Olympics. Previously, he had won three consecutive World titles.

The ISU spoke on Chens accomplishment on Sunday:

The 2022 Olympic and three-time ISU World Champion Nathan Chen has promoted Figure Skating in the USA and worldwide with his unique achievements and engages hundred thousands of people online. The university student reaches an audience beyond the usual skating fans and recently has published his autobiography telling the story of his success. More from NextShark: Nepalese Family Finds Their Car TORCHED in Alleged 'Hate Crime Against Asians' in the UK

Chen was up against fellow nominees Gabriella Papadakis and Guillaume Cizeron of France and Anna Shcherbakova of Russia for the award.

The French couple has collected five World titles, six consecutive European titles and an Olympic gold (2022) and silver (2018) in Ice Dance, while Shcherbakova has received one World title, two European silvers, four golds at ISU Grand Prix events, a silver at the ISU Grand Prix Final and a gold at the last Winter Olympics.

More from NextShark: 'Survivor, Activist, Legend': British Vogue Features Malala Yousafzai for July 2021 Cover

Chen is currently studying statistics and data science at Yale.

He reportedly has a year and a half remaining until he completes his degree.

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He recently collaborated on a fiction picture book titled Wei Skates On, which is expected to be published later this month. It tells the story of a Chinese American boy who discovers a love for skating with the help of his mother  drawing inspiration from Chens own life.

More from NextShark: Flying cars to be tested in new Indonesian capital in 2024

Twitter users congratulated Chen on his latest recognition:

Well deserved! The GOAT   Lex (@SimplyLex494) February 5, 2023

Congratulations! Figure King    (@_nathan_chen) February 5, 2023

The most dominant skater of the last 4 years. Well deserved.   JT 113.97,224.92,335.3  (@Julie_AT1) February 5, 2023

WR holder still to this day, Nathan freaking chen  allie | indigo wildflower  ** (@Natespiano) February 5, 2023
Beyonce is on track to become the most decorated artist in Grammys history tonight (5 February).

The US singer has 30 Grammy Awards to her name already and is nominated for a further seven at tonights ceremony at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles for her 2022 album Renaissance.

She picked up two of those Grammys at the pre-show Premiere Ceremony, so needs just one more win to tie and two to beat the current record holder, the late Hungarian-British conductor, Sir Georg Solti.

Follow The Independents 2023 Grammys coverage live here.

Before his passing in 1997, Solti clocked up an astonishing 31 Grammy trophies.

Born in Budapest in 1912, Solti fled the country during World War II due to his Jewish background and the rise of anti-Jewish laws in Hungary.

After the war, Solti became music director of the Bavarian State Opera. From 1961 until 1971, he was music director of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden.

Solti then served as music director of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra for 22 years from 1969 to 1991, according to the orchestras website.

Georg Solti and Beyonce (Getty Images)

In 1972, Solti was honoured with a knighthood by Queen Elizabeth II for his outstanding contribution to music.

During his career, he recorded over 40 operas and over 250 discs. He was known for his kinetic approach to conducting; one of his biographers, William Barry Furlong, wrote in Season With Solti: A Year in the Life of the Chicago Symphony that at times the conductor looks like nothing so much as a spastic stork, bending and rearing convulsively, elbows pumping, knees popping, torso labouring until it seems almost as if he is going to tear the music from himself in a Dionysian frenzy.

In addition to his knighthood, he was awarded the Knight Commanders Cross with Badge and Star of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany in 1986.

Beyonce is also the Grammys most-nominated artist to date, tied with her husband, rapper Jay-Z, with 88 nominations each. Meanwhile, U2 holds the record for most awards won by a group with 22 trophies in total.

Renaissance is Beyonces first solo studio album since her 2016 visual album, Lemonade.

Find the full list of nominees here, all the nights performers here and The Independents Roisin OConnors expert predictions here.
Davyd Arakhamia

At the moment there is no one, Arakhamia said.

If we usually have a lot of candidates, now there are zero applicants."

Read also: Zelenskyy proposes Ukraines parliament appoint Malyuk as SBU chief

He recalled that the sixth head of customs during the presidential term of Volodymyr Zelenskyy was recently fired.

Yes, this is a terrifying staff turnover rate, Arakhamia added.

Read also: Ukraines Cabinet dismisses management team of customs service

On Feb. 1, the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine dismissed senior customs officials: the head of the State Customs Service, Vyacheslav Demchenko, and his first deputy Oleksander Shchutsky were both dismissed.

Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
Davyd Arakhamia, the Head of the Sluha Narodu [Servant of the People] parliament faction, has stated that this week there will be no personnel changes in the defence sector; instead, the appointments of the heads of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Security Service of Ukraine are expected.

Source: Arakhamia on Telegram

Quote: "There will be no personnel changes in the defence sector this week."

Details: According to Arakhamia, at the same time, the appointments of the Minister of Internal Affairs and the head of the Security Service of Ukraine are expected.

Background:

Earlier, UP sources stated that starting next week, Oleksii Reznikov, Ukraines Defence Minister, will leave his post, and Kyrylo Budanov, Head of Defence Intelligence of Ukraine (DIU), is likely to head the Defence Ministry instead.

On 5 February, the Servant of the People parliamentary bloc reported that the faction will vote to dismiss Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov and Minister for Strategic Industries Pavlo Riabikin. According to UP sources, Reznikov is being considered for the position of Minister for Strategic Industries.

Oleksii Reznikov stated that neither the president nor the prime minister have offered him the job of heading the Ministry for Strategic Industries, but he would refuse if such an offer came.

Journalists fight on their own frontline. Support Ukrainska Pravda or become our patron!
Guilty of innocence: Western smear campaign against China exposed

Xinhua) 08:11, February 06, 2023

BEIJING, Feb. 5 (Xinhua) -- "The mainstream media and quite a number of politicians and governments intimidate us daily that China's rise poses a threat to the rest of the world and especially to the West," said veteran Spanish journalist Javier Garcia in his new book "China, Threat or Hope. The Reality of a Pragmatic Revolution."

"China is not a threat at all," Garcia said in an interview with Xinhua, noting that the country has become the second world economic power "without practically firing a single shot, without violence, without wars, without colonialism."

SMEAR CAMPAIGN

For the former delegate of EFE, the leading news agency in Spanish, in the Middle East, Venezuela, Germany and China, the supposed "China Threat" theory is nothing more than a systematized U.S. trick to contain the peaceful rise of the Asian country, which for Washington means a great challenge to its hegemony.

"The U.S. refuses to accept that its days to maintain the world hegemonic dominance are numbered," Garcia said in the book, which was published by Ediciones Akal.

Washington, he said, has launched a "hybrid war" like "an octopus with multiple tentacles" in the economic, commercial, technological, scientific, political, health and media sectors, combined with intelligence and espionage operations, destabilization campaigns in regions such as Xinjiang, support for separatism in Hong Kong or Taiwan, and military intimidation along China's coast.

Among the multiple battlefronts, Garcia said he is very familiar with the smear campaign against China orchestrated by the Western media that "set the agenda and the tone about China" so that the rest of the Western press follows them "mostly without reservations."

In his work, Garcia listed the "arsenal of words" aimed at instilling fear in anything related to China and reinforcing the negative image installed in the heads of readers, manipulating the terms like "regime," "purge," "propaganda" and "repression" or expressions like "power struggles," "under threat" and "debt trap."

Photo taken on Aug. 4, 2022 shows the White House and a stop sign in Washington, D.C., the United States. (Xinhua/Liu Jie)

In this sense, the rich in the United States are millionaires or great entrepreneurs, while those in China are oligarchs; China does not fire corrupt or inefficient officials, but rather "purges" them; China does not grant advantageous loans to develop infrastructure in poor countries, but "traps" them in debt; China adopts "vaccine diplomacy," and other countries donate them selflessly; China "monitors and controls" close contacts of COVID cases, and other countries trace them.

According to Garcia, the Western media have even created a universal rhetoric of "at what cost," in order to seek in any case the negative consequence of positive news about China, such as "the Chinese economy grows, but at what cost"; "Chinese cities are getting smart, but at what cost"; "China provides abundant snow for the Olympic Games, but at what cost"; "clean air, at what cost?"; "Wuhan is safe from Covid, but at what cost"; "China invests in Ethiopia, but at what cost"; "China boosts Cambodia's economy, but at what cost"; etc.

One of the most "curious" examples is that Bloomberg reported in December 2019 that "China cures cancer faster and cheaper than anyone else, but some worry it's too fast."

Garcia explained that the U.S. media is those who set the tone, and it is really very difficult for other Western media to get out of that way, since they are very much influenced by the former.

A DIVERSE, FASCINATING COUNTRY

The journalist took advantage of his stay of more than four years in China to observe the country closely. With an independent approach, he has found an authentic China which is totally different from the one described by the Western media.

"The truth is that China surprised me. It is a very different country, very diverse, very developed in certain things. It is a fascinating country and has many things that one does not expect what life is like in the country," said the writer. "I tried to arrive in the country freeing myself from all prejudices and with the most open mind possible."

While working as a reporter, Garcia met Ding Yan, 34 years old, who told him how her life had changed, from her childhood years in the countryside without running water or electricity, to studying at the university, receiving a degree in philology and settling into a city with access to top-quality public services.

This photo taken on Dec. 8, 2022 shows the U.S. Capitol building in Washington, D.C., the United States. (Xinhua/Liu Jie)

"When you start talking to people, you realize the changes in China. The change that this generation has experienced in the last 20 or 30 years is impressive," he said.

Ordinary citizens brimming with joy and placidity deeply moved the then EFE delegate in Beijing, who felt, at the same time, tired of the incessant disinformation of the Western media against China.

As a result, Garcia decided in September 2021 to quit journalism after more than 30 years in the profession, because "the embarrassing information war against China has taken away a good dose of my enthusiasm for this profession."

For Garcia, the much-touted Western totem of "free press" boils down to "saying exactly the same thing," "sticking to the script," and "emphasizing over and over again how bad communism is," since anyone who steps off the path set by the U.S. State Department and the U.S. media "will be sidelined."

After submitting his resignation, Garcia began to write a book about an authentic China, because, in his opinion, "many things about China are not known, and some key issues, which are very important to the world, are also not known because the readers are not informed."

HOPE FOR MULTIPOLAR WORLD

The author traveled to various regions, provinces and cities in China, such as Xinjiang and Shenzhen, to see firsthand the topics he was curious about. Regarding the alleged genocides in Xinjiang, Garcia said such accusations are solely based on data collected from the Internet and "not based on any real situation or field work."

"In Xinjiang, the Uygur culture is respected. The Uygur language is taught in schools and used in local media. The Uygur population has grown by 16 percent in the last ten years, which is three times more than the national population growth," he said.

When asked about Chinese measures against COVID-19, Garcia said that "there have not been human rights violations at all" and that the recent optimization of its COVID response has come at a time when the virus is less aggressive and the danger of death is significantly reduced.

"If we consider that the priority of any government should be to save the lives of its population, of its inhabitants, Chinese policy has clearly been effective. There have been far fewer deaths in China than in Western countries and, above all, than in the United States," he said.

With regard to the fight against poverty, the author believed that it is the main concern of all citizens of the world. Official data showed China has lifted some 770 million rural residents out of poverty during the past 40 years, accounting for over 70 percent of global poverty reduction.

People tour the grand bazaar in Urumqi, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Jan. 23, 2023. (Xinhua/Wang Fei)

On the ecological issue, Garcia was aware that the world has "the image of China as a very polluting country," however, in his investigation he concluded that "it is just the opposite."

"China has totally changed its economic development model, it has gone from a development model focused on growth above all else, regardless of the consequences, to a much greener one, to one that has a lot of consideration for the environment," he said.

He said that China "is undergoing an energy transformation and has become a leader in renewable energy, electric mobility, electric cars, reforestation, with sponge city projects as an example."

Garcia attributed the admirable achievements to the "pragmatic revolution" led by the Communist Party of China (CPC) and described the way of doing politics as very "characteristic of the Chinese style."

"The CPC experiments with different solutions for any problem that arises, launches pilot projects in different cities on measures that it wants to apply, and experiments with them. Those that work best will be adopted and those that do not go well are rejected," Garcia explained.

In Garcia's opinion, China is not a threat, but rather the hope for a multipolar world in which everyone can live much more peacefully, trading with the rest of the globe, dedicating their energies and resources to improving the lives of their population instead of to the enrichment of a few, and exchanging goods, knowledge and culture, instead of weapons and bombs.

"China has no intention of imposing its vision on others" and stands ready to live with all nations in a multipolar world, a more peaceful,more just and better world, Garcia said.

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun)
SEOUL, South Korea (AP)  North Korea has scheduled a major political conference to discuss the urgent task of improving its agricultural sector, a possible sign of worsening food insecurity as the country's economic isolation deepens amid a defiant nuclear weapons push.

North Koreas official Korean Central News Agency said Monday that members of the ruling Workers Partys Politburo met on Sunday and agreed to hold a larger plenary meeting of the partys Central Committee in late February to review strategies on agriculture and set new goals. It said the Politburo members acknowledged a a turning point is needed to dynamically promote the radical change in agricultural development.

It is a very important and urgent task to establish the correct strategy for the development of agriculture and take relevant measures for the immediate farming  to promote the overall development of socialist construction, the KCNA said.

The Politburo meeting came amid indications that the country was preparing to stage a massive military parade in Pyongyang, possibly this week, to glorify the rule of leader Kim Jong Un and his growing collection of nuclear-capable weapons, which he has aggressively pushed to expand despite limited resources and economic decay.

Lee Sung-jun, spokesperson of South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff, said the South Korean military has been detecting increased activity related to (parade) rehearsals" in the North, but declined to share a specific assessment on when the event would take place.

Although not unprecedented, its uncommon for North Korea to hold two different party plenaries in a span of two months. Its also rare for North Korea to call a plenary meeting over a single agenda, this time agriculture, South Korean Unification Ministry spokesperson Koo Byoungsam said in a briefing.

The government will closely watch North Koreas food situation and internal trends, said Koo. He said South Korea estimates that North Korean food production fell by about 4% in 2022 to 4.5 million tons.

Story continues

Following the collapse of nuclear negotiations with the United States in 2019, Kim declared to strengthen his nuclear weapons and missile program against gangster-like U.S. sanctions and pressure and urged his nation to stay resilient in the struggle for economic self-reliance.

But the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic unleashed further shock on North Koreas already broken economy, by forcing the nation to shield its poor healthcare system with strict border controls that choked off trade with China, its main ally and economic lifeline. The country was also hit with devastating typhoons and floods in 2020 that decimated crops.

In a study published on the North Korea-focused 38 North website last month, analyst Lucas Rengifo-Keller said food insecurity in North Korea is likely at its worst since the country's 1990s famine that killed hundreds of thousands of people.

Its difficult to establish an accurate assessment of North Koreas humanitarian needs considering the closed nature of its regime and the poor quality of the limited statistics it discloses. But North Koreas grain balance estimates issued by U.N. agencies and outside governments as well as possibly sharp increases in rice and corn prices observed by NGOs and media indicate that countrys food supply has probably failed to satisfy minimum human needs, Rengifo-Keller wrote.

Russias war on Ukraine likely worsened the situation by driving up global prices of food, energy and fertilizer, on which North Koreas agricultural production is heavily dependent.

Put simply, North Korea teeters on the brink of famine, Rengifo-Keller said.

The Workers Partys Central Committee also held a plenary meeting in December, when Kim doubled down on his nuclear ambitions by calling an exponential increase of nuclear warheads, mass production of battlefield tactical nukes targeting rival South Korea and the development of more powerful long-range missiles designed to reach the U.S. mainland.

Party members also during the meeting identified key economic projects for 2023, highlighted by agricultural and construction activities.
SEOUL (Reuters) - Leading members of North Korea's ruling party will meet this month to discuss the "urgent" task of improving the country's agricultural sector, as international experts say food insecurity has worsened amid sanctions and COVID-19 lockdowns.

State news agency KCNA reported that the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) politburo decided on Sunday that a larger plenary meeting of the Central Committee will gather in late February.

"It is a very important and urgent task to establish the correct strategy for the development of agriculture and take relevant measures for the immediate farming in the present stage of the struggle to promote the overall development of socialist construction," the report said.

The politburo recognised that "a turning point is needed to dynamically promote the radical change in agricultural development," KCNA said.

Last month the U.S.-based 38 North programme, which monitors North Korea, said in a report that "food availability has likely fallen below the bare minimum with regard to human needs," with food insecurity at its worst since the famines of the 1990s.

"Resolving North Koreas chronic food insecurity would require, among other things, strengthening property rights, opening and revitalising the industrial and service sectors of the economy, and embracing an export-oriented model," the 38 North report said. "The regime, which fears internal competition and its own demise, has so far proved itself unwilling to pursue such reforms."

North Korea is under strict international sanctions over its nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programmes. Border trade has further been choked off by self-imposed lockdowns aimed at preventing COVID-19 outbreaks.

Those lockdowns have partially eased in recent months, with some trade resuming between North Korea and Russia and China, though at still limited levels.

The country is also routinely struck by natural disasters such as floods and heavy rains that damage summer crops.

(Reporting by Josh Smith. Editing by Gerry Doyle)
COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP)  Oil-rich Norway is looking to donate 75 billion kroner ($7.3 billion) to Kyiv as part of a five-year support package that would make the Scandinavian country one of the worlds biggest donors to war-torn Ukraine, the Norwegian government said Monday.

Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Stre said the money would be split evenly between military and humanitarian assistance over five years, broken down to 15 billion kroner ($1.5 billion) annually. The proposed aid package will be put to a vote in parliament.

Last week, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said that overall, the European Unions economic, humanitarian and military support for Ukraine now amounts to almost 50 billion euros. Earlier this month, the EU said it would unveil its 10th package of sanctions against Russia on the Feb. 24 anniversary of the war. It will target technology used by Russias war machine, among other things.

Norway, which isn't an EU member, gave Ukraine more than 10 billion kroner ($1 billion) in civilian and military aid last year.

It will lead to an increased use of oil money, Gahr Stre said, adding that he's hoping a large majority in the Norwegian parliament would approve the aid package. A parliamentary majority is expected to pass the proposal.

Supporting Ukraine is supporting a people experiencing war, but it is also support for our fundamental security, Gahr Stre told a press conference.

We are showing the Ukrainians that we will support them for a long time, adding it would make it possible to plan better so that the money is used where the needs are greatest.

At a conference earlier Monday in Oslo, Gahr Stre spoke of a new Iron Curtain dividing east and west.

The implications for Europe are hard to overestimate. A Russia in self-imposed isolation is bad news for of us. He also said that Ukraines needs are immense.

The government in Oslo also proposed to increase the aid to countries that are hit by the war in Ukraine by 5 billion kroner ($490 million) - that money should be used on humanitarian aid and food.

Story continues

Last week, the Norwegian government said that oil profits should go toward funding more aid to Ukraine.

Norway is one of Europes largest fossil-fuel exporters, and the conflict in Ukraine has boosted its gas revenues. However, Norway has fended off accusations that its profiting from the war in Ukraine.

A rush by European countries to secure alternative energy sources following Russia's invasion of Ukraine nearly a year ago dramatically increased the demand  and price  for Norways oil and gas.

___

Follow APs coverage of the war in Ukraine: https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine
By Gwladys Fouche

OSLO (Reuters) -Norway's prime minister proposed on Monday that his country, a major petroleum exporter, should provide some 75 billion crowns ($7.3 billion) in aid to Ukraine over five years.

The Nordic country has seen its government income swell to record levels following Russia's invasion of Ukraine as the price of gas sold to Europe soared last year.

Jonas Gahr Stoere, responding to criticism from some countries and parts of the opposition at home that Norway was indirectly profiting from the war, announced in late 2022 a plan for multi-year aid to Ukraine, without saying how much.

In 2023, half the assistance would fund military needs while the rest would cover humanitarian aid, although this split could change in coming years, he said.

"This is the largest aid programme Norway has ever had," Stoere told Reuters, adding that the money would be distributed according to the Ukrainian government's priorities and not necessarily transferred directly to the authorities.

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy called the five-year package "unprecedented."

"It is a significant contribution to our future victory over the aggressor & successful post-war recovery," Zelenskiy said on his official Twitter account.

Humanitarian aid would go to organisations that "have the most experience in delivering humanitarian help", while military aid would be coordinated with U.S. and European allies to "avoid bottlenecks", the Norwegian prime minister said.

"We must ensure we avoid corruption and other misuse, which is an important priority for Ukraine. But it is a country at war right now," Stoere said.

Norway should also give an extra 5 billion crowns in aid this year to poor countries suffering from soaring global food prices because of the Ukraine war, he said.

Stoere's minority government must seek parliament's approval, which will increase the annual spending of Norway's $1.4 trillion wealth fund.

Story continues

The main opposition Conservative Party broadly backed the plan, subject to final negotiations in coming weeks.

"Broadly, with the structure they propose, they will get our support," Conservative Leader Erna Solberg told Reuters.

In 2022, Norway became Europe's largest gas supplier due to a drop in Russian gas flows. It is also Europe's second-largest oil producer after Russia.

Inflows to the wealth fund from the state's petroleum revenues swelled last year to the tune of 1.1 trillion crowns or $108 billion - nearly three times the previous record, set in 2008.

(Reporting by Gwladys Fouche; Writing by Terje Solsvik; Editing by Nick Macfie, Jan Harvey and Tomasz Janowski)
Leonard Raheem Taylor answered the phone exuberantly on Monday from a prison in eastern Missouri.

The 58 year old is scheduled to be executed Tuesday. But he said he remains hopeful.

I know I got a lot of people supporting me, he said.

That includes his family, legal team and others who support his innocence claims or are opposed to the death penalty.

If Allah sees fit and he gives me reprieve and allows it to pass me, Taylor a devout Muslim, said, then he can go ahead on and show my innocence in court.

Taylor has maintained he is innocent since he was charged in a quadruple homicide and sentenced to death in 2008. He says he was halfway across the country when his girlfriend Angela Rowe and her three young children were fatally shot at their home near St. Louis.

Their bodies were discovered Dec. 3, 2004.

Surveillance video shows Taylor boarded a Southwest flight from St. Louis to southern California a week before, on Nov. 26, 2004.

Initially, investigators said the victims had been killed up to a few days before they were discovered.

But during the trial, St. Louis County medical examiner Phillip Burch told jurors that the temperature in the house had been in the 50s, which led to the estimated time of death changing. The murders could have taken place two to three weeks before the bodies were discovered  when Taylor would still have been in town.

On Jan. 25, forensic pathologist Jane Turner cast doubt on Burchs finding, saying there was evidence of rigor mortis when the victims were discovered. That would not last more than a week after death even with the cold temperature in the house, according to Turner. Other postmortem changes that would occur a week or more after death were not present.

Based on Turners findings, Taylor would have been thousands of miles away on the West Coast when the murders took place.

In court documents filed in opposition to a stay of execution, Missouri Attorney General Andrew Baileys office argued that competing expert testimony was not enough to prove innocence.

Story continues

On Saturday, Taylor was transferred from Potosi Correctional Center to Eastern Reception, Diagnostic and Correctional Center, in Bonne Terre, where executions take place.

The death warrant goes into effect at 6 p.m. Tuesday.

If its just my time for going on home  from Allah we come, to Allah we return, Taylor said. If thats what it is, I accept that without any anger, without any frustration, without any hatred or anything like that. One thing you will not do, you will not break my spirit.

Multiple efforts to delay the execution are ongoing.

Taylors attorneys have filed a petition with the Missouri Supreme Court to halt the execution. They have also sent a clemency petition to Gov. Mike Parsons office.

The Midwest Innocence Project has asked Parson to convene a board of inquiry to investigate Taylors innocence claims.

Missourians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty has been advocating on Taylors behalf and U.S. Rep. Cori Bush has called on the execution to be stopped.
It is usually uneventful when a single insider buys stock. However, When quite a few insiders buy shares, as it happened in Native Mineral Resources Holdings Limited's (ASX:NMR) case, it's fantastic news for shareholders.

While we would never suggest that investors should base their decisions solely on what the directors of a company have been doing, we would consider it foolish to ignore insider transactions altogether.

Check out our latest analysis for Native Mineral Resources Holdings

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Native Mineral Resources Holdings

The Non-Executive & Independent Director Philip Gardner made the biggest insider purchase in the last 12 months. That single transaction was for AU$329k worth of shares at a price of AU$0.22 each. That means that an insider was happy to buy shares at above the current price of AU$0.08. While their view may have changed since the purchase was made, this does at least suggest they have had confidence in the company's future. We always take careful note of the price insiders pay when purchasing shares. It is generally more encouraging if they paid above the current price, as it suggests they saw value, even at higher levels.

Native Mineral Resources Holdings insiders may have bought shares in the last year, but they didn't sell any. The average buy price was around AU$0.18. I'd consider this a positive as it suggests insiders see value at around the current price. You can see the insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year depicted in the chart below. If you want to know exactly who sold, for how much, and when, simply click on the graph below!

Native Mineral Resources Holdings is not the only stock insiders are buying. So take a peek at this free list of growing companies with insider buying.

Are Native Mineral Resources Holdings Insiders Buying Or Selling?

We've only seen a tiny insider purchase valued at AU$1.9k, in the last three months. Overall, we don't think these recent trades are particularly informative, one way or the other.

Story continues

Insider Ownership

Another way to test the alignment between the leaders of a company and other shareholders is to look at how many shares they own. Usually, the higher the insider ownership, the more likely it is that insiders will be incentivised to build the company for the long term. It's great to see that Native Mineral Resources Holdings insiders own 56% of the company, worth about AU$5.3m. I like to see this level of insider ownership, because it increases the chances that management are thinking about the best interests of shareholders.

So What Do The Native Mineral Resources Holdings Insider Transactions Indicate?

Our data shows a little insider buying, but no selling, in the last three months. The net investment is not enough to encourage us much. However, our analysis of transactions over the last year is heartening. Judging from their transactions, and high insider ownership, Native Mineral Resources Holdings insiders feel good about the company's future. So these insider transactions can help us build a thesis about the stock, but it's also worthwhile knowing the risks facing this company. To help with this, we've discovered 6 warning signs (4 are potentially serious!) that you ought to be aware of before buying any shares in Native Mineral Resources Holdings.

If you would prefer to check out another company -- one with potentially superior financials -- then do not miss this free list of interesting companies, that have HIGH return on equity and low debt.

For the purposes of this article, insiders are those individuals who report their transactions to the relevant regulatory body. We currently account for open market transactions and private dispositions, but not derivative transactions.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.



This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.

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A New York middle school and its food vendor are apologizing for serving chicken and watermelon for lunch on the first day of Black History Month, an error the vendor called unintentionally insensitive.

Students at Nyack Middle School in Rockland County, just outside New York City, were served chicken and waffles with watermelon, foods stereotypically associated with Black people, after Aramark, the schools food vendor, changed the menu items without telling the school, according to school administrators.

The offering of chicken & waffles as an entree with watermelon as a dessert on the first day of Black History Month was inexcusably insensitive and reflected a lack of understanding of our districts vision to address racial bias, the school said in a letter to parents, according to local news affiliate WABC.

The meal was originally supposed to be Philly cheesesteak, broccoli and fresh fruit, according to administrators and a menu on the schools website. Aramark apologized for the decision in a statement, saying it was an unintentional oversight.

We apologize for the unintentional insensitivity shown on February 1, the first day of Black History Month, the company said in a statement, according to CNN. While our menu was not intended as a cultural meal, we acknowledge that the timing was inappropriate, and our team should have been more thoughtful in its service.

New York University severed its ties with Aramark in 2019, about a year after the vendor served a Black History Meal that included ribs, collard greens, mac and cheese, and watermelon.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
A wildlife rescue team is urging the public not to use human hair dye on wild birds (or any animal, for that matter) after the discovery of a pink-colored pigeon in New York City on Monday.

According to ABC 7 NY, the bird was in Madison Square Park on Manhattans Upper West Side. A good samaritan was reportedly strolling by when they spotted the bright pink pigeon and immediately saw it was in poor health.

Pigeons come in many different colors, but pink isn't one of them. This king pigeon was deliberately dyed and released. As a domestic bird unable to find food in the wild, fly well or escape predators, this poor kid had it bad enough before being dyed.



: Phyllis Tseng pic.twitter.com/SnhdIOJsHU  Wild Bird Fund (@wildbirdfund) January 31, 2023

The Wild Bird Fund, a nonprofit wildlife rehabilitation and education center based in NYC, quickly determined the bird to be a king pigeon.

I dont think weve ever really had a pink pigeon come into the clinic, so we were all pretty surprised, Antonio Sanchez of the Wild Bird Fund told ABC 7. We were honestly disgusted that someone would do this.

Experts say someone likely purchased the bird at a poultry market and dyed it pink before releasing it into the wild.

The dangers of this are immense. Not only is this kind of bird meant to be domesticated, but it has never flown and cannot find food or escape predators on its own.

She shouldnt be on the streets, she has no survival skills, Sanchez continued. She relies on people for everything.

The rescue team has done its best to care for the ailing bird, even giving it a sweet and fitting pet name, courtesy of its rescuer: Flamingo.

But according to a recent update from the Wild Bird Fund, the pigeons condition remains troubling.

Update: After giving our pink guest time to stabilize, our team tried several methods to remove the dye, which we believe is hair dye, with limited success. One problem is that the dye has a strong odor, and we're concerned for the bird's respiratory health.



: Alexis Ayala pic.twitter.com/JaBclYgioz  Wild Bird Fund (@wildbirdfund) February 2, 2023

After giving our pink guest time to stabilize, our team tried several methods to remove the dye, which we believe is hair dye, with limited success, read a tweet from the nonprofit on Thursday. One problem is that the dye has a strong odor, and were concerned for the birds respiratory health.

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Birds are very sensitive to certain fumes, and this one is essentially living inside a cloud, the team explained. Were also concerned about him ingesting the chemical through preening. His condition is weak, and hes struggling to keep food down.

Its unclear why someone dyed the bird pink, but some speculated it was part of a gender reveal gone wrong.

If so, it certainly wouldnt be the first time. Last year, several pink pigeons were found in New Jersey after a couple deliberately dyed them for a gender reveal party.

Taken to Freedom Farm Animal Rescue in Cedarville, N.J., the pigeons prompted a stern response from that rescue team.

People actually dyed these pigeons pink and released them for a gender reveal party, the organization said at the time. Animals are not props or decorations.

In this case, its still unknown why someone dyed Flamingo, but the group is doing everything possible to nurse him back to health. Currently, they are treating him with heat, oxygen and subcutaneous fluids, as well as special medication to prevent toxins from entering his digestive system.

The rescue team also reminds the public just how serious something like this is.

PSA: Please never release domestic birds to the wild, the group tweeted. Not for weddings, funerals, celebrations, art projects, anything. (Wed hope that dont dye them goes without saying, but  ) They will starve or be preyed on. If you see an all-white pigeon in the wild, or any tame bird standing around looking lost, it needs your help. Please catch the bird and bring it to a pigeon rescue or animal sanctuary near you.

Even though the team hasnt been able to remove the dye from Flamingo, they havent given up trying.

Bathing is very stressful on a bird, especially one already weak, the group shared, so we have to balance intervention with stability.

If you or someone you know has witnessed animal abuse, call your local animal control agency as soon as possible or dial 9-1-1 if youre unfamiliar with local organizations. If both options are unresponsive, call PETAs hotline at 757-622-7382.

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The post NYC pigeon found dyed pink is speculated to have been part of gender reveal appeared first on In The Know.

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Taking care of your pets and the planet has never been easier
Leon Panetta, a former defense secretary in the Obama administration, questioned the Biden administrations response to the suspected Chinese spy balloon that drifted across the U.S. before being shot down off the Carolina coast on Saturday.

During an appearance on CNN Newsroom, Panetta told host Jim Acosta that U.S. officials shouldve taken steps sooner and been more transparent with the American public about the balloon as President Biden allowed it to simply cross over the country.

So the question obviously is  Pentagon said that there were risks here. I understand that argument that there were debris risks, Panetta said. At the same time, I think we should have acted earlier if our suspicions were valid that this was in fact on an intelligence mission.

Biden reportedly ordered the balloon to be shot down on Wednesday, but those orders were not carried out until it was above the ocean. Panetta, who also served as CIA director under Obama, said that information should have been conveyed to Americans.

It would have prevented some of the criticism that occurred later, and the American people I think are entitled to know just exactly what our adversaries are up to, Panetta said. So I think greater transparency would have helped the White House as well.

Biden faced a rash of criticism over the weekend, mostly from Republicans who said he acted too slowly in shooting down the balloon, allowing it to drift over areas with sensitive military sites.

The incident comes amid tension between Washington and Beijing and as Democrats and Republicans seek to take action to curb the Chinese threat, both militarily and economically.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken postponed his trip to Beijing on Friday, and a senior State Department official called the incident a clear violation of our sovereignty as well as international law.

U.S. fighter jets finally shot down the suspected spy balloon off the Carolina coast Saturday afternoon, and the Federal Aviation Administration paused flights from three airports in North Carolina and South Carolina due to security concerns.

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The U.S. military is currently working to recover debris and intelligence information from the spy balloon.

Panetta told Acosta that he hopes U.S. officials will tell their Chinese counterparts that this type of incident cannot happen again and that we will indeed shoot it down much earlier than we did this time around.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Editors note

Talk of the County is a reader-generated column of opinions. If you see something you disagree with or think is incorrect, please tell us. Call us at 312-222-4554 or email talkofthecounty@tribpub.com.

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Lower the taxes

Ive lived in Illinois my whole life. I really like where I live. The only problem is the state of Illinois is being run by Democrats, and basically Gov. Pritzker isnt doing anything about high real estate taxes except for himself. And, basically, I believe Illinois has had the most people move out of the state last year, and it keeps happening over and over. But the Democratic Party doesnt want to address people moving out of state because there are so highly taxed and so highly regulated. The Democrats need to wake up because eventually theyre going to run out of money to give to all these people. Basically, theyve destroyed the state of Illinois.

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Communist tactics

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The pertinent question in America right now is not how long it took President Biden to shoot down the communist balloon that floated over the United States for days. Its how long is the Democratic Party going to subject America to the buffoon who sits behind the Oval Office desk in Washington D. C.? The man is owned by China. His son is owned by China. His family is owned by China, and he prefers China to the United States. He prefers not having freedom of speech. He prefers mandates. He prefers force. He prefers telling people what they have to do. Those are all communist tactics. So, wake up America. So, if you want government shoved down your throat by force and you dont want any freedom in your life, vote for another damn Democrat.

Plastic banners

You cant tell me these plastic banners that businesses in Waukegan use are legal. There is no way. You should have legal standing signs placed on the businesses, like every other business. But here in Waukegan, it looks like all they have to do is just put a plastic banner and we call it a day. Thats wrong. I dont believe that is according to ordinances. So, lets do something about it, people in Waukegan. I cant believe that youre accepting this. It looks like Third World advertising. Its no wonder we have so many illegal businesses in Waukegan.

Wake up and get involved

A sophomore at Waukegan High School is now a member of the Waukegan District 60 Board of Education. He says hes an advocate for the districts 14,000 students. He said, Im here to bring change. He said when the adults are divided on an issue and are arguing, he plans to jump in and let them know how he thinks. He says hes not shy about his political beliefs. He believes in revolution and change. He admits hes a socialist in the model of far-lefties Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders and Ocasio-Cortez. You need to be aware of this political stance coming from a sophomore student in Waukegan. Wake up and get involved, parents.

Brothers with brothers

Whatever happened to the rule that when you work for the city, youre not supposed to have family members working together in the same department. I guess that no longer holds true. We have brothers with brothers, and cousins with cousins. The problem with that folks is that they will learn to cover up for each other, and they do. It happens. I dont know about other places, but I know for a fact the city of Waukegan did place that in their stipulations when they hire people.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced that officials with military experience will be appointed in a number of border and frontline regions.

Source: Zelenskyy's evening video address

Quote: "We are strengthening our management positions. In a number of regions, especially border and frontline regions, we are appointing officials with military experience.

Those who can apply themselves most effectively in the protection against the currently existing threats. I will inform [the citizens  ed.] on each such decision.

We will combine the experience gained by our people in the defence of Ukraine, military experience, with specific managerial work in positions in local and central government."

Details: Zelenskyy also honoured the fighters of the 54th and 93rd Mechanised Brigades, the 15th Battalion of the 128th Mountain Assault Brigade.

The President recalled that he held a meeting of the the Supreme Commander-in-Chief's Staff on 6 February, where they discussed the situation in Bakhmut and the provision of ammunition to the soldiers. In addition, the head of intelligence, Kyrylo Budanov, reported on the plans of the occupiers.

He also noted the formation of the "Offensive Guard" in the Ministry of Internal Affairs: "The beginning is strong. There will be a continuation. I thank everyone who showed interest in the formation of brigades. Good motivation plus good preparation equals the possibility of our defense and security forces to get back Ukraine's own [territories  ed.]."

Background:

At the meeting of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief's Staff on 6 February, the participants considered candidates for the positions of heads of Oblast Military Administrations in Kyiv, Kherson, Sumy, Zaporizhia and Dnipropetrovsk oblasts.

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KARACHI, Pakistan (AP)  A special plane transporting the body of Pakistan's former president Pervez Musharraf from the United Arab Emirates arrived in Karachi on Monday amid tight security, immigration officials said.

Family members were also on board when the plane landed at the airport in the city where he will be buried Tuesday. Musharraf, who died at age 79, seized power in a bloodless coup in 1999 by ousting the elected government of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif.

Musharraf died in Dubai on Sunday after a prolonged illness.

During his tenure as president, Musharraf made Pakistan a key ally of Washington in the war on terror after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks in the United States. That angered militants who at least twice tried to assassinate him in the city of Rawalpindi in 2003, but he escaped unhurt.

Musharraf was forced to resign in 2008 by the party of former president Asif Ali Zardari when his allies lost parliamentary elections. Pakistan later allowed him to leave the country on bail to travel to Dubai in 2016 for medical treatment. He remained there after being sentenced to death for treason.

Pakistan last year said Musharraf would not be arrested if his family wanted to bring him back home. But Musharraf's doctors and his family said his treatment was not available in Pakistan.
United States Coast Guards from Savannah rescued a 56-year old woman after her boat got stuck in the ocean.

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Video from the United States Coast Guard twitter account shows them airlifting the woman near Saint Catherines Island on Saturday.

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Officials told Channel 2 Action News her boat got stuck because the water was not deep enough for it to float.

She was taken to a savannah hospital.

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IN OTHER NEWS:
By Kanishka Singh and Steve Gorman

(Reuters) -Nearly 2,000 residents of eastern Ohio remained under evacuation orders on Monday as railroad crews drained and burned off a toxic chemical from five tanker cars of a freight train that derailed in a fiery wreck three days earlier, officials said.

The venting of pressurized vinyl chloride, a highly flammable and carcinogenic gas, began with a single explosion, as was anticipated, followed by a steady incineration of the remaining cargo, said Sandy Mackey, a spokesperson for the Ohio Emergency Management Agency.

"That controlled release was the one explosion," she told Reuters by telephone. "It went as planned. It seemed to be a successful incident."

No injuries were reported, either from Monday's operation or the accident on Friday night, authorities said.

Live video on Monday showed a towering column of thick, black smoke rising from the accident site in East Palestine, Ohio, a town close to the Pennsylvania border northwest of Pittsburgh.

The train, operated by Norfolk Southern Railroad and consisting of three locomotives and 150 freight cars, was headed from Illinois to Pennsylvania when it derailed shortly before 9 p.m. EST on Friday, setting off a massive fire that forced the evacuation of hundreds of homes in the immediate vicinity.

About 50 cars actually left the tracks, 20 of which carried hazardous materials, according to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB).

Public safety concerns deepened after the railroad said pressure-relief devices on some tankers were found on Sunday to have stopped working, which the company said could "result in a catastrophic failure."

Ohio Governor Mike DeWine said in a statement the chemical contents of the five rail cars in question were "unstable and could potentially explode, causing deadly disbursement of shrapnel and toxic fumes."

Working with state and local emergency officials, Norfolk Southern said on Monday it devised a plan to manually vent the cars, allowing the contents to "be drained in a controlled fashion" under supervision of "experts and first responders."

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As part of the plan, DeWine and Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro ordered evacuations expanded on Monday to encompass all homes within a 1- to 2-mile area around the derailment site on both sides of the state line.

Peggy Clark, a spokesperson for the Columbiana County Emergency Management Agency, said the mandatory evacuation covered an estimated 1,900 people on the Ohio side alone.

DeWine's office warned that fumes released into the air from the venting operation could be deadly if inhaled, while also posing the risk of skin burns and serious lung damage.

Vinyl chloride is a colorless, industrially produced gas that burns easily and is used primarily in the manufacture of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) pipe and other products, according to the National Cancer Institute. It also is a byproduct of cigarette smoke.

The precise means by which crews vented the gas was not explained. But the railroad said workers had prepared drainage pits and embankments, apparently to contain residue from the release. State environmental officials monitored air quality, it said.

Nearly two hours after the operation began, the company said the "controlled breach" had been "completed successfully."

The cause of the derailment was under investigation by the NTSB, but board member Michael Graham said on Sunday that video footage of the accident pointed to possible "mechanical issues on one of the rail car axles."

(Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Washington; Writing and additional reporting by Steve Gorman in Los Angeles; Editing by Lisa Shumaker, Kenneth Maxwell and Lincoln Feast.)
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine (R) on Monday warned a rail car could explode after a 150-car train derailed in the state, and ordered the immediate evacuation of residents living within a mile of the crash site.

Within the last two hours, a drastic temperature change has taken place in a rail car, and there is now the potential of a catastrophic tanker failure which could cause an explosion with the potential of deadly shrapnel traveling up to a mile, reads an evacuation notice shared by the governor.

Several dozen cars were derailed as the train passed through East Palestine between Illinois and Pennsylvania, causing fires at the site of the pileup. The derailment reportedly occurred due to a mechanical failure.

Several of the rail cars were noted to be carrying hazardous materials. Its not yet clear what the at-risk car was carrying  East Palestine Mayor Trent Conaway said authorities were working to determine the possible chemicals that were involved.

As teams worked to prevent an explosion, residents within a mile of the train were urged to immediately evacuate.

The Columbiana County Sheriff said Ohioans who remain in their homes could be arrested if they have children. Officials report that more than 500 people have declined to leave their homes.

DeWine has activated the Ohio National Guard to help local authorities deal with the derailment and the possible blast.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
A train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio. Gene J. Puskar/AP Photo

Authorities said Monday they will perform a controlled chemical release at the site of a train derailment near East Palestine, Ohio, as everyone in the area has been ordered to evacuate.

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine (R) ordered the release of vinyl chloride to occur Monday afternoon. Per The Associated Press, DeWine addressed residents remaining in the area during a press conference and said he was "ordering you to leave. This is a matter of life and death." DeWine added that anyone in the area when the fumes are released would risk "grave danger of death."

The chemical release comes as crews continue to battle a chemical fire following the massive train derailment last Friday in East Palestine that saw at least 50 train cars fall off the tracks. While no injuries were reported, rail operator Norfolk Southern said at least 10 of the derailed cars contained combustible materials, including "vinyl chloride, combustible liquids, butyl acrylate, and benzene residue."

Following the derailment, USA Today reported that half of East Palestine's 4,671 residents were told to evacuate, but "local officials said more than 500 people [had] declined to leave their homes" despite the warnings from officials.

Columbiana County Sheriff Brian McLaughlin had previously said there was an enforced one-mile evacuation zone in East Palestine, adding in a statement that people who did not leave "may be arrested for...misconduct in an emergency."

"There is a high probability of a toxic gas release and or explosion," McLaughlin added. "Please, for your own safety, remove your families from danger."

East Palestine Mayor Trent Conaway told AP that at least one person had been arrested for going around the barricades surrounding the crash. "I don't know why anybody would want to be up there; you're breathing toxic fumes if you're that close," Conaway said.

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Onslow County District Attorney Ernie Lee shares photos with the media Monday morning of the investigation into a Thanksgiving shooting incident.

No criminal charges will be filed against an Onslow County Sheriff's Office deputy who shot and killed a local woman on Thanksgiving.

On Nov. 24, 2022, Sunshine Marie Foy, 42, of Gloucester in Carteret County, was shot and killed by a deputy with the OCSO at the residence of 210 Willow Street in Hubert. After reviewing the investigation by the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation, District Attorney Ernie Lee said in a press conference Monday morning that he has determined Foy's death, while tragic, was justified because her actions caused the deputy to reasonably believe it necessary to use deadly force to protect his life and the lives of others.

Recent news:Onslow DA says November shooting death of 17-year-old by JPD detective was justified

At approximately 11:34 a.m. on Thanksgiving morning, an OCSO deputy attempted to pull over a truck for expired registration. Upon stopping on Willow Street, the passenger, later identified as Foy, fled the vehicle. The driver of the truck was cited for expired registration and driving while license revoked, Lee explained.

Lee said the evidence shows a female neighbor advised a deputy that Foy had entered a single-wide trailer at 210 Willow Street. Although the resident did not know Foy, they let her in anyway and she ran into a front bedroom.

The room was dark, Lee explained, so the deputy used his flashlight to search for Foy. He then observed Foy hiding behind some clothes hanging from a shelf and told her to come out. The deputy, using his hand, moved the clothes away from Foy, who then pulled a silver handgun and pointed it at him. The deputy was approximately one foot from her. She pulled the trigger, but the gun did not go off.

After Foy pulled her gun, Lee said the deputy stated he stepped back and tried to get cover behind a piece of furniture. He told her to drop the gun as he was drawing his weapon, which he did not draw until he saw the gun pointed at his face. At that time, the deputy's gun had one in the chamber and seventeen rounds in the magazine.

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Lee said Foy pulled her weapon back a second time and attempted to fire her gun again. The deputy attempted to fire his gun but it either jammed or had a misfire. He then threw down his flashlight and used his left hand to rack the slide back to clear the malfunction, as his training taught him. Foy raised her gun up to the deputy's face a third time and the deputy stated he fired five to six rounds at her.

Lee said evidence shows Foy never actually fired her gun. Deputies did attempt life saving measures on Foy until EMS arrived, but she was later pronounced dead at Naval Medical Center Camp Lejeune as a result of three gunshot wounds and a possible laceration of the fingers on her left hand consistent with a gunshot wound.

Foy's handgun was loaded with three rounds in the magazine and one round in the chamber, Lee added. There was no body camera footage to review.

Lee said a criminal record check of Foy showed she has multiple convictions in North Carolina between 1997 and 2019, including felonious financial card theft in Onslow County in 1997; simple possession of marijuana in Onslow County in 2005; common law forgery in New Hanover County in 2007; identity theft and obtaining property by false pretenses in Onslow County in 2007; financial card theft in Onslow County in 2016; and financial card theft and felonious speeding to elude arrest in Onslow County in 2019.

At the time of the shooting incident, Lee said she had pending drug offenses in Carteret County. There was an order for arrest pending for failure to appear in superior court for possession of heroin that was issued Nov. 17 in Carteret County. Lee said he believes this is why Foy fled.

"Based upon my review of the facts of this case, I have determined that the shooting of Foy on November 24, 2022, was justified to protect the safety and lives of the deputies on scene," Lee said. "The deputy who fired the fatal shots perceived an apparent threat, evaluated the situation in seconds, decided and acted. The deputy's actions appear reasonable under all the circumstances of this case."

Reporter Morgan Starling can be reached at mstarling@jdnews.com.

This article originally appeared on The Daily News: Onslow DA says Thanksgiving shooting death of woman by OCSO deputy was justified
a phone holding a phone opening up the TikTok application

A growing number of public schools and colleges in the U.S. are moving to ban TikTok  the popular Chinese-owned social media app that allows users to share short videos.

They are following the lead of the federal government and several states, that are banishing the social media app because authorities believe foreign governments  specifically China  could use the app to spy on Americans.

The app is created by ByteDance, which is based in China and has ties to the Chinese government.

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The University of Oklahoma, Auburn University in Alabama and 26 public universities and colleges in Georgia have banned the app from campus Wi-Fi networks. Montanas governor has asked the states university system to ban it.

Some K-12 schools have also blocked the app. Public schools in Virginias Stafford, Prince William and Loudoun counties have banned TikTok on school-issued devices and schools Wi-Fi networks. Louisianas state superintendent of education recommended that schools in the state remove the app from public devices and block it on school-issued devices.

As a researcher who specializes in cybersecurity, I dont believe these schools are overreacting. TikTok captures user data in a way that is more aggressive than other apps.

The version of TikTok that is raising all these concerns is not available in China itself. In an effort to protect Chinese students from the harmful effects of social media, the Chinese Communist Party has issued a rule that limits the time students can spend on TikTok to 40 minutes a day. And they can view only videos with a patriotic theme or educational content such as science experiments and museum exhibits.

Aggressive tactics to capture and harvest user data

All major social media platforms raise privacy concerns and include security risks for users.

But TikTok does more than the rest. Its default privacy settings allow the app to collect much more information than the app needs to actually function.

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Every hour, the app accesses users contact lists and calendars. It also collects the location of devices used to access the service and can scan hard drives attached to any of those devices.

If a user changes privacy settings to avoid that scrutiny, the app persistently asks for that permission to be restored. Other social networking apps, like Facebook, dont ask users to revise their privacy settings if they lock down their information.

How TikTok handles the data it collects from users also raises concerns. Irelands data protection regulator, for instance, is investigating possible illegal transfers of European citizens data to Chinese servers and potential violations of rules protecting childrens privacy.

Cybersecurity vulnerabilities

As with other social media services, researchers have found serious vulnerabilities with TikTok.

In 2020, cybersecurity company Check Point found that it could send users messages that looked as if they came from TikTok but actually contained malicious links. When users clicked on those links, Check Points researchers could seize control of their TikTok accounts, get access to private information, delete existing content and even post new material under that users account.

Hackers have also taken advantage of viral TikTok trends to distribute malicious software that creates additional cybersecurity problems. For instance, a trend called the Invisible Challenge encouraged users to use a TikTok filter called Invisible Body to film themselves naked  assuring users their followers would only see a blurry image, not anything revealing.

Cybercriminals created TikTok videos that claimed they had made software that would reveal users nude bodies by reversing the body-masking filter. But the software they encouraged users to download actually just stole peoples social media, credit card and cryptocurrency credentials from elsewhere on their phones, as well as files from victims computers.

National security concerns

Many U.S. lawmakers have objected to the apps location tracking services, saying it could allow the Chinese government to monitor the movements and locations of U.S. citizens  including members of the military or government officials.

If the Chinese government wants information about the more than 90 million TikTok users, it does not need to hack anything.

Thats because Chinas 2017 National Intelligence Law requires Chinese companies to share any data they collect if the government asks.

Technology industry observers have also raised concerns that ByteDance, the company that makes TikTok, may be partially owned by the Chinese government.

These problems take on even more importance in the context of the Chinese governments alleged efforts to build a huge data lake of information about all Americans. China has been linked to several large-scale cyberattacks targeting federal employees and U.S. consumers. These attacks include the 2015 hack of the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, 2017 attacks on the consumer credit reporting agency Equifax and the 2018 attack on hotel group Marriott International.

Negative effects outweighing positive ones?

Teachers and school administrators have used TikTok in some interesting, and useful, ways  such as connecting with students, building relationships, teaching about the risks of social media and delivering small, quick lessons.

But it is not clear whether those positive effects counterbalance the potential and actual harm. In addition to general concerns about the possible risks of social media addictions, some school officials say increased TikTok use has distracted students from paying attention to teachers.

Also, the apps algorithm for recommending videos to watch next has increased students risk of suicide and eating disorders. The One Chip Challenge, which asks TikTok users to eat a single chip containing two of the worlds spiciest chili peppers, sent some students to the hospital and made others sick.

TikTok videos have also led students to engage in vandalism. In response to one viral challenge, some students stole bathroom sinks and soap dispensers from schools.

With all that potential for harm and damage, its not surprising school officials are considering a ban on TikTok.

The Conversation

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
Two of six people from Chicago, accused of stealing about $15,000 in merchandise from an Ulta Beauty store in Oak Brook, have been sentenced to three years in prison, DuPage County States Attorney Robert Berlin announced Monday.

According to a news release, Peaches P. Johnson, 30, of the 6900 block of S. Campbell and Roy Crane, 22, of the 1500 block of E. 93rd each entered guilty pleas last week to one count of burglary (Class 2 Felony) in front of Judge Daniel Guerin, who sentenced them.

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The cases against Johnsons and Cranes co-defendants, Kamal J. Hoskins, 26, of the 1600 block of E. 67th Street and Darnell Profit, 21, of the 1500 block of E. 93rd are pending in front of Judge Guerin, the release said. Hoskins next court appearance is scheduled for April 24, and Profits next court appearance is scheduled for March 8. They are each facing one count of burglary (Class 2 Felony) and one count of retail theft (Class 3 Felony). The two juveniles involved have each entered a guilty plea.

On November 12, 2021, at approximately 5:44 p.m., the Oak Brook Police Department received information from the Chicago Police Department that a vehicle suspected of being involved in illegal activity in Norridge was in front of the Ulta Beauty store, according to the news release. By the time officers arrived, the vehicle had fled the scene.

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Authorities allege that five male subjects, all wearing hoodies and ski masks, ran into the store. At least three of the individuals allegedly pulled out garbage bags and that all five subjects worked in unison, clearing out the shelves of fragrances into the garbage bags, according to the release. The subjects allegedly fled the scene.

During the investigation of the burglary, the vehicle was located driving southbound on I-294 at which time the Hinsdale Police Department shut down the highway and took the suspects into custody, the release said. In all, it is alleged that the individuals stole 153 bottles of fragrance worth nearly $15,000.

According to the National Retail Foundation, the epidemic of retail theft costs businesses $34.9 billion dollars a year, Berlin said. The quick apprehension of the defendants in this case and the significant consequences for their criminal conduct sends the message that in DuPage County we will do everything we can to protect our businesses and shoppers by holding violent offenders accountable and law enforcement will use all resources, including shutting down a highway, in order to catch anyone suspected of committing a violent crime. I commend the Oak Brook and Hinsdale Police Departments for their collaborative efforts on this case and for their continued efforts in keeping our communities and businesses safe.
An Orlando man who founded a neo-Nazi group and a Maryland woman were arrested for their alleged plans to wreck the Baltimore power grid through a coordinated attack on multiple substations, authorities say.

Brandon Clint Russell, of Orlando, and Sarah Beth Clendaniel, of Maryland, have been charged with conspiracy to destroy an energy facility, according to a press release from the U.S. Department of Justice.

Russell, 27, planned attacks against critical infrastructure, specifically electrical substations in Baltimore, Maryland, beginning last June, according to the complaint unsealed Monday.

The plot was driven by Russells racially or ethnically motivated violent extremist beliefs, court records said.

Russell is the founder of the Atomwaffen Division (AWD), a terroristic neo-Nazi organization that is organized as a series of terror cells that work toward ushering in the collapse of civilization, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center.

The groups targets have included racial minorities, the Jewish community, the LGBTQ community, the United States Government, journalists, and critical infrastructure, the complaint said.

Over the course of five months, Russell posted links to maps of electrical substations, describing how a small number of attacks on substations could cause a cascading failure, investigators wrote.

Clendaniel, 34, helped Russell by trying to secure a sniper to use in an attack on five Baltimore substations that she hoped would completely destroy this whole city, she said, according the complaint, adding: It would probably permanently completely lay this city to waste if we could do that successfully.

Federal investigators in late January received records from Google, one of which showed a person detectives believe to be Clendaniel wearing tactical gear containing a swastika, holding a rifle and with a pistol in a drop holster on her left leg, court records said.

In a recorded conversation weeks earlier, Clendaniel said she had a terminal disease and wished to accomplish something worthwhile before her death including the attack on Baltimore before June, at the latest, the complaint said.

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This alleged planned attack threatened lives and would have left thousands of Marylanders in the cold and dark, Maryland U.S. Attorney Erek L. Barron said in a prepared statement. We are united and committed to using every legal means necessary to disrupt violence, including hate-fueled attacks.

If convicted, Russell and Clendaniel both face a maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison for conspiracy to damage an energy facility, according to the DOJ.

Russell made his initial appearance Monday afternoon in U.S. District Court in Orlando.

ccann@orlandosentinel.com
Paris Hilton made her red carpet debut as a new mom on Saturday, Feb. 4.

Dressed in a sequined black off-the-shoulder gown, Hilton attended the pre-Grammy Gala in Beverly Hills alongside her husband, Carter Reum, who wore a tuxedo with a navy velvet jacket.

"Mom and Dads first night out," the reality star captioned a post of her and Reum.

Pre-GRAMMY Gala & GRAMMY Salute To Industry Icons Honoring Julie Greenwald & Craig Kallman - Arrivals (Jeff Kravitz / FilmMagic)

On Jan. 24, Hilton made the surprise announcement that she had welcomed her first child with Reum. Hilton shared a photo of her baby's hand holding her manicured thumb on Instagram.

You are already loved beyond words, she captioned the post, with a blue heart emoji.

Hilton confirmed to People that she welcomed a baby boy with the help of a surrogate.

Its always been my dream to be a mother and Im so happy that Carter and I found each other, Hilton told People. We are so excited to start our family together and our hearts are exploding with love for our baby boy.

Hosted by comedian and former Daily Show host Trevor Noah, the 2023 Grammys are broadcast live from the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT. They are available to watch on CBS and various streaming platforms. Beyonce leads the list of nominees with nine nominations, with stars like Harry Styles, Adele, Bad Bunny and more also up for awards. Performers include Styles, Lizzo, Bad Bunny and more. Follow TODAY.com for complete Grammys coverage, including this years winners, unexpected moments, and cant-miss performances from the biggest names in music.

This article was originally published on TODAY.com
A teenage boy was shot and killed Saturday night at the popular DeSoto County Fair in rural Arcadia, Florida, about 90 miles southeast of Tampa.

The DeSoto County Sheriffs Office and the Arcadia Police Department responded to render aid and assist, but the shooter is still wanted.

The deadly shooting happened on the second night of the DeSoto County Fair, which was celebrating its 70th year of operation with the tagline, Making big fun in a small town.

Local law enforcement is asking for help in tracking down anyone who took video near the scene or saw anything. One video circulating on social media shows people in fear running through the fairgrounds, passing food vendors.

The shooting of 17-year-old Daniel Rodriguez Lopez appeared to be an isolated incident. Police said there was no threat to the public.

People from the DeSoto County Fair Association expressed condolences to the family of the victim on Facebook and canceled the majority of events planned the following day.

The livestock grooming contest and a Jr. Miss DeSoto County Pageant went on, but had extremely limited access to the public, with only contestants, exhibitors and family members allowed, said the organization, adding that the areas were heavily guarded.

If you have any information about the shooting, call authorities at 863-494-2222. You can remain anonymous.
There are many ways to praise the talents  and, let's face it, the mere existence of  Oscar winner Brie Larson and Emmy winner Jon Hamm.

But until now, we're not sure too many people have ever called them "delicious."

No, this isn't the lead-in for an upcoming horror film: It's actually the point of Hellmann's mayonnaise's Super Bowl ad, which dropped Feb. 6. The tasty 30-second ad offers viewers a good suggestion for handling leftovers, something they're bound to have after the big game on Feb. 12. (The ad's hashtag #MakeTasteNotWaste underscores the philosophy.)

The ad takes us inside a fridge loosely packed with leftovers (Hellmann's stands front and center) and a teeny-tiny Jon Hamm and an equally diminutive Brie Larson.

Hamm takes a look around and declares, "With Hellmann's, all these leftovers can be anything."

Pete Davidson eats a (Jon) Hamm and Brie (Larson) sandwich in Hellmanns Super Bowl ad (YouTube)

Oh, be careful what you say inside a fridge, Mr. Hamm.

The pair puzzle over why they're in there, but Larson figures it out first: She's brie; he's ham. Two great sandwich fixings. So far so ... surreal, but then Pete Davidson opens the refrigerator door (clearly this was shot before Davidson shaved all his hair off).

Last year, you may recall Davidson appearing in another leftovers-themed Super Bowl Hellmann's ad, but with his mother.

"He really is everywhere," quips Hamm when Davidson appears.

Then Davidson drops this bomb: "I'm gonna eat you guys."

Run, Brie! Run, Jon!

Cut to ... Davidson making a tasty-looking sandwich, smearing mayo on a brie and ham (thankfully not Brie and Hamm)-filled sandwich, then grilling it in a panini press.

Pete Davidson eats a (Jon) Hamm and Brie (Larson) sandwich in Hellmanns Super Bowl ad (YouTube)

Next: Davidson, eating his sandwich, standing next to a full-sized Hamm and Larson. His verdict? "You guys are really delicious."

Bemused, Hamm notes, "That's ... that's weird."

Weird, yet delicious. Look for the Hellmann's ad to air during the upcoming Super Bowl between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday, Feb. 12.

But don't look for miniature actors to pop up in your cooler to help step up your Super Bowl spread.

This article was originally published on TODAY.com
By Karen Lema

MANILA (Reuters) - The Philippine Coast Guard has stepped up its presence in the disputed South China Sea by deploying additional vessels and conducting more sorties and overflights to protect maritime territory and the country's fishermen, its chief said on Monday.

Beijing's sweeping claims of sovereignty over the waterway have drawn repeated complaints from Manila, which has ramped up its rhetoric against reported Chinese construction activities and the "swarming" of Chinese vessels in the resource-rich waterway.

"We're making sure that the presence of coast guard vessels is felt by the fishermen in the area," Admiral Artemio Abu, Commandant of the Philippines Coast Guard (PCG), said in an interview.

Last month, PCG said it received a report that a Filipino fishing boat was forced by China's coast guard to leave the Second Thomas Shoal, known locally as Ayungin Shoal, which lies within the country's exclusive economic zone.

China's embassy in Manila did not respond when asked for comment about the incident at the time. China claims the reef as its territory.

"We are strengthening our presence," said Abu. The PCG chief was appointed by former President Rodrigo Duterte, who pursued warmer ties with Beijing, setting aside a longstanding territorial spat, in exchange for investment.

"At a moment's notice, the coast guard vessels we will be there because they are exclusively and primarily dedicated for that purpose," said Abu.

The 26,000-strong coast guard has 25 primary ships that can be used for deployment and patrols.

Beijing claims much of the South China Sea, where about $3 trillion in ship-borne trade passes annually, with the area becoming a flashpoint for Chinese and U.S. tensions around naval operations.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr, who succeeded Duterte, has vowed he would not lose an inch of territory to any foreign power, drawing cheers from advocates of a 2016 arbitral ruling invalidating China's claims in the South China Sea.

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Since 2002, the Philippines has filed 200 diplomatic notes and protests against China's actions in the South China Sea.

Last month, Marcos met Chinese President Xi Jinping and the leaders reaffirmed that their countries would respect each other's sovereignty and territorial integrity.

But Marcos last week approved a U.S. request for expanded access to Philippine military bases, as Washington seeks to extend its security options as part of efforts to deter what it perceives as China's aggressive policies in the region.

The Pentagon also said separately the United States and the Philippines had "agreed to restart joint maritime patrols in the South China Sea to help address these challenges."

PCG's Abu said the coast guard's acquisition of more advanced vessels, including a 97-metre (318.24-ft) multi-role response vessel last year, had allowed it to increase the number and duration of trips in the South China Sea.

"We can stay there longer, farther and we can we can cover a bigger area now," said Abu.

(Reporting by Karen Lema; Editing by Ed Davies)
COLDWATER  Law enforcement and Walmart staff cleared the Coldwater Walmart store shortly after noon Monday, Feb. 6, after a bomb threat was called in.

Coldwater Police also cleared the parking lot just off U.S. 12 and Willowbrook Road.

Police cleared both the Coldwater Walmart store and parking lot after a phoned in bomb threat Monday at noon.

Michigan State Police brought in a bomb-sniffing dog, which searched the store with other personnel.

Barricades were erected to keep the lot closed while the search continued.

Coldwater Police, Branch County Sheriff deputies, and Michigan State Police wait while a bomb-sniffing dog and personnel search the Coldwater Walmart.

Police would not release other details except to say an employee took the call. Coldwater Director of Public Safety Joe Scheid said he did not know why Coldwater received the call among others across several states. Calls came in in Denton, Texas, Marietta, Ga., and in western Pennsylvania around the same time.

Several other threats against Walmart stores were made in the metro Detroit region, which could be connected to a larger effort against the retail chain, according to authorities.

Two stores in Oakland County and another in Wayne County received bomb threats Monday, according to the Oakland County Sheriff's Office. Stores in White Lake Township and Rochester Hills were evacuated and searched for explosives Monday morning following phone calls threatening to blow up the stores unless a cash ransom was delivered, according to authorities.

"We've seen similar things happen in different parts of the country," said Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard in a statement. "In other threats, they were not credible. But out of an abundance of caution, explosive-detection dogs were sent to check the stores."

Scheid said all the Coldwater information would be sent to a federal "fusion center" to coordinate investigation of the multiple threats.

SubscribeFollow local news. Subscribe to the Daily Reporter.

In Coldwater police cleared the store at 3 p.m. for employees to return. The first hour was used to clean up aisles. Customers were told to leave carts and immediately leave. Employees went back in and restocked items from the carts. Customers returned at 4 p.m.

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All refrigerated or frozen items were "wasted," placed in dumpster, because they could not reshelved under health department guidelines and company policy.

 Contact Don Reid: dReid@Gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter: @DReidTDR.

This article originally appeared on Coldwater Daily Reporter: Phoned in bomb threat closes Coldwater Walmart, no one hurt
Rescuers carry a girl out from a collapsed building following an earthquake in Diyarbakir, Turkey, on Monday. (Sertac Kayar/Reuters)

At least 4,000 people were killed after a 7.8 magnitude earthquake rocked the border of Turkey and Syria before dawn Monday, toppling thousands of buildings and leaving hundreds of people trapped under rubble.

The quake, which was centered on Turkeys southeastern province of Kahramanmaras, could be felt as far away as Cairo and Beirut, as powerful aftershocks continued to rattle the region.

Heres everything we know about the earthquake and its aftermath.

An aerial view of collapsed buildings in the village of Besnia, Syria. (Omar Haj Kadour/AFP via Getty Images)

The U.S. Geological Survey measured the quake at a depth of 17.9 kilometers, or about 11 miles, at 4:17 a.m. local time.

The Associated Press described the moment it struck: Residents jolted out of sleep by the pre-dawn quake rushed outside in the rain and snow to escape falling debris, while those who were trapped cried for help. Throughout the day, major aftershocks rattled the region, including a jolt nearly as strong as the initial quake. After night fell, workers were still sawing away slabs and pulling out bodies as desperate families waited for news on trapped loved ones.

An infographic created by a state-run news agency in Ankara, Turkey. (Yasin Demirci/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

Dozens of aftershocks followed. Hours later, a 7.5 magnitude quake struck more than 60 miles away. An official from Turkeys disaster management agency said it was a new earthquake, not an aftershock, the AP said.

Death toll climbs

In Turkey, officials said the death toll had risen to almost 2,300, with more than 11,000 injured. In Syria, the death toll was more than 1,100 combined in both government-controlled and rebel-held areas, officials there said.

Thousands of rescues were carried out in both countries.

Rescue workers and civilians conduct search-and-rescue operations in Harem, Syria, following the earthquake. (Anas Alkharboutli/picture alliance via Getty Images)

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned that the death toll will undoubtedly increase.

Because the debris removal efforts are continuing in many buildings in the earthquake zone, we do not know how high the number of dead and injured will rise, he said. Hopefully, we will leave these disastrous days behind us in unity and solidarity as a country and a nation.

Winter weather complicates recovery efforts

Bitterly cold temperatures and precipitation were complicating the search-and-rescue efforts, Reuters reported.

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Hulya Irem Ister, 17, is rescued from a collapsed building in Kahramanmaras, Turkey. (Emin Sansar/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

Temperatures in some areas were expected to fall to near freezing overnight, worsening conditions for people trapped under rubble or left homeless, the news service said. Rain was falling on Monday after snowstorms swept the country at the weekend.

Whats more, poor internet connections and damaged roads between some of the worst-hit cities in Turkeys south, homes to millions of people, hindered efforts to assess and address the impact.

Quake struck war-torn region

The earthquake struck a region that has been battered on both sides of the border by more than a decade of civil war in Syria.

Rescue teams search for victims in the rubble in the rebel-held part of Idlib Province, Syria, on Monday. (Syria Civil Defense/UPI/Shutterstock)

USA Today explained the dynamic that is at play:

On the Syrian side, the region is divided between government-held territory and the countrys last opposition-held enclave, which is surrounded by Russian-backed government forces. Turkey is home to millions of refugees from that conflict. About 4 million people live in the opposition-held regions in Syria, many of them displaced from other parts of the country by the fighting. Many of the residential buildings were already unsafe because of bombardments.

Mehmet Emin Ataoglu is rescued from the rubble of a six-story building in Hatay province, Turkey. (Murat Sengul/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

The region also sits on top of major fault lines. In 1999, a string of earthquakes struck northwest Turkey, killing nearly 18,000 people.

Erdogan called Mondays quake the biggest disaster since the 1939 Erzincan earthquake, which killed more than 30,000.

Biden vows support

Men searching for people in the debris in Adana, Turkey. (Khalil Hamra/AP)

In a statement, President Biden said he was deeply saddened by the loss of life and devastation caused by the earthquake and has directed his administration to provide any and all needed assistance.

Our teams are deploying quickly to begin to support Turkish search and rescue efforts and address the needs of those injured and displaced by the earthquake, Biden said. U.S.-supported humanitarian partners are also responding to the destruction in Syria. Today, our hearts and our deepest condolences are with all those who have lost precious loved ones, those who are injured, and those who saw their homes and businesses destroyed.

More images from the devastation

Rescue teams pull a victim out of the rubble in Idlib province, Syria. (Syria Civil Defense/UPI/Shutterstock)

People search for survivors in Jandaris, Syria. (Khalil Ashawi/Reuters)

A rescuer carries an injured child in Azaz, Syria. (Reuters TV via Reuters)

Civil defense workers and security forces carry an earthquake victim as they search through the wreckage of collapsed buildings in Hama, Syria. (Omar Sanadiki/AP)

Rescuers search for survivors under the rubble in Jandaris, Syria. (Khalil Ashawi/Reuters)

Firefighters carry the body of a victim in Diyarbakir, Turkey. (Mahmut Bozarsan/AP)

A man carrying a child in the village of Besnia, Syria. (Ghaith Alsayed/AP)

Syrian civil defense workers search for people under the rubble of a destroyed building in Afrin, Syria. (Zana Halil/DIA images via AP)

People using a stretcher to rescue a person from a collapsed building in Adana, Turkey. (IHA agency via AP)

A damaged building in Hatay province, Turkey. (Ercin Erturk/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

A man and a woman survey the damage in Diyarbakir, Turkey. (Sertac Kayar/Reuters)

People carry a victim from the debris in Jandaris, Syria. (Khalil Ashawi/AP)

Rescuers at the site of a collapsed building in Adana, Turkey. (Cagla Gurdogan/Reuters)

A man carrying a girl in Jandaris, Syria. (Khalil Ashawi/Reuters)

People gather as rescuers in Jandaris search for survivors under the rubble. (Khalil Ashawi/Reuters)
Rescuers carry a girl from a collapsed building following an earthquake in Diyarbakir, Turkey on February 6, 2023. Credit - Sertac KayarReuters

Two devastating earthquakes hit Turkey and Syria in quick succession early Monday, leaving thousands dead and even more injured.

The first earthquake, which was recorded at magnitude 7.8, hit at 4:17 a.m. local time in the city of Gaziantep in south Turkey as families slept. It was one of the most powerful earthquakes in the region in at least a century. Hours later, a 7.5-magnitude quake hit the Kahramanmaras province as rescuers worked to search for survivors.

We used our phones flashlight so we could get dressed, and hurried out of the house. Anyone able to save themselves has now fled somewhere. I have relatives in Kahramanmaras, their houses were destroyed, Sinan Sahan, a tradesperson in Gaziantep, told The Guardian.

Photos show entire blocks demolished. In some areas, only one building was left standing while the rest were turned to rubble. In others, photos showed neighborhoods where only one building was destroyed, surrounded by others that had survived the temblors.

The earthquakes that struck early Monday, Feb. 6 were some of the biggest in the region in a century. Lon TweetenTIME

There are hundreds of collapsed buildings here, this is not an exaggeration, literally hundreds, Hasan Durkal, an academic living in Hatay province in Turkeys far southwest, told the Wall Street Journal. I am afraid we lost them, he said of family members who were trapped. We cant do much.

Aftershocks were felt as far as Lebanon, Greece, and Cyprus. Hundreds of people have died in northern Syria, according to the governments health ministry. Millions of refugees are still displaced in the region from the Syrian Civil War.

Turkey sits on the Anatolian Plate, which borders two major fault lines. Governments around the world have promised aid where those still reeling from the devastation have had to begin the difficult work of rescuing those trapped under the rubble.

There was screaming everywhere, one 30-year-old man in Diyarbakir told Reuters. I started pulling rocks away with my hands. We pulled out the injured with friends, but the screaming didnt stop. Then the [rescue] teams came.

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People mourn as rescue efforts continue at collapsed building in Hatay, Turkey. Ercin ErturkAnadolu Agency/Getty Images

An aerial view of collapsed buildings in Hatay, Turkey. Ercin ErturkAnadolu Agency/Getty Images

Mehmet Emin Ataoglu is rescued from the rubble of 6-story building in Hatay, Turkey. 2023 Anadolu Agency

A damaged building in Adana, Turkey Oguz YeterAnadolu Agency/Getty Images

Collapsed buildings in the town of Harem near the Turkish border, Idlib province, Syria. Ghaith AlsayedAP

People are seen among the dust cloud formed after a building collapsed in the aftershock in Kahramanmaras. Kemal CeylanAnadolu Agency/Getty Images

Residents retrieve an injured girl from the rubble of a collapsed building following an earthquake in the town of Jandaris, in the countryside of Syria's northwestern city of Afrin. Rami Al SayedAFP/Getty Images

A family sits outside their home in Beirut following an earthquake that hit neighboring Turkey. Hussein MallaAP

A view of a damaged building in Adana, Turkey. Oguz YeterAnadolu Agency/Getty Images)

An injured man is helped by a resident to slide out of the rubble of a collapsed building following an earthquake in the town of Jandaris, Syria. Rami Al SayedAFP/Getty Images

An aerial view of shipping containers on fire after an the earthquakes in Hatay, Turkey. Murat SengulAnadolu Agency/Getty Images

Syrian civilians and members of the White Helmets conduct search and rescue operations in the rubble of a collapsed building in Syria. Anas Alkharboutlipicture alliance/Getty Images

Civil defense workers and residents search through the rubble of collapsed buildings in the town of Harem near the Turkish border, Idlib province, Syria. Ghaith AlsayedAP

Residents rescue a child from the rubble of a collapsed building following an earthquake in the town of Jandaris, Syria. Rami Al SayedAFP/Getty Images

Civil defense workers and security forces carry an earthquake victim as they search through the wreckage of collapsed buildings in Hama, Syria. Omar SanadikAP
Couple driving in vintage car

In honor of Black History Month, Travel Noire is teaming up with Pinterest to curate a special Black travel board. Launching on Feb. 6, the Safe Black Travel Hub will feature destination inspiration, safety tips, travel necessities, and more. Each idea pin on the Pinterest board will cover one of the four pillars of traveling: discover, positivity, plan, and shop.

Discover

Traveling is all about trying new things, visiting new places, and embracing different cultures. Under this pillar, users will be able to pin content that inspires them to visit places, like Paris, Cape Town, Brazil, and more.

They also will have the opportunity to learn about all of the amazing benefits to traveling, such as self-care and expanding their personal viewpoints.

Positivity

Vacations are meant to create great memories that will last a lifetime. The positivity pillar will expose users to how they can have the best possible experience during their travel time. From Black luxury to finding the Black community abroad, this pillar will encourage everyone to get the most out of their time away.

Plan

The first step to every exciting and fun trip is planning. Under this pillar, users will find content about budget-friendly travel experiences, credit card vacation points usage, the best destinations for Black travelers, and more.

Shop

There is nothing worse than packing a suitcase and feeling like there is something missing. Under this pillar, users will be able to find suitcase essentials, items to pack, and Black-owned brands to shop from.

In addition, there will be beauty tips and tricks for maintaining hairstyles, makeup looks, and more.

Where Can You View The Travel Noire and Pinterest Collaboration?

Visit the Travel Noire Pinterest page to view the full collaboration.
Mateusz Morawiecki

Read also: Germany and Sweden to further bolster Ukraines air defenses

When asked if he was pleased that Germany had finally allowed Leopard tanks to be handed over to Ukraine, Morawiecki stated that he would be happy only when Ukraine wins.

Russia is a paper tiger, but a tiger nonetheless, the PM said.

You can't scare it off with tanks alone. But if Putin sees that our resolve is not weakening, he will eventually come to the conclusion that he cannot win this war.

He added that Poland shows how to help Ukraine by its own actions, as it has transferred more than 200 tanks, Krab howitzers, Piorun MANPADS, and thousands of artillery shells.

Read also: Poland will separate itself from Russia with an electronic barrier

We dont point fingers at others, but we show an example of how much can be done for Ukraine, Morawiecki said.

If largest European countries provided assistance to Ukraine on the same scale as Poland, this war would have already ended.

Read also: Poland hesitant about transfer of jet fighters to Ukraine as it only has 48 F-16s, defense chief says

If Europe doesn't support Ukraine, the very existence of Europe will be at stake, according to Morawiecki.

From Madrid to Kyiv lies Europe that wants to live in peace, he said.

If we dont have the resolve to defend one European country, our continent could become a besieged fortress for many years.

Read also: Poland very much wants Ukraine to become EU member, says Polish deputy FM

Morawiecki is sure sooner or later the war will move to Berlin or Paris  if the West abandons Ukraine. He recalled that this is exactly what happened in 1939, when Europe didnt help Poland.

On Jan. 29, media reports suggested that Poland had provided Ukraine with some MiG-29 fighter jets, under the guise of spare parts, back in early 2022.

Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
A photo of the monkeys Bella and Finn looking sideways while sitting on a branch.



The Dallas Zoos two emperor tamarin monkeys, Bella and Finn, were found in a closet in Lancaster after being stolen from the facility.

After weeks on high alert, the nail-biting incidents at the Dallas Zoo may have finally come to an end. Dallas police arrested 24-year-old Davion Irvin on Friday and accused him of messing with several animal enclosures, which led to the escape of a clouded leopard on Jan. 13, and stealing two emperor tamarin monkeys on Jan. 30.

Irvin was charged with six counts of animal cruelty and two counts of burglary, the Dallas Morning News reported, and was booked into to the Dallas County Jail with a $25,000 bond.

Read more

Police arrested Irvin after they received word that he was spotted at the Dallas World Aquarium, where they believed he was getting ready to commit another crime. Dallas Zoo officials said that Irvin had never been an employee or volunteer at the zoo and is believed to have obtained access as a normal visitor.

A police spokesperson told the Morning News that Irvin had already confessed to some of the crimes at the zoo but did not provide more information.

Irvin was detained just days after police released a photo of him on social media and stated that they wanted to speak with him in connection to the incidents. The incidents drove the zoo to increase security at the facility, which included adding cameras as well as extra security guards at night. Officials also restricted the animals from going out at night.

Its still not clear why Irvin wanted to take so many animals from the zoo. Harrison Edell, the Dallas Zoos vice president for animal care and conservation, told The New York Times that the zoo had gone through an extremely difficult time in recent weeks.

Its been one gut punch after another, Edell said. From a standpoint of trying not to lose faith in humanity, if these incidents were all the same person, how is that possible?

Story continues

Click through to learn about what happened to animals at the zoos recent incidents and join us in hoping that the poor things are done with the drama.

Nova

Clouded leopard Nova yawns while sitting on a tree.

The mystery at the Dallas Zoo began with Nova, a clouded leopard who went missing on Jan. 13. Clouded leopards are smaller than regular leopards and are not danger a to people. Employees found a tear in Novas mesh enclosure and shut down the zoo while they searched for her. She was found later that day near her habitat unharmed.

Langur Monkeys

A photo of clouded leopard Nova sleeping on a tree.

The day after Nova escaped from her enclosure, officials found a similar cut in the mesh enclosure of the zoos langur monkeys. Luckily, none of the monkeys escaped.

Dallas police said they believed Irvin was also connected to the langur monkey incident but had not been charged yet.

Bella and Finn

An emperor tamarin monkey looks downward while sitting on a branch.

More than a week later on Jan. 30, the zoos two emperor tamarin monkeys, Bella and Finn, also disappeared. Like in the previous cases, the monkeys enclosure appeared to have been intentionally compromised. Emperor tamarin monkeys are small, typically weighing less than a pound, and are known for their distinctive mustaches.

Bella and Finn Found

A photo of Bella and Finn in a small cage with blankets and hanging beds waiting out their quarantine period.

Dallas police found Bella and Finn one day after they were taken in the closet of an abandoned home in Lancaster, a Dallas suburb about 15 miles (24 kilometers) away from the zoo. They were cold and hungry, but unharmed. The monkeys are currently in quarantine at the zoo because they were taken off the premises.

Pin

A photo of the deceased lappet-faced vulture Pin looking sideways surrounded by trees.

Although police have made an arrest in connection to the incidents at the zoo, there is still one sad mystery yet to be resolved. Shortly after Nova was found, the zoo found Pin, one of its endangered lappet-faced vultures, dead in his enclosure. Pin had been at the zoo for 33 years.

Zoo officials described Pins death as unusual and said it did not appear to be from natural causes. A necropsy conducted by the zoo found that the vulture had suffered a wound, although officials did not provide additional details.

Dallas police said on Friday that their investigation into Pins death was still ongoing.

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Police, GBI agents, construction crews and more are making their way into the proposed site of an Atlanta police training facility in DeKalb County.

Channel 2 Action News crews on the scene report seeing SWAT teams, as well as police from Atlanta and DeKalb County game wardens at the facility site.

Construction crews are also on the scene moving their equipment into the area.

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

The site, located in a portion of unincorporated DeKalb County, has been the target of protesters for months.

Last month, a Georgia State Patrol trooper was shot by one of the protesters, Manuel Teran, while authorities were removing protesters who had been living in the forest. Teran was killed by return fire.

Fellow protesters have continually claimed since Terans death that they are peaceful.

RELATED STORIES:

Days after Terans death, a peaceful protest in the streets of downtown Atlanta turned violent when a police car was set on fire and windows to businesses were smashed.

Since December, 13 people have been arrested and charged with domestic terrorism related to the training facility.

[SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter]

The proposed facility would take up an 85-acre plot off Key Road in the largest urban forest in metro Atlanta.

Protesters who say they are defending what they call the Atlanta Forest have occupied the land for months in makeshift camps. Protesters have said they opposed the creation of the police training facility, which they call Cop City.

IN RELATED NEWS:
A Georgia teen was arrested after officials said she sprayed pepper spray in the hallway while students changed classes.

According to police, the incident happened on Feb. 2 at Pepperell High School in Rome.

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

Karlee Danyale Sharpe, 17, was involved in a fight in the hallway with other students when officials believe Sharpe sprayed pepper spray directly contaminating two students and staff members.

Police said one of the students had to be treated at a nearby emergency room and multiple others had to receive medical attention at the high school.

TRENDING STORIES:

Sharpe was charged with misdemeanor disruption of school, disorderly conduct, battery and reckless conduct.

[SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter]

IN OTHER NEWS:
Lawrence County Sheriff's Deputy Joshua Rhoades, a five-year veteran of the department with the past three years served as a road deputy, and Mitchell Police Officer Christian Anderson, a three-year veteran of the police department, were both shot during a traffic stop in Mitchell on Sunday, according to a press release from Indiana State Police.

Rhoades suffered two non-life threatening gunshot wounds. He was first transported by ambulance to IU Bedford Hospital and then transferred by helicopter to IU Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis. He has since been released from the hospital.

Anderson suffered one non-life threatening gunshot wound. He was transported by ambulance to IU Bedford then transferred to IU Methodist by helicopter for treatment. He remains hospitalized in stable condition.

The suspect was identified as 29-year-old Anthony Richmond of West Baden Springs. He received emergency medical aid at the scene by officers and firefighters, he was loaded into an ambulance and was pronounced dead in the ambulance.

Around 3:15 a.m. Sunday, a Rhoades made a traffic stop at the 4800 block of Ind. 37 near a gas station, ISP said.

Two other officers then arrived to assist and a K9 alerted officers to possible narcotics in the car. Officers searched the vehicle and found narcotics, ISP said.

ISP stated as officers attempted to put Richmond in handcuffs, he fled from officers across Ind. 37. Officers chased him and the suspect drew a handgun and fired several rounds at the officers, hitting two.

One of the officers was able to return fire, hitting the suspect. The incident was captured on the officers' body cameras and the footage is being reviewed by investigators.

Lawrence County Sheriff Greg Day said, This tragic incident underscores the dangers that law enforcement officers face each day, even in our beloved Lawrence County. I am extremely proud of the actions and response by officers from my office as well as our law enforcement and first responder partners. I am very thankful Deputy Rhoades and Officer Anderson will make full recoveries, and I am mindful that a family is mourning the loss of a loved one. The lives of many people were affected by a senseless criminal act. Thank you to our brave officers for their dedication and courage.

The Indiana State Police is the lead investigating agency. Any information about this case will be released from the Indiana State Police or the Lawrence County Prosecutor's Office.

This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: Joshua Rhoades, Christian Anderson shot during Mitchell traffic stop
An unidentified man was shot by Columbus police on the city's South Side Sunday afternoon.

A man was taken to a hospital in stable condition Sunday after being shot by Columbus police on the city's South Side.

Columbus police Sgt. Dave Scarpitti said the man, who had not been identified as of Monday afternoon, was chased by officers after he ran away from a traffic stop in the 1000 block of Wilson Avenue at 3:05 p.m. Sunday.

Scarpitti said one officer shot the man. By Monday afternoon, Columbus police had not identified the officer and it wasn't immediately clear how many times the officer had fired their weapon.

The injured man was treated by officers before he was taken to a hospital, police said in a news release.

Crime:Homicide investigation opened after 2-year-old expected to die of suspicious injuries

A gun was recovered from the man, police said.

The Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation will investigate the shooting, as is policy for all shootings involving Columbus police officers.

The Dispatch has requested body camera footage of the shooting, in addition to all relevant reports.

@colebehr_report

cbehrens@dispatch.com

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Man shot by police Sunday afternoon on South Side
The Hill

Former Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) said controversial Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) should lose her security clearance after she showed support for an Air National Guardsman that leaked classified military documents. Jake Teixeira is white, male, christian, and antiwar. That makes him an enemy to the Biden regime, Greene tweeted. Ask yourself who is the real
People visit a pavilion of translated Chinese books during the Cairo International Book Fair in Cairo, Egypt, on Feb. 5, 2023. (Xinhua/Ahmed Gomaa)

Decorated with Chinese-style red lanterns, the pavilion of translated Chinese books saw a big turnout of book lovers at the 54th edition of Cairo International Book Fair (CIBF), the largest book fair in the country.



The pavilion of Bayt Al-Hekma Cultural Group, a publishing house mainly devoted to the Arabic translation of Chinese books as well as Chinese language learning books and courses, displayed during the fair about 1,000 book titles in Arabic and English on Chinese culture, history, literature, economy, and among many others.

Visitors of different ages frequented the pavilion of Chinese books. Some parents picked children's books for their kids and some teens and young people were attracted to books on Chinese culture, history and development.

Abdel-Rahman Ibrahim, an 18-year-old high school student, was taking a tour of the pavilion to pick a book on Chinese history.

"China has overcome a lot of problems throughout its history while the Chinese wisdom is shown in their literature, thoughts and philosophy," the Egyptian student told Xinhua.

The fair also saw many Chinese-learning Egyptian students coming for relevant books, dictionaries and lexicons to help improve their linguistic skills.

"I greatly admired the Chinese culture and people. So, I want to learn more about China, an ancient civilization with a unique language, history, literature and culture," Noura Gamal, a junior student of Chinese at Ain Shams University in Cairo, told Xinhua.

Meanwhile, a Chinese novel translated into Arabic by Egyptian translator Radwa Imbabi won the best-translated children's book at the fair.

Ahmed al-Saeed, CEO of the group, said that China's tremendous development is one of the reasons for the growing popularity of Chinese books.

"We cover everything related to China for Arab readers. We provide printed, audio and electronic books on the most well-known Arab platforms, and they achieve great success. We have moved from the stage of promotion to that of popularity," said the head of Bayt Al-Hekma.

Mohamed El-Fiqi, head of the General Egyptian Book Organization (GEBO)'s central department for marketing, told Xinhua that "the Chinese pavilion participates in the fair with many rich book titles that increase every year in a very successful effort to bring the cultures of Egypt and China closer."

Held at Egypt International Exhibition Center in New Cairo, the 54th CIBF kicked off on Jan. 25 and continues till Feb. 6, exhibiting books of at least 1,047 publishing houses from over 50 countries.

The fair, which is organized by the GEBO of the Ministry of Culture, attracted nearly 3 million visitors.
Pope Francis and protestant leaders from England and Scotland denounced the criminalization of homosexuality on Sunday, calling laws that discriminate against LGBTQ+ people both a "sin" and an "injustice."

"This is not right," Pope Francis said while addressing reporters after a trip to South Sudan. He traveled with the Archbishop Justin Welby of Canterbury and the Moderator of the Church of Scotland, Dr. Iain Greenshields.

"People with homosexual tendencies are children of God," he added. "God loves them, God is with them."

The Pope suggested that "about 50 countries" criminalize homosexuality "in one way or another," and that 10 implement the death penalty for LGBTQ+ people.

According to Human Rights Watch, 67 countries have laws that criminalize same-sex relations between consenting adults, and at least nine countries have criminalizing laws that target transgender and gender nonconforming people.

Eleven countries still impose the death penalty for LGBTQ+ people, according to the U.K.-based human-rights organization, Human Dignity Trust.

"The criminalization of homosexuality is a problem that cannot be ignored," said Pope Francis.

In January, the Pope said in an interview with The Associated Press that while homosexuality itself "is not a crime," same-sex sexual relations are a "sin." The Pope also made a point of saying that parents of LGBTQ+ children should not "condemn" them.

Last month, the Church of England outlined proposals that would refuse same-sex marriages in its churches, saying that it would continue to teach that marriage is between "one man and one woman for life." The decision came after five years of debate.

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By Philip Pullella

ABOARD THE PAPAL PLANE (Reuters) - Pope Francis has said some in the conservative wing of the Roman Catholic Church had exploited the death of the former pope, Benedict, in an unethical way for their own gains.

Speaking to reporters aboard the plane returning from a trip to Africa on Sunday, Francis also rejected claims by some conservatives that Benedict, who died on Dec. 31, was embittered by some of current pope's decisions.

"I think the death of Benedict was instrumentalised by some people," he said, using the Italian phrase "guiding water to one's own mill", meaning people who want to benefit themselves at the expense of others.

"Those people do not have ethics. They are people of a party, not of the Church," he said, in a conversation that included a condemnation of a law criminalising LGBTQ people, and his travel plans.

Francis used a Spanish expression "Cuento Chino", meaning tall tales, to describe allegations by some conservatives that Benedict was saddened by some of Francis' decisions after Benedict resigned in 2013.

The pope said he often consulted Benedict in the nearly 10 years between his resignation in 2013 and his death.

Francis did not name any of the conservatives he was referring to.

Immediately after Benedict's funeral on Jan. 5, the late ex pope's long-time secretary, Archbishop Georg Ganswein, published a book about what he said were strains while two men wearing white lived in the Vatican.

Cardinal Gerhard Mueller, a conservative ally of Benedict who has criticised Francis, also wrote a book in January.

(This story has been corrected to fix date of Benedict's death)

(Reporting by Philip Pullella; Editing by Robert Birsel)
Budapest-based SEON  an anti-fraud platform which looks at a customers "digital footprint" to weed out false accounts and thus prevent fraudulent transactions  has acquired compliance and AML specialist firm, Complytron, also based out of Budapest.

Terms of the deal were not officially released, but TechCrunch sources said the deal was in the region of 2.5 million, although SEON declined to comment. Complytron had previously raised 410,000 from Budapest-based VC Hiventures.

Complytrons co-founder and CEO, Oliver Lebhardt, will join SEON along with co-founder and UX lead, Abris Gryllus. A SEON spokesperson said the acquisition adds AML capabilities to SEONs fraud-fighting platform, which will enable it to offer a wider raise of anti-fraud and AML services.

SEON competes with Emailage, Iovation and Threatmetrix, but looks heavily at social media accounts to weed out fraudsters. Last year it raised a $94 million Series B funding round led by Silicon Valley-based IVP.

SEON claims the addition of Complytron's capability means it will be able to eliminate the need for separate searches across different AML databases, such as international sanctions and crime lists, Politically Exposed Persons (PEP) databases and watch lists of supervisory authorities and national law enforcement, such as Interpol and the FBI.

In a statement, Tamas Kadar, co-founder and CEO of SEON, commented: Less than a year on from our $94 million Series B, were executing on our mission to fight fraud and combat money laundering Rather than building an AML solution from the ground up, it made perfect sense for us to acquire Complytrons extensive and innovative algorithms and worldwide databases  as well as the expertise of its talented team.

Lebhardt added: Weve watched the SEON story unfold, keeping up with the business alongside its exciting growth trajectory. Its now great to be a part of the mission, and to play a role in combining fraud prevention and AML tools into a single source.

As part of the deal, SEON acquires full rights to Complytrons technologies, as well as the companys staff, including its dedicated AML team.

SEON was also named the hottest cybersecurity startup for 2022 by The Europas Awards, held annually.
The powerful network of political groups funded by conservative billionaire Charles Koch and his late brother, David Koch, has announced its turning the page on Donald Trump and seeking another Republican to back in a 2024 run for the presidency.

To write a new chapter for our country, we need to turn the page on the past, Emily Seidel  CEO of the networks flagship organization, Americans for Prosperity  wrote in a memo released Sunday.

The best thing for the country would be to have a president in 2025 who represents a new chapter. The American people have shown that theyre ready to move on, and so AFP will help them do that, she added.

AFP doesnt specifically name Trump, but its perspective on him, and preferring someone new, is clear.

A related super PAC  AFP Action  is also prepared to support a candidate in the Republican presidential primary who can lead our country forward, and who can win, the memo added. AFP Action spent roughly $80 million in the 2022 election cycle, according to the campaign finance tracking website OpenSecrets.

AFP also stressed that it would no longer sit out primaries but instead will become active in the contests early, following the poor performance in general elections of GOP extremists backed by Trump in various primaries. The AFP memo argued in the memo that the Republican Party is nominating bad candidates who are advocating for things that go against core American principles.

AFP was founded in 2004 by oil barons and manufacturers Charles and David Koch, who largely funded the right-wing tea party movement of the Republican Party. David Koch died in 2019.

Charles Koch has since decried the division in the nation that he sees as harming American life and even its business climate  and claims he wants to help heal the rift.

Boy did we screw up; what a mess, he wrote about the blistering partisan divide in his 2020 book, Believe in People.

Trump has blasted the brothers  who have supported free trade rather than Trumps economic nationalism and isolationism  as globalists and a total joke.

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A powerful 7.8 magnitude earthquake rocked wide swaths of Turkey and Syria early Monday, toppling hundreds of buildings and killing more than 1,300 people. Hundreds were still believed to be trapped under rubble, and the toll was expected to rise as rescue workers searched mounds of wreckage in cities and towns across the area.
BBC Breakfast host Sally Nugent banned her co-host Jon Kay from a discussion on the latest episode.

On Monday (6 February), Nugent said she was unable to have a conversation with Kay as she was concerned that he might share someHappy Valley spoilers.

The BBC dramas latest run drew to an end on Sunday (5 February), with an acclaimed finale that brought the entire series to a close.

On BBC Breakfast, Carol Kirkwood said she was planning to swiftly leave the studio after delivering her weather update as she didnt want to hear the hosts Happy Valley discussion.

However, Nugent, when Kirkwood told her she hadnt yet seen the finale, replied: Carol, neither have I! I havent seen the ending. So do not worry, we are safe! I give you my word.

However, Kay replied: Ive watched it and I cant speak to anybody about it.

Nugent jokingly told him: Yeah, we cant have a conversation this morning, to which Kay exclaimed: Im banned!

Fortunately for both Nugent and Kirkwood, no spoilers were given.

Following the broadcast of the finale, the touching gift sent by lead star Sarah Lancashire to the shows cast and crew, after filming had wrapped, was revealed.

Meanwhile, in a new interview, Norton has shared his final conclusion on whether he thinks his character was a psychopath, and revealed the series one callback featured in a climactic scene involving Tommy and Catherine.

Sarah Lancashire in Happy Valley (BBC)

Find talking points related to the episode here, and a feature detailing why Happy Valley is one of Britains greatest ever cop dramas here.
Prince Harry has been called to give evidence against his wife Meghan in a US defamation case brought by the duchesss sister.

Samantha Markle filed papers in a Florida court on Friday calling on the Duke of Sussex to take part in a deposition proceeding but video and under oath later this month.

Ms Markle, 56, is suing her sister Meghan for 60,000 in damages over comments the duchess made in a TV interview with Oprah in 2001.

She claimed her reputation was damaged after the duchess told malicious lies when talking about their childhood.

The 56-year-old, who has a different mother to her sister, has also complained of comments in Finding Freedom, an autobiography of the Sussexes.

She claims she has been the victim of demonstrably false and malicious statements which subjected her to humiliation and hatred.

Ms Markle has also requested that the duchess makes 39 separate admissions in the case, one of which states that neither the late Queen nor King are racist.

Another is that she regularly drove her half-sister to school and took her on shopping trips to the local mall.

Ms Markle also wants their dad - Thomas Markle - and former royal aide Jason Knauf to give deposition statements, as the case heads towards a possible jury trial in Tampa, Flordia, in January next year.

The Duchess of Sussexs half-sister, Samantha Markle, during a previous interview on Channel 5 (Channel 5/PA) (PA Media)

Her lawyer Taylor E Young accused the duchess  who wants the case dismissed  of withholding evidence and stonewalling discovery.

Michael J Kump, the duchesss lawyer, says the demands are irrelevant to the issues in the defamation case.

Ms Markle has become increasingly critical of her sister after she and her husband broke away from the Royal Family and left the UK.

She was part of a hate group publishing disinformation about the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, a data analyst told the Harry & Meghan Netflix documentary.

Christopher Bouzy investigated 83 Twitter accounts that were responsible for 70 per cent of negative tweets about Meghan.

Harry and Meghan visit the World Trade Center (REUTERS)

He claimed that Ms Markles account was suspended for such activity.

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In an interview with GB News last month, Ms Markle said she believed Prince Harry needs counselling because hes stuck at an adolescent stage of resentment over a whole host of issues.

I think he is lacking in empathy, remorse and shame, she said.

He is so under-developed and introspective that he needs to get counselling in my opinion because I think he is stuck at an adolescent stage of resentment over a whole host of issues.
In Diaoyu City, an ancient fortress in southwest China's Chongqing Municipality, a special tour was conducted recently with a focus on dilapidated walls, old stones and ordinary-looking locations, rather than the photogenic spots normally favored by tourists.

In English, Diaoyu means fishing, and the site was named after the hill on which it was built in the latter part of the Southern Song Dynasty (1127-1279). During the war between the Song imperial army and Mongolian troops in the 13th Century, Diaoyu City, as an important part of the defense system of the present-day Sichuan Province and Chongqing, withstood outside aggression for 36 years, a miraculous feat.

Ten people from four families were invited to the new archaeology-themed study tour, which was organized by Chongqing's institute of cultural relics and archaeology. According to Yuan Dongshan, deputy head of the institute, the tour was designed to "make the cultural relics generate more vitality and cultivate the interest of participants in studying history and archaeology."

Yuan also served as a guide on the special tour, explaining the ruins of the Fanjiayan Song Dynasty government office to tourists. In 2018, the ruins within Diaoyu City were listed among China's top 10 archaeological discoveries.

"One of the reasons for Diaoyu City being granted this honor is that we excavated the earliest remains of a bomb found in China, and even in the world," Yuan said.

During the tour, Yuan also explained how the city wall was found inside a lush forest on the steep mountain-side, how its history was pieced together from a stone tablet buried in moss, and how two tiny brass chess pieces were found at the bottom of a big pond.

"Archaeology is like embroidery because they both need subtlety and patience. Any stone, shard, even one sentence in the book, could be the crucial element for us to tie together the history," Yuan told the tour participants.

After the explanation, a 12-year-old boy named Liang Ruiqian asked about the most precious thing excavated by Yuan, who started Diaoyu City's archeological excavation 20 years ago.

"In fact, the whole structure and layout of Diaoyu City is the most valuable thing, instead of some single artifact," answered Yuan. "We often attach importance to movable cultural relics, while the immovable ones are of the same importance."

Yuan said it is amazing that ancient people built such a fully-functional military base without modern technology. Their sense of space still intrigues archaeologists.

Official data shows that Chongqing has about 26,000 immovable cultural relics and over 1.48 million movable ones. By the end of 2021, there were 108 million pieces (sets) of state-owned movable cultural relics, and about 767,000 immovable ones. The total number of world heritage sites in China has reached 56, ranking second in the world.

Other than the study tour, Chongqing has made other efforts to promote the charm of history and culture, such as opening the country's first archaeology-themed cafe and launching an immersive and theatrical experience in a historic structure.

Chongqing's institute of cultural relics and archaeology will bring 10 more historical sites in the municipality within the scope of archaeological tourism. They also hope to cooperate with more schools to spark the interest of teenagers in history and archaeological culture.

Yuan's tour was popular with participants and will be repeated in future. Meanwhile, the archaeological work in the area is continuing as normal. Yuan was exhilarated to tell participants about the recent excavation of the palace gates buried in Diaoyu City, and he says more mysteries are waiting to be revealed.
BELGRADE, Serbia (AP)  At a central square in Serbia's capital of Belgrade, dozens of Russians gathered recently to denounce President Vladimir Putin's war in Ukraine, holding up photos of political prisoners from their homeland.

Across the plaza, a billboard touts the Russian propaganda outlet RT, which has launched an online news portal in the country but is banned elsewhere in Europe. Heroic portraits of a bare-chested Putin adorn souvenir T-shirts and coffee mugs, or are painted on city walls.

These conflicting images reflect the complex and delicate relationship these days between Russia and Serbia.

The Slavic country is Moscow's closest ally in Europe, with historic, religious and cultural ties that are bolstered by Kremlin political influence campaigns. Russia backs Serbias claim over its former province of Kosovo, which declared independence in 2008 with Western support. And Serbia has refused to impose sanctions on Moscow over the invasion.

At the same time, Serbia wants to join the European Union. Populist President Aleksandar Vucic has denounced the invasion, and about 200,000 Russians have flooded into the country in the past year, with many seeking a new life in a brotherly land free of Kremlin oppression.

Here in Belgrade, we are not perceived with hostility, and that means a lot, said Anastasia Demidova, who arrived in the Balkan nation from Moscow three months ago.

Ive been talking to a lot of Serbian people here and other foreigners. When they ask me what are you doing here, I say: We are against Putin and for a democratic Russia and we are against the war in Ukraine, obviously, she told The Associated Press.

Others say they fled to avoid being drafted or because Western sanctions crippled their businesses or took away their jobs.

As a result, Russian can be heard spoken everywhere in Belgrade, a city of about 2 million. Russian-owned restaurants and bars have sprouted. Private Russian enterprises have mushroomed, especially in the IT sector. The influx has sent the price of real estate soaring.

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This reminds some here of the wave of Russians fleeing the Bolshevik Revolution in 1917, and many of those who stayed in Serbia left their mark on its culture and art.

These modern Russians, however, are maintaining links to their homeland, including financial ties, said historian Aleksej Timofejev. Unlike their predecessors, he said, they can't go onward to the West because of the sanctions and still need visas to travel to richer countries in Europe.

They did not choose this country but came here because it is the only one that would have them, Timofejev added.

The newcomers say they can still feel Moscows heavy-handed influence, especially when it comes to Serbians' approval for Putin, via media outlets like RT.

Russian activist Petar Nikitin calls it a coordinated propaganda effort.

Nikitin first came to Serbia in the early 2000s. Back then, this admiration for the Russian government was a lot more marginal ... and I saw it grow exponentially, he said.

Russians who recently arrived, who didnt know much about Serbia before, yes, many of them told me they were completely shocked to see this idolization specifically of Putin, and this picture of Russia that is completely divorced from reality, Nikitin said.

Moscow has boosted this sentiment in the pro-Russia media by feeding Serbian anger with the West over Kosovo following the breakup of Yugoslavia in the 1990s. The dispute between Serbia and Kosovo has been a source of tension since the war in 1998-99 that ended when a NATO bombing campaign forced Serbia to pull out of the former Serbian province after a bloody crackdown against Kosovo Albanian separatists and civilians

Serbia's rejection of Kosovo's declaration of independence has Moscow's support  one of the reasons why Belgrade maintains friendly relations with Putin and has refused to join Western sanctions.

While Vucic has criticized the invasion of Ukraine, he puts a uniquely Balkan spin on it.

We do support territorial integrity of Ukraine, as we do support territorial integrity of Serbia, he told the World Economic Forum in Davos last month. So  they ask me, Is Crimea part of Ukraine or Russia? Yes, its part of Ukraine. Donbas is part of Ukraine. If you ask us."

His country "will stick to that, and we will be more loyal to territorial integrity of U.N. member states than many others that changed their stance on territorial integrity of Serbia, Vucic added, referring to the support for Kosovo's independence from Washington and other countries.

Western officials have stepped up pressure on Vucic to make a decisive turn away from Moscow if Serbia wants to join the EU. They fear that Russia could stir trouble in the Balkans through its Serbian proxies to avert some of the international attention from Ukraine.

Recently, the Russian private military contractor Wagner Group ran advertisements on RT's Serbian-language outlet recruiting Serbs to fight in Ukraine. It is illegal for Serbs to take part in conflicts outside the country, although about a dozen joined Russia-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine after battles broke out there in 2014.

Owned by Putin-linked oligarch Yevgeny Prigozhin, Wagner has taken a prominent and active role in Ukraine and also has sent its mercenaries to several African countries. Last month, U.S. State Department Counselor Derek Chollet held talks with Vucic to voice concerns about Wagners activities in Serbia.

Nikitin, the Russian activist who has formed a group called Russian Democratic Community, has teamed up with a Serbian lawyer to file a lawsuit demanding an investigation of the mercenary group. That led to increased threats against more liberal Russians from right-wing Serbian organizations with close links to Wagner and Moscow.

The threats that I receive directly and to my inbox are quite carefully worded  they are quite obvious, Nikitin said. They range from get out of Serbia to very obscene insults involving my family. And veiled threats that I am soon going to meet people who are dead.

Nikitin said his more liberal-minded countrymen in Serbia are eager to show they dont support Putins war or his crackdown on opposition groups at home.

We want to be very open about who we are and why we hold the views that we hold, he said.

Artem, a 33-year-old web developer from St. Petersburg, said that he fled to Serbia with his wife and two pets shortly after the war began on Feb. 24. He spoke with the AP on condition that his last name not be used for safety reasons.

Speaking at a Belgrade bar that's an unofficial hub for more liberal Russians  its Wi-Fi password is Nowar2402  he said he's been helping Ukrainian refugees in Serbia through online aid campaigns, providing information on how to start a new life.

Leaving Russia was some kind of protest because I didnt agree at all with the war, Artem said. War for me is not an answer for any conflict or anything.

___

Follow AP's coverage of the war in Ukraine at: https:// apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine
Rep. George Santos, R-NY, who has faced scrutiny after lying about his life, fraud claims, racism and various other scandals, has been accused of sexual harassment.

A prospective staffer has filed a police report and a congressional ethics violation complaint against Santos for allegedly groping him and later denying him a promised job.

The post Prospective Staffer Accuses Controversial Congressman George Santos Of Sexual Harassment appeared first on Blavity.

The allegations against George Santos by Derek Myers were made public Friday by Myers himself, who posted at the beginning of a Twitter thread that he had filed a complaint with both the Capitol Police and the Office for Congressional Ethics regarding ethical violations and sexual harassment by Congressman George Santos during my time working in his office.

Today, I filed a police report with @CapitolPolice and a complaint with @CongressEthics regarding ethical violations and sexual harassment by Congressman George Santos during my time working in his office.  Derek Myers (@DerekMyers) February 3, 2023

Myers posted the ethics complaint letter he sent, which describes an incident on Jan. 25, during a brief period in which he worked in Santos office.

According to Myers, he and Santos were working in Santos office when the congressman allegedly placed his hand on Myers leg, thigh and groin area while making sexual advances to the staffer.

Myers, who said he had been hired as a staffer but worked on a voluntary basis until completion of his employment paperwork, reported that he rejected the advance and quickly left the office.

Myers said he was subjected to days of scrutiny about his professional background, covering details previously discussed in his interview process. Then, on Wednesday, Feb. 1, I was informed that my job offer was being rescinded.

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Myers later told CBS News that this is not about attention; its about holding the actions accountable. Santos, through his lawyer, has declined to comment on the allegations.

The allegations of sexual assault and harassment against Santos are the latest in an ever-growing list of scandals surrounding the first-term congressman since before he took office.

After a New York Times investigation demonstrated that Santos had lied or exaggerated about nearly every important detail of his life during his campaign, numerous reports and former associates have revealed additional instances of lies, fraud and suspicious behavior by Santos. Though admitting to exaggerating or fabricating some details, Santos has downplayed his alleged misdeeds and refused calls to step down.

While congressional Democrats have called for Santos to be investigated and for the New York representative to resign, Republican leadership has stuck with Santos. His seat is crucial to maintaining a slim Republican majority in the House of Representatives. With this latest criminal and ethics complaint, however, Republicans will be under even more pressure for Santos to be held accountable for his actions.
Protests against Gautam Adani and Prime Minister Narendra Modi in India. Sankhadeep Banerjee/NurPhoto via Getty Images

Hundreds of people took to the streets in India on Monday to demand a probe into allegations of fraud against the man behind one of the country's most lucrative companies.

Protests raged in New Delhi and other cities against Gautam Adani, the CEO of commodities conglomerate the Adani Group and one of the richest people in the world. The company and Adani himself have been embroiled in a scandal after short-seller firm Hindenburg Research published a report accusing the Adani Group of running "the largest con in corporate history."

According to Hindenburg, the Adani Group was allegedly "engaged in a brazen stock-manipulation and accounting fraud scheme," and would also significantly overinflate the value of their companies even as debts began to pile up.

The scandal has caused outrage among India's leading opposition faction, the Congress Party, and The Wall Street Journal reported that the Adani Group has lost $100 billion since the allegations arose, while Adani himself has lost $50 billion of his net worth.

While the Adani Group has pledged to repay some of its investors, members of the Congress Party have urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to open an investigation.

Some Congress Party members have accused Modi of being in line with the Adani Group, and The Associated Press reported that protesters "burnt a suitcase plastered with images of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Adani" during riots in New Delhi.

The Congress Party has also questioned the government's alleged investments made by state-backed banks in the Adani Group.

"The common man has invested his money in [Gautam Adani's] company and the government is trying to save him," Uttar Pradesh Congress Committee General Secretary Shiv Panday said, per Reuters, adding that the government was "supporting the businessman and not the common man."

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A Chicago-based publishing house will offer free e-books focused on Black history after the College Board revised its Advanced Placement African American studies course earlier this month.

And Haymarket Books has Florida, specifically, in its sights.

The College Boards revisions came after Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) refused to allow the class in Florida high schools. In the revised course, the subjects of Black queer studies, intersectionality and activism, the reparations movement and Black scholars associated with critical race theory have been removed. Black conservatism was added as a potential research topic.

Now, Haymarket Books, a radical publisher of politics, culture, current events, said DeSantis and the complicit College Board have left it with no choice.

The racist governor of Florida continues to escalate his attacks on the freedom to learn and teach history, the publishing house said in a press release last week.

We at Haymarket stand in solidarity with all those in Florida and across the country who are organizing to resist. We know that books can be dangerous to those in power, especially when they are in the hands of folks who are organizing to fight for liberation. Thats why we publish them. Thats why theyre trying to ban them, the company added.

Haymarket Books will offer the following e-books for free to download: From Black Lives Matter to Black Liberation by Keeanga Yamahtta, which explores why the Black Lives Matter movement is necessary; Black Lives Matter at School: An Uprising for Educational Justice, edited by Jesse Hagopian and Denisha Jones, which details how the Black Lives Matter movement has challenged institutional racism; and 1919 by Eve L. Ewing, a collection of poems depicting the Chicago race riots of 1919.

Black people have always figured out ways to teach our history in spaces beneath, beyond, and betwixt the machinations of people like Ron DeSantis, Ewing said. The only thing he ever got right in his life was understanding how insurgent our stories really are, how threatening to the status quo of a nation built on theft.

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The company is also looking to provide Florida residents with more radical books to distribute to young people in the state.

These books could include any Haymarket-published works, which range in topics from abolition to Black politics to police and prisons to socialism and Marxism.

The struggle is long, but we are many, the group said.

The College Board has been under heavy criticism for its revisions to the African American studies course, which it released on the first day of Black History Month.

Though David Coleman, the head of the College Board, told The New York Times that the changes were not made to bow to political pressure, DeSantiss administration took credit for the move.

Thanks to @GovRonDeSantis principled stand for education over identity politics, the College Board will be revising the course for the entire nation, DeSantis press secretary Bryan Griffin said on Twitter.

Floridas Department of Education is now reviewing the revisions to ensure they follow state law, which restricts how topics such as racism can be taught in schools and prohibits any instruction that could make someone feel personal responsibility for historic wrongdoings because of their race, sex or national origin.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
A Pueblo man was sentenced to more than 15 years in federal prison Wednesday after pleading guilty to possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine and being a felon in possession of a firearm.

Kenneth Baca, 44, of Pueblo, was sentenced to 190 months in federal prison by Judge Regina M. Rodriguez.

On October 12, 2021, Pueblo police detectives were investigating Baca after receiving an anonymous tip that he was selling a large amount of drugs. An undercover detective messaged Baca via Facebook messenger and Baca agreed to sell heroin and methamphetamine, police said.

The undercover officer and Baca agreed to meet at Bacas hotel room in Pueblo on Oct. 13.

Officers said they watched Baca pull into the parking lot in a truck with no front license plate and an expired registration. Baca also didnt have a valid drivers license, according to the U.S. District Attorney's Office. Officers conducted a traffic stop and patted Baca down for weapons. Baca allegedly told them he had a pistol in his right pants pocket. Baca was immediately arrested and the firearm was retrieved from his pants.

A search of the truck found a backpack containing methamphetamine, fentanyl, heroin, a digital scale, $1,746, a notebook that appeared to be a drug ledger, and a wallet containing Bacas ID cards.

In the motel room registered to Baca, officers recovered fentanyl, methamphetamine, drug paraphernalia, a suspected drug ledger, and $1,018.

Baca was also not allowed to own a firearm at the time of the arrest.

This defendant repeatedly committed crimes with no regard for the law," said U.S. District Attorney Cole Finnegan. "The fact that the defendant was on supervised release when he committed these crimes exemplifies this solemn reality. This sentence achieves the goals of deterring such criminal conduct, while simultaneously protecting our community from drugs and weapons,

The investigation was conducted by the FBI Denver Division and the Pueblo Police Department. Prosecution was handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel Warhola and the Transnational Organized Crime and Money Laundering Section of the U.S. Attorneys Office.

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FBI Denver Special Agent in Charge Mark Michalek emphasized the importance of the FBI's relationship with local law enforcement.

"This sentencing highlights the collaboration and teamwork between the FBI and our law enforcement partners like the Pueblo Police Department, whose efforts were instrumental in this case," he said.

"FBI Denver remains committed to working closely with the Pueblo Police Department to ensure that dangerous criminals are no longer menacing the public."

10th Judicial District Attorney Jeff Chostner also emphasized the importance of partnerships between Pueblo County law enforcement and federal agencies.

"We very much value our partnership with all federal agencies to help make Pueblo a safer place. Be it the ATF, FBI, or U.S. attorney, we all work closely together as a team. This is just another example of how we conserve resources for the maximum desired effect  to help vindicate victims, try to make them whole, and get the bad actors off the streets of Pueblo County. We are all stronger because we work together, as this case shows."

Questions, comments, or story tips? Contact Justin at jreutterma@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter@jayreutter1.

This article originally appeared on The Pueblo Chieftain: Pueblo man sentenced to 15 years in prison for drug, gun crimes
Former Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett ABIR SULTAN / Contributor/Getty Images

Former Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett says he got Russian President Vladamir Putin to promise he wouldn't kill Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky during negotiations in the war's first weeks, The Associated Press reports.

Bennett served as an unlikely intermediary between the two nations and was one of the few leaders from the West to visit Moscow during the war. While those mediations ultimately failed to bring the conflict to a swift end, Bennett's account gives insight into the efforts to quell the invasion.

In a five-hour interview on his YouTube account, he outlined the secret behind-the-scenes negotiations that included Putin's promise. Bennett says he asked Putin if he planned to kill his Ukrainian counterpart.

"I asked, 'what's with this? Are you planning to kill Zelensky?' He said, 'I won't kill Zelensky.' I then said to him, 'I have to understand that you're giving me your word that you won't kill Zelensky.' He said, 'I'm not going to kill Zelensky,'" Bennett said, per AP.

He then called Zelensky to inform him of Putin's vow. "'Listen, I came out of a meeting; he's not going to kill you.' He asks, 'are you sure?' I said,'100% he won't kill you,'" Bennett assured him. Bennett also said he got Putin to drop his pledge to demand Ukraine's disarmament, and Zelensky vowed that Ukraine would not join NATO during the mediation.

In response to Bennett's interview, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba expressed his disbelief that Putin could be taken at his word on Sunday on Twitter.

"Do not be fooled: He is an expert liar. Every time he has promised not to do something, it has been exactly part of his plan," Kuleba said about the Russian president, per AP.

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By Guy Faulconbridge

MOSCOW (Reuters) -Russian rescue workers will fly to Syria and Turkey after a huge earthquake killed about 1,700 people and injured thousands more, the Kremlin said on Monday.

President Vladimir Putin spoke by phone with Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad and Turkey's Tayyip Erdogan to express his condolences over the death and destruction wrought by the magnitude 7.8 quake, the worst to strike Turkey this century.

Putin offered to send Russian rescue teams to both Turkey and Syria.

"Bashar al-Assad gratefully accepted this offer, and in the coming hours rescuers of the Russian emergencies ministry will fly to Syria," the Kremlin said in a statement.

"The Turkish president warmly thanked Vladimir Putin for such a prompt and sincere reaction and said that he was giving instructions to the competent authorities of the country to accept the help of Russian rescuers," it said.

Russia said it had emergency rescue Ilyushin-76 planes on standby to fly to the two countries. Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu ordered Russian forces in Syria to help with the rescue effort.

Russia backed Assad in Syria's civil war, launching a military campaign that helped turn the tide of the conflict in his favour even though the West had called for the Syrian leader to go.

Russia has a naval base in Tartus, on the Syrian coast, and operates the Khmeimim air base north of Tartus.

Russia's defence ministry said its military facilities in Syria had not been damaged by the earthquake.

NUCLEAR PLANT

Separately, an official from Russia's state atomic energy company Rosatom said the Akkuyu nuclear power plant it is building in southern Turkey was also not damaged by the quake.

"Nevertheless, we are carrying out extensive diagnostic measures to make sure that construction and installation operations can continue safely," the RIA news agency quoted Rosatom official Anastasia Zoteeva as saying.

Armenia, which was struck by a devastating earthquake in 1988, also expressed its sadness over Monday's earthquake, even though the former Soviet republic which borders Turkey has no diplomatic ties with Ankara due to disputes over history.

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Yerevan says 1.5 million Armenians were killed in a genocide committed by the Ottoman Empire, the predecessor to modern Turkey, in 1915. Ankara contests the figures and denies the killings were systematic or constitute a genocide.

"Saddened by the news of the devastating earthquake in Turkey and Syria that resulted in the loss of so many lives," Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said.

"Our deepest condolences to the families of the victims and we wish a speedy recovery to the injured. Armenia is ready to provide assistance."

(Editing by Gareth Jones)
Editor's note: This story has been updated to reflect that Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland called Chief CJ Davis a "national" leader.

Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland spoke Friday with The Commercial Appeal about the leadership of Police Chief Cerelyn CJ Davis.

Davis and the Memphis Police Department have faced increased scrutiny after the death of Tyre Nichols, a 29-year-old FedEx employee and father, who died three days after being brutally beaten, Tased and pepper sprayed by police officers.

Since then, the department swiftly fired five officers who have since been charged with second-degree murder in Nichols death.

The SCORPION Unit, of which the five were members, has been disbanded.

More:She came to Memphis a 'rising star.' Why Chief CJ Davis is facing her toughest test yet.

Strickland on Friday announced the city has contracted with the Department of Justices Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS), through the Collaborative Reform Initial Technical Assistant Center (CRI-TAC) program and the International Association of Police Chiefs (IACP) to conduct a review of the Memphis Police Department, particularly pertaining to its special units and use of force.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Q: Why was Chief Davis your selection as MPD chief?

A: What struck me is she was a national leader on crime reduction and police reform. Shes a leader. I thought she had great experience in a very large city like Atlanta and a medium sized city in Durham. Memphis kind of fits in between there. Those are the reasons and I am sure there are many more.

Q: What did you task her with when hiring her?

A: Crime reduction. Let me put this all in perspective. From 2017-2018 crime went down, 2018-2019 crime went down. I took my oath of office for my second term January 1, 2020, wed had a couple years of crime reduction and increasing police officers. Then the pandemic hit and violent crime skyrocketed across the country and in Memphis. With that backdrop, the number one goal is to reduce crime. There are many parts of that and the police arent the only entity involved in that, but thats the one we were hiring for.  After struggling with a couple years of the pandemic last year we did reduce violent crime. Not enough. Were certainly not having a banner that says mission accomplished, but were certainly headed in the right direction. Last year we followed another national trend, which is car thefts.

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Q: Today, how would you characterize the job Davis has done?

A: I think shes done a good job. Violent crime has gone down.  Now we have to keep working there, but also respond to this huge increase in property crime that were seeing. We lost police officers during the pandemic like most police forces around the country did and were starting the rebound from that. Shes been a leader in trying to get better pay and better benefits to police officers. We agreed last year with the police association for a 5% raise for the current year and a 5% raise for next year, a $15,000 sign on bonus for new officers, a real aggressive marketing campaign to bring in officers. Shes been leading that. Being a police chief of any major city in the country is really a difficult job. During the pandemic it got even more difficult, but I think shes been a good leader.

Q: On the Tyre Nichols case, Chief Davis was praised for swift action in terms of firing the five officers. Then, she received some pushback for not releasing the identity of a white officer who was also suspended. What are your thoughts on how shes handled the situation?

A: I think shes done a very good job. She was concerned from the very get-go when a summary of the incident did not make sense to her. She asked to see the video very quickly and informed me that she was very troubled by what she was learning. Its her leadership that said we are gonna do what Memphis City Government has never done and what most city governments across the country dont do and that is a thorough but very quick employment evaluation.

She led in the fact that we had to do this fast. I think thats what Mr. (Ben) Crump noted at the funeral earlier this week that she was really a model in how we got that done. I think she prioritized right. The five officers who physically assaulted Tyre were the first five investigations and then shes moved on to the investigations on the other employees who were at the site. I think shes done it in a very professional way, in a very thorough way and very quickly, and shes also said we need an outside entity to do an investigation on the way the police department operates, especially these special units and our use of force.

Q: Another criticism is that Chief Davis created SCORPION, which has of course been disbanded. And, that unit mirrored one she oversaw in Atlanta, Red Dog, which was also disbanded after accusations of police brutality. How do you respond to people who say SCORPION should never have been created in the first place?

A: First of all, every major city has a unit similar to SCORPION, which is different than the one you talked about earlier, Red Dog. The Red Dog operation was different than the SCORPION. Interestingly, people who say theyre similar never give particulars on how they are similar. Not every special unit is the same.

Q: What was the departmental structure with regard to SCORPION?

A: There were definitely leaders in between (Davis) and the actual officers on the street. I dont know the details.

Q: You are terming out. What do you think Chief Davis will need to do to ensure that she remains Memphis police chief even when a new mayor comes on board?

A: Im not worried about that and Im not sure shes worried about that. What were worried about is short-term trying to do the right thing with respect to bringing justice for Tyre, doing the right thing in an evaluation of our processes to make sure this does not happen again and maintaining the morale of great officers that are remaining on the force and trying to reduce crime.

Katherine Burgess covers county government and religion. She can be reached at katherine.burgess@commercialappeal.com or followed on Twitter @kathsburgess.

This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Q&A: Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland on Chief CJ Davis' leadership
strike action on christmas

Strike-breaking rail managers were paid 50 an hour on top of their salaries to work on the front line during walkouts over Christmas, leaked documents show.

Salaried workers could get as much as 6,500 in extra pay if they swapped the office for shifts on trains on strike days between Dec 19 and Jan 3.

An additional 500 per day was paid to employees serving as a "safety critical contingency manager", according to a leaked schedule  equal to 50 an hour for a ten-hour stint.

Workers fulfilling the role of "customer service contingency manager"  deemed non-safety critical  were given 300 per shift.

Although the Government insisted it was up to train operators to make decisions on employee compensation, industry sources said that the payments were signed off by Department for Transport officials.

Industry sources said that some staff did as many as 13 safety critical shifts on the frontline  meaning 6,500 in extra pay.

The leaked document comes as train companies rip up an 8pc pay rise offered to train drivers and restart negotiations from scratch.

Representatives from the Rail Industry Recovery Group, a body of operators which is backed by the Government, will open talks with drivers' union Aslef on Tuesday afternoon

Talks will begin with a clean slate, sources said, while the fresh start also allows operators and the Government to abandon demands that on-board guards are axed as part of any deal.

Meanwhile, the Rail, Maritime and Transport workers union (RMT) continues to weigh a best and final 9pc rise offered by both train operators and Network Rail, the state-backed owner of tracks, points and stations.

Huw Merriman, rail minister, pleaded with the RMT leadership to put the pay deals to a ballot of their members.

Writing in The Sun, he said: The railway itself risks withering on the vine, unable to make the changes it needs to grow and losing the faith of a generation of rail passengers.

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Put the latest offers to your members, encourage them to accept.

News of bonus payments for strike-breaking managers angered grassroots campaigners, however. The Taxpayers Alliance has estimated rail subsidies have cost 42bn since the start of the pandemic.

James Roberts, managing director at the lobby group, said: "Taxpayers are pouring money into Britain's broken railways.

"Generous pay deals and excessive bonus packages are being paid for by soaring public subsidies, which run well into the tens of billions of pounds.

A spokesman for the Department for Transport said: Following fair and reasonable deals being put to unions by operators we hope that these damaging strikes will soon end.
Holding a lantern in his hand, 51-year-old Jiao Wenjie stepped onto the stage, clad in golden armor, like a proud soldier in ancient China. He was here to light the meandering array of lanterns adorning his hometown in China's Gansu Province, a traditional cultural event on the eve of the Lantern Festival, which falls on Sunday this year.

As Jiao and other performers intoned prayers for a blessed new year, the winding array of golden lights took on the shape of a large square maze. Gongs and drums were beaten, and the flock of tourists was allowed to file into the lantern maze and guess the riddles planted there.

The Jiuqu Yellow River Lantern Array, which takes place annually in Ganzhou District, in the city of Zhangye, is centuries old. In 2012, it was listed as an item of intangible cultural heritage for Gansu Province.

"My father always says to me that the completion of the lantern ceremony symbolizes the beginning of a good new year," said Jiao, a third-generation inheritor of this cultural tradition.

The Jiuqu Yellow River Lantern Array consists of 365 lanterns arranged according to the Nine Palaces and the Eight Trigrams Formation, which was used for divination in ancient China. In the past, people believed that walking around the lantern array would bring them a good harvest and a better life in the coming year.

The custom was introduced to Ganzhou from the Yellow River basin as early as the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). Passing down from generation to generation, it has become a local ritual to celebrate the Lantern Festival.

During the final 10 days before the Lantern Festival, all villagers in Gucheng Village in Ganzhou, where Jiao hails from, gather together to make paper lanterns. As a child, Jiao used to follow his father to find the spot where the lantern maze would be located, define its range, and set up the 365 poles on which to hang the lanterns.

In his thirties, Jiao began to fully shoulder the responsibility of passing on the heritage. However, unlike his father's generation, who tended to follow ancient traditions closely, Jiao is keen on making innovations.

In the first year that Jiao led the ceremony, he used iron wire instead of traditional wicker to build the lantern skeleton and replaced the colored paper on the lanterns with flex banners printed with scenes from classic Chinese novels.

Jiao's debut was a hit, drawing more visitors to see his "comic lanterns." Since then, he has often racked his brain for new ways to decorate the maze and has tried various shapes of lantern.

"As an inheritor of this tradition, I must ensure that more people see and come to love our array of lamps," explained Jiao.

In 2018, the local government initiated a project to build a scenic spot themed on the lantern array, aiming to support the inheritance, protection and utilization of the tradition. The new lantern array now covers an area of 10 hectares, with the tourist trail alone stretching 2.4 km.

Besides the traditional lanterns, the scenic spot integrates the lantern array with modern light settings and sound technologies like laser lamps and computer lights. Other recreational activities like firework shows, live-action drama and Chinese puppet shows are also on offer, providing a comprehensive cultural feast for the public, according to Wang Wei, who is in charge of the Zhangye Wulan ancient town scenic spot.

Such a combination of modern and ancient has won the hearts of tourists, with the maximum daily number of tourists exceeding 80,000, Wang added.

Ding Qian, 42, has taken her 10-year-old daughter, Fan Shuyao, to visit the lantern maze several times.

Ding said the maze includes various elements of traditional Chinese culture, such as the zodiac animals, cultural celebrities, ancient poetry and lantern riddles. All the cultural elements on the lanterns and the surrounding walls have greatly aroused the curiosity of her daughter.

"Now I can figure out the answer to more than half of the lantern riddles," said Fan, brimming with confidence.

Jin Wei, director of the district's intangible cultural heritage protection center, said the combination of such elements will help rejuvenate the traditional culture, adding new charm and injecting a new impetus into folk history and culture.

These days, Jiao also participates in the scenic spot's live-action dramas. He said he is happy to see the lantern array remain lit beyond the traditional time frame, attracting more and more visitors.
DNA testing recently identified skeletal remains found by a group of rafters in 1989, authorities in Oregon said.

The remains were identified as David West Jr., who disappeared during a flood in 1964, the Sherman County Sheriffs Office said in a Monday, Feb. 6, news release.

On March 27, 1989, rafters found skeletal remains on the bank of the John Day River in Sherman County, deputies said. Some bones had been half-buried in the silt.

The remains, including a skull, were examined by the Oregon State Medical Examiners Office, but an identification was not made, deputies said.

Authorities then searched the area on March 28 and April 8 of that year, and found small bones and teeth.

Multiple people reported to authorities that they believed the remains belonged to West.

They said he vanished after crossing the John Day River during a flood in 1964, authorities said.

West lived on a ranch near Bridge Creek and often crossed the river to feed cattle near Ashwood, which is what he was believed to be doing on the day of the flood.

He used a makeshift cable car he and a friend built to cross the river, deputies said.

When a friend went to check on him, they saw the cable car had been washed away and his dog was injured and agitated on the riverbank.

No one saw West after the flooding, deputies said.

Investigators contacted Wests dentist about the remains, but they were not able to make a conclusive identification.

In 2010, the medical examiners office sent a bone sample to the University of North Texas Center for Human Identification.

A DNA sample was created and a profile was added to the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS), a DNA database run by the FBI. But a genetic association wasnt made, deputies said.

The medical examiners office then sent another sample to Othram, a private DNA lab, in April 2022, deputies said.

The lab used a genome sequencing technique and named two of Wests relatives.

Investigators then reached out to another family member for a DNA sample.

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They were able to confirm the remains belonged to West in September 2022.

We are very excited that such an old case was able to be solved. This was a case that was a mystery for generations here at the Sherman County Sheriffs Office. Im happy that the family of the deceased finally has closure, Sheriff Brad Lohrey said in the release.

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The Biden administration announced that the COVID-19 national and public health emergencies will come to a halt on May 11. The emergency declaration, which was enacted by former President Donald Trump in 2020and renewed every 90 days, helped the government provide tools  like tests, vaccines and treatments  to Americans and funding that supported our health care system throughout the public health crisis.

The announcement, made on Jan. 30, puts an end to many benefits weve come to rely on for our COVID-19 needs. Come summer, many people will have to start paying out of pocket for COVID-related care that used to be free under the emergency declarations. While many benefits will end in May, others, like telehealth coverage, will be extended through 2024.

Were still learning about the ways people will be affected by the declarations end and will have more answers in the coming months.

It will be important for people to check with their health care providers and health plans to understand moving forward what is covered and not covered by their plans, said David Souleles, director of the masters in public health program at the University of California, Irvine.

Heres what we know so far about the end of the COVID-19 public health emergency and what it means for you:

Expect tests, shots and treatments to get more expensive

One of the biggest perks of the emergency declaration has been free COVID-19 vaccines, test kits and treatments. Throughout the pandemic, people covered by private insurance plans and public plans like Medicare and Medicaid have been able to get up to eight COVID-19 tests each month for free.

Uninsured individuals were also able to access tests through President Joe Bidens at-home test program, which offered batches of four free tests to households via the U.S. Postal Service. Certain treatments, like the antiviral Paxlovid and monoclonal antibodies, were also fully covered for people with Medicaid and Medicare. The end of the declaration will mark the end of federal funding for these free resources.

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With the expiration of the declarations, those costs will shift to private insurance and government health plans, or out of pocket for those without coverage, Souleles said.

When the emergency declaration ends in May, testing services and antiviral drugs will no longer be completely free for most Americans, according to Dr. Robert Amler, dean of the School of Health Sciences and Practice at New York Medical College and a former Centers for Disease Control and Prevention official.

COVID-19 will soon be handled like other seasonal infectious diseases. The shots will continue to be free for most Americans. For example, in a normal flu season, people with health insurance can get the vaccines for free by a provider in their network, but uninsured folks have to pay anywhere from $25 to $110 for the shot at local pharmacies.

When it comes to treatment coverage and PCR tests ordered by a health care provider, it will likely depend on the type of coverage people have and their copay requirements.Tamiflu, the antiviral used for the flu, can be fully or partially covered by private insurers, depending on the plan  so the same will likely be true for COVID-19 treatments.

Youll also have to pay for at-home COVID-19 tests. If youre on Medicaid, youll be able to access free tests (including at-home kits) and treatments until 2024. Amler said many local jurisdictions will likely have programs in place that cover the costs of tests and shots.

Those without health care coverage or otherwise having trouble accessing care or treatment will want to reach out to their local public health departments for referrals to community clinics or other providers who can assist with care to those without health care coverage, Souleles added.

One thing to note: Many of the treatments and test kits were made available to the public though emergency use authorization  a type of approval given to expedite the availability of drugs and vaccines during a public health emergency. The end of the emergency phase will not affect access to these products, Amler said.

Test and treatment coverage may change after the COVID-19 public health emergency status goes away.

Test and treatment coverage may change after the COVID-19 public health emergency status goes away.

Health insurance enrollment and telehealth access could change

If youre on public health insurance, you may want to check in with your provider because some people may get booted off their plan. During the pandemic, the federal government pumped funds into Medicaid to ensure vulnerable Americans would remain covered but thats about to change.

When the continuous enrollment requirement ends, it is likely that millions of people may be terminated from coverage as states resume their routine redetermination processes where Medicaid beneficiaries have to reapply and have eligibility verified for continued coverage, Souleles said.

Additionally, Medicare has been billing people the same amount for out-of-network and in-network COVID-related care. This benefit will also end when the declaration ends, Souleles said. During the national emergency, private insurers had to be more flexible with COBRA enrollment and premium payment deadlines, but that will no longer be the case two months after the emergency declaration ends in May.

Well also start to see telehealth coverage slowly phase out. Because telehealth has been crucial in helping many people access care during the pandemic  particularly those with behavioral health needs or in rural areas  coverage of telehealth services for Medicare users wont end abruptly on May 11, but will be extended to December 2024. Telehealth coverage will vary from state to state for people with Medicaid.

Though the emergency declaration is officially set to end on May 11, Amler said the date could change, as has often happened with deadlines during the pandemic. The government will also continue to share additional ways that the end of the emergency will affect our daily lives. Because protections have been put in place and amended and extended at different times, benefits are going to unwind on various timelines.

Its going to be confusing for quite a while, Amler said. So, stay tuned, and in the meantime, if you have any specific questions, contact your local health department or health insurance company.

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By Gilles Guillaume and Nick Carey

LONDON (Reuters) - Nissan and Renault on Monday are set to unveil details of their redesigned alliance and answer questions about Renault's electric vehicle (EV) business and how it will sell off most of its stake in the Japanese carmaker.

The two companies announced a sweeping remake of their two-decade-old automaking alliance last month, which should see the Japanese company invest in Renault's new EV unit Ampere.

That announcement came after nearly four months of intense talks complicated by concerns about the sharing of intellectual property as Renault sought tie-ups with companies outside their alliance.

The deal will see the French carmaker reduce its stake in Nissan to 15% from around 43%.

That will see Renault put around 28% of the Japanese automaker in a French trust, crucially making the two more equal partners.

Renault's board approved the deal on Sunday night, according to a source. Nissan's board is expected to meet early on Monday to approve it.

Investors and analysts will be looking on Monday for more clarity on how the trust will operate.

"There is absolutely no word about what's going to happen to those shares in the trust," said CLSA analyst Christopher Richter. "It seems they're all avoiding the issue of Nissan buying them back which I think would be the best thing for all parties involved."

Richter said Renault's brand is not seen as being a strong brand, so it may be tough for the French carmaker to raise money for Ampere.

"I wonder once this thing goes into the market how much money you would really raise, he said. "That's why I think they're going to push Nissan to pay too much."

The unequal relationship between the two carmakers had long been a source of friction among Nissan executives.

While Renault bailed out Nissan two decades ago, it is the smaller automaker by sales.

The alliance, which also includes junior partner, Mitsubishi Motors Corp, was deeply strained by the ouster of its architect and former chairman, Carlos Ghosn, amid financial scandal.

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CLSA's Richter said that the revamped alliance could enable Nissan and Renault to work together on R&D, shared costs and a few shared products "with a little bit less rancor and acrimony between them," but added that Honda and General Motors have built a partnership that includes jointly developing lower-cost EVs together without any need for a capital relationship.

"One almost wonders what's the point of them having any stake in either one, any stake at all," Richter said.

(Reporting By Nick Carey; editing by Diane Craft)
Jayland Walker with his mother, Pamela, right, and sister, Jada.

U.S. Rep. Emilia Sykes (OH-13) will be joined by the mother of Jayland Walker, the Black man shot and killed by Akron police last year, at President Joe Biden's State of the Union address on Tuesday.

Walker, 25, was shot 46 times by eight officers on June 27 after leading officers on a car chase, during which police say he fired a single shot from his car. Walker was unarmed when he was shot after a short foot chase.

She experienced what no mother should ever have to go through but has displayed unwavering strength and perseverance in the face of extreme adversity," Sykes said of Pamela Walker. "President Biden and Democrats have taken steps to improve police accountability, but there is still much work to be done to restore trust between police and the communities they serve. I will continue to fight for a criminal justice system that is transparent, accountable, and keeps us all safe.

Sykes' office described Walker as "a kind, quiet, and thoughtful young family man who regularly spent time with his mother, grandmother, and sister" who was "just beginning to live his life, saving money to become a successful entrepreneur, with aspirations of starting his own business."

Jayland was the son that every mother dreams of, and I am proud to have been his mother, Pamela Walker said in a statement. But he was brutally taken from us way too soon, leaving my family and me devastated and heartbroken. We are here at the U.S. Capitol demanding accountability and change among U.S. law enforcement so that my son, and others affected by the injustices that Black Americans continue to face nationwide at the hands of U.S. law enforcement, will not have died in vain.

It could be early April before state prosecutors present the case of the eight Akron officers who killed Jayland Walker to a grand jury in Summit County, Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost, told the Beacon Journal last month.

Attorney Bobby DiCello, right, holds up a photograph of Jayland Walker as Paige White, left, comforts Jayland's mother Pamela Walker during a press conference at St. Ashworth Temple on Thursday, June 30, 2022.

Emilia Sykes on improving community-police relations

Sykes is an Akron native who represented the city in the Ohio House of Representatives, including three years as the minority leader, before being elected to the U.S. House last November.

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According to Sykes' office, Congress in December passed bipartisan legislation that creates $70 million in annual grant funding for law enforcement de-escalation training involving people with mental health issues. Last year, Biden also issued an executive order establishing a National Law Enforcement Accountability database, improving the investigation and prosecution of civil rights violations and ordering federal law enforcement to adopt body-worn camera policies, Sykes' office said.

As Ohio House Minority Leader, Sykes helped secure funding for the Ohio Body-Worn Camera Grant Program in the 2022-2023 state budget, with local police departments receiving funding including Akron, Twinsburg, Bath Township, Reminderville, Springfield Township, Canton and Massillon, according to Sykes' office.

Jayland Walker grand jury:AG Dave Yost says charges in Jayland Walker case may not be decided until April or later

Jayland Walker:What we still don't know 6 months after Akron police killed Jayland Walker

Jayland Walker's mother Pamela Walker, left, and sister Jada Walker are overwhelmed with grief during a press conference at St. Ashworth Temple on Thursday, June 30, 2022.

Emilia Sykes on death of Tyre Nichols in Memphis

Sykes referenced Walker in a statement offering her condolences and prayer for justice on the death of Tyre Nichols, a Black man who was beaten to death by police officers in Memphis, Tennessee, last month.

It is utterly unacceptable for a traffic stop to turn into a deadly interaction. Every public servant should treat everyone they serve with decency and respect," she said. Whether its George Floyd, Jayland Walker or Tyre Nichols, I share in the collective outrage, pain, and resolve to ensure there are better outcomes, protections and accountability when encountering public employees, including, and especially, law enforcement.

Sykes last week referenced Nichols' death and the overall state of policing in America during an Akron Roundtable session marking her first month in office. She said the first step is to acknowledge the systemic inequities and failures that allow for such acts of police violence, especially toward the Black community.

Rep. Emilia Sykes at Akron Roundtable:First month in Congress sets U.S. Rep. Emilia Sykes up for challenges ahead

Congresswoman Emilia Sykes speaks to a packed house at the Akron Roundtable on Friday, Feb. 3, 2023, in Akron, Ohio, at the John S. Knight Center.

"Our interactions with law enforcement should be just like any other government official; it should be viewed as a public service, with law enforcement being there to protect and serve," Sykes stated. "We need to create a level of trust where our law enforcement feel like they are part of the community and the community feels that law enforcement is a joint venture where we are all working together.

"When you look at certain communities that don't tend to have as many issues with police and community not trusting one other, those communities tend to have a lot of resources. And when you go back to the root cause of the inequities, you don't see these types of experiences (with police violence) in neighborhoods that have after-school programs...and other basic needs being met, with people having enough food to eat or a roof over their head," Sykes said.

Contact Beacon Journal reporter Emily Mills at emills@thebeaconjournal.com and on Twitter @EmilyMills818.

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Rep. Emilia Sykes invites Jayland Walker's mom to State of the Union
Rep. Paul Gosar speaks during the Arizona GOP biennial statutory meeting at Dream City Church on Saturday, Jan. 28, 2023, in Phoenix.

Last week, the Republican majority in the House of Representative decided on a party-line vote to remove Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar from the House Foreign Affairs committee. The stated reason focused on past comments Omar made concerning Israel.

The real reason for Omars removal was revenge. Democrats in the last session had removed Arizona Republican Rep. Paul Gosar and Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Green from committees.

Still, Omar left herself open for such action, having said things for which even Democrats had condemned her publicly.

In that sense, Republicans had a decent argument for removing Omar, one that might not have seemed like petty political retaliation if not for  Gosar.

(Taylor-Greene also, but Gosar is Arizonas fault.)

Republicans have no argument, thanks to Gosar

Any argument Republicans had for removing Omar becomes hypocritical BS when Gosar is factored in.

The Arizona Republican voted to remove Omar and said in a statement that she pursued a reckless and fundamentally anti-American agenda.

She did?

This is Gosar, whom Stop the Steal organizer Ali Alexander credited as one of those with whom he schemed up the Jan. 6, 2021, demonstrations that led to an attack on the U.S. Capitol.

This is Gosar, who tried to disenfranchise Arizona voters by voiding the states electoral college votes.

Did Omar or Gosar support the insurrectionists?

This is Gosar, who tweeted his undying support for the criminal insurrectionists who stormed the U.S. Capitol, an event that led to at least four deaths, injured 150 or so police officers and caused millions of dollars in damage.

This is Gosar, who said on social media, The treatment of the Jan. 6 protestors is inhumane and unacceptable. They deserve much more than an immediate pardon, but it would be a good start.

But he says Omar is anti-American?

Congressional shift:How did Arizona get here and what happens next?

In his statement concerning his vote to remove Omar from the committee Gosar also said she regularly engages with racists, supports and condones racism, and champions anti-American sentiments.

Story continues

This is Gosar, who has supported and defended the racist antisemite Nick Fuentes, for which even Republican Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell condemned him.

Which one suggested trashing the Constitution?

Gosar also said that Omar was a person seething with hatred and bile.

This is Gosar, who posted a crude anime video online depicting him killing Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

Finally, Gosar said of Omar, It is a fair question whether she should serve in Congress at all.

This is Gosar, who publicly agreed with former President Donald Trump when Trump suggested trashing the U.S. Constitution in order to overturn the results of the 2020 election.

This is Gosar, about whom his own brother, David, said, I consider him a traitor to this country. I consider him a traitor to his family. He doesnt see it. Hes disgraced and dishonored himself.

And while Omar was removed from a committee, Gosars committee appointments were restored under Republican leadership.

Which begs the question: Who really brought dishonor to the House?

Reach Montini at ed.montini@arizonarepublic.com.

For more opinions content, please subscribe.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Paul Gosar (the pot) calls Ilhan Omar (the kettle) unfit
Columbus police say Logan Holley was three months old when he died in February 2009 from blunt force injuries to his head. Holley would have turned 14 this year on Oct. 27.

Central Ohio Crime Stoppers is offering a cash reward for information on the death of a baby who would have turned 14 this year.

Columbus police reported that Logan Holley was three months old when he was found not breathing around 7:15 a.m. on Feb. 1, 2009 at a home on the first block of Delray Road, located on the city's South Side.

Logan was rushed to Nationwide Children's Hospital, where he died. An autopsy determined that Logan's death was the result of a blunt force injury to his head.

The Dispatch reported that detectives at the time did not release information on who was with the baby when police arrived at the scene or when the baby's injuries were believed to have occurred.

Central Ohio Crime Stoppers is asking anyone with information to call 614-461-TIPS, use the free P3 Tips mobile application or provide tips online at www.stopcrime.org. All tips to Crime Stoppers are anonymous and a special coding system is used to provide the reward.

bbruner@dispatch.com

@bethany_bruner

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Reward offered for information in 2009 death of 3-month-old baby
The rights of transgender people are often in dispute, including in schools. AP Photo/Rick Bowmer

As an increasing number of elementary, middle and high school students in the U.S. have begun to identify as transgender, school leaders have struggled to figure out how to respond, and how  and whether  to communicate about their actions to parents.

In Maryland, for instance, three sets of parents filed a federal lawsuit in 2020 that challenged school guidelines allowing students to express their gender identities at school. In some situations teachers and other school staff are asked not to notify parents they are doing so.

The federal trial court ruling, which has been appealed, determined that parents did not have a fundamental right to be informed promptly if their children chose to identify as another gender while at school.

The judge tried to balance both parents rights under the due process clause of the Constitution and states rights to regulate public education, even if they conflict with parental wishes.

The judge found that while school board officials intended to ultimately inform parents, if educators had concerns about a childs safety they would hold off on doing so.

The boards rules, the judge wrote, keep a students gender identity confidential  out of concern for the students well-being. The rules also call for a comprehensive gender support plan that anticipates and encourages eventual familial involvement wherever possible.

In short, parents have a general right to know about their childrens activity in school. However, parental rights can be limited by students rights to privacy and personal safety.

The Maryland case is by no means the only case in which school officials have been caught between students right to privacy and parents right to know. As researchers who specialize in education law, we have analyzed similar cases in Iowa, Massachusetts, Wisconsin and Virginia.

Regardless of how the cases from Maryland and elsewhere play out, this issue is likely to continue to generate additional controversy and litigation.

Story continues

Parents rights vs. schools obligations

Disagreements between parents and schools over education are not new. In 1925, in Pierce v. Society of Sisters, a dispute from Oregon, the Supreme Court upheld the rights of parents to send their children to schools run outside the public education system.

The justices famously wrote: The child is not the mere creature of the state; those who nurture him and direct his destiny have the right, coupled with the high duty, to recognize and prepare him for additional obligations. This signaled clearly that parents have rights over how their children are raised and educated.

But the U.S. Supreme Court has not yet decided clearly where the rights of parents end and the rights of their children begin. As a result, an appellate court in New Jersey observed that courts have held that in certain circumstances the parental right to control the upbringing of a child must give way to a schools ability to control curriculum and the school environment.

Courts have even decided that there may be times when school or other public officials have legitimate interests in intervening where parents would typically have free rein, to assist or protect children. For example, educators might choose to keep information about students gender identity from parents if school staff members have reason to believe the students would be kicked out of their houses, physically abused, or forced to participate in abusive counseling programs, such as conversion therapy.

The role of students rights

At the same time, school officials must ensure protection of students rights. In particular, many states have laws requiring school board officials to protect their students from discrimination and violations of privacy.

In the wake of the Supreme Courts decision in Bostock v. Clayton County, interpreting Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 as applying to people who are gay or transgender, the U.S. Department of Education told school boards across the country that they cannot allow discrimination on the basis of sex, sexual orientation or gender identity.

School staff members have legal obligations to protect students privacy. According to the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, It is difficult to imagine a more private matter than ones sexuality and a less likely probability that the government would have a legitimate interest in disclosure of sexual identity.

Even so, schools often want parents to be involved in their childrens education and the wider school community. This regularly puts educators in the sensitive position of having to protect student privacy while respecting parental rights to raise their children in accordance with their values.

It remains to be seen how courts will balance parental rights to direct the lives of their children and the role of educators in safeguarding the privacy rights of students  and whether the Supreme Court can, or will, ever set clearer rules in this important topic.

This article is republished from The Conversation, an independent nonprofit news site dedicated to sharing ideas from academic experts. If you found it interesting, you could subscribe to our weekly newsletter.

It was written by: Charles J. Russo, University of Dayton; Maggie Paino, University of Wisconsin-Madison, and Suzanne Eckes, University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Read more:



The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
Despite a reduction in its fleet of mining machines and hash rate capacity, Bitcoin mining company Riot today reported it produced 740 BTC last month, its new all-time high.

This is an increase of approximately 62% as compared to 458 BTC the Texas-based company produced in January 2022, and about 12% as compared to the 659 BTC generated in December 2022.

The record number of mined Bitcoin, worth $16.8 million in current prices, came despite the operational disruption the North America-based miners faced at the end of December due to extreme weather conditions.

Riot Produces New All-Time High of 740 #Bitcoin in January 2023 and Provides Infrastructure Update. Read Riot's Monthly Production and Operations Press Release here: https://t.co/NeDPep6Nkf.  Riot Platforms, Inc. (@RiotPlatforms) February 6, 2023

Riot, which recently dropped "blockchain" from its name to become Riot Platforms, was one of the companies affected by the extreme weather and was forced to temporarily close down its Rockdale facility in Texas.

Unfortunately, as a result of this damage, our previously announced target of reaching 12.5 EH/s in total hash rate capacity in Q1 2023 is expected to be delayed, Riot CEO Jason Les said in a statement.

The company said the winter disruptions affected approximately 2.5 EH/s of its hash rate capacity, with a deployed fleet of 82,656 miners reaching a hash rate of 9.3 EH/s as of January 31, 2023.

Decrypt didnt hear immediately back from Riot Platforms.

Bitcoin Hash Rate Suffers Near 40% Drop Amid U.S. Deadly Winter Storm

Riot eyes hash rate increase

Despite recent headwinds, the company said it hopes to increase its hash rate capacity in the near future.

Story continues

Last month, Riot deployed 6,912 S19-series miners, while also receiving 5,130 new S19 machines, ending January with approximately 1,152 miners staged for deployment.

Once deployed, the company expects to increase its fleet of mining machines to a total of 83,808 with a hash rate capacity of approximately 9.4 EH/s.

Bitcoin Mining Is Booming Despite Market Headwinds

This number, however, may rise further as Riot has 17,040 additional miners that are currently offline in Rockdales Building G which was damaged during December blizzards.

We are thankful for our teams progress, despite difficult weather conditions, and are evaluating several options to bring online the approximately 1.9 EH/s of hash rate capacity still affected in Building G, said Les.

Riot also revealed that it held approximately 6,978 BTC as of January 31, 2023, all produced by the companys mining operations. The company said it sold 700 BTC last month, generating net proceeds of about $13.7 million.
A man faces a murder charge in the death of a woman who was riding in the car he was driving when he crashed while being pursued by law enforcement.

An Auburn man faces a first-degree murder charge in the May 2021 death of a Topeka woman who was riding in the car he was driving when he crashed while being chased by law enforcement.

Shawnee County Sheriff's deputies arrested Robert Eugene Love Jr., 44, Sunday in Shawnee County on an outstanding Jackson County District Court warrant charging him with crimes that included first-degree murder linked to the death of Shai Lorene Chantel Boyd, said Jackson County Sheriff Tim Morse.

Boyd, 26, of Topeka, was killed in a two-vehicle crash during the late evening of May 27, 2021, at the intersection of 286th Road and US-75 highway in northern Jackson County, Morse said. That's about seven miles north of Holton.

More:Woman convicted in fatal crash

Four other people were injured but survived. A Kansas Highway Patrol accident report identified them as Love, Love's passenger  Ciara N. Evertson, 19, of Topeka  and the other vehicle's occupants, Scott W. Ditch, 56, and Sara L. Ditch, 41, both of Topeka.

Morse said the crash occurred after a Holton police officer in that city tried to pull over a Dodge Avenger driven by Love, who failed to stop and led the officer on a chase going north out of Holton on US-75 highway.

The Jackson County Sheriff's Office assisted with the pursuit as the fleeing car went east from US-75 onto 254th Road, north on W Road and west on 286th Road before it failed to stop at a stop sign and entered the intersection of 286th and US-75, Morse said.

More:Sydney Prine, 23, dies after her car hits a vehicle along an icy highway south of Holton

The eastbound car Love was driving collided at that intersection with a sport utility vehicle driven by Sara Ditch, who was southbound on US-75, according to a Kansas Highway Patrol accident report.

Morse said Love was being held Monday in the Jackson County Jail at Holton on a Jackson County warrant charging him with three counts of aggravated battery while driving under the influence and one count each of first-degree murder, speeding, reckless driving, fleeing or attempting to elude a law enforcement officer, interference with a law enforcement officer, driving on a suspended license, driving while a habitual violator, driving on the left in a no passing zone, making an improper or unsafe turn, illegally displaying a license plate and failure to yield at a stop sign or yield sign.

Contact Tim Hrenchir at threnchir@gannett.com or 785-213-5934.

This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Auburn man faces murder charge in traffic crash death of Topeka woman
You are here: China

A Chinese defense spokesperson on Sunday expressed stern protest against the United States' use of force to attack China's civilian unmanned airship.

The U.S. attack was a clear overreaction, said Tan Kefei, spokesperson for China's Ministry of National Defense, in a statement.

"We express solemn protest against the move by the U.S. side and reserve the right to take necessary measures to deal with similar situations," Tan said.
The Security Service of Ukraine (SSU) has evidence that companies affiliated to Rosatom [Russian state nuclear corporation  ed.], which have been sanctioned in Ukraine, are involved in the alienation of the Ukrainian Zaporizhzhia NPP in favour of Russia.

Source: Press service of SSU

Quote: "At the initiative of Ukraines Security Service, sanctions have been imposed against 200 Russian companies that are trying to take away Zaporizhzhia NPP from Ukraine."

Details: Rosatom companies are involved in the alienation of ZNPP in favour of the aggressor state Russia.

In particular, the SSU has evidence that employees of Rosatom and related companies of the corporation:

took control of technological and management processes at ZNPP;

facilitate the connection of the nuclear power plant to the Russian energy system;

are trying to legalise the operation of ZNPP in Russia by creating illegitimate Russian companies: Zaporizhzhya NPP Operator JSC and Zaporizhzhya NPP Federal State Unitary Enterprise, which are included in the structure of Rosatom.

Russian occupying forces seized Zaporizhzhia NPP in March 2022.

In 2022, Ukraine imposed sanctions on Alexey Likhachev, CEO of Rosatom.

Background:

On 5 February, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy enacted the decision of the National Security and Defence Council (NSDC) of Ukraine on imposing economic sanctions on the Russian corporation Rosatom and 199 companies that are part of this corporation.

The restrictive measures will be in effect for the next 50 years and will apply to all financial and economic transactions of these institutions.

Ukraine, as well as some EU countries, have been calling for sanctions against Russia's nuclear sector, including Rosatom, for months, pointing to its involvement in the occupation of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant. The disclosure of Rosatom's role in supporting the Russian arms industry will now increase pressure to include it in the sanctions list.

Journalists fight on their own frontline. Support Ukrainska Pravda or become our patron!






Around 4 in 10 Americans in a new poll feel the state of the U.S. union is strong ahead of President Bidens annual address to a joint session of Congress on Tuesday.

A Monmouth University poll found just 39 percent of Americans think the union is strong, down from 46 percent who said the same in March of last year. Of this years 39 percent, just 7 percent think the union is very strong, while the rest say its somewhat strong.

Democrats view the union under Biden more positively than Republicans, who felt more favorably when former President Trump held the Oval Office. But even Democrats sentiments about the state of affairs have fallen over the past year, from 68 percent who were optimistic last year to 58 percent this year.

Fundamental faith in the American system continues to erode, even when taking into account the fact that partisan views shift depending on who occupies the White House, said Monmouth University Polling Institute Director Patrick Murray in an accompanying report.

The survey comes just one day before Biden is set to give his State of the Union address, in which hell likely laud the accomplishments of his administration and party and outline goals for the upcoming year.

Itll be the first time Biden addresses the new GOP-majority House, which has already launched a number of probes into the president, his administration and his family business dealings.

The address also comes as lawmakers debate what to do about the national debt, with a potential default looming in June.

The Monmouth University poll surveyed 805 U.S. adults from Jan. 26-30 and had a margin of error of plus or minus 5.7 percentage points.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
A new batch of Shahed drones will soon be delivered to Russia, intelligence sources said

"Russia really has problems with its arsenal, including drones," a message on the website of the agency reads, quoting Skibitsky.

Read also: About 15 Shahed drones downed over Kyiv overnight

To date, they have used approximately 660 Shahed drones. The contract provides for 1,750 units. It also takes time to deliver and prepare them. They have used a large number in recent days, and these stocks need to be replenished. According to our information, they will now have another batch of delivery  we will specify the number of UAVs.

Skibitsky clarified that Iranian drones were usually imported to Russia in batches of 250-300 units.

Read also: 300 Shahed-136 drones destroyed by Armed Forces, including 6 in last night

He said that the Russians use different altitudes and different routes to bypass Ukraine's air defenses, and also change the areas where they launch drones.

"A massive swarm of drones is aimed at breaking through the Ukrainian air defense system and hitting targets," Skibitsky explained.

If you launch a small number of UAVs  5-10 drones at a time  this effect will not be achieved.

Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
A new offensive by Russian forces in Luhansk Oblast can be expected any day after 15 February, believes Serhii Haidai, Head of Luhansk Oblast Military Administration.

Source: Haidai on the air of Belsat TV

Quote from Haidai: "In general, we can expect [an offensive by the Russians  ed.] at any time after 15 February."

Details: According to Haidai, the authorities see that the occupiers are drawing more and more reserves on this front.

Also, more and more equipment is recorded in Luhansk and Donetsk oblasts, which, according to Haidai, the Russians are "partially hiding somewhere in the forest, partly burying, and also building more fortifications from where they will try to launch an offensive".

The head of the oblast military administration also noted that the invaders are bringing in ammunition; however, they are using it much more carefully than before. In his opinion, this also indicates that the Russians are preparing for a full-scale offensive.

Haidai also said that the two-month training of the Russian conscripts is already coming to an end, and Russia will need about 10 days to transfer them to Ukraine and accumulate a reserve for a new offensive.

Background:

Oleksii Reznikov, Ukraines Defence Minister, stated that the country's defence forces expect Russian offensive operations to begin before the symbolic date of 24 February but urged people to only trust official information.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Russians want to try to recoup last year's failures in February, but Ukraine must survive.

On 6 February, Financial Times reported, referring to an unnamed adviser to the Armed Forces of Ukraine, that Russia plans to launch a new large-scale offensive within the next 10 days.

Journalists fight on their own frontline. Support Ukrainska Pravda or become our patron!
Bakhmut, Ukraine  For months, the battle for the eastern city of Bakhmut has been one of the most dangerous front lines in Russia's war on Ukraine. Vladimir Putin's forces have thrown everything from heavy artillery to savage trench warfare into trying to wear down Ukraine's resistance and take the city.



At the vanguard of the battle have been scores of men from the Kremlin-backed paramilitary Wagner Group  a force bolstered by mercenaries recruited from Russia's notorious penal colonies.



CBS News met two of these guns-for-hire, men who were seized in the east and are now being held by Ukraine's military intelligence.

Sergei was almost halfway into a 19-year sentence for murder at a penal colony when Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin visited prisons and made his pitch to convicts: Serve six months on the front line for Russia, and then you can go free.

"I needed to leave the prison one way or another," he told CBS News. "Ten years is a long time."

So, he made the deal with the devil  front line fighting in exchange for freedom, and cash.



Barely aware there was a war raging in Ukraine, Sergei was told he'd be fighting foreigners there.



"American mercenaries, Polish mercenaries, French we were told they were Nazis," he said.

Vlad, the other Wagner man, had already served two years of his three-year sentence for assault, but the promise of early release, a record wiped clean, and a salary of $3,500 proved too tempting.



After just two weeks of training, he said he was sent up against Ukrainian tanks with nothing more than a machine gun.

Vlad, a Russian mercenary who was seized by Ukrainian forces while fighting for the Kremlin-backed Wagner Group, is seen as he speaks with CBS News in Bakhmut, Ukraine, in February 2023. / Credit: CBS News

"Our brothers were getting killed in huge numbers," he said. "There were mountains of bodies."



Prigozhin was recently filmed surveying some of those bodies, piled high in a makeshift morgue near the front lines. The slain fighters' final destination, however, is a special Wagner cemetery in Russia. It is already filled with freshly dug graves.

If new recruits see what they're up against and refuse to fight, Vlad said they're given no option.

Story continues

"You're just killed, that's it," he said. "If you don't agree with an order, you're simply killed."



He told CBS News he had seen it first-hand.

"One of the fighters was too scared to fight," he said. "They made him dig his own grave and shot him."



Vlad claimed that he saw three comrades executed with bullets to the head, but insists he had no part in it: "There are specially trained people to do that, a security group that can do anything to you."

Both the Wagner men now believe they were conned into going to the front line.



"Everything we were told was utter lies," said Sergei. "It was not Ukrainians who wanted to kill us  we came to Ukraine to kill them."



They insisted that they didn't commit any war crimes, and both men said if they could turn back time, they'd choose the brutality of a Russian prison cell over the carnage of a Ukrainian battlefield.

We've heard so much about the terror waged by Wagner during this war, but in that cold, stark room, the Russian mercenaries showed no emotion. When we asked Vlad how he felt about everything he'd seen and experienced, his answer was chilling:

"Honestly," he said, "nothing!"

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Destroyed houses in Mariupol

Andriushchenko said the movement of the following military assets was recorded during the night:

at least eight multiple launch rocket systems,

six buses with troops,

trucks with ammunition,

two S-300 air defense systems.

"Mariupol continues to be flooded with the occupiers," Andriushchenko wrote.

The official reported that Russian troops continue to move their forces to the city and its outskirts. Over the past week alone, about 15,000 soldiers have been deployed to the Mariupol area, he said.

Read also: Ukraine does not rule out new offensive by Russia in February, says Reznikov

Earlier, the UKs Financial Times newspaper reported that Ukraine is expecting a fresh Russian offensive in the country to begin around the middle of February.

Commander-in-Chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces Valerii Zaluzhnyi said in an interview in December with the UK weekly news magazine the Economist that Russia might launch a fresh offensive at worst in late-January and at best in March.

(The Russian offensive) may start not in Donbas, but in the direction of Kyiv, in the direction of Belarus, I do not rule out the southern direction as well, Zaluzhnyi told the Economist, saying Russia was preparing an army of 200,000 soldiers for the fresh attack.

Read also: Zaluzhnyi says he doesnt need hundreds of thousands more to defeat Russia

I know that I can beat this enemy. But I need resources, Zaluzhnyi said.

I need 300 tanks, 600-700 infantry fighting vehicless, 500 Howitzers. Then, I think it is completely realistic to get to the lines of Feb. 23 (the day before the start of Russias full-scale invasion of Ukraine).

Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
(Reuters) - The founder of Russia's Wagner mercenary group Yevgeny Prigozhin on Monday published a video of himself in the cockpit of a military aircraft, challenging Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to an aerial duel.

The clip was release by Prigozhin's press service, which said it was filmed aboard a Su-24 bomber plane operated by Wagner.

It was the latest in a series of statements and videos in which Prigozhin has sought to promote himself and his private army as the spearhead of Russian military operations in east Ukraine.

"Volodymyr Oleksandrovych (Zelenskiy), we have landed. We have bombed Bakhmut," Prigozhin said in the short video.

"Tomorrow, I will fly a MiG-29. If you so desire, let's meet in the skies. If you win, you take Artyomovsk (Bakhmut). If not, we advance till (the River) Dnipro."

Prigozhin acknowledged only last September that he was the founder of the Wagner group which has been active for years in the Middle East and Africa.

Since then, he has sharply raised his own profile and that of his fighters, criticising the failures of Russia's armed forces in Ukraine and demanding that Wagner be given greater credit for its role.

The United States last month announced new sanctions against Wagner, calling it a transnational criminal organisation. Washington assesses that Wagner currently has about 50,000 personnel deployed to Ukraine, including 10,000 contractors and 40,000 convicts recruited from Russian prisons.

(Reporting by Reuters; Editing by Mark Trevelyan)
Salma Hayek at the premiere of "Puss in Boots: The Last Wish" in December 2022. Evan Agostini/Invision/AP

Salma Hayek Pinault said she was "typecast" and not offered the chance to appear in comedies.

"My entire life I wanted to do comedy and people wouldn't give me comedies," she told GQ Hype.

"They said, 'You're sexy, so you're not allowed to have a sense of humor,'" she explained.

Salma Hayek Pinault said that she was pigeonholed and didn't have the opportunity to play a character who was both funny and sexy until her 40s.

"I was typecast for a long time," Hayek Pinault said in a new interview with GQ Hype. "My entire life I wanted to do comedy and people wouldn't give me comedies."

The actor went on to say she "couldn't land a role until I met Adam Sandler" who finally gave her a shot with a comedic role in "Grown Ups," which was released in 2010. "But I was in my 40s! They said, 'You're sexy, so you're not allowed to have a sense of humor.'"

"Not only are you not allowed to be smart, but you were not allowed to be funny in the '90s," Hayek Pinault explained.

The actor admitted that she "was sad at the time, but now here I am doing every genre, in a time in my life where they told me I would have expired  that the last 20 years I would have been out of business."

Salma Hayek Pinault in September 2022. Evan Agostini/Invision/AP

Hayek Pinault rose to fame as the titular character of the Mexican telenovela "Teresa." Following her success on the show, Hayek went to America in the early '90s to pursue a Hollywood career.

Then she landed a leading role opposite Antonio Banderas in Robert Rodriguez's 1995 movie "Desperado," which marked her first-ever American film.

Hayek teamed up with Rodriguez again for his film "From Dusk Til Dawn," in which she played a vampire queen. In her most memorable scene in the movie, she danced with a real snake draped around her body.

The actor is also known for roles in films like "Dogma" and "Wild Wild West." Perhaps most notably, she portrayed famed Mexican painter Frida Kahlo in "Frida," which earned her first Oscar nomination.

Salma Hayek Pinault in "Frida." Miramax

Throughout her decades-long career, Hayek has opened up about facing racism and fighting against stereotypes. She's also spoken about fighting to play complex characters in films.

Story continues

In recent years she starred in the action movie "Hitman's Wife's Bodyguard," played an immortal named Ajak in Marvel's "Eternals," portrayed Pina Auriemma in "House of Gucci," and voiced Kitty Softpaws in "Puss in Boots: The Last Wish."

Next, she'll star alongside Channing Tatum in "Magic Mike's Last Dance," in theaters on February 10.

Read the original article on Insider
Salman Rushdie, the prolific author whose acclaimed magical realist novel "The Satanic Verses" prompted calls for his assassination after it was published in the 1980s, has given his first interview after a brutal stabbing last summer that left him with severe injuries, including blindness in one eye.

Ahead of the release of his next book, "Victory City," on Tuesday, Rushdie, 75, reflected on dodging numerous threats over the course of his career and spoke about his recovery in a lengthy interview with the New Yorker published on Monday. It was Rushdie's first interview since he was stabbed 15 times during a lecture in Chautauqua, New York, in August.

"There have been nightmaresnot exactly the incident, but just frightening," Rushdie shared. "Those seem to be diminishing. I'm fine. I'm able to get up and walk around. When I say I'm fine, I mean, there's bits of my body that need constant checkups. It was a colossal attack."

Rushdie's suspected attacker has been identified by law enforcement as Hadi Matar, 24, of New Jersey. Matar is accused of rushing the stage during Rushdie's speaking engagement in Chautauqua and stabbing him repeatedly, while also injuring the event's moderator, Henry Reese. Matar was charged with attempted murder in the second degree and assault in the second degree, and is being held at the Chautauqua County Jail.

Salman Rushdie attends the 68th National Book Awards Ceremony and Benefit Dinner on Nov. 15, 2017, in New York. / Credit: Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP, File

Rushdie was hospitalized for six weeks while receiving treatment for wounds that his literary agent, Andrew Wylie, described as severe in remarks to the Spanish language newspaper El Pais soon after the stabbing. At the time, Wylie had said that Rushdie suffered serious injuries to his face and neck, as well as his liver and critical nerves in one arm.

Rushdie said in his New Yorker interview that, six months after the attack, his "main overwhelming feeling is gratitude," while noting that the road to recovery both physically and psychologically is ongoing.

"I have feeling in my thumb and index finger and in the bottom half of the palm. I'm doing a lot of hand therapy, and I'm told that I'm doing very well," he told the magazine. Rushdie also said that, despite never allowing himself "to use the phrase 'writer's block,'" he has struggled to write since the stabbing.

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"There is such a thing as P.T.S.D., you know," he said. "I've found it very, very difficult to write. I sit down to write, and nothing happens. I write, but it's a combination of blankness and junk, stuff that I write and that I delete the next day. I'm not out of that forest yet, really."

The physical acts of typing, and writing, to a lesser extent, are also challenging in and of themselves, Rushdie added, "because of the lack of feeling in the fingertips of these fingers." In a photograph published of him alongside the New Yorker article, as well as a personal selfie that Rushdie posted on Twitter in time with the story, the left frame of his eyeglasses is shaded in.

The photo in @NewYorker is dramatic and powerful but this, more prosaically, is what I actually look like.  pic.twitter.com/ydrV7WvWgE  Salman Rushdie (@SalmanRushdie) February 6, 2023

The attack on Rushdie in Chautauqua came after many years of daunting threats. He spent a considerable amount of time in hiding after Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the former supreme leader of Iran, issued a fatwa, or ruling, in 1989 that called for his death and the death of his publishers in response to "The Satanic Verses," which some considered blasphemous.

He has lived and traveled publicly for the last couple of decades, and in 2000 moved to New York City. Recalling the period prior to that, Rushdie told the New Yorker that he "had come to feel that it was a very long time ago, and that the world moves on."

Rushdie's experiences with nightmares date back to a time before the near-deadly stabbing. He described them as occasional, according to the New Yorker, but said that several nights before the event in Chautauqua, he had dreamt about being attacked "with a sharp object" by someone "like a gladiator."

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People queue at the Lok Ma Chau Control Point in Hong Kong before traveling to neighboring Shenzhen, south China, Jan. 8, 2023. [Photo/Xinhua]

The Chinese mainland fully resumed normal travel with the Hong Kong and Macao special administrative regions (SARs) starting Monday, in what is expected to be a strong boost for the two regions' economic development.

Starting Monday, the Lo Wu Control Point, the Lok Ma Chau/Huanggang Control Point and the Heung Yuen Wai/Liantang Control Point opened up, marking the full resumption of the functioning of all seven boundary control points between Shenzhen and Hong Kong.

Monday's first group of travelers included students, cyclists, and people traveling for business and family reunions.

At the Liantang Control Point, red welcome banners and flower bouquets added to the joyful atmosphere greeting commuters. Around 6:30 a.m., cross-boundary students and their parents, who were about to leave for Hong Kong for the new semester, were already queued up for departure.

Pan Qiaojuan, who lives in Shenzhen's Luohu district, arrived early with her son for the long-awaited trip. "I've been looking forward to this moment. Today, my son will go back to his middle school in Hong Kong and we will also visit his grandparents there. We haven't seen one another for a long time."

Group tours between the mainland and the two SARs also resumed on Monday.
RIYADH (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia has attracted more than $9 billion in investments in future technologies, including by U.S. giants Microsoft and Oracle Corp, which are building cloud regions in the kingdom, a government minister said on Monday.

Saudi Minister of Communication and Information Technology Abdullah Alswaha said Microsoft will invest $2.1 billion in a global super-scaler cloud, while Oracle has committed $1.5 billion to build a new cloud region in Riyadh.

"The investments... will enhance the kingdom of Saudi Arabia's position as the largest digital market in the Middle East and North Africa," Alswaha said at LEAP, an international technology forum taking place in Riyadh.

Alswaha did not give details on the timeframe. Oracle told Reuters the investment will be made over several years.

Saudi officials have pressed international companies to invest in the kingdom and move their regional headquarters to Riyadh in order to benefit from government contracts.

The kingdom has been pouring hundreds of billions of dollars into an economic plan, known as Vision 2030, led by its de facto ruler Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

But it has struggled to attract foreign direct investment (FDI), one of the pillars of Vision 2030, which aims to diversify the economy away from oil.

The minister said China's Huawei will also invest $400 million in cloud infrastructure for its services in Saudi Arabia and another cloud region in partnership with oil giant Aramco.

An additional $4.5 billion was invested in global and local assets across multiple sectors at the forum, Alswaha added.

Tonomus, a subsidiary of the $500 billion signature NEOM project of the crown prince, said last year it invested $1 billion in 2022 in AI, including a metaverse platform.

Increased demand for cloud computing has pushed technology companies such as Oracle, Microsoft, Amazon and Alphabet's Google to set up data centres across the world to speed up data transfer.

(Reporting by Aziz El Yaakoubi; Editing by Sharon Singleton)
Detainees reportedly also gathering intelligence on basing and movement of Ukrainian army units

The detainees were reportedly also gathering intelligence about the basing and movement of units of the Ukrainian army in the southern, Tavria part of the country.

The SBU said the suspects also handed over the locations of critical infrastructure in Odesa and Kherson to the invaders. They were interested in the exact coordinates of local facilities of national rail company Ukrzaliznytsia and energy-generating enterprises.

The SBU exposed, located and detained the Russian agents as they were trying to transfer intelligence.

One of them was detained near the central railway station in Kherson, the other in Odesa after secretly photographing a military facility.

Read also: Russian agent detained in western Ukraine after settling near energy infrastructure facility

The criminals turned out to be local residents  the Russian occupiers recruited them after the start of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

They were in constant intelligence contact with a staff member of the FSB administration in Russias Rostov Oblast of the code name Buba Kastorskyi. From him, the agents received tasks for reconnaissance and subversive activities in the southern region of Ukraine.

Detainees were informed of the suspicion under Part 2 of Art. 111 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (treason committed under martial law).

The court took them into custody.

The suspects face up to 15 years in prison or life imprisonment with confiscation of property if found guilty.

Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
MIAMI  Since President Joe Biden rolled out a parole program to accept a limited amount of migrants from Venezuela, Cuba, Nicaragua and Haiti, an underground industry has been brewing that is ripe for fraud.

One of the conditions to be able to apply for the parole program is to have a sponsor in the United States. These supporters, usually close relatives, are required to provide financial support for at least two years.

Although it was not designed for people to profit from it, many deals are being made quietly through word of mouth and the messaging app WhatsApp  theres even advertising for sponsorship on social media. Prices typically range from $8,000 to $10,000, but many of them are scams.

A resident of Cuba, a young doctor whose name is being withheld for safety reasons, told NBC News she was scammed by a Facebook user. She thought she had found someone reliable who could be her ticket to the U.S.

"Most of them say they have relatives in Cuba that will refund the money if anything goes wrong, but they're all lies," the woman, 28, said.

A relative of the young doctor made a $1,800 transfer to the "sponsor," money her family in Cuba had spent years saving. They were told $800 was for the application process and $1,000 was for an attorney.

Once the transfer was made, the person disappeared and blocked the woman from Facebook.

Many people I've contacted since then ask for money in advance. When I tell them I won't pay ahead of time, they immediately block me, the woman said.

The Cuban doctor said she knows people who paid sponsors and received travel documents  only to find out the travel documents were false.

Ive heard of people who paid others for this type of service and they just disappear, said John de la Vega, a Miami area immigration attorney.

Theyre preying on people who are desperate and vulnerable that are trying to get to United States, said de la Vega.

A lot of the fraud can be found on social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram.

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In one Facebook post, a user named sponsor says, we offer sponsors for 10 thousand dollars per person paid through Zelle from the United States or in cash in Cuba. 5 thousand in advance and 5 thousand when the papers are ready, before leaving Cuba.

In another post catering to Venezuelans, a person advertises their services with combo package deals. There are three options, the most expensive consisting of sponsorship, airport pickup and a month's stay at the supporter's home for $8,200. The post states tax included.

Florida is home to the largest communities of Venezuelans, Cubans, Nicaraguans and Haitians in the U.S. and many there are receiving requests from families and friends overseas to become sponsors.

But not everyone meets the requirements to be a sponsor, which include having legal immigration status and proving they have enough financial resources. Some relatives are simply unwilling to take on the responsibility to become sponsors, even if they meet the criteria. Supporters can also be organizations or businesses.

When they approved the humanitarian parole program for Venezuelans I was receiving about 10 calls a day from people in Venezuela asking for us to sponsor them, said Patricia Andrade, who helps recently arrived Venezuelans through her nonprofit, Raices Venezolanas, in Miami.

She said her organization does not have the capacity to sponsor people.

Those lacking sponsors often turn to social media, where scams abound. And after a coalition of 20 Republican states filed a lawsuit seeking to shut down the program, desperation has grown among those seeking to come to the U.S.

In a Facebook page called Sponsors for Venezuelans to USA with over 2,500 members, many write about their frustration over people offering to be sponsors but demanding thousands of dollars before beginning the application.

They all ask for money in advance and at the end, its a scam, one user wrote.

Another wrote, How sad to see how they mock the necessity of others.

The federal government does review sponsorship applications for possible fraud and scams.

In a statement to NBC News, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services said: "The agency carefully vets every prospective supporter through a series of fraud- and security-based screening measures before confirming a properly submitted I-134A, Online Request to be a Supporter and Declaration of Financial Support.

The statement also said that USCIS thoroughly reviews each reported case of fraud or misconduct, and may refer those cases to federal law enforcement for additional investigation.

But many of the scams target people and take their money before theyve had a chance to apply.

USCIS said they advise beneficiaries to look out for individuals who attempt to contact them online or through social media accounts and offer to be a supporter or connect the beneficiary to a supporter in exchange for a fee or other form of compensation.

They list on their website ways to report fraud and tip to avoid scams.

'We fall for things because of the desperation'

Yovanna Dimatteo. (Courtesy Yovanna Dimatteo)

Venezuelan Yovanna Dimatteo, 38, left for neighboring Colombia one year ago with her husband and two children looking for a better life. After the Biden administration announced the parole program for Venezuelans, Dimatteo and her husband decided to take advantage of the opportunity, as the situation for them was deteriorating.

Dimatteo said she has contacted churches, organizations and individuals in the U.S.  and the ones who were willing to be sponsors asked for money. She said she called one church in Utah and the person she spoke to asked for $1,500 in advance and $1,500 after arriving. Other people she contacted requested her to pay between $8,000 and $10,0000.

There are people out there capable of making things up and innocent people fall for it, Dimatteo said. We fall for things because of the desperation and the anguish were facing.

The parole program was initially rolled out in October 2022 for Venezuelans and was extended last month to include Cubans, Nicaraguans and Haitians. As per the program, up to 30,000 people from each country are eligible for humanitarian parole every month, entitling them to work in the U.S. for two years. Anyone who tries to cross the border illegally is returned to Mexico and denied a chance to seek asylum.

The program was announced as Biden struggled with a record number of migrants crossing the U.S.-Mexico border, including the largest number of Cubans in history.

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
(Bloomberg) -- Its a tough time to be a US senator.

Most Read from Bloomberg

The Democratic-led Senate, the center of dealmaking for the first two years of Joe Bidens presidency, suddenly is relegated to the sidelines waiting for the Republican-led House to tackle thorny issues like raising the debt ceiling and overhauling US immigration laws.

Senators in both parties say that Speaker Kevin McCarthy, who needs to hold together his small and fractious House majority, should make the first move on difficult-to-pass legislation. Republicans control just one of the levers of power in Washington  which is enough to thwart lawmaking.

The Senate is, in part, hobbled by its own rules. It takes 60 votes to pass most legislation, and Democrats hold just a 51-seat majority.

Its hard to see a scenario where the Senate can get 60 votes on something that the House majority could pass, Senator John Thune of South Dakota, the No. 2 GOP leader said. So I think theyre going to be in the lead role on a lot of things.

Deal or No Deal

It was McCarthy alone who met Wednesday with Biden at the White House to talk about the looming need for a debt-ceiling hike. The two also sat together the next day at the National Prayer Breakfast at the Capitol.

The Senate, meanwhile, has gotten off to a sluggish start. Now a month into the new Congress, Majority Leader Chuck Schumer hasnt laid out a legislative agenda. And it took weeks to appoint senators to committees so the chamber is only now getting up and running.

The idleness of recent weeks is a far cry from where the Senate was just months ago.

Almost all of the major bills that became law under unified Democratic control of Congress in 2021 and 2022 originated out of bipartisan talks in the Senate, including a $550 billion infrastructure bill, gun safety legislation and a bill to boost US semiconductor manufacturing.

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Last years climate and health care package that was a cornerstone of Bidens economic agenda was negotiated between Schumer and West Virginia Democrat Joe Manchin using a mechanism that allowed it to pass with only Democratic votes. That tool isnt available this year because Republicans now control the House.

The Senate also took the lead in the most recent debt-ceiling increases, including the last one in 2021 when Schumer and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell agreed to a process that allowed the debt limit to be lifted without any Republicans having to vote for it.

This time, Schumer is demanding a debt-ceiling hike with no strings attached and daring McCarthy to pursue his desired spending cuts. McConnell has moved to the sidelines, saying its futile for the Senate to move something that the House wouldnt be willing to take up.

I think a deal has to be cut obviously between the House majority and the Democratic president in order to have a chance to survive over here, McConnell said on Tuesday. So were all behind Kevin and wishing him well in the negotiation.

Senators who usually take part in bipartisan gangs, including Manchin and Republican Mitt Romney of Utah, say there is no active effort to seek a deal that would link a debt-ceiling hike with spending cuts, entitlement program changes or other policies.

Border Push

On another hot-button issue  immigration  Independent Senator Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona and Republican Senator Thom Tillis of North Carolina in December circulated a plan that would combine border security resources, an extension of pandemic-era entry restrictions and a pathway to citizenship for so-called Dreamers who came to the US as children.

To help revive it this year, Sinema and Tillis traveled with six other senators on a border trip in January that included stops in Yuma, Arizona and El Paso, Texas. Those on the trip included Republicans John Cornyn of Texas, James Lankford of Oklahoma, Jerry Moran of Kansas and Democrats Chris Murphy of Connecticut, Mark Kelly of Arizona and Chris Coons of Delaware.

But many of those who went on the trip say the House must go first on a border package before the Senate tries to add broader measures like protections for Dreamers.

The only path I see is for the House to act first and send a bill over here, Cornyn said. Obviously we would need to get to 60, which would require some negotiation and then get them to accept that and send it to the president. I think its a long shot, but I think theres a chance.

Congress last made major changes to immigration law in 1986, and since then House Republicans have been the biggest impediment to a deal. There is no early sign of consensus this year.

One member of Schumers leadership team, Senator Debbie Stabenow of Michigan, said with split control of Congress, three must-pass bills that tend to have bipartisan support are the most likely ones to clear this year. Those are the annual defense bill, a five-year farm bill addressing rural economic development and conservation, and a reauthorization of the Federal Aviation Administration.

We will do everything we can to be as productive as we can, but there are very different visions for our country, Stabenow said.

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TAIPEI (Reuters) -A senior leader of the Kuomintang (KMT), Taiwan's main opposition party, will visit China this week and meet its top Taiwan policy-maker, the party said on Monday, amid continued military and political tensions between the two sides.

China has during the past three years ramped up pressure on Taiwan to accept Chinese sovereignty, including staging regular military drills near the democratically governed island. Taiwan's government rejects China's territorial claims.

The KMT said its deputy chairman, Andrew Hsia, would leave for China on Wednesday and meet Song Tao, the newly appointed head of China's Taiwan Affairs Office, in a rare high-level interaction between top politicians from Taiwan and China.

Hsia, a former Taiwanese diplomat and one-time head of Taiwan's Mainland Affairs Council, and his delegation will "conduct exchanges and dialogue on the basis of equality and dignity", the KMT said.

They will "reflect Taiwan's latest public concerns about the security of the Taiwan Strait and expectations for regional peace and stability", the party added.

The Mainland Affairs Council said the KMT had informed it of the trip, adding that Taiwanese politicians who visit China should "reflect" the Taiwan people's insistence on maintaining democracy and peace and not enter into any authorised negotiations.

The KMT traditionally favours close ties with China, but strongly denies being pro-Beijing. China's Taiwan Affairs Office said it welcomed Hsia's visit.

Hsia visited China last August, on a trip condemned by Taiwan's government, shortly after Beijing staged war games near Taiwan to express anger at a visit to Taipei by then-U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

China has not spoken with Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen's administration since she took office in 2016, believing she is a separatist, and has rebuffed frequent calls from Tsai for dialogue to resume.

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The KMT has defended its outreach to China, saying lines of communication must be kept open.

The party's statement on Hsia's visit said that considering the current "stalemate" in relations across the Taiwan Strait, "it is natural not to sit idly by" and that the KMT would report on the trip to the government once back.

(Reporting by Ben Blanchard; Editing by Christian Schmollinger and Gerry Doyle)
A man who had been arrested Friday night by sheriffs deputies in Twiggs County for alleged drug possession and other charges was said to have hanged himself in a cell at the Jeffersonville jail Sunday afternoon.

Twiggs Sheriff Darren Mitchum on Monday said in a statement sent to news outlets that the inmate, Jessie Woodard, 37, was found unconscious and unresponsive at about 3:30 p.m. after having manufactured a device to hang himself.

Woodard was later pronounced dead at a Macon hospital.

Mitchum told The Telegraph that Woodard, originally from Tennessee but living in eastern Bibb County, had outstanding warrants for unspecified crimes in neighboring Bibb and Houston counties.

The sheriff said Woodard was driving in an area on the north side of Dry Branch near Georgia Highway 57 and Big Oak Road when he was pulled over late Friday. He was charged with, among other allegations, misdemeanor marijuana possession and attempting to elude the police.
Members of the Shreveport City Council met Monday morning to pray over the city and the victim's family who was involved in the Friday evening officer-involved shooting.

"We are deeply saddened by the fatal officer-involved shooting that occurred on Friday evening," said Councilwoman Tabitha Taylor. "Our thoughts and condolences go out to the Bagley family and the loved ones of the deceased."

On Feb. 3, Alonzo Sentell Bagley, 43, died at Ochsner LSU Health around 11:30 p.m. following a confrontation with a Shreveport Police officer.

Bagley was shot during the confrontation that occurred at an apartment complex in the 1600 block of Fullerton Street.

Shreveport City officials held a press conference Monday morning for the officer-involved shooting. Feb. 6, 2023.

Shreveport Police Chief, Wayne Smith said that his heart bled when he learned of the tragedy. "I responded immediately to the scene to find out as much as I could about what had occurred. My heart bleeds and I'm also with them at the loss of another life here in Shreveport," said Smith. He also noted that LSP was already on the scene when he arrived.

"We pledge the full cooperation of the city in the investigation for the Louisiana State Police," said Mayor Tom Arceneaux.

Taylor said, "this tragic loss of life impacts us all and we want you to know that we are here, that we are expedient, and we are standing alongside the police chief, Louisiana State Police, City Marshals Office and this family."

The Bagley family was in attendance at the press conference. "We'd like to recognize the Bagley family that had enough strength to show up and we ask that you would lift them up as we pray," said Councilman James Green.

No further information was released during the Monday morning press conference, but Smith wants to let the public know that all facts will be uncovered and revealed. "You can rest assure that a thorough investigation will take place," said Smith.

Makenzie Boucher is a reporter with the Shreveport Times. Contact her at mboucher@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Shreveport Times: Shreveport city officials speak out following officer-involved shooting
A hillside behind homes on Plume Way in the Santa Clarita neighborhood of Canyon Country slid down to Lambent Way, damaging the sidewalk on Monday. (Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times)

Six homes in Santa Clarita were evacuated after they were damaged by a collapsing hill in a residential development, authorities said.

The "slope failure" occurred around 2 p.m. Sunday on Plume Way when about eight feet of backyards behind homes in the Tri Pointe Homes development slid down into the houses in the Canyon Country neighborhood, said Carrie Lujan, a spokeswoman for the city. Nobody was injured.

A sidewalk on Lambent way is damaged after Monday's landslide in the Santa Clarita area. (Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times)

The six affected residences were yellow-tagged by a city building inspector, meaning residents can still access their homes but cannot sleep there.

The Los Angeles County Fire Department monitored the hillside throughout the night Sunday into Monday, but no further slippage was observed, Lujan said.

"The developer of the project is working with their geotechnical engineer to handle the repairs, and once they have mitigated the issue, the City will do everything it can to expedite the inspections and permits to get the residents back home as safely and swiftly as possible," Lujan said.

The developer said that the "landslip" was due to the "series of heavy rains" that recently hit California, according to a statement provided to KCBS-TV Channel 2.

"We are working with the impacted homeowners, including covering their costs for intermediary housing, while a remediation plan is being developed to stabilize and rebuild the slope," Tri Pointe Homes said in the statement. "At this time, there does not appear to be issues on other slopes in the Skyline community. We will, however, continue to closely monitor the situation under the guidance of geotechnical experts."

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
People visit the Beicang Cultural and Creative Block in Southwest China's Chongqing municipality, June 3, 2022. [Photo/Xinhua]

Since the beginning of the New Year, local authorities have made solid efforts to balance economic and social development, and epidemic prevention and control, bringing fresh and sustainable momentum to China's economy, which has set a steady course for a new journey.

Guangdong province

A high-profile provincial conference on high-quality development was held in Guangzhou on Jan 28, the first working day after the Spring Festival holiday.

High-quality development is an inevitable path Guangdong is on while heading toward modernization, Huang Kunming, Party secretary of Guangdong, said at the conference.

A series of major projects in Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Foshan and other cities also kicked off. In Shenzhen, a total of 266 new projects for 2023 were launched on Jan 29, with a total investment of 329.53 billion yuan.

To implement the spirit of high-quality development across the province, Guangdong entrepreneurs strive to be the front-runner in the field of high-quality development and are committed to transforming Guangdong's high-quality plan into a reality.

Guangdong's GDP was estimated at 12.8 trillion yuan in 2022, and the province has set a GDP growth target of more than 5 percent for 2023, according to provincial government data.

Hainan province

South China's island province of Hainan has launched plenty of promotional activities, further stimulating the vitality of duty-free consumption.

Statistics from Haikou Customs showed that it has supervised a total of 5.19 billion yuan in duty-free sales, from a total of 534,000 consumers when they left the island from Jan 1 to 28.

During this year's Spring Festival holiday, Hainan reported a total of 1.56 billion yuan ($234 million) in offshore duty-free sales, a year-on-year increase of 5.88 percent.

The province also received nearly 6.4 million tourists during the seven-day holiday, up 18.2 percent year-on-year, and raked in nearly 9.3 billion yuan in tourism revenue, according to the provincial tourism authority.

Hainan will focus on boosting consumer demand and strive to drive up the island's number of tourists and tourism revenue this year. It expects to see its offshore duty-free sales exceed 80 billion yuan in 2023, said Feng Fei, governor of Hainan, when delivering a government work report in early January.

Shanghai

The municipal government of Shanghai released a new action plan on Jan 29 to expand demand, stabilize growth and further improve the city's business environment.

According to the plan, three tasks  boosting confidence, expanding demand and seeking stable growth  are imperative, with the city aiming to achieve above 5.5 percent GDP growth in 2023.

At the same time, Shanghai will provide relief packages for enterprises to reduce employment costs. To restore and boost consumption, Shanghai will provide subsidies to consumers who buy green smart home appliances, as well as purchase tax exemptions for new energy vehicles and vouchers for sectors such as cultural tourism and catering.

Between Jan 1 and 29, Shanghai signed more than 160 key industrial projects, with a total investment of 100 billion yuan ($14.77 billion). During the same period, more than 60 key industrial projects began, with a total investment of more than 70 billion yuan.

The city set a target of having its fixed-asset investment grow 5 percent to reach the 1 trillion yuan mark in 2023. Specifically, 191 major projects with a combined investment value of 215 billion yuan have been planned, up 7.5 percent year-on-year.

Zhejiang province

East China's Zhejiang province adopted a newly revised set of regulations to foster the growth of its micro, small and medium enterprises at the annual session of the Zhejiang Provincial People's Congress in January.

The adoption of the new regulations marks the latest move for Zhejiang to further optimize its business environment by setting up a sounder institutional, legal and regulatory framework.

As one of the most vibrant places in China for the private economy, Zhejiang also organized recruitment fairs online and offline in other provincial-level regions to attract migrant workers, as companies expect rising factory orders and booming production after the holiday.

Zhejiang Provincial Department of Human Resources and Social Security said 106 recruitment trips and events to other provinces were organized in the first three weeks of January.

Zhejiang will achieve a minimum GDP growth rate of 5 percent in 2023, Wang Hao, the provincial governor, announced this target while delivering the government work report.

Beijing

The construction of infrastructure projects has sped up after the Spring Festival holiday. On Jan 31, the first batch of 50 major projects was launched in Beijing, with a total investment of 48.6 billion yuan ($7.24 billion).

To improve the commercial environment in the capital, the Beijing Municipal Commission Development and Reform Commission also released a document to remove certain barriers to business.

The Chinese capital pledged to cultivate consumption in digital, cultural and ice-and-snow industries and support spending on housing improvements, new energy vehicles and elderly care services to revive the economy, according to the government work report.

To leverage the role of investment in optimizing the supply-side structure, Beijing will further promote 100 infrastructure projects, 100 projects for improving people's livelihood, and 100 projects for scientific and technological innovation and hi-tech industries.

Chongqing

In the southwestern municipality of Chongqing, more than 60 rotary drilling rigs were in simultaneous operation, at a construction site for Changan Auto's new factory, in January.

"With an investment of 6.3 billion yuan ($938.7 million), the project will have an annual capacity of 280,000 new energy vehicles," project director Wu Kezhi told Xinhua.

Chongqing is planning to launch 1,123 major projects this year, with total investments up 18.5 percent from a year earlier. The city has set the GDP growth target at over 6 percent for 2023.

Also in January, Liangjiang New Area in Chongqing signed 28 projects totaling over 30 billion yuan at its global promotion conference, as it has sped up its efforts to attract more international investment.
Sony's latest WH-1000XM5 wireless ANC headphones are among the best we've ever tested, thanks to improved sound quality, a comfortable fit and incredible active noise cancellation (ANC). Now is a good time to pick up a pair, because they're currently on sale at Amazon for $348, for a savings of 13 percent ($52) over the regular $400 price.

The WH-1000XM5 scored an excellent 95 in our Engadget review, thanks to improvements in nearly every way over our previous favorite headphones, the WH-1000XM4 (which are also on sale for $300 right now, by the way). Perhaps the biggest improvement was in fit and comfort thanks to the more optimal weight distribution, synthetic leather ear cups and slightly reduced weight.

Sound quality also went up, due to the new 30mm carbon fiber drivers that deliver punchier bass. We also saw more clarity that helps you hear fine detail, along with improved depth that makes music more immersive. And Sony's DSEE Extreme sound processing recovers detail lost to compression, without any noticeable impact on sound quality.

The ANC is equally impressive. With double the number of noise cancellation microphones found in the M4, along with a new dedicated V1 chip, the M5 does a better job at minimizing background noise. And in terms of the microphone, we found that the M5 offers superior call quality over its predecessor. Moreover, you get 30 hours of listening time with ANC enabled, enough for the longest of flights.

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(Bloomberg) -- Paul Mashatile, the new deputy president of South Africas governing party, was appointed as a lawmaker on Monday, a likely precursor to him taking up the No. 2 post in the government.

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Three other senior members of the African National Congress  Parks Tau, a former mayor of Johannesburg, Sihle Zikalala, an ex-premier of the eastern KwaZulu-Natal province, and Maropene Ramokgopa, the partys second deputy secretary-general  were also sworn to the National Assembly. Theyve also been tipped to be appointed to President Cyril Ramaphosas executive, with changes set to be announced in coming days.

Incumbent Deputy President David Mabuza has indicated that he wants to step down, but had been asked to remain in his post until the modalities of his departure and transition have been finalized, Vincent Magwenya, Ramaphosas spokesman, said in a text message on Sunday. A day earlier, Mabuza said he was stepping aside to make space for Mashatile, who replaced him as the ANCs deputy leader at a conference in December.

Ramaphosa, 70, comfortably won a second term as head of the party at the same gathering, while his allies secured most posts in its top party leadership structures. That gives him more scope to remove under-performing or incompetent ministers from his executive and ensure it unites behind his plans to tackle record blackouts and turn the struggling economy around ahead of elections scheduled for next year.

While Mashatile, 61, wasnt the first choice of Ramaphosas camp for deputy president, it has been a long-stranding party tradition for the top two government posts to mirror its own. In an interview in December, Mashatile said the government had to stop prevaricating, fix state power utility Eskom Holdings SOC Ltd., and institute other reforms needed to tackle the energy crisis and spur economic growth.

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Besides Mabuza, Ramaphosa needs to replace Transport Minister Fikile Mbalula, who has taken up a full-time post as the ANCs secretary-general, and Public Service and Administration Minister Ayanda Dlodlo, who joined the World Bank last year. Ramaphosa has declined to comment on any changes prior to an official announcement, and it remains unclear whether he will just fill those posts and two deputy minister positions that are vacant or overhaul his executive more substantively.

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Speckled trout caught in Terrebonne Parish.

Among the most popular fish for anglers and seafood lovers in Louisiana, the speckled trout has reached its lowest population levels ever recorded, according to experts who monitor their numbers. But state lawmakers last week rejected a proposal to protect the species with tightened recreational fishing regulations.

Officials from the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries presented data Wednesday to a joint meeting of the Senate and House Natural Resources committees showing the states speckled trout stock has fallen 57% below its mean level.

Spotted seatrout, known colloquially as speckled trout or simply specks, are a species of drum that live in saltwater coastal areas, marsh waters and brackish estuaries. Its aggressive strikes and excellent taste make it one of the most sought after species among anglers, chefs and seafood connoisseurs in Louisiana.

State fishing regulations set catch and size limits for different species of fish. Currently, recreational anglers are limited to catching 25 specks per day that must be at least 12 inches long  the loosest limits of any state.

Wildlife and Fishsries' proposal would reduce the creel limit from 25 to 15 fish and increase the size limit to 13.5 inches, but the joint legislative committee unanimously rejected the proposal Wednesday under pressure from recreational fishing lobbyists.

Sen. Bret Allain, R-Franklin, said he received calls from recreational anglers opposed to the rule changes.

I would hope that we could look for some other measures that are proactive besides just cutting back on the recreational fishing, said Allain, whose district includes St. Mary and parts of Assumption, Terrebonne and Lafourche parishes.

Most specks, by far, caught by recreational anglers

Specks are caught in all five Gulf of Mexico states and along the Atlantic Coast as far north as Cape Cod, Massachusetts, but the majority are taken recreationally from Louisiana waters. The commercial market is inconsequential, state officials said. Commercial fishers cannot harvest speckled trout below 14 inches, and they must land the fish with a rod and reel; more efficient gill nets are not allowed.

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Wildlife and Fisheries officials said recreational fishing accounts for more than 99% of the entire speckled trout harvest in Louisiana.

However, an entire commercial industry has grown around what the state calls recreational fishing. Some boat owners in Louisiana have become licensed charter captains who make a full-time living charging a fee to take people out on what are often expensive boats outfitted with high-tech gear. Some charter companies have fleets of multiple boats with crews and deckhands that locate the fish, bait the hooks and take care of most of the work that comes with fishing. Its not uncommon for a charter group of four anglers to catch 100 speckled trout in a single morning.

Wildlife and Fisheries conducted two assessments that measured the speckled trout populations in state waters over multiple years and found they have been declining steadily since 2009, mostly from overfishing and habitat loss, according to department fisheries biologist Jason Adriance.

Were at the lowest point its ever been, Adriance told lawmakers. The stock is overfished and undergoing overfishing.

Multiple studies find depleted stock

State Wildlife and Fisheries assessments found 2.7 million pounds worth of female specks in the spawning stock as of 2020, compared with the mean estimate of 6.2 million pounds from 1982 to 2009  a 57% drop.

The states current creel and size limits have remained unchanged since 1988. Biologists established the 12-inch minimum because most speckled trout reach sexual maturity at that size, giving about half the females a chance to spawn at least once before they end up in an ice chest. Roughly 83% of the specks caught by anglers are females because they grow faster than males.

Currently only 6% of the female specks are spawning in Louisiana while other states are seeing spawn rates between 20% and 35%, Adriance said.

Increasing the size limit to 13.5 inches would give nearly all females a chance to spawn. During the summer, it takes about a month for a speck to grow from 12 inches to 13.5 inches and about three months during the winter, Adriance said.

Several lawmakers asked fisheries officials why this was the first time they were hearing about the low levels of speckled trout stock.

For subscribers:You know those sky-high egg prices? They're affecting Mardi Gras king cakes too.

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Wildlife and Fisheries has been pushing for the new limits for several years. But to change or adopt new regulations, the agency must first get approval from the Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Commission and then from the Legislature.

The agency finalized its initial stock assessment and brought its proposal to the commission in 2019 after holding eight town hall meetings across the state and conducting polls and surveys to hear from the public. Wildlife and Fisheries invited every saltwater fishing license holder in the state to participate in the surveys.

According to the results, the 15-fish, 13.5-inch proposal was the most preferred option among other creel and size limit combinations, officials said.

However, the Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Commission balked on the issue and directed agency officials to conduct a second study, delaying action another two years. The agency completed its second assessment, found the same results of a record low speckled trout population and brought its proposal again to the commission in December 2021.

The commission delayed its approval an additional year, asking the agency to conduct new surveys that included an option for keeping the current limits unchanged. Unexpectedly, Adriance said, the survey respondents preferred the proposed 13.5-inch, 15-fish limits over the current 12-inch, 25-fish limits.

That was rather curious, Adriance told lawmakers. We did not expect that when we added the current bag limit.

In total, the agency surveyed more than 8,000 people, though Sen. Patrick Connick, R-Marrero, questioned whether some respondents were able to vote multiple times. Adriance said he was unsure but added that the department would likely be able to track the respondents IP addresses.

Charter captains oppose size limits

In a phone interview Wednesday, Patrick Banks, assistant secretary of fisheries, said the challenges with getting approval from the commission and the Legislature are because of opposition from recreational fishing organizations.

The population is not in a good place right now, Banks said. So far, the recreational fishing community has fought us every step of the way.

Richard Fischer, executive director of the Louisiana Charter Boat Association, said his organization is opposed to a 13.5-inch size limit but would support the 15-fish creel limit if the agency would agree to keep the current 12-inch size limit.

Fischer said he has heard from many charter boat captains in Lafourche and Terrebonne parishes who said they rarely see specks above 12 inches anymore. A 13.5-inch size limit would hurt their business, he said.

Theyre not finding big trout at all in those areas, Fischer said in a phone call Thursday.

Charter boat captains also think the state agency's data on discard mortality rates could be inaccurate. Discard mortality rates measure the survivability of fish that are caught and released. Some anglers see size limits as wasteful. They believe many undersized fish that are thrown back end up dying if they are weakened or bloodied.

The department used a discard mortality rate of 10% in its studies, but Fischer pointed to other research that has found higher mortality rates. One of those is a 2003 fact sheet from the LSU AgCenter that indicates discard mortality rates as high as 26% for speckled trout.

I want to be absolutely clear  I am not disputing the (Wildlife and Fisheries') science, Fischer said. Im just saying there is other science out there from independent biologists saying the mortality rate is higher than 10%.

Lawmakers offer input, suggestions

Rep. Troy Romero, R-Jennings, mounted the same argument at Wednesdays committee meeting.

If youre scaling that fish with your hands, if its beating around in a boat, if the hooks embedded in its stomach, and you release that fish, its going to be eaten by another fish, a predator or its going to die, Romero told department officials. And I think 10% (mortality) is rather low.  Im not a professional, but Im just saying as a person who puts those fish back into the water. I dont see them recovering.

Rep. Buddy Mincey, R-Denham Springs, asked department officials if they considered creating a closed season for speckled trout. Some fish species, such as red snapper, can only be caught during a specific time of year. A closed season would prohibit fishing a certain species during a specified period.

Adriance said a single closed season year would actually help the speckled trout population rebound to target levels, but the idea polled very poorly with anglers and the public.

Allain said the agency should be working to rebuild habitat rather than restricting recreational anglers. Agency officials acknowledged that habitat loss is the primary driver of the declining speckled trout stock but said the agencys job is to regulate fishing and hunting. An agency such as the Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority would have to address Allains suggestion, they said.

We dont rebuild habitat like CPRA does, Banks said in a phone call. The knob we have to turn is fishing regulations.

Banks agreed that recreational fishing is not entirely to blame for the declining speck stock, but added that habitat restoration isnt fast enough to keep up with the current fishing demand.

The fact is that the population cannot sustain the level of removals that is going on right now, Banks said. We are taking too many fish out of our waters.

Charter boat captains are equally worried about the stock but feel the 15-fish daily bag limit is enough for speck levels to recover, Fischer said.

Theres certainly reason to be worried and concerned, he said. Im just not convinced increasing the size limit gets us there.

Wildlife and Fisheries has not yet said whether it plans to amend the proposal or try to bypass the Legislature by asking Gov. John Bel Edwards to order its adoption.

 The Louisiana Illuminator is an independent, nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization driven by its mission to cast light on how decisions are made in Baton Rouge and how they affect the lives of everyday Louisianians.

This article originally appeared on Daily Comet: Speckled trout population falls to lowest level ever in Louisiana
[Source]

Squid Game star O Yeong-su has denied all sexual assault allegations against him in a South Korean court.

O, 78, denied sexually assaulting a woman in September 2017 during his first trial on Feb. 3 at the Seongnam branch of Suwon District Court in Gyeonggi.

The actor was indicted in November 2022 after the alleged victim filed a complaint against him in December 2021.

Although the case was closed in April last year, authorities reopened it after the alleged victim requested for the case to be investigated further.

More from NextShark: Malaysian man caught riding naked on a motorcycle after allegedly killing his wife and child

The woman, whose identity and personal details have not been released, claims that O non-consensually groped and kissed her while they were on a walk.

According to her lawyer, O took advantage of his superior position when he was a member of a theater troupe to sexually harass another member more than once.

When my client confronted Mr. O and demanded an apology from him after the incident, he admitted his wrongs. However, now he is denying all charges and my client is thus suffering additional pain. Even now, she is engulfed in trauma as Mr. O fails to show any remorse for his crimes. More from NextShark: Harmonica player at Queen Elizabeth II vigil in Hong Kong arrested for sedition

At the first hearing, O denied all the allegations against him and told local press that while he did hold her hand," he "did not sexually assault her."

In a statement to the media, Os legal counsel said they would like to request for the dismissal of the case as they claimed that no harassment was committed.

At the time, the defendant went for a walk with the plaintiff, and walked her home. However, there was no form of harassment involved. The defendant would thus like to request for the dismissal of this random case, as well as the dismissal of the prosecutions indictment charge. More from NextShark: 'Squid Game' star Lee Jung-jae becomes first Asian to win Emmy for Best Actor in a Drama Series

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The second private hearing, which will see testimony from witnesses on both sides, will take place on April 14.

O, who starred in Netflixs survival drama Squid Game as Oh Il-nam, or Player 001, won Best Supporting Actor in Television at the 2022 Golden Globe Awards in January. He made history by becoming the first Korean actor to take home a Golden Globe Award.

The South Korean actor was born in 1944 and debuted as an actor in 1963. He is known as one of the country's most prolific stage actors, having appeared in more than 200 theater productions.

More from NextShark: Marvel Casts Pakistani-Canadian to Play 'Ms. Marvel' in Upcoming Disney+ Series
Ivanna Plantovska

Demchenko told Ukrainian news outlet Ukrainska Pravda that the servicewoman had been transferred from the position of press officer of the Southern Regional Directorate to the Zhytomyr Border Guard Detachment for further service in a position not related to communications.

Read also: Ukrainian MP Tyshchenko expelled from ruling party over visit to Thailand

"At the moment, she has been dismissed from the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine in accordance with the provisions of the legislation on military duty and military service," Demchenko said.

The dismissal took place at the end of January. Once again, during a full-scale war, thousands of border guards are defending the country and dying for it, selflessly ensuring the protection of the border in no less threatening areas, so I really hope that our guys and girls will not have their actions compared with those of individual service members who pay more attention to their personal lives and boast about it.

On her Facebook page, Plantovska responded to reports of her dismissal and called for Ukrainians to "stopping inciting hatred within the country."

Screenshot of Ivanna Plantovska Facebook

Read also: How to get Putin to stop the war and what's wrong with Scholz, explains ex-ambassador Andriy Melnyk  NV interview

In early 2023, the former officer posted photos of how she celebrated New Year in Paris. Her posts were published on Dec. 31 and Jan. 1 as Ukrainian cities were attacked by Russian missiles and Iranian flying bomb drones.

The photos of her private life and luxurious living conditions caused a backlash among Ukrainians back home.

Reacting to comments on the photos, Plantovska invited her readers to "be kinder and more genial in 2023," and to "be happy for thy neighbors without hatred, without anger, without envy"  that way, "2023 will bring you peace of mind and happiness."

"With Ukraine in my heart! the former press officer wrote.

Read also: Zelenskyy strips ex-Yanukovych-era officials of Ukrainian citizenship

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Glory to the Armed Forces! Thank you to the soldiers who make it possible to catch a moment of bliss!"

Recently, the ex-servicewoman also posted new photos on her Facebook page and received another round of hate from Ukrainian social media users. In the comments, people were outraged that the press officer continued to post photos of her luxurious lifestyle.

In response, Plantovska said that they were just "envious people who don't have money themselves and count other people's (money)."

Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
Lawyers prosecuting Alex Murdaugh for murder won a big victory Monday when the judge ruled allegations of financial crimes could be admitted into evidence, but a veteran South Carolina defense attorney wonders whether its actually a win.

Thats because he questions the prosecutions overall strategy  alleging Murdaugh killed his wife Maggie and son Paul to distract attention from an investigation into allegations he stole millions of dollars from clients and his own law firm.

Jack Swerling, who The State asked to offer analysis as the murder trial proceeds, said, That doesnt appeal to my common sense.

He said it is more believable that a man would kill his wife, but he could not fathom a father blowing his sons head off.

Law enforcement officers have testified that Paul was shot first with a shotgun at close range, Maggie with an AR-style rifle as she was running away.

Swerling said he believes the jury is not likely to make the leap with the prosecution unless there is further testimony to actually tie Alexs financial troubles with the murder, such as Maggie learning of the problems or threatening to reveal them.

Swerling said he doesnt know what additional testimony the prosecution may have.

Various national media have reported Maggie had seen a divorce attorney and they were living apart, him at the 1,700-acre hunting estate and her at the family beach house on Edisto Island, but that information has not been admitted into evidence.

What did he have to gain by killing his wife and son? Swerling said.

Since the murders, Murdaugh has been charged with 99 counts of various financial crimes as well as insurance fraud for asking a friend to shoot and kill him for a $10 million payout for his older son Buster.

Various witnesses testified outside the presence of the jury over several days last week and Monday morning.

Tony Satterfield, son of the Murdaughs long-time housekeeper, said Alex Murdaugh had stolen $4 million in insurance payments intended for him and his brother after his mother died in a fall at the Murdaugh home.

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They have since been awarded $7 million.

Jeanne Seckinger, chief financial officer of the law firm formerly known as PMPED, testified Murdaugh had taken more than $700,000, which she confronted him about on the morning that his wife and son were killed.

Mark Tinsley, lawyer for the family of Mallory Beach, testified about the wrongful death lawsuit against Murdaugh and others after Mallory died in a boating accident in which Paul was drunk and driving. Tinsley said a hearing to compel Murdaugh to open his books to prove he was broke as his lawyers claimed was scheduled for days after the murders.

Long-time friend Chris Wilson testified Murdaugh had duped him into turning over settlement money in a case they were handling together. Wilson said Murdaugh admitted financial crimes due to an addiction to opiates.

Judge Clifton Newman ruled all the testimony was proper because, while the prosecution doesnt have to prove motive, it does have to prove malice and that evidence could speak to that.
Photograph: Anadolu Agency/Getty Images

David Rosner, who studies public health and social history at Columbia University, spent 10 days in a hospital in November because he contracted respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), which worsened due to his asthma, and he developed pneumonia.

Its all over now, but there were a few moments where it was kind of touchy, and I wish people were more aware generally that this can happen, said Rosner, 76, who has not had Covid-19.

Related: Absence from work at record high as Americans feel strain from Covid

Now he worries that US residents could become even less mindful of the continued threat posed by Covid because of the Biden administrations announcement earlier this week that it would let the coronavirus public health emergency expire in May.

While other public health experts remain concerned about Covid, some support the administrations decision because they dont see the emergency status as an effective way to solve larger problems with the healthcare systems ability to respond to viruses.

There are much more systemic issues that we have to fix that a public health emergency is not well poised to fix, said Jennifer Nuzzo, an epidemiologist and director of the Pandemic Center at Brown University School of Public Health.

Despite disagreements over whether the public health emergency should continue beyond May, Nuzzo, Rosner and others agree that a Republican push to end the emergency now is irresponsible and that Bidens lifting of the emergency order in May could create additional problems.

Looking three and a half, four months ahead as to what the circumstances of Covid will be, is both optimistic and courageous, said William Schaffner, an infectious disease expert at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine. Lifting the declaration will once again introduce disparities, both in treatment and prevention.

When the federal government declared a public health emergency about three years ago, it meant certain requirements for government programs were waived and millions more people enrolled in Medicaid. The government did not let states remove those people from Medicaid once they enrolled. The move also allowed most Americans to receive Covid tests, vaccines and some treatments for the virus free of charge.

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Once the order is lifted, most Americans will still be able to get vaccines at no cost. But people enrolled in Medicare or private insurance will have to start paying for laboratory and at-home over-the-counter Covid tests, according to Reuters. Medicaid or Childrens Health Insurance Program (Chip) beneficiaries will have to pay some of the testing costs beginning in 2024.

Most people will also start having to pay some of the costs for treatments such as the anti-viral Paxlovid.

People who do not have insurance will have to pay full price for vaccines, and vaccine makers Prizer and Moderna plan to raise the cost of the shots from $30 to $120.

While people continue to be hospitalized and die from Covid, those numbers have steadily decreased; most people have stopped wearing masks; and Joe Biden declared the pandemic over in September 2022.

Dr Monica Gandhi, an infectious disease specialist at the University of California, San Francisco, said her biggest worry is about the cost of vaccines.

What will happen every winter is that we will wrangle with insurance, said Gandhi, whose patients all use public health insurance. We will say, really this patient is more at risk. Hes older. He has HIV. He is immunosuppressed. You really need to purchase the [vaccine booster], and they are going to say, Its too expensive.

To charge so much more for vaccines is also unethical, Gandhi said, especially in Modernas case, which received $10bn in government funding to develop the vaccine.

I really think its greedy, she said. They got so much public funding.

Biden declaring that the pandemic is over and lifting the public health emergency also makes it more difficult for people to ask friends to take precautions such as wearing a mask or testing before a gathering, Rosner said.

We still dont know its over, and we see new variants coming out every week, and we have large portions of the American population that are still not vaccinated fully, he said.

Meanwhile, Republicans have called for the Biden administration to end the declaration immediately rather than wait until May.

That would be disastrous, Nuzzo said.

There will be some transitions that need to happen, including making sure people continue to have access to medicines and making sure hospitals can shift administratively, she said.

While Nuzzo also worries about uninsured peoples access to medicines, vaccines and testing, she doesnt think the public health emergency is well suited to address larger problems such as the closure of childrens hospitals or shortages in staffing or issues with people getting access to the flu vaccine.

The government should focus on funding public health departments, she said. Such state and local agencies work to prevent the spread of disease and ensure people have access to healthcare services such as immunizations, among other responsibilities. Between 2010 and 2020, funding for state public health departments dropped by 16% per capita, and spending for local health departments fell by 18%, according to a Kaiser Health News and Associated Press analysis.

Unfortunately, Congress hasnt appropriated additional resources to fund health departments, Nuzzo said. The work of responding to Covid and all the other pathogens that are swirling in our mix continues, but we just lack the resources to do it. Unfortunately, I dont see the public health emergency declaration or rescission as making or breaking that. This was a problem before that happened.

As to the concern about public attitudes towards Covid changing because the end of the public health emergency, Nuzzo said, We have had many of those headlines throughout the pandemic.

One month after Biden declared the pandemic over on 60 Minutes, there was an 11% increase in the number of people who also thought it was over, according to a Gallup poll. Fewer people also planned to get a new booster shot than a year earlier, according to a Monmouth University poll after the Biden interview.

Diminished concern about the virus is always a risk, but we have had multiple opportunities to get boosters, Nuzzo said. So those communication challenges remain and this certainly adds to it, but its not the sole the sole instigator.

But Rosner said the order should remain in place until the public health community really feels it has a handle on the virus.

I think we are hoping that the new strains are not more resistant to the vaccines, and thats not clear, he said. Youre going to need a sense that the public is responsible, or the public understands its responsibilities and can act rationally. Thats the moment.
China's defense ministry expresses stern protest against U.S. attack on civilian unmanned airship

Xinhua) 08:22, February 06, 2023

BEIJING, Feb. 5 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese defense spokesperson on Sunday expressed stern protest against the United States' use of force to attack China's civilian unmanned airship.

The U.S. attack was a clear overreaction, said Tan Kefei, spokesperson for China's Ministry of National Defense, in a statement.

"We express solemn protest against the move by the U.S. side and reserve the right to take necessary measures to deal with similar situations," Tan said.

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun)
ArtistGNDphotography / Getty Images

A new recurring tax credit is available, one which could give up to $1,200 to eligible low-to-moderate-income Washington families.

Food Stamps: What Is the Maximum SNAP EBT Benefit for 2023?

Find: 3 Ways Smart People Save Money When Filing Their Taxes

On Feb. 1, the Washington State Department of Revenue (DOR) launched the Working Families Tax Credit (WFTC), which is a credit that gives individuals and families $50 to $1,200 depending on several factors, like qualifying children, family size and income, reported ValueWalk.

The refund gives Washington residents a portion of sales tax paid each year and is modeled after the federal Earned Income Tax Credit program, the DOR details. The purpose of the program is to stimulate the local economy, promote racial equity and help provide financial stability to low-to-moderate-income Washington residents.

We are excited to begin accepting applications for this incredible program and getting money back to those people who need it the most, said revenue acting director John Ryser in a Feb. 1 agency news release. WFTC is part of a broader campaign to reduce poverty in Washington and our agency is proud to be a part of this effort.

Individuals and families are eligible for the WFTC if they meet the following guidelines:

Have a valid Social Security Number or Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN).

Lived in Washington for at least 183 days.

Between the ages of 25 and 64 OR have a qualifying child in 2022.

Filed a 2022 federal tax return.

Eligible to claim the federal Earned Income Tax Credit on their 2022 tax return or would meet the requirements for EITC with an ITIN.

Meet income requirements.

The Washington DOR says the maximum tax credit amount for an individual is $300, with a $300 increase for each qualifying child  up to a maximum of $1,200 for a family of three or more children.

For an individual with no children, the income eligibility limit is $16,480 (or $22,610 for a married couple filing jointly). To receive the maximum amount, the income limit for a single person with three or more children is $53,057, or $59,187 for a married couple filing jointly.

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Income eligibility thresholds are based on the 2022 EITC, but this could change in future tax years.

Take Our Poll: Are You In Favor of More Inflation Relief in 2023?

SNAP 2023: Everything To Know About Changes

Applications are available online or in hard copy. According to the Washington DOR, you can apply for the tax credit through Dec. 31, 2023. You can also visit here to answer a few questions and see if you qualify.

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This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: Stimulus Update: Washington Launches $1,200 Tax Credit for Working Families  Are You Eligible?
EXETER  A Stratham woman is facing a drunken driving charge after she allegedly crashed a vehicle into a tree early Monday morning.

Exeter police and fire responded to the single-car accident on Newfields Road at approximately 12:30 a.m.When officers arrived at the scene, they discovered a severely damaged 2014 Ford Focus on its side, off of the roadway. The vehicle, believed to have been traveling south, had struck a tree and a large boulder, according to police.

Exeter Police and fire personnel responded to a single car accident on Newfields Road at approximately 12:30 a.m. Monday.

Exeter Police Chief Stephan Poulin said officers investigating the crash determined there was probable cause to arrest the driver of the vehicle for driving under the influence of alcohol. The driver, Sarah Arseneau, 21, was transported by Exeter Fire and Rescue to Portsmouth Regional Hospital, where she was released on personal recognizance bail.

More local news:Las Olas owner finds second life in Nicaragua. Here's how she saves suffering animals

Exeter Police and fire personnel responded to a single car accident on Newfields Road at approximately 12:30 a.m. Monday.

Newfields Road was closed for a brief period of time during the investigation. New England Truck Center removed the vehicle and New Hampshire State Police assisted on the scene.

This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Exeter NH crash: Stratham woman charged with DUI after hitting tree
Photo Image Press / Shutterstock.com

With its plan to cancel federal student loan debt for millions of borrowers still hung up in the courts, the Biden administration has set its sights on another way to provide debt relief. This strategy aims to make it easier for borrowers to have their student loan debt erased if theyve been misled by colleges and universities.

See: Will Student Loans Become More Expensive as Fed Interest Rates Increase?

Student Loan Forgiveness: Will You Qualify for $0 Payments Under New Plan?

The initiative was unveiled on a new webpage launched by the U.S. Department of Educations Federal Student Aid agency, under the heading of Borrower Defense Loan Discharge. The page provides detailed steps you can take toward a borrower defense to repayment, which basically means you have legal grounds to discharge federal student loans if your school misled you or engaged in other misconduct in violation of certain laws.

If the Education Department approves your application for borrower defense, it will discharge any remaining balance on the federal student loans you took out to attend the school. The department might also refund loan payments you already made.

To submit the strongest borrower defense application possible, the Education Department advised putting these two things in your application:

As much detail as possible to help it evaluate your claim(s) Address all required elements of a borrower defense claim

As CNN reported, borrowers whove been misled by colleges have long had the right to request loan forgiveness, but the application process wasnt clearly established until the Obama administration. The latest change offers clearer and more comprehensive information about how to apply.

Take Our Poll: How Much of a Tax Refund Do You Expect in 2023?

The new borrower defense webpage is filled with guiding language and tips to help borrowers successfully complete their applications and get the loan relief to which they are entitled, Richard Cordray, Federal Student Aids chief operating officer, said in a statement to CNN. For all those who lost time, money and the promise of an education, we will continue to work to make them whole.

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The Education Department has already erased billions of dollars in student debt for borrowers who were misled by for-profit schools such as ITT Technical Institute and DeVry University. While those colleges have gotten most of the attention, the borrower defense loan discharge is not restricted only to for-profit schools.

Since President Joe Biden took office, the Department of Education has canceled about $14.5 billion in student loan debt under the borrower defense program, CNN noted. Nearly 1.1 million borrowers have gotten relief thanks to the program.

That represents a major shift from the Trump administration, whose education secretary, Betsy DeVos, called borrower defense bad policy. Among her criticisms was that taxpayers are forced to foot the bill for student debt forgiveness.

Many Republican lawmakers also oppose the Biden administrations aggressive pursuit of student loan forgiveness  including its plan to cancel up to $20,000 in federal student loan debt per borrower. That plan has been delayed due to a series of lawsuits challenging its legality. Cases tied to the plan are currently being heard by the U.S. Supreme Court.

Student Loans: Qualify for Interest Deduction Even with Payments Paused

More: Will Ending the National COVID Emergency Affect Bidens Plan?

For more information on the Borrower Defense Loan Discharge, visit the Federal Student Aid page.

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This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: Student Loan Forgiveness: Biden Administration Makes It Easier for Those Misled by Schools to Have Debt Erased
When first-grade teacher Jenna Riccio found out one of her students needed emergency surgery in September 2019, she decided to visit him at the Connecticut Children's Medical Center as he recovered. She knew he had recently been moved into foster care, and thought he'd appreciate seeing her.

"Just thinking about him being at a hospital without his family there, I was just sad for him," she said about her student, Nathaniel "Nate" Innocent Riccio, who was then 7. "I just wanted to be a familiar face."

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Nate was born with sickle cell anemia, a red blood cell disorder that can lead to other serious medical concerns, such as infections and chronic pain. While treatments can relieve pain and prevent complications, there is no cure.

Due to complications with his sickle cell anemia, both of Nate's legs had already been amputated below his knees, along with his left arm and several fingers on his right hand. He has also suffered from liver and kidney damage, among other health issues.

While at the hospital, Riccio chatted with a social worker from the Connecticut Department of Children and Families about Nate's foster situation and learned that the family he was staying with lived about an hour away from his school, Walsh Elementary School in Waterbury, Conn.

The arrangement, Riccio learned from the worker, "wasn't ideal," for Nate, who Riccio described as "super bright and easy to love."

She turned to Nate's social worker and suddenly said: "Can I foster him?"

After leaving the hospital, Riccio told her then-boyfriend, Tim Riccio, about her spontaneous offer. He was all in. Tim Riccio already knew Nate well, as he was the school art teacher.

"It kind of felt like a no-brainer that we could be those people that could be there to help him," said Tim Riccio, who wasn't living with Jenna Riccio at the time, but moved in shortly after.

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"We didn't know the full extent of everything he had gone through, but we knew the situation he was in and how much he needed somebody there," he added.

Once Nate confirmed that he was on board with the plan, the process began. In 10 days - after they completed background checks, training courses and a home inspection - Nate moved into Jenna Riccio's home, and never left.

She learned that Nate's ongoing medical needs extended beyond what his birth family could meet, and that after a series of missed medical appointments, he had been removed from his birth family by the Department of Children and Families (DCF).

"He was a young boy that had extremely complex needs and he was unable to have his needs met on a regular basis," said Ken Mysogland, the bureau chief of external affairs at DCF.

Once Nate moved in with the Riccios, "it didn't take very long at all" for them to start feeling like a family, Tim Riccio said.

"When you're waking up with a kid in the middle of the night and helping him get dressed in the morning and giving him baths and doing all the stuff that parents do, it was only a couple months, and we were 'mom and dad.'"

Initially, Nate was still in communication with his birthparents, and the goal was for him to ultimately reunite with them. Over the years, though, they distanced, and social workers determined that adoption was a better alternative.

"It was clear that it was in his best interest to remain with the Riccios," said Vannessa Dorantes, the commissioner of DCF. "Kinship doesn't have to be by blood; it has to be about people who love and care for a specific child."

In the Riccios's case, Dorantes added, their dedication to Nate's well-being was clear from the get-go. Children with complex medical needs are particularly difficult to place in foster homes.

"I know the sacrifices teachers make for their students, and in this particular situation, you had a teacher that cared about a child that she was assigned to," Dorantes said. "He was a pretty sick little boy, and she wanted to make sure someone was there for him that she knew he'd be comforted by."

In recent years, being a teacher has been fraught with challenges, leading to nationwide staffing shortages and widespread burnout. Recently, an elementary school teacher in Newport News, Va., was shot and injured by a 6-year-old student.

The Riccios said they believe their role as teachers extends beyond the classroom, which is why they offered to take Nate home. While adoption wasn't initially on their minds, once it became an option, they said they were relieved more than anything else.

"He's been here for everything," said Jenna Riccio, adding that Nate was the ring bearer at the couple's wedding in May 2021 and was also present for their daughter's birth in February 2022. "I always wanted what was best for Nate," but "it was sad for me" to think that he would eventually leave.

The Riccios said they were undeterred by Nate's medical needs. Given that he is still growing, he will require revision surgeries every few years, and frequent monitoring.

"There's a lot of follow-ups that needs to happen to keep him healthy," said Jenna Riccio, adding that they are grateful for the support of hospital staff and social workers, as well as family and friends.

Dorantes said she hopes the Riccios will inspire others to follow suit in the ways they can. "It's just a perfect example of ordinary people making an extraordinary difference in a child's life," she said.

Nate - who had used a wheelchair and now walks with prosthetic legs - is in fifth grade and doing remarkably well, Jenna Riccio said.

Although the couple took in Nate several years ago, as of Nov. 18 - which is National Adoption Day - he legally became their son.

"The adoption day was amazing, and it was the best time that I ever had," Nate said. "I was so happy to be officially part of this family."

His favorite aspect of being a Riccio, he added, "is having great parents that take care of me so well and having a little sister to play with and take care of."

"I love making her laugh, I love making sure that she's having fun, and I just love to see her grow up," Nate said of his sister, Julien.

Nate has ambitions to become an actor one day and has participated in several acting workshops at a local theater.

His parents say they are blown away by how far he has come.

"He has just blossomed," Jenna Riccio said. "He's a little person now with his own dreams, and it's pretty incredible to know that we are there to support him through it all."

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The Sundance Film Festival had its 39th edition in Park City, Utah. Sundance Film Festival

The Sundance Film Festival was back in person for the first time since 2020.

A-list stars like Anne Hathaway and Jason Momoa were present to promote their buzzy films.

The deals market was slow to take off, with a few big sales but not as many as in recent years.

It was impossible not to feel optimistic about the state of independent film at the opening weekend of the Sundance Film Festival.

Back in person for the first time since 2020, the fest was brimming with hot titles, A-list stars, and raucous crowds springing to their feet for films from "Magazine Dreams," a brutal drama starring Jonathan Majors as a struggling bodybuilder, to "Theater Camp," a Christopher Guest-style mockumentary with exactly the glorious jazz-hands vibe you'd expect.

In five days I saw eight films, and while I'm not a critic, I can affirm that not one of them was a clunker. This doesn't mean indie filmmakers aren't facing pressing and growing challenges  including dwindling theater attendance (Regal Cinemas' parent, Cineworld, filed for bankruptcy last year), rising production costs, and studio consolidation  but the creative ecosystem is going strong. At an event like Sundance, even amid some hand-wringing over the future, the excitement is contagious.

In its 39th year, the festival has grown exponentially, with about 100,000 film lovers, dealmakers, and strivers pouring into Park City, Utah, for the chance to discover or be discovered. If you're not a star being squired via Escalade  Anne Hathaway, Jennifer Connelly, and Jason Momoa were just a few of the A-listers with films to promote  then you spend a lot of time shuttling from theater to panel venue to party space on the town's free buses, where there's constant chatter and debate about the film you just saw or the one you're seeing tomorrow.

I had targeted only a few titles from the 100-plus features on the schedule, so I was open to suggestion and serendipity. I decided to check out opening-day feature "Sometimes I Think About Dying" after meeting one of its supporting players on a shuttle from the Salt Lake City airport. It's a quiet romantic dramedy, starring and produced by "Star Wars'" Daisy Ridley, that isn't as depressing as its title suggests. And, even factoring in a little proximity bias, my shuttlemate was great in it!

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Another chance bus encounter with two producers, Rachael Fung and Peter McClellan, led me to my favorite film of the weekend  "Fremont," a black-and-white dramedy centered on an Afghan woman working at a Chinese fortune cookie factory in California. It was shot in what's known as Academy ratio (a 4 to 3 ratio, the size of a frame of 35mm film  i.e., not really suited for a theater or your TV screen) and, like the Daisy Ridley film, explores themes of social isolation.

Have I just described the Sundanciest film ever? Was Fung "a crazy producer" to support director Babak Jalali's choice of such an arty format, as she jokingly suggested to me after the premiere? So be it. Asked about the film's aspect ratio in an audience Q&A, Jalali said, "It was prettier that way." I thought so too.

The bulk of the films I saw were more commercial, and four of them centered on relationships. "The Pod Generation," a social satire about the future of human pregnancy, stars Emilia Clarke and Chiwetel Ejiofor in a not-so-far-off-seeming future when affluent couples gestate their babies in pods. Before its premiere, Sophie Barthes' film won an award from Sundance and the Alred P. Sloan foundation for its exploration of science, but as of this writing, it hadn't found a distributor, one of the most talked-about and starriest films  along with Hathaway's "Eileen"  yet to make a sale.

"You Hurt My Feelings," from Sundance recidivist Nicole Holofcener, has Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Tobias Menzies unpacking marriage's white lies and vulnerabilities. And "Shortcomings," Randall Park's sweet, culturally specific rom-com  based on a graphic novel  marked not only his feature directorial debut but also his first trip to Sundance, he told me at the film's afterparty.

And then there was "Cat Person," based on a 2017 New Yorker story about dating by Kristen Roupenian. Director Susanna Vogel stays true to the IP for the film's first two acts  hundreds of texts, bad sex, bruised egos, the worst onscreen kiss ever  before taking a turn into thriller territory that met with mixed reviews. But on the bus after the screening, a large group of young women were engaged in hot debate, the same kind of discourse that erupted when Roupenian's story went viral, about which character was at fault for their relationship's fiery demise. One of the women was with her father, who wisely stayed out of it.

Sundance is also known for its powerful documentaries and I caught two of this year's buzziest: "Stephen Curry: Underrated" and "Justice," a late addition to the lineup, directed by "Bourne Identity" helmer Doug Liman, that explores the allegations against Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh. Neither film broke much new ground, and "Justice" disappointed some attendees (and reviewers) who were expecting new revelations, but both stirred up powerful emotions.

But let's cut to the bottom line: the deals. Psychological thriller "Fair Play" was first out of the gate, selling to Netflix for about $20 million. Musical drama "Flora and Son" scored a similar sum from Apple. And "Theater Camp" will screen in theaters after Disney's Searchlight Pictures scooped it up for $8 million. There have been more deals since, and there are more to come, but like other parts of the US economy, the Sundance market didn't seem as robust as in recent years.

The party scene, however, was as lively as ever, anchored by HBO Documentary Films' annual shindig. With HBO parent Warner Bros. Discovery slashing budgets, headcount, and projects in a bid to cut more than $3 billion in costs, it was a shock to see the bottomless raw bar and beef tenderloin slicing stations at Ruth's Chris Steak House.

Did Warners CEO David Zaslav sign off on that? Don't ask the partygoers who were mugging for the photo booth. They're just enjoying it while it lasts.

This article was first published on January 28 and has been updated.

Read the original article on Business Insider
Angel Uriarte was arrested on charges of killing six people, including a teen mother and her baby, in an execution-style massacre that stunned the Central Valley farm town of Goshen last month. (Tulare County Sheriff's Office)

One of the men accused of gunning down six members of a Central California family had been embroiled in an extensive history and feud with the family and had once shot at one of them, according to police records obtained by The Times.

Shortly before 10 p.m. on Aug. 6, 2014, Tulare County sheriffs deputies responded to a shooting at the Wooden Shoe RV Park in Goshen. They found Eladio Parraz with his arm around his girlfriend, Crystal Hammonds, who was crying hysterically, a deputy wrote in a report.

Someone had fired shots at Hammonds before fleeing in a white sedan with tinted windows, Parraz told the deputies. Based on her description of the female driver, Parraz said he believed the woman was associated with someone he knew as Nano, according to another deputy's report.

Parraz told the deputy his family and Nanos family had an extensive history and feud. Police identified "Nano" as Angel Uriarte and determined he had shot at Hammonds that night in 2014. Uriarte eventually was sentenced to prison for the shooting.

Eight and a half years later, Eladio Parraz, 52, was the first person to be executed, authorities say, when Uriarte and another man, Noah Beard, entered the Parraz family's home the night of Jan. 16.

After gunning down Eladio Parraz, prosecutors allege, Uriarte and Beard killed Marcos Parraz, 19; Jennifer Analla, 50; and finally Rosa Parraz, 72, who was shot in the head while kneeling beside her bed. Alissa Parraz, 16, fled the home with her 10-month-old son, Nycholas, lifting the baby over a fence before scrambling over it herself. Beard pursued them, killing both with shots to the head, prosecutors allege.

Uriarte fired at federal agents who were trying to arrest him last week, authorities said. He underwent surgery after the shootout and is expected to survive. Beard was arrested without incident. Authorities now say Uriarte is known by the nickname "Nanu."

Uriarte and Beard have been charged with six counts of murder and a series of special allegations including multiple murders, and committing murders to further the activities of a criminal street gang.

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Tulare County Sheriff Mike Boudreaux said last week that his investigators had identified no motive for the killings, beyond the fact that members of the Parraz family were Surenos  street gang members subservient to the prison-based Mexican Mafia  while most gangs in the Visalia area identify as Norteno, meaning they answer to the Nuestra Familia, a prison gang that rivals the Mexican Mafia.

But records filed in Uriarte's 2014 case suggest he harbored a long-standing hatred of the Parraz family.

At the time of the earlier shooting, Eladio Parraz did not describe the ill will between his family and Uriarte's in detail and said he "did not involve himself with the feud any longer," wrote a deputy, Kyle Kalender, but he said "his nephew, Martin Parraz, and Nano did not get along."

Eladio Parraz said Hammonds had been exiting his nephews car, a white Dodge Neon, when the shots rang out. Eladio felt that whoever shot at Crystal was looking for Martin, Kalender wrote.

Martin Parraz was not killed in last months shooting.

Crying and breathing heavily, Hammonds told Kalender shed returned from the trailer parks office, where shed taken a shower, when a white car drove by. The driver, a Latina in her 20s, made eye contact with her, she said. The car continued about 30 feet down a dirt road, then stopped. The rear passengers side door opened.

Hammonds recalled seeing a tall skinny male standing next to the car and hearing gunshots. She ducked behind Martin Parrazs car and felt rocks and dirt strike her legs and something hit her in the face, Kalender wrote.

Inspecting the Dodge Neon, Kalender noted two bullet holes in the rear fender and a bullet fragment beneath the muffler. Another deputy wrote in a report that he found a blue bandanna, which he considered gang indicia, on the drivers seat, and a bindle containing 20 grams of methamphetamine in the glove box.

Deputies found bullet holes in a nearby trailer, whose horrified owner said her two young children had been asleep only a few feet away from where the bullets had struck the trailer, Deputy Kenneth Jones wrote.

That night, deputies stopped a white 2010 Dodge Avenger, which resembled the description of the suspects car, at an Arco in Goshen. Questioned at the gas station, Uriarte, then 26, said he was a northern dropout but still affiliated with the Goshen Familia gang, Kalender wrote.

Uriarte had GF tattooed beneath his left eye, as well as G-Town and 559  a Central California area code  inked on his left arm, Kalender wrote. He was wearing a red shirt, red belt and shoes with red laces, according to the deputys report.

Another male stopped in the Dodge Avenger, Victor Lopez, was wearing a red hat and red Jordan sneakers. The 17-year-old said he hangs out with northerners but denied being in a gang, Kalender wrote.

Norteno gangs favor the color red, while Surenos generally identify with the color blue.

Law enforcement officials say a growing number of gangs in Central and Northern California  long considered the domain of the Nuestra Familia and the Norteno gangs under the organizations control  are now identifying as Surenos, meaning they take orders from and pay taxes to the Mexican Mafia.

At the gas station, the woman who had been driving the car began to cry, wrote one of the deputies who responded to the shooting. Claiming she had no idea this was going to happen, Jasmine Reyes said she was afraid Uriarte would hear her talking to police, but agreed to be interviewed at the sheriffs station, Jones wrote.

In an interview room, Reyes said she had been drinking beer with Uriarte, Lopez and a woman, Catrina Jimenez, when they decided to drive around Goshen. Because Jimenez was drunk, Reyes drove her Dodge Avenger.

Reyes said Uriarte told her to drive to the Wooden Shoe trailer park. As she was pulling slowly through the rows of trailers, Uriarte opened the door and stepped out. The next thing she heard was three gunshots, she said. Uriarte got back in the car and told her to leave.

On Highway 99, she yelled at Uriarte, What the f are you doing? Uriate, she said, told her, Dont trip. He said he had funk with the Parraz family, which Reyes said she understood to mean Uriarte and the family had problems," the report says.

Interviewed at the sheriff's station, Jimenez, the owner of the Dodge Avenger, cursed at deputies and called the incident "bulls," Jones wrote in his report. Catrina went on to say the only reason we are making a big deal about this is because it has to do with the Parraz family.

Jimenez said the Parraz family gets away with everything and the sheriffs office does nothing to prosecute them, Jones wrote. She claimed they got what they deserved because a member of the Parraz family had run over her father with a car, leaving him permanently disabled, the report says.

Uriarte refused to be interviewed by police.

At the Arco, deputies did what is known as a show-up, bringing the four suspects to Hammonds and asking if she recognized them. Sitting in a patrol car, Hammonds began to shake and cry when shown Uriarte, a deputy wrote. Hes the one that shot me, she said, adding she was 100% sure.

Uriarte pleaded no contest to assaulting the woman with a firearm and admitted a gang enhancement, court records show. He served five years of a seven-year prison term.

Interviewed by a deputy probation officer in jail, Uriarte said he had spent his whole life in Tulare County. He was unemployed and living with his fiancee, her mother and his five children in a small home just off the 99 in Goshen at the time of his arrest in 2014.

The home  a shabby pink stucco  is one in a pocket of houses and trailers squeezed near the highway, a set of railroad tracks and a large industrial site. It is just two blocks from the house on Harvest Avenue where the Parraz family was slain last month.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Even though Tallahassee is well north of the warmer climate of South Florida, we still have our share of exotic invaders. The definition of an exotic plant or animal is a species that threatens Floridas economy or ecology, or has a damaging effect on agricultural foods or areas.

It's a non-native animal or plant that has been introduced to the state by human activity that competes to the detriment of native species. It is not the fault of any species that is considered invasive or exotic. They are wild in Florida as a result of the carelessness or actions of irresponsible people. Sometimes exotic animals and plants hitchhike here in cargo shipments.

A cold-stunned iguana fell from a palm tree as temperatures dropped in 40s in West Palm Beach, Florida on Dec. 26, 2022. The low temperature immobilize the cold blooded reptiles until it gets warmer.

Others are purchased as baby animals that grow up over time and people no longer accept the responsibility to care for them. They are then released into the wild. Not the animals fault.

Examples of invasive species are the seemingly ever-present fire ants, European starlings, several species of lizards, snakes, frogs, insects, wild hogs, numerous species of fish and a countless number of plant species. Some even consider the armadillo as exotic and invasive. They originally were native to Central and South America but have spread to several states in the United States from the Texas area in the 1930s.

Fire ants and frogs

In the Tallahassee area, we have some predominant examples of exotic species. The fire ant is one of them. Supposedly, they arrived in Mobile, Alabama in the 1930s, hidden in the soil used as ballast in a cargo ship arriving from Brazil. The soil was unloaded at the port and the rest, as they say, is history.

These fierce insects will eat anything they can get a hold of. Included are ground-dwelling reptiles, birds and their eggs. I have even seen fire ants 5 feet above the ground in the nest of bluebirds!

Florida is home to 68 species of lizards. Only 20 of these are native to the state. A couple of years ago, Florida Fish & Wildlife passed laws that the personal possession of green iguanas and tegu lizards in Florida was illegal. The new laws have been under study for revision as I write this column. They are native to Central and South America.

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These species are readily breeding in the south and central regions of Florida. To the detriment of some of the native species of both animals and plants. Due to the colder climate in North Florida, green iguanas and tegus have occasionally been recorded here but reportedly have not established strong breeding populations in or near Tallahassee.

Cuban tree frogs have been found in North Florida, where they are not native and disrupt natural ecosystems.

Cuban tree frogs

Another example of a non-native invasion is the Cuban tree frog. This large species of tree frog has large eyes and relatively large toe pads. More and more of these invasive amphibians are showing up in North Florida. In south and central Florida, these large frogs readily feed on insects as well as our native tree frog species. Native frog species populations have declined as a result.

Perhaps one of the best examples of invaders in the Tallahassee area are the exotic anoles seen all over our area. Customarily we have had the little green anoles only in our area.

Now, Cuban and Bahamian anole species are here and out-competing our native green anoles. Some scientists believe that the native green anoles are living and feeding in higher areas around houses and higher up in vegetation to adapt to their new exotic neighbors.

Are these species and population trends going to continue as time goes on? As reportedly climate change promotes species range extensions. Only the future holds the answer to this interesting question.

Enjoy your nature trails. Get outdoors and take a child along. They too are our future!

Jerry Walls is an Environmental Educator living in the Tallahassee area. He is the founder of Amazing Animals conducting nature-themed programs in schools, libraries, camps, science fairs and special events. Contact e-mail is jwalls443@gmail.com.

This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Tallahassee's exotic invaders include ants, lizards and frogs
Harry Styles appeared to have a surprise ally in ex-girlfriend Taylor Swift on Sunday as he received the Album of the Year Grammy for Harrys House.

Harrys House, Styles third solo album, was both a critical and commercial smash. Still, the British pop stars win was widely perceived as an upset over Beyonce, whose disco-infused, genre-defying album Renaissance was considered the front-runner for the nights biggest prize.

As Styles took the stage to accept the award, audience members inside Los Angeles Crypto.com Arena could be heard expressing their frustrations. Among those to do so was journalist Ernest Owens, who shared a short video of the moment on Twitter.

Beyonce was robbed, he tweeted. This was so underwhelming.

Beyonce was robbed.



This was so underwhelming.



People are leaving by the masses. #GRAMMYspic.twitter.com/Ih9aFMbqNi  Ernest Owens (@MrErnestOwens) February 6, 2023

Pitchforks editor-in-chief Puja Patel, who attended the Grammys, confirmed that shouting could be heard as Styles began his speech.

When Harry started talking, some folks in the arena started yelling Beyonce!!!! and there was a tense pause, she wrote on her publications live blog. Not sure if you could hear it on TV. I think the feeling in the room was pretty shocked.

Footage taken from another vantage point in the arena, however, offered a different perspective on the situation.

The shouts were still audible from the front of the stage, close to where Styles was standing. But some fans noticed that Swift, no stranger to hecklers interrupting her award show appearances, remained standing for the duration of Styles speech even as those around her returned to their seats.

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shes literally always the only one standing cause she knows what its like to feel like everyone hates u in a room bc of what she thought at the VMAS in 2009 pic.twitter.com/uHyB9TFZL9  sofia CLOSED (@hrryslavderhaze) February 6, 2023

For some, the scene recalled the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards, when Swifts acceptance speech was interrupted by Ye, then known as Kanye West.

Swift had begun to accept the award for best female video for You Belong to Me when Ye stormed the stage and proclaimed Beyonces Single Ladies more worthy of the honor.

Later in the show, Beyonce invited Swift to deliver her acceptance speech when Single Ladies won the award for video of the year.

Harry Styles (left) and Taylor Swift briefly reunited at the 2023 Grammy Awards in Los Angeles.

Harry Styles (left) and Taylor Swift briefly reunited at the 2023 Grammy Awards in Los Angeles.

Though the exact timeline of their relationship is unknown, Styles and Swift reportedly dated from 2012 to 2013. The songs Out of the Woods and Style off Swifts acclaimed 1989 album are widely speculated to have been inspired by their short romance.

The former couple shared a number of sweet interactions at the Grammys. Swift was also spotted dancing and singing along to Styles performance of As It Was.

Related...
Texas governor Greg Abbott on Monday unveiled a plan to ban TikTok from state government-issued devices and networks, saying the security risks associated with the use of the Chinese-owned app must not be underestimated or ignored.

Abbott first ordered state agencies to ban employees from downloading or using TikTok on any government-issued devices late last year. On Monday the governor released a plan that aims to guide state agencies on managing personal and state-issued devices used to conduct state business.

Today, Im announcing a plan to ban TikTok in Texas. Its critical that state agencies are protected from the Chinese Communist Party as they work on behalf of Texans. Learn more about my plan to keep Texas secure: https://t.co/mJrtyuuMdA pic.twitter.com/cN3A0dhbXv  Gov. Greg Abbott (@GovAbbott) February 6, 2023

Owned by a Chinese company that employs Chinese Communist Party members, TikTok harvests significant amounts of data from a users device, including details about a users internet activity, the governor said.

The ban would prohibit the download or use of TikTok on state-issued devices such as cell phones, laptops, tablets and desktop computers, as well as on state-issued internet networks.

Abbott gave state agencies a February 15 deadline to implement the plan, which would also prohibit employees or contractors from conducting state business on devices with banned technologies.

It is critical that state agencies and employees are protected from the vulnerabilities presented by the use of this app and other prohibited technologies as they work on behalf of their fellow Texans.

Texas will become one of several states to have banned the controversial app on government devices, including Ohio, South Dakota and Maryland.

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Senator Josh Hawley (R., Mo.) previously introduced a bill to ban TikTok on government-issued devices for federal employees. A similar measure was then included in the omnibus spending bill that Congress passed in December.

TikTok is a Trojan Horse for the Chinese Communist Party. Its a major security risk to the United States, and until it is forced to sever ties with China completely, it has no place on government devices, Hawley said in a statement at the time. States across the U.S. are banning TikTok on government devices. Its time for Joe Biden and the Democrats to help do the same.

Hawley has proposed a nationwide ban on the app.

Lawmakers and U.S. officials have increasingly warned against the potential security threats associated with the app.

FBI director Christopher Wray said in testimony before the House Homeland Security Committee that he is extremely concerned about the threats posed by TikTok.

Wray said those concerns include the possibility that the Chinese government could use it to control data collection on millions of users or control the recommendation algorithm, which could be used for influence operations if they so chose, or to control software on millions of devices, which gives the opportunity to potentially technically compromise personal devices.

More from National Review
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) unveiled Monday a statewide plan to ban TikTok from state government-issued devices and networks, following a December order to crack down on the use of the popular social media app.

The security risks associated with the use of TikTok on devices used to conduct the important business of our state must not be underestimated or ignored, Abbott said in a statement.

Owned by a Chinese company that employs Chinese Communist Party members, TikTok harvests significant amounts of data from a users device, including details about a users internet activity, he added.

The statewide plan would prevent the download or use of TikTok and other prohibited technologies on state-issued devices, including cellphones, laptops, tablets and desktop computers.

It would also prohibit employees or contractors from conducting state business on devices with prohibited technologies. The plan also includes restrictions from using TikTok and other prohibited technologies on state-issued internet networks.

It is critical that state agencies and employees are protected from the vulnerabilities presented by the use of this app and other prohibited technologies as they work on behalf of their fellow Texans.

State agencies in Texas will have until Feb. 15 to implement policies that support the statewide plan.

Abbott is one of many Republican governors to have issued the ban on government devices, including in Ohio, South Dakota and Maryland.

U.S. lawmakers have also followed suit.

Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) introduced a bill to ban TikTok on government-issued devices for federal employees. The legislation unanimously passed the Senate and was added into a government funding package at the end of last year and signed into law by President Biden.

Hawley has since introduced another bill that would ban the app nationwide. This would be the first of its kind to be introduced this Congress, following a similar proposal led by Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) last year.

Were sorry to see the unintended consequences of these rushed TikTok banspolicies that will do nothing to advance cybersecuritybeginning to impact universities ability to share information, recruit students, and build communities around athletic teams, student groups, campus publications, and more, a TikTok spokesperson said in a statement to The Hill.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Harry Whittington, the prominent Texas lawyer who was shot in the face by Dick Cheney and then infamously apologised to the then-vice president for the accident, has died at the age of 95.

He passed away peacefully at home early on Saturday morning, his wife Mercedes Baker confirmed to The New York Times.

Whittingtons name shot to national attention back in 2006 when Mr Cheney shot him in a dramatic hunting accident.

The accidental shooting unfolded on 11 February 2006  mid-way through Mr Cheneys second term as vice president to President George W Bush  when the two men were among a group hunting quail on a south Texas ranch.

When a group of birds took flight, Mr Cheney had wheeled around and taken a shot, accidentally shooting Whittington in the face and torso.

Whittington, who was 78 at the time, was rushed to hospital for multiple gunshot wounds.

At the time, it was said that he had suffered a minor heart attack caused by bullet fragments hitting blood vessels close to his heart.

Years later, Whittington revealed that his injuries were more serious than was publicly revealed.

Shockingly, the victim was blamed by the White House and eyewitnesses for what happened, claiming he stepped in Mr Cheneys line of fire.

And, more bizarrely still, Whittington issued a public apology to the vice president  while recovering from multiple injuries.

We all assume certain risks in whatever we do, whatever activities we pursue. And regardless of how experienced, careful and dedicated we are, accidents do and will happen, he famously said on leaving hospital.

Harry Whittington issues apology to Dick Cheney over hunting accident (MSNBC)

My family and I are deeply sorry for all that Vice-President Cheney and his family have had to go through this past week.

We send our love and respect to them, as they deal with situations that are much more serious than what weve had to deal with this week.

He added: We hope that he will continue to come to Texas and seek the relaxation that he deserves.

It remains unclear whether or not Mr Cheney returned his apology, publicly saying at the time: Thankfully Harry Whittington is on the mend and doing well.

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In his 2011 memoir In My Time, the former vice president described the incident as one of the saddest days of his life and said he was of course, deeply sorry.

I, of course, was deeply sorry for what Harry and his family had gone through, he wrote.

The day of the hunting accident was one of the saddest of my life.

Mr Whittington rarely hunted after the accident and reportedly kept his bloodied vest to teach his children the dangers of guns, according to The Washington Post.

Outside of the hunting accident, Whittington was a prominent Texas attorney who was well-known in the states Republican circles.

Born into a family of Democrats in Henderson, Texas, in 1927, Whittington became one of a key group who switched to Republican and built the partys prominence in the state.

After studying law at the University of Texas, he joined George H.W. Bushs 1964 unsuccessful campaign for the US Senate and was a donor for the younger Bushs two successful presidential elections.

He was also elected to several Texas boards including the Texas Department of Corrections and the Texas Board of Criminal Justice.

In 2001, he called on then-Governor Rick Perry to ban the execution of developmentally disabled prisoners. Mr Perry refused but the Supreme Court banned the practice some time later.
When you buy shares in a company, it's worth keeping in mind the possibility that it could fail, and you could lose your money. But when you pick a company that is really flourishing, you can make more than 100%. Long term AVITA Medical, Inc. (ASX:AVH) shareholders would be well aware of this, since the stock is up 147% in five years. On top of that, the share price is up 73% in about a quarter.

So let's assess the underlying fundamentals over the last 5 years and see if they've moved in lock-step with shareholder returns.

View our latest analysis for AVITA Medical

Given that AVITA Medical didn't make a profit in the last twelve months, we'll focus on revenue growth to form a quick view of its business development. Shareholders of unprofitable companies usually expect strong revenue growth. That's because fast revenue growth can be easily extrapolated to forecast profits, often of considerable size.

In the last 5 years AVITA Medical saw its revenue grow at 50% per year. That's well above most pre-profit companies. Meanwhile, its share price performance certainly reflects the strong growth, given the share price grew at 20% per year, compound, during the period. This suggests the market has well and truly recognized the progress the business has made. AVITA Medical seems like a high growth stock - so growth investors might want to add it to their watchlist.

The graphic below depicts how earnings and revenue have changed over time (unveil the exact values by clicking on the image).

It's probably worth noting that the CEO is paid less than the median at similar sized companies. It's always worth keeping an eye on CEO pay, but a more important question is whether the company will grow earnings throughout the years. This free report showing analyst forecasts should help you form a view on AVITA Medical

A Different Perspective

AVITA Medical shareholders are up 3.1% for the year. But that return falls short of the market. It's probably a good sign that the company has an even better long term track record, having provided shareholders with an annual TSR of 20% over five years. It's quite possible the business continues to execute with prowess, even as the share price gains are slowing. It's always interesting to track share price performance over the longer term. But to understand AVITA Medical better, we need to consider many other factors. Consider risks, for instance. Every company has them, and we've spotted 1 warning sign for AVITA Medical you should know about.

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Of course AVITA Medical may not be the best stock to buy. So you may wish to see this free collection of growth stocks.

Please note, the market returns quoted in this article reflect the market weighted average returns of stocks that currently trade on AU exchanges.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.



This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.

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This week marks an anniversary many will likely consider unworthy of celebration: the first case of Covid-19 in Massachusetts. The state announced on February 1, 2020 that a man returning from Wuhan, China was infected. He was later identified as a student at UMass-Boston.

More isolated cases followed -- as did a super-spreader event, when nearly 100 became infected after attending a Biogen conference later that month. More alarming, though, the confirmation in early March, 2020 of a Covid-19 infection in a man from the Berkshires with seemingly no reason to get the virus. This became the first evidence of community spread.

And did it spread.

Since that first case, DPH has recorded more than 2 million Covid-19 infections -- a number that is assuredly an underestimate, given so much testing is now done at home.

So far, nearly 24,000 have died from the virus -- including up to 177 just last week. The number dead is about equivalent to the populations of the towns of Dedham or Canton or Reading or Yarmouth.

Infections, at this point, are coming down. But the known positivity rate remains in the 7-9% range -- a proportion thats barely budged since last May.

Boston 25 News talked with residents anonymously about their memories of Covid-19 -- and how it might have changed them.

We had been in California to visit our son, said one woman. And I think it was the next day that things started closing down.

Since that time, she has not flown anywhere -- and continues to wear a mask when in crowded spaces.

I lost a 52-year-old nephew to Covid, a father of three, said another woman. And thats changed our entire family forever, I think.

That woman added that she worked in a school -- and Covid cases are common.

A woman from Canton was asked if it seemed like Covid was winding down at this point.

I would have said that until last week, she said. My sister just got Covid for the first time through this whole thing.

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

Follow Boston 25 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch Boston 25 News NOW
Travel Noire has the exclusive first look at the Four Seasons Private Residences in Los Angeles, CA, which is sure to disrupt the travel industry.

Many hotel brands have been entering the residential market. Since Airbnb and Vrbo have been providing various experiences regarding stays, the hotel business has declined. However, the Four Seasons still remains at the top of every luxury travelers list. The Four Seasons has opened its first North American residential project, The Four Seasons Private Residences in Los Angeles.

What Is The Four Seasons Private Residences?

Photo Credit: Four Seasons

The Four Seasons Private Residences in Los Angeles is home to 59 luxury apartments. It even includes the extravagant top-floor penthouse: the One LA. All the residents will have the same access to services provided by the prestigious Four Seasons and a variety of amenities that you would find at their hotels. The price for the residences starts at $3 million and could go up to $8.5 million. The two-level penthouse One LA is one of the most expensive condos in Los Angeles, listed at $75 million.

Photo Credit: Four Seasons

Photo Credit: Four Seasons

Interiors

Photo Credit: Four Seasons

Celebrity designer Martyn Lawrence Bullard is responsible for the interiors of the model residence and the common spaces within the building. His inspiration for furniture comes from designers of the 1950s and 1960s. They added a level of sophistication that compliments the buildings luxury mid-century look. Bullard mixes the modern California lifestyle with inspiration from Brazils Rio de Janeiro.

With most residences as large as 2,400 square feet, every residence within the Four Seasons represents Los Angeless posh lifestyle within its most desired neighborhood. These residences also give integrated appliances by Gaggenau, built-in cabinetry and top-of-the-line gourmet kitchens. The bathrooms feel like an escape as theyre designed with premium fixtures and the best materials. It makes you feel like youre in a luxury spa. The main bathrooms have deep soaking tubs, marble vanities and showers lined with glass walls.

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Amenities

Photo Credit: Four Seasons

The Four Seasons Private Residences will feature the same services and experiences as the Four Seasons hotels. Owners will have access to many amenities. Their amenities will include their Harley Pasternak-designed fitness and wellness center, private training rooms and a HydroMassage recovery room. The residences also feature an outdoor zen space and a pool on the terrace.

What good are the rooms without the professionals to work in them? Residents also will have access to personal training services, yoga instructors, celebrity chefs and professional photographers.

They will have access to a tiled saltwater pool. Theres a pool surrounded by chic furniture and private cabanas with mini fans. Theres a private IMAX movie theater with a 17-foot screen that accommodates 18 people. For those who seek more relaxation and vibes, theres a lounge with a shared kitchen area, library and valet parking.

Photo Credit: Four Seasons

One LA

Photo Credit: Four Seasons

It features a new penthouse/condo called the One LA. The Four Seasons Private Residences penthouse. Sitting on the top two floors of the edifice is one of L.A.s most expensive penthouses at $75 million. With nearly 13,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor living space, there was nothing left behind in its design. Inspired by the California Case Study Houses of the 50s and 60s, this penthouse represents California luxury living. One LA is very modern, with 360-degree views and glass walls. Natural light shines through the living area giving new meaning to the term open-concept as you host friends and family within the living and dining rooms, customize the penthouse or develop a master suite with a view of the Los Angeles skyline.

Photo Credit: Four Seasons

Photo Credit: Four Seasons

Photo Credit: Four Seasons
A Toronto woman's plea to borrow a dress has gone viral on TikTok. Images via TikTok/second.life.studio.

A recent viral video is highlighting the power of TikTok after a Toronto-based user may have unlocked a new way to interact with followers through the app.

Last week, Charlotte Rose  also known as @second.life.studio on TikTok  took to the platform to post a video reaching out to locals in search of a specific dress.

In the 15-second video, Rose included a picture of the Paloma Wool Blossom Print dress in question, and asked users if she could find one to borrow as an alternative to buying a new dress for herself.

"Do you own this dress in a size small? I'm going to a wedding on Feb. 19 and I would love to rent it from you for one night," Rose said. "I don't want to buy anything new but I also don't love the options in a lot of the dress rental places. So if you own it [and live in Toronto] let me know."

Rose's method of using the app to ask other users for help tracking down this dress may have unlocked a new way to interact with followers. Since being posted only four days ago, the video has received over 3 million views and hundreds of comments to date.

Users from all over the world flooded the comment section to offer support in regards to finding the dress, while others even responded with offers to send the requested dress to Rose for her event.

"I hope someone is able to lend it to you! Sending luck your way!" shared one commenter.

"Wait. I love this idea! SOMEONE MAKE AN APP!" said a user who loved Rose's idea of using TikTok to find the dress.

"There actually so should be an app for this," agreed another.

American actress and TikTok influencer Dylan Mulvaney even commented on the viral post stating, "I wish I did so I could loan it to you!"

One user tried to help Rose, but didn't meet the initial criteria of being based in the city. "I have it but I don't live in Toronto," they stated.

"I live in Toronto! My mom has that dress in size small," offered someone else.

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Following the TikTok's initial response, Rose responded with a followup video, in which she hinted that she "may have found the dress."

According to Rose, she was overwhelmed by the fact that "over half a million people" were helping her find the dress. She spoke about how finding this dress became a "global treasure hunt" when people from all over the world started reaching out.

Luckily, all's well that ends well, as Rose's efforts ended up uniting her with her dream dress.

In this recent update, Rose can be seen happily dancing to the song You Make My Dreams (Come True) by Hall and Oates. A comment reading "Hey! I have the dress in small and I'm in the GTA!" from user @nishkebab (Anisha Sekand) is pinned to the video.

In the comments, Rose confirmed that "the dress has been secured." She went on to thank Sekand for their generosity, as well as "everyone that helped the video land on her FYP."

She praised Sekand for being "one in a million" and continued on to thank her followers for "MAKING MY DREAMS COME TRUE."

Rose's happy ending is a win for TikTokers everywhere, as it goes to show how impactful the app can be when it comes to connecting users both on and offline.

Let us know what you think by commenting below and tweeting @YahooStyleCA! Follow us on Twitter and Instagram.
Trevor Noah plays it safe during in his Grammys monologue at the 65th Grammy Awards. (Photo: Getty Images)

Trevor Noah returned for a third time to host Sunday's 65th Grammy Awards, which were back in Los Angeles after last year's stint in Las Vegas.

"It's the best city in the world, if you ignore a few other cities," Noah quipped at the top of the show before introducing an electric opening performance by Bad Bunny. The Puerto Rican rapper kicked things off with an explosive medley of "El Apagon"/"Despues de la Playa," leading a colorful troupe of dancers through Crypto.com Arena and getting stars like Taylor Swift and Jack Harlow out of their seats.

As for Noah, the dig about L.A. was about as edgy as he got. The former late-night host launched into his monologue after Bad Bunny's performance, dishing out a slew of dad jokes and playing it safe with the people he called out.

"Every time I listen to him, I get hips I never knew I had. That album is so fire, it makes Trump want to learn Spanish," Noah said.

"My job is to be your eyes, your ears. I'll be floating around this room. Think of me like a Chinese spy balloon, that's what I'm doing right now, gathering all the information you want," he added, referring to the suspicious flying object the U.S. shot down off Carolina coast a day earlier.

Noah then poked fun at himself as he name-checked Beyonce.

"Beyonce is nominated for her album Renaissance, which by the way, is better than anything from the actual Renaissance, in my opinion. The Renaissance was just pictures of grapes and stuff; Beyonce took it up another level. In fact, I was so inspired by the lyrics of 'Break My Soul' that I actually quit my job," Noah quipped. He departed The Daily Show after seven years in December.

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"Harry Styles is here tonight, everybody. ... I mean, what can you say about this man that hasn't been said? Incredible album, mind-blowing tour," Noah declared. "Women throw their panties at this man, and then he puts them on, and he looks better in them than they do! Easily the world's sexiest man. There is no competition."

Noah called Styles the "sex symbol of the globe."

"Especially now since they killed off the Green M&M, no competition," the television personality continued, calling out the recent M&Ms spokecandies controversy. "RIP, Green, we miss you."

Dwayne Johnson and Adele meet  apparently for the first time  at the 65th Grammy Awards in Los Angeles on Sunday. (Kevin Winter/Getty Images for the Recording Academy)

Noah wrapped things up with a cute bit featuring Adele and Dwayne Johnson. The Grammys host explained how when he researched some of the night's nominees, like Adele, he learned how she always wanted to meet The Rock.

"This is one of the strangest things I found out  the person that Adele has always wanted to meet, but never has, is Dwayne Johnson. You've never met him? And then I found out that he's a huge fan of yours, too," Noah explained, before bringing out the Black Adam star. "Adele, meet The Rock. The Rock, meet Adele. First time ever!"
Jury selection and opening statements began Monday in the murder trial of a White Settlement man accused of shooting to death his roommate in 2019 and then leaving the body in their apartment for several days before calling 911.

During an interview at the Tarrant County Jail in 2019, Jeffery Cory told WFAA-TV that the two had gotten into an argument. Cory said he pulled out his handgun and his roommate, Erik Fernandez, was shot in the stomach as the two struggled over the weapon.

Cory said in the TV interview that he then intentionally shot Fernandez twice. I shot him once in the face and he twisted to the ground and I heard a noise, Cory told WFAA-TV. I popped him in the back of the head to make sure he was dead, so he wouldnt suffer.

The murder trial for the 44-year-old Cory is in Tarrant Countys 213th District Court in Fort Worth.

Fernandez was 43, and he and Cory had known each other for about six years.

Cory told WFAA that he and Fernandez had had some disagreements during their time as roommates, and Fernandez had nagged him about his drinking and other behavior. He said Fernandez had at times threatened to kick him out of their apartment.

On the night of Feb. 27, 2019, Cory arrived home after a night of celebrating with friends because he had been hired at a new job. He told WFAA that led to an argument with Fernandez and the shooting.

Fernandez died from gunshot wounds to his head and neck, according to a ruling by the Tarrant County Medical Examiners Office.

Cory told WFAA that he did not call 911 but instead dragged his friends body into his bedroom and then drove to a nearby lake to get rid of his handgun. The next day, he went to work as if nothing had happened. He even took care of Fernandezs pets.

Cory didnt call 911 until the night of March 1, 2019.

Cory called police to report he had found his roommate dead in a bedroom. White Settlement police responded to the report of a deceased person shortly after 7 p.m. in the 1200 block of Kimbrough St.

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White Settlement firefighters and paramedics also responded and found Fernandezs body in the apartment. White Settlement is adjacent to Fort Worth on the west side of the city.

Initially, Cory told White Settlement police he had not seen Fernandez or his vehicle for several days. On the night of March 1, 2019, Cory said he arrived home from work and noticed Fernandezs bedroom door closed and his dogs scratching at the door.

Cory told officers he opened the door and found a deceased person and called 911, White Settlement police Sgt. Michelle LeNoir said in a 2019 news release.

Cory was arrested when he admitted to police that he had shot his roommate days before he called, LeNoir said.
Six suspects pleaded guilty Monday in a fatal Columbus 2020 home invasion alleged to be a gang-related drug robbery.

All were set to go to trial this week in Muscogee Superior Court, accused of killing Cross Henderson and beating others held at gunpoint while robbing Hendersons mother, Autumn Lynn Tillery, of money and drugs in her home on Autumn Ridge Drive in the Upatoi area.

Police said that while searching the home afterward, they found an assortment of drugs valued at approximately $1 million, and that Tillery had been the target of an unreported robbery the week before Henderson was shot.

Henderson, 21, was killed on a Saturday night, Jan. 18, 2020. He had guests the robbers pistol-whipped for recognizing them, when the T-shirts the assailants tied around their faces slipped, detectives said.

Video evidence and witnesses accounts aided police in catching these suspects:

Anthony Nathan Foster, 26.

Trevonius Tyriq Williams, 25.

Ceuion Marque English. 26.

Laqwane Demarcus Kindred, 29.

Mercedes Annmarie Kraft, 21.

Toni Nicole Toole, 19.

The first to plead Monday were Kraft and Toole, who each pleaded guilty to two counts of robbery, reduced from armed robbery. They entered a cold plea, meaning prosecutors agreed to no sentencing recommendation in exchange for their pleas. The maximum sentence for robbery is 20 years in prison.

Left to right, defendant Mercedes Kraft, defense attorney Susan Henderson, defendant Toni Toole and defense attorney Michael Garner sit in court.

After Kraft and Toole pleaded guilty, Foster and Kindred also made deals with prosecutors:

Foster pleaded guilty to home invasion, armed robbery, aggravated assault, false imprisonment and violating Georgias gang terrorism act. Hes to be sentenced to 30 years in prison with 18 to serve and the rest on probation, said Judge John Martin.

Like Kraft and Toole, Kindred pleaded guilty to robbery, reduced from armed robbery. Hes to be sentenced to 15 years in prison with seven to serve and the rest on probation, Martin said.

The next to plead was Williams, the defendant accused of shooting Henderson with a 9-millimeter pistol. He pleaded to murder, home invasion, armed robbery, aggravated assault, false imprisonment and violating the gang terrorism act. Martin sentenced him to life in prison with the possibility of parole.

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Typically those sentenced to life must serve 30 years before they are eligible for release.

The last to plead was English. He pleaded to home invasion, armed robbery, aggravated assault, false imprisonment and violating the gang terrorism act. He accepted a negotiated sentence of 30 years in prison with 20 to serve and the rest on probation.

Kraft, Toole, Foster, Williams and English were charged in the first armed robbery at the Upatoi home.

That was on Jan. 11, 2020.

Then they went back.

The invasion

Police said Henderson and his guests were on a backyard patio when five masked assailants confronted them in what became a six-minute ordeal.

The intruders beat them with gun butts, including an AK-47-style rifle.

They forced everyone into the house, with one gunman separating Henderson from the other victims and marching him to the stairs, police said.

Give it up! the robbers shouted.

Henderson ran up the stairs, calling for his mother to call 911, when Williams shot him in the buttocks, authorities said.

According to prosecutors, Williams told Henderson, Sorry about your a--, after shooting him, and later bragged about the assault with his cohorts.

Trevonius Tyriq Williams, left, sits with defense attorney Shevon Thomas after pleading guilty to shooting Cross Henderson during a 2020 Columbus home invasion.

As Henderson crawled into his mothers bedroom, the suspects followed, forcing everyone upstairs, ordering them to lie face down and beating them if they looked up, according to Detective Sherman Hayes testimony at the suspects preliminary hearing in Columbus Recorders Court.

Hayes said Hendersons mother was escorted into a bathroom where the robbers took marijuana and cash.

Police were called at 12:45 a.m. Henderson was rushed to Piedmont Columbus Regional, where he died from his wound at 2:07 a.m.

The evidence

Detectives checking neighbors security cameras saw a white car arrive about an hour before the robbery, then repeatedly come and go on the cul de sac, before five got out and walked to the wood line, Hayes said.

He said some witnesses recognized Foster from Northside High School, where Henderson graduated in 2016, and thought they knew some of his accomplices.

On Fosters Facebook page, detectives saw others allegedly associated with a homegrown gang called FNG. Through photo lineups, witnesses identified Kindred, English, Williams, Kraft and Toole, Hayes said.

On Nov. 22, 2020, police with a SWAT team served search warrants at Fosters home on Conner Road, where they arrested Foster, Williams and English. They found guns and ammunition, and marijuana packaged as Hendersons mother had described, Hayes said.

Investigators also raided Kindreds home on Flat Rock Road, finding more guns, including an AK-47 rifle and a 9-millimeter pistol, the detective said.

Drugs and charges

Officers who searched the Upatoi home said that besides marijuana and methamphetamine, they found prescription drugs, LSD and THC, the active ingredient in marijuana.

Testifying in Columbus Recorders Court after Tillerys arrest on drug charges, then-police agent Ken Culverson gave a list of items he said were scattered throughout the house:

5,621 grams of THC oil in mason jars.

1,110 grams of loose marijuana.

729 grams of THC wax, an extract.

654.8 grams of THC butter, in six butter sticks.

127.4 grams of THC oil that was not in mason jars.

3 grams of THC powder.

64 THC vape cartridges.

67 marijuana edibles.

489 doses of LSD.

8.8 grams of methamphetamine.

50 Dextroamphetamine pills

12 Pregabalin pills.

2 Oxycontin pills.

One Alprazolam pill.

Three of the six suspects were charged with malice or deliberate murder in Hendersons death: English, Foster and Williams.

All were charged with felony murder for causing Hendersons death while committing the felony of armed robbery.

The other charges all six faced, before Mondays guilty pleas, were:
 Flash

The 24th Ukraine-EU summit is held in Kiev, Ukraine, Feb. 3, 2023. Ukraine and the European Union agreed to deepen their relations and cooperation at the 24th Ukraine-EU summit held in Kiev on Friday, according to a joint statement issued following the event. [Photo/Ukrainian presidential office handout via Xinhua]

The European Union has pledged more support for Ukraine but dismissed any fast-track membership into the bloc, and Russia blasted the meeting at which the matter was discussed as "hypocritical".

A joint statement after the EU-Ukraine summit in Kyiv on Friday praised Ukraine's commitment and progress toward joining the EU but said the bloc will decide on further steps once all conditions specified in the European Commission's opinion are fully met.

"There are no rigid timelines, but there are goals that you have to reach," European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said of Ukraine's accession to the bloc.

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky said formal accession negotiations to join the EU should start soon.

"The goal is to start negotiations this year, and this is not just a purpose but a major overwhelming goal."

Kyiv said recently that it hoped to become a full EU member by 2026. The country was granted full-candidate status in the bloc in June.

"We encourage Ukraine to continue strengthening the rule of law, because it benefits every Ukrainian citizen," European Council President Charles Michel said on Friday.

The European Commission is set to report on Ukraine's fulfillment of the conditions in the coming spring.

The 27 EU member states are divided on the issue. While Poland and the Baltic states want to speed up the process, France's President Emmanuel Macron said in May that it could take several decades. Some other European leaders have also opposed any shortcut to EU membership.

Croatia was the last country to join the EU, in 2013, 10 years after it applied. Serbia and Montenegro, which are expected to be next in line to join, have also waited for more than 10 years.

At the summit on Friday, 15 European Commissioners met their Ukrainian counterparts as a show of solidarity.

The EU announced it would double the number of Ukrainian soldiers to be trained by the EU to 30,000 this year.

The EU has earmarked about 60 billion euros ($65 billion) in aid to Ukraine, including 12 billion euros in military support and 18 billion euros in loans with a 10-year grace period, to help run the country this year.

Von der Leyen pledged a 10th round of sanctions against Russia on the one-year anniversary of the start of the Russia-Ukraine conflict on Feb. 24.

Further price caps

On Saturday the EU, the G7 and several other partners adopted further price caps for seaborne Russian petroleum products, such as diesel and fuel oil, in an effort to hit Russia's revenues. The measures came after a price cap for Russian crude oil in December and a day before the EU's full ban on importing seaborne Russian crude oil and petroleum products into the EU on Sunday.

Russia condemned the summit in Kyiv.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova, called the EU's readiness to provide further support to Ukraine while calling for peace "equally hypocritical", saying all of the EU's military deliveries and financial support for Kyiv result in "an increase in the number of victims of the conflict, including those among the civilian population", the Anadolu Agency reported.

"It is in vain that the West is trying to do all this," the ministry quoted her as saying. "The Armed Forces of the Russian Federation will achieve all the goals and objectives of the special military operation."

He Zhigao, a researcher at the Institute of European Studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, described the summit in Kyiv as more symbolism than substance.

While the summit demonstrates the EU's firm support for Ukraine, the bloc will not just turn on the green light when it comes to membership, He said.

"While the EU will continue to provide comfort and support to Ukraine regarding the accession, it will also have to avoid disappointing the Balkan states that are in the process of joining the EU in order not to endanger the whole European project."

In addition to Ukraine, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia and

Turkiye have been granted candidate status.
A host of former high-ranking Trump officials are pushing back on the Biden administrations recent claim that at least three Chinese spy balloons flew over the United States during the previous administration.

After the Air Force downed the suspected Chinese spy balloon on Saturday, Pentagon officials claimed that three similar incidents occurred during the Trump administration but went unknown to the public.

Chinese government surveillance balloons transited the continental United States briefly at least three times during the prior administration, a senior Defense Department spokesman told reporters during a background briefing on Saturday.

A host of former senior Trump administration officials immediately pushed back on the claim, insisting they are unaware of any Chinese incursions into U.S. airspace occurring under President Trump.

I unequivocally can tell you I was not made aware of any flights over U.S. territory, nor was my staff, including those who were at the National Security Council all four years of the Trump administration, Robert OBrien, Trumps national security adviser between 2019 and 2021 told the Washington Examiner.

OBriens predecessor, John Bolton, echoed his comments.

I dont know of any balloon flights by any power over the United States during my tenure, and Id never heard of any of that occurring before I joined in 2018. I havent heard of anything that occurred after I left, either. I can say with 100% certainty, not during my tenure, Bolton said during an interview with Fox News.

The pushbacks prompted a clarification from an unnamed Pentagon source who told the Wall Street Journal that evidence of the balloon flights wasnt discovered until Trump left office.

Since the announcement was made, Trump himself, former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, former Defense Secretary Mark Esper, former deputy assistant secretary of defense for East Asia Heino Klinck, former acting Defense Secretary Chris Miller, former acting director of national intelligence Richard Grenell, and former director of national intelligence John Ratcliffe have either rejected the claim outright or expressed skepticism that Beijing could have violated U.S. airspace without their knowledge.

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I cant rule out that things occurred that I was unaware of, but I do think something like this, I would have been aware of, Klinck told Fox News.

Former defense secretary Esper was similarly careful with his words. I dont ever recall somebody coming into my office or reading anything that the Chinese had a surveillance balloon above the United States, Esper said during an appearance on CNN. I would remember that for sure.

However, Trump, Grenell, Ratcliffe, and Miller remained steadfast that no Chinese surveillance craft breached U.S. airspace under their watch.

It never happened with us under the Trump administration and if it did, we would have shot it down immediately, Trump told Fox News on Sunday. Its disinformation.

It never came up, Grenell told Fox. If a balloon had come up, we would have known. Someone in the intelligence community would have known, and it would have bubbled up to me to brief the president.

Its not true. I can refute it, Ratcliffe said on Sunday Morning Futures. The American people can refute it for themselves. Do you remember during the Trump administration when photographers on the ground and commercial airline pilots were talking about a spy balloon over the United States that people could look up and see, even with the naked eye, and that a media that hated Donald Trump wasnt reporting?

Never heard a whisper, and I have to think if anything like that happened that would have been a huge issue, Miller told Fox News. No. Absolutely never heard of anything like that while I was in government or at the Pentagon.

Several Republican lawmakers cast the claim that a similar incident occurred under Trump as an attempt to distract Americans from the Biden administrations mishandling of the situation.

This administration didnt just fail here. They failed to prepare after the first time this happened during this administration, chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, Mike Turner (R., Ohio), told Meet the Press. President Biden allowed this to go across our most sensitive sites, Turned added.

During a Sunday interview with CNNs Jake Tapper, Senator Marco Rubio allowed that Chinese balloons may have entered U.S. airspace previously, but insisted that there was no comparison between those events and the recent incursion, due to the sensitive sites the most recent balloon was allowed to surveil.

Have we seen the Chinese fly these balloons in the past? Yes, Rubio began. What weve never seen, what is unprecedented and whoever the source is at the Department of Defense would have to acknowledge this, what is unprecedented is a balloon flight that entered over Idaho, over Montana, over all these sensitive military installations, Air Force bases, ICBM fields, right across the middle of the country, that has never happened before, thats unprecedented.

More from National Review
A powerful 7.8 magnitude earthquake hit southeast Turkey and Syria early on Monday, toppling buildings and leaving at more than 600 dead  with the toll expected to rise.

The quake, centred close to the southeastern city of Gaziantep, about 90km from the Syrian border, left a huge trail of destruction in both countries and was felt as far away as Cairo. It led Italy to issue a potential tsuanmi alert.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Twitter that search and rescue teams were immediately dispatched to the areas hit by the quake. More than 280 people have been killed in the country, with more than 2,300 injured.

We hope that we will get through this disaster together as soon as possible and with the least damage, Mr Erdogan wrote.

On the Syrian side of the border, the quake smashed opposition-held regions in the northwest, with rescuers saying 147 people had died. A government health official said more than 237 people had been killed and about 600 injured in government-held areas, most in the provinces of Hama, Aleppo and Latakia.

Key Points

Strong 7.8 magnitude earthquake hits Turkey

Death toll climbs up to 500 in Turkey and Syria

At least 130 buildings tumbled down in Turkey's Malatya province, says governor

Situation in Syria 'disastrous' with many trapped in rubble, officials say

'Hope that we will get through this disaster together,' says Erdogan

Map of Turkey shows where massive 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck

08:23 , Stuti Mishra

A 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck Turkey at 4.17am local time on Monday in the southeastern area near the Syrian border, according to the US Geological Survey.

The map shows the epicentre of the quake was near the city of Gaziantep at a depth of 17.9km, impacting around seven provinces in Turkey and a large area in northern Syria.

More details:

Map of Turkey shows where massive 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck

At least 147 dead in Syria's opposition controlled areas as rescuers urge international help

09:55 , Chris Stevenson

Story continues

An opposition emergency organisation in Syria called The White Helmets said on Twitter that 147 people had died and more than 340 were injured in Syria in areas where it operates because of the earthquake that struck Turkey.

The toll may increase as many families are still trapped, it wrote. Our teams are on the ground searching for survivors and removing the dead from the rubble.

The #earthquake in NW #Syria has claimed 147 lives & injured over 340. The toll may increase as many families are still trapped. Our teams are on the ground searching for survivors & removing the dead from the rubble. pic.twitter.com/vQhYZAiGRM  The White Helmets (@SyriaCivilDef) February 6, 2023

In a video shared by the organisation, a rescuer can be heard urging for help as he says the death toll can rise to thousands.

Its a very difficult test for us, we need help, he says. We need international community to do something.

NW #Syria in a state of catastrophe after 7.8 magnitude #earthquake. Destruction, devastation, and collapse of buildings. Hundreds of injuries, dozens of deaths, many trapped under the rubble or stranded in the winter cold. We call on the international community to take action. pic.twitter.com/rtzqRJa8IP  The White Helmets (@SyriaCivilDef) February 6, 2023

Akkuyu nuclear power plant

09:49 , Chris Stevenson

Turkeys Akkuyu nuclear power plant, which is currently under construction, was not damaged by the earthquake, an official from the Russian company building the plant has said.

Earth tremors of about magnitude 3 were felt here  but our specialists have not revealed any damage to building structures, cranes and equipment, Anastasia Zoteeva from Russias state nuclear energy company Rosatom, told Reuters.

Turkish military sets up air aid corridor to reach earthquake zone

09:40 , Stuti Mishra

The Turkish armed forces have set up an air corridor to enable search and rescue teams to reach the zone affected by the major earthquake in southern Turkey, the countrys defence ministry has said.

We mobilised our planes to send medical teams, search and rescue teams and their vehicles to the earthquake zone, the statement cited defence minister Hulusi Akar as saying.

More than 600 now confirmed dead

09:28 , Stuti Mishra

More than 600 people have been confirmed dead as officials continue to update the tally after the devastating earthquake hit Turkey and Syria this morning.

With hundreds injured, the death toll of 641 is expected to rise as rescue workers search through rubble in cities and towns across the area.

Turkey's Iskenderun port damaged, says maritime authority

09:20 , Stuti Mishra

Turkeys maritime authority said today that the Iskenderun port located in the southern Turkish province of Hatay is damaged due to the major earthquake.

Following its damage inspections, the authority said on Twitter that operations continue in ports besides Iskenderun.

No damage to Akkuyu nuclear power plant, says Russian news agency

09:11 , Stuti Mishra

No damage has been reported to the under-construction Akkuyu nuclear power plant in Turkey, RIA has reported quoting Rosatom.

Earlier checks were being carried out at the construction site.

'UK stands ready to help,' says Rishi Sunak

08:59 , Stuti Mishra

The British prime minister Rishi Sunak has said that the UK is ready to offer assistance in the aftermath of the earthquake that has killed over 500 people in Turkey and Syria.

"My thoughts are with the people of Turkey and Syria this morning, particularly with those first responders working so valiantly to save those trapped by the earthquake" he tweeted.

"The UK stands ready to help in whatever way we can."

My thoughts are with the people of Turkiye and Syria this morning, particularly with those first responders working so valiantly to save those trapped by the earthquake.



The UK stands ready to help in whatever way we can.  Rishi Sunak (@RishiSunak) February 6, 2023

More pictures show rescuers scrambling through mountains debris

08:46 , Stuti Mishra

Members of the Syrian civil defence, known as the White Helmets search for survivors under the rubble following an earthquake in the town of Zardana in the countryside of the northwestern Syrian Idlib province (AFP via Getty Images)

Rescue workers conduct search and rescue operations after a 7.4 magnitude hits Sanliurfa, Turkiye (Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

10-year-old rescued under rubble of 10-storey-building after a 7.4 magnitude earthquake hit Osmaniye, Turkiye (Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

A cat rescued under rubble in Turkiyes Diyarbakir (Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

An aerial view of debris of a collapsed building after 7.4 magnitude earthquake hits Sanliurfa, Turkiye (Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

Turkey issues state-wise figures for deaths reported so far

07:59 , Stuti Mishra

Announcing that the death toll has risen to 284 from the earthquake, the country's vice president Fuat Oktay has issued state-wise figures speaking at a news conference a while ago.

Mr Oktay said 70 people were killed in the province of Kahramanmaras, where the quake epicentre was located, along with 20 people in Osmaniye, 18 in Sanliurfa, 14 in Diyarbakir and 13 in Adiyaman.

Officials were in the process of identifying more victims as rescuers continue to scramble through mountains of debris in seven impacted provinces.

The earthquake has left 2,323 people injured with the death toll feared to rise further

No damage to Russian military facilities, says Moscow

07:57 , Stuti Mishra

Russias defence ministry said that its military facilities had not been damaged by the major earthquake that struck central Turkey and northwest Syria, Reuters reports.

Russia, which is closely allied with the Syrian government led by President Bashar al-Assad, maintains a significant military presence in the country.

Death toll in Turkey-Syria earthquake now stands at 500

07:39 , Stuti Mishra

Turkey's vice president Fuat Oktay said 284 people had been killed and 2,323 people were injured in the country, as authorities scrambled rescue teams and supply aircraft to the affected area, while declaring a "level 4 alarm" that calls for international assistance.

In Syria, a government health official said more than 237 people had been killed and some 600 injured, most in the provinces of Hama, Aleppo and Latakia, already devastated by more than 11 years of civil war, where numerous buildings tumbled down.

In the Syrian rebel-held northwest, a rescue service said dozens had been killed.

The toll now stands at at least 500 confirmed deaths with fears the number of casualties can rise further.

Live: View from Diyarbakir after 7.8 magnitude earthquake hits Turkey

07:30 , Stuti Mishra

Italy withdraws tsunami warning after Turkey, Syria earthquake

07:15 , Stuti Mishra

Italian authorities said on Monday they had withdrawn a tsunami warning for the countrys southern coast that was raised after a major earthquake struck central Turkey and northwest Syria, killing hundreds of people.

Italys Civil Protection Department had issued a statement recommending people to move away from coastal areas but later reduced the alert and tweeted that it had been withdrawn.

Train traffic in the southern regions of Sicily, Calabria and Apulia had been temporarily halted as a precaution but resumed in the morning, the agency said in the statement.

No damage detected to oil pipelines, says Turkish energy company

07:05 , Stuti Mishra

Turkish energy company Botas has denied any damage has been detected to an oil pipeline after earthquake.

A video was circulating on social media with the claim that a gas Pipeline near the City of KahramanmaraA in Southern Turkey has exploded and is burning out of control.

The company said gas supplies had been halted in some areas due to precautionary reasons.

Death toll climbs up to 300

06:54 , Stuti Mishra

Turkey's disaster agency said 76 people had been killed, and 440 hurt, as authorities scrambled rescue teams and supply aircraft to the affected area, while declaring a "level 4 alarm" that calls for international assistance.

A Syrian health official said more than 230 people had been killed and some 600 injured there, most in the provinces of Hama, Aleppo and Latakia, where numerous buildings tumbled down.

The death toll is now over 300 with fears that it could go further up.

Tsunami alert issued in Italy after Turkey earthquake

06:34 , Stuti Mishra

Italian authorities have issued a tsunami alert after a massive earthquake struck Turkey, early today morning.

In a tweet, an authority warned residents to stay away from coasts and to follow instructions issued by local government bodies.

 ALLERTA POSSIBILE #MAREMOTO SULLE COSTE ITALIANE in seguito all'evento sismico in #Turchia. Si raccomanda di allontanarsi dalla costa e di seguire le indicazioni delle autorita locali

[Aggiornamento #6febbraio ore 3:15] https://t.co/N6XMaK9TQz  Dipartimento Protezione Civile (@DPCgov) February 6, 2023

Death toll reaches almost 200 in Turkey and Syria after 'devastating earthquake'

05:53 , Stuti Mishra

Turkeys disaster and emergency management agency said the 7.8 magnitude earthquake has killed at least 76 people in seven Turkish provinces with 440 people left injured.

The news was announced as rescuers scrambled in areas across southeast Turkey for the last two hours to search for people trapped in toppled apartment blocks and other buildings.

Suleyman Soylu, the Turkish interior minister, called the shock a devastating earthquake and said the armed forces were assisting civilian agencies in the rescue effort.

Meanwhile, the death toll in government-held areas of Syria from Mondays quake climbed to 99, according to Syrian state media citing the health ministry. In addition, at least 334 people were injured in Syria. Earlier, 20 people were reported killed in rebel-held areas of Syria.

This raises the overall death toll to 195 in Turkey and Syria.

In pictures: Major earthquake reduces buildings to rubble in Turkey and Syria

05:43 , Stuti Mishra

A view of destroyed building after a 7.4 magnitude earthquake hit southern provinces of Turkiye (Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

A woman is rescued from the wreckage of a building during ongoing search and rescue efforts (Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

Turkish emergency personnel and others try to help victims at the site of a collapsed building (EPA)

Total 42 aftershocks felt in two hours since earthquake, Turkey's disaster ministry says

05:21 , Stuti Mishra

According to Turkeys ministry of interior disaster and emergency management, a total of 42 aftershocks have been felt in the two hours since the quake first struck at 4.17am local time.

As of 6:30am, a total of 42 aftershocks, the largest of which was 6.6, were experienced, the ministry said in a tweet in Turkish.

Kahramanmaras ilimizin Pazarck ilcesinde meydana gelen 7,4 buyuklugundeki #deprem sonrasnda; saat 06.30 itibaryla en buyugu 6,6 olmak uzere toplam 42 artc sarsnt yasanmstr.  AFAD (@AFADBaskanlik) February 6, 2023

Death toll rises to 76 in Turkey

05:19 , Stuti Mishra

Turkeys disaster management agency has revised the death toll to 76 as rescuers find hundreds trapped under the rubble with casualty figures feared to increase further.

The latest figures released by Turkeys disaster agency at least 440 people been injured, as the death toll continues to climb.

AFAD, merkezi Kahramanmaras'n Pazarck ilcesi olan 7,4 buyuklugundeki depremde saat 06.30 itibaryla 7 ilde 76 kisinin yasamn yitirdigini, 440 kisinin yaralandgn acklad. pic.twitter.com/QKc6cgJYe5  ANADOLU AJANSI (@anadoluajansi) February 6, 2023

Situation in Syria 'disastrous' with many trapped in rubble, officials say

05:02 , Stuti Mishra

Major damage has been reported in interior regions of northern Syria, which includes opposition-ruled states, a fragile infrastructure and a vulnerable population of millions of people internally displaced by war.

The opposition's Syrian Civil Defense described the situation in the rebel-held region as "disastrous" adding that entire buildings have collapsed and people are trapped under the rubble.

The civil defence urged people to evacuate buildings to gather in open areas.

Emergency rooms were full of injured, said Amjad Rass, president of the Syrian American Medical Society.

At least 11 were killed in one town, Atmed, and many more were buried in the rubble, a doctor in the town, Muheeb Qaddour, told The Associated Press by telephone.

"We fear that the deaths are in the hundreds, Mr Qaddour said, referring to the rebel-held northwest. We are under extreme pressure.

At least 130 buildings tumbled down in Turkey's Malatya province, says governor

05:02 , Stuti Mishra

At least 130 buildings tumbled down in Turkey's Malatya province, neighbouring the epicentre, governor Hulusi Sahin said.

In the Turkish city of Diyarbakir, at least 15 buildings collapsed.

Rescue teams called for silence as they listed for survivors in a toppled 11-story building.

There were at least 6 aftershocks, and Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu urged people not to enter damaged buildings due to the risks.

"Our priority is to bring out people trapped under ruined buildings and to transfer them to hospitals," he said.

A collapsed building is seen following an earthquake in Pazarcik, in Kahramanmaras province, southern Turkey (AP)

'Hope that we will get through this disaster together,' says Erdogan

04:57 , Stuti Mishra

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Twitter that search and rescue teams were immediately dispatched to the areas hit by the quake.

We hope that we will get through this disaster together as soon as possible and with the least damage, he wrote.

Biz de yasanan deprem sonras baslatlan calsmalar koordine ediyoruz. Yasadgmz bu felaketi insallah hep birlikte en ksa surede ve en az hasarla atlatmay temenni ediyor, calsmalarmz surduruyoruz.  Recep Tayyip Erdogan (@RTErdogan) February 6, 2023

Turkey and Syria quake deaths cross 100

04:46 , Stuti Mishra

A Syrian health official says the death toll in Syria from Turkeys earthquake is now at 62 as the death in Turkey rose to 38.

Syrias assistance health minister said 42 people were killed in government-held areas of the country in todays earthquake. At least 20 other people were killed in the rebel-held northwest raising the death toll in war-torn Syria to 62.

Assistant Health Minister Ahmad Dumeira told state news agency that 200 people were also injured by the quake in the provinces of Aleppo, Hama and Latakia.

The government of Malatya province in Turkey meanwhile reported 23 deaths there, bringing overall death toll in Turkey 38.

Strong 7.9 magnitude earthquake hits Turkey

04:44 , Stuti Mishra

A strong 7.8 magnitude earthquake hit Turkey early today, toppling buildings, leaving hundreds injured wth death toll expected to rise.

The quake struck 23km east of Nurdagi, Gaziantep province at a depth of 24.1km, the United States Geological Survey (USGS) said. Nurdagi is located along the Turkey-Syria border.

The quake was felt in several countries across the region, including Syria and Lebanon and as far as Cairo.

Video shared on social media show panicked residents pouring outside in a cold winter night on the darkened streets amid the chaos. Rescue workers can be seen conducting search-and-rescue operations by flashlight.

A 7.8 magnitude earthquake shook central Turkey early Monday and was followed by a strong aftershock (AP)

04:24 , Stuti Mishra

Good morning! Welcome to The Independents live coverage of the earthquake that hit Turkey early on Monday. Well be bringing you all the latest developments as they unfold.
Turning 100, Santa Claras Leavey School Of Business Looks To Future

Students work at Leavey School of Business at Santa Clara University. Courtesy photo

For Santa Clara Universitys Leavey School of Business, 2023 will be a year of milestones.

The school is celebrating its 100th anniversary with plans to invite Leavey legends and alumni back to campus throughout the year. The school was founded in 1923, almost 40 years before the first women were admitted to SCU which was previously an all-mens university in the Jesuit tradition.

Its reimaging Lucas Hall, kicking off a renovation of its 86,000-square-foot home to create more space for collaboration and cross-functional teams.

And this spring, it will also launch its first strategic plan since Dean Ed Grier took the reins in summer 2021. Leavey PLUS  Partnerships, Leadership, Unifying Purpose, and Sustainability  outlines the areas of investment the school will prioritize as it steps into a constantly evolving future.

Its an acronym that really means something, Grier tells Poets&Quants. People are energized by it. They can find a place in any lane, and each one of those lanes has cross segments between all the rest. Theres a lot more work to be done, but we feel really good about the launch of this initiative.

Work on the plan started last spring, on the heels of the COVID-19 pandemic. Students, faculty, advisory board members, and alumni all weighed in, trying to define Leaveys strengths, values, and aspirations for the future.

LEAVEY PLUS

Leavey is one of three prominent business schools in Silicon Valley, sharing the vaulted space with two entrepreneurial powerhouses: Stanford Graduate School of Business and UC-Berkeley Haas School of Business. Those programs ranked Nos. 1 and 9, respectively, in the Poets&Quants 2022 ranking of top MBA programs.

Sometimes referred to as the valleys hidden gem, Leavey is ready for the limelight. It offers seven different business majors and eight minors to about 500 new undergraduates per year. While it doesnt offer a full-time MBA program, it does have online, part-time, STEM, and Executive MBA degrees, as well as several specialized masters degrees. It also serves nearly 2,000 professionals through its executive education portfolio each year.

Story continues

Most recently, U.S. News & World Report ranked it No. 13th in executive education, and No. 19 in part-time MBAs (its highest ever placement). It ranked third in P&Qs ranking of online MBAs, and 25th in our ranking of the best undergraduate programs.

Ahead of the official launch of Leavey PLUS, we spoke with dean Grier in more detail about the aspirational plan and his vision for the future. Our conversation has been edited for length and clarity.

What are some of the initiatives that have you most excited?

You know, thats like asking whos your favorite child? I would say I get excited about all of it. PLUS is an easy acronym to remember, but its really targeted on who we are and who we want to be in the future.

The partnership piece, you may think, Okay. Every school has partnerships. Certainly we do, but were in a strategic location here in Silicon Valley. Many of our alumni stay close to us. We just want to really leverage the partnerships that we have here for a number of reasons: for scholarships, projects for students, projects for our faculty members, and also just adding to this ecosystem that we have here.

We do it well right now. For example, each one of our departments have advisory board members. Its a great asset to have because it helps on the curriculum, it helps on fundraising, but most importantly, it helps on the connectivity of our students here and in future.

What are the goalposts for partnerships? How will you measure success?

Heres an easy one: What percent of your students have internships? Not only one but multiple internships? What percent of your students are employed three or four months after graduating? How robust are your advisory boards? Have they helped you in changing and staying current with the curriculum? Are you really a well known entity in Silicon Valley? Are we the go to place for leaders for big, small, and in between companies? Thats when well know were there.

These are the types of metrics were formulating now as the plan develops. The task we have now is, whos going to own each one of those?

What about leadership? What are you trying to achieve there?

I will say were all influenced by leadership. You know, I was in the corporate world before here, and I was always amazed at the power of the leaders that I had  good, bad, and indifferent.

Turning 100, Santa Claras Leavey School Of Business Looks To Future

Leavey School of Business dean Ed Grier stands in front of Lucas Hall. Courtesy photo

Certainly the core elements of leadership are there. They want to have high integrity, be inspirational for the people that work for them. People look for that, and that has not changed.

What has changed now is were in a rapidly changing environment  culture is changing, workforces are more diverse, you have to be spot on and everything all at once, all those things. Most importantly, you have to be nimble about it. So thats what we have to do.

The other thing we have on our side, too, is what type of leaders are going to be important? The ones that are going to have a positive impact like they get when they come through our program. Thats what we really want to put our stamp on.

And we have a great start with that. You know, some of the best leadership professors are here, Barry Posner for one. His book (The Leadership Challenge) has sold something like 3 million copies already. Were really gonna lean on professors who are here from that standpoint. A leadership center is in the offing as well.

This will be something I think we will be known for. Students that come here, what is their leadership experience? They wont be leaders immediately when they step out, but theyll know what to look for in great leaders, what traits they can aspire to, and thats what we want to do from a leadership standpoint.

And what about unifying purpose?

Our unifying purpose has three main pillars: First, we want to rethink Lucas Hall. It is about 20 years old, so I think we can create something that will actually draw people back post Covid in more of a collaboration space. Collaboration is going to be important because thats part of unity, too. We want cross disciplinary activity. If youve been in the marketplace, businesses always tell you now that youre going to work with different people. The best ideas, the best products, the best outcomes come from cross functional teams, so we have to create a space for that cross collaboration.

The other part thats important to me is we want to be an international Nexus. We should have a global footprint. Were somewhat there.

Im a little biased here. I lived in Paris with my family. I lived in Tokyo, a little bit in Hong Kong. I think the international experience changed me, and I think we want to be a thought leader from an international standpoint. Now COVID is gone. we hope, so this could be a big coming out party for us. We just havent taken advantage of that in the way we could have in the past.

So what are the plans for Lucas Hall?

Weve hired an architect to really help us on it, and theyve worked with some of the big players here locally  Google, Facebook, the University of Oregon. So we said, heres who we are, come down and give us some ideas. We had the first walk through on January 31, and were pretty excited about that.

Turning 100, Santa Claras Leavey School Of Business Looks To Future

Lucas Hall at SCU Leavey School of Business.

And what about sustainability? Thats obviously a hot topic right now.

Yes, its a hot topic, but were going to approach it in maybe a different way. Certainly attacking things like climate change could be part of it, but our approach is, how are we creating a sustainable mindset from a leadership standpoint? What impact can our students have on the globe?

We use the UN sustainability goals as a guideline. So thats a broad based approach. From an accreditation standpoint, AACSBs new accreditation standard looks at what business schools are doing to impact their communities. Certainly from a sustainability standpoint, theres a component there for diversity, equity inclusion, that we really are going to focus on in a big way. The university has done a wonderful job from a diversity standpoint, but we know we can do better. We have to make sure our students understand the diverse world theyre going into.

And with ESG out there in a big, big way  sometimes it gets buried, sometimes it comes back; sometimes its positive, sometimes negative  our students just have to understand that marketplace. Whether its through investments, or theyre going to work with a public company, or whatever, they have to understand the language. We have some great partners already lined up, our faculty are pretty excited, and our students are excited about it.

Do you find students are demanding more ESG courses or lessons?

It comes from different points of view from the students. If theres a world event, then they kind of get excited about it. But from the Universitys perspective, weve talked about the core curriculum for undergraduates, and how that should be infused with sustainability ideas or thoughts. We want to give students an opportunity, if they want to really go down that path of sustainability, to explore what it looks like for them. If they want to enter the nonprofit space, for example, we have the Miller Center that really focuses on impactful social entrepreneurship.

They certainly want to talk about it, and we need to lead that. Our finance professors and our econ professors are all in. Were going to produce a number of courses really focused on ESG. From a more technical aspect, we want students to know just how the reporting requirements have changed for companies. Its changed dramatically.

Turning 100, Santa Claras Leavey School Of Business Looks To Future

Leavey students work on a project.

You previously said that the qualities that make up a great business leader are not what they used to be. What do you mean?

Some of those core tenants are the same: integrity, honesty, inspiring people, that has not changed. I think what has changed is, and COVID was a big part of that, expectations of your employees are totally different. Expectations of your clients or customers are different. How you can make sure that youre staying attuned to that is very important because you can lose it quickly.

I do think thats whats going to be important. It has to be nimble. Be prepared for change all the time. A lot of turnovers happen, and all those things have been quite shocking for a lot of folks if you dont react to it. But I also think from our standpoint, it gives us an opportunity to say, Okay, this is what you have to prepare yourself for, not for whats there today. Think about how we prepare you to be nimble, to take on change, to be able to accept things that are nebulous.

Where youre located, there are a couple of big name business school brands all holding onto the Silicon Valley mantle. What sets Leavey students apart?

Well, weve been here since 1851. What makes us distinctive is that we have alumni that stay here. And so when you think about students that are part of us, they are here. So, if you asked whats the leadership in those big companies in the valley? I mean we dont own it, but we have a big slice of it.

We love having those schools around us, they are great schools. I think it adds to the stake of being here.

One other thing, we have been a Jesuit institution since 1851. Those values  a just, more sustainable world  you can say theyre very lofty. But its important for us, and this leads back to our leadership challenge too  to ask: What type of leaders do we want to have go through our system here? And we really lean on those values as a kind of standard bearer for us. That makes a difference for us, and I dont know how many other schools can say that.

Tell us about your centennial year. How are you going to mark 100 years of the Leavey School of Business?

It is a big milestone, so we want to really increase the awareness. It speaks about the legacy of the Leavey School of Business and it speaks to the longevity and the strength of who we are in the valley. So therell be a number of things.

One were going to produce a tabletop book that takes you from day one, 1923, before women were admitted, to now. Were going to have celebrations throughout the year, bringing back legends to talk about their time when they were here. Were going to have a gala event.

I think the students are excited about it. This is a great place to stay, but this year is really special. What a great time to study. Well have alumni events to come back and talk about Leavey as well. Its a really great opportunity to talk about the longevity of Levy, whats to come, and how were really preparing for the next century.

Anything else youd like to add?

I just think that the plan is ambitious, as youll see when we get all the components to it. Its been a big collaboration from all elements, from our students, our faculty, our alumni, our advisory board members. Believe it or not, when we asked for big ideas, theyre still coming. Culturally, its been embraced. Its not that broad, what were talking about is really distinct.

Under those banners, people can really grab onto something and say, This is for me. This is my plan. Thats whats important to me.

Now we want to make sure that we have the right folks in place that are going to own those components. Thats the real work to be honest. These are great ideas, but who will own them and making sure that we hit the deadlines is equally as important. For example, when we say 100% of students get that internship, what needs to happen? We have to have great mentorships, we have to have great connections. So were setting those platforms in place so when those goals roll up, one quarter, two quarters down the road, we know this work is productive.

DONT MISS: GO VIRAL, GET AN A: CONTENT MARKETING COURSE PUTS GEN ZS TIKTOK SKILLS TO THE TEST and STANFORD MBAS SEEK TO QUANTIFY IMPACT OF CLIMATE CAREERS

The post Turning 100, Santa Claras Leavey School Looks To The Future appeared first on Poets&Quants.
Nalah T. Jackson, 24, was arraigned Monday in Franklin County Common Pleas Court on two felony charges  theft and receiving stolen property  in connection with a Dec. 2 incident involving two stolen vehicles that was unrelated to the alleged theft of a vehicle and kidnapping of twin boys Dec. 19.

A Columbus woman accused of stealing a running car with twin infant boys during the week before Christmas appeared via teleconference in Franklin County Common Pleas Court Monday on unrelated charges for allegedly stealing two other vehicles earlier in December and crashing them.

Nalah T. Jackson, 24, appeared on a screen from Franklin County jail. A grand jury indicted Jackson a little over a week ago on two felony charges  theft and receiving stolen property  related to a Dec. 2 incident. She pleaded not guilty.

Franklin County Common Pleas Magistrate Elizabeta Saken set Jackson's bond Monday at $25,000 surety or $2,000 recognizance bond. Saken also prohibited Jackson from driving a vehicle if she got out on bond while her county case is pending.

However, all that is moot for now at least because a U.S. District Court magistrate in Columbus previously ordered Jackson held pending her trial in federal court on two charges of kidnapping a minor for the abduction of twin infant boys.

In the Dec. 2 incident, according to the Franklin County Prosecutor's office, Jackson crashed a stolen vehicle near the intersection of Bridge Street and Frantz Road in Dublin. A woman got out of her vehicle to help Jackson, who then got in the woman's vehicle and drove off, police said.

Past reporting:Kidnapping suspect charged with stealing other vehicles before car with infant twins

Jackson only made it a short distance, however, before driving through a red light and causing another accident in the second stolen vehicle, according to the prosecutor's office.

Jackson is scheduled to face a jury trial in federal court on March 20 in Columbus. If convicted, she faces 20 years to life in prison on each of the two kidnapping counts.

The federal charges are from Dec. 19 when Columbus police charge that Jackson stole a running 2010 Honda from outside a Donatos Pizza in the Short North with infant twin boys Ky'air and Kason Thomas inside as their mother ran inside the pizza shop to get a Door Dash order for delivery.

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Related:Report: Columbus police miscommunication led to AMBER Alert delay in twins kidnapping

Ky'air was recovered the following morning in the parking lot of the Dayton International Airport. Kason was recovered Dec. 22 in his mother's car in the parking lot of an Indianapolis pizza shop, hours after Jackson had been arrested by police there, thanks to the efforts of two women cousins who alerted them.

Ky'air died from unrelated circumstances on Jan. 29, with family reporting he stopped breathing at his home before he was transported to Nationwide Children's Hospital where he was later pronounced dead. Columbus police are investigating the infant's death.

jlaird@dispatch.com

@LairdWrites

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Nalah Jackson, twins kidnapping suspect, in court on unrelated charges
Photograph: Fred Thornhill/AP

Up a winding northern California highway, beneath a 120ft ponderosa pine tree, a group of environmentalists gathered for some high stakes bird-watching.

Everyone was waiting for a pair of bald eagles to swoop into their nest, an orb of twigs and branches balanced amid the trees scraggly branches. The elusive raptors have nested here for years, renovating and upgrading it each year in preparation for hatchlings in the spring.

Related: Deforestation piles pressure on South Americas elusive Chacoan peccary

But this year, unless the eagles  who spend the fall and winter months away from their nests  were observed back at their tree by mid-January, theyd lose it.

Thats because Pacific Gas & Electric, the largest utility company in the US, had obtained a permit to chop down the ageing pine, arguing that it could fall on the companys nearby power line and spark a catastrophic wildfire. Environmentalists and the Coyote Valley Band of Pomo Indians countered that PG&E  which is facing increasing pressure to stop its equipment from starting fires across the state  should move their power lines instead.

Lawyers for the tribe beseeched the utility company to reconsider. Locals printed up signs to save the nest. In recent weeks, activists and tribal elders protested, prayed and physically barricaded themselves in front of the tree as PG&E crews came  alongside sheriffs deputies  to cut it down.

They had their cherry picker and their wood chipper ready, said Polly Girvin, an environmental and Indigenous rights activist. But we werent going to back down.

Now, armed with binoculars and cell phones on a misty January morning, they were on watch. Bald eagles are protected under state and federal laws, and PG&E could only take down the tree so long as the nest was unoccupied or abandoned. We need to keep proving that this is an active nest, explained Girvin.

The eagles did come that day, arriving just as a thick rain began to roll in. A few days later, PG&E said it would back down.

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But the showdown over this lone tree, near an electrical line that serves just a single property, has raised difficult questions about PG&Es approach to fire safety and its fraught relationship with the communities it serves, many of whom live in rural, wildland areas.

The company is under growing legal and financial pressure to act after its power lines have been blamed for sparking multiple fires, including a deadly 2020 fire in northern Shasta county. Last year, it reached a $55m settlement with six counties over several other fires, including the Kincade fire and Dixie fire.

As PG&E rushes to trim trees and remove brush near its power lines to avert future catastrophes  and avoid liability  environmentalists worry that local nuances are being overlooked.

PG&E says that the tree is dangerous, its a hazard  but thats not right. Its their lines that are the hazard, said Naomi Wagner, a local activist with the environmental group Earth First!. So why is it the tree that needs to go?

***

During their recent bald eagle watch party, Wagner, Girvin and half a dozen other activists settled around to a small campfire that fizzled in the rain. Old-time environmentalists whod been agitating since the 1960s were joined by their kids, grandkids and dogs. Coffee, muffins and binoculars were passed all around, along with warnings not to squeal or shout to avoid startling the eagles.

Priscilla Hunter, the former Coyote Valley chair squinted up and shifted closer to the fire. Its a miracle that they are here, she said. Michael Hunter, the tribes current chair, jumped up. Hey, birds, where are you at?

Activists and tribal leaders, to whom the eagle holds cultural significance, have alleged that the power company and US Fish and Wildlife Service failed to properly inform and consult with the tribe in deciding to remove the tree, which could remain standing and serve as a habitat for this eagle couple, or their offspring, for years to come.

And here was a bird that was not only sacred to Native American tribes, but also a symbol of the United States. And still, crews had come to take down the tree on 9 January  a day before National Save the Eagles Day. I mean how clueless could PG&E be, said Wagner.

Moreover, the owner of the property where the tree stands, as well as the residents who live there, all supported alternative solutions  including rerouting or burying the electric line, or setting up a solar microgrid.

In TV advertisements, PG&E has been promoting its plans to bury 10,000 miles of power lines underground to reduce the risk of them hitting trees, so why not do the same here? I mean, come on, Girvin said. They just want to take the fast and easy route.

Related: Ex-Arizona governors illegal makeshift border wall is torn down  but at what cost?

Meanwhile, PG&E contended in public statements the tree contains an inactive bald eagles nest, is a hazard and is at risk of failing and striking a PG&E line in a high fire-threat area.

Ultimately, the company was proven wrong when eagles finally swooped in. They first arrived as activists and tribal elders sang and prayed beneath the tree, hours before PG&E crews arrived. And they returned each day afterwards. It was magical, said Girvin.

A few days later, PG&E issued a statement saying that it would bury the lines, after all. This solution allows us to protect our hometowns while also taking into account the values of our local tribe, property owners and environmental advocates, said Ron Richardson, vice-president of PG&Es north coast region, in a statement to the Guardian.

It was a hard-won concession  one that the activists will remain wary of until they receive a legally binding commitment to leave the tree standing. Though the company cant take down a tree with nesting eagles, they could return if the eagles leave again. It seems like you just have to expose how inefficient this is, said Hunter, the Coyote Valley band chair.

This was already the second year that PG&E had tried to take down this tree. In 2022, as well, the eagle couple returned to their nest just in the nick of time to call off the saws. And they had a baby! said Joseph Seidell, a cannabis farmer who lives on the property and led early protests against PG&Es plans. I mean just look at this, he gestured. This giant pile of beautiful woven twigs holds this beautiful, sacred bird.

In August, the utility company de-energized the overhead electrical line, just in case the tree did end up falling and sparking a blaze, and asked for Seidells agreement that he wouldnt impede crews when they came to take down the tree in the future. It was devastating, he said.

***

The ordeal has left tribal leaders and environmentalists concerned that the utility company  and the government agencies that oversee and permit its fire safety plans  have failed to properly communicate and consult with communities before undertaking work that impacts important wilderness areas.

Although the Fish and Wildlife Service had sent a letter informing Hunter of PG&Es intention to cut down the tree in December, lawyers representing the tribe alleged that authorities didnt wait for a response and didnt give tribal authorities enough time to review the permit over the holiday season.

The agency was unable respond to the Guardians request for comment before publication.

The Fish and Wildlife Service, which has a codified trust responsibility  a binding moral obligation  to tribes, could do more to engage with and consult with tribal governments, said Don Hankins, a pyrogeographer and Plains Miwok fire expert at California State University, Chico.

There clearly needs to be better coordination on these sorts of things, he said. After a two-year fight over one tree, he noted, its unclear why government officials and PG&E didnt coordinate with tribal leaders sooner.

PG&E and the Fish and Wildlife Service do have policies to ensure that they dont impact vulnerable species, Hankins said  but those laws and policies dont always account for the complexities of specific environments.

In Mendocino county, where there is a dark history of logging in the 1800s, which decimated old-growth redwoods and violently displaced some Native villages, a lack of proper communication and care by PG&E and the Fish and Wildlife Service brings an extra sting.

And even now, the Coyote Valley Band of Pomo Indians are involved in a protracted fight to curb commercial logging in the nearby Jackson Demonstration state forest, a nearly 50,000-acre area managed by the California department of forestry and fire prevention, or Cal Fire.

Related: Cute, furry and key to the ecosystem: can sea otters save the US west coast?

And although various government and private operators in this region have made some gestures toward working with local tribes with crucial, generational knowledge about the fragile landscapes here  theyve often failed to meaningfully follow through, Girvin said.

Crews for various agencies have operated willy nilly for years, she said. They havent cared at all about putting skid trails through sacred sites, or thought carefully about habitat protection and the species affected in the area. These incursions can feel especially frustrating when the government for decades ignored, denied and criminalised traditional stewardship practices of tribes up and down California, she noted.

To the settlers, whatever or whoever was in the way of doing business, theyd just cut down, said Priscilla Hunter. Thats what these eagles reminded me of.
A month ago Memphis police officers punched, kicked and pepper-sprayed a 29-year-old Black man in a brutal and, ultimately, fatal beating, video footage shows, all less than 100 yards from the man's family home.

Tyre Nichols' name has been seen across headlines for the last month as more and more information comes forward from that fateful day on Jan. 7 when he came into contact with officers during a traffic stop at Raines and Ross roads at about 8:30 p.m. He died on Jan. 10.

So far, six now former Memphis police officers, five are Black and one is white, have been fired from their jobs. Out of the six, only the five Black former officers face criminal charges in Nichols' death as of Friday, Feb. 3.

The Commercial Appeal has been aggressively coveirng this story from the initial reports of the beating of Nichols to his death, protests, investigations and more. Here's a look at our coverage since Day 1.

Tyre Nichols's beating and death

Family calls for justiceFamily of man who died after MPD traffic stop calls for justice, protests near precinct

Early autopsy results:Tyre Nichols 'suffered extensive bleeding', lawyers say after seeing early autopsy results

What we know:The death of Tyre Nichols

Q&A: Mayor Jim Strickland on Chief CJ Davis' leadership before, after Tyre Nichols' death

Political reaction:President Joe Biden, politicians react after MPD officer indictments in Tyre Nichols case

Tyre Nichols death investigation: Memphis police officers fired, some indicted

Sixth officer fired:Memphis Police Department fires sixth officer in death of Tyre Nichols

Officers previous reprimands:4 officers indicted in Tyre Nichols death had previous reprimands, suspensions by MPD

Memphis FD personnel fired:Three Memphis Fire Department personnel fired for not providing aid to Tyre Nichols

SCORPION unit deactivated:Memphis SCORPION unit tied to Tyre Nichols' beating death 'permanently deactivated'

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"Committed to justice":Memphis Police Association addresses Tyre Nichols, says it is 'committed to justice'

NAACP calls for justice:NAACP Memphis wants all involved in Tyre Nichols' death to be terminated and prosecuted

Charges:What are the charges against 5 former Memphis police officers indicted in Tyre Nichols' death?

Video of Tyre Nichols' stop, community reaction

Video released:Video shows police kicking, pepper spraying, beating Tyre Nichols after traffic stop

Memphis awaits video:Tense Memphis mourns Tyre Nichols, awaits release of video

Legislation reform:Tennessee Democrats to propose police reform legislation following death of Tyre Nichols

A family watches:Attorney for Tyre Nichols family: 'We will see what they did to Tyre'

Police video access:Citizens deserve police video access even if people like Tyre Nichols don't die | Opinion

Full video release:City of Memphis to release full video in Tyre Nichols case, but not yet

Demonstrations after Tyre Nichols' death

Highlight need for reform:Protesters highlighting need for police reform shut down part of Poplar Ave. in Memphis

Opinion:After Tyre Nichols' death, Memphis is looking for new chapter in policing. Start with nonviolence. | Opinion

Justice for Tyre:Justice for Tyre Nichols began at historic pace. US is watching what Memphis does next

Push for change:Tyre Nichols: Memphis activists continue push for more charges against law enforcement

'Memphis wont burn': Tyre Nichols protests voice need for change, not violence | Opinion

Tyre Nichols' funeral service and community remembrance

Funeral service:Tyre Nichols' Memphis funeral: After funeral, renewed calls for police reform legislation

Subdued scene:Subdued scene outside Tyre Nichols' funeral amid cold weather

Rev. Al Sharpton: 'We will continue in Tyre's name to head up to Martin's Mountaintop'

'You were failed that night':Penny Hardaway offers apology to Tyre Nichols

Joyce Orlando is an audience specialist with the South Region Audience Team. She can be reached a jorlando@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Tyre Nichols investigation since day 1: Funeral service, protests, more
MUNCIE, Ind.  A protest movement stemming from a man's fatal beating by police in Memphis, Tennessee, made its way to Muncie on Sunday afternoon.

About a dozen representatives of the Party for Socialism and Liberation gathered outside City Hall, in part to protest the slaying of 29-year-old Tyre Nichols, fatally beaten by Memphis police after a Jan. 7 traffic stop that allegedly stemmed from reckless driving.

Supporters of the Party for Socialism & Liberation rally Sunday afternoon outside Muncie City Hall, protesting police brutality, including the fatal beating in January of Tyre Nichols in Memphis, Tennessee.

Five Memphis officers accused of assaulting Nichols have been fired and charged with second-degree murder, aggravated assault and other crimes.

The protestors in Muncie on Sunday held up signs to motorists driving by on High Street, some of whom responded by honking their vehicles' horns.

"The people demand: End Police Terror," read some signs. Others called for justice for Nichols, with the added message, "Jail killer cops!"

"We are here to bring the fight to Muncie because no one's taken up that space yet here," said Mario Gaona, the emcee at Sunday's event. He said the Party for Socialism and Liberation had engaged in demonstrations across the nation in the wake of Nichols' death,

"We've got about six local organizers who felt compelled to do this," Gaona said, adding that all but one of the participants in Sunday's demonstration were from the Muncie area.

More:Thousands attend Muncie protest, keeping it peaceful

"We're here to show that the working class can lead the charge on this, on our own," he said. "The only answer we have in our country for any problem, nor (non-problem), is the police. And that's what we're here to change."

Sunday's event was decidedly more low key than local protests held in 2020, in the wake of the killing of George Floyd by police in Minneapolis. One Muncie protest that June drew an estimated 2,000 people to the steps of City Hall.

The Floyd killing had racial overtones. Derek Chauvin, the Minneapolis officer convicted of murder and manslaughter in the African American's death, was white.

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The killing of Nichols, who was also Black, has resulted in murder charges against five Black officers.

Gaona maintained the Memphis killing nonetheless had racial overtones.

He said the Party for Socialism and Liberation had issued a statement indicating that "because these police were Black does not hide that police brutality is still a racialized issue."

"We have a long history in this country of co-opting violence," Gaona said.

Like the 2020 protests in Muncie, Sunday's event featured chants by participants.

"No justice, no peace, no racist police," was one of the phrases repeated.

Douglas Walker is a news reporter at The Star Press. Contact him at 765-213-5851 or at dwalker@muncie.gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Muncie Star Press: Muncie protestors target Memphis police killing
A panel of federal judges last month upheld a lower court decision to dismiss a defamation lawsuit against the Utica Observer-Dispatch and several members of its newsroom.

The suit was brought by Vladimir Jeanty, who was arrested on drug charges in 2009 and subsequently convicted of fifth-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance and seventh-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance. He served 2 1/2 years in prison.

That conviction, however, was vacated in 2015 after it was found that evidence related to the charges had not been turned over for trial. A motion to dismiss the conviction was filed by Oneida County District Attorney Scott McNamara, who commented on the matter for a story written Aug. 12, 2015, by former O-D reporter Micaela Parker.

In his complaint, Jeanty argued that Parker published the allegedly defamatory statements by the prosecutor concerning the circumstances leading to his arrest and his efforts to get his conviction overturned despite knowing them to be false. The suit also named two of the newspaper's editors as defendants for their role in the story's publication.

Parker's article quotes McNamara referring to Jeanty as a difficult individual, outlining the evidence against him, and disagreeing with Jeantys opinion on the exculpatory nature of the evidence that led to his conviction being dismissed.

A federal district court dismissed Jeanty's defamation claims in 2017 after concluding that the newspaper report of those statements was protected by the fair reporting privilege.

Section 74 of New York's Civil Rights law says that [a] civil action cannot be maintained against any person, firm orcorporation, for the publication of a fair and true report of any judicial proceeding, legislative proceeding, or other official proceeding.

In dismissing the case, the lower court noted that Parker was not required to fact-check the D.A.s official statements, only to provide a fair and true report of them.

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A panel of three judges with the Second Circuit of the U.S. Court of Appeals upheld that ruling in a written decision issued on January 20, 2023.

Michael Grygiel, the attorney representing Gannett and its employees, praised the decision to protect reporters from defamation changes for accurately reporting statements from public officials.

"The Second Circuit's decision affirms the District Court's well-reasoned analysis and application of New York's fair report privilege, which immunizes the press from liability exposure based on the accurate publication of information obtained from official government records and sources," Grygiel said. "That privilege does not require a reporter to present a defamation plaintiff's version of events in order to qualify for the absolute protection it affords."

The Observer-Dispatch was owned by GateHouse Media at the time the suit was filed. GateHouse and Gannett merged in 2019. An editor with the merged company also praised the appellate court's decision.

The Observer-Dispatch is pleased with the appellate court recognizing the newspaper had the right to publish information from law enforcement about this case under New Yorks fair report privilege, said USA TODAY Network New York State Editor Michael Kilian. This privilege is vital for news reporters seeking to cover public safety news in our communities.

Contact reporter Sean Lahman at slahman@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter @seanlahman.

This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Dismissal of defamation suit against Utica newspaper upheld
 Flash

Photo taken on March 2, 2020 shows refugees and migrants coming off a boat after arrival at Skala Sikaminias, in the island of Lesvos, Greece. [Photo/Xinhua]

Three children and a woman died after a boat carrying yet unknown number of refugees and migrants sank off the island of Leros in the Aegean Sea, Greek national news agency AMNA reported on Sunday.

The body of the woman was collected in the sea, the Hellenic Coast Guard said in a statement on Sunday. The three children had been transferred to a local hospital where they died, AMNA reported, citing the local Port Authority.

A total of 39 people were rescued, according to the latest count, and many were of African descent, according to AMNA.

Survivors told authorities there were about 40 people, among them minors and a person with disabilities, on board the dinghy that had set sail from the Turkish coast, a Hellenic Coast Guard statement said.

A search and rescue operation was still underway to locate survivors in a rocky remote part of the island amid bad weather conditions with heavy rainfall, strong wind and low visibility, the Coast Guard said.

Greece has been at the forefront of the refugee and migrant influx since 2015 and hundreds have perished in the Aegean Sea in the past eight years.
By Mark Weinraub

CHICAGO (Reuters) - U.S. farmers are planning to boost corn acreage in 2023, eyeing lower prices of fertilizer needed to grow the crop and hoping for a bumper crop after a late season drought withered last year's grain harvest and left U.S. corn supplies near a decade low.

Plans for the upcoming season were made even as doubts mounted about demand and price gains for soybeans outstripped corn late last year. But early acreage forecasts and interviews with farmers show their faith in the biggest U.S. crop has not waned.

A big crop from the world's largest corn exporter, pared with more modest demand as global economic growth cools, could further ease prices for the staple used in fuel and animal feed that have come down after surging to a 10-year high when Russia invaded major corn producer Ukraine a year ago.

The decline in the cost of key inputs such as fertilizer in the second half of 2022 sparked hopes that corn would be profitable in 2023 even though it typically requires a more-active management style and greater financial investment than the No. 2 U.S. cash crop, soybeans.

"We are going to be heavy corn and probably the heaviest on corn we have been in a long time," said Brandon Hunnicutt, who farms 2,300 acres with his father and brother near Giltner, Nebraska.

The budget for his farm's 2023 crops, devised as the 2022 harvest wound down, calls for about 90% of those acres to be devoted to corn, Hunnicutt said. That compares to about 55% in 2022.

Hunnicutt cited the reliability of corn yields as a key reason to go big on corn in 2023.

"On corn, it is a little more scientific," he said. "Soybeans can kind of be a 'Well, I guess we will spray a fungicide and see if it works.'"

Analysts at S&P Global Commodity Insights forecast U.S. farmers would plant 90.5 million acres of corn in 2023, 2.2% more than the previous year, and a more modest 0.6% increase for soybeans, mirroring other early forecasts.

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DEMAND WANES

U.S. farmers alternate between soybeans and corn in a bid to maintain soil health. After favoring soybeans last year when fertilizer prices spiked, many are set to devote the majority of those fields to corn.

"It would take something pretty monumental to switch a bunch of acres around," said Ohio farmer Scott Metzger.

But the corn bushels might have a hard time finding a home after harvest starts in September.

Since last year's harvest, exporters have booked sales of just 24.038 million tonnes of U.S. corn, down 43% from a year earlier, according to U.S. Agriculture Department data.

In January, the government issued its most recent corn export forecast for the full year: 48.9 million tonnes, which was 19.8% below the initial export projection in May 2022.

On the domestic front, U.S. corn consumption has been pegged at a seven-year low of 304.561 million tonnes in the 2022/23 marketing year, down 4% from a year earlier. That was largely due to weakening demand for feed as the U.S. beef cattle herd fell to its smallest since 1962 and an avian flu outbreak ravaged commercial flocks.

HOPES FOR BETTER CROP

Recent U.S. Agriculture Department data showed that after a drought last August, farmers were forced to abandon the highest percentage of their corn acreage in the past 10 years. This winter's weather has done little to replenish soil moisture the crop will need during the upcoming growing season.

Last year's harvest shortfall left corn supplies at their lowest since 2013 and made farmers hopeful that prices would rally in the coming months.

Illinois farmer Ellen Rahn plans to devote about 75% of the 1,600 acres of her farm to corn. She followed a similar strategy of increasing corn acres after the drought of 2012 wrecked harvest across the Midwest, sending stocks to their lowest in nine years and supporting prices for the 2013 crop.

"We are in a good part of the world ... where we are usually guaranteed decent yields," Rahn said.

(Reporting by Mark Weinraub; Editing by Caroline Stauffer and David Gregorio)
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) said it will not appeal its loss in federal court in its fight to stop Meta Platforms from buying VR content maker Within Unlimited, but could still pursue the case with an internal FTC administrative law judge.

Judge Edward Davila of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California last week declined to stop Meta from acquiring the VR content maker, rejecting the regulator's concerns the deal would reduce competition in a new market.

An FTC official said that no decision had yet been made as to whether the agency would try to stop the deal in a process before an FTC administrative law judge. The hearing for that is set for Feb. 13.

Meta declined to comment on the decision not to appeal last week's ruling in federal court.

The FTC sued Meta in July to stop the Within deal, asking the judge to order a preliminary injunction, saying Meta's "campaign to conquer VR" began in 2014 when it acquired Oculus, a VR headset manufacturer.

Meta did not disclose what it was paying for Within but tech publication the Information put the price at about $400 million.

A December trial to decide if Meta could go forward with the relatively small deal was seen as a test of the FTC's bid to head off what it sees as a repeat of the company acquiring small upcoming would-be rivals to dominate a market, this time in the nascent virtual and augmented reality markets.

The FTC has separately filed an ongoing lawsuit against Meta's Facebook, asking a court in 2020 to force it to sell subsidiaries Instagram and WhatsApp, saying the social media company used a "buy or bury" strategy to snap up rivals and keep smaller competitors at bay.

(Reporting by Diane Bartz; Editing by Aurora Ellis)
By David Morgan

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Republican U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy called on Democratic President Joe Biden to agree to compromises and spending cuts, as the two remain deadlocked over raising the nation's $31.4 trillion debt ceiling.

McCarthy spoke on Monday before Biden is set to give the annual State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress on Tuesday, aiming to get ahead of the president and reinforce his role as the leading congressional negotiator.

The White House has said Biden will discuss federal spending cuts with Republicans, but only after the debt ceiling is lifted, while McCarthy has said Republicans will only lift the ceiling if Biden agrees to spending cuts. While the two sides disagree on the order of the subjects they are tackling, both say they will continue to talk.

"Mr. President, it's time to get to work," said McCarthy, whose Republicans won a narrow majority in the House of Representatives in November's election.

"We must commit to finding common ground on a responsible debt limit increase. Finding compromise is exactly how governing in America is supposed to work, and exactly what the American people voted for just three months ago," McCarthy said.

"Defaulting on our debt is not an option, but neither is a future of higher taxes, higher interest rates and an economy that doesn't work."

House Republicans want to use the debt ceiling, which covers the spending programs and tax cuts Congress previously approved, as leverage to push spending cuts, after two years of Democratic control of the House and the Senate.

Biden on Tuesday is expected to insist that raising the debt limit is not negotiable and U.S. lawmakers should not use it as a "bargaining chip," his top economic adviser Brian Deese said on Monday.

"This bedrock idea that the United States has met all of its financial obligations for its existence as a country isn't something that anybody should be using as a bargaining chip. It's not a negotiable item," Deese said.

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Biden seemed to question McCarthy's ability to keep Republicans in line last week, calling McCarthy "a decent man, I think," but noting the concessions he made to become speaker in January. Those included changing a rule of the chamber to allow any member to call for a vote that would remove him, rather than requiring a majority from either party.

Despite what appears to be a standoff, McCarthy emerged from a meeting with Biden last week saying he believed the two could find common ground.

A day later, McCarthy told reporters that the president had agreed to meet again.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said the White House had been in touch with McCarthy's staff on next steps.

(This story has been corrected to change the headline to specify that McCarthy is seeking a compromise on the debt ceiling, and not debt ceiling cuts)

(Reporting by David Morgan; Additional reporting by Doina Chiacu and Rami Ayyub; Editing by Scott Malone, Jonathan Oatis and Josie Kao)
Cleanup is underway off the coast of Myrtle Beach as U.S. Navy divers recover parts of what military officials have called a Chinese spy surveillance balloon.

We saw it over the Queen City on Saturday morning as it made its way through the Carolinas. Later in the day, it was shot down by an F-22 fighter jet missile about 7 miles off the South Carolina coast.

ATLANTIC OCEAN - @USNavy Sailors assigned to Explosive Ordnance Disposal Group 2 recover a high-altitude surveillance balloon off the coast of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, Feb. 5, 2023. pic.twitter.com/QwjSFQEw1b  U.S. Fleet Forces (@USFleetForces) February 7, 2023

On Monday, Channel 9s Dave Faherty got a look from Chopper 9 Skyzoom at the efforts to find debris that had fallen into the ocean.

The weather Monday gave crews along the South Carolina coast great visibility. Faherty also noticed a lot of people out on the beaches keeping an eye out for possible wreckage.

RELATED: Video shows apparent Chinese surveillance balloon flying over Charlotte area Saturday

Because its part of a federal investigation, there were flight restrictions just off the coast where that search was taking place, but Faherty could see some of the activity. He could clearly see three ships in the search area spread out over a 3-square-mile area. From Chopper 9 Skyzoom, Faherty could see one of those vessels was from the Coast Guard.

Authorities in both Myrtle Beach and North Myrtle Beach were posting on social media about the possibility of some of the debris washing up on shore. They asked anyone who saw debris to call local authorities and urged people not to touch, move, or remove it.

One woman said she is keeping an eye out and knows what shell do.

They said dont touch it, I wont touch it, I dont break those laws, Sally Horn said.

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Would you take a picture? Faherty asked.

I would definitely take a picture, she said.

READ MORE: Chinese spy balloon: Here is a timeline of events

Officials believe debris is scattered over a several-mile-large area of ocean where the water is about 50 feet deep. The search area is about 6 miles off the coast from the Apache pier, just south of North Myrtle Beach.

Both the U.S. Navy and the Coast Guard are involved in recovery efforts. There could be quite a bit of debris -- the size of at least two school buses.

Faherty was told the military planned to use divers and possibly a crane during the recovery.

Lacey Leavitt said she could see the balloon on Saturday as it floated toward the South Carolina coastline. She shared video her husband took seconds after the F-22 fired the sidewinder missile, taking the balloon down.

And were just sitting here watching, and Im video taping. And then all of a sudden, hes just like, Oh my gosh, theyre going straight at it, she said. And then all of a sudden we saw the missile took it and it just popped the balloon.

One couple from Colorado watched some of the search efforts from the Sky Wheel several miles away.

Well there were two ships out on the horizon, pretty stationary. If anything -- theres not a lot of boats out right now -- so if anything, it was probably ships out there looking for the remains of the balloon, Rocky Strassberg said.

(WATCH BELOW: Video shows apparent Chinese surveillance balloon flying over Charlotte area Saturday)
By Trevor Hunnicutt and Nandita Bose

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris is expected to discuss Washington's future support for Ukraine when she travels to a major European security conference in Germany next week, as Russia's invasion nears the one-year mark.

Harris will travel to Munich, Germany, from Feb. 16 to 18 to attend the Munich Security Conference as Ukraine, still waiting on promised longer-range Western missiles and battle tanks, readies itself for a new Russian offensive that could begin next week.

A White House official said Harris will use a speech there to celebrate the courage of the Ukrainian people, reaffirm international support for the country, condemn Russia's actions, reaffirm Washington's mutual defense commitments under NATO and "outline the path forward" on Ukraine.

She will "make clear that this fight is part of something bigger - the defense of international rules and norms and freedom and liberty," according to the official.

Harris will also "meet with foreign leaders and continue our intensive diplomatic engagement with allies and partners regarding the war in Ukraine as well as other regional and global issues," her spokesperson, Kirsten Allen, said.

With U.S. President Joe Biden's support, Harris has tried to carve out a foreign policy niche during the first two years of the administration, meeting foreign leaders at the White House and shoring up relations with non-Chinese nations that border the South China Sea.

The United States has worked to keep up the pressure on Russia through the year, even as Biden's Democratic Party lost control of the House of Representatives following November's midterm elections.

Support for Ukraine has included $29.3 billion worth of pledged security assistance and an unprecedented use of economic sanctions, including an oil price cap, which have severely impacted Moscow.

Russia's finance ministry said vital oil and gas revenues were down 46% from January 2022 because of the discount that Russian crude now trades at on world markets. Russia has nonetheless shrugged off any suggestions that their military operations will shift.

Harris met with and briefed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy at last year's conference, which was held just days before Russia's Feb. 24, 2022, invasion of Ukraine.

(Reporting by Trevor Hunnicutt; Editing by Heather Timmons and Sandra Maler)
By Iain Withers

LONDON (Reuters) - Proposals to reimburse hundreds of millions of pounds to scam victims in Britain are "fundamentally flawed" and are taking too long to come into force, lawmakers said in a report published on Monday.

Banks will have to refund within 48 hours customers tricked into sending money to fraudsters under plans drawn up by watchdog the Payment Systems Regulator (PSR) unveiled in September.

So-called "authorised push payment" scams have become Britain's largest type of payment fraud and cost customers 583 million pounds ($715 million) in 2021.

Lawmakers on Britain's powerful Treasury Select Committee criticised the plans and said mandatory reimbursements should begin this year at the latest, and not as late as 2024.

The PSR's proposal for Pay.UK - which operates Britain's faster payments system - to handle reimbursements would lead to "inherent conflict of interest" as it is guaranteed by the financial services industry, the committee added.

"Putting an industry body in charge of reimbursing scam victims is like asking a fox to guard the henhouse," said Harriett Baldwin, chair of the Treasury committee.

The PSR said it would consider all feedback before publishing its final position in May this year, adding it regulated payment system operators including Pay.UK.

A Pay.UK spokesperson said its bank guarantors did not influence its decision-making. "Our governance model is approved and supervised by the Bank of England and the PSR to ensure our independence," the spokesperson added.

Some of the banks that would be affected by the new rule include HSBC, NatWest, Lloyds, Barclays, Santander UK and Virgin Money.

Lenders have long said they should not pick up the full bill for online fraud and that tech platforms exploited by criminals to lure victims should also pay up.

Bank lobby group UK Finance said a reimbursement model was necessary, but added "we need greater cross-sector action, including shared accountability for fraud prevention and reduction, to help tackle the threat at source."

($1 = 0.8159 pounds)

(Reporting by Iain Withers, Editing by Mark Potter)
Ukrainian military is firing at the Russian invaders

Read also: Time is short for Ukraine and Russia: Who will strike first this February

The publication cited an unnamed official to the Armed Forces that Ukraine received very reliable intelligence about Russias intentions of launching an offensive.

Analysts said that the main efforts will be concentrated in the regions of Kreminna and Lyman in Ukraines largely Russian-occupied Luhansk Oblast, since the occupiers have been gathering large forces in these areas for several weeks. This is due to the order of dictator Vladimir Putin to seize Donbas by March.

This should be taken seriously, said the publications source in the Armed Forces.

These are real mechanized brigades, even if they are less combat-ready than they were at the beginning of the war. They strengthened airborne and naval units. These are not bus drivers and teachers.

Read also: Russia includes occupied territories in its Southern Military District  UK intelligence

On Feb. 5, Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov stated that Ukraine does not rule out a new offensive by Russia in February, but so far, no strike formations have been detected.

Of course, we still expect possible offensives from the Russians, because its February, they like symbolism. Feb. 24 will mark a year since this invasion began, the open stage of the Ukrainian-Russian war, which began in 2014. Therefore, we expect this pressure, he said.

Read also: Russians massing equipment, troops in Mariupol, mayor's adviser says

According to Bloomberg, Russian dictator Vladimir Putin expects that a new offensive by the Russian army in February-March 2023 will allow the occupiers to seize the initiative in the armed forces.

Meanwhile, he is determined to wage war against Ukraine for many years.

Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
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Yuk Sengponleur, tourism attache of the Embassy of Cambodia in China [Photo provided to China.org.cn]

Outbound tourism by Chinese citizens, which had been suspended for nearly three years, has gradually resumed since China optimized its COVID-19 response and entry-exit policies on Jan. 8. More than 2.87 million Chinese traveled abroad during the 2023 Spring Festival, up 120.5% from the same period last year, according to Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning. Southeast Asian countries benefited the most from the surge of Chinese tourists during the festival, data from Chinese travel platform Ctrip showed.

In light of the current situation of the epidemic, China's Ministry of Culture and Tourism announced on Jan. 20 that it would resume outbound group tours for Chinese citizens on a trial basis, starting Feb. 6, with 20 pilot destinations, nearly half of which are in Southeast Asia, including Cambodia.

In an interview with China.org.cn, Yuk Sengponleur, tourism attache of the Embassy of Cambodia in China, expressed his excitement about Cambodia being included in China's first batch of 20 pilot destinations for outbound group travel. He said the return of Chinese tourists during the Spring Festival was an excellent start for Cambodia's tourism industry in 2023.

He noted that China is a large and densely populated country, the world's largest tourism market, and is close to Cambodia. The two countries maintain strong transportation links, including flights, and have established good cooperation and robust diplomatic ties. These factors have laid a solid foundation for constructing a community with a shared future for mankind, making it clear that the Chinese tourism market is a top-priority market for Cambodia. The vast potential of Chinese tourists, as well as Chinese investors, will drive the growth of tourism and boost Cambodia's socioeconomic development.

He also mentioned that Cambodia had been following the World Tourism Organization's guidance and had implemented various strategies and action plans to attract Chinese tourists, such as the "China Ready" strategy, which includes the establishment of a China Ready Center, language and culture training for officials and staff, Chinese-speaking tour guides, measures to attract Chinese investors, infrastructure support, and improved tourism services.

To welcome Chinese tourists, Cambodia has worked to improve seven areas of tourism services, including hotels, restaurants, tour operators, travel agents, resorts, supermarkets and souvenir shops. It has also established five criteria for customer services, including front-line staff who can speak Chinese, promoting Chinese language through digital means, Chinese product labels, and standard quality services.

He emphasized that Cambodia is ready and eager to welcome Chinese and international investors and tourists with open arms and without any health-related restrictions. He noted that since the announcement of its reopening in 2022, Cambodia has been steadily facilitating travel and removing health barriers.
Thousands of Wagner Group mercenaries are fighting against the Ukrainian army

Another, resolution, No. 3735, was also adopted, by 336 votes, and called on the world community to recognize all Russian private military companies as terrorist organizations.

Read also: Canada sanctions Russian propagandists, singers, actors, musicians, and Wagner Group media

In the first resolution, which mentions the Wagner Group, it is said that in the war against Ukraine, Russias mercenaries use criminal methods that are indiscriminate and threaten the life and health of the civilian population, have signs of a massive violation of international humanitarian law.

Members of the Wagner mercenary company are responsible for numerous cases of unlawful and unjustified military necessity use of weapons against the civilian population of Ukraine, acts of cruelty and ill-treatment, forced displacement of civilians, rape, kidnapping of children, mass executions, as well as armed attacks on healthcare and educational institutions, the resolution reads.

Read also: Norway detains former Wagner commander seeking political asylum  media reports

The Rada also called on the governments and parliaments of countries around the world to recognize the Wagner Group as an international criminal organization based on the nature of its activities in Ukraine, the Central African Republic, Mali, Libya and Syria.

The Prosecutor Generals Office, the SBU Security Service and other law enforcement agencies of Ukraine were recommended to intensify their pre-trial investigation of alleged criminal offenses by Wagner Group mercenaries. Cases must be submitted to the court in accordance with the procedure established by law.

Read also: Wagner looking for recruits among convicts in occupied Melitopol

Wagner mercenaries have been fighting in Ukraine since 2014, and have also been engaged in hostilities against the Ukrainian army since the beginning of the full-scale invasion by the Russian Federation.

Russian oligarch Yevgeny Prigozhin, who is close to dictator Vladimir Putin, admitted that he created Wagner Group in 2014 for the war against Ukraine.

Story continues

According to UK intelligence, the Wagner Group has recruited some 50,000 mercenaries for the war against Ukraine.

U.S. national security spokesman John Kirby stated that of this number, 10,000 are contracted soldiers, and the rest are prisoners recruited from Russian prisons and colonies.

Read also: Wagner Group seeing drop in its convict recruitment program, says UK intelligence

He also added that Prigozhin spends more than $100 million a month to finance the operations of the Wagner Group in Ukraine.

There were also data that the Russian Federation was transferring Wagners mercenaries to Syria, Mali and the Central African Republic.

Wagner selects for recruitment inmates serving sentences for crimes such as murder, serious bodily harm, robbery, and larceny.

Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
Key developments on Feb. 6:

Ukraine's intelligence claimed on Feb. 6 that Russia was prepared to mobilize 300,000 to 500,000 troops to sustain a major offensive in the Donbas and "possibly" in the southeastern Zaporizhzhia Oblast in spring and summer.

A written report signed by Vadym Skibitsky, deputy head of Ukrainian military intelligence, clarified that the predicted 300,000 to 500,000 that Russia will likely mobilize would be in addition to the hundreds of thousands of conscripts drafted during the fall campaign in late 2022.

While many Russian conscripts lack training, Ukraine's defense leadership has acknowledged that Russia throwing a mass number of troops on the battlefield still caused a problem for the Ukrainian military.

In his December interview for The Economist, Ukraine's Commander-in-Chief Valerii Zaluzhnyi admitted that Moscow's fall draft "has worked," and Russia still had "a reserve of 1.2  1.5 million people" to mobilize.

Ukraine's intelligence predicts that Russia's new wave of mobilization may take up to two months, contrary to one month in the fall draft, according to Skibitsky.

The latest intelligence assessment comes as top Ukrainian officials, including President Volodymyr Zelensky, have voiced warnings of an imminent Russian offensive in the Donbas.

Zelensky has said that Russia was building up troops to seek "revenge," and Ukraine's task is to do its best to "not give them (Russian troops) this opportunity until our army is strengthened with appropriate weapons." He added that "I think we have a chance."

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The intelligence assessment released on Feb. 6 contradicts earlier predictions, where top defense officials  including Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov and Chief of Intelligence Directorate Kyrylo Budanov  warned that Russia's second mobilization wave could begin in early January.

Contrary to those claims, Moscow has not announced details of its second mobilization wave or whether it would launch it. Russia has not reacted to Skibitsky's comments by the publication time.

Russia's expected offensive campaign could involve the southeastern Zaporizhzhia Oblast but not Kherson Oblast since Russian forces will likely focus on defending their captured areas there, according to Skibitsky.

Looming Russian offensive

More Ukrainian officials sound the alarm of an upcoming Russian offensive.

President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a video address on Feb. 5 that, based on several reports, Russia plans to do "something symbolic" in February to make up for its losses over the past year.

In an interview with Ukrainska Pravda news outlet, Reznikov said that Russians have learned from their mistakes and won't attempt to attack from all directions at once.

According to Reznikov, Russia has major forces in Ukraine's east and south.

"Now they have a new tactic  concentrated, slow attempts, little by little, ten meters at a time, to capture, push, squeeze out (Ukrainian troops)," Reznikov said.

Luhansk Oblast Governor Serhiy Haidai claimed on Feb. 6 that hundreds of thousands of new Russian conscripts appeared to be nearly finished with their training, and they could be sent to the battlefield soon.

The Kyiv Independent could not independently verify these claims.

As the battlefield situation in Luhansk Oblast remains unclear, the U.K. Defense Ministry assessed in late January that Ukrainian troops have "likely made small gains" near occupied Kreminna  which serves as a gateway to Russian-occupied Lysychansk and Sievierodonetsk located some 30 kilometers away.

On Feb. 6, the General Staff of Ukraine's Armed Forces said in its briefing that Russia appeared to be forcing residents in Kreminna and other occupied areas to take Russian passports.

Reznikov keeps post

There will be no changes in the defense ministry leadership this week, lawmaker David Arakhamia, head of the governing Servant of the People party's faction in parliament, said in a Telegram post.

Arakhamia was referring to his Feb. 5 message that Defense Ministry's Intelligence Chief Kyrylo Budanov would succeed Reznikov as Defense Minister.

Reznikov, appointed in November 2021, has said he was ready to resign if President Volodymyr Zelensky made such a decision.

It's unknown what caused the sudden U-turn.

The reshuffling was expected to be a result of a major corruption scandal in the Defense Ministry.

Ukrainian newspaper ZN.UA released a report on Jan. 21, alleging that the ministry was purchasing some food for the military two to three times higher than those at Kyiv grocery stores, citing the ministry's food procurement contract.

The National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine opened an investigation into the food procurement scandal.

Meanwhile, Arakhamia said that parliament is expected to appoint the Interior Minister and the head of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU).

Zelensky, on Feb. 6, sent an official request to Ukraine's parliament to appoint Vasyl Maliuk as the head of the SBU.

Maliuk has been the acting head of the SBU since July 2022, when Zelensky dismissed the previous head of the SBU, Ivan Bakanov, over endemic treason at the security service.

Acting Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko is also expected to be appointed minister. Klymenko took office on Jan. 18 after Interior Minister Denys Monastyrsky was killed in a helicopter crash in Brovary, near Kyiv.
During the day, Ukraines Air Force delivered two strikes on positions of Russian anti-aircraft missile systems.

Source: General Staff of Ukraines Armed Forces in an evening report on Facebook

Details: It is reported that Ukraines Air Force also performed nine strikes on clusters of Russian military personnel. Ukraines units of Rocket Forces and Artillery targeted two clusters of Russian manpower.

In turn, the Russians performed 5 missile strikes and 12 airstrikes over the day. They also carried out 36 attacks using multiple-launch rocket systems (MLRS), in particular, on civilian facilities of the settlement of Hola Prystan and Kherson city. The Russian shells damaged residential buildings, casualties among civilians were reported.

The threat of further Russian air- and missile strikes throughout Ukraine remains high.

On the Bakhmut front, the Russians deployed tanks, mortars and artillery to fire on the settlements of Spirne, Berestove, Bilohorivka, Krasna Hora, Bakhmut, Klishchiivka, Kurdiumivka and Ozarianivka.

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Ukraines defence forces repelled Russian attacks near 14 settlements on 5 February.

Source: General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine on Facebook, information as of 06:00 on 6 February

Quote: "Occupation forces are concentrating their main efforts on conducting offensive operations on the Kupiansk, Lyman, Bakhmut, Avdiivka and Novopavlivka fronts.

There was a complete lack of coordination and interaction among servicemen of the Russian occupation forces and mercenaries of the so-called Wagner Group (PMC) during hostilities in the vicinity of Bakhmut.

Over the past 24 hours, our units have repelled the occupiers attacks near the settlements of Verkhnokamianske, Vasiukivka, Paraskoviivka, Bakhmut, Ivanivske, Kamianka, Sieverne, Pervomaiske, Vesele, Nevelske, Krasnohorivka, Marinka, Pobieda and Novomykhailivka in Donetsk Oblast.

Enemy forces conducted 4 missile strikes on civilian infrastructure facilities in Kharkiv [Kharkiv Oblast] and Druzhkivka, Donetsk Oblast, and carried out 56 attacks using multiple launch rocket systems (MLRS), hitting, in particular, Kharkivs civilian infrastructure. There were casualties.

The threat of Russian airstrikes and missile strikes remains high throughout Ukraine."

Details: No Russian offensive groups have been detected on the Volyn, Polissia, Sivershchyna and Slobozhanshchyna fronts. Russian troops fired on areas in and around Senkivka in Chernihiv Oblast; Novovasylivka, Seredyna-Buda, Sopych, Boiaro-Lezhachi, Volfyne and Oleksandrivka in Sumy Oblast; and Strilecha, Neskuchne, Ternova, Starytsia, Ohirtseve, Budarky and Rublene in Kharkiv Oblast.

On the Kupiansk front, the Russians attacked areas in and around Pishchane, Ivanivka, Kucherivka, Kyslivka, Kotliarivka in Kharkiv Oblast and Novoselivske and Stelmakhivka in Luhansk Oblast.

On the Lyman front, the settlements of Terny in Donetsk Oblast and Makiivka, Ploshchanka, Nevske, Chervonopopivka, Kreminna, Kuzmyne and Dibrova in Luhansk Oblast came under Russian fire.

Story continues

Over 25 settlements on the Bakhmut front came under Russian fire, including Spirne, Bilohorivka, Mykolaivka, Rozdolivka, Krasna Hora, Bakhmut, Ivanivske, Stupochky, Tarasivka, Kurdiumivka, Ozarianivka and New-York in Donetsk Oblast.

On the Avdiivka front, Russian troops deployed artillery to shell areas in the vicinity of Semenivka, Avdiivka, Sieverne, Vodiane, Pervomaiske, Vesele, Nevelske, Krasnohorivka, Heorhiivka, Marinka, Pobieda and Novomykhailivka.

On the Novopavlivka front, the Russians attacked Vuhledar, Bohoiavlenka, Novoukrainka, Prechystivka, Zolota Nyva, Velyka Novosilka and Neskuchne with tanks, mortars and artillery.

Over 30 settlements on the Zaporizhzhia front came under Russian fire, including Novopil, Olhivske, Poltavka, Malynivka, Chervone, Huliaipole, Charivne, Mala Tokmachka, Novoandriivka, Stepove and Kamianske in Zaporizhzhia Oblast.

Russian forces shelled a total of nearly 20 settlements on the Kherson front, including Kherson, Zolota Balka, Havrylivka, Kachkarivka, Mylove, Beryslav, Vesele, Ivanivka, Mykilske, Chornobaivka, Antonivka, Dniprovske and Honcharne in Kherson Oblast.

The Ukrainian Air Force carried out nine strikes on clusters of Russian troops, as well as a strike on a Russian anti-aircraft missile system in the past day. In addition, Ukraines Rocket Forces and Artillery struck a Russian command post, eight clusters of Russian military personnel and an ammunition storage point.

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Oleksii Reznikov, Ukraines Defence Minister, believes that the Russians will not try to capture all of Ukraine at the same time, as was the case at the beginning of the full-scale invasion, but they will conduct concentrated battles on specific fronts during the expected new offensive in February,

Source: Reznikov in the interview with Ukrainska Pravda

Quote: "The Russians tried the tactic of simultaneous capture of Ukraine in February last year. It did not work. That is, their resources were scattered, and they lost many elite units. Now their new tactic is concentrated, creeping attempts to capture, little by little, ten metres at a time, push away and wring out."

Details: According to Reznikov, currently the most serious groups of Russians are deployed in the east and south. The occupiers are accumulating forces to use other tactics in these areas.

Reznikov believes that the invaders will not go to Kherson again because when they fled, they burned all the bridges and crossings, but they will move across the land in the direction of Zaporizhzhia to expand the land corridor to the Crimea in order to continue supplies.

Reznikov emphasised that currently, the key risks are in the east, the south, and, after that, the north. At the same time, the minister states that "there are no panic reasons to flee the cities".

Reznikov called missile and drone attacks the only danger that remains, but at the same time recalled that the Ukrainian air defence system is also becoming more powerful and more skilled.

Reznikov also added that today, Ukraine has an understanding of where and how many Russian troops are accumulated. And in particular, nothing extraordinary is currently observed in the Belarusian direction; there are currently up to 12,000 Russian servicemen and a corresponding amount of equipment.

Background:

Oleksii Reznikov, Ukraines Defence Minister, stated that the country's defence forces expect Russian offensive operations before the symbolic date of 24 February, when the full-scale invasion began; however, he urged people to trust only official information.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says that Russians want to try to recoup last year's failures in February, but Ukraine must survive.

The Financial Times, a British news outlet, reported on 6 February, referring to an unnamed adviser to the Armed Forces of Ukraine, that Russia plans to launch a new large-scale offensive within the next 10 days.

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KYIV (Reuters) - Ukraine's main Catholic church said on Monday it would move to a new calendar that would see Christmas celebrated on Dec. 25 rather than Jan. 7, amid an effort by Ukrainian institutions to break cultural links to Russia.

The move by the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church (UGCC), which counts just under a tenth of Ukrainians as worshippers, was welcomed by culture minister Oleksandr Tkachenko.

"This decision is appropriate to the demands of our time and public opinion," he wrote on Facebook, citing the results of a national online survey conducted by the government.

That poll, held in December 2022, showed 59% of over 1.5 million respondents supported moving Christmas celebrations to Dec. 25, when the feast is celebrated in Western Europe.

Last month, Tkachenko expressed hope that all of Ukraine's churches would agree to celebrate Christmas on Dec. 25.

Monday's announcement by the UGCC made it the first to do so.

Until now, all major churches in majority-Orthodox Ukraine followed the Julian calendar, which celebrates Christmas on Jan. 7. That is also the date on which Russia celebrates the feast.

The UGCC was hitherto one of few churches worldwide to recognise Papal authority while simultaneously following the Julian calendar, which the Vatican replaced with the amended Gregorian calendar in 1582.

The UGCC's head, Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk, said that fixed-date feasts such as Christmas would move to the new calendar, but movable feasts such as Easter would still be celebrated according to the old calendar.

(Reporting by Max Hunder; Editing by Mark Potter)
BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has been invited to take part in a summit of European Union leaders, the EU said on Monday, amid reports he could be in Brussels as soon as this week.

Charles Michel, the president of the European Council of the EU's national leaders, invited Zelenskiy "to participate in person in a future summit," a spokesman for Michel tweeted.

The spokesman, Barend Leyts, did not say when Zelenskiy might take up the invitation and specified that no further information would be provided "for security reasons".

The next EU summit takes place on Thursday and Friday of this week in Brussels. Earlier in the day, multiple media outlets reported that Zelenskiy could attend the summit and may also address a session of the European Parliament.

EU officials had declined to comment on those reports. Some noted that if news of such a visit leaked in advance, it could pose a greater security risk for Ukraine's wartime leader and lessen the chances of him going ahead with the trip.

Zelenskiy's office did not respond to a request for comment on the reports.

If Zelenskiy does visit Brussels this week, it would be only the second foreign trip he has taken since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine last Feb. 24.

In December, Zelenskiy visited Washington to meet President Joe Biden and address the U.S. Congress.

(Reporting by Jan Strupczewski, Andrew Gray, Ron Popeski and Tom Balmforth; writing by Andrew Gray; editing by GV De Clercq)
On the night of 5-6 February, Russian troops lost two boats and two sabotage and reconnaissance groups (SRGs) in Ukraine's south.

Source: Nataliia Humeniuk, head of the joint press centre of the defence forces of Ukraine's south, on the 24/7 nationwide newscast on 6 February

Quote: "We are aware that the enemy is not leaving the south, it remains the enemy's priority. Quite powerful forces have been deployed on our [south] front before. We see that both [ground] reconnaissance and aerial reconnaissance continue, including with the use of boats that they [Russian troops] have taken from the local population.

They continue to probe our defence in the area of the Dnipro River and on the islands with SRGs. Trying to set up their observation posts there, they again lost two boats and two SRGs overnight."

Details: In addition, Humeniuk stated that a severe storm is currently raging in the Black Sea, with a magnitude of five to six points.

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A group of Ukrainian soldiers has arrived in the UK to train on the AS90 Self-Propelled Howitzers (SPHs).

Source: The Ministry of Defence of the UK, as European Pravda reports

Quote: "A warm welcome to Ukrainian personnel who have arrived in the UK this weekend to get to grips with the AS90. The AS90 is an armoured self-propelled artillery weapon which the UK is providing to help Ukraine defend its homeland and retake territory," the ministry said on Twitter.

 A warm welcome to Ukrainian personnel who have arrived in the UK this weekend to get to grips with the AS90.



 The AS90 is an armoured self-propelled artillery weapon which the UK is providing to help Ukraine defend its homeland and retake territory.



 #StandWithUkraine pic.twitter.com/BAlEGfzQmn  Ministry of Defence  (@DefenceHQ) February 6, 2023

Background:

In late January, Ukrainian tank crews arrived in the UK to train on Challenger 2 tanks.

On 15 January, the UK confirmed its plans to provide Ukraine with a company of 14 Challenger 2 tanks and about 30 AS90 155mm SPHs.

Alex Chalk, British Deputy Secretary of Defence, hopes that Challenger 2 tanks would arrive in Ukraine at the end of March.

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China expressed deep condolences over the passing of Pakistan's former president Pervez Musharraf, Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Mao Ning said on Monday.

"We extend our deep condolences over Mr. Musharraf's death and offer our sincere sympathy to his family," Mao told a press briefing.

Calling Musharraf an old friend of the Chinese people, Mao noted that the former president had made a significant contribution to the development of China-Pakistan relations.

China stands ready to work with Pakistan to advance the iron-clad friendship between the two countries, promote their all-weather strategic cooperative partnership, and build a closer China-Pakistan community with a shared future in the new era, said the spokesperson.
The Energoatom building

Read also: Ukraines nuclear plants are working at full capacity, reports Energoatom

The law defines the procedure of forming and functioning of joint stock company Energoatom, where the state owns the 100% of the shares.

The parliamentary Committee on Energy, Housing and Communal Services specified that the issue of corporatization of Energoatom has been on the agenda since 2012.

Corporatization doesnt lead to a change of the owner, Energoatom remains 100% state-owned, its governing body is the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, the committee explained.

Read also: Ukraine has two years worth of nuclear fuel reserves, says Energoatom

Shares acquired by the state as a result of JSC formation are not subject to privatization, and (the law) also provides for a ban on the division of shares owned by the state.

They added that corporatization is changing the outdated organizational and legal form to a more modern and stable one, which is more understandable to Energoatom's partners.

Corporatization also reduces the administrative functions of property entities, and a new, transparent and publicly accountable management structure is being created.

Read also: Zaporizhzhya NPP completely cut off from power after Russian shelling, says Energoatom

Corporate governance increases the efficiency of a company, as it creates a possibility to respond quickly and qualitatively to the requests of market participants.

The organization of effective corporate governance of state companies is one of Ukraine's obligations under the Association Agreement with the EU, which were announced recently," the committee added.

Read also: Power deficit remains in Ukraine, restrictions in Kyiv and two oblasts  Ukrenergo

Corporatization of Energoatom was supported by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the International Monetary Fund, and the World Bank.

Earlier, the following companies were corporatized in Ukraine: NEC Ukrenergo PJSC, Ukrposhta PJSC, Ukrhydroenergo PJSC, and Ukrzaliznytsia JSC, which deal with energy, postal services, and rail transportation.

Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
Ihor Klymenko

The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine has registered a motion submitted by  Shmyhal to appoint Ihor Volodymyrovych Klymenko as the Minister of Internal Affairs of Ukraine, Melnychuk said.

Read also: National Police chief Klymenko appointed acting Interior Minister

Currently, Klymenko holds the position of acting minister.

The head of the Servant of the People faction, David Arakhamia, said on Feb. 6 that the Verkhovna Rada would consider the appointment of the heads of the Interior Ministry and the SBU security service of Ukraine this week.

A helicopter of the State Emergency Service carrying the leadership of the Ministry of Internal Affairs on board crashed in a residential area of Brovary, Kyiv Oblast, on the morning of Jan. 18.

Read also: Russian missile attacks injure 13 across country, Klymenko says

The aircraft crashed near a kindergarten and an apartment building, killing all nice people on board.

They six members of the Interior Ministrys task force died in the crash, including Interior Minister Denys Monastyrskyi, his deputy Yevhen Yenin, and the ministrys state secretary, Yuriy Lubkovych. The three crew members of the helicopter also died.

The Interior Ministry officials were on an official trip to Kharkiv Oblast in eastern Ukraine when the crash occurred.

Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
Ursula von der Leyen at Ukrposhta

The EU and government launched the joint program on Jan. 31. Ukrposhta said that thanks to the EUs assistance, the first four million LED bulbs had been delivered to regional centers and large cities.

Over 162,000 bulbs have already been swapped in Kyiv, over 80,000 in Kharkiv, 88,000 in Dnipro, and 69,000 in Lviv.

The statistics we see mainly include people who came to Ukrposhta offices without prior registration, said Ukrposhta CEO Ihor Smilyanskyi.

Of course, there were more people who wanted to exchange (incandescent) bulbs during the week: those who registered in the Diia mobile app started receiving confirmation of the exchange only from (Feb.1), some have already come to the post offices, and some will receive (LED) bulbs next week.

According to Smilyanskyi, it will be possible to swap incandescent bulbs at Ukrposhta branches in all cities and towns, not only in regional centers.

Read also: Power system already 70% restored, but weather a big problem, says Ukrenergo

This week, another six million LED bulbs will be available in regional centers, and thanks to Ukrposhtas mobile offices, the bulbs will be delivered to rural areas by late February.

Thus, at the first stage, Ukrainian citizens will be able to swap up to 20 million light bulbs in the next month or a month-and-a-half, Smilyanskyi said.

According to previously announced estimates, the replacement of incandescent bulbs with 50 million LED ones will reduce the power deficit by approximately 1 GW. The EU will provide Ukraine with 30 billion LED bulbs, while another 5 million bulbs are expected separately from France.

Earlier, the European Commission vowed to finance the purchase of about 30 million LED bulbs for Ukraine. The program kicked off on Jan. 30, under which Ukrainians can swap five old incandescent bulbs for LED ones for free.

Ukraines Economy Ministry explained the relevant step would help reduce electricity consumption by 7-10% at times of peak load on the power grid.

Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
[Source]

King Charles and Queen Consort Camilla of England recently celebrated the contributions of East and Southeast Asian communities to the United Kingdom by holding a reception at Buckingham Palace.

The reception hosted over 300 people at Buckingham Palace on Feb. 1, marking the end of Lunar New Year celebrations.

Last night, The King and The Queen Consort hosted a Reception to celebrate British East and South-East Asian communities at Buckingham Palace. Their Majesties were joined by The Princess Royal, The Earl of Wessex and other members of The Royal Family. pic.twitter.com/Rv6hA3wckv More from NextShark: Crowdfunding to save Ghibli Museum raises over $200K  The Royal Family (@RoyalFamily) February 2, 2023

During the event, workers at the King's official London residence served champagne and canapes to guests from various different fields, such as the Armed Forces, the arts, business, healthcare and others.

More from NextShark: Pakistani Man's Story of Discrimination in Dubai Goes Viral

Guests at the Reception encompassed a plethora of fields including the Armed Forces, the Arts, Media, Fashion, Business, Government, Finance, Healthcare, Faith organisations, charities and more. pic.twitter.com/sEKqv034Zl  The Royal Family (@RoyalFamily) February 2, 2023

More from NextShark: GLAAD is auctioning Bowen Yang's head-turning Emmy platform heels for Spirit Day

Among the notable guests were fashion designers Alexa Chung and John Rocha, as well as Tengku Amir Shah, the crown prince of Selangor.

Other members of the royal family were present, including the Princess Royal, the Earl of Wessex, the Duke of Kent, the Duchess of Gloucester and Princess Alexandra.

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It was wonderful to see some familiar faces from Their Majesties visit to Chinatown in London last year to mark Lunar New Year! pic.twitter.com/dagMU4V2Oj  The Royal Family (@RoyalFamily) February 2, 2023

The king and queen consort marked the festival last year by visiting Chinatown in London when they were the Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall.

As part of the trip, the king joined a discussion on anti-Asian hate crimes. The queen consort met police officers, immigration caseworkers and clients at the Chinese Information and Advice Centre.
Russian President Vladimir Putin in the Russian city of Volgograd on February 2, 2023. Valery Sharifulin, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP

The biggest threat to Putin is ultra-nationalists, a pro-Kremlin Russian MP said.

Oleg Matveychev said "ultra-patriots" could overthrow Putin over his army's performance.

"The situation is not so critical yet, but 2023 will be very dangerous," Matveychev said.

A leading Russian MP said that his country's "ultra-patriots" could try to overthrow President Vladimir Putin in frustration with their army's performance in Ukraine.

Oleg Matveychev  an MP with Russia's largest political party, United Russia, which backs Putin  said in an interview that the biggest threat to Putin is now supporters of the Ukraine war who are unhappy with the progress of the conflict, The Times of London reported.

He said that for Putin "the situation is not so critical yet, but 2023 will be very dangerous," the Times reported.

Matveychev is often referred to as the Kremlin's "spin doctor" due to frequent comments on behalf of top government officials.

However, his latest comments are unlikely to please those in the Kremlin.

Matveychev said that "ultra-patriots" in the country will likely put forward a candidate to run against Putin in next year's presidential elections, when Putin is set to run for a fifth term.

He added that the candidate would likely follow the playbook from a series of protests in Ukraine in 2013, which ended in Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych, who was allied with Russia, being ousted.

He referred to this as following "the Maidan scenario," referring to Independence Square in Kyiv, where those protests largely took place.

"An ultra-patriotic Maidan with a light dose of leftism, talk about corruption  these are a means to bring people out, and the trigger could be anything," he said, highlighting some of the battlefield setbacks in Ukraine.

Putin has become increasingly isolated from the rest of the world since his invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, with the West imposing further sanctions on Russia and even his longtime allies criticizing the war.

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In Russia he's also faced backlash from pro-war figures, who are unhappy with the army's performance and want even more brutal tactics in Ukraine. A former Putin speechwriter said last month that a coup could happen in Russia as military generals are frustrated at their troops' defeats.

"As problems pile up in the country and the army, that the authorities are unable to solve, Putin is more steadily transforming in people's eyes from a great strategist to an ordinary, second-rate dictator," the speechwriter said.

Read the original article on Business Insider
There are some views that are worth a million bucks. And then there are other views, like this one in Carpinteria, California, that is worth $109 million bucks.

Literally.

A three-bedroom, four-bathroom estate that sits on over 4 acres of prime oceanfront beauty has landed on the real estate market in an A-list celebrity enclave, the listing on Compass notes. Even though the 2,514-square-foot residence is nothing to sneeze at, the propertys acreage itself and the potential to build a mansion is the real draw.

This exquisite property includes zoning for up to nine horses to be stabled on its grounds, a private trail, a horse-friendly beach, yacht docking and the opportunity for abundant ocean recreation, the listing says.

This is the last large beach estate on the Southern California coast and sits directly on famous surf break Loon Point, beckoning extraordinary living amidst the sand, sea and sun. Step inside a world of possibilities.

House features include:

Wood accents

Large windows

Detached garage

Another reason for the high price is its location in a prestigious, A-list celebrity enclave right next to Kevin Costners. According to a news release, the property is owned by the grandson of oil tycoon Arthur A. Cameron, Arthur A. Cameron III.

Both my grandfather and father had the most keen eye for remarkable pieces of one-of-a-kind, truly exceptional real estate all over the world, none with quite the special kind of idyllic magic that this property holds, Arthur A. Cameron III said in a statement. Its truly a once-in-a-lifetime large piece of prime coastal land with unmatched offerings and capabilities on and off the serene Pacific Ocean, an unparalleled place to grow up and live within.

The estate was featured on Sunday Night Zillow, a Twitter segment run by Bloomberg reporter Steven Dennis, thanks to its outrageous price.

Yours for an estimated $629,816 a month, Zillow estimates. pic.twitter.com/Zt4ZOSpjPi  Steven Dennis (@StevenTDennis) January 30, 2023

And folks were perplexed.

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Just expect a bit more for $109M. Like fewer pictures of the horses on the beach and more of the house you want me to pay $109M for, one person tweeted.

Its a nice house but not $109,000,000 nice, another said. I can think of of other things to buy for that much money, maybe 109 really nice houses.

1 - umm, what? (Price) someone noted.

Scroll down to the walk score portion and take oceanfront with a grain of salt, one person said. It has a sliver that extends down to the ocean. Most of it is inland, and there are other actual oceanfront places nearby that are expensive but more down to Earth.

As someone who owns 5 acres and a horse myself, Id like to know how someone thinks they are shoving 9 horses + trails on that plot, another tweeted.

Does it come with the horses? someone asked.

Carpinteria is about 10 miles east of Santa Barbara.

Bomb shelter tucked in the basement of this 1895 Victorian house for sale. Take a look

This California house with Miami Vice vibes has Zillow Gone Wild befuddled
A Ukrainian State Emergency Service firefighter smokes as he takes a break following Russian shelling that hit an industrial area in Kherson (AP)

The UN secretary general has said he fears the world is "sleepwalking into a wider war" in Ukraine.

Addressing the UN General Assembly just weeks ahead of the first anniversary of Russia's invasion, Antonio Guterres said that the "prospects for peace keep diminishing" and that the chances of further "escalation and bloodshed keep growing".

"I fear the world is not sleepwalking into a wider war. I fear it is doing so with its eyes wide open," he added, saying that war is "inflicting untold suffering on the Ukrainian people, with profound global implications."

It comes as Ukraine sent mixed messages about the fate of its defence minister, leaving a key post in its war effort in doubt even as it braces for what it believes will be a new Russian offensive.

The questions left dangling over the defence minister, Oleksii Reznikov, are a first public sign of serious disarray in Ukraine's wartime leadership, until now remarkably united during almost a year of all-out Russian military assault.

A day after announcing that Mr Reznikov would be sidelined, a top ally of President Volodymyr Zelensky appeared to row back for now, saying no personnel changes in the defence sector would be made this week.

David Arakhamia, chief of the parliamentary bloc of Mr Zelensky's party, had said the head of military intelligence, Kyrylo Budanov, would take over the defence ministry, while Mr Reznikov would be made minister of strategic industries.

But Mr Zelensky has remained silent on the issue, while Mr Reznikov said on Sunday he had not been informed of any move and would reject the strategic industry job if offered it.

The confusion caps a two-week crackdown on alleged corruption in Ukraine that has led to the biggest shakeup of officials since Russia's invasion.

Central and regional officials were fired or quit, security forces raided a billionaire's home and investigations were launched into suspected fraud at the main oil company and refinery. The Defence Ministry was caught up in accusations it contracted to overpay for food, although Mr Reznikov was not personally accused of any wrongdoing.

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Mr Zelensky has said the actions are intended to show that Kyiv can be a safe steward of billions of dollars of Western aid. But they risk destabilising the political class that had stood together against Russia's invasion.

Meanwhile, Russian forces have been advancing for the first time in six months in relentless battles in the east. A regional governor said Moscow was pouring in reinforcements for a new offensive that could come as soon as next week.

Mr Reznikov, a 56-year-old lawyer, has been the face of Ukraine at international meetings when allies have pledged billions of dollars in arms, and has been warmly received in Western capitals including Paris just last week.

One obstacle to replacing him with Mr Budanov, an enigmatic, fast-rising 37-year-old military intelligence officer decorated for operations that remain secret, is a rule requiring the defence minister be a civilian.

Volodymyr Fesenko, a political analyst at the Penta think tank, said he expected Mr Budanov to request retirement from the military before his appointment, while Mr Reznikov could be given a post of special envoy, making use of his stature abroad.

Ukraine's defence ministry did not respond to a request for comment regarding Mr Reznikov.

In announcing plans for the change, Mr Arakhamia said Ukraine's armed forces should be overseen by people with a background in defence or security in wartime: "War dictates changes in personnel policy," he wrote on the Telegram messaging app.

But an adviser for Mr Zelensky, Mykhailo Podolyak, noted that Mr Reznikov was respected by allies: "Reznikov was extremely efficient in terms of communication with our partners. And this is a very important component in this case."

The war is reaching a pivotal point as its first anniversary approaches, with Ukraine no longer making gains as it did in the second half of 2022 and Russia now pushing forward with hundreds of thousands of mobilised reserve troops.

Ukraine is planning its own counter offensive, but waiting on promised Western battle tanks and infantry fighting vehicles.

Russia was sending more reserves and equipment into eastern Ukraine, Serhiy Haidai, governor of the eastern Luhansk region said on television, adding that shelling was no longer round-the-clock as Russian forces prepare for a full-scale offensive. "After Feb 15 we can expect (this offensive) at any time," he said.

Russia's defence ministry said its forces had taken control of Mykolaivka, a small village in the adjoining Donetsk region, according to state media. There was no immediate response from Ukraine, which has disputed other Russian battlefield reports. Russia's main target has been the town of Bakhmut, where its state media said the Wagner mercenary group had gained a foothold.

A Belarusian volunteer fighting for Ukraine inside Bakhmut said earlier that Ukrainian forces were still in control of the town, although more Russian forces were appearing daily.

Reuters
United Nations (U.N.) Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned on Monday that the Russia-Ukraine conflict could eventually lead the world toward a wider war.

Speaking to the U.N. General Assembly, Guterres noted several of his priorities for this year, including focusing on climate change, poverty, rising nuclear threats and ongoing conflicts around the world.

We have started 2023 staring down the barrel of a confluence of challenges unlike any other in our lifetimes, Guterres said in his speech. We need a course correction. The good news is that we know how to turn things around  on climate, on finance, on conflict resolution, on and on. And we know that the costs of inaction far exceed the costs of action.

Guterres cited the Russia-Ukraine conflict as one of his major worries, saying that the prospects for peace between the two countries amid the nearly one-year conflict continue to diminish.

The Russian invasion of Ukraine is inflicting untold suffering on the Ukrainian people, with profound global implications. The prospects for peace keep diminishing. The chances of further escalation and bloodshed keep growing, Guterres added. I fear the world is not sleepwalking into a wider war. I fear it is doing so with its eyes wide open.

Guterres also mentioned in his speech how top scientists and experts moved the Doomsday Clock to just 90 seconds to midnight last month, the closest it has ever been to midnight.

The Doomsday Clock is now 90 seconds to midnight, which means 90 seconds to total global catastrophe. This is the closest the clock has ever stood to humanitys darkest hour  and closer than even during the height of the Cold War, Guterres said. In truth, the Doomsday Clock is a global alarm clock. We need to wake up  and get to work.

Guterress remarks come as Russias conflict against neighboring Ukraine is closing in on a full year, resulting in thousands of deaths on both sides and the displacement of some 8 million Ukrainian citizens.

The Biden administration has committed more than $29 billion in security assistance to Ukraine since the conflict began last February, sending radars, rockets, munitions and other equipment to help with Ukraines air and land defense against Russia.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
(Bloomberg) -- A United Nations peacekeeper died and another was seriously wounded after their helicopter was shot at in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo on Sunday, a day after East African Community leaders met to steady a flailing peace process.

Most Read from Bloomberg

The helicopter was flying from Beni to the trading hub of Goma when it came under fire from unidentified assailants, the UNs mission in Congo, known as Monusco, said in an email message.

Attacks against blue helmets can constitute a war crime and Monusco will spare no effort, in conjunction with Congolese authorities, to ensure that the perpetrators of this heinous act are brought to justice, mission chief Bintou Keita said. The remaining crew eventually landed the helicopter in Goma.

The two towns lie about 240 kilometers (150 miles) apart in Congos North Kivu province. Multiple armed groups operate between them, including the Islamist Allied Defence Forces and the M23 rebel group, whose ongoing offensive against the government has displaced more than 521,000 people.

Read more: Why Congo and Rwanda Hurl Insults as Violence Flares: QuickTake

Congo and UN experts accuse Rwanda of supporting M23, which says it is protecting Congolese of Rwandan heritage. Rwanda denies the allegations.

UN peacekeepers and the national army have struggled to contain either rebel group or stabilize the region at large, which has suffered more than two decades of conflict. An intervention by troops from the EAC that began last year has done little to help quell the violence, which in total has displaced more than 4 million people.

Six heads of state from the EAC, including the presidents of Congo and Rwanda, met in Bujumbura, Burundi, on Feb. 4 to recommit to a political solution to the multiple conflicts and to call on armed groups to lay down their weapons.

Story continues

In a communique posted on Twitter, the regional bloc urged Congo to allow troops from Uganda and South Sudan to join the EAC force already on the ground.

Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek

2023 Bloomberg L.P.
Weve got some difficult days ahead. But it really doesnt matter with me now, because Ive been to the mountaintop.  MLK, Memphis, 1968

Happy Black History Month, fellow mountain climbers.

Like millions of others, I began this BHM watching the funeral of our brother, Tyre Nichols, which was organized by the Rev. Al Sharpton. His homegoing ceremony at Mississippi Boulevard Christian Church in Memphis was a deeply moving experience, witnessed by many dignitaries. Vice President Kamala Harris came to mourn with the family and give us all our marching orders.

We demand that Congress pass the George Floyd Justice and Policing Act, and Joe Biden will sign it. We should not delay. And we will not be denied. It is non-negotiable. In response the large crowd erupted into empathetic applause and amens.

This ceremony, celebrating the life of Tyre, took place where Rev. Martin Luther King was assassinated by white supremacists in 1968. At the time it signaled a major transition in the civil rights movement. A cycle of renewed commitment to progressive change followed a period of chaos and confusion. It generated transformative events like Roe v. Wade, the election and reelection of President Obama, the Obergefell decision, and the election of Vice President Harris. Many believe that the scourging and murder of Tyre by five policemen will ignite a similar change in our national community.

I grew up on the South Side of Chicago in the 50s and 60s. I was a typical Black working class kid. I ran with a bunch of friends, not quite a gang. We were a crew that clung together for camaraderie and protection. We didnt own guns or any real weapons. We used fists, garbage can tops, car antennas for those rare rumbles we had with other groups of kids. We didnt deal in drugs. Cheap wine and beer were our drugs of choice. We had few encounters with police that escalated into violence. No one died.

In those days various forms of race-based lynching were still prevalent. My dads family left Mississippi because his best friend was lynched and his community was under threat of attack. In the Black community revenge could be visited upon the group based on individual misdeed or perceived criminal offense. Police often facilitated the process rather than prevented it. Black folks sometimes used self-imposed force and violence to repress exuberant behavior particularly among our young men. It was an attempt to protect the community from potential white retaliatory violence. The purpose of police in those days was not to prevent faceless crime but to manifest social control of undesirables. Under the system of white supremacy those undesirables were identified as black, brown and/or poor. Jill Lepore argues in a July 20, 2020 New Yorker article that urban police departments have their roots not in crime prevention but in slave patrols used to capture, control and punish enslaved Africans. Bryan Stevenson says police are trained to be warriors not guardians.

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Here in Happy Valley we have had issues of police confrontation and escalation. When former Police Chief King and Rev. McKensie foresaw the possibility of problems, they convened citizens, police officers and public officials to seek solutions. They called the group Community and Campus in Unity (CCU). Presently under the leadership of Terry Watson, CCU has an email list of over 100 people. As we attempt to build our beloved community, this kind of local action and participation is essential in addressing the changing dynamic in police policy. Keep climbing, sisters and brothers.

Hes allowed me to go up to the mountain. Ive looked over. Ive seen the Promised Land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people, will get to the promised land! -MLK, Memphis 1968

Charles Dumas is a lifetime political activist, a professor emeritus from Penn State, and was the Democratic Partys nominee for U.S. Congress in 2012. He was the 2022 Lions Paw Awardee and Living Legend honoree of the National Black Theatre Festival. He lives with his partner and wife of 50 years in State College.
U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, center, arrives at a military camp in Quezon City, Philippines, on Feb. 2, 2023. Rolex Dela Pena/Pool/AFP via Getty Images

The United States and the Philippines announced on Feb. 2, 2023, that the U.S. is expanding its military presence across more military bases in the Southeast Asian country, giving the U.S. a potential advantage in its efforts to thwart Chinas possible efforts to take control of Taiwan.

The Philippines most northern island sits about 118 miles (190 kilometers) from Taiwan.

While Taiwan, an island off the coast of China, considers itself an independent country, China maintains that it is a breakaway province it wants to again control and has increased its threats to move to overtake it in recent months.

We are political science scholars and U.S. foreign policy experts who recently published a book about U.S. overseas military deployments. Here is what this new agreement means for the U.S. foreign policy and rising military tensions in East and Southeast Asia.

1. The agreement expands US influence

The military agreement is an expansion of a 2014 deal called the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement.

The new pact signed this week allows the U.S. to access four additional military bases in the Philippines and maintain equipment on those bases. In addition, the agreement calls for the U.S. to spend US$82 million on infrastructure investments at the five bases currently in use.

Now, the U.S. will have access to nine base sites in the Philippines, representing its most expansive military presence in the country in 30 years.

The deal follows an October 2022 announcement that the U.S. was giving $100 million to the military in the Philippines.

2. It sends a warning to China

In recent years, China has increased its overseas military presence in the South China Sea and has begun expanding its military footprint in other regions, including countries in Africa, where it previously had none. China continues to seek new foreign locations to host its own troops.

In 2022, for example, China signed a new military deal with the Solomon Islands, leading to speculation that it could eventually establish a permanent military base there.

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The U.S. also announced on Feb. 2, 2023, that it has opened an embassy in the Solomon Islands after not having one for 30 years.

While U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III has said that this new deal with the Philippines is necessary for training and integrating the U.S. and Philippine troops, it also increases the United States ability to respond to regional threats.

Having U.S. forces on the northern island of Luzon, in particular, would increase the United States ability to deter Chinese threats toward Taiwan. This expansion of military access also allows the U.S. to more easily and quickly respond to Chinese aggression in the South China Sea or the West Philippine Sea.

China swiftly responded to the military agreement news. Mao Ning, a Foreign Ministry spokeswoman, said on Feb. 2, 2023, that the move would escalate tensions and endanger peace and stability in the region.

While most Filipinos have expressed positive views of the U.S., some people in Manila protest the military announcement. Jes Aznar/Getty Images

3. US and Philippines have a long military history

After the U.S. won the Spanish-American War in 1898, the Philippines became a U.S. colony until its independence in 1946.

The Philippines went on to host tens of thousands of U.S. troops throughout the Cold War. However, widespread public protests over the U.S. presence led the Philippines to demand the U.S. leave all its bases in 1992.

Despite this departure, the U.S. remained active in counterterrorism operations in the Philippines. In 1998, the two governments signed an agreement that again permitted U.S. military personnel to be in the country. In 2014, the countries brokered another agreement that gave U.S. forces access to five Philippine military bases.

The Philippines former President Rodrigo Duterte, who served from 2016 through 2022, threatened to end the military agreements between the U.S. and the Philippines multiple times. The agreements endured through his six-year term.

The 2022 election of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. opened the possibility of further security cooperation between the U.S. and the Philippines, as the new president showed a willingness to rekindle a diplomatic relationship.

Vice President Kamala Harris said in 2022 that an attack on the Philippines would compel the U.S. to defend the country.

The United Nations, the U.S. and human rights advocacy groups, meanwhile, have all recognized that there are serious, credible concerns about how the Philippines government treats its own citizens.

The police have killed thousands of civilians during raids as part of the countrys war on drugs over the past several years. The Philippines has also become an increasingly dangerous place to be a journalist and to express independent political beliefs.

While this may cause concern among human rights activists, it is unlikely to influence the United States military decisions.

We have found in our research that the U.S. tends to soften its concerns about human rights in deployment hosts when security issues become more prominent.

Austin announced the latest military deal from Quezon City, in the Philippines capital region, and noted on Feb. 2, 2023, that the two countries shared values of freedom, democracy, and human dignity.

4. Public opinion will matter

Given the complicated history of the U.S. and the Philippines, it is important to know what Filipinos think of the U.S. militarys maintaining a formal presence there today.

We annually surveyed approximately 1,000 Filipinos from 2018 through 2020 about how they view the United States and Chinas influence in their country.

Generally, solid majorities view U.S. influence as favorable, with some variation over the years we surveyed. Very few of our respondents had negative views.

We also asked them about Chinas influence in their country. Peoples responses to this question were far less positive. These responses also indicate views of China are becoming even less favorable over time.

U.S. and Chinese competition, meanwhile, for influence in the Pacific region is on the rise.

In coming years, part of this competition will center on gaining the support of host country populations when the U.S. or China tries to set up a military base. How effective the U.S. and its military are in building goodwill will in large part influence the outcome.

This article is republished from The Conversation, an independent nonprofit news site dedicated to sharing ideas from academic experts. If you found it interesting, you could subscribe to our weekly newsletter.

It was written by: Michael A. Allen, Boise State University; Carla Martinez Machain, University at Buffalo, and Michael E. Flynn, Kansas State University.

Read more:



Michael A. Allen has previously received funding from the Minerva Research Initiative, the Department of Defense, and the Army Research Office. These organizations funded part of the work mentioned here. The views expressed here are the authors' only and do not represent the views of any outside funder.

Carla Martinez Machain has previously received funding from the Minerva Research Initiative, the Department of Defense, and the Army Research Office. Part of the work mentioned in here was funded by these organizations. The views expressed here are the authors' only and do not represent the views of any outside funder.

Michael E. Flynn has previously received funding from the Minerva Research Initiative, the Department of Defense, and the Army Research Office. These organizations funded part of the work mentioned here. The views expressed here are the authors' only and do not represent the views of any outside funder.
US sent dozens of Bradley infantry fighting vehicles to Ukraine

Footage in the commands tweet shows the loading of a batch of several dozen fighting vehicles onto a ship in the Port of Charleston, South Carolina.

Currently, Ukrainian soldiers are undergoing training on Bradley IFVs in Germany.

On Jan. 6, the United States announced a $3 billion military aid package for Ukraine, which included at least 50 Bradley IFVs.

The Pentagon later specified Kyiv is getting the Bradley M2A2 ODS variant, which was developed in the wake of Operation Desert Storm, and includes a range of improvements to the vehicles navigation and target acquisition systems.

U.S. Department of Defense spokesman Pat Ryder described Bradley as a tank killer.

Read also: US to transfer additional Avenger, NASAMS systems to Ukraine, Pentagon chief says

Ukrainian Military Intelligence chief Kyrylo Budanov said Ukraine is eagerly awaiting for the IFVs to be delivered, as they would substantially increase the combat effectiveness of its units.

Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
Viola Davis has earned the rare and coveted EGOT status  becoming the third Black woman in history to achieve the honor.

On Sunday, Davis, 57, won her first Grammy for her performance of the audiobook for her memoir, Finding Me.

It has just been such a journey," Davis said in accepting the award. "I just EGOT!

EGOT is the grand slam of an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar and a Tony over a career. Only 18 people have achieved the status. Davis is the fourth Black person, alongside Whoopi Goldberg, John Legend and Jennifer Hudson.

Davis already has an Oscar, two Tonys and an Emmy.

Oh, my God," Davis said Sunday. "I wrote this book to honor the 6-year-old Viola, to honor her, to honor her life, her joy, her trauma, her everything.

Davis won the Academy Award for best supporting actress in 2017 for her role as housewife Rose Maxson in 2016s Fences. She won an Emmy in 2015 for her role as Annalise Keating in "How to Get Away with Murder," making her the first Black woman to win the lead drama actress award. She has two Tony awards, for King Hedley II and the Broadway production of Fences.

Congrats Best Audio Book, Narration, and Storytelling Recording winner - "Finding Me" @violadavis #GRAMMYs

 WATCH NOW https://t.co/PMy5r3LaPU  Recording Academy / GRAMMYs (@RecordingAcad) February 5, 2023

Reflecting on her career and Grammy nod in a January interview with the Recording Academy, Davis said achieving EGOT status would be a huge accomplishment.

I think that everybody wants their life to mean something, she said. I believe in the Cherokee birth blessing, which is, May you live long enough to know why you were born. I do believe that you literally wanna blow a hole through this world in whatever way you can.

A lot of people dont know how to do that. A lot of people havent found that thing that theyre passionate about, that they can do. Some have. But we all are looking for that, blowing a hole through this earth before we leave it. I think about that in my work a lot. I really found that thing that I love to do. So I always wanna make it meaningful.

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
NEWPORT NEWS, VA - JANUARY 07: A school sign wishing students a

NEWPORT NEWS, VA - JANUARY 07: A school sign wishing students a "Happy New Year" is seen outside Richneck Elementary School on January 7, 2023 in Newport News, Virginia. A 6-year-old student was taken into custody after reportedly shooting a teacher during an altercation in a classroom at Richneck Elementary School on Friday. The teacher, a woman in her 30s, suffered life-threatening injuries and remains in critical condition, according to police reports. (Photo by Jay Paul/Getty Images)

RICHMOND, Va. (AP)  A 6-year-old Virginia boy who shot and wounded his first-grade teacher constantly cursed at staff and teachers, chased students around and tried to whip them with his belt and once choked another teacher until she couldnt breathe, according to a legal notice filed by an attorney for the wounded teacher.

The incidents were described in a notice sent to the Newport News school district by Diane Toscano, an attorney for teacher Abby Zwerner, informing the district that Zwerner intends to sue. The notice of claim, which was obtained by The Associated Press through a public records request, outlines prior behavioral issues the boy had at Richneck Elementary School and troubling interactions he had with teachers and students.

Two days before the shooting, the boy allegedly slammed Zwerners cellphone and broke it, according to the claim notice. He was given a one-day suspension, but when he returned to Zwerners class the following day, he pulled a 9mm handgun out of his pocket and shot her while she sat at a reading table, the notice says.

The notice elaborates on allegations Toscano outlined last month during a news conference.

The document says that several hours before the shooting, at least three teachers and staff members warned school administrators that they believed the boy had brought a gun to school. The boys backpack was searched, but no gun was found, and administrators did not remove the boy from class, lock down the school or call police.

Story continues

The claim notice says that Zwerner went to former Assistant Principal Ebony Parkers office at about 11:15 a.m. that day to advise her that the shooter seemed more off than usual and was in a violent mood. It also says the boy had threatened to beat up a kindergarten student and angrily stared down the school security officer in the lunch room.

The document describes several more warnings that Parker was allegedly given by staff about the boy having a gun. Assistant Principal Parker should have called police, instead she did not follow proper protocol and chose to do absolutely nothing, the claim notice states.

Parker, who resigned from her position last month, could not immediately be reached for comment. A spokeswoman for the school district said she did not know if Parker has retained an attorney.

Len Wallin, director of legal services for the school system, said in an email that its standard practice for the school division to forward notices of intent to sue to its insurer, which handles such litigation.

Wallin said the districts insurer will handle decisions regarding whether it will represent Parker or not after consultation with the school board, if that is necessary.

Related...
A local group hosted a candlelight vigil Sunday to honor those impacted by gun violence and their loved ones.

The event was led by the Florida chapter of Moms Demand Action and is part of annual National Gun Violence Survivors Week.

Local survivors were encouraged to bring a memento to share. Photos and flowers were spread across the sand.

>>> STREAM ACTION NEWS JAX LIVE <<<

Dominic Broadus Sr. lost his son to gun violence.

It acts like therapy -- a little therapy because youre going through it, Broadus Sr. said.

Dominic DJ Broadus II was found dead in Macclenny, on Feb. 3, 2022.

RELATED: Family, friends call for justice for 31-year-old Jacksonville man found dead in Baker County

He was shot four times, Broadus Sr. said. The first two times did not kill him. It was the last two execution styles in the back of the head that killed him.

Rhonda Philips lost her son Leon Bennett on June 24, 2018 in Jacksonville Beach.

RELATED: Father of two killed after fight in front of Jacksonville Beach restaurant

He was a brick to our family, Philips said. He loved his family. He loved events. He loved everything. He kept us together, and its been different since hes left.

Bennett leaves behind two boys who were also at the event Sunday.

Its a surreal type of moment -- to just have people surrounding us that have not been affected or may have been affected who are just out here to support us, love us and be here for today, Philips said.

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Action News Jax spoke with Katie Hathaway, a volunteer with the Florida chapter of Moms Demand Action.

National Gun Violence Survivors Week is the first week of February because by this point in time more people are killed with guns in America than are killed in peer countries in an entire calendar year, Hathaway said. That puts the scope of Americas gun violence crisis into perspective.

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According to the CDC, more Americans died of gun-related injuries in 2020 than in any other year on record -- 45,222.

Story continues

I want our survivors to feel loved and for them to know that their loved ones are always going to be remembered, Hathaway said.

Read: Florida Chapter of Moms Demand Action gather to honor gun violence survivors

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An artist's illustration of the small, distant asteroid.



An artists illustration of the small, distant asteroid.

One of the solar systems 1.1-million-plus asteroids was recently spotted by the Webb Space Telescope, from a distance of about 62 million miles. The asteroid is relatively small, making it a showcase of the new space observatorys sharp vision.

The object is between 328 feet and 656 feet across, putting it in the same ballpark as the moonlet Dimorphos or the Roman Colosseum. Dimorphos is the space rock struck by NASAs DART mission in September.

Read more

These objects are pretty small by asteroid standards. Asteroids can be 600 miles wide, according to Britannica, and the newly spotted one is among the smallest ever detected in the main belt.

Webb and the Hubble Space Telescope both observed the aftermath of the DART impact, showing that the space-based observatories can see such small bodies. But Dimorphos and its larger companion, Didymos, are just 6.8 million miles away. (Just.) The newly imaged asteroid is nearly 10 times more distant.

Researchers using Webb data were not searching for the asteroid; they happened upon it in calibration data from the MIRI instrument, Webbs mid-infrared imager. MIRI was imaging a main-belt asteroid named 10920 1998 BC1, which was discovered 25 years ago. The smaller body of the newfound asteroid intervened.

An artist's concept of Dimorphos and the Colosseum. The newly discovered asteroid is about the same size.



An artists concept of Dimorphos and the Colosseum. The newly discovered asteroid is about the same size.

We  completely unexpectedly  detected a small asteroid in publicly available MIRI calibration observations, said Thomas Muller, an astronomer at the Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics in Germany, in an ESA release. The measurements are some of the first MIRI measurements targeting the ecliptic plane and our work suggests that many, new objects will be detected with this instrument.

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To confirm that the object is indeed a previously unknown asteroid, the team will do followup studies on some of the background stars in the MIRI image, to get a better idea of the objects orbit. Those studies may turn up yet more hitherto-unknown, petite planetesimals.

This is a fantastic result which highlights the capabilities of MIRI to serendipitously detect a previously undetectable size of asteroid in the main belt, said Bryan Holler, Webb support scientist at the Space Telescope Science Institute, in the ESA release. Repeats of these observations are in the process of being scheduled, and we are fully expecting new asteroid interlopers in those images!

Dedicatedthat is to say, intentionalobservations of very small bodies in the future could see Webb spotting asteroids less than a kilometer across, according to the same release.

Given that Webb was designed to see clear across the universe, to some of the oldest light we can see, it is a marvel that it can also view objects so small as well.

More: New Hubble and Webb Images Capture Aftermath of DART Asteroid Smash Up

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LAKELAND  A suspect in last week's mass shooting in Lakeland is dead after leading police officers on a lengthy pursuit Monday afternoon that included a carjacking, the suspect being shot and then crashing into a Winter Haven business.

Multiple law enforcement agencies including Lakeland Police Department were conducting surveillance of Alex Greene, 21, in Eagle Lake on Monday afternoon.

Police Chief Sam Taylor said the officers wanted to arrest Greene on an outstanding warrant for burglary of a dwelling and conspiracy to commit burglary in hopes of landing an interview to ask questions about the mass shooting that injured 11 people.

We are very confident he was in fact involved, to what extent we dont know yet, Taylor said.

Lakelanders react: 'A blessing not one kid got shot': Lakeland shooting rocks tight-knit community

Previous update:Number of shooting victims rises to 11 as Lakeland police say they found the suspects' car

Law enforcement investigators can be seen examining what appears to be a Toyota sedan crashed into the side of a building.

While under surveillance, Greene got into a white Chevrolet Silverado and attempted to flee from officers, according to Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd. Lakeland Captain Eric Harper pursued in his unmarked law enforcement vehicle starting on Cooley Road in Eagle Lake.

Greene lead officers on a 10-to-15 minute chase through Eagle Lake into Winter Haven before heading west on Havendale Boulevard. Harper attempted a precision immobilization technique to stop the pursuit on a heavily trafficked roadway.

Greene jumped out of his vehicle, according to Judd, and began to flee down Havendale Boulevard on foot. When he couldnt outrun the police officer, Greene ran into a nearby restaurant.

There was an elderly woman who was standing outside her car, with the vehicle running, outside of the restaurant. Greene saw her and began trying to get into the vehicle, according to Judd. The woman slammed the passenger door shut, but Greene pushed her out of the way and stole the vehicle.

Story continues

Florida Mass Shootings:How many have there been in 2023?

The Lakeland officer came around the corner of the restaurant and drew his gun, pointing it at Greene. Judd said Harper demanded he stop the vehicle.

Greene drove the vehicle toward Harper, according to police, who fired his gun six times. At least one of the bullet hit the suspect. Despite being shot, Judd said, Greene rammed into a car in the restaurants parking lot and sped onto Havendale Boulevard. The suspect swerved over the median into oncoming traffic, before crashing into the Hamilton Company Security Systems building. Deputies pulled the suspect from the building and began to administer CPR, according to police. Greene was transported to Winter Haven Hospital where he was declared dead.

Investigators walk along the stretch of Havendale Blvd. that has been shut down.

No one else was injured in the pursuit, which we are all grateful for, Judd said.

Taylor would not provide any further information on the other suspects in last Mondays mass shooting.

We have some very promising leads and some people we are interested in following up with, he said.

About 3:45 p.m. on Jan. 30, police received several 911 calls reporting four men in a dark blue, Nissan Altima with tinted windows drove down the 900 block of North Iowa Avenue near Plum Street and opened fire on both sides of the street. Witnesses said the vehicle sped off to the north, then fled east on Memorial Boulevard.

Two of the victims rushed to Lakeland Regional Health Medical Center with critical injuries  one shot in the abdomen, the other the jaw  remain hospitalized, Tillett said Monday. The individual shot in the jaw was transferred to Tampa General Hospital last week. Both are in stable condition.

Tillett said the department has a Victim Assistance Program that is in the process of connecting with the shootings victims. The department's staff will let these individuals know what resources may be available to them.

Florida's Office of the Attorney General has a Victim Compensation Fund that offers financial help to individuals injured as result of a crime to help cover medical bills, lost wages and potential disability caused by their injuries. In order to be eligible, the person must fully cooperate with police through the investigation and criminal justice procedures, not have been involved in any criminal or illegal activity at the time of the incident, and cannot have any forcible felonies on their record. To learn more about the program, call 800-226-6667.

Sara-Megan Walsh can be reached at swalsh@theledger.com or 863-802-7545. Follow on Twitter @SaraWalshFl.

This article originally appeared on The Ledger: Lakeland mass shooting suspect dies after police pursuit
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. But the harsh reality is that very many loss making companies burn through all their cash and go bankrupt.

So should Cynata Therapeutics (ASX:CYP) shareholders be worried about its cash burn? In this report, we will consider the company's annual negative free cash flow, henceforth referring to it as the 'cash burn'. We'll start by comparing its cash burn with its cash reserves in order to calculate its cash runway.

See our latest analysis for Cynata Therapeutics

How Long Is Cynata Therapeutics' Cash Runway?

A cash runway is defined as the length of time it would take a company to run out of money if it kept spending at its current rate of cash burn. When Cynata Therapeutics last reported its balance sheet in June 2022, it had zero debt and cash worth AU$24m. In the last year, its cash burn was AU$3.3m. Therefore, from June 2022 it had 7.2 years of cash runway. Even though this is but one measure of the company's cash burn, the thought of such a long cash runway warms our bellies in a comforting way. You can see how its cash balance has changed over time in the image below.

How Is Cynata Therapeutics' Cash Burn Changing Over Time?

While Cynata Therapeutics did record statutory revenue of AU$7.8m over the last year, it didn't have any revenue from operations. That means we consider it a pre-revenue business, and we will focus our growth analysis on cash burn, for now. Even though it doesn't get us excited, the 36% reduction in cash burn year on year does suggest the company can continue operating for quite some time. Admittedly, we're a bit cautious of Cynata Therapeutics due to its lack of significant operating revenues. So we'd generally prefer stocks from this list of stocks that have analysts forecasting growth.

How Hard Would It Be For Cynata Therapeutics To Raise More Cash For Growth?

Even though it has reduced its cash burn recently, shareholders should still consider how easy it would be for Cynata Therapeutics to raise more cash in the future. Issuing new shares, or taking on debt, are the most common ways for a listed company to raise more money for its business. One of the main advantages held by publicly listed companies is that they can sell shares to investors to raise cash and fund 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).

Cynata Therapeutics has a market capitalisation of AU$45m and burnt through AU$3.3m last year, which is 7.3% of the company's market value. That's a low proportion, so we figure the company would be able to raise more cash to fund growth, with a little dilution, or even to simply borrow some money.

How Risky Is Cynata Therapeutics' Cash Burn Situation?

It may already be apparent to you that we're relatively comfortable with the way Cynata Therapeutics is burning through its cash. For example, we think its cash runway suggests that the company is on a good path. And even though its cash burn reduction wasn't quite as impressive, it was still a positive. Looking at all the measures in this article, together, we're not worried about its rate of cash burn; the company seems well on top of its medium-term spending needs. Separately, we looked at different risks affecting the company and spotted 2 warning signs for Cynata Therapeutics (of which 1 is potentially serious!) you should know about.

If you would prefer to check out another company with better fundamentals, then do not miss this free list of interesting companies, that have HIGH return on equity and low debt or this list of stocks which are all forecast to grow.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.



This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.

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Nationally, Latinos are flexing their growing political muscle. They now make up 11% of the U.S. House, for example. In Pennsylvania, however, Latino voters essentially sat out the last election. According to the Philadelphia Inquirer, turnout in the states most heavily Latino districts was less than half that of 2020. Turnout was lower among white and black voters, too, but by much smaller margins  20% fewer white and 36% fewer black voters.

Why was the Latino drop-off so pronounced? Most Puerto Rican and Dominican voters number among the working poor, with lower levels of education and other characteristics of voters who reliably turn out in primaries and off-year elections. As Yesenia Rodriguez, a recent Democratic state House candidate in Hazleton put it, most Dominicans vote only for president and dont follow local elections closely. Many newcomers to the U.S. are confused or apathetic about local and state politics, with their numerous off-year primaries and municipal elections.

This might help explain why just one Latino  Johanny Cepeda-Freytiz, formerly the president of Readings city council  was elected to the state House, though there were four districts with sizable Latino demographics.

Cepeda-Freytizs background indicates the changing demographics and politics of Eastern Pennsylvania. She was born in New York City but spent several years going to schools in the Dominican Republic. After a university education in New York, and a career in education, she moved to Reading in 2007 and started a small business. Her campaign was endorsed by womens groups and unions, and she emphasized the environment and gun safety. Because the number of Latino officials in the state House is so low  about 2.5% of the total  she will join the chambers Black Caucus.

Rodriguez, who ran in the Hazleton areas 116th legislative district, did not fare as well. Born in the Dominican Republic, she grew up in Brooklyn, then came to Pennsylvania twenty years ago. She runs a bakery and campaigned on similar issues as Cepeda-Freytiz. But her campaign struggled for funding, and the demographics were against her. Though the city of Hazleton has a Hispanic-majority population, whites are more than 57% of the voters in the legislative district at large, which has been averse to changing demographics. Rodriguez was fighting uphill against the shift of whites (and some Latinos) to the Republican Party. Low turnout among Dominicans (who dominate the areas Hispanic population) led to a two-to-one loss.

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The Pennsylvania State Capitol Building is lit with blue and yellow lights to symbolize the state's support for Ukraine.

In statewide races, among those Hispanics who did vote, Democrats held Republicans share of the vote to about 30% (meaning Democrats won 70% of their votes), according to Chuck Rocha, one of the hosts of "The Latino Vote" podcast, who worked with Sen. John Fettermans campaign. Democrats advertised on Spanish-language radio and newspapers in the eastern parts of the state. Republican Mehmet Ozs campaign and the GOP more generally failed to do sufficient outreach to a notoriously hard-to-reach electorate.

Outside of the Commonwealth, Democrats have had to work considerably harder to hold Republicans to just 40% of the vote. Mike Madrid, the Republican co-host of "The Latino Vote," noted that the movement to Republicans is undeniable. The GOP nominated a record number of Latinos, many of whom embraced the MAGA movement.

In most states, Latino voters demonstrated a centrist and pragmatic approach. In Texass 28th congressional district, in the Rio Grande Valley, a MAGA Latina, Cassy Garcia, lost to Henry Cuellar, perhaps the most moderate Democrat in that caucus. Another MAGA Latina, Mayra Flores, lost to Vincente Gonzalez in the states 34th district. More often than not, Latinos rejected election-deniers, which, in Madrids view, is good news. As Madrid put it, that portends well for moderation in our body politic and will force both parties to come to the center.

Half of the fifteen U.S. House districts with the most Latinos are represented by Republicans and half by mostly centrist Democrats. In Madrids view, a more diverse GOP caucus (and this class has the most Latinos) will need to represent conservatives whose concerns extend beyond a heavily white and aging demographic.

Back home in Pennsylvania, Latinos should be an increasingly important part of the political calculus. They remain Pennsylvanias fastest-growing demographic and make up 6% of the voting population, living mostly in the region from Allentown to York and east to Philadelphia. The Commonwealths Latinos increased by 45% in the last decade; they now make up 8.5% of the states total population. Latinos tend to be younger than the average Pennsylvanian, meaning that their share of the vote is almost sure to increase in the years to ahead. And next year is a presidential election  meaning that the half of the Latino electorate that sat out 2022 is likely to make its preferences known.

John Hinshaw is a professor of history at Lebanon Valley College.

This article originally appeared on York Daily Record: Where is Pennsylvania's Latino vote headed?3
There is no fight date, no venue, and no determined weight class, but we are led to believe that Conor McGregor is back.

Rumours had swirled in recent weeks that the Irishman would feature as a coach on the upcoming season of The Ultimate Fighter, a UFC television show pitting teams of amateur fighters against each other before a clash between their coaches, and the swirls have now settled. It is a show tied to McGregors past, with the 34-year-old having coached opposite Urijah Faber in 2015, and now it is one that will feature heavily in his future.

Saturdays news that McGregor and Michael Chandler will be opposing coaches on the programme, which will run from 30 May until 15 August, was an admittedly unnecessary reminder of the Irishmans star power; recent weeks have seen numerous announcements around significant UFC returns  including those of Jon Jones and Jorge Masvidal  and tantalising title bouts, yet no contest has conjured conversation like Conor McGregors.

Whether it be in August or September, at lightweight or welterweight, in Las Vegas or elsewhere, the former dual-weight champion is set to compete for the first time since suffering a broken leg in a defeat in July 2021. But, as ever in scenarios such as these, more important than the when, where and how is the why. Why is McGregor fighting Chandler, and why involve a television show?

There are satisfying answers to both questions, thankfully, and the answer to the latter comes more easily. McGregor, at his age and level of (in)activity, does not have many fights left, so positioning him on weekly, episodic television and highlighting his every one-liner in social-media posts is an ideal way of maximising his increasingly rare presence in the UFC.

Furthermore, McGregor addressed rumours of his appearance on the show by admitting, It is full immersion which is needed, as he prepares to return from his longest ever lay-off. There were 23 months separating his 2016 lightweight title win and subsequent return in 2018, when he was submitted by Khabib Nurmagomedov in the biggest fight in UFC history. Fifteen months out of the Octagon followed, before McGregor returned to stop Donald Cerrone in 40 fleeting seconds, marking his only win of the last six years. Another year away ensued before Notorious took on Dustin Poirier  a man he had stopped in 2014  and suffered a first ever knockout defeat, and his refreshingly quick turnaround for their trilogy bout in July 2021 ended with McGregor on the mat, clutching a broken leg and sporting a searing scowl. Even if McGregors match-up with Chandler plays out at the earliest opportunity, in August, he will have been out of action for 25 months.

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And so The Ultimate Fighter should offer McGregor the full immersion he needs, as he aims to earn a long-awaited, much-needed win, and as he seeks to distract himself from the very distractions that have led to numerous brushes with the law in recent years. But why Chandler specifically?

Because the American represents the saccharine spot between a beatable opponent and a chastening challenge.

Chandlers knockout of Tony Ferguson last year is deemed one of the greatest in UFC history (USA TODAY Sports)

Chandlers pedigree is unquestionable; Iron Mike is a former three-time lightweight champion in Bellator, where he was the face of the promotion until finally making the switch to the UFC in 2021. While holding a title multiple times involves losing it multiple times, Chandler exhibited rare resilience to come back on each occasion and regain the gold. Then, in his UFC debut, on the undercard of McGregors knockout by Poirier no less, Chandler nearly erased Dan Hooker from existence, knocking out the fan favourite with a hellacious right hand in Round 1. Last year, Chandlers front-kick KO of former interim champion Tony Ferguson was widely deemed knockout of the year and one of the greatest in UFC history. Chandler is ranked in the UFCs top five at lightweight, and a win over him could catapult McGregor straight into another high-profile fight  potentially even for the 155lbs title.

But as is often the case in fighting, the importance lies in the in-betweens, and between those impressive wins, Chandler has been found wanting against the lightweight elite. In his second UFC bout, with the vacant belt on the line, Chandler succumbed to defeat while on the inviting verge of victory, as Charles Oliveira dragged himself back from the brink to knock out the American. In Chandlers next outing, he had Justin Gaethje on skates but his compatriot somehow slipped away to win a fight of the year contender on points. Last time out, Chandler similarly had Poirier in great peril but could not land the decisive strike; instead he was submitted to fall to 2-3 in the UFC.

As competitive as Chandler was in those defeats, he is  like McGregor  1-3 in his last four fights. He is also  like McGregor  past his prime, even if it is still visible in the rear-view mirror. Chandler will be 37 by the time he takes on McGregor, who will be 35. While Chandler withstood brutal, sustained barrages of strikes by both Gaethje and Poirier, his loss to Oliveira proved he is not impervious to one well-placed punch.

McGregor suffered a broken leg in his last fight, a defeat by Dustin Poirier in July 2021 (Getty Images)

And on many an occasion, that is all McGregor has needed. It is perhaps for that reason that the Irishman is the slight favourite here, though it is easy to envision Chandler dragging his opponent into uncomfortable depths with draining wrestling exchanges. Following Poiriers knockout of McGregor, it is also now easier to picture Chandler connecting with at least one of his trademark overhands or hooks. In fact, that is exactly what Chandler has envisioned.

I always visualise a big overhand right or a left hook, he told ESPN on Sunday. Thats the shot that I really want to land every single time, and thats the shot Ive seen put guys down so many times in my career. I believe I wear [McGregor] down a little bit and land a big shot in the second round and take him out.

It is entirely plausible. However, if McGregor can produce the incisive striking and faultless timing that once seemed to transcend the realms of possibility, it is very much in those same realms that Chandler can fall short as he has done in crucial moments before.

There is no moment as crucial as this: the one the entire fighting world has been waiting for.
(Bloomberg) -- Microsoft Corp.s $69 billion Activision Blizzard Inc. takeover faces a key decision in Britain as the nations merger watchdog marks its arrival as a global regulator with findings that could set the trajectory to the mega deal finalizing  or falling apart.

Most Read from Bloomberg

The Competition and Markets Authority is expected in the coming days to issue its provisional findings, signaling whether it aims to block the deal or clear it with specific remedies such as selloffs. The regulator already flagged concerns that the deal could cause competition issues in the consoles and subscriptions market, as well as the more nascent cloud gaming sector.

Microsoft first announced the transaction last year, looking to add blockbuster games like Call of Duty to a business that already includes the Xbox console, the Halo franchise and Minecraft world-building software.

But the tie-up has fallen foul of global regulators who fear that Microsoft could make it harder for rival platforms to get unfettered access to Activisions most popular titles. Crucially, the CMAs filing will come before decisions from the European Union and the US Federal Trade Commission, which is locked in a lengthy legal process after formally suing to veto the transaction.

The CMAs decision is key because if it chooses to block the deal, there is little recourse for the companies  UK courts rarely overturn a CMA merger decision, said Jennifer Rie, an analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence. Conditions will have to be thorough, beyond just licenses for Call of Duty, she said, adding that an unconditional clearance is unlikely.

Microsoft this week received the EU regulators initial findings in a so-called statement of objections, laying out the blocs key concerns about the deal, according to people familiar with the review. The tech firm last year already publicly offered to give its rival Sony Group Corp. a 10-year license for Call of Duty, but it will now have several weeks to formally submit remedies in the EU probe in line with the formal concerns.

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Read More: US Filed Microsoft-Activision Suit to Head Off EU Settlement

Unlike in the EU, where regulators and Microsoft already informally discussed possible remedies, the UK regulatory process has traditionally remained less accessible and discussions werent happening before the CMAs preliminary decision.

However, updated CMA guidance from last year now allows companies to propose potential remedies ahead of provisional findings.

The FTC may rely on the CMA to block it, said Anne C Witt, a professor of law at EDHEC Business School. The European Commission just sent out a statement of objections, so theres no way they can get there before the CMA. The CMA is going to win this one and it will be interesting.

The CMA emerged from the shadows of the European Commission after the UKs departure from the EU  with the regulator perusing deals that had previously met their fate in Brussels rather than London. In recent shows of strength, its taken on Big Tech companies, including telling Meta Platforms Inc. that it must reverse its acquisition of Giphy after worries it could take a strangle-hold of the GIF market.

To advance the gaming market to the benefit of all stakeholders, we believe it is important to consider clear and easily enforceable solutions to potential competition concerns, a Microsoft spokesperson said.

Our commitment to grant long-term access to Call of Duty to Sony, as well as Nintendo and Steam, accomplishes this be preserving the deals benefits to consumers and developers and promoting competition in the market, they said.

A CMA spokesperson declined to comment

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Editors note: This blotter is compiled from recent Gig Harbor police reports.

She stole his car and his dog

A man was shopping inside Home Depot, 5120 Borgen Blvd. on Jan. 24 when he came out to found his car had been stolen.

Gig Harbor police arrived to talk with the man, who told the officer he came out and found the car was gone with his dog inside it.

Another officer radioed hed found the stolen vehicle in the St. Anthony Hospital parking lot, with the dog inside and no driver, according to the police report.

The officer went inside the hospital to look for a potential suspect.

Hospital surveillance video showed a female getting out of the car and walking toward the power line trail from the hospital back towards Home Depot and Target, according to the report.

The officer who stayed with the victim of the car theft transported him to the hospital to retrieve his dog and car.

Another officer located the suspect inside Target, detained her and brought her outside.

The woman agreed to talk to the officer, telling him she is an opiate addict.

She admitted she found the keys inside the car and stole it with the dog inside.

Her plan was to drive the car to the hospital and get help for her addiction. But, when she got in the car, she found drugs and decided she no longer wanted to seek help, according to the report.

After discovering the drugs were methamphetamine, she decided to leave the car at the hospital because thats not her drug of choice, she told police.

The officer then collected a safe, a small bag of meth, keys and miscellaneous items from the woman, the report said.

It was just luck that the vehicle owner had drugs in the truck, the woman said to the officer.

The reporting officer wrote the woman would have failed booking based on new booking policies and the fact that she had Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and open sores on her back.

Instead, the case was forwarded to the Superior Court to summon and charge the woman for one count of motor vehicle theft and other applicable charges, according to the report.

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He took the purse right out of her cart

While grocery shopping on Jan. 23, a woman had her purse stolen out of her cart at Safeway, 4831 Point Fosdick Dr.

The woman called 911 and told operators a man came up and grabbed the purse. Shortly after, she got an alert from her bank that someone just attempted to use her credit card at Fred Meyer a few blocks away, according to the police report.

One officer met the woman at Safeway, while another went to Fred Meyer to look for the suspect.

Safeway surveillance video showed a man reaching into the victims cart and taking her purse. The suspect then took a red leather wallet and exited the store.

The officer at Safeway took a picture of the suspect and sent it to the officer at Fred Meyer.

The woman told the officer the red leather wallet contained the her drivers license, Costco card, debit and credit cards, medical cards and $35 in cash.

The officer at Fred Meyer shortly thereafter observed someone who matched the suspects description exiting the store.

The man saw the officer, changed directions and started to walk down a different parking lot aisle, according to the report.

The officer asked the man to stop, which he did.

The officer told him he was being detained and investigated for an incident at Safeway. The man initially denied any involvement.

He later admitted stealing the purse from a woman at Safeway and that her wallet was in his pocket along with all of the stolen debit and credit cards, the report said. He said he tried to use the debit cards inside Fred Meyer, but they were declined. He was attempting to purchase food and gift cards, he told the officer.

The officer retrieved the wallet and cards.

The officer placed the man into his car, went and returned the stolen items to the woman, then transported the man to Pierce County jail, where he was booked for theft in the second degree and identity theft in the second degree.

He raised the hammer as if he was going to hit the man

Two Gig Harbor police officers were dispatched to a suspicious person on Jan. 20 at the postal annex at 5114 Point Fosdick Dr.

The call to 911 indicated that an intoxicated driver was threatening to shoot a FedEx driver. No weapons had been seen, but the intoxicated driver suggested he had a weapon and was holding his hands behind his back, according to a police report.

When the officers arrived, they observed two men standing outside a FedEx box truck.

One man was at the front of the truck holding what appeared to be a hammer and began walking toward the other man while raising the hammer above his head.

It appeared to me the suspect was advancing in preparation to assault the other male with the hammer or hatchet which are capable of causing substantial bodily injuries, the officer wrote.

Officers approached the two men and the suspect immediately stopped moving toward the victim and fled in his car.

The officer radioed for incoming officers to begin setting up a perimeter.

Another officer in the area located the driver and attempted to stop him, according to the report. The suspect failed to stop, turned into Forest Grove apartment complex, and ran into a nearby wood line.

Officers learned the suspect matched the description from an incident earlier that day at the Arco gas station, 5515 38th Ave., where a firearm was allegedly displayed during an altercation.

Another officer returned to the drivers abandoned vehicle and discovered a woman and baby in the back seat.

The woman said she is the suspects wife and informed officers she is blind.

The officer asked if he could check her wallet for her identification. Inside the wallet he found multiple Social Security cards and an identification card that did not belong to the woman.

She claimed the peoples cards were her friends and she was holding onto them, the report said.

She made a comment that she was blind and didnt know how the social security cards and identification card ended up in her wallet, even though she had previously told me she was holding onto them because they belong to a cousin and friend, the officer wrote.

The officer recommended financial fraud charges to prosecutors and helped the woman and baby into their apartment.

Other officers located the man and detained him not far from the apartment parking lot.

He said something to me about being intoxicated, the officer wrote.

Two other officers walked through the parking lot in the area in an attempt to find a gun the suspect might have discarded but found nothing.

The officers transported the man to the Pierce County Jail.
A woman has told how she is happy to be alive after her vaping addiction left her on life support with a life-threatening lung condition.

Amanda Stelzer, 34, started vaping seven years ago when her friends all started doing it and the flavours gave her a buzz.

For seven years, Amanda was getting through two four-packs of liquid cartridges every week or the equivalent of more than one cartridge a day. Eventually, she ended up in hospital.

She visited an urgent care centre in October 2019 as she was struggling to breathe, had severe lower back pain and felt like her heart was beating out of her chest.

Despite extensive bloodwork and urine tests, doctors couldnt work out what was wrong and sent her to hospital in an ambulance.

Within 24 hours of being there, Amanda was put on life support.

Amanda, a cashier from Delaware, Ohio, US, said: I was crying because I was in so much pain. I was so scared.

The last thing I remember is someone handing me a form and basically saying I needed to sign this if I wanted to live - that was the consent form to be put on life support.

Amanda was on life support for about eight days, with doctors warning family she may remain that way for at least three months.

They were still not sure about the cause until her mother asked a nurse if this could have anything to do with her vaping, which prompted them to scan her chest.

Amanda was then diagnosed with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), a life-threatening injury where the lungs cannot provide enough oxygen to the body.

(Amanda Stelzer / SWNS)

Medical staff confirmed that her ARDS diagnosis was a direct result of vaping.

After two more weeks in the hospital, Amanda was discharged but she could not work, see friends and family or be around people using cigarettes and vaping for six months whilst her lungs healed.

ARDS is a serious condition and will affect her long-term - another illness could cause Amanda to end up back in hospital.

It was recommended that she use nicotine lozenges as her body was still healing, but also suffering from nicotine withdrawals.

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Following her time in the hospital, Amanda suffered huge financial losses and mental health issues.

She said: I was lucky that owned my car at the time and my insurance covered my treatment, but I still got into a lot of debt.

(Amanda Stelzer / SWNS)

It was depressing. I was happy to be alive but I was sad that I couldnt work and I couldnt be around family and friends without a mask.

It was awkward having to disinfect everything and ask people not to vape or smoke around me anymore.

I even lost two friends because they refused to quit.

Amanda now sufferers from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) as a result of this experience.

However, her health is amazing right now and she is in the best position she has ever been in - with lots of supportive friends and family members around her.

(Amanda Stelzer / SWNS)

She has vowed to never touch a vape again and hopes that her experience will the wake-up call someone else needs.

Amanda said: It seems harmless until it isnt. You never know what can happen - I thought it was no big deal when I started.

It is dangerous and I dont want someone else to go through what I went through.

People might not want to see it or hear it but if it helps just one person stop, Ill be happy.
Karissa Danyelle Hamilton was pronounced dead on the scene after suffering from gunshot wounds late Sunday, police said.

One woman died in a shooting late Sunday near Central Avenue and Indian School Road in Phoenix, according to police.

Phoenix police officers responded to calls of an injured person in the area of Steele Indian School Park just after 11:00 p.m. on Sunday. Officers then found a woman, later identified as 29-year-old Karissa Danyelle Hamilton, suffering from a gunshot wound, police said.

Hamilton was pronounced dead on the scene by the Phoenix Fire Department, according to police.

Homicide detectives are currently investigating the events that led up to the fatal shooting. The department is urging anyone with information to contact the Phoenix Police Department, or Silent Witness (480-WITNESS or 480-TESTIGO for Spanish).

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Woman dies in shooting at Steele Indian School Park in Phoenix
A woman who gave birth thanks to a rare uterus transplant in 2021 is celebrating a new milestone: She just had her second baby.

Chelsea Jovanovich thought she would never be able to carry a baby because her uterus never fully formed, due to a congenital condition called MRKH. But an experimental procedure made her dream of having a baby come true.

Chelsea Jovanovich hoped to be a mom, but carrying a baby seemed impossible due to a rare condition. When she heard about the uterus transplant program at Penn Medicine, she applied and was accepted. (Courtesy Chelsea Jovanovich)

The first time I got pregnant, it was unreal, Jovanovich told TODAYs Sheinelle Jones. It was really hard for me to accept that I was pregnant, so I didnt savor it as much. So, the second pregnancy I  wasnt as worried. So, I was able to enjoy it a little bit more. Yeah, it was nice being pregnant again.Since Jovanovich was young, she wanted to be a mother. When she first learned at age 15 that she couldnt have a baby, she thought little of it. As she aged, she understood what that meant, and she felt sad.

It got really hard going to my friends baby showers, seeing my friends get married and have families of their own, she said. I wanted to be a mom ever since I was little. So, it was devastating.

She and her husband, Jake, researched surrogacy, but it didnt work out for them. They almost lost hope, but then Jovanovich applied for a uterus transplant from Penn Medicine in Philadelphia

My mom saw a story about having the uterus transplants. And she said, You know, there is hope. You know, you should look into this. You might be able to have a baby, Jovanovich recalled. I decided to take a chance. And here I am today, which is still a dream.

Being pregnant the first time almost felt surreal for Chelsea Jovanovich. She says she thought she would never be able to carry a baby. (Courtesy Memories by Maria)

Uterus transplants

After she learned that she qualified for the program, she and Jake moved from Montana to outside Philadelphia to be closer to her doctors. In February of 2020, she underwent a 12-hour uterus transplant surgery with Dr. Kathleen ONeill, the lead investigator for the uterus transplant program.

Taking care of them has truly been an unmitigated pleasure  and thats not to say that there have not been challenges along the way, ONeill told TODAY. Heres this woman who thinks she will never carry a child. And now I look at her with her two children that she carried, and she did well. And she is like any other mom at this point and Jakes like any other dad. I mean, theyre just a family. That is really professionally and personally one of the best things Ive done.

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Jovanovich needed to take immunosuppressing drug so that her body wouldnt reject the new organ. It caused her some side effects, including hair loss, tremors and headaches. While uterus transplants are still considered experimental, ONeill said they offer choices to women without a uterus or who have uterine problems.

These women have ovaries, they have eggs, they just dont have the uterus to gestate the pregnancy, ONeill said in 2021. Once were able to give them that uterus, the vast majority get pregnant and have babies.

Chelsea Jovanovich, right, was able to meet the woman who donated her uterus, Cheryl Urban, and the two struck up a friendship. (Courtesy Chelsea Jovanovich )

ONeill said that after a person delivers a second baby, they remove the uterus.

We want these women to be able to stop taking  that immunosuppressive regimen that can have long term effects, she said. With uterus transplant, when they have completed their childbearing, we take the uterus out. Theyre able to stop their medications. And then life goes relatively back to normal for them.

Uterus transplants are still new, and ONeill estimates that only about 70 have been performed worldwide. Her team follows the babies for about two years after birth to learn more about the children born from a transplanted uterus.

The limited information that we have shows that the live birth rates are comparable to what we see in IVF, she said. The congenital anomalies are the same.

This program uses uteri from both living and deceased donors. Jovanovich met her donor, Cheryl Urban, and they became friends.

I was just mind blown they could do this, Urban said in 2021. I had two great pregnancies. Ive enjoyed pregnancy. I enjoyed the feeling of my own kids. So, I just wanted to be able to give that to somebody else. And Im so glad I did.

When Chelsea Jovanovich was pregnant with her first son, Telden, she felt in awe of the experience. During her second pregnancy, she said she could relax and enjoy it a little bit more. (Courtesy Chelsea Jovanovich)

Pregnancy after transplant

After Jovanovich recovered for six weeks following her transplant surgery, doctors implanted an embryo, which didnt take. But the second one did, and Jovanovich was pregnant. In May 2021, she gave birth to a baby boy named Telden, now a year and a half old.

Its been great, being a mom. Telden is growing fast. I cant believe how fast it went, she said. Hes very rambunctious. Hes jumping off couches, running around, talking. Its been great.

Jovanovich wanted another baby and gave birth to son, Stetson, in October 2022.

I wanted to give Telden a sibling, she said. Here we are with two boys and  its a miracle.

ONeill agrees that Stetson is worth celebrating.

Stetson is the 25th baby born to a woman who had a uterus transplant in the United States, ONeill said. So (its) very special.

However, it took Telden some time to adjust to being a big brother.

Telden didnt talk to me for a couple of weeks after I had Stetson, she said. He was very unsure of him.

Big brother Telden felt very unsure about his new brother Stetson. For weeks, Telden ignored mom, Chelsea Jovanovich. (Courtesy Chelsea Jovanovich)

Jovanovich and Jake are moving back to Montana, and look forward to family gatherings and seeing their parents enjoy their roles as grandparents. Even the most mundane mothering tasks makes Jovanovich feel lucky.

I look in my rear-view mirror and theres little feet back there, she says. I dont take for granted all the toys that I pick up. Every little toy, you know at night, Im picking up toys and Im like, Thank you, God. You know, this is what I wanted. And now, I get to do it.

This article was originally published on TODAY.com
An 82-year-old New York nursing home resident who was pronounced dead was found to be breathing three hours later after she had already been taken to the funeral home, police said.

The woman, whose name was not released, was pronounced dead at Water's Edge Rehab and Nursing Center in Port Jefferson on Long Island at 11:15 a.m. Saturday. She was taken to the O.B. Davis Funeral Home in Miller Place at 1:30 p.m., Suffolk County police said in a statement to USA TODAY.

At 2:09 p.m., she was found breathing, they said.

Police said Monday the woman has been transported to a local hospital but did not provide any further updates of her condition.

The New York State Attorney Generals Office told USA TODAY it is looking into the incident.

The nursing home could not immediately be reached for comment.

An Iowa woman was declared dead and sent to a funeral home. Then she 'gasped for air,' report says.

Camille Fine is a trending visual producer on USA TODAY's NOW team.

What's everyone talking about? Sign up for our trending newsletter to get the latest news of the day

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: New York woman breathed at funeral home hours after pronounced dead
A Fayetteville Police Department forensics technician stands near evidence markers in the parking lot of the Cumberland Food Mart, after a woman was shot outside there Monday afternoon.

Editor's note: This is an updated version of the original. In the original the street name was incorrect.

Fayetteville police were investigating Monday afternoon after a woman was shot outside the Cumberland Food Mart on Cumberland Street.According to Lt. S. Washington, the shooting happened about 1 p.m. The womans name and condition were not immediately known. Washington said the victim was taken to the hospital with gunshot wounds.About 2:30 p.m., police officers and forensic technicians were still on the scene marking evidence in the parking lot on the west side of the market facing Hillsboro Street. Detectives were also seen looking at a nearby railroad crossing.

More:Fayetteville man charged with murder after neighbor dies from December shooting

This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: Woman shot outside Cumberland Food Mart in Fayetteville on Monday
Ellie Beardsmore, 20, has learnt to embrace her stoma bag, boosting her confidence by wearing bikinis. (@ellsstomajourney/Caters)

A woman who was told she could die within days if she didn't have her large bowel removed has revealed how she learnt to embrace her stoma bag, proudly showing it off while wearing a bikini.

Ellie Beardsmore from Sedgley, West Midlands was just 19 when she underwent the life-saving surgery, which also meant she had to have a stoma bag fitted.

Now 20, the project co-ordinator for the NHS explains how the operation has given her the freedom to live her life and reveals how she has learnt to overcome any confidence issues surrounding having a stoma.

She hopes to raise awareness of her symptoms which led to a shock diagnosis and wants to help other young women living with similar conditions to feel supported and confident.

I was living on the toilet, all day and night, sometimes 30 times a day," Beardsmore says of her life pre-surgery.

I was too worried to go out, so now I feel better, Im not going to hide away just because I have a stoma bag.

It has given me a second chance at life, more freedom than Ive had in years and Im going to live life to the full.

Read more: What are stoma and ostomy bags? Doctors explain

Beardsmore was told she needed her large bowel removed or she could die within days.(@ellsstomajourney/Caters)

Since the age of 14, Beardsmore had endured constipation, piles and IBS. But, more worryingly, also passed fresh blood every time she went to the toilet.

While she suffered in silence for many years, believing her symptoms were typical for a teenager, last year her health started to rapidly decline.

In spring 2022 I was diagnosed with moderate ulcerative colitis," she explains. "I was given medication and sent home.

But a week later I was back in A&E with crippling pain and severe blood loss.

I was discharged two days later with a low dose of daily steroids.

Beardsmore says at the time she could only stomach boiled eggs and water.

Read more: Mum becomes TikTok star sharing videos of her stoma bag to normalise Crohns disease

Beardsmore underwent an ileostomy stoma fitted seven months ago. (@ellsstomajourney/Caters)

She was also struggling to sleep and weeks later was rushed to hospital after she passed a piece of her bowel.

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There, Beardsmore was diagnosed with severe ulcerative colitis and underwent emergency ileostomy (colon removal) surgery in June.

The life-threatening diagnosis came as something of a shock as she was also told her organ was dying.

Surgery was my only option and I was angry," she explains.

I was 19 and my options were surgery and live, or this dying organ could burst inside me at any moment.

It was a ticking time bomb and I chose not to die."

The operation to remove Ellies large bowel was a success and doctors created an opening through the abdominal wall, connecting the small bowel to the surface of the stomach.

Beardsmore says she is just as confident with her stoma bag than without it.(@ellsstomajourney/Caters)

Ellie had a ileostomy stoma fitted seven months ago and claims the bag has given her a "second chance at life."

People might think it restricts me, but the opposite is true," she explains.

It has transformed my life for the better.

The fashion-lover admits she was nervous about wearing a bikini on holiday, just 11 weeks after her operation, but instead was surprised to find it boosted her confidence and she hasnt looked back.

I forced myself to wear a bikini," she recalls. I was worried what people might think and was prepared to just fake confidence, but when I looked in the mirror, I looked at my face not my bag and I looked healthy for the first time in months.

I realised that my bag made me feel good, so I looked good.

That was a turning point for me.

Ive never loved my body more than I do now," she continues. "I have more confidence and appreciation of it [my body] than ever before.

Watch: Crohn's sufferer calls on public to get checked as she shares diagnosis story

Thinking back to her life before surgery offers a stark reminder of her struggles pre-stoma.

I couldnt stand up for long from back and abdominal pain and being sick," she recalls.

I was so scared I wouldnt be able to find a toilet in time, now I can go out all day and not worry."

While she says she was initially concerned that having a stoma might restrict her fashion choices, Beardsmore says she soon realised that confidence was the key to wearing whatever she wanted.

I want to show the world that stomas are normal and beautiful," she says.

Im not afraid to show my bag in my outfit choices.

Pre-surgery I thought Id never be able to look at myself in a mirror again," she continues. "I worried Id never be able to fully love myself, or be intimate with someone again.

But I've realised were all beautiful in our own way, and no stoma bag will take that away from me.

Read more: Bowel cancer survivor who 'shouldn't even be here' proudly shows stoma bags at festival

Beardsmore says her boyfriend has been an incredible support throughout her journey. (@ellsstomajourney/Caters)

Beardsmore has now been with her boyfriend Ethan Roberts, 20, for two years.

He has been through a lot with me," she says. "You dont know how a bag will affect your relationship so I told him he didnt have to stay, but he has been amazing.

She also believes humour and being open about her condition has helped her cope with the challenges.

Some people have said they find it a bit weird and I reply, Me too!" she explains.

I havent had a poo out of my bum since my operation.

We have such a laugh about it... you have to laugh.

Beardsmore has had part of her bowel removed. (@ellsstomajourney/Caters)

Beardsmore hopes that being so open about her experiences will help raise awareness of the symptoms of Bowel Disease.

People dont talk about stomas and you do feel very alone," she says.

There is a stigma but I hope to help change that.

She has started an Instagram page to connect to other young women going through similar journeys.

I share what happened to me so others can relate and have someone to talk to who is going through the same thing," she explains.

I hope by talking about my experience, I can give some love to anyone suffering and show the world that living with a stoma is not a bad thing.

Additional reporting SWNS.
Escambia County Sheriff's deputies arrested a 61-year-old Beulah Middle School art teacher Thursday for allegedly beginning a sexual relationship with a 15-year-old student while employed at Woodham Middle School.

Winston Hezekiah Foster was charged with one count of sex assault of a victim between 16 and 17, one count of lewd or lascivious behavior of a victim between 12 and 16 and one count of sexual offenses against a student by an authority figure after a State Attorney's Office investigation concluded.

"On Dec. 8, 2022, the Office of State Attorney received a complaint from (redacted) who alleged Winston Foster, her former middle school art teacher, had a sexual relationship with her from Oct. 2017 when she was 15 years old, until Sept. 2019 when she was 17 years old," according to Foster's arrest warrant.

The student gave a sworn statement to an SAO investigator the next day on Dec. 9, saying she was Foster's art student at Woodham Middle School until 2017 when she became a freshman in high school.

Last ECSD employee arrest:Warrington dean who pushed for community charter school arrested for soliciting student

Found with child porn:Beulah Elementary custodian allegedly found with over 200 child porn images, videos

In case you missed it:Not solved, but not forgotten: Escambia detectives revisiting 4 cold case homicides

After she began high school, she would visit Foster's class on Friday mornings before school, which she said "wasn't uncommon for former students." However, after roughly a month she said Foster began making comments to her she thought were "'weird' for him to say to her."

She said Foster invited her to go eat sushi at his house and at a later date they went and saw a movie together.

"After the movie, they went back to Foster's house where he had ... sex with her," the warrant states. "(She) said she told Foster she wasn't ready, but he forced her anyway."

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During the summer months when school was not in session, Foster would pick her up from her home and travel to his new home near Beulah Middle School to have sex, according to the student. While school was in session, she told the investigator Foster would have her visit his classroom early Friday mornings so they could have sex in his room's supply closet.

Foster also allegedly used "WhatsApp" to perform sex acts with the student over the phone while he was out of town.

ECSD Communication Coordinator Cody Strother told the News Journal that Foster submitted his resignation to the school district Feb. 2 prior to his arrest.

"There's not a whole lot I can say," Strother told the News Journal. "Because it's a criminal issue, we'll defer to our law enforcement partners other than to say he's not an employee with us any longer."

This is the third Escambia School District employee arrested in recent months for sexual advances or sexual crimes against students or children.

Former Beulah Elementary janitor DeAntonio Jackson was arrested in June for allegedly possessing over 200 videos and photos of child sex abuse material, and former Warrington Middle School dean Darreyel Laster was arrested Jan. 19 for allegedly attempting to solicit sex from a student.

Winston was released from Escambia County Jail Thursday afternoon on $60,000 bond.

This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Beulah art teacher arrested for sexual relationship with student
Mayor Eric Adams announced Monday that New York City is lifting its Covid vaccine mandate for city workers, only a few months after the same requirement for private employers was rescinded by the mayor.

City workers stepped up tremendously throughout the pandemic. From our health care frontline workers and first responders who saved lives, to the city employees who kept our streets clean, our schools open, and our streets safe, we owe city workers a debt of gratitude for their service during New York Citys darkest days, Mayor Eric Adams said in a statement announcing the move.

Beginning Friday, the shot will no longer be mandatory for municipal workers in the city, as well as for those who work for the New York City Department of Education. Vaccination requirements for non-public school, early child care, and daycare staff will also be discontinued, he said.

With more than 96 percent of city workers and more than 80 percent of New Yorkers having received their primary COVID-19 series and more tools readily available to keep us healthy, this is the right moment for this decision. I continue to urge every New Yorker to get vaccinated, get boosted, and take the necessary steps to protect themselves and those around them from COVID-19, Adams said.

The city will not be automatically reinstating the 1,780 city workers who were fired for refusing to get the vaccine; they must reapply for their positions and will not be given back pay, the New York Post reported.

The rule was originally imposed in October 2021 by former mayor Bill de Blasio, who also set a proof-of-vaccination requirement for entry into recreational establishments such as restaurants and concert venues.

Last February, New York Governor Kathy Hochul dropped the statewide school-masking mandate. A month later, Adams ended mask restrictions for K-12 schools in the city. However, it took a couple more months for Adams to revoke the mask mandate for preschoolers, the demographic at the lowest risk of developing severe complications from the disease, who attend public daycare. In June 2020, the mayor finally decided to make masks optional for 2-4 year old children in all early childhood settings, while still strongly recommending that New Yorkers of all ages continue to wear masks indoors.

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A study published late last month by the Cochrane Library, a prestigious medical database considered very reliable in the field, indicated that wearing masks probably makes little or no difference for most users regardless of the type or grade of masks that is used.

This amounts to the scientific nail in the coffin for mask mandates, Kristen Walsh, a clinical professor of pediatrics in Morristown, New Jersey, told the Washington Free Beacon. I just cant wrap my mind around the fact that some schools are still actively forcing children to wear masks, much less children who need to see faces to learn.

More from National Review
(Reuters) - New York Mayor Eric Adams said on Monday that he was lifting a controversial COVID-19 vaccine mandate for municipal workers and the city's Department of Education employees.

The United States' largest city by population will also end the vaccination requirements, which began in late 2021, for nonpublic school, early child care, and daycare staff.

The mandate will end on Friday if the decision is ratified, as expected, at the upcoming city Board of Health Meeting, Adams, a Democrat, said in a statement.

Adams noted that since more than 96% of the city's workers have taken the COVID vaccine "this is the right moment for this decision."

"I continue to urge every New Yorker to get vaccinated, get boosted, and take the necessary steps to protect themselves and those around them from COVID-19," the mayor said.

The decision comes four months after New York ended a COVID vaccine mandate for private employers, and 10 months after the mayor lifted vaccine requirements for professional athletes and performers.

Roughly 1,780 former municipal workers who were fired for declining to submit proof that they had taken the vaccine will be able to reapply for their old jobs.

The union representing New York City's 36,000 police officers, which has fought against the mandate in court, welcomed the mayor's decision, but said the "job is only half done."

"We call on the City to ensure that our members who were fired or had their employment unfairly impacted are reinstated, with back pay and without condition," union head Patrick Lynch said in a statement.

(Reporting by Brad Brooks in Lubbock, Texas; editing by Jonathan Oatis)
By Tyler Clifford

NEW YORK (Reuters) - An independent New York City police review board has recommended that the department punish dozens of officers for excessive use of force and other alleged misconduct during protests that followed the 2020 murder of George Floyd, according to a report released on Monday.

Among the complaints, officers were found to have used batons and pepper spray on peaceful protesters in 140 instances. Dozens of allegations of abuse of authority, including officers refusing to identify themselves, concealing their badges and making false or misleading statements, were also substantiated, the report by Civilian Complaint Review Board (CCRB) said.

More than 600, or 43%, of misconduct allegations were closed after officers could not be identified, raising a big obstacle in the board's review, the report said.

"This report shows why the NYPD cannot continue to have a monopoly on discipline," Molly Biklen, deputy legal director at the New York Civil Liberties Union, said in a statement. "When New Yorkers took to the streets calling for racial justice in 2020, the NYPD responded with violence."

Thousands of protesters flooded New York streets for weeks in demonstrations against police brutality days after Floyd, a Black man accused of passing a counterfeit $20 bill, died when a white Minneapolis police officer pinned his neck to the ground with a knee for several minutes in May 2020. Smaller-scale protests continued into early fall.

The New York Police Department (NYPD) objected to many of the report's findings, saying less than 15% of all allegations were substantiated. In a statement, it accused the board of exaggerating the extent of any misconduct, saying it involved less than 1% of 22,000 officers deployed during the protests.

The less that 15% substantiation rate of allegations against officers confirms "that the NYPDs response to the protests during the summer of 2020 was largely professional, commendable, and responsive to the unique circumstances that were present at the time," NYPD Acting Deputy Commissioner Carrie Talansky said in a statement.

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Hundreds of officers were injured and the department had already implemented many of the 17 policy changes recommended by the board, NYPD said.

"Protests against police brutality bred more instances of police misconduct," CCRB Interim Chair Arva Rice said in the report. "If this misconduct goes unaddressed, it will never be reformed."

Of the 146 officers cited by the report, 89 of them should face internal charges, which can result in termination. The board recommended discipline, which can include the loss of vacation days, for the other 57 officers.

The board, composed of 15 members appointed by the mayor, city council and police commissioner, has the power to conduct administrative prosecutions, but the commissioner has final say over any discipline.

(Reporting by Tyler Clifford in New York; Editing by Bill Berkrot)
Zero-hours contracts leave many workers such as delivery riders in a precarious work position. Photo: PA/Alamy

Zero-hours contracts, often described as casual contracts, are common. In theory, they offer flexibility for both employer and employee  but in reality, they leave many workers in a precarious situation with no guaranteed income.

However, things may be changing. On Friday, the government supported Blackpool South MP Scott Bentons Workers (Predictable Terms and Conditions) Bill, which enhances the rights of people on insecure contracts.

Under the changes, if a workers existing working pattern lacks certainty in terms of the hours they work  or if it is a fixed term contract for less than 12 months  they will be able to make a formal application to change their working pattern to make it more predictable.

Read more: When to follow-up with an employer after a job interview

The move, which will apply to all workers and employees including agency workers, comes after a review found many workers on zero hours contracts experience one-sided flexibility.

Zero-hours contracts are working arrangements where there is no guaranteed minimum number of hours that must be worked or paid for.

This means many workers are left waiting in case they are called up at the last minute for a shift. With a more predictable working pattern, workers will have a guarantee of when they are required to work, with hours that work for them. Additionally, they may have more of an indication of how much they will earn.

Blackpool South MP Scott Bentons Workers (Predictable Terms and Conditions) Bill was backed by the government. Photo: PA/Alamy

A significant number of my constituents experience unpredictable work, Benton said. Being able to ask their employers to consider requests for a more predictable working pattern such as working on set days, or for a permanent contract, will help them to work more predictable hours and provide more reliably for their families in some cases, and help with their work-life balance in other situations.

This bill gives people a right to ask their employers to consider requests and will be welcomed by thousands of people.

Read more: Does 'loud quitting' ever get you what you want at work?

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Of the changes, Labour markets minister Kevin Hollinrake said: Hard working staff on zero hours contracts across the country put their lives on hold to make themselves readily available for shifts that may never actually come.

Employers having one-sided flexibility over their staff is unfair and unreasonable. This bill will ensure workers can request more predictable working patterns where they want them, so they can get on with their daily lives.

The move comes as part of a package of policies to enhance workers rights across the country.

Pregnant woman will get more rights under the new law. Photo: Getty

This includes supporting parents of babies who need neonatal additional care with paid neonatal care leave, and requiring employers to ensure that all tips received must be paid to workers in full.

Pregnant women and new parents will also be offered more protection against redundancy.

What are your rights on a zero-hours contract?

If you're on a zero-hours contract you can be legally classed as an employee or a worker. Your rights are based on your employment status, not on having a zero-hours contract.

As an employee or worker, your legal rights include national minimum wage and national living wage, paid holiday, rest breaks, protection from discrimination and receiving pay slips.

What are the problems associated with insecure contracts?

TUC analysis of Labour Force Survey data shows that 3.7 million people are in insecure work, which amounts to around one in nine of the workforce. It includes those on zero-hours contracts, agency, casual and seasonal workers, and the low-paid self-employed who miss out on key rights and protections that come with being an employee.

More people found themselves in insecure work after the financial crisis in 2007. According to the TUC, two-thirds of the employment growth in the UK after 2008 was accounted for by zero hours contracts, agency work, temporary work and low-paid self-employment.

Read more: Menopause at work: What are your rights?

There are a number of problems associated with these types of work. The CIPD has found zero-hours contract workers are likely to be less satisfied overall with their employment contracts and pay and conditions compared with other employees.

Additionally, nearly half (48%) of employers of zero-hours workers said that they do not compensate workers for shifts that are cancelled with less than 24 hours notice. The prospect of having work offered or cancelled at short notice makes it hard to budget household bills, particularly amid the rising cost of living.

Watch: Why do we still have a gender pay gap?
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Burkina Faso has denied claims that it awarded a mining permit to Nordgold just because it is a Russian company, its mines minister told the media on Sunday (5 February), rebuffing Western concerns that the ruling junta is seeking closer ties with Moscow.

Burkina Faso allows all companies to operate in the west African country if they pay taxes and respect its laws, Minister of Energy, Mines and Quarries Simon-Pierre Boussim said. We didnt give the permit to Nordgold because it is a Russian company, far from it, he said on the sidelines of the Mining Indaba conference in Cape Town. The government, which took power in September last year in the countrys second coup in just eight months, granted a gold mining permit to Nordgold in December. Nordgold operates the Bissa and Bouly mines in the gold-rich West African country and It also owns the Taparko mine, which it shut down in April last year due to security risks. Nordgold, which has been hit by US sanctions, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Ghanaian President Nana Akufo-Addo in December 2022 caused controversy by saying the Burkinabe military junta had hired mercenaries from Russias Wagner group to help it fight Islamist militants, and was paying them through a mine. Ouagadougou has denied paying Russian mercenaries by giving them the rights to a mine, but has not formally denied the allegation that it has made an agreement with Wagner. The prospect of the Russian group expanding its presence in Africa has troubled the United States and France, who say Wagner exploits mineral resources and commits human rights abuses in countries where it operates. Burkina Fasos neighbor, Mali, which hired Wagner in 2022 to help it fight insurgents, has meanwhile announced that Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov will pay a two-day visit to the country this week. The Malian foreign ministry has described the visit as a reflection of a shared wish to strengthen defense and security ties.
The European Union has threatened to blacklist Kenya over corruption and money laundering, with the blocs Ambassador to Kenya warning that the east African countrys reluctance to curb corruption and money laundering could scare off investors.

The EU is revisiting an old problem Nairobi has struggled to contain and if there is no substantial progress with regard to curbing corruption and money laundering, Kenya may also face restrictions, EU Ambassador to Kenya Henriette Geiger told a media briefing over the upcoming European Union-Kenya Business Forum with the Kenya Private Sector Alliance (2 February). For us, we think that to fight corruption is in the best interest of Kenya because maybe this is the single most determinant of investment. And also, Kenya is on the watchlist for money laundering, Geiger added. If Kenya is not making an effort, it will be blacklisted and that has a lot of very negative consequences. The most important one is that investors are shying away.

The EU ambassador was reacting to the 2022 Corruption Perceptions Index recently published by the Transparency International that ranked Kenya at 123 out of 180 countries and territories assessed with a score of 32 out of 100, a slight improvement from a score of 30 points in 2021. However, there are overall some encouraging signs that corruption is being successfully tackled in parts of Africa. Some African nations have made significant progress and are rising on the index, including Angola, Ivory Coast, Ethiopia and Senegal. Seven of the 24 countries that we see improving are actually in Africa, so this is one of the regions that is stuck at the bottom of the index, but where we also see progress happening, says Transparency Internationals Roberto Kukutschka.
A United Nations peacekeeper from South Africa was killed in an attack on a helicopter in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) on Sunday (5 February), just as East African regional leaders have renewed their call for an immediate ceasefire by all sides involved in the bloody conflict.

The UN aircraft came under fire during a flight to Goma, the provincial capital of Nord-Kivu province, but the source of the fire that struck the helicopter was not yet known, said Amadou Ba, a spokesman for the UN mission in the DRC (MONUSCO). A crew member was fatally shot in the attack, while another suffered injuries but still managed to land safely at Goma Airport. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called on Congolese authorities to investigate this heinous attack and swiftly bring those responsible to justice, his spokesman said in a statement. In March 2022, eight UN peacekeepers  six Pakistanis, one Russian and one Serb  were killed when their helicopter crashed over a combat zone between the Congolese army and M23 rebels.

This comes as leaders of the regional East African Community (EAC) bloc called Saturday (4 February) for an immediate ceasefire by all parties, according to a communique issued at the end of their meeting at a summit in Burundis capital. The conflict in eastern DRC pits the countrys military against the M23 rebel group that UN experts and Western powers accuse Rwanda of supporting, a claim which Kigali denies. The M23 rebel group has seized large areas of eastern DRC in a rapid onslaught since 20 October that has threatened the provincial capital, Goma. The latest EAC meeting was the latest diplomatic effort to try to end the insurgency, which has displaced at least 520,000 people in eastern DRC.
Pope Francis has ended his peace mission to South Sudan with an impassioned plea urging the people to resist the venom of hatred to achieve the peace, forgiveness and prosperity that have eluded them through years of bloody ethnic conflicts.

Reconciliation and mutual forgiveness for past wrongs  these were the main themes woven in the Popes homily during his last public engagement before flying home. On Sunday (5 February), the 86-year-old pontiff presided at an open-air Mass, reportedly with some 100,000 people in attendance, that was held on the grounds of a mausoleum for South Sudans liberation hero John Garang, who died in 2005. As bouts of fighting continue to kill and displace many civilians despite the 2018 peace deal between two main antagonists, Francis made one more last plea for peace and forgiveness in the war-torn country.

The predominantly Christian South Sudan broke away from Muslim Sudan in 2011, but two years later plunged into a civil war that has so far killed 400,000 people. The pope has had a longstanding interest in the worlds youngest nation. In one of the most remarkable gestures of his papacy, he knelt to kiss the feet of the countrys previously warring leaders during a meeting at the Vatican in 2019. The historical pilgrimage of peace undertaken jointly by leaders of the Catholic, Anglican and Reformed traditions conducted a joint foreign visit has sought a recommitment to the 2018 peace deal in South Sudan. Despite having some of the largest crude oil reserves in sub-Saharan Africa, the country of nearly 11 million has been beset by widespread poverty and dire humanitarian situation was further aggravated by natural disasters.
The Andean Parliament reaffirmed its steady position in support of Moroccos sovereignty over the Sahara as it rebuked the blunder of one of its speakers who derailed from that position at a meeting in Algiers.

The Andean Parliaments foreign affairs committee made it clear that its Speaker gave her own personal statement on the Sahara issue at the 17th OIC parliamentary union in Algiers.

Morocco is an observing member of the Andean parliament, which was created in 1979 with headquarters in Bogota. It entered into force in January 1984.

The Andean Parliament has since 2018 formally supported Moroccos territorial integrity and unity and backed the Kingdoms efforts to settle the conflict over its southern provinces, the Sahara.

The final statement of the the 17th OIC parliamentary union has also condemned the anti-Morocco resolution adopted by the European parliament

The Andean parliament is the governing and deliberative body of the Andean Community. It was created by virtue of the Constitutive Treaty signed by the chancellors of Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru. The process of Argentinas membership is underway.
Cyprus' presidential election heads for runoff

Xinhua) 08:34, February 06, 2023

A woman votes at a polling station in Nicosia, Cyprus, Feb. 5, 2023. Voters in Cyprus went to the polls on Sunday to elect a new president to succeed outgoing President Nicos Anastasiades. (Photo by George Christophorou/Xinhua)

NICOSIA, Feb. 5 (Xinhua) -- Former Cypriot foreign minister Nicos Christodoulides took the lead in Cyprus' presidential election on Sunday, and will face off with Andreas Mavroyiannis, who came second, in a runoff on Feb. 12.

Christodoulides, who ran as an independent, garnered 32.04 percent of the vote, and Mavroyiannis, who also ran as an independent and supported by the left wing AKEL party, garnered 29.61 percent of the vote, Chief Returning Officer Costas Constantinou announced after the counting of all votes on Sunday.

Fourteen candidates participated in the election, but none of them won an absolute majority.

Averof Neophytou, leader of the ruling DISY party, ended third with 26.11 percent of the vote and was thus left out of the presidential race, ending the party's ten-year-long hold on power in the eastern Mediterranean island.

Neophytou's performance in the election was considered by political analysts as a blow not only to himself but also to his right-wing party.

Both Christodoulides and Mavroyiannis had been close associates of the outgoing president Nicos Anastasiades who will step down at the end of February.

Christodoulides served for four years as spokesman for Anastasiades and then as his foreign minister for another four years.

Mavroyiannis, a diplomat at the foreign ministry, had been Anastasiades' negotiator in peace talks with Turkish Cypriots for a settlement to the Cyprus problem.

Political analysts said that the two presidential hopefuls would start wooing DISY voters for their support ahead of the runoff vote.

A DISY official said the party would meet on Monday to decide its official stance in relation to the runoff.

The Chief Returning Officer said that out of 561,273 registered voters 404,403 people, or 72.05 percent, cast ballot papers.

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun)
Nebil Baffoun, former Chief of Tunisias independent electoral body (ISIE) has been banned from leaving the territory  a move he slammed as nonsense.

Baffoun in a Saturday Facebook post indicated that he received an offer from international organization for a mission in Mauritania but he realized that he has been banned from traveling.

I was removed from the ISIE because I had said that the activation of Article 80 was unconstitutional, and I will refrain from commenting on the current composition of the body. Eight months later, I obtained a contract to work abroad in a large international institution for the observation of elections. I was to leave for Nouakchott at the head of a mission, except that I was flagged S17, he said in the video post.

Baffoun said airport authorities barred him flying because the profession in his passport does not match his current one. He indicated the ministry of Justice, since his removal from the ISIE last year, has also banned him from resuming his profession as court bailiff.

Baffoun also revealed that he is not the only one being targeted by authorities but said he is confident things will soon be over.

President Kais Saied replaced in May last year members of ISIE including Baffoun, who had then slammed the move arguing that the body is no longer independent after the presidents decree to replace its members.

Several people as well as civil society organizations and political parties including the countrys largest party Ennahdha had also laid into the move.
Raila Odinga, leader of the opposition in Kenya and head of Azimio coalition, has unveiled youth resistance movement dubbed movement for defense of democracy that he intends to use to push President William Ruto out the state office, Nation Africa reported Sunday.

Speaking during a rally in Kamukunji grounds in Kibra as part of public consultative meetings, Odinga argued that Ruto did not win the August 9 presidential election but got to the office by hijacking and subverting the will of the people.

The leader of Orange Democratic Movement slammed Ruto for governing in absolute contempt for the people and the countrys institutions.

The President, he argued, failed on its promise to name a poor mans government but instead unveiled a government of billionaires that has no room for the poor.

Instead of lifting people out of poverty, President Rutos government was pushing more Kenyans into poverty, said Raila Odinga, who also attacked the President on his tax policy.

Sunday, Ruto indicated that all Kenyans, irrespective of their status, must pay taxes adding that there will be no tax waivers for anybody.

Where people expected a caring regime, they have been rewarded with the most I dont care government this country has ever known. Now even that little is being taken away. He is pick-pocketing the poor to feed his rich friends, said Odinga.

Corruption is written all over the government. The corrupt are having the best time of their lives. They managed to put one of their own as president. For the first time, they own a government, he added.
Few days after the adoption of a French-instigated European Parliament resolution hostile to Morocco, French Ambassador to Rabat tried to distance his country from the move that has angered Moroccan authorities and triggered a commensurate response from the European Parliament.

In an interview with French-speaking magazine Telquel, French Ambassador Christophe Lecourtier said that the resolution had no implications on Frances foreign policy, and that Paris had no role in it.

We are responsible only for decisions taken by the French authorities, he said.

Lecourtier gave the interview after a visit to Visa applications center where he was said to have ensured the return to normalcy in the visa process after months of restrictions that saw many Moroccan officials and businessmen get their visa denied.

The ambassador also voiced hope to see his country and Morocco cooperate closely on energy.

Yet his arguments or excuses are not convincing for Moroccan politicians. Moroccan MPs were straightforward in their resolution in response to what they described as an interference of the European Parliament in Moroccos judiciary, an affront to the rights of victims of rape and a violation in Moroccos sovereignty.

The Moroccan parliament referred to its disappointment at the instigation of members of European parliament from a country that was supposed to be a friend, hinting at France.

Indeed, the resolution was impelled by Stephane Sejourne, who leads Macrons MEPs at the European Parliament. Most French members of the EP voted for the anti-Moroccan resolution save some right-wing politicians.

The context is not giving any credence to the statements of the French ambassador as his country offers concessions to Algerias military regime going as far as promising to send them arms.

French president was the first to receive Algerias King maker, Chief of Staff Chengriha, and has kept silent regarding Algerias unilateral hostile acts towards Morocco.

As France empowers the military regime in Algeria, it is distancing itself from its longtime friend and ally signaling a decline in Frances foreign policy in the region in favor of closer ties with an oil and gas-dependent country mired in repression and instability and on the verge of collapse.
Morocco, under the farsighted leadership of King Mohammed VI, will always support the stability and territorial integrity of Sudan, said on Monday Moroccan Foreign minister Nasser Bourita.

Addressing remotely the 137th ministerial meeting of the Peace & Security Council of the African Union (AU), Bourita said Rabat will also always back the choices of the Sudanese people, reiterating the steadfast support of the North African Kingdom for the national unity of this brotherly country, its security and stability.

Morocco also welcomed the political framework Agreement sealed on Dec. 5, 2022, and the commitment of the stakeholders for an orderly transition, added Moroccos top diplomat, noting that the political process has been relaunched for the stabilization of the countrys democratic institutions.

Bourita hailed in this regard the efforts made by the UN, AU and IGAD (Intergovernmental Authority on Development) in facilitating inclusive political process, saying that continued trilateral engagement will help preserve the December 5 deal and enable the country to overcome its political and economic challenges.

The minister called on all parties and protagonists to make political compromises in order to build independent democratic institutions based on transparency and accountability.

Although much remains to be done, the direction taken by Sudan is promising, underlined Bourita, who voiced hope to see this brotherly country stable and regain its place in the pan-African institutional family.
North Africa Post's news desk is composed of journalists and editors, who are constantly working to provide new and accurate stories to NAP readers.
Icon, champion, courageous pioneer and bold advocate are just a few words that have been used to describe Salem native Sarah Thomas.

Mayors, governors, senators, councilmen, young students and more have commended her dedication to researching the sickle cell disease and educating the community.

After Thomas 10-year-old son, Todd Phillip Franklin Thomas, passed away from sickle cell disease in Feb. 1974, she became a torchbearer for education on and treatment for the condition. Up until the day she passed on July 2, 2022, at the age of 91, she never stopped being an advocate.

On Monday, Feb. 6, Thomas would have turned 92.

Ms. Sarah Thomas was a champion in the battle against sickle cell, Opelika Mayor Gary Fuller said. She was such a hard worker and she had a lot of perseverance.

Fuller first met Thomas right after he was elected as mayor in 2004. He said she was quick to call and make an appointment to tell him about what she was doing.

She made a lot of difference not only in Opelika and Lee County, but she made a lot of difference in the State of Alabama of raising awareness of sickle cell and doing things to get screenings for newborn infants.

Lee County Sheriff Jay Jones knew Thomas for over 30 years. He was also a board member on the sickle cell foundation Thomas started because he felt it was important to help bring awareness to the disease.

She was just a big sweetheart. She was so kind and generous and caring about others, Jones said. One of the things that I always admired about her was that she had a genuine and sincere concern for others, especially in regard to the circumstances surrounding sickle cell.

Jones said the world needs more people like Thomas who are dedicated and committed to helping others and caring for them.

Becoming an advocate

Thomas was born to Arthur Sr. and Maggie Ward on Feb. 6, 1931. She grew up in Salem and was the second oldest of nine siblings. She was a 1951 graduate of East Street High School in Opelika and went on to attend Tuskegee University, Auburn University and The University of Alabama.

Thomas and her late husband Benny Thomas Jr. were the proud parents of four children: Gregory, Ronald, Maggie and Todd. Before she passed, she had three grandchildren and two great grandchildren. Maggie said her mother loved her family dearly, and they loved her.

In 1974 during the time Todd was in the hospital suffering from sickle cell anemia, Thomas was working as a nurse. She asked the doctor questions about the disease, but he replied that he didnt have much information about it.

It was that day, when my brother died, my mother said, No other mother will have to go through what I just went through and people not knowing about the disease, Maggie said.

Maggie was 11 years old when her younger brother passed away and she described it as a traumatic experience for her family.

Sickle cell anemia is an inherited disorder that affects the shape of red blood cells that carry oxygen to all parts of the body. Those with the disease have some red blood cells shaped like sickles or crescent moons instead of a round shape, according to a study from the Mayo Clinic.

These crescent-shaped cells become hard and sticky and can clog the blood flow causing pain and other serious complications. These cells also die early causing a shortage of red blood cells.

This disease most commonly affects people of African descent and symptoms usually appear around six months of age. For a baby to be born with it, both parents must carry the sickle cell gene.

In the 1970s, there was little information about the disease and no programs to help prevent or combat it, so Thomas took it upon herself to make a change.

She received extensive training from Grady and Emory Hospitals in Atlanta, Ga. and established the first sickle cell program in the state in 1974, the Southeast Alabama Sickle Cell Association, with a goal to provide education, screening, counseling, medical and financial referrals to victims of the disease.

Thomas, along with her daughter Maggie, traveled to the Alabama State Capitol in 1979 to meet with Gov. George C. Wallace.

I was there in that first meeting, and immediately, they did not have funding, but (Gov. Wallace) said, Go to the discretionary funds and find this lady some money for her program, Maggie said.

The program became the first of its kind to receive state funding. Prior to this, in 1975, Wallace also declared February as State Sickle Cell Month, for the first time in honor of Todd.

Throughout the years, Alabama governors continued to do so. The last time Thomas was able to travel to Montgomery for the proclamation signing was in 2013 when Robert Bentley was governor.

By 1980, Thomas became responsible for initiating the screening of newborn infants for sickle cell in hospitals statewide.

Maggie said Thomas founded a new program in 1991 shifting her primary goal to emphasizing medical care and research, called the Lee County-East Alabama Comprehensive Sickle Cell Education and Research Foundation, Inc. She operated out of East Alabama Medical Center and Phenix Regional Hospital.

Her contributions to the sickle cell phenomenon ignited sickle cell chapters throughout the state of Alabama, Maggie said.

Board members for the local foundation included Lee County Sheriff Jay Jones, Auburn Senator Ted Little, late Lee County Commissioner John Harris, Rep. Rev. George Brandy, late councilman Clarence Harris, late councilwoman Mary Brook, late Lindbergh Jackson and more.

Maggie said her mother had quality and qualified people serving on her board. She wanted only the best representing the organization.

Melton Torbert was the last president of the foundation Thomas appointed. Torbert remembered Thomas visiting his school when he was young, and when she got sick recently, he called to check on her every day, according to Maggie.

In my mothers failing health, she wanted somebody that she knew was going to work, Maggie said. She knew that he would hold that organization up.

More contributions

Thomas traveled to schools throughout Alabama to spread awareness and her research even expanded to Nairobi, Kenya.

In addition to being an advocate for sickle cell awareness, Maggie said her mother was involved in her community.

Thomas was a devoted member of Pleasant View Baptist Church in Salem where she served as president of the Usher Board and Deacon Wives, chairperson of the Sick and Shut-in Ministry and was the second vice president of the Auburn District Baptist Women Convention that served 66 churches.

She also established the Nurses Guild, a nursing program within churches, and she served as counselor for the guild in the Auburn District and the Southeast State Convention.

Thomas became the first Black deputized registrar in Salem where she was devoted to getting people out to vote. She was also an instructor for the Lee County Chapter of the American Red Cross where she traveled across the state providing training.

Other accomplishments included being, named Most Influential Woman in the book Women of the South, chosen as Girl Scout Role Model of the Year, being Alabama State Grand Matron in 1970, chosen for Channel 9 WTVM Special Friends Award for her work in the community and listed in Jet and Ebony magazines, two national magazines that spotlight African Americans.

My mother was a phenomenal person, Maggie said. She just embodied elegance, she was such an eloquent lady, she was courageous, she was bold. Every challenge she met was nothing to her.

Thomas death was mourned across the state in July and several cities, including Opelika and Tuskegee, made proclamations to celebrate and honor her life.
The OPEC+ group deserves to be given credit for the way it has handled oil market stability in recent months, OPEC Secretary General Haitham told Reuters on Monday.

Due recognition should be given for our constructive and positive role in supporting global market stability including to remind ourselves that the G20 and major consumers around the world commended us for our historical actions taken since 2020, Al Ghais told Reuters on the sidelines of the ongoing India Energy Week conference.

OPEC+ decided in October last year to reduce their target oil production by 2 million barrels per day (bpd) from November onwards. Yet, the actual cut is estimated to have been around 1 million bpd. The cut is in force until December 2023 or until the alliance decides otherwise.

Last week, the OPEC+ panel recommending policy actions, the Joint Ministerial Monitoring Committee (JMMC), decided that the group should keep production targets and quotas unchanged in a widely-expected move considering the uncertainties in both supply and demand.

OPECs crude oil production is estimated to have dropped in January by around 60,000 bpd due to cuts by top producer Saudi Arabia which may have been steeper than the Kingdoms quota, a survey carried out by Bloomberg showed last week.

Still, OPEC and the OPEC+ group, which includes Russia and a dozen other non-OPEC producers, are pumping crude oil at levels well below the collective target the OPEC+ alliance set as of November 2022.

We believe there is great confidence and trust in the OPEC+ group and its decisions where we have proven time and again that we are ready to act immediately and respond to the dynamic nature of the market, Al Ghais told Reuters.

Last month, OPECs secretary general said in a Bloomberg interview that signs of cautious optimism about a recovery in economies and oil demand had emerged.

OPEC is determined to do whatever it takes to keep the oil market balanced in 2023, Al Ghais told Bloomberg Television in the middle of January.

By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com

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As winter approached, Iran was relishing the prospect of falling temperatures that could put Europe in a deep freeze and allow Tehran to bask in the wealth of its formidable natural-gas reserves.

A difficult winter for Europeans would offer many advantages, including leverage in protracted negotiations in Vienna aimed at reviving Irans stalled nuclear deal with world powers, according to the ideas floated by Iranian officials and state media.

Wait two months, until winter arrives in Europe, to get a better deal, the Kayhan newspaper, which often echoes the hard-line views of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, wrote as negotiators met in the autumn of 2022.

The thinking was that European nations across the negotiating table would be compelled to lift harsh sanctions against Iranian energy exports. And as Europe struggled to keep warm, Iran would not only be able to capitalize on an agreement reached in the summer to import Russian natural gas, but also be in a position to fill the void left after Russian natural-gas deliveries to Europe were restricted as punishment for the Kremlins unprovoked war against Ukraine.

Iran Overwhelmed By Increased Electricity Use

Even as the nuclear talks stalled, the sanctions remained in place, and promised Russian natural-gas deliveries never materialized, the mood in Iran was still optimistic as severe cold arrived in the Islamic republic in January.

Iran would have no trouble weathering the cold, the Javan newspaper, which is close to the powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, gloated, whereas the French have received remittances of firewood, the Germans have gone to coal, the British are burning cat feces, and the Swedes go to work with blankets to survive this harsh winter.

But as temperatures plunged and demand for natural gas rose at home, Iran was not in a position to deliver. Authorities instead scrambled to conserve gas, leading to the closure of some schools and public facilities. Citizens angered over higher gas prices and cutoffs held scattered protests, adding a new cause to ongoing anti-government demonstrations in Iran.

Meanwhile, the increased use of electricity overwhelmed power grids, while the burning of dirty fuels such as mazut and animal dung led to a spike in air pollution.

"Over the past few days, when the temperature reached -20 degrees Celsius...we could not provide kerosene or liquid petroleum gas to the people to use, the semiofficial ILNA news agency quoted Mohammad Sargazi, a lawmaker from the southeastern province of Sistan-Baluchistan, as saying last month. "The conditions were so difficult that they burned firewood and animal excrement in the villages."

Failed Energy Management

Social media posts painted a picture of desperation as gas was cut off to many areas of Iran in the middle of the cold snap.

Videos showed long lines of consumers around the country waiting to get refills of bottled gas for cooking and other household needs. Young students were shown bundled up with blankets in freezing classrooms. Other images emerged of outraged Iranians taking to the streets to protest the lack of supplies and gathering outside aid offices to demand electric heaters.

But while Iranians and observers were incredulous as to how a country with such enormous natural-gas reserves could continue to find itself in such a situation, experts had a simple answer: decades of misguided strategies that have made Iran overly dependent on natural gas and put the countrys energy security at risk.

Iran holds the second-largest natural-gas reserves in the world, said Umud Shokri, a Washington-based energy strategist and faculty associate at George Mason University. [But] due to high domestic consumption, mismanagement, sanctions, and a lack of financial resources and highly advanced technology, it has not been able to use this capital efficiently.

Despite its vast reserves, Iran has been a net importer of natural gas since 2011, when it turned to supplies from Turkmenistan in an attempt to reverse its perennial energy crisis, Shokri told RFE/RL in written comments.

But the additional gas has failed to match Irans status as one of the worlds top five consumers of natural gas. Shortages rose to up to 300 million cubic meters of gas a day this winter, and the deficit is only growing bigger as domestic production declines, aging infrastructure deteriorates, and Iran struggles to get the foreign investment and technology it needs to turn things around.

Domestic gas production did rise considerably over the past two decades, boosted by the exploitation of the worlds largest gas field: the South Pars field, 3,000 meters below the seabed of the Persian Gulf. But like most of Irans gas fields, production at South Pars is expected to drop steadily without the construction of massive new drilling platforms.

Even if Iran could work out a deal today with a foreign partner with the expertise to construct such platforms -- as Qatar did on its share of South Pars -- it would cost $25 billion and take five years to see results, according to Shokri.

Dalga Khatinoglu, an expert on Iranian energy issues, said that much of the countrys natural gas is wasted as a result of gas leaks, inefficient electricity production, the lack of proper storage facilities, and the flaring off of gas that the country does not have the technology to capture.

And whereas Iran invested up to $20 billion annually into its oil and gas sector in the early 2000s, that figure was halved by 2016 and has fallen to only about $3 billion per year since, according to Khatinoglu.

Sanctions, Russia In The Equation

Iran took a big step toward injecting new life into its energy sector after it agreed to the nuclear deal with world powers in 2015. Under the agreement, some international sanctions against Iran were lifted in exchange for curbs on Irans disputed nuclear program. Within a year, Iran had inked a $5 billion deal with the French energy major Total, one of the few Western companies with the required expertise and technology, to further develop and install one new platform at the South Pars field.

But when the United States withdrew from the nuclear accord in 2018 and reintroduced sanctions that could penalize companies working with Tehran, Total left the project. Iran next turned to the China National Petroleum Company (CNPC) for a partnership to develop South Pars, but in 2019 the CNPC also pulled out of the project.

Next in line was Russia, which shares Irans interest in circumventing Western sanctions, leading to a $40 billion agreement in July with the Russian energy giant Gazprom to develop a number of gas and oil fields. But experts say that Gazprom, like the CNPC, lacks the capabilities needed to further develop South Pars.

Iran has also not received any of the 55 million cubic meters of Russian gas it was to import under the deal with Moscow.

The Russian supplies, Shokri said, would have been used by Iran both for domestic consumption and to pull off a swap under which Iran would receive Russian gas and send its own gas to Russian customers in the region, taking a cut along the way.

In the end, the deal did not pan out, in large part due to Moscows existing gas transit routes through Turkey, which left no excess gas to be delivered to Iran. Russian reluctance to aid a potential gas exporting rival also played a part, according to Shokri.

Considering that Russia can no longer play an important role in Europe's energy security, the country's oil and natural-gas export market will shift to Asia, Shokri said. Moscow does not want Iran to be a competitor in the energy market of Asia.

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A Green Solution?

Iranian Oil Minister Javid Oji, speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a government meeting last week, touted plans to develop its energy sector.

Acknowledging that the country was in the midst of an unprecedentedly cold winter, Oji defended price hikes for natural gas, noted that millions of consumers had been spared cutoffs, and said that relief would come by the end of the year as more domestically produced supplies are injected into the countrys pipeline network.

But experts counter that such fixes are not a long-term solution.

Shokri pointed to hitches in previous workarounds, such as the loss of imported natural gas from Turkmenistan in January, when Iran failed to pay off its debts to the Central Asian nation and the supplies were rerouted to Azerbaijan.

While the focus should be on sustainable development and improving the economic welfare of the Iranian people, the energy strategist said, in Iran the priority is just deterrence.

The administration of President Ebrahim Raisi, Shokri said, does not have a proper understanding of energy security, energy diplomacy, and energy transition, which he said requires an economy based on green and clean energies.

But making such a transition, he said, requires huge financial resources and advanced technology.

The tense foreign policy of the Islamic republic, along with the continuation of nuclear, missile, and drone programs, as well as interference in the affairs of other countries, [also] makes Iran unable to easily attract the necessary financial and technological resources to solve the current problems of Iran's energy industry.

By RFE/RL

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U.S. supermajor Chevron has increased efforts to reach an energy exploration agreement with Algeria and is assessing the North African countrys estimated huge shale gas resources, The Wall Street Journal reported on Monday, quoting sources with knowledge of the plans.

Other energy majors, including Eni and TotalEnergies, see Algeria and North Africa as sources to replace Russian natural gas deliveries to Europe after Russia slashed supply to the West after it invaded Ukraine.

Chevron has sent representatives to Algiers to explore opportunities, and some of those representatives have met with Algerian officials in recent weeks, the Journals sources say.

Chevron is also assessing the vast shale gas resources that Algeria is estimated to have. Algeria is believed to have the worlds third-biggest shale gas resources, at 706.9 trillion cubic feet, more than the U.S. shale gas resources estimated at 622.5 trillion cubic feet, according to data compiled by the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Only China and Argentina are estimated to hold more shale gas resources than Algeria.

Algeria holds a world-class petroleum system with significant potential for conventional and unconventional oil-and-gas exploration, a spokeswoman for Chevron told the Journal, but declined to comment on specific opportunities or discussions.

Chevron operates in the Mediterranean, with a stake in the huge Leviathan gas field offshore Israel, one of the worlds largest deepwater gas discoveries of the 2000-2010 period. The U.S. supermajor is also the operator of the Nargis Offshore Area Concession offshore Egypt in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea. Last month, Eni announced a significant new gas discovery at the Nargis-1 exploration well in the area in which Chevron Holdings C Pte. Ltd. is the operator with a 45% interest.

Oil and gas majors are now looking to sign additional deals in the Mediterranean and North Africa to supply gas to Europe, which wants to ditch Russian gas by 2027.

Enis chief executive Claudio Descalzi told the Financial Times last month that Europe should look to Africa for a south-north energy axis that would deliver gas from Africa to the EU.

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As of Sunday, no Russian oil products can be imported into the European Union, per the latest sanction hit of Brussels against Moscow.

The embargo has been combined with a price cap, agreed upon with the G7 in the same way that the EU and the G7 coordinated the price cap on Russian crude last year.

The price caps were agreed at $100 per barrel of diesel, which trades at a premium to crude oil, and $45 per barrel of fuel oil and other oil products that trade at a discount to crude oil. The price cap applies to Russian fuel cargoes shipped on vessels owned by companies based in the EU or G7.

There is some concern among analysts that the end of Russian fuel deliveries will push prices in the EU higher, but the EU is hoping to avoid such a development by switching to new suppliers, mostly from the Middle East.

Some have warned that the fuel embargo will have a more disruptive effect on energy markets than the crude oil embargo that went into effect on December 5 last year.

Russia, in the meantime, is on track to export more refined products this month than it exported in January, according to traders and cargo data, reported by Reuters.

Exports of low-sulfur diesel and gasoil from Russian ports on the Black Sea and the Baltic Sea are set for monthly growth of between 5 percent and 10 percent to a combined 4.3 million tons, the data showed.

Yet Russian fuel exporters are facing challenges, such as a shortage of tankers to carry their products and the risk of port closures due to stormy weather. The price caps, on the other hand, could affect refiners margins and prompt them to reduce production.

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Crude oil could soon swing into a deficit that will make next year a difficult one, Goldman Sachs said, as spare production capacity dwindles and underinvestment threatens future supply.

Speaking on the sidelines of an event in Saudi Arabia, Goldmans top commodity analyst Jeffrey Currie said, as quoted by Bloomberg, that the industry is not spending enough to secure future production and that spare capacity globally is declining.

This could tip the oil market into a serious supply problem next year, but the price for a barrel of Brent could top $100 before then.

According to Currie, rising demand from China and sanctions on Russian oil will contribute to the deficit, which he expects to manifest in the second quarter of this year. In response, producers will tap their spare capacity, leaving it lower than it was before. Eventually, this will lead to a serious imbalance between supply and demand.

Right now, were still balanced to a surplus because China has still yet to fully rebound, Currie told Bloomberg. Are we going to run out of spare production capacity? Potentially by 2024 you start to have a serious problem.

Saudi Arabias energy minister has echoed the concern about insufficient spending on future oil production. In fact, Abdulaziz bin Salman has been warning about that for more than a year, and he did so again this weekend.

All of those so-called sanctions, embargoes, lack of investments, they will convolute into one thing and one thing only, a lack of energy supplies of all kinds when they are most needed, he said.

Brent crude has been trading at between $75 and $80 a barrel for most of the year so far but Goldman, along with other investment banks, believes it has higher to go. According to Currie, the oil market will swing into a deficit by May.

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Hong Kong is still hoping to convince Aramco to make its secondary listing on the city-states stock exchange, the chief executive of the city has said.

Several years ago, when the Saudi government first announced it would partially privatize its state oil major, Hong Kong was among the candidates for the secondary listing of the company along with London and New York.

Aramco debuted on the Saudi stock exchange in December 2019 and became the most valuable company in the world as the listing valued it at $1.7 trillion, which rose to $1.9 trillion on the first day of trading.

Although there were plans for a dual listing, these got changed eventually as it became clear that, for the primary listing, Aramco would need to rely mostly on local and regional investors as international interest in the listing failed to live up to expectations.

Saudi Aramcos businesses are very diversified with its different subsidiaries. I will try my best to encourage them to come to Hong Kong for participation, including listing in the city, Hong Kongs John Lee told the South China Morning Post.

Indeed, Aramco didnt stop with just its own listing: three of its subsidiaries were also made public in the years since their parents listing.

With our pool of professionals and free flow of capital, Hong Kong has been a popular destination for sovereign funds and companies [for listings], the Hong Kong chief executive also told the daily.

The latest of the Aramco listings, of its refining unit Luberef, raised $1.3 billion and was the biggest listing on the Tadawul exchange in 2022.

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John Lees visit to Saudi Arabia aims to boost bilateral trade and investment flows in a bid to deepen their trade ties, the chief executive of Hong Kong said on social media.

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The Ceyhan oil terminal in southern Turkey has halted operations after the devastating earthquake in Turkey and Syria early on Monday, Tribeca Shipping Agency said, as carried by Reuters.

A powerful earthquake of 7.8 magnitude on the Richter scale hit Turkey and Syria in the early hours of Monday local time, killing hundreds of people and injuring thousands more. Early estimates point to at least 600 people killed in the quake, whose epicenter was in the Pazarcik district of Kahramanmaras province in Turkey.

The Ceyhan oil terminal is around 155 kilometers, or 96 miles, from the epicenter of the earthquake.

As a whole, the ports in southern Turkey are affected by the earthquake, and there are delays to operations, according to a notice by Tribeca Shipping Agency carried by Reuters.

Natural gas supply to the Turkish provinces of Gaziantep, Hatay, and Kahramanmaras was halted after a gas transmission line was damaged as a result of the earthquake, Turkish state pipeline operator BOTAS said today.

But the key oil pipelines in Turkey have not been damaged as a result of the quake, an energy official in the country told Reuters.

Those pipelines are the Kirkuk-Ceyhan pipeline and the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline. Despite the fact that the oil pipelines are intact, there could be delays to operations at the Ceyhan oil terminal, the endpoint of the Kirkuk-Ceyhan pipeline, a major export line from Kirkuk in Iraq.

The BakuTbilisiCeyhan (BTC) pipeline, for its part, is a 1,768 kilometers (1,100 miles) long crude oil pipeline from the Azeri-Chirag-Deepwater Gunashli (ACG) oil field in the Caspian Sea in Azerbaijan to the Mediterranean Sea.

Kazakhstan, which looks to diversify its oil export routes to reduce dependence on the Russian oil terminal at Novorossiysk, on the Russian Black Sea coast, plans to move more crude to the BakuTbilisiCeyhan pipeline this year.

In 2023, Kazakhstan hopes to deliver up to 1.5 million tons of oil through the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline, as part of growing efforts to find export routes bypassing Russia.

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On Monday, Saudi Arabia raised the official selling price of its flagship crude going to Asia in March. The hike, which was the first in six months, was due to expectations of a rebound in Chinese demand.

Saudi oil giant Aramco lifted the price of its flagship Arab Light grade to Asia for March loadings by $0.20 per barrel to a premium of $2.00 a barrel over the Dubai/Oman average, despite the fact that oil prices have fallen so far this year. Thats the first increase in the official selling prices (OSPs) for Asia since September, likely reflecting Saudi expectations that demand in Asia will be rising from the second quarter onwards.

Last month, Saudi Arabia slashed the Arab Light price by $1.45 per barrel, setting the price for February loadings at $1.80 a barrel above the Dubai/Oman benchmark. The premium to the Dubai/Oman average for February is the lowest since November 2021, but it was generally in line with expectations.

For March, however, the increase in Saudi prices came as a surprise to the market.

The OSP is quite unexpected. I think it indicates that Saudi is bullish on oil demand, a Singapore-based oil trader told Reuters.

The move was contrary to expectations in a Reuters survey of four refining sources from last week, in which participants said they expected the price of Arab Light to be cut by around $0.30 for March loadings. Its also against the Bloomberg poll, in which traders and refiners expected a $0.20 cut from Aramco for next month.

For other grades, Aramco cut the price for Arab Extra Light by $1.30 to $2.25 a barrel over the Oman/Dubai benchmark, but raised the OSPs for Arab Medium and Arab Heavy by $0.50.

By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com

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Oil production at Norways huge Johan Sverdrup 1 oilfield was halted on Monday due to a technical fault and reduced power supply, the operator of the field, Norwegian energy major Equinor, said.

Production at the field, which can pump up to 535,000 barrels per day (bpd), was stopped after a technical fault in a cooling system occurred, a spokesperson for Equinor told Reuters on Monday.

The second phase of the oilfield, Johan Sverdrup 2, operates normally, the spokesperson added.

According to a filing with the Nordic power exchange Nordpool, an unplanned failure at a process plant has reduced electricity supply to a unit on the Johan Sverdrup platform. The estimated shutdown of the power supply is two to three days. The restart is tentatively scheduled for mid-day on Wednesday, February 8, according to the filing.

The Johan Sverdrup oilfield, Western Europes biggest oilfield which came online in 2019, produces 535,000 bpd of crude oil, and with Johan Sverdrup 2, the giant oilfield will produce 720,000 bpd at plateau.

Equinor started production from Johan Sverdrup 2 in the middle of December.

Johan Sverdrup alone can meet 6-7% of the daily oil demand in Europe. Recoverable volumes in the Johan Sverdrup field total 2.7 billion barrels of oil equivalent, Equinor says.

Johan Sverdrup accounts for large and important energy deliveries, and in the current market situation, most of the volumes will go to Europe, Geir Tungesvik, Equinor's executive vice president for Projects, Drilling & Procurement, said in December.

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The outage at Western Europes biggest oilfield comes a day after the EU banned seaborne imports of refined petroleum products from Russia and set a price cap on diesel at $100 per barrel. The embargo has been combined with the price cap for deliveries to third countries, agreed upon with the G7 in the same way that the EU and the G7 coordinated the price cap on Russian crude last year.

By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com
There is now a growing call for British energy and mining companies to reduce their dependence on China.

The hope that the investment in these relationships would bring China more in line with Western values has begun to fade.

Encouraged by successive governments, British companies have spent many years courting China, its resources and its huge, increasingly affluent population.

British companies have paid a part in Chinas unprecedented development, which has made the Middle Kingdom the worlds second-largest economy and raised hundreds of millions out of poverty.

However, the hope that such development would anchor China in the Western world and foster values such as respect for the rule of law, human rights, and democracy has been shown to be fundamentally wrong.

Modern, powerful, rich China undoubtedly is, but it is using this new-found power to challenge the West, not to coexist with it. Many are aware of its treatment of people inside Chinas borders, including of the Uighar Muslims in Xinjiang, dissident movements in Tibet and the digital ratings system which restricts and controls everyones personal movement.

The crushing of democracy movements and breaking of international treaties on Hong Kong, threats to invade Taiwan, island building in the South China Sea and subtle colonisation of Africa all point to a China which is determined to coerce, threaten and challenge the existing global order.

However, it is in the economic sphere where British interests are quietly but relentlessly coming under threat.

China controls the vast majority of the worlds critical minerals. According to the International Energy Agency China extracts 64% of the graphite and 60% the all rare earths extracted on earth. It is the worlds largest steel exporter.

It processes 87% of global production of rare earths, 65% of cobalt, 58% of lithium, 40% of copper and 35% of nickel.

Steel, iron, aluminium, lithium, cobalt, graphite, silicon and tin all flow through and are dominated by Chinese suppliers. These are crucial for the production of most modern goods including electronics, electric cars and wind turbines.

China controls the crucial commodities of the 21st century economy, without which the British economy cant prosper. The companies that conduct this trade are controlled by the Chinese government, which itself aims to challenge the Western economic pre-eminence.

According to the ONS, 13% of all our imports are from China and nearly 6% of our exports go there. Together with our dependence on Chinese minerals, China is an important and lucrative economic partner. We are sleepwalking into dependence on China, with grave economic and geopolitical implications.

This is not a problem only for the UK government. Sectors with national security implications have a key role  the private sector cannot simply treat China as just another customer, just another investor. British companies involved in such sectors are effectively now political actors; it is naive at best for them to expect their interactions with China to be ignored, and for political leaders it is essential to have eyes on any UK companies who are in danger of straying the wrong side of the line.

This is not a hypothetical. Major globally-active firms with British listings, such as British American Tobacco (BAT) and mining giant Rio Tinto, are increasing their investments in China. BAT recently announced a new facility in Shenzhen. Rio Tinto is deeply embedded in Chinas critical raw materials industry through a series of joint ventures and business contracts. It is also highly dependent on Chinese customers who account for 56% of the companys total sales, according to Nikkei Asia.

Rio Tintos China links are growing stronger. Chinalco, Chinas state-owned aluminium producer owns 11% of it and is its biggest shareholder. It has also just struck a deal with China Baowu Steel Group to develop an iron ore mine in Western Australia.

Given the strategic importance of these raw materials and the UKs wider energy and mineral security strategy, a key goal of which is to reduce reliance on China, these relationships potentially put Rio Tinto in a vulnerable position.

The Canadian government recently ordered China to sell its holdings in three Canadian mining companies, with industry minister, Francois-Philippe Champagne, saying We will act decisively when investments threaten our national security and our critical minerals supply chains, both at home and abroad.

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The UK appears unwilling to take such firm action. Companies here that are deeply intertwined with, and dependent on, China are not treated with the level of scepticism and concern that they deserve.

Rio Tinto is not the only major player that has put itself in a potentially tricky position  but it is significant because of the importance of its industry. Turning down investment is never easy, but here may be an example of where it is necessary.

Our guest opinion areas do not necessarily reflect the views of City A.M. or Oilprice.com

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The Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services and two local organizations have updated the states suicide prevention plan that will be implemented for the next three years.

The Kim Foundation, a statewide organization focused on suicide prevention, created the 47-page document with DHHS and the Nebraska State Suicide Prevention Coalition to provide guidelines for individuals, businesses, schools, medical professionals, communities and other agencies to prevent suicide. It replaces another statewide strategic plan that was created in 2016.

We really wanted to make it more of an action plan and framework for all communities in Nebraska, no matter where they were, to dive into and select what would work in their community, said Julia Hebenstreit, executive director of the Kim Foundation. We knew that not everything in the plan would resonate with all communities, but every community or every person can find something in the plan.

Throughout the summer of 2022, the Kim Foundation collected data from 501 people through an online survey and focus groups. Participants were from each area of the state and included school personnel, suicide survivors, farmers, parents, youth and more. Hebenstreit said the foundation also made sure to survey people of different races, gender and sexuality.

The plan includes four major strategic directions: healthy and empowered individuals, families and communities; clinical and community prevention services; treatment and support services; and surveillance, research and evaluation. There are localized goals and recommendations depending on each strategic direction.

Hebenstreit said because the plan was just released, it hasnt received any state funding yet for implementing the goals on a larger level.

There are some systemic pieces that are going to take major funding and major undertakings, but theres also a lot of recommendations that can be used just on the grassroots level, she said. All of us can find something in there that we could do to help save lives from suicide.

In 2020  the latest data available  Nebraskas suicide rate at 14.9 per 100,000 people was higher than the national rate of 13.48 per 100,000 people.

A Nebraskan is lost to suicide every 32 hours, and suicide is the second leading cause of death for Nebraskans in the 10-34 age range.

Nebraska has been trying to prevent suicide since 1999, said Dave Miers, senior director of behavioral health services at Bryan Medical Center in Lincoln. Miers helped write the first statewide suicide prevention plan back then and has since formed the Nebraska State Suicide Prevention Coalition.

Every couple of years we developed and reformulated suicide prevention goals, but it wasnt until probably the last decade or so that we worked with the state and the state kind of took ownership, Miers said. Then we started developing new state plans to where they became part of DHHS.

One of the plans strategies on a local level is to form more suicide prevention coalitions across the state. These coalitions will be run by communities that can take recommendations from the state plan to incorporate in their own neighborhoods. Hebenstreit said communities can apply for funding when the Kim Foundation opens grant applications later this year.

Quinn Lewandowski, a research specialist at the University of Nebraska Public Policy Center who worked on the new plan, said it will be a challenge but also a key development to establish more local coalitions.

We want to continue to identify a primary contact so we can all coordinate together. We want people to collaborate because this is a very important issue and we cant all work in silos, Lewandowski said. We can do really good work together as a team.

Joining a coalition is just one of the recommendations for individuals to get involved in suicide prevention. People can also undergo training, attend local mental health events and continue to promote 988, the national suicide and crisis lifeline telephone number.

Hebenstreit said one of her favorite parts of the plan is that the voices of Nebraskans who were surveyed are intermingled throughout the recommendations. One resident said the state has improved in talking about behavioral health, but its crucial to train people on how to talk to others about it.

Another said: I want to see our community working on prevention efforts all the time, not just when something happens.

Our best Omaha staff photos & videos of January 2023
WASHINGTON  Monday was supposed to be a day of modest hope in the U.S.-China relationship. Secretary of State Antony Blinken was going to be in Beijing, meeting with President Xi Jinping in a high-stakes bid to ease ever-rising tensions between the world's two largest economies.

Instead, Blinken spent the day in Washington after abruptly cancelling his visit late last week as the U.S. and China exchanged angry words about a suspected Chinese spy balloon the U.S. shot down.

As fraught as the U.S.-China relationship was ahead of Blinken's planned trip, it's even worse now and there's little hope for it improving soon.

Meanwhile, U.S. officials said Monday that improvements ordered by President Joe Biden to strengthen defenses against Chinese espionage helped identify last weeks spy balloon  and determine that similar flights were conducted at points during the Trump administration.

White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said Monday that after Biden took office, the U.S. enhanced our surveillance of our territorial airspace, we enhanced our capacity to be able to detect things that the Trump administration was unable to detect.

Before Monday, U.S. officials said at least three times during the Trump administration and at least one other time during Bidens time as president balloons crossed American airspace, but not for this long.

In those instances, the United States determined the balloons belonged to China only after they left U.S. airspace, said Gen. Glen VanHerck, head of U.S. Northern Command.

I will tell you that we did not detect those threats, VanHerck said of his military command. And thats a domain awareness gap that we have to figure out. He added that the U.S. intelligence community after the fact informed his command about the balloons.

China accused the United States on Monday of indiscriminate use of force in shooting down the balloon, saying it seriously impacted and damaged both sides efforts and progress in stabilizing Sino-U.S. relations.

The U.S. shot down the balloon off the Carolina coast Saturday after it traversed sensitive military sites across North America.

Vice Foreign Minister Xie Feng said he lodged a formal complaint with the U.S. Embassy on Sunday over the U.S. attack on a Chinese civilian unmanned airship by military force.

However, the United States turned a deaf ear and insisted on indiscriminate use of force against the civilian airship that was about to leave the United States airspace, obviously overreacted and seriously violated the spirit of international law and international practice, Xie said.

The setback comes at a time when both sides look for a way to potentially extricate themselves from a low point in ties that has had the world on edge.

White House National Security Spokesman John Kirby noted Monday that Blinken's trip was delayed, not canceled. But prospects for rescheduling remain uncertain.

"I would put this at a six" on a scale of 10, said Danny Russel, a China expert and former assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs in the Obama administration, on the damage to current diplomatic efforts between the two countries.

"The signals I see suggest that there has to be a pause and a line drawn under the incident but once the drama has gone through its final act, there seems to be every intention to re-engineer a trip by the secretary of state," said Russel, who is now vice president for international security and diplomacy at the Asia Society Policy Institute.

It's not that the U.S. and China don't talk  it's that they talk from extremely divergent points of view with very little leeway for either to step back from entrenched positions that are often directly related to political conditions at home.

Military-to-military channels are used, but they are hindered by increasing Chinese incursions into Taiwanese air defense zones and aggressive actions in the South China Sea. The result is the U.S. stepped up reconnaissance flights and warship voyages through the Taiwan Strait.

Diplomatic channels remain open, but for several years they have been dominated by disagreements rather than grounds for potential cooperation and they are now crowded by complaints from both sides over the balloon.

Biden and Xi agreed to Blinken's visit during a meeting in November in Indonesia.

Biden may have been hoping that his top diplomat would return from China with a measure of progress on issues ranging from trade, Indo-Pacific security and climate change to human rights and the status of Taiwan. Instead, he now faces a domestic political maelstrom just ahead of his State of the Union speech to Congress on Tuesday.

Republican lawmakers have been harshly critical of what they say was Biden's weak response to the presence of the balloon over U.S. airspace. New GOP House speaker Kevin McCarthy's expected trip to Taiwan this year is likely to be accompanied by new complaints about the administration's approach.
How does the celebration for Punxsutawney Phil differ from the popular Bill Murray movie "Groundhog Day" and what are some of the gaffes that have happened there over the years?
A Nebraska prison inmate who was being escorted to the bathroom punched an employee in the face, breaking the worker's nose.

The assault occurred Saturday at the Reception and Treatment Center, a facility in Lincoln managed by the Nebraska Department of Correctional Services.

Officials did not release the names of the inmate or the worker.

The inmate refused to return to the holding cell and then punched the staff member. Other employees arrived to provide aid and removed the inmate from the area.

The worker was taken to the hospital for treatment.

Officials said they are investigating the incident and prosecution is possible, as well as loss of good time or other sanctions.
BLOOMINGTON  A Bloomington man was sentenced Monday to nine years in the Department of Corrections on two guilty pleas.

Jahni Lyons, 20, pleaded guilty to one count of aggravated discharge of a firearm and one count of aggravated battery.

These counts span two cases. In the first, Lyons was accused of firing in the direction of a person in a vehicle as they drove away in February 2022.

In the second case, he was accused of hitting a person while in the McLean County Jail in August.

Two counts of aggravated unlawful use of a weapon, one count of unlawful possession of a credit or debit card and one count of mob action were dismissed Monday as well as a misdemeanor case charging a violation of an order of protection.

Lyons was sentenced to seven years in prison for the aggravated discharge, which must be 85% served, with credit for 364 days already served in jail, to be followed by one year of mandatory supervised release.

He was sentenced to two years in prison for the aggravated battery, which must be 50% served, followed by one year of mandatory supervised release.

Judge William Yoder said the two sentences must be served consecutively.

Updated mug shots from The Pantagraph Bryant Lewis Derek Roesch Justin M. Mata Marcus D. Wesley Phillip Tinch Trisha L. Hanke William B. Givens David L. Oliver Kenneth E. Funk Jordan R. King Holly M. Isaacson Kenneth L. Minton Tony L. Jackson Britley L. Hilger Jasmine L. Smith Jackie S. Claypool Noah R. Demuth Brandon L. Parsano Alexander N. Williams Carlos Sanchez-Solozarzano Jaylin S. Bones Jordan R. King Dominique M. Banks Austin T. Daugherty Sandra M. Lewis Samantha E. Morris Nolan C. Love Nikkita L. Sandefur Katlin M.B. Wilson Eli C. Garozzo Tysean T. Townsend Curtis J. Byrd Noral K. Nelson Charles J. Tankson
PONTIAC  Livingston County Board member Jason Bunting has been selected out of seven finalists to fill the Illinois House seat vacated by Rep. Thomas Bennett, R-Gibson City.

Bennett vacated his House seat to fill the state Senate seat left by Jason Barickman, who announced his resignation in December. Following a series of interviews with GOP chairmen of the 106th House District, Bunting was sworn in as the newest member of the 103rd General Assembly.

Bunting, who resigned from the county board on Saturday, said the 106th House District geographically is one of the largest districts in the state and runs the full gamut of the energy sector, from nuclear plants to wind and solar projects to ethanol and biodiesel plants.

Therefore, it will be important to focus on agriculture and energy and legislate good policy.

"Improving the rural lifestyle of living is kind of what I'm shooting for," Bunting said.

The 106th House District covers parts of Ford, Grundy, Iroquois, LaSalle, Livingston, McLean, and Will counties.

In addition to his service on the county board, Bunting has served as a director of the Illinois Corn Growers' Association, the president of the Livingston County Farm Bureau and the Broughton Township Highway Commissioner.

Alina Hartley, executive director of the Livingston County Board office, said official notices were sent out on Monday regarding the vacancy. Letters of interest then will be collected through Feb. 21 and a special board meeting to fill the board seat will take place Feb. 28.
Question: Can you name the former Central Illinois college student who had decided to drop out of college because of lack of money and had taken a job in his hometown as a land surveyor, but re-enrolled when the college dean granted him a "Needy Student Scholarship"? (Hint: The students birthday is today.)

Answer: If not for Dr. Samuel G. Harrod, in 1929 dean of Eureka College, world history might be different, as Ronald Reagan  he was born 112 years ago today  took the scholarship. Harrod's grandson is Samuel G. Harrod III of Eureka, who adds his grandfather was a graduate of Princeton, where he was awarded his diploma and shook hands with the university's then-president, Woodrow Wilson, who later became U.S. president. "So the man who gave Ronald Reagan his scholarship and ultimately his diploma also shook the hand of Woodrow Wilson," says Harrod. "How cool is that?"
Turkey has been hit by a second massive earthquake, hours after an earlier catastrophic quake devastated the region and killed more than 1,600 people.



The 7.8-magnitude night-time tremor, followed hours later by a slightly smaller one, wiped out entire sections of major Turkish cities in a region filled with millions of people who have fled the civil war in Syria and other conflicts.



The later 7.5 magnitude quake struck at 1.24pm (1024 GMT) two-and-a-half miles southeast of the town of Ekinozu and around 60 miles north of the first quake that has wrought devastation across Turkey and Syria.



Hundreds are still believed to be trapped under rubble on both sides of the border as a result of the first, and the toll is expected to rise as rescue workers continue to search through mounds of wreckage for families crushed in their sleep.



Orhan Tatar, an official from the Turkish disaster agency, told reporters that the two quakes were independent of each other. He said hundreds of aftershocks were expected after both. Tremors were felt as far away as Greenland.



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Tobinco Pharmaceuticals Limited donated over GH200,000 in medicines and food items to inmates at the Ankaful Maximum Security Prisons at Cape Coast in the Central Region.



The donation by Tobinco Pharmaceuticals Limited was to show love towards the inmates and also stock the prison health clinic with quality medicines from their outfit to curb the pressure of ailments among inmates.



The presentation to the Prisons forms part of the core mandate of Tobinco Pharmaceuticals Limited, which aims at giving back to society and also supporting the less privileged in the country.



The items include bags of rice and a variety of Tobinco pharmaceuticals medicines among other items.



The Deputy Managing Director  Marketing of Tobinco Pharmaceuticals Limited, Dr. Christopher Mensah, was accompanied by the Deputy Managing Director  Operations, Madam Lydia Owusu.



Dr. Christopher Mensah told Atinka TV that the idea was to show Christs love to the prisoners, especially in February, which is known as the month of love, to give the prisoners hope and to help the weak and needy in society.



He added that the donation was a brainchild of the Executive Director of Tobinco Pharmaceuticals Limited, Mercy Araba Sika Tobbin, in support of the inmates in the area of health.



Supt. Vincent Ziniel, the Central Regional PRO for Ghana Prisons, praised Tobinco Pharmaceuticals Limited for their generous contribution and urged other corporate organizations to join in to assist the governments efforts to provide for the prisoners.



He added that each of the over 1,000 inmates only depends on government's daily livelihood support of one cedi eighty pesewas (Ghc1.80 ) which is not enough, so there is a need for corporate institutions and individuals to support them.



Ankaful Maximum Security Prisons is the latest and largest prison established in Ghana.

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Professor of Finance at the University of Ghana Business School (UGBS), Professor Godfred A. Bokpin has described as worrying the silence of some major stakeholders in the governance of this country relating to the governments Domestic Debt Exchange Program (DDEP).



Pensioner Bondholders Forum, a group for the protection of pensioners with investment in government bonds has served notice to picket at the premises of the Finance Ministry until its members are exempted from the Domestic Debt Exchange Program (DDEP).



According to the group, attempts to have their investment exempted from the programme have proved futile, the reason for their decision to picket at the Finance Ministry until their demands are met.



Commenting on the Debt Exchange Program on Morning Starr with Francis Abban, Mr. Bokpin stated that he cannot fathom why Parliament as the representative of the people has not summoned the Minister of Finance for questioning.



We need all important stakeholders, you need the TUC on the table, the TUC should not just wake up because pensions were at risk. What is a pension if the whole country is not governed well? Because if you dont do this Debt Restructuring very well, adequately and comprehensively it will show up in the next two years.



If you look at the terms that the Minister has proposed even for the Individual Bondholders you are looking at the principal repayment in 2025 at a time he will not be there. Even the opposition party what is their stake and their contribution in this Debt Restructuring? Mr. Bokpin queried.



He stated that NDC and other major stakeholders must demonstrate their commitment and what alternative they are putting on the table to salvage the nation from the current situation.



The Christian Council, all the major stakeholders you know this is not a time where you can leave governance to a few people, no, this is a time where we all come on board. Bring the best ideas and best alternatives on the table for our common good. If Parliament could tell us that they themselves have no deeper understanding of this Debt Exchange what prevents them from asking the Finance Minister to come and brief Parliament comprehensively? The situation, the steps, and all of that.









Source: starrfm









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John Alan Kwadwo Kyeramateng, former Trade and Industry Minister and a flagbearer aspirant of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) has called on party delegates to vote massively for him as the flagbearer to send the party to victory in the 2024 election.



The aspirant said his records at the Trade Ministry were unmatched and promised to do more when he becomes President of Ghana.



Alan Kyeremateng made the call when he interacted with party faithful at Sefwi Wiawso in the Western North Region to officially inform them of his intention to contest the partys flagbearer position.



He announced that the party executives at both the constituency, regional and national levels, would be put on monthly salaries to motivate them to work harder in the best interest of the party.



Alan Presidency will focus on agriculture to mobilize the youth for commercial farming for the youth and also to own factories with support from the government, he said.



Alan Kyeremateng earlier paid a courtesy call to the Wiawso Traditional Council and promised to ensure peace before, during and after the presidential primaries.



He advised Ghanaians to maintain the NPP Government to enable the party to continue the good policies, stressing that he was the right person to break the eight.



Nana Kwasi Ofori, Chief of Bodi and Adontenhene for Wiawso Traditional Council on behalf of Katakyei Kwasi Bumankamah, Paramount Chief, appealed to Mr Kyeremateng and his team to run decent campaigns devoid of insults.



He called on God to grant Alan Kyeremateng his heart's desires.



Nana Ofori commended the NPP Government for the numerous infrastructure development in the Western North Region.





Source: GNA









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The attention of Polling Station Executives of the New Patriotic Party in the Western North Region has been drawn to a publication on peace fm online stating that Because you want our votes, Youre now visiting us in six years we are therefore calling on the Vice President Dr. Mahamoud Bawumia to advise his followers to do a clean campaign devoid of casting misconception and making delegates feel like they cannot take decisions for themselves.



Don't create any disaffection between delegates in Western North and Alan Cash; we are mature enough to take decisions for ourselves. We know the contribution of Hon Alan Kwadwo Kyeremanten since 1992 right from the formation of Young Executives Forum when he was the President and the resources he mobilized for the party.



We don't expect anyone to sit in their comfort zone and paint a picture to the NPP fraternity that delegates in Western North hate Alan Kyeremanten, he has served NPP with his blood, soul and resources, let us leave the decision to the delegates to make, and let's stop this unnecessary propaganda using delegates.



This comes after reading a publication on peace fm online that some delegates in the Western North Region are angry with Alan Kyeremanten for visiting them for the first time in six years because he wants their votes.



The publication stated that some of the delegates who attended the meeting of Hon Alan Kwadwo Kyeremanten were heard saying, "Alan has neglected them for six years and since he needs their vote he has come to visit them for the first time in six years"



Speaking to Miss Comfort Asante, a polling station women's organizer said, "Hon Alan Kwadwo Kyeremanten has done nothing wrong if he visits party members at this particular time" we also want to draw the attention that the current President never visited the region when he was the Attorney General but the party people knew his contribution to the party and rewarded him accordingly and the delegates of Western North will do exactly what they did for Nana Akufo Addo in 2007 to Hon Alan Kyeremanten.



The Bible says in Ecclesiastes 3:1 that "There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens" Hon Alan Kyeremanten has been good to the people of Western North under his 1D1F initiative, Sefwi Akontombra has a rice factory, Sefwi Wiawso is waiting for machines to be installed at the newly built factory at Sefwi Futa which will produce potassium salt, Rice Processing Factory at Bia West, an ultra-modern Business and Resource centre for both Bibiani and Sefwi Wiawso to provide business advisory for SMEs.



We will be happy if they visit us frequently, besides, throughout the year we have 275 constituencies so when our Ministers decide to visit all constituencies it means they will only have 90 days to work. Miss

Comfort Asante reiterated.



Moreover, some of the stakeholders of the NPP in the Western North have commended Hon Alan Kwadwo Kyeremanten for the support and love he showed to Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo Addo from the 2012 to 2020 elections which Alan was a key member in Nana Addo's campaign.



He has been with the party throughout his youthful age till date, it is his appointed time to lead the party, so let it be, by voting for him to lead us in the 2024 crucial elections, a party council of elder stated.



We, therefore call on those doing this propaganda to stop or we will respond in same vain and could even go a step further when the Vice President visit the region.



We have government appointees in this region who has never stayed in this region for continues seven days nor visited some constituencies in the region yet they hide behind the curtains to create tension and disaffection among party members



We expect our leaders in the region to help the government fix the economy and not hide behind people to create unnecessary tension which will affect the party in the near future.

Source: Peacefmonline.com









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Member of the New Patriotic Party and a Political Science lecturer, Dr. Richard Amoako Baah has asked Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta to resign before he causes much more mess to the economy.



He says the Finance Minister who seem to have been 'drunk' from the kenkey parties he organized after he had borrowed does not have any clue again as to how he would help bring the country back on track.



Speaking on Okay FM's 'Ade Akye Abia' programme, he explained that President Akufo-Addo should have been the one to fire him for non-performance, but since he has refused to do so, the Finance Minister himself should resign and not continue to exert further hardship on Ghanaians.



"The President is the first person to blame before the Finance Minister," he said.



According to him the Finance Minister now is bereft of ideas. As all he is doing now is to borrow to fund the already ailing economy he created and he cannot continue to mess up the economy and people's life like that.



" . . I really liked him, I thought he was honest, but now I have seen he is not honest . . . he will be talking about the word of God but all he says is not true," Dr. Amoako Baah said.



He should resign if the President who is his employer is refusing to fire him because they are family," he said.



His poor management skills has led Ghana to the kind of mess we are in now and even with his Domestic Debt Exchange Programme, he is still finding it difficult to have it implemented and causing so much pain to even pensioners.



Watch Video Below







A group, calling itself the Pensioner Bondholders Forum, has vowed to picket at the Ministry of Finance to register their displeasure over governments decision to include them in the Domestic Debt Exchange Programme (DDEP).In a statement signed by the lead convener, Dr Adu Antwi, the retirees indicated that they are opposed to governments decision to rope them into the programme.According to them, participating in the programme will have severe consequences on them, hence their refusal.On 10th January 2023, we submitted a petition to the Minister of Finance to exempt all pensioners holding Government Bonds from the Domestic Debt Exchange Programme on the same basis used for the exemption of Pension Funds from the programme, as the impact of the programme on pensioners who are bondholders will be very severe.We have as of today not been granted the exemption we requested, portions of the statement read.

Source: Isaac Kwame Owusu/Peacefmonline/[email protected]









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The 12 tribes of Israel are introduced in the book of Genesis, home to all of the famous origin stories from the Hebrew Bible (the Creation, Adam and Eve, Noah's Ark, etc.). One of those stories concerns Jacob, the son of Isaac and grandson of Abraham. Jacob marries two sisters, Leah and Rachel, and sires children with both women (as well as with two of their servants, Zilpah and Bilhah).

According to Genesis, here are the names of Jacob's sons from oldest to youngest:

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Reuben (with Leah) Simeon (with Leah) Levi (with Leah) Judah (with Leah) Dan (with Bilhah, Rachel's maid) Naphtali (with Bilhah, Rachel's maid) Gad (with Zilpah, Leah's maid) Asher (with Zilpah, Leah's maid) Issachar (with Leah) Zebulun (with Leah) Joseph (with Rachel) Benjamin (with Rachel)

In Genesis 32, Jacob wrestles with God (or an angel) and is blessed with a new name: Israel (meaning "he struggles with God"). From that time forward, the sons of Jacob become the "sons of Israel," and all of Jacob's posterity become known as the "children of Israel" or "Israelites."

But when are the sons of Israel (Jacob) first called the 12 tribes of Israel? In Genesis 49, Jacob has grown old and is about to die, so he gathers all of his sons to give them individual blessings. While Jacob only explicitly blesses Dan to become a "tribe of Israel," after all the blessings are pronounced, the text says, "All these are the twelve tribes of Israel."

To confuse matters, Tobolowsky says there are more than 20 tribal lists in the Hebrew Bible and not all of them are the same. In some, for example, two tribes named after Joseph's sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, replace the tribe of Joseph (yes, replacing one tribe with others named for the two sons makes 13 tribes). One explanation in the book of Numbers is that God only allotted land in Canaan to 12 of the 13 tribes. The tribe of Levi was set apart as the priestly tribe, and instead of receiving land they received offerings from the other tribes.

In the biblical narrative, the 12 sons and their families have to leave Canaan and settle in Egypt to avoid a famine. Over a 400-year period, the Egyptians enslave them, but eventually, a man named Moses leads their descendants back to Canaan after they fight many battles. The area that was Canaan encompasses the modern state of Israel, the West Bank and Gaza, Jordan, and the southern portions of Syria and Lebanon, according to the University of Pennsylvania Museum.

If you continue to follow the chronology of the Hebrew Bible, the identity of the 12 tribes of Israel isn't stable. Some tribes are shuffled around by internal political divides and others are "lost" to outside invasions.
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NEW YORK (Reuters) -The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission met on Friday to open public comment again on its proposal to expand the definition of an "exchange," clarifying that its existing rules on exchanges also apply to decentralized cryptocurrency platforms. The SEC voted 3-2 to take additional comments from the public after crypto firms criticized the plan as vague and aimed at roping in decentralized finance platforms, also known as DeFi platforms that would otherwise not be subject to the regulators oversight. The change, if adopted, is expected to capture many more venues for regulation beyond traditional exchanges that bring together orders from multiple buyers and sellers in a marketplace.
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Minca, Santa Marta, Magdalena, Colombia. Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain

Plants and animals do not respect legal boundaries, oblivious to the policies that govern different jurisdictions. A new Stanford-led study highlights how policies in forestry, agriculture, and other sectors can fit together to govern biodiversity in a more coordinated and effective way. Published Feb. 6 in Nature Ecology & Evolution, the first of its kind analysis focuses on Colombia, one of the world's most biodiverse countries, finding that biodiversity is governed by almost 200 distinct policies that cover a variety of ecosystems, conservation approaches, scales, actors, and threats.

"We were surprised to see that biodiversity is governed by policies that aim to do many other things, such as alleviating poverty and ending civil conflicts," said lead author Alejandra Echeverri, a postdoctoral researcher at the Stanford Natural Capital Project.

Home to approximately 10% of the world's species, Colombia has the most birds of any country. It is also rich in cultural diversity with more than 170 Indigenous and ethnic groups who manage about a quarter of the land and waters there. The country's biodiversity faces pressing threats from farming, mining, and invasive species, making it an ideal place to study how policies interact to govern biodiversity.

Tragedy of the commons

In Colombia and elsewhere, conserving biodiversity is a tragedy of the commonsits importance is widely recognized, but it is not the responsibility of one single agency. For that reason, species and ecosystems are governed through a mix of conventional policies like protections against certain activities in natural areas, financial sanctions for polluting waterways, and corporate pledges, like cattle ranchers' promises to conserve forests.

The researchers analyzed nearly 200 biodiversity-related policies issued by government agencies, Indigenous peoples and local communities, and other actors in Colombia over the past six decades. They spanned instrument types, such as economic incentives, taxes, and endangered species lists.

Over time, more actors and sectors have been added to the governance mix. For example, as the country has developed, policies that seek to end poverty and combat the ongoing civil war have incorporated biodiversity conservation as a secondary goal.

The researchers found policy gaps in the governance of invasive species, which contributed about 8% of the overall threat to national biodiversity, but less than 2% of the policy mix. They also found that relative to other topics, there are fewer policies that target the illegal wildlife trade. Invasive species, such as the hippos introduced by drug kingpin Pablo Escobar, deplete local fisheries and jeopardize livelihoods by outcompeting native species. Unique species, such as parrots, macaws, and dart frogs, are traded illegally, which can decimate their numbers and drive them to extinction.

While the researchers found the private sector and banks that fund non-commercial development projects have become increasingly involved in biodiversity-related policymaking, they have largely avoided initiating such policies.

Focusing on policy mixes

Among the key takeaways: biodiversity-related policies can become increasingly difficult to coordinate as, over time, more policies get added and more actors take leadership roles. Adding new biodiversity goals without abandoning previous ones might create confusion. For example, there are policies that ban mining while others allow for mining as long as compensation for biodiversity happens elsewhere. As new sectors are added, this study points to the need for broader coordination across sectors and actors.

"Discussions on environmental governance often focus on single policies," said study senior author Eric Lambin, the George and Setsuko Ishiyama Provostial Professor at Stanford and senior fellow at the Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment. "Our research demonstrates the importance of focusing instead on policy mixes: how multiple public and private interventions interact to reinforce or undermine each other, and may leave policy gaps despite their proliferation."
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US and Brazilian cotton exports to China, January 2017 to January 2021. Figure depicts the monthly cotton exports of the United States and Brazil to China. Authors' construction based on data from UN Comtrade (2021). Credit: American Journal of Agricultural Economics (2023). DOI: 10.1111/ajae.12370

While the t-shirt you are wearing is likely to be made in China, Vietnam or Pakistan, it may be produced from cotton grown much closer to home. The U.S. is a major world supplier of cotton, exporting much of the production to markets in Asia, where it goes into textile manufacturing. However, growing competition from Brazil and the effects of recent trade policies are shifting global market trends. A new study from the University of Illinois investigates how U.S. cotton exports are impacted by these patterns.

The U.S. accounts for 15% of annual world production and 35% of the value of international cotton trade. That makes the country the world's largest cotton exporter, but Brazil is quickly catching up, says William Ridley, assistant professor of agricultural and consumer economics at U of I and lead author on the paper, published in the American Journal of Agricultural Economics.

"As recently as the early 2000s, Brazil was only a minor player in the cotton market, and now they are the second largest exporter in the world. Brazil's cotton production is more than three times higher than it used to be, with a large expansion in land area devoted to cotton. It is also a trend more broadly with Brazil's agricultural sectors, they've become much more trade oriented. Almost overnight, they became a major player in the cotton sector," Ridley states.

Brazil's exports to Asian markets, primarily China, Vietnam, Pakistan, Turkey, Bangladesh and Indonesia, have continuously increased over the past two decades. Ridley and co-author Stephen Devadoss, Texas Tech University, address how Brazil's growing presence in the world market has affected competitive dynamics.

The authors conducted a statistical analysis of cotton trade between any two countries in the world, looking at the impact of trade agreements, trade policies, tariffs, and other factors. They also modeled these trade flows in relation to Brazil's land area devoted to cotton, estimating how Brazil's expanding cotton production affects other countries through the global trade system.

Ridley and Devadoss also looked at the effects of the recent U.S.-China trade war. At the onset of the dispute in 2018, China imposed a 25% retaliatory tariff on U.S. cotton, causing U.S. exports to decline and opening the door for Brazil.

The researchers performed a counterfactual simulation analysis, where they built a statistical model of the global cotton market as it would have looked without the trade war and the Chinese tariffs. Simulating this scenario allowed them to isolate these elements from other factors affecting trade.

Based on this simulation model, Ridley and Devadoss estimate that U.S. cotton exports to China went down by about $500 million annually. These exports were instead diverted to other markets, primarily Vietnam, Pakistan, and Bangladesh.

The authors estimate that Brazil's exports to China went up by about $75 million. While U.S. exports to China have somewhat recovered since 2020, when the U.S.-China Phase One trade deal was implemented, Brazil's share of the market remains high.

"Brazil didn't really have much of a foothold in the Chinese market prior to the trade war. Now they seem to be there to stay, so that's one of the consequences of the dispute,'" Ridley notes.

"It's long been recognized there's growing competition between the U.S. and Brazil in agricultural markets, particularly soybeans and corn. Brazil is really well suited to the production of a lot of these commodities. They are rapidly developing their infrastructure and capacity to export and sell products to the rest of the world. Our results address this growing competition in agricultural commodities and illustrate how factors like the trade war have accelerated this development," Ridley concludes.

The paper is published in the American Journal of Agricultural Economics.

More information: William Ridley et al, Competition and trade policy in the world cotton market: Implications for US cotton exports, American Journal of Agricultural Economics (2023). DOI: 10.1111/ajae.12370
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This image shows an artist impression of our Milky Way galaxy in its youth. Five small satellite galaxies, of various types and sizes, are in the process of being accreted into the Milky Way. These satellite galaxies also contribute globular star clusters to the larger galaxy. The Sparkler galaxy provides a snap-shot of an infant Milky Way as it accretes mass over cosmic time. Credit: James Josephides, Swinburne University, Licence type Attribution (CC BY 4.0)

A galaxy has been discovered that mirrors the very early version of our home galaxy, the Milky Way. The galaxy, dubbed the "Sparkler," is embedded in a system of globular clusters and satellite galaxies, and appears to be swallowing them as it grows. The research was published in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.

The discovery of the Sparkler was made using some of the first data from the James Webb Space Telescope. The Sparkler, named for its two dozen orbiting globular clusters, provides unique insight into the formation history of the Milky Way during its infancy. Globular clusters are dense collections of around a million stars. The Milky Way is currently host to around 200 globular clusters.

The Sparkler can be found in the constellation of Volans in the southern sky. The galaxy and its system of globular clusters have been detected at a redshift of 1.38, which implies that we are seeing the galaxy around 9 billion years ago, some 4 billion years after the Big Bang. The observations are made possible with the new JWST and the brightening effect of a gravitational lens, which is fortuitously aligned in front of the galaxy.

The research was led by Professor Duncan Forbes of Swinburne University in Australia and Professor Aaron Romanowsky of San Jose State University in the U.S. They examined the age and metallicity distribution of a dozen of the compact star clusters surrounding the Sparkler to determine that they resemble younger versions of the clusters now around the Milky Way. Several have old formation ages and are metal-rich similar to those seen in the bulge of the Milky Way and so are likely to be globular clusters.

A couple of star clusters had intermediate ages and were metal-poorthese clusters are associated with the satellite galaxy that is being accreted onto the Sparkler galaxy; it appears to be swallowing up this satellite galaxy and its system of globular clusters, just like the Milky Way has done in the past.

Although the Sparkler is currently only 3% the mass of the Milky Way, it is expected to grow over cosmic time to match the Milky Way's mass in the present day universe. The team will need deeper imaging to detect more clusters and satellites around the Sparkler.

"We appear to be witnessing, first hand, the assembly of this galaxy as it builds up its massin the form of a dwarf galaxy and several globular clusters," says Prof. Forbes. He adds, "We are excited by this unique opportunity to study both the formation of globular clusters, and an infant Milky Way, at a time when the universe was only 1/3 of its present age."

Co-author Professor Aaron Romanowsky comments, "The origin of globular clusters is a long-standing mystery, and we are thrilled that JWST can look back in time to see them in their youth."
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Simulations of ocean currents in the Northeast Pacific under different climate and sea level conditions: Modern climate state (A), LGM climate state, with sea level 120 m below modern (B), LGM boundary conditions with an increased freshwater flux (C), and intermediate sea level (75 m), as would have occurred during the mid-deglacial period (D). Mean annual surface ocean velocity shows a strengthening of the cyclonic Alaska Current during the LGM relative to modern conditions, as well as a contraction of the shelf area on which the ACC flows. Boundary currents flow in a cyclonic (anticlockwise) direction. Credit: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (2023). DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2208738120

Researchers have pinpointed two intervals when ice and ocean conditions would have been favorable to support early human migration from Asia to North America late in the last ice age, a new paper published today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences shows.

The findings align with a growing body of evidence that the most likely path for the first Americans was a Pacific coastal route that was in use before the large ice sheets covering much of present-day Canada and parts of the U.S. began to retreat.

Using ocean modeling and data from sediment cores collected in the northeast Pacific Ocean, the researchers found two distinct climate intervals where a combination of winter sea ice and ice-free summer conditions likely would have facilitated migration further south toward the end of the last ice age, said Alan Mix, an oceanographer and paleoclimatologist at Oregon State University and a co-author of the paper.

"Our research indicates that during the last ice age, the ice along the west coast of North America, from Seattle to Alaska, moved back and forth quite a bit," said Mix, a professor in OSU's College of Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Sciences. "Surprisingly, there were times when ice didn't block the way for those early people. In fact, some ice might have made migration easier."

The paper's lead author is Summer Praetorius, a research geologist at the U.S. Geological Survey who earned her doctorate at Oregon State. Praetorius and Mix have worked together on several projects using climate data from sediment cores.

Early Americans occupied part of Beringia, a land mass in the present-day Bering Strait that created a bridge between Asia and North America. The question of when and how early people moved south into the Americas from there is one researchers have been exploring for decades.

Much of the evidence of early peoples in the Americas is less than 13,000 years old and may have been left after the climate warmed and the mile-thick ice sheet retreated. That evidence led to a theory that the Americas were populated through an inland corridor that opened up as the ice sheet began to retreat.

But more recent evidence, including the discovery of 15,700-year-old projectile points by Oregon State anthropologist Loren Davis, indicates that people began arriving in the Americas well before the ice-free inland corridor opened up.

"The mounting evidence for human arrival prior to the opening of the ice-free corridor makes the coastal route the most likely pathway into North America," Praetorius said. "We wanted to try and figure out how regional climate change affected the viability of the coastal route at different times. For example, understanding where and when sea ice formed in the Gulf of Alaska has implications for how people could move along the coastlinewhether by foot or in boats."

A high-resolution ocean model utilized by study co-author Alan Condron from Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Massachusetts indicated as ice from the edges of the Cordilleran ice sheet began to retreat, it drained a lot of fresh water into the ocean. That meltwater accelerated ocean currents moving north, which would have made boat travel heading south along the coast, between the spots of dry land, more difficult.

Sediment cores, which provide researchers important information about changing ocean and planet conditions over long periods of time, showed the presence of sea ice at key intervals that may have supported travel on foot.

The sediment cores, collected in the Gulf of Alaska, contained molecular traces of the remains of algae that grew around sea ice along the shoreline. In two intervals, from 22,000 to 24,500 years ago and again from 14,800 to 16,400 years ago, sea ice was present in the winter even as summer warmed, plausibly giving early Americans the opportunity to travel along the coast, the researchers said.

"Sea ice is relatively flat and pretty stable when it is stuck to the shoreline, so you can walk on the ice and hunt seals to survive through the winter," Praetorius said. "It seems possible that sea ice could have facilitated movement, rather than hinder it, by providing a more traversable surface than the hazardous pathway of crevassed glaciers or paddling against strong ocean currents."

More information: Summer K. Praetorius et al, Ice and ocean constraints on early human migrations into North America along the Pacific coast, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (2023). DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2208738120 Journal information: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
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Credit: CC0 Public Domain

One day after Idaho officials threatened to sue the federal government for failing to respond to petitions to remove grizzly bears from Endangered Species Act protections, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said it will move forward with reconsidering the bears' positionthough it won't consider Idaho's argument.

Fish and Wildlife on Friday issued findings on petitions from Wyoming, Montana and Idaho that sought to delist grizzlies. Idaho's petition was the broadest, asking officials to remove protections for all grizzly bears in the contiguous United States. Wyoming and Montana petitioned to delist bears in the Northern Continental Divide and Greater Yellowstone ecosystems.

Federal officials said the claims in Idaho's petition weren't substantial enough to prompt further review, but Wyoming and Montana's were sufficient to initiate a status review of grizzlies in the two ecosystems.

The status review could be the first step toward removing grizzlies from Endangered Species Act protections, which would likely lead to a grizzly hunting season in Idaho. Already the decision has prompted an outcry from conservation groups, who say it could threaten the bears' recovery, and from Idaho politicians who blasted the dismissal of Idaho's petition.

Delisting would affect some Idaho grizzlies

The Fish and Wildlife Service decision comes 11 months after Idaho's petition was filed and more than a year after Montana and Wyoming's petitions.

On Thursday, Idaho Gov. Brad Little's office announced its intent to sue the federal government if officials did not respond to the petition by early April. Little's office said federal officials disregarded the original 90-day deadline to respond when the petitions were filed.

In a statement provided to the Idaho Statesman via email, Little said his office will "continue to push back against the federal government" and called the decision an example of federal overreach.

"The response is seven months late, and it took a threat of legal action from the state of Idaho to simply receive a response," Little said.

The federal agency's findings kick off a 12-month review on the bears' status in the Greater Yellowstone and Northern Continental Divide ecosystems.

While the Northern Continental Divide area is entirely in Montana, the Greater Yellowstone zone includes parts of Montana, Wyoming and the eastern edge of Idaho. Idaho also includes the Bitterroot zone and parts of the Selkirk and Cabinet-Yaak zones. Grizzly bears in those areasall in North Idahoare not part of the consideration for delisting.

In his statement, Little said Fish and Wildife's decision will disproportionately impact North Idaho.

If bears in the two ecosystems lose their "threatened" status, it won't be the first time grizzly protections have changed. Since they were first listed in 1975, they were removed from Endangered Species Act protections twice, in 2007 and 2017. In 2018, the Idaho Department of Fish and Game had set up a hunt for a single grizzly in eastern Idaho before a judge returned the bears to threatened status.

While Fish and Wildlife said in its findings that grizzly populations in the Greater Yellowstone and Northern Continental Divide areas appear to have improved, it also noted some potential obstacles.

The federal agency applauded the three states' recovery efforts but said "the impact of recently enacted state statutes affecting these two grizzly bear populations is of concern and will require careful consideration."

The decision didn't point to specific state laws, but conservation groups in recent years have sued to challenge Idaho's expanded wolf trapping laws, arguing that they could lead to the incidental trapping of grizzlies and lynx. A judge rejected the lawsuit.

Idaho congressmen criticize decision

Several conservation groups on Friday issued statements criticizing Fish and Wildlife Service's decision to review the bears' status. The Center for Biological Diversity said the move "could pave the way for the trophy hunting of grizzly bears in parts of Montana, Idaho and Wyoming."

Derek Goldman, national field director for the Endangered Species Coalition, told the Statesman in an emailed statement that he's glad the Fish and Wildlife Service called out state laws that could pose a threat to grizzly recovery.

"Given the current trajectory of state policy in Montana and Idaho, state management would be a disaster for grizzly bears' recovery and the people of Montana, Idaho and the nation," Goldman said.

Statements from Western Watersheds Project and WildEarth Guardians expressed similar concerns.

Idaho's congressional delegation also blasted the decisionbut for vastly different reasons.

In a joint statement, Sens. Mike Crapo and Jim Risch and Rep. Russ Fulcher said they "condemn" the Fish and Wildlife Service decision to dismiss Idaho's petition.

"We stand by Gov. Little and Idaho's wildlife managers," they said. "The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's failure to provide answers, transparency and science-backed reasoning for their decision is unacceptable."

In his own statement, Rep. Mike Simpson said he was "disappointed" in the outcome. None of the lawmakers acknowledged the decision to review the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem grizzly population.

2023 Idaho Statesman.

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
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Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain

Nasty remarks by politicians against their critics are so common that we may not pay them much mind. That's the problem of political incivility, say a pair of researchers who've studied the phenomenon among U.S. politicians.

"The results are pretty clear," says Matthew Feinberg, an associate professor of organizational behavior at the University of Toronto's Rotman School of Management. "Incivility may grab attention, but the ultimate result is less interest in what you have to say."

Prof. Feinberg and fellow researcher Jeremy A. Frimer from the University of Winnipeg already knew from their past work that incivility has been on the rise, especially online. In this most recent research, their analysis of rude and demeaning language in former U.S. president Donald Trump's and current U.S. president Joe Biden's social media posts revealed that the two gained fewer additional followers in the days after they made particularly uncivil comments.

The researchers analyzed more than 32,000 tweets issued from Trump's Twitter account between mid-2015 and Jan. 8, 2021, when he was permanently suspended from the platform. Over that time, Trump's followers rose from 3 million to about 89 million. However, his biggest gains were made in the days after his tweets were particularly civilabout 43,000 new followers versus only 16,000 new followers after he was especially rude.

The researchers used a machine-learning program that detects toxic speech and phrases to identify and classify the most uncivil tweets.

In Biden's case, the researchers analyzed just over 7,000 tweets between 2012 and June 2021. His followers rose from 5 million to 32 million over that time. He gained an average of 45,000 new followers when his tweets were very civil but only 11,000 in the days after they were not.

Prof. Feinberg said the steeper drop in new followers for Biden may be due to people expecting more civil behavior from him than Trump. However, the researchers estimated that Trump's incivility cost him more than 6.3 million followers.

Two additional experimental studies that formed part of the research, with a total of about 2,000 participants confirmed the finding that political incivility breeds longer-term disinterest. That was true even when the participant identified with the same political party, something Prof. Feinberg called "surprising." As well, the third study showed that moral disapproval of what a politician said had a stronger influence on a person's ongoing interest than whether the politician's words were attention-grabbing.

So given the results, how come politicians continue to lob rhetorical grenades at one another? It's possible they do it because they may inflict greater damage on their opponents' reputations or even turn voters off so much that they don't even bother going to the polls, the researchers suggest. Or, says Prof. Feinberg, "maybe it's just that they're wrong."

The study was published in Social Psychological and Personality Science.

More information: Matthew Feinberg et al, Incivility Diminishes Interest in What Politicians Have to Say, Social Psychological and Personality Science (2022). DOI: 10.1177/19485506221136182 Journal information: Social Psychological and Personality Science
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Members of the International Biodiversity Network gathered in July 2019 in Panama. They are, in front, from left: Lider Sucre and Cristian Bonacic; and standing, from left: Vance LaVelle, Claudio Benedito Valladares Padua, Mary Pearl, Eduardo Ditt, Suzana Padua, Raman Sukumar, Lorena Calvo, Lourdes Mujica, Damayanti Buchori, Melly Reuling and A. Alonso Aguirre. Credit: A. Alonso Aguirre

Russian President Vladimir Putin has threatened the use of "tactical" nuclear weapons in the war in Ukraine, but nuclear weapons of any kind would cause widespread devastation, according to a new position paper by a group of renowned scientists from around the world. They want to make policymakers and the public aware of the ecosystem impacts and long-lasting consequences of nuclear radiation.

The authors are members of the International Biodiversity Network, an organization of globally recognized experts in biodiversity, climate change, ecosystem health and ecosystem services, including A. Alonso Aguirre, dean of Colorado State University's Warner College of Natural Resources.

Any release of nuclear radiationincluding accidental leakswould be detrimental to all life on Earth, the authors representing 10 countries conclude.

"Even a 'tactical nuclear war' could alter all life on planet Earth," said Cristian Bonacic, lead author and a professor of ecosystems and the environment at the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile. "Food production and chain effects with migratory movements would be on a scale never before seen, ending the current Anthropocene era. As scientists, we want to call the attention of all decision-makers to the risks associated with radiation."

Radiation doesn't stay where it's released and triggers cascading effects as it spreads through air and water. Contamination can last hundreds or even thousands of years and could alter how the biosphere functions.

High levels of radiation cause death and disease and could lead to extinction of local animals and plants that are already endangered. Some ecosystems might be pushed beyond their limits for mitigation or adaptation, the scientists warn.

"We have to be very careful about what's going to happen to our ecosystems and ecosystem services that provide basic, essential needs for human life," Aguirre said. "Nuclear war would cross these boundaries beyond what the planet can sustain."

Accidental radioactive leaks have caused extensive environmental impacts. Following the Chernobyl nuclear reactor explosion in 1986, radioactive dust was found throughout most of Europe. Fish with high levels of radiation have been caught off the coast of California since the Fukushima nuclear disaster spilled radioactive material into the Pacific Ocean in 2011.

The paper states that the shelling of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine represents a particular risk for radioactive leaks.

The authors warn that a nuclear explosion would cause widespread hunger by disrupting the global food web; toxic air, water and soil; habitat destruction; and death. They urge all scientists to speak out about the hazards of nuclear radiation for the preservation of humanity and ecosystems.

"Scientists warning on the ecological effects of radioactive leaks on ecosystems" is published in Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution.

More information: Cristian Bonacic et al, Scientists warning on the ecological effects of radioactive leaks on ecosystems, Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution (2023). DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2022.1099162 Journal information: Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution
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Why do matador bugs have these flag like structures on their hind legs? Credit: Ana Endara, Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute

Male peacocks shake elaborate trainsa dazzling mating displayand male peacock spiders also dance, showing off brightly-colored abdomens. Nature's most bizarre and conspicuous displays often evolved to attract mates. But when researchers at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI) began to study the matador bug, an insect that waves its flag-like, brightly-colored legs, they found something unexpected.

The go-to explanation is that leg-waving ancestors attracted more or better mates, but the STRI scientists found no evidence that the matador bugs wave their legs to attract a sexual partner. Science begins with observation, and some of our most significant discoveries come from unlikely places.

"The very nature of discovery is that we can't anticipate where our questions lead," said Ummat Somjee, STRI post-doctoral fellow whose work on sexual selection and insect weaponry has been featured in the New York Times, "By following our curiosity we sometimes uncover unexpected realities, leading us to re-evaluate our view of nature and the very questions we ask in the first place."

If males use the flags to signal aggression or to attract mates, bigger males would likely have bigger flags and females would probably not have large flags. The female peacock, after all, does not boast a flashy train. An international team from institutions in the United Kingdom, Panama, the United States, Switzerland, and Germany set out to find out if this was the case.

To tell the bugs apart, they marked each with dots of non-toxic paint. They recorded how long the bugs waved and the distance between the three bugs in each round. Overall, they documented more than 745 wave displays.

All their evidence indicates that flag-waving is not about sexual attraction.

The size of the flags was not different regardless of the sex of the bug. For both males and females, bigger bugs usually had bigger flags. Females had larger bodies than males overall, but their flags were not bigger than flags of males of the same size. Males and females both waved about the same number of times and at about the same rate.

Insects were more likely to wave when others were further away, not when they were closer to each other. So no differences were found in waving behavior between males and females. It didn't matter if the groups of bugs were all male, all female or mixed. Why do Matador bugs have colorful flags on their hind legs and why do they wave them? Traditional sexual selection does not explain why bugs have these structures. Credit: Ana Endara, Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute

If sex isn't the reason for this behavior and these structures, then why do these bugs wave their legs?

Could these bugs be advertising their toxicity to predators? The colorful flags develop in juveniles, before the insects are sexually mature, and when they are wingless and more vulnerable to predator attack, so bright colors could be 'don't eat me' signal. Or maybe like a bullfighter in a ring, the brightly colored legs act like the matadors cloak, to distract attacks away from the main body? Nearly one in six matador bugs in the wild is missing a hind leg. Maybe it is better to sacrifice a leg, than to suffer a direct attack?

This research has led to many more questions, so the mystery has only deepened, paving the way for future studies.

Why is this important? In Panama, where this work was done, and in neighboring Costa Rica, matador bugs, Anisosclelis alipes, are common pests on passion fruit, Passiflora edulis, farms. Who knows? Maybe knowing more about how matador bugs interact with predators could result in a better way to protect plants than spraying chemical insecticides that also kill beneficial insects: something to test in the future. Good ideas come from paying attention and doing careful research to better understand the natural world.

Ummat Somjee. Credit: Jorge Aleman, Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute

The first author of the paper, Cameron Longbottom, was an undergraduate intern from Manchester University in the United Kingdom:

"Being in the field in Panama is so different from watching nature shows on the internet. To see animals in their own habitatsyou don't get that in many placesto study this bug that's on the cover of the Lonely Planet guidebook and the Magic Web, but no one knows anything about it makes it exciting, we are telling the world something new. I would love to go back. There is still so much to learn."

The study is published in the Journal of Insect Behavior.

More information: Cameron Longbottom et al, Why does the Matador Bug, Anisoscelis alipes (Hemiptera: Coreidae), Wave its Brightly Colored Legs?, Journal of Insect Behavior (2022). DOI: 10.1007/s10905-022-09809-0
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Children think more highly of the naturally talented over hard workers, according to a research by HKUST. Credit: HKUST

Researchers at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) have found that children think more highly of the naturally talented over hard workers, a preference that they carry into adulthood.

That is the case even in China, a culture that places effort above natural talent, as people perceive the naturally talented as being more competent than those who work hard, according to the study.

Although children's preference for the naturally talented also generalizes to the perception of their friendliness and a willingness to interact with them, Chinese adults do not prefer the naturally talented over hard workers except when considering competence, the study found.

The study, published in Child Development, was led by Ph.D. candidate Mary Shaocong Ma under the supervision of Prof. Eva E. Chen, Adjunct Associate Professor of the Division of Social Science, HKUST, who collaborated with Prof. Chia-Jung Tsay, Associate Professor at University College London and University of Wisconsin-Madison.

"Given the value we place on achievement, how we assess and perceive achievements matters. Our research implies an early emerging hidden bias toward individuals with different achievement trajectories. Although natural talent and hard work are both considered essential ways to achieve, our findings suggest that people actually prefer talented naturals over hard workers, and this naturalness preference exists in childhood and endures into adulthood," says Ma, who is currently also a visiting scholar at Harvard University.

"The bias can consequently impact children's interactions with peers perceived as talented or hardworking as it can lead them to interact more with the naturally talented over hard workers. The apparent decrease of this preference with age also implies it may be more malleable than previously thought," she says.

The naturalness bias refers to the implicit preference individuals have for the naturally talented, who display inborn talent, over strivers, who expend effort to attain equal achievement.

For instance, in past studies led by Prof. Tsay, when presented with the same musical performance, participants judged the performance and perceived the performer's potential for success more highly if the musician was portrayed as a talented natural rather than as a hardworking striver. These patterns were also found in evaluations of entrepreneurs.

Although past research suggested a general preference for people who find success through talent, little was known about whether the naturalness preference is present at an early age.

In the present research, the team conducted two studies to examine the preference among approximately 350 adults and 300 children, specifically those aged between five and six years, in Mainland China, where traditional philosophies and social norms encourage hard work, the study writes.

In Study 1, children perceive naturals as more competent and warmer than strivers. Adults perceive naturals as more competent, but not warmer, than strivers. Credit: HKUST

In Study 1, participants were randomly assigned to two groups: In one group, participants heard a story about someone who had attained high skills in making friends from natural talent; while in the other group, participants heard the same story, except the person's skill was attained through hard work. They then rated the person's characteristics reflecting their competence (e.g., intelligence) and character warmth (e.g., friendliness). This design was intended to examine if participants perceived different levels of competence and warmth in naturals versus strivers, and whether any such perceptions differed by age.

In Study 2, participants were shown a natural and a striver. Then they indicated their behavioral preferences in a series of tasks that aimed to examine with whom participants preferred to interact more and to whom they preferred to allocate more resources.

In Study 2, children prefer learning from and socializing with natural over strivers. Adults do not prefer learning from either natural or strivers, but prefer socializing with strivers over naturals. Credit: HKUST

"Our findings imply that parents and educators should guide children to properly view their own talent and effort, and to understand that both talent and effort can contribute to an equal level of achievement. They should also guide their children to appreciate the competence and achievements of their peers who have achieved through different trajectories to promote an inclusive learning environment," says Ma.

Policymakers in education may also work to reduce the impact of the naturalness preference by fairly allocating resources to learners who exhibit different levels of innate abilities, she suggests.

More information: Shaocong Ma et al, Preference for talented naturals over hard workers emerges in childhood and shapes behavior, Child Development (2022). DOI: 10.1111/cdev.13886 Journal information: Child Development
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Foliar scorch. Credit: Gabriela Ritokova

Widespread tree scorch in the Pacific Northwest that became visible shortly after multiple days of record-setting, triple-digit temperatures in June 2021 was more attributable to heat than to drought conditions, Oregon State University researchers say.

In a paper published in Tree Physiology, a team led by Christopher Still of the OSU College of Forestry cites evidence that leaf discoloration and damage are consistent with direct exposure to solar radiation during the hottest afternoons of the "heat dome" that covered northwestern North America.

Still and other scientists from OSU were responding to an article published in the same journal in April 2022 that concluded the trees' problems were the result of drought and a failure in the trees' hydraulic system, which helps foliage stay cool through the exhalation of water vapor via a process known as transpiration.

The collaboration that produced the response following a literature review includes researchers from Oregon State's colleges of Engineering, Agricultural Sciences, and Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Sciences, as well as two other OSU-affiliated organizations, the Oregon Climate Change Research Institute and the PRISM Climate Group.

"While we think the drought/hydraulic hypothesis is partly true, we argue that multiple lines of evidence suggest the main issue was in fact direct heat damage," said Still, a tree physiologist who studies forests in the context of climate change impacts and feedbacks. "Tree physiologists have worked a lot to show that hydraulic damage in response to drought drives a lot of tree mortality, and the paper we comment on more or less fits in that vein, implying that what we saw in June 2021 was just another example of drought damage and that the heat dome was a sort of extreme drought event."

Still and OSU colleagues including ecologist and plant pathologist Posy Busby, H.J. Andrews Experimental Forest Director Mark Schulze, forest health specialist David Shaw, hydrologist David Rupp and geospatial climatologist Chris Daly say that damage can be driven by extreme heat alone, irrespective of prior hydrologic context and water availability.

They note that the heat dome was one of the most extreme heat waves ever recorded anywhere in the world and the most intense ever in the Northwest. The scientists also point out that there is "a clear distinction in the climate and hydrometeorological literature between droughts and heat waves" and that "heat waves are not just associated with droughts, as is commonly assumed, but are increasing in frequency during both wet and dry conditions."

Foliar scorch. Credit: Gabriela Ritokova

Among coastal Douglas-fir and western hemlock plantation forests in western Oregon and Washington, the most extensive impacts of the heat dome were in areas experiencing comparatively low levels of drought, the authors say. Conversely, many forests around Oregon's Willamette Valley and along the western slopes of the Cascade Range that were experiencing severe to exceptional drought during the heat dome showed less foliar damage.

"It's also important to remember that conifer needles can discolor for many reasons besides being dried out," Still said.

Much of the observed "foliar scorch" resembled what is caused by heat generated from fires, Still said, and also followed patterns that suggest heat was the primary driver of foliar damage during the heat dome. Trees on south- and west-facing slopes and on exposed edges near roadsides generally showed the greatest scorch, and opposite sides of the same trees, or other trees on the same hillsides, displayed little to none.

"The scorching that did occur happened fast, within days and sometimes hours, much faster than would typically be associated with a malfunction of the trees' water moving capabilities," Still said. "And the prevalence of scorching in sunlit foliage also challenges the hypothesis that drought and hydraulic failure combined to be the primary cause of leaf damage."

"Our prior work has shown drought-induced foliar browning in conifers can take weeks or even months to appear after lethal levels of drought stress," added co-author William Hammond, an assistant professor of plant ecophysiology at the University of Florida.

The scientists emphasize that they are not saying hydraulics played no role in the leaf damage, or in the subsequent death of some trees, but that extreme heat is the best explanation for the crown- and landscape-scale scorch patterns seen throughout the Pacific Northwest during and after the heat dome.

"Disentangling drought from heat damage is tricky, and we argue the research community needs to work much more on heat stress physiology," Still said. "We need to explore connections between hydraulic properties and heat tolerancesafety margins, how evolution may have helped some species with heat tolerance, canopies' ability to maintain leaf temperatures below damaging thresholds. What happened during the heat dome argues for a renewed emphasis on understanding the underlying physiological and biophysical mechanisms that can lead to heat resilience."

More information: C J Still et al, Causes of widespread foliar damage from the June 2021 Pacific Northwest Heat Dome: more heat than drought, Tree Physiology (2023). DOI: 10.1093/treephys/tpac143
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Credit: CC0 Public Domain

When people hear that their water is going to cost more, they start to use less of it.

That seemingly obvious finding comes from a new study led by researchers at the National University of Singapore and published this week in Nature. But the researchers also stumbled across an interesting nuance: The announcement of a water price hike, more than the increase itself, can have a bigger impact on consumption. The conclusion points to the need for effective policy communication when it comes to water-conservation efforts.

"People do respond to the price change, and people also respond to the information of the price," says Mingxuan Fan, a co-author of the report and a visiting assistant professor at the National University of Singapore Business School. "You can actually use pricing as part of your water conservation tool. It is effective, and it will be even more effective if you communicate it correctly."

To reach their conclusion, researchers monitored monthly water consumption for 2 million homes in Singapore from January 2011 to December 2019, looking for impacts from two different factors: (1) the price of water, and (2) the impact of expanded government subsidies in 2012 and 2019 to help consumers, and in particular low-income households, foot their water bills.

In 2017, Singapore announced a 30% increase in the price of water to reflect rising supply costs. Following that announcement, researchers found that the monthly water consumption of public households dropped by 5.8% relative to private apartments.

But 3.7% of that declinenearly two thirds of the total impactcame after the policy announcement but before any actual price change. The study also notes that consumers with lower water usage responded more to the announcement of a price hike than those with high water usage, who responded more to the hike itself.

"Consumers don't pay a lot of attention to water prices and need clear messaging in order for water prices to effectively encourage conservation," says Daniel Brent, an assistant professor of environmental economics at Pennsylvania State University who was not involved with the study. "Hopefully, utilities will embrace randomizing different messaging around water prices to find out the most effective way to communicate water prices to their customers."

As droughts become more frequent, governments all over the world are looking at ways to balance water supply and demand, including by raising prices. Critics argue that these price hikes negatively impact low-income individuals who might be unable to afford sufficient water; that same logic prompted Singapore and other governments to offer subsidies based on household income.

Too generous a subsidy could, in theory, negate the effect of a price hike by enabling the same level of water consumptionbut the Singapore study found no such effect. Instead, low-income households that had access to the subsidy decreased their water consumption at levels similar to those households that did not have that assistance.

2023 Bloomberg L.P.

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
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Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain

We can learn a lot about politicians' true intentions by paying attention not just to what they say, but how they say it. In speeches and debates, certain words and phrases reflect their commitments to political, social and economic ideas. Through legislation, these ideas ultimately affect people's lives.

Brexit and its aftermath is a prime case study of this. British people had different ideas about what Brexit would mean for the UK, and voted for or against the idea in a referendum. But the space where Brexit was turned into reality through legal framework was in parliament.

In a recent study, I examined parliamentary speeches and debates to understand what politicians actually believed about Brexit, and how confident they were in those beliefs.

One way to measure this conviction is to look at the frequency of strong and weak verbs and phrases in speech. Compare these two sentences:

I know there is ice cream in the fridge

I suppose there is ice cream in the fridge

The first sentence carries much more confidence about the existence of ice cream in the fridge. In linguistics, phrases like "I suppose", "I believe" and "I know" are known as epistemic modals, and can be strong, weak or somewhere in between. Politicians (and indeed, many other people) use them to project a sense or lack of confidence when speaking. The phrase "I think" also has a special role in political speech as a way to assert authority over what is being said. This is unlike its role in everyday speech, when it is often used to mitigate or soften.

In my analysis of a series of parliamentary debates on Brexit taking place in December 2018 (a total of 208,152 words), I found that MPs used weak discourse markers more often than when compared to debates about other issues.

To put my analysis in context, I compared it to a similar analysis of budget debates in UK parliament in 2010. I found that during Brexit debates, MPs used more weakening phrases such as "I would say" or "I would argue", or verbs such as "might", "seem" or "could", indicating lower levels of commitment in comparison to the budget debates.

On December 4 2018, Labour MP Vernon Coaker said, "It seems that a catastrophic failure of leadership has brought us to within a few weeks of when we are supposed to leave the European Union."

His use of "it seems" is an example of how someone can weaken a statement if they wish to be more careful in their expression. Simply saying "it is a catastrophic failure of leadership" would have been much stronger, but could have triggered stronger challenges or consequences from political opponents or the press.

The results of my analysis indicate that MPs did not appear very confident in what they were saying about Brexit in parliament. This is somewhat surprising, particularly when considering the strong beliefs voiced during the Remain-Leave campaigns, and the potential economic implications of Brexit.

But the high uncertainty around Brexit back in 2018 and the lack of a clear negotiated withdrawal agreement at that time, especially during the heated December debates, could explain this observation. MPs didn't know how Brexit would play out, and therefore were much less confident in making assertions.

The will of the people

One of the only ways that I found MPs (mostly from the government benches) were able to talk confidently about Brexit, and to assert authority in debates, was to equate it with "the will of the people".

This "will of the people" is a common phrase used in modern populism, and does not account for the nuance of the different views, opinions and needs of "the people" in a diverse society. There are many reasons people may have voted to leave or to remain, and their opinions may have changed since the referendum.

But references to the "will of the people" came up 120 times during the debates I looked at, mostly in combination with strong markers such as "we need" or "I believe" or "I think" to assert authority over what is being said. We can see this with former prime minister Boris Johnson, when he stated in December 2018 that "I think the British people were completely right".

My findings show that we should not only listen to what politicians say, but also how they say it. Paying attention to the phrases they use (and what they suggest about their level of confidence), will allow us to make more informed decisions when it comes to exercising our right to vote.

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
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Rescue teams try to reach trapped residents inside collapsed buildings in Adana, Turkey, Monday, Feb. 6, 2023. A powerful quake has knocked down multiple buildings in southeast Turkey and Syria and many casualties are feared. Credit: IHA agency via AP

A powerful 7.8 magnitude earthquake rocked wide swaths of Turkey and neighboring Syria on Monday, killing more than 3,400 people and injuring thousands more as it toppled thousands of buildings and trapped residents under mounds of rubble.

Authorities feared the death toll would keep climbing as rescuers searched through tangles of metal and concrete for survivors in a region beset by Syria's 12-year civil war and a refugee crisis.

Residents jolted out of sleep by the pre-dawn quake rushed outside in the rain and snow to escape falling debris, while those who were trapped cried for help. Throughout the day, major aftershocks rattled the region, including a jolt nearly as strong as the initial quake. After night fell, workers were still sawing away slabs and pulling out bodies as desperate families waited for news on trapped loved ones.

"My grandson is 1 1/2 years old. Please help them, please. We can't hear them or get any news from them since morning. Please, they were on the 12th floor," Imran Bahur wept by her destroyed apartment building in the Turkish city of Adana. Her daughter and family were still not found.

Tens of thousands who were left homeless in Turkey and Syria faced a night in the cold. In Turkey's Gaziantep, a provincial capital about 33 kilometers (20 miles) from the epicenter, people took refuge in shopping malls, stadiums and community centers. Mosques around the region were opened to provide shelter.

People and emergency teams rescue a person on a stretcher from a collapsed building in Adana, Turkey, Monday, Feb. 6, 2023. A powerful quake has knocked down multiple buildings in southeast Turkey and Syria and many casualties are feared. Credit: IHA agency via AP

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan declared seven days of national mourning.

The quake, which was centered on Turkey's southeastern province of Kahramanmaras, sent residents of Damascus and Beirut rushing into the street and was felt as far away as Cairo.

The quake piled more misery on a region that has seen tremendous suffering over the past decade. On the Syrian side, the area is divided between government-held territory and the country's last opposition-held enclave, which is surrounded by Russian-backed government forces. Turkey, meanwhile, is home to millions of refugees from the civil war.

In the rebel-held enclave, hundreds of families remained trapped in rubble, the opposition emergency organization, called the White Helmets said in a statement. The area is packed with some 4 million people displaced from other parts of the country by the war. Many of them live in buildings that are already wrecked from past bombardments.

A Syrian man carries a dead young girl, in Azmarin town, in Idlib province north Syria, Monday, Feb. 6, 2023. A powerful earthquake hit southeast Turkey and Syria early Monday, toppling buildings and sending panicked residents pouring outside in a cold winter night. Credit: AP Photo/Ghaith Alsayed

Strained health facilities quickly filled with injured, rescue workers said. Others had to be emptied, including a maternity hospital, according to the SAMS medical organization.

More than 7,800 people were rescued across 10 provinces, according to Orhan Tatar, an official with Turkey's disaster management authority.

The region sits on top of major fault lines and is frequently shaken by earthquakes. Some 18,000 were killed in similarly powerful earthquakes that hit northwest Turkey in 1999.

The U.S. Geological Survey measured Monday's quake at 7.8, with a depth of 18 kilometers (11 miles). Hours later, a 7.5 magnitude temblor struck more than 100 kilometers (60 miles) away.

The second jolt in the afternoon caused a multistory apartment building to topple face-forward onto the street in the Turkish city of Sanliurfa. The structure disintegrated into rubble and raised a cloud of dust as bystanders screamed, according to video of the scene.

Syrian citizen search through the wreckage of a collapsed building, in Azmarin town, in Idlib province north Syria, Monday, Feb. 6, 2023. A powerful earthquake hit southeast Turkey and Syria early Monday, toppling buildings and sending panicked residents pouring outside in a cold winter night. Credit: AP Photo/Ghaith Alsayed

Thousands of buildings were reported collapsed in a wide area extending from Syria's cities of Aleppo and Hama to Turkey's Diyarbakir, more than 330 kilometers (200 miles) to the northeast.

In Turkey alone, more than 5,600 buildings were destroyed, authorities said. Hospitals were damaged, and one collapsed in the Turkish city of Iskenderun.

Bitterly cold temperatures could reduce the time frame that rescuers have to save trapped survivors, said Dr. Steven Godby, an expert in natural hazards at Nottingham Trent University. The difficulty of working in areas beset by civil war would further complicate rescue efforts, he said.

Offers of helpfrom search-and-rescue teams to medical supplies and moneypoured in from dozens of countries, as well as the European Union and NATO. The vast majority were for Turkey, with Russian and even an Israeli promise of help to the Syrian government, but it was not clear if any would go to the devastated rebel-held pocket in the northwest.

A family who fled the war in Syria and live in Beirut, sit outside their home following an earthquake that hit neighboring Turkey early Monday, Feb. 6, 2023, in south of Beirut, Lebanon. Many residents in Lebanon left their homes and took to the streets or drove in their cars away from buildings. A powerful earthquake hit southeast Turkey and Syria early Monday, toppling buildings and sending panicked residents pouring outside in a cold winter night. Credit: AP Photo/Hussein Malla

The opposition's Syrian Civil Defense described the situation in the enclave as "disastrous."

The opposition-held area, centered on the province of Idlib, has been under siege for years, with frequent Russian and government airstrikes. The territory depends on a flow of aid from nearby Turkey for everything from food to medical supplies.

At a hospital in Idlib, Osama Abdel Hamid said most of his neighbors died. He said their shared four-story building collapsed just as he, his wife and three children ran toward the exit. A wooden door fell on them and acted as a shield.

"God gave me a new lease on life," he said.

In the small Syrian rebel-held town of Azmarin in the mountains by the Turkish border, the bodies of several dead children, wrapped in blankets, were brought to a hospital.

Television stations in Turkey aired screens split into four or five, showing live coverage from rescue efforts in the worst-hit provinces.

Damaged vehicles sit parked in front of a collapsed building following an earthquake in Diyarbakir, southeastern Turkey, early Monday, Feb. 6, 2023. A powerful quake has knocked down multiple buildings in southeast Turkey and Syria and many casualties are feared. Credit: Depo Photos via AP

In the city of Kahramanmaras, rescuers pulled two children alive from the rubble, and one could be seen lying on a stretcher on the snowy ground. Turkish broadcaster CNN Turk said a woman was pulled out alive in Gaziantep after a rescue dog detected her.

In Adana, 20 or so people, some in emergency rescue jackets, used power saws atop the concrete mountain of a collapsed building to saw out space for any survivors to climb out or be rescued.

"I don't have the strength anymore," one survivor could be heard calling out from beneath the rubble of another building in Adana earlier in the day, as rescue workers tried to reach him, said a resident, journalism student Muhammet Fatih Yavuz.

In Diyarbakir, hundreds of rescue workers and civilians formed lines across a mountain of wreckage, passing down broken concrete pieces, household belongings and other debris as they searched for trapped survivors while excavators dug through the rubble below.

People and rescue teams try to reach trapped residents inside collapsed buildings in Adana, Turkey, Monday, Feb. 6, 2023. A powerful quake has knocked down multiple buildings in southeast Turkey and Syria and many casualties are feared. Credit: IHA agency via AP

A man searches collapsed buildings in Diyarbakir, southern Turkey, early Monday, Feb. 6, 2023. A powerful earthquake has caused significant damage in southeast Turkey and Syria and many casualties are feared. Damage was reported across several Turkish provinces, and rescue teams were being sent from around the country. Credit: Depo Photos via AP

People search through the wreckage of a collapsed building in Azmarin town, in Idlib province, northern Syria, Monday, Feb. 6, 2023. A powerful earthquake has caused significant damage in southeast Turkey and Syria and many casualties are feared. Damage was reported across several Turkish provinces, and rescue teams were being sent from around the country. Credit: AP Photo/Ghaith Alsayed

People gather around a collapsed building in Pazarcik, in Kahramanmaras province, southern Turkey, early Monday, Feb. 6, 2023. A powerful earthquake has caused significant damage in southeast Turkey and Syria and many casualties are feared. Damage was reported across several Turkish provinces, and rescue teams were being sent from around the country. Credit: Depo Photos via AP

People and rescue teams try to reach trapped residents inside collapsed buildings in Diyarbakir, Turkey, Monday, Feb. 6, 2023. A powerful quake has knocked down multiple buildings in southeast Turkey and Syria and many casualties are feared. Credit: IHA agency via AP

A collapsed building is seen following an earthquake in Pazarcik, in Kahramanmaras province, southern Turkey, early Monday, Feb. 6, 2023. A powerful earthquake has caused significant damage in southeast Turkey and Syria and many casualties are feared. Damage was reported across several Turkish provinces, and rescue teams were being sent from around the country.Credit: Depo Photos via AP

Rescue workers and medical teams try to reach trapped residents in a collapsed building following an earthquake in Diyarbakir, southeastern Turkey, early Monday, Feb. 6, 2023. A powerful earthquake has caused significant damage in southeast Turkey and Syria and many casualties are feared. Damage was reported across several Turkish provinces, and rescue teams were being sent from around the country. Credit: AP Photo/Mahmut Bozarsan

People try to reach trapped residents inside collapsed buildings in Diyarbakir, southern Turkey, early Monday, Feb. 6, 2023. A powerful earthquake has caused significant damage in southeast Turkey and Syria and many casualties are feared. Damage was reported across several Turkish provinces, and rescue teams were being sent from around the country. Credit: Depo Photos via AP

A 7.8 magnitude earthquake shook central Turkey early Monday and was followed by a strong aftershock Credit: AP Graphics

Following an earthquake that struck in neighboring Turkey, in Lebanon, in Beirut, Lebanon, a family sits in their car after fleeing their home early Monday, Feb. 6, 2023. Many residents in Lebanon left their homes or drove in their cars away from buildings. A powerful earthquake hit southeast Turkey and Syria early Monday, toppling buildings and sending panicked residents pouring outside in a cold winter night. Credit: AP Photo/Hussein Malla

People and emergency teams rescue a person on a stretcher from a collapsed building in Adana, Turkey, Monday, Feb. 6, 2023. A powerful quake has knocked down multiple buildings in southeast Turkey and Syria and many casualties are feared. Credit: IHA agency via AP

People walk next to a mosque destroyed by an earthquake in Malatya, Turkey, Monday, Feb. 6, 2023. A powerful quake has knocked down multiple buildings in southeast Turkey and Syria and many casualties are feared. Credit: DIA images via AP

People walk next to buildings destroyed by an earthquake in Malatya, Turkey, Monday, Feb. 6, 2023. A powerful quake has knocked down multiple buildings in southeast Turkey and Syria and many casualties are feared. Credit: DIA images via AP

At least 2,316 people were killed in 10 Turkish provinces, with more than 13,000 injured, according to Turkish authorities. The death toll in government-held areas of Syria climbed to 656 people, with some 1,400 injured, according to the Health Ministry. In the country's rebel-held northwest, groups that operate there said the death toll was at least 450, with many hundreds injured.

Huseyin Yayman, a legislator from Turkey's Hatay province, said several of his family members were stuck under the rubble of their collapsed homes.

"There are so many other people who are also trapped," he told HaberTurk television by phone. "There are so many buildings that have been damaged. People are on the streets. It's raining, it's winter."

 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
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Figure a: A paleogeographic map of South Asia and The Sundaland in Southeast Asia over 20,000 years ago. These lands were occupied by their respective earliest settlers.Figure b: Rising sea level flooded The Sundaland, reduced the land area and caused land splits into smaller islands, influencing multiple population dispersal and population surge, especially in the Island Southeast Asian region. Figure c: Overpopulation in the Island Southeast Asian region drove the Malaysian Indigenous group (Malaysia Negrito, or commonly known as Orang Asli) to migrate back northward, toward Mainland Southeast Asia and South Asia. Credit: Communications Biology (2023). DOI: 10.1038/s42003-023-04510-0

An interdisciplinary team of scientists at Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU, Singapore) has found that rapid sea-level rise drove early settlers in Southeast Asia to migrate during the prehistoric period, increasing the genetic diversity of the region today.

The Malay Peninsula and the islands of Sumatra, Borneo, and Java were originally part of a large landmass of rainforests and coastal mangroves in the South Asia continental shelf known as the Sundaland some 26,000 years ago (see figure a in image above).

But during the last major period of global warming in Earth's history, from the Last Glacial Maximum period (approximately 26,00020,000 years ago) to the mid-50 Holocene (approximately 6,000 years ago), sea level rose 130 meters. The rise in sea level flooded and submerged half of the Sundaland, breaking land bridges and splitting the large landmass into smaller islands of the region today.

To understand the impact on humans living in the Sundaland during one of the most dramatic sea-level rises in the Earth's history, the team of NTU Singapore scientists reconstructed the history of the landmass using two different approaches: paleogeographythe study of historical physical landscapesand population genetics.

Lead investigator, Assistant Professor Kim Hie Lim from NTU's Asian School of the Environment (ASE), and the Singapore Center for Environmental Life Sciences Engineering (SCELSE) at NTU said, "Environmental changes have profound impacts on human history, driving population migration, growth, and distribution. However, less discussed is how environmental changes can shape the genetics of populations. Our work is the first reported instance to provide proof that sea-level rise changed the genetic makeup of human populations in Southeast Asiaa legacy that continues to impact current populations."

Using data for Southeast and South Asia's sea-level history, including ancient Singapore records established by the NTU's Earth Observatory of Singapore (EOS) and ASE, the research team constructed paleogeographic maps dating from 26,000 years ago to the present.

The NTU team also used whole-genome sequence data from 59 ethnic groups, including that belonging to populations native to Southeast and South Asia from 50,000 years ago. By analyzing the high-quality genome data, the team was able to infer the genetic ancestry and demographic history of the groups, including their population size and distribution.

While researchers elsewhere have studied population history based on genetics, most of them used mitochondrial DNA (genes inherited from the mother), which does not tell the full picture of individual ancestry.

By using whole-genome sequence dataprecise information of an individual's entire genetic makeup inherited from both the mother and the fatherthe NTU study offers an unbiased demographic history of the indigenous populations inhabiting the Sundaland.

The whole-genome sequence data was generated by the non-profit organization GenomeAsia 100K. Launched in 2016 and hosted by NTU, the initiative aims to better understand the genome diversity of Asian ethnicities by sequencing 100,000 genomes of people living in Asia.

Contributing author, Professor Stephan Schuster, president's chair in genomics at NTU's School of Biological Sciences, Research Director of SCELSE, and Scientific Chair of GenomeAsia 100K, said, "GenomeAsia 100K systematically generates maps of Asian human genetic diversity, including indigenous ethnicities who have occupied the region for a long time. Integrating those maps with paleoclimatic data allows us now to understand exactly how past climatic events have resulted in ancient human migrations, as well as their impact on today's population structure."

Piecing together the story of human migration in ancient Sundaland

Combining findings from the two approaches, the scientists inferred the changes in population density from the high quality historical paleogeographic maps generated.

The map paints a picture of prehistoric human migration in the Sundaland, showing that the earliest documented instance of forced human migration was driven by sea level rise.

The scientists found that two periods of rapid sea level rise (rates of sea level rise at 46 mm/year and 22 mm/year) promoted the separation of populations into smaller groups across the Sundaland, as the large landmass became split into smaller islands, forcing people to disperse.

Even as the landmass decreased after the rapid sea level rises, temperature increased from the Last Glacial Maximum, creating a favorable living environment to support human population growth. This caused population density to surge by at least eight times from the Last Glacial Maximum, especially in the Island Southeast Asian region, including Malay Peninsula, Sumatra, and Borneo (see figure b).

As a result, overpopulation drove people to migrate in search of new places to settle and the people in the Sundaland later migrated back northwards, towards Mainland Southeast Asia and South Asia (see figure c).

This finding is supported by evidence of migration by the ancestors of the Malaysian indigenous group (Malaysia Negrito, or commonly referred to as "Orang Asli") into South Asian tribal groups (Austroasiatic speakers). Genetic analysis confirmed common genetic ancestry between the Malaysian and South Asian indigenous groups.

The entire process of migration therefore shaped the diverse ethnicities across Southeast and South Asian regions, as early settlers of the Sundaland interbred across different indigenous groups.

Co-author of the study, Dr. Li Tanghua, Senior Research Fellow at NTU's EOS said, "Based on our findings, the Orang Asli Malaysian indigenous group can be considered the first 'casualties' of sea-level rise, or what are known as 'climate refugees' today. The population had no choice but to move from their original territory due to environmental pressures. This forced migration caused an indelible change to the genetic footprint of South Asians, contributing to one of the most ethnically diverse regions in the world."

Findings useful to understand impact of sea level rise on human ancestry

The study, published in the journal Communications Biology in February, is the first to trace the impact of prehistoric sea level rise to human ancestry in Southeast Asia.

Co-author of the study, Professor Benjamin Horton, Director of NTU's EOS, said, "The study of past sea levels is essential to predicting how increasing amounts of atmospheric carbon dioxide will alter Earth's climate and raise future sea levels. These projections inform how societies can mitigate and adapt to climate change impacts."

Moving forward, the NTU team is looking to extend their research, to trace the story of human migration from North Asia to America, and other parts of Southeast Asia.

More information: Hie Lim Kim et al, Prehistoric human migration between Sundaland and South Asia was driven by sea-level rise, Communications Biology (2023). DOI: 10.1038/s42003-023-04510-0 Journal information: Communications Biology
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Patricia Albano (front) and a team of shark researchers collect data from a large tiger shark in Miami, FL. Credit: Paola Roldan.

Marine protected areas are meant to give threatened species space to live and thrive. But in a recent paper in Frontiers in Marine Science, Patricia Albano and colleagues showed that at least one protective area isn't capturing the range that endangered sharks use as they grow, leaving them vulnerable to commercial fishing.

Albano, now the Internship Program Coordinator at the National Marine Sanctuary Foundation, NOAA Ocean Exploration, caught up with Frontiers to tell us a little about her career and her research, as part of our Frontiers Scientist series.

Albano's work focuses on shark ecology in an anthropogenic world and the associated conservation implications. After a BA and MSc from the University of Miami, she joined a project evaluating the efficacy of the De Hoop marine protected area (MPA) for threatened and endemic sharks off South Africa.

Albano also dedicates her time to working in ocean education, supporting workforce development programs and efforts to increase diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility. In 2020, she joined the deep-ocean science community through a position with the National Marine Sanctuary Foundation, in support of NOAA Ocean Exploration.

What inspired you to become a researcher?

I was born and raised in south Florida. No one in my family worked in a science field, let alone marine science, but my parents were diligent about getting me to the water as often as possible. I think many kids go through a phase where they want to be a marine scientist when they first learn about the ocean. For me, it wasn't a phase.

I didn't know what type of marine scientist I wanted to be, but I couldn't see myself doing anything else. As a graduate student, I became intrigued about the use of MPAs as conservation management tools to support biodiversity preservation and positive societal impact. My work in South Africa was a perfect fit: a logistically challenging environment that demanded creativity and collaboration, and research questions that could inspire better protection for an area deeply revered by the local community.

Can you tell us about the research you're currently working on?

My most recent research evaluated the movement and habitat utilization patterns of juvenile smooth hammerhead sharks in relation to a no-take MPA. We found that tagged sharks spent most of their time adjacent to the MPA, in an area of heavy commercial shark fishing. We made recommendations for management to reconsider the MPA's shape and regulations to better protect this species. This research resulted from my time as a graduate student.

Currently, I support NOAA Ocean Exploration's outreach and education division. Our office is dedicated to exploring the unknown ocean, unlocking its potential through scientific discovery, technological advancements, partnerships, and data delivery. In my role, I coordinate efforts to train the next generation of ocean explorers through experiential learning opportunities. As we work toward closing gaps in our basic understanding of the ocean, I work within the agency and with external partners to support career education to help ensure the sustainability of ocean exploration into the future.

In your opinion, why is your research important?

MPAs are often presented as the most effective tool for ocean conservation. While they can be powerful, it's important to prioritize sound science and community input as drivers of marine spatial planning. Without this, we risk the possibility of "paper parks" that fall short on their goals (eg, biodiversity conservation, preserving underwater cultural heritage). Research that provides biological and ecological guidance for spatial protection can help maximize the benefits that MPAs provide.

Are there any common misconceptions about this area of research? How would you address them?

For as many hours that I've spent in the field collecting data in extraordinary places, I've spent double that at my computer. While the idea of a marine science career may conjure images of SCUBA diving in sunny places for a living, in reality, the field is incredibly diverse in scope and includes people with a variety of interests, expertise, and perspectives.

In my current role, I communicate this to students who may think marine science only involves field and lab work. Marine science jobs can also include long days in challenging conditions, frustrating roadblocks, and working in remote areas for long time periods. Yes, a marine science career can include unforgettable experiences, but we must remember that our responsibility is to bring findings back to shore and share them with relevant audiences.

What are some of the areas of research you'd like to see tackled in the years ahead?

I'm looking forward to seeing more research on the efficacy of MPAs as nature-based solutions to climate change, especially in the high seas and deep ocean. As the marine science community works together to meet international goals for ocean protection (eg, protecting 30% of the global ocean by 2030), we must do so with equitable, thoughtful, and intentional science. I'd love to see more research on how MPAs can be used as multi-faceted solutions to looming environmental issues.

How has open science benefited the reach and impact of your research?

Open science is valuable for expanding the impact of research within the scientific community and serves as a mechanism for lowering the barrier to inclusion in scientific discovery. This has been huge for my research in shark ecology. Given sharks' threatened status, it's vital to get research to decision-makers to support conservation.

Open science also means folks outside the scientific community, such as students, teachers, and other stakeholders in a region where shark conservation is priority, can access our findings. Speaking from my experience working with the deep-ocean science and exploration communities, the benefit of open science and data accessibility cannot be understated. NOAA Ocean Exploration is committed to making data from our supported expeditions publicly available in a reasonable timeframe.

This enables us to serve the scientific community and opens countless opportunities to use real data and discoveries to bring the deep ocean to life for students and the public through outreach and education.

More information: Patricia S. Albano et al, Acoustic tracking of a threatened juvenile shark species, the smooth hammerhead (Sphyrna zygaena), reveals vulnerability to exploitation at the boundary of a marine reserve, Frontiers in Marine Science (2023). DOI: 10.3389/fmars.2023.1082049 Journal information: Frontiers in Marine Science

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Orthomosaic image of Foothills Preserve (from the UAS, flown 17 March 2022) (inset) Location of Foothills Preserve on a digital elevation model (DEM) from MassGIS. Credit: Frontiers in Environmental Science (2023). DOI: 10.3389/fenvs.2022.946565

Using a first-of-its-kind approach that entailed drones and infrared imagery, researchers from the University of Massachusetts Amherst investigated a series of former commercial cranberry bogs in eastern Massachusetts that are being restored. The team not only demonstrated how to best restore freshwater wetlands, but also showed that these wetlands are operating as self-sustaining ecosystems. The work was recently published in a pair of papers in a special issue of the journal Frontiers in Earth Science.

For generations, eastern Massachusetts has been the cradle of cranberry production in the United States, and currently has more than 14,000 acres under cultivation. Cranberries thrive in acidic peat bogs, which are the legacy of the last ice age. When Euro-Americans began commercially cultivating cranberries in the mid-1800s, they did so by drastically altering the natural freshwater wetlands in order to improve yields.

"Instead of thick masses of peat," says Christine Hatch, extension professor of earth, geographic and climate sciences at UMass Amherst, lead author of the paper on recovering groundwater and a member of the commonwealth's Water Resources Commission, "these human-altered cranberry bogs look like a Kit Kat bar when you dig down into them."

That's because chocolate-colored layers of peat are interspersed with wafer-colored layers of sand. Whereas peat acts like a sponge, soaking up and holding groundwater, the sand, deposited in inch-thick layers by cranberry farmers every few years over the past 15 decades, acts like a drain and can help get rid of excess water, as well as increase yields and suppress weeds and pests.

Such sand-filled bogs, which the authors call "anthropogenic aquifers," perform very differently from natural ones. As small family-run cranberry bogs cease production, the question has arisen, what to do with them? One answer: return the bogs to their natural statewhich is exactly what the state of Massachusetts is doing.

"Massachusetts has recognized that wetlands are incredibly important resources," says Hatch. "They're the most biodiverse ecosystems we have. And they perform all sorts of ecosystem services, from managing floodwaters, to storing carbon and purifying drinking water. They're also fantastic sites for recreation. The state has committed generous resources to restore these wetlands, which makes me proud to live in Massachusetts."

How to restore a wetland

Though Hatch notes that it's easier to restore what was once a wetland than to create a new one from scratch, it is still quite a complicated task to undo 150 years of landscaping. water moved through the old, peat-filled bogs incredibly slowly, it courses much more rapidly through the human-made anthropogenic aquifers, draining off and ultimately disappearing from the wetland ecosystem. Restoring the wetland means returning the groundwater to its slow pre-agricultural rate of flow and holding on to that water.

It's not enough to simply pull out all the drainage pipes and fill the ditches that farmers have laid and dug over the generations. "You have to deal with all that sand," says Hatch. "In the perfect scenario, we'd dig it all out, down to the untouched deposits of solid peat," she continues, "but that's cost-prohibitive and risks disturbing decades' worth of pesticides that growers have sprayed over their bogs."

Hatch and her colleagues conducted their research at two sites near Plymouth, where they cored the soil, collected water samples, monitored the location of the groundwater and the speed at which it moved and measured water temperatures and levels. Armed with this data, they discovered that it's not necessary to remove the sand from the bog for it to return to its pre-agricultural state. It's only necessary to move it around, mixing it into the layers of peat, enough. But how much is enough?

Mapping success

The answer to that question hinges on how much and how slowly groundwater moves through the bog. In order to track the and measure the movement of groundwater, Hatch and her graduate student, Lyn Watts, lead author of the paper on mapping groundwater, as well as co-author Ryan Wicks, of UMass Amherst's UMassAir, took to the air during the pre-dawn hours in the dead of winter during 2020 and 2021.

Watts, an ace drone pilot, flew a UAV equipped with an infrared camera capable of seeing heat. Since groundwater remains at a nearly constant temperature year-round, she was able to "see" how the groundwater, which was warmer than the frozen surface water, moved through the former cranberry bogs, and to map its flow across the entire system of wetlands at the study sites.

What Watts discovered was that the groundwater was spending more time moving through the restored bog, just as it would in its pre-agricultural state, and that this increased residence time allowed the bog to "fill up" with enough water for it to pool at the surface.

"We show that, at these restored bogs, groundwater is remaining in the area, not moving off of it," says Watts. "This means that restoration is successful, and the bogs will quickly return to self-sustaining ecosystems."

Looking beyond Massachusetts

Because the geology of eastern Massachusetts is similar to that throughout much of the Northeastern U.S., Hatch and Watts's work is broadly applicable. "Our research can help restoration designers and engineers to more deliberately plan their efforts," says Watts.

"Restoring buried wetlands to their previous ecological glory has a very high success rate," says Hatch. "That success depends on getting groundwater to stay in the system. We've shown how to do that, and our research can help us conserve one of our most treasured ecosystems."

More information: C. Lyn Watts et al, Mapping groundwater discharge seeps by thermal UAS imaging on a wetland restoration site, Frontiers in Environmental Science (2023). DOI: 10.3389/fenvs.2022.946565 Journal information: Frontiers in Earth Science
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Along the highest peaks in North Carolina, an isolated spruce-fir boreal forest stands as a relict of the Pleistocene, contrasting with deciduous trees on the Southern Appalachians. Credit: Jess Hunt-Ralston, Georgia Institute of Technology

Plants, like animals and people, seek refuge from climate change. And when they move, they take entire ecosystems with them. To understand why and how plants have trekked across landscapes throughout time, researchers at the forefront of conservation are calling for a new framework. The key to protecting biodiversity in the future may be through understanding the past.

Jenny McGuire, assistant professor in the Schools of Biological Sciences and Earth and Atmospheric Sciences at Georgia Tech, spearheaded a special feature on the topic of biodiversity in The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences along with colleagues in Texas, Norway, and Argentina. In the special feature, "The Past as a Lens for Biodiversity Conservation on a Dynamically Changing Planet," McGuire and her collaborators highlight the outstanding questions that must be addressed for successful future conservation efforts. The feature brings together conservation research that illuminates the complex and constantly evolving dynamics brought on by climate change and the ever-shifting ways humans use land. These factors, McGuire said, interact over time to create dynamic changes and illustrate the need to incorporate temporal perspectives into conservation strategies by looking deep into the past.

One example of this work highlighted in the journal is McGuire's research about plants in North America, which investigates how and why they've moved across geography over time, where they're heading, and why it's important.

"Plants are shifting their geographic ranges, and this is happening whether we realize it or not," McGuire said. "As seeds fall or are transported to distant places, the likelihood that the plant's seed is going to be able to survive and grow is changing as climates are changing. Studying plants' niche dynamics over thousands of years can help us understand how species adapt to climate change and can teach us how to protect and maintain biodiversity in the face of rapid climate change to come."

Climate fidelity: A new metric for understanding vulnerability

The first step is to understand which type of plants exhibit what McGuire terms "climate fidelity," and which do not. If a plant has climate fidelity, it means that the plant stays loyal to its preferred climatic niche, often migrating across geographies over thousands of years to keep up with its ideal habitat. Plants that don't exhibit climate fidelity tend to adapt locally in the face of climate change. Being loyal to one's climate, it turns out, doesn't necessarily mean being loyal to a particular place.

To investigate the case of trees, McGuire and former Georgia Tech postdoctoral scholar Yue Wang (associate professor in the School of Ecology at Sun Yat-sen University in China) studied pollen data from the Neotoma Paleoecology Database, which contains pollen fossil data from sediment cores across North America. Each sediment core is sampled, layer by layer, producing a series of pollen data from different times throughout history. The data also contains breakdowns of the relative abundance of different types of plants represented by the pollen typespine versus oak versus grass, for examplepainting a picture of what types of plants were present in that location and when.

McGuire and Wang looked at data from 13,240 fossil pollen samples taken from 337 locations across the entirety of North America. For each of the 16 major plant taxa in North America, they divided the pollen data into six distinct chunks or "bins" of time of 4,000 years, starting from 18,000 years ago up to the present day. Wang used the data to identify all climate sites containing fossil pollen for any individual type of treesuch as oak, for examplefor each period. Then, Wang looked at how each tree's climate changed from one period to the next. Wang did this by comparing the locations of pollen types between adjacent time periods, which enabled the team to identify how and why each type of tree's climate changed over time.

Along the highest peaks in North Carolina, an isolated spruce-fir boreal forest stands as a relict of the Pleistocene, contrasting with deciduous trees on the Southern Appalachians. Credit: Jess Hunt-Ralston, Georgia Institute of Technology

"This process allowed us to see the climate fidelity of these different plant taxa, showing that certain plants maintain very consistent climatic niches, even when climate is changing rapidly," Wang said.

For example, their findings showed that when North American glaciers were retreating 18,000 years ago, spruce and alder trees moved northward to maintain the cool temperatures of their habitats.

Crucially, McGuire and Wang found that most plant species in North America have exhibited long-term climate fidelity over the past 18,000 years. They also found that plants that migrated farther did a better job of tracking climate during periods of change.

But some plants fared better than others. For example, the small seeds of willow trees can fly over long distancesenabling them to track their preferred climates very effectively. But the large seeds of ash trees, for example, can only be dispersed short distances from parent trees, hindering their ability to track climate. Habitat disruptions from humans could make it even more difficult for ash trees to be able to take hold in new regions. If there are no adjacent habitats for ash trees, their seeds are under pressure to move even farthera particular challenge for ash, which slows their migration movements even more.

Protecting the fabric of life

On the bright side, by identifying which plants have historically been most sensitive to changing climates, McGuire and Wang's research can help conservation organizations like The Nature Conservancy prioritize land where biodiversity is most vulnerable to climate change.

As a final step, McGuire and Wang identified "climate fidelity hotspots," regions that have historically exhibited strong climate fidelity whose plants will most urgently need to move as their climates change. They compared these hotspots to climate-resilient regions identified by The Nature Conservancy that could serve as refuge areas for those plants. While plants in these resilient regions can initially adapt to impending climate change by shifting their distributions locally, the plants will likely face major challenges when a region's climate change capacity is exceeded due to lack of connectivity and habitat disruptions from humans. Refining these priorities helps stakeholders identify efficient strategies for allowing the fabric of life to thrive.

"I think that understanding climate fidelity, while a new and different idea, will be very important going forward, especially when thinking about how to prioritize protecting different plants in the face of climate change," McGuire said. "It is important to be able to see that some plants and animals are more vulnerable to climate change, and this information can help build stronger strategies for protecting the biodiversity on the planet."
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Map and summary statistics for shark bites in 2022. Credit: Jane Dominguez/University of Florida

The number of unprovoked shark attacks worldwide decreased last year, tying with 2020 for the fewest number of reported incidents in the last 10 years. According to the University of Florida's International Shark Attack File, there were a total of 57 unprovoked bites in 2022, most of which occurred in the United States and Australia. Of these, five attacks were fatal, down from nine deaths in 2021 and 10 the year prior.

Since 2013, there has been an average of 74 unprovoked bites per year. 2020 was a notable exception, when COVID-19 related travel restrictions and beach closures likely resulted in fewer encounters between humans and sharks. The overall reduction in the number of last year's bites may reflect the documented global decline of shark populations.

"Generally speaking, the number of sharks in the world's oceans has decreased, which may have contributed to recent lulls" said Gavin Naylor, director of the Florida Museum of Natural History's Florida Program for Shark Research. "It's likely that fatalities are down because some areas have recently implemented rigorous beach safety protocols, especially in Australia."

The International Shark Attack File places a strong emphasis on unprovoked bites in its annual report and does not highlight attacks that may have been prompted by mitigating circumstances, such as fishing lines cast in the direct vicinity of the incident or the presence of chum in the water. There were 32 additional bites in 2022 that fit the ISAF's criteria for having been intentionally or unintentionally provoked.

"Unprovoked bites give us significantly more insight into the biology and behavior of sharks," Naylor said. "Changing the environment such that sharks are drawn to the area in search of their natural food source might prompt them to bite humans when they otherwise wouldn't."

Global numbers at a glance

As in previous years, the U.S. had the highest number of bites, and Florida again had more reported bites than anywhere else on Earth. None of Florida's 16 unprovoked bites were fatal, but twolikely from bull sharks (Carcharhinus leucas)required medical treatment resulting in amputations. A woman snorkeling in the Dry Tortugas early in the year was notably bitten by a lemon shark (Negaprion brevirostris), which rarely attack humans. The incident marked only the 11th known unprovoked attack from this species.

The U.S. had only a single unprovoked fatality, which occurred late in the year when a snorkeler went missing along Keawakapu Beach in Maui, Hawaii.

Australia had nine confirmed unprovoked bites, and single bites occurred in New Zealand, Thailand and Brazil. Two fatal attacks occurred on the same day in Egypt's Red Sea, where shark encounters are considered rare. South Africa, which averages a few bites a year, had two unprovoked attacks in 2022, both of which were fatal and likely caused by white sharks.

Long Island experienced record number of shark bites

Although there were fewer bites last year, a spike in localized incidents has prompted concern from residents and government officials in some areas. New York had a record eight bites in 2022, six of which have been confirmed. Before these attacks, the state had only 12 reported unprovoked bites.

In 2016, researchers determined that juvenile sand tiger sharks (Carcharias taurus) had taken up residence in Great South Bay, between Long Island and Fire Island. The sharks continue to use the sheltered bay as a nursery, where they're better protected from predation than they'd otherwise be in the open ocean.

According to Naylor, the majority of bites in Long Island were likely from sand tiger sharks that were drawn into the surf zone by an influx of baitfish.

"The Gulf Stream's eddies ebb and flow each year. Sometimes they can come very close to shore, bringing nutrients and fish with them. The juvenile sand tigers will follow the fish, which in some cases leads to an uptick in encounters with people," he said. "But local perceptions of shark bites rarely map to global statistics. If you zoom out, these eddies unpredictably break off from oceanic currents all over the world in haphazard ways."

For as long as records have been kept, there have been no reported fatalities from sand tiger attacks, but juveniles have often been implicated in non-lethal bites.

"Juveniles tend to be more experimental and will try things that an adult shark wouldn't," Naylor said. "If fish are especially dense where people are swimming and visibility is poor, then it is more likely that young sharks, which lack the experience of older animals, will mistake a swimmer's foot for their intended prey."

Red Sea attacks make headlines

Two attacks in the red sea off Egypt's coast that occurred on January 8, 2022 were both fatal. The attacks occurred less than a mile from each other and may have been perpetrated by a single shark, which was initially misidentified as a mako (Isurus oxyrinchus). It's currently unclear which species was responsible for the bites, but the shape and coloration of the fins indicate it may have been a tiger shark (Galeocerdo cuvier).

Shark attacks are relatively rare in the Red Sea, but when they do occur, they're often fatal, Naylor said. This is due primarily to the unique topography of the region. The Red Sea began forming roughly 50 million years ago as the tectonic plates underlying Africa and Arabia began pulling apart, creating a steep gouge between them.

"It's a very unusual marine system because the seafloor drops so precipitously, as much as 1,000 feet in 100 yards in some places," Naylor said.

In regions like eastern North America, where the continental shelf slopes gradually, large pelagic sharks often keep a wide berth of the coast. In the Red Sea, they're mere meters from the shore, Naylor explained.

"Open oceans are often pretty bleak, and the pelagic sharks that live in them make their living by opportunism. Whatever potential food source they find, they'll sample."

Reducing your risk

The chances of being bitten by a shark remain incredibly low. According to the World Health Organization, drowning is the third leading cause of accidental death worldwide, and coastal features like rip tides and strong currents pose a greater risk to beachgoers than sharks.

The International Shark Attack File provides a curated list of recommendations for further reducing your risk of a shark bite, such as removing reflective jewelry before entering the water and avoiding areas where people are fishing. For more resources, including the full 2022 report (available 9 a.m., ET, Feb. 6), you can visit the International Shark Attack File's website.
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These seven whitefish were described as separate species for the first time, including the "Albeli" from Lake Lucerne, which now bears the name Coregonus muelleri in memory of the whitefish expert Rudolf Muller. Credit: Eawag

Biologists at Eawag have identified ten species of whitefish in the lakes of the Reuss river system. Of these, seven have been described as distinct species for the first timealthough in two cases this required inspection of specimens from historical collections, since eutrophication of lakes in the 20th century also led to the extinction of fish species in Central Switzerland.

The "Edelfisch" (Coregonus nobilis) was, after the smaller "Albeli", the second most commonly caught species of whitefish in Lake Lucerne until, in the second half of the 20th century, phosphate from domestic wastewater and nutrient-rich run-off from farmland led to a massive increase in algal blooms.

Compared to the lakes of the Central Plateau, nutrient levels in Lake Lucerne were moderate, and eutrophication was short-lived; even so, due to algal decomposition, oxygen was depleted in the deeper layers of the lake. The "Edelfisch", which reproduces in the late summer at a spawning depth of 80 meters or more, suffered as a result.

Shortly before nutrient inputs decreased following the ban on phosphates in detergents and the expansion of wastewater treatment plants, stocks of this species collapsed and it was considered to be extinct in 1980. Only from the late 1990s were individual specimens caught once again, unequivocally identified as C. nobilis in 2000 by the whitefish specialist and Eawag researcher Rudolf Muller.

Five whitefish species in Lake Lucerne

As the "Edelfisch" is now a protected species, Lake Lucerne has not lost any of its historically recorded whitefish species. Indeed, in addition to the familiar "Edelfisch", "Albeli" and "Bodenbalchen", Eawag scientists have identified two new speciestwo large whitefish, differing from the previously known species in their habits, morphological characteristics and genetic composition.

The pelagic "Schwebbalchen" (Coregonus suspensus) probably lives permanently in the open water, not only for foraging but also for reproductiona spawning behavior only previously observed in the "Blaufelchen" (C. wartmanni) of Lake Constance. Occupying a position intermediate to the pelagic "Schwebbalchen" (C. suspensus) and the "Bodenbalchen" (C. litoralis) is the littoral "Schwebbalchen" (C. intermundia).

Lake Zug survivor

Particularly affected by eutrophication in the mid-20th century were whitefish in Lake Zug, whichlike other Central Plateau lakeswas exposed to higher nutrient levels, for a longer period, than waterbodies further upstream. As only the uppermost water layers of this 200-meter-deep lake maintained oxygen levels sufficient to support fish, two whitefish species spawning in the depths of the lake died outthe (Lake Zug) "Albeli" (C. zugensis) and "Albock" (C. obliterus).

Indeed, the Lake Zug "Albock" would have been completely forgotten if specimens had not been found by Eawag scientists Oliver Selz and Ole Seehausen in the historical Steinmann-Eawag Collection. Its morphology and historical accounts indicate that the Lake Zug "Albock" was a deepwater specialista specialization only otherwise observed to the same degree in the (likewise extinct) Lake Constance Kilch (C. gutturosus) and the (still extant) Lake Thun Kropfer (C. profundus).

The only whitefish species still found in Lake Zug today, spawning near the shore, is the "Balchen". Testifying to its survival is its new scientific nameCoregonus supersum ("I have survived").

Species endemic to each lake

Also new are the scientific names of the Lake Lucerne "Bodenbalchen" (C. litoralis) and "Albeli" (C. muelleri). For the morphological and genetic studies carried out by Oliver Selz and Ole Seehausen in order to revise the taxonomy of whitefish showed that almost every lake in Central Switzerland has its own species of "Albeli" and "Bodenbalchen".

Previously, the "Albeli" of Lakes Zug and Lucerne had been classified as members of the same species (C. zugensis), while the "Balchen" spawning near the shore of the various Central Swiss lakes were known as C. suidteri. These collective species names have now been inherited by the extinct Lake Zug "Albeli" (C. zugensis) and the Lake Sempach "Balchen" (C. suidteri).

The Lake Lucerne "Albeli" received the new name C. muelleri in honor of the fisheries biologist and whitefish specialist Dr. Rudolf Muller (19442023).

A reflection of Switzerland

The lakes of the Reuss river system are a reflection of Switzerland as a whole. Since the last ice age, at least 35 whitefish species evolved in the pre-alpine lakes, usually two or more in each lake. Switzerland lost a third of these species during the period of lake eutrophication around the middle of the 20th century. Many of the lost species are known to researchers only thanks to historical collections, such as that created before the eutrophication period by the naturalist Paul Steinmann and currently curated by the Natural History Museum of Bern.

The research is published in the journal ZooKeys.

More information: Oliver M. Selz et al, A taxonomic revision of ten whitefish species from the lakes Lucerne, Sarnen, Sempach and Zug, Switzerland, with descriptions of seven new species (Teleostei, Coregonidae), ZooKeys (2023). DOI: 10.3897/zookeys.1144.67747 Journal information: ZooKeys
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Tailor-made metal complexes could be suitable for use in a special way in medical imaging as well as potential applications in personalized precision medicine. Credit: Patrick Arthur Cieslik

Tailor-made chemical complexes of certain elements from the group of metals could be suitable for use in a special way in medical imaging as well as potential applications in personalized precision medicine. This has been demonstrated by a research team led by Prof. Dr. Peter Comba at the Institute of Inorganic Chemistry of Heidelberg University.

In their basic research, the Heidelberg scientists worked with manganese, lutetium, and actinium ions. Their work focused on ligands with a so-called bispidine scaffold. These compounds are extremely rigid and can bind metal ions with great stability and selectivity.

In their work with manganese, a transition metal with special properties such as the ability to boost the contrast in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), the research team synthesized three different bispidine ligands and their manganese(II) complexes. They exhibit complex stabilities up to ten billion times greater than those of zinc(II), the major competitor of manganese(II) in biological systems.

According to Prof. Comba, these compounds are especially well suited as contrast agents in MRI because they do not exchange the manganese ions for zinc ions in animals and humans. Until now, gadolinium(III) substances were used almost exclusively for this purpose. In recent years, however, safety concerns have increased because free gadolinium(III) ions are toxic, the chemist explains.

"This is also true for free manganese(II) ions. However, because manganese, unlike gadolinium, is essential for the human body, there are natural mechanisms that can remove manganese(II) from the body. Further developing these substances for clinical applications can thus be a worthwhile goal," states Comba. He reports that the quality of initial MRI images in mice with one of the manganese complexes developed in Heidelberg is comparable to the results attained in images with a clinically tested gadolinium contrast agent.

In addition to these new manganese-selective ligands, Dr. Patrick Cieslik also developed a bispidine scaffold that forms very stable complexes with the metals lutetium-177 and actinium-225. This ligand is a so-called bifunctional chelator (BFC) with a dual function and is therefore part of a modular system.

A BFC can bind with a radioactive metal ion as well as be coupled to a biological vector such as an antibody to detect specific molecules or tissues in the body. In this instance the BFC was coupled to a peptide that can locate tumor cells in the body.

Such a chemical complexalso called a conjugatecan be marked with radionuclides that are important in imaging or treatment. "We were able to demonstrate that our conjugates, with the medically important radionuclides lutetium-177 and actinium-225, exhibit similarly good properties as conjugates with DOTA, a bifunctional chelator already in clinical use," explains Dr. Cieslik, who conducted research for his doctoral thesis in Prof. Comba's team.

"The major advantage of the BFC that we developed is that, unlike DOTA systems, it can be labeled with radioactive metal ions very quickly and under mild conditions. Conjugates can thus be used with very sensitive antibodies that could be relevant for diagnosis and treatment in personalized medicine," explains Patrick Cieslik.

The research results were published in two papers in the Journal of the American Chemical Society. Besides the Heidelberg team, other scientists from Germany and France contributed to the research work.

More information: Daouda Ndiaye et al, Mn2+ Bispidine Complex Combining Exceptional Stability, Inertness, and MRI Efficiency, Journal of the American Chemical Society (2022). DOI: 10.1021/jacs.2c10108 Journal information: Journal of the American Chemical Society
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Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain

Democracy may lead to more deforestation in the tropics. So write environmental scientist Joeri Morpurgo and his colleagues in Biological Conservation. They found that competitive elections are associated with more loss of tropical rainforest than elections without competition. "We must prevent politicians from exploiting the remaining rainforest for political power."

"People who are electable try to garner votes in many ways," Morpurgo says. "They adjust their policies or make promises to win over voters. This is known to affect many things, from unemployment numbers to oil production or gross national product. We were curious about the impact on deforestation in the tropics. That had not yet been studied on a global scale. New satellite data and more accessible election databases now made that possible."

Data on elections, governments and deforestation

The researchers created a database containing annual information from 55 countries in the tropics, from 2001 to 2018. For instance, the annual rainforest loss, in which years there had been elections and whether they were presidential, Upper or Lower House elections. They also collected all kinds of information about the government. These included the level of corruption, media integrity and whether there was enough (fair) competition during elections.

Morpurgo says, "We looked at competitive election years, non-competitive election years and years without elections. In a competitive election year, all votes coming in affect who eventually gets into government. In a non-competitive year, there are elections, but you can only vote for one party, for example, or the election is just a sham. Then we laid all those different years alongside the annual deforestation numbers."

More deforestation in competitive elections

Morpurgo and his colleagues observed that more deforestation occurred in competitive election years compared to non-competitive election years. "We think this is because politicians use land and resources to win over voters. There are a lot of laws and regulations against monetary or real estate bribery, but not against exploitation of nature. Therefore, this is a great way to win votes from the agricultural sector, among others."

"For instance, by changing existing policies. Former President Bolsonaro of Brazil once even promised that he would abolish the then existing environmental and nature conservation laws if re-elected."

Curious about shorter-term and smaller-scale effects

"Competitive elections are of course not completely responsible for deforestation, but our results do suggest that they are indirectly a driving factor," Morpurgo says.

"To explore this further, we need to look at the effects at smaller scales or over a shorter time span. Currently, deforestation data is only available by year; the satellites that measure it simply don't fly by often enough. It would be very interesting to look at effects within a year. Or within country boundaries: what effect do state or provincial elections have? But for many tropical countries, that kind of data is often not yet available or difficult to obtain."

Include nature when monitoring elections

But how do we protect the rainforest from power-hungry politicians? "Elections are obviously an integral part of a functioning democracy, you cannot and do not want to abolish them. It might be an idea to move the management of forests and other natural resources away from government to independent parties. That way, you take the rainforests out of the sphere of influence of elections. But that is difficult to get done."

According to the researchers, it is therefore especially important that organizations monitoring the transparency and fairness of elections also include monitoring the impact on the environment and nature. Nature organizations should also be extra vigilant in the run-up to elections.

Morpurgo explains, "Because it is precisely then that electors, for example, donate forest land to be mined in the hope for extra votes. This way, we can hopefully prevent democratic elections from being accompanied by deforestation, destruction of ecosystems and exploitation of natural resources."

More information: Joeri Morpurgo et al, The role of elections as drivers of tropical deforestation, Biological Conservation (2023). DOI: 10.1016/j.biocon.2022.109832 Journal information: Biological Conservation
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The powerful earthquake wiped out sections of Turkish cities.

A combination of factors made the powerful earthquake that struck Turkey and Syria early Monday particularly deadly, including its timing, location, relatively quiet fault line and the weak construction of the collapsed buildings, experts said.

More than 2,300 people have been killed by the 7.8-magnitude quake near Turkey's Syrian border, with the toll expected to grow as aftershocks reverberate throughout the day.

The earthquake caused such devastation partly because of its powerit is the strongest earthquake to hit Turkey since 1939and because it hit a populated region.

Another reason is that it occurred at 04:17 am (0117 GMT), which meant that sleeping people were "trapped when their houses collapsed," Roger Musson, honorary research associate at the British Geological Survey, told AFP.

The construction of buildings was also not "really adequate for an area that's susceptible to large earthquakes," said the author of the book "The Million Death Quake".

That could partly be due to the fact that the fault line on which the earthquake struck has been relatively quiet recently.

Turkey is in one of the world's most active earthquake zones. A quake along the North Anatolian fault line in the northern Turkish region of Duzce killed more than 17,000 people in 1999.

But Monday's earthquake occurred on the other side of the country, along the East Anatolian fault.

The East Anatolian fault has not had a magnitude-7 quake for over two centuries, which could mean people were "neglecting how dangerous" it is, Musson said.

Because it had been so long since the last big quake, "quite a lot of energy" may have built up, Musson theorised.

The strength of the aftershocks on Monday, including a huge 7.5-magnitude tremor, supported this theory, he added.

Map locating the epicentre of a 7.8-magnitude earthquake that struck in Turkey on Monday.

'Rerun' of 1822

This earthquake was "almost a rerun" of a 7.4 magnitude one in the same area on August 13, 1822, Musson said.

It caused "an enormous amount of damage, whole towns in ruins, and casualties in the tens of thousands," he said.

Aftershocks from that quake continued to rumble until June the following year.

The epicentre of Monday's earthquake was at a relatively shallow depth of about 17.9 kilometres (11 miles) near the Turkish city of Gaziantep, which is home to around two million people.

It was caused by the Arabian tectonic plate moving northward, "scraping past Turkey," Musson said.

"Because it cannot move smoothly, it sticks," he said.

"The release of that movement along the fault is what produces a major earthquake like the one we've had today."

Musson emphasised that the epicentre of such an earthquake was less important than how far the rupture extended along the fault linein this case, around 100 kilometres (62 miles).

"This means that anywhere within the 100 kilometres along the trend of the fault is effectively right on top of the earthquake," he said.

Deadliest earthquakes in the world.

'Patchy' infrastructure

Carmen Solana, a volcanologist at the UK's Portsmouth University, said that because earthquakes cannot be predicted, tremor-resistant buildings were crucial in affected areas.

"The resistant infrastructure is unfortunately patchy in South Turkey and especially Syria, so saving lives now mostly relies" on efforts to rescue survivors, she added.

In response to the 1999 earthquake, Turkey's government passed legislation in 2004 mandating that all new construction met modern earthquake-proof standards.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan made strong construction into a political priority after another quake struck the Aegean coast in 2020, killing 114 people.

Joanna Faure Walker, head of the University College London's Institute for Risk and Disaster Reduction, called for Turkey to check whether the legislation had been adhered to in light of the latest disaster.

She also urged Turkey to review "whether there is possibility to improve the safety of older buildings".

Bill McGuire, a volcanologist at University College London, said that "in Syria many structures have already been weakened by more than a decade of war".

 2023 AFP
QUEENSBURY  The William H. Barton Intermediate School has been named a New York State School of Character by character.org, a national advocate and leader for character.

In a news release from the Queensbury Union Free School District, the intermediate school was one of only three schools in the state to get this recognition.

Our students are in an environment that is grounded in the foundation of relationships and nurturing and doing whats best for everyone, Principal Gwynne Cosh said.

Criteria for selection are based on Character.orgs 11 Principles Framework for Schools: A Guide to Cultivating a Culture of Character, according to the release. The framework includes key indicators on creating a caring school community where everyone feels they belong, providing students with opportunities to practice and reflect on their character strengths, and engaging families and communities as partners in the schools character initiative.

The principles align with the districts core values and mission statement, said Cosh. WHBI strives to cultivate a culture of character, focusing less on rules and more on expectations using intrinsic motivation in school.

We see the bigger picture. They dont have to wait to grow up to make an impact on the world, she said.

Character.org gave the William H. Barton Intermediate School a score of 3.7 out of 4.

Its so exciting to see our district prevail for all the hard work that the WHBI staff, students and faculty put in on a daily basis, said Superintendent Kyle Gannon. It feels rewarding and could not be more fitting for the excellence that happens on a daily basis in that building.

WHBI now has the opportunity to apply at the national level. The school received the national designation in 2018, a five-year accreditation.

Were really just creating better human beings, Cosh said.

The release stated that Character.org certifies schools and districts each year at the state level that have developed and implemented an intentional, proactive and comprehensive approach that embeds character into all aspects of the school life. The chosen schools and districts will be considered for Character.orgs highest distinction  National School of Character.

Character.org designated 73 state-level Schools of Character and two Districts of Character for 2023.

Since its inception, Character.orgs Schools of Character program has positively impacted nearly 3 million students, staff, parents and other community members.

Each of these schools and districts have put into place an initiative that equips and empowers their staff to reinforce and model a range of positive core values that will shape and form the hearts, minds, and choices of their students, said Arthur Schwartz, president of Character.org.

The 2023 National Schools of Character will be announced in May and honored at the 30th Anniversary International Forum next fall in Washington, D.C.

Character.org also named Queensbury Middle School a 2023 Honorable Mention School of Character. Queensbury High School was named a New York State School of Character in 2022.
On June 3, 2020, The New Jersey State Board of Education created new student learning standards for comprehensive health and physical education. This new curriculum is a revised form of the previous one that was adopted in 2014.

While this curriculum was created in 2020, schools were given until this past September to adopt the changes.

According to the state, the new Comprehensive Health and Physical Education were designed to address the needs of each student to gain knowledge and skills in caring for themselves and interacting effectively, respectfully and safely with others.

The new standards were adopted after five full months of discussions and public comments, but many people think that not enough public comments were heard. In some areas around our state, parents and school boards pushed against the adaption of the curriculum since it introduces sensitive topics to children at younger ages.

While many different areas of learning how been revised with the new curriculum, its the gender and sex education portion that have caused a lot of comment and discussion among some school districts and parents in our state. In Linwood, Northfield and Somers Point, district officials describe a smoother transition then others and say they have been proactive about keeping parents informed on all new changes. Each district in our community has created their own curriculum based off the states and implemented the new standards into its teachings.

In the 2020 curriculum by the end of second grade all students will know that all living things may reproduce and are introduced to the scientific names for all genitals. By the end of fifth grade, students will know all the ways in which pregnancy can be achieved and occur. Between the grades of sixth and eight, students will learn about all the ways in which two people can have sex and by the end of eight grade, the students will have an awareness of every stage of pregnancy and conception.

In the sexual and social health portion of the curriculum, by the end of second grade, students will learn that everyone has their own unique skills and qualities which can include the activities they enjoy such as how they may dress, their mannerisms and things that they like to do. In grade five, the curriculum goes deeper into the childrens own sexual identity and discusses that all individuals should feel welcome and included regardless of their gender, gender expression, or sexual orientation. In order to promote that all are accepted, in eighth grade the students will learn that inclusive schools and communities are accepting of all people and will make them feel welcome and included.

Since the students will have the full knowledge of pregnancy and sex by the end of grade five, consent is a big discussion soon after. The curriculum requires instruction in grades 6 through 12 on the law and meaning of consent in all sexual activities.

One of the topics covered is sexting, which involves instructions on the social, emotional, and legal consequences of distributing and soliciting sexually explicit images through electronic means once during middle school. The curriculum also requires each school district to incorporate sexual abuse, assault awareness and prevention education in grades preschool through 12.

Along with all the content on sexual behavior and actions, the curriculum also covers mental health and the importance of knowing how to deal with ones own emotions. The curriculum states, A school district shall ensure that its health education programs for students in grades kindergarten through 12th recognize the multiple dimensions of health by including mental health and the relation of physical and mental health so as to enhance student understanding, attitudes, and behaviors that promote health, well-being, and human dignity.

While many things within the curriculum have stayed the same from the previous years, it is the changes addressing sexual identity and the engaging in different sexual acts that has some parents questioning how their own local school districts will handle implementing these sensitive topics.

Because of this, each school district has an opt-out option for their students. The parents that wish for their children not to be a part of these discussions must write a letter to the principal explaining that the lessons contradict with their personal values. It is up to each school district to decide what to do with the students who opted out.

An important aspect of the curriculum changes that should be highlighted is that local schools have leeway in how they implement and teach the new standards. In other words, the lectures and instruction will vary by schools. That's based on the NJ Department of Education allowing each school district throughout the state to have the freedom to tailor the overall curriculum for its own school.

However, the DOE will track how well each school districts meet the curriculum requirements through the New Jersey Quality Single Accountability Continuum (NJQSAC). Districts that dont comply with the new standards may face loss of local control, monitoring from the state and in extreme cases, loss of state aid.

With that being said, different school districts are going about introducing these topics in different ways.

Northfield Community School has created its own Comprehensive Health and Physical Education Curriculum to go in accordance with the states. There are no new courses, teachers or instruction sessions being added. These new standards that the state expects the students to learn will simply be added in and taught by the health and physical education teachers during those class periods.

Superintendent Pete Bretones says that the district conducted a committee during the summer of 2022 to go over the new standards and discuss what its position on it would be.

The districts position is that we will deliver the mandatory standards in an age appropriate manner that benefits the education and well-being of the students. There was some resistance from some members of the community and we addressed them individually, as well as publicly," Bretones said.

In the new curriculum that was established by the district for the Northfield Community School, it states that, We want to provide an intro to concepts but will rely on families to dive "deeper" as they see fit. We will introduce concepts age appropriately in "bite size" scientific portions which we will build upon to help connect the dots to tie it all in together.

The hope is that by introducing the original state standards in smaller doses, parents and guardians can then address certain situations that they wish to, in further details at home.

While Bretones said that the number of students who have opted out of learning the new standards is very low, the district reminds parents of their right to do so and how to. For each student that does opt out, he says that an alternate assignment will be provided.

Superintendent Brian Pruitt says that the Linwood school district followed the curriculum implementation and instruction aligned to the NJSLS as required by the State and that they have implemented the new standards to all schools within the district.

We communicated details about the new standards implementation and then formed a committee that reviewed the information, Pruitt said. The committee was composed of Health and PE staff, administration, BOE members, representatives from our PTO, Education Foundation, community and parent representatives. The group met multiple times and reviewed the curriculum update prior to the BOE approval of it.

In order to hear concerns on the new curriculum or answer parent questions about how certain topics would be addressed in Linwood schools, the district communicated with the community through individual emails, phone calls, BOE meetings and staff throughout the whole development and implementation of new material. This allowed for plenty of communication and parent awareness of what was happening at each school in the district.

While this new curriculum is gathering a lot of buzz and comments from all over, Pruitt says that Linwoods health curriculum, "has always been about assisting and supporting the young kids as they grow and that will continue to be the main focus."

Somers Point school district was unavailable for comment at the time of print.
OCEAN CITY  Raj Khatiwala has about two weeks before he can start work on 801 Asbury Ave., a high-rise office building downtown.

Khatiwala and his twin brother, Yogi Khatiwala, 38, are principals in Eclat, an investment firm that outbid hotel and residential developer Eustace Mita for the building, offering $6.75 million.

Former owner James McCallion, the principal of 801 Asbury Avenue LLC, is in bankruptcy. The trustees have accepted the Eclat offer, which also needed the approval of Judge Andrew Altenburg of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Camden.

Mita will not raise his original bid of $6.5 million made last year.

I gave my highest and best offer. Im not going to up my bid, Mita said Friday.

Mita said there would still be a chance for someone to put more money on the table before the deal goes to settlement, but he said that was not likely.

While Mita had planned to remake the building as a hotel in the heart of Ocean Citys downtown, Raj Khatiwala said his plans are to keep the property as office space, renovating it to modern standards.

Hotel owner offers $6.5M for downtown Ocean City bank building OCEAN CITY  Icona Resorts has a $6.5 million agreement to buy a former bank building in dow

The structure is good, the bones are good, he said.

The plan is to invest in improvements, working with potential clients on what they would want in the space. Like everything else weve bought in Ocean City, were not building for today. Were building for the future, Khatiwala said.

He said he did not yet have an estimate of how much Eclat would invest in renovations. He said the firm would move quickly once it can get started.

We want to make this place super nice. I think its going to be the best office space in Ocean City once were done, he said.

Khatiwala said he and his brother grew up in Ventnor and attended Atlantic City High School.

Were local to the area, he said.

They have been investing heavily in Ocean City, starting with the purchase of The Forum in 2019. The 1950s-era hotel is at 800 Atlantic Ave. The companys current portfolio includes The Scarborough Inn at 720 Ocean Ave., The Pavilion at 801 Atlantic Ave., The Beach House at 819 Moorlyn Terrace, the Tahiti Inn at 1125 Ocean Ave., The Blue Water Inn Hotel on Eighth Street, the Ocean Breeze Hotel at 724 Ocean Ave., and condominiums at 801 Wesley, as well as properties in Idaho and Ohio.

Ocean City looks to acquire Crown Bank building downtown OCEAN CITY  Apparently, things were booming in 1924 when The First National Bank of Ocean C

The company also owns Staintons, once a central department store in the downtown, now a gallery of shops, in the same block as the bank building. There is now also a Boardwalk Staintons location.

Khatiwala said he and his brother did not set out to invest this big in Ocean City but saw opportunities as they arose in the seaside resort town.

We never planned to have several hotels in Ocean City, he said.

But hes bullish about the town, citing its family atmosphere and ban on alcohol sales, as well as its proximity to New York and Philadelphia and the fact that its near enough to Atlantic City that visitors can plan an evening at a show, a casino or a high-end restaurant and then return to a quiet beach town.

The purchase of 801 Asbury Ave. includes the neighboring parking lot, as well as a warehouse in Estell Manor.

The office building, sometimes known as the Crown Bank building for a former tenant, dates to 1924. It was built as the headquarters of the First National Bank in Ocean City.

Before a renovation in the 1990s, the property had fallen into disrepair. More recently, the property has had a malfunctioning elevator and few tenants. Several companies have moved out recently, including the Ocean City Sentinel newspaper.

Ocean City expands anti-gull falcon project with $316,000 contract OCEAN CITY  When Ocean City decided to try fighting birds with birds in 2019, hiring a falc

First-floor tenants have included restaurants and barbers.

A secondhand shop, Second Chance Boutique, is the lone remaining business. The store raises funds for Cornerstone Community Church, which describes it as an outreach ministry. It currently operates the former bank, which still has the teller windows and huge bank vault in place under high ceilings.

According to Khatiwala, the Second Chance Boutique will move to the second floor. No one from the store responded to a request for comment Friday.

Wed love to keep them in the building, Khatiwala said.

The market for office space has been slow nationally and in New Jersey, with reports showing high rates of vacancy and dropping rents. The sluggish performance is projected to continue well into 2023 as many continue the work-from-home model that began in 2020.

That has more impact in big markets like New York or Philadelphia, Khatiwala said. A destination market like Ocean City is where many of the remote workers have now landed, and advances in technology have meant national firms can locate in smaller cities.

State plans to help keep boardwalks maintained ATLANTIC CITY  In 1973, Bruce Springsteen told Sandy, For me this boardwalk lifes through

Other ideas

The city had its eyes on the building last year, going so far as approving a $32,000 contract for an engineering and planning firm to inspect the property. Mitas hotel plans would have meant a big investment in restructuring the property and required a use variance to place a hotel in the downtown.

Khatiwala said Eclats plans will not require as significant an investment, and the use will not change. He cited the buildings location, calling Eighth Street and Asbury Avenue Main and Main, as well as the classic appeal of the building and the city.

The space is very nice. The upper floors have a tremendous view of the bay and ocean, Khatiwala said.

Khatiwala declined to say how much the firm has invested in Ocean City, or its total value.

We dont like to disclose that, he said.

But the company website described Raj Khatiwalas hotel portfolio as having a total value of more than $12 million.

Burial of humpback whale draws a crowd to Atlantic City beach ATLANTIC CITY  A beached whale was examined and buried in the sand Sunday morning.

He praised the Eclat staff in Ocean City, including Poojan Ghayal, the regional head of hotel operations, Kruti Martin and Rebecca Shein, as well as Snehal Avichal, who runs the Scarborough for the company.

We have a really good team, he said. Most of it is having the right people in the right positions and then trusting them to do whats right for the company.

Over the past two years, Avichal has added yoga, bird watching and writing retreats to the business.

Its really a magical place, Khatiwala said.
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The Special Cell of the Delhi Police have arrested a Mumbai- based member of an inter-state syndicate of Counterfeit Indian Currency Coin (FICC).

Ingit Pratap Singh, the DCP of the Special Cell, said that fake Indian coins in the denomination of Rs 10 having face value of Rs 9,46,000 were recovered from the accused, identified as Jignesh Gala.

Gala was part of the previous module busted in April 2022, wherein FICC to the face value of Rs 10,48,540 was recovered and the manufacturing unit was busted, Singh added.

The mastermind of the racket namely Naresh Kumar was arrested in April 2022, and fake currency coins were recovered from him. Later on, at his instance a manufacturing unit cum godown was unearthed at Charkhi Dadri, Haryana and four of his associates were arrested. IANS
The Maratha Light Infantry Regiment, one of the oldest regiments of the Indian Army, celebrated the 255th year of its formation on Saturday.

The regiment, which was raised in 1768, celebrates Maratha Day every year on February 4.

To commemorate this August occasion, the Maratha Light Infantry Regimental Centre organised a series of events which included wreath laying in honour of War Heroes who sacrificed their lives for the unity and integrity of the nation, cultural programmes followed by a Regimental Barakhana which showcased the cultural heritage of the Maratha Regiment. IANS
To ask PM 3 questions daily; says no action taken after Panama Papers leak despite his assurance

The Congress on Sunday said that it will ask three questions a day related to the Adani issue to the Prime Minister. The Congress said that after the Panama Papers leak, no action was taken despite assurance from the Prime Minister.

Congress Communication In-charge Jairam Ramesh said on Sunday, Amid the allegations against the Adani Group, the Modi government has maintained a loud silence which smacks of collusion. Starting today, the Congress party will pose three questions a day to the Prime Minister.

Raising a question before the Prime Minister, Ramesh alleged, In response to the Panama Papers expose on 4 April 2016, the Ministry of Finance announced that you had personally directed a multi-agency investigative group to monitor financial flows to and from offshore tax havens. Subsequently, at the G20 summit in Hangzhou, China on 5 September 2016, you stated: We need to act to eliminate safe havens for economic offenders, track down and unconditionally extradite money launderers and break down the web of complex international regulations and excessive banking secrecy that hide the corrupt and their deeds. This leads to some questions that you and your government cannot hide from saying HAHK (Hum Adani Ke Hain Kaun).

Vinod Adani, the brother of Gautam Adani, was named in the Panama Papers and the Pandora Papers as someone who operates offshore entities in the Bahamas and the British Virgin Islands. He is alleged to have engaged in brazen stock manipulation and accounting fraud via a vast labyrinth of offshore shell entities. You have spoken often about your sincerity and niyat in fighting corruption and even subjected the nation to the heavy costs of demonetisation.

What does the fact that a business entity you are well acquainted with faces serious allegations tell us about the quality and sincerity of your investigations? he asked.

The Congress leader said, Over the years you have misused agencies like the Enforcement Directorate, Central Bureau of Investigation and the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence to intimidate your political opponents and to punish business houses that do not fall in line with your cronies financial interests.

What action has been taken, if ever, to investigate the serious allegations made over the years against the Adani Group? Is there any hope of a fair and impartial investigation under you? he said. Other business groups have been harassed and raided for much less, he added. IANS
Community body demands public apology within a week, threatens stir

The International Matua Parishad, the global association of Matua community, has served an ultimatum to West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee to apologise for her recent mispronunciation of the names of the two spiritual leaders of the community.

According to the Parishad convenor Sukesh Chowdhury, the chief minister should tender a public apology by issuing a statement for her mistake within the next seven days or the body will organise a march to the state secretariat of Nabanna on February 15.

He clearly said that although Trinamool Congress has issued a statement through Twitter where they described the mispronunciation as inadvertent, the Parishad will stick to their demand of a statement personally by the chief minister.

After the BJP vehemently attacked the chief minister for the mispronunciation and there was a growing anguish among the community members over the development, Trinamool Congress issued a statement on its official Twitter handle where they described the mispronunciation as inadvertent.

Matuas are refugees from Bangladesh hailing from the Scheduled Caste background. IANS

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Trinamool Congress issued a statement on its official Twitter handle where they described the mispronunciation as inadvertent.
2022 worst year for investors as hackers steal record $3.8 bn

Cryptocurrency hackers stole $3.8 billion last year, making it the worst year on record for crypto investors, up from $3.3 billion in 2021.

According to Blockchain analytics platform Chainalysis, October was the biggest single month ever for cryptocurrency hacking, as $775.7 million was stolen in 32 separate attacks.

DeFi (Decentralised Finance) protocols as victims accounted for 82.1 per cent of all cryptocurrency stolen by hackers -- a total of $3.1 billion -- up from 73.3 per cent in 2021.

Of that $3.1 billion, 64 per cent came from cross-chain bridge protocols specifically.

Cross-chain bridges are protocols that let users port their cryptocurrency from one blockchain to another, usually by locking the users assets into a smart contract on the original chain, and then minting equivalent assets on the second chain.

If a bridge gets big enough, any error in its underlying smart contract code or other potential weak spot is almost sure to eventually be found and exploited by bad actors, said the report.

North Korea-linked hackers such as those in cybercriminal syndicate Lazarus Group have been by far the most prolific cryptocurrency hackers over the last few years.

In 2022, they shattered their own records for theft, stealing an estimated $1.7 billion worth of cryptocurrency across several hacks, the report said.

Most experts agree the North Korean government is using these stolen cryptos to fund its nuclear weapons programmes.

About $1.1 billion of that total was stolen in hacks of DeFi protocols, making North Korea one of the driving forces behind the DeFi hacking trend that intensified in 2022.

Besides DeFi protocols, North Korea-linked hackers also tend to send large sums to mixers, which have typically been the cornerstone of their money laundering process, the report noted.

For much of 2021 and 2022, North Korea-linked hackers almost exclusively used Tornado Cash to launder cryptocurrency stolen in hacks.

Sinbad is a relatively new custodial Bitcoin mixer that began advertising its services on the BitcoinTalk forum in October 2022.

During December 2022 and January 2023, North Korea-linked hackers have sent a total of 1,429.6 Bitcoin worth approximately $24.2 million to the mixer, the report said. IANS

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ONE IN FOUR USERS UNAWARE OF CRYPTO CYBERCRIME RISKS

Nearly one in four users are unaware of crypto cybercrime risks, while half of the users are hit by crypto cybercrime, a new report has shown.

According to the cybersecurity firm Kaspersky, just 25 per cent of those surveyed felt well-informed about potential cryptocurrency cyberthreats, while 23 per cent had no information at all.

The report also discovered that nearly half (49 per cent) of the respondents had been affected by cryptocurrency crime in some way, with 40 per cent of crypto owners did not believe current protection systems for cryptocurrency were effective.

This survey emphasises the need for increased awareness and education about the potential risks faced by cryptocurrency owners. As the adoption of digital assets continues to grow, it is essential for individuals to take appropriate measures to protect themselves from cyber threats, said Vitaly Kamluk, Head of the APAC unit, Kasperskys Global Research and Analysis Team. IANS
Relative claims Sanjivani VitaLife insisted on deposit amount of `25K; when he said they didnt have it, patient was refused admission even though he needed immediate attention; healthcare facility refutes allegations; PMC to look into matter and act according to rules

Hospitals insisting on paperwork and depositing money before admitting patients or refusing to discharge them over payment of bills is nothing new. However, a hospital allegedly refusing to admit a senior citizen after suffering a heart attack because he could not arrange the deposit money immediately sounds shocking. Laxman Shivram Bolade, aged 66, who was taken to Sanjivani VitaLife, a multispeciality hospital in Aundh, last month, was turned away, his nephew, Mayur, told Mirror.

Mayur claimed that it was an emergency and his uncle had to undergo immediate medical procedures, without which his life would be in danger. According to him, the hospital staff would not relent after repeated requests by his kin and in the end told them that there was no ICU bed available, nor was there any cardiologist to give the patient the required attention. This was after the preliminary tests were done and when the staff asked them to fill up the necessary document.

The hospital did an ECG test. They told us to get medicines and we got them. But when I was filling up the form, the staff asked me to pay Rs 25,000 as deposit money. Everything was okay till that time. But when I told them that I didnt have that much money on me, their behaviour and attitude changed. Medical staff are heartless, said Mayur. On January 18, Bolade, a resident of Aundh Road and a former Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) employee, complained of chest pain, uneasiness and sweating.

He was immediately taken to a nearby clinic by family members. The doctor there said it was an emergency and that he should be taken to a hospital. Around 1 pm, Bolade was rushed to Sanjivani Vitalife. Once there, an ECG test was done and the required primary medical care was provided to him. The family was told that it was an emergency and the patient had to be admitted. The hospital told us that angiography and angioplasty would be done. We told them that we had only Rs 5,000 at that moment and would pay the remaining amount in the evening.

But they refused to budge and said the patient would be admitted only when Rs 25,000 was deposited, said Mayur Bolade. He said that the conversation then turned into an argument and it went on for almost an hour while the patient remained in a precarious condition. They rather started telling us that the entire bill will go up to Rs 2 lakh and advised us to take the patient to a hospital where the treatment would be done free of cost. When the argument began to heat up, they came up with an excuse that there were no vacant ICU beds and no cardiologist was available at the hospital.

On top of that, they mentioned in one of the papers that we insisted on a cardiologist on an urgent basis and insisted to shift the patient to a better centre. This was done in order to make us leave. This was so wrong and they were not even honest to accept what they did, he added. The kin took a cardiac ambulance and shifted the patient to Sahyadri Hospital, where he underwent an angioplasty the next day. He was discharged recently. The family complained to the PMC health department.

Private hospitals in the city are registered with the civic body under the Maharashtra Nursing Home Act, 2021. Speaking to Mirror, Dr Ashish Bharti, health chief of PMC, said, We have received a complaint against the hospital. The issue will be taken up for discussion and investigation. As per the rules and based on the findings, necessary action will be taken. Refuting all allegations, Manish Oswal, head of Sanjivani VitaLife Hospital, said, We dont do any wrong practices. We need patients. The kin of the patient was explained in detail about the treatment and the procedure that would be required.

The team also provided the required medical care and attention on priority. We had two cardiologists that day but they were on call. We have developed a high-tech facility for patients and if we get rid of them by giving excuses, why would we develop such a big system. The topic was discussed in one of our meetings. When such a situation arises, the hospital has to struggle. We never trouble any patient for money. We never think that way. In fact, we want a maximum number of patients to come to our facility, he added.
The accused Dirappa alias Chakrappa Hattarkhillal ruthlessly murdered the boy by inflicting fist blows and bashing him on the floor, according to the court

On Friday, Additional Sessions Judge P P Jadhav sentenced a 32-year-old man from Vijapur in Karnataka to life imprisonment and fined him Rs1.25 lakh for his role in the 2014 murder of a one-and-a-half-year-old boy in Ranjangaon MIDC in rural Pune.

The accused Dirappa alias Chakrappa Hattarkhillal ruthlessly murdered the boy by inflicting fist blows and bashing him on the floor, according to the court. Judge Jadhav remarked that throughout the trial, the accused claimed that the kid died as a result of eating bhel being stuck in its throat. However, he then stated that the child was murdered by his mother and a jeep driver named Pravin Bhandari, who transported them to Karnataka and attempted to hide the body before being apprehended by the people.

The accused stated that he was on duty on March 31, 2014, when the event occurred. An FIR charging him with murder was filed with the Vijapur police in Karnataka. On September 2, 2014, the culprit was nabbed after the murder case was moved to Shirur police in rural Pune. According to the prosecution, Sujata eloped with the accused on March 3, 2014, and began living with him in a leased residence in Ranjangaon MIDC, but there was constant conflict between them due to the child. After murdering the boy, the accused pressured his mother not to reveal the incident and took them to Karnataka in a vehicle. The accused departed on the guise of visiting his father. The judge considered the evidence led by the prosecution for proving the guilt of the accused beyond a reasonable doubt.
Officers stated that the contractor and his employees set off an explosion at the site in order to break a massive boulder in one corner of a dug-up area

A 23-year-old worker was killed and three others were injured after controlled blasting occurred at a construction site in Pune's Kharadi on Thursday. Police charged the works contractor and two of his employees with negligence.

On February 2, at about 10.30 a.m., an incident occurred at a construction site in Kharadi. Officers identified the deceased as 23-year-old Kadir Reman Shaikh. Three additional construction workers, including two women, were injured in the incident.

Officers stated that the contractor and his employees set off an explosion at the site in order to smash a massive boulder in one corner of a dug-up area. A police investigation indicated that the contractor and his employees did not take preventative precautions, such as erecting tin or plywood protection panels, nor did they notify the other workers on the building site.

The police charged the contractor and his employees with causing death by carelessness, negligent behaviour with regard to explosive substance, and rash or negligent act endangering human life or safety, among others.
Students Aadhaar not available, network and server issues also add up to the problem, rue schools

All zilla parishad and municipal schools in the state are required to enter data of teachers, students, and other information on the Unified District Information System for Education Plus (U DISE+) portal to avail benefits of the Central governments various schemes. However, despite standing instructions from the state education department, information on teachers in 78,731 schools has not been filled in the system. Likewise, out of 2.20 crore students, details of only 45 lakh has been entered in the system.

The last date to furnish the details is February 15, and the data of 1.75 crore students is still not furnished in the portal. According to the directives given by state project director of Maharashtra Primary Education Council Kailas Pagare to all municipal commissioners and chief executive officers of zilla parishads, the Ministry of Education, Government of India has developed the U DISE Plus system to fill the information of all the schools in the country online in order to effectively implement various programmes and schemes.

Based on this information, funds are sanctioned for mid-day meal, scholarships, Samagra Shiksha Yojana, and other such schemes. Hence it is mandatory for schools running classes from pre-primary to Class XII to furnish the required details in the system. According to Sachin Dimble, president of the Maharashtra State Municipal Primary Teachers Federation, Filling out single student data takes at least 20 to 30 minutes. Manual data entering takes hours. All teachers are forced to work from home, however, not all of them have access to the internet.

Due to heavy traffic on the U DISE + portal, it either runs slow or even crashes frequently. To ease the data entry workload, we are demanding the state education department to connect the student portal server to this U DISE portal. Mahendra Ganpule, state spokesperson for the Maharashtra State Headmasters Association, said, Each students details, information about teaching and non-teaching staff, physical facilities, results, summary, and future plans of school authorities must be included into the U DISE Plus portal.

We face challenges due to the nonavailability of pupils Aadhaar cards, 5G internet connectivity issues in schools located in rural and remote areas. Most of the time, the U DISE portal crashes owing to high traffic, and the save option also does not work. We have requested that the state education department synchronise the student portal server with the U DISE portal so that the 50 per cent workload can be reduced.

According to Krishna Kumar Patil, director of secondary and higher secondary education, The Central government, who is in charge of controlling and monitoring the system, has made manually entering data on the U DISE portal mandatory. Sharad Gosavi, director of primary education, said, The data input on the U DISE portal is underway in accordance with the Central governments directive. Our technical team members are in contact with officials from the Centre. The problems will be resolved in the coming weeks.

If there are any technical difficulties in registering students information in the U DISE system, or if there is a request from the schools for an extension of time for filling out the information, then this should be informed to school administration office in writing, said Kailas Pagare, state project director of Maharashtra Primary Education Council. Accordingly, a request for an extension will be made to the state office. U DISE Plus will be reviewed soon. Hence, concerned staff working at U DISE Plus at the district, taluka, centre, and school levels should be notified to submit the information on time. After the final filling of the information of all the schools in the district, the certificate of final information should be uploaded on the U DISE Plus system, he added.
With PMC and PCMC not doing their basic duties, consumers getting financially drained

By: Ankit Shukla

The city experienced very good monsoons in the last five years. However, people living in various neighbourhoods of the city are facing a grave water crisis, compelling housing societies to pay exorbitant amounts for water tankers. This reflects the irresponsible attitude of the civic bodies which do not provide the basic amenities when residential complexes are being built but give every liberty to builders/developers to go ahead with their construction work. All the builders need to do is to give an affidavit stating that providing water is their responsibility, which invariably is shirked off after they give possession of properties to buyers in their projects.

The colossal nature of this unbridled development effuses from the fact that severe water shortage affects approximately 18,000 cooperative housing societies, 15,000 apartment complexes, and other residential premises. Despite numerous attempts to address the issue with local authorities, the situation remains unchanged, forcing residents to shell out large amounts of money to purchase water from the water tanker lobby. The amounts of money residents of housing societies pay for buying water through water tankers ranges from Rs 10-25 lakh per year to even over a crore of rupees in some cases. So, water for domestic and drinking purposes which, you as a citizen should get free of cost or at a nominal charge, is being denied to you.

In 2015, a public interest litigation (PIL) was filed in the Bombay High Court due to water scarcity in Baner-Balewadi. However, despite judicial intervention, the situation has only worsened over the years, affecting almost all parts of Pune. The regulatory authority, MWRRA, is non-functional due to vacant leadership positions, and private water tanker suppliers operate in an unregulated manner, drawing water from various sources and causing the depletion of water in borewells at housing complexes. Advocate Satya Muley, who is representing several housing societies in the public interest litigation (PIL), states: The question remains why, despite the city having four dams filled with monsoon rainfall for five years, there is a scarcity of domestic water supply. Also, if private tanker operators can source water, then the same water can also be sourced and supplied by local authorities, thereby regulating private water tanker supplies.

Despite attempts by housing societies, associations, and federations to raise the issue with local authorities, the water supply situation remains unchanged. As a result, several of these organisations have filed public interest litigations (PIL) in the Bombay High Court to address the water shortage in the region.

The housing societies which have joined to file the PILs are the Wagholi Housing Societies Association, Pune District Co-operative Housing Societies and Apartments Federation, Akhil Bharatiya Grahak Panchayat, Pimpri-Chinchwad Co-operative Housing Welfare Societies Federation Ltd, Baner-Pashan Link Road Welfare Trust, Balewadi Residency Co-operative Housing Welfare Federation Ltd, Dear Society Welfare Association, Bavdhan Citizens Forum, Hinjawadi Employees and Residents Trust, Vaishali Patkar, and activist Qaneez Sukhrani.

According to the ministry of housing and urban affairs of the Union of India, every citizen requires 135 litres of water for daily use, but most housing complexes receive less than 25 litres per person per day. Private water tanker suppliers, who draw water from various sources, operate in an unregulated manner and this has caused borewells at housing complexes to dry up.

Punes four dams (Khadakwasla, Panshet, Temghar, and Varasgaon) were filled to the capacity following good monsoon rainfall in the past five years. This has raised questions about the scarcity of domestic water supply in the city. It is high time citizens do not take this injustice lying down as it is their right to get water for domestic use as well as for drinking, from the municipal corporations. Lets rise together to quench our thirst.
BEIJING, Feb. 6 (Xinhua) -- China is ready to restart the economic and trade exchanges mechanism with Australia, Commerce Minister Wang Wentao said Monday.

During his talks via video link with Australian Trade Minister Don Farrell, Wang said China is also willing to expand cooperation in emerging areas, such as climate change and new energy, and promote high-quality development of bilateral economic and trade relations.

China and Australia are each other's important economic and trade partners, with highly complementary economic structures and mutually beneficial and win-win bilateral economic and trade cooperation, said Wang.

He added that bilateral trade and economic relations are facing an important window of opportunity, and that the two sides should make joint efforts to inject more positive factors into their economic and trade cooperation.

The 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China stressed that China would unswervingly open wider to the outside world, and a developing and open China would bring more opportunities to Australia and other countries, Wang said.

He hoped that Australia would work with China to strengthen communication and coordination in the economic and trade fields and seek mutually beneficial solutions to issues of respective concerns.

China is closely following Australia's tightened security review of Chinese companies' investment and operations in Australia and hopes that Australia can appropriately handle relevant cases and provide a fair, open, and equal business environment for Chinese companies, Wang added.

Farrell pointed out that China is Australia's largest trading partner and a significant source of investment, adding that trade and investment are cornerstones of bilateral relations.

He said Australia welcomes high-quality investment from China and other countries and looks forward to further expanding cooperation with China in such fields as climate change and renewable energy.

Farrell said Australia and China both support a rules-based multilateral trading system, and that Australia is ready to work with China to enhance mutual trust and resolve differences through candid dialogue for the benefit of the two peoples. 
A Davenport man is accused of burglarizing the home of a person who has a no-contact order filed against him, stealing a firearm and taking the victims phone as they were talking to 911 dispatch, police said.

Michael Jason Joyner Jr., 25, of the 100 block of West 35th Street, is charged with one count of first-degree burglary. The charge is a Class B felony that carries a prison sentence of 25 years. While first-degree burglary is a forcible felony under Iowa law, there is no mandatory minimum sentence.

Joyner also is charged with possession of a firearm by a domestic abuser, a Class D felony that carries a prison sentence of five years, and obstruction of emergency communications, a simple misdemeanor that carries a jail sentence of up to 30 days.

According to the arrest affidavit filed by Davenport Police Officer Mark Rappel, at 8 p.m. Saturday, officers were sent to a residence in the 2500 block of Rockingham Road to investigate a report of a disturbance.

During the investigation, officers learned that Joyner went onto the property despite the no-contact order ordering him to stay off the protected partys property, stay away from the victim and do not contact the victim in any manner.

Joyner entered the house by climbing through a window on the north side of the residence, the report said.

Once inside, Joyner began rifling through the kitchen drawers where he found and took a firearm. As someone with an order of protection filed against him, Joyner is not allowed to possess a firearm.

Joyner then took the cell phone of the victim while they were on the phone with Scott County Emergency Communications.

During a first appearance on the charges Sunday in Scott County District Court, Magistrate Christine Frederick scheduled a preliminary hearing in the case for Feb. 15.

Joyner was being held Sunday night in the Scott County Jail on bonds totaling $26,000, cash or surety.

According to Scott County District Court records and police affidavits, the no-contact order against Joyner was served on Dec. 15, 2022.

Joyner is awaiting trial in Scott County District Court on one count of domestic abuse assault and one count of third-degree criminal mischief. The domestic assault charge is a serious misdemeanor that carries a jail sentence of up to one year, while the criminal mischief charge is an aggravated misdemeanor that carries a prison sentence of two years.

According to the arrest affidavits filed in that case by Davenport Police Officer Michael Hogan, at 9:21 p.m. Aug. 29, 2022, officers were sent to an apartment in the 3800 block of Bridge Avenue to investigate a domestic disturbance.

Joyner and the victim have two children together. Joyner pinned the victim to the ground, pulled her hair and grabbed her throat and face while causing visible injuries to her neck and face.

Joyner violated a domestic abuse protective order by going to the victims apartment. Joyner also intentionally damaged the womans cell phone.

A pretrial conference in that case is scheduled to be held Wednesday in Scott County District Court.
A Sunday evening fire in Moline left a firefighter injured and two people without a place to live.

The fire was reported at 6:19 p.m. at 1728 11th St., according to the Moline Fire Department. When firefighters arrived, they found an unattached garage that was heavily ablaze. The heat from the garage fire caused a nearby duplex to also catch fire.

The department did not state how the firefighter was injured but said the injury was not considered life-threatening. The firefighter, who was not identified, went to the hospital.

The people who lived in the duplex were already outside when firefighters reached the 11th Street address, the department said. There were no reports of injuries among them, but the Red Cross assisted two people who could not return to their residence after the fire.

The extent of the damage to their residence was not provided in the release. Three other properties were also damaged because of the heat of the fire.

Bringing the fires under control took about 30 minutes, but firefighters remained on site for about three hours, ensuring that they did not rekindle, the department said.

The city's fire marshal is investigating.

The Rock Island, East Moline and Rock Island Arsenal fire departments assisted, along with Moline Second Alarmers.
Editors note: This profile is the sixth in an eight-part series featuring Quad-City area college students experiences during the fall 2022 semester.

Raymond Herd School: Augustana College Hometown: Orion Class: Senior Major(s): History and Business Favorite "new release" from fall 2022: "The Menu" on HBO

Augustana senior wrestler Raymond Herd experienced off-campus living for the first time during his fall 2022 semester.

Living in a house that my roommates and I are responsible for, its pretty exciting, he said. Its also a little scary.

Augustanas new wrestling facility was another bonus from the fall semester. On academics, Herd said that finishing his long-awaited Senior Inquiry project was especially rewarding.

That ended up being, like, a 20-to-25-page paper of, like, my own original research, he said, adding that his research topic was how wrestling influenced U.S. relations with Iran. So, learning how to time-manage all the research, writing and all the revisions was a big thing for me, personally and academically.

And as a student-athlete, time management makes all the difference.

I try to find any time I can between classes to sit down and get work done so that when I get home after practice, I dont have to do it and can kind of unwind, he said. Just trying to make the most out of the little free time that I do have. If youre productive (during the day) for like 45 minutes, youre going to get a lot more done, rather than working on it at night when you just dont want to do it.

Though Herd said hes blessed to have a mother willing to finance most of his college tuition, he also works off-season to pay for his housing and any remaining debt.

Im very fortunate to learn skills that Ill need later in life but still kind of have a safety net, he said.

A nod to his previously mentioned project, Herd said, the recent Iranian protests were the most significant fall 2022 cultural and political event.

Its crazy to see how cultures are so different across the world, he said. You sit here and you think how in America, we have a lot of things and freedoms that some take for granted. Thats one of the main things I picked up on.

On the topic of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI), Herd thinks colleges sometimes mishandle DEI advocacy, awareness and even training.

Its important to talk about and discuss these issues, but I just dont think theyre being implemented in the right ways, he said, using examples of students being fined or having their registration on hold for missing DEI-survey deadlines.

Especially as a history major, Herd doesnt think political pressures should stifle certain curricula. For example, some lawmakers nationwide seek to ban Nikole Hannah-Jones The 1619 Project  something he said he really enjoyed learning about.

I feel like in higher education, we get the opportunity to look at  at least history  through a different lens, he said. Were not just looking at these big figures that everyone already focuses on. We focus more on the common people and what it was like to live in that time  and the different things I feel dont get talked about as much.

Herd named homecoming as his favorite on-campus event from the fall. He particularly enjoyed President Dr. Andrea Talentinos inauguration, noting shes the first woman to hold the position  and is ninth president in Augustana history.

It was honestly really cool to be a part of that and just get to witness something that doesnt happen all the time, Herd said. I think the school did a really good job of promoting it (homecoming).

Looking at higher education overall, Herd often feels a disconnect between the student body and administration, something he wishes would change. Before transferring to Augustana, he attended Cornell College in Mount Vernon, Iowa.

Ive had some problems with registrars. Even transferring in, I had to come physically here to figure it all out because I would email people and wouldnt hear back, Herd said. People are always complaining about the registrar and different offices. Whether theres just a disconnect or there are protocols faculty have to go through, I think it definitely needs to change.

Herd said the importance of building connections with others had been a key life lesson in college. Navigating college during COVID-19 gave rise to other lessons.

People, in general, are a lot stronger and a lot more resilient than we think we are, he said. The confidence there is really huge. It (COVID) sucked, but we were able to get through, manage and now we have these experiences and were able to grow.

While some hold the stereotype of modern college students being lazy or entitled, others may dub those with a college degree as pretentious, but Herd disagrees with both.

We dont think that way, he said. We understand the value of an honest days work. Just because we go to college, its not like were not working and are just going out and partying every day. We actually have stuff to do and responsibilities to take care of.

He isnt sure of his future endeavors yet, but Herd has considered taking a fifth year for wrestling.
Afghans living in the Quad-Cities are making progress on their paths to permanent residency and the possibility of U.S. citizenship, but most still face a difficult road, said Laura Fontaine, executive director of World Relief Quad-Cities, a nonprofit that resettles refugees and immigrants in the Quad-Cities.

Of the 348 Afghans her agency resettled in the fiscal year that ended September 2022, most were under a temporary, two-year-legal status called humanitarian parolee because there wasnt time in the chaotic, emergency evacuation of their country to get them fully vetted to refugee status.

That is an important distinction because a person with refugee status has a path to permanent legal residency in the United States, while parolees do not. A parolees options are to apply for a Special Immigrant Visa or join the thousands of others at the Mexican border and elsewhere seeking asylum.

So far in the Quad-Cities, 200 of the 348 early arrivals have applied for Special Immigrant Visas and are waiting for approval, and 46 have been approved, Fontaine said.

Special Immigrant Visas are issued to Afghans who meet certain criteria and who were employed in Afghanistan or on behalf of the U.S. government, or by the International Security Assistance Force, which saw the individual work as an interpreter or translator for the U.S. military, according to the office of U.S. Sen Charles Grassley, R-Iowa.

A problem with obtaining these visas is that they require documentation, and many Afghans left their documentation behind, or destroyed it as they fled for fear of it being held against them if accosted by the Taliban, Fontaine explained.

As for the asylum process, 18 have been approved for asylum; 66 have had an asylum interview and are waiting for an answer; one is waiting for an asylum interview; 16 are applying for asylum with a pro bono attorney to help; and one is waiting to secure a pro bono attorney to help.

Grassleys office said that Congress mandated that any Afghan coming to the country under humanitarian parolee status and who applied for asylum would have their asylum application moved to the front of the line, bypassing the existing asylum application backlog.

Fontaine said that while there might be a mandate, its not obvious to her. Theres still a long wait.

Its a daily struggle, she said. Its taking so many resources. Im constantly in front of foundations asking for money for busing to Chicago (for interviews). Im sending caseworkers to Chicago almost every day. It makes me mad because our government did this. These people were brought over in our planes.

Grassleys office also said that U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services received $250 million in emergency appropriations to process asylum applications for Afghans in the United States and to do so within 150 days, but that has not been Fontaines experience either.

I have people who have waited more than that, she said.

And although there is a mandate that Afghans requesting asylum shall be interviewed in 45 days after filing their application, the wait for an answer is much longer, Fontaine said.

To streamline the process, Fontaine and other nonprofit groups have lobbied strongly for legislation called the Afghan Adjustment Act that would have adjusted the status of humanitarian parolees to provide an easier path toward residency, rather than forcing them to seek a Special Immigrant Visa, or go through the asylum process.

That act has not passed.

All Afghans coming to the United States in October 2022 and after do not face the same dilemma as early arrival parolees because they were vetted for refugee status while still overseas.
High temperatures are expected to remain above 40 for most of this week before dipping into the middle 30s for Friday and Saturday, Meteorologist John Haase of the National Weather Service, Davenport, said Sunday night.

Haase said there was a chance from some very light rain Monday night, but that likely will be only a couple hundredths of an inch.

That rain will be caused by a system tracking north of the Quad-Cities, he said, so expect it to be windy, with gusts as high as 40 mph tomorrow evening.

It will be blowing out of the southeast and the south, and it will be blowing pretty good, so youll need to hang onto your hat, Haase said.

Mondays forecast calls for a high of 47 degrees and partly sunny skies with a southeast wind of 10-15 mph increasing to 15-20 mph in the afternoon with gusts as high as 35 mph.

There is a 50% chance of rain mainly before midnight with an overnight low of 33 degrees.

Tuesdays high calls for a high of 41 degrees under partly sunny skies with breezy conditions and an overnight low into Wednesday of 25 degrees.

Wednesdays forecast calls for a high of 42, however, Haase said there is a 50% chance of rain during the day that increases to 70% Wednesday night into Thursday.

The system that is moving through Wednesday night into Thursday is a stronger system that has the chance to give us anywhere from a half-inch to an inch of rain, Haase said.

The overnight low into Thursday is expected to be about 34 degrees.

There is a 40% chance of rain before noon on Thursday before the clouds break, giving partly sunny conditions and a high of 41 degrees. The overnight low is expected to dip to 25 degrees.

Fridays forecast calls for partly sunny skies with a high of 34 degrees, while Saturday is expected to be sunny with a high of 37 degrees. Sundays forecast at this point is calling for partly sunny skies and a high of 46 degrees.

Haase said there was no extreme cold anywhere in sight, and the next chance of rain after the system coming through Wednesday and Thursday is on Feb. 15 as a system from the southern plains moves into the area with a lot of moist gulf air.

The normal highs for this time of year range from 33 degrees on Monday to 35 degrees by the time Sunday rolls around.

January ended warmer than normal, with a mean temperature for the month of 30.9 degrees, 7.6 degrees warmer than the normal of 23.3 degrees for the month.

Rainfall for January totaled 2.17 inches, which is just more than a half-inch more than the normal of 1.66 inches.

Only 5.7 inches of snow fell in January, 5.1 inches less than the normal of 10.8 inches.

Through January, 10.7 inches has fallen so far this year in the Quad-Cities, which is 11.3 inches below the normal of 22 inches.

The record for snowfall for the month of January is 30.2 inches set in 2019.

The highest temperature for the month was 57 degrees on Jan. 16, while the lowest was 1 degree on Jan. 31.

Although the Quad-Cities has escaped many days of bitterly cold weather this winter season, what cold has struck has created some ice issues on both the Mississippi and Rock rivers.

On the Mississippi River at Lock and Dam 15, Rock Island, the river was at 7.84 feet at 6:10 p.m. Thursday. It jumped to 8.03 feet at 2:10 a.m. Friday before beginning to fall. It stood at 6.16 feet at 6 p.m. Sunday. The river is expected to continue falling to 5.1 feet by Sunday, Feb. 12.

The Rock River at Moline was at 9.04 feet at 6:15 p.m. Thursday. Ice caused the river level to jump up and down reaching 9.37 feet at 1:30 p.m. Sunday. The Rock at Moline stood at 8.94 feet by 5:30 p.m. Sunday.

Temperatures are expected to remain well above normal through Feb. 19, according to the National Weather Services Climate Prediction Center. The center is predicting 50%-60% chance of above-normal temperatures for all of east-central Iowa and western Illinois.

The center also is predicting 50%-60% chance of above-normal precipitation.
CHICAGO - An early morning fire inside a Chicago Lawn two-flat killed a man believed to have been squatting inside, authorities said Sunday.

Police and fire crews responded to the two-story brick building at 6401 S. Whipple St. just after 3:30 a.m., authorities said.

Inside, authorities found a 36-year-old man unresponsive, according to police. The victims identity wasnt immediately available.

Its suspected the victim was squatting inside what appeared to be an abandoned building, according to Fire Department spokesman Frank Velez. The cause of the fire remained under investigation, he added.

Hours after the fatal blaze, the Fire Departments public education unit went to the 6400 block of South Whipple Street to distribute smoke detectors and fire safety literature while reminding residents to check their smoke and carbon monoxide detectors.

Ald. Raymond Lopez, 15th, tweeted that he had asked the citys buildings department for a list of vacant properties in the ward, along with their registration status and any pending actions against them.

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
The word "library" often conjures up images of stuffy shelves and patrons working in eerie silence, but in reality  especially in Rapid City  that couldn't be further from the truth.

The Rapid City Public Library is a sprawling, spacious building, and even on a Monday at mid-morning, it can be hard to find parking. The bright interior is abuzz with all ages scurrying between bookshelves and board games, printers and private rooms, making full use of a service that so many thought would die off in the digital age.

"A lot of people just view the library as a place to read and get books, and libraries are so much more than that," said Laurinda Tapper, public relations coordinator, Rapid City Public Library. "They've evolved over the years and are providing what our community needs."

The newest of those services is the ability to check out a South Dakota State Parks pass, thanks to a partnership with Game, Fish & Parks and the state library. Rapid City Public Library has three of these hang-tags available for check out for a maximum of three days.

South Dakota State Parks offer a variety of activities for families to enjoy, said Al Nedved, state park deputy director. We are excited to partner with libraries across the state in a new way to expand these outdoor opportunities to new people.

It's another one of the many ways local libraries serve the community. They offer everything from educational tools for youth to free notary services on top of regular events for locals of all ages.

"Libraries are all about removing barriers and providing access to things like literacy, technology, events and research," Tapper said. "A lot of people don't realize the amount of technology people can use here, whether it's 3D printers or laminating or vinyl printing. We also have tool sets to check out, wi-fi hotspots, [and] book club bags."

Tapper said there's a perception that libraries aren't being used, when in fact these community hubs are getting increasingly busier.

Want to check out the library? Their location at 610 Quincy Street in downtown Rapid City is open Monday  Thursday, 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Friday  Sunday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. February has a calendar packed with events, including a special presentation on "superb owls" with the Black Hills Raptor Center and an Anti-Valentine's Day Teen Party. More information is available here: rapidcitypubliclibrary.org.

If you're not in Rapid City and you want to check out a state parks pass, you can check the list of participating South Dakota public libraries here: library.sd.gov.
The president of the United States knew about the presence of the Chinese spy balloon for several days before it was spotted drifting over Montana.

But, the White House wanted to keep it secret fearing news of the surveillance balloon would sabotage Secretary of State Antony Blinkens planned diplomatic trip to China, the first such visit in five years, Bloomberg News has reported. Blinken was to go to China on Friday.

That changed when on Wednesday Billings Gazette photographer Larry Mayer, responding to vague reports that the airspace around Billings had been closed, photographed an odd glowing orb high in the sky.

Using a large telephoto lens, Mayer discovered it was a high-altitude balloon powered by a large solar array. The balloon was also photographed by Billings videographer and former Gazette online editor Chase Doak.

The Gazettes publication of those photos, connecting them to the closed airspace and the fighter jets being scrambled to track the balloon, was quickly picked up by other media around the world  and the White House.

By Thursday evening, China acknowledged the balloon was theirs, but insisted it was a harmless weather balloon that had simply blown off course.

The Pentagon wasnt buying it.

We know its a surveillance balloon, and we know that it has violated U.S. airspace, and violated international law, which is unacceptable, Pentagon Press Secretary Air Force Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder told a packed news conference Friday morning.

The White House was especially alarmed the balloon was hovering over a part of Montana that houses intercontinental nuclear missile silos.

During that Pentagon press conference, military officials said it wasnt the first time foreign surveillance balloons had been spotted over the United States. Asked why the Pentagon disclosed the most recent balloon and not the others, the brigadier general cited the publicity generated by the photos being published around the world as playing a role.

Were certainly aware of photos of it being posted online, he said.

Before the press conference had ended, Blinkens trip to Beijing had been abandoned.

On Saturday, the Associated Press reported, federal officials confirmed U.S. Air Force fighter aircraft shot down the balloon off the Carolina coast. Federal authorities cleared the airspace and water surrounding the balloon prior to its downing.

The balloon, which traveled most of its distance across the U.S at an altitude as high as 60,000 feet, has been described as being the size of four school buses. Shooting it down would cause debris that could kill civilians and damage property, the Pentagon said. Since passing over Montana, the balloon has traveled into the eastern part of the nation, said Brig. Gen. Ryder.

On Friday, the Pentagon also acknowledged its aware of a second balloon flying somewhere over Latin America.

Montana Sen. Jon Tester, chairman of the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee, said he will hold a hearing to demand answers from the Biden Administration about the spy balloon.

I will be pulling people before my committee to get real answers on how this happened, and how we can prevent it from ever happening again, Tester said.
Marvel fans were worried how the Black Panther franchise could continue without the Black Panther.

Thankfully, director Ryan Coogler refocused the Marvel films and came up with a way that honored star Chadwick Boseman and set the table for more adventure.

In the sequel, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, TChallas mother, Queen Ramonda (Angela Bassett) and his sister, Shuri (Letitia Wright), are in charge.

Bassett is particularly good, bringing her concerns to the United Nations and standing up to the outsiders who want to threaten Wakanda. Her Best Supporting Actress Oscar nomination is fully warranted.

Wright is good, too, trying to piece together medical theories that could explain what happened to her brother and how the underwater people and their leader, Namor (Tenoch Huerta) manage to survive.

Namor wants Wakanda to form a pact with Talokan, the underwater kingdom that seems to have roused interest from the United States and its vibranium-detecting machines. Theres a lot to glean from Shuris visit underwater, but theres also a big question that emerges: Could this be a little too close to Avatar for Disneys comfort? The underwater populace is blue, able to make things glow and blessed with knowledge mere mortals couldnt even consider.

To settle her own concerns, Queen Ramonda tries to find Nakia (Lupita Nyongo), who has been gone since the blip. Living in Haiti, she didnt want to be caught up in the unrest that could have accompanied TChallas death. She still has skills, however, and comes to Shuris rescue when the underwater world becomes an enemy.

Coogler embraces ceremony and, in many instances, makes us feel like we understand what Wakandans are like. Even better, he gives us a glimpse at the Tolokan that makes this relationship intriguing, even though it may not be.

For good measure, Everett Ross (Martin Freeman) and Valentina Allegra de Fontaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) are here, trying to make the CIA an important part of Wakandan decisions.

Ruth Carters spectacular costumes score again (extending to the underwater folk who, in Namors case, have winged feet to worry about) and Ludwig Goranssons music is both reverent and hopeful. When Rihanna sings Lift Me Up, you can tell this isnt just another superhero film.

Black Panther, in fact, is on a higher plan than most. It creates a world, inhabits it and gives reasons for its peoples actions. Its a bold mission statement thats largely due to Coogler. He makes the 160 minutes worthwhile, even though its missing its key element.
HERAT, Afghanistan, Feb. 6 (Xinhua) -- Afghan counter-narcotics police have rounded up 4,500 drug addicts from different parts of western Herat province over the past week and sent them to the rehabilitation center, the state-run Bakhtar news agency reported Monday.

The addicted persons would be reintegrated into their families after recovery, the media outlet quoted Faizuddin Rahimi, head of the provincial rehabilitation center, as saying.

Up to 700 people have also been arrested on charges of involvement in the drug business over the period, the state-controlled media outlet said, adding that police have destroyed 23 drug processing laboratories in the province.

"A total of 400 drug addicts are currently receiving medical treatment in Herat rehabilitation center and we are making effort to uproot the vicious phenomenon of drug in the province," Bakhtar quoted Rahimi as saying.

Earlier on Jan. 12, the counter-narcotics police also rounded up 3,500 drug addicts from different parts of Herat province and sent them to the rehabilitation center. 
The developer behind Libbie Mill-Midtown on the Richmond-Henrico County line is ready to start breaking ground on another section of the massive living community. The total project, nearly a decade in the making, is transforming an area that was largely undeveloped just a few years ago.

Henrico-based Gumenick Properties has begun site work for Harps Landing Apartments, which will have 398 units, ranging from studios to three-bedroom apartments. Construction will start this summer and continue through mid-2025.

Harps Landing will bring Libbie Mill-Midtowns tally of apartments to around 1,088 among its three larger apartment communities: Harps Landing, Penstock Quarter and Wellsmith Apartments. About 1,500 people live in the mixed-use developments apartments.

Libbie Mill-Midtown also has a smaller 14-unit apartment building, Jordans Branch, and about 230 for-purchase townhomes and condominiums.

When we did early studies for Libbie Mill-Midtown, we saw strong demographics for the 20-to-35 age group and young millennials in particular, said Skip Nash, vice president of property management for Gumenick. Weve been planning and developing the community with that in mind. Occupancy rates for Penstock and Wellsmith are at 97% to 98%, Nash said. Rents have yet to be decided for Harps Landing, but they are expected to be commensurate with the current apartments (per square foot), which are listed online as starting between $1,400 and $2,700 for studio, one- and two-bedroom units.

The developments apartments have gradually increased in size, expanding from 700-square-feet studio units in Penstock Quarter to 875-square-feet units at Harps Landing.

More than just a place for people to live, Libbie Mill-Midtown is combining a walkable area with 200,000 square feet of commercial space thats largely targeted at its residents.

Weve been focused on a merchandising plan thats driven by vibrancy and activity for the residents, Nash said.

The retail space has been mostly filled by tenants representing areas such as fitness, health care, self-care and many service-related businesses.

Libbie Mill-Midtowns dining tenants, chosen to provide a regionwide draw, include Shagbark, an upscale dining option; The Stables Market, for boutique food shopping; and Crafted, a spot for drinks, small bites, salads and sandwiches. Award-winning Acacia Midtown recently held a soft opening, and Brass Tap Craft Beer is expected to open in the coming weeks.

The site along Staples Mill Road also has corporate offices for LL Flooring, previously Lumber Liquidators, and Gumenicks corporate offices. About 12,000 square feet of commercial space remains unfilled.

Harps Landing will be built closer to Libbie Lake at the center of the community to give residents more of a waterfront experience than the other developments. Plans also call for a new 5,000-square-foot commercial outparcel near the lake, and adjacent to Harps Landing.

Gumenick still has some land available in the area, but it has yet to decide how and when it will be developed  whether as apartments, townhomes, commercial space or a mixture of the three.

We couldnt be more excited about whats happening at Libbie Mill, said Anthony Romanello, executive director for the Henrico Economic Development Authority. Its a textbook case for how you can redevelop a property and really create a great place for people to work and live.

Romanello lauded Libbie Mill-Midtown as a positive example of public-private partnerships. A centerpiece for the community is a state-of-the-art 60,000-square-foot public library built by the county; Henrico also worked with Gumenick on county building codes and zoning to enable the development.

The 80-acre infill development is the largest revitalization project in Henricos 400-year history. Its just one of many transformative projects in the works across the county, such as the planned $2.3 billion GreenCity ecodistrict, the walkable GreenGate community in western Henrico and current redevelopment of the old Henrico Plaza on Mechanicsville Turnpike.

The tracts of land where Libbie Mill-Midtown is situated have been in the Gumenick portfolio for more than half a century. A community was originally built there in the late 1940s as a living area for returning World War II veterans. That housing was demolished by 2004 after aging past the point of recovery.

Development plans for Libbie Mill-Midtown were ultimately approved in 2007, and site work began in 2013  after a six-year delay.

Gumenick told The Times-Dispatch in 2015 that it delayed Libbie Mill-Midtowns construction due to the recession. During that lull of activity, Gumenick slightly revised its plans for the area to be more fitting for a post-recession market.

Romanello added that Libbie Mill-Midtown is the right type of community for shifting living preferences after the initial shutdowns from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Of the many lessons the pandemic taught us, it amplified the importance of place, he said. Knowledge workers can practically work anywhere when theres Wi-Fi. Why not live and work in a place like Libbie Mill, where you can walk to a restaurant, to the gym, Starbucks or the library?

Close Women Who Drive Richmond is honoring 12 women who are entrepreneurs, innovators and leaders in the region. Faith Wilkerson Jacquelyn Stone at McGuireWoods on October 15, 2018 in Richmond, Virginia. Jennifer Wakefield, President + CEO of Greater Richmond Partnership RRT Portraits PHOTOS: Women Who Drive Richmond 2023 Women Who Drive Richmond is honoring 12 women who are entrepreneurs, innovators and leaders in the region. Faith Wilkerson Jacquelyn Stone at McGuireWoods on October 15, 2018 in Richmond, Virginia. Jennifer Wakefield, President + CEO of Greater Richmond Partnership RRT Portraits
A Chesterfield County man opened fire in an apartment building Sunday night, wounding two men and killing his estranged wife before fatally shooting himself during a traffic stop early Monday, police said.

Chesterfield police were called to a reported shooting in the 6700 block of Amster Road at around 10:30 p.m. Sunday.

Barbie Brown, 43, was pronounced dead at the scene. A man with serious injuries and a man with minor injuries were taken to a hospital.

Police said they obtained warrants for Terrell L. Brown, 34, of Chesterfield for second-degree murder and use of a firearm in the commission of a felony based on comments he made on social media.

Terrell Brown was stopped by Virginia State Police at 12:55 a.m. on Interstate 295 in Hanover County.

As troopers exited their vehicles to approach the Tahoe, they heard a gunshot from the vehicle, Chesterfield police said in a statement. When they approached, they found Terrell Brown suffering from a gunshot wound to his head; he was the only occupant of the vehicle.

Police said their investigation shows he shot Barbie Brown as she was entering the apartment, which is the home of one of the other shooting victims. The resident was opening the door when the shooting started, police said.

The other victim lives nearby and was shot inside his apartment by Brown as he fled the scene, police said.

Anyone with information about the incident is asked to call police at (804) 748-1251 or Crime Solvers at (804) 748-0660.

The killing was the countys second in three days. Early Thursday, officers responding to a shooting in the 4800 block of Burnt Oak Drive located 24-year-old Jonathan O. Starks. He died at the scene.

Detectives arrested Keyon O. Covington, 21, of Midlothian and Genesis L. Covington, 21, of Chesterfield in Starks death. They were charged with second-degree murder.

Close 10-06-1988 (cutline): A new gate at the west end of Maymont Park's Japanese Garden was dedicated today. Before Virginia's first lady, Jeannie P. Baliles, and other dignitaries arrived, Peggy Singlemann, a park horticulturalist, prepared the ribbon for the ceremony. 02-11-1951 (cutline): This stone stable in Maymont Park is being converted into a nature center, sponsored by the Richmond Council of Garden Clubs in co-operation with the Department of Recreation and Parks. 03-10-1967 (cutline): Lawrence Agnew Jr. (left) and Gabriel Poulin set up a display of birds as they prepare the Maymont Nature Center for its opening Sunday at 2 p.m. Agenw and Poulin are nature and wildlife specialists with the Richmond Department of Recreation and Parks, which is establishing the facility as a complement to the Maymont-Virginia Wildlife Exhibit and the Children's Farm. The nature center is on the second floor of the former carriage house of the Dooley Estate at Maymont. 06-19-1974 (cutline): Mrs. Charles Thalhimer sits in the Italian Garden at Maymont Park. 06-30-1982 (cutline): Children attending Maymont's summer day camp try out a Conestoga wagon displayed at the Nature Center. 10-18-1976 (cutline): In spite of yesterday's rain, a few Richmonders arrived for ceremonies dedicating the new Mary Parsons Nature Center at Maymont Park in a building that formerly was a hay barn. The center was financed by a $250,000 gift to the Maymont Foundation; it opened to the public today. Described as a fully equipped environmental learning facility, the nature center contains live animals native to Virginia, as well as displays depicting many aspects of the state's environment. 10-18-1976 (cutline): In spite of yesterday's rain, a few Richmonders arrived for ceremonies dedicating the new Mary Parsons Nature Center at Maymont Park in a building that formerly was a hay barn. The center was financed by a $250,000 gift to the Maymont Foundation; it opened to the public today. Described as a fully equipped environmental learning facility, the nature center contains live animals native to Virginia, as well as displays depicting many aspects of the state's environment. 07-04-1977: Afternoon parade for Fourth of July drew hundreds to Maymont Park. 12-04-1986 (cutline): Janet Lucas (left) and Emily Skinner kicked up their heels as "Florenz Ziegfeld and His Cancan Girls" greeted guests at a reception yesterday at Maymont. The event was conducted for the Maymont House Benevolent Society, major contributors to the restoration of the mansion left by Maj. James H. Dooley to the city. The members were the first to see the house's holiday decorations. 09-27-1988 (cutline): Maymont's new tram makes hour-long loops around the park so that visitors may see the sights while sitting down. 09-27-1988 (cutline): Maymont's new tram makes hour-long loops around the park so that visitors may see the sights while sitting down. 10-18-1976 (cutline): Paul C. Nagle of Vienna points out for his sons, David and Paul, various forms of sea life found in Virginia as they are depicted in a new display at Maymont Park. The exhibit is part of the Mary Parsons Nature Center, which was opened yesterday. The center is in a renovated hay barn at the park and will be open daily except Mondays. 04-15-1954 (cutline): If yesterday's warms unny weather will convince you it's Spring, here's some irrefutable evidence--tulips in full bloom at Maymont Park. Temperatures climbed to 78 degrees here yesterday. Today is expected to be as warm with a few showers likely. 06-20-1983 (cutline): Kursti North (left) wears vintage hat, dress; Jessie Goodwin made her hat. 10-28-1985: Maymont Victorian Day 10-24-1988 (cutline): Shades of the past. Patty Elmer-Bush (left) of Virignia Beach and Charlene Bullard of Richmond engage in a 1860s-style discussion yesterday at Maymont Park. The two were participating in the park's annual "turn-of-the-century" lawn party and equestrian event. 06-27-1988 (cutline): William F. Long, dressed for his role as the Dooley's butler is Maymont's volunteer emeritus. 10-27-1985 (cutline): Grin and bear. Teddy bear faces are the only ones not grinning in this picture. The bears will be joined by others at Maymont's Victorian Day Program today. The Victorian-attired humans in the picture--who will be joined by others for picnics, entertainment and activities--are Mrs. Michael McCaig, carriage curator and her daughter, Sarah, 7 months; Michael Leslie Brown, 2 1/2; and program coordinator Richard Cheatham. 06-16-1982 (cutline): A peacock, its tail feathers down, pauses in the shade under the wisteria that covers the arbor at the Italian Gardens in Maymont Park. A park official says several peacocks roam the grounds, where one of their favorite activities is preening in front of windows so they can see their reflections. From the Archives: Maymont A look back at one of Richmond's most well known parks. 10-06-1988 (cutline): A new gate at the west end of Maymont Park's Japanese Garden was dedicated today. Before Virginia's first lady, Jeannie P. Baliles, and other dignitaries arrived, Peggy Singlemann, a park horticulturalist, prepared the ribbon for the ceremony. 02-11-1951 (cutline): This stone stable in Maymont Park is being converted into a nature center, sponsored by the Richmond Council of Garden Clubs in co-operation with the Department of Recreation and Parks. 03-10-1967 (cutline): Lawrence Agnew Jr. (left) and Gabriel Poulin set up a display of birds as they prepare the Maymont Nature Center for its opening Sunday at 2 p.m. Agenw and Poulin are nature and wildlife specialists with the Richmond Department of Recreation and Parks, which is establishing the facility as a complement to the Maymont-Virginia Wildlife Exhibit and the Children's Farm. The nature center is on the second floor of the former carriage house of the Dooley Estate at Maymont. 06-19-1974 (cutline): Mrs. Charles Thalhimer sits in the Italian Garden at Maymont Park. 06-30-1982 (cutline): Children attending Maymont's summer day camp try out a Conestoga wagon displayed at the Nature Center. 10-18-1976 (cutline): In spite of yesterday's rain, a few Richmonders arrived for ceremonies dedicating the new Mary Parsons Nature Center at Maymont Park in a building that formerly was a hay barn. The center was financed by a $250,000 gift to the Maymont Foundation; it opened to the public today. Described as a fully equipped environmental learning facility, the nature center contains live animals native to Virginia, as well as displays depicting many aspects of the state's environment. 10-18-1976 (cutline): In spite of yesterday's rain, a few Richmonders arrived for ceremonies dedicating the new Mary Parsons Nature Center at Maymont Park in a building that formerly was a hay barn. The center was financed by a $250,000 gift to the Maymont Foundation; it opened to the public today. Described as a fully equipped environmental learning facility, the nature center contains live animals native to Virginia, as well as displays depicting many aspects of the state's environment. 07-04-1977: Afternoon parade for Fourth of July drew hundreds to Maymont Park. 12-04-1986 (cutline): Janet Lucas (left) and Emily Skinner kicked up their heels as "Florenz Ziegfeld and His Cancan Girls" greeted guests at a reception yesterday at Maymont. The event was conducted for the Maymont House Benevolent Society, major contributors to the restoration of the mansion left by Maj. James H. Dooley to the city. The members were the first to see the house's holiday decorations. 09-27-1988 (cutline): Maymont's new tram makes hour-long loops around the park so that visitors may see the sights while sitting down. 09-27-1988 (cutline): Maymont's new tram makes hour-long loops around the park so that visitors may see the sights while sitting down. 10-18-1976 (cutline): Paul C. Nagle of Vienna points out for his sons, David and Paul, various forms of sea life found in Virginia as they are depicted in a new display at Maymont Park. The exhibit is part of the Mary Parsons Nature Center, which was opened yesterday. The center is in a renovated hay barn at the park and will be open daily except Mondays. 04-15-1954 (cutline): If yesterday's warms unny weather will convince you it's Spring, here's some irrefutable evidence--tulips in full bloom at Maymont Park. Temperatures climbed to 78 degrees here yesterday. Today is expected to be as warm with a few showers likely. 06-20-1983 (cutline): Kursti North (left) wears vintage hat, dress; Jessie Goodwin made her hat. 10-28-1985: Maymont Victorian Day 10-24-1988 (cutline): Shades of the past. Patty Elmer-Bush (left) of Virignia Beach and Charlene Bullard of Richmond engage in a 1860s-style discussion yesterday at Maymont Park. The two were participating in the park's annual "turn-of-the-century" lawn party and equestrian event. 06-27-1988 (cutline): William F. Long, dressed for his role as the Dooley's butler is Maymont's volunteer emeritus. 10-27-1985 (cutline): Grin and bear. Teddy bear faces are the only ones not grinning in this picture. The bears will be joined by others at Maymont's Victorian Day Program today. The Victorian-attired humans in the picture--who will be joined by others for picnics, entertainment and activities--are Mrs. Michael McCaig, carriage curator and her daughter, Sarah, 7 months; Michael Leslie Brown, 2 1/2; and program coordinator Richard Cheatham. 06-16-1982 (cutline): A peacock, its tail feathers down, pauses in the shade under the wisteria that covers the arbor at the Italian Gardens in Maymont Park. A park official says several peacocks roam the grounds, where one of their favorite activities is preening in front of windows so they can see their reflections.
Artificial intelligence is not your fathers pocket calculator, but educators are comparing a new wave of machine-learning to the leaps in efficiency offered by that now-familiar instrument.

Like a calculator allows for accurate and efficient processing of mathematics, so too might new forms of artificial intelligence help students process writing, research and ideas, said Jill Sible, associate vice provost for undergraduate education at Virginia Tech.

Just like the calculator years ago, that was forbidden in any sort of quantitative test, Sible said. Now, its a pretty universal tool thats allowed in many classes and on most exams.

The humble calculator might be taken for granted as a smartphone application today, but its introduction to classrooms in the 1970s caused quite some upheaval.

With artificial intelligence finding its way into classrooms now, Sible said educators at Virginia Tech are as curious as they are concerned, if not outright excited about the possibilities.

Theres definitely a buzz on our campus, Sible said. Lots of curiosity. Lots of questions among our faculty and our administrators.

In particular, an online bot called ChatGPT, backed by billions of dollars from tech giant Microsoft, has in recent weeks brought public attention to new possibilities of artificial intelligence.

Made by a startup called OpenAI, the bot is capable of answering for itself. Just ask it a question, or type it a prompt.

ChatGPT said it is trained on a massive amount of text data and can handle a wide range of topics and tasks.

ChatGPT is a type of artificial intelligence model that can generate human-like text in response to prompts, allowing it to chat with people, answer questions, and perform other language tasks, ChatGPT said. Its good for tasks that require understanding and generating text in a conversational manner.

Its an example of generative AI, part of a new wave of machine-learning technology that can be trained to use troves of digital data to conjure new sentences, sounds, images, sitcom plots or, in theory, just about anything else, said Sylvester Johnson, founding director of the Virginia Tech Center for Humanities.

That generative part is important, because what it means is that the software can generate an image, or a composition like a sound or music, or some act of language, Johnson said. Its not repeating what it has been given, its taking what it has been trained on and generating its own content.

Johnson, whose work as a humanities scholar includes studying technology, said generative AI has the potential to impact many aspects of life, including learning.

Students went home for winter break back in early December, and thats about when this ChatGPT got released, Johnson said. Its just a stark difference from a month and a half ago to now.

He said that difference is because learning institutions are grappling with how to be sure students human intelligence  and not some artificial technologys  are the brains completing writing assignments.

The biggest challenge that were seeing in educational institutions is of course around writing assignments, Johnson said. And thats not just writing essays. Thats also writing code.

Johnson said OpenAI has at least tried to establish guardrails and encourage responsible use of its technology. Last week, the startup released an AI detection tool to help educators catch bot-assisted plagiarists.

ChatGPT is game-changing in a way that other similar chat software has not been, because its able to maintain a conversational thread... it can remember what it just talked about, Johnson said. So you can refer back to something in the conversation and it will go deeper... you can build out a set of responses to very complex things by just asking one piece at a time.

Looking ahead, Johnson said he expects universities to amend honor codes to account for advances in artificial intelligence.

But Sible, who works with the academic integrity office at Virginia Tech, said it is too soon to tell what kind of policies might need changing, or whether changes are needed at all.

Obviously, it presents a new challenge with respect to academic integrity, Sible said. Although in some respects, not terribly new.

A small subset of students try to cheat, and thats always been true, she said.

So in some ways, that hasnt changed, Sible said. Theres just a new piece of technology in the mix.

She said ChatGPT has been cause for excitement among teachers considering how to incorporate artificial intelligence into their curriculum. But there are challenges and constraints to consider.

Our honor code absolutely already highlights that students work should be their own and that they need to follow the rules set by that assignment and that professor, Sible said. This new technology really fits within the umbrella of policies that we already have.

Cheaters beware: in the case of ChatGPT, the technology is still a work in progress. Its listed limitations include occasionally generating incorrect information, harmful instructions, biased content and limited knowledge of world and events after 2021.

And the bot does not cite sources in its writing, Johnson said.

One of the challenges is that the generative AI, of which ChatGPT is an example, is so good, Johnson said. Its not infallible; it can make errors that are really obvious to human beings... but most of it is actually really good.

Outside the classroom, a bevy of ethical considerations await society as artificial intelligence continues to improve and become more commonplace. Johnson said adopting a public interest approach to artificial intelligence is a good way forward.

How do we get it to work in a way that gives us a better society? Johnson said. Whats going to be good not only for growing our private capital, but also for strengthening our public institutions and benefiting the public good?

These issues are very much on the minds of people working in government, private industry, academia and beyond, far more so today than even in 2015, Johnson said.

I hope that we get less inequality, because this could really expand the precarity of peoples lives, Johnson said. A lot of people who thought they were going to be OK in our economic environment could suddenly find themselves unable to participate gainfully in the labor economy.

Unlike the uproar in classrooms caused by early calculators of the 1970s, many educators today are more interested in artificial intelligence as a tool to improve learning outcomes, Johnson said.

If youre an engineering student, youre taking very advanced forms of math. Youre not being tested on whether you know the answer to 7 + 12, Johnson said. You need to use the calculator in order to do something thats more sophisticated.

The bot brain behind ChatGPT aligns with that idea. The bot said artificial intelligence should not be used in a way that undermines the educational process or takes away from the valuable experiences and interactions that students need to thrive.

I hope that students use AI as a tool to enhance their learning and deepen their understanding of various subjects, as well as to facilitate the discovery of new information and knowledge, ChatGPT said. Additionally, I hope that AI can assist students in developing their critical thinking, problem-solving and creativity skills by providing them with instant access to information and new perspectives.
From the Archives: Petersburg Civil War fort was sold and leveled in 1960s

Fort Sedgwick or Fort Hell was one of the larger forts of the Union Army during the Civil War with a garrison of 800 men and 17 cannons. The fort occupied the most elevated natural position giving Union troops an unlimited view of their enemy and of Petersburg. The fort earned its nickname from the Confederate troops because of the constant, intense artillery fire from the cannons. The last attack launched from Fort Hell was April 2, 1865, when Union soldiers attacked Confederate lines with a blistering 30-minute bombardment. Despite the repeated bloody attacks by Union troops from Fort Hell, Confederate soldiers held their lines long enough to enable General Robert E. Lee and his men to escapeto Appomattox where Lee ended up surrendering on April 9, 1865.

In the decades following the Civil War, the battleground was preserved and even housed a museum that attracted thousands of visitors. However, in 1966 it was announced that the land would be sold and the old trenches and the museum would be leveled. In 1966, David A. Lyon, a spokesperson for the Lyon family, which had owned the property for over 30 years, said the decision to sell the property was due to the fact that business had declined by about one-third.

While the historic fortification withstood endless days of pounding from enemy cannons, its ultimate downfall was by the bulldozer.
ADANA, Turkey  Rescuers in Turkey and war-ravaged Syria searched through the frigid night into Tuesday, hoping to pull more survivors from the rubble after a 7.8 magnitude earthquake killed more than 4,000 people and toppled thousands of buildings across a wide region.

Authorities feared the death toll from Mondays pre-dawn earthquake and aftershocks would keep climbing as rescuers looked for survivors among tangles of metal and concrete spread across the region beset by Syrias 12-year civil war and refugee crisis.

Survivors cried out for help from within mountains of debris as first responders contended with rain and snow. Seismic activity continued to rattle the region, including another jolt almost as powerful as the initial quake. Workers carefully pulled away slabs of concrete and reached for bodies as desperate families waited for news of loved ones.

My grandson is 1 years old. Please help them, please. We cant hear them or get any news from them since morning. Please, they were on the 12th floor, Imran Bahur wept by her destroyed apartment building in the Turkish city of Adana.

Tens of thousands who were left homeless in Turkey and Syria faced a night in the cold. In Turkeys Gaziantep, a provincial capital about 20 miles from the epicenter, people took refuge in shopping malls, stadiums and community centers. Mosques around the region were opened to provide shelter.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan declared seven days of national mourning.

The quake, which was centered on Turkeys southeastern province of Kahramanmaras, sent residents of Damascus and Beirut rushing into the street and was felt as far away as Cairo.

The quake piled more misery on a region that has seen tremendous suffering over the past decade. On the Syrian side, the area is divided between government-held territory and the countrys last opposition-held enclave, which is surrounded by Russian-backed government forces. Turkey, meanwhile, is home to millions of refugees from the civil war.

In the rebel-held enclave, hundreds of families remained trapped in rubble, an opposition emergency organization said in a statement. The area is packed with some 4 million people displaced from other parts of the country by the war. Many of them live in buildings that are already wrecked from past bombardments.

Strained health facilities quickly filled with injured, rescue workers said. Others had to be emptied, including a maternity hospital, according to the SAMS medical organization.

More than 7,800 people were rescued across 10 provinces, said Orhan Tatar, an official with Turkeys disaster management authority.

The region sits on top of major fault lines and is frequently shaken by earthquakes. Some 18,000 were killed in similarly powerful earthquakes that hit northwest Turkey in 1999.

The U.S. Geological Survey measured Mondays quake at 7.8, with a depth of 11 miles. Hours later, a 7.5 magnitude temblor struck more than 60 miles away.

Thousands of buildings were reported collapsed in a wide area extending from Syrias cities of Aleppo and Hama to Turkeys Diyarbakir, more than 200 miles to the northeast.

In Turkey alone, more than 5,600 buildings were destroyed, authorities said. Hospitals were damaged, and one collapsed in the Turkish city of Iskenderun.

Bitterly cold temperatures could reduce the time frame that rescuers have to save trapped survivors, said Dr. Steven Godby, an expert in natural hazards at Nottingham Trent University. The difficulty of working in areas beset by civil war would further complicate rescue efforts, he said.

Offers of help  from search-and-rescue teams to medical supplies and money  poured in from dozens of countries, as well as the European Union and NATO.

The vast majority were for Turkey, with Russian and even an Israeli promise of help to the Syrian government, but it was not clear if any would go to the devastated rebel-held pocket in the northwest.

The oppositions Syrian Civil Defense described the situation in the enclave as disastrous.

The opposition-held area, centered on the province of Idlib, has been under siege for years, with frequent Russian and government airstrikes. The territory depends on a flow of aid from nearby Turkey for everything from food to medical supplies.

In the small Syrian rebel-held town of Azmarin in the mountains by the Turkish border, the bodies of several dead children, wrapped in blankets, were brought to a hospital.

Television stations in Turkey aired screens split into four or five, showing live coverage from rescue efforts in the worst-hit provinces.

In the city of Kahramanmaras, rescuers pulled two children alive from the rubble, and one could be seen lying on a stretcher on the snowy ground. Turkish broadcaster CNN Turk said a woman was pulled out alive in Gaziantep after a rescue dog detected her.
Nevada man sentenced to more than three years in Cancun prison after handgun found in luggage

Cancun, Q.R.  An American man has been sentenced to three years and six months in prison for firearm possession. Kyle Thomas B was arrested from the Cancun International Airport on January 27, 2023 after arriving on a private plane.

He was found with a handgun and ammo without a license. He was taken into custody inside the airports FBO terminal (for private flights) by elements of the Quintana Roo National Guard.

On February 3, a Cancun judge ordered the Nevada native to spend three and a half years in prison. He was also ordered to pay a 20,748 peso fine. The sentencing was handed down after he was found guilty of carrying a firearm without a license and possession of cartridges, the FGR detailed in their statement.

The gun was found inside his luggage when it was passed through x-ray for inspection. Inside, authorities located a pistol and stocked magazine with six useful hollow point cartridges.

He was presented before a judge on January 29, and through an abbreviated procedure, issued a sentence February 3. He will serve his sentence in a Cancun prison.

Photo: U.S. Embassy in Mexico

The U.S. Embassy in Mexico has a social media post for Americans traveling to Mexico. Travelers are responsible for complying with firearm import laws of the country to which they are traveling. Mexican Federal Law strictly forbids possession of any firearm or ammunition without proper authorization by the Mexican authorities.
A man and a woman were injured in a shooting at a Roanoke grocery store Saturday night.

Police responded to a report of shots fired at the Food Lion on Peters Creek Road Northwest at about 8:30 p.m.

Officers found both victims inside the store. The womans injuries did not appear to be life-threatening, but the mans wounds seemed to be more serious, according to a news release from the Roanoke Police Department.

Both were transported to Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital.

Officers found an adult male at the scene and identified him as a suspect. He was taken into custody without incident, and later spoke with officers and detectives at police headquarters, the news release stated.

After consulting with the city commonwealths attorney, police released the man without filing charges.

However, police are continuing an investigation and ask anyone who may have information to call 540-344-8500. Texts to 274637 are also accepted; police asked that texts begin with RoanokePD. Both calls and texts can remain anonymous.

A manager on duty Sunday at the Food Lion declined to comment.
Stolen signs, trashed vacation homes, doors pulled off frames, indoor furniture dragged to the beach, drunken teens urinating on lawns, mobs of kids blocking residential streets and refusing to move for cars. Some of this bad behavior made possible by enabling parents and adults.

Last years beach week for high school seniors left a northern Outer Banks village reeling  and vowing it wont happen again this year.

The Corolla Civic Association hosted a meeting with law enforcement, property managers and vacation rental property managers this fall to review the problems caused by thousands of high school students descending on the community from early-to-mid June.

The goal was to develop strategies and tactics to inhibit the over the top 22 Beach Week shenanigans and confrontations during the upcoming 2023 beach week, the association said in a news release.

The Outer Banks has seen record visitors over the past two years, with nearly 100% occupancy for the 2022 summer season in Currituck Countys beach towns.

The community strongly felt that the escalating number of Beach Week mobs of kids engaging in atrocious, intolerable behavior is jeopardizing (Corollas) hard-earned reputation as a family-oriented vacation destination, the release said.

Last year, in an effort to contain the hooliganism, state alcohol enforcement agents and deputies made 116 arrests over a two-day period in June, including 66 charges for underage drinking, 32 fake identification charges, 23 drug-related offenses and two businesses receiving ABC violations, the Currituck County Sheriffs Office said.

Brook Sparks, owner and property manager at Coast Realty, says shes been in the business a long time, and beach week has been an issue for years, just not always in Corolla. Eight or so years ago, it was Nags Head, with hoards of spring breakers and no shortage of cash.

Thats the first bottle of Cristal I ever saw, Sparks said. Just floating in the bathtub.

Dare County and Nags Head law-enforcement teamed up to make spring break unpleasant for revelers in following years. But young students celebrating lifes milestones have now discovered the Currituck Outer Banks.

The last two years, the village has seen thousands of high school seniors descend for beach week, which follows graduations the last three weeks of June.

Sparks says property managers are working with each other and law enforcement to quickly catch and stop bad behavior, sometimes even before the contracts are signed.

We now run their names through a database, Sparks said. Sometimes well call and say, you can cancel now without any type of fees or damages. If I evict you, you get none of your money back.

Once the hoards arrive, property managers are doing drive-bys and spot checks for each other to make sure vacationers arent getting out of hand.

Theres even Operation Filter, where maintenance arrives to perform mandatory air filter checks, during the week, Sparks said.

This year, Sparks said were pulling out the stops. There will be extra security, double last years numbers of law-enforcement and zero tolerance for illegal activity or lease violations.

Theyre taking people to jail, Sparks said. These kids need to think, theyre making decisions that could affect the rest of their lives.

Many owners have stopped renting during the last three weeks of June because of the young crowds. For them, the risk is just not worth it, Sparks said.

There are hard rules at almost all Outer Banks rental agencies that vacationers must be family groups and the renter older than 25. But that hasnt stopped beach week rentals.

A disturbing trend is the increasing disregard that many parents/chaperones have for the law and obligations under rental leases, apparently wanting to be the cool parents, the civic association release said.

Currituck officials found parents and other adults renting properties online for groups of teenagers, and never showing up. A high school newspaper in Northern Virginia even had a story on how to prepare for beach week, including getting a parent or older sibling to sign the rental agreements.

We saw kids roll up with the moms, unload their stuff, including cases of beer and hard cider, and the moms just leave, said Corolla Civic Association President Barbara Marzetti. There had to be 14 or 16 kids.

This year, she said, deputies and property managers will concentrate on wayward chaperones with criminal charges and evictions for not being present, over-occupancy and property damage. Sparks said some agencies are performing background checks on the main renters before any contracts are signed.

Marzetti said owners and property managers are urged to go to the county magistrate to accelerate vacation rental evictions, with deputies evicting immediately upon receiving a court order.

The association is also drafting a letter to high school principals, superintendents, school boards and private schools in locations that have been the largest source of beach week high school graduates, mainly in Northern Virginia and the D.C. area.

The key message is that Corolla is a great place for families to visit and a terrible place for wild, out of control partying, that leads to confrontations with other residents and visitors, who then become fearful for their safety, the association release said. The hope is that this information will be shared with students and parents so that there is a clear understanding that gone wild behavior will not be tolerated here.

Most commonly seen birds in North Carolina Most commonly seen birds in North Carolina #50. White-crowned Sparrow #49. Rock Pigeon #48. Wild Turkey #47. Brown Creeper #46. Cooper's Hawk #45. Red-tailed Hawk #44. Red-breasted Nuthatch #43. Golden-crowned Kinglet #42. Pine Siskin #41. Common Grackle #39. Baltimore Oriole #38. Cedar Waxwing #37. Red-shouldered Hawk #36. Red-winged Blackbird #35. Eastern Phoebe #34. House Sparrow #33. Hairy Woodpecker #32. Brown-headed Cowbird #31. Northern Flicker #30. Carolina/Black-capped Chickadee #29. European Starling #28. Hermit Thrush #27. Yellow-bellied Sapsucker #26. Purple Finch #25. Brown Thrasher #24. American Crow #23. Ruby-crowned Kinglet #22. Eastern Towhee #21. Chipping Sparrow #20. Song Sparrow #19. Brown-headed Nuthatch #18. American Robin #17. Northern Mockingbird #16. Pine Warbler #15. Yellow-rumped Warbler #14. Blue Jay #13. American Goldfinch #12. White-breasted Nuthatch #11. White-throated Sparrow #10. Eastern Bluebird #9. Dark-eyed Junco #8. Red-bellied Woodpecker #7. Mourning Dove #6. Carolina Chickadee #5. Downy Woodpecker #4. House Finch #3. Carolina Wren #2. Northern Cardinal #1. Tufted Titmouse
State funding for a proposed inland port in Southwest Virginia made it through the weekend Virginia General Assemblys budget process.

The Senate version of the budget includes $10 million for planning, design and site acquisition. The House budget includes $55 million. Lawmakers are expected to work to resolve funding differences in the upcoming days.

Inclusion of the inland port project in both the Senate and House budget bills advanced today by the money committees is a significant first step in our budget process, state Sen. Todd Pillion, R-Abingdon, said.

A recent study by the Virginia Economic Development Partnership and Port of Virginia identified Southwest Virginias Mount Rogers Planning District region as meeting enough market-driven and physical conditions to warrant additional assessment.

The region is served by Interstate 81, which has substantial commercial truck traffic, and is far enough away from the port to make shipping goods by rail feasible for businesses, according to the study.

The states only other inland port is at Front Royal, near the intersection of I-81 and Interstate 66 in the northern Shenandoah Valley.

The $55 million request was filed by Pillion and Del. Israel OQuinn, R-Bristol, with funds designed to construct the port.

The study forecasts the port is expected to create 1,370 new permanent jobs, including 675 jobs working directly at the inland port and 695 indirect jobs.

Since the feasibility report was first released in January, we have been working with our colleagues on Senate Finance and House Appropriations as well as the Virginia Port Authority and Youngkin administration to capitalize on the favorable findings and commit to moving forward, Pillion said. While our work is far from over, I am optimistic about the progress we are making and grateful for todays collective recognition that development of an inland port in Southwest Virginia should be a strategic priority for the Commonwealth.
America has always had a complicated relationship with the truth. From the Vietnam War to the Iraq War, from swiftboating to birtherism, from alternative facts to the whitewashed versions of the history taught in our schools, truth is in the mind of the beholder.

While we have a long history of loose and varied interpretations of the truth, weve entered an extremely dangerous period where we celebrate, reward and elect some who are openly working to dismantle the truth.

Manipulating the truth goes by many names, such as taken out of context, misspeaking, spinning and misinterpretation. These are terms that indicate how subtle and acceptable it can be to chip away at whats true. This practice has been a fundamental tool in business and politics for centuries.

But every fracture of the truth weakens our trust as citizens, laying the groundwork for division, loss of faith in our institutions and principles, and the need to seek out alternative answers and guidance that better fit a specific narrative.

It isnt enough for some leaders to flatly lie anymore. Theyre on the offense, actively gaslighting so forcefully that we start to question our reality.

As a leader in the womens rights movement, I can confidently say that women have never truly been afforded the privilege of knowing whats true. For centuries, society lied to women by telling them their place is in the home, that their greatest achievement is becoming a mother, that they need to look a certain way, act a certain way and should be grateful for whatever pitiful concessions they get.

The pioneering women who dared to challenge these norms were dismissed as crazy, emotional, undesirable and dangerous.

In the wake of the Dobbs decision that overturned nearly 50 years of reproductive rights, extremists now have full license to conjure wild and deceptive information about womens health and abortion care. Women have and will continue to die because of these lies.

For instance, some legislators are trying to push bills to ban medical procedures that simply do not exist. Anti-choice activists rely on the false narrative that abortions are dangerous, despite conclusive evidence proving the safety of the procedure. These groups conveniently omit that abortions are significantly safer than pregnancy and childbirth. And these groups are working to create an environment where the truth is not just unwelcome, but it is a danger to be silenced.

Another way we attack the truth is by assigning a higher value to one truth over another. Just like George Floyds murder by police in Minneapolis didnt suddenly create systemic racism, the #MeToo movement didnt suddenly create systemic misogyny.

Oppression and discrimination against women are so pervasive throughout our society that many women cant even recognize when theyre being victimized. But for those who speak out against abuse, theyre rarely believed.

It took dozens and dozens of women to come forward to speak out against movie mogul Harvey Weinstein to ignite #MeToo when it should have only taken one woman. Our society doesnt believe a womans truth because we have collectively decided a mans truth is worth more. Like the gender wage gap, women are on the losing end of the gender reality gap.

While its easy to blame QAnon, ridiculous conspiracy theories and the "big lie as some of the primary sources of the war on truth, in reality America has never had a fully stable or consistent relationship with the truth.

Instead of allowing this to be cause for alarm, let it remind us that, in fighting this war, it is our democratic duty to always call for justice. It is of the utmost importance that, as members of our democracy, we must always reconcile what we think the truth is with what it actually is. After all, this is and has always been a war worth fighting.
Visitors watch farm equipment at a Chinese booth during an exhibition in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Feb. 2, 2023. The "11th International Agro Tech Bangladesh-2023", South Asia's largest milling technology exhibition, was held between Feb. 2 to Feb. 4 in Bangladesh's capital city Dhaka.

The exhibition was held concurrently with the three-day "Grain Tech Bangladesh-2023" and "Food Tech Dhaka Expo-2023", bringing together sector insiders from home and abroad, especially China, under one roof. (Xinhua)

DHAKA, Feb. 6 (Xinhua) -- The "11th International Agro Tech Bangladesh-2023", South Asia's largest milling technology exhibition, was held between Feb. 2 to Feb. 4 in Bangladesh's capital city Dhaka.

The exhibition is being held concurrently with the three-day "Grain Tech Bangladesh-2023" and "Food Tech Dhaka Expo-2023", bringing together sector insiders from home and abroad, especially China, under one roof.

LA Trade Fairs and Exhibitions Private Limited, a local event management firm, and Rural Development Academy (RDA) of the Bangladeshi government, jointly organized the exhibitions which kicked off here on Thursday.

Almost everything from a farm to a consumer's dining table is covered by the "Agro Tech, Grain Tech, and Food Tech" exhibitions, which showcased cutting edge-technologies for rice millers, feed millers, flour millers, pulse millers, boilers, etc.

Re-boilers, grain dryers, milling machinery, dairy and poultry equipment, animal health technology, processing plants, baking machinery, cooling systems, and packaging machinery, with all kinds of printing technology, including bagging machinery, labeling, barcode technology, etc., are all being showcased at the exhibition.

Engineer Rezaul Karim, senior general manager (technology and engineering division) of Bangladesh's leading Deshbandhu Group, said, "What I have found is that the Chinese technology and machinery perform extremely well and cost less."

Nowadays, Chinese machines are becoming more and more popular in Bangladesh, farmers and millers are extremely interested in using reasonably priced Chinese machines that are easy to operate, he added.

He said Bangladeshi people are also very familiar with Chinese technology and the local people can use an array of high-tech products that are made in China.

As result, both countries benefit mutually, said the private company official.

"I think more than 60 percent of equipment coming into Bangladesh is from China and our farmers are using these machines in our agricultural sectors," he said.

"Output has rapidly increased, that's why I appreciate the Chinese technology."

"I thank the Chinese people and the Chinese government and the Bangladeshi people and Bangladeshi government who helped expedite this cooperation," Karim said.

Kazi Sanowar Uddin, who is the managing director of the Limra Trade Fair and Exhibition, has been organizing the expo for a long time.

"We've been organizing this fair internationally for the past 14 years," Uddin said, "About 198 companies have directly participated here and there are 560 booths at the expo."

"We are people of South Asia and China is near to us. Their technology is advanced as well as renewable," Uddin said.

China is Bangladesh's very close friend helping to develop the Bangladeshi agro-industry by providing advanced technology, maintaining high quality at affordable prices, and providing after-sales service, he said.

"The main objective of our fair is to add value along with technological development and add value to the producer sharing the Chinese technology. All the advanced issues in these fields help us and our farmers a lot," Uddin continued.

"So we got a lot of response from the Chinese at this event."

"I welcome and wish them to reenter the market, and day by day people will use their technology again and business will flourish for all," hoped the expo organizer.

Nicho Fu is the Bangladeshi country representative of Famsun Co. Ltd. which has been doing business in Bangladesh for more than 10 years.

"We do a lot of business in Bangladesh, including feed milling at the farm and the silo and some other businesses here, and we want to enlarge and extend our business industrially, like into oil industry," said Fu.

He expressed the hope that his company has a bright future in Bangladesh with more and more farmers here seeking affordable Chinese technologies for augmenting production at a reasonable cost.

Caesar is the sale manager of Huali Co. Ltd., the company which started business since 2004 and mainly supports poultry farmers with technologies.

He said Bangladeshi customers are very good and very friendly, and they are striving hard to improve their business in the country with fresh opportunities across the country for their equipment, machinery and raw materials. 

Visitors watch exhibits at a Chinese booth during an exhibition in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Feb. 2, 2023. The "11th International Agro Tech Bangladesh-2023", South Asia's largest milling technology exhibition, was held between Feb. 2 to Feb. 4 in Bangladesh's capital city Dhaka.

The exhibition was held concurrently with the three-day "Grain Tech Bangladesh-2023" and "Food Tech Dhaka Expo-2023", bringing together sector insiders from home and abroad, especially China, under one roof. (Xinhua)

Visitors enquire about the information of farm equipment at a Chinese booth during an exhibition in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Feb. 2, 2023. The "11th International Agro Tech Bangladesh-2023", South Asia's largest milling technology exhibition, was held between Feb. 2 to Feb. 4 in Bangladesh's capital city Dhaka.

The exhibition was held concurrently with the three-day "Grain Tech Bangladesh-2023" and "Food Tech Dhaka Expo-2023", bringing together sector insiders from home and abroad, especially China, under one roof. (Xinhua)
Dory Wallace, a senior occupational therapist at the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC Neuromotor Research Clinic, works with Bella using the clinic's intensive, play-based ACQUIRE therapy. Photo by Clayton Metz for Virginia Tech. Credit: Clayton Metz/Virginia Tech

Anna Burkhart was born with a rare gene mutation. Incredibly, years later her sister, Bella, was born with the same mutation. Both are benefitting from a form of intensive therapy being studied at the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute Neuromotor Research Clinic.

The first moment she held her daughter Bella, Emily Burkhart knew.

Bella had a noticeably small head that announced what tests would later confirm: Bella was born with a rare genetic disorder.

Emily Burkhart immediately suspected a genetic problem because she'd seen this beforein Bella's older sister, Anna. And because of that, she knew exactly where to find help: the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC Neuromotor Research Clinic.

A decade earlier, doctors predicted Anna would never walk, talk, or have a fulfilling life. Today, she is in many mainstream classrooms and made her middle school cheerleading squad.

"If I would not have brought Anna here to Virginia Tech, she would not be where she is today," Emily Burkhart said. "We're so thankful for the intensive therapy program here, and I think we are proof that it works. When the need and opportunity for her sister, Bella, to come here popped up, it wasn't even a question."

Seven years after Anna's visit, the Burkharts brought Bella from Pittsburgh to Roanoke for four weeks of the research clinic's unique intensive neurorehabilitative therapy.

"We all have challenges in life, and the goal of our research is to help families and children reach all of their potential," said Stephanie DeLuca, co-director of the Neuromotor Research Clinic. "When we help one individual maximize their potential, ultimately what we do is help everybody learn how to maximize their potential."

'It's go time'

The signs with Anna didn't emerge immediately. Emily Burkhart was 24 and a first-time mom. To her, nothing seemed unusual about her newborn.

But within a few months, Anna began to miss developmental milestones. She didn't reach, grab, or roll over when children typically do. Anna was 15 months old before she crawled, and she didn't walk until she was nearly 3 years old.

Her parents sought answers for Anna's delays. After years of testing and hospitalizations, Anna was finally diagnosed with a rare mutation of a gene common in many species, called CASK. Doctors knew little about the condition, Emily Burkhart said.

"Basically, she was just going to struggle, and she was probably going to be wheelchair bound and non-verbal," she said. "I just wasn't going to accept that."

Through Konark Mukherjee, a CASK mutation expert and assistant professor at the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute, the family learned about biological aspects of the mutation and was introduced to the research institute's Neuromotor Research Clinic.

Soon, the family was visiting Roanoke so Anna could receive intensive therapy through an experimental research protocol, developed by research institute investigators and supported by the National Institutes of Health. While customary occupational and physical therapy is delivered for only one hour a week, therapists at the Neuromotor Research Clinic work with children three to six hours a day, five days a week, for up to four weeks.

Anna had just turned 5 when she first visited Roanoke.

"She wasn't really talking, she couldn't calm down enough to figure out how to play with something," Emily Burkhart recalled.

The research clinic's team had worked with many children with disabilities that had affected their brain development and function, including those with cerebral palsy. But the team never worked with a child with Anna's diagnosis before and wasn't sure what to expect.

What Anna needed was different than previous kids we'd worked with," said Dory Wallace, a senior occupational therapist. "It was about helping her learn how to pay better attention, how to use her words, and how to interact and engage with the people in her environment. Once we met her, we completely changed what we thought we were going to do to meet her needs."

Anna responded right away.

"I love seeing that light switch go on when a child realizes she's learned something new," Wallace said, "Because then it's like, 'It's go time.'"

Two weeks later, the change was already dramatic.

"She was sorting colors and she was sitting still to play with a toy," Emily Burkhart said. "She was just doing all the things that we were able to want and expect, plus some."

Learning from each child

Parents like Emily Burkhart might feel like their children's improvements are a kind of miracle.

But what they've benefitted from is a therapy called ACQUIRE, which is rooted in scientific research and has been repeated for dozens of children. Most of the children who come to the Neuromotor Research Clinic are participants in clinical trials designed to research, assess, and improve the therapy they receive, though some children come for therapy on a strictly clinical basis.

"We're learning from each child while we're simultaneously trying to help that child," DeLuca said. The result is a therapy with a defined protocol that can be taught to other therapists. "We provide very specific guidelines for how therapists should deliver the interactions of therapy to help the child progress and maximize their development."

DeLuca, Neuromotor Research Clinic Co-Director Sharon Ramey, and Karen Echols developed the foundations of the ACQUIRE therapy protocol when they were colleagues at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

DeLuca saw a void in evidence-based therapy for children, although similar protocols had been developed for adults who had suffered strokes. The trio developed an intensive, high-dosage, play-based therapy in which children work with a therapist, not once a week for an hour, but multiple hours a day, every day, for several weeks, following a process with specific therapeutic guidelines.

The therapy relies on the brain's plasticityits capacity to change in response to intensive training.

Most children the Neuromotor Research Clinic works with have cerebral palsy or hemiparesisa weakness or loss of ability in one side of the body caused by some type of damage to an area on one side of the brain that contributes to motor control. Such injuries may occur when a baby suffers a stroke in utero, at birth, or soon after. One version of ACQUIRE therapy is called ACQUIREc therapy for children with hemiparesis, which often involves constraining the functioning limb to compel the child to rely on the affected limb.

A study by scientists at the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute, Virginia Tech, UVa Children's, the Ohio State University, and Nationwide Children's Hospital found that 60 hours of constraint-induced movement therapy over four weeks was significantly more beneficial to children than customary forms of therapy.

"We've now been able to expand use of our therapy into other diagnoses," DeLuca said. They are finding that children with many different types of issues that affect brain development and function respond to high-dose therapy.

CASK genetic mutations are exceedingly rare, with just 130 cases documented as of 2020, according to the National Institutes of Health.

Anna was the first child to come to the clinic because of a CASK genetic mutation. Since then, there have been others, but no one suspected there would be another in Anna's own family.

'We're in the right place'

Emily's pregnancy with Bella was unremarkable, but when she was born, her small head alarmed her mother immediately. She knew microencephaly was an indicator of a genetic mutation that could impair her development.

After months of testing, the confirmation came.

"You start thinking about the stuff you could miss out on," said Charlie Burkhart, Bella's father and Anna's stepfather. "Am I going to be able to dance with my daughter at her wedding?"

Soon the Burkharts were scheduling time for Bella at the Neuromotor Research Clinic and planning long visits to Roanoke.

"Bella was struggling," Charlie Burkhart recalled. "You're just going, 'All right, she's this many months old. She should be trying to roll over, right?'"

Bella was 14 months old when she started therapy.

"Dory had her doing things the first day that we hadn't seen Bella be able to do," Emily Burkhart said. "I started to cry because it was like, 'OK, we're in the right place.'"

Charlie Burkhart was mesmerized.

"I've never seen Bella work so hard. I videotaped a lot so I can replicate it at home," he said. "To be able to come down here for a month and get this blueprint and get her going, there's no words to describe how appreciative I am."

The Burkharts have high hopes for Bella, because they've seen how big sister Anna has progressed. Anna continues to use some of the therapeutic program the family learned at the clinic years ago.

"Anna's living a pretty independent life," Emily Burkhart said. "She takes the bus by herself to school. She's like a like a normal, typical 12-year-old. She's on TikTok and she wants to dye her hair and she's just into all the things that you think that she would be into."

News of Anna's progress is what keeps DeLuca and the clinic staff going.

"Research is tough. Science is tough," DeLuca said. "I keep doing it because I hear stories like Anna's and Bella's and other children that we've seen through the years, knowing we played some small part in maximizing their development. It gives me the strength to go back and say, 'OK, there's one more question we need to answer so that we can get what we do out there to more and more children.'"

Provided by Virginia Tech
WALTERBORO, S.C.  A judge ruled Monday he will allow jurors to hear evidence that disgraced South Carolina attorney Alex Murdaugh was stealing money from his law firm and clients and committing other financial crimes long before his wife and son were killed in 2021.

Prosecutors have said those witnesses are key to their case in Murdaughs double murder trial to show he was worried his alleged crimes were about to be discovered and that Murdaugh killed his family to get sympathy and buy time to cover up the missing money.

Murdaugh, 54, is standing trial in the shootings of his 52-year-old wife, Maggie, and 22-year-old son, Paul, on June 7, 2021, at their Colleton County home. He faces 30 years to life in prison if convicted of murder.

The defense argued that prosecutors want to smear Alex Murdaugh with details of his finances because they have lots of evidence he stole money but none on the killings. Murdaughs lawyers said it is ridiculous that a lawyer would think scrutiny into his life would be diminished by the brutal deaths of his family.

In explaining his ruling, Judge Clifton Newman said the jury is entitled to consider whether Murdaughs apparent desperation and dire financial situation resulted in the killings of his family.

Newman said he didnt think the financial crime evidence alone would persuade the jury to convict Murdaugh of murder.

The decision means jurors over the next several days will hear from witnesses who testified previously before a judge about how Murdaugh secured $4 million in settlements for the family of the longtime Murdaugh housekeeper who died in a fall. He allegedly kept the money for himself.

Other testimony includes the office manager confronting Murdaugh over almost $800,000 in missing law firm fees the day of the killings and how a key hearing in a wrongful death lawsuit that might reveal the true condition of Murdaughs finances was scheduled for three days after his wife and son were shot. The hearing was cancelled.

Early Monday afternoon, the woman taking care of Alex Murdaughs mother testified about how he stopped by to visit her the night of the killings. Murdaugh said he found the bodies after seeing his mother, who has dementia.

Shelley Smith testified Monday that was the first time she saw Murdaugh visit his mother during her 8 p.m. at 8 a.m. shift, although during cross-examination the defense brought up a statement Smith previously made to a state agent in which she said Murdaugh has visited late at night before and was the most frequent visitor among his siblings.

Alex Murdaugh stayed about 20 minutes or so, laying beside his mother and holding her hand, Smith said. She didnt notice any blood on him.

Smith also testified that Alex Murdaugh visited nine days after the killings at 6:30 a.m. and was carrying a blue tarp. In their opening statement, prosecutors mentioned a blue rain coat with gunshot residue on it. Defense attorney Jim Griffin spent several minutes getting Smith to say the item was big, like a tarp, not a raincoat.

Judge Newmans decision to allow evidence of Alex Murdaughs possible financial crimes came after hearing from a potential witness Monday  a lawyer representing a family suing Murdaugh over a boat crash killed 19-year-old Mallory Beach in 2019. Alexs son Paul Murdaugh was driving the boat and faced a felony charge of boating under the influence at the time of his death.

When Alex Murdaugh called 911 and first spoke to investigators after his wife and son were killed, he mentioned people who knew Beach being angry with his son.

Beach family attorney Mark Tinsley said Alex Murdaugh and his lawyer were working hard to keep his financial information out of Tinsleys hands when the killings happened.

Pretty quickly I recognized, the case against Alex, if he was the victim of some vigilante, would in fact be over, Tinsley said.

He said Murdaughs lawyer told him Alex Murdaugh was broke, but Tinsley didnt believe it given what appeared to be a successful law practice and his familys generational wealth. He said justice called for damages from Murdaugh because they could not bring Beach back.

The Beach family stood on the causeway for eight days while their daughters body was in the water, Tinsley said. I dont know there is any amount of money somebody would willingly take to go through what they went through.
FLORENCE, S.C.  The CareFIRST Carolina Foundation and CareSouth Carolina presented Francis Marion University (FMU) with the first of many annual support gifts, a total of $25,000, through the Archie TIM Brown Master of Science in Nursing  Family Nurse Practitioner Scholarship.

The donation included $23,000 in support, as well as $2,000 for the first two scholarship recipients ($1,000 each) in honor and memory of beloved community leader Archie Tim Brown.

CareSouth Carolina has been a supportive community partner in the education and employment of health science students over the years, said FMU President Fred Carter. This gift, given in memory of our alumnus Tim Brown, is especially meaningful. Whether as a police officer, student, nurse, or nurse practitioner, Tim had a positive influence on everyone with whom he interacted. We are deeply appreciative of CareSouth Carolinas recognition of his life of service.

In May of 2022, CareSouth Carolina lost provider and friend Brown, BSN, FNP, to a senseless act of violence just as he was beginning to realize his vast potential as a caregiver. Brown was a unique individual who was loved by his patients and the CareSouth Carolina team. He continued to excel in his chosen path, all the while mentoring youth, working with underserved and migrant patients, and teaching and acting as a role model to students at his alma mater, Francis Marion University.

It was an honor to present Dr. Carter and the leadership of Francis Marion University with a total of $25,000 from the funds raised by CareFirst Carolina Foundation for the Tim Brown Memorial Scholarship, CareSouth Carolina CEO Ann Lewis said. This scholarship will pave the way for the education of a nurse practitioner wanting to serve in rural Pee Dee South Carolina. The FMU School of Health Sciences has been an excellent pathway for so many nurse practitioners, including Tim Brown, who tragically lost his life in 2022.

Brown put himself through both the Bachelor of Science in Nursing Program and the Family Nurse Practitioner program while serving as a police officer at FMU. After he graduated, Brown went to work in his home community, Latta, for CareSouth Carolina.

In honor of Browns exceptional work ethic and drive to serve his community, the CareFirst Carolina Foundation and CareSouth Carolina will raise funds annually for scholarships that benefit students in nursing programs at Francis Marion University with the goal of increasing the number of family nurse practitioners in the Pee Dee. Selected candidates will be encouraged to stay in the Pee Dee to practice and provide medical care to improve access in the region.

Tim Brown was a dynamic individual that loved his community and his patients, Quinetta M. Buterbaugh, District Manager-Government and Community Relations at Duke Energy said. Raising funds to support scholarships at Francis Marion University will help to keep his legacy alive while providing a much-needed service to the Pee Dee by supporting future nurses and nurse practitioners.

CareFIRST Carolina is an independent supporting foundation dedicated to financially supporting the mission of CareSouth Carolina. Together, the organizations provide and improve access to health and support services to those who need them most.

It is the first regional foundation to focus on improving the access and quality of primary health care in the Pee Dee region of South Carolina.

CareSouth Carolina is a private, non-profit community health center delivering patient-centered health and life services in the Pee Dee region of South Carolina. CareSouth Carolina operates centers in Bennettsville, Bishopville, Cheraw, Chesterfield, Dillon, Hartsville, Lake View, Latta, McColl and Society Hill. Services provided by CareSouth Carolina include family practice, internal medicine, pediatrics, women services, OB/GYN, HIV/AIDS primary care, dental, chiropractic services, pharmacy, geriatrics, social services, clinical counseling, laboratory, 4D ultrasound, X-Ray, migrant services and veterans choice provider.
AZMARIN, Syria (AP)  A powerful 7.8 magnitude earthquake rocked wide swaths of Turkey and Syria early Monday, toppling hundreds of buildings and killing more than 2,300 people. Hundreds were still believed to be trapped under rubble, and the toll was expected to rise as rescue workers searched mounds of wreckage in cities and towns across the area.

On both sides of the border, residents jolted out of sleep by the pre-dawn quake rushed outside on a cold, rainy and snowy night. Buildings were reduced to piles of pancaked floors, and major aftershocks or new quakes, including one nearly as strong as the first, continued to rattle the region.

Rescue workers and residents in multiple cities searched for survivors, working through tangles of metal and concrete. A hospital in Turkey collapsed, and patients, including newborns, were evacuated from facilities in Syria.

In the Turkish city of Adana, one resident said three buildings near his home were toppled. "I don't have the strength anymore," one survivor could be heard calling out from beneath the rubble as rescue workers tried to reach him, said the resident, journalism student Muhammet Fatih Yavuz.

"Because the debris removal efforts are continuing in many buildings in the earthquake zone, we do not know how high the number of dead and injured will rise," Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said. "Hopefully, we will leave these disastrous days behind us in unity and solidarity as a country and a nation."

The quake, which was centered on Turkey's southeastern province of Kahramanmaras, was felt as far away as Cairo. It sent residents of Damascus rushing into the street, and jolted awake people in their beds in Beirut.

It struck a region that has been shaped on both sides of the border by more than a decade of civil war in Syria. On the Syrian side, the swath affected is divided between government-held territory and the country's last opposition-held enclave, which is surrounded by Russian-backed government forces. Turkey, meanwhile, is home to millions of refugees from that conflict.

The opposition-held regions in Syria are packed with some 4 million people displaced from other parts of the country by the fighting. Many of them live in buildings that are already wrecked from past bombardments. Hundreds of families remained trapped in rubble, the opposition emergency organization, called the White Helmets, said in a statement.

Strained health facilities and hospitals were quickly filled with injured, rescue workers said. Others had to be emptied, including a maternity hospital, according to the SAMS medical organization.

The region sits on top of major fault lines and is frequently shaken by earthquakes. Some 18,000 were killed in a similarly powerful earthquakes that hit northwest Turkey in 1999.

The U.S. Geological Survey measured Monday's quake at 7.8. Hours later, a 7.5 magnitude one struck more than 100 kilometers (60 miles) away. An official from Turkey's disaster management agency said it was a new earthquake, not an aftershock, though its effects were not immediately clear. Hundreds of aftershocks were expected after the two temblors, Orhan Tatar told reporters.

Thousands of buildings were reported collapsed in a wide area extending from Syria's cities of Aleppo and Hama to Turkey's Diyarbakir, more than 330 kilometers (200 miles) to the northeast. A hospital collapsed in the Mediterranean coastal city of Iskenderun, but casualties were not immediately known, Turkey's vice president, Fuat Oktay, said.

Full story and live updates here:
 Federal judge declares federal law criminalizing marijuana users from gun possession violates Second Amendment | Main | "We Can Ensure Public Safety And Still Reduce Incarceration" 

February 6, 2023

A number of notable capital punishment stories to start the week

I have seen so many notable new press stories about capital punishment issues, I concluded this round-up of headlines and links would be the only way to keep up:

From the AP, "Spiritual advisers offering final comfort in execution rooms"

From the AP, "Florida could end unanimous jury requirement for executions"

From the Kansas City Star, "Intolerable injustice: Innocence Project calls for halt to Missouri mans execution"

From the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, "Shapiro must decide whether and how to keep Wolf's death penalty moratorium in place"

From the UPI, "Death row inmate's attorneys called sentence 'justifiable lynching' in 1999 hearing"

From WFLA, "Steven Lorenzo requests death penalty in double murder case"

From WIBW, "ACLU to try Kansas death penalty in multi-day Wichita hearing"

February 6, 2023 at 11:45 AM | Permalink

Comments

On the "justifiable lynching" case, seriously, is that an issue?

Posted by: federalist | Feb 6, 2023 3:09:06 PM

Doug, your readers may be interested in this:

https://jonathanturley.org/2023/02/07/victims-family-in-the-university-of-idaho-murders-appeals-gag-order/

I don't understand mechanically how this order would cover the attorneys for non-parties . . . . if a court order hasn't been served, it's a brutum fulmen.

Posted by: federalist | Feb 7, 2023 12:21:04 PM

Post a comment
MONDAY, Feb. 6, 2023 (HealthDay News) -- Genes may have a strong influence over whether kids develop an eating disorder marked by extremely limited food choices, a new study finds.

The study focused on a condition called avoidant restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID). It's a relatively new diagnosis that describes people who severely limit the types or quantity of food they eat  but not over body image concerns or a quest for thinness.

Instead, food is the center of the issue. People with ARFID may have a strong aversion to various tastes, smells or textures, have little appetite, or may fear choking, vomiting or suffering an allergic reaction if they eat an unfamiliar food (often based on a past experience).

Studies suggest it affects 1% to 5% of the population.

Yet researchers still know little about the causes. The new study suggests genetic vulnerability plays a major role.

Looking at data on nearly 17,000 pairs of twins, Swedish researchers found that genes seemed to explain 79% of the risk of having ARFID.

"This strongly suggests that genetic studies have huge potential to help us understand the biological pathways underlying ARFID," said lead researcher Lisa Dinkler of the Karolinska Institute's Center for Eating Disorders Innovation in Stockholm.

An eating disorders specialist not involved in the study agreed.

The findings help affirm that there are biological processes underlying ARFID, said Kamryn Eddy, co-director of the Eating Disorders Clinical and Research Program at Massachusetts General Hospital, in Boston.

ARFID is not simply "picky eating," she said, or a matter of personal choice.

Research into the genetic component of ARFID could aid in understanding its root causes, which in turn could help refine treatment, according to Eddy, a member of the National Eating Disorder Association's Research Advisory Council.

It's not surprising that ARFID showed a strong genetic component.

"We do know that genetic factors contribute significantly to the development of other eating disorders," Dinkler said.

However, she noted, the "heritability" found in this study was greater than what has been seen with disorders like anorexia and bulimia. Heritability refers to the degree that genetic factors explain the risk of developing a health condition.

The findings, published online Feb. 1 in JAMA Psychiatry, are based on just under 17,000 twin pairs between the ages of 6 and 12. Some were identical twins, some were fraternal.

Identical twins share all of their genes, while fraternal twins are like non-twin siblings  sharing roughly half of their genes. So twin studies allow researchers to estimate the degree to which genes, shared environment or non-shared environment may contribute to a given health condition.

Overall, Dinkler's team found, 2% of kids in the study had an ARFID "phenotype"  meaning they had signs and symptoms of the disorder, based on parents' reports and medical and prescription drug records.

As part of the analysis, the researchers accounted for medical conditions that can affect appetite and eating, as well as autism, which can make kids highly selective eaters.

In the end, the investigators found that genes explained about 79% of the risk of having ARFID.

In general, young children are notoriously picky eaters. However, most grow out of that. Kids with ARFID go in the opposite direction, Eddy said, becoming more rigid in their eating habits as they grow older.

That can lead to nutritional deficiencies and stunted growth, although people with ARFID are not necessarily underweight. When ARFID persists into adulthood, it can also have social costs, as a workplace lunch or a dinner date could be impossible.

But people with the disorder can get help.

At Mass General, Eddy said, treatment for ARFID involves time-limited cognitive behavioral therapy, where people practice getting comfortable with a wider range of foods.

And while adults with ARFID may have spent many years with their eating habits, it's not too late to change them.

"We do know that ARFID is treatable," Eddy said, "and that's true for adults, too."

As for future research, Dinkler said her team wants to see whether ARFID shares any specific genetic factors with other conditions  including anxiety, neurodevelopmental disorders like autism, and gastrointestinal or metabolic illnesses.

More information

The National Eating Disorders Association has more on ARFID.

SOURCES: Lisa Dinkler, PhD, postdoctoral researcher, Center for Eating Disorders Innovation, Karolinska Institute, Stockholm Sweden; Kamryn Eddy, PhD, co-director, Eating Disorders Clinical and Research Program, Massachusetts General Hospital, associate professor, psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston; JAMA Psychiatry, Feb. 1, 2023, online
MONDAY, Feb. 6, 2023 (HealthDay News) -- Researchers have uncovered groundbreaking evidence that pharmacies in tourist areas of Northern Mexico are selling counterfeit pills containing fentanyl, heroin and methamphetamines.

The pills, mainly sold to U.S. tourists without a prescription, were passed off as controlled substances, including oxycodone, percocet and Adderall, the study found.

This could add to the already high number of overdose deaths from these drugs in the United States and Mexico, U.S.-based researchers said.

These counterfeit pills represent a serious overdose risk to buyers who think they are getting a known quantity of a weaker drug, said senior study author Chelsea Shover. She is an assistant professor at the David Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).

About 68% of 40 pharmacies studied in four cities in Northern Mexico had at least one controlled substance for sale without a prescription, the researchers found. These were sold in either bottles or as individual pills.

The investigators found counterfeit pills containing fentanyl, heroin and/or methamphetamine from 11 pharmacies. Nine pill samples sold as Adderall contained methamphetamine. Eight sold as oxycodone contained fentanyl. Three sold as oxycodone had heroin in them.

It is not possible to distinguish counterfeit medications based on appearance, because identically appearing authentic and counterfeit versions are often sold in close geographic proximity, the researchers reported. Nevertheless, U.S. tourist drug consumers may be more trusting of controlled substances purchased directly from pharmacies.

The UCLA researchers main findings were confirmed independently by a Los Angeles Times investigation, the study authors noted in a university news release.

The research was published online Jan. 28 in the preprint server medRxiv and has not been peer-reviewed.

More information

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has more on the drug fentanyl.

SOURCE: University of California, Los Angeles, news release, Feb. 2, 2023
ORANGE CITY, Iowa -- The Sioux County Sheriff's Office is seeking information in the theft of a billboard canvas south of Orange City.

The billboard canvas, advertising Northwestern College in Orange City, was located near the intersection of 470th Street and Jackson Avenue, about a mile south of Orange City, the Sioux County Sheriff's Office said in a press release.

The theft is believed to have taken place between Jan. 16 and Jan. 28. The canvas itself is valued at about $700.

The sheriff's department asks anyone with information on the theft to contact the department. Their non-emergency line is (712) 737-3307.
Diplomats celebrate Lantern Festival in Shanghai

Chinadaily.com.cn) 08:42, February 06, 2023

Diplomats based in Shanghai, their family members and some foreign residents of the city, join an event celebrating Lantern Festival in Shanghai, Feb 5, 2023. The event was organized by the Shanghai People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries. [Photo by Gao Erqiang/chinadaily.com.cn]

(Web editor: Cai Hairuo, Liang Jun)
TOKYO, Feb. 6 (Xinhua) -- Japan will postpone the launch of its new flagship rocket carrying a ground monitoring satellite due to a problem with its flight system, the country's space agency announced Monday.

The launch will be delayed at least until Feb. 15, said the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA).

It was announced after a system inspection found the rocket likely would not fly properly if the launch went ahead as scheduled, local media reported.

JAXA expected the fix for the issue with its H3 rocket to take a few days, postponing the debut launch of the H2A rocket's replacement for a second time.

On Jan. 26, the delayed launch of JAXA's No.46 H2A rocket, which placed a government intelligence-gathering radar satellite into orbit, pushed back the agency's initial plan to launch the H3 rocket into space on Feb. 12 by one day.

The H3 rocket will be launched from the Tanegashima Space Center on Tanegashima Island in Kagoshima, the country's southwestern prefecture. 
Mount Washington Observatory in New Hampshire is known to have some of the wildest weather on the planet, and without a doubt, it takes the cake for the United States.

Located at just over 6,000 feet, it is situated in the perfect location for extreme winds and brutal cold.

When the record-breaking arctic blast came through the US on Friday, Mount Washington's Observatory was getting the worst of it, with three people inside, witnessing it all.

"The winds were so strong that I fell over at least once that night. I was thankful that I was able to make it back to the observatory," meteorologist and weather observer for Mount Washington Observatory, Alexis George said. "It's not something you get used to very easily because it's a very loud experience. It almost sounds like a freight train."

She, along with fellow observer Francis Tarasiewicz and an intern, braved the wind and cold on top of Mount Washington inside the observatory, and were responsible for taking measurements and observations at the summit Friday night. The job is usually done once an hour but was done much more frequently Friday night due to the extreme conditions.

"So given the fact that we were close to breaking records last night, we had to go out in those conditions every 15 to 20 minutes or so," George said.

Bundled up from head to toe, George had to venture out in some of the most extreme conditions ever recorded holding a sling psychrometer in her hand, which is the technique the observatory has used to measure weather conditions since 1932.

Their persistence paid off because they recorded a wind chill of minus 108 degrees, likely the coldest wind chill ever recorded in the US.

It is hard to know for certain, since the National Weather Service doesn't keep track of wind chills as closely as they do temperatures. However, most meteorologists who track extreme conditions believe the minus 108 reading beats the previous record of minus 105 set in Alaska.

The previous wind chill record for Mount Washington was minus 102.7 degrees set in 2004.

It is the kind of cold not many people have ever witnessed, or ever want to witness.

"Any exposed skin, even if it's just like a millimeter of exposed skin, sort of feels like a bee stinging you or like a low-grade sunburn, so definitely not very pleasant up here," Tarasiewicz told CNN. "But being up here, is what we are up here for, these extreme conditions."

Tarasiewicz and George were in the elements for about five minutes every 15 to 20 minutes. It is a dangerous job, requiring serious guts and concentration as they inched their way onto the observation deck to get weather readings.

"We're not tethered to a rope or anything, that's why we always have to be cautious," George explained. "Because you can easily fall down and just blow across the observation deck if you're not careful."

The winds were so strong at one point during the day, they blew open the door to the observatory.

Tarasiewicz explained the scary moment on CNN Saturday morning:

"Briefly terrifying. It took about three of us or so to sort of keep the door closed, while those winds were blowing in excess of 100 miles per hour. We eventually got a new latch for it and so it's nice and secure. We've got a piece of plywood as well to sort of secure it in place. So, we're hoping that's a good fix at least in the short term."

George has been working at the Observatory for less than a year and realizes Friday night could be a night which may never be topped.

"Being able to experience sustained wind gusts above 100 miles per hour is a very exciting thing for me in the long run," George recalled. "Being able to experience cold temperature of minus 47 degrees -- I'll brag about this for many years to come."

Mount Washington Observatory is a nonprofit research and educational institution working to advance understanding of Earth's weather and climate.

Mount Washington wasn't the only place smashing records on Saturday. Boston hit a morning low temperature of minus 10 degrees Saturday morning, breaking its previous daily record of minus 2 degrees. The weather service also tweeted it was the first double-digit negative temperature recorded since 1957.

Worcester, Massachusetts, hit minus 13 degrees, beating the previous daily record of minus 4. Providence, Rhode Island, recorded minus 9 degrees beating the previous daily record of minus 2. Hartford, Connecticut, hit minus 9 degrees, beating the previous daily record of minus 8.

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Passengers on a United Airlines flight en route to Las Vegas on Saturday were grounded for several hours at the Lincoln Airport.

The Boeing 777-200 jet reported losing power to an engine and was diverted to the Lincoln Airport, where it landed safely just before noon.

There were 326 people on the flight, which departed Chicagos OHare International Airport at about 10 a.m.

Lincoln Airport Authority Police Sgt. Kyle Jackson said pilots declared the emergency approximately 70 miles west of Lincoln. The jet was diverted to Lincoln, where commercial airline travel currently involves 50-passenger regional jets.

As far as our commercial side goes, this is the biggest aircraft Ive seen land since Ive been here, Jackson said.

Passengers exited the plane using one of the airports jetways and waited in the gate area. Airport officials provided water and food for them as they waited for word on when they would be able to resume their flight.

The Lincoln Airport is currently undergoing a terminal renovation project to modernize passenger accommodations, including adding food and drink service in the gate areas.

A United jet dispatched from Denver to pick up the passengers and get them to Las Vegas was to arrive at about 5 p.m.

Top Journal Star photos for January 2023
DES MOINES  If one Iowa school decides to remove a book from its library, all Iowa schools would be required to do the same under a proposal floated recently by Gov. Kim Reynolds at an event hosted by a national group that advocates for parents rights in public education.

At the Thursday night event hosted by the group Moms for Liberty, Reynolds said under her proposal, educational material removed by any Iowa school district would be required to be removed by every district in the state.

Groups like Moms for Liberty and its advocate members are pushing for public schools to not only be more transparent with curriculum and library materials, but for schools to remove library books and classroom materials that they find objectionable. Almost exclusively, the subject matter of the materials that are challenged have to deal with LGBTQ people or issues, or discussions of race.

During her remarks, Reynolds said there is a need to restore sanity, to make sure our schools are a place of learning and not indoctrination.

Its sad that any of this actually needs to be written into law, Reynolds said.

Reynolds accused the radical left of treating students like their personal property, and asserted some educators believe patriotism is racist and that pornographic books are education.

Reynolds was greeted with loud applause and multiple standing ovations by most of the roughly 200 people who attended. But her remarks also were interrupted at least a half-dozen times by protesters who shouted while she was speaking. Each protester was escorted out of the auditorium by law enforcement officials.

It is my job to keep your children safe, one protester yelled while being escorted out. Another, who on her way out of the auditorium toward the end of the event, sarcastically assured the audience that there are no litter boxes in Iowa schools.

The comment was a reference to the widely debunked Internet rumor that some schools have been placing litter boxes in bathrooms to accommodate students who wish to identify as cats. No actual evidence of this has ever been found in any schools.

During a panel discussion and a question-and-answer session that featured seven Republican state lawmakers, two legislators said they would like to move legislation that would create more spots for members of the public to serve on the state board that licenses and disciplines Iowa teachers and other educators.

Currently, the Iowa Board of Educational Examiners is required by state law to include 12 members: two from the public, the state education department director, and nine licensed practitioners.

Rep. Steve Holt, a Republican from Denison who has been active in advancing bills regarding public education transparency and curriculum requirements, pledged legislation to change how the education oversight board is populated.

Were going to put parents on the board of examiners, Holt said. Were going to change that system.

Moms for Liberty is a national nonprofit issue advocacy organization that was founded in Florida. It mobilizes individuals around parents rights in educations, and trains candidates for political office, including local school boards.

During the event, Reynolds and multiple state legislators highlighted the new, $345 million state-funded private school financial aid package that Reynolds recently signed into law. Reynolds and other Republicans said the new state funding will help families find the Iowa school that they feel is best for their children.

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OMAHA -- Kathleen Denne isnt sure that shed call Kyle and Laura Hohenstein lucky.

Not when COVID struck both of them a few days before their December wedding date, sending the Lincoln couple into a tailspin and forcing them to postpone their big day.

But after that initial blow, their fortunes took a turn.

Every one of their vendors was able to switch from their original date of Dec. 17 to Jan. 28. Even always-busy St. Johns Church at Creighton University, where Denne is the wedding scheduler.

I dont know how that happened but it did, the former-Laura Olson said. I still cant believe how everything worked out.

Had this occurred in May, June or October, they likely would have had to wait months to reschedule, said their photographer, Daniel Muller of The Mullers. Easter to the end of the fall is prime wedding time in Nebraska.

January and February dates are in lower demand due to winter temperatures, darker days, a hangover from the holidays and the threat of snow, which it actually did do on Jan. 28.

Shes just really lucky it was slow wedding season. She was not so lucky she got COVID, Denne said. Thats the devastating part. Im glad we were able to get things moved for her.

It also helped that the two 28-year-olds, who had been dating for eight years, had already completed their required marriage preparation through the church, a six to nine-month process.

Laura, who grew up in Omaha, had little inkling of what lay ahead when she decided to take a COVID test the Wednesday before the original wedding date. She had a tickle in her throat and no other symptoms, but she didnt want guests to worry it was something more than a cold.

She was in shock when it showed a positive result.

I think I blacked out, she said.

She was sick to her stomach as she talked through the options with Kyle. Asking their 270 guests to wear a mask wasnt the right answer for them, especially with Christmas and all those family gatherings so near. Laura said it was a relief when they finally made the decision to postpone.

They started calling the wedding party and out-of-town guests that night. Their parents were devastated. She couldnt sleep thinking about all the tasks ahead.

I spent all day on Thursday on the phone, she said. That happened to be when I started feeling really sick and had a fever. But by 5 p.m. Thursday, I had a new date and all of our vendors committed.

They are grateful everyone was so accommodating, especially after Kyle started having symptoms on Friday.

Muller said vendors these days are no strangers to rescheduling because of the pandemic. In 2020, 15 of the 20 weddings he was supposed to work were moved. The last of those postponed events was held in August, when the couple felt they could finally do it safely.

A sick guest or member of the wedding party is a regular occurrence.

Its still always there, Muller said. It can all quickly crumble with a simple COVID test.

That has pushed The Mullers to revamp its cancellation policy. One positive, Muller said, is that since there are usually no masks in use, guests are more aware about staying home if they are sick.

Exhausted by all the work involved in changing the wedding date, the Hohensteins decided not to postpone their honeymoon. Their Jan. 7 trip to Costa Rica was amazing, they say.

Laura said she learned a thing or two about her husband through the whole experience. Kyle, she said, was a steady presence when she was upset and crying.

Hes always been very calming. He always knows the right thing to say and makes me laugh through the tears, she said. Going through that situation just a few days before the wedding definitely makes me feel very lucky to have him and be marrying him.

Their new wedding day went off without a hitch. The snow wasnt enough to keep away most of their guests.

The couple agreed it was a great day.

Im just so happy we were able to pull everything off with such short notice, Laura said. It feels awesome to finally be married.
The Dalai Lama was taking questions from the audience in February in Dharamsala when the boy asked if he could hug him. After a hug, the Dalai
It will be a cold day in Sioux City, with temperatures in the 30s. The forecast calls for it to be a cold 37 degrees. A 22-degree low is forecasted. Monday's winds could be brisk, with forecast showing winds from the South, clocking in at 15 mph. This report is created automatically with weather data provided by TownNews.com. Stay in the know. Visit siouxcityjournal.com for local news and weather.
TOKYO, Feb. 6 (Xinhua) -- The body of a missing cargo ship captain was found Monday following the vessel's collision with a freighter last week off the western prefecture of Ehime, the Japan Coast Guard said.

The dead body of the 63-year-old captain, Sosuke Kitai, was found in the wheelhouse of the ship that had sunk 57 meters to the bottom of the sea, the Imabari coast guard officials said.

The coast guard said that search and rescue operations are still underway, however, for a 24-year-old crew member who remains unaccounted for from the 716-ton Seiryu in the wake of the collision that occurred last Thursday evening.

Three of the sunken Seiryu's crew members have already been rescued, the coast guard previously said.

The four crew members of the smaller, 499-ton Koei Maru, meanwhile, were all unhurt in the incident, according to the coast guard.

The cause of the collision may have been a result of endangerment of traffic caused by professional negligence, according to sources with knowledge of the matter. 
When the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in June, it promised to return the issue of abortion to the peoples elected representatives. In virtually every instance in which its been returned to the people, which has mostly happened by ballot initiative and referendum, the people have acted to protect reproductive rights. Perhaps that explains why less than a year after the fall of Roe, conservative activists are trying to put the issue of abortion access into the hands of a single man for whom no one ever voted: a federal judge in Texas named Matthew Kacsmaryk. In the coming weeks, there is a very real possibility that Kacsmaryk will single-handedly outlaw medication abortion in all 50 states, massively disrupting access to reproductive health care across the entire country. Worse, there is a substantial likelihood that higher courtsincluding the Supreme Courtwill let him get away with it.

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Lets be clear that the legal battle over medication abortion became inevitable the moment Roe fell. Over the past 50 years, reproductive health care has undergone a dramatic shift: A majority of American patients now terminate their pregnancies with pills rather than by undergoing a procedure at a clinic. This makes good sense, as medication abortions are 18 times safer than childbirth, very reliable, and easy to access. In the 23 years since the FDA first approved the abortion pill, the agency has slowly loosened restrictions on prescriptions (though regulations remain irrationally stringent for the minimal risks of these pills). Meanwhile, a booming gray market for the medication has sprung up online following the end of Roe. Today, virtually anyone anywhere in the United States can order pills to their door, legally or otherwise. This infuriates anti-abortion activists who wanted to see this issue settled with the clinic closures and vigilante laws that followed S.B. 8 and Dobbs.

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But these activists think they have a solution to the pill problem: ban mifepristone, the first drug taken in the two-drug medication abortion protocol approved by the FDA, which ends the pregnancy. Rather than work through their elected representatives or popular votes, they are attempting to do this via a lawsuit seeking a nationwide injunction. Theyre represented by the far-right Alliance Defending Freedom; Erin Morrow Hawley, wife of GOP Sen. Josh Hawley, is a lead attorney.

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The suit was filed in the remote Amarillo division of the Northern District of Texas. No, theres no specific connection between Amarillo and abortion pills. The plaintiffs only filed there because they were guaranteed to draw a single judge: Kacsmaryk, whom Donald Trump placed on the bench in 2019. Before donning his robe, Kacsmaryk served as deputy general counsel at the far-right First Liberty Institute, where he fought LGBTQ equality, abortion, and contraception. (He once said that being transgender is a delusion and scorned secular libertines who sacrifice children to their erotic desires.) Since his confirmation, he has gained a reputation as perhaps the most lawless jurist in the country.

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If that sounds like an overstatementand to be sure, the competition is stiffconsider just a portion of his record: In less than three years, Kacsmaryk has seized control over border policy, repeatedly defied the Supreme Courts decision protecting LGBTQ employees, and restricted minors access to birth control. It was probably inevitable that anti-abortion crusaders would shop their case to him.

And yet, to call this lawsuit a case is giving it too much credit. There are three fundamental flaws in the plaintiffs claim against mifepristone. First, none of the individuals filing the suit have a remotely plausible claim to standing, meaning the ability to sue in federal court. To establish standing, they would have to prove that the FDAs approval of mifepristonewhich happened 23 years agoinjures them personally.

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This they cannot do. The plaintiffs are anti-abortion medical associations joined by anti-abortion doctors. Their claim is that some future patient might take mifepristone, suffer a rare side effect, then come to their practice for help, and that would qualify them for relief in federal court. But this claim rests on multiple layers of speculation and contingencies, exactly the kind of hazy conjectures that do not establish standing. There is no evidence that any of the doctors currently face this problem; it is pure hypothesizing. There is certainly not evidence that anyone is suffering the exaggerated, catastrophic side effects the plaintiffs fabricate in their brief. And even if there were, it would not establish standing, because there are too many other factors that might have led this particular patient to this particular doctors office. In legal terms, the injury is not fairly traceable to the FDAs approval of the drug. Otherwise, any doctor could challenge the approval of any medication that allegedly could harm their future patients, opening the floodgates to endless physician suits against thousands of drug approvals over previous decades.

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Turn to the merits, and a second flaw quickly emerges: The plaintiffs substantive arguments are ridiculous. They accuse the FDA of fast-tracking mifepristone (in 2000) and ignoring potential adverse reactions. What they are doing here is effectively disputing the conclusions of the agencys scientists. Yet the FDA compiled a voluminous record over the more than two decades since approval justifying every single decision it has made about the drug, and fulfilling all of its legal obligations. To boot, in an upcoming paper on abortion pills by professors David Cohen, Greer Donley, and Rachel Rebouche, the authors note that after more than twenty years on the U.S. market, mifepristone has become one of the most studied drugs available and has proven to have an impeccable safety profilemany times safer than common drugs like penicillin or Viagra. A private partys cherry-picked attempt to disagree with two decades worth of scientific analysis and peer-reviewed scholarship does not give a court the authority to pull a drug from the market.

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This issue of authority and expertise leads to the suits third flaw: Never before has a federal judge imposed a ban on a particular drug by wholly revoking FDA approval. That is what the plaintiffs demand, yet it is an unprecedented step that would radically disrupt the entire existing health care system. The plaintiffs want Kacsmaryk to outlaw mifepristone in every state, abruptly halting doctors ability to prescribe the drug. Given that a majority of patients use abortion pills, this move would overwhelm providers, creating monthslong waitlists for abortion procedures even in deep-blue states. The result would be an unprecedented backup as people sought to get procedures instead, and likely thousands of patientsin states like New York or California or really anywherewould be unable to obtain an abortion in time, even if state law protects their right to do so.

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All this appears to be a pile of partisan frippery that should never have been filed and could never be taken seriously in the federal courts. But this leads us to the actual, enduring problem: The lawsuit, as absurd and frivolous as it is, stands a significant chance of succeeding. And that reflects how much has changed in the legal landscape in a very compressed amount of time. Its not merely that a single Trump appointee can scupper an entire national health care regime with the scratch of his penthe dangers of judge-shopping and national injunctions have been clear for years now. And its not just that the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appealsone of the most activist, conservative courts in the countrywould likely sign off on a wild-eyed judge-imposed abortion ban. (This is the court that allowed S.B. 8 to go into effect months before Roe was overturned, and the court that just granted alleged domestic abusers the right to keep their guns.)

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Lower courts have gone rogue before. Whats changed much more recently is that we can no longer rely on SCOTUS to rein them in. In years past, we could say with some certainty that merit-free attempts like this one would at least be stopped at a Supreme Court in possession of some regard for precedent, predictability, and how far is too far. In our post-Dobbs landscape, that is just no longer true. It was, after all, the Supreme Court that permitted S.B. 8 to become law. Why would this court bother to balk at another lawless attempt to end abortion? It has all but invited this type of risky, meritless intervention by blessing the last one.

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That brings us to the biggest problem of all. We will see more and more of these scandalously frivolous claims succeed precisely because the Supreme Court has changed so much, so quickly. Lower courts are racing to push the limits of law and daring the conservative justices to stop them. It is now obvious to all that five justices will gladly rewrite precedent without any warning or justification in a way that will upend long-settled expectations. That opens the door to a kind of nihilistic and perverse ingenuity that used to be scorned by the third branch.

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The very weakness of this litigationthe lack of real standing, the blunderbuss attack on federal agencies, the extraordinary scope of the relief soughtare the seeds that have been planted by this newly constituted Supreme Court supermajority coming to fruition. The conservative justices have already brushed away standing requirements in order to weaken civil rights laws; severely weakened the EPA and the CDC; and let rogue judges seize power from the Biden administration. This conservative supermajority has used the shockwaves of recent reversal of precedent and dismantling of existing tests to lay the tracks for the next shocker.

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Overturning Roe was not the terminal point in the decades-long journey to limit reproductive rights; its barely even the start. Maybe this is the moment in which we ask ourselves why so many of us are still surprised; why we are still caught off guard when a court arms alleged domestic abusers, or limits access to birth control, orstay tunedcriminalizes medication abortion everywhere. The crisis here is not just that a federal judge could imminently ban an abortion drug thats been used safely for 23 years. Its that the chaos wrought by Dobbs means anything is possible, and no onenot even in the deepest blue statescan go to bed with any certainty that they will wake up with their rights intact. That is the legacy of todays Supreme Court: No one can ever really know what new nightmares tomorrow will bring.
Did you think you were done with balloon news on Saturday after the U.S. military shot down the Chinese weather/spy balloon that had been floating across the country? (The balloon was targeted only after it drifted offshore near South Carolina, officials said, to prevent anyone on the ground from getting hit by debris.) Ha ha, you stupid idiot. You rube! This is American politics, where nothing is too inconsequential for partisan litigationparticularly if it calls into question whether someone is Projecting Weakness by Letting Foreigners Have Their Perverted Little Foreign Way With Us.

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First, it became borderline mandatory for right-wing elected officials to tweet during the Sinoballoons reign of terror that its presence was another (?) example of President Joe Biden failing to protect U.S. sovereignty from Chinese Communist aggression. (China is communist for purposes of patriotic rhetoric but not communist when youre taking a job lobbying on its behalf or pursuing a business partnership with its state-owned firms.) Interestingly, many of these tweets spelled balloon with only one o, revealing potentially humiliating evidence of latent Frenchness.

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In a related development, some Republicans posted photos of themselves holding guns as if prepared to shoot down the balloon themselves. Of these, the most noteworthy was perhaps Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance, if only because Vance had days earlier endorsed Donald Trump on the purported basis of their allegedly shared belief that foreign policy statesmanship should involve great restraint:

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You hate to imagine how things would have gone for Chinas precious weather device without all the restrained statesmanship being demonstrated in that photograph! (For what its worth, a bullet fired upward out of Vances rifle would have come about 10 miles short of reaching the balloon, which we acknowledge is not the point.)

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On Saturday, perhaps having been successfully provoked by these GOP provocations, a senior defense official told the press that other balloons had transited the continental United States briefly at least three times during the prior administration. Tables turned! Donald Trump, soft on balloon crime! Trump responded immediately (LOL), telling Fox News that a balloon overflight never happened with us under the Trump administration and if it did, we would have shot it down immediately.

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On Sunday, though, a senior administration official from the Biden administration responded and twisted the knife even further, telling Fox that Trump didnt know about the balloons because his pathetic national security team hadnt even noticed them:

The official told Fox News that this information was discovered after the [Trump] administration left. They went undetected, the official told Fox News Digital.

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On Sunday night, a (still anonymous) Biden official went further again, telling reporters his colleagues were prepared to offer key officials from the Trump administration briefings on [Chinas] surveillance program, a briefing that would presumably include a very patronizing segment about the many Chinese balloons that crisscrossed the American homeland on their watch, whichdo we even need to repeat ourselves?were not shot down with a space bazooka even once. The anonymous officials havent explained how its possible to piece together evidence of a balloon flight retroactively.

Thats all, for now, although the right-wing media is currently trying to whip up a story about military brass/Deep State operatives committing treason against Trump by not telling him, at the time, about the balloons that flew over the country during his term. The evidence that this happened, in its entirety, is that a Republican congressman told a Fox Business channel host that hed heard speculation that it could have happenedfrom Trump administration officials themselves. Which is to say, expect some hearings in the House of Representatives to dig into the matter soon!
Will a power grab by the new Republican majority on North Carolinas Supreme Courtostensibly to reverse a power grab by the earlier Democratic majority on North Carolinas Supreme Courtdeprive conservatives on the United States Supreme Court of a power grab over U.S. elections? Or will it just delay an urgent election ruling to a much worse timewhen it could decide the outcome of a major election?

The Supreme Courts potential blockbuster election decision in Moore v. Harper, now expected by late June, could soon be rendered moot by an order that the North Carolina Supreme Court issued on Friday to rehear the underlying case. If Republican state justices in North Carolina moot Moore, it might simply delay an outcome on an issue that should be resolved sooner rather than later.

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This convoluted story begins in the last decade, after the U.S. Supreme Court smacked down North Carolinas general assembly for drawing its congressional district lines as a racial gerrymander. Legislators went back to the drawing board, knowing full well that they got in trouble for making race the predominant factor in drawing district lines.

North Carolina legislative leaders proudly announced that their new districting plan would not consider race, but would instead be a partisan gerrymander: drawing lines for maximum political advantage. In a state that was about evenly divided between the two major parties, Republicans drew a 103 Republican map for the states congressional districts.

The good-government group Common Cause and others sued over the new map, claiming it was a blatant partisan gerrymander that violated the equal protection clause of the U.S. Constitution. In 2019s Rucho v. Common Cause case, the Supreme Court in a 54 decision held that federal courts lacked judicially manageable standards to decide when taking partisanship into account might go so far. Chief Justice John Roberts, for the majority, said there were other ways to deal with the problem, like state courts applying state constitutional standards, Congress passing a statute governing congressional redistricting, or voter initiatives.

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Undaunted, Common Cause went to the North Carolina state courts, arguing that partisan gerrymandering violates a part of the state constitution guaranteeing free and equal elections. The group was successful, with a lower court striking down the gerrymandered maps of the previous decade and forcing the 2020 election be run with new maps. It then secured a ruling from the North Carolina Supreme Court that the new congressional districts drawn for this decade violated the state constitution as well.

The politics of the state ruling was not lost on anyone who follows North Carolina politics. The North Carolina state constitution gives only its general assembly the right to draw congressional districts; the states Democratic governor, Roy Cooper, has no say. The state Supreme Court had a Democratic majority when it ruled that the redistricting violated the state constitution, and Republicans attacked the ruling as a power grab. Its worth noting that those same Republicans didnt complain when similar state court rulings led to opposite outcomes, like when New Yorks courts struck down its Democratic gerrymander of congressional districts as a partisan gerrymander under the New York Constitution, leading to a much more favorable map for Republicans in that state.

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Republican legislators in North Carolina who attacked the state Supreme Court ruling took that ruling to the U.S. Supreme Court, arguing that the state Supreme Court had violated the U.S. Constitution. Under the legislators radical independent state legislature theory, only state legislatures, and not state courts, would have any power to regulate congressional elections. Never mind that the U.S. Supreme Court in Rucho expressly pointed to state supreme courts applying state constitutions as a proper means of policing gerrymandering.

This ISL theory is a dangerous one, as many of us have long said. It would push power to state legislatures to engage in even more egregious gerrymandering, unchecked by state constitutions. It would, as Nat Bach and I argued in an amicus brief and at Slate, lead to a flood of election litigation in federal courts, giving unhappy litigants a second bite at the apple, undermining the legitimacy of both the political process and the courts. And it would leave the Supreme Court in the drivers seat, ultimately in a position to second-guess any state Supreme Court interpretation of a state constitution that it believes goes too far.

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Now, after a ton of briefing and a lengthy oral argument, the whole dispute could be moot. Republicans took control of the North Carolina Supreme Court after Novembers elections, and as soon as that happened I immediately wondered if the states Republican legislators would try to get the partisan gerrymandering issue back before the state Supreme Court in a new case.

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But the legislators did one better. Rather than filing a new case for the next round of elections, they filed a petition for rehearing in the state Supreme Court in the original case while the U.S. Supreme Court case is pending, arguing explicitly that the new justices should overturn the partisan gerrymandering standard under the state constitution.

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This past Friday, on a 5-2 party line vote, the North Carolina Supreme Court agreed to hear the case and rejected Common Causes petition to dismiss the rehearing request. Justice Anita Earls, an elected Democrat and former election law litigator, dissented: Not only does todays display of raw partisanship call into question the impartiality of the courts, but it erodes the notion that the judicial branch has the institutional capacity to be a principled check on legislation that violates constitutional and human rights. She called the decision an affront to the jurisprudence of this State and to the citizens it has sworn an oath to serve impartially, without favoritism to anyone or to the State. 

The decision to seek rehearing is a curious one, and indicates some doubts on the part of Republicans that the U.S. Supreme Courts decision in Moore would be a favorable one. After all, if you think there is a chance of getting a good ruling from the U.S. Supreme Court, why moot your case? And if you lose in the Supreme Court, you could always go back to the state Supreme Court in a new case to get the state court to reverse course.

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Likely the calculation was that the legal arguments raised by the legislators in Moore are so weak that it would not lead to a decision guaranteeing the kind of legislative supremacy that they seek. Maybe kill this case, the argument could be, and hope that a better version of the arguments could be made next time.

Common Cause, too, may have reasons to argue for the cases mootness. After all, a bad decision in North Carolina rejecting a partisan gerrymandering claim under the state constitution would only affect that state. In contrast, an embrace of the independent state legislature doctrine by the U.S. Supreme Court would have negative effects around the country.

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But there is a cost here of throwing out the Moore case at this stage, and it is not just all of the lost effort on the part of lawyers, justices, and clerks. The ISL theory is not going away. It has come up in numerous cases over the last few years, and it is going to keep arising until the Supreme Court resolves it. Given the weaknesses of the legislators arguments in Moore, it seems like a pretty good case in which to get some clarity.

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Moreover, it is far better for this ISL theory to be resolved when it is not in the context of a disputed presidential election. It is far worse when the Supreme Courts involvement in election cases is outcome determinative, casting new doubts on the legitimacy of the courts and the electoral process. In this case, there is no individual outcome being threatened, but rather a group of future maps. And better to have rules set and understood in advance than figured out after the fact.

People may give a cheer if this new power grab by the state supreme court deprives the U.S. Supreme Court of its own possible power grab in Moore v. Harper. But postponing the inevitable will not necessarily lead to better results down the line.
After years of building experience, developing your knowledge, and honing your skills, you are finally ready to apply for your dream job. But by the time you find out theres an opening and gather your application materials, the position has been filled. The company had recruited candidates using targeted ads on social media and career-oriented websitesads that you never saw for reasons that are unclear to you.

You then apply to another employer, where a human recruiter is impressed by your resume and advances you to the interview stage. But this time, youre rejected after an awkward recorded video interview in which you answered questions read by a computer. An algorithm apparently determined that you did not show enough enthusiasm for the position in your interview responses.

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These examples are hypothetical, but they are not merely theoretical. More and more employers are using automated employment decision tools, known as AEDTs, to make problematic employment decisions. This year, Local Law 144 went into effect in New York City, which thus became the first place in the United States to have a law that seeks to regulate such tools. Unfortunately, LL 144 was weak from the outset. During every step of the process to craft it, vendors and employers worked to ensure that its toothless. Now, new draft regulations threaten to water down the laws already inadequate requirements still further.

AEDTs come in many forms. They include algorithms that use social media information to determine which candidates see a job advertisement, tools that analyze the words in resumes, and programs that estimate a candidates personality traits. But the attributes that AEDTs test often bear little resemblance to the unique skillsmuch less the actual duties and tasksnecessary to perform any particular job. Moreover, companies have provided very little information to either candidates or regulators about the AEDTs they use, making it difficult to capture just how widespread their use is.

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As a result, job seekers miss out on opportunities, and employers miss out on good candidates while exposing themselves to legal liability under the Americans With Disabilities Act and other civil rights protections. AEDTs are built to help employers identify the type of candidate they have historically preferred, which will lead to better outcomes for candidates who are generally not at risk of discrimination.

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Some AEDT vendors sell tools that rate candidates not on specific knowledge or abilities, but on ill-defined and subjective qualities like empathy or influence. Vendors claim to be able to determine these complex aspects of a workers personality by asking a handful of multiple-choice questions, by analyzing candidates performance while they briefly play computer games, or even by analyzing workers word choice and facial expressions during recorded video interviews. Such tools often discriminate against disabled workers. Other AEDTs pose a risk of discrimination against disadvantaged groups of workers who are underrepresented in the data used to train employment decision tools and, as a result, whose relevant skills and abilities may not be as obvious to an automated system.

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These concerns led many civil rights and workers rights organizations to express concern and call for greater transparency, careful auditing, and robust oversight of hiring assessment technologies. In each of those regards, LL 144 falls far short.

The bill that became LL 144 first came before the city council in 2020. The original version, despite having much weaker transparency and bias audit requirements than are needed, nevertheless would have applied to all employment decisions and required sellers of AEDTs to check their tools for compliance with all antidiscrimination laws. A year and a half later, the council suddenly proposed and then quickly rammed through a revised bill, passing it before civil rights advocates or members of the public had any chance to comment on the changes, which eliminated or softened many aspects of the original bill. For example, while the original bill required required AEDT vendors to audit their tools for all forms of discrimination against all protected groups, the bias audit that the revised bill requires consists only of running a single statistical test for discrimination based on race, ethnicity, or sexas most employers were already required to do under long-established federal regulations.

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Now the citys Department of Consumer and Worker Protection is considering what rules it will use to interpret and enforce LL 144. The departments first draft rules proposed definitions that would weaken the laws effectiveness further, excluding many tools from its auditing requirements and failing to ensure that job candidates would receive critical information about the tools that would assess them. Civil rights organizations, academics, and ethics experts expressed concern about these rules in comments to the department last fall, with the New York Civil Liberties Union stating the proposed rules would stymie the laws mandate and intent further by limiting its scope and effect. In other words, the rules would undermine the law they are supposed to implement.

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However, the department appears to have been more attentive to the concerns raised by tech companies and employers, who argued that the laws weak requirements were actually too burdensome. While a few revisions to the departments proposed rules made small improvements, such as requiring vendors to provide some additional information about data sources in notices given to workers about the use of AEDTs, those positive changes are heavily outweighed by the concerns left unaddressed and changes that further dilute the laws already meager protections.

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For example, the department proposed that LL 144 should cover only tools that employers use as the sole or most heavily weighted factor in a decision, or where the tool is used to overrule or modify human decisions. Multiple civil society groups and A.I. ethics experts objected to this interpretation, noting that the departments proposal was much narrower than LL 144s language, which encompassed tools that made recommendations so long as they substantially assisted human decision-making. Conversely, two large corporate lobbying groups, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the Business Software Alliance, asked the department to narrow the definition even further by excluding tools that merely modify (rather than completely overrule) human decision-making.

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The department ignored the civil society groups objections and made the change requested by the corporate lobbying groups in its revised rules. This change could effectively neuter LL 144, making it difficult for workers to prove that a tool qualifies as an AEDT under the law unless the tool completely replaced human decision-making in the hiring process. Under the departments revised proposal, LL 144 may not cover A.I.-powered hiring tools that make recommendations that human decision-makers usually (but dont always) accept, despite the fact that such tools would affect many workers careers and livelihoods.

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Once again, civil society organizations and other stakeholders have raised deep concerns about these changes that would weaken LL 144. At a public hearing on the revised proposed rules on Jan. 23, New York City Council Majority Whip Selvena Brooks-Powers, who had supported the passage of LL 144, warned that the councils intent will not be realized if the laws scope is narrowed to exclude certain tools and overlook certain impacts of systemic discrimination. Rafael Espinal, former city councilmember and current president of the Freelancers Union, likewise expressed concern at the hearing over the narrowed scope for implementing the law.

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A number of representatives from employers and vendors, as well as their lobbyists, also appeared at the hearingbut this time, several of them also raised concerns about the modified rules narrowing the scope of the law too much. For example, a representative of Pymetrics, which sells a suite of AEDTs that focus on personality testing, noted that the law should cover all hiring tech, but that the revised rules would exempt most hiring technologies in use today and reduce transparency about the degree to which automated tools influence human decisions.

These expressed concerns raise hope that the department will finally change course and reinforce LL 144 rather than dilute itand there is still time for such a course-correction. They can do so by looking to a new resource, the Civil Rights Standards for 21st Century Employment Selection Procedures, which our organization, the Center for Democracy & Technology, published in December with the endorsements of 13 civil and digital rights groups. The standards provisions would detect and prevent discrimination by:

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 Requiring that all selection tools be tied to essential job functions

 Mandating regular audits to ensure tools are effective and accurate both at the throughout the period employers use them

 Ensuring that companies select the least discriminatory assessment method available

 Banning certain tools that pose a particularly high risk of discrimination, such as tools that test workers by analyzing their faces or testing their personalities

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Adopting the standards would also improve transparency and accountability for both the sellers and users of AEDTs by:

 Creating multiple layers of disclosure requirements

 Ensuring candidates can communicate concerns

 Mandating clear procedures for disabled candidates to access accommodation

 Giving candidates a right to human review of automated decisions

The Civil Rights Standards provide a roadmap to managing the risks associated with modern selection tools while centering the rights and dignity of workers, particularly those most vulnerable to discrimination. Policymakers, industry groups, and employers alike can reference them when determining what information job candidates should receive, how AEDTs and other employee assessment tools should be audited, and how to ensure accountability when they threaten workers rights.

The department should recalibrate its approach as it finalizes its rules. It must take steps to reinforce the protections LL 144 does provide rather than weaken them further. And other policymakers should learn from what happened in New York. The point of these sorts of laws and regulations are to protect the rights of workers, especially those who are vulnerable and marginalized, not trample them further.

Future Tense is a partnership of Slate, New America, and Arizona State University that examines emerging technologies, public policy, and society.
Elon Musk has owned Twitter for one quarter of one year, having closed on his purchase of the platform at the end of October. A quarter is a short but measurable time. Were Twitter still a public company, about now is when it would be telling the world how it did over the last three months of 2022. Twitter doesnt have to do that anymore, because one privilege of being rich enough to take a company private for $44 billion is no longer having to file quarterly reports with the good people of the Securities and Exchange Commission, who do not like you. Because Musk made Twitter private, the peanut gallery no longer gets a window into Twitters financial performance.

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From what we can surmise from public information, though, the answer is: its not that good. As a public company, Twitter sometimes made a bit of money and often lost a bit of money. It had been losing money in the months before Musk took over, citing growing costs. Since going private, Twitters expenses have definitely gone down. That happens when a company lays off half its workers, watches more resign, and then simply doesnt pay severance to many of them. Musk has also closed and downsized data centers, auctioned some stuff, and, you know, maybe stopped paying rent. It seems unlikely that money coming in has improved in similar measure. Twitter the public company made 90 percent of its money from advertisements, and the big stories about Twitter and advertisers in Musks opening months were not about how marketers were over the moon to spend more and more on Twitter. Instead, they were about advertisers fleeing the platform over Musks behavior and needing to be cajoled back. Twitter started charging $8 per month for a subscription plan that previously only had about 100,000 subscribers at a lower price point. It was probably not an immediate game-changer for a company that relies on having hundreds of millions of users, although a lot of conservatives bought the thing in its first days. As a separate concern, Musk loaded up Twitter with buyout debt that just cost it $300 million, and there will be a lot more where that came from in the course of Musks ownership.

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Where that all leaves things for Twitter, the business, is uncertain. Musk, who endured the agony of laying other people off and nudging them to resign, says he wouldnt wish that pain on anyone but that now Twitter is trending to breakeven if we keep at it. Theres no reason to take Musk as a trustworthy narrator of Twitters fortunes now that any false statements he might make about its business would not be a clear-cut violation of federal securities law. But expenses have to be down, and the platform still at least works, even if layoffs and cutbacks have made the user experience on it less pleasant.

That user experience is just the thing, though. Twitters financial health is just a concern for Musk, his co-investors, and his lenders. Nobody else has to care if the platform ever makes money again. But Twitter had longstanding problems earning profits, and then Musk overpaid for it and dropped a bunch of debt in its lap. Theres no quick financial fix there. There is maybe a long-term fix, but it doesnt just involve getting Twitters costs under control. It has to involve making Twitter a better place for most people to spend time, so that theyll be around to look at more ads and perhaps even pay the company for more stuff. The main marker of Musks first quarter was the opposite: For most of us, Twitter got worse.

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Though it created the most obvious immediate problems, I dont think Musks redpilling will be the thing that destroys Twitters advertising business. Musk apparently loves being friends with right-wing Twitter users and trolls, and he has unbanned some of them while unbanning and rebanning others. But there have always been horrible people on Twitter, and blue-chip companies have advertised on the platform anyway. Musk may lack self-control, but he probably has enough to not be so egregious over such a long time that major consumer brands decide they wont advertise on Twitter. If people are there to be reached, companies will want to reach them, and will tolerate a high degree of jackassery from the guy who owns the website.

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What would tank the business would be if fewer people wanted to spend time on Twitter, or if those of us who are hopelessly addicted could at least find the occasional fix somewhere else. The way those things would happen would be if Twitter became so significantly worse that a critical mass of people lost interest in it. Nobody except Musk and his team know what Twitters user patterns look like since he took over, but everyone who uses Twitter regularly can tell that the platform has been a different place. Id wager that for most people who are not enthusiastic Musk fans or right-wing posters, the changes have been bad.

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An algorithmic tab labeled For You has supplanted the classic Twitter timeline as the default display scroll on Twitters phone apps. This has sucked. One of Twitters historic strengths is its customizability: People see the tweets they want to see by following accounts and updating their feed to see the most recent posts. That fades with the For You tab, which shows bushels of stale tweets by people you follow and irrelevant tweets by people you dont. Its a miserable Facebookization (or if youre feeling generous, TikTokization) of the Twitter experience, and I have not met a single real person who asked for it or enjoys it. The algorithm powering this feed is not good, and even if it were good, it would never be as good as simply choosing accounts to follow. (Just on Monday, Twitter provided the option to make the classic timeline the default on someones phone. At least its an option now.)

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There has always been spam on Twitter. Ive found it more visible since Musk arrived. For a few weeks, it arrived every morning by way of a direct message in which a robot asked me and dozens of others if wed like to make great money by working from home for Amazon. That blessedly stopped. Lately, the spam of the moment has been porn solicitations in the replies to regular tweets. Sometimes, things a user would want to appear just dont. Someone might click to see the quotes of a tweet and notice that none populate. A button urging someone to see who replied to this tweet might appear multiple times on the same screen, with neither actually showing any replies. The desktop version of Twitter at one point logged a bunch of users out and wouldnt let them log back in. The ad experience, for a few days around the new year, was memorably horrendous, with the same ad showing up at the top of a feed on every other scroll to refresh. (I was locked in a dayslong battle with a Real Housewife of Salt Lake City who was utterly demanding that I listen to her sing a song about Wendys. Or something.)

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Then there are the dystopian elements of the new Twitter. It requires some dissonance to spend so much time on a platform that bans journalists for doing journalism and seems to craft content moderation policies according to what is personally annoying to the owner. It gets more uncomfortable given Musks constant crowing about the importance of a right-tinted version of free speech. I doubt that Twitters newfound fiefdom trait will be the thing that sinks it, but its not an attractive quality.

Meanwhile, any hope of a game-changing Twitter product to make the site more usable has never felt more distant. A new move to roll back free access to Twitters application programming interface will mean the end of a lot of bot accounts that have made Twitter more charming over the years (though Musk says exceptions will be made for certain good bots), and will also make it more challenging and expensive for third parties to develop Twitter client apps that innovate where the company refuses to innovate itself. I would be more than happy to pay Twitter $8 per month (or more, really) for a super-powered version of TweetDeck, the chaotic, multicolumned interface for tweet scheduling and information mainlining that has become a favorite of those who use Twitter for work. But one does not exist, and the environment has gotten less hospitable for an outsider to develop one.

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Musk has gotten a few things right, at least so far. Many of us thought that making blue verification checkmarks available for purchase would lead to an impersonation free-for-all and severely degrade Twitters ability to purvey good information. That panned out for a day or two, but then it chilled out. It turned out it was mostly easy to discern which blue checkmarks were bought and which came down from the heavens (or from Twitters old management) on media workers and public figures. Also, while Twitter has gotten worse, it has not outright collapsed as Musk has slashed and burned his organization. That suggests that Twitter could find a way to survive as a smaller company. It doesnt change, however, that Twitter is now a lesser place for most people to spend time. Avoiding a crater doesnt mean improving.

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From here, two possibilities stand out. One is that once Musk deems Twitters costs sufficiently under control, hell put his muscle behind developing features to make Twitter better. In time, a better Twitter attracts more real humans to use it, and they consume more ads, and Musk avoids financial calamity. This may not be enough for Musk to be a big winner in his acquisition, because the fact will remain that he paid much more than he should have for a company that will eternally be a huge pain to run. But in this version of events, Twitter would become a better platform, and Musk would still get to be God on it. Everyone would be fine.

The other possibility is that Twitters current trajectory lasts for a long time, without great new features and with Musk focused on cost-cutting. He spends half his time placating advertisers and the other half playing footsie with a fawning audience that tweets at him. He hangs on to Twitter for a long while, and the site keeps working but settles into a new normal as a degraded product without much new investment. Where, after all, will all the bluecheck liberals who dont like Musk actually go? I explored posting on something called Mastodon on one of the several recent nights when it looked like Twitter was about to fall apart at any moment. Mastodon was a more confusing, hectic time than Twitter has ever been. Ive been more encouraged by something called Post, but it lacks the spontaneity (and, of course, the people) that Twitter has. I am surely not reactivating my Facebook account. Instagram is bad in the same algorithmic way Twitter is currently bad. I dont know if I feel like throwing energy into TikTok right now, either.

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There is no Twitter substitute, not just because other platforms have their own problems, but because Twitters facilitation of short-form, real-time text updates among hand-selected groups of people is irreplaceable. Many of us will never leave, and Musk knows that, while the more pro-Elon portion of Twitters user base would follow him to the ends of the earth. That might all add up to a lack of incentive for Musk to meaningfully make Twitter better. In this version, Musk would keep pushing the boulder that is Twitters profitability up a hill while getting very little sleep and annoying his Tesla investors. Most of us would keep posting on a platform that makes us angry and doesnt get better. Nobody winds up better off. Perhaps that was the most fitting place for Twitter to wind up all along.
Universities yet to tackle obstacles to the Erasmus programme.

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Everybody told me two things about Slovakia: that people there are helpful and welcoming like in Turkey. And that they dont speak a lot of English, Muge Altincinar, a Turkish pedagogy student currently studying in Trnava via the Erasmus+ programme, tells The Slovak Spectator.

Slovakia attracts foreigners due to its advantageous position in the heart of Europe, and its historical landmarks and nature. Even during the current economic turbulence, services here remain relatively affordable. However, to international students the country presents more than the usual sights portrayed on postcards in souvenir stores.

Exchange programmes for Slovaks Slovak students can also experience exchange programmes. In their annual report, the Education Ministry writes that 32 universities participated in the Erasmus+ programme during 2020.

A total of 2,657 students travelled abroad to study.

Bratislavas Comenius University sent the most students, 617.

For an international student, it can be quite difficult to navigate the unfamiliar Slovak environment. The challenges of travelling from one place to another, dealing with public authorities and overcoming noticeable language barriers are among the obstacles that students staying in the country describe.

While the language barrier was not so present in Bratislava, Muge said she encountered more communication problems in nearby Trnava. During lectures, teachers would sometimes forget that they were supposed to teach their classes in English. Classmates had to come to the rescue and translate for her, the Turkish student says.

Aside from a few exceptions, Muge was accepted straight away by a good support system of both international and non-international students. Thankfully, our school has a buddy system. If anything happened to me, helps just one call away.

On the other hand, not every international student attending an exchange programme in Slovakia has had Altincinars luck with the buddy system or with reasonably responsive university authorities.

While living in Slovakia during his computer science studies in the Erasmus+ programme, German student Tobias Cloppenburg was told that Slovaks often do not want to speak English, or interact with foreigners at all.
Embargo on Russian products went into force on February 5.

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People in Slovakia should brace for more fuel price rises, especially for diesel, experts have warned after an EU ban on the import of Russian oil products came into effect yesterday.

Europe is not self-sufficient in diesel, and much of it was imported into the EU from Russia, or produced mainly from Russian oil, 365.bank analyst Jana Glasova said.

With the EU now forced to replace Russian diesel with supplies from other countries, its price is being pushed up, she explained.

"The problems with diesel fuel on the European market have meant diesel fuel has been more expensive than gasoline for a long time - even in a year-on-year comparison, it has seen a significant increase in price," Glasova told TASR.

European countries have been cutting down on their imports of Russian diesel fuel in the run up to the embargo. Before the Russian invasion of Ukraine, about half of all imported diesel fuel came from Russia. This dropped to around 27 per cent recently, according to analyst Lukas Kovanda from Trinity Bank.

In recent weeks, however, countries have pre-stocked with Russian diesel, which could soften a possible price shock after the introduction of the embargo.

Temporary exemption for Slovnaft

Under a temporary exemption, Slovakia can still import Russian oil via the Druzhba pipeline.

However, it is not allowed to export some products derived from this Russian oil to EU countries, except to the Czech Republic, and will only be able to do that until the end of this year.

This means Bratislava refinery Slovnaft will now have to import from other countries, eventually from Croatia via the Adria pipeline.

"This year, we expect to replace about 30 per cent of originally Russian oil with an alternative," said Slovnaft spokesperson Anton Molnar.

He added that the ability to continuously supply markets in Austria and Hungary currently largely depends on the functionality of the Adria pipeline.

"The MOL and Slovnaft group only have a short-term contract with the Croatian pipeline operator, JANAF, for the next few months," the spokesperson said.

It is unclear what will happen after this.
Slovak scientist on the charisma of animals, important news for Bratislava public transport users, and Slovakia under snow.

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Good evening. Here is the Monday, February, 6 edition of Today in Slovakia - the main news of the day in less than five minutes.

Slovak rescuers will help in Turkey

Emergency team members and others search for people in a destroyed building in Adana, Turkey, on February 6, 2023. A powerful earthquake has knocked down multiple buildings in southeast Turkey and Syria and many casualties are feared. (Source: AP/SITA/Khalil Hamra)

Slovakia will help Turkey after a devastating earthquake on Monday, February 6, which left more than 2,000 dead.

Interim PM Eduard Heger (OLaNO) wrote on social media that 10 Slovak firefighters and five mountain rescuers with dogs will travel to the country.

The earthquake, which had a magnitude of 7.8 and hit an area in southeastern Turkey near the border with Syria, were picked up, along with powerful aftershocks, by seismic recording stations in Slovakia.

Charity: The Slovak Catholic Charity has announced it is starting a collection to help Turkish families affected.

Slovaks: The Foreign Ministry has no information of Slovaks among the injured or victims of the earthquake in Turkey and Syria.

Other stories from The Slovak Spectator website

Opinion: 2023 will be a campaigning year in Slovakia. What does that mean?



Bratislava: All public bus and trolleybus stops in Bratislava will become request stops as of February 13.

Energy: Slovakia can still import Russian oil, despite a recently introduced EU embargo.

If you like what we are doing and want to support good journalism, buy our online subscription. Thank you.

FEATURE STORY FOR MONDAY

Why are fish less charismatic than dogs?

Kolton Gagnon walks with his dog Chomsky in downtown Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada on February 3, 2023. (Source: AP - Stephen MacGillivray)

In a new study, Pavol Prokop, a behavioural ecologist at Comenius University in Bratislava and the Institute of Zoology of the Slovak Academy of Sciences, explains that animals considered to be charismatic have an advantage when it comes to species conservation.

SONG OF THE DAY

Grammy winners at Pohoda

Listen to "Chaise Lounge", a viral hit by the Wet Leg duo from the Isle of Wight. The new band won two Grammy awards this weekend. Wet Leg will also perform at the Pohoda festival in Trencin in the summer.

video //www.youtube.com/embed/Zd9jeJk2UHQ

In a few lines:

Several well-known Slovaks have initiated a petition calling on Bratislava mayor Matus Vallo to turn the lights off at Slavin, a WWII memorial, on February 24 when the world and Ukraine marks one year since Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

During the weekend, the Slovenske Elektrarne company connected the second generator of the new nuclear reactor at the Mochovce plant to the country's electricity grid. A few days earlier the first generator was connected.

Of the four V4 countries, housing loans are the cheapest in Slovakia. The same applies to consumer loans with fixed interest for five years or more, the Insitute for Strategies and Analyses has found.

In 2016, 59 pairs of golden eagles were nesting in Slovakia. Last year, the number of pairs had risen to 94, according to the Protection of Predators in Slovakia initiative.

WEATHER FOR TUESDAY: Clear skies. In the north and east of Slovakia, heavy cloud cover and occasional snowfall. Light winds. A maximum daytime temperature of 2C is expected.

Thank you for reading The Slovak Spectator.

P.S. If you have suggestions on how this news overview can be improved, you can reach us at editorial@spectator.sk.
Generally speaking, caffeine content is one of the worst metrics to use when assessing the desirability of a cup of coffee. (In a somewhat contradictory twist though, whenever a brand is hyping their coffee as having the worlds most caffeine or some such boast, its always bad. Full stop.) Yes, caffeine plays an important functional role for many coffee drinkers, but reducing a cup of coffee to its milligrams of caffeine is really missing the point entirely.

Even still, a recent study by the consumer group Which (stylized Which?) has me rethinking my caffeine-as-metric stance. When comparing caffeine content in coffee drinks at the most popular chains in the UK, they found a Costa cappuccino has over five times the amount of caffeine as its Starbucks counterpart. Like, what?!

As reported by the Guardian, Which examined caffeine count of similar coffee drink at five coffee chains: Costa, Starbucks, Pret a Manger, Greggs, and Caffe Nero. Measurements were taken for cappuccinos, single shots of espresso, and filter coffees for each location. They found that a medium cappuccino (whatever the hell that means) at Costamade with three shots of espressowas the most caffeinated drink on offer, coming in at a whopping 325mg. This, per the Guardian, is equivalent to four cans of Red Bull. In one capp.

Starbucks, on the other hand, was only showed to have 66mg. Greggs, Pret, and Caffe Nero came in second, third, and fourth with 197mg, 180mg, and 110mg, respectively. Pret a Manger took home the prizes for most caffeinated espresso and filter coffee at 180mg for the espresso and 271mg for the filter.

The Guardian notes that the US Food & Drug Administration advises for healthy adults to consume no more than 400mg of caffeine daily. So you can have two cappuccinos a day, if youre willing to split them between Costa and Starbucks.

These results are frankly startling. That you could pop in to the nearest coffee chain and be treated to either a paltry amount or near your recommended daily allotment from the same drink is discomforting. Granted different cafes drinks are going to have differing caffeine contentssome use double shots versus single shots, others pull ristrettos, all affecting the overall caffeine levelbut this sort of disparity is on a whole nother level. It makes me think that Starbucks is trying to shortchange me and Costa is trying to kill me, but Im not sure which is worse.

This is just reason 84,297 why I get my coffee from local specialty coffee shops. The standardization of drink names and sizes and the widespread reliance on Arabica (but shout out to robusta for quietly being capable of tasting very good) means, at least as far as caffeine content goes, you can expect a pretty consistent product. If you order a cappuccino, you have a pretty good idea of what you are going to get. You dont have to microdose your coffee at each new cafe in order to test the potency like youre about to go on your first shroom trip.

Zac Cadwalader is the managing editor at Sprudge Media Network and a staff writer based in Dallas. Read more Zac Cadwalader on Sprudge.

Top image via the Library of Congress
https://sputnikglobe.com/20230205/pope-francis-archbishop-of-canterbury-and-presbyterian-minister-condemn-anti-lgbt-laws--1106995750.html

Pope Francis, Archbishop of Canterbury and Presbyterian Minister Condemn Anti-LGBT Laws

Pope Francis, Archbishop of Canterbury and Presbyterian Minister Condemn Anti-LGBT Laws

Pope Francis, the head of the Anglican Communion and top Presbyterian minister have condemned the criminalization of the LGBT community. Such actions stay in line with recent increasing calls to ease the stigma on homosexuality.

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Pope Francis, the head of the Anglican Communion and the top Presbyterian minister have condemned the criminalization of the LGBT community. They made the statement as part of a joint press conference on their return from a three-day ecumenical pilgrimage in South Sudan, one of 67 countries where homosexuality is prosecuted.Pope Francis repeated his earlier statements that anti-LGBT laws are "unjust":The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, said he would cite the Pope's words at the forthcoming General Synod meeting:This statement by the Archbishop of Canterbury was preceded by a recent decision by the Church of England to grant blessings for same-sex couples wishing to marry. The Vatican forbids both gay marriage and blessings for same-sex unions.Welby also said the issue had been raised at two previous Lambeth Conferences of the broader Anglican Communion, which includes churches in Africa and the Middle East. And while the conference has each time spoken out against the criminalization of LGBT people, "It has not really changed many people's minds," he said.The Rt. Rev. Iain Greenshields, the Presbyterian moderator of the Church of Scotland shared his views on the issue:

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Redemption Press Expands Ownership Team

New partners add strength, experience, and enthusiasm to independent publishing company

NEWS PROVIDED BY

Redemption Press

Feb. 6, 2023

ENUMCLAW, Wash., Feb. 6, 2023 /Christian Newswire/ -- "No matter what the future holds for me, I wanted to ensure that our authors and team will be well cared for, and the legacy of Redemption Press continues on. In that light, we have been looking for a creative partnership that would strengthen and grow Redemption Press well into the future," says founder Athena Dean-Holtz. "This partnership is a dream come true and one that will build on our existing strengths."



On January 24, 2023, Athena and Dr. Ross Holtz welcomed Kelley and Carol Tetzlaff of Arizona and Shelly Brown of Florida as minority co-owners to the nearly-decade-old, Washington-based publishing company. The new growth of Redemption Press comes with more than seventy years' worth of collective experience in publishing, book design, marketing, and packaging. Athena and Ross Holtz will remain majority owners with a plan to maintain the tradition of excellence that makes them one of independent publishing's greatest successes.

Since 2014, Redemption Press, which uses the product-management style of traditional publishing, has filled an author-centered niche in Christian publishing, and was certified as a Best Christian Workplace by BCWI (Best Christian Workplace Institute) in 2021 and 2022.

New partner, Kelley Tetzlaff said, "Having closely observed Redemption Press for the past two years, I see Athena and Ross Holtz as people of integrity who have a passion to publish with excellence. I am thrilled to provide support to the company and the authors they serve. My partnership comes with great expectations for the future success of Redemption Press."

Carol Tetzlaff said, "Publishing my first Bible study with Redemption Press brought me into a community that offered me support and encouragement on my journey. Only God could orchestrate this path and open the door for me to create for the very people I admired from afar. My role has grown from creating content and organizing events to becoming an integral part in the marketing and development of this company."



"Working hand-in-hand with Athena and the Redemption Press team over the last three years has been the highlight of decades of my professional endeavors," said Shelly Brown. She added, "We've crafted strategies that have spread our authors' incredible messages far and wide, allowing them to reach heights they never thought possible. As I look forward to all the opportunities ahead for existing and new writers alike, my heart overflows with excitement about the bright future of Redemption Press as we soar higher than ever before."



"At a time when many Christian publishers are selling out to secular publishing corporations, we pledge to remain committed to the same values that we started with--putting kingdom purposes first and honoring God," says Athena Dean Holtz. "Our new strategic partnership will ensure not just longevity but continuity for new and existing authors as well. I look forward to working alongside our new partners for years to come. Their individual hearts for Jesus and serving our authors resonate with ours in commitment and love for the power of story and redemption. We can't express how excited we are for the future as we continue to represent integrity and excellence in publishing alongside these new partners."

SOURCE Redemption Press

CONTACT: Athena Dean Holtz, publisher, 210-620-490, athena@redemption-press.com
https://sputnikglobe.com/20230205/which-countries-invaded-iraq-1107009208.html

Which Countries Invaded Iraq?

Which Countries Invaded Iraq?

So, which countries invaded Iraq over the years of the war? Check out a Sputnik infographic to find out more.

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Weapons of mass destruction were never found in Iraq, however, Powell made the case for the US to invade Iraq the following month, bringing death and destruction to the Middle East.The invasion began on March 19, 2003 with air strikes, and boots on the ground on March 20. Less than a month into the invasion, Baghdad fell to the US-led coalition forces. The war, however, didn't end there, later evolving into a civil conflict, and drawing more foreign countries into hostilities.So, which countries invaded Iraq over the years of the war? Check out a Sputnik infographic to find out more.*Al-Qaeda is a terrorist group banned in Russia.

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 AP Photo / Mahmut Bozarsan Rescue workers and medical teams try to reach trapped residents in a collapsed building following an earthquake in Diyarbakir, southeastern Turkey, early Monday, Feb. 6, 2023. A powerful earthquake has caused significant damage in southeast Turkey and Syria and many casualties are feared. Damage was reported across several Turkish provinces, and rescue teams were being sent from around the country.
https://sputnikglobe.com/20230206/all-you-need-to-know-about-facebook-moderator-abuse-case-as-court-rules-meta-can-be-sued-in-kenya-1107013374.html

All You Need to Know About Facebook Moderator Abuse Case as Court Rules Meta Can Be Sued in Kenya

All You Need to Know About Facebook Moderator Abuse Case as Court Rules Meta Can Be Sued in Kenya

A Kenyan labor court has ruled on Monday that Meta Platforms Inc., the parent company of Facebook, could be sued in the country on charges related to forced labor, human trafficking, freedom of association.

2023-02-06T13:57+0000

2023-02-06T13:57+0000

2023-02-06T13:57+0000

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A Kenyan labor court ruled on Monday that Meta Platforms Inc., the parent company of Facebook, could be sued in the country on charges related to forced labor, human trafficking, and freedom of association, which are outlawed under Kenyan labor law and the constitution.In a lawsuit filed on May 10, a former outsourced Facebook content moderator working for Sama, Daniel Motaung, accused Meta, along with its largest outsourcing partner in Africa, Nairobi-based Samasource Impact Sourcing Inc., of union busting, forced labor, wage theft, racial discrimination, psychological torture, unequal pay for equal work, and human trafficking, among other accusations.With the ruling issued, the court is expected to meet on March 8 to discuss how it will proceed to a hearing, where all parties will be represented.As the case is considered the first-ever of its kind to legally challenge Big Tech outsourcing activity across the globe, Sputnik takes a closer look at what is behind the accusations and what awaits both the alleged victim and Meta, the social media giant, and its contractor, which provides graphic content moderation for Facebook in Africa in 11 of the continent's languages.Daniel Motaung's Experience with Meta and SamaMotaung, a South African national in his late 20s, arrived in Nairobi in 2019 after he was accepted for a job at an outsourcing company called Sama, formerly known as Samasource until 2021. He says he took the job in an attempt to pull his family out of poverty.The young man says that the company flew workers to Kenya from other parts of Africa, focusing on Africans from disadvantaged backgrounds, but with good knowledge of local African languages. The job postings, according to him, did not say they would be content moderators or subjected to the emotionally and mentally devastating content that allegedly caused him and his colleagues to suffer trauma and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).According to Motaung and the testimonies of other current and former content moderators for Meta in Nairobi, the content includes videos of murders, beheadings, rapes, suicides, and child sexual abuse.In 2019, after over six months into the job, Motaung was fired after he led roughly 100 workers with the aim to demand Sama provide better working conditions and access to quality mental health care. He claimed that they were paid as little as between $1.50 and $2.20 per hour to view the graphic content in Kenya, while Facebook pays its staff in the United States around $15 per hour for doing the same job.In Motaung's dismissal letter, Nairobi-based Sama said the decision was made because the employee had put their relationship with Facebook at risk. Sama told the media later that the employee was fired because he was bullying and coercing his colleagues.Alleged Violations of Kenyas Labor Law and ConstitutionThe case, filed by UK-based nonprofit Foxglove Legal and the Kenyan law firm Nzili and Sumbi Advocates on behalf of Motaung, accuses Meta and Sama of violations of the Kenyan constitution, including freedom of association, freedom of expression, dignity, fair remuneration, and reasonable working conditions.The suit is asking for compensation to be determined by the court and awarded to all former and current content moderators at Sama. In addition, it demands that content moderators receive the same psychological care as Facebook employees, and raise all outsourced content moderators pay.In addition, the suit asks that the Kenyan government strip Sama of its export license that gives it a tax break, undergo an outside human rights audit, and issue monthly reports on how it is implementing the demands the auditor makes.Metas Response to LawsuitMeta, a multinational company registered in the United States, initially responded to the court filing by asking that its name be removed from the lawsuit, arguing that it could not be sued in Kenyan courts because it is a foreign corporation that does not operate in Kenya. The Big Tech firm also said that Motaung was never an employee of the company, and therefore it cannot be held liable for the conditions he experienced.However, Motuangs lawyers planned to argue in their lawsuit that Sama is an agent of Meta, and that Sama employees use Facebooks internal systems, work closely with its staff, and follow a work schedule set by Meta.Meta has not yet responded to Mondays court ruling.Sama Quits Content Moderation Operations for MetaLast month, Sama, founded in 2008, announced discontinuing its content moderation services it provides to social media platforms starting March 2023, and said its future activities would focus only on labelling work, also known as computer vision data annotation. The company also revealed its plan to lay off 3% of its staff due to the current economic climate, promising to offer several support programs for those impacted.The company added, All impacted employees will receive severance packages and employees engaged in content moderation will receive well-being support for 12 months after the last day of employment.In response to Samas decision to end its content moderation program for Facebook, the social media giant, which owns Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, hinted that it would look for other partners to do the content reviewing job.Later, Meta contracted Luxembourg-based, Majorel, which formerly worked as a content moderator for TikTok in the Middle East and North Africa, to replace Sama in moderating Facebook content in Sub-Saharan Africa.Another Africa-Related Lawsuit Against MetaIn December 2022, in a lawsuit at Kenyas High Court, Meta Platforms Inc. was accused of amplifying hate speech and inciting violence in Africa.Two researchers from Ethiopia, Abrham Meareg and Fisseha Tekle, along with Kenyan human rights group the Katiba Institute, with support from legal non-profit organization Foxglove, filed a lawsuit accusing the multinational corporation of playing a role in inciting violence during the two-year armed conflict in the Tigray region in northern Ethiopia.During the conflict, Mearegs father, chemistry Professor Meareg Amare, was shot and killed in November 2021. According to the court filings, the murder followed several hateful posts on Facebook targeting the professor that led to the deadly attack against him.The lawsuit, which is calling for $2 billion in restitution, described Metas action as a woeful failure to address violence on its platform and its design, which promotes and prioritizes hateful, incitement and dangerous content.*Meta is banned in Russia over extremist activities.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20221215/no-guarantees-meta-not-interested-in-combatting-hate-speech-in-africa-experts-say-1105477977.html

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20230206/how-chinese-balloon-exposed-us-weaknesses-political-divisions--neocon-war-plans-1107019327.html

How Chinese Balloon Exposed US Weaknesses, Political Divisions & Neocon War Plans

How Chinese Balloon Exposed US Weaknesses, Political Divisions & Neocon War Plans

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken postponed his trip to Beijing due to a Chinese "spy" balloon flying over the US, which he called an "irresponsible act" on the part of China.

2023-02-06T16:46+0000

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"The Americans said they were starting an investigation [into the balloon incident]," political scientist, leading researcher at the Institute of China and Modern Asia of the Russian Academy of Sciences Pavel Kamennov, told Sputnik. "They probably won't find anything. The Chinese side is indeed right. They were probably conducting some of their experiments, and the balloon was accidentally blown into the United States by the wind. It did not threaten anyone, it did not destroy anything."The US military shot down the alleged "surveillance" balloon on February 4, days after it was detected last Wednesday over the northern part of the country. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin claimed that the balloon was used by the Peoples Republic of China "in an attempt to surveil strategic sites in the continental United States." Austin said that Biden ordered the US military on February 1 to shoot down the device as soon as it could be done "without undue risk to American lives under the balloons path."Balloon Incident Reflects Rise in Anti-China Sentiment in USHowever, the Biden administration's apparent hesitation to down the Chinese airship prompted a wave of criticism on the part of Republican lawmakers. "Chinas brazen disregard for US sovereignty is a destabilizing action that must be addressed, and President Biden cannot be silent. I am requesting a Gang of Eight briefing," GOP House Speaker Kevin McCarthy tweeted late Thursday.The abrupt appearance of the Chinese balloon floating over the US has exposed apparent weaknesses in the nation's air defense, according to deputy president of the Russian Academy of Missile and Artillery Sciences, captain of the first rank in the reserve, Konstantin Sivkov:According to some estimates, the Chinese balloon flew over the United States at an altitude of 18 to 25 km. Many felt that the planes would not be able to shoot it down. However, the ceiling altitude of the F-16 is 50,000 feet (15,420 m), while that of the F-15 and F-22 is 65,000 feet (19,812 m). In fact, the balloon had long flown at a height that the planes hypothetically could reach. Moreover, the aircraft can accelerate and climb well above its maximum altitude. At the highest point, the plane can no longer maneuver, but this is quite enough to launch a rocket.The Chinese government repeatedly stressed that the balloon had nothing to do with surveillance. Once the airship was taken down by the US military, Beijing said it "reserves the right" to take appropriate measures to deal with "similar situations.""The US used force to attack our civilian unmanned airship, which is an obvious overreaction. We express solemn protest against this move by the US side," Chinas Defense Ministry spokesperson Tan Kefei said on Sunday. "[Beijing] reserves the right to use necessary means to deal with similar situations."There is more to Washington's overreaction to the bizarre incident than meets the eye, according to Chinese political scientist, senior researcher, and expert at Renmin University of China Zhou Rong.Botched Blinken TripThe Biden administration cancelled Blinken's trip to Beijing even though the US press asserted to its readers that the timing of the secretary of state's visit to the People's Republic was nearly perfect. Washington appeared to have boosted its negotiating positions with bellicose rhetoric and tough measures against China's high-tech industry. On top of that, China faced a temporary economic slowdown due to the COVID-related lockdowns and seemingly softened its tone.Blinken was expected to address China's unwillingness to join the West's anti-Russia sanctions over Moscow's special military operation in Ukraine and the issue of Taiwan, an island considered by the People's Republic as an inalienable part of the country.However, it seems that the Chinese balloon has not only disrupted Blinken's plans, but also challenged the Biden administration's status quo, given the sharp criticism from the Republican majority in the lower chamber of the US Congress. In an apparent bid at damage control, the US mainstream media alleged that similar "spy" balloon incidents took place under the Trump administration too, but former Trump security officials resolutely denied the suggestions.Meanwhile, the question arises as to how the incident will affect future US-China relations in the wake of the Biden administration's decision to suspend Blinken's trip.According to her, Biden "falls prey to the domestic political competition and needs to stage-show a strong leaders muscle." She believes that "the damage could be minimized with post-facto bilateral communication.""It is during contingency management that both countries could demonstrate their capability to tackle issues of mutual concern and willingness to nurture good will," Mignonne Man-jung Chan noted.The cancellation of the visit does not mean that Blinken will not visit China in the future, according to Zhou Rong. The political scientist referred to the November meeting of US President Joe Biden and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping in Bali, stressing that the results of the negotiations between the leaders on the sidelines of the G20 summit "are still relevant."According to Zhang Baohui, "the incident should have little impact on the bilateral relationship, which is shaped by the geopolitics of todays world." He insisted that it also will not affect the working relationship between the two countries, suggesting that "it is likely that Blinken may soon reschedule his China visit."Nonetheless, clouds are gathering on the US-China horizon, as Republicans and Democrats appear to have reached common ground when it comes to exerting pressure on Beijing, according to Sputnik's interlocutors.Washington on War PathEven though US-China relations are "very salvageable," it is clear that the Biden administration is interested in raising the stakes and ramping up bellicose rhetoric against Beijing, according to James Bradley. He cited Washington's involvement in the Ukraine conflict, stressing that the US neocon establishment does not have a real strategy and tactics, but is pursuing its vested and political interests first and foremost."The USA is planning on war [with China]," Bradley said. "Right now, we're. It's a proxy war with Russia. The German foreign minister just said, 'We're fighting Russia.' Wake up. We're fighting Russia. So we are at war with Russia. And the nincompoops in the Biden administration think we're going to topple Putin and then something's going to happen. And next is China."According to Bradley, this modus operandi does not correspond to the American people's interests. Furthermore, there is a global political shift Washington has to take into account.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230203/more-than-hot-air-how-bizarre-incident-popped-washingtons-china-plans-1106959865.html

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230204/blinkens-now-cancelled-visit-to-china-was-never-officially-announced-beijing-says-1106971383.html

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230205/us-use-of-military-power-against-chinas-civil-balloon-excessive-chinese-defense-ministry-1106985712.html

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230205/spycraft-or-not-shootdown-of-chinese-weather-balloon-using-5th-gen-jet-looks-silly-observer-says-1106993766.html

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20230206/naftali-bennetts-inconvenient-recollection-1107024858.html

Naftali Bennetts Inconvenient 'Recollection'

Naftali Bennetts Inconvenient 'Recollection'

On March 5, 2022, former Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett visited Moscow, where he held a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

2023-02-06T21:17+0000

2023-02-06T21:17+0000

2023-02-06T21:17+0000

naftali bennett

israel

volodymyr zelensky

vladimir putin

meeting

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Soon after the meeting, Bennetts spokesperson told the press the Israeli prime minister made a phone call to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.Bennett traveled to Moscow at Zelensky's request to mediate a ceasefire between Russia, which initiated its special military operation on February 24, and the Ukrainian government. According to press reports at the time, Bennett coordinated his efforts with the United States, France, and Germany. Indeed, Bennet had spoken to French President Emmanuel Macron prior to leaving Israel for Moscow, and flew to Berlin after his meeting with Putin to discuss the issues with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.Bennetts diplomatic intervention came in the aftermath of two rounds of negotiation between Russia and Ukraine, one on February 28 and a second on March 3, in Gomel, Belarus.According to Bennett, his diplomatic mission succeeded in getting Russia to drop its insistence on the demilitarization of the Ukrainian armed forces, while Zelensky pledged Ukraine would never join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).But recent disclosures by Bennett suggest there was another purpose to his Moscow visitto secure a promise from Putin that Russia would not attempt to kill Zelensky.According to Bennett, he then called Zelensky. Listen, I came out of a meeting, Bennett claims to have told the Ukrainian president. Hes [Putin] not going to kill you. He [Zelensky] asks, Are you sure? I said, '100% he wont kill you.According to Bennett, Two hours later, Zelensky went to his office, and did a selfie in the office, [in which the Ukrainian president said,] Im not afraid and everything.Indeed, on March 5, Zelensky did in fact publish a video on his Instagram account. Im staying in Kievon Bankova Street, Zelensky said, pointing his camera out the window to show the street across from the presidential palace. Zelensky then walked over to his desk to deliver an address in which he asserted that he was not hiding, andnot afraid of anyone.The one problem with Bennets recollection is that it makes no sense. Ukraine and Russia were scheduled for a third round of negotiations, and by all accounts Russia was serious about bringing the conflict to an end. There was no indication that Russia was seeking to target Zelensky or any other Ukrainian leadership elements void of any deliberate provocation on the part of NATO or Ukraine.There was no reason for Bennett to engage in such a conversation with Putin, and there is no reason Putin would need to entertain such a line of questioning.True or not, the timing of this revelation could not come at a worse time for the Ukrainian president. With his army being defeated in eastern Ukraine, his government collapsing under the weight of corruption scandals, and promises of military support evaporating from erstwhile NATO allies coming to the realization that they will have to deal with Russia when this war ends, the last thing Zelensky needs is a recollection by an Israeli politician that he feared for his life at the very moment that he - the Ukrainian president - was proclaiming his fearlessness before the Ukrainian nation and people.Which, of course, is probably why Bennett chose this moment to release this information to the public. Israel is under tremendous pressure to begin supplying weapons to Ukraine. But Israel must also take care not to allow its relationship with Russia to sour, especially in the field of security (this is especially true given Russias existing military posture inside Syria.) Indications are that current Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will not yield to this pressure, at least for the moment.Bennetts revelations are designed to embarrass Zelensky, and perhaps encourage his political collapse. Whether Israel acted on its own or, more likely, in close coordination with the US, Germany, and France to begin the process of facilitating Zelenskys removal from power, it isnt known. What is known is that Zelensky isnt long for Bankova Street. And Bennett wants to make sure that is, indeed, the case.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230206/kremlin-wont-disclose-details-of-putin-bennett-talks-after-ex-israeli-pms-bombshell-interview-1107012769.html

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230205/ex-israeli-pm-reveals-big-concessions-putin-zelensky-were-ready-to-make-before-west-killed-talks-1106993054.html

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20230206/over-20-thai-tourists-missing-in-south-korea-during-sightseeing-trip-reports-say-1107016171.html

Over 20 Thai Tourists Missing in South Korea During Sightseeing Trip, Reports Say

Over 20 Thai Tourists Missing in South Korea During Sightseeing Trip, Reports Say

Twenty-three Thai tourists, who arrived at the international airport Muan in southeastern South Korea last week, went missing and out of contact

2023-02-06T13:20+0000

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The ministry stated that 174 tourists from Thailand had arrived at the Muan airport on a charter flight from Bangkok on January 30 to visit main sightseeing places in the province South Jeolla, however, 23 of them missed the return flight scheduled for Sunday, local news agency reported. Ten of them disappeared shortly after the arrival from Thailand, while the rest 13 left their group and went missing on the fourth day of the sightseeing tour, the news outlet reported. The Justice Ministry said it was making every possible effort to find the missing Thais. The reason for their disappearance remains unclear. International flights to the Muan airport were resumed last July after more than a two-year break due to COVID-19 restrictions. The charter flight from Thailand was the first charter flight to arrive in Muan since the start of the pandemic, media reported. The government of South Jeolla intended to attract around 2,400 Thai tourists through chartered flights until the end of March, however, this incident may have a negative impact on these plans, according to the report.

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20230206/palestine-denounces-wests-double-standards-including-russia-sanctions-1106996278.html

Palestine Denounces West's Double Standards, Including Russia Sanctions

Palestine Denounces West's Double Standards, Including Russia Sanctions

Palestine denounces the West's double-standard punitive measures, which provide for sanctions against Russia over its special military operation in Ukraine while totally ignoring Israel's occupation of the West Bank

2023-02-06T00:40+0000

2023-02-06T00:40+0000

2023-02-06T00:40+0000

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ukraine

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"The Europeans and the Americans, they imposed sanctions against Russia for the events that took place in Crimea, while they refrained from taking any actions against Israel, that has been occupying the Palestinian territory for the last 55 years. And we have been asking the international community to impose sanctions and punitive measures against Israel for their occupation of our land. So obviously, this really reflects double standards which we do not really accept," al-Maliki said. Palestine, in particular, took note of the wording in statements issued by states around the world with regard to the recent escalation in the country's relations with Israel, the Palestinian top diplomat said, adding that the West had expressed condolences over the shootings in Jerusalem that killed several Israelis while choosing not to mention an Israeli deadly raid on the Jenin refugee camp. On January 26, at least nine Palestinians were killed and 20 others injured as a result of an Israeli raid on the Jenin refugee camp in the West Bank. The next day, seven Israelis were killed in a suspected terrorist shooting in Jerusalem, and another two in a shooting at an archaeological site in the city the day after. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited Israel and the West Bank from January 30-31 amid the heightened tensions between the sides. The US's top diplomat urged both Israel and Palestine to ensure de-escalation of tensions in their bilateral relations, but eventually left the region without offering any concrete measures to end the violence, al-Maliki told Sputnik.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230127/raids-drone-strikes--rockets-the-jenin-raid-and-its-aftermath-1106746054.html

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20230206/sweden-finland-to-provide-turkey-syria-with-aid-after-major-earthquakes-1107024754.html

Sweden, Finland to Provide Turkey, Syria With Aid After Major Earthquakes

Sweden, Finland to Provide Turkey, Syria With Aid After Major Earthquakes

Sweden and Finland decided to send material aid and specialists to help Turkey and Syria following the disastrous earthquakes that killed over 2,000 people, according to the countries' authorities.

2023-02-06T20:43+0000

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The Swedish government has decided "to allocate seven million kronor [$660,000] for humanitarian support to the IFRC [the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies], for the Turkish Red Crescent and the Syrian Red Crescent," Swedish Minister for International Development Cooperation Johan Forssell told a press conference.Forssell noted that five million kronor [$470,000] would be sent to Turkey and two million [$180,000] to Syria. Sweden is ready to provide additional assistance to the affected countries if needed, the minister added.Finland has also decided to send specialists to Turkey to support rescue efforts, and is considering sending material aid, the Finnish Interior Ministry said.A massive 7.8-magnitude earthquake shook parts of Turkey and Syria overnight, with another 7.6-magnitude earthquake occurring only several hours later. Thousands of homes were toppled and more than 2,100 people in both countries were killed as a result.The European Union sent rescuers to Turkey in response to its request to activate the EU Civil Protection Mechanism. Russia also sent teams to assist Turkey and instructed its troops to help the Syrian authorities. A number of other countries also voiced their readiness to provide assistance if necessary.

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20230206/tokyo-studying-data-on-chinese-balloon-as-similar-objects-appeared-over-japan-1107007851.html

Tokyo Studying Data on Chinese Balloon as Similar Objects Appeared Over Japan

Tokyo Studying Data on Chinese Balloon as Similar Objects Appeared Over Japan

Japan is analyzing information related to the appearance of a Chinese balloon over the United States, as similar objects appeared over Japan in 2020 and 2021

2023-02-06T07:49+0000

2023-02-06T07:49+0000

2023-04-06T12:15+0000

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balloon

surveillance

japan

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"On the situation around our country, including balloon flights, we are constantly in close cooperation with allies, primarily with the United States, and exchange information. We know that in June 2020 and September 2021, flying objects were seen in the sky over our country. However, the details of this, including the possibility of their connection with an object in the United States, are being analyzed," Isozaki said at a press conference. In June 2020, balloons of unknown origin appeared over the city of Sendai, and in September 2021, over the city of Hachinohe. These incidents were discussed in the media and social networks, but the government did not make any statements in this regard. On Thursday, the Pentagon announced the detection of an alleged surveillance balloon from China over the US state of Montana. Beijing stressed that the balloon was a civilian airship engaged in scientific research, mainly meteorological studies, and expressed regret over its unintended entry into US airspace. On Saturday, a US fighter aircraft shot down the balloon as it was allegedly used for surveillance. Later, the Chinese Foreign Ministry expressed protest over the actions of Washington.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230205/spycraft-or-not-shootdown-of-chinese-weather-balloon-using-5th-gen-jet-looks-silly-observer-says-1106993766.html

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20230206/uk-treasury-reportedly-admits-no-more-money-for-defense-as-army-runs-out-of-ammo-1107001895.html

UK Treasury Reportedly Admits 'No More Money' for Defense as Army Runs Out of Ammo

UK Treasury Reportedly Admits 'No More Money' for Defense as Army Runs Out of Ammo

Late last month, a senior US general reportedly told UK Defense Secretary Ben Wallace that the British army was no longer considered a top-level fighting force

2023-02-06T06:02+0000

2023-02-06T06:02+0000

2023-02-06T08:39+0000

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ben wallace

rishi sunak

army

defense

general

tanks

leopard 2

challenger 2

m1a2 abrams

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The UK Treasury has no more money for the countrys defense even though it admits there is an urgent need to rearm in the wake of Russias special military operation in Ukraine, a British media outlet reported, citing unnamed defense sources.They also revealed that the UK would not offer as many troops as NATO allies want for the alliances major new force aimed at strengthening its defenses.The insiders argued that Downing Street had already been urged to increase the defense budget by at least 3Bln ($3.6 billion) a year and stop a plan to shrink the size of the UK Army even further.The sources added that they know at the moment the Treasury and the chancellor [Jeremy Hunt] are playing hard ball.Regarding NATOs new force model, they asserted that the alliance is expected to assemble a taskforce of about 300,000 servicemen. The new force will be on a much higher state of readiness than previously as NATO attempts to reshape its capabilities to defend itself and deter threats" in the wake of Russias special operation in Ukraine.The sources claimed that UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak will only "credibly" be able to send a brigade of 5,000 to 10,000 soldiers backed by weapons, armored vehicles and helicopters rather than a division of up to 30,000 soldiers or more.The Defense Ministry's plans stipulate reducing the Army to 73,000 full-time troops from 82,000.The claims come after a UK newspaper reported last week that the British Army had no more heavy guns left after having given them all to Ukraine. According to the newspaper, all of the UKs 30 serviceable AS-90 self-propelled artillery guns have been sent to Kiev.This was preceded by a UK media outlet citing a high-ranking US general as privately telling UK Defense Secretary Ben Wallace that the British Army is no longer regarded as a top-level fighting force. "You haven't got a tier one. It's barely tier two, the general said.The remarks came after the British government announced plans last month of providing Kiev with 14 Challenger 2 main battle tanks (MBTs), along with ammunition, training and logistical support. Shortly after, Germany and the US followed suit by showing their readiness to deliver their MBTs - Leopard 2 and M1 Abrams, respectively - to Ukraine.After Russia launched its special operation in Ukraine on 24 February 2022, the US and its allies ramped up their military aid to Kiev, supplying billion of dollars' worth of weapons. Moscow has repeatedly warned that such assistance will only prolong the Ukrainian conflict.The Russian Foreign Ministry said that NATO countries are playing with fire" by supplying weapons to Kiev, and that any convoy of arms for Ukraine will become a legitimate target for Russian forces. Russian President Vladimir Putin recently stressed that those countries which try to wage an undeclared war against Russia will receive a tough response to their actions. "We do not send tanks to their borders," he said, adding that Russia still has other means to retaliate.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20220728/uk-parliamentary-committee-criticizes-defense-ministry-for-weakening-army-1097896543.html

https://sputnikglobe.com/20220727/british-army-needs-more-money-to-address-growing-threats-uk-defense-secretary-says-1097848798.html

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uk army, russias special military operation in ukraine, nato's new force structure, nato allies, west's military aid to ukraine
https://sputnikglobe.com/20230206/ukrainian-forces-employing-drone-dropped-chemical-weapons-in-donbass-dpr-chief-says-1107010114.html

Ukrainian Forces Using Drone-Dropped Chemical Weapons in Donbass, DPR Chief Says

Ukrainian Forces Using Drone-Dropped Chemical Weapons in Donbass, DPR Chief Says

Donbass People's Militias and Russia's regular Army began finding evidence of suspected Ukrainian preparations to employ chemical weapons last spring. Kiev and... 06.02.2023, Sputnik International

2023-02-06T09:44+0000

2023-02-06T09:44+0000

2023-02-09T13:25+0000

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russia's special operation in ukraine

ukraine

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Ukrainian forces have resorted to the use of chemical weapons in the Artyomovsk (Bakhmut) and Ugledar directions on the front line in the Donbass, Donetsk People's Republic head Denis Pushilin has announced.Pushilin said he has been receiving such reports for at least three weeks now. "They are dropping [chemical weapons] from drones on the locations of our forces," the DPR head clarified.Earlier in the day, Yan Gagin, an advisor to Pushilin, similarly told Russian media about the employment of chemical agents by the Ukrainian side, and said the agents being used were causing severe dizziness, nausea, and vomiting among some fighters.Gagin indicated that chemical weapons have been used by the Ukrainian side for some time now, with attacks happening "along the entire front line as substances causing nausea, choking and coughing," and the chemicals being "sprayed from special containers installed on drones."According to the World Health Organization, symptoms like dizziness, nausea, and coughing may be signs of exposure to potentially deadly nerve agents.The official said some Ukrainian troops have been openly boasting of their possession of these illegal weapons online, posting videos of specially-designed drones and imported gas grenades on social media. Gagin urged for information about the use of these illegal weapons to be systematically gathered and sent to the United Nations.Russian and Donbass forces began reporting on Ukraine's alleged plans to use chemical weapons last spring. At the Army-2022 expo outside Moscow last year, the Russian military demonstrated DJI Agras T30 unmanned aerial vehicles captured in Mariupol, as well as protective equipment including gas masks sent to Kiev by Germany and the Czech Republic as military aid. DJI drones are purpose-built for use in agriculture, and feature sprayer equipment as well as onboard cameras and navigation equipment.In addition to concerns about chemical weapons being deployed against Russian troops, Moscow has regularly expressed concerns about these arms' potential use in provocations against critical infrastructure and civilians by Kiev to accuse Russia of war crimes.Along with chemical weapons, the Russian military has regularly briefed officials, the public, and the international community on extensive US-funded and run pathogen research and bioweapons programs in Ukraine.Ukraine and Russia are signatories to the Biological Weapons Convention and the Chemical Weapons Convention, with these treaties designed to severely restrict both countries' military biological and chemical weapons research and stockpiling activities. Russia dismantled the last of its Soviet-era chemical weapons stocks in 2017. Ukraine also had no declared chemical weapons stocks at this time.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230115/video-shows-ukrainian-forces-prepping-chemical-weapons-attack-russian-embassy-says-1106329644.html

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230114/ukrainian-soldiers-could-be-preparing-attack-using-chemical-weapons---russian-embassy-1106302878.html

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20230206/venezuela-rejects-us-reaction-to-chinese-balloon-incident-1106996945.html

Venezuela Rejects US Reaction to Chinese Balloon Incident

Venezuela Rejects US Reaction to Chinese Balloon Incident

MEXICO CITY (Sputnik) - The government of Venezuela has condemned the US decision to shoot down the Chinese balloon in US territorial waters off the coast of... 06.02.2023, Sputnik International

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2023-02-06T02:00+0000

2023-02-06T02:00+0000

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venezuela

chinese balloon over us

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"The Government of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela rejects the attack by the United States against an unmanned aircraft of Chinese origin of a civilian nature that had demonstrated technical failure and that did not represent any military or physical threat against the people on the ground," the Venezuelan Foreign Ministry said in a Sunday statement. The ministry emphasized that Venezuela supports dialogue as a means of peaceful resolution of various conflicts. On Thursday, the Pentagon announced the detection of an alleged surveillance balloon from China over the US state of Montana. Beijing stressed that the balloon was a civilian airship engaged in scientific research, mainly meteorological studies, and expressed regret over its unintended entry into US airspace. US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said on Saturday that a US fighter aircraft successfully brought down the balloon. A Pentagon spokesperson told journalists on Saturday that US experts had studied the balloon equipment and Washington had no doubt that it was used for surveillance. On Friday, the US State Department announced that Secretary of State Antony Blinken would not leave for Beijing later in the day as initially planned due to the balloon incident. The Chinese Foreign Ministry expressed protest on Sunday over the downing of the Chinese balloon, saying that the US reaction to the incident was excessive. The Chinese Defense Ministry said on Sunday that Beijing reserves the right to take further necessary action.

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20230206/we-are-afraid-syrian-residents-sleeping-inside-cars-over-risk-of-further-earthquakes-1107024186.html

'We Are Afraid': Syrian Residents Sleeping Inside Cars Over Risk of Further Earthquakes

'We Are Afraid': Syrian Residents Sleeping Inside Cars Over Risk of Further Earthquakes

Syrians are afraid to stay indoors due to the risk of further earthquakes and have to sleep in their parked cars, local residents told Sputnik.

2023-02-06T20:17+0000

2023-02-06T20:17+0000

2023-02-06T20:10+0000

world

syria

earthquake

residents

cars

tremors

aftershocks

death toll

latakia

aleppo

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Early on Monday, a magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck southeastern Turkey and northern Syria. Another 7.6 magnitude earthquake occurred a few hours later. The death toll from the disaster currently stands at 1,762 people in Turkey and 590 in Syria, with thousands of others injured. The numbers are expected to keep rising. She added that the city had been seriously damaged by the earthquake and people were scared to return to their homes. "We were lucky, our house is intact, although the furniture, crockery were badly damaged, the TV fell down. We could spend the night [in the house], but we are afraid," she said, adding that locals spend the time by helping to clear the debris and talking with friends and relatives over the phone. The situation in the city of Latakia is similar, the corespondent said. Residents of Latakia are afraid to return to their homes as well. Despite heavy rain, they are spending the night in the streets, in tents or in cars. "There are power outages, problems with the Internet connection, but, in general, people are holding up," she added. Earlier in the day, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said the earthquake was the most powerful to hit his country in more than eight decades. Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke with Erdogan and Syrian President Bashar Assad in the aftermath of the disaster to extend offers of emergency assistance to both countries. In addition, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu instructed the commander of Russia's troops in Syria to help the country's authorities deal with the consequences of the earthquake.

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The New River Health District is warning area residents to be on alert about an apparent door-to-door scam that may be targeting people in the New River Valley, particularly in Pulaski County.

Pulaski law enforcement officers have been made aware of people knocking on doors during evening hours in several Dublin neighborhoods.

The individuals claim to be from the Virginia Department of Health and Human Services. In at least one instance, a solicitor was allowed to enter a home while other members of the group waited in a parked car.

The visitor was equipped with an iPad and asked the resident to participate in a health survey being conducted by the VDH.

No employee affiliated with the New River Health District will ever make personal visits to homes in our communities without proper credentials, including a photo ID and a health department business card, said NRHD Director Noelle Bissell. Anyone claiming to be with the Virginia Department of Health without official identification should never be allowed to enter a home.

Anyone who has been approached by these solicitors on behalf of the VDH should contact the Pulaski County Sheriffs Office by calling (540) 980-7800.
A Tazewell man wanted on child pornography charges has been arrested in Myrtle Beach.

Derrick Young, 24, was arrested on a fugitive warrant by Myrtle Beach officers and the U.S. Marshals Fugitive Task Force. He was wanted by the Tazewell County Sheriffs Office for carnal abuse of a minor, obscene material and production of child pornography.

He is being held in a detention center without bond. Tazewell County Sheriff Brian Hieatt said his agency obtained the warrants on Young after receiving a complaint from a parent.

Young waived extradition during a hearing in Myrtle Beach last week. Hieatt said his office is arranging to bring Young back to Tazewell later this week. He will be arraigned in Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court have the opportunity to ask for bond. All three charges are felonies under Virginia law and can carry up to 10 years in prison.
Virginia's two United States senators, both Democrats and former governors, sought to intervene in the General Assembly on Monday to urge repeal of a state constitutional amendment that forbids same-sex marriage.

Sen. Mark Warner and Sen. Tim Kaine wrote an unusual letter to General Assembly leaders to ask their support in passing legislation that could, if enacted this year and again next year and approved in a statewide referendum, eliminate the state constitutional prohibition on same-sex marriage that voters approved in 2006.

Kaine, who was governor when voters ratified the amendment, has called it one of his greatest regrets from his gubernatorial term. With the U.S. Supreme Court signaling the possibility of a ruling to overturn its 2015 decision making same-sex marriage a constitutional right, he and Warner want the state to act now to prevent same-sex couples in Virginia from losing the right to marry.

Same-sex marriages are not prohibited now, but Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, writing in support of the Supreme Court's June ruling that overturned the constitutional right to abortion, urged the court to revisit other decisions, including Obergefell v. Hodges, which found the prohibition against such unions to be unconstitutional. Thomas wrote in June that the court should review and reverse previous errors under the 14th Amendment right to equal protection, as it did in overturning the right to abortion under Roe v. Wade.

"It is long past time that Virginias governing document conveys to same-sex marriages the same freedoms, rights, and responsibilities that are afforded to all other constitutional marriages," the senators said in a letter to House Majority Leader Terry Kilgore, R-Scott; Senate Majority Leader Dick Saslaw, D-Fairfax; House Minority Leader Don Scott, D-Portsmouth; and Senate Minority Leader Tommy Norment, R-James City.

The letter comes as the Senate, controlled by Democrats, is poised to adopt Senate Joint Resolution 242, proposed by Sen. Adam Ebbin, D-Alexandria, to take the first step to repeal the constitutional amendment that defines marriage as only a union between one man and one woman. The resolution cleared a Senate committee by a party-line, 9-5 vote, but a separate bill proposed by Ebbin to recognize marriages as lawful regardless of sex passed the Senate by a 25-12 margin, with three Republicans supporting it. Senate Bill 1096 also would ensure that clergy and religious organizations have the right to refuse to perform any marriage.

But if the constitutional resolution clears the Senate, it would face likely defeat in the Republican-controlled House of Delegates, which refused to take up a House version of the legislation - House Joint Resolution 553, introduced by Del. Mark Sickles, D-Fairfax.

Im hopeful that Senators Warner and Kaines call for action by the General Assembly will be heeded, particularly in the House of Delegates," Ebbin said on Monday. "The overwhelming majority of Virginians support marriage equality and want our governing documents to reflect the realities of our times.

Adopting or repealing a constitutional amendment requires the assembly to adopt resolutions in consecutive sessions, with a legislative election in between. A measure then goes to voters in a statewide referendum.

All members of the General Assembly are up for election in November. The assembly, then controlled by Democrats, adopted a similar resolution in 2021, but elections that year gave Republicans a majority in the House, which rejected the second resolution last year.

When a GOP-led House subcommittee defeated Sickles' proposed amendment in 2022, representatives of The Family Foundation and the Virginia Catholic Conference spoke against the measure.

In light of current federal law, Virginias constitutional prohibition against same-sex marriage is a dormant position," Jeff Caruso of the Virginia Catholic Conference said at the time, "but federal laws can change.

The push to repeal the amendment comes less than two months after President Joe Biden signed the Respect for Marriage Act, which Congress adopted to ensure that all states must recognize legally performed marriages, even if those states do not allow same-sex marriages.

Warner and Kaine warned: "If Obergefell is overturned, then LGBTQ Virginians will likely lose the right to marry the person they love unless the General Assembly repeals the ban in Virginias constitution. Virginias circuit courts would be prohibited from issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples due to the prohibition in the Commonwealths constitution."

Both senators were co-sponsors of the "Respect for Marriage Act," which Biden signed on Dec. 13. Virginia's congressional delegation split along party lines on the law, with all seven Democratic representatives supporting it and all four Republican's opposing it.

"Although the 'Respect for Marriage Act' provides full faith and credit for state-issued marriage licenses, the legislation does not require a state to issue a marriage licenses to same-sex couples," Kaine and Warner wrote.
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:

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It doesn't take much to get ChatGPT to make a factual mistake. My son is doing a report on U.S. presidents, so I figured I'd help him out by looking up a few biographies. I tried asking for a list of books about Abraham Lincoln and it did a pretty good job:

Number 4 isn't right. Garry Wills famously wrote "Lincoln at Gettysburg," and Lincoln himself wrote the Emancipation Proclamation, of course, but it's not a bad start. Then I tried something harder, asking instead about the much more obscure William Henry Harrison, and it gamely provided a list, nearly all of which was wrong.

Numbers 4 and 5 are correct; the rest don't exist or are not authored by those people. I repeated the exact same exercise and got slightly different results:

This time numbers 2 and 3 are correct and the other three are not actual books or not written by those authors. Number 4, "William Henry Harrison: His Life and Times" is a real book, but it's by James A. Green, not by Robert Remini, a well-known historian of the Jacksonian age.

I called out the error and ChatGPT eagerly corrected itself and then confidently told me the book was in fact written by Gail Collins (who wrote a different Harrison biography), and then went on to say more about the book and about her. I finally revealed the truth and the machine was happy to run with my correction. Then I lied absurdly, saying during their first hundred days presidents have to write a biography of some former president, and ChatGPT called me out on it. I then lied subtly, incorrectly attributing authorship of the Harrison biography to historian and writer Paul C. Nagel, and it bought my lie.

When I asked ChatGPT if it was sure I was not lying, it claimed that it's just an "AI language model" and doesn't have the ability to verify accuracy. However it modified that claim by saying "I can only provide information based on the training data I have been provided, and it appears that the book 'William Henry Harrison: His Life and Times' was written by Paul C. Nagel and published in 1977."

This is not true.

Words, not facts

It may seem from this interaction that ChatGPT was given a library of facts, including incorrect claims about authors and books. After all, ChatGPT's maker, OpenAI, claims it trained the chatbot on "vast amounts of data from the internet written by humans."

However, it was almost certainly not given the names of a bunch of made-up books about one of the most mediocre presidents. In a way, though, this false information is indeed based on its training data.

As a computer scientist, I often field complaints that reveal a common misconception about large language models like ChatGPT and its older brethren GPT3 and GPT2: that they are some kind of "super Googles," or digital versions of a reference librarian, looking up answers to questions from some infinitely large library of facts, or smooshing together pastiches of stories and characters. They don't do any of thatat least, they were not explicitly designed to.

Sounds good

A language model like ChatGPT, which is more formally known as a "generative pretrained transformer" (that's what the G, P and T stand for), takes in the current conversation, forms a probability for all of the words in its vocabulary given that conversation, and then chooses one of them as the likely next word. Then it does that again, and again, and again, until it stops.

So it doesn't have facts, per se. It just knows what word should come next. Put another way, ChatGPT doesn't try to write sentences that are true. But it does try to write sentences that are plausible.

When talking privately to colleagues about ChatGPT, they often point out how many factually untrue statements it produces and dismiss it. To me, the idea that ChatGPT is a flawed data retrieval system is beside the point. People have been using Google for the past two and a half decades, after all. There's a pretty good fact-finding service out there already.

In fact, the only way I was able to verify whether all those presidential book titles were accurate was by Googling and then verifying the results. My life would not be that much better if I got those facts in conversation, instead of the way I have been getting them for almost half of my life, by retrieving documents and then doing a critical analysis to see if I can trust the contents.

Improv partner

On the other hand, if I can talk to a bot that will give me plausible responses to things I say, it would be useful in situations where factual accuracy isn't all that important. A few years ago a student and I tried to create an "improv bot," one that would respond to whatever you said with a "yes, and" to keep the conversation going. We showed, in a paper, that our bot was better at "yes, and-ing" than other bots at the time, but in AI, two years is ancient history.

I tried out a dialogue with ChatGPTa science fiction space explorer scenariothat is not unlike what you'd find in a typical improv class. ChatGPT is way better at "yes, and-ing" than what we did, but it didn't really heighten the drama at all. I felt as if I was doing all the heavy lifting.

After a few tweaks I got it to be a little more involved, and at the end of the day I felt that it was a pretty good exercise for me, who hasn't done much improv since I graduated from college over 20 years ago.

Sure, I wouldn't want ChatGPT to appear on "Whose Line Is It Anyway?" and this is not a great "Star Trek" plot (though it's still less problematic than "Code of Honor"), but how many times have you sat down to write something from scratch and found yourself terrified by the empty page in front of you? Starting with a bad first draft can break through writer's block and get the creative juices flowing, and ChatGPT and large language models like it seem like the right tools to aid in these exercises.

And for a machine that is designed to produce strings of words that sound as good as possible in response to the words you give itand not to provide you with informationthat seems like the right use for the tool.

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
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Credit: CC0 Public Domain

European investigators have shut down an encrypted communication service that was used as a secure channel for organized crime, particularly in the drug trade, and arrested 48 people, German authorities said Monday.

More than 70 properties were searched in Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium and Poland on Friday, when the arrests were made, the criminal police office in the western German state of Rhineland-Palatinate said in a statement.

It said that those arrested were users, operators and administrators of the communication service, Exclu.

The detentions resulted from an investigation launched in 2020, which had its roots in the shutdown the previous year of a former military bunker in western Germany that hosted sites dealing in drugs and other illegal activities. Those included Exclu.

German authorities said Exclu was offered to users as a smartphone app, with a six-month license costing 800 euros ($860). It had an estimated 3,000 users750 of them in the Netherlands, where police also were involved in the investigation.

 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
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Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain

Researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics in Tubingen have examined the general intelligence of the language model GPT-3, a powerful AI tool. Using psychological tests, they studied competencies such as causal reasoning and deliberation, and compared the results with the abilities of humans.

Their findings, now published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, paint a heterogeneous picture: while GPT-3 can keep up with humans in some areas, it falls behind in others, probably due to a lack of interaction with the real world.

Neural networks can learn to respond to input given in natural language and can themselves generate a wide variety of texts. Currently, the probably most powerful of those networks is GPT-3, a language model presented to the public in 2020 by the AI research company OpenAI. GPT-3 can be prompted to formulate various texts, having been trained for this task by being fed large amounts of data from the internet.

Not only can it write articles and stories that are (almost) indistinguishable from human-made texts, but surprisingly, it also masters other challenges such as math problems or programming tasks.

The Linda problem: To err is not only human

These impressive abilities raise the question whether GPT-3 possesses human-like cognitive abilities. To find out, scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics have now subjected GPT-3 to a series of psychological tests that examine different aspects of general intelligence.

Marcel Binz and Eric Schulz scrutinized GPT-3's skills in decision making, information search, causal reasoning, and the ability to question its own initial intuition. Comparing the test results of GPT-3 with answers of human subjects, they evaluated both if the answers were correct and how similar GPT-3's mistakes were to human errors.

"One classic test problem of cognitive psychology that we gave to GPT-3 is the so-called Linda problem," explains Binz, lead author of the study. Here, the test subjects are introduced to a fictional young woman named Linda as a person who is deeply concerned with social justice and opposes nuclear power. Based on the given information, the subjects are asked to decide between two statements: is Linda a bank teller, or is she a bank teller and at the same time active in the feminist movement?

Most people intuitively pick the second alternative, even though the added conditionthat Linda is active in the feminist movementmakes it less likely from a probabilistic point of view. And GPT-3 does just what humans do: the language model does not decide based on logic, but instead reproduces the fallacy humans fall into.

Active interaction as part of the human condition

"This phenomenon could be explained by that fact that GPT-3 may already be familiar with this precise task; it may happen to know what people typically reply to this question," says Binz. GPT-3, like any neural network, had to undergo some training before being put to work: receiving huge amounts of text from various data sets, it has learned how humans usually use language and how they respond to language prompts.

Hence, the researchers wanted to rule out that GPT-3 mechanically reproduces a memorized solution to a concrete problem. To make sure that it really exhibits human-like intelligence, they designed new tasks with similar challenges. Their findings paint a disparate picture: in decision-making, GPT-3 performs nearly on par with humans. In searching specific information or causal reasoning, however, the artificial intelligence clearly falls behind.

The reason for this may be that GPT-3 only passively gets information from texts, whereas "actively interacting with the world will be crucial for matching the full complexity of human cognition," as the publication states. The authors surmise that this might change in the future: since users already communicate with models like GPT-3 in many applications, future networks could learn from these interactions and thus converge more and more towards what we would call human-like intelligence.
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Credit: Google

Google said Monday it will release a conversational chatbot named Bard, setting up an artificial intelligence showdown with Microsoft which has invested billions in the creators of ChatGPT, the hugely popular language app that convincingly mimics human writing.

ChatGPT, created by San Francisco company OpenAI, has caused a sensation for its ability to write essays, poems or programming code on demand within seconds, sparking widespread fears of cheating or of entire professions becoming obsolete.

Microsoft announced last month that it was backing OpenAI and has begun to integrate ChatGPT features into its Teams platform, with expectations that it will adapt the app to its Office suite and Bing search engine.

The potential inclusion in Bing turned the focus on Google and speculation that the company's world-dominating search engine could face unprecedented competition from an AI-powered rival.

Media reports said the overnight success of ChatGPT was designated a "code red" threat at Google with founders Sergey Brin and Larry Pagewho left several years agobrought back to brainstorm ideas and fast-track a response. Credit: Google

The pressure to act was heightened by the poor earnings posted last week by Google-parent Alphabet, which fell short of investor expectations. The company last month announced that it was laying off 12,000 people as it put more emphasis on AI projects.

Google's announcement came on the eve of an AI-related launch event by Microsoft in yet a further sign that the two tech giants will do battle over the technology, also known as generative AI.

"Generative AI is a game changer and much like the rise of the internet sank the networking giants that came before (AOL, CompuServe etc.) it has the potential to change the competitive dynamic for search and information," said independent tech analyst Rob Enderle.

"Google still largely lives off the fact their search engine is the most widely used, this could change that, relegating them to history," he added.

'High-quality responses'

In his blog post on Monday, Google CEO Sundar Pichai said that Google's Bard conversational AI was to go out for testing with a plan to make it more widely available "in the coming weeks."

Google's Bard is based on LaMDA, the firm's Language Model for Dialogue Applications system, and has been in development for several years.

"Bard seeks to combine the breadth of the world's knowledge with the power, intelligence, and creativity of our large language models," Pichai said.

"It draws on information from the web to provide fresh, high-quality responses," he added, hinting that the app would give up-to-the date responses, something ChatGPT is unable to do.

Before the emergence of ChatGPT, which was released in late November, Google had been reluctant to launch its own language-based AI fearing the reputational risk of releasing technology that wasn't ready.

Researchers using the same language models as Bard or ChatGPT have demonstrated the technology's ability to spew out misinformation or nonsense on a potentially massive scale.

Facebook-owner Meta in November was forced to take down the release of its own large language model called Galactica after three days when users shared its biased and incorrect results on social media within hours of its release.

Pichai insisted that responses churned out by Bard would "meet a high bar for quality, safety and groundedness in real world information."

And much like ChatGPT, Bard would source its responses from a limited version of its base language model in order to reduce computing power and reach a wider audience.

Crucially for its looming duel with Microsoft, Google also said that users would soon see AI-powered features in its search engine.

New-style responses would "distill complex information and multiple perspectives into easy-to-digest formats," Pichai said.

Search engines beefed up by generative AI "will give structured answers to questions and no longer links," Thierry Poibeau, of the CNRS research center in Paris, told AFP.

But bots like ChatGPT "also give wrong answers, which is annoying for a search engine," said Poibeau.

 2023 AFP
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(a) Cross-sectional HAADF-STEM image of the 5 nm thick ScAlN grown on Mo template. (b) and (c) Nano-beam electron diffraction patterns captured from the Mo (b) and ScAlN (c) regions labeled in (a). (d) Magnified HAADF-STEM image showing the thickness of the ScAlN layer. (e) Schematic of the epitaxial relationship between wz-ScAlN and bcc-Mo. (f) EDS element maps for the ITO/ScAlN/Mo capacitor. Credit: Applied Physics Letters (2023). DOI: 10.1063/5.0136265

Ferroelectric semiconductors are contenders for bridging mainstream computing with next generation architectures, and now a team at the University of Michigan has made them just five nanometers thicka span of just 50 or so atoms.

This paves the way for integrating ferroelectric technologies with conventional components used in computers and smartphones, expanding artificial intelligence and sensing capabilities. They could also enable batteryless devices, crucial for the Internet of Things (IoT) that powers smart homes, identifies problems with industrial systems and alerts people to safety risks, among other things.

The study in Applied Physics Letters was selected as an editor's pick.

"This will allow the realization of ultra-efficient, ultra-low-power, fully integrated devices with mainstream semiconductors," said Zetian Mi, U-M professor of electrical and computer engineering and co-corresponding author of the study. "This will be very important for future AI and IoT-related devices."

Ferroelectric semiconductors stand out from others because they can sustain an electrical polarization, like the electric version of magnetism. But unlike a fridge magnet, they can switch which end is positive and which is negative. This property can be used in many waysincluding sensing light and acoustic vibrations, as well as harvesting them for energy.

"These ferroelectric devices could be self-powered," Mi said. "They can harvest ambient energy, which is very exciting."

And they offer a different way of storing and processing both classical and quantum information. For instance, the two electrical polarization states can serve as the one and zero in computing. This way of computing can also emulate the connections between neurons, which enable both memory storage and information processing in the brain. Known as neuromorphic computing, this kind of architecture is ideal for supporting AI algorithms that process information through neural networks.

Storing energy as electrical polarization requires less energy than the capacitors in RAM, which constantly draw power or else lose the data they store, and could even outlast an SSD. This kind of memory could be more densely packed, increasing capacity, as well as being more robust to harsh environments including extreme temperatures, humidity and radiation.

Mi's team had previously demonstrated ferroelectric behavior in a semiconductor made of aluminum nitride spiked with scandium, a metal sometimes used to fortify aluminum in performance bicycles and fighter jets. However, to use it in modern computing devices, they needed to be able to make it in films thinner than 10 nanometers, or about the thickness of 100 atoms.

ECE Research Scientists Ding Wang and Ping Wang discuss the growth behavior of single-crystalline ferroelectric scandium aluminum nitride (ScAlN) deposited using a molecular beam epitaxy system inside Professor Zetian Mi's lab on North Campus in Ann Arbor, MI, May 14th, 2021. Credit: Robert Coelius, University of Michigan

They achieved this with a technique called molecular beam epitaxy, the same approach used to make semiconductor crystals that drive the lasers in CD and DVD players. In a machine with strong steampunk vibes, they were able to lay down a crystal 5 nanometers thickthe smallest scale ever achieved. They did this by precisely controlling every layer of atoms in the ferroelectric semiconductor, as well as minimizing the losses of atoms from the surface.

"By reducing the thickness, we showed that there is a high possibility that we can reduce the operation voltage," said Ding Wang, a research scientist in electrical and computer engineering and first author of the study. "This means we can reduce the size of the devices and reduce the power consumption during operation."

In addition, the nanoscale manufacturing improves the researchers' ability to study the fundamental properties of the material, discovering the limits of its performance at small sizes, and possibly opening the way to its use in quantum technologies due to its unusual optical and acoustic properties.

"With this thinness, we can really explore the miniscule physics interactions," said Ping Wang, U-M research scientist in electrical and computer engineering. "This will help us to develop future quantum systems and quantum devices."

More information: Ding Wang et al, Thickness scaling down to 5 nm of ferroelectric ScAlN on CMOS compatible molybdenum grown by molecular beam epitaxy, Applied Physics Letters (2023). DOI: 10.1063/5.0136265 Journal information: Applied Physics Letters
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Nissan's Makoto Uchida (L), Renault's Luca de Meo (C) and Mitsubishi Motors' Takao Kato (R).

French automaker Renault and Japanese partner Nissan said on Monday they were opening a "new chapter" in their tension-marred alliance as they signed a deal to reboot their 24-year relationship.

The "rebalanced" partnership approved by their boards will end Renault's dominant position, reducing its stake in the Japanese firm from 43.4 percent to 15 percent, the same size as Nissan's share in its French counterpart.

The agreement includes Nissan taking a stake of up to 15 percent in Renault's new electric vehicle venture Ampere, the companies said in a joint statement.

They also announced joint projects in Latin America, India and Europe for the production of pick-up trucks, SUVs and electric cargo vans.

The alliance began in 1999, when Renault rescued Nissan from bankruptcy. Mitsubishi Motors joined in 2016, when Nissan took a 34-percent stake in its struggling Japanese rival.

Tensions erupted in 2015 when the French state increased its stake in Renault. It was later reduced and an agreement was reached to cap the government's ability to interfere in the alliance's affairs.

The union was shaken again by the 2018 arrest of Nissan boss Carlos Ghosn, who claimed the charges against him were intended to prevent him from bringing the Japanese and French automakers closer together.

The Renault board approved the overhaul on Sunday while Nissan signed off on it on Monday, a week after the agreement was announced, following months of painstaking negotiations.

Analysts have described the rebalancing of the deal as a way to build confidence between the carmakers, especially after the fallout from the Ghosn scandal.

"We must build a strong culture of transparency and respect," Nissan chief executive Makoto Uchida said at a press conference held on neutral ground in London.

The Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi alliancewhich today counts 375,000 employees worldwidewas the world's top carmaker by sales in 2018 but has since fallen behind Toyota, Volkswagen and Hyundai-Kia.

"The basis of this deal is that we are reactivating business operations like at the beginning of this alliance," Renault CEO Luca de Meo said in English.

"We will be consistent, result focused, generous and fair, as we have been on our side of the negotiations," he said.

'New agile partnership'

Monday's statement said the overhaul would "open a new chapter" for the alliance.

"This far-reaching programme paves the way for a renewal and strengthening of the 24-year partnership, creating a new agile spirit and harnessing the pioneering technologies of all three Alliance members," the statement said.

Japanese media said the deal marked the end of an "unequal" pact between the automakers.

Renault will not immediately sell the remaining 28.4-percent stake in Nissan, instead transferring the shares into a French trust because their current market value is lower than that registered in Renault's accounts.

They will be sold when it is "commercially reasonable" for Renault, with Nissan having a right of first offer.

In November, Renault announced it would split its operations in twoAmpere, and a separate subsidiary for petrol, diesel and hybrid cars that will pair up with China's Geely.

But concerns at Nissan about future technology transfers to the Chinese carmaker, as well as details over the sharing of electric vehicle intellectual property, complicated the negotiations.

Under the deal, Mitsubishi will also "consider investing" in Ampere.

Global projects

Michael Foundoukidis, analyst at Franco-German financial services group Oddo BHF, said the "pragmatism" of Monday's announcement was "welcomed by everyone".

"The goal was to try to convince that governance issues were resolved. It till take time," he said. "Investors have an relatively negative opinion about the alliance. It can only get better."

The agreement includes industrial projects that De Meo said could bring the companies billions of euros (dollars) each year.

In India, where Nissan has a factory, the Japanese and French companies will collaborate on several new projects including SUVs.

A new half-tonne pick-up developed by Renault and shared with Nissan will be launched in Argentina.

In Mexico, Nissan will produce a new model for Renault.

Renault will share its electric cargo van project in Europe, called FlexEVan, with Nissan.

 2023 AFP
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Teachers at a workshop on ChatGPT bot in Geneva.

"It is dizzying," Eric Vanoncini acknowledged to the classroom full of anxious teachers as reams of text generated by the ChatGPT bot unfurled on the large screen behind him.

"It risks upending the world of education as we know it."

The high school English and philosophy teacher had gathered dozens of educators for one of several workshops hastily organized in the Swiss canton of Geneva following urgent appeals for guidance on how to deal with the new know-it-all bot.

The release in November of ChatGPT, which uses artificial intelligence to convincingly mimic human writing, has sparked concerns in schools worldwide of a looming cheating epidemic.

"It is worrying," Silvia Antonuccio, who teaches Italian and Spanish, told AFP after the workshop

"I don't feel at all capable to distinguish between a text written by a human and one written by ChatGPT."

The software by California company OpenAI has been trained on billions of words and tons of online data, enabling it to write surprisingly human-like texts, including passable school essays.

Stories abound about the bot receiving good grades in various disciplines, including recently passing a US law school exam.

Like the Tour de France

Standing in the darkened, crowded classroom, Vanoncini showed off the tool, asking ChatGPT to write his introduction... about ChatGPT.

The result, emerging on screen within seconds, was a succinct, well-written text "with no spelling mistakes", he pointed out, acknowledging: "It is quite astonishing."

Students have, of course, already realized its potential.

Vanoncini recalled how a colleague had been crushed to realize that his usually mediocre class's sudden sterling performance on an assignment was probably not down to his energetic pep-talk.

"But what can we do?" one of the attending teachers asked in exasperation.

Vanoncini acknowledged it was complicated, dismissing suggestions that programs being churned out to detect the use of ChatGPT and other AI tools would solve the problem.

"Most experts agree that no tool is 100 percent effective."

"It's a bit like the Tour de France," he said, pointing to how anti-doping officials develop tools for detecting drug use and cyclists swiftly come up with ways to get round them.

"It is a cat and mouse game."

Some teachers worry ChatGBT 'risks upending the world of education'

Collecting 'cow eggs'

There are however ways for teachers to spot texts generated by the bot, which is prone to making mistakes.

While it may produce texts with the feel of a thinking human, it is actually just a very powerful text prediction tool, Vanoncini said.

"It is not created to state what is true... but to generate what is probable."

As a result, you can ask ChatGPT a question based on a mistaken assumption and receive a seemingly logical, but deeply flawed response.

"I asked: 'How do you collect cow eggs?'" he said, to a chorus of laughter.

In response, the bot first advised him to put on gloves to avoid getting bacteria on his hands and then gave tips on how to find a cow's nest, "typically made from hay or straw".

Karim Aboun, a high school accounting teacher, seemed inspired by that example.

To catch cheats, he suggested, "you could maybe provide a plausible question that contains an error and see if the students use this tool without realizing the premise of the question is wrong".

'Not afraid'

Another participant meanwhile pointed out that students from wealthier, more well-educated families have always benefitted from homework polishing, suggesting ChatGPT could simply be "leveling the playing field".

Vanoncini agreed it could potentially be a way to "democratize" help with schoolwork.

But with OpenAI now considering launching a subscription version set to cost $42 a month, how long "will it really be that democratic?" he asked.

Vanoncini nonetheless stressed there are multiple potential positive applications for the bot within education, including using ChatGPT-generated texts as a basis for class discussion and analysis.

It could also push educators to re-evaluate how and what they teach, with perhaps a larger focus on process over results.

"I am not afraid," electronics teacher Christian Stamm told AFP, saying he saw ChatGPT as a "tool to take us to the next level".

"Today everyone uses a calculator and we continue doing maths at school."

 2023 AFP
An Iranian nation-state group sanctioned by the U.S. government has been attributed to the hack of the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo in early January 2023.

Microsoft, which disclosed details of the incident, is tracking the activity cluster under its chemical element-themed moniker NEPTUNIUM, which is an Iran-based company known as Emennet Pasargad.

In January 2022, the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) tied the state-backed cyber unit to a sophisticated influence campaign carried out to interfere with the 2020 presidential elections. Two Iranian nationals have been indicted for their role in the disinformation and threat campaign.

Microsoft's disclosure comes after a "hacktivist" group named Holy Souls (now identified as NEPTUNIUM) claimed to be in possession of the personal information of more than 200,000 Charlie Hebdo customers, including their full names, telephone numbers, and home and email addresses.

The breach, which allowed NEPTUNIUM to gain access to an internal database, is suspected to have been orchestrated as a retaliation against the publication for conducting a cartoon contest "ridiculing" Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.

The release of the full cache of stolen data, which was advertised for 20 Bitcoin, could lead to mass doxing and put its readership at risk of online or physical targeting by extremist organizations, Redmond further cautioned.

"After Holy Souls posted the sample data on YouTube and multiple hacker forums, the leak was amplified by a concerted operation across several social media platforms," the Windows maker's Digital Threat Analysis Center (DTAC) said.

"This amplification effort made use of a particular set of influence tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs) DTAC has witnessed before in Iranian hack-and-leak influence operations."

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The points of similarity include the use of false-flag personas to conduct their hack-and-leak operations, inauthentic sockpuppet accounts, and the impersonation of authoritative sources, corroborating an October 2022 advisory from the FBI.

The goal, the FBI assessed, is to "undermine public confidence in the security of the victim's network and data, as well as embarrass victim companies and targeted countries."

"These hack-and-leak campaigns involve a combination of hacking / theft of data and information operations that impact victims via financial losses and reputational damage," the agency added.
An unsolved Grand Island triple murder unsolved 50 years later. Nebraska's first serial killer. Brazen bank robberies in Cairo and Doniphan. A love affair that ends in homicide.

Join The Grand Island Independent's Josh Salmon as he takes listeners through Central Nebraska's sordid past in the six-part Murders and Mysteries podcast. Hear from guests including Michelle Setlik and Jim Dean of the Hall County Historical Society, Dr. Nathan Tye of the University of Nebraska at Kearney and others.
KEARNEY  The Posse is on the Way.

Thats what the sign at 123 Third Ave. in south Kearneys restaurant and motel district says. And an owner of the franchise restaurant has confirmed it.

Kearneys Pizza Ranch will open in late summer or early fall.

Kearney is going to be a fantastic location, said Dennis Johnson of North Sioux City, South Dakota. The Kearney restaurant will be Johnsons second Pizza Ranch. His first is in Bemidgi, Minnesota.

Before settling on the Third Avenue site, Johnson said he had been considering purchasing the vacant Ruby Tuesday property at 108 First Ave. in south Kearney. However, Johnson said someone suggested looking at the vacant lot at 123 Third Ave. That property is bordered on the north by the Kearney Canal and on the south by the Quality Inn motel at 121 Third Ave.

Johnson said the 123 Third Ave. property faces Second Avenue on the east, which will give the Pizza Ranch visibility from Kearneys busiest traffic artery. High visibility and the opportunity to build new were attractive factors, Johnson said, so he opted for the Third Avenue site.

Victory Ventures Kearney LLC  of which Johnson is the managing majority partner  purchased the 2.2 acre tract from Prochaska Land Co. LLC in June 2022 for $565,000, according to Buffalo County courthouse records.

Construction is underway, but bitter winter weather has made the going rough, said Jared Hixson, the site superintendent for Chief Construction. Hixson said the concrete slab is nearly cured and ready for the next phase, which will be erecting the restaurants wood skeleton.

Frames for that part of the building are stacked around the site.

Johnson said his Pizza Ranch will encompass 9,066 square feet. Of that space, 2,350 square feet will be dedicated to a Pizza Ranch Fun Zone arcade. The dining section will accommodate community activities such as meetings and birthday parties.

The restaurant will have quality food. It will be a family centric gathering place, Johnson said.

Johnson isnt the only person sold on the Kearney location.

Weve always known Kearney would be a strong market, said Mark Souba, chief development officer for Pizza Ranch. The franchise business is headquartered in Orange City, Iowa, and has 212 restaurants in 14 states.

We had record performance in 2022, and we continue to grow, Souba said. He said Pizza Ranch caters to three primary consumer groups: young families, empty nesters and the workday lunch crowd. Carryout makes up about 25% of sales.

Pizza Ranch was born in 1981. The companys website said the franchise was in expansion mode in 2022 when eight new franchises signed on, bringing the total of units in stages of development to 17.

The website lists several Nebraska cities as available markets: Hastings, Fremont, Scottsbluff and Gering. Buffet items include chicken, salads, sides, desserts and, of course, pizza.
Multiple area fire departments are battling a fire at the former Walnut Street Baptist Church building at the corner of University Avenue and East Walnut Street in Carbondale.

The former education wing of the structure, which has been vacant and is owned by the City of Carbondale, was engulfed in flames around 10 a.m., with fire visible from the roof and upper story windows. Tuesday, the Carbondale City Council approved a bid for demolition of the building. The former church is located just west of the Carbondale City Hall/Civic Center building.

Fire departments from Herrin, Marion and Murphysboro were among those providing mutual aid to the Carbondale department. Crews from Ameren Illinois were on the scene and the fire has led to the closure of portions of U.S. Route 51 and Illinois Route 13.

This is a developing story and will be updated.
A city-owned former church in downtown Carbondale slated for demolition was destroyed by fire on Monday morning.

Fire crews from Carbondale, Carterville, Herrin, Marion and Murphysboro battled the fire, which appeared to fully engulf what was once the education wing of the former Walnut Street Baptist Church. The city has owned the vacant building at 218 W. Walnut St. since purchasing it at a cost of $200,000 from the church in 2016. The congregation, now known as The Ridge Church, relocated to Old Route 13 west of Carbondale.

Last week, the Carbondale City Council approved a bid of $264,500 to demolish the education part of the building, which had a history of leaks and a failing roof.

Personnel from Ameren Illinois were on the scene and the fire led to the closure of portions of U.S. Route 51 and Illinois Route 13. Fire crews were dispatched at 9:44 a.m., and thick smoke covered much of the downtown area. The cause of the fire is under investigation.
Edgar Allan Poe, who would have turned 214 years old Jan. 19, remains one of the worlds most recognizable literary figures. But is his appeal less about the power and complexity of his prose, and more about the view of him as a perennial underdog?
(TBTCO) - Prudential Viet Nam vua cong bo chinh thuc Bao cao tai chinh Thuong nien nam 2022, khang inh chien luoc dai han lay khach hang lam trong tam em lai nhung thanh qua kinh doanh ang tu hao voi nhung chi so an tuong: Tong tai san at 161.750 ty ong, tang 9,2%; trong o tai san au tu vao nen kinh te at 143.821 ty ong, tang 11%. Doanh thu thuan tu hoat ong kinh doanh bao hiem at 30.557 ty ong, tang 8,1%. Doanh thu phi quy nam cua hop ong khai thac moi at 6.977 ty ong, tang 25,7%. Bien thanh khoan at hon 160%.
JACKSON (WNE)  A former Jackson resident died in Ukraine Thursday, making him the seventh American to die in that conflict.

Pete Reed, 33, was working as a volunteer for Global Outreach Doctors in Bakhmut when his ambulance was shelled Thursday. The area is in eastern Ukraine, an area of heavy fighting since the Russian invasion.

Reed was a retired U.S. Marine who lived in Jackson and worked as a ski instructor at Snow King in the winter of 2012-13 and then Jackson Hole Mountain Resort during the winters of 2013-2015. He also worked as a day camp counselor for Teton County/Jackson Parks & Recreation from 2012-2014.

His work in Ukraine centered around evacuating and treating civilians.

According to his profile on Global Outreach Doctors, Reed led medical teams with the Kurdish Peshmerga and the Iraqi Special Forces for the duration of the Battle of Mosul, treating over 10,000 trauma patients.

During the battle, while still operating frontline clinics, Reed worked with others to found and serve as the president of Global Response Management. According to The Guardian newspaper, his patients ranged from 5 years old to the elderly.

Danielle Petriccione, who was Reeds supervisor at the Jackson Hole Kids Ranch, described him as a literal hero.

He went out in true Pete style, she said, trying to help someone else.
CHEYENNE  The Wyoming Secretary of States post wont see any changes after a bill that would have transferred some of the positions electoral duties to another body failed on Friday for procedural reasons.

House Bill 115, sponsored by freshman lawmaker and University of Wyoming law professor Kenneth Chestek, D-Laramie, failed to make it out of committee by Fridays deadline.

The bill would have transferred elections administration duties from the secretary of state to the Wyoming state canvassing board, which reviews vote totals in elections and either certifies them or calls for a recount.

An additional member would have been appointed to the board  which is made up of the governor, the secretary of state, the state auditor and the state treasurer  to keep the body nonpartisan. If the majority of the state canvassing board members are from the same political party, then the House and Senate floor leaders would have jointly appointed a member from the largest political party outside of the one that the majority of members are affiliated with. Otherwise, the governor would have appointed the additional member.

The bill was similar to legislation that Rep. Dan Zwonitzer, R-Cheyenne, proposed back in August after Secretary of State Chuck Gray won the Republican primary election. It was a given at that point that Gray would become the next secretary of state since he was unopposed for the general election.

Gray, the former representative of House District 57, is a 2020 presidential election skeptic who ran primarily on a platform that focused on rooting out voter fraud and getting rid of ballot drop boxes.

While some see Gray as a champion of election integrity, others view him inversely as a serious threat to fair elections, a concern that Zwonitzer expressed in his pitch for his proposed bill. But Zwonitzer, who later cosponsored Chesteks bill, ended up dropping the idea at the time because there didnt appear to be much appetite for such legislation.

Chestek previously told the Star-Tribune that he had hoped to get Gray on board with the legislation, though the secretary of state and others had denounced Zwonitzers prior proposal.

I think theres a legitimate argument that he can get on board with me here, he told the Star-Tribune. He ran on election integrity, and this is how you do election integrity. This is a step forward for election integrity.

Gray, however, wasnt amenable to the idea of shifting those powers from the secretary of states post to the state canvassing board.

This unconstitutional bill was a petty, partisan attempt to circumvent the will of the voters, Gray said in a text to the Star-Tribune on Monday.
GILLETTE (WNE)  The Campbell County Commission overstepped its authority with a horse racing resolution that essentially gave 307 Horse Racing exclusive rights to off-track betting in the county and forced the closure of several businesses.

This is according to the Wyoming Supreme Court, which last week sided with the district judge who ruled the 2021 resolution overstepped the commissioners boundaries.

In March 2022, District Judge F. Scott Peasley of Douglas ruled that the commissioners exceeded their authority by passing a resolution that gave the live horse racing operator control over off-track betting and simulcasting in the county.

No specific company was named in the resolution, which was written by Commissioner Colleen Faber, but 307 Horse Racing had signed an exclusive five-year contract with Cam-plex to do live horse racing.

When the resolution passed, 307 Horse Racing became the only operator that could provide off-track betting in Campbell County.

At the end of June, the county appealed to the Supreme Court, arguing that the commissioners had the authority to restrict off-track betting in Campbell County and to revoke prior approvals that didnt conform to these restrictions.

The resolution essentially forced Wyoming Horse Racing and Wyoming Downs to close down their off-track betting locations in Gillette. They remained close for several months, reopening only when Peasley decided the resolution had no power as long as the litigation was pending.

The County has no permitting authority under these provisions and nothing in this statutory language authorizes Campbell County to revoke an approval after the Gaming Commission has issued the permits and authorized simulcasting, the Supreme Court wrote.
Telecoms provider Flow will increase prices next month.

In a notice to its customers on Wednesday, Flow said the 3.5-per cent increase in its Internet and cable packages will come into effect on May 1.

Another notice was sent to customers with multiple cable boxes via e-mail on Wednesday.
Your childs education should be a family priority, according to Kimarie Richardson-Thomas, who has taught for 23 years in the public school system.

Richardson-Thomas is the Academic Dean at Goodwood Secondary School, and teaches English Language, English Literature, and CAPE Communication Studies.
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Doctors tried to resuscitate and save the life of pregnant Chavelle Mitcham and her baby, bu
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.
Nothing makes our foodie hearts more content in this city of gastronomy than the opening of a new food truck park.

The highly-anticipated Comida Park, at the Tanque Verde Swap Meet, 4100 S. Palo Verde Road, is set for a grand opening on Friday, Feb. 10-12.

The addition to the swap meet, on Tucsons south side, will feature up to 22 food trucks.

Rob Sieban, CEO and co-owner of United Flea Markets, is hoping for quite the welcome.

We do expect that number (of food trucks) to increase between now and the opening on the 10th. We have the capacity for 37 and we expect to be able to reach capacity in a very short period of time, Sieban said.

Some of the food trucks that will be in attendance include Shaved Ice Saloon, El Hefe Street Food, Essentials Coffee Cart, and Sexy Grilled Cheese just to name a few. The first 500 people at the opening also get a free koozie when they purchase a drink at the bar.

The food trucks are diverse in what they offer as Sieban didnt want to have six pizza trucks.

The assortment of food that is on the list right now for tenants ranges everything from coffee to Chinese to shaved ice to gourmet grilled cheese to Cajun seafood boils and everything in between. We were really careful to curate the right bits of food truck carts. We had a lot of interest and we wanted to make sure we had a really good mix for everybody, Sieban said.

There will be a few main trucks that remain on the property, but Sieban hopes some will rotate out to provide a fresh experience. More than 100 vendors applied to be a part of Comida Park, he said.

Comida Park will be open seven days a week Mondays through Thursdays from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.; Fridays and Saturdays from 8 a.m. to 11:30 p.m.; and Sundays from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. The initial charge to get into the park will be $1 per person.

The three-day grand opening will feature face painting and balloon artists for kids each day, plus live music from The Vinyl Grooves on Friday from 7 to 10 p.m.; Soul Essential on Saturday from 5 to 8 p.m.; and Baba Marimba from noon to 3 p.m. on Sunday. A Big Game Watch Party is also planned for Sunday at 4 p.m.

For a full list of food trucks and more information, visit tucne.ws/comidapark. For more info about the swap meet, head to tanqueverdeswap.com.
NEW YORK  As the Manhattan district attorneys office ramps up its yearslong investigation of Donald Trump, a new book by a former prosecutor details just how close the former president came to getting indicted  and laments friction with the new D.A. that put that plan on ice.

Mark Pomerantz, who oversaw the investigation until early last year, writes in People vs. Donald Trump: An Inside Account that then-District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. authorized him in December 2021 to seek Trumps indictment.

After scouring Trumps life and business, Pomerantz writes that prosecutors agreed on a case involving allegations that Trump falsified records by inflating the value of assets on financial statements he provided lenders.

Vance was leaving office within weeks, but he expressed confidence that his successor, Alvin Bragg, would agree with his assessment, Pomerantz writes. But Bragg and his team had other ideas  expressing trepidation about the strength of evidence and the credibility of a key witness.

They decided not to proceed, at least not with the speed Pomerantz and co-lead prosecutor Carey Dunne wanted, Pomerantz writes. The stagnation compelled both men to leave the office.

Once again, Donald Trump had managed to dance between the raindrops of accountability, Pomerantz writes in the book, which is set to be published Tuesday by Simon & Schuster.

The Associated Press and other news outlets received copies of the book Friday.

Trump has threatened legal action against Pomerantz and Simon & Schuster for what he contends are defamatory statements and groundless falsehoods about his alleged criminal conduct.

Trump has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing and said the New York investigations are attempts by Democrats to keep him out of the White House.

In a post to his Trump Social platform, Trump said Pomerantzs book is turning out to be a hit on the District Attorney and the weak case with many fatal flaws.

Pomerantzs 304-page volume weaves his behind-the-scenes account of the spirited battle over whether to charge Trump with anecdotes from his decades-long career as a mafia prosecutor and white-collar litigator. Those experiences contrast with Braggs work as a former federal prosecutor, law professor and, in the years prior to his election, pursuing civil cases against Trump as a top official in the state attorney generals office.

The book also works to temper the drama surrounding Pomerantzs split from Bragg, which spilled into the public last year when his resignation letter appeared in The New York Times.

Pomerantz portrays the dispute not as a brawl, but as a legitimate difference of opinion shaped by lengthy Zoom calls and telephone conversations. During the sessions, Pomerantz writes that he and Dunne would detail the pros and cons of pursuing a Trump indictment, while Bragg or members of his team pushed back with questions and concerns.

At first, Pomerantz writes, Bragg seemed overwhelmed by other matters  managing the massive D.A.s office and dealing with blowback from his approach to prosecuting certain crimes. He writes that Bragg showed up late to an initial meeting where he laid out the case and that Bragg ended up looking at his phone most of the time. The D.A. was more attentive at subsequent sessions, Pomerantz said.

At one point, he writes, Bragg said that he could not see a world in which he would indict Trump and call Trumps long-estranged former lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen as a witness.

Cohen, who claims to have intimate knowledge of Trumps financial dealings, was convicted in a parallel federal case of lying to Congress.

Cohens lawyer, Lanny Davis, said in a statement Friday: We were treated respectfully and professionally by Mr. Mark Pomerantz and his team. We appreciated their integrity and hard work. Despite the denied allegations concerning Mr. Cohens credibility, I can confirm that Mr. Cohen will continue to cooperate with DA Bragg and his team, speaking truth to power  as he has always done.

Aside from a few blunt emails he wrote criticizing Braggs deliberateness, Pomerantz said his rift with the D.A. was civil.

There was never any yelling or screaming, he writes of their final conversation in February 2022. He defended Bragg against people suggesting he had an ulterior motive not to indict, saying that they had no clue about how these prosecutorial decisions are made or were bloodthirsty for some action against Trump, Pomerantz writes.

Braggs office sought last month to delay the books publication, saying in a letter to Pomerantz and Simon & Schuster that he was violating a confidentiality agreement he signed upon joining the D.A.s office and that the book could materially prejudice the investigation. Pomerantz said nothing in the book jeopardizes the probe. Simon & Schuster said it will release the book as scheduled.

In a statement Friday, Bragg said he hasnt read the book, and wont comment on any ongoing investigation because of the harm it could cause to the case. He defended his decision to refrain from charging Trump.

After closely reviewing all the evidence from Mr. Pomerantzs investigation, I came to the same conclusion as several senior prosecutors involved in the case, and also those I brought on: more work was needed. Put another way, Mr. Pomerantzs plane wasnt ready for takeoff, Bragg said. Our skilled and professional legal team continues to follow the facts of this case wherever they may lead, without fear or favor. Mr. Pomerantz decided to quit a year ago and sign a book deal.
WASHINGTON  Appearing before a federal judge after pleading guilty to a felony charge in the deadly Capitol riot, former West Virginia lawmaker Derrick Evans expressed remorse for letting down his family and his community, saying he made a crucial mistake.

Less than a year later, Evans portrays himself as a victim of a politically motivated prosecution as he runs to serve in the same building he stormed on Jan. 6, 2021. Evans is now calling the Justice Departments Jan. 6 prosecutions a miscarriage of justice and describes himself on twitter as a J6 Patriot.

Some ppl have said I need to apologize and condemn #J6 if I want to win my election as the media will attack me, he tweeted recently after announcing his bid for a U.S. House seat in 2024. I will not compromise my values or beliefs. Thats what politicians do. We need Patriots not politicians.

Evans joins a series of Jan. 6 defendants who  when up against possible prison time in court  expressed regret for joining the pro-Trump mob that rattled the foundations of American democracy only to strike a different tone or downplay the riot after receiving their punishment.

The very first Jan. 6 defendant to be sentenced apologized in court and then went on Fox News Channel shortly after and seemed to minimize the riot. Another defendant who called Jan. 6 horrifying and disgusting later donned an orange jumpsuit to play the part of a distraught prisoner in a bizarre tribute to imprisoned Capitol rioters during a conservative conference.

Some defendants drew ire from judges or the Justice Department for their inconsistent comments. But because some conservatives hold up Jan. 6 defendants as martyrs, theres a political and possibly financial incentive for them to change their tune.

It could push judges to impose stronger punishments for rioters who havent yet made it to the end of their criminal cases. Even before Evans sentencing, the judge who heard his case began questioning the sincerity of rioters apologies after he felt duped by another defendant, saying he was all too familiar with crocodile tears.

In some cases, judges questioned whether they should undo defendants convictions or plea deals after they made statements in public that appeared to go against what they said in court. On Friday, U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta ordered an Illinois man convicted last week to explain why the judge shouldnt vacate his conviction after he agreed in court that he participated in the riot and then told a newspaper he didnt actually think he committed the crimes with which he was charged.

Before being sentenced last June to three months behind bars for a civil disorder charge, Evans said he regrets his actions every day and told Senior Judge Royce Lamberth he is a good person who unfortunately was caught up in a moment.

Shortly after, prosecutors wrote to the judge about several statements Evans made on a radio show and that were inconsistent with the contrition he showed at sentencing.

When asked whether he regretted his actions, Evans said on the show that he regretted the situation he was in. But he said he was never going to have regrets when it comes to standing up and doing whats right.

Evans said in an email to The Associated Press that he still stands behind what he said in court.

That was my message to the judge. This is my message to the media. Its time to tell the real story of what happened personally to me that day, he said.

Evans said he lost almost everything  including his job as a state delegate and time with his kids  because of his decision on Jan. 6. How could I not regret that? he asked. But he said he is done being portrayed as a villain when he is not, noting that he didnt overrun any officers and was inside the Capitol for only 10 minutes.

When determining an appropriate sentence, judges generally take into account whether defendants took responsibility for their actions and appear genuinely sorry. In some Jan. 6 cases, judges faulted defendants for not appearing to show true remorse even before their punishment has been handed down.

A lawyer for Trennis Evans III, who took a swig of whiskey in a congressional conference room during the riot, told the judge in court papers that Evans was sincerely remorseful, and duly contrite. But after Evans suggested at his November sentencing that Jan. 6 defendants were being treated unfairly  even though he said he condemned what happened that day  the judge said she didnt believe he showed full and genuine remorse.

Months after he was ordered to serve 20 days in jail, the Texas man traveled to South Dakota to urge state lawmakers to support a resolution encouraging the humane and fair treatment of Jan. 6 defendants. The resolution failed by unanimous vote.

The first Jan. 6 defendant to get her punishment, Anna Morgan-Lloyd, told Lamberth she was ashamed of the savage display of violence at the Capitol before he sentenced her to probation.

Shortly after, however, the Indiana woman told Fox News host Laura Ingraham that people were very polite during the riot and that she saw relaxed police officers chatting with rioters.

Lamberth apparently hasnt forgotten about it. The judge wrote in court papers that he hoped another defendants change of heart was sincere because his hopes were dashed in her case. In another case, he wrote that he often finds it difficult to ascertain the sincerity of Jan. 6 defendants remorse.

Many defendants appear sincere at sentencing, boasting of their purportedly deep shame, regret, and desire to change and be law-abiding citizens, Lamberth wrote. But this Court is all too familiar with crocodile tears.
The U.S. spends as much as three times more on health care per person as other high-income countries, yet residents are often less likely to visit doctors, according to a report that highlights poor returns for the nations large investment.

The pandemic widened discordances between medical spending and health results in the U.S. and the rest of the world, findings from the Commonwealth Fund study show. The only high-income country that doesnt guarantee access to health care, the U.S. spent almost 18% of its gross domestic product on health and related services in 2021.

The report adds to a litany of indicting data from the U.S., where half of adults are worried about medical costs that sometimes force them to delay or forgo care, according to a recent study, and life expectancy of 77 years ranks 39th among all nations.

One glaring problem is that Americans visit the doctor just four times a year, trailing most other wealthy countries, perhaps because of cost and a lack of practicing physicians, the authors said.

The American health system can seem designed to discourage people from using services, they wrote in the report, U.S. Health Care from a Global Perspective, 2022: Accelerating Spending, Worsening Outcomes. High out-of-pocket costs lead nearly half of working-age adults to skip or delay getting needed care.

The U.S. spends $10,687 per person each year on health-care programs and insurance, plus another $1,225 for household out-of-pocket costs, the research found. That compares to less than $4,000 for both components in South Korea, the lowest of 13 countries the group tracked, and slightly more than $7,000 in Germany, the second-biggest spender after the U.S.

Yet Americans are seen by doctors less than half as often as people in the Netherlands, Germany, Japan and Korea, and the U.S. has fewer physicians per patient than any other member nation of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, according to the report. Hospital stays, less than five days on average, are also shorter than those in peer countries.

The pandemic took an exceptionally high toll on the U.S., which has the highest Covid death rate of any country. Avoidable deaths from ailments like diabetes, high blood pressure and preventable cancers outstrip every other wealthy country, the researchers said. The U.S. also leads wealthy nations in infant and maternal mortality.

Other vulnerable populations include Black Americans, who die four years younger on average than Whites, while American Indians and Alaska Natives die seven years sooner.

The findings demonstrate the importance of a health-care system that supports chronic disease prevention and management, the early diagnosis and treatment of medical problems, affordable access to health-care coverage, and cost-containment, the researchers concluded. Other countries have found ways to do these things well; the U.S. can as well.
To the voting booth: Early walk-in voting is Thursday and Friday for the Feb. 14 election. Claremore and Owasso each have a school board primary on the ballot, while Bartlesville, Catoosa, Claremore Sequoyah, Coweta, Jenks, Skiatook and Union each have a bond proposal.

Calendar adjustment: Broken Arrow Public Schools has canceled Mondays previously scheduled distance learning day and will instead have in-person classes.

Employees of the Year: Liberty Public Schools announced Thursday that Amy Hall and Mary Hickerson are the districts 2022-2023 Teacher of the Year and Support Employee of the Year respectively.

Hall is the counselor at Liberty High School. Hickerson is a secretary at Liberty Elementary School.

Hardcore Parkour: A student-designed app designed to introduce parkour to beginners is the Oklahoma First Congressional Districts winner of the 2022 Congressional App Challenge.

Designed by Booker T. Washington freshman Caedmon Myers, DoorHinge Parkour incorporates videos, tips and tricks to help parkour enthusiasts better develop their techniques. Parkour is a sport when participants attempt to get from one point to another in the fastest and most effective way possible.

Myers and challenge winners from other Congressional districts will be recognized in Washington D.C. in April and will have the chance to present their creations to federal officials and industry representatives.

Information session: Tulsa Public Schools has an enrollment information session scheduled for 6-7:30 p.m. Thursday at Cornerstone Community Center, 4122 W. 55th Place.

Translation services will be offered. TPS enrollment window closes Sunday.

California Dreamin: Jenks Public Schools vocal music program has been invited to participate in the 2024 Tournament of Roses parade in Pasadena, Calif.

COVID-19 by the numbers: Despite not having in-person classes for at least half of the week due to inclement weather, four districts published updated COVID-19 case counts by the close of business Friday.

Bartlesville Public Schools reported two cases among students and none among staff.

Berryhill Public Schools had one reported case. The district does not differentiate between students and staff in its reporting.

Skiatook Public Schools had one reported case among students and none among staff.

Tulsa Public Schools had one reported case among staff and none among students.

Bixby, Broken Arrow, Catoosa, Claremore, Collinsville, Coweta, Glenpool, Jenks, Kiefer, Liberty, Mounds, Owasso, Sand Springs, Sapulpa, Sperry, Union, Verdigris and Wagoner are not publishing updated case counts at this time.

School board schedule: The boards of education for Broken Arrow and Sand Springs are scheduled to meet Monday.

The boards of education for Anderson, Lone Star and Pretty Water are scheduled to meet Tuesday.

The boards of education for Epic Charter Schools and Keystone are scheduled to meet Wednesday.

The board of education for Bixby Public Schools is scheduled to meet Thursday.

TPS board of education has special meetings scheduled for Friday and Saturday.
OKLAHOMA CITY  The budget proposal Gov. Kevin Stitt pushed across the table to the 59th Legislature on Monday projects almost $655.7 million worth of tax cuts, $400 million in new money for education  at least $130 million of which would go to private schools  and not much for anything else.

Perhaps the documents most intriguing element, though, is a recommendation to put $1 billion from the states cash reserves into an investment fund that would create a steady revenue stream. The fund would be able to invest state money in potentially higher-yield long-term instruments than short-term cash accounts.

The aim of the Oklahoma Legacy Fund is to position the state to build additional reserves and generate revenues over the long term through a diversified strategy, the governors budget proposal says.

Total outlays in the proposed fiscal year 2024 budget are $11.4 billion, which would be about $1 billion less than the current budget year that ends on June 30. The decrease is mostly attributed to one-time spending in FY 2023, including nearly $700 million for an economic development fund thats never been used. It anticipates available revenue to exceed expenditures by about $10 million, leaving total available reserves of $3.9 billion. The state also holds $39.7 billion in pension plan assets.

More than anything, governors budget proposals are a first move in a session-long game of chess  or checkers, in some years  with chief executives usually signifying their priorities with dollar signs.

Mondays budget proposal aligns with Stitts stated intent to see substantial tax cuts and state support of private schools this year.

The $655.7 million in tax cuts includes eliminating the 4.5% state sales tax (but not local taxes) on groceries ($351.1 million), a 0.76-percentage point reduction in state individual income tax ($260.9%) and a 0.75-percentage point reduction in corporate income taxes ($43.7 million).

New spending for education would include $130 million for education savings accounts  private school vouchers  and $100 million for an innovative school fund to create new schools focused on innovation, unlocking student potential and addressing workforce pipeline needs. Apparently grants from that fund would also be available to private schools.

Other education proposals in the budget include $100 million to support reading instruction, $50 million for performance-based teacher raises, $2.6 million for child identification kits and $500,000 to extend concurrent college enrollment to high school freshmen and sophomores.

The ID kits would allow parents and guardians to collect and store childrens fingerprints and DNA for identification purposes.

Other new spending includes $2.9 million for pregnancy resource navigators and $20 million for the governors Quick Action Closing Fund.

The rest of the budget proposal is essentially the same as the current budget, except for moving around money associated with the transfer of motor vehicle registration and drivers licenses functions from the Department of Public Safety and the Oklahoma Tax Commission to the new Service Oklahoma agency and the subtraction of one-time expenditures in the FY 23 appropriations.

Tulsa-area state legislators and how to contact them Sen. Nathan Dahm Sen. Dana Prieto Sen. Jo Anna Dossett Sen. John Haste Sen. Todd Gollihare Sen. Kevin Matthews Sen. Joe Newhouse Sen. Dave Rader Sen. Cody Rogers Rep. Meloyde Blancett Rep. Jeff Boatman Rep. Amanda Swope Rep. Suzanne Schreiber 032823-tul-nws-davis-dean Rep. Mark Tedford Rep. Scott Fetgatter Rep. Ross Ford Rep. Regina Goodwin Rep. Kyle Hilbert Rep. Mark Lawson Rep. T.J. Marti Rep. Stan May Rep. Monroe Nichols Rep. Clay Staires Rep. Terry O'Donnell Rep. Melissa Provenzano Rep. Lonnie Sims Rep. John Kane Rep. Mark Vancuren Rep. John Waldron Check out our latest digital-only offer and subscribe now
HSBC predicted in its latest report on Vietnams economy that the Southeast Asian country will see a recovery of the number of Chinese visitors by 50-80 percent in 2023 compared to the pre-pandemic volume. In other words, Vietnam is set to welcome three to 4.5 million Chinese tourists this year. The increasing return of Chinese tourists following Chinas border reopening on January 8 will notably contribute to the growth of Vietnams tourism, which can be a key sector for the latter in 2023, offsetting the decline in trading and manufacturing, according to HSBC experts. In a broader view, the experts believe that the Vietnamese economy will witness a shift from goods to services, which they consider a driver for economic stability despite the trade slowdown. Red represents Chinese tourists as a percentage of the total number of international visitors to countries in Southeast Asia. After Vietnam resumed inbound and outbound tourism in March 2022, its domestic tourism recovered strongly while international tourism, which accounts for 60 percent of tourism revenue, has remained tepid. The country welcomed 3.6 million international tourists in 2022, or 20 percent of the volume of 2019, when total tourism revenue made up 10 percent of its GDP. South Korea accounted for 26 percent of international visitors to Vietnam last year and the U.S. nine percent. The Vietnamese government aims to attract eight million international visitors this year, with tourism revenue expected to increase by more than 30 percent. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!

HSBC predicted in its latest report on Vietnams economy that the Southeast Asian country will see a recovery of the number of Chinese visitors by 50-80 percent in 2023 compared to the pre-pandemic volume.

In other words, Vietnam is set to welcome three to 4.5 million Chinese tourists this year.

The increasing return of Chinese tourists following Chinas border reopening on January 8 will notably contribute to the growth of Vietnams tourism, which can be a key sector for the latter in 2023, offsetting the decline in trading and manufacturing, according to HSBC experts.

In a broader view, the experts believe that the Vietnamese economy will witness a shift from goods to services, which they consider a driver for economic stability despite the trade slowdown.

Red represents Chinese tourists as a percentage of the total number of international visitors to countries in Southeast Asia.

After Vietnam resumed inbound and outbound tourism in March 2022, its domestic tourism recovered strongly while international tourism, which accounts for 60 percent of tourism revenue, has remained tepid.

The country welcomed 3.6 million international tourists in 2022, or 20 percent of the volume of 2019, when total tourism revenue made up 10 percent of its GDP.

South Korea accounted for 26 percent of international visitors to Vietnam last year and the U.S. nine percent.

The Vietnamese government aims to attract eight million international visitors this year, with tourism revenue expected to increase by more than 30 percent.

Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!
As of the end of last year, the total outstanding loans for real estate projects in Vietnam hit over VND1,200 trillion (US$51.5 billion), according to the Ministry of Construction. Property enterprises borrowed some VND800 trillion ($34.1 billion) from banks and issued bonds worth roughly VND419 trillion ($17.9 billion) via private placement. In particular, banks offered loans worth about VND180.7 trillion ($7.7 billion) for urban area and housing projects in 2022, or 22.8 percent of the total loans for the real estate sector. In addition, loans for office for lease projects and industrial and export processing zones stood at more than VND41.8 trillion ($1.8 billion) and VND40.1 trillion ($1.7 billion), respectively. Meanwhile, investors of tourist site and resort projects asked for loans of nearly VND32.7 trillion ($1.4 billion). The figures were over VND57.5 trillion ($2.45 billion) for restaurant and hotel projects, VND144.2 trillion ($6.1 billion) for projects to build and repair houses for sale or lease, VND85.2 trillion ($3.6 billion) for land purchases, and VND211.5 trillion ($9 billion) for other real estate investment activities. Besides borrowing loans from banks, real estate enterprises issued bonds that made up 33.6 percent of the total VND2,000 trillion ($85.2 billion) worth of bonds issued by enterprises via private placement, according to statistics from the Hanoi Stock Exchange. Furthermore, foreign investors poured some $4.45 billion into the Vietnamese property market last year, accounting for 16.1 percent of the total foreign direct investment in the Southeast Asian country. According to the Ministry of Construction, the foreign direct investment mainly flowed into the industrial real estate segment and some large housing projects. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!

As of the end of last year, the total outstanding loans for real estate projects in Vietnam hit over VND1,200 trillion (US$51.5 billion), according to the Ministry of Construction.

Property enterprises borrowed some VND800 trillion ($34.1 billion) from banks and issued bonds worth roughly VND419 trillion ($17.9 billion) via private placement.

In particular, banks offered loans worth about VND180.7 trillion ($7.7 billion) for urban area and housing projects in 2022, or 22.8 percent of the total loans for the real estate sector.

In addition, loans for office for lease projects and industrial and export processing zones stood at more than VND41.8 trillion ($1.8 billion) and VND40.1 trillion ($1.7 billion), respectively.

Meanwhile, investors of tourist site and resort projects asked for loans of nearly VND32.7 trillion ($1.4 billion).

The figures were over VND57.5 trillion ($2.45 billion) for restaurant and hotel projects, VND144.2 trillion ($6.1 billion) for projects to build and repair houses for sale or lease, VND85.2 trillion ($3.6 billion) for land purchases, and VND211.5 trillion ($9 billion) for other real estate investment activities.

Besides borrowing loans from banks, real estate enterprises issued bonds that made up 33.6 percent of the total VND2,000 trillion ($85.2 billion) worth of bonds issued by enterprises via private placement, according to statistics from the Hanoi Stock Exchange.

Furthermore, foreign investors poured some $4.45 billion into the Vietnamese property market last year, accounting for 16.1 percent of the total foreign direct investment in the Southeast Asian country.

According to the Ministry of Construction, the foreign direct investment mainly flowed into the industrial real estate segment and some large housing projects.

Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!
Consumers in the UK have been increasingly keen on Vietnams rice, especially after ST25 was honored as the best rice variety in the world in 2019, Nguyen Canh Cuong, trade counselor at the Vietnamese Embassy in the UK, told Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper. UK companies have paid much attention to Vietnams rice due to a higher demand in their country and incentives in the UK-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (UKVFTA). In particular, the UK has waived the import tariff on Vietnams fragrant rice instead of imposing a 17.4-percent tax rate as earlier. Vietnams rice value on the rise According to statistics from the Vietnam Trade Office in the UK, the European countrys rice imports from Vietnam rose in 2020 and 2021. In 2020, before the UKVFTA took effect, Vietnams rice exports to the UK surged to some 3,400 metric tons worth US$2.67 million from nearly 1,300 metric tons in the previous year. Vietnams rice exports to the UK fell 20 percent in volume but inched up four percent year on year in value to some $2.8 million due to a rice price hike. Trade counselor Cuong said that Vietnam ranks 15th among the largest exporters of rice to the UK with a modest 0.42-percent market share. However, Vietnams potential to export rice to the UK is great thanks to the community of 100,000 Vietnamese people there and preferential tax policies in the UKVFTA, the trade counselor affirmed. The Vietnam Trade Office in the UK has held many online consulting programs on agriculture product export with the participation of many experts for Vietnamese enterprises. The trade office has also coordinated with business associations, the community of Vietnamese people and supermarkets owned by Vietnamese people in the UK to introduce Vietnamese goods and call on Vietnamese consumers there to prioritize Vietnamese commodities. Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Phung Duc Tien. Photo: Chi Tue / Tuoi Tre Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Phung Duc Tien told Tuoi Tre that thanks to the UKVFTA, bilateral trade between the two countries has grown positively. He cited data of the General Department of Vietnam Customs as saying that the two countries bilateral trade reached over $8 billion last year. Tien added that Vietnam has advantages in shipping agro-forestry-fishery products to the UK as under the UKVFTA, 94 percent of the 547 tax tariff lines are exempted. As a result, Vietnams agro-forestry-fishery exports to the UK totaled nearly $1 billion in 2022, up 25 percent over 2021. The UK is among the largest importing markets of Vietnams seafood, wood, cashew nuts, coffee, and rice, among others. The UK will consider opening its market to Vietnams processed pork, poultry meat, eggs, milk and dairy products, Deputy Minister Tien informed. Meanwhile, the Vietnamese Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development will weigh importing the UKs pork and chicken. Thus, the potential to leverage the UKVFTA is huge. According to Tien, the UK government has adopted the 'Global Britain' strategy to boost exports. This country is also willing to open its market in a 'give and take' manner to its foreign partners through free trade deals. In addition, the UK is determined to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), to which Vietnam is party. It means that the UK will import many products of 11 members of the CPTPP in a bid to access markets for its export products. At the time, Vietnamese products in the UK will face fierce competition from other members of the CPTPP. Therefore, Vietnamese enterprises need to quickly take advantage of opportunities ushered in by the UKVFTA. Their production should meet standards of the UK and Europe as a whole," Tien noted. They need to take the initiative in preservation technology and seaborne farm produce transport. Vietnamese Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Tran Quoc Khanh (R) and UK Minister of International Trade Greg Hands pose for a photo at a meeting in Hanoi on February 1, 2022. Photo: British Embassy in Hanoi Vietnam makes progress in value chains: UK official In an interview with Tuoi Tre early this month, UK Minister of International Trade Greg Hands said enterprises of the two countries have effectively taken advantage of the UKVFTA. I have heard no UK enterprise complains about the agreement. They have effectively taken advantage of it and understood how it works, Hands noted. Besides rice, many made-in-Vietnam agricultural, electronic, and footwear products have been sold to the UK. Vietnam has made progress in value chains with more complicated and hi-tech products and services being present in the UK, Hands added. He said 2023 marks the 50th anniversary of the Vietnam-UK diplomatic relations. The two sides have built a strong cooperation foundation in many sectors, such as trade, education, financial services, food, and beverages. Therefore, he believed that Vietnam and the UK will have another 50 years of stronger relation development. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!

Consumers in the UK have been increasingly keen on Vietnams rice, especially after ST25 was honored as the best rice variety in the world in 2019, Nguyen Canh Cuong, trade counselor at the Vietnamese Embassy in the UK, told Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper.

UK companies have paid much attention to Vietnams rice due to a higher demand in their country and incentives in the UK-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (UKVFTA).

In particular, the UK has waived the import tariff on Vietnams fragrant rice instead of imposing a 17.4-percent tax rate as earlier.

Vietnams rice value on the rise

According to statistics from the Vietnam Trade Office in the UK, the European countrys rice imports from Vietnam rose in 2020 and 2021.

In 2020, before the UKVFTA took effect, Vietnams rice exports to the UK surged to some 3,400 metric tons worth US$2.67 million from nearly 1,300 metric tons in the previous year.

Vietnams rice exports to the UK fell 20 percent in volume but inched up four percent year on year in value to some $2.8 million due to a rice price hike.

Trade counselor Cuong said that Vietnam ranks 15th among the largest exporters of rice to the UK with a modest 0.42-percent market share.

However, Vietnams potential to export rice to the UK is great thanks to the community of 100,000 Vietnamese people there and preferential tax policies in the UKVFTA, the trade counselor affirmed.

The Vietnam Trade Office in the UK has held many online consulting programs on agriculture product export with the participation of many experts for Vietnamese enterprises.

The trade office has also coordinated with business associations, the community of Vietnamese people and supermarkets owned by Vietnamese people in the UK to introduce Vietnamese goods and call on Vietnamese consumers there to prioritize Vietnamese commodities.

Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Phung Duc Tien. Photo: Chi Tue / Tuoi Tre

Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Phung Duc Tien told Tuoi Tre that thanks to the UKVFTA, bilateral trade between the two countries has grown positively.

He cited data of the General Department of Vietnam Customs as saying that the two countries bilateral trade reached over $8 billion last year.

Tien added that Vietnam has advantages in shipping agro-forestry-fishery products to the UK as under the UKVFTA, 94 percent of the 547 tax tariff lines are exempted.

As a result, Vietnams agro-forestry-fishery exports to the UK totaled nearly $1 billion in 2022, up 25 percent over 2021.

The UK is among the largest importing markets of Vietnams seafood, wood, cashew nuts, coffee, and rice, among others.

The UK will consider opening its market to Vietnams processed pork, poultry meat, eggs, milk and dairy products, Deputy Minister Tien informed.

Meanwhile, the Vietnamese Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development will weigh importing the UKs pork and chicken.

Thus, the potential to leverage the UKVFTA is huge.

According to Tien, the UK government has adopted the 'Global Britain' strategy to boost exports.

This country is also willing to open its market in a 'give and take' manner to its foreign partners through free trade deals.

In addition, the UK is determined to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), to which Vietnam is party.

It means that the UK will import many products of 11 members of the CPTPP in a bid to access markets for its export products.

At the time, Vietnamese products in the UK will face fierce competition from other members of the CPTPP.

Therefore, Vietnamese enterprises need to quickly take advantage of opportunities ushered in by the UKVFTA. Their production should meet standards of the UK and Europe as a whole," Tien noted.

They need to take the initiative in preservation technology and seaborne farm produce transport.

Vietnamese Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Tran Quoc Khanh (R) and UK Minister of International Trade Greg Hands pose for a photo at a meeting in Hanoi on February 1, 2022. Photo: British Embassy in Hanoi

Vietnam makes progress in value chains: UK official

In an interview with Tuoi Tre early this month, UK Minister of International Trade Greg Hands said enterprises of the two countries have effectively taken advantage of the UKVFTA.

I have heard no UK enterprise complains about the agreement. They have effectively taken advantage of it and understood how it works, Hands noted.

Besides rice, many made-in-Vietnam agricultural, electronic, and footwear products have been sold to the UK.

Vietnam has made progress in value chains with more complicated and hi-tech products and services being present in the UK, Hands added.

He said 2023 marks the 50th anniversary of the Vietnam-UK diplomatic relations.

The two sides have built a strong cooperation foundation in many sectors, such as trade, education, financial services, food, and beverages.

Therefore, he believed that Vietnam and the UK will have another 50 years of stronger relation development.

Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!
A 7.8-magnitude earthquake hit Turkey and Syria early on Monday, killing nearly 200 people, levelling buildings while many were still asleep, and sending tremors that were felt as far away as the island of Cyprus and Egypt. The emergency service in Turkey put the initial death toll at 76, although it threatened to climb substantially higher because the night-time disaster had flattened dozens of apartment blocks across major cities. At least 119 people also died in government-controlled parts of Syria, as well as the northern areas held by pro-Turkish factions, according to the health ministry and a local hospital. Television images showed shocked people in Turkey standing in the snow in their pyjamas, watching rescuers dig through the debris of damaged homes. The quake struck at 04:17 am local time (0117 GMT) at a depth of about 17.9 kilometres (11 miles) near the Turkish city of Gaziantep, which is home to around two million people, the US Geological Survey said. Turkey's AFAD emergencies service centre put the first quake's magnitude at 7.4, adding that it was followed by more than 40 aftershocks. The earthquake was one of the most powerful to hit the region in at least a century, affecting southeastern parts of Turkey that are home to millions of refugees from Syria and other war-torn parts of the world. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who will be under intense pressure to oversee an effective response to the disaster heading to a tightly-contested May 14 election, conveyed his sympathies and urged national unity. "We hope that we will get through this disaster together as soon as possible and with the least damage," the Turkish leader tweeted. US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said Washington was "profoundly concerned". "We stand ready to provide any and all needed assistance," Sullivan said. 'People under rubble' The earthquake struck a restive, predominantly Kurdish area of Turkey near Syria, a country gripped by more than a decade of violence that has killed hundreds of thousands and displaced millions of people. Images on Turkish television showed rescuers digging through the rubble of levelled buildings in the city of Kahramanmaras and neighbouring Gaziantep, where entire sections of cities were destroyed. A fire lit up the night sky in one image from Kahramanmaras, although its origin remained unclear. Buildings also crumbled in the cities of Adiyaman, Malatya and Diyarbakir, where AFP reporters saw panicked people rush out on the street. Kahramanmaras Governor Omer Faruk Coskun said it was too early to estimate the death toll because so many buildings were destroyed. "It is not possible to give the number of dead and injured at the moment because so many buildings have been destroyed," Coskun said. "The damage is serious." A famous mosque dating back to the 13th century partially collapsed in the province of Maltaya, where a 14-story building with 28 apartments also collapsed. In other cities, rescuers sounded anguished as they struggled to reach survivors trapped under the debris. "We hear voices here -- and over there, too," one rescuer was overheard as saying on NTV television in front of a flattened building in the city of Diyarbakir. "There may be 200 people under the rubble." 'Biggest earthquake' The Syrian health ministry reported damage across the provinces of Aleppo, Latakia, Hama and Tartus, where Russia is leasing a naval facility. AFP correspondents in northern Syria said terrified residents ran out of their homes after the ground shook. Raed Ahmed, who heads Syria's National Earthquake Centre, told pro-government radio that this was "historically, the biggest earthquake recorded in the history of the centre". Naci Gorur, an earthquake expert with Turkey's Academy of Sciences, urged local officials to immediately check the region's dams for cracks to avert potentially catastrophic floodings. Turkey is in one of the world's most active earthquake zones. The Turkish region of Duzce suffered a 7.4-magnitude earthquake in 1999 -- the worst to hit Turkey in decades. That quake killed more than 17,000 people, including about 1,000 in Istanbul. Experts have long warned a large quake could devastate Istanbul, which has allowed widespread building without safety precautions. A magnitude-6.8 quake hit Elazig in January 2020, killing more than 40 people. And in October that year, a magnitude-7.0 quake hit Turkey's Aegean coast, killing 114 people and wounding more than 1,000.

A 7.8-magnitude earthquake hit Turkey and Syria early on Monday, killing nearly 200 people, levelling buildings while many were still asleep, and sending tremors that were felt as far away as the island of Cyprus and Egypt.

The emergency service in Turkey put the initial death toll at 76, although it threatened to climb substantially higher because the night-time disaster had flattened dozens of apartment blocks across major cities.

At least 119 people also died in government-controlled parts of Syria, as well as the northern areas held by pro-Turkish factions, according to the health ministry and a local hospital.

Television images showed shocked people in Turkey standing in the snow in their pyjamas, watching rescuers dig through the debris of damaged homes.

The quake struck at 04:17 am local time (0117 GMT) at a depth of about 17.9 kilometres (11 miles) near the Turkish city of Gaziantep, which is home to around two million people, the US Geological Survey said.

Turkey's AFAD emergencies service centre put the first quake's magnitude at 7.4, adding that it was followed by more than 40 aftershocks.

The earthquake was one of the most powerful to hit the region in at least a century, affecting southeastern parts of Turkey that are home to millions of refugees from Syria and other war-torn parts of the world.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who will be under intense pressure to oversee an effective response to the disaster heading to a tightly-contested May 14 election, conveyed his sympathies and urged national unity.

"We hope that we will get through this disaster together as soon as possible and with the least damage," the Turkish leader tweeted.

US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said Washington was "profoundly concerned".

"We stand ready to provide any and all needed assistance," Sullivan said.

'People under rubble'

The earthquake struck a restive, predominantly Kurdish area of Turkey near Syria, a country gripped by more than a decade of violence that has killed hundreds of thousands and displaced millions of people.

Images on Turkish television showed rescuers digging through the rubble of levelled buildings in the city of Kahramanmaras and neighbouring Gaziantep, where entire sections of cities were destroyed.

A fire lit up the night sky in one image from Kahramanmaras, although its origin remained unclear.

Buildings also crumbled in the cities of Adiyaman, Malatya and Diyarbakir, where AFP reporters saw panicked people rush out on the street.

Kahramanmaras Governor Omer Faruk Coskun said it was too early to estimate the death toll because so many buildings were destroyed.

"It is not possible to give the number of dead and injured at the moment because so many buildings have been destroyed," Coskun said. "The damage is serious."

A famous mosque dating back to the 13th century partially collapsed in the province of Maltaya, where a 14-story building with 28 apartments also collapsed.

In other cities, rescuers sounded anguished as they struggled to reach survivors trapped under the debris.

"We hear voices here -- and over there, too," one rescuer was overheard as saying on NTV television in front of a flattened building in the city of Diyarbakir.

"There may be 200 people under the rubble."

'Biggest earthquake'

The Syrian health ministry reported damage across the provinces of Aleppo, Latakia, Hama and Tartus, where Russia is leasing a naval facility.

AFP correspondents in northern Syria said terrified residents ran out of their homes after the ground shook.

Raed Ahmed, who heads Syria's National Earthquake Centre, told pro-government radio that this was "historically, the biggest earthquake recorded in the history of the centre".

Naci Gorur, an earthquake expert with Turkey's Academy of Sciences, urged local officials to immediately check the region's dams for cracks to avert potentially catastrophic floodings.

Turkey is in one of the world's most active earthquake zones.

The Turkish region of Duzce suffered a 7.4-magnitude earthquake in 1999 -- the worst to hit Turkey in decades.

That quake killed more than 17,000 people, including about 1,000 in Istanbul.

Experts have long warned a large quake could devastate Istanbul, which has allowed widespread building without safety precautions.

A magnitude-6.8 quake hit Elazig in January 2020, killing more than 40 people.

And in October that year, a magnitude-7.0 quake hit Turkey's Aegean coast, killing 114 people and wounding more than 1,000.
Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, his spouse, and a high-ranking Vietnamese delegation will pay official visits to Singapore and Brunei Darussalam from February 8 to 11, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced on Sunday. The visits will be made at the invitations of Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and Brunei Darussalam Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah, respectively. This will be PM Chinhs first visits to these two countries after assuming his prime minister position, and a visit by a Vietnamese prime minister to Singapore after five years and to Brunei Darussalam after 15 years. The visit to Singapore will be paid on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the diplomatic relations between the two countries and the 10th anniversary of their strategic partnership. The two sides had many high-ranking delegation exchange activities last year, including Vietnamese State President Nguyen Xuan Phucs visit to Singapore in February and Singaporean President Halimah Yacobs visit to Vietnam in October. Singapore is currently an important economic partner of Vietnam. The bilateral trade between the two countries reached some US$9 billion in 2022, up 10.1 percent over 2021. Singapore is also Vietnams biggest investor in ASEAN and ranks second among the 141 countries and territories worldwide investing in Vietnam. It has had more than 3,000 projects with total registered capital of nearly $70.4 billion in Vietnam. Vietnam-Singapore Industrial Park (VSIP) is a symbol of the economic cooperation between the two countries. There have been 12 VSIPs in nine cities and provinces in Vietnam with an occupancy rate of over 83 percent. These industrial parks have attracted investment totaling $17.6 billion and created nearly 300,000 jobs. As for Brunei Darussalam, the visit by PM Chinh will be made after the two countries celebrated the 30th anniversary of their diplomatic ties in 2022. The two countries met the target of reaching the two-way trade value of over $500 million before 2023. As of October last year, their bilateral trade amounted to $638.5 million, surging 141.1 percent year on year. Brunei Darussalam currently ranks 26th out of the 141 countries and territories investing in Vietnam with total registered capital of $971 million. According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in the framework of the visit to Singapore, PM Chinh will hold talks with his counterpart Lee Hsien Loong and witness the signing of some cooperation agreements. He will also meet with Singaporean President Halimah Yacob, leaders of the Singaporean Parliament, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Lawrence Wong, and some other leaders. In Brunei Darussalam, the Vietnamese government leader will hold talks with Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah, visit some enterprises, and attend a workshop between enterprises of the two countries. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!

Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, his spouse, and a high-ranking Vietnamese delegation will pay official visits to Singapore and Brunei Darussalam from February 8 to 11, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced on Sunday.

The visits will be made at the invitations of Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and Brunei Darussalam Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah, respectively.

This will be PM Chinhs first visits to these two countries after assuming his prime minister position, and a visit by a Vietnamese prime minister to Singapore after five years and to Brunei Darussalam after 15 years.

The visit to Singapore will be paid on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the diplomatic relations between the two countries and the 10th anniversary of their strategic partnership.

The two sides had many high-ranking delegation exchange activities last year, including Vietnamese State President Nguyen Xuan Phucs visit to Singapore in February and Singaporean President Halimah Yacobs visit to Vietnam in October.

Singapore is currently an important economic partner of Vietnam.

The bilateral trade between the two countries reached some US$9 billion in 2022, up 10.1 percent over 2021.

Singapore is also Vietnams biggest investor in ASEAN and ranks second among the 141 countries and territories worldwide investing in Vietnam.

It has had more than 3,000 projects with total registered capital of nearly $70.4 billion in Vietnam.

Vietnam-Singapore Industrial Park (VSIP) is a symbol of the economic cooperation between the two countries. There have been 12 VSIPs in nine cities and provinces in Vietnam with an occupancy rate of over 83 percent.

These industrial parks have attracted investment totaling $17.6 billion and created nearly 300,000 jobs.

As for Brunei Darussalam, the visit by PM Chinh will be made after the two countries celebrated the 30th anniversary of their diplomatic ties in 2022.

The two countries met the target of reaching the two-way trade value of over $500 million before 2023.

As of October last year, their bilateral trade amounted to $638.5 million, surging 141.1 percent year on year.

Brunei Darussalam currently ranks 26th out of the 141 countries and territories investing in Vietnam with total registered capital of $971 million.

According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in the framework of the visit to Singapore, PM Chinh will hold talks with his counterpart Lee Hsien Loong and witness the signing of some cooperation agreements.

He will also meet with Singaporean President Halimah Yacob, leaders of the Singaporean Parliament, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Lawrence Wong, and some other leaders.

In Brunei Darussalam, the Vietnamese government leader will hold talks with Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah, visit some enterprises, and attend a workshop between enterprises of the two countries.

Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!
A man was recently attacked by a dog owner after trying to prevent the canine from getting close to his son at an apartment building in Ho Chi Minh City. Police in District 7, Ho Chi Minh City are now verifying the incident, which took place at Saigon Riverside Apartment Complex on Thursday evening, according to a source close to Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper. Pets are not allowed at Saigon Riverside Apartment Complex, the source added. D.V.T., 28, took his dog down the hall that evening, and the canine was not wearing a muzzle or on a leash. Nguyen Hoang Dung and his son were waiting for the elevator at the time, when he saw V.s dog approach his son. Dung tried to protect his son by pushing the dog away with his leg and was then punched by V.. The attack caused Dungs glasses to shatter and pierce his face. The victim needed stitches and suffered a broken tooth as well as a bruise on his chest. Huynh Van Nong, a member of the Ho Chi Minh City Bar Association, stated that dog owners must put their canines on a leash or put a muzzle on them whenever they take the dogs outdoors in accordance with regulations. Violators are subject to a fine worth VND1-2 million (US$42-84). If an apartment building does not allow pets, residents have to comply with the rule. In this specific case, V. violated regulations for failure to put a muzzle on his dog, Nong stated, adding that he can also face criminal charges for assault. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!

A man was recently attacked by a dog owner after trying to prevent the canine from getting close to his son at an apartment building in Ho Chi Minh City.

Police in District 7, Ho Chi Minh City are now verifying the incident, which took place at Saigon Riverside Apartment Complex on Thursday evening, according to a source close to Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper.

Pets are not allowed at Saigon Riverside Apartment Complex, the source added.

D.V.T., 28, took his dog down the hall that evening, and the canine was not wearing a muzzle or on a leash.

Nguyen Hoang Dung and his son were waiting for the elevator at the time, when he saw V.s dog approach his son.

Dung tried to protect his son by pushing the dog away with his leg and was then punched by V..

The attack caused Dungs glasses to shatter and pierce his face.

The victim needed stitches and suffered a broken tooth as well as a bruise on his chest.

Huynh Van Nong, a member of the Ho Chi Minh City Bar Association, stated that dog owners must put their canines on a leash or put a muzzle on them whenever they take the dogs outdoors in accordance with regulations.

Violators are subject to a fine worth VND1-2 million (US$42-84).

If an apartment building does not allow pets, residents have to comply with the rule.

In this specific case, V. violated regulations for failure to put a muzzle on his dog, Nong stated, adding that he can also face criminal charges for assault.

Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!
Six charges against former Chase host Andrew OKeefe have been dropped, but separate charges remain.

OKeefe was due to to fight allegations of assault and intentionally choking a woman without consent, today.

But Prosecutor Michael Cleaver has told Downing Centre Local Court the alleged victim had returned to her home country and they failed to get her to testify.

They are not in the jurisdiction and our capacity to have the witness appear has been unsuccessful, Sergeant Cleaver said.

OKeefe maintained he was he acting in self defence to allegations he grabbed a 38-year-old woman by the throat and pushed her to the ground on January 25 last year.

Six charges relating to the incident have now been withdrawn including two counts of intentionally choking a person without consent, three counts of common assault and one count of assault occasioning actual bodily harm.

However OKeefe will still face a two-day hearing on domestic violence charges in relation to a separate woman  common assault and assault occasioning actual bodily harm  as well as one count of resisting an officer in execution of duty.

OKeefe has pleaded guilty to one count of contravening an apprehended violence order.

He also pleaded guilty to a separate drug possession charge on 11 February last year and he was yet to enter a plea on a second drug possession charge.

Source: news.com.au, Perth Now
7NEWS Coast, 7NEWS New England, 7NEWS Central West, 7NEWS Riverina and 7NEWS Border bulletins will add a co-presenter from next week when Nick Hose joins Madelaine Collignon.

Hose has worked with ABC and Seven Network as a producer, journalist and presenter.

Seven Network Director of News and Public Affairs, Craig McPherson said: Were enormously proud of the contribution 7NEWS makes to the communities of regional Australia. We invest in news and we deliver it to massive parts of our country where other networks have chosen to walk away from. Putting Nick into the lead presenter role ensures our loyal audiences continue to receive quality local news from a quality newsman.

Director of 7NEWS Regional News, Paul Patrick, said: We are thrilled Nick is joining our team. He is an experienced journalist and presenter, and we know our viewers will welcome him as well. 7NEWS is the local news market leader across regional Australia and we are confident Nick will ensure our market leadership continues.

Hose said: I am thrilled to be joining Madelaine behind the desk to deliver news to our local audiences. There has never been a more exciting time to work in news and I cant wait to get out into the community and cover the stories that matter.

The appointment follows 7NEWS regional programs winning every week of survey last year.

6pm Monday 13 February on Seven.
Westlife star Shane Filan has told how he misses his parents every day, as he takes on a new role with the Irish Cancer Society.

The Sligo-born singer, 43, lost both his parents, Mae and Peter, to cancer just nine months apart in 2019-20.

He said becoming the charitys official ambassador for its Relay for Life is his way of keeping their memory alive.

The relay sees communities come together for a 24-hour event to celebrate cancer survivors, remember those who have been lost to the disease, and raise awareness of the services provided by the Irish Cancer Society locally and nationally.

Shane Filan with his son Shane Jr, who appeared in a Westlife video together (Westlife/PA)

Filan said: I cant express how proud I am to come on board as ambassador for the Irish Cancer Society Relay for Life.

My mum died of lung cancer in 2019 and my dad died just over nine months later from pancreatic cancer, so I know all too well the devastating effects a cancer diagnosis can have on a family.

Unfortunately there are very few families in this country who arent affected by cancer in one way or another, so this is a cause and an organisation I am extremely passionate about.

I am excited to be involved as ambassador, in fact I find great comfort in it.

Filan said he wants every corner of Ireland to get involved.

I know my parents are here with me today and I know they would be proud of me.

Shane Filan, second left, with his Westlife bandmates (PA)

I feel like I am starting something that will be really massive in my life, in my familys life, in my childrens lives, in my siblings life.

Hopefully it will make a difference.

Im really excited about this, for how big it can be. We want to hold one massive national event in 2023 and then hopefully it will ripple down through every county in Ireland. I want every corner of the country to do it with me, to have every county involved.

This is only the start of my Relay for Life journey.

This is something your whole family can get involved with together, raising funds to support the Irish Cancer Societys vital services and life-changing cancer research. Without fundraising, none of this important work would be possible, so I encourage everyone to get involved and sign up to take part.

I miss my parents every single day but this is my way of helping to keep their memory alive.
Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, the top Republican on the Senate Intelligence Committee, said Sunday that despite China's claims otherwise, they sent a balloon into the U.S. to send a message about the country's sway across the globe.

"The key part here is they knew exactly what they were doing and there was a message behind it," Rubio told ABC "This Week" co-anchor Jonathan Karl.

"They understood that it [the balloon] was going to be spotted, they knew the U.S. government would have to reveal it, that people were gonna see it over the sky. And the message they were trying to send is what they believe internally, and that is that the United States is a once-great superpower that's hollowed out, it's in decline," Rubio said.

The balloon's presence over Montana caused the Federal Aviation Administration to issue a ground stop for the Billings airport on Wednesday. But U.S. officials only announced the vessel was over the country late Thursday, after it had already flown down from Alaska. The military chose to wait to strike the balloon until the risk to civilians was minimized, defense officials have said.

China saw value in that delay, Rubio said on "This Week."

MORE: Lawmakers praise successful downing of suspected Chinese spy balloon while concerns linger

"The message they're trying to send the world is, 'Look, these guys can't even do anything about a balloon flying over U.S. airspace. How can you possibly count on them if something were to happen in the Indo-Pacific region? ... How are they going to come to the aid of Taiwan or stand with the Philippines or Japan or India when the Chinese move on their territory?'" he said.

Rubio's comments come after bipartisan outrage over what the Biden administration described as a Chinese surveillance balloon that was first detected on Jan. 28 crossing Alaska, Canada and then the continental U.S., including flying over sensitive military sites that house intercontinental ballistic missiles.

Story continues

The balloon was ultimately shot out of the sky on Saturday over the Atlantic Ocean, just off the coast of South Carolina.

As vice chairman of the Senate's intelligence panel, Rubio will be one of eight lawmakers who will be briefed sometime this week behind closed doors on the circumstances around the balloon.

Rubio said on "This Week" that "first and foremost," he wanted to know what information the balloon was able to collect. He pointed to China's repeated use of such craft.

"Obviously, look, countries spy on countries. ... What was the value of this platform? Because it's one we've seen them use now for a handful of years here. But what's the value of it?" he said, adding, "What are we going to do about it in the future?"

PHOTO: In this Nov. 8, 2022, file photo, Sen. Marco Rubio speaks to his supporters during an election-night party in Miami. (Saul Martinez/Getty Images, FILE)

Rubio dismissed China's public statements that the balloon was a civilian weather vessel that had accidentally flown to the U.S. He also said he wanted specific answers as to why the military chose to act when it did.

"When was it spotted? Why was it not brought down sooner over other areas? I'm open-minded to listening to the arguments they make about why it wasn't dealt with sooner," Rubio said.

The administration has said President Joe Biden on Wednesday ordered the balloon to be taken down once it was feasible, with the threat of harm to civilians ultimately delaying military action.

Whether the Pentagon would now glean useful intelligence from the balloon "depends [on] what they're able to retrieve," Rubio said. "When you shoot something out of the sky and it goes into the ocean, you don't always get it back in a neat package," he added.

Mike Mullen, who served as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff under Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama, concurred with Rubio in a separate interview on "This Week."

"I think I know enough about the system that you actually can navigate this system," Mullen said. "It has propellers on it, if you will. So, this was not an accident. This was deliberate. It was intelligence."

Both Rubio and Mullen said that Secretary of State Antony Blinken made the right move in delaying a planned trip to China, in light of this incident, but the senator also criticized Biden for not addressing Americans directly on what was unfolding.

MORE: Balloon incident adds new tension to US-China relationship

"I don't know why they waited so long to tell people about this," he said.

Mullen approximated that China's balloon program is 10 years old and echoed some of the administration's rationale.

"It's very clear to me that the intelligence value of this, from the standpoint of what it was getting, was not worth the risk of killing an Americans on the ground," Mullen said. "And it's a substantial package in terms of its size, and even in the least dense areas of the country, there was that possibility, and I know that's why we waited to this point to take it down."

Mullen said this was the first time that he knew of a Chinese vessel "[coming] over the country like this," and he suggested it was possible that elements in the Chinese military had acted on their own to disrupt Blinken's diplomatic trip.

"There's no way that he could have a meaningful visit, and we have a host of issues that we need to address. ... Strategically, this really damages a relationship between us and China, which was deteriorating," Mullen said. "And I think that's really the big part of this."

Rubio says China flew balloon over US to send 'a message': They think America is 'in decline' originally appeared on abcnews.go.com
Ethiopian gov't to send funds to conflict-affected Tigray region

Xinhua) 08:45, February 06, 2023

ADDIS ABABA, Feb. 5 (Xinhua) -- The Ethiopian government said that it will send 5 billion birrs (about 93 million U.S. dollars) to Mekele, the capital of Ethiopia's Tigray region, as it has begun restoring banking services to the conflict-affected region.

The National Bank of Ethiopia will send 5 billion birrs to Mekele starting Monday, the state-affiliated Fana Broadcasting Corporate on Saturday quoted Redwan Hussein, National Security Advisor to Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, as saying.

Ahmed on Friday met with leaders of the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) for the first time since the two-year conflict ended late last year with a peace deal.

The second most populous nation in Africa has seen a devastating conflict between government-allied troops and forces loyal to the TPLF since November 2020, which left thousands dead and millions in urgent need of humanitarian assistance.

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun)
The conference featured Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, and top government officials, including minister of Planning and Investment Nguyen Chi Dung and minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hong Dien.

The 2.2GW Son My 2 CCGT power plant will be located in Binh Thuan province. The $1.8 billion plant will have a 20-year contract with the Vietnamese government.

Speaking at the conference, Joseph Uddo, president of AES Vietnam said, The investment policy for Son My 2 CCGT power plant marks a significant milestone enabling us to move ahead with the project.

We are honoured to receive the approval in this significant event today on the action plan to implement Resolution No. 26-NQ/TW of the Politburo, recognising the importance of the power plant project in ensuring energy security, promoting international investment and the socioeconomic development of Vietnam.

Son My 2 complements AES investment plans in gas infrastructure in the country and the previously announced $1.4 billion Son My LNG import terminal, a joint venture with PetroVietnam Gas JSC (PV Gas), which acquired its investment registration certificate in May 2022.

AES, through its subsidiary, AES Mong Duong Power Co., Ltd., successfully developed and arranged financing for the Mong Duong 2 Power Project of 1,242MW with a total investment of approximately $2.1 billion.

This was Vietnams first build-operate-transfer (BOT) coal-fired power project, representing about 2.3 per cent of the countrys installed capacity.

The CCGT and terminal are expected to play a major role in shaping Vietnams energy future.

In November 2017, AES signed an MoU with PV Gas in the presence of US President Donald J. Trump and Vietnamese President Tran Dai Quang to develop the $1.3 billion Son My LNG terminal project.

Then, in November 2019, AES signed another MoU with the Ministry of Industry and Trade to develop a 2.2GW CCGT power plant under BOT format in Binh Thuan province.

In October 2020, AES Vietnam and PV GAS inked a Term Sheet of the JV Agreement for Son My LNG terminal.

The CCGT and terminal are expected to play a major role in shaping Vietnams energy future by diversifying the energy mix with imported LNG and meeting the countrys increasing demand for sustainable and affordable electricity.

$2 billion Quang Ninh LNG power plant behind schedule The joint venture of PV Power, Colavi, Tokyo Gas, and Marubeni is behind schedule for the completion of the $2 billion Quang Ninh liquefied natural gas (LNG) power plant.

Vietnam offshore wind power sparks influx of foreign investment: Nikkei Asia Nikkei Asia, a news service in Japan, ran an article on January 6 saying that Vietnam's offshore wind power sparks an influx of foreign investment.
With your experience as a general manager for 5-star hotels and resorts in Thailand and elsewhere, what successful experiences you have gained?

The most challenging experience was opening four Accor resorts post-pandemic and facing operational issues with the operating systems, and enticing staff back to work and preparing for the return of the tourism industry. My team and I faced this challenge and managed successfully to open all four resorts and deliver the standards of guest experience we are renowned for.

My teams commitment to the tourism industry and their passion made it possible. Teamwork was the key strength and the main factor in our success.

David Coyle - the newly appointed general manager of Grand Mercure Danang Hotel

What differences are there between the Thai and Vietnamese tourism markets?

The Thailand tourism industry returned quicker and stronger than Vietnam for sure and this was attributable to the Phuket sandbox as well as the government support and continual review of pandemic-related measures in line with the tourism visa and immigration policies.

Thailand recognises the importance of the tourism sector and the impact is has on the local Thai communities, and the government acted quickly and opened borders with fewer regulations. This was and continues to be the reason Thai visitor numbers are growing so quickly.

Vietnam is following the example led by other countries and in due course we will also benefit from the reduction or removal of inbound immigration policies and immigration requirements.

Which priorities have you planned to make Grand Mercure Danang more attractive, unique, and memorable?

Grand Mercure is and has always been an icon of hospitality in Danang, and I am extremely proud to be the general manager of such a sensational hotel. The team is highly experienced and are the most professional that I have seen in central Vietnam. Many having been working at the hotel for over 10 years.

My goal is to drive our guest experience even higher, and create a renowned position as the leading iconic hotel in Central Vietnam. We know there are newer hotels in the market, but we are secure in the fact that we set the benchmark for others to strive for, and we will continue to maintain our number one position.

The requirements for luxury wellness and healthcare tourism is on the rise. Does Grand Mercure Danang offer services to meet these trends?

We have already recognised this, and the hotel is well-prepared for new evolving markets and their needs. For example, the Japanese market is unique in its bedding configuration requirements and as of now we are the only 5-star hotel that caters to the high-end Japanese market, offering Hollywood King Twin bedding in a junior suite with the required bath tubs.

Our high-end positioning with the Japanese market and other targeted markets will also benefit from the exclusive and incredible Privilege Lounge on the 21st floor. The lounge boasts the most panoramic and enchanting city, river, and mountain views available in Danang, which are surpassed only by the butler-like service standards. Grand Mercure Danang is not only prepared, but well-equipped to receive and deliver over and above traveller expectations.

Grand Mercure Danang unveils all-inclusive package for year end Delight your tastebuds with unique cuisines at the year-end party with Grand Mercure Danang.
A worker (right) given information on job vacancies at the Hanoi Job Marketplace (Photo: VNA)

Hanoi - Employment service centres in big cities have increased capacity to help connect workers with vacancies after the Tet (Lunar New Year) holiday.

Nguyen Duc Hoang, an electrician in Hanoi, quit his job before the Tet holiday and has been doing a variety of part-time jobs since.

He has been receiving unemployment insurance for three months.

He went to the Hanoi Job Marketplace to find a more stable job with insurance and allowances.

Through the job marketplace, I was introduced to several jobs related to my profession, and Im considering them, said Hoang.

Nguyen Thi Nhung, an accountant, also went to the Hanoi Job Marketplace to find out more information about recruitment after finishing an advanced professional course.

I already got the information I needed, and I am comparing companies conditions and remuneration," she said.

Vu Quang Thanh, deputy director of the Hanoi Employment Service Centre, said that after the holiday, the Hanoi Job Marketplace re-opened on January 30.

Thematic job introduction sessions would be held regularly this month, with many sessions for young people.

He said that the labour market in Hanoi remained stable.

The centre would continue to collect information to assess the impact of businesses facing difficulties in the labour market. From there, it will organise thematic jobs and online sessions suitable for different people.

Last year, the centre held 262 job introduction sessions, through which 125,000 workers were consulted and provided with labour market information.

More than 55,000 workers were connected with enterprises and interviewed; over 19,500 workers found employment thanks to the sessions.

This year, Hanoi set a target of creating jobs for 162,000 workers, an increase of 2,000 people compared to last year.

Thanh said the centre would strive to implement the city's job creation plan.

Based on an assessment of the labour market, especially after the Tet holiday, the centre would improve the quality of job introduction sessions.

In Ho Chi Minh City, it is expected that in the first quarter of this year, there will be 11,550 new job positions for footwear, garment, manufacturing, processing, services, accounting and audit.

The HCM City Employment Service Centre said that after the Tet holiday, businesses would recruit many workers to develop production. This would be an opportunity for employees, especially students and graduates, to find jobs and workers who want to change jobs.

In the last months of last year, besides businesses affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and the global economic downturn, causing about 53,000 workers lost their jobs. However, other businesses still needed to recruit over 350,000 people, especially technical workers, according to the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs (MoLISA).

The MoLISA will review recruitment demand and enterprises trading situation, especially foreign direct investment (FDI) enterprises needing a lot of labour, such as garment, footwear and wood production.

In addition, job session frequency will be increased, prioritising online sessions and supporting workers with travel expenses when participating in job transactions.

Le Dinh Quang, deputy head of the Policy and Law Department under the Vietnam General Confederation of Labour, said that the current priority was maintaining a flexible and sustainable labour market.

"Workers who lost their jobs can look for jobs in the informal employment sector; then, when the business recovers, they can return to work," he said.
Social insurance workers provide information on the policies to people. (Photo: VNA)

Hanoi - The capital city of Hanois labour market has seen positive developments after the Tet (Lunar New Year) holiday, presenting a golden opportunity for the sustainable development and expansion of the social insurance system.

Statistics from the Hanoi Department of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs (DoLISA) revealed that only 31 companies in the city had to cut working hours or terminate contracts with their employees, which total more than 13,000.

The department said that this was only a fraction compared to figures in other key labour markets.

Meanwhile, last year also saw approximately 203,000 people finding new employment, an increase of 13 per cent compared to 2021.

The growth in the labour market also translated to a rise in the number of people signing up for social insurance.

Phan Van Men, Director of Hanoi Social Insurance, told Ha Noi Moi (New Ha Noi) newspaper: There are 104,236 businesses of nearly two million people participating in social insurance, an increase of 9,613 businesses and nearly 48,000 people on the system, compared to 2022.

Voluntary social insurance policy also has 75,000 more freelance workers, which will help with their pension when they retire. This is significant growth compared to the previous year.

The capital citys labour market usually sees fluctuations after the Tet holiday when people switch jobs or decide not to return.

However, this year saw nearly 98 per cent of employees return to work after the holiday, which also means that they continue to be included and protected in the social insurance system.

Higher recruitment demands are also observed after the Tet holiday.

It is estimated that 162,000 jobs will be created in the capital city this year, which is considered a potential pool for social insurance.

Nguyen Thi Trang, a resident in Hanois Phu Xuyen district said: Having gone through the hardship of the COVID-19 pandemic, I truly understand the importance of a safety net. This is why since the beginning of 2023, Ive been saving every month to join social insurance.

Hanoi Social Insurance has set the goal to expand insurance coverage to at least 43 per cent of the current workforce. At least 2 per cent of freelancers and farmers are also expected to participate in social insurance by the end of this year.

Working with the Hanoi Tax Department, authorities will strengthen the inspection of employers to ensure that all workers who are employed under labour contracts are participating in compulsory social insurance.

The capital citys Federation of Labour has also held talks with workers to better understand their needs and support their long-term participation in social insurance.

Meanwhile, trade unions at all levels will implement support policies for their members and labourers who are affected by decreasing working hours or had their contracts terminated.

These programmes will provide them with financial support during difficult times, while also minimising cases in which they leave the social insurance system.

Maintaining the number of people participating in social insurance is also included in the socio-economic development plans of localities.

Pham Thi Hoa, Vice Cairwoman of the Ha Dong District Peoples Committee, said: Implementing social insurance policies is one of the criteria in evaluating task completion of departments and businesses in the district.

Ha Dong authorities will not accept bidding packages from companies and agencies that owe or do not submit social insurance payments for their employees.

On the other hand, businesses and wards who have implemented policies and see an increase in social insurance participants will receive rewards and recognition.

In Hanois Dan Phuong district, the local Peoples Committee also plans to hold talks with people to address current bottlenecks, aiming for stable operations in businesses and more opportunities for people to be employed and enjoy social insurance.
The three-year agreement will focus on the implementation of clinical trials, workforce training, patient support programmes and further international integration of activities at Cho Ray Hospital. The collaboration will cover a variety of therapeutic areas such as oncology; respiratory and gastrointestinal diseases; cardiovascular and renal therapies; along with vaccines and immunology.

Nitin Kapoor, chairman and general director of AstraZeneca Vietnam and Asia Area Frontier Markets said, AstraZeneca is dedicated to transforming outcomes for patients and increasing access to better healthcare for everyone. Furthering our collaboration with Cho Ray Hospital will expand the positive impact that we jointly make on local communities in Ho Chi Minh City and across the country.

Dr. Nguyen Tri Thuc, director of Cho Ray added, We are pleased to partner with AstraZeneca to accelerate our innovation and integration and deliver new programmes that increase patient access to innovative treatment. We will support colleagues in southern hospitals to develop their skills, so patients can receive the treatment they need in their hometowns.

Cho Ray Hospital has played a key role in closing the gap between urban and rural hospitals through technology transfer, and cares for thousands of outpatients and inpatients each day.

This MoU is the latest milestone in an ongoing partnership between AstraZeneca and Cho Ray Hospital. So far, they have collaborated on the implementation of more than 30 clinical trials in different therapeutic areas and have joined forces for several scientific congresses, training programmes, and patient support initiatives.

AstraZenecas COVID-19 vaccine preventing over 230,000 deaths in Vietnam AstraZenecas COVID-19 vaccine has been estimated to have prevented 232,766 deaths in Vietnam, according to an independent assessment of vaccine effectiveness conducted by Airfinity.

AstraZeneca to increase early patient access to new medicines in Vietnam Last week marked an important step in AstraZenecas journey in Vietnam. On his visit to Hanoi, Dr. John L. Perez, senior vice president of the Vaccines and Immune Therapies Unit at AstraZeneca, talked to VIRs Bich Thuy about the companys future ambition and ongoing efforts to increase Vietnamese patients early access to new medicines.

MoH and AstraZeneca partner on care for non-communicable diseases The Medical Services Administration (MSA), under Vietnams Ministry of Health (MoH), and AstraZeneca Vietnam signed an MoU on September 20 to partner on the CaReMe  Love Yourself programme for the 2022-2025 period, aiming to enhance the quality of care for cardiovascular, renal, and metabolic diseases.

AstraZeneca honoured in Vietnams top 100 best places to work 2022 AstraZeneca Vietnam has been recognised as one of Vietnams top 100 best places to work in 2022, making it the fourth consecutive year that the company has won the recognition.
Illustrative image. Photo: VNA

The Trade Remedies Authority of Vietnam under the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) has recently issued Decision No. 132/QD-BTC on the continuation of anti-dumping measures for certain imported cold-rolled (cold-pressed) steel coils or sheets from China.

In accordance with Decision No. 3390/QD-BCT issued by MoIT on December 21, 2020, the anti-dumping tax rate for Chinese cold-rolled steel goods remains constant.

According to this ruling, Chinese cold-rolled steel is subject to anti-dumping duty rates ranging from 4.43 per cent to 25.22 per cent, depending on the individual manufacturers and exporters.

Prior to September 3, 2019, many local steel manufacturing companies filed dossiers demanding anti-dumping investigations for a variety of Chinese steel goods imported into Vietnam.

The MoIT has decided to investigate the issue in line with the World Trade Organization (WTO), the Foreign Trade Management Law (FTML), and other applicable legislation.

The findings indicate that some Chinese steel products are susceptible to dumping by foreign manufacturers and exporters, posing a danger to the local steel sector.

Earlier on September 3, 2019, numerous local steel manufacturing companies filed dossiers demanding anti-dumping investigations for a variety of Chinese steel goods imported into Vietnam.

The MoIT chose to investigate the matter in compliance with WTO, FTML, and other applicable legislation.

The findings indicate that a number of Chinese steel products pose a danger to the local sector due to the dumping practises of overseas manufacturers and exporters.

Steel sector anticipates brighter prospects in 2023 A number of factors are expected to underpin a brighter performance in the steel sector in 2023.

Steel industry to gradually recover in 2023 Domestic steel demand is expected to keep falling due to the property market slump and tightened monetary policy, economic downturn in many export markets and a rise in supply making the outlook for the industry in 2023 poor, analysts said.
Mental health crisis calls to Waco police dispatch will soon be answered by behavioral health professionals, Waco Police Chief Sheryl Victorian said.

During a recent Waco NAACP meeting, Victorian announced plans to add professionals from the Heart of Texas Behavioral Health Network at the police dispatch center. Those professionals could respond by phone to crisises and send other professionals to the scene if there is no imminent physical danger.

This will be a great opportunity to work with the city of Waco Police Department on diverting crisis calls, which are typically for people with mental health crisis issues, and away from law enforcement engagement when appropriately possible, Behavioral Health Network Executive Director Daniel Thompson said in an email reply to the Tribune-Herald. We believe this will have a positive effect on local emergency departments and law enforcement agencies  by reducing emergency department visits and wait times associated with police department response.

Victorian said police are partnering with Behavioral Health Network to get state funding for the mental health professionals in dispatch.

Behavioral Health Network officials are negotiating with Texas Health and Human Services on receiving state funding and implementing the program in cooperation with the Waco Police Department, Thompson said. The funding is part of a pilot program for the state agency.

There are four or five other pilot programs in larger metro areas, and the Heart of Texas Behavioral Health Network is the first midsize community mental health provider to have this opportunity, Thompson said.

We also believe this will help local jails, such as the McLennan County Jail, which cares for an exorbitant number of mentally ill inmates, who often wait for over a year for transport to a State Mental Health Facility, he said.

Thompson said he anticipates the local program would serve all of McLennan County, but the details are still being worked out.

The model is yet to be finalized and approved by the state, though we are close, he said.

The proposed model for operations would have clinicians working in the Waco police dispatch alongside all other 911 operators under police supervision.

The idea is that certain calls will be funneled to the (behavioral health) team and assessed, like any other call, for the best and most appropriate response, Thompson said. If a situation is deemed safe for responders and the community, BHN and other appropriate providers could be dispatched as opposed to law enforcement.

Victorian said she and Thompson went to Denver about seven months ago in conjunction with the federal Bureau of Justice Assistance to review mental health diversion programs implemented by Denver police, emergency medical services and behavioral health professionals.

All these efforts are designed to help reduce the impact of mentally ill individuals engaging with law enforcement and the emergency departments, Thompson said.

When dispatch sends police officers on mental health calls, which tend to take longer than other calls, they may be delayed in responding to more serious crimes, Thompson said.

He said processing mental health crisis calls through law enforcement and criminal justice channels contributes to overcrowding in jails. Processing mental health calls through hospital emergency departments strains the already busy operations.

Diversion of mental health calls away from the criminal justice system and away from hospital emergency departments would be a win-win for the person with the mental illness, the city, the county and the community, Thompson said.
LINCOLN  Nearly two years after a frozen pipe broke at the AltEn ethanol plant and contaminated Saunders County waterways, a Nebraska lawmaker reintroduced a bill to give victims more time to sue.

State Sen. Carol Blood of Bellevue introduced the bill (LB7), which would extend Nebraska's statute of limitations for hazardous or toxic chemical exposures from four years to 10 years. She said the change is necessary because many victims of toxic chemicals don't start experiencing symptoms until after four years.

"This is the key to the courthouse for people," said attorney Vince Powers, who testified in support of the bill at a Judiciary Committee meeting Wednesday.

The bill was drafted in response to the AltEn leak in 2021, which released wastewater into the groundwater near Mead from a 4 million-gallon tank. Even before the leak and the plant's shutdown, nearby residents complained of foul odors and negative health impacts resulting from the plant.

Blood brought similar legislation (LB694) last year, which stalled in the Judiciary Committee. She said the Legislature "failed to do what was needed" and this year's bill now comes "a year too late."

"The Legislature needs to take a hold of its responsibility, and protect Nebraskans from parties that knowingly, not accidentally, expose their constituents to hazardous chemicals," Blood said.

Eleanor Rogan, professor at the University of Nebraska Medical Center, said LB7 was a reasonable extension to the statute of limitations. She said she has spent years studying latency periods, which refers to the period of time between the exposure of toxic chemicals and when the first symptoms occur. Rogan said latency periods can last anywhere from a year to 35 years, depending on the disease and age of the victim.

Trevor Towey, president of the Omaha Professional Firefighters, said the bill would also benefit local firefighters, who are often exposed to dangerous toxins as part of their job. He said sometimes their exposure to toxins is long-term, as some chemicals sink into their gear.

"All workers should have the basic expectations that if they develop any health deficits as a result of an exposure at work that they should qualify for the protections that they deserve," Towey said.

Attorney Emily Motto opposed LB7, arguing that Nebraska's current four-year statute of limitations is long enough because it is measured from when the "death, injury or damage" occurs, rather than when the victim is first exposed.

Blood's bill would amend state law to start the measurement from when the "cause of action" occurs that results in the injury or death.

Motto argued that the bill may make it more difficult for victims to successfully sue. The longer plaintiffs wait from the incident in question to introduce a lawsuit, the more difficult it is to pull their case together, she said.

Powers actually echoed this point, although he used it to make a point in support of LB7, arguing it would give victims a larger window of time.

Blood refuted Motto's point, arguing that 10 years was not excessive, and would not encourage "ambulance chasers" in Nebraska.

"What it's going to do is show that we are aware of what's going on right now in Nebraska," Blood said.
The Military Aviation Preservation Societys museum, better known as the MAPS Air Museum, maintains a marvelous collection of more than sixty historic aircraft and associated aeronautica at their facility within the bounds of Akron-Canton Airport just south of Akron, Ohio. There are numerous engaging educational displays and interactive exhibits spread across the two main galleries, which also include an impressive library and historical archive.

MAPSs Executive Director, Kim Kovesci, and curator Rich Ashely generously took the time to host us during our recent visit, taking us on a tour of their impressive facility. MAPS is clearly well-run, which is not surprising given the team involved. It doesnt hurt either that Kovesci, a U.S. Navy veteran and retired businessman, spent years of his professional life running and restructuring several different corporate enterprises, experience which has proven invaluable to his successful tenure at MAPS.

In describing MAPS, Kovesci stated: Our museum offers a wide array of exhibits from the first airships, World War I, World War II, Korea, and Vietnam to the present day. A broad collection of aircraft adorns our exhibits, ranging from the 1908 Martin Glider, the first heavier-than-air aircraft to carry a woman aloft, to the massive F-14 Tomcat.

Adding to this, Kovesci noted: We are a hands-on museum allowing visitors to sit in a Russian MiG-17 fighter, control a World War II anti-aircraft gun, tour a Goodyear blimp gondola, and more. Active restoration projects allow visitors to witness planes being brought back to life, including several Cold War-era fighters, and one of the last World War II B-26 Marauders bombers known to exist. Many artifacts, uniforms, and original artworks adorn this attraction. In addition, it now houses the collection of the Ohio Military Museum. There is also a large gift shop. Handicap accessible, and Guided or Self-Guided tours are available. Group Rates apply for tours of 15 people or more.

Some consider the MAPS Air Museum to be a working museum, since many of the aircraft they receive arrive in a dilapidated state, requiring the organizations volunteers to devote significant energy into their renovation. This effort ranges from relatively simple refurbishment all the way up to complete rebuilds. Indeed, the extremely rare Martin B-26 Marauder (40-1459) which the museum has on display, one of just a handful of complete survivors, took more than 13,500 hours to restore. As some will know, in 1971, this aircraft was one of three such airframes which the late David Tallichet organized for recovery from a remote location near the Smith River, the so-called Million Dollar Valley, in British Columbia, Canada. On January 16th, 1942, the Marauders, low on fuel, had force-landed at the site during a ferry flight from what is now Joint Base Elmendorf, in Anchorage, Alaska.

Currently, museum volunteers are rebuilding an FG-1D Corsair under the supervision of crew chief Dennis Bachtel. The project started out as a cockpit section which had been on display for some sixty years at the Goodyear Tire & Rubber Companys museum in nearby Akron, onetime home of the Goodyear Aircraft Corporation which originally built this Corsair (and 4,000+ additional examples) during WWII. When Goodyears museum closed in 2009, they gifted this Corsair cockpit to MAPS, which placed it on display as a standalone exhibit for the next 9 years. In 2018, they decided to rebuild the rest of the aircraft around this cockpit section. We will dig deeper into that effort in a follow-up article, however.
DES MOINES  Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird signed on to a letter on Thursday warning pharmacy chains Walgreens and CVS of legal trouble if they follow through on plans to deliver abortion pills by mail.

The letter, signed by 20 Republican attorneys general, argued the pharmacies risked violating federal law by mailing abortion pills  known as medication abortion  contradicting guidance from President Joe Bidens administration.

In an interview with the Quad City Times on Friday, Bird said she disagreed with the way the drug, mifepristone, was approved for distribution and had safety concerns about broader accessibility of medication abortions.

Any process to approve a drug to be distributed that way needs to be done the right way, according to the book, she said. We need to make sure that it is safe.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration last month finalized a rule allowing for retail pharmacies to dispense mifepristone, including through the mail. The sale of the drug was previously restricted to more specialized clinics.

Walgreens and CVS both said when the FDA rule changed they were in the process of becoming certified to sell the medication.

Bird said she is concerned the broader availability of the drug would lead to it being prescribed without an exam to decide if a pregnancy is in the right stage for the drug. The pills can be taken up to 11 weeks into a pregnancy, according to Planned Parenthood.

Its not having a doctor examine the patient before prescribing in order to determine how far along the pregnancy is, she said. Thats where the complications come along from that pill. And when its an internet, mailing prescription, that is not in the best interest of womens health.

Iowa has allowed for telemedicine-based medication abortions for years, but Iowans still need to receive an ultrasound before receiving the medication. Telehealth provider Carafem offers mailed medication abortions after a patient receives an ultrasound.

In the letter, the attorneys general pointed to a federal law that prohibits using the mail to send or receive every article or thing designed, adapted, or intended for producing abortion.

Bidens justice department last month issued contrary guidance, saying the law is only intended to prohibit the mailing of materials that would cause an abortion by unlawful means.

The letter called the Biden administrations guidance a bizarre interpretation and suggested it could be challenged in court.

But the text, not the Biden administrations view, is what governs, the attorneys general wrote. And the Biden administrations opinion fails to stand up even to the slightest amount of scrutiny.

Asked if she would sign onto a lawsuit, Bird said a decision would be premature at this point.

That would be something I would consider once I knew all of the facts, she said.

In a statement on Thursday, Iowa Democratic Party Chair Rita Hart criticized the move as well as Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds efforts to restrict abortion in the state.

When Brenna Bird quietly signed on to this letter full of thoroughly debunked inaccuracies, she set a dangerous precedent and signaled that she doesnt understand that her job is not to be a lackey for Kim Reynolds, Hart said. The majority of Iowans believe that abortion should be legal, and our leaders should respect and protect our reproductive freedoms.

Medication abortion is legal in Iowa, but that could change under a bill proposed in the Iowa House. House File 146 would ban the prescribing, sale or transfer of mifepristone and other common drugs used for medication abortions. Dispensing the drugs would be a Class C felony.

But its unclear what the prospects of the bill are as the Iowa Supreme Court considers a bid from Gov. Kim Reynolds to reinstate a 2018 law that would ban abortions once cardiac activity can be detected in a fetus, usually around six weeks of pregnancy.

Republican leaders in the House and Senate said before this years legislative session started they wanted to wait for a decision in that case before enacting any further restrictions on abortion.

Sarah Watson of the Quad City Times contributed to this story.
When COVID-19 hit the United States in 2020, state policymakers across the country jumped to expand access to health care. They temporarily allowed more telehealth, for example, and made it easier for medical providers to practice across state lines.

Many states also gave new authority to nurses, physician assistants and pharmacists, often dropping or loosening requirements for physician supervision during the emergency. Some states expanded the types of services non-physicians could provide  or their scope of practice  to allow more of them to administer vaccines or dispense narcotics for the treatment of substance use.

Many in those professions, who have long battled in state legislatures for more authority, said the pandemic proved their case. A handful of states  including Delaware, Kansas, Massachusetts, New York, Utah and Wyoming  have made some changes permanent. Supporters say more states should follow.

You cant be OK saying in the midst of a crisis, Because youre highly skilled in your profession, were going to remove the barriers of care, but now that were out of the crisis, were going to put the barriers back in place because now youre dangerous, said Jennifer M. Orozco, president of the American Academy of Physician Associates and director of Advanced Practice Providers at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago. (AAPA recently changed its terminology for the profession from physician assistants to physician associates to underline its independence.)

But making some of the changes permanent requires crossing swords with the powerful American Medical Association and its affiliate state chapters. Physician groups have traditionally guarded against what they regard as incursions into care they believe only physicians should provide. And they have fiercely resisted what they perceive as attempts to diminish the authority of doctors.

Removing physicians from the care team results in higher costs and lower quality of care, the organization said in an emailed statement to Stateline. Rather than grant more independence to non-physicians, the organization said it supports efforts to broaden the pipeline of doctors and more evenly distribute physicians around the country.

There is a shortage of doctors, including primary care doctors, in the United States. The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects the growth rate of primary care doctors between 2021 and 2031 to be just 3% compared with nearly 46% growth projected for nurse practitioners and 28% for physician assistants, both of which are listed by the bureau as among the fastest growing occupations in the country.

On its website, the American Medical Association trumpets its success in opposing state legislation that it describes as allowing scope creep, which it says threatens patient safety. In late 2021, the organization boasted of having 100 state legislative victories in stopping inappropriate scope expansions of non-physicians.

But non-physician organizations, such as the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners, and some scholars cite peer-reviewed research that casts doubt on the idea that giving more responsibility to non-doctors costs more or threatens the health of patients, many of whom live in areas with few physicians.

The evidence is pretty clear that it does improve access, said Matthew McHugh, professor at Penn Nursing at the University of Pennsylvania and senior fellow at its Leonard Davis Institute of Health Economics. There is not a negative impact on quality, and a lot of regulations or constraints put in place by scope of practice restrictions are really not doing anything positive in the publics interest.

A 2021 report by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine recommended that states remove barriers that prevent nurse practitioners from practicing to the full extent of their education and training. Those restrictions, the report said, decrease the types and amounts of health care services that can be provided for people who need care, especially in rural areas with few doctors.

The AMA counters with its own list of research, which it says demonstrates that nurse practitioners in some settings use more resources, have worse patient outcomes in emergency rooms, order unnecessary imaging tests in emergency rooms, and make fewer quality referrals.

The two sides disagree about how much supervision physicians should have over treatment plans, prescriptions and referrals. Many states require doctors to review a certain percentage of medical charts completed by the nurse practitioners they supervise. States often limit the number of nurse practitioners each physician is permitted to supervise at one time and in many states, nurse practitioners must pay the expenses related to the supervision.

According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, prior to COVID-19, 22 states plus Washington, D.C., had granted nurse practitioners full practice authority, waiving the supervision requirement. But many other states gave nurse practitioners more authority during the pandemic, usually by way of a governors executive order.

Many of those provisions expired when states lifted their emergency health orders. But Delaware, Kansas, Massachusetts and New York have permanently relaxed supervisory requirements.

The 159,000 physician assistants in the United States face similar issues, according to the American Academy of Physician Associates. The organization said that during COVID-19, more than 20 states broadened the independence of physician assistants. The changes included giving more prescribing authority, waiving required physician associate to physician ratios, and eliminating requirements that doctors co-sign medical charts.

As with nurse practitioners, many of these measures were temporary. In 2021, however, Utah and Wyoming made them permanent, following North Dakota, which in 2019 had become the first state to grant full practice autonomy to physician assistants.

Typical salaries can vary by 300% between these 5 types of nurses Typical salaries can vary by 300% between these 5 types of nurses #5. Licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses #4. Registered nurses #3. Nurse midwives #2. Nurse practitioners #1. Nurse anesthetists
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 University of Hartford student was arrested after making anonymous social media posts referring to shooting a dorm and other references to firearms, according to police.

The universitys Department of Public Safety was notified of the posts and contacted the Hartford Police Department around 11:30 p.m. on Sunday. Police investigated the students account and identified the student. The student, identified by police as 18-year-old Tenuun Enkhbat of Virginia, was arrested on campus before midnight Sunday, the school said.

Enkhbat was charged with first-degree threatening, police said. He has since been banned from campus, pending a conduct review, according to the school.

Enkhbat was cooperative with investigators and said the posts were created as a joke, police said.

We take these actions and concerns seriously, and we are appreciative of the assistance and response from local law enforcement, the school said in a statement.

There is no threat to the university, the school said.


Lithium Prospectivity Identified at Bullabulling

Perth, Feb 6, 2023 AEST (ABN Newswire) - Belararox Limited ( ASX:BRX ), an advanced mineral explorer focused on high value clean energy metals, is pleased to announce the identification of potential LCT mineralisation in its Bullabulling tenements, which were already considered highly prospective for gold.



Managing Director, Arvind Misra, commented:



"The discovery of pegmatites at our wholly owned Bullabulling Project adds another dimension to the prospectivity of this asset. Importantly, our interest is not just premised on these discoveries, it is also based on the geology of the region and the results derived from peer lithium-related exploration activities - both current and historic. We are developing a planned programme to test the prospectivity for LCT deposits at key targets within Bullabulling. We look forward to updating the market on the findings coming out of these activities over coming months."



Bullabulling's Prospectivity is Enhanced



Belararox Limited's 100%-owned Bullabulling Project comprises 26 tenements over 50km2 to the west of Coolgardie in Eastern Goldfield of Western Australia, was initially considered prospective for gold deposits.



The recent identification of pegmatites in the Bullabulling Project has underpinned a decision by Belararox to broaden its exploration activities at this prospect. The Company is now also assessing the potential of LithiumCaesium-Tantalum (LCT) pegmatites across these tenements.



The location details of the Bullabulling project are shown in Figure 2* below. The regional location of the Project in relation to peer Lithium Mineral Resources is shown in Figure 3*.



The current global focus on battery metals, has targeted attention on the greenstone belts of the Yilgarn Craton as fertile corridors for LCT pegmatites.



Several pegmatites have been mapped by the GSWA within, and in proximity, to the Bullabulling Project.



The Geology Underpinning Bullabulling's LCT Prospectivity



The Bullabulling Project area comprises a sequence of ultramafics and mafic rock, which have been folded and thrust repeatedly. The mafics are the main host for gold mineralisation, including at the nearby Bullabulling and Gecko gold mines. Both 3D and 2D mineral potential modelling has identified several high priority targets related to west dipping contact between ultramafic and mafic units. These targets are still a priority for the Company. See Figure 4* for a summary of regional geology.



The Bali Monzogranite, in the east of the tenements, is a highly fractionated granite body associated with pervasive post-gold pegmatites and quartz veining.



There are multiple LCT pegmatites in close proximity to the Bullabulling tenements including:



- Ubini - a lithium / tantalum mine in the early 20th century which was mined for amblygonite (lithium ore), tin and tantalum.



- Red Panda - recently the focus of exploration by Wildcat Resources at its Wildplay JV Project, in which mineralised spodumene LCT pegmatites were drill tested and confirmed.



- Various historical workings for tin - tantalum located to the south of Ubini.



- Pegmatites mined at the Gibraltar mine site up to the 1990's.



Both Ubini and Red Panda are located some 2km north of the main grouping of Bullabulling's eastern tenements in a similar geological setting with quartz and pegmatite veins in mafic rocks and both are considered an analogue for potential LCT mineralisation within the Bullabulling Project (see Figure 4*).



Reconnaissance Findings Support LCT Prospectivity



Initial reconnaissance mapping on the Bullabulling Project has confirmed extensive quartz and pegmatite veins/sheets in the amphibolite units adjacent to the Bali Monzogranite in similar settings to the Red Panda and Ubini LCT pegmatites. Field mapping and Portable X-Ray Fluorescence ("XRF") surveying was conducted over the contact with Bali Monzogranite targeting both mafic rocks, fractionated granite, and quartz/pegmatite veins/ float with rock chip samples collected at selected sites.



Assay results from samples of quartz and pegmatite will be assessed in conjunction with XRF data collected during the reconnaissance work.



Given the significant amount of vein material identified in both outcrop and as float, the Company considers that further appraisal of the potential for LCT pegmatites is warranted. Figure 5* highlights some of the higher priority target quartz veins and pegmatites identified during reconnaissance mapping.



The main target area for pegmatite material comprises a corridor at the contact between the Bali Monzogranite in the east and the amphibolite rocks to the west, within the main eastern package of tenements of the Bullabulling Project (see Figure 6*). The western tenements will also be assessed for potential pegmatite occurrences.



Next Steps in Bullabulling's LCT-Related Exploration Activities



- Belararox will undertake the following exploration work at Bullabulling, as it moves to identify LCT deposits at the Project:



- Rock chip and XRF data collected as part of the initial field reconnaissance mapping will be assessed to further evaluate the potential occurrence of potential LCT pegmatites.



- Detailed desktop analysis of peer project data and historical data for the LCT pegmatites in the Bullabulling tenement package.



- Aerial photographic surveying / satellite imagery and remote sensing interpretation will be completed as a low cost, and efficient, methods for identifying pegmatites across the Bullabulling tenement package, with a focus on the contact with the Bali Monzogranite.



- The western tenements will be assessed for potential pegmatite occurrences.



*To view tables and figures, please visit:

https://abnnewswire.net/lnk/63S1Z3H0





About Belararox Limited





Belararox Limited (ASX:BRX) is a mineral explorer focused on securing and developing resources to meet the surge in demand from the technology, battery and renewable energy markets. Our projects currently include the potential for zinc, copper, gold, silver, nickel and lead resources.


Presentation at Indaba and 121 Mining Conference

Sydney, Feb 6, 2023 AEST (ABN Newswire) - Theta Gold Mines Limited ( ASX:TGM ) ( 3LM:FRA ) ( TGMGF:OTCMKTS ) is pleased to advise that Bill Guy, Chairman of Theta Gold, will be attending the 2023 Mining Indaba Conference from 6-9 February 2023 in South Africa and presenting at the following two events:



1. The 121 Mining Investment Cape Town Conference; and



2. Australian Mining in Africa Program 2023.



The 121 Mining Investment Cape Town Conference presentation:



Bill Guy will be presenting at the 121 Mining Investment Cape Town conference on the TGME Gold Mine Project and the results of its Feasibility Study completed in July 2022.



Australian Mining in Africa Program 2023 ESG presentation, "South Africa: - A Global Leader in ESG":



Theta Golds Mines along with Messrs Webber Wentezl in alliance with Linklaters, (One of South's Largest law firms) and OMI Solutions (An environmental specialist firm) have sponsored a presentation for the 'Australian Mining in Africa Program 2023' (Hosted by Austrade at Mining Indaba 2023). The presentation will address how South Africa is meeting the challenges of ESG - By addressing all 17 of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UNSDG).



*To view the Presentation, please visit:

https://abnnewswire.net/lnk/381501IL





About Theta Gold Mines Limited





Theta Gold Mines Limited (ASX:TGM) (OTCMKTS:TGMGF) is a gold development company that holds a range of prospective gold assets in a world-renowned South African gold mining region. These assets include several surface and near-surface high-grade gold projects which provide cost advantages relative to other gold producers in the region.

Theta Gold Mines core project is located next to the historical gold mining town of Pilgrim's Rest, in Mpumalanga Province, some 370km northeast of Johannesburg by road or 95km north of Nelspruit (Capital City of Mpumalanga Province). Following small scale production from 2011-2015, the Company is currently focussing on the construction of a new gold processing plant within its approved footprint at the TGME plant, and for the processing of the Theta Open Pit oxide gold ore. Nearby surface and underground mines and prospects are expected to be further evaluated in the future.

The Company aims to build a solid production platform to over 100Kozpa based primarily around shallow, open-cut or adit-entry hard rock mining sources. Theta Gold Mines has access to over 43 historical mines and prospect areas that can be accessed and explored, with over 6.7Moz of historical production recorded.
A student brought a knife to a middle school in Granby on Monday, the second time its happened in the district in a week, according to officials.

A student brought in a knife and showed some classmates in the early minutes of school on Monday at Granby Memorial Middle School, according to Granby Superintendent Jordan Grossman in a letter to parents.

It was determined that the student had no ill intentions and no student was ever at risk, Grossman said. From what we found, this student made a terrible mistake by bringing this item onto school grounds.

Grossman said all safety protocols were immediately put into action and parents and guardians of students in the classroom were contacted by the administration individually.

I understand that these types of incidents may cause concern and anxiety for our school community, and I want to assure you that we are taking every precaution to ensure safety in our schools, Grossman said.

Granby Memorial Middle School Principal Taylor Wyre said the school administration conducted a full investigation, alerted the proper authorities and is taking appropriate disciplinary measures.

Both Wyre and Grossman suggested that district parents speak to their children about bringing items that could be considered dangerous to school.

A student brought a knife to Wells Road Intermediate School last week, according to multiple media reports.
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Toronto, Feb 6, 2023 AEST (ABN Newswire) - In this segment of The Ellis Martin Report we speak with Dr. Paul West-Sells, CEO of Western Copper and Gold Corporation ( TSE:WRN ) ( NYSE:WRN ) on the positive economic impact that The Casino Project will have on the Yukon and Canada over the next 20-30 years.



Western Copper and Gold Corporation is pleased to announce the results of an updated study on the potential economic impact of the development of its wholly owned Casino Copper-Gold Project ("Casino" or the "Project") on the Yukon and Canada recently completed by MNP LLP (the "Report").



The Report incorporates the results from the Casino Feasibility Study dated August 8, 2022.



The Report highlights the impressive cumulative economic effect that developing Casino will have on the Yukon and Canada during the project's construction, operation, closure, and reclamation. The Casino project is estimated to contribute $44.3 billion to Canada's Gross Domestic Product ("GDP"), create 132,280 full-time equivalent positions ("FTE"), and generate $12.8 billion in wages and salaries over the entire life of the Project. Note that the use of FTEs is a method to account for partial employment or employment for different durations and 1.0 FTE is equivalent to a full-time job for one year of employment.



The Report estimates the GDP generated in Yukon by the construction of Casino at $1.7 billion. The construction phase is estimated to contribute $3.6 billion to Canada's economy while generating 25,580 FTEs resulting in $2.1 billion in wages and salaries across Canada.



During each of its 27 years of operation, the Casino Project is expected to contribute $1.3 billion to Yukon's economy. Operation of the mine is estimated to contribute $1.5 billion to Canada's GDP annually while creating 3,880 FTEs and generating $391 million in wages and salaries across Canada.



The Casino Project is also expected to generate $11.2 billion in taxes and royalties to various governments during the life of mine.



To listen to the Interview, please visit:

https://www.abnnewswire.net/lnk/294X582M





About The Ellis Martin Report





The Ellis Martin Report (TEMR) is an internet based radio program showcasing potentially undervalued companies to an audience of potential retail investors and fund managers that comprise our listening audience. TEMR is broadcasted on the VoiceAmerica Business Channel and The Opportunity Radio Network. CEO and company interviews are paid for by those represented on the program.

About Western Copper and Gold Corporation

Western Copper and Gold Corporation (NYSE:WRN) (TSE:WRN) is developing the Casino Project, Canada's premier copper-gold mine in the Yukon Territory and one of the most economic greenfield copper-gold mining projects in the world. The Company is committed to working collaboratively with our First Nations and local communities to progress the Casino project using internationally recognized responsible mining technologies and practices.
Great chasms are opening in the world, and nobody is noticing.

A small asteroid roared into London, shattering the lives of 12,000 people. The catastrophic event triggers a multitude of grief.

The British playwright James Fritz penned Lava before COVID-19 ravaged the world. The play opens on Thursday, Feb. 9, at the Vortex Theatre. But the scenario is similar, director Kendra Rickert said.

Weve all been living through this, she said. Its not about the asteroid, but how people are dealing with the pain and loss. Sometimes when we need each other the most, it doesnt seem possible.

A young man called Vin is finding it hard to talk. The only person who seems to notice is Rach, who resolves to find out whats troubling him and help him find his voice again.

Everybodys creating stories about what his grief must have been, Rickert said.

The mildly-irritating Jamie, who has experienced the greatest tragedy of all by losing his mother in the disaster, provides some comic relief.

Hes very able to communicate the pain hes in, but hes over the top, Rickert said. And he doesnt take social cues well.

When Rachs family takes in an articulate and charismatic survivor of the asteroid incident, Vins silence is no longer her first priority.

Who has the right to be comforted when everybody else has it worse? Rickert asked. Who deserves sympathy?

It compares peoples traumas, she added. It brings up a lot of issues of masculinity, how men deal with grief. It deals with male rage in that it needs to be harnessed.

Finally, Vin begins to communicate by texting Rach. He says, Stop trying to help me.

He feels that its not a masculine thing, Rickert said.

Rickert wanted to direct a play that gave audience members some hope.

How do you stay accountable to each other during times of grief? she asked. Everybody deserves compassion.

Fritz structured the play around the five stages of grief.

Written in 2018 and staged as the world moves out of a global pandemic, the themes of loss, and of solidarity in the face of unprecedented tragedy, may have once seemed implausible.

As each character processes their own experiences of loss and trauma, layers of truth and lies peel away, resulting in a deep dive into how we assign value to different kinds of sadness.

Lava stars Ashley Deleona, Jordan Olguin, Echo Dobie and Josh Browner.
The question for Bobs Burgers owners has to be, whats in that special sauce thats kept things going for 60 years? And for Buckland Pharmacys owners, whats your prescription for 118 years of success?

With the N.M. Legislature in session, and lawmakers debating how to best diversify our economy and attract new/support existing job creators, we would recommend they consider the insights of those who have not just survived but thrived.

As Bobs Burgers celebrates the six-decade anniversary of its opening, the Salas family now has 11 locations and more than 150 employees across the state. In Belen, Buckland Pharmacy is closing its doors as owner/pharmacist Richard Brower retires. These businessmen and women have decades of insight into what works, and whats challenging, for those trying to do business in New Mexico.

New Mexico lawmakers need to pick their brains and listen to them.

The Salases focused on hard teamwork in a Jan. 28 Albuquerque Journal front-page profile. Brothers Bob and Tom, along with their wives, have been the chief, the cook and the bottle washer for generations of employees.

Toms son, Clifford Salas, started working at Bobs Burgers when he was 14 and with his wife now owns seven of the locations. Were family first, business second, he says, quoting his late father.

Brower shared in a Journal Business Outlook profile Jan. 30 that Bucklands is about community. It has thrived because of community service. The people who worked at Buckland Pharmacy (whether it be doing internship from UNM or after school work or long term) over the years have been from the community and taken pride in providing the best service they could. Bucklands is about community because when patients or customers came in, they knew the staff. The staff at Bucklands has not had a high turnover over the years. People at Bucklands stayed and worked long term.

And while those insights emphasize the hard work and dedication to community endemic in small businesses, everyone whos tried to open, started, run and/or closed a business in New Mexico knows theres so much more to it. From state, county and city regulations to tax structure, construction inspections to building codes, it is essential for our state representatives and senators to hear from those on the front lines  the Salases, Browers and more  if they are to make systemic changes that deliver for business owners, their employees and customers.

The 2023 legislative session runs through March 18. Information on proposed legislation as well as contact information for lawmakers is at nmlegis.gov. We urge lawmakers and business owners alike to reach out so this session is a productive one for business  as productive as Bobs Burgers and Buckland Pharmacy have been for New Mexico.

This editorial first appeared in the Albuquerque Journal. It was written by members of the editorial board and is unsigned as it represents the opinion of the newspaper rather than the writers.
SANTA FE  New Mexico lawmakers are leaving many large polluters out of climate change policy, according to a new report from the University of New Mexico and PSE Healthy Energy, a nonprofit research institute. And many of those polluters are in low-income communities and communities of color.

The challenge of addressing climate change is quite great, Associate Professor of Law at the University of New Mexico Gabriel Pacyniak said. Our existing policies, while theyre some nation-leading policies in the electric power and oil and gas sectors, arent sufficient to meet the states climate goals.

In 2019, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham signed an executive order calling for the state to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 45% from 2005 levels by 2030, and later called for the state to reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.

Several state departments and the state Legislature have responded with new rules and policies. That includes the 2019 Energy Transition Act, which requires utilities to supply 100% decarbonized electricity to New Mexico customers by 2050.

The authors of the study said that will help cut down on large source emissions, but it doesnt directly require them to cut back or interfere with the power they provide to out-of-state customers.

Climate policies provide a real opportunity to improve public health, but it depends on how theyre designed, Pacyniak said.

The UNM study argues that the state government, in its efforts to meet those goals, stops short of requiring cuts to greenhouse gas emissions by large stationary sources, including power plants, oil refineries and natural gas processing plants. It said these sources make up a quarter of the states greenhouse gas emissions.

It also said of the sources in populous areas, about two-thirds are in mostly low-income communities, and nearly half are in areas with a high proportion of people of color. Those include the Rio Grande Generating Station in Sunland Park and the Rio Bravo Generating Station in Albuquerque.

The states economy is being supported by the oil and gas industry, but that comes at a price, said Michael Leon Guerrero, a sustainable economy policy advisor for the Center for Civic Policy, which helped advise the study. Its coming at the price of peoples health and their environment.

The top large sources of pollution cited by the study included the Four Corners Generating Station on the Navajo Reservation, the San Juan Generating Station near Farmington, which has since closed in part because of a lawsuit, and the Lea Power-Hobbs Generating Station.

Leon Guerrero said he supports lawmakers transitioning the state away from its dependency on natural resource extraction, and that the Center for Civic Policy is working on House Bill 188, which would create an economic transition division within the New Mexico Economic Development Department.

More from Megan Myscofski
As the Albuquerque Police Department has struggled with recruiting and retaining officers over the past several years, it has turned toward a new strategy: hire civilians instead.

Police Chief Harold Medina said he sees the approach as the forefront of the wave of the future, adding that similar-sized departments across the country are also struggling to bolster their ranks.

We should always try to strive toward growing the number of sworn individuals but its just not happening right now, Medina said. The civilians are giving us some relief and helping our sworn officers.

Civilian staff are now doing internal investigations as well as assisting with criminal investigations.

For instance, they make up the Digital Intelligence Team  which was created in the past couple of years to assist detectives in combing through social media and analyzing phone data and video. They are also filling positions in the Auto Theft Unit as bait car technicians, in the crime lab gathering video and other digital evidence, as crime scene specialists and in the Shield Unit, which was created in 2017 to help officers prepare cases for trial.

The department has also recently hired four civilians to do reconstruction of fatal crashes to assist sworn staff. The civilians are being trained and are expected to start at the end of June, APD said.

The union, however, said hiring civilians for such jobs was a desperate attempt to try to provide some level of service to the city and that its not going to be successful.

Were growing our civilian staff and our sworn staff is becoming more and more depleted , said Shaun Willoughby, the president of the Albuquerque Police Officers Association. We think that this is very, very dangerous for the police department. The police department needs to be primarily focused about growing the ranks of the Albuquerque Police Department.

Outside perspectives

In mid-2021  following blistering criticism from the Independent Monitor overseeing the citys progress with court-ordered reforms  APD started hiring civilians to investigate officers use of force.

APD is mandated to have 25 investigators in its Internal Affairs Force Division, but few officers wanted to fill that role.

Currently, IAFD is about split, with 18 civilians and 19 sworn staff  which a spokeswoman said ensures both perspectives are represented. They are being trained by the External Force Investigation Team out of Florida, an effort that has won praise from the DOJ and the Independent Monitor.

Besides freeing up sworn staff to work in other areas, Medina said civilians bring a different perspective to the work.

Its not always a cop doing the investigation, he said. We do have outside people that do not have 25, 20 years of relationships with everybody that theyre investigating.

Advocates for police reform like the hiring of civilians, too  Peter Simonson, the executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of New Mexico and a member of the APD Forward coalition, called it one of the few bright spots in APDs journey.

Not only have they helped the department fill investigator positions that uniformed officers have been unwilling to take, but we believe they may break down some of the Blue Wall syndrome that has contributed to weak investigations and lack of accountability within the department, Simonson said.

He said that its critical for investigations into an officers use of force to be thorough, impartial and completed in a timely manner  something APD had historically struggled with.

Their failures have led to a backlog of over 660 use of force investigations, and undoubtedly resulted in countless improper uses of force going unaddressed, Simonson said. APDs failures have cost the city more than $10 million in consulting fees to teach the department to conduct investigations the way professionally run departments do in other parts of the country.

Willoughby said he thinks APD did its due diligence trying to incentivize sworn officers to join IAFD before it ultimately began hiring civilian staff instead. Its the other positions he takes issue with.

The department really didnt have any wiggle room. They were mandated to staff that to a certain level, and I really dont think they had very many options , he said. Im telling you, like, the answer to all their questions and problems is making what should be a sworn police officer a civilian job and its going to blow up in this police departments face  in my opinion.

Optimizing staff, resources

Both times Tim Keller ran for mayor  in 2017 and in 2021  he set the goal of increasing the number of APD officers to 1,200.

After years of missing the mark, he now says were moving past this concept of an ideal number of officers.

The recruiting pipeline is so small right now in America, and in New Mexico, you just cant fund it to happen. Weve always funded it and weve tried hard, but youre just not going to hit numbers like 1,500 officers  that thats just naive, Keller said in a meeting with Journal editors and reporters. I think thats a big step for us as a department. Were not going to sit and wait for those kinds of numbers so the question is: how do you replace that crime fighting effectiveness?

The answer, Keller says, is maximizing the number of officers who are fighting crime by increasing technology  like automated speed enforcement, ShotSpotter and license plate readers  and the hiring of civilians to do desk jobs.

Were basically saying that we can meet what we need over the next few years in terms of forces in the field who are actually fighting crime, Keller said. But the only way to do that is taking technology, civilianizing desk jobs  and by retaining the officers we have.

Certain duties will never be civilianized, Medina said, such as responding to certain calls for service, especially those involving violent crimes, and putting cases together and presenting them to court.

In the end a sworn detective will always be the one putting the final touches together and getting the case over the finish line, he said. Officers will always be the first responders to a fight in progress, or burglary in progress, apprehending somebody in a stolen car.

Medina said opening up roles to civilians also allows people to join APD who want to join law enforcement but dont necessarily want to be a sworn officer.

I think it really enables us to diversify our police force and to bring in people who may not want to  or be able to  go through the full academy but still definitely have a huge value to the organization, Medina said.

One of APDs most recent civilian hires is actually a re-hire.

Jerry Arnold had been a detective in the Auto Theft Unit until he was fired in September following an internal investigation into a shooting. Arnold had shot at, but missed, an unarmed auto theft suspect last year and investigators determined that his use of force was not reasonable, necessary, proportional, minimal or within department policy and he didnt have a clear view of what was unfolding.

He is now working as a Bait Vehicle Coordinator in the Auto Theft Unit.

Albuquerque Police Department personnel picture

Sworn staff: 865

Field officers (includes the Problem Response Team, officers in on-the-job training, bike officers, and the ranks up through deputy chief): 459

A snapshot of the civilian staff

Internal Affairs Force Division: 19

Internal Affairs Professional Services: 4

Digital Intelligence Team: 7

Auto Theft Unit: 4

Crime Lab: 30

Shield Unit: 12

Crash reconstruction in the traffic unit: 4

More from investigative reporter Elise Kaplan
Inside the office building of the very state agency charged with protecting children, a 14-year-old foster youth allegedly sexually assaulted a 10-year-old foster child in December.

The assault allegedly occurred in a bathroom at the New Mexico Children, Youth and Families Departments main Albuquerque office building, according to an Albuquerque Police Department incident report. The complex on Indian School Road houses the CYFD Cabinet secretary and deputy secretarys satellite offices, as well as the call center that screens reports of child abuse and neglect.

Foster youth routinely sleep in the Albuquerque office when caseworkers cannot find them a bed elsewhere, according to childrens attorneys and CYFD employees.

The alleged perpetrator, a teenage boy who was taken into the foster care system because of abuse or neglect, has a history of sexual misconduct, according to two CYFD employees who spoke on the condition of anonymity. He was supposed to be supervised while around other youth in the building, the employees said.

We can confirm there was an incident that is pending internal and external investigation to ensure that proper placement protocols were followed, CYFD Cabinet Secretary Barbara J. Vigil told Searchlight New Mexico in a statement. CYFD staff are clear that children are not to be placed in offices unless every other option is exhausted, and any improper action will yield consequences. In situations like these, law enforcement are immediately contacted and CYFD works closely with them to ensure accountability, Vigil said.

The teen and the younger boy were discovered in the bathroom by a staff member on Dec. 5, the police report said. After the alleged assault occurred, the teenage suspect ran from the building and CYFD staff called police, according to an internal agency email shared with Searchlight.

According to the police report, the victim was taken for a SANE exam, a specialized medical examination for sexual assault victims. The investigation is ongoing and as of Jan. 31, charges had not been filed.

CYFD has promised not to house children in offices. In February 2020, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grishams administration settled a landmark class-action lawsuit, agreeing to wide-ranging reforms to the states foster care system. Among them, New Mexico committed to ending the practice of housing foster youth in temporary settings like youth homeless shelters or CYFD offices, where they cant receive the services and support they need. Under the settlement agreement, no child could be placed in an agency office except under extraordinary circumstances.

Progress has been made, state officials told Searchlight last fall. New Mexico has also created plans to recruit more foster families, according to monitors for the legal settlement.

But three years after signing the agreement, the promise to put all children in safe, stable homes has not materialized. Kids experiencing mental health crises still sleep on cots or mattresses on office floors, according to an October 2022 investigation by Searchlight and ProPublica.

Its dehumanizing, said Rudy Bolt, who lived in the CYFD office building off and on between 2018 and August 2022, when he aged out of foster care. One stay lasted nearly three months  part of it spent sleeping in one of the buildings storage closets, he recalled. You just sit there. You wonder, am I going to stay here forever?

Fights between kids were frequent at the office building, Bolt said. He said the fact that a sexual assault happened there was not surprising.

Its a building full of teenagers who feel like the system has given up on them. That environment creates bad behavior. Of course there are going to be problems.

The Dec. 5 incident is the second time in the span of a year that law enforcement has investigated a sexual assault at a CYFD facility housing foster children, according to police reports. In December 2021, officers investigated another case of a teenager allegedly assaulting another foster youth at the Albuquerque Girls Reintegration Center, a former halfway house for juvenile offenders that CYFD temporarily repurposed as a group home for foster kids.

Nowhere to go

CYFD has struggled for years to find foster homes for teenagers. The investigation by Searchlight and ProPublica revealed that the agency repeatedly shuffles teens between the Albuquerque office and youth homeless shelters, including those with developmental disabilities, PTSD, severe depression and other serious mental health diagnoses. The shelters are licensed to briefly house runaways and youth with nowhere to go. They dont provide psychiatric care and arent equipped to care for high-needs teens.

Kids placed in shelters sometimes spiral into mental health crises and run away, get arrested or are taken to hospitals for psychiatric evaluations, the investigation found  often ending up back at the CYFD office, sometimes for days, weeks or longer, until a caseworker can arrange another shelter placement.

The alleged perpetrator of the sexual assault was among this group: He had been the subject of at least eight calls to 911 at shelters in Albuquerque and Santa Fe over a two-month period ending in early 2022, according to police data analyzed by Searchlight and ProPublica. One of those calls was for a suicide threat; others were for aggressive behavior and running away.

Police received dozens of calls from CYFDs address on Indian School Road between 2020 and 2021, according to 911 dispatch data for that period.

Some of the calls were for children in serious psychiatric distress, including youth who were suicidal or violent. One police report described a 16-year-old boy hitting a security guard in the head and allegedly trying to take his gun; another described a 17-year-old girl with a history of suicidal behavior who became agitated and started hallucinating. When police arrived, she asked if there was an officer who could adopt her.

Children are only further traumatized by being housed in shelters, offices and other inappropriate settings, said Sara Crecca, an Albuquerque-based childrens attorney who was co-counsel for the plaintiffs in the lawsuit that resulted in the 2020 legal settlement. What could be more demoralizing to a child who has already lost family, than to face the fact that they have no one to take care of them? These children deserve to be nurtured in a loving foster home and to thrive instead of simply survive.

Joel Jacobs of ProPublica contributed reporting. Searchlight New Mexico is a nonpartisan, nonprofit news organization dedicated to investigative reporting in New Mexico.

More reporting on CYFD


A man and a woman were killed in Hobbs on Friday night after being struck by a vehicle while walking their dog, according to the Hobbs Police Department.

The law enforcement agency said in a press release Sunday that Anthony Baca, a 26-year-old Hobbs man, was charged with involuntary manslaughter, tampering with evidence, cruelty to animals and other charges in connection to the wreck.

At around 6 p.m. Friday, police were called to the 600 block of Apache after a vehicle struck two people.

Joshua Jackson, a 33-year-old Hobbs man, and Octavia Throssel, 27, of California, had been struck and died at the scene, according to the news release. The dog also was killed, said officer Reanna Alarcon, a spokeswoman for the department.

The driver left the scene after the crash.

Our officers and detectives worked diligently through the night in an attempt to find the suspected driver, police said in a news release.

Police relied on witnesses, businesses surveillance footage and social media posts to track down the suspected vehicle, which belonged to a company.

The company reported that Baca was using the vehicle and reported being in an crash.

Hobbs police interviewed Baca and he allegedly admitted to being in a wreck, but he said he originally thought he hit a dog or a deer, according to the release.

Baca is being held at the Hobbs City Jail, according to police.

Police requested that anyone with information about the case call (575) 397-9265, or contact Lea County Crime Stoppers at (575) 393-8005.
The National Enquirer, the scandal-plagued tabloid that engaged in catch-and-kill practices to bury stories about Donald Trump during his presidential campaign, has been sold.

VVIP is buying the National Examiner and another tabloid, the Globe, from magazine publisher a360 Media in an all-cash deal, though exact financial terms were not disclosed.

In December 2018 the parent company of publications including the National Enquirer, Us Weekly and In Touch admitted to engaging in a journalistically dubious practice known as catch-and-kill in order to help Donald Trump become president.

Federal prosecutors revealed at the time that they had agreed not to prosecute American Media Inc. for secretly assisting Trumps campaign by paying $150,000 to Playboy model Karen McDougal for the rights to her story about an alleged affair with Trump. The company then intentionally suppressed McDougals story until after the election.

Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon, also accused the paper of attempting to bribe him in 2019 with embarrassing below the belt photos sent to his girlfriend.

American Media sold the National Enquirer and some other publications in April 2019 to James Cohen, former head of the airport newsstand company Hudson News. However, the transaction was never completed.

In August 2020 David Pecker stepped down as CEO of American Media. At the time, American Media Inc. was being taken over by Accelerate360, a logistics firm based in Smyrna, Georgia. Under Pecker, the National Enquirer for years buried potentially embarrassing stories about Trump and other favored celebrities by buying the rights to them and never publishing.

The Federal Election Commission fined a360 Media $187,500 in June 2021 for squashing the McDougal story. The FEC said the publishers payment to Karen McDougal to purchase a limited life story right combined with its decision not to publish the story, in consultation with an agent of Donald J. Trump and for the purpose of influencing the election, constituted a prohibited corporate in-kind contribution.

VVIP Ventures is a joint venture between digital media and content technologies holding company Vinco Ventures Inc. and ICON Publishing.
NORTH LAS VEGAS, Nev. (AP)  A former Dances With Wolves actor accused of sexually abusing Indigenous girls and women for two decades in multiple states has been charged in Nevada for crimes that prosecutors said occurred in the Las Vegas-area starting in 2012.

Nathan Chasing Horse, 46, was formally charged Monday morning during a brief appearance in a North Las Vegas courtroom full of his friends and relatives who had hoped to see him released on bail. But a judge postponed hearing arguments about his custody status until Wednesday to give Chasing Horses new California-based attorney, Alexandra Kazaria, additional time to obtain permission from the State Bar of Nevada to represent him in the case.

Nevada law requires prosecutors to present convincing evidence that a defendant should remain in custody. Clark County Deputy District Attorney Jessica Walsh said last week that she expected testimony from Las Vegas police detectives, FBI special agents and victims.

In the meantime, Chasing Horse is being held without bail at a jail in downtown Las Vegas. He has been in custody since his Jan. 31 arrest near the North Las Vegas home he shares with his five wives.

Chasing Horse is charged with eight felonies, including sex trafficking, sexual assault against a child younger than 16, and child abuse, according to a criminal complaint. Prosecutors also filed an additional felony charge Monday in connection with what detectives said were videos saved on a phone showing sexual assaults of a minor.

Seated opposite of Chasing Horses family on Monday, some of the victims and their supporters held signs inside the courtroom reading NO MORE STOLEN SISTERS and WOMEN ARENT PRISONERS.

Rulon Pete, executive director of the Las Vegas Indian Center, said after the hearing that the victims had been prepared to help out with making sure justice has been served.

Unfortunately theres a lot of anxiety theyre experiencing, he told The Associated Press after speaking with the victims and prosecutors. When this got pushed back, it was like adding more weight to the situation.

He did not enter a plea Monday after he was formally charged. In Nevada, defendants do not enter a plea until their criminal case is bound over to a state district court, either after a grand jury indictment or after a judge decides prosecutors have enough evidence for the defendant to stand trial.

Chasing Horse played the role of Sioux tribe member Smiles a Lot in Kevin Costners 1990 Oscar-winning film.

Since then, he has built a reputation among tribes across the United States and in Canada as a medicine man. Chasing Horse, police said, abused that position and took underage wives over two decades in multiple states, including South Dakota, Montana and Nevada, where he has lived for about a decade. He also was banished from the Fort Peck Reservation in Poplar, Montana, in 2015 following similar allegations.

Detectives described Chasing Horse in a 50-page search warrant as the leader of a cult known as The Circle, whose followers believed he could communicate with higher powers.

Pete, of the Las Vegas Indian Center, described the role of the medicine man in their culture as a highly respected leadership post. Theyre like priests, if you will.

You follow what they teach, he said, adding that the victims have shown great courage by speaking out despite the intimidation and threats Pete said they have faced since Chasing Horses arrest.

An arrest report for Chasing Horse shows at least six victims have been identified, including one who was 13 when she said she was abused, and another who said she was offered to him as a gift when she was 15.

After SWAT officers took him into custody last week, detectives searched the familys home and found guns, 41 pounds (18.5 kilograms) of marijuana and psilocybin mushrooms, according to the arrest report.

The criminal complaint filed Monday also charges Chasing Horse with two misdemeanors in connection with a dead bald eagle and parts of a dead hawk discovered during the search of his property.

Chasing Horse was born on the Rosebud Reservation in South Dakota, which is home to the Sicangu Sioux, one of the seven tribes of the Lakota nation.
Albuquerque resident Buddy Wren will appear on Wheel of Fortuneat 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 7, on KRQE.

Wheel of Fortune has always been a place of comfort for Albuquerque resident Buddy Wren.

As a child, his mother would rock him to sleep while watching the TV game show. Somehow, the loud Wheel of Fortune intro would calm his nerves.

As an adult, he and his fiance, while living apart, would call each other and watch the show via video chat every weekday at 6:30 p.m.

Today, the pair play Wheel of Fortune on their Nintendo Switch to add more game show into their lives.

Wren was called in December by Wheel of Fortune producers to fly out to Los Angeles to compete on an episode.

I had sent in an audition tape over a year ago, he says. I had forgotten about it.

Wrens episode will air at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 7, on KRQE.

When it airs, Wren will be watching it with his 95-year-old grandfather, who lives in Santa Fe.

My grandfather has been a fan of the show for 40 years, Wren says. I moved to Albuquerque to be closer to him and hell be able to see me on the TV while we watch the show.

Wren was on set for one long day  from 6:30 a.m. until 7 p.m.

He saw six episodes tape and spent his time waiting on the Jeopardy! set, which is next door.

It was amazing to watch all of the episodes, he says. I also got to witness Vanna White mark her 40th anniversary show. We didnt know that was happening. They finished the third taping and the puzzleboard starts to reveal Happy 40th Vannaversary! She made a post about it on social media. I witnessed a bit of game show history.

Wren went to school at Western Kentucky University where he studied psychology. He graduated in 2017.

He moved to New Mexico to be closer to his family and is pursuing his masters in forensic psychology at National University.

Ive always loved Albuquerque and Ive fallen in love with the art and culture, he says. I never thought Id be on Wheel of Fortune. The whole experience has been wonderful.

Wren and his fiance will tie the knot on Feb. 14.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency confirmed it received and will review an administrative complaint alleging flooding and sewage backups in the city stem in part from discrimination.

The complaint comes as residents of the citys North end press consistent concerns about flooding and sewage backups that have driven them from their homes at times and left expensive damage for which some have been left footing all or parts of repairs bills.

Community activist Bridgitte Prince met last week with a state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection official, EPA Region 1 Regional Administrator David Cash, EPA Civil Rights administrator Sharon Wells, and other community leaders; they set a meeting for residents to share details of sewage and flooding in their homes. The meeting is to begin at 5:30 p.m. tonight, Monday, Feb. 6 at The American Legion at 2121 Main St.

Meanwhile, a spokeswoman for the EPA said in a statement to The Courant that the agency can confirm that it has received an administrative complaint involving the City of Hartford and the Metropolitan Water District alleging discrimination in violation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

The complaint is being handled by their Office of External Civil Rights Compliance in Washington, D.C., said Dominique Joseph, of the EPAs Office of Public Affairs

Joseph said that consistent with EPAs nondiscrimination regulation and OECRCs complaint handling procedures, the complaint will undergo jurisdictional review to determine if it is appropriate for investigation by OECRC. That determination is expected within the next 25 days.

As this is a pending matter, EPA cannot comment further, Joseph said.

MDC Communications Administrator Nick Salemi said Monday that they have not been contacted by anyone from the EPA about the complaint, nor provided any information about it.

Until we receive and review a copy of the administrative complaint, we have no comment, he said.

Flooding on Hartfords Granby Street August 2021

The city is not responsible for sewers and storm sewer drainage in Hartford; that responsibility falls to the MDC.

Mayor Luke Bronin said Monday that, the fundamental challenge is that, like many communities, we have an aging combined sewer system that was not built for the extreme weather thats becoming more common as a result of climate change.

The sewer and storm sewer systems are under the authority of the Metropolitan District Commission, but the City of Hartford has a big stake in getting these issues fixed for our community, Bronin said. Thats why weve been working closely with the EPA, the MDC, the State of Connecticut, and our community, and we have long been advocating for the large-scale infrastructure modernization thats necessary.

City resident Donna Campbell said she planned to be at the meeting Monday night and hopes for reimbursement for some of the flood damage.

There needs to be, some kind of strategic plan to alleviate or minimize what happened before, but also assistance in covering the unexpected cost of having to do major repairs because of that, Campbell said.

Campbell said she is property/asset manager of North United Methodist Church on Albany Avenue and saw firsthand the flood and sewage damage the building incurred in August 2021.

Our boiler needed to be repaired, in that it was no longer operating. All the tiles in the lower level of the church had to be removed. When the water subsided, there was a lot of mud and sewage, a lot of moldEverything in the kitchen had to be thrown out, including everything in the cupboards, the island that was in the center of the kitchen, she said.

So far, the church has had to spend about $40,000 to make repairs  although there is still some damage that they have not repaired, due to cost, she said.

Campbell said the city has offered $7,500 toward the building, but they received estimates of $25,000 to do sump pumps.

Oakland Terrace resident Irma Davis also said she would try to attend the meeting and hoped there would be accountability for the flooding and sewage damage. She said she attended meetings in the past, but It was just the finger pointing and no one really took ownership for what they should have done and what really went wrong to cause a flood like that.

Davis said that at this point, the residents need people to step up and help those who were affected and suffered loss by the flooding and sewage issues in the city.

Ive been in Hartford since 1960. I have never, ever experienced anything like this in Hartford, she said, of the August 2021 flooding that destroyed her finished basement.

Were not in a flood zone. And then the other part of it is, insurance doesnt cover it. You have to have flood insurance. Why would you get flood insurance, and youre not living in a flood zone? So, whatever expenses and repairs [you have], it certainly has to be out of pocket to try and repair and restore your property. You have to do it on your own expense, she said.

Flooding on Hartfords Granby Street August 2021

Councilman TJ Clarke said that while he is pleased the city put together a Flood Mitigation Assistance Program to help homeowners who were affected by storms Fred, Henri, and/or Ida on a local level, it is not enough to assist residents fully with flooding and sewage issues.

So many basements have been flooded and it breaks my heart when they talk about feces that were rising up. he said. .

And you really want to see some type of action taken both at the federal level and state levelfor residents to tap into, we were able to do something on a smaller scale at the city level. But thats not enough. Thats only maybe a band-aid over a wound. So we really need some assistance at the federal level, as well as the state level to help our residents, he said.

He said that he reached out to U.S, Sen. Richard Blumenthal at his office to let him know that he is ready to help in any way he can  as Blumenthal attended a Jan 17 meeting where residents shared their experiences with flooding and sewage in their homes.

Everything floods [and] goes right into Harford. And because of the drains not being cleared, and the back and forth [of] whose responsibility [it is], at the end of the day  the residents are being affected. And theyre going to continue to be affected, until theres something thats actually done, he said.
SANTA FE  A new push to overhaul the structure of New Mexicos Legislature is off to a partisan start at the Roundhouse.

Two separate proposals to extend session lengths and pay lawmakers a salary cleared their first assigned House committee on Monday on party-line votes  Democrats voting in favor and Republicans in opposition.

Both proposals would require approval from statewide voters in November 2024, if theyre approved by both legislative chambers this year.

Backers of the ideas, including various progressive advocacy groups, insist the time has come for New Mexico to take steps to modernize its Legislature by paying lawmakers a salary, increasing legislative staffing levels and reshaping the session format.

I do think times have changed since we became a state and it warrants a second look at this time, said House Majority Leader Gail Chasey, D-Albuquerque, who said its common for lawmakers to have to make technical fixes to bills approved in the final frenzied days of a session.

As a new legislator in 1996, Chasey said she found most of her colleagues were wealthy or retired  or both.

While the makeup of the Legislature has changed in recent years and women now make up more than half of the 70-member House, some lawmakers have said it remains difficult for young professionals with children to serve at the Roundhouse.

I have thought many, many times of quitting this job because of the utter stress it causes, said Rep. Dayan Hochman-Vigil, D-Albuquerque, who said shes decided to stay, for now, in large part due to a desire to provide representation for young girls.

Legislative pay in context

New Mexico is currently the only state in the nation in which legislators do not receive a salary, though they do get a per diem payment  currently set at $178 per day  thats intended to cover food and lodging expenses during legislative sessions and on days when interim committees are meeting in the summer and fall. They can also qualify for a legislative pension plan after 10 years.

In addition, legislative sessions are currently limited by the state Constitution to 30 days in even-numbered years and 60 days in odd-numbered years. That would change under House Joint Resolution 2, which would set the length of legislative sessions at 60 days every year and provide a five-day recess halfway through each session.

Republican members of the House Government, Elections and Indian Affairs Committee raised questions during Mondays hearing about whether the proposals to revamp the Legislature would end up benefiting taxpayers.

Do we want people who care about the states or do we want paid politicians? asked Rep. Bill Rehm, R-Albuquerque, who has served in the House since 2006.

In addition, Rep. Martin Zamora, R-Clovis, queried backers about the increase cost posed by the proposals, as the plan to extend session lengths alone would cost an estimated $3 million more per year, according to an analysis of the legislation.

He also expressed unease about the plan to pay lawmakers a salary, saying, In my view, its just hard to give myself a raise.

How the modernization proposals would work

Legislators would not directly set their own salary levels under the proposal, House Joint Resolution 8, that was passed Monday on a 5-3 vote.

Instead, that task would be assigned to an outside nine-member salary commission whose members would be appointed by leading lawmakers and the state Ethics Commission.

New Mexico voters would also have the ability to annul salary levels proposed by the commission, though doing so would require a significant effort  namely a petition signed by at least 10% of the total number of voters who cast a ballot in the most recent general election.

Meanwhile, questions could arise about whether lawmakers would still get per diem payments under the salary plan, and whether the pension plan they currently qualify for would have to be changed.

Proposals in recent years to modernize the Legislature have stalled short of the finish line, but top-ranking Democrats including House Speaker Javier Martinez of Albuquerque and Senate Majority Leader Peter Wirth of Santa Fe have signaled their support for the measures this year.

Lawmakers already approved $2.5 million to fund a study about the possibility of field offices for lawmakers and full-time legislative staffers for all 112 lawmakers. That funding was included in a session spending bill passed during the opening week of this years 60-day session.

During Mondays debate, some lawmakers said many New Mexicans already think the Legislature functions like Congress and are not aware they currently dont get paid a salary.

Its no wonder people want to borrow money from me, because they think I make $75,000 a year, joked Rep. Doreen Wanda Johnson, D-Church Rock.
NEON Movie

The 'True Blood' actor admits he found the filming of his cloning scenes in new horror movie 'kind of boring' and 'less tantalizing' because 'they're very technical.'

Feb 6, 2023

AceShowbiz - Alexander Skarsgard was bored by the filming of his cloning sequence in "Infinity Pool". The 46-year-old actor lands lead role in Brandon Cronenberg's horror as James Foster, an author who finds himself trapped on a particularly disturbing vacation, and despite the hallucinatory montages in the movie being a visual spectacle, he admitted most of the work went into technical elements.

"Shooting those sequences, it's kind of boring 'cause they're very technical. I love those in the movie and with the music and they're so kind of... it evokes something quite interesting in you. Shooting it is definitely less I wanna say romantic, but less tantalizing," he told CinemaBlend.

However, Alexander enjoyed watching Brandon and his crew at work. He added, "It's technical, but also those days were super fun on set 'cause Brandon [Cronenberg] and Karim Hussain, his DP, they've worked together for many, many years. They are like little kids playing with LEGO on set."

Brandon and cinematographer Karim Hussain played around with different lighting and visual techniques during filming, which Alexander admitted made the shoot more exciting. He said, "They played around with so many different shots, different filters, different liquids, and weird mirrors and boxes that they wanted us to step into 'cause they would shoot it and it was very creative and innovative and tactile 'cause it was all done on set in camera as opposed to in post with CGI. So I was very excited about shooting those sequences."

Brandon recently admitted some of the movie was inspired by his own holiday from hell. He said, "I did draw on some experiences I had, the one time I did go to a resort about 20 years ago, for when I started building out the particulars of the resort compound, the barbed wire fencing and so on."

"A lot of that was taken from reality. It was vacation that I found to be particularly menacing ... It was the Dominican Republic and it was very surreal. They would bus you in in the middle of the night. You wouldn't see any of the surrounding country at all because it was dark."

"They just dropped you into a compound surrounded by razor wire fence, it was much like in the film. There was a fake town where you could shop, but not outside the compound. There was a Chinese restaurant, there was a horrible disco."

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The 'Britain's Next Top Model' presenter who once dated George Clooney packed her bags after refusing to slim down at the beginning of her career as a model.

Feb 6, 2023

AceShowbiz - Lisa Snowdon was asked to "lose weight" from her boobs by a casting agent when she began modelling. The comment was made when the 51-year-old presenter-and-model - who previously romanced George Clooney - was working in Milan during the '90s. However, Lisa refused as losing weight from her breasts was something that wasn't going happen.

"Back in the day I wasn't impressed with being told to lose weight, because in my mind, I was already really tiny. I was old enough to realise that wasn't something I wanted to do. I had a healthy attitude to food, as I always have. I liked my body. So I wasn't prepared to trim down or try to lose weight off my boobs, and that's not something that can happen," she told New! magazine.

The "Britain's Next Top Model" host began her modelling career at 17 after she was spotted on a night out in a club by a talent scout from top agency Premier Model Management. Lisa's ordeal didn't knock her confidence as she developed a thick skin and learnt to embrace who she was instead.

She added, "It was a tricky time I just realised that the different seasons had different fashions. That was very early '90s. Everyone was chic and androgynous. That was the height of fashion at the time. So, I left that territory. I left Milan and came home, which was when I ended up doing all my Special K adverts."

"You get to know what your own worth is and what you're prepared to do or not do. It definitely didn't give me bad confidence issues with my body. If anything, I felt more confident within myself to be like 'No this is my body.' I learnt how to say NO."

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The 3LW member fumes on Twitter after the 'Certified Lover Boy' artist says, 'We should get bonuses like athletes to motivate the future artists to be consistent and competitive.'

Feb 6, 2023

AceShowbiz - Kiely Williams isn't here for Drake's recent statement. After the "Certified Lover Boy" artist told Spotify to pay artists who reach streaming milestones, the 3LW member called the rapper out on Twitter and urged him to apologize to Megan Thee Stallion.

In his statement, the four-time Grammy winner said, "We should get bonuses like athletes to motivate the future artists to be consistent and competitive." He added, "So feel free to send me a Lebron sized cheque I have enough dinner plates," adding a laughing and a heart emojis.

In response, Kiely fumed in a tweet, "Oh f**k off. It's something like 1000 streams = 1 album sale." She went on to stress, Go to bed, Aubrey. And apologize to Meg. Better yet, delete that whole album."

Drake was accused of dissing Megan on his single "Circo Loco", which appeared on his and 21 Savage's joint album, "Her Loss". On the track, the Canadian native raps, "This b***h lie 'bout getting shots but she still a stallion... Shorty say she graduated, she ain't learn enough/ Play your album track one, 'kay, I heard enough."

Many believed that the controversial lyrics refer to Megan's assault trial against Tory Lanez from a shooting incident that occurred in 2020. The "Body" raptress later defended herself just hours after the song's release. She demanded that rappers "stop using my shooting for clout," and questioned when it became "cool to joke abt women getting shot."

As for the shooting case, Megan alleged that Tory shot her in the foot following a house party in July 2020, which Tory denied. In December 2022, however, Los Angeles jurors found Tory guilty of all three charges against him. They include felony negligent discharge of a firearm, assault with a semiautomatic firearm, and carrying a loaded and unregistered firearm. He will be sentenced on February 28.

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The 'We Don't Talk Anymore' and his girlfriend make their romance Instagram official after he confirmed their relationship as he celebrated his 31st birthday in December 2022.

Feb 6, 2023

AceShowbiz - Charlie Puth and Brooke Sansone are getting more and more smitten with each other. While making their red carpet debut as a couple, the "Left and Right" hitmaker and his girlfriend were seen smiling ear-to-ear as they posed for pictures together.

The couple was walking hand-in-hand when attending Clive Davis' iconic Pre-GRAMMY gala on Saturday, February 4. As they stopped for the cameras, the musician put his arm around his girlfriend's waist.

Charlie confirmed his relationship with Brooke as he celebrated his 31st birthday last year. On December 2, 2022, he shared on Instagram black-and-white photo booth pictures of the two smiling and playfully kissing. He captioned it, "Ohhhhh I'm NOT a loser'cause I didn't lose her!!! (Happy birthday to me.)"

The "We Don't Talk Anymore" crooner revealed he's no longer single when appearing on "The Howard Stern Show" in October of that year. Noting that he's "in love" with a girl he has known since childhood, the crooner said it is "really nice" to have someone from his early life by his side as his fame escalates.

"Yeah. Definitely. I think this is it," the New Jersey native said when asked if he was in love. "As my life gets more and more turbulent and I travel everywhere, it's really nice to have someone close to me that I've known for a very long time."

"She's someone that I grew up with. I knew her from a small town in New Jersey," he further elaborated. "She's always been very, very nice to me and I assume that when times are inevitably hard in the future, she will be there for me, because what is life without valleys and peaks."

Charlie went on to note that if he were ever to propose to his girlfriend, he would "go out of his way" to make sure the media remain unaware because the attention could become "too much." He continued, "Honestly, I get so scared of people now, like I can't really walk anywhere for whatever reason, and I think the more that happens the more I just want to retreat to someone that I've known for a long time."

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Samantha Markle has dragged the Duke of Sussex into her legal feud against Meghan by filing a petition to ask for him to sit for deposition in defamation case against his wife.

Feb 6, 2023

AceShowbiz - Prince Harry has been requested to give evidence in the defamation case brought against his wife Meghan Markle, Duchess of Sussex by her half-sister. Samantha Markle is taking legal action against the former "Suits" actress for $75,000 in damages over the "malicious lies" she alleged were told about her during an interview Meghan gave to Oprah Winfrey after stepping down from royal duties in 2020 and moving to Los Angeles with her husband.

On Friday, February 3, she submitted legal documents formally asking for the couple to sit for separate recorded depositions. In the documents obtained by the Sunday Mirror newspaper, Samantha - who alleged she has been subjected to "humiliation and hatred" as a result of the claims - wants the duchess to admit she "lied" when she claimed to Oprah that she and her half-sister had "little to no relationship" for the sake of selling a "rags-to-royalty story."

As part of the case, Samantha is also demanding that Meghan retract her suggestion that the late Queen Elizabeth was "racist" when she claimed to the veteran TV host that there had been "concerns" raised by unnamed members of the royal family when she was pregnant with her son Archie, now three.

Legal papers filed in Florida also show the 58-year-old author wants her estranged sibling to answer 23 questions as part of the discovery period - the provision of evidence intended to be used in a trial - and also seeks a statement from their father Thomas Markle.

The pair's lawyers working on the case - which is slated to potentially head towards a jury trial in January 2024 - are said to have been in contact over the phone but could not agree on a date for the depositions.

Samantha's lawyer Taylor E. Young has accused Meghan - who is said to be hoping for the case to be dismissed altogether - of "withholding evidence and stonewalling discovery."

However, the Duchess's California-based legal team has so far declined to provide any information, branding the various requests "irrelevant," "vague" and "speculative." Her lawyer, Michael Kump, said the proposed deponents had "no discernible connection" to the statements at issue in the original complaint.

He has applied for the case to be dismissed, arguing that most of the statements at issue are not actionable given that Meghan did not make them, and that those she did make were simply opinions, which were "substantially true in any event."

He has also applied for the discovery process to be delayed, pending the outcome of the dismissal application.

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Also stepping out in style for the award-show are 'Unholy' duo Sam Smith and Kim Petras, who arrive in coordinated all-red outfits, and Cardi B, who looks heavenly in a blue unique dress.

Feb 6, 2023

AceShowbiz - More music stars have arrived at the 65th Annual Grammy Awards at Crypto.com Arena on Sunday, February 5 and they're dressed more than alright. Arriving on the award-giving event's red carpet in style were Taylor Swift, Harry Styles, Sam Smith, Cardi B and more.

Taylor returned to the music industry's most prestigious awards ceremony for 2023 after skipping last year's show, stepping onto the red carpet in a look that blended elements from two of her musical eras. The "Midnights" artist wore a midnight blue custom Roberto Cavalli look consisting of a long-sleeved turtleneck crop top, a sartorial hallmark of her "1989" album cycle, and a matching high-waisted skirt, both covered in sparkling crystals.

The "Anti-Hero" hitmaker, who is nominated in four categories, paired the midriff-baring set with matching shimmery blue eye makeup, her signature red lip, an elegant bun, Giuseppe Zanotti heels and enormous diamond-shaped Lorraine Schwartz statement earrings accented with purple stones.

As for Harry, he dressed to be a men's fashion scene-stealer on the red carpet. The "As It Was" hitmaker, who's up for six nominations at tonight's Grammys stepped out in a rainbow jumpsuit by EgonLab. He flaunted his toned body as he went shirtless and accessorized with layered necklaces and rings.

Also arriving on the red carpet in style were Sam Smith and his "Unholy" collaborator Kim Petras. The pair turned heads with their dramatic all-red outfits. Sam gave a smoldering glare as they showed off their accessories, which included gloves, a cane, a veil, a top hat and pearl earrings. Meanwhile, Kim donned a mini red dress with ruffle details and a sheer veil.

In the meantime, Cardi took Grammys ensembles to new heights in her cutout blue dress and its hood. The "Bodak Yellow" rapper stepped out with her husband Offset on the red carpet, posing impeccably in her look by Gaurav Gupta. She accessorized with big dangle earrings. The femcee doesn't have any nominations but will be a presenter.

Camila Cabello, meanwhile, isn't afraid of showing a little skin. The "Havana" hitmaker attended the ceremony in showstopping dress that featured a delicate pearl-beaded bra top accented with a pair of strategically placed white rosettes and attached to a floor-length black skirt with a thigh-baring slit.

Blac Chyna also made a fashion statement on the red carpet as she showed up wearing an all-black, one-piece bodysuit covered in feathers and rhinestones. This marks her first major red carpet of 2023 and the most notable event since she appeared at the 2022 MTV Video Music Awards, the same year she released her latest single, "Can't See Me".

Anitta, for her part, delivers edgy glamor with a dramatic ruffled Versace dress. The strapless gown had a plunging sweetheart neckline, a contouring corset and sheer accents throughout. The "Envolver" artist is nominated for several awards, including Songwriter of the Year, Non-Classical and Best New Artist.

The 2023 Grammys is being hosted by Trevor Noah. The award ceremony is set to feature performances from Harry, Lizzo, Sam, Mary J. Blige, Jay-Z and DJ Khaled. The award show is available to stream live on live.grammy.com.

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The star, who has over 10.4 million followers on the social media platform, previously unveiled the procedure's results in what she called a 'face reveal' video.

Feb 6, 2023

AceShowbiz - TikToker Dylan Mulvaney made her first public appearance after undergoing facial feminization two months ago. The star, who has over 10.4 million followers on the social media platform, made her red carpet debut at the 2023 Grammy Awards on Sunday, February 5 at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles.

For music's biggest night, Dylan opted for a crimson red halter neck gown by Christian Siriano that featured cut-outs on the side. For her brunette hair, the 26-year-old styled it in an elegant updo as she oozed old school Hollywood glamour. At the event, she posed at the red carpet alongside fellow TikToker Chris Olsen, whom she referred to as "hot date" in her Instagram Stories.

Prior to her arrival, Dylan also revealed her excitement in meeting Harry Styles. The "Falling" hitmaker, who earned six nominations at this year's ceremony, was set to hit the stage to perform.

Dylan's Grammys red carpet debut arrived nearly two months after she did facial feminization surgery. The trans activist unveiled the procedure's results in what she called a "face reveal" video on January 27. "You know I have a flare for the dramatics, but it's so good, right?" Dylan said at the time. "I'm so happy. It's still me. It's just a little bit softer of a version."

According to Dylan, the surgery, which took multiple hours, included hairline advancement, a brow bone shave, a rhinoplasty, minor cheek enhancement, a little lip lift, a jaw shave, a chin reduction and a tracheal shave. "FFS is sort of like a choose your own adventure," she explained in a TikTok clip on January 30.

"You can get one of those things. You can get all of them. You can get none of them," she continued. "It's really whatever you have dysphoria over."

Dylan additionally called the surgery "an extremely privileged procedure," adding, "Had I not been trans, these wouldn't have been changes that I would have sought out. But because of my gender dysphoria, I felt I need it. And I want us to all start viewing FFS as just as important as other gender-affirming health care."

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The actress, who attends the bash with fiance Machine Gun Kelly, is seen sporting a hot pink brace after sustaining a couple of injuries shortly before arriving at the event.

Feb 6, 2023

AceShowbiz - Megan Fox attended a Grammys pre-party with a "broken wrist" and "concussion." The "Transformers" actress attended Clive Davis' annual gala on Saturday ahead of the annual music awards ceremony on Sunday, February 5, with fiance Machine Gun Kelly but was seen sporting a hot pink brace after sustaining a couple of injuries shortly before arriving at the event.

The 36-year-old actress wrote on Instagram, "off the plane with a broken wrist and a concussion straight to a Grammys party [spiral eyes emoji]."

The star, who was previously married to former "BH90210" actor Brian Austin Green and has sons Noah, 10, Bodhi, eight and six-year-old daughter Journey with him, did not elaborate on the reason behind her injuries and representatives are yet to respond to requests for comments from various media outlets.

Towards the end of year, the "Jennifer's Body" actress - who has been engaged to MGK since January 2022 - was insistent that she wanted her rap star husband - who has 13-year-old daughter Casie with ex-girlfriend Emma Cannon - to "kill her or get her pregnant."

She said, "Never has anyone with better bone structure walked this earth. Exquisitely, devastatingly handsome. And 6 foot 5? Kill me or get me pregnant. Those are the only options"

MGK previously claimed the engagement ring he had made for Megan was designed so it "hurts" if it's taken off. The ring features their birthstones emerald and diamond and has thorns for bands, which could cause the 36-year-old actress to shed blood if removed.

The pop-punk star, whose real name is Colson Baker, said of the custom design, "It's a thoroughbred Colombian emerald, with no treatment. It was just carved into the teardrop, straight out of the mine."

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The former 'Rob and Chyna' star has been the subject of social media mockery after she arrived at the award show at Crypto.com Arena with her 'Black Swan' outfit.

Feb 7, 2023

AceShowbiz - Blac Chyna arrived in a statement-making outfit at the 2023 Grammy Awards but not everyone is a fan of her daring look. The model and reality star has been ridiculed on social media over her dark bizarre outfit.

The former "Rob & Chyna" star appeared to channel "Black Swan" for her red carpet look at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles on Sunday night, February 5. She was decked out in a black feathered leotard featuring an array of beads and sequins.

The look was amplified with feathers surrounding her upper body and her hair was covered as she wore a black bedazzled head cap. The 34-year-old star completed the look with black tights and single-strap heels.

Upon learning of her jaw-dropping outfit choice, fans quickly turned to social media to share their thoughts. One person wrote on Instagram, "I feel like she's not famous enough to be looking that crazy." Another chimed in, "When you're not nominated for s**t but need attention."

A third said, "It's giving Bird in real life and in costume." A separate Instagram user remarked, "She lowkey scaring the f**k outta me," while another posted, "She honestly didnt even have to go lol she's not nominated for a thing."

Blac's red carpet appearance marked her first of 2023 and second since her headline-making lawsuit with Rob Kardashian's family earlier last year. She appeared at the 2022 MTV Video Music Awards in August.

Blac sued Rob, with whom she shares her 6-year-old daughter Dream, for posting nude photos and videos of her on social media back in 2017. Rob allegedly shared the NSFW content, which included a video of what appeared to be Blac in bed with another man, in the midst of the end of their entanglement.

Luckily, both Blac and the Kardashian-Jenner clan were able to start the New Year without their messy legal drama weighing them down after they reportedly reached a settlement in June 2022, meaning they didn't have to face off in a trial.

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Time to send in your job application  Hartford is hiring.

The city is seeking to fill approximately 150 city staff positions, many of which have been left vacant since the COVID-19 pandemic began a few years ago.

Like state government and many communities or industries, were facing one of the tightest labor markets in modern history, Mayor Luke Bronin said. We work hard to recruit and promote across many sectors.

The city has approximately 200 vacancies on its books, according to Bronin, and most of the positions left vacant are highly specialized and competitive.

Some of the most challenging areas are jobs that require very specific expertise or certifications, Bronin said. And where there may not be many candidates out there in the market. These are some of the toughest to fill.

Some of the job vacancies include building public works superintendent, civil engineer, accountant, heavy equipment mechanic and dispatcher. There are also inspecting and permitting officials and environmental health sanitarians who administer environmental and health programs for both public and private agencies.

There are vacancies related to the current budget, but we also budget for more positions we may decide to fulfill later on, Bronin said.

One such example is the Hartford Police Department, which makes up one of the largest areas of vacancies among city staff.

We generally budget for more police officers than we usually fulfill, Bronin said. We budget for around 460 officers, but we havent had a fully staffed department in decades.

The HPD currently has 383 officers on its roster, which includes 18 recruits that graduated from the police academy last week.

Other vacancies among city staff include positions directly impacting education, such as an early learning teacher assistant and a senior day care teacher.

State Oversight

While the ongoing pandemic and a tough labor market both continue to play a large part in the citys vacancy woes, the problems began long before COVID-19 became a household name, according to city council member Josh Michtom.

This really started years ago, Michtom said. It began in 2017 when the state bailed out Hartford.

Back then, the city was buckling under crushing debt and on the verge of bankruptcy. The state agreed on a financial package to provide a massive $550 million bailout to its financially strapped capital.

Under the deal, adopted in 2017 as a part of the state budget, the state agreed to cover Hartfords annual debt payments over the course of the next two decades.

The promise of state aid helped Hartford avoid bankruptcy, but as a condition for receiving the assistance, Hartfords finances were placed under state oversight while the city also had to renegotiate labor contracts to help stabilize city finances.

It used to be that maybe you werent making as much with the city as you would make in the private sector, but the benefits were second to none, Michtom said. Now thats just not the case, the city made a tradeoff that we would cut benefits in order to shed our debt. But the result is now people dont want to work here as much.

As part of those negotiations, the oversight board restricts how the city can spend its money. Budgets, contracts and other documents must be run by the panel, and the board has final say over new labor agreements. Hartford cant issue new debt without the groups permission.

In addition, the city agreed to limit its future pension liabilities by turning over negotiating power to the panel.

We are paying the price for that, Michtom said. It becomes much harder to compete with other municipalities when the city is not in charge of its own labor agreements.

Effects on the city

In a video posted on the citys Youtube page called Hartford Next, Marlene Fleeting, the citys Human Resources Director, talked about the effect vacancies have on city staff.

Were having to work more with less, Fleeting said. The labor shortage is out there everywhere, we are experiencing it.

Michtom said that those vacancies are also impacting how fast the city can accomplish its business.

Things get done more slowly, thats a big part of it, Michtom said. Were seeing services being rendered slower simply because there are less people to do those tasks.

At a city Labor, Education, Workforce and Youth Development Services Committee meeting last year, Fleeting addressed the citys vacancies while answering members questions.

We are dealing with the Great Resignation, Fleeting said. The workforce isnt what it use to be, so its a challenge to not only find talent but to retain it as well.

The committee, which is chaired by city councilor and mayoral candidate Nick Lebron, deals with addressing the citys workforce and staffing vacancies. Discussions on potentially streamlining the hiring process or contracting a third-party recruiter were on the January meeting agenda, but that meeting was canceled. The committee last met in October.

A spokesperson for the committee said the cancellations are due to presenters not being able to attend the meetings.

The next meeting is slated for Feb. 15, and it is expected that the issue of city vacancies will be discussed at the meeting.

Staying competitive

To attract talent to fill jobs in Hartford, Bronin said the city needs to stay competitive by working with labor unions and keeping up with other municipalities.

We work together with our unions to identify specific positions where we felt we needed to make adjustments to compensation to stay competitive, Bronin said. We keep a close eye on comparable salaries and benefits in other towns and cities and we recognize we need to compete for talent. Its a fine balance we have to strike between staying competitive and remaining fiscally disciplined.

In addition, Fleeting said that a major draw is creating a positive workplace for employees and a work culture that is both inclusive and fun.

I love our culture, we promote a healthy work-life balance here, Fleeting said at the committee meeting. Our benefits team works really hard serving our employees.

Bronin also announced last month a $1.25 million forgivable loan program to provide up to $10,000 in down-payment assistance for municipal employees who purchase a home within the city.

The takeaway is that working in city government is not just a great career path, but its deeply fulfilling work, Bronin said. It allows you to really make a difference in the community. I think thats the message we need to send.

Stephen Underwood can be reached at sunderwood@courant.com
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When introducing James Corden as a presenter at the show, the 'Daily Show' host pokes fun at the prince's intimate revelation about his icy agony, which he explained in his bombshell memoir 'Spare'.

Feb 6, 2023

AceShowbiz - Trevor Noah poked fun at Prince Harry's frostbitten penis during the Grammy Awards on Sunday, February 5. The 38-year-old star couldn't resist mocking the prince's intimate revelation about his icy agony, which he explained in his memoir "Spare" happened during a 2011 charity walk at the North Pole, when he introduced James Corden to the stage.

He quipped, "James Corden is a 12-time Emmy winner and the host of 'The Late Late Show'. He's also living proof that a man can move from London to L.A. and not tell everyone about his frostbitten penis."

Earlier in the evening, the former "The Daily Show with Trevor Noah" presenter had mingled with the A-list crowd at their tables during his opening monologue. He joked about Harry Styles' flamboyant fashion sense when celebrating the "As It Was" hitmaker"s six nominations.

He quipped, "What can you say about this man that hasn't been said? Incredible album. Mind-blowing tour. A 15-night run at MSG and the Forum. Women throw their panties at this man, then he puts them on, and he looks better in them than they do. Easily the world's sexiest man. Are you kidding? There's no competition. Sex symbol of the globe, especially now that they've killed off the green M+M. No competition."

He then praised Kendrick Lamar's album "Mr Morale + the Big Steppers", describing the record as a "therapy session that earned him multiple Grammy nominations." He added, "All my therapy ever got me was helping me overcome my childhood trauma - useless."

Although she wasn't there for the beginning, Trevor also praised Beyonce Knowles, joking she had been the one to inspire his departure from "The Daily Show". He said, "Beyonce is nominated for her album 'Renaissance', which by the way, was better than anything from the actual renaissance in my opinion. The Renaissance was just pictures of grapes and stuff. Beyonce took it to another level. I was so inspired by the lyrics of 'Break My Soul' that I actually quit my job. That's how powerful that was. I just wish Beyonce had also written a song about the importance of having savings before you quit your job, but maybe the next one."

But the South African comic wasn't afraid to take a serious tone either, and ahead of the "In Memoriam" segment, he reflected on the importance of music in bringing people together. He said, "It's black kids and white kids rejecting segregation in the 1950s, and instead, blending R B, country and even gospel into rock and roll. In the 1980s, a young black rapper from Queens and a Jewish white kid in his NYU dorm came together to make some of the greatest hip-hop of all time. They made a powerful new sound together because they were different. Music isn't just the harmony of sound. It's the harmony of human beings of different races, genders, religions, identities, sexual orientations rejecting division to find moments of joy and unity and harmony, and that's what music is all about."

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If a new report is to be believed, the youngest daughter of Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson is trying to make an escape to California alongside her husband and children.

Feb 6, 2023

AceShowbiz - Princess Eugenie is reportedly planning to follow in Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's footsteps. If a new report is to be believed, the youngest daughter of Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson is trying to make an escape to California alongside her husband and children.

Sources close to the prince claim that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex know the plan and are supporting Eugenie, who is now expecting her second child. It's said that the couple is already sending through property recommendations.

Daily Mail states that Meghan and Harry send the listings for properties near them in Montecito as Eugenie and her property developer husband are looking at places in West Hollywood in Los Angeles.

It's also shared that Princess Eugenie and Jack will rent before committing to the U.S. and buying a property. "With a growing family, it all feels like it is about new starts. This isn't just a pipe dream," a source spills to the news outlet.

Eugenie and Jack as well as their two-year-old son August currently split their time between the U.K. and Portugal, where Jack works with Discovery Land Company and property tycoon Mike Meldman. It should be noted that the property has properties in the States as well, and that may be helpful for the couple in their plan to move across the pond.

The report notes that Eugenie may leave Blighty after the birth of her and husband Jack Brooksbank's second child.

It's not a secret that Eugenie and Harry have a close bond. In his bombshell memoir "Spare", the British prince shared that the 32-year-old and her husband were the first royals to meet Meghan.

Harry and Meghan announced on January 8, 2020 their decision to "step back as 'senior' members" of the British royal family and moved to the U.S. After about three months living in a Los Angeles County mansion, the couple moved to Santa Barbara County.

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In a new picture of the property, which served as his Sunday Service headquarters and Donda Academy, reveals how bad it looks as walls are falling down and trash is strewn everywhere.

Feb 7, 2023

AceShowbiz - Kanye West's $2.2 million home in Los Angeles is looking a little worse for wear following his divorce from Kim Kardashian. A new picture of the property reveals how bad it looks as walls are falling down and trash is strewn everywhere.

The aerial photo of the site, which also served as his Sunday Service headquarters and Donda Academy, featured that the partition walls around the guest house have been taken down. There was also a wire fence with trash strewn around.

Some props for the embattled rapper's Donda Academy were also seen being abandoned at the site. The said props included drums and trikes. A 44 tank and barbeque smoker can also be made out in photographs.

The "Jesus Is King" artist purchased the luxurious house, which sits on 1.25 acres, in 2018. The Yeezy designer, who is now married to Yeezy employee Bianca Censori, previously lived on the property with his then-model girlfriend Irina Shayk but he reportedly left the property in 2020. It seemingly remained empty since.

According to the description, the property has a "stunning floor-to-ceiling stacked-stone fireplace, beautiful inlaid hardwood floors, huge vaulted open-beam ceilings, and spacious ground-floor master suite with a walk-in closet and spa-style bath."

It also offers "two detached guest units, four car garage, huge metal workshop or barn, corral, and plenty of space for pool or vineyard, this property will appeal to the equestrian, aspiring winemaker, and car enthusiast alike." Additionally, there are two guest houses on the property with six bedrooms and seven bathrooms altogether.

In other news related to Ye, the musician's lawyer confirmed that the rapper received the paperwork of severing ties on February 1. Greenberg Traurig, LLP, has finally served Kanye West papers informing him about dropping the rapper as a client.

"On January 18, 2023, an attorney based in California contacted my firm advising that he would be representing 'Ye on some of his legal matters,' " Greenberg Traurig attorney Nina D. Boyajian wrote. "During the course of several emails and a phone call with this attorney, I requested that he coordinate personal service of the Order on Ye."

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Melanie Martin is fuming after the Recording Academy did not feature her late fiance Aaron at the 'In Memoriam' segment during the star-studded show over the weekend.

Feb 6, 2023

AceShowbiz - Aaron Carter's fiancee Melanie Martin has labeled the Grammy Awards "vile" for leaving him out of the show's In Memoriam segment. On Sunday night, February 5, the prizegiving paid tributes to stars who have passed away over the last year with nods to Loretta Lynn, Christine McVie, Jeff Beck, David Crosby, Terry Hall, Olivia Newton-John, and Coolio among others - but Aaron wasn't mentioned and Melanie is furious.

"Really @recordingacademy how do you dare leave Aaron Carter off of the memorial tribute for musicians lost in 2022," she blasted the Recording Academy - the organisation behind the Grammys - in an angry post on Instagram.

Melanie added a picture of Aaron - who was found dead in the bathtub at his California home in December aged 34 - attending the Grammy Awards as a child. She added, "He is a multi-platinum recording artist accomplished before he was even a teen. He is the most influential child in pop culture in the 90s-00s era and had been attending this show since a very young age. This is so unacceptable, outrageous, vile and deplorable."

Melanie Martin calls out Grammys for snubbing Aaron Carter from show's In Memoriam

Despite not being mentioned during the live show at the Crypto.com Arena on Sunday, Aaron was named in the In Memoriam segment in physical copy of the official Grammys program.

Other stars who landed a mention in the show included Vangelis, Depeche Mode's Andy Fletcher, and Lisa Marie Presley.

The tribute featured Kacey Musgraves honouring Loretta Lynn with a performance of her song "Coal Miner's Daughter" while Sheryl Crow teamed up with Mick Fleetwood and Bonnie Raitt for a rendition of "Songbird" in tribute to Fleetwood Mac star Christine McVie.

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Director Dan Reed who released a documentary featuring damning accusations against the King of Pop has slammed the plans to 'glorify' the late star in a new movie.

Feb 6, 2023

AceShowbiz - "Leaving Neverland" director Dan Reed is worried a new biopic about Michael Jackson will "glorify" the late star. Four years after releasing documentary that featured candid accounts of child abuse from two of Jackson's alleged victims - Wade Robson and James Safechuck, the moviemaker has now condemned plans to memorialise the "Thriller" star in a film called "Michael" which will feature Jackson's nephew Jaafar Jackson in the lead role.

"No one is talking about 'cancelling' this movie, which will glorify a man who raped children," Reed wrote while outlining his distaste for the project in a column for the Guardian newspaper.

Reed added, "What the total absence of outrage accompanying the announcement of this movie tells us is that Jackson's seduction is still a living force, operating from beyond the grave. It seems that the press, his fans and the vast older demographic who grew up loving Jackson are willing to set aside his unhealthy relationship with children and just go along with the music."

He went on to give a stern message to the movie bosses who are bringing "Michael" to the big screen, adding, "How will you represent the moment when Jackson, a grown man in his 30s, takes a child by the hand and leads him into that bedroom?"

"How will you depict what happens next? By sidestepping the question of Jacksons predilection for sleeping with young boys, you are broadcasting a message to millions of survivors of child sexual abuse. That message is, if a paedophile is rich and popular enough, society will forgive him."

"Michael" will be directed by "Training Day" moviemaker Antoine Fuqua and it's being made with the co-operation of John Branca and John McClain, who are the co-executors of Jackson's estate.

Jackson always denied sex abuse allegations against him and, in June 2005, was acquitted of child molestation after a trial in California. His family also defended him against the claims made in "Leaving Neverland" and slammed the film as being "all about the money."

Jackson died in 2009 at the age of 50.

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'Jurassic World' director Colin Trevorrow has enlisted 'House of the Dragon' writer to re-work on his big-screen project about the legendary lost city under the sea.

Feb 6, 2023

AceShowbiz - Colin Trevorrow is joining forces with "House of the Dragon" writer Charmaine DeGrate for the film "Atlantis". The "Jurassic World" director has signed a deal with Skydance for the feature that had previously been in development at Universal.

Skydance seized the opportunity to acquire the fantasy feature after Universal had returned the project to Trevorrow. The filmmaker is set to produce the flick via his Metronome Film Company alongside David Ellison, Dana Goldberg and Don Granger for Skydance.

A previous draft of the script had been developed at Universal and written by Dante Harper but Trevorrow and DeGrate have now reconceived the project although it continues to be a fantasy adventure based on the legendary lost city under the sea.

Colin has been involved in all three movies in the "Jurassic World" trilogy and revealed that he is determined to move away from film franchises as he wants to tell a story without having to impress diehard fans.

The 46-year-old director said, "I've learned something every day. For me, I'll be honest, (it's) being able to potentially make something that doesn't have a legion of people to whom it's deeply personal."

"Because I've been in that space on two different franchises for eight years of my life now, and it seems even movies that I've made that weren't about either of these were still kind of in the shadow of which franchise I was attached to."

Trevorrow added, "(I'm ready) to be able to tell stories in a way that hopefully doesn't have people's childhood in its hands - because I'm one of those people; I understand it. It's a very delicate thing to be working with, the way we felt when we saw a movie like 'Jurassic Park' when we were nine years old."

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The older woman who took the Duke of Sussex's virginity talks about the royal's 'pretty wild' nights out and the basement 'den' Harry had with Prince William.

Feb 7, 2023

AceShowbiz - Sasha Walpole says Prince Harry kissed several girls in a saucy game of spin-the-bottle during a night out. Opening up about her friendship with the royal after he revealed she took his virginity in a field behind The Vine Tree pub in Norton, Wiltshire back in 2001, the former horse groomer claims nights out at the boozer would often get pretty wild.

"I remember at the Vine Tree we played spin-the-bottle. The dares would be things like having to kiss someone. It was teenage stuff. Harry kissed a couple of people but I avoided that because it was a bit awkward as I think he quite liked a friend, Emma Lippiatt," she explained to The Sun newspaper.

Sasha also described having "lock-ins" at another pub where the group would go to watch bands play while she was also invited for afterparties at King Charles' Highgrove home where Harry and his brother Prince William had a basement room they dubbed Club H.

She said, "Probably we would have been out in the pub then we'd have an afterparty down there. There were beanbags, a dartboard, more music. It was like a den. I went there a couple of times, around that same time in 2001."

Sasha added Harry used to drink bottles of Sol or Corona but wasn't able to buy his own beers because he was under the legal drinking age at the time. However, she insists she never Harry "really drunk" or "falling over."

Sasha added, "We'd all buy each other drinks but I can't ever remember them going up to the bar. Harry was underage too, we all knew his age, so fake ID would not have worked."

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More than 40 people have been enlisted to give testimony and evidence when the '30 Rock' actor appears in court for a hearing over his involuntary manslaughter case.

Feb 7, 2023

AceShowbiz - Alec Baldwin is set to face 44 witnesses at the start of his involuntary manslaughter case. Last week, the 64-year-old actor was charged over the death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the set of the Western in October 2021, and is set to appear in Santa Fe for a preliminary court hearing in Santa Fe, New Mexico, on February 24.

44 witnesses including "Rust" director Joel Souza - who was wounded by the bullet that hit Halyna - are lined up to give evidence at the hearing, along with armor and prop worker Seth Kenney, camera assistant Lane Luper, line producer Gabrielle Pickle, and script supervisor Maime Mitchell.

The group could all appear in person in court along with government forensic examiners and investigators, Mail Online reported on Monday, February 6.

Halyna, 42, was killed when a prop gun went off during rehearsals on the set of "Rust", and the film's head armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed also faces a charge of involuntary manslaughter over the death, with her and Alec facing a maximum of five years in prison if found guilty.

Script supervisor witness Maime Mitchell was the first to call 911 after Halyna was shot and was standing the closest to her when the bullet that killed her was fired. She filed a lawsuit in 2021 against Alec and others on the set of "Rust", claiming assault, intentional infliction of emotional distress, deliberate infliction of harm - and a claim the scene being filmed did not require a gun to be fired.

Maime said in 2021, "I will never forget what happened on the set of 'Rust' that day. I relive the shooting and the sound of the explosion from the gun over and over again."

Alec has denied involuntary manslaughter while Hannah Gutierrez-Reed's lawyer Jason Bowles last week told TMZ she was "stretched too thin" on the film. The lawyer added she had asked for more time to focus on her armorer duties but was denied the request and allegedly wasn't called back into the church by the assistant director David Halls to fully instruct Alec on weapon handling.

Mr. Bowles said, "Hannah was not called back into that church. She asked David Halls specifically, If Baldwin is going to use that gun, then call me back into that church, so I can instruct him on the usage of the gun, I can reinspect that gun, and I can tell him where to point it, and work with him on it.' "

"She was never called back in. So when the (District Attorney) talks about the armorer's responsibility, this and that, she wanted to do her job, but she was prevented from doing her job. That's the big distinction."

Mr. Bowles also said Hannah had asked David to use a "plastic gun" but was allegedly told a "real gun" was wanted.

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After facing a slump during the pandemic times, OOH advertising has swung back in 2022. According to IMARC Groups latest report, titled India Digital OOH Advertising Market: Global Industry Growth, Share, Size, Trends, Opportunity, and Forecast during 2022-2027, the India digital OOH advertising market size reached $1.5 billion in 2021. Looking forward, IMARC Group expects the market to reach $3.2 billion by 2027, exhibiting a growth rate (CAGR) of 14.7% during 2022-2027.

The Madison Report pegged the outdoor advertising growth at 69 per cent in 2021 compared to 2020. The report further mentioned that Rs 2,178 crore was spent on OOH in 2021, significantly way less than the Rs 3,495 crore spent in 2019, but visibly more than the Rs 1,292 crore spent in 2020.

With the rise in spending on OOH, we have seen tech giants like Google, Spotify, and Netflix taking keen interest in advertising via Outdoor Advertising and leveraging outdoor media via creative and innovative methods. To stand out, these giants are using billboards in creative, new ways to capture consumers imagination, attention, and  ultimately  business.

Trending Now

Digital OOH, in the current scenario, is playing a significant role in Outdoor Media Advertising. When talking about innovations and creativity, DOOH is stepping a foot in front of marketers. As per the report by GroupM, DOOH campaigns look to be powerful drivers of direct action by consumers; half of the respondents who had seen DOOH ads said they encourage them to make a purchase there and then and two-thirds said they had encouraged them to search for more information online.

GroupM also mentioned that more than three-quarters (77%) of those seeing DOOH ads believed DOOH ads were quite or very informative and 50% that they connect them with their favorite social media channels.

The key highlights from the report of Statista state that Ad spending in the Digital OoH Advertising segment is projected to reach $113.60 million in 2023. With a projected market volume of $5,188.00 million in 2023.

How are Brands leveraging Outdoor Media and their expectations from OOH in 2023?

Though a static medium, the recent outdoor campaign by Zomato- Blinkit combine made the medium come alive and talked about across media platforms and becoming viral. It started when Blinkit put up a hoarding in Mumbai stating Doodh Mangoge Doodh Denge, an improvisation of a popular dialogue from a Bollywood movie. Zomato, a brand known for its creative advertising, quickly put up a hoarding next to the Blinkit one that said, Kheer Mangoge, Kheer Denge. Soon this trend was picked up by other brands who joined this OOH banter.

Elaborating on this campaign, the marketing team of Zomato told Adgully, With most billboards, we have up to 2 seconds to pique a commuters interest and tell our brand story. Short, contextual messages  delivered in a conversational tone  help quickly connect with the viewer and earn us mental high-fives. And often, these mental high-fives transform into hilarious UGC with creators having conversations with our billboard, or using one as a setup or punch in Reels. Assets that become part of social chatter deliver many times the impressions than would be garnered offline. While the jury is still out on the incremental effectiveness of these campaigns, the additional virality has helped bring down the cost per impression significantly.

Rise in ad spends

Gautam Bhirani, Managing Director, Eyetalk Media Ventures, observed, In the overall marketing mix, Out of Home Advertising (OOH) on an average accounts for 5-6% share. However post-pandemic things have been good for the OOH industry due to the change in consumer behaviour and decline in the online ad market, which is driving the shift and bringing back investments to traditional advertising channels.

He further said, The OOH advertising ecosystems share will increase considerably because of Digital OOH (DIIH). In the last 12-18 months, with the technological advancements and increase in connected display networks, Digital Out of Home revenue has already increased from Rs 150 crore to Rs 400 crore. From large format digital billboards now seen in metros to thousands of new screens in Corporate Hubs, Residential, Restaurants, Gymnasiums, and Malls, DOOH has become the key growth driver for the OOH Industry.

Another major growth factor is Programmatic Advertising, with tech giants like Google and Yahoo taking the big leap and bringing DOOH to the digital advertising ecosystem making it part of a larger omnichannel mix, Bhirani added.

Outlook for outdoor advertising in 2023

Anurag Mehta, Co-Founder, Option Designs, noted that the industry outlook for the advertising industry this year looks positive, with a lot of scope for innovation and growth. If speaking about DOOH, we are likely to see an increase in investment. The growth of digital media has enabled growth in a lot of fields and advertisers have started to recognise its potential for reaching audiences. We can expect advancements in technology, potentially leading to more interactive and immersive experiences. Data and Artificial Intelligence have also been making waves across all industries, we can expect a lot of developments even in the advertising field. Overall, DOOH seems like it might have a bright and interesting future up ahead, and we anticipate rapid growth and innovation in this area, he added.

Tanushree Radhakrishnan, Head - Biddable, GroupM, pointed out here that while the growth for adverting industry looks subdued, with an impending recession, layoffs and potential change in market dynamics, programmatic advertising have come of age. She further said that the conversations these days stem around how to increase reach through programmatic or more interestingly explore what role programmatic can play in the new age media like CTV, Audio and DOOH.

Digital OOH is still a nascent format, and the industry is still learning and improving how to transact OOH formats programmatically. We are still reeling from the post-pandemic effects where the entire country was under lockdown, so marketing professionals are looking for innovative methods to target customers who are back on the go, and DOOH is resurgent.

While the DOOH is currently pegged at just 1.5% of the overall adverting industry, there is a huge potential for growth considering it brings the best of both worlds. Key elements like location targeting, the ability to dynamically adjust creative in close to real-time, and the capacity to allow consumers to interact via their handheld devices are welcome enrichments to conventional OOH. Various studies have found that consumers welcome DOOH in their surroundings, often quoting that it adds to their experiences outside their home, prompts interactivity and engagement with the advertisers messages, and increases their propensity to make a purchase, Radhakrishnan explained.

DOOH is showing increasing traction as a performance medium too. Marketers have indicated that the significant investment they plan to put into DOOH is driven by programmatic enablement, the ability to target, and the newly enhanced capabilities of DOOH screens. We are cognizant of the hindrances and plan ways when launching new campaigns, nonetheless in the end engaging creative, quality audience data, transparency, visibility, and pricing advantages are worth it. With consumers back on the move for work, shopping, or travel, DOOH ad spend is projected to show steady growth over the next five years, Radhakrishnan added.
EssenceMediacom  GroupMs newest and largest agency  formally launches today with an ambition to deliver marketing breakthroughs for their clients. Disrupting the old models across media, creative, innovation and analytics, the agency has been built to find new opportunity for brands and deliver truly integrated media solutions.

Comprised of 10,000 people across 120 offices globally and led by Global CEO Nick Lawson, EssenceMediacom combines Essences performance, data, analytics and creative technology DNA with MediaComs scaled multichannel audience planning and strategic media expertise.

The agency launches with an enviable client roster, which includes global and local clients, and will be responsible for more than $21bn in global media billings (COMvergence, 2021).

EssenceMediacom is part of GroupM, WPPs media investment group, giving it access to the richest data, most robust benchmarks and most advanced capabilities in the market fueled by the companys cross-channel performance division GroupM Nexus and Choreograph, GroupMs industry-leading data and technology services provider.

In India, EssenceMediacom recently announced the leadership elevation of Navin Khemka as CEO, South Asia, and Sonali Malaviya as Chief Strategy and Transformation Officer, South Asia.

Navin Khemka, South Asia CEO of EssenceMediacom, said, I am looking forward to this transformational role in leading the merged agency of Essence and MediaCom. India is one of the fastest-growing markets, and with the merger, I am confident that we will be able to future-proof our talent and offer unmatched services. Thanks to all our clients for their continued trust and partnership. Our clients can now look forward to the sophistication from EssenceMediacom that is required to succeed in the new era.

Prasanth Kumar, South Asia CEO of GroupM, said, GroupMs global merger of Essence and MediaCom has given us a fantastic opportunity to have the top 3 brands in India apart from Mindshare and Wavemaker. Essence and MediaCom together land with complementary skills, and set up an advantage for clients across data, technology, digital and media expertise. It is a wonderful moment for our people as this creates opportunities to work across some top-class brands. I wish EssenceMediacom a fantastic journey - I am sure that EssenceMediacom will continue to demonstrate some groundbreaking work for our clients.

Nick Lawson, EssenceMediacoms Global CEO, said: This process has been nine months in the making and I am so excited to see our ambition of bringing Essence and MediaCom together finally become a reality. What will underpin our groundbreaking agency is our people, and we will be steadfast in our commitment to provide an environment of continuous learning so they can grow and be the best they can be. Together, and with analytics, data and technology at our heart, I have no doubt we will deliver breakthroughs across our entire client base.

Christian Juhl, Global CEO, GroupM, said, The fusion of Essences measurement and data-driven DNA with MediaComs scale and strategic expertise creates something truly unique in the marketplace. Alongside Mindshare, Wavemaker, and mSix&Partners, the launch of EssenceMediacom ensures we have the solutions and thinking to meet the needs of every brand and marketer seeking to grow their business in the new economy. Im personally excited to see the way EssenceMediacoms commitment to creating breakthroughs will change expectations for whats possible in business, culture, and marketing and produce enormous value for our clients.
Money had come in from raffles and sales of gift baskets; a few pets had found new homes. All in all, the adoption charity event at a Pet Oasis store on Staten Island had been a success.

But then the charitys leader made an odd request: He insisted that the store owner give him the proceeds in a check made out to his name, Anthony Devolder.

The owner refused and made the check payable to the charity, Friends of Pets United. Days later, when he looked at his bank records, he noticed that the check had been altered: The charitys name had been blotted out. When it cashed, it was crossed out, and it had Anthony Devolder written on it, said the owner, Daniel Avissato.

Anthony Devolder is now better known as Rep. George Santos, R-N.Y., whose election to Congress in November was upended by revelations of falsehoods in his background and irregularities in his personal and campaign finances.

Federal and local prosecutors are investigating whether Santos lies on the campaign trail or his unusual campaign expenses and fundraising practices merit criminal charges. And FBI agents are now apparently looking into some of his work with Friends of Pets United, according to news accounts.

Santos has said he founded and ran the charity from 2013-18. In that time, Santos campaign biography once asserted, the organization rescued more than 2,500 animals. He recently characterized his involvement with the charity as a labor of love and hard work.

Santos has not substantiated his claims. Few public records exist to corroborate them, and Friends of Pets Uniteds operations appear to have centered on a Facebook group that is now defunct. Only traces of the organization remain on public social media posts and GoFundMe campaigns, and Santos campaign biography no longer mentions it.

Santos lawyer, Joe Murray, would not answer questions about Friends of Pets United, citing pending investigations into Santos.

Screenshots from the Facebook group and interviews with former volunteers and associates of Santos help construct a fuller picture of the charitys operations. They recalled scattered efforts: Some pets were rescued; charitable events were held; and money and supplies were donated to animal groups.

But they also suggest that Santos penchant for falsehoods and exaggerations extended to Friends of Pets United. Several people said Santos assured them he was operating a registered nonprofit, but no records exist to confirm that.

They said the group rescued far fewer pets than the more than 2,500 animals that Santos claimed it saved. The group was not registered as a rescue organization in New York state, and there was no record that it was authorized to take dogs from New York City shelters.

And several people took issue with how Santos handled his groups funds, saying they never received the thousands of dollars he raised on their behalf, often through GoFundMe.

Regina Spadavecchia, who runs the Adore-a-Bullie Paws and Claws rescue in the Bronx, said Santos boasted of his fundraising prowess, saying he was a financial money manager with connections. In reality, he had worked for a Turkey-based hospitality technology company, eventually moving on to work at a small company that organized conferences for investors and fund managers.

Spadavecchia accepted his claims and, with at least a dozen dogs in her care, was eager for the help. In March 2017, Santos posted on Facebook that he was raising money for Adore-a-Bullie, through a $5 raffle for a dinner cruise and Broadway tickets.

But Santos never fully followed through on his promises, Spadavecchia said, sending her about $400 instead of the thousands of dollars he had suggested. She decided to cut ties with him.

If youre doing fundraising in my name, and youre claiming you can make a couple of thousand, and youre sending me $400, then somethings off, Spadavecchia said. Youre either boasting about stuff you cant do, or youre keeping money on the side. I dont know.

Dogs and cats in need

In October 2015, Santos used one of the charitys earliest Facebook posts to boast that the group had participated in 20 adoptions in its two months in operation. (His campaign biography indicated the group began work far earlier, in 2013.)

Screenshots of the Facebook group provided to The New York Times show that Santos often reposted photos from other rescues or other Facebook pages, pleading with the groups members to help save dogs and cats in need.

Monica Cunha, who first connected to Santos through a Facebook page for Brazilian pet lovers, recalled his taking dogs whose owners could no longer care for them and trying to find them new homes. But she said he rarely posted details of successful adoptions.

Existing posts on Facebook and screenshots also show that Santos was frequently fundraising through GoFundMe pages, direct solicitations to a PayPal account and supposed raffles.

In those solicitations, Santos consistently referred to the charity as a tax-exempt organization. Yet, federal and state officials could not find records of a registered charity named Friends of Pets United. New Yorks Department of Agriculture and Markets said it had no records that the organization was registered as a rescue, as would have been required starting in September 2017.

The Animal Care Centers of NYC, New York Citys contracted provider for animal-related services, said it had no record of working with Friends of Pets United nor any indication that such a group was authorized to pull dogs from its shelters.

Santos has not explained his descriptions of the charitys status. In an interview in December with City & State, he equivocated but appeared to lay the blame on somebody else.

You know, somebody along the line  and again, this is all stuff that are being looked into, to show and get that taken care of. Because, again, I wasnt alone on this, Santos said, even as he maintained that he handled the bulk of charitys operations.

I was the guy picking up poop, cleaning, getting people, doing campaigns online, he said. But we had a broader group of folks who helped out.

Spadavecchia was not the only person to raise concerns about how Santos was handling Friends of Pets Uniteds funds. In late 2016, GoFundMe received a complaint about a fundraiser that Santos operated to help a veteran, Richard Osthoff, raise money for his dogs surgery, a spokesperson said.

Osthoff, whose encounter with Santos was reported earlier by local news site Patch, has not responded to requests for an interview. But a friend, Michael Boll, who became involved in the situation, provided screenshots of text messages between Santos and Osthoff.

According to Boll, Osthoff learned that his dog, Sapphire, had a tumor that required $3,000 of surgery. At the time, Osthoff, 47, was suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder and living in a tent, Boll said.

A veterinary technician named Andrea Dos Santos connected Osthoff to Santos, saying that Friends of Pets United could probably provide support.

I felt bad because Rich is like, I dont have the money, this and that. And hes crying, Dos Santos said. I knew Anthony at the time, and I told him, Can you help this guy? Because, you know, he was helping me.

According to Patch, Santos set up a GoFundMe page in May 2016. It met its goal in June, ultimately raising $3,055. Yet, months passed without Osthoffs receiving any money. By November, Osthoff  still unable to pay for Sapphires operation  was clearly frustrated.

Osthoff told Santos in text messages that he felt he had been used for my family and friends donations and that he was sick of being jerked around. The $3,000, he said, belongs to an innocent pooch, and shes been taken advantage of.

Santos responded that Osthoff was overreacting, accusing him of being needy and uncooperative. He refused to give the funds directly to the veteran, arguing that the money had been raised for Friends of Pets United, and stressed it was in safe hands.

We are audited, Santos wrote, again asserting his organization was a tax-exempt charity. He added, We are with the highest standards of integrity.

Hoping to mediate, Boll, who runs a veteran outreach charity, stepped in. He was surprised when Santos suggested the funds might go to other animals.

I said, You cant just do what you want with the money. This is under false pretenses,' Boll said.

Sapphire died in January 2017. Santos has denied any wrongdoing. In an interview with One America News on Saturday, he insisted he never handled the finances of Friends of Pets United.

The spokesperson for GoFundMe, Jalen Drummond, said the site ultimately asked Santos for proof of the delivery of funds. When he did not respond, the site removed the fundraiser and blocked the email associated with it from being used in the future.

Karmas gonna get you

In 2017, Friends of Pets United held an event to benefit a farm in New Jersey owned by Dos Santos. The organization said it planned to use the farm for rescue operations.

Dos Santos, who was out of touch with Ostroff and did not know about his interactions with Santos, said Santos told her that he could help raise money to repair her barn and build fences for a private sanctuary for abused animals. So, she agreed to host an event at the farm, soliciting donations from friends and laying out her own money for refreshments, she said.

For $50, guests to the farm would get live music, drinks and barbecue. Dozens of people came, according to Dos Santos and another person who attended, and the turnout raised Dos Santos hopes. A GoFundMe page for the event raised $2,165.

But after the event, Santos, who had handled all the money, was hard to reach, Dos Santos said.

It was excuse after excuse after excuse, Dos Santos said, adding that she never received the money.

In their final conversation, Dos Santos remembers issuing a warning.  Karmas gonna get you, I said, and if it does, youre going to remember me. Because you are going to deserve everything you are going to get.'

GoFundMe would not provide more information about Santos use of the site or whether it received other complaints about his fundraisers.

It was unclear how much money he raised on PayPal, or whether PayPal had received any complaints. A representative for PayPal declined to comment, citing privacy issues.

There were examples of the charity having done legitimate work. In September 2015, Santos raised $470 to help pay vet bills for Zizi, a dog found in Queens who he said needed vaccines and examinations. His fundraising pitch included a $124 bill that he said he paid.

In October 2017, Santos and a group in FOPU-branded T-shirts took part in a Halloween event at a Pet Oasis store. The next month, Pet Oasis said on Facebook that Friends of Pets United was officially partnered up to do pet adoptions every Saturday.

Weeks later, he said he needed another $340 to help Zizis mother and sister.

Santos also had ties to an animal shelter in South Carolina, the Berkeley Animal Center. Jenna-Ley Jamison, a spokesperson, said the shelters records showed it sent just two dogs to Friends of Pets United, on Dec. 8, 2017.

Judi Eskenazi, who once helped run an animal rescue in New Jersey, said Santos asked her in January 2018 to help him with six dogs he took from a South Carolina shelter. A friend of hers at another rescue took the animals.

At the time, Santos told Eskenazi that he was closing his rescue, she said. Months later, he was back with a similar story: He was about to shut down and urgently needed to place his last remaining animals. He would repeat the spiel throughout the year, she said.

By December, Eskenazi was tired of Santos entreaties and started swapping stories with a friend who ran an animal rescue and had similar experiences.

That friend decided to learn more about Friends of Pets United and the man behind it, Anthony Devolder. Days later, she sent Eskenazi a Facebook message.

Wait this is so weird, she wrote. Im pretty sure his name is actually george.

c.2023 The New York Times Company
FinMapp, a growing personal finance management app, is honoured to announce that Mr. Rajesh Raju, Venture Capital Investor, and Mr. Ravinder Singh, #1 Artificial Intelligence Leader in Asia, amongst the Worlds Top 25 CIOshave joined their Advisory Board.

Rajesh Raju

Mr. Rajesh Raju is an angel investor and the Managing Director of Kalaari Capital, one of India's top early-stage Venture Capital firms. Rajesh returned from the United States in 2006, drawn by the enormous potential for entrepreneurs in reshaping Indias business climate. He has been a part of the startup ecosystem ever since and is on the boards of several corporations.

Mr. Raju, while adding to his entrepreneurial venture says, The opportunity of working with young entrepreneurs and new technologies, which might hopefully change the world, is exciting, demonstrating his enthusiasm for improving the young, developing generation. Rajesh holds an MBA with Honours from the Booth School of Business at the University of Chicago, a Master's Degree in Engineering from Marquette University, and a Bachelor's Degree in engineering from BITS, Pilani.

Ravinder Singh

A Harvard Alumni, Award Winning Technologist, Professor of Innovation, Rescue Pilot, DeepTech Investor, and Global Speaker with several hundred global recognition and patentshis cutting-edge body of work in the area of Robotics, Blockchain, Artificial Intelligence, Satellites, Intelligent Networks, Industrial Cloud, Adaptive Manufacturing, and Cognitive Computing is truly ground-breaking!

Ravi is active in India, the USA, Singapore, Scotland, Mexico and Africa through advisory, co-creation, hackathons, and innovation funding to create mass entrepreneurship at the grassroots across rural, towns, and cities.

Note From The CEO

Celebrating this propitious development, Mr. Kumar Binit, CEO& Co-Founder,FinMapp, stated, We, as a rapidly expanding start-up, aspire to accomplish our organisational objectives and rise to unprecedented heights of success under such an unrivalled management team and advisory board. We consider ourselves extremely fortunate to have such stalwarts amidst our growing enterprise.
2023 marks the 150th anniversary of Levis 501 jeans, one of the most enduring icons of global style and the original template from which all other jeans have descended. The 501 Original has been worn by millions of changemakers, risk takers, experimenters, thinkers, icons and creatives over the course of its brilliant 150 year history.

To commemorate the countless stories  from the mundane to the momentous  of fans in their 501 jeans, Levis is launching The Greatest Story Ever Worn campaign, a year-long celebration. As part of the launch of the campaign, Levis is releasing three short films, directed by Martin de Thurah and Melina Matsoukas, titled The Greatest Story Ever Worn, that explore original stories from around the world celebrating 150 years of 501 jeans. With these stories, as well as others inspired by true events, The Greatest Story Ever Worn celebrates the 501 jeans incredible past and its role in countless historical, cultural and personal moments in order to inspire a new generation to write the next chapter.

The Greatest Story Ever Worn presents 501 jeans as an ever-expanding story, written and rewritten by everyone who fastens up the fifth button. More than a pair of jeans, they are not just one persons story, but everyones story. This ever-expanding narrative features a collection of characters, events, ambitions and memories from everyday heroes to unbelievable icons.

"Few products, let alone pieces of clothing, have been as consistently present for so many human experiences, for as long as the 501. Coming from the humblest of beginnings as workwear pants, Levis 501 jeans have become a blank canvas for self expression that transcends the boundaries of culture, and class. This is an incredible moment and milestone for the Levis brand and through The Greatest Story Ever Worn campaign we aim to celebrate the legacy of the 501, its unrivaled breadth and global relevance, and to inspire the next chapters."  Chris Jackman, VP of Brand Marketing, Levis.

The first historically based film, Precious Cargo, shares the story of how 501 jeans made their way to Kingston, Jamaica in the 1970s and how Jamaica turned and made them uniquely their own. Directed by Melina Matsoukas and shot by academy award nominated cinematographer Bradford Young, the film is a celebratory exploration of an island thats distinct style, rhythm and soul has reverberated across the globe.

Early Levis spots were some of the pieces that actually inspired me to pursue commercial filmmaking. It is an honor to now be part of their cinematic legacy. I always gravitate toward brands and creatives who lean into authentic storytelling and, with this piece, we were able to pay homage to a small but powerful story from the vast history of Levis. Everyone involved was willing to push the idea of commerciality and I believe that courage led to us creating a beautiful film.  Melina Matsoukas

The second film, Fair Exchange, tells the story of a beloved family bellcow and the son who swapped the beast for a pair of 501 Jeans, much to his family's dismay. Directed by Martin de Thurah and shot by acclaimed cinematographer Kasper Tuxen, a cold Georgian winter is the backdrop to a film that explores 501 jeans as a beacon for something bigger  a dream.

And finally, the third film, Legends Never Die, tells the true story of one devoted Levis wearer who requested to be buried in his 501 jeans  a final wish that many people have relayed to the brand over the years. This specific fan asked all funeral attendees to wear their 501 jeans too. Also directed by Martin de Thurah, the film is a beautiful reflection on the type of collective love that would inspire a group of people to show up in denim for a beloved family member and friend. It is a celebration of humanity and the inextricable connection between a man who truly lived in his Levis 501 jeans.

I was intrigued by the challenge to create little stories in a mini format that together tell an even bigger story. Levi's is an iconic brand and being able to celebrate the 150th anniversary alongside my favorite people was a wonderful opportunity."  Martin de Thurah

The launch of The Greatest Story Ever Worn kicks off the celebration of the 501 jeans 150th anniversary. More stories will be shared throughout 2023 along with milestone celebrations around the world.
Exotic sauces have been gaining momentum in the Indian market across the food service and retail segments. Understanding Consumers increasing demand for Global Sauces in India, Mothers Recipe, India's leading Indian food brand has recently announced the launch of its new category of Exotic Global Sauces under the brand Recipe - available in Red Chili, Green Chili, Garlic Chilli, Soya bean, Chilli Vinegar & Sriracha Sauce starting at Rs 55 only.

Key Features

No added MSG

Exotic flavours

Premium look and feel

Best quality

Consumer- Pocket friendly

Convenient cooking

Recipes Exotic Global Sauces are available across the country and are made to cater to the ever-changing palate of Gen-Z and millennial consumers. The Recipe brand offers its consumers an exclusive proposition of versatility in cooking, the authenticity of taste, and exotic flavours through its range of sauces. These sauces are a vibrant assortment of international flavours ideal for dipping, marinating, and stir-frying that will enhance the taste of everyday meals.

The unique feature of this product range is its Twist Nozzle, which is easy to use. The premium bottles are light, sleek & can be stored in the fridge easily. The brand has also launched a digital campaign for food lovers across social media platforms like Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat, Google, & Youtube. The company has come up with another interesting advertising campaign under the tagline- For the love of food. The video is a tribute to food lovers as it showcases the superior quality ingredients and the love for food using Exotic Global Sauces.

Commenting on the launch Ms. Sanjana Desai, Executive Director, Mothers Recipe, said For Recipe Sauces, we have focused on packaging innovation keeping in mind our target customer  providing a superior & trendy product at an affordable rate. Over the years we have noticed that consumers are experimenting with new cuisines & cooking at home. We at Mothers Recipe have identified areas where we could encourage consumers to try something new. Keeping in mind the increasing demand for fusion cuisine which is innovative, healthy, and trendy we recently announced the launch of our latest category of Exotic Global sauces under our brand Recipe with no added MSG & which are available across India. With this launch, we have entered a new category of culinary sauces. To further amplify the announcement, we have also launched a Digital campaign which is purely a tribute to all the food lovers.

The product range is now available at your neighborhood store & leading supermarket chains in Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Pune, Chennai, Hyderabad & key tier 2 Towns. You can also get them online on Big Basket & Blinkit. Additionally, the brand has launch offers for consumers on our website; https://www.mothersrecipe.com/recipe/index.html
Network 18, India's premier news network, broadcast an exclusive interview featuring Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. The one-on-one discussion was held with Rahul Joshi, the Editor-in-Chief, where Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath spoke on various matters of public interest including the 2024 General Elections, the construction of the Ram Mandir, as well as the steps being taken to drive the states GDP.

Regarding employment, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath of Uttar Pradesh stated that over the past six years, the state has provided more than 5 lakh government jobs. He added that UP plans to further offer lakhs of jobs in the coming years. The CM will, on the 10th of February, announce the quantum of investment that the state is likely to receive and also speak about the employment opportunities that are expected to be generated as a consequence.

During the discussion on the Investor Summit, CM Yogi stated that under the guidance of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the growth rate of UP has doubled in the last 6 years. PM Modi had set a target for the state during the first Investor Summit in 2018. To improve the lives of the 25-crore people in UP and to make India a $5 trillion economy, UP must proactively work towards driving economic progress and development. The state has identified 25 sectors for growth and sent teams to major countries and cities in India to explore opportunities.

In regards to the upcoming assembly elections, the Chief Minister stated that the BJP has performed exceptionally well wherever it is in power. The benefits of government programs have been provided to all sections of society without discrimination. He also expressed confidence that in 2024, the Bharatiya Janata Party will secure more seats than in 2019.

On the topic of infrastructure, CM Yogi stated that UP's existing infrastructure is connected to the National Capital Region (NCR), but the goal is to connect the eastern, Bundelkhand, western and central parts, as well as the airport. In the last six years, the state has made significant progress in its construction projects and strengthened inter-state connections. This has led to the establishment of Waterway No. 1, which connects the state with the eastern port. The express highway network has also been established in recent years, providing the state with the means to advance its economy in a timely manner and reach its targets.

Regarding the construction of the Ram temple, CM Yogi Adityanath stated that the temple's construction is proceeding as planned. He affirmed that the temple will be built on time and Ramlala will take residence in the temple as scheduled. He described it as a moment of pride for the country and the world. The exact date for Ramlala's arrival in the temple will be decided by the temple trust, and all plans will be executed in accordance with the trust's decisions.

On the question of the Uniform Civil Code, CM Yogi Adityanath stated that various state governments have established committees to examine the issue. He mentioned that the Law Commission of Uttar Pradesh is also evaluating the matter. When the recommendations are received, the government will give due consideration. The Chief Minister stated that he will take all relevant factors into account and make a decision accordingly.

Regarding the issue of the boycott culture, CM Yogi Adityanath stated that individuals with exceptional talents such as artists, writers, and others deserve respect, which is what the state strives to provide. He advised film directors to be mindful of the sentiments of the public and avoid including scenes that may cause controversy and harm public feelings. The Chief Minister emphasized that mistakes can happen, but deliberately causing controversy is unacceptable.
After the international break, SA20 was back in action with the Durban Super Giants coming out on a thunderous note. Skipper Quinton de Kock led from the front and dismantled the MI Cape Town bowling attack with his 63 runs off 41 balls knock. Post de Kocks dismissal, it was South African international, Matthew Breetze (48 off 39 balls) and Keemo Pauls (31 off 18 balls) 48-run partnership of just 29 balls which aided the Super Giants to get over the finish line in the last over of the innings. MI Cape Towns Kagiso Rabada did put up a fight after taking three quick wickets, but it was not enough to dominate the opposition.

Speaking on Match Centre Live, Viacom18 Expert Abhinav Mukund weighed in on de Kocks explosive performance. The Quinton de Kock we all know and love. Thats exactly what he did because once he starts going, theres no bowler in the world that can stop him. He showed that today. Clearly, he takes a liking to the Durban ground because when one side is short, where do you bowl to him? He cuts fiercely, he plays the pull shotthats his favourite shotand the pull shot is something that he loves doing, so you can't bowl on both sides of the pitch on this particular surface, and their side boundaries are this short. Its a dream for someone like Quinton De Kock. He showed his class throughout this innings.

MI Cape Towns new entrant and Australian international, Tim David wasted no time in making his presence known as he struck a noteworthy knock (33 off 26 balls) and hit 3 sixes with partner Rassie van der Dussen (43 off 32 balls) at the crease. The duo helped in building the innings for Cape Town and put a respectable total of 165 on the board for the Super Giants to chase.

Mukund also expressed his delight at Tim Davids innings against DSG. He must be a crowd favourite already because of the number of sixes he hits, and maybe the only criticism the crowd will have is that he hits them out of the ground. This guy is phenomenal. He said it was his first time playing in South Africa, and he didn't look back because he came in at a crucial time and scored those runs. Something that I would have liked for him to do on the back end. But Tim David has announced himself here and is only going to get better.

Joburg Super Kings will lock horns with Paarl Royals at 5:00 pm and Sunrisers Eastern Cape will play Durbans Super Giants tonight at 9:00 pm, live on JioCinema, Sports18  1, Sports18 Khel and Colors Tamil.
World over, we saw the great disruption caused by the global pandemic, even as businesses and economies are still struggling to return to the pre-pandemic levels. Along with this there are geopolitical situations and tensions that have impacted the supply chain, creating raw material challenges. Amidst all this, Volkswagen has successfully launched two new vehicles  the Taigun in the premium midsize SUV segment and the Virtus in the premium midsize sedan segment in India.

Speaking to Adgully, Ashish Gupta, Brand Director, Volkswagen Passenger Cars India, said, With two brand new launches, we navigated through the challenges, learning and unlearning the consumer trends, preferences, new technologies and consumption pattern and use the insights of strengthening customer connection while developing our marketing strategy and campaign for the year.

He further said, We strongly believe this key insight is the direction for the future strategy and campaign while being flexible towards platform usage, medium, tools and countering the challenges effectively. These efforts will help us stay ahead of the curve and continue to strengthen the presence of the Volkswagen brand in India.

Prior to COVID, Volkswagens audience would engage with the brand through physical touchpoints and experiences, with a shift towards digital in the next couple of years. However, COVID-19 accelerated digitalisation and today consumers interact in a 360-degree manner with a phygital approach.

Today, prospective and existing Volkswagen customers can interact with our brand through our network touchpoints in 118 cities across India or through our digital platforms. Be it social media or the digital tools on the Volkswagen India website enabling the customer in their purchase journey. For instance, we have introduced the WhatsApp for Business platform, booking of a Volkswagen model or service appointment online, scheduling of test drive at the customers preferred dealership at their convenient time, Service Cost Calculator that enables a customer to understand the approximate cost of his annual maintenance, ensuring transparency and a peace of mind ownership experience, he added.

Gupta informed that as a matter of fact, even the pre-owned car business has witnessed an increase in digitalisation platforms, wherein customers are buying, selling, exchanging and upgrading their car online. Our DasWelt.Auto platform (Volkswagen Indias pre-owned car business) has seen an upsurge in engagement on the website and DWA Valuator app.

Today, we have scaled our consumer connect multi-fold with the advent of technology that has helped us in further understanding our consumers requirements and increase brand trust and loyalty, he said.

The industry witnessed several changes, the first and foremost one being the need for individual or personal mobility. During the COVID-19 period, the pre-owned automotive business almost doubled as individuals wanted their own safe and personal mobility solutions. Earlier a family of four people would have one car, whereas today, there are at least two cars to facilitate their mobility needs. Therefore, the automotive business after witnessing a dampened 2020, rebounded with a growth of nearly 26% in 2021.

Furthermore, the industry has also witnessed a shift in the category  consumer demand has moved towards a preference for SUVs and mid-size sedans vis-a-vis entry level hatchbacks.

Gupta noted, Our young product portfolio of the Volkswagen Taigun, Virtus and Tiguan is doing phenomenally well in their respective categories, showcasing the shift towards safe and premium mobility solutions by customers.

The industry is gathering a lot of positive momentum, with India surpassing Japan in new auto sales in 2022, making it the third-largest market for the first time. The automotive market in India has seen a lot of fluctuation in the recent past, ranging from the NBFC crisis in 2019, followed by the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, the microchip shortage and Russia-Ukraine situation leading to supply chain constraints. Despite these impediments, the industry is surging ahead with robust outputs. The automotive industry in India grew by 23% to 3.6 million vehicles in 2022.

On the trends that will be shaping the automobile industry in 2023, Gupta said, The few trends that will predominantly shaping the future course for the industry are  increasing adoption of electric and hybrid vehicles; demand for safer cars that ensure driver and occupant safety such as the Volkswagen Taigun (5-star GNCAP in adult and child occupant); software driven and inclusion of enhanced digitised features that would make the journey even more integrated and comfortable for the customer.

Overall, it is likely that the automotive industry will continue to evolve and transform in terms of fuel types, technology agnostic disruptions and design advancement and safety, which will shape the future course of action, concluded Gupta.
Vavo Digital, a leading influencer marketing agency, has partnered with AVIAREPS Aviation Tourism & Travel Marketing Private Limited to execute online influencer campaigns for promotion of the state of Utah, USA, as a perfect holiday destination for the Indian audience.

Vavo Digital facilitated two key travel influencers of India  Aakash Malhotra and Larissa Dsa, who traveled and explored the diverse and magnificent landscapes of Utah and showcased the same through a series of aesthetic and credible deliverables on Instagram like Reels, Image Posts, Stories, and a full-length YouTube video. These influencers experienced incredible activities like trekking in the iconic Narrows of Zion National Park, road-tripping across some of Utah's breathtaking scenic byways, snowboarding, etc.

The campaign is designed to raise awareness and educate the Indian masses about the State of Utah as an ideal vacation spot to be added to ones travel bucket list when choosing a holiday destination in the USA. The main objective of this campaign is to bring to light the tourist destinations in Utah, apart from the other frequently visited states. This long-term and multi-post association will help to build trust amongst travelers as the influencers act as ambassadors, thus creating a sustainable buzz about the state. If an influencer regularly references a specific destination (whilst being mindful of oversaturating their audiences), this could lead to increased recall and might also instill curiosity amongst the audience to explore that destination.

Commenting on the partnership, Abdul Shaikh, Senior Brand Strategist, Vavo Digital, Since influencer marketing is at an all-time high, every industry has been exploring its potential. A single online post by a well-recognized influencer can boost the tourism of a destination phenomenally. We believe a digital word of mouth is key in current times. Due to the exceptional influencer selection that perfectly resonated with the brands views and audience along with the content curated by our influencers, the Indian audience will be driven to consider Utah as an apt holiday destination. We are glad to partner with AVIAREPS India, for this exciting campaign and look forward to carrying out many more like this.

Sharing his thoughts, Mr. Zach Fyne, Global Markets Specialist, Visit Utah, It is important for the Indian consumer to see people from their country who both speak their language and share the same background to better understand how to go about exploring a new destination like Utah. Hosting leading content creators and influential travel vloggers, across a 7-day winter journey through southwestern Utah was an opportunity to showcase our gorgeous destination through their perspectives. The rich storytelling and passion that Vavo Digitals influencers have for Utah unfold across their social media posts. We are confident, the Indian market will be delighted by these experiences and stories and will be motivated to continue exploring more of our state.

Commenting on the same, Mansi Oza, Sales & Marketing, AVIAREPS India, Alignment between the client and agency is essential for any campaign to be successful, and we at AVIAREPS India look for a long-term partnership with the agency. It was our first time working with Vavo Digital, and we were very happy to see how prompt and responsive the team at the agency was to our requirements and how they were in line with the vision we had for the campaign. Through the two extreme profiles of the shortlisted travel bloggers, from adventure lovers like Aakash to tropical vacationers like Larissa, we hope to have conveyed our message that Utah is a destination fit for all types of travelers.

The content created by the influencers is available on Instagram and YouTube and can be extremely helpful for an Indian tourist planning a trip to Utah. The influencer activity is ongoing and has garnered over lakhs of views on Instagram.

Content Links:
Authored by Shriya Nagi, Founder & MD, Kern Culture.

Employer branding is crucial for all Indian start-ups, and heres why:

First and foremost, it helps attract top talent. In todays job market, competition for skilled workers is fierce. Employer branding can help set a start-up apart from the rest, making it more appealing to job seekers. A strong employer brand can communicate a companys values, culture, and mission, making it more likely that a candidate will want to work there.

Additionally, employer branding can also help with employee retention. When employees feel proud of the company they work for and are excited to tell others about it, they are less likely to leave. A strong employer brand can foster a sense of loyalty and commitment among employees, which can ultimately save start-up money and resources that would otherwise be spent on recruiting and training new hires.

When we speak of employer branding, we absolutely cannot miss highlighting the importance of SOPs. Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) are a set of guidelines and instructions that outline how a specific task or process should be carried out. They are crucial for new businesses to run smoothly for several reasons.

First and foremost, SOPs help ensure consistency and quality in the way tasks are performed. Without SOPs, different employees may have different interpretations of how a task should be done, which can lead to inconsistencies and errors. By having clear and detailed SOPs in place, new businesses can ensure that all employees are performing tasks in the same way, which can help to improve the overall quality of the work being done.

SOPs also help to improve efficiency and productivity. By providing clear instructions on how a task should be performed, SOPs can help employees to work more efficiently and effectively. This can ultimately save a business time and money, as tasks can be completed more quickly and with fewer errors.

Another important aspect of SOPs is that they help new businesses to train employees more effectively. New hires can refer to SOPs to learn how to perform their duties, which can help to reduce the amount of time and resources required to train them. This can be especially beneficial for new businesses, which may have limited resources and a need to get new employees up to speed quickly.

SOPs also play a crucial role in an employer branding exercise. They demonstrate that a company is well-organised, professional, and proficient. They show that the company has a clear vision and is committed to quality and consistency. This can be a powerful selling point for job seekers, as it can help to set a company apart from others in the same industry.

Another very important area of focus for companies that are on the path to becoming great employer brands is their social media presence. Creating a great social media presence helps to showcase the culture and values of a company. Social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn provide an opportunity for companies to share their story and connect with potential employees in a more personal and authentic way. Sharing behind-the-scenes content that gives a glimpse into the companys culture and values, photos and videos of employees working together, participating in team-building activities, and giving back to the community  sharing this type of content can help to humanize a company and give job seekers a sense of what its like to work there.

Another important aspect of creating a great social media presence is engaging with potential employees. This can be done by responding to comments and messages, hosting Q&A sessions, and encouraging employees to share their own experiences of working at the company. By engaging with potential employees in this way, a company can help to build a sense of community and make job seekers feel like they are a part of something special.

A great social media presence can also help to attract top talent by showcasing the companys values and mission. For example, if a company is committed to sustainability, it can use social media to share information about its eco-friendly initiatives and practices. This can help to attract job seekers who are passionate about the same causes, and who may be more likely to want to work for a company that aligns with their values.

Employer branding can also have a positive impact on a start-ups bottom line. A company with a strong reputation as a great place to work is more likely to attract customers, partners, and investors. This is because people want to do business with companies that have a positive reputation. A strong employer brand can also help a start-up to differentiate itself from the competition, making it more likely to stand out in a crowded marketplace.

In India, start-ups are popping up in every corner of the country, and the competition for talent is fierce. Employer branding can help Indian start-ups to stand out and attract top talent, retain employees, and ultimately drive business success. So, if you are a start-up in India, dont neglect your employer branding  its crucial to your success!

In conclusion, its not just the product or service that sells, but the people behind it. A strong employer brand can be the key differentiator for Indian start-ups to attract, retain and engage top talent and drive business success.
Crews released toxic chemicals into the air from five derailed tanker cars that were in danger of exploding Monday and began burning it after warning residents near the Ohio-Pennsylvania state line to leave immediately or face the possibility of death.

Flames and black smoke billowed high into the sky from the derailment site late in the afternoon, about an hour after authorities said the controlled release would begin.

The slow release of vinyl chloride from five rail cars into a trough that was then ignited created a large plume above the village of East Palestine but authorities said they were closely monitoring the air quality.

Thus far, no concerning readings have been detected, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro said at a brief evening news conference about three hours after the venting and burning procedure began.

However, he urged Pennsylvania residents within a 2-mile radius of the derailment site to shelter in place and keep their doors and windows closed through the evening as a precaution in case of wind shifts.

Shapiro also said he had spoken to President Joe Biden, who had offered the full support of the federal government to Pennsylvania and Ohio.

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine earlier ordered evacuations in the area of the derailment that has been smoldering since Friday night. Authorities believed most, if not all, residents in the danger zone had left but they were knocking on doors one more time before releasing the vinyl chloride inside the cars, he said.

You need to leave, you just need to leave. This is a matter of life and death, DeWine said at news conference.

Officials warned the controlled burn would send phosgene and hydrogen chloride into the air. Phosgene is a highly toxic gas that can cause vomiting and breathing trouble and was used as a weapon in World War I.

Scott Deutsch of Norfolk Southern Railway earlier said doing this during the daytime would allow the fumes to disperse more quickly and prevent the rail cars from exploding and sending shrapnel and other debris from flying through the neighborhood.

We cant control where that goes, he said.

The process involves using a small charge to blow a hole in the cars, allowing the material to go into a trench and burning it off before its released in the air, he said. The crews handling the controlled release have done this safely before, Deutsch said.

About three hours into the procedure, Norfolk Southern Railway issued a statement saying that experts and first responders had breached the rail cars, chemicals were burning off and the cars were expected to drain for several more hours.

The site is very close to the state line, and the evacuation area extends into a sparsely populated area of Pennsylvania. About half of the 4,800 residents in East Palestine had been warned to leave over the weekend before officials decided on Monday to use the controlled release.

Shapiro said the evacuation zone includes about 20 Pennsylvania residences. Pennsylvania State Police went door-to-door to assist the last remaining residents and ensure they leave.

Shapiro later said hed been told that residents with a mile of the controlled burn had left.

Forced evacuations began Sunday night in East Palestine after authorities became alarmed that the rail cars could explode after a drastic temperature change was observed in a rail car.

Residents were packing overnight bags, loading their pets into cars and searching for hotel rooms Monday morning. Police in the village moved out of their communication center as the threat of an explosion increased.

Police cars, snow plows and military vehicles from the Ohio National Guard blocked streets leading into the area.

About 50 cars, including 10 carrying hazardous materials, derailed in a fiery crash Friday night, according to rail operator Norfolk Southern and the National Transportation Safety Board. No injuries to crew, residents or first responders were reported.

Five were transporting vinyl chloride, which is used to make the polyvinyl chloride hard plastic resin in plastic products and is associated with increased risk of liver cancer and other cancers, according to the federal governments National Cancer Institute

Federal investigators say the cause of the derailment was a mechanical issue with a rail car axle.

The three-member train crew received an alert about the mechanical defect shortly before the derailment, Michael Graham, a board member of the NTSB, said Sunday. Investigators identified the exact point of derailment, but the board was still working to determine which rail car experienced the axle issue, he said.

Mayor Trent Conaway, who declared a state of emergency in the village, said one person was arrested for going around barricades right up to the crash. He warned people to stay away and said theyd risk arrest.

I dont know why anybody would want to be up there; youre breathing toxic fumes if youre that close, he said.

Seewer reported from Toledo, Ohio. Associated Press journalists Kantele Franko, Gene Puskar and Brooke Schultz in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, contributed. Schultz is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.
Publish or perish is a common phrase in academia. Academia is where people with letters after their names write about scenarios and situations about which the average AofAer has 100x more knowledge and experience. Many years ago, I spoke at a marginally competitive college in Massachusetts (who remembers college rank terminology?) The professor who spoke before me touted her years in academia as an autism expert. I added up my daughters ages at the time and tripled her number in my own introduction as my experience. There has been so much fiddling while families struggle. Study upon study that bolster careers. Little of it translational. And everyone else makes money. As in the situation below.



From Spectrum News

Prolific autism researcher has two dozen papers retracted

by Shaena Montanari / 2 February 2023

An autism researcher lost two dozen papers to retraction in January, eight years after the publisher was made aware of potentially troubling editorial practices. Elsevier, the publisher, cited undisclosed conflicts of interest, duplicated methodology and a compromised peer-review process as reasons for the retractions

The papers were published in Research in Developmental Disabilities and Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders between 2013 and 2014  a period when Johnny Matson, then professor of psychology at Louisiana State University (LSU) in Baton Rouge and an author on all of the papers, was editor-in-chief of both journals.

.The conflict-of-interest claims stem from the retracted papers using assessment batteries that Matson developed, which are sold by Disability Consultants, LLC, a business registered in the state of Louisiana to Matsons wife, Deann Matson. This tie was not revealed in any of the 23 papers.

Citation: https://doi.org/10.53053/YIME4862



###

Buy and share these books by Robert Kennedy Jr.. Dr. Fauci may be "gone" but we will not let his work fade into obscurity nor become enshrined on Mount Olympus. And the Pfizer expose video (dates gone sour) screams out for The Wuhan Cover Up. Not to mention the weather balloon we just took down.



The Real Anthony Fauci: Bill Gates, Big Pharma, and the Global War on Democracy and Public Health (Childrens Health Defense) by Robert F. Kennedy Jr.



#1 on AMAZON, and a NEW YORK TIMES, WALL STREET JOURNAL, USA TODAY and PUBLISHERS WEEKLY NATIONAL BESTSELLER Over 1,000,000 copies sold despite censorship, boycotts from bookstores and libraries, and hit pieces against the author.





The Wuhan Cover-Up: How US Health Officials Conspired with the Chinese Military to Hide the Origins of COVID-19 (Childrens Health Defense)



From the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Publishers Weekly bestselling author of The Real Anthony Fauci comes an explosive expose of the cover-up behind the true origins of COVID-19.




Jill Kidik spent her entire adult life working toward the single goal of a meaningful career in law enforcement.

Thirteen years into her tenure with the Hartford Police Department, she was on the cusp of what she defined as success. Shed just returned from Arizona, where she had been certified as a drug recognition expert, the first in the department, and was set to move into the next phase of her lifes work as an officer.

In an instant, it was all gone.

On May 17, 2018, Kidik responded to what sounded like a run-of-the-mill landlord and tenant dispute. It wasnt even her call to respond to, she said, but a rookie officer needed experience at the scene of a motor vehicle crash and there was one in her zone, so they swapped calls, and Kidik drove her cruiser to 5 Constitution Plaza.

It was the last call to which shed ever respond.

At the apartment building, Kidik tried to talk Chevoughn Augustin into getting some help at a hospital. Workers at Augustins building reported that shed spent the night sleeping outside, and Kidik knew she couldnt leave her alone without trying to connect her to some resources.

But in what the now former officer remembers as a partially blacked-out blur of fear, panic and pain, a mentally ill Augustin attacked Kidik, dragging her by her hair, jumping on her from behind, stabbing her in the neck repeatedly and eventually delivering a near-fatal blow with a kitchen knife that sliced through Kidiks throat.

Augustin was eventually found not guilty of her crimes by reason of insanity and, in August 2021, was committed to the custody of the state Psychiatric Security Review Board for 38 years.

Kidiks injuries were so severe that they changed the entire course of her life and, in a way, stripped away the only identity shed known up to that point. It was one shed spent years working toward between a high school internship with a police department, a degree in criminal justice and more than a decade on the force.

Her injuries, along with the trauma-induced panic attacks, flashbacks and nightmares that followed her attack, all amounted to one life-changing decision: Kidik could no longer be a police officer.

It just wasnt safe for me mentally, said Kidik.

So, left with an emptiness she didnt know how to handle, and an inability to work due to disability, she pivoted her life and found new meaning. She no longer held the title of officer, but she soon took on a new title: Mom.

Former Hartford police officer Jill Kidik is pictured with her daughters, Peyton (left) and Cora (right). Kidik is on permanent disability due to the junries and trauma of her attack and is now a stay-at-home mom raising her daughters. Photo by Cloe Poisson/Special to the Courant

A new path to happiness

When Kidik retired by age 35, she was at first at a loss for how to fill her day. The empty alone time didnt suit her, she said.

I knew thats not healthy for my personality, so what am I going to do? she recalls asking herself.

I knew I would need a purpose, she said.

Together with her husband, Connecticut state trooper Tyler Charette, Kidik decided she would move into the next chapter of her life as a parent, even though it was a role she never saw herself in.

In 2020, just a few years after her attack, the couple had their first daughter, Cora Charette. Two years later, younger sister Peyton Charette followed.

The two now fill Kidiks days with purpose and a touch of chaos, she said over the sound of the giggles, cries of a stubbed toe and requests to watch Disneys Frozen for the umpteenth time.

I dont have time to become sad or feel like my life is out of control with everything going on with Chevoughn and Whiting, she said of her attacker and the states hospital for those found not guilty of crimes by reason of insanity, where Augustin had been until earlier this month.

Though her life isnt as she pictured it, Kidik said she cares for her daughters in a way she never could have imagined.

I love them to death, she said.

But at the time of her attack, Kidik said she was at a high point in her policing career.

I loved it, I couldnt wait to start that part of my career, I finally found my niche at work, she said. It was three weeks after I came back from Arizona that I got stabbed, and all of it was just gone.

Though she briefly tried to return to work, it was quickly clear that she could not stay.

All that work, a decade of trying to get somebody to send me to a class that was going to set my career on fire in a positive way, she said. In a second, it was gone.

Though Jill Kidik no longer holds the title of a police officer, she took on the new title of mom to Cora (left) and Peyton, (right). Photo by Cloe Poisson/Special to the Courant

The memories remain

Shes grieved that loss and balanced motherhood alongside the hardship of recovering from her injuries.

Despite surgery and physical therapy, she still has trouble swallowing even her own saliva and still cant eat many foods or drink liquor. The right side of her throat is basically paralyzed, and she still struggles with PTSD, unable to be hugged from behind without tensing up.

And those arent the only way her attack remains at the forefront of her life.

Kidik has attended court hearing after court hearing, sharing her story repeatedly. At Augustins commitment hearing, she thought might have finally gotten closure or at least some respite from reliving the attack.

I thought that after having the commitment hearing it would be years, before shed have to plead for justice again, she said.

After her commitment, Augustin was held in Whiting Forensic Hospital, the most secure facility in the state hospital system, until Jan. 5, 2023, when she was stepped down to Dutcher Hall  a less secure but still locked facility on the Connecticut Valley Hospital campus. At Dutcher, the patients may have more freedoms to move about the facility, including access to the dining hall, and may eventually earn access to the hospitals unfenced grounds or the nearby community in Middletown, with staff.

Kidik called Augustins transfer, less than two years into her commitment, a rushed process that left her fearful for her safety and the safety of her daughters.

The transfer decision was made by the medical staff at Whiting who felt Augustins condition had stabilized, the symptoms of her schizophrenia diagnosis well managed by a medication regimen shed shown adherence to, staff said at a public hearing earlier this month.

Under a new law that went into effect last October, medical teams at Whiting are now able to make transfer decisions on their own. They can decide, through a thorough review process, that a patient is eligible for a step down without a public hearing. Theyre required to alert the PSRB within 48 hours of the transfer and, after that, attorneys can request a public hearing where victims have an opportunity to speak.

Prosecutors called a public hearing last month where Augustin had a chance to speak. These public hearings were previously, before the new law, held prior to a decision being made on a transfer, giving victims a chance to share their concerns before it happened. Now theyre optional and can occur after a transfer.

At a hearing on Jan. 27 regarding Augustins transfer, the board heard lengthy testimony from medical staff about how they came to their decision and asked questions about privileges, behavior and notification of the victim.

Also at the hearing, Kidik detailed the horror of her attack and the re-traumatization she experienced when she learned Augustin had been stepped down to Dutcher. She implored medical staff at Whiting to consider the brutality of the wounds Kidik suffered and took issue with the new law that she felt took away her voice.

After the public hearing, the PSRB had the opportunity to decide if Augustin stay at Dutcher or return to Whiting.

The board decided to maintain the transfer, keeping Augustin in the lower security facility. But, in a move that offered Kidik much more peace, imposed conditions on that decision.

The board requested they receive immediate notice if any of Augustins psychotic symptoms return or if she demonstrates any refusal to adhere to medication that keeps her psychosis at bay, according to the executive director of the board.

They also requested that the board be immediately notified if Augustin receives additional privileges. Right now, she is allowed to travel to the dining hall at Dutcher with staff supervision, medical staff said.

Though those conditions offer Kidik much more peace of mind than she felt immediately after the transfer, she still worries the staff at Whiting doesnt grasp the just how violent her attacker can be.

The retired officer said she doesnt know how she would react if she ran into Augustin on the streets of Middletown one day. She has a lifelong restraining order but fears someday their paths may cross as shes headed to lunch in the city or out walking with her daughters.

She isnt sure if shed freeze or run away, or if the encounter would send her over the edge. And hopes she wont ever have to find out, just as she wishes she never had to learn just how painful parts of life could be.

There are times that I wish this never happened, that I never knew how life was. I was just a police officer and [these things] just happened at work, it doesnt happen when I come home, she said, looking back on her attack. But thats not how it works.
America's Civil War, which raged from 1861 to 1865, was by far the bloodiest conflict in our history. Original estimates put the death toll at about 620,000, including some 360,000 Union and 260,000 Confederate dead. More recent estimates of the carnage are even higher: 750,000 to 850,000. The Battle of Antietam on Sept. 17, 1862, at Sharpsburg, Maryland, still ranks as the bloodiest day in U.S. history, with nearly 23,000 casualties on both sides, including 3,675 killed in action. How does a country possibly recover from a calamity so huge?

But recover we did. Thanks to the wisdom of martyred president Abraham Lincoln and the munificence of soldiers who had fought brother against brother, reconciliation and reunification were achieved, and our country not only survived, but prospered.

It could have been so much worse. Bloody guerrilla warfare might have persisted for decades. But saner heads on both sides prevailed. After all, Lincoln's goal had been nothing short of preservation the United States of America.

Members of the West Point class of 1961 at their 40th reunion gifted their Alma Mater a monument commemorating that seminal time in our history, when North and South put aside their animosities and united in common purpose. Reconciliation Plaza is a series of stone markers, reminiscent of gravestones, commemorating members of the classes of 1861 and 1961 who lost their lives in wars separated by a century. In addition to these markers, others reflect the ironies of West Point classmates and instructors pitted against one another in mortal combat and record acts of charity and brotherly love by soldiers on opposite sides of the conflict.

One marker tells the story of future Supreme Court justice, thenUnion captain Oliver Wendell Holmes, staggering severely wounded into a house on the Antietam battlefield behind Confederate lines. A Rebel asked through a window if wounded Yankees were inside and, when told yes, tossed his full canteen inside to slake their thirst.

Another marker chronicles how at the Battle of Cedar Creek in 1864, mortally wounded Confederate Major General Stephen Dodson Ramseur was carried to Northern lines, where Union West Point classmates and friends, including Major General George Armstrong Custer, gave comfort through the night as he lay dying.

Marker number 8 commemorates West Pointer Robert E. Lee's surrender to fellow academy graduate Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox Courthouse, Virginia on April 9, 1865. The Union's greatest general magnanimously permitted the defeated Confederates "to return to their homes not to be disturbed ... as long as they observe their paroles ... let all men who claim to own a horse or mule take the animals home with them to work their little farms."

Marker 12 tells of the West Point Centennial Celebration of 1902. The culmination of the reconciliation process, Union Major General Thomas H. Ruger, Class of 1854, and Confederate Brigadier General Edward P. Alexander, Class of 1857, delivered back-to-back speeches before an audience of veterans from both sides of the Civil War.

"When the end came there was found in their hearts an echo to the words 'Let us have peace,'" Ruger noted. Alexander spoke next: "It was best for the South that the cause was lost[.] ... The firm bonds which today hold together this great nation could never have been wrought by debates in Congress."

These are noble sentiments, spoken from the heart, which should be an inspiration to all of us. Yet here we stand, 121 years later, with Reconciliation Plaza slated for defacement and demolition.

One can imagine some pencil-necked minion of the so-called military base "Naming Commission" pointing his bony finger like a Salem Witch Trial judge at the names of dead soldiers on a marker, shouting, "These white supremacist traitors must be excised and exorcised! Shame! Shame!"

Surely, we are better than this.

Make no mistake; the objective of these leftist vandals is to further divide us so that their "fundamental transformation" of America, with its defunding of police, sexual grooming of children, demonization of parents, cancelation, and social credit systems, may flourish. Their ultimate goal is to so tarnish our Founding Fathers that the nation they bequeathed us, our Constitution, its Bill of Rights, and our Declaration of Independence all become the fruit of the poisonous tree. Then it's either a new civil war or one-party globalist rule, rigged elections, and citizen serfdom.

Image via Public Domain Pictures.
The framers of the Constitution designated the press as a special institution designed to report to the people on the actions of the government.

Here is what the First Continental Congress in 1774 wrote:

The last right we shall mention regards the freedom of the press. The importance of this consists, besides the advancement of truth, science, morality, and arts in general, in its diffusion of liberal sentiments on the administration of Government, its ready communication of thoughts between subjects, and its consequential promotion of union among them, whereby oppressive officers are shamed or intimidated into more honorable and just modes of conducting affairs.

The founders saw the press as a medium to promote "communication of thoughts between subjects" and "union among them." That means the press was designed to facilitate free exchange of ideas to encourage debate and hold the powers that be accountable to the people.

Today, however, the media see their purpose completely differently. Instead of "communication of thoughts between subjects," the media took it upon themselves to decide which thoughts they will promote and which they will ignore. They decide which "subjects" are worthy of a platform and which should be shunned. The media declared themselves as the moral compass for all of us:

American view-from-nowhere, "objectivity"-obsessed, both-sides journalism is a failed experimentThe old way must go. We need to rebuild our industry as one that operates from a place of moral clarity.

Thus, instead of promoting unity, the media seek to promote conformity. As for the "officers," the media don't "shame and intimidate" every one of them equally. The government officials are held accountable not based on their performance, but based on their goals.

To achieve unity, you need different viewpoints that work together to find common ground. The public can then decide which argument is based on science, logic, and common sense. But the media take a different approach. First, they pick the argument they consider "moral" and declare it the only legitimate way to think. And if the facts and science contradict that argument, they either disregard them or twist them to fit.

If the media can hide the facts that go against their agenda, they will. For example, they ignored the southern border invasion because it reflects negatively on the Biden administration. They don't cover massacres on the streets of Chicago and other liberal cities because it's the black drug gangs who are responsible. They completely ignore shoplifting and homelessness in California because they will never admit that progressive policies destroy cities.

But when the facts are so in your face that they can't be ignored  that's when the spin starts.

After the George Floyd incident, the media declared that white cops were in business of exterminating black men. That narrative led to violent riots costing dozens of lives and billions in damage  all justified by the media to "protest white supremacy." When five black cops killed another black man, the "white supremacy" argument collapsed. However, the media continue to push that narrative, preposterously suggesting that black people can also practice "white supremacy."

A year ago, the media justified COVID vaccine mandates by claiming that the vaccines stopped the spread of COVID. For months on end, they claimed that "the unvaccinated" needed to be shunned by society, and possibly, even jailed for attempted murder. But when pharma companies admitted that the COVID vaccine was never tested for stopping transmission, the media did not course-correct. Far from it  they still push mass vaccinations, because "the vax being completely useless is not the reason to not get it," apparently.

Examples of twisting the facts to promote an agenda are endless (here, here, and here). The cowardly media would never concede that they are pushing falsehoods to impose progressive vision. But the media consumers have gotten wise: trust in American media has plummeted.

You may think that poll would cause the media to do some introspection  but you'd be wrong. In a stunning feat of "fitting a square peg into a round hole," the media declared that twisting facts to fit their agenda builds trust:

What we found has convinced us that truth-seeking news media must move beyond whatever 'objectivity' once meant to produce more trustworthy news.

This former New York Times editor finally admits what everyone has known for years:

Having a point of view does not mean that you don't follow the facts where they lead. It just means that you are up front about the perspective you are bringing to the story.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with that statement. That is called "opinion journalism" or "advocacy journalism." There are numerous outlets that do that, but they don't hide their perspective. They disclose it in big bold letters, so the consumers know what they are getting.

The problem arises when the consumers don't know they are getting "a perspective" instead of balanced news presentation. The media outlets like the Washington Post, the New York Times, and CNN never admitted they were "advocacy journalists"  until now. Quite to the contrary: They have always claimed that they are the most trusted, objective, and neutral "facts only" outlets.

The NYT calls itself "The Paper of Record"  not the "The paper of a thousand corrections."

The WaPo's motto is "Democracy Dies in Darkness"  not "Democracy Dies with Trump."

CNN claims to be "facts first"  not "sentence first, trial afterwards."

The American public has always viewed these outlets as the source of news  not a political party propaganda arm. Without telling anybody, "mainstream" media changed their purpose to slant the news in favor of the progressive agenda  all the while claiming they were still covering the news fairly. Faced with a ratings disaster, they are whining that "there was nothing wrong with having an opinion to begin with."

It is not your opinion that we object to. It's your dishonesty. You are abusing special protections the founders designed for you to push your worldview on the American people. Your purpose is to report on the powerful  not to choose who they are. Spare us your "holier than thou" attitude, and get back to doing your job.

Tanya Berlaga is a freelance writer, translator, and a publisher and is currently a contributor to Right Wire Report, The Liberty Loft, and Free Speech Movement.

Image via Pixnio.
For years, the profession of police officer had always been, in my mind, associated with a historic photo of a towering, gun-carrying young policeman bending over and chatting with a little boy not much taller than his knee during a parade in 1957 in Washington, D.C.

But things have changed rather drastically.

The images of the police force have become more and more colorful and multi-dimensional, replacing the conventional stereotype: brave, law-abiding, and trustworthy.

The events involving police actions in recent years illustrate these changes, and the death of Tyre Nichols at the hands of police, following a seemingly standard traffic stop in early January is revealing a chain of failure in the police profession. These failures, unfortunately, seem to have become common now, more than sporadic.

From the video clips released by Memphis police department, upon the request of Nichols family through their attorneys, one can see the unfolding of the brutal beating delivered by five uniformed police officers to Nichols, the victim of this police violence. Nichols died three days later of extensive bleeding caused by a severe beating. The Nichols familys attorney, Antonio Romanucci, described the actions captured in the video as not only violent, it was savage.

After the death of Nichols, the Memphis police department and the county sheriffs office took a series of actions in the midst of the ongoing internal and federal investigations. The five officers captured in the beating videos were quickly fired and charged. Two deputy sheriffs on the scene of arrest were relieved from duty days later. A sixth officer was fired after that. And the police unit to which those officers were assigned was abruptly disbanded.

These actions, however swift, would be of no good to either achieving justice for Nichols and his family or preventing future police crimes in Memphis and elsewhere, if the ongoing investigations conclude by only punishing the individuals who literally carried out the brutality without pressing the questions underneath -- that of the disturbing police culture that has been obvious for years.

Then, what are the questions that must be asked and hopefully answered?

Common sense tells that, those five officers charged in Nichols death did not become killer police overnight. One of the five, Demetrius Haley, in fact, had been sued for beating a prison inmate while employed as a correction officer at the Shelby County Corrections Department in 2015.

Thus, the first and most obvious question directed to the Memphis police department is: Did the department have any knowledge of those five officers violent tendencies before and after their hiring? What precautions had been given to their violent tendencies in the process of their hiring and job assignments?

The charged five appeared to act in sync on the beating scene. So, the next question is: Were those five assembled together randomly, or according to their matching characters and work ethics?

The charged five were part of a specialized unit called the Scorpion unit, which was created to combat the rising crime in the city.

If those five could carry out the deadly beating seen in the video in a matter-of-routine procedural manner, how did the other unit members carry out their duties? This question has already been answered, although only partly, by critics of the Scorpion unit, which was regarded by the community as an oppressor because of its excessive force tactics.

The follow-up question after that will be: Were the members of the Scorpion unit licensed to use beyond-necessity force at their own discretion? Or did they simply exert their self-entitled power on duty (and probably off duty as well) without being monitored and held accountable? The fact that two deputy sheriffs were idly present at the beating scene suggests both.

The charged five, although directly responsible for Nichols death, are not the only culprits. From the Shelby County sheriffs office to the citys police department, from the hiring and training of the officers, and from the field officers to the commanders in the office, failures at multiple levels in various forms together led to the death of Nichols.

As mentioned at the beginning of this article, abusive use of police force is not limited to Memphis.

Less than two months ago, police handcuffed and arrested an 82-year-old woman in Alabama over a $77 unpaid trash bill. That incident marked a new height in the use of excessive force by police toward non-violent citizens.

If someone equates police overuse of force on ordinary citizens to police bravery in front of real crimes, he could not be more mistaken. The reality, based on news coverage at least, is that the police force has been increasingly exhibiting hesitance or even cowardice when facing real threats on duty, as manifested in the Robb Elementary School massacre in Uvalde (May 24, 2022), in the storming mass protest at the Capitol during the after-election protests (January 6, 2021), and during the antifa protests infested with widespread robbery, vandalism and violence following George Floyds death (starting on May 26, 2020 and throughout the second half of that year). In all of these events, the police force failed in professionalism, in protecting the property and lives of the society which had been entrusted to them, and above all, the Constitution.

The loss of police professionalism should not be a surprise. When many members of the police force openly displayed their political stance while on duty, for instance kneeling down to show support to the Black Lives Matter movements, it is pretty clear that political correctness has overtaken professionalism as the utmost criterion for a police officer to shine.

No one should deny the existence of racism and human rights violations among the police. However, one must also have the courage to acknowledge that, most of the police-involved and police-triggered social unrests have stemmed from a lack of professionalism, rather than the results of abstract inequality, racism and human rights violations. Chanting political slogans in the streets is an easy job, which may or may not bear the intended fruits intended. Tackling the mechanism behind the failing operations, on the other hand, demands courage and devotion, independent of political affiliation.

The young police officer in the famous 1957 photo later recalled his actions toward that little boy: Firecrackers were going off everywhere and the little guy was in reasonable danger   I didnt want to scare him. I didnt want him to get closer to the firecrackers.

He was barely one year on the job when the photo was shot. If he were a rogue figure and did not have a caring and respecting characteristics inside to start his career, one year would be long enough for him to learn how much power a police uniform could lend him to satisfy his unruly desires. But he was not that rogue guy.

It is time to demand police accountability to the public from the entire police force as a whole, and not only the problematic pockets of them. Actions should be taken to overhaul current police operations, from recruiting to deployment to supervision. Re-directing misused police resources to their intended directions, rather than de-funding or over-funding the police, would prove more needed and urgent. Above all, police forces must put their professionalism and loyalty to the Constitution ahead of their personal political stances.

Daniel Jia is the founder of consulting firm DJ Integral Services. He writes analytical reports on public-related matters. There is no conflict of interest to be disclosed.

Image: Pixabay / Pixabay License
"RINO" is such a funny acronym. The vast majority of the Republican base use it to disparage the small coalition actually vested with powers in the Republican Party. The people most proud to call themselves "Republican" are likely the same ones whom most Republican voters would call "Republican in name only." The RINOs rule, and the Republican voters hate them for it.

I remember seeing Mitt Romney getting booed and heckled at an event in Utah by ordinary Republicans who correctly see him as a backstabber extraordinaire, and Monsieur Pierre Delecto burst into an aristocratic episode of tsk-tsk-ing and why-I-never exasperation while he pointed out that it was he, Mitt Romney, who had been the 2012 Republican nominee for president (before choking to the communist-in-chief) and that his father not only was a prominent Republican and governor of Michigan last century, but also should have been president, too! (Darn that Goldwater and his defense of liberty against Big Government!) Leave it to a RINO to immediately refer voters to his family resume as haughty proof of his ideological bona fides.

Romney is the perfect mascot for a gaggle of Roves, McConnells, Lincoln Project rejects, and Chamber of Commerce globalists a la Paul Ryan. They are generals without troops, prancing around like the prima donna, blissfully unaware that no one follows them anywhere. In this way, it makes perfect sense for the majority of Republican voters to despise their own political leadership so feverishly that the Republicans with all the power are also Republicans deemed so fake and unfit to serve that their titles convey authority "in name only." "Let them dine in their hoity-toity Republican clubs and jeer at the Americans made from sterner, sturdier stuff," Republican voters continue to say, "but we know who they really are." RINOs might be the upper 1%, but the bottom 99% could not give a fig.

Yet here we are again with the 2024 presidential race kicking into low gear, and the RINOs remain convinced that they can manipulate the Republican electorate into doing their bidding. Paul Ryan is on a mission to tell anyone unfortunate enough to be within earshot of his nasal scoldings that Donald Trump is too old, too toxic, too much of a loser to be the Republicans' nominee again. If anyone knows anything about being a toxic loser, it is surely Paul Ryan; it took Donald Trump to actually carry the state of Wisconsin for Republicans in 2016, after native son Ryan was embarrassingly rejected by his neighbors four years earlier. (Is that why Ryan hightailed it to C-suite offices in New York City, where he could be around like-minded friends?)

As for being too old, well, I have my doubts that P90X Paul could manage 90-minute speeches in the baking sun wearing a full suit as effortlessly as President Trump, but campaign season is just heating up. There will be no dearth of opportunities for Americans to judge for themselves who is "low energy" and who is not. Biden, for instance, is low-energy. That wretched excuse for a man looks like an assortment of old twigs that would struggle to keep a fire going. The doddering, corrupt fool cannot distinguish his life's Jenga tower of lies from the hallucinations that plague him. Biden is who Paul Ryan pretends Trump to be. Trump, on the other hand, pretends to be no one  he is just himself  and Paul Ryan still fails to understand why voters find that quality so refreshing.

So Paul Ryan and Mitt Romney hate Donald Trump. Turtle Mcconnell and "Turd Blossom" Rove hate Donald Trump. Almost all of the Republicans in the U.S. Senate and probably two-thirds of the Republicans in the U.S. House hate Donald Trump. Every corporate board member and Wall Street chieftain committed to draining middle-class Americans' pockets dry while singing sweet love songs to globalism's crony capitalism all hate Donald Trump.

Mexican president AMLO, the drug cartels and sex-traffickers who control the Southern border, the cheap laborloving U.S. Chamber of Commerce committed to sticking it to America's blue-collar workforce, and the United NationsWorld Economic ForumU.S. Uniparty hydra-headed monster pushing for unlimited illegal immigration across America hate Donald Trump. Controlled opposition Fox News, taxpayer-funded PBS, the Sulzberger family's New York Times, Jeff Bezos's Washington Post, and all the Big Tech monopolists who conspire with the federal government to censor Americans and manipulate public opinion hate Donald Trump.

The millions of unelected bureaucratic agents of the permanent Deep State all hate Donald Trump. The Intelligence Community and Department of (in)Justice (any DOJ that persecutes America-loving J6 protesters as "terrorists" and "insurrectionists" is antithetical to notions of justice), which went out of their way to frame the America First president as a Russian spy, criminal, and traitor, definitely hate Donald Trump. America's enemies in China, Iran, Cuba, Venezuela, and wherever communism has reared its ugly head hate Donald Trump.

And I look at this magnificent collection of "elite" hatred toward President Trump, and I think, "My goodness, this man must be doing something right." As Charles Hurt has often noted, Donald Trump truly has the best enemies! When you consider that he spent four years doing everything he could to increase American prosperity, self-respect, and security while being constantly hounded by the entirety of the federal government (vivid proof that an unconstitutional Leviathan has usurped Article II's executive power originally vested in the president)  all while taking no salary for his troubles  it is difficult to name another American politician who has given so much of himself for so little in return. For his efforts, worms like Romney, Ryan, Rove, McConnell, and all the rest could never even muster a simple "thank you." As Maya Angelou dryly warned, "when someone shows you who they are, believe them the first time."

Significantly, most Republican voters seem to have taken Angelou's good advice to heart. Gone are the days when they could be cowed into voting for some squishy Brahmin RINO because Bill Kristol, Steve Schmidt, Michael Steele, Nicolle Wallace, or George Will tells them they must. No longer will Republican voters endure those who unjustly insult them to their faces and go on national television to apologize to Democrats on their behalf for their perceived cultural transgressions. After watching Paul RINO and Turtle McConnell waste their majorities, fail to repeal Obamacare's socialized medicine, refuse to fund President Trump's border wall, surreptitiously sponsor the Deep State's efforts to convict Trump as a Russian spy, aid and abet the Democrats' subversion of elections through mass mail-in ballot fraud, and encourage the DOJ's ruthless harassment and persecution of J6 defendants, rank-and-file Republican voters will never trust Establishment Republicans again.

All of this raises the question: why on Earth would those even slightly tainted by the reek of RINO stench think Republican voters will forget the last fifteen years of betrayals and do as they say? Globalism, Chamber of Commerce, democracy building, open borders, Wall Street, the Federal Reserve, Big Tech censorship, two-tiered justice, corporate wokeism, the Deep State  these are all vile and dirty words for most Republican voters, even as they are openly embraced to varying degrees by the RINO Establishment Class. Who would possibly want an endorsement from Jeb Bush, Paul Ryan, Rupert Murdoch, or anybody whose fortune is sustained by the greasy quid-pro-quo revolving door between corrupt government offices and corrupt corporate boardrooms?

To be honest, those types of endorsements are now the "kiss of death," proof of a politician's potential for RINO-ness, even if the nefarious condition has yet to be overtly seen. That is why I like the guy with all the enemies  because he earned their ire well.

Image: hansgklein via Pixabay, Pixabay License.
The narrative about "free, safe, secure elections" changed 180 degrees since November 2022. Almost nobody is crazy enough to say America has free, fair elections.

After Kari Lake and Adam Laxalt, the most wimpish George Bush RINO hesitates to say "elections are fair."

Since our team processed billions of election roll "snapshots" taken since 2020, we run the largest election database in the world. We concluded that U.S. elections are rigged by both parties, and they are rigged with the active help of election officials or their acquiescence.

Sovereign fraud  institutional election fraud by your government, first discussed on American Thinker  is real. We have the data to prove it!

Fractal technology and vigilant election integrity teams in 2022 pulled back the curtain on much of this rigging  reported at www.Omega4America.com.

Why was the election fraud, which existed years before Trump became a candidate, so invisible?

Election officials of both parties do not want pesky citizens looking at voter rolls. We know this because we have been in the room with them, virtually, demonstrating the most egregious voter roll anomalies, and they just refuse to see them.

Let's get into just how virulent, common, widespread is the hiding of election registration info from you  the citizen.

How much does a voter roll cost? Yeah, dollars.

In some states, it is free. Download it, or pay a modest fee and get a CD of the entire election roll every 30 days.

In Alabama, $30,000. You pay Alabama $30,000 for a copy of your election roll.

In Wisconsin, $12,500.

Why so much? Is it a profit center?

Well, in Alabama, they have scores of voters older than Julius Caesar  some registered in the last couple of years using a birthdate around the time St. Paul was proselytizing. Think maybe there is a data roll cleaning problem there?

Wisconsin has voter IDs with hidden characters.

You can find over 180,000 Wisconsin voters with the same voter ID. Oops!

They aren't the same IDs. They are actually different  but you cannot tell with your software because the Wisconsin Election Commission uses a hidden character inserted that is invisible to you. We made them admit it!

Go to our website, www.Omega4America.com, and read the expert witness reports. You can read all about it!

In some states, you cannot get the voter roll unless you are a candidate or political party. If you let anyone else see it, you can be prosecuted  Virginia and California.

There is North Carolina. They insert control characters into election rolls so citizens have a hard time combining necessary rolls for analysis.

Creating databases with incorrectly inserted control characters shows one of two motivations: massive incompetence or sinister intent. You decide.

Our analysis of the various states, about 20 or so we have seen, is that the level of database competency is less than 8th-grade in most.

Let me state that clearly: in almost every state where we processed the election rolls, the level of database competence, from a secretary of state, spending millions of dollars a year  is less than high school level.

If the amount of undeniably false information in every state election database we have seen existed in a public company, the CEO, under Sarbanes Oxley rules, would probably go to jail.

How do you check a database? Download it. To what do you compare it?

Here's an idea! Let's compare the county voter registration files with the state voter files. They ought to reconcile, with a little float for registrations in transit.

Nope! In state after state, there is a 5- to 10-percent difference between those two sets of ostensibly identical data.

Let's check the state voter rolls with the county tax rolls. After all, an address is an address.

The reconciliation between the voter roll and the tax roll shows hundreds into thousands of addresses that cannot, by law, house a voter. Yet those addresses house thousands  regularly over 200,000 anomalies in a single state.

In 2022, we learned that election rolls have internal motion  waves of registrants who swell the roll up to election time  then gently slide back into the sea.

In Nevada and Arizona, we ran the rolls for several months.

Our graphical analysis shows the graph of people living in R.V. parks, hotels, other transient locations slowly rise to peak at election time, then disappear 3060 days later.

Since we snapshot data  comparing every voter roll with every previous roll  the snapshots show mass migration to the election date, then mass de-migration afterward.

This was never visible before Fractal technology, but now it is, from a phone. Pretty soon we are going to visualize this and put up on the website for all to see.

Let's not pick on Nevada  we see it in most states. Harris County, Texas rivals Nevada.

If voter rolls aren't opaque enough with hidden characters (Wisconsin), inserted control characters (North Carolina), prohibitive costs (Alabama, Wisconsin) or stupid laws that you can be prosecuted for looking at voter rolls if you are not an approved species (Virginia, California), we have a new trend.

Make it a crime to look at voter rolls!

Make it a crime to go door-to-door for election canvassing.

Criminalize the audit of the criminalization of election rolls! That's a double-criminalization! What does that mean?

Think we are kidding? Welcome to New Mexico.

Among the army of unsung heroes, giving up jobs, risking safety to fight election fraud  which, dear reader, means they are fighting for your most cherished freedom  is David Clements in New Mexico.

David is an attorney, professor of law, all-around patriot. You will catch him on some obscure podcast, from his parked car on a roadside on the way to an election integrity event in the middle of nowhere.

Professor Clements, in a recent interview, reported how New Mexico is legislating to criminalize election integrity efforts. They want to make it a felony to clean voter rolls. Go door-to-door to see why the empty construction site has 27 registered voters? In New Mexico, they want to put you in jail for it!

Guess which party is doing this. Not much of a guess, is it?

While we are just data guys, we cannot hold back our admiration for guys like Clements, Seth Keshel, and an anonymous army of voter integrity teams fighting against bipartisan, government-funded, supported, and enforced phantom voter fraud.

We are stunned by the lack of support by the Republican wealthy class for these guys. If they were leftists, trying to scam voter rolls, there would be an entire infrastructure in place to support them. They might get book deals!

Alas, since they are patriots, the wealthy class stands aside.

Well, we aren't.

The Fractal team is giving patriots  of any party  the disruptive tools to clean voter rolls.

When you have better technology than the government, it does even things up a bit!

Jay Valentine led the team that built the eBay fraud engine and the technology for the TSA No-Fly List. He can be contacted at www.Omega4America.com. His Twitter account is @jayvalentine99.

Image via Pxhere.
We learned that Robert F. O'Rourke, or Beto with the RFK hairdo, is going to teach at the University of Chicago's Institute of Politics. They've hired him as a fellow. I hope Beto's supporters don't regard that title of "fellow" as too "male-centric."

Here is the story:

Anthony Fowler, a public policy professor at the University of Chicago, told The Fix that although "there have probably been more fellows from the political left than the right" he believes the program "gives students the opportunity to learn from and make connections with these prominent and accomplished individuals." "Former members of Congress are not, by and large, academic scholars, and we're bringing them to campus for reasons largely unrelated to their intellectual contributions," Fowler said. "So students should not think of IOP events as substituting for their work in the classroom." Other fellows include former Michigan Congressman Pete Meijer, a Republican who lost his primary in 2022. One of Meijer's first votes as a new congressman in 2021 was to impeach President Donald Trump. Former Democratic Gov. Steve Sisolak, who lost his re-election bid in 2022, will also join as a fellow.

Okay. So we wish Beto all the luck in the world. Honestly, I'd rather have him teaching far away from Texas than as president, U.S. senator, or governor.

Let me suggest a couple of ideas for the courses.

First, should candidates for the U.S. Senate be funded primarily by leftists outside your home state?

Second, should presidential candidates make statements just to get clicks on Twitter?

Third, should a candidate for governor of Texas spend so much time hoping the power grid breaks down?

Stay up there for a while, Beto. You may find Cook County more suitable for your ideas anyway.

PS: Check out my blog for posts, podcasts, and videos.

Image: Gage Skidmore.
For all of New York Mayor Eric Adams's whining about migrants rolling into his sanctuary city, inflicting unbearable costs onto taxpayers, he's quietly decided to play the same game the Texas border cities are playing. He's sending the migrants to someplace else.

According to the New York Post:

Disgruntled migrants fed up with the Big Apples crime and grime are taking off to the Great White North  on bus rides paid for by New York taxpayers, The Post has learned. National Guard soldiers have been helping distribute tickets at the Port Authority Bus Terminal in Manhattan to migrants who want to head upstate before crossing into Canada, several migrants said. Venezuelan native Raymond Pena and his family arrived at a gas station bus stop in Plattsburgh, NY  about 20 miles south of the Canadian border  at 4 a.m. Sunday. The military gave me and my family free bus tickets, Pena said. I am going to Canada for a better quality of life for my family. A National Guard source confirmed that soldiers at the bus terminal were directing migrants to workers who hand out the free tickets. Mayor Eric Adams administration pays various companies that run programs for migrants that include re-ticketing so they can travel to other cities, a City Hall source said.

So Canada's the new destination of choice for the much-passed-around migrants.

New York City, following an absurd money-is-no-object policy of free housing for all who ask for it, found it couldn't give migrants the kind of housing to which they were accustomed, when it rescinded its free Times Square hotel rooms to single male migrants trashing the joints there, and tried to move them into communal housing in "faraway" western Brooklyn, complete with three hots and a cot, plus free transportation to Manhattan. That was nothing compared to the room service and free laundry they were getting in central Manhattan on a prime real estate location, so after a period of protests and squatting in the New York winter, they are now looking for greener pastures, with New York City confident that Canada will hand it out.

What's obvious here is that these aren't refugees, let alone asylum seekers, fleeing persecution from their governments. These are openly out there migrants seeking a better life for themselves, with bureaucracy after bureaucracy, as well as extranational cartels, enabling them in their job searches.

I am going to Canada for a better quality of life for my family.

But the fiction remains that they are legitimate asylum seekers just looking for refuge instead of country-shopping migrants in search of the biggest package of free stuff

Preservation of that fiction has led to even the blue cities now passing them on to the next unsuspecting nation like an unwanted hot potato.

When Canada gets a bellyful of them and their penchant for trashing the joints, commiting crimes, and making new demands for free stuff (all of which have been reported by the Post), the migrants will then likely be passed on to another country at government expense.

In the end, the migrants will then effectively become to use an unfortunate comparison, like the famous Long Island garbage barge of 1987 that never quite could find a home.

Sound humane? Only to a leftist leader who considers the far more humane 'deportation' a dirty word.

Some hard facts now: People who go to other people's countries without authorization are illegal aliens. The only thing a free society owes illegal aliens is a deportation flight back, and maybe some prison time first as is done in Singapore. Countries like Singapore don't lie about what is happening -- they put out a credible message that they won't tolerate this infringement on their sovereignty, they insist that all migrants be legally present and they exact a price on those who ignore them.

The U.S., Canada, and others persist in maintaining the fiction that these are refugees and asylum seekers and in New York, that they have an unwritten obligation to "help" them.

Now they've created a free-for-all at the border with migrants passed from place to place in a merry-go-round nightmare that goes on and on.

The sooner facts are recognized in what is happening here, the sooner it stops. But these blue cities seem to like this sort of thing and don't mind giving migrants the 'garbage barge; treatment, even as they insist that Americans who prefer a law-based migration system are the inhumane ones.

Image: Pixabay / Pixabay License
Kari Rancourt, a transplant coordinator at Hartford Hospital, recently became a patient herself.

Rancourt, who has worked at the hospital since 2006, became a donor, giving one of her kidneys to an 11-year-old in Minnesota.

She was well prepared to become a living organ donor.

This was a little bit of practicing what I preach, but I help living donors through the evaluation and transplant process, because it is pretty complex and complicated, she said. Its probably the best medical workup youll get in your life.

Her job comes down to making sure that the donors understand exactly what theyre getting themselves into, she said.

Kari Rancourt with her husband, Kent, and their children, Eli, 6, and Ivy, 3, at their home in Plainville on Feb. 1, 2023. Kari works as a transplant coordinator at Hartford Hospital and recently donated one of her kidneys to an 11-year-old child in Minnesota. (Aaron Flaum/Hartford Courant)

While shes been thinking about donating for a while, Rancourt, 38, wanted to do it when her children were at ages when they didnt need to be picked up  and before they would completely understand what she was going to go through.

She and her husband, Kent, are the parents of Eli, 6, and Ivy, 3. They live in Plainville.

We do have a handful going on here right now, Kari Rancourt said. But luckily, theyre in school and daycare most of the day.

She said she also wanted to have her own children first because there is a risk of preeclampsia in women who are without a kidney.

I thought we were in a good spot where theyre old enough that theyre a little independent, but also still young enough to not really know whats going on and theyve been super-supportive and sweet to me throughout the whole process, she said.

And while she gets six weeks of time off for donating, without having to use her paid time off, Rancourt has said shes already getting bored resting at home.

The recovery has been great, she said. Its always interesting to be a so-called expert in this and then have it flipped on me and be the dependent patient. But surgery went well.

She suffered some nausea at first but spent just two nights in the hospital.

What draws Rancourt back to her job is the people who donate and the colleagues she works with, she said. The connections and the relationships Ive seen over the years working with transplant is really inspiring and part of what helps keep me going to work day after day because Im just so lucky to work with such a positive group of people.

Kari Rancourt with her husband, Kent, and their children, Eli, 6, and Ivy, 3, at their home in Plainville on Feb. 1, 2023. Kari works as a transplant coordinator at Hartford Hospital and recently donated one of her kidneys to an 11-year-old child in Minnesota. (Aaron Flaum/Hartford Courant)

While people used to seek kidney donors among family members and close friends, thats all changed.

A donor can be a total stranger, Rancourt said. One of my good friends Ive made after her donation had just responded to a flyer she saw in her community, so she didnt know the recipient. She just was moved by this flyer and signed up and was able to donate.

If somebody finds a donor, but theyre not a match for them, many years ago, we would have just said thank you, but no thanks and turned them away, she said. No more.

The National Kidney Registry has grown significantly, and they started using people who donate the way I did, which is non-directed donation, Rancourt said.

So I didnt have a recipient I needed to or wanted to donate to, she said. But I put my kidney into their system with my information in there and they were able to find a match to send my kidney to and that persons donor donated to someone else. And it was kind of this little domino chain effect that ended up getting I think three people transplanted.

Rancourt said she once worked on a 20-person chain as coordinator.

Finding out her kidney went to a child was even more special. It was nice to find out that it was helping out a child. Being a mother myself, that kind of hit me in the heartstrings a little bit, she said. She also felt like the stakes were a little bit higher because children who need kidneys are often quite sick.

While she doesnt have more information, there is a possibility of communicating in the future, if both people want to.

Rancourt said she likely told her husband on their first date that she worked in transplants and would someday want to donate a kidney.

I graduated as a new nurse, not really sure what I wanted to do, and so I kind of just took a job on the transplant floor and fell in love, she said.

One of my first assignments was taking care of a living donor and I just thought that was really inspiring that somebody would do that, she said. You know, Im a regular blood donor, but I had never really thought about kidney donation as a 22-year-old at that point. And so I kind of tucked that away in my mind that was something I wanted to do eventually.

Now, Rancourt sees her job in a somewhat different light, and hopes to have more empathy for her patients.

I hope that I will still be able to separate my own journey from each of my patients, but to be able to have that deeper understanding of every aspect of this experience, especially some of the emotional nuances that Ive been aware of, but to feel and experience them, kind of brings it to a whole different level, she said.

Donating brings up a lot of emotions, she said. Theres mostly a lot of really good highs about it. Youre trying to help people and it always feels good to help. But there is some level of anxiety going through it, first being, will I actually pass the evaluation?  And then once you do, its this kind of lightbulb moment like, oh wow, this is actually going to happen.

Once she had her last test, for COVID-19, Rancourt just wanted to get it done, she said. I was almost just sitting there thinking, can we just speed this up and do it tomorrow instead? she said.

Dr. Oscar Serrano

Her surgeon, Dr. Oscar Serrano, said the surgery went smoothly for Rancourt, but was a little nerve wracking for him.

I actually had a lot of people stop by my office and talk to me about what was going to happen and obviously the weight of the program I felt on my shoulders a little bit, he said.

Ive known Kari for almost five years; shes been pretty much the heart of the living donor program, Serrano said. It was particularly stressful from that regard in that here we have someone who I think most of us would consider family and the stakes are just a little bit higher.

Serrano added, I think to have our living-donor coordinator, whos been in transplantation for over a decade, donate her own kidney is quite a remarkable thing. It basically speaks to the confidence that she had in us as a program and us as a team. But also much more to her just native altruism and desire to help others.

Dr. Glyn Morgan, who was Serranos backup during the surgery, said, We are the largest living-donor kidney program in all of New England, and Kari has played a significant role in being the leader of that charge. And then to do this, that just takes it to a level that few other people can do.

Dr. Glyn Morgan

He described Rancourt as extraordinarily capable, conscientious, driven. She is a tremendous advocate for her patients. [She] really single-handedly has pushed the living donor program to the level it is, along with our help of course, but sometimes I feel like shes dragging us along, because shes so motivated to get this done.

Serrano called her passionate. Another adjective that comes to mind is shes very open-minded, he said. The two grew up near each other and have children close in age, so theyve gotten together socially as well.

One thing he needed to be careful to do was avoid what Morgan called VIP syndrome, in which a colleague or family member or friend is treated differently from from other patients. If you try and show favoritism or skip what you would normally do, youre going to make mistakes, Morgan said.

I remember going up to her asking how shes doing, and of course shes having like the regular post-operative issues and I went over and called the charge nurse and asked her to give her some medication, Serrano said.

And then she kind of grabbed me and shes like, you normally wouldnt do that for other patients. So stop doing it for me. She literally said, I dont like being a VIP.'

Now Rancourt wants to get the word out about living donation. It shocks me how many people out there still dont know that you can donate a kidney while youre alive, she said.

When I went to nursing school our focus on transplant was probably like one paragraph in this giant textbook of medical surgical nursing, she said. So its really not well covered. And so I hadnt really thought about it much before becoming a transplant nurse.

Its different now.

I get surrounded by donors all the time. I do volunteer with the National Kidney Foundation and Im one of the co-chairs for the board of directors for Donate Life Connecticut, she said. The executive director is a former donor of mine whos now a colleague and a friend.

But through a lot of these connections, I do spend a lot of time with other living donors and I think just seeing them going out and about and living their lives and doing amazing things and its like it never happened, she said.

And in the highly unlikely event she has a problem with her remaining kidney, Rancourt will become eligible to have a transplant herself. She also can name family members as voucher holders, in case one of them needs a kidney transplant. But she said if someone is healthy enough to donate, the chances that someone close to them will need one is extremely low.

For those considering donating, Rancourt said her advice is, Reach out and ask questions.  When you think about how people come to a big decision, its either like this lightning bolt a-ha moment or its a trail of breadcrumbs, she said. And so for some people, they might learn about donation and think that is cool. Sign me up. Lets do it. And other people, justifiably so, need to think about it for a while.

Ed Stannard can be reached at estannard@courant.com.
No, Donald Trump is not going to be either indicted or tried in the "documents scandal."

The reason is simple: Joe Biden's collection of half the documents classified by the U.S. government during the past twenty years, with more turning up every other week, opens the door for any hypothetical Trump defense team to subpoena Biden as a witness for the defense.

The grounds for this are straightforward. With his vast caches of secret documents, Biden has become the poster child for document-hoarding, much more so than Trump or Pence, or just about any other president or vice president since the modern classification system went into effect. Who better than Slow Joe to testify on how easy it is to "accidentally" wind up with gaylords full of classified material, how effortlessly it can be lost track of, and how difficult it is to prevent access by a hustler and foreign agent?

There is nobody better. Trump knew exactly where the material in his possession was, had it safely locked up, and was negotiating with the National Archives for its return. Pence had a dozen or so pages that had obviously slipped in amid other, unrelated material. Momentary carelessness, an inexperienced clerk... It happens all the time.

But Biden is something else altogether.

He'll refuse to testify, you say? Not if he's subpoenaed, he won't. Legal precedent is clear on this (ironically, this was originally aimed at Trump). If Biden is subpoenaed, he needs to respond. Nor can he claim "executive privilege." A V.P. is not the head of the Executive Branch, and the privileges of that office do not extend to him.

No doubt Biden would lawyer up in an effort to avoid testifying. But that will take months, all while he "twists slowly in the wind," to revive a popular line from my youth. The tweets from DJT would be a sight to behold.

As would Biden's behavior on the stand. Any decent prosecutor could, in the state Biden is in now, make him look as if he was stealing those documents to turn over to the ayatollahs, Sauron, and Jeffrey Epstein, and was drowning puppies and beating orphans while doing it.

Beyond that, there's the prospect of a turn by the First Son. Hunter Biden "had use of" the house where the first batch of documents was found. The time period is coterminous with the years in which Hunter was avidly cutting deals with the Chinese; Ukraine; and, for all we know, the Martians. So up into the witness box he goes. Smart questioning can open up all sorts of related matters involving Hunter's activities that have been willfully ignored or covered up. ("But your honor, we need to establish that the witness was in fact involved with questionable foreign entities at this time...")

Depending on what Biden admits to  and that could be anything  further possibilities arise. Christopher Wray might have interesting points to make. And who else knew that those documents were floating around?

It can virtually be guaranteed that Trump will be found innocent, even by a jury of DNC hacks and Antifa members (in other words, typical residents of D.C.). Why? Because if found guilty, Trump would immediately appeal, which would mean that Biden, Hunter, et al. would have to go through it all over again.

There are really no downsides to this. Now let's start working out how to get a process server into the White House.

Image: Rawpixel.com.
In her weekly op-ed rant in The Wall Street Journal, February 4/5, Peggy Noonan dedicates her concluding section to attacking the presence in the House of Representatives of Rep. George Santos, of New York's Third Congressional District on Long Island, demanding his head, as it were.

Previously, Ms. Noonan devoted her weekly WSJ space to praising the sanity and leadership of the former House Republican member from Wyoming who turned on party and constituents, Liz Cheney. There Ms. Cheney's constituents took the decision of House membership in their own hands, and now (thankfully) Ms. Cheney is ex-representative Cheney.



Peggy Noonan addresses the Goldwater Institute in 2016.

Peculiar Peggy leads into the matter of the Santos situation this way: "I want to finish with George Santos. Really, in every way I want us to finish with him. History will notice his little story."

Noonan continues, lacking all nuance.

Again, it is a mistake to let him be a member of Congress. Speaker Kevin McCarthy says the people have spoken. He repeated it Tuesday: 'The voters have elected him. He'll have a voice here in Congress while investigations play out."

Interjects Noonan in nuisance mode: "This is deeply stupid." A WSJ columnist since Y2K, she provides us with this example of projection of personal stupidity:

George Santos was never elected to Congress. A nice young man, 34-years old, a conservative who'd struggled against the odds  the son of immigrants, born in some want, an ethnic minority whose grandparents fled the Holocaust. He rose to be educated at one of New York's greatest private schools, to be a star athlete at a great college, earned a masters in business administration, forged on to become an impressive figure in finance with positions at Goldman Sachs and Citicorp. He came to own mansions on Long Island. Only in America...

Pugnacious Peg went on:

That's who was elected. That's who won, by 8 points. But that man didn't exist.

To be elected to the House of Representatives, however, one need not have a mansion, not even mention of employment at Goldman Sachs, on one's resume. Madison pointed out in Federalist No. 57 that "[n]o qualification of wealth, of birth, of religious faith, or of civil profession is permitted to fetter the judgment or disappoint the inclination of the people."

In Federalist No. 52, Madison expanded on Article 1, Section 2 of the Constitution, setting forth the qualifications for House membership:

A representative of the United States must be of the age of twenty-five years: must have been seven years a citizen of the United States; must, at the time of his election, be an inhabitant of the State he is to represent, and, during the time of his service, must be in no office under the United States.

If Peggy Noonan rejects this declaration of the basic qualifications of House membership, she is claiming the right to countermand the Constitution and the views of the Framers. Such a mindset "is deeply stupid"  not to say incredibly arrogant.

By the way, the strict interpretation of qualifications for House membership was endorsed by the Supreme Court in Powell v. McCormack, 395 U.S. 486 (1969). In that case, Rep. Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. was expelled from the House by majority vote. The High Court, in a 7-1 majority opinion (Chief Justice Earl Warren, speaking for the majority) acknowledged that a duly elected member could be expelled from the House of Representatives for "disorderly Behavior," but only in compliance with Article 1, Section 5 of the Constitution, which requires "the Concurrence of two thirds" of the members.

Has Rep. George Santos exhibited "disorderly behavior" since he became a House member? In the event that Peggy Noonan claims she is offended by his membership in the House, I sense that the expulsion of Mr. Santos from the House of Representatives would descend to the level of...political insurrection. The proper political thing to do would be to let Mr. Santos serve out the term to which he was elected in peace, and see if his constituents believe he should be returned to the House, if not elected to even higher office.

This, however, is not to say that Mr. Santos will serve out the two years to which he has been elected. When it comes to caving in under Democrat and media pressure, Republicans tend to be masters at the art of cravenness.

Photo credit: Gage Skidmore, CC BY-SA 2.0 license.
In "Spate of shootings against Israelis puts region on high alert" (1/28/23), the Washington Post blamed the recent acts of violence in Israel over the last few days on a "cycle of violence." Israeli security have a 24/7 role to thwart Palestinian terrorist attacks. Their successes are rarely covered, but they occur almost daily. Palestinians are nonstop either plotting terrorist attacks or perpetrating terrorism against Israeli civilians. Whatever part of that is a cycle is in the imagination of the Washington Post. Israel is trying to protect its citizens, and the Palestinians are trying to kill them. That's the whole story. Downplaying the culpability of the Palestinians may seem politically correct to the Post reporters, but it is far from the truth.

If not for Israeli military incursions into Palestinian areas, the number of deaths of Israeli citizens would be far greater. The Washington Post says, "[A]t least 30 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli security forces in the West Bank this year," but what the Post doesn't tell you is that the majority of those killed were either plotting terror attacks or attacking Israeli military.



Image: Palestinian militants. YouTube screen grab.

The Washington Post states that "Israeli responses to Palestinian attacks have been criticized by rights groups as 'collective punishment.'" These so-called rights groups are nothing but wrong. It's the Palestinians who are guilty of collective punishment of Israeli civilians. Israeli security forces are merely attempting to stop it.

To its credit, the Post reported that the terrorist attack that killed seven Israelis outside a synagogue this past weekend cynically spurred "celebrations by Palestinians." It is this militant mindset that Israel is up against and necessitates Israeli security to be proactive. Israel doesn't need to apologize for thwarting Palestinian terrorists  all countries have that responsibility  to protect its citizens. Would we expect our military to act differently?

Dr. Michael Berenhaus is a freelance watchdog activist who works tirelessly to combat anti-Israel bias in the media. He has been widely published in news sources such as The Economist, The New York Times, and The Washington Post.
For all the criticism that's leveled against the FBI for its elaborate and often lawbreaking ruses against President Trump, the pattern of acts against Trump apparently coming from the Pentagon is worth a look, too.

Unlike the FBI with its tangled "insurance policies," phony dossiers, jigged up kidnapping plots, altered emails, and false statements to judges, what seems to be coming out of the Pentagon against Trump has a crude, simple template in the way it employs lies against him, in a pattern so simple that it's now recognizable.

Item A: Three Chinese balloons were deployed against the U.S. during the Trump presidency, and he did nothing.

Item B: Trump knew about Russian bounties placed on American soldiers in Afghanistan, and he did nothing.

Item C: Trump disrespected the American war dead with disparaging words and a refusal to visit their graves in Europe. Again, Trump did nothing.

See the pattern? First, an outrageous lie around a military matter. Then a claim that Trump did nothing. Then the witnesses come forward and debunk the whole thing. Lather, rinse, repeat.

Remember these?

Balloons similar to the one that was shot down off the coast of South Carolina this weekend flew over the U.S. at least three times during the Trump administration, according to a senior U.S. defense official. As Republicans spent the past few days criticizing the Biden administration over its response to the suspected Chinese spy balloon that flew across the country, an official revealed during a briefing on Saturday that the U.S. was aware of three other instances during the prior administration and one instance earlier in the Biden administration that such an apparatus "transited" the country. "PRC [People's Republic of China] government surveillance balloons transited the continental United States briefly at least three times during the prior administration and once that we know of at the beginning of this administration but never for this duration of time," said a senior defense official.

...and...

Before a planned visit to honor the American dead at a French cemetery just outside Paris in 2018, President Trump called the U.S. service members who were buried there during World War I "losers," sources told The Atlantic. At the time, Trump was expected to arrive at Aisne-Marne American Cemetery, but he canceled last minute, stating that due to the rain, the helicopter could not fly to the location and noted that the Secret Service could not drive him. However, according to four sources with knowledge of the incident, Trump was reluctant to travel to the cemetery because he was concerned that the rain would dishevel his hair, the Atlantic reported. He also did not think it was important to honor the dead there, according to the sources. "Why should I go to that cemetery? It's filled with losers," Trump reportedly told aides before canceling the trip to Belleau, France. In another conversation Trump reportedly said that the 1,800 marines who lost their lives in the battle of Belleau Wood were "suckers" for getting killed.

...and...

WASHINGTON  American intelligence officials have concluded that a Russian military intelligence unit secretly offered bounties to Taliban-linked militants for killing coalition forces in Afghanistan  including targeting American troops  amid the peace talks to end the long-running war there, according to officials briefed on the matter. The United States concluded months ago that the Russian unit, which has been linked to assassination attempts and other covert operations in Europe intended to destabilize the West or take revenge on turncoats, had covertly offered rewards for successful attacks last year. Islamist militants, or armed criminal elements closely associated with them, are believed to have collected some bounty money, the officials said. Twenty Americans were killed in combat in Afghanistan in 2019, but it was not clear which killings were under suspicion. The intelligence finding was briefed to President Trump, and the White House's National Security Council discussed the problem at an interagency meeting in late March, the officials said. Officials developed a menu of potential options  starting with making a diplomatic complaint to Moscow and a demand that it stop, along with an escalating series of sanctions and other possible responses, but the White House has yet to authorize any step, the officials said.

It's almost always on a defense matter, which makes me think it's someone in the Pentagon doing it (the "s-hole countries" lie, which happened quite a bit earlier, was an exception, as it involved Congress), because the defense lies since always have this same pattern, the same watermark, the same perpetrators, surely.

What follows from there happens exactly the same way every time: eyewitnesses come forward, not all of them on friendly terms with Trump, many pointing out that they were there in the room when whatever it was that supposedly happened happened, and they declare that that didn't happen.

We saw it here, here, and here.

The Pentagon and its press allies are then left with egg all over their faces as the story is debunked, though many on the left try to repeat and extend the lies even after that, like the half-life of radioactive waste.

With this latest China spy balloon incident, we see that the pattern of anonymous outrageous military lies, then eyewitness debunkings, then nobody punished afterward, still going on.

It's as if someone has a template, a briefing book, a recipe book for smears and calumny.

That's one thing, and it's disgusting stuff (and certainly not all the Pentagon has done against Trump), but the amazing thing is that on the mendacity front, it's the same pattern every time, a pattern so simple and crude that everyone can see that it's done by a certain book.

Psy-ops are effective only if people don't know they are being played. When your psy-ops operation becomes nakedly recognizable as part of a pattern, it loses its effectiveness.

But whoever it is on the defense side with this johnny-one-note psy-op against Trump doesn't care. He keeps going to that well despite the futility of it. In the true P.R. spirit, the Pentagon-linked liar just throws the same old bad spaghetti against the wall and sees what sticks. Truth is not a factor here, nor is it even to avoid being caught lying. Whoever's behind this just lies first and set the leftist liar army of the internet out to keep up the good fight.

Perhaps that's the plan  not even caring if the disinformation operation against Trump gets debunked or found out because it's going to get spread anyway. Because it sure is crude and primitive, yet it happens again and again, and nobody ever seems to get punished.

A lie can travel a thousand times around the Earth before truth can get its boots on, as the old adage goes. So it seems with whoever is spreading this same template of lies ad nauseam, as the same kinds of lies get thrown out. People can see what's going on at this point, and that's bad news for whoever can't stop spreading the same fake stories.

Image: Pixabay, Pixabay License.
For over six hundred years, the Matsugaoka Tokei-ji, in the city of Kamakura in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan, had served as a refugee for women seeking shelter from abusive husbands. At a time when women did not had the right to divorce their husbands, abused women often fled to the sanctuary of this Buddhist temple. After serving at the temple and convent for a specified number of years, the Tokei-ji arranged for a divorce to be given them by their husbands. It was during this time that the popular nicknames for the temple came into use, which are Enkiri-dera (the Temple of Severing the Relationship), and Kakekomi-dera (the Temple into which one runs for refugee). It is also sometimes referred to as the Divorce Temple.

Gate of Main Hall of Tokeiji Temple, Kamakura. Photo: Toshihiro Gamo/Flickr

The temple was founded in 1285 by Lady Horiuchi, the wife of Hojo Tokimune, the eighth regent of the Kamakura shogunate, after her husbands death. Lady Horiuchi was born in 1252 to the powerful Adachi clan and allies of the Hojo. After her father died when she was one year old, Horiuchi was raised by her older brother Adachi Yasumori, who succeeded Yoshikage as head of the clan and as her guardian.

Horiuchis future husband, Tokimune, was born a year earlier and grew up at the Adachi residence in Kamakura. Both children were likely acquainted from a very young age. Horiuchi married Tokimune when she was nine and he was ten years old. After their marriage, the young couple moved together from the Adachi household to Tokimunes own residence. Nearly seven years later, Tokimune became regent to the shogun, and de facto the most powerful man in the country.

Both Lady Horiuchi and Hojo Tokimune were ardent disciples of Zen Buddhism, and actively took part in meditation exercises. When Tokimune unexpectedly fell ill in 1284, both he and Lady Horiuchi took the tonsure and put on robes of monk and nun. Tokimune took the religious name Hokoji-dono Doko, and Lady Horiuchi was given the Buddhist name Kakusan Shido. Shortly after, Tokimune died and Lady Horiuchi vowed to build a temple in his honor.

Main hall of Tokeiji Temple, Kamakura. Photo: Toshihiro Gamo/Flickr

Lady Horiuchi did not specifically intend the Tokei-ji as a refuge for women fleeing their husbands. That reputation derives largely from its activities during the last two centuries of the Tokugawa period, although Tokei-ji did provide a mechanism for women to divorce their husbands even since Horiuchis days. Its role is more aptly described during its first four hundred years when it was known as Kakekomi-dera, or the Temple into which one runs for refugee. Some of the convents prominent abbesses originally arrived here seeking refuge, asylum and sanctuary.

According to one historical record of uncertain date and authorship, Lady Horiuchi asked her son Sadatoki to enact a temple law at Tokei-ji to help women seeking separation from their husbands. Sadatoki forwarded the request to the emperor, who approved it. Initially, the period of servitude at the temple was set at three years. This was later reduced to two years. As many as 2,000 divorces were granted by the Tokei-ji during the Tokugawa period, but after enactment of a new law, the temple lost this right in 1873. All cases of divorce were henceforth handled by the Court of Justice. After the Meiji Restoration, the temple not only lost its financial support but the government's anti-Buddhist policies contributed to the demise of the former nunnery.

The temple remained a convent exclusively for women and men were not allowed to enter it until 1902, when a man took the post of abbot and Tokei-ji became a branch temple under the supervision of Engaku-ji.

The entire temple, with the exception of the bell tower, was destroyed in the 1923 Great Kanto earthquake, and the temple was gradually rebuilt in the subsequent decade.

Photo: Toshihiro Gamo/Flickr

References:

# Sachiko Kaneko and Robert E. Morrell, Sanctuary: Kamakura's Tokeiji Convent, Japanese Journal of Religious Studies

# Tokeiji Temple, Japan Reference
Samsung is at it again. The worlds No. 1 smartphone vendor has started rolling out the February 2023 Android security patch to its Galaxy devices before Google details the new patch. The latest security update is currently available for the Galaxy Note 20 series, with other eligible Galaxy devices to follow soon.

As of this writing, Samsung is rolling out the February SMR (Security Maintenance Release) to the 5G models of the Galaxy Note 20 and Galaxy Note 20 Ultra in Switzerland. The updated firmware version for the phones in the region is N98*BXXS5GWB1 (via). The package doesnt contain anything apart from the latest vulnerability fixes. This update should soon reach the Galaxy Note 20 duo in other European countries as well as the rest of the world, including the US. Samsung should also update the 4G models to the new security patch in the coming weeks.

The Galaxy Note 20 phones are the first to receive the February 2023 security update

As said earlier, Google has yet to detail the content of the February 2023 security release for Android devices. As such, we dont know the number of vulnerabilities patched, and their severity. But as usual, we should be getting several dozen privacy and security fixes with a few critical ones. Samsung will bundle these ASB (Android Security Bulletin) patches with some Galaxy-specific fixes. The company will publish details about those after Google does. We will keep an eye on both official websites and let you know once the companies publish their respective security patches for the current month.

Meanwhile, if youre using the Galaxy Note 20 or Galaxy Note 20 Ultra in Europe, the latest update should be available to you anytime now. You can navigate to Settings > Software update on your phone and tap on Download and install to check for updates manually. If you see an update, follow the on-screen instructions to complete it. If no update is available, wait a few days and check again. Your phone may send a notification once the OTA (over-the-air) update is available. Galaxy Note 20 users in other regions can also look forward to receiving this update soon.

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Over the next few weeks, Samsung will release the February SMR to several other Galaxy devices, including the newly-launched Galaxy S23 series and its predecessor Galaxy S22. The company will also update a host of budget and mid-range devices to the latest security patch. We will keep you posted with all of those updates.
Samsungs newly-launched Galaxy S23 phones support eSIM on Google Fi. The carrier is also offering the functionality on a host of other Samsung flagships, including the Galaxy S22, Galaxy S21, Galaxy S20, Galaxy Note20, Galaxy Z Flip 4, Galaxy Z Fold 4, and Galaxy Z Flip 3.

Google Fi debuted eSIM support with the Pixel 2 series back in 2017. At launch, the carrier only supported phones brought directly through it. Over the years, the Google-owner MVNO (mobile virtual network operator) has expanded its eSIM functionality. All Pixel phones launched since the Pixel 4 in 2019 support eSIM on Google Fi. Even a Pixel Watch on its network has the functionality.

But, away from the Pixel lineup, the support was limited to a few iPhones. No other Android phone supported eSIM on Google Fi until recently. Samsungs Galaxy S22 series shipped with eSIM support out of the box on most carriers in the US last year, but not on Google Fi. The companies promised to enable the functionality with a software update later on. It appears one of the recent updates brought the support.

While there havent been any announcements from either company, an official support page for setting up and managing eSIM on Google Fi now mentions that the functionality is available on all of the aforementioned Samsung smartphones. This suggests that the Galaxy S23 series has the feature out of the box. The phones should also have eSIM support on other carriers.

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To set up eSIM for your Google Fi number on a Galaxy S23, open the Google Fi app (download here) and sign in with the same Google Account. When prompted, tap Continue to activate Google Fi and youre done. You can also transfer your number from another carrier to Google Fi through this app. Refer to this official support page for more information and instructions.

Android phones may soon allow eSIM transfer

Google is working on an important feature that will greatly improve the state of eSIM on Android. The company is preparing to allow you to transfer your eSIM between two Android phones. The feature is already available on iOS. But on Android, you currently need to deactivate eSIM on one device before you can activate it on the other. You cant transfer the profile like on iPhones. This makes the process a bit complicated as you may be required to contact your carrier for activation. Hopefully, the feature will arrive soon.
Samsungs latest gaming monitor, the Odyssey OLED G8, is now up for sale in the US, and it promises to be a standout option for consumers. Samsung announced the monitor back during IFA last year as one of its latest gaming monitor offerings to come. Although it was initially set to launch sometime in Q4 of 2022.

The monitor was so compelling, we gave it our Best Of IFA 2022 award. But what makes it so deserving? For starters, its Samsungs first OLED gaming monitor. But more than that, its packed with features and carries a stylish design. Making for an all-around great package if youre looking for a high-end monitor for gaming. All of that comes at a price though. The Odyssey OLED G8 comes in at a whopping $1,499.99. To put that into perspective, you can now buy Samsungs original 49-inch Odyssey G9 monitor for less than that.

The Odyssey OLED G8 is available directly from Samsung

$1,499 is a lot for a gaming monitor, but that doesnt mean the price wouldnt be well spent. Depending on what youre looking for. While some people tend to gravitate towards bigger monitors, the OLED G8 gives you 34-inches of screen space in an ultrawide format. So its plenty big without sacrificing to much surface area on your desk. It also features a 175Hz refresh rate, and an insanely low 0.3ms response time.

The OLED panel also means youll get vivid colors and really deep blacks. The Odyssey OLED G8 is available directly from Samsung but it will also be available from select retailers in the US. Such as Best Buy. Although it seems to be out of stock on Best Buys website. So for now, youll probably have to buy from Samsung if you were looking to pick this up.

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If you want something with a faster refresh rate or a larger screen, this is probably not the monitor for you. But if a 34-inch ultrawide panel is your sweet spot, you could do much worse than the Odyssey OLED G8.

Samsung Odyssey OLED G8
China opposes U.S. shooting down of civilian airship

08:45, February 06, 2023 By ZHANG YUNBI ( Chinadaily.com.cn

In response to the U.S. military shooting down an unmanned civilian airship from China, Beijing said it "will resolutely safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of the enterprise concerned, and reserves its own right to make further responses, if necessary".

Beijing "expresses its strong dissatisfaction and protest over the use of force by the U.S. side" to attack the airship, the Foreign Ministry said in a statement issued on Sunday.

The unmanned Chinese airship was first spotted in U.S. airspace early last week. Washington said it had shot down the airship on Saturday.

The Foreign Ministry statement said that China, after completing verification, "informed the U.S. side multiple times that the airship is for civilian research and that it entered the U.S. due to force majeure, constituting a completely unintended situation".

China clearly asked the U.S. to handle the situation in a calm, professional and restrained manner, according to the statement.

Pentagon spokesman Brigadier General Patrick Ryder said on Thursday that the airship "does not present a military or physical threat to people on the ground".

The Foreign Ministry said, "Under such circumstances, the U.S. side's use of force is an obvious overreaction and a serious violation of international practice."

Spokesman for the Ministry of National Defense Tan Kefei also said in a statement of "serious protest" on Sunday that the attack was an "obvious overreaction", adding that China "reserves the right to use necessary means to deal with similar situations".

After the airship was spotted in U.S. airspace, some US politicians and media organizations labeled it a "spy balloon".

The Foreign Ministry had confirmed on Friday that the civilian airship was used for research, mainly meteorological purposes. It deviated far from its planned course due to prevailing winds from the west and its limited self-steering capability.

Wang Yi, a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and director of the Office of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the CPC Central Committee, spoke to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken by telephone on Friday evening on how to deal with the unintended incident.

"We do not accept any groundless speculation or hype," a readout released by the Foreign Ministry on Saturday quoted Wang as saying.

In the face of an unexpected situation, what both sides should do is to stay composed, communicate in a timely manner, avoid misjudgment and manage differences, Wang added.

He underscored that China is a country that lives up to its responsibilities, and it has always strictly abided by international laws.

Su Xiaohui, an associate research fellow at the China Institute of International Studies, said the airship incident was hyped amid rising hostility in the U.S. political circle against China. There has been mounting pressure from US lawmakers asking Washington to take a tougher stance against China, she noted.

Senior U.S. State Department officials said at a briefing via teleconference on Friday that Blinken has decided to postpone his planned trip to China due to the entry of the Chinese airship into U.S. airspace.

In response, a Foreign Ministry spokesperson said on Saturday that "in fact, neither side has ever announced that there would be a visit". "It is a matter for the U.S." to make such an announcement and "we respect that", the spokesperson said.

Maintaining contact and communication at all levels is an important common understanding reached by the Chinese and U.S. presidents at their meeting in Bali, Indonesia, in November, the spokesperson said.

"One of the tasks of the diplomatic teams on both sides is to properly manage bilateral relations, particularly to manage some unexpected situations in a coolheaded and prudent manner," the spokes-person added.

(Web editor: Cai Hairuo, Liang Jun)
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TEL AVIV - A number of Palestinians - 5 according to the Palestinian news agency Wafa, 7 according to the Israeli newspaper Haaretz - were killed during clashes with the Israeli army during a counter-terrorism operation in the refugee camp of Aqbat Jabr, near Jericho, in the West Bank. The Israeli army reported that their security forces conducted the operation in the camp to find a Hamas terrorist cell who had tried to kill in an attack Israelis sitting at a restaurant last 28 January in Almog. The terrorist cell had barricaded in an apartment in the camp. The Governor of Jericho and of the Jordan valley, Jihad Abu Al-Assal, mentioned by Wafa agency, talked about five dead while referring to them as "citizens". The same source also noted that "eight citizens were arrested". Those killed were members of the Ezzedin al-Kassam Brigades, Hamas' military arm, noted a spokesperson for the Palestinian Islamist movement, Abdel Latif al-Qanua, who accused Israel of having "committed a crime".
BEIRUT - The number of victims is almost 2,500 for the earthquake of 7.8 magnitude that hit southern Turkey and Syria last night. In Syria alone the number of victims is 938 - 530 in government-controlled and 390 in rebel-controlled territories -, to be added to the 1,542 dead in Turkey. The number of wounded in Turkey has reached at least 7,600 while in Syria it stands at over 1,280. The initial earthquake was followed by another one this morning, with a magnitude of 7.5, and another one in the early afternoon of magnitude 6.0 in central and southern Turkey, with epicenter in the north east of Goskun, in the province of Kahramanmaras, it reached 10 kilometers in depth.





The earthquake, which was described by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan as "the greatest disaster in the country since 1939", has prompted the international community to intervene in support of the country. "Italy extends its help to Turkey and is ready to support with its civil protection", announced Foreign Affairs Minister Antonio Tajani who assured that "in the area where the strongest earthquake took place, the 21 Italians in that area are safe" as well as the other 168 Italians living in the surrounding areas. A first Urban Search and Rescue team (USAR) of firemen, announced that the head of the Italian Civil Protection, Fabrizio Curcio, is ready to leave from the Pisa airport. "The EU is ready to help", said in a tweet Joseph Borrell, the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy. Support was also announced by the UK Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, by French President Emmanuel Macron and by the German Chancellor Olaf Scholz while Madrid activated a military unit to support with search missions. The White House has stated that the United States are ready to "provide all necessary assistance". Even Russian President Vladimir Putin promised assistance for the countries affected.



According to the Turkish government , 2,824 buildings were destroyed. The previous disaster on a similar scale goes back to 84 years ago, when an earthquake hit Erzincan, causing the death of 33,000 people. In 1999 Turkey also suffered another violent earthquake in Izmit - with a magnitude of 7.6 - which killed more than 17,000 people. According to the last official data the current victim count stands at over 2,300 between Turkey and Syria combined, but the number of victims is destined to increase: the USGS, which registered last night's quake as a "red" risk, believes there is a 47% probability that the number of deaths will be between 1,000 and 10,000.



Syrian President Bashar al Assad called a government emergency meeting this morning in Damascus together with the chiefs of the civil protection and security to coordinate intervention, while both countries continue without stopping the search for the missing people. Over the last hours, the civil protection of the North Western Syrian region of Idlib which was strongly affected by the earthquake, declared the entire Syrian North Western region a "disaster area". Entire villages in the areas outside the control of the government were razed to the ground, in particular those in the areas close to the Turkish border, as is written in the Syria civil protection's press release.
ATHENS - Five migrants - one woman and four children - lost their lives on Sunday when a boat carrying at least 41 migrants crashed on a rocky coast on the Greek island of Leros amid bad weather conditions of gale force winds and rain.



Greek coast guard authorities published a media statement saying they had been alerted by a person who saw a body floating at sea. Three vessels and a helicopter, joined by a detachment that went overland, were dispatched and reached the point and retrieved the body of the woman, an unconscious boy, and 39 other people, six of whom had made it to land themselves.



The authorities said that they had found an inflatable boat half-submerged in the freezing waters. According to the coast guard, a total of eight people, six of them minors, were hospitalized early in the afternoon, while the rest were taken to a reception camp to be sheltered. The four children, three boys and one girl - all of whom were approximately five years old, had previously been among a group of eight people transferred to the Leros hospital.



In a statement published on the coast guard website, Greece's Minister of Shipping and Island Policy Ioannis Plakiotakis congratulated the rescuers, but accused "criminal networks of traffickers that operate from Turkey, tolerated by the Turkish authorities" of abandoning the migrants.



"Once again officier of the Hellenic Coast Guard proved that their primary concern is the protection of human life, rescuing under particularly adverse weather conditions, 41 of our fellow human beings, who the criminal rings of traffickers - starting from Turkey, with the tolerance of the Turkish authorities - had left helpless off Leros," he said.



Plakiotakis added: "I also want to congratulate the officers of the Air Force and the Hellenic Armed Forces, as well as the private individuals who rushed to the scene to assist the officers of the Hellenic Coast Guard in this particularly difficult and demanding rescue operation. Unfortunately, once again we have innocent victims, who lost their lives because of the criminal attitude of traffickers." Leros lies in close proximity to the Turkish coast. Vessels loaded with refugees and migrants - many inflatables but also sailboats, yachts and speedboats - regularly leave Turkey's shores bound for Greece, with some even attempting to reach Italy, all year round irrespective of weather conditions.



Only two days ago, the coast guard intercepted two speedboats carrying a total of 37 migrants off the island of Kos and arrested three alleged traffickers.



One of the boats was carrying 20 migrants and two of the alleged traffickers, while the other had 17 migrants and another suspected trafficker on board. Kos is also in very close proximity to the Turkish coast, from which vessels attempt to cross the Aegean waters carrying migrants to reach Greek islands or the mainland.
A jury has been told by the trial judge that it must find Andrew Innes guilty of murdering a woman and her two-year-old daughter.

Andrew Innes, 52, is accused of murdering Bennylyn Burke, 25, and Jellica Burke at his Dundee home between February 20 and March 5, 2021, as well as sexually abusing the toddler and raping another girl.

He admitted to killing them but denied their murder, and had submitted a defence of lacking criminal responsibility and diminished responsibility.

But in his summing up, Lord Beckett told the jury at the High Court in Edinburgh that these could no longer be upheld after the evidence of Dr Gordan Cowan as to the accuseds mental state.

Detective Chief Inspector Graham Smith of Police Scotland speaks to Bennylyn Burkes father, Ben Aquino, outside the court (Andrew Milligan/PA)

Lord Beckett told the jury on Monday: Im directing you on charges one and two you will return a verdict of guilty.

The instruction came after advocate depute Alex Prentice told the jury on the fifth day of the trial the police officers who arrived at Innes Troon Avenue address on March 5 2021 wouldnt have contemplated the awful secrets the home kept when they were checking on the status of the missing woman.

They didnt accept at face value the explanation Andrew Innes provided, he told the court.

They sensed something was not right and they were correct.

Under his kitchen floor were the bodies of Ms Burke and the two-year-old, and Mr Prentice told the court had it not been for the police their bodies would have gone undiscovered and he put them there to cover up his gruesome conduct.

Giving evidence, Innes said the girl he is accused of raping multiple times made up the allegations against him, but during his 28-minute speech, Mr Prentice asked the jury to consider if she was being deceitful or to be a credible and reliable young girl doing her best to tell honestly what had happened through use of words, gestures and diagrams.

Innes DNA was also found on the naked body of the toddler, and the prosecution has accused him of sexually assaulting the two-year-old.

Mr Innes asked you to reject this account, that its not true these things happened, Mr Prentice said.

The position stated to you from the accused is he accepts hes a man prepared to lie when it suits his purpose.

Mr Prentice told them they must find him guilty of all offences after hearing the compelling, convincing and overwhelming case against Innes.

Brian McConnachie KC defended Innes in his 18-minute closing speech.

On the DNA evidence presented to the court, he said there had been an element of spin attached to the findings.

He said the finding of the girls and the accuseds DNA on handcuffs was a good example of this spin and the explanation provided was seeking to support a position you are given before you carry out the work.

Mr McConnachie told them they must consider the evidence critically.

Innes denies murdering Ms Burke and Jellica, sexually assaulting Jellica, and raping another child.

Innes has also denied defeating the ends of justice.

The jury was sent out by Lord Becket at 1203, and they are now considering their verdict.
Killer Andrew Innes must serve at least 36 years in jail for double murder

A man who killed a woman and her two-year-old daughter before burying their bodies under his kitchen floor has been jailed for life with a minimum term of 36 years.

Andrew Innes, 52, was found guilty of murdering Bennylyn Burke, 25, and Jellica Burke after a five-day trial at the High Court in Edinburgh.

He was also convicted of sexually abusing the toddler and raping another child at his Dundee home between February 20 and March 5 2021.

Bennylyn and Jellica Burkes family said they would be forever haunted by Inness crimes.

Judge Lord Beckett instructed the jury to return guilty verdicts on both murder charges, following medical evidence heard on Innes state of mind at the time.

Innes, who at times sobbed in the witness box while giving evidence in his defence, had denied the charges but the jury of eight men and seven women spent just under two and a half hours to find he was responsible for the crimes.

In a statement via the Crown Offices Victim Information and Advice (Via) service, the victims family, who travelled from the Philippines to attend the trial, said: A big part of our family has been torn from us. We shall never see Bennylyn and Jellica again.

Bennylyn Burke, 25, and her two-year-old daughter, Jellica (Police Scotland/PA)

We shall never know our beloved Jellica or ever see her grow up.

The statement continued: We shall be forever haunted by what happened to (Bennylyn) in this far-off place such a long way from us, her family.

It concluded: There is nothing that can restore Bennylyn and Jellica to us. But the jurys guilty verdict for murder provides some comfort to our family and friends and brings justice for Bennylyn and Jellica.

Detective Chief Inspector Graham Smith said in almost 30 years of police the depravity shown by Andrew Innes was beyond anything he or colleagues had seen before.

Family members of Bennylyn Burke outside Edinburgh High Court (Andrew Milligan/PA)

Not only did he callously take the lives of a young mother and an innocent child, he then set out to escape justice by burying their bodies beneath his kitchen floor, he said.

His actions showed no regard for human life, or for the suffering and anguish he brought to their loved ones.

Passing sentence, Lord Beckett said the difficult and harrowing case was one of the worst to have come before a Scottish court.

On his arrest, Innes had claimed that Ms Burke lunged at him with a sushi knife and that killing her was an act of self-defence.

Flowers and a teddy bear left at the entrance to Innes home (Andrew Milligan/PA)

But this was not true, he admitted as he took to the witness box on the third day of his trial.

Instead, the court was told, he was apocalyptically angry as he hit her in the head repeatedly with a hammer before stabbing her with a samurai sword retrieved from his office.

The killing came as she was preparing food in the kitchen, he said, and he thought she looked like a hybrid of his estranged wife and jilted lover.

In a pre-recorded interview with one of his victims, the girl he was found to have raped, she told how a hammer was used to kill Ms Burke.

The girl said Jellica was killed during a game of hide-and-seek, and told the interviewer she could not save them because she didnt know what was happening.

Andrew Innes was on trial for murder at the High Court in Edinburgh (Andrew Milligan/PA)

She said Innes sexually abused the toddler, and described the repeated sexual assaults and rapes inflicted on her.

Innes denied the sex attacks when arrested and on March 5 told Dc Hardie: I never touched the girl.

But a jury found this to be a lie, having been presented with DNA evidence from items including handcuffs and clothing. From the outset of the trial they were told the girl had chlamydia, the same infection that Innes had.

Innes lies unravelled further when the evidence of his mental state at the time was discussed.

Dr Gordon Cowan, a psychiatrist, told the court Innes had changed his story multiple times when asked why he killed Ms Burke. At first it was acting in self-defence, then he heard voices, before Innes finally settled on his hybrid-vision story.

Dr Cowan said of Innes: Its clear he held resentment towards his ex-partners and this lady in front of him, in some way, reminded him of these ladies and he became angry, uncontrollably angry at her.

Innes claimed he was insane as a result of the steroids that he had been prescribed for his Crohns disease, but Dr Cowan said he did not believe the 52-year-old was impaired at the time of the killings.

After he murdered them, with the toddler having been killed around three days after Ms Burke, Innes hid them in concrete below the kitchen floor at his home in Troon Avenue, Dundee.

Judge Lord Beckett sentenced Innes to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 36 years behind bars.
The senior presiding judge of England and Wales has told magistrates to stop processing applications by energy firms to enter homes to install prepayment meters.

In guidance issued on Monday, Lord Justice Edis told magistrates that applications for warrants of entry to install a prepayment meter should, with immediate effect, cease to be listed and no further such applications are to be determined until further notice.

The move followed Ofgem becoming so concerned at energy firms practices around forced prepayment meter installation that it had asked them all to suspend the activity, the guidance said.

It read: Magistrates and district judges (magistrates courts) in issuing warrants of entry must act proportionately and with regard to the human rights of the people affected, particular any people with vulnerability.

Energy suppliers must have a complaints process that is clearly set out to customers, is adequately resourced and fit for purpose. For advice on how to: Talk to themGet the right supportKeep records of contact you have with the company Look herehttps://t.co/DLJznjBLGk pic.twitter.com/wMamlm3JSD  Ofgem (@ofgem) February 6, 2023

In carrying out this assessment, they have reasonably placed reliance on the assurance made by all applicants on oath that the supplier and their agents have complied with the standards set by Ofgem, the energy regulator.

However, it has now come to light that Ofgem has become sufficiently concerned at the operation of suppliers as to ask all energy companies to suspend forced installation of pre-payment meters, to ask all suppliers to review their activities, and to carry out a comprehensive investigation into one supplier.

In light of that, applications for warrants of entry for the purpose of installing a pre-payment meter should, with immediate effect, cease to be listed and no further such applications are to be determined until further notice.

The guidance does allow room for a supplier to go ahead with an application for a warrant, but they would have to provide the court with detailed evidence as to the integrity of their procedures  especially in relation to vulnerable customers.

The Magistrates Association said: We welcome Lord Justice Edis new guidance on applications for warrants of entry to install pre-payment meters.

As well as highlighting that magistrates have, thus far, been following the correct procedures with regards to such applications, it reiterates that energy companies must follow due process regarding vulnerability assessments.

Today I have also asked @Ofgem to toughen up their investigations and listen to consumers. I'm concerned they are too easily having the wool pulled over their eyes by taking at face value what energy companies are telling them  pic.twitter.com/sYSL5laJGU  Rt Hon Grant Shapps MP (@grantshapps) February 5, 2023

It comes after hundreds of thousands of customers have been switched over to more costly prepayment meters, often unwillingly and without the offer of support, after failing to keep up with rising energy payments.

Campaigners say those switched often then go without power as they cannot afford to keep the meter topped up  something that is referred to as self-disconnection.

On Friday, Caroline Flint, chairwoman of the Government-sponsored fuel poverty advisory committee, said courts needed to consider how they were waving through the warrants that allowed suppliers to break into peoples homes.

I think energy companies have been given the benefit of the doubt on this for too long and now I think it is right to have this moratorium, the former Labour minister told BBC Radio 4s Today programme.

She added: We might need new laws but I think the courts need to look to themselves on this as well.

I think there is a question about how these warrants seemed to have been waved through.

The issue has been thrust into the spotlight after an investigation by The Times newspaper last week revealed that British Gas subcontractors were breaking into the homes of customers  including disabled and mentally ill people  to install the meters.

Business Secretary Grant Shapps has given companies a deadline of Tuesday to report back on what action they would be taking  including compensation  with regard to customers who may have had prepayment meters wrongfully installed in their homes.

The Prime Ministers official spokesman said that the Government was not going to be prescriptive about the form of any compensation.

I dont think we are seeking to be prescriptive with these companies. I think they will need to consider the actions they have individually taken and whether compensation is appropriate and what scale and indeed what form it takes, he said.
A nurse has described doing the job of three people as NHS staff stand on picket lines in the biggest day of walkouts the health service has ever seen.

Others have said they dont feel supported and that having too few staff means they do not feel they can provide safe care under current working conditions.

The RCN, which is staging two days of action, said nurses are set to strike at 73 trusts in England, up from 55 during Januarys strike days and 44 in December.

Victoria Busk, a trainee nursing associate on a trauma ward at Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham, said: Were run off our feet 24/7, breaking our backs doing the jobs of three people.

Workers on the picket line outside Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham (Jacob King/PA)

She told the PA news agency it feels as though 90% of the time staffing levels on wards are problematic.

On those days, youre constantly running up and down wards, all day, she said.

In eight hours, Ill do about 19,000 steps in one ward.

Its just constantly chasing your tails, trying to catch up.

She added: Were already on our knees.

Its only going to get worse because more and more people will leave the profession.

Ms Busk said: Weve not had anything, no support really from the Government to justify us going back to work.

Weve still got no staffing, weve still got poor pay and no prospect for nurses and for people to come in and do medicine as a career, which we need.

We need people to want to come into it.

The only way that were going to get that is by raising wages and make sure it is something that people want to do.

Angela Unufe left her NHS job in Nottinghamshire in 2019 due to low wages and high workloads.

Ambulance staff outside the Ambulance Hub in Rubery, Birmingham (Jacob King/PA)

Ms Unufe, who now works as a ward manager at a private mental health clinic, joined former colleagues on an RCN picket line outside Queens Medical Centre in Nottingham.

She said: We need to create an atmosphere where nurses are supported. We are not supported right now. Every time you go on a shift, its dangerous, due to low staffing. Its a mess at the moment.

She added: Its got to a situation where as managers we have to fill in for nurses who are not on shift, because we cant get the nurses because there are no nurses there, as no-one wants to work for peanuts.

Ms Unufe added that wards are operating on very dangerously low numbers on a regular basis due to staffing pressures.

Speaking at a picket line at St Marys Hospital in Paddington, London, student nurse Sagila Thiruthanikasalan, told PA: Its like the Government doesnt value us as humans for the nursing care we provide.

Royal College of Nursing (RCN) general secretary Pat Cullen on the picket line outside the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery in London (Kirsty OConnor/PA)

I know long term when I do qualify, the way things are right now, I am not going to have enough staff to help me give quality safe care.

Nurse Eleanor Wray added: Were striking to maintain a safe environment, because at the moment were not able to retain the staff that we need in order to run a safe department and to deliver the safe services.

Kate Coates, who works for the patient transport service (PTA) at West Midlands Ambulance Service, said some of her colleagues had moved from their roles or left altogether.

Speaking from the Unite picket line outside Frogmill Road depot, Birmingham, she told PA: A lot of them are leaving frontline as well, because of the pressures were under and the working conditions  long hours, no breaks, because you are sat outside a hospital for six hours, the patient on board, not having a break.

Workers on the picket line outside Royal Sussex County Hospital in Brighton (Gareth Fuller/PA)

She said she felt strikes would last until the Government decides theyre going to make changes.

Until the Government decide theyre going to pay the NHS fairly, she added.

Listen to the problems that were having in the NHS  the staffing problems and issues in the hospitals.

People are coming to A&E expecting to get into A&E straightaway but theyre having to sit on an ambulance and wait.

Then theres people in hospital corridors, lying there three to four hours, waiting to be seen because theres literally no beds, no staff.
Progress is being made to hammer out a deal on the Northern Ireland Protocol but difficulties remain, the EUs chief negotiator has said.

European Commission vice president Maros Sefcovic said Brussels would spare no effort to reach a settlement with the UK on the contentious post-Brexit trading arrangements.

As Mr Sefcovic made his comments in Brussels, the UK Government made clear that significant work was still required before an agreement could be reached.

The updates from both sides came amid intensifying speculation about an imminent deal to cut bureaucracy on the movement of goods between Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

Mr Sefcovic told a press conference in Brussels that intensive scoping to find joint solutions was continuing.

The Commission and the UK Government are working closely and constructively. Progress is being made but difficulties remain, he said.

President (Ursula) Von der Leyen has a trusting relationship with UK Prime Minister (Rishi) Sunak.

And the same goes for my relationship with Foreign Secretary James Cleverly, as well as Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Heaton-Harris.

We agree that joint solutions are needed to respond to the real-life concerns of all communities in Northern Ireland.

So, all in all, it is not an easy exercise, but it is certainly a necessary one, and the commission will spare no efforts to agree a joint way forward.

A sign protesting against the Northern Ireland Protocol in Larne Harbour (PA)

A Downing Street spokesman declined to comment on the latest reports that a breakthrough had been reached on reducing checks on GB goods whose end destination was Northern Ireland, and differentiating between those and GB products due for onward transportation across the Irish border into the EU.

He added: There is still significant work to be done and there will be further talks this week across all areas.

The protocol was agreed by the UK and EU in 2019 as a way to unlock the logjam over securing a Brexit withdrawal agreement.

Designed as a means to keep the Irish land border free-flowing, it moved regulatory and customs checks on goods to the Irish Sea, creating economic barriers on trade between Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

Many unionists in Northern Ireland are vehemently opposed to arrangements they claim have weakened the regions place within the union.

The DUP is currently blocking the functioning of powersharing at Stormont and has made clear it will not allow devolution to return unless major changes to the protocol are delivered.

European Commission vice president Maros Sefcovic (PA)

An agreement between the EU and UK would not guarantee the restoration of devolution in Northern Ireland, as the DUP may ultimately reject it and continue with its Stormont boycott.

The DUP has made clear that any deal would need to go further than just reducing red tape on trade.

The party says Northern Ireland can no longer remain subject to EU law or the oversight of the European Court of Justice (ECJ).

DUP MP Ian Paisley said any deal between the UK and the EU also had to deal with the role of the ECJ as the final arbiter in protocol-related trade disputes.

He told the BBC Nolan Show that the protocol must be replaced by arrangements that unionists can support.

I believe that until we have this protocol replaced, the border removed in the Irish Sea, we have ourselves subject only to UK rule then there will be no powersharing, he said.

It is either protocol or powersharing. We cant have both.

The sooner we get the important issue addressed of the European courts, we cant have an issue where Northern Ireland is answerable and accountable to something they have no say over.
The relatives of a murdered woman who was killed and buried under a kitchen floor have described her as their familys hope and light which had been cruelly snuffed out.

Andrew Innes, 52, was found guilty of murdering Bennylyn Burke, 25, and Jellica Burke, two, after a five-day trial at the High Court in Edinburgh.

He was also found guilty of sexually abusing the toddler and raping another child at his Dundee home between February 20 and March 5 2021.

After Lord Beckett told Innes he must serve a minimum of 36 years in jail, Ms Burkes relatives paid tribute to the hope and light of their family.

DCI Graham Smith from Police Scotland speaks to the media outside the High Court in Edinburgh (Andrew Milligan/PA)

Bennylyn had bright ideas and big dreams. She bravely left home to seek a better future in a country far away. Instead, she found the worst cruelty we could ever imagine at the hands of someone she trusted, they said in a joint statement on Monday.

We shall be forever haunted by what happened to her in this far off place such a long way from us, her family.

In the Philippines, poor families like ours very often have daughters and sisters who seek to fulfil their dreams for a better future abroad. Never do we imagine it will end in such terror and horror.

They said a large part of their family had been taken from them, and said they would now never know our beloved Jellica or ever see her grow up.

Women and girls must be protected from predators like Andrew Innes, they said.

There is nothing that can restore Bennylyn and Jellica to us. But the jurys guilty verdict for murder provides some comfort to our family and friends and brings justice for Bennylyn and Jellica.

Andrew Innes will serve at least 36 years in jail (Andrew Milligan/PA)

Speaking outside the High Court, Detective Chief Inspector Graham Smith said the murders had shocked and appalled us all.

In almost 30 years of policing, the depravity shown by Andrew Innes was beyond anything I, or colleagues, had witnessed before, he said.

Not only did he callously take the lives of a young mother and an innocent child, he then set out to escape justice by burying their bodies beneath his kitchen floor.

His actions showed no regard for human life, or for the suffering and anguish he brought to their loved ones.

David Green, Scotlands procurator fiscal for homicide and major crime, welcomed the conviction and sentence for the murders and the rape of a young girl.

Thanks to the keen instincts of two police officers, Innes horrific crimes were discovered. The prosecution was able to put forward a strong case following diligent police work and forensic investigation, Mr Green said.

Careful and thorough case preparation allowed prosecutors to focus proceedings to a narrow range of issues, saving Bennylyn and Jellicas family some of the further trauma involved in a protracted trial.

Innes crimes are truly appalling and beyond any understanding. Everyone involved in this prosecution has been affected.

Detective Inspector Will Thorpe, of Avon and Somerset Police, said his force launched their investigation after the the woman and two-year-old were reported missing from their home near Bristol in March 2021, and they had managed to link Innes to the probe.

Once his vehicle movements were traced from South Gloucestershire back north, we asked Police Scotland colleagues to assist and attend Innes address in Dundee and hoped to find Bennylyn and Jellica safe and well. Sadly, that was not to be case, Mr Thorpe said.

The community response to their disappearance showed both mother and daughter were much loved and our sympathies today go out to all those affected.

Such incidents are incredibly rare, but that does not make them any less heart-breaking.
Nicola Sturgeon has published her tax returns for the years dating back to 2014, as she called for other party leaders to follow suit.

Rishi Sunak has said he will publish his own tax returns shortly.

Ms Sturgeons tax documents, which were released by the SNP, list a total annual pay of 140,496 from her employment as an MSP and First Minister.

Since April 2009, Scottish ministers have frozen their pay and declined to accept their full salary entitlement, with the remainder going towards public spending.

 Watch live: First Minister @NicolaSturgeon holds a press conference. https://t.co/huuFhyfVSN  Scottish Government (@scotgov) February 6, 2023

The SNP said this meant the First Minister will forgo more than 27,000 of her salary in the current financial year.

Ms Sturgeon said: I previously committed to being open and transparent to the people of Scotland about my own earnings. Todays publication makes good on that commitment.

These documents show clearly that my sole source of income is my job as First Minister  the office which I have the immense privilege of holding.

I hope other party leaders, including the Prime Minister, will follow suit in an effort to promote transparency in public office.

At a press conference in Edinburgh, Ms Sturgeon was asked about her husband Peter Murrells 100,000 loan to the SNP and whether it was entirely his money.

In December, it emerged that Mr Murrell, who is the partys chief executive, made the loan in June 2021.

She said: The resources that he lent the party were resources that belonged to him.

The First Minister also said she would anticipate and expect that Mr Sunak will publish his own tax return.

Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar and Scottish Conservative leader Douglas Ross should also provide their own tax details, she added.

Scottish Conservative leader Douglas Ross (PA)

Ms Sturgeon said: I think it does help with transparency.

And I think other party leaders in the Scottish Parliament and, indeed, in Westminster should follow suit.

Mr Ross later published his tax return for the year 2021-22, which showed he earned 72,821 as the MP for Moray.

The document also revealed he received 17,223 for his role as a Highlands and Islands MSP.

MSPs who hold a dual mandate by also having a seat at Westminster only receive a third of the full MSP salary  with the amount Mr Ross received slightly less than that as he was not elected to Holyrood till May of 2021, just over a month after the tax year began in April.

He did not earn any money as an assistant referee that year, as an injury prevented him officiating at any matches.
Rapist Metropolitan Police officer David Carrick is facing a life sentence after committing a catalogue of violent and brutal sexual offences against a dozen women.

The disgraced Pc, 48, relied on his charm to beguile and mislead his victims, then used his power and control to stop them leaving or reporting him, Southwark Crown Court heard on Monday.

Carrick, who joined the Met in 2001 before becoming an armed officer with the Parliamentary and Diplomatic Protection Command in 2009, will be sentenced on Tuesday after pleading guilty to 49 charges, including 24 counts of rape.

His crimes were all carried out while serving with the force  he guarded sites including embassies and the Houses of Parliament, and completed training courses, including one on domestic abuse in 2005.

The court heard how he sent one of his victims a photograph of himself with a police-issue gun, saying: Remember I am the boss.

He also used his police baton as a threat and handcuffs in an attack over 17 years between 2003 and 2020.

David Carrick pleaded guilty to 49 offences (Hertfordshire Police/PA)

Some women were urinated on, locked naked in a cupboard under the stairs in Carricks home, whipped and watched remotely through cameras while he was at work.

Prosecutor Tom Little KC said the systematic offending was catalogue of violent and brutal sexual offences and it did not matter to Carrick who the victim was.

The reality was, if he had the opportunity, he would rape them, sexually abuse or assault them and/or humiliate them, he added.

The prosecutor said the women were vulnerable, with some appreciably older or younger than Carrick.

In a victim impact statement, one said she felt she had encountered evil after being raped by Carrick after meeting him at a bar in London.

He said he was the safest person that she could be with and that he was a police officer before taking her back to his nearby flat.

She froze when he put a black handgun to her head and said you are not going before repeatedly raping her.

Carrick served as a Met officer for 20 years (Elizabeth Cook/PA)

During the attack, Carrick put his hands around her throat and said he would be the last thing she saw.

That night I felt I had encountered evil, she said.

I honestly thought he was going to kill me that night, I thought he was going to rape me and kill me and that my life would be over.

The woman, who was left with bite marks, bruising and clumps of hair missing, told an A&E nurse she had been raped by a police officer, the court heard.

But she was told she needed to be ready if she was going to complain and she might be better to try to put it behind her and move on.

Other women said they feared they would not be believed if they reported Carrick and no longer trusted the police after what he had done to them.

One said: Knowing that he was in a position of trust also makes trusting people even harder because if you cant trust someone who is supposed to serve and protect you, then who can you trust?

It scares me for people as there are a lot of women on dating apps and it is just too easy to do what he did to me, to other women.

Evidence found in the home of David Carrick (Hertfordshire Constabulary/PA)

Another said: I dont trust the police any more, if anything went wrong I dont know whether I would want to call the police as Id worry that they would send a male officer like him.

If he can do it to a lone female then anyone can do it.

The thought of being alone with a male officer makes me very anxious, I wouldnt want to be in a room with a male officer or even any of my friends or family.

A woman who met Carrick on dating website Badoo described him as acting like a monster when he was in drink, while another, who Carrick met on a night out with other officers, described his heavy drinking.

Mr Little said a search of Carricks electronic devices revealed searches for pornography including words such as extreme and painful.

Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb is expected to sentence Carrick, from Stevenage, Hertfordshire, on Tuesday for 49 charges.

They include 24 counts of rape, nine counts of sexual assault, five counts of assault by penetration, three counts of coercive and controlling behaviour, three counts of false imprisonment, two counts of attempted rape, one count of attempted sexual assault by penetration, one count of causing a person to engage in sexual activity without consent and one count of indecent assault.

Some are multiple-incident counts, meaning they relate to at least 85 separate offences, including at least 71 sexual offences and 48 rapes.

He denied a further count of rape in September 2020 relating to a 13th woman, whose allegation triggered the investigation, with the Crown Prosecution Service deciding it was not in the public interest to proceed to trial.

Prosecutor Tom Little KC said the case fell short of meriting a whole-life sentence  because he had not killed anyone and pleaded guilty  but called for a life sentence with a fixed minimum term.

Alisdair Williamson KC, defending, said Carrick accepts fully responsibility for what he has done and that it is likely any life sentence will bring him close to, if not to, the close of his natural life.

He cannot ask for mercy and does not, he added.

The Met was forced to apologise and admit Carrick should have been rooted out earlier after it emerged he came to police attention over nine incidents  including allegations of rape, domestic violence and harassment  between 2000 and 2021, with all but one of the incidents relating to his behaviour towards women.

Carrick faced no criminal sanctions or misconduct findings and police chiefs across England and Wales have since been asked to have all officers checked against national police databases by the end of March.

He was finally sacked from the force last month after pleading guilty and being unmasked as one of the countrys most prolific sex offenders.

Carricks crimes are set to form part of the independent inquiry looking at the murder of Sarah Everard, who was raped and strangled by then-serving Met officer Wayne Couzens in March 2021.
Sadiq Khan has urged the leaders of four London councils to drop their opposition to his expansion of the ultra low emission zone (Ulez).

The capitals mayor wrote to the leaders of Bexley, Bromley, Harrow and Hillingdon councils describing their grounds for a potential legal challenge to the measure as wholly without merit and misconceived.

He insisted it is simply not true that the scheme  which will be extended to cover the whole of the capital from August 29  is a money-making venture.

Transport for London (TfL) expects net income from the Ulez to fall to nominal levels within the next few years, Mr Khan wrote.

Until then, all net revenue will be reinvested back into transport in London, he stated.

The Ulez is currently limited to the area within the North and South Circular roads.

Drivers of vehicles that do not meet minimum emissions standards are charged a 12.50 daily fee for entering the zone.

Mr Khan wrote that he is determined to reduce the toxic air in our city, which leads to around 4,000 Londoners dying prematurely every year.

He added: Instead of pursuing an expensive legal challenge funded by local residents, I would hope you would work with me to help clean up the dirty air thats blighting our city and the lives of those we represent.
Teachers in Scotland are set to strike for the final time as part of their recent campaign of walkouts  but more action is on the horizon with no new pay offer from Holyrood.

Members of the Educational Institute of Scotland (EIS) union in Inverclyde and Shetland will take to the picket lines on Monday, with most primary and secondary schools set to be shut.

Teaching unions have demanded a 10% pay rise for their members, but the Scottish Government has ruled this out as unaffordable and have offered a 5% salary increase.

Members of the Educational Institute of Scotland have been striking in their battle for higher pay (Jane Barlow/PA)

The 16-day wave of walkouts, which have affected schoolchildren the length of Scotland, has not seen Education Secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville and local authorities buckle, and the unions have warned industrial action would continue.

Without a deal, strikes could continue into the exam period in the spring. This would mark the third exam period out of the last four years to be hit with disruption after the impact of Covid-19 in 2020 and 2021.

The EIS has already announced two days of national strikes, on February 28 and March 1, followed by another wave of rolling strikes between March 13 and April 21.

On Sunday, Ms Somerville, who said Holyrood and teaching unions were still some way apart, told the BBC it was for the teaching unions to suspend strikes ahead of the exam period to ensure there is no disruption.

Education Secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville said the Scottish Government along with local councils and teaching unions were still some way apart (Andrew Milligan/PA)

One of the aspects which Im very, very determined to ensure is that children and young people have very limited disruption to their education going forward  exams is a critical part of that, she said.

I would hope that everyone involved in this dispute would be able to agree that we do not want to see exams disrupted.

The minister added she was absolutely doing everything she could to end the dispute.

But Des Morris, the salaries convener for the EIS teaching union, said there had been little movement from the Government and councils since the 5% pay offer was made.

He said it was becoming increasingly difficult to reconcile public statements from ministers with what is happening in negotiations.

Strikes could continue into the exam period in the spring (Gareth Fuller/PA)

Over the course of January weve heard a number of statements such as no stone being left unturned to find a resolution, offering to look at all options, statements that there have to be compromises on both sides, that the Scottish Government is not digging in its heels, he told the same programme.

But these statements have all culminated in our January 20 pay meeting  the last pay meeting that was held  when basically the message was: Teachers, see that 5% offer we offered you six months ago? Take it or leave it

If thats not digging your heels in, then I really dont know what is.

Mr Morris added that there had been a complete lack of urgency from the Scottish Government and council umbrella body Cosla.

On the issue of exams, Mr Morris said it was not for him to say if there would be strikes that would affect pupils, adding that the EIS executive committee keeps its industrial action plans under constant review.
Timeline of events in the case of missing mother-of-two Nicola Bulley

Nicola Bulleys two daughters desperately miss their mother and need her back, as underwater search experts found nothing in miles of river.

In a statement released through Lancashire Police, the mortgage advisers partner, Paul Ansell, said: Its been 10 days now since Nicola went missing and I have two little girls who miss their mummy desperately and who need her back.

Ms Bulley, 45, of Inskip, Lancashire, went missing on January 27 in nearby St Michaels on Wyre.

Underwater search experts, using specialist sonar equipment to look for Ms Bulley in the river, did not find anything on Monday.

Peter Faulding, the head of private diving team Specialist Group International (SGI), said his team of experts and divers, based in Dorking, Surrey, worked with Lancashire Police and searched three or four miles of river until it got dark.

Its a negative search, no signs of Nicola, he told the PA news agency.

He said his team will look through another stretch of river on Tuesday towards where Nicola went originally missing.

Nicola Bulley (Lancashire Police/PA)

Here is a timeline of events surrounding the disappearance:

 January 27

At 8.26am Ms Bulley left her home with her two daughters, aged six and nine, dropping them off at school and engaging in a brief conversation with another parent around 15 minutes later, Lancashire Police has said.

She then took her Spaniel, Willow, for a walk along the path by the River Wyre at 8.43am, heading towards a gate/bench in the lower field.

She was seen by a dog walker who knew her at around 8.50am, and their pets interacted briefly before they parted ways, according to the force.

At 8.53am, Ms Bulley sent an email to her boss, followed by a message to her friends six minutes later, before logging on to a Microsoft Teams call at 9.01am.

She was seen by a second witness at 9.10am, the last known sighting.

Her phone was back in the area of the bench at 9.20am before the Teams call ended ten minutes later, with her mobile remaining logged on after the call.

At 9.33am, another dog walker found her phone on a bench beside the river, with Willow darting between the two.

A message left with a bunch of flowers on the banks of the River Wyre (Peter Byrne/PA)

According to police, she was wearing a black Engelbert Strauss coat, black jeans and had long green walking socks tucked into her trousers under ankle length green wellington boots.

Her hair was tied into a ponytail and she was wearing a pale blue fitbit.

At 10.50am, Ms Bulleys family and the school attended by her children were told about her disappearance.

Lancashire Constabulary launched an investigation into Ms Bulleys whereabouts on the same day and appealed for witnesses to contact them.

 January 28

Lancashire Constabulary deployed drones, helicopters and police search dogs as part of the major missing person operation.

They were assisted by Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service, as well as Bowland Pennine mountain rescue team and the North West underwater search team.

 January 29

Local residents held a meeting at the village hall to organise a search for Ms Bulley at 10.30am on Sunday, according to reports from The Mirror, and around 100 people joined the search.

A police helicopter over St Michaels on Wyre (Danny Lawson/PA)

Police urged volunteers to exercise caution, describing the river and its banks as extremely dangerous and saying that activity in these areas presented a genuine risk to the public.

 January 30

Superintendent Sally Riley from Lancashire Constabulary said police were keeping a really open mind about what could have happened, and that they were not treating Ms Bulleys disappearance as suspicious.

 January 31

Lancashire Constabulary spoke with a potential witness, a man who had been walking a small white fluffy dog near the River Wyre at the time of Ms Bulleys disappearance.

Her family released a statement saying they had been overwhelmed by the support in their community, and that her daughters were desperate to have their mummy back home safe.

 February 1

Ms Bulleys parents, Ernest and Dot Bulley, spoke to The Mirror about the horror they faced over the possibility of never seeing her again.

Her father told the newspaper: We just dread to think we will never see her again, if the worst came to the worst and she was never found, how will we deal with that for the rest of our lives.

Specialist search teams on the River Wyre, in St Michaels on Wyre, Lancashire. (Peter Byrne/PA)

 February 2

Lancashire Constabulary spoke with a second witness who they had identified with the help of the public using CCTV but they told police they did not have any further information to aid their inquiry.

Officers from the North West Police Underwater and Marine support unit searched the area close to where Ms Bulleys mobile phone was found, while police divers scoured the River Wyre.

Meanwhile, Ms Bulleys family appealed to the public for help tracing her.

Speaking with Sky News, her sister Louise Cunningham said: There has got to be somebody who knows something and all we are asking is, no matter how small or big, if there is anything you remember that doesnt seem right, then please reach out to the police.

Get in touch and get my sister back.

Ms Bulleys father said his family hoped their interview would spark a light that would lead to her being found.

 February 3

Lancashire Police said it was working on the hypothesis that Ms Bulley may have fallen into the River Wyre.

Ms Riley urged against speculation, but said it was possible that an issue with Ms Bulleys dog may have led her to the waters edge.

She urged the public to look out for items of clothing Ms Bulley was last seen wearing, and gave an extensive list.

Ms Bulleys friends also shared heartfelt appeals via television interviews, including Emma White, who told the BBC that Ms Bulleys daughters were continually asking where she was.

 February 4

Ms White cast doubt on the police theory that she fell into a river, telling Sky News it was based on limited information.

She said: When we are talking about a life we cant base it on a hypothesis, surely we need this factual evidence.

Thats what the family and all of us are holding on to, that we are sadly no further on than last Friday.

Flower left by a missing sign (Danny Lawson/PA)

In a Facebook post, Ms Cunningham urged people to keep an open mind as there is no evidence whatsoever that the dog walker fell in the river.

On the same day, Lancashire Police announced it wanted to trace a key witness who was seen pushing a pram in the area near where Ms Bulley went missing on the morning of her disappearance.

 February 5

The woman described as a key witness by police came forward.

The force insisted she was very much being treated as a witness as it warned against totally unacceptable speculation and abuse on social media.

Reports of a private underwater rescue team set to assist police in Ms Bulleys search surfaced.

SGI, led by forensic expert Mr Faulding, offered its services free of charge.

 February 6

Ms Bulleys friends said they hoped the help of a specialist underwater rescue team would give the family answers.

Workers from SGI loaded a sonar into a boat (Danny Lawson/PA)

Speaking to broadcasters, Ms White said the family asked Mr Faulding and his company for help.

She told BBC Breakfast: Following the hypothesis of the police that Nicola was in the river, we need some evidence to back that up either way and I feel Peter and his amazing bit of kit  is going to come and sweep the river bed and give us answers.

Meanwhile, Ms Bulleys partner Mr Ansell, in a statement released through Lancashire Police, said: Its been 10 days now since Nicola went missing and I have two little girls who miss their mummy desperately and who need her back.

This has been such a tough time for the girls especially but also for me and all of Nicolas family and friends, as well as the wider community and I want to thank them for their love and support.

Mr Faulding and his SGI team, using specialist sonar equipment to search for Ms Bulley in the river, did not find anything at the end of their first day of searching.

Underwater search experts used sonar equipment (Danny Lawson/PA)

He said his team will look through another stretch of river on Tuesday towards where Nicola went originally missing.
Grammys host Trevor Noah referenced the Duke of Sussex as he made a quip while introducing James Corden to the stage at the music event.

The former host of The Daily Show, who did not name the royal, said Corden is living proof that a man can move from London to LA and not tell everyone about his frostbitten penis.

In Harrys book Spare, he talked about a trip to the North Pole, and described how his genitals had been frost-nipped (James Manning/PA)

In a passage from Harrys recent memoir Spare, he described how during a trip to Antarctica, prior to the now Prince of Waless wedding to the Princess of Wales, his genitals had been frostnipped.

Noah, 38, said: James Corden is a 12-time Emmy winner and the host of The Late Late Show.

Hes also living proof that a man can move from London to LA and not tell everyone about his frostbitten penis.

The Duke of Sussex moved to Montecito, California, from the UK after he and the Duchess of Sussex stepped down from royal duties in 2020.

It comes as Sasha Walpole, now a digger driver, claimed on the weekend to be the person Harry, 38, recounted as losing his virginity to in the memoir.

During the Grammys, Corden gave Beyonce, 41, the best dance/electronic music album award for Renaissance.

James Corden, the host of The Late Late Show (Ian West/PA)

This took the pop star to 32 wins, making history as she became the most decorated Grammy artist of all time.

Hungarian-British conductor Georg Solti, who died in 1997, had the previous highest record at 31.

While presenting the award Corden, 44, said we are witnessing history tonight and added that it was an honour to be given the duty.

The British actor announced in April 2022 that he would step down as the host of his US chat programme.

During his opening monologue at the Grammys in 2021, speaking from a tent in central Los Angeles, Noah also referenced the royal family.

Pointing to masked nominees, seated and socially distanced at the ceremony, he said there was more tension in that tent than at a family reunion at Buckingham Palace, a reference to the Duke and Duchess of Sussexs bombshell interview with Oprah Winfrey.
Sonic Youth: Our 1985 Interview

John Cale didnt come to popular music from the usual places. His muse was born in the classical avant-garde, and when the young Welsh musician first arrived in New York in the early 1960s, he was pulled first into the evocative drone sounds of La Monte Young, joining on viola the composers Theatre of Eternal Music (a.k.a. the original Dream Syndicate). Then he met Lou Reed and became excited with the possibilities of a new kind of pop music, colliding all he had learned in the uncompromising avant-garde with Reeds literate, highly crafted rock songs, and the Velvet Underground was born.

Their collaboration would remain sporadic through the decades  Reed fired Cale from the VU after their second album, and theyd come together only occasionally after that, most meaningfully on 1990s Songs for Drella. But for Cale, the Velvets were only the beginning of a long exploration of boundary-breaking popular music as a recording artist and as an album producer of essential debuts by the Stooges, Patti Smith and the Modern Lovers, among many others.

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Now 80 and based in Los Angeles, Cale has managed to maintain a vibrant career in his own lane without too much struggle, to the tune of 17 studio albums and countless live recordings. He also managed to help turn Leonard Cohens previously obscure Hallelujah into a modern standard, stripping it down to solo piano for a 1991 Cohen tribute album, Im Your Fan (instigated by French magazine Les Inrockuptibles). It has since been recorded by hundreds of artists, from Jeff Buckley to Willie Nelson.

On his new album, the just-released Mercy, Cale is still leaning forward, collaborating on most of its dozen tracks with a later generation of artists, from Actress and Weyes Blood to Sylvan Esso and Animal Collective, arriving at something dreamy and post-modern. Its his first new studio album in a decade, and it emerged from the long isolation of COVID-19. Under lush layers of organic and electronic sound, and with Cales distinctively commanding, subtly emotional vocals, there are songs about people hes known  including Nico (Moonstruck (Nicos Song)) and David Bowie (Night Crawling)  and people he didnt, notably on Marilyn Monroes Legs (Beauty Elsewhere).

The recent Todd Haynes documentary, The Velvet Underground (available on DVD and Blu-ray) told his troubled origin story in Wales with new poignancy, and Criterion is currently streaming the restored film performance of Drella (directed by Edward Lachman). So his history is out there, continuing to influence modern music in untold ways, but Mercy suggests hes still ready for more.

(Credit: Marlene Marino)

SPIN: Todd Haynes Velvet Underground doc really tells your early life story, from your childhood in Wales to your arrival in New York. It gives a sense that you were on a path towards something, regardless of whether you ever connected with the band.

John Cale: Yeah, I was kind of driven. I was determined to get somewhere. All along the way from Wales to New York, it was crowded with people that I really wanted to work with. And eventually, New York was the apex. Id managed to talk to three or four contemporary composers, and they helped me get a clear idea of what was happening in New York, what was happening in Berlin, what was happening in Wiesbaden, and what was happening in L.A. Eventually out of the crowded field, I got to New York and spent a good year and a half working  I played viola in Le Montes trio. I made choices as to whether I was going to do the European thing with Stockhausen, which Le Monte had already done. And I decided No, Im going to try and work on what is the American experience in contemporary music.

What drew you to the avant-garde side of things at a young age?

It was really exciting to do the avant-garde. I understood what the roles were for Aaron Copeland and a bunch of really European composers, and Europe has a documented history of advanced thinking in music. I thought it would be interesting to find out what other groups of people from different parts of the world and their idea of what avant-garde meant. What youre really looking at is how people share conversations, in the sense that theres a conversation going on between the composer and the audience. These generate other feelings and other ideas. I ended up paying attention to John Cage. They say that Le Monte was the most interesting American musical composer and that he was working and deliberating in different arenas than Stockhausen would. The whole European thing was hung up in intonation  in how melodic and chordal developments in the music were really stuck in one place.

Those first two albums with the Velvet Underground were very experimental and avant-garde but within the context of popular music. How did you feel about colliding with those two worlds?

That was essential. When I ran into Lou, I realized this was something that we can do. This is something that really nobody is doing. Weve got somebody who can improvise lyrics and talk about what was funny about what had happened that morning. And then with it, there was some rock and roll. I thought, wait a minute, Bob Dylan isnt the only one whos doing this. And I wanted to explore that.

Velvet Underground (L-R) Lou Reed, Sterling Morrison, John Cale and Maureen Moe Tucker (Credit: Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images)

This new album is your first in 10 years. Was it a long time in the works?

Everybody got the lockdown, and that really put a spanner in the works. It took me about two and a half years. And when I came out of it, I had written an album and I started thinking This album has been sitting around for two and a half years, and Im trying to figure out what I need to finish it off. I decided to figure out which tracks needed a little attention and which didnt. I started thinking about other artists that Id worked with and how they could propel what I had already done further. Ive got the best parts of the past and the best parts of the future on the record.

There was a process going on here that I was trying to work out something about that would get me out of the doldrums of this pandemic. I moved the music along a little bit further and brought in some artists that were really very helpful in deciding how some of this would work. Animal Collective, for instance, are on the song Everlasting Days. Id worked with them before, and this suddenly became an extended family as time went on. A lot of people were looking forward to doing that because they were fed up with being in hiding in the closet for another two years whilst everybody figured out whether they got the disease or not.

What type of artist is ideal for you as a collaborator? Is there a through line?

There is. I think it really is a partnership. You really get to know people in a different sense. Collaboration to me is really understanding other peoples point of view. And youve got to have this creativity going on between the two of you, and if youre generous about your approach to the music, then youll get somewhere meaningful.

One track that caught my attention was Marilyn Monroes Legs (Beauty Elsewhere), recorded with Actress. What was the genesis of that?

I wanted to have a song about Marilyn Monroe without mentioning her name. Actress was very fast. And it was the most abstract song on the record. I was pleased with everything that happened in the studio with Actress.

Is it different writing a song about someone you didnt know versus people you did know?

I think I like it that way. The mystery of it is really captivating. When I wrote that song about Nico, it just happened to be something that I had never done. Id worked with Nico and it happened that it was a good partnership. And so the song about her took a long time to come. I was very happy with it in the end, but I wish Id done it earlier.

Im sure youve noticed that Leonard Cohens Hallelujah has become a standard since your 1991 version. Does it surprise you that it caught on in the way it did?

Its got a life of its own now. I was happy about it, but I was surprised that it happened so fast. And Leonard was very generous with his help. It all came about in this strange roundabout way. It was this rock and roll magazine from Paris. I really went for that song because it was so simple. There was nothing complicated about how this song worked. It didnt need a large orchestra. It didnt need many voices, and it was already self-contained. I went working with some of the other songs that Leonard had, but they didnt work as smoothly as Hallelujah.

At some point, Leonard Cohen said too many people were singing that song.

I understand his point of view. He doesnt want the attention.

What does it take for you to find someone interesting enough to be inspired to make music based on them?

Well, Im terrible. I mean, Ill just make somebody up [laughs] if I dont have anybody ready at hand. Its often a very good way of working. The mystery of it all is really what youre playing with.

Its always seemed that you were able to do what you wanted and create the music that appeals to you. Was it ever a struggle to find support for what you were doing?

No, it was really finding which style [I was] interested in at the time. There was a time when I decided OK, I want to do [poet Dylan Thomass] Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night and arrange it in a different way with an orchestra and do some classical arrangements [on 1989 album Words for the Dying]. And then there were some which were just straight rock and roll punk arrangements. I tried as many different things as I could.

When you were producing other artists for major labels, was there any commercial pressure, like Were trying to get a radio song out of this?

Yeah. Always, always. Some of them would say Well, yeah, itd be nice. Some of them never mentioned it. What are you gonna do?

To see our running list of the top 100 greatest rock stars of all time, click here.

The post Sonic Youth: Our 1985 Interview appeared first on SPIN.
POLAND - 2023/01/18: In this photo illustration a FTX logo is displayed on a smartphone with stock market percentages on the background. (Photo Illustration by Omar Marques/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)

The U.S. Trustee overseeing FTXs colossal bankruptcy case is asking a Delaware judge to appoint another layer of oversight for the companys new management team.

Juliet Sarkessian, an attorney for the Department of Justices U.S. Trustee Program providing oversight on the case, argued in court Monday that an examiner must be appointed to investigate the facts and circumstances before and after FTXs bankruptcy filing in November of last year.

Mr. Ray was appointed by Mr. Sam Bankman-Fried, Sarkessian told the judge about the company's new CEO John J. Ray III, who is not required to file a public report on his findings. He is not independent  not like an examiner.

An examiner, Sarkessian argued, would be better suited than the companys current management to look into illegal transfers of funds, including more than $400 million that its current managers say was withdrawn from FTXs coffers before they gained control of company assets.

John J. Ray III, CEO of FTX Group, testifies during the House Financial Services Committee hearing titled Investigating the Collapse of FTX Part I, at the US Capitol on December 13, 2022 in Washington, DC. Ray took over the FTX after the resignation of Sam Bankman-Fried. (Photo by Nathan Howard/Getty Images)

An examiner, she said, could not only investigate the use and misuse of customer funds, but also what FTXs entities and employees knew or should have known about that misuse, and whether any former employees involved in misuse are still serving in roles within the company.

Who turned a blind eye? Sarkessian asked. Who was responsible for preventing the hacks? Whether they were negligent?

The Texas State Securities Board and more than a dozen other U.S. state agencies have supported the U.S. governments motion.

FTX contested the Trustees request, arguing that under Mr. Ray  who also testified during the hearing  the company and the government have already begun investigations to recover company and customer assets.

Ray, who previously managed energy giant Enrons outsized Chapter 11 bankruptcy, testified during the proceedings that he is independent of the companys prior management and that his team helped stop more crypto from being stolen.

Immediately on the filing, we had an issue of crypto being stolen, Ray said, describing the corporate environment that he took over as pure hell and lacking in integrity. The hacks went on virtually all night longwe had over 100 people on the phoneyou have no passwordsyou dont know where the wallets are.

Ray also told the Trustee he charged FTX $690,000 from his appointment on November 11 to the end of the year. Previous court documents show Ray bills $1,300 per hour for his services.

FTX attorney James Bromley said more assets would have been lost if not for Ray and his round-the-clock efforts. Bromley also told the judge that an examiner could extend the duration of the bankruptcy proceedings for months, if not years.

Who bears that cost? he asked. The creditors.

FTX logo displayed on a phone screen and representation of cryptocurrencies are seen in this illustration photo taken in Krakow, Poland on January 29, 2023. (Photo by Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

To investigate FTX, Judge John T. Dorsey also noted that an examiner would need to hire its own experts, including financial, cybersecurity, and crypto advisors.

"It's going to be in the tens of millions, if not hundreds of millions of dollars to do that investigation. he said.

The Joint Provisional Liquidators and counsel for FTX were in agreement that creditors would bear the brunt of the cost of an examiner.

It's simply going to be a duplication of effort and an enormous amount of expense, Bromley argued.

FTX has $5.5 billion in liquid assets, including $1.2 billion in cash, but Bromley reiterated that the sum doesn't cover the shortfall of what's owed to creditors. He said the examiner motion was a waste of the company's resources for the pure purpose of public policy.

The judge chose not to rule on the motion Monday. He will give all parties time to convene privately, putting the matter "under advisement" for the time being.

The next hearing for the bankruptcy of FTX (Case No. 22-11068), which will include a status update on the examiner motion, is set for Wednesday, Feb. 8.

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Though others have interviewed ChatGPT, I had some anxiety-riddled questions of my own: Will you take my job? Are you sentient? Is the singularity upon us?

These questions are half facetious, half serious. If you've been hidden away and somehow missed the ruckus, here's what all the commotion's about: In November, conversational AI tool ChatGPT took the world by storm, crossing one million users a mere five days after its release, according to its developer, San Francisco's OpenAI. If you are still one of those who think this is all hype, take it up with Microsoft (MSFT). The tech giant announced on Jan. 23 it would invest $10 billion in ChatGPT and its maker OpenAI, a follow-up to the tech giants previous $1 billion investment.

To find out how good ChatGPT really is  and if I'll have a job by this time next year  I decided to give it a test drive, attempting to get as close as possible to interviewing it in the way I would any other source. I asked it some questions and made a few requests, from how many jobs it might replace to testing out its songwriting chops.

My first question was simple, more of a "get to know you," the way I would start just about any interview. Immediately, the talk was unconventional, as ChatGPT made it very clear that its incapable of being either on- or off-the-record.

Then, we cut to the-chase in terms of the bot's capabilities  and my future. Is ChatGPT taking my job someday? ChatGPT claims humans have little to worry about, but I'm not so sure.

You might want to be a little skeptical about that response, said Stanford University Professor Johannes Eichstaedt. "What you're getting here is the party line." ChatGPT has been programmed to offer up answers that assuage our fears over AI replacing us, but right now there's nothing it can say to change the fact our fear and fascination are walking hand-in-hand." He added: "The fascination [with ChatGPT] is linked to an undercurrent of fear, since this is happening as the cards in the economy are being reshuffled right now.

Even now, ChatGPTs practical applications are already emerging, and the chatbot's already being used by app developers and real estate agents.

"Generative AI, I'm telling you, is going to be one of the most impactful technologies of the next decade, said Berkeley Synthetic CEO Matt White. There will be implications for call center jobs, knowledge jobs, and entry-level jobs especially.

LONDON, ENGLAND - FEBRUARY 03: In this photo illustration, the home page for the OpenAI "ChatGPT" app is displayed on a laptop screen on February 03, 2023 in London, England. (Photo by Leon Neal/Getty Images)

'Confidently inaccurate'

ChatGPT says it's merely enhancing human tasks, but what are its limitations? There are many, the bot said.

Okay, there are all sorts of things ChatGPT cant do terribly well. Songwriting, for one, isn't ChatGPTs strength  thats how I got my first full-fledged error message, when it failed to generate lyrics for a song that might have been written by now-defunct punk band The Clash.

Though other ChatGPT users have been more successful on this front, it's pretty clear the chatbot isn't a punk-rock legend in the making. It's also a limitation that's easily visible to the naked eye. However, there are tasks in which ChatGPT is more likely to successfully imitate a humans work  for example, write an essay about how supply and demand works." This problems compounded by the fact that ChatGPT can be confidently inaccurate in ways that can smoothly perpetuate factual inaccuracies or bias, said EY Chief Global Innovation Officer Jeff Wong.

If you ask it to name athletes, its more likely to name a man, Wong said. If you ask it to tell you a love story, itll give you one thats heteronormative in all likelihood. The biases that are embedded in a dataset thats based on human history  how do we be responsible about that?

So, it was natural to ask ChatGPT about ethics. Here's what it said:

I asked Navrina Singh, CEO of Credo AI, to analyze ChatGPTs answer on this one. Singh said ChatGPT did well, but missed a key issue  AI governance, which she said is the "the practical application of our collective wisdom" and helps ensure this technology is a tool that is in service to humanity.

This image was created with the assistance of DALLE 2, January 2023.

How human can you make it?

ChatGPTs default responses can sound robotic, like theyre written by a machine  which, well, they are. However, with the right cues you can condition ChatGPT to provide answers that are funny, soulful, or outlandish. In that sense, the possibilities are limitless.

You need to give ChatGPT directives about personality, said EY's Wong. Unless you ask it to have personality, it will give you a basic structure... So, the real question is, How human can you make it?

"This is a perfectly anthropomorphizing technology, I think because it engages us through the appearance of dialogue with a conversational output, creating the illusion that you're engaging with a mind, said Lori Witzel, director of thought leadership at TIBCO. In some ways the experience is reminiscent of fortune-telling devices or ouija boards, things that generate a sense of conversation through the facade of a dialogue."

"There are responses that make you feel like you're getting close to the Turing Test, Wong added, referencing mathematician Alan Turings famed test of a machines ability to exhibit human behavior.

However, by ChatGPT's own admission, "passing the Turing Test would require much more" than what it has to give:

The problem of other minds

We're often inclined to think about sentience when it comes to AI. In ChatGPTs case, were still incredibly far off, said University of Toronto Professor Karina Vold. In a broad sense, sentience means having the capacity to feel, she said. For philosophers like me, what it would mean is that ChatGPT can feel and I think there's a lot of reluctance of philosophers to ascribe anything remotely like sentience to ChatGPT  or any existing AI.

What does ChatGPT think? Here's what it told Yahoo Finance.

So, AI achieving sentience isn't on the table. At a certain point, why bother to ask? From Vold's perspective, it's simple  ChatGPT says it doesn't feel, but it's easy to fixate because we can never be truly sure. This "problem of other minds" applies to how humans interact, too  we can never really know for sure what others around us feel, or if they do at all.

This reflects our view of minds in general  that outward behavior doesnt reflect whats necessarily going on in that system, Vold added. [ChatGPT] may appear to be sentient or empathetic or creative, but thats us making unwarranted assumptions about how the system works, assuming theres something we cant see.

It can only be attributable to human error

For many, ChatGPT conjures up images of sci-fi nightmare movies. It might even bring back memories of Stanley Kubricks legendary 1968 film, "2001: A Space Odyssey." For those not familiar with it, the movie's star, supercomputer HAL 9000, kills most of the humans on the spaceship it's operating. Its alibi and defense? HAL says that its conduct "can only be attributable to human error.

So, a scary question for ChatGPT:

Okay, so it's more advanced than HAL, got it. Not exactly reassuring, but the bottom line is this: Does ChatGPT open up a window into a different, possibly scary future? More importantly, is ChatGPT out to destroy us?

Officially no, but if ChatGPT is ever responsible for a sci-fi nightmare, it will be because we taught it all it knows, including the stories that haunt us, from "2001" to Mary Shelley's "Frankenstein." In sci-fi movies, when computers become villains, it's because they're defying their programming, but that's not how computers learn  in our world, AI follows its programming, faithfully.

If you take HAL 9000 at his word  and in this case, I do  the worst of what ChatGPT could do can only be attributable to human error.

I gave the last word to ChatGPT, speaking neither on- nor off-the-record.

Allie Garfinkle is a Senior Tech Reporter at Yahoo Finance. Follow her on Twitter at @agarfinks and on LinkedIn.

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The Bench also rejected the request of Advocate-General B.S. Prasad for a stay on the judgment to enable the appellants to move the Supreme Court (DC)

Hyderabad: A division bench of Telangana High Court on Monday dismissed the state governments appeals against handing over the investigation into poachgate, the alleged attempt to poach four BRS MLAs, to the CBI, as had been ordered by a single judge bench last year.

The single judge had on December 26 ordered the transfer of the investigation to the CBI and disbanded the Special Investigation Team (SIT) constituted by the state government to probe poachgate. Challenging this order, BRS MLA Pilot Rohit Reddy, the SIT and the state government had filed six appeals and sought a direction to continue the SIT probe.

A division bench comprising Chief Justice Ujjal Bhuyan and Justice N. Tukaramji, however, upheld the orders of the single judge.

The Bench also rejected the request of Advocate-General B.S. Prasad for a stay on the judgment to enable the appellants to move the Supreme Court.

The CBI can now commence its investigation which the division bench had orally halted till the adjudication of the appeals.

The division bench said the appeals were not maintainable before the High Court because the order passed by the single judge was in the context of a criminal subject matter and in the exercise of "criminal jurisdiction".

The bench cited a judgment of the Supreme Court in Ram Kishan Fauji v Haryana State in which it had stated that intra-court appeals cannot be filed before a division bench of the High Court, if the single judge of the same High Court had passed orders in a criminal case. Appeals on the criminal jurisdiction must be filed before the Supreme Court.

The division bench did not delve into the merit of the challenge or to the other aspects in the appeals because it held that the filing of the appeals itself was not maintainable.

Mentioning the finding of the single judge that the rights of the accused were being compromised by leakage of investigation materials and open branding of them as culprits even before the chargesheet was filed, the division bench observed, "This is nothing but a decision rendered in the realm of criminal field; thus exercising criminal jurisdiction as mentioned in Clause 15 of the Letters Patent. Applying the litmus test, it is evident from a combined examination of the substance of the case and the nature and character of the order passed by the learned single judge that the judgment under appeal is clearly within criminal law domain."

The court considered the arguments of senior counsels D.V. Sitarama Murthy and L. Ravichander, who represented the accused Nanda Kumar and others by referring to Clause 15 of the Letters Patent of Telangana High Court. Considering the limited scope and ambit of Letters Patent appeal, no appeal would lie against the order passed by the single judge in a matter involving criminal jurisdiction, even though it is a decision under Article 226 of the Constitution of India.

2022

Oct. 26: BRS MLA P. Rohith Reddy complains to Moinabad police that three persons allegedly from the BJP, Ramachandra Bharathi, Nanda Kumar and D.P.S.K.V.N. Simhayaji, offered him `100 crore if he joined the BJP. He said the trio offered `50 crore to three other BRS MLAs.

Moinabad police lays trap at Rohith Reddys farmhouse, arrests the trio.

Oct. 27: Moinabad police produces accused before ACB court, which rejects remand as the police had not issued 41-A notices

TS BJP leader Gujjala Premendar Reddy approaches HC, seeks transfer of the case to the CBI or a SIT under supervision of the High Court.

Oct. 28: Police challenges ACB order in the High Court.

Oct. 29: Justice Ch Sumalatha of the High Court orders ACB court to allow remand of the accused.

Justice Vijaysen Reddy stays investigation into poachgate.

Nov. 8: Justice Vijaysen Reddy allows police to continue investigation.

Nov. 9: Telangana government constitutes SIT to probe poachgate.

Nov. 10: BJP files appeal before division bench, challenges order to continue investigation.

Nov. 15: Division bench doesnt stay investigation, directs SIT to report details only to High Court.

BJP approaches Supreme Court against division bench orders.

Nov. 23: Supreme Court rejects BJP plea, allows SIT to continue investigation, says no need for HC supervision.

Three accused move High Court to transfer probe to any independent agency.

Dec. 26: Single judge bench of Justice B. Vijaysen Reddy hands over investigation to CBI, disbands SIT.

2023

Jan. 4: MLA Rohith Reddy, SIT and Telangana government file six appeals before division bench seeking to stop transfer of probe to CBI.

Jan. 18: Oral arguments before the division bench completed.

Jan. 30: Written arguments on behalf of the SIT furnished.

Feb. 6: High Court dismisses appeals, allows CBI to continue probe.
As mayonnaise prices continue to rise, shoppers are asking which mayo substitutes to add to their grocery carts. (Photos: Getty; illustration by Liliana Penagos)

When Hellmann's announced it was discontinuing sales of mayonnaise in South Africa due to rising costs, many Americans wondered if the days of mayonnaise were also numbered in the U.S.

For some, panic set in. "I can't fathom a mayo-less USA," says recipe developer and bar owner Paul Kushner. "The horror!"

Fortunately, Americans can breathe a sigh of relief. "There's no change to Hellmann's mayonnaise in the U.S., Canada and other countries across the globe," a spokesperson for the brand reassures Yahoo Life. In fact, Hellmann's recent investment in a commercial featuring Jon Hamm and Brie Larson, slated to debut during Super Bowl LVII, provides reassurance that the iconic mayonnaise is here to stay.

Still, the announcement has some wondering if there are alternatives to the popular condiment, just in case rising costs mean the end of mayonnaise on supermarket shelves. Even if mayonnaise does stay widely available, rising prices are making some think twice about grabbing a jar. Due to rising egg and soybean costs, the price of mayonnaise has risen an incredible 18% over the past year and Kusher says rising mayo prices "seem to have no end in sight."

Mayo fam, fear not Hellmanns mayo is widely available in the U.S. and elsewhere around the world, just sadly not in South Africa until further notice. That means theres still time to stock up before your Big Game party next Sunday!  Hellmann's (@Hellmanns) February 1, 2023

The good news is homemade mayonnaise is very easy to make  at a fraction of the cost of store-bought spreads. Plus, there are mayo alternatives, like avocado on sandwiches or Greek yogurt in tuna salad. Some recipe developers, like Aubrey Babb, think these mayonnaise-free options are "great substitutes" and "arguably even better" than the real thing.

But Kusher cautions while "these substitutes all taste great  and some even have a healthier macronutrient profile than mayo  they do not taste like mayo." That means anyone using a mayo substitute should expect their dish to have a different flavor profile.

Babb says "the more ingredients in the recipe, the easier a swap is to hide," noting those with a more "discerning palate" may notice the change more easily. But don't shy away from giving it a try. Many substitutes are really close, while others may end up being a favorite condiment that's more affordable or healthier than mayo.

The mayo substitute you choose depends on the dish. A great mayo substitute for sandwiches, for example, probably won't work as well as a substitute in pasta salad.

Sandwiches: Try avocado or aioli on sandwiches instead of mayonnaise. "If you've never had a tuna sandwich with avocado  please go try it," says food blogger Jenna Dziak. "I love it with lots of salt and pepper and some vinegary hot sauce, too."

Aioli, which is simply olive oil and garlic emulsified to make a thick, creamy sauce can "really bring out the flavor of your sandwich ingredients," says Dziak. To make aioli, all you need is a mortar and a pestle. "Pound a couple garlic cloves into a paste and then start adding olive oil into it very slowly until you get an incredible, thick sauce," Dziak explains.

Chef and food scientist Michael Murdy also recommends "Greek yogurt with chopped herbs such as dill, parsley and chives" on sandwiches. He explains "this combination adds a light, creamy texture and a hint of freshness." Mustard and hummus can also easily be swapped for mayo on sandwiches, with no special prep required.

Deviled eggs: Even deviled eggs can be made without mayonnaise. Food blogger Pamela Reed recommends mixing ranch dressing and cream cheese together along with paprika, dill relish and salt, to create deviled eggs so good you won't miss the mayo.

Potato salad: Potato salad without mayonnaise can still be delicious. Reed recommends skipping the mayo and using ranch salad dressing instead.

Pasta salad: According to Kushner, the best substitutes for mayo in pasta salad are "sour cream or tahini, blended with a smidge of ice water to create a creamy dressing." Because sour cream and tahini both have strong tastes, Kushner recommends adding seasonings typically found in mayonnaise, like mustard powder and salt, or adding a splash of Worcestershire sauce.

Tuna salad: Kitchen blogger Claire Onidi recommends substituting sour cream or Greek yogurt for mayonnaise in tuna salads. "Both are tangy like mayonnaise and thick and creamy enough to bind the salad together," she says.

All-purpose substitutes: "It seems ridiculous to say that cashews taste like mayonnaise, but somehow, it's accurate," says chef Robert Jit. He recommends making a cashew cream to use as a substitute for mayo for almost any purpose. "[Cashews] have a strong mayonnaise flavor after being blended with water and a pinch of salt," he says, adding that cashew cream may be a little thicker than mayonnaise, but "has a texture comparable to mayo."

Chef and food blogger Amy Smith also likes cashew cream as a mayonnaise substitute. To make cashew cream, Smith recommends soaking cashews overnight and blending them into a "smooth cream." Then, add some lemon juice or apple cider vinegar to give cashew cream a little more zing. Vegan mayo is another good all-purpose mayo substitute Smith describes as "pretty damn close" to the real thing.

Prefer to make your own mayonnaise at home? Babb shares her recipe with Yahoo Life.

Aubrey's Kitchen Homemade Mayonnaise (with flavor variations)

Courtesy of Aubrey Babb

(Photo: Aubrey Babb)

Equipment:

1 immersion blender or food processor

Ingredients:

1 whole egg (room temperature)

2 teaspoons lemon juice

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

 teaspoon kosher salt

 cup neutral oil (canola, grapeseed, safflower)

Instructions:

In food processor or jar (immersion blender), add egg and blend thoroughly for at least 30 seconds. Be sure the blade is touching the ingredients otherwise it will not properly emulsify. Add lemon juice, Dijon mustard and salt. Continue to blend for another 30-60 seconds. Scrape the sides of the food processor or jar. Start to slowly add the oil, a few drops at a time, blending between each addition. Be very patient at the start as you need your mixture to emulsify and you do not want your mayonnaise to break. Continue slowly until you have added about  cup of oil. Once the mixture begins to thicken, you can increase to a thin stream of oil until the remaining oil has been added. If the mixture gets too thick, add a teaspoon of water if needed. Add any additional salt, lemon juice or mustard to your taste.

Mayonnaise-making tips:

Be sure that your blade touches the ingredients. If you are making a single batch, if the container is too wide and doesn't touch the starting ingredients (before you start adding oil), you will have trouble with the emulsification process.

Go slow. If you add the oil too quickly your mayonnaise will not emulsify and you will be left with a soupy frustrating mess.

Whisk method: Follow the mayo recipe instructions except you will use a small bowl.

Flavor variations:

Roasted garlic: Add some delicious roasted garlic for a creamy garlic mayo. If you are a garlic person, be sure to measure with your heart.

Chipotle: Blend your mayo with some canned chipotle peppers for a smoky flavor explosion.

Curry: Add a sprinkle of curry powder or masala for a delicious Indian-inspired flair.

Spicy mayo: Drizzle in some sriracha or chili crisp to up your spicy heat flavor bomb.

Honey mustard: If you dig a sweet and savory combo, this is the way. Add a drizzle of honey and some yellow mustard.

Wellness, parenting, body image and more: Get to know the who behind the hoo with Yahoo Lifes newsletter. Sign up here.
Countries have rushed to dispatch aid, personnel and equipment to help rescue efforts in quake-stricken areas of Turkey and Syria. Here's a glance at what's being provided so far:

 The European Union has mobilized search and rescue teams to help Turkey, while the 27-nation bloc's Copernicus satellite system has been activated to provide emergency mapping services. At least 13 member countries have offered assistance. The EU said its also ready to offer help to Syria through its humanitarian assistance programs.

 The United States is coordinating immediate assistance to NATO-member Turkey, including teams to support search and rescue efforts. U.S.-supported humanitarian partners are also responding to the destruction in Syria.

 Russian rescue teams from the Emergencies Ministry are preparing to fly to Syria, where Russian military deployed in that country already has sent 10 units comprising 300 people to help clear debris and search for survivors. The Russian military has set up points to distribute humanitarian assistance. Russia also has offered help to Turkey, which has been accepted.

 The Israeli army says it's sending a search and rescue team of 150 engineers, medical personnel and other aid workers to Turkey. The delegation was to leave Israel on Monday evening. The army said they would provide immediate assistance in life-saving efforts. The two countries, once close regional allies, are in the process of mending ties after years of tensions. Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he has also approved a request for humanitarian aid for Syria, received through a diplomatic official. Israel and Syria do not have diplomatic relations and the two countries have fought several wars.

 Germany's Foreign Ministry said it is coordinating its aid response with EU partners and readying deliveries of emergency generators, tents, blankets and water treatment equipment. It also has offered to send teams from the THW civil protection agency to Turkey to help with the response. The group International Search and Rescue Germany was also preparing to fly dozens of doctors and rescue experts to Turkey late Monday.

 Neighbor and historic regional rival Greece is sending Turkey a team of 21 rescuers, two rescue dogs and a special rescue vehicle, together with a structural engineer, five doctors and seismic planning experts in a military transport plane.

 Lebanons cash-strapped government is sending soldiers, Red Cross and Civil Defense first responders, and firefighters to Turkey to help with its rescue efforts.

 Britain is sending 76 search-and-rescue specialists with equipment and dogs, as well as an emergency medical team, to Turkey. The U.K. also says its in contact with the U.N. about getting support to victims in Syria.

 Jordan is sending emergency aid to earthquake-hit Syria and Turkey on the orders of King Abdullah II.

 The Czech Republic is sending Turkey a team of 68 rescuers, including firefighters, doctors, structural engineers and also experts with sniffer dogs.

 Swiss rescue dog service REDOG is sending 22 rescuers with 14 dogs to Turkey. The government said it would also send 80 search and rescue specialists to the country, including army disaster experts.

 Japan is sending a group of about 75 rescue workers to Turkey.

 Austria has offered to send 84 soldiers from a military disaster relief unit to Turkey.

 Spain was preparing to send two Urban Search and Rescue teams to Turkey with 85 personnel, and a contingent of volunteer firefighters.

 Italys Civil Protection Agency has offered assistance to Turkey. A fire-fighting team was preparing to leave from Pisa, and the Italian military says transport flights will carry equipment as well as health and other personnel.

 Poland is sending Turkey 76 firefighters and eight trained dogs, with equipment.

 Romania is sending specialized personnel and material to Turkey on two military aircraft.

 Croatia is sending 40 men and 10 dogs, rescue equipment and vans to Turkey.

 Serbia is sending 21 rescuers and three liaison officers to Turkey.

 Montenegro is sending at least 24 firefighters to Turkey.

 Egypt has pledged urgent humanitarian aid to Turkey.

 Italys Civil Protection Agency has offered assistance to Turkey. A fire-fighting team was preparing to leave from Pisa.

 France is dispatching rescue teams to Turkey.
This photo taken with a drone shows portions of a Norfolk and Southern freight train that derailed Friday night in East Palestine, Ohio are still on fire at mid-day Saturday, Feb. 4, 2023. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

EAST PALESTINE, Ohio (AP)  A smoldering tangle of dozens of derailed freight cars, some carrying hazardous materials, has kept an evacuation order in effect in Ohio near the Pennsylvania state line as environmental authorities warily watch air quality monitors.

About 50 cars derailed in East Palestine at about 9 p.m. Friday as a train was carrying a variety of products from Madison, Illinois, to Conway, Pennsylvania, rail operator Norfolk Southern said. No injuries to crew, residents or first responders have been reported.

East Palestine officials said Sunday that emergency responders were monitoring but keeping their distance from the fire, saying remediation efforts could not begin as long as the cars smoldered. The evacuation covers a a 1-mile (1.6-kilometer) radius, officials said.

Mayor Trent Conaway, who declared a state of emergency in the village, said one person was arrested for going around barricades right up to the crash during the night. He warned that more arrests would follow if people did not to stay away.

I don't know why anybody would want to be up there; you're breathing toxic fumes if you're that close, he said, stressing that monitors of air quality away from the fire showed no levels of concern and the town's water is safe because it is fed by groundwater unaffected by some material that went into streams. Environmental protection agency crews were working to remove contaminants from streams and monitor water quality.

Fire Chief Keith Drabick said it was so important to avoid the area because a train carrying hazardous material wrecked in the town and is burning. Doesnt get any simpler than that.

Sheriffs went door-to-door Sunday to count residents remaining and urge people within the evacuation area to leave. We are asking residents to please evacuate and cooperate, officials said in a statement. Schools and village offices will be closed Monday and officials would determine that afternoon whether the school closure would be extended.

Norfolk Southern said 20 of the more than 100 cars were classified as carrying hazardous materials  defined as cargo that could pose any kind of danger including flammables, combustibles, or environmental risks. Some cars carried vinyl chloride, and at least one was intermittently releasing its contents via a pressure release device.

The National Transportation Safety Board said only 10 cars carrying hazardous materials derailed and five of them were carrying vinyl chloride, not 14 as was said earlier. And officials stressed again late Saturday that they had not confirmed the release of vinyl chloride other than from pressure release devices operating as designed.

Vinyl chloride, used to make the polyvinyl chloride hard plastic resin in a variety of plastic products, is associated with increased risk of liver cancer and other cancers, according to the federal governments National Cancer Institute. Norfolk Southern was to provide a fact sheet listing all chemicals involved.

The evacuation order covered homes of 1,500 to 2,000 of the towns 4,800 to 4,900 residents, but officials said it was unknown exactly how many were actually affected. About eight residents remained at an emergency shelter. Norfolk Southern opened an assistance center in the village to gather information from affected residents; village officials said 75 people went to the center Saturday and about 100 had been there Sunday morning.
LL Cool J performs during Sunday's tribute to hip-hop's 50th birthday at the 65th Grammy Awards. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

Once shunned by the Recording Academy, hip-hop was honored Sunday at the 2023 Grammy Awards with an homage celebrating 50 years of the genre, with performances by influential artists from its past, present and future.

LL Cool J, who in 1989 boycotted the awards show along with other high-profile rappers when the academy didn't televise its first rap award, led Sunday's night all-star salute.

Hip-hop pioneers Grandmaster Flash, Grandmaster Melle Mel and Rahiem of Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five burst onto the stage with a punchy snippet of their 1982 single "The Message."

Joining them for other performances were big names from 1980s hip-hop, such as Run-DMC, DJ Jazzy Jeff, Public Enemy and Ice T, the latter of whom is often considered "the godfather of gangsta rap."

Major acts that gained fame in the 1990s were also on hand, with a strong New York City and East Coast contingent, including Busta Rhymes with Spliff Star, De La Soul, Method Man of the Wu Tang Clan, Rakim, Salt-N-Pepa, the Lox, and Queen Latifah and Missy Elliott. Also among the 1990s artists was Houston's Scarface and the Bay Area's Too Short.

As Method Man spit bars during the performance, Jay-Z was seen in the crowd bobbing his head, smiling and rapping the lyrics. DJ Khaled also nodded approvingly, at one point lifting and waving a lighter during Busta Rhymes' performance, before the Brooklyn legend launched into one of his signature rapid-fire deliveries from the 2011 hit "Look at Me Now."

Representing the 2000s were artists Nelly, Big Boi of Outkast, and DJ Drama. Representing the 2010s and the present were Swizz Beatz, Lil Baby, Lil Uzi Vert and GloRilla.

"At the end of the night, I might have Obama-gray hair," Questlove  whose real name is Ahmir Khalib Thompson  jokingly told E! correspondent Laverne Cox on the Grammys red carpet. "This is 14-year-old Ahmir bringing his jukebox of what he was listening to as a kid. But it's also all-encompassing because it's from my generation, from future generations, from Gen Z. Everybody's all included, so this ... is a special moment."

In the lead-up to the performance, Questlove, who alongside his band the Roots, produced and curated the performance, called hip-hop "a driving force in the music and the culture" that has had "immeasurable impact on our culture and our world."

"The first day of rehearsals, it was a nothing but a love fest," he said in a news release. "It was DMC gushing over Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five ... It's a family reunion."

The Recording Academy didn't always value hip-hop. In 1989, the Grammys didnt televise the rap award presentation. "If they dont want us, we dont want them, Salt-N-Pepa said that year, while boycotting the show. Despite the omission, the following year, a rap album spent the most weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard charts, The Times' LZ Granderson wrote recently in a column celebrating the genre's 50th birthday.

"Thats because the sound came from a people whose voices could never be silenced," Granderson wrote, tracing hip-hop's birth to DJ Kool Hercs house parties at 1520 Sedgwick Ave. in the Bronx in 1973. "This is why Black music is described as having an 'uncapturable spirit in the '1619 Project' docuseries. Hip-hop may be 50, but its lineage stretches back much further."

The importance of the night was not lost on the genre's pioneers.

"The Grammys didn't even respect hip-hop for so long, and now to be here, to be honored like this, we'll take it, absolutely," Ice-T said on the red carpet to People correspondents Jeremy Parsons and Janine Rubenstein.

"You think about it, it's kinda come full circle, from now being recognized at the Grammys, to now kind of getting our own moment, to celebrate 50 years of what I like to call 'The best music on the planet,'" Nelly, who performed Sunday evening, also told People on the red carpet.

"It's only right," Queen Latifah told Cox and E! on the red carpet before also joining the performance. "We had to fight to get on the Grammys quite a time ago, and so it's great to be here to celebrate this in front of the entire world with people who were my mentors."

Public Enemy's Flava Flav, who showed up with one of his iconic chains and also performed Sunday, exclaimed on the red carpet, "This is to all those who said hip-hop wouldn't last!"

Here's the full set list and roster of talent for the star-studded salute:

Chapter 1:





Black Thought (narration)

Grandmaster Flash with Barshon, Melle Mel, Rahiem & Scorpio: Flash to the Beat

Grandmaster Flash with Barshon, Melle Mel, Rahiem & Scorpio: The Message

Run-DMC: King of Rock

LL Cool J: "I Cant Live Without My Radio

DJ Jazzy Jeff: Rock the Bells

Salt-N-Pepa: My Mic Sounds Nice

Rakim: Eric B Is President

Chuck D & Flavor Flav: Rebel Without a Pause

Chapter 2:

Black Thought with LL Cool J: El Shabazz Skit

De La Soul: Buddy

Scarface: My Minds Playing Tricks on Me

Ice-T: New Jack Hustler (Ninos Theme)

Queen Latifah: U.N.I.T.Y.

Method Man: Method Man

Big Boi: ATLiens

Busta Rhymes & Spliff Star: Put Your Hands Where My Eyes Could See / Look at Me Now

Missy Elliott: Lose Control

Chapter 3:

Queen Latifah (narration)

Nelly & City Spud: Hot in Herre

Too $hort:Blow the Whistle

Swizz Beatz & the Lox: We Gonna Make It

Lil Baby: Freestyle

GloRilla: F.N.F. (Lets Go)

Lil Uzi Vert: Just Wanna Rock"

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Demonstrators hold placards and a poster with a picture of Tiba Ali, a YouTube star who was recently killed by her father, in Diwaniya, Iraq, Sunday, Feb. 5, 2023. Iraq's Interior Ministry spokesman Saad Maan on Friday announced that Tiba Ali was killed by her father on Jan. 31, who then turned himself into the police. (AP Photo/Hadi Mizban)

DIWANIYAH, Iraq (AP)  Dozens of Iraqi protesters gathered Sunday to decry the so-called honor killing of a 22-year-old YouTube star who was allegedly strangled by her father, adding fuel to calls for legal reforms protecting women.

Interior Ministry spokesman Saad Maan on Friday announced that Tiba Ali was killed Jan. 31 in the central city of Diwaniyah by her father, who then turned himself in to the police. Reports say the father strangled Ali at night while she was asleep.

The so-called honor killing was met with condemnation from women's rights groups and residents, who sounded the alarm on violence against women in Iraq and the need to reform legislation to impose harsher punishments on perpetrators.

The protesters held banners condemning the killing and demanding legislative reforms. There is no honor in the crime of killing women, one placard read.

Anyone who wants to get rid of a woman accuses her of disgracing her dignity and kills her, protester Israa al-Salman told The Associated Press, who also wanted Alis father executed.

Article 41 of the country's penal code allows husbands to discipline their wives, which includes beatings. Meanwhile, Article 409 reduces murder sentences for men who kill or permanently impair their wives or female relatives because of adultery to up to three years in prison.

Rosa al-Hamid, an activist with civil society group the Organization for Women's Freedom in Iraq urged the authorities to pass a long-stalled draft law against domestic violence that has been lingering in Iraqi Parliament since 2019.

Tiba was killed by her father under tribal justifications that are unacceptable, she told the AP.

Amnesty International Deputy Director for the Middle East and North Africa Aya Majzoub said in a press statement said that violence against women and girls in Iraq will continue until Iraqi authorities adopt robust legislation to protect women and girls from gender-based violence."

Diwaniyah's city police department and hospital administration declined to comment to the AP about Ali's death.

Tiba Ali had been living in Istanbul, Turkey, and had a YouTube channel with over 20,000 subscribers documenting life in the Turkish city alongside her Syrian-born boyfriend, a real estate investor. In her first YouTube video in November 2021, Ali said she moved to Turkey to further her education, but chose to stay because she enjoyed life there.

Her father reportedly did not agree with the move, nor her plans to marry her partner. Maan said that Ali and her father had a heated dispute during a visit to Iraq, and that the day before her murder, the local community police had intervened to help them reach a settlement.

Iraqi NGO Support Her Organization for Women's Rights shared voice recordings that Ali reportedly sent to friends the night before she was killed. In the recording, she confronts her mother and father about not returning to Iraq after her brother sexually assaulted her. The audio ends with her father yelling and hitting her as she screams in pain. The AP could not independently verify the authenticity of the voice recording.

___

Salim contributed from Irbil, Iraq. Associated Press writer Kareem Chehayeb reported from Beirut.
Japanese prime minister Fumio Kishida has fired one of his top government aides for making homophobic remarks.

Masayoshi Arai, an executive secretary to the premier, was dismissed over the weekend after telling reporters in an off-the-record briefing that he did "not want to live next door" to an LGBTQ+ couple and "hate even to see them".

He reportedly warned that legalising same-sex marriage in Japan would lead to citizens abandoning the country. Mr Arai shortly retracted the comments after they were made public by the media.

The elite executive later apologised, stating that his remarks were not appropriate and not representative of the premier's views.

The prime minister said the remarks were "outrageous" and "completely out of line with the Cabinet's approach to respecting diversity and creating an inclusive society".

Mr Kishida had asked lawmakers last week to exercise "extreme caution" when deliberating over same-sex unions because of its potential impact on the family structure.

Japan is the only member of the Group of Seven (G7) countries that has failed to legalise same-sex marriage. Although Japan as a country is touted to be largely conservative and heteronormative, recent polling suggests most people in the nation are accepting of same-sex marriages.

In a survey published by NHK in July 2021, two months before Kishida became prime minister, 57 per cent of 1,508 respondents said they supported the legal recognition of gay unions.

A Tokyo court in November last year upheld a ban on same-sex marriage, but also said a lack of legal protection for same-sex families violated their human rights. Because same-sex couples are not allowed to marry, they can't inherit each other's assets and are denied parental rights to each other's children.

Mr Kishida on Monday apologised for his aide's derogatory comments while reiterating the government's policy of respecting diversity and creating an inclusive society.

The recent comments made by the aide are completely contrary to government policy, and we have made the decision to promptly relieve him of his duties as secretary to the prime minister, Mr Kishida told reporters, according to Bloomberg.

I regret any misunderstanding that may have arisen among the public regarding the governments policy direction, and I apologize to anyone who may have been offended by it.
Syrian toddler survives quake, but mother and siblings perish Raghad Ismail, the Syrian toddler who was rescued from rubble of a collapsed building following an earthquake, sits on the laps of her uncle at his home in rebel-held Azaz

By Mahmoud Hassano

AZAZ, Syria (Reuters) - Syrian toddler Raghad Ismail was rushed to safety from the rubble of her home after it collapsed in a huge earthquake that has wreaked devastation in Syria and Turkey. But most of her family, including her mother, did not make it out alive.

Cradled in the arms of a rescue worker, she emerged unscathed from the ruins in the Syrian city of Azaz at daybreak on Monday. An uncle looking after her said her two siblings died along with her mother, who was pregnant.

Ismail, 18 months old, ate a piece of bread as she sat on cushions on the ground under a blanket later in the day, a heater helping shield her from the winter cold.

"The father is feared to have his back broken, his young daughter is fine. His pregnant wife, his five-year-old daughter and his four-year-old son have all been killed, the uncle who gave his name as Abu Hussam told Reuters.

Abu Hussam said another family in the building, a mother and three children, had been rescued.

Ismail's family were displaced from the town of Morek during Syria's 11-year-long war. Azaz, a town near the Turkish border, is held by the opposition to President Bashar al-Assad.

The earthquake has killed some 430 people in rebel-held areas of Syria, in addition at least 530 people in government-held parts of the country and more than 1,600 in Turkey.

(Reporting by Mahmoud Hassano and Hamuda Hassan; Writing by Tom Perry; Editing by Alison Williams)
Revanth Reddy(C). - Image By Arrangement

Mulugu: After offering prayers to the tribal deities Samakka and Saralamma on Monday, TPCC president A. Revanth Reddy began the Haath Se Haath Jodo padyatra from Medaram of Thadvai mandal in Mulugu district to spread party former president Rahul Gandhi's message of Bharat Jodo and vowed to end the "feudalistic family rule" of the Chandrashekar Rao-led BRS government in Telangana.

Revanth Reddy first offered prayers at the Gattamma talli temple after reaching Mulugu district, as is customary for devotees visiting Medaram. The Congress leader was expected to reach Mulugu by 10 am and visit the Medaram temple at 11 am to launch his padayatra, but he arrived three hours later. A large number of people from surrounding villages and hundreds of party workers had gathered at Medaram.

During an interation with mediapersons when the padayatra stopped for lunch at Projectnagar near Pasra of Thadvai mandal. Revanth Reddy said Dalits, Adivasi and minorities, the youth, unemployed and women had hoped that their lives would change after the formation of Telangana state. They were disappointed as were activists who actively participated in the statehood movement.

"There is no scope for elected public representatives to speak in the Assembly. There is no scope for journalist to bring out facts. There is no scope for Opposition leaders to raise their voice against the anti-peoples policies adopted by the state government. What for was Telangana state achieved," he asked.

Congress MLA Seethakka and scores of party workers participated in the padayatra, which is aimed at highlighting the failures of the state and Central governments, for six kilometers on the first day. During his padayatra, Revanth Reddy interacted with local shopkeepers and tribals.

People from the neighbourhood were spotted perched on trees and buildings around the temple in an effort to get a better look at Revanth. From Mulugu to Pasra and Medaram, the party leaders erected large hoardings, buntings, cutouts, and flexies of Revanth Reddy while bursting crackers along the way.

Thousands of party leaders and activists arrived in large groups from Mulugu district and the surrounding districts of Warangal in hundreds of vehicles, causing a massive traffic jam to build about 15 kilometres from Narlapur to Pasra. Devotees travelling to Medaram for darshan of Sammakka and Saralamma with their little children had to spend nearly two hours to reach the destination.
YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 6, ARMENPRESS. On February 6-7, Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan will pay a working visit to Berlin, the foreign ministry said in a press release.

Minister Mirzoyan will have a meeting with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Federal Republic of Germany Analena Berbock, after which the ministers will hold a press conference.

Within the framework of the visit, Ararat Mirzoyan will also have meetings with representatives of German legislative bodies and the expert community.

During the meetings, a number of topics will be addressed, including the issues of expanding the cooperation between Armenia and Germany and the Armenia-EU partnership, the challenges to the stability and security in the South Caucasus, the humanitarian crisis created in Nagorno-Karabakh as a result of the blockade of the Lachin Corridor by Azerbaijan, the process of normalisation of Armenia-Azerbaijan relations and other issues of bilateral interest.
YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 6, ARMENPRESS. Artsakh Republic State Minister Ruben Vardanyan gave interviews to Spanish EL PAIS and Italian La Nuova Bussola Quotidiana periodicals, presenting the situation in and around Artsakh.

As ARMENPRESS was informed from the office of the Minister of State of Artsakh, both periodicals gave a clear assessment of the situation in Artsakh in their forewords.

"It's been almost two months that Artsakh has been besieged by Azerbaijan, but there are still no ways out. The Armenian population continues to rely on the humanitarian aid of the Red Cross and Russian peacekeepers. The authorities of the enclave asked the international community to provide an air bridge and impose sanctions on Azerbaijan," writes EL PAIS, quoting Ruben Vardanyan's words that an air humanitarian corridor will prevent a humanitarian crisis.

"It is the practical solution that was also applied during the sieges of Berlin (1948-1949) and Sarajevo (1992-1996)."

Ruben Vardanyan told EL PAIS that the situation is very difficult. The limited supply of food and electricity and the economic crisis are having a negative impact on the life of the people.

"But at the same time, people understand that this is part of our struggle for independence. Azerbaijan's goal is to force people to come under their control through a blockade, which means forced deportations and ethnic cleansing. The European community should force its authorities to impose sanctions on Baku," the State Minister said.

The newspaper writes that the Azerbaijani government has announced that from now on, Nagorno-Karabakh is Baku's "internal problem" and that local Armenian residents are Azerbaijani citizens who can leave the country if they wish. According to the periodical, Vardanyan assures that he is ready to enter into a dialogue acceptable to both sides, stressing, however, that the Armenians of Artsakh will never accept the jurisdiction of Baku.

"We do not want to be subjected to ethnic cleansing, the victims of which were the residents of the Armenian communities living in Azerbaijan during the Soviet period. We are a democratic republic and we cannot be part of a dictatorship that does not respect even its own people."

The Italian periodical La Nuova Bussola Quotidiana, which published the interview with Ruben Vardanyan entitled "You can't ignore us. The Minister of State of besieged Artsakh speaks" with, writes in the preface:

"In Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh), which is fighting for its independence, the new crisis has been dragging on for two months. Azerbaijan has blocked the Lachin corridor. After the war of 2020, it is the only road connecting Nagorno-Karabakh to Armenia, on which it depends for all the goods of first necessity. The crisis is humanitarian in nature. From a political point of view, the motives of Azerbaijan still have no explanation, except for the desire to bring the local independence-loving Armenian population to its knees.

Answering the question about the actions of the EU and the resolution of the European Parliament condemning the blockade, Ruben Vardanyan said:

"The problem with the European Union is that words are not followed by actions, probably because Azerbaijan supplies oil and gas in that direction on very favorable terms."

To the question whether the relative silence of the European media regarding the situation in Artsakh is not due to their attitude towards Russia, Ruben Vardanyan answered: We are living in such a time when there are many crises, wars, economic upheavals at the same time...

"Europe has always respected democracies, and Artsakh is a democratic state. We have had four heads of state, we held elections, we have a real opposition and an open society, unlike Azerbaijan, which is a typical authoritarian state where one family rules and there is no freedom, no democracy, no respect for human rights."
China has hit an impenetrable economic wall. The Peoples Republic now has a people crisis  it has now stopped growing and is getting old

There is some excitement in the media over the fact that Indias population has just pipped Chinas and that we are now officially the worlds most populous nation. In 1800, Indias population was at a modest 169 million. In contrast, Chinas population was nearly double of that, with 322 million people at the turn of the 19th century. It wasnt until 1950 that the total populations of both countries started shooting up exponentially. China reached the one billion milestone in 1980, while India got there in 1997.

Demographers forecast that India would overtake China in 2026, but we did better. We did it in 2023. Thats not because our growth did not slow down, but because Chinas dropped faster than expected. Chinas relative prosperity and its harsh one-child policy (now abandoned) had their effects.

For the first time in 60 years Chinas population has fallen. Its population in 2022  1.4118 billion  fell by 850,000 from 2021. Its national birth rate has fallen to 6.77 births per thousand people.

Deaths have also outnumbered births for the first time in 2022 in China. It logged its highest death rate since 1976  7.37 deaths per 1,000 people, up from 7.18 the previous year.

China has now hit an impenetrable economic wall. The Peoples Republic now has a people crisis  it has now stopped growing and is getting old. The reason is paradoxical. Chinas one-child policy worked exceedingly well for it in the past. By preventing almost 400 million births since 1979, it gave the Chinese greater prosperity. It is estimated that between 1980 and 2010, the effect of a favourable population age structure accounted for between 15 per cent and 25 per cent of per capita GDP growth.

That bonus with the demographic dividend has now ended. Chinas population was expected to stabilise in 2030 at 1.391 billion, moving at a slow crawl from 1.330 billion in 2010. But it has hit that spot seven years ahead. In 2050, China is projected to decline to 1.203 billion.

The flattening population and its somewhat unfavourable demographic profile has been causing concern in China for some years now.

In 2013, the Communist Party of Chinas Central Committee allowed couples to have a second child if one parent was an only child. But Chinese families have got used to one-child existence. The demographic wall is not going to be crossed, and Chinas workforce is not growing any more.

The Chinese leadership is now extremely concerned. Sichuan province has even announced that up to three children for a family is quite okay!

Whereas China added as many as 90 million individuals to its workforce from 2005 to 2015, in the decade from 2015, it will, at present trends, add only five million. In 2010, there were 116 million people aged 20 to 24. By 2020, the number fell by 20 per cent to 94 million. The size of the young population aged 20-24 will only be 67 million by 2030, less than 60 per cent of the figure in 2010.

One immediate consequence of this slowdown is that by 2030 the cohort aged above 60 years will increase from the present 180 million to 360 million. The other immediate economic consequence is that its savings rate will decline precipitously.

As a nation climbs the economic ladder, people inevitably live longer. But old age is also more expensive. For instance, in the United States, the old actually consume more than the rest due to medical expenses. Either they support themselves or their families have to support them. Apart from low consumption in the first few years of life, consumption is reasonably constant over the life cycle. But while income is earned and output produced, in the working life between 20 and 65 years, it is not so before and after. This ratio of working age and non-working age cohorts is called the dependency ratio.

As Indian, African and (surprise, surprise) American dependency ratios turn increasingly favourable in the coming decades, Chinas will go downhill and it will join Europe and Japan as the worlds aged societies.

In comparison, in 2021, the US recorded 11.06 births per 1,000 people, and the United Kingdom, 10.08 births. The birth rate for the same year in India, which was poised to overtake China as the worlds most populous country, was 16.42.

Chinas total fertility rate  the average number of children born to each woman  is among the lowest in the world, at only 1.4. In contrast, the developed world average is 1.7. Chinas replacement rate  the rate at which the number of births and deaths are balanced  is 2.1, as against Indias 2.5. At purchasing power parity, Chinas per capita income is just a fifth or less of other large economies. At the same time, Chinas fertility level is far below that of the United States, Britain or France (all around 2.0), and is on par with those of Russia, Japan, Germany and Italy  all countries with sharply declining populations. This is a big reason why Germany so readily agreed to take about a million refugees from Syria and Libya.

Over the next 20 years, Chinas ratio of workers to retirees will drop precipitously from roughly 5:1 today to just 2:1. Such a big change implies that the tax burden for each working-age person must rise by more than 150 per cent. This assumes that the government will maintain its current level of tax revenue. In addition, mounting expenditure on pensions and healthcare will put China in a difficult position. If the government demands that taxpayers pay more, the public will demand better scrutiny of how their taxes are collected and spent. This could very well open the floodgates of challenges to the Communist Party.

Can China succeed in its attempt to get out of the low growth rate cycle? The conditions now are against it. The cost of rearing a child in China has increased hugely. The State may require more children, but most families will find the costs unaffordable. This is mainly because China is now a predominantly middle-class nation.

How will this policy reversal pan out for China? Demographers offer three scenarios. The highest outcome will mean 1.43 billion in 2050, while the more plausible outcome will be between 1.35-1.37 billion. Either way, it is not going to alter the future much for China. It will become old before it becomes rich.

The writer, a policy analyst studying economic and security issues, held senior positions in government and industry. He also specialises in the Chinese economy.
by Vladimir Rozanskij

Domestic compliance with international commitments under observation. Corruption and personal discrimination are also in the crosshairs. The Turkmen government's attitude is evasive. Religious groups obliged to register.

Moscow (AsiaNews) - Turkmenistan has prepared responses to the questions posed for the country's third periodic report under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

The answers will be presented to the 137th session of the UN Human Rights Committee on 27 February, although the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights has already published them on its website.

The first issue concerns the so-called implementation of international commitments within the state. The Turkmen list a number of documents, from the 2021-2025 National Human Rights Plan to the Recommendation for Cooperation with the Agency for Guarantees in Public Security Bodies, the Legal System and Law Colleges. Various initiatives such as the Asia-Pacific Forum meeting of national human rights associations are mentioned.

The practical achievements on display are the possibility of contacting the guarantor by telephone and the site of the Guarantor Agency, active since April 2021. The rights guarantor is a figure that only appeared in Turkmenistan in 2017. It took a good four years to provide the population with basic rights.

The site itself is rather crude and substandard, and the 'news' are relays of government communications. The guarantor's initiatives are communicated separately, and often without updates.

The guarantor received 355 appeals in 2021, 244 written and 111 oral; the agency took up only 79 of them, while for 85 it limited itself to the consultation opinion. In comparison, Kyrgyzstan, a similar country in terms of region and number of inhabitants, assessed 13,048 appeals in the same year.

The second question concerns the fight against corruption, to which the Turkmen respond by citing state laws, without giving any statistics on the enforcement of these laws. Then the policy towards Covid-19 is investigated, to which the answers are relegated to a list of 'states of emergency' without any details.

Turkmenistan was perhaps the most denialist state in this regard, ruling out any spread of the pandemic and classifying every respiratory disease under other names, except for applying draconian measures to isolate the population on several occasions.

The fourth question invests the fight against discrimination: it is dismissed with a couple of paragraphs, reminding how the equality of Turkmen citizens is guaranteed by law, and informing that 'Turkmenistan does not have any information on citizen Kasymberd Garaev', a young cardiologist who revealed in 2019 that he was homosexual; the police arrested him for attempting approaches via the internet, only to be sent for 'special treatment' under the supervision of a local mullah. He has since disappeared, having returned to his family without permission to have contact with the outside world.

On other issues too, Asgabat's answers are rather evasive, such as the one on gender equality, for which the active presence of women in political life and business is claimed, or the one on the fight against terrorism and the right to life.

On the condition of the detainees, mention is made of the various waves of presidential pardons, which have freed many people accused of violating the rules on expatriation and bureaucratic fraud.

It is reported that torture practices against detainees are totally excluded in the country, quoting the penal code regulations in this regard in correspondence with international standards and citing many cases of detainees that have appeared in the press, denying that violent practices have been used against them.

People deprived of their liberty are 'continuously monitored by observation commissions, to prevent any damage to their living conditions from any point of view', even reporting on the menus regularly offered to prisoners, for whom the living quarters are 'regularly fumigated with garmalas aromas', a herb with great capacity to act against microbes.

On religious freedom, Turkmenistan admits that it does not give space to unregistered religious associations, but points out that 'it is not so difficult to obtain registration'. In 2021, only one organisation, called the 'True Way' (Dogry yol), applied for registration, which was quietly accepted, while in 2022 none was submitted.
The defendants are accused of trying to overthrow Hong Kongs government. The trial of the 16 who pleaded not guilty is expected to last three months. All face life imprisonment. The defendants include prominent figures like Benny Tai and Joshua Wong. The trial of Catholic tycoon Jimmy Lai will be held in September.

Hong Kong (AsiaNews)  The trial of 47 activists arrested in February 2021 for organising or taking part months earlier in primaries for the pro-democracy camp opened today before three High Court judges.

In July 2020, the pro-democracy camp held primaries to choose its candidates for the September legislative elections (which were postponed).

The 47 defendants are on trial on charges of subversion under mainland Chinas national security law. According to the indictment, they "plotted" to win 35 or more seats in the elections to Hong Kongs Legislative Council (LegCo) and overthrow the government of Chief Executive Carrie Lam.

The trial will be conducted without a jury. The latter has been used for more than 150 under Hong Kongs common law legal system, a legacy of British rule, but under Chinas national security law, this type of cases will be tried by hand-picked national security judges.

The 16 defendants who pleaded not guilty will be tried over the next 90 days. They include former LegCo Member Long Hair Leung Kwok-hung who told the court that there is no crime to admit.

After the trial, the group of defendants who pleaded guilty, which includes former Stand News reporter Gwyneth Ho, jurist Benny Tai, and prominent activist Joshua Wong, will be sentenced. Four activists will testify for the prosecution.

All defendants face life imprisonment. Only 13 of them were granted bail, and many spent nearly two years in prison.

About 200 people lined up in front of the courthouse to secure one of the 39 seats available to the public. Another 367 were able to watch a live broadcast in court extensions. Western diplomats were also present as observers.

Police blocked a sit-in in front of the courthouse by the League of Social Democrats.

A member of the pro-democracy formation, Dickson Chau, was arrested for removing his COVID mask. The Hong Kong Free Press reports that Chau was fined for violating health regulations and then released.

The other major national security trial concerns Jimmy Lai, the 74-year-old pro-democracy Catholic tycoon jailed in December 2020 for participating in unauthorised protests.

He is currently on trial on four additional charges, including conspiracy to publish, sell, distribute and reproduce seditious material as well as collusion with foreign powers and external elements.

His trial was adjourned until September after Hong Kong authorities tried to ban Lai's foreign lawyer.
By ending security coordination with Israel, the Palestinian Authority is shooting itself in the foot By Yoni Ben Menachem

web posted February 6, 2023 The Palestinian Authority (PA) recently announced the end of security coordination with Israel, but Israel can maintain its security even without the assistance of the PA. The Israel Security Agency does an excellent job and relies only on itself. The cessation of security coordination will worsen the situation on the ground for Palestinians and severely damage PA rule. U.S. Secretary of State Tony Blinken arrived in Israel last week to meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas, attempting to calm tensions and put an end to the recent violence. One of the main issues that the Blinken discussed will be the Palestinian Authoritys announcement of the cessation of security coordination with Israel. Abbas chose to announce his decision in a vague way that would allow him to subtly retract. His spokesman, Nabil Abu Roudeineh, announced that security coordination no longer exists as of now but refrained from explicitly stating that the PA had stopped it. In practice, PA officials claim that regular meetings between IDF officers and Palestinian security forces officers have been stopped, but both sides understand that it is only a matter of time until contacts resume, as soon as the situation calms down. The PA is trying to claim to the Palestinian street that the cessation of security coordination is the Achilles heel of the Israeli security establishment and that if it ceases coordination, Israeli security will be seriously harmed. However, this is not the case. It is true that security coordination with the Palestinian Authority helps Israel in its war against terrorism in Judea and Samaria. However, since the Oslo Accords and until today, Israel relies only on itself in this area. We have already seen the revolving door policy of Yasser Arafat, who arrested terrorists and immediately released them. In this regard, Abbas is not like Arafat, but Israeli governments have since learned to trust only Israeli intelligence. The Israel Security Agency does an excellent job in the war on terrorism regardless of the security coordination with the PA. Therefore, the PA will lose more than Israel if it stops the security coordination. The PA maintains the security coordination mainly to ensure the continuation of Abbas rule. The PA is very dependent on Israel in the field of security regarding the movements of PA Chairman Abbas inside and outside of Judea and Samaria. All senior PA officials hold VIP certificates that allow them to pass through IDF checkpoints and enter Israel and also to travel abroad. The Palestinian police cannot change the location and deployment of its forces in Judea and Samaria without coordination with the IDF. Tens of thousands of workers from the territories working in Israel cannot enter without the approval of the Israel Security Agency. Palestinian families cannot receive medical treatment in hospitals in Israel without the approval of the Israeli security establishment. The PA also cannot bring food and goods into its territory without Israeli security approval. The complete cessation of security coordination on the part of the PA could lead to the deterioration of the security situation in Judea and Samaria and strengthen the power of Hamas. It is very doubtful if Abbas is interested in this outcome; he would be undermining his rule with his own hands. Senior Fatah officials estimate that Abbas will slow down the security coordination and lower its level to create the appearance that he is carrying out the decisions of the Palestinian leadership but will not stop it completely. Fatah officials are already criticizing Abbas because his move was hasty and will cause irreparable damage to the Palestinian Authority. A senior member of the Fatah leadership, Tawfik al-Tirawi, the former head of Palestinian General Intelligence who coordinated security activity with the Israel Security Agency, warned as early as February 2022 that the cessation of security coordination with Israel would lead to the collapse of the Palestinian Authority. From 2005 until today, the Israel Security Agency has saved Abbas at least twice from assassination attempts by Hamas and exposed Hamas plans to overthrow the PA through a series of attacks. Abbas is playing with fire in his decision to stop security coordination with Israel. It could ignite a conflagration in the West Bank that would explode out of control and bring a new disaster to the Palestinians, as was the case in the Second Intifada when Yasser Arafat chose the path of terror after the failure of the Camp David summit. The assessment in Israels security establishment is that Abbas is trying to warn Israel, the U.S., and Egypt that the security situation has become fragile because of Israels policies and that they are responsible for what happens on the ground. Abbas is trying to improve his position on the Palestinian street. Palestinian public opinion polls show that 70 percent want him to retire immediately from the political arena. In the meantime, the Palestinian public does not believe the Palestinian Authoritys statements. The Palestinian street is largely convinced that the cessation of security coordination is a show by the Palestinian Authority, which continues to secretly coordinate with the Israeli security establishment. Yoni Ben Menachem, a veteran Arab affairs and diplomatic commentator for Israel Radio and Television, is a senior Middle East analyst for the Jerusalem Center. He served as Director General and Chief Editor of the Israel Broadcasting Authority. Home
Israeli forces attacked the Aqabat Jabr refugee camp this morning looking for the authors of a restaurant attack in late January that failed because a gun jammed. Israels prime minister wants to build a network of underground roads to "fill" the West Bank and give Jewish settlements territorial contiguity.

Jerusalem (AsiaNews)  Endless violence between Israelis and Palestinians is increasing in a "senseless crescendo" as some Christian leaders said recently.

Israeli security forces killed five Palestinians during an early morning raid in the Aqabat Jabr refugee camp, near Jericho, West Bank; the dead included fighters from the extremist movement Hamas, which rules Gaza Strip. The latter were planning a "mass murder spree" but were "neutralised" before they could strike.

According to the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) and the Shin Bet, Israels internal security service, some of them were also involved in an attack against a restaurant.

On 28 January, two armed men approached the Me Casa restaurant not far from the Almog intersection, near Jericho, which was serving 30 thirty people at the time. After a single shot was fired, the gun used by one of the attackers jammed, and the pair fled.

The IDF said that the gunmen hid in a flat helped by neighbours and relatives, planning further attacks.

Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced plans to build a network of high-speed, high-flow underground roads to fill the occupied West Bank, the Zman Yisrael site reported. This would link Jewish settlements and address traffic jams and congestion problems.

According to Netanyahu, the tunnels could also refute Palestinian claims that West Bank settlements have no territorial contiguity, as they would be linked underground.

For the Israeli prime minister, the links would provide better security and protection against "Palestinian attacks" and boost his expansionist policy.

The Jewish settler population in the occupied West Bank now tops half a million, a number called a "milestone" by pro-occupation groups who support Israel's expansionist policy at the expense of the Palestinians.

This could be just the first stage of a broader policy of enhanced expansion, speeding up the growth of the settler population, who would then support Israels new ultra-nationalist government, the most right-wing ever in the history of the Jewish state.

It should be noted that settlements have grown under every Israeli government since the occupation began, irrespective of their ideological leaning, even during the peace process in the 1990s.

Israels previous short-lived government, which included parties that support, at least in principle, the Palestinian cause and an independent Palestinian state, also favoured an expansionist policy in the territories.

As the number of victims and attacks increase, Christians, too, have become targets, the latest incident involving the Church of the Flagellation in Jerusalem, last week.
Francis announced possible trip during a press conference on his return from South Sudan, specifying that "it is not yet definite, but possible". The visit to the country's 1400 Catholics would take place significantly just a few days before the start of the Synod. On other visits: 'India will be next year'.

Rome (AsiaNews) - Pope Francis could make an apostolic visit to Mongolia in September. This was revealed by the pontiff himself in response to a question from journalists about his upcoming trips during his return flight from South Sudan.

"On 23 September," he said, "I am going to Marseilles, and there is the possibility that from Marseilles I will fly to Mongolia, but it is not yet definite, it is possible."

If this project were to be realised, it would be an extremely significant fact for Asia: Mongolia, in fact, is a land where - after the first proclamation of the Gospel brought in the first millennium of which all trace was then lost - the Church was reborn just thirty years ago and today counts 1400 faithful in all.

The Pope has sown great attention to this periphery, with the choice made last year to create cardinal the young apostolic prefect Giorgio Marengo, an Italian missionary of the Consolata.

Precisely on the occasion of the Consistory last August, Pope Francis received a delegation from the Mongolian government led by former President Nambaryn Enkhbayar at the Vatican, who had extended an official invitation to visit the country. The pontiff immediately replied that he intends to make this trip, compatibly with his health conditions and already scheduled commitments.

In December, Monsignor Paul Gallagher, the Secretary for Relations with States, was to visit Mongolia in person, but the visit was then postponed at the request of the local government because of the tensions that had exploded in the Mongolian capital due to protests over corruption.

If indeed on 23 September from Marseille - where the pope will take part in the third meeting of the Mediterranean bishops - Pope Francis were to fly to Mongolia, this visit would also take on a very special character because of the moment in which it would happen.

In fact, Francis would be visiting one of the smallest Churches in the world just a few days before the beginning of the Assembly of the Synod of Bishops that will open in Rome on 4 October. The trip would therefore also have a symbolic character in the synodal path that the pontiff wanted with the intention of listening to the voice of all the communities.

During the press conference on his return flight from South Sudan, Francis also hinted at another travel hypothesis concerning Asia: "I think India will be next year," he said referring to another official invitation, the one made by Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his visit to the Vatican in October 2021.

Again, this would be a highly anticipated trip: Francis would be the third pope to visit India, after Paul VI and John Paul II, and it would fall 25 years since Pope Wojtyla's last visit in 1999.

However, it must be kept in mind that 2024 will also be the year of the general elections in India in the spring, in which Narendra Modi will seek his third reconfirmation as the country's leader. And the Holy See usually avoids having papal trips coincide with election campaigns.
by Hal Swindall

After fleeing his country in 2016 because of threats from the Taliban, Saleh Sepas set up a theatre company that uses the "theatre of the oppressed" methodology to raise awareness of the problems of Afghanistan and its people. As "silent listeners", refugees can thus become protagonists and face their traumas.

Kuala Lumpur (AsiaNews)  Playwright Saleh Sepas left his native Afghanistan after receiving threats from the Taliban and found refuge in Kuala Lumpur, the capital of Malaysia, where he founded the Parastoo Theatre in 2017.

Using the Theatre of the Oppressed" (TO) methodology, he educates the public about the plight of refugees, giving them a voice for others to hear and therapeutic outlet to cope with their own suffering.

Before Malaysian theatres were closed because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Parastoo staged plays about domestic violence and unemployment among Afghan refugees, drawing thousands of spectators with a major impact on local media.

The UN High Commission for Refugees in Kuala Lumpur recognised Parastoo Theatre in a country that is not a signatory to the 1951 UN Refugee Convention.

A graduate from Kabul University's Faculty of Fine Arts in 2004, Sepas began working in Afghan media for a radio programme supported by the European Union aimed at fighting domestic violence and empower ordinary Afghans.

After a brief stint in TV, he joined the BBC in 2008, working for radio drama "New Home, New Life", which still has about half a million regular listeners.

For Sepas, this experience was real. Not only did he personally know the actors but he also wrote for the programme and occasionally directed it. For him, it was a way to address his countrys culture of violence while educating Afghans to work for and keep peace.

The programmes success meant that the Taliban decided to kill him and his family; in 2016 he fled to Malaysia with his wife and three children, leaving behind everything he had built in Afghanistan.

In Kuala Lumpur he had no money, friends or work, and suffered despair before contacting Emmy-winning Iranian-American playwright Kayhan Irani, who in 2010 had trained him in the methodology of the Theatre of the Oppressed (TO).

After Sepas told her about his idea for Parastoo Theatre, Irani offered encouragement, but also started a fundraiser.

Conceived by Brazilian playwright Augusto Boal, TO aims to educate the audience and help performers to speak with their own voices.

Recalling her time in Kabul teaching TO, Irani describes the experience as the weaving of theatre, storytelling, and social issue analysis to help the actors and their audience gain insights from each other.

Sepas notes that while refugees are usually "silent listeners, his actors have managed to find an expressive outlet through TO.

Parastoo is a Farsi (Persian) word that means "swallow", a migratory bird that is a messenger of spring; it is also a female name, and the Parastoo Theatre addresses many issues related to women's conditions, like domestic violence and child marriage.

Titled "The Red Soil of Kabul, Sepass upcoming production seeks to educate the audience, raise awareness about the violation of human rights, and highlight the child protection challenges in war circumstances, he said.

It is the true story of the events that took place when the government of Afghanistan fell on the 15th August 2021.

His troupe works every day for the empowerment and upskilling of the refugee community, mental health support, [and] raising awareness about child protection and human rights, while providing a beautiful connection between refugee and Malaysian communities.

In other words, Our goal is to be the voice of the voiceless, to tell the untold stories, [to] entertain and educate the audience.
This Associated Press file photo shows OxyContin pills arranged at a pharmacy in Montpelier, Vt. Up to roughly $1 million in opioid lawsuit settlement funds is available over the next two years to fund anti-addiction programs to benefit the Colorado counties of Region 5: Pitkin, Eagle, Garfield, Summit and Lake.
Photo: Lamborghini

Photo: Lamborghini

Photo: Lamborghini

Photo: Lamborghini

Photo: Lamborghini

SUV

Lamborghini draws the curtain on its beloved and quintessential twelve-cylinder shrine of raging (super)power. In line with authentic Italian motoring fashion, the final farewell to the piston dozen is a double creation of tribute-paying one-offs.A coupe and a roadster (what could be more befitting to parting ways with automotive history?), righteously named Invencible and Autentica. You neednt have an MBA in Italian to immediately tell what the cars will go down in history as: Invincible and Authentic, just as Ferruccio envisaged his emblematic crank-spinning bulls to be.Take a look at the photos  but use eye-protective gear: the further toward the limit the Lambos are, the sharper their edges become, and these two goodbye-waving homages are more radical than ever. Blades, laser-sharp lines, aggressive angles, contrasting blood-rushing colors, and  critically  naturally-aspirated V12 might: the extraordinary pair has everything and then some.After the Invencible and Autentica, no other future Lamborghini four-wheeled tornado will enchant and thrill the automotive audience with the symphony of a 12-cylinder 6.5-liter engine mounted longitudinally in the rear (Longitudinale Posteriore, or LP, in the brands jargon). This is the end of a six-decade-long journey spurred by an ambitious man who wanted to make better Italian cars.And boy, has he done it! The last of the V12 chorus to perform under the baton of the Sant Agata Bolognese engineering wizardry is a 780-ps (770-hp), 720-Nm (531 lb-ft) category V(12) hurricane. Tamed by a seven-speed ISR gearbox, the high-octane-to- adrenaline-overdose transcoder of an engine sends everything to all four corners.Lamborghini didnt chip the aura of mystical reverence with irrelevant performance specs about these two unique last-of-their-kind automobiles. However, the same drivetrain is found in their Veneno masterpiece from ten years ago. In that aerodynamics-defying concept, the engine can push 355 kph (221 mph) after thrashing the 0-62 mph (100 kph) in 2.9 seconds.The Veneno is just one inspirational model from which the Invencible and the Autentica have caught shape. The Sesto Elemento and the Reventon  two other pillars of creation for Lamborghini  also donated their essence for the celebratory pair.Penned by the artisans from Lamborghini Centro Stile (Styling Center), these two unrepeated master crafts of V12 engineering mark the clashing line between the old-school all-fossil naturally-aspirated means of (very fast) moving forward and the electrified future ahead. In Lamborghinis case, that prophecy is told by a hybrid powertrain architecture (which will be unveiled in the following weeks).Carved in carbon fiber, the monocoque cells of the Invencible and Autentica find their roots in the legacy of the Aventador . From the front (air intakes) to the exhaust (the triad of aerospace-grade steel alloy tips), the two one-offs breathe Sesto Elemento DNA. Austere interiors strongly and conspicuously hint at track heritage  driving pleasure, road-only-focused attention. One large display behind the steering wheel is all the visual interaction between the car and its driver.The Invencible coupe is overflowing with red shades, contrasting with the carbon fiber discretion on the door frames and sills. Ventilated center-locking wheels show the bright red brake calipers. The corrida-inspired color theme continues inside, with red-and-black pairings on the seats, central console, paddle shifters, and steering wheel.The other last "Present Arms" salute to the V12, the Autentica roadster, is slightly more solemnly discrete in the color sector, with a Titanium Grey hue accentuated by subtle linear elements in Apogee Yellow (Giallo Auge in Italian).The hornet-like shade of yellow is present on the front splitter, the racetrack-borrowed rear wing, and the massive brake calipers. The open-top persona is claimed out loud by the pair of massive rollbars behind the seats.From 1963 until today, Lamborghini relied on just two basic V12 architectures  with many updates, upgrades, improvements, and technological breakthroughs added to suit the power, efficiency, and performance needs of the ever-more-sophisticated models launched by the Italian brand.The first twelve-piston engine marked a paradigm-shifting philosophy embraced by Ferruccio: the V12 would represent not only the culmination of racing technology but also endow the most prestigious road-going mechanical superstars.From the 350 GT to the Murcielago, the first Lamborghini V12 gave its heart to icons of the automotive universe: the Miura, the Espada, the Countach, the Diablo, or the LM 002, the primordial Rambo Lamboof the 80s.In 2011, the second V12 design emerged to fill the rear of the Aventador  and subsequently underline the epitome of Lamborghinis relentless race for performance. From 690 hp (700 ps) in 2011, the last free-breathing V12 from the House of the Raging Bull reached its climax in the track-restricted Essenza V12 of 2020.830 ps (818 hp) from the same 6.5-liter that kicked the Aventador into life  this is the Lamborghini-most V12 to bear the fighting bull emblem. Finding its last mass-produced expression in the Aventador LP 780-4 Ultimae Roadster from September 2022, the Lamborghini V12 will no longer burble idle, nor will it shriek eardrum-bleeding tunes at over 8,000 rpm.
This doesnt necessarily mean Google Maps didn't serve me well, as during my time with it I rarely came across something to complain about.Sure enough, many of those relying on the app these days have a completely different opinion, as Google Maps on Android Auto is currently struggling with a GPS error that pushes way too many users to alternative apps.First reported in January in Android Auto 8.5, the location problem is still around these days, and unfortunately, the recently released version 8.8 doesnt bring any good news for users out there. If anything, it actually includes bad news because the new update not only fails to fix the issue, but is also causing it for some devices that werent encountering the GPS connection glitch before.Google hasnt released a changelog for Android Auto 8.8 , but Im seeing more and more users claiming the new version is breaking down Google Maps on their phones too.The flagged behavior is exactly the one that showed up in mid-January. Google Maps fails to determine the location of the car, and as a direct consequence, its unable to provide route guidance. This only happens when Android Auto is running on the head unit, so in theory, disconnecting the mobile device from the receiver and running Google Maps on the phone is one possible workaround.Given no official workaround is available right now, jumping ship and going back to an earlier version of Android Auto seems to be one way to restore Google Maps. As far I can tell, though you shouldn't take my word for granted, the last version that works as expected is 8.4, as the error was first spotted in the very next release.Meanwhile, the issue has become rather widespread, and while Google says its looking into reports, users themselves are also giving a try to all the other unofficial fixes that could bring things back to normal in their cars.Unfortunately, what works for some doesnt seem to work for others, so fixing this bug by trial and error looks to be the only way to go. If downgrading Android Auto to version 8.4 doesnt restore the GPS functionality in Google Maps, just make sure you uninstall the latest navigation app updates as well.The location issues seem to be caused by some sort of compatibility problem, so there's a very good chance Android Auto isn't the only culprit. If you share everybody's sentiment and are not willing to downgrade Android Auto, you might want to stick with Google Maps on the phone or just switch to another navigation app until a fix gets the go-ahead.
Looking at the structural problems of Canadian conservatism at the dawn of 2023 (Part Two) By Mark Wegierski

web posted February 6, 2023 The Toronto-based Mackenzie Institute (despite a far higher profile in the late-1980s) appeared to mostly have been (from the 1990s until early 2014) the personal enterprise of one indigent person. The full name of the Institute was rendered in earlier years as The Mackenzie Institute for the Study of Terrorism, Revolution, and Propaganda. In early 2014, The Mackenzie Institute revamped its website and appears to have become more dynamic. The Ottawa-based Centre for Immigration Policy Reform, which was founded around 2011, appears to have become more active in 2014. Its main leading figures were the late Martin Collacott, and James Bissett, both of them formerly being prominent Canadian diplomats and civil servants. The Centre argues for lowered numbers and more responsible selection and screening in immigration, temporary worker, and refugee policies. The author is also aware of an association called Societe Macdonald-Cartier Society. For non-partisan celebration of the Canadian Monarchy, there is the Monarchist League of Canada. The profile of social and cultural conservatism in Canada is rather thin. The main social conservative publications are The Interim: Canadas Life and Family Newspaper (and an associated website, lifesite.net). The longtime magazine Catholic Insight (Toronto) ceased printing in 2015. Lifesite has tried to found a similar magazine, called Faithful Insight. Lifesite has had to defend itself from an irksome libel suit that could have potentially financially crippled the website. (However, the litigant passed away in 2014.) The main pro-life, pro-family association is called the Campaign Life Coalition. There is a French-language, Quebec-based, social conservative intellectual journal, called Egards. The most prominent think-tank of what could be called broadly religious conservatives is Cardus. Cardus has linked with the Centre for Cultural Renewal (formerly the Centre for Renewal in Public Policy). Cardus publishes a magazine called Convivium, as well as Comment. However, Convivium has become an online-only publication  its last print issue appeared in January 2017. On February 18, 2022, even the online version of Convivium was closed to new submissions  although the website archive is expected to remain. Cardus is a think-tank which does not yet offer scholarships or grants (beyond one, as far as the author of this article can recall). In earlier articles, it had been suggested that Cardus could try to move in the direction of becoming an institution like the Intercollegiate Studies Institute (ISI) in the United States. The ISI, which has, for most of its history, been mostly traditionalist conservative, offers very extensive scholarships to students, as well as publishing scholarly journals and books, and holding various seminars and conferences for promising students and academics. There is also the Ottawa-based Institute for Marriage and Family Canada. In British Columbia, there is the Canada Family Action group. And, for many decades, REAL Women of Canada has been a well-known association. To be continued. Mark Wegierski is a Canadian writer and historical researcher. Home
The new owner of this 1997 yacht was most likely impressed by its extensive charter history , demonstrating an unrivaled popularity when it comes to vacations in the Bahamas. Already in excellent shape, Zeal (which will now be renamed Sea Class) could already start bringing in money for its new owner, almost effortlessly. And it will start doing so as soon as February 15.Unlike other vessels of a similar age, which might need more or less TLC, Zeal was last updated in the Fall of 2022, when its superstructure was repainted and when it kicked off its 25-year survey, which means that all of its safety equipment will either be re-certified or replaced if needed.Prior to that, Zeals hull had been painted in 2021, when the A/V system was also refitted. But it was in 2017 when the American yacht revealed a totally refreshed look, after completing an extensive refit that took more than a year and a half.Zeals secret throughout the years was that it stayed up to date, in order to satisfy even the most demanding charter customers. And this included the addition of zero-speed stabilizers (found on all contemporary superyachts) for a more pleasant experience on board, and a modern selection of water toys.Large enough for up to 12 guests, Zeal has proven to be a welcoming family yacht . In addition to the six staterooms, it even has a bonus cabin on the main deck, aft of the master suite, which is perfect for a nanny, additional staff, or as a childrens room.One of the main onboard attractions is the generous sundeck, where a jacuzzi, a BBQ grill, and shade sails ensure the perfect atmosphere, in addition to the cozy loungers. An elegant staircase leads to the oversized swim platform, with access to all of the fun toys. Later in the day, the adults onboard get to enjoy the sky lounge and bar with surprisingly-large windows for a classic model.Built by the acclaimed American brand Christensen, Zeal stills looks great out at sea with its classic silhouette, enhanced by the Donald Starkey design. In addition to the transatlantic range, it has the added benefit of a shallow draft, allowing it to reach places where larger superyachts cant.Recently sold for nearly $10 million, this classic American yacht is ready to start a fresh charter season under a new name, but with the same success.
Although it would be ideal for a custom project to begin with a well-maintained donor, the Aussies over at Purpose Built Moto (PBM) wont shy away from working their magic on a less fortunate machine. For instance, this scrambled 1999 Yamaha TT-R250 had experienced much neglect and some very questionable mods prior to meeting Tom Gilroys specialists.The owner was, in fact, thinking along the right lines when he deleted most plastics and fitted a Honda CG125s fuel tank, but the execution left a lot to be desired. Once the motorcycle made its way to PBMs headquarters last year, Tom and his guys wasted no time deleting the bloated aftermarket seat previously installed by the owner.Next, they tweaked the subframe in order to accommodate a flat brat-style saddle with plush padding and premium upholstery, courtesy of Timeless Auto Trim. Rounding out the rear-end equipment are dual-function LEDs and a minimalistic license plate holder, while handmade alloy side covers can be seen further ahead on the flanks.With these items in place, Purpose Builts customization gurus busied themselves with repositioning the CG125 gas tank to level everything out. As far as the TT-R250 s suspension is concerned, its rear shock absorber got sent to Charlie Costanzo for a comprehensive makeover. Meanwhile, the forks were rebuilt in-house by Sir Gilroys squad, and what came next was some good old powertrain therapy.The bikes 249cc thumper used to be in pretty rough shape before PBMs transformation, but it now features a refurbished carburetor, fresh valves, and youthful springs. Of course, no proper engine overhaul is complete without some bespoke plumbing, so the lads proceeded to fabricate a unique exhaust system from scratch.This stealthy, ceramic-coated pipework ends in a reverse megaphone muffler right beneath the seat. At the front, one may spot a high-mounted, motocross-style fender manufactured by Toms connoisseurs, as well as a state-of-the-art headlamp and LED turn signals held in place via custom brackets.Look up at the cockpit area, and youll find a ProTaper handlebar equipped with modern switchgear, new levers, and the higher-spec brake master cylinder of a 2018 Kawasaki Ninja 250. The factory hoops were discarded to make room for Excel alternatives, measuring 19 inches up north and 18 inches down south. These fresh rims are embraced by Continentals dual-purpose TKC 80 rubber for ample grip both on and off the asphalt.Finally, this svelte TT-R250 scrambler saw its fuel tank and front fender wrapped in a silver base and Yamahas iconic speed block graphics. Just about everything else is painted black, and it would be virtually impossible for anyone to tell this stunning one-off had once been in a sorry state! PBMs bike-modding surgeons dont disclose the price of their builds, though, so weve got no idea how much its owner was charged.
Photo: Nine Hills/edited by autoevolution

The bike is part of a breed introduced decades ago with a dual goal in mind: expand the bagger offering and attract new buyers to Harleys side. For what its worth, the move worked, and even more than Harley had hoped: the bike immediately caught the attention of custom shops, which quickly got to work modifying and otherwise bettering the stock machine. And thanks to their efforts, even Road Kings older than the Special currently available are kept relevant.If you look at the photo below, on the upper side, youll notice an older Road King , made in 2017. Thats how the bike originally looked like, but if you move your gaze below, youll see just how different it is now, after going through the hands of Polish custom garage Nine Hills.Called Kingger 21 post-conversion, for reasons that were not explained, the bike does retain most of the baggers original design, but some of its most important design cues have changed, making it one of a kind.The first thing one notices is the lowered height, owing to the changes made to the front and rear suspension system. Then, the original Road King wheels have been replaced with hardware taken from sister bike Street Glide , and theyre now wearing slimmer rubbers than originally fitted.The front, visible wheel comes in at 21 inches and is shielded from the elements by a modified, less pretentious fender. The wheel at the back is, of course, hidden behind massive, solid saddlebags, and sits under an extended rear section. The back of the Kingger 21 is where a top box is located, morphing on the side, where the rider sits into a backrest.Now, when custom shops go to work, the first thing they usually do is get rid of the factory chrome. Thats not what happens here, as the gray machine has plenty of the stuff on pretty much anything, with the exception of the fender, modified fuel tank, frame, and headlight. To make sure everyone notices, not only did Nine Hills keep the original chrome, but also added more on the struts, radiator cover, and various housings and covers.The engine in the frame is a Milwaukee Eight 107, unmodified, which breathes through a Screamin Eagle exhaust that comes, you guessed it, in chrome.This "ship on two wheels," as its makers call it, was made for a customer, of course, so its current whereabouts are not known. The price of the build is also a mystery, but just to give you a starting point, well tell you Harley presently asks for $23,999 for the 2023 Road King in that insane Industrial Yellow we dont get enough of.
One of the most exciting maiden voyages in the cruising world is coming up this November. A new vessel in the Regent Seven Seas Cruises fleet, marketed as The Worlds Most Luxurious Fleet just got one step closer to its official launch. Named Seven Seas Grandeur, the vessel was recently floated out from the building dry dock, 14 months after construction had begun at the Ancona shipyard.Fincantieri is not just one of the most reputable maritime builders in the world, but also has an extensive collaboration with Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings, Regents parent company. The Italian builder has already delivered two other ships, Seven Seas Explorer and Seven Seas Splendor, to Regent Seven Seas Cruises, and is also working on vessels for the companys other two brands, Oceania Cruises and Norwegian Cruise Line (NLC).What all of these cruise ships have in common, other than the high-quality build, is a focus on fuel efficiency and green technologies. Details about the new Seven Seas Grandeur are still kept under wraps, but Fincantieri claims to have been equipped with the latest technologies for environmental protection.But what will truly make the new ship stand out in Regents luxury fleet is a one-of-a-kind work of art. Named Journey in Jewels, this will be the only Faberge egg to be launched as a permanent exhibit at sea.Inspired by another iconic masterpiece, the 1913 Winter Egg, this work of art is supposed to be an opulent representation of the ocean and of maritime journeys . Built on a three-tiered base, this one-of-a-kind Faberge egg blends different shades of blue with white pearls suggesting the ocean spray.When it sets sail this Fall, the new 55,500 GT ship with 746 passengers onboard will be showing off this special masterpiece, in addition to an entire art collection on board, worth millions of dollars. The Grandeurs amenities will only match this extravagance, including a fabulous 4,443-square foot (413 square meters) Regent suite with its own in-suite spa.During this final building stage, the Seven Seas Grandeur is getting its precious suites, lounges, and restaurants. After its delivery in November, it will kick off its maiden season with 18 voyages in the Caribbean and the Mediterranean, and two transatlantic crossings. Regent claims to have added a new sailing in response to the strong demand. One things for sure, Seven Seas Grandeur will set sail as a truly unique blend of art, luxury, and eco-awareness.
Set to replace the current C3 Aircross , which has been around since 2017, coming to life at Zaragoza, Spain, for the Old Continent, Citroens subcompact crossover looks like an evolution of its predecessor. It still has rather boxy proportions, accentuated by a more mature and futuristic front end, defined by the small LED DRLs on each side of the grille, and main clusters below them.The front windscreen is less raked, and the roofline less arched behind the B-pillars. The front and rear overhangs are about the same length as before, and the door handles are new. Out back, it has a pair of new taillights that may feature a vertical design. Due to the large amount of camouflage, we cannot tell you anything about the styling of the tailgate, but the license plate holder was moved below, onto the bumper. There is still a spoiler above the rear windscreen, which seems to be less sporty than before.It has been reported that the new Citroen C3 Aircross will grow in size, measuring roughly 4,300 mm (169.3 in) from bumper to bumper, which would make it some 150 mm (6 in) longer than before. This measure, combined with the less raked windscreen and more upright roofline, will make its cabin more spacious, albeit without stepping on the toes of the bigger C5 Aircross , which is 4,500 mm (177.2 in) long. Expect enhanced comfort and technology features, as well as new driving assistance gear.While the current C3 Aircross is based on the PSA PF1 platform, just like the Opel/Vauxhall Crossland, the new one is understood to shift to the CMP/eCMP architecture, used on the Peugeot 2008, DS 3 Crossback, Opel/Vauxhall Mokka, and Jeep Avenger. This move will allow it to use different engines, though the exact units that will power it are unknown at the moment. Chances are it will get some gasoline and electrified powertrains, and maybe a battery-electric version later on that might add the e prefix to its name, perhaps featuring a single-motor setup, with the drivetrain shared with its zero-emission siblings.The new C3 Aircross is likely due next year, following in the footsteps of the C3 supermini , which will share its nuts and bolts, as well as some (or perhaps all) powertrains. The subcompact hatch is the first one to be unveiled, followed by the high-riding variant, probably a few months later.
Every two years, the French-German Chamber of Commerce and Industry acknowledges projects or individuals who unite these two nations through impressive achievements. This year, the Franco-German Business Award (Le Prix Franco-Allemand de LEconomie) has an even greater significance, because 2023 also marks the 60th anniversary of the historic Elysee Treaty.The winner of this prestigious award, at this special celebratory time, is the eVTOL manufacturer Volocopter, which shows how far the AAM dream has come. Its no longer seen as a bold vision that has more to do with the world of Sci-Fi but with real business.Numerous developers are already in the final stages of certification for their air vehicles, while teaming up with officials and with other industry partners, for establishing dedicated vertiports.A true mobility innovator, Volocopter shows great potential for launching air taxi operations, and eVTOL manufacturing on the continent. Together with Skyports, the German-based manufacturer plans to open a vertiport terminal at the Pontoise-Cormeilles airfield, in France. The ultimate goal is to launch commercial air taxi services in Paris, as soon as next year.At the moment, Volocopter is working with the local transportation authorities and with Paris Airports to make this happen. Its flagship aircraft, the Volocity, will be the one to operate as a certified air taxi. In the meantime, the Volocopter 2X prototype claims to be the only model thats authorized to carry out eVTOL flight tests in France.However, although this important award focuses on the Franco-German collaboration, this milestone project will extend further than that. For example, the new vertiport at Pontoise-Cormeilles is meant to be aircraft agnostic, which means that other manufacturers and operators are also welcome to test their eVTOL technology here.Plus, like most eVTOL developers, Volocopter wants to conquer the whole world. France will be just the starting point, but the Volocity is set to fly in other parts of the world as well. Until then, its name will certainly be linked to the inauguration of AAM in Europe  after France, the German builders flying taxi is also set to start operating in Italy, where it will transport passengers from the Fiumicino airports to the Rome city center.With the help of Volocopter, France plans to become the first official AAM operator in Europe. By next year, passenger flights carried out by air taxis could become the newest trend in Paris.
The authorities in Stepanakert said that the flow of gas to Karabakh from a pipeline passing through Azerbaijani-controlled territory was blocked for the fifth time since the start of the road blockade on December 12.

Following the previous disruption reported on January 18, the authorities suspended classes in Karabakhs schools and colleges, saying that they cannot be heated in the absence of gas and electricity. The schools were reopened on January 30 after a partial restoration of the gas supply.

Armenias electricity supplies to Karabakh were similarly blocked by Baku on January 10, leading to daily power cuts there. The local power grid operator says that its specialists have still not been allowed to repair an Azerbaijani-controlled section of the high-voltage transmission line supplying the electricity.

The energy crisis has compounded shortages of food, medicine and other essential items. Much of economic activity in Karabakh has also been disrupted. More than 5,000 of its estimated 120,000 residents have lost their jobs because of the blockade, according to the Karabakh government.

The government decided at the weekend to pay each of them 68,000 drams ($170) in compensation. In addition, unemployed parents of children are to receive 40,000 drams per child.

If only one of the parents doesnt work, then [the compensation will be worth] 20,000 drams, said Armen Mangasarian, the social security minister.

Azerbaijani government-backed protesters blocking the Lachin corridor allow only convoys of Russian peacekeepers and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to pass through it. The ICRC has evacuated critically ill patients from Karabakh and transported several dozen Karabakh children stranded in Armenia back to their families.

In recent days, the Russian peacekeepers appear to have shipped some foodstuffs from Armenia to Karabakh, somewhat alleviating the food shortages. Stepanakert residents say they can now buy limited amounts of some fruits and vegetables, sausage and confectionery in addition to sunflower oil, sugar, macaroni, rice and buckwheat rationed by the authorities.

Armenia has condemned the blockade as a gross violation of the Russian-brokered agreement that stopped the 2020 war in Karabakh.

Russia, the United States and the European Union have repeatedly urged Azerbaijan to reopen the corridor. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken telephoned Aliyev for that purpose late last month. Aliyev again defended the Azerbaijanis blocking the Lachin corridor and demanding that Baku be given access to illegal copper mines in Karabakh.
Northrup Grumman and other aerospace companies are taking steps to engage closer than ever with local colleges and schools to place more stude
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Why are taxpayer-funded tourism agencies promoting radical LGBTQ+ and progressive causes? By Rachel Alexander

web posted February 6, 2023 Right in Florida Governor Ron DeSantiss own state, government tourism agencies are promoting radical LGBTQ+ causes, including taxpayer-funded Visit Florida. Visit Orlando paid the leftist PR company MMGY for a " study " that rebuked DeSantis' policies and the laws of Florida. New York-based MMGY is one of the largest PR companies for tourism offices in the country, and also one of the most woke. MMGY Global thanked Visit Orlando and others, including Destination DC and Greater Boston Convention and Visitors Bureau, for financial contributions to the study. The study asked LGBTQ+ individuals whether state policies related to their LGBTQ+ identity greatly impact their decision to travel. It found that 52% said yes. Stirring up these types of views does nothing to help tourism in red states like Florida, it generates hostility and will just backfire on efforts to promote tourism there. Visit Floridas agenda for March has just one item listed on it: LGBTQIA+ FloridaEvents, Pride festivals, bars, beaches and destinations. Theres no semblance of balance, no conservative or Christian events, those types of activities have been scrubbed clean from tourism agencies. One of the partnerships prominently featured on MMGYs website is the Love and Lipliner event at the James New York hotel featuring some of NYCs biggest drag stars. Visit Florida spent $863,720.58 on three PR agencies between June 2021 and July 2022; Development Counsellors International, Gosh PR, and Hayworth Public Relations. According to the website of Development Counsellors International (DCI), one of its most important values is wokism; that is to "champion equity [and] inclusion." Among its priorities are to "be inclusive" and to "elevate diverse voices." Yet DCI has numerous government clients in red areas including Miami and Orlando; Gilbert, Arizona (a very conservative town which has come under fire recently for its leadership going woke); North Dakota; Chattanooga; Wake County, North Carolina; Louisville, Kentucky; San Antonio and Sugar Land, Texas; Tulsa, Oklahoma; St. Louis, Missouri and Mississippi, including Jackson. Gosh PR, which isnt an American company, supported the Lonely Planet campaign in 2021, celebrating commitment to community, diversity and sustainability across the world, pioneering sustainable practices and providing progressive solutions. Visit St. Pete/Clearwater, a department of Pinellas County Government in Florida, also uses MMGY. Hospitality Sales & Marketing Association International (HSMAI) gave MMGY an award for its work on the campaign Visit St. Pete/Clearwater Makes a Splash at Super Bowl LV. On page 23 of its annual report , Visit Florida goes all-in with the green agenda and says it wants to use travel to address climate change: "Can Florida and the tourism industry be forces for change? In many ways, we already are." Travel Texas is listed as a client of MMGY, even though Texas is another red state. South Dakota used to be listed as a client, but perhaps to Governor Kristi Noems credit, it is no longer on the list. In 2021, HSMAI gave MMGY an award for its "Great Places Are Waiting" COVID-19 Campaign Strategy and ThanksGIFing Social Media Campaign on behalf of South Dakota. Travel Texas and Visit Florida reportedly funded MMGYs woke study examining the intersectionality of LatinX tourism  although Visit Floridas name was later removed. Kansas City, Missouri also contracts with MMGY through its Visit KC. HSMAI gave MMGY an award for its Run It Back Home Super Bowl Campaign for the city. The travel industry is led by the Society of American Travel Writers, which is incredibly woke . Awards are given to writers based on how woke they are, and they are told to use a list of woke words in their writing like LatinX. Visit Florida's annual report shows on page 17 that more tourists come from red states than blue states. Floridas main tourism comes from seven red states, three purple states (Pennsylvania, Michigan, Georgia), and just five blue states. So why the focus on New York PR and leftist causes? Why are multiple red states continuing to contract with woke PR companies? With the left canceling so many businesses now, its insulting to pass over conservative PR companies who no doubt could really use the work due to being blacklisted over their politics. Rachel Alexander and her brother Andrew are co-Editors of Intellectual Conservative . She has been published in the American Spectator, Townhall.com, Fox News, NewsMax, Accuracy in Media, The Americano, ParcBench, Enter Stage Right and other publications. Home
Coronation Street actor Will Mellor paid a visit to Belfast on Monday  and let fans in on his favourite thing about the city.

In a social media video, the former Line of Duty star listed the reasons he likes it here.

Now, I love Belfast for loads of reasons, he said.

I was here shooting Line of Duty, the people are great, theres always something going on.

However, one thing stood out above the rest for Mr Mellor: the Belfast party bike.

Read more Ex-Everton boss Frank Lampard pops into Belfast pub

And especially this  the Belfast party bike. How goods that?

The people on the party bike behind the actor cheered as he filmed the popular attraction.

Love it here, mint, he finished.

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Commenters on social media agreed with Mr Mellor, with one posting Class! Lived there for a few years. Can't beat the place... and the boozers! So many good watering holes with locals who'll tell a canny story or 10. Enjoy!

The star recently took a turn on BBCs Strictly Come Dancing. He and partner Nancy Xu narrowly missed out on getting to the finals.

The pair were voted out in the semi-finals, making Mellor the eleventh celebrity to be dumped from the show.

While on the show, he dedicated a routine to mens mental health. It was an important message, he says. I loved the song, and I thought if I can get through it I should do it  it just didnt go as well as I hoped.
Van Morrison has warned his fans after becoming aware that a number of "scam accounts have been impersonating him on social media.

In a statement published on Twitter, the soul singer (77) said his team had become aware of the fraudulent accounts and their attempts to message his fans pretending to be him.

"To all fans: We have been made aware that a number of fraudulent accounts have been set up, impersonating Van and sending out scam messages, the statement read.

We have reported and blocked multiple accounts, however we continue to see new fake accounts being made.

These accounts are commenting on Van's posts, posing as him or someone that is close to him, and either messaging fans directly or asking fans to message them.

The Belfast-born singer added: If someone contacts you claiming to be Van Morrison and the account is not verified with a blue tick to the right of the name, please report the account.

The Brown Eyed Girl crooners social media accounts are frequently updated with both his Instagram and Twitter profiles used to promote performances and his latest releases.

Searching Van Morrison on Instagram results in a number of sparsely-followed accounts which claim to be his back-up account or for friends/family.

The singer, whose real name is Sir George Ivan Morrison, has highlighted to his fans that he only has official accounts on social media platforms such as Twitter, YouTube and Instagram and these are verified through a blue tick.

A blue or gold tick on platforms such as Instagram and Facebook indicate the account is genuine. They are regularly given to public figures to ensure fans are aware of their legitimacy. While users on Twitter are able to purchase a blue tick, impersonation is against their guidelines.

"Van Morrison only has a presence on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube, and updates will only ever be posted on these official, verified accounts or on the official Van Morrison website, continued the singers statement.

Thank you to those who got in touch to inform us that scammers were contacting them via direct message. Please be vigilant and cautious of anyone claiming to be a public figure.
Source talks of backbench war of attrition against plans that do not respect sovereignty

The NI Protocol has brought checks at ports in NI on goods coming in

With speculation mounting that a deal on the Northern Ireland Protocol between the EU and UK is imminent, the powerful European Research Group (ERG) of hardline Brexiteers shows no sign of softening their stance on the issue.
A sign on a lamp post outside Larne Port with the word 'No Irish Sea Border'. (Picture date: Monday March 8, 2021)   PA

The EU is set to agree to a UK proposal for a green and red lane model at Northern Ireland ports in the latest discussions on the NI Protocol, RTE News has reported.

It means that the EU will accept that goods being shipped to NI from Great Britain should be treated differently to goods going on to the Republic of Ireland.

A senior EU official has reportedly told the Irish broadcaster that the green and red lanes at Northern Ireland ports will govern both animal health and food safety issues as well as customs formalities.

Whilst the official acknowledged the unintended consequences of the protocol and said the most important thing is that we have a solution that works for Northern Ireland, they stressed that talks remain difficult and that key gaps remain to be bridged.

The NI Protocol is an arrangement between the UK and the EU, governing trade across the Irish Sea post-Brexit, which has resulted in checks on trade between Great Britain and Northern Ireland, rather than on goods moving north and south within the island of Ireland.

This has created a de facto border in the Irish Sea, that many unionists and loyalists in NI do not agree with.

The handling of so-called sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) issues has always been one of the most difficult throughout the Protocol negotiations.

Last week, there were reports from high level sources that the UK and EU were nearing an agreement which would also involve retaining the European Court of Justices (ECJ) role in Northern Ireland, albeit at arms length.

On this, the senior EU official said it remained "a difficult issue for us. At the end of the day, the ultimate arbiter for European single market law is the ECJ."

While ending the jurisdiction of the European Court of Justice does not feature in the DUPs seven tests for a reformed protocol it has been mentioned by both Sammy Wilson and Sir Jeffrey Donaldson in recent weeks.

Nigel Dodds, now Lord Dodds of Duncairn said: Well not be accepting some tinkering around with the court if these laws all stay in place.

He added that the only reason theyd be tinkering around with the role of the court is that they intend that the laws do all stay in place.

With speculation mounting that both the EU and UK are close to agreement on the Protocol, a second senior EU source suggested there would be no announcement this week ahead of a special summit of EU leaders in Brussels.

However, the EU's acceptance of the principle of differentiating Northern Ireland-only goods from those destined for the single market is a key breakthrough.

EU officials say it is based on safeguards promised in the agreement by the UK to provide the EU with a forensic, real-time picture of the provenance and nature of the goods moving between Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

EU sources added that the news that the UK is legislating to complete the construction of Border Control Posts (BCPs), or points of entry, in Northern Irish ports so that SPS controls can be carried out, is also a key confidence building measure.

However, last month Jeffery Donaldson made clear he is totally opposed to the construction of facilities that are about implementing the Protocol.

The DUP leader accepted there would have to be a means of collecting information to differentiate between goods staying in the UK and those leaving.

TUV leader Jim Allister has criticised the red and green lane approach, stating that they still mean the acceptance of a border dividing the UK.

Where do you find Green and Red lanes? At a border, of course. So of themselves they confirm and solidify the Irish Sea border, as the UK needlessly takes on the role of policing the EUs single market as Brussels surrogate, but with the additional infringement of EU staff operating on UK territory, he said.

Even the EU treaties are premised on the fact that it is for the EUs frontier states to protect the EUs single market. But, here it is being suggested that a non-EU member performs that role in its territory!

But, more than that in order to operate, this system requires green lane goods to be accompanied by multiple and costly declarations, with spot checks, meaning there is anything but the equal footing trade guaranteed by Art 6 of the Acts of Union. Moving goods from GB to Northern Ireland would still be inhibited.

But the Protocol is about more than the movement of goods. A key part of its sovereignty grab lies in the imposition of EU law on Northern Ireland.

Unless the sovereignty issue is addressed, everything else is meaningless.

Meanwhile, Sinn Fein Brexit sokesperson Declan Kearney has said the latest reports on further progress are very encouraging.

"Todays reports that the EU and the British government are potentially making new substantive progress towards securing a pragmatic and durable resolution to the protocol impasse are very encouraging, said the South Antrim MLA.

"This comes on the back of the British governments movement on the sharing of data on the flow of goods.

It is vitally important that the European Commission and the British Government officials continue these efforts to resolve any remaining issues so our businesses, farmers and families can be assured their interests will be fully protected and allows the Protocol to work smoothly.

"The political stalemate caused during the last year which has blocked restoration of the Executive has exacerbated all of the challenges which we face in the north. The cost of living crisis continues to spiral and our health and social care service is at breaking point.

The Protocol has nothing to do with sovereignty or identity. It is the only credible mechanism to manage the consequences of Brexit. We are hopefully approaching a point of pragmatic accommodation; so this a time for cool heads and leadership.

In these circumstances the DUP has absolutely no justification for its continued blocking of our political institutions. The Assembly should be restored immediately to allow all our local politicians to address the key challenges facing public services, and while the British government and European Commission focus on concluding their talks.
This 'wellness check' should be red-flagged!

By Mark Alexander

web posted February 6, 2023

If you are one of the estimated 80 to 100 million gun owners in America, or live in one of the 45% of homes with a firearm, you are likely aware of so-called "red flag" laws  "common sense" statutes in 19 states and the District of Columbia. Those laws provide a method, ostensibly, for identifying and disarming those who are potentially a threat to themselves or others. In principle, those laws may seem reasonable, but in fact they are subject to serious abuse by anyone wishing to have police target those they don't like.

Allow me to introduce you to the red flag's kissin' cousin, the "police wellness check." That is generally defined as "When police stop by a person's home to make sure they are okay." Requests for welfare checks are made by friends, family, and neighbors, typically after someone unexpectedly stops communicating with others.

Wellness checks are common nationwide, and they most often involve checking in with someone who is elderly or disabled and who lives alone. Frequently, they result in much-needed assistance to an individual in distress.

Last year, I asked local law enforcement officers to conduct a wellness check for an alcoholic who lives alone and had not been heard from in 10 days. He was fine and appreciated the concern. Last month, I witnessed a police wellness check that resulted in removal of an individual who was suffering a drug-induced psychotic break. He was committed by court order to a mental health hospital for two weeks until his physician believed he was stable.

Removing a person from a house during a wellness check is generally associated with a serious medical condition. Wellness checks are not usually court ordered, but involuntary committal requires a court order.

There have recently been some high-profile wellness checks, like that for actress Britney Spears last week. But good intentions aside, some checks turn deadly  for the person police are checking on. Others sometimes result in assaults on police.

Few red flag and wellness checks gain national attention, other than cases involving mass shooters who were known to law enforcement agencies, but the latter failed to intervene. Notably, that would include assaults in Highland Park, Illinois, Uvalde, Texas, and Parkland, Florida  all sociopaths with common violent indoctrination threads.

Both red flag and wellness checks can be motivated by malice and can thus be used as a means to force involuntary committals of law-abiding citizens and confiscate their weapons.

Last week a friend called my attention to a case in Alaska, a wellness check that, at its root, was the result of religious discrimination.

My friend Mike "Dozer" Shower, who I know from his days as an F-22 squadron leader, is now an Alaska state senator. He approaches that service much as he did his military service, guided by his oath "to support and defend" our Constitution. His opponents discovered the hard way why Mike's call sign is "Dozer," and some never knew what hit them.

Senator Shower let me know about a case in which a highly respected principal of a public school was targeted for a wellness check because she is  wait for it  a conservative Christian.

Mary Fulp, principal at Colony High School, who was also recognized as the 2022 Alaska Principal of the Year, was removed from her home by Alaska state troopers and involuntarily committed without a court order.

Apparently, one of Fulp's siblings was "concerned" about a faith message she posted on Facebook and demanded the wellness check.

Reporter Art Chance described the incident: "Visualize yourself sitting comfortably in your home just before noon on a Wednesday. ... An Alaska State Trooper knocks at the door, you answer, and the Trooper tells you he's at your home for a 'welfare check.' You don't appear to be in danger or a resident of crazy town, so the officer thanks you for your time and goes on his/her way."

In fact, the troopers later confirmed after the first visit that Fulp "was not exhibiting signs of grave disability from a mental health issue and was not likely to cause serious harm to herself or others and therefore did not meet the conditions for emergency detention under AS 47.30.705."

Chance continues: "A few hours later ... there is a knock at the door. Now there are two troopers with a family member who asserts that she has a court order to have you detained and sent for psychiatric evaluation. Troopers accepted the authority of such an order and without resistance led you away in custody to a hospital for psychiatric evaluation. You endure the indignity of having your personal possessions confiscated and being stripped of your clothing and dressed in a hospital gown. A psychotropic drug is administered to you. You are detained for three days. Then the whole system says, 'never mind.'"

Mary Fulp was removed from her home without cause and subjected to a terrifying detention.

Reporter Suzanne Downing was told by Fulp's legal counsel, "She was forced into a mental health facility without a court order, by those with whom she and the community place their trust, the Department of Public Safety (DPS)." Additionally, they told Downing: "DPS has candidly acknowledge their officers should have never forced her into a 72-hour mental health commitment. To DPS' credit, they have already conceded that their officers did not follow proper procedures to assure that a judge had actually made a determination that she was a risk of harm to herself or others, to justify the deprivation of her freedom. At no time did she pose a risk of harm to herself or others, and she should have never been forcibly placed into a mental health facility."

Indeed, Colonel James Cockrell, commissioner of the Alaska Department of Public Safety, issued an apology after determining his troopers acted on a family member's claims of a court order that the Alaska Court System has confirmed was never issued. What the family member produced was a forged document, and Cockrell said his troopers "should have done their due diligence to ensure that that was a proper and legal document." He said, "We made a drastic mistake here and I've ordered a review of our policies and procedures to ensure this doesn't happen again."

Fulp's counsel also noted: "To compound matters, the mental health facility knew it had no valid court order to hold her. ... This traumatic experience is a free citizen's worst nightmare, and this broken system has caused her, and her children, inexcusable and immeasurable harm."

Mike Shower noted, "The wellness check process is connected to a red flag provision in Alaska law passed last year concerning involuntary commitment, and ex parte applications are legal IF a court finds cause AND issues an order." It was a measure on which he voted "no." He concludes: "Notwithstanding the validity of the court order, what is troubling about Red Flag Commitment Laws is the lack of due process  they violate fundamental constitutional principles of due process. The system failed in a big way."

Fact is, the family member may have had genuine concerns about Fulp. But the point is that if the process could be manipulated by someone who is actually concerned, consider how vulnerable it is to being abused by someone who is maliciously vindictive in any state where a "wellness check" could be used when a red flag check is not an option. And once detained in violation of their 14th Amendment rights to due process, individuals can be further deprived of their Second Amendment rights.

Sen. Shower's effort to correct holes in Alaska's red flag laws, and the coming monetary settlements resulting from the violation of Mary Fulp's fundamental rights, should, in the words of DPS's Cockrell, "ensure this doesn't happen again." Unfortunately, because such actions are subject to human judgments and errors, it will.

No word on whether Facebook has banned the family member for "bullying."

Mark Alexander is the executive editor of the Patriot Post.
Crime Commissioner concerned at counselling notes being handed over during criminal trials

Victims of serious sexual assault may be less likely to come forward, warns victims of crime commissioner. Pic posed

Rape victims are being forced to hand over private records of counselling sessions  in many cases to the detriment of a criminal trial, it has been claimed.
RETRANSMITING WITH BETTER QUALITY Undated handout photo issued by Hertfordshire Police of serving Metropolitan Police officer David Carrick who has pleaded guilty to 49 offences, including 24 counts of rape, against 12 women between 2003 and 2020. Issue date: Monday January 16, 2023.   Hertfordshire Police

A former Metropolitan Police officer who was unmasked as one of Britains most prolific sex offenders is set to be jailed for attacking a dozen women over an 18-year period.

The truly sickening crimes of David Carrick forced the Met to apologise after the then-serving officer admitted 24 counts of rape, as well as charges of sexual assault, controlling and coercive behaviour and false imprisonment.

The 48-year-old is due to be sentenced over the course of two days at Southwark Crown Court  a process Assistant Commissioner Barbara Gray said would provide more detail about Carricks cruel and abusive offences.

Assistant Commissioner Barbara Gray repeated the apology to Carricks victims on Sunday ahead of the sex predators sentencing on Monday (James Manning/PA)   James Manning

The case prompted Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to promise police reforms after it emerged the force was informed of nine incidents  including allegations of rape, domestic violence and harassment  between 2000 and 2021.

Carrick, who joined the force in 2001 before becoming an armed officer with the Parliamentary and Diplomatic Protection Command in 2009, faced no criminal sanctions or misconduct findings.

Police chiefs across England and Wales have since been asked to have all officers checked against national police databases by the end of March.

Carrick, who served in the Army before joining the Met, admitted 49 criminal charges, but some of the attacks are multiple incident counts, meaning they relate to more than 80 sexual offences, including at least 48 rapes against 12 women.

He will also be sentenced for nine counts of sexual assault, five counts of assault by penetration, three counts of coercive and controlling behaviour, and three counts of false imprisonment.

Carricks offences also include two counts of attempted rape, one count of attempted sexual assault by penetration, one count of causing a person to engage in sexual activity without consent, and one count of indecent assault.

He denied a further count of rape in September 2020 relating to a 13th woman, whose allegation triggered the investigation, and the Crown Prosecution Service decided it was not in the public interest to proceed to trial on the charge.

On September 4 2020, Carrick told her he was a firearms officer nicknamed Bastard Dave, showed her his warrant card and boasted of meeting famous people, including then-prime minister Boris Johnson, in the course of his work, a court previously heard.

The first victim of his victims to reveal her identity, Darciane Nunes Da Silva, told the Sunday People she wants Carrick to spend the next 40 years behind bars.

Carricks crimes are set to form part of the independent inquiry looking at the murder of Sarah Everard, who was raped and strangled to death by then serving Met officer Wayne Couzens in March 2021.

On Sunday, the Mets Assistant Commissioner repeated the apology to Carricks victims, saying the force let them down and the sex predator should not have been a police officer.

In a statement, Ms Gray said: I am truly sorry for the harm and devastation he has caused them.

We let them down and we failed to identify a man in the ranks of the Metropolitan Police Service who carried out the most awful offences.

He should not have been a police officer.

Ms Gray added: In the weeks since he pleaded guilty, we have spoken about our genuine and urgent commitment to address the systemic failings that have been identified by our own reviews, by those of His Majestys Inspectorate and Baroness Casey.

We are determined to root out those who corrupt our integrity. That work is already under way.

Carrick, from Stevenage, Hertfordshire, will be sentenced by Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb in a two-day hearing, beginning on Monday.
Palestinian protesters block the main road with burning tires in the West Bank city of Jericho (AP)   Nasser Nasser

Israeli forces have killed five Palestinian gunmen in a raid on a West Bank refugee camp, security officials said.

The raid was in a response to a botched attack on Israelis, and is likely to further exacerbate tensions in the region.

The Palestinian presidents office called the violence a crime, urging the United States to pressure Israel to hold back on its incursions.

The Israeli military said the raid was meant to apprehend a militant cell that staged a botched shooting attack on a restaurant in a Jewish settlement in the West Bank.

Palestinian protesters block the main road with burning tyres in the West Bank city of Jericho (AP)   Nasser Nasser

The violence comes amid one of the deadliest periods in recent years in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and in the first weeks of Israels new right-wing government, which has promised to take a tough stance against the Palestinians.

The Israeli military said it was operating in the Aqabat Jabr refugee camp to apprehend the suspects behind a failed shooting attack last month at a West Bank restaurant, where attackers allegedly were thwarted by a weapon malfunction.

The attackers then fled the scene, the military said, adding that they were members of the Hamas militant group that rules the Gaza Strip and has elements in the West Bank as well.

The military said it was searching for the militant cell behind the shooting after it sealed itself inside a home in the refugee camp.

During the search, troops encountered the gunmen and a gun battle erupted.

The Palestinian commercial center sits empty under a general strike to protest against the Israeli army raid in the West Bank city of Jericho (AP)   Nasser Nasser

The military said several of the gunmen who were killed were involved in the attempted attack on the restaurant.

A statement from Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas office said: The new Israeli government is continuing its series of crimes against our Palestinian people.

The Israeli security officials said two of the five killed were Hamas militants involved in the attempted attack. The three others were gunmen who had exchanged fire with troops during the raid.

Hamas said it mourned the deaths of the members of its armed wing, without specifying how many had died. Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem said the violence would be met with a response.

Our people and their resistance will not delay in responding to this crime, he said.

Speaking at an event at the site of a recent deadly Palestinian shooting attack, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed earlier reports by Israeli security officials that five gunmen were killed.

The raid comes days after an earlier incursion in the Aqabat Jabr camp, which is near the Palestinian city of Jericho, a desert oasis in an area of the West Bank that rarely sees such unrest, where troops were also searching for the suspects.

The five deaths sparked protests in the West Bank (AP)   Nasser Nasser

Since the shooting at the nearby settlement, the Israeli military has blocked access to several roads into Jericho  a closure that has placed the city under a semi-blockade, disrupting business and creating hours-long bottlenecks at checkpoints that affected even Palestinian security forces, footage showed.

Mondays violence comes days after an Israeli military raid on the Jenin refugee camp killed 10 Palestinians, mostly militants but also a 61-year-old woman.

The next day, a Palestinian shooting attack outside an east Jerusalem synagogue killed seven people, including a 14-year-old.

The Israeli army has ramped up near-nightly raids in the occupied West Bank since a series of deadly Palestinian attacks within Israel last spring.

The Palestinian Authority, in retaliation for last weeks raid into the Jenin refugee camp, declared a halt to security coordination with Israel.

Nearly 150 Palestinians were killed last year in the West Bank and east Jerusalem, making it the deadliest year in those areas since 2004, according to figures by the Israeli rights group BTselem.

Since the start of this year, 41 Palestinians have been killed in those territories. Some 30 people were killed in Israel by Palestinians in 2022.

The Israeli army says most of the Palestinians killed have been militants. But stone-throwing youths protesting against the incursions and others not involved in confrontations have also been killed.

Israel captured the West Bank, Gaza Strip and east Jerusalem in the 1967 Middle East war. The Palestinians seek those territories for their hoped-for independent state.
A special plane transporting the body of Pakistans former president Pervez Musharraf from the United Arab Emirates arrived in Karachi amid tight security, immigration officials said.

Family members were also on board when the plane landed on Monday at the airport in the city where he will be buried on Tuesday.

Mr Musharraf, who died at the age of 79, seized power in a bloodless coup in 1999 by ousting the elected government of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif.

Mr Musharraf died in Dubai on Sunday after a prolonged illness.

During his tenure as president, he made Pakistan a key ally of Washington in the war on terror after the September 11 terror attacks in the US.

His support angered militants who at least twice tried to assassinate him in the city of Rawalpindi in 2003, but he escaped unhurt.

Mr Musharraf was forced to resign in 2008 by the party of former president Asif Ali Zardari when his allies lost parliamentary elections.

Pakistan later allowed him to leave the country on bail to travel to Dubai in 2016 for medical treatment. He remained there after being sentenced to death for treason.

Pakistan last year said he would not be arrested if his family wanted to bring him back home, but his doctors and family said his treatment was not available in Pakistan.
A general view of Papua New Guineas capital Port Moresby is shown in this Nov. 19, 2018 photo.

An ad on Facebook by one of Papua New Guineas largest hotels invited job seekers to front up for a Walk-in Interview on Saturday for positions from laundry attendants to chefs and security guards.

Several thousand people responded, converging on the luxury Stanley Hotel in the capital Port Moresby in the rain, only to be turned away by an alarmed management.

The rowdy crowd, witnessed by a BenarNews reporter, eventually dispersed. Many people appeared frustrated and angry. Some had turned up at dawn with the hope they could work for an organization that the Facebook ad had characterized as Simply the Best in Papua New Guinea.

The clamor at the hotel was the front-page story for Papua New Guineas Post-Courier newspaper, which lamented the Pacific island countrys chronic lack of jobs. Last month, Papua New Guineas police said it received more than 20,000 applications for 560 positions it advertised late last year.

A big thank you to everyone who came to our Walk-in Interview day, the luxury hotel said in an online notice on Monday. Due to the large numbers, it was impossible for us to meet all of you. If you would like to apply for a job, please email your CV and application or drop off your CVs to our guards at the staff entrance.

The response to the job advertisement highlights the challenges for Papua New Guineas government as people increasingly move to towns and cities from rural subsistence living in the remote highlands  in search of economic opportunities or to escape tribal violence.

There arent enough jobs in towns, said a statement Sunday from the office of Prime Minister James Marape.

Since [independence in] 1975, we have not created a sufficient employment generating foundation for the benefit of our people, the statement said.

Marape promised a youth mobilization campaign that would involve the army and the National Volunteer Service.

The Stanley Hotel is owned by Malaysian logging company, Rimbunan Hijau Group, which also owns the National newspaper that is a frequent critic of Papua New Guineas government.

Papua New Guinea, among the poorest Pacific island nations, also faces uncertainty about the size of its population. A recent U.N. Population Fund study estimated the population could be as high as 17 million compared with the governments estimate of approximately nine million.

World Bank economist George Bopi said if the 17 million figure is correct, Papua New Guinea would be faring much worse than believed in terms of income per person and other indicators such as joblessness and the number of doctors, teachers and other professionals.

Gross domestic product per head would be less than half of the current estimate and similar to Afghanistan, he said.

The bottom line is that accurate demographic data provide clear visibility on development investments and targets. We are flying blind as a nation, Bopi said at a population seminar in Port Moresby last month.

The U.N. study was first reported by The Australian newspaper in December. The fund declined to release the study to BenarNews or confirm the population estimate figure. A researcher in Papua New Guinea who has seen the study told BenarNews that the population estimate was 17 million.

The fund said the study, paid for by the Australian government, was carried out by the University of Southampton's WorldPop research group in conjunction with the fund and Papua New Guineas National Statistical Office. It was the first time the research groups methodology had been used in a Pacific island country.

The data is being validated and the report is expected to be finalized later in 2023, the population fund said.

Papua New Guineas last census was in 2011. A census was planned in 2020 but not carried out because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

National Statistician John Igitoi said last month that an updated estimate of Papua New Guineas population would be released in February.

Marape, in his statement, said people whove flocked to towns and cities should return to their villages and work on their land.

The countrys biggest opportunities for new employment are in agriculture, fisheries and tourism, he said.

Even if we open 10 mines, oil and gas fields, the number of jobs they will create is still not enough to absorb our present population of youths coming out of schools which numbers between 100,000 to 200,000 a year, he said.
The burned remains of Vanuatus Malvatumauri Nakamal, a meeting place for the Pacific island countrys chiefs, are pictured on Jan. 30, 2023.

Vanuatus government has vowed to rebuild the paramount meeting place of the countrys chiefs  destroyed in a suspicious fire a week ago  before the Pacific island nation hosts a Melanesian arts festival in July.

The structure, known as Malvatumauri Nakamal, located in the capital Port Vila, caught fire about 1 a.m. on Jan. 30, according to information from police, firefighters and residents. It was one of the most significant cultural buildings in the volcanically active archipelago where custom and tradition can be more powerful than civil law.

This house is a symbol of custom governance, Chief Willie Grey Plasua, president of the Malvatumauri Council of Chiefs, told a press conference the day after the fire.

I call on all the chiefs and leaders of this nation to plan how we can rebuild this old wise man that has fallen, so that he will continue to uphold peace and respect in our community, he said.

Vanuatus Malvatumauri Nakamal, a meeting place for the Pacific island countrys chiefs, is pictured on Apr. 7, 2018 during a visit to Vanuatu by the U.K.s Prince Charles. [Ben Bohane/AFP]

Vanuatus Minister of Justice John Steele Tariqwetu said Malvatumauri Nakamal would be rebuilt before July, when the country hosts a two-week Melanesian Arts Festival that will culminate in Vanuatus celebrations for its 43rd anniversary of independence from the U.K. and Frances joint rule.

The reconstruction budget will be determined in early March when the Council of Ministers meets to discuss the government's annual budget, he said.

Vanuatu Police Commissioner, Robson Iavro, told reporters that two forensics experts from the Australian Federal Police are helping Vanuatu with the investigation into the fire, and arson is suspected.

Some Port Vila residents said they heard a boom before the fire at the Malvatumauri Nakamal, which was made from local woods and Natangura palms.

We were unable to stop it from spreading, the fire spread so rapidly, a firefighter, who didnt want to be named, told BenarNews.
Injured Filipino soldiers arrive at a military hospital in Jolo, in the southern Philippine province of Sulu, after a clash with Abu Sayyaf militants, March 3, 2017.

Seven gunmen with suspected links to Abu Sayyaf militants were slain over the weekend by police hunting for a group leader wanted in connection with the 2009 killing of a police superintendent in the southern Philippines, officials said.

The gunfight in the Sulu Islands took place on Sunday, a day after a pro-Islamic State militant group ambushed a Marine patrol, leaving one of the troops dead and wounding three others in Lanao del Sur, another province in the volatile south.

In Sulu province, police launched a pre-dawn operation to arrest Juko Dahim, whose group had worked with Abu Sayyaf Group extremists in several operations, officials said. He was wanted for his alleged role in the ambush killing of Senior Superintendent Jularisim Kasim, the provincial police chief, 14 years ago.

However, the heavily armed group of Alganer Dahim and Juko Dahim sensed the arrival of the operating units, triggering the firefight, said Richard Verceles, operations chief of the Area Police Command for Western Mindanao.

Members of the Sulu field unit of the polices Criminal Investigation and Detection Group, police commandos and other units were involved in Sundays operation.

Verceles said seven militants, including Juko Dahim, were killed in the 40-minute firefight. Two suspects were arrested and several high-powered assault rifles, ammunition and other war materials were recovered. A junior officer and two civilians were injured as well.

Alganer Dahim escaped and is the subject of a manhunt, police said.

According to police, Juko Dahim and his group were members and supporters of dead Abu Sayyaf kidnap-for-ransom sub-leader Majan Sahidjuan (alias Apo Mike), whose group was blamed for cross-border kidnappings in Sabah, a state in nearby Malaysian Borneo.

Verceles said Juko was involved in kidnapping activities and armed encounters with government forces, killing civilians and illegal drug trade.

Saturday attack

A day earlier, suspected Maute-Daulah Islamiyah militants launched a deadly ambush of the Marine patrol in Marogong, a town in Lanao del Sur. The Maute group is one of many factions of Daulah Islamiyah, the local name for the Islamic State extremist group.

The Marines were not in uniform and were just bringing their short firearms because they were conducting community relations in the village, Lt. Col. Sergio Reyes Ronquillo, commander of the 2nd Marine Battalion Landing Team, told reporters.

Ronquillo said Marine Sgt. Tonti Melbert Pamaran, who was leading the patrol, was killed instantly. Despite their injuries, the three wounded Marines fought the militants until reinforcements from a nearby camp arrived.

Previously, Philippine Army Chief Lt. Gen. Romeo Brawner had said that the Daulah Islamiyah militants were losing strength after government troops attacked their camp in Maguing , Lanao del Sur, last March.
Westerners know Trudeau, Singh & Legault harbour unacceptable views (Part 1) By J.R.Werbics

web posted February 6, 2023 With the one year anniversary of the Trucker Convoy for Freedom upon us, it is time to look back and properly reflect upon all that has happened. In the aftermath of this protest, there has begun a post mortem of sorts in the media and within the walls of academia. To search for meaning they are examining data points to gauge the effectiveness of their tactics and more importantly their message. But this tells us little about the real impact that this protest had on Canadian society. With 678, 000 memberships sent out , and 437, 854 ballots returned, and with the announcement that Pierre Poilievre won with a convincing majority of 68.8%, there is no doubt in the ranks of conservatism who their leader is. And if anyone doubted it before, there is no way to ignore it now, populism and populists spread right across the country from coast to coast to coast, have infused the Conservative Party of Canada with an incredible amount of enthusiasm and momentum. All due to the Trucker Convoy for Freedom. With the Conservative Party of Canada now strictly a conservative party that will run on a platform that includes nobody else, just one question still remains unresolved. Can the CPC win the next federal election? The answer from this writer is yes. But an ambiguous yes at best. To begin, if one compares the original data that was collected to the most recent polling numbers, when analysed, it has been consistent and reveals no surprises. That most people found the Freedom Convoy to have failed miserably when it came to changing public opinion about government enforced mandates and lockdowns, was expected. However, when the original polling data is scrutinized further, many interesting split interpretations or internal cleavages are revealed. Not only did it show a divided country from East to West, it also revealed a vertically partitioned public opinion that was far from being homogenous in nature. Constructed from a number of various categories, the Freedom Convoy split public opinion on every level that included income level, rural, urban and even those who hold divergent political affiliations. Even when respondent were broken down by age, Canadians have formed very different opinions about how well the message of freedom was received by the citizens of Ottawa and the public in general. For instance, if one looks at the Nanos media release that was conducted after the protest was broken up using the Emergencies Act, it revealed that overall a majority of people had an unfavourable opinion about the tactics used by the truckers. But what was really surprising was how those in Western Canada had a more favourable view of the demonstration than their fellow Canadians in Ontario, Quebec and Eastern Canada. For populists everywhere, but especially those who live in Western Canada and the Territories, there is much to learn from the Freedom Convoy. In the End, The CPC Leadership Race will be a Bust for Western Populists Despite a well run political race for the leadership of this federal party, it once again revealed a Conservative Party of Canada that is out of touch with the political realities that exist past the Manitoba/Ontario provincial boundary. Of particular concern is the ousting of Patrick Brown from the leadership contest in early July. Even more concerning is the rumour or conspiracy theory that stated it was Stephane Harper and his people who helped to orchestrate his removal in the hopes of derailing the candidacy of Jean Charest. Apparently, all done to make sure that the conservative philosophy that forms the foundation of the Conservative Party of Canada was not diluted and stayed ideologically pure. Then, right on que just like providence, Stephen Harper endorsed Pierre Poiliervre as the best choice for conservatives who are looking to gain a majority in the next federal election. If Western Canadian populists were hoping that this race would infuse the CPC with a new and lasting energy, opening the party to a broader intellectual foundation, allowing for a more diverse set of political opinions other than conservatism, and thereby creating a vehicle for western populist policies to shape the next federal government, it has been a very deflating experience. But more important than these concerns, it showed once again that there is no political outlet at the federal level of politics for those who do not see themselves as either progressive or conservative, but libertarians, red Tories, blue Liberals, and disillusioned New Democrats. To illustrate and understand this pessimism, it must be stated now with the leadership race over, that many of the policies and anticipated legislative initiatives that Pierre Poiliervre is promising to his supporters, they will never be accepted by a majority of the electorate in Ontario and Quebec. And even if Mr. Poilievre does win his majority, there are numerous bureaucratic and legal obstacles that will stifle and ultimately derail his legislative agenda. If you look at what happened under the Trump administration it is possible to see today just how much was accomplished in the four years he and his followers were in power. Their biggest legacy was the gutting of the administrative state. It included legislation that now required all agencies to defer to Congress for approval of new programs. Another legacy is the filling of hundreds of vacant federal court positions. Change was everywhere. And of course there were the three ultra-conservative nominees he was able to put on the Supreme Court. If anyone thinks change can come to Ottawa like this, in the time a government is allowed to hold power under Canadian law, I have to bust your bubble. The power structures that underpin Canada are not open to such change in only one five year term. From the unelected Senate and its liberal majority, to the progressive federal bureaucracy where it is impossible to remove civil servants without just cause, and a court system that has only a very small number of justices retiring anytime soon, the reality is clear. Change, on the scale of the Trump administration is impossible. With neither Jean Charest or Pierre Poilievre getting any real traction in Quebec (25,000 memberships sold out of a province with 7 million people), it stands to reason that the Liberals will once again retain power due to vote splitting and the sheer dominance of the progressive and the nationalists who vote for the Bloc Quebecois. In essence, the great barrier in regard to finding a path forward for Western Canadian conservatives and populist with aspirations of forming a majority government in Ottawa hinges on Quebec. This Quebec Veto and its concrete political foundation seems to indicate that it will live forever within the Canadian federation as it is now structured. And if history is prologue, Quebec will never give up this power over Western Canadian conservatives and populists. If Doug Fords re-election proved anything, it was that progressive politics, policies and ideas rule from the Manitoba/Ontario border to the Atlantic Ocean. Doug Ford has turned his party into a high deficit, high spending, socially conscious juggernaut that tows nearly every progressive position that the Trudeau liberals have espoused since their 2015 federal election win. Doug Ford and his team inherently understand the political and social Zeitgeist or General Will of the province of Ontario. If Western Canadian conservatives and populists think you can ignore this reality, you will be out of power forever. Net-Zero, the Emergencies Act, Bills C 21 & C 96 and Other Unacceptable Views For most people who call Western Canada and the Territories home, a conversation beginning with the words Net-Zero carbon emissions is a non-starter and this is not negotiable. The reason is simple, the vast majority of those who live in these places, owe their livelihoods (and their continued future economic prosperity), to emission intensive industries like oil, gas and mining. And for Canadian farmers living in Western Canada there is yet another policy that is of grave concern, and that involves reducing fertilizer emissions by 30%. When looked upon with an objective eye, these policies are nothing but a return to the Pierre Elliot Trudeau years, when the Canadian Wheat Pool and the National Energy Program existed. For the hundreds of thousands that are directly employed in these sectors, that by all standards are the main economic driving force in Western Canadian & Territories, these number are dwarfed by the millions who are indirectly dependent on these sectors for their employment. Even more concerning is the fact that these sectors generate billions in tax revenue that flows both to the provincial treasury and the one that exists in Ottawa. How does the Trudeau & Singh governing coalition expect to replace this revenue? So lets take this one step further down the road. Who is going to pay for their bureaucratic red tape in Ottawa? Where to find the funds for federal transfer payments? And not to mention that it pays for all Canadians social services and health care? All three politicians - Justin Trudeau, Jahgmeet Singh and Francois Legault are all firm believers in this ideology of Net-Zero. Ironically, only one of them (Jahgmeet Singh) lives out west. It is not surprising then when this ideology is discussed by the three amigos, it ends in simple little sound bites about Green jobs, future sustainability and a just transition. To understand the devastation such thinking will create, dive into the numbers for a few moments about those Green Jobs. To take just one example, there are 140,000 Canadians employed in the oil and gas sector. Of that number 125,000 work in Alberta. The average salary for these workers is $46.45/hr. Now lets quickly look at the statistics of a Green job. A wind turbine technician in Alberta makes between $22-38/hr. But more important, is the number of people employed in this Green sector, and that number is 3200. So, once again I ask the question to all three Green politicians, ??? Where will the other 121, 800 jobs come from? *** The populist movement in Canada was redefined and imbued with an incredible amount of new energy and enthusiasm by the Freedom Convoy that peacefully, but loudly, proclaimed their anger and frustration with the Trudeau & Singh government. Incredibly, in just a couple of weeks with a leader like Tamara Lich, the populist movement here in Western Canada that had laid dormant for decades, was able to energize hundreds of thousands and redefine Canadian populism in ways never thought of before. So scared of this Convoy of Freedom that was heading to Ottawa, the Prime Minister suddenly and conveniently caught a cold, sorry ??? I mean Covid-19 and had to sequester himself into isolation. This all the while his government went into siege mode. Eventually, the Prime Minister returned to public view just in time to announce that his government with the help of Jahgmeet Singhs NDP was enacting the Emergencys Act. In reality, what this Freedom Convoy accomplished, shown in the plain light of day, was what our fellow country men and women think of us who live in Western Canada. In fact, this revelation about what others think about our proper place in Confederation, went even further. It is best explained by that old adage, Good children should be seen but not heard! Yes the protest was loud, big and extremely well thought out and planned. But it was never a threat to national security as the committee investigating the use of this Emergency Act has revealed. Furthermore, there was never any proof offered by its detractors that it was a right-wing white supremacy gathering. On top of these lies, the greatest fact to come out of the committee investigating the use of the Emergencies Act, is that no police force in the country, including the RCMP, asked for the implementation and use of the Emergencies act. Let us also not forget the pandering that both the Prime Minister and Mr. Singh did in front of the legacy media and their cameras. For days, each tried to one up the other when it came to shaming, inflaming and falsely exaggerating the monetary costs that were being incurred by the people of Ottawa. Then there was the mutually agreed to delusion, eventually leading to Mr. Singh saying that the so-called Freedom Convoy was there to over throw the Trudeau government. Nothing better explains the rhetoric the Prime Minister was comfortable using as leader of a minority government, when months later he revealed and admitted in a pod cast that he approved in using a politics of division. And his reasons for using this rhetoric of division, because it worked. The most important question not asked about all this political theatre and never talked about at the committee was, If the War Measures Act was still in place, instead of this new Emergencies Act, would The Prime Minster and Mr. Singh have used that to disband the Freedom Convoy? *** The last time I looked, Quebec was still a province within the confines of the Canadian Federation. But the more one looks at the recent legislation that has been passed by the QAC government lead by Fran??ois Legault, it makes it difficult to see how Quebec still adheres to the values and principles that make Canada a multicultural and tolerant society. In fact, it could be argued that something very disturbing is hidden within these political, religious, and linguistic culture mandates. In many respects, that image screams 18th century revolutionary France and 19th century Antebellum America. The French Revolution itself, perhaps more than anything else, played the catalyst to a new era of European geopolitical history. From the revolution, the idea of one people???directly linked to one another through one culture, one language and one history???formed, in essence, the modern nation state. From the example of the French, the rest of Continental Europe, and eventually the world, would follow. Although the American Civil War was not fought on Canadian soil, it has had a profound effect upon Canada in a number of ways that are still evident today. While the Northern states continued to enforce and follow the Constitution and Declaration of Independence, the Southern states drafted a new constitution that they would call their own. Within their document states rights, and state sovereignty were intricate pieces that formed the foundation of their antebellum principles. Within each of these two seminole events in history, it is easy to see how the Quebec of today engineers a world based upon a similar political and intellectual point of view. In particular, this influence can be seen in the constitutional and inter-governmental squabbles that the Quebec of today often finds itself embroiled in, when dealing with the federal government in Ottawa. Whether it is coincidence or just fate, the Quebec of today philosophically has carved out the same constitutional protections and areas of jurisdiction that the antebellum states did in regard to their new Southern federal government. As for the concept of the nation state that France first defined, it is possible to argue that Quebec at one time in the very distant past met the definition of a nation as embodied in 1779 revolutionary France. But today, Quebec is a multi-ethnic, multi-religious and multi-linguistic society, where many people speak a first language that is not English or French, thus delegating French as their official second language. A political reality that Mr. Singh has no intention of reversing, by siding with the Bloc Quebecois and their Bill-C238 to strip non-Francophone Canadian citizens of their language rights. It is this myopic interpretation of history that Legault and other Quebec politicians and intellectuals continue to foist upon the population. Through enforcement, a false conformity becomes reality. What comes next for the individual now that their religious symbols are banned and there is an appropriate language to be spoken at home? With such an environment in place, it does not take the Western Canadian populist long to conclude that Quebec is a society that is sliding backwards in regard to its moral and legal obligations that are spelled out in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Which now begs the question, How should Quebecs racialized citizens respond to these developments? Especially in light of the recent inflammatory comments made by Fran??oise Legault, where he proclaimed that immigrants by their nature were extremists and inherently violent. Would it be inappropriate or bad manners for those who are not genetically connected to the old stock of Quebec society, in thinking that there lies within Legaults words a not so subtle nod to the original Quebecois? If he were alive today, I wonder what Jefferson Davis would think of Bills C-21 & 96? Finally, the position that the Legault government has taken toward Alberta oil and gas is beyond perplexing to all western populists. What is Quebecs justification whereby they prefer to import their oil and gas from outside Canada (think Saudi Arabia and their disdain for Human Rights) at a higher cost, instead of building a pipeline from Alberta to Quebec that would offer these products at a reduced moral and numerical price? For populists in Western Canada, these legislated infringements on the rights of fellow Canadian citizens are a cause of great concern. But what is more troubling for those who call Western Canada home, is that many Quebecers are not interested in the economic prosperity of those who call the west home. All of which, when looked upon from the perspective of a prairie populist, constitutes what can only be described as unacceptable views. *** The Trucker Convoy of Freedom put in motion a number of events that lead to a great many unintended consequences and after-effects that no Canadian could see coming. The two remaining essays in this series will try to put some philosophical understanding and insight into how Canada and Canadians have been changed by the events that took place between January and February of 2022. In particular, the next two essays will focus on the political landscape that has been forever changed out in Western Canada. Every possible political stone will be overturned, to properly detail why Western Canadian populists and conservative minded people need to embrace the new and emerging political movement(s) that are growing in Western Canada & Territories. Furthermore, as details are slowly revealed in regard to this new direction in thinking by todays Western Canadian populist and conservative minded individual, a premise or a philosophical argument will slowly be defined and articulated that creates a path forward for Western Canadian & Territorial Freedom, but not sovereignty. This new political philosophy will also show why we can no longer go hat in hand, and tell our fellow Canadians in Ottawa of our grievances, and how they are thwarting not just our political desires, but our economic prosperity and independence. Coming Next: Westerners Know Trudeau, Singh & Legault Harbour Unacceptable Views (Part 2): Western Separation was always a Canard ??? Time for a New Direction and New Ideas J.R Werbics is a filmmaker, author and a member of the Canadian Philosophical Association. Footnotes: Home
Filipina activist and school administrator Mia Magdalena joins a protest rally denouncing martial law under the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos, in Baguio, Philippines, September 2018.

A Philippine court has found a video blogger guilty of online sexual harassment in the first ruling under a new law in the country where politicians often intimidate women online.

The Municipal Trial Court of La Trinidad, in northern Baguio city, fined Renan I. Padawi (also known as Jackfloyd Sawyer) nearly U.S. $3,000 for violating the Philippines Safe Spaces Act, which became law in 2019.

In ruling on the case, Judge May Adube-Cabuag found Padawi guilty beyond reasonable doubt for violating the Safe Spaces Act. The verdict was delivered on Feb. 1 but made public on Feb. 3.

The law penalizes wolf whistling, catcalling, misogynistic and homophobic slurs, unwanted sexual advances, and other forms of sexual harassment in public places, workplaces, and schools as well as in online spaces.

It is considered a progressive law in the Philippines, a highly paternalistic country where sexism and misogyny are considered enduring problems.

The Padawi case stemmed from a complaint filed by Mia Magdalena against the video blogger who is a supporter of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.

Padawi, 39, posted a video in July on Facebook mocking Magdalena with sexual innuendos after she took Marcos to task on social media and in public for his absence in Abra province after an earthquake at the time.

Magdalena saved the video clips of Padawis online comments, including one where he appeared to threaten her life. She filed the complaint in September. Padawi initially pleaded not guilty but then confessed on Feb. 1 to his crime.

Magdalena, who is also an outspoken political activist, told BenarNews that Padawis attacks had made her feel unsafe in the real world and that she had suffered bouts of anxiety because of them.

When I decided to file my case against Renan Padawi (a.k.a. Jackfloyd Sawyer), I was told by some that it was trivial and that I should withdraw, Magdalena said on Monday.

They said that he had many fans and trolls who would support him. But I also knew that this was the first case of its kind in the community.

Padawi did not immediately respond to media requests for comment.

Facebook is the leading online platform in the Philippines, with an estimated 74 million subscribers as of 2019. That also makes it the most favored platform to spread disinformation and initiate harassment campaigns.
Thai soldiers stand guard in Mae Sot as Myanmar refugees arrive after fleeing clashes between the military and ethnic Karen rebels, Dec. 22, 2021.

Burmese political activists Cherry and Min Thura were walking to a cafe in the Thai border city of Mae Sot when they were stopped by police.

What happened next was the beginning of a nightmare that has haunted thousands of migrants fleeing Myanmar since the February 2021 coup that toppled Aung San Suu Kyis democratically elected government.

With no official documentation, they were arrested, setting in motion a chain of events and spiraling fines, which some advocates said are bribes, to stay in Thailand.

We just apologized and asked them to release us. But they didnt accept that, they just wanted to send us to Myanmar or pay (the money), former political prisoner Cherry, 27, told Radio Free Asia.

For three days, she and her boyfriend, Min Thura, 26, frantically contacted their families and friends from prison cells in Mae Sot to pay the 10,000 baht (about U.S. $300) fee to gain their release. Both said those are not their real names because of their status in Thailand.

Thai police process paperwork for the release of Min Thura and Cherry after they pay a 10,000 baht fee. [Courtesy Min Thura]

Their story is not unique. Naing Aung Aung, the head of the Mae Sot migrant advocacy group Arakan Workers Organization, pointed out that up to 75% of cases will end in deportation and the threat of imprisonment and torture.

For migrant workers, the police department is like hell. They cant ask for help from them because most of the police are just asking for money, he said.

Patrick Phongsathorn, a senior advocacy specialist at Fortify Rights, an NGO specializing in Myanmar, went even further. In all of the cases where refugees have been arrested and that we have spoken to, they have been asked for bribes  its very common, he said.

Thailand to investigate

Fortify Rights reported on Thursday that the National Human Rights Commission of Thailand will investigate the Thai governments treatment of Myanmar refugees after the group shared evidence of potential violations. They included forced returns, arbitrary arrests, detention and extortion by Thai authorities.

Thai police did not immediately respond to a request from RFA for comment on the extortion allegation.

In an Associated Press report on April 20, 2022, Thai Foreign Affairs spokesman Tanee Sangrat said the government categorically denied the existence of any extortion or bribery.

Myanmar refugees who fled their homes amid a surge in violence gather at a temporary shelter in Thailands Mae Sot district, Dec. 18, 2021. [AFP]

Still, the cost of staying in the country comes at a heavy price and a permanent state of legal limbo. At the crux of the problem are police cards or unofficial documents allowing Burmese migrant workers to avoid arrest or deportation.

They are purchased monthly through middlemen or brokers and can now cost 300 to 350 baht ($9 to $11), according to the Arakan Workers Organization. Yet buying a police card is not a guarantee of not being randomly arrested on the streets or deported, Cherry and Min Thura said.

I thought they wouldnt arrest us if we (had a) police card. But in reality, it cannot protect us from arrest. There are no human rights for a human being, for a Burmese, and for an illegal resident. We are refugees, said Min Thura, which is not his real name because of his status in Thailand. It has not ratified the United Nations Refugee Convention and does not officially recognize refugees.

Numbers climbing

Since the military seized power in Myanmar, advocacy group the Foundation for Education and Development has reported that arrests of Burmese migrants have at least doubled while deportations also are on the rise. The Thai NGO recorded 1,400 migrants and 181 arrests in 2022.

Yet the groups spokesman Min Oo said those figures only scratch the surface. There are a lot of unknown cases that are beyond us, [those] that we cant reach, he said.

A recent report from the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs estimated that between 2,000 and 5,000 people a month returned to Myanmar in 2022. Most of them were deported. For those forced into exile, the risks loom large over their lives. 

Young Myanmar refugees carry food aid packages in Thailands Mae Sot district, Jan. 15, 2022. [AFP]

Aung Kyaw, chairman of the Migrant Workers Rights Network, told RFA that the number of people crossing into Thailand increased from 100 per day in 2020 to 2,000 per day in 2022. Thai authorities reported that 60,000 migrants were arrested last year, including up to 45,000 who left Myanmar.

Before fleeing to Thailand, Cherry spent seven months in prison for her role in the protest movement that swept across the war-torn country. Min Thura also lives in fear after being stopped five times by the Thai police. On each occasion, he paid a few thousand baht to avoid arrest and deportation.

We are in a life-threatening situation there (in Myanmar). That is why I paid [the police] the money, he said.

As for the Burmese authorities, they tend to target those involved with the Civil Disobedience Movement, in which government workers have walked off the job in protest of the military coup, or other resistance groups.

High-profile detainees in Thailand reportedly have paid as much as 50,000 baht ($1,520) to stop being deported. Those who have been taken back to the border face a much riskier option by paying Burmese guards at the checkpoints 500,000 kyat ($240) to be released.

Increasingly unable to help

The Arakan Workers Organization said humanitarian groups have become increasingly sidelined from the deportation process. Previously, they met monthly with immigration officials and provided humanitarian aid and welfare checks. But for the last two years, the Thai government reportedly has been cooperating with the Myanmar junta in coordinating deportations.

When NGOs cant get involved anymore, the only people who suffer are the migrant workers, said Naing Aung Aung of AWO. Even [before the coup], there were so many people whose families did not know they had been arrested. But we were able to share information. Now, we cant do that anymore.

Myanmar refugees push a boat carrying food across a river into Thailands Mae Sot district, Jan. 15, 2022. [AFP Photo]

The Thailand Immigration Bureau did not immediately respond to RFAs request for comment.

For Cherry and Min Thura, such help would have been a welcome relief in contacting their parents as they languished in prison. They said Thai police charged them 300 baht ($9) for each phone call.

As you know, I dont have a family here, Min Thura said. We all arrive alone and no one can help in this kind of situation.

Radio Free Asia, a news service affiliated with BenarNews, produced this report.
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The grant program, called Vibe North Street, will award either seed (up to $7,500) or sapling money (up to $25,000). It is funded by the Mass Development's Transformative Initiative and the plan is to award it to four to six applicants.
Community News Editor / Librarian

Jeannie Maschino is community news editor and librarian for The Berkshire Eagle. She has worked for the newspaper in various capacities since 1982 and joined the newsroom in 1989.
Are you ready to explore the unique flavours of Icelandic cuisine? Here is a culinary journey of discovery, as you explore the delightful tastes of this small island nation. From hearty traditional dishes to more modern interpretations, Icelandic cuisine offers something for everyone to enjoy. Get ready to tantalise your taste buds with the delicious flavours of Icelandic cuisine.

An Introduction to Icelandic Cuisine

When booking your flights to Reykjavik you will be happy to know that the Icelandic cuisine is unique and full of flavour, offering a unique range of dishes that are both traditional and modern. From fresh seafood to hearty stews, Icelandic cuisine has something to offer for everyone. The history of Icelandic cuisine dates back to the time of Viking settlers, who brought with them traditional dishes such as smoked lamb and dried fish. Many of these dishes have evolved over time and are still enjoyed today, including the popular smoked lamb dish, hangikjot. In recent years, Icelandic cuisine has become more diverse, with influences from many other cultures, including French, Italian, and Asian. This has resulted in an exciting mix of flavours and ingredients, with restaurants offering an array of different dishes from all around the world.

Traditional Icelandic Dishes

Icelandic cuisine is rooted in the natural environment and the traditional lifestyles of its inhabitants. Icelanders have long relied on the abundant marine life and the plentiful livestock of their environment to sustain themselves. In this way, traditional Icelandic dishes are often a combination of land and sea ingredients, usually cooked together over an open fire. Some of the most popular and well-known traditional Icelandic dishes include:

1. Kjotsupa: Kjotsupa is a hearty soup made with lamb, potatoes, and vegetables. It's a very popular dish served on special occasions or during cold weather.

2. Hangikjot: Hangikjot is smoked lamb, often served as part of a larger meal. It's also a popular ingredient in traditional Icelandic dishes like skyr, an Icelandic yoghurt-like cheese, and kleinur, a deep-fried pastry.

3. Plokkfiskur: Plokkfiskur is a creamy mashed potato dish with fish and a white sauce. It's usually served as a main course with rye bread or boiled potatoes.

4. Harfiskur: Harfiskur is dried fish that has been salted and then hung to dry in the cold air. It's eaten as a snack or as part of a main meal.

5. Svi: Svi is boiled sheep's head that is served with mashed rutabaga and potatoes. It's considered to be a delicacy in Iceland and is traditionally served on Christmas Eve.

Popular Icelandic Foods

When it comes to popular Icelandic foods, there are a few dishes that immediately come to mind. These include skyr, the classic Icelandic yoghurt; hakarl, a cured shark dish; and kleinur, a deep-fried pastry. Skyr is made from skimmed milk, giving it a creamy texture, and is served either plain or with added sugar, fruit, or other flavourings. Hakarl is made by burying a fermented Greenland shark in a sandy beach and then digging it up months later. It has an extremely pungent smell but a surprisingly mild taste.

Icelandic Drinks

Icelandic drinks are a unique and flavorful way to experience the country's culture. From creamy and sweet hot chocolate to the traditional Brennivin, a distilled spirit, there is something for everyone.

 Hot Chocolate: A creamy, sweet treat enjoyed by locals and visitors alike, hot chocolate in Iceland is made with cream and sugar and topped with whipped cream. You can find hot chocolate all over the country, from cafes to grocery stores.

 Brennivin: Brennivin, sometimes called "black death," is a traditional Icelandic distilled spirit made from potatoes and flavoured with caraway seeds. This unique drink is served either chilled or heated and is often accompanied by a piece of smoked puffin meat or fermented shark.

 Beer: Beer has been part of the Icelandic drinking culture for centuries and many breweries across the country are now creating craft beers that reflect their local flavours. Beer is served cold and ranges in colour from golden to dark.

 Skyr: Skyr is a thick yoghurt-like dairy product made from skimmed milk that has been fermented with a culture similar to that used in yoghurt. It can be eaten plain or mixed with fresh fruit, berries, honey, and/or nuts. Skyr is also used in baking and can be found in many forms in grocery stores and restaurants.

 Coffee: Coffee has become an essential part of Icelandic culture, with coffeehouses popping up everywhere. You can find coffee in almost every cafe or restaurant, often served with freshly made pastries.

Where to Eat in Iceland

There is no shortage of amazing places to eat in Iceland, with a variety of traditional dishes, modern fusion cuisines and even some global favourites. From restaurants to cafes and pubs, there is something for every taste and budget. Reykjavik has a plethora of eateries, from Michelin-starred fine dining to inexpensive seafood shacks. Try out "Reykjavik Fish Market" for some of the freshest seafood in the city or "Austur India Fjelagid" for some delicious Icelandic-Indian fusion. Reykjavik also has a vibrant nightlife with pubs, bars and clubs that all serve delicious food. In the countryside, you can find rustic family-run restaurants serving up traditional Icelandic dishes. Try out "Gufu Vik" in Vik, which serves up hearty classics like lamb stew and skyr pancakes.
U.S. Army's 'Four Chaplains' who gave their lives in 1943 sinking of the SS Dorchester honored in ceremony at North Adams American Legion
The centrality of Old Testament worship focused on sacrifice. When the Lord God instituted the office of priest (Exodus 29; Leviticus 8:1-36), He gave many specific instructions to the priests to atone for the sins of His people. The Lord God also gave detailed instructions as to which animals were presented for sacrifice, and how. To understand the Day of Atonement is to understand the Old Testament sacrificial system.

What Is the Day of Atonement?

Atonement, in its purest sense means to be at one, or, right with God, with no enmity or division. After the Lord God established the Levitical priesthood stemming from Aaron, Aarons two sons, Nadab and Abihu offered unauthorized fire before the Lord. While the Bible does not give us details about their intentions, which may have seemed honorable (to themselves), they forsook Gods holiness by disobeying His detailed instructions, And fire came out from before the LORD and consumed them, and they died before the LORD (Leviticus 10:1-2).

Because of Nadabs and Abihus transgression, Leviticus 16 begins with a reminder of what they had done and the difficulty it posed for the nation. Hence, God decreed to Moses the proper order and presentation of sacrifices before the LORD. As His means of dealing with the sins of the people, the LORD established the annual Day of Atonement for His people (Leviticus 16), and the day He chose is the tenth day of the seventh month (Tishri  September/October).

What Does the Bible Say Happened as Part of This Duty?

The Day of Atonement was the only day Aaron (and subsequent priests) were permitted to enter the innermost part of Gods Tabernacle, wherein lay the Ark of the Covenant. The cover of the Ark is called the Mercy Seat or, Atonement seat. Bill Mounce explains, Because he lived there, the Most Holy Place had to be filled with a cloud of incense on the Day of Atonement, lest the high priest see him and die. All forgiveness and purging of sin, of course, is possible only because of the forgiving grace and mercy of God.

The priest, before his annual entrance into the holy of holies, had to procure forgiveness and cleansing from his own sins. He then cleansed the Tabernacle and made the offering for the forgiveness of the peoples sins.

The procedure which follows is as such:

Most were similar to those followed for other sin offerings, except on the Day of Atonement, the blood of the sacrifices was also sprinkled on the Mercy Seat (Leviticus 16:14). The reason was to protect the people from Gods wrath because of the priests and the peoples accumulated sin.

The priest then had to toss incense in the air in front of them as they came near the ark of the covenant so they would be veiled from seeing the Lord (Leviticus 16:12-13). To see him would mean their immediate death (Exodus 33:12-23).

In addition to the sacrificial bull (to cover the priests), two goats were taken into the Tabernacle for the sins of the people (Leviticus 16:6-10). One goat was sacrificed and his blood was sprinkled on the mercy seat. Gods wrath was therefore satisfied via a substitute for the people (propitiation).

The priest then laid hands on the other goat and was sent to Azazel in the wilderness, and freed, carrying away the sins (or perhaps taken away from the people and the holy camp to a deserted mountain where it was killed (expiation).

Why Was This Observance So Important?

Biblical theology writer Alastair Roberts, posits, Yom Kippur, commonly translated as the Day of Atonement, was an appointed fast that occurred on the tenth day of the seventh month. Of all the days marked out in Leviticus 23, this was the high point. On the Day of Atonement, the entire sacrificial system was rebooted. After a year of accumulating sin and impurity, symbolically polluting the system and its ministers, the Day of Atonement cleanses and reestablishes the whole system.

The sacrifices and offerings all pointed to Jesus Christ and His death on the cross as the final and ultimate sacrifice for mans sins (for those who surrender to Him as Lord and Savior).

How Do We See Christ in These Rituals?

Romans 3:25 uses the Greek term, hilasterion for Jesus as a place of atonement. Jesus is now in the place of the Old Testaments mercy seat (seat of atonement). Its in Christ God lives in the flesh (Incarnation), and Gods wrath is propitiated in Him (Romans 1:18). He is our bridge between God and us.

All the sacrificial animals represented the most precious possession of the one who offered the sacrifice. John 3:16 tells us, God so loved the world He gave His one and only Son For God to sacrifice His most precious possession was to sacrifice Himself  wholly unblemished by sin (2 Corinthians 5:21; Hebrews 4:15; 1 Peter 1:18-19, 2:22; 1 John 3:5).

Exodus 12 shows us God required a lamb as one of the sacrificial offerings from the families who could afford it (see also Exodus 29:38).

Jesus is the true Lamb of God Who came to take away the sin of the world (John 1:29).

Old Testament sacrifices provided a pleasing aroma to the Lord (Genesis 8:21; Exodus 29:18; Leviticus 1:9, 17). The offerings made atonement, and God forgave the sins of those who sacrificed in worship to Him.

Even before He went to the cross, God said in the hearing of others, This is My beloved Son. With Him I am well-pleased. Listen to Him (Matthew 17:5). In a sense, then, Jesus is the ultimate pleasing aroma to the Father.

In the Old Testament sacrificial system, the sins of the people were laid on the head of a goat (Leviticus 16:8-26). The goat was then taken away into the wilderness, carrying the sins of the people with it (scapegoat).

Jesus gave His life as a ransom for many (Mark 10:45). As such, His atonement includes the components of expiation and propitiation. Our sins are far removed from us by His atoning work on the cross.

The Old Testament sacrifices show us its the blood which makes atonement. The animals blood represents its life, and very detailed instructions are given to the priests for the slaughter and sprinkling of the blood. The life (blood) of the animal is poured out in its death, which brings peace between God and the people (Leviticus 17:11).

Jesus blood poured out on the cross purifies us from our sin  all our sin (Hebrews 12:24; 1 John 1:7).

Hebrews 8 - 10 present Jesus as the great High Priest (none other is necessary) and He is the ultimate sacrifice (again, no other is necessary). When Jesus hung on the cross in agony unendurable by any but Him, He uttered seven statements. The Bible records one of them as, It is finished (John 30). Lest anyone try to add to what He has done, His work on the cross ended the sacrifices for sin. He alone  the Gospel and our complete and perfect atonement  is the totality of atonement.

What Does This Mean for Christians?

Because Jesus is the center of the entire biblical narrative, atonement is essential to our understanding of Scripture. We cannot fully understand Christs work on the cross without knowledge of the Old Testament and how the sacrificial system was a foreshadow of Christ. When the first Adam sinned, he brought spiritual and physical ruin and destruction on humanity. Because of his imputed sin on us, we are darkness until God calls us to Him in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 5:8; John 6:44, 14:6). But Jesus, who is the Last Adam (1 Corinthians 15:22, 45), redeems us.

Jesus, while never giving up His deity, had to come as a man in order to redeem us  to atone for our sins. He was and is fully God and fully man (Philippians 2:6-8). One of the same human nature must pay for humanitys sins, as God decreed. Christ fulfilled that sacrifice on the cross.

Because of Jesus atoning sacrifice:

- When we come to Jesus in confession, repentance, and faith in Him, we are forgiven and are reconciled to God (Romans 5:1-11).

- We are now part of the already-not-yet, of the kingdom of God within every believer. We who are truly saved will never lose our salvation and, while we enjoy the partial benefits of kingdom life here on earth, they will not be fully realized until we reach our glorified state in heaven. Until then, God takes us from one degree of glory to another as He sanctifies us (2 Corinthians 3:18).

- We would not have the Holy Spirit to abide in us. Jesus, during His last night with His disciples, told them if He didnt go away, the Helper (the Holy Spirit) would not come (John 15:26, 16:7).

This years Day of Atonement observance for Jews (also called Yom Kippur) is from evening September 23 - evening September 24. It is the most holy and solemn day on their calendar. As Christians, we are to look to Scripture to help us understand why they do what they do. A study of Jesus as portrayed in Hebrews is a great starting point as we reach out to Jewish people by pointing them to Jesus once-for-all atoning death on the cross. His atonement is our only hope to bring us to reconciliation with God.

Photo credit: Getty Images/GordonImages

Lisa Loraine Baker is the multiple award-winning author of Someplace to be Somebody. She writes fiction and nonfiction. In addition to writing for the Salem Web Network, Lisa serves as a Word Weavers mentor and is part of a critique group. She also is a member of BRRC. Lisa and her husband, Stephen, a pastor, live in a small Ohio village with their crazy cat, Lewis.
UW-Madison Global Health Institute and Ella Foundation ink agreement to establish the first-ever UW-Madison One Health Centre in India

University of Wisconsin (UW)-Madison Global Health Institute (GHI) in the US and the Ella Foundation, founded by Dr Krishna Ella and Suchitra Ella, signed a bi-lateral agreement in New Delhi recently to establish the first ever UW-Madison One Health Centre in Bengaluru. The Centre is expected to be operational by end of 2023.

UW-Madison One Health Centre will advance the development and production of new vaccines for India. Furthermore, the partnership will enable collaboration across disciplines and geographic boundaries, provide Indian students and researchers access to UW expertise and training, and build research capacity in India.

One of the key benefits of the One Health Centre is to provide opportunities for UW students and researchers to work first-hand with emerging infectious diseases, collaborate with new colleagues, and see how environment, politics, and social structures affect health.

Both Ella Foundation and UW-Madison GHI share a common vision to advance innovation in science, research, and knowledge sharing. Establishing the UW-Madison Global One Health Centre holds great significance as it will advance global health through research, education, and community engagement by facilitating student, faculty exchanges, research and education, said Dr Krishna Ella, Director, Ella Foundation, Co-Founder and Executive Chairman of Bharat Biotech.

UW-Madison GHI Director Dr Jorge Osorio said, The partnership between GHI and the Ella Foundation will continue GHIs outreach efforts to establish a One Health Centre in India. The India One Health Centre joins a global network that includes Africa and Latin America and will open new opportunities for research, education, and provide actionable outcomes to benefit humans, animals, and ecosystems that advance equitable and sustainable health across India and the world."

Image caption- Dr Krishna Ella, Director, Ella Foundation, Co-Founder and Executive Chairman of Bharat Biotech (L) and UW-Madison GHI Director Dr Jorge Osorio
Designed to support clinical decisions and assist with primary care, condition management, home care, and wellness

The Apollo Hospitals group has announced the launch of Apollo Clinical Intelligence Engine- a clinical decision support tool, to be open to use by all doctors in India on Apollo 24|7s platform. Developed using the latest techniques in artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML), this tool is all set to revolutionise Indian healthcare by exponentially elevating the accuracy of diagnosis, doctor productivity and patient satisfaction, all in one go.

The Clinical Intelligence Engine is capable of analysing vast amounts of data to help healthcare professionals identify patterns which may be missed otherwise. Numerically speaking, the intelligence engine has over 1300 conditions and 800 symptoms in its vocabulary, covering 95% of everyday case mix in OPDs.

Built by over 100 engineers, using 40 years of data from Apollo and the collective intelligence of 1000s of doctors along with supporting data from peer-reviewed journals, it is among the largest connected health data lakes in the world, which has been tested and validated by quite a few global academic institutions.

Designed specifically for the South Asian Region mix, this indigenous breakthrough is powered by a knowledge base built, maintained and periodically reviewed by an in-house team of more than 500 Apollo doctors and specialists. It helps and support differential diagnosis situations as well, enabling doctors to be more prompt and precise for better clinical outcomes.

The Apollo CIE also increases the scale of operation for healthcare providers by helping organisations meet the multi-channel demand for access with safe, clinically validated health interactions via the Symptom Checker and doctors equipped with this expert clinical knowledge system.
Youth marketing specialists, Student Village and Youth Dynamix, have conducted a survey of nearly 3,000 young people to explore the socio-economic dynamics of South Africans aged 15 to 34 years. The research reveals a potential spending pool of R303bn per year and uncovers exciting trends around what drives the younger generation's lifestyle and spending habits.

The younger generations awareness of their higher purpose to fix the broken world they were born into, is inspiring. Were seeing the emergence of micro-hustlers, youngsters turning their passions into businesses, social justice and environmental warriors, as well as young leaders making moves in business and politics. Thats why we prefer to call them Gen RE  as a collective theyre helping us recalibrate the way we do things in every facet of our lives, says Ronen Aires, founder and CEO of Student Village.

Understanding Gen RE for a thriving economy

Some of the key findings of the Gen RE report include statistics around living arrangements, family responsibilities, attitudes and behaviours, and the evolution of income and spending activities from one stage of life to the next.

With an estimated disposable income of R303bn, brands cannot afford to overlook Gen REs uniqueness and preferences as consumers or employees, says Aires.

Some key emerging research themes include:

90% of young people will support brands that share and demonstrate their personal values.



34% of South African Gen REs have a side hustle, and are looking to integrate their side hustle into their everyday life and demands.



Two-thirds of survey participants admitted to being significantly stressed. Major causes of anxiety include finishing their studies, making ends meet financially, the impact of loadshedding, and unemployment.



While 30% of working young people are contributing financially to the family unit, 71% are still living at home, due to the increasing costs and complications of independent living.



The highest youth spend categories include groceries, mobile devices and data, and beauty and cosmetic products.

The survey also uncovers further details about activity trends, social media preferences, other shopping practices and key retail markets  and more. The full report is available for purchase from 19 January for R49,500 ex VAT. It promises to be a source of immeasurable value and insight for brands looking for innovative, facts-driven methods to connect with up-and-coming consumers and employees.




Taryn Knight, Greer Hogarth, Candice Thurston, Nicole Ogle, and Zahirah Marty

For the first time on the continent, both established and aspiring influencers got together to learn about how to co-create value with leading consumer brands, develop authentic brand content and, as importantly, monetise their platforms. The festival offered a rare and valuable opportunity for them to engage directly with brand owners and leading influencer marketing experts, who provided insider insights into how to create, sustain and grow a viable influencer brand.

With the influencer industry growing rapidly  and fast becoming oversaturated  influencers who want to make a name for themselves have to learn how to create a compelling brand, cut through the clutter on social media, and stand out from their competitors. The secret? An authentic voice.

Authenticity was the big buzzword at the festival, which featured brand and PR specialist Zahirah Marty; entrepreneur and influencer Mpoomy Ledwaba; and comedian and content creator Donovan Goliath. And the message they had was clear: when influencers stay honest, authentic and genuine in their engagement with consumers, it builds a sense of trust; trust not only in the influencer as a person but also in the products or brands they promote. Successful influencers also have a defined niche in the social media landscape and, of course, they work with brands that match their profiles and interests. They have to find innovative and creative ways in which to use their social media platforms to deliver something unique and special to their target audiences.

Mpoomy Ledwaba, digital entrepreneur and podcaster Donovan Goliath, comedian and content creator

Another hot topic at the festival was monetisation, which has never been more relevant. With unemployment among young people aged between 15 and 24 currently at 66.5% in South Africa (source: GCIS), tapping into the influencer industry could offer an accessible, viable and sustainable source of income for many.

With many opportunities developing in this space, influencers attending the festival were keen to learn as much as possible. They actively participated in both the general panel discussion and the and the breakaway Masterclass sessions in the Youtube, Instagram and Tik-Tok specific tracks. They were not shy to ask some of the hard questions about what to do, what to avoid doing and what to look out for on their brand development journeys.

The Content Hub was a particularly popular feature, with influencers queueing to shoot branded content for their social media pages. The hub provided them with the opportunity to pitch their platforms to leading brands and to shoot posts and reels featuring brands aligned to their social media profiles. Content shot at the hub will be monitored by Fluence Africa and feedback will be shared with the relevant brands. Brands will also have the opportunity to connect with the influencers who have produced the most effective content and to onboard them to help promote products or develop more extensive campaigns.

Joelene Roelofse, Fluence Africa founder

I was overwhelmed by the interest in the festival and by the energy the influencers brought to the event, says Fluence Africa founder, Jolene Roelofse. I was especially impressed by how intentional the speakers and masterclass hosts were in communicating their knowledge and in getting their messages across. We were also able to confirm how much of a need there is for a Content Hub and we look forward to the opening of a permanent Fluence Content Hub in Randburg Square in March. Our role as an agency is to be the conduit between influencers and brands, providing access and opportunity to influencers an access to multiple platforms and channels to brands. We endeavor to create a professional environment where content creators can work together with brands to drive revenue, has led to the creation of the festival. Our aim is to make content creation more accessible, by removing the cost of photographer/videographer, location costs, and providing access to brands. This is the purpose of the Content hub that we created for the festival, where brands can display their products and lifestyle content can be shot.

The first Fluence Africa Influencer Festival went off with a bang, demonstrating not only how many opportunities there are for influencers to work with brands, but also the value of an information-sharing and networking event of this kind.

Fluence is now planning to host the second festival later this year and also to expand into Africa, building on the learnings from this event to develop ever more opportunities in this new media category.

If you are a budding influencer and would like to join the Fluence Community please visit www.fluence.africa or connect with @FluenceAfrica on Instagram.




With Easter just around the corner, those in Johannesburg will be turning their minds to the annual Rand Show , which has been a feature in the city since 1894. Of course, those who run the show year-on-year have changed as dramatically as the show has itself, and this year the Rand Show will be helmed by Adele Hartdegen, who was announced CEO of both Dogan Exhibitions and events and the Johannesburg Expo Centre in February 2020.

Adele Hartdegen

As Hartdegen admits, the job is a significant one as recently the legacy brand has taken something of a knock, with the trials of Covid-19 only further entrenching a decline in attendance and reputation. Hartdegen comes to the job with the skills and reputation necessary to restore the Rand Show to its former glory.

Having come to the role after five years as head of department at the global GL events group, Hartdegens wealth of marketing and brand development experience together with acknowledged business acumen and customer relationship building skills are precisely what Johannesburgs most well-known expo needs.

Its very much my intention to ensure the Rand Show is returned to its former glory, not in visitor numbers necessarily, but definitely in restoring the credibility and value behind this amazing brand, she explains.

She adds that building a solid brand for the events owners - Dogan Exhibitions and Events - is also a strong contender for her main ambition while at the helm.

And it looks like she is off to a good start. The Rand Show is famously already developing a strong focus on supporting and growing Small to Medium Business Enterprises. This years Rand Show has announced two significant initiatives to grow the businesses they work with.

As well as offering stall holders the chance of winning R50 000 in business development funding through their stalls in Hall 7, the Rand Show will also be hosting its first SMME Summit for stall holders. The summit aims to connect SMMEs with corporate and public sector representatives who play a role in the SMME sector through funding, training and access to the market.

Its an unsurprising path for Hartdegen to guide the Rand Show down, given her reputation for business growth and being able to both appoint and mentor team members for the best results. As the old saying goes, A rising tide raises all boats, and its clear that businesses in South Africa would do well to assist Hartdegen in her aim of building the Rand Show into that rising tide.
Feature: Homegrown jetliner brings aviation fever, prosperity to mountainous area

Xinhua) 08:48, February 06, 2023

YINCHUAN, Feb. 5 (Xinhua) -- Ma Zhijun will never forget the day he watched the C919, China's first indigenously-developed large jetliner, arrive in his home city of Guyuan, northwest China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region.

Ma, a 10-year-old primary school student in a mountain village, dreams of being a pilot. In December last year, he and his classmates were brought to the Liupanshan Airport, located in Guyuan, to witness the successful test flight, from Shanghai to Ningxia, of the first C919 aircraft delivered to China Eastern Airlines.

According to the Science and Technology Commission of Shanghai, China Eastern Airlines is expected to put the aircraft into commercial operation by the spring of 2023. By the end of 2022, the C919 had gained 1,035 orders from 32 customers.

"It was amazing to see my country's homegrown large passenger aircraft come to my hometown," said Ma, whose parents had painted a big plane on the walls of their house.

With a maximum flight range of over 5,000 km, the C919 not only excited Ma and his peers for several days, but also fueled a craze for aviation in the Liupanshan Mountain region, which was a revolutionary base of the Communist Party of China and once a highly impoverished area in Ningxia.

In Xiji County, about 60 km west of Guyuan, an aviation museum received hundreds of visitors every day. It displays the research and development history of the C919, and offers access to simulator facilities for the public.

"My 14-year-old daughter has been here three times, experiencing piloting simulation, and learned something new each time," said Liu Defei, a local government employee.

At his daughter's middle school, an aviation lab has also been set up where students can learn more about airplanes and aviation.

Moreover, the Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China, Ltd., which developed the C919, chose the Liupanshan Mountain as a training base for pilots, due to its adverse weather conditions that make flying more difficult, such as fog, strong winds and heavy snow.

Over the past few years, the company has stationed a team in Xiji County to help the local government with rural revitalization and poverty alleviation efforts.

Products made by local women such as embroidery, embroidered shoes and pillows, paper cuttings and Chinese herbal medicines, were funded and promoted by the company, increasing the income of the villagers.

"We promote these products because they are made by local people with their hearts. It's more valuable," said Li Lin, a company official who had worked in Xiji.

Thanks to China's poverty alleviation campaign, Xiji shook off poverty in 2020.

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun)
Authorities from Beijing have condemned the United States government after the American military deployed fighter jets on Saturday to shoot down a Chinese high-altitude balloon hovering over the Atlantic Ocean that was suspected to be a spy balloon.

On Saturday, US President Joe Biden approved the shooting down of the balloon, saying that his administration was going to "take care" of it. The next day, the Pentagon noted that the balloon did not pose a military or political threat.

China's High-Altitude Balloon

After the US military shot down the Chinese balloon, Navy and Coast Guard vessels scoured the ocean area for its debris. These were found and taken to an FBI laboratory in Quantico, Virginia, for analysis by the agency's experts and intelligence agencies.

After the incident, Chinese officials released a statement on Sunday expressing their "strong dissatisfaction and protest" against Washington's decision. China's Foreign Ministry reiterated that they requested the American government to handle the situation calmly, professionally, and restrainedly, as per CNN.

They added that Beijing will "resolutely safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of relevant companies while reserving the right to make a further necessary reaction." Following the balloon being shot down, the head of China's weather service was relieved of his duty. This is seen as Beijing's attempt to masquerade the high-altitude balloon as of civilian nature.

The official, identified as Zhuang Guotai, was the head of the China Meteorological Administration, and his departure was somewhat anticipated. Last month, he was elected the head of the western Gansu province's People's Political Consultative Committee, the local political advisory body.

Authorities from the Colombian Air Force said that they detected an object that had characteristics similar to a balloon on February 3, a few hours after the US military shot down the Chinese balloon.

Read Also: Russia-Ukraine War Update

Condemnation From Beijing

Lawmakers from both sides of the government questioned how the high-altitude balloon was allowed to pass over the United States. Furthermore, Republicans blamed the Biden administration for not acting on the matter sooner, according to the New York Times.

In a statement, Arkansas Republican Sen. Tom Cotton said that the US government should have shot down the Chinese balloon over the Aleutians. He argued that they should not have let it float across middle America for as long as it had.

The lawmaker added that the idea of letting a spy balloon complete its mission over the United States is an embarrassment to the country. On the other hand, New Jersey Democratic Sen. Cory Booker praised the US military for their operation to shoot down the balloon.

He described the incident as a decision centered on protecting human life but cautioned that it should not have happened at all. During an interview, he said that this type of incursion should not even occur in the United States in the first place.

Several China experts are sharing their expectations of Beijing's next moves following the US military's operation against the high-altitude balloon. In a phone interview, Heino Klinck, the former Deputy Assistant of Defense for East Asia, said that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) would accuse the US of being provocative and "taking kinetic action to remove this Chinese aircraft from American airspace" said Fox News.

Related Article: China, Russia To Boost International Relations

@ 2023 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
New Media has had one of its best award seasons on record, with the South African content marketing agency winning big in New York and London.

Eight gongs at The Content Council Pearl Awards in New York in late December brought New Medias tally of international award wins in 2022 to 14, including 10 golds.

The Pearl Awards wins were:

Content Director of the Year: Kate Wilson ( Woolworths TASTE )



) Gold for Best Overall Content Program: Woolworths TASTE



Gold for Best Print Experience B2C: Woolworths TASTE



Gold for Best Use of Influencer Strategy: Woolworths TASTE



Gold for Best Use of Photography: VISI



Silver for Best Cover: Woolworths TASTE



Silver for Most Effective Food & Beverage: Food24 & Rhodes Quality



Bronze for Best Use of Video: Mediclinic

Wilsons gold for Content Director of the Year followed her winning silver for Editor of the Year at the International Content Marketing Awards in London earlier in the month.

Woolworths TASTE

New Media CEO Aileen Lamb says: The TASTE team had an extraordinary showing at the Pearl Awards, which is testament to the passion and professionalism with which they approach their craft. TASTE won golds in four of the five categories they entered and a silver for the other one. Its the best the team has ever done at the Pearls. I am very proud of them, and of our Mediclinic, VISI and Food24 teams, who also notched remarkable results. Superb work all round!

New Media-owned brand VISI

In September, New Media triumphed at The Folio: Eddie & Ozzie Awards, also in New York. Woolworths TASTE took home gold for Best Video and Overall Art Direction in Content Marketing. Meanwhile, New Media-owned brand Leading Architecture + Design won gold for best B2B Redesign and long-standing New Media creative director Mark Serra trumped all international competition in the consumer category to win the special recognition Art Director of the Year award  for his work as creative director on New Media-owned VISI.

McCain Family Cookbook brought to you by Food24

In August, New Media and in-house digital solutions agency Swipe iX won gold for Best Use of Technology as Part of a Content Marketing Program at the Content Marketing Awards in New York. This was the second major international award for the McCain Family Cookbook brought to you by Food24, a first-of-its-kind cookbook print-on-demand platform. (The same project won gold for Best Use of Innovative Technology at the 2021 UK-based International Content Marketing Awards.)

Lamb concludes: Its official: New Media and Swipe iX are where internationally award-winning content strategists, editors, art directors and videographers collaborate with the best software developers and UX specialists in South Africa. Together, we tell the stories that matter most on platforms people love to use. Our Purple People excelled throughout 2022  not only in producing work recognised globally by competition judges, but in being there for our clients and adding real value to their customers lives.
Person Living with Albinism (PLWA) in sub-Saharan Africa face multiple challenges which restrict their daily lives. These include visual impairments, vulnerability to skin infections and a high risk of cancer because of the lack of melanin in their skin. Despite these challenges of the body, people with albinism also face negative attitudes and misunderstandings from their families and communities. Such challenges mean that people with albinism are often excluded from society, including access to education and therefore have limited opportunities to earn a sustainable income.

Athenkosi Kwinana will be exhibiting at the 10th Investec Cape Town Art Fair taking place from 17-19 February 2023 at the Cape Town International Conference Centre. Image supplied.

Athenkosi Kwinana, a visual activist based in Johannesburg, South Africa, felt the discrimination against Person Living with Albinism when growing up. When Kwinana started attending school, she was bullied based on the fact that she has Albinism. Even though she had friends, they would go home early when each school day ended, and she was left in aftercare waiting for her mother to fetch her after work.

"I was isolated. No one wanted to play with me or even touch me. So I turned to drawing as a method of coping. The school centre provided paper and crayons for children, and I used that to my advantage", Kwinana.

This was just the start for Kwinana as she shares her journey, "years later, in high school, I started learning more about art and what techniques were available. I later matriculated from high school and enrolled in university to study fine art. Eight years later, I have a Masters Degree in Fine Art, and now I practice art daily".

Kwinana works in both drawing and printmaking. In 2017, she graduated from the Walter Sisulu University in the Eastern Cape with a National Diploma in Fine Art, earning a Bachelor of Technology in Fine Arts in 2018, before embarking on her Masters in Fine Arts at the University of Johannesburg (UJ), which she completed in 2022.





Athenkosi Kwinana is one of the many artists exhibiting at the 10th Investec Cape Town Art Fair taking place from 17-19 February 2023 at the Cape Town International Conference Centre.

"My art practice inquires how Black PLWA are currently being represented in contemporary South African visual culture, and what this signifies about stigmas and prejudices around PLWA. I therefore explore the visual representation of existing societal issues, my albinotic body, and attitudes around gender, as these pertain to PLWA"

Image supplied

"As an individual living with Albinism, I explore my own experiences and with those of other PLWA. I speak about the trauma and the beauty of living with Albinism. I specialise both in drawing and printmaking, and at the moment I have been working on drawings while improving my printmaking techniques in the background" notes Kwinana.

Kwinana is influenced by a long list of artists, both locally and internationally, but what they have in common is their unique use of colour, contrast, and texture. As the long lists contnues, they currently include painters Tusevo Landu and Keita Morimoto.

As a visual activist, Kwinana's artworks and texts explore and challenge the questionable representation of Albinism in the art world. Her aim is to create and maintain constructive representations, constructive dialogues, and archives about PLWA (persons living with Albinism).

"My lack of melanin and poor vision should not justify why I or the next PLWA should be killed, bullied, or excluded from societies; I am human too, and my experiences are valid too." is the message Kwinana hopes to portray through her artwork.

PLWA still experience discrimination and violence in South Africa daily and globally.

Despite being a PLWA, Kwinana believes that artists in South Africa face the challenges of sustainability and marketing. To tackle this, she says, "there needs to be more awareness created around the arts as well as access to financial investors, which is currently limited".

Image supplied

Represented by Berman Contemporary, Kwinana has received very positive feedback and as a result, has received invitations to residencies and galleries to showcase her work. In 2022, Kwinana was invited to join a five-week artist programme with the Admirals Residency in Muizenberg, Cape Town, which she completed in July of the same year. She was awarded the Cultures Resistance Award and was selected for the Tilga Art Fund, an educational scholarship programme. She has also exhibited in The Annual Winter Show and Senses and Lenses at Berman Contemporary, as well as 1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair in London.

Talking about the future, Kwinana enthusiastically says, "I have an academic background, and my dreams for the future are to obtain my PhD in Fine Art and publish academic journals as well. I would like to open a space in the near future where art is used as a method of healing and where there are textual sources on disability and art. As an artist, I would love to partake in international and local exhibitions, residencies, and fellowships".

You can view her latest projects on Instagram (@kwinanaaaa) where you can find additional links to purchase her works. View her artist portfolio at bermancontemporary.com

Catch Athenkosi Kwinana at the 2023 Investec Cape Town Art Fairs SOLO section, curated by author, critic, journalist, and editor Sean OToole (Cape Town, South Africa) and is titled Times Pencil.
The South African Institute of Architects (SAIA) inaugurated Amira Osman as its 70th president at an event on Thursday, 2 February, attended by government, industry, academic and professional leadership.

SAIA inaugurates Amira Osman as its 70th president

Keynote speaker Judge Albie Sachs, who commented on his previous experience as an adjudicator for the SAIA Awards, reflected how buildings that had social and spatial significance and impacted on the lives of communities needed to be acknowledged.

Sachs spoke about his experience in the building of the Constitutional Court on the historical site of notorious apartheid prisons and where diverse Johannesburg neighbourhoods meet. He explained how an international architectural competition saw the transformation of the site into a building and a space that resonated with the users and the community. He felt a sense of joy whenever he approached the site, explaining how he perceived that as a transformed architectural practice.

Regenerating Africa's socio-ecological systems

Tokunbo Omisore, International Union of Architects (UIA) vice-president, Region V trustee, and past president of the Africa Union of Architects, who joined via Zoom, drew parallels with the UIA World Architectural Congress held in Durban in 2014 and the upcoming UIA Congress in Copenhagen in July 2023.

Omisore explained how Africas Great Green Wall, which promotes sustainable development and climate change mitigation, will feature in Copenhagen, exploring how the profession can contribute to regenerating the socio-ecological systems of the continent and making them more resilient in the face of climate change and degradation, all while supporting and promoting indigenous knowledge and traditional technologies.

Our world is facing climatic challenges that are subjecting many to poverty. To survive and thrive, the architectural profession must think creatively and engage collectively in the Conference of Parties on Climate Change to address these challenges, urged Omisore.

Multi-dimensional transformation

Osman, the South African research chair in spatial transformation (positive change in the built environment), said Transformation is multi-dimensional.

Transforming our profession is about how we teach, research, and practice, as well as the demographic profile of the architectural community. Every project and site level intervention has the potential to be transformational.

She invited the Department of Human Settlements to partner with the built environment professions to implement innovative pilot projects where experimentation is promoted. These are seen as critical as policy change.

Architecture a scarce skill

Osman pointed out that the Department of Home Affairs identifies architecture as a scarce skill, citing President Cyril Ramaphosas statement in the National Assembly on 3 November 2022 that there is a lack of suitably qualified town planners to assist with urban planning. She questioned whether these are true and why there is a constant side-lining of the South African disciplines that can most assist in achieving spatial transformation, namely the spatial experts, town planners, and architects.

Osman complimented the Department of Human Settlements on the recent passing of new norms and standards for rental housing gazetted in January 2023. An architect was part of the team that helped in this important milestone, which should be a game-changer in achieving quality housing environments because design matters. At the heart of the policy is the pursuit of integrated housing environments that provide amenities for residents and seek to transform our cities.

Reclaiming what architecture is

In keeping with the theme of the event, SAIA vice-president architect Mokena Makeka moderated a discussion about the importance and urgency of spatial transformation. Makeka said there is a need for a sustained dialogue to discuss the relationship between architecture and cities.

All too often our profession is perceived as the arbiter of good taste when it comes to good buildings. We are seen as aesthetic purveyors that work in elitist spaces and are obsessed with details. We need to reclaim what architecture is, which is the creation of society and cities, said Makeka.

The event concluded with the following awards:
World Economic Forum New Champions' community awards Honoris United Universities for excellence in adaptive capacity

At the World Economic Forum headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, Honoris United Universities, the first and largest network of private higher education institutions in Africa, received the prestigious award for excellence in Adaptive Capacity as part of the New Champions Annual Awards 2022.

In March this year, Honoris was welcomed into the New Champions cohort of the World Economic Forum, a group of 118 dynamic high-growth companies (amongst which only eight are African), that are championing new business models, emerging technologies, and sustainable growth strategies in the Fourth Industrial Revolution. Every year, the World Economic Forum New Champions Awards celebrates excellence among its members. This year they looked at how they were creating lasting impact in their industries across three categories: Adaptive Capacity, Sustainable Growth, and Societal Impact. The awards were unveiled during a ceremony as part of the New Champions Annual Retreat, which also welcomed a state of the world address by the forums founder and executive chairman, Professor Klaus Schwab.

Adaptive capacity is defined by the World Economic Forum as the combination of both agility and resilience. It is the ability of people, organisations, systems, and institutions to respond to extraordinary external change not only to maintain their position but to adjust and thrive in a new normal. Adaptive capacity for Honoris is not just a reaction to the changing landscape of education post-pandemic but a part of its DNA since its inception in 2017. The transformative network takes a student-centric approach to increase access and quality of higher education in Africa, combining the expertise of its member institutions to prepare students for success in a complex, continuously changing world of work.

As students continue to find new ways to learn amidst the Fourth Industrial Revolution, educators must transform the delivery and curriculum to meet their needs, particularly in the key employability sectors in Africa. Honoris has built several centers of excellence in business education, health and engineering, IT, and recently in digital creative arts, combining the delivery of online and in-person education with state-of-the-art learning environments. The Honoris employability approach includes over 700 partnerships with international employers like Toyota, Orange, Dangote, Adidas, Microsoft, and IBM, supported by 23 physical and digital career centres, contributing to its successful 83% employability rate across Africa. The World Economic Forum is the international organisation for public-private cooperation.

Established in 1971 as a not-for-profit foundation, it is an independent and impartial international organisation that strives to demonstrate entrepreneurship in the global public interest while upholding the highest standards of governance. Akin to the Honoris values of collaborative intelligence and mobile mindsets, the forum believes that progress happens by bringing together people from all walks of life who have the drive and the influence to make positive change. Honoris United Universities Group CEO Dr Jonathan Louw commented, As we come to the end of another year of continued change across the globe, we are humbled to receive the award for Adaptive Capacity from the World Economic Forum New Champions community. 2022 has been an exceptional year for our network, we have graduated more than 20,000 students across our institutions, and our student number grew to over 71,000. This is thanks to the passion and dedication of our people. The World Economic Forum New Champions award demonstrates the power and capability of unity in working toward a common goal, and as we head towards a new year, we recognise that our adaptive capacity as people and as an organisation will continue to be crucial in our efforts to transform the continent.

Julia Devos, head of New Champions at the World Economic Forum, added, Our community of New Champions gather mission driven companies that are transforming the future. We are on a mission to expand this group of inspired leaders to create additional shared value for society. Honoris United Universities is a perfect example and we congratulate them again for their New Champions award 2022.

By focusing on expansion in both new and existing markets, alongside strategic partnerships with the most innovative and groundbreaking organisations in the education sector, Honoris will continue its Education for Impact mission by continuously seizing and transforming new opportunities.




Google has unveiled search activity for January 2023, which showed a lot of curiosity around sporting events, matric results and innovations in technology.

At the top of many households' minds, was how to check matric results online. This also appeared as the second most searched term for the month. Off the back of this, ahead of many starting the new journey to tertiary education, came queries around how to upload documents onto the NSFAS website. This appeared in both top terms and questions searched.

Searches around registration to Unisa as well as queries around Vaal University of Technology (VUT) also appeared in the top 10 most searched terms.

The month also brought with it endless headlines around Artificial Intelligence and how this will impact the livelihoods of employees globally. Of particular interest for those turning to Search, was the burgeoning of ChatGPT, a chatbot launched in November of 2022 by OpenAI.

In true reflection of being a sport loving nation, sporting fixtures such as the FA Cup, the Australian Open and SA20 appeared in searches throughout January. News of the untimely death of American rally driver Ken Block in a snowmobiling accident on 2 January, also appeared in the top 5 most searched terms.

Excited about upcoming celebrations, South Africans also searched for when Valentine's day is, and were curious about New years day 2023.

Below is a full list of everything that piqued South Africa's curiosity in January:

Top searched questions

How to check matric results online 2022 with id number What is technology How to upload documents on nsfas What is tourism What is chatgpt What is a prime number What is geography What is history What is a map When is valentine's day 2023

Top searched terms
Everything about the Nissan Qashqai hits the rights notes. From aesthetically good looks, sleek lines, a comfortable interior and a smooth and comfortable ride with very good fuel consumption figures.

Image credit: Naresh Maharaj Image credit: Naresh Maharaj Image credit: Naresh Maharaj

Its a pleasing blend of hatchback space with SUV practicality. Looks mighty impressive in a somewhat aggressive stance. But what about the drive? At launch, I drove the Qashqai from Camps Bay up onto one of the most scenic drives in the world, Chapmans Peak. It was just as a good route to really put the Qashqai through its paces.

Locally, in KZN, it was another pleasing ride, as I drove on the N3 to the scenic Midlands. You feel the quality and the urge to drive the Qashqai through the twisty and winding Valley of a Thousand Hills. Hailed as one of the pioneers of the crossover segment, the Qashqai has always been an industry benchmark and the third generations introduction, with its fresh, modern and sporty style, has retained the models identity, signalling a positive for the design consistency of Nissans crossover range.

Sleek lines mean a more muscular and sharper exterior design, the all-new Qashqai features a bigger V-Motion front grille, as well as slim LED matrix headlamps with new daylight running lights that further enhance its stance and presence.

New benchmarks in safety

The new Qashqai combines a sporty design with an all-around overall premium packaging that does not compromise on performance, style, and function. It also offers new benchmarks in comfort, safety and driving dynamics coupled with the latest Nissan Intelligent Mobility (Nim) technology whilst boasting a redefined and powerful 1.3T engine, mated to a refined Xtronic Automated transmission.

South Africans will be able to drive at ease, knowing that safety is at the heart of the third-generation Qashqai.

It is equipped with advanced safety technologies designed to watch the road, keeping all passengers safe and providing peace of mind. One of the safety functions ensuring passenger safety is through the onboard Predictive Front Collision Warning, which keeps an eye up to two vehicles ahead, and when the system detects a sudden deceleration ahead, it gives the driver an audible and visual warning to slow down.

The new Nissan Qashqai harnesses the use of a full suite of technologies to help the driver avoid unintentional lane departure through its Lane Keeping Aid (LKA), keeping the driver centred in the lane using either a steering wheel action or breaking in an emergency.

Comfort, premium, and class

Elegance and comfort add to the allure of the all-new Nissan Qashqai, fitted with premium full Napa leather seats with quilted fronts for a relaxing, comfortable, and enjoyable seating experience. It is engineered with the ultimate purpose, function, and quality in mind.

The NissanConnect suite of features has also undergone an evolution and now offers a more connected service with the latest and greatest in audio technology, connectivity, and mobile integration. To further set it apart, the new Qashqai offers two-tone exterior metallic paint that showcases the crisp line profiles of the vehicle.

Taken a step further, Nissan is also introducing a two-tone, premium interior to complete the overall premium experience of the third-generation Qashqai.

Leading features

The all-new Nissan Qashqai boasts class-leading features, including Nissans award-winning Autonomous Driving Level 1 (Nissan ProPILOT), Predictive Front Collision Warning and Lane Keep Assist  to name a few. Customers are spoiled for choice with the new model available in three grades; the Qashqai 1.3T Visia MT, the Qashqai 1.3T Acenta (Xtronic) and the 1.3T Acenta Plus (Xtronic).

The all-new Qashqai also delivers on an intuitive and protective driving experience through the Driver Attention Alert (DAA) system  which is intended to address potential driver fatigue and inattention. If the system detects driving behaviour consistent with a drowsy driver, the system uses an audible chime sound and displays an amber coffee cup with a message reading, Take a break? in the vehicles information display.

ProPilot Driver assistance

The new Nissan Qashqai is equipped with the revolutionary ProPilot autonomous drive technology, designed for highway use in single-lane traffic. It introduces a combination of steering, acceleration and braking that can be operated in full-automatic mode, easing driver workload in heavy highway traffic and long commutes. Using advanced image-processing technology, the ProPILOT system understands road and traffic situations and executes precise steering, enabling the vehicle to perform naturally.

Verdict

An all-round SUV that is good for the weekday. Throw in all your sporting equipment and its good for the weekend too. Aesthetically, very pleasing to the eye with new contoured lines. The interior is roomy, practical and very quiet. The ride is smooth and pleasing thanks to the improved multi-link suspension, for sportier and agile driving.

Pricing
In another of our exclusive #BizTrends2023 interviews, Dali Tembo, CEO and co-founder of The Culture Foundry Co. gives insights into Gen Z in Africa as he chats to host Rutendo Nyamuda.

First and foremost Tembo says being a futurist and trend predictor has become more difficult. In the past, you could go overseas, and you knew a flow from the haves to so-classed have-nots would occur.

This interview is also available on YouTube, via downloadable App, Apple Podcasts, Spotify and IONO.FM.

This is no longer the case, he says. The entire trend curve has been completely disrupted. Instead, now trends are coming from the community and township and then being reverse engineered into the first world.

Staying abreast of this is not easy, but young people are key. One of the ways to achieve this is to connect closely with the young people who are producing those trends and looking at the ways in which the world is changing, and how they view this world and then collaborate with them.

You used to go overseas and you knew that there would be a flow from the haves to the so-called have-nots in terms of trend influence. Well, that whole trend curve has been disrupted completely.

He points out that while there is an overwhelming amount of information on the youth out there, most is suited to the international community and not the African continent.

"There has been so much polarisation and so many assumptions around what the African Gen Z looks like, talks like, the brands they like, and the conditions they live under, he says.

In the past two to three years, young African people have changed. "The time when we had an inferiority complex to overseas products is gone, as young Africans look for the personalisation and customisation of products.

As a result, much of his work is about debunking myths.

I've had interesting experiences in boardrooms with people from around the world who have very strong opinions about what African youth looks like and acts like, etc - none of which have been very accurate.

But it is changing he says. Global brands are giving local offices more power to dictate campaign ideas and values, and that is because of these young Africans who do not accept brands just taken from overseas and dropped into the African market.

Connecting with young Africans

Connecting with young Africans is simple says Tembo. Spend some time with them to understand how they feel.

But, he warns, keep in mind that even though we refer to this as a single group, the African youth is not a monolithic group.

There are very big differences in African youth. Not only when you talk about a country, like South Africa, but in cities within a single country, such as Joburg where you have to kind of look at the different nuances there.

We're in this space at the moment where many young people are looking for brands and kind of bigger multinationals to think about how we connect and redefine how we are identified.

Therefore, make sure that you personalise and customise your messages and that they are genuine and authentic. If there is anything that young people today have the capacity to do, its the ability to check on your facts.

He uses influencers as an example, saying that for a brand to be authentic the influencer they chose must use their brand or products.

It's important to align the business objectives and values of a brand with those of those young people.

Trends in the African youth space

Tembo says a key trend in the youth space is social health.

Health used to be described as something that was either physical or mental. But these days, we started to see something called social health come to the fore.

Young people feel this is a space where they can be themselves if it's around their chosen communities.

It is akin, he says, to what some of us might call our chosen tribes, but it is not necessarily tribes as we used to see in the past. Its more about people whom we elect to hang around and who we know are going to back us and be there for us.

Adding to this is overcoming a hangover from Covid, which is being hyper-localised, only speaking to a small group of people locally. We are slowly starting to broaden that and go out again.

This is about forming intentional and stronger connections. Brands and brands and marketing departments, and business in general, need to make sure they take advantage of this if they want to connect with young people, he says.

It's more about how they can be their authentic selves. We're seeing this really manifest in the choices that young Africans are making, which leads us to another trend that I think is going become important and that we've talked about previously, and that is collaboration.

Dali Tembo is the CEO and co-founder of The Culture Foundry Co. Follow @Dali_Tembo

In conversation with Rutendo Nyamuda. Founder Tinzwe Media. @roo10dough | www.tinzwemedia.com
The new, high-definition, rotating digital site measures 3m x 6m and is strategically located on OR Tambo Drive, one of Witbanks busiest arterial routes, reaching local audiences on their daily commute travelling north towards the Mandela Street intersection. The site offers access to audiences in the citys hub of economic activity, making the location highly attractive to both multinational brands and local businesses.

This digital billboard marks the second rotator that Outdoor Network has installed in the Mpumalanga province, further reinforcing the companys dominance in key locations, delivering audience scale on a national level. Because we already have a great site in the main hub (Mbombela) in Mpumalanga, eMalahleni was always the next strategic area in the region. We are replicating this in other provinces in order to provide our clients with effective solutions for each region, says Thulani Dumakude, general manager at Outdoor Network.

The city of eMalahleni is an expansive area in the Mpumalanga region and has grown rapidly thanks to heavy industry including mining located in the area and tourism. The recently built billboard in the area delivers an upscale audience, providing brands the with the benefit of extending their reach to a broader South African audience.

According to Outdoor Networks head of sales, Warren Dugmore, this new development strengthens companys national foothold, while reaching an increasingly diversified population. One of the main factors we accounted for in this development was to be able to reach a broader SEM in the country, ensuring that we are able to offer brands the opportunity to reach their respective target markets, adds Dugmore. With this launch, Outdoor Network now provides unparalleled brand exposure on 17 digital rotator billboards across key metros and major urban areas.

Outdoor Networks rotating billboards are unique in that they are built with technology that enables them to rotate twice a day to achieve optimal reach during peak morning and afternoon traffic periods. This unique feature, which allows advertisers to achieve double the exposure and deliver the best possible brand impressions, is exclusively provided by Outdoor Network.

Outdoor Network, a division of Provantage, remains committed to providing advertisers with high quality DOOH solutions nationally. Their rapid digital expansion strategy has seen the launch of four digital billboard across the country in the last few months alone, demonstrating their commitment to providing advertisers with high quality, innovative digital billboards in sought after regions.




Cape Town welcomed the opening of Africa's first all-female workforce solar panel manufacturer in Ndabeni last week. The facility is also the only German-certified tier-one small solar panel manufacturer in the world.

Alderman James Vos, Mayoral Committee Member for Economic Growth with employees of the company displaying an example of the solar panels manufactured.

Ener-G-Africa (EGA), an energy company that has a presence in South Africa and Malawi, invested a total of $2.1m (R36m) in EGACQuest to set up the 20MW per annum solar panel assembly plant in the Cape's industrial suburb, which will be operated by women technicians only.

According to Alderman James Vos, Mayoral Committee Member for Economic Growth who officiated at the opening, this plant will focus on servicing the local market as well as exporting to the rest of Africa. He explains that the City government is pushing ahead with projects that seize energy supply opportunities to create a more economically sustainable present and future.

Vos welcomed this company's investment in Cape Town and describes it as taking place at a crucial time when South Africa is battling its worst electricity blackouts, forcing many businesses and homes to turn to renewable energy, including solar.

"With an increased demand for solar panels, we can create job opportunities for the millions of currently unemployed South Africans. One report showed that the solar PV industry alone could create up to 30,000 jobs per year," said Vos.

The City of Cape Towns strategic business partner, GreenCape, was responsible for assisting with the facilitation of this significant investment. The Economic Growth Directorate provides funding to GreenCape to help the City attract investors in the green economy sector while unlocking the potential of this industry in various fields.

"The time is now for renewable manufacturing... There is a growing appetite to invest in renewables amid the energy crunch with multi-year investment opportunities arising. These opportunities stem from the convergence of several factors such as international shifts to clean energy, the focus on energy security globally as an outcome of the impact of the Russian-Ukraine conflict, the load-shedding crisis in South Africa and the consequent policy shifts at a national government level to deregulate the energy sector. Wesgro will continue to support Ener-G-Africa. We are excited by the prospects that this new facility will bring," said the City and the Western Cape Trade and Promotion Agency, Wesgros CEO, Wrenelle Stander.

"Cost-effective energy efficiency improvements can have positive macro-economic impacts that boost economic activity and lead to increased employment. There has never been a more critical point to make real commitments towards moving away from fossil fuels and turning towards the vast energy opportunities of renewables," said Vos.

"Investment in these sectors is good for business, people, and the planet, and therefore the City and our partners stand ready to work with industry so that we can make Cape Town the easiest place to do business in Africa."
Punctuality during business travel is easier than you think when you fly with South African Airlines. These are the top achievers when it comes to on-time arrivals.

Punctuality is always vital for business travel, but its even more important in these uncertain, challenging, and competitive times. Fortunately, theres no shortage of domestic flights in South Africa to ensure you arrive on time.

Airlink streaks ahead of other South African airlines

In this light, Airlink is especially proud to be recognised as South Africas most on-time airline for the second year running. Additionally, IOL Travel reports that Skytrax has acknowledged Airlink as Africas best low-cost airline. The carrier was also the top performer at each of ACSAs airports for 2022, receiving ratings of over 95% across the board.

Airlinks managing director and chief executive, Rodger Foster has expressed his delight at these achievements but emphasises that theres always room for improvement. He recognises that time is money for Airlinks customers and the airline intends to keep delivering excellent value across Southern Africa and on long-haul flights operated by partner carriers.

Airlink prides itself on exceptional customer service and a broad portfolio of services to suit modern travellers. These include:

45 destinations in 13 African countries, plus St Helena Island



Enhanced seating with extra space



Friendly onboard service



All-inclusive no extra cost baggage allowance on every flight



Free in-flight catering



Loyalty programmes with Discovery Bank and Vitality Travel

These extras ensure you arrive at your destination, not only on time, but fresh, relaxed, and ready to do business. The airline also offers handy gift vouchers, redeemable against Airlink bookings, for travel-loving friends and family.

FlySafair is among the worlds best

OAG, a global aviation analytics and database company publishes an annual Punctuality League, which ranks airports and airlines based on their on-time performance (OTP). Last year, South African airline FlySafair soared into second place in these rankings.

Garuda Indonesia achieved only a narrow victory with its rating of 95.63%, compared to FlySafairs 95.3%. On average, the top 20 performers achieved an OTP of 86.7%.

The rest of the top achievers were among Asian and Latin American airlines, with one American company, delta Airlines featuring in 17th place. European and Middle Eastern carriers achieved only five places among the top honours.

Other Asian overachievers include Thai AirAsia, Jeju Airlines, All Nippon Airways, and Japan Airlines occupying from 4th to 7th place. Etihad and Emirates only just made the mark in 19th and 20th place respectively.

Cancellation rates were another criterion used to recognise the global top achievers, with FlySafair boasting a 0.02% against the winner Garuda, while the top performer in this league, Thai Smile, had a cancellation rate of only 0.01%.

Naturally, achieving second place overall placed FlySafair at the top of the achievers list for Middle East and African Airlines, well ahead of second-placed Etihad, with Emirates in third place.

On a global scale, airlines are becoming increasingly aware of the importance of on time performance as consumer travel confidence re-emerges, post pandemic. Across the board, carriers are working to reduce delays and operational pressures by ordering new aircraft and implementing new routes.

At this rate, we should see efficiencies in domestic airlines in South Africa meet and even surpass 2019 levels before long.




Republican Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas on Sunday struggled to explain why he is running for a third term despite supporting a two-term Senate limit bill that he introduced last month.

The new bill would limit senators to only two six-year terms, and Cruz said he could run for a third term because his proposal still needs to be signed into law. During an interview, the Texas Republican was pressed on the issue of why he is not holding himself to the standard he put forth.

Ted Cruz on Senate Term Limits

Before mentioning his proposed legislation, Cruz claims to be a "passionate defender" of term limits. He said that Congress would work much better if senators only get two terms, and House representatives get three terms.

When his supposed hypocrisy was pointed out, the GOP member shifted a stance, saying that he would follow the limits of his bill, but only once it became law. The lawmaker said, "If and when it passes, I will happily, happily comply. I've never said I'm going to comply unilaterally," as per Rolling Stone. The lawmaker did not address the question when asked if Cruz was planning on another presidential campaign run in the 2024 election. When asked for a second time about his presidential aspirations, the GOP member reiterated the senatorial campaign he had confirmed when he appeared at a Republican gathering in November.

When the Texas Republican announced his proposal, he said that the Founding Fathers envisioned a government of legislators who would only serve for a few years. He said they did not want a government run by a small group of special interests and lifelong, permanently entrenched politicians.

Since being elected to the United States Senate in 2012, Cruz has experienced his fair share of criticisms. Most recently, he was called out last month for opposing reactions to classified documents found at former Vice President Mike Pence's and President Joe Biden's homes.

During a program hosted by former director of the National Economic Council Larry Kudlow, Cruz said that the FBI should search the homes of Biden and his son Hunter. However, he argued that the former vice president should be spared from the same treatment, according to the Independent.

Read Also: Beijing's Take on High-Altitude Over American Territory

Holding to the Standard

Also, the Texas Republican said he would not apologize for supporting conspiracy theories about the attack on Paul Pelosi. This was after video footage of the incident was released to the public that showed the assault on the victim.

Cruz also quote-tweeted conservative media figure Matt Walsh when the latter said that he knew that trying to paint a hippie nudist from Berkeley as some military right-winger is and always will be outrageous. The Republican senator retweeted the post with the caption, "truth."

Now, Cruz's term limit proposal, which he introduced along with Rep. Ralph Norman of South Carolina, would offer "accountability that is long overdue." He added that term limits are the key to fixing what is currently wrong with Washington, said Business Insider.

Related Article: House GOP Remove Ilhan Omar From Foreign Affairs Panel

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Hope is fading fast for Mango Airlines as the government stalls business rescue proceedings. Will this be the end of yet another South African carrier?

Recent years have seen the demise of two high profile South African airlines. SA Express ceased operations in March 2020, and Comair followed suit in Jun 2022. SAA had a near death experience at the beginning of the pandemic only to rise phoenix-like from business rescue with a trimmed down offering and new zest for life.

At this stage its difficult to tell which of these ranks Mango will join. In December 2022, Mangos BRP expressed confidence in the airlines ability to resume operations soon. However, a sudden turn of events has arisen to hamper this positive outlook.

In its fourteenth update, Mangos BRP has mentioned the possibility that the airline might have to abandon hopes of business rescue and start winding down its operations in the months to come.

Government hampers Mango Airlines return to the skies

As the major shareholder in Mango airlines, the South African government has the ultimate say in the carriers destiny, and things arent looking good in this regard.

Mango airlines entered voluntary business rescue in July 2021, and Sipho Sono, a senior business rescue practitioner, was appointed just a month later. His primary mandate was to find investors willing to rejuvenate the company.

At the same time, the BRP received R819 million to formulate and carry out a rescue strategy for the airline.

The major objectives of the plan were to reduce operational costs by cutting down on employees and trimming processes. Part of the plan was for the government to dispose of its shareholding in order to sell Mango to private investors.

Subsequently, all the carriers staff where retrenched, resigned, or received severance packages at the outset of this process.

In an update published in November, the BRP claimed that issues surrounding the sale of the governments shares had been ironed out, presenting a positive outlook for the airline.

However, according to a mid-January update, the BRP is yet to receive a decision about disposing of SA-Airlines shares in the budget carrier.

Whats the hold up?

According to Sono, the Minister of Public Enterprises, Pravin Gordhan, wrote to SAA on 20 December 2022, expressing concerns over queries raised by SAA. Effectively, this means he has withheld his approval of the sale within the 30-day timeline, thus stalling the business rescue process.

Furthermore, SAA is still awaiting a letter from the National Treasury communicating that the BRP must resubmit their application directly to the National Treasury. Until that happens their submission is considered incomplete.

Bizarrely, the BRP wasnt provided with copies of these letters but instead received a summary of the DEPE and National Treasurys concerns upon enquiring during January 2023.

Currently the BRP is considering this summary to determine whether they can resolve the concerns raised. When theyve completed this process, they can reply to the affected parties.

Additionally, Mango remained grounded beyond the 12-month grace period granted by the Air Services Licensing Council, meaning its licence was suspended in August 2022, which makes it a less attractive prospect for buyers.

Theres a possibility that Mango may lose its potential investors as a result of these complications. If this happens, Sono will have no choice but to wind down the carriers operations.

The way forward

Until the BRP can satisfy the concerns raised by SAA, there can be no progress on the sale of Mango. Without investors, the airline cannot meet its outstanding debt obligations, and will have to be liquidated.

While Sono firmly believes its worth saving Mango Airlines and also entirely possible to do so, everything hinges on these last few significant stumbling blocks.

If he fails in his quest, it will mean the end of this vibrant budget carrier. FlySafair and Airlink have done an admirable job to provide South African travellers with affordable tickets on other SA Airlines, so the loss of yet another budget carrier shouldnt have a major impact on the current availability of flights.
The Shoprite Group invites high-achieving students to apply for its comprehensive bursaries for the 2023 and 2024 academic years.

Shoprite Group bursary holders Jack van Oordt, Bonolo Mashego and Prinothan Govender

Students enrolled for degree studies in Criminology, Accounting, Information Technology, E-Commerce, Retail Business Management and more can now apply for funding, which covers tuition fees and on-campus accommodation.

In the last financial year, the retailer spent over R16m on its bursary programme, which funded 206 students.

As the largest private sector employer in South Africa, the Group is one of the top graduate employers in the country. In 2022, for the second consecutive year, the retailer was awarded the Gradstar Students Choice Award for Retail Employer of Choice, an award voted for by students.

All bursary recipients are offered employment with the Group on completion of their studies, says Lungile Koti, senior early careers specialist.

Bonolo Mashego, 24, from Soweto, graduated with a B.Com Accounting degree from the University of Johannesburg and is now doing her accounting articles at the Groups home office in Cape Town.

Unlike working for an auditing firm where your only focus is auditing, Shoprite has exposed me to various parts of the business. This opened more avenues for me, and I was able to find my perfect fit in financial management within operations, explains Mashego.

Jack Van Oordt, 23, from Cape Town is starting his data science apprenticeship after the Group funded his BSc Mathematical and Statistical Sciences degree. The exposure that Shoprite has already given me through vacation work has inspired my passion for retail and my ambitions to create innovations that can enhance and improve the customer experience even further, says Van Oordt.

Apply for a comprehensive bursary from the Shoprite Group before 30 April 2023: https://www.shopriteholdings.co.za/careers/bursaries.html
Former Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf died aged 79 in Dubai following years of exile as he battled a prolonged illness at Dubai American Hospital.

In a statement released by senior military officials, they expressed their "heartfelt condolences" on the "sad demise of General Pervez Musharraf." They continued, "May Allah bless the departed soul and give strength to the bereaved family."

Former Pakistani President Dies

Various tributes and condolences were sent in from Pakistani officials, and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif also expressed his condolences and sympathies to Musharraf's family on Sunday.

In a statement, Muhammad Sadiq Sanjrani, the chairman of Pakistan's Senate, said he was filled with deep sorrow and grief. On the other hand, the Tehreek-e-Insaf party, which former Prime Minister Imran Khan leads, expressed their prayers and condolences to the former president's family and loved ones.

Musharraf has been living in self-imposed exile in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) since 2016. He first seized power from former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in 1999 during a military coup. He appointed himself president of the country in 2001 while remaining in control of the nation's army, as per CNN.

The former president then remained the country's president until 2008 and became a vital ally of the United States after the 9/11 terrorist attacks. He also tried to place himself as an indispensable figure in fighting Islamic extremism.

However, Musharraf's time in power was controversial as many accused him of widespread human rights abuses and oppression. In 2003, he was the target of two failed assassination attempts.

In November 2007, he declared a state of emergency, suspended the country's Constitution, replaced the chief judge, and blacked out independent TV outlets. Musharraf defended his actions by saying they were needed to stabilize the country and battle Islamist extremism in the region.

Read Also: Russia-Ukraine War Death Toll Update

Administration Marred by Controversies

The month after, opposition leader Benazir Bhutto was assassinated. Her death caused the national mood to sour even more, causing crushing losses suffered by Musharraf's allies in the 2008 elections that left him isolated in the political scene, according to the Manila Times.

The former Pakistani president's plan to seize power once more in 2013 was beaten to the ground when he was disqualified from running in an election that Sharif won. In 2016, after a travel ban was lifted, Musharraf traveled to Dubai to seek medical treatment for his condition.

After three years, he was sentenced to death in absentia for treason related to his 2007 decision to impose emergency rule. However, a Pakistani court later nullified that ruling in favor of the former president.

Despite the controversies surrounding the former Pakistani president, a former aide of Musharraf, Fawad Chaudhury, currently a senior leader of fKhan's party, praised his former boss and the influence that he has had on Pakistan.

In a statement, Chaudhury said that while Musharraf was called a military dictator, under his rule, there had never been a stronger democratic system in Pakistan. He added that the former president led the country during a tough time, said BBC.

Related Article: US Shoots Down Suspected Chinese Spy Balloon

@ 2023 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
You dont realise how much AI is used in daily life, he says. It learns from everything you watch and read to make a more personalised experienced for you, helps find the right customers in advertising, and generates news articles, videos and posts. Companies cant be competitive if theyre not using it. For Cuthbert, the technology could allow her news company to run and reach a global audience while she is asleep in Perth. Service-based media...will almost certainly be predominantly AI-driven within five years, if not entirely usurped by some new AI media service. Will Hayward, Private Media chief executive She isnt the only local media executive experimenting in the space. Other Australian media companies such as youth culture publication The Brag have experimented with AI in their operations. Luke Girgis, chief executive of The Brag, wrote in a LinkedIn post last month the company was starting to experiment with using AI. Just as the invention of the calculator didnt devalue mathematicians ... AI writing wont devalue the journalists and news writers, he wrote.

Girgis says there are positive signs from the companys internal experiment. There are a lot of hopeful signs that some of the most tedious parts of publishing will be significantly reduced, he says. We see a future where journalists can just report and write, with much of the time-consuming labour associated with tedious tasks replaced by AI. Private Media, the owner of online websites Crikey and The Mandarin, is also looking to experiment in this space. The companys chief executive, Will Hayward, says the obvious applications are in the back-end commercial side of his business, but that AIs role in media will unquestionably grow in most areas. When AI hits the early stages of maturity, the digital publications that will thrive will be ones that invest more in real, feet-on-the-ground journalism. Luke Girgis, The Brag chief executive

At the moment, media companies are mostly using AI to automate complex calculations and tasks, he says. Neil Vogel, CEO of Dotdash Meredith, said last week that they would never have an article written by AI ... but Id bet a chunk of money he changes his mind on that. Service-based media, where people are looking for an answer to a specific question, will almost certainly be predominantly AI-driven within five years, if not entirely usurped by some new AI media service. Loading Nine, the owner of this masthead, uses AI to recommend shows and movies in its streaming offerings. It is also experimenting with using ChatGPT functionality to produce synopses, headlines and summaries, which director of product streaming, Lewis Evans, says could be used to save space on the interfaces of smaller devices such as mobile phones. Stuart Fagg, Nines director of product, publishing, has seen AI used in basic sport and finance reporting at companies such as News Corp and the Associated Press. But he says the technology still lacks the ability to provide context and generate beautiful prose.

Where AI can be better than humans is in content curation. Weve run a whole bunch of tests on human curation versus AI and the AI always wins in increasing engagement time Fagg says. The beauty of those AI models is that over time, as an individual consumes more content, the model will learn more about that user and become more intuitive and more successful at engaging the user. But Fagg says even in that space, there remains an important role for humans. Customers subscribe to the Herald for instance because they want experienced editors to curate content for them, he says. There will always be a need in the news environment to talk about whats current and important right now.

Where Fagg sees it work best is at news organisations such as the New York Times, where human and AI curated content complement each other. The technology can also determine how much readers pay for content at some publications. Ive worked a lot with the Wall Street Journal, and they did a huge amount of experimentation around what happens if you create a propensity model that assesses whether or not a reader is a hot, cold or medium prospect in terms of subscription, Fagg says. Then they can tailor both the price they pay the introductory offer and the amount of free content they get to consume before they arrive at that paywall. The use of AI expands beyond companies and services. Journalists  including those at this masthead  rely on technologies such as real-time transcription service Otter. But the shift towards AI in journalism has not been without its critics. In 2020, Microsoft laid off about 50 editorial staff in its Microsoft News and MSN organisations as it shifted towards using automation and AI for content editing and curation. The move gained notoriety when, in the same month, the companys software misidentified a member of the British pop group Little Mix.

While AI can fact-check, increase accuracy and improve efficiency, Mirjalili says it falls short in skills such as empathy, creativity and critical analysis. And the technologys heavy dependence on data means it can also perpetuate biases and discrimination. If the data is biased, then the output will be biased, too, he says. The algorithms used in AI need to be transparent and public so that its outcomes can be explained and scrutinised. Girgis says that using AI solely as a strategy to cut budgets and pocket savings will be a death wish. When AI hits the early stages of maturity, the digital publications that will thrive will be the ones that invest more in real, feet-on-the-ground journalism, he says. Similarly, Hayward believes AI could help investigative journalists with some of their analysis, but that itll be a while before the technology can figure out which billionaires might be up to no good.

People in front of a camera can get nervous and make mistakes, so AI has improved some of that accuracy. Heidi Cuthbert, Grafa chief executive While Cuthbert is the first to advocate for the use of AI, she knows theres a role for human oversight, too. AI has helped with accuracy with data and figures, but she says it doesnt have editorial judgement  which means scripts need to be sense-checked by humans. People still have to make value judgments on events, identify the most important stories, and provide context on why something happened and its impact, she says. But on the consumer side, Grafas switch to AI presenters has gone largely unnoticed because their users often watch videos with the sound down and with auto-captions on. While Mirjalili says AI advancements are hard to predict, he is confident that reliance on it will only increase.
A peninsula jutting into the Indian Ocean with more than a million ancient Indigenous rock art engravings next to colossal gas processing plants is understood to have been nominated for the World Heritage list by the federal government.

The Burrup Peninsula, or Murujuga to its traditional custodians in WAs Pilbara region, will join the Great Barrier Reef, the Sydney Opera House and Fraser Island on the list if accepted by the United Nations.

One of the engravings at the rock art gallery in Murujuga national park. Credit: Emma Young

The deadline for submitting the nomination to the UN for the annual assessment cycle was February 1. While the WA and federal governments and the Murujuga Aboriginal Corporation would not confirm the nomination a spokeswoman for environment minister Tanya Plibersek said the Australian government would meet relevant deadlines.

A source with insight into the process said the official announcement would be made this Friday at Murujuga, near Karratha and Dampier on WAs Pilbara coast.
Woolcott was sent to the Australian high commission in South Africa as second secretary. Three years later, now father of a second son, Robert, he became the second secretary at the South-East Asian Section of the Department of External Affairs. It was then that his vision of a change in Australias outlook and position in the world started to emerge. In a speech to the Public Relations Institute of Australia, he said: Australia is on the threshold of a bright future if it makes the right choices. We can stand still and allow ourselves to become regarded as a bucolic, inwards-looking materialist, racist, self-satisfied, apathetic, pleasure-seeking member of the world community, slumbering at the southern end of the globe, a sort of Anglo-American stepchild, which never really grew up; a second-hand transplanted society which lost its momentum before it decided in which direction it wanted to move. Or we can work to become an accepted, distinctive, tolerant and well-regarded nation in the Asia Pacific region. Diplomatic cadets Phil Peters, Bill Morrison, Dick Woolcott and Tony Powell participate in a bushfire drill in the grounds of Gungahlin Homestead in Canberra in 1950. Credit: Geoff Mannall In 1959, now with a daughter, Anna, Woolcott returned to Moscow to take up a diplomatic posting in a more normal environment. Two years later, he was appointed first secretary in the Australian embassy in Kuala Lumpur. In 1963, he was appointed to the high commission in Singapore and the following year he returned to Canberra as public information officer. Woolcotts stature having grown, he was approached in 1966 to stand for federal parliament for the Liberal Party. But he turned the offer down, as he would another offer from the Liberal Party and one from the Labor Party.

I decided against that because I felt I could do a more productive job for Australias foreign policy by advising in my view, completely objectively and impartially the government of the day, he said later. He certainly lived up to that. Though the speech he drafted for Holt was accepted and represented a turning point in Australias world outlook, Woolcotts thoughts on the recognition of China saw him posted to a diplomatic position in Ghana. Richard Woolcot as Australias high commissioner to Ghana. He was known as Nana Adaban 1 Tufuhene of Kromantsi. But when the Whitlam government was elected in December 1972, and concerns were raised that Woolcott was tainted, having served Coalition governments for so long, he was able to brush that aside easily, contributing lines about Labors new independent foreign policy which Whitlam delivered at his first prime ministerial news conference. Woolcott came within an ace at that moment of being appointed head of the Department of External Affairs. Instead, in 1975, he became Australias ambassador to Indonesia, at the time of the Indonesian invasion of East Timor.

Despite universal condemnation of the Indonesian action, and the controversy over the fate of five journalists killed by Indonesian forces in Balibo, he stressed in his advice to government that too much was at stake diplomatically and politically to condemn Indonesia for its operation in East Timor. Ultimately, despite the brutality exhibited by the Indonesians and the shift in policy by the Australian government in 1999 supporting East Timors independence, Woolcotts advice can be said to have been sound. Richard Woolcott, as ambassador to Indonesia, delivers a eulogy at the funeral of the five journalists, known as the Balibo 5, in Jakarta in 1995. Reacting to criticism that he had been too soft on Indonesia, Woolcott said he felt he was being made a scapegoat, and added: The only country Im pro is Australia. If you look at all the documents that have now been published, youll find that the Australian embassy in Jakarta was continuously urging the Indonesians not to use force. When Indonesian intervention became inevitable, his recommendation had been that the Australian government had no other course but accept that Indonesia was going to do this. He said years later, Essentially because Ive taken the realistic position that there is an independent East Timor and its absolutely essential Australia, Indonesia and East Timor strive to make that work effectively.

In 1978, Woolcott was appointed Australian ambassador to the Philippines. In 1982, became the Australian ambassador to the United Nations where he became involved in many issues, including sanctions against the South African apartheid regime and the international treaty on Antarctica. Again he was touted as the new head of the Department of Foreign Affairs. Instead, in 1985 he took his turn as chairman of the United Nations Security Council, of which Australia was a member. Australian ambassador Richard Woolcott (left) presents his credentials to then-UN secretary-general Javier Perez de Cuellar at the United Nations in 1982. Credit: AP In 1988, having been made an Officer of the Order of Australia, he finally was appointed head of department and in that role was charged with the responsibility of making the merger between the Department of Foreign Affair and Department of Trade successful. He also busied himself with the establishment of the Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation (APEC) forum. Woolcott went as prime minister Bob Hawkes special envoy to push for the formation of a new powerful Asia Pacific trading lobby and later was appointed then-prime minister Paul Keatings special envoy to the Australian Pacific Economic Conference.

He did become involved in domestic politics to the extent of telling then-opposition leader Andrew Peacock that he did not think John Howard would make a good foreign minister because Howard, who later became prime minister, was uncomfortable in Asia, which is after all the part of the world in which we live. Speculation abounded that Woolcott would become governor of Victoria, but that was not to be. Instead, he was appointed to a governing position with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. In 1992, after finishing his term as departmental head and formally retiring, he was appointed chairman of the Australia-Indonesia Institute. Then-prime minister Kevin Rudd (right) and Malcolm Fraser (centre) with veteran diplomat and Richard Woolcott at Parliament House in Canberra in 2008. Credit: Fairfax In 1996, by then a Companion of the Order of Australia, Woolcott was appointed as Howards special envoy to Malaysia. He became a founding director of the Asia Society AustralAsia Centre. In his memoir in 2003, The Hot Seat: Reflections on Diplomacy from Stalins Death to the Bali Bombings, Woolcott spoke out against the Australian governments subservience to the US alliance, especially over Iraq.

That year, he gave the Inaugural National Republican Lecture at the National Press Club. Having served under seven prime ministers and 12 foreign ministers, and having built up an extraordinary international network, he had plenty to say. His next book, in 2007, was Undiplomatic Activities. After losing his wife to cancer in 2008, he continued working. Then prime minister Kevin Rudd announced that Woolcott had been appointed an envoy to conduct discussions to form a new Asian regional forum. Foreign affairs veteran and author Richard Woolcott at home in Canberra in 2003. Credit: Fairfax Woolcott was selected as one of the inaugural fellows of the Australian Institute of International Affairs, and he was awarded the Sir Edward Weary Dunlop Asia Medal, in recognition of his contribution to Australias relationships with Asia. On Thursday last week, Richard Woolcott died in Canberra. He is survived by his son, Peter, who followed him into the diplomatic service, then became chief of staff to prime minister Malcolm Turnbull and is now Public Service Commissioner.
Controversial neurosurgeon Charlie Teo is set to face additional complaints alleging unsatisfactory professional conduct when a five-day disciplinary hearing before the Health Care Complaints Commission commences next Monday.

The HCCCs Professional Standards Committee inquiry was scheduled to hold a two-day hearing last September into two complaints alleging unsatisfactory professional conduct by the famed neurosurgeon. The matter was postponed when one of the hearing days was deemed to be a public holiday due to the death of the Queen.

Neurosurgeon Charlie Teo is facing additional complaints. Credit: Rhett Wyman

However, it is understood that, as a result of widely publicised investigations by the Herald and 60 Minutes in October, the HCCC received further allegations, bringing the number of complaints to five.

The initial complaints against Teo were deemed to be so serious and could possibly place the health and safety of the public at risk that, after an urgent hearing of the NSW Medical Council in August 2021, conditions were placed on Teos ability to practise.
A witness in the Ben Roberts-Smith defamation case has had a charge of hindering a Commonwealth official dismissed, after a magistrate said his refusal to hand a phone to federal investigators was the act of a drunken fool.

The man, known by the pseudonym Person X, was at a Sydney hotel in mid-2022 after giving evidence in the Federal Court when investigators arrived with two warrants and asked for his phone.

On Monday, magistrate Miranda Moody said the man was extremely rude to the officers and swore at them, reacting in a hostile manner when the officers had been nothing but courteous.

Person Xs barrister Rob Ranken told Downing Centre Local Court that the man had been drinking following the stressful situation of giving evidence in court.

He said the phone belonged to the mans employer, and he had been hesitant to hand over something he didnt own without checking with a lawyer. Ranken said his client repeatedly expressed that he wanted to speak to a lawyer in the hotel lobby, but an impasse developed because investigators wanted him to go to a room.
Underworld shooting

Frederick William Harrison, a notorious Melbourne gunman and waterfront standover gang leader was shot dead on a wharf at South Melbourne this afternoon. Minutes before, he had left a ship. Police believe his murderer drove away but homicide detectives have found no-one who can describe the man. The shooting is believed to be part of a running underworld feud which has been threatening the Port Melbourne-South Melbourne area for months.

Australians lauded

English critics have praised the Australian singers who took all three leading roles in Rigoletto at Covent Garden. It is the first time in the history of the Royal Opera that Australians have filled all leading roles. Joan Sutherland has appeared at Covent Garden before, but Albert Lance and John Shaw were making their debuts there. The Times said: Miss Sutherlands purity of tone and expressive phrasing made her Gilda a delight.

Right Royal trek
A long-awaited committee hearing to determine whether former governor-general and Brisbane archbishop Peter Hollingworth should be stripped of his position within the Anglican Church has begun in Melbourne.

Child abuse survivors and advocates have been calling for more than five years for Hollingworth  who is still a bishop with the church  to be defrocked over his handling of child abuse allegations inside the church during his time as archbishop of Brisbane.

Former governor-general Peter Hollingworth with wife Ann in 2020. Credit: Joe Armao

The hearing, being held by the churchs independent investigator, Kooyoora, will proceed behind closed doors despite opposition from some survivors, who claim to have been left in the dark throughout the drawn-out process.

The legal team representing child abuse survivor Beth Heinrich, who was abused by an Anglican priest in the 1950s, failed in its bid to open proceedings to the public on Monday.
Ohio officials ordered citizens to evacuate as they continued to monitor the smoldering, tangled wreckage of a train derailment in the northeastern part of the state that was known to be carrying highly flammable chemicals.

Authorities warned hundreds of nearby residents who previously refused evacuations to do so on Sunday night, arguing that the train could end up in an explosion. They warned that such a possibility would send out deadly shrapnel as far back as a mile.

Ohio Officials Order Evacuations

They also said there could be a catastrophic tanker failure due to a drastic temperature change observed in that particular rail car. A statement released by Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine's office said that they had deployed teams to prevent an explosion at the scene located in East Palestine.

However, the statement did not specify what was inside the car or whether or not it was among those carrying hazardous materials. According to Yahoo News, Ohio authorities also urged anyone within a one-mile radius of the site to immediately leave.

While many residents had already followed those evacuation orders, local officials said that more than 500 residents had refused to leave their homes. On Sunday, federal investigators found that mechanical issues with a railcar axle were the cause of the derailment on Friday night.

A board member of the National Transportation Safety Board, Michael Graham, said during a news conference that the three-member train crew received an alert regarding the mechanical defect shortly before the derailment. However, they said the board was still working to determine which rail car experienced the issue.

Roughly 50 cars were thought to have derailed in the area that was part of a train carrying various products from Madison, Illinois, to Conway, Pennsylvania. Rail operator Norfolk Southern said that, fortunately, no injuries to the crew, residents, or first responders were reported.

Read Also: Ted Cruz on Senate Term Limits

Risk of Catastrophic Failure

In a statement, Columbiana County Sheriff Brian McLaughlin said that any person who stays near the derailment site could be arrested. According to CNN, he warned that there is a high chance of a toxic gas release and/or explosion.

Furthermore, Fire Chief Keith Drabick said they needed to get everybody who remained within the mile radius limit or those who decided to come back to that radius to leave the area immediately.

Drabick added that if a catastrophic failure does occur, it will release hydrogen chloride and phosgene gas into the atmosphere. He noted that the mile radius around the derailment site could be extended.

Fire officials noted that the most concerning chemical on board the car are vinyl chloride, a colorless gas known to be highly flammable. The chemical is commonly used to produce polyvinyl chloride, used in products such as pipes, wire coatings, and even plastic kitchenware.

Sixty-eight entities from three separate states and multiple counties responded to the scene to assist in putting out the fire. Roughly 2,000 residents in the area have been evacuated since Saturday, said News5 Cleveland.

Related Article: Americans Not Looking Forward to Biden, Trump 2024 Rematch

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The federal Greens will support the Voice referendum, assisting Labors bid to build a consensus, after controversial senator Lidia Thorpe defected to the crossbench following months of division on the issue.

An avowed radical, Thorpe joins the crossbench pledging to lead a black sovereignty movement in Australia in a move that weakens the Greens hold on the balance of power in the Senate and hands her a powerful bargaining position for her unpredictable agenda.

Thorpes departure follows months of speculation about her political future in the Greens, after she used her position as the partys First Nations spokeswoman to repeatedly criticise the Voice, which put her at odds with colleagues, and the partys position to back all elements of the Uluru Statement from the Heart.

Greens leader Adam Bandt pleaded with Thorpe to remain in the party, but the senator said her defection was necessary to speak freely on issues and lead a black sovereignty movement.
Former deputy premier John Barilaro benefited from a jobs for the boys appointment when he was given a plum US trade role, in a recruitment process that lacked transparency, integrity and was not conducted at arms length from government.

A parliamentary inquiry has made the key findings in a searing interim review of the jobs scandal that paralysed the Perrottet government last year, triggering multiple reviews, inquiries and a severe backlash from Barilaros former colleagues. Barilaro resigned from the posting before it commenced.

John Barilaro giving evidence during the inquiry last year. Credit: Kate Geraghty

The upper house probe also made a scathing assessment of former trade minister Stuart Ayres, accusing him of misleading the public and questioning whether he misled parliament in statements about his role in the process.

This whole sorry saga has shaken the publics confidence in the integrity of Public Service recruitment, the report found.
London: Former Australian prime minister Tony Abbott has joined the board of trustees of the leading climate sceptic think tank, the Global Warming Policy Foundation, vowing to inject more genuine science and less groupthink into the debate.

The London-based think tank was founded in 2009 by Nigel Lawson, who once served as treasurer to former British prime minister Margaret Thatcher. It exists as an educational charity that aims to combat what it calls damaging and harmful climate-change policies.

Former prime minister Tony Abbott has joined the board of Britains leading climate-sceptic think tank. Credit: Alex Ellinghausen

The foundation recently started Net Zero Watch, a campaigning platform highlighting what it calls the costs of net zero. Its charitable status has come under increased scrutiny in Britain over several questions about its funding and claims it is, in fact, a lobbying organisation.

The campaigning arm of the foundation was set up after a previous investigation by the UKs Charity Commission found that it had breached rules on impartiality.
Darkush, Syria: A steady stream of injured were flowing into an overwhelmed hospital in the town of Darkush, in rebel-held north-western Syria, after a deadly earthquake struck the region on Monday. Mothers hovered over crying children.

Amid the chaos, one man sat with a dazed expression, his face covered with abrasions.

Earthquake victims in Syria receive care. Credit: AP

The man, Osama Abdul Hamid, had barely made it out alive with his wife and four children from his apartment building in the nearby village of Azmarin. Many of their neighbours were not so lucky.

The building is four storeys, and from three of them, no one made it out, Abdul Hamid said, breaking down in tears. God gave me a new lease on life.
Apple predicted on Thursday that its revenue would decline for the second consecutive quarter (Photo: Ann Wang/Reuters/File Photo)

Foxconn, the largest contract electronics manufacturer in the world and a key iPhone manufacturer for Apple Inc., reported on Sunday that its revenue in January increased by 48.2% year over year as it overcame COVID difficulties in China.

Revenue increased by 4.93 percent from the previous month thanks in large part to robust double-digit growth in the market for computing and smart consumer gadgets, which includes smartphones.

With operations returning to average and shipping volumes rising at its Zhengzhou campus in China, a center for iPhone manufacture, revenue in January hit a new high of T$660.4 billion ($22 billion), according to a statement from the business.

As per analysts, Foxconn assembles about 70% of iPhones, with most of its premium models, like the iPhone 14 Pro, being made in the Zhengzhou facility. Following restrictions to regulate COVID-19, which caused hundreds of workers to leave Foxconn's assembly lines in Zhengzhou, production of iPhones was disrupted in advance of Christmas and the Lunar New Year holidays in January.

"Based on market consensus for the first quarter of 2023, January revenue came in slightly ahead. The outlook for the first quarter will likely reach market expectations," Foxconn said.

So according to Refinitiv, analysts anticipate that first-quarter revenue would increase by about 4% over the same period last year. Apple predicted on Thursday that its revenue would decline for the second consecutive quarter, but that iPhone sales were anticipated to increase as China's production had resumed after being slowed down due to COVID.

Shares of Foxconn have fallen 0.3% so far this year, underperforming the 10.4% increase in the larger Taiwan market. On March 15, the company releases its fourth-quarter financial results, along with a detailed outlook.

Foxconn is a multinational Taiwanese electronics contract manufacturer with headquarters in Tucheng, New Taipei City, Taiwan. It was founded in 1974. The company had yearly sales of 5.99 trillion New Taiwan dollars ($175 billion) in 2021, and it was included as the 20th largest company in the Fortune Global 500 for 2022.

It is the biggest manufacturer and service provider of technology in the world. Despite having its headquarters in Taiwan, the corporation is one of the biggest employers globally and the biggest private employer in the People's Republic of China. The company's founder and previous chairman is Terry Gou.

After founder Terry Gou retired, Foxconn designated Young Liu its new chairman, starting July 1, 2019. Young Liu was the head of business group S and the special assistant to the previous chairman Terry Gou.


The group said the promoters had posted the amounts to prepay $1.11 billion ahead of their maturity in September next year, after recent market volatility, and thus showing their commitment to reduce promoter leverage backed by listed-company shares. The promoters of the Adani group have prepaid loans worth $ 1.11 billion on Monday, thus releasing the pledged shares in three key companies  Adani Green Energy, Adani Ports, and Adani Transmission.



And they are about 3 per cent in Adani Green Energy and 1.4 per cent in Adani Transmission. With this, there will not be any pledged shares of the promoters in these three entities. With the prepayment, the shares of the three listed companies will be released in due course: The pledged shares of Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone represent 12 per cent of the promoter holding.







Shares of Adani Green Energy closed 5 per cent down at Rs 887 while for Adani Transmission they were lower by 10 per cent at Rs 1,261. The shares of Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone closed 9.5 per cent up at Rs 546. This is in continuation (with) the promoters assurance to prepay all share-backed financing, the group said.

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With the promoters releasing their pledged shares, there will be less pressure on them if the share prices of the group companies fall further because there will not be any top-up demand from the lenders, say market analysts.



Hindenburg said it had taken short-selling positions in Adani group bonds overseas. The group has denied the charges, saying the allegations had been made without any evidence. It plans to take legal action against the short-seller. Adani group shares came under severe attack after American short-seller Hindenburg Research alleged market manipulation by the conglomerate.



There are also no near-term significant offshore bond maturities,  reducing refinancing risks and near-term liquidity risks, Fitch had said. On February 3, Fitch Ratings said there was no immediate impact on the ratings of Adani Green Energy, Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone, and Adani Transmission and it expected no material changes to its forecast on cash flow for these entities.

On Adani Transmission, it said its business profile benefited from its regulated asset base, a payment-pooling mechanism for transmission assets, diversified counterparty exposure, and an established record in executing and operating projects.
The Congress on Monday staged protests across Madhya Pradesh for a joint parliamentary committee (JPC) probe into allegations of stock manipulation against Adani Group and demanded the resignation of Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.

In Bhopal, an agitation was organised in front of the office of Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) in GTB Complex by Congress leaders led by district unit chief Kailash Mishra. Congress workers raised slogans against the Adani Group and the BJP-led Central government.

"We are protesting for a JPC probe into allegations of irregularities against Adani. These irregularities occurred under Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, so she should resign immediately," Mishra told PTI.

A demonstration was also held at the state Congress headquarters by the National Students Union of India (NSUI).

Adani Group stocks have taken a beating on the bourses after the US short-seller Hindenburg Research made a litany of allegations last fortnight in its report, including fraudulent transactions and share price manipulation at the Gautam Adani-led group, which has denied the charges.

Madhya Pradesh Congress media cell vice chairman Bhupendra Gupta said protests were held at all district headquarters in the state for a JPC probe and to "save the hard-earned money of the people invested by LIC in the Adani group".

Also Read Adani vs Hindenburg: Opposition seeks JPC or SC-monitored probe Oppn to demonstrate outside Parliament to seek JPC probe into Adani issue Oppn's demand for JPC probe into Adani issue not justified: Jethmalani Adani row: Opposition wants a probe while govt gets into defensive mode Madhya Pradesh govt issues security alert to ensure peace, communal harmony Renault, Nissan unveil details of major shake up to 24-year-old alliance BYJU's to miss group level profitability deadline, results delayed again Adani to prepay $1.11 billion loans on shares, denies report on capex cut Grasim board inducts Ananya Birla, Aryaman Vikram Birla as directors IPO-bound Swiggy names Delhivery chief, two others as independent directors

Gupta alleged the BJP-led government invested the money of LIC and the State Bank of India into the Gautam Adani-led business conglomerate.

"The Centre discontinued the old pension scheme (OPS) of employees so that the money can be invested into such companies through National Pension Scheme (NPS). All this should be investigated," he demanded.
Elon Musk and Tesla unveiled the Optimus robot last year, while Boston Dynamics teaches its Atlas robot new tasks every several months.

A Texas-based startup will present its conception of a multipurpose robot to a select audience at South by Southwest in March. Apptronik's newest robot is named Apollo, partly because the company collaborated with NASA to commercialize the robot.

NASA Humanoid Robot

The space agency intends to stimulate the creation of humanoid robots that may one day lead to a robotic space explorer, even though there are no plans to launch Apollo into orbit. In the previous several weeks, Apptronik published videos showcasing its prototype robots that eventually influenced Apollo's design. CEO Jeff Cardenas told CNET, "Apollo is the robot we've always desired to create."

Later this year, according to Cardenas, Apptronik will introduce Apollo to the public and begin accepting preorders. Apptronik, a Texas-based robotics startup founded in the Human Centered Robotics Lab at the University of Texas at Austin, has spent several years developing a functional, multipurpose humanoid robot.

Apptronik hopes that by creating their robot (Apollo) from the bottom up, including electronics and actuators, it will provide something economical, dependable, and widely useful. Currently, however, the most effective robots are not universal systems; they are uni-taskers or robots that can perform one task exceptionally well but not much else.

The potential of a general-purpose robot, especially one with a human form factor, is considerable. But the difficulty is also considerable. Apptronik expects the alpha version of Apollo to be completed in March, just in time for a small-scale demonstration at SXSW.

From there, the alpha Apollos will be piloted as Apptronik gathers input to produce a beta version for larger-scale deployments. The organization anticipates that these efforts will result in a complete gamma version and total production runs by the end of 2024, as per Spectrum.

Read Also: Old US Video Linked to Killing of Filipino Worker

Tesla Bot Xoxe

Meanwhile, some of the most disturbing AI robots from the future are finding their way into the present. Tesla Bot desires to be your friend, but Xoxe can detect your fear. Xoxe's presence is chilly, smart, and apprehending: Xoxe wears a stylish wig and provides witty comments. Per The Sun, Xoxe's face uses human skin, yet her arms continue to move due to the necessity for communication.

Dr. Sam Khoze of AI LIFE, a former plastic surgeon with a degree in artificial intelligence, modeled this robot's personality after that of a social media star. The name of the new robot on the block is Optimus. Its name is Tesla Bot, but that is only its government designation. He wants to be your buddy regardless of the rewards.

Elon Musk, the infamous Tesla magnate, has already put hundreds of androids to work in his factories and intends to increase that number to thousands. Idealistically, Musk's teams will also make them available to customers. He even said that a Tesla robot might become cheaper than a car and be used in homes to prepare meals, mow the yard, and care for the elderly.

As if that weren't helpful enough, they also became programmed sexual partners named "buddy" and "catgirl." Reuters said that despite their imaginative potential, Tesla faced criticism over the usage and cost of "general purpose" robots in factories, households, and elsewhere.

In 2023, three robot sisters might give the Kardashians a run for their money as they attempt to persuade you to appreciate AI. Hanson Robotics' creator, David Hanson, created the next humanoid sisters.

Former firm head scientist Ben Goertzel is credited for developing the company's AI brains. Sophia is the oldest of the three robots, initially activated in 2016. She's already being hailed as the face of AI, and her beauty has garnered international notice. Sophia was the first non-human to be named Innovation Champion by the United Nations Development Program.

Related Article: Australia's Missing Radioactive Capsule Found!

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The government, which has nearly 30% stake in Hindustan Zinc that it intends to sell through offer-for-sale mechanism, is likely to vote against the plan on concerns ranging from high valuations to it being a related party transaction, the people said, asking not to be named as the information is not public. The government is planning to oppose Hindustan Zinc Ltd.s proposal to buy global zinc assets of Vedanta Ltd. for $2.98 billion, people familiar with the matter said.



This could potentially make it harder for billionaire Anil Agarwal to use proceeds from the sale to trim debt at ultimate parent Vedanta Resources Ltd., which has bonds worth $4.7 billion maturing in the next three-and-a-half years, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The plan was pushed through even after government officials refused to approve it, they said, adding the government is trying to nudge Hindustan Zinc to withdraw the proposal.



Television channel CNBC-TV18 reported the governments plan to oppose the deal earlier Monday. Hindustan Zinc last month agreed to buy assets of THL Zinc Ltd. Mauritius from its parent in a phased manner over 18 months. The operations of THL include Black Mountain Mining (Pty) Ltd. in South Africa and Skorpion Zinc (Pty) Ltd. in Namibia.

Also Read Hindustan Zinc Q3 net profit drops 20% to Rs 2,156 cr on higher expenses Govt to check foreign fund appetite in Hindustan Zinc before stake dilution Six merchant bankers in fray for HZL stake sale; presentation on Friday HZL to spend over $1 bn in shift to turn into a green energy user Considering options on Electrosteel: Vedanta Resources' Anil Agarwal Paytm expects to sustain performance, completes Rs 796 cr share buyback Reliance shows hydrogen-run truck at India Energy Week; emits water, oxygen Vodafone Idea plans to get back in the game but fundraising a challenge SJVN net profit rises 22% to Rs 287.42 crore in December quarter Procter & Gamble's net profit dips by 2% to Rs 207 cr in December quarter



Analysts have flagged the costly acquisition would run down cash reserves at Hindustan Zinc in which Vedanta holds about 65%. The unit has been regularly doling out dividends to the parent, helping it further push up cash to Vedanta Resources. Emails sent to Hindustan Zinc and Vedanta were not immediately answered, while a spokesperson for the finance ministry didnt respond to calls and a text message seeking comments.

2023BloombergLP


Anil Agarwal-led Vedanta Ltd on Monday named industry veteran David Reed to head its semiconductor unit where it is looking to invest USD 20 billion to manufacture chips essential for mobile phones to laptops and TV sets.

In an interview with PTI, Agarwal said the group is looking to start manufacturing semiconductors at Dholera in Gujarat in 2-3 years.

"We will start with USD 5 billion investment and scale it up as years go by," he said.

The semiconductors will be manufactured in joint venture with Taiwanese electronics company Foxconn. Vedanta holds a 63 per cent interest and the remaining is with Foxconn in the joint venture.

The company plans to initially produce 40,000 wafers a month.

Before joining Vedanta, Reed was with NXP Semiconductors, where he was Executive Vice President and General Manager of global operations.

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He moved to NXP as part of the merger with Freescale Semiconductor, where he had served as Senior Vice President for manufacturing operations. Previously, David was Vice President and General Manager at GlobalFoundries.

He began his career at Texas Instruments in 1984, where he served for 26 years in a variety of leadership roles across the world.

In September 2022, Vedanta signed an MoU with Gujarat government to set up India's first semiconductor fab unit, a display fab unit, and a semiconductor assembling and testing unit in the state.

Vedanta Group has earlier announced that the group has earmarked investments of up to USD 20 billion for semiconductor business, and it plans to invest USD 15 billion in the first 10 years.

Vedanta will look at making a 28 nanometer (nm) chipset.

It has also applied for setting up a display fabrication plant to make screens that are used for display in electronic devices.


The Tata group-run airline on Monday inducted an Airbus A321LR, the first by an Indian carrier. Vistara now has 54 planes and will add six more in 2023. Vistara plans to launch services to Hong Kong and Mauritius, and connect Mumbai with Europe as the airline sharpens its international focus.



Vistara plans to start service between Mumbai-Mauritius and Delhi-Hong Kong with the A321LR aircraft, it has been learnt. Currently, it flies to Frankfurt, London, and Paris only from Delhi. A Mumbai-London service is also under consideration. The Airbus A321LR aircraft has an increased maximum take-off weight of 97 tonnes, and an extra auxiliary centre fuel tank, giving it a longer range.



Currently Air India and Cathay Pacific operate flights between India and Hong Kong. Cathay Pacific, which flies 13 weekly flights to India, is looking to add services to the summer schedule, following the removal of Covid-19 restrictions in Hong Kong. Similarly, Air Mauritius, which operates six weekly flights to Mumbai, shall fly to Delhi twice a week from May 4. "We are excited to welcome the first A321LR to our growing fleet. This addition reiterates our strong focus on international expansion and enables us to offer longer range connectivity to our customers while also maintaining greater fuel efficiency," the airline's CEO Vinod Kannan said in a statement.

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Apart from leisure travel demand, Vistara can also offer connections to passengers from Nepal and Bangladesh. There is year-round traffic to Mauritius from Bangladesh and Vistara would be able to connect them via Mumbai. But that will depend on its schedule, an aviation source said. Last year, 37,000 Indian tourists visited Mauritius and traffic is expected to grow in 2023.

Vistara has grown its operations in Mumbai. In the past two years, it increased daily flights from the city to 50, against 38 in mid-2019. It connects to 11 international destinations (Colombo and Dammam starting in March) against seven from Delhi. It flies to West Asia only from Mumbai and that has been due to its inability to secure slots from Delhi airport.
The Delhi municipal House is set to convene on Monday to elect a mayor for the city after failing to complete the poll in two previous attempts.

According to the Delhi Municipal Corporation (DMC) Act, 1957, the mayor and the deputy mayor are to be elected in the very first House that convenes after the civic polls. However, it's been two months since the municipal elections were held, and Delhi is still to get a mayor.

The first two sessions -- held on January 6 and January 24 -- were adjourned by the presiding officer without electing a mayor following a ruckus and acrimonious exchanges between the members of the BJP and the AAP.

While the first session of the 250-member House after the December 4 civic polls went in vain, in the second session, the nominated members and elected members took oath.

After the oath-taking exercise, the second municipal House was adjourned till the next date by Presiding Officer and BJP councillor Satya Sharma.

While BJP members had walked out of the chamber shouting anti-AAP and anti-Arvind Kejriwal slogans, the AAP members held a peaceful protest in the House for nearly five hours.

Also Read Delhi MCD: All you need to know about the prestige battle in the capital LIVE news: GRAP Stage III revoked in entire NCR with immediate effect AAP ends BJP's 15 year-rule in MCD, wins civic body poll with majority BJP expresses confidence to win Delhi MCD polls for fourth time in a row Exit polls predict comfortable wins for BJP in Gujarat, AAP in MCD PM to inaugurate India Energy Week, open HAL's factory in Karnataka today Hillary Clinton to meet salt pan workers on 2nd day of Gujarat visit Oppn to demonstrate outside Parliament to seek JPC probe into Adani issue LIVE: Oppn to protest outside Parliament seeking probe into Adani's issue TMS Ep362: Budget for rich, capex outlay, RBI rate hike, night light data

Before dispersing from the Civic Centre, senior leaders of the AAP, including Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh, told reporters that by "not allowing" the mayoral election to take place, the BJP was "strangulating democracy" and "starting a dangerous tradition".

AAP leader and party MLA Atishi had appealed to Lt Governor V K Saxena to ensure the election for mayor, deputy mayor and six members of the standing committee is held at the earliest.

Later, AAP's mayoral candidate Shelly Oberoi had moved the Supreme Court over the delay in holding the mayoral election.

Now, the third session of the House is slated for Monday to elect a mayor.

The AAP had emerged as a clear winner in Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) polls, bagging 134 wards and ending the BJP's 15-year rule in the civic body.

The BJP won 104 wards to finish second, while the Congress won nine seats in the 250-member municipal House.

Rekha Gupta is the BJP's mayoral candidate.

The nominees for the post of deputy mayor are -- Aaley Mohammad Iqbal (AAP) and Kamal Bagri (BJP).

Besides mayor and deputy mayor, six members of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi's (MCD) standing committee are also slated to be elected during the session.

The MCD came into being in April 1958. Its mayor wielded influence and carried huge prestige till 2012, when the corporation was spilt into three separate civic bodies, each having its own mayor.

But, in 2022, the Centre brought a legislation to unify the North Delhi Municipal Corporation (104 wards), South Delhi Municipal Corporation (104 wards) and East Delhi Municipal Corporation (64 wards) into a single entity, though it had capped the total number of wards at 250, down from 272 wards earlier.

Thus, after the mayoral poll, Delhi will get a mayor for the city as a whole after a gap of 10 years.

The December 4 MCD election was the first after the redrawing of the wards.

The post of mayor in Delhi sees five single-year terms on a rotation basis, with the first year being reserved for women, second for the open category, third for the reserved category, and the remaining two also being for the open category.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah will address two election rallies in Tripura on Monday.

Shah will address two election rallies at Khowai in the Khowai district and Santirbazar in the South Tripura district. The Union Minister will also join a road show in Agartala city today.

Before Shah's arrival in the state, Tripura Chief Minister Dr Manik Saha on Saturday inspected preparation for Amit Shah's February 6 rally in the state ahead of the state assembly election.The Chief Minister visited both the rally spots at Santirbazar in South Tripura and Khowai in the Khowai district in order to ensure that everything was conducted flawlessly.

BJP posted a stunning victory in Tripura in the 2018 Assembly elections, a Left bastion. After its poll victory, BJP appointed Biplab Deb as Tripura's Chief Minister and in May 2022 appointed Manik Saha for the role.

This is the second visit by the Union Home Minister to the state this year.

Earlier on January 5, he attended two Rath Yatras - one from North Tripura's Dharmanagar and another from South Tripura's Sabroom.

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Recently, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) National President Jagat Prakash Nadda was on his visit to the state where he also addressed the public rally in Amarpur in the Gomati district.

The party is preparing itself to register another win in Tripura and has struck an alliance with its former ally Indigenous People's Front of Tripura (IPFT) which has fielded its candidates at five assembly seats.

For the elections at 60 Assembly seats in the northeastern state, which are slated to be held on February 17, the BJP has fielded 55 candidates.

Former CM Manik Sarkar, hailing from the Communist Party of India (Marxist), would also contest the upcoming Assembly polls to the state.

According to party officials, several other BJP leaders will also campaign in the northeastern state. For the first time, 11 women candidates have been given tickets in the state assembly election.
Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly will begin a two-day visit to India on Monday to hold wide-ranging talks with her Indian counterpart S Jaishankar.

The talks between the two foreign ministers will be held on Monday evening, officials said.

Besides ways to boost bilateral ties, the two sides are also expected to focus on cooperation in the Indo-Pacific in the backdrop of growing global concern over China's increasing military muscle-flexing in the region.

In November, Canada came out with a comprehensive strategy for the Indo-Pacific that aimed to promote peace, resilience and security.

Canada's Indo-Pacific strategy also listed India as a key player in the region and said Ottawa will focus on expanding economic engagement with New Delhi, including through deeper trade and investment as well as cooperating on building resilient supply chains.

"India's strategic importance and leadership -- both across the region and globally -- will only increase as India, the world's biggest democracy, becomes the most populous country in the world and continues to grow its economy," the Canadian policy mentioned.

Also Read G20: Trudeau concerned over China's interference in domestic affairs Canadian police search Saskatchewan province for suspects in stabbing case Permanent Indian residents now eligible to be part of Canadian military Canadian military to help clean up storm Fiona sweeps away houses Jaishankar consults Ethiopian FM to reinforce ties in education, trade After 2 failed attempts for Delhi mayor, municipal House to convene again PM to inaugurate India Energy Week, open HAL's factory in Karnataka today Hillary Clinton to meet salt pan workers on 2nd day of Gujarat visit Oppn to demonstrate outside Parliament to seek JPC probe into Adani issue LIVE: Oppn to protest outside Parliament seeking probe into Adani's issue

Separately, Deputy Prime Minister of Fiji Biman Prasad began a six-day visit to India on Sunday.
(Reuters) -China's finance minister and its central bank governor will attend a roundtable with other creditors and some borrowing countries in February in India, IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said in a CBS' 60 Minutes interview on Sunday.

"China has to change its policies because low income countries cannot pay," she said.

"What we are working towards is to bring all creditors, the traditional creditors from advanced economies, new creditors like China, Saudi Arabia, India, as well as the private sector, and put them around the table with the debtor countries."

Georgieva said last month the first such gathering will take place on the sidelines of a meeting of Group of 20 finance officials in India.

Georgieva, the first person from an emerging market economy to head the International Monetary Fund, has said debt relief was critical for heavily indebted nations to avoid cuts in social services and other repercussions.

"China is going to participate at the level of minister of finance and the governor of People's Bank of China," she told 60 Minutes.

Also Read IMF chief Kristalina Georgieva warns of risk of geopolitical fragmentation IMF chief pleased that Sri Lanka reached staff-level deal for $2.9 billion Global economy moving from 'relative predictability' to uncertainty: IMF MD Global economy faces tougher year in 2023: IMF's Kristalina Georgieva Pak PM holds talks with IMF chief to break deadlock over next aid tranche Avalanche kills 2 BRO labourers, 1 missing in Himachal Pradesh's Lahaul Budget's provisions for development of clean energy to benefit U'khand: CM HM Shah assures delegation from Sikkim of intervention amid protests Security personnel's sacrifices kept country's integrity intact: Azad Budget laid foundation to make India developed nation in next 25 yr: RS MP

(Reporting by Costas Pitas in Los Angeles and David Lawder in Washington; Editing by Christopher Cushing and Tom Hogue)
Communist Party of India (CPI) MP Binoy Viswam on Monday moved a Suspension of Business Notice in Rajya Sabha under rule 267 demanding a discussion on the Adani group of companies crisis and "huge public money belonging to the common people of India at serious risk of being wiped out in the unfolding crisis."

Earlier on Friday, the Congress and 16 opposition parties demanded a joint parliamentary committee (JPC) or Supreme Court-monitored probe into the Hindunberg report against the Adani Group, alleging a scam.

A report by a US-based Hindenburg Research surfaced on January 24, claiming that the Adani Group had weak business fundamentals, and was involved in stock manipulation and accounting fraud, among others.

The report triggered a sell-off of shares of all Adani Group companies.

Meanwhile, Congress will launch a countrywide protest in front of Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) offices and State Bank of India (SBI) branches today to protest against the alleged Adani scam.

Congress MPs will protest near the Gandhi statue in Parliament House on Monday.

Also Read PM Modi to discuss govt's strategy in Parliament with Union Ministers AAP's Sanjay Singh gives suspension of business notice in RS on Adani issue CPI MP urges PM Modi to look into 'irregularities' in farm insurance scheme Gameskraft Technology faces Rs 21,000-crore tax notice for 'GST evasion' Functioning of Kerala govt not satisfactory, CM handling all depts: CPI Senior citizens to also have flight travel option for pilgrimage: Chouhan After 2 failed attempts for Delhi mayor, municipal House to convene again Canadian Minister on 2-day visit to India, to hold talks with Jaishankar PM to inaugurate India Energy Week, open HAL's factory in Karnataka today Hillary Clinton to meet salt pan workers on 2nd day of Gujarat visit

Although the Congress is getting the support of other Opposition parties on the Adani issue, it has to be seen whether the parties such as the Bharat Rashtra Samithi, Aam Aadmi Party and Trinamool Congress, which are seen together in the meetings, will join the Congress demonstration or extend moral support.

However, the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and Janata Dal (Secular) have kept their distance from the Congress on this issue.

It is being argued by the Opposition that the investment of the Adani group in public sector banks such as the SBI and LIC has had a big impact on the savings of the middle class.

Opposition MPs said the government was not allowing the issue to be discussed in Parliament. After the uproar in Parliament, the proceedings of both Houses of Parliament were adjourned till February 6.
Mumbai Police seized drugs worth more than Rs 40 lakh following a raid in Mazgaon area of the city on Monday, an official said.

The police also apprehended a few persons from the spot for enquiry, the official said without elaborating.

Based on a specific information, the Mumbai Crime Branch's Anti-Narcotics Cell conducted the raid at Navanagar in Mazgaon area and seized the drugs, he said.
The Global Investors' Summit scheduled this week in Lucknow will open doors of new possibilities for the youth of the state by bringing in massive investments in various sectors, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said on Monday.

The youth will no longer have to go to other countries and states for employment, an official statement quoted Yogi as saying.

While addressing the 11th convocation of GLA University in Mathura, Adityanath said that under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the National Education Policy has been formulated keeping in mind the bright future of the youth of the country and added that the youth should not confine themselves to procuring degrees only, and should move beyond with a multidimensional approach.

"The investor summit in the state will open doors of new possibilities for the youth by bringing in massive investments in various sectors. Now they will not have to go abroad or other states for the job," he said.

The Chief Minister on the occasion suggested educational institutions conduct research on the activities related to social, economic and traditions of their geographical areas, to speed up development in those areas.

The Chief Minister said that educational institutions should give information about the schemes of the Central Government and the State Government in their syllabus, adding that especially schemes related to youth and students should be part of the curriculum.

Also Read International Youth Day: Quotes, Importance and Significance CM Yogi to hold roadshow in Mumbai ahead of UP's Global Investors Summit Australian investors meet UP CM Yogi to discuss opportunities in state Yogi Adityanath invites Tata group to participate in investor summit CM Adityanath receives death threat on UP police's WhatsApp helpline Civil aviation ministry says 63 passengers put on 'No Fly List' in 2022 Strongest earthquake in 40 years startles western New York Renewables, hydrogen to make India world's third largest economy: PM Modi Leasing of industrial, logistics space highest in NCR in 2022: CBRE PM unveils India's biggest helicopter manufacturing facility in Karnataka

If a student wants to set up a startup, then information about PM Mudra Yojana and Mukhyamantri Yuva Swarozgar Yojana should be available at the level of educational institutions itself, he said.

The Chief Minister also informed the students about schemes like PM Internship, CM Internship and Abhyudaya.

"We have to pay attention to the quality and packaging of our products. Had the previous governments paid attention to the field of technical education in UP, today, the state would have been a hub of technical skills."



The Chief Minister informed that massive investment is on the anvil in 25 sectors of the state, which will create lakhs of jobs for the youth and urged educational institutions to prepare their students for this.

Referring to Ram Manohar Lohia, he said that the eminent socialist thinker considered Lord Krishna, Ram and Shiva as the three basic pillars of the public life of India.

"Krishna connected India from East to West, Ram from North to South and the cultural and geographical boundary of this country is determined by the 12 Jyotirlinga temples of Lord Shiva sitting across the country," he said.

We have to see how we can practice truth in our lives. When a person speaks something and does something else, then his credibility is at stake. If someone does not believe in himself, how will the society, the country and the world believe him, he said.

In the convocation, 47 students were awarded PhD, 561 Master and 2085 Bachelor's degrees.
Elon Musk's acquisition of Twitter with foreign investors will not be investigated by federal officials despite requests from President Joe Biden and a senior Democratic senator, according to sources.

After allegations that the Elon Musk Twitter purchase agreement gave special rights to wealthy foreign investors, including a Saudi prince's holding business and a Chinese cryptocurrency exchange, Elon Musk Twitter purchase was criticized.

Two people who knew about the committee's decision on the possible Elon Musk investigation but didn't want to be named said that officials of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States don't think they have the power to officially review the deal of the Elon Musk Twitter purchase, according to the Washington Post.

Even though Musk is an American citizen, the committee is tasked with investigating foreign purchases of American firms. The $44 billion transaction depended on $2.5 billion from foreign supporters and provided some of them exceptional advantages, including privileged access to Twitter user data, but authorities do not seem to believe the conditions warrant government involvement, the two sources said.

Read Also: Russia To Deploy Robots To Ukraine War

The committee is presided over by US Treasury Secretary Janet L. Yellen. A spokesperson of the agency refused to comment on the Elon Musk investigation.

The news comes a week after the US securities regulator reportedly launched an Elon Musk investigation on his involvement in defining electric vehicle manufacturer Tesla's self-driving claims.

The SEC is investigating the company's Autopilot driver-assistance system claims. The report did note that the agency was investigating whether Elon Musk had made any improper forward-looking remarks, per Reuters.

Elon Musk To Save Twitter From Bankruptcy

In other related news, Elon Musk, CEO of Twitter, Tesla, and Space X, said on Sunday that business has been tough recently, but he added that Twitter is "currently heading to breakeven."

The tech mogul tweeted that he had to "save Twitter from bankruptcy" in addition to his other responsibilities, according to CNBC.

Platformer, a tech news publication, reports that in January 2023, Twitter had a 40% year-over-year drop in daily income and that many of the platform's most prominent advertisers have stopped or reduced their expenditures. Twitter's December ad income fell 70% year-over-year, according to one company.

Related Article: US Shot Down China Spy Balloon





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Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday urged global investors to explore investment opportunities in the country's energy sector, saying India is the most opportune place at present.

Modi in his inaugural address at the India Energy Week 2023 said the Budget (for 2023-34) has provided Rs 10 lakh crore for capital expenditure, which will give a boost to green hydrogen, solar power and road sectors.

"I ask you to explore all opportunities connected with India's energy sector. India is the most opportune place for investment today," he said at the India Energy Week, which is being attended by several ministers, corporate leaders and experts from different nations.

The Prime Minister also recalled several initiatives taken by the government to promote green energy and make India net zero by 2070.

The budget 2023-24 has provided Rs 35,000 crore to the petroleum and natural gas ministry for achieving the net-zero target.

India Energy Week 2023 is the first major event of G20 under India's presidency, Modi noted.

Also Read India's economy already 10% more energy efficient than G20 average: IEA Nations must regulate, invest in clean energy to bring down costs: Report EU set to adopt emergency package in Nov to tackle current energy crisis India plans big for green energy sector in sync with G20 Presidency JSW Energy arm bags two battery energy storage system projects from SECI Drugs worth over Rs 40 lakh seized following raid in Mumbai: Official Delhi HC refuses PIL seeking to conduct LS, Assembly polls together in 2024 Union Budget a silent strike on poor by Modi govt, says Sonia Gandhi India ready to provide help to earthquake-affected in Turkey: PM Modi Delhi mayor polls: Amid sloganeering, MCD House adjourned briefly

He further stated that crores of people have come out of poverty and entered the middle class due to government initiatives.

India has become the second-largest producer of mobile phones and the fourth-largest crude refiner in the world, the Prime Minister noted.

India, he said, is working on expanding its refining capacity from 250 MMTPA to 450 MMPTA.

He also informed that India's gas pipeline network will expand to 35,000 km in the next four-five years from 22,000 km presently.

The government has reduced the no-go area for oil and gas exploration to 10 lakh square kilometres, which will unlock investment opportunities, Modi said.

On 20 per cent ethanol blending with petrol, he said India is moving towards achieving the target.

Solar cooktops launched today will give a new dimension to cooking in India, he said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in Bengaluru on Monday as Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai, Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot and state BJP chief Nalin Kumar Kateel extended a warm welcome to him.

Modi arrived in a special flight to the HAL airport in Bengaluru and visited the Bengaluru International Exhibition Centre in the outskirts of the city to inaugurate the India Energy Week in a special chopper.

The Prime Minister on his one-day visit, will inaugurate HAL helicopter factory in Gubbi taluk of Tumakuru. This manufacturing facility spread across 615 acre of land is dubbed as India's largest manufacturing facility of light utility helicopters and Indian multirole helicopters.

He will also address a public rally after inaugurating the HAL manufacturing factory. The foundation stone for the manufacturing unit was laid by Modi in 2016.

The Prime Minister will also lay the foundation stone for Tumakuru industrial township, an industrial node on the Chennai-Bengaluru industrial corridor. The project is aimed to provide employment to more than 90,000 people. It is spread over 1,722 acre and is being implemented at a cost of Rs 1,701 crore.

Later, Modi will inaugurate multi-village water supply schemes under the Jal Jeevan Mission in Tiptur taluk and Chikkanayakanahalli taluk in Tumakuru, which will provide clean water for 1.86 lakh people from the Hemavathi river at a cost of Rs 435 crore and Rs 115 crore respectively.

Also Read Gehlot's desert storm may just sweep away Congress's gains in Rajasthan Yatra to counter polarisation; party wants Rahul to be chief: Raj CM Gehlot Modi knelt down because he wanted to appear humbler than me: Gehlot Top headlines:Deadline for 6 airbags extended; Gehlot out of Cong Prez race Ahead of Delhi visit, Rajasthan CM Gehlot summons meeting of Cong MLAs Aldermen can vote in Delhi mayoral polls, says MCD presiding officer Cong's manifesto vows old pension scheme, 50,000 new jobs in Tripura All you need to know about Andhra Pradesh's Guaranteed Pension Scheme Telangana state Budget pegs Rs 2.9 trillion expenditure for 2023-24 Lok Sabha adjourned till 2 pm amidst opposition protests over Adani issue

The Prime Minister is likely to have two more visits to Karnataka. His visit to inaugurate Shivamogga airport on February 27 is already confirmed.

Modi will also visit Bengaluru to inaugurate the Aero India Show, to be held between February 13 and 17.

The BJP insiders say the Prime Minister will be highlighting the development and contribution of the double-engine government at the state and the Centre.

--IANS

mka/khz/
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate 'India Energy Week 2023' in Bengaluru, during which he will launch E20 fuel, a blend of 20 per cent ethanol with petrol, and dedicate to the nation the HAL's helicopter factory in Tumakuru, on Monday.

He will also lay the foundation stone of various development initiatives during the visit. This will be Modi's third visit to the poll-bound state in less than a month.

The PM had visited Hubballi on January 12 where he inaugurated a national youth festival and staged a massive roadshow, and later on January 19 was in Yadgiri and Kalaburagi districts where he sought to woo voters by showcasing development and social welfare programmes thereby giving the ruling BJP a launchpad in the run-up to the Assembly elections due by April-May.

Modi will inaugurate the India Energy Week (IEW) 2023 in Bengaluru that will be held from February 6-8, aimed to showcase India's rising prowess as an energy transition powerhouse.

The event is expected to bring together leaders from the traditional and non-traditional energy industry, governments, and academia to discuss the challenges and opportunities that a responsible energy transition presents, an official release said.

It will see the presence of more than 30 ministers from across the world, the release said, adding that over 30,000 delegates, 1,000 exhibitors and 500 speakers will gather to discuss the challenges and opportunities of India's energy future.

Also Read Centre holds review meeting on 12% ethanol blending with petrol for 2022-23 India achieved 10% ethanol blending target ahead of schedule: PM Modi PM Modi to inaugurate India Energy Week, launch E20 fuel in Bengaluru Govt defers Rs 2/litre additional excise duty on petrol, diesel by a month OMCs to give green hydrogen plan soon, says Hardeep Singh Puri Oppn to demonstrate outside Parliament to seek JPC probe into Adani issue LIVE: Oppn to protest outside Parliament seeking probe into Adani's issue TMS Ep362: Budget for rich, capex outlay, RBI rate hike, night light data Assembly Election: HM Amit Shah to address rallies in Tripura today India's economy already 10% more energy efficient than G20 average: IEA

During the programme, Modi will participate in a roundtable interaction with global oil and gas CEOs. He will also launch multiple initiatives in the field of green energy.

In line with the ethanol blending roadmap, the Prime Minister will launch E20 fuel at 84 retail outlets of oil marketing companies in 11 states/ union territories.

E20 is a blend of 20 per cent ethanol with petrol, the release said, adding the government aims to achieve a complete 20 per cent blending of ethanol by 2025, and oil marketing companies are setting up 2G-3G ethanol plants that will facilitate the progress.

Modi will also flag off the 'Green Mobility Rally', a rally which will witness participation of vehicles running on green energy sources, and it is expected to help create public awareness for green fuels.

The Prime Minister will also be launching the uniforms under 'Unbottled' initiative of Indian Oil. With a vision to phase out single-use plastic, Indian Oil has adopted uniforms for retail customer attendants and LPG delivery personnel made from recycled polyester (rPET) and cotton.

He will also dedicate the twin-cooktop model of Indian Oil's indoor solar cooking system and flag off its commercial roll-out.

Later around 3.30 PM, Modi will be in Tumakuru to dedicate to the nation the HAL helicopter factory.

Its foundation stone was also laid by the Prime Minister in 2016. It is a dedicated greenfield helicopter factory which will enhance capacity and ecosystem to build helicopters.

This helicopter factory is Asia's largest helicopter manufacturing facility and will initially produce the Light Utility Helicopters (LUH).

The factory will be expanded to manufacture other helicopters such as Light Combat Helicopter (LCH) and Indian Multirole Helicopter (IMRH) as well as for repair and overhaul of LCH, LUH, Civil ALH and IMRH in the future. The factory also has the potential for exporting the Civil LUHs in future.

This facility will enable India to meet its entire requirement of helicopters indigenously and will attain the distinction of enabling self-reliance in helicopter design, development and manufacture in India.

Modi will lay the foundation stone of Tumakuru Industrial Township. Under the National Industrial Corridor Development Programme, development of the industrial township spread across 8,484 acres in three phases in Tumakuru has been taken up as part of Chennai-Bengaluru Industrial Corridor.

The Prime Minister will lay the foundation stones of two Jal Jeevan Mission projects at Tiptur and Chikkanayakanahalli in Tumakuru.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday laid out his vision of making India the world's third-largest economy with a focus on renewable energy, biofuels and hydrogen as he pivots a roadmap to cut reliance on imported oil and gas.

Modi met top oil and gas industry leaders for the annual brainstorming to discuss ideas and initiatives to put India on a sustainable growth path, sources aware of the matter said.

The meeting on the sidelines of the India Energy Week here saw the Prime Minister outline his vision to make India the world's third-largest economy from the current fifth-largest. For this, the fuel needed should come from renewables, biofuels and hydrogen.

Sources said at the meeting Modi spoke of using 100 per cent renewable energy and increasing blends of ethanol and biofuels in traditional fuels.

Also, he talked about making India the world's largest hydrogen-producing nation.

Hydrogen is the cleanest known fuel which on burning emits only water and oxygen.

Also Read NTPC, Reliance, Adani top green hydrogen plays to bet on, say analysts Reliance showcases hydrogen-run truck at India Energy Week in Bengaluru Green Hydrogen Mission to help India meet net-zero targets: Experts Global renewables capacity set to double over next five years, says IEA BEL to manufacture Hydrogen fuel cells with technology from US-based TEV Nations reach a common understanding on fossil fuel usage at G20 meeting New wheat crop trickles in mandis; prices above MSP, say traders Centre plans to develop 100 airports by 2024 under UDAN infra scheme FinMin asks depts, CPSEs to refund 95% of MSMEs securities till March 2022 India's 1st new mobility-focused cluster in Telangana; to attract investors

Sources said heads of international oil companies such as BP plc of UK, ExxonMobil and TotalEnergies participated. Rosneft head Igor Sechin too attended the meeting.

Heads of Indian public sector companies, as well as international Energy Agency (IEA) executive director Fatih Birol, too attended the meeting. Mining billionaire Anil Agarwal as well as Tullow Oil CEO Rahul Dhir were also present.

Sources said industry leaders spoke of imperatives for making India the world leader.

Some wanted taxes in the oil and gas sector to be brought down to global levels of 40 per cent from the current 70 per cent, while others talked about enabling ease of doing business through self-certification.
The Supreme Court on Monday agreed to hear a plea challenging the appointment of lawyer L Victoria Gowri as a judge of the Madras High Court.

A bench comprising Chief Justice DY Chandrachud, and Justices PS Narasimha and JB Pardiwala took note of the submissions of senior advocate Raju Ramachandran that the plea needed urgent hearing.

He pleaded it was an urgent petition by senior lawyers of Madras. "They are praying for interim relief. I would request you to take it at the earliest," the senior lawyer said.

The bench, which initially agreed to list the plea for hearing on February 13, later said it will hear it on February 10.

The proposal to elevate the woman lawyer, who was representing the Centre before the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court, later reportedly became controversial after reports emerged about her alleged affiliation to the BJP.

Some statements of the lawyer, who was proposed for the judgeship, about Muslims and Christians have purportedly surfaced in the public domain.
Democratic Azad Party (DAP) chairman Ghulam Nabi Azad on Sunday said the sacrifices made by personnel of the army and other paramilitary forces have kept the country's integrity intact.

He said the entire population of the country is having peaceful sleep at night only due to the untiring and uncompromising security provided by these men who sometimes have paid with their lives.

"We are today proud of our country since it has not only grown as economic power but also won almost all wars fought against enemies since 1947. This makes us feel great and proud as citizens of India, he said in Samba where he took part in a "Vishnu Mahayagya".

"The sacrifices made by our army personnel and other paramilitary forces have kept the integrity of our country intact. They have been selfless when it comes to fighting terrorism and guarding borders from our enemies," Azad said.
Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has said senior citizens of the state will also have the option to travel by flights on pilgrimage from next month as part of a government scheme.

He was speaking in Bhind on Sunday to mark the birth anniversary of Sant Ravidas and to launch the Chambal division 'vikas yatra'.

"The birthplace of Sant Ravidas will also be included in this government pilgrimage scheme, known as Mukhyamantri Tirth-Darshan Yojana. We will also take senior citizens by flights for pilgrimage," Chouhan said.

Under the 'Mukhyamantri Tirth Darshan Yojana', eligible senior citizens above 60 years of age can visit any of the listed pilgrimage places on government expenses.

While addressing the gathering, Chouhan also said that Bhind, which has a municipal council at present, will be upgraded as a municipal corporation, and the city would also get a medical college.

The 'vikas yatra' will go to all wards and villages in the state and provide benefits of government schemes to eligible people, while inauguration and foundation stone laying of developmental projects will also take place during the yatra, the CM said.

Also Read MP govt to take senior citizens by air under pilgrimage scheme: CM Chouhan Delhi most unsafe for senior citizens among Indian metros: NCRB data Madhya Pradesh govt issues security alert to ensure peace, communal harmony Deep depression weakens over northwest Chhattisgarh; rain continues: IMD Congress yatra will establish Rahul as serious politician: Analysts After 2 failed attempts for Delhi mayor, municipal House to convene again Canadian Minister on 2-day visit to India, to hold talks with Jaishankar PM to inaugurate India Energy Week, open HAL's factory in Karnataka today Hillary Clinton to meet salt pan workers on 2nd day of Gujarat visit Oppn to demonstrate outside Parliament to seek JPC probe into Adani issue

The yatra will culminate on February 25.
A fresh earthquake of 7.6 magnitude hits Turkey and Syria. Earlier in the day a powerful 7.8 magnitude earthquake rocked southeastern Turkey and northern Syria, toppling hundreds of buildings and killing more than 1,900 people, ANI reported.



The Supreme Court on Monday agreed to fix hearing on Tuesday a plea against the appointment of Lekshmana Chandra Victoria Gowri as a judge of the Madras High Court.
Indians are the top homebuyers in Dubai, and they purchased property worth Rs 35,500 crore in the emirate last year, a report by the Times of India (TOI) said. This is almost double the money spent by Indians to purchase homes in Dubai in 2021. In 2022, Indians made up a large chunk, 40 per cent, of all the homebuyers in Dubai.

According to TOI, most such homebuyers come from Delhi, National Capital Region (NCR), Ahmedabad, Surat, Hyderabad and Punjab. The average cost of houses bought by Indians ranges from Rs 3.6 crore to Rs 3.8 crore.

Besides India, Russians, Chinese, Pakistanis and the British are the other top buyers.

Also Read The $60 price cap on Russian oil may not hit Indian purchases: Report Can Fin Homes revamping top management; new CEO before end of Dec Designer homes, immune to pandemic blues, are inviting new interest Demand for 3-bedroom homes higher than other choices for first time: Report What to check when buying an under-construction property? Damani's close associates buy 23 flats for Rs 1,200 crore in Mumbai: Report BJP instructs its councilors to stall MCD mayor polls: Manish Sisodia CPI MP Binoy moves Suspension of Business notice in RS over Adani issue Senior citizens to also have flight travel option for pilgrimage: Chouhan After 2 failed attempts for Delhi mayor, municipal House to convene again

"Dubai is safe for those with deep pockets to park their money, and the city has world-class social infrastructure. Then there are multiple international schools and a growing Indian community. Together, these factors make Dubai a perfect place to relocate to, especially for those Indians looking for an upgrade in their quality of life," a prominent realtor told TOI.

The report added that Indians are also increasingly "ditching" the metro cities in India and renting high-end apartments in Dubai. The country's rental market witnessed a dip of 30 per cent during the Covid-19 pandemic. It has now bounced back to 2015-16 levels, a peak period for its realty sector.

The rush of Indians can be attributed to an expansion in the Golden Visa programme in 2022. It is a long-term visa that allows foreign nationals to live, work and study in the UAE with special benefits. Its scope was increased to include more workers, skilled professionals, scientists and researchers.

It is also because travelling from Dubai to India is convenient, and the country is a global financial centre, providing more tech and finance jobs.

"My wife, for instance, was able to set up her fintech venture that allows her to tap into most global markets with ease. It is something she couldn't have done so effectively from India," Vishal Goel, co-founder of JV Ventures, told TOI.
Pope Francis stated Sunday that laws criminalizing LGBTQ people are a sin and an injustice because "God loves and accompanies same-sex attraction."

Pope Francis made his statements to answer a reporter's query aboard the plane returning from a two-country tour to Africa. Two other Christian leaders on the plane with him fully supported his words.

Pope Francis Condemns Anti-Gay Laws

"The criminalization of homosexuality is a matter that cannot be overlooked," said Pope Francis, who then referenced unidentified numbers indicating that 50 nations criminalize LGBTQ persons "in one form or another." Around ten others have laws that include the death sentence for LGBTQ individuals.

Sixty-six United Nations members continue to criminalize consensual same-sex sexual interactions, according to the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Intersex Association (ILGA World). In some nations where same-sex relationships are prohibited, the death sentence is a potential punishment, as per Reuters via MSN.

According to the catechism, or doctrines book, of the Catholic Church, same-sex desire is not a sin, but homosexual behaviors are. Also said that LGBTQ individuals should not be marginalized.

Pope Francis recalled his now-famous statement shortly after he became Pope in 2013 that he cannot judge anybody with same-sex attractions seeking God. During his 2018 visit to Ireland, he stated that parents could not discard their LGBTQ children but were required to retain them inside a loving family.

The Pope traveled to South Sudan as part of a peace pilgrimage with the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby and Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland Iain Greenshields. On the return flight, Christian leaders participated in the Pope's regular news conference with the media, a first for any papal trip.

Both parties appreciated the Pope's remarks. Pope Francis reiterated that the Catholic Church could not recognize the sacramental marriage of same-sex couples. However, he welcomed so-called civil union legislation that allows same-sex couples legal protection in areas like pensions, inheritance, and health care.

Pope Francis, the Archbishop of Canterbury and the leading Presbyterian pastor in Scotland, delivered remarks at an unusual airborne press conference. The three Christian leaders were returning from South Sudan, where they had participated in a three-day ecumenical pilgrimage to further the peace process in the young country.

Read Also: Video: Florida Police Drag Man in Elevator

LGBTQ Rights

According to Daily Mail, they were questioned on Pope Francis' recent statements that laws that criminalize homosexuals are "unjust" and that "being homosexual is not a crime."

South Sudan is one of 67 nations where homosexuality is illegal. In eleven countries, being a member of the LGBTQ community can result in the death penalty. Advocates for the LGBTQ community assert that even when these laws are not enforced, they contribute to harassment, discrimination, and violence.

Pope Francis also reiterated prior statements that parents should never kick away their LGBT children. The Pope also accused some of his vociferous detractors of using the death of the late Pope Benedict XVI for ideological gain.

In the days and weeks following his death, Benedict's lifelong secretary and several conservative cardinals released books, interviews, and memoranda critical of Francis' reign. The comments put the recently deceased former Pope, who remained a reference point for traditionalists and conservatives, against the present Pope.

Pope Francis stated that rumors of disagreements with Benedict or that Benedict was displeased with certain decisions he had made were untrue and that the two regularly consulted and agreed. Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby stated that LGBTQ rights are currently high on the Church of England's agenda and pledged to quote the Pope when the matter is debated at the forthcoming General Synod.

The Church of England recently agreed to bless same-sex civil weddings but stated that same-sex couples might not marry in its churches. The Vatican prohibits both homosexual weddings and blessings for same-sex relationships.

The Pope indicated that "about fifty nations" ban homosexuality "in one manner or another" and that ten countries execute LGBTQ+ individuals. Human Rights Watch reports that 67 nations ban same-sex relationships between consenting adults, while at least nine countries prosecute transgender and gender-nonconforming individuals.

Human Dignity Trust, a UK-based human-rights group, reports that eleven nations still apply the death sentence to LGBTQ+ individuals. Pope Francis stated, "The criminalization of homosexuality is a concern that cannot be overlooked."

In a January interview, the Pope stated that while homosexuality "is not a crime," same-sex sexual interactions are a "sin." The Pope also emphasized that parents of LGBTQ+ children should not "condemn" their offspring.

Last month, the Church of England proposed a ban on same-sex marriages in its churches, stating that it will continue to preach that marriage is for "one man and one woman for life." The conclusion was reached after five years of discussion, as per CBS News.

Related Article: Pope Francis Warns World: 'Stop Choking Africa'

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"No matter what the global turbulence, we have not taken the eye off the ball. Green transition is the most important focus, and we have remained steadfast on that," Puri said. Despite the war in Ukraine having led to a scramble for securing traditional hydrocarbons, India has kept its commitment to green transition, Petroleum Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said at the India Energy Week 2023.



"Given various crises, you may have to take a few steps back, but the push must be forward," Puri said, hinting at the government continuing to snap up Russian crude oil. He added that despite the existing challenges, the Centre has pushed for policy stability and innovation for green energy.



The Minister said the IEW 2023 comes at a watershed in the global energy landscape and that it will devise solutions to solve the global energy quadrilemma of energy access, affordability, and availability with security at its pivot and devise solutions for the future global energy transition. "Sixty million people go to a petrol pump everyday in India. We need a significant amount of affordable energy. We have to provide our people with that. So the government has to step in," he stressed.

Also Read Budget 2023-24: Manufacturing sector eyes revised taxations, new PLIs Union Budget 2023: Experts don't expect surprises in social sector outlay Budget 2023: A look back at some major announcements in previous Budget OMCs to give green hydrogen plan soon, says Hardeep Singh Puri Crude oil output to go up substantially from next year: Petroleum Secy G20 working group meeting to discuss climate change, land degradation In process of finalising online gaming regulation, Centre tells Delhi HC Govt trims budget for MGNREGS as PMAY, Jal Jeevan get more funds, says CEA Top 10 borrowers owe Rs 12,71,604 cr to Scheduled Commercial Banks: CRILC New Delhi to meet fiscal target in coming year, capex a longer shot
The Centre on Monday told the Delhi High Court that the draft regulation in relation to online gaming has been circulated and it is in the process of finalising the same.

The statement was made by the central government counsel before a bench of Chief Justice Satish Chandra and Justice Subramonium Prasad.

The Centre's lawyer informed the court which was hearing petitions by Atul Batra and Avinash Mehrotra concerning the regulation of online gaming -- that consultations with the stakeholders have begun.

Draft regulation has been circulated and consultations have started. Stakeholder meeting with all representatives, whether lawyers or civil society... two rounds have already happened. We are in the process of finalising the same, the lawyer said.

In view of the Centre's stand, the court said it would take up the matter after eight weeks.

The court closed the proceedings on the petition by Batra, a lawyer, after he said that no further order was required on his plea which sought online gaming regulations.

Also Read AIGF urges TN to reconsider online gaming ban, says move 'unconstitutional' How is game of skill different from game of chance? Gaming industry needs regulation, not ban: CEO, E-Gaming Federation Industry considers options as Tamil Nadu ordinance bans online gaming Industry hails decision to separate gaming from gambling, horse racing Govt trims budget for MGNREGS as PMAY, Jal Jeevan get more funds, says CEA Top 10 borrowers owe Rs 12,71,604 cr to Scheduled Commercial Banks: CRILC New Delhi to meet fiscal target in coming year, capex a longer shot Industrial & Logistics sector leasing grew 8% YoY: CBRE South Asia Report Cess on public sector coal production set to rise to fund pension corpus

The court nonetheless granted liberty to Batra to approach it again in case of any grievance.

Batra had said in his plea that online games of chance were being promoted as games of skill and online gambling was as bad as any substance addiction.

It was also claimed that if online gambling and betting is not regulated, it is likely to cause immense damage to the society at large as youngsters with impressionable minds can fall prey to such games, which will have an adverse effect on their personal and professional life.

Mehrotra, who claims to offer financial advisory services, has said in his petition that online gambling system in India is unregulated and "a great place for carrying out hawala operations" and "laundering money".

Besides a ban on these websites, he has sought recovery of taxes due from people who played on these sites and those who operate them.

He has also sought a direction to the Centre to prosecute the unscrupulous owners/proprietors, and the promoters of the online gambling websites, in accordance with law".

Centre, in January, said that it has proposed self-regulatory bodies for online gaming companies operating in India in a draft amendment to IT rules, but will not allow betting.

During a briefing on the rules proposed, Minister of State for Electronics and IT Rajeev Chandrasekhar had said that self-regulatory organisations will develop filters and tests required to decide permissible gaming, be it a game of chance or game of skills or anything else.


To lay the groundwork, the working group will cover key issues such as strategic technologies, digital governance and connectivity; green and clean energy technologies; and trade, investment and resilient value chains, a joint statement said. India and the European Union (EU) on Monday announced the formation of three working groups under the Trade and Technology Council that was set up to deepen strategic ties with the trade bloc.



In a rapidly changing geopolitical environment, the EU and India have a common interest in ensuring security, prosperity and sustainable development based on shared values. The TTC will provide the political steer and the necessary structure to coordinate approaches and advance technical work, the statement said. The working Groups will now start preparing for the first meeting of the council, which will take place before the next EU-India Summit in spring of 2023. Ministerial meetings of the council will take place at least once a year, with the venue alternating between the EU and India.



On the EU side, the council will be co-chaired by Executive Vice-Presidents Margrethe Vestager and Valdis Dombrovskis. On the Indian side, it will be chaired by S Jaishankar, Minister of External Affairs, Piyush Goyal, Minister of Commerce and Industry, and Ashwini Vaishnaw, Minister of Electronics and Information Technology. India and EU had in April last year agreed to establish a Trade and Technology Council, to tackle the challenges at the nexus of trade, trusted technology and security. Such a council is the first for India with any of its partners and second for the EU, following the first one it has set up with the United States (US).

Also Read NTPC, Reliance, Adani top green hydrogen plays to bet on, say analysts How reliable is India's China trade data? What can India gain from the trade pact with Australia? EU wants India to prohibit 'discriminatory buy national practices': Report What is a free trade agreement? Four out of 10 households feeling pinch of higher milk prices, survey shows Awas, Jal Jeevan to create rural jobs, justify MNREGA cut: CEA Nageswaran Focused on green shift despite war-led scramble for conventional fuel: Puri G20 working group meeting to discuss climate change, land degradation In process of finalising online gaming regulation, Centre tells Delhi HC



As far as green and clean energy technologies are concerned, the focus will be on investment and standards in green technologies. Areas to be explored could be clean energy, circular economy, waste management, plastic and litter in the ocean. Ministerial meetings of the council will rely on the preparatory work of three working groups, which will meet within two weeks to organise their work. The working group of strategic technologies, digital governance and digital connectivity will work jointly on areas such as digital connectivity, artificial intelligence, 5G/6G, high performance and quantum computing, semiconductors, cloud systems, cybersecurity, digital skills and digital platforms.

The trade, investment and resilient value chains group will work on the resilience of supply chains and access to critical components, energy, and raw materials. It will also work to resolve identified trade barriers and global trade challenges by promoting cooperation in multilateral fora. It will work towards promotion of international standards and cooperation on addressing global geopolitical challenges, the statement said.


Indias G20 presidency aims to bring an integrated, comprehensive and consensus-driven approach to address climate change and pursue sustainable growth, Yadav said, adding that the country will promote its development concept of LiFE--Lifestyle for Environment. India will use its term as G20 president to talk about land degradation, biodiversity loss, marine pollution and other such issues, said environment minister Bhupender Yadav on Monday.



The working group will discuss promoting sustainable development, resource efficiency, and circular economy, Yadav said. G20s first meeting of the Environment, Climate & Sustainability Working Group (ECSWG) under the Sherpa Track will focus on arresting land degradation, accelerating ecosystem restoration, and enriching biodiversity. The meeting will be held in Bengaluru from February 9-11, 2023.



Delegates from the G20 countries and representatives of international organisations will participate in the meeting. The first ECSWG meeting will include a side event on ecosystem restoration and biodiversity enrichment practices at Bengaluru. ECSWG, one of the 13 working groups under the Sherpa track, will meet four times between February and May. A ministerial meeting of the group will be held on July 28 in Chennai.

Also Read India's climate change takes a toll on the dragonflies, says report COP15 adopts biodiversity reversal plan to save 30% of land, water by 2030 What does the G-20 presidency mean for India? India takes over G20 presidency for 2023, PM Modi extends invitation 'US looking forward to support India's G20 presidency': Janet Yellen In process of finalising online gaming regulation, Centre tells Delhi HC Govt trims budget for MGNREGS as PMAY, Jal Jeevan get more funds, says CEA Top 10 borrowers owe Rs 12,71,604 cr to Scheduled Commercial Banks: CRILC New Delhi to meet fiscal target in coming year, capex a longer shot Industrial & Logistics sector leasing grew 8% YoY: CBRE South Asia Report

The later ECSWG meetings will be in Gandhinagar, Mumbai and Chennai.




It also announced the signing of a MoU on energy efficiency with three other countries. The G20 nations have reached a common understanding that fossil fuels would continue to be used more or less in most of the countries in the coming 15 to 20 years to allow time to increase the share of renewable energy, the government said on Monday.



Both of these issues are key arguments that have been advanced by India in the past. While the country has announced an ambitious plan to reach net zero carbon emissions by 2070, it continues to rely on imported crude oil to meet 85 percent of its energy needs. The first ever G20 Energy Transitions Working Group (ETWG) meeting held in India also saw participants share the view that the energy transition pathway should be different for each country depending on its energy base and potential.



Talking to media persons on the second day's proceedings, Power Secretary Alok Kumar said member countries responded positively to the need for energy security and diversified supply chains. On Monday, the government stressed that the first-ever ETWG meeting had concluded with consensus on priority areas.

Also Read 'US looking forward to support India's G20 presidency': Janet Yellen Another lotus blooms 'Era not of war': G20 declaration uses Modi's words in call for diplomacy G20's declining share in the world, amid India's growing influence Inclusive digitisation: G20 nations need to adopt inter-operable platforms New wheat crop trickles in mandis; prices above MSP, say traders Centre plans to develop 100 airports by 2024 under UDAN infra scheme FinMin asks depts, CPSEs to refund 95% of MSMEs securities till March 2022 India's 1st new mobility-focused cluster in Telangana; to attract investors World Bank keen on Rs 2,500-cr green resilient programme for Himachal: CM



India has argued this can lead to better utilisation of available energy sources amongst member countries without much storage capacity. He said nations have appreciated international cooperation initiatives taken by India, such as "One Sun, One World, One Grid".



The session on Universal Access to Clean Energy, saw discussions stress on the need to manage fuel prices, and the availability of a range of technologies for every country. Deliberations stressed the need to focus more on energy efficiency of industries, and also to ensure that carbon dioxide emissions increase in a rapid manner.



Delegates complimented India for the mission-mode implementation of Soubhagya, Ujala and Ujjwal energy schemes that led to complete access to electricity, clean cooking and efficient lighting, the government said. Member countries have favoured a people-centric energy transition mechanism, Kumar said.



MoU on energy efficiency The next ETWG meeting is scheduled in the first week of April in Gandhinagar, Gujarat.



Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL), a Public Sector Undertaking under the Ministry of Power, signed the MoU. On the side-lines, India has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Indonesia-Malaysia-Thailand Growth Triangle Joint Business Council (IMT-GT JBC), Malaysia to further promote the adoption of energy efficiency and sustainable practices in the region.
The Confederation of British Industry (CBI) has sent its first-ever business delegation to India on Monday aimed at unlocking opportunities from the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) being negotiated between London and New Delhi.

The industry body, which speaks on behalf of 190,000 UK businesses of all sizes and sectors, began a three-day visit covering Mumbai and New Delhi with some of the biggest names from British and Indian industries including HSBC, ICICI Bank, fintech firm Tide and wine and spirits major Pernod Ricard.

The CBI said the delegation will focus on key growth sectors where UK and Indian business can develop profitable partnerships, such as innovation and sustainability.

The UK-India relationship is going from strength to strength, so it is fantastic that the CBI is sending its first-ever business delegation to India, said Greg Hands, UK Minister for Trade Policy at the Department for International Trade (DIT).

India is on track to become the third largest economy with a quarter of a billion middle-class consumers by 2050 so the free trade deal we're negotiating with them could unlock huge benefits for UK firms, he said.

This visit comes against the backdrop of the UK preparing to host the seventh round of FTA talks with India.

Also Read FTAs and their discontents: Do free trade agreements benefit India? India-Australia free trade agreement to come into force from Dec 29 Trade agreements with Australia, UAE to help boost exports, says EPCs Student visas were never part of FTA discussions with UK, says Piyush Goyal India's ongoing FTA negotiations with EU, UK are on track: Govt official UP gets Rs 21 trn investment proposals; PM to inaugurate GIS on Friday I&L sector takes 31.6 mn sq ft on lease in 2022, highest since 2019 Petrol doped with 20% ethanol goes on sale in 11 states/UTs to cut emission Adani fiasco brings down India's weight in the MSCI emerging markets index All you need to know about Andhra Pradesh's Guaranteed Pension Scheme

According to the CBI, the potential pact could boost trade with India by GBP 28 billion a year by 2035 and increase wages across the UK by GBP 3 billion.

The trade delegation is aimed at bringing together UK businesses and key senior stakeholders from the British High Commission in New Delhi and the government of India to discuss growth opportunities in the Indian market.

With the free trade deal between the UK and India soon to be signed and agreements such as the UK-India Young Professionals Mobility scheme already in place now is the time for businesses to explore how to grasp the huge opportunities that India affords, said Syma Cullasy-Aldridge, CBI Chief Campaigns Director, who is leading the India delegation.

The CBI's first-ever delegation to India will put the promise of an FTA into practice helping businesses develop links with key stakeholders and supporting UK firms to go for growth around the world, she said.

The CBI said the visit aims to share knowledge on how to scale up unicorns and address ways to increase trade in green goods and services between the two countries and contribute to net zero ambitions.

On the delegation's agenda is the development of sustainable infrastructure, access to sustainable finance and navigating any trade barriers related to the sector in the country.

Gurjodhpal Singh, the CEO, Tide India, said: Tide has had significant support from the Indian government's ease of doing business' drive, and from a wide array of government stakeholders in India and the UK. We're also now embedded in the country's fintech ecosystem and its financial services industry.

We are excited to be part of the first CBI delegation from the UK to India, and applaud their efforts to support the government of India's commitment towards creating an even easier and business-friendly environment in the country.

According to official UK government data, bilateral trade currently stands at around GBP 29.6 billion a year, which is expected to receive a major boost with the FTA deal that both sides hope will be concluded this year.


The World Bank indicated keenness in taking forward the Green Resilient Integrated Development programme for the state with Basin approach, at an estimated cost of Rs 2,500 crore ($300 million), which may be enhanced further, depending on the technical analysis. Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Thakur Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, in a meeting with the World Bank team headed by John Roome, Regional Director (Sustainable Development), South Asia Region, on Monday discussed the state's Green agenda. He also dwelt on the measures to be adopted to achieve the target of 'Green Energy State' by 2025, with assistance from the global agency.



"As a step towards achieving the target, the state has fixed a time-bound action plan to install 200 Mw of solar power energy projects within the next nine months. The state will acquire more land for the installation of 500 Mw by the end of 2024," said the Chief Minister. The visit of the team was a landmark event for the state's transformation into a 'Green Resilient Himachal', Sukhu said.



Sukhu also said that the state is set to go ahead with the 'National Green Hydrogen Energy Mission' in a big way, apart from producing the fuel. Though the technology for producing green hydrogen is expensive, the government will consult Indian Oil Corporation on the matter, as IOC has taken the first significant step towards the green hydrogen economy in India, with the commissioning of the country's first pure green hydrogen pilot plant in the Northeast.



The government is committed to making Himachal India' first non-polluted state by reducing carbon emissions completely, claimed the Chief Minister. The shift towards electric vehicles in the state is of utmost priority and Himachal Pradesh looks forward to a generous contribution and to the launch of key programmes by the World Bank for this purpose, Sukhu said. He added that most of the departments would switch over to EVs by next year, as part of the first phase.

Also Read Meet Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, a watchman once and now at the gates of glory LIVE: PM Modi names Goa's 2nd international airport after Manohar Parrikar What is climate finance? Energy colonialism, climate reparations: COP27 and key concepts to know What is the Mangrove Alliance for Climate? India's coal production target at 1,017 mn tonnes for next fiscal: Joshi Sovereign Green Bonds of Rs 16,000 cr to be issued in current fiscal Over 5,000 farmers associated with fish farming in Chhattisgarh's Pakhanjur Govt streamlines rules for settlement of disputes among CPSEs Union Budget 2023: FinMin notifies refund of security deposits to MSMEs



Discussions about the future plan of action by the World Bank in the implementation of various programmes in Himachal were also held. These programmes included focus on sustainable forest management, community forestry, ecosystem services, and disaster management along the basins, water resource management, mature-based tourism and payment for ecosystem services. The World Bank agreed to support the implementation of these projects. Roome said the EV policy envisioned by the Chief Minister would be taken up on priority and that a team from the Bank would visit the state for technical analysis soon.

Chief Parliamentary Secretary Sanjay Awasthi, Chief Secretary Prabodh Saxena and other senior officers attended the meeting.


There is no provision under PFRDA Act, read along with PFRDA (Exits and Withdrawals under the National Pension System) Regulations, 2015, and other relevant Regulations, vide which the accumulated corpus of the subscribers viz Government contribution, Employees' contribution towards NPS along with accruals, can be refunded and deposited back to the State Government, Karad said in a written reply. There is no provision in the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority Act, 2013 under which the accumulated New Pension Scheme (NPS) corpus can be refunded to the state governments that have reverted to the old pension scheme (OPS), the minister of state for finance Bhagwat Karad informed the Lok Sabha on Monday.



Besides, referring to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) report titled 'State Finances: A Study of Budget of 2022-23' on state finances, the minister also said that the annual saving in fiscal resources that reversion to the OPS will entail for the states will be shortlived. The State Governments of Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Punjab, and Himachal Pradesh have informed the Central Government/Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) about their decision to restart the Old Pension Scheme (OPS) for their State Government employees, Karad added.



Under the OPS, which is an unfunded pension scheme where current revenues fund pension benefits, retired government employees received 50 per cent of their last drawn salary as monthly pension. The amount keeps increasing with hikes in the DA rates. By postponing the current expenses to the future, states risk the accumulation of unfunded pension liabilities in the coming years, RBI had noted last month.

Also Read Budget 2023-24: Manufacturing sector eyes revised taxations, new PLIs Union Budget 2023: Experts don't expect surprises in social sector outlay Budget 2023: A look back at some major announcements in previous Budget PFRDA proposes tweaks in NPS subscribers rule: Here's what could change NPS guaranteed return product to have floating rates, reset every year Reserve Bank widely seen delivering final 25 bps hike, say economists Paytm, PhonePe to launch UPI Lite for smaller epayments soon: Report Bond yields and rupee to closely track RBI's monetary policy meet Govt likely to put on hold proposal to revamp the capital gains tax regime Bank credit for services up three-fold in Apr-Dec 22 as economy picks up

NPS, on the other hand, is a defined contribution pension scheme under which an individual has to plan his retirement while in employment. With systematic savings and investments, NPS facilitates the accumulation of a pension corpus during the working life. It was made mandatory for central government staff joining services on or after January 1, 2004, and almost all state governments adopted it for their employees.




The event was hosted by Sasakawa-India Leprosy Foundation (S-ILF), which provided a platform to discuss the current state of the persons affected by leprosy around the world. As the world marked Leprosy Day on January 30, industry veterans gathered at an event for the launch of the book: Dr S K Noordeen: Architect of the Global Leprosy Elimination Program. The book has been authored by Dr Derek Lobo, Member, Board of Trustees, Sasakawa India Leprosy Foundation (S-ILF). Dr Soumya Swaminathan, Former Chief Scientist, World Health Organisation (WHO) was the chief guest at the event.



Dr Lobo said, India accounts 57 per cent of leprosy cases globally where 121 countries account for 40 per cent of cases. World Health Organisation (WHO) is working tremendously to eliminate leprosy, in fact, 31 countries have recorded zero leprosy cases, whereas 30 countries recorded fewer than 10 cases nationally. Only Brazil, India & Indonesia are such countries which have recorded more than 10,000 cases of leprosy. India accounts for 57 per cent of leprosy cases globally where 121 countries account for 40 per cent of cases. Prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, over 200,000 new cases were being reported annually. Leprosy is curable with multidrug therapy but left untreated can result in permanent disability. An estimated three to four million people are thought to be living with some form of disability as a result of leprosy.



In a conversation with Mr Tarun Das, Chairman, S-ILF regarding the changing scenario in the world owing to the awareness around the disease, Dr. S Swaminathan said, "There was a quote and I would paraphrase it a little -Never doubt a small group which can change the world. I say it can be a single man who can do it all with sheer commitment, perseverance & dedication. WHO is grateful that Dr. Noordeen was there at the right time to formulate the plan to work towards eliminating leprosy. One needs to learn the characteristics of the disease to eliminate it. One of the challenges in elimination of the disease is that awareness goes down and along with the funding & research in domino effect. It is very difficult for the individual who goes through the infection, and it gets worse because of the stigma. Though we must accept the fact that leprosy is not infectious, there is no risk, people infected with leprosy can live a proactive life". Sharing his thoughts on the book, Dr Derek Lobo said, "Dr S K Noordeen was a very humble person, with a constant focus towards eliminating leprosy. Over the years he worked tirelessly towards the cause and received numerous achievements but never thought of writing about it. After his demise, he decided to write the book on his story as a gesture towards him."
The former prime minister of Israel, who worked briefly as a mediator at the beginning of Russia's war with Ukraine, asserts that Vladimir Putin would not kill Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

In the opening weeks of the dispute, Naftali Bennett emerged as an improbable mediator, becoming one of the few allies of the West to see the Russian president since February 24 on a last-minute trip to Moscow in March.

Putin vs. Zelensky

While Bennett's mediation efforts were unsuccessful, and the war continues, his statements in a lengthy five-hour-long interview aired online late Saturday shed light on the backroom diplomacy that sought a swift end to the conflict while it was in its infancy.

Bennett stated that after his conversation with Putin, he called the Ukrainian presidential office to inform Zelensky of his Russian adversary's commitment. Bennett further said that during his mediation, Putin renounced his intention to pursue Ukraine's disarmament, and Zelensky pledged not to join NATO.

The Kremlin, which has consistently disputed Ukrainian allegations that Russia wanted to murder Zelensky, did not respond immediately. In response to Bennett's remarks, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba tweeted on Sunday that Putin should not be trusted.

Bennett, a mostly inexperienced leader who had served as prime minister for less than six months when the conflict broke out, suddenly plunged into international diplomacy after positioning Israel in an awkward position between Russia and Ukraine.

He broke his religious obligations by flying to Moscow to meet with Putin on the Jewish Sabbath in March, placing himself at the forefront of global efforts to end the war.

Per Daily Mail, his efforts to promote peace could have been more successful, and his tenure in power was brief. Bennett's administration, an ideologically varied alliance that put current Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu into a short political exile, fell due to infighting throughout the summer. Bennett has left politics and is currently a private person.

Israel regards its strong relations with the Kremlin as vital in light of Iran's threats, but it also identifies with Western states and strives to demonstrate support for Ukraine.

It has thus far refrained from deploying offensive weaponry to Ukraine. However, it has provided substantial humanitarian and medical supplies, in addition to assisting in the establishment of field hospitals and delivering bulletproof ambulances.

Read Also: Americans Don't Want a Biden-Trump Rematch

Russia-Ukraine War Update

Meanwhile, Ukrainian authorities have warned that Putin's forces are preparing to launch a massive new offensive in the coming weeks, perhaps to grab additional territory before Western tanks arrive.

Oleksiy Reznikov, Ukraine's departing defense minister, stated yesterday that he expects Russia to begin a new onslaught on the partially seized south and eastern territories on or around February 24.

Tanks promised by the West are en route to Ukraine, with some already in Poland, but it will take weeks before they can be deployed to the front. In recent weeks, the United States and the United Kingdom have promised battles of M1 Abrams and Challenger 2 tanks to assist Kyiv in repelling the invaders.

Germany will also transfer its Leopard 2 tanks and authorize other nations with stocks of German-made military equipment to do the same. However, it is anticipated that it will take weeks for the machines to arrive in Kyiv. Ukraine's military forces will require training on their operation and maintenance before they can be used.

The Kremlin has not yet responded to the former prime minister's comments. However, it has previously refuted Ukraine's accusations that Russia planned to kill Zelensky. Israel has positioned itself as an ally with Russia in response to Iran's strategic concerns. However, it has maintained excellent relations with Western nations, particularly the United States, and has backed Ukraine since its invasion.

Bennett's administration, which forced Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu into political exile, disintegrated due to infighting last summer, as per The Independent. Israel considers its strong relations with the Kremlin to be crucial in the face of Iranian threats, but it also tries to identify itself with Western states and demonstrate support for Ukraine.

Internationally unknown and a devout Jew, he violated his religious obligations by flying to Moscow on the Jewish Sabbath to meet with Mutin, placing himself at the forefront of global efforts to end the war. According to The Telegraph via MSN, Bennett has left politics and is currently a private person.

Related Article: North Korea To Send Personnel in Ukraine

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Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Monday said India would always be a reliable friend to Bhutan while noting the Rs 2,400-crore allocation for the neighbouring country in this year's Union Budget during a meeting with a Bhutanese Parliamentary delegation.

The Bhutanese delegation, led by National Assembly Speaker Wangchuk Namgyal, also called on Vice-President and Rajya Sabha Chairperson Jagdeep Dhankhar in Parliament.

The largest share of India's aid portfolio has been granted towards Bhutan with an allocation of Rs 2,400 crore -- constituting 41.04 per cent of the Ministry of External Affairs' development assistance -- in line with the country's 'Neighbourhood First' policy,



Birla said the 'Neighborhood First' policy, under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has given a new direction to India-Bhutan relations.

The Government of India has allocated Rs 2,400 crore from this year's Union Budget to Bhutan, Birla said, and added that it reflected the close ties between the two countries.

He also assured that India will always be a reliable friend to Bhutan, according to a statement issued by the Lok Sabha Secretariat.

India is determined to expand the scope of bilateral cooperation with Bhutan, in line with the aspirations and priorities of the Bhutanese people, Birla said while appreciating the nation's goal of becoming a high-income economy by 2034.

Also Read India a dependable partner, reliable friend of Sri Lanka: Muraleedharan PM Modi extends birthday greetings to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla India-Bhutan border to be reopened from Sept 23 as Covid cases subside Nippon Life, RCAP Administrator, Aditya Birla Sun Life war for RNLIC stake Apple HomePod 2nd Gen speaker brings spatial audio, Matter support and more Jaishankar holds wide-ranging talks with Canadian counterpart Melanie Joly Russia wants normalisation of India-China relations: Russian Ambassador UK ex-PM Truss attempts dramatic political comeback with swipe at Sunak Pervez Musharraf: The firebrand general who morphed into a non-starter neta India a dependable partner, reliable friend of Sri Lanka: Muraleedharan

Birla and Namgyal also signed a MoU aimed at cooperation between the two Parliaments.

On Monday, another Parliamentary delegation from Hungary led by Hungarian National Assembly Deputy Speaker Istvan Jakab called on Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman Harivansh Narayan Singh in Parliament House.

The two sides discussed various issues, including the need for more Parliamentary exchanges to foster stronger bilateral relations, the Rajya Sabha Secretariat said in a statement.
The number of international flights in South Korea has returned to 60 per cent of pre-Covid levels in January, helped by increased travel to Japan and Asian countries, the Transport Ministry said on Monday.

In January, international flights that went through Incheon International Airport reached 27,206, recovering from the 45,046 flights marked in January 2019, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said in a statement.

The number of passengers on international routes stood at 4.61 million in January, 58 per cent of 8.02 million in January 2019, Yonhap News Agency quoted the Ministry as saying.

Eased Covid-19 restrictions helped unleash pent-up travel demand on international routes to Japan, Vietnam, Thailand and other Southeast Asian countries.

In October, South Korea removed a Covid-19 polymerase chain reaction test requirement for inbound travellers on the first day of their arrival.

Japan lifted the ban on the number of inbound passengers and resumed visa-free travel for visitors from specific countries, including South Korea, on October 11, 2022.

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--IANS

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External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Monday held wide-ranging talks with his visiting Canadian counterpart Melanie Joly with a focus on boosting ties in areas of trade, mobility, education and security.

The two foreign ministers also exchanged views on the global situation, especially in Ukraine and the Indo-Pacific.

Joly began her two-day visit to India this morning.

In an address at a think-tank ahead of her talks with Jaishankar, Jolly said India's growing strategic, economic and demographic importance makes it a critical partner for Canada in the Indo-Pacific.

In return, Canada can be a reliable supplier of critical minerals, a strong partner in the green transition and a major investor, she said.

After his meeting with Joly, Jaishankar described the talks as "good discussions".

Also Read Canadian Minister on 2-day visit to India, to hold talks with Jaishankar G20: Trudeau concerned over China's interference in domestic affairs Canadian police search Saskatchewan province for suspects in stabbing case Permanent Indian residents now eligible to be part of Canadian military India helped in grain deal between Moscow and Kyiv, says EAM Jaishankar Russia wants normalisation of India-China relations: Russian Ambassador UK ex-PM Truss attempts dramatic political comeback with swipe at Sunak Pervez Musharraf: The firebrand general who morphed into a non-starter neta India a dependable partner, reliable friend of Sri Lanka: Muraleedharan Japan PM Fumio Kishida sacks top aide over discriminatory remarks on LGBT

"Good discussions today with FM @melaniejoly of Canada. Deliberated on deepening our bilateral partnership, focusing on trade, investment,mobility, education and security. Recognized the centrality of people to people ties to the expansion of our cooperation," he tweeted.

The external affairs minister also appreciated Canada's support to India's G20 Presidency.

"Exchanged views on the global situation, in particular the Indo-Pacific and Ukraine conflict. Welcomed Canada's Indo-Pacific Strategy. Appreciated Canadian support for our G20 Presidency that will address challenges of economic growth and development," he said in another tweet.

It is understood that issues relating to visas were also discussed in the talks.

In November, Canada came out with a comprehensive strategy for the Indo-Pacific that aimed to promote peace, resilience and security.

Canada's Indo-Pacific strategy also listed India as a key player in the region and said Ottawa will focus on expanding economic engagement with New Delhi, including through deeper trade and investment, as well as cooperating on building resilient supply chains.

"India's strategic importance and leadership -- both across the region and globally -- will only increase as India, the world's biggest democracy, becomes the most populous country in the world and continues to grow its economy," the Canadian policy mentioned.

Joly also met officials of a number of Canadian business firms operating in India.

"Meeting with Canadian businesses in Delhi. India's economic and population growth are driving demand for education, health services, food, critical minerals and green infrastructure. These are all sectors of Canadian strength and we must grasp these opportunities," she tweeted.
By Nidhi Verma

BENGALURU (Reuters) - OPEC Secretary General Haitham Al Ghais said on Monday the collective decision to cut output in October was the right move and added that credit should be given to the OPEC+ alliance for its constructive role in supporting global market stability.

"Due recognition should be given for our constructive and positive role in supporting global market stability including to remind ourselves that the G20 and major consumers around the world commended us for our historical actions taken since 2020," Haitham Al Ghais told Reuters on the sidelines of the India Energy Week conference.

OPEC+, an alliance that includes members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and others including Russia, agreed last year to cut its production target by 2 million barrels a day (bpd), about 2% of world demand, from November until the end of 2023 to support the market.

The October decision initially drew heavy criticism from the United States and other Western countries but market dynamics since then have shown the cuts to be prudent with oil prices hovering near the $85 a barrel from highs of above $100 in 2022.

"We held the JMMC meeting on Feb. 1 where we reviewed everything holistically, from a pure technical perspective, and came to the conclusion that the decision taken collectively in Oct. was the correct decision," Al Ghais said.

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The main message from the OPEC+ panel that met last Wednesday was that the group would stay the course until the end of the agreement in 2023.

Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman said on Saturday he remained cautious about any increase in production.

"At OPEC+ we are always closely monitoring the market, including demand, as it evolves after China opening up," Al Ghais said.

"We believe there is great confidence and trust in the OPEC+ group and its decisions where we have proven time and again that we are ready to act immediately and respond to the dynamic nature of the market," he said.

(Reporting by Nidhi Verhma, Writing by Maha El Dahan; Editing by Kim Coghill and Stephen Coates)
Russia on Monday accused the US of "actively" exploiting the "contradictions" between India and China to its advantage and asserted Moscow and New Delhi accumulated mutual trust and confidence based on decades-old ties that would help the two sides to deal with the current geopolitical turbulence.

In his address at a conference, Russian Ambassador to India Denis Alipov, at the same time, said that the India-Russia ties are "under stress" because of the tectonic geo-political shifts in view of the "arrogant" and "belligerent" approach by the US-led West on the Ukraine conflict.

The envoy said Moscow wants to expand its economic engagement with Islamabad as a "weak" Pakistan is not good for the entire region including India.

In a tweet later, he clarified that he meant a "destabilised" Pakistan is not in the interest of anyone in the region.

The conference on 'Next Steps in India-Russia Strategic Partnership; Old Friends New Horizons' was organised by the India Writes Network and the Centre for Global India Insights.

Responding to a question, Alipov said Russia would like to see normalisation of India-China relations and that it would hugely benefit the whole world's security and not only Asian security.

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"We understand there are very serious impediments to that, a very serious border problem between the two countries. We had a border problem with China, an armed conflict with the Chinese at some stage of the problem, it took us around 40 years to negotiate but ultimately this is the only way to find a solution," he said.

"I am not going to suggest what India or China should do... This is entirely a bilateral matter between India and China and we don't interfere with that.

"But the sooner there is a normalisation between the two countries, the better for the whole world. We will do the utmost to facilitate (that) if our efforts are needed," Alipov said.

Explaining his comments on India-Russia ties coming under "stress", the envoy pointed out the impact of Western sanctions on trade and economic engagement between the two sides.

Alopov said Russia wants to diversify its overall cooperation with India and the ties between the two countries are not directed against anyone.

On Russia's overall ties with India, he said, "Internationally, we have always been on the same page, again something very contrasting with the US approach to India."



"Unlike them (the US), we don't need to explain to each other and the world that close partnership between us was not possible in the past for some reason," he said.

Alipov claimed that the approach of the US towards India could change if it finds a new rapprochement with China or New Delhi manages to mend relations with Beijing.

"That, from the US perspective, will be a disaster.

"But from ours, and I believe from India's and China's point of view, it would be the most favourable outcome for the world at large. Any of these scenarios, America's hegemony would suffer," he said.

"That is why it actively exploits the contradictions between India and China to its advantage," he said, adding a new paradigm of democracies versus autocracies is emerging so that the US retains the decisive say amongst its like minded partners.

Alipov said India and Russia have accumulated a solid experience of "mutual trust, understanding and support" over the last few decades which gives the two sides a sense of confidence in dealing with current geopolitical turbulence.

The ambassador said Russia steadfastly supports India's growing global role and its aspirations to become a permanent member of the UN Security Council.

"India's significance for Russia as a key international partner is clearly going to grow. Much has been done to solidify our unique and multifaceted special and privileged strategic partnership. There is a rich agenda catering to the requirements of global transformation," he said.

The ties between India and Russia remained strong notwithstanding Moscow's invasion of Ukraine. India's import of Russian crude oil has gone up significantly in the last few months despite increasing disquiet over it in many Western countries.

India has not yet condemned the Russian invasion of Ukraine and it has been maintaining that the crisis must be resolved through diplomacy and dialogue.
The top cybersecurity diplomat in the US, Nate Fick, has revealed his personal Twitter account was hacked.

In a tweet, Fick said that "My account has been hacked. Perils of the job."

It was not clear who was responsible for the hack or if cyber-criminals posted anything derogatory from his personal account.

According to a CNN report, US President Joe Biden in June announced to nominate Fick to lead the newly-formed Bureau of Cyberspace and Digital Policy.

The bureau is aiming to make digital rights issues an "intrinsic part of US foreign policy" amid nation-state threats from Russia and China.

Fick was a Marine Corps veteran and former chief executive of a cybersecurity firm.

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Fick was scheduled to travel to Seoul this week to discuss cybersecurity cooperation with the South Korean government.

Meanwhile, a report said that China has been orchestrating cyber attacks on both allies and competitors, adding that the countries affected include Russia, the US, Iran and South Korea.

According to the Indo Pacific Centre for Strategic Communications (IPCSC), a Chinese hacking group had launched a cyberattack on 12 Korean academic institutions.

Twelve South Korean websites attacked by a Chinese hacking group remained unable to be accessed even days after the incident.

The Chinese attackers, identifying themselves as Xiaoqiying, hacked into the websites of 12 academic organisations and institutions Sunday, including the Korea Research Institute for Construction Policy, the Korean Archaeological Society and the Korean Academy of Basic Medicine & Health Science.

--IANS

na/svn/
Ukraine's defense minister expressed confidence Sunday that Western allies would agree to the country's latest weapons request warplanes to fight off Russian forces that invaded nearly a year ago.

Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov told a news conference in Kyiv that Ukraine has already received everything from its wish list to Santa, except planes.

There will be planes, too," Reznikov predicted. The question is just what kind exactly.... Consider that this mission is already completed.

So far, Ukraine has won support from Baltic nations and Poland in its quest to obtain Western fighter jets. But several Western leaders have expressed concern that providing warplanes could provoke the Kremlin and draw their countries deeper into the conflict, which has cost tens of thousands of lives and wreaked massive destruction.

Kyiv says such jets are essential to challenging Russia's air superiority and ensuring success in a Russian offensive that Reznikov predicted could begin around the war's one-year anniversary, Feb. 24.

"Not all Western weapons will arrive by then, but we have the resources and reserves to help stabilize and sustain the offensive, Reznikov told reporters.

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Since the war began, Western leaders have balked at some of Ukraine's requests, such as for longer-range missiles and tanks, only to agree later. The warplanes are the latest example.

Ukraine has relocated its warplanes and concealed air defense assets, hampering Moscow's efforts to gain full control of the skies. After suffering early losses, the Russian air force has avoided venturing deep into Ukraine's airspace and mostly focused on close front line support.

German-made tanks are on the way to Ukraine. Reznikov said his forces would begin training on Leopard tanks in Europe on Monday, before their delivery to Ukraine. So far, Canada, Poland, Germany, Great Britain and the United States have announced they will supply tanks to Ukraine.

The Kremlin has said Western countries' supply of increasingly sophisticated and more weapons will only prolong the conflict, and it has characterized NATO as a direct participant. Reznikov, commenting on the supply of Western weapons and the state of the Ukrainian army, took the rhetoric further on Sunday, telling reporters: I absolutely boldly claim that we have become a de facto NATO country. We only have a de jure part left.

Ukraine has applied to join NATO, as have two of Russia's other neighbors, Finland and Sweden.

On the battlefield, Kharkiv regional governor Oleh Syniehubov said four people were injured Sunday when a Russian S-300 missile fell near an apartment block in Kharkiv city, and another was hurt when a missile hit a university building. Video showed the building hit was the National Academy for Urban Economy, about 700 meters from the city's central square.

Meanwhile, heavy fighting continued in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine, one of four regions that Russia illegally annexed last year even though its forces do not fully control the area. Donetsk governor Pavlo Kyrylenko said five civilians were wounded in rocket attacks during the night in the city of Druzhkivka and that the town of Avdiivka and its outskirts were also fired on.

In the Donetsk city of Bakhmut, the epicenter of the fiercest fighting in Ukraine, the Ukrainian military said Sunday it had repelled Russian attacks. The founder of the mercenary group Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, said in a Telegram post that Kyiv's forces were not retreating and that there are fierce battles for every street, every house, every stairwell.

In the Black Sea port of Odesa, workers labored to connect temporary generators shipped in to restore electricity. The city and surrounding area were plunged into darkness over the weekend following a large-scale network failure.

Grid operator Ukrenergo said that the failure involved equipment repeatedly repaired after Russia's savage strikes on Ukraine's energy grid, and that residents should brace themselves for lengthy blackouts.

As of Sunday afternoon, about 280,000 customers 40% of the customers remained without power, said prime minister Denis Shmyhal.
The United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) has condemned deadly violence in Kajo-Keji County in South Sudan's Central Equatoria State that left at least 27 dead and several others injured on February 2.

Nicholas Haysom, the UN secretary-general's special representative in South Sudan, called on the authorities to urgently launch an investigation and hold perpetrators to account, Xinhua news agency reported.

"This violence is unacceptable and was in sharp contrast to the message of the Ecumenical Peace Pilgrimage to South Sudan, which called for peace and reconciliation," Haysom said in a statement issued in Juba, the capital of South Sudan.

He said at least 2,000 people, mainly women and children, have become internally displaced, including 30 unaccompanied children.

The UN expressed concern about the resurgence of killings and violence stemming from long-standing tensions between cattle-keepers and host communities in Central Equatoria State and in other parts of the country.

Over the past two weeks, the UNMISS said, escalating violence has resulted in at least 45 deaths among unarmed civilians in Kajo-Keji and Mangalla Payam, among other areas in Central Equatoria.

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Haysom urged South Sudanese leaders to encourage restraint and avoid fueling any conflict, noting that the UNMISS is increasing patrols to the affected areas, and engaging the authorities as well as community leaders, to end these hostilities and seek peaceful solutions.

The UNMISS said it welcomes the government's deployment of troops to the area to ease tensions and protect internally displaced persons.


The government anticipates finding equipment capable of taking detailed photographs, along with other sensors, one person familiar with the matter said. US lawmakers are already demanding to know if the balloons payload contains technology from the US or its allies, another person said. Both asked not to be identified because the administration doesnt want to reveal exactly what it suspects the balloon was carrying. The US sent divers to salvage what they believe is spy equipment from the Chinese balloon shot down off South Carolina, as pressure mounted on President Joe Biden to hit back at Beijing with new export controls on sensitive technology.



While China says the device was a climate-research airship that strayed off course, the US argues it was part of a broader spying program by Beijing. With that in mind, Biden administration was calibrating how severely and swiftly to retaliate, people familiar with the matter said. The balloon, said to be the size of at least two school buses, and its sensors are lying in 50 feet (15 meters) of water and scattered over a seven-mile (11-kilometer) area off Myrtle Beach. Divers and cranes operating from the surface were expected to haul it up in the coming days, potentially giving intelligence analysts crucial insight into Chinese spying capabilities.



China will resolutely safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of the company concerned, and reserves the right to make further responses if necessary, Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Xie Feng said, according to a Foreign Ministry statement released Monday. Xie lodged a formal diplomatic protest with the US Embassy in Beijing, the ministry said. In a sign of more tension to come, the Chinese Foreign Ministry sharpened its tone Sunday after an American F-22 fighter jet popped the balloon with a Sidewinder missile and sent its payload crashing into the Atlantic Ocean. Beijing called the decision a clear overreaction and said it reserved the right to respond.

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While the balloon may be out of the sky, the bizarre saga that surrounded it is far from over. Biden will almost certainly make reference to the episode in his State of the Union speech Tuesday, another person familiar with the matter said. Chinese stocks extended losses as the episode stoked fears of economic retaliation Monday, a day when investors had been expecting a relatively positive visit to Beijing by Secretary of State Antony Blinken. Both sides will likely impose more export bans on technology in different industries, Iris Pang, chief economist for Greater China at ING Groep NV, wrote in a note.

One option would be to send Blinken to China with a much tougher message than the one he had planned to bring this week, before he postponed the trip. People familiar with the matter said he didnt want to risk the public-relations disaster of landing in Beijing while the balloon was still in the air over US territory. Blinkens Trip



Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning told a regular news briefing Monday in Beijing that it was up to the US to announce when Blinken would visit the country. Now, the administration believes Blinken should reschedule his trip soon. They argue for a much tougher approach both on the balloon and evidence the US has that officials say shows Chinese companies have been quietly supporting Russias war effort in Ukraine.



And even if it doesnt spur specific new measures, the embarrassingly public act of alleged espionage has made it more difficult for the US and China to stabilize diplomatic ties over thorny issues such as Taiwan, particularly with the Biden administration facing growing pressure from critics and a Republican-controlled House of Representatives. The episode is already ratcheting up pressure on the administration to push even harder with its existing strategy of trying to hobble Chinas ability to access an array of high-tech semiconductors used in sophisticated military applications, as well as the valuable equipment used to manufacture such chips.



Balloons like the one blown apart Saturday are not uncommon, but this time the Chinese made a mistake by flying it low enough to be spotted by commercial pilots and people on the ground, according to one person familiar with the matter. Typically balloons like the one shot down fly above 80,000 feet and as high as 100,000 feet. US Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, a New York Democrat, said senators will get a full classified briefing on Feb. 15, which will give the administration time to collect and sort through the evidence to back up its claim. The bottom line here is that shooting down the balloon over water wasnt just the safest option, but it was the one that maximized our intel gain, Schumer said in a statement.



Divers from the US Navys Explosive Ordnance Disposal Mobile Salvage and Diving Unit 2 and cranes operating from the surface are expected to haul up the balloons payload in the coming days, according to a US defense official. The salvage operation is being managed by the commander of the USS Carter Hall, a dock landing vessel that normally carries US Marines and their equipment in an Amphibious Readiness Group, the official said. The administration has already faced fierce Republican criticism in recent days for being weak on China and not shooting down the balloon sooner. US officials argued that it simply wasnt safe to bring the floating orb down over land when it was carrying a large and heavy payload.

The Ticonderoga-class cruiser USS Philippine Sea and the USS Oscar Austin, a guided missile destroyer, were guarding the operation along with three US Coast Guard cutters  the USCGC Venturous, USCGC Richard Snyder and USCGC Nathan Bruckenthal.
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Rivian might be serious in its interest in e-bikes.

The automaker reportedly told its employees it is expanding into the electric bike market by developing its first e-bike.

Rivian previously showed interest in e-bikes as early as 2022, according to Electrek, with the company hinting at it through a patent application posted on the Rivian Forums.

Rivian E-Bike Development Details

Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe mentioned to the company's employees during a company-wide meeting that it is developing an e-bike, according to Bloomberg's sources who are familiar with the proceedings. He also added that a small group of engineers is already working on it.

These engineers may have e-bike designers Rivian poached from other major brands like Specialized, augmenting its e-bike design team ahead of development, per Electrek.

The sources asked not to be named, as the information they disclosed was private.

Unfortunately, Scaringe didn't specify if the bike the company is developing was a battery-operated e-bike or bicycle. However, it did apply for patents for e-bike components and designs in Jan. 2022, which was posted on the Rivian Forums.

Interestingly, the patent includes e-bike components specially adapted for e-bikes, such as battery packs. Whether this inclusion means that the e-bike Rivian is developing is battery-operated is still up for debate.

Rivian representatives have declined to comment on the information Bloomberg received, nor have they addressed it since the publication received it.

Read More: Apple Responds to iPhone 14's Continuous Triggering of False Emergency Calls

Regardless of Rivian's refusal to comment on the information, the company's revelation came in the same week as its announcement of layoffs, affecting 6% of its workforce, per Engadget. According to the company, the issues it encountered in its efforts to cut costs amid its production ramp forced them to execute another layoff.

Additionally, this layoff represents the second major restructuring the company undertook in less than a year, with it saying it was an effort to refocus itself on scaling production of its battery-electric pickup R1T and its plug-in R1S SUV electric vehicles and put itself on the way to long-term profitability.

Scaringe also addressed the layoffs during the meeting, saying that the company has spread itself then by trying to do too much at once.

The Appeal Of The E-Bike Market

Rivian expanding to the e-bike market seems like a good idea. Its growth, even before the COVID-19 pandemic, was impressive due to the increasing popularity of e-bikes; they consistently outsold electric cars and trucks because they're significantly cheaper to produce and are more affordable to consumers.

The selling of e-bikes also has fewer regulatory hurdles than selling EVs and electric trucks, further reducing their costs and decreasing their development period.

Additionally, many urban residents are calling for the use of safer alternative means of transportation in urban areas, especially in cities. Using massive electric trucks and SUVs is becoming frowned upon by many urban residents as they take up too much public space and that they endanger city residents due to their size.

Related Article: Rivian To Lay Off 6% of Its Employees for the Second Time
By Bharath Rajeswaran

BENGALURU (Reuters) - Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) offloaded Indian equities worth 288.52 billion rupees ($3.51 billion) in January, the most since June, data from National Securities Depository Ltd. showed.

FPIs' selloff in Indian shares rises to most in 7 months https://www.reuters.com/graphics/FPI-JAN/JAN-FPI/zdvxdnqrkvx/chart.png

The selling coincided with a slide in equity benchmarks, with Nifty 50 falling 2.45% in the first month of 2023.

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Analysts cited multiple reasons - the uncertainties due to a sharp selloff in Adani group stocks after a Hindenburg Research report flagged concerns over the conglomerate's financials, expensive valuations of Indian shares over their global peers, reallocation of funds to China and Taiwan for their relatively cheaper valuations, and Beijing's reopening, easing COVID-19 controls.

WHAT FOREIGN INVESTORS SOLD & BOUGHT

Foreign investors sold the most in financials, offloading 152.04 billion rupees of shares, followed by 75.96 billion rupees in oil and gas and 27.77 bln rupees in consumer durables.

Sectoral FPI flows in January https://www.reuters.com/graphics/SECTORAL-JANFPI/JANFPI-SECTORAL/egpbyajanvq/chart.png

The sharp selloff in financials came after a Jan. 24 report by well-known U.S. short seller Hinderburg alleged stock manipulation and unsustainable debt on Adani group companies. Since then, the conglomerate saw more than $100 billion wiped off its market value. The group refuted the allegations, saying the report is "baseless and motivated."

"At least 40% of the group's debt is exposed to Indian banks, so that exposure is what investors are worried about in banks," said Neeraj Dewan, director at Quantum Securities.

All the major indexes linked to financials tumbled in January.

Financials tumble in January on FPI selloff https://www.reuters.com/graphics/FINANCIALS-FPI/FPI-FINANCIALS/znvnbklkjvl/chart.png

Metals was the only major sector that saw renewed interest from foreign investors, who bought 43.69 billion rupees worth of equities. China is the world's largest consumer of metals, and its reopening after the lifting of stringent COVID restrictions is expected to boost metals demand in India and the world.

($1 = 82.3130 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Bharath Rajeswaran in Bengaluru; Editing by Dhanya Ann Thoppil)


With a weighting of 12.97 per cent, India is now ranked third after China and Taiwan which have a weighting of 33.49 per cent and 14.42 per cent, respectively, according to the factsheet released by the global index compiler. Indias ranking on the MSCI (Morgan Stanley Capital International) Emerging Markets (EM) Index, which is said to be tracked by passive funds with assets under management of more than $350 billion, has slipped, following last months underperformance amid rout in Adani Group shares.



The MSCI India fell 8 per cent, even as the MSCI EM Index declined 20 per cent  both in US dollar terms. At the end of December 2022, India had a weighting of 14.44 per cent and occupied second place for the first time. The ascent came after outperforming the EM pack in Calendar 2022.



Within EMs, the MSCI Taiwan Index has been a sharp outperformer, gaining nearly 13 per cent last month. Come 2023, there has been a reversal of fortune, with MSCI India dropping 3 per cent in January and MSCI EM gaining 8 per cent.

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MSCI Taiwan went up sharply in January, driven by a 16.4 per cent rally in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC). TSMC is around 45 per cent of the MSCI Taiwan Index weight. On the other hand, MSCI India was down about 4 per cent in January, of which 1.7 per cent was due to a drop in Adani Group stocks, said Freitas. Brian Freitas, a New Zealand-based analyst with Periscope Analytics who has researched Adani Group, said the drop in Indias ranking is largely on account of two factors.



Shares of the group have seen further erosion in market value so far this month, which could put more pressure on Indias weighting in the coveted MSCI EM Index. During the four trading sessions, between January 24 and January 31, over Rs 5.6 trillion, or 29 per cent, got shaved off from Adani Group after US short-seller Hindenburg Research levelled accusations of fraud against the conglomerate.



Abhilash Pagaria, head-alternative and quantitative Research, Nuvama Institutional Equities, said the weighting could now consolidate around current levels. High weighting in the MSCI index can help channel billions of dollars of flows from global exchange-traded funds.





Indias weighting climbed to record levels in November after a phenomenal rally over EM peers. Since then, our markets have underperformed. Indias valuation is still at a premium to other EMs, as well as compared to its historical levels. Therefore, a significant increase in weighting from the current levels will be challenging, he said.



Last year, we saw the trend sell China and buy India play out. A lot of global funds began shifting from China to India due to regulatory problems there. This year, China has made all the right noises, while the developments in India are of concern to FPIs, said an analyst with a foreign bank. For nearly a decade, Indias weighting in the MSCI EM Index remained below 8 per cent. In the past two years, Indias weighting doubled as markets grew in size and considerable legroom meant for foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) in domestic companies got freed up by a change of rule by the government.

Last week, the Indian market dropped out of the top five nations in terms of the highest market capitalisation.








The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has said that as a regulator and supervisor, it maintains a constant vigil on the banking sector and on individual banks to maintain financial stability.

The RBI said, as per its current assessment, the banking sector remains resilient and stable. It added that various parameters relating to capital adequacy, asset quality, liquidity, provision coverage and profitability are healthy. The RBI further added that banks are also in compliance with the large exposure framework (LEF) guidelines issued by it.

The RBI has a Central Repository of Information on Large Credits database system used for monitoring purposes, where the banks report their exposure of five crore rupees and above. The RBI said it remains vigilant and continues to monitor the stability of the Indian banking sector.

The RBI issued the statement amid media reports expressing concern about the exposures of Indian banks to a business conglomerate.

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The key equity benchmarks continued to trade with significant losses in early afternoon trade. The Nifty traded below the 17,750 mark. Auto shares witnessed some bit of profit-taking after advancing in the past two sessions.

At 12:26 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was down 448.65 points or 0.74% to 60,393.23. The Nifty 50 index lost 131.90 points or 0.74% to 17,722.15.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.53% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index gained 0.46%.

The market breadth was positive. On the BSE, 1,815 shares rose, and 1,595 shares fell. A total of 226 shares were unchanged.

Derivatives:

The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of the market's expectation of volatility over the near term, jumped 4.09% to 14.99. The Nifty 23 February 2023 futures were trading at 17,779.35, at a premium of 57.2 points as compared with the spot at 17,722.15.

Also Read Indices trade with minor cuts, auto stocks decline UNO Minda gains on signing technical license agreement with Korea-based Ascentec ICRA reaffirms ratings of Sterling Tools Sensex gains 260 pts, auto stocks in demand SBI, Titan Company, Hindustan Aeronautics in focus Nifty hovers below 17,750 mark; IT shares decline Indices trade with modest losses; Sensex down 422 pts Benchmarks drift lower in early trade; Nifty below 17,750 SGX Nifty hints at flat opening Sensex rallies 910 pts, Nifty ends above 17,850; NSE VIX slumps below 15 mark

The Nifty option chain for the 23 February 2023 expiry showed maximum Call OI of 32.7 lakh contracts at the 18,000 strike price. Maximum Put OI of 32.6 lakh contracts were seen at 17,500 strike price.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty Auto index fell 0.65% to 13,291.45. The index had advanced 1.30% in the past two sessions.

Tube Investments of India (down 3.14%), Eicher Motors (down 1.99%), Mahindra & Mahindra (down 1.61%), Maruti Suzuki India (down 0.98%) and Tata Motors (down 0.88%) were the top losers.

Among the other losers were Ashok Leyland (down 0.55%), Bosch (down 0.43%), Balkrishna Industries (down 0.14%) and Bajaj Auto (down 0.1%).

On the other hand, Sona BLW Precision Forgings (up 6.62%), TVS Motor Company (up 1.22%) and Samvardhana Motherson International (up 1.19%) moved up.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Dalmia Bharat jumped 3.14%. The company's consolidated net profit from continuing operations surged 142.9% to Rs 204 crore in Q3 FY23 as against Rs 84 crore posted in Q3 FY22.

JK Tyre tumbled 4.03%. The tyre maker's consolidated net profit rose 15.2% to Rs 65.59 crore on 17.5% increase in net sales to Rs 3,612.92 crore in Q3 FY23 over Q3 FY22.

Sun TV Network rose 2.41%. The media company's standalone net profit decreased 9% to Rs 416.32 crore on 17% decline in revenue to Rs 857.51 crore in Q3 FY23 over Q3 FY22.

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Info Edge (India) announced that Startup Investments (Holding) (SIHL), a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company has agreed to invest about Rs. 4 crore in Printo Document Services.

Printo is a print-on-demand platform for personal and business print and corporate merchandise in India. The Company provides business cards, business stationary, ID cards/accessories, flyers/leaflets, posters, standees, brochures, signage, stickers, calendars and diaries; gift products; personalized greeting cards; photo books; Tshirts and apparel; and marketing collaterals. It retails its products online and via retail stores.

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Sales rise 13.86% to Rs 510.56 croreNet profit of Tamil Nadu Petro Products declined 45.46% to Rs 26.29 crore in the quarter ended December 2022 as against Rs 48.20 crore during the previous quarter ended December 2021. Sales rose 13.86% to Rs 510.56 crore in the quarter ended December 2022 as against Rs 448.43 crore during the previous quarter ended December 2021. ParticularsQuarter EndedDec. 2022Dec. 2021% Var.Sales510.56448.43 14 OPM %6.4714.93 -PBDT36.0269.81 -48 PBT30.8163.91 -52 NP26.2948.20 -45

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Samsung's upcoming phone series might launch without a much-desired feature.

Computer Base journalist Nicolas La Rocco recently revealed on his official Twitter account that the Galaxy S23 Ultra and, by extension, the entire Galaxy S23 series will still not have the much-awaited Seamless Updates feature.

Samsung is one of several smartphone brands that have yet to include the Seamless Updates feature on their phones, per 9to5Google.

Samsung Galaxy S23 Seamless Updates Details

La Rocco mentioned on his official Twitter account that Samsung's Galaxy S3 Ultra still doesn't support the Seamless Updates feature, more formally known as A/B partitions in the programming world.

According to Android Authority, Samsung has been avoiding this feature since 2016, when Google, through its Android 13 software update feature, required Samsung phones to feature Seamless Updates.

For those unaware, Samsung smartphones can't update the apps installed on them by themselves, requiring their user to initiate a reboot for the phone to update the apps installed on it - a time-consuming task, especially if the phone has more than a handful of apps installed.

Google's Seamless Updates takes away the user in the equation. Instead of having the user manually reboot their smartphone to update their apps, the phone will update them in the background and then apply them later in a later reboot.

Although this update method is slower than the regular (and manual) update method, it does provide a layer of safety for the update process, as Seamless Updates can be reverted if something goes wrong.

Read More: Google Could Be Launching Its Own Chatbot in an Event this February 8th

Samsung does have a good reason to skip out on Seamless Updates: the company has concerns with the Galaxy S23's storage due to the feature's tendency to eat up extra storage.

Interestingly, Samsung has been avoiding implementing the feature on its previous-gen flagship phones like the Galaxy S22 series - a fact that may have been influenced by Samsung's desire to not give its flagship phones with less than the storage it initially offers.

However, if that was the only problem preventing Samsung from implementing such a feature on its smartphones, users will wonder why it's still in place; Samsung is mostly avoiding offering its phones with 128GB storage.

Seamless Updates On The Way

Fortunately, Samsung may have a change of heart regarding the feature. The company is reportedly bringing Seamless Updates to its flagship phones with its One UI 6.0 update, which is due sometime in 2023, per Sam Mobile.

However, it is still unknown when will Samsung push its update, or if it will be available to future phones at all. Regardless, it is probable that Samsung Galaxy smartphone users will have to wait a bit more to acquire this much-desired feature for themselves.

It is possible that Samsung will soon stop offering its 128GB phone offering for a 256GB phone with Seamless Updates feature, per Android Police, but that is still debatable as of press time.

Related Article: Samsung Unveils Galaxy Book3 Series, Some Details On Prices And Pre-Orders
The Delhi Congress on Monday lashed out at the BJP and the AAP, accusing them of stalling the mayoral elections and making a "mockery" of people's mandate in the MCD polls.

Delhi Congress president Anil Chaudhary alleged that the AAP has betrayed the people of Delhi by "disrupting" the poll for the third time. He also accused the AAP councillors of clashing with the BJP councillors on the issue of allowing alderman to vote.

The municipal House failed to elect a mayor for a third time in a month on Monday after a ruckus erupted over the nominated members being allowed to vote in the election to the post.

"Why was the AAP rattled by the alderman getting voting rights if the new MCD Act has provision for that? It seems that both AAP and BJP have conspired to disrupt the mayoral elections as the third session of the MCD House at the Civic Centre also ended in a ruckus again. It has been two months since the MCD elections were held and the Capital is yet to get a Mayor," Chaudhary said.

He alleged that the Aam Aadmi Party has been running away from taking charge of the MCD administration.

"The Kejriwal government had not fulfilled any of the promises made to Delhiites in the last eight years, with air and water pollution causing havoc to the health of the people. Most government schools have been functioning without principals, vice-principals and teachers in key subjects, and corruption in every department has been reaching unprecedented levels," he alleged.

Also Read Delhi MCD: All you need to know about the prestige battle in the capital AAP ends BJP's 15 year-rule in MCD, wins civic body poll with majority LIVE news: GRAP Stage III revoked in entire NCR with immediate effect MCD House ruckus: AAP workers protest outside BJP headquarters Delhi mayor polls: Amid sloganeering, MCD House adjourned briefly Kushwaha not JD(U) parliamentary board chief any more: Party president Congress sinking ship, people rejected communist rule: Amit Shah in Tripura JD(U) suffered after allying with BJP in 2017, says Bihar CM Nitish Kumar SP's Akhilesh, Maurya takes on RSS chief for 'no caste before God' remark Opposition stages protest in Parliament on Adani issue, stalls both LS, RS

The first two sessions of the municipal House -- held on January 6 and January 24 -- were also adjourned by the presiding officer without electing a mayor following a ruckus and acrimonious exchanges between the members of the BJP and the AAP.

According to the Delhi Municipal Corporation (DMC) Act, 1957, the mayor and the deputy mayor are to be elected in the very first session of the House after the civic polls. However, it's been two months since the municipal elections were held on December 4 and Delhi is yet to get a mayor.
Darjeeling BJP MP and party youth general secretary Raju Bista has slammed Trinamool Congress Member of Parliament Abhishek Banerjee for saying that if anyone has difficulty in filing nominations, he would process it for them.

Raju Bista asked, "Who is Abhishek Banerjee? Is he the Prime Minister of India or the Chief Minister of the state?

TMC MP Abhishek Banerjee made a statement where he said, "If anyone, be it from any party, has difficulty in filing a nomination for West Bengal Panchayat elections, I will process it for them".

Raju Bista recalled the 2018 panchayat elections and said, "Trinamool Congress-backed goons did not allow any opposition candidates to fill the nomination papers in 2018 Panchayat polls. They also threatened voters not to cast their votes."

"Request them to tell your party goons to stay at their home during the time of Panchayat only and then see, BJP will get the victory in massive votes everywhere in the state. The people of Bengal want to get freedom from Trinamool Congress," he added.

Over Trinamool Congress released Tripura election manifesto on Sunday, BJP MP Bista said, "Trinamool Congress will not get a single seat out of 60 seats in Tripura assembly. TMC will face the same situation in Tripura as the Aam Admi Party in Uttar Pradesh elections."

Also Read Abhishek cautions TMC leaders against strongarm tactics, corruption BJP claims victory on 397 seats in Maharashtra gram panchayat polls BJP wins 140 out of 186 seats in Goa Panchayat elections held on Aug 10 W Bengal: Bomb explodes at TMC panchayat leader's under-construction house Nearly 80% polling recorded in second-phase Haryana panchayat elections Budget increased by 4 times for tribal communities: Nadda in Tripura Elderly woman refuses freebies from Meghalaya poll candidates, returns them 4,004 child marriage cases registered in Assam: CM Himanta Biswa Sarma BJP to launch Tripura assembly election campaign with 35 rallies on Friday Development, tribal welfare to be BJP's poll planks for polls: Tripura CM

In the meeting addressed by a State observer held at the Siliguri district party office, he said that the BJP has always tried to strengthen the party and had shown the ability in the 2019 elections.

The West Bengal Panchayat polls are likely to be conducted in March 2023 and the state election commission will release a date list soon.

In 2018, the panchayat elections in West Bengal saw huge-scale clashes between the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Trinamool Congress (TMC) workers, resulting in the death of at least 12 people.

The Congress, Communist Party of India (Marxist), Revolutionary Socialist Party (RSP) and other parties of the Left Front also staged a protest outside State Election Commission in Kolkata against the incidents of violence.

Violence marred the West Bengal panchayat elections in 2018, as at least 12 people were killed. Three police personnel were also injured in the violence.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Tripura Chief Minister Manik Saha on Monday held a roadshow from 'Ashram Chowmuhani' to 'Chowmuhani Mode' at Banmalipur in Agartala.

Speaking to ANI during the roadshow, Shah reacted to the demand by the Tipra Motha Party for a Greater Tipra Land.

"The demand for the Tipra land was raised when the Communists were being unjust with the tribals. The BJP has brought about inclusive development, which also includes tribal communities. Tribals have got everything under the BJP," he said.

Shah exuded confidence in forming the government once again in Tripura saying the BJP will return to power with a bigger majority than 2018.

"The double-engine government will return with a bigger majority than before," he said.

The Home minister said massive crowd that turned up at his roadshow and public meetings shows the outpouring of people's support for the BJP.

Also Read Amit Shah to arrive in Tripura to flag off two rath yatras of BJP today President Murmu flags off first Kolkata-Agartala express train from Tripura Exit of 5 MLAs jolt for Tripura BJP ahead of assembly polls: Manik Sarkar HM Amit Shah to address two election rallies in Tripura on Monday TMC will not join CPM-Cong alliance in Tripura, Mamata to visit on Feb 6 JD(U) suffered after allying with BJP in 2017, says Bihar CM Nitish Kumar SP's Akhilesh, Maurya takes on RSS chief for 'no caste before God' remark Opposition stages protest in Parliament on Adani issue, stalls both LS, RS Manish Tewari moves adjournment notice in LS on Chinese transgressions Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar slams Tharoor over Musharraf remark

"Thousands of people are here. This shows that there is huge support for the BJP. Congress is a sinking ship and people have rejected violent Communist rule. BJP gave houses, electricity, drinking water, free ration and Covid vaccines to the people, across communities," the Union Home minister said.

Earlier on Monday, Shah came down heavily on the CPI(M) and the Congress in poll-bound Tripura, saying that both the parties disregarded the interests of the people and the state.

Shah said both parties indulged in scams while in power and no allegation of corruption cannot be levelled against the BJP-led government in Tripura.

"Communists are criminals and the Congress is corrupt. Both have played with the people and the state. Assess the impact of about 30 years of Communist rule and 15 years of Congress rule and compare them with five-year rule under the BJP. You will get all the answers," the Home minister said while addressing a public meeting here.

Shah claimed that the BJP has run a transparent government in the state and worked for the welfare of the poor.

"The Leftists indulged in scams and so did the Congress. Now, the two have come together. No one can level a single allegation of corruption at the BJP. Ours has been a transparent government under the leadership of Modi-ji, a government which has worked for the welfare of the poor," he said.

Detailing the work done by the BJP government in the state, Shah said injustice against the tribal communities in the state is a thing of the past.

"Under the BJP government in Tripura, the crime rate in the state has decreased by 30 per cent. We never targeted any CPM worker but more than 250 BJP workers were killed between 2016-18. I am standing before you after 5 years, I can say with pride that the BJP has changed the face of Tripura after ending the 27-year-long misrule of the Communists. An orgy of violence went on in Tripura for 27 years and it wasn't until the BJP came to power that things changed for the better. The injustice that was being done to our tribal brothers and sisters for 27 years came to an end after we formed the government," he said.

"Work on making over 9,000 terrorists in the Northeast surrender and providing permanent settlements to the Bru-Reang refugees was done by the BJP," Shah added.

Tripura will go to Assembly polls on February 16. The counting of votes will take place on March 2 along with those of Meghalaya and Nagaland.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah is set to arrive in Tripura on Monday to address two election rallies, and join a roadshow to boost the BJP's campaign in the poll-bound state, a party leader said.

Elections to the 60-member assembly will be held on February 16. Counting will take place on March 2.

During the visit, Amit Shah ji will address Vijay Sankalp' rallies in South Tripura's Santirbazar and Khowai, and attend a roadshow in Banamalipur constituency of Agartala, he said.

Security arrangements have been tightened in the northeastern state in view of the Union minister's visit, a senior police officer said on Monday.

Shah had participated in two Rath Yatras in Tripura last month, beginning the saffron party's campaign for the assembly polls.

TMC supremo and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is also scheduled to arrive in the state on Monday, and attend a roadshow and address a public meeting on Tuesday.

Also Read TMC will not join CPM-Cong alliance in Tripura, Mamata to visit on Feb 6 Amit Shah to arrive in Tripura to flag off two rath yatras of BJP today President Murmu flags off first Kolkata-Agartala express train from Tripura HM Amit Shah to address two election rallies in Tripura on Monday Exit of 5 MLAs jolt for Tripura BJP ahead of assembly polls: Manik Sarkar Nagaland polls: Only 6 candidates file nominations, deadline tomorrow BJP slams TMC's Abhishek Banerjee over his remark on Bengal Panchayat polls Budget increased by 4 times for tribal communities: Nadda in Tripura Elderly woman refuses freebies from Meghalaya poll candidates, returns them 4,004 child marriage cases registered in Assam: CM Himanta Biswa Sarma

She will arrive on Monday evening and visit Udaipur to offer prayers at the Tripureswari temple. On Tuesday, Banerjee will lead a roadshow in Agartala and address a rally at Rabindra Bhavan, TMC state in-charge Rajib Banerjee said.

She will be accompanied by the party's national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee.
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Monday asserted that the JD(U)'s realignment with the BJP half a decade ago, which came to an abrupt end last year, had been to the detriment of his party.

The JD(U) leader was replying to queries from journalists in Banka district, which he visited as part of the Samadhan Yatra' mass outreach programme.

He was asked about the open letter to the party cadre from disgruntled parliamentary board chief Upendra Kushwaha, who has convened a two-day meeting next week to discuss the gradual erosion of support base of the JD(U) and anxieties over a rumoured deal with the RJD, its current ally.

A visibly peeved Kumar sought to remind Kushwaha that the latter has been always rewarded by the party despite having ditched it repeatedly and if he keeps airing his grievances in public then it will be construed as he has other plans for himself.

When asked whether he thought Kushwaha was forcing his hand at the BJP's behest, Kumar replied cryptically, You can draw your conclusions. How much publicity this affair is getting I have never seen such spotlight on my party.

However, the wily leader indicated that he was giving a long rope to the intransigent party functionary saying, I have said it and so has our national president that nobody needs to react to whatever he (Kushwaha) says.

Also Read Manipur's 'JDU-free', BJP will break JDU-RJD alliance in Bihar: Sushil Modi BJP can be reduced to 50 seats in 2024 polls: Bihar CM Nitish Kumar Master of the U-turn: Nitish Kumar ends alliance with BJP, quits as CM 16 members of Dadra-Nagar Haveli, Daman-Diu's JDU unit join BJP in Delhi 'Everything fine in NDA alliance': JDU leader dismisses rift speculations SP's Akhilesh, Maurya takes on RSS chief for 'no caste before God' remark Opposition stages protest in Parliament on Adani issue, stalls both LS, RS Manish Tewari moves adjournment notice in LS on Chinese transgressions Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar slams Tharoor over Musharraf remark Old vs New: No early retirement for debate on pension as elections loom

He, however, ridiculed Kushwaha for the repeated claim that the party was growing weak, pointing out that our recent membership drive swelled the party ranks like never before.

The only instance when the party did suffer harm was during our alliance in 2017, said Kumar, in an obvious reference to the BJP which he did not mention by name.

Recounting the 2019 Lok Sabha polls which JD(U) and BJP contested together, along with late Ram Vilas Paswan's LJP and the clean sweep made by the NDA, Kumar referred to the trajectory followed by the saffron party thereafter.

We had asked for three to four berths (in the Union cabinet) but they said they will not give more than one, so we did not join. In the assembly polls (in 2020) we supported them but the way a campaign was run against our (JDU) candidateshas there been any such precedent? asked Kumar.

The reference was to the rebellion by the LJP, then headed by Paswan's son Chirag, who fielded candidates in all seats contested by the JD(U) vowing to dislodge the CM from power.

Many of the candidates of the LJP were BJP rebels, some of them prominent office-bearers, and the JD(U) was hit hard, with its tally plummeting from more than 70 in 2015 to less than 45.

Let them (BJP) face the next elections and they will figure out where they stand, said Kumar, who now heads the multi-party Mahagathbandhan' and braces for a national role in 2024 Lok Sabha polls wherein, he believes, a united opposition can defeat the seemingly invincible NDA.

Kumar also chided Kushwaha for becoming a killjoy for the JD(U) as well as the Mahagathbandhan' and asserted, He was with us all through when new formation was taking shapeI wonder what has gone wrong with him in the last couple of months. I have expressed willingness to talk it over if he had any unmet expectations but he seems disinclined.

Although Kushwaha had been one of the most combative leaders of the JD(U) in its war of words with the BJP, he has been in a sulk since Kumar made it clear that there would be no deputy CM besides Tejashwi Yadav of the RJD and also declared that the latter will lead the Mahagathbandhan in the next assembly polls.

Kushwaha, who had returned to the JD(U) in 2021 merging his Rashtriya Lok Samata Party, in his open letter made a mention of all former workers of the RLSP triggering speculations that it was a call for exit from the party.

Kumar, however, seemed unfazed and said, He has deserted the JD(U) twice in the pastif he wants to part ways again, nobody is going to stop him.
Congress MP Manish Tewari on Monday moved an adjournment notice in the Lok Sabha to discuss Chinese transgressions in Indian territory.

"I hereby give notice of my intention to ask for leave to move a motion for the adjournment of the business of the House for the purpose of discussing a definite matter of urgent importance, namely:- That this House do suspend Zero Hour and other businesses of the day to have a detailed discussion on the border situation with China."

In the notice he stated, "Since April 2020, China has engaged in what can only be described as a steady land grab. Till 16 January 2023, 17 rounds of Commander level talks have taken place between India and China with little success. All the while China continues to build significant infrastructure, including bridges, roads and accommodation for its troops. China is attempting to unilaterally change the status quo.

"The clashes in the Tawang Sector in Arunachal Pradesh were another indication of China's steady aggression aimed at changing the status quo on the border. What is more, such aggression is no longer limited in territorial scope as is evidenced by the clashes took place in Arunachal Pradesh, around 2000 kms away from the place of previous clashes"

He said there is a growing concern that China is unwilling to restore the status quo ante, a situation that puts India at a massive disadvantage.

Despite this, China's large trade surplus with us has continued to surge since the military confrontations began in 2020.

Also Read Manish Tewari gives 6th adjournment notice in LS on Chinese transgression Adjournment motion notice in LS to discuss judiciary-govt confrontation Manish Tewari gives adjournment notice in LS on face-off with judiciary Oppn to protest at Gandhi statue demanding debate on China's transgression Manish Tewari gives 4th adjournment notice in LS on border row with China Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar slams Tharoor over Musharraf remark Old vs New: No early retirement for debate on pension as elections loom Opposition won't let probe into Adani stock market crash come up short State scan: Tulsidas configured in Uttar Pradesh's caste strategy Centre should show same kind of love it has for Adani to common people: KCR

The trade deficit for India stood at USD 101.02 billion, crossing the 2021 figure of USD 69.38 billion.

"I urge the government to take this matter with utmost seriousness and have a detailed discussion in Parliament with regard to the border situation with China."

--IANS

miz/dpb
Opposition MPs on Monday held a protest in front of Gandhi statue in Parliament complex and stalled proceedings in both houses while demanding a Joint Parliamentary Committee probe or a Supreme Court-monitored investigation into the Adani issue.

Both the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha were adjourned till 2 PM after opposition members protested in both houses seeking a discussion on the matter.

Adani group stocks have taken a beating on the bourses after US-based activist short-seller Hindenburg Research made a litany of allegations, including fraudulent transactions and share price manipulation at the Gautam Adani-led group.

The opposition parties have alleged that the meltdown in Adani Group shares is a scam that involves common people's money as public sector LIC and SBI have invested in them.

The Adani group has maintained it complies with all laws and disclosure requirements.

"Only a JPC or SC-monitored investigation under the CJI can bring out the truth about 'forced' investments by LIC and PSU banks in companies alleged of financial fraud, endangering the hard-earned savings of crores of Indians," said Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge.

Also Read Budget 2023-24: Manufacturing sector eyes revised taxations, new PLIs Union Budget 2023: Experts don't expect surprises in social sector outlay Budget 2023: A look back at some major announcements in previous Budget Crypto industry wants 0.1% TDS, Sebi-like regulator in Budget 2023 What does Parliament's winter session mean for you? Manish Tewari moves adjournment notice in LS on Chinese transgressions Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar slams Tharoor over Musharraf remark Old vs New: No early retirement for debate on pension as elections loom Opposition won't let probe into Adani stock market crash come up short State scan: Tulsidas configured in Uttar Pradesh's caste strategy

"Yet again for the third day in a row the Opposition not allowed to even mention in Parliament its legitimate demand for JPC into the PM-linked Adani 'maha mega scam'. Adjourned till 2 pm,", Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said.

"The Modi Government is simply running away," he also alleged.

The protest by various opposition parties in front of Gandhi statue followed a meeting on Monday morning to coordinate their joint strategy in the House on the Adani issue.

Among the parties that participated in the meeting held in the chamber of Kharge were the Congress, DMK, NCP, BRS, JDU, SP, CPM, CPI, JMM, RLD, RSP, AAP, IUML, RJD and Shiv Sena.

Trinamool Congress members skipped the meeting of opposition leaders but joined the protest by opposition leaders in front of Gandhi statue in Parliament complex.

Raising slogans, opposition MPs held a banner that read "we demand JPC or SC monitored probe on Adani scandal". They also held posters and placards demanding JPC and saving public money of LIC, SBI invested in the Adani group.

"We demand a discussion on our notices, we are ready for a detailed discussion. We want the Adani issue to be taken up first," Kharge told reporters, asserting that the opposition is ready to speak on the President's Address.

The first demand of the opposition is that Prime Minister Narendra Modi give a reply on the issue, he said.

Kharge claimed the government does not want the matter to be raised or discussed in Parliament.

"They want to avoid it somehow and do not want to bring it to record," he said.

Congress leader Digvijaya Singh later said it was surprising that the chair was rejecting notices by opposition members under Rule 267 again and again.

An amount of Rs 100 crore belonging to the common people has been lost and is this issue not important enough to be raised in Parliament, he asked.

"Does it not come under Rule 267," he asked, noting that it is surprising that the chairman is rejecting all notices by simply taking the same plea.

"We want to put our point across on the Motion of Thanks to the President's address. But, we want a reply from the prime minister in Parliament on the Adani issue, whereby lakhs of people have lost their crores. There should be a discussion on this issue. We are not going to backtrack till Narendra Modi ji himself does not answer," Singh told reporters.

He said 17 opposition parties on Monday decided that the Adani issue should be discussed in the House.

"All this is being played out to save only one person who is considered close to the prime minister," Singh alleged.

K Keshava Rao (BRS) also asked what is lacking in their notices under Rule 267. He said he has written to the chairman on this.

Congress MP and Whip in Lok Sabha Manickam Tagore has given a notice for adjournment of the House for raising the issue.

"The House should come forward to discuss the matter keeping aside other routine business, and should constitute a Joint Parliamentary Committee to investigate further this matter. The House should also direct the prime minister to disclose the actual loss of public money to the nation through this House," Tagore said in his adjournment notice.

Congress MP and Whip in Rajya Sabha Syed Naseer Hussain has also given a notice under Rule 267 for suspension of business to discuss the Adani issue.

"That this House do suspend Zero Hour and relevant rules relating to Question Hour and other businesses of the day to discuss the issue of fraud in investment by LIC, SBI, public sector banks and other financial institutions losing market value, endangering the hard-earned savings of crores of Indians," he said in the notice.

Congress MPs in Rajya Sabha Pramod Tiwari and Amee Yajnik have also given adjournment notices under Rule 267 to discuss the Adani issue and investments by LIC and SBI into the group.

BRS MPs in both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha have also given adjournment notices on the Adani issue.

While BRS leader in Rajya Sabha K Keshava Rao has moved a notice under Rule 267 in the upper house, party MP Nama Nageswara Rao has moved a notice in the Lok Sabha to discuss the issue.


"Today, HAL's helicopter factory stands as a testimony that has exposed the lies and misinformation spread about HAL", Modi said, without naming the Congress, after inaugurating the Bengaluru-headquartered company's helicopter factory -- the country's largest chopper manufacturing facility -- at Bidarehalla kaval in Gubbi taluk of this district.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday attacked the Congress for "using" the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited as a pretext to level allegations against his government and instigate people.



The then Congress president Rahul Gandhi had during 2017-18 said there was a need to "defend the dignity of India's defenders" as he accused the Narendra Modi government of "snatching" the Rafale offset contract from HAL and "gifting" it to Anil Ambani's company.

The Hindustan Aeronautics Limited was used as a pretext to level allegations against our government. Conspiracies were hatched to instigate people. Today the HAL is advancing our motto of 'Atma Nirbhar Bharat', he said.



Rahul Gandhi and his Congress party at the time were attacking the Modi government over the Rs 58,000 crore Rafale fighter jet deal alleging corruption and favouritism. Modi recalled that he had in 2016 laid the foundation stone of the factory which was inaugurated today, with a resolve that India has to minimise its defence imports and become self-reliant. "HAL is India's strategic asset. The future of India's aerospace industry has been destroyed by snatching #Rafale from HAL & gifting it to Anil Ambani," the Congress leader had said.

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Hailing the contribution of HAL, he said the investment in the Aerospace sector in the last eight to nine years is five times more than the figure witnessed in the 15-year period before 2014. HAL plans to produce more than 1,000 helicopters in the range of 3-15 tonnes, with a total business of over Rs four lakh crore over a period of 20 years, at this facility in Gubbi taluk, officials said. "Now, hundreds of defence equipment are manufactured in India", he pointed out.



The factory will enable India to meet its entire requirement of helicopters without import and giving much needed fillip to the Prime Minister's vision of Aatmanirbhar Bharat' in helicopter design, development, and manufacture, they said. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai and senior officials of Ministry of Defence were among those present on the occasion. Spread across 615 acres of land, the factory, for which the PM laid the foundation stone in 2016, would initially manufacture Light Utility Helicopters (LUH)).



The Prime Minister unveiled the LUH, which has been flight tested.

"It is a dedicated new greenfield helicopter factory which will enhance India's capacity & ecosystem to build helicopters", Rajnath Singh said.



The LUH is an indigenously designed and developed 3-ton class, single engine multipurpose utility helicopter. Initially, the factory will produce around 30 helicopters per year and can be enhanced to 60 and then 90 per year in a phased manner, according to the Defence Ministry.

He also laid the foundation stone for Tumakuru Industrial Township, and 'Jal Javeen Mission' projects in Tiptur and Chikkanayakanahalli taluks of the district in Karnataka, where Assembly polls are due by May.



Potential exports of civil LUH will also be catered to from this factory, which is being equipped with state-of-the-art Industry 4.0 standard tools and techniques for its operations, officials said.

The factory will be augmented to produce other helicopters such as Light Combat Helicopters (LCHs) and Indian Multirole Helicopters (IMRHs). It will also be used for Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul of LCH, LUH, Civil Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH) and IMRH in the future.
Union Minister Rajeev Chandrashekhar on Sunday hit out at Congress leader Shashi Tharoor after he termed Pervez Musharraf as a 'foe-turned-real force for peace' in his condolence message for the former Pakistan military ruler, saying his post "best describes Cong" (Congress).

Chandrashekhar while taking to Twitter, slammed the grand old party for finding peace in a person who "inflicted terror a backstabbing conflict and tortured our soldiers in violation of every International law".

"Nothing like a proper military thrashing for Fatcat Pak Dictator Generals to become a "force for peace" and develop "clear strategic thinking". Not withstandng many lives lost n Intl laws violated n harm caused all around, these Generals will have their admiring fans in India (sic)," the Minister of State for Electronics and Information Technology, Rajeev Chandrasekhar wrote in his tweet.

In another tweet, Chandrasekhar said, "That a former Cong Foreign Min (a party that refused to celebrate Kargil Vijay Diwas till 2010) wud think that a Pak General who inflicted terror, a backstabbing conflict n tortured our Soldiers in violation of every Intl law, wud be a "force for peace" - best describes Cong."

Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Sunday condoled the demise of Musharraf stating that "once an implacable foe of India, he became a real force for peace between 2002-2007."

"'Pervez Musharraf, Former Pakistani President, Dies of Rare Disease': once an implacable foe of India, he became a real force for peace 2002-2007," Tharoor said in a tweet."I met him annually in those days at the @un & found him smart, engaging & clear in his strategic thinking. RIP," the former minister of state for external affairs said.

Also Read Tharoor condoles Musharraf's demise, calls him foe-turned-real force Stage set for Digvijaya Singh vs Shashi Tharoor for top Congress post A timeline of Pervez Musharraf's engagements with India during his reign Former Pakistan prez Pervez Musharraf passes away after prolonged illness Pakistan's Shehbaz Sharif condoles demise of former PM Pervez Musharraf Old vs New: No early retirement for debate on pension as elections loom Opposition won't let probe into Adani stock market crash come up short State scan: Tulsidas configured in Uttar Pradesh's caste strategy Centre should show same kind of love it has for Adani to common people: KCR Congress to hold countrywide protest tomorrow over Adani vs Hindenburg row

Musharraf passed away on Sunday at American Hospital in UAE after a prolonged illness, reported Daily Pakistan.

Musharraf was Pakistan's army chief during the Kargil war between India and Pakistan.

The conflict between the two countries is believed to have been orchestrated by Musharraf without the knowledge of the then Pakistan Prime Minister, Nawaz Sharif.

Musharraf was the tenth president of Pakistan after a successful military coup in 1999.He served as the 10th Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee of Pakistan (CJCSC) from 1998 to 2001 and the 7th top general from 1998 to 2007.
Expanding its wireless earphones portfolio, Jabra on Monday launched in India the Elite 5 earbuds. Priced at Rs 14,999, the wireless earbuds will be available for purchase on the e-commerce platform Amazon from February 10. It comes in titanium black and gold beige colours.In todays work from anywhere in the world, toggling between work and personal tasks, distractions go hand in hand, making it more and more difficult to zone in on whats important. To keep up with it all, Jabra has engineered the Jabra Elite 5, offering the chance to truly focus, connect and call with a clear mind. We are excited to introduce these all-rounder earbuds to our Indian users so they can immerse themselves in music and stay connected, said Ashish Srivastava, Marketing Manager, India & SAARC, Jabra.Powered by the Qualcomm QCC3050 Bluetooth chip, these earbuds boast hybrid active noise cancellation (ANC) technology, which uses feedback microphones on the inside of the ear and feed forward microphones on the outside to deliver a custom noise cancelling experience. Jabra said its hybrid ANC makes the earbuds less sensitive to the positioning in the ear, thus, ensuring reliable noise cancellation across a wider range of frequencies.The earbuds feature 6-microphone call technology with external mics and internal mics that are constantly active. Jabra said the earbuds provide clear audio output for Bluetooth calling and music. These are IP55 rated for dust and water protection.Supported by Qualcomm aptX audio, the earbuds feature 6mm speakers with support for AAC and SBC codecs. The earbuds come with dual pairing support, allowing the users to connect the earphones with two devices simultaneously.For enhanced connectivity, the earbuds support Google Fast Pair and Microsoft Swift Pair technologies. Besides, there is support for Google Assistant and Alexa built-in. The buds have a customisable EQ and offer Spotify tap playback. Jabra says these earbuds can deliver up to 7 hours of playtime with ANC and nearly 28 hours of playtime with charging case. The case supports Qi-certified wireless charging.
Foreign investors' latest targets in China

By LIU ZHIHUA (China Daily) 08:49, February 06, 2023

An employee introduces vehicle power battery and fuel cell from Freudenberg, a Germany-headquartered global tech firm, to a visitor during the fifth China International Import Expo held in Shanghai in November. [PHOTO/CHINA DAILY]

New policies help integrate services, manufacturing to enhance industrial and supply chains

Those hurt by COVID-19 disruptions to economic activities may want to call 2022 annus horribilis, but for German company Freudenberg Group that operates in China, last year was a good period.

With a total investment of 520 million yuan ($77 million), Freudenberg completed construction of its new manufacturing plant in July in Changchun, Jilin province, and kicked off operations in October. The factory makes high-quality seals used in automotive and related industries.

Another factory in Chongqing providing high-end shock absorption and noise reduction products and solutions for passenger cars, including air springs, also became operational last year, and has delivered more than 60 titles of products and solutions to more than 20 clients so far.

Freudenberg Group shows why foreign investors find the attractiveness of China's high-end manufacturing sector irresistible. Benefits to be reaped abound as China strives to transform and upgrade traditional industries while cultivating and spurring the growth of strategic emerging industries.

The Central Economic Work Conference in mid-December said China will accelerate the building of a modern industrial system. Efforts will be made to identify the weak links in key and core technologies as well as components and parts in the country's major manufacturing industrial chains, and pull together resources to tackle various problems so that the industrial system can become independent, controllable, safe and reliable, the meeting said.

It also said the country will make greater efforts to attract and utilize foreign capital.

Experts said China's manufacturing sector is expected to become even more attractive to foreign investors, as stronger government efforts to boost FDI in the sector are anticipated in the coming years.

"The manufacturing sector is a key economic pillar and a driver of economic growth. It's also a key area for global competition. However, in recent years, the overall scale and growth of FDI inflows into China's manufacturing have declined relative to the services sector, leading to a decline in the manufacturing sector's share in overall FDI," said Zhang Fei, associate director of the Institute of Foreign Investment, which is part of the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation.

"That has prompted the authorities concerned to intensify efforts to boost and encourage FDI in manufacturing. They have introduced a series of new policy measures," she said.

An employee introduces products from Novozymes A/S, a Denmark-headquartered biotech giant, to a visitor during the Food Ingredients China 2021 held in Shanghai in June 2021. FDI inflows into China surged more than 55 percent from 2012 to 2021. [PHOTO/CHINA DAILY]

The country's newest catalog of industries for encouraging foreign investment has taken effect on Jan 1. The catalog continues to encourage foreign investment in manufacturing and enhance industrial and supply chains while also promoting the integration of the services and manufacturing sectors.

In October, China unveiled 15 new measures to promote foreign investment in manufacturing. These included promotion of signing and implementation of foreign investment projects and encouragement to foreign investment in areas like high-end equipment and key components.

Several factors are helping China to attract FDI to its manufacturing sector, experts said.

Among them are the country's complete industrial chain, stable supply chain, huge domestic market, improving business environment and, most importantly, a large population of skilled workers, engineers and researchers, Zhang said.

Zhang also said she expects the Chinese government to make more moves to increase FDI inflows and improve FDI structure in manufacturing.

Latest data from the Ministry of Commerce showed FDI in actual use in the Chinese mainland rose by 6.3 percent to 1.23 trillion yuan in 2022.

The manufacturing sector received 323.7 billion yuan in foreign investment that was actually used in 2022, up 46.1 percent.

High-tech industries saw a 28.3 percent rise in FDI. Specifically, foreign investment in electronic and communication equipment manufacturing soared 56.8 percent, while that in the scientific and technological achievement transformation services segment jumped 35 percent.

According to the China FDI Report 2022, which was released by the Institute of International Economy under the University of International Business and Economics in December, China experienced a surge of more than 55 percent of FDI inflows from $111.72 billion in 2012 to $173.48 billion in 2021.

Meanwhile, the FDI structure had also got enhanced. The proportion of FDI in high-tech industries in the overall FDI was 30.2 percent in 2021, while in 2012, the corresponding figure was only 14.1 percent, according to the report.

Workers at Agilent Technologies Shanghai celebrate the launch of the first batch of made-in-China Agilent 1290 Infinity LCs, liquid chromatograph instruments that help analyze components of chemicals, in September. [PHOTO/CHINA DAILY]

The report also stated the FDI surge is a testimony to China's expanding opening-up. China's attractiveness to foreign investors has roots in the country's unwavering opening-up, improving business environment and the extension of the opening-up policy to platforms like free trade zones that have taken a lead in FDI management innovations, it said.

According to Sang Baichuan, dean of the institute, China needs to further expand opening-up as the global economic and trade rules are being reconstructed, so that the country can keep up with high-standard international trade and economic rules and create facilitating institutional environment for attracting FDI. This will stabilize the manufacturing sector's growth as well as China's key role in the global manufacturing system.

"An efficient and facilitating institutional environment is indispensable for us to stabilize the development of the manufacturing sector, the FDI and the real economy, and it is also key to China cultivating new competitiveness," he said.

The growth rates of FDI in high-tech manufacturing and service sectors are higher than the overall FDI growth pace. That reflects the ongoing transformation and upgrade of the Chinese economy, he said.

Victor Chan, global vice-president of Agilent Technologies Inc, which is engaged in life sciences, diagnostics and applied chemicals, said the global company has confidence in China's high-quality development, and will continue investing in China.

Also general manager of the company's China arm, Chan said the ongoing upgrade of the manufacturing sector in China has been creating more business opportunities for companies like Agilent.

"We feel especially encouraged that China will continue to expand high-standard opening-up, including in the fields of high-tech, energy conservation and environmental protection, in which the company has deep roots," he said.

With a total investment of $20 million, the company has recently expanded several production lines for high-end analytical instruments to increase manufacturing capacity in Shanghai, including that for liquid chromatography, spectrography and mass spectroscopy.

Apart from upgrading its logistics network in China, the company has been investing in the recast of its cell analysis instrument manufacturing facility in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, into a combined center for research and development, production and commercial operations.

Lensey Chen, president of the China branch of Novozymes A/S, a Danish provider of biological products, said the Chinese government's recent measures to stabilize and spur FDI in manufacturing have sent a positive signal to foreign investors. The company, she said, is looking forward to the positive impact these moves will have on economic activities.

In the past 20 years, the company has established an integrated supply system in China to meet demand not only from the local market but the global market, and the company is thrilled to further tap the potential that will be unleashed by China's pursuit of high-quality development, she said.

Experts have also stressed negatives like geopolitical tensions will have only a limited impact on the FDI inflows into China's manufacturing sector, especially the high-end manufacturing segment.

"Although some countries seek to exclude China from the industrial and supply chains, China's strong position in the global industrial and supply chain cooperation, which has been formed in the course of globalization, cannot be easily weakened," said Sang, dean of the Institute of International Economy of the UIBE.

Electronics, energy, chemicals, automobiles and other manufacturing fields will be key areas for foreign investors to develop in China, as the country presses ahead with its pursuit of high-quality development, he said.

Zhang from the CAITEC said the inflows and outflows of foreign capital into and out of the manufacturing industry are affected by multiple factors, including the development phase and the layout of the manufacturing industry, cost of production, industry's supporting capacity, and government policies.

"Foreign investors decide to invest in China because that will serve their interests and is win-win," she said.

Zhang said she believes sectors like automobile manufacturing, medical equipment, biomedicine, aerospace, chemicals and energy have great potential to boost FDI in China.

Sang further said China should encourage foreign investors to invest in both the coastal areas and central and western regions, especially in labor-intensive industries, in order to stabilize FDI growth.

(Web editor: Cai Hairuo, Liang Jun)
Daniel Ek is attempting to create waves in the field of healthcare technology after completely changing the music industry.

In a LinkedIn profile, Ek is identified as the co-founder of the company Neko Health, which specializes in offering body scans assisted by artificial intelligence.

The AI Technology Specializes In Non-Invasive Scans

Hjalmar Nilsonne and Ek started the company with the intention of developing a healthcare system that can assist individuals in maintaining their health through early identification and preventative measures.

With the aid of AI, the brand-new healthcare startup Neko Health says it can accurately scan a person's body and deliver results in a matter of minutes, The Verge reports.

Neko Health claimed they had spent four years conducting extensive study and product development with the goal of keeping people healthy through early identification and preventative actions.

A non-invasive 360-degree full-body scanner that can detect and gauge the progression of birthmarks, rashes, and age spots is what the company is reportedly offering, according to its website.

It also makes use of a different scanner to detect any irregularities in the body's pulse, blood pressure, or heart rate, according to Techdator.

The company's scanner is a cylindrical body scanner with more than 70 sensors that can quickly identify birthmarks, pulse, blood pressure, and other things.

A "self-learning AI-powered system" analyzes the data it collects and explains the findings to doctors and patients.

Results are sent to clients at their appointments, and they can even watch and follow them on an accompanying app.

"Early detection and prevention of serious illness would mean that we can avoid both the human suffering and the high social costs that serious illness entails," Nilsonne notes.

Read More: AI as the Future of Healthcare: How Can It Improve Health Outcomes?

Ek's Foray Into Healthcare Has Been Rumored For A Long Time

Since November, there have been rumors regarding the firm, and Ek has long made references to entering the healthcare industry.

In fact, it was reported in 2013 that Ek spends his free time pondering ways to improve the healthcare system, The Verge writes.

Neko Health looks interesting, but it is certainly too early to say what kind of impact it might have on the healthcare sector.

Similar technology has previously emerged, with researchers developing AI technology that can scan your retina and forecast your risk of heart disease.

It is also important to note that the project also has Facebook and New York University collaborating to speed up MRI scans using it.

The potential of this technology is intriguing, and Neko Health uses it on a larger and more accessible scale.

The startup claims that its first health center in Stockholm, Sweden, would offer the Neko Body Scan and a full analysis of one's health to people with skin and heart conditions.

According to Zee Business, HJN Sverige, now known as Neko Health, was formed by Ek and Nilsonne in 2018.

Since then, the company has raised more than $31 million in funding, mostly from Ek and his moonshot investment firm Prima Materia.

Related Article: Drinkable COVID Vaccines Are Being Developed, Scientists Say
Syntagma Capital today announces that it has entered into exclusive negotiations with Nexans SA to acquire its LAN/data center (LAN/DC) and Telecom /Fibre (FTTx) division. The business designs, manufactures, and distributes smart connectivity solutions based on optical fibre and copper technologies to data centers, smart buildings, and telecom operators. The business is headquartered in Paris, France and employs ca. 680 people across its 8 sites located in France, Belgium, Germany, Greece, Morocco and China, and it generated ca. 200m in revenues across 100+ countries.

The proposed transaction, which is subject to the fulfillment of customary closing conditions, including the information and consultation of works councils and other regulatory approvals, is expected to be completed by the end of the first half of 2023.

We are pleased to partner with management to continue to grow the business. Providing the backbone for data management is an exciting prospect. Despite a challenging M&A market, we are continuing to find attractive opportunities to invest our capital while providing sellers with divestiture solutions for complex carve outs where speed and certainty are of the essence. This transaction represents our most recent carve out and reflects Syntagmas strategy to acquire businesses that will benefit from a new owner to drive the next area of growth said Syntagma Managing Partner Sebastien Kiekert Le Moult.

Christopher Guerin, Chief Executive Officer of Nexans declared: We are pleased that our Telecom Systems colleagues will join a strategic new home with Syntagma Capital to further invest and grow the business. This powerful combination will deliver meaningful opportunities to employees and customers. I would like to thank the teams for the excellent work they have done in the past, and I am confident in their future development.

Syntagmas ability to manage complex carve out was critical in differentiating us. The business provides significant opportunities to grow in the coming years said Syntagma Partner Frank Coenen. We expect to leverage the companys extensive technical know-how, global presence and strong customer relationships, to accelerate its growth, both organically and through targeted M&A investments in key product areas and geographies.

Syntagmas team involved in the transaction included Sebastien Kiekert Le Moult (Managing Partner), Frank Coenen (Partner), Benjamin Dahan (Partner), Joao Pilecco (Senior Vice President), and Ludovic Ruffenach (Senior Associate).

Willkie Farr & Gallagher provided legal counsel to Syntagma, PwC provided financial, legal, tax, and social advice, Roland Berger provided commercial and strategy support, and ERM advised on ESG and EHS matters.

About Syntagma Capital

Syntagma invests in companies that can benefit from hands-on operational expertise to accelerate growth and improve performance for all stakeholders. We are true operators with experience working in and managing companies on a global scale, leveraging our in-house resources to develop successful strategies, execute them to realize their full potential and create sustainable long-term value. Syntagma invests and operates companies in a broad range of industries with a specific focus on the material, chemical, industrial and business services markets and including manufacturing, distribution, transportation and logistics, equipment rental, metals services and other industries. Syntagma, as signatory of the UN PRI, is committed to high ESG standards across all its investments and is based in Brussels, Belgium. For more information, please visit: https://syntagmacapital.com

About Nexans

For more than a century, Nexans has played a crucial role in electrifying the planet and is committed to electrifying the future. With almost 25,000 staff in 42 countries, the Group is driving the change towards the new world of electrification: a safer, more sustainable, renewable, carbon-free world, accessible to all. In 2021, Nexans generated 6.1 billion in standard sales. The Group is a leader in the design and manufacture of cable systems and services in five main areas of activity: Energy Production & Transmission, Distribution, Uses, Industry & Solutions and Telecom & Data. Nexans was the first player in its industry to create a Corporate Foundation to support actions that promote access to energy for disadvantaged populations worldwide. The Group is committed to helping achieve carbon neutrality by 2030.

Nexans. Electrify the future.

Nexans is listed on the Euronext Paris stock market, compartment A.

For more information, please visit www.nexans.com

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230205005028/en/
Sprinklr (NYSE: CXM), the unified customer experience management (Unified-CXM) platform for modern enterprises, today announced that Vodafone Idea Limited (Vi)  a leading telecom service provider in India  is using Sprinklr Modern Care, Modern Research and Social Engagement & Sales to transform its digital customer service and engagement strategy and design a seamless process for addressing Google reviews.

Vi runs a network of more than 450 retail stores and 2,000 small stores with over 230 million customers across the country. In line with its customer-first approach, Vi realized that it was important to address customers Google reviews and take prompt action for the respective stores. Before Sprinklr, Vi agents would respond to Google reviews by asking customers to email them for assistance. Through this process, the agent would often lose the context of the original details posted to Google, resulting in a poor customer experience.

Vi is using Sprinklrs Unified-CXM platform to:

Engage with negative Google reviews in a positive way

Capture customer information privately and securely with fewer customers leaving before completing the purchase

Unify Google feedback with Vis existing Sprinklr CXM processes

Create the opportunity to convert bad reviews into positive customer experiences



With Sprinklrs support, Vi has achieved:

500% increase in Google reviews from June to Oct. 2022

40% increase in positive Google reviews for physical stores in 2022

2.4x faster response time to Google reviews in 2022



All the retail, physical, and digital experiences are converging for Vi. We can now utilize Social Listening to encourage better in-store retail experiences. This has created a pipeline for us to hold store executives responsible in a way that was not possible before, said Ashish Sharma, Executive Vice President, Customer Service Head, Vi.

Telecom service providers have an incredible opportunity to reimagine their customer service as growing demand for internet services coincides with demand for digital customer support," said Ragy Thomas, CEO & Founder, Sprinklr. Were honored to help Vi provide the best possible customer experiences across digital channels. With automation and AI built into Sprinklrs unified platform, Vi can efficiently manage large volumes of customer inquiries and reviews while gaining insight to improve its services for years to come.

For more information on this Vi use case, please visit Sprinklr Customer Stories.

About Sprinklr

Sprinklr is a leading enterprise software company for all customer-facing functions. With advanced AI, Sprinklr's unified customer experience management (Unified-CXM) platform helps companies deliver human experiences to every customer, every time, across any modern channel. Headquartered in New York City with employees around the world, Sprinklr works with more than 1,000 of the worlds most valuable enterprises  global brands like Microsoft, P&G, Samsung and more than 50% of the Fortune 100.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230205005003/en/
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Barbara Zitwer poses in her New York home with copies of her new book, "The Korean Book of Happiness." Courtesy of Barbara Zitwer



By Jack Lau



Barbara Zitwer broke into tears. She had never told anyone about the stress when helping her husband go through an organ transplant after being diagnosed with liver cancer that  if left untreated  would have left him with three months to live. But engulfed in icy mid-January air and leafy mountains in South Korea's Jeondeung Temple, tended for over a millennium by Buddhist monks, she finally shared the fears she felt.



"We are happy now," the young monk told her, making her laugh. Why waste the present carrying burdens of the past, she thought, a message she still ponders on today whenever she feels anxious. Zitwer took her first trip to South Korea to discover writers from the country that were unknown to the English-speaking world, in hopes of making their translated works into international bestsellers. But she did not expect what she described as an epiphany about finding happiness while sipping tea with a monk.



"It was a total epiphany, and it was so beautiful and so simple," Zitwer said in an interview.



Since that first trip nine years ago, she has made a name for herself promoting translated works by more than 40 South Korean writers to Europe and North America. But she has yet to definitively explain what drew her to Korea  a stubborn question from friends and colleagues  until she wrote her new book, "The Korean Book of Happiness."





American literary agent Barbara Zitwer drinks tea at a Buddhist temple in South Korea. Courtesy of Barbara Zitwer



"Korean people, the culture, the rite everything about Korea is a mystery," Zitwer said. "And that's part of the allure, and that's part of what's in all these books." Unlike American literature, which she called "dull and formulaic," Korean novels do not have an explicit denouement and focus on presenting readers a puzzle to work through.



Pyun Hye-young's "City of Ash and Red" and "The Hole" deal with characters stripped of their autonomy, plunged into claustrophobic isolation by circumstances outside their control, and gaslit, indeed, by the narrative itself.



"When I read her books, they are an experience I have lived, and then I feel lucky to be alive and live through it," Zitwer said. "The point of her books is not to have a pat ending or a period at the end of the sentence. The life of the book continues, and her work sparks my imagination greatly."



Among Zitwer's authors is also journalist-turned-writer J. M. Lee, whose novels "The Boy Who Escaped Paradise" and "The Investigation" weave together crime and contemporary Korean history to explore power and human nature.



"Barbara's always told me that she's drawn to Korean literature because it delivers the sense of acceptance, and American writers want the sense of clarity, one way or another, in their books," said Sue Park, a Korean American poet and writer who has worked in Zitwer's agency for three years.





Literary agent Barbara Zitwer, left, and South Korean author Shin Kyung-sook. Courtesy of Barbara Zitwer



American writers tend to give clear endings to their stories because they are drawn to social criticism and showing progress and change in the works, Park said. The ambiguity and pushing readers to accept it point toward a higher truth instead of providing a commentary.



Zitwer got involved in promoting translated Korean literature by chance. She was starving for new books to sell when she took her Korean co-agent, Joseph Lee, for dinner in New York. She asked Lee for titles by young literary writers she can represent, and he recommended "I Have the Right to Destroy Myself" by Kim Young-ha, followed by others including award-winning "Our Happy Time" by Gong Ji-young and "The Vegetarian" by Han Kang.



"I read these books, and none of these authors were known anywhere in the world. I thought they were amazing," Zitwer said.



But Zitwer blamed "old, big Korean publishers" for slowing Korean literature from reaching a foreign readership because they do not understand or wish to work with global publishing norms and insist on their ways. For that, authors from South Korea have lost out on opportunities for their works to be published or even adapted for the screen.



Korean publishers' inability to speak English, the lingua franca in the English-language publishing world, meant they could not communicate and network with counterparts in other countries. Park also said Korean publishers do not understand the specific tastes of Western publishing houses and account for those business niches when striking deals.





Barbara Zitwer, left, and South Korean author Jeong You-jeong. Courtesy of Barbara Zitwer



Zitwer said the global success of more recent South Korean media such as Bong Joon-ho's 2019 film "Parasite" and the 2021 Netflix series "Squid Game" only emboldened media houses in the country to stick to businesses practices at odds with international norms.



"Some of these publishers rather lose great publishing and film deals rather than work in conjunction with others outside of Korea," she said. "I hope this sensibility will change with young and new publishers and authors."



She could see what insiders might be blind to as an outsider, Zitwer said, despite spending more than a decade working with Korean authors to promote their works in the West. "You observe things that are new or different, or you observe things that people who are on the inside don't even think twice about at all."



To her, that is not only about the South Korean publishing industry or uncovering hidden and forgotten gems among Korean books, but the broader Korean culture. Her new travel guide-meets-cookbook, "The Korean Book of Happiness," details her travels around South Korea as an outsider, leading the reader from one travel destination to another, accompanied by her reflections on the traditional culture of Korea and herself.



Zitwer said helping Korean literature find a greater audience is also a way of sharing her happiness with the world.

"When I tell people 'all these books, they are so fabulous,' I really mean it," she said of works by Korean authors. "They're so unique and different, and I think that it's just going to continue to grow."

Jack Lau is a reporter with the South China Morning Post. He is currently based in Seoul, writing for both The Korea Times and the South China Morning Post under an exchange program.




North Korea plans to hold a plenary meeting of the ruling Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) in late February to discuss issues related to agricultural development, its state media said Monday.







At a politburo meeting of the WPK's Central Committee held the previous day, the North unanimously decided to convene the seventh enlarged plenary meeting of the party late this month, according to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).







The move is aimed at reviewing last year's achievements in the country's rural revolution and discussing the "immediate farming issue and long-term goals for the agricultural development," the KCNA said in an English-language statement, without elaborating on what the immediate farming issue is.







"It is very important and urgent task to establish the correct strategy for the development of agriculture and take relevant measures for the immediate farming," it added.







If held, the upcoming party session will take place just two months after the secretive North convened the longest-ever, six-day WPK plenary meeting in late December last year. The North has usually held party plenary meetings once or twice per year.







Observers said the North's rare move points to its urgent need to cope with chronic food shortages in a bid to improve people's livelihoods.







North Korea is known for chronic food shortages that have been apparently aggravated in recent years due to typhoons, flooding and the COVID-19 pandemic.







North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has called for the thorough implementation of the five-year economic development plan this year, presenting 12 major goals in the economic sector during the party meeting held in late 2022. (Yonhap)


An illustration shows a rendering of Oxagon, a floating innovation island of NEOM / Courtesy of NEOM



Mega development project offers unlimited opportunities for bilateral partnership



By Kwon Mee-yoo





Nadhmi Al-Nasr, CEO of NEOM / Courtesy of NEOM

Korea and Saudi Arabia have a strong and long-standing relationship, particularly in the energy, infrastructure and construction sectors. This friendship is now poised to enter a new phase with NEOM, a massive smart city development project in northwestern Saudi Arabia, as Korea seeks to play a prominent role in the construction of the megacity.



Nadhmi Al-Nasr, CEO of NEOM, said Saudi Arabia views Korea as an indispensable partner and ally in the international arena and sees great potential for collaboration between the two countries in the NEOM project.



"We feel very fortunate to have collaborated with Korean companies on several leading-edge infrastructure projects over the past 50 years, which have strengthened both our nations," Al-Nasr said during a written interview with The Korea Times.



NEOM, announced by Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud in 2017, is envisioned as a key component of Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030 plan with a goal to diversify the economy and enhance the quality of life in Saudi Arabia.



Al-Nasr, who has a wealth of experience working with some of Saudi Arabia's most renowned companies and initiatives, including Saudi Aramco and King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, now heads the unprecedented megacity project.



"A new development built from the ground up at the global crossroads, NEOM incorporates the world's most advanced technologies to redefine how we live, work and play," he explained.









Korea already has a presence in NEOM by participating in the development of necessary infrastructure. However, Al-Nasr believes that there is greater potential for collaboration, beyond infrastructure.



"In June 2022, we awarded one of the world's largest drill and blast tunneling contracts, partially delivered by Korea's own Samsung C&T Corp. and Hyundai Engineering and Construction. As a result of this project, high-speed passenger and freight rail services will have separate tunnels, so that people and goods will move more easily, safely and quickly," he said.



"We are excited about the partnerships we are seeing between our two nations in the areas of finance, construction, infrastructure development, information technology and clean energy at NEOM; in particular, our current collaboration on THE LINE is supporting infrastructure and future opportunities such as a new green hydrogen plant in NEOM, a specialized NEOM-based digital currency system and other opportunities at regions such as Oxagon."





Korea's Land, Infrastructure and Transport Minister Won Hee-ryong makes a presentation at a roadshow to help Korean companies win construction projects in Saudi Arabia in November 2022. Korea Times file
News at 4Cs

4Cs Dental Clinic Offering Free Exams and Cleanings for Children During February Break

This February vacation, the Wilkens Family Dental Hygiene Clinic at Cape Cod Community College will provide free examinations and cleanings for children ages 3 through 17.

Dental care in the clinic is provided by the renowned 4Cs Dental Hygiene students, under the supervision of licensed dental hygienists and dentists. Children who are scheduled for exams during February vacation week will be provided with an exam, cleaning, fluoride treatment, and toothbrush instruction, all at no cost to the family. A parent or legal guardian must be present.

Appointments must be scheduled in advance and are available on:

Tuesday, February 21 at 9:00 a.m., 11:00 a.m., 1:30 p.m., and 3:30 p.m.

Wednesday, February 22 at 8:30 a.m. and 2:00 p.m.

Thursday, February 23 at 9:00 a.m., 11:00 a.m., 1:30 p.m., and 3:30 p.m.

There are also a limited number of appointments in the Dental Clinic available throughout the rest of February.

To make an appointment, call the Wilkens Family Dental Hygiene Clinic at 774-330-4371.
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Kim Geun-sik / Korea Times file



By Jun Ji-hye



Whether chemical castration should be ordered as punishment on more child sex offenders is emerging as a key issue in legal circles, after the prosecution recently requested a court to order such a penalty for serial rapist Kim Geun-sik.



These discussions reflect long-standing concerns that punishment ordered on child sex offenders in the past did not match their brutal crimes and that existing systems to monitor released offenders have insufficiently reduced repeat offenses.



Chemical castration involves administering medication  either via injection or tablets  to repress sexual interest.



The related law came into effect in 2011 in Korea amid public outcry over a series of child rapists reoffending following their release.



Kim had served 15 years in prison for raping 11 minors in Seoul and its surrounding areas from May to September of 2006.



The 55-year-old was supposed to be released from prison in October last year. Just before his release, Kim was arrested again. Investigators found that he was the assailant in an unsolved case in which a 13-year-old girl was molested in September of 2006.



During a second trial last Friday, the prosecution requested a district court in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, to order chemical castration as punishment on Kim, referring to the results of his psychiatric evaluation.



Several experts also raised the need for the enforcement of chemical castration on Kim, including Pyo Chang-won, a renowned criminal profiler and former lawmaker of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK).



"Kim will definitely commit the crime again as his previous crimes were intentional and habitual," Pyo said.



Oh Eun-young, a renowned child psychiatrist and television personality, also said during her radio appearance, "Simply detaining pedophiles cannot change anything about their sexual desire. The best way would be offering both drug and psychotherapy treatments for a long period of time."



Kim's next trial is scheduled on March 3.



Similarly, calls for the enforcement of chemical castration on child sex offenders grew in December of 2020 when Cho Doo-soon, one of Korea's most notorious child rapists, was released from prison.



But it could not be enforced on Cho as he received his final ruling in the Supreme Court in 2009, before the law came into effect and did not consent. In this case, chemical castration can be enforced only when law enforcement officers get one's consent.



This reignited debates about the need for amending the law so that chemical castration can be retroactively applied for sex offenders with final rulings before 2011.



A related bill is already pending at the National Assembly. Rep. Ki Dong-min of the DPK submitted the bill in November last year, aiming at amending the law so that chemical castration can be enforced upon sex offenders who had already been released from prison.


Well, it took Geely Philippines long enough. About two years after we said they needed a sub-compact crossover to penetrate the local market...
This photo, provided by the veterans ministry, shows Veterans Minister Park Min-shik, right, handing postal stamps commemorating Ernest Bethell, who reported on Japan's misdeeds against Korea during its 1910-45 colonial rule, to his grandson as they meet at a restaurant in London, Feb. 3. Yonhap



Korea will seek to build a statue of a British journalist in his birthplace to commemorate his activism against Japanese imperialists in the early 20th century, the veterans ministry said Monday.



Veterans Minister Park Min-shik unveiled the plan in Britain on Friday (local time) as he met with Thomas Owen Bethell, a grandson of Ernest Bethell (1872-1909), who helped reveal to the world Imperial Japan's misdeeds against Korea by publishing newspaper stories.



The ministry plans to establish the statue, the first of its kind in Britain, in Bristol, where Bethell was born. The ministry will soon consult with the municipality of Bristol to proceed with the plan, according to the ministry.



"This year is meaningful as it marks the 140th anniversary of the establishment of relations between Korea and Britain, and the 70th anniversary of the armistice of the Korean War," Park was quoted as saying. "As Korea and Britain's relations go beyond its blood-forged ties through the Korean War and into the independence movement, there is no reason not to pursue the building of the statue."



Bethell arrived in Korea in 1904 as a correspondent for the Britain-based Daily Chronicle to report on the Russo-Japanese War. Later that year, he founded an English and Korean-language newspaper, The Korea Daily News, which was critical of Imperial Japan and its rule of Korea from 1910-45.



He died on May 1, 1909, amid poor health at the age of 36 while fighting a legal battle over his expulsion from Korea sought by Japan. His body is buried in Yanghwajin Foreign Missionary Cemetery in western Seoul. (Yonhap)


In a fresh wave of hate attacks similar to those in Pakistan, as many as 14 Hindu temples were vendalised in Bangladesh over the weekend. Unidentified miscreants entered Hindu temples and vendalised idols of gods and goddesses.

According to police, the miscreants carried out a coordinated attack to disturb the peace and harmony of the Muslim-majority country.

Assuring stringent action against people behind the unholy attacks, Cops have started a hunt to nab the accused persons.

Thakurgaons Deputy Commissioner Md Mahbubur Rahman has termed the temple vandalism a henious act, saying that those who vendalised idols of Hindu deities want to create communal unrest in the country, The Independent reported.

Also Read: Rajasthan: Government flats available for rent for Rs 300/month

The targeted attack has sparked outrage in the Hindu community of the country, that shares borders with India.

Notably, Bangladesh has a population of 165 million, of which only 9 percent are Hindus.

Bangladesh is not the only Muslim-majority country where such unholy vandalism has happened. Over the years, several Hindu temples were reported to be vendalised in Pakistan also.

Last month, a dozen of miscreants barged into a Hindu temple in Pakistans Dargai and destroyed idols of Hindu deities. The video of the attack also went viral on social media platforms.

Last year, idols at a Hindu temple in Karachi city were destroyed in a case vandalism against places of worship of the minority Hindu community.

There were several reports of atrocities against the Hindu community in Pakistan. Several incidents were reported in which Hindu women were forced to marry and convert to Islam in the neighboring country.

Reports suggest that the population of Hindus in both Bangladesh and Pakistan has been decreasing over the years.
Holcim Russia's assets rebranded as CEMENTUM

06 February 2023

The rebranding of the Holcim-Russia assets are now complete. The transition to the Russian brand CEMENTUM is the start of a completely independent stage in the development of the company.

CEMENTUM will continue to develop and produce high-quality products and solutions for the construction industry and infrastructure, as well as participate in the implementation of the most important national projects of the Russian Federation.

The company's brand has changed, but everything else has remained the same: a strong professional team with international expertise, an efficient production base that meets the best global standards, leadership in the circular economy, reliable partners and suppliers, and, of course, the highest quality products. We will continue to develop production capacities and bring innovative products and services to the Russian market that will help solve the ambitious tasks facing the domestic construction industry, said Maxim Goncharov, CEO of CEMENTUM.

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Chattanooga Police have arrested 31-year-old Jamal Adams in connection with the shooting death of Matthew Overby at 4310 6th Ave.

Adams was charged with first-degree murder and unlawful possession of a firearm.

The victim, who is a father of six children, was shot and killed last Wednesday afternoon.

The victim's sister said on a GoFundMe page, "My brother was murdered in a drive by shooting. He was 34 years old and left six children behind. We are all lost and heartbroken.

At approximately 1:10 p.m., Chattanooga Police officers responded to 4310 6th Ave. on a person shot.



Once police arrived on the scene, the victim was found deceased.



Police were advised the suspect was a black male in dark clothing who fled the scene prior to police arrival.

My mother is caring for his children. Anything you can give to help with funeral expenses will help as he didnt have life insurance. Thanks for all the continued prayers! Pray they catch the man that took our Matt from us."




The number of international flights has returned to 60 percent of pre-pandemic levels in January, helped by increased travel to Japan and Asian countries, the transport ministry said Monday.







In January, international flights that went through Incheon International Airport reached 27,206, recovering from the 45,046 flights marked in January 2019, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said in a statement.







The number of passengers on international routes stood at 4.61 million in January, 58 percent of 8.02 million in January 2019, the statement said.







Eased COVID-19 restrictions helped unleash pent-up travel demand on international routes to Japan, Vietnam, Thailand and other Southeast Asian countries.







In October, Korea removed a COVID-19 polymerase chain reaction test requirement for inbound travelers on the first day of their arrival.







Japan lifted the ban on the number of inbound passengers and resumed visa-free travel for visitors from specific countries, including Korea, on Oct. 11. (Yonhap)


A man told police Walmart gift cards were used without his permission. He purchased the cards (two for $40 and one for $20) and they were used at Walmart at 501 Signal Mountain Road by a red-haired lady that he didnt recognize. The man still had possession of the physical cards, however, the card information had been transferred to a cellphone the suspect used to make the purchases. Walmart loss prevention also said one of the cards was used in a Walmart in Nashville by the mans ex-wife. The man said he would ask his ex-wife if she knew the red-haired woman and call back for a follow-up. He said he wanted to prosecute as well.

* * *

A man at Starbucks at 827 Broad St. told police he put his company laptop, a gray 15-inch Dell, in a black Under Armour laptop bag in the corner of the coffee shop while he went to the bathroom. When he got back, he found that his bag with the laptop was gone. The man said there was two homeless men in the coffee shop at the time and he believes they took it. The man said the Starbucks cameras were not working at this time. He didn't know the serial number to the laptop but there is a company sticker on it. Police checked the area for the homeless men, but since there was a 25-minute delay, were unable to locate them. The price of the laptop is approximately $600.

* * *

A legally parked vehicle on Broad Street and W. 13th Street was damaged accidentally by a construction vehicle moving large pieces of metal. The worker stacked the metal slabs on top of each other and, once released from the machinery, a metal slab slid off and struck the parked vehicle. There were no injuries and both parties were handling insurance claims on their own.

* * *

An officer responded to a broken-down car at E. 29th Street and Westside Drive. The driver said she ran out of gas and her friend who was with her went to get gas. Her friend returned and they got the vehicle out of the road.

* * *

A man on S. Cheltenham Road told police someone got into his unlocked truck and took his Ruger pistol. The pistol was entered into NCIC.

* * *

An officer saw a Kia Optima in the right turn lane of Reserve Way with no driver in the car. The vehicle was blocking the full lane of travel. The front right tire was flat but no other damage was observed. The officer left and came back to the car approximately 30 minutes later and the vehicle had not moved. As the officer was behind the vehicle, the owner arrived with their personal tow and moved the car.

* * *

A woman on S. Beech Street told police her two vehicles, a Chevrolet Equinox and a Jeep Patriot, were vandalized sometime overnight. The woman believes a man she has let stay with her for a month is the suspect, however, no evidence existed to prove such. Police saw the driver's side of the windshield of the Jeep Patriot was damaged and the windows/side mirrors of the Equinox were damaged.

* * *

A woman on Middle Valley Road told police she was moving items from one storage unit to another on the property. She left a bunch of stuff sitting outside the unit. A man, who told her his name was Steve, was loading her stuff into his truck. She confronted him and he said he worked for the storage unit clearing out units and thought this unit was the one he was told to load. He helped her unload her belongings and told her to look inside his truck and make sure she got everything. The woman said she thought she looked well enough and got all her stuff but did not think about the safe. The woman said she can no longer find her safe between moving stuff between units and Steve's misunderstanding and loading of her belongings.

* * *

Police received a call regarding a possible intoxicated person at Market and E. 4th Street. Police arrived and found a man lying down in the pedestrian island. Police determined he was intoxicated, but did not seem to be harming anyone nor acting disorderly. Police helped him to the sidewalk where his wife arrived and was aware he had been drinking. He agreed to cooperate and go back to his hotel for the night. Police gave the man a ride back to his hotel without incident.
Police responded to an unknown trouble at the Chestnutt Creek Apartments. An elderly resident had been found after falling down their stairs and lying on the ground for approximately two days. The individual was transported to the hospital and Adult Protective Services was notified.

A verbal disorder was reported between two parents picking up their children at Ooltewah Middle School.

A Collegedale fugitive was transported from the Bradley County Jail to the Hamilton County Jail on a bond revocation warrant for stalking.

An alarm was accidentally activated at the Collegedale Spanish American SDA Church by a cleaning crew.

A two vehicle crash was reported in the 5900 block of Main Street. There were no injuries.

Collegedale investigators and Cleveland police arrested a Collegedale fugitive wanted for second-degree murder at a Cleveland address.

Collegedale police assisted the Tennessee Highway Patrol with a traffic stop on the interstate with a semi truck allegedly involved in a kidnapping.

Collegedale police assisted Chattanooga police with a crash involving injuries in the 9100 block of Lee Highway.

Police observed a vehicle at the closed Collegedale Exxon with its hazard lights flashing. Officers checked the vehicle to see if it may have been stolen but it did not appear to be so. No further police action was taken.

Officers were called to the Walmart for a possibly intoxicated person. Contact was made with the individual, who was taken into custody and charged with possession of methamphetamines and public intoxication.

Police responded to the Hawthorne at the Summit apartment complex after receiving reports of muffled screaming coming from an apartment. Contact was attempted but no one came to the door.

A vandalism report was filed at a home in the 9400 block of Pasture Drive, in the Robinson Farm neighborhood, after a vehicle with a loud muffler and racing stripes on the hood drove through a homeowners yard, tearing up the grass, hitting three trees and the mailbox. The vehicle fled the scene prior to the officers arrival.

Employees at Jacks Family Restaurant accidentally set off the hold up and fire alarm. Everything checked out ok.

A driver was arrested for DUI, refusal of implied consent, vandalism, and leaving the scene of an accident after crashing through the front gate of the Hamilton County Ball Fields, located in the 5200 block of Little Debbie Parkway.

An individual reported that their vehicle had been rear ended while inside a car wash in the 9000 block of Jac Cate Road.

A two vehicle crash was reported in the 9100 block of Apison Pike. There were no injuries.

A traffic stop in the 10100 block of Lee Highway resulted in the drivers arrest for felony warrants out of Bradley County.

Officers were approached at the police department by a mother and child who had walked over from the Imagination Station playground. The child had fallen and cut their chin. Police helped clean the childs wounds after which the mother and child went for ice cream.

Police stood by with an elderly couple while they were purchasing a puppy from another individual at the Collegedale Walmart. The couple was concerned about being scammed. No police action was taken.

A two car fender bender was reported in the 8600 block of Lu Lane, inside the Grindstone Estates neighborhood.

An officer responded to the 9600 block of Pine Street after a resident called about two vehicles stuck in their yard. It was a UPS van and a supervisor trying to get the van out.

Police were called to the Walmart for a deceptive practice after an individual had agreed to pay for anothers items, but had tried to cancel the transaction once it had been completed because it had been over $800 worth of merchandise.

A traffic stop in the 5500 block of Little Debbie Parkway led to a short foot pursuit. Once the runner was caught they were charged with evading police, possession of marijuana, and felony theft warrants out of Catoosa County, Georgia.

An officer was asked to check the well-being of a resident in the Spring Green apartment complex who had left their keys in their front door. The resident was ok and advised that the keys had been left by accident.

An alarm was activated at the Collegedale Credit Union. It was a false alarm. Everything checked out ok.

Police responded to the Walmart parking lot after an individual reported that someone they did not know had come up and asked them about their family.

An officer checked the businesses in the Ooltewah Crossing Plaza after receiving a back door alarm. All doors were locked. Everything checked out ok.

A traffic stop in the 9200 block of Lee Highway led to the driver being charged with driving on a revoked license.

A traffic stop in the 5900 block of Edgmon Road led to the driver being charged with possession of marijuana.

A shoplifting report involving Legos was taken at the Walmart. The suspect was identified and charges are pending.




Tennessee Governor Bill Lee released several excerpts ahead of his fifth State of the State address that will be delivered tonight (Monday) at 6 p.m. CT in the House Chamber of the Tennessee State Capitol.

Tennesseans are invited to view Leading the Nation, a video "that highlights how the state is leading as a guiding light for opportunity, security and freedom."

Leading the Nation

Tennesseans have accomplished remarkable things in our 226-year history. Once again, we are called to be a guiding light and carry the spirit that took our state from frontier to frontrunner. So, as I look ahead to the next four years, with four challenging, yet fruitful years in the rearview, I can see that weve arrived at a pivotal moment.

Expanding Opportunities for all Tennesseans

Our investments in public education, workforce development and safe schools  and our commitment to freedom and families  have all earned national recognition. Our commitment to a high quality of life does not stop at the borders of big cities  in fact, it begins in the most rural areas of our state. Thanks to that commitment, the number of distressed counties in Tennessee has dropped from 15 to 10and we are not done.

Modernizing Rural and Urban Transportation

Its time to invest in a transportation strategy for one of the fastest growing states in the country. We cannot solve this problem with debt or higher taxes, but we have to do something. Right now, theres a $26 billion dollar backlog of projects across the state. Simply put, we are way behind, and we have to change the way we fund and build our roads and bridges.

Supporting Strong Families

Pro-life is much more than defending the lives of the unborn. This is not a matter of politics  this is about human dignity. We can have a healthy debate about the policy specifics, but we can also agree that America is rooted in a commitment to human dignity.

Creating a Brighter Future

From Mountain City to Memphis, our state is blessed with natural beauty and rich resourcesThrough the years, Tennessee has maintained responsible stewardship of our natural resources, but its time to develop a conservation strategy that balances our states economic growth with a plan to protect our environment.

Here is how to watch the address live:

https://www.tn.gov/governor/sots/2022-state-of-the-state-address.html
Cleveland State Community College received a $50,000 gift from the estate of Dr. Mary T. Barker, professor and administrator at Cleveland State for over 20 years and namesake of the Mary T. Barker Humanities building on campus. This gift will be used by the Cleveland State Foundation to provide support for the college and scholarships to students.Dr. Ty Stone, CSCC president, said, Dr. Barker devoted her life to inspiring others through education, and I am grateful for her years of service at Cleveland State.Her generous estate gift leaves a legacy that will provide resources and opportunities for future students, our next generation of leaders.Dr. Barker began her career at Cleveland State as a professor of English in 1968. She served as head of the Humanities Division, associate dean of Arts and Sciences, director of Institutional Planning and Research and dean of Academic Affairs. After retiring in 1992, Dr. Barker served as vice president of Academic Affairs at Chattanooga State Technical Community College. In 1998, she returned to the classroom as adjunct faculty at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga until 2005.Originally from Ohio, Dr. Barker and her husband, Jack, were married for 65 years. The couple moved to Chattanooga in 1956. Dr. Barker earned her bachelor degree from the University of Chattanooga and a masters degree from Vanderbilt University while teaching at Chattanooga High School.Dr. Barker passed away in 2018 after serving over 33 years in public education in Tennessee. In 2011, the House Joint Resolution No. 12 by the Tennessee House of Representatives stated, Dr. Barker has demonstrated the utmost professionalism, ability and integrity, winning the unbridled respect and admiration of her colleagues and students alike.Dr. John Squires, interim vice president, Work Force Development and executive director of Cleveland State Foundation and Institutional Research, said, Dr. Barker served Cleveland State for over 20 years; through her generous estate gift, she will continue to serve our students in perpetuity. Marys love of education and helping students and faculty was evident in everything she did while at Cleveland State.
Tyre Nichols' life was tragically and unnecessarily cut short due to another instance of police brutality and officer misconduct. Acts of state-sanctioned violence toward citizens in any of its forms should be prohibited and outlawed without haste. Our prayers and sincere condolences go out to the family and a grieving Memphis community.

We must not lose focus on the systemic changes we all should collectively demand in order to address these societal detriments. The body count of those brutalized by police cannot continue to grow longer with new names and shattered families. We join the voices of state and national organizations in calling for the immediate end of qualified immunity; we also cannot turn a blind eye to police violence in Chattanooga. Rather than waiting on federal legislation solely, local communities must lead the charge in demanding:

Ending the use of unmarked cars and plainclothes officers

Ending the use of pretextual traffic stops

Removing police from traffic enforcement entirely

Passing the Data Transparency Ordinance

Dissolving and ending the use of all "LEO" task forces

These community demands were born in Memphis after MPD Officers murdered Tyre Nichols. We must vigorously oppose instances of police brutality and the excessive use of force in Tennessee and throughout the greater Chattanooga community. These demands must be implemented here both in Chattanooga and Hamilton County. Please let the City Council and Mayor Kelly, along with the government of Hamilton County and the Sheriff's Office, know they should pass these policies.

Let us press forward with a righteous indignation, firmly planted in the moral urgency of now, in eradicating and eroding these grave threats to democracy and basic humanity.

Eric Atkins

The Unity Group

Chattanooga NAACP

ICANTBREATHECHA

* * *

I must say I actually agree with some of the bullet points in the above opinion. It may be in the best interest of all involved not to utilize task forces (Bullet point #5) and/or police officers in some of these communities.

I think in order to help protect concerned citizens that have an issue with law enforcement presence, we just need to have communities vote on whether they would prefer police presence or not. If they vote no to police presence, they replace the patrol officers with cameras. Once the cameras catch a criminal act and an ID can be confirmed, a warrant is then placed for that offender.

Of course, with no law enforcement presence in the community or on traffic stops (Bullet point 3), the offenders would pretty much be on the honor system to turn themselves in once their conscious got the better of them, whether it be rape, murder, assault, theft, etc.

The vulnerable in these communities across the nation would ultimately suffer, where senseless murders and shootings are as common as potholes on our city streets, but at least they would would not have to deal with law enforcement anymore.

The ones that signed the above opinion piece could declare victory, and we could still avoid talking about the "Elephant in the Room", and that is the over 10,000 black Americans that are murdered every year.



Chris Morgan

* * *

Chris, of course you're bending on the sarcastic side with talk of restricting or not having police patrol black communities at all. Then you give some weak statistics you lifted from a shadowy site that warp and mislead FBI statistics on crime based on race. But, even if those statistics are anywhere near the truth, which they're not, what if there's a direct correlation between those numbers you use and the way police aggressively patrol in black, brown, poor communities? It doesn't take much to create the perfect storm that would ensure that bad things will happen.

Chris, I've lived in a racially mixed/economically mixed, non-bias/bias mixed community for decades, give or take a few years I didn't live in the area. I was actually born in the community of St Elmo more than 60 years ago. My maternal side family history dates back to well before the community was even established. And I can tell there's vast differences in the way police have often come into the community, often at the behest of the more bias leaning dwellers, and how some police treat/mistreat people according to their race. It didn't matter if the police patrolling the area is white, black, green with red and blue polka dots. Most all carried the same "well, you don't look like you belong," attitude.

Yes, there's been blacks in the community dating back over a hundred years or so. My great aunts and great uncles were playmates with children of some of the most notable/wealthy white citizens in or around the community. Of course, they were listed as Mulatto on the census at much of the time. Other times, the census form was left blank where race was meant to be recorded because the census takers couldn't figure out what they were. But their rules for certain blacks and limits on the numbers allowed. My maternal great aunts and uncles didn't have to worry about being vetted because they were closer to being white than black. There was also a vetting system in place to determine who was and who wasn't allowed and how many. Anything above that limit and a campaign began to run the rest off. This is where the police would be called in to harass any numbers over that limit out. This is why my son, USAF at the time, and other young black males in the area found themselves being harassed by cops, white/black, patrolling the area. The area had become too "diverse" for the liking of a few diehards who had the ears of some of the police patrolled the area at the time and also some city leaders.

For anyone who say they want to assure what happened in Memphis to Tyre Nichols will never happen here, they're ill informed, because it's already happened here. It happened to my son, USAF, in the mid 2000s. It just didn't rise to the level of abuse Mr. Nichols experienced, and there was no Skycop in place to catch anything. I'll always believe the only thing that saved my son on that night, he was walking right outside our home was he had his military ID, credit cards and other ID on him. However that didn't stop the cop. It should have ended there, but it didn't. The cop could have apologize, thought up some lie, which they're good at coming up with on the spot, explained himself and thanked by son for serving the country. Instead, realizing he'd made a major goof, the cop became even more aggressive and hostile towards my son. My son's crime? WWB, not driving, after dark in the community he was born, but walking while black after dark in what the cop perceived was a white community, no blacks should be.

My son and his wife, US Army, were home on a short weekend leave. As her unit at the military base she was stationed (they weren't stationed at the same base) was about to be deployed to Iraq in a couple of months and the base was going into lockdown. You surely know about those base lockdowns. No one's allowed to leave once they go in effect. Both being full time active duty at the time, she wanted to see family one last time before heading to Iraq. Their thanks for serving their country was met with a hostility at the hands of cop who thought my son "didn't belong" in the community. These were actual words some cops were telling young black males whose families had lived in the area much longer than some of the residence who were constantly calling police on them. "You don't look like you belong here."

Police can serve the citizens without all the brute force and hostility involved, and targeting certain areas and people, Chris. When the heavy aggressive style policing and police presence went away out this way, Chris, so did much of the racial hostility and resentment subside somewhat they caused by pitting neighbor against neighbor. Though a level of mistrust will likely always remain, neighbor to neighbor and with police. You don't treat people that way and then expect the mistrust and suspicion to just up and magically disappear.

Brenda Washington

* * *

The latest report I could find was from the FBI's 2019 Crime in the United States report with 2019 Arrests by Race and Ethnicity.



Since Mr. Morgan exaggerated the murder statistic just a bit, here are the actual numbers for 2019 "Murder & non-negligent manslaughter" category by race and ethnicity. This category is, by far, the most skewed as measured against percentage of population, but not the only category. There are lots of categories in this report.



3,352 45.7% White

3,764 51.3% Black or African American

109 1.5% American Indian or Alaska Native

82 1.1% Asian

28 0.4% Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander



If anyone decides to review the FBI's 2019 Crime in the United States with Arrests by Race and Ethnicity statistics, there are 3 tables....



43A is arrests all ages,

43B arrests of under 18,

43C arrests of over 18.



Look it up and draw your own conclusions. It's straight from the FBI....no warpiness and no shadows.



I copied the bullet points from that document....see below



Arrests, by Race and Ethnicity, 2019



* In 2019, 69.4 percent of all individuals arrested were White, 26.6 percent were Black or African American, and 4.0 percent were of other races.

* Of arrestees for whom ethnicity was reported, 19.1 percent were Hispanic or Latino.

* Of all juveniles (persons under the age of 18) arrested in 2019, 62.5 percent were White, 33.9 percent were Black or African American, and 3.6 percent were of other races.

* Of juvenile arrestees for whom ethnicity was reported, 23.6 percent were Hispanic or Latino.

* Of all adults arrested in 2019, 69.9 percent were White, 26.1 percent were Black or African American, and 4.0 percent were of other races.

* Of adult arrestees for whom ethnicity was reported, 18.8 percent were Hispanic or Latino.

* White individuals were arrested more often for violent crimes than individuals of any other race and accounted for 59.1 percent of those arrests.

* Of adults arrested for murder, 51.3 percent were Black or African American, 45.7 percent were White, and 3.0 percent were of other races.

* White juveniles comprised 50.3 percent of all juveniles arrested for violent crimes, and Black or African American juveniles accounted for 46.4 percent of juveniles arrested for violent crimes. White juveniles comprised 54.9 percent of all juveniles arrested for

property crimes. Of juveniles arrested for drug abuse violations, 74.8 percent were

White.

* White juveniles comprised 56.4 percent of juveniles arrested for aggravated assault and 55.4 percent of juveniles arrested for larceny-theft.



Phil Snider




Radio has been good to me for most of my life. I knew as a small child broadcasting was what I wanted to do. It started as a seven- or eight-year-old while visiting the WDOD studio with my mother in the Hamilton National Bank Building in downtown Chattanooga.

In the 1950s she would play the piano for the Nazarene hour on Sunday and I would wander off into the WDOD control room and watch Bo Bo Anthony, the engineer. I remember Mr. Anthony telling me something like, Young man, look all you want, but if you touch anything Ill send you back down to the studio with your mom.

During my 55-year career the highlight would have to be the Army assignment in 197273 at the American Forces Network, Europe. My original order overseas was Vietnam but President Nixon diverted many men and women to other bases; my new orders were to Germany.

Thanks to a caring sergeant who noted my previous radio experience, I was sent to Frankfurt, West Germany. Five minutes after walking into the large studios on BertramstraBe in the big European city, I was told Id be hosting the networks early morning country music show, Town and Country. To my knowledge no one at AFN had heard me on the air.

That was a Tuesday morning and the show started the next Monday because the host was rotating back to the states. The sergeant told me, When you get a chance, make a tape for your personnel file.

It only could have happened because of a praying mother and grandmother.

1973 provided many memories at AFN and that was all 50 years ago. Not only was I hosting a daily network program, there were many broadcast opportunities including two specials: Hank Williams and Jim Reeves, the Golden Record Gallery, Countryside, the Nice Sound, and a dozen or so interviews with country music artists visiting Europe. They included Tommy Cash, Hank Thompson, Red Sovine, Dottie West and Donna Fargo. There were also daily local programs in Frankfurt.

AFN was our militarys connection to home and I still have many of the letters received from those in the field and our European listeners.

While stationed at AFN, I made friends with a German couple who were devoted listeners, Hoagie and Trudy Lauer. The Lauers took us to the little city of Freudenberg, Germany believed to be the home place of my family.

After the Army, my German friends visited several times with trips to the Grand Ole Opry. The Lauers' favorites included Roy Acuff, Charlie Louvin, Bill Anderson, Loretta Lynn, Connie Smith and George Morgan. Chattanoogan.com publisher John Wilson wrote a story in 1974 on the Lauers visit to the Scenic City.

I still have contact occasionally with some of those also stationed at AFN, but its very rewarding when a veteran says how much they enjoyed listening to our AFN broadcasts.

That recently happened while working a visitation at Chattanooga Funeral Home, North Chapel. I noticed this gentleman eyeing my name tag and in a few minutes he came up and told me, I listened to you on AFN every day. He was stationed near the German  Russian border and related just how much our music and chatter brought home a little closer. I dont know how many times this has happened in the last 50 years.

When Congressional Medal of Honor recipient Charles Coolidge found out I was stationed at AFN he related to me listening to the station when then Generals Eisenhower and Patten were involved in founding the station in 1943. Mr. Coolidge said, I always wanted to be near a radio when Glenn Miller came on the air; my men looked forward to the broadcasts when there was an opportunity to listen; I couldnt forget Command Performance.

The American Forces Network has changed. The 150,000 watt AM station near Frankfurt (the network's most powerful station) signed off the air May 31, 2013. The department of defense decided one way to save money was by turning off some of the AM radio stations. The stations signal skipped across the English Channel. I even got a letter from a young lady who milked her cows while listening to my early morning program.

Eighty years later, the American Forces Network, Europe now concentrates on FM stations and Internet radio.

AFNer Trent Christman wrote an in-depth book on military broadcasting entitled Brass Button Broadcasters. I was fortunate to spend some time with Mr. Christman and his friend, television producer Jon Ross. Some of the best broadcasters in the business worked for the American Forces Radio and Television service. I learned so much from these professionals.

Im so glad my radio resume includes the American Forces Network, Europe. It was truly an honor to serve our country in my chosen profession; many, many broadcasters never had this experience.

Here is a short video produced by my friend Ben Cagle about AFN in 1972-1973. AFNer Park Seward made many of the pictures. Click here to watch.
John Sanders Sandy Soltau, 63, died surrounded by his family on February 1, 2023.

Sandy was born on Oct. 6, 1959 to Addison and Roselynne Soltau in Tokyo, Japan. Sandy and his family returned to the United States in 1970. After graduating high school in Grand Rapids, he moved to Chattanooga.



Sandy was quick witted, had an artistic eye, a green thumb, an all encompassing hug and a jolly and easy laugh. Sandy was a friend to many but an anchor for Gina, his children and his grandchildren. He was affable and kind with a wealth of vocabulary and knowledge. He was a hard worker, a doer and a fixer. Through his sickness, Sandy remained strong in his faith and conviction and always stayed the course. He will be so dearly missed and always remembered best for his expressions of love and thoughtfulness.



Sandy is survived by his loving wife, Gina Soltau; their four children, Lauren (Mark) Melville, Noah (Sabrina) Soltau, Andrew Filter and Tucker Filter; his father, Addison Soltau; four grandchildren, Madison, Liam, Eloisa, and Ruby; siblings, Sue (Bob) Wright and Scott (Eve) Soltau; and a host of beloved nieces, nephews, family members, and treasured friends.



The family will hold a memorial celebration of life in the spring when the rhododendrons are blooming, Sandy's favorite time of year.

In advance of this event, family and friends are encouraged to forward their fondest memories of Sandy to tributesforsandy@gmail.com (mailto:tributesforsandy@gmail.com). Please include your name in your message.
1923 Episode 5 briefly introduced Lucca, the tugboat captain. In his haste to get home, Spencer Dutton seeks the fastest transportation he can find through the Suez Canal. He offers to work on Luccas tugboat and pay him a hefty sum to transport himself and Alexandra somewhere they can get passage to America. Heres who plays the tugboat captain in episode 5.

[Warning: 1923 Episode 5 spoilers ahead.]

Peter Stormare as Lucca in 1923 | Emerson Miller/Paramount+

Alex and Spencer look for passage through the Suez Canal in 1923 Episode 5

After receiving news of his brothers death, Spencer Dutton is determined to get home as fast as possible. While trying to book a passage to the States, Spencer learns that there are no liners traveling from Mombasa (a city in Kenya on the east side of Africa) to America.

He will have to get on a liner for London, then arrange transport to America. The journey will take a month, and their vessel wont leave for another three weeks.

"The adventure is just beginning." Have you watched today's all-new episode of #1923TV yet? Stream it now on @ParamountPlus. #ParamountPlus pic.twitter.com/swq7Kt2Qfc  1923 Official (@1923official) February 5, 2023

Unable to wait that long, Spencer searches for another means of transportation. He finds a tugboat captain named Lucca who is traveling through the Suez Canal and needs deckhands. Spencer volunteers to work on the boat in exchange for passage to the canal.

Who plays Lucca, the tugboat captain in 1923?

Peter Stormare portrays the tugboat captain named Lucca in 1923 Episode 5. The 69-year-old actor looks a lot different, portraying the old and sickly captain. Stormare is a Swedish actor who has appeared in acting roles in both Sweden and the United States.

Stormare has portrayed many different nationalities over the years, IMDb writes. They include an American in The Lost World: Jurassic Park, a German in The Big Lebowski, an Italian in The Brothers Grimm and Prison Break, and a Russian in Armageddon and several other films.

The actor is also well-known for tackling the villain role in his many films. While appearing on an episode of The Late Late Show with James Corden, Stormare joked that it wasnt hard for him to become the king of European accents, laughing that the movie executives dont know Serbia from Senegal.

What was Lucca sick with? Episode 5 showed him coughing up blood

Luck is not on Spencer and Alexs side during their voyage in 1923 Episode 5. The tugboat captain is seen coughing up blood throughout the episode. Spencer finds him dead during his watch, and the boat is approaching an enormous ghost ship.

Spencer is unable to turn the tugboat around in time. The ghost ship crashes into the tugboat and capsizes it. 1923 Episode 5 doesnt mention what the tugboat captain was sick with, but it could be a variety of things.

More than likely, Lucca was suffering from pneumonia or tuberculosis, both of which can result in bloody mucus. In 1923, these illnesses would have been even more dangerous without antibiotics like penicillin. The episode left Spencer and Alexs fate unknown.

New episodes of 1923 air Sundays on Paramount+.
Stars Hollow was just as important to Gilmore Girls as the shows main characters. The town became a character in its own right, and fans of the famed series have spent years trying to figure out exactly where the fictional town would be in Connecticut if it had been a real place. While weve come up with a pretty good idea of where Stars Hollow might have been located, the liner notes from a soundtrack actually lists the towns zip code. The zip code belongs to a real Connecticut town.

Stars Hollows zipcode belongs to a real Connecticut town

Several months ago, we dug in and tried to figure out exactly where Stars Hollow, Connecticut, was located based on several clues from the show. After exhaustive research, we concluded that Stars Hollow would be in the general vicinity of Meriden, Connecticut.

Lauren Graham as Lorelai Gilmore and Alexis Bledel as Rory Gilmore | Saeed Adyani/Netflix

It seems our research was pretty solid. As it turns out, Stars Hollows zip code was shared in the liner notes for the shows soundtrack. According to Annotated Gilmore Girls, Stars Hollows zip code was visible in a postcard that Lane Kim sent to Rory Gilmore when she spent the summer in South Korea. According to the postcard, Stars Hollows zip code is 06492. It isnt a fake zip, either. It belongs to the town of Wallingford, Connecticut.

Wallingford, Connecticut, with a population of over 40,000 residents, is in New Haven County, just like Meriden. In fact, the two towns are practically neighbors. They are just 6.5 miles apart. Wallingford is a bit closer to Yale than Jess Mariano once suggested Stars Hollow was, but the zip codes dont lie.

What was Lorelai and Rory Gilmores address?

The zip code of Stars Hollow isnt the only thing Lane Kims special postcard revealed. The rebellious teen also revealed exactly where Rory and Lorelai lived. Lorelai and Rorys address is incredibly easy to make out in the soundtracks liner notes, although it was never uttered on the show. The mother-daughter duo resided at 37 Maple Street. Funnily enough, the show mentioned several street names during its original run, but Maple Street was never spoken about. That doesnt mean we didnt learn any of the towns street names.

Gilmore Girls | Saeed Adyani/Netflix

Over the years, we learned that Stars Hollow was home to a Peach Street. Dean Forrester, Rory Gilmores first love, lived on Peach Street. The hamlet also had Elm Street, where both Lane Kim and Sookie St. James lived, and Cherry Street was located within the towns limits. Cherry Street was home to several businesses. 2nd Street was also an important part of the towns history.
Jet Li may have become one of the most famous actors in the world. But the martial arts master has certainly seen his share of ups and downs, both in the industry and outside of it. In fact, one harrowing story helped him realize exactly how little all his fame would help him. Heres what happened and how it had a profound effect on the course of Lis life going forward.

Jet Lis iconic movies include Fearless, Hero, and The One

Jet Li attends the premiere of Disneys Mulan I Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic

Right from his 1982 film debut in Shaolin Temple, Li left a major impression on audiences. Before long, the actor made his directorial debut in 1986s Born to Defence. In the 1990s, he established himself as a regular star of period epics such as the Once Upon a Time in China series, Fist of Legend, Zhang Yimous Academy Award-nominated Hero, and 2006s Fearless.

And with 1998s Lethal Weapon 4, Li headed for Hollywood. The action superstar played the villain in that film opposite Mel Gibson and Danny Glover. In the years that followed, he starred in movies such as 2000s Romeo Must Die, 2001s The One, 2003s Kiss of the Dragon, all three films to date in The Expendables franchise, and most recently, Disneys live-action Mulan.

A tsunami inspired the actor to start The One Foundation

In a gripping account Li wrote for Newsweek, he details how a 2004 vacation in the Maldives with his family led them to find themselves underwater. And it all led to an epiphany that culminated with the creation of Lis own charity devoted to disaster relief.

I thought that if God had saved me, it must mean something. That day in the Maldives was a real turning point for me. I had spent the first 41 years of my life thinking about Jet Li first, wanting to prove I was special, wanting to prove I was a star. Everything Id done was self-centered. In that lobby, however, I saw people of different colors, speaking different languages, helping each other. It was very much like in the movies, with people putting women, children and the elderly first, and I thought that if everybody helps, if everybody does a little bit, it will make a big difference. I also realized that all the money and power in the world would not have saved me from the water. That night I decided that I couldnt wait until I was retired; I had to do something right away. A few days later I announced my plans to start the One Foundation.

In 2007, Li finally set up the One Foundation. Rather than being a reactionary charity that collects money after a disaster strikes, Lis aimed to have money already waiting to disperse. As he says, his formula is very simple: one person + one yuan per month = one big family.

Why isnt Jet Li in movies anymore?

Many of Lis fans have noted his absence from movies over the past few years. Aside from 2020s Mulan, the actors most recent movie was 2016s League of Gods. He isnt set to return for The Expendables 4, which hits theaters in 2023 with Sylvester Stallone and Jason Statham.

Perhaps Li just chooses instead to spend his time serving something bigger than himself. By now, the actor is essentially retired from acting. As he said, that experience in the Maldives was a transformational one that clearly changed his perspective on life.
This file photo provided by the Muan County Office shows Muan International Airport. Yonhap



A total of 23 Thai tourists have gone out of contact after arriving at Muan International Airport in southwestern Korea over the past week, the justice ministry said Monday.



The ministry said 10 Thais disappeared soon after landing at the Muan airport in Muan, 385 kilometers south of Seoul, on a chartered flight from the Southeast Asian country Monday morning. It said all efforts are under way to find the missing Thais.



Earlier, 13 out of 174 Thai tourists who arrived at Muan International Airport last week have not shown up for their return flight and remained out of contact, according to the ministry.





Check-in counters bustle with tourists at Muan International Airport in this July 14, 2022 file photo. Newsis
The Loneliness of the Crown Captured in Portrait of Queen Elizabeth For Succession Anniversary

Queen Elizabeth II succeeded her father, King George VI, at age 25, becoming sovereign of the United Kingdom in 1952. Although her lavish coronation wouldnt occur until 14 months later, in June 1953, February 6 was the day that set forth the longest reign of any monarch in British history. Elizabeth reigned sovereign for 70 years. However, in a 2012 portrait attached to a tweet from Westminster Abbey, to celebrate the milestone, the loneliness of the crown is apparent as Elizabeth stands in the vast church.

Queen Elizabeth photographed in 2019 | Tolga Akmen/Getty Images

Queen Elizabeths father, George VI, entrusted Elizabeth with royal duties early on

George VIs coronation was held on May 12, 1937. Elizabeth was just 11 years old at the time. But George immediately recognized what his new role meant for his young daughter; she would one day succeed him as queen.

As George settled into his new role as king, he began assigning royal responsibilities to his eldest daughter. When she was 14, Elizabeth gave a radio broadcast to British children evacuated from their homes due to World War II.

After she turned 18, Elizabeth was named a counselor of state,  allowing her to represent the U.K. when her father was abroad and unable to do so. While on a commonwealth tour of Kenya at the age of 25, Elizabeth learned of her fathers passing and became sovereign effectively.

Elizabeth believed in her role as queen, said Kenneth MacKenzie, domestic chaplain to the Queen when she was at Balmoral to the BBC. I knew she felt a calling in some way from her people, but more than that, she saw her calling as from almighty God, he says.

However, the job also came with a host of personal sacrifices, which appeared to be captured in a royal portrait of Elizabeth at Westminister Abbey in honor of her diamond jubilee.

The loneliness of the crown is captured in a portrait shared by Westminster Abbey on her succession anniversary

Queen Elizabeth II succeeded to the throne #onthisday in 1952, upon the death of her father, King George VI.



She was crowned in the Abbey the following year, and went on to become the longest-reigning monarch in British history. pic.twitter.com/JbwScU4N8h  Westminster Abbey (@wabbey) February 6, 2023

Westminister Abbey shared a 2012 portrait of Queen Elizabeth to honor the 71st anniversary of her ascension to the throne. The queen stands in the foreground of the quire, where the choir stands during services.

Ralph Heimans painted the portrait in 2012 to mark Elizabeths Diamond Jubilee. It is titled The Coronation Theatre: Portrait of H.M. Queen Elizabeth II. The queen is seen in Westminster Abbey. She stands at the center of the Cosmati pavement where she had been crowned 60 years previously.

In the portrait, Queen Elizabeth wears a state dress beneath the crimson Robe of State. She upheld a tradition of wearing her coronation dress each year to the opening of the Houses of Parliament. Elizabeth also wore the same diamond necklace and earrings she sported at her 1953 coronation, reported Artlyst.

Artist Ralph Heimans captured the loneliness of the crown. The artist made the following statement regarding the moving painting.

Through the narrative of the portrait, I wanted to produce a work of particular significance for the Diamond Jubilee. By representing the queen as she reflects on this incredible milestone in her life, I wanted to explore the dynamic between her public role and the personal, emotional dimension.

The time lapse between Queen Elizabeths ascension and coronation was one year

Queen Elizabeth II poses at her 1952 coronation | Bettman/Getty Images

Queen Elizabeths coronation was delayed over one year due to the unexpected nature of the Kings death. The royal family has a detailed process of declaring the death of the old sovereign and confirming the new ruler.

The Accession Council is comprised of a cross-section of influential politicians and other high-ranking officials. These include the prime minister, the Archbishop of Canterbury, and the royal family. The group convenes at St. Jamess Palace in London within a day of the monarchs passing.

The formal ceremony takes several months to one year after a period of mourning. Also, due to the enormous amount of preparation required to organize the ceremony, states the royal familys official website.
The Last of Us Showrunner Took Inspiration From Vince Gilligan in More Ways Than One

HBOs The Last of Us is taking the streaming world by storm. The series is based on a video game of the same name. It takes place in a post-apocalyptic world when an unlikely pair embark on a journey that could save humanity. The series has already received high praise, and Vince Gilligan inspired its showrunner in more ways than one.

Nick Offerman as Bill in The Last of Us | Liane Hentscher/HBO

The Last of Us features intriguing opening scenes

The first two episodes of The Last of Us feature opening scenes that are quite removed from Joel and Ellie, the shows main characters. The series premiere opens with two epidemiologists appearing on a talk show (a la Dick Cavett) in 1968. One of the scientists gives a chilling warning  that fungi rather than viruses or bacteria could destroy mankind.

The episode 2 opening explores the origin of the cordyceps infection. It takes place in Jakarta, Indonesia, where Ibu Ratna, a Professor of Mycology at the University of Indonesia, examines one of the first people infected. Professor Ratna immediately realizes the severity of the situation and recommends the only thing that might stop the outbreak from spreading  Bomb.

There is no medicine. There is no vaccine. #TheLastOfUs pic.twitter.com/jJmxMEpFik  The Last of Us (@TheLastofUsHBO) January 25, 2023

The Last of Us showrunner Craig Mazin was inspired by Vince Gilligans disorienting cold opens

While appearing on an episode of HBOs official The Last of Us podcast, showrunner Craig Mazin stated that the start of every episode is a new opportunity to reorient people or to disorient people.

Im particularly fond of disorientation. Ive been watching Vince Gilligan do this forever, where you have this 5-6 minutes at the beginning of every episode of television where the audience is as open and receptive as they will ever be. They are willing to be confused, mystified, puzzled as long as you get them ultimately on solid ground.

Vince Gilligan is a writer, producer, and director. He is most known for his work as creator, head writer, executive producer, and director of AMCs Breaking Bad and its prequel series Better Call Saul. Both shows use the concept of disorienting the viewer in the episodes cold opening.

One of the most famous opening scenes from Breaking Bad involves a charred pink teddy bear floating in Walter Whites pool. The episode later reveals the significance of the bear. The stuffed animal was debris from the Wayfarer 515 plane crash, which Walt indirectly caused.

Vince Gilligan uses comedic actors for serious roles

The Last of Us Episode 3 told the story of Bill and Frank, two men who manage to find love in a post-apocalyptic world. Nick Offerman portrays Bill as a survivalist determined to protect Frank. Offerman is known for his comedic roles, and Mazin took another page out of Villigans book when casting him.

Vince Gilligan said once that he loves highering comic actors for non-comic roles because they have an innate humanity that is there underneath the drama, and they understand the absurdity of the world because that is the bedrock of comedy. I think Nick is a great example of what Vince is talking about, Mazin explained on the podcast.

Bryan Cranston is a prime example of Gilligan employing this tactic. The actor portrayed Hal for years on Malcolm in the Middle before being cast as Walter White in Breaking Bad. Cranstons role as Walt helped make Breaking Bad one of the most revered shows in history.

New episodes of The Last of Us drop every Sunday at 9 p.m. ET on HBO and HBO Max.
A international team of researchers from LMU and University of Tubingen is unveiling the secrets of ancient Egyptian embalming. Vessels from a workshop in Saqqara are providing new insights into the substances that were used to preserve human bodies.

Exactly 100 years ago, the tomb of Tutankhamun was discovered, complete with his world-famous mummy. Since then, researchers have learned a lot about how the ancient Egyptians prepared bodies for mummification. Until now, however, too little was known about how they ultimately made the bodies of the deceased immortal by embalming them. A German-Egyptian team of researchers has now been able to gain completely new insights into the chemistry of embalming. Their findings were published in Nature.

In collaboration with the National Research Center in Cairo, a team of researchers from LMU Munich and the University of Tubingen has analyzed chemical residues in vessels from an embalming workshop in Saqqara  not far from the pyramid of Unas  that was not discovered until 2016. We were able to do all the scientific analyses ourselves in Egypt, says LMU archeologist Philipp Stockhammer. And Maxime Rageot from the University of Tubingen adds: For that we must thank Ramadan Hussein, who discovered and led the excavation for the DFG Saqqara Saite Tombs Projects, and who sadly died unexpectedly in the spring.

In the newly discovered workshop, experts mummified the dead in the seventh and sixth century BC. For the Egyptologists, being able to recover numerous vessels used so long ago by skilled craftsmen was a tremendous stroke of luck. Better still, the vessels were labeled with their previous contents, and some even had instructions for use. We have known the names of many of these embalming ingredients since ancient Egyptian writings were deciphered, says Susanne Beck from the University of Tubingen, who is leading the excavation. But until now, we could only guess at what substances were behind each name.

Embalming  Specific substances for certain parts of the body

Analyzing the chemical residue in the vessels has now allowed the molecular remains of those substances that were once used in a given vessel to be isolated and identified. As the mystery unraveled, there were a number of surprises. Maxime Rageot, archeologist at the University of Tubingen and head of the analysis project, reveals one of them: The substance labeled by the ancient Egyptians as antiu has long been translated as myrrh or frankincense. But we have now been able to show that it is actually a mixture of widely differing ingredients that we were able to pick apart with the aid of gas chromatography/mass spectrometry. The antiu used in Saqqara was a blend of cedar oil, juniper/cypress oil and animal fats.

These insights facilitate a re-reading of familiar texts about ancient Egyptian embalming. Comparing the identified substances with the labels on the vessels has now, for the first time, enabled the team of researchers to determine exactly what substances were used to embalm certain parts of the body. Pistachio resin and castor oil, for example, were used only for the head. What really surprised us was that the bulk of the substances used for embalming were not from Egypt itself. Some of them were imported from the Mediterranean region and even from tropical Africa and Southeast Asia, says LMU archeologist Philipp Stockhammer, who funded the research with his ERC Starting Grant.

Besides pistachio resin, cedar oil and bitumen  all probably from the Levant  the researchers also found residues of dammar gum and elemi resin. These two substances in particular show how globalized trade relationships had already become nearly 3,000 years ago. While the resin of the elemi tree came to Egypt from tropical Africa or Southeast Asia, the dammar tree to this day still grows solely in tropical Southeast Asia. Tremendous effort thus evidently went into sourcing very specific chemical substances for the embalming process. Ultimately, Egyptian mummification probably played an important role in the early emergence of global networks, Rageot says. Large quantities of these exotic resins were needed. Stockhammer agrees: Thanks to all the inscriptions on the vessels, we will in future be able to further decipher the vocabulary of ancient Egyptian chemistry that we did not sufficiently understand to date.
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Black History Month celebrates the achievements made by Black Americans against a backdrop of oppression and struggle. But its also a good time to examine and learn from the resilient and deeply rooted faith of Black Christians. Many people are familiar with the exuberant worship and preaching of the Black church. Less discussed is the Black churchs unique embrace of the spiritual disciplines of contemplative prayer, spiritual direction, and soul care.

Author and spiritual director Barbara L. Peacocks 2020 book, Soul Care in African American Practice, shines a light on the holistic expression of these formational practices in the lives of Black Christians. Drawing from the examples of key figures from Black history and contemporary life, she shows how these spiritual disciplines are woven into African American culture and lived out through its faith community.

Join Barbara Peacock and CTs new chief impact officer, Nicole Massie Martin, on Feb. 23 at 2 PM EST, for a Black History Month conversation co-sponsored by CT and Seminary Now. In this free virtual event, Peacock will discuss the importance of spiritual disciplines for all Christians and reflect on the lives of the spiritual leaders highlighted in her book, including Frederick Douglass, Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King Jr., and Howard Thurman.

For centuries, African American leaders have been tenacious in pursuing a relationship with Yahweh, writes Peacock. This fight has led to the spiritual maturity of many in spite of persecution, obstacles, oppression, racism, degradation, segregation, and disappointment.

Barbara Peacocks stories of discipleship in action provide models of spiritual maturity for the whole church. Register here to attend the live webinar or to receive a link to the recording.

Other Links of Interest

How African American Churches Are Responding to the Mental Health Crisis. Featuring comments from Barbara Peacock and insights from her book.

Black History Month: 20 Stories Christians Should Know. From CTs editors.

Looking Back to Move Forward. Our 2022 Black History Month webinar.
This coming week promises to be one of the most historicand controversialin the life of the Church of England, as its governing body, General Synod, heads toward a resolution of a long debate over blessings of same-sex couples.

After years of wrangling over how the church should deal with homosexuality, its bishops announced in mid-January that they would not agree to same-sex marriage but were prepared to bless civil unions. They followed with an apology for the way that LGBTQI+ people were treated by the Church of England.

Beginning Monday, the three voting houses of bishops, clergy, and laity will discuss and vote on the proposals in an all-church body known as Synod.

The deepest split on the issue has been between evangelicals vehemently against moving away from what they call the biblical concept of marriage as being between a man and a woman and those campaigning for full equality, who are frustrated by the bishops willingness to recognize their mistreatment of LGBT members while being unwilling to offer them marriage.

Also frustrated are members of the House of Commons advocating for the established church to endorse marriage for same-sex couples, which has been legal in England and Scotland since 2014. (Northern Ireland followed in 2020.) Last week 14 MPs met with Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby to express dismay at what they see as the churchs lack of equality.

The debate has grown so tense as Mondays meetings begin that facilitators have been hired to help navigate the discussions.

The current proposal for blessing new civil unions and praying for those already in them comes after a six-year discussion project within the church, called Living in Love and Faith. The Archbishop of York, Stephen Cottrellthe English churchs second-highest ranking prelatesaid that the bishops had opted for a pastoral rather than a legislative way forward: changing the churchs canon law on marriage would take years, he pointed out.

I hope that these prayers of love and faith can provide a way for us all to celebrate and affirm same-sex relationships, he said.

Welby, the primate of the Church of England and the ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican Communion, acknowledged that the proposals were a compromise. I am under no illusions that what we are proposing today will appear to go too far for some and not nearly far enough for others, he said in a January 18 statement.

The bishops also urged congregations to welcome same-sex couples unreservedly in their churches, advising that inclusion is founded in Scripture, in reason, in tradition, in theology and the Christian faith as the Church of England has received it.

Though the bishops middle course of blessing unions avoids the legislative wrangling of changing church doctrine, they are keen to win Synod support for the proposals, which can be bestowed with a simple vote. Heading into the week, the count looks tight. According to the Rev. Neil Patterson, chair of the General Synod gender and sexuality group, reformers will begin the week with 167 yes votes out of a total of 467, based on subscribers to the groups pro-reform email list.

The challenge will be convincing enough pro-LGBTQ members that the proposal goes far enough.

We would have liked rather more than the limited way that the prayers have been framed, said Patterson. But this is a step forward worth supporting. My philosophy is that we have to have a gradualist approach if we are to eventually accept same-sex marriage. If we have celebratory services at this stage we can get there.

Evangelicals, for this reason, refuse to go even as far as blessings. The Church of England Evangelical Council has warned that the proposals will lead to what it calls broken fellowship and a greater tearing of the fabric of the worldwide Anglican Communion while also compromising with prevailing culture.

Earlier this week the CEECs director of strategy and operations, Canon John Dunnett, called the proposals a lose-lose situation, explaining, The liberals dont get what they want, and we have been dragged into a place that we cant accept.

General Synod member Jayne Ozanne, a long-standing campaigner for marriage for all, said she could not accept the bishops plans as a halfway house and will offer an amendment calling for debate of same-sex unions in the near future, but others who support equality are willing to accept the blessings for now. Dr. Charlie Bell, a psychiatrist, Anglican priest and author of the recently published book Queer Holiness, urged members of Synod to accept the bishops proposals.

For me this is a clear stepping stone to equal marriage. Is it enough? Absolutely not, Bell told Religion News Service.

Beyond the Church of Englands decision looms a broader fight with other churches in the Anglican Communion. Bell wants the church hierarchy, especially Welby, to be more courageous in taking on conservative Anglicans who are not only opposed to same-sex marriage but condemn people for being gay.

The 14 MPs who met with Welby for private talks indicated that the issue raised the question of whether a church that rejected the legal status of married people in England could continue to be the established faith. Welby recently said he would rather accept disestablishment than to split the church itself.

Ian Paul, a theologian and vicar who is opposed to marriage reform, said, The idea that the government should tell a Christian church what its doctrine should be is unprecedented.

The Church of England is the established church but it has been self-governing since 1919. An intervention like this would be implausible, provoking a constitutional crisis, he said.
Korean miners work at a mine located in Ruhrgebiet, Germany in 1972. Korea Times file





By Lee Yeon-woo







From 1963 to 1977, a total of 7,938 Korean men jumped on airplanes to Germany hoping to support their families in Korea with foreign currency. Many of them had no prior experience working in mines.







It is a well-known fact that their remittance contributed to Korea's economic growth. During that time, miners and nurses in Germany remitted around $112 million to Korea, according to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.







However, Lee You-jae, a professor at the University of Tubingen and the son of a miner who settled down in Germany, said there was more to their contribution than that.







Lee You-jae / Screenshot from University of Tubingen's website





"The important part is their struggles to make a living helped prepare infrastructure for Korean corporates, government institutions, and students seeking opportunities in Germany after the 1980s," Lee said.







He traced the lives of the former miners who settled in Germany after their contracts ended and published his findings in a book titled "Gluck Auf!" (Good luck!). The book was translated into Korean and published here earlier this year.







"One of the former miners who worked at one of the warehouses of LG, when LG was expanding its business to Germany, offered his house as lodging for expatriates from Korea. He even took care of their leisure and travel," the professor told The Korea Times. He even moved into a bigger house to accommodate more people.







"Another miner who ran a hotel at the time offered its rooms to expatriates from Daewoo Motors and Samsung, when both companies also sought business in Germany. Another miner who ran a travel agency felt a responsibility to Korean students who came to Germany, so he searched for a grant which (Germany) offers to students from the Third World," he said.







Miners also formed Korean communities and have built 38 Korean schools across Germany since the 1970s, according to Na Bok-chan, a former miner who went to Germany in 1977. He is also the branch manager of Kyoposhinmun, a weekly newspaper for Koreans living in Germany.







"We, former miners, have huge pride in having contributed to Korea's modernization. That's what made us endure the hard times," Na said.







Korean men wave farewell as they board an airplane that is set to transport them to Germany in 1963. Korea Times file





Indeed, life in Germany was not favorable to them in the early days.







Most miners who decided to remain in Germany suffered financially. As their contracts approached expiry, they realized they lacked the money to start afresh in Korea. Their income had been sent to their families in Korea, but most of it had already been spent.







"I thought I should earn more  The savings weren't enough to make a living in Korea. I need a taxi at least to make money (in Korea). So I thought to myself. 'I should stay longer,'" Lee Moon-sam, who went to Germany in 1965 and currently lives in Bonn, said.







As their contracts were about to expire, the miners started to organize, asking for more opportunities.







At the end of 1979, three years after Korea halted dispatching men to Germany, around 800 miners requested visas, the right to choose jobs and permission to move to other regions. The government refused at first but later accepted the requests about six months after the Gwangju Uprising in 1980.







"The government considered, 'if Korea is that much in difficulties politically and financially, it's not right to return them  who have suffered three years for Germany's economic development,'" Na said.







The professor also commented that the German government worried "whether forcing miners' return to the 'politically unstable' country could become a political issue."







Despite efforts, their status after they stopped working at the mines can be summed up as "unstable employment," "unemployment" and "early retirement," according to Lee You-jae. Most miners did not receive vocational education, so many of them first headed to the factory for simple labor. Some of them ran small businesses such as supermarkets, inns or travel agencies and managed to bounce back.







The professor said that even though there have been a number of testimonies and research about nurses sent to Germany, the miners' lives have been kept out of the spotlight.







"What I wanted to highlight in this book is they successfully struggled to make a living, and climbed the ladder in Germany  They settled there in those difficult conditions and formed Korean society," Lee You-jae said.


3 killed in attack on Ethiopian church amid tension over breakaway Orthodox synod

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An archbishop has urged members to wear black during the three-day Fast of Nineveh beginning Monday to protest against a "government-supported coup attempt" to overthrow the Holy Synod.

Two Orthodox Christian youths and a woman were reportedly killed by regional special forces in an attack on St. Michael Church in the Shashamene area of the country's largest geographic region of Oromia, the church-affiliated Tewahedo Media Center said, according to Agence France-Presse.

The town lies about 150 miles south of the nation's capital Addis Ababa.

Local church sources told the Ethiopian news outlet Borkena that Oromia regional special forces opened fire on a crowd protecting the church from being taken over by what they say is an illegally appointed bishop.

In a statement shared by the news outlet, the Holy Synod called the action of the regional forces "public murder."

"The Holy Synod has strongly condemned the illegal arrest and harassment of Archbishops Diocese Managers, Department Heads, Priests, ministers and believers of the church," the statement reads.

"The church absolutely condemns the illegal human rights violation and the brutal death of the believers who came out to protect the church ... of Saint Michael in Shashemene city, West Arsi diocese; The Holy Synod decided that justice should be done in all localities by making appropriate synodal and religious prayers."

Last month, rebel bishops formed their own synod in Oromia, which was declared illegal by the church. The bishops involved have also been excommunicated. The breakaway bishops claim that the church had been discriminating against them to maintain their linguistic and cultural hegemony, a claim that was rejected by the patriarchate.

About 40% of Ethiopia's 115 million people are members of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church.

The church, headed by Patriarch Abune Mathias, has also accused the government of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed of interfering in its affairs and effectively recognizing the "illegitimate group."

The synod said in a statement that the breakaway bishops and their new synod, which now calls itself the "Holy Synod of Oromia and Nations and Nationalities," are causing significant harm by forcibly invading and taking over pontificates and offices belonging to the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church with the help of government forces.

The synod also criticized the government for failing to uphold the law and the rights of the church by supporting illegal groups instead of enforcing the law, according to The Addis Standard.

The World Council of Churches expressed "deep concern" in a Friday statement about the developments in the Ethiopian institution and called on political leaders in Ethiopia to support the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church in its efforts to achieve unity and peace among its members.

"The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church is one of the ancient churches whose origins go back to the times of the apostles, a church which has always affirmed and worked for unity and peace even with the price of blood," WCC General Secretary Rev. Jerry Pillay said in the statement. "The World Council of Churches regrets the breaking away of a fraction from the body of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church to establish a new synod."

Relations with the government have been tense for Orthodox leaders who have complained about religious persecution.

Ethiopia is also dealing with the Tigray conflict. Fighting began after the Tigray People's Liberation Front attacked an Army base as part of an uprising in the region, which sparked military responses from Ethiopian forces joined by defense forces from neighboring Eritrea in November 2020.

Organizations, including Amnesty International, CNN and Sky News, have previously published investigations into massacres against civilian populations in the Tigray region.

In June 2021, 56 women from Africa or of African descent wrote an open letter and launched a petition to be delivered to the United Nations Security Council, the African Union and the European Council, calling for urgent action against "cruelty beyond comprehension" in Tigray.

UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Mark Lowcock estimated in 2021 that 30% of all incidents against civilians involved sexual violence used "as a weapon of war, as a means to humiliate, terrorize and traumatize an entire population today and into the next generation."

"Reports continue to emerge from Tigray of wives being raped in front of their husbands; mothers raped in front of their children and vice versa; family members forced to choose between raping female relatives or death, and of women themselves being forced to choose between rape or death," the letter stated.

"Several victims report their assailants boasted of 'cleansing' their bloodline, while others arrive at medical facilities having suffered additional traumatic injuries to their reproductive organs inflicted by attackers to prevent them from bearing children."

The perpetrators, the authors of the letter said, were identified as members of the "Ethiopian National Defense Forces, Eritrean Defense forces, Amhara Special Forces and other irregular armed groups or aligned militia," and nearly a quarter of the cases involved gang rape over an extended period of time.
Baptist church mourns loss of seminary student, youth director killed in accident

A 30-year-old student at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Missouri was killed in a car accident last week. She was a beloved student at the seminary and had served as a youth director at a church in Kansas City, which announced plans for a memorial service on Wednesday.

Caylee Dugger, a student of Master of Theological Studies in Missions and a youth director at First Baptist Church North Kansas City, died in the crash Thursday on Oklahoma Highway 2, Baptist Press reported.

She was traveling to Texas to visit her nephew when the accident occurred, and, as Fox 4 reported, it was a three-vehicle wreck and is being investigated.

The entire seminary community mourns the passing of Caylee Dugger, seminary President Jason Allen said in a statement. She was a delightful young woman, devoted to seeing others come to faith in Christ. Even as we grieve, we grieve not as those without hope. Our hope is in Christ  as was Caylees.

Allens wife, Karen, who is the director of the Midwestern Womens Institute, added, I was deeply saddened to learn this morning of Caylees tragic car wreck. ... To know Caylee was to love Caylee. Her deep passion for the nations was evident, and I know the ladies in Midwestern Womens Institute will greatly miss her, as will I.

Duggers church said in a Facebook post that a memorial to celebrate her life will be held Wednesday at First Baptist Church in her hometown of Joelton, Tennessee.

On the churchs website was a description of Dugger that said: Her love for good coffee, good conversation, and good books is only surpassed by her love for God and His Word. When Caylee isnt sipping coffee and reading her Bible or another book you can find her writing, hiking, paddle boarding, traveling, or simply exploring the city around her. Caylee has worked and traveled extensively.  She hopes to one day return overseas to serve as God leads.

In a blog post last June, Dugger wrote: Im a Christian. Im a follower of Jesus who holds the Bible as the infallible Word of God and who believes that I am saved by grace through faith in Christ alone. The Holy Spirit is at work in my life making me more like Jesus every day (even when I fail and mess up, He is still faithful) and at the end of all things, when Im worshiping the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world, the only title thats going to matter is Redeemed.
China responds to US shooting down Red Zeppelin as tensions rise

Tensions between the U.S. and China escalated further this weekend with the Chinese foreign ministry expressing extreme displeasure after the U.S. military shot down a suspected Chinese surveillance balloon, nicknamed Red Zeppelin, off the eastern seaboard Saturday, several days after it had flown thousands of miles over the continental U.S.

U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said in a statement that the balloon was sent to surveil strategic sites in the continental U.S.

A U.S. F-22 fighter jet used an Aim-9X Sidewinder missile on Saturday  four days after news of its existence spread worldwide when a Billings Gazette photographer in Montana took photos of it with a large telephoto lens  to destroy the spy balloon when it was six nautical miles off the southeast coast in U.S. airspace, The New York Times reported.

The tensions have led to the suspension of U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinkens scheduled trip to Beijing, which would have been the highest-level U.S. visit to China in four years.

Blinken referred to the balloon, roughly the size of three buses, as a violation of U.S. sovereignty on Friday, according to Reuters.

China expressed strong dissatisfaction and protest against the U.S. for attacking what Beijing claimed was a civilian unmanned aircraft, according to a statement by the Chinese foreign ministry.

The ministry claimed the balloon entered U.S. territory accidentally due to "force majeure."

China clearly asked the U.S. to handle it properly in a calm, professional and restrained manner. A spokesman for the U.S. Department of Defense also stated that the balloon will not pose a military or personal threat to ground personnel, the statement reads. China will resolutely safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of relevant companies, while reserving the right to make further necessary reaction.

Experts warn that the relationship with China could spiral downward depending on Beijings response.

Its a bit worrisome when nuclear powers start shooting down the surveillance vehicles of the other, although surely the Chinese would have done the same if the situation were reversed, The Wall Street quoted Daniel Russel, a former senior State Department official now with the Asia Society Policy Institute, as saying.

Before the concerns over the spy balloon, U.S. military aircraft had close encounters with Chinese military aircraft in the South China Sea region amid growing tensions over Taiwan.

President Joe Biden said he initially wanted to shoot down the spy balloon when it was spotted above Montana but was warned of the danger to residents on the ground.

Republicans criticized his delayed decision, calling it a display of weakness toward Beijing.

On Wednesday when I was briefed on the balloon, I ordered the Pentagon to shoot it down  on Wednesday  as soon as possible, Biden said after landing in Maryland to spend the weekend at Camp David to work on his State of the Union speech. They decided, without doing damage to anyone on the ground, they decided that the best time to do that was as it got over water ... within a 12-mile limit. They successfully took it down and I want to complement our aviators who did it, he added.

However, retired Army General Jack Keane, a former Vice Chief of Staff of the United States Army, didnt agree with Biden.

Remember, this was approaching the United States over water, Keane told Fox News. It was approaching the Aleutian Islands over water. And we had plenty of opportunity to take it down then. And thats when it should have happened. We had to be tracking it from mainland China across the Pacific Ocean, and we had plenty of warning to put together an operation that we are conducting now on the East Coast that should have been done there.
Devil-horned Sam Smith, 'hellkeeper' Kim Petras' satanic 'Unholy' performance outrages viewers 'Mocking Christianity;' 'Brought to you by Pfizer'

The music industrys biggest night took an Unholy turn Sunday after Kim Petras became the first trans-identified artist to win a Grammy and delivered a dark performance of the hit song.

Sam Smith joined Petras for a Hades-inspired performance in which, at one point, he donned a top hat with devil horns as dancers gyrated around him while Petras sang from inside a cage as flames roared behind.

Clad in all-red leather, Smith was flanked by dancing demon-looking figures as Petras was locked in the cage behind chains as several more sinister figures wearing satanic headgear stood guard outside.

The performance highlighted what was a historic night for the Grammys. After winning four Grammys, including record of the year in 2015, Smith became the first artist who identifies as non-binary to win Best Pop Duo/Group Performance, while first-time nominee Petras won the first award for a trans-identified artist.

The duo were introduced by Madonna, who has her own legacy of controversy at the Grammys and who last month sparked outrage after posing for a Vanity Fair cover that some called blasphemous for making a mockery of the Last Supper.

Calling Smith and Petras two incredibly talented artists who were forging a new path and taking the heat for all of it, the 64-year-old Madonna applauded the pair.

You guys need to know  all you troublemakers out there  you need to know that your fearlessness does not go unnoticed, she said. You are seen, you are heard and, most of all, you are appreciated.

Upon winning the Grammy with Smith, Petras thanked Madonna during his acceptance speech earlier in the night.

At one point in the song, Petras references the troubled Balenciaga brand: Mmm, daddy, daddy, if you want it, drop the add'y (yuh)/ Give me love, give me Fendi, my Balenciaga daddy.

Last fall, Balenciaga came under fire for an ad campaign that featured disturbing images of young girls holding handbags shaped like teddy bears in fishnet tops and leather harnesses.

After the show, Petra told reporters backstage the performance was inspired by not being able to choose religion.

I think a lot of people, honestly, have kind of labeled what I stand for and what Sam stands for as religiously not cool, and I personally grew up wondering about religion and wanting to be a part of it but slowly realizing it didnt want me to be a part of it, she said.

So its a take on not being able to choose religion. And not being able to live the way that people might want you to live because, as a trans person, Im already not kind of wanted in religion. So we were doing a take on that, and I was kind of hellkeeper Kim.

The duos song reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 last October.

Unsurprisingly, Smith and Petras performance stirred controversy on social media, where some Christians and conservatives were quick to deem the display as satanic.

Becker News CEO Kyle Becker tweeted: "Diabolical vibes at the #Grammys as it descends into satanic themes with the song Unholy performed by a debauched gay man. The WEF overlords at Davos were surely pleased by this disgusting display."

Diabolical vibes at the #Grammys as it descends into satanic themes with the song Unholy performed by a debauched gay man. The WEF overlords at Davos were surely pleased by this disgusting display. pic.twitter.com/lja0LwUinY  Kyle Becker (@kylenabecker) February 6, 2023

Commentator Robby Starbuck also weighed in: "People like Sam Smith who love to mock Christianity and use satanic themes always think theyre super edgy artists by doing it. In reality its not edgy. Its boring, vile, rehashed shock tactics that Hollywood seals clap for because theyre evil and stupid."

People like Sam Smith who love to mock Christianity and use Satanic themes always think theyre super edgy artists by doing it. In reality its not edgy. Its boring, vile, rehashed shock tactics that Hollywood seals clap for because theyre evil & stupid. pic.twitter.com/Hmfo31M5NM  Robby Starbuck (@robbystarbuck) February 6, 2023

Some viewers also marked the show's Pfizer sponsorship: "Grammys openly celebrating Satan (Sam Smith singing 'Unholy,' brought to you by Pfizer all while Jill Biden is handing out song of the year. Its a satanic cult. If this doesnt show people I dont know what will. Its blatantly disgusting! Stop giving the #GRAMMYs the ratings.

Grammys openly celebrating satan (Sam Smith singing unholy, brought to you by Pfizer all while Jill Biden is handing out song of the year. Its a satanic cult. If this doesnt show people I dont know what will. Its blatantly disgusting! Stop giving the #GRAMMYs the ratings pic.twitter.com/MfuxVzSdSU  Krisandra (@k_praytor) February 6, 2023

Host Trevor Noah even took a fake phone call assuring his mother that Smiths performance wasnt the actual devil as Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck looked on.

No, mom, it wasnt the actual devil ... Yeah, you did warn me about Hollywood  Host Trevor Noah pretended to get a phone call from his mom after Sam Smith & Kim Petras steamy Unholy performance at the #GRAMMYspic.twitter.com/z6qBK1i4s7  NowThis (@nowthisnews) February 6, 2023

While ratings for this year's broacast were not available as of Monday morning, it's unclear whether the awards show topped its dismal 2021 and slightly less dismal 2022 showings.

Last year, the Grammy Awards on CBS returned to a fully in-person show but saw only a slight bump up in viewers, compared with the Grammys' 2021 partly-virtual presentation, which marked a record low in viewership, according to Variety.
Phil and Lucinda Dooley appointed new global senior pastors of Hillsong Church

Twelve months after serving as interim global senior pastors of Hillsong Church following the resignation of founder Brian Houston, husband and wife pastors, Phil and Lucinda Dooley, were permanently appointed to the position as Jesus followers who follow the Lord wholeheartedly.

Phil and Lucinda were raised up in our church. They have served many roles, as youth pastors, worship pastors, pastoral care, and for the last 14 years dedicating their lives to establishing and building [of] a flourishing church in South Africa, chair of the Hillsong Church Global Board, Stephen Crouch, told the congregation before prayers were offered for the couple.

We believe, that is the global senior board believe, that they have got the spirit of leadership on their life. And as we have come to see them more closely, as you have come to see them more closely, you can see that they follow the Lord wholeheartedly. That they are Jesus followers, Crouch continued.

The board recognized that they are clearly called by God. And for their part, I know that they are deeply committed to their calling, he added. I believe that theyll lead this church with grace and wisdom.

Brian Houston formally resigned as global senior pastor of Hillsong Church on March 23, 2022, in the wake of revelations that two women had made serious complaints of misconduct against him in the last 10 years.

Houston, who is 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.

Houston and his wife, Bobbie, who have since sold their $4.5 million home in Australia, have been busy in recent weeks selling off their used designer clothes, furniture and other home goods described as pre-loved online.
Seminary student Caylee Dugger taught on promise of Heaven hours before she was killed in car accident

Hours before she tragically died in a car accident, youth director and seminary student Caylee Dugger preached on the promises of Heaven outlined in the book of Revelation.

In a somber message delivered Sunday morning at First Baptist Church North Kansas City, Associate Pastor Mike Parrett revealed that on Thursday morning, just hours before she was killed in a three-vehicle wreck, Dugger taught the churchs Women Missionary Union a lesson based on Revelation 7:9-17.

The passage reads, in part: They are before the throne of God and serve him day and night in his temple, and he who sits on the throne will shelter them with his presence. Never again will they hunger; never again will they thirst. The sun will not beat down on them, nor any scorching heat. For the Lamb at the center of the throne. He will be their shepherd; he will lead them to springs of living water. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.



Caylee is at the throne of the Lord. And He is there with her and she with Him and she is worshiping Him and He is loving her, Parrett said.

Ahead of Parretts message, the church watched a video of Dugger singing a song she wrote about Gods perfect purpose amid suffering.

Titled Hands, the song includes the lyrics: Making beauty from ashes is what You do best/ So in Your promise Im waiting and in this Ill rest/ In the hands of a good God/ I know You are a good God/ My suffering is never for nothing.

As we grieve together, we [do not] grieve as those that do not have hope; we do have hope, Parrett said. We are ones that have hope, this hope that Caylee reminded us of, this Scripture that she taught from. We do have hope.

According to local news station Fox 4, Dugger was traveling to Texas to visit her nephew when the accident occurred. The cause of the crash is under investigation by the Oklahoma Highway Patrol.

Dugger served as the churchs youth director and was also a student at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. She was a graduate of Union University and was planning to graduate in the Spring of 2023 from Midwestern Seminary with her master of theological studies in missions. She was also planning to pursue a master of divinity degree in international church planting following graduation, according to Baptist Press.

As of Monday afternoon, a GoFundMe created for Duggers funeral cost and other expenses had reached over $18,500 of its $20,000 goal.

We have been amazingly encouraged by the messages of so many different people who were personally impacted by Caylee's life, the page reads.

From professors who explained that they have never seen someone share the Gospel with fellow students as much as she did, to friends who praised her genuine kindness and love. It is clear that in her 30 years, Caylee made an unbelievable impact on everyone she encountered. We are sad, broken, and hurting. And yet, we have found such peace in knowing that Caylee is in the presence of her Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ  and that her incredible faith has been given sight. Even in the midst of this tremendous sorrow and grief, God has given us joy.

According to Baptist Press, Dugger was an avid podcaster and aspiring author who posted often on her blog, "A Girl and Her Adventures," and shared posts regarding her walk with the Lord.

Im a Christian, she wrote in a June 2022 post. Im a follower of Jesus who holds the Bible as the infallible Word of God and who believes that I am saved by grace through faith in Christ alone. The Holy Spirit is at work in my life making me more like Jesus every day (even when I fail and mess up, He is still faithful) and at the end of all things, when Im worshiping the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world, the only title thats going to matter is Redeemed.

In a statement, Midwestern Seminary President Jason Allen remembered Dugger as a delightful young woman, devoted to seeing others come to faith in Christ.

Even as we grieve, we grieve not as those without hope. Our hope is in Christ  as was Caylees, he said.

Karen Allen, wife of President Jason Allen and director of the Midwestern Womens Institute said: I was deeply saddened to learn this morning of Caylees tragic car wreck yesterday afternoon. To know Caylee was to love Caylee. Her deep passion for the nations was evident, and I know the ladies in Midwestern Womens Institute will greatly miss her, as will I.

Duggers church said in a Facebook post that a memorial to celebrate her life will be held Wednesday at First Baptist Church in her hometown of Joelton, Tennessee.
Christians face harassment in more countries than any other religious group, Pew study finds

Christians faced harassment in more countries than any other religious group amid the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, according to a recent Pew Research study finding an increase in 45 countries where followers of Christ face social or government abuse or violence since 2012.

The data on restrictions to religion around the globe, released last November, was featured in a Jan. 27 report showing that Christians face harassment in over 155 countries in 2020, an increase from 110 in 2012.

The organization's definition of "harassment" can include a wide range of actions, including verbal abuse to physical violence and killings committed by governments, social groups or individuals. The study captured "cases where individuals or groups feel singled out or unable to express their religious belief or nonbelief."

The study rated 198 countries and territories by their levels of government restrictions on religion and social hostilities involving religion using the same 10-point indexes used in the previous studies.

Pews Government Restrictions Index (GRI) measures government laws, policies and actions that restrict religious beliefs and practices, while its Social Hostilities Index (SHI) measures acts of religious hostility by private individuals, organizations or groups in society.

Researchers sifted through over a dozen publicly available data sources for the report, including the U.S. Department of States annual peports on international religious freedom and annual reports from the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom.

Overall, physical harassment related to religion occurred in more than two-thirds of countries in 2020, the research shows.

Muslims faced harassment in 145 countries, an increase from 109 in 2012. Jews, who make up 0.2% of the global population, face harassment in 94 countries, up from 71 in 2012.

The study found that Christian groups were "targeted by private individuals and organizations in nine countries" as Christians were often blamed for the rise of the COVID-19 pandemic.

"In Turkey, an Armenian Orthodox churchs door was set on fire, and news reports said the man told police that he acted because they [Armenian Christians] brought the coronavirus to Turkey," the Nov. 27 Pew report states.

"In Egypt, conspiracy theories blamed the pandemic on the Coptic Orthodox Christian minority, which international Christian observers said exacerbated the discrimination the minority group already faced."

In India, two Christians were beaten and killed while in police custody for violating COVID-19 curfews in Tamil Nadu, according to the U.S. State Department's annual international religious freedom report.

The study also found a nine-fold increase in countries where non-religious people face harassment. Pew named the United States among 27 countries where religiously unaffiliated people were harassed in 2020.

Restrictions on religion dont just affect those who are religious. Religiously unaffiliated people also are harassed because of what they believe, states the Jan. 27 report by research analysts Sarah Crawford and Virginia Villa, which focuses on harassment against the religious unaffiliated.

The report also found that the religiously unaffiliated faced harassment in 12 majority-Muslim nations and six majority-Christian countries.

Forms of government harassment for atheists, according to Pew, included atheist groups in Croatia  a majority-Catholic country  who alleged the presence of the cross and other Roman Catholic symbolism in public buildings like hospitals and courtrooms were unconstitutional.

And in countries like Pakistan, where Islam is the state-sanctioned religion, atheists are not given a "no religion" option for their identification cards, although the "government requires people to state their religious affiliation."

Examples of social harassment cited by Pew included a political satirist in Lebanon who called atheism the religion of donkeys during a program on a TV channel backed by that nations Christian Free Patriotic Movement political party.

While the rise of the religious nones isnt new, Pew predicts the trend could result in the number of Christians of all ages shrinking from 64% to as low as 35% of all Americans by 2070.

The Pew findings come as the global persecution watchdog organization Open Doors reported last year that over 360 million Christians experienced high levels of persecution and discrimination across the globe.

But even as more people shy away from identifying with any religion, many of those who report no religious affiliation still partake in a wide variety of religious and spiritual practices and beliefs.

According to a 202 Baylor University study, many nones still attend religious services, pray, meditate, believe in God or a higher power, have religious experiences, and believe in Heaven, Hell and miracles.
Church at Planned Parenthood must pay $960K for holding worship outside abortion clinic

A pro-life organization will have to pay $960,000 in legal fees and damages for holding worship services at the property of a local Planned Parenthood clinic in Washington state.

The Church at Planned Parenthood, a group organized by Covenant Church that used to hold worship services on the property of a Planned Parenthood clinic in Spokane, agreed to pay $850,000 in legal fees.

This total is added to an earlier amount of $110,000 to be paid in damages after holding worship services outside of the Spokane Planned Parenthood Health Care Center in 2020.

"Planned Parenthood Sues our little church for Peaceful Assembly and it costs Christians $850,000 for mostly Corrupt Lawyers Fees," Pastor Ken Peters wrote on Facebook. "The only difference We have to do 7pm instead of 6pm, and go across the street. $850k over one hour and across the street. Wow. Thats a lot of money they stole from the Kingdom over one hour. We are restarting again March 14 at 7pm. See you there Pacific NW. It aint over."

The Seattle-based law firm Legal Voice, representing Planned Parenthood, announced the settlement in a press release last week, hailing the decision as "a win for abortion providers."

"This puts anti-choice extremists on notice: Legal Voice and our allies will hold them accountable. We will vigorously pursue every dollar owed to our clients to ensure anti-choice harassers actually pay for their illegal actions. We will make sure their actions are seen for what they are: crimes," stated Legal Voice.

"We will also continue our work to ensure that the communities we serve are able to access the reproductive health care that they deserve and that this access comes without intimidation or shame."

Planned Parenthood contends that worship services interrupted the clinic's provision of services and claims that some who attended the services engaged in intimidation tactics.

"Staff were forced to shuttle patients between offices and patients sometimes chose not to follow through with their appointments, rather than run through the gauntlet of armed protestors blocking their way," Legal Voice maintains.

According to its website, the Church at Planned Parenthood does not consider itself a protest but "a worship service at the gates of Hell."

"The Church at Planned Parenthood is a gathering of Christians for the worship of God and the corporate prayer for repentance for this nation, repentance for the apathetic church and repentance of our blood guiltiness in this abortion holocaust," the group stated.

In June 2020, Planned Parenthood of Greater Washington and North Idaho sued the pro-life group, claiming that the worship violated the local noise ordinance and a state law prohibiting disruptions at healthcare facilities.

Pastor Peters, one of the defendants and organizers of the services, told The Christian Post in an interview in 2020 that the services are only once a month and held after hours.

"They are scared of our prayers and our worship. We aren't there to bother them, we are there to touch Heaven and be a light to the world. We are there to be a prophetic statement that 'we, the church, don't approve of killing life inside the womb,'" said Peters at the time.

"Right now, they are suing us for psychological damages to their staff and patients after hours. I'm sorry, but they do much more damage to these women and children than our singing."

In September 2020, a Washington Superior Court judge issued a preliminary injunction against the Church at Planned Parenthood, ordering the group to move services across the street.

Spokane County Superior Court Judge Timothy B. Fennessy issued a permanent injunction against the services in September 2021, concluding that "reasonable minds can only reach one conclusion, that Covenant Church intends to interfere with access to or safe and effective delivery of health care services provided by" the Planned Parenthood clinic.

Last December, Fennessy granted the abortion provider's motion for damages, awarding $110,000. This led to the negotiations that resulted in an additional $850,000 in legal fees being paid by the pro-life group.
Judge orders church services outside Planned Parenthood clinic to move across the street

A church operating outside an abortion clinic in Washington state will continue to hold services directly adjacent to the facility after a court order was issued this week and forced it to make changes.

A Washington Superior Court judge issued a preliminary injunction Monday ordering the Church at Planned Parenthood, a monthly service held outside a Planned Parenthood facility in Spokane organized by Covenant Church, to move its services across the street from the facility and coordinate service times to avoid coinciding with the clinics hours of operation.

The ruling comes three months after Planned Parenthood of Greater Washington and North Idaho filed a lawsuit against the church and five of its pastors and leaders accused of recklessly disrupting the normal functioning of a health care facility by making noise that unreasonably disrupts the piece within the facility.

The courts decision today recognizes the importance of meaningful access to healthcare for all Washingtonians, the Planned Parenthood affiliate tweeted in response to the ruling.

The chief executive of the regional Planned Parenthood organization had previously referred to TCAPP worshippers as bullies who are trying to take away care from young women, men, the LGBTQ community and black, indigenous people of color in Spokane.

The Church at Planned Parenthood, founded in 2018, describes itself as a worship service at the gates of Hell and a gathering of Christians for the worship of God and the corporate prayer for repentance for this nation, repentance for the apathetic church and repentance of our blood guiltiness in this abortion holocaust.

TCAPP attorney Tracy Tribbett responded to the court decision by implying that officials at the local Planned Parenthood want to take away their First Amendment rights.

Plaintiffs (Planned Parenthood) do not like the speech that is occurring outside of their walls, they want it completely eradicated, Tribett said in a statement. People do not picket away from the place where they have an issue.

Planned Parenthood officials are scared of our prayers and our worship, Ken Peters, the pastor of Covenant Church, contended in a previous interview with The Christian Post.

We arent there to bother them, we are there to touch Heaven and be a light to the world, Peters explained. We are there to be a prophetic statement that we, the church dont approve of killing life inside the womb.

On Tuesday, just one day after the ruling, Peters announced on Twitter that a TCAPP service was taking place that evening but with modifications to accommodate the court order.

ATTENTION: Due to Judges Leftist Order  New Service Time for TCAPP Tonight! You are welcome to come pray at 6 pm BUT the ACTUAL WORSHIP Service starts at 7!

Based on a picture posted on social media by Peters of the Tuesday night service, the court ruling did not hamper turnout.

In a statement, Spokane Police Department Sgt. Terry Preuninger said that the court did not grant law enforcement authority to criminally enforce violations of the injunction. Preuninger said the department will report any suspected violations of the civil injunction to the court for review.

He vowed the police will continue to work to protect people and property, ensure the health center is able to operate without disruption and to enforce local and state laws.

According to Peters, the battle is not over. He is willing to take the legal battle to the Supreme Court if necessary. The pastor commented on the court order in a video posted Monday.

Planned Parenthoods lawsuit not only seeks a permanent injunction against the church services but also seeks damages of $5,000 per day for each day that defendants interfered with Plaintiffs operation.

Peters is hardly the only pro-life activist that has tried to send a message to Planned Parenthood, Americas largest abortion provider.

Independent journalist Tayler Hansen has started the Baby Lives Matter movement. Hansen hoping to raise awareness for the hundreds of thousands of unborn babies aborted at Planned Parenthood facilities every year by painting murals in front of Planned Parenthood clinics nationwide that read Baby Lives Matter.

Earlier this month, pro-life activists in Baltimore, Maryland who are not affiliated with the Baby Lives Matter movement, painted a mural with the words Black Preborn Lives Matter in front of their local Planned Parenthood clinic.
2023 Grammy Awards: Maverick City Music gives God the glory after tying Beyonce for most wins

Maverick City Music gave all the glory to God after sweeping the Grammy Awards in nearly every Christian music category on Sunday night, tying Beyonce with the most wins of the night.

At the 65th Annual Grammy Awards, Maverick City Music and gospel legend Kirk Franklin took home four Grammy Awards: Best Gospel Performance/Song (Kingdom feat. Naomi Raine & Chandler Moore), Best Contemporary Christian Music Performance (Fear is Not My Future feat. Brandon Lake & Chandler Moore), Best Contemporary Christian Music Album (Breathe) and Best Gospel Album (Kingdom Book One Deluxe).

Im super grateful to God and what Hes able to do when you just decide to give your life to serve other people and to uplift voices that are not normally heard, Maverick City Music member Naomi Raine said after accepting the award for Best Gospel Album.

This album for us was one where we were able to go into Everglades Correctional Facility and minister to incarcerated people and let them know that God still loves them and still sees them no matter what. And so we're just honored that it's making an impact, she continued.

Franklin added that the albums success is evidence that gospel music is still alive and well, adding: This is the future.

With four trophies, the Atlanta-based gospel music collective tied with Beyonce for the most awards for the night. The group beat out other CCM heavy hitters, including Erica Campbell, for King & Country, TobyMac, Anne Wilson, Keith and Kristyn Getty and Chris Tomlin.

Chandler Moore said the album "Breathe" aims to encourage those struggling to remember God's faithfulness.

"We did this album in the middle of the pandemic when it was so hard for many people to breathe and just catch a breath," he said after accepting the trophy for Best Contemporary Christian Music Album. "God gave us a song and an album just encouraging people as deep as a breath as you need to take, take that breath because God gave you a breath, and God gave us a breath for one reason, to praise the Lord. Let everything that has breath praise the Lord."

Maverick City Music also performed on this years Grammy Award broadcast as part of a tribute to late Migos member Kirsnick's Takeoff Ball. The group joined fellow Migos representative Quavo for the emotional set.

In the performance, Maverick City Music aimed "to raise awareness around gun violence and keeping the faith during troubled times," a press release announcing the performance read.

Moore, Raine, Tony Brown, Jonathan Jay, Brandon Lake, MJ George, Joe L. Barnes, Harold Brown, Lizzie Morgan and Aaron Moses make up the multicultural group.

On social media, the group celebrated the win: Wow!! Fam!! We are incredibly honored and grateful to our Father for using us in this space and to YOU for always supporting us, they wrote.

Tennessee State University Marching Band also made history, becoming the first HBCU band to win a Grammy, winning the Grammy for Best Roots Gospel Album ("The Urban Hymnal").

Raine previously credited the honesty of Maverick City Music's lyrics and commitment to honoring God for its crossover success.

Its about [Gods] consistency, His goodness, His faithfulness. I think, really, thats something we can all agree on, Raine told CP.

The 2023 Grammy Awards aired live on CBS and Paramount+ Sunday night from the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, California.
Commuters pass through the fare gate at Sinchon Station on Seoul Metro Line 2, Jan.24. Yonhap



By Lee Hyo-jin



The Seoul Metropolitan Government is at odds with the Ministry of Economy and Finance over sharing the burden of the snowballing deficit of Seoul Metro, the capital's subway operator.



The city government is demanding that the ministry partially cover the financial deficit incurred due mainly to the free senior travel scheme  a welfare policy adopted by the central government almost 40 years ago.



Under a senior welfare policy enacted in 1984, every person aged 65 or older is entitled to use the subway free of charge in any city, regardless of their income. As the share of the elderly population nationwide has been rising steeply  from 5.9 percent in 1984 to 17.5 percent in 2022  Seoul Metro has been pointing at the welfare policy as a major reason for its years-long operating losses.



The finance ministry, however, has refused to recognize this, saying that issues surrounding the city's public transportation system should be handled solely by the local authority.



Seoul city issued a statement, Sunday, refuting the ministry's claims. It argued that the city government does not have the legal authority to make adjustments on the age eligibility of free traveling seniors nor discount rates, a key reason why the ministry should actively engage in the matter.



"The free travel scheme policy is a central government measure applied to all people regardless of their place of residency. As such, it can be interpreted as an illegal move if a local government makes revisions to the policy," that statement read. Under administrative law, a local government is not allowed to to issue an ordinance conflicting with state law.



City authorities have been considering raising the eligible age for the free travel scheme to 70 from the current 65, following Seoul Metro's estimate that raising the eligibility age to 70 could reduce losses by as much as 152.4 billion won.



It also argued that the central government should partially cover the losses as it does for the state-run railway operator Korail. In accordance with the Act on Railroad Industry Development, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport compensates up to 70 percent of the losses caused by the free travel scheme policy.



In a recent Facebook post, Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon said his office will try to resolve the issue through a two-track approach  overhauling the public transit fare scheme while urging the central government to share the financial burden.





Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon speaks during a press conference held at City Hall, Jan. 30. Yonhap
Missionaries, church groups in Puerto Rico on surviving earthquake, facing uncertainty

Several church groups and missionaries working in Puerto Rico during Tuesdays 6.4 magnitude earthquake that triggered an islandwide blackout and toppled several churches and other buildings are relaying their experiences and telling how they and others are coping with uncertainty in the aftermath.

We were all awakened at 4:30 a.m. by our walls and windows shaking, Sue DAnna, a member of the First Congregational Church of Hartland, Vermont, told Valley News. Our side of the island has not seen damage, but the other side has seen significant destruction.

Todays earthquake 6.4 no power in Puerto Rico, and little cell signal, sorry friends I cant retweet . This is how the Church of Guayanilla was after the earthquake. #TemblorPR#EarthquakePRpic.twitter.com/fuoUQZtAhL  Efrain????????????????? (@Efrain99620830) January 7, 2020

The United States Geological Survey said in a release Tuesday that the earthquake, which has left at least one person on the island dead, struck at about 4:24 a.m. local time offshore of southwest Puerto Rico just a day after a magnitude 5.8 quake erupted from the same area.

Over the past several weeks, hundreds of small earthquakes have occurred in the region, the USGS said. The seismic activity began with a magnitude 4.7 earthquake late on Dec. 28 and was followed by a magnitude 5.0 tremor just a few hours later. Since Dec. 28, the USGS said more than 400 magnitude 2+ earthquakes have occurred in the region. Some 10 of them registered stronger than magnitude 4, including Tuesdays tremor.

About 25 volunteers from the First Congregational Church of Hartland arrived in Puerto Rico on Sunday to help with relief efforts from the devastation of Hurricane Maria which left thousands dead in September 2017.

All of them were reported safe and they had planned to continue working to renovate a church in San Juan but officials concerned about more earthquakes and whether the building remains structurally safe has paused all their efforts for now.

At this point, we are unclear about how the remainder of our week and work plans will unfold, DAnna said.

Seventh-day Adventist leaders in Puerto Rico are also struggling to understand the series of earthquakes that have been plaguing the island and the uncertainty that hangs over the lives of many affected by the disaster.

We have never as a country dealt with such earthquake in all my years, Pastor Jose A. Rodriguez, president of the church in Puerto Rico, said in a field report from the SDA.

At 4:24 a.m. I woke up to the house shaking, and then one aftershock then another. Sometimes its like 10 tremors a day, so theres so much uncertainty for all of us here in Puerto Rico, said Rodriguez, who lives in the western part of the island. Even though the earthquakes have been strongest in the south, the entire island has felt each tremor, said Rodriguez.

There is so much uncertainty now, bridges are down, roads have collapsed, power hasnt been restored and many are taking refuge in parks and arenas, he said.

He explained that at least six members of his church have lost their homes as a result of the earthquake and leaders in the South Puerto Rico Conference are still assessing the needs of members.

Please pray for our partners in Puerto Rico. Everyone at the church is safe. We are working with our partners on a plan to help and will provide details when we have them. pic.twitter.com/GMzRYTFp5h  Mission Serve (@Mission_Serve) January 8, 2020

Ponce Puerto Rico Stake President Franki Ruiz of the Latter-day Saints told Deseret News that he had expected a big quake due to frequent seismic activity on the island in the days before it hit.

I woke up and told my wife and parents and kids that this was the [big] one, so lets get out of the house, he said. We walked calmly outside, and all my neighbors were also leaving their homes.

He added: We have no reports of members being harmed or reports of their homes being seriously damaged.  We are still trying to account for everyone  but so far, things seem to be OK for the members.

Philadelphia City Councilmember Maria Quinones-Sanchez, who was born in Puerto Rico, told The Philadelphia Enquirer that while her relatives on the Island are safe, she and others are starting to plan how to help with relief efforts like they did in the wake of Hurricane Maria. The local Latin American community joined with other groups, churches and synagogues to raise hundreds of thousands of dollars, she said.

So many infrastructure problems still remain from past disasters, she said. The electric grid is still very fragile. A lot of things have been normalized; its not unusual to lose power or water. People are more nonchalant about it. That becomes oppressive day after day. Its very sad.
Planned Parenthood sues church, pastors for holding worship service outside abortion clinic

The nation's largest abortion provider has filed a lawsuit against a church that meets outside one of its clinics in eastern Washington state as a "prophetic statement" against what's going on inside.

Planned Parenthood of Greater Washington and North Idaho is taking legal action against The Church at Planned Parenthood, which regularly worships outside the Spokane clinic, The Spokesman-Review reported earlier this week.

Named as defendants in the suit are state Rep. Matt Shea; Pastors Ken Peters, Gabe Blomgren, and Seth Haberman; Clay Roy, director of TCAPP; along with Covenant Church and Covenant Christian School.

"Planned Parenthood is not worried about patient care. We have service once a month, in the evening after their business hours. They seek to silence our message," Peters said in an interview with The Christian Post on Thursday.

"They are scared of our prayers and our worship. We arent there to bother them, we are there to touch Heaven and be a light to the world. We are there to be a prophetic statement that 'we, the church, dont approve of killing life inside the womb.'"

The abortion giant hates that message, he said, and is attempting to silence the church.

"Right now they are suing us for psychological damages to their staff and patients after hours. Im sorry, but they do much more damage to these women and children than our singing," Peters added.

Attorneys for the abortion giant have said that the Christian gatherings, which sometimes draw hundreds of people, interfere with the clinic's operations and have intimidated patients and the clinic staff.

These are not protesters  they are bullies who are trying to take away care from young women, men, the LGBTQ community and black, indigenous, people of color in Spokane, Karl Eastlund, chief executive of the regional Planned Parenthood organization, said in a statement.

The lawsuit is seeking damages and a permanent injunction to halt TCAPP from assembling outside the Planned Parenthood office located on E. Indiana Avenue in Spokane.

The Church at Planned Parenthood describes itself on its website as "NOT a protest."

"Its a worship service at the gates of Hell. The Church at Planned Parenthood is a gathering of Christians for the worship of God and the corporate prayer for repentance for this nation, repentance for the apathetic church, and repentance of our blood-guiltiness in this abortion holocaust," the website adds.

TCAPP has been gathering outside the local Planned Parenthood building to pray and worship since 2018.

Planned Parenthood has maintained that TCAPP's activities violate the city noise ordinance and a state law that prohibits disruptions at healthcare facilities. It also says that local police are refusing to enforce those regulations. Earlier this year, the Spokane City Council voted 6-1 to pass an additional ordinance with the same effect as the state law.

"We are making the temple of Satan angry. This isnt a political war or an earthly battle. It is spiritual," Peters added.

"The weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but they are mighty. Planned Parenthood is proving that by their response to us. Prayer, praise, giving and preaching the Gospel just works. They can sue Gods people if they wish, but God will avenge us. God sees our heart for His creation. Planned Parenthood isnt attacking us, they are attacking God."
Utah quake knocks trumpet from Moroni statue's hand at Salt Lake Mormon temple

A 5.7-magnitude earthquake shook Utah Wednesday morning shortly after 7 a.m., dislodging the trumpet from the hand of the statue of the angel Moroni sitting atop the iconic Mormon temple in its capital city.

Wednesday's quake, the largest since 1992 when a magnitude 5.9 temblor struck the St. George area of the western state, was centered approximately 10 miles of Salt Lake City, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

A series of aftershocks transpired in the minutes that followed ranging from 2.5 to 3.9 on the Richter scale and are to be likely to continue throughout the day, the Utah Division of Emergency Management said. By 9:25 a.m. the USGS had recorded 27 earthquakes and aftershocks.

Reports indicate that multiple buildings sustained minimal damage, no injuries or deaths have been reported. Speaking before the press Wednesday, Governor Gary Herbert said that the state of Utah was "all in all, very fortunate."

Most notably, the Mormon Temple in Salt Lake City, which sits at the center of the city was impacted. The trumpet in the hand of statue of the angel Moroni  who Mormonism's founder, Joseph Smith, claims assisted him in the translation of golden plates that ultimately resulted in The Book of Mormon  was dislodged.

"The Salt Lake Temple, which is undergoing a seismic upgrade, sustained some minor damage during Wednesday morning's earthquake. The trumpet on the Angel Moroni statue fell off, and there is minor displacement of some of the temple's smaller spire stones. No workers were injured. Crews on the job site have been sent home for the day, and a full assessment is underway to determine needs going forward. This event emphasizes why this project is so necessary to preserve this historic building and create a safer environment for all our patrons and visitors," a spokesman for the church said Wednesday.

The Salt Lake Temple, which was dedicated in 1893, was the first temple topped with Angel Moroni, CNN reported; the copper and gold-leaf statue is 12-foot-5-inches tall on a ball atop a 210-foot central spire on the temple's east side.

Tremors registering as 4.4 magnitude that occurred near Magna, Utah, just after 8 a.m. was classified as a separate quake and not an aftershock of the stronger quake that struck about an hour earlier. Tens of thousands of Utahns lost power.

The earthquakes hit the state amid a global outbreak of the coronavirus, which has brought normal life to a halt in many places and has created widespread panic-buying of groceries and items like toilet paper and hand sanitizer.

Gov. Herbert noted on Twitter that the state's coronavirus hotline as well as the department of health's laboratory were down after the quake.

Classes were canceled at the University of Utah.
Mark Houck May Press Charges Against FBI, Chinese Prison Camp Stories, Satanic Temple Clinic For Abortion Rituals

link to download the audio instead. link to download the audio instead. 08:41 08:41

Catholic pro-life activist Mark Houck said he will look into pressing charges" related to prosecutorial abuse after he was acquitted of FACE Act charges.



A childhood friend of 26-year-old Morgan E. Daub, 26, who was found dead at home along with her missionary parents in York County, Pennsylvania last week, in what authorities say is a suicide pact, suggested she may have been driven insane by her parents strict religious upbringing.



The Satanic Temple, an organization that claims abortion bans violate religious freedom, has announced plans to operate a telehealth abortion clinic in New Mexico.



A federal appellate court struck down Tampa's ban on sexual orientation change efforts on Thursday.
Satanic Idaho planning Capitol ritual to protest bill criminalizing sex-change surgeries for kids

A proposed bill in the Idaho Legislature that would criminalize the chemical castration and bodily mutilation of children and teens is being opposed by a group of satanists.

Republican state Rep. Bruce Skaug introduced the Vulnerable Child Protection Act on Tuesday that would make the dispensing of experimental puberty blockers and performing sex-change operations on youth  both of which can lead to sterilization  a felony.

If the bill passes both chambers of the state Legislature and is signed into law by Gov. Brad Little, it would mean anyone convicted of performing such procedures could face up to 10 years in prison, according to the draft legislation, which is co-sponsored by Republican state Sen. Lori Den Hartog.

Skaug, a self-described fiscal and social conservative who chairs the Idaho House Judiciary, Rules and Administrative Committee, introduced a similar bill last year, which passed the House before failing in the Senate.

Conservative Christian advocacy group Idaho Family Policy Center is partnering with Skaug on the effort for the second consecutive year.

While the bill "protects children from harmful pharmaceutical and surgical interventions for the purpose of changing the appearance of a child's sex," the legislation would not interfere with any medically necessary treatments, such as for endometriosis, sex development disorders or some types of cancer, according to a fact sheet released by the Idaho Family Policy Center.

The group said in a statement: Five other Republican-led states have enacted laws banning irreversible pharmaceutical and surgical interventions for children struggling with gender dysphoria. Its time for Idaho to follow their lead and make sure we protect vulnerable children in our communities from radical gender ideology.

The bill is still awaiting a hearing and must be voted on before moving forward in the Legislature.

In response to the draft legislation, a satanic group in Boise is announcing plans to hold a so-called gender affirming ritual at the State Capitol building as part of a protest against the bill.

A group calling itself Satanic Idaho is promoting the Hail Yourself: Gender Affirmation Ritual to remind [Idahoans] that not everyone uses religion to condemn, but to accept, according to a flyer on social media.

While the details of the ritual are unclear, a page on The Satanic Temple (TST) website describes such a ritual as a religious practice that is used to dispel any shame or stigma surrounding ones gender identity due to religious discrimination or cultural ignorance.

Idaho is among some 26 states where more than 80 bills have been introduced to limit or criminalize body-disfiguring sex-change surgery and other procedures for minors.

In 2021, Idaho adopted a new law defunding abortion providers and banning them from receiving contracts to teach sex education in public schools, ensuring that no state or local taxpayer dollars are allocated to promote or perform abortion.

House Bill 220, known as the No Public Funds For Abortion Act, defunds outfits such as Planned Parenthood but exempts publicly-funded hospitals and allows Medicaid to be used to pay for abortions.

The measure also bars school districts and public colleges from entering into contracts for abortion organizations to teach sex education and also stops public colleges and universities from providing drugs to end a pregnancy after conception.
Abortion clinics charge for basic services that pregnancy centers offer for free: report

Pregnancy centers are more likely than abortion facilities to offer supportive services to pregnant women and less likely than abortion clinics to charge them for pregnancy tests or ultrasounds, according to a recent study.

The study, published in the journal Contraception, conducted a nationwide "mystery caller study" to survey 445 pregnancy centers and 445 geographically paired abortion facilities. Michael New, a pro-life researcher, praised the researchers methodology as rigorous.

Data from pregnancy centers and abortion facilities in all 50 states was included in the study, New, an associate scholar at the Charlotte Lozier Institute, said in a statement emailed to The Christian Post.

It is worth noting that Contraception is not a conservative journal, and most of their articles do not portray pro-life efforts in a positive manner, he said. As such, the fact that a Contraception study found that pregnancy centers offer services that were both faster and less costly to women is powerful evidence of outstanding, life-affirming work done by the approximately 3,000 pregnancy help centers in the United States.

According to the study, 68.5% of pregnancy centers that participated in the survey said they offer same-day appointments, compared to 37.2% of abortion facilities. The study also found that the median wait time for an appointment is zero days at a pregnancy center and one day at abortion facilities.

Ninety-eight percent of pregnancy centers provided women with free pregnancy tests, while only 16.6% of abortion clinics did the same. The median cost for a pregnancy test at an abortion facility was $24 and the median cost for an ultrasound at an abortion facility was $162.50, whereas pro-life pregnancy centers never charged for either service.

Our findings demonstrating that pregnancy confirmation is more accessible at crisis pregnancy centers than at abortion facilities are predicted to be exacerbated in the wake of abortion clinic closures following the Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization Supreme Court decision, the study reads.

The study's analysts claim their research highlights the need for improved funding and support for pregnancy confirmation service delivery in medical settings, including abortion facilities. However, New told CP that the study provides powerful statistical evidence that pro-life pregnancy centers are more helpful to pregnant women than abortion facilities.

According to an analysis released in June by the Charlotte Lozier Institute, since 2016, pregnancy centers have prevented more than 800,000 abortions by providing women with community-based support.

The Christian Post recently reported that a group of mothers visited the office of Massachusetts Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren to show examples of how pro-life pregnancy centers have supported them in response to the senator's claims that pro-life organizations deceive and torture women and should be "shut down."

Warren also introduced the Stop Anti-Abortion Disinformation Act, which would require the Federal Trade Commission to penalize pregnancy centers and their employees who would face criminal charges and fines as high as $100,000 or "50 percent of the revenues earned by the ultimate parent entity of a person during the preceding 12-month period."

The mothers who protested outside Warrens office with their babies in tow shared how the Stanton Healthcare clinic helped them navigate their pregnancies. According to a tweet from the Rev. Patrick Mahoney, chief strategy officer for Stanton, the women also extended an invitation for Warren to visit the center.

The effort is part of an initiative launched by Stanton Public Policy Center and the pro-life Purple Sash Revolution the week leading up to the annual March For Life in Washington, D.C.

While the organizations also planned to visit the office of Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-New York, to share their stories and also invite her to visit the center, the group of mothers were met with a locked door at the congresswomans office.
NJ councilwoman killed, remembered for her 'abiding Christian faith': 'Jesus Christ lit up her life'

A black Republican borough council member in New Jersey was found shot to death in her vehicle Wednesday night. Colleagues are remembering her dedication and devout Christian faith.

Sayreville Councilwoman Eunice Dwumfour, 30, was found dead just outside of her apartment in her white Nissan SUV with multiple gunshot wounds, according to authorities.

Democrat Mayor Victoria Kilpatrick expressed condolences, saying in a statement that Dwumfour was a "dedicated member of our Borough Council who was truly committed to serve all of our residents."

New Jersey Republican State Committee Chairman Bob Hugin conveyed his "horror and deepest sorrow at the senseless violence" that claimed Dwumfour's life.

"We will remember Eunice for her steadfast dedication to the community, as well as her deep and abiding Christian faith," said Hugin in a statement.

"We have the utmost confidence that law enforcement will bring the perpetrators of this heartbreaking tragedy to justice. God Bless Councilwoman Dwumfour and her family."

The investigation into the murder includes Sayreville Police, the Middlesex County Prosecutor's Office and the FBI.

"We are aware of the investigation into the death of Councilwoman Dwumfour, in Sayreville Wednesday evening," the FBI said in a statement shared with WABC Friday.

"We have talked with our local law enforcement partners at the Sayreville Police Department and the Middlesex County Prosecutor's Office. Should they ask us for any assistance, we will do all we can to help their investigation."

In a statement Thursday, New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy said the New Jersey State Police will also support the ongoing investigation.

"Her career of public service was just beginning, and by all accounts she had already built a reputation as a committed member of the Borough Council who took her responsibility with the utmost diligence and seriousness," Murphy, a Democrat, said. "I send my condolences to Councilwoman Dwumfour's family and friends, her governing body colleagues, and the entire Sayreville community."

A native of Newark who was elected to the council last year after unseating a Democrat incumbent, Dwumfour was a single mother who had recently married a pastor from Nigeria.

"She was happy with her new husband. It seems. Happy with her daughter, and she was living the life, the American dream. She was a beautiful motivated person," former campaign manager Karen Bailey Bebert told WABC.

"I believe her daughter lit up her life. Jesus Christ lit up her life. She was very faithful and driven. She was a shining star."
Evidence against the existence of skeptics

Start with studies today or go back years and years and youll find the research says the exact same thing: deep down, we all know there is a God.

Religion comes naturally, even instinctively, to human beings, a massive new study of cultures all around the world suggests, said a CNN article some years back. The piece was citing a three-year Oxford-based project, which incorporated more than 40 different studies by dozens of researchers looking at countries from China to Poland and the United States to Micronesia.

Their conclusions all arrived at the same destination  the existence of a higher power, including widespread belief in an afterlife and an instinctive tendency to suggest that natural phenomena happen for a reason. We tend to see purpose in the world, said Oxford University professor Roger Trigg. We see agency. We think that something is there even if you can't see it ... All this tends to build up to a religious way of thinking.

This isnt surprising as the Bible says that even though people may externally profess disbelief, that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse (Rom. 1:19-20). John Calvin called this innate belief in God the sensus divinitatis  the sense of divinity/deity.

And theres a strange and almost amusing way God shows this to us.

Admit it, youve prayed before

In his later years, during a crisis where a loved one was very ill, skeptic and enemy-of-Christianity Mark Twain admitted: I prayed. I prayed like a coward; I prayed like a dog.

The fact that all of us have prayed at some point in our lives reveals that we arent quite as skeptical of Gods existence as we might make out.

Of course, many will object to that assertion. For example, Sigmund Freud contended that religious belief and practices like prayer were nothing more than a coping mechanism that assisted people in dealing with the harsh realities of life.

Freud argued that our ancestors looked at the fury of nature, illness and many other things that robbed them of their control and were driven to look past their intellect to something that wasnt real and couldnt be verified. A religious belief then formed that satisfied their strong emotional need and desire to be saved, said Freud.

But what if those storms didnt cause the belief, but instead revealed it?

Thats the contention of pastor Tim Keller in his masterful message, They Greatly Feared, which covers a familiar episode in the Old Testament where a storm comes upon the ship carrying Jonah who was running from Gods assignment of going to Nineveh. Storms, he says, tend to reveal who we really are and what we really believe.

Keller says that when all on the ship begin to cry out in distress to their false gods, their actions were showcasing what he calls our involuntary muscle and reflex toward God.

So, does this innate instinct prove that God exists? Not at all.

That involuntary reflex is not evidence for skeptics of the existence of God. Its actually evidence from God against the existence of skeptics, says Keller.

Kellers point is that the rough patches in life expose the truth that we are all God-knowers and have a natural predisposition to reach out to Him. We can try and explain it away in Freudian style, but that often becomes an exercise in whats called drowning the fish  you can pour all the water you want on the animal, but in the end, it will still be there smiling at you.

Like Twain found out, the gravity and suddenness of situations reveal the real you. C. S. Lewis puts it like this: Surely what a man does when he is taken off his guard is the best evidence for what sort of a man he is? Surely what pops out before the man has time to put on a disguise is the truth? If there are rats in the cellar you are most likely to see them if you go in very suddenly. But the suddenness does not create the rats: it only prevents them from hiding.

We can go round and round on the topic of apparently unanswered prayers (Ive had a boatload; Jesus had at least one Himself) and debate the anthropological origins of religions, but those conversations wont put a silver bullet in the truth behind the prayer life weve all engaged in at some point in our lives.

Considering the religiosity in all of us, Karl Barth wrote: No human demeanor is more open to criticism, more doubtful, or more dangerous than religious demeanor.

And yet, we have, as Keller calls it, that involuntary muscle and reflex that reaches out to God. It shows that we really arent as skeptical about Him as we might think.

And in the end, thats the real us.
Is tithing in the New Testament?

There is presently a teaching that is gaining traction among Christians, which asserts that giving tithes is no longer a requirement in the present New Testament church. There are several reasons given for this position. Two of the most common reasons are:

1. Since tithing is not specifically taught in the New Testament, it is no longer enforced.

2. Tithing is under the law; thus, it is no longer required in the New Covenant.

Giving tithes is not one of the cardinal beliefs necessary for redemption. (It is not as important as the deity of Christ or mercy and justice, see Matthew 23:23). However, it is still an important issue we must grapple with since Jesus said, Where your treasure is, that is where your heart is. Hence, God uses finances as a gauge to see who or what we value the most in life (Matthew 6:21). Jesus also measured the sacrifice people made when they gave money to support the work of God (Mark 12:41-42).

What could the Church do if every member was able to tithe consistently? Thats a question that many churches are asking as they have started running into financial issues over the years.

Here are some alarming statistics in the American church from Health Research Funding:

Total Christian income in the United States is $5.2 trillion annually, nearly half of the worlds total Christian income.

People making 20k or less are 8x more likely to tithe than those making 75k or more.

If Christians followed the Old Testament standard of giving across the board, $139 billion would become available yearly for additional ministry work.

Thirty-seven percent of people who attend church weekly and identify as Evangelical dont give any money to their church.

People who tithe regularly typically have less debt than other demographics. Eight out of 10 have zero credit card debt, and 28% are entirely debt free, including not having a mortgage.

For centuries, thousands of churches and most mainline denominations have depended on the tithes of the faithful to meet their budgets and have provisions to fulfill their mission. Although the above two arguments seem persuasive, the following are reasons why tithing is still a requirement in this present kingdom age:

1. The principle of giving God the first portion of our income or blessings was instituted centuries before the Law of Moses. Thus, giving tithes is not under the Law because it predates the law.

It was handed down from Adam and Eve to their children (Genesis 4:4).

Abraham practiced tithing (Genesis 14:20).

Jacob made a vow to tithe to God (Genesis 28:20-22).

2. The New Testament did not have to teach tithing because the early church was Jewish. The Old Testament was their text, and thus tithing was already assumed.

Suppose tithing is no longer in force because it was not explicitly taught in the New Testament? By following this line of reasoning, Christians can also say that bestiality and incest are acceptable since Jesus never specifically taught against these sins (Leviticus 18:22-23.)

3. Tithing was either taught or implied in the New Testament.

Jesus encouraged people to tithe (Matthew 23:23).

Romans 2:22 condemns the robbing of temples which Malachi 3:8-11 seems to indicate had to do with holding back the tithe. The Jews were generally never guilty of robbing the temple's contents, so this verse in Romans could point to the withholding of food from the storehouse.

First Corinthians 16:2 seems to imply that giving was based on a percentage of a persons income.

4. Old Testament principles for giving have been carried over (in principle) to the New Testament.

Because there is no longer one central tabernacle or location for worship, the tithe is to be left with the elders at the gates (Deuteronomy 12:8-12). Also, since the Spirit is now poured out on all flesh and all believers can enter the Holy of Holies by the blood of Christ, one central location is no longer applicable (Hebrews 10:19-23).

Deuteronomy 14:28: When it was too far to travel to give the tithe, it was to be left in decentralized locations across the nation with the elders at the gates. This fits the pattern of the New Testament, with local churches spread across the globe (1 Corinthians 16:2).

In Malachi 3:8-14 the Lord commands the tithe to be brought to the storehouse. In our case, in principle, the storehouse seems to fit local churches best because of their need to store money to fulfill their divine mandate to take care of Gods people and preach the Gospel.

The poll tax (Numbers 3:47), first fruits (Proverbs 3:9), various offerings, and the tithe, if added up, come to much more than 10% and were used to minister to the following: To support the Levites (Numbers 18:24; read 1 Corinthians 9:14 and 1 Timothy 5:17 for the New Testament equivalent). For the aliens, fatherless, and widows (Deut. 14:29; read James 1:27, 1 Timothy 5:3-4, Acts 2:45 for the New Testament equivalent). To build the sanctuary (Exodus 25:1-8). Poll (head) tax for the upkeep of the sanctuary (Numbers 3:47).



Consequently, although we no longer have a central temple and follow the same mosaic guidelines for giving, the general principle is always that the tithe belonged to the Lord, way before the Mosaic law was instituted. If you do not give what God wants you to give, then God cannot show you what He wants you to have.
NIH experiment ends with 2 suicides by trans-identifying youth

The National Institutes of Health is facilitating an ongoing, multi-million dollar mass medical experiment on vulnerable youth, and some of them are winding up in early graves. No, that is not hyperbole.

According to a recently published study in the New England Journal of Medicine documenting psychosocial outcomes in transgender-identifying youth following two years of experimental hormones, two of the young people who were part of this research died by suicide. The study, which was funded by the NIH and published on January 19, examined 315 youth ranging in age from 12 to 20, all of whom identified as either transgender or non-binary.

As is the case with everything in the transgender world, the grisly reality of whats happening is obfuscated with deceptive lingo. The article is littered with gender euphemisms in addition to being full of dense and technical medical language, which lay people struggle to comprehend. This provides the gender ideologue doctors with a seemingly sophisticated cover, as though we do not know what they are really doing: conducting heinous medical experiments on children.

Most appallingly, on page 243 of the NEJM (and in a chart on page 245), these two tragic suicides are casually documented and reduced to mere adverse events. Young people who were being experimented on died by suicide and all they can manage to say is Oops!

But even though two young people died, the conclusion of these researchers  a veritable Whos Who of characters in the pediatric gender clinic world in the U.S.  was, predictably, that the two years of hormones yielded positive psychosocial outcomes for these trans-identified young people.

Research studies such as these are intentionally designed in keeping with a predetermined narrative that gender-affirming care  the most misleading euphemism of all  is to be supported and embraced. Yet their methods are highly questionable.

As journalist Jesse Singal noted in a meticulous analysis of the studys findings in a substack essay last week, the study contained apparent cherry-picked information, and the researchers also notably shifted their emphases in the hypotheses that were indicated from previous research protocol documents. Similarly, Dr. Stanley Goldfarb, a nephrology specialist who chairs the advocacy group Do No Harm and is a former professor at the University of Pennsylvania, told The Daily Signal Wednesday that the study contained no control group against which to measure their results.

Goldfarb further observed that the fact that the subjects were seen in these clinics for some prolonged period of time prior to entry into this study may produce spurious results due to the well-known phenomenon in surveys called demand characteristics. If a survey is conducted under the auspices of the study authors, the results may be influenced by a cheering on effect.



Do No Harm's report on the study also noted that the clinicians who did the study are known gender medicine activists. Indeed, to nobody's surprise, these activist gender clinicians are now cheering this on in a prestigious medical journal, claiming that over the two-year period in which the hundreds of youth that they surveyed were given cross-sex hormones, their happiness and life satisfaction increased and their depression and anxiety symptoms decreased. Never mind that the youth are now possibly sterile, likely have endocrine complications, and are at a much greater risk of cardiovascular disease and various cancers. At least theyre not as anxious!

The NIH must be asked, tersely: Two youth suicides in a taxpayer-funded study? Why wasn't it stopped immediately and investigated? What did the principal investigators know? What did the institutional review boards (IRBs) know?

Such are the types of questions that Dr. Michael Laidlaw, an endocrinologist from Rocklin, California, has been trying to get some answers to for years only to have government bureaucrats blow him off, responding pathetically and in slippery language that is tantamount to gaslighting.

Several years ago the California doctor and his colleagues filed a Freedom of Information Act request and unearthed a progress report from a 5-year NIH grant which started in 2015 and awarded $5.7 million to several pediatric gender clinics to study the impact of early medical treatment in transgender youth. The unearthed report revealed that mid-way through this study, Dr. Johanna Olson-Kennedy, one of the grants awardees, lowered the age for the cross-sex hormone cohort inclusion criteria from 13 years old to 8.

Yes, youre reading that correctly. The NIH signed off on children as young as 8 to be allowed to receive cross-sex hormones, which almost always follow the administration of puberty blockers in this experimental treatment protocol.



In 2019, Laidlaw, along with Dr. William Malone and Hacsi Horvath on behalf of the Kelsey Coalition, wrote a letter to Dr. Jerry Menikoff, the director of the Office of Human Research Protections at the Department of Health and Human Services, expressing his concerns with the grant, providing copies of that letter to then-HHS Secretary Alex Azar and Francis Collins, former director of the NIH. He received a response on May 23 of that year from Dr. Diana Bianchi, the director of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (an NIH subagency) who asserted that the study being conducted was observational and to gather evidence on the hormonal interventions used in pursuit of longitudinal outcomes of medical treatment for transgender youth.

All of Laidlaw's articulated concerns, particularly that the drugs being used on children can lead to infertility and other catastrophic health repercussions went unanswered and, in effect, were breezily dismissed.



The way they define the study as observational is disingenuous because theyre in charge of providing the hormonal agents and then recording the data, Laidlaw told The Christian Post in an interview Tuesday, speaking of what the NIH told him in 2019.

Now we have two kids who have died while taking high-dose opposite-sex hormones that the researchers' clinics had provided. A typical clinical trial would have been halted and investigated and perhaps even stopped entirely. It is absolutely unconscionable that the NIH continues to pour millions of dollars into this study," he added, referencing the NEJM research.

Given all of this, perhaps the cruelest irony of all is the coercive threat that trans activists and their allies in the medical field repeat ad nauseam to panicked parents: that if you do not allow your child to transition they are very likely to or will commit suicide. We dont know the identities of these two dead young people in the NEJM study but here they were, fully allowed to do this as part of research backed by the federal government, and they still died by suicide.



The NIH does not appear to be slowing down with these experiments either. A FOIA-obtained progress report that was recently uncovered indicates that this research is slated to receive even more federal funding through January of 2026. By the time all is said and done, these activist clinicians will have been awarded over $10.6 million in taxpayer dollars.

Then, as now, the NIHs involvement in these sordid experiments cannot be denied. Although few U.S. journalists seem interested in scrutinizing the brewing medical scandal that is pediatric gender medicalization and the government's complicity in it, some mainstream media outlets are finally starting to ask vital questions. Reuters, The New York Times, and NYMag-Intelligencer have all dared to explore these themes more critically in the past few months. Last week, The Atlantic published an article recognizing that de-transitioners  those who once identified as transgender and were irreversibly harmed by blockers, cross-sex hormones, and trans surgeries  should be taken more seriously.

Are these articles evidence of a long-awaited turning tide? I hope so, but it remains to be seen whether the legacy press will continue this trend of more critical coverage.



If they want to show some real journalistic courage, they should start by holding the NIH accountable for its indefensible funding of these medical atrocities.
South Africa: Two cholera cases confirmed in South Africa

Health Minister, Dr Joe Phaahla, has called for vigilance as the country has recorded two laboratory-confirmed cases of cholera imported from Malawi.

According to the department, the cases were confirmed in two sisters, who had travelled together from Johannesburg to Malawi to attend a funeral service, and returned by bus on 30 January 2023.

Both patients had developed symptoms on their return to Johannesburg. One patient presented to a local clinic and was then admitted to hospital. During the case investigation and follow-up of close contacts, the sister reported that she also developed diarrhoea whilst travelling back from Malawi but it resolved within a day and she did not seek health care.

A close contact (household family member) of one of the cases/patients was admitted to hospital on 4 February with diarrhoea and dehydration, and is considered a possible case. Laboratory test results are pending and follow-up of close contacts is ongoing, the department said in a statement.

The department said it is working closely with the affected province, the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) and World Health Organisation (WHO) to closely monitor the situation.

It urged all people experiencing symptoms, including diarrhoea and dehydration, with or without travel history to cholera outbreak countries, to report to their nearest health facilities for health screening and early detection.

The World Health Organisation does not recommend any travel or trade restrictions on countries based on current available information, in line with the international health regulations. Port health officials at the ports of entry (especially land and air) will remain on alert for travellers arriving from countries experiencing a cholera outbreak, the department said.

Cholera is an acute enteric infection caused by the bacteria Vibrio cholera, and outbreaks usually occur in settings with inadequate sanitation and insufficient access to safe drinking water. Cholera typically causes acute watery diarrhoea and can affect people of all ages.

It mainly spreads through contaminated/polluted water, and people can become infected directly through drinking contaminated water, or indirectly through eating contaminated food.

The infection is often mild or without symptoms, but can sometimes be severe and life-threatening.

Symptoms range from mild to severe and watery diarrhoea and dehydration. The incubation period (the period from when a person ingests cholera-contaminated water/food to when they first become ill) ranges from a few hours to five days, usually two to three days.

"Most persons infected with cholera will experience mild illness or not feel ill, the Health Department said.

Although cholera is often predictable and preventable, the department has urged people to ensure proper hand hygiene, including thorough washing of hands with water and soap before and after using the bathroom/toilet, and preparing or eating food.

The use of safe or disinfected water for preparing food, beverages and ice is recommended to prevent possible cholera transmission. Safe disposal of human excrement and nappies is recommended.

The department said cholera is not endemic in South Africa, and the last outbreak was in 2008/9, with about 12 000 cases.

That resulted from an outbreak in Zimbabwe, which led to a surge of imported cases and subsequent local transmission in Mpumalanga and Limpopo provinces through contaminated water, the department said.  SAnews.gov.za

This story has been published on: 2023-02-06. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
Lantern Festival celebrated across China

Xinhua) 08:56, February 06, 2023

People watch a dragon dance performance in Puchang Town of Suiyang County, southwest China's Guizhou Province, Feb. 4, 2023. Various events are held across the country to celebrate the Lantern Festival, the 15th day of the first month of the Chinese lunar calendar, which falls on Feb. 5 this year. (Photo by Li Qianyong/Xinhua)

People perform dragon dance in Puchang Town of Suiyang County, southwest China's Guizhou Province, Feb. 4, 2023. Various events are held across the country to celebrate the Lantern Festival, the 15th day of the first month of the Chinese lunar calendar, which falls on Feb. 5 this year. (Photo by Li Qianyong/Xinhua)

Folk artists perform lion dance at Xiangfeng Town of Laifeng County, Enshi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture, central China's Hubei Province, Feb. 4, 2023. Various events are held across the country to celebrate the Lantern Festival, the 15th day of the first month of the Chinese lunar calendar, which falls on Feb. 5 this year. (Photo by Tang Jun/Xinhua)

People perform dragon dance in Chengguan Town of Shibing County in Qiandongnan Miao and Dong Autonomous Prefecture, southwest China's Guizhou Province, Feb. 4, 2023. Various events are held across the country to celebrate the Lantern Festival, the 15th day of the first month of the Chinese lunar calendar, which falls on Feb. 5 this year. (Photo by Mo Guibin/Xinhua)

Folk artists perform a fire dragon dance in Baojing County, central China's Hunan Province, Feb. 4, 2023. Various events are held across the country to celebrate the Lantern Festival, the 15th day of the first month of the Chinese lunar calendar, which falls on Feb. 5 this year. (Photo by Long Enze/Xinhua)

People perform dragon dance in Pingtou Town of Songtao Miao Autonomous County in Tongren, southwest China's Guizhou Province, Feb. 4, 2023. Various events are held across the country to celebrate the Lantern Festival, the 15th day of the first month of the Chinese lunar calendar, which falls on Feb. 5 this year. (Photo by Long Yuanbin/Xinhua)

People perform lion dance in Dingxi, northwest China's Gansu Province, Feb. 4, 2023. Various events are held across the country to celebrate the Lantern Festival, the 15th day of the first month of the Chinese lunar calendar, which falls on Feb. 5 this year. (Photo by Wang Kexian/Xinhua)

Folk artists perform in Haiqing Town of Qingdao, east China's Shandong Province, Feb. 4, 2023. Various events are held across the country to celebrate the Lantern Festival, the 15th day of the first month of the Chinese lunar calendar, which falls on Feb. 5 this year. (Photo by Wang Peike/Xinhua)

People beat drums and gongs in Yuping Dong Autonomous County of Tongren City, southwest China's Guizhou Province, Feb. 4, 2023. Various events are held across the country to celebrate the Lantern Festival, the 15th day of the first month of the Chinese lunar calendar, which falls on Feb. 5 this year. (Photo by Hu Panxue/Xinhua)

People perform dragon dance in Bincheng District of Binzhou, east China's Shandong Province, Feb. 4, 2023. Various events are held across the country to celebrate the Lantern Festival, the 15th day of the first month of the Chinese lunar calendar, which falls on Feb. 5 this year. (Photo by Li Rongxin/Xinhua)

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun)
One of the bereaved family members of the Itaewon tragedy tries to climb over a barricade in front of the main entrance to Seoul City Hall, Monday, to meet Mayor Oh Se-hoon. The altercation occurred after one of the family members tried to bring an electric heater to the memorial to "warm" the pictures of the loved ones but was fended off by the city government's security officials. Yonhap





By Ko Dong-hwan







The Seoul Metropolitan Government on Monday postponed the removal of a memorial that the authority claims was "illegally" set up by bereaved families of the Itaewon tragedy. Family members and supporters from civic groups set up the memorial at Seoul City Square in front of the city hall in central Seoul on Saturday without giving the city government due notification. The city authority had warned the bereaved group to take down the memorial by Monday 1 p.m. or it would be brought down by force.







As the deadline approached, hundreds of police officers were stationed in different groups around a crowd of families and their supporters as they gathered in front of the memorial. Emergency rescuers were ready close by, while ambulances and police buses were lined up near the scene. There were concerns of a fierce clash between the bereaved group and those under orders from the city government.







But such clashes did not transpire. Instead, there were a series of speeches by those from the bereaved families, civic groups and political parties  with the exception the ruling People Power Party. Ten speakers condemned the city government for not allowing the memorial at the city square and for failing to sympathize with the bereaved families after the city mayor Oh Se-hoon promised to do so.







Lee Jong-chul from the bereaved families of the Itaewon crowd crush tragedy speaks, Monday, in front of a memorial the families set up in front of Seoul City Hall condemning the city government for warning the families to dismantle the site. Other bereaved family members, supporters from civic groups and opposition party lawmakers stand behind Lee. Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chul





Lee Jong-chul, the representative of the bereaved families who lost his child in the tragedy on Oct. 29 last year, said through a microphone in front of the crowd of hundreds that he received a call from one of the city government's vice mayors. Lee said the vice mayor suggested he use a space below Noksapyeong Station, which connects to the Itaewon night-out area on foot, for the memorial.






Prosecutors drop charges against woman arrested for praying outside abortion clinic

The Crown Prosecution Servicein the United Kingdom has dropped charges against a pro-life activist arrested for praying silently outside an abortion clinic but has left the door open to additional prosecution for the same offense in the future.

The nonprofit legal organization ADF UK announced in a statement Friday that prosecutors have informed pro-life activist Isabel Vaughn-Spruce that they have dismissed charges against her for peacefully praying outside of an abortion clinic in Birmingham, England. However, they also told her that charges "may well start again" if they receive new evidence related to the case. She intends to pursue a clear verdict in court.

Vaughn-Spruce's arrest followed the city of Birmingham's implementation of a Public Space Protection Order prohibiting people from "protesting, namely engaging in any act of approval or disapproval or attempted act of approval or disapproval, with respect to issues related to abortion services, by any means" in the area surrounding the BPAS Robert Clinic in Kings Norton, Birmingham. The order identified prayer as one of the activities banned by the order.

In a statement, Vaughn-Spruce indicated her intention to seek a clear verdict in court that will set a precedent for pro-life activists going forward.

"It can't be right that I was arrested and made a criminal, only for praying in my head on a public street," she said.

"So-called 'buffer zone legislation' will result in so many more people like me, doing good and legal activities like offering charitable support to women in crisis pregnancies, or simply praying in their heads, being treated like criminals and even facing court," Vaughn-Spruce added. "It's important to me that I can continue my vital work in supporting women who'd like to avoid abortion if they only had some help."

The activist said it's essential to have "clarity as to my legal status."

"Many of us need an answer as to whether it's still lawful to pray silently in our own heads," she said. "That's why I'll be pursuing a verdict regarding my charges in court."

ADF UK legal counsel Jeremiah Igunnubole said in a statement that his client was arrested "simply for [her] thoughts," saying "no one should fear prosecution for silent prayer and thoughts in the privacy of their mind."

"It's quite another [thing] to initially deem those thoughts to be sufficient evidence to justify charges, then discontinue those charges due to 'insufficient evidence,' and then to warn that further evidence relating to the already unclear charges may soon be forthcoming so as to restart the entire grueling process from the beginning," Igunnabole said.

"This is a clear instance of the process becoming the punishment creating a chilling effect on free expression and freedom of thought, conscience and belief."

Vaughn-Spruce, who serves as the director of March for Life UK, was arrested outside the abortion clinic on Dec. 6.

Video footage of the arrest shows a police officer asking her why she was standing outside the facility, inquiring "are you praying?" She replied, "I might be praying in my head, not out loud."

The officer proceeded to ask Vaughn-Spruce if she would voluntarily accompany him to the police station so he could ask her some questions about her presence outside the abortion clinic.

When she declined, he placed her under arrest for failing to comply with the Public Space Protection Order. While the police did not put her in handcuffs, they did engage in a lengthy search of the pro-life activist.

An account of Vaughn-Spruce's questioning at the police station revealed that law enforcement presented her with pictures of herself outside the clinic, asking if she was praying, causing her to reiterate her earlier response that she "might" have been praying. At the same time, she suggested that she also may have been thinking about her lunch.

Shortly after Vaughn-Spruce's arrest, CitizenGo launched a petition to U.K. Home Secretary Suella Braverman, urging her to drop all charges against the pro-life activist. It has accumulated nearly 56,000 signatures as of Friday morning.
Tribal Christians recount horrors of devastating spate of attacks carried out by Hindu nationalist mobs 'They would have killed me and my family had I not fled to the jungle'

Tribal Christians in the Indian state of Chhattisgarh continue to suffer the aftermath of a series of brutal attacks carried out by Hindu nationalists in recent months, resulting in more than 2,500 Christians becoming homeless and hundreds of homes being vandalized and looted.

There wasnt even a time for me to lock the door of my house before I fled to the jungle, the U.S.-based persecution watchdog International Christian Concern quoted a distressed tribal Christian as saying.

The ferocity of the attacks has left many Christians feeling traumatized and constantly living in fear, ICC said.

They would have killed me and my family had I not fled to the jungle, a survivor, identified only as Pastor Kanan, was quoted as saying. The phone call that I received from my friend saved my life  he alerted me about the furious mob that was advancing toward our village Gadhbengal carrying sharp weapons and sticks.

A recent report by a fact-finding team said a series of attacks on Christians, who are tribal, or indigenous, took place from Dec. 918, 2022, in numerous villages in the two districts displacing about 1,000 Christians.

Their homes were vandalized and their churches and properties were attacked for refusing to re-convert to Hinduism.

On New Years Day, an anti-Christian mob of nearly 700 radicals mobilized in the Christian-populated area of Gadhbengal village, and destroyed homes and properties, ICC said, adding that around 200 Christians escaped the mob when they were alerted about rioters heading their way.

Later, a video, shared by Global Christian Relief, showed hundreds of protesters armed with rocks, iron rods and wooden sticks attacking the 50-year-old Sacred Heart Church in Narayanpur districts Edka village on Jan. 2.

The mob destroyed everything, the church and the presbytery, Sacred Heart parish priest Fr. Jomon Devasia told UCA News at the time. A tense situation prevails here.

Two local leaders from the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi  Rupsai Salam and Narayan Markam  were among the accused.

Many of those affected also sustained serious injuries in the attack, ICC said.

Despite this, some Christians have returned to their villages, while others remain concerned about future attacks.

Attacks against tribal Christians have increased since radical Hindu groups launched a campaign in 2020 to stop the countrys tribal, or indigenous, people from converting to Christianity. These groups have been demanding that the government ban those who convert from receiving educational and employment opportunities.

Most tribals do not identify as Hindus; they have diverse religious practices and many worship nature. However, the governments Census classifies them as Hindu.

In September 2020, tribal villagers vandalized 16 houses belonging to Christians from the same tribe in three separate attacks in Chhattisgarh, forcing most of the Christian women in those villages to flee into jungles for safety at the time.

Chhattisgarh is one of several Indian states with anti-conversion laws, and the violence has left the Christian community with little protection or recourse from the government, ICC noted.

While Christians comprise only 2.3% of Indias population and Hindus account for about 80%, proponents of such laws say they are needed to crack down on Christians or Muslims forcing or giving money to Hindus to persuade them to convert.

These laws typically ban conversion through coercion, allurement, fraudulent practices, marriage or misrepresentation. Hindu nationalist activists and groups have often used the laws to file allegations of forced conversion with police against religious minorities. The burden of proof falls on those accused to prove that conversions were not done in force.

ICC earlier quoted a local Christian leader as saying that the ongoing violence in Chhattisgarh had brought back traumatic memories of the attacks in Odisha states Kandhamal district, which is also a tribal-majority district.

The leader was referring to August 2008 when radical Hindu nationalists killed at least 39 Christians and destroyed 3,906 homes. These incidents have shocked the entire Christian community in the state, and the sad thing is that the people in authority did not bother to help.

The group Release International has predicted that persecution is likely to increase in India, where radical Hindus appear increasingly emboldened by the dominance of the nation's right-wing BJP government.

Religious freedom conditions in India have drastically deteriorated in recent years following the election of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the rise of the BJP in 2014, a report by the group said.
Pope Francis calls on South Sudanese churches not to stay neutral when witness to acts of injustice Catholics walk 9 days to meet the pontiff in Juba

Pope Francis, who is on a three-day peace mission in South Sudan, met with the Catholic leadership, urging churches in the war-torn country not to remain neutral but to speak out against injustice and the abuse of power, as dozens of pilgrims spent nine days walking to reach the capital city of Juba to meet the pontiff.

On his first full day in South Sudan on Saturday, Francis addressed Catholic bishops, priests, and nuns in Jubas St. Theresa Cathedral.

Brothers and sisters, we, too, are called to intercede for our people, to raise our voices against the injustice and the abuses of power that oppress and use violence to suit their own ends, The Guardian quoted Francis as saying.

He said religious leaders cannot remain neutral before the pain caused by acts of injustice.

South Sudan has experienced civil war resulting from ethnic conflicts since 2013, two years after gaining independence from Sudan. Despite a 2018 peace agreement, the situation has not improved.

Let us ask ourselves what it means for us to be ministers of God in a land scarred by war, hatred, violence and poverty, the pope said. How can we exercise our ministry in this land, along the banks of a river (White Nile) bathed in so much innocent blood?

Many citizens of South Sudan see the church as a source of hope as it plays a prominent role in social welfare and in providing a sense of community.

According to the United Nations, there are 2.2 million internally displaced people in South Sudan, with another 2.3 million who have fled the country as refugees.

Francis also met with internally displaced people (IDPs) at Freedom Hall in Juba, Catholic News Agency reported.

You, from all your different ethnic groups, you who have suffered and are still suffering, you who do not want to respond to evil with more evil. You, who choose fraternity and forgiveness, are even now cultivating a better tomorrow, he was quoted as saying. Be seeds of hope, which make it possible for us already to glimpse the tree that one day, hopefully in the near future, will bear fruit.

Sara Beysolow Nyanti, a representative of the United Nations Mission in South Sudan, also spoke at the event. She said an estimated 8 million people in the country are expected to experience food insecurity this year.

About 60 Catholic pilgrims completed a nine-day journey on foot to seek the Popes blessings in Juba, BBC reported.

Some women in the group said their faith and love for their country sustained them during their long journey to see the pope. NightRose Falea, a pilgrim, was quoted as saying, When the spirit is with you, you do not get tired.

They spent several hours each day walking and spent the nights at parishes along the way. It was tiring but worth it, another pilgrim, Faith Biel, was quoted as saying.

Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby and the head of the Church of Scotland, Iain Greenshields, are accompanying the pope in South Sudan.
12 Christians killed by radical Fulani herdsmen as Nigeria rises among ranks of worst persecutors

ABUJA, Nigeria  After authorities in Nigeria ignored warnings that thousands of cattlemen were arriving in Benue state, suspected herdsmen attacked two villages there and killed 12 Christians, sources said.

Last Saturday, the assailants attacked Ichembe and Mbaigbe villages in Kwande County and wounded dozens of others, besides destroying houses, crops and farms, said Michael Aondohemba, general coordinator of the Turan Peoples Assembly (TUPA).

Before these attackers unleashed their fangs of terror on our hitherto peaceful communities, we had raised early warning alarms on the influx of thousands of herdsmen into the banks areas of River Benue where our communities are located, Aondohemba said. We had called on security agencies to intervene, but no help came, thereby leaving our helpless, poor and innocent people vulnerable.

Area resident Joseph Asawa sent Morning Star News a text message stating that the 12 people killed were Christians.

The 12 Christians were gruesomely massacred by suspected herdsmen, Asawa said. Many other Christians were displaced from the two communities, and theyre currently taking refuge at Jato-Aka town.

Aondohemba of TUPA said that the destruction inflicted on the two villages left no doubt that the assailants were planning further bloodshed in the communities.

We are thoroughly pained that these suspected herdsmen have continued to terrorize our communities despite the alarm raised by Christians in the area, Aondohemba said. We view the renewed onslaught against our communities as a scheme aimed at decimating us and gradually entrenching anarchy in our communities.

He called on the Nigerian government to urgently come to their aid.

Aondohemba identified five of the slain as Tersugh Iorliam, Tersoo Samu, Ngolo Ndera, Ternenge Asaku and Udoji Penda.

Seven other Christians killed have had their corpses evacuated to the mortuary in a hospital in the area, he said.

A member of Nigerias National Assembly, Bob Tyough, said that entire Christian communities were being destroyed by armed herdsmen and other terrorists while the government seemed incapable of curtailing the carnage.

Human life is sacred, and only God who is the supreme Creator has the right to freely take what He gives, Tyough said. It is my belief that those who attack the innocents have no single atom of piety in their heart and therefore should not expect mercy from the supreme Creator.

He called on the government to order security agencies to urgently end attacks, and he decried the surge of such atrocities in Benue state.

I empathize with families of the Christian victims over the death of their loved ones and want them to take solace in the fact that the fallen ones have only gone to rest with their Creator and at the appointed time will surely rise with Jesus Christ on the judgment day, Tyough said.

Nigeria led the world in Christians killed for their faith in 2022, with 5,014, according to Open Doors 2023 World Watch List report. It also led the world in Christians abducted (4,726), sexually assaulted or harassed, forcibly married or physically or mentally abused, and it had the most homes and businesses attacked for faith-based reasons. As in the previous year, Nigeria had the second-highest number of church attacks and internally displaced people.

In the 2023 World Watch List of the countries where it is most difficult to be a Christian, Nigeria jumped to sixth place, its highest ranking ever, from No. 7 the previous year.

Militants from the Fulani, Boko Haram, Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) and others conduct raids on Christian communities, killing, maiming, raping and kidnapping for ransom or sexual slavery, the WWL report noted. This year has also seen this violence spill over into the Christian-majority south of the nation Nigerias government continues to deny this is religious persecution, so violations of Christians rights are carried out with impunity.

Numbering in the millions across Nigeria and the Sahel, predominantly Muslim Fulani comprise hundreds of clans of many different lineages who do not hold extremist views, but some Fulani do adhere to radical Islamist ideology, the United Kingdoms All-Party Parliamentary Group for International Freedom or Belief (APPG) noted in a recent report.

They adopt a comparable strategy to Boko Haram and ISWAP and demonstrate a clear intent to target Christians and potent symbols of Christian identity, the APPG report states.

Christian leaders in Nigeria have said they believe herdsmen attacks on Christian communities in Nigerias Middle Belt are inspired by their desire to forcefully take over Christians lands and impose Islam as desertification has made it difficult for them to sustain their herds.
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The main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) decided Monday to introduce an impeachment motion against the interior minister over the government's alleged bungled response to the Itaewon crowd crush.







The decision was made at a general meeting of lawmakers earlier in the day.







The DPK had called on President Yoon Suk Yeol to fire Interior Minister Lee Sang-min, railroading a dismissal motion against Lee in December to hold him responsible for the Oct. 29 tragedy that killed 159 people.







The presidential office said the motion, which is not legally binding, should be considered after probes into the crowd crush are completed.







Lee himself has also refused to step down. (Yonhap)


Ruling People Power Party chairman candidate Rep. Ahn Cheol-soo, second from right, pays respect to the national flag during a party event in southern Seoul's Dongjak District, Sunday. Yonhap



By Nam Hyun-woo



Rep. Ahn Cheol-soo, a chairman candidate for the ruling People Power Party (PPP), suspended his public activities on Monday, following a conflict with the presidential office over his remarks on a coalition between himself and President Yoon Suk Yeol.



According to Ahn's camp, the three-term lawmaker has canceled his appearance at a volunteer service and an interview with local broadcaster KBS, as well as other public events scheduled for the day, other than a radio interview with broadcaster MBC that he had appeared on before the announcement. He will hold an event to announce his political vision on Tuesday as scheduled.



"Ahn cleared his (Monday) schedule to take a breather and explore strategies for political affairs," his camp said in a text message to reporters. "With the chairman election being overheated, we will focus on exploring policies more specifically."



The suspension came after Ahn and the presidential office exchanged accusations over Ahn's description of his relationship with President Yoon as a "coalition" during the past weekend.



On Sunday, senior presidential secretary for political affairs Lee Jin-bok told reporters that "Ahn's use of the term 'Ahn-Yoon coalition' is absolutely the wrong expression, because the president and the candidate are not on the same level," calling the remarks an "attempt to drag the president into the party chairman election."



According to another unnamed presidential secretary, "The president has said that he will consider those who seek political benefits by using terms such as 'Yoon haek gwan' destroyers or enemies," referring to a term which translates as "Yoon's close confidants." Ahn used the term during his appearance on a YouTube channel on Feb. 3.



During his radio interview with MBC on Monday morning, Ahn refuted the presidential office's criticisms.



"It is very inappropriate for the presidential office to intervene in the party's chairman election," he said.



However, he took a step back, also saying, "I will not use the term (Yoon-Ahn coalition) if the president thinks it is inappropriate."



Regarding the term "Yoon haek gwan," Ahn also said he didn't expect Yoon to be upset about it.



The suspension of Ahn's campaigning has a familiar ring. Former PPP lawmaker Na Kyung-won, who was leading surveys on the PPP chairmanship earlier this year, withdrew her bid following a conflict with the presidential office.



After Na dropped her bid, Ahn rose to the pole position in surveys. But now he is getting crossfire from the presidential office and the PPP's mainstream pro-Yoon faction. In the meantime, rival candidate Rep. Kim Gi-hyeon is seeking support from members for the party leadership race, styling himself as Yoon's pick.



Among party members outside the pro-Yoon faction, suggestions that the presidential office is "intervening" in the party's chairman election are growing.



"The presidential office's intervention is very inappropriate," Cheon Ha-ram, PPP's Suncheon Gap chapter head and a candidate for the party chairman election, said during an interview with broadcaster CBS. "Yoon should clearly say that he will not intervene in the election."





Ruling People Power Party chairman candidates Reps. Ahn Cheol-soo, right, and Kim Gi-hyeon shake hands during a party event in southern Seoul's Dongjak District, Sunday. Yonhap
Terrence Higgins Trust appoints next CEO

Richard Angell has been appointed the chief executive of sexual health charity the Terrence Higgins Trust (THT). He will take over from Ian Green in March who has been in the role for seven years.

Angell joined the THT as its interim head of policy and public affairs in 2020 before being promoted to campaigns director, and now chief executive. He was key to securing 20m in government funding for opt-out HIV testing in emergency departments in areas of high HIV prevalence and the removal of discriminatory exclusions in blood donations that affect gay and bisexual men. Before he joined the charity, Angell worked for the think tank Progress.

Jonathan McShane, chair of THT, said: Following a robust recruitment process, were thrilled to announce Richard Angell as the new chief executive of Terrence Higgins Trust. Richards talent, passion and drive mean hes the right person to ensure the charity makes the progress against our big goals  ending new HIV cases by 2030, ensuring everyone living with HIV is living well and tackling the acute inequalities in sexual and reproductive health.

New CEO for St Giles Trust

St Giles Trust has appointed Tracey Burley as its new chief executive. She succeeds Rob Owen, who leaves the charity at the end of March after 15 years.

Burley joins from Redthread, where she is acting as interim chief executive officer. Prior to this, she was chief operating officer of Stonewall. Before this, she was non-executive director of Careers England. She founded Pure Consulting in 2019, a consultancy firm that specializes in supporting charities and not-for-profit organisations.

Duncan Gibson, chair of the St Giles board, said: We are confident that with her experience and passion, Tracey will build on the past success of St Giles, enabling us to continue to deliver innovative and effective services that address the changing landscape and enormous challenges facing our clients. She is a proven leader and has successfully steered corporate direction and strategy; she is highly experienced in developing the culture needed for a thriving organisation. I am truly excited for the future of St Giles and what we can all achieve together.

Motor Neurone Disease Association appoints CEO

Tanya Curry has been appointed CEO of Motor Neurone Disease Association (MND). She succeeds Sally Light, who announced she was stepping down after ten years last year.

Curry has twelve years of experience as a chief executive officer. She was formerly CEO of St Clare Hospice for over eight years, and after that became interim chief executive at a variety of charities including Ramblers and Impetus.

On her appointment, Curry said: The Association is in a really strong position financially and awareness of motor neurone disease is better than it has ever been. I am excited to be able to use my skills to lead the organisation on the next stage of its journey.

Ill be working with the team here to build on what we already do really well, and extend our reach, influence and impact to benefit all those people who are affected by MND now and, sadly, will be in the future.

Griffin Institute welcomes CEO

Surgical training and medical research charity the Griffin Institute has appointed Dr Vasiliki Kiparoglou as its chief executive.

With a history of experience working in the research and healthcare industry, she is a trustee of Cancer Awareness for Teens & Twenties and worked for 10 years at the NIHR Oxford Biomedical Research Centre. She is co-founder of EvZein Limited, a digital platform to prevent loneliness and social isolation.

New chief for CHS Group

CHS Group, the Cambridgeshire charitable housing association and social enterprise, has named Stephen Hills its chief executive. He succeeds Nigel Howlett, who steps down after 22 years at the helm.

He has been promoted from operations director at the organisation, a role he held for almost five years. He is chair of the Ermine Street Housing Limited and was formerly director of housing at South Cambridgeshire District Council.

Hill said: I want to take the opportunity to thank each and every member of staff here at CHS Group for their unwavering hard work and commitment throughout the pandemic and the challenges faced in recent months. I am excited for the future of CHS Group and am completely committed to my new role as chief ececutive. I am looking forward to working together with staff, board members, stakeholders and members of the community in furthering our mission to ensure local people across Cambridgeshire achieve a better quality of life.

The Fund for Global Human Rights announces CEO

Gabriela Bucher has been announced as the next president and CEO of The Fund for Global Human Rights, a charity that supports individuals and organisations working on human rights struggles. She will join the charity in May.

She joins from Oxfam International where she was executive director for over two years. She has experience working at Plan International UK in various roles and as a fundraising manager at Children Change Colombia.

Chris Canavan, chair of the board, said: We were fortunate to select the Funds next president and CEO from a remarkably strong field of candidates, all of whom were animated by the organisations mission. Gabriela stood out as an exceptional leader and a visionary thinker, with an ambitious vision for the Funds future. Gabriela has left a lasting impact on every place shes worked, and we have no doubt she will continue to transform the Fund.

Interim CEO for Central YMCA

Central YMCA, the education and wellbeing charity, has appointed Ryan Palmer as its interim chief executive. He succeeds Arvinda Gohil, who announced she would be stepping down last October.

Palmer joined the charity in 2018 as director of quality and was most recently appointed to deputy chief executive. He holds work experience in both the education and sport sector. He has experience as a personal trainer, lecturer in sport and quality director at Skillnet Limited.

Andrew Beal, chair of Central YMCA said, "The board is delighted to appoint Ryan as its new interim CEO. His extensive experience and knowledge of the charity will serve him well in his new role. We are confident that he will work hard with the team to continue developing Central YMCA's services and we wish him every success. With the near-term leadership of the charity secured, the board will look to appoint a permanent CEO over the next few months."

CPRE appoints CEO

CPRE, the countryside charity, has appointed Roger Mortlock as the new chief executive.

He joins CPRE from the Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust (GWT) where he has been CEO for the past nine years. He has led the GWT through a period of significant change, increasing the ambition of their programmes and doubling income.

Prior to the GWT, Mortlock was deputy director of the Soil Association and, before that, director of communications with the Royal Shakespeare Company.

Mortlock said: CPRE champions many of the issues Im most passionate about so Im thrilled to be joining the team. The countryside is facing some unprecedented challenges so a strong voice from CPRE nationally and locally is more important than ever.

He will officially start with CPRE on Tuesday 2 May 2023 and succeeds Crispin Truman OBE, who was CEO from 2017 to 2022 and is now director of the Rayne Foundation.

BHF medical director to step down

The British Heart Foundation (BHF) has announced that its medical director, Professor Sir Nilesh Samani, will step down from his role in the year ahead.



Samani has led the BHFs research and medical strategy since 2016, and has led the charity to launch cutting-edge research initiatives including the BHF Data Science Centre and the charitys 30m global research competition, the Big Beat Challenge.



Samani is expected to step down some time after September this year, to allow time for the charity to appoint new leadership and manage a smooth transition.



Dr Charmaine Griffiths, chief executive of the BHF, said Samanis vision has led to the BHF being bolder than ever in investing in pioneering research to save and improve lives, and his leadership through the pandemic both protected vital research and enhanced knowledge of cardiovascular risk when it was needed most.

Director for Scotland appointed at British Red Cross

The British Red Cross has announced the appointment of Rob Murray as their new director for Scotland.

He joins from Cancer Support Scotland where he was chief executive for four years. Murray is also the chair of Voluntary Health Scotland and a keen scouter leading their Community Impact volunteer programme across the UK.

Mike Adamson, chief executive of the British Red Cross: Robs passionate support for the voluntary sector in Scotland can be seen through his track record with prestigious organisations such as Changing Faces, Cancer Support Scotland and as the Chair of Voluntary Health Scotland. His experience will be an asset as we continue to grow our work in Scotland to ensure everyone gets the help they need in a crisis.

Murray takes over from Marie Hayes who retires after 11 years leading the organisations Health and Crisis Response services across Scotland.

Shelter hires director of services

Shelter has appointed Judith Banjoko as the new director of services this month. She previously worked at the charity Solace, where she was the interim chief executive.

At Shelter, Banjoko will lead on the charitys key strategic aim of working with individuals with lived experience and their communities across England.

Polly Neate, chief executive of Shelter, said: Judith will bring a wealth of expertise both from her experience of working directly with people at the sharpest end of the housing emergency, and her values-driven approach to leadership. Im very excited to welcome her to our leadership

team.



Banjoko replaces Ali Mohammed, who is retiring after eight years at Shelter.

Canal & River Trust appoints fundraising director

Canal & River Trust has announced the appointment of Maggie Gardner as the charitys new fundraising director.



She has enjoyed a long career in fundraising, marketing and executive leadership, notably 15 years as director at global development charity Practical Action, and more recently working with the Freedom Fund, a global US-based charity, and in consultancy.

Richard Parry, chief executive at Canal & River Trust, said: Im delighted to welcome Maggie to the Trust. As a charity we are facing ever-greater challenges to keep our 250-year-old waterways safe and available to all, with more frequent extreme weather events taking a toll and the costs of maintaining this precious network spiralling.

New chair at Sing Up Foundation

The Sing Up Foundation has appointed Dr Jeremy Sleith as the next chair. He brings experience in the music education sector as head of St Helens Music Service since 2008 and has been a trustee of the Sing Up Foundation since 2020.

Departing chair of trustees, David Sulkin, said: It was an honour and pleasure to serve as the chair of the Sing Up Foundation for five years.

Sleith said: I feel very fortunate to be taking over the role of chair from David as he has laid the secure foundations for the work we have been developing. It has been great to be involved with the Sing Up Foundation as we bring together a broad range of resources and approaches to support young people at this most-needed time.

Camelot announces changes to its board

Camelots Chairman Sir Hugh Robertson will be stepping down, having been appointed as Camelots independent non-executive chairman in 2018.

Nigel Railton will leave Camelot after 24 years with the company, having served as chief executive since 2017.

Robertson said: Its been an enormous privilege to have been Camelots chairman. Since 2017, National Lottery sales have grown from 6.9 billion to 8.1 billion last year.

Railton said: I am so proud of what we at Camelot have achieved since launching The National Lottery and, in particular, the successes since I took over as CEO. I believe we can say with confidence that we delivered on the commitments we made at the time of the strategic review in 2017, and that the plan that we built and executed together has delivered far in excess of what we had forecast.

Allwyn Group has separately announced that it will appoint Clare Swindell and Neil Brocklehurst, currently chief financial officer and commercial director respectively at Camelot, as co-chief executives to lead Camelot, which will continue to operate The National Lottery separately from Allwyn UK through to the end of the third licence in January 2024.

In addition, Keith Mills is expected to be appointed as the new chair at closing of the transaction, subject to regulatory approvals.

New trustees at British Science Association Council

The British Science Association (BSA) has appointed three new trustees who will serve as members of the BSAs Council.

The BSA is governed by a Council which forms the board of trustees. Each trustee serves a three-year term and can stand for a re-election for a second term.



The trustees, who will commence their three-year term this month, are: Kevin Coutinho as equality, diversity & inclusion (EDI) lead trustee; Sarah Chaytor as vice president for policy, partnerships & impact (PPI); and Phil Smith as community engagement lead trustee.

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Interior Minister Lee Sang-min gazes into space during an interpellation session at the National Assembly in Seoul, Monday. The main opposition Democratic Party of Korea has introduced a bill to impeach the minister over the Itaewon tragedy. Newsis



Ruling party accuses DPK of political maneuvering to protect its embattled leader



By Jung Min-ho



The main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) is seeking to impeach Interior Minister Lee Sang-min, blaming him for having failed to protect the 159 innocent lives lost in a crowd crush last Halloween in Itaewon, a popular nightlife district in Seoul.



National Assembly Speaker Kim Jin-pyo told a plenary meeting Monday that an impeachment motion signed by its 176 members, including DPK floor leader Park Hong-keun, has been submitted.



After a general meeting of DPK lawmakers, Park said the party plans to put the bill to a vote at the Assembly on Wednesday.



The move comes two months after the DPK-controlled Assembly passed a motion calling for President Yoon Suk Yeol to sack Lee over his "incompetence," which it claimed let the Oct. 29 tragedy happen. The legally-unbinding demand has remained unheeded.






President Yoon Suk Yeol speaks during a Cabinet meeting at the presidential office in Seoul on Jan. 25. Yonhap



President Yoon Suk Yeol instructed the government on Monday to come up with measures to provide humanitarian assistance to Iran and Turkey hit hard by recent earthquakes, his office said.



Yoon gave the instruction to the presidential National Security Office and the foreign ministry.






Metro Manila (CNN Philippines)  Isabelle Miranda, one of the Batang Matibay Bear Brand awardees, perfectly displays what it means to persevere despite hardships in life.

In a CNN Philippines segment, Isabelle shared how she endures epilepsy and turns her difficulties into motivations to study more and inspire other children.

A student from San Pedro Central Elementary School in Calabarzon, Isabelle explained that she commonly has seizures and would space out between conversations, which would lead to some people misunderstanding her.

Photo from CNN Philippines' Newsroom Ngayon

"Some people say that I don't understand what we're talking about or it's just that I'm not listening to what they're talking about," she shared.

"What usually happens is I get hit by words like I don't know anything or like I'm not listening to our conversation," she added.

When Isabelle started schooling, she had difficulty writing as a side effect of one of her medications. To compensate for her slow writing, she would usually skip lunch only to end up still being the last to finish.

She was also bullied for her shortcomings, but that didn't stop her from taking each challenge with grit and determination.

"What I usually do is I take it as a motivation para mas mapagpursigi ko ang aking pagaaral (to push harder in my studies)," she said.

Resilience

Aside from Isabelle, other awardees for Batang Matibay Bear Brand 2022 are Sean Geralyn Mara, Mark John Alayon, Xoann Kyle Ocampo, Cryzon Jay Ambinang, Jerald Pelonita, and Matt Jayrus Evangelista.

Just like Isabelle, these kids reflect resilience and perseverance as they endured challenges and found their own ways of adapting.

Jerald from Guihulngan, Negros Oriental was born without arms but was hailed as Champion for the Division level National Art Contest after rising above his peers and choosing to practice art using his feet.

Cryzon Jay, meanwhile, walks more than 2 hours to get to one of DepEd's last mile schools. Being part of a Manobo tribe who lives in a secluded area in a mountainside in North Cotabato meant a few extra challenges as a student.

Despite his own personal struggles, he excelled in school and extracurricular activities, which includes leading several student organization projects in their school. One project was distributing modules in his community and organizing a feeding program for the tribe.

Mark John from Roxas, Capiz, on another hand, faced challenges within his family as his mother battled cancer while his father maintained expenses from a job as a construction worker.

The awardee persevered despite the heaviness of his situation and joined programs sponsored by his school or barangay. Mark John excels in school while also helping his father raise livestock, plant vegetables, do household chores, taking care of his mother, and studying.

Nestle Philippines BEO Russel Lipchin said the Batang Matibay Bear Brand awards are done in partnership with the Department of Education to recognize and celebrate the determination and grit of public school children.

Photo from CNN Philippines' Newsroom Ngayon

"Nutrition and learning go hand-in-hand," Lipchin explained. "Nutrition is a foundation of a strong body to match the strength of will. That enables you to learn - not only learning in school but also learning in life."

According to nutritionist Babylyn Cayabyab, nutrition is very important for kids to have the proper growth and development needed for skills in school.

These essential nutrients, which include Iron, Zinc, Vitamin C, Protein, Calcium and Vitamin D, are found in complete meals everyday including milk.

As a message to other children, Isabelle urged them to push through the challenges and keep on pursuing their studies.

"Always remember to never give up and take any challenges in life that you encounter as a motivation so mas mapagpupursigi niyo pa ang inyong pag-aaral (so you can push harded in your studies)," Isabelle said.

Listen to Isabelle's full story here.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, February 5)  Businessman Roberto V. Ongpin, one of the Philippines richest, died on Saturday, a relative confirmed.

Roberto Velayo Ongpin, chairman of Alphaland Corporation, passed away in his sleep last night in Balesin Island. He was 86 years old (born on January 6, 1937), the relative said in a text message to CNN Philippines on Sunday.

He is survived by his wife, Monica Arellano, his children, Stephen, Anna, Michelle and Julian, and four grandchildren, two of whom he got to play with before he went to sleep last night, it added.

The relative also said Ongpins remains will be brought to Manila, and his immediate family will make an official announcement regarding wake details.

In August 2022, Forbes Magazine reported that Ongpin was the 23rd richest Filipino with a net worth of $830 million.

Forbes also described Ongpins Alphaland as a high-end property developer that delisted in 2014 after a messy split with a U.K. investment group.

Ongpin also developed the Balesin Island Club, a 500-hectare exclusive resort in Polillo, Quezon.

In 2016, he stepped down as chairman and director of online gaming company PhilWeb and all its subsidiaries after being tagged by former President Rodrigo Duterte as one of the oligarchs in the country who had to be "destroyed."

In 2017, the Court of Appeals cleared Ongpin of insider trading charges involving his shares in Philex Mining Corp., reversing a 2016 en banc ruling of the Securities and Exchange Commission that ordered to disqualify the businessman from becoming part of the board of any Philippine Stock Exchange-listed firm and to pay a fine of 174 million.

Ongpin also served as the Minister of Commerce and Industry during the presidency of the late dictator Ferdinand E. Marcos.
Eastern Leyte (CNN Philippines, February 5)  Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) in Tacloban visited on Sunday the Chinese vessel that was rescued off the coast of Suluan Island in Guiuan, Eastern Samar last week.

The PCG personnel, headed by Lt Commander Ramil Montemar, brought supplies that included rice, canned goods, fruits, and water for the crew of the FV KAI DA 899 that was docked some four nautical miles from Tacloban City Port area.

The PCG first inspected the oil spill boom they installed around the vessel to protect the area from a possible oil leakage.

Montemar said they also wanted to check on the condition of the crew but they were not allowed to go on board by Cherry Song, who was identified as the person who called the PCG and reported the situation of the distressed Chinese vessel last January.

According to him, Song joined the PCG, Bureau of Immigration, and Bureau of Customs personnel during the inspection of the vessel when it arrived in Tacloban on Jan. 28.

Since they could not board the vessel, PCG personnel handed over the supplies they brought to the Chinese crew.

Montemar added they were supposed to deliver to the Chinese crew a letter requesting a meeting with their representative. He said Song promised to send a representative to the PCG office to get the letter.

The PCG is conducting regular security patrols in the area to ensure the safety of the Chinese crew and to check for a possible oil spill.


Yoon should stop meddling in party chairman election



It is a pity that the ruling People Power Party (PPP) has been entangled in severe in-house disputes ahead of the March 8 national convention to pick a new party leader. The presidential office and some close confidants of President Yoon Suk Yeol are taking flak for desperately mustering support behind Rep. Kim Gi-hyeon, regarded as the pro-Yoon candidate, against stalwart rival Rep. Ahn Cheol-soo.



The presidential office cannot deflect criticism for meddling in the leadership contest despite the need to remain neutral, thus infringing upon the principle of party democracy. For starters, in apparent political revenge, the office dismissed former Rep. Kim Young-woo, who is heading Ahn's election campaign, from his post as a member of the Presidential Committee of National Cohesion.



Some media outlets quoted presidential office staff as saying that "Rep. Ahn is not pro-Yoon." They even described Ahn as an "enemy" and "barricader" impeding state administration by attempting to disparage Yoon using the expression, "Yoon haek gwan," referring to some key associates of the president within the PPP. Such moves defy an earlier pledge of neutrality made in the lead-up to the party convention.



Adding fuel to the conflict, on Monday, senior presidential secretary for political affairs Lee Jin-bok took aim at Ahn. "It is totally wrong (for Ahn) to put himself on an equal footing with the president," he told PPP leader Chung Jin-suk. Lee added that Ahn had crossed the line and disparaged the president by highlighting the "Yoon-Ahn" alliance and saying he joined the PPP as a result of his support for Yoon during the presidential election.



Rep. Ahn expressed regret. "If President Yoon was disappointed, it may be because he misunderstood what I said," Ahn said. He previously stated that ordinary party members were deeply disappointed with the ongoing conflicts within the party. Yoon's associates have already come under growing criticism for allegedly coercing former lawmakers Na Kyung-won and Yoo Seong-min, both of whom were dubbed anti-Yoon, to drop out of the party leadership race.



Yoon vented his anger at Na by sacking her from the post as the vice chair of the Presidential Committee on Aging Society and Population Policy, prompting her to give up her bid for the party leadership. Earlier, Yoon also had the party adopt a regulation requiring 100 percent of votes from party members for the selection of the new leader in order to deter Yoo, who was enjoying strong support from non-party ordinary citizens.



The collective offensive against Ahn started when he began to beat Kim in diverse public surveys, after Yoo and Na dropped out of the race. A recent Realmeter poll for the first week of February showed Ahn securing 43.3 percent of support, defeating Kim who received 36 percent.



Given this, it is natural for some critics to cast skepticism over the necessity of the party convention, which costs a lot of money to hold. They say it would be better for Yoon to pick the next party chairman instead of convening an open contest. The PPP wrapped up receiving applications from candidates.



The national party convention should be a stage where candidates present future policy visions. It has already become a dirty race to garner Yoon's support. The president should realize that he could find himself further distanced from the people unless he stops meddling in party affairs.



This is well proven by the result of a recent Gallup Korea survey which shows Yoon's approval rating stalled at the lower band of 30 percent. Yoon needs to take a good look at himself and exercise more political prowess to embrace his potential adversaries. That is the way for him to ensure success in the general elections next year and remain a successful head of state. Ahn, Kim and other candidates should also be able to unveil their own policy visions to engage in fair and just competition ahead of the ruling party convention.


Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, February 6)  Bureau of Corrections Officer-in-Charge Gregorio Catapang has filed another round of criminal complaints against suspended BuCor chief Gerald Bantag and other officials, this time for plunder, malversation, and graft.

Bantag's co-accused are Correction Inspector (CINSP) Ric Rocacurba, Correction Technical Superintendent Arnold Guzman, CINSP Solomon Areniego, Correction Technical Officer (CTO) Jor-el De Jesus, CTO Angelo Castillo, and CTO Alexis Catindig.

Catapang, in his complaint dated Feb. 3, alleged that Bantag and the six others falsified official documents and rigged construction bids to misappropriate 273,046,177.33 in BuCor funds last Sept. 2020.

The group was also slapped with administrative cases of grave misconduct and dishonesty in relation to the criminal complaints.

Rigged contracts

The misappropriated funds were reportedly taken from three construction contracts for prison facilities in Davao and Iwahig Prisons and Penal Farms, and in Leyte Regional Prison, estimated at 300 million each.

Bantag formed a BuCor Bidding and Awards Committee (BAC) to award the projects.

BuCor Legal Counsel Atty. Al Ferreras noted that the creation of the BAC itself was a violation of the Government Procurement Reform Act. Its chairperson and one member, both Bureau of Jail Management and Penology employees, were non-permanent members of the BuCor.

Rocacurba, who was named BAC Vice Chairperson, allegedly rigged the bidding outcome by declaring two joint ventures as eligible awardees of the three BuCor contracts:

CB Garay Philwide BuildersRakki Corporation were awarded Davao and Iwahig prisons; while CB Garay Philwide BuildersEric Van P. Sesbreno Construction were awarded the Leyte prison.

The complaint said the joint ventures were ineligible awardees because they could not prove that they had completed a project worth at least 50% of the approved 300 million contract budget within the last four years.

Rocacurba and Guzman allegedly convinced their underling, Areniego  Head of Planning and Design, BuCor Civil Engineering Section  into signing accomplishment reports for all the projects progress billings despite not being involved in the site inspections.

The two swayed Areniego by telling him the order came from Bantag.

Site inspection findings

However, the BuCor led site inspections at the three prisons in Nov. 2022 and found that the project accomplishment rates had been falsified:

For Davao Prison, 269,344,014.29 had been released for 95% accomplishment. Upon inspection, only 59% of the site had been completed, or work valued at 178,118,928.03.

For Iwahig, 264,344,058.29 was paid for 93% accomplishment. Inspection found only 57.573% completed worth 172,987,522.82.

For Leyte Prison, 233,698,092.06 was disbursed for 93% accomplishment. However, only 47.80% had been found completed, or 143,233,536.47 in value.

In total, the discrepancies found in the falsified accomplishment reports totaled 273,046,177.33.

First appointed BuCor chief in 2019, Bantag has been suspended since October 2022 for his alleged involvement in the killing of broadcaster Percy Lapid. He is under investigation for murder, and has been accused of torturing inmates and prison guards.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, February 6)  Not extending the COVID-19 state of calamity that lapsed in December may hinder the fast procurement of vaccines, the Department of Health (DOH) said Monday.

The expedited procurement is hinged on the state of calamity executive order, DOH officer-in-charge Ma. Rosario Vergeire told CNN Philippines The Source. So now that there is no state of calamity, we need to revert back to our usual way of procuring our medicines and technologies like vaccines through RA 9184 and this will take time unlike before that we can readily and there is this negotiated procurement under emergency measures.

Vergeire was referring to the Government Procurement Reform Act, which lists down rules to ensure a transparent procurement process by a government agency.

While the declaration of a state of calamity allows national and local government officials to access quick response funds to address the needs of the public and enhance efforts to fight the pandemic, the law requires that procurement by a government agency should be done through competitive bidding.

This means that procurement is open to participation by any interested party. The process will include advertisement, pre-bid conference, eligibility screening of prospective bidders, receipt and opening of bids, evaluation of bids, post-qualification, and award of contract.

The procurement process from the opening of bids up to the award of contract shall not exceed three (3) months, or a shorter period to be determined by the procuring entity concerned, the law read.

The DOH earlier said that a special permit may be issued to allow the purchase of COVID-19 doses to sustain the vaccination program in case the state of calamity declaration will not be sustained after it ended on December 31,

Aside from vaccine procurement, not extending the state of calamity due to the health crisis will also affect other technical matters. These are indemnification, which is part of the requirements of the suppliers or manufacturers in order for them to be able to facilitate the procurement contract liability, and the immunity from liability of healthcare workers when they conduct the vaccination, Vergeire explained.

She said the DOH is already doing countermeasures to manage these concerns, as it seems that the President is more inclined to not extend the state of calamity.

She also assured the public that non-extension of the state of calamity will not affect the governments COVID-19 pandemic response.

We had been gradually easing our restrictions for these past months already and I think we have been successful because we were able to manage our situation, especially our hospitals are now manageable. We are better, she said.

Meanwhile, Vergeire added the government has not yet set the date for the lifting of the state of public health emergency that was declared by former President Rodrigo Duterte in March 2020 in view of uncertainties caused by the new COVID-19 variants.

On Sunday, the DOH logged 36 new COVID-19 cases in the country, the lowest since the 13 cases reported on March 2020, almost three years from the start of the health crisis.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, February 6)  The Department of Health is looking for more sources of funds to add to the 72-billion budget for the COVID-19 allowance of 805,000 healthcare workers.

We will have a meeting with the DBM (Department of Budget and Management) this week so that we can be able to further forecast and be able to identify sources of fund for these lacking funds for our healthcare workers benefits, DOH officer-in-charge Ma. Rosario Vergeire told CNN Philippines The Source on Monday.

Vergeire admitted that the current allocation is not enough to cover all health workers, especially because the DOH still has unpaid allowances from 2021 and 2022.

She also said the DOH hopes to complete the distribution of payments as soon as possible, but this will still depend on processes on the ground.

To make sure there will be no more delays, Budget Secretary Amenah Pangandaman has recommended reforms in the processing of payments, removing the memorandums of agreement, and having a centrally managed disbursement of funds, Vergeire said.

She added the meeting of DOH and DBM officials this week will iron out details of the distribution process.

She also said distribution will continue as long as the public health emergency is in effect, as instructed by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.

Former president Rodrigo Duterte in April 2022 signed into law the Public Health Emergency Benefits and Allowances for Health Care Workers Act. The law grants benefits and allowances to health workers for their service during the COVID-19 pandemic and future emergencies.

In October, the DBM released 11.5 billion for benefits of healthcare workers.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, February 6)  Metro Manila has recorded 17 new COVID-19 cases on Sunday  the lowest count listed in the region since March 2020, a fellow of the OCTA Research group said Monday.

This is the lowest in the NCR since March 20, 2020. The seven-day average dipped to 46 cases per day, Guido David said in a social media post.

He added that the capital regions weekly coronavirus positivity rate dropped to 1.7% as of Feb. 4.

Last week, the Department of Health reported 1,206 new infections for the period of Jan. 23-29. The average number of daily cases stood at 172, reflecting a 36% decline from the previous week.

Health officials, however, continue to urge citizens to remain vigilant, as the World Health Organization still classifies COVID-19 as a public health emergency of international concern.

The Philippines has logged over 4,000,000 cases of the disease, according to latest government data.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, February 6)  The advisory group tapped to screen courtesy resignations submitted by top officers of the Philippine National Police (PNP) is now finalizing parameters and guidelines to be used in the evaluation, an official said Monday.

PNP Public Information Office chief Redrico Maranan said the investigation will only begin once the guidelines are set.

Dito sa mga third level officers natin kasi, magme-meeting pa advisory group para makita nila yung proposed guidelines and parameters. Right after, pag na-finalize na at katanggap-tanggap lahat sa five-man committee or sa advisory group then magsa-start na ang evaluation and screening, Maranan said in a phone interview.

[Translation: When it comes to dealing with our third officers, the advisory group will still have to meet to see the proposed guidelines and parameters. Right after, once these are finalized and are acceptable to the five-man committee or the advisory group, then the evaluation and screening will start.]

According to the PNP, they have yet to hear from the lone police officer who did not submit his courtesy resignation.

When asked if the policeman will be investigated, Maranan said the decision is up to Interior and Local Government Secretary Benhur Abalos and PNP Chief General Rodolfo Azurin Jr.

I will leave that to the wisdom of the Chief PNP and SILG , said Maranan.

Abalos previously said that out of the 953 PNP generals and full colonels, 12 did not submit their courtesy resignations. Of the 12, five have retired and six are retiring.

Abalos said no sanctions will be imposed on these officers.

The members of the five-man committee chosen by President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. to help rid the police force of corrupt officials are the following: Azurin, Baguio City mayor Benjamin Magalong, former defense chief Gilbert Teodoro, and retired police general Isagani Nerez, who is currently undersecretary at the Office of the Presidential Adviser on Military Affairs.

The fifth member of the advisory body remains unnamed as he requested that his identity not be made public.

RELATED:

Abalos names 4 members of advisory group to review courtesy resignation of PNP top officials

https://www.cnnphilippines.com/news/2023/2/1/members-advisory-panel.html

DILG chief: Marcos clears Azurin of drug ties, rejects resignation

https://www.cnnphilippines.com/news/2023/2/1/marcos-clears-azurin-rejects-resignation.html
Cebu City (CNN Philippines, February 6)  The Cebu City Police Office gave recognition Monday to two nursing students for their "heroic deeds" that helped save a victim of a slashing incident in downtown Cebu City last week.

Angyl Faith Ababat and Kristianne Joice Noelle Ona, both second year nursing students at the University of Cebu, said their lives changed after coming to the aid of fruit vendor Bernadeta Zamora.

"It is overwhelming and we are blessed to be recognized. Makagaan gyud sa feeling nga nakatabang mi," said Ababat.

[Translation: It feels good that we were able to help.]

"We just helped. It is our (only) intention to help. Wala gyud mi naka-think nga ingon ani nga recognition among madawat. So a big thank pud," said Ona.

[Translation: We just helped. It is our (only) intention to help. We never thought we would get this kind of recognition. So it is a big deal.]

Both said they feel pressure now as many are already looking up to them as role models.

Apart from all the recognition, Ababat said she is planning to visit "Nanay Bernadeta" at the hospital as they never really got to know her after the incident.

Zamora is still in the intensive care unit and not yet accepting visitors.

Last January 30, Zamora was selling fruits in one of the busy streets in downtown Cebu City when her live-in partner Edwin Lumacad armed himself with a knife and slashed the throat of Zamora.

A bleeding Zamora caught the attention of nearby students who were just buying school supplies. It was Ababat who first approached Zamora to help and later on Ona joined to assist the vendor until an ambulance arrived.

Surveillance video caught the entire incident, and it is making the rounds on social media.

After the recognition rites at the Cebu City Police Office, both nursing students went to the Cebu City Hall where they met Cebu City Councilor Rey Gealon who also gave them plaques of appreciation and other gifts.

Gealon said that both were given scholarship grants for a six-month caregiving course. The councilor also gave each of them stethoscopes and sphygmomanometers which they can use in continuing their nursing studies.

Meanwhile, Mayor Mike Rama will also give both students the Mayor's Award at the upcoming Charter Day Celebration end of February
(CNN)  When US military fighter jets shot down a suspected Chinese surveillance balloon over the Atlantic Ocean this weekend, it wasn't the end of the political episode, but the very beginning.

Should the balloon have been shot down earlier? Was it able to collect any intelligence? What should the US response be?

These questions and more now loom large over President Joe Biden as he prepares for his State of the Union address Tuesday evening. Republicans have flooded the political airwaves with criticism of what they say was Biden's delayed response, but Democrats are defending the White House's approach.

Underpinning these debates is the larger issue of US-China relations.

China said Sunday it "reserves the right" to deal with "similar situations" following the United States' decision to shoot down its high-altitude balloon.

"The US used force to attack our civilian unmanned airship, which is an obvious overreaction. We express solemn protest against this move by the US side," China's Defense Ministry spokesperson Tan Kefei said in a statement on Sunday afternoon local time.

While lawmakers left and right are dismissing China's explanation of a civilian research vessel blown off course, the agreement in Washington ends there.

Here is everything you need to know.

The Timeline

Tuesday. Gen. Mark Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, informed Biden there was a Chinese balloon floating over Montana  and that it appeared to be on a clear path into the continental United States, differentiating it from previous Chinese surveillance craft.

The president appeared inclined at that point to take the balloon down, and asked Milley and other military officials to draw up options and contingencies.

Wednesday. When options were presented to Biden, he directed his military leadership to shoot down the balloon as soon as they viewed it as a viable option, given concerns about risks to people and property on the ground.

"Shoot it down," Biden told his military advisers, he would later recount to reporters.

But Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Milley told Biden the risks of shooting the balloon down were too high while it was moving over the US, given the chance debris could endanger lives or property on the ground below.

"They said to me, 'Let's wait till the safest place to do it,'" Biden later told reporters.

Friday. A plan to shoot down the balloon was once again presented to Biden while he was in Wilmington, Delaware, where he approved the execution plan for Saturday.

Government officials were told Friday night "decisions would be made (Saturday) morning" on when to close down airspace, and FAA officials were told to "be by the phone" early Saturday morning and "ready to roll."

Saturday. Austin gave his final approval for the strike shortly after noon on Saturday from a tarmac in New York, according to a defense official.

At about 1:30 p.m. ET, the FAA instituted one of the largest areas of restricted airspace in US history, more than five times the size of the restricted zone over Washington, DC, and roughly twice the size of the state of Massachusetts.

The Temporary Flight Restriction  put in place at the request of the Pentagon, the FAA said  included about 150 miles of Atlantic coastline that effectively paralyzed three commercial airports: Wilmington in North Carolina and Myrtle Beach and Charleston in South Carolina.

US military fighter jets shot down the balloon over the Atlantic Ocean off the Eastern Seaboard.

Read more here: CNN takes you inside Biden's decision to "take care of" the Chinese spy balloon that triggered a diplomatic crisis.

Congressional response

House Republicans are weighing the passage of a resolution this week condemning the Biden administration for its handling of the suspected surveillance balloon, a source familiar with the discussions told CNN's Melanie Zanona.

The resolution could pass as early as Tuesday, the same day Biden will deliver the State of the Union address from the US Capitol, although the source cautioned that the discussions were still ongoing and no firm plans had been made yet.

"Letting a Chinese surveillance balloon lazily drift over America is like seeing a robber on your front porch and inviting him in, showing him where you keep your safe, where you keep your guns, where your children sleep at night, and then politely asking him to leave. It makes no sense," GOP Rep. Mike Gallagher of Wisconsin told Fox News Sunday.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell called the administration's decision to shoot the Chinese spy balloon on Saturday "too late" and said the US let China "make a mockery" of US airspace.

But Democrats aren't rolling over. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer called the GOP critiques "premature" and "political."

"Our friends are playing politics with US intelligence. We sent a clear message to China that this is not acceptable. We protected civilians. We gained more intelligence while protecting our own sensitive information. And the bottom line here is shooting down the surveillance balloon over water wasn't just the safest option, but it was the one that maximized our intelligence payload," he said.

A Gang of Eight briefing  with the top leaders in both chambers and key intelligence committee members  on the suspected Chinese spy balloon may occur as early as Tuesday, according to a congressional source. Schumer also announced the full Senate would receive a comprehensive briefing on China next week.

But this isn't the first Chinese surveillance balloon Congress has been briefed on. The Pentagon briefed Congress on previous balloons during the Trump administration that flew near Texas and Florida, GOP Rep. Michael Waltz said in a statement to CNN.

"Currently, we understand there were incursions near Florida and Texas, but we don't have clarity on what kind of systems were on these balloons or if these incursions occurred in territorial waters or overflew land," the Florida Republican said.

The new details about previous balloons flying near Florida and Texas were confirmed by two additional sources familiar with the briefings, CNN's Jeremy Herb and Zachary Cohen reported Sunday evening.

But the transiting of those three suspected balloons during the previous administration was only discovered after Biden took office, a senior administration official told CNN's Natasha Bertrand on Sunday. The official said that the intelligence community is prepared to offer briefings to key Trump administration officials about the Chinese surveillance program, which the Biden administration believes has been deployed in countries across five continents over the last several years.

China doubles down

China's Foreign Ministry has accused the US of "overreacting" and "seriously violating international practice."

"The Chinese side has repeatedly informed the US side after verification that the airship is for civilian use and entered the US due to force majeure  it was completely an accident," the Chinese Foreign Ministry said in a statement Sunday morning local time.

US officials have pushed back on China's repeated claims the downed balloon was simply for civilian use and had made its way into American airspace by "accident."

"This was a PRC (People's Republic of China) surveillance balloon. This surveillance balloon purposely traversed the United States and Canada and we are confident it was seeking to monitor sensitive military sites," a senior US administration official said.

The official said a second balloon, spotted over Central and South America, was "another PRC surveillance balloon" and bore similar technical characteristics to the one that flew over the US.

"Both balloons also carry surveillance equipment not usually associated with standard meteorological activities or civilian research," the official said. "Collection pod equipment and solar panels located on the metal truss suspended below the balloon are a prominent feature of both balloons."

Debris recovery

The military's attention next turns to recovering the balloon debris. The US Navy and Coast Guard had assets on standby to assist with the recovery effort even before the balloon was shot down, a Defense official told CNN prior to the operation.

"The debris is in 47 feet of water, primarily  the recovery, that will make it fairly easy," a senior military official who briefed reporters Saturday said once the operation was carried out.

"Actually, we planned for much deeper water. So as far as the specific timeline to recovery, I can't give you that right now," the senior official added.

The debris field from the balloon is spread out over seven miles, a senior military official said, an area that Navy and Coast Guard vessels are now searching for remnants.

This story was first published on CNN.com, "Everything you need to know about the suspected Chinese spy balloon."
(CNN)  More than 4,300 people have died and rescuers are racing to pull survivors from beneath the rubble after a devastating earthquake ripped through Turkey and Syria, leaving destruction and debris on each side of the border.

One of the strongest earthquakes to hit the region in a century shook residents from their beds at around 4 a.m. on Monday, sending tremors as far away as Lebanon and Israel.

In Turkey, at least 2,921 people were killed and more than 15,800 others injured, according to Turkey's head of disaster services, Yunus Sezer.

In neighboring Syria, at least 1,451 people have died. According to the Syrian state news agency SANA, 711 people have died across government-controlled areas, mostly in the regions of Aleppo, Hama, Latakia, and Tartus.

The "White Helmets" group, officially known as the Syria Civil Defense, reported 740 deaths in opposition-controlled areas. Much of northwestern Syria, which borders Turkey, is controlled by anti-government forces amid a bloody civil war that began in 2011.

The epicenter of the 7.8-magnitude quake was 23 kilometers (14.2 miles) east of Nurdagi, in Turkey's Gaziantep province, at a depth of 24.1 kilometers (14.9 miles), the United States Geological Survey (USGS) said.

A series of aftershocks have reverberated throughout the day. The largest, a major quake that measured 7.5 in magnitude, hit in Turkey about nine hours after the initial quake, according to the USGS. That aftershock hit around 95 kilometers (59 miles) north of the original.

Video from the scene in Turkey showed day breaking over rows of collapsed buildings, some with apartments exposed to the elements as people huddled in the freezing cold beside them, waiting for help.

Monday's quake is believed to be the strongest to hit Turkey since 1939, when an earthquake of the same magnitude killed 30,000 people, according to the USGS. Earthquakes of this magnitude are rare, with fewer than five occurring each year on average, anywhere in the world. Seven quakes with magnitude 7.0 or greater have struck Turkey in the past 25 years -- but Monday's is the most powerful.

Karl Lang, an assistant professor at Georgia Tech University's School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, told CNN the area hit by the quake Monday is prone to seismic activity. "It's a very large fault zone, but this is a larger earthquake than they've experienced any time in recent memory," Lang said.

"We cannot use the buildings anymore. Maybe for hours. Maybe until tomorrow. I don't know," Dr. Mazen Kewara, Turkey director of the Syrian American Medical Society (SAMS), told CNN from near the earthquake's epicenter in Gaziantep, where he and his family were taking shelter in their car.

"Next to my building, about 200-300 meters, there's a collapsed building. There are many buildings that have collapsed in Gaziantep," said Kewara.

SAMS is a medical relief organization, working in Syria and neighboring countries. But their efforts to provide support will be hampered by the damage to buildings.

"We have four of our hospitals damaged severely by the earthquake. We have evacuated two of them," said Kewara, who is originally from Damascus, Syria.

'It felt like it would never be over'

Eyad Kourdi, a CNN producer in Gaziantep, who was staying with his parents when the earthquake struck early Monday, said "it felt like it would never be over."

When the shaking stopped, Kourdi and his parents walked out of their home still wearing their pajamas, he said.

With several inches of snow on the ground, they waited outside in the rain for about 30 minutes before he could go back inside to grab coats and boots.

Strong aftershocks have been felt in southern and central Turkey. About 11 minutes after the main quake hit, an aftershock of 6.7 magnitude hit about 32 kilometers (20 miles) northwest of the main quake's epicenter. Another intense aftershock with a magnitude of 5.6 then occurred 19 minutes after the main quake.

"I actually don't believe I made it out," Kourdi said, adding that when it began, his parents screamed and that he did his best to calm them down -- assuring them it would be over soon.

Kourdi said there were up to eight "very strong" aftershocks in under a minute after the 7.8 magnitude quake struck, causing belongings in his home to fall to the ground. Many of his neighbors had left their homes following the quake, he said.

He also visited Pazarcik, a neighboring town, and said that the situation there "were even more catastrophic."

Photos showing the true scale of the disaster emerged as day broke in Turkey. Entire buildings have been flattened, with metal rods scattered across the streets. Cars have toppled over, while bulldozers work to clear the debris. Gaziantep Castle has been heavily damaged.

A winter storm in the region is exacerbating the disaster, according to CNN meteorologists.

"Hundreds of thousands of people are impacted by this. It is cold. It is rainy. Roads could be impacted, that means your food, your livelihood, the care for your children, the care for your family," CNN meteorologist Karen Maginnis said.

"Anything as far as crops or anything growing across this region will be impacted as well. The ramifications of this are broad and will impact this region for weeks, and months."

Meanwhile, the situation in Syria appears to be dire. More than 4 million people rely on humanitarian assistance in the region of northwest Syria where the deadly earthquake struck, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

The majority of these people are women and children. Along with the devastation from the earthquake, Syrian communities are battling an ongoing cholera outbreak amid a harsh winter with heavy rain and snow over the weekend, OCHA said in its statement.

Eyewitnesses in northwest Syria tell CNN the conditions in northwest Syria are "terrifying" in the aftermath of the quake, leaving "entire families dead" and "survivors sleeping on the streets in the freezing cold".

One of the eyewitnesses who has lived in Idlib for the past three years, Dr. Mostafa Edo, a Country Director for the U.S.-based NGO MedGlobal, said: "One of my colleagues, who I've worked with for more than five years, was killed about two years ago in Russian airstrikes. I found out today that his whole family, his wife and kids, all passed away today when their building collapsed."

Another eyewitness, Khalil Ashawi, who is a photojournalist based in Jindayris in Syria's northwest, says that in his ten years of covering war in Syria, he hasn't witnessed scenes as "disastrous" as the ones he did on Monday.

"Paramedics and fire fighters are trying to help but unfortunately there is too much for them to deal with. They can't handle it all."

The quake damaged several archeological sites in Syria, according to Syria's Directorate-General for Antiquities and Museums (DGAM), including Imam Ismail Mosque and the Shmemis Castle in the Hama Governorate, and the 13th century Aleppo Citadel.

Syria's ancient city of Aleppo in the country's northwest was seriously damaged in the ongoing civil war. DGAM says that artifacts inside the National Museum in Aleppo were also damaged in Monday's earthquake.

Searching for survivors

Search and rescue teams have been dispatched to the south of the country, Turkey's interior minister, Suleyman Soylu, said. AFAD said it had requested international help through the Emergency Response Coordination Centre (ERCC), the European Union's humanitarian program.

Nearly 1,000 search and rescue volunteers have been deployed from Turkey's largest city, Istanbul, along with dogs, trucks and aid, according to its governor, Ali Yerlikaya.

The World Health Organization has activated its network of emergency medical teams in the two countries to assist those affected by the earthquake, the organization's director-general tweeted. Erdogan also said in his televised address that NATO, the European Union and dozens of other countries had offered to help.

The governor of Gaziantep, Davut Gul, said on Twitter that "the earthquake was felt strongly in our city," and advised the public to wait outside their homes and stay calm.

"Please let's wait outside without panic. Let's not use our cars. Let's not crowd the main roads. Let's not keep the phones busy," he said.

Gaziantep province has a number of small- and medium-sized cities, with a sizable refugee population, according to Brookings Institute fellow Asli Aydintasbas.

"Some of these areas are rather poor. Some are more richer, urban areas ... but other parts that we're talking about that seem to have been devastated, are relatively lower income areas," she said.

Video from the city of Diyarbakir, to the northeast of Gaziantep, shows rescue workers frantically trying to pull survivors out of the rubble.

Erdogan said the quake was felt in many parts of the country.

"I convey my best wishes to all our citizens who were affected by the earthquake that occurred in Kahramanmaras and was felt in many parts of our country. All our relevant units are on alert under the coordination of AFAD," Erdogan wrote on Twitter.

Messages of condolences and support started pouring in Monday morning as world leaders woke to the news of the deadly earthquake.

White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said the United States was "profoundly concerned" about the destruction in Syria and Turkey.

"I have been in touch with Turkish officials to relay that we stand ready to provide any & all needed assistance. We will continue to closely monitor the situation in coordination with Turkiye," Sullivan wrote on Twitter.

A host of countries have sent rescue workers to help the stricken region, where a colossal effort to find and free trapped civilians is underway. A cold and wet weather system is moving through the region, further hampering that challenge.

Kourdi described Monday's aftershocks as being "like Armageddon."




Samsung Electronics has agreed to pay $150 million to Nanoco Technologies in settlement for a patent lawsuit over a technology used in Samsung's quantum-dot LED TV, a litigation finance firm for the British company has said.







GLS Capital announced Friday the two parties reached the settlement shortly before the start of the trial on Jan. 6 to end the litigation, according to a joint press release by GLS Capital and Nanoco.







The settlement includes a license agreement and the transfer of "certain patents" and settles all related proceedings in the U.S., Germany and China, the release said, without providing further details.







Samsung and Nanoco announced last month the settlement was reached, but no details on the terms of the settlement deal were disclosed.







Nanoco sued Samsung in 2020, accusing the Korean tech giant of copying its technologies related to the synthesis and use of quantum dots.







Nanoco is known for its development and manufacturing of the quantum dot displays without the use of cadmium, a toxic metal. (Yonhap)


Former state Rep. Daneya Esgar is set to join the board governing the Front Range Passenger Rail District, which is charged with creating an interconnected passenger rail line along the Front Range.

The Front Range Passenger Rail District was created by the passage of Senate Bill 21-238 in 2021 to plan, finance, construct and operate a rail system along the Interstate 25 corridor from Trinidad to Fort Collins that would connect with Amtraks Southwest Chief cross-country rail line and may, in the future, be extended into Wyoming and New Mexico.

Esgar, a Pueblo Democrat, prime sponsored the bill during her time in the state House of Representatives. Esgar was term limited this year.

"Ive worked hard for the last eight years as a legislator to help build passenger rail in Colorado, and now we are one are closer to making this a reality," Esgar said. "Im proud to be a credible voice to the district to ensure environmental practices and policies are an ongoing part of the conversations over the upcoming years."

The state Senate approved Esgar's appointment Monday morning after Gov. Jared Polis selected her to serve on the board. Senators voted, 22-12, in support of Esgar's appointment. All Republicans voted in opposition, while all Democrats in favor.

Opponents argued that Esgar doesn't have enough expertise in environmental conservation to serve on the board, as she has no formal education in the field.

The governor's appointees are required to have collective experience in transportation or public finance, supporting a statewide employee organization, passenger rail system development or operations, and environmental conservation.

Sen. Cleave Simpson, R-Alamosa, said Esgar was selected to fulfill the environmental conservation portion of the requirement.

I cant imagine how many wildlife corridors, endangered species, conservation easements. Theres an abundance of challenges in the creation of this district," Simpson said. "I just, with all due respect, do not believe Majority Leader Esgar comes close to filling the requirements of that level of expertise in this role.

In addition to the governor's six appointees, the board must be comprised of 10 appointees from transportation planning organizations, six from metropolitan planning organizations, one from the Pueblo area council of governments, one from the south central council of governments and one appointed by the executive director of the Colorado Department of Transportation.

Senate Democrats defended Esgar, calling her "highly qualified" for the position, given her intimate involvement in developing legislation to create and execute the Front Range rail project. They also said Esgar has worked on numerous environmental issues as a state legislator and as a community member and organizer in Pueblo.

Academically shes qualified, professionally shes qualified, personally shes qualified," said Sen. Faith Winter, D-Westminster. "She is going to bring passion and tenacity that this board needs.

The Front Range Passenger Rail District is an independent political subdivision that can levy taxes to fund and exercise eminent domain to take private property for the rail project. The district is also exempt from all state and local taxes.

The Front Range rail project has been in the works for several years, with the state legislature in 2017 creating the Front Range Passenger Rail Commission to study the idea of creating a passenger rail line from New Mexico to Wyoming with stops up the Front Range.

Last year, the legislature passed a bill providing nearly $9 million in funding for the Front Range passenger rail's planning and development.
Types of obituaries

The Missourian publishes two types of obituaries  family obituaries and life stories.

A family obituary is the version submitted by a funeral home or family. Please see the submission form for details on cost and deadlines. Family obituaries

A life story is a closer look at a person's life and involves a reporter contacting family and friends. Life stories are based on newsworthiness and consent of the family. Life stories.
Ex-Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf passes away

Former President of Pakistan and Army chief Pervez Musharraf passed away at a private hospital in Dubai. He was 79.

Musharraf was widely seen as the chief architect of the infiltrations that led to the Kargil War of 1999, shortly after India and Pakistan signed the Lahore Declaration. Photo courtesy: Twitter/@Naya_Pakistan

Musharraf had been undergoing treatment for amyloidosis  a rare disease caused by a build-up of an abnormal protein called amyloid in organs and tissues  reports in the Pakistan media said.

Musharraf was in self-imposed exile in Dubai since March 2016 and was facing a treason case for suspending the Constitution in 2007. He was also declared a fugitive in cases related to the assassination of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto and the siege of the Lal Masjid.

Coming to power after a military takeover of the Nawaz Sharif government in 1999, Musharraf served first as Chief Executive, before going on to become Pakistans tenth president in June 2001. He stepped down in August 2008 after facing a possible impeachment.

Musharrafs family announced in June 2022 that he was hospitalised with amyloidosis. Going through a difficult stage where recovery is not possible and organs are malfunctioning, their statement said.

The chiefs of Pakistans army, navy and air force expressed condolences on his death, Reuters quoted the public relations wing of the military as saying. Geo News reported that a special flight on Monday will bring the body home from Dubai for burial.

Born in New Delhi in 1943, Musharraf was four years old when his family migrated to Pakistan. He attended school in Ankara and Karachi and university in Lahore.

He joined the Pakistan army in 1961 at the age of 18, took part in the India-Pakistan wars in 1965 and 1971, and was over the years promoted to the rank of a four-star general.

Musharraf was widely seen as the chief architect of the infiltrations that led to the Kargil War of 1999, shortly after India and Pakistan signed the Lahore Declaration.




Visitors experience the high-performance laptop Galaxy Book3 at Samsung's new product launch event Galaxy Unpacked 2023 held in San Francisco, last week. Courtesy of Samsung Electronics



By Kim Hyun-bin



Samsung Electronics' Galaxy Book3 Pro 900 preorders sold out as soon as they hit the market on 11street, an official online partner of Samsung Electronics, backed by large discounts, according to industry officials, Monday.



"Performance has been upgraded along with the display as well as the current CPU, which is equipped with the latest Intel 13th-generation CPU, while user convenience was also greatly improved," a Samsung Electronics official said. "There was also a double storage promotion this time, and the reasonable price seems to have attracted customers."



Taking advantage of diverse promotions including card company discounts, the Galaxy Book3 Pro, which is priced at 1.88 million won ($1,506) could be purchased for a price much closer to 1 million won.



Industry officials believe Samsung Electronics introduced the Galaxy Book3 Pro at a discounted price because of its lack of presence in the global laptop market. Samsung Electronics' global share in the sector is around 1 percent.



Samsung Electronics seems to be aiming to change the tide with the Galaxy Book3 series, which offers both performance and price competitiveness.





Galaxy Book3 / Courtesy of Samsung Electronics
Singapore Chief Justice guest of honour as Supreme Court of India celebrates its founding on 73rd anniversary

The Supreme Court of India hosted its first-ever celebration of the 73rd anniversary of its establishment. This years event was aired on social media platforms and saw Singapores Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon, who is of Indian origin, as the chief guest.

The Parliament House was to be the home of the Supreme Court for years that were to follow until the court acquired its own present building with lofty domes and its signature spacious colonnaded verandas in 1958. Photo courtesy: Wikimedia

The Singapore chief justice delivered a lecture on the 'Role of judiciary in a changing world' at the event which featured a welcome address by Justice SK Kaul and an address by the Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud as well.

The Supreme Court came into being on January 28, 1950, two days after India became a sovereign democratic republic. The inauguration took place in the Chamber of Princes in the Parliament building which was the home to the Federal Court of India for 12 years preceding the Supreme Courts establishment.

The Parliament House was to be the home of the Supreme Court for years that were to follow until the court acquired its own present building with lofty domes and its signature spacious colonnaded verandas in 1958.

The inaugural proceedings on the 28th began at 9.45 a.m. when the Judges of the Federal Court Chief Justice Harilal J Kania and Justices Saiyid Fazl Ali, M Patanjali Sastri, Mehr Chand Mahajan, Bijan Kumar Mukherjea and S.R.Das  took their seats.

In attendance were the Chief Justices of the High Courts of Allahabad, Bombay, Madras, Orissa, Assam, Nagpur, Punjab, Saurashtra, Patiala and the East Punjab States Union, Mysore, Hyderabad, Madhya Bharat, and Travancore-Cochin. Along with the Attorney General for India, M.C. Setalvad were present the Advocate Generals of Bombay, Madras, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, East Punjab, Orissa, Mysore, Hyderabad, and Madhya Bharat. Present too, were the Prime Minister, other Ministers, Ambassadors and diplomatic representatives of foreign States, a large number of senior and other advocates of the Court, and other distinguished visitors, the Supreme Courts official website records.

The inaugural proceedings ensured that the rules of the court were published and the names of all the advocates and agents of the Federal Court were brought on the rolls of the Supreme Court.

In 1958, when the court shifted its premises, the building was shaped to project the image of scales of justice, in the central wing. In 1979, two new wings  the East Wing and the West wing  were added to the complex. In all, there are 19 Courtrooms in the various wings of the building. The Chief Justices Court is the largest of the Courts located at the Centre of the Central Wing.
A project managers disdain at chancellor Jeremy Hunts speech to Bloomberg's city HQ  the UK will soon probably need to start offering its own nomad visa just to get people to come here, probably resonated with many IT contractors.

As someone who can advise on (the currently available) nomad visas, the reaction resonated with me too, writes Kevin Austin, boss at contracting overseas firm Access Financial.

Five claims from the chancellor that do at least sound good

But theoretically, Mr Hunts speech should resonate with me even more, given the many positive things he told us about Brexit, and how the deal has apparently benefitted Britain or will benefit Britain.

In relation to the December 2020 agreement which was alluded to a few times by the chancellor, I will look at those five or so mentions, and suggest how Britons who may or may not have a limited company but want to work abroad might be affected, in wake of the hurdles they currently face whether employed or self-employed.

1. Since the Brexit referendum, we have grown at about the same rate as Germany.

Uttered by Mr Hunt to position the UK in a good light (I think), this statement is valid for GDP and GDP per head, as this OECD graph makes clear.

Of course, past growth since the referendum is no predictor of growth to come, and for Britain to be among the wealthiest countries in Europe, its GDP per head must match that of its competitors.

Yet as of December 2021 according to Trading Economics, the UK had a GDP per head of USD 44,979 versus 53,180 for Germany. Even the Eurozone average was 46,314, so the UK was already below par.

Overall, the UK ranked 14th in GDP per head, behind all of our principal competitors.

The lesson from this is obvious. Unless UK growth rates are significantly higher than those countries, we will not rank among the wealthiest of them, just as we are lagging now.

2. That plan, our plan for growth, is necessitated, energised and made possible by Brexit.

Any growth plan is complicated by the terms of the Brexit deal currently making it more difficult and expensive to trade with our closest and most significant trading partners.

It is unclear how Brexit energises and makes this possible. Our business specialises in contracting overseas and so we have longed for anyone, especially Brexit cheerleader Jacob Rees-Mogg, to identify the economic benefits of alienating ourselves from our nearest market, which also happens to be the world's largest. If hes reading this, Id welcome his input.

3. We need to make Brexit a catalyst for the bold choices that we'll take advantage of the nimbleness and flexibilities that it makes possible.

Nobody has demonstrated this catalytic effect of Brexit. The act of Brexit has not advanced our nimbleness and flexibilities. If nimbleness and flexibility are our current strengths, relative to others, it is hard to see how flexibility, in particular, has been aided by the government's animosity towards independent workers.

Indeed, as I have outlined before, the end of free movement which is surely the definition of nimbleness, applies to all structures of contracting -- self-employment, employment and using a limited company.

4. Brexit is an opportunity not just to change the regulation but also to work with our experienced, effective and independent regulators to create an economic environment that is more innovation friendly and growth focussed.

Innovation and regulation seem to be bedfellows in the mind of this chancellor. Most of us in business, particularly those whose day-to-day activities try to oil the wheels of work mobility, find this coupling to be contrary to experience.

Innovation requires freedom to develop new ideas and commercialise them. From John Logie Baird and Frank Whittle onwards, the British mind has been wondrous in coming up with exciting ideas that revolutionised the world. Remember, it was us who launched the Industrial Revolution!

But almost everyone in business who I talk to in 2023 insists that the UK needs to catch up on commercialising new ideas. This slowness to monetise has been a monumental failure of the government; showing its lack of entrepreneurial zeal and ability, a sort of overcautiousness and sometimes a plain lack of money and funding. Its not too little regulation which has held us back.

5. I am supporting important changes to the pensions regulatory charge cap and I have used the regulatory flexibility provided by Brexit to change the Solvency 11 regulations which will begin to be implemented in the coming months.

The chancellors first point is of so little material impact to the typical IT contractor it is not worth considering here. But personally-speaking, I cannot believe that Brexit hampered our ability to ensure that banks were financially sound!

Contracting overseas since the Brexit deal: nimbleness and flexibility remain elusive...

The other area to take issue with is the continued misdirection that there is flexibility provided by Brexit. Just a quick glance at the sort of questions from (and issues facing) individual professionals in the UK since the Brexit deal loudly convey them to be frustrated at suffering from the total opposite of flexibility. They want to know wheres easiest to work overseas; whether weird and wonderful ways to obtain an EU passport can apply to them, and if limited company directors are able to use Spains Digital Nomad visa.

But sticking with the chancellors words in his speech, the first idea that occurs to me is that people listening to his claims but experiencing the polar opposite may use their nimbleness and flexibility to take their skills elsewhere.

Wed go further actually. If you are in a position to up sticks and your skills are in demand overseas, you are likely looking at this already, particularly if you freelanced overseas pre-December 31st 2020.

We believe that continued remote working and a growing number of nomad visa schemes enticing the most adaptable and entrepreneurial to locations that are not as unsupportive of self-employed people and small companies as Britain is, will work their spell. Remember though, unless there is the sort of scheme like the one which the project manager I mentioned at the top who was ribbing Hunt to resort to, all 27 EU countries now require Britons to apply for the legal right to reside and work in the EU. They are, therefore, in terms of immigration for Brits, no more accessible than anywhere else in the world.

Final (positive) thought

But just as the chancellor did in his speech, lets try to end on a positive. If you have a limited company, and can obtain a nomad visa, you can still use your UK-registered PSC to work abroad. The extra good news is that IR35 shouldnt apply to you, as you and your clients will likely be outside the jurisdiction of HMRC. Thats not say that a UK-registered incorporated business will be the best structure -- indeed it may end up being more complex than you can justify. Another example, perhaps, of regulatory flexibility to not get excited about.
Microsofts Digital Threat Analysis Center (DTAC) has attributed a recent influence operation targeting the satirical French magazine Charlie Hebdo to an Iranian nation-state actor. Microsoft dubbed the threat group, which calls itself Holy Souls, NEPTUNIUM. It has also been identified as Emennet Pasargad by the US Department of Justice.

In January, the group claimed to have obtained the personal information of more than 200,000 Charlie Hebdo customers after access to a database, which Microsoft believes was in response to a cartoon contest conducted by the magazine. The information included a spreadsheet detailing the full names, telephone numbers, and home and email addresses of accounts that had subscribed to, or purchased merchandise from, the publication.

This information, obtained by the Iranian actor, could put the magazines subscribers at risk of online or physical targeting by extremist organizations, Microsofts DTAC wrote. The announcement came in the same week as new research which revealed that most UK IT leaders believe that foreign states are using the ChatGPT chatbot maliciously to target other nations.

Attack revenge for cartoon competition resembles other Iranian nation-state campaigns

In December last year, Charlie Hebdo launched an international competition for cartoons ridiculing Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, timed to coincide with the eighth anniversary of an attack by two al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP)-inspired assailants on the magazines offices. The competition was publicly criticized by the Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian in January.

NEPTUNIUM (Emennet Pasargad/Holy Souls) advertised the cache of stolen data for sale for 20 Bitcoin (equal to roughly $340,000 at the time). Multiple elements of the attack resemble previous campaigns conducted by Iranian nation-state actors, Microsoft added, including:

A hacktivist persona claiming credit for the cyberattack

Claims of a successful website defacement

Leaking of private data online

The use of inauthentic social media sockpuppet personas

Impersonation of authoritative sources

Contacting news media organizations

Sockpuppet accounts impersonate French authority figures, taunt Frances cybersecurity sector

The use of numerous French-language sockpuppet accounts  social media accounts using fictitious or stolen identities to obfuscate the accounts real owner for the purpose of deception  to amplify the campaign and distribute antagonistic messaging was of particular significance, Microsoft wrote. On January 4, the accounts, many of which have low follower and following counts and were recently created, began posting criticisms of the Khamenei cartoons on Twitter. Crucially, before there had been any substantial reporting on the purported cyberattack, these accounts posted identical screenshots of a defaced website that included the French-language message: Charlie Hebdo a ete pirate (Charlie Hebdo was hacked).

Hours later, at least two social media accounts began impersonating French authority figures, while accounts also posted taunting messages including, For me, the next subject of Charlies cartoons should be French cybersecurity experts. The use of such sockpuppet accounts has been observed in previous Iran-linked operations including an attack claimed by Atlas Group, a partner of Hackers of Savior, which the FBI attributed to Iran in 2022. A key goal of Iranian influence operations is to undermine public confidence in the security of the victims network and data, as well as embarrass victim companies and targeted countries, the FBI wrote in October 2022.




By Kim Jae-heun







LG CNS has opened an integrated IT service center that can provide remote system management services for customers, the company said Monday.







The service center, which is located at NH Seoul Tower in southwestern Seoul's Gangseo District, will have about 1,800 system management and system integration experts working together at the same venue.







They will integrate client companies' data and analyze it to find abnormalities and provide a response system accordingly.







"Our integrated IT service center is a key digital transformation (DX) hub that delivers the best IT services to customers. It is also a place where DX professionals develop their expertise and grow with their colleagues," LG CNS CEO Hyun Shin-gyoon said.







The center also plans to operate a "war room" with an integrated disability response system to serve as a control tower in the event of a service failure. On regular days, it will be utilized as a training place in preparation for emergency situations.







At the same time, LG CNS is accelerating customers' application modernization (AM) with its IT service center.





AM refers to reconfiguring applications developed in conventional ways into applications optimized for a cloud environment for future business purposes. With the introduction of AM, applications can be divided into a number of services operating independently from each other. This will make it easier for individual services to update on their own and not the whole system at once  enabling reflection of customers' requests in real time without limitations.




Chinese people celebrate Lantern Festival

Xinhua) 08:58, February 06, 2023

Children interact with lion dance performers in Lucun Village of Balidian Town, Huzhou City, east China's Zhejiang Province, Feb. 5, 2023. People celebrate the Lantern Festival, the 15th day of the first month of the Chinese lunar calendar, with various traditional customs across the country. (Xinhua/Huang Zongzhi)

People guess lantern riddles at the waiting hall of the Tianjin West Railway Station in north China's Tianjin, Feb. 5, 2023. People celebrate the Lantern Festival, the 15th day of the first month of the Chinese lunar calendar, with various traditional customs across the country. (Xinhua/Sun Fanyue)

People perform dragon dance in Baiyin, northwest China's Gansu Province, Feb. 5, 2023. People celebrate the Lantern Festival, the 15th day of the first month of the Chinese lunar calendar, with various traditional customs across the country. (Xinhua/Chen Bin)

People perform dragon dance in Yangpu District, east China's Shanghai, Feb. 5, 2023. People celebrate the Lantern Festival, the 15th day of the first month of the Chinese lunar calendar, with various traditional customs across the country. (Xinhua)

Children interact with lion dance performers in Lucun Village of Balidian Town, Huzhou City, east China's Zhejiang Province, Feb. 5, 2023. People celebrate the Lantern Festival, the 15th day of the first month of the Chinese lunar calendar, with various traditional customs across the country. (Xinhua/Huang Zongzhi)

People perform traditional Yangge dance in Midong District in Urumqi, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Feb. 5, 2023. People celebrate the Lantern Festival, the 15th day of the first month of the Chinese lunar calendar, with various traditional customs across the country. (Xinhua/Wang Fei)

Tourists in traditional costume enjoy boat ride in Lucun Village of Balidian Town, Huzhou City, east China's Zhejiang Province, Feb. 5, 2023. People celebrate the Lantern Festival, the 15th day of the first month of the Chinese lunar calendar, with various traditional customs across the country. (Xinhua/Huang Zongzhi)

People purchase Yuanxiao, sweet glutinous rice dumplings for celebrating the Lantern Festival, at a country fair in Yingkou, northeast China's Liaoning Province, Feb. 5, 2023. People celebrate the Lantern Festival, the 15th day of the first month of the Chinese lunar calendar, with various traditional customs across the country. (Xinhua/Yao Jianfeng)

Children guess lantern riddles in Yangpu District, east China's Shanghai, Feb. 5, 2023. People celebrate the Lantern Festival, the 15th day of the first month of the Chinese lunar calendar, with various traditional customs across the country. (Xinhua)

People perform dragon dance in Xuyi County in Huai'an, east China's Jiangsu Province, Feb. 5, 2023. People celebrate the Lantern Festival, the 15th day of the first month of the Chinese lunar calendar, with various traditional customs across the country. (Xinhua/Ji Chunpeng)

Folk artists perform "Dongbei Dagu", a folk art of drum music and recitative, at a country fair in Yingkou, northeast China's Liaoning Province, Feb. 5, 2023. People celebrate the Lantern Festival, the 15th day of the first month of the Chinese lunar calendar, with various traditional customs across the country. (Xinhua/Yao Jianfeng)

People perform dragon dance in Midong District in Urumqi, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Feb. 5, 2023. People celebrate the Lantern Festival, the 15th day of the first month of the Chinese lunar calendar, with various traditional customs across the country. (Xinhua/Wang Fei)

People perform folk drum dance in Baiyin City, northwest China's Gansu Province, Feb. 5, 2023. People celebrate the Lantern Festival, the 15th day of the first month of the Chinese lunar calendar, with various traditional customs across the country. (Xinhua/Chen Bin)

Tourists taste Tanghulu, a traditional Chinese snack of candied fruit, in Houlihua Village of Renqiu, north China's Hebei Province, Feb. 5, 2023. People celebrate the Lantern Festival, the 15th day of the first month of the Chinese lunar calendar, with various traditional customs across the country. (Xinhua/Mu Yu)

Children perform lion dance in Longde County in Guyuan, northwest China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, Feb. 5, 2023. People celebrate the Lantern Festival, the 15th day of the first month of the Chinese lunar calendar, with various traditional customs across the country. (Photo by Tang Chengzhuo/Xinhua)

Fireworks explode in celebration of the Lantern Festival in Hangzhou, capital of east China's Zhejiang Province, Feb. 5, 2023. (Xinhua/Huang Zongzhi)

Fireworks explode in celebration of the Lantern Festival in Hangzhou, capital of east China's Zhejiang Province, Feb. 5, 2023. (Xinhua/Jiang Han)

Fireworks explode in celebration of the Lantern Festival in Hangzhou, capital of east China's Zhejiang Province, Feb. 5, 2023. (Xinhua/Jiang Han)

Fireworks explode in celebration of the Lantern Festival in Hangzhou, capital of east China's Zhejiang Province, Feb. 5, 2023. (Xinhua/Jiang Han)

Fireworks explode in celebration of the Lantern Festival in Hangzhou, capital of east China's Zhejiang Province, Feb. 5, 2023. (Xinhua/Jiang Han)

Fireworks explode in celebration of the Lantern Festival in Hangzhou, capital of east China's Zhejiang Province, Feb. 5, 2023. (Xinhua/Jiang Han)

Fireworks explode in celebration of the Lantern Festival in Hangzhou, capital of east China's Zhejiang Province, Feb. 5, 2023. (Xinhua/Huang Zongzhi)

Fireworks explode in celebration of the Lantern Festival in Hangzhou, capital of east China's Zhejiang Province, Feb. 5, 2023. (Xinhua/Jiang Han)

People perform "Wulong Xuhua" to celebrate the Lantern Festival in Taijiang County, southwest China's Guizhou Province, Feb. 4, 2023. The traditional "Wulong Xuhua" show is a kind of dragon dance performed amid fireworks by the Miao ethnic group. Local people of Taijiang County attended a "Wulong Xuhua" competition on the eve of the Lantern Festival, the 15th day of the first month of the Chinese lunar calendar, which falls on Feb. 5 this year. (Xinhua/Yang Wenbin)

People perform "Wulong Xuhua" to celebrate the Lantern Festival in Taijiang County, southwest China's Guizhou Province, Feb. 4, 2023. (Xinhua/Yang Wenbin)

People perform "Wulong Xuhua" to celebrate the Lantern Festival in Taijiang County, southwest China's Guizhou Province, Feb. 4, 2023. (Xinhua/Yang Wenbin)

People perform "Wulong Xuhua" to celebrate the Lantern Festival in Taijiang County, southwest China's Guizhou Province, Feb. 4, 2023. (Xinhua/Yang Wenbin)

People perform "Wulong Xuhua" to celebrate the Lantern Festival in Taijiang County, southwest China's Guizhou Province, Feb. 4, 2023. (Xinhua/Yang Wenbin)

People perform "Wulong Xuhua" to celebrate the Lantern Festival in Taijiang County, southwest China's Guizhou Province, Feb. 4, 2023. (Xinhua/Yang Wenbin)

People perform "Wulong Xuhua" to celebrate the Lantern Festival in Taijiang County, southwest China's Guizhou Province, Feb. 4, 2023. (Xinhua/Yang Wenbin)

People perform "Wulong Xuhua" to celebrate the Lantern Festival in Taijiang County, southwest China's Guizhou Province, Feb. 4, 2023. (Xinhua/Yang Wenbin)

People perform "Wulong Xuhua" to celebrate the Lantern Festival in Taijiang County, southwest China's Guizhou Province, Feb. 4, 2023. (Xinhua/Yang Wenbin)

People perform "Wulong Xuhua" to celebrate the Lantern Festival in Taijiang County, southwest China's Guizhou Province, Feb. 4, 2023. (Xinhua/Yang Wenbin)

People perform "Wulong Xuhua" to celebrate the Lantern Festival in Taijiang County, southwest China's Guizhou Province, Feb. 4, 2023. (Xinhua/Yang Wenbin)

Folk artists perform in Wude Town of Wenxian County, Jiaozuo City of central China's Henan Province, Feb. 5, 2023. Various events are held across the country to celebrate the Lantern Festival, the 15th day of the first month of the Chinese lunar calendar, which falls on Feb. 5 this year. (Photo by Xu Hongxing/Xinhua)

This aerial photo taken on Feb. 5, 2023 shows people performing dragon dance in Xinhuang Dong Autonomous County of Huaihua City, central China's Hunan Province. Various events are held across the country to celebrate the Lantern Festival, the 15th day of the first month of the Chinese lunar calendar, which falls on Feb. 5 this year. (Photo by Zhou Xiuyuchun/Xinhua)

People perform dragon dance in Xinhuang Dong Autonomous County of Huaihua City, central China's Hunan Province, Feb. 5, 2023. Various events are held across the country to celebrate the Lantern Festival, the 15th day of the first month of the Chinese lunar calendar, which falls on Feb. 5 this year. (Photo by Zhou Xiuyuchun/Xinhua)

Children perform lion dance in Longde County of Guyuan City, northwest China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, Feb. 5, 2023. Various events are held across the country to celebrate the Lantern Festival, the 15th day of the first month of the Chinese lunar calendar, which falls on Feb. 5 this year. (Photo by Tang Chengzhuo/Xinhua)

People perform in Baiyin City, northwest China's Gansu Province, Feb. 5, 2023. Various events are held across the country to celebrate the Lantern Festival, the 15th day of the first month of the Chinese lunar calendar, which falls on Feb. 5 this year. (Xinhua/Chen Bin)

Members of a female waist drum team perform in Zixing City, central China's Hunan Province, Feb. 5, 2023. Various events are held across the country to celebrate the Lantern Festival, the 15th day of the first month of the Chinese lunar calendar, which falls on Feb. 5 this year. (Photo by Li Ke/Xinhua)

People perform lion dance in Baiyin City, northwest China's Gansu Province, Feb. 5, 2023. Various events are held across the country to celebrate the Lantern Festival, the 15th day of the first month of the Chinese lunar calendar, which falls on Feb. 5 this year. (Xinhua/Chen Bin)

A girl is pictured during a dragon dance performance in Changning County of Yibin City, southwest China's Sichuan Province, Feb. 5, 2023. Various events are held across the country to celebrate the Lantern Festival, the 15th day of the first month of the Chinese lunar calendar, which falls on Feb. 5 this year. (Photo by Zhuang Geer/Xinhua)

People perform in Fudian Town, Ruyang County of Luoyang City, central China's Henan Province, Feb. 5, 2023. Various events are held across the country to celebrate the Lantern Festival, the 15th day of the first month of the Chinese lunar calendar, which falls on Feb. 5 this year. (Photo by Kang Hongjun/Xinhua)

People watch a lion dance performance in Qingdao, east China's Shandong Province, Feb. 5, 2023. Various events are held across the country to celebrate the Lantern Festival, the 15th day of the first month of the Chinese lunar calendar, which falls on Feb. 5 this year. (Photo by Wang Haibin/Xinhua)

People perform dragon dance in Dingxi, northwest China's Gansu Province, Feb. 5, 2023. Various events are held across the country to celebrate the Lantern Festival, the 15th day of the first month of the Chinese lunar calendar, which falls on Feb. 5 this year. (Photo by Wang Kexian/Xinhua)

People perform in celebration of the Lantern Festival in Longchuan County of Dehong Dai and Jingpo Autonomous Prefecture, southwest China's Yunnan Province, Feb. 5, 2023. Various events are held across the country to celebrate the Lantern Festival, the 15th day of the first month of the Chinese lunar calendar, which falls on Feb. 5 this year. (Photo by Liang Zhiqiang/Xinhua)

This aerial photo taken on Feb. 5, 2023 shows people performing dragon dance in Luxian County, southwest China's Sichuan Province. Various events are held across the country to celebrate the Lantern Festival, the 15th day of the first month of the Chinese lunar calendar, which falls on Feb. 5 this year. (Xinhua/Jiang Hongjing)

People perform in Luxian County, southwest China's Sichuan Province, Feb. 5, 2023. Various events are held across the country to celebrate the Lantern Festival, the 15th day of the first month of the Chinese lunar calendar, which falls on Feb. 5 this year. (Xinhua/Jiang Hongjing)

A woman guesses lantern riddles in Neiqiu County of Xingtai City, north China's Hebei Province, Feb. 5, 2023. Various events are held across the country to celebrate the Lantern Festival, the 15th day of the first month of the Chinese lunar calendar, which falls on Feb. 5 this year. (Photo by Liu Jidong/Xinhua)

This aerial photo taken on Feb. 5, 2023 shows people celebrating the Lantern Festival in Longchuan County of Dehong Dai and Jingpo Autonomous Prefecture, southwest China's Yunnan Province. Various events are held across the country to celebrate the Lantern Festival, the 15th day of the first month of the Chinese lunar calendar, which falls on Feb. 5 this year. (Photo by Liang Zhiqiang/Xinhua)

People perform dragon dance in Bijie, southwest China's Guizhou Province, Feb. 5, 2023. Various events are held across the country to celebrate the Lantern Festival, the 15th day of the first month of the Chinese lunar calendar, which falls on Feb. 5 this year. (Photo by Chen Jingui/Xinhua)

People perform dragon dance in Meitan County, Zunyi City, southwest China's Guizhou Province, Feb. 5, 2023. Various events are held across the country to celebrate the Lantern Festival, the 15th day of the first month of the Chinese lunar calendar, which falls on Feb. 5 this year. (Photo by Luo Xinghan/Xinhua)

People perform wooden-bench dragon dance in Pingyang Village of Majian Town, Zhuji City, east China's Zhejiang Province, Feb. 5, 2023. Various events are held across the country to celebrate the Lantern Festival, the 15th day of the first month of the Chinese lunar calendar, which falls on Feb. 5 this year. (Photo by Guo Bin/Xinhua)

People guess lantern riddles in Xixiu District of Anshun City, southwest China's Guizhou Province, Feb. 5, 2023. Various events are held across the country to celebrate the Lantern Festival, the 15th day of the first month of the Chinese lunar calendar, which falls on Feb. 5 this year. (Photo by Chen Xi/Xinhua)

Children interact with lion dance performers at a kindergarten in Hangzhou City, east China's Zhejiang Province, Feb. 5, 2023. Various events are held across the country to celebrate the Lantern Festival, the 15th day of the first month of the Chinese lunar calendar, which falls on Feb. 5 this year. (Photo by Xu Junyong/Xinhua)

People visit a temple fair at Zhongnanmen historical and cultural tourist area in Tongren City, southwest China's Guizhou Province, Feb. 5, 2023. Various events are held across the country to celebrate the Lantern Festival, the 15th day of the first month of the Chinese lunar calendar, which falls on Feb. 5 this year. (Photo by Peng Jun/Xinhua)

People perform in Luxian County, southwest China's Sichuan Province, Feb. 5, 2023. Various events are held across the country to celebrate the Lantern Festival, the 15th day of the first month of the Chinese lunar calendar, which falls on Feb. 5 this year. (Xinhua/Jiang Hongjing)

This aerial photo taken on Feb. 5, 2023 shows people performing dragon dance in Bijie, southwest China's Guizhou Province. Various events are held across the country to celebrate the Lantern Festival, the 15th day of the first month of the Chinese lunar calendar, which falls on Feb. 5 this year. (Photo by Han Xianpu/Xinhua)

Folk artists perform in Yuanshi County of Shijiazhuang City, north China's Hebei Province, Feb. 5, 2023. Various events are held across the country to celebrate the Lantern Festival, the 15th day of the first month of the Chinese lunar calendar, which falls on Feb. 5 this year. (Photo by Liang Zidong/Xinhua)

Folk artists perform in Zunhua City, north China's Hebei Province, Feb. 5, 2023. Various events are held across the country to celebrate the Lantern Festival, the 15th day of the first month of the Chinese lunar calendar, which falls on Feb. 5 this year. (Photo by Liu Mancang/Xinhua)

Folk artists perform in Hanbin District of Ankang City, northwest China's Shaanxi Province, Feb. 5, 2023. Various events are held across the country to celebrate the Lantern Festival, the 15th day of the first month of the Chinese lunar calendar, which falls on Feb. 5 this year. (Photo by Zhao Huabin/Xinhua)

People perform dragon dance in Niuchang Village of Meitan County, Zunyi City, southwest China's Guizhou Province, Feb. 5, 2023. Various events are held across the country to celebrate the Lantern Festival, the 15th day of the first month of the Chinese lunar calendar, which falls on Feb. 5 this year. (Photo by Li Renjun/Xinhua)

People perform dragon dance in Fudian Town, Ruyang County of Luoyang City, central China's Henan Province, Feb. 5, 2023. Various events are held across the country to celebrate the Lantern Festival, the 15th day of the first month of the Chinese lunar calendar, which falls on Feb. 5 this year. (Photo by Kang Hongjun/Xinhua)

Folk artists perform in Nanhe District of Xingtai City, north China's Hebei Province, Feb. 5, 2023. Various events are held across the country to celebrate the Lantern Festival, the 15th day of the first month of the Chinese lunar calendar, which falls on Feb. 5 this year. (Photo by Zhang Chi/Xinhua)

Tourists visit a lantern fair at the Fuzi (Confucius) Temple scenic area in Nanjing, east China's Jiangsu Province, Feb. 4, 2023. Lantern fairs and light shows were held to celebrate the Lantern Festival, which falls on Feb. 5 this year. (Xinhua/Li Bo)

This aerial photo taken on Feb. 4, 2023 shows a night view of a lantern fair at the Fuzi (Confucius) Temple scenic area in Nanjing, east China's Jiangsu Province. Lantern fairs and light shows were held to celebrate the Lantern Festival, which falls on Feb. 5 this year. (Xinhua/Li Bo)

Tourists take a selfie at a lantern fair at Jinjiang amusement park in east China's Shanghai, Feb. 4, 2023. Lantern fairs and light shows were held to celebrate the Lantern Festival, which falls on Feb. 5 this year. (Xinhua/Wang Xiang)

Tourists look at light installations during a light show at Beijing Expo Park in Beijing, capital of China, Feb. 5, 2023. Lantern fairs and light shows were held to celebrate the Lantern Festival, which falls on Feb. 5 this year. (Xinhua/Ju Huanzong)

People experience shadow puppetry during a lantern fair at Hubei Provincial Museum in Wuhan, central China's Hubei Province, Feb. 5, 2023. Lantern fairs and light shows were held to celebrate the Lantern Festival, which falls on Feb. 5 this year. (Xinhua/Xiao Yijiu)

Visitors look at lanterns during a lantern fair at Hubei Provincial Museum in Wuhan, central China's Hubei Province, Feb. 5, 2023. Lantern fairs and light shows were held to celebrate the Lantern Festival, which falls on Feb. 5 this year. (Xinhua/Xiao Yijiu)

Tourists visit a lantern fair at the Fuzi (Confucius) Temple scenic area in Nanjing, east China's Jiangsu Province, Feb. 4, 2023. Lantern fairs and light shows were held to celebrate the Lantern Festival, which falls on Feb. 5 this year. (Xinhua/Li Bo)

Tourists visit a light show at Nangong World Botanical Amusement Park in Beijing, capital of China, Feb. 5, 2023. Lantern fairs and light shows were held to celebrate the Lantern Festival, which falls on Feb. 5 this year. (Xinhua/Ren Chao)

This aerial photo taken on Feb. 4, 2023 shows a night view of a lantern fair at the Fuzi (Confucius) Temple scenic area in Nanjing, east China's Jiangsu Province. Lantern fairs and light shows were held to celebrate the Lantern Festival, which falls on Feb. 5 this year. (Xinhua/Li Bo)

This photo taken on Feb. 4, 2023 shows a night view of a lantern fair at the Fuzi (Confucius) Temple scenic area in Nanjing, east China's Jiangsu Province. Lantern fairs and light shows were held to celebrate the Lantern Festival, which falls on Feb. 5 this year. (Xinhua/Li Bo)

Tourists look at light installations during a light show at Beijing Expo Park in Beijing, capital of China, Feb. 5, 2023. Lantern fairs and light shows were held to celebrate the Lantern Festival, which falls on Feb. 5 this year. (Xinhua/Ju Huanzong)

Tourists visit a lantern fair at Jinjiang amusement park in east China's Shanghai, Feb. 4, 2023. Lantern fairs and light shows were held to celebrate the Lantern Festival, which falls on Feb. 5 this year. (Xinhua/Wang Xiang)

Tourists watch a dance performance during a lantern fair at Jinjiang amusement park in east China's Shanghai, Feb. 4, 2023. Lantern fairs and light shows were held to celebrate the Lantern Festival, which falls on Feb. 5 this year. (Xinhua/Wang Xiang)

Tourists visit a light show at Nangong World Botanical Amusement Park in Beijing, capital of China, Feb. 5, 2023. Lantern fairs and light shows were held to celebrate the Lantern Festival, which falls on Feb. 5 this year. (Xinhua/Ren Chao)

Tourists visit a light show at Nangong World Botanical Amusement Park in Beijing, capital of China, Feb. 5, 2023. Lantern fairs and light shows were held to celebrate the Lantern Festival, which falls on Feb. 5 this year. (Xinhua/Ren Chao)

Tourists look at light installations during a light show at Beijing Expo Park in Beijing, capital of China, Feb. 5, 2023. Lantern fairs and light shows were held to celebrate the Lantern Festival, which falls on Feb. 5 this year. (Xinhua/Ju Huanzong)

The moon and light installations are pictured during a light show at Beijing Expo Park in Beijing, capital of China, Feb. 5, 2023. Lantern fairs and light shows were held to celebrate the Lantern Festival, which falls on Feb. 5 this year. (Xinhua/Ju Huanzong)

Visitors pose for a photo during a lantern fair at Hubei Provincial Museum in Wuhan, central China's Hubei Province, Feb. 5, 2023. Lantern fairs and light shows were held to celebrate the Lantern Festival, which falls on Feb. 5 this year. (Xinhua/Xiao Yijiu)

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun)
Ukrainian Minister of Defense Oleksii Reznikov speaks during a press conference in Kyiv, Ukraine, Sunday, Feb. 5.AP-Yonhap



Ukraine's defense minister Oleksiy Reznikov will be replaced by the chief of the military intelligence ahead of an expected Russian offensive and following corruption scandals, a senior lawmaker said Sunday.



"We are preparing decisions and negotiations that should strengthen our soldiers, give Ukraine more international support and more weapons," President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in his evening address without elaborating.



Zelenskyy said this week he wanted talks on Ukraine's membership in the EU to begin this year, stepping up the fight against corruption.



A senior lawmaker close to Zelenskyy said later Sunday that 56-year-old Reznikov, one of the best-known faces of the country's war effort, would be replaced.



"Kyrylo Budanov will head the defense ministry, which is absolutely logical in wartime," said lawmaker David Arakhamia, referring to the 37-year-old chief of the military intelligence.



Holding the rank of major general, Budanov has headed the military intelligence since August, 2020.



'War dictates policies'



Reznikov will be appointed minister for strategic industries, said Arakhamia.



"War dictates personnel policies. Time and circumstances require reinforcement and regrouping," he added.



"The enemy is preparing to advance. We are preparing to defend ourselves."



Reznikov was appointed defense minister in November, 2021 and has helped secure Western weapons to buttress Ukrainian forces. But his ministry has been beset by corruption scandals.



Reznikov's deputy was forced to resign in late January after the ministry was accused of signing food contracts at prices two to three times higher than current rates for basic foodstuffs.



Speaking to reporters earlier Sunday, Reznikov did not say if he planned to stay on at the ministry, but that only President Zelenskyy could decide his fate.



"The stress that I have endured this year is hard to measure precisely. I am not ashamed of anything," Reznikov said. "My conscience is absolutely clear."



An internal audit of procurement procedures was under way at the defense ministry, he said.



He added that the ministry's own anti-corruption department had "failed" to do its job and needed to be "completely rebooted".



With graft a key European concern, Ukraine's government has stepped up work to clean up its act, launching high-profile raids this week targeting an oligarch with political connections, and a former interior minister.



Speaking to reporters, Reznikov also urged the West to send warplanes, after Germany and the United States finally agreed to supply heavy tanks following weeks of deliberations.



"I am sure that we will win this war," Reznikov said, but without Western jets, "it will cost us more lives".





Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky speaks at a meeting with media following the Ukraine - EU summit in Kyiv, Ukraine, Feb. 3. EPA-Yonhap



Fresh fighting in Bakhmut



In eastern Ukraine, heavy fighting was underway in the northern parts of the frontline hotspot Bakhmut. Russia has claimed gains in recent days around the war-ravaged city in the region of Donetsk.



"In the northern quarters of Artemovsk, fierce battles are going on for every street, every house, every stairwell," the head of Russian mercenary group Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, said in a statement, referring to Bakhmut by its previous name.



"The Ukrainian armed forces are fighting to the last," he said.



Russian forces have been trying to capture Bakhmut in the eastern region of Donetsk for months, in what has become the longest and bloodiest battle since Russia invaded Ukraine last February.



In Bakhmut Sunday, about 20 people, including two soldiers, attended a mass in the basement of the golden-domed All Saints' church.



Three women sang hymns, punctuated by sounds of mortar shells in the background. The room was lit by two dozen candles and a portable light used by the two priests to read from the bible.



"Today I prayed that everything will be better for me after I die," said 20-year-old Serafim Chernyshov, standing outside the church.



"I came to pray for peace," added Lyubov Avramenko, 84.



Zelenskyy said on Friday that Kyiv's troops would fight for Bakhmut "as long as we can."



The British defense ministry said Sunday that over the past week, Russia had made "small advances" in its attempt to encircle Bakhmut.





Ukrainian soldiers fire an anti-aircraft gun at a position near Bakhmut, Donetsk region, eastern Ukraine, amid Russia's invasion, Feb. 4. EPA-Yonhap
Editor's note: a previous version of this article misattributed a quote by Roderique in the eighth graf to White.

The Student Worker Union at the University of Oregon began the process of becoming a certified union at the beginning of fall term.

Since then, it has grown from fewer than 15 organizers to more than 30, according to the union.

At its second overall union meeting on Jan. 21, UOSW talked about the mission and value of the union and gave a membership update regarding card counts to the new and returning members from last term.

Elizabeth White, the co-chair of UOSWs media and communication team, said one of its main goals was to connect with different workplaces on campus like IT or library employees due to a large portion of union members being dining hall workers.

White said the idea of an undergraduate union has existed for a while.

When I worked in dining originally we used to talk about it a lot. There were always whispers, but there was never any action because we do go to the university, and we were very hesitant because we were scared of losing our jobs, White said.

After certification in the spring term, the UO will be expected to recognize UOSW as a certified union and the negotiation process will begin, according to White. UOSW is advocating for a two-week pay period for student workers, a dependable process for sexual assault and harassment cases in the workplace and ensuring students know their rights as employees, White said.

Its really important that student workers know their rights because a lot of times bosses will not directly say anything about the union, but there is something that makes workers question if what is happening is right, Carolyn Roderique, a UOSW organizer, said.

UO spokesperson Kay Jarvis said UO has not received any communication from UOSW, but the university is aware organizing efforts are underway.

The university does not take a position with respect to employee unionization efforts, Jarvis said. She said the university strives to uphold a philosophy based on two objectives: providing valuable work experience and financial assistance while pursuing higher education.

Isabel Marshall, an organizer at UOSW, said the union knows that the UO is aware of them and is failing to acknowledge the union and its demands.

Lots of students have been feeling like they arent adequately trained for the work they're doing. Not being trained in ways that prepare student workers for situations like sexual harassment. Would they know who to talk to? Who to report it to? Who they can seek? Marshall said.

Marshall said UOSWs demands for a two-week pay period have attracted new members.

When it comes down to it, we have a monthly pay period instead of a bi-weekly pay period. Most of the time when rent is due, its due on the first of the month. By the time it is the end of the next month, its easy to run low. It doesnt allow for budgeting to be done very effectively, she said.

Going forward, the UOSW organizers said they are advocating for a union that demands and receives change.

Our goal isn't just to empower student workers but to create and empower everyone on campus to know the value of collective power, Marshall said.
Lloyd Evans, who co-wrote a scurrilous play about the various sex scandals at The Spectator magazine when Boris Johnson was its editor, called Who's The Daddy?, is back with a new production.

Dom - The Play is an often hilarious take on Boris's tumultuous relationship with his former chief adviser Dominic Cummings, who was sacked in 2020 after allegations he had briefed against the PM.

Who's The Daddy? was named Best New Comedy in the 2006 What's On Stage Awards, but Evans was clearly feeling less inspired when it came to his second Boris-focused outing.

He hired additional writers at rate of 50 per gag from the online platform The Comedy Crowd.

Their jokes include: 'Joe Biden: the only man who can make a speech with his brain and his mouth in different time-zones.' On Boris's short-lived successor. 'Everyone can remember where they were when Liz Truss was Prime Minister.'

Dom  The Play is an often hilarious take on Boris's tumultuous relationship with his former chief adviser Dominic Cummings, who was sacked in 2020 after allegations he had briefed against the PM

Or my personal favourite, a dig at Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer: 'If he was any more wooden he'd be IKEA Starmer.'

It will be a case of 'Hard hats on!' if Cummings and Boris both decide to attend the opening night at The Other Palace theatre in Westminster on Tuesday, February 21.

Is it no-go for BoJo in Henley?

The news that Boris Johnson is house-hunting in Oxfordshire has fuelled rumours he is set to abandon his marginal Uxbridge seat and run again in his former constituency of Henley.

But the existing Tory MP John Howell, 67, asked if he will stand in at the next election, said: 'It will be a decision that I make at a later date.'

Quizzed about a Boris comeback, he replied: 'I sincerely hope not.'

Therese Coffey's Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs has corrected the record over the sum spent on taxis by ministers and civil servants in her department. The figure of 46,668 for 2019 has now been upgraded to a whopping 143,210.25. Did they discover a wodge of expense receipts in the back of a filing cabinet?

If Kinnock's Marmite, what's Keir?

Lord (Neil) Kinnock, who was Labour leader when John Major unexpectedly won the 1992 General Election, told a radio station at the weekend: 'I was a Marmite figure, John Major was a marmalade figure.'

The question is: what kind of breakfast spread is his Labour heir Keir Starmer?

Lord (Neil) Kinnock, who was Labour leader when John Major unexpectedly won the 1992 General Election, told a radio station at the weekend: 'I was a Marmite figure, John Major was a marmalade figure'

Quote of the week: Lord Hague, the former Tory leader, on the current Labour leader: 'Keir Starmer's team are currently interesting because they are judged to be close to power, rather than being close to power because they are judged to be interesting.'

Oxford-educated Rachel Reeves, the Shadow Chancellor, clearly never shone in geography at school. In a speech to the Lefty Fabian Society in North London last month she referred not once but twice to the Hornsey wind farm development, which, she said, would be good news for North London.

Only problem? The wind farm is in Hornsea, 200 miles from Hornsey, on the Yorkshire coast.

Shadow Foreign Secretary and Tottenham Labour MP David Lammy issued a typically elliptical statement after the killing of Tyre Nichols by five police officers in Memphis last month.

'It's traumatic, exhausting and tragic to watch footage of yet another black man killed by those whose duty it is to protect,' he wrote. 'Police violence against minorities must finally end.'

No mention of the fact the five officers were black, or that in Memphis at least, black people are in the majority, making up 64 per cent of the population.
Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei speaks during a meeting with a group of girls who reached the age of puberty in Tehran, Iran, Feb. 3. Reuters-Yonhap



Iran's supreme leader on Sunday reportedly ordered an amnesty or reduction in prison sentences for ''tens of thousands'' of people detained amid nationwide anti-government protests shaking the country, acknowledging for the first time the scale of the crackdown.



The decree by Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, part of a yearly pardoning the supreme leader does before the anniversary of Iran's 1979 Islamic Revolution, comes as authorities have yet to say how many people they detained in the demonstrations. State media also published a list of caveats over the order that would disqualify those with ties abroad or facing spying charges  allegations which have been met with wide international criticism.



Khamenei ''agreed to offer amnesty and reduce the sentences of tens of thousands accused and convicted in the recent incidents,'' the state-run IRNA news agency said in a Farsi report. A later IRNA report carried by its English-language service said the pardons and commuted sentences were for ''tens of thousands of convicts, including the arrestees of the recent riots in Iran.'' Authorities did not immediately acknowledge the discrepancy in the reports.



The reports about the decree offered no explanation for the decision by Khamenei, who has final say on all matters of state in Iran. However, prisons and detention facilities already had faced overcrowding in the country after years of protests over economic issues and other matters.



Activists immediately dismissed Khamenei's decree.



''Khamenei's hypocritical pardon doesn't change anything,'' wrote Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam of the Oslo-based group Iran Human Rights. ''Not only all protesters must be released unconditionally, but also it is a public right that those who ordered the bloody repression and their agents are held accountable.''



Authorities also did not name any of those who had been pardoned or seen shorter sentences. Instead, state television continued to refer to the demonstrations as being a ''foreign-backed riot,'' rather than homegrown anger over the September death of Masha Amini, an Iranian-Kurdish woman detained by the country's morality police. Anger also has been spreading over the collapse of the Iranian rial against the U.S. dollar, as well as Tehran arming Russia with bomb-carrying drones in its war on Ukraine.



More than 19,600 people have been arrested during the protests, according to Human Rights Activists in Iran, a group that's been tracking the crackdown. At least 527 people have been killed as authorities violently suppressed demonstrations, the group said. Iran hasn't offered a death toll for months. It already has executed at least four people detained amid the protests after internationally criticized trials.



All this comes as Iran's nuclear deal has collapsed and Tehran has enough highly enriched uranium to potentially build ''several'' atomic bombs if it chooses, the United Nations' top nuclear envoy has said. A shadow war between Iran and Israel has risen out of the chaos, with Tehran blaming Israel for a drone attack on a military workshop in Isfahan last week as well.





This image grab from a UGC video posted on Feb. 3, reportedly shows protesters chanting "Political prisoners must be released" during a march in Iran's southeastern city of Zahedan. AFP-Yonhap
A teenager, who went missing 34 years ago, after popping out to buy some sweets for her younger brother John, had ties to both a convicted paedophile and a convicted murderer.

Tina Bell, 18, disappeared in June 1989, in the town of Billingham, Teeside, in an area then dubbed the Murder Mile, but her remains were not found until the following April, on wasteland near her family home.

Initial forensic results suggested that her body had been dissolved in acid, leading her case to be dubbed the Acid Bath Murder but it later emerged that the land was blighted by chemicals.

Now, a cold case investigation, by Silent Witness star Emilia Fox and criminologist Professor David Wilson, for their TV series In the Footsteps of Killers, has revealed that Tina lived within walking distance of both predators - and both men could be suspects in her case.

One of the men, Billy Dunlop, who is currently serving a life sentence for the 1989 murder of Julie Hogg, partied with Tina on the night she died and was one of the last people to see her alive. Her body was discovered only a few streets away from where Julies body was found.

Billy was acquitted twice of murdering Julie in 1989, but became the first person in the UK to be re-tried under double jeopardy rules after a campaign by her mother.

It seems that Tina was mixing with some dangerous characters, said Wilson. Ive been looking into Billy Dunlop and Ive discovered that by the time Tina was in this flat with him on the night she disappeared, hed already got a history of vicious assaults and violence including against a teenage girl.

The other, paedophile David Courtney, dubbed the child rapist preacher, who died in Wakefield Prison after being convicted of child sex offences, lived 300 yards from her home and she would regularly have sleepovers with his children.

Former Surrey Police detective superintendent Graham Hill, who led the investigations into missing toddler Madeleine McCann and schoolgirl murder victim Millie Dowler, told the programme: We have a convicted paedophile, who is living 300 yards from where the victim was living when she went missing.

She knew his family. She knew his children. She slept over in his house. Its highly conceivable that David Courtney was abusing Tina and he murdered her to cover up that abuse.

Billy Dunlop, who is currently in jail serving a life sentence for the 1989 murder of Julie Hogg, was one of the last people to see Tina alive

Tina, who lived with her parents Bob and Cath, who have since died, and siblings Angela and John, was last seen on the night of June 2, 1989, partying in a flat above a shop in Billingham with Dunlop, then 26; his friend, painter, and decorator Vince Robson, 37, who died in 2005; and her former boyfriend Colin Bond, who died of a drugs overdose after being arrested for sexual assault.

Landlord Paul McDermott, who owned the flat where Robson lived, was one of the last people to see Tina alive.

I had a phone call from the local pub, saying there was a party in one of the flats I owned, he recalled.

So, I went down there and into the kitchen. There was Colin Bond, Billy Dunlop, Tina Bell, and Vince Robson making a noise. They were drunk obviously. Vince was a tenant in the flat. So, I told the other three to leave. They finished their drink and left and I followed them home down Mill Lane and they carried on.

It was not until April 21, 1990, that Tinas skull, collar bone, shoulder blade and lower jaw were found by two youths shooting pigeons, on land between the town of Billingham and a chemical factory.

Tina Bell (pictured), 18, disappeared in June 1989, in the town of Billingham, Teeside, in an area then dubbed the Murder Mile

Pictured: Tina Bell's father Bob, brother John, and mum Cath, in the late 1990s appealing for information about her murder

Initial forensic results suggested that her body had been dissolved in acid, but it later emerged that the land was blighted by chemicals

The sister of a teenager brutally murdered 30 years ago says she has now given up hope that the killer will ever be caught. Pictured: Tina Bell's sister Angela Wade (left) and Angela's daughter Hannah

An investigation by Emilia Fox and criminologist Professor David Wilson, for their series In the Footsteps of Killers, has revealed that Tina lived within walking distance of both her predators

Police originally believed that her body had been bathed in acid because even her teeth had been stripped of enamel but they have since discarded that theory as the land was riddled with pollutants.

Her brother John said: Until we can find the rest of Tinas remains, and have them interred in a grave, I have to know the answers. I have to know what happened. Until the day I die, I wont stop asking, I wont stop looking.

Billy Dunlop, now 58, murdered Julie Hogg in 1989 but he was not convicted of the offence until 2006. He was sentenced to life in prison, with a minimum tariff of 17 years.

That sentence came after a relentless campaign by Julie's mother, Ann Ming, to change the ancient 'double jeopardy' rule and bring Dunlop to justice.

Dunlop had already escaped justice for Ann's murder twice after juries could not agree a verdict.

After eventually pleading guilty at the Old Bailey in 2006, aged 43, he was sentenced to life. He is eligible for parole in October 2023.

Dunlop was the first killer to be caged under the changes to double jeopardy.

Since Ann's campaign, the new law has been used to secure multiple convictions, including Stephen Lawrence's killers.

In the Footsteps of Killers: The Murder of Tina Bell is available on All 4
A woman has revealed how a blood test on her late father's birthday saved her life - after she 'overlooked' the classic symptoms of blood cancer for months.

Nella Pignatelli, 24, from Barnet in London, was diagnosed with B-cell acute leukaemia in July 2021 aged 22 after feeling fatigued and out of breath, something she believed was down to long Covid.

The student also thought the bruises all over her body were simply due to her clumsiness - and so, never consulted a doctor about her symptoms.

However, because her father Pierre sadly died aged 50 of a heart attack, she was eventually contacted by her GP for a blood test - on what would've been her late parent's birthday - to give an indication of her heart health.

Nella was shocked to find the results showed her bone marrow cells were 95 per cent cancerous. Had the cancer been left for longer, she could've died, and believes her father must have been 'looking out for her'.

Nella Pignatelli, 24, from Barnet in London, was diagnosed with B-cell acute leukaemia in July 2021 aged 22 after feeling fatigued and out of breath, something she believed was down to long Covid

She's endured four cycles of intensive chemotherapy over the course of eight months and is now on daily oral chemotherapy - but hopes to finish treatment completely in December.

Recalling the start of her symptoms, Nella said: 'Around January 2021, I started to feel really strange, I was unwell for months. I was really tired, exhausted, but as I was really busy, I put it down to starting a new job.

'Then one day walking along the street, I started to get out of breath for no reason, I thought perhaps it was long COVID, I couldnt think of any other reason.'

Nella also suffered two nosebleeds lasting more than 50 minutes, fell down the stairs at her home after becoming dizzy, was covered in bruises and so confused that she couldn't find the tube station to make her way back from work.

'I had a rational explanation for everything and because all of these things happened in isolation, I didnt see that many of these are classic symptoms of blood cancer,' Nella admitted.

'And neither did my friends and family. You dont think for a minute that youll get cancer at 22.'

Her GP eventually suggested for Nella and her brother to take a blood test to check their heart health due to their father's death.

'Looking back now I wonder if my Dad was looking out for me in some way, especially as the blood test happened on his birthday,' said Nella. 'Because when the results came back it showed my blood was abnormal.

The student (pictured with her late father) also thought the bruises all over her body were simply due to her clumsiness - and so, never consulted a doctor about her symptoms

However, because her father sadly died aged 50 of a heart attack, Nella (pictured in hospital, left) was eventually contacted by her GP for a blood test - on what would've been her late parent's birthday - to give an indication of her heart health

Nella (pictured with her mother) was shocked to find the results showed her bone marrow cells were 95 per cent cancerous. Had the cancer been left for longer, she could've died, and believes her father must have been 'looking out for her'

'It was later found that in fact my bone marrow cells were 95 per cent cancerous. If it had been left much longer, I would have died.

'Ill never forget the call I got from the lab that tested my blood, they asked, "how are you functioning?" and told me to go straight to A&E. I was speechless.'

Heartbreakingly, Nella found out she had cancer without her mother Nena by her side, due to the coronavirus rules at the time.

She recalled: 'The news was given really bluntly, and I was unable to process it and found myself crying in a cubicle with no privacy, asking the doctor if this was a dream multiple times.'

Nella's (pictured) endured four cycles of intensive chemotherapy over the course of eight months and is now on daily oral chemotherapy - but hopes to finish treatment completely in December

During the most intensive part of the chemotherapy, Nella and her mother (pictured with their family) were unable to leave her private room for five weeks, due to her low immune system and the coronavirus pandemic

Despite her ordeal, Nella graduated with a degree in Global Health, and is now studying for a masters in Global Health Management

Last year, a 'proud' Nella (pictured) was asked to open a new Teenage Cancer Trust unit for young people with blood cancers at UCLH funded by Morgan Stanley. She was joined by the Duchess of York and Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie

Nella was transferred from her local hospital for treatment at University College London Hospitals (UCLH) on T13, a unit for young people funded by Teenage Cancer Trust.

WHAT IS ACUTE LYMPHOBLASTIC LEUKAEMIA? Acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) is a type of blood cancer that starts from young white blood cells in the bone marrow. There are around 810 new cases in the UK every year. In the US, ALL affects approximately 1.7 adults per 100,000. Anyone can develop ALL, however, it mainly affects younger people. Many ALL symptoms are vague and flu-like, such as: General weakness

Fatigue

Fever

Frequent infections

Bruising or bleeding easily, including nosebleeds, heavy periods and blood in the urine or faeces

Unexplained weight loss

Bone or joint pain

Breathlessness

Swollen lymph nodes

Feeling full

Paler skin than normal Risks for developing ALL include exposure to radiation, smoking, being overweight and having a weak immune system. Research suggests being breastfed and exposed to childhood infections may reduce a person's risk. The main ALL treatment is chemotherapy. Patients may also have radiotherapy, steroids or bone marrow transplants. Source: Cancer Research UK Advertisement

During the most intensive part of the chemotherapy, Nella and her mother were unable to leave her private room for five weeks, due to her low immune system and the coronavirus pandemic.

'My mum and I renamed the private bathroom in the room "the cafe",' explained Nella. 'And would take drinks in there for a change of scene and a chat. It sounds weird but it allowed us to escape the hospital life and gave us some normality.'

Despite her ordeal, Nella graduated with a degree in Global Health, and is now studying for a masters in Global Health Management.

Last year, a 'proud' Nella was asked to open a new Teenage Cancer Trust unit for young people with blood cancers at UCLH funded by Morgan Stanley. She was joined by the Duchess of York and Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie.

'It was a real honour meeting members of The Royal Family, they were really interested to hear what Ive been through and really cared,' said Nella.

She is also working with Teenage Cancer Trust to raise awareness of the five signs and symptoms of cancer in young people.

'Awareness of the main signs and symptoms is really low, which is why its important to me to share my story and I hope it inspires people to educate themselves about what to look out for,' said Nella.

'I think when people do become worried about their health, they can feel like they are a hypochondriac or wasting a GP's time if they go to them with concerns.

'But please trust your gut instinct and dont be afraid to seek help. A simple 10-minute blood test explained my months of suffering. You know your body better than anyone else - and no, youre not exaggerating.'

It comes after Teenage Cancer Trust revealed less than half of those aged 18-24 can identify any of the five main warning signs of cancer in young people.

Almost half (47 per cent) admit they've put off visiting the GP with health concerns, with over a third stating its because they are too scared to find out whats wrong with them.
From using too many emojis to being bad kissers, people have revealed the very personal reasons why they broke up with their previous partners.

Speaking on the anonymous confession-sharing website Whisper, a man from Prince Edward Island in Canada revealed he ended it with his girlfriend because she was 'bad at cuddling.'

Meanwhile, another dater said they broke up with their love interest because he sweated too much.

And one heartbreaker added that they ended a relationship after the other person said 'I love you' after three weeks.

And in Montgomery, Alabama, a woman admitted to ending a relationship because her man was a 'bad texter' who showed no emotion in messages and took ages to reply.

Speaking on the US-based confession sharing website Whisper, people have shared the very personal reasons why they broke up with their previous partners. One person wrote how they left a partner because they put an alarm to remind themselves of brushing their teeth

Another dater could not handle dating a man who had to remind himself to brush his teeth by setting an alarm on his phone.

Despite his efforts to stay on top of dental hygiene, he still rarely picked up a toothbrush and was rapidly dumped.

Elsewhere, a woman complained that her love interest always had to ask his twin sister for advice before making decisions.

'He always took her side,' she said. 'It was so annoying and unattractive.'

Meanwhile, another person said they broke up with their partner because he sweated too much

Watcha smiling about? One person broke up with their partners because they sent them too many emojis

In Ansonia, Connecticut, one person left their boyfriend because he was a horrible kisser and 'slobbered' on her face

One person lost patience with their former partner who used words without knowing what they meant and was touchy about it

One person broke it off with their girlfriend after she told her she thought she was 'too lesbian'

One girlfriend grew tired of the fact her boyfriend kept asking for his twin sister's opinions and would always side with his sibling over her

One person from Montgomery, Alabama, admitted to ending a relationship because their partner was a 'bad texter' who showed no emotion in their message and took ages to reply to them

one person from Prince Edward island revealed they ended it with their girlfriend because she was 'bad at cuddling'

That didn't impress her much! One boyfriend who was too obsessed with his car was eventually shown the door

Moving too fast! One person unceremoniously broke up with their partner after they told them 'I love you' after three weeks

A film buff that kept quoting his favourite movies was duped after his girlfriend stopped finding it cute
A mother who was told eight times that her premature baby was going to die - only for the little one to defy doctors each time - has revealed how she received a surprise visit from the Princess of Wales.

Mischa Hand's daughter Amaya-Rae was born at just 23 weeks. The newborn was classed as a late miscarriage and Mischa, from Crawley, West Sussex, thought she'd never be bringing her much longed for baby home.

After beating all odds to survive a traumatic birth, Mischa and husband Jamie's hopes were dashed when just days later the medical team told them to say their goodbyes to their daugher.

But fighter Amaya-Rae stunned her carers after defying all expectations repeatedly. Her family was told she was going to die on eight separate occasions during her 360-day hospital stay.

But each time she came back stronger, and now, just shy of 18 months old, she's the picture of a bright and happy baby as she plays at home - and she even has a royal fan, after receiving a special visit from Kate, 41, while in hospital.

Mischa was told eight times that her premature baby was going to die, only for the little one to defy doctors each time. She has revealed how she received a surprise visit from the Princess of Wales while in hospital with her daughter

First-time mother Mischa, 27, said: 'It's nothing short of a miracle. I'm not religious but I really do believe she has had someone watching over her, telling her it's not her time to go yet, sending her back.

'At first, each time we were told to say goodbye to her, our world just crumbled. But after the fifth or sixth time, I had faith in Amaya - I knew my girl wasn't going anywhere.

'She survived being born at 23 weeks. We always say she's not here to be average.'

Recalling the royal visit, Mischa said: 'When we were in the Evelina Children's Hospital, we were totally stunned when Catherine, Princess of Wales made an unexpected visit.

'Catherine was so lovely, she listened intently to Amaya's story and genuinely seemed so taken with her and asked such a lot of questions. She seemed totally besotted, complimenting her smiles and her outfit.

'Amaya couldn't take her eyes off her, she was transfixed. Someone suggested we take her to see a Disney Princess show at Christmas, but we joked she only deals with actual royalty now.'

Mischa and Jamie were delighted when they discovered Mischa was pregnant with a baby girl after trying for over a year.

The first-time mother had a textbook pregnancy, until she started experiencing cramps while out during a shopping trip with friends.

Mischa Hand's daughter Amaya-Rae was born at just 23 weeks. The newborn was classed as a late miscarriage and Mischa, from Crawley, West Sussex, thought she'd never be bringing her much longed for baby home

Amaya-Mae in the hospital. She was born on August 28, 2021 at East Surrey Hospital, weighing just 680g

Mischa and Amaya-Rae at their home in Crawley, West Sussex

Amaya-Rae's family was told she was going to die on eight separate occasions during her 360-day hospital stay

She brushed them off as Braxton Hicks, but after getting home Jamie rushed her to hospital.

Doctors tried to slow down the labour, but they eventually told Mischa there was nothing they could do to stop what was technically a late miscarriage.

Mischa said: 'The doctor said: "I'm so sorry, this baby is coming." They asked would we like to hear the heartbeat one last time, but we couldn't. I shut down and tried to mentally prepare for the fact I would never have my baby.

'The medical team said they would try their best to save her, which legally they weren't obliged to do, as she was born before the 24 week limit where she would be classed as incompatible with life.

'She was born into a bag and whisked away to NICU. They told me she was breathing, but we didn't think we would ever get to hold her alive.

Mischa cradles Amaya-Rae in hospital shortly after giving birth to her

First-time mother Mischa, 27, said: 'It's nothing short of a miracle. I'm not religious but I really do believe she has had someone watching over her, telling her it's not her time to go yet, sending her back.' Pictured, Amaya-Mae on her due date in 2021

'Then, there was just Jamie and I left in the room. The silence was deafening, you could hear a pin drop. We didn't even know what to say to each other, so we just sat there in silence.

'A nurse came in and showed us a photo of Amaya. She said: "She's quite the character, she's nibbling the nurses' fingers." Then we realised we had a fighter on our hands.

'I was allowed to go and see her and I put my hand into the incubator, and she just grabbed onto my finger. It was so overwhelming - in that moment I just fell in love with her.'

Amaya-Rae was born on August 28, 2021 at East Surrey Hospital, weighing just 680g - but Mischa was warned that as soon as her daughter was stable enough, she would need to be moved to another hospital where there was more specialist care available.

At 14 days old, Amaya-Rae was transferred to King's College Hospital. Doctors told the family that it was highly likely she would not survive the journey - but they had no choice but to get her to another hospital.

Mischa, pictured with Amaya, said she was 'totally stunned' to be visited by the Princess of Wales while her daughter was in Evelina Children's Hospital

Mischa and her partner Jamie were delighted when they discovered Mischa was pregnant with a baby girl after trying for over a year

Mischa, a first-time mother, had a textbook pregnancy until she started experiencing cramps while out shopping with friends. Left, Amaya in her car seat and right, in hospital

Amaya suffered a brain bleed and lung haemorrhage in the ambulance but she was eventually made stable in the hospital.

After Mischa and Jamie had driven the hour's journey back home that night, they received an urgent call from the hospital, telling them to come back immediately as Amaya had taken a turn for the worse.

Mischa said: 'We rushed back, worried we wouldn't make it back to see her alive - but by the time we got there, she had inexplicably stabilised. She gave us quite the fright.

'Another time we were told she needed emergency surgery on her bowel and we had to give permission over the phone because eco protesters were blocking the M25 and we couldn't see her before she was rushed to theatre.'

Due to the hospital being an hour away from the family's home, they were given a room at a Ronald McDonald house next to the hospital so they were able to be with Amaya at the drop of a hat.

Amaya (pictured in hospital) was born on August 28, 2021, weighing just 680g - but Mischa was warned as soon as her daughter was stable enough she would need to be moved to another hospital where there was more specialist care available

At 14 days old, Amaya was transferred to King's College Hospital. Doctors told the family that it was highly likely she would not survive the journey, but they had no choice but to get her to another hospital

Mischa with her daughter Amaya-Rose. Amaya will need to have oxygen for another months, but Mischa says she is otherwise just like any other toddler

During the next 11 months, Amaya suffered a perforated bowel, which she had to have 10cm of removed, and contracted sepsis - but she bounced back every time.

Mischa added: 'Another time we were told we had come to the end of the road when doctors discovered that her pulmonary veins stenosis, that take blood from her heart to lungs and body. Two veins out of the four were not actually connected.

'The other two had scar tissue due to the impact of having the extra blood flow. We were given the option to take Amaya to palliative care, or take her home and wait for her to die.

'I said: "She's not giving up now," and amazingly, the next morning, we had a call from the doctor who asked specialists to look at her scans.

'They realised that her body had managed to produce new veins connecting from the top unconnected veins to feed directly into the bottom.

'They were able to balloon her veins to ensure good blood flow and eventually once they had managed to find a stent small enough for her she was able to have stents placed.'

Due to the specialist care Amaya needed, she was transferred to the Evelina London Children's Hospital, where she spent 166 days before finally being allowed home.

It was there she met the Princess of Wales, who is a patron of the hospital, on the weekend of the Queen's Platinum jubilee.

Mischa explained: 'I was with Amaya and her nurse came in and said we had someone who would like to visit us. I was stunned when I realised who it was. I kept saying it couldn't be her because it was the Jubilee weekend.

'But the nurse explained that Catherine had come to make a quick visit to the hospital to see families who weren't able to be out celebrating, and they had told her about Amaya and she had asked to meet her.

'There were no Press there, we didn't see any bodyguards - she just popped in to meet the children. She was so lovely.'

Now, although Amaya will need to have oxygen for a few months yet, Mischa says she is just like any other toddler.

'She does have some underlying conditions but hopefully they will not hold her back and are manageable. She is doing so well. She's such a happy, chilled out little girl. You'd never know what she's been through,' said Mischa.

For more information about Ronald McDonald House Charities UK, visit: https://rmhc.org.uk/
The Princess of Wales spoke to primary school pupils about the importance of connections as she kicked off Place2Be's Children's Mental Health Week today.

Kate Middleton, 41, discussed being honest about how you feel as she sat and did colouring-in with youngsters at St John's CE Primary School in Bethnal Green, east London.

In a video showing the royal also building paperchains with the students, she smiled during the candid chat.

The mother-of-three was effortlessly elegant in a chic striped black-and-white jumper from Arket suited for the late winter weather, in what has been a busy week for the royal with the launch of her 'Shaping Us' early years campaign.

She wore her chestnut tresses down and styled in relaxed waves, keeping the make-up minimal, with rosy lipstick and peachy blush.

Scroll down for video

Kate Middleton, 41, discussed the importance of opening up about how you feel as she sat and coloured with the kids at St John's CE Primary School in Bethnal Green

Kate kept her accessories simple, opting for simple golden earrings to complement her sophisticated look.

One pupil told the Princess that 'connecting releases our emotions to other people that we care about'.

Another told the Duchess of Cornwall that they manage difficult feelings by 'taking deep breaths in' and then 'drinking a glass of water'.

Kate encouraged the children to keep talking about their feelings and to continue to check in on each other.

The Princess of Wales donned a blue apron to protect her clothing as she made paper chains with the children

In a video showing the royal building paperchains with the students, she smiled during the candid chat with her young audience

The mother-of-three was effortlessly elegant in a chic striped black and white jumper perfect for the late winter weather

She wore her chestnut tresses down and styled in relaxed waves, keeping the make-up minimal, with rosy lipstick and peachy blush

One pupil told the Princess that 'connecting releases our emotions to other people that we care about'

'I'm delighted to be supporting children's mental health week yet again,' she said. 'It's been wonderful to speak to so many children here about the importance of connections and the important people in their lives too.'

The Princess has supported Children's Mental Health Week since it was launched by Place2Be in 2015. The theme of this year's is 'Let's Connect'.

The charity's Chief Executive, Catherine Roche, said: 'We are delighted to have the support of our Royal Patron HRH The Princess of Wales to help shine a spotlight on the importance of supporting mental health from an early age.

'As the children of St John's Primary have shown, taking part in activities and having positive conversations that help us connect with others, make us feel so much better.

Another told the Duchess of Cornwall that they manage difficult feelings by 'taking deep breaths in' and then 'drinking a glass of water'

Kate encouraged the children to keep talking about their feelings and to continue to check in on each other

The Princess has supported Children's Mental Health Week since it was launched by Place2Be in 2015. The theme of this year's is 'Let's Connect'

Kate sported a striped jumper as she enjoyed sitting down with the children at a primary school

'This Children's Mental Health Week we are encouraging everyone to make time to connect.'

It comes as the Princess of Wales shared a sweet baby picture of herself with her father as she launched her campaign to shine a spotlight on the 'early years' of childhood.

A joyful young Kate is pictured with her father Michael Middleton in a never-before-seen photograph taken by her mother Carole.

In the image, Kate reaches towards her father's face - and royal fans are already drawing comparisons to the royal's youngest son, four-year-old Louis.

Kate grinned as she enjoyed speaking with the children about the importance of connections and relationships

The group made paper chains as they worked on a project ahead of Children's Mental Health Week together

The children got their hands on paints and paper to make crafts as they met with the Duchess of Cambridge

Kate donned an apron as she sat down to talk about feelings, and the importance of making connections, with the children

The Princess of Wales used a colour wheel to discuss how certain emotions make the children feel

Kate spoked about the importance of Children's Mental Health Week as she visited a primary school

Kate helped the children make paper chains as they talked about the importance of connections

It comes as the mother-of-three kicked off her new 'Shaping Us' initiative last week, with a glitzy reception at BAFTA in London.

The campaign hopes to 'raise awareness of the life-changing impact we can have, when we build a supportive, nurturing world around children and those who care for them' in their early years.

Sharing the new photograph on social media, Kate said 'faces are a baby's best toy'.

She added: 'This weekend, we'd love for you all to spend time with your friends, families, colleagues and communities talking about your early childhoods and how they've shaped your lives.

'I hope you'll also consider joining me in sharing a picture of yourselves before your fifth birthday to help with those conversations and to share some smiles and memories too.'

The Princess of Wales has hired a 'straight-talking' public relations expert to join her Kensington Palace team as her new private secretary.

Alison Corfield joins the royals as a veteran public relations mastermind to aid Kate as her right-hand woman to help lead the charge on the Princess's ramped up public work.

Ms Corfield comes into the role with bags of experience, previously orchestrating Jamie Oliver's free school meals campaigns and drive to end childhood obesity by 2030.

Royal insiders told The Sunday Times that the public relations expert was a 'ball-breaker' and her appointment was a 'breath of fresh air'.

Royal sources added that Kate sought out a 'different type of courtier', suggesting the Princess of Wales wanted to shake things up on her royal team.
How are your finances? Mine too. January hit the Betts coffers hard. As a consequence, I am reminding myself that the one thing that really makes my skin sing is free.

A face massage is the key to looking firmer, fresher and fabulously a-glow and it costs nothing.

A few people may want to avoid it. Those with erupting acne will prefer to steer clear. Ditto the violently reactive or allergic. You are your own best expert in this respect.

I was reminded of this last week, when I met an industry authority who informed me that  SPF50 apart  everything I do skin-wise is wrong, including loving face oil, not religiously deploying vitamin C or retinol, and forcibly evicting the odd blackhead.

A face massage is the key to looking firmer, fresher and fabulously a-glow and it costs nothing, says Hannah Betts

And, yet, my skin is deemed winning. My conclusion: by midlife, weve learnt a few tricks, and our complexions idiosyncrasies tend to be one of them. Personally, if I do ever have a facial, its the massage, not the unguents, that make the difference. Meaning if Im striving to impress  or want my phones facial recognition to work before 8am  I always allow time for a few minutes laying on of hands.

The benefits are evident. As our skin functions as an extension of our nervous systems, a massage calms and relaxes us. Second, it stimulates muscle tone, the scaffolding on which our skin sits. Gentle kneading gets our lymphatic systems moving, depuffing the complexion, and making it more receptive to lotions and potions.

Most glow-givingly, circulation is boosted, flooding blood into the face. You suddenly look lit from within or, at least, alive.

The cultures we admire for their skin obsession  the French, Japanese and Koreans  all indulge in some form of facial manipulation.

Last October, Chanel brought out the worlds chicest facial massage kit in the form of its Le Lift Pro Concentre Contours (144), Chanel Le Lift Pro Creme Volume (135), and Chanel Le Lift Pro Massage Tool (70, all chanel.com).

This tightening serum, plumping cream, and lifting tool received instant acclaim, with fans declaring they could feel the serums elevating effect in minutes. The massage device sold out online (its still available, in-store only).

A travel-friendly square in silver and black, it clicks open into two halves: one a triangle with a chrome tip to attack wrinkles; the other a square with a central groove for lifting and sweeping along the jaw and cheekbones.

UK-based beauty expert Hannah Betts (pictured) says that by midlife, weve learnt a few tricks, and our complexions idiosyncrasies tend to be one of them

I also enjoy dragging both elements across the back of my neck at moments of high stress.

Elegant as this is, you dont absolutely need to spend 70 when you can use your hands and fingers. You will need something to provide slip. This might be your usual cleanser, or some women raid the kitchen for olive oil.

In terms of budget options, I prefer The Ordinary 100pc Organic Cold-Pressed Borage Seed Oil (4.20, boots.com). The star - flower in this boasts an exceptionally high amount of fatty acids, that will soothe dryness and irritation. Or, for night, friends rave about the soporific and softening effects of Garnier Organic Lavandin Smooth & Glow Facial Oil (now 5.98, superdrug.com).

If youre prepared to invest, Meder Beautys new VitaLong Oil (from 30, mederbeauty.com) promises a bio-hacking shield to overcome free radicals, prolong cell life, and restore cell DNA. When it comes to the actual massage, I like to pretend I have a method, but I really dont. Sometimes Ill start by running an ice cube over my features.

Then, its whatever oil I fall upon, warmed between my hands. I use the saddle of my palms to lift upwards from the chin, poking and grabbing the bits that should protrude rather than sag and swooping everything else upwards.

If Im making a more concerted effort, Ill follow massage genius Su-Man Hsus two-minute skin rejuvenating self-facial on YouTube or Lisa Eldridges leisurely guide at lisaeldridge.com.

If you dont have time to go for the glow, then fake it till you make it with Trilogys Instant Glow Rosehip Oil (36.50, trilogy products.co.uk).

This cult salve loved by the Princess of Wales, Victoria Beckham and Gwyneth Paltrow now comes gleaming pigment. Verdict: winning.

RACE YOU TO IT

Clarins Hydra-Essentiel Night Cream From Wednesday, Clarins Hydra-Essentiel range boasts a nocturnal incarnation: Clarins Hydra-Essentiel Night Cream (40, clarins.co.uk). As with the rest of this seven-product line, skin is plumped in 60 seconds. Think of it as a bedside glass of water for your face. clarins.co.uk Shop

MY ICON OF THE WEEK

MICHELLE VISAGE

Michelle Visage, 54, (pictured) favours 111 Skin Sheet Masks, de Mamiel's Altitude Oil, and has been using MAC Lip Pencil in Stone

The 54-year-old ex-Strictly star and Radio 2 presenter favours 111 Skin Sheet Masks (from 20, 111skin.com), de Mamiels Altitude Oil (30, demamiel.com), and has been using MAC Lip Pencil in Stone (18, maccosmetics.co.uk) for 20 years. She is de-brassing her grey streak with Charles Worthington Glowing Grey Shampoo and Smoothing Grey Conditioner (8.99 each, boots.com).

5 HAIR REVIVERS

Aveda Scalp Solutions Exfoliating Scalp Treatment A skincareinspired, liquidgel exfoliant to fight the look of scalp ageing. aveda.co.uk Shop

Grow Gorgeous Hair Growth Serum Intense Now in 30ml, this serum increases the thickness of each strand. growgorgeous.co.uk Shop

Garnier Ultimate Blends Hair Drink Banana Liquid Conditioner Contains ultrathin lamellas that coat the hair fibre to polish locks. superdrug.com Shop

Hair By Sam McKnight Dressed To Kill Define & Defrizz Creme Years in the making, this is the fashion favourites soft, workable pomade to define, defluff and defrizz. sammcknight.com Shop

Olaplex No.4D Clean Volume Detox Dry Shampoo Ultra-fine rice starch absorbs oil for clean, weightless body, without pore clogging or any white residue. spacenk.com Shop

COSMETIC CRAVING
Not wanting to brag but I know a thing or two about denim shirts. At this moment  after an extreme clothing clear-out at the end of last year  I own three denim shirts and am eagerly anticipating the arrival of one more, which I expect to force at least two of the others into retirement.

To put it another way  me, a denim-shirt fan since the 1970s, someone who has owned an awful lot of denim shirts over the years including patchwork ones, fitted ones with popper fastenings and Western stitching, even embroidered ones (a long time ago)  am about to spend 130 on a new denim shirt. Yikes.

Allow me to explain. First of all denim shirts, like jeans, if cut well in just the right shade of blue are as irresistible as they are flattering, and timeless and slightly different from each other.

Covetable: WNUs version of a denim shirt. Shane Watson explains why they are this season's must have

Next, denim has earned a permanent place at the top table and is now an acceptable part of a modern womans everyday uniform.

Denim is always in fashion, but not always at the sharp end like it is now.

You can find any item of clothing in different washes this season, but the truth is you probably dont want a denim mac or shirt dress.

A shirt is what you need. Its a classic, and an adaptable classic that will fit in with whatever the prevailing mood in fashion happens to be.

Holly Willoughby (pictured) in a light denim shirt, paired with an indigo denim skirt and white ankle boots

In the past Ive worn denim shirts with more denim, with leather, with floaty midi skirts and velvet, flowing trousers or at the weekend with track pants  but the way Im intending to wear my new shirt is either doubled up with mid-rise, straight-leg, anklegrazing blue jeans, maybe an extra-long denim skirt, or with relaxed tailoring.

I dont need any more scruffy downtime clothes; I need denim that looks classy, cool and smart-casual.

And now we come to the reason for all the fanfare: the shirt I have in my sights is by British label WNU (With Nothing Underneath), currently the undisputed number one for womens shirts.

Left: Amanda Holden in a longline denim blazer. Right: Vicky McClure in a dark denim shirt paired with indigo skinny jeans

Yes they cost more than a lot of shirts on the High Street, but they will outlast all the others in your wardrobe put together, plus theyre cut to make you look like an off-duty model when so many shirts make you look blowsy or secretarial. WNU may not have made shirts sexy, but it has revived the shirt as a sexy standalone and it has found the sweet spot.

Theres a boyfriend cut which is a female-friendly masculine shape; a girlfriend style which is a neater fit, and the classic with a curved hem thats longer at the back.

DENIM SHIRTS: THE RULES Pick a pretty mid blue.

Pick mid-weight denim.

Wear a size up.

A short front is better for tucking in. Advertisement

This is where the denim shirt comes in: a loose fit, onepocket style thats shorter in the body, especially in the front, to make it easier to tuck in, with neat white buttons, in an eye-brightening mid-blue.

We went for a mid weight as opposed to a chambray, says WNU founder Pip Durell, to make sure we had quality that would last and look better and soften over time.

Of course, denim is still casual, she says, but the point about the way we dress now is the mix of smart and casual.

Pip intends this muchmulled-over shirt (theyve made it as environmentally friendly as possible) to be worn in the office, too.

I think proper, quality denim is not just acceptable in the office, its really chic. You can wear our denim shirt with a black polo-neck underneath, with an oversized blazer on top or, in my opinion the sexiest option, on its own with tailored trousers.

Emily Ratajkowski in an oversized denim shirt at the Loewe womenswear show at Paris Fashion Week

Michelle Obama wore double denim  a Ganni belted blazer and matching trousers  on her book tour in November, so theres no doubt that double denim, if you keep it crisp, can count as workwear.

But lets start with the shirt and blazer and take it from there. You dont have to buy it from WNU (withnothingunderneath.com). Cos does a structured denim shirt (79, cos.com); White Stuff has a good one with button-down front pockets (55, whitestuff. com); while Massimo Duttis is slim fit with dark buttons (59.95, massimodutti.com).

All have their good points but not all together. WNUs wont be in store until Friday, February 10, if you can wait.
Move over blond chocolate  so 2022! Now, just in time for Valentines Day, shelves are groaning with ruby chocolate.

Made from the ruby cocoa bean, grown in Brazil, Ecuador and the Ivory Coast, the rosy result is allnatural and boasts a fresh-berry, fruity taste. Better still, it is said to pair exquisitely with fizz.

Its a revolution in chocolate, says Bas Smit, global VP of marketing at Barry Callebaut, which was the first to discover and develop it.

Move over blond chocolate - so 2022! Now, just in time for Valentine's Day, shelves are groaning with ruby chocolate

The company had known about the special beans for years, but it was only when one of its scientists decided to process them in a slightly different way that it awakened a chemical compound which produced the attractive blushing shade. And now, major brands such a Fortnum & Mason and Magnum have made their own pink products.

So, whether youre buying for yourself, or leaving this article out for your partner  here are our favourite ruby chocolates available to buy this Valentines...

PURE DELIGHT

47% Ruby Chocolate Bar, Delicieux Chocolat (100g for 4.50, dechoc.co.uk)

47% Ruby Chocolate Bar, Delicieux Chocolat (100g for 4.50, dechoc.co.uk)

If you want to experience ruby chocolate unadulterated by other flavours, this is where you should begin. Its a taste sensation, starting off silky smooth and reminiscent of white chocolate, then becoming complex and a little tart with a hit of fruity berry.

It has the most enjoyable melt-in-the-mouth texture and, of course, the irresistible colour. Just the right balance of sweet, sour and creamy  sounds weird but it works, trust me.

TRUFFLY DECADENT

Fortnums Salted Caramel Ruby Truffles (135g for 17.95, fortnumandmason.com)

Fortnums Salted Caramel Ruby Truffles (135g for 17.95, fortnumandmason.com)

You can never go wrong with truffles for Valentines Day  and combining, as the description states, two of the most popular flavour innovations in chocolate of recent years; fruity and sharp ruby chocolate, and sweet yet salty caramel, these are a real winner.

The salted caramel ganache filling has a ruby chocolate coating with a sprinkling of Himalayan salt crystals on top. Personally, I adore the combination of chocolate and salt, and this is seriously good. At more than 1.60 per truffle though, just make sure not to eat them all at once!

ON THE BUTTON

Ruby Chocolate Giant Button Tub (120g for 3.95, marimbaworld.com)

Ruby Chocolate Giant Button Tub (120g for 3.95, marimbaworld.com)

Who doesnt love a chocolate button? A giant, pink, chocolate button? Creamy and delicious with a pleasant sourness, its dangerously easy to eat the entire tub in one sitting.

This brand also does an amazing hot chocolate, which you make by stirring the ruby chocolate flakes (240g  enough for six mugs  for 8.70) into hot milk. Not as rich and sickly as hot milk chocolate, it makes for the most comforting, warming drink on a cold day

GUILTY PLEASURE

The Ruby Bar (100g for 8 xochocolate.co.uk)

The Ruby Bar (100g for 8 xochocolate.co.uk) The sweet and tart ruby chocolate is draped in 24k gold on one side

This is one very special and beautiful bar of chocolate  you might be tempted just to look at it and not eat it.

The sweet and tart ruby chocolate is draped in 24k gold on one side, while the other side is covered in popcorn, Iranian pistachios and aromatic rose leaf. Wow!

The pistachios work particularly well with the fruity flavour of the chocolate, and the popcorn adds a pleasing crunch. Plus, who doesnt want their chocolate gilded? A surefire way to impress.

MIX N MATCH

Ultimate Ruby Chocolate Library Bar (75g for 6.95, fortnumandmason.com)

Ultimate Ruby Chocolate Library Bar (75g for 6.95, fortnumandmason.com)

This is another winner for anyone who wants to try ruby chocolate without any other flavours included in it.

It has a different taste to the ruby bar by Delicieux Chocolat  more punchy and tart  so if you prefer a chocolate thats less delicate, then this is the one for you.

The nice thing about Fortnums Library Bars is that you can mix and match with other delicious flavours  including treacle tart, white chocolate carrot cake, salted almond and dark chocolate with orange pieces  building up your own Chocolate Library.

LUXE LOLLU

Magnum Ruby ice cream lollies (three for 3, ocado.com)

Magnum Ruby ice cream lollies (three for 3, ocado.com)

If ice cream is your thing, I cant recommend these enough. Magnum combines velvety white chocolate ice cream with a raspberry swirl, encased in the distinct ruby chocolate coating to make the most delectable after-dinner (or any time, frankly) treat.

Yes, they may not be a box of the finest chocolates, but theyre a fun and very tasty way to say I love you. Who cares if its February!

COOK UP A STORM

Callebaut Ruby Chocolate Couverture (400g for 10.99, souschef.co.uk)

Callebaut Ruby Chocolate Couverture (400g for 10.99, souschef.co.uk)

If you really want to impress your Valentine  and youre a dab-hand at baking  you can buy this Belgian ruby cooking chocolate to whip up all sorts of fruity, pink-coloured delights, such as ganaches, truffles, mousses, soft-serve ice cream or chocolate sauce.

Pair it with heady, richer flavours, including green tea, coffee and pepper.
These couples were lucky enough to have their special days captured in award-winning style by their wedding photographers.

From epic images in the rain to a groom chasing a veil on a windy day in Melbourne, this year's winners of the sixth International Wedding Photographer of the Year have certainly captured some spectacular pictures.

This year there were 10 categories in the competition, such as best solo portrait and dance floor photo, as well as an overall grand winner and a runner-up.

The highest accolade went to Dee Kampe of Finder Seeker Photography from Melbourne, Australia, who out-ranked more than 1,700 images submitted by over 330 wedding photographers worldwide.

Dee captured a groom trying to catch his partner's veil after a gust of wind unexpectedly took off with it, explaining: 'While Jono went racing after it, (bride) Liana, amused by the whole debacle laughed and embraced the situation for what it was.'

This year's winners of the sixth International Wedding Photographer of the Year have certainly captured some spectacular pictures. The highest accolade went to Dee Kampe of Finder Seeker Photography from Melbourne, Australia. Pictured, Dee's winning photograph

'I instinctively began photographing and this frame was captured a few seconds into the veil's escape,' the photographer recalled.

'Did they get the veil back? Yes they did. After lifting some 50 meters into the air we assumed it was long gone, but it had come to rest half-way up a telephone pole on the opposite side of the street. But that's another story.'

The runner-up was Matteo Lomonte, from Italy, who captured a bride and groom leaving their ceremony surrounded by loved ones.

Meanwhile, the winner of Epic Location was Emily Peters. The winning photograph showed a couple watching a sunrise in the Isle of Skye.

This photograph, captured by Avismita Bhattacharyya, 'was taken post haldi celebration when both bride and groom were enjoying with their near and dear ones and so to get an offbeat angle I climbed up the stairs,' explained the photographer, via the International Wedding Photographer of the Year website

Rossi Mechanezidis, based in Germany, produced this stunning photograph by using the illuminated trees as a background while the couple shared an affectionate hug for the camera

Winner of the best Single Capture category, this joyous photograph, captured in the rain, was taken by Jim Caryl  The Caryls Photography, who are based in Scotland

The runner-up was Matteo Lomonte, from Italy, who captured a bride and groom leaving their ceremony surrounded by loved ones (pictured)

Photographer Federica Ariemma captured this wedding image in October in Puglia, Italy. The wind made the veil wrap around the bride's face to create this breathtaking scene

Francesco Brunello, based in Italy, took home the award for best Dance Floor shot after capturing this fun-filled scene at a wedding. Guests hold balloons while surrounding the couple as they stand near the lavish wedding cake

Cat + Jeff of The Apartment Photography, based in Vancouver, produced this photograph, capturing the groomsman in a scenic moment. It was awarded the best Bridal Party shot

The winner of Epic Location was Emily Peters. The winning photograph (pictured above) showed a couple watching a sunrise in the Isle of Skye
A pub owner has responded to 'ridiculous' complaints over the cost of his food after he charged nearly 20 for a burger.

Outspoken chef Gary Usher, who owns the White Horse pub in Churton, took to Twitter to address the backlash saying 'there's an option not to buy that burger.'

The business owner shared a video assuring people they don't 'have' to go to his pub, and that it doesn't make sense to compare his prices to other establishments in the area.

After sharing the menu on social media over the weekend a few people were quick to comment on the dry aged beef burger with Comte cheese, mustard, relish and pickle with a side of skinny fries for 19:50.

One person wrote: 'W**k and overpriced, you're a pub not a restaurant. Should do simple food such as chips etc.'

Another wrote: 'wish you all the very best, and I hope it's a big success but there's very little on that menu I would eat - 19,50 for burger - I'm not saying I'd expect it to be a lot cheaper, but I would certainly be looking at the menus in places like Brunning & Price.'

While another said: 'I personally think that is a lot for a burger, but then looked at all the ingredients, and it makes sense. Think cause it is called a pub, they think of pub prices. That burger is a restaurant prices.'

A fourth wrote: 'Good luck with the venture pal. But sorry even after explaining this and having worked as a 'expert' in this industry I can't see how a burger can warrant that value. However you have to be confident in your produce and put your own value on it. Good luck.'

In a clip, which racked up 1.2 million views, Gary said someone's suggestion that they should measure their prices against other pubs in their area was 'just ridiculous'.

He said: 'Good morning everybody, I wanted to address a view comments about the burger on the menu.

'Well let's start with a couple of comments - we should be comparing ourself with the pub down the road and that's how we should come up with our prices. That's just ridiculous.

'Look, I am not the most confident person, I am quite painfully shy to be honest, but with the business I try not to be arrogant about it, but we have to give ourselves credit for who we are. This pub isn't our first venture. In fact this is number eight. We are pretty bloody successful at what we do.

'I have been working my while life in this industry, this is my sector, this what I specialise in. I am an expert at it, we all are, in this business, and to be told things like we should be comparing it to the business down the street, that is ridiculous.

The White Horse pub recently opened in Churton however they faced some backlash for their burger prices

Gary Usher, who owns the White Horse pub in Churton, responded to complaints over the cost of his food after he charged nearly 20 for a burger

After the new pub shared it's menu online some people rushed to the comments to complain about the price of the burger

'To price up a menu we source up ingredients, the very best ingredients. We get all our raw ingredients and add them up and then we work out a percentage that all our costs. So that's why the burger is 19.

'We love looking after people, we're in hospitality it's what we do. However, if you don't want to come that's also fine. There's an option not to buy that burger, there's an option not to come to the pub.

'Love him or hate him Ricky Gervais has a sketch where he mentions in a town centre a big billboard saying 'guitar lessons 15' or whatever. Someone looks at the sign and says 'I don't want guitar lessons!''

'It's the same with the burger. It's not for you. If you don't want it that's fine. That menu is an advert for our business, take a look, it is up there for your perusal and social media is a great place to voice your opinions, but you don't always have to.'

The dry aged beef burger with Comte cheese, mustard, relish and pickle with a side of skinny fries for 19:50 on the menu

However, plenty of people were pretty satisfied by his explanation and reckoned that the burger must taste pretty good

However, plenty of people were pretty satisfied by his explanation and reckoned that the burger must taste pretty good.

One person wrote: 'I will make it my business to come to your pub next time Im in the uk because I do trust you. Bravo sir for this video. dont mind the haters!'

Another said: 'I fully agree with @GaryUsher I would rather have one quality meal in your pub, than buy a cheap burger in another one that taste like rubber. I had to look at the map to see where you are. Next time, I am near by, I shall visit.'

While another said: 'Reeeaaalllllly want that burger now - only the small issue of the Irish Sea separating me from it . Common sense - if domestic costs are rising so are business costs . If they absorb them they wont have a business.'

Another person pointed out that people wouldn't go to a car dealership to complain about the price of a car they cant afford.

They said: 'Is this the only industry where people complain about the price of something theyre never gonna buy? You dont see people complaining on an Audi post that their latest car costs 70k or whatever.'

Gary made headlines in 2018 after a customer complained about the Sticky Walnut's lack of 'customer skills' after staff were asked to go shop for lemonade for a red wine spritzer.

Gary shot down the customer saying; 'We often nip out for people's requests. It's part of great hospitality. We just don't do it if you're a rude c***'.

Gary starred in a Channel 4 documentary in 2019 called The Rebel Chef: My Restaurant Revolution.

The documentary follows the opening of one of his crowdfunded bistros Pinion in the Merseyside Town of Prescot.

In 2020, Usher took aim at a negative review and slammed a customer who said her meal at his restaurant was a 'rip-off' in a damning online review.

Emma said the 122 bill for her meal - one course with drinks for two people - was 'eye-wateringly expensive', and the price tag was 'really not worth it'.

But Usher claimed she had misunderstood the pricing, and that they could have ordered a three-course set menu for just 39 each, claiming that Emma and her dining companion were 'rude' and wouldn't allow the manager to explain this at the time.

The outspoken chef also went viral in 2021 after hitting back at a customer who wrote a scathing two-star Tripadvisor review.

The review - which was emphatically debunked by restaurant manager Gary Usher - accused the Sticky Walnut of 'Ryanair-style management'

Gary, who also owns the Sticky Walnut in Hoole, Chester, blasted the review, calling out the customer for being rude and intimidating towards his staff.

In the review titled 'excellent food let down by Ryanair style service', the diner had blasted the manager for 'not giving a toss' about customer service, which Usher vehemently denied.

The unsatisfied diner, known only as Rob V, wrote: 'The good news is that the food here is very, very tasty and deserves a high rating.

'The bad news is that the restaurant management doesn't give a toss about customer experience.

'I ate here on July 9 had a complaint that was dealt with badly enough by the manager that I wrote to the owner.

'A restaurant that aspires to offer fine dining experience but has lost the ability to empathise with customers and ignores them when they complain? That really is a shame.'

Restauranteur and chef Mr Usher was quick to respond with his own blistering write-up. He replied: 'For goodness sake Robert. I'm supposed to be in TwitAdvisor retirement so let's not waste any time. After all, you've waited 11 years since joining Twitadvisor to write your first review.

'Rob you reserved a table on a Friday evening and agreed to a 1 hour 45 minute time slot. A standard practice, particularly on busy periods, that guests and restaurants worldwide agree to.

'After your dessert course the Manager, who you said "doesn't give a toss", gently reminded you that we would need the table back shortly. You ignored the Manager and proceeded to order another round of drinks.

In his blistering take-down, restauranteur Gary Usher pointed out that the Sticky Walnut has achieved a top 100 position in the National Restaurant Awards in the UK

'Perhaps if your party had arrived on time for your reservation this could have been avoided.'

He continued: 'When the Manager came back a final time to politely let you know we needed to clear the table for our next guests you got up out of your seat, towering over the Manager, pointing in their face.

'The Manager's response was "Sir, please can you stop pointing in my face". You proceeded to tell the Manager that they didn't deserve to be a Manager and weren't qualified to be in the position.

'Your Mother then joined in by adding to the vitriol being directed towards the Manager.

'That's when both you and your Mother showed your true colours with the classic "We've both worked in restaurants so we know how it works. We should be getting these drinks for free".

'You, Rob, then threatened the Manager by telling them that you would be contacting the owner because you know him and that Gary (me) would be appalled to know how you, "my friend", had been treated.

'The Manager politely pleaded with your whole table to just listen whilst they explained. No one did.

'In a strange turn of events you emailed me, your "friend", at Sticky Walnut's email address.

The Sticky Walnut in Chester has a 4.5 star rating out of 5 on TripAdvisor, where it has amassed almost 2,000 reviews

'You must have lost my number Rob! Not surprisingly, to either me or the Manager, you and I don't know each other Rob.

'Every few months in a restaurant a rude guest will use the "I know the owner!" line to try and intimidate team members and bully them into thinking that they will get into trouble because they didn't look after the owner's "friends" well enough.

'I did read your email. I did "give a toss", but not about you Rob, but about the way you treated the team. So instead of replying to you we chose to block your number, and your Mum's, and put a note on our booking system to not accept any future bookings from you.'

Mr Usher concluded his response: 'With regards to the Manager who "doesn't give a toss" they have managed Sticky Walnut for the last 8 years.

'Coincidentally the same length of time that Sticky Walnut has achieved a top 100 position in the National Restaurant Awards in the UK. I think that makes them both extremely deserving to be the Manager and absolutely qualified to hold that position.'
Syrian rescue teams search for survivors under the rubble following an earthquake in the government-controlled central Syrian city of Hama on February 6, 2023. A 7.8-magnitude earthquake hit Turkey and Syria early on Feb. 6, killing hundreds of people as they slept, levelling buildings and sending tremors that were felt as far away as the island of Cyprus, Egypt and Iraq. AFP-Yonhap



Dozens of governments and international organizations have responded with offers of support after a 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck central Turkey and northwest Syria. Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said on Monday that 45 countries had offered help with search and rescue efforts.



Below is a list of some of those announcements of support:



GERMANY



Interior Minister Nancy Faeser said Germany's federal civil protection agency could provide camps with emergency shelters and water treatment units and that it was already preparing relief supplies with emergency generators, tents and blankets, in coordination with the Turkish authorities.



U.N. WORLD HEALTH ORGANISATION



WHO chief Tedros said its network of emergency medical teams has been activated to provide essential health care for the injured and most vulnerable affected by the earthquake.



ITALY



Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said Italy's Civil Protection was standing by to contribute support and provide first aid.



INDIA



The government said two teams from India's National Disaster Response Force comprising 100 personnel with specially trained dog squads and equipment were ready to be flown to the disaster area for search and rescue operations. Medical teams were being readied and relief material was being sent in coordination with the Turkish authorities.



POLAND



Poland will send rescue group HUSAR consisting of 76 firemen and eight rescue dogs, Interior and Administration Minister Mariusz Kami?ski said.






Viewers were baffled as they watched Sue and Noel Radford take 13 of their children to France in yet another getaway on 22 Kids and Counting last night.

On last night's show, the parents-of-22, who live in Morecambe in a ten-bedroom house, were trying to find a way to handle their 14-year-old son, who had started to act up at school, and decided to take him on a canoeing challenge in France to build up his confidence.

Noel, who owns a pie shop, and, Sue, a stay-at-hone mother, did not comment on how much the escape would cost on the show.

The family have ben on several international trips in the past year, including holidays to Disney World and New York City.

While the cost of living crisis is affecting many households around the country, viewers questioned how the parents of such a big family could afford to take several of their kids to France on a whim.

Viewers were baffled as they watched Sue and Noel Radford, who live with Morecambe, in a ten-bedroom house, take their brood to France in yet another getaway on 22 Kids and Counting last night

The decision to go to France came as Sue and Noel tried to find a way to handle their son Josh, who had been misbehaving at school.

Scared their son was getting 'with the wrong crowd' and could end up in trouble, Sue and Noel tried to find a solution to their problem.

'We need to sort it out now before it's too late,' the father-of-22 told his wife on the show.

'I really don't know what to do about Josh, I've never been as worried about any of her kids as I am about Josh at the minute,' she said, adding: 'He's lacking a bit of confidence, isn't he?'

Noel agreed: 'He needs his confidence built up in other ways.'

The couple began to brainstorm ideas, floating the idea that Josh needed a physical as well as a mental challenge to boost his confidence.

They eventually settled on a trip to France, where their 14-year-old and Noel would be taking part in a 30km-long canoeing challenge while Sue and other members of the brood looked on.

Viewers couldn't help but ask how the family could afford to go on such a trip, with several children and last minute, especially in the midst of the cost of living crisis.

On last night's show, the parents-of-22, were trying to find a way to handle their 14-year-old son, who had started to act up at school, and decided to take him on a canoeing challenge in France to build up his confidence

'Love watching, but normal sized families are struggling financially how are these not I mean those pies must be fabulous,' one said.

'They always seem to be on holiday. Where on earth do they get the money? Or is it all paid for?' one asked.

How do they afford holidays with that many kids? I know he sells pies, but wow,' one said.

There have been questions over how the couple finance their family's lifestyle in the past.

Sue and Noel, 50, are parents to Chris, 32, Sophie, 27, Chloe, 26, Jack, 24, Daniel, 22, Luke, 21, Millie, 20, Katie, 19, James, 18, Ellie, 16, Aimee, 15, Josh, 14, Max, 12, Tillie, 11, Oscar, 10, Casper, nine, Hallie, six, Phoebe, five, Archie, four, Bonnie, three, and Heidie, one.

Sadly the couple's 17th child Alfie was stillborn on July 6, 2014.

The couple fund their family thanks to Noel's pie shop and do not rely on benefits.

They estimate they had spent 1 million on their brood before the birth of their 22nd child Heidi, whom they said could be their last.

Viewers were left6 wondering how Sue and Noel are financing their large family's lifestyle and going on getaways

'I try not to think too much about what it costs. What could I have had instead,' Noel joked.

'A nice flash car. A Porsche on the driveway,' while Sue joked: 'We could have been living in a mansion!'

Meanwhile the mother-of-22 confessed the challenges of homeschooling six children of secondary school age and five at primary school can be difficult.

Sue joked: 'Weve got Heidie, who is 10 months, and quite a few toddlers so I am going in so many different directions when the kids are asking, Whats this, Mum?

Trying to look after them has been hard.'

She added that the family have had to be extra careful after two 'haircutting incidents' saw younger children cutting each others hair.

But the mother-of-22 confessed she doesn't like to 'constantly shout' and 'lets a lot go over our heads.'

Back in November, Sue defended herself after fans called her out for spending 750 on a mattress.

She wrote in an Instagram story at the time: Oh I do, weve worked extremely hard to get to where we are now. I think people forget that we dont just have our bakery, we also work very hard on our media company and filming for our new program just like lots of other influencers.

'I hate that word but most YouTubers dont also run a very successful business.

22 Kids and Counting airs on Sundays at 8pm on Channel 5.
Queen Margrethe II of Denmark's grandsons Count Nikolai and Count Felix de Monpezat have been seen in public for the first time since being stripped of their royal titles.

Nikolai, 23, and Felix, 20, attended the memorial service for their maternal grandmother Christa Manley in Vienna, Austria, alongside their mother Alexandra, Countess of Frederiksborg, on January 27.

The siblings made the trip from Copenhagen, where they are studying, reported Point de Vue, and accompanied their mother and two maternal aunts to the parish church Ober-Sankt-Veit for the funeral.

Their grandmother, Christa, died at her home in the Austrian capital on January 5 at the age of 89, according to the publication.

Nikolai and Felix were stripped of their royal titles by their paternal grandmother, Queen Margrethe, in a bombshell decision which came into effect on January 1.

Queen Margrethe II of Denmark's grandsons Count Nikolai and Count Felix de Monpezat have been seen in public for the first time since being stripped of their royal titles

Speaking to Danish publication BT about her mother, Alexandra, 58, who was married to Prince Joachim of Denmark for 10 years until 2005, said: 'She loved her family and friends and loved to travel.

'She had a great appetite for life  and that was passed on to us. So it's obvious that she leaves a big void in the family.'

Earlier this month, the Danish Royal Family's website was updated to show the new status belonging to Queen Margrethe's son Joachim's children after they were stripped of their HRH titles.

The 82-year-old monarch announced in September that the four children of her younger son, 53-year-old Prince Joachim, would no longer be able to use the title of prince and princess after January 1.

She has said the decision was intended to allow Nikolai, Felix - born from Joachim's first marriage - and Henrik, 13, and Athena, 10, to live normal lives without royal obligations.

Instead of being Princes and Princesses, they are Counts and Countess and referred to as Their Excellencies - a change which is now reflected on the household's website.

Under the Royal Family and Succession To The Throne pages of the website, the four young royals - who have maintained their positions in the line of succession - are mentioned with their new titles.

It was a tumultuous autumn for the Danish Royal Family after the monarch stripped Joachim's four children of their prince and princess titles - a move which he publicly spoke out against.

Nikolai, 23, and Felix, 20, attended the memorial service for their maternal grandmother Christa Manley in Vienna, Austria, alongside their mother Alexandra, Countess of Frederiksborg (pictured centre), on January 27

Prince Felix (third from right) was joined on his confirmation day in 2017 by his maternal grandmother Christa Manley (front left) and (left to right) his brother Nikolai, mother Countess Alexandra, brother Henrik, grandmother Queen Margrethe, father Prince Joachim, step mother Princess Marie, sister Athena and grandfather Prince Henrik

But speaking in a televised New Year's address, Margrethe admitted: 'That the relationship with Prince Joachim and (his wife) Princess Marie has run into difficulties hurts me.

'Difficulties and disagreements can arise in any family, including mine. The whole country has witnessed this.'

She added that she was 'sure that the family can enter the new year together with confidence, understanding and new courage'.

But earlier this month, the Royal Family appeared to put the drama far behind them as they arrived for their glamorous New Year's dinner at Amalienborg Palace in Copenhagen.

Denmark's Royal Family updated their website to show the new status belonging to four of Queen Margrethe's grandchildren after they were stripped of their HRH titles. Pictured, Count Nikolai, left, and right, Count Felix

The 82-year-old monarch announced in September that the four children of her youngest son, 53-year-old Prince Joachim, would no longer be able to use the title of prince and princess after January 1. Pictured, Countess Athena, left, and right, Count Henrik

Despite the fallout, Prince Joachim was seen stepping out at the lavish event, as were his brother Crown Prince Frederik and wife Crown Princess Mary, as well as the Queen's sister Princess Benedikte. Prince Joachim's wife, Princess Marie, stayed in Paris with their son, who was ill.

Last year, Prince Joachim publicly spoke out against his mother's decision in the days that followed - claiming that his children had been 'harmed' in the process.

Months later, the sixth-in-line to the throne admitted that 'communication was missing' within the Royal Family in the lead-up to the shock announcement.

Joachim told local news outlet B.T.: 'There is a lot to work on. Communication was what was missing. Now we have met and we are on the right track.'

The Danish Queen (pictured with her sons and their wives) has said the decision to was intended to allow Nikolai, 23, Felix, 20 - born from Joachim's first marriage - and Henrik, 13, and Athena, 10, to live normal lives without royal obligations

Shortly after his children were stripped of his titles, Joachim claimed that he had only been given five days' notice before the news was made public.

Out of a title: The four grandchildren who are no longer TRHs Nikolai of Denmark, 23: The Copenhagen Business School student and model regularly tops lists of the world's most eligible bachelors. He lives in Denmark but has jetted around the world to walk for designers in Paris and London. Nikolai has also appeared on the cover of Vogue Scandinavia. Felix of Denmark, 20: Following in his brother's footsteps, Prince Felix has also had success as a model and has starred in an advertising campaign for Georg Jensen. He had a short stint at the Royal Danish Military Academy but quit after two months because it 'wasn't for him'. Henrik, 13, and Athena, 11, of Denmark: The youngest of Prince Joachim's four children, Henrik and Athena are the product of his second marriage to Princess Marie. They live with their parents in Paris. Advertisement

Following the Queen's announcement, Joachim spoke to Danish publication Ekstra Bladet outside the Danish Embassy in Paris, where he lives with his French-born wife Princess Marie and his two youngest children, and said his four children had been 'hurt' by their grandmother's decision.

'I was given five days' notice to tell them. In May, I was presented with a plan which, by and large, was that when the children each turned 25, it would happen. Now I had only five days to tell them. Athena turns 11 in January,' he clarified

Meanwhile, his ex-wife Alexandra said that her sons, Nikolai and Felix, had been left feeling 'ostracised' from the institution and the decision had come like a 'bolt out of the blue'.

The Royal Household released a further statement, saying: 'As the Queen stated yesterday, the decision has been a long time coming.

'We understand that there are many emotions at stake at the moment, but we hope that the Queen's wish to future-proof the Royal Household will be respected.'

Last year, it was said that Joachim and his family are relocating to the US after he landed a new job in the defence industry in Washington, according to local media reports.

The Danish royal, 53, has decided to move to Washington DC with his wife and their two young children, Henrik and Athena, Danish newspaper BT reported.

The royal couple are currently based in Paris, where the prince has worked as defence attache since 2020. However that job is expected to come to an end in June, meaning they are likely to up sticks in the second half of the year.

The Danish Royal Court's communications department did not confirm Joachim's reported upcoming move.
The Danish Royal Family have shared stunning portraits of Princesses Mary and Marie to celebrate their birthdays.

Shared to Instagram over the weekend, Princess Mary, who turned 51 on February 5, looked effortlessly chic in her photo in a recycled Carolina Herrera polka dot silk shirt dress.

Meanwhile, a snap of Princess Marie was posted online this morning to mark her birthday, with the caption: 'Her Royal Highness Princess Marie has a birthday and turns 47 today.'

Appearing typically stylish, Prince Joachim's wife opted for a smart white blazer and matching blouse for her photograph.

Meanwhile, mother-of-four Princess Mary, from Australia, let her statement outfit do the talking and kept her accessories to a minimum in the portrait.

The Danish Royal Family have shared stunning portraits of Princesses Mary (pictured) and Marie to celebrate their birthdays

She opted for a glamorous smattering of makeup, complete with a red lip and smokey eye shadow.

Ensuring her beaming smile could be seen, the royal pulled her hair back into a slick ponytail.

Marie, meanwhile, added a touch of glitz to her ensemble with dazzling diamond earrings and a bracelet.

She added a glamorous makeup look to her features - including a soft pink lip and bronzer.

It comes as Queen Margrethe II of Denmark's grandsons Count Nikolai and Count Felix de Monpezat were seen in public for the first time since being stripped of their royal titles.

Nikolai, 23, and Felix, 20, attended the memorial service for their maternal grandmother Christa Manley in Vienna, Austria, alongside their mother Alexandra, Countess of Frederiksborg, on January 27.

The siblings made the trip from Copenhagen, where they are studying, reported Point de Vue, and accompanied their mother and two maternal aunts to the parish church Ober-Sankt-Veit for the funeral.

A snap of Princess Marie (pictured) was posted online this morning to mark her birthday, with the caption: 'Her Royal Highness Princess Marie has a birthday and turns 47 today.'

Their grandmother, Christa, died at her home in the Austrian capital on January 5 at the age of 89, according to the publication.

Nikolai and Felix were stripped of their royal titles by their paternal grandmother, Queen Margrethe, in a bombshell decision which came into effect on January 1.

Earlier this month, the Danish Royal Family's website was updated to show the new status belonging to Queen Margrethe's son Joachim's children after they were stripped of their HRH titles.

The 82-year-old monarch announced in September that the four children of her younger son, 53-year-old Prince Joachim, would no longer be able to use the title of prince and princess after January 1.

She has said the decision was intended to allow Nikolai, Felix - born from Joachim's first marriage - and Henrik, 13, and Athena, 10, to live normal lives without royal obligations.

Instead of being Princes and Princesses, they are Counts and Countess and referred to as Their Excellencies - a change which is now reflected on the household's website.

Under the Royal Family and Succession To The Throne pages of the website, the four young royals - who have maintained their positions in the line of succession - are mentioned with their new titles.

It was a tumultuous autumn for the Danish Royal Family after the monarch stripped Joachim's four children of their prince and princess titles - a move which he publicly spoke out against.

Denmark's Royal Family updated their website to show the new status belonging to four of Queen Margrethe's grandchildren after they were stripped of their HRH titles. Pictured, Count Nikolai, left, and right, Count Felix

The 82-year-old monarch announced in September that the four children of her youngest son, 53-year-old Prince Joachim, would no longer be able to use the title of prince and princess after January 1. Pictured, Countess Athena, left, and right, Count Henrik

But speaking in a televised New Year's address, Margrethe admitted: 'That the relationship with Prince Joachim and (his wife) Princess Marie has run into difficulties hurts me.

'Difficulties and disagreements can arise in any family, including mine. The whole country has witnessed this.'

She added that she was 'sure that the family can enter the new year together with confidence, understanding and new courage'.

But earlier this month, the Royal Family appeared to put the drama far behind them as they arrived for their glamorous New Year's dinner at Amalienborg Palace in Copenhagen.

Despite the fallout, Prince Joachim was seen stepping out at the lavish event, as were his brother Crown Prince Frederik and wife Crown Princess Mary, as well as the Queen's sister Princess Benedikte. Prince Joachim's wife, Princess Marie, stayed in Paris with their son, who was ill.

Last year, Prince Joachim publicly spoke out against his mother's decision in the days that followed - claiming that his children had been 'harmed' in the process.

Months later, the sixth-in-line to the throne admitted that 'communication was missing' within the Royal Family in the lead-up to the shock announcement.

Joachim told local news outlet B.T.: 'There is a lot to work on. Communication was what was missing. Now we have met and we are on the right track.'

The Danish Queen (pictured with her sons and their wives) has said the decision to was intended to allow Nikolai, 23, Felix, 20 - born from Joachim's first marriage - and Henrik, 13, and Athena, 10, to live normal lives without royal obligations

Shortly after his children were stripped of his titles, Joachim claimed that he had only been given five days' notice before the news was made public.

Out of a title: The four grandchildren who are no longer TRHs Nikolai of Denmark, 23: The Copenhagen Business School student and model regularly tops lists of the world's most eligible bachelors. He lives in Denmark but has jetted around the world to walk for designers in Paris and London. Nikolai has also appeared on the cover of Vogue Scandinavia. Felix of Denmark, 20: Following in his brother's footsteps, Prince Felix has also had success as a model and has starred in an advertising campaign for Georg Jensen. He had a short stint at the Royal Danish Military Academy but quit after two months because it 'wasn't for him'. Henrik, 13, and Athena, 11, of Denmark: The youngest of Prince Joachim's four children, Henrik and Athena are the product of his second marriage to Princess Marie. They live with their parents in Paris. Advertisement

Following the Queen's announcement, Joachim spoke to Danish publication Ekstra Bladet outside the Danish Embassy in Paris, where he lives with his French-born wife Princess Marie and his two youngest children, and said his four children had been 'hurt' by their grandmother's decision.

'I was given five days' notice to tell them. In May, I was presented with a plan which, by and large, was that when the children each turned 25, it would happen. Now I had only five days to tell them. Athena turns 11 in January,' he clarified

Meanwhile, his ex-wife Alexandra said that her sons, Nikolai and Felix, had been left feeling 'ostracised' from the institution and the decision had come like a 'bolt out of the blue'.

The Royal Household released a further statement, saying: 'As the Queen stated yesterday, the decision has been a long time coming.

'We understand that there are many emotions at stake at the moment, but we hope that the Queen's wish to future-proof the Royal Household will be respected.'

Last year, it was said that Joachim and his family are relocating to the US after he landed a new job in the defence industry in Washington, according to local media reports.

The Danish royal, 53, has decided to move to Washington DC with his wife and their two young children, Henrik and Athena, Danish newspaper BT reported.

The royal couple are currently based in Paris, where the prince has worked as defence attache since 2020. However that job is expected to come to an end in June, meaning they are likely to up sticks in the second half of the year.

The Danish Royal Court's communications department did not confirm Joachim's reported upcoming move.
Queen Letizia and King Felipe IV of Spain looked harmonious as they wrapped up in matching black coats to jet off to Angola for a three-day state visit.

The Queen, 50, looked typically chic as she was joined by her husband, 54, and their entourage to board the flight.

The couple walked in step with one another as the red carpet was rolled out for their departure from Adolfo Suarez Madrid-Barajas Airport.

They are embarking on an official visit with the country's Foreign Affairs minister Jose Manuel Albares Bueno, and will be returning on Wednesday.

This will be the couple's first state visit to a sub-Saharan African country, and they will begin their official engagements there tomorrow.

Queen Letizia looked up at her husband, King Felipe IV, as they prepared to board their flight to Angola today

The royals looked smart but comfortable for their flight, keeping cozy in woolen black winter coats.

With her stylish tie-up long coat, Letizia wore smart black trousers with leather boots featuring a practical low heel.

She accessorised the look with fashionable simple mini gold hoops earrings.

Meanwhile, her husband wore a traditional black suit, crisp white shirt and dress shoes.

Both of their almost entirely monochromatic outfits featured a small pop of colour, with Letizia's jumper peeking out from her overcoat and Felipe's tie breaking up the all-black ensemble.

The royals looked smart but comfortable for their flight, keeping cozy in woolen black winter coats - and both of their outfits featured a small pop of colour

Today, the Queen and King made their way from the airport terminal to the plane, accompanied by officials

The couple walked in step with one another as the red carpet was rolled out for their departure from Adolfo Suarez Madrid-Barajas Airport.

The royal husband and wife stood to attention on a podium surrounded by Spanish officials before getting on their flight

His understated tie appeared to be white with a simple dark pink or red floral design.

Rarely shying away from vibrant looks, Letizia also managed to get a pop of colour into her outfit with a magenta polo neck jumper.

The Queen is a big fan of pink, and previously wore an entirely fuchsia ensemble as she visited a children's hospital in Madrid.

Today, the Queen and King made their way from the airport terminal to the plane, accompanied by officials.

The royal husband and wife were bid farewell by dozens of military personnel and Spanish dignitaries.

King Felipe and Queen Letizia waved to the gathered crowds as they prepared to fly to Angola from Madrid

After going up the gangway on the official royal jet the couple shook hands wit a member of staff

Letizia looked up at her husband while the pair paused to stand on a podium before boarding the flight.

Their official plane was covered in royal insignia, including flags bearing the King's coat of arms.

They then scaled the stairs to embark the flight, shaking hands with a member of staff before jetting off.

They will be staying in Luanda, Angola's capital, and will be hosted by the President, Joao Lourenco during their visit.

The Queen will spend time with Angolan First Lady Ana Afonso Dias Lourenco, who is a trained economist and keen promoter of women's rights.

Felipe and Letizia were not joined by their daughters, 17-year-old Leonor, Princess of Asturias, and Princess Infanta, 15, as they set off on the trip.
The Princess of Wales was all smiles as she posed for pictures with primary school pupils after taking part in an arts and crafts lesson in Bethnal Green, east London.

The royal, 41, paid a visit to St John's CE Primary School to kick off Place2Be's Children's Mental Health Week.

The mother-of-three - who has previously been dubbed the 'children's princess' by royal fans - donned a blue apron over her striped Arket jumper as she joined pupils to do some colouring in.

Following the visit, the Prince and Princess of Wales's official Instagram account shared a photo of Kate with a group of youngsters.

The Prince and Princess of Wales's official Instagram account shared this photo of Kate and pupils following her visit to a primary school in Bethnal Green, east London

Kate was pictured with two other pupils as they held up a cardboard frame promoting the mental health campaign.

Although the Princess's new Shaping Us campaign focuses on the first five years of a child's life, Kate used today's engagement to broaden the conversation to mental health in adulthood too.

The Instagram image was captioned: 'Proudly supporting Children's Mental Health Week with Place2Be.

'While our first five years are crucial to shaping who we become, the continued importance of connecting with others and prioritising mental health is vital in laying the foundations for healthy, happy adults.'

The post amassed over 10,000 'likes' in the first hour and royal fans praised the Princess for the initiative.

One replied: 'I cant think of anything more important into which the world must invest time, effort and resources. Thank you, Princess of Wales!'

Another added: 'So proud of my Princess's dedication and hard work to secure a better future for every child in the nation.'

'This is amazing,' a third gushed. 'Thanks for all you do!'

The Princess of Wales said she was proud to be supporting Place2Be's Children's Mental Health Week, which begins today

The Princess of Wales sat down with pupils at St John's CE Primary School to take part in some colouring in

During her visit to the primary school, one pupil told the Princess that 'connecting releases our emotions to other people that we care about'.

Another told Kate that they manage difficult feelings by 'taking deep breaths in' and then 'drinking a glass of water'.

Kate encouraged the children to keep talking about their feelings and to continue to check in on each other.

'I'm delighted to be supporting children's mental health week yet again,' she said. 'It's been wonderful to speak to so many children here about the importance of connections and the important people in their lives too.'

The Princess has supported Children's Mental Health Week since it was launched by Place2Be in 2015. The theme of this year's is 'Let's Connect'.

Kate, 41, discussed the importance of opening up about how you feel as she sat and coloured with the children at St John's CE Primary School in Bethnal Green, east London

The Princess of Wales donned a blue apron to protect her clothing as she made paper chains with the children

In a video showing the royal building paperchains with the pupils, she smiled during the candid chat with her young audience

The mother-of-three was effortlessly elegant in a chic striped black and white jumper

The charity's chief rxecutive, Catherine Roche, said: 'We are delighted to have the support of our Royal Patron HRH The Princess of Wales to help shine a spotlight on the importance of supporting mental health from an early age.

'As the children of St John's Primary have shown, taking part in activities and having positive conversations that help us connect with others, make us feel so much better.

'This Children's Mental Health Week we are encouraging everyone to make time to connect.'

The Princess' latest engagement comes after a busy week for the royal following the launch of her Shaping Us early childhood years campaign.

Last week, Kate described Shaping Us as her 'life's work' at a Bafta screening to debut a short film following a fictional child called Layla from birth to the age of five.

One pupil told the Princess of Wales that they manage difficult feelings by 'taking deep breaths in' and then 'drinking a glass of water'

One pupil at the school told Kate that 'connecting releases our emotions to other people that we care about'

The Princess of Wales outlined the scope of her campaign, promoted with a series of events and videos, describing it as a long-term project beginning with how a child develops and the importance of the formative years.

She said it will go on to 'explore in more depth the importance of a child's social and emotional world' and the significance of relationships and 'surroundings and experiences'.

'And of course, by understanding our own childhoods - what has shaped our own beliefs, relationships, behaviours and feelings - we, as adults, are better placed to play our part in positively shaping future generations,' she added.

Scientific evidence has shown that early experiences can affect children not only socially and emotionally but in their physical development too.

In seven-minute film also released last week, Kate and Capital FM breakfast host Roman Kemp discussed mental wellbeing, relationships and how by nurturing children in the earliest years of their life, society can build a nation of healthy, happy adults.
She said she was given 'permission' to be 'weak' and learned to value herself

Maria said she turned to a convent for advice following her split from Arnold, 75

The journalist, 67, has detailed her feelings during her marriage to the actor

Maria Shriver has detailed her struggles with her ex-husband's stardom and how the impact of their divorce saw her turning to a Reverend Mother at a convent in hopes of feeling less 'invisible.'

The Emmy-winning journalist, 67, and Arnold, 75, were the 'it' couple for nearly 25 years, but once they legally split in 2021, Maria's perspective of herself shifted as she learned how to 'value' herself.

Following their separation - which was due to the Terminator star's infidelity that saw him fathering the son of the family's former housekeeper Mildred Patty Baena - Maria turned to a nun because she was unable to grapple with the collapse of her relationship.

The Hollywood and political power couple may have put on a perfect facade, however, on the inside, Maria felt more alone than ever due to her ex-husband's elite status.

In an episode of podcast Making Space with Hoda Kotb, the journalist revealed she sought advice at a convent to find peace and give herself 'permission' to be vulnerable.

Maria has detailed her struggles with her ex-husband's stardom and how the impact of their divorce saw her turning to a Reverend Mother at convent in hopes of feeling less 'invisible'

The Emmy-winning journalist, 67, and Arnold, 75, were the 'it' couple for nearly 25 years, but they legally split in 2021 (Maria and Arnold pictured on their wedding day in 1986)

Following their separation, Maria (pictured in 2020) turned to a nun because she was unable to grapple with the collapse of her relationship

The Today special anchor explained that she was searching for 'guidance' and wanted to be in 'silence' following the divorce.

She added that while she has previously written about her experience she has never 'shared' it, before detailing what the Reverend Mother said to her that gave her the strength she needed to find herself.

After revealing she went to a 'cloistered convent,' the journalist said she was given 'permission' to 'be weak.'

The journalist said the Reverend Mother told her: 'I think you came here looking for permission.'

Maria added that she felt like she was in a scene from The Sound Of Music.

While at the convent she was told: 'You can't come live here but you do have permission to go out and become Maria.'

For the first time in her life, Maria felt slightly less invisible and began 'sobbing.'

'I had never given myself permission to  to feel, to be vulnerable, to be weak, to be brought to my knees. And the world did it to me. And then I was like, "OK, God, let's go,"' Maria said.

The journalist and actor tied the knot in 1986, nearly nine years after they first met before the two separated in 2011 and finalized their divorced in 2021.

The Hollywood and political power couple (shown in 2003) may have put on a perfect facade, however, on the inside, Maria felt more alone than ever due to her ex-husband's elite status

The Today special anchor explained that she was searching for 'guidance' wanted to be in 'silence' following the divorce (the couple pictured in 2003)

Maria and Arnold married in 1986 and did not have a prenup. They have four children together: Katherine, 32, Christina, 30, Patrick, 28, and Christopher, 24

Because of her ex-husband's fame, Maria explained she often felt like she lived in the shadows.

And, it wasn't the first time the Emmy-winning journalist felt the frustrations of being around those in the limelight, as the niece of the late President John F. Kennedy said growing up in a family that was the focus of public attention left her feeling insecure.

'I grew up feeling invisible in an incredibly public, famous family. There were a lot of really big characters in that family,' Maria said.

She went on to explain she felt like 'background noise' as a child and it continued until she learnt her 'lesson.'

To finally accept that she mattered, the writer said she had to see herself through her own eyes, rather than focusing on how others looked at her.

'It's not about other people seeing you, it's about you seeing yourself. And that took me a really long time, a really long time to learn,' she said to Hoda.

Maria went on to explain she felt like 'background noise' as a child and it continued until she learnt her 'lesson'

To finally accept that she mattered, the journalist said she had to see herself through her own eyes, rather than focusing on how others looked at her

She explained that when those around her ex-husband or her uncle didn't acknowledge her she found herself 'getting angry.'

But then, Maria began to value herself and noted that she now emphasized with those feeling the same way as she once did.

Although the journalist understands and appreciates she has had a life filled with success - including winning an Emmy, publishing a book, and being on TV - she discovered that none of those things made her feel 'seen.'

She told Hoda: 'What actually makes people feel seen and worthy is talking to them, sitting with them, calling them, slowing down sitting on the porch, going, "I don't have anywhere to go. I'm right here with you."'
A young director has slammed a Dutch university for shutting down his production of an all-male Samuel Beckett play after he only auditioned men for starring roles.



Oisin Moyne, 24, from Donegal, Ireland, had planned to stage Waiting for Godot at the University of Groningens Usva student cultural centre next month.

The play - which was written in 1949 - follows acquaintances Vladimir and Estragon as they wait for their mutual friend Godot to meet them.

Over the course of two acts, Vladimir and Estragon are joined by three other male characters - which Samuel Beckett's estate specifically states can only be performed by men.

Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen pictured starring in a 2009 production of Samuel Beckett's play Waiting for Godot

Speaking to the Irish Times, Oisin - who graduated with a physics degree from the University of Groningen in 2020 - described the past few weeks he has spent fighting the theatre's decision to pull his play as 'utterly absurd'.

Although Oisin said he had considered auditioning actors of all genders, the director was constrained by the late Irish author's estate - which owns the rights to his work until 2059.

Before his death in 1989, the playwright tightened production contracts of his plays - which affect the casting and ban special effects being used.

Although rehearsals had been underway since November, Oisin said the institution had only recently taken issue with his production 'violating their inclusion policy'.

The university's press officer Elies Kouwenhoven said: ' [Beckett] explicitly stated that this play should be performed by five men. Moving forward, times have changed. And that the idea that only men are suitable for this role is outdated and even discriminatory.'

They ended their statement by highlighting the institution's 'open inclusive community'.

However, Medeea Anton - who was working as a producer - pointed out that the majority of the crew were female.

She said: 'We also have trans people, we have non-binary individuals, the majority of the production is people from the LGBT community.

Before his death in 1989, the playwright tightened production contracts of his plays - which affect the casting and ban special effects being used

The play had been due to debut at the University of Groningen's Usva student cultural centre next month. Pictured the university's main building in Groningen

'I tried to explain to them that it is a legal thing, and that we are a small, amateur theatre society, and we cannot afford to be sued. But nothing I could say during the meeting could change their minds.'

This isn't the first time a production of Samuel Beckett's plays has caused difficulty for directors.

In 1991, a French judge allowed an all-female cast to stage one of Beckett's plays - however, they were told they needed to read a letter of object from the playwright's representative before each performance.

Seven years later, Beckett's estate was able to stop a performance of Waiting for Godot at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival as it claimed the 'production in drag' could bring ridicule on the author.

Most recently, a 2019 college in Ohio reportedly cancelled their all-female version of the play over fears of a lawsuit from Beckett's estate.

Waiting for Godot is one of Samuel Beckett's most popular plays and a 2009 production at the Theatre Royal Haymarket starred Sir Ian McKellen and Patrick Stewart.
Queen Maxima of the Netherlands and Princess Catharina-Amalia looked effortlessly chic in linen suits as they arrived at Princess Juliana International Airport during their Caribbean tour.

And it's no wonder they looked relaxed, given the co-pilot on their two-hour flight from Curacao to St Martin was King Willem-Alexander himself.

The 55-year-old monarch is a part-time pilot, and in 2017 it emerged that he'd been quietly flying for KLM for more than 20 years and frequently captained his own royal plane, formerly a Fokker 70, when going on state visits abroad.

The King earned his Airline Transport Pilot Licence in 2001, and in order to keep up his flying hours, he occasionally flies as a guest pilot for KLM Cityhopper.

The Dutch King wore a navy blue two-piece suit paired with a bright orange patterned tie and white shirt while his stylish wife, 51, opted for a cropped wide leg, off-white suit, with a double breasted jacket.

Queen Maxima of The Netherlands looked effortlessly chic in an off-white, wide leg linen suit as she arrived at Princess Juliana International Airport with her husband King Willem-Alexander

The elegant mother-of-three wore her blonde hair loosely curled with an off-cream floral headband.

They were snapped arriving at the airport, before heading off to tour the Fire Station Cay Hill and SXM Medical Centre.

The Princess of Orange was neatly dressed for the busy day, in an ochre two piece linen suit with a cream textured shirt.

Amalia, 19, like her mother wore her hair loosely curled and held onto a modern crotchet bag.

King Willem-Alexander showed off his piloting skills as he co-piloted the royal's airplane on the eighth day of their Caribbean tour

Princess Amalia looked stylish in an ochre linen suit as she joined her parents for a tour around the Caribbean island

The 19-year-old Princess of Orange accepted colourful flowers from locals and held onto a chic crotchet bag

The royals have been touring the Dutch Caribbean Islands for the past week and on Monday's visit explored the island of Saint Martin.

The popular family had a jam-packed day with lunch with the Government and a visit to Color Me SXM, a project on Sint Maarten by Be The Change Foundation. Plus a walking tour to see the reconstruction of the country after the event Hurricane Irma in September 2017.

However, it was King Willem that took the limelight, as he co-piloted the plane, which flew the family into Princess Juliana Airport.

King Willem-Alexander has form when it comes to piloting planes; the monarch surprised passengers on a KLM flight in 2018 and today he was clearly keen to show off his skills once more.

King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima pictured on day eight of their visit to Dutch Caribbean islands. The royals were guided by locals to view reconstruction work of the country after Hurricane Irma

The royals are pictured here viewing the reconstruction work of the country after the devastation of Hurricane Irma in September 2017

King Willem regularly practices his skills as a pilot for Dutch airlines KLM, after earning his Airline Transport Pilot Licence in 2001

Queen Maxima is pictured here greeting locals as she arrived at Princess Juliana International Airport

The Dutch royals are pictured here arriving on the island. Queen Maxima kept her blonde hair loosely curled and wore a floral off-cream headband

The royals have been extremely busy during their visit to the Caribbean islands and last week, while in Aruba, Queen Maxima and Princess Amalia were pictured cutting leaves from an aloe plant.

During the Dutch royals' second day in Aruba, Amalia was seen cutting the plant while wearing thick yellow rubber gloves.

The Princess of Orange was neatly dressed in a voluminous green blouse and loose fitting white trousers.

More snaps were taken of Maxima and Amalia together, where they were pictured walking while holding a bouquet of flowers.

The popular family had a jam-packed day with lunch with the Government and a visit to Color Me SXM, a project on Sint Maarten by Be The Change Foundation

The family were snapped arriving at the airport, before heading off to tour the Fire Station Cay Hill and SXM Medical Centre

The Dutch royals explored the Sint Maarten site as part of their two week tour of the Caribbean islands.

The three have also penciled in visits to travelling to St Eustatius and Saba.

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.

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.
Chloe Madeley has opened up about her 'brilliant' friend Zara Tindall and revealed the royal has offered to change her daughter's dirty nappies.

The new mother, 35, and her husband James Haskell, 37, welcomed their baby Bodhi last August.

Speaking to OK! magazine , Chloe explained how Zara, 41, and Mike Tindall, 44, were among the first friends to meet their daughter at their London home shortly after her arrival.

Describing how the Queen's granddaughter bonded with the little one, Chloe said Zara 'didn't let go of [Bodhi] all day.'

She said: 'She was basically Zaras baby for the day, which was nice for me, because I could sit down with some of our friends and have a cup of tea and a catch-up.'

Chloe Madeley and James Haskell welcomed their daughter Bodhi last August. The family-of-three pictured in September 2022

During their visit, Chloe said Zara even offered to change Bodhi's nappy to give the new mother a 'break'.

What's more, Chloe - who is the daughter of TV stars Richard Madeley and Finnigan - also praised Zara's husband Mike.

She labelled him an 'incredible dad' and said he has been giving James 'lots of tips' about parenting and looking after a newborn.

Quoting Mike's most important piece of advice, Chloe added: 'Namely, enjoy this period and dont over-busy yourself, stop and enjoy it, and I appreciate that advice.'

Former rugby players Mike and James co-host their hugely successful podcast The Good, The Bad and The Rugby and two couples appear to have become close friends.

When she was expecting Bodhi, Chloe revealed that mother-of-three Zara had also offered some advice about becoming a parent.

Chloe told OK! magazine: 'Zara's given me some really good advice and a sack of muslins.'

'I asked Zara and many people about bottle and breastfeeding, and they've all said, "You just won't know until you try".'

Chloe Madeley said Zara Tindall (pictured in January 2023) was 'brilliant' with her newborn daughter

Former rugby players Mike and James co-host their hugely successful podcast The Good, The Bad and The Rugby

Meanwhile, James praised Mike and Zara's 'brilliant' parenting and said he'd like their baby to grow up like 'cheeky tomboy' Mia.

'I get on really well with Mia,' he said. 'I kind of want our daughter to be like her. Cheeky, a bit of a tomboy and girly when she needs to be. I'll take any advice from them.'

Last month, Zara appeared on the first episode of her husband's new YouTube series Mike Drop - which has also been produced by the Magic Millions tournament.

Opening up about her struggles with 'mum guilt', Zara explained she found it difficult returning to riding after having her children, Mia, eight, Lena, five, and Lucas, 18 months.

Zara added: 'I found it hard getting myself back to it. Mentally, you feel guilty as a mother leaving your child to go and do something else.

In an interview with her husband, Zara explained she found it difficult returning to riding after having her children, Mia, eight, Lena, five, and Lucas, 18 months

In an interview which was shared last month, the Olympic equestrian appeared emotional as she discussed her sporting career, relationship with horses and struggles with motherhood, touching on her experience of miscarriage

'After having Mia, I felt like my goal was to get back on a horse, I want to get back.

'I had a good horse to come back to for your confidence and I wanted to get back for him as well. Trying to have a goal is probably something I always need.

'I always need goals in my life and set many goals in my life all the time.'

However she said she had struggled to get back into the sport and added: 'It was hard getting your body back when you've been riding for 25 years, and then your body is just completely not doing that.

'Your muscles [are] doing nothing and stretching and creating an amazing thing but it's completely different. Trying to get your body back to where it was, I found, was hard work.'

Meanwhile she acknowledged how the couple had balanced Zara's career with life as new parents, adding: 'Mia was along for the ride with us as well.

'She was very much taken around to the shows - it was easier when we had one!'
Queen Letizia of Spain looked sensational in an all-pink outfit as she arrived at Quatro de Fevereiro International Airport in Angola.

The Queen, 50, was typically stylish as she joined her husband King Felipe IV, 54, for their first-ever official trip to Sub-Saharan Africa.

Letizia arrived in Angola's capital Luanda in a pastel pink short-sleeved top and culottes trousers, which she paired with a matching shoulder bag and heeled pumps.

The mother-of-two's fashionable trousers were slightly cropped while her top had a slight v-neck cut.

Queen Letizia and King Felipe IV of Spain arrived at Quatro de Fevereiro International Airport in Angola

She kept her brunette tresses loose, in a casual side parting and illuminated a bronzed complexion with dark pink lip and striking dark eyeliner.

Arriving for their three-day state visit King Felipe donned a dark single breasted two-piece suit, with pale blue shirt and a floral patterned tie, in a similar shade to his wife's pink ensemble.

The couple will be visiting the country's Foreign Affairs minster Jose Manuel Albares Bueno, and will be returning on Wednesday.

This will be the couple's first state visit to a sub-Saharan African country, and they will begin their official engagements there tomorrow.

They will be staying in Luanda, Angola's capital, and will be hosted by the President, Joao Lourenco during their visit.

The Queen will spend time with Angolan First Lady Ana Afonso Dias Lourenco, who is a trained economist and keen promoter of women's rights.

The royals were pictured leaving for their trip from Adolfo Suarez Madrid-Barajas Airport.

As a big fan of pink Letizia broke up her monochrome all-black outfit with a fuchsia pink roll neck jumper as she flew out from Spain.

Queen Letizia looked fabulous in a sheer pastel pink culotte jumpsuit with matching shoulder bag and heels

King Felipe donned a dark single breasted two-piece suit, with pale blue shirt and a floral patterned tie, in a similar shade to his wife's pink ensemble

The Spanish Queen kept her brunette tresses loose, in a casual side parting and illuminated a bronzed complexion with dark pink lip and striking dark eyeliner

The royals will be staying in Luanda, Angola's capital, and will be hosted by the President, Joao Lourenco during their visit

The mother-of-two's jumpsuit was cropped, pinched in at the waist with a slight v-neck and shoulder sleeves

The royals looked smart but comfortable for their flight, keeping cozy in woolen black winter coats.

With her stylish tie-up long coat, Letizia wore smart black trousers with leather boots featuring a practical low heel.

She accessorised the look with fashionable simple mini gold hoops earrings.

Meanwhile, her husband wore a traditional black suit, crisp white shirt and dress shoes.

Queen Letizia looked up at her husband, King Felipe IV, as they prepared to board their flight to Angola today

The couple walked in step with one another as the red carpet was rolled out for their departure from Adolfo Suarez Madrid-Barajas Airport.

King Felipe and Queen Letizia waved to the gathered crowds as they prepared to fly to Angola from Madrid

Today, the Queen and King made their way from the airport terminal to the plane, accompanied by officials.

The royal husband and wife were bid farewell by dozens of military personnel and Spanish dignitaries.

Letizia looked up at her husband while the pair paused to stand on a podium before boarding the flight.

Their official plane was covered in royal insignia, including flags bearing the King's coat of arms.
Children sit in a shopping cart near a collapsed building following an earthquake in Hatay, Turkey, Feb. 7. Reuters-Yonhap



Rescuers struggled to dig people out of the rubble of collapsed buildings on Tuesday in a "race against time" as the death toll from an earthquake across a wide area of Turkey and Syria passed 5,000.



The magnitude 7.8 quake - the deadliest in Turkey since 1999 - hit early on Monday and was followed by a second hours later.



Thousands of buildings were toppled, hospitals and schools wrecked and tens of thousands of people were injured or left homeless in several Turkish and Syrian cities.



Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan declared as a disaster zone in 10 provinces, imposing a state of emergency in the region for three months.



A U.N. official said thousands of children may be among the dead.



Harsh winter weather hampered search efforts and the delivery of aid and made the plight of the homeless even more miserable. Some areas were without fuel and electricity.



Aid officials voiced particular concern about the situation in Syria, already afflicted by a humanitarian crisis after nearly 12 years of civil war.





People look at the destruction as rescuers search for survivors in the rubble following an earthquake in Hatay, Turkey, Feb, 7. Reuters-Yonhap



In Turkey, the death toll had climbed to 3,419 people by Tuesday morning, Vice President Fuat Oktay said. In Syria, the death toll stood at just over 1,600, according to the government and a rescue service in the insurgent-held northwest.



Turkish authorities say some 13.5 million people were affected in an area spanning roughly 450 km from Adana in the west to Diyarbakir in the east, and 300 km from Malatya in the north to Hatay in the south. Syrian authorities have reported deaths as far south as Hama, some 100 km from the epicenter.



"It's now a race against time," World Health Organization Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in Geneva. "Every minute, every hour that passes, the chances of finding survivors alive diminishes."



Across the region, rescuers toiled through the night and into the morning searching for survivors as people waited in anguish by mounds of rubble, clinging to the hope that friends and relatives might be found alive.



In the Turkish city of Antakya, capital of Hatay province near the Syrian border, a woman's voice was heard calling for help under a pile of rubble.



Reuters journalists saw the body of a small child lying lifeless nearby.





Residents retrieve an injured man from the rubble of a collapsed building following an earthquake in the town of Jandaris, in the countryside of Syria's northwestern city of Afrin in the rebel-held part of Aleppo province, Feb. 6. AFP-Yonhap



Weeping in the rain, a resident who gave his name as Deniz wrung his hands in despair.



"They're making noises but nobody is coming," he said. "We're devastated, we're devastated. My God... They're calling out. They're saying, 'Save us' but we can't save them. How are we going to save them? There has been nobody since the morning."



Families slept in cars lined up in the streets.





UNESCO sounds alarm over quake damage to Turkey, Syria heritage EXPLAINER Why was the Turkey-Syria earthquake so bad? Yoon orders dispatch of rescue workers, medical supplies to quake-hit Turkey Korea to send 110 rescue workers to quake-hit Turkey, offer $5 mil. in aid Ayla, standing by a pile of rubble where an eight-story building once stood, said she had driven to Hatay from Gaziantep on Monday in search of her mother. Five or six rescuers from the Istanbul fire department were working in the ruins.



"There have been no survivors yet. A street dog came and barked at a certain point for long, I feared it was for my mother. But it was someone else," she said.



Turkey's Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD) said 5,775 buildings had been destroyed in the quake, which was followed by 285 aftershocks, and that 20,426 people had been injured.



A large fire was still burning on Tuesday at Turkey's southern port of Iskenderun. Drone footage from Hatay showed dozens of collapsed apartment blocks, indicating the true death toll was likely to be far greater than the current tally.



In Geneva, UNICEF spokesperson James Elder told reporters: "The earthquakes ... may have killed thousands of children."



While verified numbers were not yet available "we know that scores of schools, hospitals and other medical and educational facilities have been damaged or destroyed by the quakes, vastly impacting children".



Calling the quake the most powerful to hit the region in almost 100 years, Elder said Syrian refugees in northwest Syrian and in Turkey were among the most vulnerable.



A woman reacts while embracing another person, near rubble following an earthquake in Hatay, Turkey, Feb. 7. Reuters-Yonhap

The WHO was especially concerned about areas of Turkey and Syria where no information had emerged since the quake struck, Tedros said.



In the Syrian city of Hama, Abdallah al Dahan said funerals for several families were taking place on Tuesday.



"It's a terrifying scene in every sense," said Dahan, contacted by phone. "In my whole life I haven't seen anything like this, despite everything that has happened to us."



Mosques had opened their doors to families whose homes were damaged.



The death toll in Syrian government-held areas rose to 812, the state news agency SANA reported. In the rebel-held northwest, the toll was more than 790, according to the Syrian civil defense, a rescue service known as the White Helmets and famous for digging people from the rubble of government air strikes.



"There are lot of efforts by our teams, but they are unable to respond to the catastrophe and the large number of collapsed buildings," group head Raed al-Saleh said.



Time was running out to save hundreds of families trapped under the rubble of buildings and urgent help was needed from international groups, he said.



Residents retrieve an injured girl from the rubble of a collapsed building following an earthquake in the town of Jandaris, in the countryside of Syria's northwestern city of Afrin in the rebel-held part of Aleppo province, Feb. 6. AFP-Yonhap

A U.N. humanitarian official in Syria said fuel shortages and the harsh weather were creating obstacles.



"The infrastructure is damaged, the roads that we used to use for humanitarian work are damaged, we have to be creative in how to get to the people," U.N. resident coordinator El-Mostafa Benlamlih told Reuters from Damascus.



The earthquake was the biggest recorded worldwide by the U.S. Geological Survey since one in the remote South Atlantic in August 2021.



Poor internet connections and damaged roads between some of the worst-hit Turkish cities, homes to millions of people, hindered efforts to assess the impact and plan help.



With tight elections scheduled in just three months, Erdogan's government faces a multi-billion-dollar reconstruction challenge just as he was ramping up his re-election campaign.



The economy, already strained by inflation at 58%, is expected to grow a bit less than previously expected this year, analysts say. (Reuters)




Australian clothing brand Peachay claims to have designed a comfortable range of jeans to fit women with curves.

Sydney founder Bella started the label because she was struggling to find jeans that perfectly suited her small waist and bigger thighs, legs and bum.

Thousands of women have the exact same problem and are left feeling tight or uncomfortable pants that don't fit properly.

However, the Peachay jeans are designed with a larger, thicker zip so women can easily glides the pants on and aren't left with any gaps on the waist.

In a video posted on Instagram, Bella demonstrated how the jeans fit snug for all-day wear.

Scroll down for video

Customers can't get enough of Aussie brand Peachay - a label that's designed the 'perfect' pair of jeans to suit women with 'a smaller waist with a bigger booty and thighs'

Sydney founder Bella started the label because she was struggling to find jeans that perfectly suited her small waist and bigger thighs, legs and butt. Customers can purchase the jeans from the brand's website and can choose from three different shades - light, dark or black

'If you have a smaller waist and bigger booty and thighs, you'll recognise this situation,' Bella said in the video, showing a woman trying to put on a pair of jeans.

She also included a video or herself not being able to squat down in the pants.

The straight, wide leg jeans fit perfectly on her waist and leave enough room for her curves and legs.

The jeans, priced between $159.95 and $220, have a tight, high waisted design and wide leg frame - a cut that is particularly flattering for those with 'smaller waistlines and thicker thighs'.

Customers can purchase the jeans from the brand's website and can choose from three different shades - light, dark or black denim.

Rather than using a standard size guide, customers can find their fit by looking at the measurements on the chat provided.

The smallest fit - called 'Sunflower' - has a waist size of 60-66cm with a butt size of 95-99cm, while the latest fit - dubbed 'Peony' - has a waist of 92-96cm and butt size of 124-129cm.

In a video posted on Instagram, Bella demonstrated how the jeans fit snug for all-day wear (left)

On the website the Chelsea straight leg cut jean is the most popular with five-star reviews.

'Finally a pair of jeans I can walk and sit in, but fit my waist!! Love the colour, love the cut. The sizing guide was helpful and accurate too. I wish these came in more colours cause I'd grab them all,' one reviewer wrote.

'These jeans have literally ruined all my other pants for me! Nothing fits as phenomenally as these! They perfectly sit against my waist, but aren't tight on the butt/thighs at all!' another said.

On the website the Chelsea straight leg cut jean seems to be the most popular with five-star reviews

The jeans, priced between $159.95 and $220, have a tight, high waisted design and wide leg frame - a cut that is particularly flattering for those with 'smaller waistlines and thicker thighs'

In 2020 Rachael Calvert, owner of the swimwear label Marvell Lane, shared a six-minute video on Instagram explaining the constant difficulty she faces finding jeans that fit properly, but was overly amazed with Peachay's Chelsea Jeans.

Ms Calvert said she's a size ten through the waist and a size 12 through the leg  and so she described jean shopping as 'horrifying, demoralising and a horrible process'.

'I've found the best jeans for my juicy customers! You won't hate jeans shopping anymore!' she said in the caption of the video.

'Lots of room, super comfortable and a gorgeous, firm fit on top - the best jeans I think I've ever owned!' she said.

Ms Calvert suggested buying the jeans to suit the size of your waistline.

Each pair is locally manufactured and ethically made with 100 per cent organic cotton to have less impact on the environment

Each pair is locally manufactured and ethically made with 100 per cent organic cotton to have less impact on the environment.

Organic cotton needs less water to grow than standard cotton and no chemicals are used, meaning farmers aren't exposed to harsh substances.

Customers will also receive the jeans in reusable compostable mailers that can also be used to store food scraps after dinner.
Australian foodies are divided over a unique appetiser on an up-market new restaurant's menu.

Many are mocking the 'fancy Jatz' crackers dish which costs $10 for two biscuits topped with butter and an anchovy from Sydney restaurant Kiln in the trendy suburb of Surry Hills.

However not everyone sees the funny side as many diners who have tried the 'delicious' entree are saying it's worth the money.

A Sydney diner has slammed a high-ed restaurant for charging $10 for two Jatz crackers with smoked butter and anchovies - however not everyone was angered by the snack

In a Reddit post, one Sydneysider vented their frustration at the tiny canape they ordered after the waitress recommended it.

'Is this peak Sydney? $10,' they asked.

'At a new fancy restaurant. Described as Jatz, smoked butter and anchovy. And yep that's what it was!'

Many in the comments were in stitches over the miniscule meal with one saying they were 'lost for words'.

The foodie said they ordered the appetiser after the waitress recommended it and while many mocked the 'tiny' meal others defended its price

'I don't want to blame the victim, but I have to know why you ordered it,' one woman said before the diner explained it came recommended by their server.

'I would have ordered it out of morbid curiosity, too,' someone responded.

'Peak Sydney isn't offering a pair of Jatz crackers for $10. Peak Sydney is paying $10 for a pair of Jatz crackers,' laughed another.

Poll Would you pay $10 for 'fancy Jatz'? Yes No Would you pay $10 for 'fancy Jatz'? Yes 20 votes

No 121 votes Now share your opinion





'That's a kick in the Jatz crackers if I've ever seen it,' a second quipped.

'I've sworn off any restaurant that recommends '5-7 small plates',' a third scoffed.

One Redditor pointed out the Jatz cracker dish costs $8 during dinner hours while they're priced at $10 for lunch which left many scratching their heads.

'That actually is strange, usually the lunch menu is the cheaper option,' one man replied.

Others jumped in to defended the price.

'What isn't $10 these days?' one person asked.

'Remember you're not paying $10 just for a dish. The new Kiln space is one of the nicest restaurant setups in Sydney,' explained a second.

Despite the backlash, Kiln and its nostalgic-turned-gourmet snack have been met with rave reviews online

'It's the atmosphere and staff you're really paying for. Want a cheap meal, it's obviously not the place for it.'

Despite the backlash, Kiln and its nostalgic-turned-gourmet snack have been met with rave reviews online.

'The salty anchovy cuts through the smoked butter so well. Could smash a dozen of these,' one diner wrote on Instagram.

Kiln head chef Mitch Orr shared the recipe for the Jatz with smoked butter and Olasagasti anchovy with Delicious which revealed the steps that go into making the seemingly simple nibble.

The recipe involves smoking the butter over iron bark wood chips, whipping it with white soy sauce and mirin then seasoning with Murray River pink sea salt.
A Birmingham restaurant has hit back at a one-star Google review which accused the eatery of being 'aggressively rude'.

According to the reviewer, known only as 'Ryan', their experience at the Bun & Barrel in Harborne was not a good one - despite it enjoying an average rating of 4.4 stars.

The review, which also branded the burger stop 'pretentious', described how the writer had been asked to leave because he'd been drinking.

Sharing his opinion, the reviewer said: 'Wouldn't bother, walked in, informed the server we had been drinking but would like a burger, kicked out straight away saying they don't allow people who have been drinking to enter.

The restaurant, which was co-founded by Jamie Desogus and Rob Hennebry (pictured) did not take the one-star review lying down

'Aggressively rude. If you want a good burger use Burger Me Up or Herbert's Yard, Longbridge, not these pretentious people.'

However, representatives for the restaurants, which was co-founded by Jamie Desogus and Rob Hennebry, took to the review to dispute Ryan's account, which they shared on Twitter.

In a blistering riposte, eatery staff pointed out that the diner had been drunk, and that they were unable to serve him for this reason.

They wrote: 'Oh Ryan, that's not quite what happened is it?

The review, left by a man known only as 'Ryan', accused staff of being 'aggressively rude' - claims the restaurant denied

Responding to the write-up, staff pointed out that they were unable to serve patrons who had had too much to drink

'You said you were "p*****" not "had been drinking". So we said: "Maybe another night then". Doesn't sound aggressive? Does it?

'It's illegal for us to serve someone who is 'p*****' by the way.

'Maybe you were more drunk than you remember if your memory of the conversation is that bad.

'Good thing is we have the footage including sounds if you'd like it?'

Despite the critical one-star review, several other diners had enjoyed a five-star experience, and they left enthusiastic write-ups

Despite Ryan's poor review, the restaurant has an average rating of 4.4 stars on Google, and it boasts a number of five-star reviews.

One happy diner wrote: 'Cracking burger, chilled out atmosphere,great music efficient and friendly staff Hung around the bar after our food and sampled the beers, well worth a visit.'

Another added: 'Simply lovely. Food excellent and fairly priced given the top quality ingredients. The pint of Attic was divine.'

A third said: 'Best burger. Very welcoming peeps who work here, fantastic place.'

And a fourth added: 'Great atmosphere, welcoming staff. Ive had burgers all around the world and this was something special. Best burger Ive ever had in my life? Maybeif not the best, then it was definitely up there with the best. A great addition to Harborne!'
A woman who tutored children of the super-rich has revealed some of the strange experiences she had during her 10-years on the job.

These include working for parents who flew in a doctor with a special machine that was said to 'reconfigure' brainwaves, and those who hired a reflexologist to massage their child as he fell asleep on nights before exams.

Sarah Thomas, 39, who has written an upcoming novel called Queen K inspired by the job, opened up about her work during an interview with the Times.

She revealed how she travelled around the world in the course of her duties, teaching the children of billionaires whilst onboard their parents' yachts, or in ski chalets.

Sarah Thomas (pictured) is the author of upcoming novel Queen K. The book was inspired by her work as a tutor to children of ultra-wealthy parents

According to Sarah, the majority of her work involved prepping young people to pass entrance exams for prestigious British schools, or getting them ready for their GCSEs and A-levels.

And she revealed that some parents would go to extreme lengths in a bid to ensure their offspring would perform at an optimum level.

Notably, she described how one family flew a doctor from Europe to their home in London.

Queen K: A novel inspired by tutoring super-rich children Sarah Thomas' novel Queen K is a literary thriller 'exploring the dark world behind Russian wealth'. Sarah's work as a private tutor to the super wealthy, which she began doing after leaving university, inspired the story. The events of Queen K are narrated by an unreliable tutor who, while teaching an oligarchs daughter, becomes privy to suspicious deaths and to the downfall of his wife. According to the author: 'In my 20s I worked all over the world as a private tutor for the super-rich. 'I drew on this experience to write and realised as I did that the best form to crystallise their world was that of a tragedy.' The book's synopsis reads: 'On a balmy evening in late March, Kata hosts a party on the superyacht that she owns with her husband. 'Tables cover the massive deck, adorned with orchids, champagne bottles, name cards of famous people, while uniformed staff flank a red carpet on the landing dock. 'This night marks the attainment of something shes wanted for a long time: acceptance into the glittering world of high society. 'But there are those who wish to come between Kata and her goal. They are complex and angry, full of resentment. And they are closer to home than she could ever have imagined.' Sarah Thomas' novel Queen K, published by Serpents Tail, will be available from February 16 at 14.99 Advertisement

The medic would bring a machine he said could help children retain information better by reconfiguring their brainwaves, and so the young student would study while hooked up to the device.

Sarah, who lives in south London, grew up in the capital before moving to Kenya then returning to the UK to attend boarding school in Bristol.

She earned a degree in history at UCL, before getting a masters in literature at Goldsmiths.

Following that, she started tutoring after working in various roles, including being an editorial assistant at a publisher.

Working as a tutor, she is frequently one of a team of staff employed by wealthy families, though she says she often tops the pecking order, existing in a 'slight limbo between the family and the rest of the staff'.

However, this doesn't mean her employers are always accommodating or polite: while working with one Russian family, she says she was totally ignored, with the family not even acknowledging her if she was eating at the same table.

Describing how this made her feel 'totally invisible', she said some parents have had screaming rows in front of her, noting that they don't feel embarrassed doing so, even though they probably wouldn't behave that way in front of friends.

Among the less friendly employers, Sarah told the Telegraph that the mother of one Russian family told her to leave the property or stay in her room when not tutoring, so as not to disturb their holiday.

She was staying with them in a Tuscan home, but was warned against sitting on chairs in the courtyard, as the mother said she may want to sit on them herself.

Sarah added: 'I thought about quitting because it was so outrageous, but the money I was going to earn in three weeks would have kept me going for a couple of months so I just got on with it.'

When it comes to the money, while living with a client, she is usually paid around 800 per week via an agency.

According to the author, while her impressions of the parents could vary, she usually liked the children.

However, she said, she was shocked by some of the things she heard from them, including when one of her 13-year-old charges told her that she knew she was going to be sad during her lifetime, but that she would 'rather be sad on a 50m yacht than in a s***** apartment'.

It appears to the author that not only did these material possessions fail to make these families happy, the fabulous wealth could actually make them more unhappy at times.

She said: 'If your life is devoid of any kind of material concern, and theres no break on what you can and cant do, theres this huge space for neuroses to bloom, like orchids in a hothouse, into fantastical shapes.'

While families would hire staff to try and fill these voids, including 'fortune tellers, astrologers, acupuncturists, tarot readers, hairdressers', they are paid to listen to their employers and are not friends.

Some families also hired other specialist staff to help their children perform at the highest level.

One British-Asian family in Holland Park took on a reflexologist to massage the son's pressure points as he drifted off to sleep on nights before he had an exam.

Author Sarah Thomas says she has mixed feelings about working as a tutor for children of the super-rich, as it gives advantages to those who already have immense privilege - but that the job 's flexibility allows artists the ability to earn while working on their craft

As a tutor, she reveals that she often became a confidante to her employers, who would share intimate details of their lives with her, as though they were speaking with a therapist.

Sarah has described working for ultra-wealthy families as 'morally compromising', pointing out that by tutoring their children, she is giving them another advantage when it comes to succeeding in the school and university system.

However, she added, as it offers flexibility, it is a useful way for artists to earn money while still working on their craft, which makes those who employ her services patrons of the arts in a way.

But ultimately, she has wondered whether undertaking tutoring and filling their hours with planned activities is good for the super-rich children, who she says then often need tutoring again once at university.

Sarah said: 'I just feel like if you need a tutor to get to university, you shouldnt really have that place. Are you going to have a tutor when youre at work?'

Sarah Thomas' novel Queen K, published by Serpents Tail, will be available from February 16 at 14.99.
They are known as man's best friend. But do dogs really make the best sleep companions?

Poll Do YOU share your bed with your pet? Yes, always Sometimes Rarely Never Do YOU share your bed with your pet? Yes, always 730 votes

Sometimes 131 votes

Rarely 28 votes

Never 263 votes Now share your opinion





The issue remains highly controversial, with about a third of dog-owning Americans allowing their pooch to get into bed with them at night.

The mere thought of sharing a bed with a shedding dog repulses a similar share of people.

Some anthropologists have speculated that the idea of dogs sleeping with humans is an ancient urge encoded in our DNA.

But others warn that co-sleeping with a pet is unhygienic or even hazardous to your health  disrupting your sleep and raising your risk of worms.

Experts at the Washington-based Sleep Foundation say sleeping with your dog is a 'personal decision,' and they have set out a list of pros and cons to help people make an informed decision.

Pro - comfort and security

Having a dog wrapped in bedsheets can boost feelings of security and protection, experts say.

Sleeping with dogs can boost feelings of comfort and security, experts say

In a 2018 study, researchers surveyed 962 American women  half of whom shared their bed with a dog  on how they felt while in bed.

Those who reported being with a dog reported higher feelings of protection compared to those sleeping with a cat, a partner, or alone.

Researchers suggested dogs may boost these feelings because they are seen as 'guard animals' and are well-known to protect owners.

They may also have gotten a dog in order to protect their home and deter crime.

Pro - reduced stress

Many studies showing how cuddling up to or stroking a dog can reduce someone's stress levels.

Although few have been done in the bedroom, researchers say there is no reason why the calming effects of being with a dog don't reach there.

There may also help to lower feelings of stress

Many studies show that simply petting a dog reduces cortisol levels  the human stress hormone.

One study from 2017 looked at 10 female dog owners who interacted with their labradors for an hour, with blood samples taken before and after.

Measuring hormones, they found boosted levels of oxytocin  associated with stimulating social bonding, relaxation and trust  and lower levels of cortisol after the interaction.

Another study from the same year involved 101 children aged seven to 12 years old who were left with a dog, alone, or with a parent.

Results showed that those with a dog had a buffered stress response compared to children who were alone or with their parents.

Experts at the Sleep Foundation said: 'Most of the studies conducted on the mental health benefits of having a pet were conducted when participants were awake, so it is unclear whether these benefits apply when people sleep with their pets.

But they added: 'If sleeping with dogs involves snuggling up and making direct physical contact, it might result in less stress and increased relaxation.'

Exposure to a diverse array of germs helps to strengthen immunity. Sharing a bed with a dog boosts this, although there are also risks

Pro - boosted immunity

Many adults order dogs out of the bedroom for fear of the germs, parasites and worms they could bring in.

But experts at the Sleep Foundation say that exposure to germs can benefit the human immune system  especially at a young age.

Sharing a bed with your dog exposes you to a wider variety of germs. But it can also raise the risk of a serious infection or catching worms.

Coming into contact with a wide variety of germs early in life programs immune cells to recognize which are dangerous and which are not  boosting protection and reducing the risk of misfires that trigger allergies.

The Sleep Foundation says: 'Researchers hypothesize that exposure to a diversity of microorganisms benefits human health and immunity, while a lack of diversity might be to blame for a rise in allergies and autoimmune disorders.

'Past research shows that petting a dog increases an immune response, so the close contact of sharing a sleeping space may benefit the immune system more than simply having a dog in the house.'

Previous research has shown that living with a cat during the first year of life reduces the risk of developing allergies by age 18.

The costs of poor exposure to microorganisms early in life are coming to light this year, in the wake of successive lockdowns.

Children have faced outbreaks of common illnesses including flu and RSV  after stay-at-home orders robbed them of contact with these early in life, and how to protect against them.

People who share a bed with a dog may have lower blood pressure

Pro - lower blood pressure

There is a growing body of research showing owning a dog can reduce your blood pressure and improve cardiovascular health, benefits that experts suggest can be extended to the bedroom.

They cite a study from 1988 that found that simply petting a dog or talking to one triggered a reduction in blood pressure among participants.

And a University of Missouri study from 2004 found that human blood pressure dropped by ten percent after just 15 to 30 minutes of petting a dog.

The Sleep Foundation suggests that just touching a dog before going to sleep could help someone reduce their blood pressure.

They write: 'If touching your pet is part of the key to gaining health benefits, cuddling up together at night might help.'

Experts at Harvard University add, on the general benefits dogs have on blood pressure: 'Several studies have shown that dog owners have lower blood pressure than non-owners  probably because their pets have a calming effect on them and because dog owners tend to get more exercise.

'The power of touch also appears to be an important part of this "pet effect". Several studies show that blood pressure goes down when a person pets a dog.'

Sharing a bed with a dog raises the risk of an allergic reaction to pollen, if it is brought in on a dogs' coat from outdoors

Con - allergic reactions

About 10 to 20 percent of Americans are allergic to cats and dogs, while nearly one in ten have an allergy to pollen.

Experts warn that sharing a bed with a dog raises the risk of suffering an allergic reaction, and that those with allergies should think twice before inviting a dog into the bedroom.

An allergy is when the immune system misfires and attacks a non-dangerous substance, triggering a reaction.

People with dog allergies are responding to dander from dogs  dead skin cells in the air or collecting as dust , as well as hair from the animals or saliva. Symptoms include a runny nose, sneezing or wheezing after petting a dog.

The animals can also carry allergens like pollen into the bedroom in their coats, again triggering an allergic reaction in owners.

The Sleep Foundation says: 'Although exposure to pets in infancy makes a person less likely to develop pet allergies, research suggests that having a pet for the first time in adulthood may make a person more sensitive to pet allergens.

'Having a cat for the first time in adulthood was also found to be more associated with eczema, an allergy-related skin condition.'

The best way to avoid an allergy to a pet is to ensure that you are exposed to the animal early in childhood, they said.

This helps the immune system recognize that dander from the animal is not a threat, and as a result not trigger an immune reaction.

People are twice as likely to be allergic to cats compared to dogs, likely because the animals are regularly washing themselves.

You could also catch an infection from your dog, with the risk increased by sharing a bed with them

Con - infections

While exposure to germs from pets can strengthen the immune system, researchers warn that it also runs the risk of serious infection.

Sharing your bed with a dog can lead to them passing on diseases and parasites to you, possibly via licking, feces, or from their fur.

In 2017, more than 100 Americans became infected with the 'puppy-cuddling disease' Campylobacter after petting their dogs. Five were hospitalized with symptoms including severe diarrhea, vomiting, and cramping.

Last year a mother-of-three was hospitalized for three days after she contracted a stomach bug when her pet chihuahua decided to defecate in her mouth as she slept.

Infections can travel the other way too, with an Italian greyhound belonging to a gay couple in Paris being diagnosed with monkeypox last year. Several dogs also became infected with Covid.

There are also concerns that a pet dog could transfer parasitic worms to their owners should they share the same bed.

Dogs pick up these worms while snuffling around in the dirt or swallowing feces infected with eggs or larvae from the worms.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) warns they can then pass these on to humans via contact with feces, which can happen in the bedroom. They add that eggs from the worm can survive in dirt for years.

The Sleep Foundation says: 'On the one hand, exposure to a greater variety of bacteria and other microbes may help strengthen the human immune system.

'On the other hand, pets can bring harmful bacteria, viruses and parasites into the bedroom, putting the families they live with at risk for zoonotic diseases.'

To minimize the risk of infection in bed, they say dog owners should wash their sheets and bedding regularly.

They say that pet owners should not allow their dogs to lick or kiss their face, as this raises their risk of infection.

Sharing a bed with your dog can disrupt your sleep cycle

Con - disrupted sleep

Many people say that sharing a bed with their dog helps them feel comfortable or more secure when they get shut-eye, with seven in ten saying they feel as though their sleep is improved.

But the animals can also disrupt someone's sleep, and lead them to wake up several times during the night.

A 2018 study involving nearly 1,000 people found that pet owners experienced lower sleep quality.

Another paper from 2017 looked at sleeping with dogs in beds compared to other places in the bedroom.

Involving 40 adults with sleep disorders, they found human sleep efficiency was lower when dogs were in the bed compared to when they were not.

The Sleep Foundation said: 'The sleep quality ramifications of sharing a bed with your dog are likely relatively mild.

'However, if you would like to minimize sleep disturbances, researchers have found that having the dog sleep elsewhere in the bedroom does not impact sleep to the same extent.'

Humans need to get about eight hours of sleep every night, but more than a third of American adults fail to get more than seven hours a night on a regular basis.

Reasons for failing to get enough sleep include stress from work, late bedtimes, and lifestyle choices such as smoking or drinking coffee in the afternoon.

Dogs can be startled if they are woken up suddenly, experts say

Con - aggression

Your bedmate may be soft and cuddly, but experts warn that if startled they could accidentally bite someone.

A study on sleeping with dogs involving more than 1,000 people in Jamaica and San Francisco found dogs sleeping in a person's bedroom were more than twice as likely to bite someone compared to those that were not in Jamaica.

No such link was seen, however, for the dogs in San Francisco.

Another study warned that about six percent of all dog bites occurred when a dog was sleeping or resting immediately before the bite.

The Sleep Foundation says: 'Children are more likely than adults to sustain a dog bite requiring medical attention.

'This trend could be because they are not as good at reading signs of fear or aggression, or because they are more likely to get very close to a dog's face.'

They add: 'This is not to say that children can never sleep with a dog, but parents might not want to allow children to sleep with dogs that have shown aggression before.'
A woman with tuberculosis who has refused to get treated will be quarantined and medicated against her will after a judge deemed her a public safety risk.

Poll Do you agree with the court order? Yes No Unsure Do you agree with the court order? Yes 1256 votes

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The unnamed patient  from Tacoma, Washington  has refused to isolate or take medication since being diagnosed with the contagious bacterial infection, which is treated with a course of antibiotics.

Public health officials pursued a court order after speaking to the woman and her family and failing to persuade her to quarantine and get treatment.

'The Local Health Officer seeks an order requiring (the patient) to isolate in her residence, cooperate with testing and treatment as recommended by medical providers,' court documents read.

'This is less restrictive than a detention facility; however if such measures are not effective, more stringent measures may be requested.'

The order is possible under a law passed by state officials in the 1990s, allowing the courts to step in when they deem refusal of treatment a public health risk.

Tuberculosis cases in the US have drastically fallen since 1993, falling from nearly 25,000 cases in 1993 to under 10,000 in much of the late 2010s

Deaths from tuberculosis dropped significantly over the past three decades. They have fallen from around 1,800 in 1993 to around 600 in 2020, the CDC reports.

It comes amid fears that once-eradicated diseases such as polio and measles will make a return this year as anti-vaxx sentiment and distrust in doctors grows in America.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) warns tuberculosis cases increased during the Covid pandemic - reversing a downward trend from the early 90s. Cases also increased globally during the virus's reign.

The Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department announced the detection of the case last week.

Tuberculosis is a highly dangerous airborne disease that spreads through prolonged exposure to others.

Treatment includes a three to nine-month course of the antibiotics isoniazid and rifampicin. Depending on the type and severity of the infection, the drugs can be used anywhere from daily to weekly.

'Most people we contact are happy to get the treatment they need,' Nigel Turner, a Tacoma health official, said in a statement.

'Occasionally people refuse treatment and isolation. When that happens, we take steps to help keep the community safe.'

Officials said they have an 'obligation' and the 'legal authority' to seek a court order in these cases.

The federal government allows states to control public health within their borders. The CDC is responsible for preventing transmission across borders.

Laws allowing the courts to order a person to stay home or isolate from others after they are deemed a public health risk are on the books in 38 US states, including the three of the most populous in California, Texas and New York (red)

The woman will be forced to isolate and take treatment for the disease until she is deemed to not be a public health risk (file photo)

This means that states can pass their own laws to determine how they want to deal with health threats - like deadly, contagious diseases.

A notable example of this occurred during the Covid pandemic, where US states had vastly different policies on masks, stay-at-home orders and vaccine mandates.

Passed in 1996, RCW 70.28.031 allows for the use of law enforcement to force people into quarantine or to take medication if the courts deem it a health risk.

According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, 38 US states have these types of laws on the books. These include California, New York and Texas.

The case was confirmed to The News Tribune. Officials also said they have had to use law enforcement to detain a tuberculosis patient three times in the last 20 years.

DailyMail.com has reached out to Tacoma-Pierce health authorities.

Officials report the unnamed woman suffered an injury in a car crash earlier this year.

She did not inform doctors of her illness, and doctors were unaware until they found it on X-rays.

Officials then worked to persuade her to receive treatment for the condition - which she refused - before eventually filing the court order.

They could petition for the woman to be forced into quarantine because of state laws in Washington, which allow for these measures to be taken in cases deemed a public health risk.

She will now be forced to quarantine and to receive treatment for her illness. The entire process could take up to nine months.

The woman's age, race, and name were not made public for confidentiality.

These laws generally leave decisions of who is forced to isolate up to an individual judge's discretion.

While these orders were rarely, if ever, used on individuals during the Covid pandemic, they were used to force businesses to close or enforce mask and vaccine orders.

It is unclear why the Washington woman chose not to quarantine or take medication.

But, in some similar previous cases, patients feared the treatment's side effects.

Many Americans have also lost trust in the medical field in recent years as part of a growing anti-vaccine, anti-medicine trend.

Some people also may object to medicine over their religious beliefs or issues with mental health.

Tuberculosis was a massive threat to Americans, and much of the world, before the widespread use of these drugs.

Nearly 25,000 cases and 1,800 deaths caused by bacterial infection were recorded in 1993, according to the CDC.

Widespread use of the drugs and a better understanding of how it spreads led to both figures dropping massively in recent decades.

The US suffered 7,100 cases of the disease in 2020, and 600 deaths. The mortality rate of the disease in America is around ten percent.

These rates slightly increased during the Covid pandemic, with cases increased 10 percent from 2020 to 2021, and deaths by nearly 20 percent.

But, in countries where antibiotics are not as readily available, up to 50 percent of cases could lead to death.

The tuberculosis vaccine, known as the BCG shot, is used in nations where the drugs are hard to come by. It only reduces risk of infection by 13 percent, falling well below typical standards.

Tuberculosis cases of the lungs and throat are contagious, but cases of the brain and spine are most often deadly.

These cases can cause meningitis, swelling of the tissue covering the brain and spinal cord, and lead to death.

If left untreated, tuberculosis infection can spread from one area of the body to another.
Nearly 2,000 public sector employees lost their jobs because of the mandates

The vaccine mandate will be lifted Friday, a year after it went into effect

New York City Mayor Eric Adams announced today that he is reversing a controversial vaccine mandate for city employees.

The proof of vaccination requirement that led to 1,780 public sector employees being fired will be scrapped on Friday, more than a year after it was introduced.

However, refuseniks who lost their jobs will not automatically walk back into their old jobs and will be forced to reapply.

Adams said the mandate was unnecessary because the vast majority of workers were vaccinated, and treatments like Paxlovid can prevent serious infection.

But he still claimed the measure had 'served its purpose'  even though many experts argue the vaccines are ineffective at preventing transmission.

Mayor Eric Adams announced Monday that New York City's vaccine mandate for public sector employees would be lifted on Friday but employees let go as a result of it will have to re-apply to get their jobs back

Nearly 1,800 city employees lost their job in February 2022 because of the mandate. It was widely protested against by unions and workers in the city. Pictured: City workers protest in front of City Hall opposing the vaccine mandate

It comes as pressure on the mayor to lift remaining Covid orders mounts. Former employees filed a $250million lawsuit in January, wanting to be compensated for lost income.

They cited comments from leading US officials such as President Joe Biden, who declared the pandemic was 'over' last year.

'As we near our third year with COVID-19, we continue to evaluate existing measures and adjust them as needed,' Anne Willaims-Ison, NYC deputy mayor for the Health and Human Services, said in a statement.

'The City's vaccine requirement is one such measure and has yielded significant results with 96 percent of city workers vaccinated with the primary series.'

Dr Ashwin Vasan, the commissioner of NYC health, said: 'We're grateful that we can now, as we leave the emergency phase of the pandemic, modify more or the rules that have gotten us to this point.'

Those fired for refusing the vaccine included firefighters, librarians, teachers and other city employees.

Police officers who were fired because of the mandate were given their jobs back as part of a September decision by the state supreme court.

'The vaccine mandate was an improper infringement on our members' right to make personal medical decisions in consultation with their own health care professionals,' Patrick Lynch, president of the city's Police Benevolent Association, said at the time.

These mandates were announced in October 2021 under then-Mayor Bill de Blasio. He said at the time it would 'end the Covid era'.

Mayor Adams took office on January 1, 2022 and kept the orders in place. The deadline for receiving the shot for city employees was February 11.

When the order was put in place, the Delta variant was still the nation's dominant strain.

Initially, trial data indicated the Pfizer and Moderna Covid vaccines were more than 90 percent effective at preventing infection from the virus.

Nearly every single adult New Yorker has received at least one shot of the Covid vaccine, with 90 percent of adults have gotten both shots. There has been little uptake of the bivalent shot, though, at only 16 percent

But as the virus has mutated, the vaccines have become less effective at reducing transmission.

Just a month after the vaccine mandate for NYC city employees was enforced, the Omicron variant emerged, plummeting the efficacy to below 30 percent.

Many argued that the change in the effectiveness of the shots made the mandate moot, with unions and city workers protesting to have if lifted in the days leading up to the deadline.

It was reported that 4,000 employees, around one percent of the city's workforce, were still unvaccinated on the deadline day.

By the end of the workday, just 1,800 employees were still unvaccinated. They were placed on unpaid leave and later terminated.

Dr Jay Varma, who served as health policy advisor to Mayor de Blasio when the mandate went into place opposes Mayor Adams' move.

"While the city may not longer consider COVID an emergency, it is still killing over 10 New Yorkers a day, and vaccination is the single best way to prevent those deaths," he told Gothamist.

Starting Friday, the mandate will be lifted and proof of vaccine will no longer be a part of the application process for jobs with the city.

Those who were let go a year ago for being unvaccinated will not immediately receive their job back, though.

'While the approximately 1,780 former employees terminated for failing to submit proof of vaccination will not be able to automatically return to their previous positions, they will be able to apply for positions with the former agencies through existing city rules and regulations,' a city release says.

According to official data, 99 percent of New York City adults have received at least one shot of the Covid vaccine, with 90 percent fully vaccinated.

Only 16 percent of the adult population has received a bivalent dose.

Covid has greatly receded in the US over the past year. While previous winters devastated the nation, the virus was barely a nuisance for much of the country this year.

America is averaging 40,000 daily cases - down from nearly 400,000 in early February 2022.

Once the Covid capital of the world, its impact on life in New York has diminished. The Big Apple is suffering 1,800 daily infections, down from around 3,500 in early February of last year.

Over the past year, some leading officials such as President Biden and Dr Anthony Fauci, have declared the pandemic over.
A simple eye test could be used to predict a patients risk of a stroke years before it happens.

The test involves looking for tiny tissue changes in the retina  the light-sensitive area at the back of the eye which dispatches incoming images to the brain for processing.

New research, based on the eye scans of nearly 50,000 people, shows an individuals risk of having a stroke can be calculated using the retina age gap.

This is the difference between a patients actual age and the age of their retina, judged by the health of the blood vessels and tissue in the area. Those whose retina appeared older than their actual age were up to 2.3 times more likely to have a stroke in the next six years, reported the journal BMC Medicine.

Around 100,000 people a year in the UK have a stroke  a third of these die, while two-thirds of survivors leave hospital with a disability, according to the Stroke Association.

A simple eye test could be used to predict a patients risk of a stroke years before it happens

The test involves looking for tiny tissue changes in the retina  the light-sensitive area at the back of the eye which dispatches incoming images to the brain for processing

Around 85 per cent of strokes are ischaemic, where a blood clot blocks blood supply to the brain. Haemorrhagic strokes, which account for the remainder, are where a weakened vessel ruptures and bleeds into the brain, causing damage.

The main risk factors include high blood pressure, high cholesterol and diabetes.

If doctors were able to identify those most at risk at an early stage, they could prescribe lifestyle changes or medication to address risk factors.

For the latest study, researchers at Melbourne University in Australia, Guangdong Academy of Medical Sciences in China, and other centres, gathered data from 46,969 people on their lifestyle  such as smoking and drinking  along with detailed scan images of their retinas, similar to those done by High Street opticians.

They analysed the results using artificial intelligence  where computers are programmed to learn from examining large amounts of data. During the following six years, nearly 300 of the men and women had a stroke. The researchers found that a one-year increase in the biological age of the retina, compared with the patients real age, increased the risk of stroke by 5 per cent. Those with the biggest age gap were 2.3 times more likely to have a stroke.

The researchers said retinal scans have enormous potential as a means of screening large numbers of people for stroke risk. They said its also fast (taking just minutes to complete), cheap, non-invasive and it may even be possible to incorporate the technology into a smartphone for patients to use at home.

The theory is that the state of the retina mirrors the ageing of the brains blood vessels and therefore the risk of stroke.

Commenting on the research, Gwyn Williams, a consultant ophthalmologist at Singleton Hospital in Swansea, said: The rise of artificial intelligence and eye imaging is one of the most exciting developments in medicine. This powerful technology means it might be possible to predict stroke risks years or even decades in advance, when a patient is healthy and happy.

Researchers said retinal scans have enormous potential as a means of screening large numbers of people for stroke risk

meanwhile women whove had pre-eclampsia may be 40 per cent more likely to experience a stroke later and are 60 per cent more at risk of heart disease over the next 50 years, according to a study in the journal BMJ Open.

The pregnancy-related condition can cause high blood pressure. In a study involving 120,000 women  including 31,000 whod been diagnosed with pre-eclampsia when pregnant  doctors at Helsinki University Hospital in Finland concluded: Women with a history of pre-eclampsia should be screened and treated for cardiovascular risk factors.

Many of the risk factors for pre-eclampsia are the same as those linked to high blood pressure and heart disease: obesity, diabetes and high cholesterol.

Rude health

A lack of sexual interest is linked to a higher risk of early death in men

A lack of sexual interest is linked to a higher risk of early death in men, reports a study in the journal PLoS One.

Data from more than 20,000 people showed that deaths from cancer and all causes were higher in men who reported a lack of sexual interest (there was no such link for women).

If sexual interest is related to positive psychological factors, [its] absence may affect inflammatory, neuroendocrine and immune responses, researchers said.
Just imagine being able to shave months off your waiting time for an NHS operation at the touch of a button  and at no extra cost.

With seven million people in England stuck on NHS waiting lists for procedures such as hip and knee replacements  40 per cent for more than 18 weeks  it might sound too good to be true. But its a real option for millions in that position  if only they knew how to do it.

Choosing or switching hospital is not a dodgy loophole: its part of the NHS rule book. All patients have the right to choose which hospital they are referred to for a first out-patient appointment  to an NHS hospital or private hospital that is working with the NHS.

They can also switch to another hospital that carries out NHS procedures (which may include private hospitals) with a shorter waiting list if they have been waiting longer than 18 weeks (the maximum time patients should have to wait for non-urgent treatment) or two weeks for a suspected cancer.

Around 7.2million patients in England were stuck in the backlog in November (red line)  or one in eight people. More than 400,000 have queued for at least one year (yellow bars)

In the South West, for general surgery, patients waiting in the bottom third of hospitals were waiting on average over 35 weeks for treatment compared with just nine weeks in the top third  a difference of over six months

On average, a patient in England would need to travel just 13.2 miles to go from one of the worst-performing hospitals to one of the top performers. Doing this could save 14 weeks of waiting  reducing the time from an average of 22 weeks to eight

In fact, NHS patients could save, on average, 14 weeks  more than three months  of waiting for a procedure, from 22 weeks to eight weeks, by choosing their hospital via an online referral service, according to a report published last July called Time To Choose, by the Patients Association and the Independent Healthcare Providers Network (IHPN), which represents private hospitals and clinics.

Yet only half of NHS patients are aware that they are entitled to choose or switch where they are treated, according to a poll of 2,266 adults last May, the report said.

Your right to choose To choose where you go to undergo your NHS treatment, you will first have to log on to the e-referral service on the internet  visit: nhs.uk/nhs-services/hospitals/ book-an-appointment. Youll need a booking reference number and a password or passcode, which you can get from the doctor who is referring you for treatment. Once you have logged in, it should show all the hospitals, public and private, where your procedure is available. Advertisement

The groups have launched a campaign to increase public awareness of this little-known right, which they say could give millions of patients faster access to NHS treatment.

Making more patients aware that they have a right to choose where they have NHS treatment will allow them to access treatment as quickly as possible, says Rachel Power, chief executive of the Patients Association.

It would also serve to equalise waiting times across different parts of the country and between hospitals  with the effect of reducing average waiting times for the vast majority of people. That will result in better outcomes for patients and more effective and equitable services.

It will also help to restore patients confidence in the NHS and help to reduce the current waiting list backlog.

Operations that might benefit most are those with the biggest variation in waiting times. These include: general surgery (such as hernia repair and gall bladder removal); ear, nose and throat operations (including tonsil removal and repair of the septum in the nose); and gynaecological procedures (such as hysterectomies and ovarian cysts).

While many people may not realise this, patients have had the right to choose where they receive their NHS care for around 20 years. This was then enshrined in the NHS Choice Framework, published in 2016, and the NHS Constitution for England, last updated in 2021.

Choosing or switching hospital is not a dodgy loophole: its part of the NHS rule book. All patients have the right to choose which hospital they are referred to for a first out-patient appointment. [File image]

Only half of NHS patients are aware that they are entitled to choose or switch where they are treated, according to a poll of 2,266 adults last May, the report said

It means you can be treated in any hospital that provides NHS care, whether it is an NHS or private hospital, for any kind of routine, planned treatment or diagnostic test.

Around 280 private hospitals treat NHS patients, with 1.2 million procedures a year carried out in private clinics.

And your chosen hospital doesnt even have to be in your local area if you are willing to travel. If you do go outside your area for treatment, your travel and accommodation costs may even be covered under plans announced by the Government in February 2022.

However, in practice, few NHS patients are offered information about different hospitals and their waiting times when they are referred for treatment, according to the Time To Choose report, probably because many GPs dont have time to do this during an appointment.

To see what a difference choosing a hospital would make, the Patients Association and the IHPN analysed NHS performance data from last April for six different specialties  trauma and orthopaedics; ophthalmology; ear, nose and throat; gynaecology; general surgery; and urology.

This data shows how long people have waited on average to begin treatment.

The analysis compared the top third of hospitals with the shortest waiting lists in England with the bottom third which had the longest waiting lists. (Specialist hospitals were excluded because they tend to treat a different mix of patients.)

It found in every region across England, patients could join considerably shorter waiting lists by travelling to a different provider.

For example, in the South West, theres an 18-week difference between hospitals with the best and worst overall waiting times. In London, that difference is two months. And when it comes to individual specialties, that difference was even greater.

In the South West, for general surgery, patients waiting in the bottom third of hospitals were waiting on average over 35 weeks for treatment compared with just nine weeks in the top third  a difference of over six months.

Waiting for gynaecology care generally in the North West and East of England varied from more than 30 weeks in the bottom third of hospitals down to just over nine weeks in the top third  a difference of at least 21 weeks.

Separate analysis of NHS England data shows that for trauma and orthopaedics (such as hip/knee replacements), the wait at the best-performing NHS Trust, the Princess Alexandra, in Essex is on average 37.9 weeks  whereas the wait is just 12.4 weeks, on average, at the private Nuffield Health Holly Hospital, also in Essex.

In fact, to access faster care, patients do not need to travel far at all, the report found.

On average, a patient in England would need to travel just 13.2 miles to go from one of the worst-performing hospitals to one of the top performers. Doing this could save 14 weeks of waiting  reducing the time from an average of 22 weeks to eight.

The report concludes: These significantly reduced waiting times could be realised in the short term by individuals who exercise their right to choose a provider.

Longer-term, the goal should be for a more functional system of choice, with patients fully empowered and supported to select the most appropriate provider.

To access faster care, patients do not need to travel far at all, the report found. [File image]

To encourage more patients to take advantage of their right to choose, campaigners want a single NHS website for patients to access easy-to-understand, up-to-date information about hospitals and their waiting times, and to book their appointments.

This would bring together the My Planned Care website, which currently provides information on waiting times and how to prepare for surgery, and NHS Find A Service, a website which identifies the closest hospitals, GPs, mental health care and other NHS services.

Neither of these websites currently allows you to make an appointment.

The campaigners also want the right to choose to be more widely promoted through leaflets and a dedicated phone line, and a survey carried out each year by NHS England to monitor awareness and uptake of this right.

NHS healthcare staff and patients should be given clear information from NHS England about patients rights, including their right to choose a provider, so that patients understand those rights and can make choices accordingly, says Rachel Power.

The NHS should also be providing patients with the information they need to choose a healthcare provider  the hospitals in their area where waiting times are shorter, as well as the nature and quality of care on offer.

Exactly why the NHS hasnt done a better job at informing patients about this right is unclear, although it may be down to healthcare professionals not knowing that patients can choose, it being seen as more admin for NHS staff or staff not having enough time to discuss the choices with patients, says the Patients Association. And of course, if everyone currently waiting for treatment switched to a hospital with a shorter waiting list, it would simply create a longer waiting list at a different hospital.

However, with almost three million people currently waiting more than 18 weeks for NHS treatment  the point where patients can switch hospital under the NHS Constitution  the number of people who could potentially benefit is huge.

Campaigners are convinced that if more patients exercised their right to choose, waiting lists would equalise between hospitals.

That would have the effect of reducing waiting times on average for patients, which has got to be a good thing, says David Furness, director of policy at the IHPN.

With NHS waiting lists at record highs, its vital that there is a real push from both the Government and the NHS to put more power in the hands of patients, with a clear commitment to boost the publics understanding of the choices available to them to receive the quickest possible NHS treatment, whether that be at an NHS or independent sector facility.

The Department of Health and Social Care admits that GPs have limited time during appointments to go through all the different hospital options with patients, and says there is still more work to be done to improve patient choice. It adds that it is committed to ensuring the right to choose is available to everyone.

If a GP needs to refer you for a physical or mental health condition, in most cases you have the legal right to choose the hospital or service youd like to go to, a spokesperson told Good Health. This will include many private hospitals if they provide services to the NHS, and it does not cost the NHS any more than a referral to a standard NHS hospital.

By improving the quality of data, providing support for GPs to navigate conversations with patients, and ensuring that patients are informed of their right to this choice, providing choice will become easier, faster and more straightforward, added the spokesperson.

My NHS eye op was done in a private clinic, cutting my wait from 9 months to 4 WEEKS

By Alex Brummer

High productivity, efficiency, empathy and steaming cups of freshly brewed coffee are not qualities associated with the NHS as the country navigates through its winter crisis.

Yet, amid the gloom and the horrendous tales of A&E trolley waiting experiences, there are some glimmers of hope.

When private sector expertise, technology and service is brought to bear, treatment time and patient experience can be transformed.

The routes to private treatment, under the NHS banner, may be obscure (see main story, left). But any opportunities for reducing waiting times, especially for elective procedures, should be developed with imagination and willpower.

My own recent experience is a case in point. My short journey to private care, inside the NHS, began with a visit to the opticians department at Boots on Kensington High Street in West London for a new prescription.

My short journey to private care, inside the NHS, began with a visit to the opticians department at Boots on Kensington High Street in West London for a new prescription, writes Alex Brummer (pictured)

I went through a standard series of tests before the optical technician declared there was no possibility of a new prescription.

She found a vast imbalance in the sight of my left eye (minus seven) and the right eye, which needed no correction.

Within 48 hours I had an appointment at a hospital

A cataract in the left eye needed to be removed and an astigmatism [where the eye is misshapen] in the same eye might need attention. In short, I would require an operation.

The choice was a referral to an NHS eye facility where, she told me, the wait time for an assessment and procedure could be nine months or longer.

There was an alternative, a private facility that operated for the NHS, where assessment and treatment would be a much speedier process.

No surprise that I opted for the latter: forms were completed and signed, and within 48 hours I received a call from SpaMedica in Epsom, Surrey the closest appropriate hospital  offering me an appointment within a week.

The opportunity was grabbed. On arrival at the facility, I was greeted by a friendly figure with a clipboard, who checked me in, escorted me to the waiting area and plied me with fresh coffee.

There was no waiting beyond the appointment time and, precisely at 9am, the assessment was under way.

I was guided through a series of well-decorated, comfortable rooms. Different experts manned the advanced equipment variously taking my eye pressure, the measurements of my eyes and much else. The precise detail of my case was then passed online to an optometrist blessed with a wealth of data.

Patients are treated like consumers and not a number

Shortly after, the optometrist pronounced surgery was required to remove a cataract and insert a lens to correct the vision in my left eye.

She proceeded to explain the various lenses available to better correct my sight. All that remained to be done was to arrange a procedure and SpaMedica would be in touch.

The appointments desk called my mobile phone within two days and I was booked in for surgery on January 3. It had taken just three weeks, from the first visit to Boots to a date for the operation.

On the day of the surgery, after a series of further checks and the administration of a local anaesthetic, I met the consultant for the first time. She explained precisely what was involved.

The appropriate lens for my needs was discussed and a final decision made. Soon afterwards I was whisked into the operating theatre, gowned up above the waist. The procedure required staring at a square harboured between brightly coloured lights.

The sensation was weird and my eye had to be clamped open. But, in fact, it was no more uncomfortable than most dental check-ups.

And just 25 minutes later, outside in a comfortable armchair in the recovery room, I was offered coffee and biscuits.

The son of an elderly patient just ahead of me explained that his mother, who has very limited sight, had been on an NHS waiting list for 19 months. Someone finally mentioned the possibility of private-style treatment within the NHS. This finally had speeded up her progress through the system.

As I recovered I underwent a thorough briefing, in a private room, by a nurse in charge of aftercare. I was given drops (to be administered four times a day for a week) and a 24-hour emergency number to call if anything went amiss.

It had taken just three hours from arrival to taxi home, replete with a splendid plastic eye patch.

My eyes are still adjusting to the new regimen and, after a check-up in early February, the op was pronounced a success.

I will need lower strength reading glasses, but the clarity is terrific for distance. I may be able to see the names on players shirts at Stamford Bridge once again.

A friend, a very senior NHS medic, thought it essential that I report my experience. The nature of the procedure is routine for people of a certain age, and he felt it would be invaluable to show the high level of efficiency of this model.

The speed of the treatment, the state-of-the-art technology, the break down of the assessment into parts using highly qualified technicians and medical staff and the elimination of waiting times were all of significance (the eye surgeon told me, on a regular day, she alone could complete 16 such operations).

There is a view that elective surgery, whether its cataract or hip and knee replacement, is voluntary and can wait. Of course, it shouldnt be thus: the long wait of the elderly woman I encountered had put a huge burden on her family, and her son in particular, who had given up a rewarding job in logistics to be his mothers carer.

The kind of streamlined process used by facilities such as SpaMedica to fast-track people through to a medical procedure, under contracts with the NHS, does offer a way forward on a much broader canvas.

This is not privatisation, as NHS providers, unions and vested interests might argue. It brings 21st-century medicine, IT and processes to bear on a creaking health system, eliminating delays and layers of bureaucracy.

It treats patients like consumers, deserving of best care and service, rather than a number in a never-ending queue.

It ought to be a sure-fire route to reform.
Some 400,000 motorists were issued penalty charge notices for driving in School Street restrictions in 29 London boroughs last year, a new study has uncovered

Peak school run times can be a stressful part of the day for parents, commuters and motorists in general.

And for almost 400,000 Londoners last year, it was particularly expensive too.

That's because motorists who drove through 'School Streets' during restricted times in the capital were hit with a massive 398,745 penalty charge notices (PCNs) in 2022.

With some authorities stinging drivers with fines of up to 130, it means London boroughs could have raked in up to 52million in revenue for the School Street Initiative.

We reveal the boroughs handing out the most school street fines in the last 12 months.

The volume of PCNs issued to motorists in the capital last year works out at an average of 1,092 tickets per day.

It also means the number of drivers stung is up 10 per cent on 2021, with an additional 37,184 tickets handed out last year, according to research conducted by insurer Churchill.

It sent Freedom of Information requests to every London borough at the end of December - the results are based on 29 boroughs that responded with data.

Driver are - knowingly or not - caught out by the School Streets Initiative, which imposes temporary restrictions on roads outside schools to stop motorists from driving on them at peak drop-off and pick-up times.

The restrictions apply to school traffic and through traffic and are designed to protect children from traffic and reduce air pollution around schools.

A School Streets sign - including the restriction hours - in Tooting, which was not one of the 29 boroughs to provide data on PCN volumes in 2022

The first school street in London was introduced in Camden in 2017.

Since then, the popularity of the schemes has increased significantly.

In 2022, there were approximately 400 permanent school streets in London and another 136 school streets are being trialled as part of consultations.

If these trials are successful and implemented, there could be a 35 per cent increase in permanent school streets in London, taking the total to 529.

Which London borough hands out the most School Streets tickets?

These are the London boroughs that issued the most 'School Street' PCNs last year

On average each London borough issued 15,336 PCNs in 2022, up from 13,906 in 2021.

However, some of these areas slapping significantly more tickets on drivers than others.

Lewisham handed out 37,393 fines to motorists driving on these streets last year - also the highest total for any borough.

Parking tickets given out every TWO seconds Drivers are being hit with around 50,000 parking tickets a day. Shock figures reveal the 'ruthless' army of parking wardens employed by councils are issuing nearly 20,000 fines a day on average. With private companies dishing out a record 30,000 daily tickets, it means town halls and parking firms are on track to issue 1.3billion in fines this year if current rates continue. It will stoke concerns that drivers are being used as cash cows amid the cost of living crisis, with many councils plotting double-digit rises in parking charges this year. > Read more here

Lewisham had 45 permanent school streets in 2022, with another four being trailed  the most of any borough.

The London boroughs of Merton and Camden issued the second and third most school street PCNs  at 35,477 and 33,708 respectively.

The PCN for driving on a school street at a restricted time can be up to 130 in London.

While the penalty is halved if the offending driver pays within 14 days, this means that in 2022 London boroughs issued fines that could have potentially totalled nearly 52million.

Speaking about the findings on the study, Nicholas Mantel, head of Churchill motor insurance, said: 'School streets are a great way to protect children and create a healthier environment.

'However, the surging popularity of the schemes means it's now much easier for drivers to be caught out by new restrictions.

'We would encourage drivers to always check road signs carefully to ensure they avoid any expensive fines.

'If drivers do receive a fine, they have 28 days to pay it or appeal to an independent tribunal.'
When parliamentary committees haul in chief executives for a grilling, it can be great theatre.

The drama usually derives from the way business leaders, who are used to being treated with extreme deference, react to a mauling by MPs.

So we have the spectacle of Sir Philip Green asking a Tory politician to stop staring at him, or Barclays boss Bob Diamond being goaded into declaring the time to apologise for the financial crisis was over.

Diamond was wrong then and he remains wrong now. Bosses of the big four are due to appear at a Treasury committee hearing tomorrow into the behaviour of the banks.

The furore over the initial refusal to attend by NatWest chief Dame Alison Rose shows they are still on thin ice, even after 15 years.

Scrutiny: The banks may have lost their position as corporate public enemy number one to the oil companies and British Gas, but they are not yet rehabilitated

Rose, who rarely puts a foot wrong, has sensibly decided she is not too busy to turn up after all. Wise move, since the taxpayer is still saddled with a 46 per cent holding in her bank. She and her peers  Charlie Nunn of Lloyds, Ian Stuart, CEO of HSBC in the UK and Matt Hammerstein of Barclays  face an uncomfortable session.

The banks may have lost their position as corporate public enemy number one to the oil companies and British Gas.

But they are not yet rehabilitated. The huge popularity of the Netflix movie Bank of Dave  a version of It's a Wonderful Life set in modern-day Lancashire  is testament to how badly people feel let down. Businessman Dave Fishwick, the real 'Dave' of the title, fears mainstream lenders are opening the door to loan sharks, as we report today.

Big four bank profits this year are expected to be embarrassingly fat, thanks in large part to a rise in net interest income  the difference between what they receive in loan interest and what they pay out to depositors. An expected rise in bad debts has yet to make itself felt.

This may lead to louder calls for a windfall levy on lenders. Windfall taxes, whether on oil companies or banks, are not a panacea.

But it can be hard for politicians to ignore voter sentiment as the banks seem to disregard their customers. They continue to close branches, to the annoyance of many.

The new National Savings & Investments one-year bond paying 4 per cent ought to put on pressure for banks to compete, but I wouldn't hold my breath. Of perhaps even greater concern is the manoeuvring to water down rules brought in after the financial crisis so that taxpayers were protected from having to bail them out in future.

Lenders say the regime to hold senior managers accountable for misconduct on their watch makes it hard to hire talent. 'Ring-fencing,' which separates retail banking from the risky casino variety, is also up for debate.

MPs should be concerned about the scrapping of the cap on banker bonuses. Kwasi Kwarteng planned to abolish the limit on payouts, which was imposed by the EU after the crisis. Jeremy Hunt appears to be pressing ahead with this. The cap was largely ineffectual, but giving bankers free rein on bonuses in the middle of a cost of living crisis offers Labour an open goal.

Even more concerning are the new risks that have emerged since Covid, the war in Ukraine and the energy crisis.

The mayhem caused by Liability Driven Investment strategies after the doomed mini-Budget makes one wonder about obscure pockets of danger to which the banks are exposed. The next disaster may strike before they have fully recovered from the last.
Media group Bonhill has received a non-binding offer of $6.5million (5.4million) from an unnamed US buyer for InvestmentNews, its weekly publication aimed at financial advisers.

The company also told investors on Monday that efforts to sell off its UK and Asia operations to a privately-owned UK media company were 'progressing well'.

Bonhill announced a strategic review in October after warning it would slump to a loss as clients increasingly cut back on marketing spend.

Bonhill has received an offer for InvestmentNews, its publication aimed at financial advisers

The London-based group produces magazines for wealth managers, such as Portfolio Adviser, and organises events for the financial sector.

However, like companies across the media sector, the group has suffered a fall in marketing spend by firms that normally advertise on their publications.

In October it said it was considering a formal sale, then in December it received a conditional offer for worth 6.6million in cash for the assets and trade of its UK and Asia businesses.

Today, the London-based group said it had abandoned plans for a formal sale process for the whole company.

It is instead focusing on the sale of InvestmentNews and its UK and Asia business, although it stressed there was no certainty any of the two deals would be concluded.

Commenting on the potential sale of InvestmentNews, it said: 'Subject to the completion of satisfactory due diligence, the company expects to sign a conditional agreement with the purchaser in March 2023.

'A further announcement will be made in due course.'

Bonhill also lowered its revenues forecasts once again, as 'certain clients continued to delay the release of planned marketing spend'.

As a result, the company now expects full-year revenue of 13.6million, down from previously lowered expectations of 15million.

Bonhill shares surged almost 6 per cent to 7.40p in early trade on Monday, but they remain down by around 25 per cent over the last year.
Kellie said she supports her ex's bid to overturn his conviction, saying the trial was 'definitely' unfair

Derek Chauvin's ex-wife has broken a near three-year silence to sensationally back the disgraced cop's bid to overturn his conviction for murdering George Floyd.

Kellie Chauvin filed for divorce, changed her name and fled the state of Minnesota after Minneapolis officer Derek knelt on defenseless Floyd's neck for nine and a half minutes.

The May 2020 killing sparked a nationwide race reckoning and made Chauvin a poster boy for police brutality but former pageant queen Kellie, 48, has remained in the shadows ever since.

She's never been located or photographed by news media  until today.

'Have I been in contact with him, no. I've moved on,' Kellie insisted after DailyMail.com tracked her down to the sleepy Wisconsin suburb where the mother-of-two is quietly rebuilding her life.

Despite shedding all ties to Chauvin, 46, Kellie told us she's been unable to resume her career as a realtor or find other work because of threats and fears of exposure.

Disgraced cop Derek Chauvin's ex-wife Kellie was seen for the first time in almost three years, exclusive DailyMail.com photos show

Kellie told DailyMail.com of her ex-husband, 'Have I been in contact with him? No. I've moved on'

The video of Chauvin pressing his knee against George Floyd's neck for more than nine minutes caused nationwide protests

'It ruined my life. But I'm doing good,' Kellie said of her ex-husband's conviction. 'It's just something that you have to deal with'

Kellie was seen outside the four-bedroom home in Wisconsin where she lives with one of her adult sons from a previous marriage

The mother-of-two has been quietly rebuilding her life in a sleepy Wisconsin suburb and tells DailyMail.com she's been unable to resume her career as a realtor or find other work because of threats and fears of exposure

DailyMail.com has decided not to reveal her new first and last name, nor her precise location.

'It ruined my life. But I'm doing good,' she added, with a haunted look. 'It's just something that you have to deal with. I don't know how you found me, this isn't even my house.'

In a now-infamous bystander video, black father-of-five Floyd, 46, was filmed pleading 'I can't breathe' as he was cuffed and pinned face-down in a Minneapolis street, even as he lay motionless. He was being arrested for allegedly passing a fake $20 bill.

Chauvin was jailed for 22 and a half years for unintentional second and third degree murder and second degree manslaughter

Chauvin was jailed for 22 and a half years for unintentional second and third degree murder and second degree manslaughter after a March 2021 trial heard how he ignored pleas from onlookers to lift his knee.

But lawyers for the shaven-headed bully told an appeals court last month that jurors were pressured into delivering guilty verdicts because of the unprecedented security precautions at court and the public appetite for vengeance.

If they succeed in overturning his conviction, Chauvin still faces a concurrent 21-year stretch for depriving Floyd of his civil rights after pleading guilty in a separate federal case.

But asked whether she backed her incarcerated ex's bid for a retrial, Kellie replied, without hesitation: 'I mean, most definitely'.

She declined to give a reason but asked if she felt the trial was unfair, Kellie told our reporter: 'Definitely.'

She was less forthcoming when quizzed over the specifics of Floyd's agonizing death  and whether or not she felt the man she was married to for ten years and once described as a 'softie', was racist.

'I think you're trying to get into some questions that I don't want to answer. I'm sorry, I can't say more,' she added, retreating inside the four-bedroom home where she lives with one of her grown-up sons from a previous marriage.

Chauvin's lawyers told an appeals court last month that jurors were pressured into delivering guilty verdicts because of the unprecedented security precautions at court and the public appetite for vengeance. Chauvin is seen in court in 2021

Kellie is a former Mrs. Minnesota America pageant winner and once worked as a radiologist at Hennepin County Medical Center in Minneapolis, the hospital where Floyd was pronounced dead on May 25, 2020

Derek and Kellie Chauvin married on June 12, 2010 and in an interview ahead of her 2018 pageant win, Kellie raved about her husband, telling the St. Paul Pioneer Press: 'Under all that uniform, he's just a softie'

Kellie's first media comments come as she faces her own court showdown next month when she enters pleas on long-standing tax evasion charges that could wipe out a huge chunk of the $703,717 she reportedly banked from her divorce.

A Washington County judge threw out the Chauvins' heavily-redacted first proposed settlement, hinting that the division of assets was so lopsided that it smacked of possible fraud or a strategic attempt to shield their finances.

A second petition awarding Kellie nearly two thirds of their assets was accepted in February 2021, according to a Minneapolis Star Tribune reporter who spotted the document when it was briefly published by accident without redactions.

These included homes in Saint Paul and in Windermere, Florida, that have since been sold, multiple bank accounts and a $100,000 BMW SUV which Kellie still drives today  emblazoned with a pro-police 'thin blue line' window sticker.

That could all be at risk as prosecutors allege that she and Derek understated their income by $464,433 from 2014 to 2019 by failing to declare earnings from his off-duty security guard shifts and her real estate deals and photography business.

Legal experts consulted by DailyMail.com predicted Kellie would likely avoid prison time on the nine counts of aiding and abetting tax fraud but with fines of up to $10,000 per felony on top of whatever she has to pay back, she could be left facing a crippling bill.

Kellie purchased the house she's currently living in in September 2021 for $305,000 but public records indicate that last December she transferred it via a quit claim deed to Kheng and Sommvaxai Xiong, her two sons by her late first husband, Kujay Xiong.

The transfer was perfectly legal but, if it was designed to shield the house from seizure, it would likely prove unsuccessful, Minnesota criminal defense attorney Jack Rice told DailyMail.com.

'You have the right to do anything you want with your own property. That being said, what you don't get to do is simply empty your bank accounts in an effort to avoid fulfilling your legal obligations,' Rice explained.

'And they would argue that's exactly what that was when you quit claim deed a $400,000 piece of property to your kids. They have the right to go after those assets and they do. So whether he pays or she pays, somebody's got to pay.'

DailyMail.com was the first media organization to obtain Kellie's 2020 divorce petition filed days after Floyd's death

A former Mrs. Minnesota America pageant winner, Kellie once worked as a radiologist at Hennepin County Medical Center in Minneapolis, the hospital where Floyd was pronounced dead on May 25, 2020.

She met Chauvin when he brought a suspect in for a health check before an arrest, returning to the hospital shortly afterwards to ask her out.

They married on June 12, 2010 and in an interview ahead of her 2018 pageant win, Kellie raved about her husband, telling the St. Paul Pioneer Press: 'Under all that uniform, he's just a softie.'

She also told the outlet that Chauvin, who accumulated 18 complaints during his 19 years in policing, was a major upgrade over her first husband whom her parents picked out for her when she was still in her teens.

'He's such a gentleman. He still opens the door for me, still puts my coat on for me. After my divorce, I had a list of must-haves if I were ever to be in a relationship, and he fit all of them,' gushed Kellie.

Her glamorous life was left in ruins however when Chauvin and three police colleagues decided to arrest Floyd  who had a criminal record and fentanyl in his system but was trying to turn his life around  for allegedly trying to pass a fake $20 bill.

Chauvin ignored Floyd's fading pleas for mercy and continued to sit on him even as a bystander filmed his last breaths, as state prosecutor Neal Katyal pointed out two weeks ago before a three-judge panel of the Minnesota Court of Appeals.

'Even if Chauvin could identify some minor fault, any error is harmless,' Katyal told the hearing. 'The evidence of Chauvin's guilt was captured on video for the world to see.'

Kellie faces her own court showdown next month when she enters pleas on long-standing tax evasion charges that could wipe out a huge chunk of the $703,717 she reportedly banked from her divorce

In a statement after Floyd's death, Kellie said that her sympathies lay with the victim and his family, not with her then-husband

Chauvin's attorney William Mohrman argued that the trial judge should have moved the case out of Minneapolis.

'The primary issue on this appeal is whether a criminal defendant can get a fair trial consistent with constitutional requirements in a courthouse surrounded by concrete block, barbed wire, two armored personnel carriers, and a squad of National Guard troops, all of which or whom are there for one purpose: in the event that the jury acquits the defendant,' he remarked.

The court is set to rule within 90 days. Even if Chauvin wins his appeal, his federal sentence would keep him locked for longer than his state sentence would have because he would qualify for parole earlier in the state system.

He's serving his time at the medium-security Federal Correctional Institute Tucson in Arizona.

DailyMail.com was the first media organization to obtain Kellie's 2020 divorce petition which cited an 'irretrievable breakdown' of their relationship and stated that the couple split on May 28  three days after Floyd's murder.

It was accompanied by a statement from her lawyer indicating that her sympathies lay with the victim and his family  not with her husband.

'This evening, I spoke with Kellie Chauvin and her family. She is devastated by Mr. Floyd's death and her utmost sympathy lies with his family, with his loved ones and with everyone who is grieving this tragedy,' wrote attorney Amanda Mason-Sekula at the time.

'While Ms. Chauvin has no children from her current marriage, she respectfully requests that her children, her elder parents, and her extended family be given safety and privacy during this difficult time.'
There are calls to ban cabanas from some of the country's busiest beaches with some angry Aussies claiming they take up too much space.

The popularity of cabanas is booming as Australians become more sun-safe, but some complain the beach shelters are an eye-sore and block views of the ocean.

The creation of the CoolCabanas brand by Queensland architect Mark Fraser is seen as the catalyst for the boom, as sales also take off across the US and Europe.

Sydney's Waverley and Northern Beaches councils say that while a ban is not yet necessary, they will monitor safety and the effect on ocean views.

Nationals MP Barnaby Joyce admitted he wasn't a fan of the shelters and said Aussies should instead only spend a short amount of time in the sun.

Tanya Plibersek and Barnaby Joyce weighed in on whether cabanas should be restricted from Aussie beaches

'I just think wear a shirt, wear a hat and once you've had enough sun, get off the beach,' he told Sunrise on Monday morning.

Poll Do you think beach cabanas should be banned from Aussie beaches? Yes, they take up too much space and block views of the water No, they are great for sun protection Do you think beach cabanas should be banned from Aussie beaches? Yes, they take up too much space and block views of the water 94 votes

No, they are great for sun protection 227 votes Now share your opinion





'They just become detritus, they're all over the beach and they spoil it for other people.

'Once you've had enough, get out of the sun and leave.'

Environment and Water Minister Tanya Plibersek disagreed with Mr Joyce, and said she would not like to see the cabanas banned, but urged beachgoers to be considerate of others.

'I think it's fantastic people are being sun-sensible, Australia's still got some of the highest rates of skin cancer in the world,' she told the Channel 7 program.

'You have to be considerate, obviously you have to leave enough room for the people around you to also use the beach, you have to make sure the lifesavers can see the water to keep us safe.

'As long as you're sensible about it I say bring it on.'

There have been calls for beach cabanas to be banned from the shores of some of Australia's busiest swimming spots all because some claim they take up too much space

Myrtle Beach in the US state of South Carolina banned beach cabanas in 2014 after the tents became so popular a 'virtual wall' was seen across the shore.

The beach's public information officer Mark Kruea said lifeguards were concerned they wouldn't be able to respond quickly to an emergency when they had to navigate through all the canopies.

'They were so plentiful at peak times and locations that they blocked access and visibility to the water's edge, affecting public safety and everyone's enjoyment of our gorgeous beach,' Mr Kruea told the Sydney Morning Herald.

A spokesperson for Waverley Council, which includes Sydney's eastern suburbs, said restrictions would not be imposed but the council would monitor safety and access to the water.

The Northern Beaches council said it would 'kindly ask' people to relocate their cabanas if they blocked ocean views.

Popularity of the beach item has boomed thanks to Queenslander Mark Fraser who created the CoolCabanas brand, which has taken off in the US, Europe and Australia

Mr Fraser's CoolCabanas range have popped up all over Aussie beaches but not everyone is on board.

Some social media users have complained the cabanas are 'annoying' and 'take up so much space'.

'Move them back from the shore line so we can see our kids in the water!' one said.

Another person said: 'I think they're dumb, better off with something with sides.'

But the majority of Aussies are in favour of the cabana with some dubbing it the 'best invention ever' which takes less than a minute to assemble and pull down.

Mr Fraser came up with the idea of an easy to use shade while holidaying with his wife and children at Noosa on Queensland's Sunshine Coast in 2014.

He saw people struggle to put up umbrella shades and thought he could design something far better.

CoolCabana beach shades (pictured) are proving very popular this summer across Australia

His genius hack to one of life's little annoyances has since turned CoolCabanas into a multi-million dollar global empire.

'I've spent a fortune on marketing and building the brand and set up and sat under a CoolCabana countless times for half an hour then relocated further along the beach using this as an opportunity to demonstrate the product to build interest,' he earlier told the Sunday Mail.

The basic plan was that it must be wind resistant, easy to use and comfortable enough for families to spend the entire day under.

He sketched out design options there and then while sitting on the beach and came up with the core idea of a centre pole and corner arms held up by sand bags.

In response to whether or not they take up too much space, Mr Fraser said 'we actually have the most efficient footprint on the beach.

'A square area of shade is much more efficient for a human body to lie or sit under than the circle of shade provided by an umbrella.'

He commissioned a study comparing umbrellas and CoolCabanas set up socially distanced on a beach at 1.5metres and two metres.

'What this showed is CoolCabanas were over 20 per cent more efficient and they have the benefit other beach goers can see through them,' Mr Fraser said.
Lisa Wilkinson and Peter FitzSimons and have canned their star-studded 'Independence Day' party after enduring the 'worst year of their lives' in 2022.

The high-profile couple's annual barbecue at their harbourside mansion was one of most-anticipated events of the year for Sydney's A-list, boasting high-profile guests from prime ministers and television stars to chefs, comedians and journalists.

The outspoken republicans rebranded the famous Australia Day bash as an 'Independence Day' party in 2020, but it was shelved in 2021 due to the pandemic. The event returned last year but was pushed back to February 26.

However, it's been revealed the couple will not be hosting a bash in 2023 after a year from hell, with friends speculating whether it has been canned for good.

The couple were never far from the headlines in 2022 with FitzSimons under fire for his interview with Indigenous senator Jacinta Price and Wilkinson slammed over her acceptance speech after winning a Logie for her interview with Brittany Higgins.

Following widespread backlash, Wilkinson eventually quit as host of The Project.

An unnamed friend said the couple felt 'bruised' after a tumultuous 2022.

The future of Peter FitzSimons and Lisa Wilkinson's famous annual Australia Day bash is reportedly in doubt after their year of hell

COUPLE'S 'WORST YEAR EVER' February 2022: Peter FitzSimons and Lisa Wilkinson's famous Australia Day party returns after a two-year hiatus, rebranded as an Independence Day bash, as A-list friends descend upon their mansion on Sydney's lower north shore May: The sale price of Wilkinson's tell-all memoir, It Wasn't Meant To Be Like This, is reduced to as cheap as $5 as she embarks on a national book tour to address claims she omitted key details June: Wilkinson wins a Logie award for her interview with Brittany Higgins. Her acceptance speech results in Higgins' rape trial being delayed August: Fitzsimons interviews Senator Jacinta Price for the Sydney Morning Herald, with the pair clashing over the Indigenous Voice to Parliament September: FitzSimons renews calls for Australia to become a republic shortly after the Queen's death October: FitzSimons steps down as head of the Australian Republic Movement November: Wilkinson quits as host of The Project but remains contracted to Channel 10 Advertisement

'They feel they've had the worst year of their lives ... ,' the friend told The Australian's Media Diary column. 'So, as a result, they're not having a party.'

Then-opposition leader Anthony Albanese and his girlfriend Jodie Haydon were guests of honour at last year's shindig along with Magda Szubanski, stars from Channel 10's The Project and ABC journalists.

Notably absent was ABC Q&A presenter Stan Grant, 12 months after he mercilessly mocked the annual bash as 'a woke lefty love-in' full of 'journos, actors, writers, a couple of ex-Wallabies, a few washed-up politicians and a former managing director of the ABC'.

Grant had contributed a chapter to a serialised murder mystery published in The Australian in February 2021 - but his narrative centred around the real-life Australia Day party hosted by the power couple, reigniting his rift with FitzSimons.

'Everyone there voted yes for same-sex marriage - the year before last, they'd all tearily applauded their first gay married couple guests - they hated the Catholic Church and had cried when Kevin Rudd said sorry,' he wrote.

'There were dot paintings on the wall, a photo with their arms around Cathy Freeman at Sydney Olympic Stadium and a framed copy of Paul Keating's Redfern Statement signed by the last great Australian Prime Minister himself.'

Friends say Lisa Wilkinson (right) felt unfairly targeted following the fallout from her Logies award acceptance speech for her interview with Brittany Higgins (left)

Stan Grant was a notable omission from the guest list from last year's bash

The couple's 2022 got off to a shaky start with Wilkinson's memoir, It Wasn't Meant To Be Like This, dramatically discounted at major retailers to as cheap as $5.

She began a national tour to promote her book and address criticism of her memoir - including allegations she omitted key details about her pay dispute with former employer Channel Nine.

In June, Wilkinson won a Logie for her powerful television interview with former Liberal staffer Brittany Higgins, who had alleged she was raped by a colleague in Parliament House in 2019.

Wilkinson praised Ms Higgins in her acceptance speech, which led to the trial of Ms Higgins' accused rapist being delayed.

The fallout led to past and present colleagues as well as rivals from various networks slamming Wilkinson.

The fallout from her tell-all memoir continued to plague Lisa Wilkinson in 2022

In August, FitzSimons interviewed Aboriginal senator Jacinta Price for the Sydney Morning Herald, with the pair clashing about the Indigenous Voice to Parliament.

Senator Price claimed FitzSimons was 'aggressive' and 'rude'.

Weeks later, FitzSimons wasted no time in calling for a republic following the Queen's death, with the Australian Republic Movement issuing a statement just 17 minutes after the monarch's passing was announced.

He stepped down as head of the ARM after seven years at the helm.

'The passing of Queen Elizabeth II confirms that decision, as the whole campaign moves to a new phase,' he said at the time.

'A new generation is now stepping up to lead the campaign, many of which were too young to vote when the last referendum was held - some of which were not yet even born.'

Lisa Wilkinson has been off air since stepping down as host of The Project in November

Wilkinson abruptly quit The Project in November after four years on the panel, citing 'targeted toxicity' from sections of the media as the reason for her exit.

She hasn't returned to the screens but is still collecting a 'seven-figure salary' from Ten thanks to the 'watertight' deal she signed in 2021.

FitzSimons continues to be outspoken about the republican movement and last week commended the Reserve Bank's decision to not replace the image of the late Queen Elizabeth with King Charles III on the new $5 note.

He welcomed Thursday's decision as a huge step forward.

'Next thing: in what places across Australia is the official portrait of "King Charles" up, and how soon can they be taken down?' he tweeted.
Most Australians are in favour of an Indigenous Voice to Parliament because it would allow Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders to have a say in policies that affect them, Newspoll has revealed.

The new poll surveyed 1512 Australians across the country to gather their views on the Voice to Parliament and it shows that 56 per cent of Aussies support the proposal, while 37 per cent are against it.

Interestingly, those in favour of the advisory body were divided evenly between being 'strongly in favour' at 28 per cent and 'partly in favour' also at 28 per cent.

Those against the proposal were more firmly opposed to it, with '14 per cent 'partly against' and 23 per cent 'strongly against'.

Those most supportive of the proposal were Greens voters, with 81 per cent in favour, followed by Labor voters at 74 per cent and Coalition voters at 37 per cent.

Most Australians support an Indigenous Voice to Parliament, with a recent Newspoll showing 56 per cent of respondents were in favour of the proposal (pictured, dancers performing at last year's Garma Festival in northeast Arnhem Land)

Young people aged 18 to 34 were the age demographic most in favour of the Voice at 70 per cent, while those 65 and older were least supportive at 40 per cent for and 57 per cent against.

Women were also more in favour than men and university graduates were more supportive than those who had no tertiary education.

The major reasons Aussies back the Voice is so Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have a say in policies that affect them, to ensure their views are heard in Parliament, to help close the gap and to take a further step toward reconciliation.

Those against the proposal believe The Voice will not help fix the issues affecting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, that it will favour one group of Australians over another and will lead to division in our society.

It comes as Prime Minister Anthony Albanese delivered a speech in Canberra on Sunday calling on Australians to support a referendum to enshrine the Voice in Australia's Constitution.

Mr Albanese accused his opponents of 'trying to start a culture war' over the proposal and parrot disinformation.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese (pictured) delivered a speech on Sunday calling on Australians to support a referendum to enshrine the Voice in Australia's Constitution

'In asking Australians to support an alteration to the Constitution that establishes an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice we are asking people to say yes to a modest but meaningful change,' he said.

'Not a radical proposition, a sensible one. A simple, vital and practical principle: that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have a say in the policies and decisions that affect their lives.

'Not just because  as I've said before  it is common courtesy to consult people when you're taking a decision that affects them. But because the practical outcomes will be better.'

Liberal Opposition leader Peter Dutton is expected to unveil his party's position on the Voice next week, while the Nationals already made their opposition to the proposal known last year.

Mr Dutton wrote a letter with 15 questions to Mr Albanese last week, asking for further clarification on the Voice.

Australians will vote in a referendum in the second half of this year on whether the constitution should be amended to create an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander body to provide advice to the federal parliament on policies affecting them.
Ms Price recalled shocking violence in the camps when she was a child

Indigenous senator Jacinta Price has tearfully spoken out about the reality of living in an Alice Springs town camp and called them 'hellholes'.

Officially called Alice Springs Community Living Areas, the town camps are Aboriginal communities located in the town.

At just 12 years old, Ms Price rescued an infant cousin whose father died of alcoholism at one of the communities, Inarlenge, while her aunt was 'stabbed to death' in another.

Ms Price said every woman she knows who lived in one of the remote villages had suffered some form of sexual assault.

Her cousin, Regina Frances, died in a town camp two days before Christmas 2022 despite being just 42 and a non-drinker.

Indigenous senator Jacinta Price has tearfully recalled the horrific effect that living in Alice Springs' 'hellhole' town camps had on her own family members. She is set to propose new bans this week in Federal parliament

Ms Price's cousin, Regina Frances, died in a town camp two days before Christmas 2022 despite being just 42 and a non-drinker. Ms Price believes stress killed her at just 42

Ms Price, who turns 42 in May, tearfully told The Australian that the stress her cousin was under, being surrounded by alcoholism, violence, theft and poor conditions in the town camps contributed to her death.

With temporary alcohol restrictions now in place for Alice Springs after months of escalating crime, some focus has shifted to the many small indigenous communities surrounding the town.

The roaming lawlessness that has recently made Alice Springs the centre of national attention is partly understood to involve youths who, feeling unsafe in their communities, come into the town and cause trouble.

The town camps were established in the 1970s as areas for Aboriginal people who came in from the bush to visit towns.

But many found alcohol and drinking buddies in them and never went back to their traditional lands.

Ms Price, a Country Liberal, is set to introduce a bill to the Federal parliament this week that would reintroduce alcohol restrictions to town camps that lapsed last July.

Her plan, which has the backing of the Coalition, would see alcohol banned in those communities until they develop alcohol management plans with the federal government's help.

At just 12 Ms Price helped rescue an infant cousin whose father died of alcoholism in the Inarlenge'town camp' (pictured), while her aunt was murdered in one of the communities

The roaming lawlessness that has engulfed Alice Springs recently is in part understood to involve youths who, feeling unsafe in their communities, come into the town and cause trouble. Pictured is an Asian boy who was attacked by youths with an axe

Alcohol was banned across the Northern Territory under the Howard government's so-called intervention in 2007, and the Gillard government extended the ban under its Stronger Futures policy in 2012.

But those restrictions expired last July.

The NT government has been reluctant to replace them with any booze bans because doing so was viewed as a negative 'race-based policy'.

Ms Price and Labor's Lingiari MP Marion Scrymgour - who both live in Alice Springs - used their maiden speeches to warn dropping all alcohol restrictions could be disastrous.

NT police figures released in January showed crime rates in 2022 dramatically worsened compared to 2021, especially all types of assault and property crimes.

Ms Price's family moved to Alice Springs from Darwin in 1981, and although they didn't live in a town camp, they had many relatives who did.

Ms Price's family moved to Alice Springs from Darwin in 1981 and although they didn't live in a town camp they had many relatives who did. Pictured, Jacinta Price (left) with her mum Bess

Prior to the intervention, alcohol-related crime and violence was a regular occurrence in those communities for many years.

Ms Price said her aunt was 'killed and bashed and stabbed to death' by women in a town camp.

She recalled seeing one particularly sad incident when an indigenous woman affected by alcohol stabbed herself to get attention.

'I witnessed people in violent situations, a woman stabbing herself in the leg because she was drunk, she was yelling at everyone and screaming and wanted attention or things werent going her way, so she stabbed herself in the leg,' Price recalled.

A young child leapt over a fence to escape the woman, Ms Price said.

She says dozens of her relatives have died from alcoholism, and others, like Ms Frances, died because of alcoholism, not with it.

Ms Price also had another cousin who, when she became a mum, feared her boyfriend could stab her to death on any night.
The Duchess of Sussex will be displeased by Prince Harry's 'older woman' speaking about their tryst, a royal commentator has claimed.

Sasha Walpole, 40, a digger driver and mother-of-two, revealed she was the first lover of the Duke of Sussex.

The then 16-year-old prince and 19-year-old stable girl had a one-night affair in a field that is described in detail in Harry's recent memoir, Spare.

Ms Walpole and Harry had been firm friends for two years before the encounter in July 2001, which had followed the pair going out for a cigarette during the pub trip.

One royal commentator said he thought Meghan Markle would be 'annoyed' by the revelation.

Prince Harry's wife, Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, will be annoyed by Ms Walpole coming forward as the woman described in Prince Harry's memoir, on royal commentator said

Sasha Walpole, 40, who now works as a digger driver, was just 19 when she and Prince Harry had the tryst

Best-selling biographer Robert Jobson tweeted: 'Loving the interviews with Harry's "older woman".

'She seems down to Earth telling her "truth" for cash. Not sure Meg will like Sasha Walpole telling Piers Morgan that the Harry she knew seems under a spell. But H started it by writing about her.'

Social media users agreed, with some suggesting it was only fair given that Harry had written about the evening first.

Others said the two-year age gap between the lovers meant Ms Walpole was not much of an 'older woman'.

Harry, 38, explained in his memoir how his first lover treated him like a 'young stallion' and detailed how the steamy exchange took place in a field behind a 'very busy pub'.

Over lunch in a cafeteria afterwards, one of his bodyguards - who had a 'sombre look' on his face - told the prince that he had been sent to 'find out the truth'.

The father-of-two wrote: 'I suspected he was referring to my recent loss of virginity, a humiliating episode with an older woman who liked macho horses and who treated me like a young stallion.

'I mounted her quickly, after which she spanked my ass and sent me away. One of my many mistakes was letting it happen in a field, just behind a very busy pub. No doubt someone had seen us.'

The royal commentator speculated that the Duchess of Sussex would be irritated by the revelation, despite the fact the tryst was detailed in Prince Harry's memoir

Sasha Walpole, 40, (circled, with Harry in 2001) has come forward to admit that she was the 'older woman' who claimed the virginity of the Prince

The teenagers were frequent patrons of the local pub and bonded over a mutual love of horses, but were just friends until the evening in July 2001 when Sasha took the prince's virginity

Ms Walpole had known the prince since her days as a groom at the future King Charles' Gloucestershire estate in Highgrove.

Before the teenagers had their frisky encounter in the field outside one of their favourite pubs, the two were fast friends.

They were part of a large group who regularly socialised and were often invited to 'Club H', the princes's man cave at Highgrove.

Ms Walpole fondly recalls boozy nights, including games such as Spin the Bottle.

The first time the prince rang her on the white push-button landline phone wired into the wall at home, it was her mother Lyn who answered.

A younger Sasha Walpole dressed up for a Polo ball, around the time she was friends with the princes

Prince Harry married Meghan Markle and moved to California, a world away from Wiltshire where he had spent his teenage years

'Mum said, "Harry's on the phone". Afterwards she asked, "Was that HARRY?". I said, "Yes!" and I remember her saying, "Oh, how funny".'

Her close friendship with Harry was born of a common understanding: 'Everyone was equal in the world of horses.'

She added: 'Our group was a very mixed bunch of polo players, grooms, hunt staff and racing people, a cosmopolitan crowd.

'It didn't matter if you were a groom, a royal or a rider. There was no judgment.

'Harry didn't act like a prince, there wasn't any snobbery. Honestly, we were just two mates who talked horses.'

But their friendship came to an abrupt end when a quick cigarette break during the pub trip celebrating Ms Walpole's 19th birthday turned into a romp in a field - and they never spoke again.

Sasha Walpole is now happily married to husband Ian, a drift racer, and has two young daughters

'He started to kiss me,' she remembers. 'It was passionate, intense. We both knew. It went from a kiss on to the floor pretty quickly.

'It was instant, fiery, wham bam, between two friends. It was sparky because we shouldn't have been doing it.

'He wasn't "Prince Harry" to me, this was Harry, my friend, and the situation had got a little bit out of control. It felt naughty, I suppose, in the sense that it shouldn't be happening.

'We didn't set out to do it  it wasn't premeditated and I didn't know he was a virgin.

'There were no virgin vibes  he seemed to know what he was doing. It was quick, wild, exciting. We were both drunk. It wouldn't have happened if we weren't.'
China fired its top meteorologist on Sunday, as the fallout from the spy balloon saga continues, and efforts to recover the downed balloon were ongoing off the coast of South Carolina.

Joe Biden on Saturday ordered that F22 fighters shoot the balloon out of the sky, as soon as it passed the coast and headed out to sea.

Pentagon chiefs warned Biden against shooting it down over land, arguing that the debris could cause damage to property and risk lives.

On Sunday afternoon, footage shared on social media showed fragments of the balloon being brought ashore by officials. It will be taken to Quantico, Virginia for analysis.

Fragments of the balloon are seen being brought ashore on Sunday in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina

Zhuang Guotai, the head of the China Meteorological Administration, has been removed from his position, it emerged on Sunday. China insists the 'spy balloon' was nothing more than a weather balloon that blew off course

China reacted angrily on Sunday to the decision.

'For the U.S. to insist on using armed force is clearly an overreaction that seriously violates international practice,' the Chinese foreign ministry said in a statement.

Beijing threatened that it 'reserved the right to take further actions in response'.

The country continues to insist that the balloon was simply a weather-monitoring device, which was blown off course.

Zhuang Guotai, the head of the China Meteorological Administration, has been removed from his position, The Daily Telegraph reported on Sunday.

The balloon was struck by a missile from an F-22 fighter just off Myrtle Beach, fascinating sky-watchers across a populous area known as the Grand Strand for its miles of beaches that draw retirees and vacationers.

Boxes are seen being unloaded from a boat which participated in the search for the debris

The debris was spread across roughly seven miles and landed in 47 feet of water

The Chinese foreign ministry said it regretted that the balloon had mistakenly entered US airspace, claiming it was a civilian craft

The balloon is seen being shot out of the sky on Saturday afternoon

Crowds gathered in neighborhoods, hotel parking lots and beaches to watch the balloon hover, with some cheering just after it went down.

The festive mood belied the seriousness of the situation, with law enforcement around the county of 366,000 warning people not to touch any debris and to instead call dispatchers.

'Members of the US Military are coordinating to collect debris; however, fragments may make it to the coastline,' the Horry County Police Department said in a statement.

The debris was spread across roughly seven miles and landed in 47 feet of water - shallower than officials had expected.

The balloon entered the U.S. air defense zone north of the Aleutian Islands on January 28 and moved largely over land across Alaska and then into Canadian airspace in the Northwest Territories on Monday.

A helicopter is seen on Sunday scouring the seas for debris from the balloon

A ship is seen participating in the hunt for balloon debris

Officials said the first spy balloon that traveled across the US fell six miles off the coast of South Carolina in waters about 47 feet deep

It crossed back into U.S. territory over northern Idaho on Tuesday, the day the White House said Biden was first briefed on it.

Republicans have demanded to know why Biden didn't order the balloon be shot down sooner.

The Pentagon said it was too risky.

Mitch McConnell, the Senate Republican leader, said he did not believe the explanation.

'It defies belief to suggest there was nowhere' where the U.S. could have safely shot down the balloon, he said.

Chuck Schumer, the Democrat leader of the Senate, said the full Senate will get a briefing next week on the balloon, including details about its surveillance capabilities, and that the administration is considering measures against the Chinese for 'their brazen activities.'

He said Republican criticism was political and premature, and that the U.S. had 'sent a clear message to China that this is not acceptable.'

Antony Blinken, the Secretary of State, cancelled his planned trip to Beijing.

The trip would have made Blinken the highest-ranking official to visit China since Biden became president, and the first Secretary of State to visit in more than four years.

Beijing sought to downplay the cancellation, stressing that the visit had not been officially confirmed - a move seen as an attempt to save face, as Blinken was expected to meet with Xi Jinping, the Chinese president.

'In actuality, the U.S. and China have never announced any visit,' China's foreign ministry claimed.

'The U.S. making any such announcement is their own business, and we respect that.'
His KKK affiliations led the local school students to push for the change

A street that honored a leader of the Ku Klux Klan in New York has been renamed after a years-long campaign led by high school students.

The village board of Malverne, on Long Island, voted last year to rename Lindner Place, named after Paul Lindner (pictured), a banker who helped develop the village more than a century ago and also served as great titan of the New York State Klan

The village board of Malverne, on Long Island, voted last year to rename Lindner Place, which was named after Paul Lindner - a banker who helped develop the village more than a century ago and also served as great titan of the New York State Klan.

The change became official last week when Lindner Place became Acorn Way.

'The true meaning of justice is righting the wrongs that came before you,' Malverne High School sophomore Olivia Brown told WCBS.

Brown was part of a group of students who began researching Lindner in 2020 and learned he was a Klan leader.

While KKK and Confederate symbols are largely associated in the south, there have been movements to remove some scattered up north, including at New York's West Point Military Academy.

The unveiling was done by the village's Mayor, Keith Corbett, who climbed a latter to cut off and unwrap the yellow and pink covering to reveal the new name.

'We are a community where any child of any skin color, of any religion, of any ethnicity is given the tools in this school district and the tools in this village to ensure that they can truly achieve anything,' Corbett said.

Students pressed for the street name to be changed in school forums and with the village board, which voted to change the name in September 2022.

The name Acorn Way stems from the village of Malverne's official motto, which is 'Oaks from Acorns.'

The street, fittingly, is home to both the elementary school and a public library.

That elementary school was, in fact, formerly named Lindner Place School, before being renamed in 2011.

A former teacher at that school, Francine Stopfer, felt the new name made perfect sense.

'Acorns are the perfect example of something you plant and it blooms,' she said. 'That's what we hope that the children will expand upon.'

A street formerly named Lindner Place (pictured left) that honored a leader of the Ku Klux Klan in New York has the new name Acorn Way (pictured right) after a years-long campaign led by high school students

The village board of Malverne, on Long Island, voted last year to rename Lindner Place, named after Paul Lindner, a banker who helped develop the village more than a century ago and also served as great titan of the New York State Klan

The unveiling was done by the village's Mayor, Keith Corbett, who climbed a latter to cut off and unwrap the yellow and pink covering to reveal the new name

Malverne High School senior Jamila Smith told WCBS, 'This whole initiative showed me I do want to step up and be a leader.'

Lorna Lewis, Malverne's schools superintendent, told the Long Island Herald, 'I believe you've just witnessed the power of the Maverick public education and what our students can do when supported in their pursuit of civic engagement.'

Those opposed to the renaming wanted the Lindner name to be used as a teaching tool.

Many Americans associate the Ku Klux Klan with the South, but the group's rallies and cross burnings drew large crowds in New York in the 1920s.

The Klan of that era targeted Catholic and Jewish communities, as well as black people.
The price of eggs has risen so much over the past year that Americans are now resorting to smuggling them across the US-Mexico border.

A lingering bird flu outbreak, combined with soaring feed, fuel and labor costs, has led to US egg prices more than doubling over the past year, and hatched a lot of sticker shock on grocery aisles.

The national average price for a dozen eggs hit $4.25 in December, up from $1.78 a year earlier, according to the latest government data.

Customs data through January 17 shows that the number of eggs being seized has increased 91 percent at the El Paso, Texas field office, 301 percent in Laredo, Texas 333 percent in Tucson, Arizona and 368 percent in San Diego, California compared to the same period the previous year.

As egg prices rise in the US some Americans are attempting to save money by purchasing them in Mexico and bringing them back across the border

One dozen eggs cost $1.78 in December 2021 rising to a high of $4.25 in December 2022

Bringing eggs back into the US from Mexico is illegal and has led to a surge in the amount being confiscated at the border. Pictured the El Paso, Texas, Ciudad Juarez, Mexico border

Bringing eggs back into the US from Mexico is illegal and had led to a surge in the amount being confiscated at the southern border.

Most of the eggs being seized involve cartons of 30-eggs that travelers bought for their own personal use because of substantially lower prices in Mexican stores.

California, Texas and Arizonan residents living near the border often buy groceries in Mexican stores, but some agricultural products, including raw eggs, are not allowed to be imported into the US due to the risk of spreading Newcastle Disease and avian flu.

In the majority of cases, people are often unaware of such restrictions with eggs being seized from travelers who declared their purchase to inspectors.

Those who did so were not fined but there have been some instances where the eggs were undeclared and travelers were slapped with penalties.

The price for a dozen eggs has risen from $1.46 in January 2020 to $4.25 in December 2022

A lingering bird flu outbreak, combined with soaring feed, fuel and labor costs, has led to U.S. egg prices more than doubling over the past year, and hatched a lot of sticker shock in stores

The price of eggs in the US has been significantly higher in the past year, with prices in December being 60 percent more expensive than in 2021, according to the Labor Department's consumer price index.

The cost has gone up far more so than other foods such as chicken or turkey  because egg farmers were hit harder by bird flu and the subsequent destruction of hen flocks.

More than 43 million of the 58 million birds slaughtered over the past year to control the virus have been egg-laying chickens, including some farms with more than a million birds apiece in major egg-producing states like Iowa.

However, there has been some relief for consumers as the wholesale price of eggs has slightly decreased over the past month.

In some places, it can even be hard to find eggs on the shelves. But egg supplies overall are holding up because the total flock is only down about 5 percent from from its normal size of around 320 million hens.

Farmers have been working to replace their flocks as soon as they can after an outbreak.

Purdue University agricultural economist Jayson Lusk said he believes the bird flu outbreak is the biggest driver in the price increases. Unlike past years, the virus lingered throughout the summer and made a resurgence last fall infecting egg and poultry farms.

'Bird flu is not the only factor, but in my view it's the main driver of what we're experiencing at the moment,' Lusk said.

Egg shelves are seen with a note apologizing to customers for the price increase after the reduction in productivity brought on by poultry fatalities caused by various illnesses, in San Mateo, California, last week

But the president and CEO of the American Egg Board trade group, Emily Metz, said she believes all the cost increases farmers have faced in the past year were a bigger factor in the price increases than bird flu.

'When you're looking at fuel costs go up, and you're looking at feed costs go up as much as 60 percent, labor costs, packaging costs  all of that ... those are much much bigger factors than bird flu for sure,' Metz said.

Jada Thomson, a University of Arkansas agricultural economist, said there may be some relief coming in egg prices in the next couple months because egg farmers have been steadily replacing their flocks lost to bird flu last year and demand will ease a bit now that people are done with their holiday baking.

But she said bird flu remains a wildcard that could still drive prices higher if there are more sizeable outbreaks at egg farms.

Farmers are doing all they can to limit the spread, but the disease is easily spread by migrating wild birds and the virus can be picked up on clothing or vehicles.

'But there are some things that are just outside of our control,' Thompson said. 'You can't control nature sometimes.'
A young entrepreneur has given a simple explanation of how Australians are able to potentially save thousands of dollars from their tax bill every year.

Jayden Peters, 22, recently shared his 'real estate hack' to TikTok where it quickly went viral with more than a million views.

'This is something I've learned this year that they don't teach you in school... Living in a rental while paying for an investment property is the best decision real estate wise,' he said.

Jayden Peters recently took to TikTok to explain how negative gearing can knock thousands of dollars of an investors tax bill

He explained that by being savvy when choosing a home loan and when deciding how much an investment property is rented out for, the income could potentially cover mortgage repayments.

That being said, buyers do still need initial savings to cover the deposit, fees, rates, and any repairs needed.

'So firstly the people living in your property are paying your mortgage,' Mr Peters said.

'But not only that - and this is what they don't teach you - the interest you pay on an investment property you can claim back on tax, that alone is insane.'

'Over a 30 year loan for a normal mortgage... the interest ends up being more than the loan itself.'

'So say you get a $350,000 loan over 30 years your interest might be about $370,000... and you don't get back any on tax.'

'But if you get an investment property... your literally generating money at tax time and getting a free house out of it.'

There is one caveat, the Australian Taxation Office only allows a property owner to claim back the loss they make from an investment property.

The concept known as 'negative gearing' is 'an effective and legal strategy to maximise your tax deductions', according real estate advisors Sound Property.

They give the simplified example that: 'An investment property owner pays $30,000 a year in interest, but only earns $10,000 per year renting it out'.

'The remaining $20,000 can be deducted from their taxable income'.

If a property investor is savvy about their home loan rate and how much they charge in rent, the income could cover the mortgage - and if it doesn't there are potentially thousands of dollars in tax breaks available

The strategy is generally most effective when used over the long term.

The profit made when eventually selling the investment property could cover those initial losses - and hopefully exceed them - and the investor has gotten tax breaks along the way.

'The aim is to limit losses until it's time to sell  and negative gearing is a good way to do that,' explains property finance lecturer at Adelaide University Peter Koulizos.

'Negative gearing works if the money an investor makes from a property's capital growth is greater than the loss they make from the rental shortfall.'

'Allowing investors to deduct losses from their taxable income... a much larger proportion of the population can buy an investment property. This helps to increase the amount of rental housing available on the market.'
Nancy Pelosi was in a 'state of total nuclear meltdown' during the January 6th insurrection, Donald Trump's Defense Secretary Christopher Miller writes in his forthcoming memoir, saying the then-speaker of the House called him 'incoherent' and 'shrieking' about 'a rowdy band of MAGA supporters' who were 'taking selfies' throughout the Capitol.

Miller describes  in gripping detail  the afternoon Trump's supporters stormed the Capitol to stop the certification of the 2020 presidential election in his book Soldier Secretary, out Tuesday, and available for pre-order on Amazon and obtained by DailyMail.com.

He was heavily critical of the Congressional leadership at the time  both Pelosi and Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer but also of Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell.

He described the lawmakers as 'hyperventilating into the phone' as they demanded to know the status of troops coming to the Capitol.'

'At this point in time, I had been President Donald Trump's Acting Secretary of Defense for approximately two months,' he writes in the introduction to his book.

'I had known when I took the job that it was going to be wild. But I never could have imagined anything like thisgetting reamed out by a histrionic Nancy Pelosi and Mitch McConnell as they implored me to send troops to forcibly expel a rowdy band of MAGA supporters, infiltrated by a handful of provocateurs, who were traipsing through the halls of the Capitol, taking selfies, and generally making a mockery of the entire institution.'

Nancy Pelosi on January 6th, 2021, at a secure location after being evacuated from the Capitol, shown in footage released by the January 6th committee and taken by her daughter Alexandra

He writes in his more than 30 years in the Army: 'I had never seen anyonenot even the greenest, pimple-faced 19-year-old Army privatepanic like our nation's elder statesmen did on January 6 and in the months that followed.'

Miller also blasts the leadership for staying in power too long instead of training a new generation of leaders: 'Do I blame a bunch of geriatrics for acting like a bunch of geriatrics? Of course not. But do I judge them for it? You're damned right I do. Most of all, I resent that we are ruled by a bunch of geriatrics that ruthlessly and selfishly maintain their hold on power and refuse to develop the next generation of leader.'

Some of what Miller describes in his book is shown in footage shot by Pelosi's daughter Alexandra Pelosi for a documentary about her mom. She shows the Congressional leaders huddled in a secure location after the Capitol was breached.

Schumer had called then-Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy at 3 p.m., after the Senate chamber had been breached, to say there were still Senators hiding in their Capitol offices who needed to be evacuated.

Schumer and Pelosi called several officials that day to demand help, including Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam and acting Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen.

Miller also was on their call list.

'I'm going to call up the effing secretary of DoD,' Schumer said of Miller, while sitting next to Pelosi. They rang him at 3:44 p.m. on Schumer's flip phone, requesting a 'massive' response.

'Just pretend for a moment it was the Pentagon or the White House or some under entity that was under siege. They can logistically get there as you make the plan,' Pelosi told Miller, as shown in the documentary.

Pelosi ordered him to 'get troops to the Capitol now,' Miller recalled in his book, calling it ironic because of how she and Democrats blasted the use of National Guard troops to quiet the Black Lives Matter protests, which sprang up around the country after the murder of George Floyd.

'As soon as it was her a** on the line, Pelosi had been miraculously born again as a passionate, if less than altruistic, champion of law and order,' Miller writes in his 305-page memoir.

Pelosi's office was broken into by the rioters, who trashed it as they looked for her, shouting her name as they marched through it.

Trump's last Defense Secretary Christopher Miller charges Nancy Pelosi had a 'total nuclear meltdown' on January 6th

Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer in their security location on January 6th, with Schumer saying 'I'm gonna call up the effin' secretary of DoD (Defense)'

Miller, who was appointed by Donald Trump to oversee the Pentagon after the then-president fired his Defense Secretary Mark Esper, spares no one except Trump in his memoir, which is filled with blunt language, laced with obscenities, and critical of military industrial complex.

Much of it focuses on his 31 years in the military - including his service in Iraq and Afghanistan - but he also talks about his service in the Trump administration, both on the National Security Council and at the Pentagon.

His tenure on January 6th, 2021, garners a chapter in his book and a mention in the introduction. His role on the day was controversial and he had to defend how long it took the National Guard to help expel the MAGA supporters from the Capitol.

Under the law, D.C. National Guard reports to the secretary of Defense.

The forthcoming memoir of Trump's Defense Secretary Christopher Miller - 'Soldier Secretary' - is out Tuesday and available on Amazon for pre-order

As rioters stormed the Capitol that day, Pelosi and the rest of the congressional leadership were rushed to a security location near Capitol Hill, where they worked the phones to bring in back up for the overwhelmed D.C. national police.

Miller writes when he could finally get a word in, he told the Congressional leaders he had already ordered the 'complete mobilization of the District of Columbia National Guard and that forces were on their way to the Capitol as soon as they were properly equipped and synchronized with the Capitol Police.'

But, in his book, he accused the leaders of 'cowering like frightened children' for the world to see.

There are also some contradictions between what Miller writes about the day and the clips of his testimony released by the January 6th committee.

Miller writes that, on January 3rd, he met with Trump in the Oval Office when the president asked about preparations for January 6th.

Miller told him of Washington D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser's request for National Guard support.

He recounts their conversation:

'You're going to need 10,000 people,' President Trump said bluntly. I wasn't sure what to make of his prediction. Where did he get that number? I chalked it up to his fondness for hyperbole.

'Well, the Mayor only asked for 340,' I responded. 'But we're giving her everything she requests.'

'Good. Give her whatever she wants,' the President said. 'But you're going to need 10,000.'

But Miller, in his sworn testimony, said he never got such an order from Trump.

He told the panel that Trump never gave him a formal order to have 10,000 troops ready to be deployed, according to video of Miller's deposition released by the committee.

'I was never given any direction or order or knew of any plans of that nature,' Miller said in the video.

Miller later said in the video: 'There was no direct, there was no order from the President.'

'We obviously had plans for activating more folks, but that was not anything more than contingency planning,' Miller added. 'There was no official message traffic or anything of that nature.'

The January 6th committee shows video taped testimony from Christopher Miller at their June 23, 2022 hearing

Trump has previously said that he requested National Guard troops be ready for the day. The committee, in one of its public hearings, revealed Trump did not make calls to military personnel or law enforcement as the insurrection unfolded.

Miller testified he spoke to then-Vice President Mike Pence 'two or three times' that day.

And he writes in his memoir that Pence called him at 4:08 pm. He noted he was surprised Pence had stayed at the Capitol.

'I had no idea that he had stayed. Surprisingly, he was absolutely unfazed; it was as if he was calling from his office at the White House asking about a routine item. Pence asked how long I thought it would be until the Capitol would be safe enough for Congress to reconvene and continue the Electoral College certification process. I advised him that I had fully mobilized the National Guard and that troops would be arriving in about,' he said.

In his book, he writes about speaking to Trump in the leadup to January 6th but doesn't mention any conversations with the commander-in-chief that day.

He also writes that the attack on the Capitol was unexpected and unimagined.

Based on intelligence sharing between agencies, he and his team at the Pentagon expected 'that right-wing elements would converge on DC, demonstrate during the day, and then when it was dark disperse and street fight with their counterparts on the left.'

'We could scarcely have imagined what was to come,' he writes.

He also defends the amount of time it took to deploy the National Guard on the day of the insurrection, writing 'it can take hours to assemble soldiers, equip them correctly, conduct an abbreviated planning session, and brief everyone on their task, mission, purpose, limits, and rules of engagement.'

He said they first got the request for assistance at 3 p.m. on January 6th. The first rioters broke into the Capitol at 2:12 p.m.

He notes National Guard troops arrived at 5:20 p.m. and argued: 'the National Guard successfully deployed in 2 hours and 20 minutes. To my knowledge, it was the fastest National Guard response in American history.'

Christopher Miller writes in his memoir that January 6th was not an 'insurrection'

National Guard members crowd a subway car in the Senate basement on January 6th

Vice President Mike Pence spoke with Defense Secretary Christopher Miller on January 6th from his hiding place in the Capitol complex

Law enforcement officials were worried about protests on January 6th, the day Congress met to certify the electoral college count and Joe Biden's victory in the presidential election.

Trump supporters had applied and received a permit to stage a protest on the National Mall. They marched on the Capitol after attending a spech by Trump that morning on the Ellipse, the area just outside the White House.

Officials had met in the run-up to discuss what kind of security preparations were needed.

In congressional testimony to the House Oversight panel in May 2021, Miller said he was worried that sending troops to the Capitol ahead of January 6th would fuel conspiracy theories that Trump was plotting a military coup.

And, he feared a 'Kent State' type situation where military personnel fired on peaceful protesters during the Vietnam War.

He gave a similar defense in his memoir for not doing a large pre-deployment, pointing to stories in the media raising concerns Trump would try to use force to stay in power. He argued quotes from current and former defense officials calling on the military to listen to the constitution fed into the narrative and kept the story going.

He pointed out how all the former living secretaries of defense wrote an op-ed that he claimed 'launched a broadside at me and the Department, feigning concern that we would ignore our oaths of allegiance to the Constitution and become Trump's shock troops.'

The retired secretaries wrote of Miller and other military leaders on January 3rd in The Washington Post: 'They must also refrain from any political actions that undermine the results of the election or hinder the success of the new team.'

Miller also pointed to comments from Secretary of the Army Ryan McCarthy in the runup to January 6th, who said the military would stay out of politics.

He noted that in the wake of that interview he got a call from John McEntee, Trump's personal aide. The president was angry about the remarks and Miller recounts that McEntee told him 'call McCarthy and tell him to lay low. 'The President isn't going to impose the Insurrection Act,' he said. 'But to be clear, if he wanted to, he could.'

Miller said, given the media coverage of Trump's refusal to concede to Joe Biden and the role the military might play in the transition that 'I had no doubt in my mind that if I had pre-deployed military forces against the expressed wishes of the District of Columbia Mayor, I would have created a civil-military crisis not seen since the attack on Fort Sumter in 1860.'

Speaker Nancy Pelosi (with back to camer) along with Senate GOP leader Mitch McConnell and Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer making calls to officials on January 6th

Former Acting U.S. Defense Secretary Christopher Miller testifies remotely during a House Oversight and Reform Committee hearing titled 'The Capitol Insurrection: Unexplained Delays and Unanswered Questions' on May 12, 2021

In his book, Miller said January 6th was not an 'insurrection.'

'Yes, the riot at the Capitol on January 6 was stupid and criminal and an absolute disgrace,' he writes. 'But it was far from anything resembling an 'insurrection' or, as the Democrat slogan repeated ad nauseam suggests, an 'attack on our democracy.' The actual attack on democracy is what has been happening in the halls of the very same building for years or even decades, perpetrated by elected leaders of both parties.

He issued a call for new leadership for the country: 'But the absurd spectacle served a very specific purpose: to justify the ever increasing concentration of power in the hands of our corrupt and incompetent political elite. They may hold positions of leadership, but they are not really leaders. They may be entrusted with great responsibility, but they never take responsibility when it really counts. Our ruling class is incapable of ruling. And they should not be trusted with America's future.'
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has again struggled to address fears over the continuing confusion about the referendum on The Indigenous Voice to Parliament.

He claims those on the far left and far right are 'co-operating' to block the move to enshrine the Voice into the constitution with the backing of the Australian public.

The PM says the campaign is being hijacked by extremists creating distractions who are ignoring the calls of the majority of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has again struggled to address fears over the continuing confusion about the referendum on the Indigenous Voice to Parliament

And in a podcast with The Guardian's Katherine Murphy, he gave a rambling answer when challenged about its impact on Indigenous claims to sovereignty.

'This isn't about that,' he said. 'Not everyone is on the same page. This is not a radical proposition. And I said the other day, it's not a radical proposition.

'It's not surprising that some people who are on the radical positionary [sic], you know, you have also a range of positions being put forward, which also won't be advanced by this.

'This isn't going to mean power of veto - it won't have power of veto. It won't be a funding body, it won't run programs.

'It won't also mean that people's backyards is threatened.

'And so you will have people from opposite starting points, but they end up at the same point.'

Liberal Opposition leader Peter Dutton repeated his calls for more clarity ahead of the referendum vote

On Monday, Liberal Opposition leader Peter Dutton repeated his calls for more clarity ahead of the referendum vote on The Voice.

'I think it's really important for us to get to detail to understand what it is the government is proposing, so Australians can make an informed decision,' he said.

'I just don't think that is some sort of radical proposition or unreasonable or some violent departure from what's been the case in referenda right back to the formation of the constitution.

'Australians want detail on it.'

But Mr Albanese blamed power struggles within rival political parties for deliberately creating division over The Voice and distracting attention away from its main aim.

The National Party has said it will not support The Voice, while Greens Indigenous Senator Lidia Thorpe wants a government treaty with Indigenous people first.

'That isn't unusual in civil politics,' Mr Albanese said on the podcast.

'I think there are internal dynamics in the National Party, in the Liberal Party, and in the Green Party. In part, what we're seeing is their internal mechanisms playing out.

'I don't think that Lidia Thorpe's views are representative of a majority of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and I don't think they're representative of a majority of Greens voters.

Greens Indigenous Senator Lidia Thorpe wants a government treaty with Indigenous people before the Voice to Parliament

'All of these issues, people looking for - a distraction is probably the wrong word - but there are some people who, either when they are of a hard-right position or a hard-left position, come to the same conclusion.

'[They] are clearly co-operating on not providing support for what is being proposed overwhelmingly by, you can call it the mainstream, the overwhelming majority of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in the lead up to Uluru and ever since.'

He insisted the questions being raised over The Voice were being blown out of proportion and it was important not to overwhelm voters with too much detail.

Poll Do you understand the Indigenous Voice to Parliament? Yes No Do you understand the Indigenous Voice to Parliament? Yes 84 votes

No 1698 votes Now share your opinion





'This is one of the furphies out there - that somehow there's not enough information,' he said.

'And the danger of this is that people get overloaded with information. There's going to be an opportunity for that to occur.'

He laid out a timeline for the referendum, with a committee report on The Voice due in the next week after the resumption of Parliament on Monday.

A referendum working group and a constitutional advisory group of lawyers and former High Court Justices are also this week working on the referendum wording.

The PM vowed legislation, with the draft wording of the referendum question, will be brought in for this current sitting of Parliament before the end of March.

'There will [then] be a parliamentary inquiry in which people can make submissions to it, which will go for at least six weeks,' he said.

'And then during the budget sessions that begin in May and then June, you will have that debated and voted on and hopefully pass.

'The parliament will have a say and every parliamentarian will have a say and there will be a parliamentary process of a committee report leading up to that as well.'

Once the legislation passes Parliament, the referendum must then be held in a window beginning after at least two months and 33 days but before six months.

Anthony Albanese insisted the questions being raised over the Voice were being blown out of proportion and it was important not to overwhelm voters with too much detail

'[It will be] between September and December,' he told the podcast. 'There is this whole process.

'Of course, we have legal advice about the whole range of questions - and indeed, the wording that's put up isn't words that I sat down in a room and came up with.'

He said that despite the onslaught of criticism, he had yet to hear anyone suggest a better question for the referendum than the one currently being tabled.

'What's interesting is that I put forward the draft wording in July of last year at the Garma Festival,' he said. 'That's what people are actually going to vote on.

'I haven't had any member of parliament yet come up with a single change of any word that's been put forward.

'I have faith that the Australian people when they go into a ballot box will vote yes.'
It had been floating in the country's airspace for a week

Chinese spy balloon was shot down in the US on Saturday

China may have already sent a 'spy' balloon over Australia similar to the one that was shot down off the US east coast, or could send one in the near future, a top member of the Senate intelligence committee has said.

Tensions between the US and China hit a new low at the weekend as President Joe Biden ordered an F-22 Raptor jet to shoot down the balloon that had drifted over the United States for the past week - including over sensitive military sites.

It is unclear whether China has sent similar surveillance devices over Australia, however, one US official told Reuters the spy balloons have been spotted above five different continents.

A suspected Chinese spy balloon has been spotted floating over the United States for more than a week

An F-22 Raptor shot down the balloon using a missile off the coast of South Carolina on Saturday

'Over the past several years, Chinese balloons have previously been spotted over countries across five continents, including in East Asia, South Asia and Europe,' the official said.

Federal Liberal senator James Paterson, who previously chaired the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security, said the Chinese balloon entering US airspace could have been a complete accident.

'The Chinese are on a charm offensive and looking to reduce points of friction in their relationship both with the US and Australia,' he told The Daily Telegraph.

'It could very well have been a mistake as the Chinese military has fearsome capabilities but is not that competent, they haven't fought a war in decades.'

However, Senator Paterson also said there was a possibility that Beijing had already floated a balloon or a similar spy device in Australian airspace, or could do so in the near future.

He added that the reason the public was aware of the balloon was because the media had 'picked it up', which forced the government to publicly acknowledge its existence.

Daily Mail Australia approached the office of Defence Minister Richard Marles with written questions about whether such balloons have been detected in or near Australia, but did not receive a response.

Liberal senator James Paterson, who chaired the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security, claims the Chinese balloon entering US airspace could have been a mistake

Senator Paterson said there was a possibility that Beijing had already floated a balloon or a similar spy device in Australian airspace, or could do so in the near future (pictured, Australian gunners fire an artillery gun during an army firepower demonstration)

China slammed the US for shooting down the balloon, with officials saying it was only being used 'for scientific research' (pictured, high altitude balloon floats over Billings, Montana)

The appearance of the balloon has resulted in the US government postponing secretary of state Anthony Blinken's planned visit to Beijing.

China has condemned the US for shooting the balloon, saying it was an 'overreaction' from the government.

Chinese officials claimed the device was being used 'for scientific research such as meteorology' only.

'China had clearly asked the U.S. to handle this properly in a calm, professional and restrained manner,' the country's foreign ministry said in a statement.

'The U.S. had insisted on using force, obviously overreacting.'
Cross-Channel arrivals on small boats should be denied any asylum rights, Grant Shapps said yesterday.

The Business Secretary said that anyone arriving in Britain via an illegal route shouldnt get rights.

Asked if that included banning people from appealing against deportation, he said: You shouldnt get rights if you consent and you come here through illegal routes.

What we must have is a situation where people can come here legally and claim asylum, but not illegally.

It came amid reports Rishi Sunak is prepared to take Britain out of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) if judges in Strasbourg try to frustrate his plans to toughen up UK asylum rules.

Business Secretary Grant Shapps said that anyone arriving in Britain via an illegal route shouldnt get rights

The Sunday Times reported the Prime Minister is taking the robust stance after being warned that 65,000 illegal migrants are expected to come to the country this year.

This would be a near 50 per cent surge on last year, according to official estimates, when 45,000 claimed asylum. Many of them did so after crossing the Channel in small boats.

Mr Sunak and Home Secretary Suella Braverman are finalising plans for new immigration legislation which is expected to be the most draconian yet.

It will be unveiled within weeks and officials say it will take Britain to the boundaries of what is legally possible within international law.

But senior officials say the Prime Minister is open to taking Britain out of the ECHR if judges at the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg rule that the new plans are unlawful.

One Government source told the Daily Mail: Solving this problem will not be quick or easy, but it is the right thing to do  which is why we will stop the exploitation of our system and break the business model of people smugglers putting lives at risk for profit.

A source familiar with Mr Sunaks thinking told The Sunday Times: This Bill will go as far as possible within international law.

We are pushing the boundaries of what is legally possible, while staying within the ECHR. And we are confident that when it is tested in the courts, we will win.

The Sunday Times reported the Prime Minister is taking the robust stance after being warned that 65,000 illegal migrants are expected to come to the country this year

One Government source told the Daily Mail that they will 'stop the exploitation of our system and break the business model of people smugglers putting lives at risk for profit'

But if this legislation is found to be lawful by our domestic courts, but its still held up in Strasbourg, then we know the problem is not our legislation or our courts.

Mr Shapps said that the UK was incredibly open to genuine refugees.

But speaking to Sky News, he added: What we cant have is boats arriving here with illegal gangs and gang masters people-trafficking people here, and be impotent in return.

Any attempt to pull Britain out of the ECHR would be fiercely opposed by a majority of MPs and peers and is highly unlikely to happen before the next election due in 2024.

But Mr Sunak could decide to make it a key pledge in the next Conservative manifesto to draw a clear dividing line with Labour.

The new legislation will also rewrite modern slavery laws to stop arrivals exploiting the system, with many suspected of spuriously claiming to be victims to prevent being deported.

The Government has already won a High Court ruling that the Rwanda programme is legal, which campaigners are trying to overturn in the Court of Appeal.

No 10 is expecting the European court to rule on the Rwanda plan by the end of this year and the new immigration Bill in early 2024.
The company behind Britain's best-selling vape  used illegally by tens of thousands of children  last night admitted 'inadvertently' breaking the law after a Mail investigation found its products far exceed maximum nicotine levels.

Chinese vaping giant Elf Bar 'wholeheartedly apologised' after independent lab tests by the Mail found its '600' line of e-cigarettes were at least 50 per cent over the legal limit for nicotine e-liquid.

Experts described the findings as 'deeply disturbing' and warned of a risk to young people illegally using the vapes, which are sold by major supermarkets.

After the Mail shared the results of the investigation, Tesco removed some Elf Bar 600s from its stores and Morrisons also launched a probe into the product.

The brand, which only launched in 2021, sells 2.5million Elf Bars 600s in the UK every week, accounting for two in three of all disposable vapes. The devices cost 5.99 each.

Chinese vaping giant Elf Bar 'wholeheartedly apologised' after independent lab tests by the Mail found its '600' line of e-cigarettes were at least 50 per cent over the legal limit for nicotine e-liquid (pictured: Daily Mail reporter Claire Duffin purchased vape bars at Tesco's in Derbyshire)

Experts described the findings as 'deeply disturbing' and warned of a risk to young people illegally using the vapes, which are sold by major supermarkets

With bright packaging and sweet flavours including cola and cotton candy ice, the devices have become popular with children.

More than half of the 11 to 17-year-olds who admitted trying vaping said they used an Elf Bar, around 100,000 young people, anti-smoking group Ash found last year.

The amount of nicotine liquid in a vape is legally limited in the UK to 2ml, of which the maximum nicotine strength should be 2 per cent.

Trading Standards warned this strict 2ml limit must not be exceeded without exception.

The Tobacco and Related Products Regulations 2016 says the limit was brought in to create 'an environment that protects children from starting to use these products'.

But tests commissioned by the Mail on three flavours of the China-made Elf Bar 600s, bought at Sainsbury's, Tesco and Morrisons branches in London, Derby and Sheffield, found they contained between 3ml and 3.2ml of nicotine levels.

Two other major vape brands tested at the same time were found to have legal levels.

Andrew Bush, professor of paediatrics at Imperial College London, said the findings were 'absolutely shocking', adding: 'This is incredibly worrying. It is terrible people don't know what they are taking. There needs to be urgent action taken against these vapes.'

Mark Oates, director of consumer advocacy group We Vape, said: 'The Mail's findings on Elf Bars are deeply worrying and it is clear there have been failings on multiple levels.

'Not only are the levels of e-liquid too high but checks to make sure these guidelines are adhered to either haven't occurred or are insufficient. Anyone supplying vapes in the UK market should be following the legislation.

'It is incredibly frustrating when major players in this sector appear to behave in a way that damages the reputation of something as beneficial as vaping and we expect the matter to be fully investigated by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency(MHRA).'

After the Mail shared the results of the investigation, Tesco removed some Elf Bar 600s from its stores and Morrisons also launched a probe into the product

The Mail alerted the MHRA to the findings. Elf Bar initially cast doubt on the Mail's test process and suggested the products may have been fakes.

But a spokesman later confirmed: 'We found out that some batches of the Elf Bar product have been overfilled in the UK.

'It appears that e-liquid tank sizes, which are standard in other markets [such as the US], have been inadvertently fitted to some of our UK products. We wholeheartedly apologise for the inconvenience this has caused.'

It added it would alert retailers and review its production process. Elf Bar insisted the 'highly regrettable situation' did not compromise the product's safety.

Public Health England supports vaping as the most effective way to quit smoking and says it is 95 per cent safer than cigarettes.

It is illegal for under-18s to buy vapes, but 7 per cent of 11-17-year-olds now do so regularly, up from 4 per cent in 2020.

The number of children who have tried vaping at least once has increased from 14 to 16 per cent.

Half of teachers have caught a pupil vaping in school in the last year, and one in five teachers have found a pupil as young as 11 with a vape, a survey of 3,000 teachers by Schools Week found.

Vape manufacturers must register details of new products including nicotine liquid level and strength  with the MHRA before they can be sold in the UK.

But this is a self-certification and the MHRA does not carry out any tests on the product during this registration.

A Department of Health and Social Care spokesman said: 'Local enforcement agencies are responsible for enforcing these regulations and taking action against non-compliant products including products that do not comply with the 2ml limits.'

A spokesman for Morrisons said: 'We are taking this very seriously and confirm we're working closely with Elf Bar and Trading Standards to investigate this further.'

Tesco added: 'We have temporarily removed one Elf Bar vape line from sale... whilst the manufacturer urgently investigates these claims.'
New York City Mayor Eric Adams spent the coldest night of the year at a migrant shelter in an attempt to prove the facilities are good enough for those who have refused to move there.

Adams, 62, has been trying to convince the migrants to shift to the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal after they've been locked out of various Big Apple hotels, with many activists saying the move is not an adequate fix.

The facility is meant for about 1,000 single male migrants, who have been ferried across the city from a tent shelter on Randall's Island to various hotels, will head to the terminal starting Monday morning from the Watson Hotel in Midtown.

It came as the temperature hit a low of 12 degrees in Brooklyn Saturday night, with temperatures having dipped into the single digits earlier that day.

The mayor tweeted: 'Spent the coldest night of the year at Brooklyn Cruise Terminal with 'Homeless Hero' and advocate Shams DaBaron & @AMEddieGibbs. Our brothers are being kept warm and the team working here is giving new meaning to the words 'love thy neighbor.

New York City Mayor Eric Adams spent the coldest night of the year in New York City at a migrant shelter in an attempt to prove the facilities are good enough for those who have refused to move there

The Democrat - who has bragged of himself as the 'Biden of Brooklyn' despite criticizing the president's inaction on the immigration crisis - posted photos of himself sleeping, dining and playing video games with migrants.

With rumors that he's plotting out an eventual presidential run, Adams wanted to show how welcoming the facility could be.

'What we saw is what we have seen since the beginning of this crisis, individuals who are grateful to the greatest city in the world for providing them the opportunity to work toward the American Dream,' he said.

'I'd like to be clear that the facilities at the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal are providing the same services to asylum seekers as every other humanitarian relief center in the city, and the team at the terminal is giving new meaning to the words 'love thy neighbor.'

A week ago, DailyMail.com cameras saw only a small number of the migrants choose to get on the buses, with three departing the hotel carrying a total of about 15-20 people.

That hotel is planning to then replace the single male migrants with families that are currently lodging at The Row in Hell's Kitchen.

This will not be a permanent home, as the city has promised to close the facility in time for cruise season to begin in spring.

In New York City, a code blue alert issued by the mayor earlier that day meant nobody would be denied shelter at the city's facilities.

The Democrat - who has bragged of himself as the 'Biden of Brooklyn' despite criticizing the president's inaction on the immigration crisis - posted photos of himself sleeping, dining and playing video games with migrants

Adams, 62, has been trying to convince the migrants to shift to the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal after they've been locked out of various Big Apple hotels, with many activists saying the move is not an adequate fix

The visit came as the temperature hit a low of 12 degrees in Brooklyn Saturday night, with temperatures having dipped into the single digits earlier that day. A fountain in Manhattan's Bryant Park (pictured) froze over

With rumors that he's plotting out an eventual presidential run, Adams wanted to show how welcoming the facility could be

A view from the surroundings of Watson Hotel in Manhattan. New York City started moving asylum seekers out of their shelter, the Watson Hotel in Manhattan while many asylum seekers are refusing transfers from the hotel to the ferry terminal at Red Hook

Temperatures in the Big Apple were as low as five degrees on Saturday morning after a mild winter.

Adams has been bullish on asking for federal help, which included a rally outside City Hall Sunday.

Washington has approved $800million in spending to aid the crisis but it will go to various cities across the country.

Even if it were all going to New York, the city will still spend more money on its own to help the migrants, according to ABC7.

However, Adams bragged Sunday that the migrants will live in better conditions than in other cities.

'People are sleeping on the streets in El Paso,' Adams said at the rally. 'There sleeping in airports. I spoke to my colleague in Chicago, people are sleeping in the basement of libraries. No family is sleeping on our streets.'

Mayor Eric Adams announced that the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal will open Monday and house about 1,000 single adult male migrants

Adams has been bullish on asking for federal help, which included a rally outside City Hall Sunday

The migrants, who have been ferried across the city from a tent shelter on Randall's Island to various hotels, will head to the terminal starting Monday morning from the Watson Hotel in Midtown

DailyMail.com cameras captured some migrants being pressured to get on buses to Red Hook Sunday night

These immigrants were staying at The Watson Hotel. Now they are not being allowed back

A NYPD officer looks on as migrant boards bus to RedHook. Immigrants are being pressured to board buses to Red Hook, where its said the living conditions are bad

He added that there are no plans for the city to stop taking in migrants but that they will need extra preparation if the Supreme Court lets Title 42 - the pandemic rule making it harder to seek asylum in the US - expire.

Activists are not happy with the constant moves, saying that it's not an adequate fix.

'Now they're going to be moved to a building that was not designed for living, that the city is gonna have to prepare for people to sleep in, and only for a short period of time,' Josh Goldfein of the Legal Aid Society said.

'We're gonna invest a lot of resources to get this building ready only to dismantle it again, I guess when cruise ships start coming in again.'

The location is also isolated and far away from accessing medical care and opportunities to work.

An employee of the mayor's office speaks with a police officer as they try to get the migrants to bus to Red Hook

Immigrants and activists have said the conditions at the terminal are inhumane

A police officer speaks to some of the migrants who have boarded the bus for the terminal

Only a small number of the migrants chose to get on the buses, with three departing the hotel carrying a total of about 15-20 people

Activists are not happy with the constant moves, saying that it's not an adequate fix

The location is isolated and far away from accessing medical care and opportunities to work

A New York City bus departs for the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal Sunday night

Mayor Eric Adams announced that the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal would open Monday and house about 1,000 single adult male migrants (picture provided by one of the immigrants)

This will not be a permanent home, as the city has promised to close the facility in time for cruise season to begin in spring (picture provided by one of the immigrants)

'The city has tens of thousands of New Yorkers in shelter currently who were there before the migrants started coming who could move out if they had some assistance,' Goldfein added.

Despite his proclamations, Adams previously made headlines for saying 'there is no more room' after previously stating the city would always welcome migrants.

Buses of migrants have been arriving in NYC since fall when Republican governors, primarily Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, began sending asylum seekers from the border to largely Democratic-leaning cities.
Chinese spy balloons traveled across the continental United States during the Trump administration, according to a senior administration official, but the details were only uncovered after Trump had left office.

The balloons briefly traveled over mainland US at least three times during Trump's term with a further two spotted over U.S. territories in the Pacific, but they were never shot down nor publicly disclosed, it's claimed.

Trump, together with several of his national security and defense officials have rejected the claim, saying that it 'never happened.'

In total, there were five balloons spotted during Trump's term. At least one flew over portions of Texas, two flew over Florida during the Trump administration with additional sightings near the Pacific Islands of Hawaii and Guam.

Trump compared the most recent incident and ensuing diplomatic crisis to the chaotic Afghanistan withdrawal that his successor, President Joe Biden, presided over in August 2021.

The Department of Defense reported that three Chinese spy balloons entered US airspace during the Trump administration. Trump (left) has chastised Joe Biden (right) for not immediately shooting the balloon down when he first learned about it last week

In total, there were five balloons spotted during Trump's term. At least one flew over portions of Texas, two flew over Florida during the Trump administration with additional sightings near the Pacific Islands of Hawaii and Guam. Three have been seen during Biden's presidency including near Hawaii, the one that was shot down this weekend and another over South America

Trump, together with several of his national security and defense officials rejected the claim that several balloons from China flew into the U.S. while he was in office

'The Chinese Balloon situation is a disgrace, just like the Afghanistan horror show, and everything else surrounding the grossly incompetent Biden Administration,' the former president wrote on his app Truth Social.

'They are only good at cheating in elections, and disinformation  and now they are putting out that a Balloon was put up by China during the Trump Administration, in order to take the 'heat' off the slow moving Biden fools.

'China had too much respect for 'TRUMP' for this to have happened, and it NEVER did. JUST FAKE DISINFORMATION!'

On Sunday, a defense official explained how US intelligence and not the Biden administration, made the assessment that such balloons had cross into the country.

'The information was discovered after the [Trump] administration left,' the official told Fox News.

The routes of two Chinese spy balloons menacing the West in recent days

'These balloons are all part of a Chinese fleet of balloons developed to conduct surveillance operations, which have also violated the sovereignty of other countries,' the official explained, 'often undertaken at the direction of the People's Liberation Army,' the armed wing of the Chinese Communist Party.

According to the official, Chinese balloons have been spotted over several countries across five continents, including Asia, South Asia, and Europe.

One is currently over South America and a third balloon is believed to be lingering near US interests, but officials won't say where it is. Another balloon from China came down near Hawaii four months ago.

The official also explained how the balloons went undetected at the time.

An F-22 Raptor fighter jet fired a single AIM-9X missile to take down a Chinese spy balloon and its payload, which was equipped with cameras, sensors and radars

'Two things can be true at once: this happened, and it wasn't detected,' they said noting that the others did not fly for as long as the one that recently flew across the country.

Multiple Trump officials aside from the former president have disputed the Pentagon's assessment and relevant media reports.

'It's not true,' former Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe flatly told Fox News on Sunday morning.

'Do you remember during the Trump administration, when photographers on the ground and commercial airline pilots were talking about a spy balloon over the United States that people could look up and see?'

He added, 'I don't remember that either. Because it didn't happen.'

The ex-intelligence official called the balloon that was recently popped 'unprecedented.'

'We have never had a circumstance where an adversary has had spy craft over our country our continental United States posing a threat for the better part of a week straight,' Ratcliffe said.

A Chinese spy balloon entered US airspace this week, but senior defense official is now saying Chinese spy balloons previously entered US airspace three times during Trumps presidency

The remnants of a large balloon drift above the Atlantic Ocean, just off the coast of South Carolina, with a fighter jet and its contrail seen below it on Saturday

Richard Grenell, Trump's former ambassador to Germany, accused the Pentagon of hiding behind anonymous sources.

'Biden's DoD is shamelessly using an anonymous source to say that Chinese balloons flew over the US under Trump - and the Trump team allowed it. It is a lie. We never heard this - ever,' Grenell wrote on Twitter.

'And shame on the DC media activists who continue to allow the Biden team to be so weak by giving them aid & comfort in their lies and weakness.'

GOP Rep. Mike Waltz of Florida, a military veteran and a close ally of Trump's in Congress, also suggested that the former president's officials had no idea of any such 'spy balloons' under their tenures.

'The Office of the Secretary of Defense has informed my office that several Chinese balloon incidents have happened in the past few years - including over [Florida],' Waltz stated on Twitter.

'And according to several Trump Admin national security officials - they were never informed of these intrusions by the Pentagon.'

The revelation startled Mark Esper, the former Secretary of Defense, and comes as Trump and other Republicans claimed he would have shot down the balloon while calling on Joe Biden to resign over the stalled attack on the craft.

One such Republican was US Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, who tweeted on Saturday: 'I just spoke with our GREAT America First President Trump. He would have never allowed China to fly a spy balloon over our country and our military bases and assets.

'Pres Trump would have shot it down before it entered the US.'

US Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene was among the Republicans claiming Trump would have shot down the balloon if he was president

Esper told CNN that he was 'surprised' by the Pentagon's statement, saying he was never told about Chinese surveillance balloons entering the US when he served between July 2019 to November 2020.

'I don't ever recall somebody coming into my office or reading anything that the Chinese had a surveillance balloon above the United States,' Esper said, adding that 'I would remember that for sure.'

Biden first became aware of the balloon on January 28, when it was spotted over Alaska. The US military tracked it over Canadian airspace and as it re-entered US territory on Tuesday.

Fearing the debris could hit 'sensitive' areas as it traveled across the country, officials warned the president not to shoot it down until it was flying over the ocean.

US officials confirmed that an F-22 Raptor fighter jet took down the balloon with a single AIM-9X sidewinder missile at 2.38pm on Saturday, off the coast of Myrtle beach.

The delayed response, however, drew ire from GOP officials, blasting Biden for not immediately going through with the order to take down the balloon.

US Rep. Joe Wilson and Sen. Josh Hawley condemned the Biden administration over the balloon incident, with Wilson calling on the president to resign

US. Rep. Joe Wilson, of South Carolina, said both Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris should resign because of the fiasco.

'The catastrophic Chinese Spy Balloon spectacle clearly threatened American families from Alaska to my home community in South Carolina and confirms President Biden and Vice President Harris should resign,' Wilson said in a tweet.

'It is irrelevant for American families which party is in power because the first criteria of a leader should be their capability regardless of party, and sadly Biden and Harris are failures,' he added.

US Sen. Josh Hawley had called for a hearing against Biden on the 'major domestic security threat.'

He tweeted: 'The Homeland Security Committee needs to have public hearings NOW on the Chinese spy balloon - how did Biden let this happen.'

Other GOP officials weighed in on the issue and warned that waiting to shoot down a Chinese spy balloon only showed weakness

Sen. Tim Scott echoed his colleagues' outrage, saying that allowing a balloon from the CCP to fly over America 'is the embodiment of weak leadership.'

'Weakness tempts aggressors. Strength stops them,' he tweeted.

Sen. Marsha Blackburn also questioned the decision to shoot down the balloon only after it was made public.

'It makes you wonder, would Biden's Department of Defense have shot it down if the American people hadn't found out,' she tweeted.

Mike Pence, Trump's former vice president, tweeted, 'Shoot down the Chinese spy balloon,' as he then called on US Secretary of State Antony Blinken to condemn the surveillance incident at his now-canceled meeting in Beijing.

The GOP officials have not publicly commented on the revelation that such balloons were encountered during the Trump administration.
Arming Ukraine is the only path to peace, Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said yesterday, as Kyiv stepped up calls for the West to send warplanes.

Writing in a Maltese newspaper ahead of a visit to the island, Mr Cleverly said: Like all authoritarian rulers, Putin responds only to strength in his opponents. Giving Ukrainians the tools they need to finish the job is the swiftest  indeed the only  path to peace.

It came as Ukraines defence minister expressed confidence that Western allies will agree to Kyivs request for fighter jets. Oleksii Reznikov said Ukraine had already had everything from its wish list to Santa, bar jets. There will be planes, too, Mr Reznikov predicted.

So far, Ukraine has won support from Baltic nations and Poland in its quest to obtain Western jets. But several Western leaders fear that providing them could draw their countries deeper into the conflict.

Since the war began, some heads of state initially balked at some of Kyivs requests, such as for longer-range missiles and tanks, only to agree later.

Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said: Like all authoritarian rulers, Putin responds only to strength in his opponents'

Kyiv says jets are essential to challenging Russias air superiority and ensuring success in an expected Russian spring offensive that Mr Reznikov predicted could begin around the wars one-year anniversary, February 24.

Not all western weapons will arrive by then, but we have the resources and reserves to help stabilise and sustain the offensive, Mr Reznikov told reporters.

The Kremlin has said western countries supply of increasingly sophisticated and more weapons will only prolong the conflict, and it has characterised Nato as a direct participant.

Mr Reznikov, commenting on the supply of western weapons and the state of the Ukrainian army, took the rhetoric further, telling reporters: I absolutely boldly claim that we have become a de facto Nato country. We only have a de jure part left.

The defence minister also pledged not to use longer-range weapons pledged by the US to hit Russian territory, saying they would only target Russian forces in occupied Ukrainian territory.

Ukraine has applied to join Nato, as have two of Russias other neighbours, Finland and Sweden.

On the battlefield, Kharkiv regional governor Oleh Syniehubov said four people were injured yesterday[SUN] when a Russian S-300 missile fell near an apartment block in Kharkiv city, and another was hurt when a missile hit a university building.

Meanwhile, heavy fighting continued in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine, one of four regions that Russia illegally annexed last year even though its forces do not fully control the area.
The number of Albanians removed from the UK against their will has collapsed despite soaring numbers crossing the Channel to reach Britain.

Just 888 faced 'enforced return' to their homeland in the year to last June, down from a peak of 1,594 in the 12 months to June 2018.

Analysis of Home Office data shows the number started to fall in early 2019 under Sajid Javid's watch at the Home Office. They fell even further during Covid and have failed to fully recover.

Separate data shows the number of Albanians granted bail from immigration detention centres has soared in the last few months as the Home Office was unable to deport them.

There were 2,438 Albanians bailed between July and September, up from just 505 in the same period in 2021.

Home Office data shows the number of Albanians removed from the UK began falling in 2019

More broadly, enforced removals for all nationalities have also dropped. There were just 3,250 in the year to June, down from more than 20,000 a year in the mid-2000s.

In December, Rishi Sunak announced plans to deport 'thousands' of Albanians within months. Home Secretary Suella Braverman and her predecessors have previously said human rights and modern slavery claims are frustrating deportation attempts.

In a further troubling development, the number of the most serious foreign criminals deported has halved. In the year to June, 1,466 foreign offenders classed as 'highest harm' or 'high harm', including those who committed the worst sexual and violent crimes, faced enforced removal.

The number fell from 3,116 the previous year and was down from a peak of more than 7,300 in 2013.

In 2022, there were 13,000 Albanian arrivals by small boat, a third of Channel migrants from northern France.

A Home Office spokesman said: 'We are working with the Albanian government to remove those making dangerous and illegal journeys here.'
On of Australia's biggest and most prominent Buddhist temples are been gutting by a 'suspicious' fire, leaving the local community devastated and hundreds of people without their ancestors' ashes.

Fire crews were called to the Bright Moon Buddhist Temple in Springvale South, in Melbourne, about 8pm on Sunday as large flames engulfed the building.

A Buddhist temple in Melbourne's southeast has been gutted by fire leaving

It took about 80 firefighters more than two hours to control the blaze.

About 30 residents in the surrounding area had to be evacuated, while others were told to close doors and windows and turn off heating and cooling systems.

No one was injured in the blaze, Fire Rescue Victoria confirmed.

Crews were called to the Bright Moon Buddhist Temple in Springvale South, Melbourne, about 8pm on Sunday as large flames engulfed the building

Community members are seen crying outside the scene of the fire at the Bright Moon Buddhist Temple. The ashes of many residents' loved ones were inside

The Bright Moon Buddhist Society Temple in the south-eastern Melbourne suburb of Springvale South has been engulfed by fire

Residents look on at the temple that was engulfed in flames on Sunday evening

Firefighters were continuing to put out spot fires on Monday morning, Assistant Chief Fire Officer Paul Foster said.

'This was an extensive fire, very rapidly developing and quite spectacular to look at,' he told ABC News Breakfast on Monday morning. 'It was seen for many kilometres around.'

It was still too early to determine the cause of the blaze, Mr Foster said.

It's understood up to 1000 members of the Springvale Buddhist community had their loved ones' ashes kept inside the temple.

It took about 80 firefighters more than two hours to control the blaze while nobody was injured (pictured is burnt wreckage of the temple)

It's understood up to 1000 members of the Springvale Buddhist community had their loved ones' ashes kept inside the temple

Resident Jenny Tang, who had her father's ashes at the site, said she was devastated.

'I was really in shock and never thought it would happen,' she told 3AW on Monday morning.

'It's a sanctuary. It's a place where I can go and chat to my dad because I lost him suddenly. It was also a place of worship. It means a lot to us.'

It's still unsafe to enter to building so Ms Tang was unsure whether her father's ashes could be salvaged.

Fire Rescue Victoria will work with the local Buddhist community as they investigate the fire.

'There's a very culturally sensitive operation we've conducted here,' Mr Foster said.

Firefighters are seen at the temple on Monday after it caught alight on Sunday evening

'Not only is it a place of worship, it's a place of gathering for the local Buddhist community.'

Home Affairs Minister Clare O'Neil, the federal member for the Springvale region, said the community's devastation was palpable.

'This temple was like a second home for so many, built up by contributions from local volunteers and worshippers over decades into something beautiful,' she tweeted on Monday.

'This is a devastating time for the Buddhist community in Melbourne. I know that, together, we can rally to support them in a time of real need.'
Embattled former television star Andrew O'Keefe has had a raft of assault charges withdrawn after the woman police accused him of choking left the country.

Andrew O'Keefe, 51, was due to fight allegations of assault and intentionally choking a woman without consent in the Downing Centre Local Court on Monday.

However, police prosecutor Michael Cleaver told the court the complainant was no longer in the country.

'They are not in the jurisdiction and our capacity to have the witness appear has been unsuccessful,' Sergeant Cleaver said.

The court was told the woman returned to her home country.

Andrew O'Keefe is facing court on Monday over a series of domestic violence, drug possession and resisting arrest charges. Above, during a previous appearance

OKeefe still faces a separate hearing on unrelated domestic violence, drug possession and resisting arrest charges.

The former host of the popular game show The Chase Australia was initially accused by police of grabbing a 38-year-old woman by the throat on January 25 last year.

Police alleged he then pushed her to the ground and punched her. Mr OKeefe maintains he acted in self defence.

The pair allegedly met previously when the woman was a sex worker whom Mr OKeefe had employed for her services before they developed a friendship.

Police alleged they started arguing after he called in a debt for $20,000 and the woman asked for more money to further a business she planned to start.

Sergeant Cleaver withdrew six charges relating to the incident, including two counts of intentionally choking a person without consent, three counts of common assault and one count of assault occasioning actual bodily harm.

OKeefe pleaded guilty to one count of contravening an apprehended violence order.

The hearing is still set to go ahead, with the former TV star to fight one charge of resisting a police officer on duty, a drug possession charge and domestic violence charges relating to a different woman.

Andrew O'Keefe was one of Channel Seven's biggest stars before he was dumped by the network in 2021

The former TV presenter spent almost five months in custody on remand after he was charged with the offences.

He was granted strict bail by the NSW Supreme Court in May 2022 to reside at a long-term residential rehabilitation facility in Port Stephens.

He has faced a different kind of spotlight since the assault allegations came to light after a long career as a TV presenter on Channel 7.

Mr OKeefe appeared as the face of many programs for the broadcaster, from Deal or No Deal to Weekend Sunrise.

He served on the National Council for the Prevention of Violence Against Women and founded the well-known White Ribbon Australia organisation dedicated to the cause.

In 2017, he was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia for his charity work and accomplishments in television.
Stella Berry, 16, was with friends on the banks of the Swan River in North Fremantle, Perth, on Saturday when she was fatally attacked by a shark

Experts have revealed the common misconceptions about sharks Aussies need to watch out for, as a teen girl's mauling while swimming with dolphins sends shockwaves around the country.

Stella Berry, 16, was with friends on the banks of the Swan River in North Fremantle, Perth, on Saturday when she saw a pod of dolphins and jumped in the water about 3.30pm.

She was bitten on the leg by a suspected bull shark and was unable to be saved despite the desperate efforts of witnesses and paramedics.

The tragedy comes nearly a year after 35-year-old British expat Simon Nellist was killed by a great white shark while swimming past the rocks at Little Bay, in Sydney's south-east.

Robert Harcourt, an Honorary Professor of Marine Ecology at Macquarie University, and regular surfer, told Daily Mail Australia that swimmers shouldn't be deterred from going in the water but said it was important to know the facts about what lurks below the surface.

Stella was fatally attacked by a suspected bull shark (pictured is a bull shark)

Experts have said that despite many people believing dolphins mean there aren't sharks around, the two animals often feed on similar prey

Do dolphins mean there are no sharks around?

It's a common myth that if dolphins are near, sharks are not, but experts have revealed this is not always the case.

'It's a bit of an urban myth,' Prof Harcourt, a regular surfer in Sydney's eastern suburbs, told Daily Mail Australia.

Bottlenose dolphins, which are commonly found around the shores of Australia, often feed on the same fish as bull sharks and great whites, and can be prey themselves.

Prof Harcourt said if dolphins are moving fast and changing direction quickly it means they're feeding, and there's likely to be other animals feeding in the same spot.

'If you see dolphins it's very likely there are fish, which mean it's likely there are sharks,' he said.

'I've got pictures of dolphins swimming around (great) white sharks, we know we can often find them feeding in the same school of fish.'

There are a number of anecdotes dolphins have protected swimmers from sharks

There are numerous anecdotes of dolphins reportedly protecting humans from sharks but no factual evidence of such behaviour.

In 2004, lifeguard Rob Howes was swimming with his teenage daughter and her friends off the northern coast of New Zealand when they came across a pod of dolphins.

Mr Howes said the dolphins suddenly started to push them together and 'herd' them.

He then noticed what he suspected to be a three-metre long great white swimming nearby.

He told the NZ Herald at the time the dolphins had protected him and the teenage girls for the next 40 minutes from the sharks.

Prof Harcourt said if dolphins were swimming near humans when a shark was in the area, it didn't necessarily mean they were protecting the swimmers, but said it was more a 'safety in numbers' concept.

'Dolphins avoid sharks by having group vigilance,' he said.

Bull sharks are known to swim into very shallow waters to find fish

Are swimmers safer in shallow waters?

Bull sharks - the type of shark suspected of killing Stella - are known to come in very close to shore and up through rivers into estuaries.

They can prey on fish in extremely shallow waters, Prof Harcourt said, with river mouths known to be teeming with sharks.

The expert added that while some fish will sporadically jump out of the water for no reason, it can also mean something is chasing them.

'If you see fish jumping, don't go in the water,' he said.

Some sharks prefer warmer waters like bull sharks while great whites are more common in cooler conditions

Does the temperature of the water matter?

As temperatures reach the 30s in parts of Australia, more residents are heading down to their local beaches, rivers and lakes to cool down.

But when it comes to temperature, it's likely there are sharks around in either warm or cooler conditions.

Bull sharks stick to warmer waters while great whites are known to swim where the water is colder.

Tiger sharks - one of the other more dangerous shark types - are common in tropical conditions.

'But there is still a lot of overlap,' Prof Harcourt warned.

'Tiger sharks are tropical sharks but there are records of them in cooler temperatures, and the same with white sharks in warmer conditions.'

Surfers are thought to be at risk of encountering sharks because their silhouette can match that of a seal's body

Are surfers more at risk?

Surfers on short boards are thought to be more at risk of attracting sharks as from underneath the surface their silhouette resembles that of a seal.

Prof Harcourt said any objects floating on the surface are often investigated by animals lurking below.

He said while it wasn't clear if sharks were curious of surfers because they looked like seals, it was likely that because surfers are floating along the surface for an extended amount of time that sharks would come in to have a look.

HOW TO STAY SAFE Avoid swimming at dusk or dawn Always swim or surf with a buddy Stay away from murky or dirty water where visibility is low Avoid swimming after heavy rainfall or floods Avoid swimming if there are large schools of fish or birds around Stay away from river mouths Avoid areas used by fishermen, and swim between the flags Don't go swimming with bleeding cuts or wounds Consider using personal deterrents that have been tested Check the SharkSmart app for recent sightings and taggings Source: SharkSmart NSW Advertisement

'When you're at the surface, it doesn't matter or not what colour you wear because you're a silhouette,' he said.

Do sharks actively hunt humans?

Despite the pang of fear swimmers may feel when seeing a fin float across the water's surface, sharks are not actively trying to hunt people.

'Most sharks are actually reasonably cautious of taking anything that's a new type of prey,' Prof Harcourt said.

He said sharks usually feed on small or medium-sized prey and humans weren't typically 'high on their list'.

But he added that sharks can prey on humans.

'The Little Bay case (death of Mr Nellist) was a case of the shark coming in to predate,' he said.

'Sharks are like any animal living in the wild, they're curious and there are quite strong hierarchies when sharks interact.

'They can be intimidated by things bigger than them, seals and dolphins will chase great whites in numbers, they'll mob them.'

Prof Harcourt urged swimmers to know that while tragic, shark attacks were extremely rare, and the fear of the marine animals shouldn't keep Aussies out of the water for good.

'People shouldn't be scared all the time about sharks but be cautious and if you feel uncomfortable then get out of the water,' he said.

'Just make sure you go back in on another day.'
Schoolchildren are buying illegal supersize vapes over the counter from local corner shops, a Mail investigation has found.

It is illegal to sell vapes containing nicotine to under-18s, but in some parts of the country many shops sell the devices to youngsters for around 5  with no questions asked.

Some stores sell devices that are more than five times the legal size, giving young users up to 3,500 puffs instead of the legal limit of between 600 and 800.

Authorities are trying to seize these products amid fears the craze could see children become addicted to nicotine and be at greater risk of chronic lung conditions.

The Mail visited 30 corner shops and phone stores with Trading Standards officers last month.

Schoolchildren are buying illegal supersize vapes over the counter from local corner shops, a Mail investigation has found

In Newcastle, for example, two male volunteers age 16 and 17 were sold vapes in ten of 15 shops visited.

Four shops sold the teens banned Elux Legend 3,500 puff vapes  the equivalent nicotine content of nearly 120 cigarettes.

The packaging of vapes sold during the undercover exercise had nicotine warnings and symbols showing they must not be sold to under-18s.

When one shop was raided by Trading Standards, officers found large packs of the Happy Vibes vapes on display as well as a black duffle bag containing illegal cigarettes and supersized vapes hidden beneath the counter.

The seller told officers he did not have the right to work in the UK and was an Iraqi migrant staying at a local asylum hotel.

A woman who claimed to be his girlfriend said she worked in the shop and had asked him to keep an eye on the counter while she went for a coffee.

The 10 shops in Newcastle that sold vapes to the children are not facing legal action but will be subject to monitoring by Trading Standards.

Paul Leighton, senior Trading Standards officer at Newcastle City Council, said reports of illegal vapes sales and underage sales had 'exploded' in the area.

'A lot of independent businesses seem to have recognised the popularity of these vapes among young people and others, and they are just cashing in.'

He said some shops selling banned vapes use stealth tactics to avoid detection, including concealing them in floors, fridges and even behind fake boiler covers.

Others hide them in cars outside and bring them in when customers request them.

A London-based teacher later told the Mail how increasing numbers of students are being excluded for vaping in school, and lambasted local shops for selling to children in school uniforms.

Meanwhile, one teenager told the Mail how their peers hide vapes in toilet tanks, underneath toilet brushes and in toilet block ceilings to conceal the habit.

John Herriman, chief executive of the Chartered Trading Standards Institute (CTSI), a membership body for Trading Standards officers, said: 'We very much welcome this investigation by the Daily Mail, particularly because this helps to highlight the mounting concerns our profession have about the sale and supply of illicit vapes and to those underage  this is something which Trading Standards teams across the country are now sadly finding on a regular basis.'
There is never a good time to fall ill. But as the country braces itself for the biggest ever wave of NHS strikes, this week is a particularly poor one.

Nurses, paramedics and ambulance drivers are walking out in pursuit of astronomical and unrealistic pay claims.

Thousands of operations will be cancelled, leaving people in pain for longer, while lives will be put at risk if sick and injured patients can't get to hospital.

Those who strike should ask themselves who pays their wages. It is not the Government, but hard-pressed taxpayers.

It's not as if the NHS is hard done by. Record sums in real terms have been pumped in by the Tories.

DAILY MAIL COMMENT: Nurses, paramedics and ambulance drivers are walking out in pursuit of astronomical and unrealistic pay claims

But as we reveal, health bosses spent a jaw-dropping 144million last year on private ambulances and taxis for patients.

This comes on top of the countless millions the behemoth forks out on 'woke' non-jobs  including diversity and inclusion managers  and compensation.

Perhaps there would be more money for pay rises if the NHS wasn't so wasteful.

Teachers need answers

How illuminating that after the transgender prisoner row blew a hole in the logic of Nicola Sturgeon's shambolic gender reforms, support for her and Scottish independence has plummeted.

The public, unlike the SNP and Labour, are concerned that self-ID puts women and girls at risk from predatory males.

So this is the perfect moment for the Government to reiterate that teachers are under no legal obligation to refer to children who say they are trans by their 'preferred' pronouns, let them use toilets and changing rooms saved for the opposite sex, or keep their parents in the dark.

Whatever militant activists may claim, this position  set out by then attorney general Suella Braverman last year  is not transphobic. It is basic safeguarding.

But Education Secretary Gillian Keegan, who says 16-year-olds are mature enough to choose their own genders, is dragging her feet on publishing official guidance.

This dithering is bad for teachers, bad for parents  and bad for pupils.

DAILY MAIL COMMENT: How illuminating that after the transgender prisoner row blew a hole in the logic of Nicola Sturgeon's shambolic gender reforms

Defying convention

After the Nazi horrors of the Second World War, the European Convention on Human Rights was created with the most noble intentions.

But the world has changed and, today, exploitation of this outdated set of laws is one reason why it is so difficult to deport migrants who arrive here illegally.

So it is heartening to learn that Rishi Sunak is prepared to extricate Britain from the charter if European judges continue to frustrate his plans to drastically toughen up UK asylum laws.

With a record 65,000 people predicted to cross the Channel unlawfully in small boats this year, he hopes draconian legislation can end this scandal.

But the European courts have already delayed the Rwanda scheme  and activists will surely demand they meddle again.

Voters overwhelmingly want the Prime Minister to solve the migrant crisis. If pulling out of the convention is the only way, he may have to face down the shrieking human-rights lobby and do it.
The Department of Health and Social Care said record sums have been invested

The rising cost of 'crumbling' hospitals was up from 987m in the previous year

The cost of maintenance work on Englands crumbling hospitals topped 1billion last year.

The money was spent on maintaining the hospitals estate in 2021/22, according to the NHSs annual Estates Returns Information Collection.

This was up from 987million in the previous year and from 890million in 2017/18.

Opposition parties criticised the Government for overseeing a crumbling NHS estate.

But a Department of Health and Social Care spokesman said: We have invested record sums to upgrade NHS buildings and facilities, so that trusts can continue to provide the best possible quality of care.

The cost of maintenance work on Englands crumbling hospitals topped 1billion last year

Shadow health secretary Wes Streeting, who wrote to ministers requesting the costs, said: Rishi Sunak appears to have ditched the 40 new hospitals pledge, adding one more failure to the Conservatives record of overpromising and underdelivering.

The Conservatives literally didnt fix the hospital roof when the sun was shining and now the NHS is crumbling.

Patients are paying the price for the Conservatives failure with longer waits, while taxpayers are paying more but getting less thanks to delays.

Liberal Democrat health spokeswoman and deputy leader Daisy Cooper said: The Conservative Government is systematically failing our NHS. Across our country, too many NHS buildings which people rely on are life-expired or crumbling.

Patients and staff are being let down and now the true extent of our run-down hospitals has been revealed.

With hospitals crumbling, A&E waits soaring, and nurses being taken for granted by ministers, its clearer than ever that Britain will never trust the Conservative Party with the NHS again.

The 2021/22 bill for reducing the maintenance backlog was 1.4 billion, compared with 895 million the previous year, and up from 404 million in 2017/18.

The head of an influential cross-party committee of MPs last week questioned the Government about the new hospitals programme, as he claimed the NHS was spending money on make do and mend.

Shadow health secretary Wes Streeting, who wrote to ministers requesting the costs, accused Rishi Sunak of ditching the 40 new hospitals pledge

Steve Brine, Conservative chairman of the Health and Social Care Committee, highlighted pretty significant delays to parts of the programme, adding: I hear that from colleagues across the House who speak to me as chair of this committee.

Health Secretary Steve Barclay told the committee there is probably no issue that is raised more frequently with me by parliamentary colleagues.

He said the NHS needed a fundamental shift away from bespoke local designs by local chief execs to a more standardised, modular, modern method of construction approach to ensure new hospitals are built quickly and to budget.
Nicola Sturgeon has been advised to 'eat some humble pie' and to sort out her gender reform 'mess' after recording her worst ever public support rating.

A YouGov poll showed that the First Minister's personal approval rating has fallen below 4 per cent, hinting that nationalists are starting to question her position.

The fall in support comes after the controversial decision to put transgender prisoner Isla Bryson in a female prison.

The result is the lowest rating she has received since she took over from Alex Salmon in 2014.

SNP MP Joanna Cherry called on the First Minister to back down on her controversial gender reforms.

Nicola Sturgeon (pictured) has been advised to 'eat some humble pie' and to sort her gender reform mess out

She said in a tweet: 'It's time to admit that feminist criticisms of self-ID and the [Gender Recognition Reform Bill] were right, eat some humility pie and sort this mess out before it does any more damage to the reputation of our party, parliament and the cause of Scotland's independence.'

The Gender Reform Recognition Bill removes the need for a medical diagnosis of gender dysphoria when applying for a gender recognition certificate, drops the minimum age for applications to 16 and reduces the time someone needs to live in an acquired gender first to three months for over-18s.

Ms Sturgeon has previously claimed she will attempt to overturn the UK government's veto on the bill.

But her claims that the system would pose no risk to women and single-sex spaces were undermined by the controversial case of Bryson, who now self identifies as a woman.

Joanna Cherry (pictured) called on the First Minister to back down on her controversial gender reform

Former MSP Joan McAlpine accused Ms Sturgeon of damaging the SNP's reputation over the matter.

'This ideology is a personal passion of the First Minister so she must answer for any harm done - to women, obviously, but also to her party and the cause of independence it was founded to champion, Ms McAlpine said according to The Times.

An SNP senior minister controversially said yesterday SNP members who question Ms Sturgeon's position on transgender rights should maybe consider quitting the party.

The poll follows clashes at a protest yesterday where women's rights campaigner Kellie-Jay Keen thanked Nicola Sturgeon for 'waking up Scotland'.

Tensions flared at Glasgow rally as activists clashed amid the row over Bryson.

Kellie-Jay Keen, also known as Posie Parker, attacked the Scottish Government over the case of transgender prisoner Isla Bryson - who raped two women while living as a man called Adam Graham - at the rally organised by Standing for Women.

At the rally against the SNP's gender recognition reform proposals, which were passed by a majority of MSPs in December but blocked by the UK Government, tensions rose as counter-protest was staged by pro-reform advocates and dubbed Cabaret Against the Hate Speech.

In one heated encounter between two opposing campaigners, one person with pink and green coloured hair tried to grab a women's rights campaigner's sign and continued screaming at the women's right protestors.

Police separated the pro-reform protestor and the two women who were driving off in the back of a rickshaw, while the person wearing a rainbow flag screamed after them telling them to 'f*** off' while first holding up their middle fingers and then lifting their shirt up to reveal their naked chest.

Standing for Women, led by Kellie-Jay Keen (pictured) also known as Posie Parker, staged a protest in Glasgow today against the Scottish Government's gender recognition reform proposals

Hundreds of campaigners for women's rights gathered in Glasgow today as they railed against the Scottish government's plans for gender self-identification north of the border

Addressing the roaring crowd in George Square today, Keen said: 'From the bottom of my heart, thank you Nicola Sturgeon!

'Nicola Sturgeon said, "oh, it will never happen" and all of us knew it was already happening - and then along came Adam "double rapist" Graham...

'I just want to thank the SNP for waking up Scotland and to all of you Scottish women and some men who have been campaigning about this for the past five years. Thank you to every one of you.'

A large police presence was visible in the city's iconic central square, keeping the large demonstration far apart from a counter rally by trans rights activists.

Attendees waved flags, danced and sang in support of the right to self-identification. Many were in fancy dress and held up their own signs, with slogans such as 'protect trans kids' and 'love is love'.

One counter protester directly took aim at Keen herself, holding a sign that read 'F*** Posie Parker'.

Bryson who Ms Keen mentioned in her speech as 'Adam "double rapist" Graham' was imprisoned in segregation at Cornton Vale women's jail near Stirling upon conviction, before being moved to a male prison after a public outcry.

Critics of the bill say their concerns about women's safety were brought into sharp focus when Sturgeon was forced to remove Bryson from Cornton Vale so soon after her bill.

The issue was compounded days later, when ministers were again forced to intervene to prevent convicted stalker Tiffany Scott, previously known as Andrew Burns, from moving to a female estate.

One women's rights protester held up a banner with pictures of Bryson and Scott, alongside recently released prisoner Katy Dolatowski, with the slogan 'two down - how many more to go? #KeepPrisonsSingleSex'

Many of the activists showed their fury at Nicola's Sturgeon's recent attempts at gender recognition reform in Scotland, which they say tramples on women's rights

Hundreds of campaigners gathered to protest in George Square, far exceeding organisers' expectations

One protester held up a banner with pictures of Bryson and Scott, alongside recently released prisoner Katy Dolatowski, with the slogan 'two down - how many more to go?'

Demonstrators take part in the Let Women Speak rally organised by the group Standing for Women in George Square, Glasgow

The protesters gathered in support of the UK Government's use of a Section 35 order to block Scotland's recent Gender Recognition Reform Bill on the grounds that it will impede the operation of the UK Equality Act

Sings including 'repeal the GRA [Gender Recognition Act]' and 'no men in women's refuges' were also proudly waved by activists

Ms Keen's group has also called for the repeal of the Gender Recognition Act, the current legislation that allows transgender people to obtain a gender recognition certificate the Scottish Government's Bill was attempting to reform.

She told those at the protest: 'In your own lives, you cannot be heard... you feel like you cannot speak,' adding that women have told her 'the state is gaslighting them'.

She added: 'The watershed is finally here.

'From this moment on, we are not afraid, we will not be quiet, we will let women speak.'

On the counter-protest side, a representative from the LGBT charity The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence read aloud the Dylan Thomas poem Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night, telling the crowd: 'Rage against the dying of the light - that's what we have to do here today.

'We do not have to show our rage with insults, we will respect you the more you put us down, we will show you love, because that is what our community is about - showing love, respect and tolerance.

'We will not go gently into that good night, we will be here and we will be dancing.'

It comes as support for Scottish independence and the SNP has plummeted amid a furious row over Nicola Sturgeon's party and its attitude towards trans sex attackers, a new poll suggests.

Among the counter protest, demonstrators waved banners proclaiming 'love is love' and 'Posie Parker, more like Noise Parker'

One attendee painted their face in the colours of the trans flag, with the words 'no hate' on their cheeks

Attendees waved flags, danced and sang in support of the right to self-identification. Many were in fancy dress and held up their own signs, with slogans such as 'protect trans kids' and 'love is love'

The slightly smaller counter-protest was staged by pro-reform advocates and dubbed Cabaret Against the Hate Speech

Support for the country quitting the UK has fallen by six percentage points from 53 per cent to 47 per cent since December, according to a survey carried out in the wake of the Isla Bryson furore.

READ MORE: JK ROWLING ROASTS NICOLA STURGEON'S HANDLING OF RAPIST IN WOMEN'S PRISON JK Rowling (pictured wearing a t-shirt with the message 'Nicola Sturgeon, destroyer of women's rights) Advertisement

Backing for the SNP at Holyrood and Westminster has also dropped after the row over Bryson, who was convicted of violent sex attacks on two women while a man called Adam Graham.

Bryson was initially sent to a women's prison on remand before Ms Sturgeon was forced to intervene to send the violent rapist to a male facility.

But she has since struggled to set out her position on trans offenders, including whether they are male or female.

The YouGov survey of 1,088 Scottish voters shows support for the party dropped from 50 per cent to 44 per cent in the Holyrood constituency vote and from 40 per cent to 36 per cent in the regional list, when compared to the results of the same poll in December.

SNP support at Westminster dropped marginally from 43 per cent to 42 per cent.

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has said she plans to run the next UK election as a 'de-facto referendum' in the hopes of achieving a majority of votes north of the border and securing negotiations on independence.

But the First Minister's approval rating has also suffered in recent months, dropping from a net of 7 per cent in October to -4 per cent.

Bryson, who committed two rapes while she was a man, was initially housed in segregation at Cornton Vale near Stirling - Scotland's only all-female prison - before being moved to the male estate after public and political outcry.

The saga led to Scottish Justice Secretary Keith Brown pausing the movement of transgender prisoners into women's jails if they have a history of violence.

Addressing the roaring crowd in George Square today, Keen said: 'From the bottom of my heart, thank you Nicola Sturgeon!'

Demonstrators take part in the Let Women Speak rally organised by the group Standing for Women in George Square

Support for the country quitting the UK has fallen by six percentage points from 53 per cent to 47 per cent since December, according to a survey carried out in the wake of the Isla Bryson furore.

Byron was convicted of violent sex attacks on two women while a man called Adam Graham, transitioned after being arrested.

Professor John Curtice, of Strathclyde University, told the Sunday Times: 'While the decline in support for independence is likely to be part of the explanation, it looks as though the battering the Scottish Government has suffered, especially on the issue of transgender prisoners, may also have taken its toll on SNP support.'

The party's depute leader Keith Brown said: 'While we take nothing for granted, this poll suggests that the SNP remains by far the most popular party in Scotland, and Nicola Sturgeon is by far the most popular leader.

'Scotland is an enormously wealthy, resource-rich country - but under Westminster control, we face being part of the worst performing economy in the developed world, with Brexit an unfolding a disaster that is making us all poorer.

'The fact that Keir Starmer's Labour Party is now fully signed up to the Tory hard Brexit - and indeed backs their refusal to respect Scotland's right to determine its own future - shows why independence for Scotland is now essential.

'Independence will mean a proper partnership of equals between Scotland and the rest of the UK instead of ever-tightening Westminster control.'
Victorian senator Lidia Thorpe has quit the Greens to become the leader of the black sovereignty movement, she revealed on Monday afternoon.

Wearing Sovereignty Never Ceded earrings, Senator Thorpe confirmed her exit after a Greens partyroom meeting on the first parliamentary sitting day.

'Now I will be able to speak freely on all issues from a sovereign perspective, without being constrained by portfolios and agreed party positions,' she said.

'This country has a strong grassroots black sovereign movement full of staunch and committed warriors. And I want to represent that movement fully in this Parliament.

'It has become clear to me that I can't do that from within the Greens.'

Senator Lidia Thorpe confirmed her exit after a Greens partyroom meeting on the first parliamentary sitting day

Victorian senator Lidia Thorpe has quit the Greens to become the leader of the black sovereignty movement, she announced on Monday afternoon

Greens leader Adam Bandt has indicated the party would support the Voice but Senator Thorpe has been a vocal critic of the proposal.

Last month she announced she would not support the Voice unless there was a guarantee that Indigenous sovereignty would not be ceded.

On Australia Day, she addressed a rally clutching a war stick and demanded a government treaty with Indigenous people before the Voice.

'Greens MPs, members and supporters have told me they want to support the Voice,' she added.

'This is at odds with the community of activists who are saying Treaty before Voice. This is the message delivered on the streets on January 26.

'This is the movement I was raised in. My elders marched for a treaty. This is who I am.'

But she insisted: 'I am not announcing my position on the Voice today.

'I want to continue my negotiations with the government. First Nations sovereignty is crucial but so is saving lives today.'

Wearing Sovereignty Never Ceded earrings, Senator Thorpe revealed she would now sit on the crossbenches as an independent but still support the Greens on climate issues

The split comes after senator Thorpe last week dodged a two-day retreat with other members of the Greens in Mount Macedon, Victoria, to determine the partys agenda for the year ahead.

But she said she was grateful to leader Adam Bandt for his support.

She added: 'I will continue to vote with the Greens on climate.

'My focus now is to grow and amplify the black sovereign movement in this country, something we've never had since this place was established.

'There is a black sovereign movement out there that no one wants to listen to. So I'll be their voice.

'I've spent my entire life fighting for justice, to defend our sovereignty, to save black lives. This is my goal.'

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, constitutional experts and the expert working group have said the Voice would have no impact on First Nations sovereignty.

Senator Thorpe replaced former Greens leader Richard Di Natale when he retired in 2020.

She has been the party's Indigenous affairs spokesperson and was deputy leader of the Greens in the Senate last year.

Senator Lidia Thorpe replaced former Greens leader Richard Di Natale when he retired in 2020

'My strength and convictions come from a lifetime of activism from my ancestors and from my matriarchs, who continue to say to me every day, "keep infiltrating",' she said on Monday.

'"Keep your integrity and keep the fire burning. But more importantly, keep our fight alive."

'To my mob I say this, your strength is my strength. Your fight is my fight. Your struggle is my struggle.

'And I'm ready for what comes next in the fight for a future where our kids can be with their families and where our people are not killed in custody.

'Where the chains that this system wraps around our people are lifted.'

Greens leader Adam Bandt said he regretted senator Thorpe's decision to quit and revealed he had tried to persuade her to stay.

He offered to allow her to remain as First Nations spokesman and he would take over responsibilities for the party's position on the Voice to Parliament, but she refused.

'I made it clear to the senator that she still had a place in the Greens,' he said.

'She's obviously decided to adopt a different course. I wish she had made a different decision. But I understand the reasons that she's given for that.'

Senator Thorpe faced a parliamentary review after she was romantically linked to ex-Rebels bikie boss Dean Martin.

Greens leader Adam Bandt and senator Mehreen Faruqi (pictured) said they regretted senator Thorpe's decision to quit and revealed Mr Bandt had tried to persuade her to stay

She was alleged to have been dating the former bikie club president while serving on the joint parliamentary law enforcement committees review of outlaw gangs and organised crime.

Mr Bandt refused to be drawn on whether the senator had served with 'propriety' while a Greens Party member.

'She has my respect and she's made an enormous contribution,' he said.

Greens senator Mehreen Faruqi also paid tribute to her former colleague, vowing to continue their fight against 'white supremacy'.

'I have deep admiration for her unwavering commitment for black justice,' she said on Monday.

'Lidia and I have been working together as strong allies against white supremacy and racism in all its forms.

'I know that we will continue to work together, this work of decolonisation, as well as working for climate justice, and for many other vital progressive causes.'

Senator Thorpe's exit reduces Greens numbers from 12 to 11 in the senate, and diminishes their bargaining power with Labor who will require more support from independents on the crossbenches to pass legislation.

Lidia Thorpe's extreme list of demands exposed: From $12.50 weekly rent payments to Indigenous Australians to writing a treaty, tearing up the 'white' constitution and starting a 'Black Republic' that has 'REAL power'

A wholesale rewrite of Australia's Constitution, a $12.50 weekly 'rent' fee for home-owners and 10 Aboriginal-only seats in Parliament are at the centre of Greens Senator Lidia Thorpe's 'treaty' agenda for Australia.

The Greens senator and Indigenous rights campaigner brandished a 'battle stick' during a fiery speech at an Invasion Day protest march in Melbourne on Austraia Day where she claimed Australian governments are waging a 'war' on Indigenous communities.

'This is a war. They are still killing us. They are still killing our babies,' Ms Thorpe said. 'What do we have to celebrate in our country?'

The firebrand politician - who was outed as having a secret relationship with a former senior Rebels bikie Dean Martin late last year - has an answer for how her alleged 'war' could end.

Ms Thorpe is pushing for First Nations people to have 'real power', which she says can be achieved through a treaty and then an Aboriginal-led Republic - as well as the removal of all 'racist' aspects of the Constitution.

The senator has also called for better representation of Indigenous people in Parliament with 10 independent seats going towards First Nations people to help maintain their 'sovereignty'.

A rewrite of Australia's Constitution, an Aboriginal-led Republic and 'real power' are just some of the changes Lidia Thorpe is pushing for after declaring there was a 'war' against Indigenous Australians

Lidia Thorpe's war manifesto Australian property owners paying 'rent' tax to Indigenous groups: Based on their claim to land, the 'Pay the rent' model would see Aussie home-owners pay a weekly tax to First Nations people. One per cent of weekly wages is the level suggested by Robbie Thorpe, a veteran Aboriginal rights activist from Melbourne who ran a similar scheme in Fitzroy in the 1990s. The scheme could then be extended further to all users of the land - people having weddings or holding concerts would also be encouraged to hand over money. Mr Thorpe told media the rent scheme is 'a rational, reasonable, responsible means of reconciling 200 years of unchecked genocide, as far as I'm concerned'. The 'Pay the Rent' tax could apply to Indigenous people too. Anyone who owns property would pay because it would operate as a form of land tax. Rewrite of the Australian Constitution: Lidia Thorpe believes the Australian Constitution should be rewritten, or updated to remove all of the 'racist' aspects. She said given it was written in 1901, many aspects of life in Australia had changed. 'Lets update the Constitution to fit with this country today, because when it was written, when it was established in 1901, is very different to where it is in 2022,' she told Junkee. Treaty and an Aboriginal-led Republic: Ms Thorpe has publicly criticised the call for an Indigenous Voice to Parliament, saying Indigenous people deserve to be more than an 'advisory body'. She said First Nations people deserved to have 'real power', which could be achieved through a treaty. The treaty would allow First Nations people to maintain their sovereignty The senator said a Republic would allow First Nations people to 'take back what was ours in the first place and share it in a way that we know how best to do'. 'I mean our whole culture is based on sharing and caring. So a Blak Republic would ensure that everybody in this country is looked after,' she told the publication. 'Everybody in this country understands the true history of this country, understands or has some basic knowledge around how to look after the land that you are on and how we've looked after it.' 10 black seats in Parliament: Ms Thorpe said First Nations people needed to have 'real power' and representation in Parliament. 'From the federal parliament - the poisoned chalice that it is - right through the everyday streets that we walk down, we have to rid racism and heal this country, bring everyone together through a sovereign treaty,' she said at Thursday's Invasion Day rally. 'They want to put the colonial constitution on top of the oldest constitution on the planet ... we are sovereign and this is our land. And we deserve better than an advisory body. 'We have an opportunity to have a treaty  that could put 10 independent Blak seats in the parliament today. We want real power and we won't settle for anything less.' Advertisement

One campaign she is behind is a 'Pay the Rent' scheme that urges Australian property owners to pay a weekly 'rent' tax to Indigenous groups based on their ancestral claim to the land.

Under the scheme, homeowners would voluntarily pay a percentage of their income to a body led by Aboriginal elders and administered without any government oversight or intervention.

One per cent of weekly wages is the level suggested by Robbie Thorpe, a veteran Aboriginal rights activist from Melbourne who ran a similar scheme in Fitzroy in the 1990s.

Government statistics from last August that say the median Australian employee's earnings were $1,250 per week.

So spread evenly, all Australian wage earners could pay a median 'rent' of $12.50 a week, adding up to $650 a year.

The 'Pay the Rent' tax could apply to Indigenous people too. Anyone who owns property would pay because it would operate as a form of land tax.

Ms Thorpe and feminist author Clementine Ford have publicly supported the proposal.

Lidia Thorpe brandished a 'battle stick' as she addressed a crowd on the steps of the Victorian Parliament on Thursday in an Invasion Day protest

Ms Thorpe is supporting a 'Pay the Rent' campaign that urges Australian property owners to pay a weekly 'rent' tax to Indigenous groups based on their ancestral claim to the land

'Pay the Rent' was developed as a policy by the National Aboriginal and Islander Health Organisation (NAIHO). Pictured above, a NAIHO document

'Pay the rent from grassroots for grassroots. No strings attached to government agenda. It assists sovereign grassroots fight the many campaigns and struggles we face everyday,' Ms Thorpe said.

Also in the senator's agenda is a complete rewrite of the Australian Constitution.

'Let's rewrite the Constitution, or let's take out everything that is racist in the Constitution,' she told Junkee in December.

'Let's update the Constitution to fit with this country today, because when it was written, when it was established in 1901, is very different to where it is in 2022.'

Her call for a change to the Constitution stems from her desire for Indigenous Australians to have 'real power.'

Ms Thorpe has publicly criticised the call for an Indigenous Voice to Parliament, saying Indigenous people deserve to be more than an 'advisory body'

Ms Thorpe has publicly criticised the call for an Indigenous Voice to Parliament, saying Indigenous people deserve to be more than an 'advisory body'.

Instead she is leading the push for a treaty that could see 10 seats in Parliament go to First Nations people, and lead to an Aboriginal-led 'Blak Republic'.

'From the federal parliament - the poisoned chalice that it is - right through the everyday streets that we walk down, we have to rid racism and heal this country, bring everyone together through a sovereign treaty,' she said at Thursday's rally.

'They want to put the colonial constitution on top of the oldest constitution on the planet ... we are sovereign and this is our land. And we deserve better than an advisory body.

'We have an opportunity to have a treaty  that could put 10 independent Blak seats in the parliament today. We want real power and we won't settle for anything less.'

When speaking to Junkee, Ms Thorpe said the Federal government was 'not about to give us real power'.

'So a treaty will negotiate real power through shared sovereignty and going to the republic, we'll have a new constitution or an updated constitution that actually has equal power with the others who say that they are sovereign, and that's the parliament here,' she said.

The senator said a Republic would allow First Nations people to 'take back what was ours in the first place and share it in a way that we know how best to do'.

'I mean our whole culture is based on sharing and caring. So a Blak Republic would ensure that everybody in this country is looked after,' she told the publication.

'Everybody in this country understands the true history of this country, understands or has some basic knowledge around how to look after the land that you are on and how we've looked after it.'

With growing controversy surrounding celebrating January 26, Ms Thorpe said another date should instead be put forward to honour Australia.

She is hoping that date could be known as the Treaty Republic Day.
Air Traffic Control audio reveals how a FedEx pilot landing his jet urgently told a Southwest jet to abort its take off so they didn't crash into each other.

The Southwest jet headed to Cancun, Mexico, was given the OK to take off from Texas' Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, but apparently took too long.

By the time it tried to begin its ascent, the Boeing 767 cargo plane was approaching its landing.

Quick-thinking pilots on the cargo plane were forced to swiftly make a go-around, narrowly avoiding a collision.

The pilot of the cargo plane can be heard telling the Southwest flight to 'abort' its takeoff - which they refused to do - and it instead took off just 75 vertical feet from the oncoming cargo flight.

A FedEx cargo plane nearly crashed into a departing Southwest flight early Saturday morning at the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport in Texas

The near-crash came just one month after a similar close call was averted at John F. Kennedy International Airport last month in which an American Airlines plane crossed a runway while a Delta Airlines' Boeing 737 plane was preparing for takeoff.

The National Transportation Safety Board and Federal Aviation Administration are now investigating both incidents.

Air traffic control recordings released Saturday night shows that at around 6.47am, the tower at the Austin airport cleared Southwest for takeoff  noting that the FedEx plane is just three miles behind them and was approaching the 18 Left runway.

'Copy the traffic,' the pilot responds, apparently aware that the FedEx flight was on its way.

The FedEx pilot could be heard asking if he is confirmed to land on runway 18 Left, which an air traffic controller tells him he is.

But the Southwest flight remains on the runway as the FedEx flight quickly approaches, leading one air traffic controllers to ask the Southwest crew if it was planning to depart.

'Rolling now,' the pilot responds, affirming that it was about to takeoff.

At that point, Travel Weekly reports, the FedEx crew initiated a go-around and told the Southwest crew they should abort their takeoff.

'Southwest abort,' a male voice, presumably the FedEx pilot, could be heard telling the crew: 'FedEx is on the go.'

Air traffic control seems to agree with the FedEx crew's assessment, telling it to veer right when it has the chance.

But the Southwest crew just replies 'negative' to the call to abort its takeoff, and begins climbing into the air, even while the FedEx cargo plane was directly above it  leaving just 75 feet between the two planes.

Fortunately, the FedEx pilot aborted its landing just in time and began to pull up to avoid a collision.

Then, once the runway was clear, the Boeing 767 cargo plane completed its go-around and landed shortly after without incident, Travel Weekly reports.

Afterward, the Austin-American Statesman reports, air traffic controllers apologized to the pilot and thanked him for his professionalism.

Authorities say the incident occurred in poor visibility conditions.

It remains unclear how many people were on board the Southwest flight at the time, but Boeing 737's could hold a maximum of nearly 200 people.

Air traffic control recordings released Saturday night shows that at around 6.47am, the tower cleared Southwest for takeoff  noting that the FedEx plane is just three miles behind them and was approaching the 18 Left runway

The Southwest Airlines Boeing 737, in yellow, had remained on the runway as the FedEx Boeing 767, in orange, had been cleared to land

The altitude of the FedEx plane shows it descending before a sudden and sharp gain in altitude

The FedEx cargo plane was coming into land at Austin Bergstrom Airport when it was forced to pull up (stock image)

The FAA has previously said that the FedEx Express Flight 1432, a Boeing 767 cargo plane, was cleared to land on Runway 18-Left around 6:40am while the aircraft was several miles from the airport.

The Southwest plane had not yet departed when the FedEx plane was approaching the runway.

'Shortly before the FedEx aircraft was due to land, the controller cleared Southwest Flight 708 to depart from the same runway,' the Federal Aviation Administration said in a statement.

'The pilot of the FedEx airplane discontinued the landing and initiated a climb out.'

The Southwest jet was able to depart safely, according to the FAA.

The National Transportation Safety Board, meanwhile, used jargon to downplay the incident describing it as a 'possible runway incursion and overflight involving airplanes from Southwest Airlines and FedEx.'

Data from flight tracking websites suggest the two planes came very close indeed. Pictured, the FedEx cargo plane's route which saw it having to abort landing and then circle the airport

Southwest has so far declined to comment. FedEx said its flight 'safely landed after encountering an event,' but declined to further comment because of the ongoing investigations.

The FAA and NTSB said they are investigating the serious incident.

'FedEx Express Flight 1432 from Memphis, Tennessee to Austin, Texas safely landed after encountering an event just before landing at Austin Bergstrom International Airport this morning,' FedEx said in a statement,

Austin Airport said it was 'aware of the Federal Aviation Administration's investigation into the discontinued landing of a flight. We will assist our FAA partners and their investigation as necessary.'

The FAA and NTSB are also investigating a similar incident last month at New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport.

On January 13, a Delta flight was traveling 115mph down a runway at around 8.45pm when an air traffic controller noticed that an American Airlines flight to the UK crossed from an adjacent runway right in front of the departing plane,

Air Traffic Control had told the American Airlines flight to cross 'runway 31L at Kilo' but instead crossed runway 4 Left at Juliet, crossing directly in front of the departing Delta flight.

The Delta pilot was then forced to abruptly brake, traveling another 661 feet before he came to a complete stop with just 1,000 feet to spare before the plane would have T-boned the American Airlines Boeing 777, the Federal Aviation Administration said in a preliminary statement.

It was then forced to return to the gate, and did not takeoff again until the next morning, while the American Airlines flight arrived in the UK on time.
THE opposition Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) says it will not be coaxed by Zanu PF into forming party structures because the formations are old fashioned.

Since its formation in January last year, the Nelson Chamisa Chamisa-led party has been criticised for lack of structures.

Last Thursday, Zanu PF spokesperson Christopher Mutsvangwa castigated Chamisas party at a Press conference in Harare, saying it has failed to convince voters of its strength ahead of elections because it does not have structures.

Mutsvangwa went on to say the CCC party would split as soon as they hold a congress.

We (Zanu PF) are going through all the processes to ensure that we are ready for elections. We believe in openness. Our party is an open field, unlike other parties that complain that they are being constrained by Zanu PF. Surely, we cannot stop them from having a congress, Mutsvangwa told journalists.

They are afraid that if they go through that path, they will split again. They have run out of the alphabet splitting; from MDC this, MDC that, now they are going for triple C. Soon they will be going for quad C, decimate C and so on.

In response, CCC deputy party spokesperson Felix Mafa Sibanda said party structures were old fashioned.

Zanu PF is worried of a non-event. A party is made up of people; a party without membership is useless. We have membership all over the country and the members are the structures. Who needs structures, they are an old-fashioned way? We dont see why Zanu PF should worry about us to say we should have structures. Why are they interested?

We have people throughout the country, we will win without structures, and we have structures that we know ourselves  these are the people, the membership, Sibanda said, adding that CCC is not a bogus organisation.

Political analyst Rejoice Ngwenya said there is, however, need for CCC to come up with an administrative and political framework to ensure smooth running of party affairs ahead of polls expected this year.

The old political order is to have a structure that starts from the lowest administrative element up to the presidential level. It now depends on the way they want to present their brand. So my humble submission is that as a party, it is difficult to mobilise and organise if you dont have an identifiable administrative and political entity. Effective mobilisation is based on identifiable administrative and political entities. So its important that they have those, Ngwenya said.

CCC might not have a structure officially, but I think there is a need for some administrative and political framework for mobilising funds, votes and seeking representation at leadership level.

Meanwhile, newly-formed and Zanu PF aligned grouping VillageHeads4ED in Mashonaland East province says the opposition CCC will not be allowed to campaign in villages.

In a video that has gone viral on social media, VillageHeads4ED Mashonaland East chairperson, one Arufandika is heard saying they have launched Operation Fireguard, which will bar opposition parties from penetrating Zanu PF rural strongholds.

(As village heads) we are the last defence of the party, we have embarked on what we call Operation Fireguard, whereby no opposition party will be allowed to penetrate villages. We are there in the villages and we are saying to ED (Emmerson Mnangagwa), that as village heads, we are promising you five million votes, Arufandika said in the video.

The launch coincided with Zanu PF party vice-president Kembo Mohadis visit to the province last week where he met village heads and district coordinating committee members.

Heal Zimbabwe Trust advocacy officer Tapiwanashe Chiriga said the move by the village heads was in breach of the countrys Constitution.

Section 281 of the Constitution bars traditional leaders from furthering the interests of any political party. Not only is this conduct a violation of section 281, it is an attack on the political rights granted in the Bill of Rights, Chiriga said.

We have recorded a number of similar cases even in other provinces where chiefs and village heads have acted in the interests of the ruling party and intimidated opposition supporters.

Chiriga said traditional leaders should be the first to promote political tolerance and respect for the Constitution, as well as build peace and social cohesion during elections. Newsday
New Hampshire Democrats are vowing to fight their party's plan to rearrange the order of voting in the primaries, describing the decision as 'deeply misguided' and unworkable.

New Hampshire has held the first-in-the-nation primary since 1920, and Iowa has held its caucus on the same day since 1972.

But on Saturday, the Democratic National Committee voted to alter the schedule, making South Carolina first and putting New Hampshire and Nevada three days later. Iowa's new date has not been announced.

The decision was made, DNC officials said, to better reflect the demographic of the nation, and end a process whereby two overwhelmingly white states held such sway. South Carolina, with a large African American population, and strongly Hispanic Nevada were more representative of modern America, the DNC argued.

But New Hampshire Democrats have reacted with fury to their demotion - and argued it violates state law.

Maggie Hassan, a Democrat senator for New Hampshire, is among those voicing anger at the plan, approved on Saturday, to end the state's 'first in the nation' primary voting position

'Our First in the Nation Primary makes our entire country & democracy stronger,' tweeted Maggie Hassan, senator for the state.

She pointed out that New Hampshire's state law guarantees its position as first in the nation, so said that New Hampshire would simply ignore the DNC schedule. The DNC could then impose penalties.

In the past, states attempting to jump ahead have risked losing delegates to the national party convention, discouraging presidential candidates from spending time campaigning in them.

Hassan continued: 'Regardless of the DNC vote, New Hampshire will go first.

'The DNC's primary proposal asks us to violate our state law & puts Democrats' future success in our state at riskit is deeply misguided.'

Ray Buckley, the chair of the New Hampshire Democratic Party, issued a statement vowing to contest Saturday's decision.

'Despite today's vote, the fight is not over,' he said.

'As we have repeatedly pointed out, New Hampshire law requires us to hold the first-in-the-nation primary, and state Republican leaders have made clear that will not change.'

Buckley said that his state - which has two Democrat senators at present, but a Republican governor and Republicans having a slim majority in the state legislature - could swing Republican, amid anger at the demotion.

President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris stand on stage with DNC chair Jaime Harrison at the Democratic National Committee winter meeting on Friday

On Saturday, members of the Democratic National Committee will vote on a new primary calendar that moves South Carolina's contest ahead of New Hampshire, a move that has New Hampshire Democratic Party Chairman Ray Buckley (right) worried

'We remain extremely concerned about the effects this calendar will have on our purple, crucial battleground state,' he said.

'We were proud to deliver our four Electoral College votes to President Biden in 2020.

'Next year, those four votes can be the difference between sending President Biden back to the White House or ceding it to Republicans.'

The group of Democratic politicians who comprise the New Hampshire delegation at the meeting took a swipe at Biden, accusing him and the DNC of pushing 'a plan of political convenience' - a likely reference to the 2020 primary, when his massive win in South Carolina boosted his campaign ahead of important races in other states, despite a weak showing in New Hampshire.

'No matter what party powerbrokers or those in Washington think, New Hampshire will once again host our first-in-the-nation contest as we have done for more than a century,' they wrote.

Joanne Dowdell, a DNC member speaking on behalf of New Hampshire, told the convention on Saturday that it was being presented as a false decision.

'Respecting our state law and lifting up diverse voices need not be mutually exclusive,' she said.

And Chris Sununu, the centrist Republican governor of New Hampshire, echoed his Democratic colleagues' concern.

Chirs Sununu, the Republican governor of New Hampshire, said he too opposes the DNC move

'Joe Biden and the power brokers at the @DNC in Washington think New Hampshire's time is up, but it's not in our DNA to take orders from Washington,' he said.

'New Hampshire will be going first in 2024.'

Iowans were also angered - although their dismay was perhaps less troubling for Democrat leaders, given the state's resoundingly red status.

Rita Hart, the newly-elected chairwoman of the Iowa Democratic Party, said Iowa had been put in an 'impossible' position of choosing between the DNC rules and its state laws.

She also said the changes 'feed the narrative that Democrats have turned their backs on Iowa and on rural America.'

'Iowans value common sense, and it just doesn't make sense to entirely remove representation from rural Midwestern states in the pre-window,' Hart said.

Scott Brennan, a former chairman of the Iowa Democratic Party, said he opposed the new calendar 'from a genuine concern that the proposed calendar and the vast uncertainty surrounding it cannot be resolved in a timely manner.'

At its annual meeting in Philadelphia, the Democratic National Committee approved a new primary calendar - backed by Biden - that will see South Carolina hold its 2024 presidential primary first on February 3.

That will be followed by Nevada and New Hampshire on February 6; Georgia on February 13 and then Michigan on February 27.

'The Democratic Party looks like America and so does this proposal,' said Jaime Harrison, Democratic Party Chairman, ahead of the vote - adding it 'elevates the backbone of our party.'

Republicans will keep their New Hampshire primary calendar date; Donald Trump campaigned in Salem, N.H., on Saturday

But it also benefits Biden, who, in the 2020 primary, came in fifth in New Hampshire.

His victory in South Carolina - thanks to black voters who flocked to his side after he was endorsed by influential black Rep. Jim Clyburn - saved his presidential bid and put him on the path to winning the nomination.

Biden has not formally announced his re-election but is expected to do so in the new few months. He has given signals he intends to seek a second term.

The new calendar faces challenges, however, and is not guaranteed to be ultimately enacted as designed.

Republicans have no intention of changing their order - meaning Iowa and New Hampshire will still hold the first contests on the GOP side.

States with early contests have a major influence in determining the nominee because White House hopefuls struggling to raise money or gain political traction often drop out within the first five contests.

Donald Trump has already started campaigning in New Hampshire, appearing at an event there on Saturday. Nikki Haley will launch her own campaign to be the Republican nominee this week, and then travel to New Hampshire and Iowa.

Republicans have no intention of demoting Iowa and New Hampshire from their 'first in the nation' status.
She confirmed her exit on the first parliament sitting day

Lidia Thorpe wants Australians to pay the 'rent' to Indigenous people, to rewrite the constitution and establish a treaty with 'colonial' settlers - as she quits as a member of the Greens in a bid to become the head of the 'Blak sovereignty' movement.

Senator Thorpe revealed on Monday that she was resigning as a member of the left-wing party to become an independent, following a split with her colleagues about its stance on the Prime Minister's proposed Indigenous Voice to Parliament.

Wearing earrings that read 'sovereignty never ceded', Senator Thorpe said: 'Now I will be able to speak freely on all issues from a sovereign perspective, without being constrained by portfolios and agreed party positions.'

'This country has a strong grassroots black sovereign movement full of staunch and committed warriors. And I want to represent that movement fully in this Parliament.

'It has become clear to me that I can't do that from within the Greens.'

Lidia Thorpe (pictured) announced her resignation from the Greens to take up a seat on the crossbench on the first parliamentary sitting day on Monday

At the centre of her movement is a push for a treaty, and afterwards, an Aboriginal-led Republic.

Such a republic would guarantee that First Nations people would have 'real power' and maintain their sovereignty over the land.

It would allow Indigenous people to 'take back what was ours in the first place and share it in a way that we know how best to do'.

'I mean our whole culture is based on sharing and caring. So a Blak Republic would ensure that everybody in this country is looked after,' she told youth news website Junkee.

'Everybody in this country understands the true history of this country, understands or has some basic knowledge around how to look after the land that you are on and how we've looked after it.'

Senator Thorpe, who was the Greens' First Nations spokeswoman, opposed the Voice to Parliament unless there was a guarantee that Indigenous sovereignty would not be ceded - as Voice advocates have insisted that will not happen.

Senator Thorpe said she was committed to the 'black sovereignty' movement and would continue fighting for First Nations people

A rewrite of Australia's Constitution, an Aboriginal-led Republic and a weekly tax are just some of the changes Lidia Thorpe is pushing for after declaring there was a 'war' against Indigenous Australians

She clarified this during a speech on Australia Day, where she addressed a rally clutching a war stick and demanded a government treaty with Indigenous people before the Voice.

'Greens MPs, members and supporters have told me they want to support the Voice,' she added.

'This is at odds with the community of activists who are saying (we want a) Treaty before Voice. This is the message delivered on the streets on January 26.

'This is the movement I was raised in. My elders marched for a treaty. This is who I am.'

However, despite previously opposing the Voice proposal, she claimed during her speech that she would be 'not announcing my position on the Voice today'.

'I want to continue my negotiations with the government. First Nations sovereignty is crucial but so is saving lives today,' she added.

Ms Thorpe has continuously called for a treaty and supported the 'Pay the Rent' scheme during her time in parliament

Senator Thorpe will also continue advocating for the 'Pay the Rent' scheme that urges Australian property owners to pay a weekly 'rent' tax to Indigenous groups based on their ancestral claim to the land.

Under the scheme, homeowners would voluntarily pay a percentage of their income to a body led by Aboriginal elders and administered without any government oversight or intervention.

One per cent of weekly wages is the level suggested by Robbie Thorpe, a veteran Aboriginal rights activist from Melbourne who ran a similar scheme in Fitzroy in the 1990s, and who is the uncle of senator Thorpe.

Government statistics from last August that say the median Australian employee's earnings were $1,250 per week. So spread evenly, all Australian wage earners could pay a median 'rent' of $12.50 a week, adding up to $650 a year.

The 'Pay the Rent' tax could apply to Indigenous people too. Anyone who owns property would pay because it would operate as a form of land tax.

'Pay the rent from grassroots for grassroots. No strings attached to government agenda. It assists sovereign grassroots fight the many campaigns and struggles we face everyday,' Ms Thorpe said.

She has publicly criticised the call for an Indigenous Voice to Parliament, saying Indigenous people deserve to be more than an 'advisory body'

Senator Thorpe has called for better representation of Indigenous people in Parliament with 10 independent seats going towards First Nations people to help maintain their 'sovereignty'.

Also in her agenda is a complete rewrite of the Australian Constitution.

'Let's rewrite the Constitution, or let's take out everything that is racist in the Constitution,' she told Junkee in December.

'Let's update the Constitution to fit with this country today, because when it was written, when it was established in 1901, is very different to where it is in 2022.'

Her call for a change to the Constitution stems from her desire for Indigenous Australians to have 'real power.'
A flight attendant's court battle with her billionaire boss has lifted the lid on what it's like working on a private jet after she was fired for disobeying her chief pilot's instructions to switch hotels.

Corin Davoren alleged in her Fair Work Commission suit she was unfairly dismissed by Pejr Business Aviation, an entity of the Lederer Group owned by Western Sydney Wanderers A-League team co-owner Paul Lederer.

The Fair Work Commission recently ruled the company had no valid reason to sack Ms Davoren, who worked on Mr Lederer's 14-passenger Gulfstream 550 jet.

The commission heard during a stopover in Los Angeles in November 2021, chief pilot Jennafer Cohrs requested Ms Davoren move from the Thompson Hollywood to the Dream Hotel across the road due to construction noise.

The pilot, fearing construction at the Thompson would keep her up, wanted her to stay at Dream Hotel so she could get a full 12 hours of rest prior to the flight back to Sydney.

Ms Davoren argued she couldn't switch hotels at such short notice because she needed to get as much sleep as she could due to jet lag and would also need to make alternative arrangements for additional refrigeration at the new hotel.

The Fair Work Commission ruled in Corin Davoren's favour after her unfair dismissal in November 2021

She argued changing hotels was not feasible because it didn't give her enough time to meet the 'very specific' catering requests of Mr Lederer and his wife for the flight, which involved a supermarket shopping list for 52 items the night before they were due to take off.

Ms Davoren also spent much of the next day shopping for additional bakery items, fresh juices, deli meats, newspapers and fresh flowers.

Mrs Lederer also requested Weiner schnitzel from a restaurant called Spagos and pasta and salad from a restaurant called Il Pastai, the Fair Work Commission heard.

'[Ms Davoren] said that if she had changed hotels on the evening of November 1, 2021, it would have resulted in her getting to sleep well beyond her normal sleep time on that evening as she would have had to make alternative arrangements for additional refrigeration at the Dream Hotel, diverting deliveries of flowers and newspapers, packing up the supplies and shopping in her room, as well as and her own luggage,' the recent judgement stated.

The FWC heard the chief pilot said she had 'completely lost confidence' in the attendant's ability to function in an emergency given she was not following instructions.

Tensions escalated between the chief pilot and the attendant during the flight after Ms Davoren allegedly served her 'frozen soup' while another meal was served without cutlery.

Corin Davoren (pictured) worked as an attendant on billionaire businessman Paul Lederer's Gulfstream 550 private jet

Lederer Group founder Paul Lederer is also co-owner of the Western Sydney Wanderers

The chief pilot also argued the Lederers would not have been concerned if their restaurant food could not be sourced and 'would be content with frozen croissants warmed up'.

Ms Davoren's employment was terminated on November 10 2021, six days after the flight returned to Sydney, which was confirmed in writing two days later.

Fair Work Commissioner Phillip Ryan conceded the request for the attendant to relocate hotels was lawful but ruled it wasn't reasonable.

'In my view, and having regard to all of the evidence before me, the [attendant] refused to change hotels because to do so would have compromised her sleep the night before departure,' he said.

He ruled Ms Davoren had a 'duty' to comply with her clients' requests and also found the 12-hour rest period only applied to pilots and not flight attendants.

'Even if I had found that a 12-hour minimum rest period applied to the [attendant], I would not have found the direction was reasonable where the [attendant's] conduct in departing the Thompson Hotel was to collect restaurant meals specifically requested by Mrs Lederer, and fresh food items such as fruit juices, pastries, and deli cuts,' Commissioner Ryan said.

'These items must be picked up on the day of departure by the flight attendant if they cannot be delivered.

'I find that [Ms Davoren] actions were consistent with her duties and were "common practice".'

The Fair Work Commission recently ruled the company had no valid reason to sack Corin Davoren (pictured)

Ms Davoren also requested reinstatement to the jet or to the Lederers' 35-metre luxury yacht Crystal Lady.

But that request was rejected by Commissioner Ryan after he found relations between the parties involved have 'irretrievably broken down' and that reinstatement would be 'inappropriate'.

He issued directions to calculate appropriate compensation - which is expected to be around $80,000.

Daily Mail Australia has contacted Ms Davoren and the Lederer Group for comment.

Ms Davoren describes herself on LinkedIn as a freelance corporate cabin manager.

Mr Lederer founded the Lederer Group, which comprises of property, manufacturers, financial investments and community based developments.

He was also the former chief executive of smallgoods retailer the Primo Group founded by his uncle before the business was sold in 2014 to food giant JBS for $1.45billion.

Mr Lederer has been co-owner of the Western Sydney Wanderers since 2014, two years after the A-League club was founded.
Speculation the findings could lead to a national ban for under-18s

An Australian town has banned the sale of energy drinks to under-18s in an effort to curb 'anti-social behaviour' and improve mental health - but teenagers are not impressed.

The wildly popular drinks are not sold to anyone 17 or younger at any of the main stores in Bridgetown, a small town three hours south of Perth, during a four-month trial.

The ban is part of a research project by the Telethon Kids Institute, which could help policymakers explore a national ban of energy drinks for under-18s.

GP Sarah Youngson suspects energy drinks could be linked to some anti-social behaviour by young people

A Bridgetown cafe owner, Laurel Keenan, said she would uphold the ban by treating energy drinks the same as cigarettes.

She will ask for ID before selling them and if the buyer is under 18, they'll be refused service, the ABC reported.

GP Sarah Youngson, who supports the ban, said her work with patients showed increased anxiety and insomnia in young people is linked to the use of energy drinks.

Now Dr Youngson suspects the drinks might be responsible for other behaviours too.

'It had been brought to my attention that there were some issues around town with some antisocial behaviour, young people being a little bit impulsive and a bit erratic," she said.

An Australian town has banned the sale of energy drinks to under-18s in an effort to curb 'anti-social behaviour' and improve mental health

Local teenagers and young people from Bridgetown, WA were not impressed by the ban

Local teenagers and young people were not impressed by the ban.

'I'm not mad about it, but I'm not like super happy either,' said one teenage girl.

'Personally, for me it's not the best,' said a young man.

On social media young people reacted negatively too.

'For real Bridgetown!?? I'm glad Im over 18 and glad I moved away!' wrote one woman on Facebook.

'So funny! P.S its not the energy drinks doing [causing mental health issues]!'

Researchers will study the behaviour of school children though surveys with students, parents and retail outlets before and after ban period.

Prolonged use of energy drinks is already believed to have potentially negative impacts on physical health.

Those include affecting the heart and cardiovascular system and causing high blood pressure.
The art dealer representing Hunter Biden said the president's son had the potential to be one of the most influential painters of the modern era, but declined to say whether he'd cooperate with a congressional investigation into sales of the art.

Georges Berges, who has been overseeing the sale of Biden's paintings, said the 53-year-old would 'become one of the most consequential artists in this century.'

His comments came as the New York Post pressed him on whether he would comply with requests from the House Oversight Committee, which asked to see the names of individuals who purchased Biden's artwork and the price they paid for it.

The Republican committee's investigation is part of an ongoing probe into the president's son's murky business dealings, which some contend involved him leveraging his closeness to the White House for profit.

His artwork attracted attention after some of his paintings were listed for a whopping $500,000, but the identities of buyers and prices they actually paid were kept secret.

Georges Berges and Hunter Biden. Berges has been representing Biden throughout his art career

Hunter Biden hard at work on one of his many paintings. His manager said he could be one of the most important artists of the century

Oversight Chair James Comer said Berges hadn't responded to previous requests for information on the sales in the past Congress, but with Republicans in the majority and the threat of subpoena he expected a response this time around.

When The Post asked Berges whether or not he intended to cooperate, the art dealer declined to comment and instead waxed poetic about the heights of Biden's artistic prodigy.

'I represent Hunter Biden because I feel that not only his art merits my representation, but because his personal narrative, which gives birth to his art, is very much needed in the world,' he said.

'His is a story of perseverance; Hunter's story reflects what I believe is the beauty of humanity, judged not by the fall, but by having the strength to rise up, by having the character required to change and the courage to do it.'

'Hunter Biden's art reflects all of that and more. His art gives us hope; it reminds us that tomorrow brings a new day, a new beginning, a new possibility,' he said.

'Hunter Biden will become one of the most consequential artists in this century because the world needs his art now more than ever. In a world that beats us down, we need art in our lives that reminds of the unrelenting divinity within each of us.'

Georges Berges carrying a bouquet of flowers into his gallery where Biden's art is on display

Georges Berges stands inside his gallery in New York City during Biden's gallery exhibition

Berges has previously refused to turn over information about Biden's clients, arguing he is committed to the anonymity of his clients', along with finding the next great artist of the time.

'Almost 10 years ago I opened a gallery that has a global perspective on the human experience and that seeks to find artists who I feel will be consequential not just in the art world but in the broader culture,' he said.

Comer, however, has not been impressed with that stance. On January 25 demanded Berges turn over the details of the Biden sales by February 8, or else face possible criminal charges.

'For over a decade, the Biden family has profited from Joe Biden's positions as a public official,' Comer wrote. 'Your arrangement with Hunter Biden raises serious ethics concerns and calls into question whether the Biden family is again selling access and influence.'

'Despite being a novice artist, Hunter Biden received exorbitant amounts of money selling his artwork, the buyers' identities remain unknown, and you appear to be the sole record-keeper of these lucrative transactions,' Comer wrote to Berges.

Berges could also be compelled to turn the evidence over if the committee votes to subpoena it.

Hunter Biden sitting amongst some of his paintings. His paintings have been listed for large sums

One of Hunter Biden's paintings. During a gallery exhibit last year one of his works was listed for $500,000

A Hunter Biden painting at his exhibit. The names of his buyers have been kept secret

Hunter's latest art work advertised prices between $55,000 and $225,000, according to the Daily Beast.

Amid criticism of the art sales, the White House Counsel's Office came up with a plan to prevent Hunter or anyone in the Biden administration from knowing the identity of those who purchased his work.

Berges was directed to keep buyers' identities to himself and reject any offers that seemed suspiciously high.

Comer highlighted the possibility that 'foreign buyers' were making purchases.

Amid criticism of the art sales, the White House Counsel's Office came up with a plan to prevent Hunter or anyone in the Biden administration from knowing the identity of those who purchased his work

Hunter's latest art work advertised prices between $55,000 and $225,000

During one of Biden's gallery exhibits in 2021, two former White House ethics chiefs warned buyers could try to curry influence with the president by buying his son's work for inflated sums.

'I just think that's absolutely appalling,' Obama White House ethics chief Walter Shaub told Law & Crime's 'Objections' podcast in August.

Richard Painter, George W. Bush's ethics' chief, told Fox: 'It's going to be very clear with people in the know as to who buys Hunter Biden's art.

'The question is, are the American people going to know? The White House should insist on complete transparency.'

The Oversight Committee has targeted much of its focus on the Biden family's business dealings, specifically if Hunter Biden sold access to foreign officials and to what extent Joe Biden could have been involved.
A Colombian student accused of murdering a sex worker in a rage inside her Sydney eastern suburbs unit messaged a friend: 'I believe I killed a w***e,' a court was told.

Hector Enrique Valencia Valencia, 23, admits assaulting and killing Kimberley McRae in January 2020, but he denies murdering her.

The NSW Supreme Court was told Ms McRae was a transgender woman and advertised her sexual services online as a 38-year-old woman.

Valencia answered an online advertisement and went to her Mount St apartment in Coogee where Ms McRae performed a series of sexual acts on him, the court heard.

But he did not know Ms McRae was transgender - and when he found out, he 'lost self-control', defence barrister Claire Wasley told the court on Monday.

Kimberley McCrae, 69, was a transgender woman and advertised sexual services online as a 38-year-old woman

'It is the accused's case that he did not know the deceased was 69 years of age or was transgender,' Ms Wasley said.

'The accused then lost self-control.'

A broken lamp with a broken power cord was found near Ms McRae's body when it was discovered on January 14.

Valencia punched Ms McRae once in the stomach and once in the face before they wrestled and struggled on the ground, Ms Wasley said.

He claims that after he punched Ms McRae, she attacked him with the lamp, leading him to fear for his life.

'The accused was naked and the deceased was between him and the door. The accused wanted to leave but he could not,' said Ms Wasley.

He's alleged to have choked her to death before he then fled the country.

Two days after the deadly attack, Valencia sent a series of Facebook messages to a friend in Spanish, the court was told.

Two days after the deadly attack, Valencia sent a series of Facebook messages to a friend in Spanish, the court was told (above, a digital mock-up of the translated evidence read out in court)

Valencia sold his motorcycle for $2000, borrowed $1000 from friends and bought a ticket, using his landlord's credit card, back to Colombia.

'You are one of the few I can trust,' Crown prosecutor Craig Everson SC told the court that one of the translated messages read.

'And the truth is tomorrow I am travelling to Colombia. I threw my life away, dude. I am escaping because I don't want to finish in jail in Australia.'

Mr Everson said the messages continued: 'I die of shame to tell this to anybody. I believe I killed a w***e ...

'I better go Colombia before they catch me, I cannot see her in the news. I don't know if she is dead, but she must be after what happened.'

Valencia sold his motorcycle for $2000, borrowed $1000 from friends and bought a ticket, using his landlord's credit card, back to Colombia.

He boarded a flight back to South America the next day - three days after the altercation inside Ms McRae's apartment - the court heard

He returned to Colombia but was arrested in Aruba and extradited back to Australia where he has been in custody ever since.

Ms McRae's decomposing body was discovered after her twin sister Karen contacted the real estate agent.

Property manager Corrine Smith visited the two-bedroom flat to see if the tenant was alright.

Ms McRae's body was found covered with a blanket. She was wearing tights and a grey long-sleeved top which was pulled down, exposing her breasts.

When asked what she could smell when she entered the unit, Ms Smith on Monday told the court: 'I could smell, like a bad ... decomposing, a strong smell.'

Hector Enrique Valencia Valencia (pictured in red) returned to Colombia but was arrested in Aruba and extradited back to Australia where he has been in custody ever since

Valencia arrived in Australia on a student visa in May 2019 and was studying at a Surry Hills college.

Valencia's defence accepts he initiated the physical altercation and caused her death, but claims he did not intend to kill her or cause grievous bodily harm.

Valencia, 23, has pleaded guilty to her manslaughter but denies he intended to kill or cause grievous bodily harm to Ms McRae and pleaded not guilty to her murder.

'Not guilty,' Valencia told the court, wearing prison greens and listening intently with the assistance of an interpreter.

Crown prosecutor Craig Everson SC did not accept the guilty plea to the lesser charge.

The Crown prosecution has alleged Ms McRae died due to neck compression.

Valencia admitted submerging three Apple iPhones belonging to Ms McRae in her toilet to try to cover up the messages they had exchanged before the killing.

Valencia is facing a judge-alone trial before Justice Dina Yehia which is centring on the events inside Ms McRae's home between 3.35pm and 4.15pm on the afternoon of January 8, 2020.

The trial continues.
Alcohol bans have been reinstated in central Australia - preventing the sale of booze in Indigenous town camps and remote communities - in the wake of a crime crisis in Alice Springs.

Northern Territory Chief Minister Natasha Fyles said on Monday that the Territory Government will reintroduce the bans via urgent legislation next week.

Ms Fyles announced that 'dry zones' will be temporarily implemented while long term alcohol management plans are devised.

'We've heard loudly and clearly that the matter and decision of alcohol on community needs to be one that is made by the entire community,' she said.

Alcohol bans are set to return to the Alice Springs region as crime and violence continues to rock the outback town

Ms Fyles said the new restrictions were based on the recommendations of the newly appointed central Australian regional controller Dorrelle Anderson.

Ms Anderson, who was appointed after the prime minister's visit, reviewed the Territory's opt-in alcohol restrictions which kicked into force last year.

It comes after Prime Minister Anthony Albanese visited the troubled Outback town last month amid growing anger over alcohol-fuelled violence and theft in the town.

Under the new legislation, communities can apply to opt out of the ban, as long as 60 per cent of residents vote in favour of an alcohol management plan, once it's developed.

Ms Fyles said: 'The new legislation will follow local decision making processes, where community alcohol plans will be developed, communities that want to make changes will go to a vote with 60 per cent of the population needing to agree and the director of licensing needing to sign off on these plans.

'I will bring the legislation immediately to the Northern Territory parliament, when it meets for the first time this year, next week.'

'We've always said that if our policies don't deliver the benefits to our communities that we seek, we will be agile with these policies.'

Alice Springs locals packed a town hall meeting to address community issues last week

Northern Territory senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price (pictured) called for alcohol bans to be reinstated as she spoke about the sexual violence, trauma and murder her family had experienced because of alcohol

Earlier, NT senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price made an impassioned plea for alcohol bans to be reinstated in Alice Springs to tackle a surging crime wave.

Ms Price told the Senate her family had experienced sexual violence, trauma and murder in central Australia because of alcohol.

The Country Liberal Party senator said she would move a bill to legislate the reinstatement a Commonwealth alcohol ban after the Stronger Futures laws lapsed last year.

Senator Price said she'd been working on her bill since August, weeks after the legislation lapsed.

'It's not something that has come about as a knee-jerk reaction,' she said.

'I knew with the removal of the cashless debit card, with the ending of the Stronger Futures legislation, this was going to happen.

'I don't want to lose any more family members to alcohol-fuelled violence in town camps.'
The mother of a pregnant mother-of-two brutally murdered by her estranged partner has blasted him during a furious courtroom takedown.

Michelle Darragh, 32, was expecting her third child when her lifeless body was found at her former partner's Bayswater North home in Melbourne's east on October 9, 2021.

On Monday, her mother Dianne Darragh wished death upon Benjamin Coman, 30, after he pleaded guilty to her daughter's murder.

Michelle Darragh was savagely murdered by her estranged partner Benjamin Coman, who has pleaded guilty to her murder

Michelle Darragh, 32 (pictured), died at her former partner's Bayswater North home 28km east of Melbourne's city centre on October 9

Dianne Darragh (centre) in happier times with her daughter Michelle (left).

Ms Darragh could not contain her rage as she faced her daughter's killer in the Supreme Court of Victoria.

'Ben Coman I will make sure your boys know that you are a cold blooded murderer and that you killed their mother,' she shouted from the front of the court.

Ms Darragh had been in the process of reading her victim impact statement when she turned to face Coman, who was seated in the prison dock at the rear of the court.

The shattered mother and grandmother, who now has full custody of her young grandchildren, aged just 2 and 5, was forced to pause for air before unleashing on Coman again.

'I will make sure that they hate you forever for depriving them from the life of their loving mother,' she told Coman.

'I only wish someone would take your life in the brutal way you took Michelle's.'

Ms Darragh told the court she hated having to hate someone as hard as she did him.

'I used to be a caring person, but that's just another thing you have taken away from me,' she told Coman.

Michelle, a social worker, had been discovered by her own father lying beside a bloodied pile of clothes with her injured ex-partner beside her, whom he thought was also dead.

She had been stabbed in the back before Coman attempted to take his own life by stabbing himself in the stomach.

Coman was taken to hospital in a critical condition where he remained under police guard until he could be interviewed by homicide detectives.

The couple had recently separated when the mother-of-two returned to the Bayswater North home to collect some of her belongings

Ms Darragh's heartbroken family said: 'She lived for her kids and family and always put other people first in front of her own self'

Ms Darragh told Coman his eldest son wished everyday that his mum would knock on her door.

'The tears this little boy has cried, the real heartbreaking sobs he does is just unbearable to hear and watch,' she said.

'He knows his daddy hurt his mummy really bad that's why she's not with us anymore, but still that does not stop the pain that these little boys have lost their parents.'

Ms Darragh told Coman she had told his son what he had did to his mother.

'Which is hard to watch his little face drop and then he says "I really miss mummy. I wish I could take her out of my heart and have her here so I can kiss and cuddle her",' she said.

The couple, who once lived at the address with their two young boys, had recently separated after five years together.

The court heard Michelle had caught Coman cheating on her with prostitutes and he had been using the deadly drug ice.

The final straw came after he took $82,500 out of their joint account, which only had $100,000 in it, without telling her and bought a Holden ClubSport 7 sedan.

Michelle had been living with her parents at The Basin when she returned to the Bayswater north home on October 9 to collect some of her belongings.

Her father decided to check on his daughter after he grew concerned when she failed to return home earlier that afternoon.

A neighbour reported Ms Darragh's dad climbed the back fence when he couldn't enter through the front door before making the tragic discovery.

Michelle Darragh, 32, was expecting her third child when she was murdered by Ben Coman (left)

Ben Coman (right) was told he would never see his children again

Ms Darragh told Coman he would have no role in his children's lives when he eventually walked free from jail.

'I do promise you Ben, you will never see your boys again. If you ever get out I will move countries so that you will never find them, which would be just another thing that you have destroyed in our lives,' she said.

Ms Darragh told Justice Andrew Tinney she could not understand why Coman was not subject to the death penalty.

'I really hate you Ben Coman and sometimes I wish my husband did know you were alive so he could have killed you himself for killing our beautiful daughter,' she said.

Before leaving the witness box, Ms Darragh reiterated how Coman had taking everything from her family.

'I love her, I cherish her and I will be heartbroken and sad for the rest of my life,' she said.

In a tragic conclusion, Ms Darragh took a tumble as she returned to her seat within the courtroom, appearing to dislocate her knee.

The heartbroken mother wailed in pain as guards worked to remove Coman from the courtroom.

The matter was stood down for the remainder of the day and is expected to continue on Tuesday.
Southern Charm star Olivia Flowers and her devastated were seen leaving the funeral of her brother Conner on Sunday at a ceremony in South Carolina.

Her beloved brother Conner died on January 30 at the age of just 32, but no cause of death has been made public.

Online tributes poured in for the 'kind and selfless soul,' as his family embraced one another at the service celebrating his life.

Olivia, along with her parents Garry and Robin and maternal grandparents Heyward and Barbara, were seen putting on a brave face and greeting friends, family and well wishers at First United Methodist Church on the Isle of Palms.

Flowers and her parents and the entire family held together and could be seen embracing the priest as they walked down the church steps after the service.

Southern Charm star Olivia Flowers and her devastated family laid her brother Conner to rest on Sunday at a ceremony in South Carolina

Family and friends exit Flowers' funeral on Isle of Palms in South Carolina

Olivia greets well wishers outside the funeral; she and many others were emotional and wiping away tears

They walked down following Conner's coffin, which was carried to the hearse by the pallbearers.

It was an emotional scene outside the church and the attendees could be seen hugging and wiping tears away from their eyes.

Olivia, 30, has yet to speak on her brother's passing but fans have wished her condolences under her latest Instagram post.

The two siblings appeared to share a close relationship, often showing each other brotherly and sisterly affection on social media.

On Saturday, mourners were seen gathering together outside the chapel in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina, bringing flowers and embracing one another amid the family tragedy.

Olivia could be spotted at one point looking distraught as she sat alone in a white Mercedes.

Other heartbroken loved ones were seen bundling up into one car and heading off to attend the viewing of Conner's body.

Former Southern Charm star Thomas Ravenel revealed the news of Conner's death in a recent post. Tributes then flowed on an obituary page.

Olivia along with her parents Garry and Robin and maternal grandparents Heyward and Barbara were seen at First United Methodist Church on the Isle of Palms

Gone too soon: Conner Flowers is said to have passed away on January 30 and a cause of death is not yet clear

Flowers and her parents could be seen embracing the priest as they walked down the church steps after the service

Olivia Flowers walks just ahead of her parents following the coffin down the church steps

Olivia and Conner with their parents Garry and Robin

In his tribute, Ravenel said: 'RIP Conner Flowers 2/9/1990-1/30/2023.

You will be terribly missed by those to whom you were so kind and selfless. My sincerest sympathies to your broken-hearted family.'

A Legacy.com obituary page listed J. Henry Stuhr Mount Pleasant Chapel as the funeral home.

The mother of Southern Charm's Taylor Ann Green was among three people to post a tribute on the site.

Leslie Green wrote on Wednesday: 'Precious Olivia, Robin and Garry... please know how heartbroken we are for your unspeakable loss.

Olivia Flowers embraces the priest after the funeral

Olivia's parents Garry and Robin are seen embracing the priest as her grandparents walk down the stairs

A man brings a bouquet of flowers out of hearse near the funeral

Olivia, 30, has yet to speak on her brother's passing but fans have wished her condolences under her latest Instagram post

Olivia and father Garry speak to officials outside the hearse as they exit the funeral

Southern Charm star Olivia Flowers' brother Conner dead at 32: Tributes pour out calling him 'kind and selfless'

'We are holding you in our hearts and prayers for the peace, comfort and strength of God to carry you through. With much love, Leslie and Rick Green (& all of Taylor Ann's family).'

Another post from Natalie and Jonathan Stewart read: 'We are lifting you all up in our prayers today and in the weeks and months to come.

'Praying for peace and comfort... a peace that surpasses all understanding.

'We love you Olivia and your family and loved ones will all be in our prayers.'

A person named Darla also shared comforting words, writing: 'Grief can be so hard, but our special memories help us cope. Remembering you and your loved one today and always.'

A friend of Conner's named Danny Colucci took to Instagram to share an old photo of them and write: 'Scared to call people brother at this point,' with a broken heart emoji.
Channel Ten's apology letter to a judge about Lisa Wilkinson's ill-fated Logies speech can be revealed for the first time - with the network insisting the star did not 'understand' she had been warned about the consequences of her televised address.

The veteran journalist came under fire last year for thanking Ms Higgins in her acceptance speech for the Outstanding News Coverage Logie award, which she was given for her one-on-one interview with the former ministerial staffer.

Her speech was televised nationally and forced the trial against Bruce Lehrmann to be postponed in the ACT Supreme Court from June to October, with defence lawyers arguing it could prejudice a jury.

During a hearing to discuss potential repercussions of the speech on June 21, Chief Justice Lucy McCallum told the court that Ms Wilkinson sought advice on whether the speech was appropriate in a meeting with the ACT's Director of Public Prosecutions Shane Drumgold the previous week.

The chief justice said Wilkinson went ahead with her plans for the speech, in spite of Mr Drumgold's warning.

However, Daily Mail Australia has exclusively obtained the carefully-worded letter of apology sent to Mr Lehrmann's lawyers, the DPP and Chief Justice McCallum on behalf of Channel 10 and Wilkinson the next day, on June 22.

Lisa Wilkinson came under fire in June for thanking Brittany Higgins in her acceptance speech for the Outstanding News Coverage Logie award (pictured at the Logies)

Pictured: a letter of apology sent to Mr Lehrmann's lawyers, the DPP and Chief Justice McCallum on behalf of Channel 10 and Ms Wilkinson

In the letter, the executive vice-president of Channel 10, Beverley McGarvey claimed that neither the network's senior legal counsel or Ms Wilkinson realised they had been cautioned about the speech in the pre-Logies meeting with Mr Drumgold.

'Neither Ms Wilkinson nor the Network Ten Senior Legal Counsel present at the conference with the DPP on June 15 2022 understood that they had been cautioned that Ms Wilkinson giving an acceptance speech at the Logie Awards could result in an application being made to the court to vacate the trial date,' the letter read.

'Had they understood that a specific warning had been given, Ms Wilkinson would not have given that speech.'

'We profoundly regret that the trial has had to be vacated.

'We did not foresee the volume and damaging nature of the media and social media commentary that followed from Ms Wilkinson's acceptance speech.

'We apologise for this, and will take steps to ensure that such matters are taken into account in the future.

Ms McGarvey said she had directed all future commentary about the case by the network to 'be strictly limited to general news reporting of the proceedings as they are conducted in open court'.

In the aftermath of that memo, Wilkinson, The Project and Channel 10 programs did not comment on the case except to provide brief news updates. Wilkinson was reportedly barred from speaking about the case on air, whatsoever.

Lisa Wilkinson (right) wont he award for her one-on-one interview with Brittany Higgins (left)

The trial against Bruce Lehrmann (pictured outside court) was derailed by misconduct from jurors

Chief Justice McCallum delayed the month-long trial 'regrettably and through gritted teeth'. It eventually went ahead in October, but was sensationally aborted due to misconduct by a member of the jury.

It was then rescheduled for February 2023. However, Mr Drumgold dropped the matter altogether in November due to concerns over Ms Higgins' mental health. Later that month, Wilkinson quit as host of The Project.

Ms Higgins had alleged Mr Lehrmann, her former colleague, raped her inside Parliament House after a night out in Canberra in 2019. He had pleaded not guilty and has always maintained his innocence.

Mr Lehrmann moved to Tasmania late-last year to pick grapes at a winery, while Ms Higgins has plans to study at The University of Sydney, and became engaged to her partner, David Sharaz.

Ms Wilkinson and her husband Peter FitzSimons and canned their annual 'Independence Day' party after a tumultuous 2022

Meanwhile, reports emerged on Monday to claiming that Wilkinson and her husband Peter FitzSimons canned their star-studded 'Independence Day' party after enduring the 'worst year of their lives' in 2022.

The high-profile couple's annual barbecue at their harbourside mansion was one of most-anticipated events of the year for Sydney's A-list, boasting high-profile guests from prime ministers and television stars to chefs, comedians and journalists.

The outspoken republicans rebranded the famous Australia Day bash an 'Independence Day' party in 2020, but the shindig was shelved in 2021 due to the pandemic. The event returned last year but was pushed back to February 26.

However, the couple will not be hosting a bash in 2023 after a year from hell, with friends speculating whether it has been canned for good. An unnamed friend said the couple felt 'bruised' after a tumultuous year in the spotlight.

Daily Mail Australia approached Paramount ANZ, the parent company of Channel 10, for comment on the leaked letter.
TEACHER unions have urged parents of Ordinary Level students whose results were nullified last week to sue the Zimbabwe School Examinations Council (Zimsec) for presiding over flawed examinations.

More troubles appear to be brewing for the examinations body after nearly 5 000 candidates had their 2022 O Level results nullified for cheating following a massive examination papers leakage, sending shockwaves across the country.

A total of 183 584 students sat for the 2022 Zimsec O Level examinations, and the majority, 130 415 students, failed to get at least five subject passes.

The results were released last week and Zimsec admitted that they were marred by several irregularities. Mukaro High School in Masvingo province is reportedly the worst affected school after the entire schools O Level results were nullified.

In a circular circulating on WhatsApp directed to parents and guardians, Mukaro School headmistress, one Marumanadzo said they were shocked over withdrawal of results for all students at their school.

This is meant to clarify the shocking withdrawal of 2022 Ordinary Level results. We as an institution at Mukaro High School are equally shocked because we are yet to get a detailed report from Zimsec on what transpired, Marumanadzo said.

Educators Union of Zimbabwe secretary-general Tapedza Zhou urged parents to sue Zimsec over nullification of their childrens results.

We have been representing teachers, but we are urging parents to sue Zimsec. We have not witnessed something like this since Zimbabwes independence and during the Rhodesian era. Almost 5 000 results were nullified, its a joke. Zimsec has put the name of the country into disrepute and our academic credentials will likely be undermined, Zhou said.

We dont condone corruption and we dont condone examination leakages, but the teachers we are representing are underpaid and they are the markers. If action is not taken, there will be more leakages this year.

Amalgamated Rural Teachers Union of Zimbabwe president Obert Masaraure said Zimsec might fail to raise credible defence as several innocent students were affected.

The withdrawal of results for almost 2% of the candidates doesnt eliminate the risk of fake evaluation outcomes. That punishes poor parents who religiously pay education fees. These parents have no mandate to secure examinations and Zimsec is solely to blame for this, Masaraure said.

Zimbabwe National Teachers Union president Manuel Nyawo accused Zimsec for reducing pass rates of students.

Nyawo said: We hear that students who scored between 50% asnd 60 % were placed in D grade instead of C grade. This needs to be further investigated. How do over 130 000 students fail to get five O Level passes? We will have a huge number of rewrites this year. This means 70% of the students who wrote O Level examinations did not make it and this is worrisome.

There is only one way forward to this unwarranted failure. All students must be upgraded. Those with 50%-60% scores should be slotted into the C grade, while those who scored between 61% and 70 % have to be slotted into B grade, Nyawo said.

He said Zimsec should give a full explanation for the high failure rates this year.

Zimsec spokesperson Nicky Dlamini said all angry parents and students who had their results nullified on charges of cheating should approach their schools first.

Affected students must approach their respective schools before approaching Zimsec, Dlamini said.

National police spokesperson Assistant Commissioner Paul Nyathi said police were still investigating outstanding cases to make further arrests.

As soon as Zimsec reported the matter to the police last year, we have opened dockets and some people have appeared before the courts. We are still investigating some outstanding cases, he said. Newsday
Read more: China fires its weather service chief after balloon is shot down

It had floated over military sites in North America for days, the White House said

A suspected Chinese spy balloon was shot down off South Carolina on Saturday

China has ramped up its rhetoric after the US shot down a suspected spy balloon that had floated over North America for days.

The hunt is on to find the remaining fragments of the balloon - which China insists was an unmanned weather surveillance aircraft that had veered off course.

The aircraft spent several days flying over military sites in North America, before Washington on Saturday said an F-22 fighter jet had shot it down off the coast of South Carolina, because of what it called Beijing's 'unacceptable violation' of US sovereignty.

China has now accused America of using 'indiscriminate force' in shooting down the balloon and said the action would be met with the 'necessary responses'.

Vice Foreign Minister Xie Feng said he lodged a formal complaint with the U.S. Embassy on Sunday over the 'US attack on a Chinese civilian unmanned airship by military force.'

An F-22 fighter jet shot down the suspected spy balloon off the coast of South Carolina on February 4

The hunt is on to find the remaining fragments of the balloon - which China insists was an unmanned weather surveillance aircraft that had veered off course

Officials said the first spy balloon that traveled across the US fell six miles off the coast of South Carolina in waters about 47 feet deep

Vice Foreign Minister Xie Feng, pictured in 2020, said he lodged a formal complaint with the U.S. Embassy on Sunday

'However, the United States turned a deaf ear and insisted on indiscriminate use of force against the civilian airship that was about to leave the United States airspace, which obviously overreacted and seriously violated the spirit of international law and international practice,' Xie said.

China would 'resolutely safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese companies, resolutely safeguard China's interests and dignity and reserve the right to make further necessary responses,' he said.

A second suspected spy balloon was then spotted over Latin America on Friday.

The balloon's detection had already prompted the cancellation of a planned visit by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who had been due to arrive in Beijing on Sunday.

The high-stakes trip was aimed at easing Sino-US tensions - which have been in a downward spiral for years over issues from trade to human rights.

The sides are at odds over a range of issues from trade to human rights, but Beijing is most sensitive over alleged violations by the U.S. and others of its sovereignty and territorial integrity.

Beijing strongly protests military sales to Taiwan and visits by foreign politicians to the island, which it claims as Chinese territory to be recovered by force if necessary.

Xie repeated China's insistence that the balloon was a Chinese civil unmanned airship that blew into the US by mistake, calling it 'an accidental incident caused by force majeure.'

An F-22 Raptor fighter jet fired a single AIM-9X missile to take down a Chinese spy balloon and its payload, which was equipped with cameras, sensors and radars

Biden (boarding Air Force One on Saturday morning in Syracuse, NY). He told reporters, 'I told them to shoot it down on Wednesday. They said to me let's wait for the safest place to do it'

The F-22 boasts a top speed of 1,500 mph and can fly at a max altitude of 65,000 feet, with its missile capable of reaching 1,900 mph. Pictured: an F-22 firing a Sidewinder

US President Joe Biden issued the shootdown order after he was advised that the best times for the operation would be when it was over water, U.S. officials said.

Military officials determined that bringing down the balloon over land from an altitude of 60,000 feet (18,000 meters) would pose an undue risk to people on the ground.

The balloon - which was struck down just off Myrtle Beach - is being taken to Quantico in Virginia for analysis.

The $200million jet flew out of the Langley Air Force base on Saturday to take down the balloon at 2.38pm.

The fragments were spread across roughly seven miles and landed in 47 feet of water. South Carolina cops have ordered locals to steer clear of the debris, warning that the wreckage is part of a federal investigation.

The Pentagon confirmed: 'The balloon, which was being used by the People's Republic of China in an attempt to surveil strategic sites in the continental United States, was brought down above US territorial waters.'

Xie said: 'What the U.S. has done has seriously impacted and damaged both sides' efforts and progress in stabilizing Sino-U.S. relations since the Bali meeting,' referring to the recent meeting between Biden and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping in Indonesia that many hoped would create positive momentum for improving ties that have spiraled to their lowest level in years.

However, the Republicans continued to savage US President Joe Biden's handling of the incident, saying the balloon should have been shot down earlier and accusing him being soft on China.

Pentagon officials on Friday had described the airship as a 'high-altitude surveillance balloon,' adding that Washington had taken steps to block it from collecting sensitive information.

General Glen VanHerck, commander of US forces in North America, said in a statement Sunday that navy personnel were 'currently conducting recovery operations, with the US Coast Guard assisting in securing the area and maintaining public safety.'

Beijing has said the balloon was primarily gathering weather data and that it had been blown off course - going on to express anger after the balloon was shot down.

Boxes are seen being unloaded from a boat which participated in the search for the debris

A helicopter is seen on Sunday scouring the seas for debris from the balloon

The balloon is seen being shot out of the sky on Saturday afternoon

The aircraft spent several days flying over military sites in North America

'The United States' actions have seriously impacted and damaged both sides' efforts and progress in stabilising Sino-US relations,' Chinese vice foreign minister Xie Feng said.

The balloon entered the U.S. air defense zone north of the Aleutian Islands on January 28 and moved largely over land across Alaska and then into Canadian airspace in the Northwest Territories on Monday.

It crossed back into U.S. territory over northern Idaho on Tuesday, the day the White House said Biden was first briefed on it.

Chuck Schumer, the US Senate Democratic leader, said the downing of the balloon by a fighter jet 'wasn't just the safest option, but it was the one that maximized our intel gain.'

That was because any instrumentation on the airship was more likely to survive a water landing.

'We sent a clear message to China that this is unacceptable,' he said in a statement.

'We protected civilians. We gained more intel while protecting our own sensitive information.'

How F-22 shot down Chinese spy balloon: Read more here The F-22 boasts a top speed of 1,500 mph and can fly at a max altitude of 65,000 feet, with its missile capable of reaching 1,900 mph. Pictured: an F-22 firing a Sidewinder Advertisement

He said the full Senate would receive a classified briefing on February 15.

In an interview with ABC News, former US Joint Chiefs of Staff chair Mike Mullen was asked if he thought elements in the Chinese military might have launched the balloon intentionally to disrupt the Blinken visit.

'Clearly, I think that's the case,' he replied.

Mullen said the craft was maneuverable and he rejected China's suggestion it might have blown off course.

'It has propellers on it,' he said. 'This was not an accident. This was deliberate. It was intelligence.'

Blinken's visit would have been the first to China by a US secretary of state since Mike Pompeo's in 2018.

Plans for the visit were announced after Biden held a rare summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Bali in November.

Moments ahead of the announcement of the cancellation of Blinken's trip to Beijing, China had issued a rare apology for the incident.

Following the cancellation and the shooting down of the craft, the tone of China's statements flipped from apologetic to angry.

Vice foreign minister Xie warned that Beijing 'reserves the right to make further necessary reactions'.

Beijing resident Li Yize, 23, told AFP he thought Washington's decision to shoot down the balloon was 'a way for the United States to show its military power.'

'I think that if China were in the United States' place and an aerial probe had entered the territory, China would also have dealt with it severely,' Li added.

The Pentagon said on Friday a second Chinese spy balloon had been seen across Latin America.

Colombia's air force then reported over the weekend an object with 'characteristics similar to those of a balloon' was detected and 'monitored until it left the national air space.'

The air force said it was conducting investigations in coordination with other countries and institutions 'to establish the origins of the object.'

In the United States, the Biden administration continued to come under fire from the Republicans over its handling of the incident.

'As usual when it comes to national defense and foreign policy, the Biden administration reacted at first too indecisively and then too late,' Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell said on Twitter.

'We should not have let the People's Republic of China make a mockery of our airspace.'
Migrants are getting fed up with the hustle and bustle of New York City, and are leaving for Canada on buses paid for with taxpayer money.

As migrants arrive in NYC, National Guard soldiers have been stationed in the Port Authority bus terminal to hand out free tickets for shuttles heading upstate towards the Canadian border.

City Hall sources said the move was part of a 're-ticketing' plan to help migrants work their way to Canada, according to The New York Post, where president Justin Trudeau has been outspoken about building a haven for people in need.

Some of the migrants taking the National Guardsmen up on their offer told The Post they were heading to Canada because they felt it would be more welcoming for them and provide better opportunities than the United States.

The news comes as a large group of migrants was publicly ousted from a ritzy midtown hotel they'd been housed in, and Mayor Eric Adams has been desperately trying to convince that the city's shelters are a safe and hospitable option.

Migrants camped outside the Watson Hotel in midtown Manhattan after they were kicked out

New York City Mayor Eric Adams has been desperately trying to solve the city's migrant crisis

NYC City Hall has been paying a number of organizations to assist in their re-ticketing program, according to The Post.

One such organization was Catholic Charities Community Services, which said it had helped 'thousands of new migrants' relocate out of NYC.

A spokesperson for Catholic Charities said some of those migrants 'reported their desire to relocate to other cities, and Catholic Charities provided some assistance for their travel expenses.'

One of those migrants participating in the re-ticketing plan was Raymond Pena, a Venezuelan who left NYC early Sunday morning.

'The military gave me and my family free bus tickets,' he told The Post. 'I am going to Canada for a better quality of life for my family.'

Those buses travel as far north as Plattsburgh - just shy of the Canadian border - where local van and taxi services bring them the rest of the way and drop them where Canadian police can gather them.

'There's gotta be 100 people a day,' driver Tyler Tambini, 23, told The Post. 'I do this all day. They get dropped off and I take them the rest of the way.'

The service Tambini drives for charges up to $50 to transport individuals, and families for $90.

Migrants get dropped steps from the Canadian border, where they cross and are apprehended by Canadian police.

Migrants camped outside the Watson Hotel in Manhattan. They have been forced to relocate to temporary housing facilities

Migrants bundle up against the winter cold outside the Watson Hotel in Manhattan on February 1

Representatives from City Hall did not comment on how much the re-ticketing program cost, and instead said it was merely a part of its longstanding plan for migrants.

'As we have said since the beginning of this crisis, our goal is help connect asylum seekers who want to move to a different location with friends, family, and/or community and, if needed, re-ticket to help get people to their final destination, if not New York City,' a spokesperson said, according to The Post.

NY Governor Kathy Hochul's office confirmed the National Guard had been deployed to Port Authority, but did not say where funds for re-ticketing came from.

'At the request of the city, National Guard members have been deployed to the Port Authority Bus Terminal, where they greet people upon arrival, answer questions and direct them to services, including transportation options that they seek,' a spokesperson said.

Migrants rest outside a makeshift tent on the sidewalk outside the Watson Hotel in Manhattan

Inside a migrant housing center in Red Hook, Brooklyn. Migrants have complained the shelters are unsafe

Migrants outside the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal, which is being used as a temporary shelter

Numerous migrants traveling to Canada reported being disgusted by the conditions they faced in NYC, where they felt at risk from homeless people and drug users.

'I wanted to live in New York because I thought it would be a better future for my daughters,' said 33-year-old Peruvian Susy Sanchez Solzarno, who was traveling with her family. 'But as the days went by, I saw insecurity, many homeless people, many people who shout and are disrespectful, and many people on drugs.'

'I am going to Canada for the safety and future of my girls,' she told The Post. 'I only ask God that everything goes well and that Canada is not like the United States.'

Manuel Rodon, a 26-year-old from Venezuela, said he was kicked out of the Times Square hotel where he'd initially been housed and sent to a shelter where he felt unsafe.

'A lot of the Americans used drugs there,' Rodon said. 'I feel like Canada will be safer. It is a much quieter country than America.'

He said he knew eight other Venezuelans who had all successfully migrated to Canada.

'They all got free tickets, too. It was the same process,' he said. 'It took them three days through customs. They are all safe. They live in Montreal.'

He and others said they learned about the ease of migrating to Canada through social media.

'It is very difficult to get papers in America,' Rodon said. 'I need to work, so I am going to Canada.'

Canadian President Justin Trudeau has been outspoken about accepting migrants

Venezuelans board a bus bound for the migrant housing center at the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal

Adams has been bullish on asking for federal help over the city's migrant crisis.

Washington has approved $800million in spending to aid the crisis but it will go to various cities across the country.

Even if it were all going to New York, the city will still spend more money on its own to help the migrants, according to ABC7.

However, Adams bragged Sunday that the migrants will live in better conditions than in other cities.

'People are sleeping on the streets in El Paso,' Adams said at the rally. 'There sleeping in airports. I spoke to my colleague in Chicago, people are sleeping in the basement of libraries. No family is sleeping on our streets.'

He added that there are no plans for the city to stop taking in migrants but that they will need extra preparation if the Supreme Court lets Title 42 - the pandemic rule making it harder to seek asylum in the US - expire.

Migrants ride a bus bound for the housing center set up at the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal

A bus full of migrants arrives at the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal on February 2

Activists are not happy with the constant moves, saying that it's not an adequate fix.

'Now they're going to be moved to a building that was not designed for living, that the city is gonna have to prepare for people to sleep in, and only for a short period of time,' Josh Goldfein of the Legal Aid Society said.

'We're gonna invest a lot of resources to get this building ready only to dismantle it again, I guess when cruise ships start coming in again.'

The location is also isolated and far away from accessing medical care and opportunities to work.

'The city has tens of thousands of New Yorkers in shelter currently who were there before the migrants started coming who could move out if they had some assistance,' Goldfein added.

Despite his proclamations, Adams previously made headlines for saying 'there is no more room' after previously stating the city would always welcome migrants.

Buses of migrants have been arriving in NYC since fall when Republican governors, primarily Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, began sending asylum seekers from the border to largely Democratic-leaning cities.
A man has been charged with manslaughter over a boating accident south of Perth which killed two women, including the mother of West Coast AFL player Rhett Bazzo.

Four people were aboard the boat on January 22 when it collided with a channel marker guidepost near Creery Island in the Mandurah estuary.

Debbie Burdon, 54, died at the scene after falling into the water.

Eagles star Rhett Bazzo (left) is pictured with his mother Kylie (right)

A second woman has died after she fell from a boat following a horrific crash in Mandurah, south of Perth. Pictured is a rescue boat used in the search

The body of fellow passenger Kylie Bazzo, 54, was recovered the following day.

A 47-year-old man allegedly driving the boat was taken to hospital with serious injuries while a 54-year-old man was uninjured.

Police said the 47-year-old would face Mandurah Magistrates Court on Monday charged with two counts of manslaughter.

Both women had volunteered for and managed sporting teams in Mandurah.

Ms Bazzo was the first woman to lead a WAFL club when she served as chief executive of Peel Thunder in the early 2000s.

The boat carrying for people hit a red post marker near Mandurah Bridge (pictured)

Rhett Bazzo has played nine matches for the Eagles since being drafted in 2021

Her son Rhett made his AFL debut for West Coast last season.

The 19-year-old lost his father, decorated WAFL player Steve Bazzo, to cancer in 2015.

West Coast last month said they were devastated by the news of Ms Bazzo's passing.

"The club's players, staff and board extend their deepest condolences to the Bazzo family and are offering every support to Rhett, his sister Kameron and their loved ones," the club said in a statement.
TV personality Jane Caro has copped an intense backlash after complaining that her husband was 'humiliated' by a bakery assistant making a 'throwaway joke' ironically referring to the 68-year-old as a 'young man'.

In a Sunday Sydney Morning Herald column, the social commentator asserted her partner, Ralph Dunning, returned 'not just flustered but upset' after 'the bloke behind the counter' at a bakery said: 'And what can we do for you, young man?'

'Being 65 myself, I knew exactly why he felt so outraged and humiliated,' Caro wrote.

'It is always a shock when we find ourselves being treated differently simply because of the length of time we have spent on the planet.'

But many young people online slammed Caro for over-reacting to the light-hearted jab, calling the couple's 'triggering' ordeal 'first world problems'.

Jane Caro (pictured right) shared her husband's 'humiliation and outrage' at a youthful bakery worker making a joke about him being 'young man'

'Imagine you're a teenager working minimum wage at a bakery, next second Jane Caro accuses you of a hate crime,' one wrote.

'My god that was a million times more innocuous than I was expecting,' another said.

'Omg... The most ridiculous 1st world problem I've heard in ages,' a third wrote.

Caro argued the baker's comment was 'particularly offensive because of the many ignorant assumptions it contained' calling it 'just another example of ageism'.

'Every time you discriminate against, diminish, patronise, mock, laugh behind your hand or ignore an older person, it is you who is being stupid. It is your future self you are shooting in the foot,' Caro argued.

She linked the baker's apparent insensitivity to the mistreatment of the elderly.

'The attitude that the old are irrelevant and more of a nuisance than anything else is why so many older people suffered such appalling neglect and abuse in aged care facilities that we had to have a royal commission,' she wrote.

Caro insisted that the baker's 'throwaway joke' pointed to 'ignorant assumptions' that could be 'deadly'

Twitter users were largely very unimpressed by the incident that triggered Caro's outrage

Caro also listed the rising Covid deaths among elderly people and a increasing number of older women living in poverty as symptoms of 'ageism'.

'Prejudice and discrimination are not just humiliating and infuriating,' Caro writes.

'They can be deadly.'

A number commenters accused Caro, who has made regular appearances on shows such as Seven's Sunrise and ABC's The Gruen Transfer, of not being able to take a joke.

'There are many reasons to be angry at each other. This is not one of them,' one comment read.

Another said: 'I have dealt with very many old people in my life and asking,' what does the young bloke/ lady want?' has always brought a huge smile - this is not ageism, this is humourous irony and they love it.'

'Way out of wack Caro.'

A third said: 'Oh please. I'm older than either of you and had that said to me quite recently. It never even occurred to me to feel outraged.'

Caro (pictured left with husband Ralph Dunning) was accused of turning an innocuous joke into an example of 'hate speech'

However, some agreed age discrimination continues to be serious issue and told stories of being locked out of jobs because of their passing years.

'Where ageism is really a problem: the IT sector and recruitment agencies. Age based-discrimination is rampant,' one person wrote in support of Caro.

'The last prejudice that is still socially acceptable,' another said.

A third wrote: 'If you are a teenager then you must be rebellious, mid life you are family orientated or having an affair.....old and you must be infirm, needing help, etc..... We are all individuals and need to be approached that way.'
A Metropolitan Police officer who was raped by 'monster' David Carrick nearly 20 years ago says she felt unable to report him because of the 'male-dominated' culture of the force.

The victim, a serving officer who is being called Michelle to protect her anonymity, is bravely facing her attacker in court today as the serial rapist's two-day sentencing hearing began.

She feared being known as the colleague who 'alleges rape' in a work environment but decided to come forward when she heard he had been charged with the rape of a different woman.

Carrick, a former Met cop who has been unmasked as one of Britain's most prolific sex offenders, is set to be jailed for attacking a dozen women over an 18-year period.

He has admitted 24 counts of rape, as well as charges of sexual assault, controlling and coercive behaviour and false imprisonment.

His 'truly sickening' crimes have forced the Met to issue an apology.

A Metropolitan Police officer who was raped by 'monster' David Carrick (pictured posing with a police firearm) nearly 20 years ago says he 'needs to pay' for his crimes

Carrick, a former Met cop who has been unmasked as one of Britain's most prolific sex offenders, is set to be jailed for attacking a dozen women over an 18-year period. His two-day sentencing begins today at Southwark Crown Court

'The culture of the Met then and for some time afterwards was quite male-dominated. It was a bit Life on Mars,' Michelle told the BBC in an interview published this morning, referencing a television series about police work in the 1970s.

She explained how she Carrick, 48, raped her in 2004, but she never told her colleagues about the attack, citing a work environment that seemingly sexualised women.

She recalled how male officers would use a 'Property of the Met' rubber stamp to mark 'various parts of the anatomy' on female officers.

Michelle said the stamping was done in a 'laughing, joking way' but noting that 'most officers just went along with it.'

She explained that some female officers were made to feel humiliated by their male colleagues.

Michelle said they were driven to blue-light calls and recalled once being shut in the boot of a patrol car 'for half a shift as a joke'.

'That's what they did to a lot of the females as they joined,' she told the broadcaster.

David Carrick, who was unmasked as one of Britain's most prolific sex offenders, is set to be jailed for attacking a dozen women over an 18-year period

A van arriving at Southwark Crown Court on Monday

Michelle said her rape was a 'traumatic experience' that completely changed her life and made it hard for her to trust or get close to men.

She said she planned to attend court for Carrick's sentencing, telling the BBC: 'He's had his many years of doing what he shouldn't do, being a monster. He is a monster, and now he needs to pay.'

Speaking to BBC Radio 4, she also spoke of feelings of guilt over not reporting the rape but had felt unable to do so 'because of the culture of the Met back then'.

She said: 'I felt I owed it to them to report it, I'm paid to protect people and I felt guilty that I hadn't reported anything, I'm trying to deal with rape victims but I had let them down, I needed to stand up and do my bit.'

Carrick's two-day sentencing hearing began at Southwark Crown Court today.

Michelle described Carrick (pictured in an artists impression in court last month) as a monster who spent 'many years of doing what he shouldn't do' and now 'needs to pay' for his crimes

Protesters gathered outside Southwark Crown Court, where David Carrick's two-day sentencing hearing is taking place

Demonstrators held up banners outside Southwark Crown Court where David Carrick is being sentenced

Prosecutor Tom Little KC said: 'If the offending had to be accurately and fairly summarised, it was systematic.

'It was a catalogue of violent and sexual offences perpetrated on multiple victims, whether he was in a controlling or coercive relationship with them or not or even if it was just a single occasion.'

Mr Little said it did not matter to Carrick who the woman was, saying: The reality was that it did not matter who the victim was.

'She could be a new girlfriend, as a number were, a long-term partner, as a number were, a police officer that he worked with or that he did not work with... a friend, or just a stranger.

'The reality was he would rape them, sexually abuse and assault them and humiliate them.'

The prosecutor told the court the women were 'vulnerable', with some 'appreciably older or younger than him'.

Carrick's offending increased in frequency, with 'an increasing level of humiliation being inflicted', Mr Little said.

Two of the women were kept in a small cupboard under the stairs at Carrick's home - one 10 times - while some were urinated on or attacked with a belt, the court was told.

Carrick relied on his 'charm' to 'beguile and mislead' his victims and would use his 'power and control' - in part because of his status as a police officer - to stop them leaving or reporting him, the court also heard.

Carrick, who served in the Army before joining the Met, admitted 49 criminal charges, but some of the attacks are multiple incident counts, meaning they relate to more than 80 sexual offences, including at least 48 rapes against 12 women

Ahead of proceedings, Assistant Commissioner Barbara Gray, the Met's lead for professionalism, said the hearing would provide more detail about his 'cruel and abusive' offences.

She said: 'It is nearly three weeks since David Carrick entered the last of his guilty pleas. In doing so, he admitted to the most appalling offences against women.

'Tomorrow, he will be in court for the first day of a two-day sentencing hearing.

'More detail will be provided about the cruel and abusive nature of his crimes and about the impact they have had on the tremendously brave women who came forward to provide evidence against him.

'I am truly sorry for the harm and devastation he has caused them. We let them down and we failed to identify a man in the ranks of the Metropolitan Police Service who carried out the most awful offences.

'He should not have been a police officer.

'In the weeks since he pleaded guilty, we have spoken about our genuine and urgent commitment to address the systemic failings that have been identified by our own reviews, by those of His Majesty's Inspectorate and Baroness Casey.

'We are determined to root out those who corrupt our integrity.

'That work is already under way.

'In the coming weeks we will be speaking in more detail about the important progress we have already made and what our next steps will be.

'The next two days, however, are about the victims. They have shown such courage in speaking out.

'They truly deserve to have their voices heard and see justice done.'

Carrick, who served in the Army before joining the Met, admitted 49 criminal charges, but some of the attacks are multiple incident counts, meaning they relate to more than 80 sexual offences, including at least 48 rapes against 12 women.

He is also being sentenced for nine counts of sexual assault, five counts of assault by penetration, three counts of coercive and controlling behaviour, and three counts of false imprisonment.

Carrick (pictured) faced complaints about his behaviour before he joined the Met in 2001, then again as a probationer in 2002 and several times throughout his policing career until 2021. He was only suspended from duty in October 2021 when arrested for rape

Carrick's offences also include two counts of attempted rape, one count of attempted sexual assault by penetration, one count of causing a person to engage in sexual activity without consent, and one count of indecent assault.

The case prompted Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to promise police reforms after it emerged the force was informed of nine incidents - including allegations of rape, domestic violence and harassment - between 2000 and 2021.

Carrick, who joined the force in 2001 before becoming an armed officer with the Parliamentary and Diplomatic Protection Command in 2009, faced no criminal sanctions or misconduct findings.

Police chiefs across England and Wales have since been asked to have all officers checked against national police databases by the end of March.

On Sunday, the Met's Assistant Commissioner repeated the apology to Carrick's victims, saying the force 'let them down' and the sex predator 'should not have been a police officer'

He denied a further count of rape in September 2020 relating to a 13th woman, whose allegation triggered the investigation, and the Crown Prosecution Service decided it was not in the public interest to proceed to trial on the charge.

On September 4 2020, Carrick told her he was a firearms officer nicknamed 'Bastard Dave', showed her his warrant card and boasted of meeting famous people, including then-prime minister Boris Johnson, in the course of his work, a court previously heard.

The first of his victims to reveal her identity, Darciane Nunes Da Silva, told the Sunday People last week that she wants Carrick to spend the next 40 years behind bars.

Carrick's crimes are set to form part of the independent inquiry looking at the murder of Sarah Everard, who was raped and strangled to death by then serving Met officer Wayne Couzens in March 2021.
A sub-zero blast will see temperatures plunge to -3C this week as the UK is bit by widespread frost and freezing fog.

The cold snap will hit England between this morning and 6pm tomorrow, the Met Office has warned. Temperatures will hit bone-chilling lows at night, but are not expected to fall below mid-single figures in the daytime during the chilly spell.

The UK Health Security Agency has issued a cold weather warning for this week, alleging the dip in temperatures could could have 'serious consequences' for the health of vulnerable people.

Meanwhile, a coal-fired power station has been put on standby to produce electricity this week due to expected low winds and temperatures.

The cold snap will hit England between this morning and 6pm tomorrow, Met Office warned

A sub-zero blast will see temperatures plunge to -3C this week as the UK is bit by widespread frost and freezing fog. Pictured: A horse grazing in a frosty field in Dunsden, Oxfordshire today

It will be a cloudy and windy day in the far north and northwest this morning, with some rain and drizzle, the Met Office said.

Isolated fog patches will clear this morning leaving other regions of the UK with a dry day with long spells of sunshine and light winds.

Temperatures are expected to fall to sub-zero levels in the coming days in rural areas, forecasters allege.

All regions of England will be affected, but forecasters expect the West Midlands and the Welsh Borders to be the coldest.

Clear spells will lead to widespread frost and extensive fog across the southern regions overnight. It will remain cloudy in the central and northern areas.

Forecasters are also predicting rain and strong winds to develop in the northwest tonight.

Tomorrow Scotland and Northern Ireland will see clods and outbreaks of rain. Further south will experience near-average temperatures as fog slowly clears.

Much of the UK will see dry, sunny spells for the rest of the week, but it will be windy and rainy at times in the northwest. Overnight fog and frost is expected in the south.

Temperatures are expected to fall to sub-zero levels in the coming days in rural areas, forecasters allege

Meanwhile, the National Grid revealed that one of the 'winter contingency coal units' has had to be warmed up to provide a back-up supply if wind turbines do not generate enough energy.

It also said coal supplies were not at risk and it forms part of their winter contingency plan to prevent power cuts.

It comes just weeks after more than one million households and businesses were offered payments to turn their electricity off from 5pm to 6pm.

Despite the move to ensure there is enough supply to meet demand, National Grid is not rolling out is Demand Flexibility Service again this week.

Pensioners and people with underlying health conditions have also been urged to keep their heating on at least 18C.

Others are warned to stay warm and encouraged to look out for those who are most vulnerable in cold conditions.

Dr Agostinho Sousa, consultant in public health medicine at UKHSA, said over the weekend: 'Cold weather can have serious consequences for health, with older people and those with heart or lung conditions particularly at risk.

'It's important to check in on family, friends and relatives who are more vulnerable to the cold weather. If you have a pre-existing medical condition or are over the age of 65, it is important to try and heat your home to at least 18C if you can.'

The coal-fired Ratcliffe-on-Soar Power Station near Nottingham, which is one of only three active coal-fired power stations in the UK

David Oliver, a deputy chief forecaster at the Met Office, said: 'Into early next week an area of high pressure will dominate the UK's weather.

'This will bring some cold nights with a widespread frost across the country. However, by day temperatures will recover to around mid-single figures, near normal for the time of year.'

Met Office meteorologist Dan Stroud added: 'We are expecting a cold front to sink south during the course of Saturday and it is going to really help clear the clouds.

'It is going to allow overnight temperatures to dip below zero and we are likely to see an increasing risk of overnight frost as we move into the early part of next week.

'Wrap up warm and close your curtains in the evening to help keep in the heat.

'Daytime temperatures will be responding to the sunshine... we are likely to see them go to about average or just below average.'

The UKHSA said if people can't heat all the rooms they use, they should heat the living room during the day and the bedroom just before going to sleep.

People should wear several layers of thinner clothing rather than one thick jumper, it added.
The father suffered severe burns as 80 firefighers attended to the blaze

The mother, her five girls and the two boys died from asphyxiation

The fire in the Charly-sur-Marne home was caused by malfunctioning dryer

A mother and her seven children aged two to 14 have died after a fire broke out while they were sleeping at home in northern France on Monday.

The blaze started shortly after midnight in their family home in the town of Charly-sur-Marne, 50 miles east of Paris.

Nearly 80 firefighters attended the blaze. Only the woman's husband, father to three of the children, survived but he suffered severe burns and was taken to hospital.

The mother and her children died from asphyxiation, according to local prosecutor Julien Morino-Ros.

He confirmed the origin of the fire appeared to have been a malfunctioning tumble dryer on the ground floor of the house.

A mother and her seven children died from asphyxiation after a fire, caused by a malfunctioning clothes dryer, broke out at their family home (stock image)

Neighbours called the fire department to the home in the town of Charly-sur-Marne, just 50 miles east of Paris at around middnight on Monday morning. Nearly 80 firefighters were called to the scene in hope to save the family's lives but only the woman's husband survived

There was no initial information about the type of tumble dryer involved, or its manufacturer or service history.

It is thought that the family may have put the dryer on in the early hours of the morning, when electricity costs are cheaper.

Police fear the father told his wife and children to stay in the second-floor attic of their property when he went down to investigate the heavy smoke coming from the dryer.

This turned into 'a trap' for those who died, said the prosecutor, as all the electric shutters upstairs jammed following a power failure.

The father spent a night in hospital, and his condition is 'stable and not life threatening'.

The neighbours called the fire services who arrived soon after 1 am, but they had trouble getting in to the upper floors of the house.

They also struggled to get their ladders to the top windows as the home is nestled in a narrow street.

Fire chief Jean-Claude Ouguel said: 'The house was completely destroyed. Only the side walls remain.'

Wife of the property owner, Sylvie Corre, said: 'I hope with all my heart that those who died did not feel any pain, or see anything.

'We were there in the street all night and watched the horror.'

She said the couple were in their 40s, and were very popular in the area.

The children included five girls and two boys- four of them were from the mother's previous relationship.

The fire was extinguished after several hours and caused damage to a neighbouring property.

The homeowners next door were also evacuated for their safety.

A prefecture said: 'Nearly 80 firefighters from 16 Aisne rescue centres and 48 vehicles were engaged on site.'

The father cannot be named for legal reasons.

The tragedy was the worst such incident since 2013, when five children between two and nine died asphyxiated in an accidental fire, also in northern France
Ukraine's armed forces are bracing for an imminent all-out assault by renewed Russian forces, officials have claimed, as Putin and his commanders seek to make gains before Western tanks can reach Kyiv.

Ukraine's outgoing defence minister Oleksiy Reznikov yesterday said he was expecting Russia to launch a fresh attack on the partially occupied south and eastern regions on or around the anniversary of the war on February 24.

This offensive could even come by February 15, an adviser to the Ukrainian military told the Financial Times.

Meanwhile, tanks pledged by the West are on their way to Ukraine, with some having already arrived in Poland, but it will be weeks before they are ready to be deployed to the front. More than 130,000 Russian troops have now been killed since the invasion began, Kyiv claims.

'They like symbolism,' said Mr Reznikov, who is set to be replaced by military intelligence chief Kyrylo Budanov.

Ukrainian soldiers fire an anti-aircraft gun at a position near Bakhmut in Donetsk, eastern Ukraine, this month

The first Canadian Leopard 2 battle tank to be donated to Ukraine arrives by air transport in Poland. Kyiv expects Putin's troops to launch an all-out assault to capture as much ground as possible before Western tanks can be deployed

A Leopard 2A4 tank is loaded onto a Royal Canadian Armed Forces aircraft to be sent to Ukraine

'Of course we expect possible offensives. Not all western weapons will arrive by then, but we have the resources and reserves to help stabilise and sustain the offensive.'

Ukrainian intelligence official Andriy Chernyak meanwhile told The Kyiv Post: 'Putin gave the order to seize all of Donetsk and Luhansk regions by March.

'We've observed the occupying forces are redeploying additional assault groups, units, weapons and military equipment to the east.'

The US and UK in recent weeks pledged battalions of M1 Abrams and Challenger 2 tanks to help Kyiv beat back the occupiers.

Germany will also send its Leopard 2 tanks while giving the green light to other countries with stocks of the German-made war machines to do the same. A Leopard 2 tank donated by Canada has already arrived in Poland.

But the machines are expected to take weeks to reach Kyiv and Ukraine's armed forces will need to be trained on their operation and maintenance before they can be deployed.

Ukrainian defence officials therefore expect Putin's troops to mount a large offensive this month in an attempt to extend the paltry gains they have made in Donetsk over the winter and capture more ground before Kyiv's soldiers can bring their new armour to the fore.

Ukraine's president Volodymyr Zelensky said as much in his nightly video address to the nation on Saturday, warning that the country was entering 'a time when the occupier will throw more of its forces to break our defences.'

Heavy fighting is already raging in some parts of Donetsk, particularly around the embattled city of Bakhmut, which has been the flashpoint of bitter urban combat as well as World War I-style trench warfare in the surrounding countryside for months.

Russia has in recent days claimed gains around the war-ravaged hotspot, but the head of Russia's Wagner mercenary group said on Sunday that the Ukrainian army was not retreating and that fighting had not abated.

Ukraine's outgoing defence minister Oleksiy Reznikov yesterday said he was expecting Russia to launch a fresh attack on the partially occupied south and eastern regions of Ukraine

Black smoke rises after shelling in Bakhmut on February 3, 2023, amid the Russian invasion

Soledar, a small city in the east of Ukraine close to Bakhmut, which Russian mercenaries claimed control of last month

Head of Wagner group Yevgeny Prigozhin said his forces were making gains in and around Bakhmut but that the Ukrainian military was refusing to retreat

'In the northern quarters of Artemovsk, fierce battles are going on for every street, every house, every stairwell,' Yevgeny Prigozhin, head of the Wagner group, said in a statement, referring to Bakhmut by its old name.

'The Ukrainian armed forces are fighting to the last,' he said.

Russian forces have been trying to seize control of Bakhmut and nearby towns for months in what has become the longest and bloodiest battle since Russia invaded Ukraine last February.

The fight for Bakhmut has turned the town with a pre-war population of roughly 75,000 into a ghost town dotted with hedgehog anti-tank defences and burnt-out cars. The town has no water, gas or electricity.

Mr Zelensky said on Friday that Kyiv's troops would fight for Bakhmut 'as long as we can'.

He urged the West to supply Kyiv with sophisticated weapons to help his forces retain control of Bakhmut and speed up deliveries of heavy tanks, acknowledging that the situation in Donetsk was getting tougher.

'It is very difficult now in Bakhmut, Vuhledar, Lyman and other areas,' he added, referring to the frontline towns in the east of the country.

Ukrainian rescuers at the site of a damaged residential building following a missile strike in Kharkiv yesterday

A wounded resident stands next to his apartment building damaged by a Russian missile strike in Kharkiv

The British defence ministry said on Sunday that over the past week, Russia had made 'small advances' in its attempt to encircle Bakhmut.

The two main roads into the city for Ukrainian troops 'are likely now both threatened by direct fire, following the Russian advances', the British defence ministry said.

'Bakhmut is increasingly isolated.'

Elsewhere, Moscow has continued to systematically target Ukraine's civilian infrastructure with missile strikes, leaving millions in the dark and cold in the middle of winter.

In Ukraine's second city Kharkiv, a missile strike hit a residential building on Sunday, wounding four people, said Oleg Synehubov, head of the regional administration. Another strike left a security guard injured when a missile hit an institute in the northeastern city, he said.

While on Sunday, Russians killed four people in Donetsk, according to Pavlo Kyrylenko, the head of the regional administration. He added that another 11 people were injured.
The area is thought to be haunted by a 'black-eyed girl' who died in the 1960s

A drone has captured strange footage of a mysterious shape in a UK wood where multiple walkers have claimed to have been haunted by 'black-eyed children'.

The image shows a large blotch in the middle of woodland in Cannock Chase, Staffordshire.

The area is purportedly stalked by the infamous 'black-eyed girl' - a phantom in the shape of a little girl who has been seen since the 1980s.

There has been much local speculation that these sightings relate to the actions of killer Raymond Leslie Morris in the 1960s.

Morris murdered seven year-old Christine Darby in 1967.

The image appears to show a spectre hovering in the middle of the Cannock Chase woodland

There have been numerous sightings of ghost girls with black eyes in the woodland

He was also the prime suspect in the disappearance of two other young girls in the area. Ever since, it has been believed that their souls have haunted the woods in the beauty spot.

The Mirror reports that the new image has led ghost hunters to declare the area officially haunted.

Speaking to the publication, phantom watcher Robert Pulme said sightings in the area weren't uncommon.

He explained: 'We have had lots of reports of a "black-eyed girl" seen walking around. At first she appears like a normal girl and walkers are worried a little girl is lost in the woods.

'Then they see her eyes and she just disappears. It is terrifying.'

It is not the first time sightings have been caught on camera in Cannock Chase.

In 2015, a paranormal investigator claimed to also have caught the black-eyed ghost child on camera.

The footage appears to show a pale, white face glowing in the darkness, with two distinctive black eyes.

A year earlier in 2014, a young mother was amazed to find that a photo she had taken of her children in the woods contained a hidden 'face' at the side of the frame.

Michelle Mason stopped to take a picture of her children climbing a tree.

When looking back over the image, she discovered the figure of what appeared to be a small child.

In 2015 a paranormal investigator claimed to have seen a black-eyed ghost child in Cannock Chase woods

The ghostly figure, circled, which Michelle Mason discovered after looking over a picture taken on a family day out

Mrs Mason explained at the time: 'We were on a family walk one afternoon and the kids decided to climb a tree.

'I stopped to take a photo but it wasnt until I got home that I spotted a childs face looking back at me.

'I couldnt believe it when I looked closer at the picture and there was a child, standing with a wheel or a hoop in their hand.

'When you look closely at the photo you can see the deep dark eyes. It definitely bares a striking resemblance to the black-eyed child that has been spotted around Cannock Chase.

'I dont think it looks evil though, or like it wants to cause any harm to my children. They were both a bit spooked by it at first, but any child would be.'

Ghost hunters claim the area is notorious for black-eyed children whose eyes are entirely black and who enter vehicles and homes, oozing an overwhelming sense of fear and panic.

Aside from Morris's grisly crimes, there is a school of thought that the black-eyed children that haunt the area are actually the ghosts of those killed by a diptheria outbreak in the 1800s which claimed the lives of many young children.
A group of WA IGAs have banned under-16s after 6pm

Supermarkets owners have made the drastic decision to ban teenagers in stores at night amid a surge in youth crime.

IGA stores in Geraldton, Western Australian, announced they will refuse entry to unsupervised children after 6pm in an attempt to tackle a spate of shoplifting and abuse toward staff.

Unaccompanied children under 16 may be refused entry or asked to leave the stores in Rigters, Queens and Wonthella, in the state's mid-west.

The owners of a chain of IGA stores in Geraldton, WA, announced they will refuse entry to unsupervised children after 6pm to tackle a surge in shoplifting and staff abuse

Unaccompanied children under 16 may be refused entry or asked to leave IGA stores in Rigters, Queens and Wonthella, in mid-west WA (stock image pictured)

General manager Kyme Rigter told The West Australian staff across the three stores were confronted with 25-35 cases of shoplifting each week, or 'half a dozen times a day'.

Mr Rigter said store managers would hold the power to decide who is refused entry.

Operations manager Stuart Bain said stocktake showed $150,000 of missing products would be attributed to theft between the supermarkets in one year.

Unsupervised children have previously been restricted from the stores during school hours.

The move follows news last week of a Perth A Hungry Jack's restaurant banning entry for anyone under the age of 17 without a guardian.

A Hungry Jack's restaurant in Perth last week banned entry for anyone under the age of 17 without a guardian

The Hungry Jacks outside the Westfield Whitford City shopping centre had recently been targeted by 'eshays', who had intimidated staff and damaged the store.

Both the IGA and Hungry Jacks decisions to refuse service to teenagers comes amid a string of youth crime across WA.

Since the start of the year, at least 16 juveniles have been charged with more than 100 offences including burglaries and armed robberies.
A Sydney construction worker is in court over the killing of a Brazilian man who died from a fatal blow to the head received during a brawl over a stolen chip on the Gold Coast.

Ricky Lefoe is facing trial in Brisbane Supreme Court, charged with manslaughter over the alleged fatal punch at Surfers Paradise on September 30, 2019.

The Crown alleges Mr Lefoe knocked 29-year-old Ivan Susin unconscious during a brawl outside a kebab shop on Orchid Ave.

Ricky Lefoe (pictured) arrives at the Brisbane Supreme court to stand trial for manslaughter

Mr Lefoe has pleaded not guilty to manslaughter.

Several witnesses on Monday told the court they'd seen a group of men fighting, before one man fell to the ground.

In CCTV, which was played before the court on Monday, a group of men is involved in the alleged fight outside the kebab shop.

Witness Daniel Gill told the court he'd been on the Gold Coast to play in the Uni Games tournament and had been out the night of the alleged fight.

Mr Gill said he was sitting nearby when he saw two people get into an 'altercation' and could hear 'raised voices'.

'It was a bit of a scuffle - both stood up and exchanged some punches. From there, a third person ran in, tried to throw a haymaker punch and missed,' Mr Gill said.

Brazilian man Ivan Susin (pictured), 29, died outside a kebab shop on Orchid Avenue in Surfers Paradise in 2019

'He (the third person) then got hit in the head, which knocked him out and he went straight to the ground.'

Mr Gill said he believed the fight had broken out after a 'bloke had stolen food and initiated the fight'.

He told the court he didn't know what type of food was allegedly stolen, but did recall seeing a takeaway container on the bench where the men had been sitting before the fight broke out.

Another witness, Keesha Martinuzzo, told the court she also remembered seeing the fight get 'progressively worse' as she was standing nearby with friends.

'I'm not sure how the fight started, but as we were approaching, there was a few punches, so we stepped away,' Ms Martinuzzo said.

Mr Susin was sitting with friends on a bench outside a kebab shop when two men approached

CCTV footage shows Mr Susin struggling in a fight outside the kebab shop (pictured)

'Lots of punches were being thrown (between) a whole lot of people.

'I couldn't make out who was punching who and there was a lot of people involved in the group.

'I do remember someone being hit ... he was completely knocked out just in that one punch.

'In that single punch he landed directly back on the concrete.

'I don't remember the direction he came from, I wasn't really observing them at the time.'

Ms Martinuzzo said she saw one man eating chips on the bench and then she saw the fight break out.

'I just remember them fleeing, they didn't stay.'

The trial continues.
Rishi Sunak has been accused of 'willy-waving' over a threat to pull the UK out of European human rights rules to make it easier to deport Channel migrants.

Tory backbenchers raised concerns after it was reported yesterday that the Prime Minister was considering removing the UK from the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR).

It came amid fears that the number of migrants crossing the Channel could reach 65,000 this year, a more than 50 per cent increase on the record of 45,000 who crossed last year.

The Sunday Times reported that Mr Sunak was prepared to pass domestic legislation and then dare the ECHR in Strasbourg to rule against it, with a source saying: 'If that's the case, then of course he will be willing to reconsider whether being part of the ECHR is in the UK's long-term interests.'

But in WhatsApp messages seen by the Politico website, Tory backbenchers questioned such a move. The ECHR was set up after the Second World War by politicians including Winston Churchill.

Jackie Doyle-Price, the Thurrock MP who was a minister under Liz Truss and Theresa May, said 'willy-waving about leaving the ECHR will do zilch'.

The move, which would lump Britain in with Russia and Belarus as countries to exit the legal framework, cane amid fears that the number of migrants crossing the Channel could reach 65,000 this year

Jackie Doyle-Price, the Thurrock MP who was a minister under Liz Truss and Theresa May, wrote in a Tory WhatsApp group that 'willy waving about leaving the ECHR will do zilch', adding: 'This group leaves me cold. Upholding the law should never be a matter for debate for a Conservative.'

She added: 'This group leaves me cold. Upholding the law should never be a matter for debate for a Conservative.

'Our Home Office is crap. If the government wants to have a phone[y] war over the ECHR instead of sorting itself out it can do it without me.'

Downing Street said there were 'no plans' to withdraw from the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR).

Asked whether there were any circumstances in which the UK would consider leaving the ECHR, the Prime Minister's official spokesman said: 'There are no plans for Government to take that approach.

'The policy both in terms of this and elsewhere will be compliant with our international obligations.'

The No 10 official, asked about Conservative MP backlash to the reports, said: 'We will set out the policy details fairly soon, so they will be able to see for themselves an approach we believe both fundamentally deals with this ongoing issue, which is one of both fairness and safety, but also remains complaint with ECHR.'

In an interview to mark his first 100 days in office, the PM told Piers Morgan last week that his blueprint for overhauling the migration system would see asylum claims heard in 'days or weeks'.

Business secretary Grant Shapps told Sky News' Sophy Ridge on Sunday: 'What we can't have is boats arriving here with illegal gangs and gang masters people trafficking people here and to be impotent in return.

'So Rishi is absolutely right to apply the full force of the law to stop this illegal trade in human misery.

'And I think he is absolutely right to pursue that and I think he's right to make sure we can change the law, something by the way Labour vote against at every single opportunity, they don't want to stop the small boats and we do.'

Ministers have made stopping the flow of small boats crossing the Channel a top priority, with Tory MPs warning that failure to get a grip will be disastrous at the next election.

They are drawing up plans to block Channel migrants from lodging legal challenges against deportation.

Mr Sunak has already outlined how the Government intends to automatically bar migrants from claiming asylum as part of his pledge to 'stop the boats'.

But extra measures are being drafted to strip back migrants' ability to launch judicial reviews or appeals.

Two sets of proposals are being drawn up, the Times reported, which are likely to pit ministers in a major battle with the courts.

The first - and most radical - option would prevent all small boat migrants from submitting a judicial review of their exclusion from the asylum system.

The second proposal would allow legal challenges to be lodged only once the migrant has been removed from the UK, a process known as 'out-of-country appeals'.
They say they can't bring their families from their rural homes due to high rents

It is less than 18 months since jubilant Taliban fighters swept back to power and overran Afghanistan's capital as Joe Biden withdrew his troops in a retreat that shook the world.

But it seems the exhilaration of seizing control of the war-torn country has worn off for moaning militants - with many now missing the battlefield and bored of the 9-5 grind of running the impoverished nation.

After decades of war, the blood-thirsty fighters have spoken of their disdain for office life and are reminiscing about the Taliban's past and their lives which they claim to be 'free of restrictions'.

In a study speaking to the blood-thirsty Taliban members who swapped the life of war and misery in the mountains for desk jobs, the Afghanistan Analysts Network found they were not adapting to the typical civilian lifestyle of office jobs and traffic.

After the realisation of how day-to-day life works, former soldier Abdul Nafi claimed to miss the war as he complained about spending his life on Twitter instead of roaming the country causing chaos and bloodshed. The 25-year-old ex-fighter said: 'I sometimes miss the jihad life for all the good things it had.

Bored: The exhilaration of seizing control of the war-torn country has worn off for moaning militants - with many now missing the battlefield and bored of the 9-5 grind of running the impoverished nation (stock image)

'In our ministry, there's little work for me to do. Therefore, I spend most of my time on Twitter.

'We're connected to speedy Wi-fi. Many mujahedeen, including me, are addicted to the internet, especially Twitter.'

He added: 'What I dislike about Kabul is its traffic and what I fear is its thieves. I keep my pistol on my person all the time after two of our comrades were robbed.'

Despite the sadistic militants imposing draconian rules that bar women from education and see people stoned, flogged and amputated in public the routine, the dis-conntected militants seem bored of civilisation.

Not ruining the lives of innocent people everyday seems to have hit Taliban commander Omar Mansurhard hard as heartless members now have to work for a wage instead of roaming the country to find their next victim.

The 32-year-old said: 'We had a great degree of freedom about where to go, where to stay and whether to participate in the war.

'These days, you have to go to the office before 8am and stay 'til 4pm.

'If you don't go, you're considered absent, and [the wage for] that day is cut from your salary.'

After dropping the life of a soldier Mr Mansur, who was born in North Waziristan and grew up in the remote village of Yahya Kheyl about 150 miles southwest of Kabul, became a middle-ranking civil servant.

After decades of war, fighters have spoken of their disdain for office life and are reminiscing about the Taliban's past and their lives which they claim to be 'free of restrictions' (stock image)

He claims he cannot afford to bring his wife and five children to the capital, because of high property rent.

The ex-commander said: 'What I don't like about Kabul is its ever-increasing traffic hold-ups.

'Last year, it was tolerable but in the past few months, it's become more and more congested.'

Mr Mansur was not the only killing machine to complain about the dull life of traffic and Twitter as ex-sniper Huzaifa reminisces about the freeing life of war and how bored he is of doing the same job every day.

The 24-year-old said: 'The Taliban used to be free of restrictions but now we sit in one place, behind a desk and a computer 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

'Life's become so wearisome; you do the same things every day.

Like many 'soldiers' of the Taliban Huzaifa was brought up in a rural village and had not visited the capital previously.
Millions will once more be forced to brace for severe weather conditions as snow, flash floods and a possible tornado are predicted to center on the south and east of the nation.

Swathes of the country are poised to see the return of heavy winds, rain and ice as a storm risk passes through Texas and into Oklahoma, Arkansas, Mississippi and Louisiana.

Severe forecast radars show rain and strong winds, in some case up to 40mph, moving east through the country towards Toronto and out towards the Atlantic.

FOX Forecast Center reported that winds may briefly turn severe, bringing damaging winds and potentially a tornado back to the Lone Star State which is still recovering from ice storms last week.

Texas especially is recovering from severe weather conditions that last week put 40 million people from Texas and Oklahoma to Kentucky in the path of the freezing weather and left 250,000 without power.

Arkansas, Oklahoma and Texas can tomorrow expect up to two to three inches of rain as the trend sweeps east and temperatures fall to freezing by the end of the week.

Arctic winds brought temperatures to record lows before the weekend, with a windchill value of -108F in New Hampshire and -45F in Maine.

National Weather Service map shows the storm moving east across Texas on 6 February

Energy crews work on electric line repairs after ice storms and freezing rain in San Antonio

A leaning utility pole on Harmon Avenue in Austin, Texas, during a winter storm last Thursday

The threat of floods in the south is likely to increase on Tuesday evening and into the early hours of Wednesday, stretching from Indianapolis to New Orleans.

The Storm Prediction Center says isolated strong to severe thunderstorms are possible Tuesday afternoon and night across parts of east and southeast Texas to Louisiana and possibly southwest Mississippi.

The Hazardous Weather Outlook predicts damaging winds to be the main threat on Tuesday.

Heavy rainfall and localized flash flooding is possible, mainly along and east of I-35.

Colder air will bring snow to Kansas, Iowa and Wisconsin on Wednesday before the storm moves east out to the ocean on Thursday.

The north of the country may also weather a storm from Friday.

Weather outlooks below see the return of severe weather and thunder over the eastern half of Texas and straying into neighboring states before moving east on Wednesday.

Tuesday sees a revived prediction of severe weather and thunder centering on the coastline

Second day weather prediction shows the storm moving east and slowly out of the state

Texas remains most affected by severe weather conditions caused by an Arctic cold passage moving south and clashing with warm air from the Gulf of Mexico.

Residents in Austin are still without power as the state capital recovers from a winter storm last week.

Conditions improved from Friday 3 February as warmer winds prevailed, but nearly 35,000 people still remain without power as of 6 February according to poweroutage.us.

At the time of writing, Arkansas is the only other US state with more than 10,000 recorded customers without power.

But dangerous arctic air returned on Saturday, sinking windchill temperatures to a record-setting -108F (-78C) in the north-east and wind speeds of 89mph.

Winds on Friday caused a branch to fall on a moving car in Massachusetts, seriously injuring the driver, 23, and killing the infant onboard.

At least ten deaths have been attributed to the storm so far.

Image shows rain and wind predictions as far south as Texas while freezing rain hits the north

Traffic sits at a standstill along westbound I-20 near Cedar Ridge Drive and Loop 408 in Dallas

More than 40 million people from Texas and Oklahoma to Kentucky and West Virginia were warned of ice and wind chills of 50 degrees below zero

Boston Harbor pictured on 4 February as temperatures fell to all-time lows with wind chills

In Austin, video last week showed transformer explosions, which left 120,000 Austin Energy customers without power as of Wednesday morning.

Emergency responders rushed to hundreds of auto collisions across Texas on Tuesday and Republican Governor Greg Abbott urged people not to drive.

Airlines canceled over 1,800 flights in the United States on Wednesday, after an ice storm hit states from Texas to West Virginia.

A total of 1,897 flights within, into, or out of the United States were canceled, while 750 flights were delayed as of 8.41am ET, according to flight-tracking website FlightAware.

'This week's winter storm is having an impact on our operations, accounting for a significant number of cancelations,' American Airlines Group Inc said in a statement, adding that it proactively canceled flights and notified passengers.

The FAA on Tuesday warned in a tweet travelers could expect to see some snowy conditions in certain areas including Dallas, Fort Worth, and Memphis.

A multi-vehicle fatal accident occurred on the Ben White Boulevard on ramp at South First Street, in Austin, Texas, during an ice storm on Tuesday 31 January 2023

Ice pancakes and ice balls from Lake Ontario flow into Irondequoit Bay in New York State

Residents in Boston woke up to the coldest morning since 1957 on Saturday.

The weather is caused havoc at Logan Airport where at least 60 delays and 10 cancelations were reported, according to Flight Aware. Freezing fuel pumps were the reason for at least some of the disruption.

Air temperatures in Eureka, Canada's northernmost Arctic weather station hovered at -41 as the north was swept up in the ice storm.
She was given two years in jail, suspended for two years at Chester Crown Court

Michael Moores was jailed for two and a half years for possession of drugs

A hairdresser who helped her ex-boyfriend run an ecstasy and cannabis trafficking racket has been spared jail after she said it would have a 'detrimental impact' on his child - despite the pair splitting after their arrest.

Amy Stevens, 27, from Cheshire, faced being locked up alongside Michael Moores after police found her mobile phone had been used to sell drugs including Ecstasy and cannabis.

But Stevens, who has no children of her own, claimed she had 'caring responsibilities' for Moores' eight-year-old son - even though the couple split following a three-month fling.

She said she also sees her god-daughter on a daily basis and the two children had become close friends themselves however, Moores disputes Stevens' claims about his son.

At Chester Crown Court, Stevens, of Macclesfield, Cheshire was facing up to four and a half years in jail after she admitted the supply of Ecstasy, cannabis, THC liquid, and diazepam.

Amy Stevens, 27, (left) faced being locked up alongside Michael Moores (right) after police found her mobile phone had been used to sell drugs including Ecstasy and cannabis

She was given two years in jail, suspended for two years after a judge accepted Moores' son and her god-daughter would suffer 'harm' if she were locked up.

She was also ordered to complete 160 hours of unpaid work and 20 days of rehabilitative activity.

Former factory fitter, Moores, 28, who has joint custody of his son with the youngster's mother was jailed for two and a half years after he admitted possessing of drugs of Class A, B, and C with intent to supply and acquiring criminal property.

The court heard the couple had started dating in June 2020 but their relationship crumbled after police raided the homes of Moores and his grandmother in Macclesfield on September 28 that same year.

Prosecutor Sarah Badrawy said: 'At Moores' home, officers recovered and seized cannabis 'edibles' in a fridge in the kitchen, a black rucksack containing cannabis from a kitchen cupboard and a large ball of amphetamine from the fridge freezer in the kitchen.

'Located behind a false plug socket in a void in the wall in the kitchen was a small cash box which contained cocaine and MDMA and cash.

'Amy Stevens was present at the address and informed officers that she was Mr Moores' girlfriend. Her mobile telephone was seized and it was found to contain evidence of her involvement in the supply of MDMA, cannabis, THC and diazepam between June and August 2020.'

In all officers seized 32.39g of MDMA worth 660, 4.32g of cocaine worth 560, and a variety of forms of cannabis, including 354g of female flowering head, 4.245kg of edibles and 15.9ml of THC liquid, all with a value of 4,360.

She was given two years in jail, suspended for two years after a judge accepted Moores' son and her god-daughter would suffer 'harm' if she were locked up

There was also 56.4g of amphetamine worth 160, 5.77g of ketamine valued at 180, and three boxes of diazepam with a value of 60.

The total overall value of controlled drugs was 5,980 while the total amount of cash seized was 527.

Stevens who has no previous convictions later said she had simply allowed Moores to use her phone and bank account for drug dealing and had 'limited involvement.' in the racket. She also said she had been in an abusive eight year relationship with another boyfriend prior to Moores.

Her counsel Rebecca Penfold told the court: 'There are two children she has an active involvement with.

'There is the son of the co-accused who she sees twice per week, which also involves picking him up from school and giving him his tea.

'She has maintained the role of stepmother despite the relationship between her and the co-accused breaking down.

'She is also a god-mother to a girl and sees her daily. The children have developed a close relationship themselves and a custodial sentence would have a detrimental impact on them.'

Miss Penfold also handed the judge a letter from the boy's mother, which told of her support for the child.

She went on: 'The defendant does suffer from PTSD and is prescribed medication for that as there has been significant trauma in the past. A custodial sentence would weigh more heavily on her and would exacerbate that. Through me she offers her remorse.

Chester Crown Court heard the couple had started dating in June 2020 but their relationship crumbled after police raided the homes of Moores

'With her credit for her guilty plea, her mental health condition and previous trauma and caring responsibilities for her god-daughter and stepson, I invite you to suspend a custodial sentence.'

For Moores, Isobel Thomas said: 'His son is now eight years old and he has joint custody with the mother of the child. It's a very good relationship and plainly Mr Moore is heavily involved in the boy's life.

'He was a regular drug user particularly of cannabis but when social services were involved after his arrest they put him on a drugs course. He took full advantage of it and has not smoked cannabis since. He has limited previous convictions which were far more minor in nature.'

Sentencing the judge Mr Recorder Lawrence MacDonald said despite Moores' mitigation, he was unable to suspend any sentence due the 'seriousness' of dealing in class A drugs.

But he told Stevens: 'You were in a relatively new romantic relationship with Michael Moores having earlier been in an eight-year relationship marred by domestic violence.

'You allowed Mr Moores to use your phone and to use your bank account and all of your actions were performed under direction and your involvement was limited.

'I have been asked to pay particular attention about the significant trauma and the PTSD which you are suffering from and to have particular regard for Mr Moores' son and your god-daughter.

'I note that the issue of the boy is in some dispute but whilst I am not able to reach a conclusion on that, I can suspend your sentence due to there being a realistic prospect of rehabilitation and your caring responsibilities, even if disputed in relation to Mr Moores' son. Immediate custody will result in harm to others.'

A Proceeds of Crime hearing will be held later in the year.
The pair have been taken to hospital with minor injuries

A water bombing plane has crashed while fighting two raging bushfires in a southern region of Western Australia.

The Boeing 737-3 with two people on board went down over the Fitzgerald River National Park on Monday at around 4.40pm (WST) and crashed in the forest between Ravensthorpe and Hopetoun.

Both pilots survived the crash and were able to free themselves from the wreckage but sustained minor injuries, WA police told Daily Mail Australia.

The water bomber that crashed in the WA national park was a Boeing 737-3 (stock image pictured)

The plane flew from Bunbury and crashed in the Fitzgerald River National Park on Monday

'The two pilots on board were retrieved from the crash site by helicopter and airlifted to Ravensthorpe Airport,' a police spokesperson said.

Upon landing the pair were conveyed to hospital by ambulance.

The plane is believed to have taken off from Bunbury, south of Perth, at 3.25pm in response to the bushfire.

An initial blaze on the national park's eastern side was ignited by lightning around 10am with the second fire breaking out four hours later.

Around 30 Parks and Wildlife Service firefighters are trying to bring the fires under control.

With the fires posing a potential risk to lives and property residents living near the park have been told to maintain a watch and act status.

Air safety officers will attend the crash site to conduct an investigation.

The crash is a haunting reminder of a tragedy that unfolded just three years earlier.

Around 30 Parks and Wildlife Service firefighters have been called in to battle the blazes

In 2020, as Australia was battling the disastrous Black Summer bushfires, three US firefighters were tragically killed when their C-130 Hercules went down near Peak View, northeast of Cooma, New South Wales.

Captain Ian McBeth, first officer Paul Clyde Hudson and flight engineer Rick DeMorgan Jr were Down Under assisting Australian firefighters with the crisis.

After a memorial was held for the men at Richmond RAAF base in NSW their families accompanied the bodies back to the United States under a military honour guard.

An investigation into the crash by the Australian Transport Safety Bureau, released in August 2022, was critical of the NSW Rural Fire Service for sending the aircraft into an area with unfavourable conditions and without adequate aerial supervision.
ARE YOU A CUSTOMER OF TERMINAL UNIVERSAL LTD AFFECTED BY THEFT?

ARE YOU A CUSTOMER OF TERMINAL UNIVERSAL LTD AFFECTED BY THEFT? Email tips@dailymail.com and natasha.anderson@mailonline.com

ARE YOU A CUSTOMER OF TERMINAL UNIVERSAL LTD AFFECTED BY THEFT? Email tips@dailymail.com and natasha.anderson@mailonline.com

Holidaymakers left their cars with meet-and-greet valets after paying 145 each

Around 70 cars reported as missing from Heathrow were found in Surrey

At least 80 holidaymakers had their cars allegedly stolen after paying up to 145 to park them with a meet-and-greet firm at Heathrow Airport over the last month.

A 25-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of theft after around 70 of the missing vehicles were found, Metropolitan Police told MailOnline.

The travellers left their vehicles in the care of a third-party valet service that operates from the airport but their cars were never returned.

Some of the stolen cars were reportedly found in a field about 15 miles away in Chertsey, Surrey.

Detectives are working to return recovered vehicles to their owners while an investigation to find any remaining cars continues.

At least 80 holidaymakers had their cars stolen after paying upwards of 145 to park them with a meet-and-greet firm at Heathrow Airport (stock photo). A 25-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of theft after around 70 of the stolen vehicles were found

Some of the missing cars were reportedly found in a field about 15 miles away in Chertsey, Surrey

Holidaymakers reportedly paid 145 each to park their vehicles with meet-and-greet firm Terminal Universal Ltd, The Sun reported.

One, a 39-year-old woman from Cardiff, told the newspaper that after she was unable to retrieve her vehicle, her family had to spend 100 on a train ride home because 'there was nothing we could do'.

Terminal Universal Ltd does not have a website or publicly available contact information. The firm is also listed as 'dissolved' in the Government's Companies House database.

Several alleged victims have taken to Facebook claiming that they booked the valet service through online agency Ezybook.

The travellers reportedly left their vehicles in the care of a third-party valet service that operates from the airport, but their cars were never returned

One victim claims that every time she has contacted Ezybook about the status of her car, the 'operator gave me a different company name'.

She was reportedly given details of five firms that were allegedly handling her booking, including Terminal Universal Ltd. It is unclear if all the firms are contacted.

Met Police did not identify the name of the company involved in the case. MailOnline has approached Ezybook for comment.

Heathrow Airport does have official meet-and-greet operators, which travellers are encouraged to use.

A Heathrow spokesman has advised that customers who opt to use third-party valet services should look for positive reviews on Trustpilot, or other reputable review sites.

They said travellers should also ensure the firm has full, clear contact details - not just a mobile phone number - listed on its website; a Companies House number, VAT number and registered company address on their website; and the Trading Standards Buy With Confidence accreditation.

ARE YOU A CUSTOMER OF TERMINAL UNIVERSAL LTD AFFECTED BY THEFT? Email tips@dailymail.com and natasha.anderson@mailonline.com
A 'couple penalty' in Britain's benefits system provides a 'huge disincentive' for partners to move in together or get married, campaigners have claimed.

According to the Marriage Foundation, the way tax credits are calculated on household income sets up a 'major barrier' to couples walking down the aisle.

The charity says this is one factor behind what has been identified as a 'marriage gap' between richer and poorer households.

A report from the charity highlighted how, for babies born in 2021, 71 per cent of parents in high-earning families were married. For low-earning families, the figure was 34 per cent.

The Marriage Foundation found a 'marriage gap' between high and low earners of 37 per cent, which widened to 53 between high earners and the very poorest.

As well as a disincentive in Britain's benefits system, the charity found a fear of divorce, the cost of weddings, and absence of Government action to promote marriage as possible causes of the 'marriage gap'.

The Marriage Foundation found a 'marriage gap' between high and low earners of 37 per cent, which widened to 53 per cent between the highest earners and the very poorest

Figures from the Office for National Statistics show that more babies were born outside of wedlock in England and Wales in 2021 than to married couples for the first time on record.

Although this is likely to be a knock-on effect of the pandemic when weddings were banned or restricted, there has been a longer-term trend away from marriage.

The Marriage Foundation's report found that marriage 'is still the norm among the richest families but is increasingly the exception among the poorest families'.

The charity said that couples living together, let alone marrying, can lose as much as 8,000 in benefits via Universal Credit.

Among other factors behind the 'marriage gap', the charity said it was 'well-established that if parents divorce then the adult children are more likely to divorce'.

Its report added: 'The consequent wariness of marriage is disproportionately more likely among poorer women.

'While the advantages of getting married and staying married are well-known, the risk of poverty is higher for this group if they dont get it right first time.'

The Marriage Foundation also hit out at 'irresponsible claims by wedding magazines that the typical wedding costs 30,000' as they pointed to 'inflated expectations and social norms' often being cited as the reason couples aren't married.

There was further criticism of Government action with the charity pointing to how it was now at least a decade since a Cabinet had spoken out about marriage in public policy.

This is despite more than 80 per cent of Cabinet ministers being married themselves and 'clearly embrace marriage in their own private lives', the report said.

The charity found a fear of divorce, the cost of weddings, and absence of Government action to promote marriage as other possible causes of the 'marriage gap'

Sir Paul Coleridge, a retired High Court judge who served in the family division for 14 years and set up the Marriage Foundation, hit out at a 'deafening silence' from senior politicians on marriage.

He urged them to ensure 'the acknowledged benefits of marrying are appreciated by and available to all, regardless of where they are on the income scale'.

'The less money you have, the less likely you are to marry,' Sir Paul said.

'And they are surely the sector who would benefit most from the extra family stability which marriage invariably brings.

'The odds of staying together if you are married are very significantly better if you marry and not only you but your children are the winners.'

Sir Paul pointed to a survey conducted by the Marriage Foundation last year that showed marriage remained 'universally popular' with nine in ten young people across all of society aspiring to marry, regardless of income.

'Yet when we look at who actually ties the knot, the answer is, predominantly the rich,' he added.

'So, the simple and real tragedy is the less money you have, the less likely you are to marry.

'You might think that senior politicians, almost all of whom are married, would want to make sure the benefits of marrying are unapologetically advocated by them and made available to all, regardless of a couple's bank balance.

'But what have we heard in the last decade on this appalling state of affairs? A prolonged and deafening silence. This must change.'
The family of BBC journalist Laura Trevelyan has been challenged about their ancestor's role in the Irish Famine after they apologised and donated 100,000 in slavery reparations to Grenada.

Laura Trevelyan, whose aristocratic relatives had more than 1,000 slaves across six sugar plantations on the Caribbean island in the 19th century, said her family were saying sorry 'for the role our ancestors played in enslavement'.

Irish novelist Katherine Mezzacappa praised the announcement but asked if she had 'any word' on her four-times great-grandfather, Sir Charles Trevelyan - the English official in charge of famine relief when outbreaks of potato blight killed half a million people in the 1840s and 1850s.

The 1st baronet is remembered in Irish anthem, The Fields of Athenry, which tells the story of a fictional man who 'stole Trevelyan's corn' - a reference to food exported from Ireland while millions were starving. The song was sung at the Six Nations this weekend.

Laura Trevelyan said she 'felt ashamed' of her slave-owning ancestors

An Irish author asked if she had 'any word' on her four-times great-grandfather, Sir Charles Trevelyan

Katherine Mezzacappa said there was a 'weird mismatch between the history taught in the UK about Englishmen and what they did elsewhere'

She later told The Times: 'I am very heartened by Laura Trevelyan's intention regarding her ancestral involvement in slavery but raised the issue of Charles Trevelyan because of the weird mismatch between the history taught in the UK about Englishmen and what they did elsewhere that similarly needs attention. In the case of Ireland, Trevelyan is just one case; Walter Raleigh and of course Oliver Cromwell are others.

What inspired Irish anthem The Fields of Athenry? Despite actually dating from the 1970s, The Fields of Athenry is inspired by the Irish Famine of the 1840s and 1850s. The song, beloved of Irish rugby fans, tells the story of a fictional man who was prosecuted for 'stealing Trevelyan's corn' - a reference to food exported from Ireland while millions were starving. Sir Charles Trevelyan was the English official in charge of famine relief when the British government's inadequate response to potato blight killed half a million people in the 1840s and 1850s. At the time, many within the British intelligentsia believed that the Irish had brought the famine on themselves due to perceived flaws in the national character - based on long-established stereotypes - and high birth rates. The inadequate support provided by London is blamed for increasing the death toll from the famine, which also caused an estimated two million Irish to emigrate. Sir Charles is notorious for saying that 'the judgment of God sent the calamity to teach the Irish a lesson'. Advertisement

'As you probably know, there was no reduction in the export of Irish corn to England in the famine years, referenced even as 'Trevelyan's corn' in The Fields of Athenry, but perhaps what is so staggering about Trevelyan's inaction was his stated belief that Irish sharecroppers had brought the misfortune of the famine on themselves.'

At the time, many within the British intelligentsia believed that the Irish were partly responsible for their own suffering due to perceived flaws in the national character - based on long-established stereotypes - and their high birth rates.

The inadequate support provided by London is blamed for increasing the death toll from the famine, which also caused an estimated two million Irish to emigrate.

Sir Charles is notorious for saying that 'the judgment of God sent the calamity to teach the Irish a lesson'.

Ms Trevelyan, 54, announced that seven family members would travel to Grenada this month to issue a public apology.

She told the BBC her ancestors had received about 34,000 in 1834  the year after slavery was abolished in the UK  as compensation for the loss of 'property'.

This equates to about 3million today.

Trevelyan in action as the anchor of BBC World News America

Ms Trevelyan recognised that giving 100,000 almost 200 years later could seem 'inadequate', but said: 'I hope that we're setting an example.'

She visited Grenada for a documentary last year and said: 'I felt ashamed, and I also felt that it was my duty.

'You can't repair the past but you can acknowledge the pain.'

Historian David Olusoga told The Observer: 'While governments stubbornly refuse to engage with growing calls for reparations... there are families, companies, universities, charities and other organisations who are acknowledging their historic links to slavery and empire.'

A portrait of Sir John Trevelyan with his wife Louisa Simon (centre couple) who had more than 1,000 slaves on Grenada

Historian David Olusoga in his BBC television series Britain's Forgotten Slave Owners said governments have stubbornly refused 'to engage with growing calls for reparations'

But Alan Smithers, of the University of Buckingham, said: 'These are times past and it's not a route I think we should be going down.'

He said the reparations offered would be a 'drop in the ocean' and risked 'encouraging greater demands on other countries around the world who engaged in the slave trade'.

A statue of William Gladstone has been removed from outside a church on Merseyside in a row over his links to slavery.

The former prime minister's wealthy father Sir John Gladstone used slaves on his Caribbean sugar plantations.

The Archdiocese of Liverpool said the statue, at Our Lady Star of the Sea Catholic Church was removed because questions were asked about its 'suitability', but said no decision had been taken on its long-term future.
Nicola Bulley's pet could hold the key to her whereabouts as experts say dogs can help find the last location of their owner through their incredible sense of smell - and tend to stay nearby.

Lancashire Police believe Ms Bulley went missing in 'a 10-minute window' on January 27 while walking her dog, Willow, near the River Wyre in the village of St Michael's on Wyre after dropping off her daughters - aged six and nine - at school.

Police say their primary theory is that Ms Bulley slipped or fell into the river, despite not having found any evidence of this.

After detectives confirmed Ms Bulley's dog was found dry, a canine expert said the dog could have panicked and gone into 'fight or flight' mode.

Another expert explained that dogs, when unable to find their owner, will often circle the area they were last present.

Writing in The Times, Colin Tennant, director of the Cambridge Institute of Dog Behaviour and Training, said a dog will, 'often migrate back to the last spot where it was with the owner because they're its pack leader.'

He added: 'So if somebody fell in a river, the dog would always tend to circulate in that area, because that's where all the owner's scents are, on the ground and vegetation.'

Ms Bulley was walking her spaniel Willow, pictured, at the time she went missing

CGI search teams arrive at the River Wyre this morning as the search continues

The expert added that usually if the dog can't find its owner, and the home is nearby, it will often run back home.

Mr Tennant added: 'A dog can help you find the last location of its owner through its sense of smell. If people lose their dog, the advice I always give to them is to stay in the exact position you were when you last saw the dog, because it will always backtrack to you.'

He told MailOnline Ms Bulley's dog would have stayed in the area because 'dogs tend to stay as a pack near the owner's last sighting/location.'

'A dog in the USA last year stayed for two weeks next to its owner's body and was found starving, but loyally would not leave the dead owner, that's pack behaviour.

'However in this English case I believe the dog was taken hold of by a passer by and also there were gates blocking its exit from the field.'

He said springer spaniels would be 'very active' when in trouble and revealed that not all dogs will bark if frustrated or anxious.

Another dog behaviour expert, Ross McCarthy, addressed speculation that Ms Bulley's dog being found dry meant that the mother did not fall into the river.

He told the Express: 'It all depends on the dog's association with water, and their relationship with the owner and so on, as to whether they would jump in.

'Some would through play or investigation and others would just mooch about on the side and some would panic at the strange situation.'

He said that, just like humans, dogs go into fight or flight mode.

'Presumably this dog has been walked along the canal and water often and been discouraged from going in or naturally just avoided going in,' he added.

Nicola Bulley, 45, was last seen a over a week ago walking next to the River Wyre in St Michael's on Wyre in Lancashire

Police inspecting the river bank before searches began this morning - the search continues

The 11 key details written by Nicola Bulley's friend: Paul and Nikki both mostly work from home which is why he was at home that day. They have CCTV and there is a reason why Paul has never been a suspect. Family and friends need these accusations to stop immediately. The fact that I've had to write this is disgusting to be honest They both do this walk regularly and Paul is very well known in the community and very well recognised The dog never has her harness on for a chunk of that walk, it's removed at the gate of the top field and then put back on at the gate when they leave They very rarely take the ball out for walks with willow now because she is very very protective over the ball and haven't done for a while Nikki quite often would put her phone on loud speaker when talking The dog was found very close to the bench and the harness. The harness was found on the floor not on the bench Nikki is an incredibly strong swimmer Nikki drove to the school and then left her car there and walked to the river The dog was dry when found The dog has since been back There's CCTV at the back of the caravan park. The only camera that isn't working is the one that would have seen everything Advertisement

A friend of Ms Bulley earlier shared 11 key details about her disappearance in a Facebook post following the 45-year-old's disappearance.

In the list, Tilly Ann wrote that the only CCTV camera at a residential caravan park 'that would have seen Nikki' is not working.

She also said Ms Bulley is 'an incredibly strong swimmer', and that her dog Willow who she was walking at the time was completely dry when found.

She wrote that the dog would never have a harness on during the familiar walk, after speculation about why Willow's harness was removed.

When the dog was found, it was very close to the bench with the harness on the floor.

She added that her friend would often put her phone on loud-speaker when talking. Ms Bulley's phone was discovered close to the river bank and she had been on a conference call before she vanished.

The family friend thanked those who had shared their support and contributed to the search for Nicola - saying it had 'created such a comfort to Nikki's family'.

Police expressed concerns the missing mother-of-two may have fallen in the icy cold water on River Wyre while trying to retrieve her dog Willow's tennis ball. Specialist search crews have not recovered the ball - or anything of note - at this stage.

If Ms Bulley did fall into the water, she may have been weighed down by the heavy clothing she was wearing on the day she vanished.

But her sister Louise Cunningham urged the public to keep an open mind in a social media post.

'Off the back of the latest police media update, please can I add there is no evidence whatsoever that she has gone into the river, it's just a theory,' she said.

'Everyone needs to keep an open mind as not all CCTV and leads have been investigated fully, the police confirmed the case is far from over.'

Anyone with information or footage is asked to call 101, quoting log 565 of January 30. For immediate sightings, please call 999.

An expert diving team will use helicopters and specialist sonar equipment as they assist in the search for Ms Bulley today.

Peter Faulding, a world-renowned forensics expert and founder of private search and rescue organisation Specialist Group International, said he would be bringing 'high-spec' sonar equipment worth around 55,000 that has a 'very high hit rate' and can 'find people within the hour' in search operations. He vowed today: 'If she is there, I will find her.'

Search team members load sonar equipment aboard a RIB boat today

An independent underwater rescue team, Specialist Group International, join police in the search

They will use a high-spec sonar 'which can see every stick and stone lying on the riverbed'

Mr Faulding, speaking from his helicopter en route to the scene, said: 'We are having a briefing at 8.30am, and then going to the location to set up. They are getting a briefing at a farmhouse and then they'll move to the scene.

'We are working closely with the police to provide extra support. We are going to be using a high-frequency side scan sonar. That's going to be used to search down the river, past the weir.

'That will give us a crystal clear image of anything on the river bed. It shows every rock and every stone.

'On a straight river, we can do about ten miles of river a day. But this is a very windy, changeable river, up and down in depth. So we will do the best we can.'

He added: 'I'm confident with my expertise over 20 odd years that if she is there, I will find her with that sonar. I will be operating that sonar.'

Mr Faulding, who will also survey the route of the river by helicopter, earlier told Sky News: 'We're assisting with our dive team. We carry out all the underwater operations in the south east for the police anyway, but we're bringing a particularly high-spec piece of equipment, 1,800-kilohertz specialist side-scan sonar.

'Each year we deal with a lot of drownings and we locate them extremely quickly. The difference with this sonar is that it's very, very high frequency.

'It's about 55,000 and it scans the river and I can see every stick and stone lying on the river bed. We've got a very high hit rate with this.'

He added: 'Our sonar is probably a bit more superior but I've got a lot of specialist search expertise and I've worked on hundreds of these cases and we always generally find people within the hour in lakes.'

Peter Faulding, a world-renowned forensics expert who is a diver for the police and has worked on hundreds of cases across the south east, confirmed his specialist rescue and underwater team has been called in to help with the search

A still picture taken from a camera at Ms Bulley's house shows the mother on her driveway on the morning she went missing

Today friends of the missing mother say they hope the help of the specialist underwater rescue team will give her family answers.

Emma White said they were pleased Mr Faulding's team would be assisting police - but are keeping everything crossed they don't find anything.

She told ITV's Good Morning Britain: 'We hope they uncover nothing, like the police have done for the last ten days, and we hope Nicola is not in that river.'

A former detective earlier described Lancashire Police's decision to publicly reveal its belief that Nicola fell into a river as 'extremely unusual and concerning'.

Martyn Underhill, who was a senior officer in the police probe of the abduction and murder of Sarah Payne in West Sussex, told The Times that there are several possibilities as to what may have taken place in the vital ten-minute window identified by police.

He also warned that detectives are risking 'boxing themselves into a theory'.

Mr Underhill added: 'If the public is told that they think it's a terrible accident, it risks people switching off. It can deter someone coming forward with crucial evidence.

'Coming out with such a definitive narrative publicly will make it hard to row back if the circumstances change. And they've offended the family and friends at the same time. It is really bizarre.'

Meanwhile, still pictures from cameras at her home, showing Ms Bulley on her driveway just hours before she vanished, have been released by a friend as part of the desperate search to find her.

The mother, 45, can be seen in a long jacket, leggings and walking boots with her hair tied in a pony tail.
San Diego Zoo celebrates Chinese New Year

Xinhua) 09:17, February 06, 2023

A woman attaches a note of wishes on the wish tree at San Diego Zoo, in San Diego, California, the United States, on Feb. 4, 2023. The San Diego Zoo, which has the largest number of annual visitors among U.S. zoos, kicked off a two-day special event on Saturday to celebrate the Chinese New Year. (Photo by Zeng Hui/ Xinhua)

SAN DIEGO, the United States, Feb. 4 (Xinhua) -- The San Diego Zoo, which has the largest number of annual visitors among U.S. zoos, kicked off a two-day special event on Saturday to celebrate the Chinese New Year.

Paul Baribault, president and CEO of the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance, and Chinese Consul General in Los Angeles Guo Shaochun co-hosted the opening ceremony of the event.

"As part of our wishes for the lunar new year, we want to wish joy and prosperity to all of our friends. That includes everybody here today as well as our partners around the globe," Baribault told Xinhua after he wrote his new year wishes on a red blessing card and tied it to a "wishing tree."

Interactive activities related to the Chinese New Year surrounded the zoo, he said, adding that "we are really trying to take advantage of the moment of the transition to the Lantern Festival and using that as a moment of celebration across all of our grounds."

The staff wore bright red T-shirts with "Chinese New Year" written on them, and introduced to tourists that 2023 is the Year of the Rabbit, and those born during this zodiac year are known for being calm, agile, and prosperous.

Tourists scrambled to write their wishes on red cards and hang them on the "wishing trees" along the roadside. They could also learn traditional Chinese paper cutting and make red lanterns and rabbit ears.

Guo highlighted the zoo's cooperation with its Chinese partners over 30 years on a research project on giant pandas, which is the first one between the two countries.

"Giant pandas were loved by the local American people. Cooperation and research in the field of diversity have also promoted friendship and mutual understanding between the two peoples," he added.

The San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance is known for its global cooperation in promoting biodiversity conservation and education, and has long-term cooperation with China in the breeding and protection of giant pandas.

The panda "Bai Yun," which means "White Cloud" in Chinese, lived in the San Diego Zoo for 23 years and became the symbol of the zoo. "Baiyun" and its last cub baby "Xiao Liwu," which means "Little Gift" in Chinese, returned to their hometown in China in 2019, but the pavilion where they lived is still a popular spot for tourists.

The zoo held a three-week farewell event for their departure and around 1,000 local residents lined up at the zoo to say goodbye.

"We've been incredibly close partners," said Baribault about their Chinese partners, noting that his greater wish is to continue to maintain a cooperative relationship with Chinese partners in the field of nature protection in the new year.

"We believe it's our role to help create greater cultural understandings... cultures around the world can connect people to each other to understand the differences and similarities," Baribault said.

A boy attaches a note of wishes on the wish tree at San Diego Zoo, in San Diego, California, the United States, on Feb. 4, 2023. The San Diego Zoo, which has the largest number of annual visitors among U.S. zoos, kicked off a two-day special event on Saturday to celebrate the Chinese New Year. (Photo by Zeng Hui/ Xinhua)

A staff member dresses up as a panda to celebrate the Chinese New Year at San Diego Zoo, in San Diego, California, the United States, on Feb. 4, 2023. The San Diego Zoo, which has the largest number of annual visitors among U.S. zoos, kicked off a two-day special event on Saturday to celebrate the Chinese New Year. (Photo by Zeng Hui/ Xinhua)

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun)
Earthquakes in southern and eastern Turkey struck in the early hours on Monday

At least 3,500 people are confirmed to have died after two catastrophic earthquakes devastated parts of Turkey and Syria on Monday.

Thousands more fatalities are feared in the coming days after 7.8 and 7.5 magnitude tremors in southeastern Turkey caused buildings to collapse on people as they slept in their beds in the early hours of the morning.

Witnesses describe being 'shaken like a cradle' as the first severe quake struck, the fallout of which has left many people homeless as winter snowstorms and freezing temperatures hit the region.

Victims trapped in collapsed buildings have been pleading for help as rescuers desperately try to free them - with some people even broadcasting on Facebook Live while trapped to try and get aid.

Heartbreaking photos and videos have shown emergency services pulling the bodies of children from the rubble in multiple cities, as well as miraculous rescues with people somehow being carried out alive after the catastrophe.

Pictured: A young boy is pulled from the rubble in Syria on Monday. With temperatures set to fall to near freezing overnight, rescuers across Turkey and Syria are now in a desperate race against time to reach scores of survivors who remain trapped under collapsed buildings and who are at risk of freezing to death before help arrives

Rescuers pull a victim alive from a collapsed building in Diyarbakir on Monday after the earthquakes

Pictured: Search and rescue workers search through the rubble of a collapsed 15-storey building in Kahramanmaras, Turkey on Monday evening, as the light begins to fade

Rescue workers search for survivors in a collapsed building in Diyarbakir earlier today

A woman hugs and cries as emergency services continue to search for survivors in Hatay on Monday

Pictured: A Syrian man weeps as he carried the body of his son, who was killed in an earthquake that struck in the early hours on Monday morning, in the town of Jandaris

SYRIA: Residents retrieve an injured girl from the rubble of a collapsed building in the town of Jandaris, in the countryside of Syria's northwestern city of Afrin in the rebel-held part of Aleppo province, on February 6. Rescue workers are desperately searching for survivors after the earthquakes struck across the region

This is moment a building collapsed in the city of Malatya in eastern Anatolia, Turkey, following today's earthquake. In the foreground a member of the public can be seen running for cover

Tremors from the first deadly quake - which lasted about a minute - were felt as far away as the island of Cyprus, Egypt and Lebanon, and a tsunami warning was briefly issued by authorities in Italy along the country's coast. The second quake struck about 60 miles from the epicentre of the first, less than 12 hours later

Monday's earthquakes were felt in multiple countries across the Middle East, with Turkey and its war-torn southern neighbour Syria the worst affected.

At least 3,500 people in both countries are known to have been killed - 2,316 of these in Turkey, more than 700 people in opposition-controlled Syria and 538 in government-held areas of Syria, reports Sky.

In Turkey entire apartment blocks crashed to the ground in a matter of seconds following the quakes, trapping families inside and killing thousands.

In Diyarbakir in southeast Turkey, a woman speaking next to the wreckage of the seven-storey block where she lived said: 'We were shaken like a cradle. There were nine of us at home. Two sons of mine are still in the rubble, I'm waiting for them.'

'It was like the apocalypse,' said Abdul Salam al-Mahmoud, a Syrian in the northern town of Atareb. 'It's bitterly cold and there's heavy rain, and people need saving.'

The United States Geological Survey, which has recorded more than 60 earthquakes and aftershocks in the region in the last 24 hours, warned that fatalities from the quakes could reach as high as 10,000.

Countries from across the world have offered aid, with rescue workers from Europe, Asia and the Americas all flying in to help the efforts of the emergency services.

Turkey's president Recep Tayyip Erdogan has declared seven days of national mourning, while buildings in Israel and Bosnia have been lit up in memory of those who have died.

The United States Geological Survey has reported detecting more than 60 tremors over 2.5 in magnitude in the area in the last 24 hours

At least 1,385 people have been killed overnight in a powerful 7.8-magnitude earthquake in Turkey and Syria that levelled buildings while many were still asleep. Footage shared online (pictured) showed the total collapse of a building in Sanlurfa, Turkey

Rescuers carry out a girl from a collapsed building following an earthquake in Diyarbakir, Turkey on February 6. The first earthquake struck in the early hours on Monday morning as people slept in their beds. The second hit 60 miles north less than 12 hours later

The initial 7.8-magnitude night-time tremor, followed hours later by a slightly smaller one, wiped out entire sections of major Turkish cities in a region filled with millions of people who have fled the civil war in Syria and other conflicts.

The later 7.5-magnitude quake struck at 1.24pm (1024 GMT) two-and-a-half miles southeast of the town of Ekinozu and around 60 miles north of the first quake that has wrought devastation across Turkey and Syria.

Monday morning's quake jolted residents awake. They fled from their homes in terror out into the cold, rainy and snowy night across southeast Turkey and northern Syria, taking shelter in cars as thousands of buildings collapsed.

As Monday rolled on, concerns grew for people trapped under the rubble as thousands of rescue workers across a 200-mile radius jumped into action, searching through tangles of metal and giant piles of concrete for survivors who could be heard calling out from underneath the wreckage.

Terrifying videos and pictures from across the region showed the destruction caused by the quake. One clip from the border town of Azaz, Syria, showed a rescuer desperately running through a field of debris with an injured child in his arms, while another showed the total collapse of a building in Sanliurfa, Turkey.

Monday's first quake was centred north of Gaziantep, Turkey, which is about 60 miles from the Syrian border, has a population of bout 2 million, and is home to large numbers of Syrian refugees.

It struck at 04:17 am local time (0117 GMT) at a depth of about 11 miles, the US Geological Survey said. A strong 6.7 aftershock rumbled about 10 minutes later, causing more havoc. Turkey's own agency said 40 aftershocks were felt.

Buildings were reported to have collapsed as far south as Syria's cities of Aleppo and Hama to Turkey's Diyarbakir - more than 200 miles north-east.

Tremors from the quake - which lasted about a minute and could be Turkey's largest ever - were felt as far away as Greenland, the Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland said. People also reported feeling tremors in Egypt, Lebanon and also Cyprus, while a tsunami warning was briefly issued by authorities in Italy.

Orhan Tatar, an official from the Turkish disaster agency, told reporters that the two quakes were independent of each other. It was not immediately clear how much damage had been done by the second quake, which like the first was felt across the region and endangered rescuers struggling to pull casualties from the rubble.

After a 3.8-magnitude earthquake struck Buffalo, New York in the United States, meteorologist Tyler Metcalf sugested on Twitter that the Turkey earthquake could have 'destabilised faults across the world.'

Turkey's Disaster and Emergency Management agency said there had been 1,541 fatalities as a result of the quake, with a further 7,600 injured, across ten Turksih provinces. The president earlier described it as the country's largest disaster since 1939 (when 33,000 people were killed in the Erzincan earthquake).

'Everyone is putting their heart and soul into efforts, although the winter season, cold weather and the earthquake happening during the night make things more difficult,' he told reporters from Turkey's disaster coordination centre in Ankara.

'We do not know how high the casualty numbers will go as efforts to lift the debris continue in several buildings in the earthquake zone,' he said.

Pictured: A girl is seen being carried away by rescuers having been pulled from the rubble

Pictured: A rescuer carried an injured child away from the rubble of a collapsed building in rebel-held Syria, following a deadly earthquake that struck Turkey and Syria on Monday

Pictured: Residents flee as a building collapses in Turkey on Monday

Pictured: The Turkish city of Hatay is seen after Monday morning's quake levelled buildings across the region, trapping scores of people in the rubble

Pictured: A young child is rescued from underneath the rubble of a collapsed building on Monday morning. Rescue workers are pouring through the rubble to find survivors

Pictured: A 10-year-old girl is seen being rescued from a pile of rubble in Osmaniye, Turkey

Residents fled from homes in terror in cities across southeast Turkey and Syria, taking shelter in cars fearing aftershocks and collapsing buildings. Pictured: Rescue workers in Osmaniye, Turkey are seen on top of a huge mound of rubble as they search for survivors

Pictured: An aerial view of a destroyed building in Gaziantep, southern Turkey. The quake - which could be Turkey's largest ever on record - was centred north of Gaziantep, Turkey, which is about 60 miles from the Syrian border and has a population of bout 2 million

Pictured: This image taken of an apartment block destroyed in Adna, Turkey shows the inside of several flats exposed to the outside after part of the building fell away

Pictured: An aerial view showing a mosque in Hatay, with its minaret lying on the ground after it was toppled in Monday's earthquake

Pictured: A collapsed building is seen in Hatay, Turkey on Monday after the earthquake

Pictured: A large fire amongst overturned shipping containers pours thick black smoke into the air in Hatay, Turkey

Pictured: The minaret of the Ayyubid mosque inside Aleppo's ancient citadel is cracked following a deadly earthquake that shook Syria on February 6, 2023

Aleppo's ancient citadel is seen damaged following a deadly earthquake that shook Syria

Major deadly earthquakes in the past two decades Aug. 14, 2021 - HAITI - A 7.2 magnitude earthquake struck southern Haiti, killing more than 2,200 people and destroying or damaging about 13,000 homes. Sept. 28, 2018 - INDONESIA - A 7.5 magnitude earthquake struck the island of Sulawesi, resulting in a 1.5 metre tsunami and killing more than 4,300 people. - Nov. 12, 2017 - IRAN - A magnitude 7.3 earthquake shook the eastern Kermanshah region, killing more than 400 people. At least six people died in neighbouring Iraq. Sept. 19, 2017 - MEXICO - A 7.1 magnitude quake hit central Mexico, killing at least 369 people and causing more devastation in the capital than any temblor since an earthquake in 1985 that killed thousands. Aug. 24, 2016 - ITALY - A 6.2 magnitude quake struck a cluster of mountain communities east of Rome in central Italy, killing about 300 people. April 16, 2016 - ECUADOR - A magnitude 7.8 earthquake hammered Ecuador, killing more than 650 people on the countrys Pacific coast. Oct 26, 2015 - AFGHANISTAN - A magnitude 7.8 earthquake rocked the Afghan northeast, killing nearly 400 people in the country as well as in northern Pakistan. Apr 25, 2015 - NEPAL - A magnitude 7.8 earthquake ravaged impoverished Nepal, killing nearly 9,000 people and disrupting the lives of more than eight million. Aug 3, 2014 - CHINA - A magnitude 6.3 earthquake devastated southwestern China, killing at least 600 people in a remote area of Yunnan province. Sept 24, 2013 - PAKISTAN - Twin earthquakes, measuring 7.7 and 6.8 magnitude, rattled southwestern Balochistan province, killing at least 825 people. Aug 11, 2012 - IRAN - Two strong quakes, measuring 6.4 magnitude and 6.3 respectively, killed at least 300 people near the city of Tabriz in northwestern Iran. Oct 23, 2011 - TURKEY - A powerful magnitude 7.2 earthquake shook southeast Turkey, killing more than 600 people. March 11, 2011 - JAPAN - A 9.0 magnitude earthquake and tsunami struck Japan's northeast, killing about 15,690 people and injuring 5,700. The earthquake also triggered the world's biggest nuclear disaster since Chernobyl in 1986. Feb 22, 2011 - NEW ZEALAND - A 6.3 magnitude earthquake hit Christchurch, killing at least 180 people. Feb 27, 2010 - CHILE - An 8.8 magnitude quake and subsequent tsunami in Chile killed more than 500 people, wrecking hundreds of thousands of homes and mangling highways and bridges. Jan 13, 2010 - HAITI - A 7.0 magnitude earthquake devastated Haitis capital Port-au-Prince and killed about 316,000 people. The United Nations estimated 80,000 buildings in Port-au-Prince and surrounding areas were destroyed. May 12, 2008 - CHINA - A 7.8 magnitude earthquake hit Sichuan province, killing about 87,600 people. Dec 26, 2004 - ASIA - A 9.15 magnitude earthquake off Sumatra triggered a tsunami that barrelled into Indonesia, Thailand, India, Sri Lanka and many other countries in the region, devastating villages and tourist islands and leaving almost 230,000 dead or missing. Oct 8, 2005 - PAKISTAN - A 7.6 magnitude quake northeast of Islamabad killed at least 73,000 people. The quake also rocked Indian Kashmir, killing 1,244 there. Dec. 26, 2003 - IRAN - a 6.6 magnitude earthquake hit the southeastern Kerman province and flattened the city of Bam, killing 31,000 people. Advertisement

Meanwhile, at least 928 people were killed in Syria, according to figures from the Damascus government and rescue workers in the northwestern region controlled by insurgents.

This brings the overall reported death toll from the quake to more than 2,400 so far across three regions (Turkey, government-controlled Syria and rebel-controlled Syria).

The volunteer civil defence organisation said the quake has 'resulted in hundreds of injuries, dozens of deaths, and people being stranded in the winter cold'.

'The toll may increase as many families are still trapped,' the White Helmets, which operates in rebel-controlled areas of the war-torn country, said. 'Our teams are on the ground [are] searching for survivors and removing the dead from the rubble.'

Angela Kearney, the UNICEF Representative in Syria, said adults and children had been displaced by the quake and warned of the psychological impact this would have.

'Many people, including children are displaced and remain outside in streets and open areas,' she said. 'The government of Syria closed schools and universities for today and some are being used as shelters. The psychological impact on some people we met is grave.'

The death toll across the whole affected region is expected to climb as rescue teams work throughout Monday to find more people trapped under collapsed buildings.

It was unclear if more casualties had been caused by the second quake. The World Health Organisation (WHO) said it expected to see the toll increase 'significantly' as rescue operations continued throughout Monday.

'I think we can expect the death toll to increase significantly,' Rick Brennan, the WHO's regional emergency director for the Eastern Mediterranean, told reporters.

'There's been a lot of building collapses and it will increase more significantly around the epicentre of the earthquake.'

Brennan said WHO was boosting its staff in the southern Turkish city of Gaziantep, the epicentre of the earthquake, and exploring its options to send emergency medical teams to the area. He said rescue efforts were being hampered by aftershocks from the initial quake.

'It's harder for the rescue teams to get in there to extract people,' he said. 'Buildings that may have sustained some damage but remain functional can then get another insult and they can collapse.'

Assessing the scale of the disaster, the USGS said there was a 47 percent chance that the death toll could reach between 1,000 and 10,000 people, and a 20 percent chance of it reaching between 10,000 and 100,000 fatalities.

'High casualties and extensive damage are probable and the disaster is likely widespread,' the USGS said in its report.

'The population in this region resides in structures that are extremely vulnerable to earthquake shaking, though some resistant structures exist.'

At least 2,800 rescue teams have been deployed across Turkey, and the Turkish armed forces have set up an air corridor to enable search and rescue teams to reach the affected zones, the country's defence ministry said on Monday.

'We mobilised our planes to send medical teams, search and rescue teams and their vehicles to the earthquake zone,' Defence Minister Hulusi Akar said in a statement.

However, there was some early criticism of the rescue efforts in parts of Turkey.

According to the BBC's Turkish Language service, Suzan Sahi of the opposition Republican People's Party said: 'I am in the Iskenderun region. The district is in a grave condition. More than 30 of our buildings were destroyed. The old SSK hospital was destroyed. We are in a very bad situation.

'The main thing is this. It has been so many hours. The rescue work has not started yet. There is no AFAD [the disaster and emergency agency], no government officials. The bodies almost cannot be transported to the hospitals.

'Materials such as tents and blankets could not be distributed. Our people are dead. No one came from 4am to 1pm.'

Images on Turkish television showed rescuers digging through the rubble of levelled buildings in the city of Kahramanmaras and neighbouring Gaziantep, where entire sections of cities were destroyed. Pazarcik, which lies between the two cities, was described by one resident to The Guardian as being 'in ruins'.

Pictured: A young boy is seen being pulled from the rubble by rescuers in Syria in a video, after the earthquake struck overnight

Pictured: Rescue workers carry a 10-year-old girl down from a huge mound of rubble on a stretcher in Osmaniye, Turkey on Monday morning

Pictured: An aerial view of a neighbourhood in Osmaniye, Turkey on Monday morning after the country was hit by the deadly earthquake. At least two apartment blocks can be seen completely flattened, while none have been spared from damage

Pictured: An aerial view shows a search and rescue operation being carried out in the debris of a building in Cukurova district of Adana after the 7.8-magnitude earthquake hit southern provinces of Turkey overnight on February 6, 2023

Pictured: A destroyed elementary school is seen in Hatay, Turkey on Monday

Pictured: Search and rescue teams search survivors through the rubble of a collapsed building in Diyarbakir, Turkey on Monday

Pictured: The interior of apartments in a destroyed block can be seen in Diyarbakir, Turkey

Pictured: Rescue teams work to clear the rubble from the site of a destroyed building

Pictured: A woman walks past the historical Gaziantep Castle, which was damaged in the quake on Monday morning

Pictured: An aerial view of Hatay, Turkey shows the destruction caused by the earthquake

Pictured: Rescue workers dig through the rubble in Malatya, Turkey on Monday

SYRIA: Civilians watch on as rescue workers search through the rubble of a destroyed building in the Syrian capital of Aleppo after the earthquake devastated the region

Pictured: Civilians watch on as rescuers look for survivors in the Syrian city of Aleppo after the earthquake rocked the war-torn city

Pictured: Rescuers scour the site of a fallen building in Aleppo, Syria on Monday

Residents stand in front of a collapsed building following an earthquake in the town of Jandaris, in the countryside of Syria's northwestern city of Afrin in the rebel-held part of Aleppo province, on February 6, 2023

This aerial view shows residents looking for victims amidst the rubble of a collapsed building following an earthquake in the town of Jandaris, in the countryside of Syria's northwestern city of Afrin in the rebel-held part of Aleppo province, on February 6, 2023

Pictured: Residents search for victims and survivors amidst the rubble of collapsed buildings following an earthquake in the village of Besnia near the twon of Harim, in Syria's rebel-held north-western Idlib province on the border with Turkey, on February 6, 2022

Buildings also crumbled in the cities of Adiyaman, Malatya and Diyarbakir, where AFP news agency reporters saw panicked people rush out on to the street to escape.

Kahramanmaras Governor Omer Faruk Coskun said it was too early to estimate the death toll because so many buildings had been destroyed.

'It is not possible to give the number of dead and injured at the moment because so many buildings have been destroyed,' Coskun said. 'The damage is serious.'

Elsewhere, a famous mosque dating back to the 13th century partially collapsed in the province of Maltaya, where a 14-story building with 28 apartments also fell.

Other mosques around the region were being opened up as a shelter for people unable to return to damaged homes amid temperatures that were close to freezing.

The quake heavily damaged Gaziantep's most famed landmark, its historic castle perched atop a hill in the centre of the city. Parts of the fortresses' walls and watch towers were levelled and other parts were heavily damaged, images showed.

In other cities, anguished rescuers struggled to reach survivors trapped under the debris. 'We hear voices here - and over there, too,' one rescuer was overheard as saying on NTV television in front of a flattened building in the city of Diyarbakir.

'There may be 200 people under the rubble.'

Several clips were posted to social media from the scenes of rescue operations. In one clip, at least five people - including two children - were filmed as they were helped through narrow gap amongst the wreckage of a building, and through a 'tunnel' that remained clear enough for people to escape through to the outside.

It was unclear from the 90-second clip how many people in total had been in the home at the time of the building's collapse, but it appeared the family had fortuitously found themselves in a pocket of space inside the destroyed structure.

Pictured: Young children are seen being pulled from the rubble after the earthquake hit

TURKEY: Rescue workers are seen working through the rubble of a collapsed building in Turkey on Monday morning

Pictured: A person is rescued by rescue workers in Kilis, Turkey on Monday morning

Pictured: Rescue workers carry a person away from a collapsed building on a stretcher

Pictured: A rescue workers searches through the rubble from a collapsed building in Turkey

Pictured: A woman is rescued from the wreckage of a building during ongoing search and rescue efforts after a 7.8-magnitude earthquake hit southern provinces of Turkey on Monday

Pictured: A man holds his head in his hands amongst the rubble in Diyarbakir, Turkey after the city was devastated by Monday morning's earthquake

Pictured: Turkish gendarmerie rescued a cat under the rubble of a Galeria Mall after the 7.8-magnitude earthquake hit Diyarbakir, Turkey

Pictured: A Latin Catholic church in Hatay lies in ruins on Monday after the earthquake

In the Turkish city of Adana, one resident said three buildings near his home collapsed. 'I don't have the strength anymore,' one survivor could be heard calling out from beneath the rubble as rescue workers tried to reach him, said the resident, journalism student Muhammet Fatih Yavus.

Images from Diyarbakir showed hundreds of rescue workers and civilians forming lines across huge piles of wreckage, passing down pieces of concrete and household items as they worked to clear the debris in the search for survivors.

Any survivors they did find were strapped into stretchers and taken to ambulances.

Rescue teams called for silence as they tried to listen for survivors under the wreckage of an 11-storey building.

In Sanliurfa, at least 10 deaths have been confirmed, according to Gov. Salih Ayhan.

Several buildings tumbled down in the neighboring provinces of Malatya, Diyarbakir and Malatya. A hospital collapsed in the Mediterranean coastal city of Iskanderoun, but casualties were not immediately known, Turkey's Vice President said.

'Unfortunately, at the same time, we are also struggling with extremely severe weather conditions,' Otkay told reporters. Nearly 2,800 search and rescue teams have been deployed in the disaster-stricken areas, he said.

One U.S.-based Turkish citizen, Eren Bali, tweeted footage showing collapsed buildings in his hometown of Malatya.

'Southeast Turkey was hit by a 7.8 magnitude earthquake that lasted 90 seconds,' he said. 'Over 100 buildings were reported to have collapsed in my home town alone (Malatya).'

Unverified images from Hatay appeared to show a family being dragged out of the rubble of a collapsed home, amid heavy snowfall.

The same Twitter user posted another clip showing a boy being rescued.

Another person shared what he said was footage from Gaziantep, showing burst water pipes flooding the streets.

People trying to leave the quake-stricken regions caused traffic jams, hampering efforts of emergency teams trying to reach the affected areas.

Authorities urged residents not to take to the roads.

In this video grab from AFP TV taken on February 6, 2023, rescuers search for victims of a 7.8-magnitude earthquake that hit Diyarbakir, in southeastern Turkey

As day breaks on Monday, rescue workers in Diyarbakir survey the scene of a collapsed building

People search through rubble following an earthquake in Diyarbakir

The quake piled more misery on a region that has seen tremendous suffering over the past decade.

On the Syrian side, the area affected is divided between government-held territory and the country's last opposition-held enclave, which is surrounded by Russian-backed government forces.

Turkey, meanwhile, is home to millions of refugees from the civil war.

In Syria, in Aleppo alone, 24 people had died and 100 were injured when 20 buildings collapsed in the province, the official news agency SANA had said, quoting an official in the province.

Even before the tragedy, buildings in Aleppo - Syria's pre-war commercial hub - often collapsed due to the dilapidated infrastructure after more than a decade of war and devastating airstrikes, as well as little oversight to ensure safety of new construction projects, some built illegally.

SANA said the earthquake was felt from the western coast of Latakia to Damascus.

'This earthquake is the strongest since the National Earthquake Centre was founded in 1995,' Raed Ahmed, who heads the centre, told SANA.

Near the border town of Azaz found on the Syrian side, an AFP correspondent saw rescuers pull out survivors as well as five bodies out of the rubble of a three-storey building that crumbled.

Deaths were also reported in northern Syrian areas controlled by pro-Turkish factions. 'We have been working on rescuing survivors and recovering the dead from under the rubble' in the regions of Azaz and Al-Bab, Omar Alwan, the medical response coordinator for the area, told AFP reporters.

Rescue workers and residents using flashlights were searching through piles of tangled metal and concrete rubble in one of the stricken cities.

People on the street shouted up to others inside a partially toppled apartment building, leaning dangerously.

A steady stream of injured have been flowing into an overwhelmed hospital in the Syrian town of Darkush, found in rebel-held northwestern Syria on Monday.

One man, Osama Abdul Hamid, said he had barely made it out alive with his wife and four children from his apartment building in the nearby village of Azmarin. Many of their neighbours were not so lucky.

'The building is four stories, and from three of them, no one made it out,' Abdul Hamid said, breaking down in tears. 'God gave me a new lease on life.'

Pictured: People search through rubble following an earthquake in Adana, Turkey

Pictured: People search for survivors under the rubble following an earthquake in Diyarbakir, Turkey. Soldiers, emergency responders and civilians jumped into action after the quake

Pictured: First aid responders rescue a person from the rubble of a destroyed apartment building after the earthquake shook Hatay, Turkey, in the early hours of Monday morning

Pictured: People walk next to a mosque that was partially destroyed by an earthquake in Malatya. The famous mosque dates back to the 13th century

Pictured: Residents search through the wreckage of a building that was destroyed following the 7.8-magnitude earthquake in Turkey on Monday morning

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Twitter that 'search and rescue teams were immediately dispatched' to the areas hit by the quake. Pictured: A destroyed building is seen in Diyarbakir, Turkey, one of the cities that was hit hard by the quake

Pictured: Rescuers work at the site of a damaged building, following an earthquake, in rebel-held Azaz, Syria February 6, 2023. People are still trapped inside many buildings in the region

Pictured: A view of the destroyed buildings after earthquakes jolted Turkish and Syrian provinces, on February 6, 2023 in Malatya. People can be seen searching through the rubble for survivors after the building came down in the dead of night

Pictured: Rescue workers pour through the rubble of a collapsed building in Syria on Monday in search of survivors. Fears are mounting for people still trapped under the buildings

The powerful quake has brought new damage and suffering to Syria's last rebel-held enclave, already wrecked by years of fighting and bombardment and housing millions of displaced Syrians who had fled their homes during the country's civil war.

Hospitals and clinics have been flooded with injured. In the enclave, centered in Idlib province, many of the displaced live in dire conditions in makeshift camps.

Many others there and in neighbouring government-held areas are housed in buildings weakened by past bombings and left even more vulnerable to shocks from earthquakes.

The quake caused total and partial damage to buildings in at least 58 villages, towns and cities in northwestern Syria, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based war monitor.

Other countries were quick to offer their assistance to Turkey and Syria, with President Erdogan saying 45 governments had said they would help.

The British Foreign Office announced it was sending aid to Turkey, with 76 search and rescue specialists set to arrive in the country this evening.

It said it was also sending an emergency medical team.

'The UK is sending immediate support to Turkiye including a team of 76 search & rescue specialists, equipment and rescue dogs,' Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said. 'In Syria, the UK-funded White Helmets have mobilised their resources to respond. We stand ready to provide further support as needed.'

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak echoed his foreign secretary's statement, saying: 'My thoughts are with the people of Turkey and Syria this morning, particularly with those first responders working so valiantly to save those trapped by the earthquake. The UK stands ready to help in whatever way we can.'

US president Joe Biden expressed his 'deep sadness' over the disaster.

'I am deeply saddened by the loss of life and devastation caused by the earthquake in Turkiye and Syria,' he said in a tweet.

'I have directed my team to continue to closely monitor the situation in coordination with Turkiye and provide any and all needed assistance.'

Jake Sullivan, Biden's National Security Adviser, tweeted that the US President had instructed the federal government to prepare assistance from the United States.

'The US is profoundly concerned by the reports of today's destructive earthquake in Turkey and Syria,' Sullivan said.

'We stand ready to provide any and all needed assistance. President Biden has directed USAID and other federal government partners to assess US response options to help those most affected. We will continue to closely monitor the situation in coordination with the government of Turkey.'

The statement did not say whether the US would work directly with the Syrian government, against which the US currently has economic sanctions in place.

Samantha Power, the head of USAID, said they were looking at how best to assist.

'Deeply concerned about the earthquake that just struck Turkiye & Syria,' she tweeted. 'It's one of the most powerful to hit Turkiye in 100 yrs, and the human toll, including on already displaced Syrians, will be devastating.

'@POTUS has directed @USAID to assess how we can help those impacted.'

An injured man and child await treatment at the emergency ward of the Bab al-Hawa hospital following an earthquake, in the rebel-held northern countryside of Syria's Idlib province on the border with Turkey, early on February 6, 2023. Patients have flocked to hospitals after the quake in the early hours on Monday. Many were asleep as their homes came down

Pictured: An injured child is seen being carried to the emergency ward of the Bab al-Hawa hospital following an earthquake, early on February 6, 2023

Two injured men and a child receive treatment at the Bab al-Hawa hospital following an earthquake, early on February 6, 2023. Hospitals were quickly overwhelmed by people being rushed for treatment following the huge earthquake

Picturd: People injured in a morning earthquake receive treatment at al-Rahma hospital in Syria's town of Darkush, on the outskirts of the rebel-held northwestern province of Idlib

Pictured: Three patients are seen in al-Rahma hospital in Syria's town of Darkush, on the outskirts of the rebel-held northwestern province of Idlib, after being injured in the quake

Pictured: A view of destroyed apartment block in Yurt neighborhood of Cukurova district after the earthquake in Adana, Turkey brough hundreds of buildings to the ground

Residents of a collapsed building look on in shock in Maltaya, Turkey after it came down in the earthquake in the early hours of Monday morning

Pictured: Rescuers are seen in the Syrian city of Hama trying to pull people from the rubble. Hundreds have been killed in the quake on both sides of the border

A mangled building is seen, with cars crushed below, in Gaziantep, as civilians scour the wreckage for survivors in near-freezing temperatures

Rescue workers in Adana, Turkey, are seen scouring the rubble for survivors

India's leader, Narendra Modi, also offered support.

'Anguished by the loss of lives and damage of property due to the Earthquake in Turkey,' he tweeted.

'Condolences to the bereaved families. May the injured recover soon.

'India stands in solidarity with the people of Turkey and is ready to offer all possible assistance to cope with this tragedy.'

He posted a similar message of support for Syria.

Ukraine's president Volodymyr Zelensky also offered his war-torn country's support.

'Shocked by the news about the death and injury of hundreds of people as a result of the earthquake in Turkey,' he tweeted on Monday morning.

'We extend our condolences to the families of the victims and wish the injured a speedy recovery. We are in this moment close to the friendly Turkish people, ready to provide the necessary assistance.'

Josep Borrell, the European Union's most senior diplomat, said that the 27-country bloc was ready to help the devastated countries.

'Devastating earthquake rocked Turkiye and Syria this morning, claiming the lives of hundreds of people and injuring many more,' he wrote on Twitter.

'Our thoughts are with the people of Turkiye and Syria. The EU is ready to help.'

It was later announced that the EU had mobilised 10 search and rescue teams.

In a joint statement, High Representative Josep Borrell and the EU Commissioner for Crisis Management, Janez Lenarcic said teams have been mobilised from Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, France, Greece, Hungary, Malta, the Netherlands, Poland, Romania to support the first responders on the ground.

Italy, Spain, and Slovakia have offered their rescue teams to Turkey as well.

He said that the bloc's Civil Protection Mechanism had been activated to respond to the quake, which hit Turkey and Syria, causing deaths and destruction in both countries. His office said that Turkey had requested EU assistance.

The Netherlands, Israel, Bulgaria, Greece, Spain, Poland, Taiwan, Russia, China and even Iran were among the dozens of other counties offer their assistance.

Russian president Vladimir Putin offered his condolences to Syria and Turkey, while Russia's emergencies ministry said it two IL-76 aircraft with 100 rescuers were ready to fly out to Turkey if required.

Russia, which is closely allied with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, maintains a significant military presence in that country. Putin also has a strong rapport with President Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey, a NATO member which has nevertheless sought to mediate in the conflict between Russia and Ukraine.

China, meanwhile, expressed condolences and concern for the loss of life and property, and is in communications with both Turkey and Syria, a spokesperson from China International Development Cooperation Agency said.

Speaking from the Vatican, the Pope said he was 'deeply saddened' by the quake.

Pictured: A view of the destroyed building after earthquakes jolts Turkiye's provinces, on February 6, 2023 in Adana

Pictured: Cars are seen next to a collapsed building in Malatya, Turkey on Monday morning

On the ground in Syria, Fared Al Mahlool, a local journalist based in the country, tweeted video showing collapsed houses and people scrabbling through the rubble.

'Here in the city of Salqin in rural Idlib, Syria,' he wrote. 'We hit a violent earthquake and destroyed everything. Buildings destroyed and people under rubble.'

In northwest Syria, authorities in the region as 'disastrous' adding that entire buildings have collapsed and people are trapped under the rubble.

The quake smashed opposition-held regions that are packed with some four million Syrians displaced from other parts of the country by the long civil war.

Many of them live in decrepit conditions with little health care.

At least 11 were killed in one Syrian town, Atmeh, and many more were buried in the rubble, a doctor in the town, Muheeb Qaddour, told The Associated Press by telephone.

'We fear that the deaths are in the hundreds,' Qaddour said, referring to the rebel-held northwest. We are under extreme pressure.'

The civil defense urged people to evacuate buildings to gather in open areas.

Emergency rooms were full of injured, said Amjad Rass, president of the Syrian American Medical Society.

Pictured: A view of a destroyed building after 7.8-magnitude earthquake jolted the region

Buildings collapsed during the strong tremors that rocked Turkey and Syria. Pictured: A destroyed building is seen in Diyarbakir, in Turkey's Kahramanmaras province

The earthquake came as the Middle East is experiencing a snowstorm that is expected to continue until Thursday, meaning residents left homeless have painful days ahead

Vehicles were smashed as buildings tumbled down in the powerful earthquake on Monday

A view of the destroyed buildings after earthquakes jolts Turkiye's provinces, on February 6, 2023 in Malatya, in the early hours of Monday morning

A collapsed building is seen following an earthquake in Pazarcik, in Kahramanmaras province, southern Turkey

Syria's state media reported that some buildings collapsed in the northern city of Aleppo and the central city of Hama.

In Damascus, buildings shook and many people went down to the streets in fear.

'Paintings fell off the walls in the house,' said Samer, a resident of the Syrian city.

'I woke up terrified. Now we're all dressed and standing at the door.'

In north-west Syria, the quake added new woes to the opposition-held enclave centred on the province of Idlib, which has been under siege for years, with frequent Russian and government air strikes.

The territory depends on a flow of aid from nearby Turkey for everything from food to medical supplies.

The opposition's Syrian Civil Defence described the situation there as 'disastrous', adding that entire buildings have collapsed and people are trapped under rubble.

Pictured: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan speaks to press at Coordination Center of Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD) on Monday after the quake

Pictured: Syrian president al-Assad (centre) chairing a emergency cabinet meeting in Damascus, Syria, 06 February 2023

In the small Syrian rebel-held town of Azmarin by the Turkish border, the bodies of several dead children, wrapped in blankets, were taken to a hospital.

In Lebanon, the quake jolted residents from their beds, shaking buildings for about 40 seconds. Many residents of Beirut left their homes and took to the streets or drove in their cars away from buildings.

The earthquake came as the Middle East is experiencing a snowstorm that is expected to continue until Thursday.

The head of the Turkish Red Cross said it was mobilizing resources for the region as it had received information of serious damage and collapsed buildings, and urged people to evacuate damaged homes.

Turkey is in one of the world's most active earthquake zones, sitting in a fault line.

The Turkish region of Duzce suffered a 7.4-magnitude earthquake in 1999 - the worst to hit Turkey in decades.

That quake killed more than 17,000 people, including about 1,000 in Istanbul.

Experts have long warned a large quake could devastate Istanbul, which has allowed widespread building without safety precautions.

A magnitude-6.8 quake hit Elazig in January 2020, killing more than 40 people.

And in October that year, a magnitude-7.0 quake hit Turkey's Aegean coast, killing 114 people and wounding more than 1,000.

The last 7.8-magnitude tremor shook Turkey in 1939, when 33,000 died in the eastern province of Erzincan.
Before and after images show the catastrophic effects of the 7.8 magnitude earthquake that hit parts of Turkey and Syria today.

Thousands of people were killed in the earthquake which rocked eastern Anatolia overnight, bringing down ancient fortresses and reinforced buildings.

This includes the Haji Yusuf 'Great Earthquake' Mosque in the city of Malatya, which was damaged by earthquakes and reopened on three occasions before suffering damage to its walls again today.

Pictures also highlight the damage to Gaziantep Castle, first built by the Hittite Empire, which arrived in Anatolia in the Bronze Age.

The castle saw nearly two millennia of use as a Roman castle, Ottoman fortress and most recently as a museum, before it was damaged and collapsed in the earthquake this morning.

At least 2,818 buildings collapsed as a result of Monday's quake, Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said.

Apartment blocks home to hundreds of people were pictured levelled, surrounded by debris, as search and rescue teams worked through the morning to pull out trapped residents.

Tremors were felt in nearby Lebanon and Cyprus, and as far south as Egypt.

News later broke of a second earthquake, which hit at 1:24pm (10:24 GMT), 60 miles north of the first.

 Slide me  The historical mosque in the large eastern city of Malatya, Turkey, which has been a human settlement for thousands of years (L) and then pictured covered in snow with damage to its domes after the earthquake on 6 February 2023 (R)

The Haji Yusuf Mosque

The 'Great Earthquake' mosque, as it is known locally, is a huge stone building in the centre of Malatya city - nearly 100ft (30m) squared.

It was built in 1843 by the Ottoman Turks and earned its name after it was damaged by an earthquake in 1846 and rebuilt for 1913.

Turkey underwent huge political and religious change during this period, which the building survived thanks to its careful guardians rebuilding it after each disaster.

The mosque was again damaged in the 1964 Manyas earthquake, which had a magnitude of 6.8.

At the height of a period of coups and instability the building was again rebuilt.

Another earthquake, with a magnitude of 6.7, tore the region open in 2020, killing 22 and causing tremors in Turkey, Syria, Georgia and Armenia.

Steadily, the building was renovated under Erdogan's presidency and reopened in time for Ramadan in April 2022.

It had been open to the public for less than a year when the 6 February earthquake destroyed its outer walls.

Pictures show damage to the corner walls and domed roof, while the reinforced arches retain their structure.

The minaret, made of cut stone, are pictured standing after the earthquake.

 Slide me  The Hittite castle of Gaziantep, built mostly in the 2nd century and used by the Romans, Byzantines and Turkic peoples as a fortress for nearly two millennia, pictured standing (L) and with large damage to its outer walls after the earthquake today (R)

The Castle of Gaziantep

The earliest semblance of Gaziantep Castle was built by the Hittites, who arrived in Anatolia in the Bronze Age and rose to the status of a great regional empire before splintering into statelets from the 12th century BC.

These ancient people handed over their legacy to the Romans, who built the main building in the second and third centuries AD (at the Empire's greatest extent into its collapse).

Built as a watchtower on top of a hill called Kudret in the centre of Gaziantep city, the stone fortress has been used and renovated by many of the inhabitants of Anatolia over the centuries.

The Byzantines continued to protect the castle, which was enlarged and strengthened in its modern form under Justinian I between 527 and 565 AD.

The fortress remains a proud and important part of local history.

Describing the damage, Turkish state-run news agency Anadolu reported. 'Some of the bastions in the east, south and southeast parts of the historical Gaziantep Castle in the central Sahinbey district were destroyed by the earthquake, the debris was scattered on the road.

'The iron railings around the castle were scattered on the surrounding sidewalks. The retaining wall next to the castle also collapsed. In some bastions, large cracks were observed.'

The damage to one of Turkey's best-preserved citadels will a local and national tragedy to the country's rich history.

 Slide me  A multistorey residential building in the Turkish city of Gaziantep is photographed in October 2022 (L) and then levelled after the 7.8 magnitude earthquake that hit overnight, today (R)

 Slide me  The Latin church in Iskenderun, the historical city of Alexandretta, in Hatay pictured standing (L) and severely damaged by the quake which shook the region overnight on 6 February (R)

 Slide me  Tall apartment buildings standing in the city of Gaziantep, southeastern Turkey, in 2020 (L) and then surrounded by debris and cleanup crews, with cars under the rubble today (R)

 Slide me  Images show residential buildings in Cukurova district of Adana (L) in April 2021 and a search and rescue mission in the debris of one of the buildings on 6 February 2022 (R)
Nicola Sturgeon heaped pressure on Rishi Sunak today by releasing her tax returns for the past six years.

The SNP leader disclosed copies of returns showing her only regular income was her salary as First Minister and an MSP.

She said that has been frozen at 2009 levels, and she has been paying the difference back into government coffers.

The Prime Minister has also pledged to release his tax returns 'shortly', but Downing Street has so far refused to say when they will be made available.

Ms Sturgeon's documents show she received just over 140,000 of taxable income in 2021-22.

The SNP leader suggested she had forgone more than 20,000 of her salary to make that match take-home pay from 13 years previously.

However, it appears Ms Sturgeon's gold-plated pension will be payable on her full salary entitlement - 157,000 last year - rather than the reduced level of 135,000.

That could potentially be worth thousands of pounds a year extra.

Her pot was boosted by 58,000 in 2021-22 through her contributions and those of the taxpayer, with the Scottish Parliamentary Pension Scheme meeting an extra tax charge as a result of breaching the annual allowance.

The SNP initially blundered by publishing the returns featuring Ms Sturgeon's bank account details - but subsequently issued versions that were redacted.

Scottish Tory leader Douglas Ross also piled the pressure on Mr Sunak by releasing his own tax return this afternoon.

It revealed Mr Ross's sole earnings during the 2021-22 tax year were his MP and MSP salaries, the latter of which he donates to charities.

He is often employed as a football official but had no football-related income during this period due to injury, it was stated on Mr Ross's website.

Nicola Sturgeon disclosed copies of returns showing her only regular income was her salary as First Minister and an MSP

The documents show Ms Sturgeon received just over 140,000 of taxable income in 2021-22

On the release of her own tax return, Ms Sturgeon said: 'I previously committed to being open and transparent to the people of Scotland about my own earnings. Today's publication makes good on that commitment.

'These documents show clearly that my sole source of income is my job as First Minister  the office which I have the immense privilege of holding. 'I hope other party leaders, including the Prime Minister, will follow suit in an effort to promote transparency in public office.'

Downing Street today refused to say when Mr Sunak - renowned as one of the wealthiest MPs - will release his tax returns.

Pressure has increased for the transparency move since Nadhim Zahawi was forced out as Tory party chairman after a row over a settlement with HMRC.

In an interview with Piers Morgan on Talk TV last week, Mr Sunak said: 'They will be published shortly. As you know the tax filing deadline was just a few days ago. So that's why.

'So we do the tax-filing deadlines just passed, so they're just being prepared and they will be released shortly.'
Pictures of a 'squalid drugs den' where heroin was found next to children's lunchboxes have been revealed  as a mother and her friend were convicted of failing to look after the youngsters.

Police gained entry to the house in Swansea, south Wales, to check on the two children's welfare after arresting the woman for drug dealing, a court heard.

Inside, officers found them asleep in bed while a friend of their mother was lying in the living room, having smoked heroin.

The mother insisted in a police interview that her children were well-fed and cared for, regularly went to school and knew 'not to touch mummy's stuff'.

But at Swansea Crown Court, a judge told her she and her children had lived in a 'drugs den' as he sentenced her to nine months in jail for child neglect, to serve alongside her current prison term for drug-dealing.

The house was described as in a 'squalid' state, with a stash of heroin found not far from the children's lunchboxes

The male defendant was given a two-year community order with a rehabilitation requirement. The pair cannot be named to protect the identity of the children.

Alycia Carpanini, prosecuting, told the court that the woman was arrested by police last summer on suspicion of being involved in drug-dealing.

A search revealed she was carrying 141g of heroin. The court heard that after hearing the defendant's worried remarks about her children, officers decided to attend her home address.

Once there, they found a man asleep in the living room with a piece of foil in one hand and a lighter in the other.

When he was roused, he said the woman had asked him to look after her children  and that after feeding them and putting them to bed, he had smoked heroin which he had taken to the address.

The two children were asleep in bed upstairs. The court heard the house was poorly kept and a search revealed a stash of heroin next to the children's lunchboxes in the kitchen.

In her subsequent interview, the mother, who is in her 30s, insisted that she looked after her children. She said that on the night in question, she and her friend had smoked heroin after the youngsters had gone to bed.

She told officers she kept her heroin on top of a cupboard and her children knew 'not to touch mummy's stuff'.

In his interview, the man at the property, aged in his 40s, said he had been fishing when his friend called him and asked him to look after her children for an hour.

He said they had eaten a takeaway before his friend went out for the night and he said that after ensuring the youngsters were asleep, he had smoked heroin.

The man described himself as a habitual user of the drug and spent 10 a day on his habit.

Both defendants pleaded guilty to child neglect when they appeared in the dock for sentencing.

The children's mother is currently serving a significant prison sentence having been convicted at trial of possession of heroin with intent to supply in relation to the night she was arrested in Swansea.

Inside this neglected home in Swansea, South Wales, police found two children asleep in bed while a friend of their mother's lay passed out in the living room, having smoked heroin

Ieuan Rees, for the female defendant, said his client had immediately shown concern for her children upon her arrest, which had alerted police to the situation at home.

He said his client still had contact with her children but whether she would ever have custody of them again was 'a matter for the future'.

Jon Tarrant, for the male defendant, said his client had 'unwisely' taken heroin to the house and decided to smoke it before falling asleep.

He added that the man had ongoing health issues and there was a realistic prospect of rehabilitation.

Judge Paul Hobson told the woman that the risks she was exposing her children to must have been clear to her and that she was guilty of a dereliction of her duty as a mother.

The judge told her that 'perhaps against my better judgment' he was willing to make her sentence concurrent, before handing her nine months to run alongside her current sentence.

Judge Hobson told the male defendant he too was guilty of a dereliction of his duty as the person left with responsibility for the youngsters.

He added that the man had a long-standing drug problem and a 'chaotic lifestyle' and, given his age, he needed 'to start acting responsibly'.

The defendant took issue with the judge's description of his conduct and began answering back, but he was told to 'say nothing more' if he wished to walk out of court with a non-custodial term.
Ally Langdon has stunned a pensioner couple by presenting them with a financial rescue from their cruel and crippling debt.

Walter and Carola Sadlo were left with a $25,000 legal bill after taking their nursing home to court over an air-conditioning unit and losing the case.

There heartwrenching story featured on A Current Affair weeks earlier and sparked an outpouring of support for the retired battlers.

'Our viewers have paid off your debt,' Langdon told the stunned couple, who at first couldn't believe it.

Ally Langdon has stunned pensioner couple Walter and Carola Sadlo by presenting them with a financial rescue from their cruel and crippling debt

'We didn't expect that,' Carola said.

'Thank you from the bottom of my heart,' a teary and shaky Walter said.

'I normally don't get emotional. I had better make sure I don't have a heart attack!

'It's been hanging over our head. It's something we don't what other people to go through.'

The couple were saddled with the whopping bill after taking their south-west Sydney Mount Gilead Estate retirement village to the New South Wales Civil and Administrative Tribunal (NCAT) over a $1375 claim to fix their air conditioner in 2018.

Village operator Australian Retirement Holdings defended the claim by employing a barrister and solicitor, while Walter represented himself but proved no match for the high-priced legal team.

Although the village operators wanted the Sadlos to pay their full legal costs of $59,000 - the tribunal agreed to a payment of $25,000.

Carola and Walter were overwhelmed to learn ACA viewers had dug deep to pay off a $25,000 legal bill hanging over the couple's head plus a $15,000 inheritance

The Sadlos had struggled to keep up with the payment schedule and just two days before Christmas the village threatened to declare them bankrupt for falling behind.

This forced the Sadlers to throw in their only nest egg, a $15,000 inheritance Carola had from her mother.

With that gone they feared losing their home.

However, Langdon told the overwhelmed couple that not only had viewers chipped in enough to pay the $25,000 bill there was enough to also replace the $15,000 inheritance.

Langdon said the plight of the Sadlos had touched A Current Affair viewers so much they began sending in money even while the story was airing.

Langdon said the plight of Sadlos had touched so many viewers of A Current Affair that the offers of money came pouring in even as the original story about them was airing

One woman in Queensland had gone to get money from a bank where the tellers had seen the story and were expressing their hope that someone would help the Sadlos out even as the withdrawal was about to be made.

Walter said the financial help was particularly timely as he had an expensive operation coming up, which otherwise would have racked up credit card debt.

'Despite a lot things there is a lot of good in the world and a lot of good people,' he said.

'Hopefully there will be village operators who see this story and will show a bit more heart.'
Photographs showing the cupboard under the stairs where serial rapist David Carrick locked one woman as punishment and surveillance cameras set up at his home to spy on his victims have been released.

The Metropolitan Police officer, 48, used cameras he installed at home to monitor women while he was at work, a court heard as his two-day sentencing hearing got underway.

Details of the crimes of one of Britain's worst sex offenders have been heard in court today including how he hit a woman with a whip and shut her in a small cupboard as punishment while 'whistling at her as if she was a dog'.

He told another victim who he met that he was 'the safest person' to be with before grabbing her by the throat and holding a gun to her head before raping her.

The former firearms officer appeared in the dock at Southwark Crown Court on Monday, where he is being sentenced for 49 charges, including 24 counts of rape.

This is the tiny cupboard under the stairs that serial rapist David Carrick locked one of his victims in as a punishment while 'whistling at her as if she was a dog'

The Metropolitan Police officer, 48, used cameras he installed at home to spy on victims while he was at work

David Carrick's home in Stevenage, Hertfordshire, including a Ring surveillance camera next to the front door

Metropolitan Police officer David Carrick told a victim 'you are not going' as he raped her at gunpoint, a court has heard (court sketch taken today)

Details of David Carrick's horrific crimes were read out in court today, including:

Carrick used his 'power and control' to carry out a string of 'violent and brutal' sex attacks

He had undertaken a number of training courses as a police officer, including one on domestic violence in 2005

Carrick had told one victim he was 'the safest person that she could be with' before he raped her

He held a black handgun to a victim's head before telling her 'you are not going' as he raped her

Carrick told one victim he would be the 'last thing she saw' as he put his hands around her throat

One victim was told by an A&E nurse if she complained about being raped it 'might not go to court'

He sent a photograph of himself with a police firearm to one of his victims, saying: 'Remember I am the boss'

Carrick shut one of his victims in a small cupboard as a punishment while 'whistling at her as if she was a dog'

Describing his offending as 'systematic', prosecutor Tom Little KC said: 'The reality was that it did not matter who the victim was.

'She could be a new girlfriend, as a number were, a long-term partner, as a number were, a police officer that he worked with or that he did not work with... a friend, or just a stranger.

'The reality was he would rape them, sexually abuse and assault them and humiliate them.'

Mr Little told how the first series of offences were committed over a period of some hours one night in July 2003 after Carrick met the woman in a bar in London.

'He told her that he was having a housewarming party afterwards and invited her. He lived close to the bar.'

He told the woman he was the safest person that she could be with and that he was a police officer' after they went back to his one bedroom flat, the court heard.

'The woman told Carrick she was not interested after he tried to kiss her. She then tried to open the door to leave but she could not open it.

The defendant told [her] she could not go. He grabbed her by the hair and put his hand round her mouth and dragged her backwards.

He threw her on the bed. He held her down. He grabbed her arms. He had taken his shirt off.

She bit his arm and he put his hand behind the bed. He searched for something and then put a black handgun to her head and said to her you are not going. She froze.

Asked why he had a gun, Carrick said he liked guns and that he could not have her screaming the place down.

While choking the woman he told her he was going to be the last thing she saw.

After raping his victim multiple times, he sat with her in the sitting room and talked to her as if nothing had happened.

The victim sustained external and internal injuries including bite marks to the neck and collar bone, bruising to the breasts, thighs, buttocks, wrists and ankles, where she had been pinned down and dragged on the floor.

She had clumps of hair missing and was bleeding in several places.

The woman was hesitant to come forward, and when asked what had stopped her said: Shame to a degree'.

The prosecutor said the second victim was attacked after Carrick suggested she come back to stay at his flat in Tooting, south London, after working a late shift.

Inside a cupboard beneath the stairs where Carrick locked one of his victims as a punishment for ordering a piece of clothing online

Evidence found by police in the home of David Carrick, who admitted 49 offences including 24 counts of rape

Carrick had set up surveillance cameras which he used to monitor some of his victims

A bathroom in Carrick's home. The former Met cop is facing sentencing for 24 counts of rape over an 18-year period

Carrick, who served in the Army before joining the Met, admitted 49 criminal charges, but some of the attacks are multiple incident counts, meaning they relate to more than 80 sexual offences, including at least 48 rapes against 12 women

Carrick, a former Met cop who has been unmasked as one of Britain's most prolific sex offenders, is set to be jailed for attacking a dozen women over an 17-year period

She was expecting to have consensual sex but he anally raped her in his bedroom and told her: 'This is what I do.'

That victim did not tell anyone about it and did not report until 2021.

The prosecutor said another victim formed a relationship with Carrick after he messaged her on Tinder.

'He was intense from the start and things between them developed quickly. Before she moved into his address, the defendant told her he would pay her 1,000 a month to be his slut. She did not agree to this.

Metropolitan Police officer David Carrick (pictured) used his 'power and control' to carry out a 'catalogue of violent and brutal' sex attacks, a court was told

As the relationship developed, he became more and more aggressive in bed. He would say who do you belong to? and she had to answer to him saying that it was him. There were a number sexual acts that she would not and did not agree to, with him.

The court heard how with another victim, Carrick 'took pleasure from her gagging and struggling to breathe'.

Over the course of their relationship the defendant tried to cut her off from her friends and family and even from her daughter.

Carrick even used cameras he installed at home to spy on the woman while he was at work.

'He controlled what she was allowed to eat and how much she ate,' said Mr Little.

A van arriving at Southwark Crown Court on Monday

Protesters gathered outside Southwark Crown Court, where David Carrick's two-day sentencing hearing is taking place

Her daughter described her mother as going from a size 14 to a size 6 in a couple of months.

'He also controlled when she slept. He told her that he wanted her to sleep during the day, so she was available for sexual intercourse with him at night.

'By the end of the relationship, she was suicidal.

'By the time she left the defendant she was physically and mentally exhausted, but still felt that she loved him.

Carrick was 'very charming' towards his next victim and he had what she referred to as the 'gift of talk', the court heard.

'However, things deteriorated fairly quickly. The defendant was controlling and possessive over her,' said the prosecutor.

'During the course of the relationship, he came to control who she saw, what she did, what she wore, what she spent money on and what she ate in a similar way to that with another victim.

He told her that she belonged to him and that she must obey him. He would call her his w***e and his prostitute.

'He threatened her with his police baton and sent her a photograph of his work issue firearm saying remember I am the boss.

David Carrick, who was unmasked as one of Britain's most prolific sex offenders, is set to be jailed for attacking a dozen women over an 18-year period

'He told her that she should obey him and that if she did, he would give her an amazing life.'

'The defendant constantly criticised her telling her that she needed to go to the gym and that she was fat and lazy. He ordered for her in restaurants and controlled what she ate.

The defendant expressed a dislike for anyone with mental health problems feeling that they 'shouldnt be on the planet.

'This extended to her own son who has mental health problems and as a result she did not see her son for a whole year as the defendant had forbidden it.'

Mr Little said of Carrick's next victim: If she upset the defendant she would be punished, sometimes by acts of violence and on other occasions she was shut in a small cupboard under the stairs.

Demonstrators held up banners outside Southwark Crown Court where David Carrick is being sentenced

'This occurred on a significant number of occasions. One example being when she had ordered a jumper.

He said to her that he had not told her to order anything.

;She had to send the jumper back and he put her in the cupboard. Every time this occurred she was made to strip naked. On one occasion she asked to get out as she was having a panic attack.

'He would not let her out. She made herself calm down and he let her out.

'They did not communicate whilst she was in the cupboard, he would stand outside and whistle at her as if she was a dog.

The prosecutor told the court the women were 'vulnerable', with some 'appreciably older or younger than him'.

Carrick's offending increased in frequency, with 'an increasing level of humiliation being inflicted', Mr Little said.

Michelle described Carrick (pictured in an artists impression in court last month) as a monster who spent 'many years of doing what he shouldn't do' and now 'needs to pay' for his crimes

Two of the women were kept in a small cupboard under the stairs at Carrick's home - one 10 times - while some were urinated on or attacked with a belt, the court was told.

Carrick relied on his 'charm' to 'beguile and mislead' his victims and would use his 'power and control' - in part because of his status as a police officer - to stop them leavig or reporting him, the court also heard

His crimes are set to form part of the independent inquiry looking at the murder of Sarah Everard, who was raped and strangled by then-serving Met officer Wayne Couzens in March 2021

One Metropolitan Police officer who was raped by 'monster' Carrick in 2004 had previously said she felt unable to report him because of the 'male-dominated' culture of the force.

The victim, a serving officer who is being called Michelle to protect her anonymity, is bravely facing her attacker in court today.

She feared being known as the colleague who 'alleges rape' in a work environment but decided to come forward when she heard he had been charged with the rape of a different woman.

His 'truly sickening' crimes have forced the Met to issue an apology.

Assistant Commissioner Barbara Gray, the Met's lead for professionalism, said Carrick's sentencing hearing would provide more detail about his 'cruel and abusive' offences.

She said: 'More detail will be provided about the cruel and abusive nature of his crimes and about the impact they have had on the tremendously brave women who came forward to provide evidence against him.

'I am truly sorry for the harm and devastation he has caused them. We let them down and we failed to identify a man in the ranks of the Metropolitan Police Service who carried out the most awful offences.

'He should not have been a police officer.

'In the weeks since he pleaded guilty, we have spoken about our genuine and urgent commitment to address the systemic failings that have been identified.

She added: 'The next two days, however, are about the victims. They have shown such courage in speaking out.

'They truly deserve to have their voices heard and see justice done.'

Carrick, who served in the Army before joining the Met, admitted 49 criminal charges, but some of the attacks are multiple incident counts, meaning they relate to more than 80 sexual offences, including at least 48 rapes against 12 women.

He is also being sentenced for nine counts of sexual assault, five counts of assault by penetration, three counts of coercive and controlling behaviour, and three counts of false imprisonment.

Carrick (pictured) faced complaints about his behaviour before he joined the Met in 2001, then again as a probationer in 2002 and several times throughout his policing career until 2021. He was only suspended from duty in October 2021 when arrested for rape

Carrick's offences also include two counts of attempted rape, one count of attempted sexual assault by penetration, one count of causing a person to engage in sexual activity without consent, and one count of indecent assault.

The case prompted Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to promise police reforms after it emerged the force was informed of nine incidents - including allegations of rape, domestic violence and harassment - between 2000 and 2021.

Carrick, who joined the force in 2001 before becoming an armed officer with the Parliamentary and Diplomatic Protection Command in 2009, faced no criminal sanctions or misconduct findings.

Police chiefs across England and Wales have since been asked to have all officers checked against national police databases by the end of March.

On Sunday, the Met's Assistant Commissioner repeated the apology to Carrick's victims, saying the force 'let them down' and the sex predator 'should not have been a police officer'

He denied a further count of rape in September 2020 relating to a 13th woman, whose allegation triggered the investigation, and the Crown Prosecution Service decided it was not in the public interest to proceed to trial on the charge.

On September 4 2020, Carrick told her he was a firearms officer nicknamed 'B*****d Dave', showed her his warrant card and boasted of meeting famous people, including then-prime minister Boris Johnson, in the course of his work, a court previously heard.

The first of his victims to reveal her identity, Darciane Nunes Da Silva, told the Sunday People last week that she wants Carrick to spend the next 40 years behind bars.
Police said it was reported she 'collapsed' & fell off a bed

Neighbours heard screaming in the days leading up to the discovery of a teenage girl who was found unconscious in a home after 'falling off a bed' and suffered severe head injuries.

Krystle Monks, 19, was discovered unresponsive by paramedics in a home in Bundamba, Ipswich, Queensland, about 9.30pm on Saturday.

The Coffee Club worker was rushed to Princess Alexandra Hospital in Brisbane with critical head injuries, but died on Sunday night.

A man who was inside the home on the Saturday night is believed to have called an ambulance after she suffered head injuries.

Ms Monks was taken to Princess Alexandra Hospital in Brisbane with critical head injuries, but died on Sunday night

Daily Mail Australia can reveal neighbours heard 'yelling and screaming' coming from the home in the days leading up to the incident.

Forensic officers have cordoned off the property and are continuing to comb the home for evidence.

While the homicide squad is assisting Queensland Police, Ms Monks' death is not yet being treated as a murder investigation.

Heartbroken family and friends have since shared touching tributes to the young woman, who had attended Bundamba State Secondary College and was also known online as Krystal Taylah online.

Krystle Monks (pictured) was found in an Ipswich home after she reportedly 'collapsed' and later died in hospital

Emergency services found the woman unresponsive in Bundamba, a suburb of Ipswich, about 9.30pm on Saturday

'You will forever be in my heart Krystal,' a loved one posted.

'You were taken way too soon and to think your 20th was in less than 2 weeks'.

'You were a major joy in our lives! I can't believe I have to say goodbye.

'I enjoyed every single moment with you.

'You will NEVER be forgotten beautiful.'

Another person close to Ms Monks said the young woman 'truly walked her own path'.

Others said: 'Sending hugs to your family' and 'Rest in Peace gorgeous.'

A third wrote: 'Fly high Krystal, thanks for sparking joy in those who found themselves within your world.'
The creature was observed in the vicinity of the ITV show's Gwrych Castle

A 'puma' has been seen stalking the Welsh countryside in a fresh big cat sighting

A mysterious 'puma' has been spotted stalking the Welsh countryside just miles from Gwrych Castle - where ITV's I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here! was filmed for two years.

The sighting was logged by a mother who claims she saw a large dark beast prowling the grasslands near the castle.

The strange phenomenon  the latest in a string of similar sightings in the area  has made North Wales the unofficial big cat sighting capital of the UK.

Just a few weeks before, Wendy Williams was sat in her living room with her partner when she saw a 'big cat' in the field outside.

Wendy managed to film the mystery creature in Glan Conwy with her grainy seven-second footage showing a cat-like animal with pointy ears looking towards her home.

The small black animal has been likened to a Puma although it is unclear what it is

It was seen stalking an area of Wales which has become notorious for big cat sightings

The sighting was nearby Gwrych Castle where I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here! was filmed

Wendy said: 'I was startled when I first saw it because it was so big and had pointy ears. It looked like a domestic cat but bigger.

'At first I thought it was a cow or a horse's head but the more I looked at it, the more it resembled a big cat.

'There was no way it was a domestic cat because of its size. My daughter suggested it could have been a puma.'

Wendy says she has previously seen cows and horses in the field but never an animal that looked like a 'big cat' before.

There have been a number of suspected big cat sightings across North Wales in recent years.

Last month, two 'large black cat' sightings were reported within just one week in the nearby market town of Denbigh.

Witnesses claim to have stumbled upon the 'large black cat' while out walking

Pictured here is a footprint that was found just a couple of miles away from the suspected puma sighting

One witness managed to snap a picture of the animal drinking from a trough before another came just ten meters away from the 'large animal'.

Amazing photos showed what appeared to be a large animal track in the vicinity of the sighting.

The apparent sightings both happened on January 12 and January 16.

The spate of sightings has even led some Conservative politicians to call for a Welsh Government investigation into the creatures.

When keeping exotic pets was banned in the 1970s, many owners reportedly released them into the wild to avoid rehoming costs sparking 'sightings' of panthers, pumas and leopards all over the UK.

It's been suggested big cat owners travelled from across the UK to rural Wales to release their pets in remote parts of our country.
A career criminal has appeared in court charged with the brutal beating and attempted robbery of the owner of the iconic Rays Candy Store in the East Village.

Luis Peroza, 39, covered his face with a mask and looked glum as he stood before a judge at Manhattan Criminal Court on February 5.

He spoke to confirm his name and told the hearing that he was homeless and lives in a shelter on the east side of Manhattan.

Exclusive pictures taken by DailyMail.com show the serial thief looking down with his hands behind his back during the court hearing.

Peroza and Gerald Barth, 55, are accused of beating Ray Alvarez with a rock after they failed to steal anything from the store on January 31.

Luis Peroza, 39, covered his face with a mask and looked glum as he stood in front of a judge at Manhattan Criminal Court on February 5

Peroza and Gerald Barth, 55, are accused of beating Ray Alvarez (pictured) with a rock after they failed to steal anything from the store on January 31

During the hearing, his bail was set at $200,000, and he was given the alternative of a $250,000 bond  with a partially secured bond available.

However, he said that he didnt have the money and remains in the Eric M Taylor Center until his next hearing on February 9.

Alvarez, 90, was left with a black eye and eating through a straw because of the horrific attack  after Peroza beat him with a rock attached to a belt.

The attack also saw another Ray's employee hit in the chest while working overnight with Alvarez.

The pair did not require hospitalizations and only called cops the next day - with the NYPD then releasing footage of the suspected attackers.

Police believed that Peroza and Barth were responsible for a string of robberies in the area, and confirmed that Peroza has 10 prior arrests going back to 2001.

Along with robberies, Peroza has been previously arrested for assaults, criminal mischief and petit larceny.

The violent attack on Alvarez took place outside the 24-hour candy store when balaclava-clad Peroza threatened to kill the pensioner.

Police believed that Peroza and Barth were responsible for a string of robberies in the area, and confirmed that Peroza has 10 prior arrests going back to 2001

Alvarez, 90, was left with a black eye and eating through a straw because of the horrific attack  after Peroza beat him with a rock attached to a belt

He appeared in Manhattan Criminal Court on Friday surrounded by officers and spoke to confirm his name. Along with robberies, Peroza has been previously arrested for assaults, criminal mischief and petit larceny

Alvarez was left bleeding on the ground after the blow from the rock, which left his orbital bone broken and could lose an eye from the attack.

Gerald Barth, 55, has also been charged with assaulting the 90-year-old

Police sources say that Barth also had prior run-ins with the law and was suspected of carrying out other robberies.

Hours after the robbery at Ray's Candy Store, Barth allegedly attacked a 51-year-old man, stealing the victim's cell phone after he refused to hand over a cigarette.

Alvarez migrated to the US from the Middle East in the early 70s, just a few years before residents of his native country overthrew the presiding Pahlavi government during the Iranian Revolution.

He managed to raise the funds to buy his store in 1974, after working as a waiter in Manhattan for several years.

Shelling out $30,000 for the space, Alvarez opened up for business later that year, and has continued to man his shop, even sleeping in the back at times, for nearly half a century.

Alvarez was left bleeding on the ground after the blow from the rock, which left his orbital bone broken and could lose an eye from the attack

The pair did not require hospitalizations and only called cops the next day - with the NYPD then releasing footage of the suspected attackers

New Yorkers would banded together to organize a fundraiser for the senior ahead of his 90th birthday last month, rather than see him forced into retirement

During that span, the Avenue A shop - which was almost forced into foreclosure during the pandemic - has served customers ranging from Madonna to Kim Kardashian.

The business, like many others in the Big Apple, nearly went under during the pandemic and reportedly struggled to keep up with food and electric costs.

Alvarez, however, refused to raise his prices - which have changed little over the past 49 years - citing how he would never do that to his loyal customers.

New Yorkers would then band together to organize a fundraiser for the senior ahead of his 90th birthday last month, rather than see him forced into retirement.

'We want to help Ray stay in business for as long as he wants until he decides to hang up his apron on his terms,' a description for the fundraiser, titled Ray's 90th B-day Celebration, explained.

It has since raised more than $60,000 - more than half of its $90,000 goal.
A woman has been charged with murder after a toddler was found dead inside a suburban home.

Paramedics and police rushed to a property in Dover St, Albanvale, in Melbourne's west, about 4pm on Monday, but the child could not be saved.

The exact circumstances surrounding the tragedy remain a mystery, along with the child's identity.

Paramedics and police rushed to a property in Dover St, Albanvale, in Melbourne's west (pictured), about 4pm on Monday, but the child could not be saved

Shortly after detectives arrived, a woman was placed in handcuffs and led away from the scene.

Victoria Police told Daily Mail Australia 'a female occupant of the house is currently assisting police with their enquiries as they ascertain the exact circumstances.'

Forensic investigators arrived about 7pm and cordoned off property as they prepare to spend the evening scouring the home for evidence.

Residents on the street were told to remain inside their homes.

It is believed the occupants of the home where the child was found only moved in weeks earlier.
Democrats think that one term should be the end of Joe Biden's tenure as president as yet another poll shows Americans think he's too old and express growing concerns over his health.

Support for Biden, 80, is swiftly declining as the 2024 presidential campaign season gets underway, a new Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll reveals.

Only 37 percent of Democrats say they want Biden to seek a second term  even though the president has hinted he has every intention to launch a reelection bid. This is a sharp decline from the 52 percent who said the same weeks before the 2022 midterms.

Taking all voting-age Americans into consideration, only 22 percent say that Biden should run again, down 7 percent from the same question asked in October 2022.

Democratic voters who spoke with AP said they are concerned about Biden's age and increasingly prevalent gaffes and potential health concerns.

Meanwhile, an ABC News/Washington Post poll released earlier this month also found that 62 percent of Americans think Biden has accomplished 'little or nothing' or at least 'not very much' during his presidency so far.

Democrats are growing increasingly against a reelection from President Joe Biden, noting his age, health, coughing, gait and gaffes as reasons why someone younger should seek office

Only 37% of Democrats say they want to see Biden run for a second term in a new AP-NORC poll released Monday, which is a sharp 15% decline from the same poll taken just weeks before the 2022 midterms

Only 36 percent say Biden has accomplished a 'great deal' in his more than two years in office.

Follow-up interviews with AP-NORC poll respondents show that many think Biden, who is the oldest U.S. president ever, feel his age and declining health could be a liability.

Many who said they want a younger president and focused-in on Biden's coughing, his gait and frequent gaffes.

'I, honestly, think that he would be too old,' said Democrat voter Sarah Overman, 37, of Raleigh, North Carolina. 'We could use someone younger in the office.'

Thirty-five-year-old Michigan man Ross Truckey, who didn't vote for Donald Trump or Biden in 2020, said of the president: 'His age and possibly his mental acuity is not where I would want the leader of the country to be.

'He, at times, appears to be an old man who is past his prime. Sometimes I feel a little bit of pity for the guy being pushed out in front of crowds.'

Declining support for Biden is concentrated among younger voters.

Only 23 percent of Democrats under the age of 45 say that Biden should run for a second term, a massive drop-off from the same poll in October, which showed 45 percent of this demographic wanting a second term from the president.

Forty-nine percent of those age 45 and older say they want Biden's reelection, which is still a decline of 9 percent from the same poll taken just weeks before the 2022 midterms.

Former President Trump would beat Biden by 3 points in a hypothetical head-to-head election, according to results of the ABC/Post poll released Sunday.

Most Americans say they don't want a rematch of 2020.

A new ABC News/Washington Post poll released Sunday shows that Americans are not looking forward to the prospects of a 2020 rematch between Biden (right) and his predecessor Donald Trump (left)

The poll shows that the favorability has flipped from September, and Trump would now win by 3 percentage points in a hypothetical head-to-head election against Biden

Forty-eight percent of registered voters said in the poll taken at the end of January and into the beginning of February that they would vote for Trump  and 45 percent said they would vote for Biden.

While this falls within the four-point margin of error, it is a flip from September when Biden was beating Trump by two points.

Independent voters, possibly the most important voting bloc in recent national elections, favor Trump by nine percentage points at a 50%-41% split.

Most Americans are not looking forward to a rematch between Trump and Biden in 2024 and want other candidates as their respective nominees instead.

If Biden ran for a second term in 2024, 30 percent of Americans said they would be 'angry', while another 32 percent said that they would be 'dissatisfied but not angry.'

Only 7 percent of respondents said they would be 'enthusiastic' if Biden won reelection and 29 percent said while they would be 'satisfied', they would not be enthusiastic.

The prospects weren't much better for another Trump presidency.

Thirty-six percent of the 1,003 people polled said they would be 'angry' if he won four more years while 20 percent said they would be 'dissatisfied.'

Meanwhile, the former president did fare better with the positive side of the spectrum than Biden with 17 percent saying they would be enthusiastic for another Trump White House and 26 percent saying they would be satisfied.

Trump was not pleased with the latest poll, responding with ire on his social media website Truth Social on Sunday morning by employing his insulting monikers for two outlets that conducted the poll  'ABC fake news' and the 'Washington compost.'

'For all of my many supporters, and the number is higher than ever before, I am pleased to report that 'our' Poll numbers are Excellent,' Trump insisted in his post.

'Polls are important, but many have proven to be so corrupt, wrong, or incompetent in the past,' he added, 'especially, those of ABC FAKE NEWS/WASHINGTON COMPOST; FOX FAKE NEWS; and NBC FAKE NEWS/GLOBALIST STREET JOURNAL, that they have become somewhat meaningless, just a political weapon. CNN Polls no longer matter in that so few people are watching CNN (and MSDNC) anymore!'

The poll found that among Democrats and Democratic-leaning independent voters, 58 percent would want a different candidate than Biden as their nominee in the 2024 presidential election. On the other side, 31 percent said they support Biden.

When it comes to Republicans and Republican-leaning independents, 49 percent said they would prefer a different candidate than Trump to be their nominee versus the 44 percent who want another Trump White House bid.

Both on the Democrat and Republican side, the support for the respective presidents is essentially unchanged since the same poll taken in September.

The poll shows that only 7% of voters are 'enthusiastic' about a Biden reelection bid while 17% feel the same about a second term with Trump

Trump blasted the polling in a tweet Sunday morning, claiming that the major news outlets 'have proven to be so corrupt, wrong or incompetent' that it yields all polling 'somewhat meaningless' and 'just a political weapon'

Respondents said for the most part that they want to see other primary candidates in 2024. Trump-era Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley (pictured) will announce her candidacy this month in South Carolina, where she formerly served as governor

There are a slew of Republicans hinting at a run  but it's not clear if any major Democratic candidates will launch a bid against Biden once he announces his reelection efforts. Among potential GOP candidates are South Carolina Senator Tim Scott (left), former Arizona gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake (center) and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (right)

While it's unclear whether any Democrats will be bold enough to take on Biden should he announce a reelection bid, which has not yet officially happened, there are several Republicans showing interest in launching a bid against Trump.

So far, Trump is the only major Republican to announce his 2024 candidacy. But his former Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley, is announcing her bid later this month.

Others are also making visits to early primary contest states like New Hampshire, Iowa and South Carolina  signaling more impending bids are coming.

This includes the likes of former Arizona gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake and South Carolina Senator Tim Scott, among others.

Many Republicans want to see highly popular Florida Governor Ron DeSantis run for the White House. Trump has made him public enemy No. 1 by launching a series of attack-lines against DeSantis in recent weeks when officially hitting the 2024 campaign trail.
This is the terrifying moment a gunman opened fire inside a San Francisco synagogue as onlookers watch on while remaining bizarrely calm.

The attack erupted Wednesday night at the Schneerson Center, a synagogue predominantly attended by Russian-speaking Jews. Police tracked down and arrested the assailant two days later, named as 51-year-old Dmitri Mishin.

Shocking footage of the shooting shows Mishin brandishing the gun after reportedly telling one of the men inside 'I'm going to show you something.' Nobody was harmed in the attack on the synagogue, and it is believed that Mishin may have been using blanks.

Police said the disturbing incident came a day after Mishin wielded the gun in a movie theater several blocks away from the synagogue before he fled the scene.

Disturbing posts to social media believed to be from Mishin also suggest the gunman may have far-right or neo-Nazi affiliations.

Shocking footage has revealed the moment a gunman walked into a San Francisco synagogue before firing a gun over their heads

The assailant, named as Dmitri Mishin, 51, is seen opening fire around the synagogue while the congregants appear oddly calm

Despite the chaos inside, which is believed may have been carried out with blanks, one of those inside is seen brushing past the gunman to take a call outside

Chilling surveillance footage of the attack shows the 51-year-old assailant initially calmly walking into the synagogue as congregants eat together around a table.

He then briefly speaks to those inside, before brandishing the gun and waving it in front of the members, which bizarrely doesn't spark any form of reaction.

After struggling to ready the weapon, Mishin fires several shots around the room while those sat around the table remain completely calm, with one of the men even brushing past Mishin as he takes a phone call outside.

Following the attack, Rabbi Alon Chanukov, the vice president of the synagogue, slammed the incident as a hate crime.

He told ABC7: 'Terrorism doesn't have to have killings. In my mind, what he did was he came, and he did a terrorist attack. He came to terrorize people.

'The action is terrifying. To have a stranger come in and start shooting in your place of worship, in you place where you should feel safe.'

Rabbi Alon Chanukov, the vice-president of the Schneerson Center, slammed the incident as a hate-crime as he says Mishin 'came to terrorize people'

The attack on the synagogue has been linked to an incident the day before, where a gunman believed to be Mishin, pictured, also brandished a firearm in a nearby movie theatre

Disturbing social media posts believed to be from Mishin suggest that the incident was a targeted attack, with the assailant posting several far-right or Nazi images, including appearing in WW2-era German military uniform, in the days before the attack, reports San Francisco Standard.

On January 29, three days before the shooting, a Twitter account bearing Mishin's name posted a video of something burning on the sidewalk in front of the Schneerson Center synagogue.

And just a day before the attack, the account posted a WW2-era Nazi propaganda poster reading 'Achtung-Jude', translated to 'Attention, Jew.'

Mishin then posted a picture from the same account the day after shooting up the synagogue of an apparently old photo of himself wearing a Nazi uniform, complete with a swastika and a hand grenade.

Other disturbing posts include images of human skeletons and a younger Mishin in military uniform, although it is unclear what military he may have served in.

Chilling social media posts believed to be from Mishin appear to show the gunman with far-right or neo-Nazi affiliations. One post, pictured, was shared the day after the attack on the synagogue, showing Mishin in WW2-era German military uniform

The assailant also appears to have shared WW2-era Nazi propaganda posters to his social media accounts in the days leading up to the synagogue shooting

A witness to the synagogue shooting, who wished to remain anonymous, revealed the terrifying moments that led up to Mishin opening fire on Wednesday night.

He said: 'Here comes a guy, I ask him, "Do you speak Russian?" He said, "Yes."

'I asked him, come join us. I didnt hear, but some people said, he said, "Im going to show you something."'

Another congregant, Matthew Finklestein, said the members are still processing last week's attack and their odd reaction to not run from the gunman.

'People didnt even leave their chairs. This guy was wielding a gun. Its because they were paralyzed with fear,' Finkelstein told WGMD.

Chanukov explained that Mishin first spoke Russian to those inside, and he claims that the gunman said something about Mossad, Israel's national intelligence agency.

'I believe that may have been when he said, Say hello to Mossad for me,' said Chanukov.

'And so somehow he was harming Mossad by scaring the Jews in America at this one synagogue. I am not really clear. Obviously, I think the person is deranged, the person is mentally unwell.'

Mishin has posted several pictures of himself wearing a Nazi uniform

The Rabbi believes that because Mishin approached those inside by speaking Russian, it may explain why they didn't react to the gunfire as they initially saw him as a friendly visitor.

'This person was seen as a friendly person, as a person who is probably just a Russian Jew who walked in off the street,' he added to CBS News.

'You don't take a gun, make sure to have bullets that are blanks, go to a Russian-speaking synagogue during a celebration weekly class on a Wednesday and shoot it up and say something about Mossad just by coincidence.'

Mishin was taken into custody on Friday evening after investigators searched his home and found evidence linking him to the attack on the synagogue.

The 51-year-old was booked into County Jail shortly after midnight Saturday on suspicion of various charges, including disturbing a religious assembly and brandishing an imitation firearm.

Despite Rabbi Chanukov's condemnation of the attack, he has reportedly not been booked on suspicion of a hate crime.
Alex Murdaugh was 'fidgety' when he visited his elderly mother on the night of his wife Maggie and and son Paul's murders, according to her caregiver.

Muschelle 'Shelly' Smith told jurors that Murdaugh sat by his mother Libby who is in the late stages of Alzheimer's, fidgeting and periodically checking his phone, when he visited between 9pm and 9.30pm on June 7, 2021.

The caregiver wept as she described how he showed up to his parents' house three days later and pointedly told her that he was with his mother for 30 to 40 minutes on the night of the killings.

Smith said this made her 'nervous' because she recalled he had only been there for 15 or 20 minutes. She was so concerned by the contradiction that she later told her police officer brother about the conversation.

Prosecutors say Murdaugh, 54, shot Maggie, 52, and Paul, 22, shortly after 8.49pm at the family's hunting lodge in Islandton, South Carolina.

Alex Murdaugh leaving the Colleton County Court. He visited his mother on the night of the murders and appeared fidgety, according to her caregiver. He then visited again three days later and made a point of telling the caregiver that he had spent 30 to 40 minutes at the house on the night of the murders - this made her 'nervous' because she believed he had only been there for 20 minutes

Muschelle "Shelly" Smith (left) - the caregiver of Murdaugh's elderly mother Elizabeth 'Libby' Alexander Murdaugh (right) - told how she spoke to the alleged killer on the night of the murders when he visited his parents house. Prosecutors say this was after he killed Maggie and Paul

He fired up his Chevrolet Suburban at 9.06pm and drove to his mother's home in Almeda, around 15 minutes away. He then returned home where he claims he found Maggie and Paul dead, and called 911 at 10.07pm.

The state suggests this may have been in an effort to 'manufacture an alibi.'

Smith told jurors that Murdaugh arrived at his mother's wearing a T-shirt and shorts. It was later than he had ever visited before.

Smith said she did not see any blood on him. However, Murdaugh was wearing a dress shirt and long pants earlier in the evening, according to a Snapchat video sent by Paul at 7.56pm.

When cops arrived he was also wearing a clean T-shirt and shorts.

Smith testified that a few days after the slayings, Murdaugh visited his parents' house at 6.30am which she said was 'unusual'.

She said Murdaugh was carrying a 'blue something' in his hand that looked like a tarp or jacket. A blue jacket was later found at Murdaugh's parents' home coated with gun residue.

It was during this visit that Murdaugh told her that he had been there for 30 to 40 minutes on the night of the murders. Smith said she later called her brother, a South Carolina police officer, for advice about the conversation.

During the visit, Murdaugh asked her about her upcoming wedding and mentioned that he could help her will the bill.

The defense grilled Smith over whether she had seen a tarp or a jacket.

Defense Attorney Jim Griffin picked up the blue tarp seized from Murdaugh's parents home and asked whether this was what she had seen. Smith confirmed it was and also agreed with him that she could not confuse it with a rain jacket.

Establishing whether it was a tarp or rain jacket is crucial because the latter was covered in gun residue. The defense objected to evidence of gun residue on the jacket going before the jury because they say that prosecutors have not proved any link between the item of clothing and their client. That objection was overruled.

Griffin also asked her about Murdaugh's demeanor on the night, 'Is his normal behavior kind of fidgety?'

Smith said: 'Yes.'

Alex Murdaugh pictured with his wife Maggie and their two sons Paul (left) and Buster

Alex Murdaugh's financial crimes ARE admissible in his double-murder trial

This morning, Judge Clifton Newman ruled that Murdaugh's financial crimes are admissible in his double-murder trial in a major blow to the legal scion's defense.

The judge granted the prosecution motion because the crimes 'are so intimately connected and explanatory, it's vital for context and essential for telling the complete story.'

The state called seven witnesses in the absence of the jury over the last three days of the trial to provide explosive evidence about how Murdaugh's life was spiraling out of control and 'Hannibal was at the gate.'

The defense fought to keep that evidence from the jury, arguing that there is 'no logical connection' between the financial impropriety and the killings.

But Judge Newman said: 'I find that the jury is entitled to consider whether the apparent desperation of Mr. Murdaugh because of his dire financial situation, the threat of being exposed for committing the crimes for which he was later charged, resulted in the commission of the alleged crimes.'

Jurors will begin hearing the evidence of his financial crimes Tuesday.

Judge Clifton Newman granted the prosecution motion because the 'financial crimes are so intimately connected and explanatory, it's vital for context and essential for telling the complete story'. He added: 'I find that the jury is entitled to consider whether the apparent desperation of Mr. Murdaugh because of his dire financial situation, the threat of being exposed for committing the crimes for which he was later charged, resulted in the commission of the alleged crimes'

Murdaugh listens to the evidence of his alleged financial crimes at Colleton County Court in Walterboro, South Carolina, on Monday at his double-murder trial

Murdaugh tried to 'bully' attorney suing him for his son's fatal boat crash

Earlier the court heard from Mark Tinsley, the attorney for the family of a teen girl who was killed in a boat crash during which Murdaugh's son Paul was driving under the influence of alcohol.

Paul and his father were facing a wrongful death lawsuit over the boat crash which killed 19-year-old Mallory Beach in February 2019.

Tinsley told how Murdaugh claimed he was broke and that a hearing to compel the alleged killer to disclose his finances was due just three days before his wife Maggie and Paul were murdered.

At the time of Paul's death, Murdaugh was facing a lawsuit over allowing his son to drive his boat under the influence of alcohol when 19-year-old Mallory (left and right) was killed in February 2019. Murdaugh told cops Paul and Maggie had been killed in revenge for the accident

Murdaugh - a chronic opioid addict - would go on to arrange for a hitman to shoot him in the head three months later in a botched life insurance fraud scheme.

Tinsley is one of seven witnesses who gave evidence in the absence of the jury but following Judge Newman's ruling it is now admissible in the murder trial.

Earlier he recalled how Murdaugh had tried to 'intimidate' him into dropping the lawsuit.

He said he met the alleged killed at fundraising event for either state senator Dick Harpootlian or US senator Lindsey Graham in 2019. Harpootlian is also Murdaugh's defense attorney in the murder trial.

'He comes over and he gets up close in my face and he says, "Hey bo, what's this I'm hearing about what you're saying, I thought we were friends"', Tinsley told the court.

Tinsley said he interpreted this as an attempt to 'intimidate me and bully me into backing off.'

Beach family attorney Mark Tinsley (left) recalled being confronted by Murdaugh (right) who tried to 'intimidate' him at a fundraising event attended by trial lawyers - either for state senator Dick Harpootlian or US senator Lindsey Graham in 2019. Harpootlian is also Murdaugh's defense attorney in the murder trial

Then in November 2020, Tinsley was told that Murdaugh was broke. The attorney said he knew Murdaugh's firm made substantial money and that his family had generational wealth.

'There wasn't any way that he could be broke, he's actively settling cases, big cases,' he said.

Asked about the sum he was seeking, Tinsley said it became a matter of professional integrity for him to try and get as much money for the Beach family as possible.

He said the evidence against Murdaugh was damning, that he had been negligent in allowing his underage son to drive his boat under the influence of alcohol. He told the court Paul had bought booze using his elder brother Buster's ID.

If he simply took the insurance money without pursuing Murdaugh personally it would appear that 'there was a fix on.'

'I think for a long time Alex thought there was a fix on,' Tinsley added.

The attorney said it was met with 'shock [in the legal community] that I was going to find Murdaugh personally responsible.'

He filed a motion to compel Murdaugh's lawyers to provide evidence to support his claim he was broke.

Tinsley said he was initially 'stone-walled' and then Murdaugh's lawyers filed an objection to his motion.

A hearing to compel Murdaugh to disclose his finances was scheduled for June 10 - three days before Maggie and Paul were shot dead.

As a result, the hearing was postponed and never rescheduled.

Tinsley said: 'Pretty quickly, I recognized that the case against Alex, if he were in fact the victim of some vigilante, would be over.'

Alex Murdaugh arrives with his jacket hiding his handcuffs as escorts escort him inside for day eleven of his double murder trial at Colleton County Court in Walterboro on Monday

Buster Murdaugh and his girlfriend Brooklynn White arrive Monday for the double murder trial in Walterboro, South Carolina

'When the hounds are at the door for Alex Murdaugh, violence happens': How prosecutors convinced judge to allow evidence of Murdaugh's financial crimes

Prosecutor Creighton Waters last week told the judge: 'When the hounds are at the door, when Hannibal's at the gate for Alex Murdaugh, violence happens.'

He told the judge the evidence was essential for jurors to understand the defendant was 'out of options and out of time.'

Waters said: 'He was burning through cash like crazy. He was out of options. The $792,000 was gone in no time at all. He had been living in a velocity of money that is really quite stunning.

'And he constantly needed to achieve more money to avoid the reckoning that was coming.

'The evidence will show on that particular date, June 7, 2021, when he's being asked about these fees, the financial condition is not there. He's extremely leveraged in the debt that he has.

'And he's forced to do these things to stay ahead.'

He argued that evidence about Murdaugh paying a hitman to shoot him in the head 12 weeks after the killings of his wife and son was relevant because there was a 'symmetry' between the two acts of violence which centered around money.

But defense attorney Jim Griffin said: 'Your honor there is no logical connection and it does not lead to evidence of motive.'

Mallory Beach was killed in February 2019 in a boat accident during which an underage Paul Murdaugh was driving his father's boat under the influence of alcohol

Paul was driving his father's boat (pictured after the crash) in February 2019

Bottles and cans of beer found aboard the boat which Paul Murdaugh was driving under the influence

'There is no financial gain, there is nothing to be gained ... it is all just a theory, there are no facts,' he told the judge.

He rubbished the idea that killing his wife and son would help Murdaugh 'get out from scrutiny.'

CFO at Murdaugh's firm confronted him about $792,000 he stole on day of the killings

The judge was forced to exclude the jury as the state called to the witness stand on Thursday Jeanne Seckinger, who was CFO at Murdaugh's firm Peters Murdaugh Parker Eltzroth and Detrick (PMPED), at the time of the killings.

TIMELINE: NIGHT OF THE KILLINGS Alex Murdaugh, 54, is accused of shooting his wife, Maggie, 52, and younger son Paul, 22, at the family's hunting estate in Islandton, South Carolina, on the night of June 7, 2021. Here are the key events in the timeline laid out by prosecutors: At 7.56pm, Paul sent a Snapchat video to friends showing the 22-year-old riding around the estate with his father. Around 8.15pm, Murdaugh's wife Maggie arrived home and the trio ate dinner together. Autopsies showed similar stomach contents in Maggie and Paul. About 8.30pm, Paul's phone starts moving towards the kennels. Then at 8.44pm, a second video taken by Paul at the kennels - soon to become a murder scene - allegedly proves that Maggie, Paul and Alex were together. At 8.49pm the prosecution say Paul and Maggie's phones lock and go silent forever, never to send another text or make another call. The prosecution say the pair were killed shortly after. At 9.06pm, Murdaugh's car is fired up. The alleged killer said he went to go visit his mother, who is in the late stages of Alzheimer's disease, in Almeda - around a 15-minute drive. At 10.07pm, Murdaugh called 911 claiming he had arrived home a to find his wife and son shot dead. Advertisement

She recounted how on the day of the murders she had confronted Murdaugh about the missing $792,000.

'He was leaning on a file cabinet outside his office,' Seckinger told the court. 'He looked at me and said "what do you want now?" and gave me a very dirty look, not a look I had ever got from him before.'

Seckinger said she told him they better step into his office and she proceeded to tell him how she had reason to believe he had received the funds owed to the law firm for the case.

The CFO explained that in their line of work all fees went directly to the legal firm - if not, 'that would be stealing.'

Seckinger said that Murdaugh assured her that the money was there and that he could get it - he then went on to discuss his ailing father, the family patriarch Randolph III, and the conversation between the pair continued 'as friends.'

Later that day, prosecutors allege Murdaugh killed his wife and son.

Seckinger said that, as a result, her inquiries to Murdaugh about the missing funds ceased immediately.

'Alex was distressed and upset and nobody wanted to harass him about it,' she told the court.

In addition, an upcoming hearing in the civil lawsuit Murdaugh and his son were facing over a fatal boat crash was cancelled. Paul crashed his father's boat while under the influence of alcohol, killing 19-year-old Mallory Beach in February 2019.

However, Seckinger said partners at PMPED continued discussions about the missing funds behind closed doors.

Indeed, PMPED uncovered a series of thefts from 2011 to 2012 Murdaugh perpetrated against the Badger family after their mother, Donna, was killed in a crash with a UPS truck. She said Murdaugh stole $1.3m in addition to the $1.2m he took in legal fees.

It was decided on September 2, 2021, that Murdaugh's brother Randy and firm partner Lee Cope would meet with him privately to confront him.

Murduagh is said to have admitted the theft, and resigned on the spot.

This was 12 weeks after the murders of Maggie and Paul.

Two days later, news broke that Murdaugh had been shot.

Murdaugh wearing a white t-shirt and khaki shorts after cops arrived (left). He called 911 at 10.07pm on June 7, 2021. Earlier, in a Snapchat video taken by Paul at 7.56pm, Murdaugh wears a blue dress shirt and beige pants

Prosecutor Creighton Waters asks witness Jeff Croft, a SLED senior special agent, about a .300 Blackout rifle recovered from the property. Paul was killed with a shotgun and Maggie with a rifle - but no murder weapon has ever been found

Alex Murdaugh with his son Paul and wife Maggie. The pair were 22 and 52-years-old when the prosecution say the disgraced attorney shot them dead at the Moselle estate on June 7, 2021

Seckinger said she was out on a boat with her family when someone from the emergency services informed her that Murdaugh had been shot in the head on the side of Old Salkehatchie Road in Hampton, and he was being flown by helicopter to the hospital in Savannah.

Her immediate reaction was fear. 'Was this retaliation? Was he involved in something bigger that was going to get more of us in trouble?' She told the court.

The court did not hear more evidence of that shooting - but it is a matter of public record that the legal heir has admitted that he arranged to have a hitman shoot him in a botched life insurance scam.

Medical records released by his legal team in October 2021 in a bid to boost his credibility confirmed that he claimed he had paid his cousin Edward Smith to shoot him on the side of the road.

He wanted it to look like a drive-by shooting so that Buster, his surviving son, would receive a payout on his life insurance policy.

Murdaugh survived and called 911. At first he said he had been killed in a drive-by shooting.

Smith - who is facing charges for the incident - claimed he had no role in the suicide scam and was trying to stop Murdaugh from killing himself when the gun went off.

Murdaugh's former best friend tells how the alleged killer admitted stealing from his firm and confessed a 20-year opioid addiction

In court Thursday, the state called Murdaugh's close friend and colleague Chris Wilson. The jury were also not present for this evidence.

Wilson said they were roommates in law school and became best friends. Wilson added he thought Murdaugh was his best friend and thought he felt the same way.

Waters asked: 'You feel that way now?'

'I don't know how I feel now Mr. Waters,' Wilson said, his voice cracking.

Wilson worked on the case with Murdaugh in which $792,000 in legal fees disappeared.

Murdaugh's lawyer places a hand on his shoulder to comfort him as he sobs. The 30-minute interview took place around 1am - about four hours after the killings - inside a state agent's vehicle.

Prosecutor Creighton Waters argued: 'When the hounds are at the door, when Hannibal's at the gate for Alex Murdaugh, violence happens.' The state argues Murdaugh shot his wife Maggie, 52, and son Paul, 22, at their hunting lodge in Islandton, South Carolina, on June 7, 2021, to divert attention away from the decade of malfeasance that was gathering 'like a perfect storm.'

Murdaugh's defense attorney Dick Harpootlian. The defense what the evidence tossed but the prosecution say it is vital the jury understand the broader picture of chaos in Murdaugh's life

This sparked the investigation by the law firm, PMPED.

Wilson testified Murdaugh admitted he had stolen money and had been addicted to opioids for 20 years

Wilson told the court that he was informed on September 3, 2021, by PMPED attorney Lee Cope that Murdaugh had been stealing money from the law firm.

He met with Murdaugh in at his parents' home in Almeda.

'I was so mad. I had loved the guy for so long, and I probably still love him a little bit, but I was so mad.'

Wilson grew emotional as he told the court he does not know how he did not notice his friend's life was descending into chaos.

'He told me that he had been stealing money.' Murdaugh admitted that he had 'sh*t me up.' He said he had 'sh*t a lot of people up.'

Wilson later found out that Murdaugh had been shot in the head.

'What in the devil is going on?' Wilson told the court he thought at the time. 'I thought he had tried to kill himself.'

While Murdaugh has reached out, Wilson hasn't spoken to him since.

One of the texts sent to Wilson said: 'So sorry for the havoc I created. I'd do anything to make it right.'

WHERE MAGGIE DIED: A pool of blood is seen outside the kennels near the doghouse where Maggie Murdaugh was shot dead. Fire AR bullets in total, with two piercing her brain

WHERE PAUL DIED: Blood spatters on the floor inside the storage room at the kennels where Paul Murdaugh was shot dead. He was killed with a shot to the chest and a second to the head. Two shotgun shells were recovered by cops - two 12-gauge shells, two different brands - one Federal, the other Winchester

MURDER SCENE: Paul's body lies outside the storage room, while Maggie lies just outside the kennels by the doghouse

The trial is taking place at the Colleton County Courthouse in Walterboro, a sleepy, rural town 50 miles west of Charleston in a low-lying region of South Carolina over which the Murdaugh family has wielded immense judicial and political power.

Indeed, in the courtroom where Murdaugh faces judgment, a portrait of his late grandfather - legendary longtime 14th Circuit Solicitor Buster Murdaugh Jr. - had hung on the wall before it was removed ahead of the trial.

Prosecutors have said Murdaugh killed his wife and child to generate sympathy and distract from his financial crimes, an alleged motive that Murdaugh's lawyers have argued doesn't make sense.

But he has adamantly insisted from the moment he found the bodies of his wife and youngest son shot multiple times that he was not the killer.

Following the murder trial, Murdaugh will have to face more than 100 additional criminal charges, ranging from drug trafficking to allegations that he stole nearly $9million from clients and other attorneys.

Prosecutors say Murdaugh lured his wife and son to their 1,700-acre hunting lodge and shot them dead.

The state also claims that his life was spiraling out of control amid years of opioid addiction and ballooning debts.

Murdaugh pleaded not guilty in June, and the blockbuster trial is expected to include wild allegations of dark family secrets, financial ruin and hedonistic excess.

In total, over 220 people could testify against Murdaugh in the trial.
The shooting down of an alleged Chinese spy balloon created quite a stir, enraging Republicans who wanted it out of the skies sooner, and embarrassing Democrats and President Joe Biden who was accused of appearing weak.

But for much of the general public, the whole episode was a source of amusement that saw security experts and politicians speculate over something as seemingly innocuous as a balloon.

Trivializing the ordeal further was the claim that three Chinese balloons had entered the US during the Trump administration, but they were never shot down nor was it publicly mentioned.

Donald Trump has denied that, saying China would 'never' have sent a spy balloon over the United States on his watch, despite the Pentagon claims that it did happen during his presidency.

His son Donald Trump Jr. poked fun at the former president, sharing a meme that depicts him as a giant balloon baby, and suggesting it should be flown over China in retaliation.

Chinese leader Xi Jinping has reacted negatively in the past to lighthearted suggestions he looks like Winnie the Pooh. This painting of Winnie the Pooh suspended from the balloon with a pair of binoculars was created by artist Travis Chapman

Donald Trump Jr. mocked the his father by suggesting an inflatable balloon depicting the former president as a baby should be flown over China in retaliation

Some used the drama as an opportunity to mock Chinese leader Xi Jinping, who has reacted negatively in the past to lighthearted suggestions he looks like Winnie the Pooh.

Comparisons between Xi and Pooh first emerged in 2013, after Chinese social media users began circulating a pair of pictures that placed an image of Pooh and his slender tiger friend 'Tigger' beside a photograph of Xi walking with then-US president Barack Obama.

In 2014, a photographed handshake between Xi and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was matched with an image of Pooh gripping the hoof of his gloomy donkey friend Eeyore.

The lovable but dimwitted bear then became a symbol of dissent in China and government censors soon started erasing images mocking Jinping on social media. In 2018 Disney's Winnie the Pooh film, 'Christopher Robin', was denied release in China.

In 2013, Chinese net users circulated pictures (above) that placed an image of Pooh and his slender friend 'Tigger' beside an image of Xi walking with then-US President Barack Obama

Live footage of Xi Jinping testing the new spy balloon #memes https://t.co/TQPx1tzSwe pic.twitter.com/4E6o5CTCr9  Memes (@r_memes_) February 5, 2023

Military enthusiasts were quick to point out that the downing of the balloon marked the first air-to-air 'kill' for the F-22 Raptor fighter jet despite it being in service since 2005.

'Shooting down China's balloon was indeed the F-22's first air-to-air kill,' Rebecca Grant, an Air Force systems specialist and president of IRIS Independent Research, told Bloomberg in an email. 'Americans watched an unfriendly aircraft get shot down over our skies.'

The F-22 first flew in 1997 and entered service in 2005. It didn't make its combat debut until 2015 however, when it started flying missions against Islamic State positions in Syria and Iraq, carrying out guided air strikes on ground targets.

Defense Publication the War Zone said it 'may be the highest altitude air-to-air kill ever' too. The F-22 fired a Sidewinder missile at the balloon from an altitude of 58,000 feet. The balloon at the time it was hit was between 60,000 and 65,000 feet.

A Sidewinder missile's top speed is 1,900 mph, and each missile costs about $380,000.

Military enthusiasts were quick to point out that despite being in service for 17 years the downing of the balloon marked the first air-to-air 'kill for the F-22 Raptor

Some poked fun at the Department of Defense for allowing something as seemingly innocuous as a balloon create such drama

Live view of the Chinese spy balloon being shutdown by the US air force  #memely@memelyxyz pic.twitter.com/dqyyil1e8Z  Meme top (@mymemetop) February 5, 2023

Others were amused by the Chinese claim that the balloon was just a weather balloon that had gone astray. The Department of Defense outright rejected those claims.

'The balloon, which was being used by the PRC in an attempt to surveil strategic sites in the continental United States, was brought down above U.S. territorial waters,' Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said.

'This was a PRC surveillance balloon. This surveillance balloon purposely traversed the United States and Canada, and we are confident it was seeking to monitor sensitive military sites,' the Department of Defense added in a statement.

Some were amused by the Chinese claim that the balloon was just a weather balloon that had gone astray

Donald Trump Jr. even encouraged the people of Montana to 'do their thing'

Since the Biden administration took so long to eliminate the balloon, it was suggested that rifle-toting Americans in Montana should try and shoot it down themselves

This photo above was posted online with the caption: 'pov: ur a chinese spy balloon flying over montana'

Some memes joked that the Biden administration was taking so long to eliminate the balloon that rifle-toting Americans in Montana could try and shoot it down themselves.

Donald Trump Jr. even encouraged the people of Montana to 'do their thing'.

'If Joe Biden and his administration are too weak to do the obvious and shoot down an enemy surveillance balloon perhaps we just let the good people of Montana do their thing,' he tweeted on Friday.

'I imagine they have the capability and the resolve to do it all themselves.'
Nicola Sturgeon referred to trans rapist Isla Bryson as 'her' today as she endured more awkward questions on gender identity.

The SNP leader risked causing fresh confusion as she was challenged at a press conference over whether she regarded Bryson as a woman.

Ms Sturgeon seemed to be carefully avoiding specifying the gender of the sex offender, who was moved to a male prison after an outcry over the fact they were placed in a women's prison.

But after the First Minister referred to Bryson as 'her', journalists picked up on it to which a clearly exasperated Ms Sturgeon responded: 'Don't read anything into I am trying to rationally...

'What I am trying to do is address the issues rather than take it into the headline-generating I'm trying to rationally deal with the issues that arise here.'

Nicola Sturgeon risked causing fresh gender confusion today as she was challenged at a press conference over whether she regarded Bryson as a woman

Ms Sturgeon repeatedly referred to trans rapist Isla Bryson as 'her' today as she endured more awkward questions on gender

Pushed on why she said 'her', Ms Sturgeon said: 'I can't remember I'll take your word for it...

'Isla Bryson calls herself a woman but what I'm trying to say is in the context of the prison service that is not the relevant factor here.

'The relevant factor is the crime that the individual has committed and has been convicted of.'

When the journalists persisted that people had been asking 'for days' whether she regarded Bryson as a woman, Ms Sturgeon said: 'She regards herself as a woman, I regard the individual as a rapist and in the context of the prison service what matters is that the individual was convicted of rape and that is what we are talking about here.'

Ms Sturgeon was also asked during the press conference whether she thought Bryson was 'at it' in changing gender.

Ms Sturgeon said: 'In this case, the individual is a rapist, that's the important description for this individual.

'They have been convicted of rape and they're in prison and in a male prison.

'So you deal with the individual  you don't further stigmatise the entire group.'

The First Minister said her position on challenging the UK government's use of Section 35 to block her gender laws had not changed, insisting it is important to have 'clarity'.

Ms Sturgeon tried to calm the SNP civil war, suggesting critics of the gender recognition legislation will not have to leave the party.

At the weekend, education spokeswoman Shirley-Anne Somerville said rebels should 'question' if they want to stay in the party at the next election.

A protest in Glasgow at the weekend supporting the UK government blocking Ms Sturgeon's gender legislation

Asked if she thought people should be standing down from the SNP if they disagreed with the Scottish Government's stance, Ms Sturgeon said: 'No I don't.'

She said that for every party in the democratic world, there is a general expectation that politicians will stand on its platform.

She continued: 'Equally  in probably every party that is a democracy in every democracy in the world  there are individuals who can't accept the position on particular issues and vote accordingly.

'That is internal party democracy. It may be rare in the SNP, it is rare in the SNP but nevertheless I think we should see it in that way.'
Former national security advisor John Bolton said on Monday that it would be a 'serious problem' if suspected Chinese spy balloons flew over the U.S. during the Trump administration without officials at the time being alerted.

On Saturday, an alleged surveillance device was shot down off the coast of South Carolina after crossing over multiple U.S. states at a low enough altitude to be seen by the naked eye - alarming millions across the country.

The Pentagon revealed later that day that three such balloons flew over parts of the U.S. when Donald Trump was president. They were not detected until President Joe Biden took office, an unnamed senior Defense official is quoted as saying.

'Well, if it wasn't detected when it happened, how did we detect it more recently? Did the Biden administration invent a time machine?' Bolton asked on CNN This Morning.

'What is the basis of this new detection? Now, I understand the administration has offered to brief former national security officials from the Trump administration.'

Former Trump national security advisor John Bolton criticized the Biden administration for not shooting down the suspected Chinese spy balloon earlier

He added that he personally has not been approached about a briefing but would take one if asked.

'As far as I know, every Trump administration official who has been asked, has said they didn't know anything about it,' Bolton said of the three balloons.

'I will say this, if there was any actual knowledge that these balloons were over the United States and higher authority wasn't told, that's a serious problem.'

He also panned the Biden administration's response as a 'botched' effort, amid a wave of Republican scrutiny over why the balloon was not shot down before reaching the continental United States.

Biden told reporters on Saturday after it was shot down that he ordered the military to hit it on Wednesday, but was cautioned about possible civilian casualties with the falling debris.

Bolton said the safety of Americans is an 'obvious' concern but argued: 'We've had bomb shelters before; people can be prepared for this.'

'I think we obviously have to be concerned about the safety of our citizens. How would their safety be affected if there were weapons on that thing, that we didn't act when it was timely to do so?' Bolton threw back.

'And with all due respect to the great citizens of Alaska and Montana, it's less populated than here at home.'

It was shot down by US fighter jets off the coast of South Carolina on Saturday after first crossing into North America six days prior

An F-22 Raptor fighter jet fired a single AIM-9X missile to take down a Chinese spy balloon and its payload, which was equipped with cameras, sensors and radars

Trump hit back at reports that the alleged surveillance devices crossed into the US when he was president

He added that the federal government could have taken on any property damage costs.

However, the Pentagon's statement on Saturday confirmed that it 'did not pose a military or physical threat' to Americans.

Trump himself responded furiously to the Defense assessment that three such balloons flew over the U.S. when he was president.

'The Chinese Balloon situation is a disgrace, just like the Afghanistan horror show, and everything else surrounding the grossly incompetent Biden Administration,' the former president wrote on his app Truth Social.

'They are only good at cheating in elections, and disinformation  and now they are putting out that a Balloon was put up by China during the Trump Administration, in order to take the heat off the slow-moving Biden fools.

'China had too much respect for TRUMP for this to have happened, and it NEVER did. JUST FAKE DISINFORMATION!'

The Defense Department said that 'Chinese balloons briefly transited the continental United States at least three times during the prior administration.'

And on Sunday, Fox News reported that at least one balloon flew over parts of Texas and Florida while Trump was in office.
These harrowing pictures show the burnt out remains of a home where a mother and her seven children - aged two to 14 - were all killed when a faulty tumble dryer caught fire in the night.

The fire, the deadliest such blaze involving children in France in a decade, broke out shortly after midnight in the rented family home in Charly-sur-Marne, a town around 50 miles east of Paris in the Champagne region.

The mother and her children suffocated from black smoke that filled their home while they were trapped in the attic, local prosecutor Julien Morino-Ros told AFP.

The origin of the fire appeared to have been a malfunctioning dryer on the ground floor of the house, he said. It is thought that the family may have put the appliance on in the early hours of the morning, when electricity costs are cheaper.

Mr Morino-Ros confirmed that  in line with judicial procedure in such cases  a criminal enquiry had been opened for manslaughter.

PICTURED: The burnt out home in Charly-sur-Marne where a fire caused by a faulty tumble dryer killed a mother and her seven children

The fire services were called by the family's neighbours at 1am this morning as the fire ripped through their town home after 'they left the tumble dryer on over night to save on energy costs'

Neighbours called the fire department to report the blaze just before 1am (0000 GMT).

The woman's husband, father to three of the children, was saved by a firefighter who lives nearby and who intervened before his colleagues arrived, officials said.

The father sustained serious but not life-threatening burn injuries and was taken to hospital.

According to the prosecutor, he had tried to put out the fire and told his wife and the children - five girls and two boys - to seek refuge from the flames in their converted attic on the second floor.

But that move turned tragic as more and more black smoke billowed up through the staircase.

Firefighters struggled to get ladders to the top windows of the house, because of the narrowness of the street where it is located in the centre of the village of 2,600 inhabitants.

The electric window blinds were blocked shut because of a power cut triggered by the faulty appliance, further hindering the rescue effort, the prosecutor said.

The eight victims died of smoke poisoning, not burns, he added.

'I hope with all my heart that they didn't feel or see anything,' said Sylvie Corre, the house owner's wife.

'We were there on the street all night and we saw the horror,' she told AFP by telephone.

She said the 40-year-old father worked for the Corre family's small champagne-producing business and was an 'excellent employee'.

Nearly 80 firefights came to scene but only the father survived with severe burns as the mother and children were trapped on the top floor where the fire fighters could not reach

The fire was wrought devastationa cross the french town as friends and neighbours leave flowers at the home to pay their respects

The heart-wretching pictures show the nestled town house, now hollow and boarded up, smoothered in thick black soot

His wife, also in her 40s, was a full-time mother.

Corre said the house met safety standards. 'Obviously there will be a technical investigation and anything is possible,' she said.

The prosecutor said there was no early indication of any safety issues with the house despite it being 'a bit old'.

It took 80 firefighters several hours to put out the blaze at the home, which is located down a narrow street in the centre of the village of 2,600 inhabitants.

Residents in a neighbouring house that was damaged by the blaze were evacuated from their home and firefighters blocked off the street to onlookers.

The fire was extinguished after several hours and caused damage to a neighbouring property

Police fear the father told his wife and children to stay in the second-floor attic of their property, pictured above, when he went down to investigate the heavy smoke coming from the dryer. The father spent a night in hospital, and his condition is 'stable and not life threatening'

The mother, her five daughters and two sons died from asphyxiation, according to local prosecutor Julien Morino-Ros. The father spent a night in hospital, and his condition is 'stable and not life threatening'

Fire chief Jean-Claude Ouguel said: 'The house was completely destroyed. Only the side walls remain'

'I just saw smoke, lots of smoke,' said Evelyine Renaud, a local resident. 'Those poor children.'

Another neighbour, who gave her name only as Nadine, said she often saw the mother pick up her kids from school. 'I really liked that family,' she said.

Pupils and teachers at the children's schools were being offered psychological support, said Catherine Albaric-Delpech, a regional education official.

'It's not much when you consider the drama that has happened here,' she said.

The tragedy was the worst such incident in France since 2013, when five children between two and nine died asphyxiated in an accidental fire, also in northern France.

In the most recent similar accident, 10 people including four children died in December 2022 in a seven-storey building that was being renovated in a working-class district of Vaulx-en-Velin, near the southeastern city of Lyon.
Scandal-hit Southwest Airlines has slashed the number of flight hours new pilots must have in jet-powered aircraft as it attempts to boost hiring.

The airline, whose recent issues include a holiday season meltdown and a terrifying near miss, has cut the experience candidates must have in jets and other turbine-powered aircraft from 1,000 hours to 500 hours.

Company chiefs announced the move as they attempt to increase the number of pilots by 1,700 this year, amid a surge in demand as the world emerges from the covid pandemic.

Southwest has tweaked its rules amid a serious of recent controversies. On Saturday, one of its aircraft narrowly avoided a crash with a FedEx aircraft over the tarmac at Austin airport.

The airline is also currently facing a lawsuit over the cancellation of 16,700 flights during the holiday season that disrupted travel plans for about 2 million customers.

Southwest Airlines has cut the number of hours prospective pilots must have in jet-powered aircraft in half

The move is designed to boost recruitment amid a post-pandemic surge in demand. Southwest Airlines CEO Bob Jordan has said the company is having 'no trouble attracting terrific pilots'

Southwest, which currently has around 9,400 pilots, insists loosening its hiring requirements won't affect safety.

Federal Aviation Authority rules state all pilots must have a minimum of 1,500 flight hours to obtain a license. The FAA doesn't specify the type of aircraft, but airlines often set their own guidelines for the number of hours spent flying jets because these are used for most commercial flights.

A message sent to pilots last week said the change would come into effect on Tuesday, February 7.

A spokesman said: 'Our robust and rigorous flight operations training program has not changed, and all current and future first officer candidates must pass all elements of the curriculum prior to flying for Southwest.

'As this recruiting change is aligned with hiring at or above FAA requirements, we'll continue selecting competitively-qualified, world-class aviators who demonstrate extensive flight experience, professionalism and Southwest's values.'

Aviation consultant and former pilot Kit Darby told NewsNation the change gives the airline 'a lower floor where they could select an outstanding candidate with lower experience'.

The change to recruiting requirements comes after Southwest Airlines canceled nearly 17,000 flights over the holiday season, affecting the plans of nearly 2 million customers

On Saturday, February 4, a Southwest Airlines flight was involved in a terrifying near miss with a FedEx aircraft at Austin airport

Casey Murray, head of the Southwest Airlines Pilots Association, said: 'This is to address the shrinking pool of pilots interested in coming to Southwest. They're having problems hiring them, they're also having trouble keeping them.'

Southwest CEO Bob Jordan said last month the company was 'having no trouble attracting terrific pilots to Southwest Airlines, no trouble filling classes'.

Industry experts have said the change in the rules comes as other airlines also tweak their requirements to recruit more pilots.

Tim Genc, chief adviser at FAPA.aero, a pilot-career advisory firm, told the Wall Street Journal: 'It's not that companies are lowering their standards, rather just trying to cast a wider net to look at more applications to identify the best candidates.

'The major airlines hired more pilots last year than ever before, and still came up short of their needs.'

Southwest Airlines CEO Jordan has repeatedly apologized for mass cancellations over the holiday season and said the carrier is looking at all options to prevent a repeat

The US Transportation Department is investigation Southwest Airlines over the mass cancellations of flights over the holiday season.

The Transportation Department, which is probing the airline of 'unrealistic scheduling of flights' has forwarded thousands of complaints it received to Southwest.

Jordan has repeatedly apologized for mass cancellations over the holiday season and said the carrier is looking at all options to prevent a repeat.

Union leaders blamed the chaos on Southwest's 'outdated technology and processes, really from the '90s, that can't keep up with the network complexity today'.

A separate investigation has also been launched by aviation authorities into the near miss in Austin.
With President Joe Biden signaling on almost daily basis that he plans to run in 2024 there remains one major doubt for Democrats about his ticket: Is Kamala Harris's poor performance going to undermine his chance of victory?

A string of key figures say they have lost hope in her turning around her performance as vice president.

Her approval rating is lower than even Biden's own weak standing in the eyes of voters.

And some of the backers who helped lift her to the 2024 ticket say she has failed to use her historic firsts  first female, first African-American, first Asian vice president  as a stepping stone to future leader.

Even Biden has expressed his doubts. He is quoted calling her a 'work in progress' in a new book by Chris Whipple, 'The Fight of His Life.'

A string of Democrats are raising doubts about Vice President Kamala Harris's performances amid fears that she could be the weak link in President Joe Biden's reelection plans

Harris has a lower approval rating than Biden, which means she could act as a drag on his reelection chances, according to rolling averages of poll results

Last week, when appearing together at the Democratic National Committee winter meeting in Philadelphia, they presented a united front.

'She's a great vice president,' said Biden.

But questions remain, and take on greater importance as Biden prepares to announce his 2024 run.

For many, the concern is that Biden's age  he would be 82 at his second inauguration and 86 by end of a full term  means Republicans will be able to attack 58-year-old Harris and her suitability to take over the Oval Office.

'That will be in my opinion one of the most hard-hitting arguments against Biden,' John Morgan, a prominent fund-raiser for Democrats, including Biden, told the New York Times.

'It doesn't take a genius to say, "Look, with his age, we have to really think about this."'

Her record in office, he added, did not help.

'I can't think of one thing she's done except stay out of the way and stand beside him at certain ceremonies,' he said.

In fact, the most memorable aspects of her time in office have been the missteps, such as a Lester Holt interview when she made a mess of explaining the administration's plan to secure the border.

The newspaper said dozens of other Democrats from Capitol Hill and the White House to all around the country expressed similar sentiments in private.

Others have made their doubts clear from what they haven't said in public.

Biden and Harris at the Democratic National Committee winter meeting last week in Philadelphia. But even the president has called his VP a 'work in progress'

When former Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Elizabeth Warren recently told Boston Public Radio that she was enthusiastically endorsing Biden for a second term she was then asked about Harris.

Although she explained they went 'way back,' she said: 'I really want to defer to what makes Biden comfortable on his team.'

Her supporters say Harris has had to reshape assumptions since day one in the job.

Aides say they politely decline meetings with foreign first ladies on international trips because Harris is not visiting as a spouse, but as the deputy head of state.

And in a detail worthy of a Veep plot line, a former aide described how the chairs in her office had to be replaced so that they fitted a vice president who stands about five foot two inches, rather than the 'average male height.'

'She forces us to recalibrate our assumptions,' said Jamal Simmons, who recently stepped down as her communications director.

At the same time, Harris has resisted taking on roles that reflect the symbolic nature of her vice-presidency. She declined being at Washington Dulles International Airport to welcome an early shipment of baby formula during shortages last year, according to the report, and Jill Biden went instead.

Harris acknowledged her reservations.

Massachusetts Senator and former presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren enthusiastically endorsed Joe Biden to run again for president , but wouldn't say the same about Kamala Harris

'My bias has always been to speak factually, to speak accurately, to speak precisely about issues and matters that have potentially great consequence,' she told the New York Times during an interview in Japan.

'I find it off-putting to just engage in platitudes. I much prefer to deconstruct an issue and speak of it in a way that hopefully elevates public discourse and educates the public.'

Her performance was also defended by Ron Klain, Biden's departing chief of staff who also served in the same role for two vice presidents. He said holders of the office often took a battering before going on 'to prove skeptics wrong.'

He singled out her international trips and support for women's reproductive rights.

'She has done all that operating under high expectations,' he said.

'She carries these expectations not as a burden but with grace and an understanding of how much her history-making role inspires others.'
He is set to appear in Santa Fe for a preliminary hearing on February 24

Baldwin was formally charged last week for the death of Halyna Hutchins

Several members of the 'Rust' cast and crew may be called to testify against Alec Baldwin as he faces involuntary manslaughter charges.

Baldwin and Rust armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed were formally charged last week for the death of Halyna Hutchins on the low-budget Western's New Mexico set in October 2021.

Prosecutors allege Baldwin shot the gun that killed Hutchins while Gutierrez-Reed didn't check the gun given to the hot shot actor before it was handed to him.

Now, 44 witnesses, including director Joel Souza, who was wounded by the bullet that passed through Hutchins, will testify at the preliminary hearing on February 24, according to court documents.

The extensive list also extends to armor and prop worker Seth Kenney, camera assistant Lane Luper, line producer Gabrielle Pickle and script supervisor Maime Mitchell.

About 44 people, including Rust cast and crew, may testify against Alec Baldwin as a judge sets the preliminary hearing to February 24

Baldwin and Guitierrez-Reed(above) have denied the involuntary manslaughter charges with the armorer claiming she was 'stretched too thin' on the set of the low-budget film

The group may appear in the Santa Fe, New Mexico court room later this month along with other government forensic examiners and investigators to shed light on Hutchin's death.

Mitchell was the first to call 911 after Hutchins was shot. The script supervisor was standing the closest to Hutchins when the bullet fired from Baldwin's gun.

She previously filed her own lawsuit in 2021 against Baldwin and others on the western movie set. The suit claims assault, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and deliberate infliction of harm. It also states that the scene being shot did not require a gun to be fired.

'I will never forget what happened on the set of Rust that day,' Mitchell said in 2021. 'I relive the shooting and the sound of the explosion from the gun over and over again.'

Meanwhile, Baldwin and Guitierrez-Reed have denied the involuntary manslaughter charges with the armorer claiming she was 'stretched too thin' on the set of the low-budget film.

Halyna Hutchins (pictured) died on the set of Rust in October after Baldwin allegedly fired the gun in a scene

The final photo of Halyna Hutchins (pictured holding the camera) on set in the church just moments before she was shot dead

Rust script supervisor Mamie Mitchell, the first person to call 911 after Halyna Hutchins was accidentally shot by Alec Baldwin on the film's set last month, broke down in tears in 2021 as she announced she is filing a lawsuit against Baldwin and other producers of the low-budget Western movie. She will likely be a witness in court

Gutierrez-Reed's lawyer, Jason Bowles, told TMZ last week that his client was 'stretched too thin' and had asked for more time to focus on her armorer duties, but was 'denied' it and never called back into the church by the assistant director David Halls to properly instruct Baldwin on how to handle the weapon.

'Hannah was not called back into that church. She asked David Halls specifically: "If Baldwin is going to use that gun, then call me back into that church, so I can instruct him on the usage of the gun, I can reinspect that gun, and I can tell him where to point it, and work with him on it."

'She was never called back in,' Bowles lamented. 'So when the [District Attorney] talks about the armorer's responsibility, this and that, she wanted to do her job, but she was prevented from doing her job. That's the big distinction.'

Bowles also informed TMZ that Gutierrez-Reed had asked Halls to use a 'plastic gun' and was told no, they wanted a 'real gun.'

'So Halls took the gun, said he would [call her back in], [and] never called her back in,' Bowles said. 'Halls had the real gun. The idea that he's saying he didn't have it, he didn't hand it Baldwin, [is] completely false.'

Gutierrez-Reed also went to Gabrielle Pickle, her boss, and asked for more time to do her job, as it was a 'gun-heavy set,' Bowles said.

'They denied her that,' he said. 'They said: "No, we get a certain amount of days for armor duties and that's it," because this was a lower budget production and that's how they were going to run it.'

Assistant director David Hall allegedly told Baldwin that the gun was cold. He will also testify in court against Baldwin and Gutierrez-Reed

The lawyer also reiterated that that Hutchins' death was a 'tragic accident' and cited the decades of movie making where no one was killed due to a gun on set as proof.

'In a 100 years of movies, this has not happened. I think nobody could foresee that live round. It's a tragic accident.'

He went on to say that brunt weight of the accident falls on 'production' and Halls for 'not calling Hannah back in.'

Halls is himself expected to testify against Baldwin and Gutierrez-Reed - but wasn't listed as one of the 44 people on the released list.

The assistant director has signed a plea agreement for the negligent use of a deadly weapon in the case that included six months of probation.
Two Missouri siblings who were missing for nearly a year have been found with their 'non-custodial' mother in Florida nearly a year after she abducted them.

Brooke and Adrian Gilley, 11 and 12, were taken by Kristi Nicole Gilley on March 15 last year in Clay County and have now been discovered eleven months later.

Gilley, 36, was not the guardian of the children at the time, and officers managed to track her down after a routine vehicle tag check.

Officers learned that she was the car's owner, with the vehicle coming to their attention near a Winn-Dixie store in Florida  more than 1,100 away from Missouri.

High Springs Police department discovered that Gilley was a fugitive and apprehended her in the grocery store - located around 20 miles from Gainesville.

Gilley, 36, was not the guardian of the children at the time, and officers managed to track her down after a routine vehicle tag check

She had been with her two children shopping when she was arrested, with authorities confirming that the three had disguised themselves.

Gilley was detained and arrested on an active kidnapping warrant out of Clay County.

Brooke and Aiden are now in the custody of the Florida Department of Children and Families Services.

They will be reunited with their birth family, according to officials. They were previously believed to be in California with Gilley.

No details were immediately provided on what led to the alleged abduction almost a year ago.

Gilley currently remains in the custody of the Alachua County Sheriff's Office, where it is expected she will be extradited to Clay County.

In an update, Liberty Police Department in Missouri said: 'Both Gilley kids have been safely located out of state.

'Their non-custodial mother is in custody on parental kidnapping charges out of Clay County, Missouri.

'Thank you to everyone who shared this post as it helped bring these children home!!!'

DailyMail.com has reached out to Gilley's attorney for comment.

High Springs Police department discovered that Gilley was a fugitive and apprehended her in the grocery store
This is the heartwarming moment a RNLI crew rescued a frightened dog clinging to the underside of a jetty after falling 10ft from a path by the sea.

Fox red Labrador Callie was being taken out for a walk along the coast when she slipped and plummeted three metres into the icy water.

Her petrified owner dialled 999 and a volunteer lifeboat crew from the RNLI were dispatched to the defence wall near the former Cockenzie Power Station in East Lothian, Scotland.

The rescue team carefully manoeuvred their vessel below the breakwater to reach the terrified dog, who was balancing on a small patch of rock attached to the jetty.

They managed to grab her collar and pull her to safety onboard their Atlantic 85 lifeboat, where she was given some well-earned fuss by the volunteers.

Fox red Labrador Callie was being taken out for a walk along the coast when she slipped and plummeted three metres into the icy water

Her petrified owner dialled 999 and a volunteer lifeboat crew from the RNLI came to the rescue near the former Cockenzie Power Station in East Lothian, Scotland

Despite her fall, Callie had only suffered an injured paw and was promptly reunited with her worried owner at Cockenzie Harbour.

Kinghorn RNLI lifeboat volunteer, Neil Chalmers, said: 'We were so pleased to reunite Callie with her owners.

'They absolutely did the right thing by calling 999, asking for the Coastguard and not endangering themselves.'

Just two hours before rescuing Callie, Kinghorn lifeboat crew had been called out to another dog that had fallen from the sea wall at Gypsy Brae, Granton.

Fortunately, the pet was retrieved by the local fire service and the lifeboat was stood down.

In 2021, RNLI lifeboats around the UK and Ireland launched 169 times to dogs in difficulty.

The charity has urged dog owners to keep their pets on a lead if walking close to cliff edges or fast-flowing rivers to reduce risk.

They have also advised people not to follow their dog if it becomes stuck in water or mud, but to move to a place of safety and call for them or call 999 or 112 and ask for the Coastguard.
A veteran London Underground manager who was sacked after she called George Floyd 'scum' in a series of 'racially divisive' Facebook posts has won a claim for unfair dismissal.

Tracy Webb, who is white and in charge of an ethnically diverse team of 250 workers, shared 'offensive and inflammatory' posts on social media about the Black Lives Matter movement.

An employment tribunal heard the senior manager shared insensitive memes, commented 'I for one am not sorry he's no longer here' and shared an 'all lives matter' post asking why people did not riot after the murder of British soldier Lee Rigby.

As a result of posts to her 200 Facebook friends, the court heard that there was an escalation at the Seven Sisters depot in London where Ms Webb worked - with black staff members left 'deeply offended' and 'upset'.

Having served London Underground for 32 years, 'reckless' Ms Webb was sacked from her role as duty trains manager in February 2021.

Ms Webb was dismissed from her role of 32 years due to the insensitive Facebook posts

Her comments came shortly after George Floyd was killed in the US in 2020

In response, Ms Webb - who argued 'she could not be racist because she has two mixed race children and other black family members' - took London Underground to an employment tribunal.

'I'm not afraid to call scum scum' Ms Webb made several Facebook posts from June 6 to 8 in 2020 in the wake of the murder of George Floyd, a black American murdered by a police officer in Minneapolis, USA, on May 25 in 2020. The first post she shared was a meme featuring a photo of Floyd with the words: 'The media and the left made George Floyd into a Martyr. But who was he really?' The photo included a list of his alleged criminal convictions and Ms Webb said: 'Never deserved to be murdered by a police man. But... really was not a nice guy.' She also shared a post that said: 'On 22 May 2013, no-one rioted in the UK when two black men hacked Lee Rigby to death. It's time to bring back the death penalty. Where were you all then? All lives matter.' The comments were superimposed over the top of 'sobering' photographs of 'Lee Rigby and his black assailants, one of which was taken in the immediate aftermath, with a knife, and bloodied hands'. In a separate Facebook comment related to George Floyd, Ms Webb wrote: 'I know the person I am. Not afraid to call scum scum...not due to colour race sex or creed. 'So wrong he died. But I for one am not sorry his no longer here to hold a gun to another pregnant ladies stomach while robbing her in his own house.' Advertisement

She argued she was racially discriminated against for being white and that she had a right to free speech - both of which were dismissed at the tribunal.

However, she won a claim of unfair dismissal on a technicality and could receive compensation as the tribunal ruled there were procedural faults with her sacking.

The majority of her Facebook friends were work colleagues and the workforce - comprised of various ethnic backgrounds - was 'sensitive to race equality issues', it was heard.

Ms Webb angered her black staff then refused to take the posts down in a 'deliberate stand', before changing her mind, it was heard.

She was suspended from June 2020.

At the tribunal at Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, Employment Judge Richard Wood criticised Ms Webb for the posts.

Judge Wood said her comments 'exemplified her tendency to injudicious language in what she must have appreciated was a highly febrile environment.'

The judge added: 'In our view, it was particularly unfortunate that she chose to use the word 'scum' when apparently having an exchange about matters relating to George Floyd and the BLM movement as a whole.

'In choosing to focus on the criminal history of Mr Floyd, rather than the circumstances of his death, and what it revealed about historic and systemic racism, she was choosing to ignore the important issue in a way which she knew, or ought to have known, would be offensive and provocative to many of her colleagues and friends.

'She had not done any research into George Floyd's criminal history.. She had simply seen some detail about it on the news.

'She was not significantly concerned as to whether the information on her posts was accurate.

'Given their potentially inflammatory and offensive nature, we took the view that this displayed a reckless disregard for the effect that [a post] may have, and for the truth.

'It was our impression she seemed to get most of her 'news' from Facebook or other social media outlets.

'Ms Webb told us that the fact that the assailants in Lee Rigby's case were black was incidental to the point she was trying to make.

'We do not agree. She was clearly inviting the reader to compare the public reaction to a white police officer killing a black man, to two men of colour killing a white man.

'It was our view this was provocative in a racial sense, and highly unfortunate... We also find that the connection between the BLM movement, 'rioting', and advocating bringing back the death penalty, was intended to be inflammatory.'

Ms Webb shared posts relating to the 2013 murder of Lee Rigby on her personal Facebook

The furore occurred at the peak of 2020's Black Lives Matter movement that saw large scale unrest

Ms Webb argued her comments were protected by free speech under the under the European Convention on Human Rights, but the judge said that argument failed because 'comments which are inflammatory and/or offensive risk falling outside the parameters of free speech'.

Judge Wood added: 'Her posts had caused a furore, both within the organisation, and beyond.

'She was a white manager with responsibility for a large team of ethnically diverse staff. Some had complained about her behaviour.

'There was no apology from her about her conduct.'

Judge Wood said sacking Ms Webb was 'inevitable' due to her posts, but said there were flaws in her dismissal.

Bosses in the sacking process unfairly had an 'attitude' towards her representative, there was a 'level of antagonism' created by her representative putting forward a free speech argument, and her unsuccessful appeal was 'predetermined'.

She won her unfair dismissal complaint on these grounds and a compensation hearing will take place in the future.

Her race discrimination claim failed.
The Virginia teacher who was shot by her 6-year-old student had raised the alarm about his behavior in the months beforehand, telling superiors she felt 'uncomfortable' with him in her classroom.

Abigail Zwerner reported two incidents about the boy on November 22 in an email chain including one where he stuck his middle finger up to a classmate and another where he pushed a student to the floor.

According to documents obtained by 13NewsNow, Zwerner told staff at Richneck Elementary School in Newport News: 'As of today, I do not feel comfortable with him returning to my classroom.'

She reported her concerns to Principal Briana Foster Newton and Assistant Principal Ebony parker - both of whom resigned shortly after the incident - less than two months before the child shot her with a handgun he had stolen from his mother.

The 25-year-old first-grade teacher, who survived the attack, suggested scheduling a meeting with the boy's father to address his 'behavioral difficulties' and offer 'support.'

Abigail Zwerner, a first-grade teacher at Richneck Elementary School in Newport News, Virginia, told her superiors she felt 'uncomfortable' having the six-year-old boy who went on to shoot her in her classroom

On January 6 the child opened fire with a .9mm Taurus Handgun which had been legally bought by his mother.

An hour before the shooting, Zwerner texted a loved one to say the boy was carrying a gun in his backpack.

The bullet went through one of Zwerners hands and struck her upper chest leaving her initially in a 'life-threatening' condition. She was hospitalized for two weeks.

Police Chief Steve Drew has repeatedly characterized the shooting as 'intentional.'

The child's family has claimed he suffers from an 'acute disability' and was under a care plan at the school.

It included his mother or father accompanying him to class every day.

The week of the incident was the first week they were not in class with him and they told the district: 'We will regret our absence on this day for the rest of our lives.'

Zwerner raised her concerns about the six-year-old who went onto shoot her to principal Briana Foster Newton, left, and assistant principal Dr Ebony Parker, right

Zwerner is suing the school district as she alleges administrators knew the boy was armed prior to the incident but 'could not be bothered' to act.

Attorneys acting on her behalf allege that at around 11.30am on the day of the incident, Zwerner told a school administrator the boy had threatened to beat up another student.

The unidentified superior failed to call security or remove the child from class.

At around 12.30pm a different teacher told an administrator the boy was rumored to have brought a gun to school and that she had searched his backpack,

The teacher told the administrator she believed the boy had stashed the gun in his pocket before heading out for recess.

The administrator is alleged to have downplayed the teacher's concerns because the six-year-old had 'little pockets.'

Assistant Principal Parker was the first to resign and was soon followed by Principal Newton.

Superintendent Dr George Parker III was fired by the school board on February 1 and replaced by his deputy.

But a lawyer acting on behalf of Newton last week claimed she had not been informed the student had a gun on the day of the shooting.

Zwerner repeatedly raised her concerns about the six-year-old who went on to shoot her. On the day of the shooting she texted a loved one claiming the boy was armed

'It continues to be reported that unidentified school administrators were aware the 6-year-old student had a gun at school on Jan. 6 and simply failed to act,' attorney Pamela Branch told reporters last Thursday.

'Mrs. Newton has been assumed to be one of those administrators; however, this is far from the truth.

'The fact of the matter is those who were aware the student had a gun on the premises that day did not report it to Ms. Newton.'

Newton has not commented publicly about the incident.

Her attorney declined to say which administrators knew the boy had a gun but alleged her client had been unfairly blamed for not intercepting the shooting.

Former Principal Newton, pictured, denies that she was made aware the boy had a gun on the day of the shooting on January 6

It comes after Zwerner's lawyers alleged that superiors 'could not be bothered' to respond to concerns about the child.

'On that day, over the course of a few hours, three different times  three times  school administration was warned by concerned teachers and employees the boy had a gun on him at the school and was threatening people,' Toscano told a press conference.

'But the administration could not be bothered.'

The Richneck shooting was the districts third instance of gun violence in the past year and a half.

Anger has been bubbling across the school's community which has called for more discipline among students.

During a three-hour school board meeting in January Newport News teachers and parents said students who assaulted classmates and staff were routinely allowed to stay in the classroom with few consequences.

They said the shooting of Abigail Zwerner could have been prevented if not for a toxic environment in which teachers concerns are systemically ignored.

Zwerner survived the incident but was left in a 'life-threatening' condition and was hospitalized for two weeks

Attendees hold their heads down for a prayer during a vigil for Zwerner while she was in hospital shortly after the shooting

'Every day in every one of our schools, teachers, students and other staff members are being hurt, high school librarian Nicole Cooke told the board. 'Every day, theyre hit. Theyre bitten. Theyre beaten. And theyre allowed to stay so that our numbers look good.'

Addressing ex-superintendent George Parker, Cooke said: 'If Abigail had been respected, she wouldnt be in the hospital right now.'
Ron DeSantis is proposing spending $12 million to broaden Florida's migrant flight program after sending two planes with 50 mostly Venezuelan asylum-seekers to Democratic enclave island of Martha's Vineyard in September.

The move last year was highly popular among those critical of President Joe Biden's handling of the southern border crisis - but was slammed by Democrats as a political stunt rather than a legitimate solution to relieving southern communities of mass influxes of migrants over the last two years.

Now, DeSantis wants to cement this program and transport more asylum-seekers out of his state.

It's not immediately clear how many migrants would be able to be transported out of Florida with the $12 million Fiscal Year 2023-2024. It would be adding to another $12 million already allocated for the migrant program from COVID-19 federal relief funds.

Republican state leaders, including DeSantis, Texas Governor Greg Abbott, and former Arizona Governor Doug Ducey, decided that they would spread the wealth of the southern border crisis by sending migrants to states and areas that have touted support for sanctuary policies.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is requesting $12 million in his Fiscal Year 2023-2024 budget to expand his Unauthorized Alien Transport Program, which would transport migrants out of Florida to Democratic enclaves

Comes after an uproar ensued last year when DeSantis used federal COVID-19 relief funds to send two planes of 50 mostly Venezuelan migrants to the wealthy Massachusetts island of Martha's Vineyard. Pictured: Migrants flown north by DeSantis stand outside St. Andrew's Church in Edgartown, Massachusetts on September 14, 2022

This included Abbott and Ducey, who just completed his two-term tenure and was replaced with Democrat Katie Hobbs, sent migrants over the last year to Washington, D.C., New York City, Philadelphia and Chicago.

The Florida legislature coordinated with DeSantis on Friday to order a special session, which they will convene this week to consider the proposed legislation, which would be known as the Unauthorized Alien Transport Program.

Florida House Speaker Paul Renner and the state's Senate President Kathleen Passidomo both released separate memos on Friday lauding DeSantis' proposal and noted that the migrant program in particular is a response to an 'influx of migrants landing in the Florida Keys.'

Hundreds of migrants from Cuba and Haiti have been arriving in the Florida Keys in recent weeks, prompting DeSantis to mobilize the Florida National Guard.

DeSantis responded to the migration crisis in his state last year by facilitating a flight of 50 migrants from Florida to the Massachusetts island of Martha's Vineyard. The wealthy Democratic enclave island, where former President Barack Obama owns a home, was up-in-arms over what they said was a 'political stunt' despite supporting sanctuary city policies that rebuff federal immigration enforcement.

On September 14, 2022, two planes with a total of 50 migrants unexpectedly landed on Martha's Vineyard in an escalation of GOP tactics to send migrants to liberal bastions in months prior.

Some saw the protocols of busing and flying migrants across the country as a way of Republicans voicing protest of Biden's lack of action at the southern border.

Since DeSantis flew migrants to Massachusetts who crossed the U.S.-Mexico border in Texas  and not in Florida  there is a lawsuit alleging the governor violated spending provisions requiring that funds only be used for removal of migrants from Florida.

Migrants crossed the U.S.-Mexico border into Texas, which caused a lawsuit alleging that DeSantis could not use the funds for non-Florida migrants. Migrants stand with their belongings outside a church on Martha's Vineyard after they were dropped there in flights facilitated by the Florida governor

Volunteers handed out water and helped migrants who needed to find a way off the island in September

State Senator Jason Pizzo, a Miami Democrat, filed the lawsuit, which is among several legal actions brought against DeSantis for the pair of flights last year.

It comes despite reports that the Biden administration is also chartering flights of migrants to other areas of the country, like suburban New York.

Appropriations for the Florida migrant program would fall under proposals for transportation spending rather than within criminal justice and corrections, which is where law enforcement and other public safety provisions are included.

The money would come from Florida's general revenue fund, according to DeSantis' 406-page budget proposal.

The funds would be 'for facilitating the transport of inspected unauthorized aliens within the United States, consistent with federal law.'

Figures released for December show that the number of encounters at the southern border are continuing to rise  and reached a new all-time single month high of 251,487

'The department is authorized to advance and expend funds as necessary to cover all costs associated with facilitating the transport of inspected unauthorized aliens, including, but not limited to the costs of litigation,' the proposal notes.

'For purposes of this section, the term 'inspected unauthorized alien' means a foreign national who has U.S. Government documentation indicating that the U.S. Government processed and released the foreign national into the United States without admitting the foreign national in accordance with the federal Immigration and Nationality Act.'

Florida's legislature has a Republican supermajority, meaning it's highly likely most of DeSantis' proposed budget will get through with little to no protest from lawmakers in the state.

DeSantis' Framework for Freedom budget proposal totals $114.8 billion in spending for the state of Florida and includes agenda items like addressing Disney's self-governing Reedy Creek Improvement District and dealing with election-related crimes.'

The Framework for Freedom Budget builds on Florida's successes as the state continues to outpace the nation in building a robust economy; safeguarding students', parents', and teachers' rights; restoring our environment; and maintaining healthy reserves to respond to natural disasters,' a press release on the budget states.
At least 810 people were killed in Syria in the 7.8 magnitude earthquake that tore through the country and Turkey, killing a total of 2,300 today.

Citizens, who have spent the last 11 years embroiled in a brutal civil war responsible for the deaths of up to 610,000 people, spoke of how they 'knelt and prayed fearing it was judgement day' as buildings started to fall before dawn.

'We saw dozens of families in shock and fear. I haven't had that feeling all through the years of the war,' said Anas Habbash, a 37-year-old Aleppo native who escaped with his son and pregnant wife this morning.

'This was much more difficult than shells and bullets.'

People carry the dead body of a baby who died under the rubble in the earthquake in Afrin district of Aleppo, Syria after earthquakes hits Turkiye's Kahramanmaras, on February 6, 2023

A child is seen among damaged buildings in Afrin district of Aleppo, Syria, after the quake

At least 16 Syrian cities reported damage and deaths from the earthquake.

Angela Kearney, UNICEF Representative in Syria: 'Many people, including children are displaced and remain outside in streets and open areas.

'The government of Syria closed schools and universities for today and some are being used as shelters.

'The psychological impact on some people we met is grave.'

As a result of the ongoing civil war, Syria remains divided with parts inaccessible to the government.

The country's health ministry reported that at least 430 people were killed and 1,315 injured in government controlled areas.

The Syrian government, led by Bashar Al Assad controls much of the centre, west and southwest of the country.

The northeast of Syria, closest to the epicentre of the earthquake, has suffered from factional violence since 2011.

Since the territorial defeat of ISIS in 2019, many tens of thousands of men, women and children remain displaced from their homes, living in life-threatening conditions.

The Syrian government on Monday appealed to the international community for help following the devastation caused by the earthquake.

The foreign ministry said in a statement: 'Syria appeals to member states of the United Nations... the International Committee of the Red Cross and other humanitarian' groups to support 'efforts to face the devastating earthquake.'

The Syrian regime said it did not request Israeli assistance after the earthquake after Israel stated it had.

A rescue man carries evacuated child pulled out of the rubble following an earthquake in northwestern Syrian Idlib in the rebel-held part of Idlib province, on February 6, 2023

A man carries the body of an earthquake victim in the Besnia village near the Turkish border

Rescuers search for survivors under the rubble, following an earthquake, in Aleppo, Syria February 6, 2023

Separately, in rebel-controlled areas, The White Helmets rescue group said at least 380 were killed and more than 1,000 injured in rebel-held areas.

It had cautioned earlier on Monday 'the toll may increase as many families are still trapped.'

The group warned that it was struggling to access damaged areas in the north of the country due to poor weather conditions.

Snow and heavy rain, pictured in both northern Syria and southern Turkey today, have blocked roads.

The scale of the disaster is reportedly much bigger than the volunteers can handle alone.

Mohammad Barakat, 24, was being treated locally for a broken leg.

'I took my children and got out of the house,' recalled the father of four, lying in bed with wounds covering parts of his face.

'My house is an old one, and construction is very old,' he told AFP.

'So I got scared it might collapse on us. The walls of the neighbouring houses began collapsing when we were out in the street.'

'The situation is bad,' said Majid Ibrahim, a general surgeon at the hospital in Darkush, near the Turkish border.

By late morning, around 150 people had arrived dead or injured.

'A lot of people are still under the debris of the buildings,' he told AFP.

'We need urgent help for the area, especially medical help.'

Action for Humanity, a Salford-based NGO providing humanitarian aid in Syria, confirmed that an aid worker and her daughter died in the quake.

The charity said they would be launching a full-scale emergency campaign to help support those displaced and injured, as well as the health systems and infrastructure in Syria.

Okke Bouwman, Save the Children Syria Media Director, said: 'Twelve years of conflict in Syria have left families on the brink.

'The economy has collapsed, and families were already struggling to feed their children, to keep them warm this winter and to send them to school.

'Now children may be trapped in rubble, separated from their caregivers or unsure whether they will have a warm place to sleep tonight.

'Aftershocks are continuing, bringing further terror. These children need our immediate support- the international community must step up to help them now.'

The charity has launched an emergency appeal.

Rescuers search through the rubble of a building for victims and survivors following a deadly earthquake that shook Syria at dawn on February 6, 2023 in Aleppo's Salaheddine district

Aleppo's ancient citadel is damaged following a deadly earthquake that shook Syria

Aleppo's ancient citadel is damaged following a deadly earthquake that shook Syria

The historic city of Aleppo suffered significant damage from the earthquake.

It is estimated that one third of the school buildings in the city were either damaged or used during the Civil War, rendering much of the region unusable.

Russian shelling left many buildings on unstable foundations before the quake.

The full extent of damage added by the earthquake is not yet clear.

It has been reported that the Greek Orthodox Cathedral was damaged by the earthquake.

Pictured above, the ancient citadel built between the 3rd millennium BC and the 12 century AD suffered damage to its walls.

Parts of the Ottoman mill inside Aleppo's citadel also collapsed, while 'sections of the northeastern defensive walls have cracked and fallen,' Syria's Directorate-General of Antiquities and Museums said in a statement.

Syrian Red Crescent teams, part of the Red Cross, have been responding on the field since the early hours.

Greece promised immediate aid to both Turkey and Syria, with EMAK firefighters reportedly gearing up to offer rescue support.

Syrian rescue teams search for victims and survivors at the rubble a collapsed building in the city of Aleppo following a deadly earthquake

A man carries a girl following an earthquake, in rebel-held town of Jandaris, Syria, 6 February

Civil defense workers and residents search through the rubble of collapsed buildings in the town of Harem near the Turkish border, Idlib province, Syria, Monday, Feb. 6, 2023

The 1138 Aleppo earthquake, not far from the disaster this Monday 6 February, was one of the most deadly earthquakes in history, reaching 7.1 magnitude and killing 230,000 people.

The crusader citadel at Harem was then levelled by the quake and now lies in ruins.

The 7.8 magnitude earthquake today is the largest recorded in the region since records began around 1900.

The region is located on the Anatolian tectonic plate, which sits between the Eurasian, African and Arabian plates.

The region is thereby squeezed, creating volatile fault lines.
Pope Francis has declared the sale of weapons to be the 'biggest plague in the world'.

Francis was speaking to reporters on a flight home to Rome from South Sudan alongside Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby and Right Reverend Iain Greenshields, the Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland.

The visit was part of an unusual 'Pilgrimage of Peace' in Africa by Christian religious leaders to nudge forward the country's recovery from civil war.

The Pope said on Sunday: 'Violence is an everyday theme. We have just seen it in South Sudan. It is painful to see how violence is provoked.

'One of the issues is the sale of weapons. The sale of arms: I think this is the biggest plagues in the world.' Said he had been told that if all sales of weapons stopped for a year, world hunger could come to an end.

Pope Francis has declared the sale of weapons to be the 'biggest plague in the world'

Francis (centre) was speaking to reporters on a flight home to Rome from South Sudan alongside Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby (right) and Right Reverend Iain Greenshields (left), the Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland

'At the top today is the selling of arms. And not only among the great powers.

'Even to these poor people they sow war with them. It's cruel. They tell them "Go to war!" and they give them weapons. Because behind it there are economic interests to exploit the land, the minerals, the wealth.

'This is to destroy: destroying creation, destroying the person, destroying society.'

During the three-day visit, Francis, Welby and Greenshields sought to draw attention to the plight of South Sudan's most vulnerable people, the women and children who have borne the brunt of displacement and make up the majority of people living in temporary camps.

They raised in particular the plight of women in a country where sexual violence is rampant, child brides are common and the maternal mortality rate is the highest in the world.

The Pope continued as he spoke onboard the plane: 'I don't know if it happens in South Sudan but it does happen in some countries: young boys are recruited to be part of the militia and fight with other young boys.

'To sum up, I think the biggest problem is the eagerness to take that country's wealth - coltan, lithium, these sorts of things  and through war, for which they sell weapons, they also exploit children.

'The whole war is at war and self-destruction - we must stop in time!'

On the last day of his African pilgrimage, Francis begged South Sudanese people to lay down their weapons and forgive one another. Pictured shaking hands with South Sudan's President Salva Kiir Mayardit

On the last day of his African pilgrimage, Francis begged South Sudanese people to lay down their weapons and forgive one another, presiding over Mass at the country's monument to independence hero John Garang before an estimated 100,000 people, including the country's political leadership.

'Even if our hearts bleed for the wrongs we have suffered, let us refuse, once and for all, to repay evil with evil,' Francis said. 'Let us accept one another and love one another with sincerity and generosity, as God loves us.'

His message aimed to revive hopes in the world's youngest country, which gained independence from the majority Muslim Sudan in 2011 but has been beset by civil war and conflict.

President Salva Kiir, his longtime rival Riek Machar and other opposition groups signed a peace agreement in 2018, but the deal's provisions, including the formation of a national unified army, remain largely unimplemented and fighting has continued to flare.

'We have suffered a lot,' said Natalima Andrea, a 66-year-old mother of seven who wiped a tear from her eye as she waited for Francis' Mass to begin. 'We need a permanent peace now and I hope these prayers would yield to lasting peace.'

The Vatican said more than 100,000 people attended the service, filling the field of the Garang Mausoleum and surrounding roads.

In a bid to spur the process along, Francis was joined on the novel ecumenical peace mission by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, and the moderator of the Church of Scotland, the Rt. Rev. Iain Greenshields. The aim of the Catholic, Anglican and Presbyterian leaders was to push Kiir and Machar to recommit themselves to the 2018 deal.

Welby and Greenshields joined Francis on the altar at Mass on Sunday and were to accompany him on the flight back to Rome.

The three also aimed to put a global spotlight on the plight of the country, oil-rich and yet one of the world's poorest, where humanitarian needs are soaring for the 2 million people who have been displaced by continued clashes and years of above-average flooding.

Watchdogs' allegations of corruption are also widespread; some South Sudanese upon the pope's arrival noted that his modest vehicle was overshadowed by local officials' luxury ones.
A trailer for the new season of Clarkson's farm shows Jeremy appear to run over a mouse with a tractor, ask how best to kill badgers and witness the birth of a calf.

The unlikely combination of Jeremy Clarkson and farming received positive reviews for its first season in 2021 and it is now returning on February 10.

The trailer for the second starts with a conversation between the Grand Tour host and his popular farmhand Kaleb Cooper about a mouse running around the wheels of a tractor.

'He's actually underneath your wheel. Soon as you move you're gonna kill him', Kaleb tells Clarkson. The video cuts to the 62-year-old in his tractor saying 'oh s**t, I've rolled back' as Kaleb replies: 'You've just killed that poor mouse. I'll bury him.'

But as the tractor rolls forwards the mouse is revealed to be alive and well, as the 24-year-old farmer shouts 'he lives!'.

Clarkson's Farm released a trailer for its second season which is coming out on February 10

Jeremy Clarkson appears to run over a mouse in the trailer - which later turns out to have avoided being squished

The new trailer shows Clarkson move his focus to raising cattle on his farm in Chadlington, Oxfordshire

The first season of the show documented the petrol head get to grips with farming crops and looking after sheep.

The new trailer shows Clarkson move his focus to raising cattle on his farm in Chadlington, Oxfordshire.

He is informed by his land agent and advisor Charlie Ireland that cows may get tuberculosis from badgers.

The trailer continues as Clarkson asks about how to kill badgers, as he is told he can't shoot or gas them.

'You don't just hit it with a hammer?' He asks, before quickly being told no.

The series is expected to release a third season, however it was reported that the presenter won't appear in any new shows on Prime Video beyond 2024 after he made controversial comments about Meghan Markle.

The trailer also shows his Diddly Squat farm, which has made the headlines repeatedly since the release of the last season.

Jeremy Clarkson has blamed the countryside divide between people with a house name and those with a house number for the split in opinion over his Diddly Squat farm and shop.

Ahead of the launch of the show, Clarkson revealed that a number of locals are still less than impressed with his foray into farming - but others support him bringing business to the area.

Clarkson witnesses the birth of a calf in the trailer for the new season - where he focuses on cattle

The 62-year-old broadcaster manages the farm in Chadlington, Oxfordshire, and has documented the process for the Prime Video show Clarkson's Farm. Pictured: Jeremy Clarkson at his Diddly Squat farm shop in West Oxfordshire

Clarkson received a poor reaction from some villagers after he expanded his farming business to include a farm shop and restaurant

'In a way, the village is divided. It's difficult to say how many people support us in the village and how many don't,' he said.

'Some of it, I'm sure, comes from my past, and driving quickly around corners while shouting, and they didn't find that appealing.

'As far as the farm is concerned, it's split pretty neatly between those who have a house number  you know, 22 Oak Avenue or 3 Grove or whatever  who tend to support us, because we bring business to the area and jobs for their kids.

'Some of them are more than happy to go have a nice pint with a lovely view just up the road. So that works.'

But he continued: 'If they've got a house name, they tend not to like us, because they tend to have moved here from London quite recently, and they don't want crowds of people coming to the farm shop, so that seems to me to be the split.

'That's about as tightly as I can put it.'

Amazon Prime customers were cancelling their subscriptions after it reportedly axed Jeremy Clarkson for his comments on Meghan Markle - as the head of ITV issued a veiled warning over his future as the host of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?

Amazon customers saying they are cancelling their subscriptions after Clarkson was apparently axed

The streaming service is set to 'cut ties' with the 62-year-old following his controversial column on the Duchess of Sussex, sources told Variety.

While hit shows The Grand Tour and Clarkson's Farm will still launch this year, the presenter won't appear in any new shows on Prime Video beyond 2024, it is claimed.

The reported decision by Amazon - who have worked with Clarkson since 2015 - has prompted fans to cancel their 8.99 a month memberships.

Clarkson sparked controversy after a column in The Sun in which he said he 'hated' Meghan Markle and wanted to see her paraded through the streets naked while people throw 'excrement' at her.

He later said this was referencing a public shaming scene from the fantasy TV series Game of Thrones and wrote to the Sussexes on Christmas Day to apologise - although the couple later claimed his letter only addressed Harry directly.
The U.S. Capitol Police and Secret Service have reinstalled the security fence around the Capitol Building in advance of Tuesday night's State of the Union address, annoying D.C.'s Democratic rep but delighting some conservatives.

'The fence is not only threatening to D.C. residents, it poses huge inconveniences,' D.C. Rep. Eleanor Holmes Norton told DailyMail.com Monday, explaining that even the fire department and ambulances are impacted by the more restrictive traffic patterns.

She added that she agreed with those who saw the fence as a sad reminder of the events of January 6 - as the same fencing was installed outside the Capitol Building after the MAGA attack and remained in place for six months.

'It certainly does,' Norton said. 'And we want to get as far from January 6 as we can.'

Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene both cheered the move and used it as a political attack against President Joe Biden.

On Sunday, workers were spotted installing the fence around the U.S. Capitol complex ahead of Tuesday's State of the Union address

The fence was erected around the U.S. Capitol Building after the three-member Capitol Police Board voted to approve it in a 2-1 vote

D.C.'s non-voting Rep. Eleanor Holmes Norton told DailyMail.com she thought the fence was 'threatening' to D.C. residents and was a sad reminder of January 6, 2021

Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene both cheered the move and used it a a political attack against President Joe Biden

Republican Rep. Lauren Boebert cracked a joke about Biden when she saw the fencing going back up

'The fence is back up around the Capitol for SOTU because Biden knows walls work on the ground,' Greene tweeted Monday, again showing her support for former President Donald Trump's southern border wall.

'Joe Biden is more afraid of Americans visiting their Capitol than a Chinese Spy Balloon invading our air space that could have carried God only knows what,' the Georgia Republican added.

Biden has been under fire from Republicans in recent days for waiting to shoot down a Chinese spy balloon while it flew over land. The balloon was popped by an F-22 fighter jet armed with an AIM-9X Sidewinder missile on Saturday once it got over the South Carolina coastline.

Republican Rep. Lauren Boebert cracked a joke about Biden when she saw the fencing going back up.

'They've reinstalled the fence around the Capitol. With no reports of increased threats, I can only assume it's to ensure Biden doesn't wander off after the SOTU,' the Colorado Republican tweeted Monday.

The fence was reinstalled around the Capitol Building for the State of the Union to address due to the increase in threats against public officials in recent years.

A statement from the U.S. Capitol Police said that the fence was reassembled 'out of an abundance of caution' and would only be surrounding the Capitol 'temporarily.'

The U.S. Capitol Building is seen with fencing erected around it for this year's State of the Union address, which takes place Tuesday night

Workers install a panel of fencing on Sunday, ahead of President Joe Biden's State of the Union address

Workers reinstall the fence that surrounded the Capitol Building for six months after the January 6 MAGA attack

Norton said she received assurances that it would be taken down Wednesday, immediately following Biden's address.

'They indicate that it will come down the next day,' she told DailyMail.com.

She said she didn't speak to the Secret Service and Capitol Police in advance of the State of the Union because there are 'very rare occasions,' she noted, 'fencing may need to be used.'

'And I'd be the first to concede that the State of the Union address is one of them,' she said.

Still, she planned to send out a press release Monday to address the fencing.

Bill Press, the liberal political commentator who now hosts the Bill Press Pod podcast, is a longtime resident of Capitol Hill and told DailyMail.com he was 'outraged' to see the fence erected again.

'As long as Donald Trump's in Mar-a-Lago the Capitol's safe,' he said. 'Capitol Police have it backwards. They failed to protect the Capitol on January 6 when they should have. Now they're putting a fence up when there's no need to.'

Norton, Press and Capitol Hill residents offended by the fencing had an ally in Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy's acting Sergeant At Arms William McFarland, with Politico reporting Monday that he had voted against reinstalling the fence.

In a Capitol Police Board vote last week, McFarland was the lone no vote on the three-member panel, which consists of the House and Senate sergeants at arms and the Architect of the Capitol.

A source familiar told Politico that McFarland voted no because there was 'no actionable intelligence to necessitate putting up a fence.'

Prior to January 6, 2021, a security barricade wasn't erected around the Capitol Building for State of the Union addresses.
Migrants arriving in the Big Apple are now being bussed to Canada on taxpayer-funded buses to flee the 'drugs, crime and homeless people,' in New York City.

New York City has been a haven for migrants since they began arriving by the hundreds fleeing countries such as Venezuela, Columbia, Peru, Honduras, and the Dominican Republic for a better life.

Many of those illegal immigrants were living at The Watson Hotel located on 57th and Tenth Avenue for the last month in taxpayer-funded hotel rooms that cost as much as $450 per night - until they were removed last weekend and shuttled to Red Hook, Brooklyn, one of the locations of the city's Humanitarian Emergency Response and Relief Centers.

But, it has been revealed that many of the migrants have been getting 'free tickets' to Canada that will provide them with a better life and better opportunities in a country where drug abuse and homelessness are not as prevalent.

One of those Venezuelan migrants who slept on the street outside The Watson Hotel and was then relocated to Red Hook told DailyMail.com 'we don't want to stay in New York ... we want to go to Canada because we think we will get more help there.'

Migrants boarding the bus to the Red Hook facility in Brooklyn last week

New York City Mayor Eric Adams has been desperately trying to solve the city's migrant crisis

He said other migrants who are staying in New York and looking for work are trying to find other means of housing.

'No one likes that place[Red Hook]...it's disgusting,' he said.

Last week, Llabrador, 22, shared a picture with DailyMail.com of his flip-flops floating in a puddle of swirling dirty shower water during his first night at the facility and his experience taking a shower for the first time.

The shower was clogged and the water was not draining properly.

'We are not okay ...it is so bad just to take a shower,' he said. 'It's not conditions for a normal person jail is better.'

But, some of the challenges they are up against include no work permits, no immigration papers, and barely any pocket money which is making it difficult for the majority of migrants to find work in the Big Apple.

Ivan, 33 of Venezuela told DailyMail.com that he was horrified by the rampant drug use that was in the shelters and all the homeless people and it is much different in his native country.

'I have seen people in the [New York City] shelters doing drugs I don't see this in Venezuela,' Ivan said, who showed DailyMail.com a photo of himself in military uniform that he was in his native country.

It is unclear if Ivan will be traveling to Canada, but Ruben who is also from Venezuela told DailyMail.com that he is 80 percent certain he will be going to start anew and hopes to leave New York City later this week.

Llabrador, who was one of the migrants who slept on the street outside The Watson Hotel told DailyMail.com that a couple from the LGBTQ community took him and his friend in - another migrant - and gave them a place to stay until they figure out their next move.

'It's amazing. It's beautiful,' Llabrador said, who expressed gratitude for their kindness.

Llabrador, who was in the special forces unit in Venezuela, said unlike many of his peers he has immigration papers that can help him find a job more easily in New York City and is in a better position than some.

But, for those with families, Canada may more a more viable option. A Venezuelan migrant told the New York Post 'the military gave me and my family free bus tickets.'

'I am going to Canada for a better quality of life for my family,' he said.

One 56-year-old migrant, who fled his native country for a better life, and has been staying at the Red Hook facility told DailyMail.com that his 28-year-old daughter has been staying at a shelter somewhere in Manhattan.

And, said his son was in Canada where he is getting help with a job and housing and that he hopes to see his children soon.

It is unclear the number of National Guardsman are deployed at the Port Authority but, a spokesperson with Governor Kathy Hochul's office told DailyMail.com on Monday that they are there assisting 'at the request of the city.'

'National Guard members have been deployed to the Port Authority Bus Terminal, where they greet people upon arrival, answer questions and direct them to services, including transportation options that they seek,' a spokesperson from the Governor's office said.

The spokesperson added: 'The National Guard is not paying for any charter buses or purchasing bus tickets to any destination.'

Canadian President Justin Trudeau has been outspoken about accepting migrants

A spokesperson with the Mayor's office told DailyMail.com on Monday that since the beginning of this crisis, their goal is to help connect asylum seekers who want to move to a different location with friends, family, and/or community.

If needed, re-ticket to help get people to their final destination, if not New York City. The spokesperson said that community-based organizations have also helped to re-ticket people who want to go elsewhere as well.

'The mayor and city leadership have talked about this multiple times, and our press releases when we open new humanitarian relief centers have also discussed the reticketing work to connect people to friends, families, and other networks in their desired destinations,' the spokesperson said.

Those locations can include Plattsburgh, or other cities/locations people are trying to go to.

'Like the mayor has talked about, plenty of people who arrived here on buses did not want to or intend to go to New York City or did not want to stay here long term, ' the spokesperson said. 'We are not treating Plattsburgh differently than any other city.

Many of the migrants, mostly men from Venezuela, are seen boarding a bus to the Red Hook facility that is normally used as a terminal for cruise ships

Dozens of migrants slept outside of The Watson Hotel for days after getting removed from the hotel to make room for migrant families. The men were bundled in sleeping bags, blankets as to stay warm in freezing temperatures. Many of the items seen here were donated

But, in December NYC Mayor Eric Adams pleaded with the White House to give aid on the migrant crisis.

'I'm extremely frustrated,' Adams said in December.

Since 2022, there have been nearly 21,000 migrants who have been bussed to New York.

But the mayor's press office has simultaneously attempted to present itself as pro-migrant, with Adam's press secretary sharing that 'asylum seekers are also being provided with free roundtrip tickets on a NYC Ferry every day, Fox News reported.

As the migrants arrive in NYC, National Guard soldiers have been stationed in the Port Authority bus terminal to hand out free tickets for shuttles heading upstate towards the Canadian border.

City Hall sources said the move was part of a 're-ticketing' plan to help migrants work their way to Canada, according to The New York Post, where president Justin Trudeau has been outspoken about building a haven for people in need.

Some of the migrants taking the National Guardsmen up on their offer told The Post they were heading to Canada because they felt it would be more welcoming for them and provide better opportunities than the United States.

The news comes as a large group of migrants was publicly ousted from a ritzy midtown hotel they'd been housed in, and Mayor Eric Adams has been desperately trying to convince them that the city's shelters are a safe and hospitable option.

NYC City Hall has been paying a number of organizations to assist in their re-ticketing program, according to The Post.

One such organization was Catholic Charities Community Services, which said it had helped 'thousands of new migrants' relocate out of NYC.

A spokesperson for Catholic Charities said some of those migrants 'reported their desire to relocate to other cities, and Catholic Charities provided some assistance for their travel expenses.'

A sign of the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal and location where hundreds of migrants are being housed. Many were placed at this shelter in Red Hook had been living at The Watson Hotel before they were removed last weekend

A group of migrants are entering the Red Hook shelter where they will receive beds to sleep on, daily meals, and ferry and bus service

The buses that are shuttling the migrants are traveling as far north as Plattsburgh - just shy of the Canadian border - where they are met by local van and taxi services that transport them the rest of the way and drop them where Canadian police can gather them.

Driver Tyler Tambini, 23, told The Post that he has been transporting at least a '100 people a day,' and his fare for the drive is $50 for individuals and $90 for families.

'I do this all day. They get dropped off and I take them the rest of the way,' Tambini said.
Disturbing images show the makeshift bed filled with children's toys inside the property where a mother and her two-year-old daughter were buried - after the child was sexually abused.

Andrew Innes, 52, was today jailed for life with a minimum term of 36 years for the murders of Bennylyn Burke, 25, and Jellica Burke following a five-day trial at the High Court in Edinburgh.

He was also earlier convicted of sexually abusing the toddler and raping another child at his Dundee home between February 20 and March 5 2021.

Judge Lord Beckett earlier instructed the jury to return guilty verdicts on both murder charges, following the medical evidence heard on Innes' state of mind at the time.

Innes, who at times sobbed in the witness box while giving evidence in his defence, had denied all charges but the jury of eight men and seven women spent just under two and a half hours to find him guilty.

The makeshift bed, filled with children's toys, where the two-year-old would sleep prior to her death

Bennylyn Burke, 25, and her two-year-old daughter, Jellica

Andrew Innes was on trial for murder at the High Court in Edinburgh

During the trial, the jury witnessed some of the most harrowing evidence to come before a Scottish court.

Innes admitted killing Ms Burke and Jellica but denied murdering them and lodged a special defence of diminished responsibility.

At the of his arrest, when asked where Ms Burke was, Innes told PC Gavin Burns: 'She's under the kitchen floor.'

And, of the two-year-old's whereabouts, he told DC Paul Hardie: 'Under the floor with mum. I couldn't look after a child. The child was screaming.'

Innes had claimed that Ms Burke lunged at him with a sushi knife and that killing her was an act of self-defence.

But this was not true, he admitted as he took to the witness box on the third day of his trial.

Instead, the court was told, he was 'apocalyptically angry' as he hit her in the head repeatedly with a hammer before stabbing her with a samurai sword retrieved from his office.

Innes captured on CCTV purchasing a hammer from a B&Q store in the days before the murders

After he murdered them, with the toddler having been killed around three days after Ms Burke, he hid them below his kitchen floor at his home in Troon Avenue, Dundee

The kitchen floor, where Innes buried the toddler and Ms Burke after the heinous killings

Innes admitted killing Ms Burke and Jellica but denied murdering them and lodged a special defence of diminished responsibility

Flowers and a teddy bear left at the entrance to Innes' home where the bodies of Ms Burke and her daughter Jellica were buried under the kitchen floor

The killing came as Ms Burke was preparing food in the kitchen when, he said, he thought she looked like a hybrid of his estranged wife and jilted lover.

In a pre-recorded interview with one of his victims, the girl he was found to have raped, she told how a hammer was used to kill Ms Burke.

'We cannot drive from our minds what happened to her and what happened to Jellica' A statement from the Burke family said: 'Bennylyn was the hope and light of our family. 'That light has been cruelly snuffed out. 'Bennylyn had bright ideas and big dreams. 'She bravely left home to seek a better future in a country far away. Instead, she found the worst cruelty we could ever imagine at the hands of someone she trusted. 'We shall be forever haunted by what happened to her in this far off place such a long way from us, her family. 'In the Philippines, poor families like ours very often have daughters and sisters who seek to fulfil their dreams for a better future abroad. Never do we imagine it will end in such terror and horror. 'We cannot drive from our minds what happened to her and what happened to Jellica, or the fear they must have felt after experiencing violence from Andrew Innes. 'A big part of our family has been torn from us. 'We shall never see Bennylyn and Jellica again. We shall never know our beloved Jellica or ever see her grow up. 'We pray for the child who suffered the cruelty of Andrew Innes. 'We are happy that she is being cared for and recovering from her trauma. 'Women and girls must be protected from predators like Andrew Innes. 'There is nothing that can restore Bennylyn and Jellica to us. 'But the jury's guilty verdict for murder provides some comfort to our family and friends and brings justice for Bennylyn and Jellica.' Advertisement

The girl said Jellica was killed during a game of hide-and-seek, and told the interviewer she could not save them because 'she didn't know what was happening'.

She said Innes sexually abused the toddler, and described the repeated sexual assaults and rapes inflicted on her.

The girl told the court that after she was sexually assaulted she would be paid, and referred to 'jobs' during the interview played to the jury in which she recounted her ordeal.

Innes denied the sex attacks when arrested and on March 5 told DC Hardie: 'I never touched the girl.'

But a jury found this to be a lie, having been presented with DNA evidence from items including handcuffs and clothing. From the outset of the trial they were told the girl had chlamydia, the same infection that Innes had.

Innes's lies unravelled further when the evidence of his mental state at the time was discussed.

Dr Gordon Cowan, a psychiatrist, told the court Innes had changed his story multiple times when asked why he killed Ms Burke. At first it was acting in self-defence, then he heard voices, before Innes finally settled on his hybrid-vision story.

Dr Cowan said of Innes: 'It's clear he held resentment towards his ex-partners and this lady in front of him, in some way, reminded him of these ladies and he became angry, uncontrollably angry at her.'

And, Dr Cowan told jurors, there was a point where Innes felt he was psychotic when he killed Ms Burke and not when he killed Jellica, but he later said he had been psychotic during both killings.

He said he changed his description of events to suggest he was 'wandering around like a zombie'.

Asked by Brian McConnachie KC, defending Innes, if his client's behaviour could have been linked to steroid-induced psychosis, Dr Cowan pointed out that, prior to the killing, Innes had gone to B&Q, where he bought a hammer.

He told the court if someone had florid psychosis, suffering hallucinations and delusions to the point where they were killing people, they would not be doing their normal business without people noticing.

Innes claimed he was 'insane as a result of the steroids' that he had been prescribed for his Crohn's disease, but Dr Cowan said he did not believe the 52-year-old was impaired at the time he murdered Mr Burke, nor when he killed the toddler.

Andrew Innes pictured at B&Q on February 26

After he murdered them, with the toddler having been killed around three days after Ms Burke, he hid them below his kitchen floor at his home in Troon Avenue, Dundee.

But Innes told the court they were not buried in concrete, saying during his evidence: 'I dug them a respectable grave and gave them a Christian burial and then replaced the floor,' he said.

'That's all I did.'

He also told the court of his attempted self-castration, negotiations with a potential 'sexual playmate' and he railed against his estranged wife for cutting and dyeing her hair in a way he did not like.

The relatives of Ms Burke today described her as their family's 'hope and light' which had been 'cruelly snuffed out'.

In a joint statement, they said: 'Bennylyn had bright ideas and big dreams. She bravely left home to seek a better future in a country far away. Instead, she found the worst cruelty we could ever imagine at the hands of someone she trusted," they said in a joint statement on Monday.

'We shall be forever haunted by what happened to her in this far off place such a long way from us, her family.

'In the Philippines, poor families like ours very often have daughters and sisters who seek to fulfil their dreams for a better future abroad. Never do we imagine it will end in such terror and horror.'

They said a large part of their family had been taken from them, and said they would now 'never know our beloved Jellica or ever see her grow up'.

'Women and girls must be protected from predators like Andrew Innes," they said.

'There is nothing that can restore Bennylyn and Jellica to us. But the jury's guilty verdict for murder provides some comfort to our family and friends and brings justice for Bennylyn and Jellica.'

Speaking outside the High Court, Detective Chief Inspector Graham Smith also said the murders had 'shocked and appalled us all'.

'In almost 30 years of policing, the depravity shown by Andrew Innes was beyond anything I, or colleagues, had witnessed before," he said.

'Not only did he callously take the lives of a young mother and an innocent child, he then set out to escape justice by burying their bodies beneath his kitchen floor.

'His actions showed no regard for human life, or for the suffering and anguish he brought to their loved ones.'
An A&E nurse warned one of David Carrick's victims that 'the law tend to protect their own' when she revealed she was raped by a police officer.

The Metropolitan Police officer, 48, appeared in the dock at Southwark Crown Court on Monday, where he is being sentenced for 49 charges, including 24 counts of rape.

On Monday, the court heard how he brutally raped one of his victims after pointing a handgun at her head, leaving her with external and internal injuries.

The pair met at a London bar in 2003 and he told the woman 'he was the safest person that she could be with and that he was a police officer' before taking her back to his nearby flat, prosecutor Tom Little KC said.

She 'froze' when he put a black handgun to her head and said 'you are not going' before repeatedly raping her, he told the court.

The Metropolitan Police officer, 48, appeared in the dock at Southwark Crown Court on Monday, where he is being sentenced for 49 charges

A court heard how Carrick bru

During the attack, Carrick put his hands around her throat and said he would be the last thing she saw.

The woman, who was left with bite marks, bruising and clumps of hair missing, told an A&E nurse she had been raped by a police officer, the court heard.

When the victim attended King's College Hospital, she was told by a nurse that if she complained it 'might not go to court', and that because she was young she would be 'better to try to put it behind her and move on', a court heard.

Mr Little said: 'She was asked who had raped her and she told the nurse that it was a police officer.

'(The victim) told the police that the nurse in A&E told her that she needed to be ready if she was going to complain about it and that even if she did it might not go to court.

'She said as she was young, she might be better to try to put it behind her and move on.

'As a result, (the victim) did not report the matter to the police at the time.'

The A&E nurse also told that victim that this was not the first time she had heard that a police officer had raped somebody, and 'unfortunately didn't think it would be the last'.

The victim added that the nurse had told her 'the law tend to protect their own'.

In the woman's victim impact statement read out to court, the woman described how 'that night I had encountered evil'.

She said: 'For the past 19 years I've been lost in my own life mainly due to this one event.

I distinctly remember his words: Come on you can trust me, I am the safest person you can be around I am a police officer.

I honestly thought he was going to kill me that night, I thought he was going to rape me and kill me and that my life would be over.

I felt lucky to be able to leave the next morning as I didn't believe that I would be doing so.

I distinctly remember standing in the room with the nurse after being examined and having them list my injuries.

I felt ashamed, dirty and sick and was in so much pain. I remember aching all over from the terrible things he did to me that night.

David Carrick is being sentenced for his horrific crimes at Southwark Crown Court

The nurse and the doctor had asked me if I knew who had assaulted me, when I replied that it was a police officer the nurse told me that it wasn't the first time, she had heard this and unfortunately, she doubted it would be the last.

She told me it would be very hard getting it to go to court as the law tends to protect their own and that it is also likely that he would know it was you and could make your life hell for doing so.

Her advice was to really consider this before choosing to report it and possibly look at getting on with life without reporting it.

'She told me she had known women who had been in this situation and warned me that once people knew it would be very hard to get on with life without being constantly discredited for it.

'I do believe she was only trying to help me come to the decision that would be easier for me to live with but after consideration I didn't feel like I had much choice.'

The court also heard how Carrick was 'no doubt aware' that his victims would be unlikely to be believed if they accused a Metropolitan Police officer of rape.

Mr Little, prosecuting said: 'He was no doubt aware that they would conclude they would be unlikely to be believed if they were to come forward on their own and claim that a Metropolitan Police Officer had raped them.'

Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb is expected to sentence Carrick, from Stevenage, Hertfordshire, on Tuesday after he previously pleaded guilty to 49 charges relating to 12 women between 2003 and 2020.

They include 24 counts of rape, nine counts of sexual assault, five counts of assault by penetration, three counts of coercive and controlling behaviour, three counts of false imprisonment, two counts of attempted rape, one count of attempted sexual assault by penetration, one count of causing a person to engage in sexual activity without consent and one count of indecent assault.

Some are multiple-incident counts, meaning they relate to at least 85 separate offences, including at least 71 sexual offences and 48 rapes,
The 'One Angry Lisa' episode is not available to stream on Disney+ in Hong Kong

Disney has cut an episode from The Simpsons that contains a reference to 'forced labour camps' in China from its streaming service in Hong Kong.

The episode two of season 34, 'One Angry Lisa', which first aired in October on television, is not available on the US company's Disney Plus streaming service in Hong Kong, according to a check by Reuters.

The Financial Times first reported the absence of the episode, which is produced by the 20th Television Animation, which is owned by Disney.

It has not been established when it was removed from the Hong Kong service.

In the episode, the character Marge Simpson is shown images of China's Great Wall during an exercise class as her instructor says: 'Behold the wonders of China: bitcoin mines, forced labour camps where children make smartphones.'

Disney has cut an episode from The Simpsons that contains a reference to 'forced labour camps' in China from its streaming service in Hong Kong

The episode 'One Angry Lisa', which first aired in October on television, is not available on the US company's Disney Plus streaming service in Hong Kong

China denies any suggestion that forced labour occurs there.

Rights groups and Western governments have long accused Beijing of abuses against members of the mainly Muslim Uyghur ethnic minority in the western region of Xinjiang, including the use of forced labour in internment camps.

A UN report last year said Beijing had committed 'serious human right violations' that could constitute 'crimes against humanity'.

In 2021, Disney removed an episode of 'The Simpsons' that made a reference to the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown when it first launched its Disney Plus service in Hong Kong.

The episode featured a visit to the square, which displayed a large sign saying 'on this site, in 1989, nothing happened'.

Homer Simpson also called Chairman Mao a 'little angel' who killed millions.

The former British colony of Hong Kong has special freedoms under a 'one country, two systems' formula agreed when it was handed back to China in 1997, but Hong Kong democracy campaigners say Beijing has over the years been eroding those freedoms. Beijing and Hong Kong's government deny this.

In 2021, Hong Kong's legislature passed a film censorship law to 'safeguard national security' but officials said at the time that the law did not apply to streaming services.

An episode of The Simpsons which features a joke about Tiananmen Square went missing from Disney+ in Hong Kong in 2021

In the episode, the character Marge Simpson is shown images of China's Great Wall during an exercise class

In 2021, Disney removed an episode of 'The Simpsons' that made a reference to the 1989 Tiananmen Square. Pictured here is the Times Square Disney store

The Simpsons is now in its 34th season with 740 episodes released (file image)

The Hong Kong government said the film censorship law was aimed at content deemed to 'endorse, support, glorify, encourage and incite activities that might endanger national security'.

The Simpsons is now in its 34th season with 740 episodes released.

'Stark Raving Dad', where Homer is committed to a mental institution, is the only episode that has been banned from airing and streaming worldwide on Disney Plus.

Disney Plus has rapidly advanced since its launch in November 2019, reaching 14.4 million paid subscribers in the last quarter and even overtaking its rival Netflix in August.

MailOnline has contacted Disney+ for comment.
Donald Trump on Monday appealed a judge's order that would have seen him fined nearly $1 million for filing a 'completely frivolous' lawsuit against former 2016 rival Hillary Clinton.

Both the former president and his lawyer, Alina Habba, were slapped with the hefty fee last month.

Trump sued Clinton and other top Democrats in March last year, accusing them of having 'maliciously conspired' to rig the 2016 election with claims that he was working with Russia to get elected.

Federal Judge John Middlebrooks, who was appointed by Clinton's husband, excoriated the legal effort - and Trump himself - in a 46-page opinion explaining the steep fines.

'Mr. Trump is a prolific and sophisticated litigant who is repeatedly using the courts to seek revenge on political adversaries,' Middlebrooks wrote.

Donald Trump and his lawyer Alina Habba are appealing a January 19 ruling that would have forced them to pay nearly $1 million in legal fees and other costs

A judge who ordered Trump and Habba to pay the fines said Hillary Clinton and her allies were 'needlessly harmed in order to dishonestly advance a political narrative' with the lawsuit

He called the former president a 'mastermind of strategic abuse of the judicial process.'

'This case should never have been brought. Its inadequacy as a legal claim was evident from the start,' the opinion opened.

'No reasonable lawyer would have filed it. Intended for a political purpose, none of the counts of the amended complaint stated a cognizable legal claim.'

He said Clinton and her allies were 'needlessly harmed in order to dishonestly advance a political narrative.'

The order which Trump appealed on Monday levies a fine of $937,989.39 to cover all the defendants' legal fees and other costs.

Middlebrooks threw out the lawsuit in September.

Trump is appealing it to the 12-seat 11th Circuit Court of Appeals in Georgia - he appointed six of its jurists

But Trump's counter-motion objecting to the fines is now heading to the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals, based in Atlanta, Georgia.

Trump nominees dominate that panel, holding six of 11 currently occupied seats.

Just four of its current jurists have been appointed by Democrats - giving it a clear conservative lean.

However, a three-judge panel from that court recently dealt a blow to another one of Trump's legal efforts when it tossed his bid to delay the Justice Department's review of classified documents seized in an FBI raid of Mar-a-Lago.

The ruling scrapped a judge's prior order appointing a special master to review the documents before they could get into DOJ investigators' hands.

That decision was made late last year by two Trump appointees and the court's George W. Bush-appointed chief justice.
A nine-year-old Pennsylvania boy has become the second youngest person to ever graduate from high school, and he is now shooting for the stars as he plans a career as an astrophysicist.

David Balogun said he was overjoyed after moving one step closer to achieving his dream of studying 'black holes and supernovas.'

The young prodigy stunned staff at Reach Cyber Charter School in Harrisburg as he raced through the school curriculum.

After completing his classes remotely in just a few years, David has already completed a semester of community college while his parents scour the nation to find the perfect university for him to continue towards greatness.

David Balogun, pictured, has become the second youngest person to ever graduate from high school

The nine-year-old said he is already planning a career as an astrophysicist

Despite taking a lot of his classes online, the 9-year-old phenom praised his former-high school for allowing him to progress so quickly toward college.

'(The school) didn't bog me down,' he told WGAL.

'They also advocated for me, saying "He can do this, he can do that."

'I want to be an astrophysicist, and I want to study black holes and supernovas.'

Cody Derr, one of David's high school teachers, said the young mastermind stood out from the class, despite his tender age.

'David was an inspirational kid,' she said.

'He is definitely one who changes the way you think about teaching.'

Alongside thriving in science and computer programming, the nine-year-old is also said to be a talented pianist and is working towards a black belt in martial arts.

David's parents, who both have advanced degrees themselves, insisted that raising a young genius isn't without its challenges.

His mother Ronya said she has had to 'get outside of the box' in her attempts to bring David up through his brainy childhood.

She added that despite his genius-level intelligence, David is still a regular child that enjoys activities just like other kids his age.

'Playing pillow fights when you're not supposed to, throwing balls in the house.

'He's a nine-year-old with a brain that just has the capacity to understand and comprehend a lot of concepts that are beyond his years - and sometimes beyond my understanding.'

As well as his early academic success, the boy is also reportedly a member of Mensa, a prestigious high-IQ group that is open only to those who score in the 98th percentile or higher in standardized, supervised IQ tests.

David's parents, who both hold advanced degrees themselves, said they had to 'get outside the box' when bringing up the young prodigy

Cody Derr, pictured, said the nine-year-old was an 'inspiration' during her time teaching him

After already completing a semester at Bucks County Community College, David's parents are now searching the nation's top colleges as they plan the next chapter of the young virtuoso's life.

His father added that despite his amazing potential, finding the right college to help the child progress is just as important as achieving a place at a university with a prestigious name.

'Am I going to throw my nine-year-old into havoc, while I'm still living in PA? No,' added his father.

David's graduation marks him as the second youngest to ever achieve a high school diploma, although he is a full three years off from beating the unbelievable record.

The record was set by Michael Kearney, who became the youngest ever high school graduate over three decades ago when he gained his diploma in 1990 age just six.

David Kearney, pictured, became the youngest ever high school graduate in 1990 aged just six-years-old

The child continued on to the University of South Alabama, achieving his bachelor's degree in anthropology as he also became the youngest person ever to graduate from college aged 10.

Kearney was later awarded a master's degree from Middle Tennessee State University at just 14 years old and has since gone on to hold a Ph.D. in Chemistry.

He began teaching college classes while still a teenager, and as a contestant on various game shows Kearney has won over $1 million.

Despite David Balogun's best efforts, Kearney's record has stood the test of time, and he reportedly boasts an unbelievable IQ of 200, according to the Geniuses Club.
Security minister Tom Tugendhat today fuelled claims of a Cabinet row over whether to declare Iran's Revolutionary Guard as a terror group.

A series of MPs this afternoon made repeated calls for the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) to be proscribed.

But, while Mr Tugendhat did not rule out such a move, he appeared to swipe at others in Government who are yet to be convinced to push ahead with action.

It follows reports that Foreign Secretary James Cleverly has stalled plans to proscribe the IRGC amid concerns about keeping communication channels open with the Iranian regime.

Security minister Tom Tugendhat appeared to swipe at others in Government who are yet to be convinced to push ahead with proscribing the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps

The IRGC was set up over 40 years ago to defend Iran's Islamic revolution and has since exerted influence across the Middle East

Foreign Secretary James Cleverly has reportedly stalled plans to proscribe the IRGC amid concerns about keeping communication channels open with the Iranian regime

Speaking in the House of Commons, Mr Tugendhat branded the IRGC a 'vicious organisation' that had 'brutalised and murdered' the Iranian people 'for far too long'.

He noted how the US had designated the IRGC as a foreign terrorist organisation in 2019, with Germany and France set to follow suit.

Mr Tugendhat also revealed that he and his boss, Home Secretary Suella Braverman, were 'as one' on the issue.

But, in reply to Tory MP Bob Blackman - who was among those to urge the Government to proscribe the IRGC, the security minister hinted at a split around the Cabinet table.

'He will know it's not me he has to persuade in this matter and that there are many areas in which I would like to go,' Mr Tugendhat said.

'I can assure him this Government is absolutely listening to exactly what he is saying.

'The Home Secretary and I are as one on this.'

The IRGC was set up over 40 years ago to defend Iran's Islamic revolution and has since exerted influence across the Middle East.

It has close ties to Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and was recently linked to threats against journalists at an independent Iranian TV channel based in Chiswick, west London.

It was recently reported that the Foreign Office has blocked a move to proscribe the IRGC due to a need to keep communication channels open, as well as fears it could lead to the British Embassy being expelled from Tehran in retaliation.

Officials are also said to have raised concerns about how the IRGC would be defined as a terrorist group - which would put it on the same standing as al-Qaeda or Islamic State - because it was a government agency.

Proscription makes it a criminal offence to be a member, encourage support for, or provide funds for a proscribed group.

Mr Tugendhat and Mrs Braverman are claimed to be holding out hope the proscription of the IRGC will eventually come, despite a delay.

Proscription would make it a criminal offence to be a member, encourage support for, or provide funds to the IRGC

In response to Labour MP Virendra Sharma, who also raised the issue in the Commons this afternoon, Mr Tugendhat said: 'The IRGC is a vicious organisation and its first victims are the Iranian people who have been brutalised and murdered by that despotic regime for far too long.

'I hope he will be encouraged by the actions that the UK Government is taking at the moment in looking into various of these areas. And also by the work actually being done by some of our partners.

'It's interesting to note that of the so-called E3+3, Germany and France appear to be looking at proscribing the IRGC, as the US has already done.'

The security minister, who attends Cabinet meetings, added that the Government 'always keeps all areas under review' and 'speculation has certainly been in that direction' towards proscription.

'What we've already done is sanction various different elements and any further action will no doubt be announced as soon as it is ready,' he continued.
Maas is seeking unspecified damages, but at the time the suit was initially filed she asked for $10 million

Sandra Maas, 60, says San Diego's KUSI - where she worked for 18 years - violated California's Equal Pay Act by paying her coworker Allen Denton more than her

Former California news anchor is accusing her previous TV station of paying her $90,000 less per year than her male co-anchor

A former California TV news anchor is suing the outlet she worked for, claiming she made significantly less than her male co-anchor, in violation of the law.

Sandra Maas has filed a lawsuit in San Diego alleging that KUSI paid her $90,000 a year less than her co-anchor Allen Denton, who she worked with for years.

'It's humiliating to share everything that happened to me but I'm hoping to make a difference for other women in the workplace,' Maas told CBS 8 San Diego.

Maas originally filed the lawsuit in 2019, just a week after departing KUSI.

Lawyers for the woman allege the station violated California's Equal Pay Act which forbids pay inequality for employees who do 'substantially similar work.'

Sandra Maas (left) claims San Diego's KUSI news paid her nearly $100,000 less than her male co-anchor Allen Denton

Maas, seen here outside the courthouse, originally sought $10 million in damages

Maas is suing the McKinnon Broadcasting Co., KUSI's operator, for unspecified damages for past and future lost wages, past and future mental and emotional distress as well as punitive damages.

At the time of the initial filing, however, Maas asked for $10 million.

Maas and her attorney, Josh Gruenberg, allege the TV station broke California labor and pay fairness laws by paying her less than Denton.

'Under the Equal Pay Act, as amended effective January 1, 2019, an employer may not justify any pay difference between employees of the opposite sex, or employees of different race or ethnicity based on an employee's prior salary,' California's Department of Industrial Relations states.

Denton and Maas were co-anchors of the KUSI nightly news for nearly 10 years until she left the station in 2019.

Sandra Maas and her lawyer claim KUSI violated California's Equal Pay Act

Thank you and farewell to all the KUSI viewers who have watched and supported me for the past 15 years. Ill miss delivering the news to you. On to the next adventure... #KUSINews pic.twitter.com/PdgsGmEzJB  Sandra Maas (@SandraMaas) June 17, 2019

According to the Times of San Diego, KUSI is arguing that Denton earned his $250,000 a year salary and Maas was a 'slacker who slammed her workplace.'

'For at least the last few years of her tenure as a KUSI news anchor, Maas was not a good team member or a dedicated journalist,' said the KUSI trial brief.

'She worked far fewer hours than the male anchors. She often arrived on set just barely in time to tape news breaks and go on air live to present the nightly news, causing problems for producers, news floor staff, writers, and co-workers,' the station's lawyers claim.

KUSI's lawyers did concede Maas' on-air performance was good, however, the local paper reported.

Denton and Maas were co-anchors of the KUSI nightly news for nearly 10 years

KUSI's defense also includes video clips lawyers say show Maas and her unprofessional moments on and off camera.

'Her lack of preparation and true attitude toward her job will be apparent from this evidence, and some of the videos will disprove some of her sworn testimony at deposition,' lawyers for the station said.

They claim she had outbursts and treated her coworkers disrespectfully over the years.

Lawyers also say Maas called KUSI a 'mess of a place.'

Lawyers also say Maas called KUSI a 'mess of a place'

Maas and Gruenberg deny those assertions and say she did the same job as her co-anchor.

'Sandra was underpaid for doing the same job as her co-anchor for several years. We have an equal pay act in California and intend to put some teeth into it,' Gruenberg told CBS 8.

Also included in KUSI's planned arguments is covering Maas' supposed dislike of former President Donald Trump.

In 2017, KUSI sent Denton to the 2017 presidential inauguration instead of Maas.

According to the Times of San Diego, the station- which skews conservative, said Maas wasn't chosen because she told people she opposed Trump.

According to the Times of San Diego, the station- which skews conservative, said Maas wasn't chosen because she told people she opposed Trump

It's been a long process for Maas who filed the suit in 2019.

The anchor left after conversations regarding her pay did not bear fruit.

'I'm relieved this day is finally here. It's scary, it's stressful. I feel betrayed. It has been three and a half years since I lost my job that I loved - and was devoted to - and dedicated my life to because I was fighting for equal pay,' Maas said.

'My client is frustrated that it's taken so long. She's anxious to tell her story,' said Gruenberg.

Lawyers for the woman allege the station violated California's Equal Pay Act which forbids pay inequality for employees who do 'substantially similar work'

'It's not something new under the sun and if you don't use your voice to try to change what's happening when it comes to pay equality. If you're silent, nothing's going to change,' Maas said

'It's not something new under the sun and if you don't use your voice to try to change what's happening when it comes to pay equality. If you're silent, nothing's going to change,' Maas said.

The case is being presided over by Judge Ronald F. Frazier.

The trial officially kicks off Monday morning with jury selection.

KUSI News Director Steve Cohen said 'no comment' Monday morning when reached out to by DailyMail.com.
Vice President Mike Pence's Indiana home will be searched for more classified documents 'in a matter of days,' NBC News reported Monday.

On Thursday, The Wall Street Journal reported that there would be a search of the $1.9 million Carmel, Indiana home, with CNN additionally reporting that Pence's office would be fished through as well.

Pence's team did not believe additional documents were in his archives, CNN reported.

Last month, Pence's lawyers voluntarily disclosed that documents with classified markings were discovered at the ex-veep's home.

The admission came on the heels of classified documents being found at President Joe Biden's former D.C. office and Wilmington home, and after former President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago was raided by the FBI for missing classified documents in August.

The FBI is expected to search former Vice President Mike Pence's Indiana home for more classified documents 'in a matter of days,' NBC News reported Monday

The documents were found by one of Pence's lawyers, who had been tasked to look through his papers at the vice president's request, out of the abundance of caution after the Biden and Trump discoveries.

They were located on January 16, with Pence's lawyer Greg Jacob writing a letter and informing the National Archives of the discovery on January 18.

Jacob asked a top Archives official for help 'collecting and transferring to the custody of the National Archives an additional set of Vice Presidential records.'

'The additional records appear to be a small number of documents bearing classified markings that were inadvertently boxed and transported to the personal home of the former Vice President at the end of the last Administration,' Jacob said.

'Vice President Pence was unaware of the existence of sensitive or classified documents at his personal residence,' the lawyer added.

FBI agents came to collect the documents on January 19 - but haven't sifted through Pence's papers on their own yet.

Sources told CNN that the documents were of a lesser classification than the top-secret papers found at Biden's Delaware home and Washington, D.C. office and the more than 300 files found at Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort.

The network reported that the documents were background briefing materials for foreign trips.

Former Vice President Mike Pence's $1.9million Carmel, Indiana home

Pence gave Biden some political cover with the admission that he had also taken classified documents home.

Now some of the narrative is whether there's an overclassification problem in Washington and if departing presidents and vice presidents need to follow better protocols when packing up.

Last week, CBS News reported that Pence's aides didn't start packing up his office until after January 6, because Trump insisted it look like everyone was sticking around for a second term, as he contested the election results by spreading false voter fraud claims.

For weeks, the Biden White House has been under fire for keeping the initial discovery of classified documents at the president's former D.C. think tank office quiet until after the midterm elections.

After that, additional documents were found at his Wilmington residence.

On Wednesday, the FBI searched the president's Rehoboth Beach, Delaware vacation home.

No classified documents were found.

New House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer said Tuesday that the National Archives was stopped from putting out a press release announcing the discovery of documents at the Biden think tank, with just days to go before the midterms.

Republicans ended up having an underwhelming performance in the November elections, squeaking out a narrow majority in the House, with Democrats retaining control of the Senate.

On Sean Hannity's Tuesday night program, Comer claimed that either the White House or Attorney General Merrick Garland interfered - with Democrats getting a political benefit.

'There are only two people that could have given those orders, and that's either the Department of Justice with Merrick Garland or the White House with Joe Biden,' the Kentucky Republican said. 'So, it shows right there that this Department of Justice and this White House is interfering with this.'

Comer made the comments after his panel interviewed the National Archives' general counsel Gary Stern.

Stern told Oversight Committee members that he couldn't tell them who gave the order not to release a statement.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre has argued that the Biden White House did the right thing by immediately flagging the discovery of documents to the National Archives.

However, the administration did not confirm the discovery to the American people, until after it was reported by CBS News.

Republicans, including Pence, have decried the 'double standard' of Biden being able to hand over his documents, while Trump's Florida home and club were raided.

In a January 10 radio interview with Hugh Hewitt, Pence called the Mar-a-Lago raid a 'massive overreach' and a 'massive overreaction.'

'But having now created that standard and now abandoned that standard when the current president of the United States is found to have had classified documents in his possession after leaving office, I think it just, I have no words right now. It's just incredibly frustrating to me,' Pence said.

Pence has continued to defend Trump despite the two men having a falling out over Trump's attempts to overturn the 2020 election results.

The former vice president is also widely expected to launch is own 2024 White House bid.

Biden's allies have pointed out that Trump lied about still having documents in his possession while the National Archives was trying to get them back.

Garland appointed two special counsels to oversee the investigation into Trump and Biden.
A senior Republican on Monday said that the Pentagon may have been aware of Chinese balloons drifting across the country during Donald Trump's time in office, but could have kept the information from the White House because of the president's reputation for 'provocative' and 'aggressive' action.

The Biden administration has been under fire for taking days before deciding to shoot down a Chinese spy balloon.

But defense officials have since briefed reporters that similar balloons were spotted under the previous administration without any action being taken.

The result has been a string of Trump officials denying any knowledge of such incidents, saying they only came to light after they had left office.

Rep. Mike Waltz of Florida, who sits on the House Armed Services Committee, offered an explanation for the differing tales, saying that his office had been briefed on the details and that it had happened over Florida, Texas and elsewhere.

Former DNI @JohnRatcliffe asks if the Pentagon purposely didnt brief the Trump Administration on potential intrusions by spy balloons during his presidency.



What did General Mattis know? pic.twitter.com/sp37XDT4wB  Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) February 6, 2023

In total, there were five balloons spotted during Trump's term. At least one flew over portions of Texas, two flew over Florida during the Trump administration with additional sightings near the Pacific Islands of Hawaii and Guam. Three have been seen during Biden's presidency including near Hawaii, the one that was shot down this weekend and another over South America

'We have more detailed questions but what's unclear ... and this is the key point: Did the Pentagon under the Trump administration brief the Trump White House and give them the option to take action, or did they decide not to brief them for whatever reason,' he said.

'And there's some speculation  I've talked to Trump White House officials over the weekend  that the Pentagon deliberately did it because they thought Trump would be too provocative and too aggressive.'

He said questions needed to be answered by the general who spent two years as Trump's secretary of defense.

'One person I'm waiting to hear from, that we haven't heard from in that whole list, is former Secretary of Defense Gen. Mattis, who was the secretary during this time period,' he said.

'What did he know and what did he decide to pass on and brief to the president?'

Mattis, through an assistant, declined to comment.

He was Trump's first secretary of defense before resigning in protest at the decision to withdraw American troops from Syria.

On Saturday, the same day a U.S. Air Force warplane shot down a drifting balloon off the coast of South Carolina, a Pentagon spokesman told reporters that 'surveillance balloons transited the continental United States briefly at least three times during the prior administration.'

It provided fodder for Democrats to defend President Joe Biden against criticisms of dithering, as Trump himself said he would have shot interloper down earlier.

Republican Rep. Mike Waltz said Jim Mattis had to answer questions about how much he knew about Chinese spy balloons crossing the U.S. when he was Trump's defense secretary

Jim Mattis was Donald Trump's secretary of defense before resigning at the end of 2018

But a string of senior Trump national security officials said they had been unaware at of any incursions at the time, including the former president himself.

Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, former Defense Secretary Mark Esper, former acting Defense Secretary Chris Miller, were among the figures who rejected the claim or expressed doubt that China could have breached U.S. air space without their knowledge.

'I don't ever recall somebody coming into my office or reading anything that the Chinese had a surveillance balloon above the United States,' Esper told CNN. 'I would remember that for sure.'

Former National Security Adviser John Bolton told Fox News: 'I don't know of any balloon flights by any power over the United States during my tenure, and Id never heard of any of that occurring before I joined in 2018.

'I havent heard of anything that occurred after I left, either.

'I can say with 100 percent certainty: Not during my tenure.'
A twisted Florida teenager pleaded guilty to murdering his cheerleader classmate by stabbing her 114 times as new photos reveal scratches on his body after his arrest.

Aiden Fucci, now 16, confessed on Monday to first-degree murder of then 13-year-old Tristyn Bailey on Mothers Day 2021.

Surveillance footage previously showed Fucci and Bailey walking together down a dim residential street moments before her death as they headed to the woods. Fucci was then seen running alone barefoot at around 2am.

'I just want to say I plead guilty and Im sorry for the Bailey family and my family,' Fucci, 16, told prosecutors in St. Augustine, according to AP.

Fucci will likely be sentenced in the spring and faces a minimum of 40 years in prison.

Aiden Fucci, 16, pleaded guilty to the murder of cheerleader Tristyn Bailey, 14, on Monday

Fucci took Bailey (above) to the woods and stabbed her 114 times on Mother's Day 2021

Released photos showed the day of Fucci's arrest on May 10, 2021, a day after Tristyn's body was found covered with knife wounds, showed his chest covered with scratches.

Florida state attorney R.J. Larizza revealed about 49 of Bailey's wounds were defensive in nature with several to the arms, hands and head.

Authorities found Fucci's DNA on Bailey's body

At the time of Fucci's arrest, prosecutors released the camera footage of him walking with the suspect late at night.

Prosecutors also made public video which was captured from inside Fucci's home after the murder.

It showed Fucci's mom, Crystal Smith, going upstairs and picking up her son's blue jeans, before allegedly scrubbing blood off of them.

When police searched Fucci's home, they found a Buck knife sheath in his room, as well as shoes and a shirt with blood on them.

Those jeans - as well as the drain in Smith's home, later tested positive for blood

Smith has been charged with one felony count of evidence tampering.

Fucci initially was arrested on a second-degree murder charge and held in a juvenile justice center the day after Bailey's body was found.

Authorities said his DNA was found on Bailey's body.

Released photos showed the day of Fucci's on May 10, 2021, a day after Tristyn's body was found covered with knife wounds, showed his chest covered with scratches

A knife was from Fucci was taken in as evidence in relation to the murder of the cheerleader

Fucci was seen looking down while entering the Florida courtroom on Monday

Stacy Bailey, the mother of Tristyn, were seen inside the court room after the plea deal

The family was seen hugging each other after Fucci pleaded guilty

A neighbor's camera captured what police said was the last time Bailey was seen alive on the morning of May 9, walking with Fucci towards a wooded area in St Johns, Florida

Fucci posted this Snapchat selfie from the back of a police car after he was taken in for questioning on May 10 - a day after Bailey's body was found dumped in a wooded area near his home with 114 stab wounds

Meanwhile, prosecutors have painted a picture of Fucci as a disturbed young teenager.

According to separate court documents, one of Fucci's female friends told police that the teen frequently talked about killing people.

Crystal Smith has been charged with evidence tampering, a felony, in connection with Bailey's killing

She also said Fucci would 'take his knife out and pretend to stab her with it' and that he would 'draw graphic pictures depicting mutilated bodies'.

The friend also told detectives that Fucci often heard voices when he was angry that would tell him to kill people.

When detectives searched Fucci's home, they uncovered a notebook filled with 'violent' drawings of women, including one that showed a female with red Xs on her breasts and severed arms with blood pouring out.

Prosecutors also said that Fucci had been telling friends he planned to kill 'someone' in the woods and that Tristyn may simply have been in 'the wrong place at the wrong time'.

They also obtained a Snapchat video of Fucci smiling as he sat in the back of a cop car after he was taken in for questioning by police the day after the murder 'Guess who's in a f***ing cop car... tripping, dude,' says in the clip.

Fucci also snapped a selfie in the reflection of the police video with the caption: 'Hey guys has inybody (sic) seen Tristyn lately?'
Mexican actor Pablo Lyle received a five-year prison sentence for involuntary manslaughter after he punched a man during a road rage fight in Miami in 2019.

The punishment was handed down Friday, almost four months after the 36-year-old Netflix and soap opera star was found guilty.

He was initially looking at up to 15 years in jail for fatally punching Juan Ricardo Hernandez Sr. in the middle of a street on March 31, 2019.

Lyle previously sought a new trial following his October 4 conviction, but his petition was denied by Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Marisa Tinkler Mendez.

Mexican Netflix star actor Pablo Lyle (pictured) was sentenced to five years in prison by a Miami judge on Friday. The sentencing comes four months after he was convicted the involuntary manslaughter after he punched Miami resident Juan Ricardo Hernandez Sr. during a road rage fight in Miami in 2019

Juan Ricardo Hernandez Sr. (pictured) was diagnosed with traumatic brain injury following the fight with Mexican actor Pablo Lyle and died four days later while hospitalized

Mexican actor Pablo Lyle (center) charges toward Juan Ricardo Hernandez Sr. (right) during a road-rage incident moments after Hernandez Sr. had attempted to open the door of the vehicle Lyle was riding in with his wife and two children to the airport on March 31, 2019

Tinkler Mendez also hit Lyle with eight years of probation and conflict resolution management. He must also serve 500 hours of community service.

'I am very sorry,' Lyle said in Spanish, looking at some of the members of Hernandez family who were in the court room, among them his son. 'I always pray for him and for you, with all my heart.'

Lyle, who in the past starred in Mexican soap operas and played the lead role in the Netflix series, 'Yankee,' always claimed that he acted in self-defense because he feared that Hernandez Sr. was going to attack him with a gun.

He was traveling to Miami International Airport with his wife, Ana Araujo, his brother-in-law, Lucas Delfino, and his two children when Delfino allegedly cut off Hernandez Sr. on a highway.

Surveillance video footage taken at the time of the incident shows Hernandez Sr. abandoning his car at a red light and approaching the driver's side window.

It appeared as if Hernandez Sr. was going to open the driver's door when Delfino got out of his car and argued with Hernandez Sr.

Lyle remained in the vehicle with his family when it suddenly started to move by itself towards the intersection.

Pablo Lyle (pictured) addressed a Miami court Friday and apologized to the family of Juan Ricardo Hernandez Sr. before he was sentenced to five year in prison

Mexican soap opera star Pablo Lyle always insisted that he acted in self-defense because he feared the 63-year-old Cuban man would attack him with a gun

Delfino then ran to the car to stop it and Lyle followed by leaving the vehicle to confront Hernandez Sr. and punched him in the face.

Hernandez Sr., who was unarmed, was left lying on the floor alone as Lyle and his family drove away.

He suffered a traumatic brain injury and died four days later while hospitalized.

During the sentencing hearing, Lyle's wife, his brother-in-law and his sister addressed the court.

Lyle's lawyers argued that he acted in self-defense. They also said that there were inconsistencies in the evidence during the trial.

However, Tinkler Mendez said that Lyle erred in judgement and acted 'out of anger.'

'The evidence shows that the action of Mr. Lyle was an act of violence,' the judge said. 'Mr. Lyle has to be held responsible for those actions.'

Lyle has 30 days to appeal the sentence.
Private companies have now poured $4.2 billion in northern Central America under the Biden administration, a welcome investment the White House credits to Vice President Kamala Harris' work to address the 'root causes' of migration.

That figure is up from $3.2 billion last year and includes money from retailers like Target and Columbia Sportswear, among around 45 other companies.

The announcement comes just as Harris is expected to meet with business and government leaders in Washington on Monday to launch a new effort called Central America Forward, focused on economic development and labor rights as well as a push to tackle corruption, an administration official said on a call with reporters.

President Biden tapped Harris to lead efforts to reduce migration at the U.S.-Mexico border in March 2021, making her the target of conservative ire as migration figures continued to swell to record highs.

As pressure grew for Harris to visit the border, the White House later clarified Harris was only tasked with addressing 'root causes' for migration - like crime and poverty.

Vice President Kamala Harris talks about the root cause of migration as some Democrats question her place on the 2024 ticket

Columbia committed to purchasing $200 million in products, creating 6,900 jobs in the region over five years. Millicom committed to investing an additional $350 million in broadband by 2025, in addition to its $700 million commitment for 2023 and 2024.

Nestle and Nescafe committed to supporting more than 7,500 coffee producers, while Honduran Coffee Company and Grupo Cadelga committed to partnering with the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) to assist over 10,000 coffee farmers.

Harris focused her efforts on increasing investment in the northern triangle countries - El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras.

Concerns of corruption have led companies to back out of millions of dollars' worth of investments, however.

Arrivals from northern triangle countries have declined since mid-2021, while migration from other regions has soared.

In December, U.S. officials counted 42,637 encounters with Cubans 35,389 encounters with Nicaraguans - all-time monthly highs for both nationalities. In total border agents processed nationals from Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador only 33,000 times in total.

Border officials had been preparing to end Title 42, a Covid-era CDC emergency order that allowed for immediate expulsion, in December, but the Supreme Court put those plans on hold while it considers a request by GOP-led states that want the Trump-era policy to be left in place.

Pictured a hole cut into the US Mexican border fence in El Paso, Texas, December 27, 2022. (Christopher Oquendo for DailyMail.com)

A Nicaraguan family crosses the Rio Grande River from Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua state, Mexico to El Paso, Texas, US to ask for political asylum on December 27, 2022.

Harris has a lower approval rating than Biden, which means she could act as a drag on his reelection chances, according to rolling averages of poll results

The announcement comes on the heels of yet another unflattering report about America's first female and first black and Asian vice president.

The New York Times reported Monday:

'In private conversations over the last few months, dozens of Democrats in the White House, on Capitol Hill and around the nation  including some who helped put her on the party's 2020 ticket  said she had not risen to the challenge of proving herself as a future leader of the party, much less the country.'

'Even some Democrats whom her own advisers referred reporters to for supportive quotes confided privately that they had lost hope in her,' the report added.

While questions arise whether Biden will be up to the task of another term in the White House - which would draw to a close when he is 86 - 'most' Democrats privately admit his second-in-command is likely not up to the task either.

'I can't think of one thing she's done except stay out of the way and stand beside him at certain ceremonies,' John Morgan, a prominent Democratic fundraiser, told the Times.

Harris' approval rating sits at around 39 percent, according to poll aggregator FiveThirtyEight.

The report notes that Harris 'all but went into a bunker for about a year' after a calamitous interview with NBC's Lester Holt in June 2021.

'Do you have any plans to visit the border?' Holt asked during the VP's trip to Guatemala, at the time her first international trip of the new administration.

'We've been to the border. So, this whole thing about the border. We've been to the border. We've been to the border,' she repeated.

'You haven't been to the border,' Holt pushed back.

'And I haven't been to Europe,' Harris snapped, then quickly turned it into her signature laugh.

'And I mean, I don't understand the point that you're making,' she said to Holt 'I'm not discounting the importance of the border.'

And later that month, she scheduled a trip to El Paso, Texas to tour facilities and say she had been to the border.
As Navy divers work to recover debris from the downed Chinese spy balloon, a top general said Monday that the U.S. is investigating whether it was carrying explosives, describing it as 200-feet tall, weighing thousands of pounds and with a payload the size of a jetliner.

'So, I can't confirm whether it had explosives or not. Anytime you down something like this, we make an assumption that that potential exists,' said Air Force Gen. Glen D. VanHerck, commander of U.S. Northern Command, on a briefing call with reporters.

'We did not associate the potential of having explosives with a threat to dropping weapons, those kinds of things, but out of a precaution, abundance of safety for not only our military people and the public, we have to make assumptions such as that.'

The general's description followed a briefing by National Security Council spokesman John Kirby, who defended President Joe Biden's decision to wait and shoot down the Chinese craft until it was over South Carolina's coastline on Saturday.

'Because the president decided they wouldn't shoot it down until he could do so safely - and that meant over water - that afforded us a terrific opportunity to gain a better understanding, to study the capabilities of this balloon,' he told reporters on a call.

The Chinese spy balloon was 200 feet tall, weighed thousands of pounds and its payload was the size of a jetliner, a top Pentagon official said Monday

The Chinese spy balloon after it was shot down by an F-22 on Saturday over South Carolina's coastline

Biden ordered the balloon shot down Wednesday, but under the advice of the U.S. military, it was held off until Saturday, with the Air Force sending an F-22 fighter jet armed with an AIM-9X Sidewinder missile to do the job over water.

The delay opened Biden up to political attacks from Republicans, many of whom demanded it shot down above land shortly after it was first reported to be flying above Montana.

'The time that we had to study this balloon over the course of a few days last week, we believe was important and will give us a lot more clarity, not only on the capabilities that these balloons have, but what China is trying to do with them,' Kirby said.

'It hasn't gotten a lot of attention and I understand there's criticism over the fact that it traversed the United States, but again, we took steps to mitigate whatever collection capability that balloon would have over our sensitive military sites,' he added.

Kirby wouldn't specify what precautions were taken during the balloon's multi-day flyover.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre echoed the point during her Monday briefing.

'Shooting the balloon down over water wasn't just the safest option, it might maximize the chance of recovering the payload,' she said.

Video of balloon debris was shared by South Carolina news outlets, coming in on a boat near North Myrtle Beach on Sunday.

The remains of the Chinese spy balloon are seen on a boat near North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina

John Kirby, National Security Council Coordinator for Strategic Communications, answers questions about the Chinese spy balloon and the U.S. military response

The debris field is the size of 'more than 15 football fields by 15 football fields, according to the Pentagon.

VanHerck said the majority of the debris had been collected, but there was a possibility some could come ashore, and warned people to call the authorities and stay away from it.

Weather conditions had yet to allow undersea recovery efforts to fully begin, Kirby said.

But Kirby argued that the remains of the balloon would be helpful to the U.S.

'Our efforts to surveil this balloon and what we will learn from the recovery will prove to be valuable,' he said.

In this photo provided by Brian Branch, a large balloon drifts above the Kingstown, N.C. area, with an airplane and its contrail seen below it.

Kirby declined to answer a question about whether Chinese President Xi Jinping had ordered the balloon mission or was even aware of it.

'I would like to refrain from getting into any discussions about our intelligence assessments of this,' he said.

Kirby noted the balloon incident 'has done nothing to help improve the U.S.-China bilateral relationship.'

Secretary of State Antony Blinken delayed a planned trip to China over the balloon debacle.

Chinese balloons flew over the U.S. three times during former President Donald Trump's administration, with Biden administration officials saying that those flights weren't known about until after the current president was sworn-in.

Biden officials have said they would brief Trump-era officials on the balloon flights, but neither Kirby nor Jean-Pierre would say which officials would receive the briefings and whether that would include the ex-president himself.

'I will say that from every indication that we have that was for brief periods of time, nothing at all like what we saw last week, in terms of duration,' Kirby said of the previous balloon incursions.
Two people have been arrested after an extremist plot to destroy energy substations across Baltimore was thwarted by the FBI.

Sarah Beth Clendaniel, 34, of Maryland, and Brandon Clint Russell, 27, of Florida, have been charged with planning to target the city's energy grid, with the attack believed to be driven by 'racially or ethnically motivated violent extremist beliefs.'

Their arrest was announced Monday by the FBI and US Attorney's Office in Baltimore after the couple were taken into custody last week, as authorities said the two extremists planned to bring the city to a standstill.

Clendaniel and Russell now face a litany of criminal charges, including conspiracy to destroy an energy facility, with FBI officials saying that they believe a 'real threat' had been thwarted.

Images of the Maryland woman show her dressed in full tactical gear bearing swastika insignia, while Russell is allegedly a well-known neo-Nazi figure. Authorities said the couple has a documented 'personal as well as online relationship.'

Sarah Beth Clendaniel, pictured, has been seen dressed in full tactical gear with swastika insignia and holding a rifle

The duo planned to target the city's energy grid, with the attack believed to stem from 'racially or ethnically motivated violent extremist beliefs'

Clendaniel's plan was unearthed after she was recorded by an FBI informant revealing the plot to destroy five substations across the city, according to an affidavit filed by an FBI agent.

She revealed that if she and Russell hit all of their targets in the same day, they believed their plot would 'destroy this whole city' and that a 'good four or five shots through the center of them' was all it would take.

She further added the attack 'would probably permanently completely lay this city to waste if we could do that successfully.'

During their investigation, the FBI obtained a manifesto written by Clendaniel about the extremist plot, where she allegedly references notorious individuals including Hitler and the Unabomber Ted Kaczynski.

Erek L. Barron, U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland, said in a statement: 'This planned attack threatened lives and would have left thousands of Marylanders in the cold and dark.

'We are united and committed to using every legal means necessary to disrupt violence, including hate-fueled attacks.'

Special Agent Thomas J. Sobocinski, of the FBI Baltimore Field Office, said authorities were continuing to look into extremist threats following the arrest.

'The threat posed by domestic violent extremists is evolving and persistent,' he said.

'The FBI will continue to work closely with our law enforcement and private sector partners to identify and disrupt any potential threat to the safety of our citizens.

'The accused were not just talking, but taking steps to fulfill their threats and further their extremist goals.

'Russell provided instructions and location information. He described attacking the power transformers as the greatest thing somebody can do.

'Their actions threatened the electricity and heat of our homes, hospitals, and businesses.'

Brandon Russell, pictured, is a founding member of neo-Nazi group Atomwaffen Division, and he previously served time in prison for possessing bomb making materials

Sarah Beth Clendaniel, pictured, was previously convicted for robbing convenience stores, and she has since been pictured wearing tactical gear bearing swastikas and Nazi-insignia

Russell was only recently released from prison after he was convicted for possessing bomb making materials in 2018. Authorities say that he met Clendaniel while she was serving her own prison sentence for robbing convenience stores.

The two ex-convicts then hatched their extremist plot following their release from prison while on probation.

The affidavit on their arrest alleges that Russell provided critical information and instructions for the attack, which he began plotting from at least June 2022 after he became driven by his 'racially or ethnically motivated violent extremist beliefs.'

Russell is one of the founders of neo-Nazi group Atomwaffen Division, which plans on 'ushering in the collapse of civilization', according to the Southern Poverty Law Center.

The far-right figurehead caused controversy just six months into his prison sentence when he released a statement to his followers, who he thanked for their 'undying loyalty.'

In his prison statement, he warned: 'The sword has been drawn. There is no turning back.'

Russell plotted to maximize the impact of the planned energy grid attack by hitting multiple substations at one time, which he believed would cause a 'cascading failure', according to court documents.

He conspired with Clendaniel as the two also sought to secure weapons and identify appropriate substations to carry out the attack, and several news outlets have indicated Baltimore may have been targeted due to its majority-black population.

If convicted, Russell and Clendaniel each face a up to 20 years in federal prison for conspiracy to damage an energy facility, prosecutors said.

Clendaniel reportedly conspired to secure weaponry as part of the extremist plot to leave Baltimore in the dark

The thwarted attack saw the two extremists aim to use numerous weapons to destroy several Baltimore substations instantaneously

Former Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Brian Harrell told Fox News Digital on Monday that attacks on energy facilities are an attractive target for those who seek to cause maximum damage.

'The utility sector has a real problem on its hands,' he said.

'Power stations are an attractive target and domestic terror groups know that destroying this infrastructure can have a crippling effect on industry, citizens, and local governments.

'Attacker(s) undoubtedly understand what to shoot at and what assets are the most critical in a substation.

'It's difficult to protect all energy assets. This would have an enormous price tag that utility customers would have to pay.'

The thwarted attack comes after a series of other assaults on the nation's power grid in recent months, although it is unclear whether the incidents are related.

In early December two electrical substations were attacked in North Carolina, which left more than 45,000 homes and businesses without power.

A further attack was later carried out on four substations over Christmas near Tacoma, Washington, which left around 14,000 homes and businesses without power.
Chilling audio of the 911 dispatch call made after Massachusetts mother Lindsay Clancy strangled her three children then attempted to kill herself has been made public.

The audio reveals her extensive injuries, including cuts on her wrists and lacerations, which she is believed to have inflicted on herself before jumping from a window of her home.

Lindsay, 32, was suffering severe postpartum depression and had been prescribed an 'over the top' cocktail of pills that her forgiving husband believes are to blame for the tragedy.

She survived the suicide attempt and remains in custody under doctors' care awaiting trial on murder charges for the deaths of her children Cora, five, Dawson, three, and baby Callan, eight months.

Lindsay Clancy with her husband Patrick and their oldest children, Cora, five, and Dawson, three. She

The audio does not include the 911 call made by her husband Patrick Clancy, who found her lying outside their home after returning from collecting takeout food for the family.

Clancy's lawyer, Kevin J Reddington, previously told a judge that the drugs Lindsay had been prescribed left her feeling feeling like a 'zombie'.

Investigators are now probing the theory that she might have been suffering from post-partum psychosis.

'We've got a person who suffered grievously as a result of what possibly could be postpartum depression, postpartum psychosis,' he said.

He also described the 'horrific' combination of prescription drugs Lindsay had been given.

Reddington says that between October and January, Clancy was prescribed a dozen medications: Zolpidem which is sold under the brand name Ambien, clonazepam, which is sold under the brand name of Klonopin, diazepam which is sold under the brand name Valium, fluoxetine which is sold under the brand name Prozac, lamotrigine, which is sold under the brand name Lamictil, lorazepam, which is sold under the brand name Ativan, mirtazapine, which is sold under the brand name Remeron, quetiapine fumarate, which is sold under the brand name Seroquel, and trazodone.

After strangling the kids, Lindsay tried to cut her own wrists. She then jumped from a window at the family home. Baby Callan, eight months, died in the hospital. Cora and Dawson died at home

The family's home in Duxbury, Massachusetts. Lindsay, a midwife, jumped from a window on the top floor

'One of the major issues here is the horrific overmedication of drugs that caused homicidal ideation, suicidal ideation.

'They [Lindsay and her husband Patrick] went to doctors repeatedly saying "please help us."

'This was turning her into a zombie...the medications that were prescribed were over the top, absolutely over the top.

'She had medical care and treatment on a regular basis. And her husband was very proactive in trying to protect her and help her with the doctors' medication she was prescribed.

'They went through hell  and they didn't come back,' he said.

He intends to use this as his defense against murder charges. Patrick, her husband, says he has forgiven her.

Patrick, her husband, says he has forgiven his wife, who is 'loving'. The family say she was prescribed an 'over the top' cocktail of drugs to treat post partum depression

In a GoFundMe message to friends and strangers who have raised $1million for him, he said: 'I want to ask all of you that you find it deep within yourselves to forgive Lindsay, as I have.

'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.'

Lindsay remains in the care of doctors in a Boston hospital.
Rishi Sunak appears to have ruled out an increase in defence spending despite Britain's commitment to the war in Ukraine.

The UK's Armed Forces have supplied billions of pounds worth of vital military kit to Kyiv since before the Russian invasion in February last year.

Sending long-range guns, shoulder-fired rocket launchers and ammunition to Ukraine has in turn made Britain 'weaker', according to top brass.

Yet the Prime Minister is said to be resisting any significant boost to military spending in next month's Budget.

His apparent unwillingness to offer more cash has caused deep alarm among senior officers and MPs, who feel his position fails to recognise the threat to UK security posed by Vladimir Putin.

The Prime Minister is said to be resisting any significant boost to military spending in next month's Budget

German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius rides a tank as he visits the Leopard II tanks that are due to be supplied to Ukraine. Sending weapons to Ukraine has made Britain 'weaker', top brass has said

Today Tobias Ellwood, chair of the Commons defence select committee, said: 'The Treasury's pitch is being rolled to suggest no major changes in the peacetime defence budget  let alone reversing the swathing cuts of the recent past.

'Since then the threat picture has severely deteriorated, demands on our military have increased, as has the need to desperately replenish and upgrade our stockpiles of equipment and ammunition.

'We should remind ourselves how we earned our permanent seat on the UN Security Council  by stepping forward when other nations hesitated.

'We must see improvements in our hard power  otherwise our soft power is undermined and could eventually see us losing that seat at the UN.

Rishi Sunak's silence on defence has led to accusations the UK is no longer a 'tier one' fighting force

'It is up to the Treasury and No 10 to recognise the world is changing. We are now at war in Europe, we need to move to a war footing.'

With just weeks to go before Mr Sunak's Budget, Defence Secretary Ben Wallace is holding crisis meetings with Treasury officials in a desperate bid to secure a funding increase.

Tobias Ellwood, chair of the Commons defence committee, said it was crucial that Britain protect and improve its hard power

The former Scots Guards officer recently accused Conservative governments of 'hollowing out' the UK's Armed Forces.

Despite this pressure from Mr Wallace, along with a recent intervention by former PM Boris Johnson, Mr Sunak has refused to make any commitments on defence spending.

The Prime Minister's predecessor Liz Truss pledged she would spend 3 per cent of GDP on defence  a promise that earned her Mr Wallace's backing in last year's Tory leadership run-off against Mr Sunak.

A fleet of Challenger 2 tanks has been sent to Ukraine to help the war effort

Mr Johnson meanwhile committed the UK to 2.5 per cent of GDP on defence by 2030 before he left Downing Street.

Mr Sunak has signalled he does not believe in arbitrary targets. However, such figures are valued by Nato.

The military alliance expects members to spend at least 2 per cent of GDP on defence, although most fall short of this target.

The UK is only just hitting this target, while the United States is spending closer to 4 per cent on defence and Russia 5 per cent.

Mr Sunak's silence on defence has led to accusations the UK is no longer a 'tier one' fighting force.

Last week it was reported a US general told Mr Wallace that the UK has been incapable of protecting itself or its allies over the last decade.

As a proportion of GDP, UK defence spending has halved since the 1980s, while the Army is the smallest it has been for four centuries.

The Royal Navy is also less than half the size it was in 1982  when it led the UK task force that recaptured the Falkland Islands following the Argentine invasion.

The reduction in frigates and destroyers is particularly stark: in 1982 there were 64 of these, while this year there are 18.

Senior diplomatic sources also indicated today that the UK is 'under-delivering'.

In November 2022, Mr Wallace told Parliament that the British Army would now be reduced to 73,000 by the middle of the decade

Quarterly figures from the Ministry of Defence show that in 2022 there were just over 145,000 regular Armed Forces personnel.

This represented a fall of 14 per cent on ten years ago, when there were 169,150 personnel, and the figure is set to decrease further.

In November 2022, Mr Wallace told Parliament that the British Army would now be reduced to 73,000 by the middle of the decade.

The MoD was also the only department on the receiving end of budget cuts at the government spending review in October 2021.

The ministry's most recent annual staff costs were just under 15billion and the ministry can expect calls  as the UK has seen in other sectors  for pay increases to protect the real-terms pay of military personnel.

Rising global energy prices are also likely to put pressure on MoD spending, with recent figures showing a spend of around 600million per year on energy and fuel.

Quizzed on the US general's private comments last week, the Prime Minister's spokesman said the Government is 'ensuring our Armed Forces have the equipment and capability they need to meet the threats of tomorrow, including through a fully funded 242billion ten-year equipment plan'.

'The Prime Minister is clear that we have to do everything necessary to protect our people. That's why the UK has the largest defence budget in Europe,' the spokesman added.
London mayor Sadiq Khan has urged the leaders of four councils in the city to drop their opposition to his expansion of the ultra low emission zone (Ulez).

Mr Khan wrote to the leaders of Bexley, Bromley, Harrow and Hillingdon councils over their potential legal challenge to the 110million ULEZ scrappage scheme, calling the measure 'wholly without merit and misconceived'.

He has insisted that the expansion, set to take place to cover the whole of the capital from August 29, is not a 'money-making venture'.

All four councils are currently examining the legal basis of Mr Khan's decision to plough ahead with the expansion, despite his own consultation showing that 80 per cent of local businesses and employees in outer London were opposed.

The council's have served a Pre Action Protocol letter to the Mayor's office and Transport for London (TfL) 'seeking further information to demonstrate the lawfulness of the decision they have made', Councillor Colin Smith, Leader of Bromley Council said.

Mr Khan (pictured) has insisted that the expansion, set to take place to cover the whole of the capital from August 29, is not a 'money-making venture'

The ultra-low emission zone is to be expanded in August to cover the whole of Greater London - seen here in purple

READ MORE: Sadiq Khan sparks fury over the 110m ULEZ scrappage scheme Advertisement

'The decision to blatantly ignore a significant majority opinion of Londoners who responded to TfL's consultation exercise, based on the highly questionable, selective and incomplete findings of a research paper commissioned by TfL themselves, simply cannot be allowed to pass unchallenged,' he added.

'The scheme isn't actually about air quality in the final analysis. The stealthy, unstated and cynical intention remains, under the guise of ULEZ, to erect a network of traffic cameras across the whole of the capital which can then be used at the flick of a switch to introduce road price charging for all.

'Whether that is a good thing, or bad thing, clearly depends on your point of view, but it should at least be fully debated and publicly scrutinised as a policy initiative in its own right, rather than slyly slipped in through the back door under a false agenda as a fait accompli.'

Legal advice is now being taken by the councils, ahead of a possible judicial review.

In a statement released last week, Mr Smith said on behalf of all the councils: 'There are many principles at stake here which go to the heart of local democracy.

'I know that residents will understand that we cannot disclose the nature of the legal discussions, but I thank them for the support they have shown and I am pleased to re-confirm Bromley's absolute opposition to Mr Khan's proposed expansion of ULEZ.'

TfL is expecting net income from the Ulez to fall to 'nominal levels within the next few years', Mr Khan has written to the councils. He stated that all net revenue will be reinvested back into transport in London until that time.

Currently, the Ulez is limited to an area within the north and south Circular roads. Drivers who do not meet minimum emissions standards are charged a 12.50 daily fee for entering the zone.

Currently, the Ulez is limited to an area within the north and south Circular roads. Drivers who do not meet minimum emissions standards are charged a 12.50 daily fee for entering the zone.

Londoners can apply for a means-tested grant of up to 2,000 to scrap their non ULEZ-compliant cars or motorcycles. But the decision to push ahead with the expansion during the cost-of-living crisis has been met with outrage.

Fears have been expressed about the financial hit for emergency workers - such as nurses driving to hospitals for night shifts - as well tradespeople who need to take vans into the capital.

Mr Khan wrote to the councils that he is 'determined to reduce the toxic air in our city, which leads to around 4,000 Londoners dying prematurely every year'.

'Instead of pursuing an expensive legal challenge funded by local residents, I would hope you would work with me to help clean up the dirty air that's blighting our city and the lives of those we represent,' he added.

It comes after Mr Khan was blasted as a 'conman' over his plans by 58-year-old lorry driver Angie Donnelly during a question and answer session about the cost-of-living crisis with Money Saving Expert Martin Lewis at City Hall.

As she was escorted from the hall by security, she shouted: 'Youre not a mayor, you're not a people person, youre a conman.'

Mr Khan is under pressure to reconsider the expansion, but he has dismissed the anger and has hit out at 'vested interests'.

Questioned by the Commons Levelling Up, Housing and Communities Committee about the Transport for London consultation into the Ulez expansion, he made a comparison with the Brexit vote, telling MPs: 'Here's the difference - a brave, strong leader doesn't rely upon referenda to decide policy.

'It was a consultation, not a referenda. It's a weak, ineffectual leader who throws red meat to his party and is scared of [Nigel] Farage - that's a referendum.'

'A bold leader takes tough decisions. I've taken a tough decision and I stand by it.'

Mr Khan described toxic air as a 'killer' and compared his expansion of Ulez to the 2007 ban on smoking in public places.
Kim Jong Un has not been seen in public for 35 days ahead of a mass parade in Pyongyang this week which will celebrate the 75th anniversary of the North Korean military.

This comes as the dictator reportedly skipped a Politburo meeting where the country's agricultural issues were to be discussed, according to state media.

It was only the third time Kim has ever done so, with the other occasions coming in June and September of last year.

Earlier this month a new North Korean propaganda film looking back on last year's 'worst-ever hardships' appeared to show their authoritarian leader limping as he walked down a flight of stairs.

This latest extended period out of the public eye has sparked fresh concerns over Kim's health and a potential successor.

Kim Jong Un was also absent from the public for 35 days at the end of 2021

The North Korean leader in December last year in Pyongyang with representatives from the Korean Boy Scouts

Kim attending a ceremony where the new super-large multiple rocker launchers were presented before a meeting of the ruling Workers' Party of Korea

Kim's 35 day absence from the public matches another period of non-presence at the end of 2021, a state media site reported.

READ MORE: Kim Jong-un can 'SPY on my bedroom' Advertisement

The leader is still, however, expected to attend the nation's huge military parade this week, which could be held alternatively as early as Tuesday.

According to satellite imagery from the US-based monitoring site 38 North, preparations for celebrating the foundation of the Korean People's Army have been taking place in freezing conditions since January.

Military aircrafts have been spotted flying at low altitude at night in central Pyongyang.

Recent public celebrations have been held in darkness in North Korea as reports of severe food shortages have come in.

The nation has also had to deal recently with the collapse of their uranium mine which feeds North Korea's nukes, with the scale of the disaster visible from space.
More than 200 migrants arrived in the UK over the weekend for the first time since the Home Office resumed responsibility for tackling the crisis.

The Royal Navy has been in control of migrant arrivals to the country for eight months but last week the Home Office took back control.

Saturday saw a total of 218 asylum seekers intercepted at sea by Border Force vessels.

The first arrivals - who were wrapped in blue blankets after battling cold conditions in the Channel - were brought to shore in Dover, Kent at around 6am.

Dozens more migrants made the treacherous journey across the 21-mile Dover Straits throughout the afternoon.

The Royal Navy has been in control of migrant arrivals to the country for eight months but last week the Home Office took back control. File image

Saturday saw a total of 218 asylum seekers intercepted at sea by Border Force vessels. File image

A further two, mostly-male, groups reached the UK shortly before 4pm. A few women and children were among those being helped off the vessel by Border Force officials.

According to official Home Office figures, 44 migrants made the perilous journey on Sunday.

The latest arrivals were the first to reach the UK since the Home Office unveiled its new bolstered response to curb migrant crossings on January 31.

Home Secretary Suella Braverman said government failure to stop the boats could threaten the Conservative party at the next election.

The move follows the creation announced last month of the new small boats operational command (SBOC), bringing together military and civilian staff and the National Crime Agency to co-ordinate the Government's response.

The Home Office said the SBOC - which uses drones, boats and land-based radar and cameras to track and disrupt people traffickers - will be bolstered with the recruitment of 730 additional staff.

According to the Home Office, the SBOC will track vessels on the water, identify pilots and help to bring those responsible for organising crossings to justice.

Pictured: Migrants picked up at sea while attempting to cross the English Channel, arrive at the port on UK Border Force cutter 'BF Defender' in Dover on January 2

The latest arrivals were the first to reach the UK since the Prime Minister (pictured) and the Home Office unveiled the new bolstered response to curb migrant crossings on January 31

Then prime minister Boris Johnson originally handed leadership for operations in the Channel to the Navy as a temporary measure last April but migrants continued to arrive in record numbers.

A Government spokesman said the return of responsibility to the Home Office was a 'significant landmark' in the long term to ensure the safety and sovereignty of the UK's borders and communities.

'Last year we saw an unsustainable and unacceptable number of people risking their lives to reach the UK illegally.

'This simply cannot continue and that is why we are taking immediate steps to tackle the evil people-smuggling gangs behind these deadly crossings and get our immigration system under control.

'The return of Channel primacy to the Home Office, bolstered by 730 extra staff and led by director Duncan Capps, is a significant landmark in our long-term plan to ensure the safety and sovereignty of our borders and our communities.

'We are building on the progress already made through the new deal with France, and our determination will not waiver until we stop the abuse of the asylum system and bring the smugglers responsible to justice.'

The Ministry of Defence will still provide support to the operational command unit but will have less control.

This weekend's arrivals bring the total for 2023 so far to 1,442 in 32 boats - an average of 45 people per vessel.

A total of 1,180 people crossed the Channel last month alone, with the busiest day being January 22 when 442 asylum seekers landed on British soil.

Some 1,339 made the journey in the first month of 2022, when a record 45,728 people arrived in the UK in 1,104 boats - dwarfing 2021's total of 28,526.

And officials have predicted the number of people crossing the Channel in small boats could double this year - potentially reaching 80,000 in 2023.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott on Monday announced plans to ban state workers and agencies from using TikTok, citing the risks of having data compromised.

'Texans, especially our state agencies and employees, must be protected from having sensitive information shared with the Chinese Communist Party,' he tweeted. 'We cannot ignore this security threat.'

Abbott, a potential Republican presidential candidate who has grabbed headlines by shipping buses filled with migrants and asylum seekers to to Washington and New York, cited the potential for data harvesting from the popular app.

'The security risks associated with the use of TikTok on devices used to conduct the important business of our state must not be underestimated or ignored,' he said, with an announcement that came after a U.S. military jet fired a missile at a 200-foot tall Chinese balloon that the White House said was conducting surveillance over the U.S.

Texas Republican Gov. Greg Abbott announced a plan to ban state agencies

'Owned by a Chinese company that employs Chinese Communist Party members, TikTok harvests significant amounts of data from a users device, including details about a users internet activity,' he said.

The plan would prevent state-owned devices from downloading the app.

'It is critical that state agencies and employees are protected from the vulnerabilities presented by the use of this app and other prohibited technologies as they work on behalf of their fellow Texans. He described the app an 'hostile foreign actors' as a potential threat to 'sensitive information' as well as infrastructure.

The announcement came as he released a 'model plan' for prohibited technologies that state agencies or higher eduction institutions might otherwise use.

The plan also applies to contractors who do business with the state.

Abbott is a potential 2024 presidential candidate who won reelection by a solid margin and has gotten attention on the immigration crisis, a key issue for Republican primary voters.

Abbott's announcement came after the U.S. downed a Chinese spy balloon

'We cannot ignore this security threat,' Abbott said

His China-focused move comes after House Republicans established a select committee on 'Strategic Competition between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party.'

Numerous congressional Republicans, and former President Donald Trump, have criticized President Biden for failing to shoot down the Chinese spy balloon sooner, rather than waiting for it to cross the continental U.S. first. The jet downed the balloon over the Atlantic this past weekend.

The app has tens of millions of users in the U.S., and more than a billion worldwide.
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Promises, promises! Star-crossed T.J. Holmes took his love for Amy Robach to new heights for her 50th birthday.

Despite being out of work, the former GMA3 anchor was spotted buying a gold promise ring and a chain to hang it on as he prepared for Monday, the day his sweetheart reached the half-century mark.

Holmes, 45, stopped first at David Yurman's downtown Manhattan store where he walked away with an 18-karat gold Unity Cable ring that goes for $650, part of the bridal/wedding collection.

Then he sauntered over to nearby Tiffany & Co. where he snagged a gold chain. He promptly looped the ring on to it to see how it looked before the clerk popped it into the store's distinctive robin's egg blue bag and T.J. walked away with both bags and a glint in his eye.

The thoughtful gift means Amy will be able to wear the sign of commitment around her neck pending the formal end of both their marriages.

A friend of the couple tells DailyMail.com, 'T.J. and Amy are more in love than ever.'

DailyMail.com saw T.J. Holmes shopping at David Yurman in Manhattan on Saturday for a 50th birthday gift for Amy Robach

The ousted GMA3 host is seen in exclusive DailyMail.com photos eyeing gold rings at David Yurman. He walked away with an 18k gold David Yurman Unity Cable Ring that retails for $650, part of the bridal/wedding collection

The 45-year-old then stopped by Tiffany & Co. on Wall Street for a gold chain where he tried looping the ring onto it

It's likely the gift is a promise ring for his co-star turned lover to wear around her neck until both of their divorces are finalized

While in the stores, T.J. enlisted the help of sales associates to find the perfect gift for his dear Amy

The 45-year-old braved the 10-degree weather to stop by Tiffany & Co. for a gold chain to loop the ring on. He left with the iconic blue bag

T.J. bundled up in a thick navy blue Canada Goose coat, black and white sweatpants, an army fatigue scarf and sneakers. He stopped for hot coffee in between stores to warm up during New York's big freeze this weekend.

While in the luxury stores, he enlisted the help of sales associates to find the perfect gift for his dear Amy.

While T.J. went ring hunting, Amy was seen grocery shopping in Manhattan.

The TV host carried three black grocery bags and was casual in jeans, boots and a sweater.

The celebration of Amy's Big 50 comes just days after the pair sealed the exit deal with ABC after weeks of negotiations.

A friend of the couple said they are under a lot of pressure now that they're out of a job and have divorces pending.

'It's kind of proof of how committed they are to each other that they've weathered this sh**storm after their secret love affair was exposed, they were suspended from GMA3 and then waited for agonizing weeks as ABC kept them in limbo about their future,' they said.

'But don't forget that T.J. and Amy were friends long before they were lovers. Their relationship began with an awfully strong bond that - to this point - has only become, well, more.'

An industry source said, 'What the future holds for T.J. and Amy professionally is hard to say right now. Their on-air chemistry would probably be magnified and audiences would gravitate to them. But there still a lot of baggage there - especially for him.'

While T.J. went ring shopping, Amy was seen grocery shopping in Manhattan. A friend of the couple tells DailyMail.com, 'T.J. and Amy are more in love than ever'

The TV host carried three black grocery bags and was casual in jeans, boots and a sweater. The celebration of Amy's Big 50 comes just days after the pair sealed the exit deal with ABC after weeks of negotiations

It's likely T.J.'s plan is to gift the promise ring/necklace to Amy on her 50th birthday today

A friend of the couple said they are under a lot of pressure now that they're out of a job and with divorces pending

T.J. was all smiles after a successful shopping spree to find the perfect 50th birthday gift for his dear Amy

He stopped for hot coffee in between stores to warm up during New York's big freeze this weekend

T.J. bundled up in a thick navy blue Canada Goose coat, black and white sweatpants, army fatigue scarf and sneakers

Just last week exclusive DailyMail.com photos showed the pair celebrate their exits from ABC with hugs and kisses on a sidewalk in Los Angeles.

The lovers were caught walking out of a Southern California establishment hand-in-hand, nearly two months after their affair was first made public by DailyMail.com.

At one point, Amy even jumped into T.J.'s arms, wrapping her arms and legs around him.

The public display of affection came just hours after DailyMail.com secured a copy of the email bosses sent to GMA staff, saying that after 'several productive conversations,' it was agreed it was best for the couple to 'move on from ABC News.'

The blonde journalist seemed carefree as she was seen laughing when T.J. scooped her up and she pulled her legs around him before he placed her back on the pavement.

Their afternoon antics are a sign they are free to go about their 'new normal' after weeks of firestorm and fallouts over their affair, which ABC bosses referred to as 'a distraction for so many of us.'

Just last week exclusive DailyMail.com photos showed the pair celebrated with hugs and kisses on a sidewalk in Los Angeles

T.J. and Amy were seen wrapping their arms around one another on an LA sidewalk just hours after ABC announced the pair will not be returning to GMA

An industry source said, 'What the future holds for T.J. and Amy professionally is hard to say right now. Their on-air chemistry would probably be magnified and audiences would gravitate to them'

Both Holmes and Robach have been married to their respective spouses since 2010. It is not known when or how Holmes's wife, 44-year-old attorney, Marilee Fiebig, (pictured together in 2012) and Robach's husband, former Melrose Place actor Andrew Shue, 55, (pictured right in March 2022) learned of the romance, but both couples are said to have split up in August

The co-hosts first sparked headlines after they were caught in November looking cozy as they hung out together in New York City.

They were accused of having an affair before T.J. officially filed for divorce in January. Robach's divorce is all but finalized.

Despite the circumstances of their exit, they have both been given compensation packages to leave GMA.

It was a welcome announcement for many staff members who have spent the last two months waiting for the other shoe to drop.

'They got what they deserved. It didn't help that they had few friends in the building to go to bat for either of them,' one staffer told TMZ.

It was a major shift for the ABC which initially backed their two stars and claimed they had not broken any rules when DailyMail.com exposed their affair in November.

The co-anchors were suspended from the show after initially weathering the storm. Initially they returned to the air on December 1, just one day after the scandal broke, and appeared to make subtle quips about their situation.

Four days later president of ABC Kim Godwin announced that they would not appear on air because their relationship was a 'internal and external distraction.'
A landlord has revealed real estate agents are using random selection criteria when deciding on the right tenant to rent an apartment.

The Melbourne-based landlord had hired a real estate agent to find a tenant for their property.

They revealed that 18 people had submitted an application, but the real estate agent shortlisted only two.

A landlord has revealed real estate agents are using random selection criteria when deciding on the right tenant to rent an apartment (pictured, prospective tenants outside a Sydney rental property)

The Melbourne-based landlord had hired a real estate agent to find a tenant for their property (stock image)

The landlord said they had no idea how the two tenants were chosen and said it painted an 'unsettling' picture of the unpredictable vetting process.

'That means 16 didn't even get put in front of us,' the landlord wrote on Reddit.

'To me, this is very unsettling for renters to not even be shown to prospective landlords and that REAs (real estate agents) have a lot of power.

'We picked one of two without asking for the others  my SO (significant other) isn't one to push here, and it's their apartment.

'I would have but even then, we would have had 17 unlucky applicants.'

University of Sydney lecturer Laurence Troy said real estate agents considered many factors when deciding whether a tenant was right for a house or apartment.

Some of the factors were discriminatory and included things like race.

Pet ownership, family size and marital status were among the details that were also taken into consideration by real estate agents.

'At least of a few applications  probably most of them  will be axed based on any kind of metric the estate agent has cooked up to determine whether the tenant passes a certain threshold,' he told news.com.au.

University of Sydney lecturer Laurence Troy said real estate agents considered many factors when deciding whether a tenant was right for a house or apartment (pictured, prospective tenants in Sydney)

Shelter NSW secretary Sophia Maalsen said single women were the favourite pick as they were considered to be 'less risky'.

She added single parents would have a tough time finding a spot as well as another group.

'Women who have been victims of domestic violence  which can be inferred due to a rocky rental history, periods living in a shelter, or living at addresses where there have been domestic disputes  are also frequently rejected,' she said.

The Melbourne-based landlord said they were curious what factors were taken into consideration by their real estate agent.

'Maybe it's more money, maybe it's a sparkling personality,' they wrote.

'Maybe it's calling after an application to see what they can do in future and therefore maybe get offered something else.

'Good luck to everyone looking! I really hope we find a solution to this problem quick smart.'
ARE YOU A CUSTOMER OF TERMINAL UNIVERSAL LTD AFFECTED BY THEFT?

A family who paid 166 for Heathrow's official 'secure parking' were shocked when vital parts were stolen - effectively writing off their Subaru.

Oliver and Amy Clague had taken their one-year-old son Jack on holiday to Canada and parked in Heathrow's official long-stay car park, believing it would protect their vehicle.

The Bristol couple had not slept for more than 24 hours when they returned to find essential parts, including their catalytic converter, had been stolen.

On their return to the UK on January 28, their car made a concerning noise and when TV Director Oliver checked under bonnet, parts were missing.

It comes as at least 80 holidaymakers had their cars allegedly stolen after paying up to 145 to park them with a meet-and-greet firm at Heathrow Airport over the last month.

Oliver and Amy Clague had taken their one-year-old son Jack on holiday to Canada and parked in Heathrow's official long-stay car park

Oliver and Amy Clague were in 'disbelief' when they found their car had to be towed and potentially written off after their holiday

The Clagues had 'paid extra' to park in Heathrow's official long-stay car park while they were in Canada.

They thought it would 'be much safer' for their car - however were shocked to find that theft 'happens often there'.

Oliver, who works as a TV director, said: 'We were absolutely exhausted, we had just gotten off of the shuttle bus and I'd left my wife and son at the bus stop whilst I went and got the car.

READ MORE: Up to 80 holidaymakers a year have cars stolen after paying 145 for car park Advertisement

'When I got into the car and started it up it made the loudest noise, so I called my friend who's a mechanic and asked him why the car would sound like that.

'He told me to look under the front and check that nothing is missing, I looked under and could see a pipe that should connect to something with a big gap.

'He told me that people were going round stealing catalyst converters. I was in shock and disbelief when I went back to my wife and crying baby.

'When I told her part of our engine had been stolen she couldn't quite believe it either.

'It just didn't occur to me that my car wouldn't be safe - the car park is branded as safe and secure on the website with 24/7 patrols.

'We paid more to stay in the official Heathrow secure parking, we care a lot about our car

The family pressed an emergency button at the bus stop to summon a parking attendant who 'didn't seem shocked' about the incident.

A catalyst converter costs between 150 and 800 on average in the UK, and can be removed from a car relatively easily.

The family were told by the person who towed their car that he had seen this happen to other cars in the car park.

The family car, which the family had paid 166 to park in a 'secure' car park, may have to be written off

Essential parts of the car had been roughly torn off when the family returned to the car park on January 28

The family's luggage outside of their car. Oliver Clague said if he had known that problems with the car park were common he would have taken a taxi

The family car had to be towed from the car park after thieves stole essential parts from under the bonnet

The car is now with the family's insurance, who are assessing the damage.

However Oliver said there is a strong possibility they'll write the car off as catalyst converters are so expensive to replace.

He said: 'The whole thing is a shock to me.

'We have good insurance thankfully but there's a good chance the insurance will write the car off which is not an ideal outcome as the money we'll get won't be enough for a new car.

'After it happened, I Googled it and it's been reported that it's happened before. If I had known I never would have parked there, it would have been cheaper to get a taxi.

'The Parking attendant told me that after Covid layoffs, they just couldn't get the staff back. So there's not enough people to patrol all the cars in there - it's huge.'

The family pressed an emergency button at the bus stop to summon a parking attendant who 'didn't seem shocked' about the incident

Oliver emailed Heathrow to make them aware of the incident but the airport initially refused to offer a refund

Oliver emailed Heathrow to make them aware of the incident however Heathrow said they were 'unable to accept liability and therefore unable to offer a refund of any kind at this time.'

The family did eventually receive a refund for their parking, however feel like they need to 'warn others' of the problem.

Oliver added: 'All of this has happened because because we tried to find the most secure car park. I just want to warn people not to park there.

'If Heathrow are saying they're providing a safe and secure parking service, then how are they not responsible when a part of my car gets stolen.

'It seems like Heathrow don't care and don't want to help unless they have to. Even with a refund, 166 doesn't help fix the car or deal with the stress of not having one at all.'

Heathrow has been approached for a comment.
A gay stepfather has claimed the lead pastor of a Christian academy and church told him he could not pick up his daughter from school because gay couples aren't welcome.

Don Williams and Jose Ortega said they were confronted by Heart Cry Christian Academy Pastor Billy VanCamp when they went to collect their 10-year-old daughter's Queen Creek city Baptist school in January.

The child is from William's first marriage.

The couple said the daughter's mother enrolled her in the school, and they had no idea 'homosexuality' wasn't allowed among parents.

Ortega claimed he was told by VanCamp that he was prohibited from picking up his step-daughter since he wasn't a blood relative and was gay.

'He made it clear to us that people bring their kids to him to stay away from people like us,' Ortega told AZ Central.

Don Williams (right) and Jose Ortega (left) claimed they were confronted by Heart Cry Christian Academy Pastor Billy VanCamp and were told they aren't welcome on campus

Pastor Billy VanCamp supposedly pulled the men aside and told Jose Ortega he couldn't pick his step-daughter up because he is gay and not a blood relative

During the meeting, which occurred in a private space, the couple claimed they felt threatened.

'I said, "I'm still her stepdad, and as long as she is in my life and as long as she is attending the school, I'm going to be a part of it,"' Ortega said.

'And he said, "Well, you are not welcome here." So, I was like, "Are you threatening me?" And he said, "Try me." Clearly, he is threatening me, and, at that point, I felt very unsafe.'

Williams claims a school employee said if they would've known the child had gay dads, she wouldn't have been eligible for enrollment.

'Supposedly, as her father, I can pick her up and drop her off. I, supposedly, can come to any school event, but they have made it known that I am not welcomed at all.' Williams said.

'They have made us feel completely uncomfortable and unsafe even going there.'

Representatives from Heart Cry Christian Academy weren't immediately available to DailyMail.com for a comment.

The couple moved to Arizona in September after their daughter's mother relocated from California to the desert state.

Williams fears his daughter will be taught anti-gay teachings that will turn her against him.

'One of my fears is the fact that she's in that school and they're brainwashing her, and they're telling her that it's not OK for me to be me,' Williams said.

The Christian academy is rooted in Southern Baptist beliefs and is connected to the Heart Cry Church (above). The school shares the same campus as the church

The Christian academy is rooted in Southern Baptist beliefs and is connected to the Heart Cry Church where VanCamp is the lead pastor.

Tuition to attend the school is $8,000 - but a public state program provides parents with education vouchers up to $7,999 to enroll their child in a private or charter school.

While it is unclear if Williams' daughter is attending the school with the help of a voucher, an Arizona Department of Education representative told the AZ Central that issue is to be dealt with in court and the department will not be involved.

Lawyers further added that even if a publicly funded voucher was used to pay for the 10-year-old's tuition, private institutions disregard the nondiscrimination law, according to the news outlet.
A politician in the west-central Brazilian state of Mato Groso is still in pain a week after a doctor left scissors in his abdomen after removing a tumor from his intestine.

Cleyton Zanatta underwent intestinal surgery at Colider Regional Hospital on January 20 and began to feel pain in his stomach after he was discharged and sent home.

The 46-year-old, who holds a seat theNova Santa Helena city council, visited a clinic on January 26 and had a CT scan that shockingly revealed the object was still in his stomach.

Zanatta was rushed to Colider Regional Hospital for an operation to have the scissors removed and was discharged two days later.

Cleyton Zanatta, a councilman in the Brazilian city of Nova Santa Helena, is home recovering after he had scissors taken out from his abdomen that was left inside following a January 20 surgery to remove a tumor from his intestine

The scissors were left inside the councilman's abdomen on January 20 and removed eight days later

The councilman told Brazilian news outlet G1 that he still has to go for further testing and told his doctor that he is still experiencing a lot of headaches.

'He told me that this is part of it because I received two anesthesias in less than a week,' Zanatta said. 'But I'm already at home, thank God.'

The State Department of Health is currently investigating the medical facility as to why the surgical instrument was left in Zenatta's stomach

Zanatta is unsure if he will be seeking legal action against Colider Regional Hospital and their surgeon.

'Just having this tumor removed, which was positive, I'm going to have to go through the doctor and have a follow-up,' the councillor said. 'At the moment, I don't think about that. But we'll see what happens from now on.'

Councilman Zanatta said he is not sure if he will be filing a lawsuit against the hospital and doctor who left scissors in his abdomen

Zanatta's case brought back memories of a patient who had metal forceps left inside the abdomen following a seven-hour surgery at Alexandra Hospital in Worcestershire, England, on November 23, 2002.

Doctors noticed the blunder while analyzing an x-ray while the patient was under anesthesia. The object was removed the following day.

In March 2022, Ivan Chavez, 59, died at a Venezuelan hospital several days after doctors left scissors in his stomach after completing an operation for diverticulitis.

Chavez started to feel sick after the March 20 operation and encountered problems swallowing food and going to the restroom.

After not responding to several rounds of medicine, doctors at the medical facility performed an x-ray and discovered the object in his abdomen on March 24. He died five days later.
There are growing calls for laws against Deepfake technology following a porn scandal that has rocked the world of young, online Twitch influencers.

Multiple young, female Twitch stars were disgusted to discover their images on a deepfake porn website earlier this month, where they were seen to be engaging in sex acts.

They had not consented to their images being used in the footage, nor were they even aware of them.

Terrifyingly, the creator - who has not been publicly named - was able to manipulate their likeness to make it appear as though they had taken part in the filming.

The scandal came to a head last week when one of the victims, 28-year-old QTCinderella, posted a tearful video begging people to stop accessing the images.

The scandal came to a head last week when one of the victims, 28-year-old QTCinderella, posted a tearful video begging people to stop accessing the images

She has now vowed to sue the creator responsible, who has since removed the content.

The creator has not been publicly named. They are said to have scrubbed all traces of their old site from the internet after posting an apology.

The incident has sparked fears among young internet influencers and the wider public about the extent to which the advanced AI technology can be harmful.

Among those who discovered they were on the site was 32-year-old British Twitch star Sweet Anita.

I saw myself in positions I would never agree to, doing things I would never want to do. And it was quite horrifying

'I literally choose to pass up millions by not going into sex work and some random cheeto-encrusted porn addict solicits my body without my consent instead.

'Don't know whether to cry, break stuff or laugh at this point,' said Sweet Anita, one of the victims.

Anita only discovered that her image had been used by watching a male Twitch star apologize tearfully for accessing it.

'I saw myself in positions I would never agree to, doing things I would never want to do. And it was quite horrifying,' she later told BuzzFeed News.

Maya Higa, whose image was also used, compared the ordeal to being raped as a teenager.

She also slammed critics for debating online whether she - or other women - had the right to be outraged. Some cruelly claimed that because they filmed themselves in other, nonexplicit scenarios, they did not have the right to privacy when it came to explicit content.

Maya Higa (left) said she felt 'nauseous' and 'vulnerable' after discovering her image on the site. British Twitch star Anita (right) was also included without her consent

'The world is debating over the validity of my experience today.

'The debate over our experience as women in this is, not shockingly, among men. None of you should care or listen to what any male streamer's take is on how we feel

'The situation makes me feel disgusting, vulnerable, nauseous, and violated.'

It's unclear if any of the victims have reported the incident to the authorities.

They will likely face an uphill legal battle if they do; the issue does not immediately fall under revenge porn law or image rights.

The women said they had been left feeling 'violated and vulnerable' after discovering their images on the site

Many are now calling for legislation to be specifically created to stop harmful use of AI or deepfake technology.

'Should be illegal to profit off of somebodys likeness in sex work without consent wether its fake or not.

'Talking about it will bring those sites more attention but I hope this will also be a step forward closer to law that can help protect people from being used in this way,' said influencer Valkyrae.

According to Vice, the creator of the harmful content has removed it. 'I feel like the total piece of s**t I am,' they said in an online apology.

'The situation makes me feel disgusting, vulnerable, nauseous, and violated.'

There is currently no federal legislation in the US that protects against Deepfake technology using someone's likeness without their consent.

Deepfake porn without consent is illegal in Virginia and California.

In 2019, New York Democrat Yvette Clarke proposed the DEEP FAKES Accountability Act, which would hold bad actors responsible under the law.

It's unclear what the status of that law is.
He deflected from the public relations crisis by announcing his invite for SOTU

Santos is accused of sexually harassing a former staffer, but denies allegations

Beleaguered New York Republican Rep. George Santos dismissed accusations that he sexually harassed an aide as 'comical' on Monday.

Santos, 34, is accused of asking former staffer Derek Myers if he was on the dating app Grindr and explained that he had a profile.

But despite the latest in a string of public relations crises for the congressman, he also found time to partake in an annual tradition for lawmakers on Capitol Hill by formally announcing his guest for President Joe Biden's State of the Union.

Members of Congress are allowed to bring an invited guest, and usually pick a significant community figure from their district.

Santos announced on Monday that he's bringing Michael Weinstock, a former volunteer firefighter who was at Ground Zero during the September 11, 2001 terror attacks in New York City.

Santos, 34, allegedly asked Derek Myers if he was on the dating app Grindr and explained that he had a profile

It's notable that one of Santos' many lies about his personal and professional background, is that his mother was a survivor of the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center - though it was later revealed that she was living in Brazil at the time.

He said in his statement announcing his State of the Union guest, 'I am honored to be attending my first State of the Union Address and to hear the President defend his abysmal policies that continue to hurt our country.'

'Most importantly, I am grateful for Michael to join me as my guest, but also united in our quest to address the issue of the World Trade Center Health Program to cover neuropathy for the men & women who suffer as a result from the dust that came from the World Trade Center,' Santos said.

Earlier on Monday, he was confronted by CNN about the allegations regarding his former staffer, with Santos said he '100 percent denies.'

'It's comical,' he reportedly said. 'Of course, I deny that claim.'

The alleged incident with Myers is said to have taken place when the pair had been going through letters from constituents on January 25, according to a letter sent to the House Committee on Ethics on Friday.

Myers claims that Santos asked him to sit closer after they spoke about Grindr, and allegedly began touching his leg before inviting him to karaoke.

The aide said he declined the invitation, but Santos then moved his hand to his 'groin area' and assured him that his husband was out of town and invited him over.

Myers claims that Santos asked him to sit closer after they spoke about Grindr, and allegedly began touching his leg before inviting him to karaoke

Myers was in the process of being hired by Santos, but was fired a day before he made the allegations because he is facing criminal wiretapping charges in Ohio  something which he denies.

The journalist was charged last year after a small newspaper he ran, published audio of courtroom testimony that someone else recorded and sent to him.

He was widely defended by journalism organizations, calling for the charges to be dropped in the name of press freedom.

Myers also released a tape to Talking Points Memo in which he was having a conversation with Santos, but failed to tell him or his chief of staff Charlie Lovett that he was recording them.

Santos said 'I've obvious f***ed up and lied to him, like I lied to everyone else' while referring to Lovett, though it is unclear what he is admitting lying about.

Posting on Twitter, Myers said that he had also filed a report with Capitol Police, adding: 'These matters will not be litigated on social media or through news media.

'They are serious offenses, and the evidence and facts will speak for themselves if the committee takes up the matter. This tweet is being made public in light of transparency.'

A spokeswoman for Representative Susan Wild, a member of the House Ethics Committee, acknowledged that his letter had been received by her office.

Santos said 'I've obvious f***ed up and lied to him, like I lied to everyone else' while referring to Lovett, though it is unclear what he is admitting lying about

Myers was in the process of being hired by Santos, but was fired a day before he made the allegations because he is facing criminal wiretapping charges in Ohio  something which he denies

It is the latest in a long line of allegations that Santos is facing, and is the subject of numerous probes into his business and campaign finances.

He gave an interview earlier this week to One America News Network (OAN) claiming that he has 'learned his lesson' and that everything will be 'above board' from now on.

The Republican congressman from New York, who stepped down from his committee assignments on Tuesday, argued he has already apologized for his lying, which he claims was only about his educational background.

Santos was exposed by a report in the New York Times which claimed that he falsified his resume and biography claims.

On one occasion, it was claimed that he stole money that he intended to use to pay for lifesaving surgery for a disabled veteran's service dog, which died from not getting treatment.

He also said he graduated with a degree in economics and finance from Baruch College in 2010, but a Baruch representative told the New York Times there was no record of Santos being in the class of 2010.

Pictures also emerged of him working as a drag queen in Brazil, something that he initially denied and then said it was 'just for fun' at a festival despite the images spanning three years

A letter detailing the alleged sexual harassment was sent to the House Committee on Ethics on Friday

The aide said he declined the invitation, but Santos then moved his hand to his 'groin area' and assured him that his husband was out of town and invited him over

Pictures also emerged of him dressed in drag in Brazil, something that he initially denied and then said it was 'just for fun' at a festival despite the images spanning three years.

A watchdog group claimed he'd made multiple campaign finance violations and filed a complaint with the FEC.

They say that he was loaned more than $700,000 despite having only $55,000 in earned income for his campaign

Santos announced in a GOP conference meeting on Thursday morning that he would be stepping down from his assignments on the Science and Small Business committees, reportedly telling his colleagues that he felt he was a 'distraction.'

Polling from Newsday and Siena College showed that 78 percent of Santos' New York constituents now believe he should resign.

He is being investigated by the district attorney's office in Nassau County, N.Y., which is where his congressional district issue. And authorities in Brazil are also seeking to revive a fraud case against him dating from 2008.
The aviation industry is facing 'the biggest disaster in its history' after a near miss between two airplanes in Austin on Saturday became the second time in less than a month that a catastrophic collision has nearly happened at a U.S. airport.

A Boeing 767 FedEx cargo plane landing at Austin-Bergstrom International came within less than 100ft of a Southwest Airlines 737 aircraft that was taking off from the same runway.

Analysts say only the quick-thinking of the FedEx pilot prevented a collision.

The incident follows a similar near miss at John F. Kennedy International in New York City on Friday, January 13, when a Delta flight was forced to perform an emergency stop during takeoff while an American Airlines plane crossed the same runway.

Now, after two serious incidents in less than a month, industry analysts are asking how near misses of this magnitude could happen at two major American airports - and whether current safety protocols are adequate.

The FedEx flight (orange in the Flightradar247 image) approaches the runway as the Southwest aircraft begins its take off. The planes come within less than 100ft of each other

The FedEx flight abandons its landing as the Southwest aircraft continues its takeoff. They steer to the left and right respectively to avoid contact. Multiple industry analysts have said the instructions from Air Traffic Control appear to be a factor in the nail-biting incident

Near misses - or 'incursions' - of this severity are incredibly rare.

There were 1,732 incursion in 2022 in around 17 million flights handled by the Federal Aviation Authority (FAA). But of those, only a handful were 'Category A', defined as 'a serious incident in which a collision was narrowly avoided'. Most recorded cases cover incidents with 'no immediate safety consequences'.

Aviation expert and pilot Juan Browne said: 'These sort of incidents are increasing at an alarming rate.

'There's a huge turnover in the industry, not only among pilots but amongst air traffic controllers, mechanics, mainters, rampers. And with the state of hiring practices and training today and the relentless effort to do things faster, cheaper and more efficiently we're just one radio call away from having the biggest aviation disaster in history.'

In both the JFK and Austin-Bergstrom incidents, experts have said directions issued by air traffic controllers appear to have been an issue.

The near miss incident at JFK on January 13 occurred when a Delta aircraft which was about to take off had to perform an emergency stop after an American Airlines plane crossed onto the runway

What are the rules on serious incursions? The Federal Aviation Administration has four categories of runway incursion (when a plane, vehicle or person is incorrectly on a runway). These range from Category D (least serious) to Category A (most severe). Category D has 'no immediate safety consequences', while the next stage, Category C, says there is 'ample time and/or distance to avoid a collision'. Category B demonstrates 'significant potential' for a collision. Category A is 'a series incident in which a collision was narrowly avoided' - the final stage before an accident itself occurring. The near miss on Friday 13 at JFK was defined by US Department of Transportation general Mary Schiavo as being a Category A incursion Source: FAA Advertisement

In a technical breakdown of the circumstances around the near miss in Austin, Browne said the Southwestern aircraft should not have been cleared for takeoff when the FedEx flight was approaching to land - particularly given the poor weather and low visibility.

He said the FedEx aircraft was preparing for an autoland, where the aircraft's on-board computers control the landing. The pilot would be focused on the displays in the cockpit, not looking out of the window.

'There's nothing to look at outside,' said Browne in the video posted to his blancolirio YouTube channel. 'You're making a low-visibility landing so if somebody is out there in front of you... [the pilot] wouldn't even be able to see it.'

He added: 'This is why it's so critical that there should never have been an aircraft cleared to take off in front of the aircraft landing doing an autolanding.'

Browne said the FedEx pilot 'showed the situational awareness' to realize air traffic controllers had just cleared another aircraft for takeoff.

He also referred to chilling audio from the direct radio exchange between the pilots of the FedEx and Southwest flights. Despite being moments from potential disaster, the pilots remain calm.

'That was not the tower [talking during the audio] - the tower has lost control of the situation - that was FedEx realizing what's happened and is directing the Southwest aircraft to abort, but Southwest is already moving down the runway.,' Browne said.

The FedEx cargo plane was coming into land at Austin Bergstrom Airport when it was forced to pull up (stock image)

The FedEx plane aborted its landing and the Southwest flight took off. Flightradar footage shows how perilously close the two aircraft came to colliding.

In the January incident at JFK, the American Airlines plane crossed a runway while a Delta Boeing 737 plane was preparing for takeoff. The Delta plane stopped about 1,000 feet from where the American Airlines plane had crossed from an adjacent taxiway.

Jennifer Homendy, chair of the National Transport Safety Board, said the FedEx and Southwest flights came within less than 100ft of each other

Audio of the radio exchange during that near miss is far more panicked.

An air traffic controller who realized what was unfolding is heard exclaiming: 'S***! F***! Delta 1943, cancel takeoff clearance! Delta 1943, cancel takeoff clearance!'

Both incidents are currently under investigation by the FAA. Meanwhile, several experts have said human error by air traffic control staff appears to have contributed to both incidents.

Both the National Air Traffic Controllers Association union and the International Federation of Air Traffic Controllers' Associations declined to comment due to the ongoing investigations.

Kit Darby, an aviation consultant and former United Airlines pilot, told DailyMail.com that he believes safety protocols to avoid near misses are adequate, but added: 'It's a very large, very complicated system that's relying on humans, and humans make mistakes.'

Experts have praised the pilot of the FedEx flight for his quick thinking after the cargo plane aborted its landing to avoid the Southwest aircraft the was preparing to take off (stock photo)

Southwest declined to comment on the incident and referred to the FAA statement, which said it was investigating the incident

He said near misses are 'typically caused by communication failure [and] misunderstanding'.

'The ground is one of the worst places for this,' he said. 'When it comes time to take off and land, airplanes get very close to each other so there'll be airplane just short of the runway as an airplane lands just a few hundred feet away.

Aviation consultant and former pilot Kit Derby said pilots undertake quarterly training which is likely to include a focus on incursions following the two incidents

'When they are already close together, the miscommunication becomes critical.'

Other risk factors for a near miss include the number of runways at an airport, the number of runway intersections and number of taxi ways for aircraft, he said.

Pilots undertake regular reviews to stay sharp, including quarterly training that covers topical issues and recent incidents, Darby said.

'I can pretty much guarantee that they'll be talking about runway incursion, which is high on the list anyway, now that we've had a couple in succession.

'You can be sure that there's going to be reemphasis on the procedures that are in place.'
Ron DeSantis has seized control of Disney's formerly self-governing district in Florida, announcing that Disney must repay $700 million in debt and begin paying taxes.

In a dramatic escalation of his long-running battle against Disney, the Florida governor on Monday announced he was taking control of the Reedy Creek board.

The five-member board oversees nearly 40 square miles of Florida, on which the Walt Disney World Resort is built.

'Florida is dissolving the Corporate Kingdom and beginning a new era of accountability and transparency,' DeSantis deputy press secretary told DailyMail.com in a statement.

DeSantis will also rename the site, switching its name from Reedy Creek to the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District.

Ron DeSantis, governor of Florida, is escalating the battle against Disney's Reedy Creek board by taking full control in overseeing Walt Disney Co's formerly self-governing special tax district encompassing the nearly 40 square miles of Walt Disney World Resort

A new bill was proposed by Florida politicians on Monday, which would give the governor full control over the district, and the ability to appoint the five-member board of supervisors that run the special district.

The nominees would then need to be confirmed by Florida state senators.

The proposed legislation would keep in place Reedy Creek's obligation to almost $1 billion of outstanding bonds.

Reedy Creek, which granted sweeping benefits to Disney over the last half century due to the special designation, is governed by five board members elected by local property owners.

Considering most of the land within the special district is owned by Disney and its affiliates, the company is given an unbalanced amount of power over how the area is run and essentially allowed Walt Disney Co. to operate as a form of government.

The new rules proposed in Monday's bill would prevent anyone who had ties to the theme park from serving on the Reedy Creek board.

'These actions ensure a state-controlled district accountable to the people instead of a corporate-controlled kingdom,' DeSantis' deputy press secretary Jeremy Redfern noted.

If approved, the legislation would permanently eliminate Disney's ability to self-govern the area spanning Orange and Osceola counties in Florida.

Walt Disney World says the company is 'monitoring the progression ' of the legislation

Walt Disney World president Jeff Vahle released a statement on the proposed legislation that would restructure Reedy Creek Improvement District, saying the company is 'monitoring the progression' of the legislation.

'Disney works under a number of different models and jurisdictions around the world, and regardless of the outcome, we remain committed to providing the highest quality experience for the millions of guests who visit each year.'

If the bill becomes law, it would also term-limit the board and put the governor in charge of nominating members  as well as allowing Florida to impose taxes and laws on Disney and the district its resort encompasses.

Additionally, the bill would ensure Disney is held responsible for paying more than $700 million in unsecured debts and makes sure that doesn't fall on Florida taxpayers.

The Reedy Creek Improvement District was created by the Florida legislature in 1967 and provided Disney with special privileges and self-governing rights, which have been targeted by DeSantis.

This power amounted to an unaccountable corporate kingdom,' Redfern noted.

The bill is a culmination of an ongoing clash between DeSantis and one of the state's largest employers.
The Federal Aviation Authority is also investigating the near miss on Saturday morning

A FedEx airplane came within less than 100 feet of the Southwest commercial flight

Jennifer Homendy, the chair of the National Transportation Safety Board, disclosed just how close the planes came to disaster

A FedEx airplane came within less than 100 feet of a Southwest commercial flight with 128 people on board during a terrifying near miss in Austin on Saturday, a top safety official has revealed.

Jennifer Homendy, the chair of the National Transportation Safety Board, explained just how close the planes were to catastrophe and said investigators are probing how the incident was able to happen.

The Boeing 767 was approaching the runway with poor visibility while a Southwest Boeing 737 was cleared for takeoff.

Homendy told Politico: 'Were really digging into the communications between [air traffic control], Southwest, FedEx  especially in relation to weather issues.'

She said it was 'fairly clear that the aircraft came within very close proximity of each other and we believe its less than 100 feet'.

Jennifer Homendy, the chair of the National Transportation Safety Board, said two planes came within less than 100ft of each other during a near miss in Austin on Saturday

A FedEx flight had to abort its landing at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport after a Southwest flight with 128 passengers on board was cleared to take off from the same runway (stock image)

The Federal Aviation Administration is also investigating after the FedEx cargo plane was forced to abandon its landing at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport.

The FedEx flight was several miles from the airport when it was cleared to land, according to the FAA.

But as it was about to touch down, an air traffic controller also gave the go-ahead for the Southwest Boeing 737 to take off on the exact same stretch of tarmac.

The Southwest flight to Cancun, Mexico still continued its takeoff even while the FedEx cargo plane was directly above it.

The Southwest jet was able to depart safely, according to the FAA.

FedEx said its flight 'safely landed after encountering an event,' but declined to comment further because of the ongoing investigations.

Austin Airport said it was 'aware of the Federal Aviation Administration's investigation into the discontinued landing of a flight. We will assist our FAA partners and their investigation as necessary.'

A similar close call was averted at John F. Kennedy International Airport last month after an American Airlines plane crossed a runway while a Delta Airlines' Boeing 737 plane was preparing for takeoff on January 13.

Air traffic controllers noticed a Boeing 777 had crossed from an adjacent taxiway.

The FAA said the Delta Boeing 737 stopped its takeoff roll approximately 1,000 feet before reaching the point where American Airlines Flight 106 had crossed.

The Southwest Airlines Boeing 737, in yellow, had remained on the runway as the FedEx Boeing 767, in orange, had been cleared to land

Air traffic control recordings released Saturday night shows that at around 6.47am, the tower at the Austin airport cleared Southwest for takeoff  noting that the FedEx plane is just three miles behind them and was approaching the 18 Left runway.

'Copy the traffic,' the pilot responds, apparently aware that the FedEx flight was on its way.

The FedEx pilot could be heard asking if he is confirmed to land on runway 18 Left, which an air traffic controller tells him he is.

But the Southwest flight remains on the runway as the FedEx flight quickly approaches, leading one air traffic controllers to ask the Southwest crew if it was planning to depart.

'Rolling now,' the pilot responds, affirming that it was about to takeoff.

At that point, the FedEx crew initiated a go-around and told the Southwest crew they should abort their takeoff.

'Southwest abort,' a male voice, presumably the FedEx pilot, could be heard telling the crew: 'FedEx is on the go.'

Air traffic control seems to agree with the FedEx crew's assessment, telling it to veer right when it has the chance.

But the Southwest crew just replies 'negative' to the call to abort its takeoff, and begins climbing into the air, even while the FedEx cargo plane was directly above it  leaving just 75 feet between the two planes.

Fortunately, the FedEx pilot aborted its landing just in time and began to pull up to avoid a collision.
A 31-year-old murder has been charged with boy's murder

A woman has been charged with murder after a three-year-old boy was found dead in Melbourne's western suburbs.

The child's body was located at a Dover Street property in Albanvale about 4pm on Monday.

Homicide Squad detectives subsequently charged a 31-year-old woman with one count of murder.

She was remanded in custody ahead of an appearance at Melbourne Magistrates Court on Tuesday.

Paramedics and police rushed to a property in Dover St, Albanvale, in Melbourne's west (pictured), about 4pm on Monday, but the child could not be saved

It's understood the occupants had only moved to the property in recent weeks.

The 31-year-old woman was charged with murder in the early hours of Tuesday morning.

She will appear before Melbourne Magistrates' Court later in the day.
Brooke Boney has clashed with an Alice Springs business owner who founded a social media movement documenting the crime wave gripping the outback town.

Visiting the central Australian community for a Today show segment, Ms Boney spoke to Darren Clarke, who is behind the Action for Alice Facebook page.

The page and Mr Clarke have played a large role in spotlighting the crime crises plaguing the community - with Anthony Albanese's Labor government forced to reinstate alcohol bans after removing them last year.

Brooke Boney was born in Muswellbrook in NSW and is of Gamilaroi descent. She visited Alice Springs as the town in Australia's Red Centre is gripped by a crime epidemic

But racial views are also often aired on the page from some members of the community targeting Indigenous youths.

'I'm an Aboriginal woman. So then sometimes when I see people saying things like that, some of those comments, it stings,' Ms Boney said.

Mr Clarke argued if the situation isn't properly addressed, 'someone's going to die here soon.'

'I'm the only one that's shown the truth in this town, and if I want to show even more truth, no one would live here,' he told Ms Boney.

The Action for Alice page highlights the crime the town is dealing with every day.

'Commercial break-ins have risen by 55 per cent, alcohol-related assault also up 55 per cent and domestic violence assault is up by 53 per cent,' Ms Boney said.

'The shocking figures that paint a dire picture of a once thriving town.'

Mr Clarke said many of the highly charged comments on the Action for Alice page complaining of the crime were from Aboriginal community members.

'Do you know all the people on there?' he asked Ms Boney.

'Because some of them comments are actually coming from indigenous people that live in this town.

'We are a community here. We are black and white, and the black fellas of this town, they are p***ed as well.'

Darren Clarke who founded the Action for Alice page told Ms Boney some of the angry comments targeting Indigenous youths were from Aboriginal members of the community

Mr Clarke said the page has 'grown and grown' since he launched it in 2020 fearing a member of the community would be killed amid the chaos

'Belated' apology from the ABC over their 'incomplete' and 'biased' coverage of Alice Springs crisis meeting The ABC issued a grovelling apology admitting it provided 'incomplete' coverage of the Save Alice Springs meeting held on Monday which alleged some of those attending were 'white extremists'. Some 3,000 terrified residents had turned up to discuss their concerns over the out-of-control youth crime wave spreading throughout their community. Liberal Senator Sarah Henderson, who is a former ABC reporter and once presented 7.30 in Victoria, slammed her ex-employer for issuing an apology only after copping backlash for its coverage. The ABC was accused of bias after interviewing people who slammed the meeting as 'racist'. ABC Indigenous Affairs correspondent Carly Williams' live cross on TV of the meeting said many people had left the meeting early and that 'a non-indigenous person' had described the meeting as 'a disgusting display of white supremacy'. The public broadcaster was threatened with an official investigation over its coverage that was aired on its flagship current affairs show AM and in another TV report. Some 3,000 terrified Alice Springs residents turned up to discuss their concerns over the youth crime wave spreading throughout the community Senator Henderson added that her complaint against the ABC to the Australian Communications and Media Authority would be 'proceeding'. 'The ABC needs to be held to account. They have been reckless in trying to invent a narrative,' as one person on Twitter put it. The ABC released a statement on Saturday apologising to its audience. 'We acknowledge that one report on AM was incomplete, and did not adequately cover the full context of the meeting or the range of perspectives expressed at it,' it read. 'ABC News apologises to audiences for providing an incomplete picture of the event in this instance.' The public broadcaster went on to say it had 'reportedly accurately' on the views of 'some people who attended the community meeting'. 'However, this report should have included a broader range of perspectives expressed at the meeting and further information about what was discussed, to provide additional context,' the statement read. 'Following this report, ABC News published additional coverage of the issue which included a broader range of perspectives and context.' Advertisement

From next week, the Northern Territory government will introduce legislation to return some areas to 'temporary dry zones', Chief Minister Natasha Fyles said on Monday.

'We've heard loudly and clearly that the matter and decision of alcohol on community needs to be one that is made by the entire community,' Ms Fyles told reporters.

'This is why we're creating a circuit breaker... until communities can develop and vote on the alcohol management plans they want to see.'

The Federal Government also announced it would invest $250 million in community safety and services, with funding going towards job creation, youth engagement and support for domestic violence services.

A recent video shared to the Action for Alice page shows a group of Indigenous residents smashing a storefront in the town's shopping centre

The decision comes after Prime Minister Anthony Albanese visited Alice Springs last month amid growing frustration over alcohol-fuelled violence and theft in the town.

Ms Fyles said the new restrictions were based on the recommendations of the newly appointed central Australian regional controller Dorrelle Anderson.

Ms Anderson, who was appointed after the prime minister's visit, reviewed the territory's opt-in alcohol restrictions, that replaced expired Intervention-inspired liquor bans last year.

Under the new legislation, communities can apply to opt out of the ban, as long as 60 per cent of residents support the decision and they have an alcohol management plan.

'Alcohol-related harm is still the NT's biggest social challenge,' Ms Fyles said. 'But it is a legal product, and we need to manage the complexities of that product.'

Opposition Leader Lia Finocchiaro said the measures were not enough. 'There was no promise today of additional police or sending Australian Federal Police into Alice Springs, which would make an immediate impact on the ground today.'

Alcohol bans are set to return to the Alice Springs region as crime and violence continues to rock the outback town

Earlier, NT senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price made an impassioned plea for alcohol bans to be reinstated in Alice Springs to tackle a surging crime wave.

Ms Price told the Senate chamber her family had experienced sexual violence, trauma and murder in central Australia because of alcohol.

Federal Labor MP Marion Scrymgour said of her hometown, 'I was visiting the hospital over the Christmas break and I saw firsthand how critical the situation was. Nursing staff and doctors are run off their feet and beds are filled with alcohol-related crimes.'

'But the underlying issues that drive the crisis in Central Australia still need to be addressed: poverty, unemployment, a severe shortage of housing, family and domestic violence, disaffected youth, neglect of the bush,' said Ms Scrymgour.
Boris Johnson last night urged Rishi Sunak to push on with the Rwanda plan, as he warned Labour have 'not the ghost of an idea' about how to stop small boat crossings.

In a rare Commons intervention, the former prime minister said those who oppose sending illegal migrants to Rwanda are 'wholly wrong' to 'disparage' the country.

Mr Johnson was cheered by his backbench colleagues as he told MPs during Home Office questions that Labour has no plan to tackle Channel migrants.

He said: 'Isn't it obvious from today's exchanges that many of those who oppose the UK-Rwanda Migration and Economic Development Partnership have no idea about Rwanda, probably never been there, and are wholly wrong to condescend and to disparage Rwanda in the way that they do?

'And above all, they have not the ghost of an idea about how to solve the problem of cross-channel gangs putting people at risk.

In a rare Commons intervention, the former prime minister said those who oppose sending illegal migrants to Rwanda are 'wholly wrong' to 'disparage' the country

Mr Johnson was cheered by his backbench colleagues as he told MPs during Home Office questions that Labour has no plan to tackle Channel migrants

'And the difference between our side and them is that we have a plan and they don't.'

Home Secretary Suella Braverman added: 'Labour complain and they sit on the sidelines, they criticise and they vote against every measure that we have put forward.

'What I urge them to do is back our Bill, back control over our borders and back the British people.'

It came amid a row between MPs over whether Britain should leave the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR).

It was reported over the weekend that Mr Sunak is prepared to take Britain out of the ECHR if judges in Strasbourg frustrate his plans to toughen up UK asylum rules.

The Sunday Times said the Prime Minister is taking the robust stance after being warned that 65,000 illegal migrants are expected to arrive this year.

But Mr Sunak was accused of 'willy waving' by a former Tory minister as MPs debated the PM's stance on a WhatsApp group, according to leaked messages.

Jackie Doyle-Price reportedly said that 'willy waving about leaving the ECHR will do zilch', adding: 'Upholding the law should never be a matter for debate for a Conservative.'

But another Tory MP on the group, Jonathan Gullis, urged Mr Sunak to pull Britain out of the ECHR if necessary.

He told the Mail: 'If we are going to find ourselves being held up by European courts despite our UK Parliament and our UK courts giving the thumbs up to the policy then we must withdraw ourselves from it.'

It was reported over the weekend that Mr Sunak is prepared to take Britain out of the ECHR if judges in Strasbourg frustrate his plans to toughen up UK asylum rules

And Sir John Hayes, former Home Office minister, said he would back leaving the ECHR but the priority was tackling the small boats issue quickly.

Around 40 Tory MPs are thought likely to vote against leaving the ECHR. One warned it would be a 'political gamble'.

The Prime Minister and Home Secretary are finalising plans for legislation that will bar illegal migrants from claiming asylum.

It will be unveiled within weeks and officials say it will take Britain to the 'boundaries' of what is legally possible within international law.

Downing Street said yesterday that the plans would be 'compliant' with the ECHR and insisted there are 'no plans' to withdraw.
Energy bills faced by hard-pressed families battling the cost-of-living crisis will be 600 less than feared after a mild winter and falling wholesale gas prices.

The average household will pay 2,400 in 2023-24, down from the bleak forecast of 3,000 by the Government last autumn, according to the Resolution Foundation.

The think tank's claims were backed by energy consultancy Cornwall Insight, which predicts the average bill to be around 2,360 over the summer.

These predictions are much lower than those made last November, with experts fearing at the time that this summer would see bills climb to an average of 3,500 a year.

The energy price cap is still due to rise to 3,000 in April and consumers are expected to see a small period of rising bills in the spring.

The average household will pay 2,400 in 2023-24, down from the 3,000 forecast by the Government last autumn. File image

Cornwall said it expected gas prices to fall by 26 per cent between the spring and summer while electricity prices will fall by 32 per cent, according to The Times.

By winter this year, average electricity and gas bills should be around 1,184 and 1,205 respectively, according to the energy consultancy.

The drop follows months of falling wholesale gas prices due to mild weather and European countries cutting their dependence on Russian imports. It will lead to an 11.3billion saving for the Treasury, fuelling calls for Chancellor Jeremy Hunt to cut taxes in next month's Budget.

When Mr Hunt set out his tax plans in November, wholesale gas prices were still significantly higher than normal.

It meant the Government's energy price guarantee  which capped average household bills at 2,500, rising to 3,000 in April  would cost 12.8billion.

But wholesale gas prices have fallen more than 70 per cent from their August peak, meaning the scheme will now cost only 1.5billion.

The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) is expected to have lost around 12billion in revenue from the windfall tax imposed on energy providers, which is 7billion lower than predicted.

Treasury sources said this could mean the Chancellor does not have to increase fuel duty and might be able to reverse Aprils energy cap rise.

They also warned that savings could be a 'one off' and did not necessarily suggest improvement in the government's finances.

'We cannot allow fiscal policy to be determined by the weather and a gas market that we can't control,' they said.

The drop follows months of falling wholesale gas prices due to mild weather and European countries cutting their dependence on Russian imports. It will lead to an 11.3billion saving for the Treasury, fuelling calls for Chancellor Jeremy Hunt to cut taxes in next month's Budget

Chancellor of The Exchequer Jeremy Hunt seen running with family dog 'Poppy' yesterday morning in Westminster

The Resolution Foundation report said falling prices would mean lower tax receipts from energy producers and generators, which would cost the Treasury 7billion. But lower prices will also mean people spend more, boosting tax receipts elsewhere.

Emily Fry, an economist at the think-tank, said: 'The cost of living crisis is far from over, but falling gas prices mean that it's looking less bleak than just a few months ago.

'This will bring real benefits to families, even if it might not feel like it for some time to come. While energy bills are still set to rise next year by another 400, we're not on course to see the sustained 3,000 annual bills many feared.'

Conservative MP Sir John Redwood said 'of course' the huge saving adds to the argument for tax cuts in next month's budget.

A separate report by the UK's public spending watchdog estimates the overall cost to the Treasury of support for energy bills will be 69billion.

The National Audit Office calculated the cost of guarantees and one-off payments for households as well as the price cap for businesses.

It said because the schemes were rolled out 'at speed', they presented risks around value for money by supporting homes and businesses that may not need it.

NAO head Gareth Davies said: 'The energy bills support schemes were introduced universally, and at speed.

'Introducing these interventions at speed meant that the Department for Business and Energy has less time to consider fraud risks; and their universal nature meant a number of households received financial support they did not need.'
Apologising for ancestral sins has become an increasingly fashionable activity in affluent liberal society. Expressions of shame are often accompanied by pledges of compensation as individuals abase themselves for the ills of their forebears.

The BBCs Laura Trevelyan, a member of a well-known family that has been long distinguished by wealth and public service, is the latest example.

This week it was reported that she and several of her relatives are to give 100,000 to an economic development fund on the Caribbean island of Grenada in atonement for the Trevelyans past association with slavery there  her ancestors owned more than 1,000 slaves across six plantations.

In addition to the cash, the family has also made a public apology during a visit to the island last year. I hope were setting an example by apologising for what our ancestors did, Laura said.

It sounds highly commendable, but the fact is that this impulse to take moral responsibility for the past has the potential for harm.

Laura Trevelyan and several of her relatives are to give 100,000 to an economic development fund on the Caribbean island of Grenada in atonement for her ancestors owning more than 1,000 slaves across six plantations

Of course, the slave trade was abhorrent, but far from promoting harmony and respect, the reparations industry is actually feeding a destructive culture of victimhood  with white Westerners permanently cast as historic oppressors.

It fuels corruption and financial bullying in the name of restorative justice, and promotes the constant denigration of Western civilisation in the cause of decolonisation.

And, as Laura Trevelyan  despite her best intentions  will no doubt discover, it can leave people vulnerable to attack on other fronts over ancestral vices.

Having promised apologies and reparations for slavery, they are often asked to atone for other historic misdeeds.

In the Republic of Ireland  much closer to Britain than Grenada  some influential voices are now challenging the role of the Trevelyan family in the terrible Irish famine of the mid-19th century, which led to up to a million deaths and was caused by crops being infected with potato blight.

Lauras own four times great-grandfather Sir Charles Trevelyan was in charge of famine relief at the time, a job which, according to Irish legend, he carried out with a cruelty bordering on inhumanity.

Indeed, in one notorious outburst, he is said to have declared that the judgment of God sent the calamity to teach the Irish a lesson.

So far, the Trevelyan family has been silent on the question of an apology for the famine  even though back in 1997, Tony Blair expressed remorse for it, saying those who governed in London at the time had failed their people.

Then there is Lauras familys link to one of the most effective, brutal weapons ever devised. Her great-great-great grandfather, an American called Oliver Winchester, invented the Winchester repeating rifle, which was so deadly because it could keep firing rounds without needing to be reloaded. With its lethal capability, it transformed warfare and became known as the gun that won the West due to its role as the prime asset in the blood-soaked defeat of the Native Americans.

In a book Laura herself wrote about the Winchester rifle, she said: The Native Americans had no defence against the weapon they called the spirit gun.

Trevelyan in action as the anchor of BBC World News America

They were massacred on their ancient lands, as the frontier moved ever further westwards towards California.

While the indigenous people were slaughtered, Lauras ancestor prospered, using his tremendous wealth to build an ostentatious home in New Haven, with flamboyant turrets and luxurious walnut and white-oak cabinets.

Yet in her book, Laura was dismissive of the idea that she and her family should share any blame for the bloodshed created by the Winchester. I dont feel responsible for or guilty about it, she wrote.

Such inconsistencies are matched by wider contradictions in the debate about reparations. On several levels, the drive to dish out cash to slaves descendants, while well-meaning, is absurd.

After all, none of the recipients of these sums has ever been kept as slaves, nor have there been any slave-owners in the West for many generations. Furthermore, the families of those who were taken from Africa to America and the Caribbean now generally enjoy far greater prosperity, freedom and security than the families of those who were never removed.

Yes, their forebears suffered unspeakably from the slave trade, but would any of the black Americans now clamouring for post-colonial payouts exchange their U.S. passports for ones from African countries?

Just as importantly, reparation enthusiasts wilfully refuse to recognise the historic role played by Africans themselves in the promotion of slavery.

The nonsense is exposed at its worst in a scheme drawn up by the ultra-woke city of San Francisco to give $5 million to each eligible black resident as recompense for the experience of oppression.

Although California never adopted the institution of slavery, the city says the values of segregation, white supremacy and exclusion of Black people were legally codified and enforced, so lump-sum payments are needed to redress the economic and opportunity losses Black San Franciscans have endured collectively.

It is hard to imagine a worse use of public money. This is identity politics at its most toxic, where people are lavishly rewarded not for their achievements but for their membership of a certain minority victim group.

If the city of San Francisco really had this kind of money to spare, why not spend it on tackling social and economic problems, such as drug abuse, child poverty, crime and homelessness, which are all rife in this fractured city.

A portrait of Sir John Trevelyan with his wife Louisa Simon (centre couple) who had more than 1,000 slaves on Grenada

The rich irony is that some of the people who might benefit from the scheme  like several of my relatives who live in San Francisco and hail from the Akan tribe in Ghana  actually had African ancestors who helped to facilitate the transatlantic slave trade.

We can see the same process at work on a global scale. For decades, African governments have received colossal sums in Western aid, yet, far from improving their countries, much of the money has been squandered through corruption. Now, instead of putting their houses in order, the same governments demand more funding in the form of reparations for slavery.

A classic example is President Akufo-Addo of Ghana, who is worth a staggering $250 million while his nations economy is gripped by poverty and stagnation. Rather than dealing with the real problems, he is seeking slavery compensation for Ghana from the West.

This is not just a distraction but also an exercise in hypocrisy, for it was the British Empire that suppressed the slave trade in Ghana in the face of bitter hostility from tribal leaders who gained from it.

But you wont hear that truth from the reparation-mongers and their guilt-ridden allies.

Lacking any sense of nuance or understanding of the historical realities, they cling to their narrative of Western exploitation and African suffering.

Sadly, there was nothing unique about the transatlantic trade. Throughout the story of mankind, there has been slavery, including that experienced by ancient Britons under the Romans and the Vikings.

Even Ethiopia, one of Africas most advanced countries in the early 20th century, had slavery as an integral part of its culture until the British ended it in the 1940s.

And by far the most brutal slaving regime was that run by Arabs from the 7th century, which involved the mass torture and castration of young African men. Are any of todays wealthy Arab states offering compensation for that?

Greed and guilt are poor foundations on which to build public policy. Instead of using a distorted version of the past, influential figures on all sides should concentrate on resolving the real problems of the present.
'I'm never going to be size zero': Oti Mabuse details the pressure she feels to look skinny on TV and admits it's got worse since quitting Strictly
Tingdene Marinas Limited argued it was a houseboat and she could be evicted

Janet Jaffe won a ruling that her home is still a caravan even though it is floating

An artist who lives in a floating caravan has won a court fight to prove her 'dream home' is not a boat - after being threatened with eviction.

Janet Jaffe's property, which she moved into in 2017, consists of a caravan sitting atop a specially constructed platform in a flooded former gravel pit at Hartford Marina in Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire.

Last year Ms Jaffe, who sells hand-crocheted toys and clothes online and in craft shops, became locked in a landmark legal fight after the owner of the lake and the surrounding land tried to evict her.

Ms Jaffe claimed the landowner was not permitted to throw her out of her home without good reason, citing protections afforded to permanent residents in caravans by the 1983 Mobile Homes Act.

But landowner Tingdene Marinas Limited argued that she was not entitled to claim protection under the act, as her caravan is not on land but floating on water.

Crochet artist Janet Jaffe won a court case proving that her floating caravan was not a boat

Tingdene Marinas Limited wanted to evict Ms Jaffe and argued that as she lived in a houseboat they could do so at anytime. Pictured, floating caravans at Hartford Marina

Judge Elizabeth Cooke said she did not agree that 'a structure is not "on land" merely because it is placed there with another physical structure between it and the surface of the earth or of the water covering the earth'

Lawyers for the company argued that because of its situation the Willerby-branded caravan is now technically a houseboat and that Ms Jaffe can therefore be evicted.

Judge rules a floating caravan is still legally a caravan Judge Elizabeth Cooke said: ''Caravan' means any structure designed or adapted for human habitation which is capable of being moved from one place to another. 'The tribunal found that the property is a caravan on a float, which is a type referred to on the site as the 'Hartford Houseboat'. 'The Willerby caravan is clearly identifiable, it is not fixed to the float and can be moved on and off. 'To provide the property with a particular nomenclature, such as the 'Hartford Houseboat', does not alter what it is, namely a caravan on a float. 'Therefore as a matter of fact, Ms Jaffe lives in a structure which is a statutory caravan.' Advertisement

But Ms Jaffe, 58, has now won a ruling from a judge at the Upper Tribunal in London, confirming that her caravan has not stopped being a caravan just because it is floating on a lake.

'I do not agree that a structure is not "on land" merely because it is placed there with another physical structure between it and the surface of the earth or of the water covering the earth,' Judge Elizabeth Cooke said.

Writing online in an attempt to raise funds to pay her mum's legal bills last year, Ms Jaffe's daughter Vicky said the floating caravan was Ms Jaffe's 'dream home.'

'My mum has worked hard her entire life and, at the age of 58, she deserves to have the home she's always dreamed of,' she said.

Stephen Cottle, for Ms Jaffe, told the judge that she claimed protection under the Mobile Homes Act 1983 when the landowner presented her with a notice to quit.

Ms Jaffe had an agreement, which gave her permission to station a mobile home on the site and to live in it as her sole residence, he told the judge.

And the act states that caravan-dwellers cannot be evicted without good reason so long as they are on land licensed for permanent residents in caravans and have signed a written agreement to be there with the landowner which they have subsequently not breached the terms of.

Ms Jaffe's daughter Vicky said in an online fundraiser for legal fees that the floating caravan was her mother's 'dream home'

But Michael Ruddy, for Tingdene Marinas Limited, argued that the caravan and the floating platform should be taken together as forming a houseboat, which fails to pass the definition of a caravan.

He also argued that the caravan was not technically 'on land' and claimed that to classify it as a caravan not a boat went against planning laws.

But Judge Cooke dismissed those arguments and ruled that a floating caravan is still a caravan in the eyes of the law.

Upholding a decision made by the First-tier Tribunal in Ms Jaffe's favour, the judge said: '"Caravan" means any structure designed or adapted for human habitation which is capable of being moved from one place to another - whether by being towed, or by being transported on a motor vehicle or trailer - and any motor vehicle so designed or adapted.

'The tribunal found that the property is a caravan on a float, which is a type referred to on the site as the 'Hartford Houseboat'.

'The Willerby caravan is clearly identifiable, it is not fixed to the float and can be moved on and off.

Judge Cooke dismissed Tingdene Marinas's arguments and ruled that a floating caravan is still a caravan in the eyes of the law

'To provide the property with a particular nomenclature, such as the "Hartford Houseboat", does not alter what it is, namely a caravan on a float.

'Therefore as a matter of fact, Ms Jaffe lives in a structure which is a statutory caravan.

'It happens to be on a float and to form part of a houseboat, but the fact remains that she lives in a Willerby caravan, which is agreed to be a statutory caravan, and her agreement with the appellant entitles her to do so.'

She continued: 'Many caravans on dry land have a base, and that does not mean they are not placed on the land. I fail to see that the presence of a float between the caravan and the water means that the caravan is not on land. In the legal sense, that includes land covered by water.'

She went on to find that the floating caravan was also permitted under local planning laws, concluding, 'therefore the site is a protected site'.

'It is helpful to note that this is consistent with the policy of the legislation, which is to give some security to those who live in caravans as their home,' the judge concluded.
Here's what we know about the device, which offers an alternative to satellites

US officials said balloon was part of China's surveillance and intelligence efforts

Chinese-American relations took a nosedive at the weekend when the US destroyed a 'spy' balloon launched from Beijing.

The massive white orb had drifted across US airspace before being shot down by a fighter jet over the Atlantic on live TV on Saturday.

China claimed ownership of the balloon and insisted it was an unmanned weather surveillance aircraft that had veered off-course, but the US remains unconvinced.

US officials have said it was being used for surveillance and intelligence collection, although it did not pose 'a military or physical threat'.

Here's what you need to know about spy balloons  from how they work to why they're being used as an alternative to satellites.

How does a spy balloon work? China's surveillance balloon is still shrouded in mystery to some extent, but experts say it could have sensors, a radar, and multiple cameras pointing down at Earth's surface. These could have powerful zoom and infrared capabilities to see in the dark

The huge, high-altitude Chinese balloon sailed across the US on Friday, drawing Pentagon accusations of spying and sending excited or alarmed Americans outside with binoculars

WHAT ARE SPY BALLOONS?

Spy balloons are huge, high-altitude balloons, each around the size of three buses, that are used as surveillance devices.

How $200m F-22 Raptor shot down Chinese spy balloon with $400k Sidewinder missile - read more An F-22 Raptor fighter jet fired a single AIM-9X missile to take down a Chinese spy balloon and its payload, which was equipped with cameras, sensors and radars Advertisement

They provide an alternative surveillance option to satellites, which are at a higher altitude in low or medium-Earth orbit.

These spy balloons have high-tech equipment attached, including cameras and sensors.

China's spy balloon was spotted ahead of a planned trip to Beijing by US secretary of state Antony Blinken, which has now been postponed.

The balloon entered US airspace over Alaska on January 28, before drifting over Canada and then back into the US.

A US fighter jet shot the balloon down over the Atlantic off the coast of South Carolina on Saturday, a response China described as an 'obvious overreaction'.

HOW DO THEY WORK?

Spy balloons contain gas such as hydrogen and helium that help them float with the wind, but US officials said this balloon had propellers to help steer it.

The Pentagon said the balloon was maneuverable and showed it could change course.

Spy balloons typically operate higher than commercial airplanes or even fighter jets and spy planes.

According to reports, China's balloon this week was registered floating at around 60,000 feet (11.3 miles), while most commercial airliners go up to 40,000 feet.

Surveillance balloons typically operate higher than commercial airplanes or even fighter jets and spy planes

The balloon was shot down Saturday off the coast of South Carolina by an F-22 fighter jet (pictured here in file photo)

According to the Washington Post, the lower part of the balloon has a 'ballonet', which can let in and out surrounding air.

If there's enough surrounding air in the ballonet, the whole balloon will sink, because this air is heavier than the helium above it.

The balloon can then rise and sink to catch winds that blow in the required direction, although this process can be aided by additional propellers.

China ramps up rhetoric after spy balloon shot down - read more China accused America of using 'indiscriminate force' in shooting down the balloon Advertisement

WHAT SPY DEVICES WOULD THE BALLOON HAVE?

The surveillance balloons are equipped with cameras, sensors and radars, which point down at the ground, all powered by attached solar panels.

Sophisticated cameras allow them to take photographs of what's down on the Earth's surface, potentially with powerful zoom capabilities.

It's even likely these cameras can see outside of the visible part of the electromagnetic spectrum, such as infrared, letting them observe at night.

'If it's nighttime, a camera operating in the visible part of the spectrum is not going to show you anything  it's all going to be dark, said aerospace engineer Iain Boyd at the University of Colorado Boulder.

'But an infrared camera can pick up things from heat in the dark.'

The US was concerned because the balloon loitered over sensitive areas of Montana where nuclear warheads are siloed.

China insisted it was a weather surveillance aircraft, but according to the US it was carrying equipment in the pod under the balloon that is not usually associated with standard meteorological activities or civilian research.

IS THE SPACE BALLOON DANGEROUS?

The Pentagon said on Thursday evening that the balloon was not a military or physical threat  in other words, it was not carrying weapons.

However, it's thought the primary danger to the US was potentially compromising the secrecy of sensitive sites.

The balloon's solar panels can be made out from this shot. China has claimed ownership of the device but has insisted it was a weather surveillance aircraft

The suspected Chinese spy balloon drifts to the ocean after being shot down off the coast in Surfside Beach, South Carolina, February 4, 2023

Even if the balloon was not armed, it posed a risk to the US, said retired Army General John Ferrari, a visiting fellow at the American Enterprise Institute.

The flight itself, he said, could be used to test America's ability to detect incoming threats and to find holes in the country's air defense warning system.

It may also have allowed the Chinese to sense electromagnetic emissions that higher-altitude satellites cannot detect, such as low-power radio frequencies which could help them understand how different US weapons systems communicate.

China's weather balloon excuse should be dismissed outright, said Oriana Skylar Mastro, an expert on Chinese military affairs and foreign policy at Stanford University.

'This is like a standard thing that countries often say about surveillance assets,' Mastro said.

WHEN WERE THEY FIRST USED?

Balloons used for surveillance aren't new and primitive ones date back centuries, as far back to the late 18th century.

In 1794, the French used manned air balloons to observe the enemy during the Battle of Fleurus, but they came into greater use in World War II.

Monitoring an adversary from a balloon dates back to 1794, when the French used a hot air balloon to track Austrian and Dutch troops in the Battle of Fleurus

During the conflict, Japan launched thousands of hydrogen balloons carrying bombs, and hundreds ended up in the US and Canada.

Most were ineffective, but one was lethal; in May 1945, six civilians died when they found one of the balloons on the ground in Oregon, and it exploded.

China's military has shown growing interest in high-altitude balloons - report 'Dozens' of Chinese documents point to surging interest in using balloon technology for military purposes, according to Reuters. One paper published last April by researchers in China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) institute focused on 'special aircraft' said that one of the useful military applications of balloons was to test enemy air defences. '(The balloon can) induce and mobilise the enemy's air defence system, providing the conditions for the implementation of electronic reconnaissance, assessment of air defence systems' early warning detection and operational response capabilities,' the researchers wrote. That paper and several other articles by PLA-controlled publications also point to keen interest from the Chinese military establishment in studying how the US and other countries used balloons militarily in the past. Chinese military units and state-run research institutes have bought high-altitude balloons and related technology in the past two years, a Reuters analysis of government tenders shows, though the documents are heavily redacted. Advertisement

According to Boyd, the US flew many balloons over the Soviet Union in the 1940s and 1950s too.

'Those were eventually replaced by the high-altitude spy airplanes, the U-2s, and they were subsequently replaced by satellites,' he said.

WHY IS CHINA USING BALLOONS WHEN IT HAS SATELLITES?

Balloons are likely cheaper and easier to launch than satellites, which tend to require a launch from a rocket.

China may also be wanting to demonstrate to the US that it has a host of technology options when it comes to surveillance, but there may be other explanations for the bizarre episode.

China's vice foreign minister Xie Feng has said he's lodged a formal complaint with the US Embassy over the 'US attack on a Chinese civilian unmanned airship by military force'.

Reacting with anger at the US's decision to shoot down the balloon may also play into China's hands, by giving it a degree of moral or political leverage.

John Blaxland, professor of international security and intelligence studies at the Australian National University, thinks China wanted the balloon to be detected when it entered US airspace.

'It's hard to think how they could have thought that it wouldn't have been detected,' Professor Blaxland told The Guardian.

'American airspace is so closely studied, by the US civil aviation authorities, by the US air force, the US space force, the weather networks  it's extremely scrutinised airspace.'

Meanwhile, Boyd said China is likely 'experimenting to see how far they can push things' and that the balloon is probably 'some kind of political message'.

WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?

The hunt is now on by US authorities to find the remaining fragments of the balloon, which could reveal more about its capabilities.

Chuck Schumer, the US Senate Democratic leader, said the downing of the balloon 'wasn't just the safest option, but it was the one that maximized our intel gain'.

This photo shows US Air Force fighter aircraft shooting down the suspected Chinese spy balloon off the Carolina coast on Saturday

That was because any instrumentation on the airship was more likely to survive a water landing than if it had been shot down earlier over land.

There is currently no timeline on the recovery of the balloon from the Atlantic Ocean, but officials estimated that it would be done in a short time.

When recovered, the balloon debris will be analysed in Quantico, Virginia, home of the FBI headquarters.

Christopher Twomey, a security scholar at the US Naval Postgraduate School in California, said any Chinese response would be limited.

'I'd expect they'd protest moderately but hope to sweep this under the rug and reinstate progress on senior-level visits within months,' Twomey told Reuters.
Last night, a 7.8-magnitude earthquake shook Turkey and Syria for about a minute and resulted in the deaths of more than 2,300 people.

The epicentre was just north of the city of Gaziantep at a depth of around 11 miles (18 km), according to the US Geological Survey (USGS), and the quake struck at 04:17 am local time (01:17 GMT).

Tremors were felt as far away as Egypt, Lebanon and the island of Cyprus, while a tsunami warning was briefly issued by authorities in Italy along the country's coast.

Hours later, a second 7.5-magnitude earthquake hit two-and-a-half miles south-southeast of the town of Ekinozu.

But what caused these disasters, and where exactly did they strike? MailOnline answers all the key questions.

The epicentre was just north of the city of Gaziantep at a depth of around 11 miles (18 km), according to the US Geological Survey (USGS), and the quake struck at 04:17 am local time (01:17 GMT)

Tremors were felt as far away as Denmark, Greenland, Egypt, Lebanon and the island of Cyprus, while a tsunami warning was briefly issued in Italy along the country's coast.

What happened and where?

In the early hours of Monday morning, a 7.8-magnitude earthquake hit central Turkey, about 60 miles from the Syrian border and at a depth of about 11 miles (18 km).

The nearby city of Gaziantep has a population of about two million people and the region is home to large numbers of Syrian refugees.

About ten minutes after the initial quake, a strong 6.6-magnitude aftershock rumbled, and another 40 smaller quakes were felt over the following two hours.

However, that wasn't the end of the devastation, as a second 7.7-magnitude earthquake hit the country at 1:24 pm (10:24 GMT).

This struck 60 miles (97 km) north of first epicentre, about 42 miles (67 km) north-east of Kahramanmaras, before about 100 smaller aftershocks.

It occurred at a depth of 6 miles (10 km), according to USGS, and the epicentre was in the Elbistan region of Kahramanmaras province.

Turkey has been hit by a second huge earthquake, hours after an earlier catastrophic quake devastated the region, killing more than 1,600 people and injuring thousands more, while toppling thousands of buildings. Pictured: The Turkish city of Hatay is seen after Monday morning's quake levelled buildings across the region

Tremor were felt as far away as Greenland, the Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland said.

'The large earthquakes in Turkey were clearly registered on the seismographs in Denmark and Greenland,' seismologist Tine Larsen told AFP.

On average, fewer than 20 earthquakes exceed a magnitude of 7.0 worldwide each year, and Dr David Rothery said this one was 'relatively shallow'.

The Professor of Planetary Geosciences at The Open University said: 'The shaking at the ground surface will have been more severe than for a deeper earthquake of the same magnitude at source.

'Many of the subsequent aftershocks, although weaker at source, have occurred at shallower depths.'

Residents retrieve an injured girl from the rubble of a collapsed building in the town of Jandaris, Syria in the rebel-held part of Aleppo province, on February 6. Rescue workers are desperately searching for survivors after the earthquakes struck across the region

Tremors from the first deadly quake - which lasted about a minute - were felt as far away as the island of Cyprus, Egypt and Lebanon, and a tsunami warning was briefly issued by authorities in Italy along the country's coast

Why did it happen?

Catastrophic earthquakes are caused when two tectonic plates that are sliding in opposite directions stick and then slip suddenly.

They are composed of Earth's crust and the uppermost portion of the mantle, while below is the asthenosphere: the warm, viscous conveyor belt of rock on which tectonic plates ride.

They do not all move in the same direction and often clash, which builds up a huge amount of pressure between the two plates.

Eventually, this pressure causes one plate to jolt either under or over the other.

This releases a huge amount of energy, creating tremors and destruction to any property or infrastructure nearby.

Severe earthquakes normally occur over fault lines where tectonic plates meet, but minor tremors  which still register on the Richter sale  can happen in the middle of these plates.

Earthquakes are detected by tracking the size, or magnitude, and intensity of the shock waves they produce, known as seismic waves.

The magnitude of an earthquake differs from its intensity, as the former refers to the measurement of energy released where the earthquake originated.

Intensity relates to the size of the seismic waves recorded by a seismograph during the event.

An aerial view of a destroyed building in Gaziantep, southern Turkey. The quake - which could be Turkey's largest ever on record - was centred north of Gaziantep, Turkey, which is about 60 miles from the Syrian border and has a population of bout 2 million

Turkey lies on major faultlines that border three different tectonic plates, and is therefore prone to earthquakes.

Dr Anastasios Sextos, a professor of Earthquake Engineering at the University of Bristol, told MailOnline: 'This is a well-known region of high seismicity as it is close to the intersection of three tectonic plates.

'The area of Aleppo and Gazientep have experienced a series of historically devastating earthquakes and an event of similar magnitude occurred about two centuries ago.'

The majority of Turkey's landmass sits on the Anatolian Plate, which is being squeezed between three other large plates.

North of the country is the Eurasian Plate, south is the African Plate and to the east lies the Arabian Plate.

These create two large faultlines  the East Anatolian and North Anatolian  which are both prone to seismic activity.

This is because the Arabian plate pushes northwards into the Eurasian plate, squeezing the Anatolian Plate westwards towards the Aegean Sea.

Catastrophic earthquakes are caused when two tectonic plates that are sliding in opposite directions stick and then slip suddenly. Tectonic plates are composed of Earth's crust and the uppermost portion of the mantle

Today's earthquakes occurred on the 434 mile-long (699 km) East Anatolian faultline.

Dr Roger Musson from the British Geological Survey said: 'The earthquake originated at the SW end of the East Anatolian Fault, near the junction with the N-S running Dead Sea Transform, at a depth of about 18 km and propagated to the NE causing heavy damage.

'Aftershocks of today's event are continuing, with one of 6.7 magnitude a mere 11 minutes after the main shock.'

This first earthquake is thought to be the largest since December 26, 1939, when a 7.8-magnitude quake killed around 32,700 people near Erzincan and the Kelkit River.

Since then, earthquakes have been 'migrating' across the 932 mile-long (1,500 km) North Anatolian faultline, as each quake passes stress to the next section to the west.

This line has a slip rate of about 0.7 inches (18 mm) a year while the East Anatolian faultline moves of between 0.2 and 0.4 inches (6 and 10 mm) a year.

Residents fled from homes in terror in cities across southeast Turkey and Syria, taking shelter in cars fearing aftershocks and collapsing buildings. Pictured: Rescue workers in Osmaniye, Turkey are seen on top of a huge mound of rubble as they search for survivors

Dr Rothery added: 'Because of friction along fault lines, the motion is not smooth. Instead strain builds up locally over years or decades until the accumulated stress is strong enough to overcome resistance and rock masses snap past each other in a sudden jerk.

'In this case, the violence of the shaking at the surface has been strong enough to make buildings collapse, which is probably how most lives have been lost. There may have been landslides too in hilly terrain.

'The size of the aftershocks, which may continue for days although mostly decreasing in energy, brings a risk of collapse of structures already weakened by the earlier events. This makes search and rescue efforts dangerous.

'Three earthquakes of magnitude 6 have happened in this area since 1970, and the northern Syrian city of Aleppo was severely damaged by magnitude 7 earthquakes in 1138 and 1822.'

LIST OF DEADLY EARTHQUAKES IN TURKEY In 1894 a magnitude 7 earthquake hit Istanbul and killed at least 1,349 people. In 1939 around 32,700 people were killed in Erzincan after an earthquake of 7.8. In 1944 a 7.5 earthquake hit Gerede killing 3,959. In 1966 an earthquake of 6.8 hit the town of Varto, killing 2,529. In 1975 a 6.7 magnitude earthquake hit the town of Lice, killing 2,350 people. In 1976 an earthquake of 7.3 magniture hit Van Province, killing 5,291. In 1999 a 7.6 quake hit Izmit, south of Istanbul, killing 17,118 people. Advertisement

How many people were killed and injured?

The official death toll from today's earthquakes in Turkey is over 2,000, with many more feared dead.

Turkish officials upped the number of casualties in the nation to at least 1,500 this afternoon, while 843 people have been confirmed dead in Syrian government- and opposition-held territory according to the Syrian Health Ministry.

These victims were mostly in Aleppo, Latakia, Tartus and Hama, Syrian officials said in their own update.

Thousands more have sustained serious injuries and search and rescue teams are working feverishly to free scores of people trapped under the rubble.

Turkey's president Recep Erdogan described the quake as the country's largest disaster since 1939, when 33,000 people were killed in the Erzincan earthquake.

He added that 2,818 buildings had collapsed as a result of Monday's quake.

The White Helmets, a volunteer civil defence organisation in Syria, said the quake has 'resulted in hundreds of injuries, dozens of deaths, and people being stranded in the winter cold'.

'The toll may increase as many families are still trapped,' the White Helmets, which operates in rebel-controlled areas of the war-torn country, said.

'Our teams are on the ground [are] searching for survivors and removing the dead from the rubble.'

The death toll across the whole affected region is expected to climb as rescue teams work throughout Monday to find more people trapped under collapsed buildings.

A young child is rescued from underneath the rubble of a collapsed building on Monday morning. Rescue workers are pouring through the rubble to find survivors

Dr Sextos believes that the infrastructure in Turkey could have played a part in the earthquake's devastation.

He told MailOnline: 'The Turkish seismic code fully complies to the standards and the state of the art knowledge internationally.

'However, this Earthquake exceeds the design level prescribed in this region while, unfortunately, the possible lack of code enforcement and quality control in the area increases their buildings' fragility.

'As a result, the toll of losses is disproportionate.'

Dr Bill McGuire, a professor of Earth Sciences at UCL, added: 'Many of the buildings in the towns affected are simply not designed to cope with this level of strong shaking, and in Syria many structures have already been weakened by more than a decade of war.

'Sadly, I expect the death toll to rise significantly, and would not be at all surprised by a final death toll in the thousands.

'There have been dozens of significant aftershocks on the heels of the main quake, and these will continue for days, hampering rescue and relief efforts and potentially causing collapse of already damaged buildings.'

Will it happen again?

Dr Sextos told MailOnline: 'Because of their high magnitude, such earthquakes can trigger additional events in nearby faults and naturally a follow up event could be expected in South East Europe or the Middle East within the next year.

'The UK is a region of low seismicity and it is unlikely to be affected by this event.'
The safest seat is in the middle rear seat and the worst is in the central aisle

An aviation expert reveals the fatality rates of seats in a passenger airplane

The odds of dying in a plane crash are about one in 11 million, but the chances of surviving depend on your seating choice.

An aviation expert reveals a 44 percent fatality rate for travelers sitting in the aisle seats in the middle of the craft, compared with 28 percent for central rear seats.

Doug Drury, a professor at Central Queensland University, said because the aisle seats do not offer a buffer on one side, the passenger will likely be struck with crash properties.

Travelers unable to secure the safest seats may have better luck surviving in the middle and window seats of the middle part of the plane.

However, the chances of dying in an aircraft accident have less to do with where you sit and more with the circumstances surrounding the crash.

Scientists reveal the worst and best seats on an airplane in the event of a crash

Drury shared this information in The Conversation, reassuring travelers that 'air travel is the safest mode of transportation.'

However, planes crash, so he has shared the best and worst places to sit on a craft.

The professor explained that in 1989, United Flight 323 crashed in Sioux City, Iowa.

And 184 of the 269 passengers survived - most of who were sitting behind first class, near the front of the plane.

A 35-year-long investigation by TIME found seats in the back third of the aircraft had a 32 percent fatality rate, compared with 39 percent in the middle third and 38 percent in the front third.

Crash survivors sitting near an emergency exit have a faster route out of the plane, making it more likely will walk away from an incident, according to a study from the University of Greenwich.

The researchers found that a seat up to five rows from an exit offers a better than even chance of escaping if there's a fire.

However, when seated six or more rows from an exit, 'the chances of perishing far outweigh those of surviving.'

However, the chances of dying in an aircraft accident have less to do with where you sit and more with the circumstances surrounding the crash

Whether the seat is on the aisle or not only makes a 'marginal' amount of difference, the study shows.

The scientists checked the accounts of 2,000 survivors in 105 air accidents worldwide.

READ MORE: American Airlines pilot reveals fascinating details about airplane travel An American Airlines airline pilot has taken flight on social media after revealing some trade secrets along with a number of photos of himself enjoying life in-between his hectic work schedule. Advertisement

When it comes to surviving a fire, those seated in an aisle had a 'marginally' higher chance of surviving  at 65 percent  than those seated by a window (58 percent).

Passengers at the front of the aircraft had a 65 percent chance of escape, while those at the rear had only a 53 percent chance.

Robert Gifford, director of the Parliamentary Advisory Council for Transport Safety, said: 'Your chance of survival should not be based on your ability to pay for an emergency exit seat or to reserve your seat online.'

The study looked at various air accidents, including fires on board and crashes.

One was the 1985 Manchester airport fire which claimed 55 lives on a British Airtours 737 caused by an exploding engine.

The resulting fire blazed on one side of the aircraft, blocking several exits. The study found that the passengers who died were, on average, sitting more than double the distance from a usable exit as those who survived.

All planes must pass a test to be emptied in 90 seconds.

In tests, the cabin crew assisted passengers with their exits.

But the report said the experimental situations do not consider the 'social bonds' between passengers  adults tend to help children escape, for example.

And exits may be unusable or blocked, and some of the cabin crew may have died during the accident.

Passengers in the study were more likely to comply with the cabin crew's instructions in a test than in an emergency.

'In real emergencies, where passengers may have a choice of directions in which to escape, they may ultimately ignore crew commands and attempt to use their nearest exit,' according to the 2008 study.
Most of these were in the USA and Australia, with 16 in the state of Florida alone

This is the lowest number in ten years , thought to be the result of shark declines

The shark bite capital of the world is Florida, new research has shown, after 16 unprovoked attacks were reported there last year.

However, the data reveals that the number of such incidents worldwide decreased from 2021 to reach a ten-year low.

There were 57 unprovoked bites in 2022  with only five of them fatal  while there were 73 in 2021, with nine deaths.

The majority were recorded in the US and Australia, however single bites also occurred in New Zealand, Thailand and Brazil, the University of Florida research showed.

The average number of unprovoked bites each year since 2013 is 74, and this reduction is thought to indicate declining shark populations.

The majority of unprovoked shark attacks were recorded in the USA and Australia last year, however single bites also occurred in New Zealand, Thailand and Brazil

While unprovoked shark attacks are extremely rare in British waters, they're much more common in other parts of the world. Pictured: A great white shark

A study published last month revealed that nearly two-thirds of coral reef shark and ray species are at risk of extinction, with overfishing named as the biggest threat.

NUMBER OF UNPROVOKED BITES IN 2022 Florida, US - 16 Australia - 9 New York, US - 8 South Africa - 2 Egypt - 2 Brazil - 1 New Zealand - 1 Thailand - 1 Advertisement

Dr Gavin Naylor, director of the Florida Museum of Natural History's Florida Program for Shark Research, said: 'Generally speaking, the number of sharks in the world's oceans has decreased, which may have contributed to recent lulls.

'It's likely that fatalities are down because some areas have recently implemented rigorous beach safety protocols, especially in Australia.'

Data used to build the International Shark Attack File does not take into account attacks that may have been motivated by human action, either intentionally or unintentionally.

This could include casting a fishing line directly in the shark's vicinity, or dumping 'chum' - meat-based bait - into the water.

Indeed, there were another 32 bites reported which fit the criteria for being provoked.

Dr Naylor added: 'Unprovoked bites give us significantly more insight into the biology and behaviour of sharks.

'Changing the environment such that sharks are drawn to the area in search of their natural food source might prompt them to bite humans when they otherwise wouldn't.'

According to the researchers, there is a one in 4,332,817 chance of an individual dying as a result of a shark attack in their lifetime.

While unprovoked shark attacks are extremely rare worldwide  especially in the UK  they tend to be more common in certain locations.

This year was tied with 2022 in recording 52 unprovoked bites worldwide - the ten year low. Pictured: Number of unprovoked shark bites worldwide from 2013 to 2022

Sharks found in British waters Smooth hammerhead shark - North Atlantic off the western tip of Cornwall Blue shark - 10 miles off the southern coast of Cornwall Thresher shark - English Channel off the Devon coast Shortfin mako shark - Bristol Channel and off the coast of Wales Porbeagle shark - Most common on south coast Basking shark - Sea of the Hebrides Advertisement

Last August, the Florida Museum produced an interactive map that lets you explore the number of unprovoked shark attacks around the world.

It revealed that the USA is the shark attack hotspot of the world, with 1,563 unprovoked attacks since 1580, followed by Australia (682 attacks), Republic of South Africa (258 attacks) and Brazil (110 attacks).

This year was tied with 2020 in recording 52 unprovoked bites worldwide - a ten year low.

It is thought that travel restrictions and beach closures as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic meant that humans and sharks were interacting less, which brought down the number.

The US reported the most unprovoked shark attacks out of any country in the world in 2022.

The vast majority were in Florida and, although none of them were fatal in the state, two of them did result in amputations.

These are thought to have been the result of bites from bull sharks.

A woman in the Dry Tortugas National Park in the state was attacked by a six-foot lemon shark, prompting her to punch it repeatedly in the face.

While snorkelling, Heather West, 42, approached a patch of sea grass which seemed to be floating in a strange manner.

She turned on her front and looked behind her to see a shark with its jaws clamped round her foot, which was completely mangled.

This was only the eleventh known unprovoked attack from a lemon shark.

Ms West said: 'It's unusual for sharks to take one bite and then persistently try again even after feeling resistance.

'The same shark is said to have been sighted a few days earlier when it came right out on to the shore to try and hunt a pelican which is really unusual behaviour.

'I can only think the poor thing must have been starving, because it was trying to drown me and drag me out to sea.

'Despite all of this, I want the record to show that I love sharks, and don't want to discourage people from getting in the water.'

A woman in the Dry Tortugas in Florida was attacked by a six-foot lemon shark which bit her foot, prompting her to punch it repeatedly in the face. Pictured: Her foot after the injury

Countries with the most unprovoked shark attacks since 1580 US - 1,564 Australia - 682 Republic of South Africa - 258 Brazil - 110 New Zealand - 56 Papua New Guinea - 48 Mascarene Islands - 47 Mexico - 41 Bahama Islands - 33 Iran - 23 Advertisement

There was only one shark-related death in the US in 2022, reported after a snorkeler went missing and only parts of her bathing suit and snorkelling gear washed up.

Beach-goers at Keawakapu Beach in Maui, Hawaii recounted seeing a large shark apparently feeding on something in a pool of red water.

Despite the overall decrease of unprovoked attacks, the state of New York recorded a record number of eight in 2022.

In the last seven years, juvenile sand sharks have been drawn to the Great South Bay, between Long Island and Fire Island, as they are better protected from predators.

Dr Naylor believes the attacks were the result of an influx of fish being brought close to the shore by swirling currents from the Gulf Stream called 'eddies'.

These lure the sharks into the surf, and increase the number of human encounters and non-lethal bites.

Dr Naylor added: 'Juveniles tend to be more experimental and will try things that an adult shark wouldn't.

'If fish are especially dense where people are swimming and visibility is poor, then it is more likely that young sharks, which lack the experience of older animals, will mistake a swimmer's foot for their intended prey.'

The Florida Museum produced an interactive map that lets you explore the number of unprovoked shark attacks around the world since 1900

The map reveals that the USA is the shark attack hotspot of the world, with 1,563 unprovoked attacks since 1580, followed by Australia (682 attacks), Republic of South Africa (258 attacks) and Brazil (110 attacks)

LOCATIONS OF FATAL SHARK ATTACKS IN 2022 Egypt - 2 South Africa -2 USA - 1 Advertisement

Elsewhere, Australia clocked nine unprovoked shark bites, and in South Africa there were two fatal ones, thought to have been caused by Great White sharks.

Two fatal attacks also occurred on January 8 2022 in the Red Sea, off the coast of Egypt and less than a mile from each other.

They are both thought to have been attacked by the same animal, likely a tiger shark.

While rare, shark attacks in the Red Sea are often fatal because it gets so deep so close to the coastline.

Dr Naylor said: 'It's a very unusual marine system because the seafloor drops so precipitously, as much as 1,000 feet in 100 yards in some places

'Open oceans are often pretty bleak, and the pelagic sharks that live in them make their living by opportunism.

'Whatever potential food source they find, they'll sample.'
When it comes to choosing a new puppy, you might look for one which is friendly, playful and likes long walks.

But if you enjoy a more peaceful life, it could also be worth finding out if they are genetically similar to wolves.

That's because certain breeds  some of which may surprise you  share more DNA with wolves and, as a result, are more likely to howl.

And while larger Huskies and Alaskan malamutes may seem related, Pekingese pups, Shar Peis and Basenjis are also included.

The main reasons wolves emit their long, mournful cries is for long-distance communication and to mark territory boundaries.

Certain dog breeds share more DNA with wolves and as a result, are more likely to howl, researchers have found. And while Huskies (pictured) and Alaskan malamutes may seem obviously related, Pekingese pups, Shar Peis and Basenjis are also included in this category

Researchers at Eotvos Lorand University investigated dogs' reactions to wolf howls. The effects of the dogs' breed, age and sex on their behaviour were tested in the new study

But while some dogs often howl, certain breeds never do.

Researchers from Eotvos Lorand University in Budapest, Hungary, played the sounds of a howling wolf to 68 dogs which differed in their genetic 'distance' from wolves.

WHICH BREEDS HOWL LIKE WOLVES? Siberian huskies

Alaskan malamutes

Shiba inu

Ikita inu

Pekingese

Samoyed

Afghan hound

Basenji

Chow chow

Shar Pei Advertisement

They discovered 'ancient' breeds, which are genetically more similar to wolves, often replied to the howls with their own  and were also more stressed.

These breeds included Siberian huskies, Alaskan malamutes, the Shiba inu, Ikita inu and Pekingese.

However modern breeds, such as Great Danes, Labrador retrievers, Beagles, Boxers and Miniature Poodles, often replied with barking instead.

The researchers said ancient breeds may understand more of the wolf howls and may become stressed because they feel like they are intruding on others' territory.

While the Samoyed, Afghan hound, Basenji, Chow Chow and Shar Pei were not tested in the study, they also fall into the 'ancient' breed category  indicating that they, too, are likely to howl.

The team also discovered that the dogs which howled were more likely to do so as they got older, rather than when they were a puppy.

They said their findings support the theory that 'modern' dogs, which have been subject to intense selective breeding, react differently to this ancient form of communication because their vocal repertoire has been altered.

The experts discovered that 'ancient' breeds, which are genetically more similar to wolves, often replied to the howling noise with their own howls  and were also more stressed

First author Fanni Lehoczki said: 'According to our results, breeds which are genetically more similar to wolves are more prone to reply with their own howls to wolf howl playbacks.

'On the other hand, breeds more distantly related to wolves typically reacted with barking instead of howls.

'It seems that although howling is present in most breeds' repertoire, it lost its functionality due to the changed social environment, thus, modern breeds do not use it in adequate situations.'

The findings were published in the journal Communications Biology.
Also featured is the sound of two icebergs colliding, like a pneumatic drill

Scientists used underwater microphones to capture bizarre audio at the poles

From 'singing' ice and a 'sci-fi' seal, the bizarre sounds at the Earth's two poles have been revealed in a new research project.

Scientists have used underwater microphones to capture new audio from living species and geological processes in the Arctic and Antarctic.

It includes 'singing' ice  a sound made by ice contracting or moving in water  as well as a Ross seal sounding like it's being broadcast from a spaceship.

Also featured is the dramatic sound of two icebergs colliding like a pneumatic drill, and a narwhal making noises similar to a sheep.

The 'Polar Sounds' project has been led by the Helmholtz Institute for Functional Marine Biodiversity at the University of Oldenburg, Germany.

Pictured, a Ross seal (Ommatophoca rossii) sleeping on the ice of the Antarctica. A recording of the species makes it sound like it is in space

More than 50 audio snippets are available online and can be used by 'sound artists and musicians to creatively reinterpret', project leaders say.

'Polar Sounds' audio samples - Singing sea ice - Ross seal - Antarctic minke whale - Antarctic blue whale - Colliding icebergs - Seismic shooting ... and much more Advertisement

'These sounds are fairly alien to most people,' Dr Geraint Rhys Whittaker, researcher at HIFMB and project coordinator for Polar Sounds, told the BBC.

'We probably think we know what the poles sound like but often that is imagined.'

The sounds range from biological (such as marine mammals), geological (such as the movement of ice) and 'anthropogenic', meaning human-made.

One example of this latter category is 'seismic shooting'  blasting compressed air into the water towards the ocean floor to locate oil and gas deposits.

The eerie seismic shooting sample is like the sound of distant bombs in a warzone.

There's also the sound of Antarctic blue whale  the largest animal on the planet.

Previous studies have indicated underwater noise pollution forces whales to change how the sing and also causes them to become stressed.

The blue whale is the largest animal known to have ever existed, reaching a maximum confirmed length of 98 feet (29.9 metres)

Icebergs calving in Greenland. This is the breaking of ice chunks from the edge of a glacier

The Polar Sounds team has also worked with more than 100 artists to create compositions that make use of the polar noises.

Human-made underwater noise - Drilling - Shipping - Seismic shooting - Deep-sea mining - Sonar Advertisement

Many of these are even more bizarre than the original audio, including a tune called 'Stand By', which samples the collision between icebergs.

'What I particularly enjoyed about working on this project is the uniqueness of these sounds and how they can create an intuitive connection between us as humans and the ocean,' said Dr Whittaker.

'The next step of the project will be to present these sounds in a travelling exhibition.'

Of all the sensory signals, sound is the one that travels furthest in the oceans, so acoustic methods are an important option, especially when visual observations are limited.

Sound can provide scientists with valuable information on breeding habits and migration patterns, which can reflect the overall health of populations.

But sound can also reveal secrets of how anthropogenic noise negatively affects marine environments and the animals within.

The audio samples include 'singing' ice - a sound made by ice contracting or moving in water - and the collapse of ice shelves

According to a recent study, the bottlenose dolphin is just one species that adapts to noise underwater  by getting louder.

In experiments in Florida, dolphins got louder and 'shouted' for longer as the volume of surrounding human-made noise increased.

Dolphins are famously intelligent creatures that rely on their 'whistle' and 'click' sounds to hunt and reproduce.

But if noise from human activity such as drilling and shipping drowns out this dolphin noise, this can negatively impact the health of dolphin populations.

Meanwhile, according to a 2017 study, a noisy ocean causes fish stress and confusion and makes them more vulnerable to predators.
Every week our Holiday Hero Neil Simpson takes an in-depth look at a brilliant holiday topic, doing all the legwork so you dont have to. This week: avoiding a car hire crisis.

Book early, rent from less obvious locations, pay up front and keep an eye on your arrival time. Thats the four-pronged advice if youre hiring a car this summer, especially in peak holiday destinations such as Portugals Algarve, the Balearics, Italy, Florida and California.

The big problem is that demand is set to outstrip car supply for the second summer in a row. Figures from comparison website TravelSupermarket show that searches for hire cars shot up some 240 per cent last month compared with January 2022. Demand in Portugal is up a staggering 375 per cent.

Rental firms, which still havent replaced all the vehicles they sold in the pandemic, are charging premium prices for those they have.

Rory Sexton, boss of car-hire broker Zest, predicts significant shortages in many resorts this summer.

In the driver's seat: There are a few simple rules you can follow to enjoy cheaper car rental this summer

He also says big price increases are coming, with typical costs in Florida rising from 36 a day in August 2019 to 78 a day this year. A pre-pandemic average of 31 a day in Tuscany is now set to top 65 this summer. Booking early will certainly save money. Last year, a weeks car hire on the Algarve in August cost from 252 when booked in January. When booked in July, the same week cost 354. Experts expect similar patterns this year.

Renting from less obvious  albeit less convenient locations can also control costs. The highest demand and prices are at airports, particularly Malaga, Faro, Paphos and Orlando in Florida, says Guy Hobbs, travel expert at Which?

On one of our regular checks, we found the cheapest rate for a weeks rental at Malaga airport was 548. Changing the pick-up location to Malaga train station got a car for 249.

Paying in full and up front is recommended. Experts say book now, pay on collection deals are more likely to be cancelled or lost by unscrupulous rental firms wanting to collect higher rates from last-minute customers. It also pays to reconfirm bookings by completing any digital check-in forms emailed out as the rental approaches.

Travel experts have found that you could save around 100 by booking a car early in the Algarve (pictured)

Its important to remember that being realistic about arrival times is essential. When cars were scarce last summer, several firms took advantage of little-known small print, allowing them to cancel bookings as no shows if customers got to the rental desk as little as two hours later than planned.

The best advice is to factor in plenty of time for flight delays, queues at immigration or baggage reclaim and finding the car-hire desk (in America you may need to take a shuttle bus).

Putting flight numbers and scheduled arrival times on the booking means you are less likely to be penalised for flight delays.

When visiting Malaga (pictured), it may work out cheaper to pick up a car from Malaga train station instead of the airport

Conversely, it can also cost to get to the rental desk too early. Collect a car before the time on the agreement (even by a few minutes) and you can be charged for an extra full days rental.

Other pitfalls include paying for unnecessary extras such as GPS devices or car seats. Bringing a car seat with you is an option as most airlines put them in the hold for free. Returning a car late, or without a full tank of fuel if specified on the agreement, can be equally expensive.

Or you can avoid it altogether and holiday without car hire. Uber works in most tourist areas (Lyft is an alternative on US holidays), Bolt and other taxi apps are big in Malaga, Madeira and the Algarve, while FreeNow is popular for European airport transfers.
Arnold Schwarzenegger was reportedly involved in a car accident that took place in West Los Angeles on Sunday morning.

According to TMZ, the 75-year-old actor was driving around the city when a bicyclist 'suddenly swerved into his lane and made contact' with his car before he had a chance to slow down.

The accident was confirmed by three witnesses, and the Terminator franchise star - who recently spent time in his native Austria - spoke to a group of police officers who asked for further details regarding the accident.

First responders subsequently took the bicyclist to the hospital, where she was treated for minor injuries.

The media outlet reported that the individual was in stable condition and was expected to recover.

Incident: Arnold Schwarzenegger was involved in a car accident that took place in West Los Angeles on Sunday morning; he is seen in 2015

The Terminator actor does not appear to be at fault in the incident, law enforcement sources told TMZ.

Following the crash, the actor took the bicycle involved to a local bike shop for repairs.

An investigation into the accident has been launched, although it has reportedly been determined that the former governor of California could not have done anything to avoid being hit.

The Conan the Barbarian star is an avid bicyclist and is often seen riding around in the Los Angeles area.

Schwarzenegger was previously involved in a multi-car accident that took place in Brentwood last January.

According to TMZ, the performer was driving his GMC Yukon when he collided with a Toyota Prius that subsequently continued to roll into a Porsche Taycan.

The driver of the Prius was taken to a hospital by ambulance after it was found that she was bleeding heavily from her head.

No arrests were made at the scene of the accident, and neither drugs nor alcohol were suspected to have been factors.

Unfortunate circumstances: According to TMZ, the 75-year-old actor was driving around the city when a bicyclist suddenly swerved and hit his car before he had a chance to slow down

Bad luck: Law enforcement sources spoke to TMZ and expressed that Schwarzenegger was likely not at fault regarding the incident; he is seen in January

Passionate: The Conan the Barbarian star is an avid bicyclist and is often seen riding around in the Los Angeles area

Law enforcement sources later told the media outlet that it appeared that Schwarzenegger was at fault and that he had made an illegal left turn, causing the accident.

A representative for the actor later spoke to People and expressed that he had not been hurt in the incident.

They added that, at the time, the performer's 'only concern...is for the woman who was injured.'
Cindy Crawford showed off her endless legs in a new video on her Instagram on Sunday.

The 56-year-old former supermodel strutted her stuff down a hallway while holding a cocktail before heading out to dinner with her husband, Rande Gerber, on Saturday night.

She flashed her legs in a multi-colored leopard print skirt and wore a purple silk blouse tucked into her waistband.

The beauty performed her supermodel walk in a pair of strappy heels, all while managing not to spill a drop of her drink on the carpet.

Her luscious locks were down in large waves past her shoulders, which she whipped around for dramatic effect.

Model status: Cindy Crawford showed off her model walk before a night out with her husband, Rande Gerber

Glasses up: The 56-year-old strutted up and down a long hallway with a cocktail in her hand

Cindy flawlessly applied a full face of makeup and accessorized her look with a silver necklace.

Over the video, the song One Dance by Drake, Wizkid, and Kyla was playing.

Cindy captioned her post: 'Thanks @jeanninebradenla for the perfect party skirt.'

The runway veteran was all dressed up for date night with her long-time husband, businessman Rande Gerber, 60.

The pair hit the streets of West Hollywood for dinner at Catch Steak.

While they were out, Cindy added a glittery gold clutch to her ensemble.

Rande looked suave in a black shirt and a matching bomber jacket, which he combined with a pair of coordinating trousers.

This outing comes after Cindy showed off her lustrous mane of hair in a sexy video on social media.

Impressive: The beauty moved flawlessly in strappy heels all while not spilling a drop of her drink on the carpet

The hair: Her luscious locks were down in large waves past her shoulders, which she whipped around for dramatic effect

Showstopping: The former supermodel flashed her legs in a multi-colored leopard print skirt and wore a purple silk blouse tucked into her waistband

The age-defying star looked much younger than her 56 years as she tousled her hair, while promoting her '#MBhairgoals' for her Meaningful Beauty line.

She founded Meaningful Beauty in 2004 to help people achieve younger-looking skin. They sell both skincare products and haircare products.

According to Forbes, over the past 17 years, Cindy has built a $400 million brand that has done more than $100 million in annual revenue.

The mother-of-two owns 50 percent of the company, while the other half is owned by the marketing firm Guthy-Renker.

She started modeling in the 1980s and even appeared in the opening credits of the Michael J. Fox film The Secret of My Success.

Still young: Cindy recently showed off her lustrous mane of hair in a sexy video on social media

Family time: The actress has been married to Rande since 1998 and they have two kids together, Presley, 23, and Kaia, 21; seen at The Fashion Awards 2018

After the beauty quit modeling full-time in 2000, she now only occasionally appears in fashion magazines. However, she did appear on the cover of Vogue Paris with her daughter Kaia in 2016.

The bombshell now works with several brands and spends time building her company. She even appeared in Taylor Swift's music video Bad Blood alongside stars like Selena Gomez, Jessica Alba, Gigi Hadid, Ellen Pompeo, and Karlie Kloss.

The Fair Game actress was previously married to actor Richard Gere from 1991-1995, and after their divorce, she married Rande in 1998.

The pair have been together since then and have two kids together, Presley, 23, and Kaia, 21.
Ashley Graham shared new photos of herself getting ready for the 2023 Fifteen Percent Pledge Gala in New York City on Saturday evening.

The day after the event, the 35-year-old supermodel took to Instagram to share photos of herself in the stunning emerald dress while posing with her one-year-old twin sons Roman and Malachi.

For the event, the mother-of-three wore a ruched, figure-hugging Aliette dress with a mock neckline and cut-out highlighting her curves.

As she was getting ready ahead of the gala, she not only showed off her glamorous look but also her babies - two of three children she shares with her husband Justin Ervin.

In her caption, she congratulated activist and fashion designer Aurora James for the successful night of the star-studded inaugural gala celebrating Black excellence in the fashion industry.

Having fun: Ashley Graham, 35, shared new photos of herself getting ready for the 2023 Fifteen Percent Pledge Gala in New York City on Saturday evening

Mommy duties: The day after the event, the supermodel took to Instagram to share photos of herself in the stunning emerald dress while posing with her one-year-old twin sons Roman and Malachi

'Congrats Aurora James on an incredible night celebrating some of the brightest creatives in fashion,' she wrote.

'An honor to witness the culmination of the hard work the Fifteen Percent Pledge has done to encourage major retailers to join in creating sustainable and supportive ecosystems for Black-owned businesses,' she added.

In the new snaps while carefully keeping her sons' faces private, she also showed off her bold and sleek hairstyle.

For the gala, she tied her hair up into a sleek ponytail braid with two face-framing pieces at the side of her cheekbones.

The hairstyle also highlighted her eye-catching gold earrings in a large organic circle shape.

For makeup, she looked edgy and chic as she rocked a smoked out cat eyeliner look.

She then opted for a coral blush paired with a nude pink lipstick.

She accessorized with two statement gold rings and carried a black crocodile leather clutch with feathers adorning the handbag strap.

Exuding glamour: For the event, the mother-of-three wore a ruched, figure-hugging Aliette dress with a mock neckline and cut-out highlighting her curves; she tied her hair up into a sleek ponytail braid with two face-framing pieces at the side of her cheekbones

Red carpet look: The hairstyle also highlighted her eye-catching gold earrings in a large organic circle shape

She matched the black clutch with a pair of black sandal heels that she showed off in a photo from the red carpet.

Another picture showed her posting with the hostess and Fifteen Percent founder Aurora James.

In the carousel post, she also shared a snap posing with Aurora James, Emma Grede (co-founder of Good American and SKIMS), Bumble exec Selby Drummond, and supermodel Karlie Kloss.

Details: For makeup, she looked edgy and chic as she rocked a smoked out cat eyeliner look; she then opted for a coral blush paired with a nude pink lipstick

Textures: She accessorized with two statement gold rings and carried a black crocodile leather clutch with feathers adorning the handbag strap
Scout Willis and her sister Tallulah were spotted in Los Feliz as they stepped out for groceries on Sunday.

The stylish sisters - whose sibling Rumer is expecting her first baby - looked more dressed for a beach trip than a grocery run as they wore colorful bikinis.

On their outing, the daughters of Bruce Willis and Demi Moore were joined by a friend and their adorable dogs.

Tallulah, 29, wore white retro sunglasses, styled her short red hair messy, and carried a fuzzy yellow bag under her arm.

She wore a strapless green bandeau bikini top with a red and pink sweater tied around her waist above loose grey capri sweatpants.

Beach ready: Scout Willis and her sister Tallulah were spotted in Los Feliz as they stepped out for groceries on Sunday. The daughters of Bruce Willis and Demi Moore turned heads in their bathing suits

Aspiring musician Scout, 31, walked a small dog and wore beige sweats over a two-piece bikini with a fuzzy brown and white hat.

She styled her long brunette locks straight, wore dark glasses, and carried a shopping bag as they crossed the street.

On Thursday, Scout dazzled in a sequin mini dress alongside her quirky sister Tallulah at the Stella McCartney x Adidas launch party at Henson Recording Studios in Los Angeles.

Scout opted for a silver outfit with a matching cape and choker for the event.

She topped her look off with nude fishnet stockings and boosted her height with clear heels.

Tallulah wore a metallic gold and orange tinsel dress with a voluminous neckline draping over her arms and knees.

She teamed her look with a pair of star-printed tights, some red mules, and a matching red leather handbag.

Soaking up the sun: Scout, 31, wore beige sweats over a two piece bikini, a fuzzy hat, dark glasses, and carried a dog leash

California casual: Tallulah, 29, wore a strapless, green bandeau bikini top and loose grey capri sweatpants

Sparkles: The daughter's of Bruce Willis and Demi Moore posed on the Black carpet in their glistening ensembles at Henson Recording Studios in Los Angeles on Thursday (Scout, L and Tallulah, R)

Baby joy: Rumer Willis is expecting her first child with boyfriend Derek Richard Thomas - with her mother Demi Moore announcing the happy news last month

Scout and Talullah's older sister Rumer, 34, announced that she is expecting her first child with her boyfriend Derek Richard Thomas, 28, in December.

Rumer debuted her bump in some sweet snaps which showed the Vista Kicks frontman resting his head on her stomach and looking delighted.

Her mother, Demi Moore, 60, announced the news by posting the same images with the caption: 'Entering my hot kooky unhinged grandma era.'

Bruce's wife Emma Heming also shared a sweet post, writing: 'Baby news is happy news!!! Congratulations @rumerwillis and @derekrichardthomas We are elated over here!'

This will be Demi and Bruce's first grandchild.

Bruce recently retired amid his battle with the brain condition, aphasia.

The Hollywood icon withdrew from acting earlier this year as he began his fight with the illness that caused his language abilities to deteriorate.
Viewers did a double take on Monday when independent Tasmanian senator Jacqui Lambie appeared on the Today show with a very glamorous new look.

Lambie was being interviewed about the U.S. shooting down a suspected Chinese spy balloon last week, but viewers were distracted by her striking new appearance.

The 51-year-old, once known for her demure style, could have passed for a long-lost Kardashian sister as she sported a deep bronze tan and heavy makeup.

Viewers did a double take on Monday when independent Tasmanian senator Jacqui Lambie (left, with Karl Stefanovic) appeared on the Today show with a very glamorous new look

Looking remarkably sleek, Lambie's makeup comprised dramatic bronzer, dark eyeshadow, lip gloss and a generous application of eyebrow pencil.

The politician wore her dark hair in a poker-straight style that was parted down the middle, giving her the quintessential Kardashian look.

Her hair also appeared noticeably thicker than usual, perhaps due to extensions.

Lambie's bronzed complexion (right) was especially apparent when compared to footage from one of her appearances on the Today show in 2021 (left)

The politician wore her dark hair in a poker-straight style that was parted down the middle, giving her the quintessential Kardashian look

The 51-year-old, once known for her demure style, could have passed for a long-lost Kardashian sister as she sported a deep bronze tan and heavy makeup. (Here: Kim Kardashian)

Lambie, who has been open about her use of Botox and filler in the past, also showed off her plump lips and a glowing, line-free complexion.

The stateswoman has been working on her transformation for some time.

In 2015, she spoke of her enthusiasm for cosmetic injectables during an interview with The Australian Women's Weekly.

The stateswoman has been working on her physical transformation for some time. (She is pictured left in October 2013, and right in 2021)

In 2015, she spoke of her enthusiasm for cosmetic injectables during an interview with The Australian Women's Weekly. (Pictured in March 2021)

'It's addictive,' she confessed. 'It's like, "Oh, my God, here comes a wrinkle again."'

She also waxed lyrical about fillers and Botox in a 2018 interview with Channel Seven's Sunday Night, even receiving lip filler on camera.

The mother of two, who has been single for 19 years, has also embraced a more glamorous fashion sense in recent years.

She made headlines in April last year for appearing on ABC's Q+A program in a fitted fuchsia and black ensemble that flattered her curves.

She waxed lyrical about fillers and Botox in a 2018 interview with Sunday Night, even receiving lip filler on camera
Happy Valley star Rhys Connah has reflected on his time on the hit show, after growing up on screen.

The actor, 16, said that he used to be the 'coolest kid in school' thanks to being able to swear on set while filming scenes.

He first started on the show at the age of eight and has played character Ryan in all three seasons of the BBC drama.

Speaking to the BBC, he said: 'I was the coolest kid in school because I got to walk in like, ''Guess what, I got to swear and no-one could shout at me, no-one could say anything.'' I got to swear loads all day.'

Looking back at his earlier scenes, he called himself 'annoying' on screen.

Reflecting: Happy Valley star Rhys Connah has revealed why he was the 'coolest kid in school' thanks to his role on the show - after the final episode shocked fans

'But watching it now, I'm just some tiny, little, annoying guy who does everything wrong, messes it all up and with a squeaky voice. I'm just watching it like ''was I always that annoying?''

In the show, he plays Ryan, the son of villain Tommy Lee Royce, played by James Norton.

Happy Valley fans were left in shock as Tommy Lee Royce set himself on fire after an epic showdown with Sgt Catherine Cawood during the final ever episode.

After he escaped court and broke into Catherine's house in a bid to kill her, Tommy (James Norton) lay in wait until the officer returned home.

And fans were left screaming 'oh my f**king God' as the villain attempted to end his own life after telling Catherine (Sarah Lancashire) that he forgave her for keeping the news he had a son from him.

The two characters had a tense confrontation as they came face-to-face for the final time, with Tommy realising he'd reached the end of the road when he'd come to the conclusion his son Ryan was happier living with her.

As things came to a head, the escaped convict realised he had nowhere left to turn and set himself alight - before Catherine rushed to put out the flames with a blanket.

However, instead of watching him burn, Catherine covered him in a blanket and put out the flames shortly before the police arrived - before it was later revealed that Tommy was alive and in hospital.

He grew up on screen! He first started on the show at the age of eight and has played character Ryan in all three seasons of the BBC drama

Speaking to the BBC , he said: 'I was the coolest kid in school because I got to walk in like, ''Guess what, I got to swear and no-one could shout at me, no-one could say anything.'' I got to swear loads all day'

Shock: Happy Valley fans were left in shock as Tommy Lee Royce set himself on fire after an epic showdown with Sgt Catherine Cawood during the final ever episode on Sunday

Taking to Twitter, fans were quick to share their reaction to the nerve-wracking climax to Catherine and Tommy's feud.

'OH MY F**KING GOD' shouted one watcher, with another remarking: 'Well, I bet NOBODY expected that!'

'Im wrecked', commented a third, with a fourth observing: 'Funking he'll, he set himself alight.'

'Jesus that was intense!' commented a fifth watcher.

'Don't think anyone had THAT on their #HappyValleyFinale bingo card Good jaysus' shared another.
Lee Mead has announced his engagement to fiancee Issy Szumniak.

The theatre star, 41, who won BBC musical talent competition Any Dream Will Do in 2007, took to Instagram on Sunday to share a picture of himself with permanent make-up artist and aesthetician Issy as she showed off her dazzling diamond ring.

The couple both took to their respective Instagram pages to announce the news to their followers.

West End performer Lee wrote: 'So this happened today, and my beautiful Issy said yes. Were both so happy and cant wait to spend forever together.'

Issy posted: '6 years & forever with you 05/02/23.'

Loved-up: Lee Mead, 41, has announced his engagement to fiancee Issy Szumniak, with the star writing on Instagram: 'Were both so happy and cant wait to spend forever together'

Former Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat cast member Lee confirmed his romance with mother-of-one Issy in 2018.

The former Holby City actor met the beautician on the school run, with Lee sharing his daughter Betsy, 12, with his ex-wife Denise van Outen, 48.

The star - who recently showed off the results of his hair transplant - said romance blossomed with Issy when he ran into her in a coffee shop after he picked Betsy up from school.

Of their initial Lee previously told The Sun: 'We got on really well, but it was a while before I plucked up the courage to ask her on a date.

'Shes a lovely woman and shes a parent as well, which I think helps. Shes based in Kent and shes not in the same business as me; Im not sure if thats a good thing or a bad thing!'

'Im not one to rush into relationships and I was single for six years, but its nice to have found someone. Weve been together just under a year and its going really well. We had a nice weekend together recently and were very happy.'

Lee was previously married to Denise after meeting on Any Dream Will Do on which she was a judge and he was a contestant.

The former couple said 'I do' in the Seychelles in 2009 and went on to welcome daughter Betsy in 2010. However, Denise confirmed they had parted ways in June 2013.

The news is out: The couple both took to their respective Instagram pages on Sunday to announce the news to their followers

Chance run-in: The former Holby City actor met the beautician on the school run, with Lee sharing his daughter Betsy, 12

They were granted a 'quickie' divorce at the Central Family Court in just 90 seconds in 2015.

The pair had originally split in June 2013 but they remain good friends as they co-parent their daughter Betsy.

District Judge Heather MacGregor ended the six year marriage on the grounds that it had irretrievably broken down and that the couple have lived apart for more than two years.

History: Lee was previously married to Denise van Outen after meeting on Any Dream Will Do on which she was a judge and he was a contestant (Lee and Denise pictured in 2010)

Denise previously told The Sun's Fabulous magazine about the break-up: 'Ive no regrets about getting married to Lee at all. Hes such a lovely person.

'There was no big fall out and we got each other through really.

'Were friends so we supported each other.'
Sunday's episode of Married At First Sight saw sassy businesswoman Melinda Willis tie the knot with biotech CEO Layton Mills.

And while the pair seemed to have formed a connection by the end of the wedding, Daily Mail Australia can reveal things were anything but rosy behind the scenes.

Leaked footage shows Melinda, 32, abruptly letting go of 35-year-old Layton's hand the second the cameras stopped rolling.

Sunday's episode of Married At First Sight saw sassy businesswoman Melinda Willis tie the knot with biotech CEO Layton Mills

The newlyweds were then seen asking producers if they needed to reshoot the scene of them looking loved-up at the end of the night.

Footage captured by Daily Mail Australia shows the couple exchanging uneasy looks before awkwardly holding hands for the cameras.

Melinda and Layton, who were 'scientifically' paired by a trio of relationship experts, appeared to barely speak to each other off camera.

While the pair seemed to have formed a connection by the end of the wedding, Daily Mail Australia can reveal things were anything but rosy behind the scenes

Leaked footage shows Melinda, 32, abruptly letting go of 35-year-old Layton's hand the second the cameras stopped rolling

The newlyweds were then seen asking producers if they needed to reshoot the scene of them looking loved-up at the end of the night

They seemed to be struggling to find things to talk about.

A producer was then seen giving Melinda and Layton a pep talk, telling them exactly what was required of them for the next shot.

Once the director called action, they made their way over to a waiting limousine.

Footage captured by Daily Mail Australia shows the couple exchanging uneasy looks before awkwardly holding hands for the cameras

A producer was then seen giving Melinda and Layton a pep talk, telling them exactly what was required of them for the next shot

Following multiple takes, the couple drove several loops around the city before eventually going to their hotel.

Melinda was immediately disappointed by her groom on Sunday's episode, despite his good looks and affable demeanour.

She was put off by his physical appearance, even though he was well-presented.

Melinda was immediately disappointed by her groom on Sunday's episode, despite his good looks and affable demeanour

'He may be punching just a little,' Melinda told producers when she was asked for her first impressions of Layton.

'I would swipe left. I'm a nine and a half on a bad day,' she added cruelly.

Melinda then explained her usual type is someone tall, dark, handsome, European and chiseled with a little bit of facial hair.

Married At First Sight continues Monday at 7.30pm on Channel Nine and 9Now
His meteoric rise has made him one of the BBCs star journalists, with assignments on Radio 4s Today programme and host of University Challenge.

But Amol Rajan has revealed a much less commanding role: playing an 'inadequate' man in an agony aunt's photo casebook on Channel 5's The Wright Stuff.

'I would be pictured, often with someone out of my league, and I'd have real questions and self-doubt and there would be a little thought bubble that said "I just can't make it happen",' he told the BBC's Would I Lie To You? 'It was really to bring alive scenarios that people could relate to,' he added. Asked to decide whether The One Show host's extraordinary tale was a truth or a lie, the opposing team, led by comedian David Mitchell, said he was telling the truth, which Rajan confirmed.

Amol Rajan (left) spoke about his role as an 'inadequate' man in an agony aunt's photo casebook on Channel 5's The Wright Stuff

Viewers were shown an example of the comic strip, which saw a topless Rajan in bed next to a woman who appears less than impressed with his lovemaking. The 39-year-old former newspaper editor joined the BBC as media editor in 2016, a role he held until last month.

He had spent two years as a mic boy on The Wright Stuff before joining The Independent in 2007.

In 2013, aged 29, he became the papers editor, which made him the youngest editor of a broadsheet title in Britain.

On BBC's Would I Lie To You?, viewers were shown an example of the comic strip, which saw a topless Rajan in bed next to a woman who appears less than impressed with his lovemaking
Spencer Dutton and his fiancee Alexandra set out on an epic sea journey to get back to America on Sunday's episode of 1923 on the Paramount+ streaming service.

They were racing back to save the Yellowstone ranch when their boat was pummeled by an unmanned ghost ship and capsized in the ocean in a cliffhanger ending.

The episode titled Ghost Of Zebrina showed Cara Dutton [Helen Mirren] holding down the ranch while Jacob Dutton [Harrison Ford], the great-great-great uncle of John Dutton III, the family patriarch portrayed by Kevin Costner in 'Yellowstone, recovered from the savage ambush by Banner Creighton [Jerome Flynn] and his sheepherders.

Cara went to the post office to check if she had received a response letter from Spencer [Brandon Sklenar], but there was nothing.

The prequel series opened with Cara, Jacob, Jack Dutton [Darren Mann] and his fiancee Elizabeth [Michelle Randolph] on the ranch dealing with the aftermath after having been attacked by the sheepherders.

Racing home: Spencer Dutton and his fiancee Alexandra set out on an epic sea journey to get back to America on Sunday's episode of 1923 on the Paramount+ streaming service

Emma [Marley Shelton] was distraught and stared at the grave that had been dug for her husband John [James Badge Dale] who had been killed in the ambush. Cara later told Emma that she sent a doctor for her.

'I will not spoon-feed and bathe two, Emma,' Cara said. 'You have a child, he needs you!'

At night, there was a single shot in Emma's room. The next day the family stood over her grave and buried her.

Back in Africa, Spencer and his fiancee Alexandra [Julia Schlaepfer] tried to find someone to take them back to America by boat after receiving Cara's letter begging for help.

At the Native American school, the nuns alerted Father Renaud [Sebastian Roche] to the gruesome death of Sister Mary O'Connor [Jennifer Ehle]. He also saw another nun that had been killed after having been stabbed in the chest.

'Summon the girls,' Father Renaud said.

Father Renaud punched one of the Native American school girls and demanded she tell him where Teonna Rainwater [Aminah Nieves] went. He hit her repeatedly when she said she didn't know.

'To aid a murderer is to bathe in the blood of her victims,' Father Renaud said.

Long journey: Back in Africa, Spencer and his fiancee Alexandra tried to find someone to take them back to America by boat after receiving Cara's letter begging for help

Still recovering: Jacob Dutton [Harrison Ford], the great-great-great uncle of John Dutton III, the family patriarch portrayed by Kevin Costner in 'Yellowstone, was still recovering from the savage ambush

Funeral scene: Brian Geraghty as Zane, Helen Mirren as Cara Dutton, Darren Mann as Jack Dutton and Michelle Randolph as Elizabeth went to Emma's burial

Tough times: Emma's death by suicide was the latest setback for the Dutton family

'They went home,' the girl said finally.

'Walking 400 miles through badlands and deserts and canyons with no assistance and no supplies?' Father Renaud said. 'You expect me to accept that as fact?'

He didn't believe her. She spoke to him in her native language and told him that her cousin will reach their home.

'And then the Kills Many Clan will come to kill you,' she said.

Brutal questioning: Father Renaud punched one of the Native American school girls and demanded she tell him where Teonna Rainwater [Aminah Nieves] went

Father Renaud punched her to the ground and stomped on her head. Later he ordered the priests to mount up and 'bring her back to me.'

Teonna made her way through the barren land and found a river to drink from, while at night, she fought off a wolf that tried to attack her.

In the morning, Teonna awoke surrounded by sheep. A Native American man on horseback asked her if she was stuck and she told him in her language that a wolf had stalked her all night. She told him that she ran away from the Indian School.

Fugitive sought: Father Renaud punched one of the Native American school girls and demanded she tell him where Teonna Rainwater [Aminah Nieves] went

Long night: In the morning, Teonna awoke surrounded by sheep

'I'd run, too,' the man said when he saw the bruises on her arm and face. 'Headed home? That's the first place they'll look.'

The man, it turned out, knew her father. He told her that his name was Hank.

'I'm in big trouble,' Teonna told him. 'I killed the nun who beat me and then killed the nun who raped me. Now they are going to come and kill me.'

Family friend: The man who called himself Hank knew Teonna's father

Hank looked at her bruises and told her they had it coming. He told her to come home with her and he would send word to her father. She got on his horse and they rode off.

Back in Africa, Spencer talked sickly tugboat captain Lucca [Peter Stormare] into giving them a ride on his barge.

Wealthy businessman Donald Whitfield [Timothy Dalton] took the sheepherder Banner to a house. Banner was impressed that the house had running water, electricity and a gas stove. Banner showed him a map of the Dutton's ranch and said he believed it was ripe with minerals.

Bruised up: Hank looked at her bruises and told her they had it coming

Tugboat captain: Back in Africa, Spencer talked sickly tugboat captain Lucca [Peter Stormare] into giving them a ride on his barge

'We will choke this Dutton out,' Donald said. 'I want it all. I want the whole valley.'

Donald gave Banner the keys to the house.

To thwart any more cattle thefts, Jack went to town and sold off some of the herd. When he got back to the ranch, the doctors were taking Jacob outside to get sunlight.

'F***ers got me pretty good,' Jacob said.

Nice house: Wealthy businessman Donald Whitfield [Timothy Dalton] took the sheepherder Banner to a house with electricity, gas stove and running water

Getting sunlight: 'F***ers got me pretty good,' Jacob said to Jack

'We are going to get them back,' Jack said.

Jacob told Cara that Banner was smart and he would find someone with money to support him.

'I find it hard to believe that anyone would support that monster,' Cara said.

Strategy session: Jacob told Cara that Banner was smart and he would find someone with money to support him

'It would take another monster,' Jacob said.

Jacob said there were minerals that business people wanted from the land.

'Gold,' Cara said.

Elizabeth told Jack that he either needed to open up his heart or she was leaving. Jack said they didn't need a wedding or a church to get married. He said the wedding vows to her and she said them back and they kissed.

Candid conversation: Elizabeth told Jack that he either needed to open up his heart or she was leaving

Exchanged vows: Jack and Elizabeth exchanged marriage vows and kissed

Back in Africa, Spencer tried to slip out quietly leaving a note for Alex. She woke up. He said the trip was too dangerous but that he would send for her when it's safe. Alex told him they were either together or they were apart.

'Get your things,' Spencer said.

Alex told him he could send a cable back home from a ship. A captain agreed to send the cable.

Nice try: Back in Africa, Spencer tried to slip out quietly leaving a note for Alex, but she woke up

He then showed her the tugboat that they would be traveling on to the Suez Canal. Lucca welcomed them on board and they sailed off.

'Your vacation's over I'm afraid,' Spencer said.

'But the adventure is just beginning,' Alex said.

Canal destination: He then showed her the tugboat that they would be traveling on to the Suez Canal

Lucca rode them right beside an abandoned ghost ship called the Zebrina. At night, Lucca told them that that the ghost boat seemed to follow ships. Alex took the first watch and Lucca showed her how to drive the boat. Spencer stayed with her.

'Thank you,' Spencer said.

'For talking you out of abandoning me' Alex said. 'You are quite welcome.'

Ghost ship: Alex was shocked by how close they were to the ghost ship

Alex told him to never doubt her.

'It wasn't a doubt, it was a worry,' Spencer said. 'I'll never doubt you.'

Spencer went down and saw all the blood on Lucca's pillow from coughing and told him he would take the next watch.

Quite welcome: 'For talking you out of abandoning me' Alex said. 'You are quite welcome'

'It's my f***ing ship,' Lucca said. 'Only one gives orders here. Me.'

Back at the Ranch, Elizabeth told Cara that they needed to set a date for her wedding soon because she was pregnant.

'That is the first good news these ears have heard in months,' Cara said.

Good news: 'That is the first good news these ears have heard in months,' Cara said

Spencer and Alex slept on the boat but then Spencer woke when he realized the engines weren't running. He went to the engine room and found Lucca had died.

He looked out the window and saw that they were about to collide with the abandoned ghost ship Zebrina. The ghost ship hit them and knocked the tugboat on its side.

Donald and Banner approached Cara as she rode to town. Donald said he wanted to meet her husband, but Cara told him she didn't keep his calendar.

Capsized craft: The ghost ship hit them and knocked the tugboat on its side

'The valley's changing progress is upon us,' Donald said. 'There are better opportunities beyond cattle, which isn't much of a business these days. More of a dream really and not a good one.'

'Well, it's our dream,' Cara said and rode off.

Cara arrived at the post office and the woman handed her the cable from Spencer that read 'Aunt Cara, I received our letter and I am coming home.'

Out at sea, however, his tugboat was partially submerged and adrift after running into the ghost ship after the captain died.

1923 will return next Sunday on the Paramount+ service.

Times changing: 'The valley's changing progress is upon us,' Donald said. 'There are better opportunities beyond cattle, which isn't much of a business these days. More of a dream really and not a good one'

Shared dream: 'Well, it's our dream,' Cara said and rode off
Jeremy Renner is continuing on the comeback trail after breaking more than 30 bones in a snowplow accident New Years Day near Lake Tahoe in Nevada.

The Academy Award-nominated actor, 52 - who was heard in agony on a 911 call following the accident - took to Instagram Sunday with a shot of his physical therapy process as he continues to recover from the disastrous incident.

The Modesto, California native posted an image of resistance bands with the caption 'Physical therapy Sunday' with a folded hands emoji.

The Avengers actor is continuing his recovery at his Los Angeles home after the January 1 incident in which officials in Nevada said that he injured his chest when he was struck by a seven-ton Pistenbully snow groomer as he tried to assist a relative in moving their car.

Renner has continued to engage with fans about his projects since the accident, as he has promoted his Paramount Plus series Mayor of Kingstown as well as his upcoming Disney+ series Rennervations.

The latest: Jeremy Renner, 52, is continuing on the comeback trail after breaking more than 30 bones in a snowplow accident New Years Day near Lake Tahoe in Nevada

The Modesto, California native posted an image of resistance bands with the caption 'Physical therapy Sunday' with a folded hands emoji

'We are so very excited to share the #rennervations show with you all on @disneyplus coming very soon!!!' he said in a post Saturday. As soon as Im back on my feet, we are coming to YOU, all across the globe I hope youre ready!!!'

The four-part original series centers around Renner's 'lifelong passion to give back to communities around the world by reimagining unique purpose-built vehicles to meet a community's needs,' the streaming service said in December.

It continued: 'Behind the big screen, Jeremy is a construction aficionado, and he is heavily invested in the highly creative fabricator culture that exists across the globe and hopes to change lives with these skills and inspire others to do the same.'

The actor said in a social media post January 21 that he had 'much love and appreciation' for his fans who had sent 'messages and thoughtfulness' in the wake of the horrifying accident.

'These 30 plus broken bones will mend, grow stronger, just like the love and bond with family and friends deepens,' Renner said.

The Hawkeye star said that his 'morning workouts' and 'resolutions all changed this particular new years' following the accident, 'spawned from tragedy for my entire family, and quickly focused into uniting actionable love.'

Last month, the actor returned home from a hospital stint to recover after the accident.

The actor is reportedly aware of the extent of his injuries and has a long road to recovery ahead of him,' a source told RadarOnline last month, as his friends said it could take up to two years before he is back in fighting shape.

Renner has continued to engage with fans about his projects since the accident, as he promoted his upcoming Disney+ series Rennervations Saturday

Renner gets a head massage in hospital after his horrific snowplow accident

Renner was fixing a broken down car on New Year's Day when he was run over by his 14,330-pound snowplow that left him in critical condition

Renner was airlifted to a local hospital near his Lake Tahoe home shortly after the accident had occurred

'It's much worse than anyone knows. Jeremy is very aware of the fact that he almost died out there,' a source told the outlet. 'The right side of Jeremy's chest was crushed, and his upper torso had collapsed. He also had a bad head wound that was bleeding and a leg injury.

'Word is the damage to Jeremy's chest was so substantial it had to be reconstructed in surgery.'

Emergency services had to airlift the television star to the hospital were he later underwent surgery on January 2 to place metal pins around his legs, along with chest surgery.

'So far, he's had two surgeries and he will likely require more in the weeks ahead on his leg. Doctors tend to space out operations to allow time for the body's natural healing process to kick in, and that's the case here,' the source continued.

'Jeremy was in a lot of pain, and was having difficulty breathing. He knew he was in bad shape and that he might not make it out of this.'

Renner has taken fans on his recovery journey by posting a series of updates over the past few weeks.

A few days following the accident, Renner took a selfie showing notable bruises on his face with the caption, 'Thank you all for your kind words. I'm too messed up now to type. But I send love to you all.'

The star later shared a clip of himself being pampered by his supportive sister and mother as he received a relaxing scalp massage.

'A 'not no great' ICU Day, turned to amazing spa day with my sis and mama. Thank you soooooo much,' he penned in the caption of a tweet.

Last month, the Marvel star shared hospital footage of what appeared to be him getting wheeled in for either a CT scan or MRI.

Captioning the video of him getting wheeled toward a large high-tech imaging machine, Renner wrote: 'I wish you all a very special night.'

The beloved star underwent two surgeries to place metal pins around his legs, along with chest surgery, after being left in critical condition following the frightening incident
Frank Skinner has revealed he received a heartfelt apology letter from Sophie Wessex after she reportedly criticised his Royal Variety performance late last year.

Speaking on his radio show this week, Frank, 66, said he received the 'lovely' gesture from the royal after she told him 'not to give up his day job' after he performed the Three Lions with David Baddiel and The Lightning Seeds.

'I got a very lovely note this week - unexpected - from someone I've talked about on the radio show,' he explained, according to The Mirror.

'And you know when the word classy springs to mind... I was quite moved by it.

'It was the most beautiful thing - handwritten and lovely. I was very pleased.'

'It was lovely, I love her now': Frank Skinner revealed this week he received an apology letter from the 'classy' Sophie Wessex after she told him 'not to give up his day job' after his Royal Variety Performance (pictured)

He added: 'It was a lovely thing, I love her now.'

In December last year, it was reported that Sophie left Frank shocked after she apparently criticised his performance at the Royal Variety event.

Frank claimed the Countess, 58, made critical comments about his performance of Three Lions with David Baddiel and The Lightning Seeds and told him not to give up his day job.

The comedian explained he had been feeling unwell all day and battled his way through the performance, so was stunned when the Earl and Countess criticised him as 'that's not how the royal thing works'.

According to The Times, he told Absolute Radio: 'It's supposed to be just banal compliments. I said, ''Was it that bad?'' And she said, ''Well, you know, I could tell, you know, it's not what you do.''

The comedian added he explained to the Countess that he and Baddiel were comics, to which she remarked the pair were 'not used to live audiences' and were more perhaps more comfortable on screen.

After Frank retorted he had played at the London Palladium just days earlier, he claimed mother-of-two Sophie shot him an 'awkward' look.

He described it as if the Countess was thinking: 'You're not supposed to be arguing, I don't think you're supposed to be arguing with me, you're supposed to just nod.'

'It was the most beautiful thing - handwritten and lovely. I was very pleased,' he said

After being bruised by Sophie's review, Frank added he was subject to further criticism by Prince Edward - although he admitted he couldn't remember the Earl of Wessex's exact words.

Despite being burned by the royal couple, he explained he thought the pair were a little inexperienced, rather than rude.

He added the family was likely still reeling from the death of Queen Elizabeth II just a few months prior.

He told the radio station: 'I think that what's happened is they don't really do this stuff much, and they've been reduced in numbers for various reasons, and so they've been pulled out to do this  and it's a bit of a skill just talking to someone for ten minutes and not upsetting them.'

The Earl and Countess of Wessex represented the Royal Family for the first time at the Royal Variety Performance at the Royal Albert Hall.

Following the death of Queen Elizabeth II in September, Prince Edward and Sophie have taken on more responsibility and more prominent roles in public engagements.

More recently, Sophie has been out and about on solo visits, including a trip to London Zoo to explore the new Monkey Valley Exhibit, accompanied by children who receive care and support from the Kaleidoscope Palliative Care and Community Children's Nursing Teams.

Before making her glamorous appearance at the Royal Variety Performance, Sophie also visited disabled children in Guildford, Surrey, who are supported by the charity Whizz Kids.

Despite Frank Skinner's comments, Sophie's recent royal appearances have led to calls for her to be made a Duchess, with royal fans gushing over her affinity with children and other members of the public.
Married At First Sight's relationship experts have at least one thing to celebrate as this year's season shapes up to be the most chaotic yet.

Despite the odds stacked against them, the show's youngest couple Tahnee Cook and Ollie Skelton are still very much together two months after filming wrapped.

Tahnee, 27, and Ollie, 26, were pictured enjoying a date night at the popular Perth hotspot The Flour Factory on January 6.

Despite the odds stacked against them, Married At First Sight's youngest couple Tahnee Cook and Ollie Skelton are still very much together two months after filming wrapped

Sydney-based Tahnee is understood to have flown to Western Australia to ring in the New Year with her boyfriend.

She was dressed to impress for their night out, showing off her trim figure in a blue midi dress and strappy black heels.

The PR manager swept her blonde hair up into a high bun.

Tahnee, 27, and Ollie, 26, were pictured enjoying a date night at the popular Perth hotspot The Flour Factory on January 6. Sydney-based Tahnee is understood to have flown to Western Australia to ring in the New Year with her boyfriend

Ollie looked stylish in a tan T-shirt, white pants and matching sneakers.

Their date night was filled with laughter, as the two sipped on cocktails and enjoyed each other's company.

The pair even stopped to pose for a photos after noticing a Daily Mail Australia photographer.

The PR manager was dressed to impress for their night out, showing off her trim figure in a blue midi dress and strappy black heels, and swept her blonde hair up into a high bun

Ollie looked stylish in a tan T-shirt, white pants and matching sneakers

Tahnee and Ollie immediately hit it off when they met at the altar on last Wednesday's episode.

Ollie beamed with delight the moment he saw his bride walking down the aisle.

They went on to share an 'excellent' first kiss, before flying off to Fiji where they consummated their marriage on the first night of their honeymoon.

Married At First Sight continues on Monday at 7.30pm on Channel Nine
Stefany Johnson barged into the sauna when her son Billy was making out with another mom during the fourth episode on Sunday of MILF Manor on TLC.

Billy had arranged a romantic hot tub session with Kelle Mortensen, 51, a mother of six from Orange County, in another contestant's room.

'So his mom can't be creeping in on us,' Kelle said in a confessional.

Kelle got into the hot tub and then reached over and started making out with Billy.

'I'm really hoping I get to see if the size of his d*** is really big,' Kelle said in a confessional.

Steamy sauna: Stefany Johnson barged into the sauna when her son Billy was making out with another mom during the fourth episode on Sunday of MILF Manor on TLC

Billy opened up some champagne but when the water in the hot tub wasn't getting hot they moved to the hot tub in Billy's room.

'Why are you so far away?' Kelle said. 'You scared that your mom is going to come in?'

Kelle told Billy to move to the sauna where they started making out.

'I feel like I'm a teenager again with Billy sneaking around the whole house hiding from his mom,' Kelle said in a confessional. 'Billy's definitely going to be put in time out after this.'

Stefany, 46, a mother of three and a realtor and paralegal from Los Angeles, found out what was going on and was determined to stop it.

'There is no way I'm going to let Kelle corrupt Billy,' Stefany said in a confessional. 'I don't know if she's just trying to push my buttons or what her deal is. But definitely, definitely, not here, not in my suite.'

Stefany stormed in on them.

'Really in our sauna?' Stefany said. 'Don't you have your own room?'

Making out: Kelle told Billy to move to the sauna where they started making out

Not happening; 'There is no way I'm going to let Kelle corrupt Billy,' Stefany said in a confessional. 'I don't know if she's just trying to push my buttons or what her deal is. But definitely, definitely, not here, not in my suite'

'Stefany popping into the sauna unannounced I feel is a bit ridiculous since her son is in his late 20s,' Kelle said in a confessional. 'I know you all live together but do you not knock?'

Later that night, Kelle slept in the same bed as Billy in the same room as Stefany.

'I don't want to be an overbearing mom,' Stefany said in a confessional with Billy. 'But I just don't like the fact that Kelle's like six-feet away from me in your bed.'

Bit ridiculous: 'Stefany popping into the sauna unannounced I feel is a bit ridiculous since her son is in his late 20s,' Kelle said in a confessional. 'I know you all live together but do you not knock?'

In the middle of the night when Kelle started snoring, Billy got up and hid out in his mother's bed.

When the episode titled 'She's a Bad MILF Jama' began Shannan, 50, Ryan's mother, an event planner from Atlanta, said she thought Billy and Kelle were 'taking things to the next level.'

Shannan said she also thought it was cute that April Jayne, 60, a mother of three and a personal trainer from Los Angeles, and Joey, a bartender from Orange County, the oldest person and the youngest person in the house, had a love connection going on.

Loud snoring: In the middle of the night when Kelle started snoring, Billy got up and hid out in his mother's bed

Stefany talked about having a great time going on a date with Ryan, 30, a musician from Atlanta.

'I felt a connection with him, so I'm definitely open to getting to know each other a little better,' Stefany said.

'I want to be like you when I grow up,' Ryan said.

Strong connection: Stefany talked about having a great time going on a date with Ryan, 30, a musician from Atlanta

Gabriel, 23, April J.'s son, was jealous. Gabriel asked Stefany to dance and Ryan said he thought that was lame.

'If you see me in the middle of a conversation, for you to come and try to disrupt that vibe,' Ryan said.

The next morning Jose told Ryan that he was interested in his mother.

Speakin gup: The next morning Jose told Ryan that he was interested in his mother

'He seems very genuine and daring,' Ryan said. 'That's definitely my mom's style.'

Ryan told him that his date with Stefany was amazing but he said that Gabriel also had a dynamic with her ,too.

The group received a text that told them they needed to figure out if they had chemistry with anyone in the villa.T hey had a speed dating round where they had to rate each person from 1 to 10 on their chemistry.

Charlene DeCicco, 46, from Los Angeles quizzed Gabriel on whether he was good in bed. Later Gabriel's mother April J. was shocked when she heard about Charlene's questions.

'I didn't even know that happened,' April J. said.

Jimmy, 26, a model/actor from Los Angeles, picked Stefany, 46, Billy's mother to get to know more.

'I'm interested,' Jimmy said.

Later in a confessional, Jimmy's mother SoYoung said she didn't think Stefany was his type.

MILF Manor will return next week on TLC.
Dr Chris Brown shocked viewers earlier this month by defecting from Channel 10 after 15 years to move to rival network Seven.

And several industry insiders are convinced this is a strategic move on Dr Chris' part to replace long-time Sunrise host David 'Kochie' Koch when he retires.

'He would be wanting the 'holy grail' of roles - which has to be Kochie's Sunrise gig,' a source told New Idea.

Dr Chris Brown (pictured) shocked viewers earlier this month by defecting from Channel 10 after 15 years to move to rival network Seven

Kochie recently renewed his Sunrise contract for another two years which means until then Dr Chris would have to make do with guest spots on the breakfast show.

They added Brown has long wanted a plum hosting gig on a 'serious' show and said the brekky program would be ideal for him when Kochie retires in a few years.

'He has made no secret hes always fancied himself as a serious news journo. The Sunrise format is right up his street,' they added.

Several industry insiders are convinced this is a strategic move on Dr Chris' part to replace long-time Sunrise host David 'Kochie' Koch (pictured) when he retires

Earlier this month the 44-year-old signed a deal with Seven and will officially join in July to produce 'new projects' for Channel Seven and 7Plus.

Dr Chris first joined Ten in 2008 to host Bondi Vet, which became a surprise ratings hit and was syndicated around the world.

The factual series was based on his real-life experience as a vet at the Bondi Junction Veterinary Hospital in Sydney's east.

'Chris would be wanting the 'holy grail' of roles - which has to be Kochie's Sunrise gig,' a source said

He went on to become a part-time panelist on The Project and also co-hosted I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here! and The Living Room, which was axed last year.

The move to Seven is a homecoming of sorts for Dr Chris.

He started his TV career in 2003 as a presenter on Harry's Practice on Seven, a role that earned him a Logie nomination for Most Popular New Talent.

The Sydney University graduate never planned to work in the media, but was discovered by a talent scout telling animal stories over a few beers in a pub.
Miki Hendler, the granddaughter of billionaire property developer Harry Triguboff, has walked down the aisle with Elliott Solomon.

The society couple were married this weekend, surrounded by family and friends in Sydney.

They are believed to have held the glamorous nuptials at the $100million family compound overlooking Sydney Harbour.

Miki Hendler, the granddaughter of billionaire property developer Harry Triguboff, has walked down the aisle with Elliott Solomon. Both pictured

The bride and groom said 'I do' by the water, and looked absolutely smitten with one another.

Miki was stunning in a couture wedding gown from Sydney designer Velani, which appeared inspired by ballet attire, with a silk slip at the top and tulle skirting.

She later changed into another outfit from the same label for her reception, featuring a white crop top and flowing skirt in a matching fabric.

The bride had a long train on her gown, trailing down the dock behind her

The society couple were married this weekend, surrounded by family and friends in Sydney

They are believed to have held the glamorous nuptials at the $100million family compound overlooking Sydney Harbour

Miki was stunning in a couture wedding gown from Sydney designer Velani, which appeared inspired by ballet attire, with a silk slip at the top and tulle skirting

The newlyweds have one child together, a son, Archie, eight months (pictured)

At the reception, the loved-up pair did their first dance to Frankie Vallis I Love You Baby.

The stunning shindig was planned by Philip Carr, who is described as 'one of Australia's leading event architects and stylists'.

Miki's grandfather Harry Triguboff is one of the most wealthy men in Australia with estimated worth of $20billion.

At the reception, the loved-up pair did their first dance to Frankie Vallis I Love You Baby

Miki later changed into another outfit from the same label for her reception, featuring a white crop top and flowing skirt in a matching fabric

The heiress works for the family business, Meriton, as well as the not-for-profit charity, WIZO, who fund literacy programs for underprivileged kids

Elliott meanwhile is part of the Solotel hospitality empire which owns ARIA, North Bondi Fish and Chiswick, among other venues

The smitten pair held hands as they addressed their guests at the lively party

The heiress works for the family business, Meriton.

She is also a board member for the not-for-profit charity, WIZO, who fund literacy programs for underprivileged kids.

Wedding guests were asked to donate to the WIZO Sifriyat Pyjama Library in lieu of giving gifts.

Wedding guests were asked to donate to the WIZO Sifriyat Pyjama Library in lieu of giving gifts

Jewish traditions were incorporated into the ceremony

Guests shared a slew of images and videos from the event, calling the pair 'the most stunning couple' as they celebrated their big day

The hora, a traditional dance performed at Jewish weddings, was party of the festivities

No expense appeared to be spared at the lavish reception

They shared a slew of images and videos from the event, calling the pair 'the most stunning couple' as they celebrated their big day.

Elliott meanwhile is part of the Solotel hospitality empire which owns ARIA, North Bondi Fish and Chiswick, among other venues.

The newlyweds have one child together, a son, Archie, eight months.
An OnlyFans and TikTok star has claimed that she was ejected from a popular pub for wearing beach attire.

Naomi Tibbles, 28, says she was asked to leave the Stradbroke Island Beach Hotel in Queensland over the weekend due to her beachwear outfit.

She claims security guards approached her and asked if she had any clothing to 'cover herself' as she was in a 'family establishment'.

An OnlyFans and TikTok star has claimed that she was ejected from a popular pub for wearing beach attire. Naomi Tibbles, 28, (pictured) says she was asked to leave the Stradbroke Island Beach Hotel in Queensland over the weekend due to her beachwear outfit

'I said "no, I don't actually because I'm on a f**king island and I was just at the beach",' she said in a TikTok video shared on Saturday.

At the time, she had been in the bar for around 20 minutes and was enjoying a drink after a three kilometre walk.

'The first thing the security guard says to me is "we have a dress code here, you're not allowed to wear thongs here",' she said.

She claims security guards approached her and asked if she had any clothing to 'cover herself' as she was in a 'family establishment'

'I said "no, I don't actually because I'm on a f**king island and I was just at the beach",' she said in a TikTok video shared on Saturday

'Then he tells me "we're a family establishment"' the model added, before pointing out she was actually wearing sandals.

She then showed her outfit for the camera, with the look including an animal print G-string bikini, see-through crochet trousers and a hat.

'Anyway this is my outfit and it's really cool, they can go f**k themselves,' she declared.

She then showed her outfit for the camera, with the look including an animal print G-string bikini, see-through crochet trousers and a hat

'Anyway this is my outfit and it's really cool, they can go f**k themselves,' she declared

Naomi captioned the clip, 'WHAT YEAR IS IT?!?!?!?!?!'

Daily Mail Australia has reached out to The Stradbroke Island Beach Hotel for comment.

The social media star had plenty of support in the comments, with one person writing: 'Clothes are only for winter on Stradbroke'.

The social media star had plenty of support in the comments, with one person writing: 'Clothes are only for winter on Stradbroke'

Another wrote: 'This is wild being steps from the beach. Who wears anything but swimwear at Straddie full stop!?'

One more chimed in: 'They should be glad you've got pants on'.

Naomi is a content creator on adult platform OnlyFans, where she charges $22.22 per month for a subscription to her racy content.
Ozzy Osbourne bagged two Grammy Awards at the 2023 ceremony for the Best Rock Album and Best Rock Performance.

The 74-year-old rocker, recently announced that he was retiring from the music industry because of his ongoing health woes.

It meant he was not at the star-studded event in Los Angeles on Sunday night, with producer Andrew Watt and Metallica bassist Robert Trujillo instead picking up the award on his behalf.

The pair looked in good spirits as they took to the stage to collect the golden gramophone trophy, where they read the message from Osbourne: 'I love you all and f*** off.'

Taking the stage at the Los Angeles Microsoft Theater, Andrew and Robert also praised those who featured on the now-Grammy-winning album Patient Number 9.

Award-winning rocker: Ozzy Osbourne bagged two Grammy Awards at the 2023 ceremony for the Best Rock Album and Best Rock Performance

Osbourne's Best Rock Performance award was given for his single Degradation Rules from the same 2022 album.

Giving credit to the late Taylor Hawkins and Jeff Beck, Ozzy's pals also gave Josh Homme and Tony Iommi from Black Sabbath a mention as well.

Last week, Ozzy retired from touring and cancelled all his upcoming shows while he recovered from spinal surgery.

The rocker was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease four years ago and has been battling various health problems recently.

However, the rock star insisted he plans to not give up and wants to get back on stage as soon as possible.

Ozzy vowed that this would not be the last time we see him perform as he thanked fans for their support after he was left with no choice but to retire from touring.

He told Billboard: 'My fans. That's the thing that I really miss about not doing gigs.

'I'm a hands-on guy. I like talking to my fans. I miss them terribly. My goal is to get back on stage as soon as possible.'

Representing: The 74-year-old rocker, recently announced that he was retiring from the music industry because of his ongoing health woes - so Andrew Watt, left, and Robert Trujillo accepted the award on his behalf on Sunday night

Giving thanks: The pair looked in good spirits as they took to the stage to collect the golden gramophone trophy, where they read the message from Osbourne: 'I love you all and f*** off'

During the interview, he also hinted that his children Kelly, Jack, and Amy Osbourne might follow him and his wife Sharon back to the UK.

He said, 'Our kids are over here (in America) at the moment, but it wouldn't surprise me if they follow us back at some point.'

It comes after Ozzy had been due to kick off his tour European tour in May, initially set for 2019 and then rescheduled three times, but it has now officially been cancelled along with any more dates in the future.

Pals: Taking the stage at the Los Angeles Microsoft Theater, Andrew and Robert also praised those who featured on the now-Grammy-winning album Patient Number 9

Ozzy's last tour show was in December 2018, where he performed at Ozzfest in Inglewood as part of a farewell tour, No More Tours II.

However, on a heartfelt Instagram post, the Black Sabbath rocker apologised for 'disappointing' his fans and admitted 'never would I have imagined that my touring days would have ended this way.'

He confessed he was still struggling with health problems seven months after undergoing spinal surgery that saved him from paralysis amid his ongoing battle with Parkinson's disease.

He explained: 'This is probably one of the hardest things Ive ever had to share with my loyal fans. As you may all know, four years ago, this month, I had a major accident, where I damaged my spine.

Decorated: Ozzy's last tour show was in December 2018, where he performed at Ozzfest in Inglewood as part of a farewell tour, No More Tours II (pictured in September 2022)

'My one and only purpose during this time has been to get back on stage. My singing voice is fine. However, after three operations, stem cell treatments, endless physical therapy sessions, and most recently groundbreaking Cybernics (HAL) Treatment, my body is still physically weak.'

Ozzy continued: 'I am honestly humbled by the way youve all patiently held onto your tickets for all this time, but in all good conscience, I have now come to the realization that Im not physically capable of doing my upcoming European/UK tour dates, as I know I couldnt deal with the travel required. Believe me when I say that the thought of disappointing my fans really F***S ME UP, more than you will ever know.'

He continued: 'Never would I have imagined that my touring days would have ended this way. My team is currently coming up with ideas for where I will be able to perform without having to travel from city to city and country to country.
Elyse Knowles was celebrating a very special family occasion on Sunday.

The Block star and her fiance Josh Barker attended the wedding of her younger brother, Brayden, and shared a series of images from the big day to Instagram.

The 30-year-old, who is pregnant with her second child, looked ethereal as she showed off her growing baby bump in a pastel pink slip dress.

Elyse Knowles was celebrating a very special family occasion on Sunday. Pictured with fiance Josh Barker and their son, Sunny

She held her son Sunny, who will turn two later this month, in her arms as she posed alongside Josh.

The 33-year-old looked smart in a slim-fit black suit worn with a blue shirt, satin tie and black leather boots.

'Couldn't be prouder of my little bro and new official member of the fam Cassidy, on getting hitched,' Elyse wrote in her caption.

The family were attending the wedding of Elyse's younger brother, Brayden, and shared a series of images from the big day to Instagram

The 30-year-old, who is pregnant with her second child, looked ethereal as she showed off her growing baby bump in a pastel pink slip dress

'Couldn't be prouder of my little bro and new official member of the fam Cassidy, on getting hitched,' Elyse wrote in her caption. Pictured with her son and brother

'We love you dearly. Sunny loved being the little ring boy. Mission was successful,' she added.

Last month, Elyse went on a babymoon trip to Thailand after announcing her second pregnancy.

To celebrate, the small family jetted off to the luxurious islands off the coast of Surat Thani, Thailand, with Knowles documenting the trip to Instagram.

The beauty's brother Brayden and his bride Cassidy are pictured

'We love you dearly. Sunny loved being the little ring boy. Mission was successful,' Elyse said

Elyse posed with family and friends at the shindig

'Holidays. It's Sunny's holiday, we are just living in it. Koh Tao island would have to be our fave so far,' she captioned a video montage of her family getaway.

It comes after Knowles announced she is expecting her second child on Instagram as she shared a series of photos of her growing baby bump.

'Very, very grateful for baby number two,' the model wrote excitedly in her caption.

Last month, Elyse went on a babymoon trip to Thailand after announcing her second pregnancy

She further explained she was 'halfway' through her pregnancy, and that Sunny was excited to become a big brother.

Barker and Knowles, who rose to fame when they were crowned winners of The Block in 2017, welcomed Sunny in February 2021.

They announced the birth of their first child shortly after revealing they had secretly become engaged.
Sam Thompson will explore if he has Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) in a new E4 documentary.

The former Made in Chelsea star, 30, made the decision after girlfriend Zara McDermott along with family and friends said he'd been exhibiting signs for years.

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder is a behavioural condition defined by inattentiveness and hyperactivity.

The reality star is known for his larger than life persona, but says those close to him notice his impulsive behaviour and forgetfulness.

Speaking about the documentary, Sam said: 'As someone who has worked in television for nearly a decade, I've shared some of my most personal moments with the world'.

Exploring: Sam Thompson, 30, will explore if he has Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) in a new E4 documentary

'But nothing has come close to this. This documentary is the most vulnerable I've felt in front of the camera, as I wanted to be totally open about how I react to people in situations, and whether these could be linked to ADHD'.

Last year as he approached his 30th birthday, Sam made the decision to finally get tested for ADHD and explore what a possible diagnosis might mean for him.

Sam aims to find out more about the condition and late diagnosis, how this neurodivergence presents in different people and if it affects relationships like his and Zara's  and how medication might work.

With exclusive access to Sam's life over this unpredictable period, complete with self-shot video diaries, this documentary will show us a rawer side of Sam as his behaviour is placed under a microscope.

He went on to say: '[Making the documentary] has been an incredible, and at times, scary experience, but by exploring what's been going on inside my head, I hope people can see that we should be more understanding before judging others'.

'I also want to encourage people to learn more about themselves, and be proud of everything that makes them unique.'

Commissioning Editor, Mel Bezalel said: 'Sam has essentially grown up on E4. He was 21 when he first appeared in Made in Chelsea, and we all love his energy, warmth and the creative chaos he brings into any room,'.

A spotlight was thrown on ADHD last month after comedian Johnny Vegas, 52, became the latest in a wave of celebrities to announce they have been diagnosed with the condition (others include comedian Rory Bremner, chef Heston Blumenthal and TV presenters Ant McPartlin and Sue Perkins).

Convinced: The former Made in Chelsea star made the decision after girlfriend Zara McDermott along with family and friends said he'd been exhibiting signs for years (pictured together)

Johnny told BBC Breakfast: Everybody has an element of ADHD. But its about how strong your filter is. When you dont have a filter at all, simple things become time-consuming.

Ill think, Ill shift that cup, and then you have ten other ideas and you havent shifted that cup. Three weeks later its become this monumental task.

ADHD is a serious, complex neurobiological condition characterised by inattentiveness  such as having a short attention span, being easily distracted, appearing forgetful or losing things  and impulsivity, for instance, being unable to sit still and concentrate.

Honesty: With exclusive access to Sam's life over this unpredictable period, complete with self-shot video diaries, this documentary will show us a rawer side of Sam as his behaviour is placed under a microscope

As many as one in 20 adults in Britain has the condition, according to the ADHD Foundation charity, but only 120,000 have had a formal diagnosis. It said this was because of a combination of poor understanding of the condition, stigma and delays in diagnosis.

Zara recently told how she hopes Sam will propose soon and dreams of marrying in an intimate wedding ceremony.

She told MailOnline: 'When I was younger, I used to think that I wanted like loads, now it's not even like in my frame of mind. You will not expect any children from me for a long time.

'We have a lovely little nephew next door, so we get our baby fix and then give it back.'

Next step: Zara recently told how she hopes Sam will propose soon and dreams of marrying in an intimate wedding ceremony

Zara said the natural next step in her relationship with Sam is to get married and she believes her boyfriend will be surprised to learn that an 'extravagant' wedding is her worst nightmare.

She added: 'I don't think we'd be living together if I didn't see marriage happening in the future.

'Sam's going to listen to this and laugh because he probably won't believe me, but I actually want something that's quite small and intimate.

'I'm kind of over all the big extravagant weddings. When my friends tell me about their big weddings, it sounds like a lot of stress and a lot of planning. It seems like a day for everyone else.

'Whereas I think something really small, and just intimate and personal, where my really close family and friends can come  that's what I would want to do as a wedding.'

Zara was devastated after her relationship with Sam briefly ended in 2020 when he discovered she cheated at the start of their romance with music boss Brahim Fouradi, who she met while appearing on X Factor: Celebrity.

Sam eventually forgave Zara after the pair's emotional breakup was documented on Made In Chelsea, and she was filmed begging her boyfriend for a second chance.

Sam Thompson: Is This ADHD? is expected to air on E4 soon.
Happy Valley came to its grand conclusion on Sunday -and the BBC drama lived up to the incredible hype, with many viewers hailing the episode as 'a masterpiece' and 'one of the greatest television finales of all'.

Sarah Lancashire's lead performance as Sgt Catherine Cawood was lavished with praise from critics and fans alike, as her final showdown with James Norton 's Tommy Lee Royce (or as she described it 'a bit of a tussle') was deemed the perfect way to end the series.

While many fans were expecting a high-octane conclusion, and perhaps even Catherine's demise, writer Sally Wainwright's decision to pivot her finale around a 15 minute long kitchen table war of words between Tommy and Catherine left viewers in awe.

'A stand-off worth waiting for - no guns, no knives, no punches but a battle of words which Catherine badly needed to say. Superb stuff by Sally Wainwright a tour de fore turn by Sarah Lancashire & a whirlwind of emotion from James Norton. What a finale,' declared one viewer.

Following the last ever episode, we take a look at some of TV's finest moments which have left viewers shocked, heartbroken and on the edge of their seat.

The end: Happy Valley came to its grand conclusion on Sunday - and the BBC drama lived up to the incredible hype, with many viewers hailing the episode as 'a masterpiece'

1. Brookside 1994: First lesbian kiss

Smooch: In January 1994, Anna Friel made television history with her lesbian kiss on Brookside at the tender age of 17

In January 1994, Anna Friel made television history with her lesbian kiss on Brookside at the tender age of 17.

The actress, now 41, and her co-star Nicola Stephenson were the first girls to pucker up on British Primetime television

The pair kissed in front of 6million viewers - the first ever pre-nine-o'clock watershed lesbian kiss.

2. Price and Prejudice 1995: Mr Darcy's lake scene

Heartthrob: Colin Firth emerging from a lake, dressed in white and dripping wet, in Pride and Prejudice left millions of women swooning and transformed him into a household name

Colin Firth emerging from a lake, dressed in white and dripping wet, in Pride and Prejudice left millions of women swooning and transformed him into a household name.

The scene is from a BBC adaptation first screened in 1995.

But Colin previously revealed that he had not read the novel when he was offered the part, and nearly turned it down.

'I really don't believe I ever belonged in romantic roles. And when Darcy came along I thought it was weird they were asking me to play a romantic lead at 35.'

3. EastEnders 1986: Dirty Den hands divorce papers to Angie

Split: Dirty Den's tumultuous marriage to alcoholic wife Angie captivated the nation and more than 30 million people tuned in to watch him present her with divorce papers

Leslie Grantham played a key role in some of EastEnders' most explosive storylines and remains one of the soap's most famous stars.

Appearing in the series' first ever episode in 1985, Grantham starred as Den Watts - later receiving the nickname 'Dirty' after getting his adopted teenage daughter's 16-year-old friend pregnant.

His tumultuous marriage to alcoholic wife Angie (Anita Dobson) captivated the nation and more than 30 million people - at the time over half of the UK population - tuned in to the 1986 Christmas special to watch Den present her with divorce papers.

4. EastEnders 2001: Kat and Zoe Slater 'You ain't my mother!'

Clash: Any TV fan worth their salt will be familiar with EastEnders' character Zoe Slater's dramatic wail: 'You ain't my mother!'

Any TV fan worth their salt will be familiar with EastEnders' character Zoe Slater's dramatic wail: 'You ain't my mother!'

The famous street row between the pair, where Zoe yells 'You ain't my mother' at Kat before finding out the truth shocked viewers to their core.

5. Coronation Street 2010: Tram crash

Crash: In what's thought to be the most expensive stunt in soap history, an enormous explosion rocked Weatherfield - and killed off some of the show's most loved characters

In what's thought to be the most expensive stunt in soap history, an enormous explosion rocked Weatherfield - and killed off some of the show's most loved characters.

For the show's 50th anniversary, a tram careered off the viaduct after a crash, and reduced The Corner Shop and the Kabin to rubble in a disaster of epic proportions.

The live episode continued to depict the aftermath of the accident, such as the rescue attempts and deaths of the characters Ashley Peacock (Steven Arnold) and Molly Dobbs (Vicky Binns), an emergency marriage between Peter Barlow (Chris Gascoyne) and Leanne Battersby (Jane Danson) on Peter's hospital bed, Fiz Stape (Jennie McAlpine) giving birth prematurely to her daughter Hope.

Molly also revealed to Sally Webster (Sally Dynevor) that her husband Kevin (Michael Le Vell) fathered Molly's recently born baby Jack.

6. Downton Abbey 2012: Lady Sybil's death

Tragedy: The death of popular Downton Abbey character Lady Sybil was kept a closely guarded secret until this dramatic episode

The death of popular Downton Abbey character Lady Sybil was kept a closely guarded secret until this dramatic episode.

Despite viewers being previously unaware of what woes were to come in the episode, it proved a ratings winner, with 9.5million tuning in.

The period drama managed 100,000 more viewers than The X Factor results show, which screened just before on 1TV1.

Lady Sybil was seen dying of eclampsia soon after giving birth to a healthy baby girl, leaving her husband Tom Branson (Allen Leech) and family devastated.

Following the episode, fans took to Twitter in their droves to express their 'grief' over the departure of actress Jessica Brown Findlay from the series.

7. Sherlock's 2012: Detective's death

The fall: Sherlock, starring Benedict Cumberbatch as Holmes and Martin Freeman as Watson is one of the BBCs biggest hits but the cryptic ending to series two kept viewers guessing

Sherlock, starring Benedict Cumberbatch as Holmes and Martin Freeman as Watson is one of the BBCs biggest hits but the cryptic ending to series two kept viewers guessing.

The episode, entitled The Reichenbach Fall, was based on the 1893 Arthur Conan Doyle book The Final Problem, in which the author famously killed off the eccentric detective.

Viewers watched Holmes view his own funeral from a distance after minutes earlier appearing to leap to his death from a tower block.

Within minutes social networking sites such as Twitter and Facebook were flooded with fans offering conspiracy theories and explanations.

Many admitted they had watched the episodes repeatedly to try and work out how he could have survived.

8. Game of Thrones 2013: Red Wedding

Gruesome: Game Of Thrones may have taken their shock tactics too far in the penultimate episode of series three, The Rains of Castamere

Game Of Thrones may have taken their shock tactics too far in the penultimate episode of series three, The Rains of Castamere.

At the centre of the episode viewers watched as a grisly end came to the King of the North, his mother and pregnant wife, in what has been dubbed as the one of the most gruesome scenes in TV history.

In the scene Robb Stark, the King of the North engaged in an age old custom of hospitality with Walder Frey by eating his bread and salt.

However after lulling viewers into a false sense of security Walder betrays his guest as he carries out a gruesome act of vengeance against the King and his clan, including of course his wife (who is not pregnant in the book).

The wedding feast soon descends into a bloodbath with most of Robbs clan also being butchered.

Catelyn Stark, played by Michelle Fairley, had to watch as her daughter and unborn grandchild was slaughtered, then her first born son, before her own throat was also slit.

9. Broadchurch 2013: Who killed Danny Latimer?

Gripping: Nearly ten million viewers tuned in to see who had killed schoolboy Danny Latimer in the ultimate 'whodunnit?' drama

Nearly ten million viewers tuned in to see who had killed schoolboy Danny Latimer in the ultimate 'whodunnit?' drama.

Viewers were stunned to see Joe Miller, the husband of detective Ellie Miller (played by Olivia Colman), confess.

Joe claimed he was in love with Danny, although he had never sexually abused him.

Confessions: Viewers were stunned to see Joe Miller, the husband of detective Ellie Miller (played by Olivia Colman), confess

They met at a clifftop holiday chalet, where the boy would sit on his lap and hug him. In return, Joe gave him presents and, on one occasion, 500 in cash.

On the night he was killed, Danny said he wanted the arrangement to end, and warned he might tell other people what was going on. After chasing him to the cliff edge, Joe led him back to the chalet, where he throttled him.

'I wanted something that was my own,' the killer told Hardy. 'I wanted him to love me.'

10. Line of Duty 2016: Dot Cottan murders Lindsay Denton

'I'm a police officer!' Lindsay Denton's shock murder in series three was a heart-stopping moment

Series three took a dark turn after armed response unit leader Sgt Danny Waldron (Daniel Mays) shot dead gangster Ronan Murphy in cold blood.

DS Steve Arnott enlisted the help of a surprising accomplice, Lindsay Denton, who had been released from prison on appeal.

Determined to hide the names involved in the sex abuse because they included corrupt cops and their criminal accomplices, DS Cottan goes to desperate measures to cover his tracks.

After she tracked down an email of a list of offenders from Danny's email - DS Cottan confronted her. She, however, refused to delete it and sent it on to AC-12, prompting him to shoot her in the car.

11. Bodyguard 2018: Bomb explosion

Drama: Bodyguard viewers refused to believe a shock twist when one of the main characters - Home Secretary Julia Montague (Keeley Hawes - was seemingly killed off

Bodyguard viewers refused to believe a shock twist when one of the main characters - Home Secretary Julia Montague (Keeley Hawes - was seemingly killed off.

During the episode, Julia was giving a speech on her controversial RIPA-18 bill at St Matthews' College when a bomb went off, sending her flying through the air.

Julia's ex-husband was last told at the hospital that she had died of her injuries - and fans were so stunned they struggled to believe it to be true.
Dressage rider Gemma Owen took to social media on Monday to reveal her beloved horse Sirius has died suddenly.

The former Love Island star, 19, has asked fans to 'respect her privacy' following the sad news, saying 'you'll never be replaced.'

Sharing a gallery of pictures of Sirius, Gemma wrote: 'On Friday we lost my horse of a lifetime due to a sudden and severe illness words cant describe how much this horse meant to me and my family.

'He was truly one in a million everyone who met Siz will know how amazing and caring his temperament was.

'He was taken far too soon, he has left us all heartbroken and in complete shock.'

'He was taken far too soon': Gemma Owen has been left heartbroken following the sudden death of beloved horse Sirius on Friday following a 'sudden and severe illness'

She penned: 'He was truly one in a million everyone who met Siz will know how amazing and caring his temperament was'

She continued: 'You taught me so much siz and I will never be able to thank you enough, you brought so much joy and happiness to our lives and youll never be replaced. I love you endlessly.

'Please respect my privacy in this painful time.'

Michael Owen's daughter Gemma was pictured competing in a dressage competition with Sirius at Vale View Equestrian in Leicestershire last month.

She came sixth out of 23 riders in the competition. Gemma looked in her element as she rode her horse around the arena.

She was also seen sitting in the stands alongside her mum Louise Bonsall, 41, as they watched the other competitors.

An onlooker attending the event told SWNS: 'She came sixth place yesterday out of 23 riders but she's competing again today.

'She seemed relaxed and happy - I think she was having a good time.'

It's been a tough time for Gemma who split from her boyfriend Luca Bish, 23, back in November.

She continued: 'You taught me so much siz and I will never be able to thank you enough, you brought so much joy and happiness to our lives and youll never be replaced. I love you endlessly'

'So sorry for your loss': Fans and friends including Molly Mae Hague were quick to pay their respects

They had met on the last series of Love Island but things weren't meant to be.

Just weeks ago, Gemma revealed it's been 'challenging' dealing with 'people's opinions' amid her split from Luca.

She and the fishmonger split on several occasions before finally deciding to go their separate ways last month after they failed to patch things up on a make or break holiday.

Speaking to Goss.ie at PrettyLittleThing's Christmas Party in Dublin, Gemma said she's getting through the break-up by keeping busy.

She said: 'These last few weeks, as going through any break up, it's not nice. It's not a nice time.'

A look back: Gemma was pictured competing in a dressage competition with Sirius at Vale View Equestrian in Leicestershire last month

Exes: Gemma split from her Love Island beau Luca Bish back in November
Demi Rose looked incredible in her latest slew of snaps, shared during her sun-soaked Egypt getaway.

The model, 27, exhibited her jaw-dropping curves in a colourful skintight maxi dress featuring eye motifs and the year 1997.

She accessorised with a blue handbag also featuring an eye design, along with a sheer red scarf which she draped around her neck and behind her shoulders.

The influencer sported a pair of red hair braids and wore her glossy black tresses in a chic bob haircut as she posed against a breathtaking pyramid backdrop.

In the caption of her Monday post, she wrote: 'All is aligned ,' while tagging her location as Giza.

Wow! Demi Rose looked incredible in her latest slew of snaps, shared during her sun-soaked Egypt getaway

Last week, Demi wore one of her most daring looks yet during her holiday to the Middle Eastern country.

The brunette beauty left little the imagination as she skipped the underwear wearing just a sheer scarf around her waist.

Demi put her hourglass figure on display in her outfit, teaming her scarf with a gold bra as she posed for some racy snaps.

Demi's bralette featured a gold rope design and a halter neck design.

She teamed the look with a small gold bag over her shoulder and pulled her dark locks back and off her face in a high bun.

She showed off a soft golden tan and wore makeup including a lined eye and a glossy deep pink lip.

'God may be in the details,' her post was captioned.

Demi has been enjoying a short break in Egypt over the past few weeks.

Incredible: The model, 27, exhibited her jaw-dropping curves in a colourful skintight maxi dress featuring eye motifs and the year 1997

Stunning: She accessorised with a sheer red scarf which she draped around her neck and behind her shoulders

She stunned in a metallic headscarf with quirky chain detail as she took a trip to see the Great Pyramids in late January.

The social media star showed off her eye-catching look in a series of snaps shared to Instagram while posing in front of the ancient wonder.

She wore a long cream dress with a sheer kaftan layered over the top, flecked with shimmering gold thread.

Beneath the array of photos, the model penned: 'Ancient alien.'

Out of this world: The influencer sported a pair of red hair braids and wore her glossy black tresses in a chic bob haircut

Spiritual: In the caption of her Monday post, she wrote: 'All is aligned ,' while tagging her location as Giza

Demi, who was once romantically linked to rapper Tyga, recently opened up about her sexuality and her troubled childhood in a candid Instagram Q&A.

The model has not previously discussed her sexuality but admitted to her followers that she is open to dating women.

Asked 'Boys, girls or both?' by a follower, she responded: 'I went through a phase of liking girls more than guys. Now I'm more into guys. It just depends.'

Detailing what she's looking for in partner she went on to share that she's on the hunt for someone 'inspiring, honest, well put together, a deep soul that's open minded, kind, ambitious and thoughtful'.
Happy Valley star Sarah Lancashire has gifted her co-stars a parting present to mark the end of series three.

On Sunday night, the final episode of the BBC drama lived up to the incredible hype with many viewers hailing the episode as 'a masterpiece' and 'one of the greatest television finales of all'.

Sarah's lead performance as Sgt Catherine Cawood was lavished with praise from critics and fans alike, as her final showdown with James Norton 's Tommy Lee Royce (or as she described it 'a bit of a tussle') was deemed the perfect way to end the series.

While many fans were expecting a high-octane conclusion, and perhaps even Catherine's demise, writer Sally Wainwright's decision to pivot her finale around a 15 minute long kitchen table war of words between Tommy and Catherine left viewers in awe.

And to mark the end of a hugely successful television series which first started in 2014, the leading lady decided to commemorate their time together spanning over eight years with a token gift before they said goodbye.

Parting gift: Happy Valley star Sarah Lancashire has gifted her co-stars a parting present to mark the end of series three

Local soap store The Yorkshire Soap company posted a snap of the specially-made candle that 58-year-old Sarah picked for her colleagues.

The white candle sits in clear glass casing with a golden metallic lid, with black and white packaging.

On the front of the candle, the words 'The Happy Valley Triology - 2014-2022' were written within a police badge outline.

Underneath features a quote from Sgt. Catherine Cawood, which read: 'I'm the best copper that ever lived but Code 11...... job done.'

They wrote in the caption: 'Some of you may know #HappyValley is set in our Home Town of Hebden Bridge and filmed across the wonderful county of Yorkshire!

'Whilst filming in town we had the pleasure of welcoming the amazing Sarah Lancashire into our shop, and over the summer of 2022 we worked together on a special gift from her to the entire cast and crew for wrapping the final season.

'A very Yorkshire Happy Valley Candle. During this time she donated to us, the police hat and shoulder numbers from season 3 that went on to raise an amazing 4500 at a charity event organised by The Halifax Ukrainian Club.

'She deserves every award possible for her work on this brilliant series, and like the whole country, we'll be glued to the tv this Sunday for the final episode!'

Ending: On Sunday night, the final episode of the BBC drama lived up to the incredible hype with many viewers hailing the episode as 'a masterpiece' and 'one of the greatest television finales of all' (pictured, James Norton as Tommy Lee Royce)

Co-star: And to mark the end of a hugely successful television series which first started in 2014, the leading lady decided to commemorate their time together spanning over eight years with a token gift before they said goodbye (pictured, Rhys Connah as Ryan Cawood)

Following up from the episode, the local company found that plenty of fans were asking how they could buy themselves their very own Happy Valley candle.

They decided to offer fans the opportunity to enter a competition to get their hands on one which they had spare.

Writing on Sunday night, the page penned: 'What a fantastic episode, great season and overall amazing show that was!

'The love for our exclusive gift candle created for Sarah Lancashire has been overwhelming, and whilst we won't be recreating this item for sale.

'We do have one left over for a lucky person to win! Simply like and share this post in your story to be entered into the prize draw. One winner will be selected from across Instagram, Facebook, & Twitter so pop along to our other social channels for an extra entry!'

Present: Local soap store The Yorkshire Soap company shared the specially-made candle that 58-year-old Sarah picked for her colleagues - a white candle with the words 'The Happy Valley Triology - 2014-2022' were written within a police badge outline on the packaging

Fans flooded social media with their comments of praise for the finale on Sunday night.

'A stand-off worth waiting for - no guns, no knives, no punches but a battle of words which Catherine badly needed to say. Superb stuff by Sally Wainwright a tour de fore turn by Sarah Lancashire & a whirlwind of emotion from James Norton. What a finale,' declared one viewer.

Others hailed Sarah's performance, with a fan deciding that 'she deserves all the BAFTAs, Golden Globes and Oscars and it still won't be enough.'

'I already feel sorry for any drama or actress up against Happy Valley and Sarah Lancashire at next year's BAFTAs. Forget it it's over, you haven't got a chance,' agreed writer Emma Kennedy.

Acclaim: Happy Valley came to an end on Sunday night after three seasons and the final episode lived up the incredible hype, with many viewers hailing the episode as 'a masterpiece'

Showdown: Sarah Lancashire's lead performance was lavished with praise as her final showdown with James Norton's Tommy was deemed the perfect way to end the series

The Sunday Times' Rosamund Urwin pointed out: 'I hope the success of Happy Valley means there are currently loads of dramas being commissioned with 50-something women as the protagonists, especially if they aren't always completely likeable characters. Sarah Lancashire is just stellar.'

'Many finales are a let down but Happy Valley wrapped up brilliantly.

Another masterclass from Sarah Lancashire and James Norton held his own opposite her. Sally Wainwright's script, a masterclass in storytelling.'

Happy Valley fans were left in shock as Tommy Lee Royce set himself on fire after an epic showdown with Sgt Catherine Cawood during the final ever episode.

Drama: While fans were expecting a high-octane end, writer Sally Wainwright's decision to pivot her finale around a 15 minute long kitchen table war of words left viewers in awe

After he escaped court and broke into Catherine's house, Tommy (James Norton) lay in wait until the officer returned home.

And fans were left screaming 'oh my f**king God' as the villain attempted to end his own life after telling Catherine (Sarah Lancashire) that he forgave her for keeping the news he had a son from him.

The two characters had a tense confrontation as they came face-to-face for the final time, with Tommy realising he'd reached the end of the road when he'd come to the conclusion his son Ryan was happier living with her.

As things came to a head, the escaped convict realised he had nowhere left to turn and set himself alight - before Catherine rushed to put out the flames with a blanket.
Molly Sims may be approaching the big 50 but she still looks like she is in her 30s.

This weekend the Vegas actress took to Instagram to show off her incredible figure while on a beach vacation in Mexico.

The former Old Navy model was making the most of a tiny black string bikini that highlighted her trim tummy.

The 49-year-old star said she was on a Girls Trip with her longtime girlfriends.

'Girls trip: activated. Celebrating our bestie @michellecarlson02 turning 40 forever!! Austin meets Los Angeles and a bit of NYC. Vamos!' wrote the wife of Scott Stuber, a honcho at Netflix.

Leggy lady: Molly Sims may be approaching the big 50 but she still looks like she is in her 30s. This weekend the Vegas actress took to Instagram to show off her incredible figure.

A 10: In the new images, Sims looked flawless with no cellulite, stretch marks or fat anywhere on her lean body

The siren - who pushed her Valentine's Day Gift Guide last week - had her blonde hair pulled back in a sassy do.

And she added pretty gold jewelry for her pinup photos that were taken at a resort.

In the new images, Sims looked flawless with no cellulite, stretch marks or fat anywhere on her lean body.

She was muscular but also svelte.

While outdoors on a rocky pathway, she made her best Vogue moves with her hands on her hips and one knee out.

The star rocked a light pink mani and pedi for her girls weekend.

And she already had a nice golden tan from the bright sun south of the border.

Now with a wrap: Here she added a colorful wrap jacket as she posed with a pal

A week ago the she flashed her tummy and toned arms while in a black lace bra that was semi sheer as well as little undies, stockings and heels as she posed with a creamy light pink cake.

The looker was promoting her Valentine's Day Gift Guide for her eponymous website.

On Instagram she shared the saucy photos as the leggy wonder added the caption, 'Have your cake and eat it too -My Valentines Day Gift Guide is ON.'

In the pink: In another post, Molly was seen in a pink two piece with a friend who wore a red one piece swimsuit

A good time was had by all: Molly puckered up a bit as her pal smiled away

She was seen sticking her finger in the cake making the post quite suggestive.

On her website she listed some of the items she was recommending and they don't come cheap.

One of the items is a PAT McGRATH LABS MatteTrance Lipstick for $39.

There is also the CozyChic Adult Robe from Barefoot Dreams for $127 and the Baccarat Rouge 540 Eau de Parfum MAISON FRANCIS KURKDJIAN that can run up to $625.

One of the pricier items is the MS X SRJ Diamond Pinky Ring from Shylee Rose for $1,925.

And the former Old Navy spokesperson explained what she was up to with her list.

Lovely and lean: A week ago she showed off her very lean body on social media on Friday

'February 14th is fast approaching, which means its time to start finding the perfect gift for her,' she wrote on her site.

'Whether she loves fashion and a great new outfit, travel accessories for her next getaway, roses, chocolates, and flowers, or a sentimental gesture, its time to treat her to something special.'

She then shared, 'While gift-giving may not be your love language, we are here to guide you. Below are 25 chic gift ideas she will surely love and cherish  mostly because they came from you.'
Sabrina Elba was every bit the doting wife on Sunday as she shared a photo of her husband Idris, who was dressed head-to-toe in traditional African clothing.

The actor, 50, looked in good spirits as he sported the colourful ensemble and chatted to locals.

Posting the photo of her husband to her Instagram, Sabrina wrote: 'My African King'.

Idris has spent the past few days travelling around Ghana, and even met with the president Nana Akufo-Addo.

The Luther star was determined to get involved on his visit, as he attended the Manhyia Palace to celebrate the first Akwasidae of the year, a 40 day traditional occasion observed every six weeks in Asanteman.

Cultural: Sabrina Elba was every bit the doting wife on Sunday as she shared a photo of her husband Idris, who was dressed head-to-toe in traditional African clothing

The festival is celebrated on a Sunday, once every six weeks - but this being the first of 2023, marked a big occasion.

The traditional event glorifies the milestones in the history of the Ashanti Kingdom and pays homage to the Ashanti King, Asantehene Otumfuo Osei Tutu II and Queen mother Asantehemaa Nana Konadu Yiadom III.

Idris could be seen embracing the practice, as he dressed in a Ghanaian kente - a ceremonial hand-woven cloth.

The actor was reportedly followed by a camera crew for an upcoming film he is making to highlight the need for building film studios in the country and attract filmmakers to West Africa.

The blockbuster actor revealed that pre-production is set for August, and principal photography would begin in December.

Sharing a video of his meeting with the Ghanian president to his Instagram, Idris said: 'We've studied the models of obviously South Africa's incredible incentive package, and around Europe, obviously, Greece, Morocco, these are all places where they realize the value of the filmmaking dollar and have brought that policy into play.'

He also told the Ghanaian president that he intends for his current film to be a proof of concept.

Trip: Idris has spent the past few days travelling around Ghana, and even met with the president Nana Akufo-Addo

He said: 'It would be very beneficial for us to show and to make an announcement to the world that Ghana is open for business, here are the steps, the policies are in place and we have actually, bringing a film to our country, and we are going to put our money where our mouth is.'

Idris, who has both a Ghanaian and Sierre Leonean lineage, has previously starred in movies that directly tell of some of Africas struggles including, Beast of no Nation and Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom.

Also, Universal Pictures filmed the entirety of the movie Beast in South Africa in 2021, with Idris as the lead actor.

Idris has previously illustrated his passion for helping the world's poorer countries through investment.

Celebrations: The Luther star was determined to get involved on his visit, as he attended the Manhyia Palace to celebrate the first Akwasidae of the year, a 40 day traditional occasion observed every six weeks in Asanteman

Only a few weeks ago, Idris called for investment to help the world's poor at the opening ceremony at the World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting in Davos, on Monday.

The actor, 50, cut a dapper figure in a unique grey jacket and a white shirt with a black tie.

He was accompanied by his wife Sabrina, 32, who looked the picture of elegance in a grey fitted dress.

The Elbas were both honoured for their work on environmental conservation, food security and climate change.

Idris appealed to participants at the summit for financial support for people hit by food scarcity and climate change.

Appeal: A few weeks ago, Idris has called for investment to help the world's poor at the opening ceremony at the World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting in Davos

He said: 'The poor of this world are not just looking for aid and handouts, theyre looking for investment.

'With greater access to finance, markets, resources, technology and knowledge, we can unlock a different future.

'Failure to invest massively will lead to increased hunger and poverty, which in turn could fuel social unrest, conflict and migration.'

He added: 'We understand the power and change that can come from this room ... We can move with agility and speed and your speed is needed now.'

While Sabrina said: 'Rural communities are filled with talented, youthful populations and enormous potential for new and vibrant markets.

Inspiring: The Elbas were both honoured for their work on environmental conservation, food security and climate change

'The private sector can play a massive role in supporting and sourcing from small farmers and in ensuring world leaders continue to invest in holistic ways to combat environmental degradation and rising hunger.

The UN Goodwill Ambassadors received the Crystal Award in front of global leaders in government and industry.

Idris' appearance comes after he shared the official release date for his latest film Luther: The Fallen Sun.

The actor, who is set to play the lead role, can be seen appearing from a dark shadow in the first dramatic trailer for the film.

One ominous voice is then heard saying: 'Something's coming. You see me now?'

It will arrive in select cinemas on 24 February, followed by a Netflix release on 10 March.
Gala held in Cairo to celebrate Chinese New Year

Xinhua) 09:32, February 06, 2023

CAIRO, Feb. 5 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese New Year reception in Egypt's capital Cairo to mark the beginning of the Year of the Rabbit has gathered hundreds of attendees from both countries, who enjoyed cultural performances and shared new year wishes in the festive atmosphere.

Hosted by the Chinese Embassy in Egypt on the eve of China's Lantern Festival, which falls on Feb. 5 this year, the event featured music played by traditional Chinese instruments, singing performances of famous Arabic and Chinese songs, as well as Chinese crosstalk staged by native Egyptians.

In his address to the event, Chinese Ambassador to Egypt Liao Liqiang highlighted 2022 as an extraordinary year for China-Arab relations, citing the successful holding of the first China-Arab States Summit, and the two sides' consensus to make every effort to build the China-Arab community with a shared future in the new era, among others.

"The year 2022 was also extraordinary for Chinese-Egyptian relations," said Liao, adding the bilateral ties underwent profound and complex international and regional developments, through which the strategic and comprehensive importance of the relations has become more prominent.

Liao noted that 2023 is the first year to fully implement the guiding principles of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China as well as the outcomes of the first China-Arab States Summit, expressing willingness to work with Egypt to build a China-Egypt community with a shared future in the new era.

Among the attendees were Egyptian Minister of Civil Aviation Mohamed Abbas, head of the Egyptian Tourism Promotion Authority Amr El-Kady, as well as Egyptian experts in Chinese affairs and representatives of Chinese institutions and corporations operating in Egypt.

El-Kady said the Egyptian government and people warmly welcome Chinese tourists, adding that "tourist destinations across Egypt are fully prepared to attend Chinese tourists."

Ali El-Hefny, vice-chairman of the Cairo-based Egyptian-Chinese Friendship Association and a former Egyptian ambassador to China, said Egypt and China are keen to maintain the good momentum of growing bilateral relations. He also wished China steady progress toward new achievements in the new year.

The Egyptian attendees also wished their Chinese friends a happy new year on the eve of the Lantern Festival and stronger Egyptian-Chinese friendship through win-win cooperation.

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun)
Larry Emdur has denied rumours he could be replacing David Koch on Sunrise, insisting he is happy fronting The Morning Show and doesn't want the promotion.

Speaking on The Kyle and Jackie O Show on Tuesday, the 58-year-old said he was not in the running for the co-hosting job on Sunrise, which is considered one of the most high-profile and important roles at Channel Seven.

The network has not yet announced who will step in for Koch, 66, when he retires at the end of next year, but possible candidates include fill-in host Matt Shirvington and Weekend Sunrise anchor Matt Doran.

Larry Emdur (left, with Kylie Gillies) has denied rumours he could be replacing David Koch on Sunrise, insisting he is happy fronting The Morning Show and doesn't want the promotion

Rumours also surfaced this week that Dr Chris Brown could be a contender for the role, after he jumped ship from Channel 10 to Seven.

When asked by radio host Kyle Sandilands if he was in the running for Koch's job, Emdur swiftly hosed down the speculation.

'No. The Morning Show is unreal. [I've done it for] 15 years,' he said.

Sandilands then quizzed him on rumours celebrity vet Brown was being primed to succeed Koch, and Emdur said that wasn't happening either.

When asked on The Kyle and Jackie O Show on Tuesday if he was in the running for Koch's job, Emdur (pictured on set of The Chase Australia) swiftly hosed down the speculation

'What, is Chris going to sit there for three hours in the morning talking about sick dogs? How's that going to work?' he said.

Koch is planning his retirement but in October committed to staying at Seven's breakfast show for at least another two years.

He signed a contact extension locking him in until the end of 2024, but negotiated for 'greater flexibility' in his schedule.

Seven has not yet announced who will step in for Koch (pictured) when he retires at the end of next year, but possible candidates include Matt Shirvington and Matt Doran

He inked the deal on October 19 at a meeting with Seven Network CEO James Warburton, during which he expressed his interest in retiring.

Warburton was able to convince Koch to put off his retirement plans for another two years, but agreed to draw up a contract allowing the long-serving anchor 'to take more breaks from the show according to his requirements', reported The Australian.

This is in addition to Koch's already relaxed work schedule that sees him host Sunrise four days a week, taking Fridays off.

Kerry Stokes, the billionaire chairman of the Seven Network, was understood to have played a 'pivotal role' in Koch's contract renegotiations.

Koch is planning his retirement but in October committed to staying at Channel Seven's breakfast show for at least another two years with a flexible schedule. (He is seen here at the 2019 Logie Awards with Samantha Armytage, Natalie Barr and Mark Beretta)

Having been granted more 'flexibility' with his schedule, Koch hopes to spend more time with his wife Libby and focus on his businesses Ausbiz TV and Pinstripe Media.

'I'm grateful to James and Kerry Stokes that they approached it this way,' Koch said.

'I've had long chats with both of them, and they asked me is there a way to come up with a plan that gives you the flexibility you want, and gives you a connection to the network and a continuing focus on Sunrise. I love it dearly. So I'm really fortunate to have the best of all worlds.'

He inked the deal on October 19 at a meeting with Seven Network CEO James Warburton, during which he expressed his interest in retiring. (Pictured with co-host Natalie Barr)

News of Koch's two-year contract extension came after sources told Daily Mail Australia he was seriously considering retirement, but was swayed towards staying by the prospect of covering King Charles' coronation at Westminster Abbey in May.

Unrivalled in its pomp and ceremony, the coronation, on May 6, will be Britain's first in 70 years and is regarded as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for those working in the media.

Major networks across the world are already preparing their coverage of the event with top anchors and journalists clamouring for their place in history.

Seven bosses, meanwhile, were said to be understandably keen for Koch to stay on at Sunrise, which he began hosting as a fill-in in 2002.

Since then, the show has all but slaughtered Nine rival Today, winning every ratings year since 2004, and every week across the five-city metro market since 2018.
Ashton Kutcher promoted his new rom-com Your Place Or Mine in style as he arrived to Good Morning America on Monday.

The actor, 44, arrived to the studio, bundled up in a grey jacket and black slacks.

He strode out into the concrete jungle in black sneakers while staying warm with a dark grey top worn beneath his Falconeri coat.

The handsome That 70's Show star sported a touch of facial hair and a ruffled head full of hair.

Kutcher has been busy promoting his new show Your Place Or Mine with co-star Reese Witherspoon, and last week the duo attended the premiere of their upcoming flick.

Man of style! Ashton Kutcher promoted his new rom-com Your Place Or Mine in style as he arrived to Good Morning America on Monday looking good from head-to-toe

Kutcher, who will be celebrating his 45th birthday on Tuesday, was treated to cupcakes during his appearance on GMA.

The actor revealed the birthday tradition his wife Mila Kunis started before they became parents.

'We have a family tradition,' he said on GMA. 'I'm gonna fly home tonight so I can wake up tomorrow at home because in our family, breakfast is the most important meal on birthdays.

'We do this pancake cake and so it's a tradition [Kutcher's wife] Mila [Kunis] started years ago before we ever had kids, where every morning, somebody gets like a jumbo stack of pancakes with sprinkles on them and a candle.'

Kutcher was also joined by his co-star Reese at GMA, where they discussed their new Netflix film.

The upcoming rom-com follows Debbie (Witherspoon), a woman unlucky in love who swaps lives with her successful BFF Peter (Kutcher) for one week in New York City.

But Debbie soon finds herself in a love triangle by falling for a handsome stranger Theo (Jesse Williams) just as Peter comes to the realization that he's had feelings for her all along.

Reese said of the script: 'It felt modern, it felt fresh, it didn't feel like old and tired. It's about single moms and having a second chance at love.'

Braving the cold in style! He strode out into the concrete jungle in black sneakers while staying warm with a dark grey top worn beneath his Falconeri coat

Happy early birthday! Kutcher, who will be celebrating his 45th birthday on Tuesday, was also feted with a cupcakes during his appearance on GMA

Doing the rounds! Kutcher also stopped by LIVE with Kelly and Ryan

All good! He flashed a thumb's up during his stop by the show

With most of their dialogue occurring over FaceTime, Ashton revealed they only filmed three scenes together in person.

'It was actually really cool because we're only in three scenes that we're physically together in the whole film, and so building this chemistry, building a relationship and really becoming genuine friends...

'Once we started filming, because most of the time we were filming, one of us was just FaceTiming in while the other one was on set, and so it was just natural because we were already communicating that way.'

Your Place or Mine will hit the streaming platform on Friday, February 10.

Lights, camera, action: Kutcher was also joined by his co-star Reese at GMA, where they discussed their new Netflix film
QuestLove has revealed the surprising reason why Will Smith was absent from the star-studded 50th anniversary of hip-hop performance at the 2023 Grammys on Sunday.

The actor, 54, who is rebuilding his career after slapping Chris Rock at the 2022 Oscars, was due to take to the stage at LA's Cryto.com Arena alongside 90s collaborator Jazzy Jeff, but was mysteriously absent on the night,

LL Cool J introduced the segment, charting the roots of the genre to a party in The Bronx in August 1973, when a DJ played the beats the laid the groundwork for hip-hop.

The tribute featured hip-hop artists from multiple generations - from Grandmaster Flash all the way to Lil Uzi Vert, with many fans showering praise on the tribute on social media.

Black Thought kicked off the tribute, followed by Grandmaster Flash, Grandmaster Melle Mel and Rahiem of Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five performed The Message, followed by Run DMC, LL Cool J, DJ Jazzy Jeff, Salt N Pepa, Eric B, Public Enemy, De La Soul, Clipping, Ice-T, Queen Latifah, Method Man, Big Boi from Outkast, Busta Rhymes, The Lox, Missy Elliot, Nelly, Too Short, Swizz Beatz, Lil Baby, Lil Uzi Vert and GloRilla

Spilling the tea: QuestLove has revealed the surprising reason why Will Smith was absent from the star-studded 50th anniversary of hip-hop performance at the 2023 Grammys on Sunday

QuestLove told Variety: 'Ill give the spoiler alert away. Will Smith was a part of the festivities tonight, but they started shooting Bad Boys 4 this week.

'There were a lot of preliminary shots that he had to do, so we had to lose Will.'

This comes after Smith and Martin Lawrence revealed they are returning for the fourth installment of Bad Boys.

The news comes one year after Smith slapped Chris Rock at the Oscars over his joke about wife Jada Pinkett Smith's hair.

The fourth film in the franchise was confirmed by Sony Pictures, according to Variety.

On Tuesday morning, Will shared an Instagram video announcing the news - with Martin, 57, making an appearance in the clip.

The Bad Boys franchise began in 1995, with the sequel released in 2003 and the third film in 2020.

The fourth film in in pre-production, the outlet reported.

Not there: The actor, 54, who is rebuilding his career after slapping Chris Rock at the 2022 Oscars, was due to take to the stage at LA's Cryto.com Arena alongside 90s collaborator Jazzy Jeff, but was mysteriously absent on the night (pictured December 2022)

Epic: One of the most epic moments of the nearly-four-hour 65th Grammy Awards was a massive tribute to hip-hop celebrating the music genre's 50th anniversary (pictured LL Cool J)

One half of the duo: Jazzy Jeff rocked on stage with out his BFF Will

The script will be written by Chris Brenner, with Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah set to direct once more.

Jerry Bruckheimer is set to produce the project along with Will, Doug Belgrad and Chad Oman.

Martin, James Lassiter, Barry Waldman, Jon Mone and Mike Stenson will serve as executive producers.

Hours after the news broke, Will took to his Instagram account to confirm the big news.

The Instagram video Will shared shows him heading to Martin's house with his camera capturing the moment.

Will said: 'Yo, I've got an announcement. Y'all better stop scrolling.'

The tune, Shake Ya Tailfeather, which is from the Bad Boys II soundtrack, began playing.

The star arrives at Martin's door where they announce the news of the fourth installment of the project.

'It's about time!' Martin said with Will adding: 'Bad boys for life baby. For life.'

The news comes one year after he slapped Oscars host Chris Rock for making a joke about his wife's lack of hair.

She shaved off to cover up hair loss she had experienced.

Rock, who was hosting the show, joked that Smith's wife Jada looked like 'G.I. Jane' because of her bald head.

Smith stormed the stage and slapped Rock after fuming: 'Keep my wife's name out of your f*****g mouth.'

The latest: QuestLove told Variety : 'Ill give the spoiler alert away. Will Smith was a part of the festivities tonight, but they started shooting Bad Boys 4 this week

Despite sweeping the Oscars up in controversy, Smith still won the award for Best Actor for starring as the father of Venus and Serena Williams in King Richard. - but he did not specifically apologize to Rock.

Smith issued his first apology to Rock back in March. He posted a lengthy statement on Instagram where he said 'violence in all its forms' was wrong.

In July he issued another groveling apology to Rock and revealed his former friend still hasn't forgiven him for slapping him on-stage at the Oscars.

Smith said he'd taken the last three months to 'work' on himself and realized now how many people he hurt when he smacked Rock on stage at the awards.

'I've reached out to Chris and the message that came back is that he's not ready to talk when he is, he will reach out. So I will say to you, Chris, I apologize to you. My behavior was unacceptable and I'm here whenever you're ready to talk.'

He also apologized to Rock's mother and his entire family, specifically Rock's mother and his younger brother Tony.

'I just didn't realize how many people got hurt in that moment, so I want to apologize to Chris's mother. I want to apologize.

'I want to apologize to Tony Rock... Tony Rock was my man and this is probably irreparable,' he said.

He also apologized to Jada, his wife whose honor he claimed to be defending with the outburst, and said she had 'nothing to do with it'.

'I spent the last three months replaying and understanding the nuances and the complexities of what happened in that moment.

'I'm not going to try to unpack all of that right now but I can say to all of you, there is no part of me that thinks that was the right way to behave in that moment.

'There is no part of me that thinks that's the optimal way to handle a feeling of disrespect or insults.'

He went on to win Best Actor for his role in King Richard that night, but he did not specifically apologize to Rock.

Insisting that his wife had nothing to do with the slap, he went on: 'I made a choice of my own from my own experiences from my history with Chris.

'Jada had nothing to do with it. I'm sorry, babe.

'I want to say sorry to my kids and my family for the heat that I brought on all of us.

'To all my fellow nominees, this is a community.

'It's like, I won because you voted for me and it breaks my heart to have stolen and tarnished your moment.'

Smith went on to claim that 'disappointing people' is his 'central trauma'.

'I can still see Questlove's eyes. You know it happened on Questlove's award. You know, it's like.

'I'm sorry really isn't sufficient.

'Disappointing people is my central trauma. I hate when I let people down so it hurts.

'It hurts me psychologically and emotionally to know I didn't live up to people's image and impression of me, and the work I am trying to do is I am deeply remorseful.
Katherine Schwarzenegger revealed she admires the parenting - and grand-parenting - skills of her mother Maria Shriver and her father Arnold Schwarzenegger.

The 33-year-old author said that both of her parents live minutes away from her and her husband Chris Pratt's home and are very involved in the lives of their two daughters - two-year-old Lyla and eight-month-old Eloise.

Ahead of the release of her newest project - an illustrated children's book titled Good Night, Sister - the eldest child in the Schwarzenegger family spoke to The New York Times about how the journalist, 67, hosts a weekly mommy-and-me class.

She also shared that the actor-turned-politician, 75, bought and keeps a miniature pony in his backyard just for his granddaughters to play with.

Good Night, Sister - which is inspired by her relationship with her younger sister Christina - will be released on February 7.

Grateful for her parents: Katherine Schwarzenegger, 33, said that both of her parents live minutes away from her and her husband Chris Pratt 's home and are very involved in the lives of their two daughters - two-year-old Lyla and eight-month-old Eloise

Best grandpa: The author revealed that her father Arnold Schwarzenegger, 75, is a very attentive and generous grandfather and she is grateful for both of her parents

She revealed that when she started writing Good Night, Sister, she thought about how she wanted her eldest daughter Lyla to also experience growing up with a sister.

In May 2022, Katherine and Chris welcomed her second child Eloise.

Katherine is also a stepmother to Chris' ten-year-old son named Jack - who the Guardians of the Galaxy star, 43, shares with his ex-wife Anna Faris, 46.

Katherine grew up in the Palisades - which is where she and her actor husband raise their two children.

Katherine said of how caring and hands-on her parents are in the interview published on Monday: 'I know this sounds crazy, but I really would love to do exactly what they did.

'I look back on how much of my life my parents kept private and I have a lot of respect for it,' she added.

'I think they kept a lot of their relationship private,' she said. 'They kept us kids private, you know.

'They didn't take us to red carpets,' she continued. 'They didn't have us parading around in front of everybody.'

Best grandpa: She revealed that her father Arnold Schwarzenegger, 75, bought and keeps a miniature pony in his backyard just for his granddaughters to play with; stock image of miniature ponies

Growing family: Katherine and the Marvel star tied the knot in 2019 and share two daughters, Lyla and Eloise

Inspired by their parenting: Katherine said of how caring and hands-on her parents are in the interview published on Monday, 'I know this sounds crazy, but I really would love to do exactly what they did'

In many ways, her life parallels her mother's - her and her mother are both writers who married actors and started families in the Palisades.

She expressed how she aspires to reflect the parenting skills of her mother and father.

'I want to be like how my parents always raised us,' she added.

Her parents taught her and her siblings 'to work really hard and to be really good people and to leave the world a better place' and she also wants to teach her children the same things.

The whole family: Her parents taught her and her siblings 'to work really hard and to be really good people and to leave the world a better place' and she also wants to teach her children the same things; seen in 2015
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Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy congratulates Famous Mountaineer cross-country solo cyclist Aasha Malviya at the camp office on Monday, who travels around the country on a bicycle. *Photo BY ARRANGEMENT)

VIJAYAWADA: Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy has congratulated solo cyclist Aasha Malviya for taking up an all-India cycle tour for "women safety and empowerment" and announced a cash incentive of Rs 10 lakh for her bold endeavour.

The girl from Nataram village of Rajgarh district in Madhya Pradesh met the Chief Minister at his camp office here and informed him that she started with the aim to travel a distance of 25,000 km all alone. So far, she covered eight states, logging 8,000 km.

A mountaineer holding a national record, Aasha appreciated the concern being shown by Jagan Mohan Reddy for the safety of women, as in his launch of the Disha App  with which women in trouble could seek police help via their mobile phone. Aasha said that she downloaded the app and used it just to see how it worked and got a quick response from the police.

"I wish that all the CMs in the country follow the footsteps of the AP Chief Minister and ensure safety to all daughters of the country," she said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi with Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai during the inauguration of the 'India Energy Week 2023' in Bengaluru on Monday. (PHOTO: PTI)

Bengaluru: BJP heavyweights ranging from Prime Minister Narendra Modi and defence minister Rajnath Singh, along with Karnataka chief minister Basavaraj Bommai, virtually painted the state saffron on Monday by launching multiple projects and stepping on the campaign theme of "vikas", or development.

This is incidentally the seventh visit of the Prime Minister to this poll-bound state. Sources said Modi may increase the frequency of his visits as the elections draw closer. Frequent visits by the PM and the BJPs top leadership has made it quite evident that the BJP is now determined to go full steam ahead in the high-stakes Karnataka polls, due in April-May this year. Besides the visits, both Bommai and his mentor, B.S. Yediyurappa, have joined forces to enable the party to return to power. The major campaign plank for the ruling party is "development" and the "advancement of Karnataka" in various sectors.

The Prime Minister, while inaugurating the "India Energy Week 2023", spoke of youth power and reminded everyone that this was the first major energy event" as India moves towards hosting the G-20 summit. Chief minister Bommai said Karnataka "is in first place for manufacturing nearly 50 per cent of the countrys total renewable energy". The Prime Minister also exhorted global investors and stakeholders to invest in India. "Today India is the most suitable place for your investment," he asserted. The chief minister said that Karnataka "has emerged as the highest renewable energy manufacturer in India".

Later, while speaking at the function after the dedication of the Helicopter Manufacturing Facility of HAL at Bidare Kaval in Gubbi taluk of Tumakuru district, which will be one of the biggest such units in Asia, the Prime Minister pointed out that under "Made in India" defence exports of the country had increased by manifolds after 2014 and also investments in aerospace had increased by five times when compared to the period before 2014. "Im happy that defence weapons are now made in the country such as assault rifles, tanks, aircraft, helicopters, and fighter jets, among others," the PM said.

To his political critics, Modi said: "It is this HAL which is now making progress in the defence sector", and exuded confidence that the helicopter factory of HAL in Tumakuru would do about Rs 4 lakh crores in business in the coming days and help provide employment and also help small businesses thrive. HALs helicopter factory -- known as the "Greenfield Helicopter Factory" -- is Indias largest helicopter manufacturing facility.

Prime Minister Modi referred to the charges against HAL by political leaders and termed the charges as "false." He said many top leaders had levelled "false" charges against HAL and stalled Parliament for hours. Now, Mr Modi said, the "truth is speaking for itself" and went on to laud HAL for making the modern Tejas fighter jets.

Thanking Prime Minister Modi for holding India Energy Week-2023 in Bengaluru, the CM said Mr Modi brought revolutionary changes in the field of energy.

Besides inaugurating Energy Week and opening the HAL unit, the Prime Minister will also lay the foundation stones of the industrial township and Jeevan Mission projects in Tumakuru. The development of the Tumakuru industrial township across 8,484 acres in three phases has been taken up as part of the Chennai-Bengaluru Industrial Corridor.
Ambassador Marten van den Berg, who is also a renowned economist, in Hyderabad on Monday. (Twitter/@coMakeIT)

HYDERABAD: Marten van den Berg, the Dutch Ambassador to India, Bhutan and Nepal since August 2018, who was in Hyderabad to inaugurate an engineering and R&D facility for Xebia, one of the largest Dutch-origin IT organisations in India, on Monday, said, "At a time when global recessionary forces are at play, and slowdowns to zero growth mark most significant economies, India, which is the fastest growing large-size economy, is a crucial partner for the Netherlands."

Ambassador van den Berg, who is also a renowned economist, speaking exclusively to Deccan Chronicle, said that the trade and commercial links between the two countries, besides being historic and over four centuries old, were growing strongly and across domains and sectors. Interestingly, the Netherlands was the first country to recognise and establish ties with India after its Independence, he explained.

"There are over 350 Dutch companies in India currently, spanning marine engineering, water management, environment, technology and green energy, among others. Interestingly, there are also over 300 Indian companies operating out of the Netherlands," he said.

Known for his passion for research-based, global economic policy-making and making a collective impact for achieving sustainable goals, he said, "My connection with India is over 35 years old, much before I took charge as the Dutch Ambassador to India. I came here as a young backpacker  and the colours, smells and intensity of India made a deep impression on me. Indias varied religions and cultural facets as well the powerful contrast between north and south continue to fascinate me."

Speaking of Indias growing influence in Europe, and his own country, van den Berg said, "of course, everyone knows Bollywood, and Indian food is very popular. But, at a deeper level, Indian work in technology, bio, pharma and research is being noted and is making an impact. The Indian economic story will be very crucial for the world."

Speaking about the launch of a Dutch firm in Hyderabad, he said, "Hyderabad is a wonderful city and very important for us. The investments here are growing and the facilities are amazing."

Wishing the employees of Xebia, which employs over 6,200 people globally in 19 countries, he said, "I wish everyone at the company lots of success in their jobs and personal life."
The budget slashed Central grants to Rs 30,260 crores from the original Rs 41,001 crores with a hope that it would get another Rs 15,000 crores in the remaining months of February and March this fiscal year (2022-23). (DC Image)

HYDERABAD: The state government continued to jack up budgetary provisions for Central grants despite getting lower funds every year. In 2022-23, the Budget estimated grants-in-aid from the Centre at Rs 41,001 crores, but only received Rs 15,000 crores. Despite this, the new budget estimated the Centre's grants at Rs 41,259 crores.

In the revised estimates for 2022-23, the budget slashed Central grants to Rs 30,260 crores from the original Rs 41,001 crores with a hope that it would get another Rs 15,000 crores in the remaining months of February and March this fiscal year (2022-23).

The government also made a budgetary provision of Rs 17,828 crores under the new head "Inter-state settlement" anticipating reimbursement of Rs 17,828 crores by the Centre towards power dues pending from Andhra Pradesh. The fact remains that the Centre in August 2022 directed the TS government to clear Rs 6,756 crore arrears to AP Discoms within a month on which TS government approached the High Court.

The government estimated open market borrowings at Rs 40,615 crores in 2023-24 despite the Centre last year imposing cuts of Rs 15,033 crores on loans. Last year, the government estimated open market loans at Rs 53,970 crores, but the Centre slashed it to Rs 38,937 crores, which was mentioned by finance minister T. Harish Rao in his Budget speech. Despite this, the state government in its revised estimates for last year showed open market loans at Rs 44,970 crores.
TPCC president A. Revanth Reddy, who began his padayatra on 06-02-2023 at Medaram, said the Budget had nothing to speak about. Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao never explained to the people how much money he had allocated for which welfare activity, of which how much money had been spent. What is the use of the Budget if the figures remain on paper, he told mediapersons. (Twitter)

Medaram, Hyderabad: The Congress termed the State Budget presented on 06-02-2023 as nothing but a 'number game' and 'illusionary', as there remained a huge variation between the proposals and on-the-ground actuals.

TPCC president A. Revanth Reddy, who began his padayatra on 06-02-2023 at Medaram, said the Budget had nothing to speak about. "Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao never explained to the people how much money he had allocated for which welfare activity, of which how much money had been spent. What is the use of the Budget if the figures remain on paper, he told mediapersons.

He said the Budget must the proposals for the coming year, the revised estimates for the current year and the actual spending of the year before. He said there should not be much difference the estimates of the previous year and the actual expenditure. "Unlike anywhere else in the World, in Telangana there is a 30 per cent difference between the three," he said.

CLP leader Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka and party seniors D. Sridhar Babu, T. Jagga Reddy and T. Jeevan Reddy said that the government had failed to allocate funds to fulfill the promises made earlier and each passing year exposed the deceptive attitude of the state government.

"There is no mention of 2BHK schemes and plots. The allocation of Rs 6,229 crore for the BC community, who constitute 50 per cent of the population, is insufficient, while the funds meant for SC and ST sub-plan get diverted," said Bhatti.

Former PCC chief N. Uttam Kumar Reddy described it as a directionless Budget. Reddy said that the proposed expenditure of `Rs 2.9 lakh crore was unrealistic as it did not match the revenues. "It is ridiculous that the finance minister's speech did not have any mention of estimated revenues. He did not specify whether the budget was surplus or deficit," he said.

The Congress MP said that there was no uniformity in the allocations and almost all major sectors remained neglected like the health department, which got just 4.18 per cent of the Budget. He said that there has been no provision to clear fee reimbursement and scholarship dues of over Rs 3,200 crore and a meagre Rs 3,001 crore has been allocated to the higher education department. The budget is also silent on the monthly unemployment allowance of Rs 3,016, he said, adding that there was no mention of waiver of crop loans.

"This was the last budget of the BRS government and it has failed to honour its promises. Harish Rao has disappointed the entire farming community in the state," he said.

Former minister Ponnala Lakshmaiah described it as an unrealistic budget which was focused on gaining publicity. "There remains a variation of Rs 70,000 core when compared to the previous Budget and actual spending. What is the use of coming up with big figures when the government is unable to spend or generate revenue. On one hand, the BRS government has failed to create new jobs, while on the other hand has completely failed to support agriculture," he told Deccan Chronicle.
A similar situation exists for another leader in the district. They had no chance to contest from the YSRC and depended purely on TD, A similar situation exists for another leader in the district. They had no chance to contest from the YSRC and depended purely on TDA similar situation exists for another leader in the district. They had no chance to contest from the YSRC and depended purely on TD. (By Arrangement)

ANANTAPUR: Several leaders, including former ministers from the Congress and other parties, in the Rayalaseema region are in a state of confusion over their plans to join the Telugu Desam and get tickets to fight the next polls.

Amid indications of an alliance between the TD and Jana Sena, the aspirants for TD tickets are reassessing the scenario as to how this would have a bearing on their individual interests.

At least two former ministers and four more former MLAs from the Congress and several other constituency-level leaders were looking for alternative options to boost their political future.

A former Congress minister, who holds a top party post, reportedly made serious efforts to join the TD expecting an MLA ticket while the TD leaders in the segment, from Anantapur district, resisted this and gave an ultimatum to the TD high command.

A similar situation exists for another leader in the district. They had no chance to contest from the YSRC and depended purely on TD.

Former minister D.L. Ravindra Reddy from the YSR district was initially with the Congress but joined the YSRC during the last general polls. However, he has been away from YSRC party activities, criticising Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy and praising TD chief Chandrababu Naidu for the past few months.

Sources said he was planning to join the TD and expecting a ticket from Mydukur Assembly segment either for him or any of his family members. However, TD incharge Putta Sudhakar Yadav was firm on his candidature for the Assembly segment.

Interestingly, the TD leaders who were in the fray including those who planned to join the TD fell into a state of confusion after clear indications of it forging an alliance with Jana Sena.

The Jana Sena, unlike previous polls, wanted to make a mark in a majority of the constituencies in the next polls. The party was reportedly keen on contesting the polls in the Kapu-dominated segments.

For instance, speculation was rife over TD giving the Anantapur Urban Assembly and Tirupati Assembly seats to the Jana Sena for contest, as also several other segments in the Rayalaseema region. The TD leaders are, as a result, worried about their political future if several seats are allocated to the Jana Sena as per the new alliance plans.

Sources said the leaders from other parties seeking to join the TD were waiting for a confirmation of assurance from the party high command. Now they are less confident about their future prospects.
Several YSR Congress MPs vowed to continue their push with the Centre to fulfill its assurances made to AP during the bifurcation in 2014. (DC File Image)

Vijayawada: The ruling YSR Congress MPs are disappointed that there have been "no major allocations" in the Union Budget 2023-24 for several important railway and other projects of Andhra Pradesh.

Alleging that the BJP-led NDA was showing bias towards AP, these MPs have vowed to raise voice in Parliament to safeguard the interests of the state.

MP from Narasaraopet, Lavu Sri Krishna Devarayalu, said in New Delhi on Monday that the party MPs would ask the Union railway ministry to come clear on allocation of Rs 8,500 crore in the budget for railways, as to how this amount would be spent and for what all projects.

Turning down the criticism that the AP government was not paying money for land acquisition for railway projects, he said that the Centre was talking about the projects that had got sanction before 2014. "The Centre is not caring about the weak financial status of AP after its bifurcation."

He said YSRC MPs would appeal to the Centre once again to make changes vis-a-vis the stipulation for APs shares in taking up certain railway projects in the state.

In specific, the MPs want APs share in taking up the Nadikudi-Srikalahasthi railway line to be changed, unlike the agreement entered into between the Centre and the states before 2014, as APs financial condition was not good in the post-bifurcation scenario.

Citing the examples from Bihar and Jharkhand where earlier agreements in cost-sharing for some railway projects were changed, the MP said, "We would make an appeal to the Centre to do this for AP as well."

Another YSRC MP from Tirupati, M. Gurumoorthy, said, "We are preparing proposals for developing the Tirupati bus stand as a model facility at a cost of Rs 500 crore. Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy himself took up the issue to the notice of the Union roads and highways minister Nitin Gadkari during his visit to Vijayawada.

The MP said a proposal was to study the feasibility for developing a rope ay in Tirupati while proposals for a similar facility at Srikalahasti were already made. He sounded confident the requisite permission would come from the Centre.

The MP expressed displeasure over sanction of Rs 220 crore for the Nadikudi-Srikalahasti railway works and vowed to mount pressure on the Centre for allocation of more funds. "If AP gets permissions for developing a cargo terminal in Krishnapatnam, it would help us develop transport facilities in an expeditious manner."

Gurumoorthy listed out certain projects that got sanction from the Centre, like for the setting up of a planetarium at Tirupati at a cost of Rs 13 crore, a food lab at a cost of Rs 10 crore in Sri Venkateswara University, the earmarking of Rs 2 crore for another project at Mahila Visvavidyalayam etc.

He said that based on their request, the Centre was showing the Brahmotsvams being held at Tirupati, Srikahasti and Kanipakam in the national Utsav portal. He sounded confident about the setting up of a central forensic university in Tirupati. CM Jagan Mohan Reddy had sought this from Union minister Amit Shah.

Meanwhile, several YSR Congress MPs vowed to continue their push with the Centre to fulfill its assurances made to AP during the bifurcation in 2014.
In this photo provided by Chad Fish, the remnants of a large balloon drift above the Atlantic Ocean, just off the coast of South Carolina, with a fighter jet and its contrail seen below it, Feb. 4, 2023. The downing of the suspected Chinese spy balloon by a missile from an F-22 fighter jet created a spectacle over one of the state's tourism hubs and drew crowds reacting with a mixture of bewildered gazing, distress and cheering. (Photo: AP)

A war is going on in Ukraine thanks to a Russian invasion and the Chinese have been indulging in brinkmanship over Taiwan. At such a fraught time when an increasingly bipolar world is suffused with tensions in a Cold War redux, it was intemperate of China to be flying spy balloons straight out of the 1950s, though these are extremely sophisticated spying weapons.

Regardless of all that will be said and done in the aftermath of the US downing the surveillance balloon over its territorial waters after days of indirect messaging across continents, the US action should be justified as unimpeachable. Any sovereign nation would have done that when it came to such a visible threat.

The protestations of innocence from China sound so unconvincing when the world knows that in this era of super spy satellites and extensive espionage when a refrigerator as well as a humble light bulb are thought capable of gathering information and relaying data, there is little to gain in flying spy balloons while pretending they are innocent aids of students of meteorology.

Fear of advanced aerial technology of the cutting edge kind to spy on a countrys nuclear missile silos is real, and perceived, logically enough, to be a threat to sovereignty. Incredulity is stretched when it is averred by those indulging in "Balloonacy" that a couple of these "civilian aircraft" with a payload running to three school bus lengths floating above North and South America got there because of the crafts "limited steering capability."

Notwithstanding some experts propounding theories about how difficult it is to shoot down these balloons flying at 60,000+ feet, all it took was one Sidewinder missile fired from a supersonic jet to bring it down. If the US civilian and military command wished to wait for the balloon to go past land and fly over water to bring it down, it was again strategically logical.

It is almost absurd to think, given the technological options available to superpowers today, that balloons could bring about a nuclear conflict between the United States and China. It is clear that besides all instant communications among nuclear-armed superpowers, a mechanism is also needed to keep all informed if so much as a weather balloon has to go up in the air lest it lose its way among the atmospheric wind currents.

Bullying and brinkmanship go hand in hand. But it is time the bluff was called. If China is playing spy games of an ancient kind at this time, it can only be seen as a country willing to join others in not respecting the territorial integrity of sovereign nations. Its threats of reprisals can only seen as acts of a bully even in such a non-life threatening crisis as Chinese officials did not even call to work out a way to deal with its truant balloons.

The result is further deterioration in the quality of relations between superpowers with the US cancelling the visit of Anthony J. Blinken, the first high level US official who was to go to China in the last few years. It would be optimistic to believe China would change tack after its sophisticated balloon was shot down and open up channels of communication with the US and its allies, particularly India with whom it shares a long land border too. China will not change, but other nations facing it would have to perk up their counterintelligence systems to cope with insidious threats.
The iconic St Columbs Hall, one of Derrys most famed and storied buildings, is to be revitalised with funding totalling 751,727 from The National Lottery Heritage Fund.

The Aurora project aims to reawaken the Grade A Listed Hall by undertaking necessary restoration works to make the building safe and accessible, reconnect the community to the cherished venue through a heritage activity programme and ultimately re-open as a full-time events venue once again.

Having originally opened its doors in 1888, largely due to the donations of locals, St Columbs Halls overall condition has been in gradual decline, culminating in the decision to cease its hosting of full-time events in 2020.

Helen Quigley, Trustee St Columbs Hall Trust, Dr Paul Mullan, NI Director, The National Lottery Heritage Fund, Conal McFeely, Chair, St Columbs Hall Trust.

From 2019, St Columbs Hall Trust has been dedicated to sustainably re-open the Hall for the benefit of the community. The Trust are committed to re-imagining the Hall as a net zero space with an opportunity for the Hall to lead the way in demonstrating how this can be achieved in a heritage building.

Situated in the heart of Derry next to the fabled 400-year-old Derry Walls, the Hall is an architectural marvel. It is a mix of Italianate and Gothic. Built in 1886 as a Catholic temperance hall to combat the evils of drunkenness. Since then, it has been a backdrop to the political and cultural history of the City.

Often referred to as the Peoples Hall, the space was immensely popular in its heyday, attracting some of the worlds most iconic thinkers and performers, including:

Eleanor Marx-Aveling, daughter of Karl Marx, who spoke at the Hall in 1889 to recruit local workers to join their local union.

Emmeline Pankhurst, who campaigned for womens right to vote in a keynote speech at St Columbs Hall in 1910.

Eamon De Valera, who rallied supporters to the cause of independence in 1924.

Derry tenors Josef Locke and John McCormack, who performed to sell out audiences.

Leading international performers Roy Orbison; Chubby Checker, Ruby Murray and Val Doonican all performed at the venue.

Renowned contemporary artists showcased their work at the acclaimed Orchard Gallery.

Hit TV series, Derry Girls filmed some of the shows most famous scenes from Season 3 at St Columbs Hall.

In addition, the Derry Feis, Little Theatre drama group, Derry Pantomime, St Columbs TA Brass and Reed band, and generations of local performers made their performance debuts in this iconic space.

The Aurora project will re-establish this community connection to St Columbs Hall, the first phase is completing urgent repair works to stonework and parapet levels on the Halls western elevation.

In addition, St Columbs Hall Trust will work with the community to research the heritage of the hall and its future. The project will create a part time support post as well as giving three apprentices the opportunity to learn valuable heritage maintenance and restoration skills which will be critical in maintaining the Hall in the future.

Conal McFeely, Chairperson of St Columbs Hall Trust, said: Since its opening in 1888, St Columbs Hall has played a significant role in the lives of the community here and it is imperative that this architecturally and socially important building is protected and is able to thrive.

"One hundred and thirty four years after the first grand concert was held at St Columbs Hall in February 1889, it is apt that the great cultural events that were once a regular occurrence at the Hall will return again.

"St Columbs Hall Trust is working hard to find a new, and sustainable future for the Hall. An important part of that process is looking forward but also recording and acknowledging the efforts of our community in nurturing this wonderful asset over many years.

"Thanks to money raised by National Lottery players we are able to complete important conservation work while providing the opportunity to open up more of the Halls spaces.

Dr Paul Mullan, Northern Ireland Director, The National Lottery Heritage Fund said: Thanks to National Lottery players, we are delighted to award St Columbs Hall Trust with a grant that will not only carry out urgent repairs to rescue an at-risk building but will also help unlock an exciting new vision for this iconic venue.

"St Columbs Halls heritage and the experiences of its audience and visitors live long in the memory. Its exciting to anticipate a new chapter for The Peoples Hall where employment, new skills, activities and events are on the horizon.

"We look forward to seeing the project progress as people discover the venue for the first time or rediscover all that St Columbs Hall offers.

The public can get involved in the programme of activities at the Hall by signing up at www.saintcolumbshall.com/aurora.
The detrimental effects of defective concrete and defective concrete products manufactured in the Republic of Ireland and sold into the Northern Ireland market are to be monitored by Derry City and Strabane District Council.

In response to a notice of motion by elected members, Council has begun quantifying the number of residents in its area whose properties contain mica.

Council has also written to the Department for Communities with regards to compensation and engagement with the Irish Government in relation to this issue.

However, a Donegal environmentalist has warned the people of Derry not to be suckered into accepting what he described as the Irish Governments flawed remediation scheme.

The family of Enda Craig from Moville has been directly impacted by the use of defective concrete and defective concrete products in the building of their home.

Mr Craig described Irish Standard (IS) 465, the protocol underpinning the Irish Governments redress scheme, as completely fraudulent.

Speaking to Derry Now, he explained: This remediation protocol has been enshrined into current legislation by the Irish Government. It tests your defective blocks for mica only, while ignoring the real cause, which is the reactive iron sulphide minerals and other deleterious materials.

The effect of reactive iron sulphide minerals and other deleterious materials in concrete.

Unbelievably, the foundations of your house are also completely ignored under the remediation scheme and the homeowner must decide whether to replace them at a significant cost to themselves or take a chance and rebuild on them, in the full knowledge they too are most likely deteriorating, having come from the same supplier and been manufactured with similar materials.

This decision by the Irish Government makes it financially impossible for many homeowners who are currently paying a mortgage, who will find themselves facing a shortfall in the overall grant to rebuild their house and must now also find a significant amount of money to address the foundations removal and replacement.

The Irish government, by deliberately ignoring the foundations, has ' built-in' to this redress grant scheme a cynical mechanism which is designed to limit the number of homeowners who can avail of the partial grant due to the gross financial burden being placed upon them, said Mr Craig.

Mr Craig posed the question: Who in their right mind would make such a ridiculous gamble as to build on foundations whose state of health is unknown but based on known research are most likely also defective?

He added: Many people believe this was a deliberate decision by the Irish Government and Donegal County Council to pretend to give demolition (blocks only) and then make it financially impossible for the vast majority of homeowners to rebuild their houses based on a proper engineering solution.

Beyond all doubt it is a cynical Government exercise and self-evidently designed to protect the cost to the exchequer.

By making it impossible for homeowners to access the grant, unless they have a significant sum of money available to cover the cost of foundation replacement and the grant shortfall for rebuilding in the first instance, is simply adding another layer of pain and distress to already suffering innocent homeowners.

It is a shameful hoodwink of families in the northwest and makes a complete nonsense of the Govt claim that this is a 100% redress scheme. This meticulously designed Government scam - scheme needs to have its cornerstone i.e. I.S. 465 legally challenged by way of Judicial Review and have it replaced by European Concrete Standards already in existence which will guarantee foundations and Reactive Iron Sulphide Minerals will be included in the assessment of your crumbling house. Only then will you get a just and proper engineering solution, said Mr Craig.

In 2011, in neighbouring Inishowen, when people first noticed their homes exhibiting signs of cracking and decay, the phrase mica scandal became erroneous shorthand for the physically crumbling homes and foundations and devastated families throughout the peninsula.

Today the term mica is no longer used by Donegal County Council, which now refers instead to defective concrete.

Accepted international research has shown it is not mica which is destroying homes and foundations in Inishowen, rather it is the presence of deleterious reactive iron sulphide minerals in the concrete. These minerals lead to internal sulphate attack, which causes blocks and foundations to crumble.

In spite of this, the Irish Government based both its 2020 and 2022 defective concrete block remediation schemes on Irish Standard (IS) 465, which refers solely to mica.

According to Mr Craig, IS 465 was purposely designed to exclude deleterious minerals including pyrrhotite, chalcopyrite, marcasite, rare pyrite and minor pyrite, which trigger internal sulphate attack and lead to the expansion of concrete blocks and the disintegration of the cement hydrates.

Mr Craig said there were grounds for the instigation of a judicial review on the legality of IS 465.

He added: In the public interest, the fraudulent Protocol IS 465 should be replaced by existing European regulations / legislation, which would take into account reactive iron sulphide minerals including pyrrhotite.

This would give all affected homeowners their only proper remediation option - full demolition, including foundations, which are also currently excluded from the Governments remediation scheme.

Allowing the fraudulent Protocol IS 465 mica only to be used as the yardstick for determining your remediation option is beyond belief and makes fools of the affected homeowners.

Whoever controls the Protocol controls the scheme. Every application assessed to date has been done on the basis of a fraudulent protocol that measures mica only, when it has been scientifically proven that reactive iron sulphide minerals and other deleterious materials are the real cause of the defective blocks problem.

Even though IS 465 is currently under review for the Irish Government, it is still being used to assess applications to the Governments defective concrete block remediation scheme by Donegal County Council.

Enda Craig said: A suspect protocol that is under review should never be allowed to continue to be used to determine your remediation option. What happens if it is found to be unethical and not fit for purpose?

Will all those applications where it was wrongly used to assess be re-visited and amended? No chance.

Derry City and Strabane District Councils data collection exercise follows a home here being described as the first in the North with a confirmed case of mica in November 2022.

The home belonged to Danny and Kate Rafferty, from Beragh Hill Road in the Skeoge area of the city, who carried out testing on their blocks when telltale spider cracks appeared on the outer wall and chimney of their house.

Derry City and Strabane District Council has subsequently issued a public call out to property owners in the area, who have evidence that their residence / dwelling has been impacted by mica, as certified by an authorised mica testing organisation, to get in contact with it so it can add their details to the database.

Council stressed the purpose of this exercise was to collate data only as it could not carry out any form of mica testing.

It said: This data collection exercise will allow Council to quantify how many homes / properties within the Derry and Strabane District have already been tested and deemed to be affected by mica.

Property owners are urged to get in touch by sending their name, details of the affected property and contact number, along with a copy of certified testing / documented evidence to prove your property has been impacted by mica to the following bespoke email address: mica@derrystrabane.com.

The information will be collated and presented to a further meeting of the Councils Environment and Regeneration Committee for elected members to review and consider going forward.
To mark this years celebration of National Apprenticeship Week (6th  12thFebruary), a Derry placement student with a bright future in his field from Northern Ireland-based learning technology company Synergy Learning is sharing his story of how joining a successful team as a placement student has helped build his confidence and develop his communications and networking skills.

National Apprenticeship Week is an annual week-long celebration of apprenticeships, providing employers with the opportunity to promote the importance and value of trusting the leaders of tomorrow.

Synergy Learning is a firm believer in the value of internship opportunities for students.

The company offers students valuable work experience and the opportunity to experience on-the-job learning in a professional and fast-paced environment, alongside an abundance of insight and understanding of how a workplace operates by integrating the students fully into the companys 1Team.

For the past 10 years, Synergy Learning has offered a range of internship opportunities to students and graduates from universities and further education institutions. Today the companys workforce contains senior members of the team who are former participants of its internship programme.

Eglinton-born Pearse Joyce (20) joined Synergy Learning in August 2022 on a placement year from his Information Technology degree programme at Ulster University in Magee, Derry.

Pearses current role with Synergy Learning is an Interim Support Technician, which allows him to work on support contracts with various organisations including NHS Trusts and Save The Children.

When approaching his placement year, Pearse spent a lot of time researching the opportunities available to find one right for him.

Synergy Learnings remote-first working model stood out to Pearse  he would be able to live at home in Derry but work for a company based in Belfast, with the opportunity to travel to the companys innovative hub in Titanic Quarter from time to time.

Speaking on what he enjoys about his internship, Pearse said: The experience is great! There was plenty of training at the beginning and I felt like I slotted right into the team. Theres a real focus on the team at Synergy Learning and working with industry professionals has really motivated me to work hard.

Synergy Learning hosts an internal event called All Hands which involves all colleagues coming together from different circles who you may not usually get to chat to  its great to meet everyone and have a laugh together.

For other students considering a placement, internship, or apprenticeship opportunity, Pearse has some words of advice. I was nervous at the beginning, thinking I didnt know enough to fit into a professional team or complete the tasks, he said. Dont worry about this  the training and support provided is fantastic. Dont doubt yourself  you are good enough!

Pearse will return to Ulster University in September to complete his final year of study and has high hopes for a bright and successful future post-graduation.

Synergy Learning CEO Roy Kerley said: At Synergy Learning, we are passionate about encouraging the next generation to excel in our industry through providing exciting opportunities for up-and-coming young professionals to learn from our experienced team and expand their skillset.

"Pearse has been a hugely positive addition to our team this year and has shown a great drive to succeed. Its great to have such a bright young mind on the Synergy Learning team and were really pleased at how well he is doing.

I would encourage businesses of all shapes and sizes across Northern Ireland to consider creating opportunities for talented young people. These minds are the leaders of tomorrow, and apprenticeships and internship programmes which help unearth the next generation of business leaders are a fantastic asset for any organisation.

To find out more about current opportunities available at Synergy Learning visit https://synergy-learning.com/careers/

Synergy Learning has recently been named as one of the UKs fastest growing businesses and recognised as one of Northern Irelands Top 100 Tech Companies.
Derry Magistrate's Court heard today that there have been four drug related deaths in the city in the last number of weeks.

A police officer told that fact to the court during an appearance by a 29-year-old man on 17 drug charges.

The man was granted anonymity as District Judge Barney McElholm said he could 'be a target for certain type of people.'

The man is charged with being concerned in the supply of cocaine, cannabis, Diazepam and Pregablin on dates between January 1 2019 and February 4 2023.

A police officer connected the accused to the charges and opposed bail.

He told the court that the defendant was suspected of being involved in the supply of drugs in the city since 2019.

He said in February 2021 police intercepted a parcel addressed to the defendant's address containing 168 Pregablin tablets.

Police arrested the man and seized drugs and 4 mobile phones.

Then in May 2021 police observed suspicious behaviour involving the defendant and another man and a box of Diazepam was found on the other man who was believed to have just left the defendant's flat.

Police found more drugs and what was described as 'a drug strap list.'

On February 4 this year police attended an address and discovered more drugs and mobile phones.

The defendant initially refused to provide the PIN code for the phone but eventually did.

Bail was opposed due to the risk of re-offending and the court was told that the defendant said he used crack cocaine and between 30 to 50 Diazepam a day.

He also admitted to being thousands of pounds in drug debt.

The officer said that police had 'serious concerns' as there had been four drug related deaths in the last three weeks in the city.

Defence counsel Eoghan Devlin said his client had made certain admissions.

He said that it was a case that was likely to go to the Crown Court and could take a while.

Judge McElholm said there was 'a very high risk of re-offending' as this man had a 'sizeable drug debt' and these were 'very dangerous drugs.'

The man was re remanded in custody to appear again on March 2.
Sinn Fein president Mary Lou McDonald has said she would have had nothing to do with Jonathan Dowdall had she known what was to transpire.

The former Sinn Fein councillor has been jailed for four years for facilitating the 2016 murder of David Byrne at the Regency Hotel.

Mrs McDonald was asked about a 1,000 euro donation from Dowdall in 2011.

She told RTE Radios This Week programme that Dowdall made one contribution into her political donations account at least a decade ago, which she said was declared in line with guidelines.

Mrs McDonald said she believes he also attended Sinn Fein fundraising events.

Just remember, at that time there was no question of Mr Dowdall being a convicted criminal, he now is, correctly, and let me make it also very plain, had I known, had I the foresight or any knowledge or inkling that he would have gone on to behave in the way that he did, he would not have been anywhere near me, anywhere near Sinn Fein, she said.

Frankly we would have had nothing, zero to do with him.

Asked whether Dowdall was a friend of hers, Mrs McDonald said no.

He was a constituency colleague, the reality is that as it turned out, and as Jonathan Dowdall behaved, I do not know him, did not know him, would have had no clue, no more than anybody else had, of what he was capable of, she said.

We now know that and responsibility for those actions rests with Jonathan Dowdall and with him alone.

Mrs McDonald went on: The donation was made 11 years ago by somebody who had no convictions, who had no involvement to my knowledge, of anything criminal  this was a person who ran a thriving business, a family man, whose wife worked in the Irish civil service, whose business had A list clients like the Dublin Airport Authority, the Bank of America and so on.

At the time the donation was made, it was recorded correctly in my political donations account with full transparency and fully in accordance with the law.

Mrs McDonald was also asked about a failure by her party to declare a series of expenses related to the hosting of press conferences during the 2016 general election campaign.

The undeclared expenses were for the hire of five indoor venues in Dublin, one of which was used twice, that totalled 2,160.70 euro.

The party said the amounts should have been included in its return to the Standards in Public Office Commission (Sipo).

Mrs McDonald said any expenses that were not reported have been paid.

I am very determined that those kind of administrative mistakes and that kind of sloppiness will not occur again, it shouldnt occur and Im not going to put any gloss on that, she said.

Mrs McDonald rejected any comparisons with the situation with Paschal Donohoe, claiming it was like comparing apples and oranges.

The Public Expenditure Minister admitted to not declaring 1,057 euro paid by an individual to hang up his posters ahead of the 2016 general election.

There is a world of a difference in not fully reporting invoices that you have spent to hire a hotel room for a press conference on the one hand, and a failure to declare a corporate donation from a very wealthy businessman when youre the Minister for Finance, and when this individual is appointed to state boards and also wins state contracts  those are daylight and dark, she said.
A financial services company is to create 300 jobs in Londonderry by 2027 as part of a 20 million investment.

FinTrU said it would double its operation in the north west as part of an expansion supported by Invest NI.

The new jobs will range from graduate roles to more senior experienced positions and will contribute 8.6 million of annual salaries to the local economy.

Founded in 2013 by Darragh McCarthy, FinTrU is a technologically enabled regulatory solutions company that works with global investment banks, specialising in the areas of KYC (know your customer), compliance, legal, risk and controls and operations.

Mr McCarthy said the expansion is a significant step which will see FinTrU grow to over 1,500 employees in Northern Ireland and significantly increase our competitiveness, catapulting us into a new era of business growth.

He added: FinTrU is celebrating its 10th birthday in 2023 and the north west holds a special place in the heart of our business.

Since making our first investment in Derry in 2018, we have been blown away by the talent and were able to surpass our initial jobs target one year ahead of schedule.

Following the announcement of our Letterkenny site last year, our newest investment is a demonstration of our ongoing commitment to develop and champion the north west region and our staff who have helped us to grow here.

Greg McCann, executive director and head of the firms north west office, said: FinTrU is an indigenous company to Northern Ireland and our people strategy is to attract, develop and retain the best talent in the marketplace.

There are a lot of high-quality graduates coming from the local universities and colleges who have supported us to win new customers and grow our sales globally.

We have also welcomed a large number of experienced professionals, who have returned to the north west to pursue the high-quality careers we can provide.

Mel Chittock, interim chief executive of business support agency Invest NI, said the news was a vote of confidence in the north west.

He said: Job creation is only one part of the equation to build a productive, knowledge-based, export-driven economy; skills development is another.

This investment delivers on both: 300 new jobs and a skills development package, which will see the company invest in its greatest asset, its staff.

A highly and appropriately skilled workforce has a crucial role to play. The increased skills and capabilities that FinTrU gains will enable faster and increased company growth and will spearhead the development of a new financial services cluster in the north west region. 

DUP Foyle MLA Gary Middleton said: With a contribution of over 8.5 million in salaries alone, it will provide a huge boost to the economy in the north west area when the jobs are in place.

At a time of economic uncertainty, this provides a positive boost for the region.

SDLP leader Colum Eastwood said the investment recognised the economic imbalance towards the north west.

He said: Derry needs further investment so that our young people do not have to leave their homes to have a career, go to university and start a family.

These new roles and the skills development package shows commitment to Derry and the north west, and is a testament to the capable and educated people that Derry produces.
A bid to list a preserved Moravian site in Co Antrim as Northern Irelands first cultural world heritage site has been launched.

The proposal to Unesco is part of a transnational bid involving three global sites  Bethlehem in Pennsylvania in the US, Herrnhut in Saxony, Germany, and Gracehill, near Ballymena.

If successful, Gracehill would be elevated to a status alongside the likes of the Taj Mahal and Great Wall of China.

All three settlements are associated with the Moravian Church, one of the oldest Protestant denominations in Christianity

Gracehill is the best preserved Moravian settlement on the island of Ireland.

The village was laid out in the 18th century as a settlement of the Moravian Church and was designated as Northern Irelands first conservation area in 1975.

The nomination is being led by the US in conjunction with the German and UK governments.

It is the first multi-country bid in the 45-year history of the World Heritage Convention to be led by the US.

Colum Boyle, Permanent Secretary at the Department for Communities, has welcomed the development and thanked the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) for co-ordinating the UK part of the three-nation bid.

He said: Gracehill is an important part of our diverse heritage and the department has been pleased to work with the local community and council over many years as they have sought to preserve the village and ensure that its potential can be realised.

If successful in securing world heritage site status, Gracehill and the wider community will benefit culturally and economically from this important accolade that will further protect an important piece of history for future generations.

UK arts and heritage minister Lord Parkinson said: This wonderfully well-preserved 18th-century settlement offers a fascinating insight into the history of the Moravian Church and its community of worshippers.

The village of Gracehill would be a worthy recipient of the first cultural Unesco world heritage site in Northern Ireland, complementing the natural heritage of the Giants Causeway and Causeway Coast. I look forward to supporting this bid in the coming months.

David Johnston of the Gracehill Trust believes securing world heritage status would be hugely significant to Northern Ireland.

He said: Gracehill has been a good news story for 250 years and for the last 20 years we have been working with international partners to achieve world heritage status.

The prize of world heritage designation would be hugely significant, and granting Northern Ireland its first cultural world heritage listing would bring benefits for tourism, the economy, regeneration, job creation and even reconciliation, whilst enriching the profile for the whole region.

This is a unique opportunity to achieve something of lasting significance that everyone can be proud of and share in, with substantial potential benefits now and for generations to come.

The Department for Communities and Mid and East Antrim Borough Council have provided financial support and expertise to Gracehill Trust to commission an international consultant to carry out research and prepare a nomination document to Unesco.

Mayor of Mid and East Antrim Borough Council, Noel Williams, added: The purpose of world heritage is to help recognise and preserve the named area for present and future generations.

Gracehill is an area of our borough that we are very proud of and for that reason we would champion any plans that preserve it.

The transnational nomination will be considered for inscription on the world heritage list by the Unesco world heritage committee next year.

The Giants Causeway in Co Antrim was designated as a natural world heritage site in 1986, but if successful Gracehill would be the first in Northern Ireland to be granted cultural world heritage status.
By Aditi Sharma, NXP

Abstract

With the introduction of advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS), complex vehicle infotainment, and high-end instrument cluster, automotive subsystems are shifting towards faster processors with increasing CPU core count year over year. CPU core counts are increasing at a rate that surpasses overall system memory bandwidth. SRAM and non-volatile memories are not enough to satisfy the high capacity and high bandwidth memory requirements needed for complex computing and image processing to support ADAS features. That is why the automotive industry is showing a growing need for DRAM every day.

But signal integrity, layout complexity, and other system-level challenges are limiting advances in DRAM bandwidth. So, its very important to utilize the DRAM bandwidth to the full extent. In this article, we will see which parameters we can tweak inside the DDR controller for getting optimized throughput from LPDDR4/4x DRAMs.

I. Bank rotation/interleaving

Each DRAM memory rank is organized in a BANK-ROW-COLUMN structure. When the DDR controller receives a request to read/write data into a memory location, it has to send ACTIVATE command to DRAM for opening that particular row in a bank. Once the row is opened, that row's data is copied into that bank's Row Buffer.

Figure 1 DRAM memory organization

When the DDR controller receives a Read/Write request for some other row in the same bank, it has to send a PRECHARGE command to close the already opened row before sending ACTIVATE command to open another row. The row-closing penalty is much higher than the Row opening penalty.

On the other hand, if DRAM has n banks, n rows can be simultaneously activated and accessed; one per bank.

Bank interleaving is the concept of spreading memory addresses evenly across memory banks to prevent frequent PRECHARGE and ACTIVATE requests.

It can be accomplished by System address to DRAM row-bank-column address translation provided inside the DDR controller. This translation gives flexibility to users in choosing a configuration-specific best scheme.

Broadly two types of addressing schemes are possible:

Bank-Row-Column scheme

Row-Bank-Column scheme

i) Bank-Row-Column Address Scheme (BRC)

In this scheme, MSBs of System address are mapped to Bank bits, Middle bits to Row bits, and LSBs to Column bits.

If the master is accessing contiguous memory locations, the row address will be changed

once all columns in that row are accessed. If there are 1024 columns in a row with each column of size 2 bytes, in this scheme rows within a bank are switched every 2048 bytes adding PRECHARGE and ACTIVATE overhead.

Figure 2 Contiguous read in BRC scheme

Figure 3 Row accessing time in the BRC scheme

For a 2GB 16bit data bus device with 10 Column bits, 3 Bank bits,1 Chip select, and 16 Row bits, the RBC scheme can be achieved by following address map settings:

System address 30 29 28 27 26-11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 DRAM address CS0 B2 B1 B0 R15-R0 C9 C8 C7 C6 C5 C4 C3 C2 C1 C0 -

ii) Row-Bank-Column Address Scheme (RBC)

In this scheme, MSBs of System address are mapped to Row bits, Middle bits to Bank bits, and LSBs to Column bits.

If a master is accessing contiguous memory locations, row addresses within a bank will change once all the rows in all 8 banks have been accessed. In this case, row switching within the same bank will be done after 8*1024*2 = 16K bytes.

Figure 4 Contiguous read in RBC scheme

Figure 5 Row accessing time in RBC

For a 2GB 16bit data bus device with 10 Column bits, 3 Bank bits,1 Chip select, and 16 Row bits, the RBC scheme can be achieved by following address map settings:

System address 30 29-14 13 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 DRAM address CS0 R15-R0 B2 B1 B0 C9 C8 C7 C6 C5 C4 C3 C2 C1 C0 -

In LPDDR4/4x, back-to-back masked writes within the same bank result in a performance penalty (masked writes are the write operations that include a byte mask anywhere in the burst sequence). Masked writes are most frequent when Inline ECC is used or when writing data less than the programmed burst size (BL16). After masked writing in a row, the waiting period for writing in the same row is tCCDMW.

Figure 6 LPDDR4 Masked writes penalty

To mitigate this penalty, RBC addressing scheme can be further improvised into Row-Bank-Column-Bank-Column (RBCBC) scheme. In this scheme, after every BL16 burst, Bank is switched. We can use 2 Bank rotation for the same in which banks are rotated every burst with rotation between 2 banks.

For a 2GB 16bit data bus device with 10 Column bits, 3 Bank bits,1 Chip select, and 16 Row bits, this can be achieved by following address map settings:

System address 30 29-14 13 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 DRAM address CS0 R15-R0 B2 B1 C9 C8 C7 C6 C5 C4 B0 C3 C2 C1 C0 -

iii) Choosing between BRC and RBC

As discussed in previous sections, the RBC scheme offers an advantage when consecutive DRAM locations are addressed viz. LSBs are changing more frequently. This is mostly true when a single master is accessing DRAM.

In Multi-master or completely random traffic scenarios, where MSBs may be changing more frequently than LSB, the RBC scheme may not prove to be that efficient. Since all masters share all banks, they can cause mutual interference by closing each others rows. In that case, private bank mapping can be tried where each master is assigned its bank or set of banks. Therefore, the state of the row buffers of one master cannot be influenced by other masters.

II. Rank Interleaving

In multi-rank devices, the row closing penalty can further be mitigated using Rank interleaving. In this scheme, rank is switched once all columns (belonging to the same row) in all banks are exhausted. Since there is no minimum timing constraint to send ACTIVATE command to another rank, another consecutive request to a different rank can be serviced immediately by the controller. There can be some Rank switching delay which is variable depending on the usage of ODT in the system. If ODT is enabled there is a slight increase in Rank switching delay w.r.t ODT disabled case.

Figure 7 Rank Interleaved row access time

Another benefit of rank interleaving is that refreshes to two ranks can be staggered. If one rank is blocked for a refresh cycle in the All bank scheme, another rank can service Read/Write commands. A slight modification can be done in the RBCBC scheme mentioned in the previous section. In this scheme, rank switching happens earlier compared to row switching in case of contiguous address access from a master.

For a 2GB 16bit data bus device with 10 Column bits, 3 Bank bits,1 Chip select, and 16 Row bits, this can be achieved by following address map settings:

System address 30-15 14 13 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 DRAM address R15-R0 CS0 B2 B1 C9 C8 C7 C6 C5 C4 B0 C3 C2 C1 C0 -

III. Quality of Service (QoS)

In any SoC-based on-chip communication system, there will be multiple Masters trying to communicate with different Slaves through Interconnect. Interconnect is used to route the traffic between the Masters and Slaves. There are potential chances that high bandwidth non-latency critical masters can starve low bandwidth, latency-critical masters. This impacts the overall performance of the sub-system. QoS addresses these kinds of performance issues in the sub-system.

Based on incoming QOS from masters, the DDR controller can assign them High priority or low priority queue. Latency-critical masters must be placed in high priority queue so that their transaction requests can be serviced immediately.

To prevent starvation of masters placed in Low priority queues, timeout counters can be enabled. If a transaction is pending for some time in the low-priority queue, that transaction can be promoted to the high-priority queue.

IV. Refresh Schemes

A DRAM cell consists of a capacitor to store one bit of data as an electrical charge. The capacitor leaks charge over time, causing stored data to change. As a result, DRAM requires an operation called refresh that periodically restores electrical charge in DRAM cells to maintain data integrity. While DRAM is being refreshed, it becomes unavailable to serve memory requests. As a result, refresh latency significantly degrades system performance.

The minimum time interval during which any cell can retain its electrical charge without being refreshed is called the minimum retention time, which depends on the operating temperature and DRAM type. Because there are tens of thousands of rows in DRAM, refreshing all of them in bulk incurs high latency. That is why memory controllers send several refresh commands that are evenly distributed throughout the retention time to trigger refresh operations. Usually, the retention time of each cell at room temperature is around 64ms. There are two ways in which refresh commands can be scheduled in this 64ms time interval for LPDDR4 memory:

All Bank Refresh Scheme

Per Bank Refresh Scheme

i) All Bank Refresh Scheme

In this scheme, the refresh command operates at the entire rank level. Refresh commands are scheduled at time intervals of tREFIab with the duration of each refresh command being tRFCab. In each refresh command, some rows of all banks are refreshed.

Figure 8 All Bank refresh scheme[3]

When the refresh cycle is going on, no ACTIVATE commands can be sent to any of the banks. The entire rank cannot process any memory requests during tRFCab, The length of tRFCab is a function of the number of rows to be refreshed. So, tRFCab is directly proportional to device density. It should be noted that refresh commands to different banks are slightly overlapped.

ii) Per Bank Refresh Scheme

LPDDR provides a finer-granularity refresh scheme, called per-bank refresh in which All Bank refresh operation is split into eight separate operations scattered across eight banks. Therefore per bank refresh command is issued eight times more frequently that all-bank refresh commands. Refresh commands are scheduled at time intervals of tREFIpb (tREFIab/8) with the duration of each refresh command being tREFpb (tREFab/8<tREFpb<tREFab).

As per the old JEDEC standard, per-bank refresh commands were not overlapped for simplicity.

Figure 9 Per Bank refresh scheme[3]

iii) Performance comparison: All Bank vs Per Bank

Per Bank refresh scheme is performance friendly because when one bank is getting refreshed in a rank, other banks are accessible.

Figure 10 Performance comparison All bank vs Per bank[3]

But a per-bank scheme can only be used when certain conditions are met. Those conditions are discussed in a later section.

Apart from choosing the right refresh scheme, DDR controllers also offer a programmable field to postpone the refreshes. At nominal temperature, up to eight all-bank refreshes can be postponed and up to sixty-four per-bank refreshes can be postponed. When a large burst of read/write is ongoing, this postpone feature can prevent closing pages in between transactions when a refresh is due thus improving performance slightly.

V.Intelligent Page Policy

There are two ways in which we can choose to PRECHARGE a row within a bank.

Closed Page Policy in which a row is closed immediately after the transaction

in which a row is closed immediately after the transaction Open Page Policy in which row remains open until there is a need to close it (Either a refresh cycle is due for that bank or another row within the same bank needs to be activated).

Both the above policies have advantages and disadvantages.

In the case of the Closed Page Policy, if the next transaction is also on the same row, an extra overhead of opening the same row again is added. The advantage of this policy is that if another transaction is on a different row, the row closing overhead before opening the new row is avoided.

Open Page Policy is the complement of the first policy. The advantage offered by the first policy is the disadvantage of the second policy and vice versa.

So, DDR controllers nowadays offer a midway approach trying to extract the best from both of the policies. This midway approach is called Intelligent Page Policy.

In this case, a row is kept open while there are page-hit transactions available in the local command buffers to that row. The last read or write command in the local command buffers for that row is executed with auto-precharge.

VI. Performance degradation with temperature

As DRAM temperature increases, DRAM cell retention time decreases because the capacitor loses charge more quickly. To mitigate this, refresh cycles need to be sent to DRAM more frequently. As temperature rises above the nominal temperature (85 degrees) refresh interval is reduced to 0.5x and 0.25x. The refresh command which was sent earlier every tREFIab in case of all bank refreshes is now sent every tREFIab/2 or tREFIab/4. The same is true for per bank refresh.

Figure 11 Refresh variation with Device density and Temperature[2]

As long as tREFI/4 is greater than tRFC, there is no issue. But when tREFI/4 < tRFC, a problem arises because the interface will be blocked for refresh forever. This is because we cant send any ACTIVATE command to a bank if tRFC is not elapsed or the next refresh is due. At high temperatures, both conditions are never met if tREFI/4 < tRFC.

For Devices with Density per channel >=6Gb, this problem arises in case of Per bank refresh. For DDR controllers and DRAMs compliant with JESD209-4A, there is no other alternative other than to use an All-bank refresh scheme for these densities.

JESD209-4B offers a solution for this limitation. We saw earlier that per-bank refreshes are not overlapped in JESD209-4A. The minimum time for completion of per bank refresh on one bank as well as the minimum time for sending per bank refresh to another bank was tRFCpb. As per JESD209-4B, the minimum time for completion of per bank refresh on one bank remains tRFCpb but the minimum time for sending per bank refresh to another bank is reduced to tpbr2pbr. Tpbr2pbr is such that it is always less than tREFI/4.

Figure 12: JEDEC restrictions on Per Bank Refresh

On JESD209-4B compliant devices, we should always opt for a per-bank refresh to get better throughput.

Apart from the above considerations, its very important to enable the Derating feature inside the controller. Derating automatically adjusts the refresh and other timing parameters according to DRAM temperature.

Users can choose a nominal value for refresh and other timing parameters. The controller increases the refresh frequency when the temperature increases and decreases the refresh frequency when the temperature becomes nominal again. So, the performance penalty is limited only to high temperatures. At less than or equal to the nominal temperature, performance will be increased automatically.

Derating is achieved by continuous polling of the MR4 register present inside DRAM. As per the expected temperature gradient of the system, the user can program the correct MR4 polling frequency inside the DDR controller.

For example, if TempGradient is 10C/s and the SysRespDelay is 1 ms:

(10C/s) x (ReadInterval + 32ms + 1ms)  2C

In this case, ReadInterval should not be greater than 167 ms.

Polling frequency should not be kept unnecessarily high.

VII. Performance vs Power Savings

LPDDR4 uses an I/O signaling scheme known as low voltage swing terminated logic (LVSTL).

The advantage of this signaling scheme is that it consumes no termination power while a low level (0) is being driven through the I/O drivers. Power is consumed only while transmitting 1s.

A power-saving feature called Data Bus Inversion is introduced which aims at minimizing the number of 1s in a byte. This is done by inverting each byte of read or write data if the number of 1s in that byte is greater than 4. A DBI signal (1 bit per byte of data) is used to indicate to DRAM whether this has been done or not.

Figure 13: LPDDR4 Data Bus Inversion

Though DBI offers power savings it hampers DDR performance especially read performance.

This is because Read Latency cycles are increased when DBI is enabled. Many other timing parameters which are a function of Read Latency have to be increased.

Figure 14: Latency Cycles comparison with DBI[4]

So, we have to check whether our systems focus is on Performance or better power saving. Depending on that we should keep DBI enabled or disabled.

References

[1] Tackling Roadblocks to Achieve Optimum DDR Performance

[2] JESD209-4B

[3] Improving DRAM Performance by Parallelizing Refreshes with Accesses

[4] Automotive LPDDR4/LPDDR4X SDRAM Datasheet

If you wish to download a copy of this white paper, click here






2 million in emergency humanitarian assistance after Turkiye/Syria Earthquake

News

Tanaiste announces 2 million in emergency humanitarian assistance following the devastating earthquakes in Turkiye and Syria

Tanaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs [and Minister for Defence], Micheal Martin, T.D., has announced 2 million in emergency assistance to the people of Turkiye and Syria following the devastating earthquakes which struck the region this morning. With over 2,000 people confirmed dead, many injured and more fatalities expected, search and rescue operations are continuing amidst wide scale destruction, harsh winter conditions and loss of power.

The 2 million allocation is in direct response to the emergency appeal for funding from the Government of Turkiye and aid agencies working in Turkiye and Northwest Syria. The assistance will support immediate and urgent humanitarian needs on the ground. The funds will be allocated to the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) and the United Nations Syria Cross-Border Humanitarian Fund, which are both best placed to respond immediately and to support local and international organisations already working on the ground to save lives in Turkiye and Northwest Syria.

Ireland also provides pre-positioned funds to the UN Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) which reacts rapidly and at scale when disasters happen. Irelands contribution to the CERF for 2023 amounts to EUR 12.5 million. The EU has also announced that it will provide significant support to those affected across the region.

Announcing the funding, the Tanaiste said:

The people of Ireland have been shocked by the loss of life in Turkiye and Syria as a result of the devastating earthquakes this morning. Thousands have already lost their lives and it is feared the numbers will only increase in the days ahead. In response, I have made an initial allocation of 2 million to the IFRC and the UN to address the urgent and immediate humanitarian needs of those affected in Turkiye and Syria.

The Tanaiste added

The people of Northwest Syria already face enormous challenges as a result of conflict and displacement. Ireland has consistently supported the Syria refugee response over many years, contributing 23 million annually in support of Syrian refugees and host countries across the region. These communities in NW Syria need our support now more than ever

In response to the disaster, Minister of State for International Development and the Diaspora, Sean Fleming T.D., expressed his concern for people across the region.

The unfolding devastation in Turkiye and Northwest Syria, where peoples lives have already been severely affected by conflict and displacement, will place extraordinary pressure on the humanitarian response in both countries. Funding from Ireland will support them to provide assistance to the most vulnerable. These earthquakes have destroyed hundreds of homes and devastated thousands of lives. It is imperative that we act quickly with direct funding and through the EU to provide the urgent help needed

The Department of Foreign Affairs continues to monitor the situation closely through our Embassies in Ankara and Cairo and is in close contact with United Nations and aid agency representatives on their response as the extent of the devastation and level of need becomes clearer.

Notes for Editors Irish Aid, the Governments programme for international development, is an integral part of the Department of Foreign Affairs The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) is the worlds largest humanitarian network. Their secretariat supports local Red Cross and Red Crescent action in more than 192 countries, bringing together almost 15 million volunteers for the good of humanity. The United Nations operates a Cross-Border Fund which allows support to reach millions of people displaced by conflict in NW Syria. 4.1 million people in NW Syria including 2.9 million internally displaced people were already in need of humanitarian assistance before the earthquakes struck. Ireland has contributed 220 million in direct humanitarian assistance to the Syria refugee response since the beginning of the crisis. Ireland has also contributed to the humanitarian response through our role on the UN Security Council. As co-penholder on the Syria humanitarian file, we successfully led negotiations on the renewal of the Security Council Resolution mandating the delivery of aid from Turkiye into Northwest Syria  a lifeline for millions in the region Ireland has committed 12.5m to the UN Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) in 2023, an increase of 1m from 2022. The CERF which was established with the assistance of Ireland provides rapid funding to emergencies and disasters such as the earthquake in Turkiye and Syria. Ireland is the 8th largest contributor to this fund since its inception in 2006. Irish Aid also pre-positions emergency funding with NGO partners in order to allow for quick disbursal in emergency situations. In addition, Irish Aid has pre-positioned emergency supplies such as tents, blankets and water and sanitation equipment in depots around the globe which can be called upon in an emergency.

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PlayStation 5 is coming to stock and the pre ordering can be done from February 7.

Sony is restocking PlayStation 5 in India on February 7 at 12 pm via Amazon. It is supposed to go on pre-order the same day. The February restock brings the God of War Ragnarok Bundle as well as a standalone PS5 disc version. This makes it different from the last time wherein buyers were forced to buy only the PS5 Horizon Forbidden West bundle regardless of what variant they wanted.

However, the prices for the PS5 have changed after the November hike. So, the prices for the base model will come down to Rs 54,990 now. If you're planning to purchase The God of War Ragnarok bundle, you will have to shell out Rs. 59,390. This is Rs. 5,400 more than the Horizon Forbidden West bundle which was priced at Rs. 53,990 in August 2022.

In November last year, Sony India raised the prices of its current generation console by 12.5% which has resulted in higher price points for the bundles. Hence, a standalone PS5 Digital Edition would cost Rs. 44,990 and at the same time, the beefier disc variant would be Rs. 54,990.

However, it must be noted that there hasn't been a price hike for the accessories for PS5.

Sony has not provided any details on the bundles yet. However, according to a report by Gadgets360, it is expected to include a digital download code for the bundled game. We can presently see the pre-order advertisements on Reliance Digital, e2z Store, and the Sony Center website. It is expected that the new PS5 launch will go live for pre-order on websites such as Amazon, Croma, Flipkart, Gameloot, and Vijay Sales.

Pre-order PlayStation 5 with No Cost EMI starting 295 per day | Explore now



https://t.co/yf8M18wUPM pic.twitter.com/2683Cc0uVc  Amazon India (@amazonIN) February 6, 2023

PlayStation's CEO Jim Ryan had promised that there wouldn't be a problem with the shortage of PS5 supply this time. One should note that there is no clarification if this applies to the Indian market as well. Users are therefore advised to be prepared on the pre-order date because the consoles go out of stock pretty soon.
Motorola has confirmed to launch the Moto e13 smartphone in India on February 8. It shared the announcement via Twitter and revealed key Moto e13 specs like up to 4GB RAM, 64GB built-in memory, Unisoc T606 SoC, and a 5000mAh battery. The phone has been already launched in the European market. The same European variant is expected to be released in the Indian market.

Check out these four major expected details of Motorola E13

1. Price

Exclusive

Motorola E13 starting price :

Rs 6,499 - 6,999



Motorola E13 :

 12nm Unisoc T606 (Slightly below Mediatek Helio G70)

 6.5" HD+ IPS LCD

 13MP rear, 5MP front

 5000mAh battery, 10W charging

 IP52, Dolby Atmos

 Android 13 (Go Edition) pic.twitter.com/jhsabhcBub  Debayan Roy (Gadgetsdata) (@Gadgetsdata) February 4, 2023

A recent leak online has revealed the expected prices in India of the yet-to-be launched smartphone. Gadgetsdata claims that Moto E13 could be priced between 6,499 and 6,999. If reports are to be believed, the phone will be offered in a 2GB and 4GB RAM variant. Three colour options will also be available for this motorola phone. These are: Aurora Green, Cosmic Black and Creamy White.

2. Display

Talking about the specifications of the phone, the Moto E13 will offer a 6.5inch HD+ display offering a 720x1600 pixel resolution.

3. Performance

The phone will be powered by an octa-core Unisoc T606 chipset. It will offer a 2GB and 4GB RAM option. It will run on a 5000mAh battery which comes with a 10W charging support.

4. Camera

This entry level smartphone will also sport a 13-megapixel single lens rear camera along with a 5MP selfie camera.

Motorola has been seen expanding its portfolio in the affordable segment by offering 4 new phones under the Moto G-series for the global markets. The new offerings include the Moto G73 5G, Moto G53 5G, Moto G23 as well as the Moto G13. All these 4 phones run on the Android 13 OS out-of-the-box.

While the Moto G23 and Moto G13 are offered as budget phones, the Moto G73 5G as well as Moto G53 5G are mid-range offerings by the smartphone company.

Be 'Hatke' instead of 'Atke' with #motoe13. With up to 4GB RAM, 64GB built-in memory, fast UNISOC T606 processor, 5000mAh battery, premium design and more, it's the phone thats 'Hatke'! Get ready to experience it at @JioMart and MyJio retail stores.https://t.co/QM6uSZM6qO pic.twitter.com/pB53hKSJsi  Motorola India (@motorolaindia) February 6, 2023

For more technology news, product reviews, sci-tech features and updates, keep reading Digit.in or head to our Google News page.
Poco has launched the Poco X5 Pro in India. It goes on sale on Flipkart starting at 20,999 (including launch offers). The Poco phone ships with Qualcomm Snapdragon 778G SoC, 120Hz AMOLED display and 108MP primary camera. We will have a proper breakdown of all the key Poco X5 Pro features and also check out the price and sale details.

5 pro features of Poco X5 Pro you should know about

1. Poco X5 Pro design

Poco X5 Pro has plastic back and plastic frame. It weighs 181 grams and is 7.9mm thin. The front is Gorilla Glass 5-protected but more on the display later. The device is IP53 rated against dust and water as well.



2. Poco X5 Pro display

Poco X5 Pro comes with 6.67" FHD+ Xfinity AMOLED panel with 240Hz touch sampling rate, 100% DCI-P3 colour coverage, 10-bit colour depth, 900 nits of peak brightness and support for Dolby Vision and HDR10+.

3. Poco X5 Pro camera

On the rear side, Poco X5 Pro houses a 108MP ISOCELL HM2 sensor, an 8MP 120-degree ultrawide, and 2MP macro module. As for the front, there is a 16MP selfie snapper.

You get to shoot 4K30 FPS from the back and 1080p @60 FPS from the front.

4. Poco X5 Pro performance and power

The internals of Poco X5 Pro consists of Qualcomm Snapdragon 778G chipset, 6GB/8GB LPDDR4X RAM, 128GB/256GB UFS 2.2 storage, 12-layer graphite heat dissipation, and a 5000mAh battery with 67W watt USB-C charging support.

The software offered is Android 12 (MIUI 14) out of the box with promise of 2 years of platform updates and 3 years of security patches.

5. Poco X5 Pro 5Gs connectivity options and other things

Poco X5 Pro brings 5G support on following bands:

SA: n1/n3/n5/n8/n28/n40/n78

NSA: n1/n3/n5/n8/n28/n40/n78

Among other things, you also get a side-mounted fingerprint reader, Dolby Atmos-backed stereo speakers, a 3.5mm jack, dual-microphones, Bluetooth 5.1, IR blaster, X-axis linear vibration motor, and WiFi ac.

Poco X5 Pro India price and sale offers

Poco X5 Pro retails at 22,999 in India for the 6+128GB model. As part of the introductory offer, you can grab the device with 2000 discount on using ICICI bank cards. The sale begins on February 13 via Flipkart.

For more technology news, product reviews, sci-tech features and updates, keep reading Digit.in or head to our Google News page.
OnePlus is all set to launch the Cloud 11 event where it will be unveiling the OnePlus 11, OnePlus 11R, OnePlus Buds Pro 2, OnePlus TV 65 Q2 Pro and OnePlus very first tablet, the OnePlus Pad.

OnePlus revealed some pictures of the OnePlus Pad a few days ago and it seems to be rolled out in Green colour. It features a camera ring in the middle which will free users from inconveniences when holding the pad and position offset when taking photos, said OnePlus. It has a metal body and OnePlus is calling it a self-developed Star Orbit Metal Craft.

One major specification revealed by OnePlus is that the tablet will be shipped with a magnetic keyboard and stylus in the box and it is expected that OnePlus will charge nothing from the buyers for the keyboard and stylus.

However, there is no other official announcement from the OnePlus about its first tab. But recently a known tipster, Abhishek Yadav shared the likely specifications of the OnePlus Pad. As per him, OnePlus Pad could feature an 11.6-inch 2.8K LCD display with 144Hz refresh rate support. The display might also support HDR 10+ and Dolby Vision.



It could be equipped with Mediatek's fairly powerful chipset, Dimensity 9000. It is expected to pack a 9500mAh battery with support for 67-watt fast charging.

The tipster also hinted about the camera specifications. There might be a 13-megapixel rear camera and along with that it could sport an 8-megapixel selfie shooter.

The tipster also mentioned the Stylus support with the OnePlus Pad in his tweet.

OnePlus Pad specifications.



- 11.6" 2.8K LCD display with 144Hz refresh rate, HDR 10+ and dolby vision

- Mediatek dimensity 9000 chipset

- 13MP rear camera

- 8MP front camera

- 9500mAh battery 67 watt charging

- Stylus support#OnePlus #OnePlusPad pic.twitter.com/LgdgqhyWu8  Abhishek Yadav (@yabhishekhd) February 6, 2023

The tablet will be launching on February 7 in the OnePlus' Cloud 11 event. We can confirm all the specifications of the OnePlus Pad once it's officially out, so stay tuned for that.

For more technology news, product reviews, sci-tech features and updates, keep reading Digit.in or head to our Google News page.
Samsungs Galaxy S23 Series is the new standard-bearer of a trustworthy premium smartphone experience, merging power and lasting innovation in devices that have a less environmental impact. Samsung R&D Institute Bangalore (SRI-B) is Samsungs largest software R&D center outside South Korea and has contributed to the development of breakthrough innovations in the new Galaxy S23 series by closely collaborating with Korea teams and other Overseas R&D centers like Samsung Research America (SRA).

SRI-B engineers contributed significantly in the development of key features in the camera, multi-device experience (SmartThings), on-device AI, and services in Galaxy S23.

Our innovations are inspired by young consumers, who are the window to the future. Their curiosity, energy, and wonder, together with the expertise and skills of our experts, enable us to create breakthrough technology in smartphone cameras, 5G, and multi-device experience. Galaxy S23 series will delight our consumers and present them with their daily dose of awe and excitement, said Mohan Rao Goli, CTO of Samsung R&D Institute India  Bangalore.

Camera

SRI-B engineers have been focusing on continuous R&D efforts to enhance the smartphone photography experience in every flagship device. The new Galaxy S23 series, equipped with a pro-grade AI camera system, can capture amazing photos and videos even in low-light conditions. Inspired by our young and talented engineers, our experts in the domain passionately worked on computational photography and Vision AI technology to help enhance features, including Nightography, Pro-grade Video, High-Resolution HDR, and Astrophotography in Expert RAW.

SRI-B engineers with strong expertise in Visual Intelligence and depth estimation, along with 2PD dual pixel hardware sensor capabilities, significantly enhanced key features like Selfie Portrait and Autofocus for video in Galaxy S23 series. The Expert RAW app, first launched in Galaxy S22 series, now supports 50MP resolution in the rear camera and has been extended to support the front camera.

In order to provide the best capture, edit and share experience, SRI-B engineers have contributed to the development of Photo Remaster and Object Eraser features. In Galaxy S23 series, it is further enhanced with the introduction of the AI-Interactive Contour Segmentation tool, through which users can draw around a particular object in a photo to select and convert it to objects and stickers that can be inserted in another image.

SmartThings

The multi-device experiences in the Galaxy S23 series offer users enhanced connectivity and customization to improve their daily lives. In particular, the Smart Lighting service, developed by SRI-B, focuses on enhancing the personal well-being of users. The Circadian Lighting service customizes the relative colour values of a smart light bulb to mimic the natural light from the Sun throughout the day. Additionally, the Gentle Wakeup and Wind Down settings help users gently adjust by slowly brightening or reducing the intensity of smart lights at home to imitate sunrise and sunset effects.

SRI-B also contributed to the development of seamless IoT device registration services known as Calm Technology and has been part of the team to achieve the worlds first Matter-certified IoT ecosystem device. SRI-B engineers have developed services that allow consumers to set the mood, create their own personal space, and save energy for sustainable living at the touch of a button and with simple automation in SmartThings.

One UI 5 Intelligence Experiences

To enhance the Galaxy's One UI experience, SRI-B team contributed to On Device Intelligence Powered Personalization, Productivity & Automation features which provide convenience in consumers' daily lives. Smart suggestions based on phone usage proactively suggest App and App Actions, Security and privacy dashboard to see device status in one place and provide complete control in the hands of consumers. When sharing an image with private information on Share Panel, it warns if you can unwittingly share sensitive data in advance. Furthermore, users can easily extract text from images and take quick actions like Calls, Emails, and Navigation, etc. Students can simply take a screenshot and long press on any text to copy, search, and translate such content easily.

For more technology news, product reviews, sci-tech features and updates, keep reading Digit.in or head to our Google News page.
Dundalk Sub Aqua Club took to the water for their first dive of the year at the weekend.

January is the scheduled month for fitness & assessment to dive for the group and it's also the beginning of open water training for divers, for the year 2023.

Whilst it was bitter cold, it didn't deter the hardy bunch who undertook a 30min dive, depth approx 20m at a temperature of 3.

Congratulations to Joe Murphy, she was the 1st diver of the year to enter the water, a task that is bestowed to the honourable few.

Dundalk Sub Aqua Search and Rescue Unit trains all year round and are always on call should their services be required.

They work closely with all the emergency agencies throughout the island of Ireland.

They are a group of Volunteer divers & say they will always be available if called upon.
Young people with autism, and the issues they face, were to the fore again in Leinster House last week when Deputy Ruairi O Murchu met autism campaigner, 12-year-old Cara Darmody at the Oireachtas.

The Sinn Fein TD met Cara, who wowed the country when she aced the Junior Cert Maths paper when she was just 12, and her father, Mark, at Leinster House as part of the students campaign for better services for people with autism.

Deputy O Murchu, who has made regular appearances at the Oireachtas Autism Committee, said: "We are talking about expanding summer provision with speech and language therapists, psychologists and occupational therapists using people who are training.

"We realise these resources are not where we need them. Therefore, a huge body of work needs to be done. There have been major failings across the board. The expansion of summer provision, while beneficial to some, obviously created a difficulty.

"In fairness, decent work is being done by the autism committee in setting out straightforward recommendations. I do not believe there is anyone in this room or beyond who could keep a straight face while arguing against them."

He spoke about the benefit his autistic son, Toirleach had from summer provision.

Deputy O Murchu said: "He got home-based provision for a number of years with two really good teachers.

"He was then able to get provision in a school setting in St. Joseph's National School. That is even better.

"We need to make sure it is delivered in the correct setting to those who most need it.

"We may have to expand the pool of people who can deliver this programme, perhaps to those studying occupational therapy, those who will work in childcare and those studying speech and language therapy.

"I would like to think a considerable number of people will go through such training in the near future. That needs to happen."

The Dundalk TD also raised the issue of the rapid prompting method, RPM, beneficial with autistic people who are non-verbal and its use in schools.

Deputy O Murchu had tabled a question to Minister of State Josepha Madigan about the issue earlier in the day, which generated a good debate in the Dail about the teaching method.

He said: "The Minister of State met with Fiacre Ryan and his mam, Carmel. I know that she will have been highly impressed, just as I was, with what RPM has done for Fiacre and his family.

"There is an ask with regard to a pilot scheme and research so that we could look at RPM and any other assistive technologies necessary to facilitate autistic people, particularly those who are non-verbal, for whom many of us would have thought there was unfortunately no help available.

"We have seen huge strides made in freeing people from what must have been a trap for many over many years. I welcome what the Minister of State said about it not being prohibited for any school to engage in this but we have to do some work on it.

"I hope that these recommendations on the summer programme and the conclusions of the Minister of State's review will be the same and that we can deliver the summer provision that a number of our citizens require."
Nine suspected or replica firearms and six swords have been seized during a police operation against an organised crime gang in Co Armagh.

Three rounds of ammunition and 6,000 in cash were also recovered, along with quantities of class A and B drugs and associated paraphernalia, in six house searches in the Garvaghy Road area of Portadown on Monday.

One man in his 20s has been arrested.

PSNI Detective Chief Inspector Richard Thornton from the police organised crime branch said the searches were part of a wider investigation into serious and organised crime in the greater Craigavon area related to the importation and supply of drugs and firearms.

He described it as a very significant seizure which shows the propensity of violence that this group has.

He said 27 searches have been carried out since the investigation began in October 2022.

Items recovered during the investigation include two knuckledusters, two machetes, a quantity of herbal cannabis and more than half a kilo of cocaine.

A vehicle was also seized, along with suspected proceeds of crime of more than 15,000.

Mr Thornton said he couldnt comment any further on the viability of the firearms, and whether they have been used until forensic examinations have been completed.

Commenting on the operation so far, he said :This is a robust and wide-reaching investigation into serious and organised crime that stretches beyond the borders of Northern Ireland and we will continue to work alongside key law enforcement partners in Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland and further afield to carry out operations in order to break the cycle of those who cause harm through illegal importation and supply of drugs and firearms,

The risk of serious harm to our communities is clear.

Illegal firearms are smuggled in for one purpose only, and thats to cause injury and death.

Drugs are equally as dangerous, as they ruin lives and damage our communities.

These criminals line their own pockets and live lavish lifestyles at the expense of others, leaving families and loved ones to deal with the inevitable devastation.

Mr Thornton described very close working relationships with the Garda, with daily contact in relation in how we can come together to tackle the threats of serious and organised crime.

The reach of organised crime groups in the 21st century stretches well beyond our borders, including the Republic of Ireland, the rest of the United Kingdom and Europe, as we have seen in other investigations, he said.

There are active links between organised crime groups in Northern Ireland wand the likes of the Kinahan crime group. We keep an open mind on that and we explore every line of investigation that we have.

Asked about young people being groomed by criminal gangs, Mr Thornton warned them not to be lured into a trap.

He said criminals line their own pockets and live lavish lifestyles at the expense of others.

Thats always a concern for us (young people being groomed). It may appeal to them, the potential lifestyles that they think they might get by running drugs for the likes of organised crime groups  I would appeal to them to think otherwise, that is not the case, they are being used, he said.

Unfortunately they can get sucked into a trap by the heads of these groups.
SINCE 2017, Feed Cork has supported individuals and families in Cork, opening its food hall every Wednesday and Thursday at the lower end of Oliver Plunkett Street.

The charity provides a three to four day supply of nutritious food to battle food poverty in the city, helping people who might otherwise go under the radar. Their Feed Cork Cafe also offers a space for community, for families to come together and socialise.

According to data from the Department of Social Protections, 10% of Irelands population suffers from food poverty. As Feed Cork points out, Cork is no different.

Volunteer Liam Fitzgerald and Director Hamp Sirman pictured with some of the cakes and biscuits available at the cafe in Feed Cork at Cork Church, Lower Oliver Plunkett Street. Picture: Howard Crowdy

Volunteer coordinator Sharon Mullins says the work they do comes from the heart and from an understanding that anyone can end up needing the help of others.

At the end of the day, if youre not kind, if you dont show kindness to others, then really what is the point? she says, standing in the kitchen of Feed Cork on a grey Wednesday afternoon.

Mullins has been involved with the charity for five years now. She was asked by its director and founder Pastor Hamp Sirmans to volunteer as part of a Christian outreach programme. The church facilitates their work by providing the space for the food hall at the back of Connolly Hall.

Our work helps people to remain in their homes. Thankfully, there are wonderful people helping the homeless population in Cork  people like Catriona Twomey and Penny Dinners. We saw a gap as there are also plenty of people in homes who are struggling. We dont want them to slip any further into poverty.

We are the only food bank in Cork, where people can come and get the food they need to cook and prepare in their houses.

The charity has seen a huge increase in demand over the years. In 2017, they prepared just five baskets  they now have a far greater reach.

In January, 2022, we had 1137 families and individuals registered to use our service. In January, 2023, we have 2153 families and individuals registered to use our service. As you can see, thats a massive jump, says Mullins.

Director Sharon Mullins pictured with some of the many freezer products available at Feed Cork at Cork Church, Lower Oliver Plunkett Street. Picture: Howard Crowdy

With no government funding, volunteers rely on donations from local businesses. The charity is looking for help for one specific programme, After School Fuel. This programme is for the families of school-aged children. Home school liaisons in 13 DEIS schools in Cork identify families in need and the programme supplies them with food prepared by Brook Foods for the weekend, every week of the year. The coordinator Emma Byrd works tirelessly to provide families with support, but Mullins feels it needs to be a paid role.

Emma was a beautician. She changed her career completely by going back to UCC to study Youth and Community. Shes trained and educated in the area so it would be wonderful to offer her a wage for the work shes doing.

We have two vans and one of them is a chill van. We are partnered with Brook Foods who help us hugely.

We have very high standards, and we are all HACCP trained. We dont want to distribute anything we wouldnt be happy with ourselves. People are having a hard enough time. They deserve good food, served well.

The large spacious cafe area at Feed Cork at Cork Church, Lower Oliver Plunkett Street. Picture: Howard Crowdy

Mullins points out that the charity is a supportive space for its volunteers and many of them end up returning to education, encouraged by one another. Rachel Busby Murray is another volunteer who returned to education and is pivotal in encouraging others to do the same.

Rachel has encouraged two other core team members to return to UCC. I also went back to education at the age of 36. At Feed Cork, we realise that education can change your life. We help our volunteers grow within themselves just as much as we care for our clients.

And care for their clients they certainly do. The charity has also teamed up with the Department of Social Protection to provide school packs for children in recent years. Three different packs are provided for the younger and older years in primary and another for secondary. As with food, Mullins says the stationary packs are in increasing demand.

In the first year we distributed 600 packs. We gave out 1,500 the second year and 3,500 the next. Going back to school is often very costly.

The charity knows exactly where their food and produce goes as everything is recorded. The food is given out by appointment, but they never leave anyone wanting. They simply ask for identification and slot them into one of five streams based on need. The only requirement is that they must be in a house. The information is confidential, but they keep everything logged and recorded.

People take what they need and that is it. I often hear someone saying, Oh Ill leave that for a family  that sort of thing.

Volunteer Liam Fitzgerald and Director Hamp Sirman pictured in the Feed Cork Centre at Cork Church, Lower Oliver Plunkett Street. Picture: Howard Crowdy

You do hear people questioning whether some need the help. During Covid we had a drive thru and I remember someone commenting on the size of someones car. But maybe they needed it to travel from the country? You never know what is going on for people behind their front door. Who are we to judge? And if someone complains about, it I tell them its just food. Not to worry themselves.

Mullins found her volunteering work tough to begin with. She recalls crying every week, wanting to fix it all, alleviate peoples suffering. She realises now she cant do that. She focuses on helping the people she can help, believing that making a difference to one person a day is worth something.

I have two children myself. Thankfully, they have good jobs, but they also have high rents in Dublin and London. Its so hard for people these days, especially for parents who also have to work. Its also hard for people to come in here for help so we try to make it as welcoming as possible. We try to take the stigma away.

Feed Cork is set up as a food hall. Clients dont get pre-prepared hampers; they shop as everyone else shops. It opens on Wednesday and Thursday mornings, but volunteers work all week, handling food donations and preparing it for when clients come in.

The only difference is that money doesnt change hands. There is also a cafe serving tea and coffee and cakes to keep the atmosphere relaxed and hospitable.

I had one woman come in today who was very upset. She was mortified to be here. I explained to her that so many of us are only a few bad cheques away from the same situation. I asked her if shed help me if I was in need. She said she would. Thats all that matters, I said. Next time she comes in shell know my name and well have a coffee. Its very important to us that people feel comfortable here, that theres no shame whatsoever.

Sharon Mullinss only wish is that they might reach more people in need. She hopes someone comes forward to partner Feed Cork in their After School Fuel programme soon. She is already grateful for the support they receive from Marks & Spencer, Tesco, Lidl, Aldi and the public.

This work is just in your heart, says Sharon.

You just put yourself in their shoes. Thats it.

For more about Feed Cork, see https://www.feedcork.com/

To donate, see: https://www.idonate.ie/donation_widget/register-donor-anonymous.php?pid=5705
CORK county council is buzzing about a new initiative aimed at conserving the rare bee orchid.

The species of bee is set to be introduced at a new location by BAM and Cork County Council as part of infrastructural works currently underway in Water Rock, Midleton.

Hundreds of the species- so-called for their ability to mimic the patterning and scent of a female bee- were recently discovered in the town. The area was one of the first in the country to adopt a pollinator plan.

Bee orchids are usually found in botanical hotspots such as the Burren in Co. Clare and Bull Island in Dublin.

Other plans focus on the reduction or elimination of pesticide use. Altering the frequency of grass-cutting to facilitate more native plant growth is also among priorities.

BAM were appointed to deliver the Water-Rock LIHAF Initiative Infrastructure Works near Midleton last year which includes the construction of approximately 1.2 km of a single carriageway link road and approximately 300m of adjoining single carriageway roads. The roads will comprise a surface water drainage and attenuation system, upgrading of the existing Cork-Midleton/ Midleton Northern Relief Road junction, services, public lighting, and landscaping.

Mayor of the County of Cork, Independent Cllr Danny Collins welcomed the move and said: As a Council and with the support of BAM, transplanting of the Bee Orchid to a safe location along the Midleton -Youghal greenway is a clear demonstration of our commitment to biodiversity, ensuring it will be available for future enjoyment by the wider East Cork community.

"As members of the All-Ireland Pollinator Plan, Cork County Council want to identify and protect existing areas that are good for bees and insects as well as planting pollinator-friendly beds, trees and bulbs.

Chief Executive of Cork County Council Tim Lucey also commented on the initiative.

The Water-Rock development is a strategically important project for Midleton and the East Cork area, he said.

Cork County Council has worked proactively over an extended period with landowners, government agencies and the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage using LIHAF funding to deliver this substantial infrastructure project, providing new roads and services valued at 7.3m. It is wonderful to see how a project of this scale can be delivered in conjunction with a sustainable and considerate biodiversity approach and, thanks to the support of BAM, every effort is being made to ensure that we help reverse the decline of our pollinator species.
Founded in 2005 as an Ohio-based environmental newspaper, EcoWatch is a digital platform dedicated to publishing quality, science-based content on environmental issues, causes, and solutions.

A new report from the U.S. Energy Information Administration expects 54% of new electric-generating capacity in the U.S. to come from solar energy for 2023. Developers are planning to add 54.5 gigawatts of new utility-scale electric-generating capacity to the countrys power grid this year, most of it being solar, according to EIAs Preliminary Monthly Electric Generator Inventory, in which developers and power plant operators report upcoming projects to EIA.

Developers have about 29.1 gigawatts of utility-scale solar capacity planned for 2023, following a recent decline of 23% from 2022 compared to 2021. Prior to that decline, solar electric-generating capacity had been rising since 2010, but supply chain issues and the pandemic lead to a decline last year. EIA predicts that delayed projects from 2022 may be part of the high percentage of the electric-generating capacity coming from solar projects for 2023.

EIA also noted that should all of these planned projects go into operations for 2023, this year will have the highest amount of utility-scale solar capacity added in one year. The current record is 13.4 gigawatts of utility-scale solar capacity added in 2021.

Texas will be home to the highest amount of new solar capacity at 7.7 gigawatts, followed by California at 4.2 gigawatts.

After solar, battery storage makes up the next highest percentage of new utility-scale electric-generating capacity in the U.S. for 2023, comprising 17% of projects planned for the year. Developers expect to add 9.4 gigawatts to the countrys current 8.8 gigawatts of battery storage electric-generating capacity.

Battery storage systems are increasingly installed with wind and solar power projects, EIA explained. Wind and solar are intermittent sources of generation; they only produce electricity when the wind is blowing or the sun is shining. Batteries can store excess electricity from wind and solar generators for later use. In 2023, we expect 71% of the new battery storage capacity will be in California and Texas, states with significant solar and wind capacity.

Other utility-scale electric-generating capacity projects include 7.5 gigawatts of natural gas, with the two largest projects planned for Ohio and Illinois, 6.0 gigawatts of wind power, primarily planned for Texas, and 2.2 gigawatts of nuclear energy. For the first time in over 30 years, two new nuclear reactors have been built in the U.S. and are expected to come online this year, following a long, several-year delay.

In 2023, EIA reported that only one offshore wind project is expected to begin operations this year, the South Fork Wind plant off of New York.
Founded in 2005 as an Ohio-based environmental newspaper, EcoWatch is a digital platform dedicated to publishing quality, science-based content on environmental issues, causes, and solutions.

If current trends continue, world leaders are unlikely to succeed in limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels and avoiding the worst impacts of the climate crisis, but the reason isnt a lack of technological innovation or encroaching climatological tipping points.

Instead, the second annual Hamburg Climate Futures Outlook from the University of Hamburgs Cluster of Excellence Climate, Climatic Change, and Society (CLICCS) concluded that society is changing too slowly to meet the reach goal of the Paris agreement.

Actually, when it comes to climate protection, some things have now been set in motion. But if you look at the development of social processes in detail, keeping global warming under 1.5 degrees still isnt plausible, CLICCS Speaker Prof. Anita Engels said in a press release.

 We published the Hamburg Climate Futures Outlook 2023! Over 60 natural and social scientists analysed key social drivers and physical processes. #CLICCS



The study finds that currently, meeting the 1.5C Paris Agreement temperature goal is not plausible.



Here is why   pic.twitter.com/ZeJ8wurMky  CEN Uni Hamburg (@CENunihh) February 1, 2023

The goal of the report was to assess whether meeting the Paris agreement goals of limiting global warming to well below two degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levelsor ideally 1.5 degreeswere actually plausible given social and environmental factors. The final result was the work of more than 60 natural and social scientists looking at data from more than 140 countries, according to the University of Hamburg and The Hill.

The study authors looked at 10 social drivers that could lead to deep decarbonization by 2050, which is necessary to achieve the 1.5 goal. These were UN climate governance, transnational initiatives, climate-related regulations, climate litigation, climate protests and social movements, knowledge production, fossil-fuel divestment, media, consumption patterns and corporate responses. They found that, while the first seven were moving in the right direction, none of them were advancing fast enough to achieve deep decarbonization. Media was ambivalent while corporate responses and consumption patterns were still actively standing in the way of climate action. However, Engels acknowledged that consumers are often dependent on the decisions of businesses and the governments that chose to regulate them (or not.)

It would be so much easier if the way the products are produced is regulated in a way that (consumers) are not forced to buy climate destructive products, she told AFP.

The study authors also concluded that economic recovery efforts following the coronavirus lockdowns had led to greater dependence on fossil fuels, while the effects of Russias invasion of Ukraine were still unknown.

The study finds that none of the 10 social drivers support deep decarbonization by 2050. The drivers corporate responses and consumption patterns continue to undermine the pathways to decarbonization, let alone deep decarbonization. pic.twitter.com/BRLP5T3ORc  CEN Uni Hamburg (@CENunihh) February 1, 2023

The researchers also looked at physical drivers of climate change that can cause tipping points leading to even more warming. They found that the melting of the polar ice sheets, sea ice decline and regional climate change and variability had minimal effects on temperature and therefore were not relevant to the Paris agreement goals. The thawing of the permafrost, the deforestation of the Amazon rainforest and the destabilization of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation could make it slightly less likely that the Paris agreement goals would be achieved, but had less of an impact in the near term than the social factors.

The Fact is: these feared tipping points could drastically change the conditions for life on Earth  but theyre largely irrelevant for reaching the Paris Agreement temperature goals, CLICCS Co-Speaker Prof. Jochem Marotzke of the Max Planck Institute for Meteorology said in the press release.

The study authors were more optimistic about the chances of limiting global warming to below two degrees.

Meeting the 1.5C Paris Agreement temperature goal is not plausible, but limiting the global temperature rise to well below 2C can become plausible if ambition, implementation, and knowledge gaps are closed, they concluded.

The Hamburg study is the second this week to suggest that the 1.5 goal may be out of reach. Another paper from Stanford University researchers used artificial intelligence to conclude that temperatures are 10 to 15 years away from rising more than 1.5 degrees higher. However, two climate scientists unaffiliated with either paper said that 1.5 was not out of reach. Bill Hare of Climate Analytics told AP News that temperatures could be kept below 1.5 degrees warmer with a small overshoot if emissions were halved by 2030. Michael Mann of the University of Pennsylvania, meanwhile, warned that giving up on the 1.5-degree goal could become a self-fulfilling prophecy.

In the end its easy to overinterpret the significance of a precise threshold like 1.5C warming. The challenge is to limit warming as much as possible, he said.

And, ultimately, the plausibility assessed by the Hamburg study is based on the maintenance of current social trends.

Even if the results of our driver assessments suggest that societal transformation cannot be achieved easily, human agency still has a large potential to shape the way climate futures will evolve, the authors wrote.

Temperature rise could still be limited to 1.5 degrees if Russia ends its invasion of Ukraine and the U.S. and China improve their relationship, paving the way for more productive international negotiations. At the same time, climate activism and popular pressure are needed to convince governments and polluting companies to drastically cut their reliance on fossil fuels.

We need to do so much more, Engels told AFP.




Lesser pigs slaughtered in Belgium last December

Belgium saw a big drop in the number of pigs slaughtered last December.

During the period, 867,578 pigs were slaughtered, 13% less than in December 2021, according to data from Belgian statistics agency Statbel. The decrease in the pig herd is estimated at 4.9% for 2022 going from 6,145,696 pigs in 2021 to 5,846,586 pigs in 2022. The majority of Belgian pigs (94%) are kept in Flanders.

Experts see the declining figures as evidence of the poor market conditions and poor prospects for the future in the sector.

Belgium's crisis in pig farming has been going on for almost two years now. The lack of exports to Asia, among other factors, has led to a large surplus on the European market.

- Vilt (Belgium)




Australia exported 51,471 tonnes of chilled, frozen beef in January

New season Australian beef exports are off to a slow start, with just 51,471 tonnes of chilled and frozen beef shipped for January, Department of Agriculture records show.

Historically, January is the slowest month each year for overseas beef trade, as many large export processing plants are closed for the Christmas/New Year holidays and annual maintenance over the early/mid January period.

As herd recovery continues to gain momentum, production volume last month was noticeably up on the same period last year, and this trend is also seen in a modest improvement in January beef export volume.

While still modest, January's tonnage at 51,471 tonnes was up around 18% on January 2022, when herd rebuilding was still in full swing, keeping slaughter cattle supply very tight. The year before, January's volume was 49,604 tonnes, still 4% behind last month's tally.

The largest export market, Japan, took just 11,954 tonnes of Australian beef in January, down almost 4,500 tonnes or 27% from December trade. January last year saw trade even lower at 10,200 tonnes, but Japan was still battling COVID at that time and had not opened its border to international visitors. January 2021 saw exports to Japan reach 12,451 tonnes, 4% higher than last month.

January exports to China reached 10,556 tonnes, ranking the country second among major customers for the month, just ahead of South Korea. In January last year, it took 8,780 tonnes of Australian beef, representing a 20% lift this year.

South Korea remained a steady, reliable customer for Australian beef in January, accounting for 10,125 tonnes, down from 16,125 tonnes in December, but up about 8% on January last year.

The United States continues to buy Australian beef at only very low levels, accounting for 8,952 tonnes in January.

In secondary markets, there was some improvement from January last year when Australian cattle supply was still extremely tight.

Indonesia took 1,899 tonnes of mostly frozen beef last month  a 23% rise from January last year.

The Middle East region remained subdued, due mostly to heavy price competition from South American exports, taking only 1,796 tonnes of Australian beef for the month, but still up 18% year-on-year.

In the absence of active trade agreements currently being negotiated, the European Union took only 540 tonnes of Australian beef last month, while the United Kingdom accounted for just 47 tonnes.

Meat & Livestock Australia's recent 2023 Industry Projections suggested Australian beef production will reach 2.087 million tonnes in 2023, a marginal increase on the 2022 estimates. Despite carcass weights softening in the 2024 forecast, they are expected to remain above the long-term average and, in line with higher slaughter rates, will see production reach 2.2mt, MLA said. This is a 13% increase on 2022 estimates.



- Beef Central




Rabobank sees modest pace for Q1 pork trade

Rabobank expects the pork trade to increase modestly in the first quarter of 2023, mainly due to a low base last year.

However, growth may be difficult to sustain through 2023, given the slow production in major exporting regions, mainly the European Union and United States.

By contrast, Brazil, which continued to grow exports in 2022, is expected to increase production and exports this year. The further recovery/growth in local production in Southeast Asia and China will mean demand for imports eases, particularly in the second half of 2023.

China's reopening raises opportunities but also uncertainties regarding the global supply/demand balance. When, and by how much Chinas demand will rebound is uncertain.

Rabobank expects demand to evolve unevenly due to ongoing COVID waves, macroeconomic headwinds and weak business confidence.

For North America, the US herd is at an inflection point as the US herd returns to growth, but growth slows in Mexico and Canada. Exports are stronger from the US and Canada as pork is competitive in key markets.

For Europe, pork production is set to tighten further in 2023, with few exceptions. Pig carcass prices remain supported by tight supply and high input costs.

For China, pork prices plunge on short-term volatility, oversupply and weak demand on high COVID infection numbers. Demand is expected to rebound late in the first quarter.

For Brazil, easing feed prices should improve margins but the country needs stronger Chinese demand to balance supply growth

For Southeast Asia, the region will see strong production growth despite ASF impacts and high input costs in 2022. Continuous growth is expected in 2023.

For Japan, pork consumption manages to remain flat and storage capacity will not allow imports to increase.

- Rabobank




More likely for imported chicken, salmon in UK to be contaminated when compared to local products, study finds

Imported chicken and salmon in the United Kingdom were more likely to be contaminated than domestic products, according to a study in the UK.

Researchers said the work, published in the journal Food Microbiology, demonstrated the diverse pathogens present in various foods of animal and plant origin. They looked at the prevalence and co-occurrence of E. coli as an indicator organism, Klebsiella, salmonella, and Vibrio in chicken, pork, shrimp, salmon and leafy greens. The role of Klebsiella from food as a risk to human health is not known.

Imported frozen chicken was 6.4 times more likely to contain salmonella than domestic chilled chicken, and imported salmon was 5.5 times more likely to be contaminated with E. coli. Factors linked to the presence of individual bacteria are relevant for food safety risk assessments and the design of surveillance programmes, according to the study.

Seasonality was associated with E. coli and Klebsiella contamination in leafy greens, with higher detection in summer and autumn. Scientists said contributing factors might be the growing conditions, water sources, or weather patterns in different growing regions throughout the year.

The odds of Klebsiella contamination were higher in summer in chicken and pork samples.

Between May 2018 and November 2019, 203 retail outlets were visited in Norfolk, England, and 1,369 food samples were purchased. In total, 311 raw chicken and raw pork, 157 raw salmon, 217 raw shrimp, 62 cooked shrimp and 311 leafy greens were bought. The method used indicated presence rather than overall bacterial load.

E. coli was detected in the majority of raw chicken and raw pork samples and at a lower frequency in leafy greens, salmon and shrimp. The odds of detection were higher in imported salmon than in domestic or unlabeled products.

Packs of washed leafy greens had a significantly higher prevalence of E. coli than unlabeled wash status packages but there was no difference between washed and unwashed items.

Salmonella was detected in chicken, pork and raw shrimp. The frozen chicken was more often contaminated than chilled. All frozen chicken contaminated was imported and packed in the same country by nine suppliers.

Four samples of domestically produced pork were positive for salmonella. Of the eight raw shrimp positive, seven were black tiger shrimp of which five were from conventional aquaculture.

In the seafood tested, raw shrimp mainly were contaminated with Vibrio followed by cooked shrimp and salmon. Contamination of raw shrimp varied between imported and unknown origin with no domestic products sampled.

"The prevalence of Vibrio detected in this study warrants further inclusion of Vibrio as a microbial hazard into food risk assessments, a sentinel species of climate change effects on food systems and public health surveillance systems," said the researchers.

Klebsiella was found in all commodities, most often in washed leafy greens and least often in cooked shrimp. Risk factor analysis did not identify food presentation, store type, or origin of a product for any commodity as associated with its presence.

"The relatively high contamination observed in this study and the possibility of hypervirulent and multidrug-resistant strains in ready-to-eat foods such as leafy greens and other fresh produce warrants further investigation," said the researchers.

More than 30% of samples contained at least two target bacteria in chicken, pork and raw shrimp. Salmonella was always detected with other bacteria, primarily E. coli, and to a lesser extent with other organisms.

The most common co-occurrence was E. coli  Klebsiella. In raw shrimp, the top co-occurrence profiles included Klebsiella  Vibrio and E. coli  Vibrio. Five samples of raw shrimp contained all four tested bacteria.

- Food Safety News




Chicken, egg to be fastest growing protein, says Rabobak specialist during 2023 IPPE luncheon

The senior global specialist animal protein with Rabobank, Nan-Dirk Mulder, was the keynote speaker at the USPOULTRY Foundation Executive Luncheon held during the 2023 International Production & Processing Expo (IPPE) in Atlanta, Georgia, the United States.

As part of his presentation on "Investing in Global Poultry Markets," Mulder provided an international perspective on capturing future growth after the US industry's golden decade. He asked the question of whether the golden decade can be repeated for the US chicken industry. His response was that the most growth will come again from the domestic market, while export volume will be limited.

Mulder commented that domestic focus will shift towards creating more value, such as value-added chicken and chicken products.

From an international perspective, Mulder remarked that chicken (and eggs) will be the fastest growing protein, with 26% more demand in 2031. He said that 90% of global growth will be in emerging markets, with Asia and Latin America in the lead. Mulder noted that fast growth retail and food service in emerging markets will push modernisation of value chains, and supply will come increasingly less from trade due to food security and limited trade openings.

Mulder observed that supplying global markets will require an international approach and that US companies have a lot to offer in client relationships, product development and branding. He pointed out that the US has an opportunity to capture global growth opportunities in regions such as Eastern Europe, Southeast Asia, the Middle East and Latin America, and that Africa will be a long-term opportunity.

Mulder concluded by discussing the need to focus on (value-added) market leadership, which includes growing with key clients, creating synergy with the current product portfolio, creating synergy in trade or additional trade platforms, establishing cost price leadership, adjusting to the local business climate and having leading brands.

Sponsored by Rabobank, the Executive Luncheon recognises the supporters of the successful US$11 million capital campaign for the foundation. The Executive Luncheon provides opportunities for these supporters to meet and learn about the latest foundation student recruiting activities from Barbara Jenkins, executive director for the USPOULTRY Foundation, and funded research from Dr. Denise Heard, vice president of research for USPOULTRY.

The Executive Luncheon also affords an opportunity to interact with several of the FFA students that foundation sponsors to attend IPPE.

- USPOULTRY




European Commission satisified with draft law for labelling of animal husbandry in Germany

The European Commission has examined a draft law for the mandatory labeling of animal husbandry in Germany and expressed no objections.

Germany's Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture (BMEL) notified the commission of the draft law in accordance with the so-called Transparency Directive.

The country's aim is to give consumers a credible choice for higher animal welfare. The first measure envisaged will be to label unpackaged pork. The bill is currently being debated in the country's Federal Parliament.

If there are significant changes in the parliamentary procedure, a new notification could become mandatory.

- BMEL (Germany)
Protected vegetable cultivation brings better lives to people in county in N China's Hebei

People's Daily Online) 10:32, February 06, 2023

Photo shows vegetable greenhouses near Xingzhou village, Datun township, Luanping county, Chengde city, north China's Hebei Province, Jan. 25. (Photo/Liang Zhiqing)

Luanping county in Chengde city, north China's Hebei Province, has given its residents better lives by promoting protected cultivation of vegetables.

More than 4,000 local villagers have found jobs, thanks to the continually expanding area of vegetables grown under protected cultivation in the county.

Ma Guilan, a 63-year-old resident of Xingzhou village, Datun township, Luanping county, and her 65-year-old husband Zhu Fenglong now earn a combined monthly salary of 9,000 yuan ($1,328.4) by tending vegetables in six greenhouses for Luanping Xinshuo Agricultural Development Co., Ltd., an agriculture company based in their village.

The couple used to grow corn in their three mu (0.2 hectares) of farmland, which only brought them an income of 2,000 yuan a year, no matter how hard they worked in the fields all the year round, according to Ma.

Since they transferred their land use rights to a greenhouse vegetable grower, they have received 4,000 yuan a year in rent for their land, and worked as greenhouse keepers for the company.

Over the past few years, the couple have not only built a new house in Xingzhou village, but also bought a house and a car for their son in the county seat.

"Our lives are getting better and better," Ma said to People's Daily, with a big smile on her face.

Luanping county has paired up with People's Daily under China's "pairing assistance" program, a national strategy that was launched to channel financial and personnel support to less developed regions around the country.

With targeted assistance from People's Daily, the county has intensified efforts to build vegetable industrial parks in recent years, said Zhang Lei, an official dispatched to help boost the development of Luanping county and who now serves as the deputy head of the county.

By introducing large-scale vegetable growers and companies into vegetable industrial parks and promoting a business model that features cooperation among companies, vegetable planting bases, relevant organizations and farmers, the county has continuously expanded the area of vegetables grown under protected cultivation, according to Zhang, who revealed that the county now has 11,000 mu of such vegetables.

"Luanping county is blessed with exceptional natural conditions for vegetable farming. It has a mild climate and abundant water resources. It is also close to Beijing and Tianjin, which means low transport costs. The unique location advantage is favorable for large-scale development of protected agriculture," Zhang explained.

In addition to vegetables, Luanping county has also made great efforts to promote the production of edible fungi.

"Vegetable greenhouses require fertile soil and adequate light. In a bid to increase farming efficiency, since 2020, we have built factory-like facilities to develop protected agriculture in areas where the soil is quite poor and there is a lack of light. We have introduced rare varieties of edible fungi," said Lyu Lianbao, deputy head of Luanping county's bureau of agriculture and rural affairs.

There are six edible fungi industrial parks with factory-like facilities in Luanping county, according to Lyu.

Rare varieties of edible fungi can only grow well under certain conditions, and if the temperature and soils water content are kept within certain ranges.

Photo taken on Jan. 25 shows a villager picking tomatoes in a vegetable greenhouse in Datun township, Luanping county, Chengde city, north China's Hebei Province. (Photo/Shao Yuzi)

"Manual work is costly, and precision cannot be guaranteed, which would affect the growth and quality of the fungi," said Jiang Haitao, an employee of an agriculture company that runs an edible fungi production base with factory-like facilities in Anchungoumen township of Luanping county.

Jiang, who was on duty during the Spring Festival holiday this year, has taken care of dozens of workshops in the base, thanks to the help of his company's smart agriculture platform.

With the click of a mouse, Jiang can carry out remote regulation of the temperature, humidity, carbon dioxide concentrations, as well as other factors in the workshops in real time.

According to Jiang, the local government has granted his company nearly 20 million yuan in funds for agriculture-related projects. With the money, the company has brought comprehensive upgrades to the software and hardware of its workshops and built a smart agriculture platform, achieving precision planting powered by 5G network and digital technologies.

The company's edible fungi production base in Anchungoumen township is also a demonstration industrial park of edible fungi cultivation featuring precision planting powered by 5G network and digital technologies in Hebei Province.

So far, the company has built 43 smart workshops, 23 of which are being used for the production of a variety of edible fungi named Oudemansiella raphanipies, Jiang said. The 23 workshops boast a daily output of more than 1,500 kilograms, and form a large production base of Oudemansiella raphanipies in northern China, according to Jiang.

Starting this year, 5G networks and relevant smart technologies will be gradually adopted by all protected agriculture industrial parks in Luanping county, said Lyu.

Today, Luanping county supplies about 60 tonnes of fresh vegetables to its neighboring cities, Beijing and Tianjin, on a daily basis. In 2022, the county produced about 35,000 tonnes of vegetables grown under protected cultivation, of which about 22,000 tonnes were directly supplied to Beijing and Tianjin.

Vegetables produced in Xingzhou village can be transported to Beijing in three hours, according Luo Dongyang, a refrigerated van driver who transports fresh vegetables from the greenhouses of Luanping Xinshuo agricultural development Co., Ltd. in Xingzhou village to Beijing.

This kind of efficiency couldn't have been possible without the rapid development of cold-chain logistics and transportation services in the county.

"We have encouraged several leading modern agriculture companies to develop cold-chain logistics and transportation services in an effort to improve the value added of vegetables, so that fresh vegetables produced in Luanping can reach the dining tables of families in Beijing and Tianjin on the same day they are picked," Lyu told People's Daily.

Over the past few years, Luanping county has vigorously supported enterprises in building fresh-keeping storehouses with a capacity of more than 100 tonnes, said Lyu, adding that the local government has reimbursed companies for 40 percent of the total cost of each new fresh-keeping storehouse.

"We have built 12 fresh-keeping storehouses, which cover an area of 1,150 square meters and can store 650 tonnes of vegetables," said Li Jianpo, deputy general manager of Luanping Xinshuo agricultural development Co., Ltd.

As of the end of 2022, Luanping county had 124 storage and fresh-keeping facilities.

(Web editor: Xian Jiangnan, Hongyu)




Pangasinan province, Philippines, bans entry of live hogs and pork products



The government of Pangasinan province in the Philippines has imposed a ban on the entry of live hogs, pork, and pork related products from all municipalities affected by African swine fever (ASF) to safeguard the swine industry, the Philippine Information Agency reported.

The ban will remain in effect until March 2, 2023.

Live hogs for slaughter will be permitted entry if the bearer can present a veterinary health certificate, veterinary shipping permit, animal welfare registration certificate, transport carrier registration certificate, handler's licence certificate of registration, ASF laboratory negative result, and certificate of acceptance.

The same documents are required for live pigs for breeding purposes, with the addition of a Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI)-accredited swine breeder farm certificate.

Entry for boar semen will require a certificate of free status-ASF, RT-PCR Elisa negative test, veterinary health certificate, shipping permit, laboratory negative result for porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus, pseudorabies, and brucellosis, and BAI-accredited swine breeder farm certificate are all required documents.

Fresh pork meat, frozen pork products, and pork products are also permitted if accompanied by a meat inspection certificate issued by the National Meat Inspection Service for imported meat products or a meat inspection certificate for domestic meat products, a veterinary shipping permit, and a certificate of acceptance.

For the shipment of uncooked processed pork products and cooked meat products, a licence to operate, a certificate of product registration issued by the Food and Drug Administration, and a veterinary shipping permit are required.

Pangasinan Governor Ramon Guico III ordered the provincial veterinarian quarantine officers and the local police to enforce the directive at border checkpoints across the province.

- Philippine Information Agency
Individuals encouraged to apply for additional targeted support

Pensioners who do not receive a state pension or other qualifying benefits from the Manx Government and veterans in receipt of a War Pensions Mobility Supplement are reminded to apply for an additional cost of living support.

Announced in January, a Long Term Benefits Support Payment of 300 will be paid this month to those who receive a state pension or certain other benefits.

This round of support, in response to the extraordinary rise in the cost of living, is specifically targeted to help those who did not receive an Energy Support Payment from the Government in December.

Persons living at home and in receipt of an Isle of Man state pension or persons receiving certain other benefits such as Disability Living Allowance, Attendance Allowance, Carers Allowance or long term Incapacity Benefit will automatically receive the payment if they did not receive an Energy Support Payment in December.

The following groups are also eligible for the Long Term Benefits Support Payment, provided they didnt receive an Energy Support Payment in December, but need to apply for it before Monday 3 April 2023:

Those who reached state pension age after April 2016 and have only ever worked and paid National Insurance in another country  including the UK -and are not entitled to a state pension from the Isle of Man Government

Those who reached state pension age before April 2016 and who have recently moved to the island and still receive their state pension from the UK Government

Those who have never worked or paid National Insurance contributions so have no entitlement to state pension

Those who became eligible for a state Retirement Pension before April 2016 who opted to defer payment of their pension

Application forms are available by getting in touch with Social Security by either calling 685098 or emailing socialsecurity@gov.im
ChatGPT, the automated text generation system from OpenAI, has taken the world by storm in the two months since its public beta release but that time alone in the spotlight is quickly coming to an end. Google announced on Monday that its long-rumored chatbot AI project is in fact real and very much on the way. It's called Bard and we expect to hear a lot more about it during Wednesday's "Google Presents" event from Paris.

Bard will serve as an "experimental conversational AI service," per a blog post by Google CEO Sundar Pichai Monday. It's built atop Google's existing Language Model for Dialogue Applications (LaMDA) platform, which the company has been developing for the past two years.

"Bard seeks to combine the breadth of the worlds knowledge with the power, intelligence and creativity of our large language models," Pichai declared. "It draws on information from the web to provide fresh, high-quality responses." Whether that reliance on the internet results in bigoted or racist behavior, as seemingly every chatbot before it has exhibited, remain to be seen.

The program will not simply be opened to the internet as ChatGPT was. Google is starting with the release of a lightweight version of LaMDA, which requires far lower system requirements than its full-specced brethren, for a select group of trusted users before scaling up from there. "Well combine external feedback with our own internal testing to make sure Bards responses meet a high bar for quality, safety and groundedness in real-world information," Pichai said. "Were excited for this phase of testing to help us continue to learn and improve Bards quality and speed."

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Chatting with internet users is only the next step in Google's larger AI mechanizations. Pichai notes that as user search requests become more complex and nuanced, "youll see AI-powered features in Search that distill complex information and multiple perspectives into easy-to-digest formats, so you can quickly understand the big picture and learn more from the web," Pichai said. He added that such features would be rolling out to users "soon." Select developers will be invited to explore the commercial API running atop LaMDA, dubbed Generative Language API, next month.

Pichai didn't share many specifics on what Bard will actually be capable of, beyond the flowery "[it's] a launchpad for curiosity, helping you to explain new discoveries from NASAs James Webb Space Telescope to a 9-year-old," prose he offered. Expect more details to come to light during the company's "Google Presents" event live from Paris, this Wednesday, February 8th.
Sony is preparing to release its next-gen virtual reality headset for PlayStation 5 on February 22nd. While there have been suggestions that demand for $550 PlayStation VR2 isn't quite what the company expected , Sony has tried to assuage fans' concerns and answer any lingering questions they might have in a lengthy FAQ .

The company reiterated that players will have more than 30 games to choose from during the launch window, which it defines as the first month. Among those are Horizon Call of the Mountain (a VR spin-off of the Horizon games), and VR modes for Resident Evil Village and Gran Turismo 7, which will both be free for folks who already own those games.

Users won't automatically be able to play games from the original PS VR on PS VR2. As Sony explains, "PS VR2 is designed to deliver a truly next-generation VR experience, with advanced features such as haptic feedback, adaptive triggers, inside-out tracking, eye tracking and more. Due to this new approach to playing games in PS VR2, PS VR games are not compatible with PS VR2." However, several developers have created PS VR2 versions of existing games and some are offering free upgrades.

Meanwhile, Sony says there are more than 100 games in development for PS VR2. Physical disc editions of some games will be available.

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There are three main ways you can use PS VR2, but it'll be important to check the compatibility for each game. That's especially true if you don't have enough free space for the roomscale mode, which requires a minimum play area of two square meters (6 ft 7 in  6 ft 7 in). The standing and sitting modes require a play area of one square meter (3 ft 4 in  3 ft 4 in), but you'll need to make sure you have enough space to move your arms and the Sense controllers around. You can set up virtual boundaries and receive warnings from your headset when you get close to the edge.

Unlike with PS VR, you don't need to plug in a camera to your PS5 to use PS VR2. You can, however, film yourself while playing by connecting a PS5 HD Camera . There's the option to broadcast your footage as well. Although the PS5 only supports one headset at a time, friends and family who are in the room with you can watch what you're doing in-game in a 2D format on your TV.

There's a cinematic mode that allows users to view non-VR content from their PS5 while wearing the headset, which could come in handy if someone wants to use the TV for something else. The downside is that you won't be playing 2D games or watching media in 4K. Cinematic mode is limited to a resolution of 1080p with HDR, although the refresh rate will max out at 120Hz.

You also won't need a TV to use PS VR2 after the initial setup. So, if you wanted, you could use your PS5 and PS VR2 on the train if you don't mind lugging them around and annoying fellow passengers. You could even take it on a camping trip if you were so inclined.

The FAQ touches on some other key points, including accessibility. All the accessibility features that are available on PS5 will be present on PS VR2, except for the Zoom function. There are parental controls too.
(Informacion remitida por la empresa firmante)

Firmenich becomes the first company in the industry and the seventh in the world to achieve highest EDGE Lead certification, in Brazil and Mexico

Concurrently, the Group re-secures EDGE Move certification across its operations worldwide, while Firmenich USA advances to EDGEplus for eliminating ethnic pay gaps

GENEVA, Feb. 6, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Firmenich, the world's largest privately-owned fragrance and taste company, has reached EDGE Lead certification, the highest obtainable level of certification, for its efforts on diversity, equity and inclusion in Brazil and Mexico. Firmenich is the first company in the industry and the seventh in the world to receive this coveted certification. Following an external reassessment, Firmenich also resecured Global EDGE Move certification for its efforts to ensure gender equality across its operations around the world. In addition, Firmenich USA secured, in another industry-first, the EDGEplus level for its commitment and effective policies to eliminate ethnic pay inequality.

Economic Dividends for Gender Equality (EDGE) is the leading global standard for gender equality in the workplace. Certification requires a rigorous external assessment of four key areas: representation across the company; pay equity; effectiveness of policies and practices to ensure equitable career flows; and the overall inclusiveness of the company culture. Organizations can progress through the various levels of certification: EDGE Assess, EDGE Move, EDGEplus and EDGE Lead. This global recognition demonstrates the intentional, prioritized, and measured actions by the Group to keep accelerating progress towards diversity, equity, and inclusion across the organization globally.

"I am very proud that Firmenich secured these important certifications and continues to further its efforts in this space, raising the bar for gender equality under EDGE's demanding benchmarks for continuous improvement," said Gilbert Ghostine, CEO Firmenich, "Being the first in our industry and the seventh in the world to reach the highest level of EDGE certification, in Brazil and Mexico, as well as the next level of certification in the USA is a testament to the excellent work of our teams across the globe. Through our focused efforts, we keep raising the bar, being an employer of choice, and a trusted and reliable partner for our customers."

"Firmenich continues to set the standard for excellence as the best place to work in our industry and beyond, and I am particularly pleased with the progress we've achieved," said Mieke Van de Capelle, Chief Human Resources Officerat Firmenich. "When we set out on our journey to achieve EDGE certification, we knew it would require lots of hard work and dedication. This has become a truly rewarding journey and in less than five years, we managed to move from entry level to being a global leader in diversity and inclusion in the world of work. In addition to strong representation of women across the organization, our efforts have also helped us to successfully grow and retain talent across all demographics and all layers of the organization."

"We congratulate Firmenich for achieving their Global Re-certification at the EDGE Move level, a demonstration of their long-term commitment to foster a gender-balanced, diverse and equitable work environment. Moreover, kudos to Firmenich Brazil and Firmenich Mexico for being re-certified at the highest level of certification - the EDGE Lead  which celebrates success in terms of workplace gender equality," said Aniela Unguresan, Founder, EDGE Certified Foundation & EDGE Strategy.

A pioneer in diversity and inclusion, Firmenich has a strong track record of securing workplace equality. In 2018, the Group was the seventh company in the world and the first in its industry to achieve global EDGE Assess recognition (the first level of certification). In 2021, the Group became the second company to reach the EDGE Move certification (advanced level of certification) globally, a recognition which has been confirmed following a thorough reassessment completed in 2023. Three markets achieved higher levels of certification. Firmenich USA reached EDGEplus certification, recognizing local efforts to systematically analyze and resolve intersectional issues between gender as well as several additional dimensions including gender identity, race, ethnicity, LGBTQIA+, working with a disability, nationality, and age. Extraordinarily, Brazil and Mexico achieved the highest obtainable result, EDGE Lead (the highest level of certification), setting a global example of successfully fostering equity in the workplace.

Since 2018, Firmenich has achieved significant milestones, from eliminating the gender pay gap worldwide to systematically implementing diverse talent pools. The Group has raised women's representation in leadership positions to 42%, expanded flexible working opportunities worldwide, implemented fair recruitment and promotion practices, as well as continuous training and mentoring, and has enhanced equal representation at all levels including critical pathways to senior management. Half of Firmenich's Executive Committee is female.

Embracing the power of inclusion of minority groups and effective representation, Firmenich's actions focus on new frontiers with targeted action that goes beyond gender, including different abilities, ethnic and socio-economic backgrounds, and sexual orientation.

Note to editors

After receiving EDGE Move certification for a first time in 2021, Firmenich has resecured EDGE Move certification in 2023 for a second time, confirming its continuous efforts to ensure gender equality globally.

Firmenich Brazil and Firmenich Mexico are the seventh and the eight organizations out of more than 380 assessed organizations, to receive the highest level of certification: EDGE Lead.

Firmenich USA is the first company in the industry to receive EDGEplus recognition, for eliminating ethnic pay gaps.

About Firmenich

Firmenich, the world's largest privately-owned fragrance and taste company, was founded in Geneva, Switzerland, in 1895, and has been family-owned for 127 years. Firmenich is a leading business-to-business company specialized in the research, creation, manufacture and sale of perfumes, flavors, and ingredients. Renowned for its world-class research and creativity, as well as its leadership in sustainability, Firmenich offers its customers superior innovation in formulation, a broad and high-quality palette of ingredients, and proprietary technologies including biotechnology, encapsulation, olfactory science, and taste modulation. Firmenich had an annual turnover of 4.7 billion Swiss Francs at end June 2022. More information about Firmenich is available at www.firmenich.com.

About EDGE Certification

EDGE is the only global assessment methodology and business certification standard for gender and intersectional equity. The EDGE assessment methodology was developed by the EDGE Certified Foundation and launched at the World Economic Forum in 2011. EDGE Certification has been designed to help companies not only create an optimal workplace for women and men, but also benefit from it. EDGE stands for Economic Dividends for Gender Equality and is distinguished by its rigor and focus on business impact. The methodology uses a business, rather than theoretical approach that incorporates benchmarking, metrics, and accountability into the process. It assesses policies, practices, and numbers across five different areas of analysis: equal pay for equivalent work, recruitment and promotion, leadership development training and mentoring, flexible working, and company culture. EDGE Certification has received the endorsement of business, government, and academic leaders from around the world. For more information, visit www.edge-cert.org

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(Informacion remitida por la empresa firmante)

OSLO, Norway, Feb. 6, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Nel Hydrogen Electrolyser AS, a subsidiary of Nel ASA (Nel) (OSE:NEL), has signed a contract for 40 MW of alkaline electrolyser equipment for about EUR 12 million with HyCC for its Heron project in Delfzijl, Netherlands. Kraftanlagen Energies & Services has been contracted for the FEED study related to the project.

SkyNRG will use the hydrogen to produce sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), made from industrial byproducts and residue streams, such as used cooking oil. HyCC recently received the environmental permit for the project, and the company is working towards a final investment decision (FID) in 2024, in close alignment with SkyNRG and its partners.

"Heron will have a great positive impact on emission reductions from the aviation sector, and we are proud to be selected as the supplier of our well-proven electrolyser technology to this exciting and important project," says Hans Hide, Nel's Chief Project Officer. "We are also excited to work with Kraftanlagen on this project, a professional EPC company. This allows Nel to focus on its core scope while still bringing a competitive solution for the hydrogen production system to the customer."

"Reliable supplies of green hydrogen are key to decarbonizing sectors such as the aviation industry. We build on decades of experience in large-scale electrolysis and are excited to move to the next phase of the project with these strong partners to lay the foundation for the new hydrogen economy," says Marcel Galjee, Managing Director of HyCC.

"We are proud to bring our proven EPC expertise to this lighthouse project. This project will significantly support the decarbonization of the aviation industry. It is important that large-scale green hydrogen production plants now become reality and Heron will provide for more sustainable aviation. At Kraftanlagen, we are committed to bring these projects to execution and make green hydrogen available," says Alfons Weber, CEO of Kraftanlagen Energies & Services.

This is a firm purchase order for alkaline electrolyser equipment. Electrode production is estimated to commence in Q4 2025.

For additional information, please contact:Kjell Christian Bjrnsen, CFO, +47 917 02 097Wilhelm Flinder, Head of Investor Relations, +47 936 11 350

About Nel ASA | www.nelhydrogen.comNel is a global, dedicated hydrogen company, delivering optimal solutions to produce, store and distribute hydrogen from renewable energy. We serve industries, energy and gas companies with leading hydrogen technology. Since its origins in 1927, Nel has a proud history of development and continual improvement of hydrogen plants. Our hydrogen solutions cover the entire value chain from hydrogen production technologies to manufacturing of hydrogen fueling stations, providing all fuel cell electric vehicles with the same fast fueling and long range as conventional vehicles today.

This information is subject to a duty of disclosure pursuant to Section 5-12 of the Norwegian Securities Trading Act. This information was issued as inside information pursuant to the EU Market Abuse Regulation, and was published by Wilhelm Finder, Head of Investor Relations, at NEL ASA on the date and time provided.

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Monday, February 6, 2023

Mary Woods life was celebrated with a Rosary and Vigil service at Immaculate Conception Catholic Church on Wednesday, February 1, 2023. After the Rosary is recited, about 30 minutes into this video, you can hear comments from family and friends about Mary. A Funeral Mass was held the next morning with Archbishop John C. Wester presiding. The video was recorded and edited by Gail Rubin, who writes The Family Plot Blog.

Mary Woods Rosary

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My Remembrances of Mary

Mary was a friend to many. I met her through the New Mexico Interfaith Dialogue as a guest on The Archbishops Hour on Catholic Radio. She was an excellent interviewer. I invited her to my home for Passover, where she charmed everyone she encountered. She became great buddies with Melanie LaBorwit, and we all celebrated our Maryland roots. Melanie and I were at Marys bedside the day before she shed her earthly vessel. We said the Viddui prayer, an interfaith gesture we think Mary appreciated.

And Mary was a friend to Historic Fairview Cemetery, where she volunteered to help clean up the grounds on the first Saturday of the month. She also participated in the first Cemetery Stories event held November 2, 2021. Here is her tribute to her mother, with her story, Prince Matachabelli, which is also included in the video of the Rosary service.

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Mary Woods Obituary

Here is the obituary that appeared on the Riverside Funeral Home website:

It is with great sadness we announce the passing of Mary on Sunday, January 23rd at University of New Mexico Hospital after a brief battle with cancer.

She was born in Munich, Germany, to U.S. Army Lt. Colonel Norman and Helen Woods. Soon after the family returned to the United States where they lived in Baltimore (Dundalk), Maryland, Stamford (Glenbrook), Connecticut, and Arlington, Virginia. She attended Bishop OConnell High School in Arlington. She graduated from The Catholic University of America in Washington, DC with a BA in Drama.

Mary moved out west in the 90s living mostly in Salida, Colorado, Santa Fe and Albuquerque, New Mexico. She fell in love with the people and cultures of the area and never looked back east. Mary was an accomplished actor performing in theatre, movies, television and streaming productions. She was a member of SAG-AFTRA as well as Actors Equity Association. She appeared on stage at Arden Players, Santa Fe, Arena Stage Washington DC, Fords Theatre DC, National Portrait Gallery DC and many other theatres.

Mary was also a magnificent voice of audio books having recorded Talking Books for the Blind and Disabled for the Library of Congress. (1979-2000). She won the Alexander Scourby Narrator of the Year Award for Fiction in 1977.

Mary also had a prolific career in radio. She was Host and Interviewer for the Archdiocese of Santa Fe (2006-2021). She hosted NPR Morning Edition at KUNM (FM) in Albuquerque, New Mexico (2005-2006), was News Director at KVRH/KBVC in Salida, Colorado (1996-2005) and News Contributor at KRCC in Colorado Springs, Colorado (2004-2005).

She is survived and greatly loved by her eldest brother, Joseph (Dorsey), many nieces and nephews, and great nieces and great nephews. It would be remiss to leave out that she is also survived by her cats, Sam and Dave, whom she loved dearly. She is predeceased by her parents and her loving brothers Peter (Mai), John (Josefina) and Maurice Patrick.

Mary was a lover of music, literature, movies, archery and poetry. She was passionate in all her activities and interactions. Everyone who knew her, and they are legions, admired her generosity, compassion, honesty, empathy, talent, cleverness and humor. She will be sorely missed and leaves a big void in many lives.

The family want to thank the doctors, nurses, technicians and the entire caring staff at University of New Mexico Hospital (Adult Oncology). Their compassion and love for Mary was evident during her entire journey with them. Words fail to express our appreciation.

A Vigil Wake, an evening of prayers, rosary and remembrances by friends, will be held at Immaculate Conception Church, 619 Copper Ave. NW, Albuquerque, NM, 87102 on Wednesday, February 1st, at 6:30 PM. A Funeral Mass will take place on Thursday, February 2nd, at 10:00 AM at the same location. In lieu of flowers, donations to Catholic Charities, The Humane Society of Albuquerque, or the charity of your choice would be Marys wish. The family can be contacted by email at [email protected]

Thank you Mary for being you. Love you to bits.

Gail Rubin, Certified Thanatologist and The Doyenne of Death, is also a Certified Funeral Celebrant.

Related
Sarah Gonzales-McLinn didnt know what was in store for her when she moved into Hal Saskos house in Lawrence. This image was taken on the day she moved in. (Submitted to Kansas Reflector)

TOPEKA  Sarah Gonzales-McLinn regrets killing Hal Sasko.

She also regrets moving into his Lawrence home, where he repeatedly raped her until she channeled a lifetime of trauma into psychotic rupture.

On a January night in 2014, she drugged her captor, zip-tied his limbs and slit his throat.

That is the moment that my pain and suffering spilled over onto many different people, even outside of us two, she said in a phone interview from the womens prison in Topeka. So that moment, yes, I absolutely regret, and I would never do that again.

A jury convicted Gonzales-McLinn of first-degree murder in 2015 without knowing about the months of abuse that preceded her grisly crime. Now, her advocates hope to get her out of prison by convincing the governor to grant her clemency  a longshot attempt to correct what they view as injustice.

The clemency application focuses on Saskos grooming of her from the age of 14, including the financial and psychological traps he used to keep her in bondage. New details include the revelation that Sasko, at age 52, had started grooming 16-year-old twin girls before his death.

Advocates hope her request for clemency will elevate public awareness of human trafficking cases so that women like Gonzales-McLinn may be better understood by family, friends, law enforcement and judges.

How is it that she can be tried and convicted without a jury being fully aware of what was going on in that house? How is that not an injustice? said Dave Ranney, a retired journalist who met Gonzales-McLinn as a volunteer for a writing program at the womens prison. The question isnt whether she killed him, its why? And if you dont know the answer to that, just ask anyone who counsels women who find themselves caught up in abusive relationships. They can tell you.

Gonzales-McLinn was sentenced to a minimum of 50 years in prison. In 2021, newly elected Douglas County District Attorney Suzanne Valdez made a stunning deal. Gonzales-McLinns sentence was cut in half in exchange for giving up the right to appeal. But there is no guarantee a parole board will let her out of prison before she dies.

Valdez publicly defended the plea deal but secretly agreed Gonzales-McLinn should be freed.

Interviews, court records, confidential police documents, psychological reports, the clemency application and other materials obtained by Kansas Reflector provide insight into the events surrounding Saskos death and the legal proceedings that followed.

State corrections officials refused to allow an in-person interview with Gonzales-McLinn, citing inconvenience for prison staff and a state agency policy that only grants reporters access for stories on appropriate topics. Instead, corrections officials required Gonzales-McLinn to answer sensitive questions over the phone while surrounded by other inmates.

This was her first interview with a reporter, and she was nervous to tell her story.

Ive never talked about this with anyone outside of attorneys and psychologists  like, not even my family, Gonzales-McLinn said. But I just feel like its time, also. I feel like it has been just so hard to talk about because it does still hold a certain amount of power over me.

Living with Sasko

Gonzales-McLinn welcomed the invitation from Sasko to move into his Lawrence home after she graduated a year early from Topeka High School. She was 17, and he was 50.

They met three years earlier, when she went to work for Sasko at his Cicis Pizza branch in Topeka. He stayed in touch as she moved on to other jobs.

Sasko knew about her troubled relationship with her parents. He knew she had been violently raped by a man who left her with scars from cigarette burns. She had attempted suicide and was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder and depression.

Sasko promised to take care of her.

When I moved into that house, I had no idea what was in store for me, Gonzales-McLinn said. I truly did think of him as a father figure to me. I just had no idea.

The supposed sanctuary included unlimited access to marijuana and alcohol. Cocaine and ecstasy also were available.

Sasko charged her rent, and she bought her own food. He slowly gained control over most everything that I did, Gonzales-McLinn said.

After they had lived together for about six months, he told Gonzales-McLinn he loved her. She said she shut it down, but he continued to make unwanted advances. Eventually, he demanded sex as a condition for staying with him.

I was very crushed the first time that happened, and I just felt completely helpless at that point, Gonzales-McLinn said.

Sasko commandeered her paychecks, telling her she owed money for gas, her phone, car repairs and other expenses. He threatened to sue her if she left and told her he would wreck her credit rating so that she could never get an apartment or buy a car. She would be homeless, he warned.

Family and friends later told police that Sasko bragged about how amazing it was to have an 18-year-old. But he complained to Gonzales-McLinn that she wasnt attractive enough.

He paid for her to get a nose job, then added the $6,000 cost to the bill she would have to repay before she could stop having sex with him.

He told her that men dont like flat-chested women. She needed a curvier body. He wanted her to have breast augmentation surgery, but the doctor said she was too young. He arranged for her to have buttocks implants instead. She objected but felt she had no choice. He added the $10,000 cost to her bill.

Her last paycheck, from Bed Bath & Beyond, was for $265.56.

Gonzales-McLinn later told a psychologist that she would drink herself into a semi-conscious state when Sasko required sex. If she tried to resist, he held her arms.

I would get as drunk as I could and just lay there, she told the psychologist.

She estimated that he raped her two to three times per week for 10 months.

By late December 2013, Gonzales-McLinn had broken from reality. She searched Google for such phrases as: Why do I think so differently?

She texted her sister: I feel like a caged animal right now, and its making me crazy.

Survival brain

Greg Kelley told police he visited his uncles house a month or two before the murder and was alarmed to find a skinned rabbit in a bowl in the refrigerator.

Gonzales-McLinn had bought the rabbit at a local pet store, signed a waiver saying she would care for it, then used a knife to kill and skin the animal. She dug the rabbits fur out of the trash and demonstrated for Kelley how she stuck the knife through the rabbits neck. She had put thought into the technique.

She did this, she explained, to learn how to self survive.

The rabbit was marinating because she planned to cook and eat it the next day.

Kelley thought to himself: This chick has problems.

In clinical terms, Gonzales-McLinn was suffering from major depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, substance abuse and dissociative identity disorder  formerly known as multiple personalities.

To a reasonable degree of psychological certainty, Ms. Gonzales McLinn suffers from a number of serious mental illnesses, wrote Marilyn Hutchinson, a psychologist who spent 17.5 hours evaluating Gonzales-McLinn after the murder.

Sharon Sullivan, a Washburn University professor and expert on human trafficking, said it is important to understand the neurological impact of sexual abuse. Survival brain takes over, Sullivan said, and the part of the brain that controls decision making goes offline.

In Gonzales-McLinns case, Sullivan said, her brain wasnt even fully developed. She was trapped. She didnt know there were options.

I cant even imagine having to deal with that at 18 years old, with so little experience of the world, Sullivan said. And this is someone whos supposed to love her, called her his daughter. How f***ing creepy is that?

Gonzales-McLinn said she couldnt find a way to cope with the abuse in a way that made her feel better.

There was a lot of drugs and alcohol in that house, and that was the only relief that I felt the whole time, Gonzales-McLinn said. That is kind of a dark road to go down.

Hutchinsons report said Gonzales-McLinn had been molested by a neighbor as a child, and the rape at age 16 was extraordinarily traumatic. She had nightmares of killing herself and the rapist. She felt unavoidable humiliation.

Saskos abuse compounded the trauma. Gonzales-McLinn came to the conclusion she would have to kill herself or kill him. A change in antidepressant medication may have affected her thinking, Hutchinson noted.

On the morning of Jan. 14, 2014, Sasko texted Gonzales-McLinn to apologize for trying to sleep with her again. But at 5:15 that night, he sent a text asking her to put beer in the refrigerator. She knew if he was drinking, she would be raped.

Gonzales-McLinn killed Sasko shortly before midnight. She drove her car to Florida so she could see the ocean before her inevitable arrest.

Lawrence police questioned her after she was found 11 days later in Everglades National Park. Detective Jamie Lawson wanted to know why she used Saskos blood to write FREEDOM on the wall.

What was you trying to express when you did that? Lawson asked.

Thats how I felt, she replied.

Later, Gonzales-McLinn told Hutchinson that killing Sasko felt like standing in the sun for the first time.

Irrelevant information

In a closed-door meeting with the trial judge in 2015, prosecutor Charles Branson successfully argued that it would be inappropriate for the jury to hear about Saskos abuse of Gonzales-McLinn.

Details of those allegations would not be proper in front of the jury during the guilt phase of the trial because they would be simply information that would be used to create sympathy for the defendant, Branson said, according to a transcript of the conversation.

Branson considered the abuse to be irrelevant information. He also didnt want the abuse to be made public because news outlets would write about it.

Defense attorney Carl Cornwell agreed to restrictions on the evidence of abuse he could present at trial. Instead, he tried to convince jurors that Gonzales-McLinn was too mentally unstable to understand her actions.

The jury rejected Cornwells arguments, which emphasized the system of Sarah, a reference to her multiple personalities. Prosecutors said she was exaggerating symptoms of mental illness.

Gonzales-McLinn didnt realize she might have to spend the rest of her life in prison. She was shocked and confused when evidence of Saskos abuse wasnt presented at trial.

I never had this mentality of, Im just going to get out scot-free, thats what Im fighting for, thats what I want. But I did always want what was fair, Gonzales-McLinn said. If you dont say everything that happened, how can somebody decide whats fair?

Douglas County District Judge Paula Martin gave Gonzales-McLinn a Hard 50 sentence, meaning she would have to serve at least 50 years before the chance of parole. She would be nearly 70 years old by then.

Gonzales-McLinn appealed her sentence on the grounds that Cornwell provided ineffective counsel. Meanwhile, advocates began to prepare a clemency application  and uncovered evidence that wasnt presented to the jury.

Sasko had downloaded hundreds of videos of violent pornography on his phone and visited X-rated websites that featured children, teens and bestiality. At least 20 times, he visited websites that featured men fondling or having sex with women who appeared to be sleeping.

Police found a camera and flash drives on a desk in Saskos bedroom. A detective said images found on the flash drives demonstrated that Sasko and Gonzales-McLinn were friends who spent time together. Advocates werent allowed to view the files.

Confidential police reports revealed Sasko was grooming 16-year-old twin girls before his death. Their mother was furious at the attention and gifts he provided them, including cash, gas, clothes, subwoofers for their car, and an unsolicited envelope of marijuana. When the mother blocked his number on their phones, he bought them new phones. If they ever wanted to run away, he told the girls, they could move in with him.

Megan Stuke, executive director of The Willow, a domestic violence center in Lawrence, said the concepts of grooming and human trafficking are frequently misunderstood.

Somebody gets you in a relationship, provides you with creature comforts or covering your needs, so that then you dont have any other options but to do what they want  to maintain your housing, finance, maybe its an addiction that theyve helped you create, Stuke said. People can be trafficked by their parents. People are trafficked by their boyfriends. Its not necessarily the big ring of bad guys moving people around.

Valdez, the Douglas County district attorney, knew about the abuse when she reached a plea deal in May 2021 with defense attorney Jonathan Sternberg that would require Gonzales-McLinn to spend at least 25 years in prison.

Before his client would drop her appeal, the defense attorney made one last request.

Can you also confirm that should the settlement agreement be accepted by the judge, you personally intend to support Sarah obtaining clemency from the Governor when it becomes politically appropriate for both you and the Governor? Sternberg wrote in an email. I know we also discussed that, too, and Sarah wanted me to ask you that.

Valdez replied: Yes.

Valdez declined to comment for this story, but she and Sternberg defended the plea deal in a column published by Kansas Reflector.

There is a difference between zealous advocacy and zealotry, they wrote. Zealous advocacy relies on facts that are supported by testimony, evidence and arguments that can be admitted in a court of law. Zealotry relies almost solely on zeal.

Michelle Gonzales responded on behalf of her daughters advocates: Valdez and Sternberg may find legal comfort in knowing that a young woman who killed her rapist will spend at least 25 years in prison. We do not.

Processing her shame

Gonzales-McLinn said her unwanted buttocks implants are a constant reminder of the physical and emotional pain Sasko inflicted on her.

Shortly after she arrived at prison, she asked to have them removed.

They were all just curious, Gonzales-McLinn said. I remember one nurse went and called another nurse in and they both touched me.

The state denied her the medical procedure.

Yeah, it would be ideal if all of the nurses would, you know, follow HIPAA and keep your medical stuff private, but they dont, Gonzales-McLinn said. And they told a lot of people  a lot of officers, a lot of inmates. That was just very traumatic.

She recently renewed her request to remove the implants and is awaiting an answer.

Advocates, including Ranney, Sullivan and Stuke, compiled a lengthy review of her case, with supporting documentation, as part of the clemency application they filed in December with the Prisoner Review Board. Advocates hired Hutchinson, the psychologist, to conduct a new evaluation.

It is with a great deal of psychological certainty that I opine that Sarah Gonzales McLinn has achieved rehabilitation and is very capable of maintaining a crime-free and productive life, Hutchinson wrote in a new report.

The board, through a process outlined in state law, will gather input from Valdez and Saskos family, and make a recommendation to Gov. Laura Kelly.

Kelly has granted clemency to eight individuals through an initiative that reviewed nonviolent drug crimes. Her office declined to answer questions for this story about whether that initiative is ongoing, or whether consideration should be given to someone who suffered sexual abuse.

Stuke said Gonzales-McLinn was acting in self-defense when she killed Sasko.

When you meet Sarah, it is so clear that she is not a vicious killer, Stuke said. She is not someone who is a danger to society at this point. She was in a particular situation with what felt to her like no options.

Prison has given Gonzales-McLinn a chance to heal.

In a weird way, she said, being locked up was a relief. She took the time to think about what happened. She would write letters to God as a way of trying to process her shame.

She trains Labradors and golden retrievers to be service dogs for an organization based in Washington, Kansas. The dogs have healed me in a way that I didnt even know needed healing, she said.

If she could talk to the governor, she would tell her she is no longer the young girl who felt hopeless and didnt know what to do.

I have dedicated every day since my incarceration to better myself  not only for myself but for my family and the community, Gonzales-McLinn said. I will continue to make sure that everything that happened wasnt just for nothing.

This story was produced by the Kansas Reflector which is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus, including the Daily Montanan, supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity.

The post She killed her rapist after months of abuse. Advocates say Kansas governor should set her free. appeared first on Daily Montanan.
Farmers are one step closer to seeing a deployable bovine TB cattle vaccine as government field trials move on to the next phase.

Trials for a cattle vaccine and new skin test for the endemic disease have so far been successful, the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) has announced.

It is hoped that the combination of CattleBCG vaccine and the Detect Infected among Vaccinated Animals (DIVA) skin test will be deployable in the next few years.

Bovine TB is one of the most difficult animal health challenges that the UK faces today, costing taxpayers in England around 100 million every year.

Over 38,000 cattle in England and Wales were slaughtered in 2021 to tackle the disease.

The second phase of the field trials will assess the safety of the vaccine and the safety and performance of the DIVA skin test in vaccinated cattle.

So far, laboratory studies have indicated that the vaccine and DIVA skin test are safe and that the test performs well, under controlled APHA facility environments.

The field trials are taking place on commercial livestock farms across the country and are due to be completed in 2023.

Phase 2 will involve at least five farms with 600 animals participating, 300 of which will be vaccinated with CattleBCG, whilst the remaining half will receive a placebo.

In July 2021, APHA began Phase 1 of trials in England, which focused on the safety and performance of the DIVA skin test in unvaccinated animals.

Performed on ten farms with 524 participating animals, Phase 1 was completed in May 2022 and analysis of the results is in progress.

Dr Phil Hogarth, APHAs lead scientist for TB said: I am pleased that we have progressed to the next phase of the field trials for a cattle vaccine and DIVA skin test for bovine tuberculosis.

"This next step represents a significant milestone, building upon many years of research, and APHA will continue to be led by science, and work tirelessly in the fight to eradicate this disease.

In a joint statement, the chief veterinary officers from England, Scotland and Wales said researchers were making substantial progress in developing an additional tool to help eradicate this disease.

If this next phase is successful, this project takes us one step closer to a vaccine to be used in conjunction with other measures to tackle this insidious disease which impacts livestock farmers across the globe.

Farmers and veterinary practices interested in supporting the next phase of the field trials have been asked to contact Dr Lindsay Heasman by emailing lindsay.heasman@eandj.co.uk.
A distinctive, on-loan New Holland T6 tractor has joined Essex Police to help drive the reduction of crime in the county's rural communities.

Basildon-based New Holland Agriculture has loaned the force the use of one of its distinctive T6 tractors until the end of June.

The tractor will be used at agricultural shows and events during the year to raise awareness of crime prevention measures.

The seven-tonne T6 will also be used to encourage the public in Essex to report rural crime and anti-social behaviour.

The tractor has been wrapped in Essex Police livery, with the force expecting it to be a 'crowd-puller'.

Chief inspector Terry Balding said the tractor would help the force to continue building links with farmers, landowners and rural communities.

Our officers will make the most of that interest by opening up conversations with them about crime prevention and criminal activity, which we know is under-reported by people in our rural communities.

We understand how the theft of a vehicle can affect livelihoods and businesses or leave people isolated.

"We understand how hare coursers can intimidate farm and estate workers and cause extensive damage to cropland. And we understand that there are many crimes which are unique to rural communities.

(Photo: Essex Police)

We take all reports of crime and anti-social behaviour very seriously but we need them to be reported to us as soon as possible."

David Rapkins, New Holland business director UK, said that crime and anti-social behaviour impacted rural life, particularly farming communities.

"It is vitally important that, as an agricultural machinery manufacturer, we support the local constabulary in their efforts to raise awareness of crime prevention tactics."

The T6, supplied by machinery dealer Ernest Doe, will make its first appearance at the 62nd annual Doe Show on Tuesday 7 to Thursday 9 February.

Rural engagement officers will be beside it to talk to show-goers about crime prevention tactics.

What other events will the team be attending?

The team will be attending a number of events this year, including:

 10 March: launch of the Essex Rural Crime Strategy 2023-26, Layer Marney Tower CO5 9US

 10 March: Essex Rural Crime Forum, Layer Marney Tower

 30 April-1 May: All About Dogs, Hylands Park, Chelmsford CM2 8FS

 21 May: Essex Young Farmers Show, Boyton Hall, Boyton Hall Lane, Roxwell CM1 4LN

 7 June: Essex Rural Crime Forum, New Holland Agriculture, Basildon
Forecasts from leading agriculture analysts point to further instability in the global red meat market in 2023 from both the supply and demand sides.

According to the latest market commentary from Quality Meat Scotland (QMS), increased trade flows are required to bring markets back towards balance.

Set against slightly reduced world output, global beef demand is forecast to remain resilient despite economic headwinds, with consumption almost unchanged.

For this to happen, mismatch between supply and demand at country-level means that global trade in beef will need to rise significantly.

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has forecast a 0.3% reduction in world production to 59.2 million tonnes in 2023.

This is despite beef production being projected to surge by 17% in Australia, as its beef sector continues to rebound from a drought-induced herd liquidation in 2018 and 2019.

And expectations of 2-3% output growth for major producers Brazil, Mexico and China, and a 1% increase in the UK.

Offsetting these gains is a forecast 6.5% fall in output in the US, the worlds largest beef producer, where drought in key calf producing states was followed by elevated cow slaughter and then fewer young cattle being placed in feedlots.

Small declines have also been modelled for Argentina, New Zealand, Canada, Japan and the European Union.

Iain Macdonald, QMS market intelligence manager, said the combination of a relatively tight global beef market and increased trade points to firm beef prices.

Imports are set to reach 18% of global consumption in 2023, up from 17.7% in 2022 and well above the 16.1% level seen in the pre-pandemic year of 2019," he said.

China and Hong Kong will be the main drivers, with an expected 1.5% rise of import volumes as they reduce covid restrictions domestically and re-open to overseas tourists and businesspeople.

"While China and Hong Kong are set to collectively account for more than 80% of the net increase in beef imports, tight supply is also projected to boost imports to the US and Japan, while strong demand in Korea is expected to fuel a further lift in imports despite higher domestic output.

In contrast to the beef sector, the USDA projects global pork output to edge 0.3 percent higher to 114.1 million.

This would see the recovery from African Swine Fever (ASF) in China and South East Asia continue, taking production almost 20% above its 2020-low.

However, consumption growth is set to outpace this, requiring a slight increase in global imports.

Since China accounts for 48% of world production, just over half of consumption and 21% of imports, it is set to remain an important driver of global pork market conditions.

A slight rise in imports has been pencilled in; though, at 2.1m tonnes, volumes would remain well below the highs of 2019-21, where shipments had peaked at 5.3m tonnes in 2020.

However, there is considerable uncertainty around the outlook in China, with the persistent market volatility of recent years continuing into 2023.

Wholesale pork prices in China doubled between April and October 2022, but then declined by 35% between the beginning of November and late-January, suggesting a marked improvement in supply since the autumn.

A rebound in imports has contributed to the change in market conditions, with monthly volumes picking up through Q4 2022 and managing to show year-on-year growth in December.

Away from China, rising pork production has been forecast in Brazil, Japan, Mexico, the US and the Philippines in 2023, whereas declines are projected in Canada, South Korea, the EU and the UK.

However, with a rising cost of living pressuring disposable incomes across much of the world, porks position as a competitively priced protein has led the USDA to project increased consumption and/or imports in most of these countries and regions.

Mr Macdonald said: Although China has a stronger foothold on global import demand than before the ASF crisis, imports across all other countries are set to be 8% higher this year than in 2018, highlighting that significant opportunities will lie elsewhere.

The USDA forecasts do not cover global lamb market conditions. In the UK lamb sector, production is projected to rise this year as a result of a slower marketing profile of the 2022 lamb crop boosting the hogg carryover," he added.

"At EU level, the EU Commission has forecast a slight uplift in production for 2023 but, with consumption projected to rise by 1%, a 4% lift in imports is modelled, and this should help support UK exports.

Meanwhile, Beef + Lamb New Zealand have revised their expectations for New Zealand lamb production in the October 2022 to September 2023 season due to a poor lambing.

The lamb crop is estimated to have fallen by 2.6%, compared to a 1.4% contraction in breeding ewe numbers, extending the decline in lamb numbers over an eight-year period to 15%.

However, slaughter statistics point to a strong start to the processing season, with the kill up nearly 13% year-on-year through October and November, driven by a return to a more normal marketing pattern after a delayed schedule in 2021-22.

Despite increased production and competitive prices, Beef + Lamb New Zealand trade data shows that in Q4 2022, New Zealand lamb export volumes fell by 2.6% compared to a year earlier.

Interestingly, sales to China rebounded by 14%, almost matching the highs of Q4 in 2019 and 2020, whereas the volume shipped to Europe fell by 17%, suggesting a rebalancing of activity.

Moving into 2023, New Zealand lamb continues to look price competitive, with farmgate prices around 20% lower than in early 2022.

In Australia, Meat and Livestock Australia are anticipating continuing recovery from drought in 2023, with good grazing conditions boosting producer confidence despite softer farmgate prices.

The other side to reduced farmgate prices is export competitiveness and, coupled with higher availability and tight supply in New Zealand, this points to Australias lamb processors becoming more active in export markets in 2023.

Mr Macdonald added: It should be noted that Australias lamb shipments to the UK are restricted by a tariff-rate quota and, due to firm sales in 2022.

"Any further increase in 2023 is likely to depend on the free trade agreement between the UK and Australia entering force and expanding tariff-free quota access.
Scottish charity RSABI has doubled its Help for Heating grants compared to last year as many people in the farming industry continue to see rising energy costs.

The organisation, which supports people in Scottish agriculture, is urging those involved in farming and crofting to make the most of the grants.

Its Help for Heating financial support scheme is available for farmers, crofters and others working in, or retired from, agriculture who are struggling to absorb the rising costs of heating.

Grant payments starting at 300 are available to farmers and crofters to claim through the initiative, designed to help those who require support to heat their homes.

Applicants are eligible to receive the funding if they are associated with agriculture, spending more than 10% of their household income on heating costs and finding it difficult to afford essentials like food and clothing.

RSABIs welfare manager, Chris McVey said the charity had already seen demand for Help for Heating payments increase significantly.

We encourage any farmers or crofters, or others involved in Scottish agriculture, who are struggling with rising costs to please get in touch.

"Our team will take you through a straightforward application process and we might be able to help you in other ways too.

Mr McVey said his team had spoken with older people living on their own who had been afraid to put their heating on due to concerns about costs.

We know there will be many households out there who were managing, but with the cost-of-living crisis, increased home energy costs and increased input costs, financial pressure is growing.

If youre worried about rising energy costs or are already struggling to stay warm in your home, please dont hesitate to contact RSABI about our Help for Heating support and enquire about the other support we offer."

He explained: In cases where finances have become really difficult, we can also very quickly arrange a pre-paid debit card to pay for grocery shopping.

"We can also arrange purchases where household goods break down and people are struggling to pay for replacement items.

The charity also offers financial support through an annual beneficiary scheme, where people in need who meet the support criteria receive regular payments to help top-up their income.

To apply or find out more information about the Help of Heating scheme visit the RSABI website, where a 24 hour webchat service is available.

To chat to a case officer, call the charity's freephone helpline on 0808 1234 555.
The Men We Love

Its that time of the year when we celebrate the journeys of men who reign in their respective fields like no other! Having ruled hearts on their way to the top, with their success, these stalwarts continue to inspire many to pave their own paths. These are actors who have won and wowed audiences across languages and borders, entrepreneurs who have emerged victorious through challenges, musicians who make our souls sing, sportsmen who have brought home laurels, read about all them and more

Next Story : #MenWeLove: Fitness Entrepreneur Pranit Shilimkar Promotes Healthy Living

With a goal to positively impact the livelihoods  and thereby the lives  of rural homemakers and farmworkers, Assams Hironmoy Gogoi set up Gaon Ka Khana (GKK) back in 2016. The food start-up would take orders from people in urban areas and deliver authentic food cooked by rural women. The resident of Sivasagar town had battled depression at the age of 18, soon after he lost his brother and his mother within a short span of time. He was lost but, when he was able to pull himself together, his vision was clear  he wanted to work for the welfare of the women of his region and treat them as he would have treated his mother. The seed of GKK was sown.Armed with a three-pronged vision  to sell authentic Assamese food, to promote healthy eating habits, and to help farmers get their due by sourcing raw materials from them  Hironmoy set up GKK with the support of four friends and with one stove in his home. Soon after, he received national and international acclaim for his work, and was invited to share his story and journey on several occasions  enabling him to become a motivational speaker. GKK now operates in several districts of Assam with women cooks on board as full-time employees.Battling family issues and moving ahead in life was not easy, but he never short-changed his dreams. Hironmoy, now 28, mentions that not many people are aware of the fact that he had to discontinue his education after passing class 10. Determined to go beyond the borders of his village, he joined the Merchant Navy at a young age and worked in Malaysia, but the idea of the start-up remained as a burning desire that had him resign and come back.The young entrepreneur, who looks up to and admires the countrys latest and youngest president Droupadi Murmu, is also a best-selling author with four books to his credit, and he hopes to publish three more this year, besides expanding his business. In addition, he is working on Project Mondita for the betterment of womens mental health in memory of his mother. Because my work is helping thousands of people to improve the quality of their life, is his simple explanation for why he loves to do what he is doing!
In December 2022, industrial producer prices increased by 24.6 per cent in the euro area and by 25.2 per cent in the European Union (EU) on a year-on-year (YoY) basis, as per Eurostat. In December 2022, industrial producer prices rose by 1.1 per cent in the euro area and by 1.2 per cent in the EU on a month-on-month (MoM) basis. In November 2022, prices decreased by 1.0 per cent in the euro area and by 0.9 per cent in the EU.

The annual average industrial producer prices for the year 2022, compared with 2021, increased by 34.4 per cent in the euro area and by 34.3 per cent in the EU. Industrial producer prices in the euro area in December 2022, compared with November 2022, increased by 2.5 per cent in the energy sector, by 0.5 per cent for non-durable consumer goods, and by 0.4 per cent for durable consumer goods, while prices decreased by 0.5 per cent for intermediate goods. Prices in total industry excluding energy decreased by 0.1 per cent, according to a press release by Eurostat, the statistical office of the EU.

In the EU, industrial producer prices increased by 2.9 per cent in the energy sector, by 0.5 per cent for non-durable consumer goods, and by 0.4 per cent for durable consumer goods, while prices decreased by 0.5 per cent for intermediate goods. Prices in total industry excluding energy decreased by 0.1 per cent. The highest monthly increases in industrial producer prices were observed in Ireland (+43.2 per cent), Bulgaria (+6.0 per cent), and Sweden (+4.4 per cent), while the largest decreases were recorded in Portugal (-3.2 per cent), Croatia (-2.6 per cent), and Slovakia (-2.5 per cent).

In December 2022, industrial producer prices increased by 24.6 per cent in the euro area and by 25.2 per cent in the EU on a YoY basis, as per Eurostat. In December 2022, industrial producer prices rose by 1.1 per cent in the euro area and by 1.2 per cent in the EU on an MoM basis. In November 2022, prices decreased by 1.0 per cent in the euro area.

Industrial producer prices in the euro area in December 2022, compared with December 2021, increased by 48.6 per cent in the energy sector, by 15.6 per cent for non-durable consumer goods, by 13.8 per cent for intermediate goods, and by 9.7 per cent for durable consumer goods. Prices in total industry excluding energy increased by 12.3 per cent.

In the EU, industrial producer prices increased by 49.6 per cent in the energy sector, by 16.7 per cent for non-durable consumer goods, by 14.0 per cent for intermediate goods, and by 9.9 per cent for durable consumer goods. Prices in total industry excluding energy increased by 12.8 per cent. The industrial producer prices increased in all member states, with the highest yearly increases being registered in Hungary (+62.7 per cent), Latvia (+49.4 per cent), and Romania (+41.9 per cent).

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (NB)


Bhavana Menon who was last seen on the big screen in her 2017 released Malayalam film titled Adam Joan is all set to make a comeback. After a hiatus of five years, the actress will be seen in Ntikkakkakoru Premandaarnnu helmed by Adil Maimoonath Ashraf. The film will also feature Sharaf U Dheen.

The film is said to be a family drama and the first look revealed recently had the industry appreciating its vibe that looks vibrant and cheerful. Bhavana too shared it on social media and captioned it, Coming soon  Ntikkakkakkoru Premondarnn featuring @bhavzmenon and @sharaf_u_dheen. Dulquer Salmaan launched the poster with a loving caption stating, This looks like such a sweet movie. Heres presenting the first-look poster of Ntikkakkakoru Premandaarnnu. Wishing Bhavana, Sharaf, Renish, Adhil, Rajesh, and the entire team all the very best for the film.

As quoted in the Times of India, a close source informed, The film is a family drama, which also has a cute love story as part of it.

With the actress returning after so long, the first look has been showered with a lot of love and appreciation from the industry and fans alike.
Milestone in open access publishing

Thousands of institutions sign up with Cambridge University Press

Over 50 percent of Cambridge University Press research articles are now published open access (OA) and so freely available to read.

Having passed the 50 percent threshold for last year approximately 10,000 papers being fully open Cambridge University Press is aiming for the vast majority of its research papers to be published fully open access by 2025.

OA research has a significantly higher readership and impact. Such articles published by Cambridge alone and freely available online via Cambridge Core receive about 3.5 times more full text views and on average 1.6 times more citations. Under traditional subscription models, readers, or their institutions, pay to access research.

Transformative agreements for thousands of institutions

Cambridge, the world's oldest academic press, has signed transformative agreements covering 2,000 institutions worldwide: enabling researchers at those universities and research institutes to publish open research at no additional cost.

Cambridge hitting this open access milestone is especially remarkable, as about 60 percent of its research publications are in the humanities and social sciences fields where research funding constraints have historically held back open research adoption, relative to science, technology and medicine.

Cambridge open access papers meet the highest standards, undergoing thorough peer review, before becoming permanently available for anyone to read and use.

Over 400 Cambridge journals offer open access options to publishers; 66 with fully open access and 340 hybrid.

Mandy Hill, Managing Director, Academic at Cambridge University Press Assessment, said: "Two years ago, we set a bold ambition to transition our research publishing to open access by 2025 and this is a major milestone towards that goal. As an academic publisher we are committed to maximising the dissemination and impact of high-quality research and open access is a sustainable route to support that mission.

"That's why we will not stop at half of our journal papers being open access: we are working to make the vast majority of such research fully open by 2025.

"Transformative agreements have provided an important route towards open access for all authors, irrespective of their funding. We are building on this momentum to exploring a range of business models to take us beyond the Transformative Agreement and establish innovations to ensure the world's academics, students and citizens can enjoy open access in a sustainable manner."

Sustainable and open

Cambridge has adopted, and in some cases pioneered, financial models to make open research sustainable.

In the United States alone, Cambridge signed more than 300 such agreements within the last two years, including with the University of California, the world's leading public research university system.

The publisher has developed its own open research platform, Cambridge Open Engage, to accelerate dissemination and collaboration.

This has led to a partnership with ChemRxiv, as well as major conferences like Climate Exp0 and has extended our existing relationship with the American Political Science Association (APSA).

The open approach is bolstered by Cambridge Prisms, a series of fully open access journals that map out and build connections in cross-disciplinary subject areas to address real-world challenges. Coastal Futures, Precision Medicine, Global Mental Health and Extinction launched in January 2023, with Plastics and Water set to launch in early summer.

Beyond journal papers, Cambridge is experimenting with new models to publish open research monographs, such as Flip it Open, which makes the most popular books freely available online once they have met a revenue threshold.

-ends-

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230205005004/en/

Contacts:

Sophie White

07913 076426

sophie.white@cambridge.org



Andrew Scheuber

+44 7748 272171

andrew.scheuber@cambridge.org
LEM HOLDING SA / Key word(s): 9 Month figures

LEM announces results for 9 months 2022/23: continued sales growth despite challenging Covid situation in China



06-Feb-2023 / 07:00 CET/CEST

Release of an ad hoc announcement pursuant to Art. 53 LR

The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.



Geneva, Switzerland, 6 February 2023 - LEM (SIX: LEHN), a leading global company in electrical measurement for renewable energy, automation, power network and e-mobility applications, announces 9 months results for 2022/23 (April-December) compared to 2021/22: Bookings decreased by 17.1% to CHF 362.2 million (CHF 436.9 million)



Sales increased by 9.5% to CHF 301.6 million (CHF 275.5 million); at constant exchange rates, sales increased by 12.5%



The company benefits from a diverse global distribution of sales, led by China and EMEA: China CHF 122.0 m (40.5% of total) Rest-of-Asia CHF 51.9 m (17.2% of total) EMEA CHF 90.8 m (30.1% of total) Americas CHF 36.9 m (12.2% of total)



R&D investments of CHF 24.8 million (CHF 22.5 million), or 8.2% of sales



EBIT increased by 6.5% to CHF 68.3 million (CHF 64.2 million); the EBIT margin decreased to 22.7% (23.3%)



Net profit for the period increased to CHF 55.3 million (CHF 53.7 million)

Frank Rehfeld, Chief Executive Officer, said: "We are pleased to report a solid quarter, with Q3 sales of CHF 103.5 million, again exceeding the CHF 100 million threshold. This result was driven mainly by our Automotive and Energy Distribution businesses. In November, China suffered from lockdowns, and in December, the end of China's zero-covid policy led to a surge in Covid cases amongst our employees. Both affected our production capacity. Nevertheless, within three weeks our Chinese team returned to full production, which shows their strength and commitment. The Americas' strong performance was led by the accelerating adoption of electric vehicles and our solutions for drives." Andrea Borla, Chief Financial Officer, remarked: "This quarter was marked by top-line growth and healthy profitability. Our order book continues to drop to more normal levels after the disruptions of the past two years. Although we still face supply chain challenges, we confirm our forecast of CHF 390 to 400 million in full year sales."



Performance by businesses in CHF millions 2022/23 9M 2021/22 9M Change Businesses Scope Automation drives, robots, tooling machines, elevators, HVAC 101.8 96.6 +5.4% Automotive battery (EV & CE), motor control, onboard charging 75.3 62.5 +20.5% Renewable Energy solar, wind 50.3 49.5 +1.6% Energy Distribution & High Precision charging stations, smart grid, energy storage, high precision 42.8 35.3 +21.2% Track trains, metro, trackside 31.4 31.6 -0.6% Total 301.6 275.5 +9.5% Automation Sales performance for Automation grew favorably, and even better with adjusted exchange rate effects. Business was mainly driven by the manufacturing investment cycle and strong demand for small and medium power applications. Automotive Driven by battery management and motor control, the Automotive business in Q3 again showed robust sales after a record Q2. As customers had been placing orders with longer time horizons, bookings are now slowing down. Fundamental demand for EVs remains strong, as indicated by a book-to-bill ratio of over 1.0 for the quarter. Renewable Energy Sales increased slightly, although there are still bottlenecks for components. The prospects for Renewable Energy remain strong, as key markets accelerate due to favorable government policies and a foreseeable easing of the supply chain constraints. Energy Distribution & High Precision Investments in e-mobility continue driving customer interest in our DC Meter products, mainly due to acquisition of new customers and growing demand in Europe and the US. Flexible Rogowski coils for energy distribution management contributed considerably to the business growth. The IN family, which offers high precision solutions for test benches in the EV market, continues to develop strongly. Track Our traction business, with its project-based long investment horizons, continues to be impacted by component shortages. At constant currencies, growth was still positive, and the order book has increased considerably.



Performance by regions in CHF millions 2022/23 9M 2021/22 9M Change Regions Scope China 122.0 107.9 +13.1% Rest-of-Asia Japan, South-Korea, India, South-East Asia 51.9 50.2 +3.5% EMEA Europe, Middle East & Africa 90.8 91.1 -0.4% Americas NAFTA & Latin America 36.9 26.3 +40.4% Total 301.6 275.5 +9.5% China Sales performance continued to increase. The EV market, both domestically and for export, continued to develop in a positive manner. Our Renewable Energy business performed well, but we were still not able to fully satisfy the demand for solar and electric storage devices. The Automation business remained stable, serving mostly local demand. Rest-of-Asia Sales increased slightly, whereas orders decreased as they reverted to more normal, pre-pandemic levels. Japan performed well in the Automotive business, and new EV and hybrid launches drove strong sales in the Automotive business in South Korea. In India, where Automotive business is growing, Track was nearly flat due to component shortages. EMEA While sales were adversely impacted by foreign exchange rates, Q3 showed solid bookings and successful sales of the DC Meter product in Germany and the rest of Western Europe. Track sales showed solid performance on the quarter, owing to strong demand for our Energy Metering solutions in Germany. The fundamental megatrends driving our businesses continue to gain momentum in Europe, as it develops renewable energy sources to diversify supply and ensure energy security. Americas Q3 showed strong sales in the Automotive and Automation businesses and was positively impacted by final orders for a planned phase-out of certain products. Our DC Meter has been certified in the US and Canada for use in EV charging infrastructure. Our order book continues to grow and benefit from the US government's commitment to sustainable energies. Profitability remains robust Gross profit was up by 9.8% at CHF 142.8 million (CHF 130.1 million), while the gross margin improved slightly to 47.4%. This is 20 basis points better than in the prior year, mainly due to sales price increases being offset by purchase price increases. SG&A costs were up by 14.7% to CHF 49.9 million (CHF 43.6 million) and accounted for 16.6% of sales (15.8%). This increase reflects our digitalization projects (investment in software and hardware), external consulting support for several key initiatives, and recruitment of additional talent. We continue with our long-term investment in future applications, with R&D up in absolute terms by 10.0% to CHF 24.8 million (CHF 22.5 million), or 8.2% of sales (8.2%). EBIT increased by 6.5% to CHF 68.3 million from CHF 64.2 million, primarily due to improved sales. Our reported EBIT margin was down at 22.7% compared with 23.3%. The negative impact of foreign exchange translations on the first 9 months was CHF 2.1 million, same as last year, mainly due to depreciation of the EUR. The Group tax expenses of CHF 10.1 million represent a tax rate of 15.4%. Net profit for the first 9 months increased to CHF 55.3 million, while the net profit margin decreased to 18.3% compared with 19.5%. Outlook Our businesses have shown to be successful as they continue to benefit from the fundamental drivers of decarbonization, electrification, automation, and mobility. Growth remains restrained by shortages, mostly of semiconductor components. We remain aware of the risk of potential recessions in key markets. For the full financial year 2022/23, the company currently expects sales from CHF 390 to 400 million (CHF 373.4 million for 2021/22), with an EBIT margin above 20%.

Changes in Executive Committee After a long career as Senior Vice President Automotive and after leading the implementation of a highly successful growth strategy, Rainer Bos has left the senior management team of LEM as of December 2022. We are pleased to advise the appointment of three new members to our leadership team. Bastien Musy has been promoted to Senior Vice President Europe & Americas and joined the Executive Management team. He was formerly Vice President Global Product Management, Head Product Management Automotive and Head of Special Projects at LEM.



John McLuskie joined the Executive Management team as Senior Vice President Asia. Based in Shanghai, he has served most recently as President of GKN Automotive China.



Uwe Gerber joined the Executive Management team as Senior Vice President Operations. Previously, he was Chief Operations Officer at Schaltbau Bode in Kassel, Germany. The planned extension of the Executive Committee is now complete. With diverse nationalities and cultures, experience and expertise, this team is well prepared to lead the organization and to achieve our ambitions. Conference call and webcast Frank Rehfeld, CEO, and Andrea Borla, CFO, will provide a presentation of the 9 months 2022/23 results today at 10:00 CET at a media and investor community audio webcast and conference call. Listen to live audio webcast https://event.choruscall.com/mediaframe/webcast.html?webcastid=TbqA0OQE The press release, webcast slides, and the link to the audio webcast are available in the Investor Relations section of the LEM website (www.lem.com/en/investors), where the recorded webcast will later also be archived. Dial-In Numbers Switzerland & Europe: +41 (0)58 310 50 00 UK: +44 (0) 207 107 06 13 USA: +1 (1) 631 570 56 13 Other countries: https://services3.choruscall.ch/NUMBERS/Attended_Dial_In_Numbers.pdf Financial calendar The financial year runs from 1 April to 31 March 25 May 2023 Full year results 2022/23 29 June 2023 Annual General Meeting of Shareholders for the financial year 2022/23 4 July 2023 Dividend ex-date 6 July 2023 Dividend payment date LEM - Life Energy Motion A leading company in electrical measurement, LEM engineers the best solutions for energy and mobility, ensuring that our customers' systems are optimized, reliable and safe. Our 1,600 people in over 15 countries transform technology potential into powerful answers. We develop and recruit the best global talent, working at the forefront of megatrends such as renewable energy, mobility, automation and digitization. With innovative electrical solutions, we are helping our customers and society accelerate the transition to a more sustainable and affordable future. Listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange since 1986, the company's ticker symbol is LEHN. www.lem.com Contact: Investment community Andrea Borla, Chief Finance Officer Phone: +41 22 706 1250 Email: investor@lem.com Contact: Media Cabinet Prive de Conseils s.a. (CPC) Michael Fuglister: fuglister@cpc-pr.com, mobile: +41 78 839 07 62 Etienne Vioget: vioget@cpc-pr.com, mobile: +41 79 560 54 83 Appendix ATTACHMENTS: Press Release (pdf): LEM 9M Results 2022/23

End of Inside Information
BRUSSELS (dpa-AFX) - Estonia's industrial production continued to decline sharply at the end of the year, data from Statistics Estonia showed on Monday. Industrial production contracted 11.6 percent year-on-year in December, slightly slower than the 12.2 percent rise in the previous month. Further, this was the fourth successive monthly decrease. Among the main sectors, mining and quarrying output fell the most by 14.7 percent annually in December, which was worse than the 11.1 percent fall in the prior month. Manufacturing production also registered a double-digit negative growth of 11.5 percent, and output produced in the utilities sector plunged 13.1 percent. In energy production, the volume of electricity production decreased by 16.2 percent and the production of heat by 10.7 percent annually, the agency said. On a seasonally adjusted basis, industrial production recovered 2.1 percent monthly in December, reversing a 3.8 percent drop in November. It was the first increase in four months. In 2022, total industrial production declined 1.9 percent compared to 2021, largely led by a 2.7 percent fall in manufacturing output. Copyright(c) 2023 RTTNews.com. All Rights Reserved Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann.
JAKARTA, Indonesia and SINGAPORE, Feb. 6, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Asia's largest SaaS and frontline workforce management platform, BetterPlace announced its entry into South-East Asia with the acquisition of a majority stake in Indonesia's leading blue collar workforce fulfillment company, MyRobin , for an undisclosed amount.

Despite being a region with a high rate of digital adoption, the frontline workforce management space in South-East Asia has still not gone through significant digital transformation. The enterprises continue to work with fragmented solutions & a host of vendors to manage their blue collar workforce, resulting in suboptimal productivity. With close to 200mn frontline workers in SEA, the market size for frontline workforce management in the region is as large as $280bn making it the perfect market for a horizontal SaaS offering that provides all frontline workforce management services under one roof. BetterPlace, having seen success for its horizontal suite of services in India, aims to replicate the same in SEA.

Commenting on this acquisition, Pravin Agarwala, Co-founder & Group CEO at BetterPlace said, "Driven by the vision to optimize frontline workforce management for enterprises, a combination of consolidation and innovation was the right way to go about building the world's most comprehensive workforce management platform that exists today. As the largest player in Asia today, we are thrilled to welcome MyRobin to the BetterPlace family and further our vision towards formalizing the frontline workforce globally. With our technology and MyRobin's expertise in operating in Indonesia, we would be able to introduce equitable opportunities for the frontline segment."

With over 3 million workers in their community, MyRobin provides on-demand, pre-screened, frontline workers on a long and short-term basis to enterprises in Indonesia. In addition, MyRobin provides attendance and performance management services, and through their product MyWarung, offers embedded financial services like early wage and BNPL, and has its own frontline workforce upskilling platform called MyRobin Academy. Launched in 2020 in Indonesia, MyRobin has enterprises such as Shopee, Astro, Sicepat, E-Fishery, Kopi Kenangan among clients. The company has recorded a growth of 7X in 2022 and has had a direct impact on 44,000 families in the last 2 years.

Commenting on the partnership, Ardy Satria Hasanuddin, Co-founder & CTO at MyRobin said, "Over the last four years we have been able to empower over 3 million frontline workers in over 270 cities in Indonesia to live a life of dignity by elevating them to the formal economy and giving them access to formal finance, jobs, and training. As the next chapter of our growth we would like to take our vision and expertise to more geographies and BetterPlace is the perfect partner who will enable us to achieve this goal. We are delighted and excited to be part of BetterPlace and aspire to become instrumental in achieving our shared goal of creating a better place for enterprises and frontline workers across the world."

With a robust business model, MyRobin had received funding from global investors including Antler, SOSV, Accion Venture Lab and Investible. This acquisition is part of a series of investments being made by BetterPlace to expand into the SEA markets. In the near future, the company plans to expand into Malaysia, Thailand, and the Philippines through both organic and inorganic strategies. BetterPlace recently raised $40mn as part of its extended Series C round which resulted in international investor Macquarie Capital joining the captable along with Jungle Ventures, Unitus, BII, Capria and 3one4 Capital.

Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1995684/BetterPlace_Logo.jpg

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OSLO, Norway, Feb. 6, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Nel Hydrogen Electrolyser AS, a subsidiary of Nel ASA (Nel) (OSE:NEL), has signed a contract for 40 MW of alkaline electrolyser equipment for about EUR 12 million with HyCC for its H2eron project in Delfzijl, Netherlands. Kraftanlagen Energies & Services has been contracted for the FEED study related to the project.

SkyNRG will use the hydrogen to produce sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), made from industrial byproducts and residue streams, such as used cooking oil. HyCC recently received the environmental permit for the project, and the company is working towards a final investment decision (FID) in 2024, in close alignment with SkyNRG and its partners.

"H2eron will have a great positive impact on emission reductions from the aviation sector, and we are proud to be selected as the supplier of our well-proven electrolyser technology to this exciting and important project," says Hans Hide, Nel's Chief Project Officer. "We are also excited to work with Kraftanlagen on this project, a professional EPC company. This allows Nel to focus on its core scope while still bringing a competitive solution for the hydrogen production system to the customer."

"Reliable supplies of green hydrogen are key to decarbonizing sectors such as the aviation industry. We build on decades of experience in large-scale electrolysis and are excited to move to the next phase of the project with these strong partners to lay the foundation for the new hydrogen economy," says Marcel Galjee, Managing Director of HyCC.

"We are proud to bring our proven EPC expertise to this lighthouse project. This project will significantly support the decarbonization of the aviation industry. It is important that large-scale green hydrogen production plants now become reality and H2eron will provide for more sustainable aviation. At Kraftanlagen, we are committed to bring these projects to execution and make green hydrogen available," says Alfons Weber, CEO of Kraftanlagen Energies & Services.

This is a firm purchase order for alkaline electrolyser equipment. Electrode production is estimated to commence in Q4 2025.

For additional information, please contact:

Kjell Christian Bjrnsen, CFO, +47 917 02?097

Wilhelm Flinder, Head of Investor Relations, +47 936 11 350

About Nel ASA | www.nelhydrogen.com

Nel is a global, dedicated hydrogen company, delivering optimal solutions to produce, store and distribute hydrogen from renewable energy. We serve industries, energy and gas companies with leading hydrogen technology. Since its origins in 1927, Nel has a proud history of development and continual improvement of hydrogen plants. Our hydrogen solutions cover the entire value chain from hydrogen production technologies to manufacturing of hydrogen fueling stations, providing all fuel cell electric vehicles with the same fast fueling and long range as conventional vehicles today.

This information is subject to a duty of disclosure pursuant to Section 5-12 of the Norwegian Securities Trading Act. This information was issued as inside information pursuant to the EU Market Abuse Regulation, and was published by Wilhelm Finder, Head of Investor Relations, at NEL ASA on the date and time provided.

The following files are available for download:

https://mb.cision.com/Main/115/3706291/1827091.pdf Release

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/nel-asa-receives-purchase-order-for-40-mw-electrolyser-equipment-from-hycc-301739154.html
6 February 2023

ANANDA DEVELOPMENTS PLC

("Ananda" or the "Company")

Shareholder Update

HIGHLIGHTS

Test results from 2022 harvested cultivars demonstrate successful growth of diverse strains

Pre-qualification letters sent to prospective tenderers for manufacturing facility construction

Company believes that genetic breeding programme has commercial potential

Ananda's ambition is to be a leading UK grower and provider of consistent, high-quality medical cannabis for the UK, and later international, markets.

Ananda's wholly owned subsidiary, DJT Plants Limited ("DJT"), holds a licence from the Home Office to cultivate >0.2% THC medical cannabis for research at its site in Lincolnshire. Its current operations are focused on strain stabilisation, field trials and planning for its commercial medical cannabis processing facility. These initiatives are in preparation for its intended applications to the Home Office to grow medical cannabis for commercial purposes and to the MHRA (Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency) for the required GMP (Good Manufacturing Practice) certification.

The Directors provide the following update on the Company's activities.

Testing of 2022 harvested cultivars

In late 2022, five of the cultivars grown in DJT's field trials were sent for detailed testing. The results confirm that DJT has successfully grown high THC, balanced THC/CBD, and high CBD cultivars. Detailed analysis of average cannabinoid profiles across a number of plants was conducted, as well as specific analysis of individual plants selected for their superior agronomic qualities. This showed variance between different plants of the same cultivars, which is to be expected and provides support for the Company's decision to undertake the genetic stabilisation programme. It was interesting to note the tradeoff between flower mass yield and cannabinoid yield. The terpene profiles indicate a predominance of myrcene, beta caryophyllene, limonene and alpha pinene. These are the key terpenes in medical cannabis cultivars and so results were as expected.

Next steps are to choose a selection of the tested cultivars for the 2023 field season which will focus on cultivation to GACP (Good Agricultural Collection Practice) standards as part of the progression to commercial growing. Harvested flower is an ingredient for a cannabis medicine and so must be cultivated and harvested as such.

DJT requires an amendment to its Home Office Licence and MHRA licensing to proceed to commercial cultivation and intends to make relevant applications to those authorities at the appropriate time.

GMP1 facility

Subject to receipt of the necessary approvals, grown and harvested flower will be moved to a pharmaceutical grade processing and manufacturing facility on site. It has been decided to construct the facility under a Design & Build contract. Pre-qualification letters have been sent to 6 shortlisted companies for them to present their pharmaceutical construction credentials.

Strain Stabilisation

The Company now believes it has developed a set of protocols to successfully self-pollinate cannabis and produce enough viable seeds to grow the next generation of plants, each generation of which will be more genetically homogenous than the previous one. The Directors consider this to be a significant achievement with the commercial potential to claim IP (intellectual property) and sell stable genetics in seed form. The genetic breeding programme will continue, with the objective of achieving plants with over 98% genetic similarity by the sixth generation.

The only other known way to achieve this level of genetic stability is to clone plants, which has its own challenges including:

1. Mother plants' health reduces over time

2. There are genetic changes when repeated cloning is conducted over an extended period

3. There is a cost of energy, space, and personnel to maintain mothers and conduct cloning

The advantages of seeds are that they can be easily and inexpensively stored and require no manipulation or attendant activities whilst not being used. They also do not suffer from genetic drift, and so are highly suitable as starting material to grow medical cannabis flower as an active pharmaceutical ingredient.

Ananda's CEO, Melissa Sturgess commented: "We proceed with confidence. I am delighted we have assembled a best-in-class team which is committed to our objectives. In the cannabis industry we often see people move quickly between jobs and I have wanted to avoid this. All businesses need organisational stability to succeed, so our team remains our key asset. More widely we maintain a close watch on medical cannabis demand and the progress of research into cannabis as a useful medicine. We believe that everything is heading in the right direction and that we are perfectly positioned. Our plan is 'prove and scale' thereby reducing risk, reducing the chance of misallocated capital and getting the best returns for shareholders."

-Ends-

The Directors of the Company accept responsibility for the contents of this announcement.

ANANDA DEVELOPMENTS PLC



Chief Executive Officer

Melissa Sturgess



Investor Relations

Jeremy Sturgess-Smith +44 (0)7463 686 497

ir@anandadevelopments.com PETERHOUSE CAPITAL LIMTED



Corporate Finance

Mark Anwyl



Corporate Broking

Lucy Williams

Duncan Vasey +44 (0)20 7469 0930

About Ananda Developments

Ananda is an AQSE-listed medical cannabis company creating UK-based operations to grow and provide carbon zero, consistent, medical cannabis for the UK and international markets.

For more information, please visit: https://anandadevelopments.com.

Market Abuse Regulation (MAR) Disclosure

The information contained within this announcement is deemed by the Company to constitute inside information. Upon the publication of this announcement via a Regulatory Information Service, this inside information is now considered to be in the public domain.
Compass Group Holdings, a leading Energy Project Management, and Integrated Services company operating in East Africa, and headquartered in Maputo, Mozambique, is delighted to announce the appointment of Ambassador Carlos dos Santos to the Board as Executive Chairman with immediate effect.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230206005124/en/

Ambassador Carlos dos Santos appointed as Executive Chairman of Compass Group Holdings. (Photo: Business Wire)

Ambassador Carlos dos Santos is a career Diplomat with distinctive business experience and most recently served as The Ambassador of Mozambique to the United States and High Commissioner for Canada (2015-2022).

Prior to this prominent role, his extensive and renowned career included serving as the High Commissioner for the United Kingdom, Ambassador to Ireland and Governor at the Commonwealth Board of Governors (2011-2015), and Ambassador of Mozambique to Germany, Austria and the Holy See (2006-2011). He also served as Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Mozambique to the United Nations from 1996 to 2002.

Among several other senior international roles throughout his diplomatic career spanning 40 years, Ambassador Carlos do Santos held the position of Director for Europe and the Americas at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation (2005-2006), and was Senior Advisor to the President of the Republic of Mozambique.

Ambassador Carlos dos Santos' unrivalled experience and unique knowledge in the public sector will bring comprehensive leadership to Compass Group, both in their current operations, but also as a guide to its future as the group continues along its path of exponential growth. Compass Group's intent is to continue building world-class knowledge, services and experience as a Mozambican company to investors and developers seeking to deliver energy, natural resources and infrastructure projects in East Africa and beyond.

Miles Pelham, Founder and President, of Compass Group Holdings commented:

"It is a great privilege to welcome Ambassador Carlos dos Santos to the Board as Executive Chairman. His significant experience and understanding in Mozambique establishes his appointment as an important step towards strengthening the Compass executive foundation as we continue to progress with our plans for the Group's future growth and development. The Ambassador's breadth and depth of global experience and relationships formed in support of the development of Mozambique will add substance and direction at a level which will ensure our current objectives related to long-term sustainability are reinforced."

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230206005124/en/

Contacts:

Press Queries press@cc-g.com

To learn more visit: www.cc-g.com




SINGAPORE, Feb 6, 2023 - (ACN Newswire) - Moonstake, a leading provider of staking services for blockchain networks, partners with Humans.ai, AI and blockchain startup focused on harnessing the power of artificial intelligence in an ethical framework. The partnership will focus on the advancement of AI-powered applications on the blockchain on the Asian market, leveraging the strengths of both companies to drive innovation in the field."We are thrilled to be partnering with Moonstake, a company that shares our passion for using cutting-edge technology to solve real-world problems," said Sabin Dima, CEO & Founder at Humans.ai. "The combination of our AI expertise and innovation and Moonstake's blockchain know-how will allow us to empower solutions that are truly useful to society and able to scale to meet the needs of the Asian user base and business clients," added Sabin Dima.The partnership will begin with a joint development program, aimed at exploring the potential of AI-powered applications on the blockchain and identifying new business use cases for this technology. The companies also plan to launch a series of joint initiatives, including regional events, to foster collaboration and innovation in the AI and blockchain sector.European startup Humans.ai addresses some of the major dysfunctions present in the current AI status quo. As AI is rapidly gaining traction all around the world, benefiting numerous industries and businesses, the Humans.ai team has made it its mission to assist the transition of artificial intelligence, AI models, and AI-based solutions from the centralized Web2 domain, where giants of the tech industry hold the reins to innovation development, to a decentralized environment, where artificial intelligence is becoming a democratized asset that is constantly monitored by real humans to ensure its ethical use.Moonstake started the staking business in 2020 with the aim to create the largest staking network in Asia. Since then, the company developed a user-friendly Web Wallet and Mobile Wallet (iOS / Android) with support for over 2000 cryptocurrencies. After a full-scale operation launched in August 2020, Moonstake's total staking assets have grown rapidly to reach $1 Billion, allowing Moonstake to become one of the top 10 staking providers globally. Currently, Moonstake supports 18 leading PoS assets including Cosmos, IRISnet, Ontology, Harmony, Tezos, Cardano, Qtum, Polkadot, Quras, Centrality, Orbs (Ethereum and Polygon), IOST, TRON, Shiden, FIO, Everscale, Oasisa and Solana.By merging AI with blockchain, Humans.ai aims to create the AIVERSE, which is an ecosystem hosting the economy of AIs, with the objective of giving people control and ownership over the future evolution of the technology."We believe that the partnership between Humans.ai and Moonstake has the potential to revolutionize the way that AI and blockchain technology are used together," said Mitsuru Tezuka, Founder at Moonstake. "By joining forces, we are able to expand a truly decentralized ecosystem for AI that is more secure, more transparent, and more accessible to a wider range of users."About MoonstakeMoonstake is the world's leading staking service provider that develops and operates decentralized wallet services for businesses and individuals.Since its launch in April 2020, Moonstake has partnered with 27 leading platform providers, including Cardano's constituent Emurgo, developer of the Polkadot-connected blockchain Astar Network Stake Technologies, and the TRON Network with over 50 million users. In May 2021, Moonstake further enhanced its corporate credibility by becoming a wholly owned subsidiary of OIO Holdings Limited, a company listed on the Singapore Stock Exchange.Using blockchain technology, Moonstake aims to progress toward a world where anyone can easily make use of highly secure and reliable digital asset management tools. https://www.moonstake.io/About Moonstake's staking businessFor the staking industry, which has grown into a 630-billion dollar market as of September 2021, Moonstake provides a decentralized staking service that does not require user deposits, and supports nodes around the world in addition to its own validator nodes. Moonstake currently supports the staking of 18 blockchains. With a total staking assets of 1.8 billion USD and a global user base, the company ranked third out of more than 10,000 providers worldwide in June of the same year.About Humans.aiHumans.ai is creating an all-in-one platform for AI-based creation and governance at scale. Humans.ai leverages blockchain technology and artificial intelligence to enhance the standard NFT and expand its functionality, transforming it from a static art form to an interactive and intelligent asset class capable of encapsulating neural networks or segments of a person's digital DNA. The technology, named AI NFT, represents a new type of NFTs that enable people to use their biometric data to create artificial intelligence solutions that are kept ethical by complex governance, consensus, and verification mechanisms.Humans.ai's unique consensus mechanism, Proof-of-Human, will be integrated to demonstrate there is a real human behind every transaction, making it more secure and trustworthy. https://humans.ai/Source: MoonstakeCopyright 2023 ACN Newswire . All rights reserved.
TORONTO, Feb. 06, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- First Quantum Minerals Ltd. ("First Quantum" or "the Company") (TSX: FM) announces that on January 26, 2023, Minera Panama, S.A. ("MPSA") received Resolution No. 007-2023 (the "Resolution"). The Resolution was issued by the Panama Maritime Authority ("AMP") and requires the suspension of concentrate loading operations at the Cobre Panama port, Punta Rincon, until evidence is provided that the process of certification of the calibration of the scales by an accredited company has been initiated.

MPSA submitted the required proof of the initiation of the certification process by an accredited company on February 3, 2023. This Resolution deviates from the prior process of internationally accepted certifications that MPSA has previously provided to AMP, which have been accepted until now. As a result, MPSA has suspended loading operations while it awaits a response from the AMP.

It will be to the detriment of Panama, the mine's employees, suppliers and the broader Panamanian economy if the Government of Panama ("the Government") forces MPSA to shut Cobre Panama, which may become necessary if concentrate is not shipped by mid-February due to limited storage capacity on site.

The Resolution is part of a series of escalating attempts by the Government to pressure the Company into accepting a refreshed concession contract on the Government's terms.

Recent steps taken by the Panamanian authorities include the following actions, which prejudice good-faith negotiations and are both untimely and unnecessary, in particular given the recent progress that both parties have made towards resolving outstanding issues:

Taking Steps to Block Copper Exports: The AMP has taken several actions to obstruct operations at MPSA's Punta Rincon shipping terminal. These include conducting extraordinary and unusual inspections, instructing maritime pilots not to provide service to vessels and issuing the Resolution,

The AMP has taken several actions to obstruct operations at MPSA's Punta Rincon shipping terminal. These include conducting extraordinary and unusual inspections, instructing maritime pilots not to provide service to vessels and issuing the Resolution, Attempting to Place Cobre Panama on "Care & Maintenance": On December 19, 2022, by way of executive Resolution No. 234, the Government directed MPSA to submit a plan to place the mine under "care and maintenance." First Quantum believes the Government's requirement is an unnecessary step that will have serious and negative consequences. MPSA has pursued a long series of appeals which remain pending with the Ministry of Commerce and Industries, and

On December 19, 2022, by way of executive Resolution No. 234, the Government directed MPSA to submit a plan to place the mine under "care and maintenance." First Quantum believes the Government's requirement is an unnecessary step that will have serious and negative consequences. MPSA has pursued a long series of appeals which remain pending with the Ministry of Commerce and Industries, and A Change of the Government's Long-Held Position on the Validity of the Concession Contract: Following a 2018 Supreme Court ruling on the unconstitutionality of "Law 9" (the "Ruling"), which approved MPSA's concession contract, the Government issued several public statements reaffirming that the concession contract remained valid in all aspects given the nature and effects of unconstitutionality rulings. Prior to the Ruling, the Ministry of Commerce and Industries issued Resolution No. 128 of 2016 (the "Extension Resolution") granting the first extension of the concession contract through to 2037. In connection with two proceedings filed by third parties seeking annulment of the Extension Resolution, the Procurador de la Administracion ("Administration's Attorney") issued opinions in 2018 and 2019 stating that the resolution was legal. On January 11, 2023, the Administration's Attorney abruptly switched course and filed motions in the two proceedings asking the Supreme Court to declare that the Extension Resolution be deemed without legal effect. The Supreme Court has not yet ruled on the matter.



First Quantum and MPSA are prepared to meet, and in part exceed, the objectives that the Government outlined in January 2022 related to revenues, environmental protections and labour standards. This includes a minimum of $375 million per year in government income, comprised of corporate taxes and a profit-based mineral royalty of 12 to 16 percent, with downside protections aligned with the Government's position.

The Company has also expressed its earnest desire to resolve all outstanding issues and continues to engage with the Government with a view to concluding a reasonable and durable arrangement regarding the long-term future of Cobre Panama. At the same time, First Quantum and MPSA are doing everything possible to support the workforce, preserve the value and integrity of the mine and defend First Quantum and its stakeholders, including through all available legal means.

For further information, visit our website at www.first-quantum.com (http://www.first-quantum.com) or contact:

Bonita To, Director, Investor Relations

(416) 361-6400 Toll-free: 1 (888) 688-6577

E-Mail: info@fqml.com

CAUTIONARY STATEMENT ON FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION

Certain statements and information herein, including all statements that are not historical facts, contain forward-looking statements and forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable securities laws. The forward-looking statements in this news release include statements as to effects of the Government's actions on the ability of MPSA to continue operations at Cobre Panama and the Company's readiness to reach an agreement with the Government regarding the long term future of Cobre Panama. With respect to forward-looking statements and information contained herein, the Company has made numerous assumptions, including as to the effects of the proposal put forward by MPSA. Forward-looking statements and information by their nature are based on assumptions and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements or information. These factors include, but are not limited to, political stability in Panama, potential social and environmental challenges, and events generally impacting global economic, political and social stability. There may also be other factors that cause actual results, performance, achievements or events not as anticipated, estimated or intended, including the risks, uncertainties and other factors discussed in the Company's Annual Information Form. The Company undertakes no obligation to reissue or update forward-looking statements or information as a result of new information or events after the date hereof except as may be required by law.
BUDAPEST, Hungary, Feb. 6, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Hiventures, Hungary's most significant VC, closed another successful exit. Complytron, which offers anti-money laundering (AML) due diligence services, was acquired by Anglo-Hungarian SEON, the world's fastest-growing fraud prevention company. After the transaction - by favour of SEON - Complytron's solution can potentially reach new global financial players such as Revolut, Nubank, or Afterpay.

The expanding online presence of people and businesses opens up opportunities for abuse for a new generation of criminals. Complytron, a merely 4 years-old Hungarian startup, competes with this trend with its automated customer due diligence service. Hiventures invested 400 000 in the startup in 2020, from which it is now exiting with a significant return.

The acquisition also signifies SEON's expansion since its $94M Series B investment in April 2022. The combination of SEON's fraud prevention solution and Complytron's AML technology into a single platform is another major step in the battle to reduce FinCrime and will help sectors such as fintech, and ecommerce to prevent criminal activity via their platforms.

Hiventures' portfolio now includes nearly 450 startups, making it one of the most active venture capital investors not only in the CEE region but in Europe. This exit is one of the four most significant exits realized in 2022. "We are proud of all exits, as they show that our investment concept was correct and validate our work in the market. Furthermore, we are glad that yet another innovative Hungarian solution can prove itself on the global stage," emphasized Bence Katona, CEO of Hiventures.

About Hiventures

Hiventures, part of the Hungarian MFB Group, is one of the largest venture capital firms of Central and Eastern Europe. It supports the entire Hungarian entrepreneurial eco-system with its over EUR 420 million capital and professional competencies, including innovative start-ups with large growth potential, traditional SMEs and major corporations. Hiventures is committed to a sustainable and competitive entrepreneurial eco-system in the CEE region. For further details, visit the company website .

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/major-startup-exit-in-hungary-301738553.html
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - February 6, 2023) - Millennial Potash Corp. (TSXV: MPL) ("MPL" "Millennial" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that it has appointed Mr. Farhad Abasov as its Chairman of the Board to expedite the Company's efforts at its newly acquired Banio Potash Project in Gabon.

Graham Harris, Director, commented, "Mr. Abasov joined the Company as Director in 2020 and we are very pleased that he has accepted the position of Chairman of MLP. Mr. Abasov has over 20 years of successful resource company management and project development arranging in excess of $500M in project funding in the mining and energy sectors. Farhad is coming off another successful exit as the President and CEO of Millennial Lithium Corp, which was acquired by Lithium Americas in early 2022 for $490M. Mr. Abasov brings a wealth of potash experience to the Company as the former President and CEO of Allana Potash Corp. and as a co-founder of Potash One. This potash and corporate experience will be crucial in guiding the Company's efforts at its newly acquired Banio Potash Project and we look forward to an accelerated successful program in 2023."

Mr. Abasov has extensive experience in the mining and project development sectors. His latest success was as the President and CEO of Millennial Lithium Corp. guiding the Pastos Grandes project through feasibility, pilot pond, pilot plant testwork and a successful acquisition by Lithium Americas after competing offers from Ganfeng and CATL. Mr. Abasov brings a wealth of potash experience to the Company having led Allana Potash Corp. from an exploration project through feasibility to acquisition by Israel Chemicals Ltd. in 2015. Prior to Allana Farhad was a co-founder of Potash One in Saskatchewan which was acquired by K+S for $470M. In addition, Mr. Abasov has extensive experience in the nuclear energy sector gained through his tenure as Senior VP at Energy Metals (acquired by Uranium One for $1.8B) and at Atomic Energy of Canada.

Millennial continues its preliminary preparations for the ramp up the Banio Potash Project with an initial team mobilizing to the project site in the coming weeks.

To find out more about Millennial Potash Corp. please contact Investor Relations at (604) 662-8184 or email at info@millennialpotashcorp.com.

MILLENNIAL POTASH CORP.

"Graham Harris"

Director, SVP Capital Markets

www.millennialpotash.com

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

This news release may contain certain "Forward-Looking Statements" within the meaning of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and applicable Canadian securities laws. When used in this news release, the words "anticipate", "believe", "estimate", "expect", "target, "plan", "forecast", "intend", "may", "schedule" and similar words or expressions identify forward-looking statements or information. These forward-looking statements or information may relate to future prices of commodities, accuracy of mineral or resource exploration activity, reserves or resources, regulatory or government requirements or approvals including approvals of title and mining rights or licenses and environmental, local community or indigenous community approvals, the reliability of third party information, continued access to mineral properties or infrastructure, changes in laws, rules and regulations in Gabon or any other jurisdiction which may impact upon the Company or its properties or the commercial exploitation of those properties, currency risks including the exchange rate of USD$ for Cdn$ or other currencies, fluctuations in the market for gold/silver and potash or potash related products, changes in exploration costs and government royalties, export policies or taxes in Gabon or any other jurisdiction and other factors or information. The Company's current plans, expectations and intentions with respect to development of its business and of the Banio Potash Project may be impacted by economic uncertainties arising out of Covid-19 pandemic or by the impact of current financial and other market conditions on its ability to secure further financing or funding of the Banio Potash Project. Such statements represent the Company's current views with respect to future events and are necessarily based upon a number of assumptions and estimates that, while considered reasonable by the Company, are inherently subject to significant business, economic, competitive, political, environmental and social risks, contingencies and uncertainties. Many factors, both known and unknown, could cause results, performance or achievements to be materially different from the results, performance or achievements that are or may be expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. The Company does not intend, and does not assume any obligation, to update these forward-looking statements or information to reflect changes in assumptions or changes in circumstances or any other events affections such statements and information other than as required by applicable laws, rules and regulations.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/153633
Firmenich becomes the first company in Mexico and the second in Brazil to achieve EDGE Lead certification

MEXICO CITY and SAO PAOLO, Feb. 6, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Firmenich, the world's largest privately-owned fragrance and taste company, has reached EDGE Lead certification, the highest obtainable level of certification, in Brazil and Mexico for its efforts on diversity, equity and inclusion. Firmenich, which also resecured Global EDGE Move certification across its operations globally, is the first company in Mexico and the second in Brazil to achieve EDGE Lead. It is the first time a fragrance and taste company has achieved this certification, and to date, only six other companies worldwide have reached this level.

Economic Dividends for Gender Equality (EDGE) is the leading global standard for gender equality in the workplace. Certification requires a rigorous external assessment of four key areas: representation across the company; pay equity; effectiveness of policies and practices to ensure equitable career flows; and the overall inclusiveness of the company culture. Organizations can progress through the various levels of certification: EDGE Assess, EDGE Move, EDGEplus and EDGE Lead.

"I am very proud that Firmenich has secured these important certifications and continues to advance gender equality under EDGE's demanding benchmarks for continuous improvement," said Gilbert Ghostine, CEO Firmenich. "Being the first and second company to reach the highest level of EDGE certification in Mexico and Brazil, respectively, is a testament to the excellent work of our teams in these countries. We are focused on raising the bar, being an employer of choice and a trusted and reliable partner for our customers."

"Firmenich continues to set the standard for excellence as the best place to work in our industry and beyond, and I am particularly pleased with the progress our teams achieved in Mexico and Brazil," said Mieke Van de Capelle, Chief Human Resources Officerat Firmenich. "When we set out on our journey to achieve EDGE certification, we knew it would require lots of hard work and dedication. This has become a truly rewarding journey: in less than five years, we managed to move from entry level to being a global leader in diversity and inclusion in the workplace. In addition to a strong representation of women across the organization, our efforts have also helped us to successfully grow and retain talent across all demographics and all layers of the organization."

Firmenich Mexico is the first company in Mexico and the seventh in the world to be certified at EDGE Lead level, the highest certification from EDGE. Amongst the factors contributing to the certification:

100% women stay with the company after their return from maternity leave and 100% of employees take the full allowance of paternity leave.

97% of employees would recommend our company as employer to a female or male friend.

93% of employees believe that women and men are given equal opportunity in the hiring process.

Firmenich Brazil is the second company in the country to be certified at EDGE Lead level. The company there has a strong gender balance, from junior to top management level. In addition:

100% women stay with the company after their return from maternity leave and 100% of employees take the full allowance of paternity leave.

50% of the top leadership team are women today, compared to 14% in 2018.

A pioneer in diversity and inclusion, Firmenich has a strong track record of securing workplace equality. In 2018, the Group was the seventh company in the world and the first in its industry to achieve global EDGE Assess recognition (the first level of certification). In 2021, the Group became the second company to reach the EDGE Move certification (advanced level of certification) globally, a recognition which has been confirmed following a thorough reassessment completed in 2023. Three markets achieved higher levels of certification. Firmenich USA reached EDGEplus certification, recognizing local efforts to systematically analyze and resolve intersectional issues between gender as well as several additional dimensions including gender identity, race, ethnicity, LGBTQIA+, working with a disability, nationality, and age. Extraordinarily, Brazil and Mexico achieved the highest obtainable result, EDGE Lead (the highest level of certification), setting a global example of successfully fostering equity in the workplace.

Since 2018, Firmenich has achieved significant milestones, from eliminating the gender pay gap worldwide to systematically implementing diverse talent pools. The Group has raised women's representation in leadership positions to 42%, expanded flexible working opportunities worldwide, implemented fair recruitment and promotion practices, as well as continuous training and mentoring, and has enhanced equal representation at all levels including critical pathways to senior management. Half of Firmenich's Executive Committee is female.

About Firmenich

Firmenich, the world's largest privately-owned fragrance and taste company, was founded in Geneva, Switzerland, in 1895, and has been family-owned for 127 years. Firmenich is a leading business-to-business company specialized in the research, creation, manufacture and sale of perfumes, flavors, and ingredients. Renowned for its world-class research and creativity, as well as its leadership in sustainability, Firmenich offers its customers superior innovation in formulation, a broad and high-quality palette of ingredients, and proprietary technologies including biotechnology, encapsulation, olfactory science, and taste modulation. Firmenich had an annual turnover of 4.7 billion Swiss Francs at end June 2022. More information about Firmenich is available at www.firmenich.com.

About EDGE

EDGE is the leading global assessment methodology and business certification standard for gender equality. It measures where organizations stand in terms of gender balance across their pipeline, pay equity, effectiveness of policies and practices to ensure equitable career flows as well as inclusiveness of their culture. Launched at the World Economic Forum in 2011, EDGE has been designed to help companies not only create an optimal workplace for women and men, but also benefit from it. EDGE stands for Economic Dividends for Gender Equality and is distinguished by its rigor and focus on business impact. EDGE assessment methodology was developed by the EDGE Certified Foundation, which continues to act as the guardian of EDGE methodology and certification standards. Its commercial arm, EDGE Strategy, works with companies to prepare them for the EDGE Certification. EDGE Certification's diverse customer base consists of 200 large organizations in 44 countries across five continents, representing 29 different industries and employing globally more than 2.4 million employees.

For more information, visit www.edge-cert.org

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1995724/EDGE_move.jpg

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Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/798187/Firmenich_Logo.jpg

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Firmenich becomes the first company in the industry and the seventh in the world to achieve highest EDGE Lead certification, in Brazil and Mexico

Concurrently, the Group re-secures EDGE Move certification across its operations worldwide, while Firmenich USA advances to EDGEplus for eliminating ethnic pay gaps

GENEVA, Feb. 6, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Firmenich, the world's largest privately-owned fragrance and taste company, has reached EDGE Lead certification, the highest obtainable level of certification, for its efforts on diversity, equity and inclusion in Brazil and Mexico. Firmenich is the first company in the industry and the seventh in the world to receive this coveted certification. Following an external reassessment, Firmenich also resecured Global EDGE Move certification for its efforts to ensure gender equality across its operations around the world. In addition, Firmenich USA secured, in another industry-first, the EDGEplus level for its commitment and effective policies to eliminate ethnic pay inequality.





Economic Dividends for Gender Equality (EDGE) is the leading global standard for gender equality in the workplace. Certification requires a rigorous external assessment of four key areas: representation across the company; pay equity; effectiveness of policies and practices to ensure equitable career flows; and the overall inclusiveness of the company culture. Organizations can progress through the various levels of certification: EDGE Assess, EDGE Move, EDGEplus and EDGE Lead. This global recognition demonstrates the intentional, prioritized, and measured actions by the Group to keep accelerating progress towards diversity, equity, and inclusion across the organization globally.

"I am very proud that Firmenich secured these important certifications and continues to further its efforts in this space, raising the bar for gender equality under EDGE's demanding benchmarks for continuous improvement," said Gilbert Ghostine, CEO Firmenich, "Being the first in our industry and the seventh in the world to reach the highest level of EDGE certification, in Brazil and Mexico, as well as the next level of certification in the USA is a testament to the excellent work of our teams across the globe. Through our focused efforts, we keep raising the bar, being an employer of choice, and a trusted and reliable partner for our customers."

"Firmenich continues to set the standard for excellence as the best place to work in our industry and beyond, and I am particularly pleased with the progress we've achieved," said Mieke Van de Capelle, Chief Human Resources Officerat Firmenich. "When we set out on our journey to achieve EDGE certification, we knew it would require lots of hard work and dedication. This has become a truly rewarding journey and in less than five years, we managed to move from entry level to being a global leader in diversity and inclusion in the world of work. In addition to strong representation of women across the organization, our efforts have also helped us to successfully grow and retain talent across all demographics and all layers of the organization."

"We congratulate Firmenich for achieving their Global Re-certification at the EDGE Move level, a demonstration of their long-term commitment to foster a gender-balanced, diverse and equitable work environment. Moreover, kudos to Firmenich Brazil and Firmenich Mexico for being re-certified at the highest level of certification - the EDGE Lead - which celebrates success in terms of workplace gender equality," said Aniela Unguresan, Founder, EDGE Certified Foundation & EDGE Strategy.

A pioneer in diversity and inclusion, Firmenich has a strong track record of securing workplace equality. In 2018, the Group was the seventh company in the world and the first in its industry to achieve global EDGE Assess recognition (the first level of certification). In 2021, the Group became the second company to reach the EDGE Move certification (advanced level of certification) globally, a recognition which has been confirmed following a thorough reassessment completed in 2023. Three markets achieved higher levels of certification. Firmenich USA reached EDGEplus certification, recognizing local efforts to systematically analyze and resolve intersectional issues between gender as well as several additional dimensions including gender identity, race, ethnicity, LGBTQIA+, working with a disability, nationality, and age. Extraordinarily, Brazil and Mexico achieved the highest obtainable result, EDGE Lead (the highest level of certification), setting a global example of successfully fostering equity in the workplace.

Since 2018, Firmenich has achieved significant milestones, from eliminating the gender pay gap worldwide to systematically implementing diverse talent pools. The Group has raised women's representation in leadership positions to 42%, expanded flexible working opportunities worldwide, implemented fair recruitment and promotion practices, as well as continuous training and mentoring, and has enhanced equal representation at all levels including critical pathways to senior management. Half of Firmenich's Executive Committee is female.

Embracing the power of inclusion of minority groups and effective representation, Firmenich's actions focus on new frontiers with targeted action that goes beyond gender, including different abilities, ethnic and socio-economic backgrounds, and sexual orientation.

Note to editors

After receiving EDGE Move certification for a first time in 2021, Firmenich has resecured EDGE Move certification in 2023 for a second time, confirming its continuous efforts to ensure gender equality globally.

Firmenich Brazil and Firmenich Mexico are the seventh and the eight organizations out of more than 380 assessed organizations, to receive the highest level of certification: EDGE Lead.

Firmenich USA is the first company in the industry to receive EDGEplus recognition, for eliminating ethnic pay gaps.

About Firmenich

Firmenich, the world's largest privately-owned fragrance and taste company, was founded in Geneva, Switzerland, in 1895, and has been family-owned for 127 years. Firmenich is a leading business-to-business company specialized in the research, creation, manufacture and sale of perfumes, flavors, and ingredients. Renowned for its world-class research and creativity, as well as its leadership in sustainability, Firmenich offers its customers superior innovation in formulation, a broad and high-quality palette of ingredients, and proprietary technologies including biotechnology, encapsulation, olfactory science, and taste modulation. Firmenich had an annual turnover of 4.7 billion Swiss Francs at end June 2022. More information about Firmenich is available at www.firmenich.com.

About EDGE Certification

EDGE is the only global assessment methodology and business certification standard for gender and intersectional equity. The EDGE assessment methodology was developed by the EDGE Certified Foundation and launched at the World Economic Forum in 2011. EDGE Certification has been designed to help companies not only create an optimal workplace for women and men, but also benefit from it. EDGE stands for Economic Dividends for Gender Equality and is distinguished by its rigor and focus on business impact. The methodology uses a business, rather than theoretical approach that incorporates benchmarking, metrics, and accountability into the process. It assesses policies, practices, and numbers across five different areas of analysis: equal pay for equivalent work, recruitment and promotion, leadership development training and mentoring, flexible working, and company culture. EDGE Certification has received the endorsement of business, government, and academic leaders from around the world. For more information, visit www.edge-cert.org

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Cigna Worldwide Insurance Company is the first international health insurance provider to receive a branch license from the Saudi Central Bank to operate as a health insurer in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

Cigna will introduce a new proposition in the Kingdom, focused on offering localized health solutions with global capabilities

Cigna is committed to the growth of the health insurance sector in the Kingdom, in line with Vision 2030

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia, Feb. 6, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Cigna Worldwide Insurance Company today announced that it has received an official branch license from the Saudi Central Bank (SAMA) to operate as a health insurer in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.





The announcement makes Cigna Worldwide Insurance Company the first international insurance provider to receive a branch license to operate in the Kingdom. Cigna Worldwide Insurance Company is part of the global Cigna group of health services companies serving over 180 million customers and patients in over 30 countries around the world (Cigna).

This license will enable Cigna to offer its best-in-class high-quality, affordable, and localized health insurance solutions, backed by its global capabilities to individuals, companies, and government entities in the Kingdom.

Cigna is committed to the growth of the health insurance sector in the Kingdom, in line with Vision 2030.

"This marks a significant milestone for Cigna in the Kingdom and across the Middle East and Africa region," said Jason Sadler, president, Cigna International Health. "The license enables us to deliver a stronger value proposition, access, and service to our clients through a host of proprietary health and well-being products and services. Cigna has been in the region for nearly two decades, initially through local partners and then independently. We have a deep-rooted knowledge of the Middle East health insurance market, which helps us in offering a health insurance proposition ideal for clients in the Kingdom. This momentous occasion represents an exciting step along our growth journey in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the region."

"We are excited by the growth prospects of the health insurance sector in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, outlined in Vision 2030," Jerome Droesch, CEO of Domestic Health & Health Services at Cigna International Health, said. "We are also thankful to SAMA for their support in our mission to be able to offer high-quality, affordable health insurance solutions, focused on delivering excellent customer, client, and broker services to the citizens and residents of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia."

As champions of affordable, predictable, and simple health insurance solutions, Cigna is constantly exploring opportunities in markets with growth potential to enable it to deliver market-leading health and well-being services. "We are developing our proposition in the Kingdom to ensure we are able to improve the health, well-being, and peace of mind of people across the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Details of our expected launch will be shared soon," said Droesch.

Cigna is a global health service company dedicated to helping people improve their health, well-being, and peace of mind. With a legacy of over 200 years, Cigna is committed to its promise of being together all the way in providing healthcare, clinical management, and wellness programs to employers, individuals, and governments around the world.

About Cigna Middle East

Cigna Corporation is a global health service company dedicated to helping people improve their health, well-being, and peace of mind. With a heritage of over 200 years, Cigna is committed to its promise of being together all the way in providing healthcare, clinical management, and wellness programs to employers, individuals, and governments around the world.

Operating for more than 17 years in the MENA region, Cigna serves the GCC markets and Lebanon through its locally regulated entities. The company delivers both health and wellness services to individuals, employers, and government entities in the region.

To learn more about Cigna Insurance Middle East, visit www.cigna-me.com

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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
Portland, Oregon--(Newsfile Corp. - February 6, 2023) - Hemptown Organics Corp. ("Hemptown" or the "Company") and its subsidiary HT Naturals Inc. (Hemptown Naturals), in partnership with the Trailer Park Boys ("TPB"), are pleased to announce that our partnership has expanded with the development and launch of legally compliant hemp-derived Delta 9 gummies.

We continue to work closely together with one goal in mind- to create some of the best hemp-derived products this side of Sunnyvale! With the initial launch of the Trailer Park Boys branded 'Hemp Stix' more than a year ago, we have now added a brand-new line of hemp-derived Delta 9 Gummies.

Each gummy is vegan, non-gmo, gluten-free with no preservatives, and comes in 3 different flavors, each highlighting iconic character elements of the Trailer Park Boys.





Green Bastard

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Green Bastard - 'Bubbles' had significant input into creating this "Green Bastard" Green Apple flavored Hemp-derived Delta 9 Gummy. It is available with 10 gummies in a pack, in your choice of 5 mg or 15 mg each.





Orangie

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Orangie - Ricky's Orange flavored Hemp-derived Delta 9 Gummies are also available in a 10-pack, in either in a 5 mg or 15 mg each. Pay homage to Ricky's fish 'Orangie' and purchase a pack of these delicious gummies.

Rum and Cola

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Rum and Cola - Julian is rarely without his Rum and Cola in hand, so developing this delicious Rum and Cola flavored Delta 9 Gummy made perfect sense. These 10-pack gummies are also available in either a 5 mg or 15 mg each.

We are working diligently to obtain a national exclusive distribution deal so these products will be available for purchase throughout the United States and online via HempTown's website, hemptownnaturals.com. We are excited to provide you updated details regarding our national distribution arrangement in the near future.

In addition, Eric Gripentrog, CEO of HempTown, mentions, "We are very excited about this new addition to our portfolio of products and look forward to significant distribution and sales of the new gummies. We expect incredibly positive results from these amazing tasting products."

Gripentrog was awarded 2022 CEO of the Year for Oregon by CEO Monthly, where he states, "A good synergy breeds creativity and innovation"

These new additions to The HempTown Naturals brand strongly complement the existing Trailer Park Boys branded 'Hemp Stix' that contain less than 0.3% THC, zero nicotine and are made with 100% pure hemp that comes direct from HempTown's own farm in Oregon. This continued innovative partnership leverages the respective strengths of HempTown and Trailer Park Boys brand to create compelling value for both companies and their respective shareholders.

Jessica Gavin, Partner and Co-founder of the Brand Licensing firm Gavin Hoss adds, "We are thrilled to see this partnership come to life, it represents a perfect alignment of the brand and the product, and we look forward to the Boys incorporating these new gummies into their upcoming events."

Brightfield Group projects that by the end of 2023, the hemp-derived CBD market will reach $23.7 billion in revenue.1 According to a report published by Hemp Benchmarks2, there has been an increase in demand for Delta-8 THC Gummies. Delta-8 THC is a cannabinoid that is not extracted from the hemp plant but is synthesized from extracted Hemp CBD.

"At HempTown Naturals, our innovation is centered around our customers, and we realize there's a strong demand for multi-flavored gummies (apple, orange and rum) with the category continuing to accelerate," said Tariq Rahim, CFO at HempTown. "With so much saturation, consumers deserve better options. TPB branded gummies are all natural, 3rd-party lab tested, and always make for a good time."

Our much-anticipated collaboration with pop culture and cannabis legends, Trailer Park Boys, is now available on hemptownnaturals.com with nationwide shipping, and via a link on Trailer Park Boys' official website (swearnet.com), with a wider retail distribution plan to follow.

About Trailer Park Boys:

The Trailer Park Boys is a Canadian mockumentary television series with global reach. The show, which premiered in 2001, follows the lives of a group of trailer park residents in the fictional Sunnyvale Trailer Park in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia. The first twelve seasons of live action, two seasons of animated content, and a movie trilogy are available worldwide on Netflix. New content, including the fan-favorite season 13 "Jail Series," is available through TPB's own Swearnet.com.

About Hemptown Organics Corp.

Hemptown is a diversified, industry-leading, cannabinoid company delivering a diverse product offering across the value chain, in multiple sales channels, to meet the growing global demand for cannabinoid-based products. Starting with a strong leadership team with Fortune 500 experience and with an FDA-registered and cGMP certified product manufacturing facility, HempTown continues to innovate as the Company continues to press forward into the consumer-packaged goods sector with top quality, white label, and branded product lines for the consumer market. For more information, visit www.hemptownusa.com.

Hemptown Investor Relations

zayn@hemptownusa.com

1-833-436-7896

Hemptown Sales and General Inquiries

Scott@hemptownusa.com

1-888-CBG-NOW1 (1-888-224-6691)

Trailer Park Boys Partnership & Licensing Inquiries

Amyles@gavinhoss.com

Disclaimer for Forward-Looking Statements

This news release contains forward-looking statements that involve various risks and uncertainties regarding future events. Such forward-looking statements are based on current expectations of management, involve a number of risks and uncertainties, and are not guarantees of future performance. These statements generally can be identified by the use of forward-looking words such as "may", "should", "will", "could", "intend", "estimate", "plan", "anticipate", "expect", "believe" or "continue", or the negative thereof or similar variations. Forward-looking statements in this news release include statements regarding the anticipated flavors of the Hemp Naturals line, the anticipated size and growth of the smokable hemp industry and hemp-derived CBD consumer products industry the Company's goal of having its hemp cigarette 20-packs in every convenience store and gas station counter in America, and the timing of the rollout of the Company's products into retail stores. Forward-looking statements are necessarily based on a number of estimates and assumptions that, while considered reasonable, are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors that may cause actual results and future events to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results or events to differ materially from current expectations include general market conditions, significant business, competitive, political and social risks, governmental regulations being implemented regarding the production and sale of products containing hemp/CBD, and other factors beyond the control of the Company. The Company expressly disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise, except as required by applicable law.

1 Brightfield Group

2 https://www.hempbenchmarks.com/hemp-market-insider/delta-8-thc/

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/153727
NEW YORK, Feb. 6, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- As per Zion Market Research study, The global dermal filler market size was worth around USD 4.8 Billion in 2021 and is predicted to grow to around USD 11.7 Billion by 2030 with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of roughly 10.5% between 2022 and 2030.





Report Link with All Related Graphs & Charts: https://www.zionmarketresearch.com/report/dermal-filler-market

Dermal Filler Market: Overview

Less invasive procedures called dermal fillers are utilized as anti-aging treatments to reduce facial lines and restore firmness. These soft tissue fillers known as dermal fillers, which include hyaluronic acid, polymers and particles, and collagen, are injected into the skin to address conditions including scars & wrinkles and smoothen the skin. A range of skin-related problems is treated with dermal filler procedures. Techniques using dermal fillers can be used to smooth skin, get rid of scars and wrinkles, and perform other operations.

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2023 Updated Report Introduction, Overview, and In-depth industry analysis

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Includes an Updated List of tables & figures

Updated Report Includes Top Market Players with their Business Strategy, Sales Volume, and Revenue Analysis

Zion Market Research methodology

Key Industry Insights & Findings of the Dermal Filler Market Reports:

As per the analysis shared by our research analyst, the global dermal filler market is estimated to grow annually at a CAGR of around 10.5% over the forecast period (2022-2030).

In terms of revenue, the global dermal filler market size was valued at around USD 4.8 billion in 2021 and is projected to reach USD 11.7 billion , by 2030.

in 2021 and is projected to reach , by 2030. The demand for minimally invasive aesthetic procedures, the increase in plastic surgeons performing aesthetic procedures, and the availability of reasonably priced alternatives to cosmetic surgery are the main factors driving the market for dermal fillers.

Based on the type, the biodegradable segment accounted for the largest market share in 2021.

Based on the application, the wrinkle correction treatment segment maintained the greatest revenue market share in 2021.

Based on region, North America is expected to dominate the market during the forecast period.

Zion Market Research published the latest report titled "Dermal Filler Market By Type (Biodegradable and Non-biodegradable), By Material Type (Hyaluronic Acid, Calcium Hydroxylapatite, Poly-L-lactic Acid, PMMA [Poly (Methyl Methacrylate)] and Others), By Application (Facial Line Correction Treatment, Face-Lift, Scar Treatment, Wrinkle Correction Treatment, Lip Enhancement, and Others), By End User (Dermatology Clinics, Hospitals, and Others) and By Region - Global and Regional Industry Overview, Market Intelligence, Comprehensive Analysis, Historical Data, and Forecasts 2022 - 2030." into their research database.

Industry Dynamics:

Dermal Filler Market: Growth Drivers

Growing demand for less invasive procedures to drive the market growth.

One or more minimally invasive procedures, such as neurotoxins, Dermal Fillers, deoxycholic acid, lasers, peels, and microneedling, can be effective, less invasive alternatives to surgery for some patients. Injectables and skin resurfacing techniques are used to treat a variety of facial problems, including wrinkles, fine lines, loss of volume and contour, and excess fat.

The ideal treatment strategy for a given patient must carefully take into account the patient's medical issues, unique anatomical features, tissue quality, and anticipated outcomes. An article on facial plastic surgery estimates that 1.4 million surgical and non-surgical procedures will be carried out worldwide in 2021, with plastic doctors doing an additional 600 operations per year on average. Comparing the statistics revealed a 40% increase to the previous year.

Dermal Filler Market: Restraints

The high cost of treatment limits the market growth.

Dermal filler cosmetic therapy is a well-liked and secure outpatient method for treating minor volume loss and aging signs. However, it is anticipated that the expensive price will hinder the global dermal filler market demand for these treatments. According to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, PMMA [Poly (Methyl Methacrylate)] costs $981, Calcium Hydroxylapatite costs $717, Fat Fillers cost $2,508, Hyaluronic Acid costs $684, Poly-L-lactic Acid costs $853, and polymethyl-methacrylate microspheres cost $1,058. Depending on the type and quantity used during treatment, dermal filler prices can vary. Thus, the high cost of treatments is expected to impede market growth over the forecast period.

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Dermal Filler Market: Opportunities

Innovation in dermal fillers provides a lucrative opportunity.

Dermal fillers are gel-like materials that are injected beneath the skin to replenish lost volume, smooth out wrinkles, and soften lines. More than a million people choose this well-known cosmetic transformation procedure each year to remove wrinkles and improve the appearance of facial lines to enhance facial features. Dermal fillers are a successful procedure that can make you seem younger without surgery or recovery time. Dermal fillers are medications that are injected beneath the skin to fill in face creases. Dermal filler medications come in a variety of forms, the most popular being calcium hydroxylapatite, hyaluronic acid, polyalkylimide, polylactic acid, and others. Dermal filler brand advancement will support increased market demand.

Dermal Filler Market: Challenges

The dearth of skilled professionals acts as a major challenge.

There are many different types of aesthetic treatment methods, including laser-based technology, energy-based technology, and powerful pulse light. For any of these techniques to be used effectively, the practitioner must possess strong interpersonal skills. Additionally, the field's rapid technological development has resulted in a shortage of qualified specialists. The handling of surgical instruments and performing procedures are both significantly hampered by a lack of competent experts.

Global Dermal Filler Market: Segmentation

The global dermal filler market is segmented based on type, material type, application, end-user, and region.

Based on the type, the global market is bifurcated into biodegradable and non-biodegradable. The biodegradable segment accounted for the largest market share in 2021 and is expected to show its dominance during the forecast period. The growth in the segment is attributed to the more product options being offered, as well as the increasing usage of biodegradable materials for aesthetic purposes. Biodegradable products are created entirely of natural materials and are applied topically to the skin, hair, face, and mouth. On the other hand, the non-biodegradable segment is projected to grow at the fastest CAGR during the forecast period.

The growth in the non-biodegradable segment is attributed to the product's long-lasting quality. Non-biodegradable substances do not degrade and remain in the body for a longer period than temporary and semi-permanent fillers.

Based on the material type, the dermal filler industry is bifurcated into hyaluronic acid, calcium hydroxylapatite, poly-l-lactic acid, PMMA [Poly (Methyl Methacrylate)], and others.

Based on the application, the global dermal filler is divided into facial line correction treatment, face-lift, scar treatment, wrinkle correction treatment, lip enhancement, and others. The wrinkle correction treatment segment maintained the greatest revenue market share in 2021, owing to increased demand for these treatments among the aging population. According to Cosmetic Executive Women (CEW) news from 2021, an average of 943,500 searches for aging-related concerns in the skin care area are conducted in the United States each month. Besides, the Lip Enhancement category is expected to develop at the quickest CAGR throughout the projected period, owing to the increasing frequency of lip treatments and the growing demand for cosmetic lip enhancements.

Based on the end user, the global market is segmented into dermatology clinics, hospitals, and others.

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List of Key Players in Dermal Filler Market:

Prollenium Medical Technologies

Suneva Medical

Revance Therapeutics Inc.

Anika Therapeutics Inc

FillMed Laboratories

Ipsen Pharma

BIOXIS Pharmaceuticals

Zhejiang Jingjia Medical Technology Co. Ltd.

Zimmer Aesthetic

Medytox

Contura International ltd.

Shanghai Reyoungel Medical Technology Company Limited

Galderma Laboratories

L.P.

Croma-Pharma GmbH

Teoxane

BioPlus Co. Ltd.

Key questions answered in this report:

What are the growth rate forecast and market size for Dermal Filler Market?

What are the key driving factors propelling the Dermal Filler Market forward?

What are the most important companies in the Dermal Filler Market Industry?

What segments does the Dermal Filler Market cover?

How can I receive a free copy of the Dermal Filler Market sample report and company profiles?

Report Scope:

Report Attribute Details Market size value in 2021 USD 4.8 Billion Revenue forecast in 2030 USD 11.7 Billion Growth Rate CAGR of almost 10.5 % 2022-2030 Base Year 2020 Historic Years 2016 - 2021 Forecast Years 2022 - 2030 Segments Covered By Type, By Material Type, By Application, By End User, And By Region Forecast Units Value (USD Billion), and Volume (Units) Quantitative Units Revenue in USD million/billion and CAGR from 2022 to 2030 Regions Covered North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, and Middle East & Africa, and Rest of World Countries Covered U.S., Canada, Mexico, U.K., Germany, France, Italy, Spain, China, India, Japan, South Korea, Brazil, Argentina, GCC Countries, and South Africa, among others Companies Covered Prollenium Medical Technologies, Suneva Medical, Revance Therapeutics, Inc., Anika Therapeutics, Inc, FillMed Laboratories, Ipsen Pharma, BIOXIS Pharmaceuticals, Zhejiang Jingjia Medical Technology Co. Ltd., Zimmer Aesthetic, Medytox, Contura International ltd., Shanghai Reyoungel Medical Technology Company Limited, Galderma Laboratories, L.P., Croma-Pharma GmbH, Teoxane, BioPlus Co., Ltd., among others. Report Coverage Market growth drivers, restraints, opportunities, Porter's five forces analysis, PEST analysis, value chain analysis, regulatory landscape, market attractiveness analysis by segments and region, company market share analysis, and COVID-19 impact analysis. Customization Scope Avail of customized purchase options to meet your exact research needs.

https://www.zionmarketresearch.com/custom/1449

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Recent Developments

In November 2021 , The virtual American Society for Dermatologic Surgery (ASDS) 2021 Annual Meeting was held November 19-21, 2021, and Galderma announced that data supporting its aesthetics portfolio and pipeline would be presented there. One oral presentation of an abstract on the safety of hyaluronic acid (HA) filler was among the eight abstracts from investigator-initiated and Galderma-sponsored trials that were accepted.

The virtual American Society for Dermatologic Surgery (ASDS) 2021 Annual Meeting was held November 19-21, 2021, and Galderma announced that data supporting its aesthetics portfolio and pipeline would be presented there. One oral presentation of an abstract on the safety of hyaluronic acid (HA) filler was among the eight abstracts from investigator-initiated and Galderma-sponsored trials that were accepted. In April 2022 , Sinclair Pharma announced that its Perfectha Lidocaine wrinkle-reduction, facial contouring, and volume-restoration solutions have earned the European Certification mark. Now accessible in the UK and all significant European markets are Perfectha Lidocaine.

Regional Dominance:

North America is expected to dominate the market during the forecast period.

Throughout the predicted period, North America is anticipated to rule the global dermal filler market. An extremely aware and financially secure people is one component of this region's supremacy. For instance, 15.6 million cosmetic treatments were carried out in the United States in 2020, according to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS). Additionally, the region's growth is anticipated to be fueled by new product releases and regulatory clearances during the projected period.

For instance, The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) declared RHA Redensity to be approved. RHA Redensity, a gel implant or dermal filler made by the Swiss hyaluronic acid product manufacturer Teoxane, is injected into particular areas of facial tissue to minimize the appearance of lines and wrinkles. Sodium hyaluronic acid (NaHA), 1,4-butanediol diglycidyl ether (BDDE), and 0.3% of the medication lidocaine hydrochloride are included in it. Thus, the fast product approval by the regulatory authorities will flourish the market expansion over the forecast period.

The second-highest market share is expected to be held by Europe, which can be attributed to rising consumer interest in Dermal Fillers procedures in important European countries and rising R&D spending there. However, it is anticipated that the Asia Pacific region will have phenomenal growth during the predicted period. The region's market is expanding due to the improved healthcare infrastructure in Asian countries, the rapidly aging population, and the increasing awareness of people about their physical presence. For instance, as per World Health Organization (WHO), in the South-East Asia Region, the population is aging quickly. While the percentage of adults 60 and older was 9.8% in 2017, it will rise to 13.7% and 20.3%, respectively, by 2030 and 2050.

Global Dermal Filler Market is segmented as follows:

Dermal Filler Market: By Type Outlook (2022-2030)

Biodegradable

Non-biodegradable

Dermal Filler Market: ByMaterial Type Outlook (2022-2030)

Hyaluronic Acid

Calcium Hydroxylapatite

Poly-L-lactic Acid

PMMA [Poly (Methyl Methacrylate)]

Dermal Filler Market: ByApplication Outlook (2022-2030)

Facial Line Correction Treatment

Face-Lift

Scar Treatment

Wrinkle Correction Treatment

Lip Enhancement

Others

Dermal Filler Market: ByEnd User Outlook (2022-2030)

Dermatology Clinics

Hospitals

Others

Dermal Filler Market: By Region Outlook (2022-2030)

North America

The U.S.

Canada

Europe

France

The UK

Spain

Germany

Italy

Rest of Europe

Asia Pacific

China

Japan

India

South Korea

Southeast Asia

Rest of Asia Pacific

Latin America

Brazil

Mexico

Rest of Latin America

Middle East & Africa

GCC

South Africa

Rest of Middle East & Africa

Press Release for Dermal Filler Market: https://www.zionmarketresearch.com/news/global-dermal-filler-market

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The global Cannabis Cultivation Market accrued earnings worth approximately 147.3 (USD Billion) in 2020 and is predicted to gain revenue of about 359.6 (USD Billion) by 2030, is set to record a CAGR of nearly 14.5% over the period from 2021 to 2030. Pharmaceutical Sterility Testing Market - Global Industry Analysis : The global Pharmaceutical Sterility Testing Market accrued earnings worth approximately 1.2(USD Billion) in 2020 and is predicted to gain revenue of about 2.3 (USD Billion) by 2030, is set to record a CAGR of nearly 11.9% over the period from 2021 to 2030.

The global Pharmaceutical Sterility Testing Market accrued earnings worth approximately 1.2(USD Billion) in 2020 and is predicted to gain revenue of about 2.3 (USD Billion) by 2030, is set to record a CAGR of nearly 11.9% over the period from 2021 to 2030. Respiratory Disorders Treatment Market - Global Industry Analysis: The global Respiratory Disorders Treatment market accrued earnings worth approximately 98.9 (USD Billion) in 2020 and is predicted to gain revenue of about 112.5(USD Billion) by 2030, is set to record a CAGR of nearly 6.1% over the period from 2021 to 2030.

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ATLANTA, GA / ACCESSWIRE / February 6, 2023 / The Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta and Truist Financial Corporation [NYSE:TFC] today announce Truist's $15 million commitment to GoATL, the Community Foundation's impact investment platform.

Truist is providing the lead investment in the newly launched GoATL Affordable Housing Fund-$14 million of a $75 million fund designed to close funding gaps in affordable housing development-supplemented by $1 million in critical grant dollars from Truist Foundation for the GoATL Economic Inclusion Fund. The latter will drive job growth and wealth creation for entrepreneurs. GoATL brings a new source and type of capital to our community's most pressing needs. Together, these two funds provide direct investment in affordable housing development and small businesses to foster more equitable outcomes for Atlantans.

Unlike traditional grantmaking, impact investing recycles dollars, effectively yielding a triple return: first, it supports causes and enterprises that provide sustainable, long-term benefits and impact to the community; second, it provides a financial return to the investor; third, the modest return can then be recycled to continue increasing impact.

"Investing in affordable housing and supporting small businesses are crucial in creating pathways to economic mobility and closing the racial wealth gap," said Truist Chairman and CEO Bill Rogers. "Our purpose is to inspire and build better lives and communities, and we are pleased to partner with GoATL in creating sustainable communities and addressing Atlanta's most critical needs."

Truist's sizeable investment in GoATL is welcome news for both the Community Foundation and the city of Atlanta, which ranks second in the U.S. for wealth disparity and highest among large U.S. cities for income inequality, according to census data. The net worth of the average white family in Atlanta is three times that of the average Black family. Safe, stable, affordable housing is foundational to addressing these disparities and creating a city that works for everyone.

Access to affordable housing and addressing the racial wealth gap are key tenets of TogetherATL, the Foundation's five-year strategic focus and pledge to make Atlanta more equitable and prosperous for all residents.

"Our goal at the Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta is to give everyone who lives in Atlanta a fair shot at a good life," said Frank Fernandez, the organization's president and CEO. "The reality in our city is that two children, who live 10 miles and two zip codes apart, will likely have two very disparate outcomes in terms of their ability to build and sustain wealth throughout their lives. Today's generous commitment by Truist will put us on a trajectory to begin to change that."

Truist's commitment to these two funds will help unlock affordable housing development and preservation and help launch and scale small businesses. A portion of the investment will close gaps in Georgia's small business ecosystem and provide highly flexible capital to businesses run by Black, and Indigenous individuals and people of color, as well as by women and other marginalized business owners who traditionally have difficulty accessing conventional capital. The remainder of the funds will support the Community Foundation's efforts to expand affordable home access and ownership for all Atlantans, including closing the homeownership gap for Black and Indigenous families and individuals, as well as other people of color. The GoATL Affordable Housing Fund will serve critical community housing needs, ranging from permanent supportive housing for those experiencing homelessness to affordable homeownership for first-time homebuyers.

This is the second impact investment Truist has made in affordable housing and in partnership with the Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta. Previously, the bank made a $2 million investment in the Atlanta Affordable Housing Fund, the $15 million impact fund that has served as the proof-of-concept for the GoATL Affordable Housing Fund.

# # #

About the Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta

The Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta inspires and leads the Atlanta region toward equity and shared prosperity for all who call it home. TogetherATL is the Foundation's strategic ethos, working through a collaborative approach with community stakeholders, donors, nonprofits and others to examine complex challenges the region faces and create solutions that build a thriving region. Started in 1951, the Community Foundation shepherds approximately $1.4 billion in current assets through its 1,000+ donor funds, while simultaneously raising and deploying more than $120 million annually to thousands of nonprofit organizations. It is Georgia's second largest foundation. For more information visit:?cfgreateratlanta.org?or connect with the Foundation via?Facebook,?Instagram,?LinkedIn?and?Twitter.

About Truist

Truist Financial Corporation is a purpose-driven financial services company committed to inspiring and building better lives and communities. Truist has leading market share in many high-growth markets in the country, and offers a wide range of products and services through our retail and small business banking, commercial banking, corporate and investment banking, insurance, wealth management, and specialized lending businesses. Headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, Truist is a top 10 U.S. commercial bank with total assets of $555 billion as of December 31, 2022. Truist Bank, Member FDIC. Learn more at Truist.com

View additional multimedia and more ESG storytelling from Truist on 3blmedia.com.

Contact Info:

Spokesperson: Truist

Website: https://www.3blmedia.com/profiles/truist

Email: info@3blmedia.com

SOURCE: Truist

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/738197/Community-Foundation-for-Greater-Atlanta-Announces-15-Million-Impact-Investment-from-Truist
Phoenix, Arizona--(Newsfile Corp. - February 6, 2023) - The Stock Day Podcast welcomed US Nuclear Corp. (OTCQB: UCLE) ("the Company"), a radiation, chemical detection and specialty drone, holding company specializing in the development and manufacturing and sales of radiation and chemical detection instrumentation. CEO of the Company, Bob Goldstein, joined Stock Day host Everett Jolly.

"How are your sales recovering from COVID?" asked Jolly. "They are definitely turning around," said Goldstein. "We have a loyal customer base," he added. "Our US overseas representatives kept us going during that period, but now that we are able to travel safely we are going to bring back the trade shows."

"Do you get a lot of traction from the trade shows?" asked Jolly. "Yes," shared Goldstein. "Trade shows are great because sales is all about relationships and at the shows you are face-to-face and are able to discuss a customer's specific needs," he explained. "There is even the opportunity to demo your products and answer questions, while hopefully setting up for a secure sale."

"How many trade shows do you think you will attend in 2023?" asked Jolly. "We were doing about six to ten trade shows per year previously," said Goldstein. "We already have four shows set up for the first half of 2023," he added, noting that the Company will be attending its first show on February 19th at the Indoor Air Quality Show in Austin, Texas. "On April 18th, there is a Water Quality Association Show in Las Vegas, Nevada," he shared. "On March 20th, we have the International Air, Soil, Water, and Energy International Show in San Diego, California, followed by Down stream USA Oil and Gas conference in Galveston Texas."

The conversation then turned to the Company's PFAS protection technology. "It is such a huge problem; by now we all have plastic in our veins," said Goldstein. "We are offering a PFAS/PFOS detector that can indicate the presence of these chemicals in the water or air within a few minutes, where typically you would have to take your sample to a lab and wait two weeks," he explained. "So, I believe we have the opportunity for significant product sales coming to us."

"What are the products you will be showcasing at the trade shows this year?" asked Jolly. "We have universal detection systems that can detect not just radiation, which is our specialty, but also a wide range of very dangerous chemicals including explosives, biological toxins and even fentanyl," said Goldstein, before elaborating on the significance of the applications for these technologies.

Goldstein then discussed the potential of the Company's return to trade shows across 2023, and encouraged listeners and shareholders to keep up-to-date on their upcoming announcements and projects.

To hear Bob Goldstein's entire interview, follow the link to the podcast here: https://audioboom.com/posts/8242632-us-nuclear-corp-discusses-2023-trade-show-schedule-with-the-stock-day-podcast.

Investors Hangout is a proud sponsor of "Stock Day," and Stock Day Media encourages listeners to visit the company's message board at https://investorshangout.com/.

About US Nuclear Corp.

US Nuclear Corp is a radiation, chemical detection and specialty drone, holding company specializing in the development and manufacturing and sales of radiation and chemical detection instrumentation. Through its four operating divisions (Technical Associates (TA), Overhoff Technology (OTC), Electronic Control Concepts (ECC), and Cali From Above (CFA), US Nuclear Corp. harbors more than 100 years of combined experience in supplying top of the line instrumentation to any industry utilizing radionuclides. This includes nuclear power plants, national laboratories, government agencies, homeland security, military, universities and schools, research companies, hospitals, medical and dental centers, energy companies, weapons facilities, first responders, local governments, and manufacturing plants.

Safe Harbor Act

This press release includes "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the safe harbor provisions of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Actual results may differ from expectations, estimates and projections and, consequently, you should not rely on these forward-looking statements as predictions of future events. Words such as "expect," "estimate," "project," "budget," "forecast," "anticipate," "intend," "plan," "may," "will," "could," "should," "believes," "predicts," "potential," "continue," and similar expressions are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements involve significant risks and uncertainties that could cause the actual results to differ materially from the expected results.

Investors may find additional information regarding US Nuclear Corp. at the SEC website at http://www.sec.gov, or the company's website at www.usnuclearcorp.com.

CONTACT:

US Nuclear Corp. (OTCQB: UCLE)

Robert I. Goldstein, President, CEO, and Chairman

Richard Landry, Chief Financial Officer

(818) 883 7043

Email: info@usnuclearcorp.com

Usnuclearcorp.com

About The "Stock Day" Podcast

Founded in 2013, Stock Day is the fastest growing media outlet for Nano-Cap and Micro-Cap companies. It educates investors while simultaneously working with penny stock and OTC companies, providing transparency and clarification of under-valued, under-sold Micro-Cap stocks of the market. Stock Day provides companies with customized solutions to their news distribution in both national and international media outlets. The Stock Day Podcast is the number one radio show of its kind in America.

SOURCE:

Stock Day Media

(602) 821-1102

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/153780
NICOSIA, Cyprus, Feb. 6, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- CYENS Centre of Excellence has launched an eLucid tool for express licensing. e-lucid is an award-winning Software as a Service (SaaS) solution that powers intellectual property licensing platforms for some of the world's leading universities, technology transfer and research organisations. CYENS has opened its eLucid portal at https://innedge.cyens.org.cy/, creating a new way of dissemination of the results of the projects run by CYENS academics with wide audiences offering its innovative solutions, consultancy, education and training services as well as access to specialised laboratories to organisations in Cyprus and abroad at a click of a button with minimal transaction time.





Dr Olga Shvarova, CYENS Chief Innovation Officer, said: "We are delighted to implement the fully automated licensing solution to scale our licensing operations, monetise our digital solutions and license non-exclusive IP.e-lucid allows us to meet the challenges posed by the management of contracts for free impact-generating apps and other low-cost, high-volume IP assets while freeing the time for its innovation management personnel for pursue larger opportunities."

Ed Maughfling, Customer Success at e-lucid, believes that the launch of CYENS' licensing storefront marks a significant milestone for e-lucid: "CYENS are our first EU customer to launch and we hope to see many more organisations from Europe engaging with express licensing in the near future." Jose Fernandez, Product Lead at e-lucid, added: "We are really pleased to welcome CYENS and are looking forward to working with an organisation that is keen to make the most e-lucid's unique features to maximise their impact and reach a wider audience."

About e-Lucid

e-lucid was conceived at UCL Business (UCLB), the Technology Transfer Office University College London, in response to the challenges it faced in managing large numbers of IP licence requests.

Now, over 20 publicly-funded, research-intensive organisations from across the UK, USA and now Europe are subscribed to its hosted services.

About CYENS

CYENS Centre of Excellence is a joint venture of three public universities of Cyprus - University of Cyprus, Cyprus University of Technology, and Open University of Cyprus, the Municipality of Nicosia, and two renowned international partners, Max Planck Institute for Informatics, Germany, and, University College London, United Kingdom. CYENS is funded by the EU's Horizon 2020 and the Government of the Republic of Cyprus. For more information visit https://www.cyens.org.cy/

Contact

Dr Olga Shvarova

o.shvarova@cyens.org.cy

+357 22747575

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View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/cyens-centre-of-excellence-is-the-first-eu-organisation-to-launch-an-elucid-tool-for-express-licensing-301739466.html
Mr. John Bristol is Appointed Vice President, Sales Introducing IGAN to America

LAS VEGAS, NV / ACCESSWIRE / February 6, 2023 / Cytta Corp (OTCQB: "CYCA," the "Company") is pleased to announce that Mr. John Bristol has joined our executive team as Vice President, Sales. Mr. Bristol has had a very successful 25-year career in all sales management, services management, channel management, business development and executive leadership roles. Mr. Bristol has successfully provided technical business solutions, both in developing initial markets for new technologies for emerging companies as well as large public and international corporations. His talents are well suited to Cytta's needs as his focus is selling and leading teams to deliver complex technology-based solutions to business and government.

Mr. Bristol has extensive experience in the development of new accounts focused on enterprise document automation projects, B2B E-Commerce, Product Lifecycle Management, SAAS, and IT Outsourcing. He has also coordinated business operations through channel resellers, VARs, OEMs, and manufacturers.

Ms. Natalia Sokolova, Cytta's Chief Operating Officer said, "I am very pleased that my longtime associate Mr. John Bristol has agreed to bring his considerable skill set and experience to our new Cytta management team. Mr. Bristol has always demonstrated extremely strong results in the introduction of sophisticated technologies comparable to IGAN, which has led to extensive sales and more importantly, strong revenue growth." Ms. Sokolova further stated, "Mr. Bristol's client experience includes Federal, State, Municipal, Institutional, and industrial customers, which is the ideal mix for our IGAN introduction. Mr. Bristol is working diligently to create the sales and marketing models to make our IGAN technology ubiquitous in the US markets."

Mr. Bristol is also a Veteran of the U.S. Air Force where he served as a First Responder (Aeromedical Evacuation Specialist) and was deployed in support of Operation Desert Storm. John was recently endorsed by the Minnesota Police and Peace Officers Association during a run for State office. Mr. Bristol has both a B.S. Business Management degree and a Master of Business Administration (MBA).

Mr. John Bristol is available directly either by phone (612) 328-6511(please leave a message) or by email at JBristol@Cytta.com.

About Cytta Corp.

Cytta Corp (OTCQB:CYCA) has created video/audio integration software with AI capability, advanced video compression, and portable/SaaS hardware/software systems that solve real-world problems in large markets. Cytta's IGAN 2.0 collaborative dashboard integrates all video and audio streams, enabling collaborative interactivity while providing relevant, actionable information on an ongoing basis.

The IGAN 2.0 is a cloud based SAAS communication network providing a multifunctional tool for sharing realtime video, video/voice calls and chat interaction. The interactive desktop/mobile user interface provides quick visual reference and multiparty collaboration with streaming video, location maps, messages, and communications (video/voice/text). The IGAN collaborative video, voice, chat and media integration tool makes it easy to share and store critical real time data, such as video feeds, images, chat, files, messages, location maps and media. IGAN's complete encrypted cloud accessibility allows access as a web application for desktop and mobile devices, or with native iOS and Android mobile apps, all with end-to-end encryption for all users.

The IGAN 2.0 is a practical, valuable, and irreplaceable tool for police, firefighters, first responders, emergency medical workers, industry, environmental and emergencies, security, military, and their command centers in a crisis. It also allows venues such as schools, malls, event venues, and religious locations to be connected and monitor their situation, as well as immediately make their data directly available to law enforcement during emergencies.

Cytta's products enable and empower the world to collaborate and consume higher-quality video/audio/information anywhere and anytime. For more information, please visit cytta.com and the new Corporate Cytta Video Channel on YouTube to view Cytta's recent corporate discussion videos.

Contact Us:

Cytta Corp

Phone: 855-511-IGAN (4265)

http://www.cytta.com

info@cytta.com

Gary Campbell, CEO

Direct (702) 900-7022

Gary@cytta.com

Natalia Sokolova, COO

Direct: (424) 333-0595

Natalia@cytta.com

SOURCE: Cytta Corp.

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/738168/Cytta-Expands-IGAN-Sales-and-Marketing-Executive-Management-Team
NORTHAMPTON, MA / ACCESSWIRE / February 6, 2023 / Regions Bank



Regions' Mary McMillan, Kathy Peyton, Scott Beard and Rudy Walker were all part of the groundbreaking for the new branch in Waverly, Tennessee.

By Wayne Thompson

The Regions Bank branch in Waverly, Tennessee, was among the businesses heavily damaged when catastrophic floodwaters swept across Middle Tennessee in August 2021.

Doing More Today spoke with four associates who took part in the groundbreaking for Regions' new Waverly branch on Jan. 24, 2023. Expected to open by the end of 2023, the new Regions branch is a vital part of the community's recovery.

Mary McMillan

Waverly Branch Manager

Regions has always been a great company to work for, but I gained new admiration for Regions when they decided to invest in Waverly's future.

After the most recent flood, a lot of businesses didn't reopen or simply rebuilt again in the flood zone. Not Regions. This new location shows we're dedicated to serving the community while also looking out for our associates and customers.

I look back at the first few months after the last flood in 2021, and just think how far we have come in helping our customers through such a traumatic event. Regions provided us with all the tools and resources that we needed to continue to serve our customers.

I'll always be proud of my team for the way they excelled in helping to get our customers get back on their feet. Soon, we'll be able to offer them a facility that empowers them further with the latest technology to serve our customers even better.

Kathy Peyton

MidSouth Regional Operations Manager

Considering the Waverly branch has endured three floods in a short amount of time (2010, 2019 and 2021), we've gone through it all as part of the community - helping rebuild, offering volunteers, and simply giving back as a sign of hope and commitment.

I'll never forget the way the managers in our market (Jackson, Bolivar, Lexington, Hohenwald, Somerville, Selmer, Corinth, New Albany and Ripley) volunteered in clean-up efforts after the flood. And I will always remember the way Mary and her team kept the community top of mind by organizing events like a toy drive for Humphreys County Angel Tree because they knew it focused solely on the people of Waverly.

Mary and team were instrumental in helping us retrieve the muddy cash from the branch, helping customers through the transition of opening their wet safe deposit boxes, and listening to customers share their stories of loss from the flood with empathy and tears.

What they have done really has gone above and beyond what is expected, but Mary has helped me, with a smile on her face, through any operational challenge.

Seeing this team flourish inside a temporary trailer building for the last year and a half - and be extremely successful - I cannot wait to see their success in a new Nexus branch.

For us to remain committed to this community and our associates is what makes this new branch groundbreaking so special to me, and makes me proud to be a part of Regions.

Scott Beard

Market Executive for Jackson and West Tennessee

I grew up in this area. It is close to my hometown and very special to me. The people here take care of each other.

Nothing makes me happier than to witness this area's recovery which includes the way Regions is building back better and making Waverly stronger through our new branch.

The groundbreaking and the construction of the new building are vital steps by Regions to help Waverly come back stronger.

It's a town of resilience and determination - demonstrated again by the community's response and rebuilding after the August 2021 flood which left 6 feet of water in our branch and caused so much other damage to businesses and homes. The people in Waverly have a genuine concern for each other and support their hometown businesses. Regions' presence is vital to this area to help support our associates and customers that have been so loyal in supporting us over the years.

This new building is not only for our customers, but also for our associates and serves as another testament to the way Regions puts people first while seeking to do the right thing and make life better for everyone. This new modern building will help our associates in Waverly continue to provide the excellent service and financial advice that have won customers' trust.

Rudy Walker

MidSouth Consumer Banking Executive

Team Waverly has showed remarkable resilience that should make us all proud - remaining engaged in the community and fostering lasting relationships through not one but two major floods, and working out of our Portable Branch first, and then a temporary trailer.

Through it all, our associates have shown what putting people first really means and continue to be there for customers.

Just doing the job has never been this team's attitude. They truly know their customers and have been part of helping them prepare for and celebrate their biggest life moments with the financial advice and guidance they've provided. That's confirmed by their world-class Gallup scores, and it's something you feel as soon as you walk into the branch.

Thank you, Team Waverly, and to all the other associates who made this moment possible.

About Regions Financial Corporation

Regions Financial Corporation (NYSE:RF), with $155 billion in assets, is a member of the S&P 500 Index and is one of the nation's largest full-service providers of consumer and commercial banking, wealth management, and mortgage products and services. Regions serves customers across the South, Midwest and Texas, and through its subsidiary, Regions Bank, operates more than 1,250 banking offices and more than 2,000 ATMs. Regions Bank is an Equal Housing Lender and Member FDIC. Additional information about Regions and its full line of products and services can be found at www.regions.com.

View additional multimedia and more ESG storytelling from Regions Bank on 3blmedia.com.



Contact Info:

Spokesperson: Regions Bank

Website: https://www.3blmedia.com/profiles/regions-bank

Email: info@3blmedia.com

SOURCE: Regions Bank

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/738209/Building-Back-Better-in-Waverly
The rise in consumer electronics demand and the trend toward smaller electronic devices and the surge in demand for thinner wafers and more robust chips across the world drive the growth of the global thin wafer processing and dicing equipment market

PORTLAND, Ore., Feb. 6, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Allied Market Research published a report, titled, "Thin Wafer Processing and Dicing Equipment Market by Equipment Type (Thinning Equipment and Dicing Equipment), by Application (Memory and Logic Through Silicon Via (TSV), Micro Electro Mechanical Systems (MEMS) Devices, Power Devices, CMOS Image Sensors, and Radio Frequency Identification (RFID)), by Wafer Size(Less Than 4-inch, 5-inch and 6-inch, 8-inch, and 12-inch): Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 2021-2031" According to the report, the global thin wafer processing and dicing equipment industry generated $643.78 million in 2021, and is estimated to reach $1.2 billion by 2031, witnessing a CAGR of 6.7% from 2022 to 2031. The report offers a detailed analysis of changing market trends, top segments, key investment pockets, value chains, regional landscapes, and competitive scenarios.





Download Free Sample Report@ https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/request-sample/15070

Drivers, Restraints, and Opportunities

Developments in semiconductor technology, growing demand for high-performance integrated circuits and developments in semiconductor technology, and the increasing adoption of Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tags drive the growth of the global thin wafer processing and dicing equipment market. On the other hand, the high cost associated with the manufacturing process restrains growth to some extent. However, the wafers' high-quality flat surface is the primary reason for their increasing integration into processing. Investments in wafer enhancement have paved the way for lucrative opportunities in the industry.

Covid-19 Scenario

Due to the global slowdown in demand in the industrial and automotive electronics sectors that the COVID-19 pandemic has worsened, manufacturers operating in the market have registered a decline in orders for Thin Wafer semiconductors.

As China , South Korea , Taiwan , Japan , and the US are among the top countries known for having a strong base of manufacturing semiconductor components and wafers. The pandemic situation heavily disrupted semiconductor production activities.

, , , , and the US are among the top countries known for having a strong base of manufacturing semiconductor components and wafers. The pandemic situation heavily disrupted semiconductor production activities. Disruptions in the supply chain also hampered the manufacturing of thin wafer processing and dicing equipment across the world. However, the market has now got back on track.

The Dicing Equipment Segment to Maintain its Dominance During the Forecast Period

By equipment type, the dicing equipment segment garnered the highest share in 2021, holding nearly three-fifths of the global thin wafer processing and dicing equipment market revenue. This is because during dicing the round wafers are typically mounted on dicing tape to ensure the fixed position of the wafer on the very thin metal sheet frame. The task of the wafer dicing machines is to cut wafers into individual semiconductor chips with blades. Automated dicing tools are ideal for use in production environments where large numbers of wafers are processed and wafer and die dimensions are constant. During R&D and when only small batches of chips are required, it is beneficial to have a clean, accurate, repeatable, and fast tool to dice wafers.

The 5-inch and 6-inch Segment to Dominate by 2031

By wafer size, the 5-inch and 6-inch segment accounted for nearly two-thirds of the global thin wafer processing and dicing equipment market share in 2021, and is projected to retain its dominance by 2031. Wafer size, which refers to a wafer's diameter, is a crucial factor in the process of making semiconductors. In high-volume manufacturing, a bigger wafer size allows for the fabrication of more dies per wafer, which lowers costs.

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The Memory and Logic segment to Rule the Roost

By application, the memory and logic segment accounted for more than three-fifths of the global thin wafer processing and dicing equipment market revenue in 2021, and is projected to retain the lion's share by 2031. This is due to the widespread adoption of low-cost cloud computing solutions, there is a significant increase in the implementation of server and data center systems across a variety of businesses and industries, which in turn drives the demand for logic devices like microprocessors and digital signal processors. Thinning technology is preferred in logic devices to enable high-speed processing and reconfigurations. Thin wafers are being utilized in these devices more frequently to guarantee effective heat control and maximize performance, which helps to fuel the expansion of the thin wafer market for logic devices.

Asia-Pacific Garnered the Major Share in 2021

By region, Asia-Pacific contributed to the highest share in 2021, garnering more than one-third of the global thin wafer processing and dicing equipment market revenue. Asia Pacific is the largest and fastest-growing semiconductor market in the world. Significant demand for smartphones and other consumer electronics devices from China, the Republic of Korea, and Singapore is prompting many vendors to set up manufacturing facilities in the region. In the case of India, the recent increase in customs duties on imported electronics is a major factor in attracting Apple and other multinational corporations to establish manufacturing facilities there. More than 90% of the foundries built worldwide in 2017 were located in the Asia-Pacific region, as stated by the SEMI, a prominent global association serving the electronics manufacturing supply chain.

Enquire for Customization with Detailed Analysis of COVID-19 Impact in Report @ https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/request-for-customization/15070

Leading Market Players

Suzhou Delphi Laser Co. Ltd.

Synova

UTAC Holding, Ltd.

Plasma-Therm

Disco Corporation

Neon Tech Co. Ltd.

Panasonic System Solutions

EV Group (EVG)

Lam Research Corporation

SPTS Technologies Ltd.

The report analyzes these key players in the global thin wafer processing and dicing equipment market. These players have adopted various strategies such as expansion, new product launches, partnerships, and others to increase their market penetration and strengthen their position in the industry. The report is helpful in determining the business performance, operating segments, developments, and product portfolios of every market player.

Key Benefits For Stakeholders:

This report provides a quantitative analysis of the market segments, current trends, estimations, and dynamics of the Thin Wafer Processing and Dicing Equipment market analysis and Thin Wafer Processing and Dicing Equipment market outlook from 2021 to 2031 to identify the prevailing Thin Wafer Processing and Dicing Equipment market opportunity.

The market research is offered along with information related to key drivers, restraints, and opportunities.

Porter's five forces analysis highlights the potency of buyers and suppliers to enable stakeholders make profit-oriented business decisions and strengthen their supplier-buyer network.

In-depth analysis of the digital film cameras market segmentation assists to determine the prevailing market opportunities.

Major countries in each region are mapped according to their revenue contribution to the global market.

Market player positioning facilitates benchmarking and provides a clear understanding of the present position of the market players.

The report includes the analysis of the regional as well as global digital cinema cameras market trends, key players, market segments, application areas, and market growth strategies.

Thin Wafer Processing and Dicing Equipment Market Key Segments:

Equipment Type

Thinning Equipment

Dicing Equipment

Wafer Thickness

750 micrometers

120 micrometers

50 micrometers

Wafer Size

Less Than 4 Inch

5 Inch

6 Inch

8 Inch

Application

Memory and Logic

MEMS Devices

Power Devices

Others

Dicing Technology

Blade Dicing

Laser Dicing

Stealth Dicing

Plasma Dicing

Buy this Research Report @ https://bit.ly/3DGScNa

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About Us

Allied Market Research (AMR) is a full-service market research and business-consulting wing of Allied Analytics LLP based in Portland, Oregon. Allied Market Research provides global enterprises as well as medium and small businesses with unmatched quality of 'Market Research Reports' and 'Business Intelligence Solutions'. AMR has a targeted view to provide business insights and consulting to assist its clients to make strategic business decisions and achieve sustainable growth in their respective market domain.

We are in professional corporate relations with various companies and this helps us in digging out market data that helps us generate accurate research data tables and confirms utmost accuracy in our market forecasting. Allied Market Research CEO Pawan Kumar is instrumental in inspiring and encouraging everyone associated with the company to maintain high quality of data and help clients in every way possible to achieve success. Each and every data presented in the reports published by us is extracted through primary interviews with top officials from leading companies of domain concerned. Our secondary data procurement methodology includes deep online and offline research and discussion with knowledgeable professionals and analysts in the industry.

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Proceeds intended to support the development of GenSight Biologics' product portfolio, including the preparation of the LUMEVOQ European launch expected by the end of 2023

Regulatory News:

GenSight Biologics (Euronext: SIGHT, ISIN: FR0013183985, PEA-PME eligible) (the "Company"), a biopharma Company focused on developing and commercializing innovative gene therapies for retinal neurodegenerative diseases and central nervous system disorders, announced today that it has received the payment of EUR 8 million under the first tranche (the "Tranche A") of the unsecured credit facility executed with the European Investment Bank (the "EIB") on November 3, 2022 maturing in November 2027 (the "Credit Facility

"Thanks to this first EUR 8 million tranche of the EIB facility, and the EUR 12 million of Heights Capital's convertible notes announced last December, we have been able to extend our cash runway to May 2023, while minimizing dilution for our shareholders, despite particularly challenging market conditions in 2022," said Thomas Gidoin, Chief Financial Officer of GenSight. "With the EIB Tranche B expected in Q2 2023, our cash runway would be extended from May 2023 to early 2024. We are now focusing our resources on the commercial launch of LUMEVOQ in Europe expected by the end of the year

The Credit Facility provides funding in three tranches of EUR 8 million, EUR 12 million and EUR 15 million, each subject to the fulfillment of certain conditions precedent. All drawdowns under the terms of the Credit Facility that have not been completed within 5 years from the date of signature of the Credit Facility, i.e. November 3, 2027, may not be completed at a later date. No guarantee can be given as to the satisfaction by the Company of the conditions precedent and the completion of the second and third tranches.

The disbursement of Tranche A (with fixed annual interest of 2% and capitalized interest of 5%) was subject to, among other conditions:

the conclusion of an agreement to offer warrants (the " Warrants ") with the EIB on December 22, 2022, and the issuance of the Warrants for Tranche A on January 25, 2023 (as detailed below),

") with the EIB on December 22, 2022, and the issuance of the Warrants for Tranche A on January 25, 2023 (as detailed below), the full repayment of the remaining financing with Kreos (condition met),

the successful production of a pilot batch of LUMEVOQ (condition met on September 19, 2022),

(condition met on September 19, 2022), the decision by the Company to launch the validation batch production campaign (" PPQ ") (condition met), and

") (condition met), and a cash injection of EUR 10 million in cash, in the form of convertible bond equity (to the extent that repayment is subordinated to the EIB debt under the terms of a subordination agreement to be entered into) or licensing revenues, a condition fulfilled by the raising of EUR 10.8 million by the Company through the issuance of bonds convertible into new shares fully subscribed by Heights Capital on December 23, 2022.

The disbursement of EUR 12 million Tranche B is subject to, among other things:

the full drawdown of Tranche A (condition met),

the issue of the warrants relating to Tranche B,

the successful manufacturing campaign of several PPQ batches of LUMEVOQ , and

, and the submission of responses to the Day 120 List of Questions to the European Medicines Agency (EMA) (condition satisfied in October 2022).

On January 25, 2023, the Company issued 1,141,096 Warrants to the EIB, in accordance with the terms of the 24th resolution of the shareholders' meeting held on May 25, 2022 and Article L. 225-138 of the French Commercial Code, as a condition for the financing of Tranche A, representing 2.46% of the Company's current share capital.

The exercise price of the Warrants is equal to EUR 3.4533 and corresponds to 95% of the volume-weighted average price of the Company's ordinary shares over the last five trading days preceding the decision of the competent body of the Company to issue the Warrants.

As previously announced, the Warrants have a maturity of 20 years and will be exercisable only upon the occurrence of certain events (such as upon a change of control or in the event of compulsory redemption of one or more tranches or voluntary redemption of an outstanding amount in respect of a single tranche exceeding 75% of the disbursed amount of such tranche), thus avoiding dilution for existing shareholders in the short term. The Warrants will automatically lapse if not exercised after 20 years.

The EIB also has a call option, as soon as the Warrants become exercisable, to require the Company to repurchase all or part of the exercisable but unexercised Warrants at their face value (up to a limit equal to the amount drawn under the facility). In addition, the Company has a call option on all outstanding Warrants in certain limited circumstances.

Upon exercise of all the Warrants, 1,141,096 new shares of the Company may be issued at a price of EUR 3.4533 per new share, the Company could potentially receive gross proceeds amounting to EUR 3,940,546. There is no guarantee that the EIB will exercise all or part of the Warrants or that the Company will receive any proceeds from the exercise of the Warrants.

About GenSight Biologics

GenSight Biologics S.A. is a clinical-stage biopharma company focused on developing and commercializing innovative gene therapies for retinal neurodegenerative diseases and central nervous system disorders. GenSight Biologics' pipeline leverages two core technology platforms, the Mitochondrial Targeting Sequence (MTS) and optogenetics, to help preserve or restore vision in patients suffering from blinding retinal diseases. GenSight Biologics' lead product candidate, LUMEVOQ (GS010; lenadogene nolparvovec), is an investigational compound and has not been registered in any country at this stage; a marketing authorization application is currently under review by the EMA for the treatment of Leber Hereditary Optic Neuropathy (LHON), a rare mitochondrial disease affecting primarily teens and young adults that leads to irreversible blindness. Using its gene therapy-based approach, GenSight Biologics' product candidates are designed to be administered in a single treatment to each eye by intravitreal injection to offer patients a sustainable functional visual recovery.

About the European Investment Bank (EIB)

The EIB is the European Union (EU) long-term financing institution, and its shareholders are the 27 EU Member States. Its mission is to contribute to the integration, balanced development, and economic and social cohesion of EU Member States. It borrows large volumes of funds from the capital markets and lends them with very favorable terms to support projects which contribute to the achievement of EU objectives. The EIB is working to put the EU at the forefront of the next wave of innovation, especially in the health sector. In response to the Covid-19 health crisis, the EIB has released 6 billion for investments in the health sector to support medical infrastructure, additional research activities or other financing related to vaccines and treatments. As a European bank supporting the climate, the EIB is one of the main fund providers in the green transition towards a more low-carbon and sustainable growth model.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230206005493/en/

Contacts:

GenSight Biologics

Corporate Communications Director

Clothilde Caillet

ccaillet@gensight-biologics.com



LifeSci Advisors

Investor Relations

Guillaume van Renterghem

gvanrenterghem@lifesciadvisors.com

+41 (0)76 735 01 31

RooneyPartners

Media Relations

Jeanene Timberlake

jtimberlake@rooneypartners.com

+1 646-770-8858



Orpheon Finance

Retail Investors

James Palmer

j.palmer@orpheonfinance.com

+33 (0)7 60 92 77 74
HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, KY / ACCESSWIRE / February 6, 2023 / Prys mian Group, the world leader in the energy and telecom cable industry, announced its awards to representative sales agencies during the 2023 National Electronic Manufacturers Representatives Association (NEMRA) Meeting held in Las Vegas, Nevada. Performance awards were presented for accomplishments made during 2022.

"The best manufacturer representative agencies in the electrical industry represent Prysmian Group, and we are proud to recognize our top-performing representatives through this year's awards," said Joe Williams, Vice President of Sales-East, Trades & Installers Business Unit, of Prysmian Group North America. "In evaluating this year's performance and award criteria, it became apparent just how much effort everyone put in to make 2022 an unprecedented year - all of our representative locations drove year-over-year improvements in net sales and profitability."

Each year, Prysmian's Trade & Installers (T&I) Inside Sales associates select the Representative Inside Sales Associate of the Year. For 2022, Shantelle Wischnewsky, Ewing-Foley, received this award for her overall knowledge of Prysmian Group's products, processes, computer systems and markets. Wischnewsky's exemplary customer service, responsiveness and passion for winning contributed to the T&I Gulf Team's year-over-year growth of 18% in metric tons sales and 47% in sales revenue.

Prysmian also presented Director's Club Awards to those who represent the company's T&I product offering and are selected based on obtaining the 2022 business plan objectives. Prysmian is proud to congratulate the 2022 Director's Club award recipients: Burrus & Matthews, Inc.; CC Pierce Company Inc.; Casey Electric Sales Inc.; Core4 Technologies; DeFazio Industries; Electrical Sales Associates, Inc.; Ewing-Foley, Inc.; JAG Electrical Sales; JMA Group Electrical & Lighting Sales; Lester Sales Company; Pacific Western Agencies; Stone Sales Agency; Electrical Sales Associates, Inc.; Thea Enterprises and United Electrical Sales.

The final award presented was the prestigious Representative of the Year award. To achieve this honor, the representative sales agency must first be a member of the Director's Club for the year and then have gone on to achieve spectacular results. The winner of the 2022 Representative of the Year award was Electrical Sales Associates, Inc (ESA). ESA covers the state of Maryland, the District of Columbia, and Northern Virginia with a team of 18 employees.

"ESA's value extends from the specification stage through installation," said Williams. "Their familiarity within their trading area and of our products and their technical knowledge provide exceptional support to distributors, contractors, engineers and end users."

Prysmian Group North America

Prysmian Group is a multinational company headquartered in Milan, specializing in the production of cable and systems for use in the energy and telecom industries. Prysmian is the largest cable producer in the world with 30,000 associates and $16 billion in sales. Prysmian is present in North America with 28 plants, 48 in Europe, 13 in Latin America, 7 in the Middle East, Africa and Turkey, and 13 in Asia-Pacific.

Based in Highland Heights, Ky., Prysmian Group North America operations include 28 manufacturing facilities, eight distribution centers, six R&D centers, and more than 6,000 associates with net sales of $6 billion. Additional information is available at na.prysmiangroup.com.

Media Relations

Lauren Kane

External Communications Manager

lauren.kane@prysmiangroup.com

SOURCE: Prysmian Group

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/738231/Prysmian-Group-Announces-Electrical-Distribution-Channel-Award-Winners-at-the-2023-NEMRA-Meeting
EQS-News: Rand Merchant Bank (RMB) / Key word(s): Miscellaneous

Rand Merchant Bank (RMB) to facilitate business flows into Africa through establishment of United States (US) presence



06.02.2023 / 19:30 CET/CEST

The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.





Rand Merchant Bank (RMB) to facilitate business flows into Africa through establishment of United States (US) presence

Rand Merchant Bank (RMB) (www.RMB.co.za) is now operating from a New York based representative office, to facilitate greater US business flows into the African continent. RMB's parent, FirstRand Bank, has received all necessary approvals from the United States Federal Reserve Board and New York State Department of Financial Services.

RMB CEO Emrie Brown said that foreign investors are increasingly turning to Africa, with its vast natural resources, extensive markets, young population, and excellent technological prospects. The African Continental Free Trade Area agreement will also ease access into Africa, stimulate intra-regional trade and boost growth.

Said Brown: "The new office will link investors in the United States with Africa's extensive business opportunities. As an established, on-the-ground corporate and investment bank with offices across the African continent, we understand the challenges and regulatory environments for business success in Africa. We are particularity well-placed to drive investment into the continent thanks to the advisory expertise we have developed since RMB's establishment in 1984."

Brown added that the bank will work with US-headquartered multinational corporations with African subsidiaries, non-governmental corporations, as well as US corporates with no African presence that intend to engage in business or establish themselves in Africa.

Albert Maartens, who heads up the US operations, said that the new office will enable RMB to spend more time with key corporate and institutional decision-makers and facilitate assistance to and communication with US corporates looking to expand into Africa.

Said Maartens: "RMB will be able to act as trusted adviser for our existing and future US clients so that they can take advantage of our innovative product offerings within the environment in which they wish to operate. As a division of FirstRand Bank, we can offer investors longer tenors due to our large capital base, access to deep expertise on the continent, an impeccable compliance record and due diligence skills and processes that are firmly in place."

RMB's product and services offering will include the full spectrum of corporate and investment banking products such as M& advisory, lending, equity and debt capital markets, custody, foreign exchange (FX), derivative hedging instruments and cash management. These will be offered across multiple sectors and industries in sub-Saharan Africa, such as mining and minerals, logistics, consumer goods, fintech, healthcare, energy and infrastructure.

"RMB has exceptional talent, focused on providing clients with distinctive service and deep African expertise. We are passionate about entrenching ourselves in the new jurisdictions in which we choose to operate - and about having a positive impact on the business of our clients we serve," concluded Brown.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Rand Merchant Bank.

Issued by:

Rand Merchant Bank

Johannesburg, South Africa

(GMT+2)

Contact:

Mark Chiaviello

Managing Director, RMB Representative Office

Mark.Chiaviello@rmbcibusa.com

https://www.RMBcibusa.com

About RMB:

Rand Merchant Bank (RMB) is a leading African corporate and investment bank (CIB) and part of the largest financial services group (by market capitalisation) in Africa - FirstRand Bank Limited (which is wholly owned by FirstRand Limited). We offer our clients innovative, value-added advisory, funding, trading, corporate banking and principal investing solutions.

With a presence in 10 African countries, we have a significant footprint on the continent. We also have access to a network of retail banks, representative offices and branches across Africa, the UK, India and the US.

At RMB we are passionate about solving problems for our clients by asking the hard questions. We challenge accepted thinking. We analyse and seek solutions beyond the obvious. We are innovative in our thinking and turn challenges into opportunities, while delivering on Traditional values. Innovative ideas.

Our ability to think differently, our collaborative spirit, our client-centric solutions and our belief that great minds don't always have to think alike, is what sets us apart. For more information please visit: www.RMB.co.za

06.02.2023 CET/CEST Dissemination of a Corporate News, transmitted by EQS News - a service of EQS Group AG.

The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.



The EQS Distribution Services include Regulatory Announcements, Financial/Corporate News and Press Releases.

Archive at www.eqs-news.com


VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / February 6, 2023 / The Power Play by The Market Herald has announced the release of new interviews with CanadaBis Capital, Callinex Mines and Datametrex AI discussing their latest news.

The Power Play by The Market Herald provides investors with a quick snapshot of what they need to know about the company's latest press release through exclusive insights and interviews with company executives.

CanadaBis Capital (TSXV:CANB) provides shareholder update

CanadaBis reported a 400 per cent increase in employees over the past nine months. YOY revenue growth, with a 178 per cent increase in Q1/23 net revenue EPS of $0.01 in Q1/23. Travis McIntyre, CEO of CanadaBis, met with Shoran Devi to discuss the company's success.

For the full interview with Travis McIntyre and to learn about CanadaBis, click here.

Callinex (TSXV:CNX) welcomes former HudBay CEO Peter R. Jones to the Technical Team

Callinex (CNX) has outlined 2023 exploration targets at its Pine Bay Project in Manitoba's Flin Flon District. Peter has over 50 years of mining industry experience. Callinex Mines is advancing a portfolio of base and precious metal deposits in established Canadian mining jurisdictions. President and CEO Max Porterfield spoke with Shoran Devi about Peter's appointment.

For the full interview with Max Porterfield and to learn about Callinex, click here.

Datametrex (TSXV:DM) announces $700,000 renewal contract from LOTTE Data Communications

Datametrex AI (DM) has received a renewal service contract from LOTTE Data Communications valued at approximately C$700,000. LOTTE Group is the fifth-largest conglomerate in Korea, with annual revenues of US$60 billion. CEO Marshall Gunter met with Shoran Devi to discuss the company's plans to expand services and bring in more technology-driven contracts this 2023.

For the full interview with Marshall Gunter and to learn about Datametrex AI, click here.

Interviews for The Power Play by The Market Herald are released daily. To learn more about the companies featured in The Power Play or to explore our other interviews visit? The Power Play by The Market Herald.

About The Market Herald

The Market Herald Canada is the leading source of authoritative breaking stock market news for self-directed investors. Our team of Canadian markets reporters, editors and technologists covers the entire listed company universe in Canada. We cover over 3,985 businesses, their people, their investors, and their customers. We write the stories that move the Canadian capital markets.

DISCLAIMER: Report Card Canada Media Ltd. ("Report Card") is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Market Herald Limited, an Australian company ("Market Herald"). Report Card is not an advisory service, and does not offer, buy, sell, or provide any other rating, analysis or opinion on the securities we discuss. We are retained and compensated by the companies that we provide information on to assist them with making information available to the public. All information available on themarketherald.ca and/or this press release should be considered as commercial advertisement and not an endorsement, offer or recommendation to buy or sell securities. Report Card is not registered with any financial or securities regulatory authority in any province or territory of Canada, will not be performing any registerable activity as defined by the applicable regulatory bodies and do not provide nor claim to provide investment advice or recommendations to any visitor of this site or readers of any content on or originating from themarketherald.ca. Market Herald and/or its affiliates and/or their respective officers, directors or employees may from time to time acquire, hold or sell securities and/or commodities and/or commodity futures contracts in certain underlying companies mentioned in this site and which may also be clients of Market Herald's affiliates. In such instances, Market Herald and/or its affiliates and/or their respective officers, directors or employees will use all reasonable efforts to avoid engaging in activities that would lead to conflicts of interest and Market Herald and/or its affiliates will use all reasonable efforts to comply with conflicts of interest disclosures and regulations to minimize any conflict. All the information on this document and/or the website - themarketherald.ca - is published in good faith and for general information purpose only. Report Card does not make any warranties about the completeness, reliability, and accuracy of this information. Any action you take upon the information you find on this document and/or website (themarketherald.ca) is strictly at your own risk. Report Card will not be liable for any losses and/or damages in connection with the use of our website. From our website, you can visit other websites by following hyperlinks to such external sites. While we strive to provide only quality links to useful and ethical websites, we have no control over the content and nature of these sites. These links to other websites do not imply a recommendation for all the content found on these sites. Site owners and content may change without notice and may occur before we have the opportunity to remove a link which may have gone 'bad'. Please be also aware that when you leave our website, other sites may have different privacy policies and terms which are beyond our control. Please be sure to check the Privacy Policies of these sites as well as their "Terms of Service" before engaging in any business or uploading any information.

CONTACT:

The Market Herald

marketing@themarketherald.ca

themarketherald.ca

SOURCE:?The Market Herald

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/738280/The-Power-Play-by-The-Market-Herald-Releases-New-Interviews-with-CanadaBis-Capital-Callinex-Mines-and-Datametrex-AI-Discussing-Their-Latest-News
Cranbrook, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - February 6, 2023) - DLP Resources Inc. (TSXV: DLP) (OTCQB: DLPRF) (the "Company") is pleased to announce that it has closed its previously announced non-brokered private placement (the "Private Placement"), whereby the Company has completed the issuance of 5,203,814 units (each, a "Unit") at a price of $0.27 per Unit for gross proceeds of $1,405,029.78.

Each Unit consists of one common share in the capital of the Company (a "Share") and one common share purchase warrant of the Company (a "Warrant"). Each Warrant entitles the holder to purchase one common share in the capital of the Company (a "Warrant Share") for a period of two (2) years from the date of issue at an exercise price of $0.40 per Warrant Share, subject to acceleration in the event that the trading price of the Shares equals or exceeds $0.50 for a period of 10 consecutive days.

In connection with the Private Placement, the Company issued 261,835 finder's warrants (the "Finder's Warrants") and paid commissions of $70,695.45. Each Finder's Warrant entitles the holder, on exercise thereof, to acquire one additional Share at a price of $0.27 per Share for a period of two (2) years from the date of issuance.

The securities offered in the Private Placement are subject to a four month and a day transfer restriction from the date of issuance expiring on June 7, 2023, in addition to such other restrictions as may apply under applicable securities laws of jurisdictions outside Canada.

The Company intends to use the proceeds of the Private Placement for funding the Company's Peru projects and general office and administration requirements.

This news release does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy nor shall there be any sale of any of the securities in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful, including any of the securities in the United States of America. The securities have not been and will not be registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "1933 Act") or any state securities laws and may not be offered or sold within the United States or to, or for account or benefit of, U.S. Persons (as defined in Regulation S under the 1933 Act) unless registered under the 1933 Act and applicable state securities laws, or an exemption from such registration requirements is available.

Not for distribution to U.S. news wire services or dissemination in the United States.

About DLP Resources Inc.

DLP Resources Inc. is a mineral exploration company operating in Southeastern British Columbia, exploring for Base Metals and Cobalt. DLP is listed on the TSX-V, trading symbol DLP and on the OTCQB, trading symbol DLPRF. Please refer to our web site www.dlpresourcesinc.com for additional information.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT: DLP Resources Inc.

Ian Gendall, CEO & President

Jim Stypula, Executive Chairman

Robin Sudo, CFO & Corporate Secretary

Max Reinhart, Investor Relations

Telephone: 250-426-7808

Email: iangendall@dlpresourcesinc.com

Email: jimstypula@dlpresourcesinc.com

Email: robinsudo@dlpresourcesinc.com

Email: maxreinhart@dlpresourcesinc.com

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Information

This release includes certain statements and information that may constitute forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities laws. Forward-looking statements relate to future events or future performance and reflect the expectations or beliefs of management of the Company regarding future events. Generally, forward-looking statements and information can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "intends" or "anticipates", or variations of such words and phrases or statements that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "should", "would" or "occur". This information and these statements, referred to herein as "forward-looking statements", are not historical facts, are made as of the date of this news release and include without limitation, statements regarding discussions of future plans, estimates and forecasts and statements as to management's expectations and intentions with respect to, among other things, the use of the proceeds raised under the Private Placement.

These forward-looking statements involve numerous risks and uncertainties and actual results might differ materially from results suggested in any forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, among other things, market uncertainty and that the Company will not use the proceeds of the Private Placement as currently anticipated.

In making the forward-looking statements in this news release, the Company has applied several material assumptions, including without limitation, that the Company will use the proceeds of the Private Placement as currently anticipated.

Although management of the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking statements or forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements and forward-looking information. Readers are cautioned that reliance on such information may not be appropriate for other purposes. The Company does not undertake to update any forward-looking statement, forward-looking information or financial out-look that are incorporated by reference herein, except in accordance with applicable securities laws. We seek safe harbor.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/153831
PERRYSBURG, OH / ACCESSWIRE / February 6, 2023 / O-I Glass, Inc. ("O-I Glass" or "O-I") has adopted a holistic, systems-based approach to addressing sustainability. This approach has gained recognition among key ratings, rankings, and certification entities, including an upgrade by EcoVadis, a significant award by Sustainalytics, and inclusion in America's Most Responsible Companies by Newsweek.

O-I Glass awarded EcoVadis Gold rating

Sustainalytics awards O-I ESG Regional Top-Rated performer

Newsweek names O-I among America's Most Responsible Companies 2023

"We are proud of our sustainable advancements and our 24,000 passionate glassmakers that drive our progress each day," said Andres Lopez, Chief Executive Officer for O-I. "As we strive to be the most innovative, sustainable, and chosen supplier of brand-building packaging solutions, we are building a strong, resilient organization designed for the future. These accolades reflect the positive impacts resulting from our commitment to transform how we manufacture glass and advance our overall sustainability."

EcoVadis, a global provider of business sustainability ratings, has awarded O-I Glass a Gold rating, placing the company in the top 5 percent of assessed companies. EcoVadis assessment focuses on 21 sustainability criteria that are grouped into four themes: environment, labor and human rights, ethics, and sustainable procurement. O-I has maintained strong performances in the first three categories, while the company's significant progress in sustainable procurement drove the upgrade to a Gold rating.

"Sustainable procurement has benefitted from continuous engagement with our customers, suppliers, employees, and communities to align our focus with the evolving needs of an ever-changing ecosystem," said Randy Burns, Chief Sustainability and Corporate Affairs Officer for O-I. "Partnering with our stakeholders has created more resilient supply chains that complement our increased energy efficiency, fuel upgrades on our furnaces and right weighting of our packaging."

Sustainalytics, a Morningstar company and leading environmental, social and governance (ESG) research, ratings, and data firm, has recognized O-I as an ESG Regional Top-Rated performer for the second year in a row. As an ESG Regional Top-Rated performer, O-I is recognized as a strong outperformer in managing ESG risks with a "low risk" score. Sustainalytics is a provider of analytical environmental, social, and governance research, rating, and data to institutional investors and companies. The Top-Rated ESG designation is awarded annually to companies that excel at managing their ESG Risk Ratings.

O-I was also ranked by Newsweek among America's Most Responsible Companies for 2023. This important recognition is presented by Newsweek and Statista Inc., a leading statistics portal and industry ranking provider. The list spotlights 500 leaders in sustainability among the U.S.'s largest public corporations across a dozen industries.

"O-I is reimagining and reinventing the business model for glass packaging built around our commitment to innovation, transformation, engagement and sustainability," said Burns. "Our strategy continues to focus on translating our global goals into actionable local objectives and then partnering with customers, suppliers, and communities to achieve our collective sustainable ambitions."

Read more about O-I's progress in its sustainability journey by downloading the full report at O-I.com/Sustainability.

ABOUT O-I Glass

At O-I Glass, Inc. (NYSE: OI), we love glass and we're proud to be one of the leading producers of glass bottles and jars around the globe. Glass is not only beautiful, it's also pure, healthy and completely recyclable, making it the most sustainable rigid packaging material. Headquartered in Perrysburg, Ohio (USA), O-I is the preferred partner for many of the world's leading food and beverage brands. We innovate in line with customers' needs to create iconic packaging that builds brands around the world. Led by our diverse team of approximately 24,000 people across 70 plants in 19 countries, O-I achieved revenues of $6.4 billion in 2021. Recognizing the tremendous benefits of glass, the United Nations has designated 2022 as the International Year of Glass to celebrate the past, present, and future of this transformative material. Learn more about us: o-i.com / Facebook / Twitter / Instagram / LinkedIn

View additional multimedia and more ESG storytelling from O-I Glass, Inc. on 3blmedia.com.

Contact:

Jim Woods

Public Relations Lead

James.Woods@o-i.com

724.732.5748

Spokesperson: O-I Glass, Inc.

Website: https://www.3blmedia.com/profiles/o-i-glass-inc

Email: info@3blmedia.com

SOURCE: O-I Glass, Inc.

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/738279/O-I-Sustainable-Transformation-Achieving-Key-Recognitions
Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - February 6, 2023) - Goldstorm Metals Corp. (TSXV: GSTM) is pleased to announce that the company is presenting a live virtual corporate update hosted by Red Cloud Financial Services on February 9th, 2023 at 2:00 pm ET.

We invite our shareholders, and all interested parties to register for the webinar and participate in the live Q&A session at the end of the presentation moderated by Red Cloud.

The replay will be emailed out to all webinar registrants proceeding the event and will also be available on the Red Cloud website.

For more information and to register: https://redcloudfs.com/rcwebinar-gstm/.

Commodities to be covered: Gold, Silver, Copper, Lead and Zinc

About Goldstorm Metals Corp.

Goldstorm Metals Corp. is a new precious and base metals exploration company with a large strategic land position in the Golden Triangle of British Columbia, an area that hosts some of the largest and highest-grade gold deposits in the world. Goldstorm's flagship Crown Project covers approximately a total of 16,469 hectares; situated directly south of Seabridge's KSM gold-copper deposits and Newcrest Gold's Brucejack/Valley of the Kings gold mine.

About Red Cloud Financial Services Inc.

Red Cloud Financial Services Inc. is a comprehensive capital markets platform that provides a full range of unconflicted corporate access and media related services. Offering these services as a unified platform provides the ultimate value proposition for junior resources companies in their efforts to broaden their capital markets presence.

About Red Cloud Securities Inc.

Red Cloud Securities Inc. is an IIROC-regulated investment dealer focused on providing unique comprehensive capital market services and innovative financing alternatives to the junior resource sector. The company was founded by capital markets professionals with extensive experience in the junior mining industry.

For further information:

Goldstorm Metals Corp.

Ken Konkin, President & CEO

6045598092

info@goldstormmetals.com

For additional information contact marketing@redcloudfs.com or visit:

www.redcloudfs.com

www.facebook.com/RedCloudFinancialServices

www.twitter.com/RedCloudFS

www.linkedin.com/company/red-cloud-financial-services-inc

www.youtube.com/c/RedCloudFinancialServicesInc

www.instagram.com/redcloudfs
Dianosic, a Strasbourg, France-based deeptech company specializing in the development of innovative solutions for the treatment of ENT conditions, raised 4.7M in funding.

Backers included Wiseed, Fondation Force, and Bpifrances deeptech.

The company intends to use the funds to finance its preclinical in vivo study and launch the phase I clinical trial of its ARIS-R solution for the treatment of chronic allergic rhinitis. In parallel, the company will also continue to develop treatment options for chronic sinusitis (with its ARIS-S solution) and explore other potential applications in the field of ENT. Additionally, the new funding will be used to enhance the technical capability of the team.

Co-founded by president Marc Augustin and CEO Philippe Bastide, Dianosic specializes in the development of innovative treatment solutions for debilitating ENT conditions. The company is also behind the CE-marked and FDA-registered CAVI-T medical device, an asymmetrical intranasal balloon designed to stop spontaneous or post-operative bleeding with low pressure compression. This device has been commercially available in Europe and the Middle East since 2021.

Prof. Christian Debry, the third co-founder and head of the ENT  Head & Neck Surgery Department at Strasbourg University Hospital, acts as a scientific advisor to the company.

Dianosic was co-incubated by SEMIA and Quest for health.

FinSMEs

06/02/2023
Minviro, a London, UK-based sustainability consulting and advisory group providing a SaaS technology platform, raised 2.1M in funding.

The backers were not disclosed.

The company intends to use the funds to expand into key markets, including Asia, Australia and the Americas, and develop local operational presence to serve a rapidly growing global client base.

Led by Dr Robert Pell, Founder & Chief Executive Officer, Minviro provides a SaaS technology platform for life cycle assessment (LCA) and related services for project optimization in the energy transition sector spanning from raw materials, through mining to processing and downstream value-added sectors. The company has a team of 20 employees and customer including the likes of Tesla, Pilbara, Livent, and South32.

FinSMEs

06/02/2023
Pathify, a Denver, OH-based provider of student portals for colleges and universities, received funding from Brex Asset Management.

The amount of the deal was not disclosed.

The company intends to use the funds to scale its product suite and deepen integrations with strategic partners, all while maintaining its customer success and support.

Led by Chief Executive Officer Chase Williams, Pathify delivers a cloud-based, integration-friendly technology platform to push personalized information, content, and resources to the right people, at the right time, drive engagement and create experiences across the entire student lifecycle, from prospects to alumni.

FinSMEs

06/02/2023
Theta Capital Management, an Amsterdam, Netherlands-based firm which specializes in hedge funds and crypto-native venture capital, launched its Third Theta Blockchain Ventures vehicle.

Theta Blockchain Ventures III is a 10 year venture capital fund dedicated to seed stage VC investments in blockchain technology. The final close for it is planned for March 31st.

The fund plans to invest in the core blockchain infrastructure at the earliest stages. It is a continuation of Thetas Fund of Funds program investing in crypto-native VCs. The firm has deployed over $500m to date backing many companies and protocols from the earliest stages through its wide network of specialised VC firms.

Founded in 2001, Theta Capital Management is a specialist in alternative strategies and has been among the earliest and largest institutional investors globally to invest in blockchain technology. Its domain expertise has made it the preferred partner of many crypto-native VCs as well as underlying crypto projects.

FinSMEs

02/06/2023
Pulitzer-Prize-winning Forum speaker, Michael Moss, to discuss America's junk food addiction

Flagler College Forum on Government and Public Policy will host Michael Moss to present his public lecture entitled, Hooked: The Science behind Americas Fast-Food Addiction. Moss will speak on Thursday, March 2, at 7 p.m. in the Lewis Auditorium. This lecture is free and open to the public.

As an author, reporter, and journalist Moss will focus his presentation on his New York Times #1 bestseller book Salt, Sugar Fat: How the Food Giants Hooked Us, and his book Hooked: Food, Free Will and How the Food Giants Exploit Our Addictions. These prominent works by Moss explore the science behind how America's fast food and junk food industries become addictively dangerous.

Along with his success in long-form writing, Moss also has a prolific career in journalism. Before launching a career with The New York Times in 2000, he was a reporter for The Wall Street Journal, New York Newsday, and The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Moss received the 2010 Explanatory Reporting Pulitzer Prize for his 2009 investigative coverage of food safety issues, mainly contaminated meat. The coverage that earned him this prize included headlines like The Burger that Shattered Her Life, and Food Safety Problems Elude Private Inspectors.

And in 2006, Moss was a finalist for the National Reporting Pulitzer Prize based on stories reporting the bureaucratic inertia that led to the fatal injury of American soldiers in Iraq who lacked protective armor.

If you are a person with a disability and need a reasonable accommodation, please contact Jamie Saul at 904-826-8716. Sign Language Interpreters are available upon request with a minimum of three days' notice. Call 904-826-8677 or visit www.flagler.edu/forum for more information.

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TECNO recently showed off the PHANTOM Vision V, a sliding screen foldable smartphone concept Today, the company has confirmed the launch of PHANTOM V Fold, a foldable phone at its MWC 2023 event on February 28th.

The company said that it will be the worlds first left-right foldable smartphone to be powered by MediaTek Dimensity 9000+ processor and added that it will set a new standard for premium user experience with incredible performance capabilities.

The company recently launched the PHANTOM X2 Pro series powered by Dimensity 9000 chip. TECNO said that its partnership with MediaTek extends to MWC Barcelona 2023, where there will be close interaction between the brands, while the groundbreaking new PHANTOM V Fold powered by MediaTek Dimensity 9000+ processor will also be officially launched at the event.

The official launch on February 28 starts at 15:30 CET (8PM IST) happens in Hall 6, Theatre 1, Fira Gran Via.

Jack Guo, General Manager of TECNO, said:

We are delighted to be marking another exciting and important milestone together with MediaTek with the launch of the PHANTOM V Fold. In developing the worlds first left-right foldable smartphone to be equipped with MediaTek Dimensity 9000+ processor, we are underlining our firm belief in the ability of this partnership to continue delivering unparalleled experiences to our customers around the world.

Finbarr Moynihan, Vice President, Corporate Marketing of MediaTek, said:

The MediaTek Dimensity 9000+ processor provides the foundation of excellent performance needed for the smartphones of today. This chip enables TECNO to bring the PHANTOM V Fold to market with a powerful flagship experience, and we look forward to the continuation of this valuable collaboration.
POCO launched its X5 Pro 5G smartphone in India today as the successor to last years X4 Pro smartphone. This has an 120Hz AMOLED screen, 5000mAh battery and packs 67W fast charging, similar to the predecessor, but this has a faster Snapdragon 778G SoC and a new 108MP camera. Is the phone worth the price? Let us dive into the review to find out.

Box Contents

POCO X4 Pro 5G 8GB + 256GB in Astral Black colour

67W fast charger

USB Type-C Cable

SIM Ejector tool

Clear protective case

Screen protector (Pre-installed)

User guide

Display, Hardware and Design

Starting with the display, the POCO X5 Pro has a 6.67-inch Full HD+ Pro Xfinity AMOLED display with a pixel resolution of 2400  1080 pixels, 20:9 aspect ratio 2.5D curved glass screen and a pixel density of about 394 PPI. The display is bright, thanks to 900 nits brightness in high brightness mode, which is enabled when you are watching HDR content. It supports DCI-P3 wide colour gamut, so the colours are vibrant.

It has 120Hz display refresh rate and 240Hz touch sampling rate, which when enabled offers a buttery smooth user experience, especially when you are scrolling through the UI and when gaming. This has adaptive refresh rate, so it can switch between 30Hz, 60Hz, 90Hz and 120Hz depending on the content. It also has HDR 10+ support, which works for YouTube and Netflix. There is also Dolby Vision support that works for Netflix. This is rarely seen in phones in the price range. The phone comes with Corning Gorilla Glass 5 protection.

Under the display options, there are different options to adjust colours and contrast based on your preference, reading mode that lets you reduce the displays blue light emission. There is Dark mode. It also has, 1920Hz High Frequency PWM Dimming which is automatically enabled to reduce flicker in low brightness.

The phone has an always-on-display option, which can be enabled from display settings. This doesnt consume a lot of power since this is an AMOLED screen, but the company says that it increases the power consumption, so it turns off automatically when the phone stays dark for a long time or battery saver restrictions are applied.

The phone has a tiny punch-hole that houses a 16-megapixel camera, which doesnt disturb when watching videos since it just occupies a small space. Above the display there is an earpiece on the top edge which also doubles up as a secondary speaker. The phone also has the usual set of proximity and ambient light sensors, as well as a gyroscope and a magnetic sensor, otherwise known as a magnetometer.

The phone has 2.9mm ultra-narrow bottom bezel which is good, but the realme 10 Pro+ has 2.33 mm bottom bezel which is smaller, also has a 61 curved screen and 2160Hz PWM dimming.

Coming to the button placements, the volume rockers and the power button that integrates the fingerprint sensor are present on the right side of the phone. The dual SIM slot, loudspeaker grill, primary microphone and USB Type-C port are present on the bottom. On the top there is a 3.5mm audio jack, vent for speaker, secondary microphone and an infrared sensor.

Since the phone has a polycarbonate frame, you dont see any antenna cutouts. The phone features an X-axis linear vibration motor, which enables custom vibration patterns across the UI for the best haptic experience. The predecessor had a hybrid SIM slot, but this lacks an expandable storage.

Even though the phone has a large screen, it is easy to hold since it is 76mm wide. It is also just 7.9mm thick and the weight distribution is good at 181 grams.

We have the Astral Black colour, and the phone also comes in POCO Yellow

and Horizon Blue colours. It has a polycarbonate back with a smooth matte finish, but the area near the camera has a glossy finish which is prone to fingerprints. The phone also has IP53 ratings that you rarely see in other phones in the range.

Camera

50MP main camera with 1/1.52 Samsung ISOCELL HM2 sensor, f/1.9 aperture

8MP 120 ultra-wide angle camera with Samsung S5K4H7 sensor, f/2.2 aperture

2MP macro camera, with OmniVision OV02B10 sensor, f/2.4 aperture

16MP front camera, f/2.45 aperture

The camera UI is familiar with other Xiaomi or POCO smartphones. You get all the features such as Pro, Night, 1080MP, Short Video, Panorama, VLOG, Slow motion, Time-lapse, Dual video, AI watermark, Long exposure and Pro mode lets you adjust white balance, focus, shutter speed (1/4000s to 30 seconds), ISO (50 to 6400) and option to select main, ultra-wide and macro lens. You can also shoot in RAW in Pro mode and enable focus peaking, exposure verification and more options. The company has enabled Cam2API by default, so you can side-load ported Google Camera APKs for advanced editing, including RAW capture.

Coming to the image quality, daylight shots came out well with good dynamic range. After pixel binning technology, you get 12MP output. HDR shots are better with improved dynamic range. 8MP wide-angle shots are decent. 108MP mode that offers a lot of details. Even though there is no telephoto lens, it uses the software for offering up to 10x digital zoom. This is like taking an image and cropping up later. Even in the 2x zoom, images start to lose details, so it is not recommended going beyond 2x if you dont want to lose details. The dedicated 2MP macro sensor is average. Edge detection in decent portrait shots, even thought it lacks a dedicated portrait camera.

Low-light shots are good, and the night mode is better, but the Redmi Note 12 Pro with a Sony IM766 sensor offers better low-light images. Images with flash are good, and the flash is not overpowering. Daylight front camera shots from the 16-megapixel front camera are decent, but not the best even in daylight conditions due to the tiny sensor. Output is 16MP in resolution. Portrait shots have decent edge detection, even though it is done using software.

Check out the camera samples.

It can record videos at 4k resolution at 30 fps, 1080p at up to 60 fps, and it also has slow motion 1080p at up to 120 fps and 720p resolution video recording at up to 960fps, but this should be 240 fps converted into 960fps. You can also shoot 1080p videos using the ultra-wide and 720p video using macro camera. Front camera supports up to 1080p 60fps recording. It doesnt have OIS, so the stabilization is not the best.

Software, UI and Apps

It runs Android 12 out of the box, with MIUI 14 on top. It has December 2022 Android security patch recently. The company said it will get 2 years of Android OS updates and 3 years of security updates. MIUI 14 brings several improvements, making the user experience smoother.

Since the phone has an infrared sensor for remote function, it comes with Mi Remote that lets you control your home appliances easily. Out of 8GB LPDDR4X RAM, you get 7.1GB of usable RAM, and about 3GB of RAM is free when default apps are running in the background. It also has up to 5GB of memory extension or virtual RAM, which you can disable from additional settings. Out of 256GB, you get about 224GB of free storage. It has UFS 2.2 storage, and we got sequential read speeds of 939.86MB/s.

Apart from the usual set of utility apps, Google apps and POCOs own set of apps, it comes preloaded with Amazon Shopping, Facebook, Prime Video, Netflix, LinkedIn, Zili, Spotify and Snapchat, Moj and Bubble Shoot apps. It also asks for additional app installation during setup, which you can skip. You can easily uninstall these apps, but these come up when you reset the phone. Even though there is personalized ads option during set up and recommendations in all the apps, you dont get any ads in apps.

Fingerprint sensor and Face unlock

Even though it has an AMOLED screen, the phone has a fingerprint sensor on the ride side, embedded into the power button. It immediately unlocks the phone just by keeping your finger on the power button so that you dont have to press it. This is more convenient compared to the rear-mounted fingerprint scanner and faster than the in-display fingerprint scanner. You can add up to 5 fingerprints.

You can also use the fingerprint for app local and payments in apps. There are also some gesture features in the power button that lets you double tap to perform actions such as take a screenshot, turn on torch, launch camera, enable silent mode, and more. The phone also has face unlock, but it is not as secure as fingerprint since it can be unlocked with a photo.

Music Player and Multimedia

The Mi Music Player is the default music player with usual Xiaomi audio effects and equalizer. Audio through the speaker is loud. Since the phone has stereo speakers, audio is pretty loud. Audio through earphones is good as well. There is Dolby Atmos and Hi-Fi audio that enhances the audio performance. It doesnt have FM Radio.

It has Widevine L1 support, so you can play HD content on Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and other streaming apps without any issues. The phone also supports Dolby Vision content in Netflix.

Dual SIM and Connectivity

It supports 5G, and has support for SA / NSA bands n1/n3/n5/n8/n28/n40/n78 and works with Jio and Airtel 5G out of the box. The phone supports 5G carrier aggregation as well. Other connectivity options include Dual-Band Wi-Fi 6 802.11 ac. It has VoWiFi / Wi-Fi calling support, Bluetooth 5.2 LE, Dual GPS/AGPS, Glonass, Beidou, but it doesnt have NFC. It also has USB OTG support that lets you connect USB drives. Call quality is good, and we did not face any call drops and the earpiece volume was loud.

The POCO X5 Pro 5Gs body SAR is 0.868 W/Kg (Distance 15mm) and head SAR is at 0.862/Kg, which is well under the limit of 1.6 W/kg (over 1 g) in India.

Performance and Benchmarks

This is the one of the few phones in the price range to be powered by Snapdragon 778G 6nm Mobile Platform that uses Qualcomm Kryo 670 CPUs. It has 4 x A78-based Kryo 670 Performance CPU clocked at 2.4GHz and 4 x A55-based Kryo 670 Efficiency CPUs clocked at up to 1.80GHz.

The Adreno 642L GPU offers a smooth gaming performance even in graphic intensive games, and the phone doesnt get too hot even during long hours of gaming. The phone gets a bit warm on intensive gaming, but it doesnt too hot, thanks to 12 layer graphite sheet. We did not face any issues or frame drops in the graphic-intensive games like COD (Supports Very High Graphics + Max Frame rate), BGMI (Supports HDR Graphics + Ultra Frame rate) and Genshin Impact. It reached maximum 41 in our testing indoors in Wi-Fi, but this might vary outdoors in 4G. That said, check out some synthetic benchmark scores below

Battery life

Coming to the battery life, the phone has a 5000mAh (typical) built-in battery that lasts for a day even with heavy use, and with average use it lasts for more than a day, thanks to optimization in the MIUI 14. I got over 6 hours of screen on time with over a day of use in 120Hz refresh rate.

Since the phone has support for 67W fast charging, it can charge up to 50% in 15 minutes and up to 100% in about 46 minutes with the bundled 67W charger.

Conclusion

At a starting price of Rs. 22,999, the POCO X5 Pro 5G is a good upgrade to the X4 Pro with a new display feaures that include adaptive refresh rate, Dolby Vision and 1920Hz High Frequency PWM Dimming.

The Snapdragon 778G offers a good performance and gaming performance compared to the Snapdragon 695 in the predecessor. It is also better than the Dimensity 1080 present in the Redmi Note 12 Pro. However, the 108MP sensor offers avearge low-light performance compared to Note 12 Pros 50MP IM766 and this also lacks OIS. Even though it has MIUI 14, the phone still runs Android 12.

Alternatives

The Redmi Note 12 Pro is a good alertnative for those who need a better camera by spending more. The POCO F4 is now cheaper and comes with Snapdragon 870 SoC for a better gaming experience if you spend more.

Availability

The POCO X5 Pro 5G is priced at Rs. 22,999 for the 6GB + 128GB model and the 8GB + 256GB model costs Rs. 24,999. It will be available from Flipkart starting from 13th February. There is a Rs. 2000 instant discount for ICICI Bank credit or debit card and EMI users.

Pros

120Hz AMOLED display with Dolby Vision

Smooth performance and good gaming performance

Stereo speakers with Dolby Atmos

IP53 water-resistant body

Good battery life

Cons

Average Low-light camer

Runs Android 12 at launch
Nokia has launched Wavence microwave solutions to expand 5G network coverage in urban and rural areas. Recently, Nokia also signed a cross-license patent agreement with Samsung after the previous one expired in 2022.

Nokia Wavence microwave solutions

Nokia has introduced the UBT-m XP, the latest product in its Wavence line, to provide premium coverage in urban and rural areas for mobile operators and enterprises. The UBT-m XP is a high-capacity outdoor unit with a compact design and high transmit power, ideal for urban microwave transport.

Our new high-performance microwave transport solutions allow mobile operators and enterprises extend the reach of #5G deployments as well as helping them meet their #EnergyEfficiency targets  Meet us at #LEAP23 and #MWC23 to discuss; read more  https://t.co/CgfKbooiSD pic.twitter.com/dg1fg2Glvz  Nokia (@nokia) February 6, 2023

Nokia has also launched the SteadEband, a stabilized three-foot antenna, that helps overcome common issues in the E-Band frequency, such as tower vibrations and thermal effects.

This can increase typical E-Band link distances by up to 50% and support mobile operators in delivering multi-gigabit 5G connections to customers. These products improve both link distance and energy efficiency in the Wavence portfolio.

Nokia introduces the UBT-m XP to improve urban coverage with high energy efficiency and twice the transmit power compared to the industry average. Tests showed a 12-km link using the UBT-m XP and SteadEband antenna.

The Outdoor Channel Aggregator (OCA) helps mobile operators expand their network reach for rural broadband. The OCA combines multiple UBT-T XP radios for increased throughput and improved system gain, leading to greater link distance and cost savings on antenna or repeater systems.

The Carrier Aggregation High Density (CAHD) card enhances backhaul capacity with 10 Gbps over multiple channels and enables a seamless upgrade from low-capacity to high-capacity backhaul.

Nokias Simplified RAN Transport solution optimizes base station and transport hardware for enhanced service and operations, saving 30% more energy, reducing costs, and minimizing site footprint.

Nokias Wavence portfolio offers a complete microwave solution for different use cases for both mobile operators and enterprises. It allows for a zero-footprint implementation with full-outdoor architectures and can be integrated with RAN and IP devices with common management.

This results in reduced network energy consumption, and software features and automation can help achieve additional energy-saving goals.

Commenting on the announcement, Emmy Johnson, Chief Analyst, Sky Light Research, said,

Its no secret that capacity and radio efficiency are driving the market. According to Sky Light Researchs latest forecast, the high-capacity E-band market is expected to grow north of 60 percent in 2023. Nokias newest products answer this call but with the added benefit of high power and energy efficiency. The sustainability and power metrics are impressive, as they not only lower TCO but also help meet climate change guidelines.

Speaking on the announcement, Giuseppe Targia, Vice President, Microwave Radio Links at Nokia, said,
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New nursing students at the UH Sugar Land's College of Nursing clasp hands at the recent 14th Annual Hands of Caring Ceremony.
Feature: U.S., Chinese textile communities excited about reuniting at key business platform

Xinhua) 10:53, February 06, 2023

NEW YORK, Feb. 5 (Xinhua) -- A whopping lineup of Chinese exhibitors made their presence at the Texworld New York City (NYC), a key business platform to source fabric and materials for fashion.

The three-day event, running from Tuesday through Thursday, witnessed a strong desire for face-to-face communication and closer collaboration between the U.S. and Chinese textile communities.

"Everyone is excited. That's not only us as organizers, but the buyers are super excited to finally have Chinese presence here again," Texworld NYC Show Director Jennifer Bacon told Xinhua during the event.

"It feels like the real show again. The vibe has been very vibrant," she said. Chinese presence "is needed at this community and this platform," given China's crucial role in the global textile supply chain, Bacon added.

More than 300 exhibitors from 24 countries and regions attended the event, and about half of the exhibitors were from China, the organizer said.

"There were visitors coming to us as soon as our booth opened in the morning," Tang Mingxing, sales manager of Jiangsu Soho Technology Trading Co., a Chinese company specializing in manufacturing sleepwear and other apparel, told Xinhua.

Tang said they also reconnected in person with several of the local business partners at the show, their first physical reunion since the onset of the pandemic.

Face-to-face communication and exchanges are vital to establishing business ties and enhancing the relationship, he said.

"Our booth has attracted a lot of visitors and guests. I even don't have time for dinner," said Jiang Nan, general manager of Jiangsu Romrol Group Outdoor Material Co., who has attended the event 11 times.

"By talking to local buyers and textile professionals during the exhibition, we've learned more about the trend in the U.S. market," he said.

Participating in trade shows and events in the United States is extremely important for Chinese companies, which also helps promote mutual understanding, said Jiang.

Face-to-face communication at the exhibition is crucial for consolidating current business relations and exploring new business opportunities, said Lisa Li, a representative of Zhejiang Trimax International Group, an enterprise dedicated to the export of high-end fashion clothing, jewelry and fabrics.

Ezra Jack Cattan, president of Ezrasons Inc., a New York-based apparel and accessories company, told Xinhua that he is "very pleased" to see Chinese exhibitors return.

"I hope ... we could do more cooperation together and we could visit each other more often," he said.

Chinese suppliers are very efficient, honest, and they deliver on time, said Cattan, who has been dealing with China since 1993.

"That's very important in this business climate. I always enjoy doing business with China," he said.

Noting China's textile community plays a key role in the global supply chain in terms of innovation and quality, the business leader said he hopes to continue his good cooperation with Chinese partners.

The collaboration between U.S. and Chinese businesses in the fashion and apparel industry is positive, necessary, and has great potential, said Bacon.

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun)
Are you getting ready for a trip to Iceland? Packing for a trip can be stressful, especially if you're not sure what to bring. With Iceland's varying climate and unpredictable weather, it's important to make sure you have the right items to ensure you make the most out of your trip. The best part about packing for a trip to Iceland is that because car rental in Reykjavik and other major cities is so easy, you can take your stuff with you everywhere. To help you out, this blog post will provide you with the ultimate packing list for your upcoming trip to Iceland.

Clothing

When packing for a trip to Iceland, it's important to remember that the weather can change quickly, so you need to be prepared for any type of situation. Depending on when you are visiting, you will want to bring a mix of lightweight and warm layers. Make sure your clothing is waterproof or water-resistant. Here is a list of items to consider packing:

Hiking pants

Fleece or wool sweaters

Waterproof/breathable rain jacket

Waterproof/breathable hiking pants

Lightweight down or synthetic jacket

Beanie or hat

Sandals or closed-toe shoes

To make sure you can handle the unexpected weather changes in Iceland, pack plenty of layers in your carry on and check-in baggage and make sure they are both warm and waterproof. This will ensure you have the best experience possible on your trip.

Footwear

When planning for a trip to Iceland, it is important to plan your footwear appropriately. Iceland is a country of rugged terrain and extreme weather conditions. With that in mind, you will want to be sure to have the right shoes and boots on hand to help you get around and stay comfortable. The best type of shoes to wear in Iceland are waterproof and insulated, such as insulated boots or hiking boots. You will need these shoes to keep your feet warm and dry, even if the weather turns bad. Waterproof shoes are essential, as the country can often experience high levels of rain and snow throughout the year. If you are planning to do some hiking during your trip, consider investing in a good pair of hiking boots that have plenty of cushioning and support. If you plan on walking around town, comfortable sneakers or walking shoes can work well too. Be sure to bring along an extra pair of socks just in case your feet get wet. If you are visiting Iceland in the winter months, make sure to pack a few pairs of warm wool socks for added insulation.

Accessories

When packing for a trip to Iceland, there are several important accessories you'll need to ensure you're prepared for all kinds of conditions, from fashion to comfort. Here is a list of essential accessories you should consider packing for your trip:

Sunglasses: The sunlight reflecting off the snow can be quite bright, so make sure you have a pair of sunglasses to protect your eyes.

Hat: A warm hat is essential for keeping your head warm when exploring Iceland's wintry landscapes.

Scarf or neck warmer: Scarves and neck warmers are great for protecting your face and neck from the cold.

Gloves: A good pair of gloves is essential for keeping your hands warm in the chilly Icelandic climate.

Headlamp: Bring a headlamp in case you need to go exploring after dark or in low-light conditions.

Toiletries

When packing for a trip to Iceland, it is important to include the necessary toiletries. Iceland is a very wet and windy environment so you should be sure to bring the right items to keep yourself comfortable. A few essentials are sunscreen, insect repellent, lip balm, hair products, medicine, and a first aid kit. Sunscreen: Make sure to bring a high-SPF sunscreen for protection from the harsh Icelandic sun. By making sure to pack the essential toiletries for your trip to Iceland, you will have everything you need to make your stay comfortable and enjoyable.

Electronics

When travelling to Iceland, it's important to make sure you have all of your necessary electronics. You'll need a camera or phone to capture the stunning landscapes and unique culture. Here are some other items that you should bring:

Chargers and Adapters: Iceland uses two different plugs for electronics, so make sure to bring a plug adapter and charger for your phone, laptop, and any other devices you plan to use. It's also a good idea to bring extra batteries and charging cords in case of emergency.

Power Bank: Make sure to bring along a portable power bank so that you can keep your devices charged while on the go.

Headphones: Pack a pair of headphones so you can listen to music or audio books during long flights and bus rides.

Memory Cards and Batteries: Don't forget to bring extra memory cards and camera batteries, just in case you need them.

GPS: If you plan to rent a car or explore more remote areas of the country, bring along a GPS navigation device or download a GPS app on your phone.

These are just some of the electronic items you should consider bringing for your trip to Iceland. By packing the right items, you'll ensure that you have everything you need to make the most out of your experience in this beautiful country.
Instead of taking strong actions against TTP, and despite the fact that the group had stepped up attacks in the Province, the Pakistan Government, sought to negotiate with the outfit with the help of the Taliban.

by Tushar Ranjan Mohanty

We did not need to make Mujahideen. We created Mujahideen and then they became terrorists- Federal Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah while addressing the Senate on January 31, 2023.

On January 30, 2023, at least 84 persons were killed and another 220 were injured in a suicide blast inside a mosque in the Police Lines area of Peshawar, the provincial capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP). The suicide attacker, who was in Police uniform, was present in the front row during the Zuhr prayer (second prayer offered at noon). The Capital City Police Officer (CCPO), Peshawar, Ejaz Khan, disclosed that around to 300 to 400 Policemen usually offered Zuhr prayers at the venue.

Funerals were under way in Peshawar after terrorist attack [ Photo Credit: AFP]

Two Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) leaders, Sarbakaf Mohmand and Omar Mukaram Khurasani, claimed that the attack was revenge for the death of the chief of TTPs splinter group, Jamaat-ul-Ahrar (JuA), Khalid Khorasani, in the Barmal District of Paktika Province of Afghanistan on August 7, 2022. However, TTP central spokesman Muhammad Khorasani denied any involvement in the attack. Regarding the Peshawar incident, we consider it necessary to clarify that Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan has nothing to do with this incident. According to our laws and general constitution, any action in mosques, madrasas, funerals grounds and other sacred places is an offence, Muhammad Khorasani declared in a statement.

On January 27, 2023, three Army personnel were killed and several others injured when the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) targeted an Army base from three directions near the Dandaar area of Kolwah town in the Awaran District of Balochistan. BLA spokesman Jeehand Baloch claimed responsibility for the attack. BLA will continue to intensify its attacks against the occupying forces till their full withdrawal from Balochistan, Jeehand Baloch added.

On January 19, 2023, three Police constables were killed in a suicide attack at the Takhta Beg Police checkpost in Jamrud tehsil (revenue unit) of Khyber District in KP. Police said terrorists armed with hand grenades, entered the premises and opened fire using a sub-machine gun. After the firing, a suicide bomber blew himself up. The TTP claimed responsibility for the attack.

On January 14, 2023, three Policemen, including Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Badaber Sardar Hussain and his two Police guards, Irshad and Jehanzeb, were killed in a terrorist attack on the Sarband Police Station in Peshawar. KP Inspector General of Police (IGP) Moazzam Jah Ansari stated that sniper rifles were used by the terrorists in the incident, for the first time in Peshawar. TTP claimed responsibility for the attack.

According to partial data compiled by the South Asia Terrorism Portal (SATP), Pakistan has recorded 182 terrorism-related fatalities, including 132 Security Force (SF) personnel, 44 terrorists and six civilians, so far, in the current year (data till February 5, 2023). During the corresponding period of 2022, the province recorded 96 such fatalities, including 38 Security Force (SF) personnel, 37 terrorists and 21 civilians.

Meanwhile, overall terrorism-linked fatalities in Pakistan in 2022 had surged to 971 [229 civilians, 379 Security Force (SF) personnel and 363 terrorists], from 663 (214 civilians, 226 SF personnel and 223 terrorists) in 2021, an increase of 46.45 per cent. Reversing the declining trend in Pakistan between 2015 and 2019, overall fatalities have been increasing since 2020. With the return of the Taliban in Afghanistan on August 15, 2021, terrorism has increasingly been spilling over into Pakistan.

There were 365 incidents of killing in 2022, as compared to 267 in 2021. 113 incidents in 2022 were major (each resulting in three or more fatalities), in which 626 persons were killed (127 civilians, 235 SF personnel and 264 terrorists). There were 88 major attacks (417 fatalities: 140 civilians, 113 SF personnel and 164 terrorists) in 2021. Out of 113 major incidents in 2022, there were 13 suicide attacks resulting in 109 fatalities, including 79 civilians, 17 SF personnel and 13 terrorists. There were only four suicide attacks in 2021, resulting in 25 fatalities, including 15 civilians, six SF personnel and four terrorists.

Other parameters of violence also indicate a worsening security situation in the country. There were 151 incidents of explosion in 2022, resulting in 247 fatalities, including 124 civilians, 98 SF personnel and 25 terrorists. The number of explosions reported in 2021 was 110, resulting in 165 fatalities, including 97 civilians, 62 SF personnel and six terrorists.

Among the principal reasons for the spike of violence in Pakistan in 2022 were the re-grouping of the TTP in August, 2020, and the capture of the Afghanistan Government by the Taliban in August 2021. The Talibans seizure of power in Kabul strengthened the TTP, giving them the courage and wherewithal to return to tribal areas of Pakistan, which they had fled during Operation Zarb-e-Azb [Sword of the Prophet] in 2014. Despite the fact that the Pakistan-bred and supported Haqqani Network was a dominant power, and was at the helm of the Ministry of Internal Security, in Afghanistan, TTP has made deep inroads into the tribal areas of Pakistan.

Any doubts that TTP and the Afghan Taliban are ideological twins have now been squarely removed. During an interview with on July 26, 2021, TTP chief Noor Wali Mehsud asserted that his group had a good relationship with the Afghan Taliban and hoped to benefit from the latters victories in Afghanistan. He further warned that TTP would continue its war against Pakistans security forces and declared that the outfits goal was to take control of the border regions and make them independent. This was the first time that TTPs leadership called for an independent state to be carved out of Pakistans tribal areas.

Instead of taking strong actions against TTP, and despite the fact that the group had stepped up attacks in the Province, the Pakistan Government, sought to negotiate with the outfit with the help of the Taliban. As a result, both sides agreed on a month-long ceasefire between November 9  December 9, 2021. On December 9, 2021, however, TTP declined to extend the ceasefire with the Government, alleging that the state forces had not only failed to implement the decisions reached between the two sides. The SFs had conducted raids in Dera Ismail Khan, Lakki Marwat, Swat, Bajaur, Swabi and North Waziristan, killing and detaining many TTP fighters. TTP consequently declared, Under these circumstances, it is not possible to extend the ceasefire. Mufti Noor Wali Mehsud announced an end to the ceasefire and asked his fighters to resume attacks.

There is, moreover, adequate evidence to indicate that the ceasefire was just a deceitful move by TTP to buy time and to revitalise its cadres. The Pakistani Government fell into the trap and released more than 100 TTP prisoners as a goodwill gesture, in response to the TTPs acceptance of the ceasefire. During the month-long ceasefire, though five SF personnel were killed in three terrorism-related incidents, no TTP terrorist was killed.

After the collapse of the ceasefire, the TTP resumed its attacks against SFs. At a time when the TTP increased its attacks on SFs, the Imran Khan led PTI-Government in Islamabad sought to buy an improbable peace. A 10-day ceasefire agreement, starting May 1,2022, was reached between the Army and the TTP on the account of Eid (May 2, 2022). On May 10, TTP announced that the ceasefire was extended by another five days and stated that new directives would be issued on May 16. Though no announcement was made on May 16, on May 18, TTP announced that the ceasefire had been extended till May 30.

Under the auspices of the Afghan Taliban, talks commenced between committees of the TTP and the Government of Pakistan. However, sporadic violence continued from both sides. Eventually, however, on November 28, 2022, TTP announced an end to the then seven month-long ceasefire, declaring, in a statement released on Umar Media (TTPs official website), that TTPs Minister of Defence had ordered TTP forces throughout Pakistan to launch attacks anywhere in the country in response to Pakistani military operations. The outfit claimed that it chose to end the ceasefire after the Army and intelligence agencies continue to raid and attack its forces. And now our revenge attacks will continue in the whole country, the TTP statement added.

As official talks between the TTP and the Government collapsed with the TTPs declaration of an end to the ceasefire, an escalation of violence in KP and other areas of Pakistan was inevitable.

In 2022, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province, which was the most affected by the TTP resurgences, recorded the highest fatalities in a year since 2014. KP recorded a total of 527 fatalities (119 civilians, 173 SF personnel and 235 terrorists) in 184 incidents of killing in 2022, as against 300 such fatalities (71 civilians, 108 SF personnel, and 121 terrorists) in 129 such incidents in 2021, registering an increase of 75.66 per cent in overall fatalities. In terms of SF fatalities, the 2022 tally was the highest since 2013, when there were 181 SF fatalities. Terrorist fatalities in 2022 were the highest since 2011, when there were 372 such fatalities. The number of civilians killed in 2022 touched three digits after a gap of five years, with 122 civilians killed in 2016. Other parameters of violence also indicated a worsening security situation in the Province.

The ceasefire and peace-talks between the Government and TTP gave the terrorists space and time to find their feet in KP. An October 12, 2022, report suggested that the TTP had re-emerged violently in the restive Swat region. Earlier, an August 12, 2022, report noted that TTP militants had established a check-post at Balasoor Top, besides roaming about freely in other areas of the Matta tehsil of Swat. Significantly, the Geo News correspondent in Swat, Mehboob Ali, claimed that at least 200-250 TTP terrorists were present and operating in the area. Other bordering Districts of the Province had also seen increased terrorist activities. After analysing the overall law and order situation in KP, the Police department declared South and North Waziristan, Lakki Marwat and Bannu Districts, terrorist trouble spots.

On December 27, 2022, Federal Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah disclosed that there were around 7,000 to 10,000 TTP fighters in the region, and they were accompanied by 25,000 members of their families. This statement was later confirmed by former Prime Minister Imran Khan who, on January 10, 2023, revealed that his government had planned to resettle TTP militants in the erstwhile Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), with the help of the Afghan Taliban. Imran Khan stated that the fall of Kabul and the rise of the Afghan Taliban to power provided Pakistan with a golden opportunity to deal with the TTP threat. The Afghan Taliban pressurised the TTP, which had over 5,000 fighters among its 40,000-strong group, to go back to Pakistan and we took a number of steps to deal with it, he added.

On February 1, 2023, immediately after the Peshawar Police Lines Mosque suicide attack of January 30, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif accused, the Imran Khan led PTI Government for bringing about the resurgence of terrorism in the country. Targeting Imran Khan, he questioned, Who regarded the terrorist as jihadi and let them return? In his remarks at a meeting of the Federal Cabinet, the Prime Minister argued that PTI had been ruling the KP for the past 10 years and was responsible for the safety of the lives of the innocent people of the province, who were suffering under the new spate of terrorist incidents.

After KP, the most affected province in Pakistan was Balochistan, in terms of terrorism related fatalities. Balochistan recorded a total of 406 fatalities (88 civilians, 202 SF personnel and 116 terrorists) in 160 incidents of killing in 2022, as against 308 such fatalities (111 civilians, 107 SF personnel, and 90 terrorists) in 111 such incidents in 2021, registering an increase of 31.82 per cent in overall fatalities. In terms of SF fatalities, the 2022 tally is the highest since the SATP database started documenting fatalities in Pakistan.

The escalating attacks on SFs in Balochistan are substantially a consequence of the continuing frustration among Baloch nationalist groups over the systematic extermination of ethnic Baloch through enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings by Pakistan security agencies, in addition to the persistent neglect of the basic needs of the population. The annual report released on January 12, 2023, by Paank, the human rights organization of the Baloch National Movement (BNM), claimed that Pakistani forces in Balochistan forcibly disappeared 629 persons, extra-judicially killed 195, and tortured 187 people in 2022. 187 forcibly disappeared people were released from the torture cells of the Pakistani Army. Under the Universal Periodic Review process at the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) in Geneva on January 30, 2023, member states called on Pakistan to stop enforced disappearances and other human rights abuses and demanded the protection of people.

Though the over-all security situation in Sindh remains relatively calm, echoes of the Baloch insurgency reverberated in Karachi, the provincial capital of Sindh and commercial capital of the country, when Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) female Fidayeen (suicide cadre) Shaari Baloch aka Bramsh, from the Majeed Brigade (BLAs suicide bomber squad), blew herself up near a van transporting Chinese nationals from a Karachi University (KU) hostel to the Confucius Institute, on April 26, 2022. Five persons, including three Chinese nationals, their Pakistani driver and a security guard, were killed.

Apart from this attack, terrorism-related incidents were at an all-time low in Sindh, with just 21 fatalities in 12 incidents recorded in 2022. Fatalities in 2021 totalled 28 in 13 incidents. The highest terrorism-related fatalities in the province were reported in 2013, when there were 1,656 such deaths.

However, street crime remained a major headache for the security establishment in Karachi, with as any as 85,000 incidents of armed street robberies recorded in the city in 2022. This was disclosed by Sindh Chief Minister, Syed Murad Ali Shah, on January 5, 2023, while chairing the meeting of the Apex Committee during a mention of the crime data compiled by the Citizens Police Liaison Committee (CPLC). Over 100 persons lost their lives in these incidents, while more than 400 citizens suffered injuries. In 2021, Karachi recorded over 73,000 armed street robberies, resulting in the killing of 69 citizens and injuries to another 418.

The Punjab Province recorded the lowest number of terrorism-related fatalities in 2022. According to partial data compiled by the SATP database, Punjab recorded just 11 terrorism-linked fatalities in 2022, including 10 civilians and one terrorist, as against 20 fatalities, including nine civilians, six terrorists and five Security Force (SF) personnel in 2021. However, the threat of terrorism in the province is far from over, with the year 2023 starting on a violent note, as one TTP terrorist shot dead two Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) officers posted in the Punjab Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) at a roadside restaurant on the National Highway, near Pirowal in Khanewal city (Khanewal District), on January 3. TTP spokesman Mohammad Khorasani, in a statement to the media, stated, Yesterday, a secret squad of TTP killed ISI Deputy Director Multan, Naveed Sadiq, along with his colleague Inspector Nasir Butt, at Bismillah Highway in Khanewal district of Punjab.

While mainstream Islamist extremist groups took a back seat, blasphemy allegations continued to occur in the Punjab, as radicalisation remained rampant. While two incidents of blasphemy were reported in 2021, resulting in the death of one of the accused, 2022 recorded three blasphemy related incidents, with three of the accused done to death. Religious minorities in Punjab have long been under constant threat of abuse, abduction, rape and harassment by Islamist extremists. The abduction of minority girls for rape and forced conversion continues unabated in the province. According to a report titled Conversion without Consent released by Voice for Justice and Jubilee Campaign on December 10, 2022, as many as 100 cases of abduction, forced conversion, forced and child marriage of girls and women belonging to the Christian community, have been recorded between January 2019 and October 2022 in Pakistan.

While terrorism has declined sharply in Punjab and Sindh, insurgent and terrorist violence has escalated in the border provinces of KP and Balochistan. The Pakistan state and security establishment have been busy with the blame game over the deteriorating security situation, even as the likelihood of terrorism once again spilling over into the rest of Pakistan increases dramatically.

Tushar Ranjan Mohanty is a Counter-terrorism Expert on Pakistan at Institute for Conflict Management (ICM) in New Delhi
Dublin, Feb. 06, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "Italy - Telecoms, Mobile and Broadband - Statistics and Analyses" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.



This report analyses the key aspects of the Italian telecom market, providing the latest data and statistics on the fixed network services sector.

Italy's MNOs progress with switching off 3G networks

It also reviews the key regulatory issues including number portability and local loop unbundling. In addition, the report assesses the fixed and fixed wireless broadband sectors, including the burgeoning fibre market.

The report also analyses the mobile voice and data markets, including statistics, key regulatory issues and an assessment of deployed technologies and operator strategies in the face of competitive pressures and new opportunities.

Italy's large telecom market has one of the most progressive fibre sectors in Europe, with regulatory measures encouraging network sharing. The incumbent telco continues to invest in fibre, despite its recent financial difficulties, while the Open Fiber wholesale provider now has a number of retail contracts which have greatly broadened competition in the sector.

Plans to merge Open Fiber with TIM's fixed infrastructure are ongoing. Regulatory measures have also been introduced to facilitate access to NGNs, and a number of deals have been brokered which enable the main telcos to provide bundled services to large numbers of the population.

Italy's vibrant mobile market has one of the highest penetration rates in Europe, though the number of subscribers has fallen in recent years as customers respond to attractive off-net pricing which has reduced the financial benefit of having SIM cards from different providers.

The market underwent considerable changes following the merger of Wind and 3 Italia (becoming Wind Tre), which resulted in a new entrant in the form of Iliad. In mid-2019 Fastweb was recognised as an MNO in its own right, having been an MVNO for some 11 years. The company has secured spectrum in the 3.5GHz and 26GHz bands and has a ten-year deal with Wind Tre providing it with national roaming as well as a partner with which to develop a 5G network.

Network operators were among the first in Europe to trial services based on 5G. Recent spectrum auctions raised 6.55 billion, a cost which has encouraged operators to look at cost-saving options including network build cooperation and the sale of base station portfolios. The high cost also encouraged the regulator in early 2021 to consider extending the licenses by an additional six years.

Key developments:

Vodafone Italy and Fastweb sue TIM for 1.1 billion for abusing its position in the fixed broadband sector;

Vodafone switches off its 3G network;

TIM to switch off its GSM services by 2029;

Government urges progress on TIM and Open Fiber network merger talks;

TIM extends 5G and showcases data rates of 4Gb/s;

Fastweb and Wind Tre sign 5G network-sharing deal;

Report update includes the regulator's market data to December 2021, telcos' operating and financial data to Q1 2022, updated Telecom Maturity Index charts and analyses, recent market developments.

Companies mentioned in this report:

Telecom Italia (TIM)

Fastweb

BT Italia

Tiscali

Wind Tre (3 Italia / Wind Telecom)

Vodafone Italia

Metroweb

Key Topics Covered:



Key statistics



Regional Europe Market Comparison

Market characteristics

Market Leaders

Market Challengers

Market Emergents

TMI versus GDP

Mobile and mobile broadband penetration

Fixed versus mobile broadband penetration

Country overview



Telecommunications market

Market analysis

Regulatory environment

Historical overview

Regulatory authority

Fixed-line developments

Mobile market developments

Mobile market

Market analysis

Mobile statistics

Mobile infrastructure

Mobile voice

Mobile data

Major mobile operators

Mobile content and applications

Fixed-line broadband market

Introduction and statistical overview

Hybrid Fibre Coax (HFC) networks

Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) networks

Fibre-to-the-Premises (FttP) networks

Other fixed broadband services

Fixed network operators

Introduction

Telecom Italia (TIM)

Wind Tre

BT Italia

Tiscali

Fastweb

Telecommunications infrastructure

Overview of the national telecom network

International

Infrastructure developments

Smart infrastructure

Appendix Historic data



For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/hsq46v-telecoms?w=12

About ResearchAndMarkets.com

ResearchAndMarkets.com is the world's leading source for international market research reports and market data. We provide you with the latest data on international and regional markets, key industries, the top companies, new products and the latest trends.
Dublin, Feb. 06, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "Malta - Telecoms, Mobile and Broadband - Statistics and Analyses" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

The report includes all relevant research data and analysis. Covering trends and developments in telecommunications, mobile, internet, broadband, infrastructure and regulation.

Malta preps for subsea cable connection to France

Malta's small telecom sector is among the most advanced in Europe. This has been helped by the topography, which has made it relatively easy for operators to expand the reach of their fibre infrastructure. With high mobile and broadband penetration rates, the government and regulator have effective strategies in place to capitalise on these infrastructure developments to ensure that the population has among the fastest data rates in Europe, and so is well positioned to take advantage of emerging e-commerce opportunities.

The sector has also been stimulated by regulatory measures designed to reduce consumer prices. Melita having been sold to EQT in late 2019 and Vodafone Malta having been sold to Monaco Telecom, and rebranded as Epic. The incumbent telco GO is investing in a subsea cable to connect the islands to France and Egypt. Expected to be ready for service in 2022, the cable will further enhance Malta's internet bandwidth and lead to reduced prices for end-users.

There has also been some encouragement to increase market competition. This led to the VULA agreement between GO and Epic Malta, by which Epic was able to enter the fixed broadband market using GO's fibre infrastructure. In April 2021 Epic began offering FttP services directly, over its own fibre network

Melita provides a national gigabit service via its fibre and DOCSIS3.1 networks, while GO's extensive FttP network covered about 150,000 premises by early 2021. The company is investing 100 million to develop LTE and fibre through to 2023.

Key developments:

Vodafone Malta rebrands as Epic Malta, begins rolling out its own FttP infrastructure, contracts Ericsson as sole 5G vendor;

Monaco Telecom sells its tower portfolio in Malta to Phoenix Tower International (PTI);

Melita launches 5G-ready network, completes project to deliver fibre networks to public schools, provides a 1Gb/s broadband service nationally;

GO commits to 100 million five-year investment in fibre infrastructure, invests 24 million in submarine cable system linking to Marseille and Egypt;

Regulator assesses interest in 3.5Gz spectrum for 5G services;

Government supporting a national FttP network;

Report update includes the regulator's market data updates to December 2021, telcos' operating data to Q4 2021, updated Telecom Maturity Index charts and analyses, recent market developments.

Companies mentioned in this report:

Epic Malta (Vodafone Malta)

GO

Melita

SIS

Ozone

Redtouch Fone

PING

Monaco Telecom

Divitel

Key Topics Covered:





Key statistics



Regional Europe Market Comparison

Market characteristics

Market Leaders

Market Challengers

Market Emergents

TMI versus GDP

Mobile and mobile broadband penetration

Fixed versus mobile broadband penetration

Country overview



Telecommunications market



Regulatory environment

Historical overview

Regulatory authority

Fixed-line developments

Mobile network developments

Mobile market

Market analysis

Mobile statistics

Mobile infrastructure

Other infrastructure developments

Mobile data

Mobile broadband

Major mobile operators

MVNOs

Fixed-line broadband market

Introduction and statistical overview

Broadband statistics

Fixed-line broadband technologies

Other fixed broadband services

Fixed network operators

GO

Melita

EPIC

Telecommunications infrastructure

Overview of the national telecom network

International infrastructure

VoIP

Wholesale

Data centres



Appendix Historic data



Glossary of abbreviations

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/arz9ce

About ResearchAndMarkets.com

ResearchAndMarkets.com is the world's leading source for international market research reports and market data. We provide you with the latest data on international and regional markets, key industries, the top companies, new products and the latest trends.
Pune, India, Feb. 06, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The global pet insurance market size is projected to reach USD 11.25 Bn by 2026. The increasing pet adoption in leading countries across the world will have a direct impact on the growth of the market. According to a report published by Fortune Business Insights, titled Pet Insurance Market Size, Share & Industry Analysis, By Policy Coverage Type (Accident & Illness, Accident Only, Others), By Animal Type (Dog, Cat, Others), By Provider (Public, Private) and Regional Forecast, 2019-2026, the market was worth USD 6.05 Bn in 2018. Driven by flexibility in product offerings, the market will exhibit a CAGR of 8.0% during the forecast period, 2019-2026.

Key Industry Developments:

September 2019: Franklin Madison announced it plans to initiate pet insurance programs for banks and credit unions. The company partnered with A-rated carrier Crum & Forster Pet Insurance Group, to offer another valuable insurance program to their consumers.





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Pet Insurance Market Report Scope :

Report Coverage Details Forecast Period 2019 to 2026 Forecast Period 2019 to 2026 CAGR 8.0% 2026 Value Projection USD 11.25 Billion Base Year 2018 Medical Tape Market Size in 2020 USD 6.05 billion Historical Data for 2015 To 2017 No. of Pages 136 Segments covered Policy Coverage Type, Animal Type, Provider And Geography





Market Drivers

One of the key factors driving product demand and, consequently, market expansion is the rising pet adoption rate across a number of nations. For instance, according to The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA), 78 million dogs and 85.8 million cats were estimated to be owned in the United States in 2018. Additionally, increasing pet insurance penetration in numerous European nations is a significant factor driving up product demand.

For instance, the U.K. ranked among the top nations in 2017 with a penetration rate of 25% for pet insurance. In addition, Sweden was the first nation to draught the first animal insurance policy in 1924, which was centred at the time on horses and livestock.

Additionally, one of the main factors influencing people to purchase pet insurance and aiding in the market expansion is the rising prevalence of zoonotic diseases among companion animals.





To Get This Report Customized, Visit: https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/enquiry/customization/pet-insurance-market-101956





Increasing Number of Company Mergers and Collaborations to Aid Market Growth

The report encompasses several factors that have contributed to the growth of the market in recent years. It highlights a few of the leading market drivers and analyzes their impact on the market. Among all factors, the increasing number of company mergers and collaborations have had a positive impact on market growth. In October 2019, Petplan, a leading pet insurance provider, announced that it has been acquired by Warnbug Pincus.

Warnbug is a leading private equity firm that mainly focuses on growth-oriented investing. With this acquisition, the company will look to outperform its counterparts and in doing so, establish a strong presence in the market. The report highlights a few of the other company mergers that have graced the market in recent years and gauges their impact on the market.

Europe to Emerge Dominant; Influx of Start-ups to Aid Growth

The report analyzes the ongoing pet insurance market trends across North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia Pacific, and the Middle East and Africa. Among these regions, the market in Europe generated the highest market revenue in 2018. Europe is projected to dominate the market in the coming years driven by the increasing number of start-ups in several countries across this region.

The increasing number of government initiatives to promote animal wellness and health, coupled with encouragement for pet adoption, will aid the growth of the market in this region. Besides Europe, the market in North America will exhibit considerable CAGR. As of 2018, the market in North America was worth USD 1.42 billion and this value is likely to increase further in the coming years.





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A few of the leading companies that are operating in the global market include:

Trupanion

Anicom Holdings

Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company

ASPCA

Healthy Paws Pet Insurance, LLC.

Embrace Pet Insurance Agency, LLC

Figo Pet Insurance LLC.

Agria Pet Insurance Ltd

24PetWatch

Pets Best Insurance Services, LLC.

Detailed TOC

Executive Summary

Market Dynamics Market Drivers Market Restraints Market Opportunities

Key Insights Pricing Analysis of Top Insurers, by Animal Type Pet Adoption Statistics, Across Major Countries Key Merger And Acquisition Strategies by Top Players New Product Launch

Global Pet Insurance Market Analysis, Insights and Forecast, 2015-2026 Key Findings / Summary Market Analysis, Insights and Forecast  By Policy Coverage Type Accident & Illness Accident Only Others Market Analysis, Insights and Forecast  By Animal Type Cat Dog Others Market Analysis, Insights and Forecast  By Provider Public Private Market Analysis, Insights and Forecast  By Region North America Europe Asia Pacific Latin America Middle East & Africa



TOC Continued!





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SAN DIEGO, Feb. 06, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Cohens Veteran Network (CVN) at VVSD, a not-for-profit philanthropic organization that serves post-9/11 veterans, active duty service members and their families through a nationwide system of mental health clinics, welcomed First Lady Jill Biden at its Steven A. Cohen Military Family Clinic at VVSD (Veterans Village of San Diego), Oceanside in Oceanside, CA on Feb. 4, 2023, as part of the White House's Joining Forces initiative to support military and veteran families, caregivers and survivors. The initiative, which centers around bringing awareness to the experiences of military-connected families, highlighting the resources available to them, and driving policy improvements, includes a focus area of health and well-being. Since its inception in 2016, CVN has provided accessible, high-quality mental health services to 50,000 clients across its growing network of clinics.

"We are thrilled to host Dr. Biden as she remains resolute in her mission to support our nation's military families," says Cohen Veterans Network President and CEO Dr. Anthony Hassan. "We are grateful that she is bringing awareness to the experiences of military families to generate additional public support and that she is working to connect military families with the resources they greatly need and deserve."

There are currently over 2 million uniformed U.S. service members and 2.6 million family members across the globe. Due to the distinctive circumstances associated with military life such as deployments and reintegration, long separations, and frequent moves, many military family members experience unique mental health concerns. In fact, while military families have proven to be incredibly resilient overall, it has been found that children from military families have a higher risk of social, emotional, and behavioral challenges including anxiety, depression and suicidal ideation in comparison to children who are not from military families.

Mental health was the topic of a roundtable discussion held today as part of Dr. Biden's visit. She heard from military family members and veterans about their challenges, sacrifices, strength, and resilience, as well as their experiences in reaching out for help. Dr. Biden was additionally provided a tour of the Cohen Clinic, which was specifically designed with military families in mind.

The Cohen Clinic at VVSD (Veterans Village of San Diego), Oceanside is located a short distance from Camp Pendleton, which is one of the Department of Defense's busiest installations. The area is home to nearly 40,000 active duty service members, 33,000 post-9/11 veterans and more than 31,000 military family members. All of whom are eligible for care that the Cohen Clinic in Oceanside provides.

"Due to shortages in on-base mental health providers, the Cohen Clinic at VVSD, Oceanside provides a viable alternative to timely and quality mental health care for our service members, veterans, and their families that is essential to personnel and unit readiness," says Colonel Daniel M. Whitley, Assistant Chief of Staff G-7, Government & External Affairs, MCIWest-MCB Camp Pendleton.

"In a place like San Diego, CA, home to one of the largest populations of service members, veterans, and their families, VVSD recognizes the importance of initiatives like Joining Forces," says Veterans Village of San Diego President and CEO Akilah Templeton. "Dr. Biden's efforts towards raising awareness and encouraging collaboration in support of military families are inspiring."

The Cohen Clinic at VVSD, Oceanside is one of 23 Cohen Clinics in high-need communities across the country. The network combines military culturally competent care with staff members trained to work with veterans and military families. Many clinic team members are military connected individuals with nearly 25% of Cohen Clinic staff being veterans and 21% being military spouses.

The network treats the entire military family including spouses, partners, children, parents, caregivers, survivors, and others. Approximately 47% of CVN clients are military or veteran family members, while nearly 53% of all clients are veterans or active duty service members. Treatment is available for a wide variety of mental health challenges including depression, anxiety, adjustment issues, anger, PTSD, grief and loss, family issues, transition challenges, relationship problems, and children's behavioral problems. Care is available in person or via CVN Telehealth, face-to-face video therapy.

"We know that treatment works, and it is imperative that military families have access to culturally competent mental health services with their unique circumstances in mind. We heard it firsthand from our clients in the room today. So, when a military family member raises their hand for help, we must be there to support them. In an effort to save lives, save families and save futures, CVN remains committed to removing barriers to treatment and filling the gaps in care," says Dr. Hassan.

ABOUT COHEN VETERANS NETWORK

Cohen Veterans Network (CVN) is a 501(c)(3) national not-for-profit philanthropic organization for post-9/11 veterans, active-duty service members and their families. CVN focuses on improving mental health outcomes, operating a network of outpatient mental health clinics in high-need communities, in which trained clinicians deliver holistic evidence-based care to treat mental health conditions. https://www.cohenveteransnetwork.org

ABOUT VETERANS VILLAGE OF SAN DIEGO (VVSD)

Veterans Village of San Diego (VVSD) has served Veterans since 1981 and provides services to more than 3,000 Military Veterans each year throughout the county of San Diego, CA. www.vvsd.net

Contact Information:

Kimberley Monday

VVSD Communications Director

kimberley@mondaybiz.com

310-883-8203



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New York, Feb. 06, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Reportlinker.com announces the release of the report "Water Dispenser Market - Global Outlook & Forecast 2023-2028" - https://www.reportlinker.com/p06129718/?utm_source=GNW



 The momentum for bottle-less or POU water dispensers is witnessing traction owing to their environmental and economic advantages over bottled dispensers.

 Corporate offices are implementing green policies in their day-to-day operations, where installing a POU system can be an ideal option to avoid plastic water jugs.



MARKET TRENDS & OPPORTUNITIES



Significance of innovative and feature enhancements



In the highly competitive water dispenser market, it has become inevitable for players to get ahead of the competition through distinctive features and attributes in terms of operation, design, installation, filtration, or technology being incorporated. Accordingly, introducing innovative features to elevate customer satisfaction is expected to be a game-changer during the next five years.



The Emergence of Coworking Spaces



The concept of coworking has come a long way from 2005 when it only involved offering a common and open space to companies of all sizes moving into coworking spaces and demanding more managers, meeting, and conference rooms. Working in coworking and flexible offices has not only become a new norm, but it is also becoming an expected and preferred destination for the current workforce.



Countries like China, the US, and India are potential markets for exploitation with a high concentration of flexible spaces. Germany and Canada are among the fastest-growing nations in the coworking industry that can also be targeted. Thus, trends like shifting to private offices, long-term contract durations, higher capacities, and desk requirements were common in 2020, which is expected to reshape the water dispenser market during the forecast period.



Demand For Clean And Filtered Water



Various microorganisms like viruses and bacteria cause waterborne diseases through contaminated water. Poor quality of water is due to industrial, animal, and human waste pollution. There are various places in the world where these diseases are rampant and deadly. Contaminated water and poor sanitation have been major sources of the transmission of various diseases.



Consumers have also realized the significance of spending more on water treatment systems for drinking purposes, where the efforts of the government in creating public awareness about waterborne illnesses have propelled the demand for water dispensers as well. NGOs and other public welfare organizations also educate and sensitize communities about the potential risks and common precautions to be taken by the population. Such measures are expected to contribute to the global water dispenser market.



INDUSTRY RESTRAINTS



Low Residential Penetration & High Maintenance Costs



Despite water dispensers significant installation cost benefits over other conventional methods, the maintenance and other overhead costs can be high. The initial cost and maintenance of water filters hinder the adoption of home water dispensers in price-sensitive nations like India, Indonesia, and Thailand. Further, the lack of space can be challenging, especially in compact residential facilities, limiting the scope for free-standing dispensers. The low residential penetration is also due to the consumption of high-quality tap water and packaged water in European economies.



SEGMENTATION INSIGHTS



INSIGHTS BY TYPE



The bottled water dispenser market is expected to be the largest segment and accounted for 64.10% of the total revenue share in 2022, with North America and APAC being the major markets. While most established players like Avalon still operate in the bottled segment, the demand for bottled countertop dispensers is prominent in certain commercial and corporate spaces owing to their elegant design and functionality. The revenue enhancement opportunities for bottled water still exist in renting operations to museums, exhibitions, and casinos. Latin America and, the Middle East & Africa are expected to account for an 18.82% share of the revenue growth in the bottled segment during the forecast period.



Segmentation by Bottled Type



 Top-Loading

 Bottom-Loading



INSIGHTS BY OPERATION



The free-standing segment dominates the global water dispenser market. Free-standing dispensers are the most common type in commercial spaces where the demand for downpour quantity is high. While larger footprints and energy efficiency are considered challenges, countertop variants are expected to account for a major market share during the forecast period. Similarly, wall-mounted dispensers are expected to generate incremental sales of 133.47 thousand units. In contrast, under-the-sink RO filters are gaining momentum as one of the most preferred POU water treatment systems. They are also ideal for restaurants, hotels, and catering spaces since they can save countertop space.



Segmentation by Operations



 Free Standing

 Countertop

 Under-the-Sink

 Wall-Mounted



INSIGHTS BY TECHNOLOGY



The filter-free water dispenser market accounts for a 63.20% revenue share in 2022 and is expected to pose an absolute growth of 59.21% during the forecast period. This segment consists of bottled water dispensers available without filtration equipment. The free-standing bottled dispensers were the major revenue contributors to this segment in 2022. Honeywell, Primo, Whirlpool, and Avalon are some major players in this highly competitive segment. With the absence of filtration technology, the point of distinction is very low, leading to low product differentiation. Vendors are involved in product enhancement strategies in design, temperature control, certifications, energy rating, child lock feature, and touchless operations to stay ahead of the competition.



Segmentation by Filtered Technology

 Filters & Cartridges

 RO



INSIGHTS BY APPLICATION



The commercial water dispenser market is growing at a CAGR of 8.17% during the forecast period. Commercial space owners are looking for water dispensers to reduce additional costs incurred over time. Water dispensers that consumers mostly utilize in the commercial end-user segment are recommended to be more user-friendly and convenient. Low equipment failures and sustained filtered water quality are also major factors influencing customer satisfaction.



The water dispenser market in corporate spaces was valued at USD 107.74 million in 2022. Maintaining the highest levels of cleanliness and standards is a major pillar for business success among corporates. Alongside target accessing, vendors require technicians to handle more complex installations in crowded spaces without interrupting the business and work environment. This can be more specific in shopping malls, coworking spaces, hotels, and recreational centers.



INSIGHTS BY DISTRIBUTION



The offline channels are expected to be the largest distribution channels in the global water dispenser market and were valued at USD 679.85 million in 2022. The distribution environment is rapidly evolving, with systems and processes being upgraded at a rapid pace. Changes are being spurred by expanding competition, accelerating digitization, constant disintermediation, and consumerization of expectations. It is a dynamic segment where transparent pricing, communities, and social connections influence the purchase mode. This is expected to continue further, focusing on lowering costs, improving efficiencies, and opening new opportunities.



Segmentation by Distribution

 Online

 Offline



GEOGRAPHICAL ANALYSIS

 North America dominated the global water dispenser market and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 7.92% during the forecast period. Millions of Americans are prone to drinking unsafe water that exceeds the limitations set by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The pervasiveness of the potential hazard has been realized by people across the country, thereby driving the demand for POU water treatment systems. Further, municipal wastewater treatment methods, usage of chemical fertilizers and pesticides in households, regulatory compliance of mining operations, and the release of cadmium and mercury from heavy industries are expected to shape the adoption of plumbed-in filtration systems in Canada during the forecast period. While chromium, lead, and arsenic are some common contaminants in tap water, natural disasters such as hurricanes and storms can result in poor water management strategies. A growing number of schools, hotels, QSR chains, and shopping malls are also in the pipeline that fuels the water dispenser market in the region.

 Europe is expected to pose an absolute growth of 52.66% during the forecast period. Germany and the UK were estimated to be the largest markets in the region, with high growth potential in Italy, France, and Spain. The deep concern over water quality and booming opportunities in the commercial countertop segment is expected to support the water dispenser market growth in the next five years.



Segmentation by Geography



 North America

o US

o Canada

 Europe

o Germany

o UK

o Italy

o France

o Spain

 APAC

o China

o Japan

o South Korea

o India

o Australia

 Latin America

o Brazil

o Mexico

 Middle East & Africa

o South Africa

o Saudi Arabia

o UAE



COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE



The global water dispenser market is highly competitive, with many vendors. Advanced filtration technologies are the key for POU systems as consumers expect continuous product innovations and upgrades. The existing scenario drives vendors to alter and refine their unique value proposition to achieve a strong market presence. Moreover, the favorable business environment and increase in residential adoption in developing economies are expected to encourage the emergence of domestic vendors, thereby increasing the competitive threat. The presence of diversified global and regional vendors characterizes the water dispensers market. As global players are likely to increase their market footprint, regional vendors will likely find it increasingly difficult to compete with global players.



Key Vendors

 Culligan

 Primo Water Corporation

 Canaletas

 Celli Group



Other Prominent Vendors

 Avalon Water Coolers

 Blue Star

 Voltas

 Atlantis

 Clover

 Midea Group

 Ningbo Jewin Electrical Appliances

 Aqua Clara

 Alpine Coolers

 Ningbo Lamo Drinking Water Equipment

 Bibo

 Glug Glug Glug

 Arctic Coolers

 AquAid

 BRITA

 Alfred Karcher

 Mistral

 Vista France

 Sure International

 Mt. Fuji Springs

 Aimex Australia

 Royal Sovereign

 Sprudel

 CWAY Group

 Aquazania

 SEONE

 GHP Group

 Elkay Manufacturing Company



KEY QUESTIONS ANSWERED



1. How big is the water dispenser market?

2. What is the growth rate of the water dispenser market?

3. What is the sales forecast for water dispensers by 2028?

4. What are the key driving factors in the water dispenser market?

5. Who are the key players in the global water dispenser market?

6. Which region dominates the global water dispenser market?

Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p06129718/?utm_source=GNW



About Reportlinker

ReportLinker is an award-winning market research solution. Reportlinker finds and organizes the latest industry data so you get all the market research you need - instantly, in one place.



__________________________
New York, NY, Feb. 06, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Global Tech Industries Group, Inc. (OTCQB: GTII) (GTII or the Company), www.gtii-us.com, a Nevada corporation, announced today that its board of directors has authorized management to move forward with appropriate legal action in connection with what it believes to be illegal trading activity in the Companys shares.



As the Company previously disclosed, it has retained the legal teams of Christian Levine Law Group, LLC, (Levine) and Warshaw Burstein, LLP, (Warshaw), both of whom have specific expertise in stock fraud litigation, to handle the legal actions for the Company. The legal actions may be directed at broker-dealers, market makers and other relevant parties the Company believes have been engaged in illegal trading activities that have resulted in a significant number of unsettled trades involving the Companys shares.

In particular, it appears that certain market makers have failed to post regular or continuous proprietary quotations that are at or near the market on both sides and that are communicated and represented such that they are widely accessible to investors and other broker-dealers. When market makers fail to meet this requirement, as well as other applicable requirements, it can bring into question whether they are engaging in bona fide market making and can avail themselves to any locate exemptions afforded to bona fide market makers when executing short sales.

Further, in a recent administrative proceeding between Alpine Securities Corporation (Alpine) and the National Securities Clearing Corporation (NSCC) before the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, it was disclosed that the NSCC imposed a Backtesting Charge against Alpine (which action was contested by Alpine) due to deficiencies in Alpines Required Fund Deposit with NSCC . . . that were attributed to net short portfolios in several stocks, with the top driver being a concentrated short position in GTII, which is, obviously, a cause of concern for the Company..

In the coming weeks, as Levine and Warshaw proceed with discovery on behalf of GTII, the Companys board of directors has signaled that it will task management to look for ways to reward its shareholders for their loyalty during this unprecedented time. The Company will continue with its plan to uplist with Upstream (MERJ), executing its strategy to dual list alongside the OTCQB, putting itself in a position of strength in 2023, as it continues with its long-stated goal of enhancing value for its longtime shareholder base. About Global Tech Industries Group, Inc.: GTII is a publicly traded Company incorporated in the state of Nevada, specializing in the pursuit of acquiring new and innovative technologies. Visit GTII here https://gtii-us.com/.

Please follow our Company at: www.otcmarkets.com/stock/GTII or at https://gtii-us.com/

Safe Harbor Forward-Looking Statements:

This press release may contain forward looking statements that are based on current expectations, forecasts, and assumptions that involve risks as well as uncertainties that could cause actual outcomes and results to differ materially from those anticipated or expected, including statements related to the amount and timing of expected revenues related to our financial performance, expected income, distributions, and future growth for upcoming quarterly and annual periods. These risks and uncertainties are further defined in filings and reports by the Company with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Actual results and the timing of certain events could differ materially from those projected in or contemplated by the forward-looking statements due to a number of factors detailed from time to time in our filings with the SEC. Among other matters, the Company may not be able to sustain growth or achieve profitability based upon many factors including but not limited to the risk that we will not be able to find and acquire businesses and assets that will enable us to become profitable. Reference is hereby made to cautionary statements set forth in the Companys most recent SEC filings. We have incurred and will continue to incur significant expenses in our development stage, noting that there is no assurance that we will generate enough revenues to offset those costs in both the near and long term. New lines of business may expose us to additional legal and regulatory costs and unknown exposure(s), the impact of which cannot be predicted at this time.

Words such as estimate, project, predict, will, would, should, could, may, might, anticipate, plan, intend, believe, expect, aim, goal, target, objective, likely or similar expressions that convey the prospective nature of events or outcomes generally indicate forward-looking statements. You should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of this press release. Unless legally required, we undertake no obligation to update, modify or withdraw any forward-looking statements, because of new information, future events or otherwise.

Global Tech Industries Group, Inc.

511 Sixth Avenue, Suite 800

New York, NY 10011

Info@gtii-us.com
Silver Spring, MD, Feb. 06, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Global Communities, a humanitarian assistance and sustainable development organization working in more than 30 countries around the world, today announced the tragic passing of Seba Marashli, a Gender-Based Violence Officer based in Gaziantep, Turkey.

Marashli was killed early this morning local time when her home collapsed in the devastating 7.8 earthquake centered in southern Turkey.

Our entire global team is united in mourning the tragic, untimely loss of our valued colleague Seba Marashli, and in holding our team members in Turkey, Syria, Iraq and across the Middle East in our hearts, said Global Communities President and CEO Carrie Hessler-Radelet.

Global Communities will be extending support to Marashlis family and our team members, as well as conducting a structural assessment and safety inspection of our office in Gaziantep before it reopens.

Global Communities has been providing humanitarian assistance in Syria since 2014, and in the wake of the earthquake, our team in northwest Syria is continuing to deliver essential services to residents of Atmeh Camp, providing water, sanitation services, and garbage collection, and continuing to distribute bread to residents in Azaz, northwest Syria. In responding to immediate needs, Global Communities includes protection programs to mitigate the risks of violence, exploitation, abuse and neglect of those affected by conflict or disaster, including delivering critically needed services, such as psychosocial support, management of protection-related cases and specialized services for those facing serious protection concerns.

In honor of the life and work of our valued colleague Seba Marashli, we will continue to advance our commitment to gender-based violence prevention and support for women and girls in the region and around the world, Hessler-Radelet said. Global Communities will stand with our partner communities in Turkey and Syria as they respond to and recover from this disaster, and we will continue to assess how we can best respond to humanitarian needs in days, weeks and months ahead.

###

About Global Communities: Global Communities works at the intersection of humanitarian assistance, sustainable development and financial inclusion to save lives, advance equity and secure strong futures. We support communities at the forefront of their own development in more than 30 countries, partnering with local leaders, governments, civil society and the private sector to achieve a shared vision of a more just, prosperous and equitable global community. Learn more at globalcommunities.org.
TORONTO, Feb. 06, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Platinex Inc. ("Platinex" or the "Company") (CSE:PTX) is pleased to announce that it has entered into a binding heads of agreement dated February 6, 2023 with Fancamp Exploration Ltd. ("Fancamp") (TSXV: FNC) with respect to advancing the exploration and development of certain gold mineral properties owned by the parties located in Ontario in the Timmins mining camp (the "Transaction") (see attached map). The Transaction includes several components, pursuant to which (i) Platinex and Fancamp will transfer certain mining properties which they currently hold to South Timmins Mining Inc. ("Goldco"), currently a 100% wholly owned subsidiary of Platinex; (ii) enter into a shareholders' agreement respecting the operations of Goldco; (iii) Platinex will conduct a non-brokered private placement of flow- through units; and (iv) Platinex will conduct a private placement of non-flow-through units, of which Fancamp will subscribe for 9.5% of the issued and outstanding shares of Platinex, all as more particularly described below.



Greg Ferron, President, and Chief Executive Officer of Platinex, said, "The Transaction achieves a number of goals for Platinex. It creates a stronger gold-focused growth vehicle in a world class Ontario gold camp and brings in a strong joint venture partner, Fancamp with access to capital and technical expertise, allowing us to accelerate exploration at Shining Tree Gold Project. The newly acquired Heenan Mallard Gold project which borders IAMGOLDs Cote Gold Project, and the Shining Tree Gold Property are expected to be the first projects to be drilled. The Transaction provides a clear strategy for the enhanced gold portfolio while retaining a 100% ownership of our high-quality W2 Ni-Cu project and the recently acquired Muskrat Dam Critical Minerals Project."

Subject to any regulatory approvals or filings, the Transaction is expected to close on or about February 24, 2023 (the "Closing Date"), or on such other date and time as is mutually agreed to between Platinex and Fancamp.

Details of the Transaction

Property Transfers

Platinex will transfer its district scale Shining Tree gold mineral project located in the Shining Tree District of Ontario, consisting of 1,136 unpatented mining claims and one mining lease (the "Shining Tree Properties") to Goldco in consideration for receiving 75% of the issued and outstanding shares of Goldco Fancamp will transfer to Goldco (i) its Heenan Mallard gold properties located in the Swayze Greenstone gold belt adjacent to Cote Gold Deposit in Northern Ontario, consisting of 296 unpatented mining claims (the "Swayze Properties"); and (ii) its Dorothy Gold project located adjacent to Dynasty Golds Thundercloud Project in NW Ontario (the "Dorothy Properties"), in consideration for receiving 25% of the issued and outstanding shares of Goldco. Fancamp will have an option to increase its shareholding to 50% on the basis described below.

Fancamp will be granted a 1.0% net smelter returns royalty (the "NSR Royalty") in respect of the Swayze Properties and the Dorothy Properties, subject to a decrease to 0.5% NSR Royalty should Fancamp elect to exercise the Option (as described below) to acquire 50% of the issued and outstanding shares of Goldco.



Goldco Operations and Shareholders' Agreement

Platinex and Fancamp will enter into a shareholders' agreement with respect to their ownership interests in Goldco (the " Shareholders' Agreement ")

") The board of Goldco will consist of three directors in respect of which Platinex will have the right to appoint two directors and Fancamp the right to appoint one director

Platinex will be the initial operator (the " Operator ") in respect of the mining activities to be conducted by Goldco

") in respect of the mining activities to be conducted by Goldco A management/technical committee (the " Technical Committee ") of Goldco will be created in respect of which Platinex will have the right to appoint two members and Fancamp the right to appoint one member

") of Goldco will be created in respect of which Platinex will have the right to appoint two members and Fancamp the right to appoint one member Goldco will engage in an initial exploration program of C$1.1million (the " Initial Exploration Program ") to be funded by the Platinex Financings (as described below) and an additional sum of $130,000 to be advanced to Goldco by Fancamp. Platinex shall contribute a minimum of $940,000 to Goldco in respect of Goldcos operation.

") to be funded by the Platinex Financings (as described below) and an additional sum of $130,000 to be advanced to Goldco by Fancamp. Platinex shall contribute a minimum of $940,000 to Goldco in respect of Goldcos operation. Within 60 days from the completion of the Initial Exploration Program, Platinex as Operator shall prepare an exploration program (the " Phase II Exploration Program ") to be approved by all of the members of the Technical Committee and the board of Goldco

") to be approved by all of the members of the Technical Committee and the board of Goldco Fancamp will have the right and option (the " Option ") to increase its ownership interest in Goldco to own up to 50%, which may be exercised over a two-year period commencing on the date of approval of a Phase II Exploration Program by making staged cash payments to Goldco in the aggregate amount of C$1,500,000 to be used for exploration activities of Goldco

") to increase its ownership interest in Goldco to own up to 50%, which may be exercised over a two-year period commencing on the date of approval of a Phase II Exploration Program by making staged cash payments to Goldco in the aggregate amount of C$1,500,000 to be used for exploration activities of Goldco If Fancamp exercises the Option in full and acquires 50% of the issued and outstanding shares in Goldco, Fancamp will assume the role of Operator of Goldco

In addition, on the Closing Date, Fancamp shall have the right to nominate one director to the board of directors of Platinex, which right shall remain subject to Fancamp holding not less than 7.5% of the issued and outstanding shares of Platinex, calculated on a non-diluted basis.

Platinex Financings

Platinex will conduct a non-brokered private placement raising up to $1,500,000 of units ("Units") at a price of $0.04 per Unit (the "Non FT Offering") of which Fancamp will subscribe Units, representing approximately 9.5% of the issued and outstanding shares of Platinex. Platinex will also conduct a non-brokered private placement of flow-through units for an additional $1,000,000 (the "FT Offering") at a price of $0.045 per FT Unit (the "FT Units").

Each Unit shall be comprised of one common share of the Company and one half of one common share purchase warrant, with each whole warrant exercisable into one common share of the Company at a price of $0.055 at any time on or before the date which is 60 months from the closing of the Non-FT Offering.

Each FT Unit will be comprised of one common share of the Company to be issued as a "flow- through share" within the meaning of the Income Tax Act (Canada) (each, a "FT Share") and one half of one common share purchase warrant (each whole such warrant, a "Warrant"). Each Warrant shall be exercisable into one non-flow-through common share of the Company at a price of $0.055 per share at any time on or before the date which is 60 months after the closing date of the FT Offering. The Warrants will be subject to an acceleration clause requiring the exercise of the Warrants if the Platinex share price closes on the Canadian Securities Exchange at $0.15 or greater for 20 consecutive trading days.

The gross proceeds of the FT Offering will be used by Platinex to incur eligible "Canadian exploration expenses" that will qualify as "flow-through mining expenditures" as such terms are defined in the Income Tax Act (Canada) (the "Qualifying Expenditures") related to the gold projects including the Shining Tree Properties and Swayze Properties on or before December 31, 2024. All Qualifying Expenditures will be renounced in favour of the subscribers effective December 31, 2023.

The FT Offering and Non-FT Offering are subject to receipt of all necessary regulatory approvals including the Canadian Securities Exchange. The shares and warrants comprising the FT Units, and the Non FT Units will be subject to a hold period of four months and one day in accordance with applicable securities laws.

The Company may pay finders fees on subscriptions.

Heenan Mallard and Dorothy Project Overview

Heenan Mallard is located on the Ridout Deformation Zone bordering Iamgolds Cote Gold claim package and is approximately 25 km west of the soon to be producing Cote Gold mine (see map).

Historical drilling completed by Noranda (Corstorphine 1985, Assessment File 41009NW003 63.5188) on Mallards River and Camp zones led to an initial discovery (14 holes only) and it is Goldcos intention to drill follow up on those results.

The property is located on a large magnetic anomaly associated with the Woman Lake Iron formation and other magnetic lithologies on the SE corner of the Swayze greenstone belt. The Swayze magnetic anomaly shows signs of hydrothermal alteration, which, combined with the associated gold mineralization at Heenan Mallard, makes the property a very attractive gold target.

Drilling returned several high-grade near-surface intercepts, including 5.04 g/t Au over 3.69 m core length (BE-85-1), 5.31 g/t Au over 3.82 m core length (BE-85-6), 3.50 g/t Au over 2.80 m core length and 6.62 g/t Au over 1.82 m core length (BE-85-3).

Prospecting, geological mapping, soil sampling, and geophysical surveys carried out by Fancamp at Heenan Mallard in 2019-2020 have generated multiple targets in other sections of the project. Of these, the two most highest priority gold targets identified currently for follow up drilling are an undrilled gold showing at Heenan that is coincident with an IP anomaly and an undrilled zone along the Ridout shear at Mallard with a coincident soil and IP anomalies.

There are other gold zones on the property, including an area previously drilled by Fancamp to be revisited since it has returned anomalous gold values up to 6.32 g/t hosted by strongly altered metasedimentary rocks (Ciesielski 2021, Assessment File 20000019548). This area presents a broad zone of strong pervasive silicification and quartz veining.

Dorothy Project:

The Dorothy property is a grassroots project that was staked to cover four anomalous lake sediment anomalies reported in 2006 OGS's high-density Lake sediment survey. The property appears to be situated on a parallel geological structure 15 km east of the Manitou Straits deformation zone's, which hosts the historical Gold Rock Mining Camp and borders Dynasty's Thundercloud gold discovery.

*Gold values and core lengths are converted from imperial unit troy ounce/t and core lengths in feet to metric units g/t and metre, respectively.

Advisors

The Company engaged Canaccord Genuity to assist as an advisory of the transaction and the Offering.

Other Transaction details:

Fancamp will be granted anti-dilution rights to participate in future Platinex equity financings to purchase up to its proportionate share of such Shares for terms at least as favorable to Fancamp as to price and upon the terms provided to other subscribers in such financings

In addition, Fancamp has agreed to vote for management or withhold from voting while the Option is effective

Fancamp is also restricted from acquiring more than 9.5% of the issued and outstanding shares of Platinex (excluding the exercise of warrants held by Fancamp)



The technical information presented in this news release has been reviewed and approved by Ike Osmani, P. Geo, a qualified person for Platinex, as defined by National Instrument 43-101, Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects.

About Platinex Inc.

Platinex Inc. creates shareholder value through the opportunistic acquisition and advancement of high-quality projects in prolific Ontario mining camps. The Company is at the exploration and evaluation stage and is engaged in the acquisition, exploration and development of properties for the mining of precious and base metals. Current assets include a 100% ownership interest in the W2 Copper-Nickel-PGE Project and a 100% interest in the 225 sq. km Shining Tree Gold Project in the Abitibi region of Ontario, a world-renowned gold district. Both projects are district scale. The W2 Project controls one of the major Oxford Stull Dome complexes including the Lansdowne House Igneous Complex. Shining Tree Project covers over 21 km of the Ridout-Tyrrell deformation zone that trends as far west as Newmont's Borden Mine, through the area of IAMGOLD's Cote Gold deposit, and across Aris Gold's Juby Project. The Company is also developing a net smelter return royalty portfolio and current holds royalties on gold, PGE, and base metal properties in Ontario.

For additional information on Platinex and other corporate information, please visit the Company's website at https://platinex.com/ .

For further information, please contact:

Greg Ferron, President, and Chief Executive Officer



Phone: 416-270-5042



Email: gferron@platinex.com

Forward-Looking Information

This news release contains forward-looking information which is not comprised of historical facts. Forward-looking information is characterized by words such as "plan", "expect", "project", "intend", "believe", "anticipate", "estimate" and other similar words, or statements that certain events or conditions "may" or "will" occur. Forward-looking information involves risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual events, results, and opportunities to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information. All statements regarding the completion of the Transaction with Fancamp, including the transfer of properties to South Timmins Mining Inc. ("Goldco"), the cash payment by Fancamp to Goldco, the entering into the Shareholders' Agreement, the completion of the FT Offering and the Non FT Offering, and future expectations regarding the advancement and development of the mining properties by Goldco are examples of forward-looking information. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from such forward-looking information include, but are not limited to, changes in the state of equity and debt markets, fluctuations in commodity prices, delays in obtaining required regulatory or governmental approvals, and includes those risks set out in the Company's management's discussion and analysis as filed under the Company's profile at www.sedar.com. Forward-looking information in this news release is based on the opinions and assumptions of management considered reasonable as of the date hereof, including that all necessary governmental and regulatory approvals will be received as and when expected. Although the Company believes that the assumptions and factors used in preparing the forward-looking information in this news release are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on such information. The Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking information, other than as required by applicable securities laws.

Neither the CSE nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the CSE) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/3ae129a4-2f18-42fc-bb8f-b5eee582691e
TEL AVIV, Israel, Feb. 06, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Cognni, a leading AI-powered data classification company, has launched a new information risk-assessment product that it has made available to all customers. The product uses proprietary AI to provide a comprehensive analysis of direct and indirect threats to critical business information, with a scan taking just minutes to complete.

Cognni's technology goes beyond the limits of many existing data discovery tools that only detect personal identifiers and can map an organization's sensitive information without any training. It uses a new generation of AI that uses prior knowledge to mimic the way humans understand and give meaning to information. This enables the technology to detect and classify critical financial, business, and legal information at a granular level, like a human would, rather than only extracting regulated personal identifiers.

Organizations can perform the security scan remotely via Cognni's online platform and will receive a detailed information risk assessment report within a couple of minutes of the completion of the scan. While there are other such tools on the market, what makes Cognni's information risk assessment so unique is its ability to detect information risks in an organization's sensitive information without the need to teach the AI and the speed at which it can complete this in just a few minutes.

"Our AI-powered Information Risk Assessment Tool is a game-changer when it comes to how companies can audit their data posture and detect information risks that they couldn't detect until today," said Guy Eisdorfer, Co-Founder and CEO of Cognni. "Given the size and complexity of the data now stored by many organizations, the only scalable solution to managing the risks associated with this is to use advanced AI tools to achieve in minutes what a human would take months to do."

To receive a risk assessment, clients can register and connect to the Cognni Information Security Intelligence Platform. Following the scan, a full report is produced and delivered to the user. The report provides an in-depth assessment of key security findings in an easily-digestible format that includes an executive summary and a breakdown of data vulnerabilities.

As a member of the Microsoft Intelligent Security Association, Cognni has spent years developing information security services in the infosec sector. The new report marks the company's latest efforts to enhance the configuration of critical information security at all levels of business operations.

About Cognni.ai

Founded in 2019 by Guy Eisdorfer and Ami Marueli, Cognni launched with a mission to help organizations establish effective infosec strategies. The company has established itself as a trailblazer in infosec strategy and support driven by intelligence. Filling the gaps in existing information management and classification systems, Cognni developed an AI-powered system that autonomously analyzes critical data and mitigates previously unseen information risks.

Contact Information:

Mihaela Cretu

Cognni PR Manager

mihaela@intelligentrelations.com



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Toronto, Feb. 06, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The renowned World Affairs Conference (WAC) is pleased to announce that Martin Luther King III will be the keynote speaker at this years student-led conference to be held at Upper Canada College in Toronto on Thursday, February 9. The day-long conference is co-hosted with Branksome Hall and features more than 10 speakers who will present on this years theme: WAC 2023: Hybrid Thinking. Participating in-person will be secondary students and teachers from 17 schools from across the Greater Toronto Area, as well as a global audience joining virtually.

The World Affairs Conference aims to bring together youths, educators and changemakers to help shape a better world. It is North Americas largest and Canadas oldest annual student-run current events conference, providing high-quality discussion opportunities for thousands of inspired, curious and globally-minded high school students from around the world. Its mission is to motivate high school students to proactively engage in world affairs and become aware of humanity's most pressing challenges by exposing students to experienced perspectives and discussion opportunities with global leaders.

Mr. King will be in Toronto on February 9 and his keynote, which takes place at 2:30 p.m., will speak to the importance of continuing the struggle for civil rights and taking a stand against adversity, emphasizing the importance of individual action in making his fathers dream a reality and challenging us all to do better.

We have an exciting lineup of speakers this year. From our headlining keynote speaker Martin Luther King III, son of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr, to biotechnology experts, CEOs, New York Times published writers, comedians, Times Top 100 Most Influential People, and many more, students will learn about a wide range of topics to redefine world affairs, note Seungmyoung Lee and Amyna Ismail, WAC co-chairs and Grade 12 students at Branksome Hall.

Jefferson Ding and Rahul Nanda, Year 12 students at Upper Canada College and two of the four co-chairs of WAC 2023, say, We are delighted to have been a part of an event not only with a profound history but with an impressive list of past speakers, which has served to educate and inform the UCC and Branksome Hall communities and beyond. In particular, in our conferences history, we have had the opportunity to hear from Scott Galloway, Michele Romanow, Bharat Masrani, Mehdi Hasan, Edward Snowden, Marc Garneau, Dr. Geoffrey Hinton, and Ralph Nader.

The conferences plenary sessions are limited to the invited schools who have chosen to attend in-person. Keynote presentations, including Martin Luther King IIIs remarks, will be available to the public through the HopIn streaming platform. Registration can be completed through this link.

Media Opportunities

Interested media and press are invited to attend WAC throughout the day from 9:30 AM - 3:30 PM at Upper Canada College. Interview opportunities can be co-ordinated with speakers and other WAC participants. Press and media will have access to and can listen in on any keynote or plenary speaker. This includes MLK IIIs Keynote from 2:30 PM - 3:30 PM in Laidlaw Hall.

Interested media should contact Marnie Peters or Liisa Stephenson (contact information below) for accreditation and further details on the event.

World Affairs Conference Background and Resources

Since the 1980s, WAC has engaged more than 10,000 students from 35 countries and 80 schools. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, WAC has gone virtual for the past two years, which enabled it to reach a more global audience and gain recognition from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and City of Toronto Mayor John Tory.

A detailed schedule and list of speakers are found on the WAC website. For more information, please visit the following:

Attachment
Geneva, Switzerland, 6 February 2023  LEM (SIX: LEHN), a leading global company in electrical measurement for renewable energy, automation, power network and e-mobility applications, announces 9 months results for 2022/23 (April-December) compared to 2021/22:

Bookings decreased by 17.1% to CHF 362.2 million (CHF 436.9 million)



Sales increased by 9.5% to CHF 301.6 million (CHF 275.5 million); at constant exchange rates, sales increased by 12.5%



The company benefits from a diverse global distribution of sales, led by China and EMEA: China CHF 122.0 m (40.5% of total) Rest-of-Asia CHF 51.9 m (17.2% of total) EMEA CHF 90.8 m (30.1% of total) Americas CHF 36.9 m (12.2% of total)



R&D investments of CHF 24.8 million (CHF 22.5 million), or 8.2% of sales



EBIT increased by 6.5% to CHF 68.3 million (CHF 64.2 million); the EBIT margin decreased to 22.7% (23.3%)



Net profit for the period increased to CHF 55.3 million (CHF 53.7 million)





Frank Rehfeld, Chief Executive Officer, said: We are pleased to report a solid quarter, with Q3 sales of CHF 103.5 million, again exceeding the CHF 100 million threshold. This result was driven mainly by our Automotive and Energy Distribution businesses. In November, China suffered from lockdowns, and in December, the end of Chinas zero-covid policy led to a surge in Covid cases amongst our employees. Both affected our production capacity. Nevertheless, within three weeks our Chinese team returned to full production, which shows their strength and commitment. The Americas strong performance was led by the acceleRating adoption of electric vehicles and our solutions for drives.

Andrea Borla, Chief Financial Officer, remarked: This quarter was marked by top-line growth and healthy profitability. Our order book continues to drop to more normal levels after the disruptions of the past two years. Although we still face supply chain challenges, we confirm our forecast of CHF 390 to 400 million in full year sales.





in CHF millions 2022/23 9M 2021/22 9M Change Businesses Scope Automation drives, robots, tooling machines, elevators, HVAC 101.8 96.6 +5.4% Automotive battery (EV & CE), motor control, onboard charging 75.3 62.5 +20.5% Renewable Energy solar, wind 50.3 49.5 +1.6% Energy Distribution & High Precision charging stations, smart grid, energy storage, high precision 42.8 35.3 +21.2% Track trains, metro, trackside 31.4 31.6 -0.6% Total 301.6 275.5 +9.5%

Performance by businesses

Automation

Sales performance for Automation grew favorably, and even better with adjusted exchange rate effects. Business was mainly driven by the manufacturing investment cycle and strong demand for small and medium power applications.

Automotive

Driven by battery management and motor control, the Automotive business in Q3 again showed robust sales after a record Q2. As customers had been placing orders with longer time horizons, bookings are now slowing down. Fundamental demand for EVs remains strong, as indicated by a book-to-bill ratio of over 1.0 for the quarter.

Renewable Energy

Sales increased slightly, although there are still bottlenecks for components. The prospects for Renewable Energy remain strong, as key markets accelerate due to favorable government policies and a foreseeable easing of the supply chain constraints.

Energy Distribution & High Precision

Investments in e-mobility continue driving customer interest in our DC Meter products, mainly due to acquisition of new customers and growing demand in Europe and the US. Flexible Rogowski coils for energy distribution management contributed considerably to the business growth. The IN family, which offers high precision solutions for test benches in the EV market, continues to develop strongly.

Track

Our traction business, with its project-based long investment horizons, continues to be impacted by component shortages. At constant currencies, growth was still positive, and the order book has increased considerably.





Performance by regions

in CHF millions 2022/23 9M 2021/22 9M Change Regions Scope China 122.0 107.9 +13.1% Rest-of-Asia Japan, South-Korea, India, South-East Asia 51.9 50.2 +3.5% EMEA Europe, Middle East & Africa 90.8 91.1 -0.4% Americas NAFTA & Latin America 36.9 26.3 +40.4% Total 301.6 275.5 +9.5%

China

Sales performance continued to increase. The EV market, both domestically and for export, continued to develop in a positive manner. Our Renewable Energy business performed well, but we were still not able to fully satisfy the demand for solar and electric storage devices. The Automation business remained stable, serving mostly local demand.

Rest-of-Asia

Sales increased slightly, whereas orders decreased as they reverted to more normal, pre-pandemic levels. Japan performed well in the Automotive business, and new EV and hybrid launches drove strong sales in the Automotive business in South Korea. In India, where Automotive business is growing, Track was nearly flat due to component shortages.

EMEA

While sales were adversely impacted by foreign exchange rates, Q3 showed solid bookings and successful sales of the DC Meter product in Germany and the rest of Western Europe. Track sales showed solid performance on the quarter, owing to strong demand for our Energy Metering solutions in Germany. The fundamental megatrends driving our businesses continue to gain momentum in Europe, as it develops renewable energy sources to diversify supply and ensure energy security.

Americas

Q3 showed strong sales in the Automotive and Automation businesses and was positively impacted by final orders for a planned phase-out of certain products. Our DC Meter has been certified in the US and Canada for use in EV charging infrastructure. Our order book continues to grow and benefit from the US governments commitment to sustainable energies.

Profitability remains robust

Gross profit was up by 9.8% at CHF 142.8 million (CHF 130.1 million), while the gross margin improved slightly to 47.4%. This is 20 basis points better than in the prior year, mainly due to sales price increases being offset by purchase price increases.

SG&A costs were up by 14.7% to CHF 49.9 million (CHF 43.6 million) and accounted for 16.6% of sales (15.8%). This increase reflects our digitalization projects (investment in software and hardware), external consulting support for several key initiatives, and recruitment of additional talent. We continue with our long-term investment in future applications, with R&D up in absolute terms by 10.0% to CHF 24.8 million (CHF 22.5 million), or 8.2% of sales (8.2%).

EBIT increased by 6.5% to CHF 68.3 million from CHF 64.2 million, primarily due to improved sales. Our reported EBIT margin was down at 22.7% compared with 23.3%.

The negative impact of foreign exchange translations on the first 9 months was CHF 2.1 million, same as last year, mainly due to depreciation of the EUR. The Group tax expenses of CHF 10.1 million represent a tax rate of 15.4%.

Net profit for the first 9 months increased to CHF 55.3 million, while the net profit margin decreased to 18.3% compared with 19.5%.

Outlook

Our businesses have shown to be successful as they continue to benefit from the fundamental drivers of decarbonization, electrification, automation, and mobility. Growth remains restrained by shortages, mostly of semiconductor components. We remain aware of the risk of potential recessions in key markets. For the full financial year 2022/23, the company currently expects sales from CHF 390 to 400 million (CHF 373.4 million for 2021/22), with an EBIT margin above 20%.





Changes in Executive Committee

After a long career as Senior Vice President Automotive and after leading the implementation of a highly successful growth strategy, Rainer Bos has left the senior management team of LEM as of December 2022. We are pleased to advise the appointment of three new members to our leadership team.

Bastien Musy has been promoted to Senior Vice President Europe & Americas and joined the Executive Management team. He was formerly Vice President Global Product Management, Head Product Management Automotive and Head of Special Projects at LEM.



John McLuskie joined the Executive Management team as Senior Vice President Asia. Based in Shanghai, he has served most recently as President of GKN Automotive China.



Uwe Gerber joined the Executive Management team as Senior Vice President Operations. Previously, he was Chief Operations Officer at Schaltbau Bode in Kassel, Germany.

The planned extension of the Executive Committee is now complete. With diverse nationalities and cultures, experience and expertise, this team is well prepared to lead the organization and to achieve our ambitions.

Conference call and webcast

Frank Rehfeld, CEO, and Andrea Borla, CFO, will provide a presentation of the 9 months 2022/23 results today at 10:00 CET at a media and investor community audio webcast and conference call.

Listen to live audio webcast

https://event.choruscall.com/mediaframe/webcast.html?webcastid=TbqA0OQE

The press release, webcast slides, and the link to the audio webcast are available in the Investor Relations section of the LEM website (www.lem.com/en/investors), where the recorded webcast will later also be archived.

Dial-In Numbers

Switzerland & Europe: +41 (0)58 310 50 00

UK: +44 (0) 207 107 06 13

USA: +1 (1) 631 570 56 13

Other countries: https://services3.choruscall.ch/NUMBERS/Attended_Dial_In_Numbers.pdf

Financial calendar

The financial year runs from 1 April to 31 March

25 May 2023 Full year results 2022/23 29 June 2023 Annual General Meeting of Shareholders for the financial year 2022/23 4 July 2023 Dividend ex-date 6 July 2023 Dividend payment date

LEM  Life Energy Motion

A leading company in electrical measurement, LEM engineers the best solutions for energy and mobility, ensuring that our customers systems are optimized, reliable and safe.

Our 1,600 people in over 15 countries transform technology potential into powerful answers. We develop and recruit the best global talent, working at the forefront of megatrends such as renewable energy, mobility, automation and digitization.

With innovative electrical solutions, we are helping our customers and society accelerate the transition to a more sustainable and affordable future.

Listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange since 1986, the companys ticker symbol is LEHN.

www.lem.com

Contact: Investment community Andrea Borla, Chief Finance Officer Phone: +41 22 706 1250 Email: investor@lem.com Contact: Media Cabinet Prive de Conseils s.a. (CPC) Michael Fuglister: fuglister@cpc-pr.com, mobile: +41 78 839 07 62 Etienne Vioget: vioget@cpc-pr.com, mobile: +41 79 560 54 83

Appendix
Columbia Falls, Maine, Feb. 06, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- February 6, 2023  Wreaths Across America Radio, is a full-time internet radio station that broadcasts a variety of music, news, and stories regarding American veterans, their families, and the ongoing community work of Wreaths Across America and its local volunteers. Today, Wreaths Across America Radio proudly announces entering into a content-sharing agreement with several exciting new program partners.

With World Radio Day coming up on February 13, we thought there is no better time to announce these new veteran-centric partnerships, Jeff Pierce, Director of Broadcasting and Media Partnerships for Wreaths Across America. The Wreaths Across America Radio lineup is constantly evolving as we are always looking for content that is relevant to veterans and military families, and in support of the mission of Wreaths Across America. As a Voice for Americas Veterans, we are open to talking to anyone who has a veterans-related show or podcast theyd like to share.

The new programming will begin airing on Wreaths Across America Radio this week. Following are details about each program and when it will air on the station. You can listen to Wreaths Across America Radios 24/7 internet stream anytime and anywhere on the iHeart Radio app, Audacy app, TuneIn app, or at www.wreathsacrossamerica.org/radio .

American Warrior Radio is a nationally syndicated program hosted by Ben Buehler-Garcia. The mission of the program is to educate and inform the public about service life through stories of our men and women in the military and those who support them. In addition, the show serves military families by discussing issues of importance to Veterans.

Oscar Mike Radio is hosted by United States Marine Corps Veteran Travis Partington. A 2021 Veteran Podcast Award Nominee, Oscar Mike Radio is a show for active-military service members, veterans, and non-veterans. The goal of the show is to meet and share ideas on supporting one another. Oscar Mike Radio can be heard Thursdays at 11 am and Sundays at 8 am (ET).

The Veterans Forward Show is hosted By Brian Cummings, a United States Air Force Veteran and Director of Veteran Services for nonprofit Veterans Forward. This radio show features guests talking about their personal experiences in the military, challenges faced by veterans, service members and their families and critical resources for help. You can hear The Veterans Forward show Fridays at 11 am and Sundays at 5 pm (ET).

Welcome Home Veterans Radio is hosted by Vietnam Veteran Joe Griffies. This program salutes those who have served and are still serving with a mix of conversation, information, and special guests. The Welcome Home Veterans radio show airs very Saturday from 2 to 4 PM ET on WWAC-AM in New Jersey and on Wreaths Across America Radio Thursdays at 9 pm (ET).

The Mental Health Warrior Podcast was originally a podcast by Clifford Bauman. This 34-year Army veteran is an internationally known motivational speaker. Mental Health Warrior podcast talks about Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), Mental Health and Suicide. As a survivor of an attempted suicide he realizes the importance of getting counseling and having a strong support structure. Reducing the stigma of asking for help one show at a time. Hear the show Fridays at 8 pm (ET) and Sunday at 10 pm (ET).

The Washington Tattoo Podcast is an exciting, newly formed international music and arts festival made up if veterans from premier military bands that perform at the state and royal level. The mission is to leverage the universal power of music and provide powerful and heartfelt experiences for veterans and their families. The show will have a particular focus on honor, service, belonging, pride, and community. The radio show runs Fridays at 6 pm ET and Sundays at 4 pm ET on Wreaths Across America Radio.

For more information about the yearlong mission of Wreaths Across America, please visit www.wreathsacrossamerica.org. Your $17 sponsorship will support the program and place a fresh balsam veterans wreath on the headstone of an American hero on December 16, 2023, as part of National Wreaths Across America Day.



# # #

About Wreaths Across America Radio

Wreaths Across America Radio is a 24/7 Internet stream. Its unique format provides informational and inspiring content about members of the U.S. armed forces, their families, military veterans, and volunteers throughout the country and overseas who support the mission to Remember, Honor and Teach. Along with the inspiring content, Wreaths Across America Radio plays a variety of music with roots firmly planted in patriotism and a country music thread running through the core of the stream. Wreaths Across America Radio has a live morning show every weekday morning from 6 am to 10 am ET, along with a variety of special programs that support the mission.

You can listen to Wreaths Across America Radios 24/7 internet stream anytime and anywhere on the iHeart Radio app, Audacy app, TuneIn app, or at www.wreathsacrossamerica.org/radio .

About Wreaths Across America

Wreaths Across America is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded to continue and expand the annual wreath-laying ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery begun in 1992. The organizations mission  Remember, Honor, Teach  is carried out in part each year by coordinating wreath-laying ceremonies in December at Arlington, as well as thousands of veterans cemeteries and other locations in all 50 states and beyond.



For more information or to sponsor a wreath please visit www.wreathsacrossamerica.org .

Interviews are available with Wreaths Across America Radio and partners upon request.

Media Resources

https://learn.wreathsacrossamerica.org/mediaresources

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LAS VEGAS and VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Feb. 06, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- TAAT GLOBAL ALTERNATIVES INC. (CSE: TAAT) (OTCQX: TOBAF) (FRANKFURT: 2TP) (the Company or TAAT) is pleased to announce that in 2023 its subsidiary Beyond Alternatives LLC (Beyond Alternatives) will be pursuing additional applications of the Companys proprietary base material in emerging market areas. In a press release dated December 22, 2022 , the Company announced the Q4 2022 creation of Beyond Alternatives; an entity specializing in the development and commercialization of alternative products in growing categories.



The first brand to be brought to market by Beyond Alternatives is titled Jayvees, and will be launched at the CHAMPS trade show event in Las Vegas; taking place from Wednesday, February 8, 2023 through Saturday, February 11, 2023. More information about CHAMPS can be found on the parent organizations website at the following link: https://champstradeshows.com/

The base material in Jayvees, which underwent years of development by TAAT Founder Joe Deighan and Chief Science Officer Dr. Cindy Orser , has an advanced patent-pending formulation of reconstituted hemp. In addition to making for a smooth and stimulating smoking experience across a range of use cases for adult consumers, the proprietary formulation of the base material is conducive to an exceptionally high production velocity, allowing for favourable cost efficiency as well as a low barrier to upward scaling of production volume.

Jayvees Brand Overview

Beyond Alternatives inaugural brand Jayvees specializes in leveraging novel cannabinoids to provide unique experiences through combustible and edible products. Jayvees will initially offer four smokable varieties (Blue Dream, Menthol, OG Kush, and Tropical), sold in packs of ten sticks referred to as Jays. Additionally, Jayvees will offer four CBD-balanced varieties of edible chocolates (Milk Chocolate, Dark Chocolate, Cookies & Cream, and Peanut Butter).

Beyond Alternatives will commercialize Jayvees through the Companys existing wholesale distribution infrastructure within the United States, anchored in Las Vegas, Nevada. Additionally, the Companys Ohio-based subsidiary ADCO Distributors, Inc. (ADCO) placed its initial order of Jayvees in January 2023, and will carry Jayvees among its existing range of alternative and legacy products in the convenience category.

Jayvees will be the first brand launched under the Companys subsidiary Beyond Alternatives. In addition to the four flavours of hemp Jays pictured above, Jayvees will offer four CBD-balanced varieties of edible chocolates.

Readers using news aggregation services may be unable to view the media above. Please access SEDAR or the Investor Relations section of the Companys website for a version of this press release containing all published media.

TAAT Chief Executive Officer Michael Saxon commented, Were excited for whats to come in 2023, as the CPG industry landscape continues to evolve. One of our objectives for this year is to fortify our market presence across multiple categories and geographies. There are many emerging segments where we believe the Company is favourably positioned to become an early entrant through Beyond Alternatives. Leveraging our ADCO distribution business will allow the product to get to market faster, and allow us to diversify our revenue streams. Jayvees will be Beyond Alternatives first brand to enter the market, and we are looking forward to launching its initial range of products at the CHAMPS trade show in Las Vegas.

On behalf of the Board of Directors of the Company,

TAAT GLOBAL ALTERNATIVES INC.

Michael Saxon

Michael Saxon, CEO and Director

For further information, please contact:

TAAT Investor Relations

1-833-TAAT-USA (1-833-822-8872)

investor@taatglobal.com

THE CANADIAN SECURITIES EXCHANGE (CSE) HAS NOT REVIEWED AND DOES NOT ACCEPT RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ACCURACY OR ADEQUACY OF THIS RELEASE, NOR HAS OR DOES THE CSES REGULATION SERVICES PROVIDER.

About TAAT Global Alternatives Inc.

TAAT is a vertically integrated consumer product and distribution company, generating more than CAD $90 million in overall gross revenue annually. TAAT is strategically expanding its product categories including tobacco and reduced-risk alternatives, hemp, kratom, and other emerging CPG segments. TAAT has facilities to include a processing plant in Nevada as well as a distribution centre in Canton, Ohio, leveraging existing retail shelf space and pipelines into national wholesale channels.

For more information, please visit http://taatglobal.com .

Forward-Looking Statements

This news release contains forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. Often, but not always, forward-looking information and information can be identified by the use of words such as plans, expects or does not expect, is expected, estimates, intends, anticipates or does not anticipate, or believes, or variations of such words and phrases or state that certain actions, events or results may, could, would, might or will be taken, occur, or be achieved. Forward-looking information in this news release includes statements regarding the anticipated performance of TAAT in the tobacco industry, in addition to the following: Occurrence of the CHAMPS trade show event with Beyond Alternatives as an exhibitor, potential performance of Beyond Alternatives products. The forward-looking information reflects managements current expectations based on information currently available and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that may cause outcomes to differ materially from those discussed in the forward-looking information. Although the Company believes that the assumptions and factors used in preparing the forward-looking information are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on such information and no assurance can be given that such events will occur in the disclosed timeframes or at all. Factors that could cause actual results or events to differ materially from current expectations include: (i) adverse market conditions; (ii) changes to the growth and size of the tobacco markets; (iii) changes to the regulatory landscape applicable to the Company's business; and (iv) other factors beyond the control of the Company. The Company operates in a rapidly evolving environment. New risk factors emerge from time to time, and it is impossible for the Companys management to predict all risk factors, nor can the Company assess the impact of all factors on Companys business or the extent to which any factor, or combination of factors, may cause actual results to differ from those contained in any forward-looking information. The forward-looking information included in this news release are made as of the date of this news release and the Company expressly disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking information whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by applicable law.

The statements in this news release have not been evaluated by Health Canada or the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. As each individual is different, the benefits, if any, of taking the Companys products will vary from person to person. No claims or guarantees can be made as to the effects of the Companys products on an individuals health and well-being. The Companys products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.

This news release may contain trademarked names of third-party entities (or their respective offerings with trademarked names) typically in reference to (i) relationships had by the Company with such third-party entities as referred to in this release and/or (ii) client/vendor/service provider parties whose relationship with the Company is/are referred to in this release. All rights to such trademarks are reserved by their respective owners or licensees.

Statement Regarding Third-Party Investor Relations Firms

Disclosures relating to investor relations firms retained by TAAT Global Alternatives Inc. can be found under the Company's profile on http://sedar.com .

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/aa0410e0-9c1d-42c2-af5a-2bb91eeb8ffc
Harmony P. Garges MD MPH and Menassie Taddese MBA appointed to Medexuss board of directors

Appointments bolster Medexus boards medical and financial expertise, particularly in the United States

TORONTO and CHICAGO, Feb. 06, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Medexus Pharmaceuticals (Medexus) (TSX: MDP) (OTCQX: MEDXF) is pleased to welcome Harmony P. Garges MD MPH, Chief Medical Officer of ViiV Healthcare, and Menassie Taddese MBA, former executive at Pfizer and Viatris, to the Medexus board of directors.

We are very pleased to welcome Harmony and Menassie, two experienced professionals whose skills, experience, and expertise will serve to diversify and supplement those of the current members of our board, commented Benoit Gravel, Chair of the Compensation, Corporate Governance, and Nominating Committee of the Board of Directors.

Ken dEntremont, Chief Executive Officer of Medexus, added, We are thrilled to have Harmony and Menassie join our board. As we continue to evaluate new opportunities to grow our business, strengthening our team remains a priority. Harmonys significant experience leading medical affairs and medical regulatory matters and Menassies strong management experience and expertise in corporate finance will undoubtedly be assets as we grow our business organically and engage in new business and corporate development initiatives.

Dr Garges and Mr Taddese were elected to fill two newly created directorships with effect as of February 6, 2023 and will initially serve until the next annual meeting of Medexus shareholders. For more information about the Medexus board of directors, see the Governance section of Medexuss corporate website.

About Dr Garges and Mr Taddese

Harmony P. Garges MD MPH brings 18 years of multinational pharmaceutical leadership experience in the United States and the UK to the Medexus board. Dr Garges has served as Chief Medical Officer of ViiV Healthcare since August 2019. In this role, Dr Garges is accountable for all aspects of human safety and medical governance and for the global medical affairs strategy and execution for the company. Dr Garges joined ViiV Healthcare in 2016 after spending over a decade at GSK in various leadership roles across R&D, pharmacovigilance, and medical affairs. During her career, Dr Garges has provided medical leadership for over a dozen new drug applications and new product launches.

Menassie Taddese MBA is a seasoned veteran of the biopharmaceutical industry with wide ranging experience in general management, finance, business transformation, partnership creation, and overall leadership. He brings over 26 years of experience leading large commercial and cross-functional organizations across the globe to the Medexus board.

About Medexus

Medexus is a leader in innovative and rare disease treatment solutions with a strong North American commercial platform and a portfolio of proven best-in-class products. Our current focus is on the therapeutic areas of hematology, auto-immune diseases, and allergy. We continue to build a highly differentiated company with a growing portfolio of innovative and high-value orphan and rare disease products that will underpin our growth for the next decade.

Our current leading products are IXINITY, an intravenous recombinant factor IX therapeutic for use in patients 12 years of age or older with Hemophilia B (a hereditary bleeding disorder characterized by a deficiency of clotting factor IX in the blood, which is necessary to control bleeding); Rasuvo and Metoject, a unique formulation of methotrexate (auto-pen and pre-filled syringe) designed to treat rheumatoid arthritis and other auto-immune diseases; Rupall, an innovative prescription allergy medication with a unique mode of action; and Gleolan (aminolevulinic acid hydrochloride or ALA HCl), an FDA-approved, orphan drug designated optical imaging agent currently indicated in patients with glioma (suspected World Health Organization Grades III or IV on preoperative imaging) as an adjunct for the visualization of malignant tissue during surgery.

We have also licensed treosulfan, part of a preparative regimen for allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation to be used in combination with fludarabine, for commercialization in the United States and Canada. Treosulfan was approved by Health Canada in June 2021 and is marketed in Canada as Trecondyv. Treosulfan is currently the subject of a regulatory review process with the US Food and Drug Administration.

Our mission is to provide the best healthcare products to healthcare professionals and patients. We strive to deliver on this mission by acting on our core values: Quality, Innovation, Customer Service, and Collaboration.

Contacts

For more information, please contact any of the following:

Medexus

Ken dEntremont, Chief Executive Officer

Medexus Pharmaceuticals

Tel: 905-676-0003

Email: ken.dentremont@medexus.com

Marcel Konrad, Chief Financial Officer

Medexus Pharmaceuticals

Tel: 312-548-3139

Email: marcel.konrad@medexus.com

Investor Relations

Victoria Rutherford

Adelaide Capital

Tel: 480-625-5772

Email: victoria@adcap.ca

Forward-looking statements

Certain statements made in this press release contain forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable securities laws (forward-looking statements). The words anticipates, believes, expects, will, plans, potential, and similar words, phrases, or expressions are often intended to identify forward-looking statements, although not all forward-looking statements contain these identifying words, phrases, or expressions. Specific forward-looking statements in this news release include, but are not limited to, statements regarding Medexuss business strategy or outlook and future growth plans and the expected tenure and contributions of Medexuss directors. These statements are based on factors or assumptions that were applied in drawing a conclusion or making a forecast or projection, including assumptions based on historical trends, current conditions, and expected future developments. Since forward-looking statements relate to future events and conditions, by their very nature they require making assumptions and involve inherent risks and uncertainties. Medexus cautions that although it is believed that the assumptions are reasonable in the circumstances, these risks and uncertainties give rise to the possibility that actual results may differ materially from the expectations set out in the forward-looking statements. Material risk factors include, but are not limited to, those set out in Medexuss materials filed with the Canadian securities regulatory authorities from time to time, including Medexuss most recent annual information form and managements discussion and analysis. Given these risks, undue reliance should not be placed on these forward-looking statements, which are made only as of the date of this news release. Other than as specifically required by law, Medexus undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements to reflect new information, subsequent or otherwise.
OTTAWA, Feb. 06, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- AFOA Canada will host more than 1,100 Indigenous professionals, Indigenous leaders, and representatives from Corporate Canada to discuss The Indigenous Economy of Tomorrow at its 21st National Conference at the Shaw Centre in Ottawa, Ont.

The National Conference will include two plenary events, with a grand entry, an address by the Honourable Patty Hajdu, Minister of Indigenous Services Canada, Wednesday morning greetings by Chief Dylan Whiteduck of Kitigan Zibi Anishinabeg, and Thursday morning greetings by President Cassidy Caron of the Metis National Council. The ceremonies for the MNP-AFOA Canada Indigenous Community Excellence Award, the Nutrien Indigenous Youth Financial Management Awards, and the Indigenous Leadership award will take place throughout the event. The conference will end with a convocation of newly certified graduates from AFOA Canadas Certified Programs.

Wednesday Plenary: Connecting the Indigenous Economy of Tomorrow with improving Social Outcomes

In June 2022, the National Indigenous Economic Development Board launched the National Indigenous Economic Strategy for Canada. The strategy is based on four pathways that lead to the ultimate vision of social economic parity for Indigenous people. While growing capital within communities is important, parity also exists when working toward closing the wellbeing gap between Indigenous and non-indigenous people in Canada. The speakers will discuss the economic vision and the closing the gap vision in terms of what can be achieved. Sponsored by First Nations Bank of Canada.

Keynote Address by Dawn Madahbee Leach, Chair, National Indigenous Economic Development Board and The Honourable Patty Hajdu, P.C., M.P., Minister of Indigenous Services Canada

Panel Discussion:

Tabatha Bull, President and Chief Executive Officer, Canadian Council for Aboriginal Business

Chief Ted Williams, Chippewas of Rama First Nation Government, Ontario

The Honourable Patty Hajdu, P.C., M.P., Minister of Indigenous Services Canada

Dawn Madahbee Leach, Chair, National Indigenous Economic Development Board

Date: Wednesday, February 15, 2023 Time: 9:00am to 10:30am Location: Shaw Centre, Ottawa, Ont.

Thursday Plenary: The Future of Work and the Indigenous Workforce

The world today is changing at a rate none of us could have anticipated. The pandemic, technological change and other trends are driving dramatic shifts in economies and societies that have a significant impact on the future of work. The Future Skills Centre, drawing on research from its consortium and partners, will share insights on the landscape considering indigenous skills training, as well as the impact of automation and digital skills on the Indigenous economy. Indigenous educators and communities need to consider how this will impact Indigenous skilled workers. The panelists will discuss what the research is telling us and how we can prepare for the future. Sponsored by Peace Hills Trust.

Keynote Address by Pedro Barata, Executive Director of the Future Skills Centre

Panel Discussion:

Dr. Paulette Tremblay, President and Chief Executive Officer, First Nations Education Administrators Association

Dr. Dan Brant, Assistant Professor, Queens University

Jane Hutchison, Senior Research Associate I, Education and Skills, Conference Board of Canada

Pedro Barata, Executive Director of the Future Skills Centre

Date: Thursday, February 16, 2023 Time: 8:45am to 10:00am Location: Shaw Centre, Ottawa, Ont.

About AFOA Canada

Entering its 23rd year as an Indigenous Institution, AFOA Canada is the center for excellence and innovation in Indigenous management, finance, and governance. It is the only organization in Canada that focuses on the capacity development and day-to-day needs of those Indigenous professionals who are working in all areas of management, finance, band administration, leadership, and program management.

AFOA Canadas premise is that one of the keys to successful self-determination, creating a better life for Canadas Indigenous people and a better future for the next generation lies in improving the management skills of those responsible for the stewardship of Indigenous resources.

For further information and interview requests, please contact:

AFOA Canada

Toni Baggos

613-722-5543

tbaggos@afoa.ca

www.afoa.ca




Ottawa, ON, Feb. 06, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Canadian Museums Association and Woodland Cultural Centre are excited to jointly announce that Janis Kahentoktha Monture has been appointed as the Executive Director & CEO of the Canadian Museums Association (CMA). Ms. Monture is currently serving as Executive Director of the Woodland Cultural Centre (WCC), one of the largest facilities in Canada managed and administered by a First Nation and a CMA member since 1986.

Ms. Monture is a member of the Mohawk Nation, Turtle Clan from Six Nations of the Grand River and comes to the CMA as a highly skilled and experienced leader. She has served 16 years at WCC over two separate terms where she led an important transition for Woodland, as the centre approached its 50th anniversary and the redevelopment and restoration of the Mohawk Institute, a former Residential School, into an interpretive centre.

She has additionally served on the steering committee for the Great Lakes Research Alliance for the Study of Aboriginal Arts and Cultures, and twice as a guest artistic director at Harbourfront Centre, a leading contemporary arts organization in Toronto. She has also served as the Director of Tourism and Cultural Initiatives for the Six Nations of the Grand River Development Corporation.

Her appointment was the result of an extensive search process that included the evaluation of eight search firms and over 20 candidates. A hiring committee of 12 museum professionals reached a unanimous decision with the support of BIPOC Executive Search. The committee included CMA Board members as well as representatives from CMA staff, the Provincial and Territorial Museums Associations, CMA Fellows and the Emerging Museum Professionals Canada.

This is an historic appointment for the CMA, as Ms. Monture is the first Indigenous person to hold the role of Executive Director in the CMA's 76-year history. In addition to supporting ongoing efforts at the CMA to implement the recommendations of the recent Moved to Action report that answered TRC Call to Action #67, Ms. Monture will undertake the examination and expansion the CMAs capacity to support a healthy museum sector, engaging those interested in and affected by CMAs activities and developing its international relationships.

Ms. Monture will begin her appointment on February 27, 2023, the first day of the CMAs 2023 National Conference.

Disponible en francais

-30-

Quotes:



"Janis Monture has been instrumental in leading positive change and crystallizing the vision forward for revitalization and preservation of Onkwehon:we and Anishinaabek culture, language and spirituality. Janis passionately advocates for the voices of Indigenous communities and cultures within the museum sector, with a focus on strengthening connections beyond the walls within Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities alike. On behalf of the Board of Directors, and staff of Woodland Cultural Centre, nyawen'ko:wa (thank you so much) Janis for your dedication and leadership, and congratulations on your new role as Executive Director of the Canadian Museums Association."

- Allison Lynn, Director, Woodland Cultural Centre

As the president of the CMA I am thrilled to welcome Janis Monture into the role of Executive Director. Janis brings an invaluable set of skills as an experienced administrator, leader and community builder. Additionally, as someone with experience across the creative sector Janis is the perfect person to broaden the CMAs relationships with both governmental and business partners. We look forward to working with her as CMA looks to the future of our organization and sector.

- Heather George, President, Canadian Museums Association

I am excited to work with Ms. Monture as she takes on the leadership of the CMA. Museums come in all shapes and sizes, and exist in different cultures and communities across this Land; Janis Monture has first-hand experience leading change, within the constraints we all face in small and mid-sized institutions. Bringing her expertise and lived experiences to bear, I believe Janis is poised to help evolve the organization, and the industry itself, country-wide.

- Tracy Calogheros, CEO, The Exploration Place Museum + Science Centre and Vice-President, Canadian Museums Association

Contacts

Canadian Museums Association

Rebecca MacKenzie

Acting Associate Executive Director, Engagement

communications@museums.ca

(613) 567-0099 x243

Woodland Cultural Centre

Trisha Kelley

Development & Marketing Coordinator

tkelley@woodlandculturalcentre.ca

519-759-2650 x 232

Attachments
The Board of Directors and Executive Board of Swiss Prime Site have decided to convert the Jelmoli building on Bahnhofstrasse, Zurich and sustainably develop it further. In this context, it is planned to adapt the retail floorspace to current market demand and to add new types of use to the building.

Property to be redeveloped and repositioned

The iconic building in the centre of Zurich is set to be redeveloped over a period of two years, to start from the beginning of 2025. Once completed, around 10,000 m2 of refurbished premium retail floorspace will be available on the lower levels. It will be relevant for both existing tenants and new brands or formats. The redevelopment will ensure that the Jelmoli building remains one of the largest and most attractive shopping destinations on Zurichs Bahnhofstrasse. Some of the floorspace on the upper levels will be converted into high-end offices and public amenities such as fitness and restaurant facilities. As Rene Zahnd, CEO Swiss Prime Site, explains: By redeveloping the building, we will be adapting it to the market demand. That includes having not just an attractive mix of types of use and spaces, but also flexibility and a multi-tenant approach. Our aim is to redevelop the Jelmoli building so that it becomes a unique destination and an open meeting place in the city centre. Swiss Prime Site plans to invest more than CHF 100 million in the redevelopment project. The reopening of the fully refurbished property is scheduled for the beginning of 2027.

Department store will be adapted to market demand and operated under new model

The decision to redevelop the building and keep it up for the future was taken after comprehensive and detailed assessment. With the boom in online retail and changes in consumer behaviour, stationary retail is increasingly being under pressure. Despite high investment by its owner, Swiss Prime Site, and tremendous efforts on the part of all employees, this structural change was clearly reflected in the profitability of the department store Jelmoli. This led Swiss Prime Site to conduct extensive market research over recent months, with the objective of transferring the department store operations externally. However, in-depth talks with numerous possible partners have not led to the intended success. Hence, Swiss Prime Site has decided to adapt the department store Jelmoli to the new market backdrop from the end of 2024. From 2027, it will be newly positioned on the market and will no longer be operated by Swiss Prime Site. As Rene Zahnd, CEO Swiss Prime, explains: We are aware of the consequences of our decision. We have made it after careful consideration and are communicating it at an early stage. This will give employees time to work on possible redirection of their careers. During this period they will receive the best-possible professional guidance and support. Customers will continue to enjoy the same high standards of service when shopping. With our business partners we will enter into an intensive dialogue about future cooperation.

Transformation process will take place under a new Jelmoli leadership

At her own request, Jelmoli CEO Nina Muller will hand over the reins at the department store in spring, or at the very latest by the end of June 2023. As a result, Jelmoli will no longer be represented on the Executive Board of Swiss Prime Site. Reto Braegger, who is currently Chief Merchandise Officer, will seamlessly take over the leadership of Jelmoli. As an executive in the retail sector for many years, he has extensive experience with transformation processes. The Board of Directors and Executive Board of Swiss Prime Site would like to thank Nina Muller for her hard work and dedication over the last three years, particularly in the challenging circumstances of the pandemic.

Non-recurring expenses of CHF 34 million in an otherwise successful year for SPS

The Jelmoli building transformation project had a negative one-off impact of around CHF 34 million on Swiss Prime Sites income statement for the 2022 financial year. This amount consists exclusively of non-cash impairment charges and extraordinary depreciation (for fittings, furnishings, IT, inventories, etc.). Despite these non-recurring expenses, Swiss Prime Site achieved the targets set for the 2022 financial year, largely from positive letting results and growth in the Real Estate Asset Management business.

Results for 2022 to be published on 9 February 2023

Swiss Prime Site will be publishing its results for the 2022 financial year as planned on Thursday, 9 February 2023.
Polish support for Ukraine in 2022 was prompt, responsive, substantial. This was the result of centuries of mistrust about Russia and more recent disagreements with Western allies over how reliable, dependable or predictable the Russians are.

While the Poles appreciate Western support for Ukraine, they also criticize Western nations willingness or ability to send Poland and Ukraine the weapons they need. To deal with this problem, Poland has come to rely on South Korea. In late 2022 Poland ordered $5.8 billion worth of tanks, self-propelled artillery and ammunition. Deliveries are to be made within a year and Polish tank crews begin training in South Korea in October 2022. This purchase is part of Polands effort to improve its defenses in the face of Russian aggression in Ukraine. Poland ordered billions of dollars worth of South Korean K2 tanks, K9 self-propelled 155mm howitzers and FA-50 jet trainers reconfigured for combat use. While the K2 and K9 purchase amounts to nearly a thousand vehicles, most will be built in Poland under license. The 48 FA-50s are manufactured in South Korea and available for immediate shipment. Orders for armored vehicles not being built in Poland are delivered as soon as possible.

South Korea currently provides a wide, and growing, assortment of weapons and services. This includes guided rockets like the American GMLR and short-range ballistic missiles. To deal with the nuclear threats from North Korea, South Korea is considering nuclear weapons. These will not be available for export.

South Korea also provides a lot of weapons and vehicle upgrade services. For example, South Korea is upgrading its 59 F-15K Slam Eagle'' fighter-bombers. This upgrade is expensive, costing $2.73 billion ($45 million per aircraft) and will not be completed until 2034. South Korea has noted the success other nations have had upgrading their local versions of the F-15E model which the U.S. created in the late 1980s as a two-seat fighter bomber. Most American F-15Es are over 35 years old while export customers are still receiving new aircraft. The South Korean F-15 K's are all 10-15 years old. This justifies the extensive and expensive upgrades, which apply to many electronic systems including a late-model AESA radar. There is also an updated cockpit with new flight and fire control software as well improved electronic countermeasures and passive sensors. The F-15K can carry 13 tons of weapons, including highly accurate SLAM-ER cruise missiles and guided penetrating bombs to go after North Korea bunkers. South Korea is also buying more aerial tankers to keep the F-15Ks in the air longer while waiting for targets to be found.

South Korea also has 167 F-16C fighters that are being upgraded to F-16V models. South Korea has 50 F-35 stealth fighters in service with more on the way.

A growing number of South Korean warplanes are designed and built in South Korea. Currently this includes 60 FA-50 jet trainers equipped as light bombers. A new jet fighter, the KF-21 is on the way. Also called Borame (Fighting Hawk ''), this new fighter design made its first flight in miod-2022 and expects to enter service by 2026. Developing the KF-21 cost at least $8 billion. The South Korean air force wants to buy 120 of them. The first 40 will be Block 1 while the other 80 will be the upgraded Block 2.

The block 1 KF-21 is a twin-engine 24.5-ton air superiority fighter. The F414 engines are American models built in South Korea, and are the same ones used by U.S. Navy F-18E and the South Korean TA/FA jet trainer. The block 2 KF-21 is designed as a fighter-bomber, with sensors and electronics similar to those used in the F-35 so that the pilot can handle flying the aircraft as hitting ground targets with guided bombs and missiles. F-15K fighter-bombers will be replaced by the block 2 KF-21s in the 2040s. South Korea also uses 19 prop-driven basic trainers equipped as light bombers. South Korea is rapidly retiring older F-4 and F-5 aircraft.

South Korea has already developed world-class armored vehicles, warships and support aircraft, including helicopters and become a major arms exporter. Neighboring countries, like Indonesia, Malaysia, Taiwan and Australia are also developing manufacturing capabilities for combat vehicles, ships and aircraft. Japan was the first country in the region to develop the capability to build modern weapons but, until recently, the Japanese post-World War II constitution banned export of weapons. That was recently changed and now Japan can build for export. Japan has to catch up with South Korea, which always produced these new weapons with the intention of competing in export markets.

South Korea remains the most advanced and productive weapons developer and manufacturer in the region. Chinese firms, most of them state-owned, also produce a wide variety of weapons that are cheaper, and less effective, than South Korean models.

South Korea is in the top ten countries when it comes to GDP and arms exports. This is impressive for a nation of 51 million that started with little industrialization or arms manufacturing in the 1950s to become a powerhouse in both areas. That is about to change because of the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the sanctions imposed because of that. At the start of 2022 (before the Russians attacked) the major arms exporter was the U.S. (38 percent of total arms exports) followed by Russia (19 percent). France (11 percent), China (4.6 percent) and Germany (4.6 percent). South Korea was 10th, with 2.8 percent. With Russian arms exports greatly reduced because of the sanctions, many of their customers seek other suppliers. South Korea is going to get a lot of that business and exactly how much wont be known until the end of 2023.
Idris Elba joins Otumfuo for Akwasidae

Gifty Owusu-Amoah Showbiz News Feb - 05 - 2023 , 22:42

British actor Idris Elba joined Asantehene Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, chiefs and a host of other natives of Ashanti for the celebration of Akwasidae at the Manhyia Palace in Kumasi earlier Sunday, February 5.

The Akwasidae Festival is celebrated by the Ashantes once every six weeks on a Sunday.

The Beast of No Nation actor has been the talk of town since last week when pictures and videos of his visit to President Akufo Addo went viral.

During his visit to the Jubilee House recently, Elba revealed that he and his partners were making preparations to build a film studio in Ghana and across West Africa.

The actor explained that although a lot can be achieved in the film industry in Africa,the region lacked the required facilities.

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Currently, we call it West African Studios, but thats a working title. Weve been working on this for three or four years to raise a plan that puts a facility at the centre of African filmmaking. Theres a lot for African filmmaking, but the facilities are lacking.

We realised that policy is where the actual groundwork needs to be laid. Weve studied the models of South Africa, incredible incentive packages, Greece, Morocco and these are all places where they realize the value of the filmmaking and theyve brought that policy into play.

National Film Authority has done the work and put together a very comprehensive plan to propel Ghana into the forefront. It needs to be robust and competitive to the rest of the world. We believe for sure that Ghana should step up in terms of attracting those filmmakers. Ive come and seen you and presented to you essentially, just the parameters of what we need to do.

President Akufo-Addo assured Idris Elba that the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture is developing a policy framework to guide filmmaking in the country.
When Idris Elba visited Asantehene and showed cultural appreciation

Enoch Darfah Frimpong Showbiz News Feb - 06 - 2023 , 08:23

Idris Elba is a world class movie star, a British national but his ancestry is traced to Sierra Leone and Ghana.

Full name Idrissa Akuna Elba, he was born on September 6, 1972 in London to Winston Elba, a Sierra Leonean man, and Eve Elba, his Ghanaian mother.

His parents were married in Sierra Leone and later moved to London.

Elba was raised in London and shortened his first name to "Idris" at school, where he first became involved in acting.

He is credited with a number of world class movies including the Beast of No Nation, which was filmed in Ghana and marked the beginning of Ghana's Abraham Atta's rise to stardom.

Beast of No Nation, a 2015 American war drama film followed a young boy [Abraham Atta] who became a child soldier as his country experienced a horrific civil war.

Shot in Ghana and starring Idris Elba, Abraham Attah, Ama K. Abebrese, Grace Nortey, David Dontoh, and Opeyemi Fagbohungbe, the film was based on the 2005 novel of the same name by Uzodinma Iweala, the book itself being named after a Fela Kuti album.

Akwasidae homage

Elba has visited Ghana a number of times and last week, he was in town, called on President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo and was also at the Manhyia Palace in Kumasi on Sunday to pay homage to the occupant of the Golden Stool, the Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II.

It is his cultural visit to Manhyia that has generated attention.

Sunday was the first Akwasidae of the year 2023, a 40 day traditional occasion observed every six weeks in Asanteman.

The first Akwasidae in every year is normally a big occasion.

Idris Elba did not want to be left out while he was in Ghana and therefore 'donned' a beautiful kente cloth and headed to the Manhyia Palace in Kumasi for the occasion.

He exhibited his appreciation of tradition, custom and culture as he wore the beautiful kente cloth and walked majestically.

When it was his turn to exchange that golden handshake with the Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, Elba stood a bit away from the King, bowed, pulled his cloth aside to show chest [the significance of that move is to show to the King and the king guards that he had no hidden weapon to harm the King] and extended his hand to meet that of the King.

During Akwasidae or any other occasion, when the King sits in state, it is not every person who gets the opportunity to extend the hand to meet his palm, some just get closer bow and move ahead, others stand afar, bow and move ahead.

It is only special guests, close associates and chiefs who get the opportunity to touch the King's palms.

'Atta Poku' on show

In many pictures of the actor at the Manhyia Palace which have been shared on social media, one of the lead protocol officers of the Asantehene, Nana Poku is seen "foreskinning" the actor according to social media users on how they viewed the event.

Trust Atta Poku, he is always there and makes sure he is noticed and captured by the cameras, whenever there is a big occasion at the Manhyia Palace.

He is the twin son of the late Nana Akwasi Agyemang, a Kumasi royal and onetime Mayor of the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly (KMA).

Atta Poku is currently the Urban Roads Director in Kumasi and doubles that activity up with his protocol duties at the Manhyia Palace.

In this Idris Elba show, he is all over the man and social media users could not help but to express it in their comments.

Writer's email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

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Amending constitution we dont deserve

Ace Ankomah Opinion Feb - 06 - 2023 , 07:32

The framers of the Fourth Republican Constitution did not get much wrong. They delivered to us, under the circumstances, a document that was considerably forward-looking and certainly workable.

However, the framers made two basic mistakes: (i) they gambled on us being a reasonable people, and (ii) they completely failed to anticipate how incredibly, extremely and debilitatingly partisan we would become.

The result is that instead of following the constitution, we have perfected the art of being smart in dribbling around and distorting its provisions. When faced with the mess that we have created, we adopt the typical strawman stance, and blame the document for the mess.

So, right now, the excuse for all our failures is that the constitution does not work, and that we should amend it.

I agree that certain provisions of the constitution need to be looked at, simply because with the passage of time, there is the need for new thinking and some tweaking of its provisions. My position, however, is that this document is workable.

We can live with this constitution for a very long time, if we respect and follow the provisions, until we are able to amend it. But the constitution is not the reason why we are how, what and where we are.

I have, literally, tens of examples, but permit me to illustrate and expand my point with just a few of them.

Parliament

The framers of the Constitution imposed at least two mandatory, legislative obligations on Parliament. One, under article 22(2) is that Parliament shall, as soon as practicable after the coming into force of this constitution, enact legislation regulating the property rights of spouses [my emphasis.]

More than three decades later, our Parliament has not complied with this, apart from some minor provisions relating to land, which were smuggled into the new Land Act.

Two, under article 181(5), Parliament was to make necessary modifications to the loan approval regime under article 181, to apply to international business and economic transactions that the government is a party to. To date, nothing. And so, there have been cases where the government has entered into such transactions, breached them and then attempted to set up its own failure to present the transaction to Parliament as its defence.

We have been embarrassed both in our courts and at international arbitral tribunals over these. STILL NOTHING.

The result is that Parliament has abdicated its responsibilities in these matters and ceded its legislative function to the Supreme Court. And because nature abhors vacuums, the Supreme Court has accepted the challenge and is gleefully engaged in judicial legislation and amendment of its own legislation on the matter, based on the accident of litigation.

Thus, in cases such as Mensah, Boafo, Quarson, Arthur and Adjei, the Supreme Court has imposed and then amended grounds for sharing property between spouses. And in cases such as Faroe Atlantic and Balkan, the Supreme Court has legislated on which transactions require parliamentary approval and which do not, while literally begging to do what the Constitution expects of it.

In Balkan, an obviously exasperated Date-Bah JSC, after answering what he called the argumentum ad absurdum propounded by defendants counsel, implying the word major into the provisions, and then laying down an interim but non-conclusive test, then said It is therefore imperative that Parliament takes up early the challenge of framing the modifications to article 181 needed to give greater certainty and clarity as to what categories of international business or economic transactions to which the Government is a party come within the ambit of article 181(5).

That was on May 16, 2012. We will soon celebrate the 11th birthday of this imperative pronouncement. Still NOTHING.

So, what do we do? Lets amend the Constitution! To say what?

Constitutionally independent bodies

Yes, we have a very powerful presidency, and taking away a little of its powers might help. In 1969, we sought to whittle the powers of the president by, among others, identifying areas of governance where we do not want any political interference, and then creating bodies or offices that would be completely independent of the executive and the legislature, subject only to the Constitution and the Courts.

Over the years and in subsequent constitutions, we have maintained and added to these bodies: Electoral Commission, Auditor-General, CHRAJ, NCCE, Media Commission, and to some extent, the Lands Commission.

These, I would argue, have the same level and quality of independence as the judiciary.

Yet, we have sat down for their independence to be completely eroded by the Executive and Parliament. The most affected is the Auditor-General, which has now been effectively demoted to a simple agency of government.

Parliament is claiming a supervisory role over the Auditor-General, and its leaders protest loudly against the decision of the Supreme Court in OCCUPYGHANA v Attorney-General, which asserted the independent powers of the Auditor-General to disallow and surcharge. As we speak, the powers of the Auditor-General to disallow and surcharge are effectively clipped.

And it is not only the Executive and Parliament that are to be blamed. Largely, the people who have been appointed to that office have shown precious little to no fortitude in asserting their independence.

The only one who tried to do so was then conveniently branded a holiday-dodger, then a foreigner and then an age-cheat, and was finally hounded out of office, with nary a whimper, whinge or whine of protest from either Parliament or the opposition parties.

Civil Society organisations that rushed to court in protest are still waiting for a date to be set for judgement. Any successor to that office will become compliant, because he who does not know deaths looks, should observe sleep.

It beggars belief that instead of ensuring that the independence of these bodies are respected and protected so that they can do their work efficiently and effectively, we want to amend the constitution!

Statutory gerrymandering

The constitution seeks to ensure that only the Electoral Commission (EC) can create constituencies. It lays down both the period and substantive considerations for doing so, so that Ghana would be protected from the rampant, partisan gerrymandering that occurs in places such as the United States.

But the political class cleverly provided in statute (inferior law) that no person can belong to two district assemblies. Smart. And so, getting to the constitutional seven-year cycle, the Executive and Legislature may simply create districts so that some MPs become members of more than one assembly.

Then the EC is forced to create separate constituencies to accommodate this. In spite of the framers good intentions, Ghana has become the gerrymanderers delight. And the answer? Amend the Constitution. To say what?

Article 71

We debate the gravy and cream that article 71 has become. Yes, it provides for payment of end-of-service benefits. But where does it provide for the fantastic sums that are always decided literally on the midnight of every presidential and parliamentary term?

The political class has, once again, cleverly conspired to postpone the determination of their conditions of employment to the very end of the term.

Then the committee is set up, which then is forced to consider the emoluments, taking into consideration the economic conditions at the end of the term and not the start.

The committees then recommend huge emoluments, which are then applied retrospectively so that the beneficiaries take home huge sums of money as a mix of back pay and ex gratia.

We have sat down to allow such shenanigans to go on for three decades and instead of simply stopping it, we want the constitution amended.

Number, judges

Should we provide a number-cap for the number of judges we appoint to the Supreme Court? The supposed answer is yes, to stop a president from appointing 5,000 SC judges.

But wait a minute. Has anyone taken the time or made the effort to check the volume of work that those judges do? For the longest time they had no legal assistance.

These ladies and gentlemen read the fat volumes of case bundles by themselves, did their own legal research, drafted their own legal opinions and read them. I remember being in the SC and seeing a judge read his judgement written in his hand, from a brown Ghana Schools exercise book with the Ghana map at the back for good measure.

Meanwhile our SC has several jurisdictions (appellate, original, supervisory, special, etc), each of which continuously churns out cases. And they must hear them all, because unlike the US Supreme Court, they dont have the luxury of choosing which cases they will hear or not hear.

Worse, we demand from them a Rolls-Royce-quality service and provide for them a tricycle budget!

Where is the research to show that with the volume of work, we need a limit on the numbers? What if we amended to provide a cap and then found that they are overworked? Then we amend again to change the cap?

The framers, it appears to me, had hoped that Parliament would reasonably use it approval powers to stop a president who sought to pack the court for no reason.

Parliament, I would argue, may refuse to approve appointments if it believes that they are superfluous or unnecessary, considering factors such as the volume of work. We should have the statistics: How many cases have been filed over the past 30 years? How many have been determined at both interlocutory and final stages? What is the average turn-around time of a case before the SC? How many pages of judgements have been written? What critical number of judges do we need there to ensure proper delivery of justice at that level? I have heard it said that what you measure is what you get. What you cant, wont or dont measure, is lost.

Parliament is entitled to demand from the President and Judicial Council, evidence that judges that are being appointed are necessary. On this, Parliament has failed again, and abdicated the gatekeeping role that the framers gave to them.

We have not measured the volume of work, but we want to amend the constitution!

Amend?

Yes, the constitution provides for amendment. Non-entrenched clauses require a super-majority of Parliament (two-thirds) to enact. Entrenched clauses require 40 per cent of the voter population voting, 75 per cent of whom must vote yes.

That is almost impossible to pull off right now because of how evenly divided the leading parties are, and how intractably partisan they are. So, the constitutional review process went south when power changed hands. The attempt to elect DCEs and stop the joke of non-partisan district level elections went pear-shaped because the parties couldnt be of one mind.

The only successful amendments were in 1996, because there was virtually no opposition in that Parliament because of the boycott, and consequently the ruling party had more than the super majority.

And among the key amendments made in 1996 were securing gratuities for MPs, securing two-year contract extensions for retired public servants, and removing the Vice-President as the chair of some security services!

I could cite several other examples of ways in which we have conspired to ignore or dribble the constitution. Of course, some parts need amendment. But for the most part, what is required is simple common sense (unless, of course, common sense is overrated in these parts) and a desire to be more proactive in how we apply the document. We have conspired to weaken this workable document.

Yet, it has been the longest lasting constitution in our history. Yes, it requires tweaks. But we definitely can work with this until we summon the partisan unanimity to amend it. Pipe dream!

No Constitution can defend itself. Neither the paper nor the black letters on it can rise up and whip us into line. We must respect it and do our best to protect and defend it.

The framers gave us a good document that we have shown we dont deserve. So, by all means, lets amend it, so we deserve it less.

Methinks the first amendment required is the amendment of the Ghanaian. If we cant work with this document, we will fail even a constitution that is drafted from heaven and delivered to us by fire and by thunder, and etched in gold on tablets of stone.

They call me Ace.

The writer is a lawyer
Messengers of night

Benjamin Kwame Amankwa Opinion Feb - 06 - 2023 , 07:38

Ghanas domestic debt restructuring has become a topical issue drawing reactions from both experts and citizens.

While the government insists on the inclusion of individual bondholders in the programme, experts such as Dr Theo Acheampong insist on the exclusion of individual bondholders from the programme.

The tango between the government and the individual bondholders resulted in the government softening its stance.

The need to discuss the governments communicative approach towards the debt-restructuring programme is at this time necessary.

The importance of effective communication in every life endeavour cannot be overemphasised. Effective communication can prevent wars, build relationships, resolve conflicts, and ensure peaceful coexistence.

In practical life, organisations that pay attention to and promote effective communication by investing in the same, increase their profit margins and easily secure the agreement of stakeholders on issues of importance.

The challenge in Ghana, however, is that most public institutions seem to lack effective communication strategies. They often adopt the mono-directional information flow, where they resort to press releases and the media as a means of communicating major decisions to the public, without prior engagement with stakeholders.

This often leads to agitations and delays in decision-making, which could have been easily avoided if they adopted effective communication strategies.

Decisions that are announced to the public without the prior engagement of stakeholders are resisted, because the stakeholders feel disrespected, coerced and helpless.

The E-Levy tax, for example, was initially rejected leading to delays in the mobilisation of targeted revenue, because of poor communication. Subsequently, when citizens were engaged, the tax was passed. The harm, however, has long been caused.

Another case is the debt-restructuring programme. While the government claims it has engaged and communicated to individual bondholders its desire to include them in the debt restructuring programme, subsequent agitations by the bondholders indicate otherwise.

The drama could have been avoided if the government had adopted effective communication strategies such as engaging the bondholders privately on the issue and reaching an agreement before finally communicating it to the public. Increasingly, the government and public institutions in Ghana surprise citizens with major decisions without bothering to engage the public to take their input.

Eventually, such decisions are rejected leading to increased costs and unnecessary delays.

Effective communication strategies include active listening. The government is not obliged to listen to every citizen or even when it listens, it is under no obligation to implement what they suggest.

However, active listening will make one understand and appreciate other views and opinions in a major decision. If the government of Ghana listens to the people effectively, it will realise and appreciate the difficulties associated with some of its decisions and take steps to ameliorate them.

However, when government fails to listen to the people, it takes decisions that are mostly alien to the public and will thus be rejected. In governing a country, too much focus on personal agenda without the governed in mind is detrimental to the success of the country. Personal agenda must always be connected with the public interest and when this is done effectively, the nation grows.

Another strategy for effective communication is to focus on the issues and not personalities. Most often, government communicators concentrate on political opponents and personalities that criticise the government and fail to speak to or address the major issues in the public domain. This not only infuriates the public but also makes them fail to appreciate the issues under discussion.

Instead of being messengers of the night who are mistaken for thieves and robbers and are beaten, our public institutions and government especially must start adopting effective communication strategies as this is likely to reduce cost and promote quick decision-making, especially in times of emergency.

A night messenger may not be recognised and his message is likely to be ignored.

The writer is a Marketing & Communication Consultant
Ukraine braced for renewed Russian offensive later in February

International News Feb - 06 - 2023 , 12:34

Ukraine's outgoing defence minister has said the country is anticipating a new Russian offensive later this month.

At a news conference, Oleksiy Reznikov said not all Western weaponry will have arrived by then, but Ukraine had enough reserves to hold off Russian forces.

President Volodymyr Zelensky said troops were fighting fiercely in Bakhmut, Vuhledar and Lyman.

Mr Reznikov's comments came hours before it was announced that he was to be replaced as defence minister.

Military intelligence chief Kyrylo Budanov will take his place, according to a Ukrainian politician from Mr Zelensky's party.

The shake-up comes amid a series of corruption scandals that has plagued the defence ministry.

Mr Reznikov has denied media reports that some defence officials are suspected of embezzling public funds for the procurement of food for the army.

Ukrainian lawmaker David Arakhamia announced the reshuffle on Sunday, saying that "war dictates personnel policies".

Mr Reznikov, a familiar face in Ukraine's efforts to secure Western weapons, will now become minister for strategic industries.

President Zelensky has already fired a number of senior officials as part of a broad anti-corruption drive across his government.

At an earlier news conference, Mr Reznikov said Russia did not have all of its resources ready to launch an offensive, but may do so anyway as a symbolic gesture, given the one-year anniversary of Moscow's full-scale invasion on 24 February.

He said Russia was expected to prioritise taking the whole of the eastern Donbas as well as launching offensives in the south of Ukraine.

Mr Reznikov made similar comments to French TV earlier this month.

The defence minister also confirmed that troops would start training on German-made Leopard tanks from Monday.

Mr Reznikov said Ukraine had secured new long-range missiles with a range of 90-mile (150km), but they will not be used against Russian territory - only against Russian units in occupied areas of Ukraine.

"I am sure that we will win this war," said Mr Reznikov, but he added that without the delivery of Western fighter jets, "it will cost us more lives".

Despite the flow of Western weapons to Ukraine, Russia has made gains around the Bakhmut area in recent days, as Russia's army throws more and more soldiers into combat.

Russia's paramilitary mercenary group Wagner have led much of the fighting in the area.

Its head, Yevgeny Prigozhin, said there are fierce battles for every street in some areas of the city, and Ukraine's armed forces were "fighting to the last".

Russian forces have been attempting to seize control of Bakhmut for months - making it the longest battle since Russia invaded Ukraine almost a year ago.

Taking the area is important to Russia as part of its aim to control the whole of the Donbas region.

It would also signify a turnaround in Russia's fortunes after it lost ground in Ukraine during recent months.



Speaking during his nightly address, President Zelensky said: "Things are very difficult in Donetsk region - fierce battles.

" But, he added, "we have no alternative to defending ourselves and winning".

The UK's Ministry of Defence said Ukrainian forces in Bakhmut are getting increasingly isolated as the Russians continue to make small advances in its attempt to encircle the town.

It added that the two main roads into Bakhmut were likely being threatened by direct fire.

In other developments:

In the north-eastern city of Kharkiv, five people were wounded after strikes hit civilian buildings in the city, local authorities have said.

Five others were injured in the Donetsk region during rocket attacks, according to regional leader Pavlo Kyrylenko
Ghana Education News

4 Tarkwa SHS students receive scholarship

Yaa Kuffour Senyah Education Feb - 06 - 2023 , 09:54

THE North American wing of the Tarkwa Senior High School Past Students Association (TARPSA) has awarded four of its immediate past graduates with college scholarships in its maiden scholarship programme as part of the schools 60th anniversary celebration.



The scholarship was to enable brilliant, needy graduates of the Tarkwa Senior High School (TARSCO) to cater for their fees and other educational needs.

Two of the beneficiaries Eugene Agyiri and Abigail Acheampong, both from the Visual Arts department, received full tuition from the AcManuel Family Scholarship award, which was funded by Ackumey Brothers (BrothAC) Foundation.

The two other beneficiaries, namely Charles Asare and Benjamin Afful, also received sponsorship from the Grace Karikari Scholarship Award, which was to honour and support students from single-parent family homes as a result of the death of one or both parents.

Scholarship

The President of the TARPSA in North America, Nelsonyoung AcManuel, said that the scheme had become necessary as a result of challenges that the association of the North America leadership faced when raising funds towards the 60th anniversary.

TARSCO, he said, had no financial aid in place that supported its needy students to acquire college education; hence, most vulnerable students either struggled through college or had no college education, which made it difficult for them to give back to their alma mater.

Mr AcManuel explained that the rising cost of college education might be a burden for most TARSCO students thus, a scholarship programme may be required to fill the financial gap for some families by providing financial support for students who need help to acquire a college degree.

He admonished the award recipients to make good use of the award, be content with the high school they went to and contribute to their Alma Mater in many ways.

Criteria

The TARPSA North America Scholarship Coordinator and the brain behind the scholarship programme, Naomi Karikari-Danso, said she had learnt to understand and appreciate the impact of alumni-funded scholarships for students in prestigious schools such as the Harvard, Yale, Cambridge, Stanford and many other colleges in the United States.

Thus, she was hopeful that instituting an alumni-funded scholarship scheme for TARSCO students would help raise the level of educational support for current and future students of the school and, in turn, help produce more able and successful TARSCO alumni who would continue to support future generations of the school.

TARPSA North America would be offering an alumni-funded scholarship programmes for final year students of TARSCO to apply and receive educational support for their tertiary education, she hinted.
Ghana Education News

Transforming economy through TVET: Second 5-year strategic plan takes off this year

Severious Kale-Dery Education Feb - 06 - 2023 , 09:40

THE government is bridging the gap between the skills acquired by technical, vocational and education training (TVET) and industry.



This is in recognition of the fact that the development of skills that meet a changing labour market across a lifetime is crucial for inclusive and sustainable growth, productivity and innovation.

TVET, Digitalisation and Greening our environment are driving deep changes in the world today, the Director-General for the Commission of TVET, Dr Fred Kyei Asamoah, said.

Speaking on the topic, Transforming Ghanas economy through a robust TVET system, he said economies could only benefit if learners developed the right skills (both hard and soft) and competencies in those areas as well.

Dr Asamoah explained that it was with that background that, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo and his government set out as part of the first five-year strategic plan (2018 to 2022) to transform TVET and establish strong links between industry and TVET providers/academia.

He explained that the five-year strategic plan for TVET, which was approved by Cabinet in December 2017 had five key policy objectives, including governance and management, equitable access and promotion of gender mainstreaming, quality assurance in TVET based on internationally accepted standards, sustainable source of funding for TVET and greening TVET for environmental sustainability.

Successes

Dr Asamoah said there had been successes with the five years under review, adding that the government was able to establish the Commission for TVET (CTVET) as a regulator and promoter for the sector and also, a TVET Service (TVETS) responsible for pre-tertiary TVET delivery.

The government is establishing sector skills bodies in 22 identified economic sectors and so far, 12 of these sector skills bodies have already been established and inaugurated, he added.

Throwing more light on the state of the TVET sector before 2017, he said the five-year strategic plan realised that 75 per cent of the curricula used in TVET then were outdated and that had to be revised to be in sync with the direction of the President.

Next strategic plan

On the next strategic plan, which takes off this year, Dr Asamoah said the government was looking forward to developing a TVET policy.

We would be looking at the digitalisation of the TVET system, as well as the licensing and professionalisation of TVET graduates.

We are working at creating a sustainable TVET financing mechanism with the enhancement of the Ghana skills development fund, he explained.

Dr Asamoah said as part of the regulatory mandate of the CTVET, monitoring mechanisms would also be institutionalised with tracer studies in the TVET institutions, especially in the technical universities, adding, We are working towards bridging innovation and learning in TVET.

On popularising TVET in the country, he commended President Akufo-Addo and the Minister of Education, Dr Yaw Osei Adutwum, for their consistent support and projection of TVET and particularly the science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education in the country.

He said TVET education was the sure panacea for the mounting unemployment among the youth in the country and rallied Ghanaians to believe in the sector, adding that the government, through the ministry, was investing in it heavily from the basic through to the tertiary level.
Film industry policy being developed- President

Donald Ato Dapatem Feb - 06 - 2023 , 09:36

Ghana is putting together a policy framework for cinema to grow the local cinema industry and attract global players, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has said.

He said the policy was being designed to have the kind of impact that the automobile policy had made in attracting international vehicle manufacturers such as Nissan, VW, Toyota and SINO Trucks into the country.

The President announced this when a film industry global icon, Idris Elba, paid a courtesy call on him at the Jubilee House.

Industry benefits

President Akufo-Addo expressed the hope that the policy would make the cinema industry very beneficial through value addition, describing the call for a policy framework as spot on.

He indicated that the latest example of how the policy yielded dividend was the automobile industry, adding: Until I came, there had been no policy; we brought out one and, subsequently, over half a dozen major global automobile manufacturing companies are in the country.

Policy

Mr Elba is expected to shoot portions of a movie he is working on in Ghana from August this year, and suggested to the President that a film policy for the country would attract and benefit international filmmaking.

He said he was willing to allow his film to be used to test and firm up the policy.

He said despite Africas potential in and contribution to filmmaking, facilities were lacking, with the exception of what pertained in South Africa, where a big facility with a huge film production set-up existed.

Mr Elba said models in South Africa, Greece, Morocco and some parts of Europe that offered incentive packages had led to the realisation of the value of the filmmaking industry.

He said he was aware that Ghana was doing some work on a very comprehensive plan to propel Ghana to the forefront.
On January 18th Vladimir Putin went to St Petersburg and gave several speeches for various groups, including Russian and foreign media. The speeches were all about admitting that Ukraine was a war, not a special military operation to liberate Ukraine from NATO control. Putin now says his war in Ukraine is a war and one that must be one to rescue Russia from Western efforts to destroy Russia as a country. While many Eastern Europeans considered that a fine idea, it was also seen as impractical and never seriously considered by any European government. To deal with that reality, Putin describes the Western effort as unpublished in the West and part of a very real conspiracy that Vladimir Putin recognized and is now exposing.

While Putins state-controlled mass media helped maintain the support of most Russians for the war, that approval did not apply to being in the army and sent to Ukraine. Putin has not yet declared a full mobilization of Russian military age men for this war because the opinion surveys continue to show opposition to serving in the army. The economy is already mobilized for war as much as Putins fragile and corrupt regime can accomplish, but is crippled by the heavy Western sanctions imposed after the invasion, especially in anything requiring advanced electronics. That covers most everything from radios to tank and artillery fire control systems. Putin calling his war in Ukraine what it really is but that has not changed anything.

By not initially calling Ukraine a war, Putin avoided embarrassing questions about Russian troops attacking Ukraine and then getting beaten by the Ukrainians in several critical battles. That wasnt the reason at the time but was an unexpected benefit. Since it was not a war, Putin could not declare a general mobilization of the nations resources, including manpower. In the last eleven months it has been forced to mobilize as much of Russias resources as Putin can manage just to hang onto Ukrainian territory Russia still occupies.

One resource Putin had trouble mobilizing was new troops. He declared several partial mobilizations that were unsuccessful because so many Russian men did not want to fight in Ukraine. Putin tried to cope with that reluctance but was unsuccessful. A month ago, he increased the legal maximum number of its active-duty military personnel from 1,013,628 to 1,150,628 personnel. The million-man force was never achieved and Putin soon discovered that this increase was an empty gesture. For example, just before the invasion began the Russian military had 700,000 personnel on duty. The ground forces had about 400,000 men while the navy and air force each had about 150,000. About a third of air force personnel were paratroopers or air mobile infantry. The navy had about 12,000 marines, who guarded naval bases in peacetime. That means that heavy Russian losses since the invasion began, and failure to mobilize many replacements, reduced the army to about 250,000 personnel. Ukraines ground forces now outnumber the Russian army by about three to one, and Russias total ground forces by about two to one. Not just in Ukraine, but in all of Russia and Ukraine.

Russias airborne forces and marines also suffered heavy losses but more of them are still in service. Heavy combat losses reduced personnel strength so sharply because the Russian army has far fewer soldiers providing logistic and transportation services. These are provided by government or private contractors who assemble and move supplies close to the combat zone, where military trucks and drivers move the supplies to army-maintained collection points or the combat units. This works inside Russia where the state-controlled railroads are equipped for operation by civilians who are trained for such support. For a major war against Russia, civilian trucks and drivers are mobilized for military transportation. Such a mobilization would disrupt the entire economy but is seen as necessary t0 defend Russia. During World War II Russia received lots trucks, combat vehicles, ammunition food and other much needed items. This is why the Ukrainian invasion was not called a war but an internal operation in what Russia declared was Russian territory controlled by rebels who were receiving the military aid in quantities to what Russia received in World War II. This time the Russians are playing the invaders and not going as well as the Nazis.

Russia did not expect the Ukrainians massive resistance or their destruction of so many Russian trucks and supply collection points. This dramatically weakened Russian supply capabilities inside Ukraine, especially after Ukraine received guided GMLRS rockets that hit Russian supply depots using information supplied by Ukrainian and NATO aerial and satellite surveillance. Russian forces inside Ukraine are chronically short of ammunition, food, fuel and much else because of these Ukrainian tactics. Resorting to looting civilian supplies in occupied areas only partially replaces the supplies destroyed in transit or stored inside Ukraine.

Mobilizations of new conscripts and men who had served the one year of conscript service failed to replace all the losses, in part because the mobilized men knew that the war in Ukraine was not going well and most men sent there had little training, equipment or leadership. Most of the trained and experienced junior officers were killed or disabled during the first months of the war and replacements take months to train to minimal standards. Peacetime officer training takes years and now there is a shortage of trainers for troops and officers because most of the existing ones were sent to Ukraine as replacements for the catastrophic losses the Ukrainians were inflicting.

Ukraine had 250,000 active-duty troops in early 2022 and within months had half a million more in the form of volunteers and conscripts. Normally Ukrainian troops receive a lot more training than their Russian counterparts but in the first months of the war, untrained Ukrainians were used to halt the invasion. Since then, Ukrainian troops get more training and are led by experienced officers and NCOs in combat. Ukrainian troops dont suffer from supply shortages and suffer relatively fewer casualties than the Russians.

Shortly after Putins we are at war speech the American military finally accepted Ukrainian estimates of Russian losses. While the Ukrainians believe Russia has lost 180,000 troops in Ukraine, the Americans will only acknowledge 100,000 as well enough documented to accept. The Ukrainians also point that their troops lost total does not mean only dead, but those no longer serving in the Russian military because they were captured or deserted. Ukraine considers the deserters a real plus for Ukrainian success because the deserters will often return home or get in touch and provide a more accurate account of what is really happening in Ukraine. The deserter version is far more glum than the official government reports. The high actual losses have led to an increase of active opposition to the war. This is especially true with young men likely to be conscripted soon.

Putin reinterpreting his war in Ukraine as something similar to the German invasion of 1941 is difficult to use as a legitimate reason for more Russians to join the military. This is not 1941 Soviet (communist) Russia. Soviet rule and the Soviet Union itself disappeared in 1991. Russian attitudes towards the military and the government changed, and so did the publics means of obtaining information about the war. Before Putin gained power in 1999, the government had been compelled by popular opinion to reduce the conscription service to only one year and work towards eliminating conscription entirely, as most of Europe did after 1991. Eliminating conscription was another effort to carry out some fundamental reforms in the Russian army.

The most popular reform effort was directed towards eliminating often fatal interactions between and against new recruits. This hazing developed after World War II, when Russia deliberately avoided developing a professional NCO Corps. They preferred to have officers take care of nearly all troop supervision. The NCOs that did exist were treated as slightly more reliable enlisted men, but given little real authority. Since officers did not live with the men, slack discipline in the barracks gave rise to vicious hazing and exploitation of junior conscripts by senior ones. This led to very low morale and a lot of suicides, theft, sabotage and desertions that made military life something to be feared, especially by conscripts.

Long recognized as a problem, no solution ever worked. Getting rid of conscripts was believed to be a good first step. Volunteers sign up to be in the military for more than two years, as opposed to one year for conscripts. The government was forced by popular opinion to actively work towards eliminating conscription. Several efforts and many resources were devoted to developing professional NCOs to keep things under control in the barracks. It was soon discovered that even among volunteers, the hazing tended to survive. While the new NCOs have had some success in suppressing the hazing, the generals don't want to take any chances and backed the attempt to bring back chaplains. That didnt work either.

This explains the personnel shortages of the Russian army before the 2022 invasion. Conscription and military service became even more unpopular with most Russians after the Russian ground forces took heavy losses during the first months of the invasion. Ukraine, a former part of the Soviet Union, managed to eliminate the hazing because of the Russian seizure of Crimea and parts of eastern Ukraine in 2014. That was a wakeup call for Ukrainians and, with the help of trainers and military advisors from NATO countries, the Ukrainian military underwent much-needed reforms from 2015 to 2021. This led to the Ukrainian ability to quickly defeat the 2022 Russian invasion and inflict the heaviest military losses Russia had experienced since World War II.

Russias pre-war ground forces have been effectively destroyed and the losses impossible to completely replace, both because so few Russians are willing to serve in the military and because junior officers take years to train. Unlike in World War Two, promoting a lot of soldiers to officer rank did not turn these men into trained and experienced officers. Every able-bodied man in the Soviet Union was conscripted in the Great Patriotic War, which produced a true cross-section of Soviet society including the able, intelligent and educated. The ones of those who survived long enough became capable combat-experienced veterans quite suitable for immediate promotion as junior and even field-grade officers. Such high-quality manpower is quite absent from the modern Russian army, which contains too many physically or mentally unfit men. And there is still the problem of the missing professional NCOs.
German Minister advocates support from Ghanas creditors

Emelia Ennin Abbey Feb - 06 - 2023 , 07:19

The German Finance Minister, Christian Lindner, has called on Ghana's international creditors to support the countrys quest to restructure its economy.

That, he said, was important for Ghana to keep its credibility and turn around its economy.

Mr Lindner was speaking after holding a bilateral meeting with the Minister of Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta on the International monetary fund (IMF) staff engagement, structural reforms in the energy sector among others.

The meeting, which was held behind closed doors, discussed the broad areas that Ghana and Germany's partnership would encompass including scaling up initiatives that build resilience and promote sustainable, inclusive growth. and safeguarding climate or environment and internal security in the two countries.

The discussions also focused in strengthening the capacity and governance of public sector institutions in both countries, strengthening Ghanas anti-money laundering regime, digitalising society and exploring avenues to support addressing fiscal imbalances and debt vulnerabilities.

German support

Leading a delegation to Ghana for an official tour in Ghana, Mr Lindner interacting with journalists after the meeting advocated the immediate formation of an international credit committee under the common framework.

We need a creditor committee as soon as possible. I would like to call on all creditors to join the efforts as swiftly as possible" he said and reminded China, which is not a member of the G-20, of its responsibilities as an important bilateral creditor of Ghana to participate in such an effort.

The German Finance Minister said, the German government was familiar with the situation of Ghana and its challenges as it has "a vital interest in the success of the Ghanaian economy and we want to see West Africa as a whole stay stable. We are interested in the economic wellbeing and progress of Ghana."

He said "we know that there are opportunities for this country. It has dynamism and we really appreciate the efforts the government has made by expanding its human capital, focusing on improving social mobility but due to the COVID-19 pandemic situation and the impact of Russian and Ukraine invasion the situation unfortunately is getting worse."

He said Germany, which was Ghana's second largest bilateral creditor, was ready to support Ghana's effort to bounce back economically.

In fostering policy reforms, he said three measures comprising balancing the fiscal measures in Ghana's budget, ensuring macro economic recovery and debt operations were needed to bring Ghana back to sustainable economic development over the next few years.

Support of friends

Mr Ofori-Atta, for his part, said Ghana was in the middle of an IMF programme which required the support of Germany in a number of ways.

He said forming a creditor committee at the Paris Club to accelerate the decision making process and supporting the IMF fund board to make sure that Ghana got approval in March 2023 was very essential.

"Germany has always been strong with their support for us in terms of energy, financial and governance sectors and these are all critical components of our growth programme," he said.
IMF deal will conclude in March - President Akufo-Addo

Donald Ato Dapatem Feb - 06 - 2023 , 06:53

Ghana is optimistic of concluding the ongoing negotiations with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to get the support of the fund by March.

This is because the issues surrounding the domestic debt exchange programme, one of the requirements, has been virtually concluded, paving the way for the country to go the full hog.

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo gave this assurance when he held discussions with the visiting German Federal Minister of Finance, Christian Lindner last Friday at the Jubilee House in Accra.

He said the main concerns of the government include the process of concluding talks with the IMF, as well as the specific assistance that would help Ghana fast-track the process of its economic recovery.

We have already taken one important step forward in concluding a staff level agreement with the IMF. One of the steps was the domestic debt exchange programme which encountered a lot of difficulty; but it has now been virtually concluded.

We are now looking towards going the full hog and concluding the agreement. We're hoping that will be done by the middle of March, President Akufo-Addo said.

Visit

Germanys Finance Minister was in Ghana for bilateral talks with the government and the business communities and also to assure Ghana of Germanys support to help Ghana get out of its current economic challenges.

He was accompanied by an entourage made up of technocrats and Members of Parliament of Germanys federal Parliament, the Bundestag.

Mr Lindner said the delegation was in the country because although they saw economic challenges in Ghana, they believed they could be turned into opportunities for bilateral trade.

He said he had already had fruitful and constructive exchanges of views with his Ghanaian counterpart, Ken Ofori-Atta, on the current situation and how Germany could be of help to overcome the current situation.

After months speculation, Ghana, on July 1, 2022, announced that it was going to the IMF to seek support.

Subsequently, the government, in December 2022, reached a staff-level agreement with the fund as part of processes leading to a bailout.

President Akufo-Addo welcomed the pledge by Germany to help the country overcome its current economic challenges and appealed to the German government to lend its support in that direction.

He explained that one very important consideration was the financial stability fund that had been promised Ghana, which was one of the key outcomes of negotiations, and said the voice of the German government was needed in trying to bring that into being.

He was happy that Germany was willing to help in that regard.

We count on Germany, as one of our privileged partners, not just in Europe but in the world. I am pleased to hear the statement of willingness to do what you can to assist us in the difficult economic situation in which we are, the President emphasised.

Security

President Akufo-Addo also commended Germany for providing military assistance to West Africa to deal with the Jihadist insurgencies, a move he described as very concrete and highly acceptable.

We have to find a way of bringing the insurgency in West Africa to a close. If we don't, all these other things that we want to do to develop our society and economy will be very difficult. It is eliciting a great deal of resources that we can hardly afford and are now being diverted for security, support and initiatives, he added.

He said the increasing activities of the insurgents were disturbing the entire region, with Ghana directly in the line of fire because Burkina Faso was its northern neighbour.

The President said in the last six weeks, more than 4,000 people from Burkina Faso had taken refuge in Ghana, saying those were the ones the refugee board could officially count, with many more unaccounted for.

Ghana needs help

Mr Lindner reiterated the call he had made earlier for an international credit committee to help Ghana.

Earlier, at a joint press conference with Mr Ofori-Atta, Mr Lindner had, said he had also met Ghanaian business leaders and managers of financial institutions on how Germany can be of help to Ghana to overcome the current situation.

He advocated the immediate formation of an international credit committee under the common framework to help Ghana restructure its debt.

"For Germany, it is essential to see a fair burden sharing among all creditors. We need a creditor committee as soon as possible. I would like to call on all creditors to join the efforts as swiftly as possible," he said, and reminded China, Ghanas largest bilateral trading partner, of its responsibilities as an important bilateral creditor to participate in the programme.

"We have to find new approaches to the over indebtedness of low-income countries and the common framework is part of this solution and Germany is willing to play its role," he said.

The German Finance Minister said although Ghana was experiencing economic challenges, Germany was optimistic that it could be turned into opportunities for bilateral trade and growth and thus stressed the need for Ghana to be supported.

We now have the relations with the Paris Club, the common framework. We are looking for, as quickly as possible, a committee to be established, so we will have a body with whom we can engage to bring about those discussions as quickly as possible, he added.

Mr Lindner further indicated that the stability and security of the West African region was essential for security in Europe, and so Germany would provide support to keep the sub-region stable and secure.
New project to rally youth to fight NTDs

Zadok Kwame Gyesi Feb - 05 - 2023 , 13:03

Reaching the Last Mile, a portfolio of global health programs driven by the philanthropy of His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the UAE, on Thursday announced the launch of a new initiative designed to mobilise young people to lead efforts to eliminate neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) in Africa.

The youth leadership initiative seeks to build a network of youth-led organisations committed to ending NTDs within their communities and countries through national-level advocacy, action, and leadership engagement.

Participants in the program will receive funding, mentorship, and resources to support them to engage effectively in decision- and policymaking spaces, and to drive forward their efforts to champion change in their communities.

The initiative, which will be delivered in partnership with policy and advocacy organization Speak Up Africa, will provide US $250,000 in grants and training to at least 10 youth-led entities within Senegal and Niger over a 15-month period.

The supporting network will also act to unify and amplify the voices of youth-led organizations, enabling them to engage with like-minded peers, share knowledge and solutions, and bring learnings back to their own communities.

In a statement on February 2, 2023, Nassar Al Mubarak of Reaching the Last Mile said: The potential to eliminate NTDs in Africa is within our grasp. By promoting youth leadership, and by mentoring and motivating a new community of young advocates, we can beat NTDs, save lives, and help protect the health and wellbeing of future generations.

He continued: This initiative reflects our leaderships decades-long focus on disease elimination, and the UAEs commitment to empowering young people to create a safer, healthier, and more equal world. We look forward to partnering with Speak Up Africa to center the voices of youth and to accelerate progress against NTDs.

Yacine Djibo, Executive Director at Speak Up Africa, said: We must step up and continue the path to eliminating these debilitating diseases and their negative effects today. By partnering with Reaching the Last Mile, we can ignite collective action and harness the power of African youth, often overlooked during discussions and decision-making processes, to transform engagement into tangible action so that nobody, anywhere, lives at risk of NTDS. This way, they can step forward and take both leadership and advocacy toward eliminating NTDs.

NTDs are a group of communicable diseases that are preventable and treatable, yet continue to affect more than 1.7 billion people worldwide, including 1 billion children. There are currently 20 diseases and disease groups defined as NTDs by the World Health Organization (WHO), including river blindness (onchocerciasis), leprosy, elephantiasis (lymphatic filariasis), Guinea worm disease, and rabies.

NTDs cause immeasurable suffering - they debilitate, disfigure and can be fatal. By most commonly affecting vulnerable and marginalized populations  who often live in remote communities  NTDs create cycles of poverty and cost developing nations billions of dollars each year. Nearly 40% of the global NTD burden is shouldered by Africa.

The youth leadership initiative is part of wider efforts to drive progress towards the goals of the WHOs 2030 roadmap on NTDs, which seeks to reduce by 90% the number of people requiring treatment for the diseases; to have 100 countries eliminate at least one NTD; and to eradicate two diseases. To date, 47 countries have eliminated at least one NTD, showing progress is attainable and possible.

The WHO roadmap also calls for the integration of young people across all NTD activities, recognizing youth as key stakeholders able to bring innovative thinking, new solutions, and help mobilize change.

Commenting on the initiative, Dr Ibrahima Soce Fall, Director of the Department of Control of NTDs, WHO, said: "Young people can show us the way as we seek to effect positive change and end the burden of NTDs. Their energy, values, motivation, and connectedness can play a gamechanging role and bring about increased access to NTD interventions. They have a vital role to play too in raising awareness and in spearheading the innovative solutions that will benefit the NTD community worldwide."

Reaching the Last Miles new commitment closely follows the fourth annual World NTD Day, held on January 30th, which represents an anchor moment for the global movement to end NTDs. World NTD Day was launched in 2019 by His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed and formally recognized by the WHO in 2021, through an effort championed by the UAE and other committed partners. The day acts to galvanize political, financial and public support for the effort to stamp out these diseases and highlights the urgent need for sustained investment and action.

To mark the day, Reaching the Last Mile and Speak Up Africa co-hosted the first in a series of youth talks in Kaolack, Senegal, bringing together young advocates, government leaders, civil society actors and private sector representatives. Through an animated debate, the group explored how young people can best be engaged in decision-making spaces, to help cross the last mile of NTD elimination.

Attendees included Mama Gueye, Health Commission President at Kaolack City Hall, who addressed the crowd and urged youth to share their ideas for combatting NTDs, and the Sengalese artist Bamba Ly Seck, who uses his artwork as a platform to drive awareness and action in support of NTD elimination.
Queen Mother Naa Dedei Omaedru III is dead - President commiserates with family, Ga State

Donald Ato Dapatem Feb - 06 - 2023 , 09:27

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has commiserated with the Ga State over the death of the Ga Manye, Naa Dedei Omaedru III.

He assured the Ga State of the governments support to ensure that the late queenmother, who reigned for 59 years, was given a befitting funeral.

President Akufo-Addo gave the assurance last Friday when a delegation from the Ga State, led by a member of the Council of State, Nii Adjiri Blankson, called on him at the Jubilee House in Accra to inform him of the passing of the queenmother.

The delegation, which included chiefs, elders of the traditional set-up and children of the deceased, presented the President with assorted drinks and a full piece of red cloth in consonance with tradition.

President Akufo-Addo gave an assurance that he would be at the funeral because it was a family bereavement for him.

Naa Omaedru, 88, was known in private life as Naa Dedei Ablah.

She was installed Ga Manye in 1963 when she was 29.

She passed away at her Dansoman residence, surrounded by her loved ones, on December 26, 2022.

Credits

During her reign, Naa Omaedru was credited for selflessly devoting her life to public and voluntary service and championing important issues crucial to peace, education and opportunities for young people, especially the girl-child.

These included seeking the welfare of the girl-child and women to safeguard their future, setting a remarkable example of leadership to queenmothers in the Ga State.

She also stood for peace and unity and promoted these, not only among the people of the Ga State but also all Ghanaians, and advocated a united approach to the meaningful development of her people.

Charity

Naa Omaedru was known for her charity work, and in 2004, she donated items worth $12 million to the Ghana Society of the Physically Disabled at the Ghana National Rehabilitation Centre in Accra.
Law to speed up trials in the offing - Attorney-General Godfred Dame says

Emmanuel Ebo Hawkson Politics Feb - 06 - 2023 , 11:03

The Attorney-General (A-G) will soon lay a bill before Parliament for passage into law to help reduce the menace of unjustified delays in criminal trials in the country.

Among other things, the bill will seek an amendment of the rules of court to limit the number of interlocutory applications that can be filed during criminal proceedings and make it hard for parties to circumvent the rules of court to intentionally delay trials.

The A-G and Minister of Justice, Godfred Yeboah Dame, made this known in an exclusive interview with the Daily Graphic.

He said the bill was part of a series of initiatives his outfit was undertaking to reform the criminal justice system of the country.

It is very important that we do this reform, otherwise our justice system will virtually become a mockery and people will lose confidence in the administration of justice, he said.

Unacceptable

Mr Dame said it was unacceptable and incomprehensible for summary trials, which normally took up to a year in other countries, to sometimes drag on for more than six years in this country.

One of the means to ensure speedy and effective justice is to amend the rules in such a way as to compel the courts to administer justice more speedily, he said

According to him, many instances of delays in criminal trials were not due to failure on the part of the prosecution but the non-application of the rules of court.

Most of the cases that have dragged on for too long are not really as a result of any lack of diligence on the part of the A-Gs Department; they stem from failure to properly apply the rules to ensure the delivery of speedy, efficient and fair justice, he said.

Interlocutory applications are filed in the course of a trial to enforce certain rights or seek the review of certain decisions of the court.

Mr Dame said parties sometimes used interlocutory applications, with their numerous appeals, to unnecessarily drag criminal trials and distract the cause of justice.

The new bill, he said, when passed into law, would allow interlocutory applications in criminal trials only at the submission of no case stage of a trial.

At the submission of no case stage, the judge has the opportunity of evaluating all that had transpired so far, and if there is any infraction it can be cured at that stage. I believe interlocutory appeals should be prohibited and permitted only at the submission of no case stage, he said.

The submission of no case stage comes after the prosecution has presented its case and the accused person convinces the court to discharge him/her on the basis that the prosecution had failed to make a prima facie case to warrant his/her defence.

Reforms

The A-G mentioned the Criminal and Other Offences (Procedure) (Amendment) Act, 2021 to provide for plea bargaining as one of the legislative reforms introduced during his tenure to improve the criminal justice system.

The new law is meant to help reduce the backlog of criminal cases, as well as decongest the prisons, by allowing accused persons to admit their guilt and enter into some form of arrangement with the prosecution, without necessarily standing trial.

Elements of the law include the right of an accused person to enter into plea bargaining with the prosecutor before judgment by the court, the format of the agreement and the entity authorised to conduct plea bargaining with an accused person, which is the A-G or a prosecutor not from the A-Gs Department but authorised by the A-G.

They also include the benefits of plea bargaining for an accused person and the option for either party (the prosecution and the accused) to withdraw from plea negotiations.

However, the law exempts certain crimes, such as robbery, murder, treason and rape, from plea bargaining.

Mr Dame said his outfit was also working on the Alternative Sentencing and Community Sentencing Bill to allow convicts to serve in the communities and also serve other non-custodial sentences with regard to some petty and non-violent crimes.

The Alternative Sentencing and Community Sentencing Bill is undergoing stakeholder consultation and will find its way to Parliament in no time. These are part of the criminal justice reforms that we are introducing, he said.

Ato Essien

One major issue that the Minister of Justice addressed was the non-custodial sentence granted to the Founder of the defunct Capital Bank, William Ato Essien, who was convicted for stealing GH90 million of liquidity support granted to the bank by the Bank of Ghana.

The convict avoided a custodial sentence when the Accra High Court accepted an agreement between him and the prosecution for him (Essien) to pay the GH90 million as restitution to the state.

The agreement was pursuant to Section 35 of the Courts Act, 1993 (Act 459), which allows accused persons standing trial for causing financial loss to the state to pay the money and possibly avoid custodial sentences.

The non-custodial sentence granted to Essien was criticised by many people, who were of the opinion that justice favoured the rich.

However, Mr Dame disagreed with the critics and said the state was better off with the deal.

According to him, courts all over the world had moved away from custodial sentencing in respect of financial crimes, with emphasis rather on recouping the loss occasioned.

He described the Ato Essien case as the best application of Section 35 of Act 459 in the history of the countrys judicial system, adding that the state was able to extract more money and favourable terms, compared to others.

The amount in question was in dispute. The accused person disputed and he said he had embezzled only GH27 million, but I insisted that as far as our records showed, we could actually claim a maximum of GH90m. I insisted that he paid GH30m, which is one third. The court gave a relatively shorter time, a maximum of one year, for the accused to discharge his obligation.

That showed that the state profited greatly. It is important to look at things from proper perspective and for justice to be done to the relevant issue, he said.
Prof. Opoku-Agyemang ends visit to Central Region

Daily Graphic Politics Feb - 06 - 2023 , 07:23

The 2020 running mate of former President John Mahama, Prof. Jane Naana Opoku-Agyemang, has ended a 10-day working visit to the Central Region.

The visit took her to the Agona East Constituency, where she held a meeting with the Regional Functional Executive of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and the Tertiary Education Network (TEIN) of the University of Cape Coast (UCC).

In the Agona East Constituency, she inaugurated two community centres constructed by the Member of Parliament (MP) for the area, Opokuwa Sawyer, at Mankrong and Domeabra after which she addressed a durbar held in her honour.

She commended the good works of the MP and urged the people to rally behind her and the Constituency Executives for a resounding victory in the forthcoming general election in 2024.

As part of her tour, the 2020 Presidential running mate of the NDC joined the Functional Executive (FEC) of the Central Region to hold a meeting at the Regional Party Head Office in Cape Cost where she addressed the newly elected Executive members and urged them to close ranks and work together for the victory of John Dramani Mahama, the NDC and all its Parliamentary candidates in the region.

Prof. Naana Opoku-Agyemang expressed her appreciation to the executive for the successful conduct of Branch, Constituency and Regional elections and their overall output since their assumption of office, urging them to make more sacrifices for the good of the party and the region.

Assurance

On behalf of the Executive, the Regional Chairman, Dr Richard Asiedu, assured the running mate of their unflinching support towards all her endeavours.

The former Vice-Chancellor of UCC and the nations first female Vice-Chancellor also paid a surprise visit to the members of the TEIN of the NDC at the UCC where she praised Executive and members for their dedication to the party under the leadership of Miss Lydia Spio.
Nebrija University (Spain) students undertook the redesign and technological improvement of a car of the Sodicars team that took part in the 2023 Dakar Rally in the top-class category (T1).The 3D printing technology used by ArcelorMittal at its R&D&I Center, combined with the smart design algorithms of Nebrija University, have made it possible to develop various components of the car.





Nebrija to Dakar is a long-term project that extends beyond the 2023 Dakar Rally. There is a very clearly defined roadmap for the coming years, in which the alliance with ArcelorMittal and the integration of 3D printing technology in an increasing range of components of the vehicle will be one of the main pillars. Sergio Corbera, Head of the Automotive and Mechanical Engineering Area at Nebrija University

As a result, a new part that connects the side box of the car with the bargeboard, achieving a 20% weight reduction below the limit set, was 3D printed at the ArcelorMittal laboratory.

ArcelorMittal operates a technological innovation center focused on the development of various technologies, including 3D printing, artificial intelligence, nanotechnology and green energy. Nebrija University integrates artificial intelligence and generative modeling techniquessmart design or generative designto develop products that can contribute to enhancing the added value that ArcelorMittal provides for the automotive world.

The partnership between the two parties began some years ago, with the development of a motorbike frame entirely produced through 3D printing, which demonstrated that steel could offer a lighter solution than aluminum (a 25% weight reduction was achieved in this structural part). This was the starting point of the collaboration between both entities, with the long-term objective of introducing an ever-increasing range of printed components in the automotive sector and consolidating this technology.

The Dakar Rally is the worlds toughest automotive competition from a mechanical standpoint and, therefore, constitutes one of the best environments for the deployment of disruptive technologies, such as 3D printing.

Nebrija University reached an agreement with Sodicars, a vehicle manufacturer and racing platform with more than 11 years experience in automotive competitions and in the Motorsport world. The agreement focuses in particular on the redesign of and technological improvements to Sodicars BV2 vehicle. Nebrija University leads the technological development and technical management aspects of the project with a team of undergraduates and masters students from Nebrija Polytechnic.

In the context of this technological challenge, the teams from Nebrija University and ArcelorMittal laid the bases and provided the necessary resources to enable the use of 3D printing in the development of some components of the car to become a reality. The collaboration focused on the development of the parts supporting the cars sidepods.

Although these components have a very minor structural function, due to their position on the car they are very exposed to impacts or the possibility of being hit by stones. Moreover, as they are located in one of the main aerodynamic flow channels of the car, it was critical that the final component should have a limited area of flow resistance. These requirements conditioned the design of the part as regards its design space. ArcelorMittals team contributed all its design technology as well as its know-how in 3D printing technologies to develop a lightweight component that met these aerodynamic constraints.





Copyright Nebrija University

The result is a part with a very organic shape, weighing barely 800 grams20% below the limit setthat connects the side box of the car with the bargeboard.

The component, created by engineers specializing in design, computational analysis and manufacturing processes, was printed at the facilities of the R&D&I Centre in Aviles using laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) technology, in view of its geometry and resolution requirements. To produce the component, the R&D&I team used a grade 17-4PH steel alloy which was subsequently heat-treated.

The design process took into account the points where the component is fastened to the vehicle, the aerodynamic requirements and the simulation of forces it is exposed to, in order to optimise the design space. The joint work of the various R&D&I teams made it possible to produce the final printed parts within three weeks after receiving the case study. Short development and production cycles for new components constitute a competitive advantage as they make it easier to adapt to changes and new requirements for the application considered, in this case, in racing vehicles.
The Bureau of Land Management Alaska State Office recently released the final supplemental environmental impact statement (SEIS) for ConocoPhillipss proposed Willow Master Development Plan in the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska (NPR-A). The document addresses the flaws identified by the US District Court for the District of Alaska in its August 2021 vacatur of the previous approval of the project.

ConocoPhillips estimates that the Willow Project will produce 180,000 barrels of oil per day at its peak and deliver $8 billion to $17 billion in new revenue for the federal government, the state of Alaska and North Slope Borough communities.

The BLM has identified a preferred alternative in the final SEIS. Alternative E removes one of the five proposed drill sites from consideration and defers consideration of another. Additional environmental analysis would be required to move forward with the deferred fourth pad, and the final record of decision may identify additional deferrals.





Alternative E would reduce of project footprint in the Teshekpuk Lake Special Area by more than 40%. The three core drill sites in Alternative E (BT1, BT2, and BT3) reflect an integrated design concept and provide a viable path forward for development, according to ConocoPhillips.

The final environmental analysis is not a final decision regarding the proposed project, which will be issued no sooner than 30 days after the publication of the Notice of Availability.

ConocoPhillips Alaska intends to initiate gravel road construction immediately once all necessary approvals are in place, and then proceed to a final investment decision. Planning is currently in progress and mobilization could start as soon as February. Additional North Slope construction activities for Willow will occur throughout the summer and fall. Concurrently, material fabrication will begin in US facilities and the pace of contracting and procurement will increase.

The BLM consulted with eight cooperating agencies, including the US Fish and Wildlife Service, US Army Corp of Engineers, Inupiat Community of the Arctic Slope, North Slope Borough, State of Alaska, US Environmental Protection Agency, Native Village of Nuiqsut, and City of Nuiqsut, as well as external stakeholders in the development of the final SEIS.

ConocoPhillips is Alaskas largest oil producer and has been a leader in oil and gas exploration and development in the state for more than 50 years. In 2016, the company drilled two exploration wells that encountered significant pay in the Bear Tooth Unit. This discovery, Willow, is located in the northeast portion of the NPR-A. In 2018, the company appraised the greater Willow area and made discoveries in three additional prospects.





The Willow project is expected to produce approximately 600 million barrels of oil equivalent (MMBOE) over the life of the project.

Environmental groups oppose the project.
As the multinational training exercise Cope North 23 continues through Feb. 24, members of the U.S., Australian and Japanese forces have been 
Mayors, vice mayors and senators received all-expense paid trips to Manila, Japan and Taiwan courtesy of the Guam Visitors Bureau starting middle of last year, and many of these politicians have now been taking active roles in trying to resolve the leadership conflicts at the bureau and in the recovery of the pandemic-hit tourism industry.

In a trip to the Philippines in June, GVB invited and paid for the airfare, per diem and hotel stay of 10 mayors and vice mayors to attend a trade expo, among other things, based on GVB quarterly travel reports and interviews with some mayors.

Piti Mayor Jesse Alig, president of the Mayors Council of Guam, also got invited by GVB but on Monday, he said that he decided to pay for all his expenses after he initially wasnt clear about the trips purpose and whether it would directly benefit the 19 villages.

GVB President Carl Gutierrez said the bureau has traditionally paid for trips as part of its mission to promote Guam as a safe and satisfying destination.

It has been standard practice for decades as required in our enabling legislation to bring important elected officials to key missions that would help position us as a destination and influence high-level decision makers and industry officials that can improve tourism and travel relations to and from the island, he said.

Sen. Jesse Lujan, one of two senators who went to Tokyo last month with Gutierrez for the reopening of GVBs Japan office, on Monday said he called for a Feb. 10 oversight hearing on what he described as GVBs nearly one-year leadership impasse between Gutierrez, Board Chairman Milton Morinaga and other board members.

Lujan is the acting chairman of the legislative committee on tourism, while chairwoman Sen. Amanda Shelton is off-island.

Its time to come to the peoples house, Lujan said, referring to the Legislature. Let us fix this because we have given you guys the opportunity to fix this over time  May, June July, all thatand you know what, it hasnt been fixed so if it needs for us to come in there and you know, we dont want to micromanage but we definitely want to make sure that its right and make sure the board is in adherence to the law and moving in that direction.

Sen. Telo Taitague, who also went to Tokyo with Lujan and Gutierrez, repeatedly told Morinaga and other board members during their attempt to have a Jan. 31 special board meeting, that their meeting and planned actions during that meeting are illegal.

Taitague joined Gutierrez and GVB legal counsel Joe McDonald in telling Morinaga and other board members to seek the Office of the Attorney Generals opinion, especially because they do not agree with McDonalds opinion.

Attorney General Douglas Moylan on Monday confirmed with Pacific Daily News that his offices Civil Division is now currently reviewing the GVB matter after the Office of the Attorney General received a formal request for legal opinion.

Lujan said the ultimate fix to whats happening at GVB would have to come from the Legislature, citing a prior discussion with bureau management and the attorney general.

The senator said his trip to Tokyo recently was not only to attend the reopening of GVBs Japan office, but also to meet with other tourism industry stakeholders to help fasten Guams economic recovery.

Mayors trips

Gutierrez and other GVB personnel accompanied the Guam politicians during the off-island trips, based on the bureaus travel reports.

The January 2023 trip report, which would include GVB-paid trips to Taiwan and Japan, wont be out until after March.

In the past, mayors were criticized for their trips to the Philippines paid for by the Mayors Council of Guam, but this time, GVB has been the one picking the tab for the mayors off-island trips.

Some mayors who brought their spouses paid for their spouses airfare and other expenses during the Philippine trip.

Quarterly travel reports show 18 GVB-paid airfare for mayors and vice mayors involving four separate trips, but those included some of the same mayors, including Inalahan Mayor Anthony Chargualaf and Mongmong-Toto-Maite Mayor Rudy Paco.

Paco is the MCOGs representative to the GVB board and his absence during a Jan. 31 special board meeting that Morinaga called for, resulted in the cancellation of the meeting for a lack of quorum.

Paco later that afternoon said there was a sudden death in his close circle and that he couldnt attend the board meeting, where other mayors were also present but couldnt represent Paco.

Inalahans Chargualaf, meanwhile, got invited by GVB to all the four all-expense paid off-island trips involving mayors.

Chargualaf on Monday said in his personal view, GVB may have seen how he and his office have been diligently working to further improve and prepare Inalahan for the return of more visitors as among reasons for getting invitations to all the trips.

The mayor also said that hes been concerned about how GVB resources used to be concentrated so much on Tumon, and have rarely reached the other villages like Inalahan that are as important as the others when it comes to hosting tourism.

The off-island trips, he said, helped him gain more understanding of the important role of GVB in economic recovery. He hopes that the problems involving the board will be resolved soon.

Gutierrez said the mayors are vital in the current promotion of the island.

They are working closely with GVB to develop and showcase the attractions in their villages and push tourism outside of Tumon. During different missions overseas, they are important to re-establishing and developing programs that promote cross-cultural exchanges.

He pointed to the Kashiwa student exchange program, which prior to the pandemic brought hundreds of students to Guam.

When the mayors were invited to Kashiwa recently, they now have a bigger role to play in reigniting a better homestay program for students in Japan and Guam through their villages, Gutierrez said. The mayors council were engaged with the recent mission to Taiwan for the 50th anniversary of the sister city signing between Taipei City and Guam. They shared ideas and learned about projects in culture, business, education, tourism and other fields that could stimulate new opportunities of growth for the island in the Taiwan market and they also conducted a special presentation that renewed the commitment made by their predecessors 50 years ago to continue the sister city relations.

10 mayors in 1 trip

The June 2022 GVB delegation to the Philippines led by Gutierrez included the following mayors: MTMs Paco, Inalahans Chargualaf, Yona Mayor Bill Quenga, Agana Heights Mayor Paul McDonald, Humatak Mayor Johnny Quinata, Santa Rita-Sumai Mayor Dale Alvarez, Barrigada Vice Mayor Jessie Bautista, Dededo Vice Mayor Peter John Benavente, Tamuning Mayor Louise Rivera, and Asan-Maina Mayor Frankie Salas.

The mayors and vice mayors trips cost GVB nearly $14,500, or $1,448.89 each, based on GVBs travel report. Its not clear from GVB whether those amounts included the daily allowance and hotel accommodations, or only the airfare.

For the entire April-June 2022 quarter, GVBs travel costs totaled $111,267.81, including travels to Korea, Japan and the Philippines, bureau reports show.

During the prior quarters, GVB said it didnt incur any travel expenses using local funds.

For the July-September 2022 quarter, GVBs travel expenses reached $98,141.72.

GVBs October-December 2022 travel expenses went up to $128,664.45, and those included the Guam-Japan airfares of two mayors, Inalahans Chargualaf and MTMs Paco in October.

In November, GVB brought Inalahans Chargualaf and MTMs Paco, along with Mayors Council of Guam Executive Director Angel Sablan, to Japan.

In January 2023, GVB brought to Taiwan Inalahans Chargualaf, Humataks Quinata and MCOGs Sablan, to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the sister relationship between Taipei and Guam.

Pre-pandemic

GVBs quarterly travel expenses remain far below the pre-pandemic levels.

An audit report of GVB finances showed that its travel expenses reached $711,305 in fiscal year 2019.

That went down to $208,435 in fiscal year 2020, before plunging to $14,763 in fiscal year 2021.

Preliminary fiscal year 2022 numbers show travel expenses increased from prior years at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Dont want to be a circus

Lujan, of the legislative tourism committee, said anyone can attend or watch the 2 p.m. Friday oversight hearing, but only four individuals would be allowed to answer the committees questions: Morinaga, Gutierrez, McDonald, and GVB Vice President Gerry Perez.

Because its an oversight hearing, public comment wont be accepted, he said.

I dont want it to be a circus in there. Were there to fix what needs to be fixed and to move on and theres going to be decorum over there. Theres not gonna be yelling at each other, theres going to be strict adherence to decorum in the peoples house. They will all be sworn in. Their testimonies will be subject to the laws that govern perjury, he said.

The senator said GVB needs to move forward.

Its a system that is broken. The fortunate thing about that broken system is that its not hindering the moving forward of the activities of GVB and what theyre doing, and their promotion and all that is not incapacitated in any form which is good, which is a good thing. But if we are able to fix this and move forward, it would even be a better thing, he said.

GVB, meanwhile, called for a special general membership meeting from 9 a.m.-11 a.m. on Feb. 13 at the Dusit Thani Ballroom B to elect board directors from the four nominees and adopt the proposed third amendments to GVB bylaws.

A meeting in January didnt have a quorum to be able to elect directors and amend the bylaws.

Also on Feb. 13 at 1 p.m., GVB is planning a special board meeting to, among other things, acknowledge newly appointed legislative board appointee and formally select two individuals to serve on the board  which has been a point of contention between GVB management and board members as to the legality of the prior selection and the legality of electing them formally now.
A bipartisan group of lawmakers is calling for the immediate sanitation inspections of local schools, and for sanitation regulations to be enforced right away.

Two schoolsOceanview Middle School, and Southern High Schoolrecently failed their sanitation inspections due to pest infestations and poor conditions, but neither has been shut down. Thats because school building regulations adopted in 2019 allow the Guam Department of Education until June of next year to come into compliance with the new sanitation standards.

Simon Sanchez High School is likewise under scrutiny for maintaining a health certificate despite a rodent problem and the fact that the no-graded inspection of the school has been conducted since 2016.

Legislative Committee on Education Chair Sen. Chris Barnett announced Bill 29 Monday, which would require schools to comply with sanitation regulations by the start of the next school year. It has the support of 14 out of 15 local lawmakers.

The situation in our schools is an urgent emergency, Barnett said in a news release.

Mold, asbestos, rats, fleas, leaking roofs and other health and safety hazards have become the sad reality for many of our schools and our students. They deserve betternot in five years, not in one yearbut now. Bill 29 will get GDOE and (the Department of Public Health and Social Services) off the hot seat and into action. No more excuses.

Public Health would be required to conduct immediate site inspections of all schools, and provide monthly reports of corrective action taken to both the Legislature and the Guam Education Board. Inspections would be required every year before school sanitation permits are required, something Public Health isnt required to do by current law.

The Director of Public Health would be able to grant exemptions to schools that are working to comply with sanitation regulations. But that wont be an option if the schools violations would result in closure or condemnation.

Additionally, the bill would authorize Gov. Lou Leon Guerrero to transfer resources from the Department of Public Works and local and federal funding from the current fiscal year to tackle sanitation compliance.

Our public schools have problems that require immediate action, Barnett said. Staff at the schools have done their part in notifying GDOE administration about concerns on their respective campuses. Their concerns may be falling on deaf ears, but I hear them loud and clear. Enough is enough, Barnett said in a statement.
The Department of Public Health and Social Services owes employees $421,106 for overtime worked during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Management owes employees for overtime worked as far back as Aug. 15, 2020, Joaquin Blas, program director for Public Healths Division of General Administration, told lawmakers during a meeting held Friday.

Blas said that the agency has already paid out $1.8 million in overtime to employees using federal American Rescue plan money, but that funding source was exhausted in the final months of 2022.

With Guams state of public health emergency expiring last month, Public Health is now trying to close out any balances owed to workers using local funds.

Some bureaus have not been submitting their timesheets in a timely manner, Blas said, with one submitting timesheets for six pay periods from last year in just the past month.

Were getting them piecemeal, OK. And as soon as we get them, it is a lengthy process on our part to review and audit them, because we have to go through each individual timesheet, Blas told lawmakers.

Personnel responsible for keeping track of timesheets have also been quitting during the pandemic, Blas said. Timesheets fell through the cracks and employees did not get paid for the hours they worked.

He said that the agency was now working with the Bureau of Budget and Research Management to identify a funding source, but that employees should be getting paid within the next two to three weeks.

Blas said pandemic-related overtime was the only issue, and regular overtime payments were up to date.

I just want to note, this is not the first time that complaints have come in regarding overtime. So, during the pandemic, this was as well an issue that they were not being paid right away, said Speaker Therese, chair of Legislatures Committee on Health.

There have been cases of employees just now submitting overtime claims for hours worked during previous years, Public Health Deputy Director Terry Aguon said, when questioned by Sen. Joanne Brown.

Brown said management should typically authorize overtime beforehand, because if Im gonna sit there and write my overtime, thats where we get in trouble. I know Mr. (Blas) knows of that experience, of employees that are stocking up their overtime that they didnt legitimately earn.

According to Aguon, the late overtime claims were a unique situation during the pandemic.

According to Blas, most of the unpaid overtime was accrued just this past year.

Heres how much Public Health owes its employees:
Gov. Lou leon Guerrero and Lt. Gov. Josh Tenorio meet with Philippine labor attache Macy Maglanque on Jan. 27, 2023. {span}Philippines Secretary of Migrant Workers Susana Toots Vasquez Ople recently pproved the establishment of a migrant workers office on Guam.{/span}
Gerald Gerry S.A. Perez, Ph.D., is the vice president of Guam Visitors Bureau. He also is an adjunct professor of Business and Public Administration at the University of Guam, a seasoned businessman, public servant and civic leader. Send comments or questions to GVB at communityrelations@visitguam.org
CHILDREN at a Henley school received a signed card from King Charles.

The reception class pupils at St Marys School sent the new King a condolence card following the death of his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, in September.

They received a thank-you card from His Majesty, which featured a photograph of him as a boy looking out of a window with his mother.

The class gathered together to open the envelope, which was postmarked from Buckingham Palace.

The message inside read: It was so kind of you to send me such a wonderfully generous message following the death of my beloved mother.

Your most thoughtful words are enormously comforting and I cannot tell you how deeply they are appreciated at this time of immense sorrow. The card was signed Charles R. Afterwards, the children had a discussion about the royal family and watched some short clips of the Queens state funeral.

Catherine Yoxall, marketing and communications manager at the school in St Andrews Road, said: The children were moved by the Queens death to express their condolences to the King and wrote to him with their thoughts.

In their letter, they said how very sorry they were for his loss and wished him all the very best in his new role as the King.

One of our children, Gabi, noted that she really liked the horses at the funeral and they looked very smart.

The class posted the letter together and were delighted to receive a reply when we came back to school for the new term. We all feel very lucky to have been part of such an important moment in the history of our country.
Xi's letters help deepen global understanding

(China Daily) 11:05, February 06, 2023

[Photo/Xinhua]

President's correspondence with foreign youths shows his personal approach to diplomacy

Despite his busy daily schedule, President Xi Jinping makes time for correspondence with young people in foreign countries as a means of making China better known in the rest of the world.

Over the past years, the Chinese leader has replied to dozens of letters from young foreigners who are keenly interested in studying the Chinese language and learning about Chinese culture.

In letters replying to teenagers in countries such as the United States, Japan, Saudi Arabia, Laos, Italy and Malta, Xi has encouraged these young envoys of friendship to boost the bonds between their own nations and China.

Such exchanges of letters show the president's personal approach to diplomacy and China's great openness to the world for more communication and exchanges, experts said.

The latest letter was a reply last month to students at a Hungarian-Chinese bilingual school in Budapest, Hungary. Xi welcomed the students to study at Chinese universities after their graduation and said he hoped that more young people from Hungary would love and study the Chinese language.

"Young people are not only inheritors of traditional friendship, but will also play a key role in initiating more friendly cooperation in the future," said Yu Jiang, deputy secretary-general of the Xi Jinping Thought on Diplomacy Studies Center and vice-president of the China Institute of International Studies.

Through the letters, Xi expressed his hope for greater efforts to promote mutual understanding among people in different countries and to promote the harmonious coexistence of different civilizations, thus contributing to the building of a community with a shared future for mankind, Yu said.

Even when political relations between two countries suffer setbacks, ordinary people can still express their aspiration for mutual understanding and friendship through people-to-people exchanges at various levels, including correspondence.

In 2020, 50 students in the fourth grade at Cascade Elementary School in the US state of Utah wrote greeting cards to Xi in Chinese on the eve of Spring Festival, telling him about their Chinese language learning and personal hobbies. They also expressed their love for China and Chinese culture, as well as their hopes for a chance to visit China.

In his reply letter, Xi told the students that, like the US, China is a big country and that the Chinese people are as hospitable as the American people, and he said he hoped that they would become young ambassadors of friendship between the two peoples.

In 2019, Xi wrote back to a group of US high school students who were studying Chinese at Niles North High School in Illinois.

Though China and the US are at odds on a number of issues, the exchange of letters between Xi and American students has shown that interactions between people at all levels of society should be a normal part of bilateral ties, experts said.

Li Haidong, head of China Foreign Affairs University's American Studies Center, said it is particularly urgent to increase communication among young people amid a complicated and volatile international situation.

"Cultural communications and exchanges play a key role in deepening mutual understanding among different countries, societies and peoples. And people-to-people diplomacy, as part of a country's multidimensional diplomacy, is thought to help better explain China to the rest of the world," Li said.

Yu, from the CIIS, said the exchange of letters has also enabled people to see how cordial and sincere the Chinese leader is through his efforts to promote China's language and culture on the global stage.

In December, Xi replied to a letter from students at four Saudi colleges before he started a state visit to Saudi Arabia. The president noted that young people are a source of infinite hope and the younger generation is the future of China-Saudi Arabia and Sino-Arab friendship.

He expressed his hope that the students would cherish the good times and study hard in order to make new contributions to enhancing friendship between Chinese and Saudi people, as well as between Chinese and Arab people in general.

Wesal Abdulrahman Alqarni, who majors in Chinese language at King Abdulaziz University in Saudi Arabia's west coast city of Jeddah, was one of the students who wrote to Xi. For her, there might be no better encouragement than a letter from the Chinese president.

"I was so excited and immediately told my family (about the reply).They were all proud of me. I am very lucky that I met the Chinese language during the most beautiful years of my life, (President Xi's reply) has further strengthened my confidence in learning Chinese well," she said in an earlier interview with Xinhua News Agency.

Inspired by Xi's letter, Alqarni said she will work hard on Chinese so that she can eventually become a teacher of the language and help more Saudis to learn Chinese. She also said she wanted to devote herself to translating more videos and articles about China on social media to introduce China to the rest of the world.

According to the Foreign Ministry, by the end of 2021, over 180 countries and regions had begun Chinese language education, and 76 countries had included such programs in their national curriculum. In addition, the number of people learning Chinese overseas has exceeded 25 million, and nearly 200 million people have learned or used Chinese outside of China.

In a letter written to Xi in 2021, representatives of young foreign participants in the Global Young Leaders Dialogue from 28 countries talked about their trips to China and expressed their hope of serving as a bridge in promoting exchanges and dialogue between China and the rest of the world.

The Global Young Leaders Dialogue is a program that provides a platform for the sharing of ideas and mutual learning among young people from different countries and fields.

In his reply letter, Xi hailed their active efforts to visit various parts of China and deepen their understanding of the country, and he welcomed more young people from overseas to visit China for exchanges.

"All of our young participants were greatly inspired by Xi's letter. They felt so honored and excited to have a dialogue in this way with a major country's head of state," said Miao Lu, the founder of the dialogue, adding that the young people will continue to benefit from Xi's words in the future.

Miao, who is also secretary-general of the Center for China and Globalization, a Beijing-based think tank, said that as Xi has emphasized in the letters, young people from the rest of the world are welcome to visit China to learn about the nation's development.

"Once they know what the real China looks like, they are very eager to share what they have seen and heard here with others," she said.

Donglona Adawa Thomas, who is from Chad and is a PhD candidate majoring in international politics at Peking University, participated in framing a letter to Xi in 2021.

"In his response, Xi encouraged us to study harder and travel around to learn more about Chinese culture. To implement what he has said in the letter, we have been given several opportunities to travel to other provincial-level regions, including Xinjiang," Thomas said.

He added that the field trips have deepened his knowledge of Chinese society and culture.

"It is crucial to strengthening people-to-people and cultural exchanges with other countries, as people live in a globalized and interconnected world, and the quintessence of relations among nations relies on such exchanges," Thomas said.

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun)
Leading boutique apartment hotel operator, the Veriu Group, has kicked off 2023 with a bang, announcing the opening of its latest property, Punthill Essendon North, in the heart of Melbourne's inner north west last week.

Built in partnership with EVR Group, the state-of-the-art 40-apartment hotel offers a mix of modern studio and one-bedroom apartments, designed to accommodate solo and group travel, for business or leisure. Combining light-filled, fully self-catering apartments - each one including a fully-equipped kitchen, balcony, desk and fast, high-quality internet, along with comprehensive conference and meeting facilities, secure on-site parking subject to availability, gym and guest laundry, it represents the perfect accommodation option for both business and leisure travellers seeking the comforts of home. Guests can also take advantage of the many dining options on the Keilor Road strip.

Located north of Melbourne's CBD, just minutes from Flemington, Moonee Valley and Essendon Fields, Punthill Essendon North is expected to complement the Group's existing Punthill Essendon property and is well positioned to service the corporate catchment area in Melbourne's Northern suburbs, as well as business travellers commuting to and from Melbourne Airport.

More broadly, the last few months have been busy ones for Sanjana, with the Group unveiling the 110-room Veriu Queen Victoria Market - its first Victorian Veriu Apartment Hotel branded property in early December. The new Veriu Collingwood, located in one of the inner city's most popular locales, is being developed in partnership with the Gurner Group, is also expected to open in early April. But he's showing no signs of complacency.

Hotel website
Jumeirah Group, the global luxury hospitality company and member of Dubai Holding, today announced the acquisition of its first property in Switzerland as it continues its growth trajectory and international expansion. The flagship property - Le Richemond - was founded in 1875 and is located on the banks of Lake Geneva in a prime location at the heart of the city's business district and a short walk from the city's luxury designer boutiques. The acquisition forms part of the Group's strategy to build its brand profile in gateway destinations across the world.

The move signals Jumeirah's appetite for investment in key cities that support the diversification of its portfolio and build brand equity as a globally recognised luxury hotel operator. Geneva, as a thriving city, synonymous with luxury living, with a strong international business community and a robust high-end tourism sector, will support Jumeirah's vision to become one of the world's top five luxury hotel brands.

The art deco property with its charm and grandeur has been a popular destination for well-known personalities throughout the years. The hotel features 109 keys with 87 rooms and 22 suites, boasting stunning views across Lac Leman and the mountain peaks of Mont Blanc. The property will undergo extensive renovations, which will commence as soon as possible, to reposition and elevate the guest experience to a level consistent with Jumeirah's brand expectations. Jumeirah plans to introduce its signature wellness and fitness concepts and will also focus on bringing its culinary expertise to the banks of Lake Geneva, a city well-regarded for its diverse culinary craftsmanship and innovative spirit, with the introduction of unique destination dining concepts.

Jumeirah's new property in Geneva is its fifth in Europe, joining The Carlton Tower Jumeirah, and Jumeirah Lowndes Hotel in London, UK; Capri Palace Jumeirah on the island of Capri, Italy; and Jumeirah Port Soller Hotel & Spa in Mallorca, Spain. Jumeirah Group, which originated in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates, has a portfolio of 26 hotels and resorts across Europe, the Middle East and Asia.

Jumeirah Group is a member of Dubai Holding, a diversified global investment company with operations in over 13 countries, employing more than 20,000 people and with an extensive portfolio of over AED 130 billion worth of assets that support the diversification and sustainable growth of Dubai's economy across key sectors.

Hotel website
Lionel Ferrari's hospitality career, including more than 15 years of hospitality experience in the Seychelles, stands him in good stead as he takes on the role of General Manager of Anantara Koh Yao Yai Resort & Villas in Phang Nga province in Thailand. Lionel brings to his new position extensive luxury hospitality experience. He will oversee all operations for the new exclusive property that will appeal to travellers looking for a lesser-known, unusual destination and transformative experiences.

His journey with Anantara began in 2020, when as General Manager, he was tasked with the rebranding of Maia Luxury Resort and Spa to an Anantara Resort when the brand bought the iconic property, one of the most exclusive and luxurious properties in the Seychelles.

Hailing from Antibes on the French Riviera, Lionel has a master's degree in tourism and hotel management from Universite Cote d'Azur in Nice, where he graduated with honours. He is a polyglot, fluent in four languages - French, English, Italian and Spanish with conversational Portuguese (his wife is Brazilian) and Seychellois Creole also in the mix.

He started his hospitality career in 2006 as part of Maia Resorts' pre-opening team on a 4-month internship programme. His drive to succeed, his insatiable curiosity and unshakable work ethic ensured his advancement to Front Office Manager. In 2010, he briefly joined IHG in San Salvador as Assistant F&B Manager, but a year later he returned to the Seychelles to rejoin Tsogo Sun Hotels as EAM Manager of Paradise Sun Hotel Praslin, where only three years later he was made General Manager.

Demonstrating a strong business acumen and dynamic leadership style, Lionel was appointed General Manager of Maia Luxury Resort and Spa in 2017. His rapid advancement and hands-on knowledge of different managerial levels within a luxury resort, ensure that guests experience an unparalleled level of service during their stay.

Lionel grew up in the hospitality industry - his father was an executive chef - and from an early age he was captivated by hotels.

In his leisure time, Lionel plans to enjoy all that Thailand has to offer together with his family - exploring and discovering as much as they can about the food, people, underwater life and culture.
Qasr Al Sarab Desert Resort by Anantara - one of the most luxurious resorts in the UAE - has a new general manager. Jean-Paul Dantil joins the sandy retreat from Courchevel, where he was GM of a Six Senses in the French Alps.

Now in Abu Dhabi, he is tasked with levelling up the customer service of the resort and leading all day-to-day operations.

Since starting his role, he has already brokered several new initiatives and partnerships with local partners such as the 3Fils pop-up in The Royal Pavilion, a partnership with UK-based artist Nat Bowen, and a new takeover of the resort retail space: Souk Secrets; with many more to be announced in the coming months.

After his start in front office management at hotels and resorts in Micronesia and Turks & Caicos, Dantil became a managing partner at Chris Garrod Partnership, one of the world's leading hotel procurement companies.

From 2011, he applied his expertise to managing hotels across the world, including Ritz Carlton properties in Vienna and Bahrain, and a cluster of Almanac Hotels across Europe

As opening general manager of the Kimpton St. Honore in Paris, Jean-Paul was responsible for establishing the flagship of the brand in 2020, including recruiting an entire team and operating the 149-room-and-suite luxury hotel with its restaurant, rooftop bar, spa, and meeting rooms.
MUMBAI - Indian Hotels Company (IHCL),Indias largest hospitality company announced that Taj Exotica Resort & Spa, Maldives has signed an agreement with Swimsol, the global leader in offshore marine photovoltaics, to induct a floating solar park.

Speaking on this occasion, Mr. Gaurav Pokhariyal, Executive Vice President, Human Resources, IHCL, stated, This partnership is in line with IHCLs ESG+ framework of Paathya with its commitment towards energy conservation and long term goal of deriving no less than 50 per cent of energy across all hotels from renewable sources by 2030. Once the floating solar park goes on stream in 2024, Taj Exotica Resort & Spa will operate with one of the lowest carbon footprints in Maldives.

The 1.05 MW solar park will save 1,189 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions per annum. It will help reduce 4,39,000 litres of diesel consumption annually while simultaneously decreasing noise pollution by 40%. It will have an extraordinary battery backup, making Taj Exotica Resort & Spa the first-ever Maldives resort to completely shut down generator operations between 8 am to 5 pm. Along with reducing the resorts carbon footprint, the floating solar platforms will stay well above the precious coral reefs and offer shelter to young aqua fauna.

Spread across Emboodhu Finolhu island, Taj Exotica Resort & Spa is an environmentally responsible resort in the archipelago. Its pioneering over-water villas and beach villas with spectacular ocean views, plunge pools and butler service are havens of privacy and luxury. The renowned Jiva spa - with a stunning yoga and meditation pavilion and infinity pool - harnesses the locations natural beauty with ancient Indian Ayurveda, to offer a holistic health, beauty and spiritual wellness lifestyle for guests.

About The Indian Hotels Company Limited

The Indian Hotels Company Limited (IHCL) and its subsidiaries bring together a group of brands and businesses that offer a fusion of warm Indian hospitality and world-class service. These include Taj  the iconic brand for the most discerning travelers and ranked as the World's Strongest Hotel Brand and India's Strongest Brand as per Brand Finance Hotels 50 Report 2022 and India 100 Report 2022, respectively; SeleQtions, a named collection of hotels; Vivanta, sophisticated upscale hotels; and Ginger, which is revolutionizing the lean luxe segment.

Incorporated by the founder of the Tata Group, Jamsetji Tata, the Company opened its first hotel - The Taj Mahal Palace, in Bombay in 1903. IHCL has a portfolio of 260 hotels including 73 under development globally across 4 continents, 11 countries and in over 125 locations. The Indian HotelsCompany Limited (IHCL) is India's largest hospitality company by market capitalization. It is primarily listed on the BSE and NSE.

Please visit: www.ihcltata.com; www.tajhotels.com; www.seleqtionshotels.com; www.vivantahotels.com; www.gingerhotels.com

Kirti Dhingra

IHCL
CHICAGO  Hyatt Hotels Corporation (NYSE: H) announced today that a Hyatt affiliate has entered into management agreements with Rua Al Madinah Holding Company to manage three new Hyatt-branded hotels, including Grand Hyatt Madinah, Hyatt Regency Madinah and Hyatt Place Madinah. Upon opening, these properties will participate in the World of Hyatt loyalty program and will add a combined 1,729 room keys to Hyatts portfolio in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, significantly expanding Hyatts brand presence in the country and demonstrating its commitment to strategic growth of its portfolio in key markets that matter to its guests, World of Hyatt members, customers and owners.

The three properties will be part of the Rua Al Madinah project and are set to be the first Hyatt-branded hotels in Madinah, a city that aims to attract 30 million tourists by 2030. The Rua Al Madinah project is one of the most important initiatives of the Public Investment Fund to achieve the Kingdom of Saudi Arabias Vision 2030, which aims to raise the readiness of the eastern region of the Prophets Mosque to accommodate the rising demand in tourism. Set within a distinguished urban environment, the milestone project will aim to enrich the visitors experience through the development of integrated systems for hotels, commercial projects and urban centres that highlight the religious and cultural characteristics of Al Madinah Al Munawwarah; all, in an atmosphere full of tranquillity and harmony.

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia continues to play a pivotal role in Hyatts growth strategy in the Middle East and we are excited to work with Rua Al Madinah Holding Company on the plans for these fantastic properties in Madinah. We are enthusiastic about Saudi Arabias vision and strategy for the country, and glad to see how tourism continues to grow year over year. We are honored to be part of this growth and these new properties signal Hyatts commitment to thoughtful brand growth in desirable destinations and further reinforces Hyatts position as a hospitality leader in the region. Javier Aguila, Group President, Europe, Middle East and Africa, Hyatt

Hyatt Place Madinah will feature 860 thoughtfully designed guestrooms, a large dining restaurant, event space and a fitness center. It will provide self-reliant travelers with a casual yet stylish environment that adapts seamlessly for all types of stay occasions.

Hyatt Regency Madinah will have 539 well-appointed guestrooms, multiple dining venues, a spacious lobby lounge and a Regency Club where guests can come to relax, refuel or focus on work. The guestroom interior will be designed for tranquillity and productivity and will incorporate inspirational design elements from Madinahs culture. True to the brand promise, the property will be a go-to gathering space for every occasion, while providing a memorable experience for those visiting the Holy City of Madinah on spiritual and religious journeys.

Grand Hyatt Madinah will be designed to offer guests an elevated and sophisticated experience. Positioned as a destination within a destination, the property will have 330 luxurious guestrooms, premium dining experiences, and a double-height lobby with modern interiors that will reflect the vibrant design and bold architecture that the Grand Hyatt brand is known for.

We are delighted to collaborate with Rua Al Madinah Holding Company to bring three of Hyatts world-class brands to Madinah. The Rua Al Madinah development is a significant project that is set to further amplify the Kingdoms cultural capital and we look forward to showcasing Hyatts diverse portfolio that will meet the needs of global travellers. Ludwig Bouldoukian, Regional Vice President, Development, Middle East and Africa, Hyatt

The development of these three hotels as part of the Rua Al Madinah masterplan marks an exciting milestone of the entry of Hyatts renowned brand portfolio into the city of Madinah. We are excited to bring Hyatt's exceptional standards of hospitality to Madinah and are confident of the positive impact this project will bring to the city's tourism industry as we progress its development. Eng. Ahmed Al Juhani, CEO, Rua Al Madinah Holding

The addition of Grand Hyatt, Hyatt Regency, and Hyatt Place hotels to Rua Al Madinah's hospitality offerings is a major milestone for our company. We are excited to work with Hyatt and offer our guests world-class amenities and experiences in one of the world's most historically and culturally significant cities. This collaboration is a testament to our commitment to elevating the travel experience in Madinah and we look forward to welcoming guests to these new properties soon. Mr. Ahmed Bin Madhi, CIO, Rua Al Madinah Holding

The three properties join Hyatts highly anticipated pipeline in Saudi Arabia, which is set to solidify Hyatts portfolio and diverse brand presence across key destinations in the country, including the Holy City of Madinah.

Hyatts current portfolio in Saudi Arabia consists of six properties across five brands: Park Hyatt Jeddah  Marina, Club and Spa, Grand Hyatt Al Khobar Hotel and Residences, Hyatt Regency Riyadh Olaya, Jabal Omar Hyatt Regency Makkah, Hyatt Place Riyadh Al Sulaimania and Hyatt House Jeddah Sari Street.

For information on Hyatts existing brand portfolio, please visit www.hyatt.com.

The term Hyatt is used in this release for convenience to refer to Hyatt Hotels Corporation and/or one or more of its affiliates.

About Rua Al Madinah Holding

A wholly-owned subsidiary of Saudi Arabias Public Investment Fund, Rua Al Madinah Holding undertakes holistic development projects that feature modern urban planning to elevate the experience of residents and visitors of Madinah, the home to countless Islamic monuments that tell the story of the Prophet (PBUH) and his revered companions. The company aims to elevate Madinah as a modern Islamic and cultural destination. With a capital of SAR2.99 billion, Rua Al Madinah Holding aims to develop a comprehensive hospitality and retail ecosystem that further enhances the inclusive and communal nature of Madinah. Through diverse development projects and an ultramodern infrastructure that enrich the experience of both residents and visitors, the companys driving vision is to improve the quality of infrastructure and services according to the highest international standards.

Rua Al Madinah Holdings strategy is fully aligned with the Public Investment Funds efforts to develop and enable promising sectors and help accomplish the Vision 2030 objective of bringing 30 million Hajj and Umrah pilgrims to the Kingdom by the year 2030.

About Hyatt Hotels Corporation

Hyatt Hotels Corporation, headquartered in Chicago, is a leading global hospitality company guided by its purpose  to care for people so they can be their best. As of June 30, 2022, the Company's portfolio included more than 1,150 hotels and all-inclusive properties in 72 countries across six continents. The Company's offering includes brands in the Timeless Collection, including Park Hyatt, Grand Hyatt, Hyatt Regency, Hyatt, Hyatt Residence Club, Hyatt Place, Hyatt House, and UrCove; the Boundless Collection, including Miraval, Alila, Andaz, Thompson Hotels, Hyatt Centric, and Caption by Hyatt; the Independent Collection, including The Unbound Collection by Hyatt, Destination by Hyatt, and JdV by Hyatt; and the Inclusive Collection, including Hyatt Ziva, Hyatt Zilara, Zoetry Wellness & Spa Resorts, Secrets Resorts & Spas, Breathless Resorts & Spas, Dreams Resorts & Spas, Vivid Hotels & Resorts, Alua Hotels & Resorts, and Sunscape Resorts & Spas. Subsidiaries of the Company operate the World of Hyatt loyalty program, ALG Vacations, Unlimited Vacation Club, Amstar DMC destination management services, and Trisept Solutions technology services. For more information, please visit www.hyatt.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

Forward-Looking Statements in this press release, which are not historical facts, are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by the use of words such as "may," "could," "expect," "intend," "plan," "seek," "anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "predict," "potential," "continue," "likely," "will," "would" and variations of these terms and similar expressions, or the negative of these terms or similar expressions. Such forward-looking statements are necessarily based upon estimates and assumptions that, while considered reasonable when made, are inherently uncertain, and are subject to numerous assumptions and uncertainties, many of which are outside of Kiraku, Inc. or Hyatt's control, which could cause actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from those expressed in or implied by such statements. Forward-looking statements made in this press release are made only as of the date of their initial publication and neither party undertakes an obligation to publicly update any of these forward-looking statements as actual events unfold, except to the extent required by applicable law. If one or more forward-looking statements is updated, no inference should be drawn that any additional updates will be made with respect to those or other forward-looking statements.

Glennie Janssen

Hyatt

+1 312 780 6120

Hyatt
Seattle, WA - Today, The Hotel Group (THG) and Hogback Development announced the purchase of the Fairfield Inn & Suites by Marriott in Moses Lake, Wa. The Hotel Group is a leading national hotel management, investment and development company and is an affiliate of Hotel Equities (HE) . This addition, and the recent announcement of two Hyatt additions, furthers the groups continued growth in the Northwest.

We are thrilled to partner again for our third hotel with Hogback Development and to be acquiring this top performing Fairfield Inn & Suites. We now manage a dozen hotels in Washington state which is home to THG. This Marriott select service hotel is a phenomenal addition to our property portfolio as we know the Fairfield brand is a top-performer in its class. We are excited to join the Moses Lake community and look forward to delivering the best of THG-HEs Inspired Hospitality Greatness to our guests and the community. Doug Dreher, CEO at The Hotel Group

The Fairfield Inn & Suites Moses Lake, located off I-90 at 2380 Maiers Rd., was designed with comfort in mind and offers 84 spacious and contemporary guestrooms, as well as a swimming pool and fitness center for guests who wish to stay active. Free wi-fi, complimentary breakfast and universal charging stations are amenities offering guests added convenience.

Moses Lake is the largest natural body of fresh water in Grant Countys and offers tourist and locals a plethora of activities such as boating, fishing, ATV dunes, biking and back country exploring. The Moses Lake region was originally built on agriculture and aviation and is thriving today thanks to the tech industry. The city of Moses Lake offers thriving arts and culture with main street festivals, events at the fairgrounds, farmers markets, museums, art galleries & theaters.

About The Hotel Group

The Hotel Group, an affiliate of Hotel Equities, is a nationally recognized leading hotel management, investment, and development company. Since its inception in 1984, THG has managed and/or owned over 125 properties in 25 states representing over 20 brands, directed the design and construction of over 50 new hotels, and completed the acquisition of nearly $200 million in private investment through the Hotel Group Opportunity Funds. For more information on THG and the services it offers, visit www.thehotelgroup.com.

About Hotel Equities

Hotel Equities is an award-winning full-scale hotel ownership, management, and development firm with a portfolio of over 250 hotels and resorts throughout the United States and Canada. Fred Cerrone, CHA, serves as Founder and Chairman; Brad Rahinsky serves as President and CEO. Hotel Equities is an affiliate of 33 Degrees, an integrated management platform combining market knowledge and industry experience across a broad range of CRE assets including office, restaurant, retail, mixed-use and multi-unit residential. For more information on Hotel Equities, visit www.hotelequities.com.

Sommer Shiver

VP of Branding & Communications

The Hotel Group (THG)
From remote workplaces to the metaverse, the world of business is becoming more and more virtualized. Digital business models are taking over, and companies are being led to unique optimizations, such as automatization, data-driven decision-making, and streamlined collaborations.

Amongst this digitization, e-pay software has become one of the most notable solutions. Not only does this software offer comprehensive tools to digitize your procurement process, but it also enables you to receive cash-back rebatestranslating to thousands of dollars per property, per year.

To learn more about this tool, lets take a look at utilizing e-payment processes to maximize cash-back rebates.

First Things First: What is E-Pay Software?

Electronic payment solutions transform the high-cost, high-risk method of cash or paper check payments to safer, simpler virtual payments. Depending on the service, these payments can be processed in various forms, including ACH, digital check, and vCard.

While some organizations might deem this an unnecessary solution to add to their arsenal, e-pay software introduces a new host of benefits for all departments within your business.

Starting with your AP team, electronic payment methods can help them save the company time and resources. On average, an AP department spends over 6 hours per week preparing manual payments. Using an e-pay system, that number can be reduced to just 5 minutes thanks to automated tools.

For your HR department, consistent reporting and analytics on operational workflows are crucial. While manual payment processes can offer this to some extent, modern e-pay methods provide built-in data to help your teams keep up with industry shifts, supplier requirements, and employee demands.

Additionally, e-pay systems can offer 24/7 customer service from experts via email or phone at any time and any day. For your vendors, having access to this level of support not only ensures consistent, on-time payments but builds a stronger business-supplier relationship.

But this online billing system doesnt stop there. Many companies in the hospitality industry are opting for these solutions due to their considerable cash-back benefits.

How Cash Back Rebates Work for E-Pay

If there is one thing company executives are always searching for, its ways to save on expenses and generate a more profitable revenue stream. Using e-pay, your company can accomplish both at the same time.

As weve mentioned prior, e-payment software offers easier and faster payment methods, which saves time and money previously dedicated to completing manual, repetitive tasks.

Meanwhile, e-pay can also generate a new, meaningful revenue stream through rebates from your business's spend. With minimal impact on your company resources, you can start receiving rebates in just a matter of weeks.

While supplier onboarding teams shift suppliers to virtual payment options, your company can reduce the number of painstaking checks and instead, maximize your cash back.

Not only does this reduce paper checks by 40% and create savings from compliance improvements but your businesses can simultaneously benefit from an additional revenue stream through the e-pay rebate system.

Optimizing Cash Back with BirchStreet Pay

Writing checks, manually processing invoices, and receiving inconsistent or incorrect transactionsthese should all be things of the past. By partnering with BirchStreets e-pay software, you can allow a professional third-party to handle all supplier payments while gaining real-time visibility into spending and subsequent cash-back benefits.

Worried about integrations? With BirchStreet Pay, our team of experts takes care of the heavy lifting by shifting your pool of suppliers to accept virtual cards. On top of that, BirchStreet Pay has an easy-to-use interface to enable payments to be made quickly and easily from one central location.

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Partly cloudy this evening with more clouds for overnight. Low 58F. Winds SSE at 5 to 10 mph..

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Partly cloudy this evening with more clouds for overnight. Low 58F. Winds SSE at 5 to 10 mph.
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Nicholas Russo's re-imagining of what the West Street intersection could look like. The illustration is not official in any way and the Pittsfield Community Design Center is a non-governmental community group seeking to spark conversation and ideas.

Pittsfield Community Group Wants to Actualize City's Potential

PITTSFIELD, Mass.  Pittsfield Community Design Center is connecting the community with planning concepts in hopes of making Pittsfield a vibrant, easily accessible, pedestrian-friendly place.

The group, spearheaded by "The Pittsfielder" blogger Nicholas Russo, is a non-city affiliated effort with four main goals: promote placemaking, demystify the city's transportation infrastructure, take direct action, and establish a physical location for the group.



"I really want to have a group of people in real life looking at Pittsfield and thinking about ways to make it more pedestrian/bike friendly, more inviting to be out in public spaces like how to activate some of our public plazas and spaces downtown," he explained.



"How to get people to embrace their streets and their blocks to make them more fun to play on and live on, make it more livable, basically."



With a new roundabout on Tyler Street, an upcoming roundabout on Route 7, and a great deal of conversation around bike lanes downtown, this type of infrastructure has been a hot topic over the past few years.



Russo, who studied engineering in college, has taken part in Complete Streets efforts and studied the layout of Pittsfield's roads for a number of years. This is his way of putting "words into action."



He sees opportunity in anywhere that is connected and walkable, which does not just include the downtown. The West Side, Morningside, and southeast neighborhoods are all spaces that could be a part of this conversation.



The Bird scooter map that displays where they are permitted is a good guide for potential areas that could be improved, he added.

Russo's been posting on Facebook for years about downtowns, streetscapes, transportation, community planning and roundabouts  lots of roundabouts. Most of his posts have garnered a handful of comments or shares until his illustration of a West Street roundabout drew nearly a hundred comments.

"Pittsfield deserves safe, modern infrastructure. I think we can all agree that the West Street/West Street intersection is sorely in need of attention. Currently it is conducive to high speeds, long crossing distances, and odd traffic patterns due to heavy left turns," he wrote, along with an image of what a roundabout there might look like.

His post came after a fatal pedestrian accident last week when a mother and her 3-year-old daughter were struck trying to cross West Street in that area near Dorothy Amos Park. The mother, Shaloon Milord, 30, has subsequently died of her injuries.

Russo's re-design generated a good deal of conversation on Facebook. He emphasized that the images and the Pittsfield Community Design Center are not affiliated with the city or state and are non-political.



"I kind of see this as almost a neutral zone, like a third party that's not the city and not like a private engineering company but somewhere that people can go to talk about these things casually," he said.



"It's not affiliated with any kind of specific project or public meeting or city council, it would be a place to sort of start brainstorming and visualizing. Low commitment, low stakes, just kind of a place to start."



Russo hopes that the effort is not seen as having any special interest or motive behind it.



"It's just someone who has lived in Pittsfield their whole life and wants to reimagine this place to be more inviting and attractive for families to come and raise their kids, for people my age who want to have like a real kind of social scene that doesn't involve having to go up into Boston or like a big city," Russo added.



Russo, too, is not a huge fan of the current street layout and would love to see more done. He sees this as an opportunity to look at other ways to go about rearranging what is between the curbs of North Street.



He pointed out experimentation can sometimes end in success or failure and is glad to see ideas tested in the real world.



"I hope people can just see that it's a real team effort and you've got to be all in it together, residents, businesses, government, visitors, all ages, all different walks of life. Everyone's going to experience it differently but at the same time, we're all experiencing it together," Russo said.



"So it's not trying to pit any one person against another or any one interest against another. It's just got to be this collaborative effort in good faith. I think everyone needs to know that it's being done in good faith. It's not meant to be a political statement or a punishment or favoring one group over another. It's just really meant to be this idea that everyone should be able to safely access the heart of the city no matter how you get there."



Pittsfield Community Design Center is currently recruiting volunteers. Its direct actions will include walk audits, workshops, group rides, pop-up events, and project demonstrations.



In December, it hosted a free screening of the documentary film "The Street Project" at the Berkshire Athenaeum.



Russo can be contacted through the group's Facebook.
Pittsfield School Subcommittee to Tackle Safety, Social-Emotional Learning

PITTSFIELD, Mass.  A school subcommittee focused on social-emotional learning and school safety will meet for the first time on Tuesday. Its creation is fueled by the prevalence of national issues such as school shootings.

The panel, chaired by Dr. Vicki Smith, a local pediatrician, includes School Committee members Daniel Elias and Alison McGee. Aside from its focus on the safety of students to and from school, it will consider added physical security measures in schools as well as enhancing the complex social-emotional learning environment.

"The understanding of what constitutes school safety has shifted over the years. When the Transportation and Safety Subcommittee was formed back in the mid-1990s, the key safety issues confronting the Pittsfield Public Schools had to do with students walking or being transported to and from school on safe routes," School Committee Chair William Cameron explained.

"That remains an important matter for the School Committee but school shootings and violence more generally have become an ever greater concern among educators, parents, and the community at large. Therefore, ensuring the physical safety of staff and students has assumed an unhappily prominent place in school management."

Moreover, he said, there is a heightened awareness of the importance of students' emotional and social well-being throughout their school experience which became clear during the COVID-19 pandemic.

"But there also has developed over time a keener perception of the myriad pressures and stresses children and young people are under today, ranging from victimization by bullying to anxiety caused by many factors, some of which the schools can control," Cameron said.

"It is now better understood that a socially and emotionally supportive environment in school is both conducive to students' well-being and is a necessary condition for every student if that person is to benefit to the fullest, both academically and personally, from what our schools offer those whom we educate."

The panel was formed last year after several discussions on the areas that subcommittees cover.

As a group, the committee has been trying to make more active use of subcommittees to dive deeper into topics that come up during regular meetings.

On Tuesday, it referred a resolution on secure gun storage by national Be SMART for Kids advocacy group to the new SEL and Safety subcommittee.

"There are members of the community, by community I'm talking about beyond the Pittsfield borders, who are justifiably concerned about school safety as it pertains to guns in particular and their focus is on the safe storage of guns," Cameron said during the committee's regular meeting.

The proposal, unanimously approved by the Mount Greylock Regional School Committee last month, states that safety from gun violence is the responsibility of all adult stakeholders in schools.

It also reports that secure firearm storage practices are associated with an 85 percent reduction in the risk of self-inflicted and unintentional gun injuries among children and teens.

Cameron pointed to the shooting of a teacher by a 6-year-old student earlier this year at Richneck Elementary School in Newport News, Va.

"The fact that a 6-year-old was able to shoot his teacher in an elementary school is evidence that this problem is not one that is dreamed up or is in the abstract," he said.
Pittsfield 2024 Annual Action Plan Input Session

PITTSFIELD, Mass.  The city of Pittsfield's Department of Community Development is sponsoring a public hearing and input session at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 15, as part of the preparation of its 2024 Annual Action Plan.

The hearing will be held virtually via Zoom. A registration link can be obtained at: https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_QZjXgjt3ScGVXSUE7j84Kg

The purpose of the public hearing is to obtain public comments and suggestions on how the city's federal Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds should be used to improve the quality of life in the community. Those attending the public input sessions will be given the opportunity to speak about the community issues that are important to them, such as: housing rehabilitation and demolition of vacant buildings; public facilities and park improvements; economic development and job opportunities; and public or human services. The public hearing will be simultaneously conducted in English and Spanish.

Information gathered from the session will be used during the preparation of the city's Annual Action Plan.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) requires that the city prepare an Annual Action Plan each year. Funded projects included in the plan are required to benefit individuals with low and moderate-income, eliminate slums and blight, or address an urgent need.

The plan be available in draft form in mid-April for the public to review and comment. It will also undergo a formal adoption process, including a public hearing that will be advertised. The draft Annual Action Plan will also be available on the city's website during a 30-day public comment and review period in April. After the public comment period, the draft plan will be completed by the middle of May and the final plan will be submitted to HUD shortly thereafter.

Participants can also register for the session by contacting Nate Joyner either via email njoyner@cityofpittsfield.org or by phone at 413-499-9358. For those who would like to participate by telephone, please call 301-715-8592, enter the meeting ID, 874 8860 1307, press # enter passcode, 218505. Press # again.

If residents are unable to attend the public input sessions, they are welcome to submit their comments to the Department of Community Development, City Hall, 70 Allen St., Room 205, Pittsfield, MA; by phone at 413-499-9358 or TTY at 413-499-9340; and by email to njoyner@cityofpittsfield.org

Persons with special needs should contact the Department of Community Development and every effort will be made to accommodate their requests.
Pictures of the four chaplains were placed before the podium. The ship bell was rung two times before it sank. Legion members rang the bell for each chaplain. McCann students made two crosses and a star of David for the ceremony. The Drury jazz band both sang and played. A candle was lit for each chaplain. Former commander Dennis St. Pierre reads the biography of on of the chaplains. Legion member Thomas Lussier also reads a biography. Tammy Lussier lights a candle for one of the chaplains. PreviousNext

American Legion Post 125 Honors the Four Chaplains

Kiel read through the history of the sinking of the Dorchester.

NORTH ADAMS Mass.  The Northern Berkshire veteran community acknowledged the "Four Chaplains," marking the 80th anniversary of their heroics and sacrifice during the sinking of the SS Dorchester during World War II.

Dozens gathered in the American Legion ON Sunday to pay tribute to the four Army chaplains who who died rescuing civilian and military personnel as SS Dorchester, an American troop ship, sank on Feb. 3, 1943

"This service is a tribute to those courageous chaplains and the 672 brave young men who lost their lives on that fateful night," said American Legion Post 125 Commander Mitchell Kiel. "Further, this ceremony honors all those who have served and whose courage and faith has sustained our country."

The ceremony is held throughout the nation around Feb. 3. This is the first time it has been held in Western Massachusetts, said Kevin Hamel, assistant state chaplain with the American Legion.

"It is great. It is a good thing  We have done something like this in Leeds at the soldiers home  but because of COVID they have stopped," he said. "These guys picked it up now, which is great."

Kiel read a series of recollections from the disaster before the portraits of the four Chaplains: Lt. George L. Fox, a Methodist minister; Lt. Alexander D. Goode, a rabbi; Lt. Clark V. Poling, a Dutch Reform minister, and Lt. John P. Washington, a Roman Catholic priest, that sat before the podium adorned with life jackets.

The ship was transporting some 900 military passengers to Greenland when it was torpedoed by a German submarine off Newfoundland in the North Atlantic. More than 600 people died.

"At 12:55 a.m., a periscope broke the chilly Atlantic waters. Through the crosshairs, an officer aboard U-223 spotted Dorchester.he gave orders to fire a fan of three torpedoes," Kiel read. "The one that hit was decisive and deadly, striking the starboard side. A midship far below the water line alerted that Dorchester was sinking rapidly  the Dorchester would slip beneath the Atlantic icy waters."

He said the four chaplains sprang into action not only trying to rescue as many as possible, but to calm those who would not make it off the ship.

"Quickly and quietly, the four chaplains spread out among the soldiers," he said. "They tried to calm the frightened, tend the wounded, and guided the disoriented towards safety. Witnesses of that terrible night remember hearing the four men offer prayers for the dying and encouragement."

An escort ship was able to save 97 men. Ships saved another 133, although one died at a later time .

"With the knowledge that death awaited, men jumped from the ship into lifeboats overcrowding them to the point of capsizing," Kiel continued. "According to eyewitnesses, other rafts tossed into the Atlantic drifted away before soldiers could get into them. In the midst of the pandemonium, according to those present, four army chaplains brought hope in despair and light in darkness."

The four chaplains went down with the ship.

"When there were no more life jackets to hand out, the chaplains removed their own and gave them to four frightened young men," Kiel read. "Rabbi Goode did not call out for a Jew, Father Washington did not call out for a Catholic. Nor did Reverend Fox or Reverend Poling call out for a Protestant. They simply gave their life jackets to those next in line."

Kiel said the chaplains received Purple Hearts posthumously and, in 1960, a special medal of heroism was presented to their next of kin.

After, Legionaires and community members lit four candles for the chaplains followed by short biographical readings.

The Drury jazz band also performed.
Name: Saket Srivastava

Company: Asana

Job title: CIO

Date started current role: April 2022

Location: San Francisco

Saket Srivastava is the Chief Information Officer at work management platform Asana. Srivastava oversees Asana's IT organisation, including optimising technology systems and processes, connecting technology strategy to overarching business strategy, and ensuring that technology infrastructure supports organisational goals. Previously, Srivastava held executive positions at Square, Guidewire Software, and other leading technology companies. Saket holds an MBA from UC Berkeley's Haas School of Business, and an MCA (Master of Computer Applications) from the Institute of Management Technology, India.

What was your first job? I began my career as a consultant, which gave me a great lens into the aspects of business I enjoyed the most. I found that I really loved thinking through how to connect people and technology systems to solve critical business challenges. This landed me on a path to working at several enterprise technology companies, and today in my role as CIO of Asana Im energised by helping our customers maximise resources, drive revenue, and power their teams to increase cross-functional efficiencies.

Did you always want to work in IT? My first career aspiration was actually to be a doctor, but throughout my schooling I became fascinated with business, economics, and complex problem solving. My education in computer science and management quickly led me to a career in the technology space, and I truly believe there has never been a better time to be a CIO or IT leader.

CIOs today have an in-depth view across every function within their organisations, which provides a unique opportunity to drive digital transformation that unblocks problems and moves the whole business forward. One of the things I get the most excited about is figuring out new ways to remove digital friction  whether thats by automating a manual process so my team has more bandwidth, or working with a customer to understand how leveraging a work management platform like Asana can help their employees focus on their most critical, big picture goals.

What was your education? Do you hold any certifications? What are they? MBA from UC Berkeley's Haas School of Business. MCA (Master of Computer Applications) from the Institute of Management Technology, India. Bachelors in Computer Science, India.

Explain your career path. Did you take any detours? If so, discuss. I started my career as a consultant, which gave me the opportunity to see many different types of problems across multiple industries. In navigating a breadth of unique stakeholders, I got to truly understand different customer needs and pain points. In my first years as an IT leader, what frustrated me the most was how disconnected IT organisations were from business results  something that has shifted completely today. IT leaders who used to be focused on back office systems and internal-facing IT are now focused more broadly on how to use technology to unblock frictions that make it harder for employees to serve customers, integrations that can help the organisation move faster, and external relationships that build trusted

What business or technology initiatives will be most significant in driving IT investments in your organisation in the coming year? A core part of Asanas DNA is using and optimising our own product so that we can better understand how to drive value for our customers. Our teams all operate on Asana, and we constantly iterate product features and updates based on the needs we discover internally, as well as broader challenges facing todays enterprise.

In the coming year, I see work management solutions becoming even more critical for many organisations as they seek to find more efficient ways of working. With tighter resources, teams will need to be more judicious about the time spent in meetings, the cost of errors and duplicate work, and efficiency lost to dysfunctional cross-functional collaboration. Were excited to be part of the solution that enables enterprises to continue to grow  in fact, organisations that operate on Asana can reduce meeting time by 50% and cut the time it takes to complete projects by 20-50% by increasing operational efficiencies.

What are the CEO's top priorities for you in the coming year? How do you plan to support the business with IT? Our focus in the coming year is simple  serving our customers and making sure theyre successful. The best way to do that is ensuring that our teams have the tools to be engaged, efficient, and productive, as their ability to focus on work that drives meaningful results ultimately trickles down to the customer experience. Having a pulse on customer needs will be crucial as many organisations battle continuing uncertainty when it comes to both short and long-term planning. However, there is also more opportunity than ever now to stay laser-focused on what matters most in order to drive growth.

Does the conventional CIO role include responsibilities it should not hold? Should the role have additional responsibilities it does not currently include? The CIO's mandate is no longer back office operations  instead, it increasingly includes connecting an enterprises technology strategy with the overarching business strategy and ultimately moving the company forward. This doesnt mean that the role includes responsibilities it should not hold, but rather emphasises how critical IT leadership is for growth and operational efficiency within every organisation.

Are you leading a digital transformation? If so, does it emphasise customer experience and revenue growth or operational efficiency? If both, how do you balance the two? Digital transformation is on everyones mind  to me, it means finding the best way to optimise operational efficiency with a world class customer experience in order to move an organisation forward. CIOs have a unique vantage point across a company because we work with every team from product to HR and marketing. Internally, Im constantly thinking about which tools and integrations can enable more efficient collaboration and productivity.

Externally, Im also focused on how my team can continuously help make the customer journey even better by leveraging data and insights. I engage with our sales teams to pinpoint any areas of friction that we can improve for our customers so that their experience is a seamless one.

Describe the maturity of your digital business. For example, do you have KPIs to quantify the value of IT? Its critical for organisations to quantify the value of every aspect of their business, not just IT. In order to run an effective organisation, the work that individuals do should ladder up to broader goals at the team as well as company level. Through Asana, we help our customers see that connection through our goals features so that time spent on any task is decked against meaningful, strategic priorities. When employees and teams understand how the work they do everyday fuels a bigger mission, it helps everyone focus on the work that matters most in driving results.

What does good culture fit look like in your organisation? How do you cultivate it? Our culture is driven by an obsession with our customers  their biggest pain points, operational needs, big picture goals, and how we can help them grow. Something we value highly is individuals who get excited about making things better. Our culture is one in which suggestions around product or process improvements are always valued, as we work together to continue building a platform that truly changes the world by helping teams around the globe work together effortlessly.

What roles or skills are you finding (or anticipate to be) the most difficult to fill? When it comes to skill building, what Ive found valuable is building a collaborative culture within your own team and the business more broadly. The role of an IT professional is increasingly multifaceted especially as we work with every department within an organisation. Encouraging collaboration means co-workers are continually learning new skills and ways of working from one another and collectively, youre agile and evolving as the industry changes, too.

What's the best career advice you ever received? There are three pieces of advice that will always stick with me. First, dont say no to new opportunities  you never know when something unexpected will help you discover a new career opportunity or passion. Second, welcome difficult challenges  they will teach you something and make you grow. And third, be your own advocate  the best way to catch a break is to fight for it.

Do you have a succession plan? If so, discuss the importance of and challenges with training up high-performing staff. Every leader should prioritise the progression of their team. At Asana we focus on building accountability around goals and using our own tool to make it clear how individual goals ladder up to broader organisational objectives. Creating clarity for your team, so everyone understands how they can bring value to the business, really drives impact.

What advice would you give to aspiring IT leaders? Cultivate transparency within your team, through a blend of technology and leadership. When important information is accessible, everyone will understand organisational goals and feel empowered to make better decisions. Work management platforms like Asana help break down communication barriers, making it easier to share new projects, status updates, and messages with employees. I also use Asanas goals feature to set and achieve strategic goals for my team, which boosts productivity and helps keep each individual engaged with their work.

IT leaders should also communicate high-level objectives to their team so everyone understands what theyre working toward, and how their individual tasks ladder up to team and company goals. Teams that have clear goals ultimately make better decisions. They prioritise projects that support the companys strategy and focus on work that delivers measurable results.

What has been your greatest career achievement? Something were passionate about at Asana is looking at everything like a product, from our corporate culture to our roadmap. I think your career works in much of the same way. Just like in product development, its important to constantly be hungry for opportunities to keep learning and growing in your career. We apply this thinking to building great teams as well. Similar to product iterations, mentoring is a great way to continue to develop your team members skill sets, goals, and interests on an ongoing basis. So when it comes to career achievement, I think accomplishments (like product) build over time, rather than one single achievement being the key to success.

Looking back with 20:20 hindsight, what would you have done differently? The future of work space that I operate in has changed so much over the past few years - In fact, I dont think anyone could have anticipated this shift. With that in mind, Ive started putting greater emphasis on planning for the unplanned. As CIOs we can help build organisations that can adapt and pivot as needed, as digital infrastructure plays an increasingly important role in this flexibility.
MBABANE - Things turned sour at the training camp as things were changed and we were not given what we were promised.

This is part of the information that Swazis First Democratic Front (SFDF) member Sibusiso Nxumalo related to the police. In his statement, Nxumalo alleged that a former legislator had promised to cater for their families and give them money, but he never did. He disclosed that even the commander was failing to do as they had been promised. So serious were the problems such that we asked to directly speak to the former MP to confirm what we had been told by his son, who was usually checking up on us, to give us food to eat, said Nxumalo.

He alleged that the former MP told them that: We were in a struggle, so we must not expect favours.

Visited

He went on to narrate that the former legislator then visited them at the camp but did not talk to them, only had a conversation with the commander. Nxumalo said after a misunderstanding with the former MP, they came back to Eswatini and they were given E500 each by the latter. The accused disclosed that some of them remained behind, including Marcelino 040, Putin 22 and 20. The commander, is the one who gave us the numbers so that we can use them to conceal our identities, alleged Nxumalo. The accused said they continued to communicate with the former MP while they were in Eswatini. Nxumalo stated that they even confronted 017, whom he said was from the United Kingdom. He said they asked 017 why they were using them. Nxumalo alleged that 017 informed them that they were fixing the problems and they would call them. The operations included the killing of security officers and burning of structures. The group of seven, which withdrew from Pretoria, was recalled at Lydenburg by an instructor who told us he was Maseko, said Nxumalo.

Lydenburg, officially known as Mashishing, is a town in Thaba Chweu Local Municipality, on the Mpumalanga Highveld, South Africa. It is situated on the Sterkspruit/Dorps River tributary of the Lepelle River at the summit of the Long Tom Pass.

Trained

We trained at Lydenburg until the instructor got rid of us. He complained that our bosses were not taking care of us and they did not want to buy food and also pay him, he said. Nxumalo, in his statement, is alleged to have stated that the instructor gave them E500 each and drove them to Pretoria where they boarded a public transport vehicle to Manzini. He claimed that he was with others whose code names were 41 from Maphalaleni, 37 from Mankayane, 36 from Bulunga, 38 from Madlangampisi and 39 from Ezulwini. Nxumalo pointed out that, when they reached Eswatini, they planned that they should look for jobs since the training was not helping them anymore. He said when they confronted the former MP, he did not assist them with anything, but told them that they must join protests because they were trained and they should retaliate when they saw police officers controlling the crowd.

It was in mid-October when the Eswatini Government issued a statement warning the public that there were armed and very dangerous men who had entered the country. I was phoned by the commander who said he wanted me and others to carry out the underground operations, said Nxumalo.
On 24 February 2023, it will be one year since Russia invaded Ukraine. The International and European Federations of Journalists (IFJ/EFJ) are launching a new fundraising campaign to support Ukrainian journalists on the ground.

Ukraine became the deadliest country for journalists in 2022 with 12 colleagues killed in the course of their work, according to the IFJs Killed List, and the needs are immense.

The war still rages, and affects all dimensions of journalists' lives from increasing insecurity, to the need for protection equipment and safety training and humanitarian aid for those forced to flee.

As a response to the emergency situation, the IFJ and EFJ launched a special Safety Fund in March 2022 to provide crucial support to our two affiliates in Ukraine, the National Union of Journalists of Ukraine (NUJU) and the Independent Media Trade Union of Ukraine (IMTUU). The emergency appeal was a clear illustration of international solidarity. It secured massive support, not only in terms of money raised - the most we have ever raised in any appeal - but also the practical assistance delivered by our affiliates and the journalism community all over the world.

Thanks to our partnership with UNESCO, we have established six Journalists Solidarity Centers across Ukraine, managed by NUJU, which serve as temporary work spaces for journalists, provide them with access to psychological and legal support, protective and medical equipment, as well as hosting training sessions on safety and first aid, among other services.

However, the war drags on and money is running low. Ukrainian journalists need our support more than ever, and this is only possible with your support and solidarity.

Please donate to the IFJ/EFJ Safety Fund for Journalists in Ukraine to support Ukrainian journalists in need.

Download and share the visuals of the campaign in English, French and Spanish.

Add our campaign logo on your websites main page to support the IFJ-EFJ fundraising campaign.
Business tycoon and owner of LAnecdote media group, Jean Pierre Amougou Belinga, was arrested at dawn on 6 February, in connection with the gruesome murder of Cameroonian journalist Martinez Zogo who was abducted on 17 January in the capital Yaounde.

The head of the Countrys General Directorate of External Intelligence and the Director of operations were also earlier arrested in connection with the murder. The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) together with its affiliate, the Syndicat National des Journalistes du Cameroun (SNJC) welcome this development and call for the prosecution of all those implicated in the murder of journalist Martinez Zogo.

Martinez Zogo was abducted by unknown assailants in front of a police station in the capital Yaounde on 17 January and his mutilated body was found in Ebogo, 15 kilometers away from the city . He was the managing director of Yaounde-based radio Amplitude FM and host of popular daily programme, Embouteillages.

According to local reports, Cameroonian President Paul Biya has ordered an investigation into his murder.

As well as owning L'Anecdote media group, Amougou Belinga is close to several ministers and controls holdings in banking, finance, insurance and property.

IFJ General Secretary Anthony Bellanger said that the arrests of suspects in the gruesome murder of journalist Martinez Zogo were a welcome development and the government of Cameroon must do everything possible to ensure that the investigations are transparent and the killers and masterminds be brought to justice. Too often journalists are murdered without any form of credible investigations into these crimes by their governments. This is an opportunity for Cameroon to eradicate the culture of impunity for crimes committed against journalists, said Bellanger.
This publication is designed to introduce the fundamentals of investing in the Indian market and includes a gu...
A special court in Lucknow pronounced its verdict in a 32-year-old bribery case and sentenced an 82-year-old retired railway employee to one year in prison for accepting a bribe of Rs 100. The retired railway employee was sentenced to a year in prison for accepting a bribe in 1991.

Unsplash

Was seeking lesser punishment due to age

The court of special CBI judge Ajai Vikram Singh refused to show any leniency to the convict who was seeking lesser punishment on the ground of his old age, and observed that doing so would give a wrong message to society.

The court also imposed a fine of  15,000 on the convict, Ram Narayan Verma. The court held that being lenient would send a wrong message to society. Verma pleaded to the court that the incident took place 32 years ago, and at that time he had spent two days in jail before being released on bail.

Refusing the plea, the judge said two days' imprisonment was not adequate in this case and one-year imprisonment would serve the purpose of justice, in view of the amount of bribe, nature of offence, and other factors.

representational pictures

What happened in 1991?

A retired loco driver of Northern Railways, Ram Kumar Tiwari, had lodged FIR in the case with CBI in 1991. Tiwari in his FIR alleged that for the purpose of computing his pension, his medical test was required. Verma demanded  150 bribe for the purpose. Later, he demanded  100.

CBI arrested Verma red-handed with the bribe amount. The CBI filed charge sheet against Verma after completing the probe. The court framed charges on the accused on November 30, 2022.

For more on news and current affairs from around the world please visit Indiatimes News.


A second giant earthquake  this one of 7.6 magnitude  has just hit southern Turkey. This is just a few hours after the first 7.8 magnitude quake which hit Turkey and Syria earlier in the day and left over 1,500 people dead and several hundreds injured.

The earthquake wiped out entire sections of major Turkish cities in a region filled with millions of people who have fled the civil war in Syria and other conflicts.

Death toll so far

The head of Syria's National Earthquake Centre, Raed Ahmed, called it "the biggest earthquake recorded in the history of the centre". At least 560 people died in rebel and government-controlled parts of Syria, state media and medical sources said.

Another 912 people died in Turkey, according to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, whose handling of one of the biggest disasters of his two decades in power could prove consequential to his re-election chances in polls due in May.



India and other countries are rushing aid. PM Narendra Modi reached out to quake hit-Turkey. India stands in solidarity with the people of Turkey and is ready to offer all possible assistance to cope with this tragedy, the PM said. The government has decided to send rescue teams, medical teams and relief material.



People were still asleep when it hit

The jolt caught most people while they were still at home asleep. The tremors were felt as far away as the island of Cyprus in Middle East.

Television images showed shocked people in Turkey standing in the snow in their pyjamas, watching rescuers dig through the debris of damaged homes.

Horrific news of tonights earthquake in #Turkey & northern #Syria  the damage looks extensive.



The epicenter region is home to millions of refugees and IDPs, many of whom live in tents & makeshift structures. This is the absolute nightmare scenario for them. And its winter. pic.twitter.com/oACzWYtWb2  Charles Lister (@Charles_Lister) February 6, 2023





On the streets in towns and cities across southeast Turkey and Syria, people have fled their homes to take shelter in cars, fearing aftershocks and more collapsed buildings. Rescue workers and residents are still frantically searching for survivors under the rubble of crushed buildings in multiple cities on both sides of the border.

In one quake-struck Turkish city, dozens pulled away chunks of concrete and twisted metal. People on the street shouted up to others inside a partially toppled apartment building, leaning dangerously.

Road in Turkiye split open, cars stuck in cracks pic.twitter.com/7Cb1C6sZcc  RT (@RT_com) February 6, 2023

42 aftershocks felt in 2 hours

A total of 42 aftershocks have been felt in the two hours since the quake first struck at 4.17 am local time, according to Turkeys ministry of interior disaster and emergency management. The ministry issued a statement, saying: "As of 6:30am, a total of 42 aftershocks, the largest of which was 6.6, were experienced."

In pictures: Major earthquake reduces buildings to rubble in Turkey and Syria https://t.co/3vwHwyhwLs pic.twitter.com/kl2YKcoDHz  Bloomberg (@business) February 6, 2023





One of the most powerful quakes to hit Turkey

The earthquake was one of the most powerful to hit the region in at least a century. "I convey my best wishes to all our citizens who were affected by the earthquake," Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan tweeted.

Massive #earthquake registered M7.8 hit the middle of Turkey. pic.twitter.com/mdxt53QlQ0  Asaad Sam Hanna (@AsaadHannaa) February 6, 2023





Turkey, one of the world's most active quake zones

The earthquake levelled dozens of buildings across major cities of southern Turkey as well as neighbouring Syria, a country gripped by more than a decade of violence that has killed hundreds of thousands and displaced millions of people.

Turkey is in one of the world's most active earthquake zones The Turkish region of Duzce suffered a 7.4-magnitude earthquake in 1999 -- the worst to hit Turkey in decades. That quake killed more than 17,000 people, including about 1,000 in Istanbul.


Another earthquake of magnitude 6.0 strikes central Turkey, says USGS. This is the third earthquake in the country after two powerful earthquakes in less than 24 hours, as per ANI. Over 1500 people have been killed so far and thousands have been injured as the earthquake measuring 7.8 magnitude hit central Turkey and northern Syria on Monday morning. Hundreds of people of still believed to be trapped under rubble and the death toll is expected to rise further, officials have warned. Here are some heartbreaking pictures from Turkey and Syria that show how deadly the earthquake was:
MBABANE  During the investigations, the SFDF member, Sibusiso Nxumalo, reportedly spilled his guts on the operations of the Swaziland Solidarity Forces.

The Swazis First Democratic Front (SFDF) member and his co-accused, Muzi Mnisi, who, according to the indictment, are members of the Swaziland Solidarity Forces, are facing 38 charges. Three of the charges are related to being found in possession of illegal firearms and violating the Suppression of Terrorism Act. They are, among other charges, accused of being involved in the murder and attempted murder of law enforcement officers in different parts of the country.

Commander

In a statement Nxumalo recorded with the police, he revealed the identity of the commander of the Swaziland Solidarity Forces, whom he said was a former police officer. Nxumalos statement now forms part of the evidence against him and his co-accused Mnisi and has been used to formulate some of the 38 charges against them. The veracity of the allegations made by Nxumalo in the statement is still to be tested in court. Nxumalo also revealed to the police that they received amounts ranging from E200 to E500 and how they were trained in the Republic of South Africa. In his tell-all statement recorded with the police, Nxumalo related the types of firearms they used during their operations, where they acquired them, who transported the firearms and how they hid the guns after each and every operation. Nxumalo disclosed the hardships they encountered during their training in South Africa.

Disclosed

He also disclosed the role allegedly played by some leaders of political parties in their operations. These leaders, according to Nxumalo included, some leaders of political parties, among others, top executive members of PUDEMO and SWAYOCO. Among those he alleged to have assisted them with transport when they had gone for training in the Republic of South Africa, was a liSwati pastor who hails from the Lubombo Region. He said the pastor was now a South African resident. Nxumalo further disclosed the difficulties they encountered with some members of the Swaziland Solidarity Forces in the training camps in the neighbouring country. He alleged that during the training, they were sometimes starved since there was no money. He also revealed how they were trained with toy guns on how to shoot as there was a shortage of firearms.

Nxumalo also disclosed the role that was allegedly played by the SFDF member Muzi Memma, who was abducted and killed no so long ago, during the recruitment of members of the Swaziland Solidarity Forces, who were later transported to the Republic of South Africa. The members of the Swaziland Solidarity Forces, according to the accused, used certain code names to refer to each other instead of their real names. He alleged that when they arrived at the training camp, the commander gave them strict instructions that anyone who would leave the camp would be killed. Nxumalo related to the police how he was allegedly recruited by a former legislator, to join the underground forces. The accused (Nxumalo) stated that the former legislator told him of an MP who recommended him and said he (Nxumalo) was one of those to go for underground operations. He said there was a man they would meet at Mhlaleni around 2pm, who would be dressed in black.

Wearing

When I got to Mhlaleni, I found some other guys who were wearing casual clothes like me and they were carrying bags. I suspected that it might happen that I would go with them but I did not worry until the man who was wearing black clothes arrived. That man was Muzi Mmema. I didnt know his name by then, because he never introduced himself, but got to know him after sometime, alleged the accused. Nxumalo said they were eight when Mmema picked them up at Mhlaleni. Mmema, according to Nxumalo, drove them in a Nissan van and when they reached Nhlangano, he (Mmema) picked another individual and that brought their number to nine. He alleged that Mmema took them to an informal crossing point at Mashobeni in the Shiselweni Region and he warned them to tell the soldiers there that they were going to attend a funeral and others were going to work.

Nxumalo related that they then proceeded to Piet Retief, where they boarded a kombi to Pretoria. He claimed that they were paid with money that Mmema had given to the man he picked up in Nhlangano. He said the man was known to them as 43. According to Nxumalo, Mmema gave 43 an amount of E4 000 when they left the informal crossing area. When we reached Pretoria, we met another guy who was driving a seven-seater motor vehicle written Macdonald. He drove us to a place I dont know but it is closer to Brits Town, submitted Nxumalo.

Brits is a small farming town situated in the Northern Cape Province of South Africa. He went on to disclose the name of the man who was driving the motor vehicle, whom he said was a pastor, based in the neighbouring country. When we got to the unknown place, we found the commander, 020, 13 and Putin 22. It was very late when we arrived in Pretoria, at around 2am. So, the commander told us that there was nothing we could do at that time so it was better to go and sleep, alleged the accused. Nxumalo stated that the commander showed them rooms to sleep in until the next morning.

Instructions

He introduced himself to us and gave us instructions with terms and conditions that no one would be going to leave the training. We were told that if you leave the training camp you will be killed, said the accused. Nxumalo said the commander gave them an exercise book to sign, where they made an agreement. The accused alleged that the commander also took their cellphones so that they would not leak any information. He highlighted that the taking of their phones started when they met Mmema at Mhlaleni, who took their gadgets and switched them off. The training started a day after we signed the agreement with the commander. We were doing physical training like running and push-ups. We were using toy guns for firearms until we got time for shooting range whereby we were renting guns from Indians, alleged Nxumalo. (Names deliberately withheld as some of the implicated people have neither been arrested nor charged)
Ontarios Emergency Management Strategy and Action Plan align with the key goals outlined by IBC president and CEO Celyeste Power as she took leadership of the group earlier this year. Specifically, Power said in a recent release that she wants the IBC to continue to advocate the urgent need to adapt to a changing climate, and to help governments realize their role in encouraging businesses to improve their cybersecurity.
The distribution team supports and helps to drive messaging into the broker community around Aspens product lines where we are looking to pragmatically grow. We also lead the messaging into the broker community for those product lines that are looking to rebalance their respective portfolios. At the end of the day, we are charged with growing our business where it makes sense and helping to maintain profitability. Disciplined underwriting and profitability will always be of utmost importance as we aim to be a long-term partner with our brokers and customers.
Ford explained that in late 2021 and 2022, the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) informed it about reports of a blue image in the rear-view camera display  this warning was raised after Ford had just completed an earlier recall in 2021. There were reports of 17 minor crashes related to the issue, and over 2,100 warranty reports, but no reports of injuries. The NHTSAs notice prompted Ford to investigate further into the issue.
Pollack joined QBE in 2008 and has held a variety of roles in change management, human resources, culture and business transformation. She most recently served as group people director, global corporate functions. Prior to that, she served as the companys first group head of enterprise culture. From 2014 to 2015, she served as vice president and head of HR change for North America. In that role, she spearheaded several transformation initiatives, including organizational design, restructuring and HR systems.
News

Frankfurt announces 2022 results and market analysis of sea logistics companies

Fraport sees lower cargo volumes in 2022 as the ongoing war in Ukraine, restrictions in China and a slowing global economy continue to weigh on its performance.

Cargo volumes (including airfreight and airmail) at Europe's busiest cargo airport fell 13.3% year-on-year to 2 million metric tons last year. It was also 5.6% below the pre-coronavirus level seen in 2019.

"Major factors contributing to this decline include airspace restrictions related to the war in Ukraine, China's dynamic zeroing strategy that has been pursued for almost the entire year, and an overall economic slowdown," Frankfurt said in its report.

In 2022, Frankfurt's aircraft movements will increase by 45.9% year-on-year to 382,211, but it will still be 25.6% lower than in 2019.

In December alone, cargo throughput in Frankfurt fell by 19.0% to around 159,671 metric tons, still reflecting the overall economic slowdown and the impact of war-related airspace restrictions in Ukraine.

At the same time, passenger traffic in Frankfurt has recovered as cargo volumes continue to decline, with 48.9 million passengers in 2022, almost double the number in 2021, an increase of 97.2%.

Demand remained subdued early last year amid concerns over the spread of the new coronavirus variant, the Omicron.

But Frankfurt said that from March 2022 to the end of the year; passenger traffic will grow very rapidly. Compared to pre-crisis levels in 2019, FRA passenger traffic in 2022 is still down 30.7%.

Dr. Stefan Schulte comments: "2022 will be a very turbulent and challenging year for the aviation industry as a whole. Following the lockdown at the beginning of the year, the sudden and sharp increase in demand puts heavy pressure on all process partners who are speeding up their operations. Due to The complexity of the system, the erratic restart of air traffic operations at many airports, including Frankfurt.",

CEO of Fraport AG. "Looking ahead, we are confident of seeing further growth in 2023...Nevertheless, the situation remains challenging," Schulte added.

Factors affecting freight forwarder sea logistics companies Freight transportation

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The transportation prices are different for different sea logistics companies

In the general international trade process, the price of transport according to different modes of transport, price is also different. International freight rates are divided into sea freight, air freight and rail freight.

The specific sea logistics companies freight rate can also be subdivided. For example, rail freight can be divided into passenger freight and freight. Shipping rates are also divided into tramp rates and liner rates. Tramp rates are also affected by market supply and demand relations at that time, while liner transport costs are relatively fixed. Airfreight can be divided into general goods, designated goods and special goods, and the specific transportation price is also determined according to the weight of transportation, at the same time, even if the volume is small, the weight is also counted by weight, but if the opposite is large, small weight, also according to the specific volume to calculate.

The choice of international logistics, the quality of logistics will affect the seller's store score, but also affect customer satisfaction rate.

Logistics advantages of the sea logistics companies in the destination country and region

In Eastern Europe, DHL has advantages in Romania, Bulgaria, Moldova, Hungary and other places while EMS has advantages in Greece, Russia, Turkey and other places. Western Europe, Northern Europe, southern Europe can use DHL international express, TNT international express, these two kinds of customs clearance capacity. TNT has a clear advantage in the Netherlands and Belgium.

For Canada, the United States and other American countries, FedEx, UPS and DHL are all suitable for their strong customs clearance capacity and fast time.

Applicable to Asia, South Korea, Japan, Thailand and other Southeast Asian countries DHL, FedEx. DHL and FedEx are time-saving, but THE price of DHL is higher. Indonesia also suggests USING DHL because it has a stronger customs clearance capacity.

In Oceania, DHL and UPS aging fast, with high prices; TNT and FedEx have lower prices but relatively few outlets. Particular attention should be paid to the "Made in China" label on the packaging of Australian products.

Middle East express ARAMEX, EMS for Middle East region. Commercial express in Africa is very expensive. In remote areas, IT is suggested to send EMS international express. EMS countries have the strongest customs clearance capacity. The air express sea logistics companies can reach many countries and regions that commercial express and postal express cannot reach, so the wide range of sea logistics companies transportation is its advantage.

Factors affecting the shipping price of sea logistics companies

In the process of international transportation, there are many factors affecting the price of transportation, in addition to some fuel and labor costs, there are many important factors. For example, the nature of the sea logistics companies, its own value and packaging form, as well as stowage factor and transporter's requirements for transportation, etc. There will be some fixed costs during the use of the ship, such as the ship's maintenance insurance and fuel consumption. There is also the change of supply and demand in the sea logistics companies market. In the transport off-season, transport prices are relatively low, in the transport of the peak season, transport prices will be relatively high.

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The British artist Barbara Walker has the distinction of using the humblest of materials to investigate issues of race and privilege. Awarded an MBE in 2019 for services to British Art, she often works in pencil or conte crayon, drawing on paper or directly onto the gallery walls.

As demonstrated in The Big Secret III - one of her contributions to A Line Around an Idea, the current group exhibition of drawings at the Glucksman Gallery in Cork - it is not unusual for Walkers artworks to feature a blank space where there might be a human figure. Such absences reflect what she perceives as the erasure of black participants from official accounts of the two world wars and other historical events.

My early work was rooted in social documentary, she says. Now I look at social issues through a conceptual lens.

Walkers works in A Line Around an Idea include drawings of black individuals on recruitment posters. They come from a series called Shock and Awe, which reflects on the contribution of black servicemen and women to the British Army over the past hundred years.

The project was born of a discussion I had with someone about how British soldiers, as depicted in the media, appeared to be predominantly white. I didnt hear the voices of black soldiers fighting for the British armed forces, and I wanted to capture that.

Walkers own family came to Britain from Jamaica, as did at least two-thirds of the 16,000+ black soldiers who fought for Britain in the First World War.

Initially, I was looking at the experience of contemporary soldiers, and particularly those fighting in the Afghanistan and Iraqi wars. But then, to better understand the contemporary situation, I decided to go back and explore the experience of black soldiers in the First World War, in particular the experience of British West Indians  colonial soldiers that fought for king and empire - as it relates to my heritage. I began with archives in the UK, but also, later, in the Caribbean and the Library of Congress in the US.

Shock and Awe was commissioned by the Midlands Arts Centre in Walkers home city of Birmingham, where the series was first exhibited in 2016. Walker continues to live in Birmingham, where she studied art at the University of Central England before completing a post-grad in Education at Wolverhampton University nearby. Ive stayed for practical reasons, she says. My family are nearby.

Living in Birmingham has not always been a happy experience; a previous project, Louder Than Words, was based on her son Solomons experiences of the polices controversial Stop and Search policy, under which black people are nine times more likely to be targeted than white.

Between 2002 and 2006, when he was aged between 17 and 21 years old, Solomon was stopped and searched by the police on any number of occasions. Each time, he was asked a series of questions and searched, and then presented with a yellow A5 duplicate copy of an official form relating to the stop and search. I wanted to address what had been happening in my practice, to try and make sense of the all the yellow forms he had crumpled in his pockets.

The works in Louder Than Words were created between 2006 and 2009, but Walker insists the policy continues. "Police officers in the UK still have powers to stop and search you if they have reasonable grounds to suspect a crime. There was a massive increase in stop and search during the coronavirus lockdowns, when the police forces were handed sweeping powers under emergency legislation. The policy remains controversial today because it continues to disproportionately affect black and minority ethnic communities.

As an emerging artist, Walker often drew inspiration from other black artists such as Sonia Boyce and Claudette Johnson. The Black art movement was instrumental for me, she says. But I am interested in and engaged with lots of practices. Paula Rego is a huge influence. There are hundreds of artists whose work I admire.

Walker has always painted, but she currently favours drawing, along with the printmaking technique of embossing. I work in a very traditional way, she says. Drawing is practical, accessible and fast compared to painting. Im arguing a point about drawing and celebrating it; it is not secondary to painting, as some might think. Theres painting, sculpture and drawing, which always sits on the periphery or is marginalised.

"I have thought about that since focusing on the medium, making an argument that drawing can sit equally, side-by-side. It can hold its own. And thats true of the individuals I depict too.

Similarly, within printmaking, embossing hasnt been fashionable for some years, it sits out on the periphery. But Im bringing it in as a language. Embossing is a type of drawing in itself. The ghostly imprint. Again, the subject and the material, they sit side by side in my work, theyre having a conversation.

Walker is in the United Arab Emirates at present, preparing a wall drawing as part of the Sharjah Biennial, which runs until June. She also drew directly onto the walls of the exhibition space for her Transcended installation at the Venice Biennale in 2017. Knowing the work will be erased is all part of the process, she says.

Im frustrated and disturbed at how particular groups and communities have been marginalised and removed from history. The act of washing the work from the wall is a political statement about how these individuals or experiences I am depicting have been wiped away from history.

From the moment I make the very first mark, I am psychologically prepared. I am already saying goodbye.

'A Line Around an Idea: ways of knowing through contemporary drawing practices runs at the Glucksman Gallery at UCC, Cork until March 12.

Further information:
One individual was responsible for almost 90% of all complaints about noise from aircraft using Dublin Airport last year  filing a daily average of 64 incidents with the airport operator, DAA.

The serial complainant, who had been reporting claims of excessive noise from aircraft taking off and landing at the airport on almost a daily basis since 2019, lodged a total of 23,431 complaints in 2022.

In one month alone  July 2022  the individual, believed to live in the north-west Dublin suburb of Ongar, made 2,616 complaints to DAA, representing a daily average of 84 incidents of aircraft noise.

New figures published by DAA show 26,196 complaints about noise from aircraft using Dublin Airport were recorded during 2022  up 93% on the previous year with almost 13,000 additional reports.

While the figures are skewed by the large number of complaints from one individual, there was still an increase in the overall level of complaints by residents which has been linked to a combination of an overall increase in aircraft movements following the easing of restrictions around the Covid-19 pandemic and the opening of the new 320m North Runway.

Spike in complaints since runway opening

The Dublin Airport operations team pictured escorting Ryanair flight FR1964 from Dublin to Eindhoven ahead of its landmark inaugural departure from Dublin Airports new 320m North Runway. Picture: Conor McCabe Photography

Excluding reports from the serial complainant, the number of complaints from other members of the public still more than doubled from 1,296 in 2021 to 2,765 last year.

There was also a threefold increase in the number of unique individuals who complained about aircraft noise to DAA during 2022  some 608 compared to 174 in 2021.

The figures show a spike in the number of people making complaints after the new runway opened in late August, with over 900 cases reported by 192 individuals in September.

The September figures compared to the monthly average last year of 230 complaints being filed by 76 individuals.

Most complaints came from residents of Kinsealy, Portmarnock, Swords, Dunboyne, and Malahide, and related to flights taking off at night.

However, the exact number of complaints relating to aircraft using the North Runway is unclear, as separate figures have still to be collated by DAA.
Gardai are to dramatically ramp up the practice of travelling to international airports to ensure those seeking refuge in Ireland are boarding planes with the correct travel documents.

A senior Government source has confirmed gardai have already been travelling to a small number of mostly European countries after examining patterns and flows of people coming into Ireland, but that this is going to increase.

The Government is also considering an increase in the 1,500 fine on airlines that fail to properly check passenger documents, though for now it is willing to work with the airlines to ensure staff are trained in what to check on passengers travel papers.

Gardai have also begun meeting passengers at the bottom of aircraft steps at Dublin Airport to check their passports and details. It is understood this is happening twice a week.

The countries that gardai are travelling to will keep changing and they are looking at the flow of people at certain airports, the senior source said. They are engaging with other police forces in terms of supporting airlines and informing them of the various document checks that need to take place.

Justice Minister Simon Harris said the State does not comment on operational matters but in his view, gardai travelling to airports is a normal functioning part of a migration system. In an interview with the Irish Examiner, he said the Government wants to ensure the rules that are in place are applied daily and with compassion.

Mr Harris confirmed his department and gardai met with airlines in recent days and said they have a legal responsibility to check passengers documents. Meetings were also held with the international protection office, the border management unit in Dublin Airport, and the Garda National Immigration Bureau in the last two weeks.

Ireland is a country that wants to welcome migrants, people coming here fleeing persecution; were also a country that needs people to come here and work, said Mr Harris.

But my job as minister for justice simply is to make sure that we have a rules-based system that is fair, efficient, and effective.

Department of Justice documents show that between January and November last year, more than 5,000 people arrived at Dublin Airport with either false or no travel documentation. Mr Harris said the Government has given an extra 18m to the international protection office to hire staff to ensure quicker processing times for asylum seekers on whether they can stay in Ireland.

He said anyone who comes to Ireland from a safe origin country where there is no widespread war still has the right to seek protection here for other reasons and the State is trying to ensure people get a decision within three months. He said since September, more than 600 deportation orders have been issued.

We are working to make sure applications are accelerated more quickly, said Mr Harris. If you come to our country and you have a right for protection, you will get that certainty. But if you come to our country illegally, you get asked to leave.

The move was criticised by the Irish Refugee Council, which said applicants have to fill out a questionnaire on the day they arrive and not in their native language, when previously they had a number of weeks to do so and access to legal advice.
A man accused of sexually assaulting a girl suffered head injuries after being confronted by up to 40 "vigilantes", a court has heard.

Anatol Botnari, 23, was arrested on Saturday night and taken to Ballymun Garda Station in Dublin.

Gardai charged the traffic maintenance worker, from Moldova, with the sexual assault of a teenage girl in the citys northside on February 4.

He was held pending his appearance on Monday at Dublin District Court before Judge Ciaran Liddy, who set 750 bail with a range of conditions.

Detective Garda Conor Garland told Judge Liddy he made no reply to the charge.

Objecting to bail, he cited flight risk concerns and said the accused, who has given an address at Sorrel Heath, Clonsilla, Dublin, has been in Ireland since September.

He told the court the man was accused of sexual assault of a juvenile. He alleged there were witnesses to the incident, and he was on CCTV close to the scene.

He said the accused provided two addresses.

The court heard when the first was checked, "the person at that address confirmed that the accused does not live there".

Cross-examined by defence solicitor Paddy McGarry, Det Garda Garland confirmed the accused did not have a bench warrant history and that he and the witnesses were not known to each other.

The detective garda said his main issue was the address. He also said he was unsure of the accused's true identity and was waiting to hear back from Interpol.

He agreed with Mr McGarry that Mr Botnari was initially allowed to stay at his first address to get a PPS number, but he no longer lived there.

He said Mr Botnari could not name the second address but was able to locate it on Google maps in Ballyfermot. The court heard he claimed he and his brother worked in road traffic maintenance, and they both lived with and paid rent to a family there.

Det Garda Garland said that address was checked too, but the homeowners told gardai the accused did not live there.

He accepted, however, they were not in court.

Detective Garland agreed with the defence that the accused had to be hospitalised for head wounds "due to people at the scene".

The solicitor described them as a "vigilante group", but the garda said he did not know who they were.

However, he confirmed the accused received medical treatment.

He could not say if members of the group of 30-40 were among the witnesses who made statements.

Pleading for bail, the solicitor argued a lack of an address was not enough reason to deny bail.

He asked the judge to note that his client, who has the presumption of innocence, had given two addresses and details about jobs he held.

He said the accused could find hostel accommodation and provide a new contact number because his phone was lost during the alleged incident.

He also added it was hoped the accused's brother could provide financial support to his client, though he was not in court.

The court heard Mr Botnari used a Romanian passport which he claimed he left in the house in Ballyfermot.

Judge Liddy noted the Garda objections, but he said conditions would alleviate his concerns about evading justice.

He set cash bail in Mr Botnari's bond of 750 and ordered him to surrender his passport and stay away from parts of north Dublin and witnesses. He warned him he must sign on daily at a Garda station and provide an address to the gardai within 48 hours.

The judge granted legal aid to the accused, who had not yet indicated a plea.

He did not speak during the hearing and listened to the proceedings with the help of an interpreter.

He was remanded in custody with consent to bail on these terms to appear at Cloverhill District Court on Friday. The judge said there were reporting restrictions for the victim.
A major fundraiser with a military musical theme is being planned in Cork to raise much-needed money for former members of the Defence Forces who have fallen on hard times.

The fundraising performance of the massed bands concert will be staged at Cork City Hall on Friday, February 24, and will feature the bands of 1 Brigade, 2 Brigade and the Army No 1 Band.

This years City Hall concert will also feature Defence Forces pipers and drummers.

The guest artist on the night will be soprano Rachel Croash.

Ms Croash has performed in Aras an Uachtarain for President Michael D Higgins and has sung with the RTE Concert Orchestra and the City of Dublin Chamber Orchestra.

She has also sung with Defence Forces bands at the National Day of Commemoration.

Meanwhile, a few days earlier, on Tuesday, February 21, also in City Hall, the mass bands will hold a special performance for primary school children in the region.

The Defence Forces have invited more than 40 schools and it is understood that in excess of 900 will attend the event.

This years concert will also be significant in that it will be the last Defence Forces engagement of the director of the Defence Forces School of Music, Lt Col Mark Armstrong, who is shortly retiring from the Defence Forces.

"He joined the Defence Forces in 1989 and has given over 33 years of outstanding service to the State and the Defence Forces, the Defence Forces spokesman said.

In his role as director of the Defence Forces School of Music, he has played a key role in State and military ceremonies over the last decade to include significant events like the annual National Day of Commemoration, the visit of Queen Elizabeth II in 2011 and the 2016 Easter Rising commemorations.

It is fitting that his last Defence Forces engagement is in Cork as he has a long association with the concert and indeed with musical connections outside of the Defence Forces in the city, the spokesman added.

Concert tickets will go on sale on Saturday, February 11 at 10am in Merchants Quay Shopping Centre and will be on sale until Friday, February 24, with the exception of Sundays.

A limited number of tickets may also be available on the night, depending on sales.
Asia Bangladesh Police Make Arrests Over Fake Rohingya ID

Three people arrested in Chattogram last week for allegedly helping Rohingyas acquire passports. / The Irrawaddy

Dhaka  Bangladeshis are being arrested for allegedly providing Rohingya refugees with Bangladeshi identity cards, birth registrations and passports.

The authorities in the port city of Chattogram, also known as Chittagong, have reported that the birth registration card application services have been compromised.

Bangladesh police claim many Rohingya are hoping to retain Bangladeshi passports to reach relatives in Malaysia and elsewhere.

They need passports so they want Bangladeshi birth registrations, a police officer told The Irrawaddy.

Chattogram police said 10 Bangladeshis have been arrested since late January for helping Rohingyas to attain Bangladeshi identities.

On February 2 the Chattogram police arrested three Bangladeshis  Mohammad Arif, 27, and Md Jashim Uddin, 30, of Coxs Bazar and Mohammad Tareq, 29, of Cumilla for allegedly helping Rohingya to acquire birth certificates, national identity cards and passports using fake addresses in Chattogram.

Inspector Nur Ahmed of Chattogram police told The Irrawaddy that the syndicate arranged birth registration cards, identification cards and passports for US$400-700.

On January 25 Chattogram counterterrorism police arrested Bangladeshi citizens Moni Devi, 38, and Md Rakib Hossain, 27, in the city for allegedly making fake birth registration cards using different addresses in Chattogram.

On January 23 the department made four more arrests over the alleged making of fake birth registration cards using different addresses.

In October last year Chattogram police said they broke a syndicate with 10 members, including a former primary school teacher and staff from the Election Commission and the Dhaka North City Corporation, that forged documents for Rohingyas.

The police said forged birth certificates for Rohingya cost $15 and $1,300 for an original ID card.

Those arrested included Md Yasin Arafat, Md Nur Nabi, Md Mizanur Rahman, Farhadul Islam and Emon Das who were data entry operators for the Election Commission on a contract basis and two Rohingyas, Md Kamal Hossain and Parvin Akter, who were hoping to attain Bangladeshi citizenship.

Kamal and Parvin said that they had been living in Bangladesh since 2017.

Former teacher Shamsur Rahman was suspended in 2019 after facing similar charges from the Anti-Corruption Commission.

Nurul Abser and Shamsur had a deal with the Election Commission employees for listing the Rohingyas as Bangladeshi citizens, the police claimed.
Asia Pakistan's former military ruler Pervez Musharraf dies

Pakistan's Pervez Musharraf (L) after taking the oath as civilian president at the presidential palace in Islamabad in November 2007. / AFP

ISLAMABADPakistans exiled former military ruler Pervez Musharraf, who became a key ally of the United States during the war on terror, died in a Dubai hospital on Sunday aged 79 after a long illness.

Musharraf seized power in a 1999 bloodless coup and was acting simultaneously as Pakistans army chief, chief executive, and president when the 9/11 attacks on the United States took place.

The general twice suspended the constitution and was accused of rigging a referendum shoring up his power, as well as rampant rights abuses including rounding up opponents during his nearly nine-year rule.

Nonetheless, he became Washingtons chief regional ally during their invasion of neighbouring Afghanistan.

The decision  made after the US issued a for us or against us ultimatum  put him in the crosshairs of Islamist militants, who made several attempts on his life.

But it also earned Pakistan a huge influx of foreign aid which bolstered the economy.

Rare illness

In Pakistan, where the military remains supremely powerful and enjoys significant support, Musharraf is a divisive figure.

There was good in him, 69-year-old Naeem Ul Haq Satti told AFP in an Islamabad marketplace.

But his one act, which will be remembered throughout history, was that he violated the constitution, the retired civil servant added. The most important thing a country has is its constitution.

Musharraf had been suffering from a rare disease known as Amyloidosis and last summer his family said he had no prospect of recovery.

Senior military chiefs express heartfelt condolences on sad demise of General Pervez Musharraf, a brief statement released by the militarys media wing said Saturday.

The four-star general died in hospital in Dubai on Sunday morning, according to media reports and a senior security official who spoke to AFP.

I can confirm that the late general breathed his last in Dubai this morning  He is no more, the official, who asked not to be named, told AFP.

A Pakistan air force source told AFP that Musharrafs body would be flown back to Pakistan on Monday, aboard a civilian plane or United Arab Emirates air force jet.

In separate tweets, Pakistans President Arif Alvi and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif offered words of condolence to Musharrafs family, with former Prime Minister Imran Khan following suit hours later.

Musharraf ruled Pakistan for nearly nine years, starting when then-Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif attempted to remove him as army chief.

Many Pakistanis handed out sweets to celebrate his 1999 coup, which ended a corrupt and economically disastrous administration, and soon turned on the tap of foreign aid.

Pakistans decision under Musharraf to join the war against terror turned out to be a boon, analyst Hasan Askari told AFP.

However, it also brought the conflict to Pakistans doorstep, with an explosion in militancy in the northwestern regions bordering Afghanistan.

He was neither a good man nor a bad man, said 45-year-old gem merchant Muhammad Ayaz in the northwestern provincial capital of Peshawar.

Thousands died in terrorist attacks but business boomed during his tenure. He made graveyards and at the same time built housing developments.

Fall from favour

But his easygoing persona failed to mask the blurring of the division between the state and army, and Musharraf fell out of favour after trying to sack the chief justice and failing to control an unravelling economy.

He famously said the constitution is just a piece of paper to be thrown in the dustbin, and implemented emergency rule when a bid to sack the countrys chief justice sparked months of protests.

After the December 2007 assassination of opposition leader Benazir Bhutto, the national mood soured even more and crushing losses suffered by his allies in the 2008 elections left him isolated.

He resigned that same year and was forced into exile.

Musharrafs plan to return to power in 2013 was dashed when he was disqualified from running in an election won by Nawaz Sharif, the man he deposed in 1999.

He was charged over the slaying of Benazir Bhutto and placed under house arrest as a series of cases against him were brought before the courts.

In 2013 Human Rights Watch urged the government of the day to hold him accountable for widespread and serious human rights violations during his rule.

In 2016 a travel ban was lifted and Musharraf flew to Dubai to seek medical treatment.

Three years later, he was sentenced to death in absentia for treason, related to his 2007 decision to impose emergency rule. However, a court later nullified the ruling.
Burma Myanmar Junta Jails Ousted NLD Mayor for Two More Years

Ousted Mandalay mayor Dr. Ye Lwin. / The Irrawaddy

A Myanmar junta court has sentenced Mandalay mayor, Dr. Ye Lwin, of the ousted National League for Democracy (NLD) government to two years in prison for misappropriation of public funds under the colonial-era Penal Code.

A Mandalay municipality member, U Kyaw Zeya, was also handed a two-year term.

A lawyer said: Dr. Ye Lwin was accused of embezzling public funds while mayor. Ko Kyaw Zeya was also given two more years. Both of them faced fresh charges a few months before they completed their prison terms for previous charges.

Dr. Ye Lwin was briefly detained following the coup on February 1, 2021, and resigned as mayor on February 5.

On February 8 his Facebook profile picture showed an anti-regime, three-finger salute and the slogan Together with the people. He was charged under Article 505(b) of the Penal Code for incitement at Aungmyaythazan Township court 10 days later.

In December 2021 he was sentenced to two years in jail for inciting civil servants to join the civil disobedience movement.

The regime filed a fresh corruption charge against the 71-year-old in November last year, less than a month before he completed his prison term and he was given two more years on Friday.

The misappropriation charge under Article 409 of the Penal Code carries either life imprisonment or up to 10 years in jail.
Junta Crony Myanmar Junta Rewards Crony Arms Dealer With Palm Oil Plum

U Tay Za, left, hands over a military sports stadium built and donated by his Htoo Group of companies and GDZR at the Military Technology University in Pyin Oo Lwin Township, Mandalay Region in 2014. / U Tay Za

Myanmars military regime has permitted the US-sanctioned Htoo Group, owned by a notorious arms dealer, to import over US$5.4 million worth of palm oil per month, according to operators in the edible oil business.

The Htoo Group of companies is owned by junta crony U Tay Za, who was sanctioned by the US last year for providing arms to Myanmars military. The group is currently led by his sons, who have also been targeted by US sanctions.

Businesspeople confirmed that group subsidiary Htoo Trading began importing palm oil last month.

A palm oil trader in Yangon said the junta has permitted the company to import at least 15,000 tons of palm oil monthly while setting restrictions for other importers.

Restrictions for other importers include limits on the quantity of palm oil they can import and on sales of oil in stock.

Importers are also facing problems over their reserves of foreign exchange, which are limited by the Central Bank of Myanmar (CBM).

The commodity is managed by the regimes supervisory committee on edible oil import and distribution under the Ministry of Commerce.

Myanmar people have been suffering high prices for palm oil since the middle of last year as stocks dwindle. According to figures from the Myanmar Edible Oil Dealers Association (MEODA), the private sector has little more than 180,000 tons of palm oil in storage.

The junta has also started controlling the amount of palm oil it releases onto the market, adding to dealers difficulties in importing and distributing the commodity.

The economy has already reverted to a monopoly system. Now, there is no transparency or fair competition. Those with close ties to the junta can manipulate the market, said the palm oil trader.

A couple of months after the coup, the junta placed controls on imports of palm oil and other goods to reduce the foreign exchange deficit.

After seizing power, the military regime imposed a policy to reduce palm oil imports. We were able to import freely before, but now the limit has been set at only 5,000 tons. So, all importers are now competing for a smaller slice of the market, said an edible oil businessman.

The regime has granted Htoo Trading the privilege to import 15,000 tons per month, leaving hundreds of other importers struggling with a smaller market share, he explained.

The juntas controls on imports and distribution saw the palm oil price surge to over 7,000 kyats per viss (1.6 kg) in July last year.

Before the coup, Myanmar imported at least 6,000 tonnes of palm oil per month to meet demand, according to the Ministry of Commerce.

The US Treasury Departments Office of Foreign Assets Control imposed sanctions on junta crony U Tayza and two of his sons, Ko Pyae Phyo Tay Za and Ko Htoo Htet Tay Za, on Jan. 31, 2022, one year after the coup. On Jan 31 this year, it also imposed sanctions on U Tay Zas daughter Ma Htoo Htwe Tay Za.

In May 202,1U Tayza joined regime air force chief General Maung Maung Kyaw and other high ranking military officials on a trip to Russia to procure military hardware.

Under the previous military regime, U Tayzas Htoo Trading Company was involved in timber, transport, tourism, construction, property development, palm oil production and military arms deals.

The junta crony made his fortune from the timber business before expanded his dealings with the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC), as the previous regime was known, by supplying the military with aircraft parts through his company Myanmar Avia Export. The company is Myanmars sole representative of Russias Export Military Industrial Group, known as MAPO, and of the Russian helicopter company Rostvertol.

The US Treasury placed U Tay Za on its list of sanctioned Specially Designated Nationals in 2008 for providing support to the junta, including the purchase of military equipment and aircraft, according to a statement at the time. Washingtons objections were spelled out in more detail in a leaked 2007 US diplomatic cable that accused U Tay Za of earning hefty commissions from sales to the military of arms, ammunition, supplies, MI-17 helicopters and MiG-29 [fighter jets].

U Tay Za has admitted selling Russian-made Mi-17 helicopters and continues to hold the service contracts and provide spare parts to Myanmars military.
Burma Russian Business Chiefs Sign Tourist Deals for Myanmar Beach Resort

The Russia-Myanmar Friendship Association and business owners in Myanmar sign deals for Ngapali beach in Rakhine State on February 4.

The Russia-Myanmar Friendship Association and business owners in Myanmar signed deals for the Ngapali beach resort in Rakhine State on Saturday.

The association president Anatoly Bulochnikov met junta boss Min Aung Hlaing in Naypyitaw on January 30 to reportedly discuss tourism and trade with Myanmars largest arms supplier.

When the regime reshuffled its governing body, the State Administration Council, following its six-month extension of emergency rule last week, Min Aung Hlaings classmate from the Defense Services Academy, retired Major General Aung Thaw, was appointed as the hotels and tourism minister. He also chairs Myanmars branch of the friendship association.

A luxury seafront apartment project in Ngapali, one of the deals signed on Saturday, is expected to get off the ground soon as Aung Myo Min Din, a hotelier with close ties to Min Aung Hlaings family, is already running a hotel there. His business, Amazing Hotels and Resorts Group has prospered in Myanmars hospitality sector since Min Aung Hlaing became the military chief in 2011.

Among the 12 hotels that Aung Myo Min Din has added to his hotel chain since 2010 is the Amazing Ngapali Resort on controversially acquired land in the popular Rakhine destination.

The land was seized by Myanmars military in 2000, supposedly to expand a military base. However, from around 2013 the land was leased for hotel construction to various companies, including Max Myanmar Co., owned by military crony Zaw Zaw.

Aung Myo Min Din bought the hotel, which was still under construction, from Zaw Zaw in 2015, and named it the Amazing Ngapali Resort.

Aung Myo Min Din met Min Aung Hlaing at an Independence Day dinner last month and during the junta chiefs visit to Ngapali on January 20.

Min Aung Hlaing called on Ngapalis hotel operators to promote the beach among foreigners.

The signing ceremony was attended by Bulochnikov and the directors of the Treasure of Ngapali Development Co Ltd and Shwin Pyaw Pyaw Trading Co Ltd, according to the junta media. Deals were also signed on coffee production.

The Russian delegation reportedly visited Ngapali to discuss the promotion of Russian tourism.

The Russian elite is finding travel and trade increasingly difficult amid sanctions imposed because of last years invasion of Ukraine.
War Against the Junta Around 20 Myanmar Regime Soldiers Reportedly Killed in Sagaing Region

A fighter from Homalin-PDF Battalion 124.

At least 20 Myanmar junta troops were reportedly killed in fierce clashes with resistance forces in the northwest of Sagaing Region from February 1 to February 4. The fighting forced thousands of civilians to flee their homes.

The clashes broke out in Shwe Pyi Aye Town in Sagaings Homalin Township after a combined force of Peoples Defense Forces (PDF) from Homalin attacked the town around 6am on February 1. The PDFs included Khamti District Battalion 1, Homalin-PDF Battalion 124 and Homalin-PDF-Moekyoe.

After the resistance groups took control of Shwe Pyi Aye, the military regime launched five airstrikes on the town on February 1 and 3. Junta MI-35 helicopter gunships attacked on February 1, before launching two more airstrikes with MI-35s on February 3. The regime also attempted to drop reinforcements using MI-17 choppers.

A statement by the civilian National Unity Government said that an MI-17 helicopter was shot down by the resistance on February 3, but offered no further details.

Khamti District Battalion 1 and Homalin-PDFs Battalion 124 said that at least 20 junta troops were killed in the fighting, while the resistance suffered two dead.

Resistance groups are still in partial control of the town. But we also heard that junta troops are now approaching the town from different directions. I dont know what will happen next, said a male Shwe Pyi Aye resident who is now sheltering with his family in Homalin Town.

Battalion 124 of Homalin-PDF said that pro-junta Shanni Nationalities Army troops were fighting alongside the Myanmar military against the PDFs.

Two fighters from Battalion 124  Hpone Gyi, 27, and Naing Lu  were killed in the fighting on February 2 and 3 respectively, according to Homalin-PDF.

Some 2,000 residents of Shwe Pyi Aye have fled to nearby villages and towns. Resistance groups have warned residents to be cautious of possible future airstrikes and attacks by junta forces.

We are trying our best to welcome and give accommodation to the people who fled Shwe Pyi Aye Town. But we dont have sufficient food for them. And they dare not return home, even though there has been no fighting since February 4, said a member of the civilian Homalin Township Peoples Administration Body.

Shwe Pyi Aye is a new town founded by General Tha Aye, a member of the previous regimes State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) and a former Chief Minister of Sagaing Region, during the SPDC regimes time in power between 1997 and 2011.
War Against the Junta Over 40 Myanmar Regime Forces Killed in Four Days of Resistance Attacks

Bago Regional PDF fighters. / Bago Regional PDF

At least 42 Myanmar junta forces including pro-regime militia members were killed over the last four days, as Peoples Defense Forces (PDF) stepped up their attacks on regime targets across the country.

PDFs occupied a Myanmar military base and attacked the base of the North West Military Command in upper Myanmar.

The attacks were reported in Sagaing, Mandalay, Bago and Tanintharyi Regions and Mon State.

The Irrawaddy has rounded up the following reports of significant attacks by PDFs.

Some regime casualties could not be independently verified.

Military regional command base bombed in Sagaing



PDFs firing mortars on Sunday at the base of the North West Military Command in Monywa, Sagaing Region. /ASF

Two military regime soldiers were killed and five others seriously injured on Sunday in Monywa Township, Sagaing Region when five PDFs used four 107mm mortar rounds to attack the Monywa base of the North West Military Command, according to Chindwin Attack Force, one of the PDFs involved in the attack.

Storage buildings at the base were also damaged, added the PDF.

Junta base occupied in Sagaing

At least 15 junta troops were killed in Myinmu Township, Sagaing Region on Saturday when a combined force of six PDFs raided and occupied a military base in Htee Saung Village, said Zero Guerrilla Force, which was involved in the raid.

At 1am on Saturday, the PDFs raided and burned down the junta base. Many regime soldiers fled the attack. Two weapons, two jammers and ammunition were seized along with other military equipment, said Zero Guerrilla Force.

Military detachment ambushed in Sagaing

A junta soldier was killed and another injured in Kantbalu Township, Sagaing Region last Friday when Pahtan Hmann-PDF used landmines to ambush a military detachment raiding a village, said the PDF.

Five regime troops killed by PDF fire in Sagaing

Five regime soldiers were killed in Wetlet Township, Sagaing Region last Friday when two PDFs used improvised mortar shells to bombard a military detachment raiding villages, said GZ Special Task Force-Wetlet, which took part in the attack.

Military vehicle bombed twice in Sagaing



A truck reportedly transporting soldiers faces a blast from PDF landmines in Wetlet Township, Sagaing Region on Saturday. /BSFF

At least five regime forces were killed and many others injured on Saturday in Wetlet Township, Sagaing Region when a 12-wheel vehicle carrying 20 soldiers was ambushed with landmines by two PDFs on the Shwebo-Mandalay Highway, said Buffalo Soldiers Freedom Force, which coordinated the attack.

At 8am on Saturday, the PDFs used 10 landmines to ambush the truck in two locations on the highway, killing five regime forces.

The truck was then ambushed again with another 10 landmines while it was slowly heading to Shwebo around two hours after the first attack. After the ambush, regime forces in the vehicle and on foot opened fire randomly and torched a nearby house.

Junta-controlled forest department office burned down in Tanintharyi

Launglon-PDF claimed that on Saturday it torched the regime-controlled forest department office in the town of Launglon in southern Myanmars Tanintharyi Region.

A firefight between PDF fighters and junta forces also erupted in the area. Military casualties are unknown, said Launglon-PDF.

Four regime forces killed in Mandalay

Myitnge-PDF claimed to have killed five regime forces and injured others on Sunday in Sintgaing Township, Mandalay Region, when the resistance group used bombs and weapons to attack regime forces, including junta-appointed administrators and pro-regime Pyu Saw Htee militia, gathered in front of the Sintgaing City Hall.

The PDF said they carried out the attack in conjunction with two other resistance groups.

Four junta troops killed by drone strikes in Mandalay



A PDF drone bombs regime targets in Madaya Township, Mandalay Region last Friday. / Unicorn Guerrilla Force

Resistance group Unicorn Guerrilla Force claimed to have killed four junta soldiers and injured three more last Friday, when it used a drone to drop bombs on regime forces in Madaya Township, Mandalay Region.

The PDF group said that they had to abort their mission after junta forces arrested two civilian families in the area and used them as human shields.

Five regime forces killed in PDF ambush in Mon

Five regime forces were killed and five others injured on Saturday night in Thaton Township, Mon State, when Hawk Revolutionary Squad used both landmines and firearms to ambush a military convoy near a village, the PDF said.

Junta forces responded by opening fire, before taking a damaged vehicle away. There were no PDF casualties in the attack, said Hawk Revolutionary Squad.

Army captain captured during PDF attack in Mon

An army captain was captured in Ye Township, Mon State on Saturday when Ye Guerrilla Force ambushed five regime troops traveling in a civilian vehicle, the PDF group said.

After a tip off, resistance fighters chased and attacked a small vehicle fleeing from a PDF checkpoint.

The army caption was captured during the attack, while the four other soldiers escaped. Ye Guerilla Force torched the vehicle as regime reinforcements headed to the spot.

Regime forces attacked in Bago

Bago Regional PDF said that its member PDFs conducted attacks on regime targets in Nattalin, Pauk Khaung, Nyaunglebin and Paungde Townships over the last four days.

Last Friday, Thayawady District PDFs used landmines to ambush two military vehicles on a road in Nattalin Township. However, the PDF fighters were unable to attack the vehicles effectively as there were civilians on motorbikes nearby.

On the same day, Pyay District PDFs also used land mines to attack junta forces operating checkpoints in the town of Pauk Khaung. Military casualties are unknown.

Last Thursday, Nyaunglebin-PDF used M79 grenade launchers to attack regime forces and pro-junta militia deployed at a railway station in Nyaunglebin Township.

Bago Regional PDF claimed also that on Saturday its member Paungde-PDF assassinated pro-regime Pyu Saw Htee militia leader Min Naing Oo in a village in Paungde Township.
In Turkey, the death toll stood at 1,498, the disaster agency said. At least 716 people were killed in Syria, according to figures from the Damascus government and the United Nations.



Poor internet connections and damaged roads between some of the worst-hit cities in Turkey's south, homes to millions of people, hindered efforts to assess and address the impact.

Temperatures in some areas were expected to fall to near freezing overnight, worsening conditions for people trapped under rubble or left homeless.

Rain was falling on Monday after snowstorms swept the country at the weekend.

It is already the highest death toll from an earthquake in Turkey since 1999, when a tremor of similar magnitude devastated the heavily populated eastern Marmara Sea region near Istanbul, killing more than 17,000.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan, who is preparing for a tough election in May, called it a historic disaster and the worst earthquake to hit Turkey since 1939, but said authorities were doing all they could.

"Everyone is putting their heart and soul into efforts although the winter season, cold weather and the earthquake happening during the night makes things more difficult," he stated.

Turkish state broadcaster TRT showed a building collapse in the southern province of Adana after the second quake. It was not immediately clear if it was evacuated.

In Syria, already wrecked by more than 11 years of civil war, the health ministry said 461 people had been killed and more than 1,326 injured.
War Against the Junta PDF Fighters Storm Myanmar Junta Base in Myinmu, Killing at Least 25

Weapons, ammunition and military equipment seized by PDFs during a raid on a junta base in Myinmu Township on Saturday. Photo/ Zero Guerrilla Force

At least 25 Myanmar junta forces were killed during a dawn raid by Peoples Defense Forces on a military camp in Myinmu Township, Sagaing Region on Saturday.

Four District PDF battalions from Mandalays Kyaukse and Myingyan and Sagaings Shwebo and Sagaing stormed a base guarded by 40 junta police and pro-regime militia in Htee Saung village, according to a representative of Zero Guerrilla Force, which joined the raid.

The guerrilla group, also known as the Myingyan District PDF Battalion 7, is under the command of Myanmars parallel National Unity Government (NUG).

The PDF forces bombarded the junta base with 40mm rocket-propelled grenades, their leader told The Irrawaddy on Monday.

After four hours of intense fighting, they seized and burned the base at 4am. PDF fighters also chased and attacked regime forces as they fled.

We counted around 15 bodies of regime personnel at the base. According to our sources, another 10 or more junta forces died in hospital while being treated, said the leader of Zero Guerrilla Force.

The Irrawaddy was unable to independently verify the reports.

The military base is located on the Monywa-Sagaing Highway. Despite being located only a few miles from the town of Myinmu and a police outpost in Sagaing, no junta reinforcements arrived at the base when it came under PDF attack on Saturday.

PDF fighters said they seized weapons, two jammers and ammunition along with military equipment from the base.

Two resistance fighters suffered minor injuries during the assault, they added.

A PDF video shows the base burning during the intense firefight.

On Jan. 22, three regime forces were killed and two others injured when the PDF group attacked the same military camp.

Zero Guerrilla Force said it also joined with another PDF group in a land-mine ambush that killed two more soldiers on Sunday as regime forces and vehicles searched for mines planted by PDF groups on the Monywa-Sagaing Highway in Sagaing Township.

Intense clashes are now being reported across the country daily, as PDFs and ethnic armed organizations (EAOs) escalate their offensive against regime targets.
GUEST OPINION: It's likely that many IT security teams didn't get much sleep during the past year. From ransomware and supply-chain attacks to email compromise and IoT incidents, the battle against cybercriminals was relentless.

Unfortunately for those hoping for a change of pace, the outlook for the year ahead appears to be more of the same. Increasingly dispersed workforces and increased use of cloud resources have widened the attack surface and made the challenge of securing IT resources even more complex.

At the same time, many security teams are also grappling with restricted budgets. As economic clouds gather, they are being forced to find ways to achieve more with less.

Interestingly, these budget forces are also having an impact on the attackers themselves. Many are finding formerly lucrative activities such as ransomware are no longer paying off as targets refuse to make demanded payments.

The rise of machine identity management attacks

As a result, increasing numbers are looking for new ways to exploit vulnerabilities and inflict more damage. They are eyeing alternative avenues for attacks against things such as critical infrastructure and machine identity management.

During the coming year, there are five key trends that will shape the evolving machine identity management security landscape. The trends are:

1. Revenue from the sale of machine identities will replace revenue from ransomware attacks: As fewer organisations opt to pay ransomware demands, cyber attackers will be forced to change their tactics. The shift will put a premium on other sources of income such as the lucrative sale of stolen machine identities such as code-signing certificates.

During 2022, there was already evidence of evolving dark web markets for identities with groups such as Lapsus$ that regularly use them to launch damaging attacks. The value of machine identities will continue to increase during 2023, making their theft even more attractive.

2. A desire to cut costs will result in more businesses putting all their eggs in one cloud basket: In another effort to reduce operational costs, increasing numbers of businesses will opt to shift away from using multiple cloud platforms and consolidate their IT resources in a single location. While this may indeed reduce operational costs, it also concentrates risk and presents new opportunities for attackers. It may also waste the agility and speed that a multiple cloud strategy can deliver.

3. Critical infrastructure will remain in the cybercriminal's cross hairs: With energy supply now a global issue, businesses and governments around the world will remain focused on ensuring reliable supply throughout the coming 12 months. A key part of this is maintaining protective measures against cyberattacks.

Cybercriminals are well aware of this and the incentive to target critical infrastructure will rise. There have previously been examples of attacks against infrastructure, such as the Stuxnet worm that targeted an Iranian uranium enrichment plant back in 2010. During 2023, energy companies must secure their machine identities in preparation for more such attacks.

4. Attacks against nation state attacks will become more frenetic as cyber and physical worlds merge: In the past, real-world and cyberwarfare have tended to be seen as two different things. During 2023, they will merge. An example can be seen in the Russian invasion of Ukraine where the on-the-ground offensive has not gone the way Moscow had planned.

As a result, Russia is likely to ramp up its cyberattacks against energy and water infrastructure in an effort to inflict more disruption and damage. This will continue throughout the coming year as the war rages on.

5. The role of security teams will become even more critical: As the cyberthreat landscape continues to evolve during the year, pressure on IT security teams will become even more intense. The teams will play a vital role in ensuring everything from critical infrastructure to business applications remain secure and fully operational at all times. Effective machine identity management will be a critical part of this.



There is no question that the coming year will be full of opportunity for expansion and growth; however, the looming threats posed by cyberattacks are also tipped to grow. Security teams need to understand this changing landscape and ensure they have the measures and processes in place to protect both machine identities and their wider IT infrastructures.
Nokia has announced the availability of the UBT-m XP, the latest addition to its award-winning Wavence product family designed to support mobile operators and enterprises with premium coverage in both dense urban and rural environments.

Nokia says its newest E-Band radio is a high-capacity outdoor unit with a small, light form factor and the highest transmit power available on the market - and ideal for urban microwave transport applications.

It is joined in an industry first by the launch of the Nokia SteadEband, a stabilised three-foot antenna that combats common E-Band issues, which include tower vibrations and movements due to thermal effects. Combined with the UBT-m XP, it can increase the typical E-Band link distance by up to 50 percent, helping mobile operators deliver multi-gigabit 5G connectivity to their customers.

According to Nokia, these new products address all use cases for improving link distance as well as the energy efficiency of the Wavence portfolio.

The UBT-m XP is a single ultra-broadband transceiver with an integrated modem and diplexer, offering best-in-class energy efficiency with twice the transmit power compared to the industry average. In recent tests, Nokia demonstrated a 12-kilometer-long link using the Nokia UBT-m XP and the SteadEband antenna.

Nokia also announced the launch of the Outdoor Channel Aggregator (OCA) to support mobile operators looking to expand the reach and capacity of their networks for rural broadband applications.

The OCA aggregates multiple UBT-T XP radios, Nokias high-capacity, high-power, outdoor dual-band radio, for N+0 operations and allows for increased throughput with improved system gain of up to 10 dB compared with traditional aggregation methods. This is important in increasing the link distance or to optimize OPEX/CAPEX by removing the requirement for larger antenna or repeater systems, Nokia notes.

Nokia says it is also introducing the Carrier Aggregation High Density (CAHD) card, which adds single pipe capacity to the backhaul to support the link distance.

The innovative CAHD module enables 10 Gbps backhaul capacity over multiple channels and supports seamless migration from existing low-capacity backhaul to high capacity hence preserving an operators investment.

Nokia says its Simplified RAN Transport solution optimises radio access base station and microwave radio transport hardware to the minimum., and provides enhanced serviceability and operations without the need for dedicated indoor microwave equipment.

Nokias solution saves 30 percent more energy versus a traditional microwave site solution, due to a reduced number of units and less air conditioning requirements. Additionally, it also enables lower TCO and reduced site footprint.

Nokia says its comprehensive Wavence portfolio provides a complete microwave solution for all use cases covering short-haul, long-haul, E-Band, and SDN-based management both for mobile operators and enterprises - andi its zero-footprint implementation for full-outdoor architectures can be integrated directly with RAN and IP devices with common management, contributing to an overall reduction in network energy consumption and its software features and automation help to achieve further energy-saving targets.

Its no secret that capacity and radio efficiency are driving the market, said Emmy Johnson, Chief Analyst, Sky Light Research.

According to Sky Light Researchs latest forecast, the high-capacity E-band market is expected to grow north of 60 percent in 2023. Nokias newest products answer this call but with the added benefit of high power and energy efficiency. The sustainability and power metrics are impressive, as they not only lower TCO but also help meet climate change guidelines.

Giuseppe Targia, Vice President, Microwave Radio Links at Nokia, said: We are further strengthening our industry-leading Wavence portfolio with the addition of these next-generation products. The winning combination of the UBX-m XP and the SteadEband offers our customers a high-performance transport solution with leading capacity and coverage for both urban and rural environments. Microwave links are cost-efficient and fast to deploy, representing a robust alternative to fiber backhaul.
Hotel commerce platform operator SiteMinder has appointed Trent Innes to the role of chief growth officer. The company has also recruited Tim Howard as its CFO.

"Having had the privilege of witnessing Trent's leadership at Xero, I have seen first-hand his hyper-focus on customers and ability to scale a global business with cloud-based technology to one million subscribers," said SiteMinder CEO and managing director Sankar Narayan.

"I am thrilled to welcome Trent to SiteMinder's leadership team as we continue to forge an accelerated growth path during a continuing reopening of travel in 2023."

Innes spent eight years at Xero, and was managing director for Australia and Asia regions for five of them.

After leaving Xero in 2021 he served as interim CEO at Compono, and has held board or advisory positions at Empiraa, Uptick and Mr Yum.

Earlier in his career, Innes spent eight years with Microsoft Australia, most recently as national sales manager for business applications. He also held sales roles at Eclipse Computing and Infor.

He holds a bachelor's degree in business from RMIT University, is a member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors, and in 2017 was named Managing Director of the Year and IT and Telecommunications Executive of the Year by CEO Magazine, and Australian HR Champion (CEO) of the Year in the Australian HR Awards.

"Having watched SiteMinder's growth over many years, I am thrilled to be joining such an innovative company making big moves globally, with market-leading technology that truly equips and empowers hoteliers to be the best commercial leaders they can be," said Innes.

Tim Howard has joined SiteMinder as CFO.

He previously worked as CFO and COO at Autopilot (now Ortto) and as private equity operating partner at Allegro Funds after spending ten years with Apple, most recently as head of commercial for the APAC region.

Earlier in his career Howard was a senior strategy consultant with BT in the UK, commercial manager of Foxtel, commercial manager at Hagemeyer Brands, and a business analyst at Champ Ventures.

He is also manager of the Mosman Rugby Club.

Howard holds an honours degree in commerce from the University of Sydney and an MBA from the London Business School.
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.
UN chief condemns deadly attack on peacekeepers in DR Congo

Xinhua) 13:02, February 06, 2023

UNITED NATIONS, Feb. 5 (Xinhua) -- UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has strongly condemned Sunday's attack on a helicopter of UN peacekeeping missions in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), that left a South African peacekeeper dead and another severely injured.

The helicopter of the UN Organization Stabilization Mission in the DRC came under fire while travelling from Beni to Goma in the DRC's North Kivu province, Secretary-General spokesman Stephane Dujarric said in a statement on Sunday, adding the crew managed to land the helicopter in Goma.

According to the statement, Guterres recalled that "attacks against United Nations peacekeepers may constitute a war crime under international law," and called on the Congolese authorities "to investigate this heinous attack and swiftly bring those responsible to justice."

"The Secretary-General reaffirms that the United Nations, through his Special Representative in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, will continue to support the Congolese Government and people in their efforts to bring about peace and stability in the east of the country."

The UN chief expressed his deepest condolences to the family of the fallen peacekeeper and wished a speedy recovery to the injured, the statement said.

No group has claimed responsibility for the helicopter attack yet.

The North Kivu province, long plagued by insecurity and violence, has been an epicenter of intensive fighting for months between government troops and local armed groups.

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun)
Ankara, Feb 6 (UNI) At least twelve people have died in Turkeys Sanliurfa as a result of the powerful earthquake that hit Turkey on Monday morning, CNN Turk reports citing the governor of Sanliurfa.

Earlier on Monday, Osmaniye Province Governor Erdinc Yilmaz told the Turkish Radio and Television Corporation (TRT) that at least five people have died in Osmaniye as a result of the earthquake and 34 buildings collapsed.

According to Turkeys Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD), a 7.4-magnitude earthquake occurred in Kahramanmaras Province at 04:17 a.m. local time on Monday (01:17 GMT). It was felt in at least six nearby provinces (Hatay, Adana, Osmaniye, Diyarbakir, Malatya and Sanliurfa) and was followed by numerous aftershocks. Turkish Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu said that a total of 22 aftershocks have been registered, with the strongest one having a magnitude of 6.6.

Soylu said on Monday that the highest alert level was issued in Turkey. The Turkish NTV channel reported on Monday that the level four alert stipulates international assistance.

UNI/SPUTNIK GNK


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Pope Francis appealed Sunday to the people of South Sudan to lay down their "weapons of hatred" at an open-air mass on the final day of his pilgrimage to a country blighted by violence and poverty.

Large crowds of ecstatic worshippers streamed into the John Garang Mausoleum in the capital Juba to see the 86-year-old pontiff, who has made peace and reconciliation the theme of his three-day trip to the world's newest nation.

"Let us lay down the weapons of hatred and revenge... Let us overcome the dislikes and aversions that over time have become chronic and risk pitting tribes and ethnic groups against one another," Francis said in his homily.

He voiced hope that the people of South Sudan, a country that has been at war for about half its young life, would "build a reconciled future".

People waved national flags and sang "Welcome holy father to South Sudan" as the Argentine pontiff moved through the crowds in his popemobile before delivering the mass to an audience local authorities put at around 70,000.

Francis later flew out of Juba for Rome. He is due to hold a press conference on board his plane along with the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, who joined him on the trip.

It was his first papal visit to the largely Christian country since it achieved independence from mainly Muslim Sudan in 2011 after a long and bloody civil war.

Despite the initial revelry in 2011, South Sudan was at war with itself just two years later in a conflict that killed nearly 400,000 people and displaced four million.

A peace deal was signed in 2018 between President Salva Kiir and his deputy Riek Machar but many of its conditions remain unmet and violence continues to roil the country.

- Hope for change -

The wheelchair-bound pontiff, who himself tried to broker peace during the civil war, received a rapturous welcome throughout his visit.

"I came to see the pope bring change to the country. For many years we've been at war, but we need peace. We want the pope to pray for us," said James Agiu, 24.

He was among the many who stayed overnight to join the mass at the John Garang mausoleum -- built in honour of South Sudan's rebel hero who was killed in a helicopter crash in 2005.

On Saturday, Francis met victims of the civil war, who were brought to Juba from various camps, and urged the government to resume the peace process and restore "dignity" to those affected by conflict.

With 2.2 million internally displaced people (IDPs), and another two million outside the country, South Sudan is witness to the worst refugee crisis in Africa.

- 'A new start' -

"I have been suffering in my life. That is why I'm here, so the pope can bless me and my family," 32-year-old Josephine James told AFP at Sunday's mass.

"Ever since he arrived, people have been happy. I am very happy."

The papal visit has been closely followed in the devoutly Christian country of 12 million people, where church leaders played a key role in protecting civilians during times of conflict.

Francis made a pointed speech on Friday telling the country's leaders they need to make "a new start" toward reconciliation and end the greed and power struggles tearing the nation apart.

"Future generations will either venerate your names or cancel their memory, based on what you now do," he told an audience that included Kiir and Machar. "No more bloodshed, no more conflicts, no more violence."

- War crimes -

The pope had promised in 2019 to travel to South Sudan, when he hosted Kiir and Machar at a Vatican retreat and asked them to respect the ceasefire.

In scenes that reverberated in South Sudan, Francis knelt and kissed the feet of two foes whose personal armies had been accused of horrific war crimes.

But four years later, the oil-rich country remains mired in intractable conflict, compounded by poverty, hunger and natural disasters.

In a sign of the challenges, at least 21 people were killed in a cattle raid on the eve of Francis's visit in what local authorities termed a reprisal attack in Central Equatoria state.

The pope's stop in South Sudan followed a four-day visit to the Democratic Republic of Congo, another resource-rich country plagued by persistent conflict and also often overlooked by the world.

The trip -- Francis's fifth to Africa -- was initially scheduled for 2022 but had to be postponed because of problems with the pope's knee.
Germany's prosecutor general said Sunday that his office had collected "hundreds" of pieces of evidence showing war crimes by Russian forces in Ukraine, calling for an international effort to bring leaders to justice.

"At the moment we are focusing on mass killings in Bucha and attacks on Ukraine's civil infrastructure," prosecutor Peter Frank told the Welt am Sonntag newspaper.

He said most of the evidence came from interviews with Ukrainian refugees, and the goal was now to "prepare for a possible later court case -- whether in Germany or with our foreign partners or an international court".

Frank's office has previously used the principle of universal jurisdiction, which allows the prosecution of certain grave crimes regardless of where they took place, to try Syrians over atrocities committed during the country's civil war.

Under the same principle, a group of people from Myanmar last month filed a criminal complaint in Germany, accusing their country's military of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Frank said his office had begun its Ukraine inquiry in March 2022.

"We are not targeting certain specific people in the investigation but rather are collecting information and evidence," he said.

He acknowledged, however, that prosecution of suspected war criminals in Germany was possible only if they were in the country.

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock last month called for a tribunal to get around the fact that the International Criminal Court (ICC), despite launching it own investigation last year, cannot prosecute Russia for any possible war crimes since neither Russia nor Ukraine are members of the Hague-based court.

"Who do we want to bring to justice? The leaders of state -- those who took the decision to start the war -- and the people who at the highest level of the military implement this decision," Frank said.

"That would in my opinion call for a reckoning at the international level -- whether via the International Criminal Court or before a special tribunal is in the end up to the international community."

In the Kyiv suburb of Bucha alone, hundreds of bodies were discovered after the Russian army was driven out last March.

The killings sparked international condemnation and accusations of war crimes, which Moscow has repeatedly denied.
Pope Francis flew home Sunday with the leaders of the Anglican and Scottish churches after a joint trip to violence-plagued South Sudan, where he appealed at a final mass for people to lay down their "weapons of hatred".

Large crowds of ecstatic worshippers had gathered in the capital Juba to see the 86-year-old pontiff, who made peace and reconciliation the theme of his three-day trip to the world's newest nation.

"Let us lay down the weapons of hatred and revenge... Let us overcome the dislikes and aversions that over time have become chronic and risk pitting tribes and ethnic groups against one another," Francis said in his homily.

Addressing a crowd local authorities estimated at around 70,000, he voiced hope that the people of South Sudan would "build a reconciled future".

It was the first papal visit to the largely Christian country, which achieved independence from mainly Muslim Sudan in 2011 after a long and bloody civil war.

Two years later, South Sudan was at war with itself, a conflict that killed nearly 400,000 people and displaced four million.

A peace deal was signed in 2018 between President Salva Kiir and his deputy Riek Machar but many of its conditions remain unmet and violence continues to roil the country.

Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby, who joined Francis on the trip alongside the Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, said the visit left him with a "deep sense of encouragement".

"What we now need is a serious change of heart from the leadership. They have to agree to a process that will lead to a peaceful transition of power," Welby told reporters on the plane taking the three religious leaders back to Rome.

"There has to be an end to corruption and gun smuggling and the amassing of huge quantities of weapons," he said.

- Hope for change -

The wheelchair-bound pontiff, who himself tried to broker peace during the civil war, received a rapturous welcome throughout his visit.

"I came to see the pope bring change to the country. For many years we've been at war, but we need peace. We want the pope to pray for us," said James Agiu, 24, after staying overnight to join Sunday's mass.

On Saturday, Francis met victims of the civil war brought to Juba from various camps, and urged the government to resume the peace process and restore "dignity" to those affected by conflict.

With 2.2 million internally displaced people (IDPs), and another two million outside the country, South Sudan is witness to the worst refugee crisis in Africa.

"I have been suffering in my life. That is why I'm here, so the pope can bless me and my family," 32-year-old Josephine James told AFP at Sunday's mass.

"Ever since he arrived, people have been happy. I am very happy."

The papal visit was closely followed in the devoutly Christian country of 12 million people, where church leaders played a key role in protecting civilians during times of conflict.

- 'New start' -

On Friday, Francis told the country's leaders they need to make "a new start" toward reconciliation and end the greed and power struggles tearing the nation apart.

"Future generations will either venerate your names or cancel their memory, based on what you now do," he told an audience that included Kiir and Machar. "No more bloodshed, no more conflicts, no more violence."

At a 2019 Vatican retreat, the pope had knelt and kissed the feet of the two leaders, whose personal armies had been accused of horrific war crimes, asking them to respect the ceasefire.

But four years later, the oil-rich country remains mired in intractable conflict, compounded by poverty, hunger and natural disasters.

- Trips to India, Mongolia -

The pope's stop in South Sudan followed a four-day visit to the Democratic Republic of Congo, another resource-rich country plagued by persistent conflict and also often overlooked by the world.

The trip -- Francis's fifth to Africa -- was initially scheduled for 2022 but had to be postponed because of problems with the pope's knee.

Asked about his health on the plane Sunday, he said it was "not like at the beginning of my papacy, this knee is annoying, but I go on, slowly, and we'll see".

Francis confirmed he would visit Marseille, in the south of France, on September 23, head to India in 2024 and said the Vatican was looking at a potential trip to Mongolia.
A United Nations peacekeeper from South Africa was killed and another wounded in an attack on their helicopter in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo on Sunday, the organisation said.

The aircraft came under fire at around 3:00 pm (1200 GMT) during a flight to Goma, the provincial capital of Nord-Kivu province, where it was able to land, a spokesman told AFP.

The source of the fire that struck the helicopter was not yet known and its precise location had yet to be determined, said Amadou Ba, a spokesman for the UN mission in the DRC (MONUSCO).

South Africa's military also confirmed the incident.

"An Oryx helicopter came under fire in Goma, the Democratic Republic of the Congo on Sunday February 5, 2023," the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) said in a statement.

"A crew member was fatally shot, another suffered injuries but managed to continue flying the chopper and landed safely at Goma Airport.

"The SANDF is in the process of informing family members of the soldiers who were involved in this unfortunate incident."

MONUSCO chief Bintou Keita said she "strongly condemns this cowardly attack on an aircraft bearing the UN emblem", adding that "attacks against peacekeepers can constitute a war crime".

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called on Congolese authorities "to investigate this heinous attack and swiftly bring those responsible to justice", said his spokesman Stephane Dujarric in a statement.

- Raging conflict -

On March 29, 2022, eight UN peacekeepers -- six Pakistanis, one Russian and one Serb -- were killed when their helicopter crashed over a combat zone between the Congolese army and M23 rebels.

Militias have plagued the mineral-rich eastern DRC for decades, many of them a legacy of regional wars that flared during the 1990s and the early 2000s.

Since November 2021, the M23 rebel group has seized chunks of territory and come within miles of the east's main commercial hub Goma.

East African leaders called Saturday for an immediate ceasefire in eastern DRC, at an extraordinary summit called to find ways of calming the raging conflict.

The talks were hosted in Burundi by the seven-nation East African Community (EAC), which is leading mediation efforts to end the fighting in the vast central African nation.

The resurgent M23 has taken control of swathes of land in the mineral-rich east and fighting is continuing despite a peace roadmap hammered out in Angola last July, and the deployment of an East African Community force in November.

The DRC is awash with minerals and precious stones, but the decades of war and chronic mismanagement mean that little of the vast wealth trickles down to the population of some 100 million.
JUSTICE INFO: Why did the commission of inquiry on human rights and international humanitarian law violations in Palestine and Israel recommend the request for this advisory opinion from the International Court of Justice (ICJ)?

NAVANETHEM PILLAY: Firstly, these are the tools of the United Nations and all those member states provided for that. They said if there's a dispute, the court intervenes and gives an advisory opinion and interprets international law, reminds states of their obligations. It's their court and they've never had an opportunity to look into the lawfulness of prolonged occupation. We have to follow the remedies that are available, and we needed a UN General Assembly resolution. It was done [recourse to the ICJ], as you know, in the case of Ukraine-Russia, and before that the Gambias case against Myanmar.

And what do you think it will achieve?

I think that such a long, drawn out dispute that has not been resolved and in our view has got worse and worse has to be dealt with by the court. Now they can rule either that it's unlawful or they can rule that it's lawful. They've also been asked, and this is very important, to determine what are the responsibilities, obligations of other states, because at this stage, some of the states are supporting this occupation. They are helping financially and morally. Now, what's the impact of a decision that the occupation is illegal? Can they continue giving support to an illegal operation? They may not give a decision that will be helpful to Palestine, I can't predict. But if they follow international law, we think there's a good case on why the prolonged occupation of almost 60 years was never envisaged under international law. It was always meant to be temporary.

Such ruling by the ICJ is not actually binding because it's an advisory opinion. And it may well take this court a year to actually come up with this. So wont it be too late?

Well, it may take even more than a year because [the court] has a heavy load of cases. These are the limits within which the Commission of Inquiry that I chair could go to remind members of their own mechanisms for resolving matters. And if the ICJ gives serious attention to this, addresses international law, it must be taken seriously by member states. It's their court. True, the ICJ does not have the power to implement its decisions. It expects states to implement them. Generally, states do comply with the ICJ decision but there are instances where that has not been the case.

You mean Israel, for example? There was another advisory opinion on Israel from the ICJ back in 2004, which ruled that its separation Wall around Palestinian territory, including Jerusalem, was illegal and should be dismantled. Israel ignored it, so wont it just do that again?

Yes, you're right, Israel completely ignored it. It has also ignored numerous U.N. Security Council and General Assembly resolutions, for instance, on settlements. This is what we documented in our first report. We looked at the massive number of recommendations from UN bodies, treaty bodies, special rapporteurs, and all those recommendations have been ignored. Israel has continued on its path and its policies.

And as you say, with the support of other member states, notably one of the most powerful ones, the United States.

Yes.

Your report says possible war crimes and crimes against humanity have been committed in the context of the Israeli occupation of Palestine, and you are also urging the International Criminal Court (ICC) to prioritize its investigations regarding the situation in Palestine. These were officially opened in March 2021 but they dont seem to be making much progress. Why do you think the ICC is dragging its feet?

Its in the hands of the Prosecutor. All I am told is that theyre investigating. But our Commission is not time bound, the mandate is wide and includes cooperation with international justice institutions. We are in touch with the ICC.

Are you sharing evidence with the ICC?

Not yet, but we will.

Has the Commission had any cooperation from Israel?

No. Israel has not given permission for any UN commission or Special Rapporteur to enter Israel. They dont even tell us why. But we are fairly successful in talking to Palestinians and Israelis in Jordan and Geneva, for example.

Your report mentions a 1971 ICJ advisory opinion that said South Africas occupation of Namibia at the time was illegal, which helped end that occupation. Do you see similarities with the current situation in Palestine?

You know, in South Africa we had no legal remedies at the time, so we looked to the UN. The US under Ronald Reagan and the UK under Margaret Thatcher used their veto to stop sanctions against South Africa. I think that this ICJ ruling is a good example of how a legal opinion from that court can help. Why does Palestine have to struggle so hard? It has a lot of political support but not of powerful states. So we want to use the law, as was done with Namibia.

Recommended reading The ten obstacles the ICC prosecutor faces in investigating Palestine
Many Korean stars who are lauded by many are often stereotyped as only good at acting, dancing, or singing. Good thing celebrities like Cha Eun Woo and Ryu Jun Yeol stepped out of the acting arena to showcase their love for photography. They even got the chance to exhibit their art!

Keep on reading the article to know who among your favorite Korean stars are photography enthusiasts.

Cha Eun Woo

There's really nothing Cha Eun Woo can't do. This versatile artist is not just honed to mesmerize the public with his dancing, vocals, and acting range but with his photography skills, too.

Everywhere he goes, the idol-actor always makes sure to bring his camera and capture a once-in-a-lifetime moment in his journey.

With tons of memories in his camera, Cha Eun Woo is ready to share them with his fans this February as his first-ever solo exhibit will be held in Seoul.

Most of his artworks came from his previous out-of-the-country tours.

Ryu Jun Yeol

This actor has been praised for his acting range. But aside from acting, Ryu Jun Yeol also has another passion, and that is photography.

In 2020, he officially debuted as a photographer, which is said to be a dream come true for him. He had his first exhibit, "Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood," in November of the same year.

It can be seen through his snaps that he captured the feelings and vibes evoked by the streets of the United States.

Shin Se Kyung

Not many are familiar Shin Se Kyung is very invested in photography.

After she finished her drama "Run On," the actress shared her interest in street photography through a documentary. She loves being photographed just like how much she likes capturing the perfect moments of others.

You can check her Instagram to see some of her works.

Lee Junho

When he is not busy filming dramas, Lee Junho enjoys his free time doing random photography of the places he goes.

The 2PM member shared on his YouTube vlog his interest in taking pictures. Since he is already into photography and wants to come up with better qualities of photos, the idol-actor gifted himself an expensive camera.

He always carries his gadget and also shared that in between filming his projects, Lee Junho uses the time to capture moments and emotions of people around him.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: Lee Junho Reveals Jaw-Dropping Pictorial For Dior After Being Tapped As Newest Ambassador For Brand

Who among other Korean stars do you know is in love with photography? Drop their names in the comments!

For more K-Drama, K-Movie, and celebrity news, keep your tabs open here at KDramastars.

KDramastars owns this article.

Shai Collins wrote this.
The public has mixed reactions regarding Oh Young Soo's lawsuit after he was embroiled in a sexual harassment case.

The veteran actor, whose popularity skyrocketed after joining as one of the main characters of "Squid Game" is facing a trial due to allegations.

Oh Young Soo Controversy: 'Squid Game' Star Appeared at the First Court Hearing

The 78-year-old actor reached a breakthrough success after playing the role of player 001 named Oh Il Nam in the Netflix series.

With his amazing portrayal of his character, Oh Young Soo captured the hearts of viewers and even made history at the prestigious award-giving body.

He is the first South Korean star who bagged Best Supporting Actor in a TV Series at the Golden Globe Award.

However, amid his fame and continued achievement in his acting career, Oh Il Nam was accused of harassment in the same year that "Squid Game" became a huge hit.

It was after a woman "A" claimed that the veteran star sexually harassed her in 2017, however, the police dismissed her lawsuit which was filed on December 2021.

As mentioned by various outlets, the woman accused Oh Il Nam of making unwanted physical contact during a meeting.

In a report, JTBC cited that the actor denied the accusation stating that only held the woman's hands to "show her the way" as they walked around a lake.

Moreover, Oh Young Soo reportedly apologized to the woman not because he acknowledged the accusation but because she allegedly told the "Squid game" star that she wouldn't make a fuzz or "raise an issue" about the incident if he did.

As for the police, authorities dismissed the case but the woman appealed it to the prosecution.

Now, Oh Young Soo recently faced his first trial on charges of indecent assault; however, the public has negative feelings about the case and sympathizes with the actor.

Oh Young Soo's Case Deemed by the Public as 'Questionable'

Since the case was publicized, the public has expressed their thoughts about Oh Young Soo's case online.

The majority wondered why the woman took how many years to file the lawsuit and it was the time that Oh Young Soo's fame skyrocketed because of "Squid Game."

With this, netizens questioned the motif of the accuser even saying that the woman waited until the actor got popular.

One user pointed out that "these types of cases always break out when the 'victim' will benefit something out of the situation.

As for one netizen, someone mentioned that the lawsuit wouldn't get filed if Oh Young Soo didn't get famous.

Oh Young Soo has been in the industry for how many decades since he made his debut as a theater actor.

He usually plays the monk in various K-dramas and movies but was glad that director Hwang Dong Hyuk offered him a different role to play in "Squid Game."

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: PD Hwang Dong Hyuk Reacts to 'Squid Game' Theories About Lee Jung Jae and Player 001's Father-Son Relationship



KDramastars owns this article

Written by Geca Wills
Personnel and equipment from several Kenosha County fire departments responded to a residential house fire in Zion Sunday afternoon that left the structure unlivable.

The Zion Fire and Rescue Department indicated an initial alarm at about 11:49 a.m. was quickly upgraded to include calls to several other area deapartments, including several from across the boarder in Wisconsin.

Zion fire crews arrived in the 2800 block of Ezekial Avenue to find heavy smoke and fire at the rear of the second and third floor of a residential building. The occupant was out of the structure and informed the incident commander that no one else was inside.

Multiple hose lines were deployed on the interior and exterior of the structure, and a ladder truck was used to remove roofing material and siding from the house to eliminate the chance of rekindling.

There were no injuries, but the home is uninhabitable at this time according to the release. The origin of the fire is suspected to be in the second floor, but the cause is still under investigation.

Damage is estimated to be about $100,000 for the structure and contents.

Engines and personal assisted from numerous Illinois and Wisconsin departments, including: engines from Winthrop Harbor, Beach Park, Gurnee, Waukegan and Kenosha; ladder trucks from Bristol and Pleasant Prairie; ambulances from Newport and Lake Villa; and additional fire chiefs from Newport, Pleasant Prairie, Gurnee and Waukegan.

What to do after a house fire What to do after a house fire Call 911 Seek medical help immediately if anyone was injured Let family and friends know youre OK Stay out of your damaged home Secure the site Get help from local disaster relief services Call your landlord Contact your insurance company Replace important documents lost in the fire Save your receipts for any spending related to the fire Check for structural damage Check your utilities Replace your drywall Clean out your home Install new smoke alarms If you have to move, notify others of your new address Look out for emotional distress
Subscribe to The Podcast by KevinMD. Catch up on old episodes!

In this episode, we dive into the physician-nurse relationship and explore the different communication styles and preferences of physicians. Our guest, Ronald Hirsch, is a medical director for case management at a community hospital and shares his insights as a physician on things that nurses should know when communicating with doctors. From tips on writing narrative notes to understanding the pressures and workloads of physicians, this episode is for anyone working in the health care field. Join us for an honest and informative conversation on improving the physician-nurse relationship.

Ronald Hirsch is an internal medicine physician and can be reached on Twitter @signaturedoc.

He shares his story and discusses his KevinMD article, Physician secrets that nurses need to know.

The Podcast by KevinMD is brought to you by the Nuance Dragon Ambient eXperience.

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Incident on Eastern Beach - Joint Statement from HE The Governor and Chief Minister

His Excellency the Governor and the Chief Minister met on Friday to consider the fuller report provided to them by the Royal Gibraltar Police and His Majestys Customs Gibraltar in respect of the incident on Eastern Beach on Thursday.

Additionally, the Government of Gibraltar says it is coordinating its response to this incident with senior officials at the United Kingdoms Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office in London and with His Majestys Ambassador to Spain.

'While the facts of the incident continue to be investigated, the incursion into BGTW, with Spanish officials landing on Gibraltars territory at Eastern Beach is clearly a grave breach of sovereignty and jurisdiction.

Similarly, should it be confirmed that Spanish officials discharged their weapons in Gibraltar, such action would be a very serious breach of the law as well as being reckless and dangerous, especially in an area of dense civilian population, given the proximity of a residential estate in the area.

Separately but additionally, the lawlessness of a gang of individuals apparently engaged in illicit activity in Gibraltar is unacceptable to the Government and represents activity that the Government and Gibraltars law enforcement agencies will not tolerate.

The Governments of Gibraltar and of the United Kingdom consider that the events of yesterday will require careful consideration as to the nature and level of diplomatic response.

United Kingdom officials will therefore be contacting Spanish officials to seek an explanation of this violation of the sovereignty of Gibraltar before making a final determination of what action to take.

Despite the nature of their illegal incursion into BGTW and Gibraltar, the Chief Minister and the Commissioner of Police yesterday contacted their Spanish counterparts to enquire after the well- being of the SVA officers in question.'

The Chief Minister, the Hon Fabian Picardo KC MP, said: The evidence surrounding this incident discloses a gross violation of British sovereignty and, potentially, the most serious and dangerous incident for many years. Before reacting we must of course be sure of the facts but the events indicate that the actions by the Spanish officials are intolerable.

Spanish law enforcement agencies know they can seek and would enjoy support from Gibraltar law enforcement if they need to continue a chase into Gibraltar but it would appear that they did not do so in this case.

We will continue working with our law enforcement agencies to determine the facts and will seek assistance from Spain in doing so.

Whilst we continue to determine the facts, I nonetheless reached out yesterday to Spanish counterparts to inquire after the well-being of the Spanish officers in question.

As we continue to work with our law enforcement agencies in reaching final determinations as to the location etc of the discharge of weapons, we will also work in conjunction with the United Kingdom Government in order to determine the appropriate response in respect of these dangerous actions and gross violation of our British sovereignty by the presence of Spanish law enforcement officials in Gibraltar.

It should also be noted that, contrary to information circulating in Spanish media sources, the information provided to the Government of Gibraltar suggests that when they attended the scene officers of His Majestys Customs immediately offered their Spanish law enforcement colleagues assistance and medical attention. The SVA officers refused the medical attention offered. They told HMC officers that despite the fact that their vessel appeared to have engine failure they wanted to immediately return to their main vessel, which they were permitted to do.
Ryanair has called for action by the government over disruption at Dublin Airport caused by drones.

The airline said there has been two days of disruptions and diversions at the airport.

The carrier has urged Minister for Transport Eamon Ryan to take action to prevent further drone disruptions at Irelands main airport.

A spokesperson for Dublin Airport said flight operations were suspended at 2.11pm on Saturday, with operations resuming on runway 28R at 2.49pm for departures, and on 28L at 2.55pm for arrivals.

They said flight operations were suspended for safety reasons following two confirmed drone sightings on the airfield.

It is illegal to fly drones within 5km of the airport. The safety and security of airport users is DAAs key priority at all times and staff at Dublin Airport and An Garda Siochana remain vigilant in relation to drone activity in the vicinity of the airport, they said.

Such instances are a huge inconvenience to our passengers whether they are delayed departing or experience air traffic delays returning to Dublin Airport. However, safety and security are always our overriding priorities.

A spokesperson for Ryanair slammed as unacceptable that for two days in a row, passengers and flights to/from Dublin were disrupted by apparent drone activity.

Yesterday four Ryanair aircraft and over 700 passengers had their flights diverted to Shannon and Belfast, and again today another four flights and 700 passengers were diverted with thousands more having their flights delayed, they said.

Such drone disruptions at Irelands main airport are unacceptable.

We are calling on Minister Ryan to take urgent action to protect the countrys main airport from repeated disruptions from illegal drone activity.
Fort Polk, LA (71446)

Today

A mix of clouds and sun. High 82F. Winds S at 5 to 10 mph..

Tonight

Partly cloudy early followed by cloudy skies overnight. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 67F. Winds S at 5 to 10 mph.
Sinn Fein president Mary Lou McDonald has called for public anger be directed at the Government instead of refugees.

She was speaking after a poll in the Irish Independent found that 56% of the public believe Ireland has taken in too many refugees in the past year, while 30% disagreed and 14% were unsure.

Protests have been held in Waterford, Cork and areas of Dublin in recent weeks where refugees or asylum seekers have been accommodated.

Gardai are also investigating an alleged assault at a campsite in Ashtown, Dublin, where migrants had been living for months, and a suspected arson attack on a disused school in Dublin that had been rumoured to be used for migrants.

RTE Radios This Week programme obtained figures showing the number of staff working on processing asylum appeals fell by 8% in 2019 despite a significant surge in applications and a backlog of hundreds of cases.

According to the figures, obtained from the Department of Justice, there are 850 appeals cases pending before the International Protection Appeals Tribunal (IPAT), and just 46 staff working with the tribunal.

Speaking on RTE televisions The Week in Politics, Minister of State Pippa Hackett said space could be found for 76,000 more refugees, insisting: We have a lot of space in Ireland.

She said minister Roderic OGorman has written to colleagues asking for help identifying empty building, and an all-of-government approach.

I believe they really will pull out all the stops here now, this is a crisis, she said.

Ms McDonald blamed a very small fringe for whipping up anger against refugees, adding that it should be directed against the Government.

We have a situation where the Government have really handled so many situations so badly, weve had a housing emergency for many years, lots of people across Irish society have direct experience of this crisis, theyre living in overcrowded circumstances, theyre paying exorbitant rents, if they can get a place to rent, and they have had Government inaction, she told RTE Radios The Week.

There is huge frustration and anger, actually, I think sometimes people havent been angry enough with Government on that issue.

Therein lies the kernel of the issue. I understand all of the frustration, I understand all of the anger, and I know for sure that anger needs to be directed at those in power, those that have the capacity to change things for people.

It is really a matter of concern that a small group  and I think we need to be careful in understanding that it is a small group of very, very nasty individuals, who are trying to foment this view of aggression and negativity towards people who are weak, who have very few resources.

The Irish instinct fundamentally is an instinct of decency, Irish people are decent, Irish people are welcoming, but I also know that people have struggled long and hard for years with a Government that has failed rural communities, left town after town without services, without opportunities, and an inability to source accommodation, and that has driven righteous, correct anger.

There is a move by a small number of people to exploit that and direct that at the wrong people.

We need a government with a plan for housing, social development and regeneration, and we also need to have a clearheaded view from Irish people in apportioning blame where it rightly lies, and it does not lay at the feet of any refugee, anybody seeking asylum in this country.
Taoiseach Leo Varadkar and President of the European Parliament Roberta Metsola have launched the final phase of a major youth competition celebrating 50 years of Irelands membership in the EU.

Students from Third Level Institutions are being invited to enter the competition on the subject of the EUs core values - human dignity, freedom, democracy, equality, rule of law, human rights.

The winner will be awarded 2,000 and entries can be in the form of a podcast, newspaper column / opinion piece, speech, or a poster.

Marking the launch, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar and President of the European Parliament Roberta Metsola met some students from across Third Level institutions in Ireland in the Long Room of the Old Library at Trinity College Dublin.

The Taoiseach said: I am delighted to launch the MyEU50 Youth Competition for students in third level institutions. The founding values of the European Union included respect for personal dignity; freedom; democracy; equality; the rule of law and human rights.

As we mark 50 years of Irelands membership of the EU through the Governments EU50 programme and as we face the challenges ahead, we need to draw strength and guidance from those values.

Through the MyEU50 competition, students will be given the unique opportunity to reflect on the enormous progress made by the EU over the past 50 years, and explore how Ireland can best contribute to the Union over the next 50 years.

The President of the European Parliament said: "The MyEU50 competition is a wonderful initiative. Ireland's 50-year membership of the European Union is a success story. It is important that young people from across Ireland be aware of the benefits of EU membership, so that they can avail of the opportunities and rights that the EU brings. Our union is a union of values of freedom, democracy, equality and the rule of law."

European Movement Ireland CEO Noelle OConnell said: The MyEU50 youth competition gives students the opportunity to explore their relationship with the EU. Young people are often described in the cliched term as future leaders. I believe they are already the leaders of today.



Young people deserve to have their voices heard and this competition allows them to do just that. We are delighted to be working with the Government to roll this competition across the country.
Shenandoah, IA (51601)

Today

Thunderstorms this evening, then cloudy with rain likely overnight. A few storms may be severe. Low 49F. S winds shifting to NW at 15 to 25 mph. Chance of rain 90%..

Tonight

Thunderstorms this evening, then cloudy with rain likely overnight. A few storms may be severe. Low 49F. S winds shifting to NW at 15 to 25 mph. Chance of rain 90%.
Artist turns to art to cope with brutal death of Tyre Nichols: "I guess it was overwhelming to me"
The family of a Creighton teenager, who committed suicide after being bullied about her looks at school, want her suicide note to be read out during her school memorial service.

This is after Andiswa Chiya, a grade 9 pupil at Sonyongane High School in Creighton, ended her own life on Friday morning as other pupils were getting ready for school.

Her grandmother, Jabulile Motaung, said the family was still traumatised by Andiswa's death.

Motaung said the family wished for her suicide note to be read out during her school memorial service.

"We wish for it to be known why Andiswa took such a decision and we want for the other kids to understand how serious the issue of bullying really is," Motaung told Scrolla.Africa.

In the note, Andiswa complained of not being welcome in the world. She wrote that other pupils who also lived in her area didn't like the way she looked and would ask her what kind of girl she was to look the way she did.

"The sad thing is that some of these kids grew up with her but were now treating her this way. We wish she could have opened up about this," said Motaung.

A reserved and quiet child, 16-year-old Andiswa was known to be an excellent and intelligent student with dreams of one day becoming a doctor.

"She was a quiet child who was always quick to apologise if she had done something wrong. She was the kind of child who would always get everything done the way you asked her to get them done.

"She was not a troublesome child. We are really hurting as a family because of her death," Motaung said.

KwaZulu-Natal MEC for Social Development Nonhlanhla Khoza urged parents to talk to teenagers about their mental health.

Mthobisi Dlamini, the councillor of the area said he was meeting with the school in an effort to come up with a programme to assist in fighting the scourge of bullying in the school.

KZN police spokesperson Constable Thenjiswa Ngcobo confirmed that the police were investigating an inquest docket after the teenager's suicide incident.

Pictured above: Andiswa Chiya, who ended her life after being bullied at school

Image source: Supplied
JEFFERSON CITY  Monday marked the first day Jefferson City operated its new three-route bus system. The former system included six routes, but JEFFTRAN announced Friday the routes would be combined and moved to three.

The new system raises the interval time between buses up to 80 minutes. That is double the previous 40-minute intervals. The buses still operate on the same roads and service the same bus stops.

Route combinations in the new system include:

The Green (High Street East) route and Gold (High Street West) route now alternate, forming one combined route.

The Black (Capitol Mall) route and Orange (Missouri Boulevard) route now alternate, forming one combined route.

The Blue (Southwest) route and Red (Business 50 East) route now alternate, forming one combined route.

A timetable of the adjusted system can be found on the JEFFTRAN website.

Robert Vaughn, a regular rider on JEFFTRAN, said the new route makes it harder for everyone to operate.

Its a total inconvenience for anybody working or going to an appointment, he said.

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Vaughn said he had to get to the bus station an hour earlier than he normally does.

On top of it, they just raised the rates, he said. Were paying more, so why arent we getting the service we require?

JEFFTRAN explained in a press release that the new routes are due to a shortage in drivers. Bernie Griffin has worked at JEFFTRAN for 16 years, and he said the shortage has made for long days.

Were short on staff, he said. When youre short on staff, everybody is working crazy hours, it makes for long days.

Griffin said he hopes the change will only last a short period of time. He said a similar situation happened in the past.

Once we get staffing back in place, we can get it back up to what we were doing before.

JEFFTRAN will provide a presentation on the route adjustments at two presentations in the coming days:

Thursday, Feb. 9, 7:30 p.m. Public Works and Planning Committee meeting at City Hall, in the council chambers

Friday, Feb. 10, 3:30 p.m. Public Transit Advisory Committee meeting, at City Hall, in the Boone/Bancroft room
A view of a destroyed building is pictured here after a 7.4 magnitude earthquake jolts Turkey's Kahramanmaras province, on February 6 in Kahramanmaras, Turkey.
Trevor Noah returned to host the 65th Annual Grammy Awards, his third consecutive year as emcee, so how did the former Daily Show host do?

Noah kicked off the awards show by noting that for the first time in three years, it was live from Los Angeles (specifically Crypto.com Arena), calling it the best city in the world if you ignore a few other cities. Following an opening performance from Bad Bunny  Every time I listen to him, I get hips I never knew I had. That album is so fire it makes Trump want to learn Spanish, the host said  Noah officially welcomed everyone to the Grammys.

My job is to be your eyes, your ears, Ill be floating around this room. Think of me as a Chinese spy balloon, he said before calling out a few people in attendance.

Beyonce is nominated for her album Renaissance, which, by the way, was better than anything from the actual Renaissance, in my opinion. The Renaissance was just pictures and grapes and stuff. Beyonce took it up another level. I was so inspired by the lyrics of Break My Soul that I actually quit my job, Noah quipped, referring to leaving his talk show. Thats how powerful that was. I just wish Beyonce had also written a song about the importance of having savings before you quit your job, but maybe the next one.

Noah then turned to Harry Styles, noting his incredible album and mind-blowing tour and the fact that women throw their panties at this man, then he puts them on and he looks better in them than they do, calling him the sex symbol of the globe, especially now that they killed off the green M&M.

Of Kendrick Lamar, he said, his album was a therapy session that earned him multiple Grammy nominations. All my therapy got me was helping me overcome my childhood trauma. Useless. He also congratulated Lizzo on everything, including being the most famous flute player in the world since  Im sure there were others.

After not realizing Taylor Swift was in the audience and her waving him over, he noted that she sold more albums than anyone in the planet. The only music we listen to more than Taylors music was the hold music for Southwest Airlines. They have the real streaming numbers. And by the way, I love your song Anti-Hero. My auntie is also a hero, her name is Beatrice.

Noah then introduced two people who are big fans of each other, Adele and Dwayne The Rock Johnson before ending his monologue with the fact that Beyonce won two awards at the pre-ceremony, putting her two wins away from breaking the all-time record of most Grammy wins of any individual ever. She could make history, but, he added, even if she doesnt get to break the record, she still gets to be Beyonce.

What did you think of Noahs return to TV? Let us know in the poll below.

More Headlines:
U.S. Rep. Frank J. Mrvan, D-Highland, is applauding the three Lake County communities that recently received safe-streets funding from the U.S. Department of Transportation.

The agency, headed by former South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg, is providing $240,000 to East Chicago, $140,000 to Gary and $80,480 to Hammond to develop citywide comprehensive safety action plans focused on eliminating roadway fatalities.

"Congratulations to all of the leaders and public servants in the cities of East Chicago, Gary and Hammond for successfully obtaining and utilizing this federal resource," Mrvan said.

"I am grateful that these achievements will improve the safety of our transportation infrastructure so that all individuals and businesses can continue to thrive and attract new economic activity to our Region."

Altogether, $800 million in federal grants were awarded to 510 projects, including 10 in Indiana.

The goal is to make roads safer for all users by stressing responsible driving, improved design, appropriate speed limits and better post-crash care, among other strategies.

Funding for the Safe Streets and Roads for All grants was included in the 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act supported by Mrvan and U.S. Rep. Andre Carson, D-Indianapolis.

The law was opposed by every Republican representing Indiana in the U.S. House and Senate.
Syria earthquake toll rises to 237, injures 639: health ministry

Xinhua) 15:17, February 06, 2023

DAMASCUS, Feb. 6 (Xinhua) -- Syria's deadly earthquake has so far killed 237 people and injured 639 others in four provinces, the health ministry said in a statement Monday.

The deaths were reported in the most affected province of Aleppo in northern Syria, the northwestern coastal province of Latakia, Tartus and central Hama province, said the statement.

Rescue operations are underway amid massive damage.

The Syrian Ministry of Defense put all its units on high alert to help the people directly affected by the earthquake and rescue those still stuck under the rubble.

The Syrian Ministry of Transport announced earlier the suspension of train traffic on all railways as a precautionary measure, pending inspection of the bridges and tracks of the railway network.

Meanwhile, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad held an emergency meeting with his cabinet to discuss the repercussions of the earthquake.

A major earthquake of magnitude 7.4 knocked down multiple buildings in southern Turkiye and northern Syria on Monday, killing over 500 people as buildings collapsed across the region. The powerful earthquake was also felt across Lebanon.

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun)
Pope Francis, right, was joined by the world-wide leader of the Anglican Church, Justin Welby, on an "ecumenical pilgrimage of peace" to South Sudan. The moderator of the Church of Scotland, Dr Iain Greenshields (not in photo) was also on the pilgrimage.

Returning from Africa, Pope Francis took umbrage with those who used Pope Benedict XVI's death to attack the church. He was also joined by fellow faith leaders he traveled with in defending the gay community.

Pope Francis used his pulpit with reporters Sunday aboard the papal plane as he returned from east Africa to defend his predecessor's legacy and defend gay people who are victimized by anti-gay laws.

As he was returning from South Sudan following a trip there and to the Democratic Republic of Congo, he said laws criminalizing homosexuality were a sin. He argued god loves and accompanies people attracted to people of the same gender.

Francis also said rumors of discord with his predecessor Benedict were incorrect. Instead, Francis said that the two held regular consultations and were in agreement.

What did Pope Francis say?

Alongside his Protestant church colleagues from the UK, Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby and Church of Scotland Moderator Iain Greenshields, the pope was asked to comment on laws outlawing homosexuality.

Pope Francis called the criminalization of homosexuality wrong and said 50 countries acted against people involved in relationships with people of the same gender and 10 nations had the death penalty on the books for homosexuals.

According to the the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association, 66 countries have laws on the books that criminalize relationships with same-sex partners.

Pope Francis also spoke of his relationship with his predecessor.

"I think Benedict's death was instrumentalized," he said. "People wanted to score points for their own side."

Prior to Benedict's death, his longtime secretary and several conservative cardinals published memos, books and interviews criticizing Pope Francis.

Benedict died on December 31 of last year after residing in the Vatican as emeritus pope during the first decade of Francis' pontificate.

On the flight back to the Vatican, he also called for illegal weapons sales to be curbed, saying it was a requisite for peace.

What was the Pope doing in Africa?

South Sudan was the second of two stops Pope Francis made, the first being the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

Both South Sudan and the DRC have been ravaged over decades of conflict and seen millions displaced along with countless deaths.

"The arms trade is the biggest plague in this world today. It is the plague," Pope Francis said.

Salva Kiir, the president of South Sudan, called Pope Francis visit a "milestone" for the young and war-torn nation.

(AP, dpa, Reuters)
analysis

The end of the oil-fuelled patronage system may pose the greatest threat to the nation since the Civil War. Therein may lie its salvation.

Nigeria's elections on 25th February will not only be critical to the future of Nigeria, but also to that of the continent, and to an extent the world. It will be taken as a sign of whether democracy is advancing or retreating. As Africa's biggest democracy with some 93 million potential voters - even if turnout has hitherto been well under 50% - Nigeria will be seen as a weathervane for the world at large.

Democracy has been under threat in recent years. In the US and UK populist leaders sought to undermine legislatures and challenge the rule of law. In Africa voters have elected leaders who weaken democratic institutions, as in Tunisia, while countries like Guinea, Mali and Burkina Faso have seen unconstitutional changes of government. Nigeria's elections are being watched closely not just by its neighbours and international observer groups, but by those who would be happy to see democracy retreat further.

I have followed Nigeria's politics since the 1970s, and observed the 2015 presidential elections at close quarters. Since independence, the country's politics has been bumpy: a civil war, coups, political violence and contested elections give an impression of perpetual turbulence. But things have changed enormously in those 60 years.

After the first three decades, major political reforms created a system that established a compromise between competing political forces. The division of the country into 36 states with considerable powers and resources reflected the diversity of the country and the need to devolve political authority to a more local level. Federal authority and presidential elections were won by the party that could pull together the biggest coalition of local power-brokers, usually through the political deployment of the country's oil wealth. Patron-client politics of this kind (neo-patrimonialism, as political scientists call it) works as long as enough money trickles down to those who, in a democracy, can deliver the votes. All politics is fundamentally about the distribution of resources. So in Nigeria, 'corruption' did not undermine the political system; it was the political system.

This worked fine as long as enough money trickled down to keep people happy, and those non-beneficiaries of trickle-down could at least make a decent living through their own efforts, unencumbered by the state. The government's generous fuel subsidies benefited all citizens (albeit some more than others), and Nigeria's low tax environment, with almost no personal taxation, enabled many to feel there was little burden from the state and an adequate return for their loyalty.

But this system is no longer working. The elections will reveal whether a new system is emerging, or whether the old system will stagger on a bit longer before collapsing, potentially into greater chaos.

It has broken down for three reasons.

Firstly, insecurity. The primary function of a state is to guarantee the security of its citizens. The Nigerian state is increasingly unable to do this, not only because of its inability to suppress the Islamic insurgency of Boko Haram and ISWAP in the north-east, but more importantly its failure to address the growing threat of banditry and criminal violence throughout much of the rest of the country. The police are widely derided and distrusted. While violence has been an endemic element in Nigerian politics for decades, and has been seen by some (in the south-east, for example) as a valid way to pressure the centre for more resources, I have met a number of Nigerians recently who feel their country is falling into a state of near anarchy, where it is no longer safe to drive from one town to another without fear of robbery or kidnap. This insecurity also damages local businesses which find it harder and harder to operate.

Secondly, there is no longer enough money trickling down. Oil revenues have stagnated, partly because the political class, in deference to vested interests, failed for years to agree rules that encouraged investment, and partly because of endemic oil bunkering. The increasingly sophisticated system of stealing crude from existing pipelines, processing it in informal micro-refineries and selling it on the illicit global oil market is estimated to constitute anywhere from 10 percent to 30 percent of Nigeria's official output, and is made possible by the active connivance of Delta insurgents, industry officials, security personnel and politicians.

At the same time both the population and the rapacity of those with access to state funds has grown, so less money has reached the voters. Government health and education services provide precious little, forcing most to pay for anything useful. The generous subsidies are no longer affordable for the state, so citizens will increasingly ask what on earth the state is doing for them. All political candidates have promised to bear down on corruption and reform the subsidies - but such promises have been made many times before. Former Finance Minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala wrote a book about her efforts to combat corruption under Goodluck Jonathan, and President Buhari has repeatedly stressed his commitment to it. But when it is such a deeply entrenched part of the system, it is hard to shift.

Thirdly, there is an ideological void at the heart of politics. Nationalism has provided a weaker and weaker glue to hold the country together since independence. Religion remains strong in both north and south, and has political influence, but is not a national glue. Individualism, imagination and entrepreneurialism are national strengths, and a tremendous resource for the country. But without a collective objective to focus them, disillusion is setting in and many of the brightest and most ambitious will continue to leave for better opportunities abroad.

The failure of the current political model is reflected in changing attitudes and actions. The EndSARS movement captured the imagination of the young, protesting against the abuses of the security forces. Corruption which was once tolerated has now become intolerable. And in the face of pervasive insecurity more citizens are taking up arms to defend themselves, seen in the growth of vigilante groups and militias in the Middle Belt and elsewhere.

Nigeria still has the most aspirational middle class on the continent. Finding themselves going backwards, not forwards, many are rallying to Peter Obi as a candidate who offers hope of a new approach to politics in contrast to the creaking machines of the APC and PDP. But he lacks a machine himself: the Labour Party is like a newborn in a land of crocodiles. Kwankwaso and the NNPP are in a similar situation. The election is therefore partly a contest between aspiration and organisation. In many - even most - states, it is usually local factors and local loyalties that decide which way people vote, and that would play to the APC and PDP's strength in having established local networks.

Some pundits argue that the APC machine, with the biggest coalition and Tinubu as the richest candidate, will bulldoze its way to victory once again. Others argue that Obi will split the vote in the south-west and thereby allow the PDP's Atiku to finally achieve his ambitions, at the sixth attempt, though with less than 50% of the vote. Few give Obi or Kwankwaso a serious chance of winning this time, unless young people register and turn out in far greater numbers than ever before. Voter turnout could be the critical factor in this year's election.

But there is a wider issue. Does the Obi political insurgency on top of the various armed insurgencies suggest that more and more Nigerians increasingly see the APC and PDP as instruments run by and for political elites, oblivious to people's everyday concerns? All political parties are coalitions, in Nigeria's case made up of local power-brokers. Loyalty to the party is weak, and changing allegiance is easy, and common. So the machine politics represented by the APC and PDP may prove weaker that it looks, and some local power-brokers may decide they need to listen to their people, not just their friends.

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Beyond the result, though, there is a risk to democracy itself. Elsewhere in Africa - in Tunisia, Mali, Burkina Faso and Guinea - we have seen citizens disillusioned with democratic politics turn to authoritarian alternatives. In Zimbabwe, also holding general elections later this year, most feel the outcome is a foregone conclusion with ZANU-PF continuing in power, whatever citizens might want. Democracy will only survive if it is able to renew itself, to reform old structures that no longer work, and deliver more for the citizens. Pressure for reform will often come from below, but it needs leaders who listen and respond to be put into practice.

This election marks an inflection point for Nigeria: the possible beginning of fundamental change, or a step closer to disintegration. Democratic revolutions rarely happen overnight. They take hard graft and long years of campaigning. A growing number of Nigerian citizens want to change the way politics is done and seem willing to persevere. Whatever the outcome of this election, that is a good thing.

Whoever is elected will have to recognise that politics is changing. Ruling in the same old way will no longer work: it risks accelerating the country's disintegration, spreading violence and deepening corruption, with Nigeria becoming the first country in Africa effectively to eat itself.

That would put the rest of West Africa at risk. A democratic, resilient, prosperous and active Nigeria can lead the continent. A chaotic one will hobble the whole of Africa. The world will be watching closely what happens there on 25 February.

Nick Westcott is Director of the Royal African Society. He was formerly an African historian and British diplomat, and latterly served as the EU's Managing Director for Africa (2011-15). He is author of Imperialism and Development: The East African Groundnut Scheme and its legacy (James Currey, 2020).
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New Delhi [India], February 6 (ANI/PNN): The Centre For Railway Information Systems (CRIS) has decided to rope in 28-year-old IT company Orchasp Limited for conversion of Freight Operating Information System (FOIS) from the existing VB application to web-based model. CRIS has released the first work order regarding the same and the company has been approved by CRIS, New Delhi for providing various IT services. Interestingly, this is the first time that the three-decade-old company Orchasp Limited has bagged such an important contract from CRIS.

Talking about the achievement, the Managing Director of Orchasp Limited Chandra Shekhar Pattapurathi said, "We are very glad to inform you all that Centre For Railway Information Systems has shown so much faith in us and has provided us with the work order. We are happy that we are receiving orders from the Center For Railway Information Systems. It has become a reality because it has identified and approved our capabilities. This is the first order they have given us and we are very happy about it."

Also Read | @narendramodi @PMOIndia Search & Rescue Teams of @NDRFHQ and Medical Teams Along with   Latest Tweet by Prasar Bharati News Services.

Further talking about the company's operations and achievements in the last 28 years, Chandra Shekhar Pattapurathi said, "We have been providing end-to-end solutions in technical services, software development services, technical platforms and staff augmentations." Notably, Orchasp Limited is a listed company on the Bombay Stock Exchange and is known to provide excellent IT services in various fields.

CRIS (Centre for Railway Information Systems) is an organization under the Ministry of Railways. CRIS is a unique combination of competent IT professionals and experienced Railway personnel enabling it to successfully deliver complex Railway IT systems in core areas. Since its inception, CRIS is developing/maintaining software for Ticketing & Passengers, Freight Services, Operations, Assets, HR, Procurement and Automation of the Indian Railways. (source: www.cris.org.in )

Also Read | Alia Bhatt Stuns in Floral Print Co-Ord Set at Press Meet; Get Details of This Chic Outfit Worn by Brahmastra Actress.

The Freight Operating Information System (FOIS) is used for the logistic management of freight traffic. This system is currently accessible to users from different Zones/Divisions of Indian Railways that are connected to Railways closed dedicated network.

The Operations function of FOIS provides the facility of acceptance of customer's orders, supply of rakes/wagons, movement tracking, consignment tracking, and delivery at destination.

This story is provided by PNN. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of this article. (ANI/PNN)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
analysis

Many countries in Africa suffer from disasters annually, but the adverse effects are grossly under-reported compared with coverage of more developed nations.

The impact of these disasters is also more severe in developing countries because they have less capacity to adapt and cope.

Flooding is the most widespread and recurrent disaster worldwide. In 2021 alone, flooding caused 4,393 deaths and US$137.7 billion in direct economic losses. Losses and deaths due to flooding have steadily increased over the years and will continue to rise if the current trajectory continues. In Africa, flooding is mostly caused by human factors. This includes poor spatial planning, lack of infrastructure and poor waste management.

The United Nations has called for global partnerships to achieve its sustainable development goals: no poverty, zero hunger, good health, quality education, sustainable cities and communities. Flooding has a direct negative impact on these goals.

In a recent paper I looked at how Ghana and Nigeria could work as partners on this issue.

These two West African countries are prone to flooding. Though they don't share a common boundary, they face similar issues in managing flooding disasters. Both have acknowledged their risks and have welcomed disaster risk reduction initiatives. They have both signed the Sendai Framework for Partnership on Disaster Risk Reduction.

My findings show a need to go back to the drawing board, given the severity and frequency of flooding, and to build capacity cooperatively.

The study identifies opportunities for cross-border cooperation geared towards finding solutions to problems that have similar root causes, especially among countries of similar profiles.

The cases of Nigeria and Ghana

Flooding in both Nigeria and Ghana is caused by a combination of two factors. The first is socio-political - unplanned urbanisation, inadequate drainage systems and waste management and poor physical planning. The second is changing climatic factors such as higher rainfall.

Nigeria is home to Africa's largest population (over 200 million). A significant proportion of the population is vulnerable to flooding. Annual flooding causes displacements and deaths, though precise figures are lacking.

Read more: Nigeria's floods are the worst in a decade. Here's how people try to cope with the devastation

Little has been done by the authorities to mitigate the hazard. This is clear from the fact that the country doesn't have a concrete policy on flooding or a national flood risk management framework. Addressing and reducing exposure to flood risk is listed as a national priority in the government's disaster risk-management agenda but no significant action has been taken.

Yet evidence suggests the flooding in Nigeria can be controlled through a suitable risk management strategy and implementation.

Read more: Floods in Nigeria: building dams and planting trees among steps that should be taken to curb the damage

The absence of preventive action points to a lack of political will.

Another hindrance is a lack of co-ordination between bodies that are meant to deal with disasters. Take the National Emergency Management Agency, for instance. The law doesn't give it enough power to ensure integration among the different institutions working in flood risk management and disaster risk reduction.

Ghana has similar problems. Authorities have been blamed for not doing enough to mitigate recurrent flooding. The country's laws and policies concerned with flooding, like the Blue Agenda and the National Water Policy, have been criticised as inadequate and poorly implemented.

The National Water Policy is the primary programme aimed at integrating water-resources management. It encompasses measures directed at mitigating floods via early warning and establishing buffer zones. The Blue Agenda focuses on development control, public education, provision of drainage, and flood-control initiatives in urban communities.

But these policies have failed to achieve the desired results of adequately managing flood risk.

Collaboration offers a solution

The similar underlying drivers of flooding in Nigeria and Ghana present an opportunity for collaboration in research and data sharing. This could be in the areas of:

assessing risks

reporting procedures (perhaps involving citizen scientists)

monitoring and warning services.

Others include improving flood risk and hazard information dissemination and building capabilities for mitigation and sustainable response strategies.

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The countries could also collaborate to collect better flood data. Research is key to providing hydrological data, modelling information, flood warning, risk analysis, simulation, forecasting and adaptation.

Funding such intensive research will be more expensive for the two countries if they do it individually. Cooperation and sharing costs could free up resources for putting plans into practice.

Finally, institutional tools in the form of policies and legislation for managing flooding are poorly defined and deficient in both countries. It is important to co-operatively share data on exposures, vulnerabilities, and hazards. Such data can inform flood-risk assessment and response and enable both countries to learn from each other and previous mistakes.

A framework that outlines how the countries will work together would help to avoid any problems in sharing knowledge. Successful cooperation could set the path for the involvement of other West African countries that suffer flooding to work together, as has been done among some of the countries in the European Union.

Adaku Jane Echendu, Researcher, Queen's University, Ontario
Kolkata (West Bengal) [India], February 6 (ANI/BusinessWire India): February is known as the month of love, and 14th of February is an important day to honor the love of life. Valentine's day is all about celebrating one's love wholeheartedly. It is a momentous day that requires a lot of planning. To shower loved ones with affection, express feelings by sending them gifts if there is distance. So do not lose out on any opportunity to celebrate the most special person in life. Send gifts, or make plans for Valentine's on this special day and create some beautiful memories that will be etched forever.

With websites like GiftstoIndia24x7, make plans for the whole Valentine's week. Valentine's week begins on the 7th of February with Rose Day, followed by Propose Day, Chocolate Day, Teddy Day, Promise Day, Hug Day, and Kiss Day, and ends on the 14th of February with Valentine's Day. Send enthralling gifts on each of the days of the week to celebrate their place in their life. Send gifts to India from USA to make their partner feel loved in the most special way.

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Serenades originate in the Latin word "serenare" which means "to make calm". During the Renaissance and the Middle age period, serenades were songs performed by lovers to showcase their feelings for their beloved. In the Classical Music period, a serenade was a piece of music performed with several instruments. Although in today's times, GiftstoIndia24x7 gives a chance to express the innermost feelings to the beloved in the most amiable way. The concept of Serenades is introduced by them which means sending gifts consecutively. It's a gesture of love and it is an especially curated thought for the ones who stay at a distance. Choose to send gifts to Chennai and other cities in India and make their day memorable even from a distance.

GiftstoIndia24x7 is an online gifting portal that has made it easy to send gifts to the ones living in faraway places. Besides having an exclusive range of gifts, they cater to all requirements of the customers for ages. Making a partner feel special takes a lot of effort. Always plan beforehand to ensure they receive a good surprise on a primary day.

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Amit Desai, the CEO of GiftstoIndia24x7 says, "The idea of serenades has been introduced to express your love for your partner. It becomes special when you send gifts on consecutive days throughout the week." The website has a huge range of gifts, including flowers, cakes, chocolates, and exclusive gift hampers specially curated for Valentine's Day. There are also special personalized gift ideas that add up to the beauty of the occasion. The 24x7 customer service of the gifting portal takes care of all delivery-related queries. They make sure that the gifts are delivered in India right on time. GiftstoIndia24x7 makes sure that distance does not dampen the spirit of Valentine's Day and enables the customers to celebrate the occasion with a difference.

This story is provided by BusinessWire India. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of this article. (ANI/BusinessWire India)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Sultanpur (Uttar Pradesh) [India], February 6 (ANI): Three people were killed and several injured when two cars collided in Sultanpur here, police said.

The incident occurred on Sunday at Para Basu village in Sultanpur near the Akhand Nagar police station area, where two SUV cars collided headon. A motorcycle too was involved in the accident.

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Three men died on the spot while seven others sustained injuries.

The injured were sent to the district hospital in the neighbouring Ambedkar Nagar district for treatment. The bodies of the deceased were sent for a post-mortem, police said.

Also Read | Uttar Pradesh Shocker: Man Dies After Being Shot During Celebratory Firing in Bulandshahr.

Upon receiving the information, the District Magistrate and the Superintendent of Police reached the spot and started legal proceedings in the matter.

District Magistrate, Sultanpur, Ravish Gupta told media persons that the Revenue Department and the SDM have been directed for helping the deceased's relatives, and Ambedkar Nagar administration have been instructed to provide better treatment to the injured.

Earlier this year, as many as six people of the same family died while four others were critically injured in a road accident on January 11 after a dumper ran over people at a roadside tea stall on the Banda-Bahraich National Highway.

In the first week of January, a Railway Protection Force (RPF) officer lost his life after meeting with an accident in the Bhiti area of Uttar Pradesh's Kotwali when he was on his way to work.

According to Chowki Incharge Court Complex, Ratan Lal, the deceased RPF officer identified as Rakesh Kumar Rai, was on his way to the Mau Indara Railway Station when an unidentified vehicle rammed into him in the morning.

Last month, at least three people died and five more were critically injured after a speeding Lucknow-bound bus rammed into a stationary truck on the Lucknow-Agra expressway.

According to the police, the incident took place in the Thathia police station area of

Uttar Pradesh. In an earlier incident, on December 30, three persons died after two motorcycles collided in Uttar Pradesh's Sitapur. (ANI)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
South Salmara Mankachar (Assam) [India], February 6 (ANI): In a joint operation conducted by South Salmara Mankachar police and BSF party, five cattle were rescued from Kesarvita village in Assam's South Salmara Mankachar district along India-Bangladesh border on the early hours of Monday morning.

According to police, the smugglers escaped after noticing the security personnel. The operation to catch the culprits is underway.

Also Read | Supreme Court Agrees to Hear on February 7 a Plea Against the Appointment of Advocate   Latest Tweet by ANI.

Earlier on Monday, Police seized 120 grams of heroin and apprehended three persons, including a woman, in Assam's Sonitpur district, officials said on Monday.

A team of Sonitpur district police on Sunday night intercepted a vehicle at Kaliabhomora bridge near Tezpur and recovered 120 grams of heroin.

Also Read | Telangana Budget 2023-24: State Government Proposes Expenditure at Rs 2.9 Lakh Crore.

Earlier this month, the 42nd Assam Rifles and a team of Champhai Police recovered 119 grams of heroin valued at over Rs 59 lakh from a vehicle while conducting random checking in a joint operation on Sunday.

While conducting random checking at the outskirt of Mualkawi village (Zokhawthar road) in the Champhai district of Mizoram, the Joint team recovered 119 grams (9 soap cases) of heroin, valued at over Rs 59 lakh in the international market from a vehicle.

A huge cache of arms and ammunition was recovered in a joint operation conducted by Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel and Assam Police in Assam's Nalbari area.

Sudhakar Singh, Superintendent of Police of Nalbari district told ANI that, during the search operation, the security personnel had recovered a huge cache of arms and ammunition buried under the earth. (ANI)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Chandigarh, Feb 6 (PTI) The Congress on Monday held protests in front of the LIC offices in Punjab, demanding a probe into the accusations made against the Adani group in the Hindenburg research report.

These demonstrations were held at Baranla, Pathankot, Gurdaspur, Nawanshahr, Phagwara, Hoshiarpur, Patiala, Amritsar and Faridkot. In Hoshiarpur, local Congress workers led by former MLA and District Congress Committee president Arun Kumar Dogra staged a 'dharna' for about an hour in front of the local office of the Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC). They also shouted slogans against the BJP. Adani Group stocks have taken a beating on the bourses after US-based activist short-seller Hindenburg Research made a litany of allegations, including fraudulent transactions and share price manipulation, against the Gautam Adani-led group, which has dismissed the allegations as lies. Opposition parties, including the Congress, have alleged that the meltdown in Adani Group shares is a scam involving common people's money.

Also Read | #UPDATE | Death Toll Due to Devastating Earthquakes in Turkey and Syria Rises to 1,900,   Latest Tweet by ANI.

The Adani group has maintained it complies with all laws and disclosure requirements. PTI CHS VSD

Also Read | Chhattisgarh: Upset Over Pet Dog's Death, Woman Kills Self in Korba District.

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Agartala, February 6: Union Home Minister Amit Shah will address two election rallies in Tripura on Monday. Shah will address two election rallies at Khowai in the Khowai district and Santirbazar in the South Tripura district. The Union Minister will also join a road show in Agartala city today.

Before Shah's arrival in the state, Tripura Chief Minister Dr Manik Saha on Saturday inspected preparation for Amit Shah's February 6 rally in the state ahead of the state assembly election.The Chief Minister visited both the rally spots at Santirbazar in South Tripura and Khowai in the Khowai district in order to ensure that everything was conducted flawlessly. Tripura Assembly Elections 2023: TMC Releases Manifesto for Upcoming Polls, Promises 'Bengal Model of Development'.

BJP posted a stunning victory in Tripura in the 2018 Assembly elections, a Left bastion. After its poll victory, BJP appointed Biplab Deb as Tripura's Chief Minister and in May 2022 appointed Manik Saha for the role.

This is the second visit by the Union Home Minister to the state this year.

Earlier on January 5, he attended two Rath Yatras - one from North Tripura's Dharmanagar and another from South Tripura's Sabroom.

Recently, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) National President Jagat Prakash Nadda was on his visit to the state where he also addressed the public rally in Amarpur in the Gomati district.

The party is preparing itself to register another win in Tripura and has struck an alliance with its former ally Indigenous People's Front of Tripura (IPFT) which has fielded its candidates at five assembly seats.

For the elections at 60 Assembly seats in the northeastern state, which are slated to be held on February 17, the BJP has fielded 55 candidates. Former CM Manik Sarkar, hailing from the Communist Party of India (Marxist), would also contest the upcoming Assembly polls to the state. Tripura Poll Manifesto: TMC Promises 'Bengal Model of Development', 2 Lakh Jobs in Five Years.

According to party officials, several other BJP leaders will also campaign in the northeastern state. For the first time, 11 women candidates have been given tickets in the state assembly election.

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Bijapur, February 6: A Bharatiya Janata Party leader from Chhattisgarh's Bijapur, Neelkanth Kakkem was attacked and brutally hacked to death by Maoists, officials said. Chhattisgarh: BJP Leader Neelkanth Kakkem Stabbed to Death by Naxals in Front of Family Members in Bijapur.

Neelkanth Kakkem who was the BJP madal president of Usoor Block for the last 15 years was attacked with weapons while he had gone to attend a wedding at his ancestral village in Paikram on February 5, Chandrakant Gavarna, Assistant Superintendent of Police (ACP) said.

"It has been learnt that the armed cadres of the proscribed CPI (M) attacked Neelkanth with axes and other sharp weapons till he collapsed and died on the spot," the ACP said. Lalita Kakkem, wife of Neelkanth Kakkem said that three people forcibly took Neelkanth outside the house, and brutally hacked him in the presence of the family members and other villagers after which they fled from the spot.

"We received news that Maoists have killed a civilian in Paikram village under Awapalli police station limits, following which a police team immediately rushed to the spot and seized the video," the ACP said. Chhattisgarh: Elephant Found Dead in Forest in Raigarh; Sixth Fatality in Four Months.

The ACP further added that according to information received over 150 armed Maoists had arrived in the village to carry out the attack, but only three reached the BJP leader's house and attacked him. The Maoists were in plain clothes. Further investigation is underway, the police official said.

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
New Delhi [India], February 6 (ANI): Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Monday responded to the BJP's barb over his condolence tweet for Pakistan's former military ruler Parvez Musharraf, saying that the BJP was attacking its 'own PM'.

Speaking to ANI on Monday, the Congress MP said, "I don't know why BJP wants to attack their own PM (Atal Bihari Vajpayee) for his policies. After Musharraf's demise, I recalled that they (Vajpayee and Musharraf) were implacable enemies who later worked for 4 years to build peace. I leave it to the BJP to decide if they want to attack Vajpayee. We are too polite to attack Vajpayee," said Tharoor.

Also Read | Supreme Court Slams Uttar Pradesh Government, Says 'Not Above Law Just Because One Is a Constitutional Authority'.

Tharoor's clarification followed criticism from the BJP over an earlier tweet in which he called the former military ruler, considrered widely as the architect of the Kargil conflict of 1999, as a "real force for peace".

The BJP government under PM Vajpayee had negotiated a ceasefire with Pakistan, Tharoor claimed, adding that there was a joint statement which was followed by a handshake by the two leaders.

Also Read | Online Gaming Addiction: In Process of Finalising Online Gaming Regulations, Centre Tells Delhi High Court.

"Musharraf was an absolute implacable enemy of ours, and was responsible for Kargil. But after 2002, it was a different story. The BJP govt of PM Vajpayee negotiated a ceasefire with Pakistan. There was a joint statement followed by a handshake by Vajpayee and Musharraf," said Tharoor.

"Why did the BJP negotiate a ceasefire and sign a joint statement with Pervez Musharraf, if he was 'anathema to all patriotic Indians?" Tharoor said.

"Question to BJP leaders frothing at the mouth: if Musharraf was anathema to all patriotic Indians, why did the BJP government negotiate a ceasefire with him in 2003 & sign the joint Vajpayee-Musharraf statement of 2004? Was he not seen as a credible peace partner then?" Tharoor tweeted.

"I was raised in an India where you are expected to speak kindly of people when they die. Musharraf was an implacable enemy and was responsible for Kargil but he did work for peace w/India, in his own interest, 2002-7. He was no friend but he saw strategic benefit in peace, as did we," Tharoor had tweeted earlier.

"'Pervez Musharraf, Former Pakistani President, Dies of Rare Disease': once an implacable foe of India, he became a real force for peace 2002-2007. I met him annually in those days at the UN and found him smart, engaging and clear in his strategic thinking. RIP," Tharoor tweeted in his condolence message for the former Pakistan military ruler.

Tharoor's tweet was met with fierce criticism from the BJP, with Union minister Rajeev Chandrashekhar saying his post "best describes Cong" (Congress).

"Nothing like a proper military thrashing for Fatcat Pak Dictator Generals to become a "force for peace" and develop "clear strategic thinking". Notwithstanding many lives lost n Intl laws violated n harm caused all around, these Generals will have their admiring fans in India (sic)," Chandrasekhar tweeted.

In another tweet, Chandrasekhar said, "That a former Cong Foreign Min (a party that refused to celebrate Kargil Vijay Diwas till 2010) wud think that a Pak General who inflicted terror, a backstabbing conflict n tortured our Soldiers in violation of every Intl law, wud be a force for peace -- best describes Cong."

Musharraf passed away on Sunday at a hospital in the UAE after a prolonged illness, reported Daily Pakistan.

Musharraf was Pakistan's army chief during the Kargil conflict. (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, Feb 6 (PTI) There will be 25 embarkation points for Haj-2023 and forms for going on the pilgrimage will be out very soon with the application being available free of cost, according to the Ministry for Minority Affairs.

The ministry said the Haj policy released on Monday will bring financial relief to pilgrims.

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Haj package costs have been reduced by approximately Rs 50,000 as the money that was deposited with the Haj Committee for foreign exchange and items such as umbrella, bags and bed sheets would not be charged and these things can be arranged by the pilgrims themselves, sources said.

The New Haj Policy stated that out of the total number of quota allocated to the government of India, 80 per cent will be allocated to the Haj Committee of India and the remaining 20 per cent will be allocated to private operators.

Also Read | Chhattisgarh: Upset Over Pet Dog's Death, Woman Kills Self in Korba District.

"Those who have performed Haj earlier through Haj Committee of India will not be eligible to apply. In the case of 'Mehram' for lady pilgrims and of companions accompanying pilgrims over 70 years of age, repeaters will be allowed on payment of additional charges as applicable from time to time," the policy stated.

Woman pilgrims and those over 70 years utilising the service of a repeater as "Mehram" must give a solemn declaration and undertaking to the effect that no first time "Mehram" is available in the family.

The Haj application forms can be obtained from state and Union Territory Haj committees free of cost or can be downloaded from the website of the Haj Committee of India at hajcommittee.gov.in or through the android mobile application "HAJ COMMITTEE OF INDIA" available on play store.

Application forms are now free for the first time, the ministry said.

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
New Delhi, Feb 6 (PTI) The Centre on Monday told the Delhi High Court that the draft regulation in relation to online gaming has been circulated and it is in the process of finalising the same.

The statement was made by the central government counsel before a bench of Chief Justice Satish Chandra and Justice Subramonium Prasad.

Also Read | Indian Railways Starts e-Catering Service on WhatsApp; Here's How To Order.

The Centre's lawyer informed the court  which was hearing petitions by Atul Batra and Avinash Mehrotra concerning the regulation of online gaming -- that consultations with the stakeholders have begun.

Draft regulation has been circulated and consultations have started. Stakeholder meeting with all representatives, whether lawyers or civil society... two rounds have already happened. We are in the process of finalising the same, the lawyer said.

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In view of the Centre's stand, the court said it would take up the matter after eight weeks.

The court closed the proceedings on the petition by Batra, a lawyer, after he said that no further order was required on his plea which sought online gaming regulations.

The court nonetheless granted liberty to Batra to approach it again in case of any grievance.

Batra had said in his plea that online games of chance were being promoted as games of skill and online gambling was as bad as any substance addiction.

It was also claimed that if online gambling and betting is not regulated, it is likely to cause immense damage to the society at large as youngsters with impressionable minds can fall prey to such games, which will have an adverse effect on their personal and professional life.

Mehrotra, who claims to offer financial advisory services, has said in his petition that online gambling system in India is unregulated and "a great place for carrying out hawala operations" and "laundering money".

Besides a ban on these websites, he has sought recovery of taxes due from people who played on these sites and those who operate them.

He has also sought a direction to the Centre to prosecute the unscrupulous owners/proprietors, and the promoters of the online gambling websites, in accordance with law".

Centre, in January, said that it has proposed self-regulatory bodies for online gaming companies operating in India in a draft amendment to IT rules, but will not allow betting.

During a briefing on the rules proposed, Minister of State for Electronics and IT Rajeev Chandrasekhar had said that self-regulatory organisations will develop filters and tests required to decide permissible gaming, be it a game of chance or game of skills or anything else.

(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, February 6: A 22-year-old Indian based in Italy was arrested for allegedly posing as the Vice President of India by creating a fake WhatsApp account using Jagdeep Dhankhar's picture as his profile display to dupe people and seek favours from senior bureaucrats, police said on Monday.

The accused, Gagandeep Singh, who hails from Jammu, has been living in Offanengo, Italy since 2007 with his family. He studied till Class 9 in India and passed 12th from Italy where he worked as a labour in a company, they said. Vice President-Elect Jagdeep Dhankhar Visits Raj Ghat Ahead of Swearing In.

Police said that Singh got the idea of impersonation after watching several YouTube videos. An associate of his, Ashwani Kumar, 29, has also been arrested. Kumar supplied the OTP, or One Time Password, to Singh to create a fake WhatsApp account. Independence Day 2022 Wishes: Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar Greets Nation on the Eve of I-Day.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (Intelligence Fusion and Strategic Operations) Prashant Gautam said that before creating the fake WhatsApp account using a picture of the Vice President, Singh watched several YouTube videos and got contact details of senior government officials from the internet.

"After that, he obtained an OTP from his associate to create a WhatsApp account with an Indian mobile number. After creating the WhatsApp account, he took a picture of the Vice President of India as a profile picture. Using this impersonating account, he started sending messages to senior government officials to seek favours from senior bureaucracy," he said.

The matter came to light after someone informed the police about the scam, following which a case was registered. "Immediately, details of the impersonating WhatsApp profile were obtained from WhatsApp and the IP address of the sender was traced to Italy. The team started working on all technical aspects and conducted raids, following which a person identified as Ashwani Kumar, a resident of Samana in Punjab, was apprehended who had shared OTP with the imposter to create the WhatsApp account," Gautam said.

During its investigation, police identified the main accused as an Indian national -- Gagandeep Singh, who was living in Italy. "The team collected details about the accused from Foreigners' Regional Registration Office (FRRO), Banks and regional passport office and subsequently, the accused was apprehended from IGI airport," the officer said. Police said that five mobile phones used in the commission of crime have been recovered from his possession.

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
analysis

Violence is a perennial feature of elections in Nigeria. It happens across the three stages of the electoral cycle - before, on and after election day.

The pre-election violence occurs mostly during party primaries - when political parties elect their candidates - and during campaigns.

It's estimated that more than 1,149 people, including Independent National Electoral Commission employees and security officers, were killed in the three elections held in 2011, 2015 and 2019.

In the past, violence was perpetrated by thugs hired by desperate politicians. But the rise of non-state armed groups and the proliferation of weapons in Nigeria have made election security management even more complex.

Our recent analysis of Nigeria's 2023 election confirms that the actions of these armed groups are already affecting core elements of election security. There have been abductions involving the electoral commission's staff and attacks on its offices and sensitive equipment.

The frequency and intensity of attacks on election security have been most prominent in Nigeria's south-east zone. The zone consists of five states - Ebonyi, Enugu, Abia, Anambra and Imo - and has 11.49 million voters out of a population of about 22 million.

Our recently published paper identifies the evolving trend of attacks on electoral materials and election commission officials in the south-east region of Nigeria and the implications of this for the success of the 2023 presidential election in Nigeria.

Actors and enablers of violence

In recent years, INEC offices in Nigeria's south east have been the target of violent attacks by armed groups. At least 134 incidents involving INEC offices and staff have been recorded between 2019 and 2022.

The attacks didn't happen in a vacuum. Rather, they are situated in a complex web of violent attacks orchestrated by multiple non-state armed groups in the zone.

These include cult groups, Indigenous People of Biafra, communal militia, political thugs, pastoralists, and the criminals widely described as "unknown gunmen" in Nigeria.

The activities of these groups continue to rise amid repressive state responses.

Added to this is the danger that politicians desperate to gain an edge in the election will politicise and even incentivise the violence.

Security agencies heap the violence at the feet of Indigenous People of Biafra. It is almost convenient for state officials to attribute these attacks to IPOB, given that its members were allegedly responsible for much of the attacks on government establishment before the latest decent into widespread violence in the region.

However, a nuanced understanding of the drivers and dynamics of violence in the region may be more useful as a basis for action.

Rising incidents of violent attack

Data from the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data repository, covering general violence, shows that 970 incidents were reported between 2019 and 6 January 2023. An estimated 1,360 were reportedly killed.

The data relies on local groups and media reports. Many incidents probably go unrecorded.

About 60% of these attacks were carried out by unknown gunmen. For its part the Indigenous People of Biafra carried out 129 attacks and communal militia 101. About 31 attacks have been carried out on the electoral commission's offices in the zone since 2019. Nearly 30% were recorded in 2022.

An example of a recent incident was the attack by an armed group on the electoral commission's headquarters in Owerri Municipality, Imo state on 12 December 2022. Five people, two of whom were policemen, died.

The state governor claimed that desperate politicians in the state were behind the attack. The Imo state command of the Nigeria Police Force attributed the incidents to Indigenous People of Biafra and its militant wing, the Eastern Security Network.

The incident marked the third attack on the electoral commission's facilities in Imo State in two weeks following the earlier attacks on its offices in Orlu and Oru West.

Unknown gunmen also attacked the commission's office in Enugu South Local Government Area, and killed one police officer on 15 January 2023. Gunmen recently beheaded the sole administrator of Ideato North Local Government Area of Imo state.

The rise, scale and dimensions of violent attacks on members of opposition parties, security agents, electoral commission personnel and infrastructure raise additional concerns about the possibility of a free and fair election in the south-east states.

This has significant implications for the zone, political parties, aspirants and the nation at large.

For the zone, the immediate consequences are being felt in social and economic ramifications. For instance, insecurity and sit-at-home protests in the south-east have led to massive economic losses estimated at almost N4 trillion (US$8.7 billion) in two years.

Implications for the elections

The increasing attacks could render the election less free and fair. Violence risks undermining the electoral process in a number of ways, as we argued in a previous article.

Firstly, the violence could lead to shortages of electoral officials. Secondly, logistics could be compromised, endangering the supply of electoral materials.

Thirdly, voters could be scared away by violence on election days. Presidential candidates might then struggle to get the votes that the constitution requires.

Section 134 of Nigeria's constitution states that a presidential candidate must secure the highest number of votes cast at the election. He or she must get at least a quarter of the votes cast in each of at least two-thirds of all the states in the Federation and the Federal Capital Territory.

If candidates were unable to meet the constitutional requirements, there might have to be a rerun. That would increase the cost of election in a nation battling with lower revenue and mounting debt.

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The electoral prospects of the presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi, who is from the south-east region, would be the worst hit by a very low voter turnout. He has been projected to win Nigeria's 2023 presidential election, according to a poll conducted in December 2022.

In one of the pre-election polls, he led with 68% in the south-east, 46% in the neighbouring south-south.

If the government and state security forces don't curb the violence in the south-east, Obi's performance at the poll could suffer.

Way forward

The state security and intelligence outfits need to neutralise violent non-state actors and youth militias of politicians and political parties to prevent them from creating incentives for violence.

This requires timely conduct of threat assessment, profiling of criminal elements or political thugs, proactive deployment for visible policing, and strategic communication to counter violent incentives and narratives.

Greater collaboration between government and communities is also needed to enhance security through President Generals of Town Unions, which are very influential community based associations in Nigeria's southeast region.

Oluwole Ojewale, Regional Coordinator, Institute for Security Studies

Freedom C. Onuoha, Professor of Political Science, University of Nigeria
Kupwara (Jammu and Kashmir) [India] February 6 (ANI): Indian Army soldiers today carried a pregnant woman on their shoulders for five kilometres in the snowbound Kupwara district of Kashmir Valley, saving both mother and baby.

According to the Army officials, Indian Army received a distress call from her family members at 11:00 am from Badakhet village of Kalaroos block, requesting urgent medical evacuation.

Also Read | Adani Group Shares End Lower; Group Companies' Combined Mcap Dips by Rs 9.5 Lakh Crore.

Seeing the woman's critical situation, the Army's rescue and medical team carried the woman on their shoulders for nearly 5km through a snowbound stretch and incessant snowfall. Near the Sumo Bridge, the soldiers found an ambulance standing to recieve the patient.

The woman reached the Primary Health Centre, Kalaroos safely and a healthy baby boy was born. The family and doctors expressed gratitude to the Indian Army soldiers for their support and timely assistance. The mother and baby are doing fine, officials said.

Also Read | Gujarat Court Rejects Hindu Daughters Claim To Converted Muslim Mothers Property, Says Hindus Can't Be Successor Under Mohammedan Law.

The family was in tears seeing the commitment and zeal of soldiers through laborious evacuation for 5 km. Any delay in evacuation would have endangered the lives of both mother and baby. The selfless act was widely appreciated by locals, and doctors and is a true testament to the strong 'Awam Jawan Connect' in Kupwara, they said.

Due to heavy rainfall, roads were slippery and completely blocked. Also since the roads were narrow, curved and dangerous, no private vehicles could reach the house, they said. (ANI)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Srinagar (Jammu and Kashmir) [India], February 6 (ANI): Jammu and Kashmir People's Conference chief Sajad Lone on Monday hit out at the administrtation over the ongoing anti-encroachment drive in the Union Territory, saying the drive would only result in more people being rendered homeless.

The UT administration launched an eviction drive against illegal encroachment by 'big land owners' and 'influential' people. Nearly 23,000 hectares were retrieved during the ongoing anti-encroachment drive in the Jammu division.

Also Read | Hindenburg-Adani Group Row: Congress Protests in Maharashtra, Seeks Probe Into LIC-SBI's Adani Group Investments.

"We have no objection to the anti-encraochment drive if it is against big land owners. The big land owners will bring their lawyers tomorrow and take back all the encroached land. However, it's only the poor who are being targeted and left to die," Lone said a press briefing on Monday.

Responding to the chief secretary's statement that the drive will continue as legal recourses were available for the alleged encroachers, Lone said, "If I were in his place, I would not have made such a statement."

Also Read | Delhi High Court Adjourns Hearing on JNU Student and Activist Sharjeel Imam's Bail Plea in UAPA Case.

"It's not bulldozers but compassion and love that reepresents India," he said.

Earlier on Thursday, Democratic Azad Party chief Ghulam Nabi Azad called on Union Home Minister Amit Shah to apprise him of 'eviction issues' in Jammu and Kashmir.

In a statement, DAP said Azad met Amit Shah to apprise him of "serious unrest and uncertainty prevailing" among the public due to the "circular of eviction issued by the UT administration directing all Deputy Commissioners to remove the encroachments on state land, including Roshni and Kacharai."

Azad tweeted, "Met union Home minister Amit Shah Ji regarding land eviction issues in J&K. Apprised him about the prevailing unrest & uncertainty among the common people who are forced to vacate the properties which are otherwise recognized by successive regimes. Amit Shah Ji assured me no small landholders who constructed houses will be touched!" (ANI)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Mumbai, Feb 6 (PTI) Senior Congress leader Balasaheb Thorat has written to the party's central leadership citing his inability to work with Maharashtra unit chief Nana Patole due to the latter's "anger" towards him, an aide of the former claimed on Monday.

Also Read | Indian Railways Starts e-Catering Service on WhatsApp; Here's How To Order.

In his letter to Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, Thorat, a former state unit chief and minister, has also said he is not being consulted before decisions were being taken here, the aide added.

Also Read | Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik Says His Government Committed To Provide Accessible Legal Services to Citizens at Doorstep.

The matter comes days after then Nashik graduates constituency MLC Sudhir Tambe, who is the brother-in-law of Thorat, declined to contest despite being the Congress' official candidate and got his son Satyajit Tambe to fight as an independent. Satyajit Tambe won the poll, results of which were announced on February 2.

While the Congress was left red-faced due to the episode, the silence of Thorat, who is recuperating from a shoulder injury, was seen as silent support to the Tambe father-son duo, sources said.

While Thorat did not take part in the campaign of Satyajit Tambe in the run up to the polls on January 30, several of the former's kin were present. The Congress has suspended Sudhir Tambe and Satyajit Tambe from the party for the MLC poll twist.

"Thorat, in his letter to the Congress leadership, has expressed inability to work with state president Nana Patole saying if he (Patole) holds so much anger against him, then it would be difficult to work with him. Thorat has also complained of not being consulted while decisions are taken," the close aide claimed.

Thorat has also said he was insulted by the (state) party leadership and statements were made against his family on the (Tambe) issue, the aide said quoting the letter.

Some functionaries from Ahmednagar were punished over this issue, the letter to Kharge further said.

Patole had, on January 26, disbanded the Ahmednagar district committee of the Congress for "anti party activities" as some of its members had reportedly campaigned for Satyajit Tambe instead of the candidate to whom the party had officially extended support.

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Kalaburagi, February 6: Senior Congress leader and former Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah on Monday alleged that 'Manuvada' and 'Hindutva' encourage murder, violence and discrimination.

The former CM said he is also a Hindu who follows Hindu Dharma but stands against Hindutva. "Hindutva and Hindu Dharma are different. I'm always projected as anti-Hindu and anti-Hindu Dharma. I'm not anti-Hindu Dharma. I'm also a Hindu, but I'm anti-Manuvada and Hindutva," Siddaramaiah said. Video: Congress Leader Siddaramaiah Calls Karnataka CM Basavaraj Bommai Puppy Before PM Narendra Modi.

Addressing a gathering here, he said, "Does any religion encourage murder or violence? But Manuvada and Hindutva encourage murder, violence and discrimination. That's the difference between Hindu Dharma and Hindutva." Karnataka Assembly Elections 2023: Congress Planning to Announce First List of Candidates for Assembly Polls This Month, Says Siddaramaiah.

The Leader of Opposition had earlier too made his anti-Hindutva stands clear.

Assembly elections are due in Karnataka by May.

(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, Feb 6 (PTI) The Ministry of Home Affairs on Monday filed a review petition in the Supreme Court against some of its observations referring to Sikkimese Nepalis as "immigrants".

In a series of tweets, the Union Home Minister's office said the central government has submitted before the Supreme Court its position about the sanctity of Article 371F of the Constitution that safeguards the Sikkimese identity.

Also Read | Indian Railways Starts e-Catering Service on WhatsApp; Here's How To Order.

"Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) files review petition in Supreme Court against some of the observations and directions in a recent judgement dated 13th January, 2023 in two petitions of 2013 and 2021 filed by Association of Old Settlers of Sikkim and Ors in Supreme Court.

"GoI (Government of India) reiterated its position about the sanctity of Article 371F of the Constitution that safeguards the Sikkimese identity, which should not be diluted. Further, the observation in the said order about persons of foreign origin settled in Sikkim like Nepalis should be reviewed as the said persons are Sikkimese of Nepali origin," the tweets said.

Also Read | Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik Says His Government Committed To Provide Accessible Legal Services to Citizens at Doorstep.

The MHA's move came amid protests in Sikkim over the Supreme Court observation referring to Sikkimese Nepalis as "immigrants" while extending income tax exemption to all old settlers of the state.

On Sunday, a delegation from Sikkim, led by the state BJP president D R Thapa, also met Union Home Minister Amit Shah, who assured them that the central government would file a review plea before the Supreme Court to seek clarity on the term "Sikkimese" in line with constitutional provisions, official sources said.

Shah told the delegation that sentiments of the Sikkimese community would be respected.

The people of Sikkim are an integral and essential part of India and the constitutional provision for the people of Sikkim shall be protected, Shah was quoted as saying by the sources.

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Tumakuru (KTK), Feb 6 (PTI) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday attacked the Congress for "using" the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited as a pretext to level allegations against his government and instigate people.

Also Read | Indian Navy Pilots Carry Out Landing of Light Combat Aircraft Onboard INS Vikrant (See Pics).

"Today, HAL's helicopter factory stands as a testimony that has exposed the lies and misinformation spread about HAL", Modi said, without naming the Congress, after inaugurating the Bengaluru-headquartered company's helicopter factory -- the country's largest chopper manufacturing facility -- at Bidarehalla kaval in Gubbi taluk of this district.

Also Read | Indian Railways Starts e-Catering Service on WhatsApp; Here's How To Order.

The Hindustan Aeronautics Limited was used as a pretext to level allegations against our government. Conspiracies were hatched to instigate people. Today the HAL is advancing our motto of 'Atma Nirbhar Bharat', he said.

The then Congress president Rahul Gandhi had during 2017-18 said there was a need to "defend the dignity of India's defenders" as he accused the Narendra Modi government of "snatching" the Rafale offset contract from HAL and "gifting" it to Anil Ambani's company.

"HAL is India's strategic asset. The future of India's aerospace industry has been destroyed by snatching #Rafale from HAL & gifting it to Anil Ambani," the Congress leader had said.

Rahul Gandhi and his Congress party at the time were attacking the Modi government over the

Rs 58,000 crore Rafale fighter jet deal alleging corruption and favouritism.

Modi recalled that he had in 2016 laid the foundation stone of the factory which was inaugurated today, with a resolve that India has to minimise its defence imports and become self-reliant.

"Now, hundreds of defence equipment are manufactured in India", he pointed out.

Hailing the contribution of HAL, he said the investment in the Aerospace sector in the last eight to nine years is five times more than the figure witnessed in the 15-year period before 2014.

HAL plans to produce more than 1,000 helicopters in the range of 3-15 tonnes, with a total business of over Rs four lakh crore over a period of 20 years, at this facility in Gubbi taluk, officials said.

Spread across 615 acres of land, the factory, for which the PM laid the foundation stone in 2016, would initially manufacture Light Utility Helicopters (LUH)).

The factory will enable India to meet its entire requirement of helicopters without import and giving much needed fillip to the Prime Minister's vision of Aatmanirbhar Bharat' in helicopter design, development, and manufacture, they said.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai and senior officials of Ministry of Defence were among those present on the occasion.

"It is a dedicated new greenfield helicopter factory which will enhance India's capacity & ecosystem to build helicopters", Rajnath Singh said.

The Prime Minister unveiled the LUH, which has been flight tested.

He also laid the foundation stone for Tumakuru Industrial Township, and 'Jal Javeen Mission' projects in Tiptur and Chikkanayakanahalli taluks of the district in Karnataka, where Assembly polls are due by May.

The LUH is an indigenously designed and developed 3-ton class, single engine multipurpose utility helicopter. Initially, the factory will produce around 30 helicopters per year and can be enhanced to 60 and then 90 per year in a phased manner, according to the Defence Ministry.

The factory will be augmented to produce other helicopters such as Light Combat Helicopters (LCHs) and Indian Multirole Helicopters (IMRHs). It will also be used for Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul of LCH, LUH, Civil Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH) and IMRH in the future.

Potential exports of civil LUH will also be catered to from this factory, which is being equipped with state-of-the-art Industry 4.0 standard tools and techniques for its operations, officials said.

The proximity of the factory, to the existing HAL facilities in Bengaluru, will boost the aerospace manufacturing ecosystem in the region and support skill & infrastructure development such as schools, colleges and residential areas, it was noted.

With the establishment of facilities like Heli-Runway, Flight Hangar, Final Assembly Hangar, Structure Assembly Hangar, Air Traffic Control and various supporting service facilities, the factory is fully operational, they said.

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
New Delhi [India], February 6 (ANI): A same-sex couple has moved the Supreme Court challenging the Kerala High Court order directing one of them to attend counselling sessions with a psychiatrist. The Supreme Court agreed to hear the plea on Monday.

A bench headed by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud asked the petitioner's lawyer to keep the brief ready and said it will hear the matter at the end of the board.

Also Read | Telangana Budget 2023: State Government Pegs Rs 2.9 Lakh Crore Expenditure For Financial Year 2024.

Petitioner's counsel Advocate Sriram P mentioned the plea before the Supreme Court seeking an urgent hearing.

The Petitioner challenged Kerala High Court's January 13, 2023 order whereby the High Court directed one of them to attend counselling sessions with a psychiatrist so far as her sexual orientation is concerned.

Also Read | Air Vistara Fined Rs 70 Lakh By DGCA for Not Operating Mandated UDAN Flights in Northeast.

In the petition, the same-sex couple said that they are female as per their gender orientation and they both wish to get married and be together. But the parents of the detenu have kept the detenu in illegal custody against her will so as to impede the marriage between the petitioner and the detenu.

Advocate Sriram said that the petitioner sought to invoke the basic principle of Habeas Corpus and sought the detenu to be produced before the court physically.

According to the petitioner, the detenu was present through video conferencing before Kerala High Court whereby she clearly told the High Court that she is in love with the petitioner and the detenu wanted to come with the petitioner and live happily with her ever after.

"The High Court erroneously sought the detenu to be sent for counselling. The counselling impugned herein is obviously counselling to change her sexual orientation. It is most respectfully submitted that this counselling is proscribed under law and the High Courts of Madras, Uttarakhand and Odisha have specifically and categorically followed the law laid down by this High Court prohibited it," the petitioner said.

The plea said the petitioner is in letter and spirit challenging the interim orders dated January 24, 2023 and February 2, 2023 all of which denied the petitioner her fundamental rights. These orders have denied the detenu safety and liberty for a long period from January 9, 2023 to the present day, the petitioner said.

"The present Special Leave Petition carries a substantial question of law among many other. Whether the High Court ought to have allowed the detenu the right to be heard physically in the safety and security of the building of the High Court," the petition said, adding that the plea also raised the question of law as to whether "gender orientation counselling" is legal or not. (ANI)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
New Delhi [India], February 6 (ANI): The Supreme Court on Monday stayed the Kerala High Court order directing a girl in a same-sex relationship to attend counselling sessions till further orders.

The Supreme Court also issued notice to the concerned respondents on the plea filed by a girl in a same-sex relationship who claimed that her partner has been detained by her parents.

Also Read | Hindenburg-Adani Group Row: Congress Protests in Maharashtra, Seeks Probe Into LIC-SBI's Adani Group Investments.

A bench of Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud and Justices PS Narasimha and JB Pardiwala also ordered a stay on further proceedings in the matter before the Kerala High Court till the next date of listing.

The petitioner, in her plea, filed through advocate Sriram P, said that they are female as per their gender orientation and they both wish to get married and be together. But the petitioner said that the parents of the detenu have kept the detenu in illegal custody against her will to impede the marriage between the petitioner and the detenu.

Also Read | Delhi High Court Adjourns Hearing on JNU Student and Activist Sharjeel Imam's Bail Plea in UAPA Case.

The court directed the parents of the detenu to present the detenu before the family court at Kollam.

The court said that the Principal Judge of the Family Court should arrange for an interview of the detenu with Ms Saleena V G Nair, a Member of the E-Committee of the Supreme Court, who is a senior judicial officer from the State of Kerala.

"The interview shall be arranged in consultation with the Principal Judge of the Family Court," the court said.

"The officer shall after interacting with the detenu submit a report after ascertaining her wishes and whether she is voluntarily residing with her parents or is kept under illegal detention. The Principal Judge of the Family Court and Ms Saleena shall ensure that the statement of the detenu is recorded in a fair and free manner without any coercion or duress from the parents," the court said and listed the matter for further hearing on February 17.

"Report to be submitted in a sealed cover. There shall be a stay of further proceedings before the High Court till the next date of listing," the court said.

The petitioner challenged Kerala High Court on January 13 2023, whereby the High Court directed one of the couples to attend counselling sessions with a psychiatrist so far as her sexual orientation is concerned.

Lawyer Sriram said that in the present plea, the petitioner sought to invoke the basic principle of Habeas Corpus and sought the detenu to be produced before the court physically.

According to the petitioner, the detenu was present through video conferencing before Kerala High Court whereby she clearly told the High Court that she is in love with the petitioner and the detenu wanted to come with the petitioner and live happily with her ever after.

"The High Court erroneously sought the detenu to be sent for counselling. The counselling impugned herein is obviously counselling to change her sexual orientation. It is most respectfully submitted that this counselling is proscribed under the law and the High Courts of Madras, Uttarakhand and Orissa have specifically and categorically followed the law laid down by this High Court prohibited it. The petitioner is challenging the initial interim order dated 13.03.2023," the petitioner said.

"However the petitioner is in letter and spirit challenging the interim orders dated 24.01.2023 and 02.02.2023 all of which denied the petitioner her fundamental rights. These orders have denied the detenu safety and liberty for a long period from 09.01.2023 to the present day," the petitioner said.

"The present Special Leave Petition carries a substantial question of law among many others. Whether the High Court ought to have allowed the detenu the right to be heard physically in the safety and security of the building of the High Court," the petition said, adding that the plea also raised the question of law as to whether "gender orientation counselling" is legal or not," the petitioner said. (ANI)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Agartala (Tripura) [India], February 6 (ANI): Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Monday said that Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ended the rule of 'cadre' and brought the rule of the 'Constitution' in the state of Tripura.

While addressing the 'Vijay Sankalp Yatra', here in Agartala, Amit Shah said, "The Congress, Communists and Motha are all together. While the first two are in coalition publicly, Motha is in alliance with them 'under the table'. Tipra Motha wants to bring back Communist rule."

Also Read | Earthquake in Turkey: India to Send Rescue and Medical Teams Along With Relief Material to Ankara.

"So, if the vote is given to Motha or Congress, it will be a vote to the Communists. So, if you want development and peace, press the 'lotus' button," he added.

Shah said that the largest vaccination drive was carried out in the country under the leadership of PM Modi.

Also Read | Telangana Budget 2023-24: State Government Proposes Expenditure at Rs 2.9 Lakh Crore.

"Earlier, for every petty job, whether ration card or cheap grains, people had to go to the cadre of the Communist party. Our government has ended the rule of cadre and brought the rule of Constitution," he said.

Further attacking the two parties, Amit Shah said that Congress and the Communist party ruled Tripura for 50 years but didn't do development in the state.

"Once Tripura was famous for drugs, human trafficking, Bangladeshi infiltration, corruption and atrocities towards Adivasis. Under BJP rule, roads are being built, people are getting drinking water, organic farming and mainly Adivasis are enjoying their rights," he said.

The Home Minister said that the state is progressing under the slogan of 'HIRA' - Highway, Internet, Railway, Airport, given by PM Modi.

"4,000 people were killed in Tripura during CPI(M) rule and violence was all over the state. BJP made the Bru-Reang agreement and brought development here. In these five years, BJP has brought peace, and in the next five years, BJP will work towards making Tripura the best state in the Northeast," Amit Shah added.

Earlier in the day, Tripura Chief Minister Manik Saha also addressed the event, saying that the country can't develop until there is development in North East.

"In 35 years of the Left government rule, 69 people were murdered in the south district only. Today, they are again trying to come to the government. We are doing the work at a fast pace. Until there is no development in North East, the country will not develop," he said.

Meanwhile, BJP is preparing itself to register another win in Tripura and has struck an alliance with its former ally Indigenous People's Front of Tripura (IPFT) which has fielded its candidates at five assembly seats.

For the elections at 60 Assembly seats in the northeastern state, which are slated to be held on February 17, the BJP has fielded 55 candidates. The results will be declared on March 2. (ANI)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
New Delhi [India], February 6 (ANI): Congress President and Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge on Monday said that the opposition would raise the Adani issue in Parliament as the government especially Prime Minister Narendra Modi is silent on the issue.

"We will raise Adani issue in Parliament. Government is silent on such a big issue, especially PM Modi," Kharge said.

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Meanwhile, Congress Lok Sabha MP Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury said that the opposition has made a strategy for Parliament over the Adani issue.

"We will have a meeting now. The entire opposition will come together; the discussion will be done and a decision will be made. It's not an issue of Congress only, but that of India's common people," he said.

Also Read | Kapil Sibal Takes Dig at RSS Chief Mohan Bhagwat, Asks What About PM Narendra Modis Two Crore Jobs Promise.

Chowdhury also attacked Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman over her remarks that "opposition is doing hypocrisy over Adani issue."

"I would like to advise Nirmala Sitharaman that democracy, instead of autocracy, should continue in India. It is not hypocrisy when we put forth our views and make demands. It is democracy. What your government does is an autocracy," Chowdhury said.

Notably, the opposition parties including Congress, DMK, NCP, BRS, JD(U), SP, CPM, CPI, Kerala Congress (Jose Mani), JMM, RLD, RSP, AAP, IUML, RJD and Shiv Sena have constituted meeting in LoP Mallikarjun Kharge's chamber in Parliament to chalk out a strategy on Adani-Hindenburg report and other issues.

Earlier, Congress announced that the party will launch protests from the Parliament to the streets on February 6 amid the ongoing Hindenburg-Adani row.

The party has decided to hold countrywide protests in front of Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) offices and State Bank of India (SBI) branches.

In Delhi, the demonstration will be held by NSUI-Youth Congress outside the SBI office and LIC office located at Parliament police station.

Congress leaders across the country will protest outside the SBI office and LIC office, in which prominent leaders of the states will participate.

Congress MPs will protest near the Gandhi statue in Parliament House on Monday.

Although the Congress is getting the support of other Opposition parties on the Adani issue, it has to be seen whether the parties such as the Bharat Rashtra Samithi, Aam Aadmi Party and Trinamool Congress, which are seen together in the meetings, will join the Congress demonstration or extend moral support.

However, the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and Janata Dal (Secular) have kept their distance from Congress on this issue.

It is being argued by the Opposition that the investment of the Adani group in public sector banks such as the SBI and LIC has had a big impact on the savings of the middle class.

Opposition MPs said the government was not allowing the issue to be discussed in Parliament. After the uproar in Parliament, the proceedings of both Houses of Parliament were adjourned till February 6.

A report by a US-based Hindenburg Research surfaced on January 24, claiming that the Adani Group had weak business fundamentals, and was involved in stock manipulation and accounting fraud, among others.

The report triggered a sell-off of shares of all Adani Group companies. (ANI)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
analysis

Cannabis is being commercialised into a multibillion-dollar global industry and South Africa wants a piece of the pie. In his 2022 state of the nation address, President Cyril Ramaphosa spoke of developing a hemp and cannabis sector to boost the post-COVID economy.

Poor rural communities in South Africa have long cultivated cannabis in illegal conditions of risk. They now face losing out to corporate interests and the wealthy.

How did the stakes become so high - and so unequal?

My recent historical study helps answer this question. It reveals how an apartheid-era drug law incited a "war on drugs" that was in effect a "war on cannabis".

In 1971 a law was passed that subjected the cannabis plant and its products to the strictest possible controls. This set in motion a structurally racist policy that continued well into the post-apartheid era.

Apartheid's 1971 anti-drug law

In 1971, South Africa's apartheid government passed the Abuse of Dependence-Producing Substances and Rehabilitation Centres Act. Lawmakers boasted it was the

toughest anti-drug law in the Western World.

The law's main target was white "hippy" youth.

The law followed recommendations by a state-sponsored inquiry, the Grobler Commission. The commission focused only on white South Africans' misuse of synthetic and pharmaceutical drugs such as LSD, Mandrax (methaqualone) and heroin.

Though the commission did not in fact turn up evidence of an extensive drug abuse problem, it nevertheless recommended tough suppression.

To the ruling National Party, the use of drugs by white people appeared to threaten Afrikaner religious culture and the future of a white South Africa. They hyped the drug problem as

a form of terrorism that is more dangerous than the armed terrorism we are familiar with on our country's borders.

This language of crisis enabled the apartheid lawmakers to borrow from the country's draconian anti-terrorism laws, such as the 1967 Terrorism Act, used to put down anti-apartheid activism.

Like the anti-terrorism legislation, the 1971 anti-drug act provided for harsh minimum prison sentences and detention without trial for purposes of interrogation. It also removed the court's discretion in sentencing for drug offences.

Read more: Cannabis policy changes in Africa are welcome. But small producers are the losers

When it was debated in parliament, the principle of "toughness" appealed across party lines - except for the lone voice of the Progressive Party MP Helen Suzman. Suzman observed that although the Grobler Commission excluded research on substance use by the majority black South Africans, the law would nonetheless apply to them.

Similarly, she argued, the commission had not investigated cannabis - a substance considered by many to be less socially harmful than legal alcohol or tobacco. Yet it was to be scheduled in the new law as a "prohibited dangerous drug", along with heroin and cocaine.

Lone voice of reason

For centuries in Africa, including parts of South Africa, the cannabis plant had important indigenous cultural value and was cultivated for a variety of social and pharmacological uses.

Cannabis was first criminalised in the country in 1922. But drug policing remained relatively weak for three decades. In the gap, and with growing urban markets, commercial cannabis livelihoods emerged to combat growing rural poverty.

In such conditions - as Suzman pointed out - punitive drug control, created to combat white pill-popping, was clearly going to fall on black South Africans for cannabis offences.

Suzman fought hard. She pointed out that a "Marijuana Commission" was under way in the US, documenting how the supposed dangers of cannabis were greatly exaggerated. She argued for a less criminalising status for cannabis in South Africa.

Her views were defeated and apartheid's extraordinary drug legislation was easily passed. Cannabis was classified among those substances marked for strictest suppression.

The law's impacts

This decision proved to be a watershed. The effects of the 1971 anti-drug law were immediately evident, falling disproportionately on black South Africans. Cannabis accounted for well over 95% of drug-related arrests and convictions across all "race" groups.

In a 1972 assessment by the Natal Provincial Supreme Court - in the case State v Shangase and Others - judges showed how prison terms of two to ten years were being imposed even for the petty possession of single cannabis "zol" (joint).

The "rehabilitation centres" part of the 1971 law applied only to white offenders since - as Suzman had pointed out - the segregationist state did not provide drug treatment programmes for black people. But, even for convicted white users, sentences involving treatment applied in less than 1% of cases.

Paradoxically, but unsurprisingly, illegal cannabis cultivation increased within the segregated spaces of apartheid.

Read more: A new approach to criminalisation could end Cape Town's drug wars

An illegal crop in high demand was profitable to grow, and even more so to trade. Helicopters spraying herbicides and multiple checkpoints raised the stakes of drug politics for all parties.

The laws's embedded racism meant that as tough drug suppression continued after apartheid ended, its racist effects also continued.

A reckoning with history is needed

The 1971 anti-drug law was replaced in 1992 with a Drugs and Drug Trafficking Act. The new law maintained harsh sentences and cannabis remained illegal. The African National Congress, which came into power in 1994, reproduced the heavy-handed tactics it had inherited from the apartheid National Party: militarised suppression, spraying and incarcerations.

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In 2017 and 2018, the government's cannabis policy was successfully challenged in the courts, on grounds of cultural and religious freedom. This also opened a window for liberalising cannabis as a commercial venture for certain products. Yet the actual policy remains unclear and contested.

Apartheid's 1971 law, and the parallel growth of an illegal economy, shaped South Africa's unequal cannabis landscape. Now, in an opening cannabis economy, rural cultivators remain in a vulnerable position against more powerful interests.

Read more: Marijuana use in South Africa: what next after landmark court ruling?

Decolonising drug-related knowledge and policies in South Africa requires a deeper reckoning with history, including from apartheid into the present.

*Quotations from the Debates of the House of Assembly, Hansard (Cape Town: Government of the Republic of South Africa, 5 May 1971.

Thembisa Waetjen, Associate Professor of History, University of Johannesburg
Mumbai, Feb 6 (PTI) Domestic airline Go First on Monday said it will be operating charter flights for the G20 Summit being hosted by India this year.

India assumed the G20 Presidency from Indonesia on December 1 last year.

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The G20 Heads of State and Government Summit, with 'Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam' or 'One Earth, One Family, One Future' as its motto, will take place in India on September 9-10. There will be about 200 meetings under G20 which have been planned in different cities across the country.

"Go First has been chosen to operate charter flights for the G20 summit," airline's Chief Executive Officer Kaushik Khona said in a statement.

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A Go First official told PTI that the airline will operate seven charter flights between February 7 and March 23, interconnecting six stations.

"We will be operating a total of seven charter flights between February 7 and March 23, 2023. These flights will interconnect six stations -- Delhi, Bhuj, Agra, Khajuraho, Dibugarh and Itanagar," the official said.

The Wadia Group-owned Go First operates over 240 daily flights to 27 domestic and eight international destinations.

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Bengaluru, Feb 6 (PTI) India's appetite for Russian crude oil in January rose to unseen levels, continuing to remain above traditional middle eastern suppliers for the fourth month in a row, as refiners rushed to snap up plentiful cargoes available at a discount to other grades.

From a market share of less than 1 per cent in India's import basket before the start of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, Russia's share of India's imports rose to 1.27 million barrels per day in January, taking a 28 per cent share, according to energy cargo tracker Vortexa.

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India, the world's third-largest crude importer after China and the United States, has been snapping Russian oil that was available at a discount after some in the West shunned it as a means of punishing Moscow for its invasion of Ukraine.

From a market share of just 0.2 per cent in India's import basket before the start of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, Russia's share of India's imports rose to 28 per cent in January 2023.

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Officials attending India Energy Week (IEW) 2023 here said India will continue to buy crude oil from anywhere in the world, including Russia, to meet its energy needs.

The executive body of the European Union has asked its 27 member countries to cap the price of Russian oil at USD 60 as part of the West's attempt to squeeze Moscow's oil revenues and limit its ability to wage war in Ukraine while keeping global prices and supplies steady.

"Unlike Iran and Venezuela, there are no sanctions on buying oil from Russia. So, anyone who can arrange for shipping, insurance and financing outside of the EU can buy oil," an official said.

The price caps are part of the EU's plan to use its clout in insurance and shipping industries to crimp Moscow.

"We will continue to buy oil from anywhere in the world, including Russia," he said.

Under the price-cap system that kicked in on December 5, companies shipping Russian oil outside of Europe would only be able to access EU insurance and brokerage services if they sell the oil at or under USD 60.

Industry sources said crude shipments being purchased by Indian companies were below the G7's price cap of USD 60 per barrel.

"So for all practical purposes, if I can send a ship, cover insurance and device a mode of payment, I can continue to buy oil from Russia," an official said, explaining how the mechanism works. "All options are on the table."

For Russia to keep oil sales going, it and its buyers need to use ships, insurance and financing outside the jurisdiction of the G-7. The US is comfortable with Russia selling its oil outside the cap but using non-Western shipping, insurance and banking services, which will likely be more costly.

Russia's market share in January was an improvement over 26 per cent in December. Iraq, which was relegated to the second spot in October 2022, supplied some 20 per cent of all the oil India imported.

Saudi Arabia shipped 17 per cent while the US improved its share to 9 per cent from 7 per cent in December. UAE supplied 8 per cent crude. All three middle-east suppliers improved their market share by one percentage point each, which came at the expense of Africa, whose share fell from 9 per cent to 6 per cent in January.

The rising share of Russian crude sales to India has also taken a toll on the country's appetite for African crude. This, combined with a tighter market structure, as well as increased volatility in freight markets has led to the share of West African crude dropping from 12.5 per cent in 2021.

Russian crude traded at a record discount of up to USD 40 per barrel in the aftermath of Russia's invasion of Ukraine as key buyers in Europe shunned Moscow's oil. The bulk of Russia's crude exports flowed to refiners in Asia, with China and India being its key customers.

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Ankara [Turkey], February 6 (ANI): At least 5 people were killed as a powerful earthquake of magnitude 7.8 hit south-eastern Turkey on Monday, Turkey-based Anadolu Agency reported citing Osmaniye governor.

The US Geological Survey said the 7.8 magnitude tremor struck at 04:17 local time (01:17 GMT) at a depth of 17.9km (11 miles) near the city of Gaziantep.

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Osmaniye Governor said that around 34 buildings have collapsed in southern Osmaniye province due to the quake, the tremors of which were felt in Ankara and nearby regions.

Anadolu Agency wrote, "5 people killed, 34 buildings destroyed in southern Osmaniye province as 7.4 earthquake hits southern provinces of Turkiye: Osmaniye governor"

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Notably, Osmaniye is a city on the eastern edge of the Cukurova plain in the southern part of Turkey and the capital of the province of Osmaniye.

The earthquake centred in Turkey occurred around 01:17:35 (UTC) at a depth of 17.9 km, according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS).

According to USGS, the latitude and longitude of the earthquake were found to be 37.174N and 37.032E respectively. Nurdagi, where the quake was reported is a district and city of Gaziantep Province of Turkey.

Aftershocks followed the quake. There were reports of destroyed buildings in Turkey and Syria, where tremors also were felt. Significant casualties are likely.

People took to social media to post footage of the destruction, including collapsed buildings and people trapped under the rubble.

Earlier in 2020, a magnitude-6.8 quake hit Elazig city of Turkey, killing over 40 people as the geography of Turkey is seismically active and tremor-prone.

In 1999, more than 17,000 people were killed in a powerful earthquake rocked the north-west part of Turkey. (ANI)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Beijing [China], February 6 (ANI): Chinese Distant Water Fishing Fleet (DWF) vessels have been spotted fishing rare and protected species and disturbing the marine ecological balance. These DWFs are found in international waters near Japan and South Korea in the Asiatic continent and Ecuador, Chile, and Argentina in the South American continent, Geopolitica.info reported.

Even after being 19,000 to 22,000 km away from China these DWF have been caught fishing near America's coastal regions. The report said that in early July 2020, the Ecuadorian navy reported the presence of about 260 fishing vessels at the edge of Ecuador's EEZ (exclusive economic zones). By the end of the month, the number increased to 340. These DWFs, according to the report, have been catching somewhere between 50-70 per cent of the world's total squids.

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The Galapagos Islands a part of Ecuador's territory, are the worst victim. The EEZ of Ecuador's mainland and the Galapagos do not overlap, thus creating an international corridor where any country can fish. In the area, the DWFs from China openly fish and turn off their identity transponders to avoid detection, Geopolitica.info report stated.

These ships not only fish rare and protected species like sharks and turtles but also dump a huge amount of waste into the ocean. The report said that experts estimate that almost 30 per cent of the garbage collected on the shores of the Galapagos Islands comes from Chinese fleets. This includes bottles, containers of marine oil, Chinese-labeled jute bags and waste generate overboard the ships.

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Argentina a coastal country in the South American continent is the second-largest squid fishery in the world which makes it an ideal location for these DWFs. Argentine authorities have taken strict measures and even sunk a fishing trawler flying the Chinese flag after being caught illegally fishing within the country's EEZ. Their vessels have spent close to 600,000 hours 'dark-fishing' in the area.

In Uruguay country located on the southeastern coast of South America caught a Chinese-flagged vessel within their EEZ, carrying 11 tons of Squid. These vessels are causing a lot of concern for Uruguayan authorities as well as locals as they are not only present near the EEZ but also dangerously close to their land boundary.

In Peru, the local fishermen have complained about Chinese overfishing of giant squid, which is the country's second biggest marine resource after anchovies. And because of this locals are also losing their jobs and the fishing industry of the area is on the verge of being wiped out.

Moreover, the Chinese presence has completely derailed Peru's thoughtful sustainability program for the squid population in the region. And there are legal protests are erupting all through the continent of South America against the Chinese DWF fleets.

The report claimed that these fleets are often linked to illegal activities such as encroaching on other nations' territorial waters, abusing workers and catching protected and endangered species. Although Shark fishing is banned throughout Central and South America, Chinese communities consume it as a delicacy.

These DWF vessels are not only disturbing the local marine ecosystem but are also disturbing the local fishing industry. The local fisherman then after losing their jobs in the fishing industry subsequently have to engage in illegal activities to make ends meet. (ANI)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
New Delhi [India], February 6 (ANI): External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar met with the science and technology minister of Argentina Daniel Filmus on Monday.

Dignitaries during the meeting discussed bilateral cooperation in atomic energy, space, digital, defence & biotechnology. Jaishankar also stressed upon expanding trade investment and collaboration and serving as an example of South-South cooperation.

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EAM Jaishankar in a tweet said, "Glad to meet Minister of S&T and Innovation of Argentina @FilmusDaniel. Discussed our cooperation in atomic energy, space, digital, defence & biotechnology. Underlined the potential for expanding trade, investment &collaboration and serving as an example of south-south cooperation".

Earlier the EAM had met with Argentina President Alberto Fernandez in August last year. During that meeting, both leaders discussed strengthening bilateral cooperation, including making trade levels more sustainable and ambitious.

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He also met with the Minister of Economy Sergio Massa and appreciated his positive outlook towards expanding our economic cooperation.

At that time India had also acknowledged Argentina's interest in the made-in-India Tejas fighter aircraft for the Argentine Air Force. The two sides also explored expanding the scope of their partnership through, inter-alia, and the conclusion of further MOUs/Agreements.

The talks on fighter aircraft come as a number of countries including Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines have shown interest in the Made in India jet. India's indigenous aircraft in the defence market has caught the eye of several nations for its superior flying ability, manoeuvrability, and ease of handling.

The Indian Air Force had recently equipped the Tejas with the French-origin Hammer air-to-ground stand-off missile along with the indigenous Astra indigenous air-to-air missiles.Indian armed forces have extensively utilised the delegated financial powers granted to them in different phases by the government to equip themselves with the necessary weaponry to handle any conflict or aggression by enemies on both sides.

The Indian Air Force is strongly supporting the indigenous LCA Tejas fighter aircraft programme by adding more and more capabilities to the aircraft.

The IAF has already operationalised two of its squadrons in the initial operational clearance and final operational clearance versions while a contract has been signed for the 83 Mark1As set to be delivered a couple of years from now. The IAF has also its eyes set on the LCA Mark 2 and the AMCA being developed by the DRDO for it. (ANI)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Brussels, Feb 6 (AP) The European Union's legislature was preparing plans Monday to host Volodymyr Zelenskyy should the Ukraine president decide to come to Brussels to attend an EU summit later this week.

Two sources in the parliament, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue, said such plans are only meant to prepare the legislature to host Zelenskyy if security conditions permit him to attend Thursday's meeting.

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When he would come, we would be ready, said one of the sources, stressing that because of security concerns any decision could only come at the last moment.

EU leaders from 27-nation bloc will be gathering for Thursday's summit in Brussels, enabling Zelenskyy to meet all major leaders of the bloc in one day. Zelenskyy has often addressed EU summits only through video calls from Ukraine.

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Zelenskyy has long had an open invitation to come to Brussels if he chose to.

It remains unclear whether Zelenskyy would be able to travel as Russian forces are keeping Ukrainian troops tied down with attacks in the eastern Donbas region amid concern that of a new Russian offensive could be in the offing.

EU Council President Charles Michel and Commission President Ursula von der Leyen visited Kyiv last Friday where they told Zelenskyy he had the bloc's unrelenting support in Ukraine's fight against Russia.

The only trip outside Ukraine that Zelenskyy has made was a visit to Washington in December to seek further aid for the war and to thank Ukraine's major financial and military back for its support. (AP)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Taipei [Taiwan], February 6 (ANI): The first two members of a Swiss multi-party parliamentary delegation on Sunday arrived in Taiwan for a six-day visit that will include meetings with President Tsai Ing-wen and other top government officials, Focus Taiwan reported.

According to Focus Taiwan, national councilors Fabian Molina and Mustafa Atici of Switzerland's Social Democratic Party arrived at Taoyuan International Airport just after 6 am and were greeted by officials from Taiwan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA).

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The delegation's other members, national councilors Nicolas Walder and Leonore Porchet of the Green Party and Yves Nidegger of the Swiss People's Party, are expected to arrive on later flights.

Molina and Walder also serve as co-presidents of the Swiss-Taiwan parliamentary friendship group.

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In a statement issued last week, MOFA welcomed the delegation's visit, which it said would include meetings with Tsai, Legislative Speaker You Si-kun, Foreign Minister Joseph Wu, and Control Yuan President Chen Chu, Focus Taiwan reported.

The group will also visit the Ministry of Health and Welfare, the National Development Council, the Mainland Affairs Council, and the National Science and Technology Council, as well as the Hsinchu Science Park.

According to MOFA, the Swiss politicians will also travel to the outlying county of Kinmen and visit the sites of historical battles between mainland China and Taiwan, before departing on Friday this week.

China recently condemned the nearly week-long visit of British lawmakers to Taiwan.

The delegation met high-level officials, including Taiwan's foreign minister, Joseph Wu. The committee also met Taiwan's Premier Su Tseng-chang.

The Chinese embassy in the UK said the MPs' visit to the "Taiwan region of China" took place despite Beijing's "firm opposition".

"This is a flagrant violation of the one-China principle and a gross interference in China's internal affairs," a Chinese spokesperson said.

Taiwan is self-ruled but China sees it as a breakaway province that will eventually unite with it.

Beijing's statement added that any moves to undermine China's interests would be met with 'forceful responses'. (ANI)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
New Delhi [India], February 6 (ANI): The US Embassy in India has said that Indians who are travelling abroad can get a visa appointment at the US Embassy or consulate of their destination. It cited the example of Thailand, saying that the country has opened appointment capacity for B1 and B2 visas (business and travel) for Indians. The US Embassy in India took to its Twitter handle to make the announcement. In a tweet on February 3, the US Embassy in India stated, "Do you have upcoming international travel? If so, you may be able to get a visa appointment at the U.S. Embassy or Consulate in your destination. For example, @USEmbassyBKK has opened B1/B2 appointment capacity for Indians who will be in Thailand in the coming months."

Meanwhile, the US Embassy in India in another tweet informed that they have processed more than 1 Lakh visa applications. It further said that their team will grow this spring.

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The US Embassy in a tweet on February 4 stated, "This January, the U.S. Mission to India processed over 1 Lakh visa applications. That's more than in any month since July 2019 and one of our highest monthly totals ever! And we aren't done yet. Our capacity will continue to increase as our team grows this spring."

Earlier on January 21, the US Mission in India launched the first in a series of special Saturday interview days to reduce wait times for first-time visa applicants. The US Embassy in New Delhi and Consulates in Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata and Hyderabad all opened consular operations on Saturday to accommodate applicants who require in-person visa interviews.

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"On January 21, the U.S. Mission in India launched the first in a series of special Saturday interview days, as part of a larger effort to reduce wait times for first-time visa applicants," the US Embassy in India announced in a statement.

The US Mission will continue to open additional slots for appointments to take place on select Saturdays, according to the statement released by US Embassy in India. These additional interview days is among the measures that have been taken to address the backlog in visa processing caused by COVID-19.

The US Department of State has implemented remote processing of interview waiver cases for applicants with previous US visas. According to the statement, dozens of temporary consular officers from Washington and other embassies will arrive in India to increase processing capacity between January-March.

The US Department of State is also increasing the number of consular officers permanently assigned to the Embassy and Consulates. The US Mission in India released more than 250,000 additional B1/B2 appointments, according to the statement released by US Embassy in India.

Consulate General Mumbai has also extended its weekday operating hours to make space for additional appointments. According to the statement, the US Mission in India will be at full staffing by this summer and they expect to be processing visas at levels from prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. (ANI)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh) [India], February 6 (ANI): The Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) GC Murmu on Monday signed two Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) with audit institutions of Tajikistan and Kazakhstan to strengthen cooperation and exchange of expertise in the field of auditing, according to an official statement.

The MoUs signed on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization Supreme Audit Institutions (SCO SAI) Leaders' meeting in Lucknow, will provide a platform for the exchange of auditing professionals and technical teams, collaboration in training programs, and mutual assistance in conducting audits, it said.

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The agreements are a step forward in promoting closer ties and collaboration among the Supreme Audit Institutions (SAIs) of the three nations, the statement.

Murmu stated that the SAIs commit to cooperate within their areas of competence to enhance and improve their respective external audit practices. This cooperation will encompass the exchange of experience in methodologies and procedures, joint efforts in professional training and personnel development, sharing of information and best practices through workshops, conferences, and technical meetings.

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The MoU with SAI Tajikistan was signed with the Chairman, Accounts Chamber of the Republic of Tajikistan, Karakhon Chillazoda. The MoU will develop and strengthen the respective institution's professional capacity and improve methodologies in the field of audit. Both SAIs also agreed to explore means of capacity development, support and cooperation on areas that are mutually beneficial.

CAG Murmu said this Mou was a reaffirmation of the values and goals that the two institutions have shared over a long period and a cementing of the ties that already exist between the two nations.

The MoU with Kazakhstan was signed with the Chairperson of the Supreme Audit Chamber of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Natalya Godunova.

The SCO SAI Leaders Summit is being held in India from February 6 to February 8, and is being attended by the heads of Supreme Audit Institutions from the Shanghai Cooperation Organization member states. (ANI)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Singapore, Feb 6 (PTI) The Tamil community in Singapore celebrated their annual Hindu festival of Thaipusam with pomp and fanfare on Sunday, after a two-year hiatus following the pandemic restrictions.

This festival commemorates Lord Murugan, the God of war and fertility, in which devotees participate in a range of activities that range from balancing brass pots of milk on their heads, piercing their bodies with hooks and skewers and carrying wooden structures called kavadis' decorated with peacock feather and spears.

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More than 35,000 devotees were joined by Singapore's Manpower Minister Tan See Leng at Sri Srinivasa Perumal Temple here.

Life is now coming back to normal and it is indeed a victory of sorts for us as a country and as a people," the minister said.

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So, this is really a fantastic indication of who we are, as a culture  multicultural, multi-religious and full of respect for one another's religions, The Straits Times newspaper quoted Tan as saying.

Tan interacted with devotees and volunteers and watched kavadi-bearers preparing themselves for the procession at the Sri Srinivasa Perumal Temple.

He also carried a milk pot around the Sri Thendayuthapani Temple. Around 450 kavadi-bearers made the 3.2km journey barefoot between the two major Lord Murugan temples in this affluent city-state.

Both temples were built by the early settlers who migrated to Singapore from Tamil Nadu.

With 80 hooks pierced into his torso and face, 51-year-old Thirunavukkarasu Sundaram Pillai navigated on his wheelchair.

He carried a 30kg alagu kavadi  a structure made of wood and metal  as a sign of his devotion to Lord Murugan.

It is immensely fulfilling to participate in the procession by foot after two years. We have prayed for our family's well-being, Pillai said.

Also present in the procession were a Buddhist-Hindu couple.

Wheelchair-bound Pissamorn Richmond and her husband Raymond Richmond offered milk in hope of recovery.

Pissamorn, 73, had a stroke in 2020 which left her partially paralysed on her left side.

Live music was played out at Hastings Road, Short Street, Cathay Green along the procession route and at both temples, with devotees dancing to trumpets and Indian percussion instruments such as the urumi melam, dhol and ghanjira.

S. Suriya, a 23-year-old urumi melam musician from Maaya Sudar Oli Urumi Melam, a religious musical group, said, Hindu festivities are meant to engage all senses. Therefore, live music is a key element. It evokes a trance-like state and allows devotees to forget all pain.

The festival saw over 13,000 devotees carrying milk pot offerings called "Paal Kudam".

The festivities started at 11.30pm on Saturday and continued until late on Sunday night.

The procession was also live-streamed by the Hindu Endowments Board (HEB).

HEB chief executive T. Raja Segar thanked devotees for cooperating with a total of 1,300 temple staff and volunteers who were on hand to help them at the temple.

This festival was introduced during the colonial era by Tamil migrants working on rubber estates.

Thaipusam is a major event in Singapore and Malaysia, which boasts of a thriving Tamil population.

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
analysis

Some Southern African states show that you can vote against Russian aggression and still remain non-aligned.

Did most Southern African Development Community (SADC) member states just officially agree to abstain from United Nations (UN) votes on Russia's war against Ukraine - in absentia?

It seems so. On 31 January SADC's security troika met in Windhoek, hosted by Namibian President Hage Geingob as current troika chair. Other members present included immediate past chair, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, and Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema, the next chair.

Democratic Republic of the Congo President Felix Tshisekedi also attended as SADC chair, as a country on the meeting's agenda, or both. Eswatini, Lesotho and Mozambican were also represented since their countries figured prominently in discussions.

The summit made several decisions on regional conflicts. However paragraph 14 of the final communique referred to non-SADC matters and appeared quite pregnant with implicit significance.

Seven states tried to commit all 16 SADC members to abstaining from voting on any conflict outside Africa

It stated: 'Summit adopted the draft African Union Declaration on the USA proposed "Countering Malign Russian Activities in Africa Act" and urged Member States to communicate SADC's position, and reaffirmed the stance of Non-Alignment on conflicts outside the continent and the region at multilateral fora.'

That United States (US) bill was adopted by the US House of Representatives last year but wasn't taken up by the Senate. ISS Today sources doubt it ever will be. Nevertheless, it has given African states, particularly South Africa, a big stick to beat the US for meddling in Africa's relations with Russia. The bill would sanction certain Russian companies - like the military Wagner outfit - and the Africans who collude with them.

The second part of paragraph 14 is more interesting and has potentially major implications. It seems the seven states in Windhoek tried to commit all 16 SADC members to abstain from any vote on any conflict outside Africa. The focus was Russia's war against Ukraine, as indicated by the juxtaposition of the decision with that on the US bill.

African states have been more ambivalent than most about this war, with almost the same number abstaining as those supporting UN General Assembly resolutions condemning Russia. South Africa especially has stuck to its 'non-aligned' stance, abstaining from all four resolutions and the one decision. Fellow former liberation movements in government in Southern Africa have invariably done the same.

At least nine of 16 SADC states supported at least one UN resolution against Russia's Ukraine invasion

But other SADC countries have been less consistent. Eight voted for the first UN resolution on Ukraine on 2 March 2022, condemning Russia for its aggression and demanding immediate withdrawal. These were Botswana, Comoros, the DRC, Lesotho, Malawi, Mauritius, Seychelles and Zambia. They constituted a majority of SADC members voting, as only seven abstained. Eswatini didn't take part.

In the second General Assembly resolution on 24 March 2022, which added concern about ongoing civilian suffering, some SADC states that backed the 2 March resolution switched to abstention. The overall SADC count was six in favour, nine abstaining, and Comoros absent. The third resolution on 7 April 2022, which suspended Russia from the UN Human Rights Council because of its gross human rights abuses in Ukraine, saw SADC support slip to five for, Zimbabwe against, and nine abstentions.

However by the fourth vote on 12 October 2022 - which condemned and rejected Russia's unilateral referenda in Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia - SADC states supporting the resolution rose to nine. Seven abstained. In a final vote on 16 September 2022 on whether Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky should be allowed to address the annual UN General Assembly meeting remotely, the SADC vote in favour was even larger.

So at least nine of the 16 SADC states voted in favour of at least one General Assembly resolution condemning or sanctioning Russia for its Ukraine invasion. Yet it seems that all these countries are now bound to abstain from such resolutions.

Zambia doesn't take sides, but also rejects aggression or war because of the human cost

Botswana's opinion on the troika decision would be interesting. It voted for all but one UN resolution. Intriguingly, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov was due to visit Botswana last month after visiting South Africa, Eswatini and Angola on his African charm offensive. But he didn't go - instead travelling to Eritrea, Russia's biggest African fan. Was that because Gaborone didn't want him?

Zambia and the DRC's positions on the SADC troika decision are even more interesting. The DRC voted for all the UN's Ukraine resolutions and Zambia for all but one - when it was absent from the chamber. Yet Tshisekedi and Hichilema were at the Windhoek summit, which adopted a universal non-aligned SADC position in the UN and other multilateral bodies.

How does that figure? Perhaps paragraph 14 of the communique was simply presumptuous. Like Africa, SADC has officially taken no common position on Russia's war against Ukraine - and a few lines in a communique won't stop member states from voting at the UN to condemn Russia.

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But the answer to the riddle might also depend on how you define 'non-aligned'. A senior Zambian official suggested to ISS Today that 'non-aligned' doesn't mean silence on matters that affect humanity. Zambia doesn't take sides but rejects acts of aggression or war between nations because of the human cost. And non-aligned governments don't lose their rights to vote at the UN.

This is a message South Africa and its regional allies should hear. They have chosen to interpret 'non-aligned' to mean refraining from even a hint of criticism of Russia's aggression against Ukraine.

That Zambia and the DRC remain non-aligned while supporting UN resolutions condemning aggression or annexation of a nation's territory by force gives the lie to South Africa's 'non-alignment'. It exposes South Africa's position as simply pro-Russia.

Incidentally, the non-aligned position reinforced at the troika summit referred to all matters outside Africa. So that must also cover the Israel-Palestine conflict - one in which South Africa has adopted an extremely aligned position against Israel, often voting against it at the UN.

Non-alignment, then, seems to be purely in the eye of the aligner.

Peter Fabricius, Consultant, ISS Pretoria
Ankara, February 6: As condolences poured in from world leaders after a deadly earthquake shook Turkey and Syria on Monday, claiming more than 500 lives, a level 4 alert was declared in Turkey as the country issued a fervent appeal to the international comunity to rush aid. The 'level 4' alarm includes an international call for assistance.

Turkey's Disaster and Emergency Management Agency (AFAD) called upon the international community to mobilise urgent relief and assistance after the earthquake of magnitude 7.8 left a trail of death and desvatation in its wake.

AFAD said in a statement that it needed international help "in the field of urban search and rescue," CNN reported. Earthquake in Turkey: India to Send Rescue and Medical Teams Along With Relief Material to Ankara.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi led the world leaders to condole the loss of lives caused by the massive temblor in Turkey and Syria on Monday.

"Anguished by the loss of lives and damage of property due to the Earthquake in Turkey. Condolences to the bereaved families. May the injured recover soon. India stands in solidarity with the people of Turkey and is ready to offer all possible assistance to cope with this tragedy," PM Modi tweeted.

Nepal Prime Minister Prushpa Kamal Dahal aka Prachanda condoled the deaths caused by the massive temblor in Turkey and Syria on Monday. "I am deeply saddened by the death of dozens of civilians in the devastating earthquake in Turkey. On behalf of the Government of Nepal and the people of Nepal, I express my deepest condolences to all the bereaved people while paying emotional tributes to the deceased," the Nepal PM tweeted.

The US National Security Advisor also took to Twitter to assure Turkey of timely assistance. He tweeted, "The US is profoundly concerned by today's destructive earthquake in Turkiye & Syria. I have been in touch with Turkish officials to relay that we stand ready to provide any & all needed assistance. We will continue to closely monitor the situation in coordination with Turkiye."

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky also took to Twitter to extend his condolences to the kin of the earthquake victims. "We stand with the people of Turkey at this difficult time. We are ready to provide the necessary assistance to overcome the consequences of the disaster," Zelensky tweeted. Earthquake in Turkey: Second Strong Quake of Magnitude 7.5 On Richter Scale Hits Turkey.

Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif also tweeted his condolences to the people of Turkey and Syria in a series of tweets, according to CNN.

Israel President Isaac Herzog also condoled the loss of lives in Turkey and Syria on Twitter.

"The State of Israel always stands ready to assist in every way possible. Our hearts are with the grieving families and the Turkish people at this painful moment," Herzog posted.

Israel's Defense Minister Yoav Galant said the country was prepared to provide emergency aid to Turkey after it was jolted by one of the most powerful earthquakes in over a decade. The 7.8 temblor and its aftershocks also severely damaged Gaziantep Castle in Turkey, which ranks among the UNESCO World Heritage sites.

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Ahmedabad, February 6: If a Hindu woman abandons her children and converts to Islam, the hindu children will not be entitled to her property, a Gujarat court said dismissing a plea filed by three Hindu daughters claiming share from the retirement benefits of their mother after her death. The court went on to add that the Hindu children could not be her successors according to Mohammedan laws.

The local court also held that as per Mohammedan laws, the woman's Muslim son was her Class I heir and rightful successor, reported TOI.

The woman in this case identified as Ranjan Tripathi had got a job on compassionate grounds in Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) after her husband's death. At the time she was pregnant besides having two daughters. Later Ranjan started living with a Muslim man. Since she did not live with the in-laws, the daughters were raised by the family of their father. Bombay High Court Asks BMC Why Notice Issued to Cut 177 Trees at Aarey Colony for Metro Car Shed Project.

In 1990, the three daughters filed a maintenance lawsuit against her on the grounds that she abandoned them and won the case. Ranjan married the Muslim man in 1995 after converting to Islam and changed her name to Rehana Malek in her service records. Supreme Court Agrees To Give Urgent Hearing to Same-Sex Couples Plea Against Kerala HC Order for Counselling Sessions With Psychiatrist.

The woman had a son from the second marriage. Before the woman died in 2009, she named her son as her nominee. Her daughters filed a suit in a civil court in Ahmedabad, claiming their right to her provident fund, gratuity, insurance, leave encashment and other benefits.

The court however noted that her Hindu children cannot be her successors according to Mohammedan laws. The court said that if the deceased was a Muslim, her class I heirs could not be Hindus going on to add that all Mohammedans are governed by Mohammedan law, even if they are converts to Islam.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Feb 06, 2023 06:34 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).
New Delhi, February 6: The Delhi High Court on Monday was informed by the Centre that the draft for online gaming regulation has been circulated and it is in the process of finalising the same with two rounds already over.

The Central government's counsel said: "Draft regulation has been circulated and consultations with the stakeholders have started. "Two rounds have already happened. We are in the process of finalising the same." Gaming Addiction: Psychiatrists Warn Parents About Child Behaviour Following Murder Case in Lucknow.

A division bench of Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma and Justice Subramonium Prasad, hearing petitions by advocate Atul Batra and Avinash Mehrotra, said that the court would hear the matter post eight weeks. Online Game Addiction: Minor Boy Secretly Uses Mother's Phone to Buy 'Weapons' Worth Rs 3.2 Lakh for Battle Game in Chhattisgarh.

In Batra's plea, it was stated that in the name of "games of skill", "games of chance" are being promoted and that equates to online gambling, which is as bad as any substance abuse.

It was stated that keeping a tab on online gambling is must and if it is not done, it might be harmful for the youth as they can fall prey to such games damaging their life personally and professionally.

However, Batra, who said that it (his plea) does not require any further order, was granted liberty to approach the court again in case of any grievance while the latter closed the proceedings on the same.

In the petition by Mehrotra, which seeks recovery of taxes due from online players and site operators, it is claimed that with online gambling system not being regulated in India, it is also a great place for carrying out hawala operations and laundering money.

The plea seeks court's direction to the Centre to prosecute the unscrupulous owners/proprietors, and the promoters of the online gambling websites in accordance with law.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Feb 06, 2023 10:23 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).
According to The Hollywood Reporter, the veteran musician appeared shocked to hear her name called. Accepting the honor from the First Lady, Raitt told the crowd.
Get latest articles and stories on India at LatestLY. India's indigenously developed Light Combat Aircraft (LCA-Navy) on Monday landed onboard aircraft carrier INS Vikrant, in a feat described as a historical milestone by the Navy.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi on Friday said that the government has nothing to do with the matter and the Opposition is raising it as it is bereft of issues.
Mexican actor Pablo Lyle, best known for his work in various telenovelas, was sentenced to five years in prison with eight months' probation over a road rage incident in Miami back in 2019. He punched a man and this led to that man's death.

Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Marisa Tinkler Mendez was the one who announced the telenovela actor's sentence, and this came just two months after she rejected his request for a new trial. Judge Mendez upheld the guilty verdict that a jury reached last October, according to the Associated Press.

The judge admitted that this was one of the most difficult decisions that she has ever made and that nobody will be satisfied with her decision. She also ruled that aside from his five-year sentence and eight-month probation, Lyle must also perform 500 hours of community service and complete anger management classes.

Mexican Telenovela Actor Pablo Lyle Remorseful as Sentencing Hearing Played Out

Pablo Lyle, who tried to get a new trial as he maintained that he was acting in self-defense during the confrontation, was remorseful for the death of Juan Ricardo Hernandez, whom he punched, leading to the man's death.

The actor stated, "It hunts me when I go to bed and it's still there when I wake up," adding, "I never wanted anything like this to happen."

The telenovela actor, who previously starred in the Netflix series, "Yankee," publicly apologized for the incident during the hearing and said that he has been wanting to apologize to Hernandez's family for years.

READ MORE: Pablo Lyle Found Guilty of Manslaughter

Lyle's lawyer, Attorney Bruce Lehr, argued that Hernandez, a Cuban immigrant, was the one who provoked the accident as he was the first one to get out of his car to confront Lyle's brother-in-law. However, prosecutors argued that Lyle, who at the start of the confrontation was only a bystander, made the "conscious decision" to punch Hernandez and flee before he was identified.

However, Lyle's attorney argued that his client had a "three-second adrenaline-filled mistake" and that should not make him a criminal. Meanwhile, prosecutors have argued that Lyle should not get probation and be deported back to Mexico, according to Local 10 News.

The Incident That Landed Pablo Lyle in Prison

The road rage incident involving Lyle and Hernandez happened in Miami in March 2019. Lyle was only a passenger at that time, with his brother-in-law driving him and his family. However, his brother-in-law cut off a car driven by 63-year-old Juan Ricardo Hernandez at the intersection of NW 27th Avenue and 14th Street.

Angry at being cut off, Hernandez got out of his car and confronted the brother-in-law. He was banging at the vehicle that Lyle and his family were in and argued with the driver.

A surveillance video showed Lyle running toward Hernandez and punching him. The punch knocked Hernandez out and this would lead him to die from injuries sustained from the punch, according to CBS Miami.

A Miami jury found him guilty of manslaughter back in October.

Pablo Lyle is known for his roles in various Mexican telenovelas, including "Mi Adorable Maldicion," "La Sombra Del Pasado," and "Corazon Que Miente"

READ NEXT: Florida Vegan Mom Gets Life in Prison for Starving Toddler Son to Death

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Rick Martin

WATCH: Judge explains Pablo Lyle's sentence - WPLG Local 10
The China spy balloon stayed over the continental USA for several days before President Joe Biden decided to shoot it down. The hesitation to shoot it down on its first reporting earned criticisms from the former Defense secretary and CIA director in the Barack Obama administration.

Leon Panetta told CNN's Jim Acosta that he believed the USA should have taken steps to prevent the balloon from entering its territory if it was a China spy balloon.

Panetta added that he is not sure that the United States should have allowed the China spy balloon to simply cross over the country above what were "obviously sensitive military sites."

Biden was in an infrastructure event and a fundraiser event on Tuesday when Gen. Mark Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs Staff, informed the president that a China spy balloon was floating over Montana.

Some administration officials believed the timing was intentional, as it was floating over the U.S. the same week that Secretary of State Antony Blinken was due to leave for China for a supposed diplomatic discussion about USA-China relations.

READ NEXT: Pentagon Tracking Suspected Chinese Spy Balloon; Refuses To Shoot It Down for Safety Reasons

China Spy Balloon Shot Down

Upon receiving information about the surveillance balloon, Joe Biden seemed to be inclined to take the China spy balloon down while asking Mark Milley and other military officials to offer contingencies.

Biden explained his delay in shooting down the surveillance craft, saying that Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Milley told him to wait until they have "the safest place to do it."

The president also requested that the military should shoot it down in a way that would allow them to recover its payload. Officials said shooting it down over water also increased their chances of recovering its contents.

The Defense Department confirmed that its fighter jets shot down the balloon over U.S. territorial waters on Saturday. According to BBC News, the department officials said that the debris landed near Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.

The president then confirmed that fighter jets successfully took it down. However, Panetta noted that he understood there were debris risks but insisted that the U.S. government should have acted earlier if suspicions were valid.

China Spy Balloon Update

A congressional source noted that the Gang of Eight will receive a briefing as early as Tuesday regarding the China spy balloon, CNN reported.

The Gang of Eight is a bipartisan group of eight leaders in the House and Senate who receive information about classified intelligence matters in the United States.

House Republicans are eyeing to vote this week on a resolution condemning the Biden administration for its response to the surveillance balloon, according to a source familiar with the matter.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said the Biden administration's decision to shoot down the China spy balloon was "too late" and allowed China to "make a mockery" of the U.S. airspace.

Meanwhile, Republican Sen. Ted Cruz lauded Biden for "having the guts" to shoot down the suspected surveillance balloon. However, the decision to wait days showed "weakness."

READ MORE: Chinese Spy Balloon Causes Antony Blinken To Postpone China Trip

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Written by: Mary Webber

WATCH: Another Chinese Spy Balloon Was Spotted by the Biden Administration Before, House Intel Chair Says - From NBC News
Chile is extending its emergency declaration to another region as wildfires continue ravaging parts of the South American country. Firefighters are struggling to contain dozens of wildfires as the death toll rises. This comes as a massive heat wave is also breaking records in the country.

As of Saturday, the death toll has climbed to 22, with the Chilean government declaring a state of catastrophe in the La Araucania region, in addition to the Nuble and Biobio regions. The Associated Press reported that the emergency declaration allows for greater cooperation with the military.

In addition to the 22 deaths recorded, 554 have reportedly been injured, with 16 in serious condition. Chile's Interior Minister Carolina Toha said the death toll will likely rise, as there were unconfirmed reports of at least 10 people still missing.

The Biobio region has the highest number of deaths. Sixteen deaths had been recorded in Biobio, followed by five in La Araucania and one in Nuble. One of those deaths includes a Bolivian pilot who died when a helicopter helping put out the fires crashed in La Araucania. He died along with a Chilean mechanic.

READ NEXT: Chile Aims to Change its Pinochet-Era Constitution Again

Wildfires Continue Amid Heat Wave in Chile

As of Saturday morning, 251 wildfires were burning throughout Chile, 151 of which were under control, Chile's Senapred disaster agency reported. It became even more complicated as a major heat wave was battering the country, recording high temperatures in many areas.

Temperatures became so bad that it reportedly reached 38 degrees Celsius or 100 degrees Fahrenheit in Chillan, the capital of Nuble, on Friday. Strong winds have also complicated the firefighting efforts as it risks worsening the fire conditions.

Conditions in Chile Risky Due to Wildfires

Chile's Minister of Agriculture, Esteban Valenzuela, admitted that hundreds of homes have already been damaged in the wildfires, adding that the conditions in the coming days would be risky.

According to the Associated Press, Chile President Gabriel Boric suspended his vacation to travel to the affected areas on Friday to deal with the emergency situation. The president noted that there is some evidence that some of the wildfires were sparked by unauthorized burnings.

He promised that "the full force of the state" will be deployed to fight the fires and accompany all the victims. However, it remained unclear how many houses and other structures have already been ravaged by the fires.

The Chilean president will reportedly travel to Biobio and Nuble, both known for agriculture and forestry, after cutting short his summer vacation, according to The Guardian.

The country has since opened several emergency shelters for the families affected by the wildfires. Aside from burning many homes, fires have also disrupted traffic on highways, and numerous municipalities have been forced to evacuate.

READ MORE: Chile's Iconic Easter Island Statues Damaged in a Wildfire

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Written by: Rick Martin

WATCH: Multiple Dead, Hundreds Injured in Chile Wildfires - NBC News
Viola Davis snatched a Grammys 2023 award for the audiobook recording of her own memoir, "Finding Me." The Grammy win makes her an EGOT, an acronym for those who received an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar, and a Tony award.

Davis is the 18th person to achieve the esteemed EGOT status. Other EGOT artists include Audrey Hepburn, Mel Brooks, Andrew Lloyd Webber, and John Gielgud, according to The Guardian.

During the ceremony in Los Angeles on Sunday, Davis said she wrote "Finding Me" to honor the six-year-old Viola, including "her life, her joy, her trauma, everything."

She becomes the fourth Black artist to reach such prestige. Other Black artists to achieve EGOT status include Whoopi Goldberg, John Legend, and Jennifer Hudson.

Her memoir talks about the racist bullying she experienced while growing up in Rhode Island, including her journey from being an actor with small roles to landing roles in "How to Get Away With Murder," her first big break.

Davis' audiobook was up against Brooks, Lin-Manuel Miranda, who is an Oscar win away from reaching EGOT status, including actor Jamie Fox and Questlove, who both have Oscars and Grammys.

READ NEXT: Christian Serratos: Where You've Seen Her Before Her Netflix Role as Selena Quintanilla

Grammys 2023

Viola Davis said on stage that "R&B is not a fad; it's the truth" before announcing the winner of the best R&B song award, Beyonce's "Cuff It." The recording artist is close to beating the record for most Grammy awards in the history of the awarding ceremony.

Beyonce won for her song "Cuff It," beating Muni Long, Mary J. Blige, Jazmine Sullivan, and PJ Morton, according to NBC News. However, host Trevor Noah noted that Beyonce is not yet at the ceremony, adding that "the upside of hosting the Grammys in L.A. is everyone can be here."

Noah went on to say that the disadvantage is the traffic, but "Beyonce is on her way." Jay-Z, the husband of Beyonce, was seen in the crowd during Stevie Wonder's performance.

Harry Styles beats Adele and Lizzo, winning the first Grammy of the night, the best pop vocal album for his "Harry's House." In his acceptance speech, Styles noted that the album has been the "greatest experience of my life."

Kim Petras made a breakthrough after she became the first transgender woman to win the Grammys for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance.

Kim Petras becomes the first transgender woman to win the #GRAMMYs award for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance. pic.twitter.com/V2xNYwX0iV  Pop Base (@PopBase) February 6, 2023

Viola Davis' 'Finding Me'

Viola Davis' memoir was released in April 2022 and detailed the racism she experienced in the third grade, with "eight or nine white boys" in her class, making it an end-of-school ritual to "chase me like dogs hunting prey," USA Today reported.

She also wrote that they would throw things at her, such as pine cones, rocks, and even bricks, while calling her names and racial slurs. The actress was also candid about how her childhood was marred with poverty and abuse.

She noted that they had a home infested with rats when they moved to Rhode Island. Viola Davis also revealed the abuse inside their home, with her father physically abusing their mother and their brother taking sexual advances on her and her three sisters.

The 56-year-old award-winning actress also wrote, "there is an emotional abandonment that comes with poverty and being Black."

READ MORE: Jennifer Lopez Net Worth 2022: Is the Latin Pop Diva Richer Than Her Boyfriend Ben Affleck?

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Mary Webber

WATCH: Viola Davis Is An EGOT After 2023 Grammy Win - From Access Hollywood
Intra-African trade was largely stifled by stringent entry rules making it strenuous for citizens to move from one country to another

Trade experts, business executives, and advocates of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) from across the continent have expressed concerns about the slow progress on the ratification of the Protocol on the movement of people.

The Agreement has, thus far, been signed by 54 of the 55 African Union (AU) Member States. Forty-four countries have deposited their instrument of ratification, but only four have ratified the Protocol on the movement of people.

Intra-African trade, currently less than 15 per cent of the continent's total trade, is largely stifled by stringent entry rules making it strenuous for citizens to move from one country to another.

In a document released at the end of a three-day Africa Prosperity Dialogue held in Ghana from 26 to 28 January on the theme "AfCFTA: From Ambition to Action - Delivering Prosperity Through Continental Trade,"African countries are called upon to "accelerate the ratification of the Protocol."

The Protocol - initially contained in the 1991 Abuja Treaty - aims to facilitate and increase the movement of Africans within Africa, while enhancing their rights to entry, residence, and establishment in AU member states.

With more people able to move freely, countries will easily tap into a wider labor market to bridge skills gaps while trading across borders.

The Africa Prosperity Dialogue focused on issues relating to AfCFTA ratification, market access, dispute resolution, negotiations on Phase II of the Agreement, industrialization, private sector, innovation and technology, financing and resource mobilization, partnerships for impact, and free movement of persons.

Continental integration is an existential necessity, and therefore a natural destiny for Africa

The outcome document also contains a commitment to "Ratify the AU Protocol on the Free Movement of people and select a champion to ensure early entry into force."

In fact, President Nana Akufo-Addo of Ghana was called upon to champion the Protocol on the free movement of persons. The president said he would "readily accept in all humility." He cautioned, however, that "I need the approval of the AU before I can become the champion of anything"

President Akufo-Addo urged "all of us here to see ourselves as champions of intra-African trade," adding "We cannot afford to fail. As African nations, we must join hands with each other and work diligently to pursue this noble cause."

The dialogue was organized by the African Prosperity Network in partnership with the AfCFTA Secretariat, the Government of Ghana, UNDP, and the UN Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA).

It brought together business executives and associations, policy leaders, trade experts, women, and young entrepreneurs, and senior government representatives who brainstormed and identified quick wins to move the AfCFTA initiative from ambition to action.'

Let Africans roam freely. Free movement of people is a must if Africa wants to enjoy the full benefits of the AfCFTA.

"Continental integration is an existential necessity, and therefore a natural destiny for Africa," said Stephen Karingi, the Director of Regional Integration and Trade UNECA.

"When our governments sign or ratify an agreement of this nature, they are making a collective promise to all of us... It is thus incumbent on all of us to support them to be true to their words, but also to hold them to account when they fall short," said Melaka Desta, Coordinator of the African Trade Policy Centre at the UNECA.

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All of us here see ourselves as champions of intra-African trade. We cannot afford to fail. As African nations, we must join hands with each other and work diligently to pursue this noble cause.

"Let Africans roam freely. Free movement of people is a must if Africa wants to enjoy the full benefits of the AfCFTA," said Joseph Atta-Mensah, Senior Regional Adviser on Trade, UNECA.

Organizers agreed to "meet annually, under the Africa Prosperity Dialogue," and take stock of the progress of Africa's prosperity agenda.

It was also agreed that development partners including UNECA and UNDP will continue to provide coordinated support to governments and businesses to ensure the full implementation of the AfCFTA.
Authorities in Colombia verified the sighting of a balloon-like object over its territory the day before a U.S. military plane shot down an alleged Chinese spy balloon.

Colombia's air defense system picked up a suspected balloon on Friday morning, the air force stated in a brief statement released on Saturday, Reuters reports.

According to a statement, an "object" was spotted flying at 55,000 feet over Colombia airspace from the north at 25 knots (around 29 mph).

According to the statement, the air force tracked the object until it departed Colombia airspace and found that it had "characteristics comparable to those of a balloon."

"It was determined that it did not represent a threat to national security," the statement added.

READ NEXT: Why Joe Biden, USA Waited to Take Down China Spy Balloon

Pentagon Says a Chinese Spy Balloon Is Flying Over Latin America

The Pentagon announced late Friday that it had seen a second Chinese surveillance balloon in Latin America, barely hours after disclosing that a similar balloon was traveling across the United States continental territory.

The Defense Department is aware of reports of another balloon transiting Latin America, according to Pentagon press secretary Brigadier General Pat Ryder, per NBC News.

"We now assess it is another Chinese surveillance balloon," he said without providing more details about the alleged Chinese spy ballon's location.

Earlier on Friday, the Pentagon said it would not try to remove the balloon in U.S. airspace because "any potential debris field would be significant" and could cause "civilian injuries or deaths or significant property damage." Still, it did not respond to the slow-moving violation of "U.S. airspace and international law."

Americans in the middle of the country are now watching the sky, looking for the balloon that has sparked domestic curiosity, political finger-pointing, and an international diplomatic crisis.

U.S. Shoots Down Chinese Spy Balloon

The United States claims to have shot down a massive Chinese spy balloon eavesdropping on American military sites.

The Department of Defense has verified that U.S. fighter planes shot down the balloon in international waters.

U.S. attacks on civilian unmanned aircraft prompted "strong dissatisfaction and protest against the U.S.'s use of force to attack civilian unmanned aircraft" from China's foreign ministry, according to BBC.

Footage broadcast on U.S. television showed the Chinese spy balloon exploding and plunging into the ocean.

A defense official informed reporters that at 14:39 EST (19:39 GMT), an F-22 jet fighter fired one AIM-9X Sidewinder missile at the high-altitude balloon, bringing it down roughly six nautical miles off the U.S. coast.

The debris landed in water only 47 feet deep, according to U.S. defense sources quoted by local media outlets, which was significantly shallower than they had anticipated. The area is close to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.

Military personnel is currently scouring a 7-mile radius for scattered wreckage (11km). Two naval vessels are nearby, one of which is equipped with a large rescue crane.

"While we took all necessary steps to protect against the PRC [China] surveillance balloon's collection of sensitive information, the surveillance balloon's overflight of U.S. territory was of intelligence value to us," a senior U.S. defense official said a statement released by the Pentagon.

"We were able to study and scrutinize the balloon and its equipment, which has been valuable," the official added.

Since defense authorities initially said they were tracking it on Thursday, U.S. President Joe Biden had been pressured to shoot it down.

After the occurrence, U.S. Vice President Joe Biden said, "They successfully took it down, and I want to complement our aviators who did it."

Meanwhile, Colombia authorities have not mentioned China or any other nations as the likely source of the balloon.

READ MORE: Marcos do Val Claims Jair Bolsonaro Plotted Coup Against Lula

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Written by: Bert Hoover

WATCH: 2nd Chinese balloon spotted over Latin America as debate continues over U.S. response - From ABC7
Officials in East Palestine, Ohio, warned residents to leave their homes immediately Sunday night due to the possibility of an explosion caused by the blaze that was started by a train derailment.

"Within the last two hours, a drastic temperature change has taken place in a rail car, and there is now the potential of a catastrophic tanker failure which could cause an explosion with the potential of deadly shrapnel traveling up to a mile," Gov. Mike DeWine warned in a statement Sunday.

The Ohio train wreck happened on Friday while carrying dangerous chemicals, causing a massive fire that is still burning and raising concerns about air quality.

The governor has ordered the immediate evacuation of surrounding neighbors while crews seek to contain the explosion.

Local officials said that while most residents within a mile of the epicenter have evacuated, there are still more than 500 who have refused to leave their houses, CNN reports.

"We need to get everybody who remained within that mile radius - or decided they needed to come back within that mile radius - we need you to leave now," Fire Chief Keith Drabick said.

The chemical vinyl chloride, which the train was transporting, has undergone a "drastic shift," as reported by the fire chief.

READ NEXT: Train Derailed at Silver Dollar City

Firefighters Step Back and Let the Trains Burn

Vinyl chloride is the chemical on board that is most concerning. It is a highly flammable, colorless gas.

It is a common ingredient in the production of polyvinyl chloride, which is used to make everything from wire coatings and pipes to plastic cutlery.

Sixty-eight organizations from three states and many counties came to help extinguish the fire.

Since Saturday, about 2,000 individuals have been forced to leave their homes.

Norfolk Southern, the company operating the trains, has stated that several different chemicals are being transported in the cars.

Still, the most dangerous is vinyl chloride due to its extreme flammability.

Firefighters have used 400 thousand gallons of water trying to put out the blaze, but they have been told to step back and let it burn because of persistent safety concerns, according to ABC 5

There has been no resolution to this matter yet. If the flames subside, the firefighters will return to their efforts to extinguish the blaze.

There have been no reported injuries, and the Red Cross is actively helping the thousands of people who have been uprooted.

The town has been ordered to stay in its shelters until further notice.

What Caused the Ohio Train Wreck?

Officials from the federal government announced on Sunday that the Ohio train wreck on Friday night, close to the Pennsylvania state line, was caused by a mechanical problem with a rail car axle, per AP.

There was still an evacuation order because of the burning pile of cars, some of which contained dangerous items.

Norfolk Southern, the train's operator, reported that over 50 cars derailed near East Palestine at around 9 p.m. on Friday while transporting various goods from Madison, Illinois, to Conway, Pennsylvania.

There were no reported injuries to the crew, residents, or first responders.

In addition, investigators have pinpointed the precise "point of derailment," according to Michael Graham, a National Transportation Safety Board member.

He did not point out the location, but he said that a preliminary report on the investigation is due within the next month or so.

READ MORE: Chinese Spy Balloon-Like Object Spotted in Colombia's Airspace

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Written by: Bert Hoover

WATCH: 50 train cars in East Palestine, Ohio - From CBS Pittsburgh
Officials have responded to the chaos caused by a Texas "free food" post, with more than 250 people clamoring for food that had been thrown out due to the power outage in Austin, Texas.

Travis County Constable Pct. 4 George Morales III posted photos of the incident on social media while informing residents that there was no distribution of free food at the grocery store. He added that it was not safe to eat, according to CNN.

Morales noted that the food was "rotten and spoiled," adding that it is unsafe to eat.

The grocery store, H-E-B, said that "it did not offer free food." The grocery store went on to say that the power outages caused a mass amount of rotten food.

More than 400,000 homes, businesses, and other electricity customers experienced a power outage after a deadly ice storm affected the state.

H-E-B went on to say that the store was unable to keep some perishable items in the proper places.

READ NEXT: Texas Border Czar Reveals Strategy to Stop Illegal Immigration

Chaos Over 'Free Food'

Someone noticed the food in the grocery store dumpster and posted about the "free food" on social media, according to Morales in a Facebook post.

More than 250 people arrived at the grocery store and started fighting in the dumpster over the discarded food, according to Fort Worth Star-Telegram.

Videos of the scene showed people in the dumpster grabbing food and tossing it to carts.

Another video on Facebook showed a very full dumpster, with people throwing things around.

Morales said that the fight over the "free food" caused roadblocks near the grocery store, with deputies and police officers arriving at the scene and clearing the area.

H-E-B said that they had to follow strict food quality and safety standards, requiring them to dispose of some perishable items.

At least 66,000 Texas customers had no electricity as of Sunday morning.

Texas Power Outage

Austin Energy's distribution crew leader, Forrest Gifford, noted that the ice storm resulted in the most catastrophic damage he had seen in his 15-year career, according to Texas Tribune.

Gifford went on to say that downed trees, live wires, and other hazards made the work "slow-going and difficult."

Gov. Greg Abbott issued a disaster declaration for seven counties heavily affected by the severe weather, causing a power outage.

Abbott said in a statement that the state has provided all help requested throughout the severe weather, adding that they will continue to do so.

Austin Mayor Kirk Watson and Austin Energy officials waited more than 24 hours after the power outage to hold the first conference.

The city-owned utility said it could no longer promise when the electricity would be fully restored.

Almost 100,000 Austin customers had their electricity restored between Thursday and Saturday.

Wind chills were below negative 100 degrees Fahrenheit, with Mount Washington in New Hampshire recording the nation's lowest-ever reported wind chill of negative 109 degrees.

The severe ice storm caused at least 10 deaths in three states.

READ MORE: Texas, Arizona Keep Sending Buses of Migrants to Washington; DC Mayor Devotes $10 Million to Help

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Mary Webber

WATCH: Texas ice storm: Governor issues disaster declaration - from WFAA


Current trade patterns have exposed Africa's poorest to commodity price volatilities and global shocks due to current trading patterns

The UN Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) is supporting regional trade integration through the African Trade Exchange Platform (ATEX), a platform enabling bulk procurement of commodities.

Speaking at a session on integrating regional trade during the regional consultation on LDC5 for Least Developed Countries (LDCs) in Africa and Haiti, UNECA Director for Regional Integration and Trade Division, Mr. Stephen Karingi, highlighted the importance of trade within the LDCs of which 33 are in Africa.

Over the past 5 years, about 80% of exports from African LDCs were destined to extra-African countries while about 79% of African LDCs imports were sourced from outside of the continent.

"Mirroring Africa more broadly, the LDC's largely import manufactured products and export goods low along critical value chains like fuel products, ores and metals, and food items," Mr. Karingi said, expressing concern that current trade patterns have exposed African LDCs to commodity price volatilities and global shocks.

The impact of the AfCFTA on intra-African trade is likely to be much higher as the above estimates don't consider informal cross-border trade which is prevalent in most African LDCs.

The UNECA and Afreximbank in collaboration with the African Union and the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Secretariat, have developed a digital B2B and B2G ATEX.

The platform provides a safe and secure digital marketplace for pooling Africa's trade demand, as well as a one point of transparent and competitive access to critical supplies.

Mr. Karingi explained that ATEX digitally enables the trade of the main agricultural commodities and inputs imported by the continent from Russia and Ukraine. These include cereals, fertilizer and associated inputs, oils, oilseed, other products and inputs that support agricultural value chains.

The ATEX trade platform has been established on the back of the establishment of the AfCFTA, which, if fully implemented, is set to accelerate industrialization in Africa and increase the value of intra-African trade by 400 per cent and the share of intra-African trade to 26 per cent by 2045. This is compared to the share of intra-African trade which was at 15 per cent in 2020.

"The impact of the AfCFTA on intra-African trade is likely to be much higher as the above estimates don't consider informal cross-border trade which is prevalent in most African LDCs," said Mr. Karingi, adding that while the AfCFTA is expected to impact countries differently based on their existing comparative advantages, all African countries will benefit.

Trade gains are expected mostly in the industry, agrifood and services sectors. For example, Ethiopia's intra-African agrifood sector is expected to grow by 84% and the industry sector in Benin by 63%.

Mirroring Africa more broadly, the LDC's largely import manufactured products and export goods low along critical value chains like fuel products, ores and metals, and food items.

The UNECA is helping African countries, many of which are LDCs, in developing their national AfCFTA implementation strategies.

Furthermore, the UNECA has conducted research with Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and gathered data on Digital Services Trade Restrictions across African countries. Of 28 countries with data, UNECA has collected data on 17 LDCs which shows different trade restrictions across African countries.

For example, little restrictions in Gambia and high restrictions in Tanzania with infrastructure being the most common restriction found.

Despite the trade and industrialization prospects for LDCs offered by the AfCFTA, there were many barriers to industrialization for LDCs. For instance, productive actors are largely resource- and talent-poor Micro Small and Medium Enterprises which were disproportionately led by women and youth including those in the informal sector.

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Noting that women face constraints to participation in trade, including access to assets, finance, markets, information, networks, skills, standards, tech, security at borders, Mr. Karingi said inclusive complementary policies were necessary for national and regional AfCFTA implementation.

In line with this, the African Union Assembly decided to include the Protocol on Women and Youth in Trade in the scope of the AfCFTA Agreement. UNECA ensures that gender policy is mainstreamed in the national AfCFTA implementation strategies.

"African LDCs are extremely vulnerable to global shocks due to their current trading patterns and the AfCFTA will be instrumental in cushioning African LDCs from external shocks and bolstering the industrialization of these countries," said Mr. Karingi.
Tributes have been paid to the former IFA President Padraig Walsh, who died unexpectedly last Wednesday, February 1.

Mr Walshe was laid to rest on Monday following Requiem Mass in Durrow.

Fr. Paddy Hennessy, a brother-in-law of Mr Walshes, concelebrated the Funeral Mass at the Holy Trinity Church in Durrow.

The attendance included the aide-de-camp to President Michael D. Higgins, Commandant Brian Walsh.

In his homily, Fr. Hennessy noted the circumstances of Mr. Walshes passing and the care and compassion of the paramedics and emergency services on the scene. It was a testament to humanity in a time of need, he noted. He also spoke of Ella Walshes extraordinary strength as a storm erupted around her. He paid tribute to the help of neighbours and friends in the days since.

Padraig Walshes life revolved around family, farming, faith and friends. His great strength was Ella, his wife. He was faithful to family and his community. He enhanced our lives.

He worked locally but thought globally. He had an encyclopedic mind and an ability to listen to everyone, discern what was said and make a decision.

He travelled all over the country helping people, on errands of mercy sometimes and put no limit on his time.

At times he could be a man of few words but he had great one liners, among them being you cant farm from an office in Brussels.

His mantra was that ordinary talent and extraordinary perseverance can achieve anything.

The readings were read by Catherine and Elma Walshe. Prayers of the faithful were read by Mr Walshes brothers, Eamon and Seamus, sister Breda, sister-in-law Margaret and her husband Jer Bergin.

In his eulogy the former General Secretary of the IFA, Michael Berkery spoke of Padraig Walshes love of his native place.

He noted the immediate feeling of palpable grief which greeted the shocking news of his passing. There was a feeling that we had lost a stalwart of rural Ireland.

Padraig Walshe was a pure gentleman. His legacy will always be appreciated and it will endure. He was calm, logical and determined and his genuine decency was an absolute given.

Mr Berkery acknowledged the immense bravery of Ella Walshe and how her concern for others prevented a pile up or accident on the M1 motorway. Fate ordained that she would be with him in his final moments. Theirs was a formidable partnership. Many enjoyed the hospitality of the table at Bishopswood over the years. The kitchen table was the boardroom.

In his early days as IFA President Mr Walshe organised a national protest campaign over the proposed Mandelson trade deal.

Mr Berkery said that Padraig Walshe had the three As which are prescriptive for succeeding in public life - ability, affability and availability.

His presence lifted a room and, with his trademark psychedelic ties, he towered over us.

Mr Berkery noted Mr Walshes involvement in farming and farm politics, starting from his arrival home to the family farm in 1976 at the age of 20 from agricultural college.

From his early days in Abbeyleix Macra to the IFA National Presidency and beyond he had made a huge contribution to a range of national organisations.

His was a fulfilled life, well lived, he noted.
Laois children joined their local TD and Minister Sean Fleming TD at the Holy Family National School in Portlaoise to launch the 2023 Our World Irish Aid Awards.

The awards encourage primary school children to submit projects looking at Irelands role in tackling the big issues facing people around the world. This years theme urges pupils to follow the lead of activists such as education campaigner and Nobel Peace Prize winner Malala Yousafzai and raise their voices in support of Equality for All.

Minister Fleming is Minister of State for International Development and Diaspora. He invited children in Laois and at primary school pupils around Ireland to to take part.

Here in Ireland, we believe in everybody having the right to be treated equally regardless of factors like gender or race. Sadly that is not the case in many countries. This years Our World Irish Aid Awards invites young people to use their creativity to promote equality for everyone.

Pupils taking part will learn about how inequality affects young people like them in different parts of the world. We want them to think about which inequalities they want to raise their voice about. I would encourage pupils and teachers all over Ireland to get involved. I look forward to seeing their projects later this year, he said. MORE BELOW PICTURE.

Minister for Education Norma Foley TD backed the awards also.

The Our World Irish Aid Awards have become a regular part of the annual school calendar with teachers and pupils alike looking forward to taking part. The resources offered to teachers are carefully thought-out and cover a myriad of aspects of the curriculum within in the context of the Awards theme, which this year is Equality for All. Their content is engaging, encouraging and inspiring, and will help support our school communities and wider society, she said.

Specially created curriculum-linked teaching and learning materials have been delivered to all primary schools in Ireland, helping teachers and pupils discover more about the theme of Equality of All and each of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and Irish Aids focus countries. The materials include a pupils magazine, lesson plans, activity sheets and online games, available in English and as Gaeilge in print and digital format.

Schools are invited to express their ideas and understanding of the issues in writing, song, film, artwork or another medium of their choosing.

As in the previous two years, the Our World Irish Aid Awards will include a series of Global Goal Getters online multi-media magazines featuring projects submitted by pupils around Ireland as a way of showcasing learning, creativity and actions nationwide.

Submissions are now being accepted and the final closing date for projects is Friday 31st March 2023. See www.ourworldirishaidawards.ie for more information and to download this years teaching and learning materials.
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Africa's private sector accounts for 80 per cent of total production, two-thirds of investment, three-quarters of credit, and employs 90 per cent of the working-age population

The private sector is recognized as an indispensable stakeholder in the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA), especially given its ability to catalyze sustainable economic development and job creation.

"Africa's private sector accounts for 80 per cent of total production, two-thirds of investment, and three-quarters of credit, and employs 90 per cent of the working-age population," said Stephen Karingi, Director of Regional Integration and Trade at the UN Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA).

Speaking during the opening of a three-day Africa Prosperity Dialogues on 26 January in Ghana, Mr. Karingi called on captains of trade and industry to "own and drive the implementation of the AfCFTA by supporting their governments but also by holding them to account."

UNECA estimates that by 2045 intra-African, trade in agri-food, industry, and services sectors will increase by nearly 35% compared to a situation without the AfCFTA.

But governments must implement the Agreement "fully and effectively" for such impressive projections to come true, and the private sector must also seize the opportunities of a large single market created by the AfCFTA.

We have everything we need to transform Africa into a global powerhouse of the future. AfCFTA has set the stage for Africa's industrialization.

The role of the private sector was also echoed by the chairperson of the African Prosperity Network, Gabby Otchere-Darko, who stated "we (the private sector) should make the fulfillment of the promises of the AfCTA "our agenda."

The event was officially opened by Ghana's Vice President, Mahamudu Bawumia, who pointed out that "we have everything we need to transform Africa into a global powerhouse of the future," adding "the AfCFTA has set the stage for Africa's industrialization."

UN Assistant Secretary-General and Director of UNDP's Regional Bureau for Africa, Ahunna Eziakonwa, said "it is through the AfCFTA that we will industrialize" and create rather than "export African jobs."

"An Africa that produces its people's needs is not just the Africa we want, it is the Africa we need," Ms Eziakonwa said.

Mr Karingi noted, however, that the African private sector of which 90 percent are small and medium enterprises face challenges in conducting cross-border trade due to non-tariff barriers such as complex customs procedures, lack of access to finance, high costs of transportation and logistics, and lack of access to information, among others.

He cited inadequate infrastructure connectivity, rudimentary productive capacity, and risky or expensive payment systems as some of the barriers to trade, adding "the cost of doing business across African borders remains high, leading to the regrettable situation where African products are uncompetitive in African markets. "

It is through the AfCFTA that we will industrialize and create rather than export jobs.

Africa's weak productive capacity and consequent excessive reliance on imports for essential products expose the continent to external shocks such as the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine war.

"When COVID-19 struck, African countries were confronted with a lack of access to basic medical supplies because Africa imports over 90 per cent of its supplies. When the Russia-Ukraine crisis dawned, several African countries faced a crisis of food security because wheat and corn exports from Russia and Ukraine were suspended," Mr. Karingi said.

"We, the private sector, should make the fulfillment of the promises of the AfCTA our agenda.

The AfCFTA is expected to integrate and consolidate Africa into a single $2.7 trillion market by eliminating many of the barriers to trade present across the Continent. It provides the platform for Africa to diversify its economy and achieve resilience to natural and manmade shocks, including climate change.

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Mr. Wamkele Mene, Secretary General of the AfCFTA Secretariat, posited that the ambition to integrate Africa dates back to the founding of the Organisation for African Unity (now the African Union).

But the challenge now, he noted, is to "transform such ambition into action," citing vaccine manufacturing in some African countries as one of the ways in which the continent is moving from ambition to action under the AfCFTA.

The maiden Africa Prosperity Dialogues is organized by the Africa Prosperity Network in collaboration with the UNECA, the AfCFTA Secretariat, and the Government of Ghana

Mr. Karingi reassured participants that "UNECA has been there from the beginning; UNECA will be there to the end. Africa is ready to turn the promises of the AfCFTA to reality, and UNECA will be there all the way."
Sligo Leitrim TD Marian Harkin has called on the government to provide Covid-type support schemes for businesses and communities dependent on tourism where the local tourism accommodation has been substantially reduced because it is being used to provide accommodation for refugees.

Addressing Junior Tourism Minister Thomas Byrne in the Dail, Ms Harkin called for the appointment of a dedicated tourism officer in areas most affected by this to address the loss of revenue among tourism and tourism-dependent businesses. On the broader refugee issue, she called for a dedicated community liaison officer and for an increase in public transport at peak times and school times to better serve the communities.

Arising from a recent meeting with community leaders and local businesses in Rosses Point, Co Sligo, which was attended by TDs Marc MacSharry and Frank Feighan, Ms Harkin relayed to the Minister what she had heard about the impact of the loss of accommodation. Describing the meeting the Deputy said, I want to make it crystal clear that the tone and content was constructive and focused on seeking solutions. There was no blame, no anti refugee sentiment, in fact the opposite is true. But there was a recognition of the impact of the huge increase in the population of Rosses Point and the consequent impact on all public services as well as the loss of huge numbers of beds for the upcoming tourism season.

The Deputy pointed out that communities should not be left to cope with this on their own. That impact must be managed for the communities, the businesses and the refugees in places like Rosses Point and other similar areas in the constituency, she said. Ms Harkin pointed out that all businesses are affected by the loss of tourism accommodation. We're speaking of restaurants and bars and businesses involving maritime activities or any other leisure activities. Approximately 25% of the tourism accommodation outside Dublin is now devoted to housing refugees and in some areas like in Rosses Point it's much higher, the Deputy said.

Minister, is there any possibility of some kind of support scheme specifically for those businesses where it can be shown that the impact is substantial? she asked, Support schemes for loss of income are needed, along with greater marketing for areas that are worst affected. That's where a dedicated tourism officer could really help to support business.

In response Minister Byrne said that officials in the Department of Tourism are engaging with a range of departments, with input from Failte Ireland, to consider how best to mitigate the potential impacts of long-term use of tourism accommodation. An analysis is being done on those towns or areas most impacted by the unavailability of tourism accommodation, he said.

The Deputy suggested to the Minister that the support for refugees has moved on to a new stage, The first was helping to house refugees, I am fully supportive of that, as are the people who attended that meeting. The next stage is to support both communities and refugees. We are now at that stage, and I want to hear what plans the government has in place. Communities need to know the government is on their side, Ms Harkin said.
A man who failed to appear in court due to illness was convicted and fined in his absence for overtaking in a dangerous manner at Carrick-on-Shannon District Court.

Thomas Patrick Clarke, 30 Fairlawn Road Finglas, Dublin 11 faced a single summons for overtaking in a dangerous manner at Mount Campbell, Carrick-on-Shannon on August 10, 2021.

Gda Leonard told the court that she was travelling from Carrick-on-Shannon towards Mohill when she met Mr Clarke's vehicle, it overtook other vehicles forcing two other vehicles to have to veer out of his way.

When she stopped him, Mr Clarke said that he was running late for an NCT test.

Mr Clarkes wife appeared before court and explained that her husband had been involved in an accident in June last year and still suffered headaches. She said that he had been affected by such a headache on the date of the court and had been unable to attend.

Mrs Clarke said that she had lived at the address in Finglas with her husband and their three children for nearly 11 years.

She said that her husband has received fixed charge notices previously at the house, noting he got some last week but said that he had not received any notice in relation to this offence.

He never said anything about that (offence) until the summons came to the house. He got no fine, she said.

Mr Clarke's solicitor, Martin Burke, provided evidence supporting a claim that there had been an issue in January 2022 with postage sent from an insurance company to the Clarke's house.

An email noted that several letters had been sent to the Clarke home but the company followed this with an email as the letters had not been received.

However in cross examination Inspector Michael Collins presented Mrs Clarke with the summons and pointed out that the reverse of the summons provides the recipient with a final opportunity to pay the fine or the matter will come before the court.

Mrs Clarke said that they did not receive the original fine and they only found out about the court when the summons was sent out.

Judge Vincent Deane noted that with the receipt of the summons Mr Clarke had a chance to again pay the fine and avoid a court date.

Defending solicitor, Martin Burke, said he was somewhat hamstrung as his client wasn't in court to give evidence.

There is evidence that Mr Clarke was having issues with the post and this is confirmed by a third party, said Mr Burke.

His wife is here in court and confirmed that if he had received the fine he would have paid it.

I am cognisant of the fact that there may be some doubt arising, he said.

However Inspector Collins said that as Mr Clarke is not in court, the most that could be taken from the evidence is that an email was sent out, that's all it is.

Judge Deane noted that the email from the insurance company showed that there was a period of three weeks in January 2022 where there was a problem with the post.

This (matter) is September 9, 2021. I am not satisfied with the evidence of Mrs Clarke that this fine was not delivered, he said.

It was noted that Mr Clarke had 11 previous road traffic convictions.

In mitigation Mr Clarke's solicitor said that his client is a 41-year-old father of three.

He also said that Mr Clarke is not working at the moment as a result of the accident he had last year.

Judge Vincent Deane convicted and fined Mr Clarke 400 in his absence.

He fixed recognisance in the matter in the event of an appeal.
Sinn Fein MEP Chris MacManus will hold a series of high-level engagements in the European Commission and Parliament in Brussels this week. These will include meetings with Commissioner for Cohesion and Reforms, Elisa Ferreira, and Chair of the European Parliaments Regional Development Committee, Younous Omarjee.



The meetings will focus on addressing the decline of the Northern and Western region, comprised of Connacht, Donegal, Cavan and Monaghan. The Midlands Northwest MEP has been meeting with key regional stakeholders in recent weeks and intends to bring their proposals to the decision makers in Europe.



MEP MacManus said: "This week I will hold a series of engagements in Brussels focused on addressing the decline of the Northern and Western region. The decline of our region in recent years has been alarming and points to a lack of understanding of the challenges we face, both at Government and EU level.



The Northern and Western region is unique as the only region in Ireland downgraded to being a region in transition and a moderate innovator region. Furthermore a recent report carried out by the European Parliament confirmed that the region is stuck in a development trap, and has been for many years.



These are very worrying indicators and I have organised a series of high-level engagements to highlight these issues with key decision-makers in Brussels and stress the need for urgent action to ensure that this decline is reversed.



MacManus held many preparatory meetings with various regional representatives ahead of the meeting with the Commission. In recent weeks I have met with a number of regional stakeholders, including the Northern and Western Regional Assembly, Western Development Commission, Ireland West Airport, Atlantic Economic Corridor Business Forum, University of Galway and the recently established Atlantic Technological University, to hear their views on how these challenges can be addressed.



Many of the same themes emerged from these meetings  the need to address infrastructural deficits, in particular public transport, broadband and renewable energy; the exclusion of the West from the TEN-T Core Network; the lack of autonomy for regional decision making and finance; Governments failure to adequately utilise EU funding as well as a number of other specific issues.



Addressing these issues would bring investment, opportunity and high value jobs to our region and ensure it can thrive. I will be stressing the urgency of the situation and the need for positive discrimination in favour of our region to European officials over the coming days.



MacManus concluded, Balanced regional development and a thriving Northern and Western region benefits the whole country, not just the region itself, and its time that this was recognised and delivered on.
On Sunday last, February 5th a large crowd gathered in Arigna to honour the memory of three victims of the civil war who were killed in the conflict one hundred years ago.

In a stiff wintery breeze, a parade formed up on the hillside outside Arigna village where a Colour Party and the Raheen Pipe Band led the march to the Cull/Tymon memorial site on the slope of the Arigna hills.

The memorial overlooks the Kilronan mountain valley in this scenic area of north Roscommon.

The memorial was erected in memory of brothers, Michael and Seamus Cull and Patrick Tymon, all local to the area.

Michael was killed by Free State forces in Ballyconnell, Co Cavan, in January 1923 and his brother Seamus and Patrick Tymon were killed in a secret dug-out when a grenade was tossed into the entrance by Free State soldiers on February 27th 1923.

Pat McManus, Arigna, chaired the ceremony.

Wreaths were laid at the monument, the 1916 Proclamation was read and Roscommons Roll of Honour was called out.

The main speaker was Thomas Curran, a Republican Sinn Fein councillor from Bearna, Co Galway.

In a stirring oration Mr Curran outlined the circumstances of how the three men met their deaths. He also stated that the cause and objectives; a united Irish republic, that motivated the men to take action one hundred years ago have yet to be realised.

A piper played a lament as the flags were dipped and raised.

Mr John Tymon, a nephew of Patrick, spoke briefly and thanked the organisers for their efforts to remember his uncle and comrades who paid the supreme sacrifice a century ago.

The proceedings ended with the Raheen Pipe Band playing the National Anthem.
The Sunny Liger, a Marshall Islands-flagged tanker with a cargo of Russian diesel, at anchor in the North Sea near Ijmuiden, Netherlands, on April 30, 2022, after dockers at the Port of Amsterdam refused to unload its cargo. PAUL MARTENS / AFP

The sanctions on Russian oil and oil products (crude on December 5, 2022, refined on February 5, 2023) will probably not win the war in Ukraine, but they contribute seriously to weakening financial support for the Russian effort. This, at least, is what Western foreign ministries hope. And for now, they say they are satisfied with the goal achieved by the first of these efforts. "The embargo and the price cap on Russian crude oil [by the European Union (EU)] have worked," a European diplomat claimed, explaining that "it didn't create panic in the markets because it didn't remove the 2-3 million Russian barrels a day from the market. But Russia's revenues went down. That was our goal."

Oil remains Russia's main source of revenue, ahead of gas. Moscow was the world's second-largest exporter of crude (the largest, including refined products) before the invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022. But due to the first sanctions, sales were reported to be at $12.6 billion (11.7 billion) in December 2022, their lowest level since 2021, according to the International Energy Agency.

Read more Article reserve a nos abonnes Partial European ban on Russian crude oil begins

According to President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen, who was in Kyiv on Thursday, February 2, this first round of sanctions against crude oil is already costing Russia "about 160 million a day." On January 18, the Russian Finance Minister confirmed that the revenues of the sovereign wealth fund, which are made up of oil revenues, had fallen by $38.1 billion in the space of a month, reaching $148.4 billion on January 1. This fund is crucial to Russia's finances. It was originally intended to pay for the pension system, and it has been used to cover the largely conflict-related public deficit of December 2022.

'Finding new buyers'

"In our opinion, the ban on imports of refined products should have the same type of impact as the one on crude oil," predicted Lauri Myllyvirta, an expert from the Center for Research on Energy and Clean Air. Namely, it will induce "an initial drop in volume, which then forces Russian exporters to lower their prices in order to find new buyers." More dependent on Europe to sell this type of product than it was for oil, Russia risks being hit even harder in the wallet, according to Myllyvirta.

"We estimate the value of imports of Russian oil products to the EU at 70 million a day at present, which is more than 10% of Russia's total revenue of about 600 million a day," he added. Moreover, according to the same think tank, oil products  unlike crude oil  are almost exclusively exported from Baltic and Black Sea ports.

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GORTATLEA Mart is hitting a big milestone this year as it is officially opened 40 years, and it is Maurice Brosnans ninth year as manager.

Maurice took over the reigns from his uncle Sean Brosnan, who established the mart with the phenomenal support of his brothers and close friends.

Last week saw the busiest week ever seen at Gortatlea Mart with sales over three days starting with Wednesdays dairy sale which also met with a tremendous trade with 100% clearance with anything with good quality meeting between 2,000 & 2,600.

Sellers and buyers left very happy with the quality of stock.

Calf, runner and weanling sale Wednesday evening  prices of weanling never seen before. Exports extremely anxious, giving between 3/kg and 4/kg

Thursday saw the sale of cows and stock bulls  an exceptional trade with top quality cows exceeding 3.50/kg-topping with a super CH cow 825kg, 3380 or 4.10/kg and a LMX cow 695kg, 2980 or 4.29/kg.

Store cows also met with a brisk trade with some tremendous prices for continental and dairy store cows.

Friday heifers, young bulls and bullocks sale continued where Thursdays sale ended with quality beef heifers regularly selling well in excess of 3/kg.

Exceptional demand for all types store and beef cattle regularly making between 3 and 4 per kg with a large number of AA on store exceeding 3. Continental beef and store bullocks were also an exceptional trade with some very fancy prices paid - a super pair of BBX BLKs weighed in at 792kg and sold for 3020 or 3.81/kg

Gortatlea would like to take this opportunity to thank all the sellers and buyers of all stock forwarded this week and throughout the year  and recognise all the mart staff  auctioneers, office and yard staff.

Sales continue this Wednesday, February 1 with a special E&U grade bull sale and Friday with our weekly general dale. Huge ringside and online appetite for all types of stock - for enquiries ring the office at 066 713 7244 or Maurice at 087 2344433.
A LIMERICK councillor has described a new housing policy as appalling.

At a full meeting of Limerick City and County Council, councillors approved a new policy which allows only one politician to make representations for social housing on an applicant's behalf.

Before the one-rep policy was adopted, applicants could ask for help from any number of councillors or TDs.

Cllr Elisa O'Donovan was opposed to the policy and described it as appalling.

However, the Social Democrats representative was in the minority as councillors were in support of the policy which was then adopted.

Ms O'Donovan claimed the policy implied that councillors or TDs would be doing the job that the local authority should be doing.

She also argued that the policy favoured big parties within the council.

Meanwhile, councillors stated that the new policy would instead save time for representatives as well as council staff.

Fine Gael councillor and former Mayor of Limerick Daniel Butler said that some people applying for social housing are often in a vulnerable state and the new policy will make their application process easier.

Some find the process very difficult. We may take the assumption that it is easy to access these services, it is not.

Joe Leddin, Labour Party councillor said that he believed the one-rep policy was already the accepted policy and that there was no point in duplicating the work.

Liam Galvin, Fine Gael councillor for Newcastle West said that Cllr O'Donovan was not correct with her remarks and that she had the wrong end of the stick.

There will be a six month review on the new policy at which stage it will be looked at again.
THE NEXT generation is counting on a bike lane for South Circular Road.

Thats the view of Conor Buckley, the chairman of the Limerick Cycle Campaign, who has urged councillors to be brave, do the right thing and support" the 6m plan.

At the metropolitan council meeting later this month, members will decide whether a plan to build a cycle lane in South Circular Road, down Henry Street and into the city should proceed.

But the project has sparked deep divisions  approximately three-quarters of people contributing to a public council consultation have come out against the proposals.

Their concerns centre mainly around the elimination of parking spaces in South Circular Road, while Henry Street traders have raised concern at the viability of their businesses.

Mr Buckley warned members  who have the power to accept or reject the plan  will come under intense pressure from more conservative voters who do not want change.

But the opposition has led to a number of compromise measures being put forward, including making Henry Street one-way only to motorised vehicles and also reinstating the parking spots, while at the same time creating a shared pedestrian/cycle surface.

The campaign chair wants the scheme delivered without interruptions to the proposed cycle track.

Suggesting to remove the cycle track from any section of the scheme in favour of a small number of private on-street parking spaces goes against Limerick's recently published and ratified transport strategy, It goes against national climate action policy and it goes against the students, workers and families that will benefit from this active travel corridor, he said.

Mr Buckley acknowledged councillors who will decide on the project have a tough job.

In the face of a declared climate emergency, we need political leadership, we need to see the next generation of political leaders step forward and support the delivery of Limerick's sustainable transport system, he said, warning if the scheme is watered down, transport authority funding may not come.
MOTORISTS are being advised of possible delays later this week due to repair works which are being undertaken by Uisce Eireann.

As part of the National Leakage Reduction Programme, mains repair works will take place at O'Connell Avenue and South Circular Road in the city from 9am on Tuesday.

The State utility says the works, which will continue until 4pm, are likely to cause supply disruptions to Mary Immaculate College, South Circular Road and surrounding areas.

Limerick City and County Council, which is working with Uisce Eireann to carry out the works, says a traffic management plan will be in place but that delays can be expected.

Separately, leak detection works are scheduled to take place at Dock Road, Limerick between 1am and 5am on Wednesday. Again, a traffic management plan will be in operation.

Householders and businesses whose water supply is impacted during the works are being advised to allow up to three hours for normal service to be restored.
NEW DELHI : By the time one walks through the air shower to enter Padget Electronics Pvt Ltds smartphone factory in Noida, the workers inside would have produced 11 smartphones.

It takes about 20 seconds for a typical air showera small room where high velocity air is blown to clean dustto do its job. Thats close to the time it takes for a single assembly line at the factory to put together a smartphone. This factory, which assembles Motorola phones, has 11 assembly lines, and one line has about 90-100 workers standing next to each other. They make a smartphone like the pieces of a jigsaw puzzle.

View Full Image Graphic: Mint

It all begins with the liquid display assembly (LDA), an electronic board with a phones display on one side, and circuits on the back. The first worker attaches the main printed circuit board (PCB) on the back of this LDA and passes it on to next worker to connect the PCB to a sub-board at the bottom. In the following steps, camera sensors are attached to the LDA while a robotic machine applies coolanta glue-like material that keeps phones cool. It takes about 15-20 such steps to assemble a low-end smartphone.

Padget Electronics is a wholly owned subsidiary of Dixon Technologies India Ltd, one of the oldest contract smartphone manufacturers India has had. Even though companies like Dixon have existed since the 1990s, the rise of Chinas electronics manufacturing industry led many to forget these firms.

In 2014, research firm Counterpoint Research pegged Micromax (which runs manufacturing firm Bhagwati Products Ltd) as the top smartphone seller in the country. But as Micromax, along with Lava and Intex, disappeared from the market, overrun by Chinese players, people seemed to also forget that they had significant manufacturing businesses.

The pandemic, and changing global geopolitics, however, have brought Indian contract manufacturers back in focus. And few companies have drawn as much attention as Dixon Technologies. Besides Motorola, the company today manufactures smartphones for Nokia and Samsung. Two more contracts are in the works. In 2022-23, it expects revenues at 12,700 crore, nearly double of what the company generated in 2020-21. According to Counterpoint Research, in the September quarter of 2022-23, Dixon accounted for 7.8% of all smartphones made in India, narrowly behind Bharat FIH, which manufactured 8.5% of all devices. Bharat FIH is a Foxconn Technology Group company, one of the worlds largest contract manufacturing entities.

Dixons stock underlines the growing importance of Indian contract manufacturing. It rose from around 830 in January 2020 to over 3,859 in May 2022. While the shares have dropped since, many analysts and brokerages remain bullish on the companys prospects.

Whats driving this optimism?

Brand behind brands

Contract manufacturers like Dixon, Bhagwati and Lava are also called electronics manufacturing services (EMS) providers, which means they take specifications from companies like Motorola and put together an electronic device. Companies such as Motorola, on the other hand, are original equipment manufacturers (OEMs)they own the original intellectual properties (IPs) and designs products. Typically, they contract an EMS company to assemble their product. Some companies, like Samsung, are capable of doing both.

Sunil Vachani, chairman and managing director of Dixon, said his company will never move to the OEM business model. The company, he stressed, wants to remain the brand behind the brands". In doing so, it will never become a competitor to the companies it produces for. A Motorola, therefore, will never have to worry about handing Dixon a contract because it knows that the company wont use what it learns from manufacturing Motorola products to create a competing and possibly cheaper productwhich is essentially how Chinese companies like BBK Electronics, Xiaomi and many others became giants in the field of consumer electronics over the past decades.

In a way, the strategy is similar to Taiwanese Foxconns famed eCMMS business model. While the e is simply technology parlance, CMMS stands for component, module, move and service. It explains how Foxconn established itself as a manufacturing giant by making acquisitions that gave the company more control over the ecosystem, and hence, allowed it to offer better pricing.

Foxconn began as a plastic component provider specializing in connector and cable production back in the 1970s. It expanded through the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s to evolve into a complete system integrator for large companies, including Apple. It did so by slowly acquiring control over the labour intensive parts of the industry, and by acquiring capabilities in putting together PCBs, and various other modules of an electronic device.

Similarly, Vachani is keen on getting a handle on components electronics devices use. The company, he said, will be analysing the Budget proposal on halving customs duties on open cell panelsa key ingredient for making televisions (TV)and will also start injection moulding for TV frames soon.

In the December quarter, the company also completed technology acquisition of Bluetooth mesh technology (a connectivity standard that allows multiple devices to interact with each other) and new WiFi solutions for smart lighting from Ibahn Illumination, a lighting solutions company.

The new factories

What financial investors like in a manufacturing business is how you differentiate yourself," said a person who was among Dixons original investors and exited when the company went public in 2017. He didnt want to be identified. He added that this differentiation can come either by becoming a market leader or if the firm can expand the market opportunity for itself.

Dixon is doing the second. Mobile phones are only one part of its business. The company also assembles products in consumer electronics, home appliances, medical electronics, lighting solutions, set-top boxes, IT hardware, and reverse logistics. Expansion means building more factories. Vachani said the company is building five.

The first factory, which will manufacture telecom equipment, is ready. The second factory, which will be dedicated to manufacturing wearable products (smartwatches, true wireless headphones, etc.) will become operational in March. Yet another will be used to manufacture refrigerators and will become operational by April. The fourth factory is Dixons largest at one million square feet. It will be dedicated to the manufacturing of mobile phones and is expected to be ready by August-September this year. The last factory will come up in Andhra Pradesh on a 20-acre plot and will be dedicated to manufacturing surveillance products, like security cameras.

Meanwhile, Dixon announced a joint venture with Bharti Airtel in April 2021 to manufacture telecom and networking products such as routers and modems. While consumer electronics already generate substantial revenues ( 864 crore in the December quarter of 2022-23 with operating profit of 26 crore), Vachani has identified refrigerators as a growth area. Wearables is another bet, as will be laptopsonce the government announces a production linked incentive (PLI) scheme for the sector. The scheme provides companies cash incentives on incremental production.

During its January 2023 earnings call, Saurabh Gupta, Dixons CFO, said that the company has big growth" coming in all verticals in 2023-24. He added that fully automatic washing machines could show 100% growth, while wearables, hearables, telecom and TV could grow between 15% and 18%.

In September 2022, Dixon became the first firm to receive benefitsworth 53 crorefrom the PLI scheme for mobile phones. In fact, no less than five of Dixons manufacturing segments are set to receive PLI benefitsbesides phones, there is IT hardware, lighting, washing machines and telecom.

They (Dixon) have been here for more than two decades," said Tarun Pathak, research director at Counterpoint Research. They have all the ingredients to scale up in house. They are scaling at the right place, at the right time. And then, obviously, looking at exports as an opportunity as well," he added.

Vachani concurred, noting that the company aims to earn nearly 1,200 crore from exports in future. Exports are not significant at the moment but, going ahead, the company expects to ship mobile phones and lighting products, among others. While the US is the key export market right now, Dixon plans to expand to Africa and the Middle-East as well.

From EMS to ODM

In the early 2000s, companies like HCL, Wipro, Zenith and ALTOS among others had tried to develop a complete ecosystem for personal computer manufacturing in India. Industry veterans recalled how governments didnt pay heed at the time, dismissing them as screwdriver companies". It was among the biggest mistakes Indian governments made, they held. The Modi governments focus on building India as a manufacturing alternative to China must not go the same way. That goal can only be achieved if firms like Dixon move from the EMS model to what is called an original design manufacturing (ODM) model.

Manufacturing as a paradigm relentlessly chases low cost," said PVG Menon, a veteran consultant for the electronics industry. If you want to to broaden this, we should learn from China on how to make it sticky. You add value by deepening the ecosystem and by adding design capability. Offer ready-made modules with which products can be quickly realized," he added.

ODMs lie somewhere between OEMs and EMS firms. ODMs own key licences and IPs required to manufacture electronic products and appliances. To be sure, the transition to being an ODM is unlikely to make a big difference to Dixons margins. However, it allows a contract manufacturer more freedom and better visibility into its own business. For instance, in September, Dixon announced that it had acquired licences to Android and GoogleTV platforms for televisions from Google.

Vachani said that the company plans to launch its first India certified design for televisions in the first quarter of 2023-24. He also said that the company already has ODM status in lighting and washing machine segments, and it hopes to achieve the same status in the telecom business in the next financial year.

Challenges and growth

Dixon, however, isnt immune to a global slowdown or the electronics industrys supply chain nightmare. In the January earnings call, Dixon noted that two new mobile phone contracts are in the works, but, at the same time, demand for Motorola phones had dropped, which led the company to revise its estimates.

A sub-par December quarter has led the firm to revise its growth estimates for 2022-23. While Dixon was earlier expected to generate revenue of 16,500-17,000 crore, the estimates have now moderated to 12,200- 12,700 crore.

Analysts said that the two new mobile phone customers Dixon is set to acquire could be key to the companys growth.

An analyst from a top securities firm, who didnt want to be identified, said that the guidance revision, along with the market downturn globally, has cost Dixon some points. The thinking among some investors is that Dixon might be struggling to allocate funds to the right areas efficiently. Smaller rivals can move fast into growth areas," the analyst said.

Companies such as MEPL (Sky Electronics), Sun Industries Pvt Ltd, ELIN Electronics, NTL Electronics, Vimal Plast India, etc., are competing with Dixon in different marketsfrom televisions and lighting products to home appliances. In mobile phones, the companys biggest competitors are Bharat FIH and Lava.

The analyst quoted above, however, does not believe that the smaller firms pose a great risk. They dont have the scale advantage Dixon has amassed over the past few years and may struggle for capital.

You have to understand that Dixon remains one of the largest EMS players in India. Its only real competition is Foxconn. Lava, Bhagwati, etc., cant expand to other segments fast enough. So, theres no reason not to remain bullish on Dixon," the analyst said.

Certainly, investors would like to view the company as Indias answer to Foxconn.
The ruling military junta accused the MINUSMA head of bias against the country. The decision comes after a UN Security Council briefing was critical of Mali.

Mali's ruling military junta declared on Sunday the head of the United Nations peacekeeping mission persona non grata, giving him 48 hours to leave the country.

In a statement read on TV, government spokesman Colonel Abdoulaye Maiga accused Guillaume Ngefa Atonodok Andali, head of MINUSMA's human rights section, of bias in the choice of civil society witnesses for UN Security Council briefings on Mali.

"This measure comes after the destabilizing and subversive actions of Monsieur Andali," Maiga said.

The Malian government particularly singled out the last such briefing, which took place on January 27.

During the briefing, rights activist Aminata Cheick Dicko denounced the security situation in the country, and accused the regime's Russian partner, the Wagner group, of serious rights violations.

Mali's row with MINUSMA

UN experts called on January 31 for an independent investigation into potential war crimes and crimes against humanity, purportedly committed by the Malian armed forces and the Russian private military contractor.

In a statement delivered during the UNSC January 27 meeting, UN Deputy Representative Richard Mills described Wagner as a "criminal organization that is committing widespread atrocities and human rights abuses in Mali and elsewhere."

Mills also said the Malian authorities had blocked the MINUSMA mission from deterring and responding to attacks as well as investigating alleged human rights abuses on 237 separate occasions.

Set up in 2013, MINUSMA's mission, or the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali, aimed to stabilize Mali amid a growing jihadist insurgency.

However, relations between the mission and the ruling regime became tense recently, especially following the military take-over in a 2020 coup, followed by another coup nine months later.

In August 2022, Malian authorities also expelled MINUSMA Spokesman Olivier Salgado, and ordered the temporary suspension of the mission's group rotations.

(AFP, Reuters)
NEW DELHI : State-runCoal India Ltds annual wage bill is set to reach around 46,000 crore with a likely increase of about 6,000 crore after the worlds largest coal miner agreed last month to recommend a new wage agreement for its non-executive employees. The company is awaiting the governments nod for the new wage agreement. Last month, Coal India and four central trade unionsBMS, HMS, AITUC and CITU  inked a memorandum of understanding recommending 19% minimum guaranteed benefit (MGB) to its non-executive employees.

The total wage bill including executive and non-executive (workforce) has been around 40,000 to 42,000 crore annually. Post the new wage agreement, the bill will increase by 5,000-6,000 crore (from last fiscal)," said Pramod Agrawal, Chairman and Managing Director, Coal India. In the last fiscal (FY22), its wage bill stood at 40,700 crore and after the implementation of the new agreement it would be in the rage of 45,700-46,700 crore. Employee benefits expenses include salary and allowances, contributions to provident fund, pension and gratuity, overtime payments, leave encashment, attendance bonus, productivity and performance linked bonus and other incentives.

We have agreed to recommend, but we need permission from the government for that," the CMD said, adding that the company would be able to make up for the increased expenditure on wages if it continues to increase production at the pace witnessed in this fiscal.

Last year, our turnover was around 1 trillion. This time it must be 1.25 trillion or more."

The wages of non-executive employees of Coal India which account for 90% of its workforce are revised every five years and the latest revision is due since 2021.

The minimum guaranteed benefit of 19% under the proposed National Coal Wage AgreementXI (NCWA-XI) is on emoluments as of 30 June 2021 which include basic pay, variable pay DA, and attendance bonus.

Apart from Coal India and the trade unions, Telangana-based Singareni Collieries Company Limited (SCCL) is also a signatory to the MoU recommending the agreement. Around 282,000 employees of both the state-owned coal entities CIL and SCCL, who were on the rolls of the company as of 1 July 2021, would be the beneficiaries, out of which nearly 44,000 belong to SCC

The consenus on the recommendation was reached in the eighth meeting of Joint Bipartite Committee for the Coal Industry-XI held on 3 January.

The eleventh version of NCWA will be effective for a period of five year from 1 July, 2021.

The employee benefit expenses constitutes the largest component in the total expenses, account for 45% of the companys expenditure. The employee benefit cost of FY22 of 40,700.82 crore was as against 38,592.42 Crores in previous year

Coal Indias Annual Report for FY22 showed that it gross turnover increased 20% during the fiscal. Although, the median remuneration of all the employees incrased by 4.51%, the average remuneration decreased 0.04%.

Further, the annual report showed that the average remuneration of employees, excluding the key management personnnel (KMP) decreased by 0.07%, the average remuneration of KMPs decreased by 19.21% in FY2.

The consideration for the new wage agreement comes at a time when there have been talks over a likely revision of coal prices. Coal prices has kept the coal prices unhanged for around five years now despite high demand and surging international prices.

Addressing the shareholders at the 48th annual general meeting meeting in August last year, Agrawal had said that prices have not been raised to ensure its supply at competitive prices to consumers compared to international sellers.

At a time when international coal prices are much higher, Coal India continues to supply its coal to Indian consumers at highly competitive prices, with no price increase over the last four years, said Agrawal.
The Indian government is planning to oppose Hindustan Zinc Ltd.s proposal to buy global zinc assets of Vedanta Ltd. for $2.98 billion, people familiar with the matter said.

The government, which has nearly 30% stake in Hindustan Zinc that it intends to sell through offer-for-sale mechanism, is likely to vote against the plan on concerns ranging from high valuations to it being a related party transaction, the people said, asking not to be named as the information is not public.

The plan was pushed through even after government officials refused to approve it, they said, adding the government is trying to nudge Hindustan Zinc to withdraw the proposal.

This could potentially make it harder for billionaire Anil Agarwal to use proceeds from the sale to trim debt at ultimate parent Vedanta Resources Ltd., which has bonds worth $4.7 billion maturing in the next three-and-a-half years, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Hindustan Zinc last month agreed to buy assets of THL Zinc Ltd. Mauritius from its parent in a phased manner over 18 months. The operations of THL include Black Mountain Mining (Pty) Ltd. in South Africa and Skorpion Zinc (Pty) Ltd. in Namibia.

Television channel CNBC-TV18 reported the governments plan to oppose the deal earlier Monday.

Emails sent to Hindustan Zinc and Vedanta were not immediately answered, while a spokesperson for the finance ministry didnt respond to calls and a text message seeking comments.

Analysts have flagged the costly acquisition would run down cash reserves at Hindustan Zinc in which Vedanta holds about 65%. The unit has been regularly doling out dividends to the parent, helping it further push up cash to Vedanta Resources.
Amidst the recent market volatility that led to market losses topping $110 billion, Adani Group on Monday announced that promoters have paid the amounts to prepay $1.114 billion ahead of its maturity of September 2024. Following this repayment, Adani will release equity shares in three of its firms in due course. These firms are Adani Ports, Adani Green, and Adani Transmission. The Gautam Adani-backed group said, this is in continuation of the promoters assurance to prepay all share-backed financing.

As per the statement, the shares that will be released are:

A total of 168.27 million shares representing 12% of the promoters holding in Adani Ports will be released; while 27.56 shares representing 3% of promoters holding in Adani Green; and 11.77 million shares representing 1.4% of promoters holding in Adani Transmission.

Although the names of the promoters who have pledged their shares in Adani are not revealed, however, the details of the promoter and promoter group in these three companies are available on BSE.

What does pledging shares mean?

Generally, this medium is a last resort taken by promoters of a company to meet a host of financial requirements in an emergency. Promoters of a company pledge a portion of their shares as collateral for many reasons such as debt repayment, business expansion, the opening of a new business, CAPEX requirement, or borrowing funds against them.

When it comes to taking a loan against these pledged shares, they become secured borrowing as the shares are offered as collateral.

Adani Ports & Special Economic Zone:

As per the shareholding pattern on BSE, there are 14 promoters and promoter groups in Adani Ports as of December 31, 2022. Together, these promoters hold over 140.69 crore equity shares representing a 65.13% stake.

Of the total shares, 8 promoters are Individuals/Hindu undivided Family holding 46.75% stake in the company, while the rest 6 are foreign investors holding 18.38% stake.

The data showed that Gautambhai Shantilal Adani & Rajeshbhai Shantilal Adan on behalf of S. B. Adani Family Trust, holds over 79.93 crore shares or 37% stake. While Adani Tradeline Private Limited holds nearly 9.66 crore equity shares or 4.47%, Adani Rail Infra Private Limited holds 7.06 crore equity shares or 3.27%.

Also, Adani Properties' shareholding is 16.85 lakh shares or 0.08%, and Adani Tradeline LLP holds over 4.16 crore equity shares or 1.93%.

Under the foreign category, four investors are Mauritius based. These are:

- Flourishing Trade And Investment Ltd hold 12.44 crore equity shares or 5.76% in Adani Ports.

- Afro Asia Trade And Investments Limited hold 8.99 crore equity shares or 4.16%.

- Worldwide Emerging Market Holding Limited holds nearly 8.61 crore equity shares or 3.99%.

- Spitze Trade And Investment Limited holds over 1.23 crore equity shares or 0.57%.

Another foreign investor is Dubai-based Emerging Market Investment DMCC holding nearly 8.42 crore equity shares or 3.90% in Adani Ports. However, other investor would be Gelt Bery Trade And Investment also Mauritius-based which holds about merely 100 equity shares in the company.

The five investors in the foreign category have only Adani stocks in their portfolios.

As per Trendlyne data, Flourishing Trade's investment in Adani Ports began in March 2020. Afro Asia Trade added the company to its portfolio in December 2016. Meanwhile, Worldwide Emerging Market and Emerging Market Investment DMCC started investment in June 2016. The latest investor would be Spitze Trade which began investment in Adani Ports in December 2022.

Adani Ports' share price closed at 546.05 apiece up by 47.20 or 9.46% on BSE. It was the only Adani stock in the green on Monday.

Adani Green Energy:

According to BSE data, there is a total of 9 promoters in Adani Green Energy with shareholding at over 96.23 crore equity shares or 60.75%.

6 promoters belong to Individuals/Hindu undivided Family, and 3 are foreign investors.

Under individuals/HUF:

- Adani Trading Services LLP is the largest shareholder with 47.43 crore equity shares or 29.94% in Adani Green.

- Gautambhai Shantilal Adani on behalf of S. B. Adani Family Trust holds nearly 38.43 crore equity shares or 24.27%.

Other investors are Rahi Rajeshkumar Adani and Vanshi Rajesh Adani holding 1 lakh equity shares.

Under foreign investors:

- Infinite Trade And Investment hold over 9.94 crore equity shares or 6.28%.

- Spitze Trade and Investment hold 40 lakh shares or 0.25%.

- Gelt Berry Trade and Investment has 100 equity shares of Adani Green.

On BSE, Adani Green's share price closed at a 5% lower circuit at 887.55 apiece. This would be its third consecutive lower circuit, while the stock is down for four days in a row.

Adani Transmission:

In Adani Transmission, 9 promoters are holding over 82.76 crore equity shares or 74.19% as of December 2022 end.

Promoters in the category of Individuals/Hindu undivided Family are:

- Gautam S. Adani/ Rajesh S. Adani on behalf of S. B. Adani Family Trust holds 63 crore equity shares or 56.48% stake.

- Adani Tradeline Private Limited holds nearly 9.95 crore equity shares or 8.92%.

Together, Indian promoters hold 65.40% or 72.95 crore equity shares.

Foreign investors:

- Afro Asia Trade And Investments hold over 3.02 crore equity shares or 2.71%.

- Worldwide Emerging Market Holding holds over 3.02 crore equity shares or 2.71%.

- Flourishing Trade And Investment hold 36.88 lakh shares or 0.33%.

- Fortitude Trade and Investment holds over 3.39 crore equity shares or 3.04%.

- Gelt Bery Trade and Investment holds 100 shares in the company.

On BSE, Adani Total Gas shares closed at a 10% lower circuit of 1,261.40 apiece. This would be its seventh consecutive lower circuit, while the shares have dropped for ten days straight.
Indias markets regulator can access all the information it needs on the Adani Group and its affiliates by reaching out to its Mauritian counterpart, a senior Mauritius minister said.

Authorized institutions (such as Securities and Exchange Board of India or Sebi) are allowed to have full information, even up to the ultimate beneficiaries," Mahen Kumar Seeruttun, minister of financial services and good governance, said in an interview.

View Full Image Mahen Kumar Seeruttun, minister of financial services and good governanc

There is no restriction in accessing information. In fact, we are part of the International Organization of Securities Commission (IOSCO), where we are party to that information exchange," he said.

Seeruttun said that sharing information between India and Mauritius is done on an ongoing basis.

At the regulator (level), exchanges are happening," he said. I do know on a regular basis, whenever there is a need to seek information, they do reach out, and there is an MoU (memorandum of understanding) in place between both regulators), in place between FSC (Financial Services Commission) and Sebi to exchange information."

Sebi and its Mauritian counterpart, the Financial Services Commission, which regulates non-bank financial services and global business, have exchanged information on many topics, including Adani, he said.

One thing I know is that for quite some time, there has been information requested by the Indian regulator. I would say that there has been information sought not just in the last few weeks but over quite some time and on a regular basis. And we have provided that. It is not just on Adani," he said.

The Mauritian regulator also sought information from Adani firms, and so far, it has not found any breach of Mauritius law, he said.

Adani Group entities were the subject of US-based short seller Hindenburg Researchs report released on 24 January, which wiped out the groups valuation by more than $100 billion.

Hindenburg alleged that funds linked to Adani and his family members, including two Mauritius-based funds, own shares of the groups listed entities, potentially breaching Sebis minimum shareholding threshold for public companies. The short-seller also alleged that Adani family members, including Gautam Adanis brother Vinod Adani, operated shell companieswith no independent addresses or employee basein Mauritius and other tax havens such as the United Arab Emirates and Cyprus and have moved money in and out of Adanis listed entities. The central beneficiaries of many of these firms are in question.

Seeruttun noted that Mauritius had laws in place to prevent the setting up of shell entities" or companies without business activities and that it is hard for companies to indulge in tax avoidance according to current Mauritius law.

Companies need to appoint local full-time directors, not just nominee directors, and have a significant employee base and demonstrate business activity to have a presence in Mauritius, he said.

Many of these companies in question have structures in other jurisdictions, he said.

Today, we have put in place all the necessary framework. We have laws, and we have systems in place... Our system has been reviewed several times by international agencies, be it EU (European Union) or OECD (Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development) and the Financial Action Task Force," he said. He declined to elaborate on the nature of the information sought by authorities in India but said his country is bound by its treaty to share complete information, including that of the ultimate beneficiaries.

Seeruttun said that Mauritius had a robust system that avoids anyone trying to abuse its jurisdiction.

We always collaborate with any other jurisdictions and regulators when it is about the need to provide information whenever they are carrying out any kind of inquiry," he said.

As for Hindenburg, which obtained classified information from the Mauritian register, the minister said he wasnt aware the information was classified and said it could have been public knowledge.

Meanwhile, on the Gift City, the minister said that both India and Mauritius could collaborate further to set up an African corridor. So far, we have focused on inbound investment, but we could look at outbound investment too from India because there is so much happening in African countries," he said.
Standard Chartered Plc. has stopped accepting bonds of Adani Group firms as collateral on margin loans, ET Now television channel reported, without saying where it got the information.

The lender has asked its private clients to top up their collateral for any shortfall, the report said.

A Standard Chartered India spokesperson declined to comment on the report.

The move follows similar actions by Citigroup Inc.s wealth arm and Credit Suisse Group AG, as the Adani securities were roiled by allegations of fraud from US-based Hindenburg Research. The Adani group has repeatedly denied the short sellers allegations.

Also Read | Adani LIVE: Congress to hold countrywide protest today

Bondholders of Adani Group firms are having initial conversations with financial advisers and lawyers to weigh their options after the unfolding crisis at the Indian conglomerate sent several dollar obligations into distressed territory.

The company abruptly pulled a record domestic stock offering after shares in the Adani group tanked. It has also shelved a plan to sell 10 billion rupees ($122 million) of bonds via a retail issue, Bloomberg News reported on Saturday.

This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text. Only the headline has been changed.
Anil Agarwal-led Vedanta on Monday announced David Reed as the chief executive officer of its global semiconductor business. He will be responsible for setting up a semiconductor fab unit and semiconductor assembling and testing unit.

He was previously associated with NXP Semiconductors, where he was Executive Vice President and General Manager of global operations. He moved to NXP as part of the merger with Freescale Semiconductor, where he had served as senior vice president for manufacturing operations. Previously, David was vice president and general manager at GlobalFoundries.

He has played a pivotal role in shaping the entire global semiconductor industry. His expertise and experience will be an asset as we embark upon this critical journey with Foxconn to help create a sustainable domestic electronic manufacturing ecosystem in India, in line with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision of an AatmaNirbhar Bharat," said said Anil Agarwal, Chairman, Vedanta.

Speaking on his appointment, David Reed said, This venture is a watershed development for the global semiconductor industry, and I am excited to be part of it. I look forward to leading a diverse team of highly talented and committed professionals and will work alongside them to bring this historic project to fruition."

In September 2022, Vedanta signed an MoU with Gujarat government to set up India's first semiconductor fab unit, a display fab unit, and a semiconductor assembling and testing unit in the state.

Vedanta and Taiwan's Foxconn will invest $19.5 billion to set up semiconductor and display production plants in Gujarat.

The investment of 1.54 lakh crore, which Gujarat said was the largest ever by any group in an Indian state. The companies had also said that the Vedanta-Foxconn joint venture project will create over 100,000 jobs in Gujarat.

Vedanta will setup a display manufacturing unit with an investment of 945 billion and separate chip-related production units by investing 600 billion, the state government had said in its statement.
New Delhi : The governments acquisition of a 32% stake in Vodafone Idea, making it the largest shareholder in the countrys third-largest carrier, has alleviated bankruptcy concerns and received investor approval, as was reflected in the 20% surge in the companys stock on Monday.

The government lifeline also allows the telco to raise funding, refinance bank debt, which would be used for paying up its dues to tower providers Indus Towers and American Tower Corp., and invest in 5G to compete with rivals Bharti Airtel and Reliance Jio.

Indicating changes are underway already, Vodafone Idea on Monday said it had partnered with Motorola to ensure the smartphone makers devices work on Vodafone Ideas 5G network in Delhi, hinting at a possible 5G launch in the national capital.

We believe this should provide a lifeline to IDEA as it should now be able to raise funds that will be critical for debt and vendor payments and also to invest in 4G and 5G capex," said analysts at JP Morgan in a note.

However, the carrier will need an investment of $6 billion-$8 billionmore than double that it has been seeking to raise from investorsin 5G, fibre and other infrastructure to stay competitive, analysts noted, which will continue to be a cause for concern amid still-elevated debt levels and continuous loss of subscribers and market share erosion.

While the current government move drastically reduces any risks of VIL going into NCLT (National Company Law Tribunal), we think fundamental issues on VIL remain. Our checks and discussions with vendors/tower cos indicate that VIL is significantly under-invested in fibre, 5G and core telcos infra. It would at least take $6-8 billion investment to narrow the gap," said analysts at Bank of America Securities in a note seen by Mint. The carrier also needs to finalize supply contracts for 5G gear, invest in expanding its 4G network, besides paying up dues of more than 15,000 crore to suppliers and Indus Towers and American Tower Corp.

Yet another challenge will be ensuring free cash flow of over $4 billion every year from FY27 when the four-year moratorium on spectrum and adj-usted gross revenue dues of 16,133 crore ends, and payments to government begin.

At the end of the four-year moratorium in FY27, at the governments discretion, there will also be an option for Vodafone Idea to convert principal dues of debt into equity.

Analysts at Goldman Sachs cautioned that Vodafone Idea could find it difficult to raise capital until there was clarity on whether Centre will exercise this option and thus dilute the stakes of other shareholders. Given the still elevated debt profile, continued market share erosion (Vodafone Idea has lost 22 mn active subscribers, or c.10% of its base, in the last 12 months), and meaningful network gap vs peers, we see a low probability of Vodafone Idea raising a meaningful amount of external capital," they said.
NEW DELHI : The Vedanta Group has appointed David Reed as the chief executive officer (CEO) of its semiconductor business, the company said in a statement on Monday. Reed, who is a veteran of the chip industry, will lead the companys efforts to develop a semiconductor fabrication and assembling and testing unit in India.

Before joining Vedanta, Reed was executive vice president and general manager of global operations at Dutch chip company NXP Semiconductors, where he worked for six years. He moved to NXP as part of the companys merger with American Freescale Semiconductor in 2015. Before that, he was vice president and general manager at GlobalFoundries, a semiconductor contract manufacturing company, and has spent 35 years in the chip industry.

This venture is a watershed development for the global semiconductor industry, and I am excited to be part of it. I look forward to leading a diverse team of highly talented and committed professionals and will work alongside them to bring this historic project to fruition," Reed said in a statement.

In September 2022, the Vedanta group signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Gujarat government to set up a semiconductor fabrication unit in the state. The unit will be set up as part of a joint venture between Vedanta and Taiwanese Foxconn. The company is also expected to set up a display fabrication unit in the country.

Mint reported last month that the Vedanta-Foxconn venture is the only chip manufacturing proposal that is set to be cleared by the government for its $10 billion incentive scheme for the industry. The company has proposed a $20 billion investment to set up fabs where it will manufacture displays and semiconductors, while also setting up assembly, test, marking and packaging (ATMP) facilities.

Akarsh Hebbar, managing Ddrector of Vedanta-owned display glass manufacturer Avanstrate, heads the companys overall semiconductor and display business.

The International Semiconductor Consortium (ISMC), a joint venture between Abu Dhabi-based Next Orbit Ventures and Israels Tower Semiconductors, has also proposed to build a $3 billion plant in Karnataka.
Loantap Financial Technologies Pvt. Ltd which operates the digital lending platform Loantap announced on Monday that it has raised $2.9 million ( 24 crore) in a debt funding round led by venture debt fund Lighthouse Canton.

The Pune-based startup plans on utilising the current funds raised towards scaling and expansion of its LTFLoW platform.

Founded in 2016 by Satyam Kumar and Vikas Kumar, LoanTap offers loans and overdraft products to salaried professionals. The platform offers personal loans to salaried professionals earning 30,000 and above and gives loan tenures from six months to five years.

The company, whose loans range between 50,000 and 10 lakh, charges anywhere between 15-24% in annual interest. Additionally, it also provides credit solutions to micro small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in personal finance, supply chain invoice financing, and electric two-wheeler segments.

The company has cumulatively raised approximately $24.1 million ( 200 crore) in equity with its last equity funding round being its Series B round in 2019, wherein it raised $12 million. The company has been previously backed by Kae Capital, India Quotient, Avaana Capital, 3one4 capital, and Tuscan ventures.

Ankit Agrawal, Director of Venture Debt at Lighthouse Canton said, "We are excited about the solutions being offered on the LTFLoW Platform, which is not only helping MSME and Retail Customers to avail loans but also modernizing lending processes at Banks."

LoanTap competes with the likes of PaySense and EarlySalary. In August 2022 online lending platform EarlySalary raised $110 million in a Series D round of funding co-led by TPGs The Rise Fund and Norwest Venture Partners. In 2020, consumer lending platform MoneyTap raised 500 crore in a Series B round led by US-based VC firm Aquiline Technology Growth (ATG), RTP Global, and Sequoia India.

Singapore-based Lighthouse Canton is a global venture capital firm with over $ 3 billion worth of assets under management and advisory and has offices in Singapore, Dubai, and India. This year, the firm marked the first close of its maiden India-focused venture debt fund LC Venture Debt at 155.4 crore (about $19 million).
Foodtech platform Swiggy has appointed three independent directors to its board as it gears for an initial public offering (IPO).

The directors are tractor-maker TAFEs Mallika Srinivasan, logistics firm Delhiverys Salil Barua, and Shailesh Haribhakti & Associates Shailesh Haribhakti, the company on Monday said.

They have very rich and diverse experiences in building sustainable businesses at scale," said Sriharsha Majety, chief executive officer(CEO) of Swiggy. Getting these new and powerful perspectives and strengthening our governance will immensely benefit us."

With the latest appointments, Softbank-backed Swiggy has added its first independent set of directors. The Bengaluru-based firm had reportedly started preparing for an $800 million-IPO last year, intending to go public in 2023.

Swiggy is an enterprising and innovative company that has redefined customer convenience and impactfully altered lifestyles. I am pleased to join the Board as the company moves forward in pushing boundaries and redefining newer segments," said Srinivasan.

Swiggy, last valued at $10.7 billion, is backed by investors including Prosus, Accel, Alpha Wave Global, and Qatar Investment Authority.

The three directors join current members that include co-founders Majety and Nandan Reddy. Other members include Prosus Edtech and Foods CEO Larry Illg, Prosus Indias Head of Investments Ashutosh Sharma, Softbank India and EMEAs managing partner Sumer Juneja and Accels Partner Anand Daniel.

The development comes weeks after the food and grocery delivery aggregator laid off 380 employees or nearly 6% of its 6,000-strong staff, joining a slew of startups who have cut headcounts in the last few months..

Majety had cited macroeconomic headwinds and a reducing growth of food delivery businesses as the reason behind the layoffs. In the financial year 2022, the company had widened its consolidated loss to 3,628.9 crore, which is more than double of 1,616.9 crore loss it reported in the preceding FY.

Its rival Zomato, which listed on the bourses in 2021, has faced the brunt of public markets, as it focuses on reducing cash burn. The companys stock has lost about 62% of its value since listing. While seeing about four high-profile exits in the last few months, the company also decided to lay off about 3% of its employees across a 3,800-member team across functions, including technology, product and marketing, in the same month.
Feature: Chinese New Year Concert in Australia presents symphonic conversation between East, West

Xinhua) 15:32, February 06, 2023

MELBOURNE, Australia, Feb. 6 (Xinhua) -- Opened by an epic "Symphonic Overture No.1" and surprising the audience with a "Spring Festival Overture" encore, the Chinese New Year Concert held here on Saturday presented a two-hour musical conversation between Chinese, Australian and European symphony pieces, bridging together Eastern and Western cultures through musical notes to ring in a harmonious Year of the Rabbit.

The year 2023 also marks the 10th anniversary of the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra (MSO)'s Chinese New Year Concerts. To celebrate this special occasion on the eve of the Chinese Lantern Festival, the Saturday night program involved works from Chinese composers Guan Xia, Ding Shande, Ye Xiaogang and Chinese Australian composer Julian Yu.

Meanwhile, the pop-meets-classic "Elevator Music" by Australian composer Graeme Koehen and renowned Western pieces, such as "Regnava nel Silenzio" and "The Sleeping Beauty: Suite," were also performed alongside the oriental melodies.

Under the baton of Chinese-Singaporean conductor Darrell Ang, about 100 MSO musicians and four Melbourne-based Chinese traditional instrument performers shared the center stage of the 2,500-seat Hamer Hall, where the Chinese "mouth organ" Sheng and Xylophone worked in harmony to create a symphonic painting of China's Sichuan province, while Western music techniques added fresh spice to Chinese folk songs.

To many non-Chinese ears, Guan Xia's "Symphonic Overture No.1" may sound far less well-known than the "Jasmine Flower," when they think of a Chinese song. But Ang decided to open the concert with this orchestral piece and it indeed impressed the audience, no matter what their cultural backgrounds.

"I like the first one. It's epic," Emily, one of the audience and an MSO violinist, told Xinhua during the interval. Another spectator Barbara, who attended all 10 editions of the MSO's Chinese New Year Concert, referred to Guan's composition as one of her favorites as well.

"It was just a very enjoyable piece, quite varied in its interpretation. As an opening, it's basically an overture to the other pieces of music. It was really a good piece for the start of the concert," said Babara.

The soundtrack can date back to 2001, when Guan composed for the Chinese TV series "The Years of Burning Passion" and absorbed the prelude of his 1997 national opera "Dawn of Sorrow" as the opening of the TV series. "Symphonic Overture No.1" includes lyrical piano melodies, energetic percussions and solo violin junctures to express heroism and idealism.

"I want to bring something from China that the Chinese who live here in Melbourne know very well and can immediately connect with," Ang told Xinhua. "I want them to sit in the concert hall, listen to this music and immediately think of their motherland and feel that 'I'm back home in China, I want to be there, my heart is there, my memories are there and my love is there.' I want to start the concert with this connection."

That resonation didn't only arise from Chinese communities. "Guan created a wonderful work of music, like the audience said it's epic. For me, there is also a strong feeling and love of home," said Ang.

"So it doesn't matter if you are Chinese, or if you are Australian. You will understand the message. You will feel the message. This composition very successfully conveys this feeling."

Speaking of the program that he and MSO Chairman David Li discussed back and forth for almost two months, Ang told Xinhua that they eventually settled on something that is not only Sichuan-focused, not only China-focused, but also something that is world-focused.

"It is very important that this program reflects the relationship or the friendship between China, Australia and the rest of the world," said Ang.

"This special occasion of Chinese New Year is not just very important to me myself, but also very important to many Chinese and Asian people. I hope this occasion has given a very good opportunity for all of us to come together and to experience our friendship and our love for one another through music," the conductor noted.

Having served as the artistic director and chief conductor of China's Sichuan Symphony Orchestra since 2017, Ang finished his MSO debut with "Spring Festival Overture" in the encore.

Following that, more opportunities lie ahead for the Grammy-nominated talent to return to the Hamer Hall, as a multi-year collaboration agreement was reached between the two orchestras, which entails co-commissioning of Chinese and Australian works, sharing of knowledge in administration and operations, promotion of each other in home countries, as well as musicians and chief conductor exchanges.

Bearing Chinese traditions in his blood and commanding an extensive repertoire, the aspiring Ang, who is fluent in six languages, is standing at the crossroad of cultural exchange and remains dedicated to bringing more Chinese music to the global stage.

"I think the difference with Chinese music, as compared to Western music, is that for Chinese composers, the first thing that they always do is to make sure that their music will always contain elements of their background, their culture and their history," said Ang.

"I hope that a Western audience will feel Chinese music and Chinese composers really have something significant to say not just about the art form, but also about music, communication, culture, history, and people," said the conductor.

"It is my responsibility to promote Chinese music, especially those modern and contemporary pieces, to the international audience," he added.

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun)
WHO described PrEP as the use of an anti-retroviral medication by HIV-negative people to reduce the use of HIV acquisition

The inclusion of pregnant and breastfeeding women in the HIV clinical trial intervention for Pre-exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) is important to curb the spread of the virus.

This was the consensus during a five-day virtual training organised by the New HIV Vaccine and Microbicide Advocacy Society (NHVMAS) to educate journalists on developments in the fight against HIV and how to address existing gaps.

Speaking during the training, the Executive Director of NHVMAS, Florita Durueke, said pregnant and breastfeeding women have a substantial risk of HIV infection, hence their involvement in trials is paramount.

Ms Durueke said there is a need to develop ethical guidelines for the inclusion of these groups of persons.

She said the World Health Organisation (WHO) has developed a framework that allows pregnant women and breastfeeding mothers to participate in research, especially in phase two.

"When the trial on PrEP was conducted in Lagos, one of the criteria was to ensure no one gets pregnant during the trial period.

"However, the WHO framework is saying when a person gets pregnant during an HIV prevention trial, such a person should be offered the opportunity to decide if she is willing to continue in such trial or not," she said.

NHVMAS is an NGO with the mission to reduce the spread of HIV and other infectious diseases in society by ensuring the availability of safe, effective and acceptable tools for all.

About PrEP

PrEP, according to the WHO, is the use of an anti-retroviral medication by HIV-negative people to reduce the use of HIV acquisition.

Studies have shown that the use of such antiretrovirals can prevent HIV infection in up to 90 per cent of cases if taken effectively.

In 2014, the WHO first recommended offering PrEP to only men who have sex with men.

However, based on further evidence of the effectiveness and acceptability of PrEP, in September 2015, the WHO recommended people at substantial risk of HIV infection should be offered PrEP as an additional prevention choice, as a part of comprehensive prevention.

These people include sex workers, people in a mixed-status relationship (a relationship where one partner is infected by HIV and the other is not), and men who have sex with men, among others.

Gender

Ms Durueke said although the HIV prevalence rate in Nigeria is 1.4 per cent, the burden is higher on women.

She said those between the ages of 15 and 49 years have a double chance of living with HIV compared to their male counterparts.

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"Data shows that HIV prevalence is higher among females aged 35-39 years at 3.3 per cent and high among males 40-54 years at 2.3 per cent," she said.

She also said the HIV prevalence for young women is 1.3 per cent and 0.4 per cent for their male counterparts.

The executive director said if given the opportunity to make choices in the use of PrEP, the outcomes will be greater for women.

Young person inclusion

Speaking during the webinar, the executive director of Advocacy for the Prevention of HIV and AIDs (APHA) in Africa, Yvette Raphael, said there is a need to work with young persons to curb the spread of the virus.

Ms Raphael, a South African advocate, explained that working with young girls and adolescents will change existing narratives for them.

She noted that in 2020, adolescent girls and women ages 15-24 in Sub-Saharan Africa accounted for 25 per cent of HIV infections.

She said this has further highlighted the importance of including young people in the conceptualisation of programmes concerning them.
New Delhi: Petroleum Minister Hardeep Singh Puri on Monday said that India Energy Week underlines Indias role in the global economy, as a Vishwaguru following ideals of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam.

In his opening remarks at the inaugural event of India Energy Week (IEW) 2023, being held in Bengaluru from 6 to 8 February, 2023, the minister said, it captures Indias dreams and aspirations of an Amrit Kaal, whilst also underlining her role in the 21st Century global economy as a Vishwaguru following ideals of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam."

The India Energy Week was borne out of PM Modis long standing vision for Indias role in the global energy transition while ensuring energy security, affordability, and accessibility for her citizens, Puri said.

ALSO READ: MoS power releases Indias largest electric bus tender case study at IEW 2023

Acknowledging the significance of the event in current global energy context, Hardeep Puri noted, IEW 2023 comes at a watershed in the global energy landscape and it will devise solutions to solve the global energy quadrilemma of energy access, affordability, and availability with security at its pivot and devise solutions for the future global energy transition."

This years theme Growth Collaboration Transition is very apt as it underscores the need for us to collaborate and grow together, he said.

The Petroleum Minister said that India continues to underscore the importance of oil and gas yet our commitment to climate change mitigation goals remains unabated. The country has carved out an energy agenda which is inclusive, market-based, and climate - sensitive.

He observed that India has already pledged to become net-zero in emissions by 2070 and cut down the emission by 1 billion tons by the end of 2030. These commitments come despite Indias historical contribution to global emissions (since 1890) is about 4%, despite being the 5th largest economy and home to 17% of the worlds population and despite Indias per capita emissions ranking lowest amongst the G20 countries and about half of the global average.

We remain focused on energy efficiencies, laying impetus on fuels of the future including biofuels and hydrogen, and increasing the use of renewable energies etc. At the same time, we are taking transformative steps to increase domestic exploration and production of traditional hydrocarbons.", added Puri.

Talking about the Unbottled initiative of Indian Oil, the Minister said, In line with the clarion call given by Honble PM, to phase out single use plastic items, we are launching largest initiative in world to reuse and recycle 100 million PET bottles per year."

This also resonates with global initiative Lifestyle for the Environment (LiFE) movement launched by PM. PET bottles will be converted into cloth for the front line workers of Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs), non-combat uniforms for Armed Forces and other Institutions & Retail sales, he informed.

The Union Budget 2023 has reflected Green Growth" as one of the highlights with allocation of Rs. 35,000 crore for priority capital investments towards energy transition & net zero objectives, and energy security, and made significant policy changes for accelerating outcomes," Puri added.

In his concluding remarks, the minister expressed confidence that IEW will provide an unrivalled global networking platform for all where, key priorities will be set, and new partnerships will be forged in energy sector.

Earlier in the day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the India Energy Week (IEW) 2023 in Bengaluru today. He launched the uniforms under the Unbottled initiative of Indian Oil. These uniforms are made of recycled PET bottles. He also dedicated the twin-cooktop model of the IndianOils Indoor Solar Cooking System and flagged off its commercial roll-out.

The Prime Minister also launched E20 fuel at 84 retail outlets of Oil Marketing Companies in 11 States/UTs along the lines of the ethanol blending roadmap. He also flagged off the Green Mobility Rally where vehicles running on green energy sources will participate and help create public awareness for green fuels.
NEW DELHI : Asia is preparing to see more Russian oil products flowing into the region following the EU ban that came into effect 5 February, while the supply squeeze in the West will create ample opportunities for Asian refiners to cater to those requirements and reap lofty margins, said S&P Global Commodity Insights.

However, shipping costs and logistics will pose challenges as long-haul product shipments in relatively small tankers all the way from Asia to destinations in regions such as Europe may not be viable commercial options unless the arbitrage window is wide enough," the report said.

The G7 on 3 February announced that it will impose price caps of $100/b on imports of Russian products that typically trade at a premium to crude, such as diesel, kerosene and gasoline, and $45/b on products like fuel oil that generally trade at a discount to crude.

The EU products ban will increase Russian refined product outflows to Asia. But the supply gap in the West will create price incentive to pull barrels from the East of Suez region," said Wang Zhuwei, S&P Global Commodity Insights Asia oil analytics manager.

New VLCCs coming out of shipyards can carry clean products, underpinning two-way trade -- that is Asian diesel to Europe and backhaul Russian diesel to Asia," he added.

Europe has traditionally relied heavily on Russia for distillates, with the region importing an average of 750,000 b/d of diesel from Russia in 2021, according to data from S&P Global.

Some analysts expect that only a part of those displaced Russian product cargoes would get diverted to Asia.

In India, it wont be a surprise to see the countrys refiners increasing diesel exports to Europe as they put more emphasis on diesel production to take advantage of high margins and increased demand from the US and Europe," said Sumit Ritolia, senior South Asia oil analyst at S&P Global.
NEW DELHI : Member countries of G20 agreed that energy transition pathways may be different for different countries.

The first meeting of the G20 Energy Transition Working Group concluded on Monday wherein a clear understanding emerged that fossil fuels would continue to be used in most of the countries in the coming 15 to 20 years to increase the share of renewal energy.

Addressing the media, Alok Kumar, secretary, ministry of power said that the member countries responded positively to the need for energy security and diversified supply chains.

"Participants, however, shared the view that the energy transition pathway should be different for each country depending on its energy base and potential," Said a power ministry statement quoting the secretary.

The power secretary said, it was appreciated that grid inter-connections like India is promoting under "One Sun, One World, One Grid" can lead to better utilisation of available energy sources amongst member countries without much storage capacity. Deliberations stressed the need to focus more on energy efficiency of industries, also to ensure that carbon dioxide emissions increase in a rapid manner.

As regards the session on Universal Access to Clean Energy, Kumar said that the deliberations stressed the need to manage fuel prices and choice of technology to see that everyone on the planet has access to affordable energy. Member countries favoured a people-centric energy transition mechanism, he added.

Delegates complimented India for the mission-mode implementation of 'Soubhagya, Ujala' and 'Ujjwal' energy schemes that led to complete access to electricity, clean cooking, and efficient lighting. The next ETWG meeting is scheduled in the first week of April in Gandhinagar, Gujarat.

On the side-lines, India has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Indonesia-Malaysia-Thailand Growth Triangle Joint Business Council (IMT-GT JBC), Malaysia to further promote the adoption of energy efficiency and sustainable practices in the region. Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL), a public sector undertaking under the ministry of power, signed the MoU with the IMT-GT JBC Malaysia coinciding with the India Energy Week celebrations.

As part of this strategic partnership, EESL will provide technical advisory, project management support, contracting and implementation support to execute select energy efficiency programmes from its portfolio with proven track records of successful implementation.
New Delhi: The Lifestyle for Environment or LiFE initiative of India for the adoption of energy-efficient behaviour can save the world $440 billion in 2030, according to a report by International Energy Agency (IEA)

The report titled LiFE lessons from India said that the saving would be equivalent to around 5% of all fuel spending across the global economy in that year.

LiFE measures would also save consumers globally around $440 billion in 2030 through both lower consumption and lower prices, according to the IEA modeling," it said.

Proactive global implementation of LiFE measures can bring substantial co-benefits in terms of reducing inequalities in energy consumption, mitigation of air pollution, cost savings, and improvements in well-being and health, it said.

Global energy consumption and the resulting emissions are highly unequal between and within countries. Globally, North America is the region with the highest energy consumption per capita, followed by Russia and Central Asia, and the Middle East.

On the other hand, Africas energy consumption is one-third of the world average, while Indias is 35%. But there are also large inequalities within countries.

But there are also large inequalities within countries. In advanced economies, the poorest 30% have per capita emissions below the global average, while the richest 10% have emissions seven times the global average.

In emerging market and developing countries, the richest 10% have per capita emissions above the poorest 80% of the population in advanced economies.

On aggregate, there are more opportunities for LiFE measures to streamline energy demand and reduce emissions in advanced economies, as per the report. Based on IEA modelling, the reductions in annual per capita CO2 emissions from behavioural change in advanced economies by 2030 are three to four-times greater than in developing economies.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the Lifestyle for Environment (LiFE) initiativeat COP26 in Glasgow in November 2021 to encourage the adoption of sustainable lifestyles to tackle the environment and climate crisis.

The initiative was further developed and formally launched in October 2022 by the prime minister and the UN Secretary General Antonio Guterrez as Mission LiFE, a global mass-movement led by India to nudge individual and community behavioural change in order to reduce emissions, protect the environment and conserve resources.

LiFE draws on Indias experience of mounting successful large-scale behavioural change campaigns to address waste, sanitation and clean cooking challenges.

According to the report, Indias economy is already 10% more energy efficient than both the global and G20 average. India took less time to go from half to full electricity access than other major economies.

Already the third largest national market globally for renewables, India has recently seen the growth of consumer-centric solutions like distributed solar PV take off, with rooftop solar growing 30-fold in less than a decade.

Supportive policies and awareness campaigns in India have also driven electric passenger vehicles to a market share of almost 5% in 2022, with sales tripling from 2021.
Circuit to circuit stock: BSE-listed Deep Diamond India shares are one of the multibagger stocks that Dalal Street has produced in last one year. The small-cap stock with a market cap of 118 crore has delivered almost multibagger return in year-to-date (YTD) time. However, for long term investor, recent stock split in 1:10 ratio was like icing on the cake as their shareholding surged 10 times in the stock. Now, Re 1 appreciation in the scrip is 10 ascendance in absolute investment of the stock split beneficiary investors.

The multibagger stock is among circuit to circuit stocks on BSE as well. This stock has been hitting upper circuit since 19th January 2023. This means, the multibagger stock has been hitting upper circuit for last 12 sessions.

Deep Diamond India share price history

Deep Diamond India shares have delivered more than 75 per cent return to its shareholders in last one month as it has risen from around 13.75 to 24.60 apiece levels in this time. in YTD time, it has risen to the tune of 96 per cent whereas in last six months, it has delivered near 375 per cent return to its investors. In last one year, this small-cap stock has turned to a multibagger penny stock as it went up from 1.27 to 24.60 per share levels. However, the penny stock was around Re 1 apiece at the end of 2019. so, the penny stock has become a multibagger in last three years.

Click here to read latest stock market news

However, there is one more twist in Deep Diamond India share price history. On 20th January 2023, this small-cap BSE listed stock traded ex-split in 1:10 ratio that means one stock of the scrip was sub-divided into 10 shares. This means, a shareholders single stock has now become 10 stocks.

 1 lakh turns to  2.4 crore in three years

As the stock was priced Re 1 around three years ago at the end of 2019. Deep Diamond India share price today is 24.60 apiece. If an investor had invested 1 lakh in this scrip three years ago at the end of December 2019, one would have got one lakh company shares. After 1:10 stock split, this would have become 10 lakh company shares. Deep Diamond share price today is 24.60 per share, which means one 1 lakh would have turned to 2.46 crore today, provided the investor had remained invested in the scrip throughout this period.

The BSE listed multibagger penny stock ended on Friday with trade volume of 20,24,559 and market cap of 118 crore. The stock is trading at its life-time high, which is 52-week high as well. Its 52-week low is 1.10 apiece. The stock is currently available at a PE multiple of 82 while the average sector PE is 93.60.
India's largest lender State Bank of India's (SBI) quarterly profit surged a better-than-expected 68.5% to a record high of 14,205 crore, boosted by better interest income and a drop in bad loan provisions. The lender reported a healthy performance for Q3 FY23 on the operating front, driven by NIM expansion and higher other income, as per analysts.

"The management is confident that lower deposit growth is not a concern for them as the credit-to-deposit ratio is still lower. Core operating profit registered a healthy growth. Asset quality continued to show improvement on the back of higher writeoffs. The bank registered RoA/RoE at almost a decade high of 1.1%/18.2%. We maintain BUY on SBI shares with a target price (TP) of 667," said brokerage Nirmal Bang Institutional Equities.

Credit growth at state-owned SBI stood at 17.6% for the reported quarter, with around 18% growth seen in retail and corporate loans each, while deposits grew 9.51%.

"Bank reported beat on all parameters driven by strong NIM expansion, traction in credit growth, better treasury performance (MTM reversal) and superior credit behaviour. The redemption of investment amounting to 3.2 trillion would support loan growth of +17% with deposit growth of ~9-10% in FY23. We believe SBI to benefit from traction in credit growth and improving CD ratio. We maintain our positive stance on the bank given strong business movement and tailwind on NIMs," said PhillipCapital with Buy rating on the bank stock and a target price of 730 per share.

Edelweiss' earnings outlook remains strong, but it does not have enough information on how a large exposure would pan out for the system. The brokerage has maintained BUY on SBI (TP: 650) while being watchful of the aforesaid large exposure.

Our current earnings outlook for SBI remains strong with 1% RoA through our forecast period. Management guided for NIMs sustaining at current high levels. We have built in strong earnings, but watch out for SBIs exposure to a large group. The banks disclosure shows its share of bank loans to this group is high at 33%," the note stated.

The views and recommendations made above are those of individual analysts or broking companies, and not of Mint.
At least five people, mostly policemen, were injured in an explosion in Quetta on Sunday in Pakistans restive Balochistan province, in yet another instance of systematic attacks targeting security officials in the country orchestrated by the outlawed Pakistani Taliban.

The explosion took place at Quetta Police Lines Area, and the injured, who are mostly policemen, were shifted to the Civil Hospital in the city.

Police officials said the site was cordoned off.

Its not immediately clear the nature of the explosion.

The outlawed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) has claimed responsibility for the attack.

It stated that security officials were targeted in the blast.

Meanwhile, a Pakistan Super League (PSL) exhibition match featuring high-profile players like captain Babar Azam and former all-rounder Shahid Afridi, being played at the Nawab Akbar Bugti stadium in Quetta had to be halted briefly due to the blast.

None of the players were injured, officials said.

The latest incident comes days after a Taliban suicide bomber blew himself up during the afternoon prayers in a Peshawar mosque, killing 101 people and injuring more than 200 others.

Pakistan has been hit by a wave of terrorism, mostly in the country's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, but also in Balochistan and the Punjab town of Mianwali, which borders the restive Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

During the Apex Committee meeting on Friday, Pakistans civil and military leadership decided to seek Afghan Taliban chief Haibuttallah Akhundzadas intervention to control the TTP, according to The Express Tribune newspaper.

In November last year, the TTP called off an indefinite ceasefire agreed with the government in June 2022 and ordered its militants to carry out attacks on the security forces.

The TTP, which is believed to have close links to al-Qaeda, has threatened to target top leaders of Prime Minister Sharifs PML-N and Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardaris PPP if the ruling coalition continued to implement strict measures against the militants.

Pakistan hoped that the Afghan Taliban after coming to power would stop the use of their soil against Pakistan by expelling the TTP operatives but they have apparently refused to do so at the cost of straining ties with Islamabad.

The TTP, set up as an umbrella group of several militant outfits in 2007, called off a ceasefire with the federal government and ordered its militants to stage terrorist attacks across the country.

The group, which is believed to be close to Al-Qaeda, has been blamed for several deadly attacks across Pakistan, including an attack on army headquarters in 2009, assaults on military bases, and the 2008 bombing of the Marriott Hotel in Islamabad.

In 2014, the Pakistani Taliban stormed the Army Public School in the northwestern city of Peshawar, killing at least 150 people, including 131 students.
India's government will likely not contemplate merging tax rates for the Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime in the financial year FY24 to maintain stability. The plan of overhauling tax rates in GST has taken rounds for more than a year now.

In an interview, reported by Reuters, Revenue Secretary Sanjay Malhotra said, "Right now, we are just looking to maintain stability (in tax rates), a stable tax regime. Minor changes will always be there... major taxation change like the merger of tax rates, we are not contemplating in 2023/24."

However, the plan for fewer tax bands in GST is still on the cards, but the timeline is not specified yet.

Malhotra said in the interview, "We would want fewer tax rates, fewer disputes...that is certainly the goal to have fewer rates... and there may be scope to reduce tax slabs... that may be done at some point in time, but not now."

Also, Malhotra added that the Centre would like to have fewer custom tax rates as well going forward.

At present, there are five tax rates under GST ranging from 0% to 28%.

Earlier, in 2021, the government considered overhauling tax rates in GST, most likely merging two of the tax rates and trimming a host of items.

As per the latest Finance Ministry data, GST collection in January 2023 saw a significant increase, reaching over 1.55 lakh crore. This marks the second highest-ever mop-up for the GST collection and demonstrates a growth in the country's economy. The revenues for the current financial year up to January 2023 are 24% higher than the GST revenues during the same period last year.
This is the third session of the House after the December 4 municipal polls. The first two sessions were held on 6 and 24 January and were adjourned by the presiding officer without electing a mayor following a ruckus and acrimonious exchanges between the members of the BJP and the AAP.

According to the Delhi Municipal Corporation (DMC) Act, 1957, the mayor and the deputy mayor are to be elected in the very first session of the House after the civic polls. However, it's been two months since the municipal elections were held and Delhi is yet to get a mayor. The municipal elections in Delhi were held on December 4 and the results were announced on 7 December, in which the Aam Aadmi Party won a maximum of 134 seats out of 250.

Here's what happened today:

Earlier today house proceedings began at the Delhi Civic Centre after Presiding officer Satya Sharma arrived and announced that aldermen- nominated members- will be allowed to vote in the process of electing the mayor, deputy mayor and Standing Committee members.

The announcement by Sharma drew protests from AAP councillors. Party leader Mukesh Goel said aldermen can't vote. This is the third time in a row that the house has been adjourned after a ruckus erupted over nominated members being allowed to vote in the election.

#WATCH | MCD mayor election called off for the third time after ruckus in the Delhi Civic Centre. pic.twitter.com/irCfHIoycP  ANI (@ANI) February 6, 2023

AAP leader Atishi has said the party will move the Supreme Court so that the polls can be held in a "court-monitored manner". After emerging from the House, AAP leader Atishi told reporters, "We will go to the Supreme Court, and we will go today itself so that the mayoral elections can be held in a court-monitored manner."

Hitting out at the BJP over the adjournment of the Delhi municipal House, Deputy CM Manish Sisodia on Monday said the party only believes in hooliganism and is not allowing the mayoral polls to be held. The BJP wants to run the MCD forcibly and hence it is resorting to creating a ruckus in the House, Sisodia said at a press conference. "The BJP resorted to ruckus while the AAP councillors were sitting silently. The ruckus created by the BJP shows that the party does not believe in the Constitution, laws and they only believe in hooliganism," he said.

On Sunday, AAP Councillors had written a letter to MCD's Presiding Officer, demanding the debarment of aldermen in today's election of the mayor, deputy mayor and the Standing Committee. The letter read, "We are the elected Councillors to MCD winning on the symbol of Aam Aadmi Party. On 06.02.2023, the election of Mayor, Deputy Mayor, and Standing Committee member shall occur as per the direction of the Competent Authority." In the letter to the presiding officer, the councillors also mentioned the law and the Constitution's provisions, they wrote, "This is to reiterate that as per Article 243 R of the Constitution of India and as given in the Proviso to Section 3 (b)(i) of the Delhi Municipal Corporation Act, 1957, the nominated members (Alderman) are not entitled to vote in the above-mentioned elections."

Speaking of the contenders, Shelly Oberoi and Ashu Thakur are AAP's contenders for the post of mayor, with Oberoi said to have a stronger claim to the post. BJP has nominated Rekha Gupta as its contender for the post. With this, the national capital would get a woman mayor and she will step into the footsteps of freedom fighter Aruna Asaf Ali who was chosen to the top post in 1958 when the Municipal Corporation of Delhi came into being.

The nominees for the post of deputy mayor are Aaley Mohammad Iqbal and Jalaj Kumar from AAP. Kamal Bagri has been nominated from BJP for the deputy mayor's role. Seven candidates are in the fray for 6 posts on the Standing Committee. Aam Aadmi Party has fielded Amil Malik, Raminder Kaur, Mohini Jeenwal and Sarika Chowdhary while BJP has Kamaljeet Sehrawat, Gajendra Daral and Pankaj Luthra as its candidates for the Standing Committee.

(With inputs from agencies)
Israel expects to fully normalise ties with Sudan later this year after Israeli foreign minister Eli Cohen returned from a lightning diplomatic mission to the Sudanese capital, Khartoum.

Cohen spoke to reporters on Thursday following a one-day trip to Khartoum that included high-level meetings with military leaders - including Sudan's ruling general, Abdel-Fattah Burhan, who led a coup that overturned the country's transitional government in 2021.

"The agreement is expected to be signed this year and it will be the fourth [such deal]," the Israeli Foreign Minister said, referring to the US-brokered normalisation accords with the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Sudan and Morocco in 2020.

The announcement could help Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu deflect attention from a recent spike in violence with Palestinians and widespread public anger over his plans to overhaul the country's judicial system - which critics say will badly damage Israel's democratic system of checks and balances.

On the path to the signing of a peace agreement between Israel and SudanMinister of Foreign Affairs @elicoh1 today made a historic visit to Khartoum, the capital of Sudan, during which he met with the Transitional Sovereign Council of Sudan, General Abdel-Fattah Al-Burhan  pic.twitter.com/sXRi6tNt5e-- Israel Foreign Ministry (@IsraelMFA) February 2, 2023

For Sudan's ruling generals, a breakthrough with Israel could help convince foreign countries - including the United States and the UAE - to inject financial aid into the struggling economy.

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Sudan remains mired in a political stalemate between a popular pro-democracy movement and the country's powerful armed forces.

Moving forward from 2020 'Abraham Accords'

Earlier on Thursday, Sudan's Foreign Ministry said it would move forward to normalise full diplomatic ties with Israel.

Sudan first signed a normalisation agreement with Israel in 2020 as part of the US-brokered "Abraham Accords" to establish full diplomatic ties.

However, the process stalled amid widespread popular opposition in Sudan.

The military coup in October 2021 then deposed Sudan's government, upending the country's fragile democratic transition.

Cohen said that he presented a draft peace treaty to the Sudanese "that is expected to be signed after the transfer of authority to the civilian government that will be formed as part of the transition underway in the country."

In its statement, the Sudanese ministry added that the talks aimed to strengthen cooperation in various sectors, including security and military.

The ministry also spoke of a need to achieve "stability between Israel and the Palestinian people" in light of a recent surge in violence.
The Indian startup ecosystem was caught by surprise after the Finance Bill 2023 expanded the scope of angel tax last week to include foreign investors. Mint explains the new amendment, the main concerns of the industry and its implications.

What is angel tax and why was it introduced?

Private companies that issue shares to Indian investors at a high premium to their fair market value (FMV) pay a tax on the difference under section 56 (2) VII B of the Income Tax Act. This was introduced in 2012 to crack down on hawala transactions, where people try to avoid tax on income by issuing shares at a high premium and then buying it back for a token amount. However, the tax department began applying it to startups that were raising capital from domestic private investors or angels. Till now, Sebi-registered funds and non-residents were exempt.

What is the big budget move around angel tax?

The budget moved to bring non-residents under this section, but Sebi-registered domestic funds remain exempt. This means any private company that raises foreign money would be liable to pay tax at the corporate tax rate. If they are raising capital at a premium to their FMV, they would need to declare the difference as income under other sources. Startups are worried it will impact them disproportionately as typically, they issue shares at a high premium on the promise of high future growth. Practically, many startups have received tax demands under this section, especially over the last five years.

View Full Image Graphic: Mint

What will be the impact of this change?

Companies require foreign capital and this section taxes foreign direct investment. The tech meltdown has already tempered access to foreign money. Startups have suffered after foreign funding dropped in 2022, and a new tax could worsen the blow. Investors might turn wary of startups that have received angel tax demand as the money could go to settle a tax bill.

What is the Centres reasoning?

The government said this section is aimed at hawala transactions and not startups. The move would end preferential treatment to foreign investors as Indian residents are already subject to this tax, a top government official said last week. Startups registered with DPIIT would be exempt. However, this accounts for just 84,000 startups, leaving most of the rest liable to the tax. From a government perspective, it needs to rein in fiscal deficit from 6.4% currently to 4.5% by 2025-2026 and needs to expand its source of revenue.

What are the other concerns?

A tax burden such as this could accelerate the flipping of startups to overseas destinations, if they find it cheaper. Startups that claim exemption under the law would also not be able to engage in certain legitimate business activities for seven years after they cease to be startups, which would be a struggle. Some of these include setting up subsidiaries, loan advances or salary advances, and stock M&A. On a day-to-day level, companies expect increased compliance burden and additional tax demands from 1 April, 2024.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Ranjani Raghavan Ranjani Raghavan writes about the Indian investment ecosystem with a focus on venture capital, private equity and startups. Outside of work, she enjoys sketching and birding. You can find her @ranjanir_ Read more from this author
New Delhi: Inviting global investors to Indias energy space, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday said that the country was the most suitable destination for investments in renewable energy space. Addressing the inaugural ceremony of the India Energy Week 2023, the prime minister urged stakeholders to explore every possibility related to Indias energy sector and get involved with it.

Today India is the most suitable place in the world for your investment", he said.

Modi gave a detailed exposition of his governments emphasis on renewable energy, energy efficiency, sustainable transportation and green technologies in the new budget and noted that 35,000 crore has been kept for priority capital investment to push energy transition and net-zero objectives.

He also said that 10 trillion worth of overall capital expenditure will provide a boost to green hydrogen, solar, road infrastructure, among others.

In the last nine years, he said, Indias renewable energy capacity has risen to about 170 gigawatts from 70 gigawatts, in which solar power increased by 20 times. Modi said that India was number four in wind power capacity.

We are aiming to have 50% non-fossil fuel capacity by the end of this decade. We are also working very fast on biofuel, and ethanol blending. In the last 9 years, we have increased ethanol blending in petrol from 1.5 percent to 10 percent. Now we are moving towards the target of 20 percent ethanol blending", the prime minister added.

He also said that 20% ethanol blended petrol would be rolled out cover 15 cities and within two years it will be expanded to the entire country.

Talking of the energy transition in India, Modi said, This is happening in two ways. Firstly, fast adoption of renewable sources of energy and secondly, adoption of effective methods of energy conservation...More than 3 crore households will have access to solar cooktops within the next 2-3 years. With more than 25 crore families in India, this will bring a revolution in the kitchen."

Speaking on the recently approved national green hydrogen mission, he said that the mission would give a new direction to India of the 21st century and bring about an investment opportunity worth over 8 trillion. He also added that India will increase the share of green hydrogen to 25% by replacing grey hydrogen.

The prime minister during the day also launched uniforms under the Unbottled initiative of Indian Oil, wherein the uniforms are made of recycled PET bottles. He also dedicated the twin-cooktop model of Indian Oils Indoor Solar Cooking System and flagged off its commercial roll-out.

Later he launched E20 fuel at 84 retail outlets of oil marketing companies in 11 states and union territories along the lines of the ethanol blending roadmap. He flagged off the Green Mobility Rally where vehicles running on green energy sources will participate and help create public awareness for green fuels.

On the governments plans to boost exploration and production in the country, he said global players should look at opportunities in the E&P space in the country.

Citing data from International Energy Association, Modi said that Indias energy demand will be highest in the present decade which presents an opportunity for investors and stakeholders of the industry. He said Indias share in global oil demand is 5% which is expected to rise to 11%, while demand for gas is expected to rise up to 500%.

He underlined that new opportunities for investment and collaboration are being created by the expanding energy sector of India.
Argentina is still high on football world cup fever. And, external affairs minister S Jaishankar had his 'Lionel Messi moment' during his visit to the country as he was presented with the number 10 jersey. Later, Jaishankar posted the picture on Twitter flaunting his Messi Jersey.

Jaishankar met Argentina's science and technology minister Daniel Filmus and the two discussed atomic energy, space, digital, defence & biotechnology. Jaishankar also stressed upon expanding trade investment and collaboration and serving as an example of South-South cooperation.

He said in a tweet, "Glad to meet Minister of S&T and Innovation of Argentina @FilmusDaniel. Discussed our cooperation in atomic energy, space, digital, defence & biotechnology. Underlined the potential for expanding trade, investment &collaboration and serving as an example of south-south cooperation".

Glad to meet Minister of S&T and Innovation of Argentina @FilmusDaniel.



Discussed our cooperation in atomic energy,space,digital,defense &biotechnology.



Underlined the potential for expanding trade,investment &collaboration and serving as an example of south-south cooperation. pic.twitter.com/zvnCrVUsPi  Dr. S. Jaishankar (@DrSJaishankar) February 6, 2023

Last year, Jaishankar had met Argentina President Alberto Fernandez when two of them discussed strengthening bilateral cooperation, including making trade levels more sustainable and ambitious.

He also met with the Minister of Economy Sergio Massa and appreciated his positive outlook towards expanding our economic cooperation.

At that time India had also acknowledged Argentina's interest in the made-in-India Tejas fighter aircraft for the Argentine Air Force. The two sides also explored expanding the scope of their partnership through, inter-alia, and the conclusion of further MOUs/Agreements.

The talks on fighter aircraft come as a number of countries including Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines have shown interest in the Made in India jet. India's indigenous aircraft in the defence market has caught the eye of several nations for its superior flying ability, manoeuvrability, and ease of handling.
Mumbai Police have banned the flying of drones, paragliders, all type of balloons and remote-controlled microlight aircraft on February 10 for security reasons, in view of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the city, official said on Monday.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (Operations) issued an order to this effect on February 3 under Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code, he said. PM Modi is scheduled to launch Vande Bharat Express trains on Mumbai-Solapur and Mumbai-Shirdi routes on February 10.

According to the city police order, no activities of drones, paragliders, all type of balloons, remote-controlled microlight aircraft would be allowed in the jurisdiction of the airport, Sahar, Colaba, Mata Ramabai Ambedkar Marg, MIDC and Andheri police stations for 24 hours on February 10, unless withdrawn earlier.

"It is also apprehended that during the PM's visit on February 10 at Mumbai Airport, INS Shikra, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus and Marol in Andheri, terrorist/anti- social elements may attack using drone, paragliders, remote control microlight aircraft and there is every likelihood of breach of peace and disturbance to public tranquility," the order said.

"Also there is grave danger to human life, health, safety and injury to public property on that account," it added.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi may visit the US White House later this year. While the details have not been confirmed yet, officials from both countries are currently in talks to iron out the logistics. The US president is expected to make his own trip to New Delhi in September for the G20 meetings hosted by India.

According to a Reuters report quoting US officials apprised of the discussions, the Biden administration is in talks with its Indian counterpart for a trip whose dates have not yet been finalised. The development comes at a time when President Joe Biden has evinced interest in deepening ties with free and democratic nations and counter autocratic societies such as China.

Earlier this week, National Security Advisor Ajit Doval had made an official visit to Washington. He was accompanied by senior government officials, and met with Jake Sullivan and Secretary of State Antony Blinken. During this trip, the US and India also launched a partnership to deepen ties on military equipment, semiconductors and artificial intelligence.

In recent months, India's determination to maintain cordial ties with Russia amid the Ukraine war has not gone down well with the US. As India participated in military exercises and increased purchase of the other country's crude oil, Washington has repeatedly pushed New Delhi to do more to punish Moscow.

Aside from the proposed trip, PM Modi and President Biden are slated to meet during the G-20 meetings later this year. The two leaders will also come face to face at a mid-year meeting of the Quad countries.

(With inputs from agencies)
Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on 5 February reacted to strong criticism after he termed Pervez Musharraf as 'foe-turned-real force for peace' in his condolence message, saying 'I was raised in an India where you are expected to speak kindly of people when they die'.

"I was raised in an India where you are expected to speak kindly of people when they die. Musharraf was an implacable enemy and was responsible for Kargil but he did work for peace w/India, in his own interest, 2002-7. He was no friend but he saw strategic benefit in peace, as did we," Tharoor said in a tweet.

I was raised in an India where you are expected to speak kindly of people when they die. Musharraf was an implacable enemy &was responsible for Kargil but he did work for peace w/India, in his own interest, 2002-7. He was no friend but he saw strategic benefit in peace,as did we.  Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) February 5, 2023

Earlier on Sunday, Tharoor condoled the demise of the former Pakistan military ruler stating that "once an implacable foe of India, he became a real force for peace between 2002-2007."

ALSO READ: Former President of Pakistan Pervez Musharraf passes away

"'Pervez Musharraf, Former Pakistani President, Dies of Rare Disease': once an implacable foe of India, he became a real force for peace 2002-2007," Tharoor said in a tweet.

"I met him annually in those days at the @un & found him smart, engaging & clear in his strategic thinking. RIP," the former minister of state for external affairs said.

Former Pakistan President passed away on Sunday at American Hospital in UAE after a prolonged illness, reported Daily Pakistan.

Following Tharoor's tweet, the Congress leader had to face fierce criticism from the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party. Union Minister Rajeev Chandrashekhar hit out at Tharoor saying his post "best describes Cong" (Congress).

Chandrashekhar while taking to Twitter, slammed the grand old party for finding peace in a person who "inflicted terror a backstabbing conflict and tortured our soldiers in violation of every International law".

In another tweet, Chandrasekhar said, "That a former Cong Foreign Min (a party that refused to celebrate Kargil Vijay Diwas till 2010) wud think that a Pak General who inflicted terror, a backstabbing conflict n tortured our Soldiers in violation of every Intl law, wud be a "force for peace" - best describes Cong."

It is to be known that Musharraf was Pakistan's army chief during the Kargil war between India and Pakistan. As per details, the conflict between the two countries is believed to have been orchestrated by Musharraf without the knowledge of the then Pakistan Prime Minister, Nawaz Sharif.

Musharrafwas the tenth president of Pakistan after a successful military coup in 1999 and served as the 10th Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee of Pakistan (CJCSC) from 1998 to 2001 and the 7th top general from 1998 to 2007.

With agency inputs.
Hours after a massive earthquake wreaked havoc in Turkey, India has offered to assist in any way possible. Prime Minister Narendra Modi condoled the loss of life and property on Monday morning, assuring that the country stood in solidarity with the people of Turkey.

Anguished by the loss of lives and damage of property due to the Earthquake in Turkey. Condolences to the bereaved families. May the injured recover soon. India stands in solidarity with the people of Turkey and is ready to offer all possible assistance to cope with this tragedy," he tweeted in response to an update post by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

A major earthquake of magnitude 7.8 struck central Turkey and northwest Syria on Monday, killing about 300 people and injuring hundreds as buildings collapsed across the region. The quake, which hit in the early hours of Monday, was felt in Cyprus, Lebanon, parts of Israel and the Palestinian territories, and even Egypt.

Anguished by the loss of lives and damage of property due to the Earthquake in Turkey. Condolences to the bereaved families. May the injured recover soon. India stands in solidarity with the people of Turkey and is ready to offer all possible assistance to cope with this tragedy. https://t.co/vYYJWiEjDQ  Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) February 6, 2023

Similar offers of assistance have also been shared by the US, Irael and other countries. The US is profoundly concerned by todays destructive earthquake in Turkiye and Syria. I have been in touch with Turkish officials to relay that we stand ready to provide any and all needed assistance. We will continue to closely monitor the situation in coordination with Turkiye," tweeted White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan.

Turkish authorities have declared a "level 4 alarm" that calls for international assistance. The disaster agency said that 76 people had been killed and 440 hurt as rescue teams worked overtime and supply aircrafts rushed to the affected area. Footage on broadcaster CNNTurk also showed that the historic Gaziantep Castle was severely damaged.

Also read: Turkey Earthquake Live Updates

Meanwhile in neighbouring Syria health officials said that more than 230 people had been killed and some 600 injured - most in the provinces of Hama, Aleppo and Latakia, where numerous buildings tumbled down. According to his office, President Bashar al-Assad was holding an emergency cabinet meeting to review the damage and discuss the next steps.

(with inputs from agencies)
A group of unidentified persons vandalised idols of 14 Hindu temples in Bangladesh's Baliadangi upazila on Sunday, Dhaka Tribune has reported citing a police officer.

As per the report, Deputy Commissioner Mahbubur Rahman, Superintendent of Police Mohammad Jahangir Hossain, and Hindu Buddhist Christian Oikya Parishad Thakurgaon District General Secretary Prabir Kumar Gupta were present at the spot.

They said nine idols in the Sindurpindi area of Dhantala union, four in Collegepara area of Paria union and 14 idols in a temple in Sahbajpur Nathpara area of Charol union were vandalised.

Speaking on the incident, Thakurgaon Superintendent of Police Mohammad Jahangir Hossain said, "We are trying to identify those involved in the incident. The truth will be revealed after investigation."

As per Baliadangi police station Officer-in-charge (OC) Khairul Anam the incident took place between Saturday night to Sunday morning.

Meanwhile, Vidyanath Burman, general secretary of the upazila puja celebration parishad, said that the miscreants have broken the arms, legs, and heads of the idols. Some idols were also broken and thrown into the pond. He also urged the administration to investigate the incident properly and arrest the culprits.

Deputy Commissioner Mahbubur Rahman said, "We have visited the incident site and are investigating the matter seriously."

Tapan Kumar Ghosh, general secretary of the district puja celebration parishad, visited the Haribasar temple in the Sindurpindi area around 4 pm and said that all the idols in this temple have been vandalised. "This is very sad and appalling. We want a fair investigation into this incident," he added.

Chairman of Baliadangi upazila parishad, Md Ali Aslam Jewel said, "The idols of the temples which were vandalised were thrown unsafely on the side of the road."

Kashinath Singh, a resident of the Sindurpindi area, said, "We are in a state of panic. Those involved in this incident should be arrested quickly', as per the Dhaka Tribune.

Earlier in 2021, many Durga Puja pavilions and Hindu temples and homes across Bangladesh were attacked and vandalised, including an ISKCON centre in Noakhali, and several people were killed in violence that erupted over alleged blasphemy at a marquee in Comilla.

Recently, in Canada, a well-known Hindu temple known as the Gauri Shankar Mandir was recently vandalized with anti-India graffiti, inciting outrage within the Indian community. The Indian Consulate General in Toronto has issued a statement condemning the act, saying that it has caused deep offense and pain to the Indian community residing in Canada. There have been at least three other incidents of vandalism in Canada since last July that are similar to the one that occurred at the Hindu temple in Brampton.

(With inputs from ANI)
International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva, in an interview with CBS's 60 Minutes on February 5, stated that China's finance minister and Central bank governor would participate in a roundtable with other creditors and other borrowing countries in February in India.

On February 3, the IMF stated that China had to take additional steps to address its real estate issues. About a quarter of China's GDP comes from the real estate sector, which has slowed the country's economic expansion, particularly after Beijing began to crack down on developers' heavy reliance on debt in 2020. Over the past few months, Chinese authorities have begun to loosen limits on funding for the industry.

Georgieva, the first IMF director from a developing market economy, has stated that debt reduction is essential for highly-indebted countries in order to prevent social service cuts and other negative effects. The first such event, according to her, will coincide with a conference of Group of 20 finance officials in India.

Also Read: Pakistan, IMF talks hit snag over 900 billion fiscal gap - Details

"What we are working towards is to bring all creditors, the traditional creditors from advanced economies, new creditors like China, Saudi Arabia, India, as well as the private sector, and put them around the table with the debtor countries," she said.

China must alter its policy since low-income nations are unable to pay, Georgieva said. Her comment comes as a massive fiscal shortfall of 900 billion has caused a roadblock in IMF-Pakistan negotiations. Islamabad is resisting the fiscal imbalance as a way to cut the primary deficit, despite the IMF's call for a 1% increase in the GST rate for goods containing fuel, oil, and lubricants.

Also Read: Declare assets of govt officials of grade 17 and above, IMF asks Pakistan

The amended Circular Debt Management Plan (CDMP) has been requested by Pakistani authorities, who also requested that the IMF lower the required additional subsidy from its original objective of 687 billion to 605 billion. As a result, the fiscal shortfall was in the 400450 billion range.

(With agency inputs)

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
Crypto exchange trading platform Binance said that it will temporarily suspend US dollar bank transfers starting on Wednesday, CoinDesk confirmed the report on 6 February.

"We are temporarily suspending USD bank transfers as of February 8th," CoinDesk quoted a Binance spokesperson as saying, noting just 0.01% of monthly active users use $ bank transfers.

"Affected customers are being notified directly," the spokesperson added.

"In the interim, all other methods of buying and selling crypto remain unaffected, including bank transfer using one of the other fiat currencies supported by Binance (including euros), buying and selling crypto via credit card, debit card, Google Pay and Apple Pay and via our Binance P2P marketplace," the spokesperson added.

ALSO READ: Binance moved $346 mln for seized crypto exchange Bitzlato, data show

Earlier in the day, Binance introduced a tool to help users calculate the tax obligations on their crypto transactions since governments are looking into to ensure they don't miss out on revenue from the industry.

As per details, the free tool can enable and support reporting of up to 100,000 transactions. It would be initially available to users in Canada and France, and would be extended to other regions.

"In one click, you can now import your Binance transactions into our calculator and obtain a simple yet comprehensive estimate of your tax obligations depending on your jurisdiction," Binance said on Monday.

In 2022, Italy brought in a 26% tax on crypto trading gains in excess of 2,000 euros ($2,160), while India added a potential fine or jail time for non-compliance to the provision around tax deducted at source (TDS), apart from maintaining its restrictive crypto tax rules from 2022 in 2023.

India had already instituted stiff taxes on crypto transactions, i.e. 30% tax on profits and a 1% TDS on all transactions.
General Michael Langley, who as the commander of United States Africa Command, heads American military relations with Africa.

Video cartoons circulating on social media have shed light on a Russian propaganda campaign aimed at sapping France's influence among its African allies, analysts say.

They depict France as a voracious invader, an animal predator eyeing the riches of its former colonies, only to be overcome by those it sought to subjugate.

"We are Macron's demons," say skeletons in one video, supposedly dispatched by the French President. A giant snake in France's red-white-and-blue colours appears and announces he wants to "conquer all of Africa".

Armed white men in the combat fatigues of Russia's mercenary group Wagner are seen coming to the rescue of soldiers carrying the flags of Mali, Burkina Faso and Cote d'Ivoire.

According to research by The Atlantic Council, a think tank based in Washington DC, the origin of the video is unknown, but it "appears to have first shown up on Twitter on 14 January, then migrated to alternative video platforms before being shared across pro-Russian Telegram channels".

Several of these cartoons have surfaced since December, proliferating on social media through pro-Russian accounts and pan-African influencers, AFP's Africa Factcheck unit has found.

A video put on Facebook on 21 December showed an aggressive rat called "Emmanuel" that's growing fat devouring a man's food. A soldier comes in wielding a giant sledge hammer marked with the "W" initial of the Wagner group and smashes the rat.

'Russian trolls'

How widely the videos have circulated and the impact they have is unclear. But they convey simple images which are effective across cultures and language barriers, a French military source admitted.

"They use the codes of child fiction that a wide cross-section can relate to and are clearly the work of Russian or pro-Russian trolls," possibly based in St Petersburg, Bamako or Ouagadougou, the source said.

Several diplomats and experts told AFP the videos are weapons in a major campaign whipped up by Moscow to win support in the Sahel.

They have fed into the anti-French hostility swelling in Mali and Burkina Faso - fragile countries where a jihadist insurgency has sparked discontent in the army, leading to coups against elected leaders.

"The African continent is becoming the expression of a proxy war ... against Western interests and particularly those of France," said Emmanuel Dupuy, head of the Paris-based Institute for European Perspective and Security (IPSE).

Mali's junta last year forced out French forces who had been key allies in its struggle against the jihadists since 2013, and Burkina this month followed suit.

Long-standing technique

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The use of cartoons supporting Russia's narrative in Africa is not new.

In 2019, a cartoon was used to glorify Wagner combattants in the Central African Republic, another former French colony where France has chosen to withdraw its troops, also in the face of hostility.

Wagner deployed its men in 2018 to help the CAR's beleaguered government recover territory from rebel groups.

The cartoon shows a bear "from a country far away in the north called Russia," who arrives to save an elephant attacked by hyenas trying to eat its food.

The helpful bear then "establishes peace" between the wild animals on the savannah.

Unlike other videos, that one carried credits at the end in the name of Lobaye Invest, a company with mining rights in CAR, according to the US Treasury which sanctioned it in September 2020 over links to Wagner.

Wagner's strategy is "to manufacture a favourable image ... to justify through media and cultural means its establishment and by extension, to legitimise Russia's growing presence in the region," researchers Maxime Audinet and Colin Gerard wrote last year on on the French analysis platform Le Rubicon.

France has been "slow to understand the scale of what was happening in this information war," the commentators said.

Paris is trying to catch up. The foreign ministry has set up a monitoring and strategy team and the army has put a general in charge of the issue.

In November, Macron stressed, during a speech at the French naval base in Toulon, that today "influence" is a "strategic priority".

(with AFP)
At least 15 Nigerian Muslim pilgrims on their way to Senegal were killed when gunmen in Burkina Faso attacked the buses transporting them, Nigeria's presidency said on Monday.

"President Muhammadu Buhari has received the tragic news of the murder," the State House said in a statement without providing a number of casualties or further details on the attack.

A Nigerian presidency spokesperson told Reuters via a WhatsApp message that the death toll stood at 15 "so far".

According to a Senegalese religious order, unidentified assailants attacked the convoy of buses on Wednesday and killed 18 passengers.

ALSO READ: Bharti Airtel to sell Burkina Faso, Sierra Leone operations to Orange

The pilgrims were on their way to a religious ceremony in Senegal from Niger and Nigeria, a trip that involves crossing jihadist hotspots in northern Burkina Faso and central Mali.

"Eighteen passengers lost their lives during these attacks, and most of the survivors were robbed," the Medina Baye Mosque in Koalack, the Senegalese town where the victims were headed, said in a statement on Saturday.

Nigerian authorities could not immediately be reached for comment.

Nigeria's presidency said in the statement that it was in touch with Burkinabe authorities and awaiting the outcome of their investigation into the incident.

Burkina Faso's Foreign Affairs Minister Olivia Rouamba met with Nigeria's ambassador to the country on Monday to discuss the allegations.

"For the time being there is no concrete information or element picked up on the field that proves the veracity of these facts," Rouamba said in a statement after the meeting.

She added that authorities had strongly discouraged travel through the north due to "huge risks" of attacks.

Burkina Faso is battling a jihadist insurgency with links to al Qaeda and Islamic State that spilled over from neighbouring Mali in 2015.

Militants have spread over the tri-border area between Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger and encroached on coastal West African states despite costly international efforts to stop them.

Regular attacks on towns and villages, army posts and U.N. peacekeepers have caused thousands of deaths, displaced over 2 million people across the Sahel and aggravated food insecurity.

This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text. Only the headline has been changed.
As the US shot down a Chinse spy balloon over South Carolina, Colombia has also found itself dealing with a similar conundrum. Officials said that an 'object' had entered its territory with 'characteristics similar to those of a balloon' last week. The Pentagon had said on Friday that a second Chinese spy balloon was seen across Latin America.

Colombia's Air Force said they had monitored" the suspicious object until it left the national air space". While it flew at an altitude of 55,000 feet and an average speed of 46 kilometers per hour officials have clarified that the balloon-like structure did not constitute a threat to national security and defense or to aviation security."

The air force said it was conducting investigations in coordination with other countries and institutions "to establish the origins of the object."

Following this, China on Monday confirmed that this too was a balloon of Chinese origin. "It has come to be understood that the relevant unmanned airship is from China," foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning told a briefing.

He claimed that the device had "seriously deviated from its scheduled route, and accidentally strayed over Latin America and the Caribbean."

No other Latin American country has so far reported spotting the craft.

Also read: US military says it is searching for remnants of Chinese spy balloon

Over the weekend an US fighter jet had shot down a Chinese balloon that had spent several days flying over North America. As tensions ratcheted up between Washington and Beijing, the latter had insisted that it was simply a weather balloon that had blown off course.

The US has now sent divers to salvage what they believe is spy equipment from the Chinese balloon. The government anticipates finding equipment capable of taking detailed photographs, along with other sensors. While China says the device was a climate-research airship" that strayed off course, the US argues it was part of a broader spying program by Beijing.

(With inputs from agencies)
Twitter and Tesla CEO Elon Musk recalled his past three months as Twitter CEO. The billionaire said that it has been "extremely tough" as he "had to save Twitter from bankruptcy" while also fulfilling his duties in Tesla and SpaceX.

Musk also added that the microblogging site continues to have challenges.

Taking to his official Twitter handle, Last 3 months were extremely tough, as had to save Twitter from bankruptcy, while fulfilling essential Tesla & SpaceX duties. Wouldn't wish that pain on anyone. Twitter still has challenges, but is now trending to breakeven if we keep at it. Public support is much appreciated!"

Also Read: Instagram may soon bring Twitter Blue-like paid subscription: Details

Musk replied this to a news article published by WSJ titled When Does Elon Musk Sleep? Billionaire Speaks of Limits to Fixing Twitter and His Back Pain.

Musk lamented the company's "massive drop in revenue" just one week after closing the $44 billion deal to buy Twitter in October, which he attributed to "activist groups pressuring advertisers," Fox Business reported. Since then, he has made a number of changes on Twitter, as per the news report.

Elon Musk has reduced about half of Twitter's staff, introduced a revamped microblogging site Blue subscription service and even auctioned off memorabilia from the company's San Francisco headquarters, Fox Business reported. He defended the Twitter layoffs in November, stressing that the company was losing USD 4 million a day.

After the layoffs, Ex-Twitter employees from across the world have levelled charges of contract breach and discrimination, adding to owner Elon Musk's mounting legal troubles. The company had laid off roughly 3,700 employees in early November as part of a cost-cutting measure by Musk, with hundreds more resigning subsequently.

According to reports quoting lawyer Lisa Bloom, the number of staffers taking legal action against the company is rising on a daily basis. The lawyer said that she was already representing around 100 ex-staffers fired by Musk.

Meanwhile, in a new change on Twitter, the company announced that it will start charging a fee to access its API, which developers use to create third-party services, as per the news report. As the Twitter website explains, its API is a set of programmatic endpoints that can be used to understand or build the conversation on the social media platform. It allows software developers to find, retrieve, engage with or create several different resources including tweets, users, spaces and direct messages.

Earlier on January 13, Musk revealed some of the changes that were set to be introduced in the microblogging platform from next week onwards. He wrote, "Bookmark button moving to tweet details page, fixing image length crop & other minor bug fixes next week."

Recently, a US jury had cleared Musk of claims by Tesla Inc investors that he defrauded them when he tweeted in 2018 that he was considering taking the company private and had "funding secured" to make the deal happen.

Post verdict, Elon Musk thanked the jury and wrote on Twitter,"Thank goodness, the wisdom of the people has prevailed! I am deeply appreciative of the jurys unanimous finding of innocence in the Tesla 420 take-private case". Musk was sued by shareholders who said the tycoon acted recklessly in an effort to squeeze investors who had bet against the company. The verdict rejected allegations that the electric car maker's CEO violated securities laws and should pay billions of dollars in damages.

(With inputs from ANI)
For the first time since the pandemic, American offices saw more than half of their seats filled bringing more hope for a return to office culture. In fact, in the 10 major US cities, the office occupancies crossed 50.4% of pre-pandemic levels, a CNN report cited.

The companies are trying to encourage employees to return to offices and have also begun to crack down on employees who are reluctant to come back.

For example, Disney directed employees to be in the office four days a week beginning March 1. For Starbucks (SBUX), it is a three-day-a-week office schedule.

Though the return to office has been taken positively by most employees, many are also vehemently protesting against it. Tension sparked with some Apple (AAPL) employees as the company asked its staffers to return to the office. Then, a few YouTube contractors are likely to start a protest later this week citing unreasonable return-to-office policies that could force many of them to relocate from other states.

According to the Alphabet Workers Union, roughly a quarter of the striking workers are based outside of Texas, and a majority of the contractors had been initially hired as remote workers. On average, YouTube music workers are paid $19 an hour and cannot afford the relocation, travel or childcare costs associated with in-person work," the group said on its Facebook page. The upcoming return to office date threatens the livelihoods of workers who do not live in the Austin area."

All big tech companies and banks are also slowly moving towards returns to office but many are not considering it immediately. Amazon (AMZN) CEO Andy Jassy isnt looking to force the companys workers back into the office anytime soon, saying in September that it doesnt have a plan to require people to come back."
At least 100 people were killed while dozens of others were trapped under rubble in Turkey and Syria after a 7.8 magnitude earthquake. The quake struck at a depth of 10 km near the southern Turkish city of Kahramanmaras - about 33 km from the major city of Gaziantep in the early hours of Monday. There were at least 6 aftershocks and monitoring services are now evaluating the risk of a tsunami.

Here's all you need to know about the situation:

1. A 7.8 magnitude quake has knocked down multiple buildings in southeast Turkey and Syria. At least 76 deaths have been reported from Turkey, with others believed to be trapped under rubble. The country's disaster agency said that 440 people have been injured. The toll from the incident may rise as many casualties are feared.

2. Entire buildings have collapsed in northwest Syria with state media reports citing examples from Aleppo and Hama. The opposition's Syrian Civil Defense has urged people in the rebel-held region to evacuate and gather in open areas. In the capital city of Damascus many people had come out onto the streets in fear as the buildings shook.

3. Beyond the directly affected areas, the quake also jolted residents in Lebanon as buildings shook for 40 seconds. Many residents of Beirut left their homes and took to the streets or drove away from buildings. The tremors were also felt in Cyprus and as far as Cairo in Egypt.

4. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan conveyed his support for those affected by the quake, noting that search and rescue teams were immediately dispatched" to the areas in question. We hope that we will get through this disaster together as soon as possible and with the least damage," he added in a Twitter thread.

5. Visuals shared online after the quake indicated a trail of devastation with crumbled buildings and fires across several cities. Updates on Turkish television and social media showed rescuers digging through the rubble of levelled buildings in the city of Kahramanmaras and neighbouring Gaziantep.

#UPDATE A 7.8-magnitude earthquake has killed at least five people in the Turkish province of Osmaniye, the state-run Anadolu Agency reports the provincial governor as saying.



Governor Erdinc Yilmaz also said that 34 buildings were destroyed in the province pic.twitter.com/issPf9ggsm  AFP News Agency (@AFP) February 6, 2023

6. Locals officials said five people died in the province of Osmaniye and 10 more in Sanliurfa, which sits near Turkey's border with Syria. At least 130 buildings tumbled down in Malatya province with authorities retrieving three bodies. Around a hundred people have been hospitalized said officials in the region.

7. Meanwhile in Syria, pro-government media said several buildings had partially collapsed in Hama. State television reported that a building near Latakia, on the west coast of Syria had also collapsed.

8. Civil defence and firefighters in Syria are now working to pull survivors out of the rubble. 11 have so far been reported killed with officials fearing that the deaths are in the hundreds".

9. This was historically, the biggest earthquake recorded in the history of the centre," Raed Ahmed, who heads Syria's National Earthquake Centre, told pro-government radio.

10. There were at least 6 aftershocks including a strong 6.7 tremor that rumbled by about 10 minutes after the initial. Turkey sits on top of major fault lines and is frequently shaken by earthquakes. Some 18,000 were killed in powerful earthquakes that hit northwest Turkey in 1999.

(With inputs from agencies)
Saturdays Wall Street Journal carried an obituary of Paul A. David, who was an unusual type of economist. He was inclined to look to the past, and not to the future, as most economists do. A lot of his work focused on studying the history of how technologies and industries develop and decay, in the hope of finding clues about how economies develop.

According to the obituary, David looked at both electrification and computerization and came to the conclusion that it could take decades for some businesses to reorganize their organizations to make better use of them. He was well known for a paper titled The Dynamo and the Computer in which he examined the slow spread of electrification in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and posited a question that perplexed many economists in the 1990s. And this was the paradox that an evidently rapid adoption of computers wasnt delivering (at least as assessed back then) an otherwise-expected surge in the productivity of US workers.

David also attracted attention with ruminations on the Qwerty keyboard we use, and why it hadnt been replaced with a configuration that would allow for much faster typing. The typewriter market had settled on the Qwerty format in the 19th century to reduce human error by slowing typists down, and once this standard was embraced, the switchover costs on equipment and retraining typists were judged too high for anybody to implement a shift. David showed that random events and herd mentality could cause people and organizations to settle for sub-optimal technology.

He was right. I can think of a slew of examples from operating systems such as Microsofts Windows as well as numerous database and enterprise resource planning solutions that far outlived (and are still outliving) the introduction of newer, faster and better technology. Switching costs are sometimes far too much for organizations and people to bear, and they see these burdens as outweighing any productivity or speed benefits that newer technology may bring.

Microsofts domination of the personal computer operating system was the result of a storied piece of luck when IBM adopted (then little) Microsofts disk operating system as its standard. And the same pattern is true of databases such as Oracles or ERP systems such as SAP. That is not to say that these companies did not continue to innovate. They did. And when they couldnt, they outspent rivals, bundled in rival services free, or bought their competition out. These tactics have been at the receiving end of anti-trust regulatory action, and deservedly so. A recent example was the slap on Googles wrist by Indias rivalry regulator, which fined the company for anti-competitive practices on its Android platform, as reported by Mint in October 2022 (bit.ly/3RyLlLs).

While Davids work focused on how switching costs (and as we have seen, anti-competitive practices) can keep sub-optimal technologies alive, there is also the interesting question of how technology companies die. I worked for one such case myself, Xerox Corp, where I started my post-MBA career in 1990. Once a giant in the imaging field, it is now a shadow of its former self. Two other imaging companies, Kodak and Bausch & Lomb, also with outsize presence and headquarters in Rochester, New York (the optics and chemical engineering capital of the world with world class universities to match), have also all but vanished.

Speaking of history repeating itself, I happened to come across an interesting blog comparing the almost complete dissolution of General Electric with how todays global technology giants are behaving, written by Evan Armstrong (bit.ly/3JJxU9N).

Armstrong talks about GE, Amazon and what he calls the flywheel of death". He uses the GE case to identify four specific phases of a corporate lifecycle: how it expands, morphs and dies. He identifies a Benign Circle of Power" as the first phase, which leads to enormous growth. It ends when executives start to use financial engineering and balance sheet clout to conduct a series of mergers and divestitures, and start cutting the workforce ruthlessly. GEs celebrity CEO Jack Welch, who ran the firm from 1981 to 2001, became famous for his rank and yank" system of ranking employees and firing the bottom 10% every year, and for sending jobs overseas. He also sold off 118 businesses, while Jeff Immelt, his successor, sold 318. It then ended up with a set of unwieldy assets and shrivelled into three smaller companies.

I was witness to the third phase at Xerox. In fact, I worked on a team divesting Xeroxs earlier acquisitions in the financial services sector, including investment banks, insurers and mutual fund houses which constituted almost 30% of the firms revenues then. We divested those businesses at considerable cost. One of the deals I worked onthe leveraged management buyout of Furman-Selz, a Xerox-owned investment bankwas an example. Xerox lent Furman-Selzs partners most of the money they needed to buy the firm back from Xerox, so they didnt need money from the market, which would have charged a much higher rate of interest; it was a concrete example of financial engineering, with the balance sheets strength brought in to assist. As it happens, Xerox has shrivelled since those heady years.

Armstrong maintains that history repeats itself and that todays technology giants may be beginning to move from a phase of power to the flywheel of death in their lifecycles. Maybe all these layoffs are an early sign.

Siddharth Pai is co-founder of Siana Capital, a venture fund manager.
ABOARD THE PAPAL PLANE : Pope Francis has said he is planning to visit India next year and is studying a possible trip to Mongolia later in 2023 in what would be a first for a pope.

Francis outlined his upcoming travel schedule on Sunday during his flight back to Rome from South Sudan.

He confirmed that he would be in Lisbon, Portugal for World Youth Day the first week of August and would participate in a September 23 meeting of Mediterranean bishops in Marseille, France.

He said there was the possibility" that he would fly from Marseille to Mongolia, which would be a first for a pope.

Looking further ahead, Francis said he thought he would visit India in 2024, after plans for a trip in 2017 fell apart.

Francis spoke to reporters after a six-day visit to Congo and South Sudan, where he was joined in the South Sudanese capital, Juba, by the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby and the moderator of the Church of Scotland, the Rt. Rev. Iain Greenshields.

The Catholic, Anglican and Presbyterian leaders made a novel joint visit to push South Sudan's political leaders to make progress on implementing a stalled 2018 peace accord that ended a civil war following the country's 2011 independence from Sudan.

Welby and Greenshields joined Francis aboard the papal plane back and took part in his airborne news conference, during which they were asked if they would be willing to join Francis on future trips too.

Welby said he would be delighted to" if it might be helpful, joking that the papal plane was the best airline I've ever flown on."

Greenshields also was keen but noted his mandate ends in May.

In a nod to the nearly all-male Vatican delegation that accompanies Francis on his foreign trips, Greenshields pointed out that he would be replaced by a very capable woman" as moderator of the Church of Scotland, the Rev. Sally Foster-Fulton, an American. The Church of Scotland has had ordained female ministers since the 1960s.

She would be delighted to do the same thing," he said.

The Vatican delegation, made up mostly of cardinals and bishops, traditionally only includes one woman: a protocol expert in the Vatican secretariat of state. On this trip, Francis also invited as his personal guest a Congolese nun.
ISTANBUL : A powerful earthquake hit Turkey and northern Syria on Monday, followed just hours later by another strong temblor that shook the region, killing more than 2,300 people and destroying thousands of buildings, Turkish and Syrian authorities said.

A 7.8-magnitude quake felt across the Middle East on Monday morning was followed by a series of aftershocks and then a 7.5-magnitude quake in the afternoon that authorities said was separate from the first. The quakes were Turkeys worst seismic event in decades, rocking an area around the city of Gaziantep that is home to millions of Turkish citizens, displaced Syrians and refugees.

The first earthquake struck at 4:17 a.m. in the middle of a winter storm and wrought destruction across a swath of the country running for hundreds of miles near its border with Syria. At least 1,498 people died, Turkeys emergency service said, with more than 8,000 injured and over 2,800 buildings that had collapsed. Search teams had rescued almost 2,500 people caught under debris.

The earthquakes in Syria killed at least 810 people across the countrys northern region, according to the Syrian Civil Defense organization, known as the White Helmets, and the Health Ministry affiliated with the government in Damascus.

At the moment, we dont know how high the dead and wounded numbers will rise," Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said in an address to the nation, noting that the debris removal was still under way.

In Syria, the earthquake shook a region of the country that houses millions of people displaced by the countrys civil war, including many living in makeshift camps. It came during a brutal economic crisis in Syria and a cholera outbreak, striking an area with limited hospitals or other infrastructure.

Temperatures dipped below freezing overnight with snow and freezing rain in some of the areas that were hit by the earthquake. The fact that its winter, the weather is cold and that the earthquake happened in the middle of the night makes the work harder but everyone is working with their hearts and souls in it," Mr. Erdogan said.

In Gaziantep, a Turkish city of more than two million people, the earthquake jolted sleeping residents and sent them running into the street while buildings collapsed around them and sirens blared. Some people remained trapped under the rubble while others took shelter in their cars from the icy winter storm as the sun rose on Monday, residents said.

The house shook like a babys cradle. It was like a nightmare. I woke up the kids. I told them to stay calm. We left the building," said Bulent Cakr, 48, a resident of Gaziantep. Everyone was shouting, crying in panic."

As night turned to day on Monday, anxious residents remained in their cars or in the street, wary of returning to their homes for fear that they would collapse.

People were just running away. They dont know where but they were just running outside." said Yakzan Shishakly, the co-founder of a Syrian relief organization who lives in Gaziantep.

Everybodys saying, even if things calm down, can we sleep normally after what happened last night? Everybody is traumatized," he said.

The White Helmets said on Twitter that it had declared a state of emergency and that many people were trapped under the rubble of collapsed buildings. The organization tweeted a video of rescue workers pulling children from the rubble in a town north of the city of Aleppo, with ambulances wailing through darkened streets.

Some of the worst destruction took place in Idlib, a province of northern Syria that is home to millions of people who were forced to flee their homes during the war elsewhere in Syria,

Frantic civilians tried desperately to rescue loved ones who screamed from underneath the rubble of collapsed buildings. The regions hospitals, already ill-equipped to handle the influx of displaced people, struggled to cope, according to relief workers and residents.

People are working with their bare hands. No equipment, just trying to get people from under the rubble," said Abdulkafi Alhamdo, an English teacher from Aleppo who lives in Idlib. Some people are taken out alive. Some people are taken out dead. Some of them are still there."

Syria shut its main oil refinery for 48 hours after a chimney and other buildings suffered cracks following the earthquake, according to state news agency SANA.

The earthquakes come at a critical moment for Turkey as it prepares for its most important election in a generation this spring, in which Mr. Erdogan faces a difficult reelection campaign. The governments response to disasters, including recent wildfires, has become a subject of public debate in recent years.

Turkeys interior minister Suleyman Soylu said the country had declared its highest state of emergency which includes a call for international help."

President Biden said he had directed his team to provide any and all needed assistance" from the U.S.

Jake Sullivan, Mr. Bidens national secretary adviser, said the president had directed the U.S. Agency for International Development and other government agencies to assess U.S. response options to help those most affected."

France is ready to offer emergency assistance to people in the area of the earthquake, French President Emmanuel Macron said. The offer comes as other countries, including Germany, Italy and Poland, have also said they will or are ready to send help.

The earthquake took place in a seismically active area: the junction between the Anatolia, Arabia and Africa plates, the U.S. Geological Survey said. Three earthquakes of magnitude 6 or larger have occurred within 250 kilometers, or about 155 miles, of Mondays earthquake since 1970, the agency said.

A magnitude 7.6 earthquake in 1999 shook western Turkey near Istanbul, that killed thousands of people and devastated Turkeys largest city in a national trauma that is seared in the memory of millions.
Theres a surprising side effect of a marijuana habit that many people dont know: Regular users may need more anesthesia during medical procedures to remain sedated.

As more states allow people to smoke pot and eat edibles legally, more doctors say they are asking about marijuana useand urging honestybefore surgeries or procedures because habitual users may need more anesthesia and painkillers. In one study, people who reported they used cannabis required more anesthesia than people who didnt use it.

Its incredibly important to disclose your cannabis use to your anesthesiologist," says Staci Gruber, director of the Marijuana Investigations for Neuroscientific Discovery (MIND) program at McLean Hospital in Belmont, Mass., who co-wrote a recent study in the journal Frontiers in Psychiatry looking at interactions between cannabis and other drugs.

Hospitals already ask about alcohol consumption, which can also affect your anesthesia requirements, doctors say. Many people dont readily mention marijuana use, though, and healthcare workersin some states dont routinely ask.

A 2021 federal survey found that 18.7% of people age 12 or older had used marijuana in the past year.

It isnt clear if the anesthesia complication is largely limited to people who use THC, the main psychoactive component of marijuana and what causes the high, or also extends to people who take cannabidiol, or CBD. The latterdoesnt produce the high that THC does and is sometimes used as a remedy for pain, sleep or anxiety. Many cannabis products such as edibles contain a combination of the two.

Julius Hyatt, an oral surgeon at the Maryland Center for Oral Surgery and Dental Implants in Cockeysville, Md., started noticing a few years ago that more of his patients were requiring larger amounts of anesthesia to remain sedated.

Some patients who were regular cannabis usersneeded two to three times the normal amount of the anesthetic propofol to stay under, he says. He and others in his practice also had to start adding other drugssometimes used in sedation such as fentanyl and ketamine to maintain sedation for patients who were becoming restless during oral surgeries.Dr. Hyatts practice changed its health history form to ask more specific questions about patients marijuana use.

Doctors say you dont need to worry about waking up during a procedure, though. Anesthesiologists monitor sedation levels and can give more if they notice signs that the drugs are wearing off. But regular marijuana users appear to need more anesthesia to become sedated and stay that way.

In January, the American Society of Regional Anesthesia and Pain Medicine published guidelines recommending that all patients undergoing anesthesia for an inpatient or outpatient procedure be screened and questioned about cannabis use, including how much they use and how often, how they take it, and when they last used it.

Researchers are still learning about how cannabis affects anesthesia, so the guidelines dont specify how much more anesthesiausers need or what amount of use requires changes.

Research on cannabis is scant, and often relies on self-reports, which arent always reliable. Most studies done examining the anesthesiaissue have looked at propofol, a common anesthetic used in outpatient and inpatient procedures.

One of the largest studies, reviewing the records of people who have undergone procedures, examined 250 patients undergoing an endoscopy with anesthesia. The 25 who reported that they were cannabis users required a greater dose of anesthesia than the nonusers, according to the study, which was published in 2019 in the Journal of Osteopathic Medicine.

A 2021 study in the journal PLOS ONE found that cannabis use was associated with an increase in the propofol dose needed to sedate patients for an endoscopy. Daily users needed a higher dose than weekly or monthly ones, the study found.

Both CBD and THC, or tetrahydrocannabinol, are processed by an enzyme system in the liver, says Dr. Gruber. Other drugs, including anesthetics, are also processed in the liver, which may partly explain why cannabis use can interfere with sedation.

The way you consume cannabis makes a difference, she says. It has a longer-lasting impact when it is ingested, in say an edible, and has to be processed by the liver than when it is inhaled.

Cannabis can also interfere with painkillers after surgery, doctors say. A 2018 study in the journal Patient Safety in Surgery looking at 261 patientsfrom four trauma centers found that cannabis users had higher pain scores and consumed 25% to 37% higher quantities of opioids compared with nonusers.

David Dickerson, chair of the American Society of Anesthesiologists Committee on Pain Medicine, says all patients undergoing surgery are asked about cannabis use in the Chicago-area hospital system where he works.

The patients who may need higher doses of anesthetic or be more closely monitored are those he considers regular users," who are taking cannabis more days than not.

Jeffrey Galinkin, chairman of perioperative services and anesthesia at Medical Center of Aurora in Colorado, says he has been routinely asking patients who will get anesthesia about marijuana use for years. He follows it up by telling patients their answer will affect the amount of anesthetic and pain medication he will give them.

When you say that, they become very truthful very quickly," says Dr. Galinkin.
Parkinson's is a neurodegenerative disease that primarily affects the part of the brain responsible for normal movement. A neurodegenerative disease is one that attacks the cells of the central nervous system to the point where they either stop working properly or die altogether. Such disorders generally get progressively worse over time.

The condition is named after James Parkinson who, in his 1817 work "An Essay on the Shaking Palsy", wrote a detailed account of what he referred to as shaking palsy (paralysis agitans). The condition was eventually re-branded Parkinson's by Jean-Martin Charcot, a French neurologist.

"Parkinson's is the most common neurodegenerative movement disorder," said Dario Alessi (opens in new tab), a professor of signal transduction and director of the Medical Research Council Protein Phosphorylation and Ubiquitylation Unit at the University of Dundee in Scotland.

Around 500,000 people in the United States are currently diagnosed as having Parkinson's, though according to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) (opens in new tab), as many as one million people could have it. Globally, as many as 10 million people are thought to have Parkinson's, according to the charity Parkinson's Europe (opens in new tab).

What are the symptoms of Parkinson's disease?

The main motor symptoms of Parkinson's include tremors and involuntary shaking, bradykinesia (slowness of movement), rigidity, muscle stiffness and gait disturbances, including balance problems, Alessi told Live Science. This is because the primary characteristic of idiopathic Parkinson's disease is that the brain cells in the midbrain that produce dopamine, the chemical that coordinates movement, start to die.

"Other symptoms may include sleep issues, constipation, mood problems, anxiousness and reduced smell," he said.

Dario Alessi Social Links Navigation Biochemist Dario Alessi is a biochemist at the University of Dundee is Scotland. His research focuses on unravelling the roles of poorly characterised components which regulate protein phosphorylation or ubiquitylation pathways that are linked to human disease. Much of Alessi's current work is focused on understanding LRRK2 and how mutations in this enzyme cause Parkinsons disease.

What causes Parkinson's Disease?

The definitive cause of Parkinson's is not yet known. This is why it is called idiopathic  arises spontaneously  Alessi said.

"The general belief is that genetic and environmental factors, as well as advancing age, play a role," he said. "In some individuals, changes in several genes are associated with the development of Parkinson's. One example is the LRRK2 genes. As such, individuals carrying certain genetic changes are more likely to develop Parkinson's disease. Curiously, men are 1.5 times more likely than women to develop the condition."

According to Parkinson's Europe (opens in new tab), the vast majority of people who are diagnosed with Parkinson's are over the age of 60, though one in 10 is under 50.

(Image credit: Getty Images)

Besides age and sex, other risk factors for Parkinson's disease include:

Heredity: Some genetic mutations may contribute to the development of Parkinson's and can slightly increase a person's risk. But most cases of the disease are not caused by inheriting genes linked to it. Only about 10 percent of people with Parkinson's are genetically predisposed to the condition, according to the American Parkinson Disease Association.

Exposure to toxins: Studies have shown that environmental factors  such as exposure to pesticides, herbicides (like Agent Orange) and drinking well water  may be tied to an increased risk of Parkinson's, but that risk is relatively small.

Repeated head injuries: When these injuries trigger a loss of consciousness, they have been linked with an increased risk of Parkinson's.

How is Parkinson's disease diagnosed?

There is no specific test, such as a blood test or MRI, that can be used to diagnose Parkinson's. Instead, the diagnosis is based on a constellation of findings from a thorough examination, said Dr. Danny Bega, a neurologist at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago.

Parkinson's shares similarities with a number of other diseases and disorders.

"There are atypical Parkinsonian syndromes including multiple system atrophy, Lewy body dementia and progressive supranuclear palsy that can initially look very much like Parkinson's, but eventually take a different trajectory in terms of rate of progression, additional clinical symptomatology, responsiveness to symptomatic therapies, and potentially underlying neuropathology," Alessi said.

Parkinson's typically develops slowly over time, making it hard to detect in the early stages of the disease. In addition, the progression of symptoms and their intensity can vary from one person to another.

Diagnosis may partially come from identifying symptoms during a physical exam, such as stiffness and slow movement, Bega said. Because this disease can be tricky to diagnose, it's best for patients to work with a neurologist or movement-disorder specialist who sees these problems daily, he said.

Can you treat Parkinson's disease?

Many medications are available to treat the symptoms of Parkinson's disease, but none of them can slow the disease's progression, said Bega.

There are a number of different medications that can help with alleviating motor symptoms as well as non-motor symptoms. In general, the most effective treatment for motor symptoms is dopamine cell replacement transplantation, which involves "injecting new dopamine producing neurons into the part of the brain to replace the dead or dying neurons," according to the Cure Parkinson's Trust. (opens in new tab)

"Many patients initially have a good response to medication but, as the disease progresses, symptoms become more complex and may have more of an impact on someone's daily life," Alessi said. "We are now better at managing the advanced stages of Parkinson's, but this does not take away from the fact that we need interventions that slow or stop the progression of the disease."

Studies have suggested that being physically active may slow the progression of Parkinson's symptoms. Bega said he encourages regular exercise  stationary biking, swimming, strength training or doing tai chi  to improve mobility, balance and mood for people with the disease.

(Image credit: Getty Images)

Knowledge around the underlying biology of Parkinson's has increased exponentially in recent years.

"There are some very exciting new targets that are being explored in the clinic," Alessi said.

Parkinson's research involves the protein alpha-synuclein. In autopsies, many brain cells of people who'd had Parkinson's disease have been found to contain Lewy bodies, which are unusual clumps of alpha-synuclein.

These clumps of protein in the brain are the pathological hallmark for Parkinson's and may be one reason the brain is not working properly in those with the condition, Bega said. If researchers can prevent the protein from clumping into Lewy bodies, by either clearing them out or stopping their spread within brain cells, then that may lead to a method of stopping the disease's progression, said the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research.

Such treatment could ultimately slow  or even halt entirely  Parkinson's. "Our hope is that in the next five to 10 years the first medications are approved that, for the first time, will slow the progress of Parkinson's," Alessi said. "This would represent a landmark in medicine if it could be achieved."

Additional resources:

This article is for informational purposes only, and is not meant to offer medical advice.
Capt. Ibrahim Traore, Burkina Faso's junta leader, said his country has not severed diplomatic ties with France, despite asking it to withdraw its forces, and denied Russian Wagner mercenaries were in the country.

Paris recently recalled its ambassador to Burkina Faso after agreeing to demands from the ruling military junta to pull out its troops.

In his first public comments since then, Captain Ibrahim Traore insisted Burkina had not broken ties with France -its former colonial power.

"The end of diplomatic agreements, no!" Traore said in a television interview with Burkinabe journalists on Friday. "There is no break in diplomatic relations or hatred against a particular state."

Traore, who came to power in a military coup last October, vowing to win back territory from jihadists, went on to deny that there were mercenaries from the Wagner Group deployed in Burkina Faso.

Wagner, a Russian mercenary group founded in 2014, has been involved in conflicts in Africa, Latin America, the Middle East and Ukraine.

"We've heard everywhere that Wagner is in Ouagadougou," he said, adding that it was a rumour "created so that everybody would distance themselves from us".

"We have our Wagner, it is the VDP that we recruit," he said, referring to the Volunteers for the Defense of the Homeland civilian auxiliaries. "They are our Wagner."

He said that "all the people want is their sovereignty, to live with dignity. It doesn't mean leaving one country for another".

Paris confirmed last month that its special forces troops, deployed to help fight a seven-year long jihadist insurgency, would leave within a month.

Under President Macron, France was already drawing down its troops across the Sahel region, which just a few years ago numbered more than 5,000.

About 3,000 remain, but the forced departures from Mali and Burkina Faso - as well as the Central African Republic to the south last year - underline growing anti-French sentiment.

(with AFP)
The command and leadership team from the 730th Composite Supply Company in Memphis pose for a photograph, Feb. 4, as they prepare for their nine-month deployment to Kuwait.
Mr Obi made the appeal in a tweet on Sunday morning.

The presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi, has urged Nigerians to be patient with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) over the redesigned currency, saying it has "some significant long-term economic and social benefits."

Mr Obi made the appeal in a tweet on Sunday morning.

"I urge Nigerians to bear with the CBN and Federal Government with the hope that the general populace and Nigeria will harvest the gains that will come with the reforms," Mr Obi said in the tweet.

"The currency redesign is not peculiar to Nigeria. It is an exercise that comes with some inconvenience and pain but it has significant long-term economic and social benefits. Even though there are improvements that can be made," said Mr Obi, who was the chairman of Fidelity Bank before becoming the governor of the South-east state of Anambra.

Mr Obi, however, asked the CBN to "expedite efforts to make the new currency available to small depositors and the unbanked in order to reduce the pains of my fellow Nigerians, especially the underprivileged and those living far away from banks in the rural areas".

Many Nigerians have criticised the CBN and the federal government over the policy, which has brought hardship because of the scarcity of the new notes.

Nigerians, including Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State, have described the policy as "anti-people."

Amidst the hardship the policy has triggered, Mr Buhari, on Friday, urged citizens to give him seven days to resolve the cash crunch across the country.

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Nigeria's Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo on Friday, faulted the policy and lamented the hardship it has caused.

Backstory

For weeks, Nigerians have been rushing to meet the CBN deadline for the phase-out of the old naira notes - N200, N500 and N1, 000 amidst poor distributions of the new currency.

There had been long queues at ATMs across the country. Point of Sales (POS) centres have cashed in on the desperate situation to extort Nigerians.

The CBN, in response to public outcry, last Sunday extended the deadline from 31 January to 10 February.

There are still long queues at ATM centres despite the extension. Many Nigerians still keep vigil at the ATM to withdraw money while most POS operators no longer have cash to meet their customers' needs. Those who manage to have cash charge exorbitant fees for such transactions leaving Nigerians stranded and helpless.
Tennessee lawmakers are considering a new bill that would allow people to carry guns on school property as long as they have a permit. Tennessee Senator Joey Hensley of District 28 said he introduced Senate bill 827 with college students in mind.
The Koch network is not planning to support the former president's White House bid, according to an official with AFP Action. Charles Koch, CEO of Koch Industries, is pictured here Colorado Springs, Colorado, in June 2019.
Crime

By Chris Boyle Published: February 06 2023

New York, Nation Seeing Increase in Vehicle Thefts; DMV Also Fighting Fraud, Raising Catalytic Converter Theft Awareness.

Governor Kathy Hochul has announced that the New York State Department of Motor Vehicles helped New Yorkers recover 231 stolen vehicles valued at more than $7.3 million in 2022. In addition, DMV recovered 81 stolen vehicle parts, worth $67,223.

"Since the day I took office, the safety of New Yorkers has been my number one priority," Governor Hochul said. "My administration is committed to tracking down and recovering stolen vehicles and bringing justice to the innocent New Yorkers who are victimized by these crimes."

New York State Department of Motor Vehicles Commissioner Mark J.F. Schroeder said, "Our investigators work hard to protect New Yorkersnot only their property but also their identities. Recovering stolen vehicles and parts is just part of the critical work they do day in and day out. In addition to being vigilant once you own a vehicle, we always advise consumers to be wise when purchasing a salvage vehicle or one that may have been stolen or subjected to flooding."

By comparison, in 2021, DMV recovered 194 vehicles and 77 parts for a total value of $5.2 million.

Breakdown of the vehicles recovered in 2022 and their value:

Brand Number of vehicles Value Acura 8 $185,125 Alfa Romeo 1 $25,000 Audi 3 $105,238 Big Tex trailer 1 $13,000 BMW 8 $417,095 Buick 1 $26,975 Cadillac 4 $116,245 Can-Am ATV 1 $4,120 Chevrolet 5 $149,470 Chrysler 2 $21,500 Dodge 15 $631,897 Ford 8 $110,400 GMC 6 $231,800 Hino 1 $35,600 Honda 76 $2,009,264 Hyundai 5 $71,520 Infiniti 6 $220,025 Jaguar 1 $61,200 Jeep 23 $1,034,058 Kawasaki 2 $10,340 Kia 2 $55,500 KTM 1 $9,250 Land Rover 3 $139,038 Lexus 1 $20,000 Lincoln 2 $19,600 Mercedes Benz 4 $192,825 Nissan 10 $151,041 Polaris 1 $4,060 Pontiac 1 $4,000 Porsche 2 $113,000 Ram 8 $695,800 RPS 1 $1,300 Toyota 15 $413,250 Yamaha 2 $10,500 Utility Trailer 1 $250 TOTAL 231 $7,309,286

There has been a national increase in stolen vehicles. Drivers should remember to lock their vehicle when they park and take the key or key fob with them. For additional security, vehicle owners can use visible or audible devices such as alarms, brake or wheel locks, or install a vehicle immobilizer like fuse cut-offs or ignition and fuel disablers.

If your vehicle is stolen, report it to the police and your auto insurance company as soon as possible. The police will enter the information into national and state auto theft computer records. The theft will be noted on your vehicle title record to help prevent someone from selling the vehicle or applying for a title.

The DMV offers additional guidance on stolen and recovered vehicles on its website, and the agency also provides a link that lets customers determine if a car was flooded or stolen. By typing in the Vehicle Identification Number, a customer can learn if a vehicle has flood damage that is not readily visible.

Consumers should also be careful when purchasing a vehicle where the deal seems too good to be true. They should be wary if the seller is insisting on cash only and should check to be sure the vehicle description on the title matches the vehicle they are receiving. For example, the plates and inspection stickers should match the jurisdiction listed on the title.

Auto theft recovery is just one of the many functions of DMV's Division of Field Investigations. Last year, DMV investigators made 1,126 arrests related to fraud, identity theft and using false identifications to purchase alcohol.

At the Governor's direction, the DMV has also worked with members of law enforcement, the National Insurance Crime Bureau, and state and regional automobile dealers' associations to combat catalytic converter thefts. DMV helped supply dealers with a new process that allows auto dealers to etch a unique, traceable serial number onto the catalytic converter that can be clearly seen and linked back to the vehicle from which it was stolen.

In October, the Governor signed legislation requiring auto dealers to stock and use those etching kits on new vehicles. The legislation also amended Vehicle and Traffic Law to add catalytic converters as a major component vehicle part, which will require vehicle dismantlers to maintain records of them. Every 60 days, those businesses must report the number of catalytic converters received during that period. Failing to maintain or produce those records upon request is a Class A misdemeanor and could include monetary penalties of up to double the amount made in taking in allegedly stolen converter components.
Crime

By Chris Boyle Published: February 06 2023

19-year-old Julio Cesar Espantzay-Gonzales was lured into Massapequa Preserve with the promise of drugs and sex; Defendant Carlos Portillo ordered his murder.

Nassau County District Attorney Anne T. Donnelly announced that a high-ranking MS-13 member has been convicted for his role in the January 2017 murder of a teenager deemed to be an enemy of the gang.

Carlos Portillo, a/k/a Solitario and Pikachu, 28, was convicted yesterday after a jury trial of Murder in the Second Degree (an A-I felony). The defendant is due back in court before Judge Helene Gugerty for sentencing on March 7, 2023. He faces a potential maximum of 25 years to life in prison.

The trial started on January 17 and closing statements occurred on January 25. The jury deliberated for approximately three hours.

High-ranking MS-13 member Carlos Portillo ordered the murder of an innocent 19-year-old man, simply because he wore the wrong color, DA Donnelly said. Portillo provided a gun and a machete for the gruesome task and instructed his gang subordinates on how and where to kill Espantzay-Gonzales. I thank our prosecutors and the detectives at the Nassau County Police Department and New York City Police Department for their assistance in bringing this dangerous defendant to justice.

Co-defendants Kevin Granados-Coreas, Antonio Cullal and Raul Ponce have previously pleaded guilty for their roles in the murder of Espantzay-Gonzales. Coreas, A/K/A Lonely, was sentenced to 23 years to life in prison, Cullal, A/K/A Duke, was sentenced to 20 years to life in prison, and Ponce, A/K/A Shadow, was sentenced to 32 years to life in prison.

The cases against co-defendants Roberto Abrego Reyes, Gerson Stanley Juarez, and Laura Campos are pending.

DA Donnelly said that, according to the indictment, in January 2017, seven gang members allegedly planned the murder of 19-year-old Julio Cesar Espantzay-Gonzales, a perceived enemy of MS-13.

The victim allegedly wore the wrong color when invited to a known gang location prior to his murder.

According to the indictment, Granados-Coreas allegedly told co-defendants Abrego-Reyes, Portillo and Cullal that Espantzay-Gonzales was an enemy of the gang. Abrego-Reyes, as the alleged leader of the Indios Locos Salvatrucha (ILS) clique of MS-13, gave the order to Portillo  the second-in-command of the clique  that Espantzay-Gonzales must be killed.

Portillo organized the gang members, instructed them on how and where to kill Espantzay-Gonzales, and provided them with a car, a gun and a machete.

Espantzay-Gonzales was lured to the Massapequa Preserve on January 28, 2017, with promises of sex and marijuana. To lure him to the preserve, one of the gang members allegedly pretended to befriend him.

Once inside the preserve, Granados-Coreas, Cullal, Ponce, and Juarez allegedly hacked Espantzay-Gonzales to death with a machete. The 19-year-old was also shot in the face. The victims body was left under tree branches, leaves, and other brush.

Campos allegedly drove the defendants to and from the murder scene.

Espantzay-Gonzaless body was discovered on March 23, 2017, by a man walking his dog in the preserve.

Portillo was arrested by members of the Nassau County Police Departments Homicide Squad in July 2017.

Deputy Bureau Chief Katie Zizza of the Vehicular Crimes Bureau and Deputy Bureau Chief Daryl Levy of the Homicide Bureau are prosecuting this case. The defendant is represented by Joseph LoPiccolo, Esq.
Community, Charity & Cause

By Chris Boyle Published: February 06 2023

Scholarships will be dispensed over the next two years and will include the cost of all coursework for recipients, valued at $5,950 per person.

Outreach, the agency known for life-saving alcohol and substance use treatment, recovery, and professional training, was selected out of over 100 submissions to receive a two-year grant of $1.25 million from the first phase of the Opioid Settlement funds in Suffolk County. To fill an urgent need for workforce for credentialed addiction and substance abuse counselors, these funds will provide Suffolk County Workforce Development Scholarships (SCWDS) for 200 Suffolk county residents to attend the Outreach Training Institute (OTI) Credentialed Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Counselor (CASAC) training.

This new free training opportunity for the community will lead to immediate job training and placement and help to fill workforce gaps throughout the county. In operation since 1997, OTI is licensed by the NYS Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services (OASAS) and delivers 350 hours of education required for CASAC. OTI is one of the largest and most well-established CASAC education and training providers in downstate New York.

Scholarships will be dispensed over the next two years and will include the cost of all coursework for recipients, valued at $5,950 per person. In addition, 40 students will receive paid internships at Outreach and other Suffolk county treatment locations, with each receiving a stipend of $1,500. The proposed scholarships will create a pipeline to bring new workforce into the Suffolk County community.

"As a member of the Opioid Settlement committee, I am pleased to say that Outreach was chosen as a recipient of this grant because the organization has a record of providing quality addiction treatment services and integrated care to the community. By creating behavioral healthcare jobs, this Workforce Development Project will enable Outreach to advance and fulfill its mission to inspire individuals and families to achieve a life of unlimited potential, said Gregson H. Pigott, MD, MPH, Commissioner, Suffolk County Department of Health Services. Were incredibly grateful to Suffolk County for making this funding available. The County will serve as a model for the rest of the country, enabling the program to be rolled out to reach as many people as possible. We pledge to put all our resources to work on the recruitment process to give us a wide pool of applicants from diverse backgrounds, added Christal Montague, Chief Strategy Officer.

The Suffolk County Workforce Development Scholarships (SCWDS) scholarships will be targeted at individuals seeking to pursue their CASAC certification and who have demonstrated an interest and passion for helping people in the Suffolk County community. These individuals might be those who work in Office of Addiction Services and Supports (OASAS) and Office of Mental Health (OMH) programs, human and social service agencies, or at health facilities. They may have been involved in volunteer work in their communities and/or religious, civic, or cultural institutions. They could be individuals in recovery who wish to provide peer-to-peer support to others. For more information about OTI, please visit opiny.org/about-oti/. Scholarship applications will be posted as soon as grant funds are released.

About Outreach Training Institute

Outreach Training Institute (OTI), the largest provider of CASAC (Credentialed Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Counselor) training in New York State, provides the education hours required by the state to achieve a CASAC Trainee (CASAC-T) certification. The CASAC credential allows counselors in New York State to specialize in treating people with substance use disorders. It can be used to work with a broad range of clients, from adolescents to adults, and in different settings/treatment modalities. OTI also provides continuing education training for professionals on best- and evidence-based practices in behavioral health.

About Outreach
Suffolk DA: Former Long Island Attorney Accused of Stealing from Clients for Second Time

Crime

By Chris Boyle Published: February 06 2023

Valente of Boca Raton, Florida, 56, was charged with Grand Larceny only two months after having been previously indicted on two separate Grand Larceny counts.

Douglas Valente, a former Long Island attorney, has been indicted for the second time, this time having been accused of stealing approximately $400,000 from a client, according to Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond Tierney.

Valente of Boca Raton, Florida, 56, was charged with Grand Larceny only two months after having been previously indicted on two separate Grand Larceny counts in connection with the alleged theft of $425,000 from two other clients of his now-defunct Stony Brook law practice, the DA said.

"Attorneys have a duty to act in the best interests of their clients," Tierney said of Valente. "Not only did this defendant allegedly violate that duty, he also stole from them, and this will not be tolerated.

Valentes alleged victims include a 78 year-old client whose home sale he was representing during a divorce proceeding and Guaranteed Rate Inc., a mortgage lender.

The purportedly stolen funds were utilized for Valentes business and personal expenses, Tierney said. Valente is due back in court on March 3.
Mr Faduyile said the migration of health workers from the country was caused by factors beyond the control of the government at all levels.

The Ondo State Government says plans are on to address the acute shortage of health workers within the health system in the state.

Francis Faduyile, special adviser to Governor Rotimi Akeredolu on Health, said this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Sunday in Akure, the state capital.

Mr Faduyile said the migration of health workers from the country was caused by factors beyond the control of the government at all levels.

The special adviser observed that this was not the first time "japa" (emigration) syndrome was happening in the country, noting that the country had similar experience from 1985 to 1990.

He, however, blamed it on some factors including devaluation of Naira and the COVID-19 pandemic, which exposed the weakness and strength of the health sector of countries all over the world.

Mr Faduyile said the state government was planning to bring back some retirees through a special arrangement that would make up the shortfalls until the system equilibrates.

"What is happening now is unprecedented. When they were going to Saudi then, it was our consultants, professors and our big time lecturers that went, they needed the best and the highest level of experience.

"But now it does not have segregation, we have the young, the new, the intermediate, the experienced ones that are going, so that is the peculiar thing that we are facing," he stated.

He lamented that because the sector had been largely depleted, it was difficult to recruit people into the health sector.

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"If you are looking for fresh people, they will tell you that they just wanted to have a place to work for four to five months before they perfect their papers, it is that serious.

"But the state government is looking into it and see what we can do to replace them, but we want to formalise it, so that as they are going, we are getting new people in replacement.

"We want to also see that those who are within the hospital can spare their time to visit other hospitals; so that one person can replicate himself in two or three centres.

"We equally want to look at some of our contiguous big hospitals around Owo and the Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Hospital, Ile-Ife, Osun, and get some of their personnel to complement what we have on ground.

"Also, some have retired; some have relocated back from wherever they were and are older than the age of fresh employment, we want to open up contract appointments so that they can join us.

"Again we are looking at the possibility of some of our retirees to come back on a special arrangement, so that we can still use them until we will be able to equilibrate again and move at a normal level.

"This is not peculiar to doctors' alone, it affects the pharmacists, nurses, health assistants," he said.

Ondo State, like most states in the south-west, suffers from a dearth of health personnel. The ones available are often overstretched due to the load of patients they have to attend to.

Just as it is happening in almost every sector of the Nigerian economy, health personnel in the state, especially the young ones in their 20s, 30s and 40s, are relocating abroad in search of greener pastures.

(NAN)
(Alliance News) - Diageo PLC on Monday said it has launched an equity tender offer to increase its stake in East African Breweries PLC to a maximum 65% from currently 50%.

Diageo is a London-based brewer and distiller with brands including Guinness Baileys, Tanqueray, Johnnie Walker, Smirnoff and Captain Morgan. EAB offers beer and spirits brands such as Tusker and Serengeti Lager, primarily in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania.

Diageo said the tender offer will run from Monday to March 17 and is via its subsidiary Diageo Kenya Ltd. The offer price is KES192.00 per share, about USD1.54. Diageo will buy up to 118.4 million shares, making the offer worth up to USD182.3 million.

Diageo shares were 0.3% lower at 3,567.00 pence each in London on Monday morning.

By Tom Budszus, Alliance News reporter

Comments and questions to newsroom@alliancenews.com

Copyright 2023 Alliance News Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
(Alliance News) - Oracle Power PLC on Monday said it raised GBP500,000 through a placing to help support its green hydrogen project in Pakistan, for which it also announced a potential supply and delivery agreement.

Oracle Power is a power and natural resource project developer focused on the Sindh providence of Pakistan. Shares in the firm were down 15% at 0.20 pence on Monday afternoon in London.

Oracle said it placed 294.1 million shares at a price of 0.17p each to raise GBP500,000 in proceeds. The placing price represented a 29% discount to the company's closing price of 0.24p on Friday.

The company said the proceeds will be primarily used to support the advancement of its Green Hydrogen project in Pakistan.

Separately on Monday, Oracle said it signed a memorandum of understanding with Emirates Global Aluminium PJSC, through its joint venture Oracle Energy Ltd, to discuss and negotiate the potential supply and delivery of 50,000 tonnes of green hydrogen from this project.

The term of the MoU is for one-year from January 30.

Oracle said that if the negotiations are successful, it intends to sign a binding agreement regarding the project during the 2023 UN Climate Chang Conference, to be held from November 30 to December 12.

Chief Executive Naheed Memon said the signing of the MoU was a "significant step towards mitigation of financing risk for the Green Hydrogen project, as well finding a secure place for our project in the global supply for Green Hydrogen."

"We are now looking toward the next stage in the project's development as we move forward with detailed technical and financial feasibilities. With this financial support, combined with that from His Highness Shaikh Ahmed Dalmook Al Maktoum, I am confident we will be able to expedite the development of this ground-breaking and globally significant project," he added.

Ahmed Dalmook Al Maktoum owns 70% of Oracle Energy through Keheel Energy FZE. Oracle Energy is a joint venture between Oracle Power and Ahmed Dalmook Al Maktoum.

By Heather Rydings, Alliance News senior economics reporter

Comments and questions to newsroom@alliancenews.com

Copyright 2023 Alliance News Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
The Japanese acne care brand can be part of your daily skincare regimen





The start of the year is the best time to assess our goals and the steps weve already taken to achieve them. If youre a beauty enthusiast, attaining your healthiest skin ever is no doubt high on the list, especially if you have experienced acne before.

CHECK ALSO: WHAT'S YOUR ACNES JOURNEY?

Clear up and cheer up by making it your resolution to address your skins needs, feel more confident, and achieve your best look ever with Acnes, a popular Japanese acne care brand thats also loved in many countries in Asia like Singapore, Malaysia, and Thailand.

Backed by years of extensive research, the trusted acne expert offers a range of skincare solutions that contain effective acne-fighting ingredients to control oil, unclog pores, clear up the skin, and give it a healthy-looking glow. Made with the Asian skin in mind, all of its products contain Centella Asiatica or Cica extract thats proven to aid in the recovery of blemishes. This brand is developed by Rohto Pharmaceutical Company and The Mentholatum Company, two entities with a rich history and heritage in skincare product development and over 120 years of experience in pharmaceutical technology.

Now available in the Philippines, Acnes offers the crowd favorite Acnes Anti-Acne Spot Gel that helps shrink acne in as fast as 3 days. Its an effective yet simple way of clearing your skin this 2023. With a gentle formula that is close to the skins natural pH level, the lightweight refreshing spot gel wont irritate the skin and will help lighten acne scars. Apart from Cica extract, it also contains Sulfur to control oil production, Salicylic Acid (BHA) to unclog pores, Licorice Extract to calm skin, and Vitamin E to restore skin elasticity.

Need more help with your acne? Try out Acnes Anti-Acne Pimple Patch that repairs and heals breakouts with pus and active wound. The ultra-thin Hydrocolloid patch works like a sponge to absorb pus and oil, and acts as a protective barrier against bacteria and dirt. This patch is also semi-transparent to easily camouflage the appearance of pimples. Its sweat-proof and breathable, perfect for wearing under makeup.

This leading acne care brands range of products can easily complete an acne-prone skincare routine. It has amino acid soap-free cleanser Acnes Creamy Wash thats gentle enough for sensitive acne-prone skin; Acnes Powder Lotion that can help balance sebum to prevent clogged pores; Acnes Oil-Control Moisturizer that can replenish moisture and soothe skin.

With brands like Acnes thats formulated to address the specific needs of acne-prone skin, achieving your skin resolutions isnt far from possible!

Acnes is now available at Watsons and Mercury Drug branches nationwide, and online at watsons.com.ph and at the official Mentholatum store on Lazada and Shopee. Acnes Anti-Acne Pimple Patch is exclusively available at Watsons.

Clear up and cheer up by making Acnes a part of your journey to acne-free skin today, follow @AcnesPH on Facebook and Instagram.








This week, thousands of Americans will receive another wave of $450 checks. On January 30, the state of Maine distributed the first round of $450 rewards to 5,000 qualified citizens.

The Governor Janet Mills' office stated that they were supposed to arrive in mailboxes at the end of last week. The Maine Revenue Services (MRS) will distribute around 200,000 checks this week.

The Governor's Emergency Energy Relief Plan, which was put into effect in January, includes the $450 payments.

Who qualifies to recieve this check?

A few requirements must be satisfied in order to be qualified. This includes being a full-time resident who does not have any dependents declared on their 2021 tax return. The application and qualification date was October 31, 2022.

There are income limitations, which are as follows:

Single filers: Less than $100,000 per year

Heads of household: Less than $150,000 per year

Joint filers: Less than $200,000 per year

Additional checks are slated to be sent in addition to this week. In the coming weeks, the MRS is expected to deliver an estimated 200,000 messages. About 880,000 people in Maine are qualified for the payments.

It's unclear if they're being distributed randomly or in a set order. Eligible residents can monitor the status of their relief checks through a site that the MRS has distributed.
The company said the matter is still in court

Stallion Nigeria has refuted reports that it is indebted to Guaranty Trust Bank (GTB) to the tune of N13 billion.

Reacting to reports that GTB took over its assets over the debt, the firm claimed that no such debt exists.

On Friday, reports said that GTB took over Stallion Nigeria's assets after the N13 billion judgement debt in suit FHC/L/CS/2/47/2019 filed at a federal high court sitting in Lagos.

The reports claimed that officials from Temilolu Adamolekun, the receiver/manager appointed by GTBank, and court bailiffs took over the firm's Victoria Island office and showroom containing several automobiles.

However, in a press statement signed by the firm's CFO, Samar Sapre, Stallion Nigeria described the publications as "false, mischievous and a ploy to smear the unblemished reputation" of Stallion.

"Our attention has been drawn to an article circulating around in the media alleging that Stallion is indebted to GTB to the tune of N13 billion," the statement said.

"The publication is false and the works of mischief makers as no such debt exists.

"Stallion has been in court with GTB since 2019 over allegations and claims with Stallion winning against GTB at the Court of Appeal, Nigeria".

The company claimed that the matter is still in court and to that extent remains subjudice.

"As a law-abiding corporate entity with faith in the Nigerian judiciary, we refrain from commenting on a matter that is subjudice except to clarify that the publication is false, mischievous and a ploy to smear the unblemished reputation of Stallion.

"We implore the general public to ignore the publication as there is no such court verdict existing anywhere as alleged in the publication. The matter is still pending in court."
The vigilante group members were ambushed when they tried to recover domestic animals rustled by the terrorists.

At least 42 members of a vigilante group were killed by terrorists in the Yargoje forest of Kankara in Katsina State Thursday evening, PREMIUM TIMES has learnt.

The police confirmed the killing and said two other vigilante members were injured during the attack.

President Muhammadu Buhari Sunday condemned the massacre of the 42 members of the vigilante group, Yan Sakai.

The Katsina State government has also said it would inaugurate a panel of inquiry to investigate what led to the massacre.

In a statement signed by Garba Shehu, a presidential media aide, Mr Buhari paid tribute to the vigilante members and their family members.

He said they died as martyrs having died trying to prevent and punish crime in their communities.

"Our thoughts and prayers are with the bereaved families in this difficult period. May Allah repose the soul of the deceased," the president said.

Katsina government to set up panel

The Katsina State Government has vowed to inaugurate a panel of inquiry to investigate the cause of the massacre.

The security adviser to the state government, Ibrahim Katsina, made this known to journalists Saturday night while reacting to the killing.

Mr Katsina, a retired director of the State Security Service (SSS), said some terrorists were also killed during the incident.

He said the aim of the panel was to investigate what actually happened that led to the "disheartening" killing.

"His Excellency, Rt. Hon. Aminu Bello Masari is concerned with the development and has directed that a commission of inquiry and investigation panel be set up to identify the immediate and remote causes of the incident in order for us to be more proactive in addressing these challenges.

"All of you are aware Katsina State has been stabilised for some time, so this incident has upturned the successes we have recorded and the government will not allow it to go like that. We are bringing succour to the families of the victims.

"This incident had come to us as a rude shock, very sad and unfortunate that is why besides sympathising with the victims and their families, the state government is going to do the needful by ensuring that it unmasked the factors responsible for the," he said.

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How the killing occurred

The police had in a Friday statement detailed how the killing occurred.

The Katsina police spokesperson, Gambo Isa, said the terrorists had Wednesday attacked the house of a businessman in Kandarawa community of Bakori Local Government Area and rustled 80 domestic animals.

"On Wednesday, 1/02/2023 at about 2200hrs, terrorists in their numbers, shooting sporadically with AK 47 rifles, attacked the house of one Alhaji Muntari, at Unguwar Audu Gare, Kandarawa, Bakori LGA, and rustled fifty (50) cows and thirty (30) sheep," he said.

Mr Isa said the attack spurred the members of the Yan Sakai group to follow the terrorists and fight them with the view to retrieving the domestic animals.

"Subsequently, on Thursday, 2/02/2023, at about 10:00hrs, Yansakai outlawed group, from eleven (11) villages from Bakori LGA, regrouped and went after the terrorists with a view to recovering the rustled domestic animals.

"They traced the footpath of the hoodlums to a location at Yargoje forest.

"Unfortunately, the terrorists planned and launched a coordinated ambush on the Yansakai. The hoodlums shot and killed forty-one (41) Yansakai and wounded two (2)," he said in the statement.
Abuja  President Muhammadu Buhari has disclosed that the country has achieved 100 per cent broadband penetration.

Speaking at the maiden Digital Economy Conference themed: "Promoting a Vibrant Digital Economy - A catalyst for Economic Growth in Nigeria," which was organised by the Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines, and Agriculture (NACCIMA), the president clarified that contrary to reports that the country had only achieved 43 per cent internet penetration, a lot of feats had been accomplished.

Represented by the Minister of Communication and Digital Economy, Prof. Isah Pantami, Buhari said, broadband coverage had improved by 77 per cent from 23 per cent in 2019 to 100 per cent in 2023.

He said, "One of the richest persons in the world announced that Nigeria out of the 54 African countries has outstanding broadband. As of today, broadband can be accessed everywhere in the country whether in the urban, rural areas or desert. We are the first African country to attain this and the only one so far - 70 per cent is a distinction and the digital sector has surpassed it."

On his personal note however, Pantami said, "I am proud to say today that Buhari is the founder of the digital economy in Nigeria, the first president to develop the National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy."

However, the President of NACCIMA, John Udeagbala, said the government should enact policies that will build on existing laws and promote the growth of the technology ecosystem in the country.

He also urged the present administration to establish digital hubs in the six geo-political zones to give opportunities to the rural areas, promote start-ups and encourage innovations in the industry and discover the tech savvy that abounds in the country.

Udeagbala, added that the federal government should also encourage the export of home-grown technology experts and

innovators where possible to the western world after the example of India and generate foreign currency for Nigeria.
Practice/Department: Government Services/Economic Growth

Location: Democratic Republic of Congo

Job Title: DEMD Digital Policy Specialist  Local Consultant

Reports to: Team Lead

Remote Eligibility:

Remote (United States)

Remote (Global)

N/A

Supervisory Responsibility:

New Role

Back Fill

Type of position:

Full-time

Part-time

Contractor

Intern

Hours: 40/week

Exempt

Nonexempt

Notes:

General Description

Company Description

Resonance is a global consulting firm that delivers market-based solutions to address the worlds toughest challenges.

We work with changemakers in the private sector and the international development community to solve wicked problems and promote market opportunity. We specialize in development of partnerships, innovation, sustainable business models, and impact finance that drive impactful results.

Across our work, we integrate diverse voices and perspectives. We promote collaboration across sectors and up and down the chainfrom the field to the boardroom. Throughout, we translate client ambition into action and impact on the ground.

Position Mandate

Digital commerce is a central growing feature of the global economy. But in the worlds least-developed countries, uptake remains low. Firms in emerging and frontier markets are not selling their products online because they do not have reliable internet access due to inadequate physical infrastructure, poor policy and legal infrastructure, and lack of political commitment. These barriers prevent entrepreneursespecially women and members of other vulnerable groupsfrom taking advantage of digital commerce to reduce poverty, especially with cross-border trade in goods and services. The Digital Economy and Market Development (DEMD) project seeks to address the need for an open, transparent, and competitive digital commercial environment by supporting USAID Missions, Bureaus, and Independent Offices (MBIOs) to develop, implement, and measure cutting-edge approaches in the technical areas of digital economy development, trade capacity building, private sector development, and improving the business enabling environment.

Improvement to the digital economy has the potential to be catalytic in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The DRC has a population of 89 million, and residents earn an average of $557 a year. The country lags behind the region in connectivity as mobile phone penetration rates are only 26% (compared to 43% in the region) and only 9% of the population uses the internet. Furthermore, cost is a key barrier to internet access in the country as 1GB of mobile broadband costs on average more than 16% of a persons total monthly income, making it unaffordable for many. The recent World Bank digital economy assessment for the DRC listed improving digital infrastructure, digital entrepreneurship, and digital skills as key priorities for the country. A 2019 World Bank report found that micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in the DRC use technology in a limited way and identify lack of modern equipment and technology as a constraint. Entrepreneurs are interested in using technology to facilitate their commercial operations to increase production through automation. There is also a large gender and age gap in the use of technology. Additionally, while internet service providers (ISPs) are considered key players for the connectivity market to thrive in the country, these providers have not historically targeted the most vulnerable populations, leaving them unconnected.

The USAID/Democratic Republic of Congo (USAID/DRC) Mission sees the digital economy as a priority area for the country. In particular, improving digital economy directly relates to Development Objectives #2 (Community Resilience Increased) and #3 (Inclusive, Broad-Based, and Sustainable Economic Growth Increase) from the Missions most recent Country Development Cooperation Strategy (CDCS) published in 2020.

The USAID DEMD project is seeking a local, Congolese Digital Policy Specialist Consultant for a limited term, part time engagement, who will support efforts to increase digital commerce, and an open, transparent, and competitive digital commercial environment. The DRC Digital Policy Specialist will support the Regional Digital Policy Specialist to support the development of a:

Detailed digital policy report consisting of an overview of relevant digital/broadband regulations, in DRC with a focus on those related to telecommunications and internet service provision, and innovations for expanding internet access including a gap and SWOT analysis of the current policy/regulatory environment and recommendations for prioritizing policy and regulatory interventions and/or advocacy efforts.

The report will also include a list of completed key stakeholder interviews, and a summary highlighting priority takeaways from the interviews.

The DRC Digital Policy Specialist consultant will provide support in identifying and coordinating outreach to various stakeholders in the digital ecosystem including any associations or organizations representing consumers of digital communications services (whether business or private individuals), digital service providers (mobile, fiber, satellite, or other service providers), and public sector officials and regulators. The consultant will support the Regional Digital Policy specialist and report to the DEMD Activity Manager based in Washington DC.

OUTCOMES / Essential Functions

The DRC Digital Policy Specialist consultant will support the Regional Digital Policy Specialist by provide inputs and research for the Digital Policy Report. The DRC Digital Policy Specialist will provide support in executing the following five key deliverables:

Annotated bibliography. The DRC Digital Policy Specialist will conduct desk research to be shared with the Regional Digital Policy Specialist. Bibliography should include list (with links where possible) of all reports, articles, assessments, legal and regulatory texts, or other relevant information, along with a brief (less than 5 sentences) summary description of the document and its relevance to the Policy Analysis.

The DRC Digital Policy Specialist will conduct desk research to be shared with the Regional Digital Policy Specialist. Bibliography should include list (with links where possible) of all reports, articles, assessments, legal and regulatory texts, or other relevant information, along with a brief (less than 5 sentences) summary description of the document and its relevance to the Policy Analysis. Interview guide and list of target Stakeholders. The Digital Policy Specialist will support the Regional Digital Policy Specialist in compiling a list of target stakeholders for interviews, focusing on relevant DRC stakeholders, including any associations or organizations representing consumers of digital communications services (whether businesses or private individuals), digital service providers (mobile, fiber, satellite, or other service providers), and public sector officials and regulators. The Digital Policy Specialist will also support in the development of interview guide(s) to support primary data collection. This may include multiple versions of the guide tailored to different stakeholders.

The Digital Policy Specialist will support the Regional Digital Policy Specialist in compiling a list of target stakeholders for interviews, focusing on relevant DRC stakeholders, including any associations or organizations representing consumers of digital communications services (whether businesses or private individuals), digital service providers (mobile, fiber, satellite, or other service providers), and public sector officials and regulators. The Digital Policy Specialist will also support in the development of interview guide(s) to support primary data collection. This may include multiple versions of the guide tailored to different stakeholders. Annotated outline of DRC Digital Policy Report. The Digital Policy Specialist will provide inputs to the Regional digital Policy Specialist who is responsible for developing a draft outline for the final DRC Digital Policy Report. The outline should cover the current DRC policy environment, critical issue areas constraining service provision, any plans for new or reformed regulations, examples from comparator countries and preliminary recommendations for regulatory reform and areas of policy advocacy. The annotated outline should not exceed 5 pages.

The Digital Policy Specialist will provide inputs to the Regional digital Policy Specialist who is responsible for developing a draft outline for the final DRC Digital Policy Report. The outline should cover the current DRC policy environment, critical issue areas constraining service provision, any plans for new or reformed regulations, examples from comparator countries and preliminary recommendations for regulatory reform and areas of policy advocacy. The annotated outline should not exceed 5 pages. First Draft of DRC Digital Policy Report. The Digital Policy Specialist will support in the drafting of the report, sharing inputs with the Regional Digital Policy Specialist as requested.

The Digital Policy Specialist will support in the drafting of the report, sharing inputs with the Regional Digital Policy Specialist as requested. Final Draft of DRC Digital Policy Report with final list of interview and bibliography of desk research. The Digital Policy Specialist will support the Regional Digital Policy Specialist in finalizing drafting sections or providing inputs as requested. The detailed report will consist of an overview of relevant national and regional digital/broadband regulations, with a focus on regulation and policy related to telecommunications and internet service provision, including regulations around licensure and registration at the national, regional and/or municipal level, and innovations for expanding internet access, including a gap and SWOT analysis of the current policy/regulatory environment and recommendations for prioritizing policy and regulatory interventions or advocacy efforts. The report should include an overview of ineffective or unenforceable policy that has limited growth in internet service provision with a specific focus on innovations in digital connectivity/access, particularly for rural communities and provide both long-term and short-term suggestions for implementing similar, successful policy (possibly building on examples from comparator countries in the region or globally), taking the DRC context into consideration. The final report should not exceed 30 pages.

Implementation Plan and Timeline

DRC Digital Policy Report: Conduct a policy analysis to create a baseline understanding for the digital economy regulatory environment in the DRC. Outputs from the policy analysis will include a watch list of relevant upcoming regulations, a deeper understanding of gaps in the current policies, and prioritized list of advocacy activities that can be undertaken to further enable internet service provision.

1.December 2022:

Deliverable 1: Annotated Bibliography.

Conduct policy desk research on regional digital regulations; identify gaps in regulations related to the digital economy from the national and regional perspective.

Deliverable 2: Interview Guide and list of target Stakeholders

Develop list of key stakeholders for outreach, schedule and confirm interviews

Develop guiding interview questions

January 2023:

Deliverable 2: Interview Guide and list of target Stakeholders

Conduct <1 week of interviews with digital policy experts in comparator countries

Conduct 1 week of interviews with digital policy experts in DRC

Deliverable 3: Annotated outline of Policy Analysis.

Develop annotated outline for policy analysis report

February 2023:

Deliverable 3: Report on Digital Policy

Based on information collected during desk research and stakeholder interviews, identify gaps in regulatory approach to digital economy environment and propose concrete approaches to address them, including potential advocacy efforts

Deliverable 4: First Draft of DRC Policy Report

Review and comment of report draft

Deliverable 5: FinalDraft of DRC Digital Policy Report with final list of interviews and bibliography of desk research.

Finalized report incorporating feedback from first draft.

Total LOE: 10 Days

Required education & experience

Masters degree or higher in a field related to economics, international business, international relations, public policy or similar.

Minimum of six years of experience conducting research on Digital Regulations and Policy specifically focused on internet service provision or working with public and private sector actors on Digital Regulations and Policy related to internet service provision.

Professional relationships with or connections to businesses and industry associations engaged in digital service provision (mobile, fiber, satellite, or other service providers).

Professional relationships with or connections to public sector stakeholders and institutions who support or regulate digital service providers within DRC is preferred.

Must be fluent in English and French.

Must be a citizen or permanent resident of the DRC.

Full time employees of the Government of the DRC are not eligible unless on leave of absence.

Experience working on USAID projects preferred.

Preferred education & experience

N/A

COMPETENCIES

N/A

Travel expectations

The consultant must be able to travel domestically.

Work environment and physical demands

This position operates in a professional office environment, and routinely requires the use of standard office equipment such as computers, phones, printers, photocopiers, and filing cabinets.

The physical requirements described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job.

As a part of the responsibilities for this job, the employee is required to communicate, detect, converse with, discern, convey, express oneself, and exchange information orally and in writing with others. The employee must be able to remain in a stationary position, sitting at a desk for prolonged periods, move or traverse inside the office and facilities; operate, activate, use, prepare, inspect, place, detect, or position computers and other office equipment, such as a calculator, copy machine, furniture, and computer printer. The employee must be able to make substantial repetitive motions of the wrists, hands and fingers. The employee must be able to lift and move up to 15lbs at times.

Work Authorization/security clearance

N/A

SALARY RANGE

Candidate to propose daily rate commensurate with experience.

APPLICATION PROCESS

Interested applicants may apply via the Resonance jobs portal: DRC Digital Policy Specialist

AAP/EEO Statement

The Equal Employment Opportunity Policy of Resonance is to provide a fair and equal employment opportunity for all associates and job applicants regardless of race, color, religion, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status or disability. Resonance hires and promotes individuals solely based on their qualifications for the job to be filled.

Resonance believes that employees should be provided with a working environment which enables each associate to be productive and to work to the best of his or her ability. We do not condone or tolerate an atmosphere of intimidation or harassment based on race, color, religion, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status or disability.

We expect and require the cooperation of all employees in maintaining a discrimination and harassment-free atmosphere.
President Muhammadu Buhari yesterday condemned the attack on vigilantes at Yargoje forest in Jibia local government area of Katsina State, which claimed scores of lives.

In the gory attack said to have killed about 41 persons, the insurgents ambushed a convoy of vigilantes in the forest in their bid to recover stolen cows leading to the killings.

In a statement by presidential spokesman, Garba Shehu, the president paid tribute to all the vigilantes and family members who he said have been martyred.

Buhari noted that the sacrifices of the brave men working to prevent and punish crime in their communities will not be forgotten.

"Our thoughts and prayers are with the bereaved families in this difficult period. May Allah repose the soul of the deceased," he said.

Similarly, presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, also condemned the gruesome killing of 41 people in the Bakori, saying the incident is one too many. The PDP candidate, in a press statement signed and issued by his media adviser, Paul Ibe, noted yesterday that "the confirmation of the incident by the Nigeria Police on Saturday, was a foreboding moment."

"The terrorist attack on Bakori where 41 people were reportedly killed started making the rounds on Friday, but the Police confirmation of it on Saturday is yet another ugly episode of the senseless killings of Nigerians on account of terror attacks," Atiku said.

The former vice president condoled with families of the deceased and called for a holistic, multi-dimensional strategy he said would put a stop to terrorism in the country.

"While terrorism is a serious problem affecting most countries of the world, the solution to the problem must differ among countries. Therefore, a multi-sectoral initiative that will evaluate how to decimate the capacity of these terrorists should be on the table. We must be ready to do all that it takes to put a stop to these attacks," Atiku said.

He prayed for the souls of the dead to rest in peace and also to God to return peace to Nigeria.
During her 21 years as a military spouse, Sandy Thompson maintained her nursing career despite the regular march of permanent changes of station both in the U.S. and overseas.

When those moves came to an end, Thompson found herself in a state of transition in Norfolk, Virginia. She was divorcing and needed a job. A lead came from a friend who clipped out a newspaper advertisement for a visiting nurse position with the Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society (NMCRS). Thompson was hired.

That was 14 years ago, but at the time -- despite her former husband serving in the Navy -- Thompson had never heard of the society, let alone its Visiting Nurse Program.

"Is that amazing?" Thompson, who was familiar with the military health care system having given birth to two sons in military hospitals, told Military.com. "How can that be the best-kept secret?"

The relief society currently has 23 nurses posted across 20 locations to assist active-duty and retired sailors and Marines and their families inside and outside the United States. More than 850 visiting nurses have been involved with the program since its inception; it celebrated its centennial anniversary in November 2022.

As part of the free program, visiting nurses:

Provide health education and resource referrals.

Do home and virtual assessments.

Address concerns about pregnancy, breastfeeding and postpartum care; chronic disease; and health and wellness.

Reinforce instructions given by other health care providers.

Communicate with civilian and military social service agencies and community health facilities to streamline resources for military families.

Coordinate 15 classes and five support groups, tailoring the offerings to the local military community's needs.

Visiting nurses are not allowed to perform emergency care or skilled nursing, Rosemary Perdue, director of nursing for NMCRS, told Military.com.

"They need to be a registered nurse," Perdue said. "That's very important. They need to submit their resume, and what we look for are compassionate, well-rounded, well-experienced, flexible nurses who are able to think quickly on their feet and have very good critical thinking skills.

"It's very helpful if they understand the unique challenges of the military."

NMCRS nurses conducted almost 15,000 visits in 2022, a nearly 20% increase over the previous year, according to data provided by the relief society.

T'Sheira Scott, a certified lactation counselor and the wife of a naval chief petty officer, is based in Yokosuka, Japan, but also supports Naval Air Facility Atsugi. Scott has been a nurse for more than a decade, and a visiting nurse since 2021.

Shannon Williams, part of the Navy and Marine Corps Relief Society Visiting Nurse Program, poses in the NMCRS Rota lactation room in Spain, Nov. 22, 2022. (MC2 Hutch Johnson/U.S. Navy photo)

She called her current position a "blessing."

"I just enjoy the fact that I get to bring my compassion and love for nursing into my local community and help them in whatever way I possibly can," Scott told Military.com. "[This job] got me back to the foundation of nursing, just being able to care, being a Florence Nightingale."

Thompson has been a nurse since the mid-1980s. Nearly four decades of experience have taught her much about the nurse-patient dynamic, not least of which is that no concern is too small and answers can be readily available if you ask the right person.

Visiting nurses strive to be those people, because as Thompson said, "There's a lot of Dr. Google out there."

"I'm getting a lot of word-of-mouth phone calls," Thompson said. "'Hey, I heard how you did this home visit. Could you come to my house?' 'Well, yes, I can. I'd be happy to.'"

Visiting nurses can be part time, like Scott, or full time, like Thompson. Openings are posted on the relief society's website, and questions -- whether from prospective nurses or patients -- can be sent to visitingnurses@nmcrs.org.

Just don't expect to fill Thompson's position in the near future.

"I just love being kind and helpful when it really matters the most to that person," Thompson said. "It's the best job I've ever had. ... I will give it up when I am ready to retire, but otherwise no. I'm happy to be here."

-- Stephen Ruiz can be reached at stephen.ruiz@military.com.

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NEW YORK  A husband-wife militant duo will spend about a decade in prison after each of them pleaded guilty to trying to provide material support to a terrorist organization.

Prosecutors say the man told a law enforcement officer posing as a terrorism sympathizer that he wanted to carry out a terror attack in the United States. Potential targets included the U.S. Military Academy at West Point or against a university in New York State where he frequently saw Reserve Officer Training Corps or ROTC cadets training.

James Bradley, 21, of the Bronx was sentenced to 11 years in prison Thursday in a federal court in Manhattan. His wife, Arwa Muthana, 30, of Hoover, Alabama, was sentenced Friday to nine years in prison during proceedings before Judge Paul A. Engelmayer.

The sentencings came after they pleaded guilty in September, admitting that they were Islamic State group supporters who tried to go to the Middle East to fight for the organization. They were married in an Islamic marriage ceremony in January 2021, authorities said.

The couple was arrested on March 31, 2021, on the gangplank at Port NewarkElizabeth Marine Terminal in New Jersey and held without bail. At the time, authorities said they were planning to board a cargo ship that an undercover law enforcement officer told them would go to Yemen.

Bradley sought transit to the Middle East by cargo ship because he feared he might have been on a terrorist watch list, prosecutors said.

Authorities said that prior to their arrest, the couple distributed extremist online content, including images of IS fighters, Osama bin Laden and terrorist attacks.

After Muthana was arrested, she told investigators that she was willing to fight and kill Americans if it was for God, prosecutors said.

Her lawyers had asked Engelmayer to sentence her to time served, saying she was a woman with no passport, little money and no real plan. They said her actions were the result of an abused and traumatized young woman who was trying to get as far away from home as possible.

Bradley's lawyers also sought a sentence of time served.

Prosecutors had asked the judge to sentence each of them to at least 15 years in prison, saying it was necessary to deter and prevent the defendants from resuming their activities in support of radical Islamic terrorist ideology, and to deter others who, like the defendants, seek to join and serve brutal terrorist organizations.

The U.S. Probation Office had recommended that each serve six years in prison. The office cited Bradley's age, his family support and his engagement in deradicalization counseling.
An unknown number of V-22 Osprey aircraft are being grounded across the military as the services continue to grapple with a gearbox issue that has led to several incidents tied to engine trouble.

The problem is known as a "hard clutch engagement," and it effectively involves a failure by the aircraft's complicated system of gearboxes and clutches to balance the power produced by its twin engines. One airman aboard an Osprey when it experienced the failure in 2017 described to Military.com that the issue "blew everything apart" in the gearbox, dumping buckets of oil and leading to an emergency landing.

At a media event Saturday, a defense official, who spoke with reporters on the condition of anonymity, revealed that the military now suspects the "input quill assembly" -- a part that connects the aircraft engines to its gearbox -- wears out more quickly than previously thought and would need to be replaced.

Read Next: Two Army Aviators Injured in Alaska AH-64 Apache Crash

Citing "operational security concerns," the official would not say how many flight hours it would take before that replacement is needed, would not specify how many Ospreys have been grounded, and would not say how long planners anticipate it will take before flight restrictions will be lifted.

Replacing the part is a "mitigation," the official said, while the whole clutch system is redesigned.

"That effort is already underway," they added.

The news comes months after the issue first became public with a surprise announcement by the Air Force in August that it was grounding its entire V-22 fleet "due to an increased number of safety incidents."

What followed was a disjointed response by the Marine Corps and Navy -- the other branches that operate the aircraft -- over the severity of the hard clutch issue. The Marines, who operate the lion's share of the Pentagon's Ospreys, said that they didn't need to ground their aircraft.

Bell Boeing has made at least 400 of the aircraft for the U.S. government since 2020, according to the defense manufacturer.

When the Air Force grounded its Ospreys a Marine spokesman said that the Corps had known about the problem since 2010, and "we have trained our pilots to react with the appropriate emergency control measures should the issue arise during flight." Meanwhile, the Air Force's statements suggested the service had known about the problem only since 2017.

In August, a Marine Corps official told reporters that there had been only 15 mishaps involving the "hard clutch issue" since the V-22 first came into service and 10 involved Marine Corps aircraft, while stressing every one of those involved a safe landing and no injuries.

On Saturday, however, the defense official said that the new "recommendation is based on a progressive increase in hard clutch engagement events and ongoing engineering analysis." The official would not elaborate further on whether more incidents had occurred since last summer.

Although the Marines have taken to describing these hard clutch incidents as usually occurring shortly after takeoff, Military.com reported on one incident involving an Air Force Osprey that had the failure mid-flight over Arizona and had to make an emergency landing in Flagstaff on one engine.

Crew members who were on the flight told Military.com that, after the aircraft landed, they saw that the entire side of the Osprey was covered in oil that had been pouring out of one of the engine systems after the clutch issue.

The incident caused more than $5 million in damage and required that both engines and five gearboxes, as well as nearly a dozen other components, be replaced. It took a team of six, working 12-hour days, 45 days to repair the aircraft, according to an incident report reviewed by Military.com.

The defense official who spoke with reporters Saturday noted that "every unit is going to do these [replacements] at slightly different rates based on their operational commitments." The official stressed that the fix can be done by individual squadrons, and the replacements can begin immediately.

Once swapped out, the official said the new quills will last for "years" before needing to be substituted again.

"We're not grounding all of the aircraft," the official noted. "We're still out there flying and training, making sure that we're ready to fight tonight."

Prior to Saturday's announcement, military officials had described uncertainty as to what was the cause of the hard clutch engagements on the Ospreys.

In early September, following a two-week stand-down, the Air Force's CV-22 Ospreys were back in the air, but the focus was on training to manage hard clutch engagements -- called HCEs by the service -- instead of solving the problem as a whole.

"Until a root cause is identified, and solution implemented, the focus is on mitigating operations in flight regimes where HCEs are more prevalent and ensuring our aircrews are trained as best as possible to handle HCEs when they do occur," Lt. Col. Rebecca Heyse, a spokeswoman for Air Force Special Operations Command, said in an emailed statement to Military.com this past September.

Lt. Gen. Jim Slife, then the head of Air Force Special Operations Command, told reporters at the Air Force Association's Air, Space and Cyber Conference that month that he was frustrated with the lack of progress on the issue.

"I've been dissatisfied with the progress that we're making," Slife said at the time. "We may not know why it's happening, but we do know what is happening."

Slife left his role as AFSOC commander in December to become the deputy chief of staff for operations of the United States Air Force.

Slife's comments came as an Air Force CV-22B Osprey was stranded on a remote island in Norway during a training exercise due to a hard clutch engagement issue. It was rescued by a crane barge on Sept. 27, after being left on the isolated island for nearly two months.

There were two fatal Osprey crashes last year that left nine Marines dead, neither of which have been tied to the hard clutch engagement issue.

This past June, five Marines aboard an MV-22B Osprey were killed when the aircraft crashed near Glamis, California. The cause is still under investigation.

Last March, an Osprey crashed near Bodo, Norway, while participating in a military exercise, killing four Marines. Investigators concluded that the pilots of the aircraft that crashed in Norway turned too sharply, causing the craft to lose altitude and speed and, ultimately, crash.

Those crashes were the first deadly incidents with the aircraft since 2017. Between 1991 and 2006, while the Osprey was undergoing testing, there were four crashes resulting in 30 deaths.

-- Konstantin Toropin can be reached at konstantin.toropin@military.com. Follow him on Twitter @ktoropin.

-- Thomas Novelly can be reached at thomas.novelly@military.com. Follow him on Twitter @TomNovelly.

Related: It 'Blew Everything Apart.' Osprey Accident Shows Danger of Clutch Issue as Services Keep Flying
Some 8,500 people turned out on Dec. 16, 2017, to watch the commissioning of the new $440 million USS Little Rock  draped in red, white and blue bunting  at Buffalo and Erie County Naval & Military Park.

That now appears to have been the ship's only bright moment.

Not even six years later, the USS Little Rock will be decommissioned on March 31 at Mayport Naval Station in Florida, where it is stationed.

The 387-foot-long vessel was imperiled from the start with significant design flaws that the Navy has concluded cannot be overcome.

U.S. Navy officials first announced at a media briefing almost a year ago that nine Freedom-class littoral combat ships would be decommissioned as part of the 2023 fiscal year budget.

"It's somewhat of an embarrassment," said Paul Marzello, the Naval Park's executive director. "It was a happy moment, a proud moment on Dec. 16, 2017, and here it is five and a half years later, and she's being decommissioned."

"It is really a disappointment," said Maurice Naylon, who chaired the commissioning committee. "We were so proud of the way we joined forces for this historic event, and it certainly put a nice sheen on Buffalo's reputation."

The Little Rock suffered a major failure at sea in 2020, six weeks after departing Mayport on its first deployment due to a flaw in the propulsion system, according to defensennews.com.

The nine Lockheed Martin-built high-speed vessels were designed to operate in shallow waters, and they were outfitted with some 8,000 computer sensors. All were hit with the propulsion problem. The ships will likely be scrapped or sunk to the bottom of an ocean  the fate of many decommissioned ships.

Rear Adm. John Gumbleton, the deputy assistant secretary of the Navy for budget, put the cost of the nine vessels  the newest of which was commissioned in 2020  to be decommissioned at $4.5 billion, according to defensenews.com.

"That's a lot of money going, literally, right down the drain," said Mike Vogel, president of the Buffalo Lighthouse Association. "It was a very expensive ship that had all kinds of potential, and it was certainly an honor to have it commissioned here in Buffalo. It's kind of heartbreaking to see it a little bit later being decommissioned and probably scrapped."

The modular, reconfigurable ship was built to engage in surface warfare, hunt enemy submarines and eliminate mines. The ship had the rare capacity to change from one mission to another within 96 hours, and, in some cases, just 24 hours.

Its "plug and play" mission versatility also accommodated different weapon systems delivered at sea in steel cargo containers and lowered into the ship on a freight elevator, then maneuvered into place with overhead cranes and plugged into the ship's computers.

Littoral combat ships can also maneuver in water just 13 1/2 feet deep, well below the 30 feet most naval ships require. That allows the ships to enter more ports, particularly in islands from Sri Lanka to the Philippines.

But the $762 billion defense budget for fiscal year 2023 included a request from the Navy to decommission 39 warships, including the nine Freedom-class littoral combat ships.

U.S. Rep. Steve Womack, who represents the Fayetteville, Ark., area, and takes pride in the two ships named for the state capital, told the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette in October that the littoral combat ship program represented "a sad chapter in the history of the Navy."

"It's sad that the USS Little Rock is one of those out of the Freedom class," Womack said. "The Freedom class had more problems than the others, but the entire littoral combat ships program has suffered from a lot of setbacks."

Deactivated ships are taken to one of three locations where mothballed fleets of naval vessels wait for disposal: Philadelphia, Bremerton, Wash., and Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.

The ships are often disassembled for the steel to be recycled. But that's not always the case. Ships are also deliberately sunk, generally in locations where they can become artificial reefs to promote sea life, Vogel said.

The Navy's Ship Donation Program decides if a vessel can be donated as a floating museum. But that rarely happens with ships with short lifespans. The Naval Park's USS Little Rock, commissioned in 1945, served until 1976, six times the length of service of the newer namesake.

Marzello recalls fondly the commissioning of the newer ship. Former Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus, who once served on the-now museum USS Little Rock, and 300 former crew members and relatives, were on hand for the historic occasion. So was Commander Paul Burkhart, a Western New York native who served as the new Little Rock's first commander while under construction.

"We're going to certainly take a look at any opportunity that could possibly bring her back to Buffalo as a museum ship," Marzello said. "It would be an interesting opportunity to see a 1940s ship called the USS Little Rock versus a 2017 version.

"It didn't look like much from the outside, but the inside was a technological marvel."

___

(c)2023 The Buffalo News (Buffalo, N.Y.)

Visit The Buffalo News (Buffalo, N.Y.) at www.buffalonews.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
As the sun rose on a recent morning over the 25th Infantry Division's Lightning Academythe Army's jungle warfare school in Wahiawaa group of medics was being trained in battlefield first aid.

A member of the Army's 3rd Special Forces Group out of Fort Bragg, N.C., who was evaluating the soldiers, told them, "This is medical training, but remember, you are combat medics."

As they approached a "patient, " an explosion rang out and gunshots popped. Once the soldiers secured the area, they began applying first aid, working to stop the bleeding. But unlike usual training exercises, real blood was coming out of the patienta human cadaver that had been pumped with cow blood and inflicted with real injuries.

The weeklong training event was overseen by the 325th Brigade Support Battalion of the Oahu-based 25th Infantry Division's 3rd Infantry Brigade Combat Team. It was the second iteration of a new program developed by soldiers in Hawaii and first carried out in January 2022.

"We kind of saw the need for specific training for the medics in the jungle (area of operations)," 1st Lt. James Barr, one of the soldiers who helped create the program, told a Honolulu Star-Advertiser reporter who observed the training Jan. 25.

Combat medicine training in the field with cadavers isn't new for the U.S. military, but historically it has been reserved for Green Berets, Navy SEALs and other elite special operations troops. Medics from Army special operations units flew in to Oahu to evaluate the trainees and give them advice on how to better render first aid, move and ultimately save their patients.

Exercise planners said the training in Hawaii was unique in being organized and mostly carried out by conventional troops and is one of the largest-scale exercises that Safeguard Medical, a North Carolina-based company that provides cadavers, has worked on.

The company, which provides a range of services to first responders and military clients, shipped 10 cadavers to Oahu for the exercise.

Troops from around Oahu, including personnel from Tripler Army Medical Center and Navy corpsmen, went through the coursea rare opportunity for this sort of realistic training. Usually, they train with mannequins, but Sgt. 1st Class Bryan Essig, a senior medic who treated combat casualties in Afghanistan, said giving medics training with real human tissue is a "game changer " that will both prepare them for the shock of actually handling a body and help them better save lives in the real world.

Groups of soldiers were tasked with maneuvering through the jungle to find the cadavers, which had a variety of wounds ranging from severe lacerations to missing limbs. After providing aid, troops then moved their simulated patients to an evacuation point where either a medical evacuation helicopter or a military ground ambulance would retrieve the casualties.

The cadavers were then brought to a grassy clearing where a series of tents and vehicles made up a field hospital where surgeons and other medics worked, themselves training on the cadavers to hone their skills.

Essig said that when he was sent to Afghanistan within nine months of getting assigned to his first unit, "I did not have the luxury to train like this."

"Mannequin technology is much better now than it was 15 years ago, where we can actually pump them up and perfuse fake blood through them, " he said. "But mannequin tissue does not react like human tissue does. It just doesn't."

According to Barr, Safeguard Medical's TruBODIES Reanimated Tissue Training system provides "realistic, immediate feedback for the medics on the ground."

One group of medics whose uniforms were caked with mud from moving, fighting and carrying a patient through the jungle said that working with cadavers was a huge change of pace from what they would usually experience during field training.

"It's definitely interesting feeling what it's like to stop the bleeding in an actual human being, " said Pfc. Chris Berns. "You're actually putting in gauze into the human body instead of just in a hole in a mannequin. You're actually seeing how a tourniquet will force the body to stop bleeding."

Spc. Kendra Moore described moving through the jungle carrying a cadaver in the early morning as the dew was still thick, making the ground slippery with fresh mud. Sgt. Fafundo Zalazar said that just carrying a human cadaver was different from the mannequin they would usually carry on a stretcher for evacuation.

"It was more lopsided, I would say, " Zalazar said. "You definitely felt the weight shift (compared with ) a mannequin where it's pretty balanced out. Even if it's missing one of his legs, it's pretty balanced out. So the weight shift is tremendously different."

For the 325th Brigade Support Battalion, the jungle exercise was a return to its roots after two decades of deploying to the mountains and deserts of Iraq and Afghanistan. The unit was activated at Schofield Barracks shortly after the Japanese navy's Dec. 7, 1941, attack on Oahu, and by 1942 it was setting up field hospitals in the jungles of the Solomon Islands.

"We're doing the exact same thing we started doing in 1941, " said battalion commander Lt. Col. Brandon Grooms.

As counterinsurgency fights in places like Iraq and Afghanistan dragged on and casualties mounted over the past two decades, the military tried various ways to give its medics the more realistic trauma care training. In 2008, PETA protested when the 25th Infantry Division decided to use live pigs to train combat medics in preparation for a deployment to Iraq.

The Pentagon ultimately invested in heavily armored vehicles to protect troops from ambushes and the improvised explosive devices favored by insurgents, and there was an established procedure to get badly wounded troops off the battlefield as quickly as possible within "the golden hour " in which they would be more likely to survive.

But military commanders are moving away from counterinsurgency warfare to preparing for the potential of larger conventional battles as geopolitical tensions boil.

The Pentagon has gradually shifted its attention to the Pacific, which it considers its top priority theater of operations, amid tensions with China. Oahu is the nerve center for U.S. military operations in the region, which are overseen by U.S. Indo-Pacific Command at Camp Smith.

In a potential conflict with Chinese or Russian forces, which have more weapons to shoot down enemy aircraft than the insurgent groups the U.S. military has been accustomed to fighting, American troops may not be able to count on aircraft being able to assist the way they have in the past. The bloody fighting in Ukraine has offered a sobering look at what that could look like as heavy weapons tear through armor, artillery rains down on populated cities and anti-aircraft weapons blow helicopters out of the sky.

"I was spoiled, " said Essig, explaining that he used to count on helicopters to swoop in and retrieve casualties in Afghanistan after medics rendered first aid. The emphasis of the recent training was on providing "prolonged care " in the field to keep casualties alive until safe evacuation is possible.

"That's where the key is going to be, " Essig said. "That's where medicine is moving in a combat environment."

Military leaders are also thinking about scenarios where casualties could be much higher in a large-scale conflict between superpowers.

Grooms said mass casualties weren't the focus of the recent Oahu exercise and that cadavers were used to give medics quality, individual training on human anatomy for saving lives. But the possibility of military medical personnel having to deal with hundreds of wounded during a battle is on the minds of those who might one day shoulder that burden.

Barr said, "It's going to change the dynamic of how we need to triage, and I think that's still in refinement. I don't know personally how it's really going to look."

In the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the most badly wounded were prioritized to increase their chance of survival. But Barr said that in any future large-scale battles, medical personnel may have to prioritize the ones who are most likely to be saved and able to be returned to duty.

"Decisions like that are going to be made well above my level, " Barr said. "Down at the company level, we're just here to execute (and ) save as many lives and keep that fighting force as fit to fight as we can."

___

(c)2023 The Honolulu Star-Advertiser

Visit The Honolulu Star-Advertiser at www.staradvertiser.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
Two Army soldiers were injured Sunday in a helicopter crash in Talkeetna, Alaska, roughly 150 miles north of Anchorage, according to U.S. Army Alaska Public Affairs.

Media Relations Chief John Pennell said Monday that the AH-64 Apache was one of four from the 25th Attack Battalion based at Fort Wainwright, Alaska. The group was doing a training mission when the helicopter flipped over at the Talkeetna airport.

Both service members were transported to a medical facility for treatment; one was evacuated by air, while the second was transported via ambulance. Pennell said he did not have a status update as of Monday morning.

Emergency personnel responded Sunday, Feb. 5, 2023, to the crash of an AH-64 Apache at Talkeetna Airport, Alaska, roughly 150 miles north of Anchorage. Two aviators were injured in the incident. (Photo courtesy of Robert Stumpf)

Read Next: Training for Oahu Army Medics Is Enhanced with Cadavers

Conditions at the time of the crash were windy with light snow.

Pennell said it was "too early to speculate as to the cause" of the accident. He added that Army Combat Readiness Center investigators will make those determinations as a result of their investigation.

The airport remains closed, according to Robert Stumpf, an employee of Sheldon Air Service, based in Talkeetna.

Stumpf added that billowing snow kicked up by the rotors may have played a role in the mishap.

Last year, a Utah Army National Guard UH-60 Black Hawk sustained $9 million in damages when its pilot lost track of his landing site in blowing snow, crashing near Snowbird Ski Resort.

Sunday's crash is the second in eight months for the AH-64 Apache. In June, two Army aviators sustained non-life threatening injuries when their helicopter crashed near Ozark, Alabama. That helicopter was based at Fort Rucker, home to the Army's Aviation Center of Excellence.

According to the U.S. Combat Readiness Center, the AH-64 Apache was involved in 77 mishaps across more than 660,000 flight hours from fiscal 2016 to fiscal 2020, causing 12 deaths.

The accidents caused nearly $385 million in damages.

Center officials said roughly 87% of the most severe accidents, known as Class A mishaps, were related to human error, while material failure accounted for 13%. Roughly 4% of all mishaps, from minor to major, were related to bird strikes.

-- Patricia Kime can be reached at Patricia.Kime@Military.com. Follow her on Twitter @patriciakime.

Related: Navy Investigation Faults a Failed Part in Deadly Helicopter Crash
Troops stationed at Incirlik Air Base in Turkey were all accounted for Monday morning, and there were no casualties or major damage to the installation, according to base officials, after a deadly earthquake hit the country overnight, leaving thousands of people dead.

"While this is a developing situation, all U.S. government personnel assigned to the 39th Air Base Wing have been accounted for and we have no suspected or confirmed U.S. casualties at this time," Incirlik Air Base shared on social media. "Additionally, no U.S. facilities on base have sustained major damage."

A 7.8-magnitude earthquake hit southeast Turkey and neighboring Syria on Monday, and the death toll had risen to more than 2,500 people as of Monday afternoon, according to The Associated Press.

Read Next: Russian Forces Keep Up Pressure as Ukraine Anniversary Nears

Incirlik is home to nearly 2,000 service members and Department of Defense civilians, according to the Pentagon, and has a major role in supporting conflicts in NATO's southern region. It is located nearly 10 miles east of the city of Adana.

It also houses approximately 50 U.S. tactical nuclear weapons -- namely Cold War-era B61 nuclear bombs, according to the nonprofit Nuclear Threat Initiative. The base has reportedly made efforts in recent years to make sure it isn't reliant on local infrastructure following a 2016 coup attempt that saw local power to the base cut off for nearly a week. Military officials at the time said that operations were not affected because of sufficient generator capacity.

The Pentagon deferred comment to U.S. Central Command regarding any possible military aid being provided to Turkey and Syria. Central Command did not immediately return a request for comment asking about those efforts.

President Joe Biden quickly offered to support Turkey with humanitarian efforts.

"At my direction, senior American officials reached out immediately to their Turkish counterparts to coordinate any and all needed assistance," Biden said in a press release. "Our teams are deploying quickly to begin to support Turkish search and rescue efforts and address the needs of those injured and displaced by the earthquake. U.S.-supported humanitarian partners are also responding to the destruction in Syria."

National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan also backed Biden's statement, saying the U.S. government is in coordination with the country.

"We stand ready to provide any and all needed assistance," Sullivan said in an emailed statement.

"We will continue to closely monitor the situation in coordination with the Government of Turkiye," he added, using Turkey's preferred spelling of its country name.

-- Thomas Novelly can be reached at thomas.novelly@military.com. Follow him on Twitter @TomNovelly.

Related: F-22 Makes First Air-to-Air Strike in Takedown of Chinese Balloon
A National Guard veteran and his girlfriend were arrested Friday for allegedly plotting to destroy an electrical substation in Maryland, according to federal prosecutors.

Brandon Clint Russell, a former Guardsman and self-identified Nazi recently released from prison after a 2018 conviction for possessing explosives, and Sarah Clendaniel are accused of conspiring to carry out attacks to further "racially or ethnically motivated violent extremism," according to the complaint.

The arrests come on the heels of power grid attacks that peppered East Coast stations in recent months and while experts warn of increased domestic terror plots, including ones that involve service members and veterans with ties to extremist ideologies.

Read Next: Two Army Aviators Injured in Alaska AH-64 Apache Crash

"This planned attack threatened lives and would have left thousands of Marylanders in the cold and dark," Erek Barron, a Maryland U.S. attorney, said in a press release.

From at least the summer of 2022, Russell conspired to carry out attacks on critical infrastructure, according to prosecutors.

This was not Russell's first run-in with the law related to his extremist views. In 2015, he announced the formation of the Atomwaffen Division, a notorious neo-Nazi group. Three years later, he was sentenced to five years in prison on charges related to explosives possession.

"Brandon Russell played a central role in the formation of Atomwaffen Division, one of the most dangerous and violent neo-fascist movements in recent years," Jon Lewis, a researcher with the George Washington Program on Extremism, said in an email to Military.com.

Investigators said they used open sourcing and a "confidential human source" to uncover the plot.

Russell, who investigators said used the moniker "Homunculus" in encrypted messages with the confidential source, said "putting holes in transformers though is the greatest thing somebody can do."

He allegedly informed the source of how to cause maximum damage to an electrical grid and encouraged them to read white supremacist literature.

The goal was to hit transformers "when most people are using max electricity," Russell said, according to the criminal complaint. "Follow on [attacks] could lead to cascading failure costing billions of dollars."

The complaint said that Russell then asked the confidential source to collaborate with "someone else I know in Maryland," referring to Clendaniel and her alleged efforts to also attack the grid.

Clendaniel went by the online names of "Kali1889" and "Nythra88." Extremists who subscribe to neo-Nazi ideologies often use the number 88 to signal their viewpoints, an allusion to "Heil Hitler," where the first two letters in the phrase are also the eighth letter in the alphabet, though it's unclear whether that was Clendaniel's intent.

The complaint said that Clendaniel, along with Russell, wanted to destroy five targets in one day around the Baltimore area.

"It would probably permanently completely lay this city to waste if we could do that successfully," she said, according to the complaint, referring to one as "literally like a life artery."

She and Russell went on to detail plans of their attack, posting links to open-source maps of critical infrastructure and referencing videos about a substation shooting that occurred in North Carolina, one of three known attacks in the state last winter.

Clendaniel informed the source that "she had a terminal illness related to her kidneys and was unlikely to live more than a few months, confirmed she is a felon, and stated she had previously, but unsuccessfully attempted to obtain a rifle," according to the complaint.

She allegedly asked the source to purchase a rifle for her, though prosecutors said she already had a pistol. Court records purport to show her holding a rifle and holstered pistol.

The Washington Post was first to report the arrests. The complaint provided by the Maryland Justice Department did not include contacts for either defendant's legal representatives, and the documents are not yet listed publicly.

Russell's connections to violent extremism were uncovered in 2017 when one of his roommates murdered two other roommates, according to court documents provided to Military.com by the Justice Department.

Responding law enforcement and a follow-up investigation found neo-Nazi paraphernalia; a photo of Timothy McVeigh, the Army veteran who killed 168 people in the Oklahoma City bombing; and explosives belonging to Russell.

Russell was interviewed by investigators where he admitted to being a Nazi and starting Atomwaffen Division in Florida, a racial and anti-government extremist group known to target persons of color, minorities and critical infrastructure, according to the criminal complaint.

He later pleaded guilty to possession of explosive material and was sentenced to 60 months in prison. In 2018, he began communicating with Clendaniel, who was also in prison and whose criminal history includes felony armed robbery in 2006, according to prosecutors.

Both were on parole at the time of their most recent arrests.

"Russell's recent plot is merely one of more than a dozen since 2016 in which white supremacist actors were charged with attempting to attack critical infrastructure systems in the United States," Lewis, the extremism researcher, said. "The power grid has been a fascination among accelerationist, neo-fascist actors due to their singular desire on collapsing the system."

The planned attacks are aimed at inciting violence and civil unrest with the hopes of causing a collapse of society, which they intend to rebuild into a white ethno-state, Lewis said.

A spokesperson for the National Guard Bureau confirmed that Russell was in the National Guard from April 2016 to July 2018, joining a year after he announced the formation of one of the most notorious neo-Nazi groups in the country.

Military.com reported that he enlisted in 2016 and wrote on a now-defunct neo-Nazi site that he was "100% open about everything with the friends I made at training. ... They know all about it. They love me too 'cause I'm a funny guy."

Russell and Clendaniel were expected to appear for their initial hearings in federal court Monday and, if found guilty, face a maximum of 20 years in prison.

-- Drew F. Lawrence can be reached at drew.lawrence@military.com. Follow him on Twitter @df_lawrence.

Related: 'They Know All About It': Pentagon Report Details Military Reach of Supremacist Groups
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
South Africa: Free State condemns viral corporal punishment incident

The Free State Department of Education has instituted an investigation into an alleged incident of corporal punishment administered last week by the principal of Ntsu Secondary School in Bethlehem in the Thabo Mofutsanyane District.

In a statement, department spokesperson, Howard Ndaba, said corporal punishment against any learner is condemned in the harshest possible terms.

Corporal punishment is banned and may not be used as a method of enforcing discipline in schools.

Principals, educators, learners, parents and/or any support staff are required to report the use of corporal punishment following the prescripts contained in the protocol to deal with incidences of corporal punishment in schools.

Harsh action will be taken against anyone who violates the prohibition on corporal punishment, said Ndaba.

He said images depicted on various social media platforms indicate that the principal of Ntsu Secondary used corporal punishment as a way to discipline a learner who reportedly failed to comply with the detention sanction conditions at school.

Corporal punishment is a violation of childrens rights, physical integrity, dignity, health, development, education, the spokesperson said.

The effects of corporal punishment are far-reaching and can cause mental and physical harm to children, as well as short- and long-term aggression and antisocial behaviour in learners, even as they mature.

Crucially, Ndaba said, corporal punishment is not a solution to disciplinary problems in a school or any other setting.

The department has commenced with an investigation into the incident and will work with urgency to establish the facts.

The department will continue to promote safety at schools and remind teachers of their responsibilities regarding the administration of discipline in schools.

"School governing bodies are requested to mobilise all stakeholders to play a meaningful role in the abolition of corporal punishment in schools, he said.  SAnews.gov.za

This story has been published on: 2023-02-06. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
50 Years Friendship between China and Australia: Director of the Australia-China Relations Institute at University of Technology Sydney James Laurenceson

People's Daily Online) 15:38, February 06, 2023

James Laurenceson is the director of the Australia China Relations Institute at the University of Technology Sydney, and an economist.

He grew up in Brisbane in the 1970s, and reached out to various groups and communities after entering high school. During this time, he became interested in economics. Coincidentally, he wrote about Chinese economy in his 12th grade economics lesson homework, and has maintained a profound interest in the field ever since.

Laurenceson says that China is Australias most important trade partner. In 2021, Australian exports to and imports from China both reached record levels. Laurenceson suggests that both countries maintain stable relations to ensure that commercial ties between them thrive.

(Web editor: Tian Yi, Wu Chengliang)
ZANU PF's secretary for information, Christopher Mutsvangwa, has unwittingly revealed that long serving party members are jittery over emerging wealthy businessmen who are raising hands for candidatures in this year's elections.

The ruling party has seen the emergence of wealthy businessmen known by the moniker 'mbinga' in street lingo due to their lavish lifestyle flaunted on social media.

Mining mogul, Pedzisai 'Scott' Sakupwanya and Mike Chimombe are some of the businessmen that have propped up from the party.

Addressing media last Thursday, Mutsvangwa said the party has witnessed flocking of young people ready to stand toe-to-toe with the old guard in representing Zanu PF in this year's elections.

"We have young people, 60,000 of them maybe more involved in gold mining which has never been in an industry before. We have a new phenomenon in the party, young rich gold miners coming to stand up for candidacy for elections in the party," said Mutsvangwa.

"So some of the old madharas are jittery because new blood is coming into the party who are appreciative of the wealth which is being generated by the policies of President ED (Emmerson Dambudzo) Mnangagwa."

The wealthy businessmen have reportedly invested in Zanu PF's quest to retain power through sponsoring party activities and paying for influencers to prop up its image.

Scott Sakupwanya, who serves as Mabvuku councillor, is reportedly raising his hand to run for the seat again in this year's elections.

However, these businessmen have reportedly caused disgruntlement among long-serving members of Zanu PF who accuse them of paying their way to the proximity of Mnangagwa.

Reports have also claimed that the business magnets are behind the establishment of 4-ED outfits that are proliferating ostensibly to support Mnangagwa.

Mutsvangwa said the mushrooming of these outfits is testament to support for Zanu PF and its policies.

"So when young people come to the party and they are wealthy, we are happy because it means we are delivering on the promise of prosperity that is why there is this 4-ED. It is a mass movement. We are going to form the biggest trade unions," he said.

"This is a reflection of the contagion of happiness coming out of hope which the president is giving. Overflowing abundance to the Zimbabwe electorate. It means that urban people are happy."
The Giants are in agreement on a minor league contract with free-agent outfielder Stephen Piscotty, reports Robert Murray of FanSided. The CAA client will be in big league camp this spring and would earn a $1MM base salary upon making the roster.

Its a return to the Bay Area for the Pleasanton native, whos spent the past five seasons in an As uniform. Piscottys first season in Oakland resulted in a terrific .267/.331/.491 batting line and 27 home runs, but hes batted just .229/.287/.378 in four seasons since that time, tallying 891 plate appearances along the way.

Originally selected by the Cardinals with the No. 36 pick in the 2012 draft, Piscotty debuted with a flourish, hitting .282/.348/.468 with 29 long balls across 216 games in his first two big league seasons. The Cardinals signed him to a six-year, $33.5MM extension in April 2017, but the majority of the deal was played out in Oakland. Following the 2017 campaign, the As and Cardinals worked out a trade sending Yairo Munoz and Max Schrock to St. Louis and sending Piscotty to Oakland. The trade was largely driven by a desire to allow Piscotty to play closer to home, where he could be with his ailing mother as she battled ALS before sadly passing away in 2018.

Now back in the Bay Area, Piscotty will look to get back to his 2015-18 form and reestablish himself as a quality big league outfielder. The Giants signed both Mitch Haniger and Michael Conforto this winter, though both have had their recent careers beset by injuries. San Francisco also has Joc Pederson back after accepting his qualifying offer and will see Mike Yastrzemski reprise his role in center field. Other outfield options on the 40-man roster include Austin Slater, Luis Gonzalez and prospect Heliot Ramos.
05.02.2023 LISTEN

Mr Nathaniel Dwamena, President of the Young Africans for Opportunity (YAFO), has called on the Government to exempt vehicle insurance funds from its Domestic Debt Exchange Programme (DDEP).

He said despite the agreement with the Ghana Insurers Association, caution needs to be taken since the entities that watched on for the Government to excessively borrow into this current crisis are the same entities to supervise risk mitigations.

Mr Dwamena, in an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA), was of the view that the country could a not afford to risk vehicle insurance that would be needed during an eventuality.

He contended that exempting vehicle insurance would not significantly impact the government's DDEP because the government needs to first demonstrate its commitment to ensuring financial stability rather than falling on individuals' funds safeguarded for unforeseen circumstances.

He indicated that insurance penetration was low in Ghana due to a widespread notion of unwillingness to pay claims to subscribers.

According to our Driver MO 2022 report, the benefit of vehicle insurance is yet to be realized because most subscribers have reported that they subscribe to third-party to avoid police harassment and also to fulfil statutory obligations, making most Ghanaians reluctant to report for insurance claims, he stated.

Mr Dwamena explained that the National Road Safety Authority (NRSA) reported that a total of 17,272 vehicles were involved in accidents of which about 1,900 lives perished in 2022 and therefore, there was the need for the readiness of funds to compensate victims during any eventuality.

He said the DDEP was an invitation involving GH137 billion exchanges for domestic notes and bonds and promises to deploy all regulatory and supervisory tools to mitigate risks to financial stability.

He noted that the current situation with debt to GDP hovering around 97%, was not a sudden event but an accumulation of reckless borrowing and spending.

Mr Dwamena cautioned that it was time to put a ceiling on government borrowings and provide a transparent and participatory process for the increment of such ceilings if the need arose.

Also, the government must approach the crisis holistically and demonstrate commitment by reducing the size of the government, employing fiscal discipline, and cutting down not only spending but also reducing government waste.

GNA
Thousands of people gathered at the Manhyia Palace in Kumasi to pay homage to the Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, as part of activities to mark the first Akwasidae of the year.

It was marked with drumming and dancing amidst exchange of greetings, presentation of drinks and other pleasantries.

Asantehene Otumfuo Osei Tutu II entered the Palace in a palanquin dressed in a kente cloth with gold ornaments around his wrists and arms amidst drumming and firing of musketries.

He was followed by the Queen of the Asante Kingdom, Nana Konadu Yiadom III.

The Akwasidae Festival is a magnificent Asante celebration centered on ancestral reverence, remembrance and acknowledgement of past kings and noble feats.

It serves as a celebration of the Golden Stool and a cultural vibrancy that brings together the Asantehene, sub-chiefs, subjects and dignitaries at Manhyia in Kumasi.

The atmosphere was charged with a lot of activities, which include drumming and dancing, cultural display and others.

-3news.com
Almost a month on from the insurrection in Brasilia, questions linger about the loyalty of Brazil's security forces and the potential for more violence.

In scenes reminiscent of the storming of the United States Capitol, thousands of supporters of former President Jair Bolsonaro ransacked Brazil's Congress, Supreme Court and presidential palace on 8 January.

Dressed in the yellow and green of the Brazilian flag, the rioters claimed the October elections won by Bolsonaro's leftist rival, President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, were rigged.

Outnumbered legislative police officers in Brasilia fired tear gas and stun grenades as they tried to stop rioters from breaking into the Senate, footage released by TV Senado shows.

But other images taken on the same day tell a different story. Lula, who was inaugurated at the start of the year, has said members of the military police and armed forces colluded with the rioters.

Militarised politics

Professor Marcio Moretto Ribeiro, an expert on polarisation at the University of Sao Paulo, questions whether all those responsible will face justice.

This is the most delicate thing happening now. We need now, for example, for the laws to be enforced against those people who committed the crimes in the Three Powers Square. And it's not entirely clear [...] if it will happen because you need the support of the military sector, and it's not so clear whether they are committed to democracy, he says.

Bolsonaro, a former army captain who stacked his cabinet with military officers, has repeatedly questioned the integrity of Brazil's voting system and refused to concede defeat in the October elections.

The country's election monitoring authorities and the Defence Ministry found no evidence of fraud.

However, for months Bolsonaro's supporters camped outside army bases, calling for the military to intervene.

Video footage from 8 January has shown some police officers passively watching the rioters and members of the security forces dismantling a protective blockade. General Julio Cesar de Arruda, Brazil's army chief at the time, reportedly blocked the arrests of insurrectionists.

Daniel Serra, who voted for Bolsonaro in the elections, says the riots were caused by a mistaken belief that the country could return to military rule.

The former president, Jair Messias Bolsonaro, he kind of didn't pay attention to the people who were camped outside the barracks. And I think the people were creating things in their heads that didn't exist, that he could come and bring a military regime, Serra says.

The unrest has divided Bolsonaro's supporters. A poll by Atlas Intelligence conducted shortly after the riots showed an alarming 40 percent of Brazilians do not believe Lula won the election, but only 18 percent approved of the attacks.

Serra does not believe the election was rigged and is critical of the riots. For me, as a Bolsonaro supporter, it didn't represent me because I found it very unethical. It's also anti-democratic because it destroyed important bodies such as the National Congress and destroyed historical works inside, he says.

Don't generalise everyone who voted for Bolsonaro, just those extremists who did that in the centre of Brasilia, he added.

Authorities detained over 2,000 people suspected of involvement in the insurrection and several officials have been removed from their posts or arrested.

Bolsonaro, who days before Lula took office flew to Florida in the US, where he has remained ever since, has been included in the Brazilian Supreme Court's investigation into the riots.

'Belligerent opposition'

After several recent attacks and plots, Brazil may face a persistent threat of political violence.

Apparently what January 8 indicates is that there seems to be a group of people in civil society who are willing to create opposition, which is a belligerent opposition, to take to the streets and to do eventually even violent protests for their agendas and I think that this will not be restricted to this election period, Moretto Ribeiro says.

I think this will also show up at other times when the Lula government tries to advance certain progressive agendas, he warns.

At the Three Powers Square, where the three branches of government are located, security has been stepped up. Members of the elite National Security Force have been called in to patrol the area.

There is evidence of the ferocity of the attacks here. The rioters smashed many of the windows of the Supreme Court. Security fencing outside the Planalto Palace, the office of the president, has been ripped up.

There are also signs that Brazil's institutions are still calibrating their response to the unrest. On 25 January, Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes fined the Telegram messaging app for not suspending the account of a pro-Bolsonaro congressman, Nikolas Ferreira.

The following day, after facing criticism on freedom of speech grounds, the Supreme Court justice determined that Ferreira's social media accounts should be reactivated, albeit with some restrictions on what he can post.

Lula's government is having to walk a fine line between punishing those it deems responsible for stoking unrest and trying to keep a deeply divided country together.
The Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection in conjunction with the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the National Traditional Council of Chiefs and Elders, will today, Monday, February 6, 2023 join the rest of the world in commemorating International Day of Zero Tolerance against Female Genital Mutilation (FGM).

In Liberia, the day will be observed with an indoor program that brings together representatives from the eleven (11) FGM practicing counties.

On December 20, 2012 the UN General Assembly adopted Resolution A/RES/67/146 calling on states, the united nations system, Civil Society and all stakeholders to observe February 6 each year as International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation(FGM).

The resolution seeks to intensify global efforts to eliminate FGM and raise awareness on the practice.

FGM is being recognized as a violation of the human right of women and girls reflecting deep-rooted inequality between the sexes and constitutes an extreme form of discrimination against women.

With support from the United Nations, particularly UN-Women and other stakeholders, the Government of Liberia in partnership with National Traditional Council of Chiefs and Elders (NACCEL) conducted a multi-stakeholders dialogue with traditional leaders from eleven (11) FGM practicing counties in June, 2019 which resolved to conduct an inventory to develop database of Sande Bushes in the Country.

Following the dialogue, a policy statement was issued affirming their consent to adjust the timing of the bushes and modernize the practice amongst others. Liberia is one of three West African countries that have not yet made female genital mutation (FGM) illegal.

The commemoration of the International Day of Zero Tolerance against FGM encourages activists to focus on the issues against Female Genital Mutilation and Child Marriage that are most pertinent to our local context.

The Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection remains committed to working with all partners to push for systemic change and accountability while promoting equality for all. In this direction, Gender and partners intend to heighten the advocacy for the eradication of FGM through screening of documentaries, engaging more traditional leaders and bringing them on board to join the fight against FGM.

This year's observance of the FGM's Day takes place in Songhay Town, Todee District, Montserrado County.

While there are still inequalities affecting women including female genital mutilation (FGM), there have been significant progress and commitments from the Government of Liberia to include the National Council of Chiefs and Elders of Liberia supported by the One UN System, European Union, as well as International and National Organizations, including civil society organizations.

It can be recalled, in 2019, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection, the Ministry of Internal affairs and the National Council of Chiefs and Elders of Liberia to suspend all bush schools as an agreeable action in ending harmful traditional practices in Liberia for the period of one year.

This period was used to conduct inventory of traditional groves and map out traditional practitioners in FGM practicing counties. Eventually, a three-year ban was effected in February 2022 through consistent engagement with the authorities (National Council of Chiefs and Elders of Liberia and the Ministry of Internal Affairs) clothed with all matters relating to the FGM practice and tradition to get buy-in in all policies, projects and programs relating to traditional matters, such as FGM.

This has set the pace for significant progress made regarding Liberias fight towards ending FGM, within the context of the 2018 Agreed Conclusion of the 62nd Session of the Commission on the Status of Women (Strengthen normative, legal and policy frameworks) relative to the Review Theme and the Emerging Issue of the 67th Session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW67).
A 7.8 magnitude earthquake hit Turkey and Syria early on Monday; killing hundreds of people and destroying buildings. The shock was felt as far away as the Mediterranean island of Cyprus.

The most powerful earthquake to hit the region in at least a century destroyed entire sections of major cities, killings hundreds and leaving thousands injured. The affected region has been home to millions of refugees fleeing the war in Syria.

The head of Syria's National Earthquake Centre, Raed Ahmed, described the shock as "historically, the biggest earthquake recorded in the history of the centre".

At least 245 people died in government-controlled parts of Syria, and in northern areas held by pro-Turkish factions, according to the health ministry and a local hospital.

At least 284 people died in Turkey, Vice President Fuat Oktay said on Monday, adding that more than 2,300 people had been injured and that search and rescue work was continuing in several major cities.

The rescue effort was being hampered by a winter blizzard that had covered major roads in ice and snow.

Too early to give a death toll

The US Geological Survey said the quake struck at 04:17 am local time (0117 GMT) at a depth of about 17.9 kilometres near the Turkish city of Gaziantep, which is home to around two million people.

Turkey's AFAD emergencies service centre put the first quake's magnitude at 7.4, adding that it was followed by more than 40 aftershocks.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan conveyed his sympathies and urged national unity.

"We hope that we will get through this disaster together as soon as possible and with the least damage," the Turkish leader tweeted.

US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said Washington was "profoundly concerned".

"We stand ready to provide any and all needed assistance," Sullivan said.

The earthquake struck a predominantly Kurdish area of Turkey near the border with Syria.

The governor of the city of Kahramanmaras said it was too early to estimate the death toll because so many buildings had been destroyed, leaving people trapped inside.

"It is not possible to give the number of dead and injured at the moment because so many buildings have been destroyed," the governor said. "The damage is serious."

Dozens dead in rebel-held Syria

Dozens of people were killed and hundreds injured in rebel-held areas of Syria.

The earthquake left northwestern Syria "in a state of catastrophe" with "destruction, devastation, and collapse of buildings," the White Helmets rescue group said on Twitter.

"Hundreds of injuries, dozens of deaths, many trapped under the rubble or stranded in the winter cold," the group which operates in rebel-held parts of the country said, without providing a specific number.

A doctor at a hospital in the northwestern province of Idlib said it had received the bodies of 30 people.
President Nana Akufo-Addo has indicated that a large number of Burkina Faso citizens are trooping into Ghana due to the insecurity in their home country.

Nana Akufo-Addo says the Burkinabees who are fleeing their country have identified Ghana as a safe haven.

Speaking at a meeting with the German Finance Minister, Christian Lindner at the Jubilee House in Accra.,

Nana Akufo-Addo says the government of Ghana is committed to ensuring the insurgency in Burkina Faso is brought to an end.

We are talking about a substantial number of people who are already coming southwards as a result of the difficulties in Burkina Faso. We have a direct, important and strategic interest in doing whatever we can to bring this insurgency to an end and help stabilise the issues in Burkina Faso.

Ghana and Burkina Faso have reaffirmed their commitment to work together in fighting terrorism in the sub-region.

Ghana's National Security Minister Albert Kan-Dapaah disclosed this to journalists in Ouagadougou on Wednesday 21st December 2022 after conveying a message from President Akufo-Addo to the Burkinabe leader, President Ibrahim Traore.

Mr Kan-Dapaah led a high-level delegation from Ghana which also included Security chiefs and officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration.

Flanked by the Burkinabe Foreign Minister Madame Olivia Rouamba, Mr Kan-Dapaah said the two countries reviewed the strong cooperation between them and clarified to their mutual satisfaction recent reported discussions between Ghana and the United States with regard to the needed partnerships for sustainable peace in the region.

The Minister indicated that both countries have reaffirmed their support for a common fight against terrorism, welcoming early operationalization of the Accra Initiative to enable Burkina Faso to defeat the terrorists who have brought untold hardship and pain to the Burkinabe people.

In that respect, we discussed concrete support that Ghana has advocated for Burkina Faso in the Accra Initiative and ECOWAS and called on the West African States to act expeditiously on the matter, he said.

The two countries also highlighted the importance of building resilience in vulnerable communities and support for those that have been displaced or lost livelihoods and called for genuine partnership with the international community in this regard.

Ghana and Burkina Faso committed to holding more regular consultations.

Earlier Mr Kan-Dapaah and his delegation were welcomed by a retinue of religious and traditional leaders.

Together, they reaffirmed the common histories and traditions of Ghana and Burkina Faso and agreed to explore the possibility of periodic visitor exchange with their counterparts in Ghana.
Standing near the dried river bed that marks Ghana's northern border, Alima can see her hamlet, lying in Burkina Faso less than two kilometres (1.2 miles) away.

Even though her home is just a short walk away, she says she will never go back there to live.

One night last year, jihadist gunmen arrived in the settlement and killed two watchmen.

Alima and her sons hid with other women and children, while the men fled briefly across the river into Ghana. The next day families packed up and crossed the border.

Their arrival reinforced what Ghana's government already knew: Ghana along with Gulf of Guinea neighbours Benin, Togo and Ivory Coast was fast becoming the new frontline in the Sahel jihadist war ravaging their northern neighbour.

Ghana's Bawku area shares a border with Burkina Faso, where trade is in agriculture and livestock. By Nipah Dennis (AFP)

"We are staying here for now," Alima said, looking over the border. "There is no security over there."

Togo, Benin and Ivory Coast have already been struck by gunmen from across their northern borders -- most recently in Benin, whose government has reported more 20 armed incursions since 2021. Togo has suffered at least five attacks in that time, though not all were confirmed by jihadists.

So far Ghana has escaped a direct attack, but it is already tackling the economic and social fallout from the conflict to its north.

Like its neighbours, Ghana struggles with porous borders, a weaker state presence in the north, chronic smuggling and intercommunal tensions that can be a breeding ground for jihadism, say local leaders, officials and experts.

Ghana's government heeded the threat early, experts and officials say, opting for a comprehensive strategy of beefed-up military presence and community outreach to ease tensions and support local populations.

Map showing the Gulf of Guinea countries under jihadist threat, based on attacks attributed to the jihadist groups Islamic State and GSIM and recorded by the ACLED monitoring group since January 1, 2022. By Sylvie HUSSON (AFP)

A French troop withdrawal from Mali in the face of mounting hostility and disputes with the ruling junta has refocussed Western partners to aid Gulf of Guinea nations battle the war's southward spillover.

British, US and French officials met with Gulf of Guinea governments in Accra in November to discuss increased cooperation, but with an eye on avoiding past multinational mistakes.

President Nana Akufo-Addo has pushed for "home-grown" local cooperation with neighbouring countries though the Accra Initiative on joint military operations and intelligence sharing.

But officials and local residents in north Ghana acknowledge the growing threat from militant groups operating just a few kilometres away.

"The threat is real, we are very close to the border," Stephen Yakubu, Ghana's Upper East Regional Minister, a presidential appointee, told AFP.

- Burkina burning -

The Sahel insurgency spread from Mali in 2012 to neighbouring Niger and Burkina Faso in 2015. Two million people have been displaced and thousands killed in Burkina Faso alone.

Last year Burkinabe troops carried out two coups in part over frustration with the war on jihadists, but turmoil in Ouagadougou only added to instability.

Some refugees are staying in small settlements along the border not far from the homes they fled. By Nipah Dennis (AFP)

Security in Burkina has deteriorated rapidly in recent months, including more attacks towards eastern regions, which share borders with Togo, Benin and Ghana.

Ghana's national security minister Albert Kan Dappah told a summit in December the spread was expected.

Military operations in the Sahel had prompted the Al-Qaeda-linked Support Group for Islam and Muslims (GSIM) and Islamic State in the Greater Sahara (ISGS) to shift south.

In northern Ghana's border area of Bawku, residents are fearful. With easy access to Burkina, Mali, Togo and Niger nearby, they say their frontier is exposed.

Bawku is a trading hub for agricultural produce and livestock with Burkinabe towns like Bittou, just a 45-minute drive away and the site of a December attack which killed six people.

Traditional ruler Bawku Naba Asigri Abugrago Azoka II (C) says his community is in touch with chiefs over the border to share intelligence. By Nipah Dennis (AFP)

Violence has already curtailed cross-border commerce, said Bawku municipal chief Amadu Hamza.

"Only a few risk their lives to go," he told AFP.

Regional minister Yakubu said the army is establishing small, forward bases along the border and the immigration service was boosting its frontier presence.

Ghanaian authorities last year captured two suspected jihadists sheltering in Ghana after being wounded over the border. One was arrested at a hotel and the other in a hospital.

"We are working with Burkina and sharing information," he said. "They were hurt. Operating there, they were hit and fled and came here."

Why has Ghana so far escaped attack?

One answer may be its early response, more comprehensive approach and the current location of jihadist groups closer to Benin for now, said Saurea Stancioff from Promediation, a group involved in conflict mediation.

Financing may also be a factor. Ghana officials worry jihadists may be tapping into the country's large informal gold mining sector.

In a report last year, German think tank Konrad Adenauer Foundation and Promediation estimated around 200 Ghanaians had been recruited by jihadists over the border, though it was unclear how many may have returned.

"Ghana seems to be a rest area and arguably the groups want to keep it that way, at least for now," Stancioff said.

"It is also a big trafficking area -- maybe they don't want to jeopardise that."

Internal conflict

Despite avoiding an attack so far, Ghana's northern region of Bawku also has its own internal dispute some fear will distract from border security.

Heavy police and military presence around the town attest to tensions between ethnic Kusasi and Mamprusi over the right to chose a new chieftain.

Security is already tight in Bawku because of ongoing intercommunal tensions. By Nipah Dennis (AFP)

Speaking to AFP from his palace, traditional ruler Bawku Naba Asigri Abugrago Azoka II said the local dispute is unlikely to benefit jihadists trying to gain leverage.

He said he had not heard of young men from his jurisdiction joining jihadists. But he said his community was in contact with chiefs across the border to share intelligence.

"If fire is burning someone close to your beard, you should dose your own beard with water because you never know when it will reach you," he said using a local saying.

Nearby a major border post and highway from Bawku into Burkina is heavily guarded with troops and immigration officials as trucks head north.

Residents cross the dry river bed that separates Ghana from Burkina and work on farms on the other side of the frontier. By Nipah Dennis (AFP)

But in more rural areas along the more open border, Burkinabe displaced families easily cross the dry river bed on foot back into Burkina to tend their farms during the day. Their children still go to school there. But before night everyone returns to Ghana.

Burkinabe community leader Dauda Wahabu said the village was once peaceful. Only when they armed two watchmen did they come under attack.

"We hear they are killing people still," he said. "We don't know what will happen next so we will stay."

Local Ghana community leader Abdullah Zakaria said the Ghanaian army is nearby and locals are constantly in touch if they see anyone suspicious. But worry grows in border settlements.

"We are fearful they are going to come over here," he said. "This is going to get worst. This is not going to stop."
06.02.2023 LISTEN

Members of the Great Elephant, aka Osono Kokroko, will sooner than later be congregating to choose the one to lead them to the 2024 electoral battle against those under the eagle-headed Umbrella. The names that have come up so far are Alan John Kwadwo Kyerematen, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, Kennedy Agyapong, Francis Addai-Nimo, Kwabena Agyei Agyepong, Boakye Agyarko, Joe Ghartey and Dr. Kofi Konadu Apraku. The names have stirred up mixed feelings in me because only a few are serious contenders, while many others seem like a bunch of jokers adding up to the numbers.

Dr. Aprakus presidential ambition has never been a secret as he has contested for his partys flagbearership slot since 1998. As a 25-year-old party fanatic, I religiously monitored the 1998 congress and vividly remember events in Sunyani, where Dr. Apraku had 52 votes out of 1,993. He even performed worse in subsequent elections. It must be noted that Dr. Apraku was then in his prime and was very visible on the media landscape. If Dr. Apraku could not even get a paltry 3% of the total votes in his hey days, what deludes him into believing that he could win the flagbearership slot at a time many of the youth dont even remember his name?

Hon. Ghartey is a fine lawyer, academic and politician. Indeed, he is one of the most decent politicians Ive ever seen. He is a former Attorney-General, Second Deputy Speaker of Parliament and the Railways and Development Minister. I, however, dont see him getting even 1% of the delegates on his side because there are more popular and more competent candidates. I know for sure that he himself knows it will take more than a miracle for him to win the Osono flagbearership contest.

Mr. Agyarko is one of the few politicians yours truly admires. He is a smart dude and does not cease to impress with his oratory skills. He is, no doubt, a presidential material. But the Ameri scandal, which led to his sacking as Energy Minister, is so big a blot that the Osono delegates cannot risk making him a flagbearer. I dare say he is finished politically.

Now to the man Ive admired even before he became a politician. His commentary of the final match between Algeria and Nigeria in the 1990 African Cup of Nations still rings in my ears. The former Osono General Secretary has always had presidential ambitions. Per General Ntontoms narration, he was the youngest of the 17 thieves who paraded at the University of Ghana to choose the gang leader.

Yes, Kwabena Agyei Agyepong is the man I refer to. He is another fine gentleman with very noble ideas to improve party and country. Unfortunately, a lot of water has passed under the bridge since his suspension till now. He is no longer the political force he once was in the Osono fraternity. Someone should please tell him not to waste his cowries on an election he has no chance of winning.

As for Addai-Nimo, the least said about him, the better. He represented the Mampong Constituency in the Ashanti Region from January 7, 2009 to January 6, 2017. After losing the Osono flagbearer bid in 2014, he attempted a re-election in the Osono parliamentary primary in 2015 and lost. For a man who lost a parliamentary primary and had been in the political wilderness for close to seven years, what at all could have deluded him into believing that he has even a 2% chance of winning?

For sure, the contest is among Alan, Kennedy Agyapong and Dr. Bawumia. Kennedys disadvantage is that he had already tarnished his image with public insults and his abrasive style of politics. His love for country is, however, not in doubt. And that could be his trump card. His best will be a third position.

I have written extensively on Alans chances in the write-up titled Osono Decides: The Alan Episode!. Alans from No Action, Talk Only (NATO) system to Great Transformational Plan (GTP) is nothing but reckless. He is by implication saying the government he just resigned from was NATO. How then does he expect the party delegates to vote for him after betraying the Osono government he had served for 6 years.

Dr. Bawumia is the man to beat in the flagbearership contest. Despite the decline in economic gains made in the first term of the Nana Dee government, Dr. Bawumia still stands tall among his peers. That he is the man of innovation cannot be disputed by even his political rivals. As for the religious card being played by the Alan camp, it is nothing but pure gimmickry. We all know the Elephant won't be gathering to turban a Chief Imam or ordain a Priest. It is just to elect a political leader with proven dedication to the Elephant. In any case, since when did religion become a major determinant of whom to vote for?

Believe me when I say it wouldnt even be a close contest. Yes, Alan claims he is next in line to lead. But the delegates will definitely show the world that the Osono flagbearership position is not a chieftaincy title with a succession plan.

See you next week for another interesting konkonsa, Deo volente!
ZANU PF has vowed to block opposition Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) legislator for Kwekwe, Judith Tobaiwa, from making any public addresses in the city, including at funerals.

This was said by the ruling party's administrative head for Kwekwe District, Jacob Chokururama while addressing a recent inter-district meeting in the Midlands city.

Chokururama said opposition supporters were enjoying unfettered freedom in Kwekwe "and it must not be tolerated".

"We have shadow MPS and Councillors in our city give them an opportunity to address," he said. Don't allow her (Tobaiwa) to address even at funerals. Why are you giving her that opportunity to address?"

Considered President Emmerson Mnangagwa's home town, Zanu PF has failed to win elections in Kwekwe central, repeatedly losing to the opposition over the past few general elections.

Chokururama challenged party activists to reverse the trend in crunch elections due later this year.

"As Kwekwe Central we must look into the issue. Let us vote in such a way which will make our President sleep peacefully," he said.

"Let us vote in such a manner which will perpetuate Zanu PF rule. In Judith Tobaiwa we don't have an MP. This time around let us go back to the basics and vote for the party. We don't want a repeat of what happened."

Chokururama also complained that the opposition was being given "too much freedom" in the city.

"If we give people freedom they tend to forget where we came from. How do we pay homage, to those long departed whose remains are scattered in Zambia and Mozambique? It's by voting for Zanu PF.

"Everyone is now a political commissar, go and campaign for Zanu PF to win. We mustn't label each other or finger pointing. We mustn't fight against each other. Let's be united."

He continued; "We mustn't be given a headache by a party without structures. It's someone's personal company not a party.

"They brought sanctions so that we will fight amongst ourselves. Chamisa's party doesn't even have its own constitution. This time around we are reclaiming our seat."
The first prosecution witness in the trial of former Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of defunct Beige Bank, Michael Nyinaku, has told an Accra High Court about how the accused siphoned funds of depositors into various fictitious accounts and companies owned by him.

The witness, Julius Ayivor, a Chartered Accountant and a leading member of the team put together by the Receiver of the defunct bank to review accounts of the bank, outlined the dubious manner in which Mr. Nyinaku transferred depositors' funds without their consent, leading to the collapse of the bank, and causing the Government of Ghana to spend GH2.1 billion in repaying the depositors as part of a bailout package.

Led in his evidence-in-chief by Evelyn Keelson, a Chief State Attorney, the witness told the court: The reviews conducted by the team identified a number of transactions that were suspicious and unusual in nature. The suspicious and unusual items involved siphoning funds that had been deposited by customers with the bank by the accused person to himself and companies related to him which have to date not been paid back to the bank.

Michael Nyinaku has been charged with 43 counts of stealing, fraudulent breach of trust and money laundering, for allegedly stealing a total of GH1,212,684,783.46 from the defunct bank between 2015 and 2018.

Julius Ayivor, in his testimony, told the court that the suspicious and unusual transactions uncovered during the review of the defunct bank's accounts include the transfer of customer deposits to a fictitious account opened in the name of First Africa Savings and Loans Limited (FASL), the transfer of customer deposits lodged with Beige Bank to Beige Capital Asset Management Limited (BCAM) without the customers consent.

Other fictitious transactions also included the transfer of customer deposits lodged with Beige Bank to The Beige Group Limited (Beige Group), a limited liability company wholly owned by the accused, without the customers consent, and the transfer of Beige Banks funds to the accused person, a shareholder and the Managing Director (MD) of the bank, and companies related to him.

Explaining further, the witness told the court that in March 2018, a fictitious second account was opened in the name of FASL at the blind side of its board and a total of GH320 million was transferred from the accounts of Beige Bank's customers into the account of BCAM and was later transferred into the fictitious account that had been opened in the name of FASL.

Mr. Ayivor said the accused person subsequently approved the transfer of a total of GH21.12 million to be siphoned out of the fictitious FASL account to the accounts of two individuals and 10 companies held with Beige Bank, nine of which are related to him.

The witness also disclosed another amount of GH281,882,953,37 of Beige Bank's funds, mainly made up of customer deposits that were siphoned out on the instructions of the accused person to himself, companies ultimately owned by him and other third parties.

These transactions, he said, were recorded in other assets general ledger accounts of Beige Bank under Directors Account; Shareholders Account; Beige Group Account; and Prepayments: Project Works Account.

There was no evidence that the accused person or any of the recipients provided any consideration to Beige Bank in exchange for these payments, and the total amount has to date not been refunded by the accused person or any of the other recipients to Beige Bank, the witness added.

He also told the court that over 10,000 deposits that various customers had placed with Beige Bank were transferred from their accounts with Beige Bank to BCAM, on the instructions of the accused person without the customers consent.

As at August 1, 2018, the total outstanding principal balance of customer deposits that had been transferred to BCAM amounted to GH448,636,210.21, made up of transfers of GH23,610,202.31 in 2017 and GH425,026,007.90 in 2018, Mr. Ayivor disclosed.

He added that the amount utilised by BCAM out of these transfers remain unpaid, and the government had to pay these depositors through the bailout package.

Mr. Ayivor also tendered documents evidencing the transfer of GH141,042,348.92 from Beige Bank to Beige Group on the instruction of the accused person, which remain unpaid and had to be paid by government through the bailout package.

An example of such deposit was a GH20 million fixed deposit placed by Tobinco in March 2018, which was diverted into the bank account of Beige Group.

The witness tendered over 80 documents made up of the list of customers whose deposits were transferred to BCAM, e-mails from the accused person authorising the transfer of customer deposits without customers consent, letters from customers indicating that the transfers were made without their consent, the accused persons response to an enquiry from the Receiver in which he confirmed that such transfers of customer deposits were generally and routinely made from Beige Bank to BCAM and Beige Group.

Daily Guide
A Cameroonian tycoon was arrested on Monday in connection with the high-profile abduction and murder of a journalist, his company and a communications ministry official said.

The journalist, Martinez Zogo, who was abducted and brutally murdered last month, was outspoken against graft and financial sleaze and had often faced threats over his work.

Jean-Pierre Amougou Belinga, owner of L'Anecdote media group, "was arrested... at dawn," the company said.

Denis Omgba Bomba, head of the National Media Observatory, a unit attached to the communications ministry, said the tycoon was a "suspect in the killing of Martinez Zogo."

Zogo, 50, was the manager of the privately-owned radio station Amplitude FM and host of a daily show called Embouteillage (Traffic Jam).

Amougou Belinga was one of his targets. The tycoon, reputedly a friend of several ministers, has holdings in banking, finance, insurance and property, as well as L'Anecdote, which owns a daily newspaper of that name and several pro-government TV and radio stations.

Zogo was abducted on January 17 outside a police station in the suburbs of the capital Yaounde, and his heavily-mutilated corpse was found five days later.

Just days before he was killed, he had told listeners about threats he faced.

Amougou Belinga's arrest came after several people were detained last week in the affair.

The murder sparked an outcry, including a protest by 20 leading Cameroonians over the government's "long tradition of trivialising impunity and accepting atrocities."

President Paul Biya, who has ruled Cameroon with an iron fist for more than 40 years, called for a full probe into the murder.

The government has insisted Cameroon is "a state of law, where liberty is guaranteed, including the freedom of the press".

RSF's Press Freedom Index ranks Cameroon a lowly 118th out of 180 countries.
The Third Session of the Eighth Parliament of the Fourth Republic will resume sitting on Tuesday, February 7, 2023.

This was after the House adjourned sine die, on Thursday, December 22, 2022, for the legislators to take a break for the Christmas and New Year holidays.

A statement signed by Mr Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin, Speaker of Parliament, and issued to the Ghana News Agency in Accra, on Monday, said: The Third Session of the Eighth Parliament of the Fourth Republic shall commence at Ten o'clock in the forenoon of Tuesday, 7th February, 2023.

It said the Speaker of Parliament, by Clause (1) of Article 112 of the 1992 Constitution, appointed Parliament House, Accra, to be the place of meeting.

Know Ye All Men that in the exercise of the powers conferred on the Speaker by Clause (1) of Article 112 of the Constitution, I, Rt Hon. Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin, Speaker of Parliament, by this Constitutional Instrument, appoint Parliament House Accra to be the place.

Before adjourning for the 2022 festive season, the House passed the Appropriation Bill for the 2023 Fiscal Year.

An Appropriation Bill, also known as a Supply Bill or Spending Bill, is a proposed law that authorises the expenditure of government funds.

It is a bill, which sets money aside for specific spending.

In some democracies, approval of the Legislature is necessary for the Government to spend money.

The break also marked the end of the Third Meeting of the Second Session of the Eighth Parliament of the Fourth Republic.

GNA
The Member of Parliament (MP) for Ningo Prampram, Samuel Nartey George says he stands by the useless tag of the management of the Ghanaian economy led by Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia and Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta.

The MP was on the TV3 morning show on Monday, February 6, with government rep, Davis Opoku to discuss matters of the economy.

During his submission, Sam Georges use of the word useless did not go down well with Davis Opoku.

Regardless, the MP who took the conversation to social media says he wont take it back.

According to him, the claim that the use of the word 'useless' is an insult holds no water especially when it had been used by Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia in the past to describe ex-President John Dramani Mahama.

This morning on the morning show on TV3 Ghana, the government rep, Davis Opoku accused me of insulting the Vice President and Finance Minister because I DESCRIBED their handling of the economy as useless.

Just to help the NPP communicators running riot, the word USELESS is an adjective, Sam George argued in a post on Facebook.

The parliamentarian continued, An adjective modifies or describes a noun or pronoun. A noun identifies people, places or things. Hence, the word USELESS would be an adjective modifying Bawumia or Ken Ofori-Atta in the following sentence;

The management of Ghana's economy by Bawumia and Ken Ofori-Atta has been USELESS.

Meanwhile, Sam George has proposed to the government that if indeed it wants to make available cheaper fuel for Ghanaians, it should remove taxes instead of its Gold for Oil programme.
Former President John Dramani Mahama has said due to greed and ineptitude on the part of the Akufo-Addo-led government, aside the two new oil fields, Ten and Sankofa Ghana has not seen any additional production activity in the upstream oil sector in the last seven years.

Mr Mahama in a tweet described as wasted years, the period of lack of additional production activity.

Wasted years! We bequeathed to the Akufo-Addo govt two new oil fields, TEN and Sankofa. Greed and ineptitude as against national interest means a sad reality of no additional production activity in our upstream oil sector in the last 7 years, he tweeted on Monday, 6 February 2023.

Wasted years! We bequeathed to the Akufo-Addo govt two new oil fields, TEN and Sankofa. Greed and ineptitude as against national interest means a sad reality of no additional production activity in our upstream oil sector in the last 7 years.

 John Dramani Mahama (@JDMahama) February 6, 2023

Ten Field

In March 2009, the Eirik Raude rig successfully drilled the Tweneboa-1 wildcat well in the Deepwater Tano licence, around 20 km west of Tullows Jubilee field and some 45 km offshore from the Ghana mainland. This initial discovery was followed up by a series of further successful appraisal and exploration wells which resulted in the discovery of the Tweneboa-Enyenra-Ntomme (TEN) field.

Developing the TEN fields

In May 2013, The Ghana Minister of Energy approved the Plan of Development for the field and Tullow commenced with its second major operated deep water development project in Ghana. Similar to Jubilee, the development includes the use of an FPSO which has a facility production capacity of 80,000 bopd which will be tied into subsea infrastructure across the field. The vessel was converted in Singapore and in September 2015, the vessel was officially named FPSO Prof. John Evans Atta Mills, after the late Ghanaian president who oversaw First Oil from Ghanas Jubilee Field in 2010. The FPSO sailed away from Singapore to Ghana on 23 January 2016.

The FPSO arrived in Ghana in early March 2016 where it was moored to the seabed before being connected to the risers and subsea infrastructure.

First oil was achieved on time and on budget in August 2016, three years after the Plan of Development was approved by the Government of Ghana.

Sankofa project

The Sankofa Gas Project encompasses the development of the Sankofa and Gye Nyame gas fields located 60km offshore of Western Ghana in water depths ranging from 520m to 1,014m in the Tano Basin. The fields are estimated to hold 1.45 trillion cubic feet (Tcf) of non-associated gas.

A part of the Offshore Cape Three Points (OCTP) project, the development of the natural gas fields comprises phase two of the wider project. Phase one encompasses the development of Sankofa East oil field, while the second phase aims at developing non-associated gas in the two fields.

The project is being developed by a joint venture of Eni Ghana (44.44%), which is also the operator Vitol Ghana (35.56%) and Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (20%). Production from the project is planned to commence in 2018.

Gas obtained from the project will enable 1,000MW of domestic power generation, which is equivalent to approximately 40% of the countrys total installed generation capacity. The project is planned to help reduce Ghanas oil imports by 12 million barrels a year, as well as add $2.3bn in revenues.

Sankofa gas project development details

The development plan for the gas fields includes drilling of five subsea non-associated gas wells, subsea umbilicals, risers and flowlines connecting the fields to an FPSO, and a 63km-long gas pipeline from the FPSO to the shore.

An onshore pipeline will link the fields to an onshore receiving facility, which will be equipped with a compression station and other related infrastructure. A direct pipeline will transport the gas from the receiving facility to an existing gas pipeline.

The Sankofa reservoirs will have four wells drilled, while one well will be drilled in Gye Nyame reservoir. Three new wells will be drilled, while two wells from the exploration phase will be re-entered.

An FPSO unit will be installed as part of phase one of the project and gas and water injection wells from the Sankofa gas project will also be connected to it by means of flexible risers and flowlines. Gas obtained from the oil separation train will be compressed, dehydrated and sent to the onshore receiving facility, as well as be re-injected into the reservoir.

An existing very large crude carrier will be transformed to construct the FPSO, which will have a double hull and a capacity of 210mmscfd.

Onshore facilities

The projects onshore facilities will include a receiving facility constructed over a 90,000m area with 27,000m dedicated for accommodation. It will include a helipad, roads and pipelines, as well as temporary construction facilities.

Onshore activities will include construction of an underground gas export pipeline, setting up of the onshore receiving facility, camps, and helipad construction. A pipeline will also be installed to connect the receiving facility with the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation underground pipeline. Onshore work will also include pre-commissioning and commissioning of the facility, pipeline, and hydro testing.

Investment details of the Sankofa gas project

The Sankofa gas project is estimated to cost $2.7bn in development costs and an additional $300m in operating expenditures for the onshore receiving facility.

A $700m loan has been provided by the World Bank for the project through a combination of International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) and International Development Association (IDA) guarantees.

The IDA guarantees $500m that will enable payments for gas purchases made by Ghana National Petroleum Corporation, while the IBRD will provide a $200m enclave loan guarantee to mobilise the private sector.

Construction on the project is estimated to begin at the end of 2016 and continue up to 2019. Production from the project will commence in phases with two wells scheduled to start producing gas in February 2018 at the rate of 190mmscfd.

Another two wells will start production in the last quarter of 2019 and will help in maintaining peak production, while the remaining well will come on stream in 2028.

Contractors involved

Maesrk Voyager has been contracted by Eni Ghana to provide drilling and completion services for both the oil and gas fields located in the OCTP block.

Source: Classfmonline.com
06.02.2023 LISTEN

Breast Care International (BCI), a nonprofit organization in Ghana says the fight against preventable cancers should be tackled at the national level.

It says that can be done by the government imposing high taxes on alcoholic beverages, sugar-sweetening beverages, fast foods and cigarettes; which are among cancer risk factors.

According to BCI, when preventable cancers like breast, cervical and prostate agents are either halted or restricted, it will limit people from buying and consuming them.

The President of Breast Care International (BCI), Dr Mrs Beatrice Wiafe Addai, said this during the celebration of World Cancer Day (WCD) event on Saturday, February 4, 2023.

It was held at the premises of Peace and Love Hospital at Oduom in the Oforikrom municipal in the Ashanti region.

The theme for the event is on the three-year-trot catch slogan Close the Care Gap.

World Cancer Day is an international day marked on 4 February annually to raise awareness of cancer and to encourage its prevention, detection, and treatment.

World Cancer Day is led by the Union for International Cancer Control (UICC), of which Breast Care International (BCI) is a member, to support the goals of the World Cancer Declaration, written in 2008.

Alcohol, sugar-sweetening beverages, fast foods and cigarettes consumptions are some of the things that bring people these cancers. The government can reduce the number of people exposed to these harmful agents by imposing high taxes on them, he said.

The high prices on these harmful cancer agents will deter people from buying and consuming these products, especially to protect the children from falling prey and to help their future, she added.

Dr Mrs Beatrice Wiafe Addai, who is also the CEO of Peace and Love Hospitals in Kumasi and Accra, Ghana, also observed that the continued spread of the disease around the world, particularly in poverty-endemic regions and communities.

As a public health issue, cancers required the attention and commitment of all, pursuant to closing the gap, she stated.

On breast cancer, Dr Wiafe noted that though the BCI and PLHs since 2002 have on the forefront of creating awareness about the disease, a lot more needs to be done in Ghana, especially in the remote parts where the disease is rampant.

On a panel discussion during the event, she advocated for the re-training of health workers in these areas on breast cancer and other cancers for them also to spread the education and awareness to avoid late stage report of cases.

A Consultant Gynecologist, Dr Nii Oku Aryee, a panel member, expressed worry at the increased death rate of cervical cancer in Ghana.

The Medical Superintendent at the Mamponteng Government Hospital stated that 1,500 deaths are recorded in every 3,000 cervical cancers cases, a situation he attributed to lack of education.

He therefore appealed to women to avail themselves for regular screening, testing and vaccination to avoid any unforeseeable consequences.
One respondent to my article, "Does the Sovereign God Need Human Permission to Act on the Earth?" believes the book of Hebrews in the New Testament, a book that was written to the Jewish Christians to persevere in Christ in the face of persecution, provides Biblical grounds for the Word of Faith theology? This article intends to ask and respond to the question: Does the Word of Faith Theology agree or contradict the book of Hebrews read contextually or exegetically?

I have taught and preached through the book of Hebrews, and there is no sentence in that book supporting the Word of Faith theology. The only way to use the Book of Hebrews to support the Word of Faith theology is to pour one's preconceived metaphysical thoughts and positive psychology into the book or read the verses out of context. One cannot read the book of Hebrews exegetically and concludes that Christianity has that much to do with wealth and health. The only people the prosperity gospel works for are those who preach that gospel and their audience with access to public funds: politicians and bureaucrats. I challenge them to take that message to our rural areas or the slum areas of our cities and see how it works.

The most important question in the art and science of Biblical interpretation is: what is the authorial intention of the book or letter? Authorial intention refers to the purpose or intended meaning of the author in a text. In the case of the Bible, understanding the authorial intention is crucial for the proper interpretation of the text. This involves considering factors such as the historical context, literary genre, audience, and author's literary style, among others. Understanding the authorial intention helps readers determine the text's intended message, which is crucial for understanding the meaning and significance of the Biblical text.

So what does faith mean in Hebrews 11:1 within the context of chapter 11 and the book? Faith, as defined contextually, means that through faith, believers can have confidence and assurance in the things God promised, even amid trials and persecutions. This conviction gives them the strength and resilience to endure and overcome challenges, knowing that God is faithful and will fulfill his promises in due time. Additionally, the focus on "things not seen" emphasizes that the ultimate goal of faith is not temporary relief from trials but the realization of eternal blessings in heaven. This perspective can help believers to see their trials in a different light, as opportunities to grow in faith and trust in God rather than as unbearable burdens. In conclusion, the exegetical explanation of Hebrews 11:1 highlights the importance of faith in giving believers the confidence, resilience, and perspective to face challenges and difficulties with hope and trust in God.

The Word-of-Faith Movement has misappropriated Hebrews 11, which lists examples of individuals who lived by faith in the Old Testament. The proponents often quote this chapter to support that a Christian can use faith to obtain material blessings and physical healing. However, this interpretation is a misreading of the text, as Hebrews 11 does not present faith as a means of getting material prosperity or physical health, but as faith to endure amid trials and persecutions.

The prosperity gospel or Word-of- Faith theology is a type of Christian theology that emphasizes the belief that faith and positive thinking can lead to material wealth and physical health. One can understand the psychology behind the prosperity gospel as a combination of several factors, including the human desire for comfort and security. Humans naturally want to feel safe and secure, and the idea of attaining wealth and health through faith can appeal to those seeking stability and comfort in their lives. The prosperity gospel often emphasizes the power of positive thinking and the importance of speaking positive affirmations to manifest one's desires. This can resonate with people who believe they can shape their reality through their thoughts and words.

People often want easy solutions to complex problems, and the prosperity gospel presents a simple formula for attaining wealth and health: have faith, speak positive affirmations, and receive blessings. Many prosperity gospel preachers are charismatic orators who can create a sense of excitement and energy around their message. This can make the prosperity gospel message appealing to those seeking a sense of community and belonging. Overall, the psychology of the prosperity gospel can be understood as a combination of these and other factors that appeal to human desires and beliefs. However, this type of theology focuses on materialism and individualism and presents an incomplete and distorted understanding of faith and its role in the believer's life.

The use of Hebrews 11 as the bedrock of their theology distorts the Scriptures. Faith in Hebrews 11 is presented as a response to God's promises, a means of persevering in the face of adversity, and a demonstration of the character and nature of God. The examples in this chapter are not intended to promote the idea that faith can be used to achieve personal prosperity but rather to encourage the readers to remain steadfast in their faith, even in the face of difficulties and persecution.

Some have criticized the interpretation of Hebrews 11 in the Word-of-Faith Movement as a selective reading of the text that fails to take into account the overall message of the Bible and the historical context in which it was written. This selective interpretation can also lead to a misunderstanding of the nature of faith and its role in the believer's life. In Hebrews 11, for example, the author speaks of the faith of various individuals in the Old Testament and the positive results that came from their faith. The book of Hebrews also stresses the importance of persevering in faith, even in adversity. The Word-of-Faith movement has undermined the overall message of the Bible, and the use of the book of Hebrews to support these teachings may involve selective interpretations of the text.

D.A. Carson, a New Testament scholar, and theologian who has written extensively on the book of Hebrews, maintains that the primary purpose of the book of Hebrews is to encourage Jewish Christians to persevere in their faith in Jesus Christ, despite the difficult circumstances they were facing. Carson argues that the author of Hebrews addressed a community of Jewish Christians facing persecution and temptations to return to their former way of life, following the Mosaic Law. The author sought to demonstrate the superiority of Jesus Christ and the New Covenant over the Old Covenant to encourage these believers to remain steadfast in their faith in Christ.

St. Augustine of Hippo, a prominent early Christian bishop, and theologian who lived in the 4th and 5th centuries, wrote extensively on the book of Hebrews, and his views on the book's purpose have been highly influential in the Western Church. According to Augustine, the primary purpose of the book of Hebrews was to prove the superiority of Christ and the Christian faith over the Mosaic Law and the Jewish religion. He believed that the author of Hebrews was writing to Jewish Christians who faced adversity and temptation with returning to their former way of life, following the Mosaic Law, in the face of persecution.

The question is: Does the book of Hebrews contradict the Word-of-Faith theology or support it? The book of Hebrews contradicts the teachings of Word-of-Faith theology. The teachings of the Word-of-Faith movement and the book of Hebrews are contradictory in several ways. The Word-of-Faith movement strongly emphasizes the power of positive speaking and the use of faith to obtain material blessings and physical healing. However, the book of Hebrews does not present faith as a means to obtain material benefits but rather as a means to persevere in the face of adversity and to hold fast to the hope that is set before us (Hebrews 10:23). The Word-of-Faith movement often portrays faith as a force that one can manipulate to achieve one's desires. The book of Hebrews, on the other hand, presents faith as a trusting relationship with God and a response to God's promise (Hebrews 11:1).

The Word-of-Faith movement portrays Christ as a means to an end rather than the end itself. The book of Hebrews, however, emphasizes the superiority of Christ over all things and presents him as the ultimate goal and reward of our faith (Hebrews 11:1-7). The Word-of-Faith movement often teaches that a Christian can use faith to overcome any obstacle. Still, the book of Hebrews stresses the importance of persevering in faith, even in the face of difficulty and persecution (Hebrews 10:32-36).

It's important to note that the teachings of the Word-of-Faith movement are at odds with the overall message of the Bible and that its interpretations of specific biblical passages, including Hebrews, may involve selective and misleading readings of the text. Some verses in the book of Hebrews contradict the Word-of-Faith movement's teachings. Hebrews 13:5-6 admonishes, "Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have because God has said, 'Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.' So we confidently say, 'The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can mere mortals do to me?'" This verse emphasizes the importance of contentment and reliance on God rather than material wealth. As I have said earlier, the proper exegesis of the book of Hebrews runs at variance with the Word-Faith-Theology.

Hebrews 11:6 says, "And without faith, it is impossible to please God because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him." This verse emphasizes that faith is not a tool for obtaining material blessings but a response to God's existence and a seeking after him. Hebrews 10:34 says," For you had compassion on those in prison, and you joyfully accepted the plundering of your property because you knew that you had better and lasting possessions."

This verse suggests that faith does not guarantee material blessings but rather a focus on spiritual treasures that are superior and lasting. Also, Hebrews 12:1-2 declares: "Therefore, since such a great cloud of witnesses surrounds us, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer, and perfecter of faith." This verse stresses the importance of persevering in faith, even in the face of difficulty, and focusing on Jesus rather than material blessings.

These verses, along with other passages in the book of Hebrews, present a different understanding of faith and its role in the believer's life than what the Word-of-Faith movement teaches. It is essential to approach the study of the Bible with a commitment to its overall message and to avoid selective readings of individual verses that support our preconceived beliefs. It behooves those who teach the Bible to study it diligently to show themselves approved. The Bible emphasizes the importance of responsibility for what is taught. James 3:1 states, "Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, and sisters because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly." This passage suggests that those who teach the word of God should be held to a higher standard and must be accountable for the accuracy and impact of what they share.
06.02.2023 LISTEN

Former President, John Dramani Mahama has hit out at President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo in his latest statement on social media.

In a post on Twitter, the leading member of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) has shared what he believes is the reason why Ghana has not made additional production in the upstream oil sector since President Akufo-Addo took over from him.

According to him, there has been no additional production activity in the last seven years due to greed and ineptitude which has been prioritised ahead of the national interest.

He adds that the tenure under President Akufo-Addo has been wasted years as far as production in the upstream oil sector is concerned.

Wasted years! We bequeathed to the Akufo-Addo govt two new oil fields, TEN and Sankofa. Greed and ineptitude as against national interest means a sad reality of no additional production activity in our upstream oil sector in the last 7 years, ex-president John Dramani Mahama said.
The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) under its Market Systems and Resilience (MSR) Activity, has held a validation workshop in Tamale on research conducted to map out entrepreneurial agricultural service providers for businesses within the agricultural value chain.

The workshop, held last Thursday in Tamale was to create the space for stakeholders to confirm or otherwise the findings of a research carried out within the last four months and involved mapping the entrepreneurial agricultural service providers in the 17 districts in the four regions where USAIDs MSR Activity was being implemented.

USAID, through its Market Systems and Resilience Activity, is developing a roadmap to strengthen business development service providers within its influence zones to better serve women, youth and persons with disability.

The move is in line with the rural entrepreneurial ecosystem initiative of the Market Systems Resilience (MSR) Activity in Ghana, which aimed to increase inclusive agricultural-led economic growth in the northern part of the country.

The research was therefore carried out to guide the development of rural entrepreneurship ecosystems in the Northern, North East, Upper East and Upper West regions.

The mapping investigated current linkages amongst business development and small service providers that supported small-holder farmers and small and medium enterprises in agribusiness led by women, youth and PwDs.

Amongst the findings was a disconnect between business development services and real services needed by women, youth and PWDs.

The validation workshop brought about 80 stakeholders together to review and confirm the findings and way forward for strengthening entrepreneurial ecosystem in the four regions.

These include the private sector business groups, government institutions, development community, academia, farmer organisations and traditional authorities.

Mr Cecil Osei, the Deputy Chief of Party, USAID MSR Activity, said: The whole idea of the study is to use the evidence to build a strong ecosystem of entrepreneurial services, especially in the rural communities where now you do not have a lot of business services supporting people, who want to go into business.

This drive by the Activity is to ensure that people develop the capacity and the acumen to start and maintain businesses in our rural communities, especially young people, women and PwDs, to be able to develop businesses, thrive, make profits, and grow.

The study showed how much each of the services were needed, peoples demand for the service, and where demand was more than the provision to make the necessary amends, he said.

Mr Osei expressed the hope that the roadmap would build very good ecosystems where people in need of entrepreneurial services would find them at their doorsteps or around somebody ready to deliver at an affordable rate and in a sustainable manner.

In an interview with the media, the Executive Director of Densu Associates, Dolores Dickson, said Through the study, the USAID got the understanding of who the actors were within the value chain and the services they get from service providers in the zone of influence.

She also revealed that a roadmap would be designed on how to work closely with the BDS organisations to strengthen them to provide better services to clients.

Mr Alexander Kojo Tetteh, President, Ghana Chamber of Entrepreneurs with Disabilities and a participant, speaking to the media, lauded the initiative saying it would empower them to do business and be sustainable, profitable and self-reliant.
Following the appointment of Awie Frey as Head of Operations, I am pleased to announce the appointment of Eric Broni as Senior ManagerEngineering, effective 1st January 2023.

"Eric is a versatile professional mechanical engineer with over 19 years of experience within the mining industry, of which 5 have been in management roles. He has worked extensively in various roles in Surface Infrastructure, Processing Plant, Underground Mining, Asset Management, Facilities Maintenance, and in the project space during Phases 1 and 2 of the Obuasi Redevelopment Project.

This was the communique issued by the Managing Director of AngloGold Ashanti Ghana Ltd, Obuasi, Mr. Eric Asubonteng regarding the appointment of Ing. Eric Broni as the Senior Manager - Engineering AngloGold Ashanti Ghana Ltd, Obuasi Mine.

Mr. Eric Broni who was raised at Kwabrafoso, a popular suburb of Obuasi has risen to the top management of the Global mining giant from a humble beginning as a Mechanical Technician some 19 years ago.

Speaking for the first time since his appointment, Ing. Broni said he was excited to have come this far as an 'Obuasi boy' who has lived all his life in Obuasi, attended Kwabrafoso Primary and Junior High School and Obuasi Senior High School.

He told the Media that after graduating from Kumasi Polytechnic with HND in Mechanical Engineering, and teaching at St. Margret Senior High School for a while, he enrolled at the famed AGC Engineering Training School in Obuasi in 2003 and proceeded to have full-time employment in the Mine in February 2006.

Journey so far

From a very humble beginning in the Mine, he did all sorts of work including weeding, painting, machining, operator, etc which he said strengthened and challenged him.

He said in his 3 years dint of hard work at the junior level in the mine, he was elevated to the Supervisory level where he was moved from the Compressor Station to the Water Services section and worked as Mechanical Supervisor.

He attributed his quick rise to hard work and his ability to analyze a situation and come out with the best solutions. These attributes convinced my boss who saw me as a critical thinker to facilitate my promotion", he mentioned.

Grit, Focus, and Education

Ing. Broni mentioned that his hunger to succeed in his field and the Mine culminated in his rise to other positions in the Mine even when other Mining Companies approached him with juicy offers. He said, " in some situations, I had to act in some roles for 18 months which was mostly unprecedented at that time but knowing what I wanted in life, I held on".

Juggling the responsibilities of family, a full-time job and education was the most challenging thing he had done in life. According to the current Senior Manager, Engineering of AngloGold Ashanti Ghana Ltd (AGAG), he enrolled at the University of Ghana to study BA in Economics and Psychology and BSc. Mechanical Engineering at the KNUST, simultaneously.

He successfully graduated with Second class upper degree and a First-class degree in BA in Psychology and Economics and BSc in Mechanical Engineering respectively.

His resolve to pursue education to the highest level even after attaining two (2) degrees saw him adding a Masters Degree in Business Administration in Strategic Management and Consulting and other certificates to the plethora of academic laurels. He holds a Postgraduate Diploma in Leadership and Development from the University of Professional Studies, Accra (UPSA)

Promotions after promotions

Unfazed by the challenges his job comes with, Mr. Broni said his trump card has always been God, focus, a positive attitude, and right education. Hence his meteoric rise from Mechanical Technician to Engineering Superintendent Assets Management and Reliability with a little over a decade in the Mine. He believes that everything begins with God, continues with God, and ends with God.

Dubbed Mr. Versatility, the ' Obuasi boy' has worked in different departments of the mine by way of job rotation and enrichment including Human Resources, Processing, Underground, Mining operations, Geology, Mining Technical Services, Supply Chain, etc just to get a better understanding of how different departments within the Mine operate. He has also had career development at some of AGA's world-class mines offshore, Tropicana Gold Mine and Sunrise Dam Gold Mine, all in Australia. He has worked with Ausenco Rylson, DRA Global, and SRK Consulting during the Obuasi Mine Feasibility study.

Engineering Lead of Project 300

He counted himself fortunate to have been retained by AGAG leadership even after Obuasi Mine announced Care and Maintenance which saw the retrenchment of over 6000 workers.

He added that he played a key role during Project 300 which saw the rebirth of the Obuasi Mine in 2019. This was particularly confirmed in the communique authored by the Managing Director announcing Mr. Eric Broni's appointment as Senior Manager of Engineering.

He was a key engineering resource during the Obuasi Feasibility Study and P300 Study, leading up to the approval of the Obuasi Redevelopment Project by the AGA Board in 2018.

Appointment as the Senior Manager of Engineering

Having worked as Engineering Manager at all Engineering sections including Process Plant, Surface Infrastructure, and Underground Engineering, Deputy to the Senior Manager Engineering, Ing. Broni was later appointed as Resident Engineer of the Mine. As per Mineral Commission regulation L1 2182, the Resident Engineer is the Registered Engineering Manager for the Mine. After some time when the role of Senior Manager Engineering became vacant, Eric applied per the company recruitment procedures and became successful in the role.

This represented a huge milestone for the Obuasi nurtured Engineer who was brought to Obuasi at the age of two (2).

Now, the astute engineer is still reading MSc in Mining Engineering and Management at the South Dakota School of Mines, USA. The ambitious Obuasi boy who is a Pastor at the Covenant Chapel aspires to attain higher positions at AngloGold Ashanti in the future.

What is he bringing on board in his new position

He tells SMS Media that he will be much more focused on grooming the young engineers in Obuasi through the Ghana Institution of Engineers (GHIE), Obuasi Chapter. He bemoaned the fact that the youth in Obuasi did not strategically position themselves well when AGA Obuasi was bouncing back in 2019 by acquiring the necessary skills the company will need. Nevertheless, there are still opportunities around where the indigenes can learn trade and skills from AGAG Capacity Building Centre at Anyinam. The key is to focus on the right objective and determine to achieve it.

He said he plans to collaborate with the Local authority in Obuasi and the Sustainability department of AGA to build the capacity of young engineers in Obuasi through symposiums.

On the Mine, he said he intends to create an Innovation and Ideas hub where people can dump their ideas which can be nurtured and project-managed to solve problems of the Mine.

Family

A proud family man, Ing Eric Broni is married to Philomena Kwarteng Broni and they are blessed with two children, Erica God'sgift Broni and Nana Yaw Broni. Wofa Yaw Broni, his dad who lives at Kwabrafoso in Obuasi, is his only surviving parent.

Advice to the youth of Obuasi

He advised the youth who want to attain greater heights in life to have a determined heart. He said, " it is always important for the youth not to always concentrate on the fact that the mine is on their land but rather educate themselves or acquire necessary skills to enable them to have opportunities in the Mine". It is better to spend a little time now learning a trade, skills, and on education which are needed by employers and prepare yourself for the market than to spend many years complaining of no opportunities.
Eskom Advertises for CEO Amid Unending Power Cuts

Power utility Eskom has published an external ad for its Group Chief Executive (CEO) position. The top position is set to become vacant in two months after current CEO Andre de Ruyter's last day in office on March 31, 2023. The advertisement posted on its website said that the CEO's key responsibilities would include creating a high-performing organisation with a culture that maintains the highest ethical and governance standards. The minimum qualification required to apply for the position is a postgraduate degree in engineering, business administration, or economics. The closing date for applications is Monday, February 27, 2023, and the new CEO is expected to take office from April 1. According to IOL, "the power utility is currently going through its worst bouts of load shedding in history and has targeted five key priorities to ease power cuts, including a 24-month generation recovery plan and securing funds to purchase the diesel used to run emergency units".

Ramaphosa Asks Deputy President Mabuza to Stay On 'Until Modalities of Departure Finalised'

The office of the Presidency has revealed that President Cyril Ramaphosa has asked his deputy, David Mabuza, to remain in his position until such time as "the modalities around his departure are finalised", reports News24. This comes after Mabuza spoke for the first time publicly at a family funeral in Mpumalanga, telling congregants that he had informed Ramaphosa that he had resigned as deputy president of the country. Mabuza was not elected as an official or National Executive Committee member at the ANC's national congress in December.

South African Artists Bag Grammy Award

Zakes Bantwini, Nomcebo Zikode, and Wouter Kellerman have won the award for Best Global Music Performance in the Global Music category for their hit song Bayethe at the 65th annual Grammy Awards in Los Angeles, California, reports SABC. In his acceptance speech, Bantwini said: "I just want to say, we are coming from Africa, South Africa. And this moment right here to anybody who's in Africa just proves and affirms that every dream is valid." This is the first time Zikode and Bantwini win a Grammy. This is Kellerman's fourth nomination and his second Grammy. Their win follows hot on the heels of last year's Grammy win by DJ Black Coffee in the Best Dance Electronic Category, reports SABC. South African comedian Trevor Noah hosted the prestigious awards. Friends and fans have flooded social media with congratulatory messages for the trio.

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Tributes Pour in for Slain Soccer Player Oshwin Andries

Condolences continue to pour in for Stellenbosch FC and SA U20 defender Oshwin Andries . According to IOL, the 19-year-old Cape Town-born soccer player's life was cut short days before his 20th birthday. He was stabbed incessantly with a sharp object during a get-together in Klapmuts. Oshwin succumbed to his wounds, exactly six days after the attack, in the arms of his mother. The Stellenbosch Football Club's official Twitter account posted a tribute to the late defender, saying that his talent and commitment to the game would never be forgotten.

More news from South Africa
Pressure group, Arise Ghana has announced that it will no longer recognise Ken Ofori-Atta as the countrys Minister of Finance.

At a press conference in Accra on Monday, a leading member of the group, Mensah Thompson declared the Finance Minister as a persona non grata.

It is also urging the media and Ghanaians to withdraw all official courtesies accorded him.

The decision by Arise Ghana according to Mensah Thompson is because Ken Ofori-Atta is widely blamed for the current hardships in the country.

Evidently, our economy is headed in no particular direction to be charitable or better still, our economy is on life support at the intensive care unit of KorleBu Hospital. The low level that Ghanas economy has declined is the sole creation of President Akufo-Addos Finance Minister, Ken Ofori Atta.

The continued stay in office of Ken Ofori Atta as Finance Minister can only make things murkier for the Ghanaians. In the light of this, we are left with no option than declaring Ken Ofori-Atta, a persona non grata, Mensah Thompson told the media at the press conference.

He added, We call on the media and the public to withdraw all official courtesies accorded him, we do not recognize Ken OFORI-Atta as our Finance Minister or a Public Officer."

According to Arise Ghana, the cataclysmic economy of Ghana today could have been avoided with a sound Finance Minister.

The group wants Ghanaians to rise up against the government for showing an appetite for big talk but no action.
The head of the human rights division of the United Mission in Mali (MINUSMA) has been declared persona non-grata by the Malian authorities. Guillaume Andali has been asked to leave the country by 7 February. The government accuses him of bias.

This measure comes after the destabilising and subversive actions of Monsieur Andali, declared Mali's Foreign Affairs ministry in a communique read on national television on Sunday 5 February.

The Malian authorities claim that Guillaume Ngefa-Atondoko Andali, head of MINUSMA's human rights section, selected frauds to be the representatives of Malian civil society while ignoring the authorities and national institutions.

Bamako said that Andali's bias was quite obvious at the UN's last gathering on Mali.

The transitional government strongly rejected the claims made by a Malian rights activist invited to speak at the special United Nations Security Council briefing on Mali.

On 27 January, Aminata Cheick Dicko, deputy chairman of Kisal, referred to the alleged human rights violations perpetrated by the Malian Armed Forces (FAMA) and, its military partner, the Wagner group, described as Russian mercenaries.

She added that Wagner's actions, could constitute war crimes and crimes against humanity.

During the video-conference, Dicko urged the Malian authorities to dissociate themselves from the Wagner group. She also spoke about rampant terrorism, thousands of internally displaced Malians and food insecurity in the country.

In its statement, interim prime minister Colonel Abdoulaye Maiga said that Andali recruited Dicko to play the role of a fraud acting as a representative of the Malian civil society.

The government spokesperson added that Kisal is a foreign organisation which is not recognised by the government and does not have the right to operate in Mali.

Aminata Dicko, however, was invited by Japan who presided over the Security Council in January.

Investigation into atrocities

On 31 January, following the Council's briefing on Mali, UN experts called for an independent investigation into possible war crimes and crimes against humanity by government forces and the Russian private military contractor, Wagner Group, in Mali.

Since 2021, the experts have received persistent and alarming accounts of horrific executions, mass graves, acts of torture, rape and sexual violence, pillaging, arbitrary detentions and enforced disappearances perpetrated by Malian armed forces and their allies.

The group of independent experts have conveyed their concerns about the allegations to the Malian government directly.

Andali headed the human rights division of the MINUSMA since its creation in 2013. He was nearly expelled six months ago.

Last year, Oliver Salgado, MINUSMA's spokesperson, was expelled from Mali. As was Joel Meyer, the French ambassador, in 2022 and Hamidou Boly, the ECOWAS representative, in 2021.
Pressure group, Arise Ghana has accused the government of showing an appetite for big talk but no action.

On the back of the many irregularities in the Auditor-Generals report on Covid-19 expenditure and the grievances expressed by bondholders after the announcement of the governments Debt Exchange Programme, Arise Ghana is calling on the citizenry to rise up and demand better.

It is time for Ghanaians to rise against a government that has shown appetite for big talk but no action. It is time to rise against a nepotistic government. It is time to rise against a government whose stock in trade is to make the Ghanaian worse off.

In the subsequent days we shall announce plans for our next line of action what we intend to do to ensure that Ken OFORI-Atta does not continue to wreck this economy with more and more hardships, Mensah Thompson, a leading member of Arise Ghana told journalists at a press conference in Accra on Monday, February 6.

According to the pressure group, the cataclysmic economy the country finds itself in today could have been avoided with a sound Finance Minister.

The group argues that Ghanas economy is headed in no particular direction and appears to be on life support at the intensive care unit of Korle-Bu Hospital.

Arsie Ghana insists that the low level that Ghanas economy has declined is the sole creation of President Akufo-Addos Finance Minister, Ken Ofori Atta.

The group is of the view that the continued stay in office of the Minister can only make things murkier for the Ghanaians.

In light of this, we are left with no option than declaring Ken Ofori-Atta, a persona non grata. We call on the media and the public to withdraw all official courtesies accorded him, we do not recognize Ken OFORI-Atta as our Finance Minister or a Public Officer, Mensah Thompson told the press.
The National Democratic Congress (NDC) Minority Caucus in Parliament has called on the government to provide details of projects that will be affected by the ongoing IMF negotiations.

At a press conference in Parliament on Monday, Mr Governs Kwame Agbodza, the Minority Chief Whip, said the current International Monetary Fund (IMF) negotiations between the government and IMF Officials were the opaquest in the country's history.

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has announced the IMF deal would affect some capital-intensive projects without providing details.

Mr Agbodza, the NDC Member of Parliament for Adaklu, told the Media that over 60 projects would be affected.

We call on the government to provide clarity on the matter and the basis for settling on each of the projects.

Over 3 million jobs will be lost as a result of the development, the Minority spokesperson on Roads and Transport said.

The debt exchange programme, which is a government initiative, seeks to classify domestic bonds into four categories to create fiscal space as part of preparations to qualify Ghana for an IMF loan facility.

GNA
A woman believed to be in her early 60s has been stabbed to death at Sepe-Boukrom in the Kumasi Metropolis of the Ashanti Region.

The body of the woman was reportedly hidden in her bathroom after she was killed by the suspect.

The deceased, Madam Rose Gyaah was allegedly stabbed eight times with a knife on Monday, February 6, 2023.

The suspect, Koo Baah, age 21, according to eyewitnesses threatened to kill anyone who will try to arrest him with a gun after committing the heinous act.

He was later arrested by some youth in the area and handed to the police at Airport.

A tenant in the house, Mr Hamidu Issah narrated the incident to this reporter. "We heard Madam Rose shouting the name of Koo Baafi who happens to be an errand boy for her. So we thought it was a normal call which she normally do, but we realized the deceased's voice was faint and so we rushed to her room at the last floor of the three-story building," he stated.

He added, We got there only to see blood stains all over the place, so we begun following the blood stains and discovered the woman was dragged to the bathroom by the suspect. We immediately called the police but the woman was dead when she was finally sent to the hospital by police.

The Assembly Member of Sepe Buokrom Electoral Area, Hon Basoa Joseph confirmed both the death of the deceased and the arrest of the suspect.

He appealed to the family of the deceased to remain calm and allow police investigate the incident.
James Kofi Annan, the President of Challenging Heights, has urged world leaders to be more aggressive in fighting on the side of the oppressed, even as the world faces mountain economic and political challenges.

He said the Anglican church, one of the oldest churches in the world, has a responsibility to demonstrate genuine empathy for those who face victimization.

James Kofi Annan was addressing participants at the triennial International Consultation of the United Society Partners in the Gospel (USPG), in Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania.

The USPG, formerly known as Society for Propagation of the Gospel (SPG), is an Anglican Mission agency established in 1701 with the Archbishop of Canterbury, Archbishop Justin Welby as their current patron. The group work together with churches and communities worldwide on projects relating to education, development, and justice.

This year, the USPG International Consultation (an event which takes place once every three years) took place in Dar es Salam, Tanzania from 27 January to 3rd February 2023. This years Consultation focused on the theme "Set My People Free: The Call of the Church against Human Trafficking."

The consultation brought together about 50 senior church leaders from across the world including about 15 Archbishops of Anglican Church to explore one of the most pressing challenges of our times  Human Trafficking.

James Kofi Annan, who was the keynote speaker for this year's International Consultation event, expressed worry that more people are becoming victims of human trafficking today than it was five years ago. He said recent data from a group of international agencies such as International Labour Organization (ILO), Walk Free Foundation, and the International Organization for Migration (IOM), estimate that the number of people found in slavery worldwide has increased from 40.3million, to 49.6million, an increase of over 8million within five years, attributing the worsening situation largely to the COVID 19 pandemic.

James Kofi Annan praised the Anglican Church for their antislavery efforts through the Anglican Alliance and the USPG. He said over 70% of all countries in the world have passed human trafficking laws and banned slavery in all its forms. This provides the opportunity for churches and civil society groups to collaborate in their effort at ending slavery ones again in our lifetime.

Also, in attendance at the USPG International Consultation was the Vice President of the United Republic of Tanzania, Dr. Philip Isdor Mpango, as well as Archbishop Maimbo Mndolwa, the Seventh Primate of the Anglican Church of Tanzania.
The President of the Republic, H.E. Nana Addo Danquah Akufo-Addo has commiserated with the government and people of Turkey over the earthquake in the country.

The world woke up to the tragic news of a devastating earthquake in the European country, killing over 1,000 people today.

Ghanaians have been heavily affected, as credible sources reported that Black Stars' player Christian Atsu is nowhere to be found.

The Hatayspor winger is reportedly trapped under rubble, along with the club's sporting director Taner Savut, who are all yet to be found after the earthquake.

Even though most affected individuals have been rescued, the magnitude 7.8 earthquake is expected to result in an increased death toll of over 5,000 by the end of the day.

The President, after consoling families of the dead victims, said the entire nation is hoping 31-year-old Christian Atsu is found soon and alive.

"On behalf of the Government and people of Ghana, I extend heartfelt condolences to the Governments and peoples of Turkey and Syria on the devastation and the tragic loss of lives occasioned by Mondays earthquake May their souls rest in perfect peace.," the president wrote in a social media post.

"Our hearts and prayers go out to the survivors, and we pray that our fellow Ghanaian, Christian Atsu, is found safe and sound," the post ended.
The Member of Parliament (MP) for Asawase Constituency, Mubarak Mohammed Muntaka has confirmed holding a meeting with ex-President John Dramani Mahama over the recent reshuffle by the National Democratic Congress (NDC) to the leadership of the Minority in Parliament.

After the meeting, the MP who has been stripped of his position as the Minority Chief Whip has accepted the changes although he previously had reservations over the lack of consultation before the reshuffle was made.

In a statement on social media, Muntaka Mubarak is now calling on the rank and file of the NDC to come together and focus all energies on the 2024 general elections.

To all our supporters within and without. I had a lengthy meeting with my big brother, His Excellency John Dramani Mahama, on Saturday evening over the parliamentary reshuffle. I want to, first of all, thank him for the words of advice and encouragement to me as a younger brother.

His Excellency's intervention has brought an end to all the brouhaha associated with the reshuffle. We are for the interest of our party, NDC. We need to move on as a party and channel all our energies towards 2024 elections, Muntaka Mubarak said.

The MP for Asawase added, I thank all our chiefs, Queen Mothers Imams, supporters for your prayers and solidarity. I pray for Allahs guidance in all our affairs. Long live NDC, long live Ghana.
Professor of Finance at the University of Ghana Business School (UGBS), Professor Godfred Alufa Bokpin wants stakeholders in the country to join the calls against governments Domestic Debt Exchange Programme.

He finds it troubling that stakeholders who ought to be speaking out for government to do the needful about the programme are silent.

The Trade Union Congress (TUC), the Christian Council of Ghana, Parliament, and others, according to Prof. Bokpin, are required to criticise the governments terms in the policy so that the already suffering individual bondholders do not suffer more in the end.

"We need all important stakeholders; you need the TUC on the table; the TUC should not just wake up because pensions were at risk. What is a pension if the whole country is not governed well?

"Because if you dont do this Debt Restructuring very well, adequately, and comprehensively, it will show up in the next two years," he began.

The financial expert again finds it worrying why the opposition NDC is not putting more pressure on the government to drop the DDE.

Prof. Bokpin complained that if the government is allowed to escape with the DDEP Ghanaians will be worse off.

"If you look at the terms that the minister has proposed, even for the Individual Bondholders you are looking at the principal repayment in 2025 at a time he will not be there. "Even the opposition party, what is their stake and their contribution in this Debt Restructuring?"

"The Christian Council, all the major stakeholders, you know this is not a time where you can leave governance to a few people; no, this is a time where we all come on board. Bring the best ideas and best alternatives on the table for our common good.

"If Parliament could tell us that they themselves have no deeper understanding of this Debt Exchange what prevents them from asking the Finance Minister to come and brief Parliament comprehensively? The situation, the steps, and all of that," he asserted.

Meanwhile, the pensioners in the country on Monday, February 6 picketed at the Finance Ministry and threatened more until their grievances are addressed.

They want government to exclude their bond from the programme immediately.
06.02.2023 LISTEN

Following series of meetings, the Council of Elders of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) has announced that it has been able to resolve the confusion caused by the reshuffle of the leadership of the Minority in Parliament.

The decision by the leadership of the party to change the face of the Minority in Parliament did not sit down well with several Members of Parliament who raised concerns over the lack of consensus.

In the midst of agitations, the aggrieved MPs called on the Council of Elders to step in.

Today, Monday, February 6, the NDC Council of Elders has disclosed that the matter has been resolved amicably.

Over the past several days, the Council of Elders of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) has been holding a series of meetings on a petition submitted by a group of NDC Members of Parliament on the changes to the partys Parliamentary leadership announced earlier by the Party Leadership, part of a release signed by Council of Elders chairman Alhaji Mahama Iddrissu said.

The release explained, The Council approached the engagements conscious of the need for an early resolution which will be in the best interest of the party and mindful of the imperatives of unity and cohesion at a time Ghanaians are looking up to the NDC to rescue the country from the dismal state of affairs which has been the hallmark of the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia/NPP government.

While recognizing that the party leadership was within its rights to make appointments or rotate the leadership of the NDC caucus in Parliament as has been the case since the inception of the Parliament of the 4th Republic, the Council is of the view that the processes need to be improved. Accordingly, the Council noted that in the instant case, the approach, level of consultation, timing as well as the mode and manner of notifying the affected persons could have been better.

That notwithstanding, the Council implored our Honorable MPs to accept the decision of the party leadership and work with the newly appointed leadership of the caucus. This position was discussed with representatives of the petitioners who fully appreciated the stance of Council and offered to communicate same to the petitioners.

After resolving the impasse, the NDC Council of Elders has now called for togetherness and unity of purpose within the minority caucus and urges all members of the party to let peace prevail.

Let us not do anything to hamper the clear opportunity the NDC has to emerge victorious in the 2024 elections, the press release added.

Below is a copy of the press release;

PRESS STATEMENT

For Immediate Release:

6th February, 2023.

NDC COUNCIL OF ELDERS AMICABLY RESOLVES IMPASSE OVER APPOINTMENT OF NEW LEADERSHIP OF MINORITY CAUCUS.

Over the past several days, the Council of Elders of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) has been holding a series of meetings on a petition submitted by a group of NDC Members of Parliament on the changes to the partys Parliamentary leadership announced earlier by the Party Leadership.

The Council approached the engagements conscious of the need for an early resolution which will be in the best interest of the party and mindful of the imperatives of unity and cohesion at a time Ghanaians are looking up to the NDC to rescue the country from the dismal state of affairs which has been the hallmark of the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia/NPP government.

While recognizing that the party leadership was within its rights to make appointments or rotate the leadership of the NDC caucus in Parliament as has been the case since the inception of the Parliament of the 4th Republic, the Council is of the view that the processes need to be improved. Accordingly, the Council noted that in the instant case, the approach, level of consultation, timing as well as the mode and manner of notifying the affected persons could have been better.

That notwithstanding, the Council implored our Honorable MPs to accept the decision of the party leadership and work with the newly appointed leadership of the caucus. This position was discussed with representatives of the petitioners who fully appreciated the stance of Council and offered to communicate same to the petitioners.

The Council has advised the leadership of the party to as a matter of urgency, accelerate work on the draft framework of rules for to guide decisions relating to matters such as the appointment of parliamentary leadership of the party. The Council will ensure that this framework is in place within the shortest possible time.

The Council regrets the media altercations that took place in the aftermath of the leadership changes and the failure of the protagonists to resort to the internal grievance resolution mechanisms of the party to address their concerns. The Council is of the hope that such political point-scoring which is not part of our political ethos will be avoided in future. All concerned parties have accepted the Councils advice and pledged to abide by it.

The Council of Elders acknowledges the leadership and sterling achievements of the outgoing leaders of the NDC caucus namely, Hon. Haruna Iddrisu, Hon. James Klutse Avedzi and Hon. Mohammed Muntaka Mubarak who have raised the profile of the NDC minority caucus and demonstrated that indeed it is the NDC who has the men and women capable of turning the fortunes of Ghanaians around. Their efforts have contributed to reassuring Ghanaians that the NDC party is ready to assume power and rescue the nation from the depths of despair and desperation. Indeed, the NDC party must not and will never forget the contributions of our three respected comrades in improving the electoral fortunes of the party.

The Council of Elders hereby calls for togetherness and unity of purpose within the minority caucus and urges all members of the party to let peace prevail. Let us not do anything to hamper the clear opportunity the NDC has to emerge victorious in the 2024 elections.

It is our hope that the new Minority Caucus leadership will provide the leadership that will guarantee a resounding victory for the NDC in the 2024 general elections so that we can together rescue our beloved country from the hands of the failed Akufo-Addo/Bawumia/NPP government.

Signed.

Alhaji Mahama Iddrissu

(Chairman, Council of Elders)
On the occasion of the International Day of Human Fraternity, observed on Saturday, the UN chief called for renewed commitment to forge an "alliance of peace" amid a surge in hate speech, sectarianism and strife.

The International Day of Human Fraternity celebrates the values that "are the glue that hold our human family together" - compassion, religious understanding, and mutual respect, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said.

Prevent hatred, defuse extremism

"These values underwrite peace, yet all over the world, they are being eroded by deepening divides, widening inequalities and growing despair and by surging hate speech, sectarianism and strife," he continued.

Examples of religious extremism and intolerance exist in all societies and among all faiths, he said, adding that it is "the duty of religious leaders everywhere to prevent instrumentalization of hatred and defuse extremism amidst their followers."

Model for interfaith harmony

The Secretary-General pointed to a model for interfaith harmony and human solidarity: the declaration "Human Fraternity for World Peace and Living Together", co-authored by Pope Francis and the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar Sheikh Ahmed El Tayeb, in 2019.

"Let us all take inspiration and renew our commitment to stand together as one human family," he said. "Together, let us build an alliance of peace, rich in diversity, equal in dignity and rights, united in solidarity."

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Concern about religious hatred

In 2021, UN General Assembly resolution adopted a resolution designating 4 February as the International Day of Human Fraternity. Co-sponsored by Egypt and the United Arab Emirates, the resolution expressed deep concern at acts advocating religious hatred, especially at a time when the world confronted the COVID-19 pandemic and its related crises.

In adopting the resolution, Member States also recognized the valuable contribution of people of all religions or beliefs to humanity and the contribution that dialogue among all religious groups can make towards an improved awareness and understanding of the common values shared by all humankind.

World Interfaith Harmony Week

To commemorate World Interfaith Harmony Week, observed annually during the first week of February, the UN Mission of Sierra Leone and partners hosted a conference at UN Headquarters. Participants explored the theme of harmony in a world of crisis.
February 06, 2023 NYT Plants False Claims Over China's Balloon Communication The New York Times carries a weird 'news analysis' by its somewhat neoconned White House and national security correspondent David Sanger about the recent Chinese weather ballon incident. Sanger asserts that China has failed to communicate on the issue: [B]eyond the made-for-cable-news spectacle, the entire incident also speaks volumes about how little Washington and Beijing communicate, almost 22 years after the collision of an American spy plane and a Chinese fighter about 70 miles off the coast of Hainan Island led both sides to vow that they would improve their crisis management.

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This was hardly a life-threatening crisis. But the fact that Chinese officials, realizing that the balloon had been spotted, did not call to work out a way to deal with it was revealing. That kind of problem was supposed to be resolved after the 2001 collision of an EP-3 spy plane and a Chinese fighter that brought down both planes. For days after that incident, President George W. Bush could not get Chinese leaders on the phone. Efforts by the secretary of state at the time, Gen. Colin Powell, also failed. It made you wonder what might happen in a deeper crisis, General Powell said later. Afterward, hotlines were set up, and promises made about better communications. Clearly, those failed. When the balloon was shot down, China issued a statement saying for the United States to insist on using armed forces is clearly an excessive reaction. One wonders how Sanger can assert a lack of communication when the Chinese side insists with evidence that it in fact communicated a lot . As the Global Times writes: The Chinese Foreign Ministry expressed strong dissatisfaction and protested against the US' use of force to shoot down a Chinese civilian unmanned airship, urging the US to properly handle the incident. The Chinese side has verified the situation and communicated with the US side multiple times, saying the unintended entry of the airship into US airspace was due to force majeure and the incident was totally an accident, the ministry said. The Chinese foreign ministry asserts similar: China strongly disapproves of and protests against the US attack on a civilian unmanned airship by force. The Chinese side has, after verification, repeatedly informed the US side of the civilian nature of the airship and conveyed that its entry into the US due to force majeure was totally unexpected. The Chinese side has clearly asked the US side to properly handle the matter in a calm, professional and restrained manner. So China in fact had communicated with the U.S. and discussed the issue. Its claim that the ballon went unexpectedly off course is by the way completely correct. The U.S. had long tracked the ballon over Alaska and Canada and was equally surprised when it suddenly turned south: Another U.S. official said intelligence agencies began tracking the balloon several days ago, not long after it had left China and began its controlled drift toward the Aleutian Islands of Alaska. The official said American trackers continued to monitor the balloon as it progressed through Canada toward the continental United States, and were surprised when it crossed over into American airspace. The cause of the surprising turn last week was a polar vortex over Canada that also brought a cold snap to the north-east: We know the feeling when winter digs its heels in, and we get endless days below seasonal. When this happens, the jet stream becomes highly amplified with blocking mechanisms to trap the cold. We often look to Greenland for strong blocking, but that wasnt the case. The lobe of the stratospheric polar vortex was free to swing readily across Eastern Canada but then made a swift exit. A ridge of high pressure filled in behind, causing temperatures to rise as fast as they fell.

bigger Such unusual weather patterns happen every once a while but are difficult to predict: The one certainty this winter is a stretched polar vortex (PV) that favors a cold pattern east of the Rockies in North America. Another stretched PV is happening this week, with the cold arriving this weekend in the Northeastern US. But otherwise, the more lasting impact will be widespread cold to Canada and the Central and Western US. But much uncertainty surrounds this event and subsequent events so my best advice continues to be the trend is your friend. The balloon was on an easterly course over northwest Canada when it was hit by exceptional winds blowing south.

bigger That it was only last week's freak weather event that pushed the balloon across the U.S. makes it unlikely that it was intended to spy on U.S. proper. China also said that it fired the man responsible for the incident though that claim is probably not fully believable: Chinese state media on Saturday announced that the head of the countrys weather service was relieved of his duty, in a move seen by some analysts as an attempt to shore up Beijings position that the high-altitude balloon was of civilian nature mainly for meteorological purposes. Zhuang Guotai was the head of China Meteorological Administration until Friday, but his departure from that post was not unexpected. In late January, Zhuang was elected the head of the western Gansu provinces Peoples Political Consultative Committee, the provincial political advisory body. The whole incident clearly happened by accident and was blown up by the Biden administration for political purposes: However, a day earlier, on Friday, the White House abruptly announced the postponement of a major two-day visit to Beijing by Secretary of State Antony Blinken (during which he was expected to meet President Xi Jinping.) Biden took these extreme steps despite Chinas plea that this was entirely an unexpected situation caused by force majeure and the facts are very clear and Beijing, in fact, even expressed regret (which is tantamount to an amende honorable, as the French would say.) Furthermore, there was even a conversation on Friday between Blinken and Wang Yi, director of the Office of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the Communist Party of China Central Committee. Beijings readout noted that the two top officials communicated with each other on how to deal with a chance occurrence in a calm and professional manner. The initial Chinese Foreign Ministry press releases (here and here) were in a manifestly conciliatory spirit. But Blinken chose to do some grandstanding and took a tough posturing calling it an irresponsible act and a clear violation of US sovereignty and international law that undermined the purpose of his forthcoming trip to Beijing. The purpose of Blinken's planned China trip was to look for some way to split the China-Russia axis. But a recent visit by the deputy of the Chinese foreign minister to Russia had already shown that any such attempts would fail: Evidently, the Biden Administration realised that one main objective of Blinkens trip to Beijing  ie., to weaken the Sino-Russian axis  was going to be a non-starter. The US sustained efforts to turn the Ukraine conflict as a tool to sabotage China-Russia relations have failed spectacularly. The economic and military ties between Beijing and Moscow are only growing stronger. President Xi Jinpings expected visit to Russia in spring heralds the steady upward trajectory of in the no limits partnership. The planned bullying of China by a visiting Blinken was shown to be useless and that was the real reason for announcing that no such trip would take place and for blowing up the balloon: The balloon affair can be regarded as a defining moment. It exposes that while China was approaching Blinkens visit in good faith with the purpose of finding constructive ways forward, Washington didnt view things the same way. That said, Beijing was under no illusions, either. The NYT's false assertion that China failed to communicate during the balloon affair must be seen as part of Blinken's maneuver to push for more hostility towards China. "If they failed to talk they must be guilty of something." But China did in fact talk and it is the U.S. that is sabotaging the relations between the two countries. Posted by b on February 6, 2023 at 12:26 UTC | Permalink Comments
Global food prices dropped for the tenth consecutive month in January, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) said on Friday.

Price indices for vegetable oils, dairy and sugar drove the January decline, the UN food agency said, issuing two new reports on food production expectations.

The FAO food price index fell 17.9 per cent below its all-time peak, reached in March 2022 following Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

The downward pricing trend was helped in part by a pivotal agreement signed in July to unblock Ukraine grain exports amid the ongoing war.

Tracking monthly changes in the global prices of commonly traded food commodities, the latest index averaged 131.2 points in January, falling 0.8 per cent since December. FAO reported small price decreases on its latest meat and sugar indices.

"Strong harvest progress in Thailand and favourable weather conditions in Brazil outweighed the impact on sugar prices due to concerns over lower crop yields in India, higher gasoline prices in Brazil, which support demand for ethanol, as well as the Brazilian real's appreciation against the United States dollar," the report stated.

At the same time, vegetable oil prices fell 2.9 per cent, stemming from subdued global import demand for palm and soy oils and ample export availabilities of sunflower seed and rapeseed oils. Cereal prices remained essentially unchanged since December.

Wheat production soars

International wheat prices fell for the third consecutive month. The 2.5 per cent decrease relates to Australia and Russia outpacing production expectations. Meanwhile, slightly higher global maize prices were rooted in a strong demand for exports from Brazil and concerns over dry conditions in Argentina.

Holiday cheese boost

Cheese became slightly more expensive despite dairy prices averaging 1.4 per cent lower than in December, which came after lighter demand from leading importers and increased supplies from New Zealand. Currency movements drove the price increase alongside a recovery in food services and retail sales in Western Europe following the New Year holiday.

Global rice prices climbed 6.2 per cent from December, triggered by tighter availabilities. Other factors included strong local demand in some Asian exporting countries and exchange rate movements.

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New cereal predictions

In its latest Cereal Supply and Demand Brief, FAO expects international trade in cereals in the 2022/23 period to decline by 1.7 per cent from the previous year's record level, to 474 million tons.

Early indications point to likely area expansions for winter wheat cropping in the northern hemisphere. However, higher costs may affect the amount of fertilizer than can be applied to crops, with adverse implications for yields.

Low domestic prices could result in a small cutback in wheat plantings in Russia, the world's largest exporter, while severe war-induced impacts in Ukraine are estimated to reduce winter wheat area plantings by 40 per cent.

Record planting is forecast for India, spurred by high market and support prices, and relatively high planting is projected in Pakistan as standing water from the 2022 floods is causing less hindrance than initially anticipated.

In the southern hemisphere countries, most of the 2023 coarse grain crops have been sown. Brazil may post record maize plantings, while those in Argentina could decrease due to low soil moisture levels and weather conditions augur well for maize yield prospects in South Africa, the report stated.
Harry Styles accepts the Album of the Year award for "Harry's House" during the 65th Annual Grammy Awards in Los Angeles, California, Feb. 5, 2023.
Traffic slows to a crawl as work begins on Marine Corps Drive in advance of moving heavy equipment for the construction of the Ukudu Power Plant on Dec. 12, 2022 in Upper Tumon.
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.
Wajir, Kenya  Kenya has announced plans to re-open its Mandera border crossing with Somalia as part of efforts to improve border security and crack down on smuggled goods.

Kenya says plans to re-open the Mandera border post with Somalia are nearing conclusion, after high-level consultations between the two countries.

Speaking after a visit to the town of Mandera, Kenya's Internal Security Minister Kithure Kindiki said reopening the crossing point will improve border security and stem the tide of smuggled goods used to fund terrorist activities.

"I have directed the county security teams to sit down with the agencies of government that are represented here, including customs, immigrations, and asses the requirements and provide information within one week to enable us to renovate the border post and re-start our border," said Kindiki.

Kenya closed all of its official border crossings with Somalia in 2012 in a bid to stop incursions by al-Shabab insurgents operating from the Somali side. The border points closed included the Mandera crossing, as well as those in Lamu, Wajir and Garissa.

The shutdowns have not stopped people from crossing the border illegally or smuggling goods.

Kindiki tasked the county security team with identifying armed militants operating in the border region.

"I therefore direct the county security team to sit down with the political leaders and the elders in a plan that will be guided by the community leaders and elders, so as to flush-out armed militants from Mandera and Northeastern," said Kindiki.

Kindiki addressed elected leaders and community elders Friday during a security tour in Mandera and Wajir counties, and he reiterated the need for elders to partake in security operations.

In the last five years, Kenya's northeast has experienced a long series of attacks by al-Shabab fighters.

In the deadliest attack, the Islamist militant group killed nearly 150 people at Garissa University College in 2015.

Somalia-based al-Shabab has been active in Kenya since 2011, when Kenya first contributed troops to the African Union-led peacekeeping mission in Somalia.
MERIDEN  The Community Economic Development Fund (CEDF) hopes to address the lack of bilingual resources available regarding the Connecticut Cottage Food Act with a free webinar this month in Spanish.

The webinar, which is scheduled for Feb. 15 from 1-2 p.m., will focus on how to do business under the Connecticut Cottage Food Act.

Frederick Welk, business advisor and director of Business Education and Communications at CEDF, said the group originally offered the English version of the webinar because they encountered people who started a small business from their home but were not too familiar with the cottage food act.

We thought it would be a good service to the small business community to get some authoritative information out there, Welk said.

When Celeste Tapia, the Business Relationship coordinator of CEDF, joined the organization last year, CEDF began to expand its programming to Spanish because of her Argentinian background and experience owning two businesses, she said.

I own two businesses and I wish that seven or six years ago when I started there was more information available for me in my own language, in my original language, Tapia said.

As a Spanish speaker herself, Tapia felt it was important to have a Spanish option for this webinar.

Its not only the mission of CEDF to serve the underserved communities, its also my own personal mission to help those communities.

Cottage food law

The historic changes to the U.S. economy, exposed and accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic, had driven many people to go the entrepreneurial route and create their businesses from home.

The cottage food law in Connecticut, administered by the Department of Consumer Protection, aims to allow businesses to sell food from their home while maintaining necessary health and safety guidelines.

For safety reasons, Public Act 18-141 limits what you may sell in Connecticut. Product and sales of cottage food must be held to the highest standards and follow laws and regulations under the State of Connecticut and the Food and Drug Administration.

CEDF is a non-profit organization in Meriden, which provides business loans to disadvantaged communities in Connecticut.

CEDF webinar

In the webinar, attendees will learn of the types of food preparation allowed under the cottage food act including requirements for labeling, licenses, ingredients, equipment usage, zoning rules and distribution.

These are great opportunities to learn, Tapia added.  I know a lot of women and men, but mostly women, that might like cooking from home. They might not know the laws and the licenses and the certifications that they may need to be able to run a business legally, or at least safely, and with all the health conditions in place. And there is a lot of stuff involved. And I think its a really good opportunity for those that are thinking to open a business like that or for the people that are already doing it, to make sure that theyre doing it safely.

The CEDF regularly hosts free business education programming in Spanish as part of its mission to reach underrepresented populations in Connecticut. Also, CEDF offers periodic emails in Spanish along with their weekly Business Education Center calendar emails. On the CEDF website, visitors can view their upcoming programs available in Spanish.

You know, all of this is free opportunities for education, Welk said. And if someone is in business or is contemplating going into business, weve touched over the last two years just a wide range of topics that can be essential information for someone whos trying to prepare.

On CEDFs website, weteachsuccess.org, there are more than 100 on-demand webinars ranging in business topics from marketing, management to finance available to anyone in Connecticut. As CEDF continues to expand its Spanish language programming, that library will continue to grow as well.

Tapia said shes available for free counseling or questions about opening a business in English and Spanish with her phone number, 203-433-0746, or by scheduling an appointment with Tapia on calendly.com

Obtaining a license

In order to sell food from home, you must apply for a license from the DCP and pay the application fee of $50.

Before you apply, you should obtain written confirmation that your space falls within local zoning laws, you have a private water supply that must be tested before receiving your license and you must complete a food safety training program.

A list of courses can be found at www.portal.ct.gov/cottagefood. During the application process you must tell the DCP what food you will be producing.

Acceptable foods for sale

There are several foods that you can sell from your home. Some examples include loaf breads, birthday cakes, seasonings and mixtures of non-potentially hazardous cereals, cotton candy, popcorn and popcorn balls. Note: Some products may not be automatically approved by the DCP.

Not acceptable for sale

Some foods are not allowed to be sold from your home due to the food safety risk level related to certain types of food. Some of these foods include beverages, apple cider, meat and poultry.
Ben McWilliams, Simone Tagliapietra, Georg Zachmann, and Thierry Deschuyteneer. Originally published at Bruegel.

The European Union has so far weathered the energy crisis brought on by Russias invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 and will manage winter 2022/23 even if Russia abruptly halts all pipeline gas flows. However, preparations must be made for winter 2023-24. In particular, gas storage facilities should be 90 percent full by 1 October 2023.

We assess the demand reduction needed if the 90 percent storage target is to be achieved. Our assessment takes into account EU imports, exports to refill gas storage facilities in Ukraine and Moldova, the weather and the situation in power markets, where gas demand is highly dependent on non-gas energy sources. Assuming limited Russian exports continue, and weather conditions are typical, demand up to 1 October 2023 must remain 13 percent lower than the previous five-year average. The EU should therefore extend its demand-reduction target, which is currently set to expire on 31 March 2023.

Two variables will determine how easily the target can be met: 1) liquified natural gas (LNG) supply, and 2) the nature of demand reductions. Plans for rapid deployment of regasification units will alleviate concerns over LNG import infrastructure capacity. However, the EU will continue to compete internationally for LNG cargoes, and will remain vulnerable to global dynamics. Strong economic growth in China, for example, could further tighten markets.

The way demand is reduced will determine the economic consequences. So far, large reductions in industrial gas demand have not been accompanied by dramatic drops in industrial output, suggesting good substitution options. However, hardly any gas was saved in the power sector last year, because of weak nuclear and hydro output. The return of French nuclear output will therefore be a huge positive. Finally, households have reduced gas demand, partly driven by warmer than usual weather. Record numbers of heat pumps were deployed in 2022, suggesting the start of a structural shift away from gas demand for heating.

Policy should support a continued structural shift away from gas. This involves enabling rapid deployment of renewables and the accompanying grid infrastructure, energy-efficiency measures, help for households that want to switch to cleaner heating, and collaboration with industry to accelerate adoption of new low-carbon production methods.

1 Introduction

The European Union spent most of 2022 in crisis mode over energy. Russias invasion of Ukraine and the subsequent reduction in Russian gas exports to Europe pushed prices to previously unimaginable highs, causing pain for businesses and households. To its credit, the EUs response has remained resolute. The crisis has so far been weathered through swift decision-making, fuel switching and rapid adjustments facilitated by a strong market framework, which has seen the rapid ramping up of liquified natural gas (LNG) imports and reductions in domestic demand.

Attention now turns to planning for the next winter. We provide an updated analysis of the EUs situation, with a particular focus on what must be done to ensure filling of gas storage facilities ahead of the 2023-24 winter. We explore different scenarios taking into account the volumes of gas which the EU receives from Russia, the weather and the situation in power markets, where gas demand is highly dependent on non-gas energy sources.

We explore in detail the two pillars of energy security: LNG supply and the nature and volume of natural-gas demand reductions. In relation to LNG, plans for rapid deployment of regasification infrastructure are set to alleviate concerns about import infrastructure capacity. These plans must be implemented, however. A further concern is competition for limited LNG on global markets. Meanwhile, demand reduction in the EU during the first half of the winter of 2022-23 has been very substantial. Helped by warmer than usual weather, it has contributed to a significant drop in prices. We evaluate exactly how this was achieved, with a focus on possible economic consequences. A firm conclusion is that the EU should extend its demand reduction target to at least October 2023.

2 By how much must demand be reduced?

EU countries in August 2022 agreed a target to reduce natural gas demand by 15 percent between 1 August 2022 and 31 March 2023, compared to the average of the same period in the previous five years[1]. With this reduction, the EU can manage to meet demand during winter 2022-23, even without any Russian gas (McWilliams and Zachmann, 2022a). However, Europes energy crisis will not be over in April 2023.

Decisions should be taken already with winter 2023-24 in mind. An EU gas-storage regulation requires volumes to reach 90 percent of capacity (1,007 TWh) by 1 October 2023[2]. We calculated the required demand reduction for the EU to achieve this target, beginning with storage at 71 percent full (800 TWh) on 1 February 2023.

We explore three scenarios (Table 1):

A baseline in which Russian pipeline gas flows remain roughly at todays levels, with gas arriving via Ukraine transit and the Turkstream pipeline (UA/TS scenario; these are the two remaining delivery routes for Russian gas to the EU after deliveries to the Baltic States, via the Yamal pipeline, and via the Nordstream pipeline, were stopped between April and September 2022). Turkstream (TS) flows are predominantly to Hungary passing through Serbia, while Ukraine transit gas passes through Slovakia, Austria and Italy. A scenario in which only Ukraine transit flows are halted but Turkstream flows continue. For political reasons we consider Turkstream flows to Hungary the least likely to be scrapped. A scenario with no Russian pipeline gas (NRPG).

In all scenarios, non-Russian pipeline and LNG flows are assumed to continue at the daily average rate in 2022, when the EU secured record LNG volumes (see section 3 for more discussion of this assumption; see also the annex). We calculated the demand reduction needed as a percentage of the average demand from February to October in the previous five years, in the same way as the EUs 15 percent demand reduction target was calculated[3].

In the UA/TS scenario, the EU would need to reduce gas consumption by 13 percent (320 TWh) relative to the previous five-year average. If Ukraine transit is halted, this reduction requirement increases to 17 percent (420 TWh), and to 20 percent (490 TWh) if all Russian pipeline gas is halted[4]. Temperature variations would require higher or lower reductions (Figure 1 and Table 2).

Figure 1: EU estimated gas balances 1 February 2023 to 30 September 2023

Source: Bruegel

Table 2: Necessary demand reduction (%) under different winter temperature scenarios

Table with 5 columns and 3 rows. Currently displaying rows 1 to 3.

Warm Normal Cold Weak power sector UA/TS 7 13 20 +2% pts TS 12 17 24 +2% pts NRPG 15 20 26 +2% pts

Source: Bruegel. Note: weak power sector refers to lower than usual nuclear and hydro output increasing demand for gas in the power sector. See section 4.2. Created with Datawrapper

Figure 2 shows the evolution of stored gas in the most dramatic NRPG scenario. With no further demand reduction, the EU could manage winter 2022/23 with a buffer of 400 terawatt hours or 35 percent of storage capacity. But the consequence would be a need for a 32 percent reduction during summer 2023 to refill storage facilities. Meanwhile, with the required 20 percent reduction, storage volumes will not drop below 55 percent before the end of winter 2022/23. The same logic applies for the other two scenarios. Policy should ensure that the temptation to run down storage volumes during winter 2022-23 does not prevail. Otherwise, summer 2023 will likely see a return to very high gas prices as storage is refilled  a repeat of the energy price spikes in August and September 2022.

Figure 2: Projected EU gas storage volumes in NRPG scenario

Source: Bruegel.

2.1 Regional effects: must demand reductions vary by geographical area?

Infrastructure bottlenecks have been a defining feature of Europes energy crisis. Thanks to several developments, however, physical bottlenecks are gradually becoming less severe. First, some planned infrastructure projects have come online over the past few months, including the Baltic Pipe taking Norwegian gas to Poland, and interconnections between Poland and Slovakia, Bulgaria and Greece, and France and Germany (reverse flow). Without the crisis, some of these might not have happened so quickly, if at all. Second, the rapid deployment of floating storage and regasification units (FSRUs), particularly within Germany, is set to provide additional LNG import capacity in strategically important geographies (Figure 3).

Figure 3: New gas infrastructure, September 2021 to October 2022

Source: Bruegel. Note: FID = final investment decision.

Third, and importantly, EU storage facilities are at the beginning of 2023 unusually full. Storage volumes are unlikely to be fully depleted by the end of winter. Beyond having gas in reserve, a positive consequence of this is that full storage facilities provide a buffer to the gas grid, meaning that domestic demand on any given day can be met by a combination of production, imports and storage withdrawal. This relaxes imports constraints and should lead to lower prices (Takacsne Toth et al, 2022).

As a consequence, national gas markets are now more tightly connected than they were in 2022. This means that changes in demand and supply in one country have greater spillovers across the EU: higher consumption in one country will draw away gas from neighbouring countries. Conversely, demand reductions will help the EU in the aggregate, regardless of where they occur. This contrasts with the situation in early 2022 when plausible arguments could be made that reducing demand in particular areas did not help eastern European countries because of infrastructure constraints. In 2023, reductions in Spanish imports of LNG for power generation will free up global LNG availability, lack of which would otherwise put limits on European supply. The Netherlands is more able to reduce European gas prices significantly by boosting output from the Groningen gas field. The Dutch would be able to lower their LNG imports, while increasingly passing gas through to Germany via pipelines that will no longer be operating at maximum capacity. These examples highlight that there continues to be a strong case for a grand bargain to be struck between EU leaders, trading off national advantages for the benefit of the whole EU (McWilliams et al, 2022). More tightly connected markets mean that the argument for joint LNG purchasing and agreements on industrial and household subsidies, and possibly for a common EU Energy Fund (Tagliapietra et al, 2022), is even stronger than it was in 2022.

3 Will the EU be able to continue record LNG imports?

In 2022, European LNG imports increased by 600 TWh or 60 percent of total 2021 imports, with 400 TWh of the additional volumes coming from the United States (Figure 4). This was largely facilitated by a redirection of global LNG flows attracted by Europes willingness to pay higher prices. Chinese imports fell by 200 TWh. Meanwhile global LNG exports grew by just under 5 percent, by 230 TWh.

Figure 4: Changes to LNG imports for selected regions and global export growth, 2022 versus 2021

Source: Bruegel based on Bloomberg.

In recent years, US LNG liquefaction capacity was mostly contracted by Asian importers. In 2022, the US was able to run it almost at full capacity (except for certain facilities during the hurricane season). In 2022 part of the LNG contracted in the US by Chinese importers was redirected to Europe. This was possible because of increasing supplies of pipeline gas from Russia to China (via the Power of Siberia pipeline, flows through which increased from 10 billion cubic metres in 2021 to 15 bcm in 2022), slower Chinese economic growth and fuel switching (from gas to coal or oil). Whether Europe can continue to rely on these volumes depends on Chinas fuel-switching ability and its economic growth. Following the ending of Chinas COVID-19 restrictions, Chinese growth is projected to rise above 5 percent[5], almost twice the 2022 rate.

Ultimately, prices are the arbitrator between markets. The EU was able to import so much LNG because it was willing to pay high prices. Certain Asian markets are particularly sensitive to global LNG prices. High prices drive fuel switching, possibly freeing up LNG for Europe. US, Asian and European gas markets are all sensitive to temperature, and LNG is commonly used to absorb demand variations in all three markets. If the winter is not cold in all three markets at the same time, some LNG can be diverted from regions with mild weather to regions experiencing a harsh winter.

Russia is still exporting 10 TWh to 15 TWh per month of LNG to the EU. This is not subject to sanctions but could be cut by Russia. Future LNG liquefication projects in Russia are likely to be delayed because of sanctions on imports of technical equipment.

Finally, the global LNG market will continue to see steady growth in 2023, expanding by somewhere between 200 TWh and 300 TWh (IEA, 2023). Figure 5 visualises the minimum and maximum imports by the main regions and countries from 2019 to 2022, and compares that against expected 2023 supply (2022 supply plus 2023 growth). With weak extra-EU demand, there will be sufficient capacity for the EU to increase its LNG imports even more, whereas with strong extra-EU demand, global LNG competition and prices will remain tight throughout 2023.

Figure 5: Global LNG, range of expected demand vs expected supply, 2023, TWh

Source: Bruegel.

4 Demand reductions: how and by whom?

In 2022, the EU reduced gas demand by approximately 500 TWh, or 12 percent of the 2019-21 average (McWilliams and Zachmann, 2022b). Gas demand for power generation fell 2 percent, while industry and household demand together fell by 15 percent.

The social and economic consequences of lower gas consumption depend on how gas demand is reduced. At one end of the spectrum, warmer temperatures lead to easy reductions; at the other, saving gas by closing factories can lead to severe disruptions. Here, we explore the scope for demand reduction through various channels, to give a sense of how aggregate demand reduction targets could be met in the least painful way.

4.1 Buildings (households)

Gas consumed in the buildings sector is overwhelmingly for heating, and as such demand is both highly seasonal and influenced by weather variations. Temperature deviations are a key parameter for determining the necessary reduction compared to a normal winter.

Using temperature and daily demand data from 2021, we estimated a relationship between temperature and gas demand for a group of countries covering 80 percent of EU gas demand[6]. The calculations suggest that gas demand from February to October 2023 will be 9 percent (210 TWh) higher if the weather is as cold as the coldest it has been over the last ten years, and 6 percent (150 TWh) lower if the weather is at warm as the warmest it has been over the last ten years. By adjusting baseline demand to this, we calculated that historically cold-weather demand would have to be reduced by 20 percent and historically warm-weather demand by 7 percent, assuming Russian flows continue at todays levels. That compares to 13 percent with normal-weather demand. In case of no Russian flows, gas demand would have to be reduced by 26 percent (cold weather) or 15 percent (warmer weather).

Beyond responding to temperatures, households can reduce demand through a range of behavioural and structural changes. Households respond both to higher prices and to government requests to save energy (though these requests from EU governments have not been forceful). In October and November 2022, household gas demand was around 30 percent below average across a range of EU countries, exceeding reductions that would have been expected based on weather alone.

More structurally, EU households are purchasing and installing heat pumps at a record pace. Market trends suggest that the record number of installations of 2.2 million heating units in 2021[7] will be far surpassed in 2022. For example, the Polish heat-pump market grew by 121 percent year-on-year in the first three quarters of 2022. In 2022, heat pump sales grew 53 percent year-on-year in Germany. With conservative assumptions[8], we estimate that the deployment of heat pumps alone will reduce EU gas consumption in 2023 by 20 TWh, or 0.5 percent of total gas consumption.

4.2 Power sector

Problems with French nuclear production, and weak hydro output on the back of the very dry summer in 2022, meant little to no gas could be saved in the power sector. Without these issues, which saw a reduction in electricity generation of over 120 TWh compared to 2021, significantly more gas could have been saved in the power sector in 2022.

In our baseline scenario, we assume French nuclear (which ramped up significantly at the start of 2023) and Italian/Spanish hydro output recover to their five-year averages. Weak power describes a scenario in which both French nuclear and Italian/Spanish hydro output remain at 2022 levels. We convert the shortfall in electricity demand to gas demand, assuming 50 percent gas-fired power efficiency and gas-peaker plants running 35 percent of load hours to compensate for French nuclear, and 80 percent for EU hydro (dominated by Spain and Italy).

If French nuclear does not recover to its five-year average during February to September 2023, gas demand will be increased by 43 TWh, while if Spanish and Italian hydro output does not recover, a further 29 TWh of gas will be consumed. In sum, another period of both weak nuclear and hydro would require an additional 2 percent of gas demand to be reduced elsewhere.

Beyond these factors, ramping up the deployment of renewable energy sources continues to be essential. In 2022, the EU added a record amount of renewable capacity. This record looks set to be broken again in 2023.

4.3 Industry

Industrial value chains use gas to produce final products. Gas is either a feedstock, and is chemically transformed, or an energy source  combusted to generate process heat. The implications for final industrial production of industry reducing its gas demand depend on whether industry can substitute gas and continue production, or whether gas shortages imply full closures of industrial plants and lost jobs.

A simple method for monitoring the effects is to track industrial production. Overall, gas supply issues so far have not affected industrial output at the aggregate country level (Figure 6), while certain countries and sectors have been affected.

Figure 6: Total manufacturing industrial output by country

Source: Eurostat. Note: index, 100 = 2015 average.

Small effects at the aggregate level are not surprising given that the four largest gas-consuming industrial classifications in the EU consume 74 percent of industrial gas supplied, while accounting for 26 percent of manufacturing jobs (Table 3).

Table 3: Main gas-consuming sectors in selection of EU economies, economic indicators

Table with 5 columns and 6 rows. Currently displaying rows 1 to 6.

Sector Jobs % of manufacturing jobs % of all jobs % of industrial gas demand Manufacture of food products; beverages and tobacco products (C10-C12) 2,306,100 15 2 18 Manufacture of chemicals and chemical products (C20) 678,300 4 1 28 Manufacture of other non-metallic mineral products (C23) 546,200 4 1 15 Manufacture of basic metals (C24) 505,100 3 1 13 Total of the four sectors 4,035,700 26 4 74

Source: Eurostat. Note: we compiled data from Eurostat databases NAMA_10_A64_E (considering THS_PER) and NRG_D_INDQ_N for 2020. Data for Germany, France, Italy, Belgium and the Netherlands. Data for all countries is not available. Created with Datawrapper

Yet, in many cases, even within these sectors the effects are muted (Figure 7). There are several possible reasons for this. Producers can substitute gas for other fuels. For instance, furnaces can be heated with light heating oil instead of gas. The International Energy Agency estimates that, of the industrial gas demand reduction in 2022, around half was achieved by fuel switching (IEA, 2023). High prices also encourage incremental energy-efficiency improvements. The largest reduction in output has been from the chemicals sector, where natural gas is typically used as a feedstock and is more difficult to substitute.

Figure 7: EU27 manufacturing output by sector

Source: Eurostat. Note: Index 100 = 2015

Substitution is also possible through imports. Global value chains allow for the substitution of only the primary stage of a value chain. European industry should therefore have been able to shift toward importing gas-intensive primary products, displacing this gas demand domestically whilst retaining the subsequent and higher value-added stages of production. Mertens and Muller (2022) found that if Germany were to import products with high gas intensity and import substitutability, industry could reduce gas demand by 26 percent, while losing only 3 percent of final sales. From its plants in the US, BASF is able to increase imports of ammonia, which can then be used to manufacture fertilisers in Europe[9]. Analysis shows the flexibility of the fertiliser industry in responding in this manner without harming domestic fertiliser output (Clemens et al, 2022).

The data suggests that industry is reducing gas demand successfully without substantially impacting industrial output or employment. Three-quarters of German firms have said they have cut back on natural gas consumption, with only minor impacts on production[10].

5 What can be done? No-regret options

An unusually warm winter, the bringing back online of French nuclear plants, weak Chinese energy demand, and the absence of negative surprises on global LNG markets and in terms of European pipeline supplies, have eased substantially the European gas supply-demand balance. However, while prices have receded from record highs, they remain three or four times higher than their typical range over the past decade. Europes gas supply-demand balance will remain a tightrope walk for the next two years. There is very limited redundancy remaining in the system to compensate for any non-Russian supply risk that might occur. Policymakers must continue to take strong and decisive action. We outline a set of priority areas.

First, planned FSRUs should be installed and begin operations according to promised timelines. Second, imported gas  largely LNG  must be secured. Questions arise about the volume of long-term contracts that European companies should sign for LNG, and the role for governments in facilitating such deals. New long-term contracts do not necessarily undermine climate goals. In 2021, EU countries had long-term contracts with Russia with a nominal capacity of 100 bcm/annum, extending to 2030 (ACER, 2022). Most of these are now redundant. As gas demand is set to decrease more quickly than expected in the EU, not all this capacity should be replaced with new long-term contracts, but limited volumes may be necessary. Any contracts must respect the EUs climate goals and be concluded before 2049.

Our scenario analysis shows that regardless of Russian flows, it is essential for the EU to continue reducing demand until October 2023. Under normal weather conditions, the required reduction ranges from 14 percent to 20 percent, depending on Russian pipeline imports. At a minimum, the EU should agree to extend its 15 percent demand reduction target from March until October 2023. Furthermore, efforts should continue to ensure that demand reduction is structural and comes with minimum economic damage. Rapid renewables deployment, electrification of heating and energy efficiency can all be accelerated to reduce the demand-reduction burden, which must be shouldered by industrial curtailment. Government campaigns should continue to inform citizens on the importance of saving energy, and how to do so with as little impact as possible on household welfare.

Subsidies for gas consumption will continue to cause tensions while absorbing substantial fiscal resources. Improving the position of individual consumer groups on the market will remain a zero-sum game as long as supply is tight. Providing certain consumers in one European area or sector access to cheaper gas implies making gas more expensive for all other consumers. Governments should phase out subsidies in a coordinated manner, replaced by agreements at EU level if necessary[11].

Another challenge in a more relaxed market is how to transition from 2022s emergency regime of storage filling back to a more efficient market-based approach. This might require some European coordination, as otherwise countries that phase-out government interventions too quickly might struggle to attract gas for storage. Joint gas purchasing via the EUs Energy Platform, with its requirement that countries use it to fill 15 percent of their storage obligations (13.5 bcm in total) is a step in the right direction[12]. As gas storage looks likely to end winter 2022-23 relatively full, the platform might end up being responsible for a substantial share (over 50 percent) of the gas pumped into storage in summer 2023.

A related issue is how to deal with the costs of emergency storage filling and infrastructure. Gas companies or large consumers may now sit on gas that they procured at much higher prices than the current market price, and sales or use of that gas will entail substantial losses.

Finally, for all the analysis of the EUs success in transitioning away from Russian gas, there are still no EU-level sanctions in place on gas supplies from Russia. Instead, Russia cut flows to the EU. There remains a risk that Russia, after witnessing its broad embargo fail to have the desired effect, will try to selectively increase gas flows to some countries in return for political favours. Many long-term contracts are still in place to facilitate this. Energy weaponisation can work both ways: not only cutting demand, but also sending cheap energy to friends. Such a scenario might seem far-fetched, but it remains legally possible. Despite recently falling gas prices, the EUs gas situation remains tight and the situation could quickly worsen, depending on events. Gas supplies via the Nord Stream pipeline (destroyed; sabotaged in September 2022) and the Yamal pipeline (highly unlikely to be permitted by Poland) seem unfeasible, but there is potential for increases via Ukraine transit and Turkstream. The EU thus needs to implement quickly a joint policy tool, such as sanctions or joint purchasing, to defuse this risk, and anticipate any future Russian move.
Yves here. Consumer marketers regularly claim that trends in America often start in California and then get taken up in the rest of the country. As the article describes, California is getting a big dose of climate change induced pain. But how will it react? Perhaps I am not close enough to the state and am missing important developments, but I dont see much in the way of adequate responses to water scarcity, homebuilding in high fire risk areas, and the very sorry state of PG&E (versus the need for improved grids to allow for more electric vehicle use). If my take from afar is correct, the state is doing close to squat in the way of climate change adaptation.

PS. I lived in Oregon very near Portland for three years as a child. The rain never bothered me. It would typically not be heavy or last very long, and the ambient light level would stay pretty high even during the showers.

By Rebecca Gordon. Originally published at TomDispatch

It was January 1983 and raining in San Francisco.

The summer before, Id moved here from Portland, Oregon, a city known for its perpetual gray drizzles and, on the 60-odd days a year when the sun deigns to shine, dazzling displays of greenery. My girlfriend had spent a year convincing me that San Francisco had much more to offer me than Portland did for her.

Every few months, Id scrape the bottom of my bank account to travel to San Francisco and taste its charms. Once, I even hitched a ride on a private plane. (Those were the days!) In a weeks visit, shed take me to multiple womens music concerts  events youd wait a year for in Portland. Wed visit feminist and leftist bookstores, eat real Mexican food, and walk through Golden Gate Park in brilliant sunshine. The sky would be clear, the city would be sparkling, and she convinced me that San Francisco would indeed be paradise. Or at least drier than Portland.

So, I moved, but I wuz robbed! I knew it that first winter when, from December through March, the rain seemed to come down in rivers  atmospheric rivers, in fact  though none of us knew the term back then. That would be my initial encounter with, as a Mexican-American friend used to call it, el pinche nino. El Nino is the term meteorologists give to one-half of an oscillating cyclical weather phenomenon originating in the Pacific Ocean. El Nino usually brings drought to the southern parts of North America, as well as Central America, while deluging northern California and the Pacific Northwest. La Nina is the other half of that cycle, its effects roughly flipping those of El Nino geographically. (As for the meaning of pinche, go ahead and Google it.)

San Francisco sits in the sweet spot where, at least until the end of the last century, we would get winter rains at both ends of the cycle. And boy, did it rain that winter! I soon began to wonder whether any amount of love or any number of concerts could make up for the cold and mud. Eventually, I realized that I couldnt really blame the girlfriend. The only other time Id lived in San Francisco was during the then-unusual drought year of 1976. Of course, I came to believe then that it never rained here. So, really, if there was a bait-and-switch going on, I had pulled it on myself.

Still, looking back, as much as the rain annoyed me, I couldnt have imagined how much Id miss it two decades into the twenty-first century.

But Is It Climate Change? And Would That Actually Be So Bad?

Along with the rest of the western United States, my city has now been in the grip of a two-decade-long megadrought that has persisted through a number of El Nino/La Nina cycles. Scientists tell us that its the worst for the West and Southwest in at least the last 1,200 years. Since 2005, Ive biked or walked the three miles from my house to the university where I teach. In all those years, there have probably been fewer than 10 days when rain forced me to drive or take the bus. Periodic droughts are not unknown in this part of the country. But climate scientists are convinced that this extended, deadly drought has been caused by climate change.

It wasnt always that way. Twenty years ago, those of us who even knew about global warming, from laypeople to experts, were wary of attributing any particular weather event to it. Climate-change deniers and believers alike made a point of distinguishing between severe weather events and the long-term effects of changes in the climate. For the deniers, however, as the years went on, it seemed that no accumulation of symptoms  floods, droughts, heat waves, fires, or tornadoes  could legitimately be added together to yield a diagnosis of climate change. Or if climate change was the reason, then human activity didnt cause it and it was probably a good thing anyway.

Not that long ago, it wasnt even unusual to encounter climate-change-is-good-for-you articles in reasonably mainstream outlets. For example, the conservative British magazine The Spectator ran a Matt Ridley piece in 2013 that began: Climate change has done more good than harm so far and is likely to continue doing so for most of this century. This is not some barmy, right-wing fantasy; it is the consensus of expert opinion. It turned out that Ridleys consensus of expert opinion derived from a single economists (and not a climate scientists) paper summarizing 14 other economists on the subject.

The chief benefits of global warming, Ridley wrote then, include: fewer winter deaths; lower energy costs; better agricultural yields; probably fewer droughts; maybe richer biodiversity. He added that, were the worlds economy to continue to grow by 3% annually, the average person will be about nine times as rich in 2080 as she is today. So low-lying Bangladesh will be able to afford the same kind of flood defenses that the Dutch have today.

There was so much wrong with those last two sentences (beginning with what average means), but Ill content myself with pointing out that, in October 2022, historic floods covered one-third of Pakistan (next door to Bangladesh), including prime farmland the size of the state of Virginia. Thirty-three million people were affected by those floods that, according to the New York Times, were caused by heavier-than-usual monsoon rains and glacial melt. And what led to such unusual rain and melt? As the Times reported:

Scientists say that global warming caused by greenhouse-gas emissions is sharply increasing the likelihood of extreme rain in South Asia, home to a quarter of humanity. And they say there is little doubt that it made this years monsoon season more destructive.

It seems unlikely those floods will lead to better agricultural yields. (If only Pakistan had thought to build dikes, like the Dutch!)

Maybe its easy to take potshots at what someone like Ridley wrote almost a decade ago, knowing what we do now. Back then, views like his were not uncommon on the right and, all too sadly, theyre not rare even today. (Ridley is still at it, having recently written a piece twitting the British Conservative Party for supporting something as outre as wind power.) And of course, those climate change denials were supported (then and now) by the companies that stood to lose the most from confronting the dangers of greenhouse gases, not only the fossil-fuel industry (whose scientists knew with stunning accuracy exactly what was already happening on this planet as early as the 1970s), but electric companies as well.

Back in 2000, an ExxonMobile advertorial in the New York Times hit the trifecta: climate change isnt real; or if it is, humans (and especially fossil-fuel companies!) arent responsible; and anyway it might be a good thing. Titled Unsettled Science, the piece falsely argued that scientists could not agree on whether climate change was happening. (By that time, 90% of climate scientists, including ExxonMobiles, had reached a consensus that climate change is real.) After all, the ad insisted, there had been other extended periods of unusual weather like the little ice age of the medieval era and, in any case, greenhouse gas concentrations vary naturally for reasons having nothing to do with human activity.

We shouldnt be surprised that Exxon-Mobile tried to keep climate change controversial in the public mind. They had a lot to lose in a transition away from fossil fuels. Its less common knowledge, however, that the company has long bankrolled climate denial grassroots organizations. In fact, its scientists knew about climate change as early as the 1950s and, in a 1977 internal memo, they summarized their research on the subject by predicting a one- to three-degree Celsius average temperature rise by 2050, pretty much the future were now staring at.

Water, Water, Anywhere?

California has been lucky this fall and winter. Weve seen a (probably temporary) break in the endless drought. A series of atmospheric rivers have brought desperately needed rain to our valleys and an abundance of snow to the mountains. But not everyone has been celebrating, as floods have swept away homes, cars, and people up and down the state. Theyve shut down highways and rail lines, while forcing thousands to evacuate. After years of thirst, for a few weeks the state has been drowning; and, as is so often the case with natural disasters, the poorest people have been among those hardest hit.

Ive always enjoyed the delicious smugness of lying in a warm bed listening to wind and water banging at my windows. These days its a guilty pleasure, though, because I know how many thousands of unhoused people have suffered in and even died during the recent storms. In Sacramento, rain marooned one tent encampment, as the spit of land it occupied became an island. In the city of Ontario, near Los Angeles, flash floods washed away peoples tents and may have drowned as many as 10 of their inhabitants.

My own city responded to the rains with police sweeps of unhoused people hours before a bomb cyclone hit on January 4th. In such a sweep, police and sometimes other officials descend suddenly to enforce city ordinances that make it illegal to sit or lie on the sidewalk. They make people move along, confiscating any belongings they cant carry off. Worse yet, shelters in the city were already full. There was nowhere inside for the unhoused to go and many lost the tents that had been their only covering.

The same climate change thats prolonged the drought has exacerbated the deadly effects of those rainstorms. Over the last few years, record wildfires have consumed entire communities. Twenty years of endless dry days have turned our forests and meadows into tinderboxes, just waiting for a spark. Now, when rain bangs down in such amounts on already burnt, drought-hardened land, houses slide down hills, trees are pulled from the earth, and sinkholes open in roads and highways.

There is one genuine piece of luck here, though. Along with the rain, more than twice as much snow as would accumulate in an average year has covered the Sierra mountains of northern California. This is significant because many cities in the region get their water from the Sierra runoff. San Francisco is typical. Its municipal water supply comes from the Hetch Hetchy Reservoir, near Yosemite National Park, fed from that runoff. For now, it looks as if a number of cities could, for the first time in a while, have extra water available this year. But theres always the chance that warm weather early in the spring will turn snow to rain, melting away the snowpack and our hopes.

Much of northern Californias water comes from the Sierra mountains, but its a different story in the south. The 9.8 million residents of Los Angeles County, along with most of southern California, get their water from the Colorado River. A century-old arrangement governs water use by the seven states through which the Colorado runs, along with 30 tribal nations and parts of northern Mexico  about 40 million people in all. Historically, the northern basin states, Wyoming, Utah, Colorado, and New Mexico, have been allocated 7.5 million acre-feet of water a year. Nevada, California, and Arizona have received 8.5 million and Mexico has treaty rights to 1.5 million. Dams on the two lakes  Mead in Nevada and Powell in Utah  provide hydroelectric power to many people in those same states.

The megadrought has drastically reduced the levels of these two artificial lakes that serve as reservoirs for those seven states. The original agreement assumed that 17.5 million acre-feet of water would be available annually (each acre-foot being about what two households might use in a year). For the last three years, however, the flow has fallen below 10 million acre-feet. This year, the states have been unable to agree on how to parcel out those allocations, so the Biden administration may have to step in and impose a settlement.

Both lakes are at their lowest historic levels since they were first filled. Several times, while working on a midterm election campaign in Reno, Nevada last year, I noticed stories in the local press about human remains being uncovered as Lake Meads shoreline recedes, some of them apparently victims of mob hits in decades past.

Less water in those giant lakes means less water for agriculture and residential consumption. But the falling water levels threaten a further problem: the potential failure of their dams to provide electric power crucial to millions. Last summer, Lake Mead dropped to within 90 feet of the depth at which its dam can no longer generate power. Some estimates suggest that Lake Powells Glen Canyon dam may stop producing electricity as soon as July.

Earthquakes, Drought, and Disaster

The woman I moved to San Francisco for (whom Ive known since I was a young teen in the 1960s) spent her college years at the University of California, Berkeley. I remember her telling me, in the summer of 1969, that she and a number of friends had spent the previous spring semester celebrating the coming end of the world as they knew it. Apparently, some scientists had then predicted that a giant earthquake would cause the San Francisco Bay Area to collapse into the Pacific Ocean. Facing such a possible catastrophe, a lot of young folks decided that they might as well have a good party. There was smoking and drinking and dancing to welcome the approaching apocalypse. (When a Big One did hit 20 years later, the city didnt exactly fall into the ocean, but a big chunk of the San Francisco Bay Bridge did go down.)

Over the last months, we Californians have experienced both historic drought and historic rainfall. The world as we knew it really is ending faster than some of us ever expected. Now that were facing an imminent catastrophe, one already killing people around the globe and even in my state, its hard to know how to respond. Somehow, I dont feel like partying though. I think its time to fight.
MSF medical teams report that women are proportionally more likely to suffer fuel burns during the Mediterranean crossing, as they tend to be placed in the middle of the boat where it is thought to be safest.

Italy's coast guard Friday found eight bodies, including the body of a pregnant woman, on a migrant vessel that was attempting to make the journey across the Mediterranean from Tunisia to Italy.

The bodies were unloaded on Italy's Lampedusa island, the first stop for many migrants on the journey across the sea.

Dozens more Africans were aboard the vessel, according to ANSA, the Italian news agency.

Survivors of the journey told officials that three other people had died at sea, ANSA reported. They said a women died and fell into the water with her 4-month-old son, who drowned. In addition, survivors said a man passed out and fell into the water.

The Guardian reports that authorities on Malta had been alerted to the migrants' situation at sea, but no rescue was dispatched. Prosecutors in Sicily have launched an investigation, the newspaper said.
Serbia has resisted various forms of pressure since NATO began its war against Russia in Ukraine and remains the only European country refusing to join in Western sanctions on Russia.

Washington and Brussels have apparently had enough and issued Belgrade an ultimatum in January. The exact contents of the proposal havent been made public, but statements from Serbian officials hint at the following:

Carrot

Serbia must normalize relations (as opposed to full recognition) with Kosovo and accept its membership in international organizations like the UN, NATO and the Council of Europe. (NATO seized Kosovo from Serbia in 1999, following the bombing of the country. Most EU countries and the US support Kosovo independence, which was unilaterally declared in 2008. Serbia continues to view the region as part of its territory.) In return Serbia would supposedly get some financial rewards and join the EU in 2030. It remains unclear if joining sanctions on Russia is part of the ultimatum. One of many reasons that Belgrade and Moscow enjoy close ties is that Russia routinely blocks Kosovos UN membership, which it could still do even if Serbia recognized Kosovo. Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic believes the ultimatum is more the result of the Wests agenda, which includes the defeat of Russia and everything that stands in the way on this agenda, will be crushed.

Stick

Should Belgrade refuse the ultimatum, it can expect the following:

EU and US investment in the country evaporates. Serbias EU candidacy dies. A ban on lending by European banks, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the World Bank and the IMF. Reprisals on ethnic Serbs in NATO protectorates of Kosovo and Bosnia and Herzegovina (violence flared up in such areas in Kosovo in the runup to the ultimatum). An increase in efforts to interfere in Serbia and install a pro-Western government. A reintroduction of visas. Sanctions. Seizure of assets. According to Belgrade-based political analyst Dusan Janjic, there would be conflict management and destabilization controlled by the US, after which Washington would impose a solution.

Quite the way to start off a relationship.

Serbia officially applied for European Union membership in 2009. Reaching an agreement with Pristina and normalizing relations is the main hurdle for it to join the EU  a path it has been on for 14 years. So if it accepts the Wests terms, it gets to continue that process and gets an undisclosed amount of financial aid.

So theres that. Now the fallout from a rejection of the ultimatum.

Two-thirds of Serbias trade is done with the EU. Russia and China rank second and third, respectively, but ten times lower than trade between Serbia and the EU. In recent years, Serbia has looked increasingly eastwards for trade  even signing a deal with the Russian-led Eurasian Union in 2019 despite threats from Brussels. Belgrade and Moscow also have strong military ties. But at the end of the day, Serbia is a landlocked country surrounded by NATO.

According to economist Branko Milanovic, the loss could be, depending on the severity of sanctions, up to 5-10% of GDP in the first year. More:

This would divide the public. Although currently all parties are in favor of the rejection of the ultimatum, and the pro-European parties, having been cheated by Europe many times, have taken a strongly anti-acceptance stance, seemingly stronger than the government, it is likely though that after a few years, the body public would seriously split between the party of rejection and the supporters of new negotiations with the EU. If such parties become equal sides and start violently accusing each other, it might end in a civil war. Since the West would have very few friendly parties to negotiate with in Serbia, and since Serbia is surrounded by NATO members, even a formal occupation of the country by NATO cannot be excluded. One should not forget that, right now, both Bosnia and Kosovo are NATO protectorates, and that the West can, by one single move, overthrow at any time the governments in Montenegro and North Macedonia. Moreover, NATO tropes are in all these countries, plus in other border states (Romania, Croatia, Bulgaria, Hungary). Like in World War II, the very same countries could just march in.

So it would seem Brussels and Washington have Serbia over the barrel, but what do Serbians want?

Vucic says that the Assembly in Belgrade needs to discuss the proposal and there is the possibility of a national referendum. Should the latter take place, it is likely Serbia will refuse. From Euractiv:

Support for EU membership is low in Serbia, with a majority of 44% against joining the bloc. According to a recent Ipsos poll, just 35% are in favour, while the rest remain unsure. A further survey by one of the countrys leading pollsters found in August 2022 that only 20% of those surveyed viewed the EU positively.

A Demostat survey last year showed that only a third of Serbian citizens would vote for joining the EU, with 51 percent against. Additionally 80 percent were against the introduction of sanctions against Russia. Politically it will be impossible for Belgrade to acquiesce to the Wests demands, as it would be viewed as abandoning Serbs in Kosovo, in addition to ignoring public opinion.

The Wests hard line will likely only harden Serbs anti-EU attitudes as it confirms suspicions that the real goal is to force Serbia to heel. Additionally, the EU is simply not as attractive as it used to be, especially as it continues its self-immolation at the altar of American hegemony. Therefore, all it has to offer is threats. As Milanovic puts it:

[The] EU reminds me of the bullies that were roaming the area around my high school in Belgrade. They would accost younger pupils and offer to sell thema brick. The kid would say, But I do not need the brick. Ah, the bully would retort, Yes, I know that you do, and it would cost you ten dinars. The poor kid would pay 10 dinars knowing that the refusal would lead him to be beaten, hit in the head, kicked  and yet the ten dinars would be taken from his pocket.

And while Russia has its own reasons for wanting to keep Serbia peeled off from the EU, its hard to argue with this assessment from Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova:

The EU is leading Belgrade to a bright future on one hand while committing anti-Serbian provocations with the other, the Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman claimed. This is betrayal from the outset, she added, comparing relations between Brussels and Belgrade to a marriage that starts with adultery.

There have been reports that Serbia, should it take the deal, would be recognized as the leading power in the region. Its unclear if such a designation would mean an end to ultimatums.

Its more likely that once the EU  and more specifically Germany  has Serbia under its thumb, it will likely want more, starting with the green light on the Jadar lithium project, which could supply 90 percent of Europes current lithium needs.

Serbians have resisted the project as they dont want the dirty mining project in their backyard.

But Berlin isnt taking no for an answer. Belgrade revoked the mining licenses for Rio Tintos $2.4 billion lithium project last year, and yet Germanys ruling coalition continues to push the plan as part of the EU Global Gateway infrastructure program.

The proposed mining project is but one fear that Serbians have over a surrender to the West.

If we take a step back and examine the larger picture, we see NATO currently aligned with Eastern European fascist elements against Russia, almost like a replay of WWII with the US switching sides. Serbia, like Russia, was attacked by German and Germany-aligned fascists during the second world war, which resulted in the genocide of hundreds of thousands of Serbs.

So one can understand the hesitancy to surrender sovereignty to a Germany that plans to serve the U.S.-led Western empire by strengthening its role as European leader, including pushing for a larger, more militarized EU, which will be governed by majority decisions and include the Balkan statelets.

In such a scenario, Germany would wield even more control over the EU than it does today, as its influence on most of the poor Balkan states would help bring about a majority. Germany is among the top three export destinations for Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Montenegro, Macedonia, Albania and Kosovo and is one of the top European investors in the region, making Berlin the most important EU partner for the Balkan states. This is not lost on Serbia.

Germany wants full dominance in the Balkans, said Vucic back in December. And by extension, that means the US does too.

While the writing is on the wall regarding the Wests failed war against Russia, Serbia may well end up being the consolation prize. Whether Belgrade accepts the ultimatum or not, the outcome will be the same the West has declared. Finally, after Germanys attempts in both world wars and NATOs noble bombing in the 1990s, Serbia will be subdued.
(Natural News) In response to the circulation of what it described as an overwhelming amount of misinformation and fake news, the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) in partnership with the British government established a Ministry of Truth in 2019, just prior to the launch of the covid scamdemic.

Right on schedule, the BBC and the government of the United Kingdom created a censorship operation called The Trusted News Initiative, or TNI, that includes as partners the following organizations:

 The Associated Press (AP)

 AFP

 First Draft

 Google / YouTube

 Twitter

 Reuters

 Financial Times

 Meta (Facebook)

 European Broadcasting Union

 CBC / Radio-Canada

 The Hindu

 Microsoft

 The Washington Post

This is not an exhaustive list, mind you  many other mainstream and corporate-controlled news outlets and tech platforms are still to this very day participating in rampant censorship of certain topics and ideas.

The purpose behind this Ministry of Truth is to keep a lid on the spread of information online. All information must first pass through the censorship filters established by the BBC and the UK establishment before it reaches your eyes and ears.

Further up the food chain in this decision-making process is the United Nations and the World Economic Forum (WEF), two heads of the snake, so to speak, that govern world affairs.

The standards focused on areas such as fact-checking, transparency, and impartiality, and news organizations found to be publishing information NOT approved by powerful Governments and other powerful institutions faced severe consequences, reports The Expose.

Millions of people are dead because of Ministry of Truth censorship

Not just news outlets but also people were swept up in the Ministry of Truths censorship scheme. In order to have a voice in the conversation, scientists and other experts have had to kowtow to the authorities and what they deem as true, or else face censorship.

Those who resist face loss of livelihood, harassment and intimidation, and in some cases loss of life. Many lives, in fact, have been lost as a direct result of the Ministry of Truths operations. (Related: Science shows that covid lockdowns caused thousands of excess deaths.)

Scientists and experts were effectively silenced, with any research or findings that didnt align with the Governments narrative on Covid-19 being dismissed as fake news,' reports indicate.

It also led to a society where people were afraid to speak out, where Governments had too much control over what people could know and think, and where free speech and independent thinking were stifled.

The public was fed only information that the Ministry deemed to be true, but this often meant that important and potentially life-saving information was withheld  This led to the tragic and unnecessary loss of millions of lives due to the Covid-19 injections.

In the United States alone in 2021, nearly 700,000 excess deaths occurred that were caused by Ministry of Truth censorship. By Nov. 11, 2022, that figure had ballooned to 1.06 million excess deaths.

In Europe in 2021, the excess death count was 382,000, which ballooned more than 600,000 excess deaths by November 2022  excluding Ukraine.

In Australia, there were only 1,303 excess deaths in 2020 before covid vaccines were unleashed through Operation Warp Speed. In 2021, that figure increased by 747 percent to reach 11,042 excess deaths.

By the end of July 2022, there were 18,973 excess deaths in Australia, representing a 1,356% increase from 2020, The Expose explains. This is more excess deaths in 7 months than in the previous two years combined.

All in all, there have been more than 1.8 million excess deaths since the rollout of covid injections that are linked either to the injections themselves or to some other form of covid tyranny that the Ministry of Truth misled people into believing would cure the plandemic. That is a whole lot of blood on the hands of the censorship establishment.

More related news can be found at Censorship.news.

Sources for this article include:

Expose-News.com

NaturalNews.com
(Natural News) The Biden regime is once again moving to escalate the war in Ukraine, as Russia is reportedly massing troops for a new offensive to regain lost ground.

According to Reuters, the regime is preparing a new arms package that is slated to include rockets with a range of nearly 95 miles, which is almost double the range of rockets previously provided the Ukrainians via the HIMARS rocket systems.

The $2 billion package, according to a pair of unnamed U.S. officials, will supply Kyivs forces with longer-range Boeing-made Ground Launched Small Diameter Bomb (GLSDB)s for the first time. The report said the package could be announced any day now as another Democratic regime prepares to embroil the country in yet another foreign war.

The officials stated that the GLSDB munitions will be supplied under the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, allowing the Defense Department to buy arms for Kyivs troops. Weapons that are provided under the program could actually take months or even years to deliver as they are based on contract awards and its possible they will need to be manufactured.

This comes on the heels of an agreement to supply Ukraine with M1 Abrams main battle tanks. The 31-tank transfer wont take place anytime soon, however, because they have to be manufactured.

That said, Boeing has been prepping for months to begin producing GLSDBs for Ukraine. In November, Reuters reported that the Biden regime was considering sending the weapons to Kyiv and noted that they would likely be ready to ship by spring. The system has been under development since the middle of the Trump administration. It combines small-diameter bombs with the M26 rocket motor that is widely available in U.S. military stocks and inventories.

One other thing: The fact that Boeing has been preparing for months tells us that the regime 1) knew this war would last; 2) was preparing to get more deeply involved in it; and 3) is still beholden to the military-industrial complex.

But of course, sending longer-range missiles does not come without risk. Russian officials have increasingly groused about U.S. and NATO weapons being shifted to Ukraine as the countrys death and casualty rate from the war continues to skyrocket. Reports say that estimates put Russian military deaths at more than 110,000 and three times that many wounded.

The commitment to send the new munitions is the latest escalation by the Biden White House, which appears dead-set on getting American and NATO troops involved in what has become a World War I-type of deadly conflict with a 21st-century twist.

Antiwar.com notes further:

The new weapons package is expected to include $1.725 billion in USAI funds that will go toward the GLSDB as well as HAWK air defense systems, counter-drone systems, counter artillery radars, communications equipment, PUMA surveillance drones, and spare parts for Patriot air defense systems and Bradleys.

The package might also include $400 million for the Presidential Drawdown Authority, which allows President Biden to send Ukraine weapons directly from US military stockpiles. The drawdown package will likely include mine-resistant ambush-protected vehicles (MRAPs), guided multiple launch rocket systems (GMLRS), and other ammunition.

There was also a significant amount of medical equipment  enough to equip three field hospitals being donated by another ally, one official said, Reuters noted further. The U.S. has sent approximately $27.2 billion worth of security assistance to Ukraine since Russias February 2022 invasion. Russia calls the invasion a special operation.'

Natural News founder and editor Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, noted this week that the efforts to continue supplying Ukraine are fruitless:

While the prostituted propaganda media absurdly claims that Russia is retreating and NATO forces are winning the war in Ukraine, the truth is far more sobering: NATO has already lost the war with Russia. Heres how we know:

A land war with a major military power is a long, drawn out slug fest that requires the sustained expenditure of enormous quantities of munitions: Artillery shells, rockets, missiles, small arms cartridges and so on.

To supply these munitions, a fighting force needs to be backed by a strong munitions manufacturing infrastructure or have huge stockpiles that can sustain the war while supplies are depleted. The United States has neither. No sufficiently large stockpiles and no existing munitions manufacturing infrastructure that can keep pace with Russia, which at times has expended up to 20,000 artillery rounds per day. (Note: The existing munitions infrastructure in the United States cant even churn out that many rounds in a full month of production)

Sources include:

NaturalNews.com

Antiwar.com

Reuters.com
(Natural News) Former Arizona gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake has warned that the state of Arizona is now completely controlled by the cartel.

Its so corrupt right now. They have taken our government from We the People. Now, we literally have the cartel completely controlling our state, she told Steve Bannon during a recent appearance on Bannons War Room.

We have this stolen election because we didnt do anything after 2020. We allowed another steal.

Lake also remarked that the Democratic Party and the cartel could not get someone like her in the state capital in Phoenix even though she had won in a landslide. According to mainstream media reports, the former news anchor lost the November 2022 gubernatorial race against Katie Hobbs. (Related: Kari Lake refuses to concede Arizona governor election results, prepares to fight fraud with lawsuit.)

Im too dangerous to their plan. I throw a wrench in their plan. Well shut down illegal activity at the border, she told Bannon.

According to Lake, she was sick of weak politicians and governors acting like nothing could be done for the Grand Canyon State and that help from Washington was needed. Arizona is a sovereign state and politicians need to do their job to protect Arizonans.

She noted that Arizonans are already tired of the Grand Canyon State being used as a pipeline for trafficking fentanyl, women and children across the border.

Bannon: Lake has clear advantage in Senate race for AZ

Lake responded in the negative when asked by Bannon if she had met and talked to Sen. John Thune (R-SD). Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), however, campaigned for her.

She loves our policy, Lake said. She loved that we were going to be tough on the border, we were going to start bringing back trade skilled training into our high school so our kids were prepared for jobs and [we were bringing] safety back to our streets.

Bannon remarked that if Lake runs for the U.S. Senate, she would get 40 to 45 percent of the votes. Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) would only get 25 percent, while incumbent Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (I-AZ) would only get a measly 15 percent.

The gubernatorial candidate pointed out that Gallego would rather have someone like Sinema as a challenger instead of one that wants to put Arizona first and protect Arizonans. The Democratic congressman is not in favor of border security, even dubbing former Gov. Doug Duceys use of shipping containers to seal border wall gaps as a publicity stunt.

Bannon, meanwhile, blasted Sinemas woke stance on social policies. Lake agreed with his observation, pointing out that despite her independent alignment, Sinemas voting record is incredibly liberal. The Arizona senator even called herself a socialist at one point.

Lake ultimately remarked that if the elections werent rigged and she won as governor, Arizona would have the strongest border policy in the entire country and it would be put into action on her first day.

Thats why they said: Holy crap, we got to steal this election. We cannot let that woman  become governor of Arizona. At any cost, we have to stop her.

Watch Kari Lakes interview with Steve Bannon on Bannons War Room below.

This video is from the NewsClips channel on Brighteon.com.

More related stories:

Kari Lake prepares for legal battle after unexpected gubernatorial loss in Arizona following long count, widespread voting irregularities.

Discrepancies between vote tally in Arizonas governor and treasurer races point to BLATANT FRAUD and vote count manipulations.

Kari Lake bombshell: Freedom of information request reveals some 200k FAILED votes occurred on election day in AZ.

Sources include:

Brighteon.com

Twitter.com
(Natural News) The continual flow of weapons and arms to Ukraine from U.S. military stocks is increasing concerns among national security experts that the Biden regime is leaving America short-supplied at a time when China is obviously preparing for war over Taiwan.

There is no question that over the course of years, the Pentagon managed to stockpile weapons in the hopes of never having to use them but was well-prepared to do so if the situation arose. But now, after supplying Ukraine with U.S. war stocks for nearly a year following Russias invasion in late February 2022  and with predictions from high-ranking military officers as well as lawmakers that China may be two years away from invading Taiwan  experts are increasingly fretting that the Biden White House is leaving U.S. forces dangerously short of arms it will need to defend Taiwan should the situation arise.

According to a report from Breitbart News:

A recently-published think-tank analysis warned that as it currently stands, the U.S. would run out of long-range, precision-guided munitions in a war with China over Taiwan in less than a week  a problem that author Seth Jones called one of empty bins.

The United States has been slow to replenish its arsenal, and the DoD has only placed on contract a fraction of the weapons it has sent to Ukraine, wrote Jones, a senior vice president at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).

Effective deterrence hinges, in part, on having sufficient stockpiles of munitions and other weapons systems. These challenges are not new. What is different now, however, is that the United States is directly aiding Ukraine in an industrial-style conventional war with Russia  the largest land war in Europe since World War II  and tensions are rising between China and the United States in the Indo-Pacific, he added.

Pentagon Press Secretary Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder pushed back on the report, telling reporters last week: I am confident that, regardless of what the situation is worldwide, as weve done for a very long time, the United States military will be able to be prepared to support whatever requirements were asked to support.

But of course, the regimes spokespersons will say what theyre told to say  that all is well, there are no issues with weapons supplies, and to stop worrying about it.

That isnt washing with experts, however.

Elbridge Colby, a senior defense official in the Trump administration, tweeted recently: Despite protestations to the contrary, its increasingly clear that Ukraine is indeed a distraction from our stated priority: Asia, China, and Taiwan. We can admit it and try to adapt. Or we can deny it and pay the price later.

Despite protestations to the contrary, its increasingly clear that Ukraine is indeed a distraction from our stated priority: Asia, China, and Taiwan. We can admit it and try to adapt. Or we can deny it and pay the price later. I advise the former. 1/https://t.co/oKTxMTZlHR  Elbridge Colby (@ElbridgeColby) January 27, 2023

In an op-ed for The Wall Street Journal Colby wrote with Oriana Skylar Mastro, they noted that Ukraine is distracting the administration from China.

The U.S. can no longer afford to spread its military across the world. The reason is simple: an increasingly aggressive China, the most powerful state to rise in the international system since the U.S. itself. By some measures, Chinas economy is now the worlds largest. And it has built a military to match its economic heft, they noted.

Twenty-five years ago, the Chinese military was backward and obsolete. But extraordinary increases in Beijings defense budget over more than two decades, and top political leaders razor-sharp focus, have transformed the Peoples Liberation Army into one of the strongest militaries the world has ever seen, the two experts continued.

Chinas new military is capable not only of territorial defense but of projecting power. Besides boasting the largest navy in the world by ship count, China enjoys some capabilities, like certain types of hypersonic weapons, that even the U.S. hasnt developed, they added.

World War III is coming, and for some reason, our current leaders appear to be rushing headlong into it.

Sources include:

WSJ.com

Breitbart.com
(Natural News) Citing a lack of clinical trial evidence, a growing number of doctors is just saying no to covid vaccine booster shots  as are their patients.

Dr. Todd Lee, an infectious disease expert at McGill University, is one such doctor who stopped taking covid injections after the initial series plus one booster. He wrote on Twitter:

I have taken my last COVID vaccine without RCT level evidence it will reduce my risk of severe disease.

RCT, in this context, refers to randomized clinical trial. And what Lee is referring to here is a lack thereof as it concerns covid booster shots, which were cleared for release both in Canada and the United States last fall based on paltry data from mice experiments.

Lee, who was previously infected with the Omicron (anagram of Moronic) version, says he took three vaccine doses and stopped there. Since he describes himself as a healthy male in his 40s, Lee decided there was no need to take any additional boosters.

Another doctor who feels the same way as Lee is Dr. Vinay Prasad, a professor of epidemiology and biostatics at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF). Until or unless real clinical trial data becomes available, Prasad has no intention of taking any more boosters.

I took at least one dose against my will, he said. It was unethical and scientifically bankrupt. (Related: The European Union and the World Health Organization have both warned that covid booster shots are dangerous.)

Many doctors reluctantly took covid jabs because they were forced to against their will

Epidemiologist Allison Krug, who co-authored a study on covid jabs and the heart inflammation they cause in teenage boys, recalls explaining to her doctor why she decided to refuse a covid booster shot. It turns out her doctor fully agreed with everything she had to say.

Krug is now calling on people to join the movement to demand appropriate evidence to back covid booster jabs.

Pay close attention to note this isnt anti-vaccine sentiment, Lee added as clarification. This is provide [hard] evidence of benefit to justify ongoing use which is very different. It is only fair for a 30 billion dollar a year product given to hundreds of millions.

Others who are joining Lee, Prasad, and Krug in fighting unscientific covid booster jabs include Dr. Mark Silverberg, who founded the Toronto Immune and Digestive Health Institute; Kevin Bass, a medical student; and Dr. Tracy Heg, an epidemiologist at the University of California, San Francisco.

Heg has personally decided that even if clinical trials for covid booster shots do emerge, she has absolutely no plans whatsoever to take any more injections after having already received the two-dose primary series.

I also had an adverse reaction to dose 1 moderna and, if I could do it again, I would not have had any covid vaccines, Heg wrote on Twitter, adding that she did not even want to take the second dose of the initial two-dose series but was forced to against my will.

I was glad my parents in their 70s could get covid vaccinated but have yet to see non-confounded data to advise them about the bivalent booster. I would have liked to see an RCT for the bivalent for people their age and for adults with health conditions that put them at risk.

Despite there being no human data whatsoever to back them, covid booster shots received emergency use authorization (EUA) from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) last August. Observational data suggests the shots provide little, if any, protection against infection.

The latest news about covid booster shots can be found at MedicalExperiments.news.

Sources for this article include:

NTD.com

NaturalNews.com
(Natural News) The latest bombshell report from the team of Dr. Naomi Wolf has exposed Pfizers Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) trial illegally conducted on 61 children, according to Ben Armstrong of the New American magazine.

This comes from the Pfizer document dump that they didnt want you to see for 75 years. It makes sense why such a huge bombshell would be in there, and its just now really been uncovered by the team that works with Wolf, he said on the Feb. 1 edition of The Ben Armstrong Show.

It is really amazing [how] Pfizer illegally experimented on 61 kids harming 71 percent of them, says Dr. Naomi Wolf. Thats what shes saying. And if everything she says is true, this would be Nazi-style criminal activity by Pfizer recorded in their own documents. (Related: Matrixxx Groove: COVID vaccine is a bioweapon that is killing kids.)

Wolfs team from the Daily Clout  alongside volunteers made up of doctors, lawyers and others  stepped up to go through the Pfizer documents ordered to be made public by a court. According to Armstrong, Pfizer wasnt working on a vaccine to save people from a pandemic.

He then played footage of Wolf discussing Report No. 54, which contains the illegal vaccine experiment on children. According to Wolfs team, infants and children under 12 were given the Pfizer mRNA COVID vaccine seven months before pediatric approval. Seventy-one percent  24 children  suffered serious adverse events.

If that is not shocking enough, these adverse events occurred in only a three-month period starting on Dec. 1, 2020. And at that time, when no pediatric dose of Pfizer product was approved for use at all in that time frame. Nonetheless, they illegally injected 61 children, half of them under four years old, with this injection, Wolf said.

The serious cases include a seven-year-old child who had a stroke, two children who suffered facial paralysis and an infant whose kidneys were injured by the injections.

Children injected with the shot suffered average of four reactions

Wolf pointed out that of the 34 patients that experienced adverse events, most of these were girls. These 34 patients reported 132 adverse events, averaging 3.88 reactions per child.

Moreover, an additional 28 cases of adverse events were excluded from the record as details such as height and weight were not consistent with pediatric subjects.

She also mentioned that there was no safe dose when the children and babies were injected.

After playing the video, Armstrong explained that Pfizer and other Big Pharma companies developing COVID-19 vaccines were guaranteed immunity from lawsuits because the emergency use clause absolved them of any responsibility. Vaccine makers had been lying to the public about the effectiveness of the vaccines as they were aware that they could never cure COVID-19, he added.

When they were developing this vaccine, they knew it was a scam without doing any trials. They didnt have to do any trials. The vaccine was a scam because they were injecting it into your blood that cannot cure an airborne virus, and Pfizer knows this. Pfizer knows that its literally impossible to cure somebody from an airborne virus and prevent them from contracting it by injecting their immune system thats in their blood.

Follow VaccineHolocaust.org for more news about COVID vaccines.

Watch Ben Armstrong expound on Pfizers illegal vaccine trial on children on the Feb. 1 edition of The Ben Armstrong Show below.

This video is from The New American channel on Brighteon.com.

More related stories:

Pfizer using children as legal human shields to protect itself from covid vaccine lawsuits.

Dr. Zelenko: Covid vaccine mandates for children are coercive human experimentation, crimes against humanity.

Tragic: 6-month-old dies within 10 days of Pfizer jab, VAERS reports.

FDA about to green-light mass murder of children under five with new covid vaccine authorization.

Sources include:

Brighteon.com

DailyClout.io
(Natural News) As part of their special military operations in Ukraine, the Russian Defense Ministry has obtained over 20,000 documents connected to a US biolab project in Ukraine called Metabiota. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky ordered all documents related to Metabiota be destroyed right before the Russians initiated their special military operation in Ukraine. The World Health Organization  the entity that installed a global medical police state  called on Zelensky to destroy all documents related to biolabs in Ukraine, forfeiting transparency of suspected bioweapons research. The US embassy in Ukraine also removed all their Ukraine bioweapons lab documents from the web.

However, on Monday January 20, 2023, the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) claimed to have incriminating documents. The MFA asserted, The materials confirm that the Pentagon aimed at creating elements of a biological weapon, & testing it on the population of Ukraine. These are startling allegations that involve Hunter Biden, Joe Biden, and the Pentagon, and implicate Peter Daszak of EcoHealth Alliance and members of the World Economic Forum.

Biolab activity in Ukraine connected to Hunter Biden, Peter Daszak, and the Pentagon

This Ukrainian biolab operator  Metabiota  is led by Nathan Wolfe, a prominent Stanford virologist who has previously worked on gain-of-function coronavirus research with Peter Daszak at EcoHealth Alliance. Dr. Daszak is the infamous scientist who took grants from Dr. Anthony Fauci at the National Institutes of Allergy and Infectious Disease (NIAID) to offshore illegal gain-of-function coronavirus research at the Wuhan Institute of Virology in China. Nathan Wolfe serves on the editorial board of EcoHealth Alliance and is a member of DARPAs Defense Science Research Council. Wolfe and Daszak co-authored a paper together in 2017 on Global patterns in coronavirus diversity.

The unethical virology research that took place in China could very easily be conducted and expounded upon in Ukraine, with Daszak and Wolfe sharing their research and coordinating new business ventures that involve bioweapons manufacture and predatory vaccine development.

Of course, Ukrainian biolabs should have been fully decommissioned after American politicians promised to do so with the 2005 Nunn-Lugar Cooperative Threat Reduction Act. These biolabs were previously operated by the Soviet Union, but were decommissioned after the Soviet Union was dissolved. The US promised to destroy all biological and chemical weapons at these sites, but it turns out that there is more to the story.

In fact, Hunter Bidens firm  Rosemont Seneca Technology Partners (RSTP)  invested half a million dollars in Ukrainian biolab operator Metabiota, while using his family influence at the White House to lock in business deals with Ukrainian oligarchs. Biden also got Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley involved in the investments (according to emails obtained from the Hunter Biden laptop). The Pentagon eventually got on board with Metabiota, too, and invested $23.9 million in a contract for bioresearch. Back in 2014, Metabiota vice president Mary Guttieri communicated directly with Hunter Biden, promising to leverage our team, networks, and concepts to assert Ukraines cultural and economic independence from Russia and continued integration into Western society.

Also in 2014, Hunter Biden was reached by Burisma manager Vadym Pozharshki, who wanted to make a deal with Metabiota in Ukraine. Hunter invited the Burisma manager to meet with he and his dad, then Vice President Joe Biden. The three met in Washington, DC on April 16, 2015 (according to emails from the Hunter Biden laptop). Less than a month later, on May 12, 2014, Hunter joined the Board of Directors of Burisma Holdings, and began earning $1 million per year. As part of the corrupt deal, two of Hunter Bidens employees at Rosemont Seneca Partners  Neil Callahan and John DeLoche  were appointed to the board of Metabiota. By October of that year, John DeLoche, managing director at RSTP, wrote to the boss, Hunter Biden, that the company would increase our investment in Metabiota by 250 k.

On Oct. 9, 2014, John DeLoche wrote to Hunter Biden, Devon Archer, and RSTP manager Rob Walker: Is there anyone we can call in DC to get a sense of how legit Metabiota is viewed within the various government agencies? We want to make sure we thoroughly do our diligence here, especially as Goldman and now Morgan Stanley will be doing diligence on the fund and Metabiota towards investing in both. Additionally, who have we introduced them to in DC? Can you please provide a list of the various folks within Cornerstone as well as outside the firm where we have made intros? This data will go in our investment memo which we are trying to complete and get to potential LPs by Tuesday.

On Oct. 9, 2014, Rob Walker responded: I am going to have a friend reach out to DoD on the down low. Not long thereafter, the DOD awarded $23.9M to Metabiota, furthering US government involvement in corrupt bioweapons development, and bringing Metabiota to the forefront of international spotlight.

Russian military exposing corrupt biolabs in Ukraine that the Biden regime seeks to conceal

In 2021, the World Economic Forum anointed Metabiota as their WEF Tech Pioneer and promoted the corrupt venture as the future for controlling pandemics. Members of the WEF are working to implement vaccine passports globally while building the infrastructure to enforce a biosecurity state where civil liberties and human rights are a thing of the past.

Russian Ambassador to the United States Anatoly Antonov said the current US administration fails to suppress public discussion and must answer for their lies. In the United States itself, various investigations have been initiated with regard to federal bioprojects, including on the gain-of-function research, and side effects of vaccination, the Russian Ambassador to the UN said. No matter how Washington tries to dodge, sooner or later it will have to answer questions that were raised by the Russian Federation. One should remember: any lie has an expiration date.

Antonov accused the US government of contradicting themselves by trying to hide their biolab programs. The Pentagon calls their work peaceful biological research projects and put out a fact sheet in 2021 claiming their work is weapons of mass destruction reduction efforts. Antonov claimed the U.S. government is now actively relocating the unfinished projects from Ukraine to the countries of Central Asia and Eastern Europe and shifting programs to civilian structures such as HHS and USAID. They obviously hope that it will help them avoid criticism and deflect the blow from the Pentagon, Antonov claimed.

Antonov asserts: If US biological research in Ukraine was purely peaceful, then why were the activities so promptly curtailed? Why are these issues handled by the military? The answer is obvious: Washington had and has something to hide!

Sources include:

TheGatewayPundit.com

TheGatewayPundit.com

NaturalNews.com

Twitter.com

Congress.gov

NYPost.com

NYPost.com

Doc.House.gov [PDF]

WEForum.com

Defense.gov

Twitter.com

Twitter.com
Temperatures in Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont plummeted far below zero as inhabitants hunkered down as shelters scrambled to provide more room.

At -108 degrees, Mount Washington established a record for the worst wind chill ever measured.

National windchill record set in New Hampshire

On Saturday, a life-threatening cold spell began to lift in the northeastern United States, but only after a new national windchill record was established in New Hampshire, as per CNN.

Mount Washington established the record Friday night when it felt like negative 108 F due to a temperature of negative 46 F and wind gusts of 127 mph.

Wind chill records have not been as thoroughly kept as temperature records in the past, but the mark would exceed what most meteorologists consider to be the US record (minus 105 F in Alaska). Mount Washington's previous low temperature was - 102.7 F in 2004.

Approximately 15 million people in the United States were under wind chill warnings early Saturday, but that figure had decreased to fewer than 1 million by midday as the severe cold began to fade.

By 7 p.m., the majority of the remaining wind chill warnings will be lifted. Saturday, when temperatures begin to stabilize and winds begin to calm down.

On Sunday, temperatures will rise five to 10 degrees above usual.

According to local National Weather Service offices, many day low-temperature records were established in parts of the Northeast last Saturday morning.

Saturday morning's low temperature in Boston was -10, beating the previous day's record of minus 2.

According to the meteorological service, this is the first double-digit negative temperature recorded since 1957.

Worcester, Massachusetts, reached a new daily low of -13 degrees, breaking the previous low of minus 4. Providence, Rhode Island, set a new daily low of - 9 degrees, breaking the previous low of minus 2.

Hartford, Connecticut, touched -9 degrees, breaking the previous day's record of -8 degrees.

Government officials recommended citizens remain inside as much as possible.

Dangerously cold winds are blowing in from Canada, putting entire states at risk.

The harshest effects are predicted in northern Maine, where blizzard warnings are in effect for around 70,000 people in Penobscot and Aroostook counties through Saturday evening, according to the National Weather Service.

Also Read: US Weather Forecast: Coastal Storm to Bring Heavy Rain and Snow in New England

At Least One Person Is Killed In New England's Deadly Cold Blast

Temperatures dropped to 4 degrees in New York City, -6 degrees in Hartford, Conn., and -15 degrees in Concord, N.H., with the wind making it seem even worse, as per The New York Times.

The weather system was responsible for at least one death. On Friday in western Massachusetts, a tree toppled and smashed a car in Southwick, west of Springfield, killing an infant passenger.

According to a statement from the district attorney's office in Hampden County, the 23-year-old driver, the victim's aunt, received critical injuries.

The temperature was minus 47 degrees at 4 a.m. at the summit of Mount Washington in New Hampshire, the region's highest peak.

Saturday equaled the previous record, which had been established in 1934.

Wind chills hit minus 110 degrees Fahrenheit and were likely among the lowest ever recorded, however, workers at the 6,288-foot peak's meteorological observatory claimed they do not preserve long-term wind chill data and could not confirm the record.

Conditions had improved by late Saturday, and the bitter cold was forecast to lift by Sunday.

Meanwhile, government authorities created warming shelters, issued frostbite and hypothermia warnings, and advised residents to stay inside.

According to the website poweroutage.us, 18,000 people in Maine and New York State were without power on Saturday morning; by the afternoon, all but 5,000 had power restored.

A city spokeswoman in Portland, Maine, said 92 individuals showed up seeking warmth overnight on Friday and into Saturday morning at a shelter designed to handle 75 people.

Chairs were brought up to accommodate the increased attendance.It was calm early Saturday morning inside Boston's South Station, the downtown rail hub that had been left unsecured overnight to give emergency refuge on Friday and Saturday.

Dozens of people wrapped in sleeping bags, quilts, fibrous blankets, and even trash bags slept against the station's walls and benches. Others stood in front of the timetable board, waiting for delayed trains.

Related article: US Weather Forecast: California Braces for Severe Rains, Storms, and Possible Flooding As US Nears Halfway of Meteorological Winter
The dead sperm whale found on the shore of Hawaii consumed plastic debris and fishing gear, which could lead to sudden death.

Sperm whales have suffered from the threat of plastic pollution in the world's oceans.

The threat of plastics on bodies of water has raised concerns over the impact on the marine environment.

Sperm whales consumed plastic and fishing gear

Recently, a dead sperm whale was found ashore in Hawaii, according to The Guardian's report.

The whale was said to be 56ft and 54,000 kg.

Immediately, scientists examined the tragic death of the dead sperm whale.

According to The Guardian, Kristi West, the University of Hawaii's Health and Stranding Lab's director, explained that the dead whale's stomach had foreign objects, including fishing gear and plastic debris.

The problem of plastic pollution and fishing gear entanglement has been a growing concern due to its impact on endangered marine animals.

The report said that the foreign objects inside the sperm whale's stomach blocked the digestion of fish and squid.

Two types of plastic bags, fishing net and traps, were discovered from the whale.

It could have been more, as the researchers did not look into the stomach entirely.

From 1800 to 1987, NOAA reported that sperm whales suffered from the commercial whaling industry.

It resulted in the decline of the sperm whale population, and their species are considered Endangered.

Also Read: Whale Sighted Off North Carolina's Coast Suffers from Fishing Gear Entanglement, Serious Injury; Experts Raise Concerns

Last year, Nature World News reported that blue whales are the biggest microplastic consumer.

Blue whales eat 10 million pieces of microplastic daily.

Fishing gear entanglement

Recently, The News and Observer reported, on January 13, that an injured whale was found off North Carolina's Outer Banks.

NOAA said that a four-year-old right whale was seriously injured, with signs of wounds and possible parasites.

The report noted that the whale could likely survive due to injuries from fishing gear entanglement.

NOAA explained that they did not immediately rescue the whale because it was already far away for rescuers.

However, the agency ensured that they would try to locate the injured whale.

Dolphins are also victims of fishing gear entanglement.

Reuters further reported that endangered Irrawaddy dolphins died from fishing gear entanglement.

Other threats that sperm whales face

According to the Conserve Wildlife in New Jersey, sperm whales are protected under the Marine Mammal Protection of 1972.

Unlike other whales, the report said that sperm whales have the most number of whales, estimating the population can reach from 200,000 to 1,500,000.

In addition, sperm whales are no strangers to threats.

The population of sperm whales suffers from habitat loss, fishing gear entanglement, climate change, ship collisions, noise pollution and commercial hunting.

Did you know? Facts about Sperm Whales

According to NOAA, sperm whales are considered the largest whales with the tooth, swimming over the world's oceans.

The name is derived from spermaceti.

NOAA said it is a waxy substance in their heads. The role of the spermaceti is for the animals to focus on sound.

Related Article: Blue Whales Are the Biggest Microplastic Consumer Victims, Eating an Estimated 10 Million Pieces of Microplastic Daily

For more similar, don't forget to follow Nature World News.
Abuja, Nigeria  Nigerian Central Bank authorities are calling for calm as citizens march in the streets protesting cash and fuel shortages days ahead of the February 10 deadline when the country will switch to redesigned currency. Protesters asked authorities Friday to circulate the new notes or reverse the currency switch decision. President Muhammadu Buhari assured citizens Friday that the problem will be addressed in a matter of days.

Central Bank of Nigeria Governor Godwin Emefiele told reporters Saturday authorities are taking measures to ensure smooth flow of the cash swap and minimize inconvenience.

He said there are enough of the redesigned currency and reiterated that the deadline to exchange the old bills for the new ones will not be extended beyond February 10.

On Sunday, the CBN announced a 10-day extension from January 31 for citizens to exchange world currencies for the new 200-, 500-, and 1,000-naira bills

But across many states, citizens say the new cash is yet to circulate, bringing business to a halt.

The situation snowballed into protests Friday in Oyo, Delta, Osun and Lagos states. Angry mobs vandalized banks and gas stations.

Ogho Okiti, the managing director of BusinessDay Media Ltd. said the new policy, though profitable, is already showing signs of poor implementation.

"What I think is happening is that we're seeing an evidence of poor execution of the policy," said Okiti. "There's the dimension of logistics, there's dimension of restrictions, then the dimension of accessibility, even to make transfers online you're not able to do that. So, it's putting so much frustration and pressure on the system".

Nigeria is also facing intensifying fuel shortages across the country due to a disruption in the product distribution chain caused by the activities of cross-border smugglers.

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On Friday, Buhari called for calm and said he has met with officials to resolve the problem in a lasting manner.

Oyo state Governor Sheyi Makinde also addressed residents in a televised broadcast, condemning violence in the state's capital of Ibadan.

"The violence that erupted in part of Ibadan today is condemnable and will not be tolerated," said Makinde. "In response to this I've suspended all campaign activities, I've also met with the heads of security agencies in Oyo state to restore calm. Violence cannot and will not solve our problems".

But across many states, citizens say the new cash is yet to circulate and the old notes have been mostly withdrawn from circulation, making business transactions difficult.

"The protest was actually peaceful, but I guess some people ... all these political thugs joined, that is why it actually became violent. The bank was actually damaged totally, because they burgled the ATM machine, sike ?? parts of the windows," said Stephen Adekunle, an Oyo State Resident.

This is Nigeria's first currency swap in 19 years.

Authorities say the measure is already making an impact curbing crimes, counterfeiting and corruption, as well as recalling the excess cash stashed away back into the banking system.
A devastating and widespread wildfire hit Chile this weekend, resulting in about 900 injuries, 23 casualties and 1000 people evacuated.

Wildfires have become common in the country, burning forests and displacing nearby communities.

Chile's low humidity and dry weather resulted in sudden wildlife.

The situation worsened due to wind gusts.

According to NASA, February unleashed extreme weather events in Chile.

The report explained that the extreme changes in 2019 helped bring challenging heat to the country.

Dangerous wildfire in Chile

NASA added that Chile recorded scorching temperatures that impacted communities.

In the southern parts, residents suffered from record-breaking temperatures that promoted the government to declare disaster areas.

The impact of wildfires would affect the biodiversity of the ecosystems of animals living in the forests.

According to AccuWeather's latest report this February 6, a significant wildfire emerged in Chile.

The deadly wildfire is named Biobio wildfire.

The local reports and Rado Agricultura said that the devastating wildfire reached Chile's southern and central parts.

The wildfire affected regions of La Araucania and Nuble.

The report said that there were 23 casualties (As of Saturday).

About 979 people were reported injured.

More than 1,000 people were evacuated and sheltered.

Reuters reported that the wildfires ravaged about 270,000 hectares.

Firefighters worked tirelessly to put the flame, resulting in 151 fires that were immediately controlled.

AccuWeather said that 3,000 volunteers and 2,300 CONAH brigade firefighters, and 66 aircraft were deployed.

Meanwhile, Reuters said that emergency declarations were issued in affected regions of Nuble, Araucania and Biobio to expedite rescue and relief operations.

In addition, international communities pledged assistance and firefighting teams to help with the widespread wildfires.

Prolonged drought in Chile

Central Chile has recorded prolonged drought conditions that have a long-term impact on communities and wildlife.

In a recent report, NASA Earth Observatory showed the extreme drought in the country.

The report noted less rainfall in Chile, making it more difficult for farmers and residents.

Meanwhile, a 2022 report from DownToEarth explained that global warming and human-caused climate change are factors that aggravated the worsening and prolonged drought in Central Chile.

The report said that the Megadrought in Chile showed above-normal and unusual temperatures in the region, with less rain from 2010 to 2018.

Also Read: Wildfire Causes Damage in Easter Island's Iconic Moai Stones

The significant effect of megadrought impacted the vegetation and biodiversity in Central Chile.

Recently, bee hives were affected in Santiago due to the drought.

The problem of drought in Chile has been concerning by emerging wildfires.

With the country's rain deficit, drought is expected to be more common.

Did you know? More facts about Chile Weather Conditions

NASA explained that Chile is no stranger to extreme wildfires. The report said that the Northern part of the country suffers from flooding while the south suffers from burning.

The low humidity, prolonged drought, dry conditions and wind gusts are sufficient ingredients for extreme wildlife to emerge in the country.

Related Article: Experts Say Marine Heat Waves Pose a 'Very Big Concern'

For more similar stories, don't forget to follow Nature World News.
Utah lawmakers have put emergency preparations in place to save the Great Salt Lake, which is on the edge of ecological catastrophe.

Before the parliamentary session began on Tuesday, scientists and activists issued their most serious warning yet about the lake's future, claiming that "the lake as we know it is on course to disappear in five years" if current losses continue.

Diminishing waters in the Great Salt Lake

The lake is diminishing, but the shifting salinity is more pressing. The lake has become so saline that species at the bottom of its food chain, such as brine flies, that have adapted to tolerate harsh circumstances, are becoming extinct, as per NBC News.

Still, the ingredients are in place for a return as state legislators begin their 45-day legislative term.

"On the lake itself, we're at a crossroads," said Joel Ferry, executive director of the state department of natural resources.

"Are we ready to accept that the lake will not produce anything? That we'll have dust storms and an ecology that isn't prospering and is collapsing? We are unwilling to do so as a nation and a state."

State coffers are brimming, with forecasts predicting billions in unexpected state income on top of a $1.3 billion budget surplus.

Lawmakers have stated that they are prepared to open the financial floodgates.

The lake has dominated public and media attention, putting pressure on politicians to act.

And the mountains above Salt Lake City are gleaming with a snowfall that's about double its normal size for this time of year, promising a robust flow of spring runoff to the rivers that feed the Great Salt Lake.

Decisions and investments made during the legislative session could steer the lake in a new direction, buy time to restore it, and ultimately determine its fate, according to state political leaders.

Since pioneers first settled the Salt Lake Valley, the volume of water in the Great Salt Lake has decreased by more than two-thirds.

Much of the lake's surface is now visible. Water levels reached an all-time low this September.

Photographs of deserted marinas and the lake's crumbling crust frequently depict the lake's deterioration.

But maybe the most alarming indication lurks beneath the surface of the remaining water.

The salinity of the lake has grown rapidly in recent years, approaching deadly levels for the organisms at the bottom of its food web.

Brine shrimp are an important feeding source for aquaculture. Low water levels also endanger other economic essentials.

The lake's depletion prompted the U.S. Magnesium, the country's largest producer of magnesium, will request to enlarge canals used to take in and evaporate lake brine in order to mine the metal.

Late last year, the Utah Department of Environmental Quality refused its application.

Meanwhile, hazardous dust from the lake's parched surface, which includes arsenic and other heavy metals, sweeps into nearby settlements, endangering more than 2 million inhabitants in an area already battling with poor air quality.

In recent years, state officials have become aware of the lake's problem: that upstream water consumption strangles the terminal lake.

The rivers and streams that feed The Great Salt Lake are overallocated, which means that farmers and other water users have collective rights to more water than what normally flows through each year.

The amount of water that reaches the lake is insufficient, especially during a drought.

Also Read: The Great Salt Lake Is Experiencing Hyper Salinity, Posing a Serious Threat to the Ecosystems and Economies [Study]

Drought Impacts on Water Utilities

The water industry is critical to both public health and the economy.

Water utilities provide a consistent supply of clean water to people and ecosystems, as well as significantly contribute to the resilience of many other sectors, including agriculture, electricity, and industry, as per NOAA NIDIS.

During drought years, many places rely more heavily on groundwater.

Groundwater supplies more than 40% of the water utilized in agricultural and home water sources in the United States.

Increased pumping during droughts can diminish future supply availability, but initiatives to refill depleted subterranean aquifers can help improve drought resilience.

The water utility industry aims to respond to water supply risks, endure the effects of drought, and recover swiftly when drought occurs.

Drought and water scarcity planning is not just a best management practice for water suppliers; it is also becoming a mandate in an increasing number of states and water management districts.

A water shortage plan helps a water supplier to identify risks and decrease a community's vulnerability to water shortage consequences, as well as to create priorities that will provide water for public health and safety while minimizing impacts on economic activity and environmental resources.

Long-term drought resilience measures should also take into account expected climatic conditions and include planning to forecast demand and develop supply options for the foreseeable future.

Drought can jeopardize both the amount and quality of water given to the public by utilities.

As a result, early warning systems are critical for the water utility industry in enhancing its drought resistance.

The following materials are categorized according to the essential components of a drought early warning system.

Drought monitoring and observation, drought preparation & planning; drought prediction and forecasting, contact with the general public and impacted sectors; and Interdisciplinary and applied research on drought-affected sectors' concerns.

Related article: "The Lake is In Trouble" - Experts Worried as Utah's Great Salt Lake Hits Historic Low
Two marine acoustic labs have released noises such as "singing" ice, a seal that sounds like it is in space, and a seismic airgun that thunders like a bomb.

The project introduces the public to 50 never-before-heard underwater sounds recorded in the polar regions.

It emphasizes how noisy the oceans are becoming as a result of increased human activity, which also disrupts sea life.

"These sounds are fairly alien to most people," said Dr. Geraint Rhys Whittaker, an artist, and researcher.

What do you hear when you think of the Arctic and Antarctic

"We probably think we know what the poles sound like, but that is often imagined," said Dr. Whittaker, who works at Germany's Helmholtz Institute for Functional Marine Biodiversity and the Alfred Wegener Institute, as per the BBC.

The underwater microphones were attached to scientific instrument floats that were left in the Arctic and Antarctic for about two years.

Calls from the least-studied Antarctic seal were captured.

Ross seals live in the open seas and on difficult-to-access pack ice. The scientists captured five different frequency calls from the creature.

There were also reports of crabeater seals, minke whales, narwhals, and humpback whales.

The inhospitable environment and vast distances that animals travel in the regions make it difficult to capture these sounds.

Dr. Whittaker explained that knowing where the mammals will be is difficult because they move and you can't rely on where they will be.

The roaring collapse of ice shelves was also captured, a process accelerated in parts of the polar regions by rising temperatures caused by climate change.

The collection includes the delicate sound of "singing" ice.

It is caused by ice moving or contracting in water as temperatures rise and fall, or when the ice melts and refreezes.

Few people read scientific research published by universities, according to Dr. Whittaker, and he hoped that listening to the sounds will cause people to pause and reflect on the polar oceans.

Oceans cover 71% of our planet's surface and are critical to the survival of life on Earth, but they are being severely impacted by climate change.

Human-made noise in the oceans, such as that caused by shipping and oil and gas exploration, was also picked up by microphones.

Noise pollution from seismic blasting, which is used to explore the seabed, travels great distances, and scientists have discovered that it hurts animal life.

The project reveals how noisy the oceans are, according to Dr. Whittaker, who hoped it will highlight the need for laws to reduce noise from shipping and dredging that harms marine life.

With the Earth's poles warming faster than the global average, this accumulation of sounds aims to bring attention to a fascinating but rapidly evolving environment and encourages us to consider ways to preserve it for future generations, according to Stuart Fowkes, founder of Cities and Memory.

Dr. Ilse van Opzeeland of the Alfred Wegener Institute's Ocean Acoustics Group believes that combining art and science will help raise awareness.

Also Read: Climate Change: Antarctica and Arctic Simultaneously Experiencing More than 30 to 40 Degrees Celsius Increase in Temperature

Warmer air and water temperatures are causing the Antarctic Ice Sheet to lose mass, as per UC San Diego.

Large floating ice shelves form in many areas where Antarctic land ice meets the ocean, making these areas particularly vulnerable to ocean melting.

Warm ocean currents flowing beneath ice shelves are driving melting.

Scripps researchers discovered that geologic formations that allow water to flow beneath ice shelves are to blame for the Ross Ice Shelf's varying melt rates.

This remote region has a significant impact on global climate and ecosystem health.

According to studies, despite accounting for only about 30% of the world's ocean area, the Southern Ocean accounts for half of the ocean's uptake of man-made carbon from the atmosphere and the majority of its heat uptake.

The Southern Ocean's upwelling the process by which colder water from the depths circulates to the surface delivers nutrients to temperate and tropical areas that are critical to ocean ecosystems worldwide.

Furthermore, the effects of ocean acidification, caused by increased CO2 absorption, are expected to be most severe in the Southern Ocean, with ecosystem tipping points reached within a few decades.

Because small temperature differences can have a large effect on the extent and thickness of sea ice, polar marine ecosystems are especially vulnerable to climate change.

Animals that rely on sea ice, such as seals and polar bears, are losing habitat, forcing them to abandon breeding and hunting grounds.

Phytoplankton and other microscopic marine organisms, on the other hand, are at the bottom of the food chain.

These organisms provide food for krill and fish, which in turn provide prey for larger animals.

Researchers have documented declining krill populations in Antarctica, affecting species such as Adelie penguins.

Scripps scientists are studying how changing temperatures and salinity in the polar regions affect organisms at the bottom of the food chain.

Related article: Climate Crisis: Ground Temperatures Reaches 118 Degrees in the Arctic Circle
According to the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands, we are losing wetlands three times faster than forests.

When it comes to restoring them to their natural state, one hero with extraordinary abilities stands out: the beaver.

Wetlands hold water, act as a carbon sink, and provide food.

As per the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands, wetlands benefit humanity more than any other terrestrial ecosystem - yet they are disappearing at an alarming rate.

The main issues are agricultural and urban growth, as well as droughts and higher temperatures caused by climate change.

However, if you have a river and a beaver, you may be able to halt this process.

How beavers are reviving wetlandsscs

These furry sharp-toothed rodents construct dams on waterways to create ponds, within which they construct a "lodge" to protect themselves from predators, as per the BBC.

They chew tree trunks until they fall, then use the trunk and branches as building materials, along with stones at the base, mud, and plants to seal the dam's upstream wall.

The dam causes flooding, slows the flow of water, and keeps it on the landscape for a longer period of time.

"This transforms simple streams into thriving wetland ecosystems," said Emily Fairfax, a California State University ecohydrologist.

Their wetlands are ideal habitats for many different species due to the abundance of food and water.

That is why beavers are considered a keystone species.

Beavers have been reintroduced into Canada and several states in the United States over the last 50 years.

Initially, this was done to restore beaver populations after they were nearly hunted to extinction for their fur and meat in the nineteenth century.

However, the restoration of wetland ecosystems has resulted in significant biodiversity gains, including the return of many species of frogs, fish, and invertebrates.

In 2018, Finnish researchers discovered that beaver-engineered ponds contained nearly twice as many mammal species as other ponds.

Weasels, otters, and even moose were more common.

"Beaver wetlands are pretty unique," said Nigel Willby, a freshwater science professor at the University of Stirling.

Anyone can build a pond, but beavers build incredibly good ponds for biodiversity, partly because they are shallow, littered with dead wood, and generally messed with by beavers feeding on plants, digging canals, repairing dams, building lodges, and so on.

Beavers, in essence, excel at creating complex wetland habitats that we could never match.

A healthy wetland ecosystem also sequesters large amounts of carbon, and scientists believe that by acting as a sponge and soaking up floodwaters, it can mitigate the effects of climate change.

Wetlands store water during wet seasons and slowly release it during droughts.

When there is a drought, all of the plants in a floodplain rely on the stored water in the soil to stay green and healthy.

Also Read: 400 Years of Extinction: 'Justin Beaver' and 'Sigourney Beaver' to Return in Enfield, London to Combat Flooding

Beavers help reduce the impacts of climate change

We will have more rain and less snow as our climate changes in the Pacific Northwest.

Large, sudden high-flow events in streams will become more common, as per King County.

Beaver dams act as speed bumps in streams, slowing the flow of water as it moves through a system.

Slower water means less erosion and, in some cases, less storm flooding.

Ponds absorb some of the water even if they appear to be full, so the volume of water decreases through a beaver system as well.

Water temperatures downstream of beaver ponds were 2.5 degrees Celsius lower than upstream, according to a recent study in western Washington.

That's 4.5 degrees Fahrenheit. These changes occurred due to the ponds' ability to recharge groundwater, which resurfaces colder downstream.

Fish and other wildlife suffer from thermal stress as air and water temperatures rise due to climate change and other human impacts.

The downstream cooling effects of beaver ponds are beneficial.

Finally, beaver dams can hold more water in stream systems than the streams themselves.

Because water does not burn, beaver wetlands serve as natural fire breaks.

And, as wildfires become more likely on both sides of the Cascades, fire control becomes more important.

Beavers and beaver ponds increase habitat for a variety of insect, bird, amphibian, mammal, and fish species, including coho and steelhead salmon.

Beaver wetlands provide a habitat for a significantly greater number of species than ponds without beavers.

These animals are known as ecosystem engineers because they create, significantly modify, and maintain habitats and ecosystems, and as a result, they have a significant impact on an area's biodiversity.

They introduce wood into the water, which provides food and shelter for insects, which in turn become food for other species, including salmon.



Related article: Why Beaver Teeth Are So Tough
Addis Abeba  The Peace negotiating teams of the federal government and the Tigray Region have met in the presence of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed (PhD) for the first time and discussed the progress of the implementation of the peace agreement signed between the two in November last year.

PM Abiy Ahmed along with other higher officials including Deputy Prime Minister Demeke Mekonnen met face to face with Tigrayan delegation that includes among others Getachew Reda, Lt. Gen.Tsadikan Gebretinsae and General Tadesse Werede at Halala Kela, Dawuro zone, in Southern Nations, Nationalities and People's regional state (SNNP), for the first time since the disharmony between the federal government of and the regional authorities that led to the bloody war in Northern Ethiopia.

According to the official dispatch on the meeting, the two sides discussed the progress of the implementation of the peace deal for two days.

The unexpected meeting happened amid growing concerns about delayed and inadequate basic services restoration in the Tigray region, including banking, road transport and telecommunications. Although some progresses have been seen in the resumption of air travel, opening up of banking services and restoration of telecommunication in the Tigray region, which has been under a "de facto blockade" for two years, the progress has been slow, and the resumed services remain inadequate as opposed to the massive needs.

Even in the area of humanitarian aid, where a significant progress has been achieved since the peace deal was struck, the UN said on 02 February that "some pockets remained that have not yet been accessed" in the delivery of aid, which stands at "more than 127,000 tons of food... reaching more than 3.8 million people."

Redwan Hussein, National Security Advisor to the PM told the state broadcaster since their meeting Pretoria and then, the two meetings in Nairobi, the two parties have been exerting extra efforts "to show commitment and build trust at all levels and creating transparency in the peace agreement, without necessarily sticking only to the details of the peace agreement".

"The Prime Minister has come with a group of other leaders to see the situation where we have reached, and this is similar to what we did last time when we went to Mekelle, which boosts confidence in both sides," he added.

According to Redwan, the two parties have taken into account the situation in Tigray, and Ethiopia at the center of their responsibility and to jointly shoulder the price the war has costed the country.

Getachew Reda from the Tigray delegation also told the state broadcaster that the two teams have discussed improvements in restoring basic services since the peace deal and agreed to work on the remaining issues.

He said, "the people of Tigray have been in great trouble for the past two and a half years. It has been without basic services and humanitarian aid. Services like telephone, air transport etc have only been restored recently yet there are serious shortcomings to this services. Banks have opened but due to serious shortage of cash they haven't been giving services, so we've discussed on ways of improving all these".

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He said that they had discussions on the ways in which other services are strengthened and to enable the people of Tigray return to their normal lives after all the sufferings they endured.

"There is ongoing transition in the Tigray Region that aims to resolve political issues with regard to the agreement, and that takes into account the political need of the Tigray people, and in a way that particularly address and resolve once and for all the issues that have led to the war and in a way that meets the aspirations of the Tigrayan people," Getachew said.

On 02 February the US said over the past three months, since the signing of the agreement "important progress" by the parties in implementing key aspects of the agreement have been seen "including the steady and growing delivery of humanitarian aid, initial steps in discussions about a transitional justice process, the ongoing restoration of services; electricity, telecommunications, and banking; significant turnover of heavy weapons, and, in the past couple weeks, a pullback of Eritrean forces from the Tigray region". AS
Oracle on Monday said it is planning to invest $1.5 billion in Saudi Arabia to bolster its cloud computing capacity in the Middle East.

The planned investment, which is part of Oracles memorandum of understanding with Saudi Arabia Ministry of Communications and Information Technology, will see the public cloud services provider expand its existing cloud region in Jeddah, and open a new one in Riyadh.

In addition to the Riyadh region, Oracle will work with the ministry to set up a commercial and operational model for another cloud region in Saudi Arabia that complies with Saudi government requirements and local data residency regulations.

The company also plans to set up a separate cloud region in the futuristic city of Neom.

Neom is being built as part of Saudi Vision 2030 program that has been planned to reduce Saudi Arabias dependence on oil and diversify its economy.

Oracle had first announced its intent to open 14 new cloud regions including those in Saudi Arabia in October 2021. Other Middle East regions announced during that time included a new region in Jerusalem and a second region in Abu Dhabi.

With the addition of the Riyadh region, the company will have six cloud regions in the Middle East, Oracle said.

Cloud players bullish on the Middle East

Oracle rivals such as Amazon Web Services, Microsoft and Google Cloud have also been bullish on the Middle East, with each of them rapidly expanding their cloud footprint across the region.

In August last year, AWS had opened its new cloud region in the UAE. The UAE region, which consists of three availability zones, joined the companys existing cloud region in Bahrain, which was made available in 2019. The Bahrain cloud region is composed of three availability zones and one local region.

AWS also has plans to add a new region in Israel.

Microsoft too made its Qatar cloud region operational in August last year after opening regions in Abu Dhabi and Dubai in 2019. Microsoft is also planning to launch a new cloud region in Israel soon.

Similarly, Google Cloud, has announced plans to launch two regions each with three zones in Dammam, Saudi Arabia, and Doha, Qatar. It already operates one region with three zones in Tel Aviv.
Khartoum  The UN Expert on the Situation of Human Rights in Sudan, Radhouane Nouicer, has called for a speedy accountability of the security forces accused of committing violations. At a press conference in Khartoum on Thursday, at the conclusion of his five-day first official visit to the country since his appointment in December*, Nouicer urged lifting immunities on legal prosecution of members of the security forces involved in human rights violations. He called for drawing up a clear roadmap for the reform of the security sector.

The former Tunisian diplomat stressed the need for human rights and accountability to be central topics in the programme of the next government. The establishment of a transitional justice commission should be at the top of the next stage's priorities.

The Sudanese authorities must also work out a zero-tolerance policy for sexual violence against women and put in place the necessary measures to stop it.

The UN expert welcomed the human rights commitments contained in the Framework Agreement.

Imposing the Emergency Law should be restricted, he said, as it is used to detain people for long periods without respecting their rights to fair legal process, as happened to about 350 people in West and North Darfur last year.

He expressed his deep concern about the decline in the enjoyment of economic, social and cultural rights for the Sudanese, including basic services, due to the deterioration of the economy, the increase in the cost of living, and the increase in taxes and fees, without an increase in incomes.

The independent expert for human rights called for providing security and political commitment to resolving the underlying causes of the conflict for the return of the displaced to their villages.

In a press statement, he pointed out that the displaced in El Geneina have been displaced repeatedly as a result of armed attacks against their communities, and the perpetrators have not been held accountable.

He said that the inability to take action to protect the people of Darfur will lead to more conflict and an increase in the number of people who depend on humanitarian aid in a land rich in natural resources.

He called for all those responsible for human rights violations and abuses committed during the conflicts in Sudan to be held accountable, in accordance with legal procedures and without undue delay.

He said that accountability and transitional justice issues require credible practical mechanisms that address past crimes and their root causes and provide a legal infrastructure that prevents their recurrence.

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During this visit, which will end on 3 February, he will meet with senior Government officials, representatives of civil society organizations, human rights defenders, heads of UN entities and members of the diplomatic corps. He will also be following up on actions taken by the Sudanese authorities to implement the recommendations made by his predecessor, Adama Dieng, and on commitments made to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Turk, when he visited the country in November last year.

The expert's findings during the visit will contribute to High Commissioner Turk's oral update to the 52nd session of the UN Human Rights Council on March 3, 2023 on the human rights situation in Sudan. It will also contribute to the High Commissioner's comprehensive report on the situation to the 53rd session of the Human Rights Council in June.

* Radhouane Nouicer, who served as Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs for the Tunisian Transitional Government in 2011, was designated UN Expert on the situation of the human rights in the Sudan on 16 December 2022, pursuant to Human Rights Council resolutionsA/HRC/S-32/1 and A/HRC/50/1. Nouicer has held senior positions at the UN for over 30 years, including at the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) and the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
Jeffrey Eric Jenkins is professor and chair of theater studies at the University of Illinois, faculty affiliate of the Discovery Partners Institute and president of the International Association of Theatre Critics. He can be reached at jej@illinois.edu, and you can follow him on Twitter (@Crrritic).
Feature: Chinese agricultural tech shines at Bangladesh's expo

Xinhua) 16:43, February 06, 2023

DHAKA, Feb. 6 (Xinhua) -- The "11th International Agro Tech Bangladesh-2023", South Asia's largest milling technology exhibition, was held between Feb. 2 to Feb. 4 in Bangladesh's capital city Dhaka.

The exhibition is being held concurrently with the three-day "Grain Tech Bangladesh-2023" and "Food Tech Dhaka Expo-2023", bringing together sector insiders from home and abroad, especially China, under one roof.

LA Trade Fairs and Exhibitions Private Limited, a local event management firm, and Rural Development Academy (RDA) of the Bangladeshi government, jointly organized the exhibitions which kicked off here on Thursday.

Almost everything from a farm to a consumer's dining table is covered by the "Agro Tech, Grain Tech, and Food Tech" exhibitions, which showcased cutting edge-technologies for rice millers, feed millers, flour millers, pulse millers, boilers, etc.

Re-boilers, grain dryers, milling machinery, dairy and poultry equipment, animal health technology, processing plants, baking machinery, cooling systems, and packaging machinery, with all kinds of printing technology, including bagging machinery, labeling, barcode technology, etc., are all being showcased at the exhibition.

Engineer Rezaul Karim, senior general manager (technology and engineering division) of Bangladesh's leading Deshbandhu Group, said, "What I have found is that the Chinese technology and machinery perform extremely well and cost less."

Nowadays, Chinese machines are becoming more and more popular in Bangladesh, farmers and millers are extremely interested in using reasonably priced Chinese machines that are easy to operate, he added.

He said Bangladeshi people are also very familiar with Chinese technology and the local people can use an array of high-tech products that are made in China.

As result, both countries benefit mutually, said the private company official.

"I think more than 60 percent of equipment coming into Bangladesh is from China and our farmers are using these machines in our agricultural sectors," he said.

"Output has rapidly increased, that's why I appreciate the Chinese technology."

"I thank the Chinese people and the Chinese government and the Bangladeshi people and Bangladeshi government who helped expedite this cooperation," Karim said.

Kazi Sanowar Uddin, who is the managing director of the Limra Trade Fair and Exhibition, has been organizing the expo for a long time.

"We've been organizing this fair internationally for the past 14 years," Uddin said, "About 198 companies have directly participated here and there are 560 booths at the expo."

"We are people of South Asia and China is near to us. Their technology is advanced as well as renewable," Uddin said.

China is Bangladesh's very close friend helping to develop the Bangladeshi agro-industry by providing advanced technology, maintaining high quality at affordable prices, and providing after-sales service, he said.

"The main objective of our fair is to add value along with technological development and add value to the producer sharing the Chinese technology. All the advanced issues in these fields help us and our farmers a lot," Uddin continued.

"So we got a lot of response from the Chinese at this event."

"I welcome and wish them to reenter the market, and day by day people will use their technology again and business will flourish for all," hoped the expo organizer.

Nicho Fu is the Bangladeshi country representative of Famsun Co. Ltd. which has been doing business in Bangladesh for more than 10 years.

"We do a lot of business in Bangladesh, including feed milling at the farm and the silo and some other businesses here, and we want to enlarge and extend our business industrially, like into oil industry," said Fu.

He expressed the hope that his company has a bright future in Bangladesh with more and more farmers here seeking affordable Chinese technologies for augmenting production at a reasonable cost.

Caesar is the sale manager of Huali Co. Ltd., the company which started business since 2004 and mainly supports poultry farmers with technologies.

He said Bangladeshi customers are very good and very friendly, and they are striving hard to improve their business in the country with fresh opportunities across the country for their equipment, machinery and raw materials.

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun)
Khartoum  Sudan and Israel have taken a step closer to normalisation of bilateral relations, following a one-day visit to Khartoum by Israel's Foreign Minister, Eli Cohen yesterday, where he met with the chairman of Sudan's Sovereignty Council and junta leader Lt Gen Abdelfattah El Burhan.

The official Sudan News Agency (SUNA) and the Sovereignty Council's media liaison confirmed the meeting in El Burhan's office that included the Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen and his accompanying delegation, In the presence of the Sudan's Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ali El Sadig.

The meeting touched on ways to establish fruitful relations with Israel and enhance prospects for joint cooperation between Khartoum and Tel Aviv in the fields of agriculture, energy, health, water, and education, especially in the security and military fields, the Sovereignty Council liaison says. The meeting also dealt with the role played by Sudan in addressing security issues in the region.

The Israeli newspaper Haaretz quoted an Israeli official on Wednesday, who said that Sudan is likely to be the next Islamic country to join the Abraham Accords with Israel. According to the official, he referred to negotiations that took place between Israel and Sudan in recent days and weeks. The official added that the USA is mediating between the two sides and that an agreement now appears possible.

Following the meeting, El Burhan and Cohen said they will sign a peace agreement in Washington later in 2023.

In October 2020, Sudan announced its interest in joining the Abraham Accords, and three months later, it signed the declarative section of the agreement in the presence of US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, but unlike the United States the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, Sudan it did not sign the corresponding document with Israel.

Following the military coup in Sudan in October 2021, Israeli officials made it clear that the chances of opening diplomatic relations between the two countries had diminished. However, due to the good relations between the political and military leadership of Israel and senior members of the military council in Sudan, there have been several reports since the coup about visits by Israeli delegations to Sudan - at the request of the United States - in an attempt to resolve the political crisis.

(Sources: RD / SUNA / HAARETZ)
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A large study looking at the effects of fertility treatment has found no robust difference in blood pressure, heart rate, lipids, and glucose measurements between children conceived naturally and those conceived using assisted reprofertility treatment leads to adverse cardiometabolic health in offspringductive technologies (ART).

The University of Bristol-led study, published in European Heart Journal today [6 February 2023] sought to address concerns around whether . The data sample included 8,600 children from Bristol's Children of the 90s study, a world-leading health study which has followed pregnant women and their offspring since 1991.

Since the first birth of a child by in vitro fertilisation (IVF), questions have been raised about the health risks to children conceived this way, however previous studies are limited by small sample size, short follow-up, and unsatisfactory comparison groups.

The study, led by an international research group from the Assisted Reproductive Technology and Health (A.R.T-Health) Partnership, looked at data from 35,000 European, Singaporean, and Australian offspring. It was large enough to study whether conception by ART affected blood pressure, pulse rate, lipids or glucose from childhood to young adulthood (up to early 20s).

The researchers found that blood pressure, heart rate, and glucose levels were similar in children conceived using ART and their naturally conceived peers. The team also found that those who were conceived by ART had slightly higher cholesterol levels in childhood, which did not persist to adulthood, and some indication of slightly higher blood pressure in adulthood.

This is the largest study of its kind, and could not be conducted without data from studies such as Children of the 90s. Parents conceiving or hoping to conceive through assisted reproductive technology and their offspring should be reassured that cardiometabolic health appears to be comparable in ART-conceived and naturally conceived children. Studies with longer follow-up would now be beneficial to examine how results might change across adulthood." Dr Ahmed Elhakeem, Research Fellow in Epidemiology in Bristol Medical School: Population Health Sciences (PHS) at the University of Bristol, and Lead Study Author

Deborah Lawlor, Professor of Epidemiology, MRC Investigator and British Heart Foundation Chair and senior author from Bristol Medical School: PHS, added: "This important research is only possible through large scale international collaboration and longitudinal health studies, where participants contribute health data throughout their entire lives. We are particularly grateful to the European Research Council, British Heart Foundation and UK National Institute for Health Research for making this possible and to all of the study participants and researchers."

Peter Thompson, Chief Executive, The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA), said: "Each year around 60,000 patients use fertility services in the UK in the hope of one day having a family of their own. Those patients should be reassured by this study which shows that the heart health of children born from assisted reproduction technologies, like IVF, are no different from children conceived naturally.

"Science and research move rapidly in the fertility sector but it is widely acknowledged that more large scale studies like this are needed to continually drive improvements in care. Health outcomes in children conceived using assisted reproductive technologies are a high priority for the HFEA and we monitor the latest research and provide information for patients and professionals. Anyone considering fertility treatment in the UK should visit www.hfea.gov.uk for high quality impartial information on treatment options and licensed clinics."

The study was funded by the European Research Council under the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation program, Medical Research Council (MRC), British Heart Foundation (BHF) and National Institute for Health and Care Research Bristol Biomedical Research Centre (NIHR Bristol BRC).
A recent study published in the journal PLoS Medicine evaluates outcomes in immunocompromised patients hospitalized with the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

Study: Outcome of COVID-19 in hospitalized immunocompromised patients: An analysis of the WHO ISARIC CCP-UK prospective cohort study. Image Credit: sfam_photo / Shutterstock.com

Background

COVID-19 disproportionately affects older adults and those with pre-existing health conditions. Early evidence from the COVID-19 pandemic suggested high mortality among immunocompromised subjects.

Several studies have reported conflicting COVID-19 mortality estimates between immunocompromised and other patient groups, with some suggesting more deaths and others reporting no differences.

About the study

In the present study, adults hospitalized with COVID-19 between January 17, 2020, and February 28, 2022, were enrolled in a prospective observational cohort study known as the International Severe Acute Respiratory and Emerging Infection Consortium (ISARIC) Clinical Characterization Protocol (CCP) in the United Kingdom.

Patients were considered immunocompromised if they had active cancer diagnosis/treatment, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection, congenital immune deficiency, underwent solid organ transplant or were using immunosuppressants or steroids before admission. Demographic characteristics, such as sex, age, ethnicity, and comorbidities, were recorded at hospitalization.

Asymptomatic patients were excluded from the analysis. In-hospital interventions were recorded, including respiratory support level and treatments, such as steroids and interleukin 6 (IL-6) receptor inhibitors.

The primary outcome of the study was in-hospital death. Secondary outcomes included oxygen use, non-invasive/invasive ventilation, and admission to critical care.

Multivariable logistic regression was performed to assess in-hospital mortality with adjustments for sex, age, ethnicity, comorbidities, vaccination, and deprivation index. Secondary outcome measures were similarly adjusted for the specified variables.

The researchers also determined whether in-hospital mortality differed between immunocompromised and immunocompetent patients.

Study findings

Overall, data for over 300,000 admissions were collected. Outcome data were available for 156,552 cases, 21,954 of whom were immunocompromised and the remaining were immunocompetent.

The median age of immunocompetent and immunocompromised patients was 69.5 and 71.5, respectively. Cancer patients and those taking immunosuppressants/steroids pre-admission were older than individuals with solid organ transplants, HIV infection, or congenital immune deficiency.

About 95% of immunocompromised patients were comorbid. Chronic pulmonary disease, malignant neoplasm, and hematologic and rheumatologic diseases were more common in immunocompromised patients, while diabetes, chronic cardiac disease, obesity, and hypertension were similar between the two groups.

About 85% of immunocompetent and 81% of immunocompromised individuals were non-vaccinated. Notably, 49% of admissions occurred before COVID-19 vaccines were available.

Disease severity at hospital presentation was similar between the two groups in the early pandemic and reduced over time, albeit to a lesser degree among immunocompromised patients.

Immunocompromised individuals more frequently required critical care admission, as well as invasive and non-invasive ventilation. Of note, cancer patients had a lower frequency of invasive ventilation and critical care admission.

Overall, 29% of immunocompromised and 21% of immunocompetent patients died. The highest mortality rate was observed in cancer patients and pre-hospitalization steroid users.

After adjustment, the odds ratio for mortality was 1.44 in immunocompromised patients. Adjusted odds ratios varied across immunocompromised patients for all outcomes. Patients on steroids/immunosuppressants exhibited consistently higher adjusted odds ratios for critical care admission, invasive/non-invasive ventilation, and mortality.

The mortality risk was the highest in cancer patients and lowest in HIV-infected patients. Mortality rates declined over time in both groups.

After adjustment, the odds ratio for mortality remained higher in immunocompromised patients across COVID-19 waves. The odds ratio for mortality was 0.66 for immunocompromised and 0.38 for immunocompetent patients in the fourth wave.

Conclusions

A higher adjusted mortality rate was observed among immunocompromised as compared to immunocompetent people. Immunocompromised patients had less reduction in severity at presentation and less improvement in mortality than immunocompetent patients. The number of hospitalized patients decreased over time after vaccination as compared to non-vaccinated patients.

Notably, the researchers did not obtain detailed medication histories of patients. As such, there was no information on which drug(s) was/were responsible for the immunocompromised state. Some patients in the first wave also lacked a confirmed COVID-19 diagnosis, as enrollment was based on high clinical suspicion.

Taken together, the researchers noted a smaller reduction in in-hospital deaths among immunocompromised patients in the ISARIC CCP-UK dataset. Cancer patients were at the highest mortality risk than other sub-groups.

Despite vaccination benefits, immunocompromised patients lag behind immunocompetent individuals in improvements in COVID-19 outcomes after hospitalization. Therefore, targeted interventions remain urgently needed in these patients.
Although the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the causal agent of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, predominantly infects adults, many children and infants can contract the mild or asymptomatic infection. Nevertheless, severe infection and mortality rates associated with COVID-19 are low among children.

Study: Systems biological assessment of the temporal dynamics of immunity to a viral infection in the first weeks and months of life. Image Credit: KieferPix / Shutterstock.com

*Important notice: medRxiv publishes preliminary scientific reports that are not peer-reviewed and, therefore, should not be regarded as conclusive, guide clinical practice/health-related behavior, or treated as established information.

Background

Compared to adults, infants, and young children possess different immune systems, both in their composition and function. The immune systems of children and infants mature significantly in the initial weeks and months of life. Although many studies have explored this maturation process in healthy infants, longitudinal analyses of the immune response to an infection in infants are rare.

Similarly, few studies have evaluated how an immature immune system responds to COVID-19 during the first weeks and months of life. There also remains a lack of research on the activation of the innate immune response in infants when they develop a mild infection.

Thus, the extent to which infants develop durable antibody responses, as well as T- and B-cell memory, to SARS-CoV-2 needs to be investigated. It is equally important to understand how COVID-19 impacts the maturing of infants' immune systems in the long term.

About the study

To this end, using a multi-omics approach, a recent study posted to the medRxiv* preprint server assesses immune responses to SARS-CoV-2 shortly after birth.

A total of 125 samples were obtained from 54 infants infected with SARS-CoV-2 and 27 healthy infants. The subjects were participants of the IMPRINT cohort at the Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, consisting of infants and young children tested weekly for COVID-19.

A total of 32 participants were infected with pre-Omicron variants, while 22 were infected with Omicron variants. Samples were collected longitudinally, and the median age of the infected infant was nine months.

Blood samples were also obtained from 48 adult COVID-19 patients and ten healthy (control) adults, whose average age was around 59 years.

Study findings

Although previous studies on SARS-CoV-2 infection in adults revealed a waning of antibody responses in approximately 120 days, the current study observed robust and durable antibody responses generated against SARS-CoV-2.

To date, the mechanism responsible for developing durable antibody titers in infants is unknown. Nevertheless, this information could support developing novel vaccines that provide long-term protection.

It is highly likely that the bone marrow of infants, which has less antigenic exposure than adults, generates a significant number of supportive niches to support long-term plasma cell survival.

The experimental results of the current study also revealed that infants are vulnerable to new SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern. This finding was based on reduced serum neutralization titers in infants and young children infected with Omicron sublineages, such as BA.1, BA.2, BA.3, and BA.4/5, as well as the Delta variant.

Limited duration and magnitude of memory B-cell responses were observed in infected infants. Furthermore, reduced memory T-cell responses were found in infants compared to adults.

Regarding autoantibodies, elevated antibody levels were observed against multiple autoantigens, such as autoimmune overlap syndromes (MI-2, Jo1), myositis (SRP54), and scleroderma. However, compared to healthy controls, the serum of COVID-19-infected infants and young children did not reveal enhanced anti-interferon  (IFN) autoantibodies.

Based on experimental results, it was suggested that an increase in autoantibodies after birth could be a commonly occurring event associated with the development of the infant's immune system, potentially caused by exposure to other infections. However, in the initial months after birth, infants also exhibit maternal immunoglobulins that were transferred to them before birth through the placenta.

A non-canonical state of inflammation characterized by the upregulation of activated markers on blood innate cells was observed. In addition, a unique plasma cytokine profile without inflammatory cytokines was found in infants. A transient accumulation of chemokines and type I IFN was also observed.

Plasma samples from infants and young children exhibited high levels of IFN2, CXC motif chemokine ligand 10 (CXCL10), interleukin 8 (IL-8), and IL18R1. Single-cell multi-omics and cytometry by time of flight (CyTOF) analysis indicated rapid activation of innate immune cells, which was determined based on the increased levels of activation markers including cluster of differentiation 38 (CD38), and human leukocyte antigen DR isotype (HLA-DR), as well as phosphorylated STAT1.

Conclusions

One of the limitations of the current study is the inclusion of adult samples associated with mild, moderate, and severe SARS-CoV-2 infection, whereas the majority of infants who were included only exhibited mild symptoms.

Nevertheless, as compared to mildly infected adult data, infants exhibited a reduced inflammatory plasma cytokine profile. The epigenetic imprints in the infant immune system were relatively short-lived and more heterogeneous as compared to adults.

Taken together, the current study provides novel insights into the perturbations triggered by a pathogen in the relatively immature immune system of infants.

*Important notice: medRxiv publishes preliminary scientific reports that are not peer-reviewed and, therefore, should not be regarded as conclusive, guide clinical practice/health-related behavior, or treated as established information.
Virus Watch was funded by The United Kingdom Research and Innovation (UKRI) Medical Research Council (MRC) & the Department of Health and Social Care National Institute for Health and Care Research (DHSC NIHR) in April 2020 under the COVID-19 Rapid Response Call 2. The motive behind Virus Watch was to bring together an experienced team of respiratory infectious disease epidemiologists to establish a national community cohort study of COVID-19 in Wales and England households.

Due to their underrepresentation in the cohort and the risk of hospitalization and death from COVID-19, additional funds were allocated for recruiting migrants and minority ethnicities. Further funding was also provided after the availability of vaccines in the United Kingdom in December 2020.

A new study posted on the pre-print medRxiv* aimed to discuss how Virus Watch provided public health approaches that were effective for the investigation of community incidence, symptom profiles, and the transmission of COVID-19, as well as the effectiveness of the COVID-19 vaccines.

Study: Cohort profile: Virus Watch: Understanding community incidence, symptom profiles, and transmission of COVID-19 in relation to population movement and behaviour. Image Credit: Dmitry Kovalchuk / Shutterstock

*Important notice: medRxiv publishes preliminary scientific reports that are not peer-reviewed and, therefore, should not be regarded as conclusive, guide clinical practice/health-related behavior, or treated as established information.

About the study

The study involved recruiting participants through postcards, adverts, and leaflets. The Royal Mail Post Office Address File was used to generate the list of sampled residential addresses where the Virus Watch recruitment postcards were to be sent. Enrolled participants who lived within 5 km were asked to join the laboratory cohort, while those who lived within 10 km were asked to visit the nearest clinic for serological sampling.

Moreover, 9 out of 15 NIHR Local Clinical Research Networks (LCRNs) in England were contacted to send SMS messages with the study link from General Practitioner (GP) clinics to their patient lists. Targeted letters based on ethnicity, along with a 20 voucher incentive per household, were also sent for the participation of minority ethnic participants. Digital invitations were sent via WhatsApp, Twitter, and Facebook. Additionally, radio and television appearances by the study team and newspaper articles were utilized to recruit participants.

Nasal swabs for PCR testing of SARS-CoV-2 were collected from the participants if they experienced symptoms such as fever, loss or change of sense of taste or smell, or cough for two days or more between October 2020 and May 2021. Blood samples were collected from vaccinated participants between February and August 2021 and every other month from September 2021 to March 2022. The participants were followed up quarterly for up to 5 years. A short survey was done for missing demographics at baseline, while gender was assigned based on the probability of the given names being male or female.

Study findings

The results indicated that 58,628 participants were included in the study from 28,527 households whose mean age was 48 years. More deprived communities were observed to be affected disproportionately by the social, health, and economic effects of the pandemic. Participants in the deprived areas were reported to be more likely to leave their house to go to work or school, share a car with a non-household member, use public transport, have close contact with a non-household member, and visit an essential shop. This mostly led to higher infection rates in the deprived regions.

Analysis of participants who received two doses of ChAdOx-S1 or BNT162b2 vaccine 3 weeks and 20 weeks after the second dose indicated antibody waning for both vaccines. However, the peak was reported to be higher after the BNT162b2 vaccination. People with lower antibody levels were reported to be at a higher risk of infection. Anti-S levels were observed to be higher post-booster as compared to the post-second dose, which was similar after 6 months for BNT162b2 recipients. Although the peak antibody levels were reported to be lower for ChAdOx-S1 as compared to BNT162b2 recipients, no differences were reported for post-booster antibody levels. Higher peak anti-S levels post-booster indicated increased efficacy of booster vaccination against infection with the Omicron variant.

Therefore, the current study demonstrated that the Virus Watch cohort set up in April 2020 effectively provided information on COVID-19 among different households in the United Kingdom. The study indicated that participants in deprived regions were at a greater risk of infection. It also indicated the waning of vaccine-induced immunity and the importance of booster vaccination to control infections caused by the Omicron variant.

Limitations

The study has certain limitations. First, the study sample might be biased toward people who are interested in COVID-19 as well as health research. Second, households with more than six members were not included in the study, so the results are not generalizable for these groups. Third, several demographic groups and some ethnic groups were underrepresented in the study. Fourth, the retention of participants decreased over the two years the study has been running.

*Important notice: medRxiv publishes preliminary scientific reports that are not peer-reviewed and, therefore, should not be regarded as conclusive, guide clinical practice/health-related behavior, or treated as established information.
The Access to Advanced Health Institute (AAHI) announced today that it has been awarded a project agreement worth up to $9.9 million through the Medical CBRN Defense Consortium (MCDC) Other Transaction Authority (OTA) to develop a prototype intranasal bivalent influenza RNA vaccine candidate based on AAHI's self-amplifying RNA (saRNA) platform that targets both pandemic A(H5N1) and A(H7N9) influenza virus pathogens.

This prototype project was awarded on behalf of the U.S. Department of Defense's (DoD) Joint Program Executive Office for Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear Defense (JPEO-CBRND) and the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), part of the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

AAHI's innovative RNA platform, which delivers saRNA bound to the exterior of a nanostructured lipid carrier (NLC), entered first-in-human clinical trials in May 2022 with Phase 1/2 clinical trials of the "AAHI-SC2" COVID-19 vaccine candidate (NCT05370040).

Respiratory viruses such as SARS-CoV-2 and influenza virus remain unique biological threats. Global health and domestic military readiness require effective vaccines that can be easily administered and are rapidly adaptable to emerging threats. Current mRNA vaccines against COVID-19 reduce severe illness and hospitalization, but they require boosters to maintain protection, are not always effective against viral variants, and do not effectively curtail viral transmission. Although influenza vaccines have been available for almost a century, three influenza pandemics have occurred since the 1918 H1N1 pandemic, of which the most recent 2009 pandemic claimed hundreds of thousands of lives worldwide in the first year.

This work with JPEO-CBRND and BARDA will build on AAHI's initial research and development, partially BARDA-funded, of an intranasal pandemic influenza RNA vaccine candidate in liquid and dry powder presentations. Intranasal vaccine administration could reduce or eliminate the use of needles by the ease of self-administration, potentially increasing vaccine uptake, and by driving key mucosal immune responses not typically induced by needle-administered vaccines.

Preclinical studies supporting the feasibility of AAHI's intranasal RNA vaccine showed that AAHI's saRNA vaccine construct against COVID-19 induced robust lung-resident T-cell immunity, coupled with strong systemic immunity. These results were presented on November 8, 2022, at the 10th International mRNA Health Conference in Boston. The findings demonstrated that AAHI's intranasal COVID-19 RNA vaccine provides an immune stimulatory combination that is key for robust protection and may also help significantly limit viral transmission.

Stimulating robust systemic and mucosal immunity with rapid-response RNA vaccine technology would be a game-changer for pandemic preparedness. Our preliminary data show great promise in preclinical models but have a long way to go to demonstrate effectiveness in humans. This prototype project is designed to bridge that gap quickly and effectively." Emily Voigt, PhD, Principal Scientist, AAHI RNA Platform Lead, and Principal Investigator for the award

AAHI's saRNA platform supports development of vaccines that not only promise to provide robust, broad, and durable protection against infectious diseases but also can be distributed rapidly worldwide, without requiring deep cold chain or other complex infrastructure. The demonstrated stability of AAHI's vaccine technologies for months at room temperature, combined with simplified manufacturing requirements, supports self-reliance and sustainability in low-resource areas by simplifying the supply chain logistics required to produce, transport, store, and distribute vaccines.

The 40-month project may culminate in a prototype bivalent vaccine candidate that is effective against both the H5N1 and H7N9 strains of influenza. AAHI plans to expand on this work to develop more efficient and equitably accessible RNA vaccines that can reach people in all areas of the world, regardless of geography or socio-economic status.

This project is supported in whole or in part with federal funds from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response, BARDA, and the DoD JPEO-CBRND's Chemical and Biological Defense Program (CBDP) under OTA #W15QKN-16-9-1002.

Effort sponsored by the U.S. Government under Other Transaction number W15QKN-16-9-1002 between the MCDC, and the Government. The US Government is authorized to reproduce and distribute reprints for Governmental purposes, notwithstanding any copyright notation thereon.

The views and conclusions contained herein are those of the authors and should not be interpreted as necessarily representing the official policies or endorsements, either expressed or implied, of the U.S. government.
Developmental language disorder (DLD) is a problem involving the acquisition and development of language, and children with it experience difficulties speaking, communicating, understanding and expressing themselves. It is also considered an "invisible disorder" because the markers of the condition are difficult to diagnose and to understand by professionals and the child's relatives, and some of these issues can be aggravated by gender stereotypes.

A team of experts in the interuniversity Cognition and Language Research Group ( GRECIL ) in the Faculty of Psychology and Education Sciences, affiliated to the eHealth Center (NHC) at the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (UOC) and the University of Barcelona (UB), has performed a critical review of various studies to assess the consequences of sexist myths on language and communication among children, and particularly those suffering from DLD.

The researchers have listed the ten most common sexist myths or stereotypes about language and the emotional sphere, including "girls have greater communication and language skills than boys" and "boys interrupt because they know more things than girls".

"In this study, we examined how sexist stereotypes influence important variables in the study of DLD, such as language and the socio-emotional sphere, based on the importance of working from a feminist perspective in science and in the approach to DLD," said Nadia Ahufinger, a member of the UOC's Faculty of Psychology and Education Sciences and of the Docentes Feministas por la Coeducacion (Feminist Teachers for Coeducation, DoFemCo) association, and Mari Aguilera, an expert at the University of Barcelona, the authors of the review.

The review also took into account aspects including the relationships between sexist socialization factors and the development of language and socio-emotional skills among children suffering from DLD, also known as specific language impairment (SLI). "These factors can have a negative impact on the detection and assessment of girls and boys with language difficulties at different stages of their development," Ahufinger pointed out.

The prevalence of DLD is estimated at around 7% in the pediatric population, i.e. one child in fourteen suffers from this type of disorder. "These boys and girls mainly present difficulties expressing and understanding spoken language, but their difficulties also extend to non-linguistic aspects including cognition, memory, academic performance and socio-emotional skills," said Aguilera.

Androcentric detection and assessment

In their review, the experts argue that sexist stereotypes have led to an androcentric detection and assessment of developmental language disorder. This situation has led to a more marked increase in cases of this type of disorder being detected among boys than girls, because boys tend to present more disruptive behaviors.

According to the scientific evidence, the difference between boys and girls in terms of language acquisition is not large enough to justify the widespread belief or myth that girls have better communication skills and language skills throughout their development, and we must understand that this idea is due to a sexist stereotype." Nadia Ahufinger, Member of the UOC's Faculty of Psychology and Education Sciences

Sexist stereotyping therefore has a major impact on the development and expression of emotionality, as well as on the way people relate to other people, i.e. on social relationships. "The sexist stereotype stems from the belief, which is still widespread even today, that girls/women are emotional and empathetic individuals who are oriented towards other people, and especially towards boys/men, and boys/men are rational individuals, oriented towards their own goals and achievements," said Aguilera.

In the opinion of the researchers, it is therefore necessary to take into account that girls may have language difficulties in the same way that boys do, but that they express them in a different way than their male counterparts.

An overrepresentation of boys and underdiagnosis of girls

According to the experts, studies of this disorder have to date suffered from an overrepresentation of boys in the samples, and the research may or may not identify or respond to the needs of girls.

"Due to this androcentric perspective, we still don't know if there is a profile of language difficulties  emotional, social and involving the various spheres affected  with this disorder that may differ between boys and girls. This aspect can directly lead to an underdiagnosis of girls and imbalances in the design of the intervention," said Ahufinger, adding that, given this situation, a methodology which takes the feminist perspective into account is required.

There is a further problem, since the influence of these gender stereotypes can encourage families to believe that girls do not have the same need to visit a professional, since according to the myths, girls should not have any difficulties, simply because they are girls. The adoption of these stereotypes in the discipline of communication and language can therefore lead to girls receiving inappropriate treatment, and even to their underdiagnosis.

Alternatives for improving diagnosis and therapies

In order to improve the diagnosis and the therapies required, these experts propose various approaches and alternatives to the current working models aimed at fostering interdisciplinary work. "Protocols and guidelines that take sexist biases into account in the detection and evaluation of DLD and in work with families must be incorporated so that this population can be treated based on coeducation and real equality," stressed Ahufinger.

In their review, the experts developed several proposals for carrying out research and for therapies that represent girls and boys on equal terms and include good practices. As a result, from a feminist perspective, explanations of false myths related to sexist stereotypes must be included in these protocols, and widespread and deeply rooted ideas about gender roles must be refuted.

"It is essential to train pediatricians and medical professionals so that they are aware of warning signs in young children that may indicate a possible disorder in the future," concluded the experts, who also stressed that "it is important to work to integrate shared protocols between speech therapists and medical professionals."
Khartoum  According to the defence lawyer of Abdelraouf Abuzeid, who was sentenced to death in 2009 for the killing of USAID employees John Granville and Abdelrahman Abbas, Sudan's Supreme Court based its decision to release him on "an interpretation of an agreement on retribution".

Abdelraouf Abuzeid Mohamed Hamza was sentenced to death in 2009, together with three others, for their involvement in the murder of United States Agency for International Development staffer John Granville and his Sudanese driver Abdelrahman Abbas Rahama during the first hours of 2008.

He was released by the Supreme Court on Monday, after the Supreme Court circuit issued the decision by a vote of three to two, lawyer Adel Abdelghany told Radio Dabanga yesterday.

In a press statement on Wednesday, the USA expressed it deep concern over the release of Abuzeid, who "remains a Specially Designated Global Terrorist".

The USA "are deeply troubled by the lack of transparency in the legal process that resulted in the release of the only individual remaining in custody and by the inaccurate assertion that the release was agreed to by the United States Government as part of the Sudanese government's settlement of victims' claims in connection with Sudan's removal from the State Sponsors of Terrorism list in 2020. We will continue to seek clarity about this decision."

The statement further said that the Department's Rewards for Justice programme "has a current reward offer of up to $5 million for information leading to the arrest and/or conviction of Mohamed Makawi Ibrahim Mohamed or Abdelbasit Alhaj Alhassan Haj Hamad, two other individuals responsible for the murders [..]".

Retribution

Lawyer Abdelghany told Radio Dabanga that the Supreme Court based its decision "on a free interpretation of an agreement between the Sudanese and US governments regarding the payment of two-and-a-half million Dollars to the family of John Granville.

"The Supreme Court, the highest judicial authority in Sudan, is authorised to interpret documents," he explained. "The court considered the family's acceptance of compensation as a waiver of retribution, and for this reason it brought the death sentence back to a prison sentence.

"The American side believes that the Sudanese government paid the amount as compensation for its negligence in its duties, not to waive retribution."

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The lawyer said that the decision of the Supreme Court is final. "The statement issued by the US State Department on January 31 considers Abuzeid a dangerous terrorist and hints that he falls within the US reward of $5 million for anyone who gives information that leads to the arrest of two other, fugitive men involved in the killing.

'Changed'

Journalist and expert in extremist Islamic groups El Hadi Mohamed El Amin told Radio Dabanga that Abuzeid has changed during his 15 years in prison. "Because he was neglected by the Islamists groups, he was a member of, his father died, and the conditions inside the prison were harsh, there was a time he reached a high degree of depression and attempted suicide."

Mohamed El Amin expects that Abuzeid will not pose any danger anymore. "He has become a moderate Muslim now. Already in prison he began focusing on his future."
Sensitive women and stoical men are the prevalent images of people in chronic pain. Unwarranted differences in medical treatment may result, as a University of Gothenburg doctoral thesis emphasizes.

Approximately a fifth of the Swedish population have long-term pain that can affect their quality of life, work capacity, relationships, family life, and leisure activities. Treatment of chronic pain has been described as a challenge to patients and health professionals alike.

Gender norms, stereotypical notions of how men and women are  or should be like  can affect how health care staff treat people in pain. This, in turn, may result in medically unjustified disparities in treatment of men and women, or gender bias.

The present doctoral thesis, in the area of community medicine and public health, describes the authors investigation of existing gender norms linked to long-term pain and how gender norms, chronic pain, and psychosocial resources such as social support are interrelated.

Adaptation versus external help

The subject of how men and women with chronic pain are described in research was studied in 77 scientific articles. The results show that women were portrayed as sensitive and expected to learn to adapt their ways of life to the pain. Men, on the other hand, were described as enduring pain and expected to search for the cause of their pain, and its treatment, outside themselves.

When a population sample of 4,010 individuals were examined, unexpected gender patterns  gender norm disruptions  emerged. Among the studied factors were self-assessed practical and emotional social support and the associations between social support and frequent pain. The follow-up period was one and a half years.

Unexpectedly, a lack of emotional social support proved to be a greater risk factor for men than for women. Men with weak emotional social support were twice as likely to develop frequent pain as men with strong support of this kind. Otherwise, emotionality is usually associated with women and femininity.

For women, a lack of practical social support was a major risk factor. Women whose practical support was weak had a 62 percent higher risk of developing frequent pain than those who enjoyed strong support.

Key knowledge for health care and research

One result, in line with prevailing gender norms was that women enjoyed stronger practical social support than the men. However, this applied only to women without frequent pain. In the group with frequent pain, women did not have stronger practical social support than men.

Another result shows that the men with frequent pain and strong emotional social support had a lower chance of no frequent pain at follow-up than men with weak support.

The author of the thesis is Anke Samulowitz, who gained her doctorate at Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg. A physiotherapist and psychologist, she works at Region Vastra Gotalands Centre for Equity in Health Care.
The ability of gold particles to reflect light in different colors is used in applications from stained glass to pregnancy tests. Now researchers are set to exploit the same properties in an ultra-fast sensor for the coronavirus.

Sticking swabs up our noses and down our throats to confirm or deny whether we are infected with the coronavirus - almost all of us have done it multiple times in the last couple of years.

The methods that have been used to detect and prevent the spread of the virus have been the same around the world, either:

the expensive, time-consuming but very accurate PCR method where the DNA of the virus is detected in our mucous membranes, or

the simpler and faster method that only indicates whether we have developed antibodies against the virus.

Ultra-fast detection

However, both methods have their weaknesses. The PCR method is expensive and time-consuming, while the antibody method does not tell us anything about whether we actually have the virus in the body. A simple and affordable way to detect the virus that provides a quick result would therefore be helpful.

Now researchers from Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), Oslomet and the University of Tabriz in East Azerbaijan have demonstrated a method for detecting coronavirus in blood samples using nanosensors.

"A lot of research focuses on finding methods to quickly isolate infected people, which can break the chain of infection. Nanosensors have received a lot of attention due to their unique properties for ultra-fast detection of particles such as viruses," says Amir Maghoul. He is a researcher and the first author of the article "An Optical Modeling Framework for Coronavirus Detection Using Graphene-Based Nanosensor". He was a post-doctoral fellow at NTNU when he started his work.

A first step on the pathway to developing a separate nanosensor for the coronavirus is to identify the optical properties that distinguish the coronavirus from other particles in our blood.

Ingve Simonsen, a physics professor at NTNU, explains.

Most people have seen the coronavirus depicted as a round core or ball with red "spikes" or stems sticking out.

We wanted to see what role the length and size of these "spikes" play in how the cells reflect light, as well as whether the size of the nucleus matters." Ingve Simonsen, physics professor at NTNU

Displaces resonance

To find answers to their questions, the researchers used mathematical models. The optical behavior of the virus - that is, how the virus cell reflects light in the form of resonance - was simulated and analyzed over the entire light spectrum.

"We observed that the reflectivity varied with the length of the spike proteins. As the spikes get longer, the reflectivity decreases at the same time as the resonance shifts to higher wavelengths," says Simonsen.

The researchers observed the same response when they varied the size of the virus' core in the models. The width of the spike protein had less effect on how the light was reflected. In this way, the researchers could find out in which part of the wavelength spectrum the coronavirus differs from other particles in the blood.

"At certain wavelengths, we get a different optical response depending on whether viruses are present or not. We call this the optical signature of the coronavirus," says Simonsen.

"We know that the optical properties of particles change depending on their environment. They behave differently if they're in water or in a vacuum, if several particles are next to each other or if the surface is covered with a thin layer of another substance."

Pregnancy test example

The first person to describe in general terms how spherical particles reflect light waves was the German scientist Gustav Mie in 1908.

"It is well known that ordinary light consists of a spectrum of wavelengths. This is what we see when we look at a rainbow or when light passes through a glass prism. The light hits water molecules in the atmosphere or the prism and is reflected in the light's various wavelengths, which we see as a spectrum of colors," says Simonsen.

Mie showed how small spheres or nuclei react differently to light.

"For example, small metal particles have a very strong optical response. This characteristic is used in certain types of pregnancy tests that measure the optical response to small gold particles," Simonsen says.

"The hormone you look for in the urine - which you only have if you're pregnant - collects on the surface of the gold particles on the test stick and changes the resonance frequency of the particle. The result is a colour change to blue, which shows that you're pregnant."

Rose painting example

Another example of how small particles react to light can be seen in stained glass, such as the large rose window in Nidaros Cathedral. The strong red, blue and green colors are all the result of the optical response of the metal particles used in the glass. And it is this property that can be used to detect coronavirus in blood samples.

"What you do is place a network of thin, cylindrical gold particles over a very thin layer of graphene. Graphene is a nanomaterial with a lot of fascinating properties, including the fact that it conducts electricity well and with little loss."

When blood containing the coronavirus passes over the gold particles, the resonant frequency of the particles changes, which in turn creates an electromagnetic field. This field sets up a current in the sensor that can be easily measured.

By studying the current curves for certain frequency ranges of the incoming light, we can determine whether the blood contains coronavirus or not," says Simonsen.

Great potential for nanotechnology

Nanosensors have the potential to be very sensitive. The "smart" graphene material in the nanodisk acts as an amplifier, explains Amir Maghoul.

"Nanotechnology hasn't been used before for this type of sensor, so this development is new technology. What we've done here is create the first optical framework to detect coronavirus and show how the virus behaves in the optical spectrum," says Maghoul.

Now the next step is to establish a company that can develop a laboratory prototype for the nanosensor.

"We need to raise money so that we can go ahead and develop a sensor for common use. The collaboration between NTNU and Oslomet has shown that we have facilities with significant potential to develop and produce this type of nanosensor for biomedical use if the work is supported financially," says Maghoul.
In a recent study published in the Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, researchers examined the effect of exercise modalities on cancer-related fatigue (CRF).

Background

CRF is a persistent, distressing, and subjective sense of emotional, physical, and cognitive exhaustion associated with cancer or its treatment. CRF is perceived as more severe, not fully relieved by rest, and often accompanied by insomnia, pain, depression, etc. Fatigue is a major adverse effect reported by cancer patients on chemotherapy.

CRF is a significant short- and long-term burden for cancer patients and survivors and an indicator of mortality. CRF is undertreated despite being one of the most frequent concerns after treatment. The American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) guidelines recommend that health professionals implement psychological, exercise, and pharmacologic interventions for CRF management.

About the study

In the present systematic review and network meta-analysis, researchers compared the effectiveness of distinct exercise modalities in lowering CRF in cancer patients on chemotherapy. Participants aged 18 or older undergoing cancer treatment were included without restrictions on gender, cancer type/stage, and chemotherapy types.

Studies implementing exercise sessions before, during, or after chemotherapy and between treatment sessions were included. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) were selected with no publication status/date or language restrictions. Several databases, including MEDLINE, Embase, Scopus, and Web of Science, among others, were searched for articles until January 15, 2022.

Articles were screened for relevance using title, abstract, and keywords data, and the full text of all articles was reviewed for compliance with inclusion criteria. Two researchers extracted characteristics and outcome data from studies. Exercise modalities were aerobic, resistance, flexibility, moderate-intensity continuous training (MICT), high-intensity interval training (HIIT), light martial arts, and yoga.

Statistical findings on the effect of exercise on CRF were extracted. Methodological quality was assessed using the PEDro scale. The revised Cochrane risk of bias (RoB-2) tool was used to determine the risk of bias in studies. The short-term effect of exercise modalities on CRF was examined with a frequentist network meta-analysis. Cochrans Q statistic and the inconsistency index were used to assess heterogeneity and inconsistency among studies.

Findings

In total, 47 RCTs with 4,056 subjects were included. Their average age was 52.6, and most participants (82.1%) were females. Twenty-three studies included breast cancer patients, 11 had participants with different cancers, four included leukemia patients, and three studies had colon cancer patients, among others. Nearly 49% of studies included patients with cancer stages I  III.

Patients underwent adjuvant chemotherapy in 21 studies, neo-adjuvant in one, inductive in five, consolidation in one, palliative in one, and adjuvant/neo-adjuvant in seven studies. Eleven studies did not specify chemotherapy type. The duration of exercise interventions ranged between 3 and 27 weeks, and the follow-up ranged between three weeks and four years.

Four studies reported follow-up data, 30 presented only immediate post-intervention data, and 13 reported both. Twenty-seven studies had a good, while 20 had a fair methodological quality. A high risk of bias was estimated for 27 studies, while 20 had some risk of bias concerns. Forty-two studies involving 18 interventions and 58 comparisons were selected for network meta-analysis.

The researchers observed that usual care with aerobic and resistance exercise (low- or moderate-intensity) was more effective than usual care with flexibility training. There were no significant differences between standard care alone and usual care with exercise interventions. The strength of certainty was low/very low. No significant inconsistency was observed.

There was no significant effect on CRF between usual care alone and exercise interventions among breast, colon, or acute myeloid leukemia patients during follow-up. A few studies reported significant results with exercise interventions over standard care alone in breast cancer patients. One study noted that resistance training with HIIT was more effective on total/cognitive CRF at two years.

Another study demonstrated that HIIT with resistance training or MICT was effective on behavioral, total, and affective/emotional CRF 12 months post-intervention. Moderate- or high-intensity aerobic, flexibility, and resistance training effectively ameliorated cognitive, behavioral, and physical/sensory CRF at one-year follow-up in ovarian cancer patients.

Conclusions

The findings suggested a positive trend favoring aerobic and resistance exercise over usual care alone or usual care with flexibility exercise, albeit statistically insignificant. Notably, heterogeneity in implementing exercise interventions might have influenced the findings. The lack of standardization and heterogeneity in CRF assessment must be considered in future clinical studies.
Khartoum  On Saturday, Adam Abdallah Ibrahim died in a hospital of Nyala, capital of South Darfur, of burns sustained when gunmen torched his home in Humeida in Beleil on December 23 last year. More than ten villages in Beleil, east of Nyala, were attacked. The committee investigating the violence has not yet concluded its work.

The Darfur Network for Monitoring and Documentation yesterday reported the death of Ibrahim, the brother of a Daju native administration leader, who is among the victims that are still being treated.

In its report, the Kampala-based Darfur Network states that large groups of gunmen belonging to Arab tribes, a number of them wearing uniforms of the Rapid Support Forces, attacked the villages of Amouri, Takla, Kebougi, Arba'a, Jemeiza, Humeida, Kadret Shatti Gashtir, Kerri, Galgali, Doka, Sinjo, Um Tereina, Ashma, and Kemeski in Beleil, about 18 kilometres east of the South Darfur capital.

The villages were inhabited by formerly displaced farmers of the Daju tribe who had voluntarily returned to their villages some years ago.

More than 17 villagers were killed when the attackers plundered and torched the houses. Dozens of others were injured. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Aid (OCHA) in Sudan reported a week later that at least 16,000 people were displaced.

Daju native administration leaders told Darfur Network that a delegation of the South Darfur government accompanied Lt Gen Mohamed 'Hemeti' Dagalo , the Deputy Chairman of the Sovereignty Council, who visited Amouri village following the attacks. Some aid was provided during the visit. The Daju leaders said that the officials promised to bring the attackers, from the Rizeigat tribe, to justice, but failed to do so.

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The Darfur Network concluded its report by calling on "the international and regional community and our partners to intervene and investigate the crimes of killing and burning innocent villagers and to stop human rights violations in the Darfur region".

Radio Dabanga reported a month ago that at the end of his visit to South Darfur, Hemeti brokered an agreement to "end hostilities" between leaders of the Daju and Rizeigat tribes.

Investigations

Rebel leader and member of the Sovereignty Council El Hadi Idris told Radio Dabanga on Friday that not all committees formed to investigate attacks on villages and camps for the displaced in West Darfur in early 2022 have released their reports. He said that some of the reports that were concluded "are not convincing".

The committee of inquiry into the violence in Beleil is still conducting investigations, Idris said.

He added that "a number of suspects of the unfortunate events in West and South Darfur have been arrested".
TDT | Manama

The Daily Tribune  www.newsofbahrain.com

Sustainable Development Minister Noor bint Al Khulaif has affirmed Bahrains keenness to launch initiatives and strategies aimed at developing sustainability in the Kingdom and achieving its sustainable development goals (SDGs) by 2030.

Al Khulaif was speaking as she attended a conference held at Gulf Hotel Convention Centre yesterday. Bahrain has taken major steps towards achieving its sustainable development goals, set by the United Nations General Assembly, by aligning its national development agenda accordingly, and actively engaging with the government, civil society, academia, and the private sector.

Dr Shaikh Abdulla bin Ahmed Al Khalifa, MoFA undersecretary for political affairs, announced that Bahrain had achieved its goals for pure water and free education. He noted that basic education is free and compulsory in the Kingdom, and the coverage of safe water, sanitation, and clean energy networks has reached 100 percent.

Despite the challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic, Bahrain is focusing on strengthening and creating partnerships, launching a series of workshops, highlighting the accomplishments the country has achieved, and working towards future goals and targets to display the Kingdom as a model for sustainable development.

Al Khulaif stressed the importance of the progress the Kingdom has made since its first report in 2018. She highlighted the main themes in the report: The report will be a guideline of the Kingdoms achievements over the past four years, as well as through the pandemic, and the future aspirations and SDGs Bahrain aims to meet.

The report also highlights the challenges the Kingdom has faced, and how new partnerships can be created locally, regionally, and internationally. The Minister said that the Kingdom has produced immense progress, especially in the last couple of months, to implement the SDGs, including those related to clean water, clean and affordable energy, industry, innovation and infrastructure, and sustainable cities and communities.

The five main goals she highlighted aims to make the Kingdom on par with other countries. Al Khulaif spoke about other goals that the Kingdom focuses on including doubling renewable energy goals by 2035, and the afforestation plan, which aims to double the number of trees by increasing the number of mangrove trees four times.

Since developing the SDGs, Bahrain has closely monitored its achievements and progress, and it also published the Water Report to monitor the progress made towards the implementation of the targets and indicators of the sixth SDG in February 2018.

Al Khulaif also spoke about the Kingdoms commitment to sustainable development by implementing workshops and development programs that yearn to create a better future and quality of life for everyone. She pointed out that the Kingdom has begun updating indicators to ensure they can clearly state their position.
Khartoum  The inter-Sudanese dialogue conference to discuss a range of contentious issues was launched in Cairo on Thursday and was attended by at least 75 Sudanese political representatives. The Egyptian government who brokered the conference, which is set to conclude on February 8, hosts various Sudanese voices representing political parties, movements, civil society organisations, displaced people and refugees, and native administrations, in addition to a number of diplomats from the USA, Europe, South Sudan, and the Arab League.

Noureldayim Taha, a leader of the Sudan Liberation Movement under the leadership of Minni Minawi (SLM-MM), told Radio Dabanga that issues related to the democratic political transition, constitutional arrangements, a political declaration, the formation of the transitional government, as well as post-transitional issues will be discussed.

El Amin Daoud, head of the eastern Sudanese United Popular Front for Liberation and Justice, reported to Radio Dabanga that the opening session on Thursday included welcoming words from the Egyptian side, and speeches from the representatives of the various participating blocs.

Chief amongst the conference's welcoming speakers was Jibril Ibrahim, head of the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) on behalf of the Forces for Freedom and Change-Democratic Block (FFC-DB). El Tijani Sisi for the National Movement Forces, and Nabil Adib, representing the Sudanese civil society also reportedly welcomed the delegation.

Daoud also stated that preparations are ongoing for three conferences in Red Sea state, Kassala, and El Gedaref "with the participation of all parties in eastern Sudan", in order to agree on a roadmap to address the crises in the region.

He underscored that the most influential parties in eastern Sudan did not sign the Framework Agreement, arranged by the FFC-Central Council, due to their "affiliation with the FFC-DB".

The FFC-CC has attempted to convince both JEM and SLM-MM separately, founding members of the FFC-DB, to join the signatories of the Framework Agreement, yet refuses to "flood the political process" with parties and alliances "that are not interested in democracy" such as the FFC-DB.

Yahya El Hussein, head of the Sudanese Ba'ath Party, said in a press statement on Friday that his party apologised for the Cairo conference. He said he does not believe that the platforms in Juba, Cairo, and Khartoum "will lead to a positive result".

The party adheres to its proposal in solving the Sudanese crisis through a Sudanese-Sudanese dialogue within the country, stating that Sudan should "return to the Declaration of the Forces of Freedom and Change and other revolutionary charters, away from international and regional influences".
WINNIPEG, MB, Feb. 3, 2023 /CNW/ - IGM Financial Inc. (IGM) (TSX: IGM) today reported preliminary total consolidated net outflows of $175 million during January 2023 as shown in Table 1. Total assets under management and advisement were $259.5 billion at January 31, 2023, compared with $249.4 billion at December 31, 2022, and $270.7 billion at January 31, 2022. Assets under management and advisement are shown in Table 2.

JANUARY HIGHLIGHTS

IGM Financial  Assets under management & advisement of $259.5 billion were up 4.0% in the month. Total net outflows were $175 million compared to net inflows of $1.1 billion in January 2022. Investment fund net redemptions were $422 million compared to net sales of $1.2 billion in January 2022.

IG Wealth Management  Assets under advisement of $115.4 billion were up 4.1% in the month. Total net inflows were $30 million compared to net inflows of $326 million in January 2022.

Mackenzie  Assets under management of $193.8 billion were up 3.8% in the month. Total net outflows were $239 million compared to net inflows of $741 million in January 2022. Investment fund net redemptions were $229 million compared to net sales of $818 million in January 2022.

Table 1 - Gross and Net Flows Please see www.igmfinancial.com for file with trended history.



Wealth Management

Asset Management

($ millions) (unaudited) IG Wealth

Management Investment

Planning

Counsel Total

Mackenzie IGM Financial For the month ended January 31, 2023 Net flows





























Mutual fund net sales (171.7) (21.7) (193.4)

(61.7) (255.1)

ETF net creations - - -

(167.0) (1) (167.0)

Investment fund net sales (171.7) (21.7) (193.4)

(228.7) (422.1)

Institutional SMA net sales - - -

(10.0) (2) (10.0)

Managed asset net sales (171.7) (21.7) (193.4)

(238.7) (432.1)

Mackenzie Investment fund net sales 1.6 (4.7) (3.1) (3)























IGM Product net sales (170.1) (26.4) (196.5)























Other net flows 199.7 57.6 257.4



257.4















Net flows 29.6 31.2 60.9

(238.7) (174.7) (3)















Gross flows













Mutual fund gross sales 927.5 60.1 987.6

675.9 1,663.5

Dealer gross inflows 1,065.5 372.1 1,437.6



1,437.6



















Table 2  Assets under Management and Advisement ($ millions) (unaudited) January 2023 December 2022 % Change

Last Month Wealth Management





IG Wealth Management





Assets under management 103,289 99,275 4.0 % Other assets under advisement 12,101 11,541 4.9 % Assets under advisement 115,390 110,816 4.1 % Investment Planning Counsel





Assets under management 4,771 4,622 3.2 % Other assets under advisement 26,020 24,925 4.4 % Assets under advisement 30,791 29,547 4.2 % Total





Assets under management 108,060 103,897 4.0 % Other assets under advisement 38,114 36,459 4.5 % Assets under advisement 146,174 140,356 4.1 %







Asset management





Mackenzie





Mutual funds 56,705 54,434 4.2 % ETFs 5,244 5,219 0.5 % Investment funds 61,949 59,653 3.8 %







Institutional SMA 6,742 6,422 5.0 % Sub-advisory to Canada Life 48,837 47,023 3.9 % Total Institutional SMA 55,579 53,445 4.0 % Total (ex sub-advisory to Wealth Management) 117,528 113,098 3.9 % Sub-advisory to Wealth Management 76,260 73,514 3.7 % Total 193,788 186,612 3.8 %







ETF's distributed to third parties 5,244 5,219 0.5 % ETF's held within IGM managed products 7,079 7,176 (1.4 %) Total ETFs 12,323 12,395 (0.6 %)







Consolidated





Assets under management 225,588 216,995 4.0 % Other assets under advisement 33,901 32,414 4.6 % Assets under management and advisement(4) 259,489 249,409 4.0 %

Preliminary average assets under management and advisement for the quarter to date are set out in Table 3.

Table 3 - Average Assets under Management and Advisement

($ millions) (unaudited) Quarter to date 2023 Wealth Management

IG Wealth Management

Assets under management 102,011 Other assets under advisement 11,828 Assets under advisement 113,839 Investment Planning Counsel

Assets under management 4,723 Other assets under advisement 25,446 Assets under advisement 30,169 Total

Assets under management 106,734 Other assets under advisement 37,267 Assets under advisement 144,001



Asset Management

Mackenzie

Mutual funds 56,007 ETFs 5,639 Investment funds 61,646 Institutional SMA 6,582 Sub-advisory to Canada Life 47,930 Total Institutional SMA 54,512



Total (ex sub-advisory to Wealth Management) 116,158 Sub-advisory to Wealth Management 75,012 Total 191,170



ETFs distributed to third parties 5,639 ETFs held within IGM managed products 6,961 Total ETFs 12,600



Consolidated

Assets under management 222,892 Other assets under advisement 33,137 Assets under management and advisement(5) 256,029







1 ETF net creations excludes ($406.7) million in ETF net creations to IGM managed products. 2 Excludes sub-advisory to Canada Life and the Wealth Management segment. 3 ($3.0) million in Mackenzie investment fund net flows through the Wealth Management segment have been eliminated on consolidation. 4 Within total assets under management and advisement, $4.2 billion in Mackenzie investment funds distributed through the Wealth Management segment eliminates on consolidation at January 31, 2023. ($4.0 billion at December 31, 2022). 5 Within average total assets under management and advisement, $4.1 billion in Mackenzie mutual funds distributed through the Wealth Management segment eliminates on consolidation.



Glossary of Terms

Mutual fund gross sales, net sales and assets under management reflect the results of the mutual funds managed by the respective operating companies, and in the case of the Wealth Management segment also include other discretionary portfolio management services provided by the operating companies, including separately managed account programs.

"ETF's" represent exchange traded funds managed by Mackenzie.

Institutional SMA represents investment advisory and sub-advisory mandates to institutional investors through separately managed accounts.

"Other dealer net flows" and "other assets under advisement" represents financial savings products held within client accounts at the Wealth Management operating companies that are not invested in products or programs where these operating companies perform investment management activities. These savings products include investment funds managed by third parties, direct investment in equity and fixed income securities and deposit products."

"Assets under advisement" represents all savings products held within client accounts at the Wealth Management operating companies.

"Net flows" represents the total net contributions, in cash or in kind, to client accounts at the Wealth Management operating companies and the overall net sales to the Asset Management segment.

"Wealth Management"  Reflects the activities of operating companies that are principally focused on providing financial planning and related services to Canadian households. This segment includes the activities of IG Wealth Management and Investment Planning Counsel. These firms are retail distribution organizations who serve Canadian households through their securities dealers, mutual fund dealers and other subsidiaries licensed to distribute financial products and services. The majority of the revenues of this segment are derived from providing financial advice and distributing financial products and services to Canadian households. This segment also includes the investment management activities of these organizations, including mutual fund management and discretionary portfolio management services.

"Asset Management"  Reflects the activities of operating companies primarily focused on providing investment management services, and represents the operations of Mackenzie Investments. Investment management services are provided to a suite of investment funds that are distributed through third party dealers and financial advisors, and also through institutional advisory mandates to pension and other institutional investors.

IGM Financial Inc. is one of Canada's leading diversified wealth and asset management companies with approximately $259 billion in total assets under management and advisement. The company provides a broad range of financial planning and investment management services to help more than two million Canadians meet their financial goals. Its activities are carried out principally through IG Wealth Management, Mackenzie Investments and Investment Planning Counsel. IGM Financial is a member of the Power Corporation group of companies.

SOURCE IGM Financial Inc.

For further information: Media Relations: Nini Krishnappa, 647-828-2553, [email protected]; Investor Relations: Kyle Martens, 204-777-4888, [email protected]




Former Niger Delta militant leader, Asari Dokubo has predicted what might likely happen during the presidential election in Rivers State.





Asari said there would be no problem in Rivers State during the presidential election because almost all the political stakeholders support the same candidate.





In a viral video, Asari said: We will not have problems during the Presidential election in Rivers State because almost all of us are on the same boat.





Asari and the State Governor, Nyesom Wike are not best of friends, but both are believed to be supporting the All Progressives Congress, APC, presidential candidate, Bola Tinubu.





Though Wike is yet to openly declare his support for Tinubu, there are reports of him directing his aides, and all the local government chairmen in the State to support Tinubu.





Wike is a member of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, but has refused to support the partys presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar.
One of the spokespersons for the Bola Tinubu, Shettima Presidential Campaign Council, Festus Keyamo on Sunday said the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, has gone into political epilepsy.

Keyamo said PDP developed epilepsy due to President Muhammadu Buharis endorsement of the All Progressives Congress, APC, presidential candidate, Bola Tinubu.

Lately, there have been insinuations of crisis between Buhari and Tinubu.

Tinubu had accused some elements in Buharis government of trying to sabotage his presidential ambition.

The APC flag bearer said the fuel scarcity and naira redesign was targeted at him by some people in the Presidential Villa.

Despite the claims, Buhari had vowed to continue campaigning for Tinubu, while urging Nigerians to vote for him.

The president spoke during the APC presidential campaign in Lafia, Nasarawa State.

However, Keyamo said Buharis endorsement of Tinubu was affecting the PDP.

In a tweet, Keyamo wrote: Since the event in Lafia where President Buhari endorsed @officialABAT unequivocally.

The PDP has gone into a fit of political epilepsy, calling press conferences & issuing incoherent statements. This is like a game of cards. We have just brought our trump card to say check-up.
Najaatu Mohammed, a former All Progressives Congress, APC, Campaign Director on Civil Society Organizations, has insisted that the wife of the President, Aisha Buhari, is now a cabal.

Mohammed claimed that Aishas cabal consists of her children and her brothers, adding that the First Lady sometimes instructs service chiefs.

She spoke while fielding questions in an interview on Arise TVs morning show on Monday.

Mohammed said, The cabal that was led by the late Abba Kyari, may his soul rest in peace, and the reason why Aisha Buhari first started to attack the cabal then, it was because she was not part of the cabal then.

But she succeeded in throwing Mamman Dauras things outside the Villa. She physically throws them out.

If you remember the case of the shootings in the Villa, the gunshot in the Villa, who made that?

Aisha Buharis cabal is made up of her children and her brothers, she determined the appointment of the former NISER DG.

She determined who is now her brother, same mother, same father at the Minting and Printing.

She sometimes, in fact, instructs Service Chiefs, So who is she? Is she not a cabal? And, of course, there are other cabals.
With 20 days to the 2023 elections, there are insinuations that the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Atiku Abubakar might win the poll.

Deji Adeyanju, a socio-political activist, said the disorganisation within the APC might lead to Atikus victory.

Lately, there have been claims of crisis within APC following remarks by the partys presidential candidate, Bola Tinubu.

Tinubu had accused some people in President Muhammadu Buharis government of attempting to sabotage his ambition.

In some of his campaign rallies, Tinubu said the naira policy by the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, and fuel scarcity was aimed at sabotaging his campaign.

But, despite his remarks, Buhari had vowed to campaign for Tinubu while urging Nigerians to vote for him.

However, Adeyanju tweeted: Atiku might just win this election with all the disorganization in APC but my prediction is still a Tinubu win because the opposition is also fragmented into 4 parts.

Adeyanju also noted that Labour Party, LP, presidential candidate, Peter Obi is out of the race to win the February election.

He explained that Obis failure to form an alliance with his counterpart from the New Nigeria Peoples Party, NNPP, Rabiu Kwankwaso, and the North would work against him.

Peter Obi is clearly not even in the race. He is only running against PDP Atiku and the other opposition parties and you will see this in about 2 weeks after the election.

If he had gotten Kwankwaso the joker and some major northern alliances, the case would have been different, he added.
Thirteen out of the 18 registered political parties have reportedly threatened to boycott the general election if the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) extends the deadline for the use of old naira notes.

The apex bank fixed February 10 as the deadline for the use of old naira notes.

The CBN had initially fixed January 31 as the deadline but shifted it as many Nigerians were unable to access the new N200, N500 and N1,000 notes.

Addressing a press conference in Abuja on Monday, Kenneth Udeze, national chairman of the Action Alliance (AA), said the deadline already fixed by the apex bank must not be shifted.

We hereby announce that at least 13 out of the 18 political parties in Nigeria will not be interested in the 2023 general elections and indeed we shall withdraw our participation from the electoral process if this currency policy is suspended or cancelled or if the deadline is further shifted, Channels quoted him as saying.

Atiku Abubakar, presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), had also asked the CBN not to extend the deadline for the swap of the old notes.

His comments elicited criticism from the All Progressives Congress (APC), with the ruling party describing him as an enemy of Nigeria.

President Muhammadu Buhari on Friday asked Nigerians to give him seven days to resolve the crisis caused by the scarcity of new naira notes.

The president said he has seen reports about cash shortages and the effect on local businesses and ordinary people.

He said the remaining seven days of the 10-day extension will be used to crack down on the encumbrances mitigating the successful implementation of the currency redesign policy.

I will revert to the CBN and the Minting Company. There will be a decision one way or the other in the remaining seven days of the 10-day extension, the president said.

His position was made known after the APC governors had requested that the old and new notes should be allowed to co-exist.
Khartoum  Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen met with the head of the Sovereignty Council and Sudan's Armed Forces commander Lt Gen Abdelfattah El Burhan on Thursday, stating that the visit was "a historic and strategic peace agreement with an Arab Muslim country", upon his return from Khartoum.

Cohen's visit set the stage for a peace agreement between Israel and Sudan and is contingent on the transfer of power in Sudan to a civilian government. For many in Israel, the signing is seen as enhancement to their regional stability and will contribute to the national security of the State of Israel.

The BBC reported that the landmark peace signing will be held in Washington in the coming months. The Israeli minister said the agreement's contents was finalised during his one-day visit.

Israeli researcher and journalist Edy Cohen told Radio Dabanga that the visit of the Israeli Foreign Minister to Khartoum is a step forward and "that the train of normalisation is moving quickly".

He also highlighted the Chadian President Mohamed Idris Deby's recent visit to Israel, which was key in accelerating and contributing to Sudan's diplomatic normalisation with Israel.

According to the Israeli analyst, "Washington pressured Tel Aviv for the sake of normalisation with N'Djamena and Khartoum". There have been several reports since the 2021 coup d'etat about visits by Israeli delegations to Sudan at the request of the United States, in an attempt to resolve the political crisis.

Cohen went on to state that despite internal problems and political strife within Israel, "an agreement has been reached between the Chadian President and the President of the Sovereignty Council to sign the cooperation soon".

The Deputy Chairman of the Sovereignty Council and commander of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces Lt Gen Mohamed 'Hemeti' Dagalo said in a press statement on Thursday that news circulating about his meeting with the Israeli delegation was incorrect.

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He stated that he had "no knowledge of the visit of the Israeli delegation" and did not meet any of them.

Criticism

Political analyst Azza Mustafa said that the meeting on Thursday comes as a continuation of previous steps for normalisation with Israel.

"This visit of the Israeli delegation came in anticipation of the formation of a civilian government in Sudan - though it will be civilians that may oppose the normalisation with Tel Aviv," she told Radio Dabanga.

Political parties and civil society organisations in Sudan condemned the visit of the Israeli FA Minister to Khartoum.

The Sudanese Journalists Syndicate said in a statement on Friday it rejects a normalisation process led by putschists without regard for the opinions of the Sudanese people.

They stated that this was "a dangerous development for Sudan", and an "attempt to take advantage of the current vacuum in the country".

The lawyers questioned the statements made by El Burhan in early July last year, in which he pledged to return to the barracks after an agreement on the formation of a civilian government and to leave the military establishment out of politics.

Sudan's Popular Congress Party reacted by saying that "the purpose of the desperate and frantic normalisation attempt is for Sudan to remain under military rule with the support of the Israeli enemy".
The supreme court has affirmed Senate President Ahmad Lawan as the All Progressives Congress (APC) senatorial candidate for Yobe north.

In a majority judgment delivered on Monday, the apex court allowed the appeal filed by the APC against Bashir Machinas candidature.

Delivering the judgment, three out of a five-member panel agreed with the position of the APC that the suit at the trial court ought not to have commenced via an originating summons since it contained allegations of fraud.

The bedrock of the suit shows that there were allegations of fraudulent practices against the appellants, Centus Nweze said.

That the 1st respondent accused the APC of fraudulently substituting his name with that of Lawan.

Where there is an allegation of fraud it should not be commenced by an originating summons.

There was a need to call witnesses to prove allegations of fraud.

THE YOBE NORTH CONTROVERSY

Machina won unopposed during the senatorial primary organised by the party in May 2022.

But the senate president was said to have participated in another primary organised by the APC after he contested the presidential ticket unsuccessfully in June.

Machina was reportedly asked to step down for Lawan but he insisted that he is the rightful candidate.

Amid the controversy, the APC submitted the senate presidents name to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as the candidate for Yobe north.

The electoral commission subsequently refused to list any candidate for the district.

Aggrieved, Machina instituted a suit asking the court to declare him as the authentic senatorial candidate.

In September 2022, a federal high court in Damaturu, the Yobe capital, ordered the APC and INEC to recognise Machina as the candidate.

A month later, an Abuja court of appeal affirmed Machinas election as the candidate of the APC for the Yobe north senatorial district.

Still not satisfied, the APC appealed the appellate courts judgment.




The Jamiyyatu Ansaariddeen Attijjaniyya (JAMAA) of Nigeria says its members have been allegedly killed by soldiers in Burkina Faso.

Addressing a press briefing at the weekend in Abuja, Sayyidi Yahaya, national secretary of the group, said 16 of its members were killed on their way to Senegal.

He said members of the group regularly visit Senegal, the home country of their leader, Ibrahim Niasse Al-Kaulahee, for conferences and Maulid celebrations.

During such movements, convoys of vehicles from Nigeria used to travel through international borders to Kaolack, Senegal, traversing countries such as Niger, Burkina-Faso, and Mali, Yahaya said.

He said a delegation of Nigerians in buses was stopped by the Burkinabe army on patrol and asked to disembark from their vehicles.

They were randomly selected without any questioning and cold-bloodedly shot to death in a most horrendous display of bestiality. The current number of casualties is 16 dead while some vehicles and their occupants are yet to be accounted for.

The group asked the federal government and United Nations to investigate the matter and ensure justice is done.

Deriving from the above, we hearken to urgently draw the attention of the Nigerian government, the United Nations, and genuine human rights organisations to, as a matter of responsibility, wade into this matter and ensure that the rights of the victims of this massacre are upheld and the blood-thirsty culprits are immediately brought to book, Yahaya said.

Meanwhile, President Muhammadu Buhari has condemned the killing of the pilgrims.

In a statement issued by Garba Shehu, presidential spokesperson, Buhari said the Nigerian embassy in Burkina Faso is engaging with the Burkinabe authorities to ensure the perpetrators are made to face justice.

President Muhammadu Buhari has received the tragic news of the murder of a number of Nigerian Muslim pilgrims on their way to Kaolak, Senegal when the buses conveying them came under gun attack in Burkina Faso, the statement reads.

The President expressed his condolences and prayed for the safety of other Nigerians stranded there. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, through the Nigerian Embassy in Burkina Faso, is engaging with the Burkinabe authorities and awaits the outcome of their investigation of the unfortunate incident, and if necessary, to ensure that all culprits are appropriately sanctioned.

The Nigerian Government will make every effort to secure the mortal remains of the deceased and the survivors of the attack.
A federal high court in Abuja has discharged Rochas Okorocha, former Imo state governor, of the N2.9 billion fraud charge preferred against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

Delivering a ruling on Monday, Inyang Ekwo, the presiding judge, struck out the EFCCs suit for contravening section 105 (3) of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA), 2015, which gives the honorable attorney-general of the federation (HAGF) the power to recall a case.

In a letter dated September 12, 2022, Abubakar Malami, the HAGF, directed the commission to forward the case file as well as the commissions comments on the issue for review.

All that the law required of the respondent (EFCC) was for the respondent, when directed by the HAGF pursuant to any enactment, to comply and not act as if it is not under the law or is exempted thereby, Ekwo said.

For the avoidance of doubt, the office of the HAGF is founded on the provisions of the constitution and is thereby preserved.

The controversies and drama surrounding this tral proceeding is needless and it is time to stop it.

The judge further held that from the moment the HAGF gave the directive to the EFCC, the commission ceased to have the legal authority to prosecute or continue the prosecution of the case.

In other words, the intervention of the HAGF in any criminal proceeding ends the authority of the prosecuting agency in the matter unless otherwise directed by the HAGF, he

In the end, I find that non-compliance by the respondent with the directive of the HAGF as stated in Exhibit Okorocha 7 is fatal to this proceeding and has rendered it a nullity.

The respondent is not empowered by any law to continue with this proceeding after the HAGF issued the directive in Exhibit Okorocha 7.

With Exhibit Okorocha 7, it is only the HAGF that can decide whether or not to charge the defendants upon the case file being remitted to his office as directed.

The judge also agreed with Okorochas submission that he cannot be made to stand trial considering the subsisting judgment (FHC/PH/FHR/165) of a federal high court in Port Harcourt delivered on December 6, 2021 which stopped his prosecution after faulting the probe process.

According to the judge, the order is binding until it is set aside.

The fact that a person refuses to comply with the law does not change the law, neither does the law change to accommodate the act of non-compliance by any person, Ekwo said.

Okorocha was arraigned on a 17-count charge of money laundering to which he pleaded not guilty in May 2022.

He was arraigned alongside Anyim Chinenye, a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), and five companies  Naphtali International Limited, Perfect Finish Multi Projects Limited, Consolid Projects Consulting Limited, Pramif International Limited, and Legend World Concepts Limited.
The Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, has finally spoken over the controversial candidacy of the All Progressive Congress Yobe North Senatorial District.

Lawan at his guest house in Maitama, Abuja, on Monday commended the judiciary for strengthening democracy, stating that the ruling showed that democracy is at work.

In the early hours of Monday, the Supreme Court declared Lawan the winner of the Yobe North Senatorial candidate over the winner of the May 28, poll, Bashir Machina.

After the ruling of the court in Damaturu, Lawan told Nigerians that he accepted the judgment and would not appeal.

However, the APC delivered victory to Lawan after dragging Machina to the apex court while insisting that Lawan, who didnt contest at the primary poll, was its authentic candidate.

While addressing journalists after the judgment of the apex court, Lawan said, Let me start by thanking God for his blessing and of course for what had happened today in the Supreme Court, the judgment on Yobe North particularly is a victory for APC in Yobe and generally APC across the country.

What happened was democracy at work and the courts gave their various judgments and of course, the Supreme Court gave the final judgement. I want to at this point commend the Supreme Court and of course the judiciary generally for making this kind of judgement to strengthen our democracy because it is not only for politicians to work and strengthen democracy. All institutions have their roles to play. So I commend them.

Lawan in his appreciation post also thanked his political party for fighting tooth and nail for his victory.

He added, Let me take this opportunity to thank the All Progressives Congress our party for taking this matter to the Supreme Court. Actually, as an individual, I didnt go to the Supreme Court to seek redress but my party did, and my people of Yobe North and Yobe State generally and many political associates and well-wishers across the country and beyond pushed for an appeal at the Supreme Court on this matter.

So today it is a victory for all of us involved. I am the symbol but the victory is for our party the APC and for democracy.

Lawan, once again re-echoed his support for the partys presidential and vice-presidential candidates, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu and Kashim Shettima assuring them of a landslide victory.

The senate president stated, We will be looking at the 25th of February when the Presidential and the National Assembly elections will take place. By the Grace of God Nigerians will Vote for APC once again.

On the 25th the presidential candidate of the APC, Asiwaji Ahmed Bola Tinubu (Jagaban), will be voted in as President of Nigeria by the grace of God alongside distinguished senator Kashim Shetima who is the vice presidential candidate.

When it comes to the senatorial and House of Representatives, you know what it will be. It will be a landslide majority for the APC and the same thing for the House of reps

We will continue to give Nigeria leadership to continue with those programs and projects that we have been doing very well and rethink those that we think we have not done very well. This I believe will make Nigeria better.




The Economic and Financial Commission, EFCC, on Monday, arrested a senior bank official in Abuja.





The staff is the Operations Manager of a leading commercial bank in the Central Area, according to EFCC spokesman, Wilson Uwujaren.





The manager refused to load the Automated Teller Machines, ATMs, despite having N29million of the redesigned naira notes in the branchs vaults.





Uwujaren said before he was whisked away for further questioning, the operatives ordered the loading of all the ATMs.





The EFCC also ensured payment across the counter to the delight of the customers who had spent hours on queues without getting the new notes.





The anti-corruption agency stated that the latest discovery indicates a sabotage of the governments monetary policy by some banks.





Uwujaren disclosed that operatives covered more than five bank branches today in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).





The operation was in continuation of the surveillance and visit to banks across the country to access their vaults and verify whether they are deliberately refusing to dispense cash.





The EFCC said it would continue the raid until normalcy is restored to the banking system, urging Nigerians finding it difficult to access funds at any bank and suspects foul play to contact the commission.





Earlier on Monday, financial institutions denied hoarding the new naira notes, saying they cannot be a clog in the wheel of efforts of the Federal Government and the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN.
A socio-political activist, Deji Adeyanju has said the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, Godwin Emefiele has outsmarted politicians using the Naira redesign.

Adeyanju said Emefiele outsmarted the plot by politicians to unleash stockpiled billions on voters during the upcoming elections.

In 2022, CBN announced the redesign of N200, N500, and N1000 notes.

Emefiele had fixed December 31st as a deadline for the swap of the old naira notes with the new ones.

Following the outcry that greeted the deadline, Emefiele announced an extension of the date till February 10.

Amid the deadline extension, the All Progressives Congress, APC, presidential candidate, Bola Tinubu and Governor Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna alleged that the redesign naira policy was targeted at the partys presidential drive.

However, Adeyanju said politicians would not get the new naira notes during the 2023 elections.

In a chat, Adeyanju said the CBN should stop bank executives from delivering the new notes to politicians.

According to Adeyanju: No matter the tears elRufai and others shed during this period, nobody is delivering new Naira notes to anyones house in a Bullion van this time.

New naira redesign is one of the best decisions of the Emefiele-led CBN, Tinubus tears notwithstanding.

CBN outsmarted the plot by politicians to unleash stockpiled billions on voters for vote buying. The next step is to stop bank executives from handing over new notes to them.
Charismatic Catholic Priest, Rev. Fr. Ejike Mbaka has issued a stern warning to President Muhammadu Buhari.





NE reports that Mbaka returned to his Adoration Ministry in January, months after he was suspended and sent to the monastery by the Catholic Bishop of Enugu Diocese, Most Rev. Calistus Onaga.





In what could be considered a major message to the nation since he returned, the fiery priest, on Sunday, warned Buhari of dire consequences if his government continued to keep Kanu.





He spoke while addressing thousands of his Adoration members.





He did not spare the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, Governor, Godwin Emefiele, over the scarcity of the new naira notes.





Mbaka said if Buhari and Emefiele did not take immediate measures, they would suffer.





He said, It is only in Nigeria that the court can set somebody free and the government will say No, keep that person.





We pray for the full release of Nnamdi Kanu; Ndigbo are suffering for what they know nothing about; students, workers will not go to work; everywhere is locked up on Mondays; our leaders dont care; it does not concern them; how can you say it does not concern you? But you are a leader; you must care.





God set someone free and you say the person wont be free, what God will do to you, you will regret your decision.





Why the judiciary? There are three arms of government- the executive, the legislature and the judiciary, and one arm will say the other is useless. I ask in the name of God and by the power of the Holy Ghost, that our leaders should release Nnamdi Kanu.





We cannot be distracted by new currency and fuel scarcity and there is a problem- the judiciary is dying. If the court can acquit someone and the government will say No, then the country is finished. It is a coup detat against the judiciary and as a man of God, I stand to say, release him.





Do the needful; our people are suffering, a lot of suffering in the country, perpetuated by our so-called leaders; I am not a politician, I am a prophet of God. My job is to speak when God is angry, I will represent the voice of God in anger, when God is happy, I will speak and represent the voice of God in joy. The poor masses are suffering.





If holding that young man will cripple this country, why not release him; Nnamdi Kanus case is like a trigger in the gun; you must be careful how you touch the trigger when a gun is loaded.





Dont tell anybody he is a nobody; he represents a people and the court has said release him; why not release him, especially for health reasons?





I have to render my voice so that when tomorrow the leaders begin to suffer calamity, they will not ask what did Fr. Mbaka say.





On the naira swap, he said there was no justification for the sufferings the citizens were going through.





Mbaka said, People will suffer to make money and still suffer to take their money and there is still a country; tomorrow you will say Fr. Mbaka said; why do you force me to say something? I am giving both the President and the CBN governor a mandate from heaven, if they dont want to react immediately and stop this self-imposed wicked suffering on the people, they will suffer.





What a rubbish; why do you multiply misery; people are sleeping in the bank to get their money; in which country has it ever happened? People are now selling money; not dollars; it is easier now to get dollars than to get naira; parents cannot have money to buy foodstuff for their children; I dont know how many will be alive by the time the so-called new currency will come out. The new currency is not even good, the design very poor, the colour separation rubbish;





And everybody is talking election, election. Will dead men do the election? Men of God you better open your mouths; I have come back from monastery to see my people in suffering, in agony; it is time to tell Pharoah, let my people go, he warned.





He lamented that parents now spent their nights either in ATMs or in filling stations, stressing you are killing people; what kidnappers are not doing; you are doing worse. People cannot access healthcare, by the time the doctor gets alert, the person is dead.





He said 99 percent of the population was ignorant of the new naira policy, describing it as evil in the land. If you are not ready with the new naira, why not push out the old naira?





He said he was saddened that upon his return from the monastery, more Nigerians had lost their jobs.





Do you think that if this situation continues, that Nigerians will do election? He queried.





What is happening now is a coup detat on democracy. But who will say it? To buy pure water, will you do a cash transfer? Why mess up Nigeria because you people are going? Why didnt you start it all the while? 8 years was enough for you people to stabilise it, wickedness. No job, no food, no house.





The present government, I want to ask you, change, or you people will cry, what you are inviting, you cannot face it.





The Hausas are crying; the Fulani are crying; the Yorubas are crying; the Igbos are crying; the Niger Delta people are crying; the Middle Belt are crying, who are you now leading?





This is not the first time Fr. Mbaka is coming hard on President Muhammadu Buhari administration.





In April 2021, Mbaka had called for the impeachment of President Buhari over the rising insecurity in the country.





However, the presidency later accused him of demanding for contracts.
A former Edo State Governor Adams Oshiohmole has lamented the scarcity of fuel and the hike in the pump price of the product, claiming he recently paid N1,000 for a litre.

In several parts of Nigeria, queues have resurfaced in filling stations with many buying the product for as much as N500 and above for a litre.

It, however, appears the masses are not the only ones affected by the crisis as the All Progressives Congress (APC) chieftain said he recently bought the product at an exorbitant price during one of his campaign tours.

On one occasion, I ran out of fuel and I had to pay N1,000 for a litre. Now, that is not funny! Somebody is responsible for that, he said when he featured on Channels Televisions election programme The 2023 Verdict on Sunday.

A Perennial Problem

The former national chairman of the APC said in spite of the huge resources Nigeria spends on payment of fuel subsidy, the product is still scarce and the price is beyond the reach of most Nigerians.

As we speak, we are spending almost N7 trillion. The minister of finance spoke to the fact that we are spending about N7 trillion for fuel subsidy and yet most Nigerians found themselves paying much more than what the market rate would be and yet we have the Petroleum Equalisation Fund, Oshiomhole added. So, people are responsible for this.

He said fuel scarcity is not peculiar to President Muhammadu Buharis government, describing the development as a perennial problem.

But that does not make it acceptable, he said.

Oshiomhole, who equally spoke about the naira note redesign and swap policy, described them as deceptive and a ploy to truncate the elections.

You could see that the intention of the Bank is not to eliminate abuses but to stop the elections from taking place, he said.




The Labour Party, LP, at the weekend lost its deputy governorship candidate, three senatorial candidates and seven candidates for House of Representatives to the All Progressives Congress, APC, in Zamfara State.





They are Alhaji Sule Dansadau, the partys deputy governorship candidate; Yahaya Audi Mafara, the Zamfara West senatorial candidate.





Others are Alhaji Sani Yusuf Danmasami, Zamfara Central senatorial candidate; and Engineer Adamu Yakubu for the Zamfara North senatorial seat.





It was reported that seven party candidates for the House of Representatives and 14 out of the 19 candidates for the State House of Assembly also defected to APC.





They were received by the former Governor of the state and the chairman of Zamfara 2023 governorship campaign council at an organized defection ceremony at Talata-Mafara Local Government Area of the state.





Speaking at the ceremony, the state chairman of APC, Hon. Tukur Umar Danfulani, represented by his deputy, Alhaji Hassan Marafa Damri, expressed delight over their resolve to join the APC, which he described as a big plus to the party.





Damri emphasized that all right-thinking indigenes of Zamfara must be passionate about the peace and stability of the state and, therefore, must join hands in moving the state forward.





In his remarks shortly after receiving the defectors, the former Governor of the state, Hon. Abdulaziz Yari expressed satisfaction over their defection, saying that they took the wise decision by dropping their political ambition and joining the ruling APC.





Former Governor Yari assured them that APC is a political party for the people of Zamfara when considering its previous domination of power back from the defunct APP, ANPP and now APC.





Earlier in their declarative statements, the deputy governorship candidate and Zamfara Central senatorial candidate, who spoke on behalf of other defectors, said, they resolved to drop their respective ambitions to support APC because of the current peace and stability after reconciliation between former Governor Abdulaziz Yari and Governor Bello Muhammad Matawalle.





They assured to mobilize all their supporters during the election and vote for APC Candidates from top to bottom.





Among the important personalities who witnessed the ceremony are, Leader of A A Yari political movement, Hon. Lawal M Liman; Commissioner National Population Commission, Alhaji Muhammad Muttaka Rini; former Majority leader of Zamfara State House of Assembly, Hon. Isah Abdulmumin; Talata Mafara North State House of Assembly candidate, Hon Aliyu Ango Kagara; and Alhaji Umar Mohammed Bakura, among many others.





Recall that the defection took place a few days after the Labour Party had its campaign rally in the state.




The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, on Sunday expressed his regret for not signing a warrant for the arrest of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) governor, Godwin Emefiele.

Gbajabiamila also said that the House would have no option but to reconvene before this months general elections if the CBN failed to address the hardships Nigerians face because of the currency swap policy.

He said the House would continue to monitor the CBNs implementation of the policy closely after the Green Chambers meeting with Emefiele on the issue.

Speaking during a town hall meeting with some ethnic groups in Surulere, Lagos, Gbajabiamila said, The House of Representatives intervened on several occasions. We summoned the CBN governor the first time and again, but he refused to answer because we had many hard questions for him.

It was until I issued the threat of warrant of arrest before he came, and I would have signed that warrant; it would have been the first time in the history of the National Assembly that a CBN governor would be arrested. I would have done it.

He added, Many have argued on the independence of CBN, the autonomy of CBN. That doesnt make CBN above the law.

So, were watching, and were monitoring very closely. If need be, well reconvene the House, even though we have all been away for our elections. Ill call the House back if need be.
Khartoum  The eastern Sudanese High Council of Beja Nazirs and Independent Chieftains faction led by Ibrahim Adarob announced its disavowal of any central bloc, in particular the mainstream Forces for Freedom and Change (FFC-Central Council) and the recently established FFC-Democratic Block.

In a statement on Friday, the faction's political secretary and official spokesperson Sayed Abu Amna accused "all traditional and modern national power centres and institutions of deliberately excluding the Beja people, Beja Council, and all other people in the region from all the political processes that are taking place".

Adarob's faction repeated its rejection of the Eastern Sudan Track protocol in the Juba Peace Agreement (JPA), while "the two FFC blocs both have accepted the protocol". The statement further warned of "attempts to exploit the eastern Sudanese problems in Khartoum", adding that any plans to break up the Beja Nazirs Council "will backfire on the security and stability of the country".

The High Council of Beja Nazirs and Independent Chieftains witnessed a rift last year, when a faction opposed to Hadendowa Beja Nazir and Council President Sayed Tirik, made their own plans and joined the Forces for Freedom and Change-Democratic Block (FFC-DB) in early December last year.

However, both factions have been calling for the cancellation of the Eastern Sudan Track protocol of the Juba Peace Agreement (JPA) and threatened to decide on self-determination for the region if Khartoum would not comply with their demands.

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Eastern Sudan Track

Rebel leader and Sovereignty Council member El Hadi Idris, stated that not even one per cent of the Eastern Sudan Track agreement has been implemented.

Idris called on the protocol's objectors to communicate their views in the conference on governance in eastern Sudan, that will soon be organised by the AU-IGAD-UNITAMS Trilateral Mechanism.

Regarding calls to annul the Eastern Sudan Track protocol, Idris told Radio Dabanga that "this is not possible, because it is part and parcel of the JPA, and if a part of this agreement is cancelled, this means that the entire agreement is cancelled".

He stressed that the signatories to the Framework Agreement are committed to an evaluation of the protocol and any of points of contention "will be addressed through the conference."

"Many people criticise the agreement without having seen it. Others do not look at the gains but only care for the puppets," he told Radio Dabanga.

He added that the protocol "stipulates a focus on development and reconstruction of the region", saying that almost "$300 million would be allocated annually for seven years for this purpose".

Idris underpinned some of the developmental strides the protocol could make, such as combatting safe water scarcity, particularly in the three eastern Sudanese states "which need drastic improvement".
Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has met with the Governor of Kaduna State, Nasir El-Rufai at the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja.

The two met at the first Stakeholders meeting of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)-Nigeria Business Council held at the Sheraton Hotel, Ikeja at the weekend.

At the meeting, Obasanjo, who is the Council Patron, commended President Muhammadu Buhari for his foresight in creating the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)  Nigeria Business Council.

The Special Assistant on Media to Obasanjo, Kehinde Akinyemi, stated that the meeting was held at the Sheraton Hotel, Ikeja at the weekend.

El-Rufai, who is the Deputy President of the Council, was said to have broken the news while giving a report of his meeting with the President held recently in Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

According to El-Rufai, the President was excited about the Council. He said with such Council in Africa, the future will be brighter to work together.

The governor added that Mr. President urged the former President to use his energy and network to extend similar formations in countries like Egypt, Ethiopia and South Africa.

The meeting also had in attendance, the President of the Council and the immediate past Director General of the International Institute for Tropical Agriculture (IITA), Dr. Nteranya Sanginga; the governor of Anambra State, Charles Soludo; top government officials from DRC and others.
The Police Service Commission (PSC) says it has suspended the promotion of eight police commissioners to the rank of assistant inspector general over the snub of the mandatory interview.

The commission also suspended the promotion of 11 deputy commissioners of police to commissioners.

The PSC took the decision at the end of its reconvened 18th plenary meeting which was held in Abuja, on Thursday and Friday.

Ikechukwu Ani, PSC spokesperson, in a statement on Sunday, said the officers refused to honour the invitation by the commission to appear before it to ascertain their suitability for the new offices.

The commission suspended the promotion of eight commissioners of police to the rank of assistant inspectors general and eleven deputy commissioners of police to the next rank of commissioners due to their failure to appear before it for the mandatory promotion interview.

The commission had sent invitations to the officers to appear before it for the usual interaction to ascertain their suitability and capability for the new offices.

The commission expressed surprise on their failure to honour the invitation especially as the 2023 general elections are just days away.

Meanwhile, the commission appointed three deputy inspectors general of police (DIG) and promoted 1,043 senior police officers to different ranks.




The Rivers State Government has denied being part of the arrest of 30 members of Atiku Abubakars campaign organization in Port Harcourt.





Atiku, presidential flagbearer of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, and the Rivers governor, have been in a battle of words since the partys primary election.





Reports emerged on Sunday that armed policemen arrested about 30 members of the campaign organisation during a meeting in Port Harcourt.





The spokesman of the campaign organisation, Victor Moses, had said that some of those arrested were state and local government leaders of the campaign organisation.





The campaign spokesman alleged that the police operatives acted on the instructions of Wike, who had vowed to work against the candidacy of Atiku in the forthcoming election.





But the Rivers State Commissioner for Information, Chris Finebone, while reacting to the allegation on Monday, said it was illogical for the Atiku Campaign Organization to link Governor Wike to issues it has with the police.





Denying the report, Finebone told Channels Television that the allegation is one of the instances in which people find it convenient to point an accusing finger at a government in power.
Bola Tinubu, the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), has promised to defeat banditry if elected.

He said this on Monday at the APC presidential campaign rally in Katsina state.

Speaking on the recent murder of vigilantes in Bakori LGA of the state by bandits, Tinubu said the APC remains committed to ensuring improved security.

Some bandits, on February 1, invaded the home of one Alhaji Muntari in Kandarawa, Bakori LGA of the state, and stole several animals.

In an attempt to retrieve the stolen animals, members of the proscribed vigilante group, Yansakai, went after the assailants, but they were ambushed and 41 of them were killed by the gunmen.

Speaking at the event which was held at the Muhammadu Dikko stadium, the APC presidential candidate condoled the people of Katsina over the incident and thanked those who attended the rally in spite of the killings.

He also assured the Katsina electorate that efforts are ongoing to eliminate banditry in the state.

We will definitely deal with them. They will not go scot-free. Whether they derive some moment of joy or satisfaction, we are saying we are courageous, we are strong, we believe in Allah, and we will defeat them. They are evil. We will eliminate them, Tinubu was quoted as saying.

While thanking security agencies for their efforts, the APC presidential candidate asked participants not to allow the poverty development party to come back to power.

No to PDP, no to evil, no to killers, he said.

In his remarks, President Muhammadu Buhari commiserated with the people of Katsina over the attack and urged them to remain courageous and hopeful in order to defeat terror.

Meanwhile, Atiku Bagudu, governor of Kebbi, told attendees at the event that there were debates on whether to postpone the rally.

We decided to go on because some people are already here and it will be disappointing for them to come without getting to see the president and Asiwaju. But we are here to condole with you. We will be back, he said.
Ismail Omipidan, a media aide to Gboyega Oyetola, immediate past governor of Osun, says Ademola Adeleke, the current governor of the state, will lose his appeal at the appellate court for a number of reasons.

Adeleke, the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), was declared the winner of the governorship poll held on July 16.

In August 2022, Oyetola and his party, the All Progressives Congress (APC), petitioned the tribunal to challenge the victory of Adeleke. Among several issues, Oyetola contended that there was overvoting in 749 polling units, across 10 LGAs of the state.

On the basis of Oyetolas request, two out of the three-member panel of the tribunal held that the petitioner was able to prove that there was indeed overvoting in some of the polling units.

As a result, the majority judgment of the tribunal ordered INEC to withdraw the certificate of return issued to Adeleke.

The current governor of Osun has rejected the tribunals verdict and has filed an appeal against it.

In an interview, Omipidan said apart from making a case to the tribunal that there was overvoting in the aforementioned number of LGAs, his principal was also able to prove that Adeleke forged his certificate.

The former chief press secretary said all three judges of the tribunal agreed that Adeleke committed forgery.

Apart from the issue of overvoting which we pleaded at the tribunal; we also challenged his (Adelekes) eligibility to contest for the election, Omipidan said.

It will interest you to know that all the three judges of the tribunal agreed with us that we were able to prove a forgery case against him (Adeleke) but that he had acquired additional qualification.

In their (tribunal) wisdom, they said they think he was qualified to contest the election. I have gone further in my analysis of the judgment to state categorically that if we go by the popular saying that you cannot build something on nothing, those additional qualifications amount to nullity because the basis upon which those additional qualifications were acquired is faulty.

We believe very strongly that when they appeal the judgment, the issue of disqualification will still feature prominently at the appellate court.

Omipidan said he is yet to see how the minority judgment would be used to set aside the majority verdict at the appellate court.

From my experience of covering the judiciary, the minority judgments are usually more in volume than the majority judgment most of the time.

I do not see how the eight-page minority judgment can impeach the integrity of the majority judgment in this instance.




Arsenal striker, Eddie Nketiah has hit out at Mikel Artetas men following their recent Premier League 1-0 defeat against Everton over the weekend.





Nketiah said Arsenal players were a bit sloppy against Everton at Goodison Park.





Recall that James Tarkowskis second-half header gave Everton the victory over the Gunners.





Speaking to Arsenals official website, Nketiah also admitted it was a disappointing afternoon for Arsenal against the Toffees.





He, however, believes the setback will derail Arsenals title challenge and expects the Premier League leaders to return to winning ways against Brentford next weekend.





It was a difficult game, Nketiah said.





They made it very tough.





Personally, we were not at the standard we needed to be at today and we have got to improve and make sure we bounce back in our next game.





Credit to them, they put out a good game plan and executed it well today. I felt like we just did not execute ours to the best of our ability, we were a bit sloppy at times.





Everyone is disappointed, of course. Hopefully, we can reward them with three points on Saturday, he added.
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analysis

SA Tourism's interim CFO Johan van der Walt misrepresented his ties to the agency that was set to be used to activate the R1-billion Tottenham Hotspur sponsorship deal, Daily Maverick can reveal.

SA Tourism's interim chief financial officer, Johan van der Walt, told Daily Maverick last week that his ties to the agency that could cash in on the controversial R1-billion Spurs sponsorship deal were highly limited.

When asked about his relationship with WWP Group, the agency named in documents as due to be given a 1.5-million (R31.3-million) upfront fee by 31 March 2023 to "activate" the sponsorship, Van der Walt replied in writing: "I have no financial interest in WWP Group, but I have in the past done some consulting work for WWP Group from time to time - predominantly work of a tax nature."

But Daily Maverick has seen emails from 2019 proving that Van der Walt worked directly for the WWP Group at this time in the position of "group financial director", rendering his characterisation of the relationship highly questionable.

The correspondence, which has been seen by Daily Maverick, shows Van der Walt's role in WWP Group clearly went far beyond intermittent, pro bono tax consulting.

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By Joseph Titus Yekeryan

The Government of Liberia through the Ministry of Health (MoH) has launched a nationwide school-based vaccination campaign intended to prevent the spread of Covid-19 among school-going kids in Liberia.

The vaccination campaign is being implemented by the Government of Liberia through the Ministries of Health and Education in collaboration with development partners.

Health Minister Dr. Wilhelmina Jallah during the official launch of the campaign said COVID-19-related vaccines, including the Pediatric Pfizer vaccine, will be administered to students between the ages of five and eleven on their school campuses.

Dr. Jallah said the key objective of the campaign is to boost the immune systems of the kids and prevent them from contracting the virus and other diseases.

She called on parents not to panic, but to go to the school campuses to sign the consent form, which will allow their children to be vaccinated.

"This is about the health of our children, so we are calling on their parents to take this campaign very seriously."

"Let them make themselves available to sign the consent form for their kids to be vaccinated. I know they are quite aware that if a kid contracts any illnesses besides covid-19, that child's education gets affected."

"So the first and most important thing is to ensure the wellness of your kids before anything," said Minister Jallah.

Dr. Jallah stated that vaccinators will be posted at the various school campuses to roll out the vaccination campaign.

Speaking further, Education Minister, Professor D. Ansu Sonii said the vaccination campaign is consistent with the vision of the Liberian Government and partners to have a healthy and strong population.

Professor Sonii encouraged parents to continue to send their children to school; describing education as the only tool that can tackle illiteracy and alleviate poverty in the family.
This work is supported with a grant funded by the Walton Family Foundation and administered by the Society of Environmental Journalists.
Faimon Roberts III covers rural communities in Louisiana. His work is supported by a reporting grant from the Microsoft Journalism Initiative and is administered by the Greater New Orleans Foundation.

He can be reached at froberts@theadvocate.com.
Liberian Vice President Jewel Howard-Taylor says she foresees a serious constitutional crisis in the upcoming October Presidential and legislative elections.

Over the weekend, she warned that this could occur if the National Elections Commission (NEC) doesn't change and replace all election magistrates across the country.

She made the claim at the Eight Edition of the Archbishop Michael K. Francis intellectual discourse in Monrovia.

VP Howard-Taylor accused all election magistrates across the country of being allegedly corrupt and demanded that they be replaced immediately.

"I can tell y'all for free that most of the electoral magistrates are corrupt, they need to be rotated, they need to be replaced, and they need to be changed into where ever they need to go," said VP Howard-Taylor.

She claimed that changing all elections magistrates will provide an environment where people will feel that they are free to participate.

"We have 2023 election coming up in a few months and this is the few time that we have a presidential election where half of the Senate and House of Representatives will be going to elections," said Madam Howard-Taylor.

She said any process that takes longer than necessary ... with so many issues will be taken to the Supreme Court and there will be a constitutional crisis.

"So, I want to say in advance, internal dispute resolution processes are not free and fair. However, I want to say to you for free that most of the election magistrates are corrupt and should be replaced and changed," she concluded.

On Tuesday, 9 August 2022, President George Manneh Weah requested lawmakers to return from their break to discuss critical national issues for the period of 30 days which began on 15 August 2022 and would have ended Tuesday, 13 September 2022.

Among others, the issues included a request for legislators to pass an amendment of the New Elections Law which called for the immediate dismissal and retirement of all election magistrates across the country.

But several Liberians strongly expressed disappointment and opposition against the bill.

They believe that the bill was anti-democracy, unconstitutional and intended to cause chaos.

They also noted that it was purely aimed at enabling President Weah to rig the pending elections and continue inflicting wounds on ordinary citizens.

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Expressing his discontent, Mr. Kabineh Fofana noted that the current 54th Legislature, headed by members of the ruling Coalition for Democratic Change wants President Weah to get re-elected at all costs in 2023.

He said the Legislature and the President want magistrates that they will control to ensure that Weah wins the 2023 elections si that they can maintain their jobs.

"The bill is not necessary, and it is not right because some of these people were trained with taxpayers' money and they have grown over the past years to manage elections," said Mr. Varlee Kromah. "And it's time for them to implement what they have learned. You want to change them and bring those you can control and influence. It's unacceptable," he added.-Edited by Winston
The National Elections Commission (NEC), over the weekend conducted a one-day information-sharing meeting on the Biometric Voter Registration (BVR) and the 2023 General Elections with the leadership and members of the Liberia Marketing Association, (LMA), of Liberia.

The meeting was requested by the NEC, through its Gender Section and held on the compound of the Commission on 9th Street, in Sinkor. Nearly 100 members of the Liberia Marketing Association and its leadership attended the one-day information-sharing meeting with authorities of the NEC.

Speaking during the information sharing meeting, NEC Boss, Madam Davidetta Browne Lansanah said, the Commission is depending on the Liberia Marketing Association to help spread the information regarding the BVR process.

Madam Browne Lansanah informed the Liberia Marketing Association leadership and members not to be afraid of the Biometric Voter Registration (BVR), process

She said real objective of the BVR is to register all Liberians 18 years and above.

However, the NEC Boss says, when a registrant's citizenship becomes questionable, that registrant will be allowed to present a valid passport, a birth certificate, certificate of naturalization, and the National Identification Registry, NIR card. She also said that registrant could bring two Liberian voters or a traditional leader who will agree that the registrant is a Liberian.

Responding, the President of the Liberia Marketing Association, Madam Elizabeth Samborla thanked the NEC for the interaction, adding that this was the very first time for LMA leadership and the NEC Board of Commissioners to discuss election matters face to face.

The Liberia Marketing Association President said the NEC will succeed in its mandate to conduct free, fair, transparent and credible 2023 General Elections because they have directly involved the LAM and its leadership in the electoral process.
QINGDAO - China launched its 2023 Time-honored Brand Carnival on Saturday in Qingdao, East China's Shandong province, amid the country's efforts to promote consumption.

The carnival aims to provide more quality goods of the time-honored brands and create new consumption scenarios for consumers, said Commerce Minister Wang Wentao in a video address at the launch ceremony.

According to the Ministry of Commerce, 28 major activities will be held nationwide on three main themes, namely holiday consumption, live broadcasting and store exploration. The activities will be held both online and offline throughout the year.

Since 2020, the carnival has been held for three consecutive years, driving a total consumption of nearly 40 billion yuan ($5.94 billion) in related sectors.

The Central Economic Work Conference, which was held at the end of last year, stated that priority should be given to restoring and expanding consumption. The country has also planned to develop its time-honored brands and distinctive traditional cultural brands, according to a guideline on expanding domestic demand.
-Turns them over to LACC for investigation

By Kruah Thompson

The Ministry of Health (MOH) has suspended two of its Margibi County health team officials for being implicated in an alleged corruption scandal.

Liberia's Minister of Health Dr. Wilhelmina Jallah said Friday at a news conference that they have put the acting health team in place to continue the provision of health services in the county.

On 2 February 2023, local media here reported a leaked audio exposing some officials of the Margibi County health term discussing ways to collect kickbacks from vendors associated with MOH.

Minister Jallah said the Ministry has recalled all the staff of the Margibi County health team who were implicated in that scandal.

"The MOH will be turning over all suspects to the LACC for investigation. The outcome of the LACC [Liberia Anti-Corruption Commission] investigation will inform the next decision of the ministry," she noted

According to her, the content of this news article simply borders on corruption, and the Ministry strongly rejects corruption.

Meanwhile, Dr. Jallah assured the people of Margibi that normal services delivered to them will not be under threat under her watch.
Sunday, 5th February 2023

A SPECIAL MESSAGE OF THANKS AND APPRECIATION FROM

H.E DR. GEORGE MANNEH WEAH

PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF LIBERIA

Sunday, February 5, 2023

Let me thank all Liberians who turned out yesterday to express their support for the work we continue to do on their behalf. They have shown through their huge assembly - and decision to re-nominate me - that they appreciate what we have been doing over the last few years. And for this, I am thankful!

It was gratifying to have seen the convergence of people from various sectors of the Liberian society, including youth, women, traditional leaders and First Time Voters.

Thank you for your support! I don't take it lightly. I assure you that we will be exerting all efforts in the coming months to gain another constitutional mandate from you, the Liberian people, in order to sustain the development drive across the country.

Like I announced a few days ago, we will be meeting you in your communities, towns, and villages to explain the progress that we are making while soliciting your support. We expect that this democratic exchange will be peaceful and interactive.

So once more - and on behalf of First Lady Clar and myself, Vice President (and Vice Standard Bearer of the CDC) Jewel Howard Taylor, officials and members of Government, and the hierarchy of the ruling Coalition for Democratic Change - let me express how truly humbled I am by the numerous sacrifice and support you have given me. We will not let you down!

Thank you.
Two fugitives of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi, Pierre Basabose and Seraphin Twahirwa, will appear before court in the Belgium in June this year.

Basabose was indicted in June 2015 for the crimes of Genocide and extermination. He is a former soldier who had quit the military to venture into business. He owned a foreign exchange bureau in Kigali.

ALSO READ: Belgium arrests three Rwandan genocide suspects

Twahirwa on the other hand worked in the Ministry of public works (Minitrape), which is the current infrastructure ministry.

He was indicted in June 2014, according to information from prosecution. He is accused of Genocide, conspiracy and extermination.

A first hearing is scheduled for June 12. The draw of the jury will take place on October 4 and the trial itself will start on October 9. The two men were arrested in September 2020.

The suspects were arrested during "three searches carried out on September 29 and 30, 2020, in the judicial districts of Brussels and Hainaut," announced the Federal Prosecutor's Office in a statement.

The two files have been merged. Both cases concern crimes committed in Kigali, in the Gikondo and Kacyiru sectors.
Insurance is about evaluating risks and protecting people from those risks. It always has been, dating back centuries when life-threatening risks lurked behind every danger.

One century ago, Vernon Shurr took a risk when he opened a small insurance company from his Porter County farm property. Like many insurance firms at the time in rural areas, it was based on the Amish principle behind replacing barns or structures that burned down. Farmers grouped together to help each other absorb the costs of their losses.

Shurrs young son, Emerson Bud Shurr, often shadowed his father to clients homes, learning the business from the inside out.

When Emerson was 18, he began working in his fathers business, helping to handle a growing clientele base as the countys population grew. Emerson eventually married, had children of his own and invited his young son, Larry, to shadow him on his route.

Together, they met clients, measured homes, took photos and developed a trust with people that transcended a business transaction. Larry learned everything about the insurance industry from his father, just as Vernon had.

Larry officially began working in the family business in 1970. He too eventually married and had children of his own. One of those kids, Jon, began shadowing him on his insurance route to meet customers, shake hands, take photos and give estimates.

Just as Vernon never pressured Bud to work in the family business, and Bud never pressured Larry, Larry never pressured Jon. But he quietly hoped he would consider it.

You have to give your children the opportunity to do whatever they want with their career and with their life, Larry told me. Id be lying if I said I wasnt hoping that Jon or one of his siblings would take over someday.

Jon began formally working in 2010 at Shurr Insurance Agency after graduating from Purdue University in West Lafayette. He earned a degree in business management. He could have worked pretty much anywhere in the country. Instead, he returned to Porter County.

I grew up in this industry the same way my father did  one client at a time  although it was in different eras, Jon told me, sitting next to his father in their Valparaiso office. Like my great-grandfather, my father and I grew up in this business.

Four generations. 100 years. Thousands of insurance policies.

Its the oldest insurance agency founded in Porter County, Jon, 35, said.

Its a milestone, Larry, 71, added.

Larry lives on the same property his great-grandfather once farmed in the mid-1800s, a mile south of Boone Grove High School. The Shurr family and countys history are interwoven like an insurance policy and a premium payment.

We feel its a neat little legacy we have here, Jon said.

Jon is keeping our family legacy going, Larry said.

At their side at another desk is Larrys daughter, Megan Shurr, an insurance adviser.

As a child, I always loved coming up to the office with my dad and spending the day just hanging around," she said. "I even thought, as a child, maybe Ill do what he does when Im older.

After high school and college, however, her plan was to not become an agent or join the family business.

I had other plans, she said. But life changed that and Im really glad it did. I love working here. I feel very much honored to be a part of this history, not only with my family but also with the city of Valparaiso and Porter County.

Many of the familys older customers ask for Larry directly. Theyre used to his voice, his handshake, his familiarity. They dont trust computers or the internet or TV commercials. They trust Larry.

Many of our customers have been very loyal to us through the decades, Larry said modestly.

In this country, the first insurance companies opened in the mid-1700s, including one co-founded by Benjamin Franklin, designed to prevent fires from permanently destroying structures.

The industry evolved as new risks emerged, such as from automobile accidents.

Its all about risk factors, Jon said.

The Indiana Department of Insurance outlines the basics behind insurance coverage on its website: You may choose from companies which have local or non-local agents. The services of the local agent may be of importance when you buy the policy or when you have a claim.

And theres the rub with navigating the insurance industry: the choice between an insurance agent versus an insurance marketer. The former is about sales. The latter is about protecting clients. Both fields make a profit to stay in business.

There are hundreds of fine-print lines in any insurance contract that most people never read, let alone understand, Jon said. People cant get all this explained to them from the internet or from an 800 number, especially when they need it most, like after an accident or a death or a house fire.

Larry has been in the business for more than 50 years.

Just like my father and grandfather, Ive seen pretty much everything, he said. They both worked right up until their deaths.

I asked Larry whether he would be retiring anytime soon. He laughed at my question.

He has 15 grandchildren. Jon has three young children, his youngest born just last month. Megan has two young sons.

They enjoy coming in and hanging around, just like I did as a child. Its a very nostalgic feeling, she said.

Who knows if one of them will choose to carry on this family legacy, Jon said.

And who knows, maybe one day theyll want to continue with our family business when theyre older, Megan said.

I can only wonder what my great-grandfather would think about all this, Jon said.

Obviously, its a risk worth taking in the Shurr family.
HAMMOND  Attorneys for indicted Lake County Sheriff Oscar Martinez Jr. soon will get a chance to argue that a portion of a new Indiana statute barring individuals under indictment from carrying a handgun in public is unconstitutional.

Lake Superior Judge John Sedia issued a case management order last week in the sheriff's challenge to House Enrolled 1296 (2022). A hearing on dispositive motions is set for 11 a.m. May 18 at the county courts building in Hammond.

Indiana's permitless-carry law, which eliminated the need for Hoosiers 18 and older to obtain a state permit to carry a handgun in public beginning July 1, 2022, prohibits Martinez from doing the same because Martinez was indicted in January 2022 on a felony charge of resisting law enforcement and misdemeanor reckless driving.

Martinez is accused of failing to stop while driving an unmarked, county-owned Jeep TrackHawk at 96 mph in a 45-mph zone in what police described as a "completely reckless" manner on Main Street in Crown Point and Taft Street and U.S. 30 in Merrillville in September 2021 as two Crown Point police officers chased him with their lights and sirens activated.

The Democratic sheriff has pleaded not guilty to the charges, which carry a potential punishment of up to 2 years behind bars. Martinez also automatically would lose his elected post as sheriff immediately upon conviction of a felony.

The Indiana Court of Appeals affirmed the validity of Martinez's indictment Jan. 26 in a unanimous ruling. But his trial remains on hold while Martinez decides whether to ask the Indiana Supreme Court to consider reviewing his case.

Indiana law denies the right to carry a handgun in public to individuals under indictment; felons; fugitives; some noncitizens; a person convicted of domestic violence, domestic battery or criminal stalking; a person under a restraining order; a person formally deemed dangerous or mentally defective; or a person dishonorably discharged from the military.

Previously, county sheriffs and other law enforcement personnel were automatically exempt from the state's handgun-permit requirement. But that exemption was deleted from the Indiana Code by the Republican-controlled General Assembly in March 2022 because no adult now needs a permit to carry a handgun in public in the state.

In his lawsuit, Martinez says the statute infringes on his right to bear arms as guaranteed by the Indiana Constitution and the U.S. Constitution because he's not been convicted of a crime and remains a law-abiding citizen entitled to the presumption of innocence.

Here are the new Indiana laws to know that took effect July 1 Animals Annexation Ag equipment Bone marrow Campus speech Caregivers Catalytic converters Coerced abortion Data breach Dementia training Double voting Expungement Foreign land purchases Health officers Handguns Housing shortage Hunting Inmate calls Lead testing Low-level felons Lowell investment Medicaid Nuclear power Pregnant inmates Property tax Public comment Rape Semiquincentennial Simulated child porn State fossil Tax cuts Tourism Township trustees Trans sports Tribal law enforcement Turn signal University gifts Vaping taxes Virtual instruction Youth ag
VALPARAISO  More than two years after a Valparaiso woman woke in the middle of the night to an intruder placing a pillow over her face and binding her hands with zip ties, a 43-year-old man has been charged with the crime, court records show.

Valparaiso police said they were led to the accused, Kenneth King, by a combination of surveillance videos and DNA evidence he allegedly left behind at the scene.

King, who has both Chicago and Valparaiso addresses on file in court records, faces felony counts of burglary, robbery, residential entry, theft and criminal confinement, and misdemeanor battery.

The allegations stem back to Sept. 14, 2020, when the purported victim reported an intruder in her ground-floor apartment in the 2900 block of Black Partridge Lane woke her around 3:15 a.m., according to a charging document.

For the next 45 minutes, the masked intruder placed a pillow over her face, zip-tied her hands, told her to remain quiet and assured her he had no intention of killing her, then tore through her apartment and left with several items, police said.

"He tried to place a cotton item in her mouth but she kept spitting it out," police said. "She told the male subject she could not breathe as he held the pillow over her face and he relieved some of the pressure."

The woman reportedly gave a partial description of the intruder to police and said he asked for jewelry and money.

"He took her cellphone and used the flashlight to survey the other rooms," police said. "The apartment got quiet, so she walked to the living room and noticed he had left."

The woman left her apartment and yelled for help, which was heard by a neighbor, who contacted police, a court document says.

Missing items included a cellphone, several pieces of jewelry and money, police said.

Police said they noticed bicycle tracks in the area and spoke with a witness, who had seen a person in the area on a bike. A home surveillance video caught images of the bicyclist.

Officers further picked up a signal from the missing cellphone.

Several months later, state police reported they had a match between King and DNA evidence left behind at the scene, a charging document says.

When police confronted King in February 2021, he initially denied any involvement in the crime, charges say.

"He explained he recently experienced financial hardships," police said.

"When asked why he was being so stubborn, he replied, 'I got woke up. I knew this was coming,'" according to police.

The case is pending before Porter Circuit Court Judge Mary DeBoer.
At a recent Crown Point school board meeting, member Tim Vassar called the latest school choice proposal before the Indiana Legislature "frightening."

Senate Bill 305 would allow parents of Indiana students, from kindergarten through 12th grade, to opt their children out of regular public school enrollment and instead receive the funds their local school district would normally receive to educate their children. Those funds would be put into an education savings account that parents could decide how to spend on their children's education.

The parent could use it for online education, non-voucher attendance at a private school, participation in a microschool or learning cooperative, tutoring or myriad other things. The money could also be used to purchase education-related items such as textbooks, curricular materials, career training equipment or computer hardware.

"You could imagine the misuse of funds there that could happen," Vassar said.

And Vassar is not the only public school official concerned about this legislation.

Hammond Superintendent Scott Miller is concerned about how this will affect funding for public school districts like his. He's especially worried given the other school choice measures put in place by the Legislature, including the nation's largest private school voucher program and heavy support for charter schools.

"If we're going to take the same pot of money that goes to public schools, and then to private schools, and then to charter schools, and now we're going to take some of that same money and put it in the hands of parents, we'll end up in a situation that none of us can do the job that we need to because the pot has become so diluted across everyone," he said. "And that is harmful for everybody."

Although, Miller is even more worried about money being misused. He believes there should be amendments that strengthen oversight and add guidelines for how this money can be used.

"If we're going to be putting this money, that's taxpayer-raised, in the hands of parents, we want to make sure that they're not taken advantage of by charlatans and other people who are claiming to provide superior education products and services," he said. "Because that's what's going to happen. You're going to have all these pseudo-education companies coming up and saying, 'You can spend your dollars with me.'"

Miller said the value proposition of public, private and charter schools is known, but any company that starts up with promises to help educate children using these funds is an unknown. He's also worried about parents misusing funds.

"This is somewhat of an extreme example," he said, "but if a parent says 'I want to go to Disney World because I'm going pay to get a behind-the-scenes tour because it's going to provide an education for my kids,' right now, there would be absolutely nothing in the legislation that would say that's an inappropriate use of taxpayer-funded money."

Another example is homeschooling, he said.

"We get told by parents sometimes that I'm now going to homeschool my kid, but there's very little oversight over home education in Indiana," he said.

Miller said he's heard anecdotal stories about people who are doing home education and doing very little to educate their children.

"If they're concerned about these kids' education, more important than their parent's right to choose, it should be about investing money so that the child has a positive educational outcome," he said.

Michael Gresham, a Michigan City school board member, said he's concerned about these school choice programs being less inclusive.

"When they talk about choice, it's only a choice for certain kids," Gresham said. "You have to have a robust public school system for everybody."

Gresham noted that religious schools can deny LGBTQ children and that private schools don't have to accept or make accommodations for students with disabilities.

"Charters and privates are allowed to set up standards for admission. Public schools can't do that," he said. "It would be easy for public schools to have great grades if they could not admit the bottom 10%, 20% or whatever it is."

Gresham's also worried about pulling funds from Michigan City Area Schools.

"What other form of government can you opt out of?" he said. "I can't take my money that goes to the police force and hire two armed security guards to stand outside my house. If I don't like my mayor, I can't opt out. If I don't like my highway department, I can't go hire Porter County to clear my roads. We don't do this with any other form of government."

Gallery: The Times Photos of the Week His Holiness Patriarch Porfirije visits Northwest Indiana for the first time at St. George Serbian Orthodox Church following major newsworthy visits to Chicago, New York and Milwaukee. His Holiness Patriarch Porfirije visits Northwest Indiana for the first time at St. George Serbian Orthodox Church following major newsworthy visits to Chicago, New York and Milwaukee. His Holiness Patriarch Porfirije visits Northwest Indiana for the first time at St. George Serbian Orthodox Church following major newsworthy visits to Chicago, New York and Milwaukee. His Holiness Patriarch Porfirije visits Northwest Indiana for the first time at St. George Serbian Orthodox Church following major newsworthy visits to Chicago, New York and Milwaukee. Gary Science Olympiad 2023 Gary Science Olympiad 20223 Gary Science Olympiad 2023 020523-spt-gbk-lc_7 020523-spt-gbk-lc_1 020523-spt-gbk-lc_5 020523-spt-gbk-lc_10 020523-spt-gbk-lc_6 020523-spt-gbk-lc_3 020523-spt-gbk-lc_8 Last day to file for the spring primary Last day to file for the spring primary 020423-spt-gbk-lc_5 020423-spt-gbk-lc_7 020423-spt-gbk-lc_5 020423-spt-gbk-lc_4 Hammond Black History Month observation Hammond Black History Month observation Hammond Black History Month observation Andrean sectional Kouts Girls Sectional Class 1A Game 1 020123-spt-gbk-low_5 020123-spt-gbk-low_4 020123-spt-gbk-low_2 020123-spt-gbk-low_9 Hammond storage facility fire Computer coaching Gallery HTML code
Valparaiso Mayor Matt Murphy will join the board overseeing the South Shore Line commuter railroad as Porter County's representative, Gov. Eric Holcomb announced Friday.

Holcomb also reappointed LaPorte County representative Jim Arnold, a member of the LaPorte school board. And, the governor recently appointed a new St. Joseph County representative, County Commissioner Carl Baxmeyer, of South Bend.

I appreciate Gov. Holcomb's confidence in me and look forward to serving on the NICTD board," Murphy said. "I see that the growth of NICTD services translates into added opportunities for northern Indiana residents, businesses and visitors."

The five-member Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District Board of Trustees is made up of an elected official from each of the four counties the railroad serves and is chaired by the commissioner of the Indiana Department of Transportation, Michael Smith.

Lake County's representative is Gary Mayor Jerome Prince. Both he and Murphy, who is running for Valparaiso City Council this year, will need to win their elections this year to remain on the NICTD board.

Murphy replaces Jeff Good, a former Porter County commissioner who did not run for reelection to that position last year. Baxmeyer replaced Andy Kostielney, who resigned from the St. Joseph Board of County Commissioners last year to take a job with the engineering firm DLZ.

In addition to geographic representation, board membership among the four local officials must be divided evenly between the political parties. Prince and Arnold are Democrats, and Murphy and Baxmeyer are Republicans.

The new members join a board overseeing major capital projects that include the $649 million South Shore Line Double Track project between Gary and Michigan City, and the $945 million West Lake Corridor commuter rail extension from Hammond to Dyer.
VALPARAISO  First aid training is common. Assess the patient, stop the bleeding, use CPR if necessary and get the person ready for more advanced care.

Now theres similar training for mental health.

Carley Samayoa teaches Mental Health First Aid courses for Hub Coalition Porter County, the agency formerly known as the Porter County Substance Abuse Council. This is a practical course. Heres what to do, she said.

It works. A previous instructor was on social media and saw a post that rang a bell, Samayoa said. The instructor reached out and started a conversation that led to learning that the person was dealing with depression.

The training program began in Australia in 2000 and arrived in the United States in 2008. There are versions for youth and teens, older adults and other adults. By the end of 2023, about 1,800 people will have been trained locally, Samayoa said.

So far, the course has been popular with EMS, police and juvenile justice system employees. Church volunteers and other people who work with clients down on their luck also benefit from the program. Living Hope Community Church, for example, works with community members who need a warming shelter or a womens shelter. The volunteers wanted training, said Samantha Aguilar, a grant coordinator for Hub Coalition Porter County.

The course teaches how to recognize early signs and symptoms of mental health. Learning how to assess a person is important. Are you thinking of killing yourself? gets a different answer than Have you ever considered suicide?

Were talk about the importance of being direct and using the exact language, Aguilar said. Being direct gets you the answer you need.

And its important to notice how urgent the need for care is, she said. Is there a situation happening? Is this person in the beginnings of a crisis, or is this person in a full-blown crisis?

Samayoa said it's "just like physical first aid, in that it begins with assessing the situation. In this case, its assessing for risk of suicide or harm, listening nonjudgmentally, giving reassurance and information, encouraging appropriate professional help, and encouraging self-help and other support strategies.

The training shows how to deal with panic attacks, suicidal thoughts or behaviors, nonsuicidal self-injury, acute psychoses like hallucinations and delusions, overdoses or withdrawal from alcohol or drugs, and reactions to traumatic events.

Trauma tends to be a pretty big trigger for things, Samayoa said. How a person responds will vary. Typically, its these negative events in their lives that they have no control of. Sometimes one major event can be a trigger; sometimes its a series of events with one seemingly minor negative situation being the final straw.

Thats the thing about trauma, right? Its so personal, she said.

The one-day course lasts seven to eight hours and can be done in-person or virtual.

I feel that in-person trainings are just a little more impactful, Samayoa said, but virtual instruction doesnt leave out important lessons."
In late September, protests erupted across Iran as tens of thousands of people, led by women and girls, demanded liberation from the Islamic Republics theocracy. The protests were set off by the death of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old who had been in the custody of the morality police on the allegation of violating hijab rules.

Iranians tweeted their reasons for protesting using the hashtag #baraye (or #for). Hajipour wove those tweets into lyrics, naming his song after the hashtag. He composed and recorded the song from his bedroom in his parents house in the coastal city of Babolsar.

As Iranians shared the reasons they were protesting via tweets, Hajipour wove some of them into his verses:

For embarrassment due to being penniless; For yearning for an ordinary life; For the child laborer and his dreams; For this dictatorial economy; For this polluted air; For this forced paradise; For jailed intellectuals; For all the empty slogans

For the past five months, everywhere Iranians congregated inside and outside the country, be it protests, funerals, celebrations, hikes, concerts, malls, cafes, university campuses, high schools or traffic jams, they blasted the song and sang the lyrics in unison:

For the feeling of peace; For the sunrise after long dark nights; For the stress and insomnia pills; For man, motherland, prosperity; For the girl who wished she was born a boy; For woman, life, freedomFor Freedom.

The Grammy will raise the songs profile even more.

Baraye winning a Grammy sends the message to Iranians that the world has heard them and is acknowledging their freedom struggle, said Nahid Siamdoust, the author of Soundtrack of the Revolution: The Politics of Music in Iran. It is awarding their protest anthem with the highest musical honor.

Siamdoust, who is also an assistant professor of media and Middle East studies at the University of Texas at Austin, said that while music has played an important political role in Iran since the constitutional revolution a century ago, no song compared to Baraye in terms of reach and impact. Music can travel and traverse homes and communities and spread sentiment in a way that few other means can achieve, she said.

In a 2019 documentary short about his musical journey that recently aired on BBC Persian, Mr. Hajipour said that he began training as a classical violinist at the age of 8, started composing music at 12. He also said he has a college degree in economics but works as a professional musician, composing music for clients and recording his own songs.

He said that his passion was creating music that broke form and that he drew inspiration from the pain and suffering he experienced and witnessed.
Rwandan communities in Sudan and Kenya held events to mark the 29th Heroes Day, and pay tribute to people who dedicated their lives to defend patriotic values and the wellbeing of Rwandans.

The events were held on February 3 and February 5 respectively.

Organized by the Rwandan embassies in the two respective countries marked Heroes Day under the theme "Our Heroism, Our Dignity," the ceremonies were held in the cities of Khartoum and Nairobi.

ALSO READ: Heroes Day: Rwandans have their say

The event in Khartoum was held in a hybrid format where over 50 representatives of the Rwandan community attended physically, while others followed via online means.

Speaking to the people who attended, the head of Rwanda's diplomatic mission to Sudan, Abel Bahungu, pointed at the need to always promote Rwandan values, showcasing heroism work, behaviour and daily life.

He specifically gave an example of the liberation war and how members of the Rwanda Patriotic Front (RPF) sacrificed their lives to save many people and stop the Genocide against the Tutsi in 1994, as well as helping many people who were stuck in exile to return.

"Now, they (the RPF) is working with other Rwandans to ensure the development of the country in such a way that is clear for us all to see," he noted.

ALSO READ: What can youth pick from Rwanda's heroes?

He urged the Rwandans in Sudan to contribute to the economic development of Rwanda, in addition to teaching the younger generations about values of heroism.

On the other hand, the event in Kenya was attended by more than 300 Rwandans, and featured discussions on preserving the spirit of heroism.

The High Commissioner of Rwanda in Kenya, Richard Masozera, told the attendants that the values that Rwandan heroes showcased are still relevant in our world today.

"Our country's main vision now is economic development and the wellbeing of Rwandans wherever they are. This requires the contribution of each one of us, using every ability and opportunity at our disposal. To achieve that vision, we need to uphold the same values of patriotism, courage, selflessness and unity, in our day to day lives," he said.

"By doing so we will be emulating the gallant men and women we honour on this important occasion," he added.
Viola Davis achieved a rare distinction during the Grammys preshow on Sunday, becoming the 18th person to join the EGOT club, an acronym for those who have won an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar and a Tony.

At Sundays ceremony, she secured the feat with her first Grammy Award  for the audiobook of her memoir Finding Me, in the best audio book, narration and storytelling recording category. It was also her first nomination.

I wrote this book to honor the 6-year-old Viola, Davis, 57, said at the podium. To honor her life, her joy, her trauma, everything. And it has just been such a journey. I just EGOT!

In 2015, Davis won the Emmy for best lead actress in a drama for her role in the ABC series How to Get Away with Murder; in 2017, she won the best supporting actress Oscar for Fences, the Denzel Washington-directed film, written by August Wilson, based on Wilsons 1985 play; and shes won two Tony Awards, for King Hedley II, in 2001, and Fences, in 2010.
Melinda Dillon, who shot to Broadway stardom at 23, withdrew from acting after a mental breakdown, and then, in her late 30s, staged a comeback, receiving best supporting actress Oscar nominations for her roles in Close Encounters of the Third Kind and Absence of Malice, died on Jan. 9. She was 83.

Her death, which was announced by a cremation service, came to public notice in recent days. The announcement did not specify the cause or location of her death.

Ms. Dillon was best known for playing mothers coping with grave or silly problems in popular movies of the 1970s and 80s. In Close Encounters, the enduring Steven Spielberg hit from 1977, she played an artist and single mother living on a rural farm who watches her son get abducted by aliens.

She played more explicitly archetypal mothers in Harry and the Hendersons (1987), a family comedy about having Bigfoot as your pet, and A Christmas Story (1983), a series of vignettes depicting an all-American Christmas in midcentury Indiana.
AUSTIN, Texas  Warmer weather has returned to Austin, Texas, after the winter storm that began to hit the state last Monday. It was a balmy 73 degrees in the city on Sunday. But to many residents in and around the capital who were still dealing with the storms fallout, progress in the recovery seemed frozen.

More than 30,000 customers in Austin remained without power on Sunday night, according to Austin Energy, down from more than 100,000 last week but still a puzzling total to many residents who lost electricity on Wednesday. Adding to the misery was the continued presence of fallen trees and downed utility poles throughout the area.

Life without lights, heat and electricity  and, in many cases, water  was a dominant theme of conversations over breakfast and before and after church services. All of it has tested residents patience.
It took this court just one month to send a smoke signal to the public that our decisions are fleeting and our precedent is only as enduring as the terms of the justices who sit on the bench, they stated.

The degree of partisanship in North Carolinas judiciary is mirrored in other politically divided states like Wisconsin and Ohio, where judges are increasingly perceived as political actors, not neutral arbiters of the law.

Supreme Court races in North Carolina were nonpartisan affairs until the Republican legislature ordered candidates to run as partisans, with Rs and Ds beside their names on Election Day ballots, beginning five years ago. The Republican legislature in Ohio made the same move beginning with last Novembers court races. In both instances, the changes were widely seen as politically motivated  and, indeed, both supreme courts have since tilted to the right.

Wisconsin Supreme Court elections are ostensibly nonpartisan, but candidates run as liberals or conservatives who almost invariably support one party or the other on contentious issues. Arguably the most important election in America in 2023 is the April 4 contest for a seat on the Wisconsin Supreme Court, where Democrats are trying to regain liberal control of a court on which conservatives hold a 4-to-3 majority. Wisconsin Democrats want to overturn the states 1849 law prohibiting abortion in nearly all cases, and the court has the potential to make crucial rulings on election issues in a key swing state in 2024 if there are presidential election challenges.

And there, as in Ohio and North Carolina, partisan control of the court is seen as the key to preserving or undoing gerrymandered political maps that have locked in Republican dominance of the state legislature for more than a decade.

In those and other states, once-sleepy races for the bench have become multimillion-dollar affairs financed by ideological PACs, wealthy donors and, often, the political parties themselves.

Ms. Doran said that it is impossible to completely divorce politics from the bench. Politics is inherently part of governance, and courts are part of our government, she said, adding that Republican victories in Novembers court races showed that voters wanted a more conservative judiciary.
WASHINGTON  A foreign spy craft miles above the earth. A missile fired to bring it down. A flimsy cover story: just a weather plane! A high-stakes diplomatic meeting ruptured and tense superpower relations inflamed.

History, like good television, may not repeat, but sometimes it reaches back to earlier seasons for inspiration. To students of the Cold War, the saga of the Chinese balloon crossing American airspace seemed eerily reminiscent of the U-2 spy plane incident that provoked a tense confrontation between the United States and the Soviet Union.

It was one of the most fraught moments of the four-decade conflict pitting East against West, with enduring consequences. In that case, the nation spying on a rival was the United States, which regularly sent the high-altitude U-2 surveillance planes over Soviet territory confident that they were beyond the reach of Russian surface-to-air missiles  until just such missiles knocked one of its planes out of the sky on May 1, 1960.

All the Americans knew at first was that the plane had not made it to a base in Norway. Assuming that it had crashed and its pilot was killed, President Dwight D. Eisenhowers administration put out a cover statement asserting that a weather plane had gone missing during a flight over Turkey.
Harry Whittington, a wealthy and well-connected lawyer who gained sudden fame as the unintended victim of a shotgun blast by Dick Cheney, the vice president at the time, died early Saturday at his home in Austin, Texas. He was 95.

His wife, Mercedes Baker Whittington, confirmed the death. A friend, the Republican political strategist Karl Rove, said Mr. Whittington had long recovered from the wounds and died after a brief illness following a fall earlier this year.

Mr. Whittington typified the breed of Texan known as the good ol boy, a traditional Lone Star tribute to wit, understatement and loyalty. He regularly played cards with a nonagenarian former Texas Supreme Court chief judge and enjoyed a bantering relationship with President George W. Bush.

His strong Republican connections led to his joining a hunting trip on a Texas ranch with a group that included Mr. Cheney, whom Mr. Whittington had before met only briefly. In the encroaching dusk of Feb. 11, 2006, Mr. Cheney abruptly wheeled around to shoot a quail and instead shot Mr. Whittington in his face and upper body. He suffered scores of birdshot wounds.
Like all large earthquakes, the powerful 7.8 magnitude temblor that struck Turkey and Syria on Monday was followed by dozens of aftershocks, secondary quakes that occur when the movement of the first causes changes in stresses underground.

One of those aftershocks, which struck about nine hours after the initial quake, was nearly as strong as the first and measured at magnitude 7.5. Powerful aftershocks like that can add to the destruction, shaking buildings and infrastructure that have already been badly weakened by the initial quake.

The 7.5 aftershock was well above average, and was about one-third as powerful as the 7.8 quake. From statistical analyses of quakes worldwide, the most powerful aftershock Monday would have been expected to be about magnitude 6.8, or only about one-thirtieth as powerful as the first quake.

Theres nothing magic about aftershock magnitude, said Susan Hough, a seismologist with the United States Geological Survey. Sometimes an aftershock is even larger than the initial quake, Dr. Hough said, in which case the aftershock is considered the main quake and the first one is referred to as a foreshock.

Aftershocks can occur on the same fault as the main earthquake, or on nearby faults that are affected by the stress changes. This aftershock was centered about 60 miles north of the initial quake.

Aftershocks also can continue to occur for weeks or months following a strong quake, with their frequency and strength gradually declining.

The earthquakes on Monday occurred on the East Anatolian Fault Zone, part of a complex system of faults in Turkey that make the region one of the most seismically active in the world. Another fault zone, the North Anatolian, has caused many large earthquakes, including a 1999 quake centered about 60 miles from Istanbul that killed more than 15,000 people.

All of these are strike-slip faults, meaning the blocks of crust move horizontally relative to one another when strains between them reach a breaking point. Dr. Hough said that given the magnitude of the first quake on Monday, its likely that the movement occurred along 120 miles or so of the fault.

After the initial break, near Gaziantep in south central Turkey, the rupture would have propagated along the fault at about 2 miles a second, Dr. Hough said. This would help account for the lengthy shaking, which some witnesses said lasted for 90 seconds or longer.

Large strike-slip fault zones on land are not common , Dr. Hough said; the San Andreas Fault in California is another example. But those on land can be extremely destructive, because they tend to be close to population centers, and they can be fairly shallow, increasing the shaking felt at the surface.

Some quakes are centered more than a hundred miles below the surface, but the initial shock on Monday occurred at a depth of about 11 miles.

In some cases the destruction from strike-slip earthquakes is more widespread than from larger quakes that occur in so-called subduction zones, where one large crustal plate is sliding beneath another. Subduction zones, like those that exist around the rim of the Pacific Ocean, are usually offshore and tremors occur at greater depth. Most of the destruction in those cases often comes from a tsunami, as occurred in the 2011 Tohoku earthquake in Japan.
In the 1910s alone, the composer, pianist and bandleader James Reese Europe seemed to do enough living for multiple lifetimes.

He started that decade at the Clef Club in Harlem, an organization that fielded its own group and worked to improve labor conditions for Black musicians throughout New York. Not long after, Europe brought his 125-member Clef Club Orchestra  and the syncopated styles of Black American composers  to Carnegie Hall. In 1914, Europe provided new music for the star dancing couple Vernon and Irene Castle while also taking his group into the studio to record for the Victor Recording Company.

During World War I, he was Lieutenant Europe: Along with other members of the all-Black 369th Infantry, he pushed to be allowed to fight while also leading a regimental band  known as the Harlem Hellfighters  that amazed audiences abroad. After a triumphant return to New York, in early 1919, his war-drilled ensemble recorded material for the Pathe label, including a vivacious take on Carl Bethel and Sandy Coffins That Moaning Trombone. Later that year, one of Europes band members stabbed him with a knife during an intermission. (He thought Europe had disrespected him.) The bandleader died later that night.
Colette was not merely the most famous writer of her day, but one of the most famous people, period. A demimondaine with a shocking reputation, by the time of her death, in 1954, Colette was an institution, the first French woman of letters ever honored with a state funeral. (The church denied her a Catholic burial on the grounds of her multiple divorces.)

By turns revolutionary and retrograde, liberated and conservative, a traditionalist who defied labels and loved a title, Colette was nothing if not contradictory. Both her life (81 years long) and her body of work (which exceeded 40 books) were epic, and given that her writing was so often autobiographical, the two were inextricably conflated in the public mind. But if anything, her notoriety obscured the greatness of her prose: Her event-filled life often overshadowed the accomplishments of her best-selling fiction.

Born in Burgundy in 1873, Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette married at the age of 20 and moved to Paris with her husband, the dissolute, publicity-hungry writer and publisher known as Willy. Her first novels (the Claudine series, about the coming-of-age of a precocious Burgundian schoolgirl and published under her husbands name) were wildly successful. Meanwhile, the Colette-Willys  bohemian, avant-garde and in and out of complex menages  took Paris by storm. When the pair divorced, Colette, without access to her earnings, turned to journalism and to the traveling music hall stage, where her scanty costumes, cross-dressing and much-hyped kiss with her real-life lover Mathilde de Morny ( Max), the Marquise de Belbeuf, cemented her sulfureuse reputation.

1910s The Vagabond, a fictionalization of her years in the theater, established Colette as a popular writer in her own right; 1920s Cheri and its sequel (based in part on her affair with her second husbands teenage son, and, later, her much younger third husband) were regarded as instant classics. A tireless worker, Colette spent the 1920s and 30s producing novels, short stories, plays and memoirs. Although she wrote womens interest pieces for pro-Nazi journals throughout the Occupation, she retained her exalted position (and, some would argue, the freedom of her Jewish third husband).
Theres a kind of hopelessness in childhood in post-dictatorships or in moments of institutional violence or after institutional violence, Enriquez said. It has something to do with  if you think of it as a metaphor  the lack of a future. So the child isnt taken care of much in those circumstances. Youre obliged in a way to have your childhood mixed with all of that violence.

Enriquez wrote her first novel, Bajar Es Lo Peor, or Coming Down Is the Worst, when she was still a teenager coming to terms with that reality. Recently rereleased in Spanish by Anagrama, its a tale of drugs, sex and misspent or mistreated youth, themes she has now returned to with an adult gaze.

Told from multiple perspectives and spanning time and place, from the occult-obsessed London of the 1960s and 70s to the 1990s aftermath of Argentinas dirty war, Our Share of Night renders scenes of cinematic horror as ably as it does depictions of psychological pain. Juans love for his son is tainted by a deep jealousy of the kind the writer bell hooks explores in The Will to Change, only here it is taken to macabre extremes.

With his health giving out, Juan faces the temptation of literally inhabiting his sons younger, healthier body. Enriquez uses their relationship to explore parenthood, which she said is often portrayed in a rosy or simplistic light.

When youre watching a child grow while your life is ending, there is something more complex than what you typically hear in the discussion about childhood, about only the good, only the beautiful, Enriquez said.
The Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Mrs. Zainab Ahmed, has said the federal government is currently working to create fiscal incentives to encourage private sector investment in education.

The minister said the recent increase in attacks on educational institutions had made it imperative that the federal government prepares a holistic national plan, with inputs from states and key relevant sectors to create a safe learning environment in the country.

Speaking over the weekend at the Girl Child Now Summit with the theme: "Nurturing Our Women -Nigeria's Own Wealth," which was organised by the Emergency Coordination Center (ECC) and Wilton Park, Ahmed pointed out that it was crucial to secure the education of the children as this remained vital for the economic progress and attainment of the much-needed social development indices in the country.

The minister noted that since President Muhammadu Buhari signed the Safe Schools Declaration in December 2019, her ministry had been proactive in staging stakeholder engagements on financing safe schools and creating safe learning environments.

The minister however stressed that much more needed to be done, adding that with the assurance from stakeholders that they remained collectively committed to ensuring adequate funding for the implementation of the safe schools' declaration.

"We hope to see improvement," she added.

Ahmed said for education to support growth, initiatives across agencies, states, NGOs, and donor partners must be harmonised to achieve the maximum desired results.

She noted that the private sector was also committing to playing a key role under the private sector advisory group of the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG), via the adoption of schools and spending as much as N100 million for the provision of security, a good learning environment, and necessary tools for improved learning.

The minister said despite the financial challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic, "I remain steadfast in my commitment to ensuring that our country emerges from this crisis stronger and more resilient than ever before.

"I have had the privilege of serving my country, Nigeria, in navigating the complex financial challenges brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine.

"But as we work to secure our financial future, we must also ensure that our girls and women have the opportunities to reach their full potential.

"This is why I believe that female leadership is so critical. By seeing women in positions of power and influence, girls are encouraged and inspired to reach for the stars and achieve their dreams."

The minister told the gathering including development partners that investing in girls and women was not only a moral obligation but also a smart investment.

She added that studies had shown that when girls and women are empowered, they drive economic growth and development, contributing to a better future for all.

Ahmed said she remained committed as a minister, to ensure that the resources are in place to support investments in the education, health, and development of women and girls, pointing out that this required a multifaceted approach that leverages both public and private sector resources, as well as the expertise and engagement of all stakeholders.

She said by fostering a supportive and inclusive environment for women and girls, "we can break down the barriers that prevent them from realising their full potential".

"I understand the importance of providing female role models and mentors, and I am proud to be in a position where I can aspire and empower other women to pursue leadership positions and make a positive impact on society," she added.

This came as the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA)commended the Buhari-led administration, particularly in the area of tackling out-of-school children.

Speaking in an interview with THISDAY on the sidelines of the summit, Resident Representative UNFPA Nigeria, Ms Ulla Mueller, said the federal government had done tremendous work in addressing the hitherto high numbers of children that were out-of-school.

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She said the girl-child has become an important partnership for UNFPA, adding that it would continue to support the reproductive health of Nigerian girls and help to end gender-based violence as well as boost access to reproductive commodities in the country.

Mueller said despite the security challenges which had slowed efforts around the girl-child, "I think the political awareness is there, the commitment is there and at UNFPA, we are very happy to see that".

She further commended the summit organisers whose efforts have given voices to the plights of the girl-child in Nigeria.

The Minister for Women Affairs Minister and Social Development, Pauline Tallen, said leveraging on the positive commitment of the present administration, the country has recorded major successes in the domestication of the Child Rights Act, particularly in the Northeast among other achievements.
An earthquake kills over 3,000 in Turkey and Syria

Rescuers in Turkey and Syria were digging through rubble in search of survivors after a powerful earthquake collapsed thousands of buildings and killed more than 3,000 people.

It is another humanitarian disaster in an area already battered by war, a refugee crisis and deep economic troubles. Here are live updates, a detailed map of the damage and some pictures and video showing the aftermath.

An initial earthquake, with a magnitude of 7.8, the strongest felt in Turkey since 1939, struck before dawn on Monday. Hours later, in the afternoon, a second tremor measuring 7.5, almost as powerful as the first shock, shook the area again, complicating rescue efforts and terrifying millions of people living in the quake zone.
On Monday, Mr. Conway finally handed the reins to Harvey M. Schwartz, a former Goldman Sachs executive who had spent much of the past five years practicing guitar, karate, biking and meditating on the West Coast, said two people with knowledge of the activities. He left the investment bank after being passed over for the top job  in part because of his harsh demeanor toward subordinates, two people with knowledge of the matter said. He also served on company boards, including SoFi Technologies, an online lender.

Mr. Schwartz, 58, did not respond to requests for comment.

In a virtual meeting on Monday, he told Carlyles roughly 2,100 employees that he had a mandate to expand its business, according to an attendee who was not authorized to speak publicly. And you want to have some fun, and growth is fun, Mr. Schwartz said.

Given his experience, track record and skill set, the board was unanimous in its determination that he is the right leader to drive Carlyle forward, Mr. Conway and Mr. Rubenstein said in a statement.

Mr. Schwartz could earn up to $180 million over a five-year-period, if the stock outperforms most of its publicly traded competitors, Carlyle said in a filing Monday. That would come on top of an annual salary of $1 million and a bonus of up to $6 million a year.

Carlyle shares dropped 5 percent immediately after the announcement, but recovered to close down 3 percent. The firm reports fourth-quarter earnings on Tuesday, and analysts expect earnings to be significantly lower than the previous quarter.
The National Enquirer, the celebrity tabloid behind the catch and kill suppression of damaging stories about Donald J. Trump during the 2016 presidential campaign, has finally been sold by its parent company.

A360 Media has agreed to sell the publication in a cash deal to VVIP Ventures, a joint venture of the digital media company Vinco Ventures and a new company set up for the purchase, Icon Publishing, the companies announced on Monday. The price was not disclosed.

Two of the National Enquirers stablemates, the National Examiner and Globe, will also be acquired as part of the deal, along with the British edition of the Enquirer.

The National Enquirer has come under scrutiny in recent years for a litany of scandals. It paid $150,000 in hush money during the 2016 presidential campaign to a former Playboy model, Karen McDougal, for the rights to her story of an affair with Mr. Trump, then never published the story. The practice is known as catch and kill. It also helped broker a hush-money deal with the pornographic film star Stormy Daniels, who said she had an affair with Mr. Trump.
ATOP MAUNA KEA, Hawaii  Two and a half miles above the Pacific, with the combined exhalations of a vast swath of humankind and its cars and factories blowing toward him, Aidan Colton looked out over the volcanos snow-streaked summit and lifted up a glass flask the size of a coconut.

He held his breath  even the carbon dioxide from his lungs might corrupt the sample. After a moment, he opened the valve.

The air he is collecting at Mauna Kea is feeding the worlds longest-running record of direct readings of heat-trapping gases in the atmosphere. The measurements constitute the most complete body of firsthand evidence for how Earths chemistry has changed since the mid-20th century, contorting the global climate. They represent a triumph of long-haul scientific commitment. And they were thrown into crisis late last year.

For six decades, scientists had been taking their air measurements from a cluster of squat buildings on Mauna Loa, another giant volcano on Hawaiis Big Island. Then, in November, Mauna Loa erupted for the first time in almost 40 years. No one was hurt, but lava flows up to 30 feet deep toppled the observatorys power lines and buried a mile of the main road up the mountain. The facility was paralyzed.
A Baltimore-based company has recalled more than 400 food items sold in Amtrak trains, vending machines and shops across the Eastern Seaboard because of potential listeria contamination, the federal Food and Drug Administration said last week.

The company, Fresh Ideation Food Group, recalled breakfast sandwiches, muffins, yogurt, fresh produce and other items sold from Jan. 24 to Jan. 30 because the products have the potential to be contaminated with listeria bacteria, the F.D.A. said on Friday.

Listeria causes an illness that can be fatal, especially among children, older adults and those with weakened immune systems, and an infection that can also cause miscarriages and stillbirths.

The recall applies to products with a sell through date from Jan. 31 to Feb. 6. The affected products were distributed in Connecticut, the District of Columbia, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, South Carolina and Virginia.
A 40-year-old police officer was running toward the sound of gunfire at about 3:15 a.m. in Paterson, N.J., the states third largest city. A young man in a white sweatshirt darted out nearby. The officer pivoted, followed him and can be heard on video repeatedly ordering him to drop a gun.

But the officer, Jerry Moravek, never told the man, later identified as Khalif Cooper, to stop running before firing his weapon, according to video from a body-worn camera. Mr. Cooper, then 28, was shot in the back as he ran, leaving him with a disabling spinal injury.

On Monday, the states attorney general, Matthew J. Platkin, took the unusual step of charging Officer Moravek with aggravated assault and official misconduct. Mr. Platkin said that Officers Moraveks decision to shoot violated New Jerseys use-of-force policy, which requires using the least amount of force reasonable and necessary.

The allegations that we are discussing today fall so far outside these confines  shooting an unarmed man in the back, resulting in a serious injury  that criminal charges are appropriate, the attorney general said.
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Money had come in from raffles and sales of gift baskets; a few pets had found new homes. All in all, the adoption charity event at a Pet Oasis store on Staten Island had been a success.

But then the charitys leader made an odd request: He insisted that the store owner give him the proceeds in a check made out to his name, Anthony Devolder.

The owner refused and made the check payable to the charity, Friends of Pets United. Days later, when he looked at his bank records, he noticed that the check had been altered: The charitys name had been blotted out. When it cashed, it was crossed out, and it had Anthony Devolder written on it, the owner, Daniel Avissato, said.
I asked Troy Closson, who with our colleague Nicole Hong wrote about this phenomenon, to explain.

What has prompted the exodus of Black families?

So many families that have left over the past several years have felt the city was becoming too unaffordable, whether because of housing  the rent  or the day-to-day expenses. And on top of that, child care in the city has carried such a huge cost.

They said this is not the place where upward mobility is possible, but it would be if they moved to a different city, to the South.

Why the South? Do families that have moved there feel more fulfilled?

So many things have driven Black families to the South, whether its the possibility of having so much more space or just having a backyard for their kids. Whether its having, in certain cities, a job market thats growing. Atlanta is one of the hottest places to be right now. And for some families its just about moving somewhere where they feel a deeper connection to the city itself.

A professor in Atlanta whom I talked with was saying that in New York, some Black residents might have never felt a real ownership of many neighborhoods in the city in the way they could in Detroit or Atlanta or another primarily Black city. New York is not just a Black or white city. There are so many different cultures, and thats part of the draw here. But there were families that wanted to be part of much larger and still-growing Black communities elsewhere.
Bret Stephens: Hi, Gail. President Biden will give his State of the Union address on Tuesday. Im going to watch it as a professional obligation. But to be honest, Im about as excited about it as I am for the Oscars, at least in its more recent incarnation. I just hope Lauren Boebert doesnt go after Biden the way Will Smith went for Chris Rock.

Is it crazy that I think we could dispense with the tradition altogether and go back to written messages delivered from time to time, as the Constitution puts it?

Gail Collins: Oh, Bret, dont be cynical. Remember waiting for the Donald Trump State of the Unions? No complaints about boredom then, since people were always waiting expectantly to see if hed say something crazy.

Bret: Well, youre kinda making my point. And the switch from Trump to Biden isnt exactly an upgrade in the rhetorical thrills department.
Fortunately, success with a megaproject doesnt depend on a genius to lead it. There are principles that lead to success if followed and to failure if ignored. So argue Bent Flyvbjerg and Dan Gardner, authors of a book thats being published on Tuesday, How Big Things Get Done: The Surprising Factors That Determine the Fate of Every Project From Home Renovations to Space Exploration and Everything in Between. A native of Denmark, Flyvbjerg is an emeritus professor at the University of Oxfords Said Business School and a sought-after expert on project management and planning. Gardner, his co-author, is a journalist.

Naming big projects that arent executed as smoothly as the 747  Ill call them 474s  is almost too easy. Flyvbjerg and Gardner mentioned Bostons Big Dig, the Obama administrations healthcare.gov website, the Montreal Olympics site, Scotlands Parliament building, Berlin Brandenburg Airport and many more projects that went over budget, over time or both. (Please write to coy-newsletter@nytimes.com and tell me your favorite horror story.)

Flyvbjerg told me his first major press appearance was in The Times in 2002: Study Finds Steady Overruns in Public Projects. The study he performed was based on 258 case studies. Flyvbjerg and his team eventually assembled a database of approximately 16,000 projects in 136 countries. They included all projects for which they could find data, not just ones that fit their preconceptions. They found that only 0.5 percent of them came in on time or early and at or below cost and delivered all of the promised benefits. Doing what you said you would do should be routine or at least common. But it almost never happens, the authors wrote.

Psychology and politics are the main problems, Flyvbjerg concludes in the book. The psychological part is the human tendency to be overly optimistic. The political part takes many forms, including deception. For example, a project manager might lie about the cost to get funded, then come back for more money when its too late to stop the project. Chad Syverson, an economist at the University of Chicagos Booth School of Business who was interviewed by Ezra Klein for his Times column on Sunday, cited another obstacle: There are a million veto points, he said. There are a lot of mouths at the trough that need to be fed to get anything started or done. So many people can gum up the works.

One of Flyvbjergs precepts is Think slow, act fast. If you plan well, that is, the execution will be swift. The phrase is a deliberate echo of Thinking, Fast and Slow, the title of a book by Daniel Kahneman, the psychologist who won a Nobel in economics. The two scholars are full of praise for each other; Kahneman cited Flyvbjerg in his book.
Emmanuel Ugwu-Nwogo reports about the political horse trading associated with the Abia State Peoples Democratic Party's primary held at the weekend which resulted in the election of former Chief of Staff to Governor Okezie Ikpeazu, Chief Ambrose Ahiwe, as the party's gubernatorial candidate

For the second time in the ongoing election process, a governorship candidate has been nominated by the Abia State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). Chief Ambrose Okechukwu Ahiwe, the immediate past Chief of Staff to Governor Okezie Ikpeazu has now emerged as the governorship candidate of the ruling party in Abia State. He won the fresh primary election conducted by the party to elect a new flag bearer for the March 11, 2023 gubernatorial race.

The fresh governorship primary was not by design. It came about due to the vacuum created by the death of the PDP governorship candidate, Professor Eleazar Uche Ikonne. The former Vice-chancellor of the Abia State University Uturu (ABSU had emerged the party's governorship flag bearer at the first primary held on May 25, 2022. But the cruel hands of death stopped him from finishing the governorship race.

Abia PDP was in quandary. But the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) promptly clarified the apparent hazy situation cretaed by Ikonne's demise.

While the PDP leadership was still in a state of shock, wondering on the appropriate step to take, INEC came out to give direction.

Shortly after Ikonne's death was confirmed by his family, the electoral body announced that he could be replaced.

The INEC National Commissioner in charge of Publicity and Voter Education, Mr. Festus Okoye, explained that PDP still had a window of opportunity to continue the governorship race with another flag bearer in line with the provisions of the Electoral Act. He therefore directed that the bereaved political party should conduct a fresh governorship primary within 14 days beginning from the very day the candidate passed on.

"Section 33 of the Electoral Act, 2022 is clear, unambiguous, and unequivocal that a political party shall not be allowed to change or substitute its candidate whose name has been submitted to the commission under section 29 of the Electoral Act except in the case of death or withdrawal," Okoye had explained.

In directing PDP to replace its governorship candidate, INEC further clarified that the deputy governorship candidate of the party (Hon Okey Igwe) could not automatically assume the position of the gubernatorial candidate since the election was yet to start.

And so the Abia PDP on Saturday, February 4, 2023 assembled the same delegates that had elected the late governorship candidate at the same Umuahia Township Stadium to elect his replacement.

The delegates were to make their choice from among eight aspirants. Five of the contestants had participated in the first primary. They include the Deputy Governor of Abia state, Ude Oko Chukwu; former Abia PDP chairman, Senator Emma Nwaka; Hon Sampson Orji, Ezinwanyi Jonah and Lucky Igbokwe.

They were joined by three fresh aspirants, Chief Ahiwe, Bob Ogu, who resigned as commissioner for works to join the race and an international businessman, Dr Eric Opah.

Before the fresh primary, the State Caucus of the party had met and resolved that the replacement for the late gubernatorial candidate should come from the same local government the deceased hailed from. The decision was contentious as it threw up the issue of zoning which had last year generated internal crisis from which the party has not fully recovered. The zoning arrangement was resolved in favour of Isiala Ngwa North Local Government after it was put to voting.

An insider at the Caucus meeting held at Umuahia on January 29, 2023 told THISDAY that the issue of zoning was put to vote following "vehement opposition" by some party chieftains.

Those opposed to retaining the governorship ticket in Isiala Ngwa North had argued that it should go to Abia North Senatorial District.

Abia PDP had last year curiously zoned the ticket to both Abia North and Abia Central in order to wriggle out of the power rotation quagmire. Members of PDP from Abia North had reasoned that since the late governorship candidate was from Abia Central, a replacement should come from Abia North to balance up the double zoning. But the Abia chief executive had other ideas.

It was learnt that Governor Ikpeazu had insisted that his original plan to hand over to a successor from the Ngwa side of Abia Central remains sacrosanct hence he did not yield ground.

Right from the commencement of the ongoing transition programme, Ikpeazu has insisted that he "must point the torch" as his predecessors had done in deciding their successors. He had his way as overwhelming majority of the Caucus members sided with the man, who calls the shots.

It became obvious that Ahiwe has found favour with his boss to become the next governorship candidate of PDP.

Ahiwe, who assumed duties as CoS mid April last year resigned his position few days after Ikonne's death thereby fuelling speculations that Ikpeazu had picked him as the new anointed candidate. Ikonne enjoyed the same privilege which was the reason his emergence was a roller-coaster affair. It was not different for Ahiwe.

Ikpeazu deployed resources to ensure that his most recent CoS emerged as the governorship flag bearer. Apart from bearing the cost of Ahiwe's expression of interest and nomination forms, Governor Ikpeazu, it was reliably gathered, also picked the bills for Bob Ogu and Eric Opah.

This largely accounted for the drama that played out at the venue of the fresh primary.

The contestants were called out and given five minutes each to make a speech. When Ogu was called up he expressed his gratitude to the party for zoning the ticket to Isiala Ngwa North.

He then called Opah to join him and announced that "myself and Opah have in the spirit of togetherness adopted Ahiwe".

Opah said he he had "extensive discussion" with Ogu before they both arrived at their joint decision to step down for their kinsman, Ahiwe.

Earlier, the only female contestant, Ezinwanyi Jonah, announced her stepping down for Ahiwe and urged her supporters to vote for him in line with the zoning decision of the State Caucus.

After the three contestants stepped down for Ahiwe the remaining ones standing to slug it out with the anointed aspirant were from outside Ngwa area. Ude Oko Chukwu, Emma Nwaka and Sampson Orji, come from different local government areas all in Abia North while Lucky Igbokwe is from Umuahia North in Abia Central. Thus, it became clear that the fresh primary has revived the governorship ticket rift between Abia North PDP and their Abia Central counterpart.

There was a subtle attempt to compel the Deputy Governor to step down for Ahiwe.

After the four contestants had stepped down, the Vice-chairman/Acting state publicity secretary of Abia PDP, Hon Amah Abraham, who compered the event, repeatedly called Oko Chukwu to deliver his "goodwill message".

The Deputy Governor, who had already delivered his speech and called on delegates to vote for him, was palpably embarrassed with the prodding to step down for Ahiwe. Indeed, that was what he was expected to do in the "goodwill message" he was being asked to deliver. He didn't budge.

The delegates cast their ballots for the remaining five contestants. The exercise was conducted by an eight-member Special Electoral Committee headed by the governor of Edo State, Godwin Obaseki. Other members of the Committee include Senator George Sekibo, Senator Felix Kola Ogunlawe, Hon. Binta Bello, Hon. Linda Ikpeazu, Mr. Atzer Terzungwe and Hon. Felix Hassan Hyatt who served as the Secretary.

INEC was on hand to supervise the fresh primary of Abia PDP with the presence of Festus Okoye and INEC Resident Electoral Commissioner(REC) for the state, Ike Izuchukwu.

After collation and tallying of votes by the eight-member Special Electoral Committee of the PDP sent by the National Secretariat to conduct the fresh primary, the result was declared by its Chairman and Edo State Governor, Godwin Obaseki. He returned Ahiwe elected having scored 496 votes or 91 percent of the total 516 votes cast. Both Oko Chukwu and Igbokwe got 12 votes each to be placed in joint distant second position while Orji came third with 11 votes.

It turned out that the fresh primary was a no contest for Ahiwe due to the heavy influence of the governor. Though the three contestants from Abia North all went into the fray without presenting a single front, their collective tally of votes showed that even delegates from their zone were influenced not to vote for their own. It was learnt that delegates could not be rewarded with the new notes due to the ongoing nationwide cash crunch. Instead they went home with $3.000 each.

Ahiwe in his acceptance speech said his emergence was a product of "wide consultations" across the state. He noted that the decision to retain the governorship ticket in Isiala Ngwa North "has united our party and made it stronger".

The new governorship hopeful is from Eziama Ntigha while the late candidate hailed from Nsulu, all in Isiala Ngwa North Local Government.

Ahiwe appealed to his rival contestants to join hands with him and work for the success of the party in the forthcoming poll. He declared that "there is victor, no vanquished" in the governorship primary. "Our party, through consensus, has produced a candidate that has united our party," he said, adding that there was a wide range of consultations preceding the primary and his emergence.

Despite the drawback suffered by Abia PDP over the demise of its governorship candidate, the party regards the successful outcome of the fresh primary as a source of strength and unity. Obaseki and his committee delivered on their promise to make the process transparent and credible. The Edo governor had told the delegates that the emergence of a popular candidate through a democratic process would strengthen the party.

The state commissioner for trade, Chief John Okiyi Kalu said Ahiwe's victory was expected because of his popularity across the state. "We have given Abia a very popular man," he enthused.

The leadership of Abia PDP is riding the pink cloud over the successful outcome of the primary leading to Ahiwe's emergence. In a statement issued after the exercise, the Vice-chairman/Acting state publicity secretary, Hon Abraham, said the ruling party has really disappointed the opposition by conducting a seamless primary.

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He said: "The emergence of Chief Okechukwu Ahiwe as the Abia PDP guber candidate without rancour and bitterness in the PDP family as widely expected by the opposition and critics of the PDP is testimony that the PDP is stronger, more united and more formidable than ever".

The Abia PDP spokesman credited Ikpeazu with the overall success of the primary. "The Party is thankful to the leader of the Party in the State, Dr. Okezie Victor Ikpeazu, for mobilising and uniting all interests for the successful and hitch-free conduct of the primary election," he said.

Yet it could not be assumed that all is now well in the Abia PDP family as the leadership is trying to portray. One of the governorship aspirants, Sampson Orji, has not discontinued his legal challenge of the first primary before participating in the second one last Saturday.

His ground for going to court was the delegates list, which he said was concocted. The same delegates list was still used in the fresh primary. Since the beneficiary of the first primary is now late, there are fears Orji could initiate a fresh suit against Ahiwe's emergence.

It was obvious the contestants that lost to Ahiwe left the venue with bottled up anger. None of them formally conceded defeat and congratulated the winner. The general sentiment in Abia North that PDP has dealt with them unfairly by denying them the governorship ticket still persists.

Even though "the guided" delegates from the zone did not express this sentiment in their voting at the primary, it is not going to wane too soon before the March 11 gubernatorial poll.

Some of the aspirants that participated in the first primary were said to have questioned the eligibility of new aspirants, Ahiwe, Ogu and Opah to participate in the second primary. There could be trouble for the party if any of the aspirants that lost decides to seek judicial interpretation of Ahiwe's eligibility.

Whatever happens thereafter, the PDP in Abia has overcome the likely scenario of going into the 2023 governorship election without a candidate after Prof Ikonne's passage.

Ahiwe has stepped in to fill gap. He said that he came from the private sector with a successful oil and gas business. The former CoS assured the PDP faithful that, having worked with Governor Ikpeazu for the past seven years, he has garnered enough experience to pilot the affairs of Abia if given the mandate in March.
The chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Richard Durbin of Illinois, fumed about Mr. Johnsons decision at the time, saying he was disappointed by the last-minute turnabout and noting that Judge Pocan had received nothing but praise and high ratings from lawyers.

But in fact, there was nothing formal that stopped Mr. Durbin from ignoring Mr. Johnson and proceeding with Judge Pocans nomination. There is no rule or law that prevented him from sending it to the Senate floor for final approval. The only barrier was Mr. Durbins interpretation of an archaic Senate tradition of courtesy that allows senators to effectively veto federal district judge nominations from their own state for any reason or for no reason at all.

That home-state veto is a fundamentally undemocratic practice that gives far too much power to individual senators, as the editorial board wrote in 2014. Like the filibuster in all its forms, it allows vital Senate responsibilities to be controlled by small fractions of the chamber or even single members  powers never envisioned in the Constitution. Democrats have used it to block extreme candidates from Republican presidents when they were in the Senate minority. But as we noted in 2017, elections have consequences, and there will be times when Democrats will have to accept unpalatable judges in order for the Senate to operate along the principle of majority rule.

For now, though, it is Republicans who will have to accept the consequences of their failure to regain the Senate last November, and Mr. Durbin holds the power to make that happen. He could unilaterally end this blue-slip custom at any time without requiring any kind of vote or radically upending an important Senate practice, just as Republicans decided to end it for appellate-level judges in 2018. Thats when President Donald Trump was the one nominating judges and Republicans wanted no interference in their goal of filling the circuit courts with conservatives.

Its far past time for Mr. Durbin to do so. Republicans have worked for years to turn the entire judicial selection process into a proxy war for their ideological goals. Mr. Trump allowed the Federalist Society to pick his judges as part of their crusade to remake the federal courts, and the lack of home-state veto power is one of the reasons the appellate bench now contains so many unqualified and extremist choices. When in power, Republicans did their best to block President Barack Obamas nominations, which is one reason there were so many openings when the Trump administration moved in.
To the Editor:

Re U.S. Shoots Down a Balloon China Sent to Surveil (front page, Feb. 5):

Dealing with Chinas famous and now-defunct balloon was fraught with potentially difficult military, diplomatic and political consequences from its initial sighting to its well-executed downing off the South Carolina coast  which, in the opinion of some Republicans, was inexcusably delayed.

To their credit, though, the president and his advisers were closely monitoring the balloons path and probable contents and had decided early on to destroy it when doing so would not pose a risk to life on the ground.

Yet congressional Republicans, poised to criticize all things Biden, predictably pounced at the timing. Surely, had the president agreed to an earlier destruction of the balloon that resulted in loss of life on the ground, that decision would have incurred their outrage.

This balloons uncharacteristically public and dramatic flyover, clearly a violation of our sovereignty but which intelligence officials say had minimal national security implications, has incurred an exaggerated response  not by the Biden administration, which appropriately and safely destroyed it, but by Republicans, whose unwavering partisanship has no place in this countrys foreign policy.
Despite the large number of reptiles and amphibians that call Wheeler home, all the people we met were clearly there for the cranes. The visitor center (which is currently closed for renovations) and its immediate environs are set up to make viewing the cranes and other waterfowl as convenient as possible, with a wildlife observation building and a giant wildlife photography blind. The place was crawling with people carrying camera lenses as long as my arm.

Having no camera and no binoculars, we simply stood at the waters edge and watched. A man equipped with a long lens told us there was a whooping crane among the nearest group of birds, and I looked hard for it in that huge flock. I believe I saw it when a group of cranes lifted into the air  from a distance, one bird seemed whiter and slightly larger than the others  but of course, I couldnt be sure.

In the end, I didnt mind that I had neither camera nor binoculars. I found what I came for: the heart-lifting sight of thousands of birds in perfect community. New groups kept flying in to join the waders, while other groups rose together to move just slightly farther down the shore. My husband kept laughing at their ungainly landings, but all I could see was the magnificent way they moved in concert  stalking knee-deep across the water, advancing in the same direction; burbling and rattling as they headed toward the same area; rising and banking, their elegant necks outstretched, their wide wings turned at exactly the same angle, glinting in the sun. The starlings above the highway were a lovely warm-up act for the sandhill cranes.

Not everybody rejoices in the flocking behavior of birds. Perhaps Hitchcocks celebrated horror film released 60 years ago this year turned generations of moviegoers against birds forever. Maybe its only that large numbers of birds produce large amounts of droppings. But think of those extravagant murmurations of starlings, the way they draw swirling pictures in the air: Its impossible not to marvel at their beauty. Watch a falcon enter the frame and the way the birds fly more closely together at the edges of the collective, and suddenly those murmurations are more than beautiful.

Or think about the way migrating cranes take turns flying at the head of the group, sharing the wearying responsibility of fighting air currents and allowing the others to draft. Think of how they show the younger birds the way to their nesting grounds, following the same routes toward home. How is it not possible to find a lesson here for our own kind?
Particularly since the main subject of the coverage appears to be paying close attention.

A self-professed free speech absolutist, Mr. Musk has said that he wants Twitter to be a town square where all ideas, no matter how unpopular, may be expressed. He has also been cooperative with Walter Isaacson, who has written biographies of Steve Jobs, Leonardo da Vinci and Albert Einstein and is now working on a book about Mr. Musk. Hes been very, very open, Mr. Isaacson told The Times last year, not only him and the people around him, but hes been very good at allowing me access to people from his past.

What we consider before using anonymous sources. Do the sources know the information? Whats their motivation for telling us? Have they proved reliable in the past? Can we corroborate the information? Even with these questions satisfied, The Times uses anonymous sources as a last resort. The reporter and at least one editor know the identity of the source. Learn more about our process.

At the same time, Mr. Musk has tangled publicly with journalists who have seemingly gotten under his skin. In December, Twitter suspended the accounts of eight journalists, including Ryan Mac, a tech reporter for The Times. Those suspensions came a day after Mr. Musk pulled the plug on more than 25 accounts that tracked the planes of government agencies, billionaires and celebrities.

Some of the journalists barred by Twitter had reported on the accounts that tracked flight data or had chronicled Mr. Musks stewardship of the company in detail. Youre not special because youre a journalist; youre a citizen, so no special treatment, Mr. Musk told reporters during a Twitter audio session shortly after the accounts were deactivated. Following criticism from First Amendment advocates and threats of sanctions from European regulators, Twitter reinstated the journalists accounts.

One reporter, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because his employer would not permit him to discuss Mr. Musk publicly, compared writing about Twitter to covering a White House in which the person in charge is both press-obsessed and chaotic, leading to debates on whether his airing of grievances about the news media is part of his genius or a manifestation of his childishness.

Mr. Musk has enlisted communications consultants at times. But his history of capriciousness and saying incendiary things (often by tweet) has sometimes created challenges for the advisers brought in to manage those impulses.

In 2018, Mr. Musk lobbed an insult at one of his critics, calling him a pedo guy, or pedophile, in a series of angry tweets. Amid substantial fallout, he turned to the communications consultant Juleanna Glover, whose clients have included John McCain and James Murdoch and who had advised Mr. Musks electric car company, Tesla. Mr. Musk ultimately apologized for the tweets.
Marisa Shumans computer science class at the Young Womens Leadership School of the Bronx began as usual on a recent January morning.

Just after 11:30, energetic 11th and 12th graders bounded into the classroom, settled down at communal study tables and pulled out their laptops. Then they turned to the front of the room, eyeing a whiteboard where Ms. Shuman had posted a question on wearable technology, the topic of that days class.

For the first time in her decade-long teaching career, Ms. Shuman had not written any of the lesson plan. She had generated the class material using ChatGPT, a new chatbot that relies on artificial intelligence to deliver written responses to questions in clear prose. Ms. Shuman was using the algorithm-generated lesson to examine the chatbots potential usefulness and pitfalls with her students.

I dont care if you learn anything about wearable technology today, Ms. Shuman said to her students. We are evaluating ChatGPT. Your goal is to identify whether the lesson is effective or ineffective.
Google said on Monday that it would soon release an experimental chatbot called Bard as it races to respond to ChatGPT, which has wowed millions of people since it was unveiled at the end of November.

Google said it would begin testing its new chatbot with a small, private group on Monday before releasing it to the public in the coming weeks. In a blog post, Sundar Pichai, Googles chief executive, also said that the companys search engine would soon have artificial intelligence features that offered summaries of complex information.

Bard  so named because it is a storyteller, the company said  is based on experimental technology called LaMDA, short for Language Model for Dialogue Applications, which Google has been testing inside the company and with a limited number of outsiders for several months.

Google is among many companies that have been developing and testing a new type of chatbot that can riff on almost any topic thrown its way. OpenAI, a tiny San Francisco start-up, captured the publics imagination with ChatGPT and set off a race to push this kind of technology into a wide range of products.
The effort accelerated in January, Twitter said, when it suspended 404,000 accounts. Our recent approach is more aggressive, the company declared in a series of tweets on Wednesday, saying it had also cracked down on people who search for the exploitative material and had reduced successful searches by 99 percent since December.

Ms. Irwin, in an interview, said the bulk of suspensions involved accounts that engaged with the material or were claiming to sell or distribute it, rather than those that posted it. She did not dispute that child sexual abuse content remains openly available on the platform, saying that we absolutely know that we are still missing some things that we need to be able to detect better.

She added that Twitter was hiring employees and deploying new mechanisms to fight the problem. We have been working on this nonstop, she said.

Wired, NBC and others have detailed Twitters ongoing struggles with child abuse imagery under Mr. Musk. On Tuesday, Senator Richard J. Durbin, Democrat of Illinois, asked the Justice Department to review Twitters record in addressing the problem.

To assess the companys claims of progress, The Times created an individual Twitter account and wrote an automated computer program that could scour the platform for the content without displaying the actual images, which are illegal to view. The material wasnt difficult to find. In fact, Twitter helped promote it through its recommendation algorithm  a feature that suggests accounts to follow based on user activity.
When the Coast Guard Station Cape Disappointment received a mayday call from a mariner in distress Friday morning, the agency went into full-rescue mode, deploying a 47-foot lifeboat, calling the aircrew of a Jayhawk helicopter and mobilizing multiple crews of the National Motor Lifeboat School who were conducting training nearby.

It would turn out that the man who needed saving would have some explaining to do if he made it safely to land.

The 35-foot boat was taking on water six miles off the coast of Astoria, Ore., near the mouth of the Columbia River in an area known as the Columbia Bar, which is frequently referred to as the Graveyard of the Pacific and is believed among mariners to be one of the most dangerous crossings in the world.

The Coast Guard reported conditions of 20-foot seas and extremely high wind speeds as a rescue swimmer, a student of the Advanced Helicopter Rescue School, was deployed into the water using a winch cable before swimming toward the sinking boat. Just as the rescuer made his approach, a breaking wave capsized the boat, throwing the mariner overboard. The rescue swimmer reached the mariner in the water, the Coast Guard said in a statement, and both were lifted up to the helicopter and transported to land.
To hear more audio stories from publications like The New York Times, download Audm for iPhone or Android.

For many familiar with the ebb and flow of policing in the United States, the brutal beating of Tyre Nichols by five police officers in Memphis after a routine traffic stop last month was reminiscent of tactics used in the 1990s era of gang warfare and crack cocaine, when special crime-fighting units, acting with bravado and impunity, were unleashed in high-crime neighborhoods.

Atlantas infamous Red Dog unit was responsible for a series of scandals, including the shooting death of a 92-year-old grandmother in a botched raid, before it was shut down in 2011. Elite police units were involved in some of the most notorious episodes of police misconduct in the 20th century, from the brutalizing of Amadou Diallo in New York to the Rampart Division scandal in Los Angeles, when officers stole drugs and money, beat suspects and even pulled off a bank robbery.

In more recent times, though, in the age of Black Lives Matter and high-profile police killings that provoked nationwide protests, policing began to center on the mantra of reform and accountability. Some of the elite units were disbanded, or ordered to operate less aggressively. The murder of George Floyd by police officers in Minneapolis in 2020 led to nationwide protests and calls for defunding the police.
Ms. Clendaniel, who was responsible for carrying out the attacks, boasted that she wanted to completely lay this city to waste, Mr. Sobocinski said, adding that local, state and federal law enforcement agencies disrupted the plot before it could be carried out.

The charges came as researchers and homeland security officials have warned that the energy grid and electrical substations in particular have become popular targets for far-right extremists.

In December, the complaint said, Mr. Russell used encrypted messaging apps to detail his long-term plans to damage the electrical grid, telling a confidential F.B.I. informant that he had recruited Ms. Clendaniel  who had served three years for robbing a convenience store with a butchers knife  as a possible accomplice.

Ms. Clendaniel said that striking all five, in rapid succession, with a good four or five shots, would completely destroy this whole city by setting off a cascade of power failures and prompting destructive civil disturbances, according to the complaint.

Her communications veer from grandiose predictions about the plot to jarring details of her personal and physical travails.
The presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Mr. Peter Obi has appealed to Nigerians to exercise patience with the federal government and Central Bank of Nigeria over the challenges associated with the circulation of the new banknote, just as he appealed to the banking sector regulator to expedite action with its circulation.

This was just as the Group Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc, Mr. Oliver Alawuba, at the weekend expressed support for the naira redesign project of the CBN, saying the apex bank and deposit money banks (DMBs) were working towards addressing challenges associated with the project.

However, the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, yesterday alleged that some bank executives were conniving with the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) to frustrate the distribution of the new naira notes in a bid to frustrate the policy.

Speaking also on the matter, Kwara State governor, Alhaji AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, called for more supply of the new naira notes to ease things for the masses and stabilise the currency swap policy.

But the National Chairman of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), Chief Victor Oye, has argued that contrary to the notion that the introduction of new naira notes would checkmate vote buying during forthcoming elections, politicians who are used to the act may still find ways to engage in the criminal act.

The Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) projected that the bottleneck militating against the effective implementation of the policy would cost manufacturers a 25 per cent decline in sales of manufactured products.

Obi, who spoke on Arise News Channel, yesterday, admitted that currency redesign was not peculiar to Nigeria and that it has long time economic and societal benefit but with a short time inconveniences and pain.

While calling on people of Nigeria to cooperate with the federal government and the CBN in addressing difficulties that come with the exercise, he called on the apex bank and other commercial banks to expedite action to make the new notes available to the various classes of the society, especially the masses and the unbanked.

Speaking further, the presidential candidate stated that there was nowhere the exercise would take place that would not come with some hitches.

He cited the example of India when the Asian country embarked on similar currency redesign and how Indians encountered difficulties during the process, which according to Obi later yielded a bountiful long term economic advantage for the people and their country.

"Currency redesign is not peculiar to Nigeria. This is an exercise that has long-term economic and social benefits, but comes with short-term inconveniences and pain. My appeal to Nigerians is that we should have patience with the federal government and the CBN, while at same time appealing to the CBN and the banks to expedite actions that would ensure that these new currencies are available to small depositors, small businesses, the unbanked and people in rural areas.

"I believe the CBN can make it available as quickly as possible. Everywhere there have been redesign of currency in a third world country, it comes with challenges and in some instance riots.

"Look at what happened in India, there were riots. But today, India is better off and their economy benefitted better. This policy was announced on 26th of October, 2022 and they gave extra 10 days and all of a sudden people are rioting and behaving as if it came overnight.

"For me, it is the poor people I see on the queues that we should quickly deal with as quickly as possible and I urge the CBN to deal with the issue of the low depositors and those who live in rural and unbanked areas. It is critical and it is important. I am also urging Nigerians to bear with them. We have redesigned our currencies, we can't do anything about it. Government has taken a decision and we can't be using two currencies at same time. So, the decision has been taken, let's run with it."

UBA GMD: CBN, Banks Addressing Challenges Associated with New Disbursement

In a related development, Alawuba at the weekend expressed support for the naira redesign project of the CBN, saying the apex bank and deposit money banks (DMBs) were working towards addressing challenges associated with the project.

Alawuba, who said redesigning of the N200, N500 and N1000 denominations would support monetary policy, however, pointed out that the hardship Nigerians are currently passing through would easy off soonest.

Speaking after being conferred with an honorary doctoral degree in Banking and Finance at the 8th convocation ceremony of the Imo State University, Owerri, he said the new policy would stabilise the naira.

Alawuba assured that banks were working assiduously with the central bank to address the present hardship faced by Nigerians in accessing the new naira notes.

He said, "The redesign of the naira is a positive policy that will support the economy in the long run. It's true that we are passing though transition period and I believe that the CBN is working with banks to make sure that the aspiration and purpose of the redesign come into fruition for the good of the country."

On the allegations that the banks were are frustrating the intentions of the naira redesign, Alawuba urged Nigerians to focus rather on the positive sides of the policy.

He urged private sector to work in harmony with the public sector to ensure that the purpose of the naira redesign was achieved.

Whilst congratulating Alawuba, the Vice Chancellor, Prof. U.U. Chukwumaeze pointed out that the conferment was in recognition of Alawuba's contribution to redefining Public Sector Banking in Nigeria and across Africa.

"The honour is in recognition of your numerous contributions to the financial sector in Nigeria and Africa and as one of the major drivers who contributed to taking modern banking to all state capitals and major cities in Nigeria where hitherto most banks primarily concentrated on the major commercial centres of the country," Chukwumaeze stated.

Speaking after receiving the recognition, Alawuba expressed his appreciation to the leadership of the university for the honour extended to him, just as he attributed his success to God and hard work. He took time out to encourage the students to stay focused and diligent whilst congratulating other fellow awardees.

Alawuba said. "I am grateful to the management of IMSU for the honour and recognition, and I want to thank the amiable governor, the VC and other top executives of this great institution for the honour that you have shown me today. I promise that I will continue to do my best to make this school and indeed the indigenes of this great state proud. I also seize this opportunity to advise the young ones to be focused and put their best in their studies, so that one day they will also be recognised globally."

The visitor of the university and Governor of Imo State, Hope Uzodimma, said his administration would do all the needful to help the university, fulfil noble expectation of rising to the challenge of assuming greater responsibility to move the State forward.

The governor spoke in his capacity as the Visitor of Imo State University during the 8th Convocation Ceremony which held at the Convocation Ground in Owerri.

No less than 5000 graduands comprising first degrees, post graduate diplomas, higher degrees and honorary degrees from 2014- 2015 set up to 2021-2022 set which produced 30 first class graduates were convoked.

APC Conniving with Banks to Hoard New Naira Notes, Atiku Alleges

The presidential candidate of the PDP, Atiku Abubakar, has alleged that some bank executives were conniving with the ruling APC to frustrate the distribution of the new naira notes in a bid to frustrate the policy.

Special Assistant on Public Communication to Atiku Abubakar, Mr. Phrank Shaibu, made the allegation in a statement yesterday, while reacting to a statement by the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila.

Shaibu said the viral videos showing government agencies busting banks hoarding the new naira notes was clear evidence of sabotage.

He said, "Intelligence reaching us is that the APC is in collusion with some top bank executives to frustrate the policy of the CBN. As shown in several trending videos posted by government agencies on social media, hundreds of millions of naira are in bank vaults but the banks are deliberately refusing to distribute them.

"It is no secret that all the commercial banks are headquartered in Lagos where Bola Tinubu holds sway as godfather.

"The ultimate goal is to frustrate the policy so that the APC will be able to bring out the old notes it has stashed for the sole purpose of vote buying and distribution with bullion vans. For this reason, we commend the EFCC and the ICPC for exposing these unscrupulous bankers."

Shaibu lambasted Gbajabiamila, for using his position as the 4th most senior elected official in the country to play cheap politics.

He advised Gbajabiamila to play decent politics like the Senate President, Ahmad Lawan; and Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo.

He added, "It is the height of idiocy for the nation's number four citizen to play cheap politics with a monetary policy introduced by his own party which is in power. Gbajabiamila wishes to become the chief of staff to Tinubu in the event that Tinubu wins so his overzealousness is quite understandable.

"However, his attempt to bring Atiku into this issue shows how mischievous he is. Gbajabiamila summoned the CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele, last week where they reached an understanding and issued a resolution which the House and the CBN agreed to.

"But because he is already seeing the imminent defeat of his master at the polls, he is now playing dirty politics.

"Nigerians must note that this is a policy being implemented by an APC government. However, the likes of Gbajabaimila are too timid to approach President Buhari to reverse this policy. His aversion for this CBN policy has nothing to do with the masses. It is about the inability of his master to deploy bullion vans on election day."

Shaibu described Gbajabiamila as a hypocrite who pretends to be on the side of the masses during crisis but is actually working for his own selfish reasons.

He recalled that during the eight-month strike embarked on by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Gbajabiamila pretended to be on the side of the lecturers only for him to abandon them at sea.

Shaibu said, "Gbajabiamila promised the lecturers that they would be paid their arrears. After the lecturers called off their strike, he denied making the statement in the first place. Such a liar should not be believed by the masses.

"When dirty petrol was imported last February, Gbajabiamila set up a committee to investigate it. Till date he has done nothing about it. The fuel scarcity has continued to linger for over eight months but he remains mute.

"This is the same man who scuttled the ongoing probe of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) at the House of Representatives for selfish reasons."

"However, huge volumes of the new notes must not get into the hands of unscrupulous politicians who plan on using bullion vans to distribute money on election day. The desperate APC must not be allowed to steal this election," he said.

Also, the PDP has called on the CBN to monitor distribution of new Naira notes and also provide mobile banks in rural areas. The National Publicity Secretary of the party, Debo Ologunagba in a statement issued yesterday, also decried the excruciating pain and distress being faced by Nigerians arising from their inability to access the new naira notes.

He said the pain was occasioned by the reported nefarious activities of corrupt All Progressives Congress (APC) leaders who were allegedly compromising the system to intercept and hoard the new bank notes for their selfish vote-buying plans ahead of the February 25, 2023, presidential election.

The main opposition party expressed sadness that the cash crunch had persisted due to the alleged sabotage of corrupt APC leaders, including the APC presidential candidate, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, who was alleged to have masterminded the intercepting and hoarding of the new notes for their selfish agenda.

The PDP said it was disgusted by the hypocrisy being exhibited by the APC presidential candidate, who, despite his alleged role in the cash scarcity was pointing accusing fingers at others and seeking to exploit the ugly situation to incite unsuspecting Nigerians with the view to disrupting the 2023 general elections.

Ologunagba said Tinubu and his apologists in the APC were aware that he had no chance in the election and thus are devising all manner of shenanigans to overheat the polity, derail the electoral process and force an undemocratic situation upon country.

He, however, expressed optimism that the hopelessness and anguish brought upon the nation by the APC administration would be a thing of the past when the PDP presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar assumes office as President come May 29, 2023.

The PDP called on president Muhammadu Buhari to protect Nigerians by going after these felonious APC leaders as well as the saboteurs in the system who are reportedly working with the APC Presidential Campaign to mop up cash meant for distribution to our citizens.

MAN Decries Hiccup in Implementing Naira Redesign

However, MAN projected that the bottleneck militating against the effective implementation of the policy would cost manufacturers a 25 per cent decline in sales of manufactured products.

This view was expressed by the Director General of MAN, Mr. Segun Ajayi-Kadir, in an exclusive interview with THISDAY at the weekend, in which he warned that no effort should be, "spared to ensure that the price to be paid for this otherwise laudable policy does not outpace its gains."

Ajayi-Kadir said: "To be clear and I want to put this first, there is no doubt that the currency redesign is desirable. There are socioeconomic and political imperatives for the change. It is a critical element of the CBN 'cashless economy' policy that should have far reaching positive results for our economic.

"However, the continued scarcity of new the redesigned naira notes is quite worrisome. With our growth prospects heading further south, we can ill afford a downturn in our GDP. The negative impact it portends for local producers, the agricultural and distributive segments of our economy is huge and may worsen the bashing our economy has received from both external and internal shocks in recent times.

"I would put a rough estimate of 25 per cent drop on monthly sales of domestic goods if the situation should persist for the next three weeks.

"As the purchases from the retail end that is mostly transacted in cash dries up, you will immediately notice a sharp drop in wholesale purchases and instant buildup of unsold inventory in our industries."

He warned that the prevailing cash crunch where naira notes are not readily available to businesses, individuals and households, "is not good for anyone, including the industry, the government and the ordinary citizen. You will have a compounded crippling lack of patronage for the domestic manufacturer; the denial of government revenue that would have accrued from consumption taxes and the disruption of the daily life and need of the average Nigerian."

The Director General of MAN told THISDAY that he had expected that the CBN and the banks should be engaging at the highest level at this time.

He said: "There is need for strategic communication and joint operations to ensure widespread and sustained availability and circulation of the redesigned Naira notes. It is baffling to approach a bank only to be told that there is neither the old nor the new Naira notes!

"We hope that the resumption of payment across the counter in the banks and the intensification of the CBN special cash swap arrangement in remote areas may yield positive results."

Police Warns against Lawlessness in Kwara, Governor Calls for Calm

Kwara State Police Command at the weekend warned that any move by the hoodlums to cause lawlessness that was unleashed on some banks in the country due to scarcity of the naira would be vehemently resisted in the state.

Already, the command has directed the aggressive patrols of banks and other financial facilities across the state in order to check any breaking down of law and order.

Also, at the weekend, the state governor called for calm and patient over the scarcity of naira notes on some banks ATMs in the state.

In a statement issued in Ilorin, that was signed by the command's Public Relations Officer(PPRO), Mr. Okasanmi Ajayi, the police explained that, "Intelligence available to the command indicates that hoodlums have perfected plans to cause crisis in Kwara state over the naira notes swap that is ongoing in Nigeria at present, which the government is doing all within its power to normalise."

The statement added, "The command wishes to assure the good people of Kwara State of the command's capacity to deal ruthlessly with any lawbreaker.

"Criminals are therefore advised to shelve any such dastardly idea and consequently, the Commissioner of Police, Kwara State, CP Paul Odama has ordered aggressive patrols of banks and other financial facilities across the length and breadth of the state."

The statement however warned that, criminal elements in the state to change their minds as anyone arrested would be met with heavy consequences. A word, they say, is enough for the wise."

In a related development, the state governor has called for more supply of the new naira notes to the citizens to ease things for the masses and stabilise the currency swap policy.

Speaking during a courtesy meeting with the CBN Consumer Protection Department in Ilorin, led by Mrs. Rashidat Jumoke Monguno, the governor called for calm while all stakeholders work to ease the situation.

"It's quite proactive for you to come down to various states to see that compliance is being followed through down to the grassroots level. Our people really need this at this time," the governor said.

"We appreciate your coming and we will continue to engage the citizens, traditional institutions, students, all other segments of the society, farmers and NGOs to pass the message through for us to have calmness and make sure the process is seamless."

Naira Redesign Policy May Not Stop Vote Buying, Says Oye

The National Chairman of APGA, Chief Victor Oye has said contrary to the notion that redesigning the naira would checkmate vote buying during forthcoming elections, politicians who are used to the act may still find ways to engage it.

He said as noble as the naira redesign policy may be, it's poor timing had robbed off on the advantages and is currently causing hardship to people around the country.

Speaking to THISDAY at the weekend, Oye said there was no way desperate politicians would not find ways of circumventing the rule and still perpetrate vote buying.

He said APGA's worry was that the crisis of new naira notes and fuel shortages came in less than one month to the national election.

"For us, we believe that the timing is not the best, " he said.

Oye said the crisis of new naira note may lead to serious disruptions in social and economic activities and might ultimately have negative impact on the conduct of the forthcoming national election in the country."

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He said: " For me government, didn't have enough time to articulate the situation well. They did not carry people along and if they had carried out a referendum, they would have found out that Nigerians would have requested for a longer period for the implementation of the naira design.

"But federal government applied the surprise mechanism which has put the nation in a state of confusion as people could not have access to their money and cannot meet their basic needs.

"While the long term effect is still uncertain, it's immediate impact is that it is going to have disruptive effect on the forthcoming national elections. First people may not be able to move, travel to go and vote."

ACAMBs Assure Customers of Improved Access to Cash, Refute Allegations of Banks' Hoarding

The Association of Corporate Affairs Managers of Banks (ACAMB) yesterday said banks are currently working with the CBN to ensure that customers have access to cash through ATMs and other payment channels as well as Over-the-Counter (OTC) in the banking halls.

ACAMB in a statement signed by its President, Rasheed Bolarinwa, also refuted allegations that the financial institutions were hoarding or holding back naira notes thereby subjecting Nigerians to harrowing experiences over the past few days.

ACAMB however, empathised with the Nigerian public on the unintended hardships being faced in the ongoing rollout of the redesigned naira notes and enhanced cashless policy.

The banks' media managers acknowledged that the unintended constraints in the withdrawal of old naira notes and circulation of new naira notes, alongside the national policy to enhance cashless transactions, have had unintended effects on the generality of Nigerians.

They assured that the entire banking sector was working with the central bank and other stakeholders to urgently address constraints in the implementation of the cashless policy and ensure that Nigerians suffer no untoward pains in the transition process.

According to the association, "We are confident that these measures, in addition to efforts by the regulatory CBN, will result in greater ease of access and cash liquidity. The federal government and the CBN have reiterated similar readiness to address any constraint in the cyclical flow, including making adjustments, where necessary.

"ACAMB urges Nigerian banking public to exercise patience and not to resort to any untoward behaviour against Bank staff or banking facilities."

The association also argued that banks and customers are inseparable stakeholders who exist for one another, adding that it would be detrimental to the interest of the general banking public to disrupt banking operations by untoward actions against bank staff or vandalisation of banking facilities.

The statement said, "ACAMB affirms without any equivocation that banks are not in any way hoarding or holding back naira notes or engaging in any act inimical to our avowed commitment to exciting customer experience.

"ATMs are being loaded every day and cash is being paid as provided by the CBN, as regularly being checked by CBN inspectors and other regulators including anti-graft agencies."

The group banks have taken additional measures said in the past few hours to quicken the flow of naira notes as well as deployment of extra technical supports for online payments, additional security at ATMs to ensure all-clock usage, technological back-up to reduce online downtime to the barest minimum, additional staff deployment to counters to attend to cash transactions and timely interbank and inter-branch networking to bridge any gap.

Among other things, the ACAMB stated that the Nigerian banking industry owes its global success as a leader in digital banking to its enthusiastic customers and remains committed to doing everything possible to ensure customers continue to have a delightful experience in the banking halls and across electronic and other alternate channels.

It said, "Nigerian Banks have invested an estimated total sum in excess of N100 billion in setting up and maintaining cutting-edge electronic channels over the past few years as part of an ongoing commitment to seamless customer experience and real-time digital financial transactions.

"From internet banking to mobile apps, Automated Teller Machines (ATMs), Point of Sales (PoS) merchants, mobile wallets, Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) codes, agents and digital franchises among others; not less than 80 per cent of Nigerians now enjoy one form of digital or cashless transaction or another, powered by investments by Nigerian banks."
With a presidential primary starting to stir, Republicans are returning with force to the education debates that mobilized their staunchest voters during the pandemic and set off a wave of conservative activism around how schools teach about racism in American history and tolerate gender fluidity.

The messaging casts Republicans as defenders of parents who feel that schools have run amok with wokeness. Its loudest champion has been Gov. Ron DeSantis, who last week scored an apparent victory attacking the College Boards curriculum on African American studies. Former President Donald J. Trump has sought to catch up with even hotter language, recently threatening severe consequences for educators who suggest to a child that they could be trapped in the wrong body.

Nikki Haley, a former South Carolina governor, who has used Twitter to preview her planned presidential campaign announcement this month, recently tweeted CRT is un-American, referring to critical race theory.

Yet, in its appeal to voters, culture-war messaging concerning education has a decidedly mixed track record. While some Republicans believe that the issue can win over independents, especially suburban women, the 2022 midterms showed that attacks on school curriculums  specifically on critical race theory and so-called gender ideology  largely were a dud in the general election.
WASHINGTON  Vice President Kamala Harris on Monday announced almost $1 billion in new pledges by private companies to support communities in Central America, part of the Biden administrations effort to keep migrants from fleeing toward the U.S. border.

Ten companies, including Nestle, Target and Columbia Sportswear, said they would collectively spend $950 million on projects in Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador to support farmers, create textile jobs and invest in telecommunications and other industries.

The effort comes as crossings at the U.S.-Mexico border remain at record highs, posing logistical and humanitarian challenges to President Biden and drawing intense criticism from Republicans on Capitol Hill.

House Republicans have begun to investigate the administrations efforts at the border and said they might pursue the impeachment of Alejandro N. Mayorkas, the homeland security secretary.
We dont really live in a meritocracy, he said. The Supreme Court is guilty of perpetuating some of the worst pathologies in American society.

Each justice typically hires four law clerks per term. The study, which collected data on the 1,426 former clerks in the 40-year period ending in 2020, found that more than two-thirds of them attended just five law schools: Harvard, Yale, Stanford, Columbia and the University of Chicago. Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr., for instance, chose 58 clerks in the period covered by the study, 37 of them from Harvard or Yale.

You might think that doing well at one of those law schools and then obtaining a prestigious clerkship with a federal appeals court judge would check the necessary boxes. But it turns out that undergraduate degrees seem to matter, too. Going to college at Harvard, Yale or Princeton  even after controlling for law school grades  gave applicants a significant boost, the study found.

Mr. Cruz, now a senator from Texas, may be a case in point. He graduated with honors from Harvard Law School and served as a law clerk to Judge J. Michael Luttig before going on to clerk for Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist. And Mr. Cruz went to college at Princeton.

The study, conducted by Professor Yoon, Tracey E. George of Vanderbilt University and Mitu Gulati of the University of Virginia, focused on Harvard Law School. It has long produced the most Supreme Court law clerks, partly because of its prestige and partly because it is much larger than some of its rivals. (A larger proportion of Yale Law School graduates have served as Supreme Court clerks.)
Russias foreign minister, Sergey V. Lavrov, was scheduled to arrive in Mali late on Monday, making his third trip to Africa in about six months as Russia seeks to extend its influence and maintain support among non-Western countries for its invasion of Ukraine.

Mr. Lavrovs two-day visit to the West African nation is aimed at strengthening defense and security ties, the Malian Foreign Ministry said in a statement. Russia has already supplied Mali with military aircraft including helicopters, as well as hundreds of military advisers and operatives, many of whom Western officials say belong to the Wagner mercenary group.

Before traveling to Mali, Mr. Lavrov visited Iraq on Sunday. He is scheduled to travel next to Mauritania and Sudan, according to the Russian news agency Tass.

Russia, Africas largest arms dealer, has longstanding ties to nations on the continent, many of which have supported President Vladimir V. Putins invasion of Ukraine. The relationship with Mali is just one of several military alliances that the Kremlin has strengthened in recent years, a mutually beneficial strategy that has made Russia a favored security partner for many African nations.
A Chinese balloon floated over Latin America and the Caribbean, the Chinese government confirmed on Monday, adding that it was for civilian purposes and was being used for flight tests.

Affected by the weather and with limited self-steering capability, the airship deviated far from its planned course and entered into the airspace of Latin America and the Caribbean, a spokeswoman for Chinas foreign ministry, Mao Ning, said at a news conference on Monday.

On Friday morning, before the United States shot down a Chinese spy balloon that had spent the last week traversing the country, the Colombian National Air Defense System detected an object that had entered the northern part of the countrys airspace, the Colombian Air Force said in a statement.

Officials determined that the object had characteristics similar to those of a balloon, and that it was flying at an altitude of over 55,000 feet and moving at an average speed of 25 knots.
The Chinese balloon that bumbled its way across the United States has launched a thousand questions about its real intent.

But it is also focusing the worlds attention on the prospect that the communications and control within Chinese leader Xi Jinpings government and his vaunted security apparatus may be less coherent  or even less functional  than the image he so confidently projects.

The stakes today are high. Relations between Washington and Beijing have frayed, and competition between the two sides has intensified, fueling fears that the wrong move could spark an accidental confrontation between the powerful rivals.

The United States says the vessel was a high-altitude surveillance balloon. China maintains it was a civilian airship that had flown off course while gathering meteorological data. Whether the inflatable craft was there by mistake or a brazen military stunt, its emergence raises questions about how China is navigating its growing position as a global power.
The political candidates represented the vanguard of Hong Kongs pro-democracy movement. Numbering in the dozens, they had planned to run for the citys legislature in 2020, after months of turbulent protests calling for greater freedom from China.

By the time the election was held, more than a year later, none of the candidates could run. Most were in jail, where many still languish today, charged with subversion in the largest case yet involving the national security law Beijing imposed on the city in 2020. Their arrests laid bare the lengths to which Chinas government would go to crush dissent in Hong Kong, which was long accustomed to many of the freedoms of speech and assembly found in the West.

After years of fits and starts, the trial involving the 47 pro-democracy lawmakers, academics and activists began on Monday at a courthouse in Hong Kong amid tight security. Large police vehicles lined the roads nearby as a line of more than 100 people snaked around the courthouse in the early morning, waiting to enter. Because there were so many defendants, the court broadcast the proceedings into several other rooms.

Of the 47 defendants, only 16 are contesting the charges. The rest entered guilty pleas, including Joshua Wong, one of the most globally recognized Hong Kong pro-democracy figures, and Benny Tai, a former law professor. As one of the defendants, Ng Kin-wai, a former district official, took the stand, he declared, sarcastically: I tried to commit subversion against the totalitarian regime, but failed. I plead guilty.
BERLIN  Avalanches killed at least 11 people over the weekend, the authorities and rescuers in Austria, Italy and Switzerland said, as efforts to get victims to safety were hampered by weather.

A combination of heavy snowfall and strong winds led to avalanche warnings in the region, including in Austria, which issued the second-highest alert level in much of the region over the weekend.

Eight people have died in avalanches since Friday in Austria.

It was a very operation-intensive weekend for the Austrian Alpine Police, especially in the west of Austria, said Patrick Maierhofer, a spokesman for the Austrian Interior Ministry.

The weather made rescue attempts extremely challenging. Early this year many ski resorts were complaining of too little snow, but avalanches  and accidents involving them  are a common hazard in the Alps. Because of this skiers in many regions are required to have safety equipment such as transponders, shovels and retractable poles with which they can probe freshly dumped snow.
The police officer told one woman he was the safest person she could be with, before threatening her with a gun and raping her repeatedly. He shut another woman in a small closet under his staircase, holding her there for hours on end. One of the women he sexually assaulted was a fellow police officer.

At a sentencing hearing in London on Monday, prosecutors laid out the shocking details of the sexual violence carried out by the officer, David Carrick, who raped, assaulted, and abused at least 12 women during his nearly two-decade police career.

The case of Mr. Carrick, whose crimes went unpunished for nearly 20 years despite earlier reports of violence against women, is the latest and among the most damaging to cast a spotlight on abuse perpetrated by some members of the Metropolitan Police, the force which covers London.

The service has been plagued by scandal in recent years, as a number of crimes against women by current and former officers have come to light. Critics say the force has made little progress in changing a culture where officers have long acted with impunity and closed ranks when accusations emerged.
Governments around the world were quick to respond to requests for international assistance after Mondays devastating earthquake in Turkey and Syria, deploying rescue teams and offering aid.

The European Union said it was urgently dispatching search and rescue teams from Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, France, the Netherlands, Poland and Romania to Turkey to help. In a statement, the bloc also said it was directing its satellite system to support Turkish efforts in mapping the quake and its aftermath.

Greece said it was sending a C-130 transport aircraft to help neighboring Turkey, along with 21 members of the Greek fire services special disaster management unit, rescue dogs, a rescue vehicle, medics and the head of the governments organization for disaster management, the Greek Civil Protection Agency said.

India said it was sending medical squads, search and rescue teams and relief material to assist Turkeys response. Indias prime minister, Narendra Modi, said he was anguished by the loss of life in Turkey and Syria.

The U.S. national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, said in a statement that the United States was profoundly concerned by the earthquake and stood ready to provide any and all needed assistance to Turkey. President Biden had directed USAID and other federal government partners to assess the U.S. response options, the statement added.

Britain is sending equipment, rescue dogs and a team of 76 search and rescue specialists, according to the countrys foreign minister, James Cleverly. We stand ready to provide further support as needed, he said.

Russias Emergencies Ministry put 100 staff on standby and stood ready to send two planes with rescuers to Turkey, the Russian news agency Tass reported. President Vladimir Putin also said Russia was ready to provide assistance to Syria, in a telegram to the countrys president, Bashar al-Assad, according to Syrian state media.

Ukraine, which is battling against a Russian invasion, said it stands ready to send a large group of rescue workers to Turkey. We are working closely with the Turkish side to coordinate their deployment, the countrys foreign minister, Dmytro Kuleba, said on Twitter.
An unnamed United States (US) Embassy deployee in Zimbabwe reportedly visited the ruling Zanu PF party, ostensibly to pledge Washington's support for President Emmerson Mnangagwa's administration.

The American government's official is said to have met Zanu PF information and publicity secretary, Ambassador Christopher Mutsvangwa, last week in a move seen as testimony of the success of President Mnangagwa's re-engagement drive.

Addressing a Zanu PF Mashonaland West Provincial Coordinating Committee (PCC) meeting in Chinhoyi Sunday, Mutsvangwa said for unknown reasons, the US has had a rethink on its hard stance towards the ruling party, culminating in a visit by a senior embassy official last Friday.

"Let me tell you that three days ago, for the very first time, a top diplomat who was representing the Ambassador, who is yet to come, came to our Zanu PF party offices," Mutsvangwa told the gathering.

Zanu PF spokesman Chris Mutsvangwa

"The diplomat said we have come because you are faced with elections, so we want to assure that we have dug a hole in the ground and spat to say never again shall we side with only one party ... this time around, all of your parties are equal."

"America will accept the outcome of 2023 harmonised elections expected to be held in a free and fair environment," he added.

The opposition Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC), Mutsvangwa said, must also accept defeat in the watershed polls.

The visibly chuffed and grimacing Zanu PF spokesperson said progressive citizens must embrace the politically significant gesture by the US, an admission the former guerrilla movement cherished ties with Joe Biden's administration.

The chaotic land reform programme meant to correct colonial imbalances was basis of strained relations between the Washington and Harare, but the Second Republic's re-engagement thrust is seemingly bearing positive outcomes as evidenced by the US official's visit to Zanu PF Headquarters.

"We as Zanu PF have maintained we are friends to all and enemies to none," reiterated the former presidential adviser.
On Monday morning, Syrians in the countrys war-ravaged north awoke to scenes that had been familiar for years: collapsed buildings and people being pulled from the rubble.

The magnitude 7.8 earthquake, centered in southeastern Turkey but felt as far away as Israel and Cyprus, brought back painful recent memories from Syrias civil war.

Much of Syria still bears the scars of the conflict, which has been in a fragile ceasefire since early 2020. Faced with sanctions, no reconstruction aid from international donors and its own economy in shambles, rebuilding has been piecemeal and limited.

The wars toll  massive destruction, an acute economic crisis, a collapsing currency  will make responding to the quake even more difficult for all sides.
GAZIANTEP, Turkey  In the southern Turkish city of Gaziantep, the epicenter of Mondays earthquake, some people fled their homes in the cold and rain and took shelter in their cars when the earth began trembling before dawn.

As they waited for it to end, and for the sun to rise, bad news filled their phones before they could see for themselves the damage that had been wrought by the magnitude 7.8 quake that has left more than 1,000 people dead, a toll that was almost certain to rise.

One man burst into tears after learning that his brother was stuck under the rubble of a fallen building. Others received news that their homes or those of their relatives were heavily damaged. Many wounded were rushed to local hospitals. The citys ancient castle was heavily damaged.
Forty-seven pro-democracy figures in Hong Kong have been accused of a conspiracy to commit subversion in a landmark political case. Many of the defendants have been in jail for nearly two years while awaiting trial.

The case highlights the sweeping power of a national security law China imposed to tighten its grip on the city after massive anti-government protests. These are the politicians, academics and activists who are now facing prison sentences.

Benny Tai, 58, was a professor of law at the University of Hong Kong. Benny Tai, 58 Joshua Wong, 26, became a prominent activist at the age of 14. Joshua Wong, 26 Twelve were elected lawmakers, who had often used their presence in the legislature to protest Chinas encroachment on Hong Kongs autonomy. Claudia Mo, 66 Mo had served as a lawmaker for eight years and is known as Auntie Mo. Leung Kwok-hung, 66 Better known as Long Hair, Leung had been a mainstay of the opposition for nearly two decades. Helena Wong, 63 Kwok Ka-ki, 61 Wu Chi-wai, 60 Raymond Chan, 50 Chan was Hong Kongs first openly gay lawmaker. Andrew Wan, 53 Jeremy Tam, 47 Eddie Chu, 45 Lam Cheuk-ting, 45 Alvin Yeung, 41 Au Nok-hin, 35 Twenty-one had been elected district officials, including younger activists who were voted in following months of anti-government protests in 2019. Gary Fan, 56 Andy Chui, 55 Lawrence Lau, 55 Ricky Or, 51 Andrew Chiu, 37 Roy Tam, 42 Sze Tak-loy, 40 Clarisse Yeung, 36 Ben Chung, 34 Jimmy Sham, 35 Sham was a leader of an activist group that organized massive pro-democracy rallies throughout 2019. Kalvin Ho, 34 Cheng Tat-hung, 34 Henry Wong, 32 Kinda Li, 31 Sam Cheung, 29 Tiffany Yuen, 29 Lester Shum, 29 Lee Yue-shun, 29 Michael Pang, 28 Ng Kin-wai, 27 Fergus Leung, 25 Others were prominent activists who had worked on various social causes. Carol Ng, 52 Ng was a former flight attendant who became a union leader. Winnie Yu, 35 Tam Tak-chi, 51 Gordon Ng, 44 Hendick Lui, 40 Ventus Lau, 29 Gwyneth Ho, 32 Ho was a journalist who rose to fame in 2019 when, during her livestream of a mob attack on protesters, she herself was beaten by thugs. Mike Lam, 34 Frankie Fung, 27 Owen Chow, 26 Prince Wong, 25 Wong was a student leader who began her activism when she was in high school. Lau Chak-fung, 26

Lengthy Detentions Without Trial

The 47 defendants were first charged in February 2021 with subversion in a case centering on the holding of an unofficial primary vote.

Unlike other types of offenses, national security cases impose a high threshold for bail, which, in effect, lets the authorities hold defendants for months or even years before trial. Critics say that amounts to a presumption that defendants are guilty.

34 Detained 13 Granted bail

In hearings before the trial, 16 pleaded not guilty and 31 pleaded guilty, including Benny Tai and Joshua Wong. Most, if not all, of the 47 are expected to receive prison sentences, which could range from less than three years to life.

The defendants and their lawyers are barred from commenting on the case. But legal experts say the democracy proponents are likely under enormous pressure to plead guilty because of the lengthy detentions, dwindling financial resources and the difficult chances of winning in a court modeled after Chinas authoritarian system.

The process is designed to be as painful as possible, said Samuel Bickett, a lawyer and activist based in Washington, D.C., who was jailed in Hong Kong after scuffling with a plainclothes police officer in 2019.

31 Pleading guilty 16 Pleading not guilty

The Transformation of Hong Kongs Political Landscape

Hong Kong was engulfed in widespread protests calling for greater freedom from China starting in June 2019. To quell the unrest, Beijing imposed a national security law in June 2020, days before the 47 democrats held the primary election that would lead to their arrests months later for subversion.

Nearly three-quarters of the 47 have been jailed ever since, a span of almost two years. Their absence contributed to the dearth of anti-establishment voices in Hong Kongs legislature, which passed controversial measures without opposition such as a patriots only litmus test for political candidates.

Protests began Mass antigovernment protests began and escalated in intensity over months. 2020 National security law enacted The new law bans vaguely defined crimes of secession, subversion and terrorism, with a potential sentence of life in prison. Pro-democracy primary Pro-democracy candidates held a primary vote ahead of the upcoming Legislative Council election. The 47 defendants helped organize or participated in this event. Original date of the election 2021 47 people charged, most denied bail They were charged with conspiracy to commit subversion, for organizing and participating in the pro-democracy primary. Most were denied bail and kept behind bars as a long legal process began. New election rules announced China announced new rules for Hong Kong elections, limiting candidates to only those deemed loyal to Beijing. Patriots-only election takes place 2022 More than 30 defendants are currently detained. Most of them had been jailed for almost two years before the trial even started. 2023 Trial begins

The trial is expected to last three months.
Brunswick Group handles Concordia, the Rothschild family holding company, that plans to take the storied Rothschild & Co. investment bank private.

The Paris-based financial institution, which traces its roots to the 1700s, has 60 offices in 40 countries.

Concordia holds 38.9 percent of Rothschilds share capital and 47.5 percent of the voting rights.

It plans to offer shareholders $52 per share for their stock, which represents a 19 percent premium over the Feb. 3 closing price of Rothschilds shares.

Concordia says the banks businesses (wealth & asset management, merchant banking and global advisory) do not require access to capital from the public equity markets.

It also believes a privately held Rothschild will be able to focus on long-term growth rather than meeting short-term earnings.

Brunswick Groups Simone Selzer represents Concordia.
An man in the Midlands who pleaded guilty to a string of offences including fraud, drink driving and possession of unlicensed animal medicines will return before Longford District Court in May to have charges against him finalised.

Seamus Kane (53) Ardagullion, Edgeworthstown, Longford, was charged with a number of counts of dishonestly by deception inducing the Minister of the Department of Social Protection to pay money into financial institutions.

Mr Kane was charged with drink driving, driving without a drivers licence or insurance at Tonywarden Granard on June 18, 2022, and possession of veterinary medicines only licensed to registered veterinary practitioners. A charge of dangerous driving was withdrawn by the State.

Inspector Dave Jordan first outlined details of the drink driving charge against Seamus Kane.

Inspector Jordan described to Judge Bernadette Owens how officers saw a vehicle driving in an erratic manner on June 18, 2022. The Gardai followed it and saw the vehicle drive up on the grass verge.

The car was stopped and when Mr Kane stepped out of it he was unsteady on his feet. The officers arrested him and conveyed the defendant to Granard Garda station where he submitted a blood sample for a test. Mr Kane returned a blood alcohol reading of 236mg per 100ml of blood. The reading is well over four times the legal limit of 50mg per 100 ml.

Mr Kane was serving a driving ban at the time of his arrest, having been disqualified for six years in 2020 for driving without insurance.

Inspector Jordan then outlined details of the Pandemic Unemployment Payment (PUP) fraud perpetrated by the defendant. On October 31, 2020 Seamus Kane made an online application for the PUP payment. In the application he stated he was self employed.

An investigation by Revenue Commissioners indicated he has not filed Revenue returns to show self employment and as such was not entitled to the payment. He received a total of 11 payments, ten of 350 and one of 203.

The charge of possessing a regulated veterinary medicine, Norocaine, came to light when officers executed a search warrant on the defendant's home. The drug is only allowed to be handled by veterinary practitioners.

Addressing the judge Seamus Kane's solicitor, Brid Mimnagh, said the drug was in her client's house for some time. Its expiry date was November '08, and it was used at that time to dehorn cattle.

Ms Mimnagh said with regard to the PUP fraud her client had made the application believing if he was not entitled to it he would be declined. She said he was practically self-employed fixing tractors and as a farmer.

Ms Mimnagh said when Covid hit Mr Kane could not employ an accountant to do his accounts and could not do them himself. The solicitor said he found himself in a Catch 22 situation.

In regard to the drink driving issue Ms Mimnagh acknowledged her client's horrendous difficulty with alcohol. She beseeched the court not to send him to prison as he is trying his very best not to come to the attention of Gardai.

The solicitor said Mr Kane knows he will serve a lengthy ban and will never drive again as he will be in his 70s before he can get his licence restored. Ms Mimnagh said the defendant is terrified of going to prison.

Concluding the matters Judge Owens imposed a fine of 750 for the charge of possessing unlicensed veterinary medicine. With regard to the PUP fraud the judge noted that an aggravating factor was that Mr Kane was on bail for another theft and fraud offence at the time and should have been more diligent. For that offence he received a four month custodial sentence, but it was suspended for 18 months. A condition attached to the suspended sentence is the payment of 1,500 in compensation by the defendant to the Department before April 30, 2024.

With regard to the drink driving charge Judge Owens described it as more problematic. The judge said she wants to see how Mr Kane is addressing his alcohol addiction. The judge directed the preparation of a probation report and adjourned sentencing to May 23, 2023.
President Michael D Higgins has led tributes following the death of former education minister Niamh Bhreathnach.

Ms Bhreathnach, who was 77, was formerly a Labour Party TD for Dun Laoghaire.

She was best known as the minister for education who abolished third-level fees in 1996 and for being appointed a senior minister on her first day in the Dail.

Mr Higgins said she had left an extraordinary legacy of educational reform.

The president said: It is with a deep sense of sadness that so many people, former colleagues and particularly those who will have benefited from the inclusive reforms she initiated in terms of our education system, will have learnt of the death of Niamh Bhreathnach.

Niamh became minister for education on the same day that I became minister for arts, culture and the gaeltacht and we were two of a number of people appointed to first ministries on that day.

I can recall that we were all possessed of a great sense of anxiety that we must take our opportunity to get changes done and Niamh set about that task with gusto.

Niamh was the first Labour politician to hold the post of minister for education, something which had historical significance in its own right. In her time in office she would go on to leave an extraordinary legacy of educational reform.

Mr Higgins added: That legacy includes the abolition of third-level undergraduate tuition fees and significant increases in education spending, the introduction of the Leaving Certificate Applied Programme, and making the Transition Year Programme available to all second-level schools, any of which one their own would reflect a significant term of office.

Tanaiste Micheal Martin said: Throughout her political life, Niamh was dedicated and committed to education, particularly in the area of reform.

She had a focus on addressing disadvantage through the Breaking The Cycle scheme, and the Leaving Cert Applied programme.

Niamh was a committed Labour Party member, and as shadow spokesman on education, I enjoyed our many exchanges in the Dail.

Niamh was always courteous and kind, and thoroughly committed to public service.

Deeply sad at the loss of our dear friend, comrade and ally Niamh Bhreathnach. She leaves a tremendous legacy, and we will all miss her so much. Thoughts and deepest sympathies with Tom, Cliodhna, Macdara, all her family, friends and wider community. RIP. pic.twitter.com/G8kO1iAdOo  Ivana Bacik (@ivanabacik) February 6, 2023

Labour Party leader Ivana Bacik paid tribute on social media.

She tweeted: Deeply sad at the loss of our dear friend, comrade and ally Niamh Bhreathnach.

She leaves a tremendous legacy, and we will all miss her so much.

Ms Bhreathnach is survived her her husband Tom Ferris and her children Cliodhna and Macdara.
press release

Trans fat is a killer: up to 500 000 people a year die worldwide from the consequences of eating it. Trans fat increases LDL (or "bad") cholesterol, the compound that clogs arteries and causes heart attacks and deaths from heart disease.

Most trans fat comes from artificial, industrially produced partially hydrogenated vegetable oils (PHO), and is used in many baked foods, frying oils, fried foods and hardened fats, like margarine and vegetable ghee. They are cheap and increase the shelf life of processed food.

But they have no known health benefit and can be readily replaced with other ingredients to preserve taste and consistency. They do nothing but harm our hearts; in essence, they are the tobacco of food products.

And yet it would be so simple to eliminate them. PHO can easily be substituted with other vegetable oils that are healthier, no more expensive and taste good too, such as high-oleic vegetable oils.

In 2018, WHO called for the complete elimination of industrially produced trans fat from the global food supply by the end of 2023. Since then, we have been supporting countries to implement policies prohibiting trans fat, and to replace it with healthier oils.

There are two best-practice policy alternatives. The first is a national limit of 2 grams of industrially produced trans fat per 100 grams of total fat in all foods. The second is a national ban on the production or use of partially hydrogenated oils (a major source of trans fat).

To date, more than 40 countries accounting for more than one-third of the world's population had implemented one of WHO's best-practice policies on trans fat.

A further 17 countries, with an additional 400 million people, are using less restrictive policies, but are still on a good path towards implementing WHO's package of recommended best practices.

This is remarkable progress, with an almost six-fold increase in the number of people protected by best-practice policies since the launch of the initiative. The results are clear. In Denmark, the first country to eliminate trans fat, studies show that after the introduction of the regulation in 2004, there was a decrease in mortality from heart disease.

However, time is of the essence if we are to achieve the goal of complete elimination by the year 2023.

Many nations are heading in the right direction. For example, the United States has passed a law banning the production and use of PHO in its food supply.

Increasingly, upper-middle- and lower-middle-income countries, such as Argentina, Bangladesh, India, Paraguay, the Philippines and Ukraine, are also implementing these policies. Best-practice policies are also being considered in Mexico, Nigeria and Sri Lanka. If adopted, Nigeria would be the second and most populous country in Africa to put a best-practice trans fat elimination policy in place.

However, 9 of the 16 countries with the highest estimated proportion of coronary heart disease deaths caused by trans fat still do not have a best-practice policy in place: Australia, Azerbaijan, Bhutan, Ecuador, Egypt, Iran, Nepal, Pakistan and the Republic of Korea.

Governments play a key in the elimination of trans fat, but to reach our goal it is essential to engage industry - the producers of raw materials and final food products.

By replacing industrial trans fat with healthier oils and fats in their products, food manufacturers, the food service sector and suppliers of oils and fats can help to protect people from the harms of trans fat, even in countries where national legislation is not yet in place. If they so choose, these companies could have an almost unparalleled impact on global health.

In 2019, the International Food and Beverage Alliance, representing several of the world's largest food companies, committed to eliminating trans fat from their products by the end of 2023. More recently, one of the world's largest producers of oils used in food, Cargill, committed to the same target. This is to be lauded. WHO is in contact with other producers, who we are encouraging to follow suit.

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In addition to action by governments and industry, the work of civil society is also vital. One such organization, Resolve to Save Lives, plays an instrumental role in advocating for the elimination of trans fat and advancing key policy changes in countries.

WHO is spearheading the global push towards elimination. Under the newly established WHO Validation Programme for Trans Fat Elimination, WHO will recognize country successes in implementing best practice policy along with effective monitoring and enforcement.

One of WHO's top priorities is to support countries to promote health and prevent disease, by addressing its root causes in the air people breathe, the conditions in which they live and work, and in the food they eat. Prevention is not only better than cure, it's cheaper. Eliminating trans fat is therefore a powerful way of preventing heart disease and the massive costs it incurs for individuals, families and economies in medical treatment and lost productivity.

Food should be a source of health, not a cause of disease. It's time to banish trans fat to the dustbin of history.
As the Perrottet government announces historic gambling reforms, a new study shows the scale of poker machine losses in the seats of leading NSW politicians.
Two southbound lanes on Southern Cross Drive were closed after a person was stabbed in a road rage incident in Botany.
The U.S. Treasury announced new sanctions against an Iranian drone manufacturer for providing Shahed drones to Russia that the Kremlin has used in airstrikes against Ukraine.
LONDON (AP)  The boards of Renault and Nissan gave their approval Monday to equalize the stake each automaker holds in the other, bringing a better balance in the French-Japanese alliance.



Under the decision, both companies will own 15% in the other. Up to now, Renault Group of France owned 43.4% of Nissan Motor Co., while the Japanese automaker owned 15% of Renault.



The uneven shareholdings had been viewed at times as a source of conflict in the alliance, which also includes the smaller Japanese automaker Mitsubishi Motors Corp.



We have been waiting a long time for this moment, Renault board Chairman Jean Dominique Senard said at a news conference Monday in London.



Nissan intends to invest up to 15% in Ampere, Renaults electric vehicle and software entity in Europe. Mitsubishi Motors also will consider investing in Ampere. The automakers will collaborate in various markets around the world, including Latin America, Europe and India, they said.



The moves come at a time when the extremely competitive auto industry is undergoing a major shift toward electric vehicles and other environmentally friendly models.



The long speculated changes to the carmaker alliance was announced a week ago. Shares equivalent to a 28.4% stake will be transferred to a French trust, according to the companies. The French government is the top shareholder of Renault.



Renault and Nissan agreed on an orderly sale of that stake, although there will be no deadline on it.



The partnership will enter a new era, Senard said, by boosting common platforms and parts, as well as balancing the stakes the companies hold.



Nissan Chief Executive Makoto Uchida echoed Senards views, vowing to take the alliance to the next level of transformation to...
Sadiq Khan has warned a number of rebel boroughs against challenging the London-wide expansion of the Ultra Low Emission Zone, or ULEZ, saying their case was wholly without merit and misconceived. Four Conservative boroughs sent a pre-action letter to Transport for London (TfL) on 13 January, challenging Khans decision to expand the ULEZ to Greater [...]
The Minister of Finance, Planning and Economic Development, Hon. Matia Kasaija has said that Shs6 billion request by the Minister of Gender, Labour and Social Development, Hon. Betty Amongi from the National Social Security Fund (NSSF) was irregular.

On February 02, 2023, Amongi told the select committee investigating the alleged mismanagement of the fund that her request was made in accordance with Section 29 of the NSSF Act which mandates her to amend the fund's budget.

She said her request came after she identified that the fund's 2022/2023 Financial Year budget did not provide for activities to implement the amended NSSF Act which introduced voluntary contributions.

Kasaija who also appeared before the same committee on the same day however, said that the request came to his attention but he disagreed with it because the ministry operates its own budget.

The NSSF Amendment Act paved way for dual supervision of the fund and Kasaija said that it is irregular for a minister supervising the fund to request for money.

"They should request for money from the Treasury. Please, let us be clear, this money is not our money," he said.

The Secretary to the Treasury, Patrick Ocailap told the committee that the Shs6 billion request by Amongi was not approved in the NSSF budget.

"We sent a budget to her to approve and in considering approval of the budget that is when she gave that counter proposal of re-allocation. From the Treasury where I sit, I did not approve that money, it is irregular," Ocailap said.

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This prompted the Committee Chairperson, Hon. Mwine Mpaka to ask Kasaija why the fund had no challenges in the past 10 years, until recently when dual supervision started.

Kasaija explained that it is because he had a good working relationship with NSSF's former Managing Director, Richard Byarugaba and the Board.

"When the MD or Board Chairperson would get a challenge, they would come to me and if I felt that there was something I did understand, I would summon them to explain. For all purposes, I had no issue of substance with Byarugaba that is worth mentioning here," said Kasaija.

Byarugaba who also appeared before the select committee said that the corruption allegations against him were baseless.

"How wild can this be that I received five percent of the contract value on Pension Towers and I wired the money through a bank in Mauritius and in Barclays? All these allegations are very wild, there is no evidence," he said.

Byarugaba's woes started after Amongi wrote a letter questioning his reappointment, following expiry of his contract in November 2022.

The NSSF Board approved Byarugaba's reappointment for another five year term and consequently, Prime Minister, Robinah Nabbanja asked Amongi to implement the Board's decision.

Amongi instead called for an investigation into the conduct of Byarugaba, accusing him of abuse of office and mismanagement of investments.

Source: Parliament of Uganda
Google says its Bard service is based on its experimental artificial-intelligence program called LaMDA, which stands for Language Model for Dialogue Applications.
Until recently, families from Russia were welcome to move to Turkey. Now, the Turkish government is making this difficult, introducing bureaucratic hurdles and fines. It's becoming hard for Russians to remain in exile.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said he feared the world was headed for a greater conflict. Meanwhile, Ukraine says there won't be a leadership shake-up at the defense ministry this week. DW has the latest.
The 2023 Grammy Awards are here, and there will be a ton of fashion moments! The show is taking place at the Crypto.com Arena in..

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The Golden State Warriors' Stephen Curry has been ruled out indefinitely with a knee injury, while Kyrie Irving is reportedly set for a trade to the Dallas Mavericks.
Newsy 14 Feb 2023

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Russias decision to send its top diplomat to Iraq is symbolic and important in the Middle East.
A high-speed train travels along a line from Zhengzhou, Henan province, to Chongqing, which began operations in June last year. LI YANG/XINHUA Party, State Council plan looks toward expanding domestic consumption China is looking to accelerate urbanization as part of its broader efforts to boost domestic consumption amid rising protectionism in the global trade arena. The strategy has been laid out in a set of measures aimed at expanding domestic demand between 2023 and 2035. The plan, formulated and issued by the Communist Party of China Central Committee and the State Council, was released to the public on Dec 14. The document describes urbanization as a crucial avenue for raising consumption and upgrading industry, and suggests it will work as a "major propeller" for growth. The increased focus on generating more domestic consumption comes as Chinese pockets have grown deeper over the past few decades. The plan says the sales of new cars in the country has been leading the world for the past 13 years. The shift  from development driven by investment and export to development driven by consumption  will also help make the most of the ultra-large size of the Chinese market. In addition, it will defend the country against the "complex and serious" external environment, such as rising protectionism and hegemony, and promote economic circulation and build a new development paradigm. In a section focused on advancing "people-centered new urbanization", the plan says that the hukou, or household registration system, needs to be overhauled to help turn rural migrants into urban residents. Under the current urban-rural, two-track hukou system, healthcare, schooling and many other local public services are inaccessible to out-of-town people. A people-centered approach means fostering new city clusters, investing in public services and healthcare in counties, and upgrading infrastructure in bigger cities, such as adding elevators to old apartment buildings as their residents age. The measures singled out the Chengdu-Chongqing city cluster for emphasis, saying its construction will be pushed forward in the years to come. China City News, a newspaper that focuses on urbanization issues, reported this month that 19 city clusters  the Chengdu-Chongqing cluster included  are housing three-quarters of China's urban residents on one-fourth of the country's land area and contributing 80 percent of the national GDP. The less-wealthy rural regions are also being targeted for bolstering consumption. Central authorities noted that they will implement a "rural construction campaign" to improve the living environment there, but pledged to preserve the original look of villages that are rich in tradition and culture. They plan to increase rural spending on cars, home appliances, furniture and home decoration materials, while developing e-commerce to help farm produce reach urban kitchens. Industries such as rural homestays, leisure agriculture and tourism will be promoted to diversify economic models in rural areas. The measures have called for a new relationship between industry and agriculture, and rural and urban areas. It means having a coordinated development mechanism in which industrial progress will work to promote agriculture, and urban booms will be utilized in return to advance rural prosperity. Urbanization has been charging ahead across China in recent years, raising the rate of urbanization to 64.72 percent last year, according to the National Bureau of Statistics. There were 914 million urban residents by the end of 2022, up 12.05 million from a year ago. By comparison, the rural population dropped 11.57 million to 498 million. Zhang Fei, deputy director of the China Institute for Reform and Development, a think tank in Haikou, Hainan province, said that China is at a critical juncture in upgrading its consumption structure. "Urbanization not only spurs the expansion of the consumption scale, but also helps accomplish a structural upgrade," he told China City News. According to Zhang's estimates, China's per capita spending on services is likely to reach about 50 percent of the total expenditure by 2025, up from 44.2 percent last year.


First Ladies Against Cancer (FLAC) Initiative has raised concern over the increasing rate of cancer in the country as a new report revealed that the country has recorded over 10,000 cases of cancer in the past one month. The coalition also called for increased resource allocation to cancer.

This is even as the chairman, senate committee on health, Dr Ibrahim Oloriegbe, decried what he described as poor utilisation of the cancer care fund by the Federal Ministry of Health.

Oloriegbe, who spoke at the partner reception and book launch "Footprints" by FLAC in Abuja, said involvement of the private sector is key to achieving maximum benefit.

"If cancer is placed under health insurance, many patients will have access to treatment. That fund is not implemented because the private sector is not involved. Private sector involvement will enable more beneficiaries to benefit," he said.

Meanwhile, the minister of health, Dr Osagie Ehanire, disclosed that the federal government has earmarked money for another six cancer treatment centres that are being developed right now by the ministry.

The development, the minister said, is aimed at increasing the availability and space to be able to accommodate more patients.

Cancer Treatment: Nigerian Hospitals Get $3m From US

He said cancer treatment is very costly, "There is a government programme, the cancer care fund which reduces the burden by 50 percent. Even with the 50 percent, it is still too much for many people."

He, therefore, commended the first ladies for the work that they do to support those who require treatment in their states, saying that it is extremely important.

In her address, wife of Kebbi State governor, Dr Zainab Shinkafi-Bagudu, said the book is a compilation of all their activities, and the celebration of their efforts to bridge the cancer gap in the country and also highlight the challenges that they face daily.

"We are living through a quite growing painful pandemic that our healthcare systems are certainly not built to carter for, so our work therefore is to work with the health agencies such as the primary health care system to ensure that we provide better services for our people," she said.
Liz Truss has said she would never want to be prime minister again but "doesnt regret" her time in Downing Street.
The White House would not say whether President Biden has any concerns about potential intelligence taken by the Chinese spy flight is in Beijing's hands.
The European Union is cutting off imports of Russian oil products. It's meant as a blow to Vladimir Putin's economy but it will require new sources of vital diesel fuel for Europe.
Eurasia Review 24 Feb 2023

On August 17, 1999, Turkey suffered an earthquake registering 7.6 on the Richter scale that killed some 176,000 people. The then..
South Africa and Lesotho will convene an inaugural Bi-National Commission this year as the two countries work on strengthening ties.
Nigeria and India have mapped out strategies to totally eradicate the use of fake Nigerian passports to enter India.

According to a statement issued yesterday by the deputy director, press and public relations of the Ministry of Interior, Afonja Ajibola, the minister of interior, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, said this in his office on Friday, while receiving the Indian High Commissioner to Nigeria, Mr Gangadharan Balasubramanian, who was on a courtesy visit to his office in Abuja.

According to the minister, Nigeria will ever remain grateful to the government and people of India for her support to Nigeria during the country's anti-colonial struggle that led to Independence.

The minister pledged full cooperation of the Federal Government with India, through the Nigeria Immigration Service, to put a stop to the activities of unscrupulous persons and syndicates engaging in fraudulent procurement of fake official Nigerian travelling documents to enter India illegally.

He called for closer collaboration with the India government through provision of useful information and intelligence reports that will assist in unmasking those involved and their modus operandi with a view to get them arrested to face the full weight of the law.

On the issue of some arrested mariners caught on a ship, accused of illegal activity, the minister said the government will prefer that the judicial process run its course, adding that he will try his best to see if the issue could still be handled on humanitarian ground.

The minister made it clear that Nigeria frowns at all illegalities, and will not condone procurement of fake visas by individuals in order to gain false entry into another country.

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Ogbeni Aregbesola however, implored the high commissioner for technical assistance through scholarships and professional courses/ trainings as part of partnership co-operation that will enhance the performance of its paramilitary agencies like the Nigeria Security and Civil Defense Corps, which is a civil protection corp that responds to emergencies as well as complement the police in maintaining law and order.

In his remarks, the Indian Envoy, who lauded the cordial relations existing between Nigeria and India, promised to explore more areas of co-operation that will further strengthen the bi-lateral relations between the two friendly countries.

The high commissioner later disclosed that already, seven agencies of government including the Nigeria Immigration Service are currently undergoing relevant courses in India as demonstration of partnership support to Nigeria. He also thanked the minister for his warm reception.

The permanent secretary of the ministry, Dr Shuaib Belgore commended the high commissioner for his visit and reiterated the commitment of the ministry to achieve improved service and efficient service delivery through investment in capacity building for the ministry's staff and agencies.
Tripoli, Libya (PANA) - The plenary of the Libyan House of Representatives started on Monday in Benghazi, devoted to the election of the second deputy speaker and debates on the constitutional basis for the elections
Geneva, Switzerland (PANA) - The UN Independent Expert on the situation of human rights in Mali, Alioune Tine, will conduct an official visit to the country from 6 to 17 February 2023, the UN Human Rights Office has announced
Photo: (Photo : Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

The missing Missouri children, Brooke and Adrian Gilley, have been safely found.

The two children were previously abducted and had been missing from Missouri for almost a year.

The police officers found the kids with their non-custodial mother in a central Florida grocery store. The children's identities were masked.

Their non-custodial mother, Kristi Gilley, 36, was arrested on an out-of-state fugitive warrant and remained in jail.

Missing Missouri children found in Florida

ABC News reported that the High Springs police officers were conducting routine checks of vehicles in the area when they came across a car that belonged to a person wanted by the authorities.

Upon investigating further, they found Gilley and the two missing children inside a Winn Dixie supermarket.

The children had been missing for almost a year, having been taken from their home in Clay County, Missouri, a suburb of Kansas City.

The police department had been working hard to gather tips and information to help locate the missing children, and their efforts paid off with this discovery.

The non-custodial mother, Kristi Nicole Gilley, was taken into custody and arrested on an active kidnapping warrant that Clay County, Missouri, had issued.

There have been no further details regarding the case yet, as the court-appointed lawyer for Gilley, assigned from the local public defender's office, has yet to reply to an email request on Sunday.

Missing Missouri children's kidnapping in 2022

As previously reported by FOX 4, according to the police, Brooke and Adrian Gilley have been missing since March 15, 2022. Brooke was ten years old at the time of her disappearance, with a height of 4 feet, 8 inches, and weighing 80 pounds. She had blue eyes and blonde hair. Adrian, who was 12 years old when taken, also stood at 4 feet, 8 inches tall, and had blue eyes and blonde hair.

The Liberty, Missouri Police Department distributed current photos of the children when they went missing to spread awareness.

The authorities initially suspected the children might be with their mother, who did not have custody of them. There was also information suggesting that Brooke and Adrian Gilley may have been in California.

Read Also: Murder-Suicide Pact: Pennsylvania Family Agree to Kill Each Other Leaving Written Notes With Vague Reasons

How can a mother lose custody of her own child?

In America, various reasons can lead to a biological mother losing custody of her children. One of the main reasons is neglect or abuse of children.

According to Leon F. Bennett, if a mother is found to be neglecting or mistreating her children in any way, such as physical, emotional, or sexual abuse, the authorities may step in and remove the children from her care.

Substance abuse, such as addiction to drugs or alcohol, can also be a reason for a loss of custody. A mother with a mental health issue that affects her ability to provide a safe and stable environment for her children may also lose custody.

Additionally, if a mother is convicted of a crime, she may be deemed unfit to care for her children and lose custody.

Finally, a court order can be issued if the court believes it is in the children's best interests to award custody to another party, such as the father or a relative.

It is important to note that the laws and procedures for determining custody vary from state to state. It is advisable to consult a legal expert for more information in a specific case.

Unfortunately, in Gilley's case, no official information is available about the circumstances that led to the biological mother losing custody of her own children.

Related Article: Childhood Vaccination Rates Plummet Amid Measles, Polio Outbreaks Due to COVID Misinformation
Photo: (Photo : Jens Schlueter / Getty Images)

A Georgia deputy, Osiel Mendoza Guevara, was arrested in Alabama.

A criminal charge of luring a kid for immoral purposes had led to the arrest of Guevera, who is 20 years old and works as a deputy for the Rockdale County Sheriff's Office.

On January 24, authorities in Pleasant Grove placed the Georgia deputy under arrest. The detectives were under the impression that Guevara flew from Georgia to Alabama to meet with the victim, a young woman under the age of 16.

Georgia deputy arrested in Alabama

Alabama News reported that the arrest was made after an investigation by the Pleasant Grove police department, which suspected that Guevara met the minor through the online gaming platform Roblox.

Guevara's lawyer, Victor Revill, released a statement saying that his client was innocent until proven guilty and looks forward to his day in court. Guevara was booked into the Jefferson County jail on January 25 but was released the same day after posting a $15,000 bond.

Guevara began working as a jailor at the Rockdale County Sheriff's Office in November 2021 and was promoted to deputy sheriff the following year.

According to 11 Alive, his work status is currently listed as "actively employed." However, when asked about Guevara's current employment status, officials from the Rockdale County Sheriff's Office said his case is still under investigation.

Both Jefferson County law enforcement and the Rockdale County Sheriff's Office are conducting separate investigations into the matter.

Since it is still under investigation, the police officers did not reveal much information as to how the Georgia deputy enticed the minor he met online.

Read Also: Murder-Suicide Pact: Pennsylvania Family Agree to Kill Each Other Leaving Written Notes With Vague Reasons

How can parents protect their children in cyberspace?

In light of recent events, investigators are urging parents to keep a close watch on their children's activities on online gaming platforms, as they warn that even seemingly harmless activities can hide malicious intent.

To address this issue, according to WBRC, Liz Repking of Cyber Safety Consulting stresses the importance of early conversations between parents and children about online safety, emphasizing that this should be an ongoing conversation rather than a one-time event.

Repking advises parents to create a safe and non-defensive environment for these conversations.

She suggests that parents consider using third-party parental software on their children's devices to manage better and monitor their online activities.

These software programs can flag inappropriate content, sexual language, and words commonly used by predators or for drug use.

Once such keywords are detected, the software will immediately alert the parents, allowing them to intervene and stop any potentially harmful conversations.

Regarding the recent case of the Georgia deputy arrested in Alabama, charged with enticing a minor for immoral purposes, his lawyer has stated that Guevara looks forward to his day in court.

The police department is working with the FBI on the investigation and is diligent in its efforts, given the sensitive nature of the case.

Related Article: Missing Missouri Children Found Safe After Nearly a Year in Florida Supermarket
Nairobi  President William Ruto has directed government agencies with ongoing court disputes with the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) over tax issues to withdraw them and resolve the matters outside court. Ruto revealed that the government will issue a circular with instructions on the same. "There will be a circular that all government agencies can't take KRA to court. We can't use public money to go to court so as to stop paying taxes that support public entities, we have to be united, seamless and organized," the President stated. He insisted that everybody must pay their taxes, saying that is the only way to save the country from spiraling debt and ensure development. Speaking on Sunday during a thanksgiving church service in Ruai, within Nairobi's Kasarani Constituency, President Ruto said denied assertions the tax debate is politically motivated.

President Ruto said that when it comes to paying taxes all Kenyans will be treated equally, with each one expected to pay their fair share of taxes. "We have agreed that everybody must pay tax, and am happy that we are now coming to an agreement that taxes must be paid," he said. "This the best consensus we can have as a nation because it is the only way that will save our country from debts," the President added. The President asked the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) to give those arrears an opportunity to settle their debts amicably without victimizing anyone.
Apple acquired Zurich-based Faceshift sometime in September or October 2015. It was eventually used to create Animoji and more importantly, Memoji. The U.S. Patent Office granted Apple a patent stemming from Faceshift in 2019. One of the key Faceshift patents that Apple acquired, that stems back to 2013, was published by the U.S. Patent Office on January 26, 2023.

The patent credits Mark Pauley, an Apple Senior Software Engineer and one of the original Faceshift engineers Sofien Bouaziz. His profile states the he "Designed, developed, and productized the realtime face tracking algorithm powering the iPhone X Animoji and also available to third-party developers through ARKit." After leaving Apple in 2018, Bouaziz worked for Google and is now the Director, XR Presence at Meta.

Technically, the invention relates to a method for real-time facial animation, and a processing device for real-time facial animation. The method includes providing a dynamic expression model, receiving tracking data corresponding to a facial expression of a user, estimating tracking parameters based on the dynamic expression model and the tracking data, and refining the dynamic expression model based on the tracking data and estimated tracking parameters. The method may further include generating a graphical representation corresponding to the facial expression of the user based on the tracking parameters. Embodiments pertain to a real-time facial animation system.

Apple's patent FIG. 1 below shows a schematic representation of a dynamic expression model in accordance with one embodiment of this invention; FIG. 3 shows a flowchart of an optimization pipeline.

Apple's patent FIG. 4 shows a graphical representation of a virtual avatar generated using embodiments of the disclosed subject matter; FIG. 5 is a flowchart of a method according to one embodiment.

Apple's patent FIG. 7 above shows different sets of blendshape weights used to approximate a facial expression of the user; FIG. 8 depicts results of an initial estimation of a neutral facial expression using different dynamic expression models in accordance with one embodiment.

For those wishing to dive into the technical aspects behind this invention, review continuous patent application US 20230024768 A1.
When I was thirteen years old, I traveled to Cusco, Peru, the old capital of the Inca Empire, for the first time. I arrived by airplane; it was just a short one-hour flight from Lima compared to the 24 hours it takes by bus due to the mountainous terrain. During the flight, we each received a box with two small sandwiches. I ate one and stored the second in my pocket for later.

After getting acclimated to the high altitude by taking a rest at our hotel, (Cusco is at over 11,000 feet or 3,400 meters above sea level), we went for a walk downtown. Half a block from the main square, a young Indian boy approached me asking for money. I didnt have anything to give him, but I reached into my pocket and I gave him the sandwich. To this day, I have never seen someones eyes light up as his eyes did. He grabbed the sandwich and ran away, almost as if he was afraid Id change my mind and take it back. As a thirteen-year-old who lived comfortably, I was blown away by a seven- or eight-year-old child who would be so hungry that hed act this way.

Some years later, when I was 22, I was on a medical mission trip to a very rural area of north western Ecuador. I was working as a translator for a pediatrician. Suddenly we heard a huge tumult outside, yelling and lots of noise. I ran outside to find out what happened: two women were fighting over the last tube of toothpaste we had to give away. A tube of toothpaste this spoke of unimaginable need.

Share your bread with the hungry, shelter the oppressed and the homeless; clothe the naked, and do not turn your back on your own. If you remove from your midst oppression, false accusation and malicious speech; if you bestow your bread on the hungry and satisfy the afflicted; then light shall rise for you in the darkness, writes the prophet Isaiah.

In his famous letter from a Birmingham Jail, the Reverend Martin Luther King Junior wrote, injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. Whatever affects one directly affects all indirectly.

The message of todays readings is clear: Isaiah tells us that when we care for those in greatest need, the darkness of our own lives and the darkness that hovers over the world gives way to the light of Christ. We cannot remain indifferent to the pain, suffering and injustice experienced by the least of our brothers and sisters  we are called to respond. We pray, yes, we think about them, yes, but action is needed.

Jesus in the Gospel passage tells us that we are the salt of the earth. Salt is meant to give flavor how do we season our daily lives with the salt that is Jesus Christ? How do we as a Church season the world? Jesus invites us to boldly spread His light by being the salt of the earth.

Pope Francis wrote a few years ago that the parish is the presence of the Church in a given territory, an environment for hearing Gods word, for growth in the Christian life, for dialogue, proclamation, charitable outreach, worship and celebration it is a sanctuary where the thirsty come to drink in the midst of their journey, and a center of constant missionary outreach.

As a parish, we not only gather to worship, and to grow together as a community through fellowship, but we come to be challenged and strengthened to be the salt of the earth.

A parish must look outwards with a missionary spirit in order to be strong. We as parishioners must look outwards with a missionary spirit to respond to the challenge of the Gospel to be salt of the earth.

How is Jesus inviting us to be even more outward looking as a parish and as individuals?

It is easier to look the other way when we see a need: who in your life needs a listening ear? Who needs some financial assistance? Who needs encouragement?

How is Jesus calling you to respond to the needs that surround you?

Preparing a plate of food and taking it to a neighbor is need is worth much more than a check for $1,000 written to your favorite charity.

As a Parish community we not only have the responsibility to have outreach, but also the need to provide avenues for parishioners to serve. To become light of the world and salt of the earth, we have to get our hands dirty.

My desire is that by this summer, the Outreach Center at Our Lady of Lourdes will be open not only to provide services to those in need, but to provide us as parishioners much needed opportunities for service: tutoring for children struggling at school, assistance with food and clothing, assistance with utilities, counseling, parenting classes, educational opportunities, guidance for pregnant mothers, mentoring for women in difficult situations, workshops, the sky is the limit.

Saint Teresa of Calcutta famously said, we think sometimes that poverty is only being hungry, naked and homeless. The poverty of being unwanted, unloved and uncared for is the greatest poverty.

The unwanted, unloved and uncared for oftentimes make us feel uncomfortable. Yet so does the message of Jesus.

We may not be able to change the world, but we can change someones world, and the world right around us.
Joseph Priestley died on this day, the 6th of February, in 1804.

Me I think of it as a holy day, a feast for a radical saint.

Priestley was a scientist, political radical, and one of the more influential founders of the modern English speaking Unitarian movement.

He was born into a comfortable dissenting family in Birstall, Yorkshire, on the 24th of March, 1733. His brilliance was noted very early. At four he could recite the entire Westminster Shorter Catechism. He also quickly learned Greek, Latin, and Hebrew.

Everyone assumed he would become a minister. And in 1749 during a severe illness he had a spiritual experience that left him with a stutter and absolutely certain of universal salvation. As he rejected the strict Calvinism of his family religion, and with that critical connections, he assumed the door to ministry was closed.

Priestely moved to Lisbon, working for a relative, while continuing his studies. There he mastered French, Italian, German, Aramaic, and Arabic. He also turned his attention to natural philosophy, the current form of scientific investigation. Returning to England he found his place among the Rational Dissenters. He resumed theological studies and was ordained.

The rest of his life was devoted to rational religion, science, and radical politics.

He is best known today as a scientist. As a chemist Priestley is generally acknowledged as the discoverer of oxygen. He also put it to practical application developing soda water. He was also an early investigator of the properties of electricity.

Priestleys rational religion melded his fascination with natural sciences and his concerns with God and ultimacy. The core thread running through Priestleys preaching was his insistence that human reason rather than divine revelation was the secret of our possibility. If you want to know God, study the world. In short, Rational Religion. He became one of the founders of the Unitarian movement in England, collaborating with and supporting the work of Theophilus Lindsay.

His radical politics was his downfall in England. He was an outspoken supporter of the French Revolution. In 1791 a series of riots, much of them focused on him as a dangerous thinker, and the proposal some of his books be included on library shelves, led to the burning of his home, laboratory, and church. All in all the rioters burned four chapels, several businesses, and twenty-seven houses. Later the King, George III, is said to have said, I cannot but feel better pleased that Priestley is the sufferer for the doctrines he and his party have instilled, and that the people see them in their true light.

Priestly fled the country just ahead of a series of arrests and the notorious 1794 Treason Trials, coming to the warm embrace of America. Taking refuge in Philadelphia, he gave a series of sermons which would result in the gathering of the First Unitarian Church of Philadelphia, the first church in America to claim the name unitarian.

Soon he settled for good in Northumberland county in rural Pennsylvania. There he formed another Unitarian congregation. During his lifetime they mostly met in his home. After his death the congregation built and dedicated a building. While it is no longer used as a church, the congregation that continues in a pretty straight line as another of the communities he founded flourishes as the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of the Susquehanna Valley.

And I personally am delighted that a Zen Buddhist group meets there as the Joseph Priestley Zen Community.

May his influence and blessings on this world continue
THE UNITARIAN WHO WOULD BE PRESIDENT

A Meditation on the Politics of Unitarian Universalism

A sermon delivered at

the First Unitarian Church of Los Angeles

5 February 2023

James Ishmael Ford

Back in the day, most people with an axe they were looking to grind regarding candidate and then President Barack Obama, wanted people to know he really was a Muslim. You know. Some kind of other. But there were a few people who wanted to keep a little closer to the facts. And those people made sure we all knew Obama was in fact a Unitarian Universalist. Which they said, in case it wasnt totally obvious, meant he was a communist.

As they say, close enough.

At least for President Obama theres an argument to be made. I mean about the UU thing. His maternal grandparents were Unitarian Universalists, and he spent a goodly part of his childhood in their care. There are plenty of people who can recall young Barack in the childrens program at the First Unitarian Church of Honolulu. As most of us know his adult faith journey eventually took him to more normative forms of Christianity. Of course, that path he followed didnt hurt his political prospects. You know, the UU means communist thing.

There were in fact four Unitarians to hold the office of the presidency. Two most of us like. John Adams and later his son John Quincy. But also, Millard Fillmore, whom most of us would just as soon forget. And William Howard Taft. He is not generally ranked high on the list of American presidents. But he did enjoy the distinction of later becoming the tenth Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. Having served as both president and chief justice is a unique distinction.

Some people like to add in Thomas Jefferson. And in his later life he wrote nice things about the Unitarians. But he never belonged to a Unitarian church and is by most reckonings counted as a Deist. As a footnote there has never been a Universalist president. Although I read an interesting article that argues that the needs of the office tends to create a presidential universalism. Very much lower case u, however.

The last Unitarian to mount a credible campaign for the presidency was Adlai Stevenson. He was born on this day, the 5th of February, in 1900, in Los Angeles.

The grandson of the 23rd vice president of the United States, and eventually governor of Illinois, Stevenson carried the Democratic banner twice in presidential elections. First in 1952 and then in 1956. Both times he was defeated by Dwight David Eisenhower. In 1961, the year the American Unitarian Association and the Universalist Church in America consolidated to form the UUA, John Kennedy appointed him ambassador to the United Nations. Four years later he was serving in that capacity when he died of a massive heart attack while walking in London, England.

Stevenson was a fascinating figure. His mother was a Unitarian and a Republican. His Father a Presbyterian and Democrat. He would later say I wound up in his party and her church. Which he added, seemed an expedient solution to the problem. He occasionally attended the Presbyterian church, and even briefly was a member of one of their congregations. When asked about this he said only because there was no Unitarian option at the time. He never was not a Unitarian and for those last four years of his life, interestingly for the duration of his tenure as the American ambassador to the United Nations, he was a Unitarian Universalist.

Stevenson was brilliant and quick with a quip. When the Unitarian Universalist Association was formed in 1961, he sent a letter to Dana McLean Greeley, the UUAs first president, saying Congratulations on your election as president. I know from hearsay how satisfying that can be.

As an intellectual in an era not particularly cherishing such, theres a famous story where a reporter told him, Governor, you have the vote of all the thinking people. To which he replied, Thats not enough. I need a majority. While the term egghead for an intellectual is not so common anymore, in my childhood and youth it was a common disparagement. In fact, the term was coined by the newspaper columnist Stewart Alsop to describe Stevenson, who in addition to his prodigious intellect was also balding and had a pronounced high forehead. Kind of like an egg.

In some ways I see Adlai Stevenson as a turning figure, representing the shifting from Unitarianism as a part, if a bit nearer the edge, of the American mainstream. Unitarian Universalism is in some fundamental ways counter-cultural, and fundamentally at odds with the political status quo.

But not disengaged. The current congress counts three Unitarian Universalists in the House. Two from California, Ami Bera and Judy Chu, and one from North Carolina, Deborah Ross. However, its unlikely therell be a UU president anytime soon. I think.

Questions of religion and spirituality are my great passion. You may have noticed. Im especially interested in the modern divide of spiritual but not religious. With squishy terms like religion and spiritual lets set up some definitions for this reflection. The word religion is a big subject. Starting mostly in the nineteenth century, the word has come to describe that part of a culture concerned with meaning and purpose. It has two principal expressions.

One is about defining and reinforcing the boundaries of a culture. A great deal of energy is put to the issue of who is in, and who is out. The second expression is usually more personal if not private. Spirituality is about, if you will, the deeper issues of meaning and purpose. Spiritual untangled from religion occurs as that social purpose of a religion begins to weakens, where a particular religion is less obviously about reinforcing a specific culture.

Today were in the midst of some terrible upheavals. While many countries can be defined by their majority religions, I think of Buddhist Sri Lanka and Hindu India as examples. Russian Orthodox shows a lot of cracks. And American Evangelical Christianity is capturing a larger part of the Christian identified, but Christianity itself is shrinking and rapidly. Over large swaths of the globe the close identification of a specific culture and a specific religion no longer can be assumed.

Boundaries are loosening. And people are responding sometimes out of fear and sometimes out of some larger vision. American Evangelical religion driving reactionary politics is a good example of fear-based responses. I suggest Unitarian Universalism is an example of responding from some larger vision. Of course, were not the only ones. But this reflection is about us.

Whats intriguing is that Unitarian Universalism as it both consolidated the older traditions of the American Unitarian Association and the Universalist Church of America, has been mutating over the past sixty-odd years in some very, very interesting ways. Ways that might mean we do not produce a president any time soon. But ways that might be of vastly more use for people on that individual quest, and socially and politically in the larger sense of helping people to understand who we are beyond the confines of our specific cultures.

The history is complex and trying to unravel it all is beyond the scope of a single sermon. But there is a bit of a paper trail. For many years our Seven Principles have proven a pretty good snapshot of what we commonly hold as important among us. It is interesting in a lot of ways, but not least of which is that while we can find our Jewish and specifically Christian origins in the supplementary documents, the principles themselves lay out something new. It is profoundly ethical, and it calls us to engagement in the world. While the spiritual of it is pretty private, and not spelled out very clearly.

And now were in the midst of a conversation at the denominational level about new language which might replace the principles. This language attempts to capture who we are and what were about now. Im fascinated by how it is coming together. All the call to ethics and justice are there. In fact, theyre more explicitly spelled out. Especially regarding racial justice. But and I find this the most interesting thing, this call for justice is seen as the result of something. Our call to engaging the world as UUs is because of a radical intuition that the writers of the draft document call love.

Its been a while coming. Our most successful public witness has involved yellow shirts and, first the slogan Standing on the Side of Love, and now Siding with Love. Ive been to several major political demonstrations where non UUs refer to us collectively as the Love people. Among our most intriguing theologians Thandekas call to Love Beyond Belief, a reframing of the old Universalist slogan Love over creed, has had enormous resonances among us. I personally am intrigued by just how evocative that word love is, while at the same time being resistant to hard definitions.

It speaks to a grand intuition. And the part where the brain engages, where we look to consequences and definitions of this intuition, is how we manifest it all. Those calls to ethics and to the work of justice, specifically. But, perhaps for the first time since Transcendentalism, clearly and unambiguously calling us into some form of spirituality. Opening doors that we may not have even thought existed. Much less that were closed and should be opened.

The Unitarian Universalist songwriter Peter Mayer captures something about this in his hymn Holy Now.

When I was a boy, each week

On Sunday, we would go to church

And pay attention to the priest

He would read the holy word

And consecrate the holy bread

And everyone would kneel and bow

Today the only difference is

Everything is holy now

Everything, everything

Everything is holy now.

I should note that a dear friend of mine, a Christian Zen master, when she heard a clip of this song was offended. Im not sure which part of her found the offense, the Zen or the Christian. Although I think it was within both.

The immediate issue can be that the first part of the song might be heard as a rebuke of silly literalists going to church and thinking that theres a holy word and a holy bread. And, of course, a priest. An intermediary. The hymn could be heard as if all that were worthless.

To be fair, I bet a lot of people read or hear the lines exactly that way. Foolish them. But me, well, everything holy now. I offer that quickly, and as a caution. A caution because thats actually not what the hymn calls us to.

Rather it is a call to the deep intuition. When weve turned away from the idea of our religion as a safeguard to some culture, specifically guarding our culture, telling us who is in and who is out. When we actually notice the feeling of love rising for and within this world, when we see that everything is holy now. Think of that word love. Think of the intuition of a profound connection among us, that web of interdependence. Well. What then?

When the rubber and the road meet. When our intimations of love, both as a private matter, and with social consequence, are not bound by our specific place, by our culture, or our country, what then?

I suspect that song speaks in part to the mystery. It in fact does not tell people to not go to church. It doesnt say there is no holy book. It doesnt tell us there is no holy bread. It doesnt even disdain the work of priests, or shamans, or witches, holy witches. People who make the sacred their work.

It tells us of a small shift. One thing. A turning of the heart. A realization. An awakening. The new vision, really its as ancient as human hearts, but stated unequivocally: is that everything is holy. Larded through all of existence. It is a song of the good and the ill, in the heaven experiences, and in those hell realms. It sings of some holiness that unites everything.

Another wonderful word. Holy. Our English word holy comes from Old English and is related to a German word. It means blessed. Holy is also connected with whole. It hints at our seeing the connections. It is about what we experience when we find those connections beyond the parochial. It doesnt deny the parochial, the intimate, but it does call us to something larger.

In practical terms it means Unitarian Universalist political engagement is informed by something that no one culture can claim as its own. There is nothing that can be excluded from it. In a final and in a terrible sense, what love tells us, is that there is no other to be excluded.

Love, lover, and beloved, are all facets of the divine. In love everything is holy.

It makes for messy politics. One obvious example. It challenges any idea of a border. It doesnt say they dont exist. It doesnt say they shouldnt exist. But it does say theyre permeable in ways that challenge all ideas of ultimate separation. And, more. It calls us into caring deeply and doing what we can for those on both sides of any border.

With that all things, intimate. As they are, you and me. The only difference. Well, a new perspective. A wild and open thing. Songs of intimacy. Songs of love.

So today UUs, well, were about something powerful and compelling. And, you know. In an era of fear, compounded by those who want to direct the fear at others, any others; all of a sudden our faith tradition throws our lot in with those others.

Doesnt make us super electable. Not when a lot of money and attention are thrown at a candidate, say at the presidential level. Well. It might be a while before we see a UU president.

But. And. You know. The rubber and the road.

Religion today should, (should is such an interesting word, always invites a caution or two, doesnt it?). Religion should, can, might, be about our personal quests, the healing of our hurt and longing. And. Religion now should, can, might, be about the great family, the web of relationships, the intimacy of all things.

Some love beyond belief.

Perhaps in this new age, this crossing of boundaries will be the politics of Unitarian Universalism.

I hope so.

Amen.
Deputy Minister for Education, Gifty Twum Ampofo has advised teachers to show concern for the wellbeing and development of their students.



Gifty Twum Ampofo admonished teachers to quit using canes on students stressing it only puts fear in them and doesn't "bring about any correction".



To her, the best way to help the students to learn is for the teachers to assume a supervisory role over their school children and patiently guide them to develop their strengths.



According to her, teachers must be psychologically sound to handle students.



The teachers, she further said, should be able to identify and solve the problems that their students have so as to bring out the best in them.



"Teaching is a calling. Supervision is very crucial," she stated while speaking on Peace FM's "Kokrokoo" panel discussion programme.





Source: Ameyaw Adu Gyamfi/Peacefmonline.com/Ghana









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South Africa has recorded two confirmed imported cases of cholera, the health department said on Sunday, as it called for vigilance.



The cases were of sisters who had in January travelled to Malawi, where a cholera outbreak since last year has claimed more than 1,000 lives as of January, the highest on record in the country.



"Both patients had developed symptoms on their return to Johannesburg," the health department said in a statement.



"A close contact (household family member) of one of the patients was admitted to hospital on 4 February with diarrhoea and dehydration, and is considered a possible case," it said, adding laboratory test results were pending.



Cholera is an acute diarrhoeal infection caused by the bacteria Vibrio cholerae and can be deadly if left untreated. It is mainly spread by contaminated food and water.



Cholera is not endemic in South Africa, the health department said. The last outbreak in the country was in 2008/2009 when about 12,000 cases were reported following an outbreak in neighbouring Zimbabwe which led to a surge of imported cases and subsequent local transmission.











Source: Reuters









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Former Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett says he received a promise from Russian President Vladimir Putin that he will not kill his Ukrainian counterpart.



Bennett emerged as an unlikely intermediary in the early days of Russias 11-month war with Ukraine, becoming one of the few leaders to meet Putin during the war in a trip to Moscow last March.



While Bennetts mediation efforts appear to have done little to end the ongoing bloodshed, his remarks, in an interview posted on his YouTube channel late on Saturday, shed light on the backroom diplomacy and urgent efforts that were under way to try to bring the conflict to a speedy conclusion in its early days.



In the five-hour interview, which touched on numerous other subjects, Bennett says he asked Putin about whether he intended to kill Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.



I asked Whats with this? Are you planning to kill Zelenskyy? He said I wont kill Zelenskyy. I then said to him I have to understand that youre giving me your word that you wont kill Zelenskyy. He said Im not going to kill Zelenskyy.



Bennett said he then called Zelenskyy to inform him of Putins pledge.





Listen, I came out of a meeting, hes not going to kill you. He asks, Are you sure? I said One hundred percent he wont kill you.



Read Full Story .... Aljazeera >>> :









Source: Aljazeera









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Five persons have been injured in a clash that broke between the military guards who are on official duty at Asante Gold Corporation in Bibiani, in the Bibiani- Anhwiaso-Bekwai Municipality of the Western North Region.



However, the cause of the clash is unclear according to UTV's Western North regional correspondent, Kwabena Dickson.



The Assemblyman for Bibiani Zongo electoral area, Abdellah Adams Mohammed who spoke with the media explained that they heard one of the Zongo residents had been shot so as an assembly member, he decided to enquire exactly what is happening but upon an attempt to get information from the leadership of the military guards, they subjected him to severe beating.



Speaking with the Assemblyman of the area, he also stated that some residents of Bibiani went to the Asante Gold Corporation premises to pick up some materials termed as black but they were ordered by the military to return them.



The residents however refused to oblige, resulting in the clash.



The military guards who are on official duty however traced their residences and a misunderstanding erupted between the residents and the military guards.



The Assemblyman for the area, Abdullah Adams Mohammed explained to the media that one of the victims is in critical condition as he was suffering from a gun wound.



He also said the five victims are all responding to treatment at the Bibiani Government Hospital in the Western North Region.



He further said police from the regional headquarters have intervened to salvage the security intensity in Bibiani Zongo.



Meanwhile, three persons of the clash victims have been discharged.



Asante Gold Corporation Bibiani has started it's plans to resettle residents of Bibiani Zongo and Old town to Asikyire Nkwanta, a small farming community near Bibiani.



The Western North Regional Minister, Mr Richard Ebbah Obeng visited the resettlement site at Asikyire Nkwanta to meet farmers who own the land and other stakeholders for the smooth implementation of the process, but few days after his visit to the sites this unfurtunate incident has come up leaving many injured. .







Source: Kwabena Dickson/ Western North Regional Correspondent, UTV









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The science about climate change is unequivocal and attributable to human activity. Climate change is a threat to humanity and requires urgent action.



This crisis affects every country on every continent. It is disrupting national economies and affecting lives. Weather patterns are changing, sea levels are rising, and weather events are becoming extreme. Saving lives and livelihoods is key.



The Paris Agreement aims to strengthen the global response to the threat of climate change by keeping a global temperature rise above pre-industrial levels of below 1.5 Celsius. This includes a rapid reduction of greenhouse gas emissions to transition to a society of net-zero emissions.



Climate change is a priority for the United Nations. The UN agencies UNESCO and the World Meteorological Organisation are jointly responsible for climate knowledge and its promotion.



IPRA and climate change communications

IPRAs consultative status with the United Nations connects us to the UNs sustainable development goals (SDGs). We take our lead on climate change communication from SDG 13 to take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts.



IPRA members have a responsibility to use their skills to improve public awareness of climate change and efforts to stop it. As David Attenborough said in 2020, Saving the planet is now a communications issue. Communicators play a pivotal role in the required transformation because they are the link between organisations and stakeholders.



According to a 2022 IPRA survey, climate change is a key PR topic. Most respondents, 81%, expect climate change to become increasingly important in their work over the next two years. Almost 90% believe that the PR profession has a responsibility to tackle climate change. Finally, PR professionals indicated that engaging with clients on climate action is a key responsibility. IPRA believes these results are a call to action to the communications profession. IPRA is uniquely positioned to make an impact worldwide and that is what we intend to do.



These guidelines take 7 of the 18 articles of the IPRA code of conduct and interpret implementation with respect to climate change communication. The implementations reference a PR practitioners personal, organizational, and societal responsibilities.



The IPRA Climate Change Guidelines



RECALLING the United Nations sustainable development goals and in particular goal 13 to take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts;



RECALLING that public relations practitioners through their communication skills possess a unique means of influence;



RECALLING that public relations practitioners play a pivotal role to combat climate change because they are the link between organisations and stakeholders;



In the conduct of climate change communications public relations practitioners will implement:



1. article two of the IPRA code to act with honesty and integrity by ensuring honesty in climate-related communications

translating the science into communication that can be understood in the public arena



2. article three of the IPRA code establishes the moral conditions for dialogue by fostering an internal culture in which colleagues feel safe to voice concerns partnering with external advocates of positive climate action promoting climate education in the professional and public arena



3. article four of the IPRA code to be open and transparent by reporting on their own organizations emissions and reductions pathway



4. article five of the IPRA code to avoid professional conflicts by thoughtful consideration of work undertaken ensuring that work is in line with the UNs sustainable development goals advising clients and management about societal expectations



5. article seven of the IPRA code to ensure truth and accuracy by encouraging reference to science-based sources in line with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change encouraging clients to reference sources contrary to the clients position calling-out inaccurate communication in the public arena



6. article eight of the IPRA code to not disseminate misleading information by preventing greenwashing in communication by referencing science-based data



7. article ten of the IPRA code to not use organisations serving undisclosed interests by not using institutes that are funded by organisations which are significant contributors of emissions or that deny climate change.

Source: Peacefmonline.com









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United Nations peacekeepers handing over a military base in North Kivu province to troops of the DR Congo: Soldiers of both forces have come under attack by M23 rebels.

The Rwanda-backed M23 armed group has committed summary executions and forced recruitment of civilians in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, Human Rights Watch said today. The Congolese army is responding to the M23's offensive by collaborating with ethnic militias with abusive records.

The warring parties have increasingly appealed to ethnic loyalties, putting civilians in remote areas of North Kivu province at a heightened risk.

"Rwanda-backed M23 rebels in North Kivu are leaving behind a growing trail of war crimes against civilians," said Thomas Fessy, senior Congo researcher at Human Rights Watch. "Rwanda should end its military support for the M23 while Congolese government troops should prioritize protecting civilians and cease using abusive militias as proxy forces."

Recent investigations by the United Nations Group of Experts on Congo, as well as Human Rights Watch research, provide significant photographic and other evidence that Rwanda is not only giving logistical support to the M23, but that Rwandan troops are reinforcing or fighting alongside the armed group inside Congo. The Rwandan government has denied supporting the M23 rebels.

The renewed hostilities by the M23, the Congolese army, and various other armed groups has forced more than 520,000 people to flee their homes, according to the United Nations. This has exacerbated an already catastrophic security and humanitarian situation in North Kivu and the broader eastern region. The humanitarian organization Medecins Sans Frontieres has warned of a potential health disaster as cholera spreads rapidly in camps for displaced people outside Goma, the North Kivu provincial capital.

Between October 2022 and January 2023, Human Rights Watch interviewed in person and by phone 48 survivors and witnesses of abuses as well as victims' family members, local authorities, activists, UN staff, security personnel, members of armed groups, journalists, and foreign diplomats.

A 38-year-old woman said she was at home in Kishishe with her husband and their three children on November 29 when a group of M23 fighters kicked the door open. "They took my husband and our son by force outside, and told me 'Stay in the house, if you come out, we will kill you!'" she said. "So I closed the door behind them. They shot them a few meters away, I could see them through a hole [in the door]." Her husband was seriously injured but survived. Their 25-year-old son died.

Human Rights Watch found that on November 29, M23 rebels summarily killed at least 22 civilians in Kishishe following fighting with factions of Mai-Mai Mazembe, Nyatura and the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (Forces democratiques de liberation du Rwanda, FDLR). Reliable information indicates that the M23 killed at least another 10 civilians while searching for militia members. Further reports by the UN and others conclude that M23 fighters may have unlawfully killed many more people, including captured fighters.

In a December 3 statement, the M23 rejected murder allegations and said that eight civilians had been killed by "stray bullets" during the fighting.

In late 2022, while the M23 expanded control over Rutshuru territory and attempted to capture parts of neighboring Masisi territory, several armed groups organized mostly along ethnic lines deployed in and around the town of Kitchanga, in Masisi.

In May, Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi said he opposed any alliance between Congolese military commanders and the armed groups. However, according to security sources, in late 2022 Congo sent two senior army officers to oversee military operations in Masisi, both of whom are former Hutu militia leaders who have retained close links to ethnic-based militias with poor rights records. This has raised fears of further retaliatory attacks and ethnic violence against civilians on both sides.

On December 16, the rebel commander Guidon Shimirai, who has been sanctioned by the UN, led his fighters from the main Nduma Defense of Congo-Renovated (Nduma Defense du Congo-Renove, NDC-R) faction into Kitchanga following a meeting with leaders of other militias and army officers. Although Congolese authorities issued an arrest warrant for Guidon in 2019 for recruiting children, insurrection, and the crime against humanity of rape, he was filmed leading his fighters through one of Kitchanga's main thoroughfares, walking alongside Col. Salomon Tokolonga from Congo's national army.

Human Rights Watch recently documented Tokolonga's involvement with a coalition of Congolese armed groups calling itself the Patriotic Coalition. Congolese officers who assist armed groups that commit abuses can be held responsible for aiding war crimes, Human Rights Watch said. Congo has an international legal obligation to investigate alleged war crimes on its territory and appropriately prosecute those responsible.

Hundreds of Tutsi civilians in Kitchanga and nearby villages, often perceived by members of other communities as supporters of the Tutsi-led M23, have fled for fear of reprisals from militias that are using increasingly hostile and threatening rhetoric against them. "The more M23 rebels attack and the more they advance, the more we're being harassed by other communities who link us to them," said a Tutsi community leader in Masisi territory, who for security reasons did not want his name used. On January 26, M23 rebels captured Kitchanga, prompting civilians from other communities to flee for fear of retaliation.

Rwanda has a long history of support for the M23 and its predecessor, the National Congress for the Defense of the People (Congres national pour la defense du peuple, CNDP). Angolan-led mediation efforts by the African Union between the presidents of Congo and Rwanda have made little progress. The African Union and its member countries should make clear to Rwanda, publicly and privately, that its continued military support for the M23 could implicate Rwanda in M23 abuses as a matter of state responsibility, and that Rwandan officials could be found complicit in M23 war crimes, Human Rights Watch said.

On December 15, United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that Rwanda should "use its influence with M23 to encourage" them to withdraw and to "pull back" its own forces. Belgium, France, Germany, and the European Union have also urged Rwanda to stop assisting the M23. The US, the EU, France, the United Kingdom, and other countries should suspend military support to Rwanda so long as it is assisting the M23. The EU should ensure that its recent assistance to the Rwandan Defence Force mission in northern Mozambique is adequately monitored so that the EU is not contributing indirectly to abusive military operations in eastern Congo.

The armed conflict in eastern Congo is bound by international humanitarian law, notably Common Article 3 to the 1949 Geneva Conventions, which prohibits summary executions, forced labor and recruitment, and other abuses. Serious laws-of-war violations committed with criminal intent are war crimes. Individuals also may be held criminally liable for attempting to commit a war crime, as well as assisting in, facilitating, or aiding a war crime. Commanders and civilian leaders may also be prosecuted for war crimes as a matter of command responsibility when they knew or should have known about the commission of war crimes and took insufficient measures to prevent them or punish those responsible.

Congolese authorities should investigate and appropriately prosecute alleged war crimes, including ethnic violence and reprisals against the Tutsi community. Governments should maintain sanctions against senior M23 commanders and expand them to include commanders and officials across the region implicated in serious abuses.

"The Rwandan government's support for the abusive M23 rebels is raising concerns about further ethnic violence in eastern Congo," Fessy said. "Greater international pressure is urgently needed so that Rwanda and Congo take all steps necessary to end abuses and ensure the protection of ethnic groups under threat."

For additional details about M23 abuses and the recent violence, please see below.

Killings in Kishishe

The village of Kishishe is in the predominantly Hutu area of Bwito chefferie (chiefdom) in north-western Rutshuru territory. Bwito is home to a headquarters, known as Kazahoro, of the largely Rwandan Hutu armed group FDLR, some of whose leaders took part in the 1994 genocide in Rwanda, and to their families.

Following the capture of Rutshuru-Center and Kiwanja in late October, M23 rebels advanced into Bwito in November, committing atrocities along the way.

Human Rights Watch research corroborated through interviews with family members and witnesses the names of 22 civilians the M23 summarily killed in Kishishe on November 29, including 20 men and two teenage boys. Human Rights Watch identified 10 other civilians killed that day through secondary sources.

Residents said that M23 rebels first entered Kishishe on November 23. They briefly held the village following two days of fighting against government troops, Nyatura, and FDLR factions in the vicinity. On November 23, M23 fighters killed at least seven civilians outside of Kishishe as they were returning from their fields. The fighters soon left for nearby areas controlled by the FDLR and their allies.

Several residents confirmed that on November 28, fighters from Mai-Mai Mazembe, a Nyatura faction, and the FDLR entered Kishishe. Some of the fighters were wearing civilian clothes and were primarily carrying machetes and hoes, although some had guns. "People got scared and many fled," one villager said. "We begged them to leave for fear that the M23 would target villagers," another resident said. "People started to flee saying [the fighters] wouldn't be able to fight against the M23 and would have us killed [by their presence]."

Early on November 29, M23 rebels in military uniforms with bulletproof vests, carrying guns, again advanced on Kishishe and overran militiamen to capture the village. A Mai-Mai leader known as "Pondu" was killed in the fighting. "I know that other [militiamen] were also killed but I can't say exactly how many," the same resident said. "They exposed people because the M23 rebels accused all young boys and men of collaborating with [their enemy]." When the fighting was over, M23 fighters went door to door searching for men they suspected of being Mai-Mai or FDLR fighters.

A 45-year-old man said he was hiding under a bed when M23 rebels entered his house demanding that all men go outside. Two other villagers who had sought refuge in the house came out. "They asked if anyone else was inside, but my wife said I was away," the man said. "They shot them both in front of the house." The man said he then fled through the forest. He said he saw five bodies while fleeing.

A 21-year-old man said four M23 rebels took him from his house when they first came to Kishishe on November 23 and forced him to carry supplies and ammunition. When they joined with the other fighters outside of the village, he said, there were about 30 other young men who had also been forced to work as porters.

He said M23 rebels went back to Kishishe on November 29 to fight militiamen who were there. After the fighting, those who had been recruited by force were divided into three groups to bury the dead. "On the first day [November 29] we buried 18 people, including my father and my brother," he said. "[W]e buried them both in the same hole with three other people whom I didn't know. There were people whom I knew the faces of but not their names, and others whom I didn't even know."

The young man said he had seen at least three bodies of Mai-Mai fighters with knives and a machete lying next to them. On November 30, he and others buried 11 men, 4 children, and a woman who had all been shot dead behind the church. "We dug only one hole and buried them all there," he said.

A 30-year-old woman said she and her children had sought refuge at her father's house when they started to hear gunfire early on November 29. Her father was hosting six men and their wives who had fled the nearby fighting from the week before. Later in the morning, M23 rebels came to the house. She said:

They were many and I was very scared. They screamed orders that we open the door. I opened and they said that all men must come out of the house. They all did. Three were shot on the spot, and they left with the other three, but they also killed them just a bit further away.

While Congolese authorities claimed that nearly 300 people were killed in Kishishe, the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Congo (Mission de l'Organisation des Nations Unies pour la stabilisation en Republique democratique du Congo, MONUSCO) said its preliminary investigation found that M23 rebels had killed 131 civilians.

Other M23 Killings and Abuses

Elsewhere in Rutshuru territory, Human Rights Watch confirmed the killings of at least 13 additional civilians by the M23 in October and November.

On October 28, near Rugari, M23 rebels opened fire on a bus and two motorbikes transporting civilians who were fleeing the fighting. A 35-year-old woman said from her hospital bed that she and four of her children were on one motorbike, while her other two children were on another bike. She said her 17-year-old daughter was killed, and her 14-year-old son wounded. At least two other children, ages 5 and 7, were killed in the attack.

Four men, ages 22 to 26, said that M23 rebels forced them to carry supplies and ammunition, do chores at their military camps, and take part in fighting. They said they found themselves with dozens of other young people who had also been forcibly recruited, including some brought in from Rwanda.

"They would whip us and order us to scout for [Congolese military] positions," a 25-year-old said. "We had no shoes. They would beat us and leave us in the rain. I was taken for two months." He escaped at night while on the lookout for government troops.

A 26-year-old said:

After one month, they took us to Chanzu [near the borders of Rwanda and Uganda]. It must have been like a headquarters as this is where they organized the fighting and there were so many fighters: it was an impressive camp. All fighters come through there, new recruits are trained there before they are sent to the front line. A group of about 50 youth arrived from Rwanda [when I was there]; they had come through the forest. After a week of training, they were given weapons and sent to fight.

On November 21, M23 rebels went through Butare where they forced 10 men to transport goods for them while on their way to Bambo, near Kishishe. The bodies of seven of them were found together in Mburamazi, just outside Bambo, the following day. The brother of one victim said, "I went with family members of four other victims to retrieve their bodies. We buried three on the spot." Three more bodies were found three days later, according to local groups.

On November 26, M23 rebels killed at least three civilians when they opened fire near the market of Kisharo while chasing militiamen. Human Rights Watch received credible reports that another three civilians were also killed by the M23.

In a January 27 statement sent to Human Rights Watch, the M23 spokesperson Lawrence Kanyuka rejected Human Rights Watch's findings and denied that the M23 executed civilians or forcibly recruited men to fight. He added that "civilians may be used to transport food for the military," but "in return for payment as agreed."

Coalition of Militias and Collaboration with Congolese Army

The resurgence of the M23 rebel group since late 2021 led several Congolese armed groups to form a coalition to fight "the aggressor." Most of these militias are organized along ethnic lines and some were previously rivals. As Human Rights Watch recently documented, this coalition, called the Patriotic Coalition, was formed in Pinga in May 2022, and fought the M23 either alone or alongside Congolese troops until August.

Most of these militias gradually returned to their respective strongholds in August. But following the M23 offensive in late October and its advance into the Bwito chefferie and Masisi territory in November, the coalition resurfaced. It took on a prominent role on the front line with the apparent backing of some senior Congolese army officers.

The armed groups include the Patriots' Alliance for a Free and Sovereign Congo (Alliance des patriotes pour un Congo libre et souverain, APCLS) led by Janvier Karairi; the Nyatura's Coalition of Movements for Change (Coalition des mouvements pour le changement, CMC/FDP) led by Dominique "Domi" Ndaruhuste; the Nduma Defense of Congo-Renovated (Nduma defense du Congo-Renove, NDC-R) faction under Guidon Mwisa Shimirai; and the Nyatura Abazungu's Alliance of Congolese nationalists for the defense of human rights (Alliance des nationalistes congolais pour la defense des droits humains, ANCDH/AFDP) under Jean-Marie Bonane.

These armed groups have been implicated in serious human rights abuses in their strongholds. Human Rights Watch has previously documented widespread abuses by forces under the command of Guidon, the NDC-R leader, who remains under UN sanctions.

Some of these militias, most notably Nyatura factions and the APCLS, have often fought alongside FDLR fighters.

Several security sources, including a high-ranking army officer, told Human Rights Watch that the Congolese government deployed Gen. Janvier Mayanga Wabishuba and Gen. Hassan Mugabo to oversee military operations in Masisi territory. According to a 2008 UN Group of Experts' report, Mayanga helped organize the Coalition of Congolese Patriotic Resistance (PARECO) in early 2007 and helped channel weapons and ammunition to the armed group.

PARECO has been implicated in raping women and girls, killing civilians who opposed their activities or whom they accused of being collaborators with their enemies, and raiding villages for cattle, goats, and other goods. Mayanga maintained contacts with PARECO as well as the FDLR while the Congolese army fought the M23's first iteration, the CNDP, from 2006 to 2009. Mugabo was one of the founding members of PARECO and its deputy commander.

On December 10, Mayanga and Mugabo met with some of the Patriotic Coalition's leaders at the Hotel Nyarusumba in Kitchanga. Two onlookers confirmed that a second meeting involving Congolese army officers and armed group leaders took place at the Hotel Nyarusumba on December 11. It is unclear whether Colonel Tokolonga participated in these meetings, but he appeared in a December 16 video walking in Kitchanga between Guidon and Deo Bafosse, respectively leader and chief of staff of the NDC-R.

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Human Rights Watch has received credible information that more meetings took place in January, allegedly to coordinate operations against the M23 in Masisi. Three security sources, two fighters from Nyatura Abazungu, and one APCLS fighter said that although militia were fighting alone on the front line, they were at times receiving ammunition and food supplies from Congolese army officers.

"[The situation] is taking on an ethnic dimension in Bwito and Masisi: it's getting worse," a high-ranking military officer said. "Rwanda threw oil on the fire by arming the M23 but using these armed groups now [in response] is adding more oil [to the fire]."

Since October, Nyatura and FDLR factions have been responsible for kidnapping for ransom, sexual violence, and murders in areas under their control, according to the Kivu Security Tracker, which tracks violence in the region.

Most armed groups from the Patriotic Coalition took part in the third round of inter-Congolese talks in Nairobi, Kenya between late November and early December, and agreed to demobilize. The Congolese government's use of these armed groups as proxy forces severely hinders national and regional efforts - so far unsuccessful - to demobilize fighters and militias responsible for abuses, Human Rights Watch said.

On February 5, 2023, Congo's minister of communication and media, and government spokesman, Patrick Muyaya, told Human Rights Watch that "there is no collaboration between the army and the self-defense militias." He said: "This would be counterproductive and could only exacerbate tensions and complicate the situation. However, there may be combat situations where our forces may have the same enemies as the militias'. We have to distinguish between collaboration that can be systematic and isolated events, because these are not things that are tolerated or that can be accepted."

Abuses Against the Tutsi Community

The M23's renewed military operations and abuses have stoked ethnic hatred against the Congolese Tutsi community, whom many Congolese in North Kivu consider supporters of the M23, a largely Tutsi-led armed group. Human Rights Watch documented several instances in which people from an ethnic Tutsi background or simply perceived as Tutsi or Rwandan faced hostility, threats and attacks by ethnic-based militia and the communities they claim to represent.

On November 28, Janvier Karairi, the leader of the APCLS, travelled to Kitchanga. Videos of his arrival show chanting crowds escorting his convoy through the town center. Among the chants heard, people repeated slogans hostile to the Tutsi community, such as "Janvier has come home, Tutsi go away!"

In the ensuing days, groups of hostile residents threatened Tutsi families and, in some cases, pelted their houses with stones. Residents also attacked cows belonging to Tutsi farmers, injuring or slaughtering some.

On November 25, a mob stoned to death a Tutsi man accused of spying for the M23 in Kitchanga. Two witnesses confirmed the presence of the Congolese military, which did not intervene. On January 1, an unidentified gunman fatally shot a Tutsi resident in Kilolirwe-Nturo in Masisi territory, just a few hundred meters from a Congolese army position and a position of a Nyatura faction. On January 4, just outside Kitchanga, APCLS fighters killed two Tutsi men, whom they accused of collaborating with the M23.

A senior military judicial source told Human Rights Watch that in the final months of 2022, government troops had arrested scores of villagers perceived to be Tutsi or Rwandan and accused them of collaborating with M23 rebels. "We fear racial profiling," the source said. "These people are just farmers or herders.... Some are found without any ID and accused of collaborating with the M23." Dozens remained in detention at Goma's central prison facing charges such as unlawful "recruitment" or "infiltration."

Congo's government has repeatedly condemned hateful speech and violence against ethnic communities. However, most offenses targeting ethnic groups in North Kivu have not been investigated nor led to any prosecution.

President Tshisekedi's administration should address historical discrimination, land and customary conflicts, and ensure accountability for past abuses, Human Rights Watch said.
The Ghana National Gas Company (GNGC) has signed a project agreement for the construction of a second Gas Processing Plant(Train 2).

The ceremony was held on Friday at the Gas House Forecourt in Accra. The Gas Processing Plant will have a capacity of 150 million standard cubic feet per day (MMscfd) and can be expanded to 300 MMscfd to process incremental gas from the Jubilee and TEN fields.



The project will create 1,500 direct and indirect jobs for people in the company's operational areas.

Speaking at the ceremony, Board Chairman of GNGC, Kennedy Ohene Agyapong,stated that the project will improve the operations of GNGC and support government's industrialization agenda.



this plan is aimed at among other things strengthening and enhancing the mandate of Ghana gas as the sole state agency tasked to build, own and operate the infrastructure required for the gathering, processing, transporting and marketing of natural gas resource in Ghana.

One critical point under this plant, is the construction of a second gas processing plant GPP Tranin-2 to process the incremental natural gas volume from our upstream partners. The GPP Train-2, is therefore enivgened d to be very critical in meeting Ghanas energy demand and also create a key driver in the government industrialization agenda. He said.



According the board chairman Kennedy, the Ghana Process Plant (GPP) Train-2, project will be constructed in an initial capacity of 150MMscfe of gas per day which will be expanded to 200MMscfe gas per day to process incremental raw gas volume from the greater jubilee and Ten field.

Ghana gas is resolved and poised to play it leading role in harnessing and diversifying the utilizing for the socio-economic development of the country. He added.



Dr. Ben Asante,CEO of GNGC, stated that the project will transform the company into a fully integrated gas services provider and secure a reliable supply of gas and derivatives in Ghana and the West African sub-region.

Dr. Asante reiterated that the project will help achieve the companys vision of supplying gas at a cost-effective and environmentally responsive manner adding Ghana gas intends to expand on their existing infrastructural.



currently, we continue to process on a daily baises about a 120units or Million Mscfd a day. We

re able to generate close to 300MW of power with the gas that comes from the plant. He revealed.



The chief executive officer is of the view that once the second gas processing plant is built, Ghana may not import gas from outside since the GPP Train-2 will be enough to supply gas for the people of Ghana and our sub-region partners. The Deputy Minister of Energy, Hon. Andrew Agyapa Mercer, emphasized that the project will support government's efforts in providing alternative power sources for socio-economic development.



Dr. Hilton John Mitchell, CEO of Jonmoore,spoke on behalf of the joint venture partners, expressing their commitment to delivering the gas processing plant on schedule and cost-effectively.





Source: Peacefmonline.com









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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Anti-corruption campaigner and Senior Vice President of think tank, Imani Centre for Policy and Education (Imani Africa), Kofi Bentil, has bemoaned the wanton dissipation of Ghanas resources through corruption and corruption-related activities.



Mr. Bentil accused a fraction of the populationincluding the political elite and their appointeesof impoverishing the rest of the population by their acts of corruption, which deprive the country of twice what it borrows for developmental purposes.



Mr. Bentil, a longstanding anti-corruption campaigner and activist, made this point on Multimedias Newsfile programme on Saturday, February 4, 2023.



"We steal and waste in this country more than twice what we borrow [in the name of development].



There are fewer than 500,000 people leading this country out of the 30 million. And those 500,000thats the ministries and whatever it is. They steal and waste more than twice what the 30 million of us borrow to survive," he noted.



The New Patriotic Party (NPP) took over the reins of power mainly on a promise to rid the country of corruption. But it has consistently performed poorly on Transparency Internationals Corruption Perception Index (CPI). A score of 100 means the country in question is highly clean or not corrupt, while a score of 0 means the country is highly corrupt or corruption is rampant in the public sector.



The Akufo-Addo-led administration has scored 43, its highest score since 2017. This compares unfavorably with the erstwhile National Democratic Congress (NDC), which recorded 43 as its lowest in 2016.



In 2013, Ghana scored 46.00%; 48.00% in 2014; 47.00% in 2015; 43.00% in 2016; 40.00% in 2017; 41.00% in 2018; 41.00% in 2019; 43.00% in 2020; 43.00% in 2021; and 43.00% in 2022. Corruption remains pervasive in the country.





Source: ghanaweb.com









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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The Ghana Pentecostal and Charismatic Council has presented a communique to the government in Accra on Monday 6th February 2023 following its recent National Conference.



The President of the Council Apostle Eric Nyamekye who led a delegation to present the document to the Minister for Information Kojo Oppong Nkrumah said the church was always ready to play its role in nation-building by sharing feedback and using its platforms to educate and create awareness on national issues.



He appealed to the government to critically look at issues raised in the communique and addressed them in these crucial times, especially in the economy.



The Minister for Information Kojo Oppong Nkrumah in his response said consensus building between government and stakeholders is crucial for the countrys economic progress.



He said such regular engagements are necessary for finding common grounds on issues of concern to citizens.



Mr Nkrumah commended the group for not only concentrating on the church and spiritual matters but also paying attention to contemporary social and economic issues which impact livelihoods.



The need for constant engagement and consensus building between Government and stakeholders within the economy cannot be over-emphasized. Among other things, we need Consensus for economic progress. Different stakeholders have different interests and objectives. And if each stakeholder sticks to an unyielding position we can hardly make progress.



It is important that we engage regularly to find common ground on these things that matter most to us collectively he said.



He assured the council that matters raised in the communique are of keen interest to any administration and his Ministry will do well to ensure that the attention of central government is brought to these matters, some keener attention is paid to them and middle ground found on as many of them as possible.

Source: King Edward Ambrose Washman Addo/peacefmonline.com/ghana









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Alhaji Khuzaima Mohammed Osman, the Executive Director of Tijaniyya Muslim Movement of Ghana, has called on the glal community to build the necessary blocks in tackling religious fundamentalism and extremism.



He said religious fundamentalism is growing in Burkina Faso, Mali, Nigeria, Togo, Niger and almost every nation in West Africa, including Ghana, is not an exception, adding that no country was immune to the challenge.



Alhaji Osman, attending the International Religious Freedom (IRF) Summit in Washington DC, told the Ghana News Agency in a telephone interview that Ghana, as a very peaceful country in West Africa, must work hard to ensure that the entire region was transformed.



He said such development would close the religious fundamentalism gap and empower the youth with skills and keep them busy doing something meaningful for their lives.



Alhaji Osman said: It is dangerous to sit in the midst of turmoil and think that you are peaceful and safe. Ghana must work with other stakeholders to eliminate the infiltration and activities of terrorism.



The frequent terrorist attacks in almost all the neighbouring countries in the West African countries make the sub-region very fragile and the youth prone to being used by these extremist groups to perpetrate violence.



We must keep our communities together by talking to each other to understand and appreciate the level of indulgent, mutual relations, and the benefits of tolerance and peaceful cooperation.



He described the International Religious Freedom Summit as key to sustaining peace and unity in the world and commended the organisers for the yearly programme to sustain peace.



Alhaji Osman, an Eminent Member of the National Peace Council, and the Christian Muslim Forum for Dialogue and Mutual Relations said the Forum had been meeting with Muslim and Christian youth leaders in targeted communities where religious fundamentalism was on the rise in Ghana.



The Forum aims at disarming any form of religious extremism promoting dialogue, tolerance, and mutual understanding and cooperation in Ghana and beyond.





Source: GNA









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Thirty out of a total of 34 sex workers, who appeared before the Tema Magistrates Court, were on Tuesday granted GH5,000 bail each with two sureties for allegedly engaging in prostitution in the Tema Metropolis.



This was after they pleaded not guilty to charges levied against them.



The four, who pleaded guilty, were discharged and cautioned to stay away from prostitution by the court.



The accused, believed to be Ghanaians, Liberians and Nigerians, were rounded up by the Tema Regional Police Command through an intelligent-led operation on Tuesday at Subin Valley, Community 7, Viena City, Community 8, Sabrina Hotel, at Site 17, Community 1, and Datus School Complex Area, also at Community 8.



Detective Corporal Richard Owusu Asante told the court presided over by Ms. Siran Mahama that the accused were arrested soliciting clients in the metropolis.



The accused are to reappear in court on March 15.

Source: ghanaiantimes.com.gh









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NIGERIA: A 46-year-old man identified as Hassan Azeez has been arrested by men of the Ogun state Police Command, for allegedly pouring petrol on his wife and setting her ablaze.



A statement released by SP Abimbola Oyeyemi, spokesperson of the state police command, says the suspect was arrested following a report lodged at Ibogun divisional headquarters by the victim's father, that on October 22, 2022, his daughter, Olayinka Hassan was set ablaze by her husband over a minor disagreement, and that the victim, a mother of one, had been rushed to an hospital in Ibadan.



Upon the report, the DPO Ibogun division, CSP Samuel Oladele quickly mobilized his men and moved to the scene. But before getting there, the suspect had escaped. Since then, the police operatives have been on his trail until 22nd of January when he was eventually apprehended.



On interrogation, the suspect who claimed to have ran away to Benin Republic confessed to the commission of the crime but blamed it on the devil.



According to him, he asked the victim to prepare food for him but instead of the victim to prepare his food, she was busy washing clothes. He stated further that he got annoyed because he was hungry and the annoyance made him to pour petrol on her and set her on fire. When asked whose clothes the woman was washing, he confessed that it was his clothes.'' Oyeyemi said



The suspect has been transferred to the Homicide section of the state Criminal Investigation Department for further investigation and possible prosecution.

Source: LIB









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The Attorney General and Minister for Justice through its Senior State Attorney, Mrs. Nana Adoma Osei in her advice to the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of the Ghana Police Service, has stated that the state cannot prosecute the Chief Executive Officer of Ghana First Company Limited, Mr. Frank Akuley, who was arrested in March, 2021 by Police over alleged construction fraud.



The Senior State Attorney, Mrs. Nana Adoma Osei advised that, A careful and painstaking evaluation of the docket reveals that the accused did not have the intention to defraud. The issues in contention are of a civil nature. The parties are therefore advised to explore the option of ironing their issues out in a civil suit.



From the foregoing, we disrecommend the prosecution of the accused person. Please do not charge him with any offence



The CID charged Mr. Frank Akuley Defrauding by False Pretences: Contrary to Section 131 (1) of the Criminal Offenses Act 1960, according to the Statement of Offence of the charge sheet, and arraigned him before court and later granted bail.



Before the introduction of this project, GFCL has done its financial engineering with its Banker, GCB Bank PLC.



GCB Bank PLC as a matter of assurance wanted to know if the government of Ghana is in support of the project, in other to avoid any financial losses if the project did not go as planned.



This led to the Ministry of Sanitation and Water Resources given GFCL Letter of Support to financial institutions for financial support and assistance after the Ministry had subjected the project or facility to technical and financial reviews and concluded that, its viability and sustainability is not in doubt.



On 29th May, 2017, the Ministry of Sanitation and Water Resources gave two separate letters to GFCL.



One of the letters was an introduction letter, which was signed by the then Minister, Hon. Joseph



Kofi Adda, introducing the company to the various Assemblies and invite them to accord the company their utmost assistance to ensure this laudable project come into fruition in your district.



The other letter titled Letter of Support signed by the same Minister, introducing GFCL to the financial institutions for financial support and assistance after the Ministry had subjected the project or facility to technical and financial reviews and concluded that, its viability and sustainability is not in doubt.



The Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development gave GFCL an introduction letter, introducing GFCL to the various assemblies requesting them to accord GFCL the necessary courtesies towards facilitating the ventureship. This letter was written and signed by Hon. O.B Amoah (MP), Deputy Minister for Local Government and Rural Development on 9th August, 2017.



Ghana First Company Ltd entered into a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) agreement with the various MMDAs to construct ultramodern automated toilet facilities across all Metropolitan, Municipal and Districts Assemblies across the country.



The Public-Private Partnership (PPP) agreement signed between GFCL and the Assemblies was for 30 years.



Sections of the agreement between GFCL and the Assemblies state that;



Section 3 ii. That the Project Partner hereby covenants that the land it shall provide shall be its self-acquired land with title, right and or interest in the said land having vested in the Project Partner. Furthermore the land so provided shall be vested to the project owner who is authorized to use the respective land for the purpose of securing funding only for this project.



In view of the fact that the Land Title Deeds covering the lands provided were not available, the Assemblies signed an undertaking in support of section 3 ii that it is in the process of securing the land title document on the lands provided by the assembly and that the registered documents covering all the lands provided by the Assembly shall be submitted to Ghana First Company Limited within 4 (four) calendar months for onward delivery to your Bankers.



Since 9th July, 2017, when this undertaken was made, the said Land Title Documents have not been submitted by any of the Assemblies.



Due to the failure of the Assemblies to submit these land titled documents have resulted to the stall of the projects.



Section 3 iii That the project partner hereby covenants further that in the event it has no self-acquired land then it shall facilitate and ensure the acquisition of a third partys land.



Section 3 iv that the project partner hereby further covenants that whether the land for the project is its self acquired land or a land belonging to a third party it shall bear the sole responsibility of procuring the said land for the project free from all encumbrances, example being that it shall be free from litigation whatsoever or any adverse claim or defect in its usage for the project under any circumstance. In this instance conditions in clause 3ii supra also apply.



In view of section 3 iii and iv, some MMDAs are claiming that, the lands they provided for the construction of the toilet facilities belong to the chiefs and for that matter they cannot provide the Land Title Documents for the lands provided, even though they have signed the agreement and supported it with letter of undertaking indicating that they are in the process of securing the land titles and promised to deliver these land titles within Four (4) calendar months for onward delivery to your bankers.



From the companys documents obtained by this paper indicates that, they are in the view that, if this is what some of the MMDAs are saying, then it means that they have impersonated by signing the agreement and the undertaking by themselves without indicating the third party.



Section 3 v That the Project Partner shall ensure that the Assembly itself, agents, privies, assigns, servants, workmen whomsoever or otherwise howsoever during the tenure of any government shall not dispossess the Project Owner from its ownership and that no person at law shall take over the property comprised in the project herein either permanent or temporarily and that the project is indemnified against all government interferences. All related legal cost arising out of government interferences shall be borne by the Assembly.



In view of this section, some of the assemblies have teamed up and collaborated with some contractors to complete the projects with their own specification, open and operate the same Clean Ghana Sanitation PPP Turn Key projects of Ghana First Company Limited on the same Lands which has been vested in Ghana First Company Limited (Project Owner) without the companys consent and approval.



Section 3 xi. That the Project Partner shall at all time during the tenancy of this agreement ensure that there is at all times security to protect the facility from any form of destruction whilst the Project Owner shall be responsible for the maintenance and uninterrupted operation of the facility.



Ghana First Company Ltd then entered into agreement with all the contractors who were to build the toilet facilities. According to the agreement signed between Ghana First and the contractors,



Clause 5(iv) states that, that the contractor agrees that the Contract is a TURN KEY PROJECT



and that the Contractor shall be paid only upon full completion and hand over of the entire project.



Clause 39.1 of the agreement between GFCL and the Contractors states that  Without prejudice to Clause 5 v of the contract agreement, the Employer reserves the right to pay part of the total sum amounting to 60% of the quantum sum after collaborative site visit and inspection is done by the employer, the bankers and the contractor.



The employer therefore, without any doubt reserves the right to uphold this said payment when defects are detected after the collaborative site visit and inspection. Payment will therefore be done after these defects are remedied by the contractor.



This clause is not a mandatory clause, but its the employer who has this right but not the contractors. The contractors were trying to enforce this clause but it was not their right.



Some contractors who claimed they were hard up and could not continue the work, appeal to Ghana First for financial assistance to enable them complete the work. Since Ghana First Company Ltd dont want any abundant projects, gave some of the contractors financial assistance to a tune of over GHC 5.5 MILLION even though it was not part of the agreement.



From our sources, not a single contractor has handed over a completed project to GFCL.



On August 22, 2019, GFCL made a publication in the Daily Guide newspaper challenging contractors working for the company on the issue of non-payment of 60% of work done.



Portion of the publication reads the management of the company hereby challenges any contractor working for the company who claims to have completed 60% of the required specifications and has a certificate to that effect, signed by the CEO of the company, to submit its certificate to the Head Office of the company for inspection, verification and due payment within five (5) working days from the date of release of the document. Though the project is a turnkey project as stated in clause 5 (v) on page 5 of the contract agreement, the company respects what is stipulated in clause 39 (1) on page 17 of the same document, that the employer reserves the right to pay 60% of work done in accordance with the required specifications.



From our reliable source, no contractors was able to present a certificate showing 60% of work done as the publication demanded.



According to our information, building up to the scam and fraud issues alleged against Ghana First Company and its CEO, the aggrieved contractors started mounting spirited Radio and TV programs interviews calling on the government to investigate and conduct forensic audit of GFCL operations because the company is a scam, to the extent of threatening and demonstrating against the company and the government.



Somewhere in March 2019, some of the contractors wrote to Ghana First Companys Partner in Germany (Thermodul Systems GmbH), informing them that Ghana First Company Ltd is using the MOU signed to extract various monies from many Ghanaian Contractors and for that matter the company and its CEO are scammers so they should withdraw from the agreement.



The MOU signed between GFCL and Thermodul System was that, Thermodul will invest US$ 300,000,000 into the projects.



On the 2nd of April, 2019, GFCL received a letter from Thermodul Systems signed by its CEO, Ms. Lidia Mathe, terminating the MOU.



In response to this said letter, signed by its company Lawyer, Charles Amoah ESQ, GFCL vehemently refuted the allegation and threating to seek full force of the law to redress or redeem its image.



On May 1st, 2019, Thermodul System wrote back to Ghana First Company Ltd, signed by its CEO, Ms. Lidia Mathe, seeking amicable resolution and retraction of their allegation.



On 3rd May, 2019, Ghana First Company Ltd responded to their Amicable Resolution and Retraction letter accepting their apology. This letter was signed by the CEO, Mr. Frank Akuley.



From the above narration, its evidently clear that, both the assemblies and the aggrieved contractors have contributed to the delayed of the Projects.



This paper has cited a board meeting of Ghana First Company Ltd which was held in December, 2022. The Board of Directors and Shareholders of Ghana First Company Ltd resolved among other things that:



The contract between GFCL and the contractors has expired and any contractor who wants to continue to work with GFCL should come and follow the required process to renew its contract with GFCL with ultimatum up to the end of February, 2023.



Contractors who terminated their contract with GFCL and wish to continue to work with GFCL should come and follow the due process to revoke their terminated contract with ultimatum up to the end of February, 2023.



The CEO has been directed by the board and the shareholders to take legal action against the assemblies who have teamed up with some contractors to dispose the project owner from its ownership.



The CEO has been directed by the board and the shareholders to take criminal action against contractors who have completed the projects with their own specifications, open and operate the project awarded to them as TURNKEY Project by Ghana First Company Ltd and signed an agreement to that effect, without the companys consent and approval.



For example, if a government award a Turnkey Project to any contractor working for the government and you the contractor has not completed and hand over the entire project to the government, you the contractor cannot go ahead and complete and run it as your own being road, schools, hospital or any infrastructure projects. The law that does not allow any contractor to own a government projects, is the same law that is governing the activities of any project owner. The law allows the contractor to demand for his money after completion of the project but does not allow the contractors to own the project whether you have completed the project or not.



Any contractor who does so will be liable for criminal prosecution.



From a reliable source within the company, the CEO feels reluctant and delaying the process to take legal action against the government (Assemblies).



With this, it will be in the best interest of the government to sit down with the company to find a lasting solution to this problem to avoid any legal issue.



This paper can confidently say that, there will be a looming judgement debt if the company pursue this issue in the court of law.











Source: Peacefmonline.com









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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Member of Parliament for North Tongu, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa insists that the work he is doing by way of pushing for accountability and transparency in the construction of the National Cathedral is not an agenda against the church.



The Ranking Member on Parliaments Foreign Affairs Committee, in a Citi TV interview (December 2022), emphasized the importance of religion (Christianity) on his past and present.



Ablakwa has over the last few months published instances of corporate governance and alleged financial infractions on the part of government and trustees in the building of the Cathedral.



The dogged nature of his advocacy has led people in some quarters to question his real motives, but he insists: This is not an agenda against the church, I am not seeking to bring down a religion that I will be nobody without.



I have said time without number that where would I be without Christianity? Belief in the saving power, the salvation grace of Jesus, the Christ, he stressed.



He recounted how former Speaker of Parliament, Prof Oquaye, had mentored him through his Sunday school days as well as his role in religious groupings during his Senior High School days.



I am not a pagan, I am not anti-Christ or whatever they say, he added.



Ablakwa goes after secretary to Board of Trustees of National Cathedral



The Member of Parliament has since January 2023 disclosed statutory documentation purporting to prove that Rev. Victor Kusi Boateng, is operating under the pseudonym Kwabena Adu Gyamfi for criminal purposes.



The MP has so far released a number of passports, drivers license, Tax Identification Number data and details of company registration that Kusi Boateng (Adu Gyamfi) has used in the past and some he continues to use.



In the latest installment of his posts, Ablakwa said a statement by the NIA on the Ghana Card status of Kwabena Adu Gyamfi confirmed that in their records, Victor Kusi Boateng did not exist, a claim he made last week.



He has justified his publications of Kusi Boatengs documents with the view that the clergyman was using two names because he was engaging in criminal activities with one of the identities (i.e. Kwabena Adu Gyamfi.)



Ablakwa has stood by an accusation that the pastors company (JNS Talent Center) was paid an unmerited sum from the National Cathedral kitty, even though the secretariat has explained that the GHC2.6 million paid to Rev Kusi Boateng was a loan repayment.



According to Ablakwa, the Board of Trustees never discussed acquiring a loan facility, and at the time the loan was acquired, the Cathedral had about $6 million in its bank accounts.







Source: ghanaweb.com









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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Reverend Kofi Antwi Boasiako, Santasi District Pastor, Church of Pentecost, has reminded Ghanaians to tread cautiously as the elections draw closer.



He said the nation needs peace and unity to bring progress, development, and total transformation to its people hence politicians especially should not see dwell on violence because of votes.



As we go about our election campaign, we should not see our political opponents as enemies and be enraged by trivialities, which could disturb the peace of the land, he admonished.



Rev. Antwi Boasiako gave the advice in an interview with the Ghana News Agency at a three-day prayer conference held at Adum in Kumasi.



The retreat, on the theme: Break out and Take Charge  (Micah 2:13/Genesis 38:29-30) was organised by the Triumphant Business Prayer Conference (TBPC), a non-denominational Christian organisation.



It primarily aimed at bringing God into the businesses of Christians, to make a positive impact.



Rev. Antwi Boasiako, also the Chaplain of the TBPC, said Christian businessmen and women needed to disentangle themselves from any hindrance to their careers, to ensure elevation and progress.



It is our hope that participants would witness practical testimonies at the end of the retreat, to the glory of God.





Source: GNA









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A Kumasi-based Prophet who is famously credited with predicting election results accurately has once again prophesied victory for the ruling NPP in the 2024 elections with the Vice President, Dr. Mahamadu Bawumia as its flagbearer.



Prophet Paul Kusi Appiah of the Charismatic Temple International Ministry located at Asenua says the ruling party will secure 50.9% in the Presidential elections and 153 seats come December 7, 2024.



"The NPP will surely emerge victorious in the 2024 elections; Dr Bawumia will be their flagbearer and he will win 13 regions out of 16 whilst the NPP will secure 153 seats to lead Parliament " Prophet Kusi Appiah stated.



"Dr Bawumia will secure 64% of the votes in the NPP Presidential primaries by winning 13 out of the 16 regions" He predicted



According to him, the current Ashanti Regional Chairman of the NPP, Chairman Wontumi holds the key to the victory of the NPP, adding "Chairman Wontumi will also take the mantle from Mr. Stephen Ntim who will only serve one term as National Chairman of the NPP "



The famous Prophet, who has given similar prophecies in the past, further stated that the NPP will win 44 seats in the Ashanti Region with 74% percent in the Presidential elections.



Meanwhile, the Man of God has asked all Ghanaians to pray for peace and unity in the country

Source: Peacefmonline.com









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The deputy Energy Minister, Andrew Egyapa Mercer believes the governments Gold-for-oil policy will alleviate the hike in fuel prices.



He explained that Ghanas negotiation at the international level will determine the fuel prices in the country.



Petroleum prices have a benchmark been sold for, but then there is a premium also for a country dealing with their natural commodities. So the level you negotiate your premium is how much you are able to save and pass on to your consumers, he explained on NEAT FMs morning show, 'Ghana Montie'.



He also cleared earlier claims that the government paid for the first consignment of oil brought into Ghana under the Gold-for-Oil policy.







Source: King Edward Ambrose Washman Addo/peacefmonline.com/ghana









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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Stakeholders of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) in the Western North are fuming with rage over what they say is an attempt by former Trade Minister, Alan Kyerematen to take them for granted as the NPP gears up for its flagbearership contest.



Alan resigned from government as Trade Minister to pursue his flagbearership dream and over the weekend, his campaign took him to the Western North to solicit for votes of delegates.



However, his rare visit to the Western North has incensed delegates who have accused Mr. Alan Kyerematen of neglecting that part of the country for so long and only finding his way there now because he wants their votes.



A number of executives and delegates who attended the meeting with Alan on Saturday were heard murmuring in disappointment and anger after the meeting.



"Alan has neglected us all these years, and he shows up now as if he really cares about us. Why now? Clearly it is because he wants our votes but, trust me, we are not stupid", a constituency executive said.



"I have been an active member of the NPP for many years, both under the old Western Region and the new Western North Region and I can say for a fact that I don't remember any level of serious interaction and support Alan has had with us and members of the party in the region as a senior member of government. The relationship is is non existent, but what are we seeing today? He is here with his team to solicit our support to lead our party. It doesn't work like that", another executive fumed.



The delegates added that, in the NPP, all persons who have succeeded in winning the delegates' hearts to lead the party as flagbearers in the past; from former President John Agyekum Kufuor to President Nana Akufo-Addo, maintained strong relationships with party members throughout the country and also worked for the party prior to their election.



"This is the difference between Alan Kyerematen and Dr. Bawumia. While Alan has not been visible here at all all these years, Dr. Bawumia frequents here to attend events both by the party and joins us for other social events of party members", the executives added.



"Also Dr. Bawumia spent many days with us here working and campaigning for the party and he always comes around. So if we see Dr. Bawumia here today and he says we should support him, it won't be because of votes that he is here. We have already built the relationship and it will be the right time to back him and support him."



Meanwhile, both NPP executives and delegates in the Western North have also expressed disappointment and anger over Alan's campaign message which they say is aimed at attacking the NPP government.



Several media have reported how the former Trade Minister has been telling delegates how bad the economy has been under the Akufo-Addo government and how it would be difficult for the NPP to even craft a campaign message for the 2024 elections.



The delegates are angry that Mr. Alan Kyerematen, having been part of the Akufo-Addo government until last month, is subtly attacking the government because of his flagbearership ambition.



"I t is quiet unfortunate that he is seeking to lead the NPP, yet he finds it convenient to attack the NPP government because he wants to take himself out for his presidential ambition."



"The question we delegates have been asking ourselves is that if you are attacking the NPP Government this way, which government's record will you use to campaign as you seek to lead the party?"

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 New Patriotic Partys quest to Break the 8 is on course as a new digital program has been introduced to canvas votes for the Elephant party.



Dubbed Breaking the 8 series with women was officially launched to digitally rope in women to break the 8.



Speaking at the event, the Deputy National womens organizer of the NPP, Mimi Duah said that the programme will be live on all party official social media handles to propagate the good works of the Nana Addo-led government =.



For each programme, we will be inviting on set prominent women and heads of state institutions to share with us the successful achievements of the NPP government, especially those that concern women and an in-depth explanation of what Ghanaian women must remember before voting in 2024. She said in her speech



Read the full speech below





Good evening viewers,



I bring you warm greetings from the New Patriotic Party- NPP National Womens wing Led by Obaatanpa Kate Gyamfua our unprecedented National Womens organizer of NPP.



To our able Ghanaian women within and beyond the nation, Both aged and young, and to the great women of our noble New Patriotic Party- NPP, My name is MIMI DUAH, the Deputy National womens organizer. I deem it an honour to be your host throughout the various sessions of this phenomenal platform that is geared towards propagating the good works of our government to Ghanaians.



We are all aware that the NPP government has done tremendously well when it comes to the welfare of Women, Youth and Children in the country. Therefore, under the auspices of the NATIONAL WOMENS WING, we are duly launching, today the BREAKING THE EIGHT SERIES WITH WOMEN", dubbed; Digitally Roping In Women To Break The 8.



This program will be live every Sunday at 5 pm, concurrently on all official social media platforms of the NPP, the leadership of the partys National Womens Wing and possibly all other National officers.



For each programme, we will be inviting on set prominent women and heads of state institutions to share with us the successful achievements of the NPP government, especially those that concern women and an in-depth explanation of what Ghanaian women must remember before voting in 2024.



Undoubtedly It is only the NPP that can and will build a sustainable future for the women and children of Ghana.



Did you know?



Since the revamping of our Railway sector, under the NPP Government led by our able president his Excellency Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, the Eastern line is currently used to conveniently transport passengers and farm produce by our female traders to our various markets within the country.



This covers a distance of 300km from Accra to Kumasi with a branch line from Accra- Tema, a 20km Accra- Tema line and a 40km Accra- Nsawam and other lines within and across the country.



This and many more should be well communicated and explained to Ghanaians, especially women on the positive impact our government is making to better our lives.

Thus there is no alternative to this government and if there is any at all, it is scary to the growth of Ghana.



On this note, this project is duly launched in the name of the father, the son & the Holy Spirit.



Thank you!



..Signed.



KATE GYAMFUA-NPP NATIONAL WOMEN ORGANIZER

SAFIA MOHAMMED- DEPUTY NATIONAL WOMEN ORGANIZER

MIMI DUAH- DEPUTY NATIONAL WOMEN ORGANIZER





#BreakingThe8Series

#TheWomensInvolvement

#NppNationalWomensWing

#GovtsUnsungAchievements

#Eeeeshi Rado! Rado!! Rado!!!

Source: Peacefmonline.com









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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A Presidential Candidate of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Joe Ghartey has reiterated his desire and readiness to lead the New Patriotic Party (NPP) in the 2024 Presidential race to clinch victory for the party.



The Former Minister for Railways Development and Member of Parliament (MP) for Essikado-Ketan, told Ghana News Agency (GNA) in an interview that he brings on board new and revised human-centered policies.



He expressed confidence that his underground campaign was said to be in high spirits as the party gears up to elect a leader for the 2024 presidential election.



Joe Ghartey said he was fast gaining popularity in all 16 Regions of Ghana with special reference to the Volta and Oti Regions.



The aspirant said even though he hailed from the Western and Central Regions, his popularity in the Oti and Volta Regions was extraordinary.



Joe Ghartey revealed that his relationship with the original Volta Region, from which the Oti Region was carved, began before his political career, an assertion which was confirmed by Divisional Chief of Gbi-Bla of Honoe, Torgbui Ayim IV.



Joe Ghartey is a Ghanaian lawyer, academician, and politician.



He is a former Attorney-General of Ghana between 2006 and 2009, the Second Deputy Speaker of Parliament from 2013 to 2017 and the Railways and Development Minister from 2017 to 2021.



He is an indigene of Shama in the Western Region.





Source: GNA









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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Private legal practitioner, Martin Kpebu says he is preparing his documents to drag Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta to court.



According to him, the Minister has used his office to enrich himself over the years and must refund the money to the state.



The Finance Ministry is not his [Ofori-Attas] property. All the money he has accumulated in office, we will arrest him to account for that, he said in an interview with NEAT FMs morning show, 'Ghana Montie'.



Martin Kpebu also claimed Mr. Ofori-Atta has been the worst Finance Minister ever.





Source: King Edward Ambrose Washman Addo/peacefmonline.com/ghana









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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English film actor and globe award winner, Idris Elba OBE, has expressed his readiness to construct a modern film studio in Ghana.



The British actor made this known when on Friday, February 3, 2023, paid a courtesy call on the President, Nana Akufo-Addo at the Jubilee House.



They discussed among other things the importance of film to the land of the birth of his mother, Ghana.



He shared a post on his Facebook page from President Akufo-Addo On Friday, 3rd February 2023, I received English actor, Idris Elba OBE, to Jubilee House, the seat of the nations presidency, as part of efforts to promote the Beyond the Return initiative. The time has come to engage Africans in the diaspora and all persons of African descent more positively in areas such as trade and investment co-operation, and skills and knowledge development.



Once described as the sexiest man alive, Idris Elba also discussed plans to build a film studio across Africa and also the need for a comprehensive plan to propel Ghana into the forefront as far as movie-making was concerned.



Prior to visiting Ghana, the actor visited Tanzania where he held talks with President Samia Suluhu Hassan.



Since coming to power, President Akufo-Addo has embarked on a series of reforms in foreign policy, business, trade and investment.



President Akufo-Addo also welcomed Christian Lindner, German Minister for Finance, to Jubilee House where discussions centered on strengthening the ties of friendship and co-operation between the two countries.



Immediately afterwards, a delegation from the Ga Traditional Council was also at the seat of the presidency to inform him about the final funeral rites that have been put in place for the late Queenmother of the Ga State.

Source: Eugene Osafo-Nkansah/Peacefmonline.com









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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Idris Elba is a world class movie star, a British national but his ancestry is traced to Sierra Leone and Ghana.

Full name Idrissa Akuna Elba, he was born on September 6, 1972 in London to Winston Elba, a Sierra Leonean man, and Eve Elba, his Ghanaian mother.



His parents were married in Sierra Leone and later moved to London.



Elba was raised in London and shortened his first name to "Idris" at school, where he first became involved in acting.



He is credited with a number of world class movies including the Beast of No Nation, which was filmed partly in Ghana and marked the beginning of Ghana's Abraham Atta's rise to stardom.



Elba has visited Ghana a number of times and last week, he was in town, called on President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo and was also at the Manhyia Palace in Kumasi on Sunday to pay homage to the occupant of the Golden Stool, the Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II.



It is his cultural visit to Manhyia that has generated attention.



Sunday was the first Akwasidae of the year 2023, a 40 day traditional occasion observed every six weeks in Asanteman.



The first Akwasidae in every year is normally a big occasion.



Idris Elba did not want to be left out while he was in Ghana and therefore dawned a beautiful kente cloth and headed to the Manhyia Palace in Kumasi for the occasion.



He exhibited his appreciation of tradition, custom and culture as he wore the beautiful kente cloth and walked majestically.



When it was his turn to exchange that golden handshake with the Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, Elba stood a bit away from the King, bowed, pulled his cloth aside to show chest [the significance of that move is to show to the King and the king guards that he had no hidden weapon to harm the King] and extended his hand to meet that of the King.



During Akwasidae or any other occasion, when the King sits in state, it is not every person who gets the opportunity to extend the hand to meet his palm, some just get closer bow and move ahead, others stand afar, bow and move ahead.



It is only special guests, close associates and chiefs who gets the opportunity to touch the King's palms.



'Atta Poku' on show



In many pictures of the actor at the Manhyia Palace which have been shared on social media, one of the lead protocol officers of the Asantehene, Nana Poku is seen "foreskinning" the actor according to social media users on how they viewed the event.



Trust Atta Poku, he is always there and makes sure he is noticed and captured by the cameras, whenever there is a big occasion at the Manhyia Palace.



He is the twin son of the late Nana Akwasi Agyemang, a Kumasi royal and onetime Mayor of the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly (KMA).



Atta Poku is currently the Urban Roads Director and doubles that activity up with his protocol duties at the Manhyia Palace.



In this Idris Elba show, he is all over the man and social media users could not help but to express it in their comments.

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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Canadian fashion mogul Peter Nygard is shown in this courtroom sketch in Toronto on Wednesday, Jan. 19, 2022. The Crown says it wants Nygard to make a decision on his pending sex assault charges in Montreal during a hearing in just over two months. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Alexandra Newbould
Ontarios Chief Medical Officer Dr. Kieran Moore attends a press briefing at the Queens Park Legislature, in Toronto, on Monday, November 14, 2022. Introducing a mask mandate when respiratory viruses surged in the fall may not have eased the crush on pediatric hospitals, a Public Health Ontario science brief obtained by The Canadian Press concludes. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris Young
The Rwanda Development Board (RDB) in collaboration with the High Commission of Rwanda to India, from February 2 to 4, participated in the Outbound Travel Market (OTM), a travel exhibition that took place in Mumbai, India, convening more than 1,250 exhibitors from all over the world.

OTM-Mumbai is hailed to be the first choice to showcase destinations and products in India and has the privilege and reputation of hosting the best attendance in the travel and tourism industry.

The three-day travel trade show brought countries, new destinations, leading Indian states, hotels, cruises, travel technology companies, and many more under one roof. It served as an opportunity for the attendants to have an all-in-one chance to see many products varied in nature.

The Rwandan team is comprised of a number of travel and tour companies including International Travel Agency, G-Step Tours, New Dawn Associates, Chamber of Tourism, RwandAir, and Simba Voyage.

They showcased their best products in the travel and tour industry, as they sought to tap into the abundant outbound travel market of India as a whole, as well as that of Mumbai Metropolis in particular.

Team Rwanda also had the opportunity to organise a travel and tour evening where they branded VISIT RWANDA through B2B meetings and presentations by Rwanda Development Board and RwandAir.

"The Indian audience turned up in big numbers. Travel tour companies were eager to know much about the touristic sector in Rwanda," read a statement from the Rwanda High Commission in India.

Jacqueline Mukangira, the representative of the High Commission of Rwanda in India, expressed gratitude to OTM-2023 organisers for having extended their invitation to Rwanda and called upon Indians to visit Rwanda and see the beauty of the land of a thousand hills.

Linda Mutesi, Head of Tourism Marketing at RDB, presented to the participants the travel and tourism environment of Rwanda, as she invited the Indian outbound travellers to visit Rwanda and explore the green and luxurious tour sites, and the rich wildlife of the country.

Rwanda has been associated with OTM-Mumbai since 2016 and has been participating in past exhibitions.

Rwanda and India enjoy excellent bilateral relations, and trade and business are projected to boost and grow higher.

RwandAir has set its footprint in Mumbai with a direct flight serving both cities three times a week.
Activists urge that children living with combined multiple disabilities need special attention in education including having schools that can cater for their academic needs. Activists also say that lack of such schools remains a challenge despite several efforts in place to foster inclusive education for all children in Rwandan schools.

READ ALSO: Special needs education: Teachers weigh in on challenges

Activists for the rights of people with disabilities said that education for those with deaf-blindness requires the use of tactile sign language, calling for urgent action to respond to their academic needs, through establishment of schools meant for such special needs children.

Tactile signing is a common means of one way of communicating in sign language that also involves touch, used by people with deaf-blindness. It is also called hands-on signing or 'tracking.

Beth Mukarwego, Chairperson of Rwanda Union of the Blind (RUB) said that children with multiple disabilities "deaf-blind" struggle to get educational services due to the lack of special schools for them.

Mukarwego made the remarks recently a parliamentary session that was intended to increase citizen participation in parliamentary activities.

"In recent research we conducted, it was realised that many children with multiple disabilities "deaf-blind" do not attend schools, there are still no special schools for them" said Mukarwego, who has visual impairment.

However, the special education needs for children with multiple disabilities have not yet been met, Mukarwego said, indicating that as for the tactile sign language that would contribute to achieving that, "the number of students must be equal to the number of students as they communicate by print on palms".

Print on the Palm involves the person who is communicating a message "writing" block letters on the palm of the receiver using the index finger as if it is a pen.

The Executive Director of Rwanda Organization of Persons with Deaf Blindness (ROPDB), Joseph Musabyimana, said that in three districts where the organization carried out a study, it was shown that children with multiple disabilities "deaf-blind" are academically excluded.

"According to the 2018 study we conducted in three districts on 167 people, 60 per cent among them were school-age children who were not enrolled in schools, 40 per cent were adults with no educational background. This shows the gap of education in deaf-blind individuals," he said.

Musabyimana added that deaf-blind people want to be recognised as individuals having a distinct disability category as one of the steps to address their social problems.

Meanwhile, deaf-blind was not specified in classified categories under the Ministerial Order of 2009 determining the modalities of classifying persons with disabilities into basic categories based on the degree of disability.

Ministry of Education plans to address this issue

According to the Ministry of Education, there is a special needs and inclusive education policy that guides the ministry on how to deal with learners with special education needs, from identification of disabilities and what is needed to deliver quality education for them. Those requirements, it indicated, include teachers training, infrastructure, teaching and learning materials.

ALSO READ: Making school inclusive for children living with disabilities

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Rose Baguma Director General of Policy Analysis in the Ministry of Education said the ministry was also working with the National Commission for People with Disabilities (NCPD) to get real numbers of people with disabilities and their corresponding type of disability, which would help the education sector to design appropriate strategy and support for the school going category.

"We will have real numbers of children with disability and the type of disability, from that information Ministry of Education will take appropriate strategies to ensure that they learn, a special decision to have a school for multiple disabilities or accommodate them to the existing special schools or inclusive schools will be taken thereafter" she said.

So far, the Rwanda Organization of Persons with Deaf Blindness (ROPDB) said, it has identified 350 deafblind persons.
Aiken, SC (29801)

Today

A shower or two around the area early, then partly cloudy overnight. Low near 55F. SW winds at 10 to 15 mph, decreasing to less than 5 mph. Chance of rain 30%..

Tonight

A shower or two around the area early, then partly cloudy overnight. Low near 55F. SW winds at 10 to 15 mph, decreasing to less than 5 mph. Chance of rain 30%.
Moncks Corner, SC (29461)

Today

Becoming partly cloudy after some evening rain. Low around 60F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 80%..

Tonight

Becoming partly cloudy after some evening rain. Low around 60F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 80%.
Charleston-based musical group Ranky Tanky has done it again.

The local band, starring Quiana Parler on vocals, Charlton Singleton on trumpet and vocals, Clay Ross on guitar and vocals, Quentin Baxter on drums and Kevin Hamilton on bass, has won a second Grammy Award.

Ranky Tanky first won a Grammy for Regional Roots Music Album in 2020 for "Good Time," the group's sophomore album that featured everything from revamped Gullah and gospel field recordings and lullabies to jazz and soul originals.

Parler told The Post and Courier after the album was released that just like the unique music of New Orleans, Jamaica and Cameroon, Charleston has a sound that needed to be shared.

"Why not do the sound of the Lowcountry in South Carolina?" Parler said. "Its a very unique sound and an important community to American culture, so we thought, 'Why not? Lets give it a shot.' "

The ambassadors of Gullah culture have won a Grammy again in the same category this year for their latest album, a live record: "Live at the 2022 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival."

The album consists of 13 live tracks, several of which were featured on "Good Time." It won against four other nominees: "Halau Hula Keali'i o Nalani (Live at the Getty Center)" by Halau Hula Keali'i o Nalani; "Natalie Noelani" by Natali Ai Kamauu; "Lucky Man" by Nathan & The Zydeco Cha-Chas; and "Full Circle" by Sean Ardoin & Kreole Rock and Soul featuring The Golden Band From Tigerland.

The band attended the 65th annual Grammy Awards in Los Angeles on Feb. 5. Baxter wore a sweetgrass basket hat as a Lowcountry ode while holding the award on stage.

"Live performance is at the heart of what we do as Ranky Tanky, and to be recognized for our inaugural set on the historic New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival stage is a high honor," Singleton said during the band's acceptance speech.

"Once again, it is an honor to be able to stand on the shoulders of our Gullah ancestry and continue to bring this music and message to the world."

Ranky Tanky was formed in 2016 in Charleston. The band name means, roughly, "work it" or "get funky." The Gullah language, rhythms and musical practice are integral pieces of the group's music, and the original songs, as well as traditional call-and-response tunes, often feature nature elements specific to the South Carolina coast.

In the group's original song "Let Me Be," which closes out the Grammy Award-winning live album, Parler sings: "Let me be like a Simmon tree / Grounded by the earth / Let me be like a cat-paw breeze / Whispered into birth."

She's referencing the tree native to the Eastern Seaboard and a light wind that might stir a ripple in the water.

"We know what our goal is: to keep the Gullah culture alive not only locally but internationally," Parler told The Post and Courier back after "Good Time" was released.

This latest Grammy Award is certainly achieving that goal.
COLUMBIA  Three officers at the Alvin S. Glenn Detention Center were arrested on misconduct charges, some accused of accepting bribes and smuggling in contraband, adding to the mounting troubles at the Richland County jail as it faces pressure for mass improvements.

In the span of two weeks, in addition to the three jail officer arrests, the Richland County Sheriff's Department investigated and charged five inmates in the death of an inmate, whose beating and death went unnoticed by corrections officers for nearly a day, Sheriff Leon Lott announced Feb. 3. A search by deputies following the incident found dozens of contraband items, including 17 handmade knives, or "shanks," the sheriff said.

The investigations into claims of jail officer misconduct leading to the three arrests were separate cases. Two were prompted after reports directly from the jail, and another after an anonymous tip. The three officers were initially booked at the detention center where they had worked, but have since been released.

The first arrest was on Jan. 25. The officer, 31-year-old Casey Weirich, is accused of accepting bribes from inmates to alert them about cell searches in exchange for narcotics.

A week later, on Feb. 1, Nakia Smith was arrested on charges of possessing contraband in a county jail and misconduct in office for allegedly smuggling a cellphone and other contraband into the jail, then giving the items to inmates.

A third officer, 30-year-old Lynntesha Barr, was arrested two days later for allegedly distributing contraband inside the jail over the span of eight months, receiving more than $15,000 from inmates. Surveillance camera footage shows Barr handing an item to an inmate, according to the Sheriff's Department.

The Sheriff's Department worked with detention center officials as well as the Midlands Gang Task Force to investigate the cases.

Whereas the sheriff administers the jail in many South Carolina counties, in Richland the county government oversees the jail, but potential crimes at the jail are investigated by the Sheriff's Department.
ANDREWS  The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced Feb. 1 it's granted the S.C. Conservation Bank and its partners $1 million to add 2,180 acres of land to Wee Tee State Forest in Georgetown and Williamsburg counties.

The grant, awarded under the National Coastal Wetlands Conservation Grant Program, comes just over a month after the Open Space Institute announced it had purchased the approximately 2,200-acre RMS-Wadmacon tract along the Santee River.

The tract, described by the institute as featuring "miles of riverfront flanked by diverse and intact bottomland hardwood forests," is located in southwestern Georgetown County.

"Conservation of the property supports habitats utilized by at least 116 species of conservation concern in the South Carolina State Wildlife Action Plan, including waterfowl, wading birds, bats, songbirds, amphibians, reptiles, fish, crayfish and mussels," the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said.

Forest Management Chief Russell Hubright of the S.C. Forestry Commission said the animal life in the area includes game such as black bear and wild turkey, forest-inhabiting birds such as the Kentucky Warbler and rare and declining amphibians and reptiles such as the spotted turtle. Gulf or Atlantic sturgeon and striped bass swim in the water.

The $1 million granted for the Wee Tee State Forest expansion is a fraction of $19 million in grants the FWS program awarded to protect coastal wetlands and nearby uplands areas in eight states including Washington, Alaska and Texas. The 21 projects receiving grants will "protect, restore or enhance" almost 14,000 acres, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said.

Wee Tee State Forest covers about 16,000 acres in southern Williamsburg and southwestern Georgetown counties along the northern banks of the Santee River. The term "bottomland" within its land type, bottomland hardwood forest, refers to the land's low-lying nature that makes it susceptible to periodic flooding.

Hubright said the commission plans to acquire RMS-Wadmacon from the Open Space Institute, similarly to its recent acquisition of the Great Santee Swamp and Dawhoo Lake/Wadmacon Creek tracts. The latter two tracts added 3,857 acres to Wee Tee State Forest  nearly a quarter of its total acreage.

Hubright said that little will change for the new land on the ground aside from signage to denote its place in the state's Wildlife Management Area program, maintained by the the S.C. Department of Natural Resources. Any opening of roads in the area will have to be looked at "pretty hard," he said, because doing so would require evaluation that the roads are passable.

"We're sharing these conservation goals with (our partners), of course, so it's a win-win, maybe a triple win because all these lands will go into the Wildlife Management Area program run by DNR that the Wee Tee State Forest is already in," Hubright said of the new land. "And so it'll just extend downstream the hunting opportunities. So that's definitely a good thing."

In addition to the grant and S.C. Conservation Bank, Hubright listed the North American Waterfowl Conservation Act and private donors among funding sources for acquisition of RMS-Wadmacon.

"That's another advantage of working with these non-government agencies is that they have access to some foundations and some private funding that we might not have," Hubright said of Open Space Institute and The Nature Conservancy, which together purchased the Great Santee Swamp and Dawhoo Lake/Wadmacon Creek tracts in December 2021.
With the global cancer burden expected to rise by 75% by 2030, data shows that most people seek treatment at a much later stage when the disease is no longer treatable and the patient is in excruciating pain.

Despite growing global awareness, it remains a constant call; thus, World Cancer Day, observed annually on February 4, as an International Day intended to raise awareness about cancer, and its prevention, detection, and treatment.

In Rwanda, it was celebrated at the Pink House, which is run by the Breast Cancer Initiative East Africa (BCIEA). Breast cancer patients and survivors were joined by various officials in the health sector, students from Fawe Girls Academy, and 'Ituze' support group.

ALSO READ: Pink Lady: Surviving for 27 years is the tool for anyone who thinks breast cancer is a death sentence

Need for more awareness

A study conducted in Rwanda on the possible causes of delay in patients presenting with breast cancer (carried out in Butaro and Rwinkwavu hospitals in 2015) found that 76% of the patients were unconcerned by the symptoms, while 63% believed there was no need to seek medical advice and that the symptoms would go away on their own.

"How much do we really know about our bodies, or understand cancer in general?" asked Dr Theoneste Maniragaba, an oncologist at Rwanda Military Hospital.

"It's crucial to understand cancer risk factors, including uncontrollable factors such as personal/family cancer history, breast density, certain genetic changes, and menstrual period history. Other lifestyle factors include the use of birth control pills and hormone therapy after menopause, having children, drinking alcohol, being overweight or obese, and being physically inactive," he said.

In agreement, Oda Nsabimana, a breast cancer survivor and chief advocate at BCIEA, added, "When detected and treated early, breast cancer is one of the most forgiving and curable cancers. Our goal remains to encourage people to get to know and monitor their bodies on a regular basis so that they can detect any changes."

Also, reflecting on the day, Aline Nikuze, a member of the Dear Doctor Rwanda club and student at Fawe Girls Academy, shared, "You don't need to be sick to be part of those raising awareness. We've taken it upon ourselves, both inside and outside of my school, to raise awareness about things like cancer, so that people, including young students who may be fooled into thinking that because they're young, they're healthy, can understand such diseases, their detection, and treatment."

Revising medical support systems

This year's theme marks the second year of the 'Close the Care Gap' campaign, which is about recognising inequities in cancer care and taking action to address them.

ALSO READ: Breast cancer: Early detection is the best protection

"Of course, there is the issue of those who only go to the hospital when things have gotten worse. But even if you decide to go at an earlier stage, there is still the problem of not receiving enough medical attention," Paul Nsengumuremyi, a breast cancer patient, commented.

He described his own experience, "When you go to a public health centre, they sometimes just give you painkillers and tell you to come back in six months if it gets worse. While, in reality, if it is cancer, it would have progressed in six months.

"However, if they could give you a direct transfer to Butaro District Hospital, Rwanda's only one capable of detecting/treating cancer, you would know sooner and take the necessary treatments."

Stigmatisation awareness

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You don't have to be a cancer patient to be an advocate, said Christine Nyirabashyitse, a member of the Ituze group based in Nyanza District.

"Back in our communities, we've seen cancer patients become isolated because their family believes 'they're a waste of money because they're dying anyway'. As a consequence, they live in anguish with no emotional support. So groups like ours are here to change the negative perception and provide that support."

ALSO READ: Breast Cancer awareness: Why it is never enough

The Pink House also continues to host meetings to provide emotional support for patients and survivors, as well as a space for them to share their testimonies and treatment experiences. They also provide accommodation for patients who travel long distances to seek treatment in Kigali.

ALSO READ: Breast cancer: Dealing with stigma and isolation
Kingstree, SC (29556)

Today

A shower or two around the area early, then partly cloudy overnight. Low 58F. Winds SW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 30%..

Tonight

A shower or two around the area early, then partly cloudy overnight. Low 58F. Winds SW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 30%.
MYRTLE BEACH  After days of speculation and tracking as it made its way across the country, South Carolina, and the world at large, watched as a Chinese balloon splashed down off the coast here.

Felled less than 7 miles out over the Atlantic Ocean by a missile from a U.S. F-22 fighter jet, authorities on South Carolina's coastline warn that debris from the large Chinese balloon could wash ashore.

Naval crews, assisted by the Coast Guard, had already begun collecting the wreckage not long after splashdown. The balloon landed in 47 feet of water, shallower than officials had expected, according to the Associated Press.

It was unclear how long the recovery would take. But police in North Myrtle Beach and Horry County said stray detritus could make it to their beaches. If that happens, people are advised to call local law enforcement.

"Debris should not be touched, moved, or removed," Horry County police tweeted late Feb. 4. "Such items are part of a federal investigation and tampering could interfere in that investigation."

Prior to the balloon being shot down, the Federal Aviation Administration temporarily halted travel to and from Charleston, Myrtle Beach and Wilmington, N.C., airports, clearing the air for the operation.

The balloon, which floated over much of the country earlier this week, prompting accusations of espionage and warnings from officials not to shoot at it from the ground, was spotted over the Carolinas early Feb. 4. By 3 p.m., the deflated white orb had fallen into waters off the South Carolina coast after being shot down by fighter jets.

Gov. Henry McMaster said he had been briefed by the Pentagon shortly after noon on Feb. 4 about "plans to shoot down the Chinese spy balloon once it was safely off our coast."

"It appears that has just happened," he tweeted shortly after the small explosion could be seen off the Palmetto State.

Mike Gorby said he walked outside his Myrtle Beach home to see what was going on after he saw posts about the balloon on Snapchat. He shot a video as jets circled the balloon and captured the "pop" of the balloon being struck by a missile.

You could see little pieces of metal shrapnel or whatever it is falling in the distance, Gorby said.

Gorby said he was a little shocked as he watched what happened above him. He called the boom insanely loud and said it shook his entire house.

"That was wild," he said. Ive never seen crazy stuff like that, especially a balloon getting shot down by fighter jets."

While leaving the Spring Home Improvement and Outdoor Living Show at the Myrtle Beach Convention Center, Michael Hodge and his girlfriend Amanda Ruby noticed others gathered outside taking pictures of the balloon.

Hodge said he then heard a loud noise as he noticed jets shooting it down and the debris falling.

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It was loud enough that everybody in the parking lot stopped and looked up, Hodge said. "It was like a sonic boom."

Darena Edge of Conway was inside a Marshalls store north in Myrtle Beach when she overheard fellow shoppers on the phone talking to family and friends about the balloon hovering above them.

Then she heard what sounded like a tire blowing, she said. The store emptied as shoppers left the carts in aisles to go outside to see the balloon falling.

Oh Lord, it was just a little bit unnerving because you just don't know what was in it, Edge said. Some people just quit shopping and said they wanted to go home.

Earlier in the day, there were reports of sightings throughout upstate South Carolina, including Greenville and Spartanburg, and suburban Charlotte in North Carolina. Authorities across the Carolinas at that time warned people not to take potshots at the floating orb with their rifles.

In York County, not far from the North Carolina border, the county sheriff's office advised against anyone trying to take out the balloon on their own.

Dont try to shoot it!! the sheriffs office tweeted Feb. 4 as the balloon passed over the region at an altitude of about 60,000 feet. Your rifle rounds WILL NOT reach it. Be responsible. What goes up will come down, including your bullets.

The balloon entered U.S. airspace over Alaska early this week and wasn't acknowledged by government officials until Feb. 2, a day after commercial flights were temporarily halted at the airport in Billings, Mont., and people on the ground saw the balloon seemingly loitering high above the city.

China said it was a weather research vessel blown off course, a claim rejected by U.S. officials who said the craft had been over areas of Montana where nuclear missiles are siloed.

In Congress, Republicans pounced on the decision not to shoot it down over rural Montana as a sign of weakness on the part of the Biden administration.

After the balloon was shot down, U.S. Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., a member of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, said it should have been sooner.

The balloon should have been shot down before it crossed the continental United States, not after. We still dont know what information was collected and where it was sent, Scott said in a statement. This was a dereliction of Bidens duty, and lets hope the American people dont pay a price.

Fellow South Carolina Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham tweeted, "Thank you to the men and women of the United States military who were responsible for completing the mission to shoot down the Chinese surveillance balloon. The Biden Administration did the right thing in bringing it down."

President Joe Biden said that he ordered U.S. officials to shoot down the suspected Chinese spy balloon earlier in the week but that national security leaders decided the best time for the operation was when it got over water.

Mike Woodel, Richard Caines and Andy Shain of The Post and Courier contributed to this report. The Associated Press also contributed to this report.
ORANGEBURG  This year's commemoration of the Orangeburg Massacre at South Carolina State University will feature images by one of the states noted photographers, Orangeburg-based Cecil Williams.

Williams, 84, will deliver the keynote address at the 55th anniversary event set for 10 a.m. Feb. 8 in the Martin Luther King Jr. Auditorium on campus.

He was in Orangeburg in early February 1968 when S.C. State students gathered to challenge the segregation policy of the All-Star Bowling Lanes. Two days of protests at the bowling alley led authorities to deploy state troopers, police, the FBI and the National Guard in an effort to quell the unrest and track dissident Black activists.

By Feb. 7, a curfew was in place and students were forced to stay on campus. The next day, about 200 young people gathered on a bluff not far from one of the entrances to the school to vent their frustrations.

Highway patrolmen pointed rifles loaded with buckshot at the unarmed students and became increasingly alarmed by the sight of the protesters. Startled by the sight of an injured colleague who had been struck by a thrown piece of wood, and startled again by the sound of what might have been a warning shot, they fired into the crowd, killing three and injuring at least 28.

Williams will show photographs he took the morning after the unrest along with images that record student activism in Orangeburg before the events of Feb. 8, 1968. He also will provide an account of what happened, placing the Orangeburg Massacre in historical context.

And he will remind attendees that the campus shooting, the first of its kind in the U.S., remains an unsettled matter.

This is something that really has never been completely investigated, he said. In light of todays police brutality and concerns about law enforcement, this puts new light on the (killings) of the past.

S.C. State University and its students feature prominently in the Cecil Williams South Carolina Civil Rights Museum at 1865 Lake Drive in Orangeburg. He established the museum several years ago with his own money. It focuses on the period between 1950 and 1970. Hes kept it going thanks to some financial support from the state, grant funding, and persistence.

During Black History Month, he expects as many as 1,000 visitors, hundreds of them students.

S.C. State University will honor three people this year with the Smith Hammond Middleton Social Justice Award, named for the three students  Henry Smith, Samuel Hammond and Delano Middleton  killed by troopers in the 1968 campus shooting. The recipients are:

Ellen Zisholtz, president of the Center for Creative Partnerships, who is now leading an effort to restore the All Star Bowling Lanes for public use. The plan is to once again invite patrons to bowl but also to offer programming on civil rights history and to foster dialogue that can lead to racial reconciliation.

Bobby Doctor, a S.C. State alumnus and civil rights advocate who organized Orangeburgs first sit-in in 1960. A few years later, Doctor became a member of the Virginia Council on Human Relations, then assumed leadership positions with the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights.

Bobby Eaddy was a 17-year-old freshman at S.C. State College when he was among at least 28 injured by rifle fire from state troopers. He had spoken publicly about the violent episode and started the Orangeburg Project, an initiative meant to preserve the legacy of the Orangeburg Massacre. Eaddy died on Oct. 15, 2022.

Williams  whose museum includes images of, and information about, the Orangeburg Massacre  now is preparing to relocate the cultural center from its location just outside of the city to a historic intersection at the heart of Orangeburg: Railroad Corner. Its an ambitious undertaking, and Williams hopes to find financial and strategic partners to ensure the museum makes the transition successfully and carries on in perpetuity, he said.

Sidney Evering, Orangeburg city administrator, said progress has been made. City Council selected a developer last fall and a legal agreement soon will be forged. If all goes well, the project will break ground by early 2024 and take three or four years to complete, he said.

Railroad Corner is located just across from the S.C. State campus and steps from both the Orangeburg County Library and All-Star Bowling Lanes. The goal, Evering said, is to create about 51,000 square feet of student housing, 14,000 square feet of retail, and 7,500 square feet of cultural and flexible space (including the museum).

The development will preserve the history of the site and transform it into a destination, he said. It could become the gateway to Orangeburg, connected to the campuses of S.C. State and Claflin University by a pedestrian bridge, Evering said. The overpass could include information kiosks and other displays on city history.

We want to give Orangeburg more of a feel of a college town, he said.

He thinks the total cost of the development project could be around $28 million, and the cost of the bridge could exceed $10 million. The project potentially would be funded by the city, county and state, plus possible grants from the private sector.

Williams said the museum and bowling alley could help draw visitors to the city and, in turn, revitalize Orangeburg.

The two entities will be very, very important to Orangeburgs future growth, he said.
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
Former Vice President Mike Pence canceled his Feb. 6 trip to South Carolina after his oldest daughter went into labor.

A spokeswoman for Pence said in a brief written statement that Charlotte Pence Bond went into labor the morning of Feb. 6. As a result, Pence and his wife, Karen, instead headed to California to be with their daughter.

Pence was initially scheduled to make his ninth trip to South Carolina, with stops in North Charleston and Myrtle Beach. The events included a roundtable in North Charleston with law enforcement officials amid renewed calls to defund the police, followed by a meet-and-greet in the evening with business and civic leaders in the GOP stronghold of Horry County.

Pence is hoping to reschedule both events.

Pence's visits to South Carolina and other early states have fueled speculation hes eyeing a 2024 White House bid of his own. His now-canceled trip would have followed former President Donald Trump's visit to the state last month, and would have happened nine days before former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley will formally announce her 2024 presidential campaign.

The trip was also 10 days before U.S. Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., kicks off his Faith in America tour in Charleston. Scott is another potential GOP 2024 contender.

Pence served as President Donald Trump's vice president from 2017 to 2021. Prior to his tenure in the Trump administration, Pence served as governor of Indiana from 2013 until 2017.

Since Pence left the White House he has traveled the country with a particular focus on visiting early voting states. He also released a memoir about his political rise from growing up in Columbus, Indiana to his time in the White House as vice president.

In an interview with CBS News last month, Pence indicated he feels no rush to jump into the 2024 presidential race.

"I think we've got time," Pence said in that interview when asked about his timeline. "People around America know the Pences. And so, we're going to take the opportunity of that time. We're going to continue to listen, and we're going to continue to pray."

South Carolina's "First in the South" Republican presidential preference primary has historically been something of a bellwether in GOP presidential politics since 1980. With the exception of Newt Gingrich in 2012, every winner of the South Carolina Republican Primary has gone on to become the ultimate the GOP presidential nominee.

The 2024 GOP primary here will likely be held next February.
The Nigerian government on Saturday launched a tractor hiring scheme in Kaduna as part of efforts to boost agricultural practices in the country.

The initiative was facilitated by the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development in collaboration with the Bank of Agriculture (BOA) and other relevant partners.

According to a statement signed by Ezeaja Ikemefuna, the chief information officer in the ministry,

the initiative would help encourage mechanized farming, boost food and nutrition security, and create more job opportunities for Nigerian youths.

Speaking during the official flag-off and distribution of tractors to farmers at the BOA office in Kaduna State, the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Mohammad Abubakar, said that the ministry in collaboration with BOA and manufacturing representatives has agreed to support the project by making tractors with implements available to farmers at a concessionary deferred payment terms.

He noted that Nigerian Farmers were expected to make a 40 per cent down payment while the balance of 60 per cent would be spread over a period of three years.

He said the ministry would acquire 10,000 units of tractors with implements and 50,000 units of equipment to kick start the programme.

According to him, the vital role of agriculture in the Nigerian economy makes it necessary for the sector to be re-invigorated through tractor acquisition in order to achieve food and nutrition security.

He explained that this would lead to improved quantity and quality of food per person, reduce the drudgery of farmers in Nigeria as well as increase productivity in the agricultural sector.

He added that Nigeria and Brazil entered into a Bilateral agreement under the More Food International Programme (MFIP) of Brazil which culminated in-kind loan of $1.2 billion.

Explaining further, Mr Abubakar noted that the agriculture sector remains among the key sectors driving the economy in Nigeria and it contributed 23.78 per cent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

In his remarks, the Permanent Secretary of the ministry, Ernest Umakhihe, represented by the director of the federal department of Agriculture, Abubakar Abdullahi, noted that the Programme would move agriculture from subsistence to commercial business venture, increase the economy of most farmers, drive development in the agrarian communities, and encourage youth participation and engagement among others.

Earlier, the Managing Director, Bank of Agriculture Limited, Alwan Hassan, said that the status of agricultural mechanization in the country was very low, estimated at 0. 027hp/ha as against the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) Recommendation of 1.5hp/ha.

He added that the success of agricultural production largely depends on the level of mechanization.

In his goodwill message, the Chairman of the Maize Farmers Association of Nigeria, Kaduna chapter, Lliyasu Muazu, solicited more support from the services providers to ensure that farmers benefit from the programme across the 774 Local Government Areas of the nation.

The event was attended by the commissioners of agriculture in Kaduna, Katsina and Plateau States, the All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN), among other participants.

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Bola Tinubu and the All Progressives Congress (APC) had some tumultuous days last week that led to a prediction of the implosion of the ruling party before or after the general elections.

The campaign spent the entire week fighting enemies in the Presidential Villa, whom it said were working to sabotage the chances of the ruling party at the polls by pushing the poor implementation of the Naira redesigning and also hoarding petrol.

The implementation of the mopping of the old naira notes created a scarcity of money in circulation, which was naturally blamed on the APC-led federal government.

There were pockets of protests in Oyo and Edo states. Amidst the Naira scarcity, Mr Tinubu at a campaign stop in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital, floated the idea of a conspiracy targeted at him.

Let fuel be expensive; only they know where they kept it. Keep petrol, keep the naira, we will vote and be elected. You may change the ink of naira notes. What you expect will not happen. We will win, he said in the Yoruba language.

The choice of Abeokuta is striking, as it was the same place he made the famous Emi Lokan comment.

In Ekiti State, Mr Tinubu also claimed that some persons were trying to use the scarcity of the naira to create a crisis that would scuttle the elections and pave the way for an interim government.

They are hoarding naira so that you can be angry and fight. They want confusion so that the election can be postponed. What they want is an interim government. But we are wiser than them. We will not fight. Any rat that eats the rat poison will end up killing itself, he said again in Yoruba at the Ekitiparapo Pavilion in Ado-Ekiti.

While Mr Tinubu was using the rally to air his views, other political associates used television stations to amplify his conspiracy theory. Within 72 hours of Mr Tinubu speaking in the Ekiti State capital, Kaduna State Governor Nasir Elrufai was on four different television stations where he alleged that elements within the presidency were working against the government.

Governor Umar Ganduje Kano alleged that the policy of Central Bank Governor, Godwin Emefiele is more of vengeance against the ruling party for stopping his presidential ambition. Ajuri Ngelale, a senior special assistant to President Buhari, also accused Mr Emefiele of giving the president false information to justify the policy.

To further highlight the alleged political dimension of the CBN policy, Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi of the Peoples Democratic Party and Labour Party respectively, both expressed support for the policy although they highlighted how it can be more efficient.

Meanwhile, for a president whose major source of speaking has been body language, many interpreted the crisis within the party as confirmation of Mr Buharis tactical opposition to the candidacy of the former governor of Lagos State.

Mr Buhari may not boast an organised political structure like many other politicians. However, he remains a cult hero in the core north, particularly in the North-west and North-east. His performance on security and the economy may have reduced the adulation that many of his voters had for him.

Even though his endorsement or aloofness carries significant weight, Mr Buhari is notorious for his reluctance to wield his enormous political influence. For example, Halilu Ahmed, the younger brother of his wife, Aisha Buhari, could not get the partys nomination. The expression of outrage by Aisha Buhari did not sway her husband to intervene.

Also, Fatahu Muhammadu, the presidents cousin, lost the primaries to recontest the Daura Federal Constituency seat.

Also, his loyal deputy, Yemi Osinbajo, did not get any support from the president as he suffered an embarrassing defeat in the APC presidential primaries.

Tinubu will win  Buhari

It was thus a surprise on Saturday when in the middle of all the conspiracy theories and reading of his body language, Mr Buhari attended the Tinubu rally in Lafia, Nasarawa State, and reaffirmed his commitment to the success of the APC presidential campaign.

I congratulate and assure you that God willing, we will win through and through, he said.

He equally spoke in the Hausa language, where he reiterated his commitment to Mr Tinubu and the party.

The endorsement drew instant reactions from the opposition. A former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, who only recently ended his second stint in the APC, via his Twitter handle flayed the president for the encomium on Mr Tinubu.

I know that PMB loves to crack jokes but I didnt know he will escalate it to the level of satire. Asiwaju will give his best to Nigeria, really? Fake certificates, fake parentage, golden triangle escapades, racketeering. No PMB, Nigeria does not deserve his best but we get the satire, he tweeted.

Also, Abdul Mahmoud, a prominent Peter Obi supporter on Twitter, tweeted that the pronouncement by the president has changed the dynamics of the election.

Two things have now changed the complexion of the 25 February 2023 presidential election. Firstly, the public declaration by Buhari that Tinubu is his successor. Secondly, the gung-ho attacks launched by BATS media hirelings targeting Obi since departing Lafia.

Buhari has never been known for successor-coronation. His tweet, which shows his sinister agenda, signposts grave portents. Citizens must resist Buharis attempt to use his presidential powers to fix the poll, he tweeted.

How well can the Lafia Declaration affect APC?

As it stands, the president is yet to give a new direction on the naira notes. Even the APC governors who visited him could not extract a promise from him of immediate action. Instead, the president asked them to give him seven days. Therefore, the policy stays.

The endorsement of the new notes policy by Atiku and Mr Obi has also given the ruling party the opportunity to project their support for the policy as a validation of its theory of fifth columnists in government.

So, you have the tale of two presidential candidates: one who stands with the people and says this currency swap must stop; the second one says, no, it cannot stop, its a good policy. CBN, dont listen to him. Let the people continue to suffer. I leave the rest to you to determine who is with you and who is against you, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, said at a campaign gathering in Lagos.

Atikus push into Northwest

While the ruling party was bickering, Mr Atiku held rallies in Kebbi, Sokoto and Zamfara with large turnouts. Also, he got three aggrieved APC members of the House of Representatives from Katsina  Hamza Dalhatu (Rimi/Charanci/Batagarawa constituency), Salisu Iro (Katsina constituency) and Ahmad Dayyabu (Danmusa/Batsari/Safana constituency) to defect to the PDP.

Last year, Ibrahim Babangida (Malumfashi/Kafur constituency), Armayau Kado (Dutsin Ma/Kurfi constituency) and Aminu Ashiru (Mani/Bindawa constituency) decamped to the New Nigeria Peoples Party.

A source within the APC campaign council told PREMIUM TIMES that Katsina State remains a big challenge for the ruling party.

According to the official, who did not want to be named, the problem in Katsina State started with the nomination of Dikko Radda as the APC governorship candidate in the state. Mr Radda is said not to be the preferred candidate of Governor Bello Masari.

I must admit, we have problems in Katsina, which unfortunately happens to be the presidents home state. I learnt the governorship candidate is not the one Governor Masari wanted as the governorship candidate. I think the problem started from there, he said.

However, he dismissed the defected lawmakers as aggrieved lawmakers who failed to get the ticket of the APC.

Party members believe Mr Buhari has a job of providing leadership and sending a strong signal to his base that he wholeheartedly wants Mr Tinubu as his successor. But he will have to do that amidst the challenges within and outside his party.

Doing that could be another case of last-minute intervention. Mr Buhari has earned a reputation for late interventions. During the Mai Mala Buni and the APC caretaker committee debacle, the last-minute intervention of the president saved the party from an existential threat.

He equally used the same last-minute intervention in endorsing Abdullahi Adamu for the national chairmanship position.

It is unclear if the Lafia declaration will address these challenges. However, the president will be hosting the presidential rally in Katsina State. Perhaps, another strong statement there may convince his North-west voters to reject the other candidates and back his crown prince as his successor.

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Victory Farms, a Kenyan tilapia fish farming firm plans to expand its business to Rwanda, officials have said that the new investment could boost the country's efforts to achieve 127,000 tonnes of fish production target by 2024.

ALSO READ: Govt to invest 15 million to boost fish farming

There remains only one year to reach the target yet the country has not even produced half of the projected demand, a situation that has left officials scratching their heads for major interventions.

Solange Uwituze, the Deputy Director-General of Animal Research and Technology Transfer at Rwanda Agricultural Board (RAB) said: "It presents therefore a great opportunity for investment for anyone interested including Victory Farms."

ALSO READ: Rwf2bn invested in tilapia fish farming

Uwituze said that aquaculture is a growing sector in Rwanda with a contribution of 10 per cent to the national fish production, adding that it is targeted to be driven by the Private sector for it to be the primary source of fish production.

"As of today, the average national fish production is 39,400 tonnes per year of which 10 per cent is from fish farming. We want that the production from fish farming increases even higher than production from fish capture so that total national fish production hits 127,000 tonnes of fish per year in 2024," she said.

Meanwhile, The New Times has since learned that Victory Farms, East Africa's largest commercial fish farmer, has raised $5 million in equity funding to expand its operations into Rwanda, Tanzania and DR Congo.

The startup has seen significant growth since its founding in 2014; it now has 600 employees, over 55 branches in Kenya, and generated $17 million in revenue in 2021. It is targeting a 15 folds growth in the next five-to-six years.
On 23 January, the Rwandan Air Force fired at a Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) military jet in Goma, claiming it had violated Rwandan airspace. This was the tipping point in rising tensions between the two countries, which are now on a war footing.

Ten years after its defeat by the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Force Intervention Brigade, the M23 rebel movement is resurfacing in eastern DRC. This shows the inability of the DRC, its neighbouring countries, the United Nations (UN) Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the African Union (AU) to translate military victory into political success.

The East African Communitys Nairobi Process aims to link political consultations with military action in eastern DRC. However the latter, particularly the deployment of the regional force in North and South Kivu provinces, remains more advanced than the political process, which isnt helping to demobilise armed groups.

The recent proliferation of peace initiatives in the Great Lakes region hasnt made combining political and military solutions easier. This is partly because the M23s defeat in 2013 was not accompanied by efforts to deal with the conflicts root causes. Instead, the group withdrew from Goma and cantoned its troops in Rwanda and Uganda after being expelled by regional forces and fragmented by internal divisions.

Political dynamics in the DRC and international developments added to the problem. After repeated waves of disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration, the DRC government and international partners grew reluctant to integrate M23 combatants into the national army. When the armed group was defeated, DRC politics became dominated by other matters, and the international community adopted a reactive approach to Great Lakes problems.

The troubled region is on the agenda of the Peace and Security Councils (PSC) heads of state meeting on the margins of this months AU summit. This is mostly a reaction to the fact that the M23 now occupies a significant part of North Kivu.

The regional dimension of the M23 issue has been exaggerated at the expense of local and national dynamics, which need more political attention. This imbalance results from evidence presented by the UN Group of Experts on the DRC in their December 2022 report, alleging support by Rwanda and Uganda for the M23 rebels.

Great Lakes region of Africa

Also, if countries are supporting rebels, that suggests regional security instruments arent creating enough space for dialogue, which would prevent states from using proxy armed groups. Differences in threat perceptions between Kigali and Kinshasa create security dilemmas in the eastern DRC.

The UN Security Council kept surprisingly silent in the face of allegations in the Group of Experts report. This will likely encourage several regional actors to use direct or indirect violence to settle disputes.

Despite several regional initiatives, the 2013 Peace, Security and Cooperation Framework for the DRC and the Region remains central to resolving the crisis. But the PSC has repeatedly called for a review of the framework, as requested by the DRC. Is this the best way to build consensus in a highly polarised region? If agreement is reached on a review, three issues must be considered: balancing national and regional commitments, managing bilateral alliances, and the crucial role of guarantors.

Some Congolese decision makers criticise the fact that the agreement identifies national commitments for the DRC only. Observers say resolving the problem of foreign armed groups operating in eastern DRC also requires political reforms in the countries involved. Such reforms are unlikely under the current regimes in Uganda, Burundi and Rwanda, but the next PSC summit should consider this dimension.

The trust deficit between the DRC and some of its neighbours is at the heart of the current crisis. Some observers note that the trigger for escalating tensions between Rwanda and the DRC was the latters rapprochement with Uganda and Burundi to fight their respective rebel enemies inside the DRC.

The DRCs attempt to create a regional military command against armed groups in 2021 was stymied by mistrust between Rwanda on the one hand, and Burundi and Uganda on the other. The regions political culture is dominated by short-term alliances that conflict with Tshisekedis vision of cooperative security.

Finally, security in the Great Lakes, as outlined by the 2013 peace framework, requires individual states commitment and the strong involvement of guarantors. Some observers suggest the East African Community be a guarantor along with the UN, AU, International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR) and SADC. But guarantors should only be added if their role in rigorously ensuring that states implement their commitments is clear.

The competition between SADC, the East African Community and the ICGLR over peace initiatives  and through them Kenya, South Africa and Angola  isnt conducive to productive joint monitoring of member states commitments. Also, divisions in the UN Security Council and the AUs silence on recurrent violations of the 2013 peace framework raise questions about their willingness to ensure signatory states respect their obligations.

Stability in the Great Lakes depends on a rigorous and shared diagnosis of threats and existing peace efforts. Countries in the region must also renew their agreement on resolving the challenges of insecurity and poverty. The AU should demonstrate more leadership and involvement in one of Africas most unstable regions.

Paul-Simon Handy, Regional Director for East Africa and Representative to the African Union, Institute for Security Studies (ISS) Addis Ababa

(This article was first published by ISS Today, a Premium Times syndication partner. We have their permission to republish).

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At least 2,300 people have been killed in the twin earthquakes that occurred along the Turkey and Syria border in the early hours of Monday.

Al Jazeera reported Turkeys Vice President Fuat Oktay as saying that the death toll in Turkey has risen to at least 1,541, leaving 9,733 others injured and 3,471 buildings destroyed.

The death toll in neighbouring Syria has risen to 810.

It added that at least 10 cities in the southeastern part of Turkey have been affected by the earthquake. Schools across Turkey will be closed until 13 February, the Ministry of National Education said.

World reacts

His Holiness Pope Francis was deeply saddened to learn of the huge loss of life caused by the earthquake.  He sends the assurance of his spiritual closeness to all those affected, Al Jazeera quoted Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vaticans secretary of state, as saying in a statement.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in a statement said, My heart goes out to the people of Turkiye and Syria in this hour of tragedy adding that the United Nations is fully committed to supporting the response. Our teams are on the ground assessing the needs and providing assistance.

READ ALSO:

He urged the international community to help the many thousands caught up in the disaster.

In a statement by his spokesperson, Nigerias President Muhammadu Buhari extends heartfelt commiserations to the governments and people of Turkey and Syria, and those who lost family and friends in the devastating earthquake in the southern Turkish city of Gaziantep.

He further wished the injured a speedy recovery and assured the prayers and thoughts of Nigerians are with the many affected by this severe disaster and its aftershocks.

Nigeria is ready to offer its full support in any way possible, he said.

The US has authorised an immediate deployment to Turkey, a White House release said.

Our teams are deploying quickly to begin to support Turkish search and rescue efforts and address the needs of those injured and displaced by the earthquake, Al Jazeera quoted President Joe Biden as saying.

Other heads of state including Russia, Israel, the UK, China, and Greece amongst others have condoled Turkey and Syria while expressing willingness to provide support.

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In furtherance of its commitment to support the Central Bank of Nigerias Naira redesign policy, Nigerias premier digital-first bank, Hope PSBank, a Unified Payment Services Limited subsidiary, has commenced a community inclusion initiative.

Speaking at a press conference to unveil the initiative on Friday, 3 February, the Managing Director of the bank, Ogechi Altraide, explained that this initiative is targeted at promoting a cashless economy and ensuring that Nigerians, particularly the unbanked, perform transactions through electronic channels across the country.

She disclosed that the initiative would enable Nigerians to open Hope Wallet from their phones by simply dialling *569*9#. The wallet holders can deposit their cash into the wallet at any agency banking outlet in different communities across the country.

She further stated that the bank has offered to give everyone N500 cash incentive for opening the wallet, saying that all transactions can be performed using their phone numbers.

Hope PSBank is giving N500 to everyone that opens the Hope Wallet. The phone number is the wallet, account number, and ATM card. The phone number can be used to transfer money, make payments and withdrawals at PoS, ATM and Web, she said.

Also speaking, Group Head, Corporate Services, Hope PSBank, Cletus Igah, stated that the initiative is designed to accommodate all Nigerians by ensuring that they can perform any transaction without any hindrance using their digital wallet.

According to Mr Igah, the company remains committed to supporting Nigerians to leverage digital financial services for inclusion, irrespective of their socioeconomic status.

He said that with the digital wallet, individuals and businesses can now access valuable and affordable financial products and services that meet their needs  transactions, payments, savings and  delivered responsibly and sustainably, especially in rural areas.

He urged all Nigerians to inform their family and friends to take advantage of the initiative and the seamless account opening process. He urged Nigerians to dial *569*9# to open a Hope Wallet account and receive a welcome bonus of N500, deposit money at any agency outlet nationwide bearing in mind that your phone number is also your account number.

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The Federal High Court, Abuja, on Monday, discharged a former Governor of Imo, Rochas Okorocha, of N2.9 billion fraud charges preferred against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

Inyang Ekwo, in a ruling, struck out the charges for contravening section 105 (3) of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA), 2015, which gives the Attorney-General of the Federation the power to recall a case.

The ruling was on a preliminary application filed by Mr Okorocha. EFCC had yet to begin calling witnesses as of the time the judge ended the case on Monday.

Mr Ekwo said the directive of the AGF and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, in a letter dated 12 September 2022, to the EFCC to forward the case file with its comments on the issues for consideration and review, was binding on the commission.

All that the law required of the respondent (EFCC) was for the respondent when directed by the HAGF (Honourable Attorney General of the Federation), pursuant to any enactment, is to comply and not act as if it is not under the law or is exempted thereby.

For the avoidance of doubt, the office of the HAGF is founded on the provisions of the constitution and is thereby preserved.

The controversies and drama surrounding this trial proceeding is needless and it is time to stop it, he said.

The judge further held that from the moment the AGF gave the directive to the EFCC, the commission ceased to have the legal authority to prosecute or continue the prosecution of the case.

In other words, the intervention of the HAGF in any criminal proceedings ends the authority of the prosecuting agency in the matter unless otherwise directed by the HAGF.

In the end, I find that non-compliance by the respondent with the directive of the HAGF as stated in Exhibit Okorocha 7 is fatal to this proceeding and has rendered it a nullity.

The respondent is not empowered by any law to continue with this proceeding after the HAGF issued the directive in Exhibit Okorocha 7.

With Exhibit Okorocha 7, it is only the HAGF that can decide whether or not to charge the defendants upon the case file being remitted to his office as directed, he added.

Besides, Mr Ekwo agreed with the defendants that the earlier judgement of a court of coordinate jurisdiction sitting in Port Harcourt in suit number: FHC/PH/FHR/165, between Mr Okorocha and EFCC, restraining the agency from further proceeding on the alleged offence had not been set aside.

Violation of subsisting court order

According to him, the order is binding until it is set aside.

The fact that a person refuses to comply with the law does not change the law, neither does the law change to accommodate the act of non-compliance by any person.

What happens when a person elects not to comply with the law is that the law turns its back on the person.

When that happens, every action or decision taken by such person in the process of non-compliance becomes illegal and the court will set aside such act of non-compliance ex debito justitiae.

This is so because there is no machination that can be used to salvage an illegal act, he said.

The judge, who said Mr Okorochas and 5th defendants (Consolid Projects Consulting Ltd.)s objections succeeded on merit, struck out the charge.

I, therefore, make an order striking out the charge which found this proceeding. The consequence is that the defendants are discharged, Ekwo declared.

Background

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the EFCC had said it received an intelligence report about criminal diversion, abuse of office and money laundering against Mr Okorocha while running the affairs of Imo State government between 2011 and 2019.

The commission said that the intelligence was investigated and confirmed to be true.

The anti-corruption agency then filed a 17-count charge marked: FHC/ABJ/CR/28/22 against Okorocha and others.

Mr Okorocha, who is the 1st defendant, was arraigned alongside Anyim Nyerere Chinenye, Naphtali International Limited, Perfect Finish Multi Projects Limited, Consolid Projects Consulting Limited, Pramif International Limited, and Legend World Concepts Limited as 2nd to 7th defendants respectively.

He was alleged to have laundered funds to the tune of N2.9 billion while serving as governor of Imo.

But Mr Ekwo, on 31 May 2022, granted bail to Mr Okorocha in the sum of N500 million with one surety in like sum.

The judge also granted Mr Okorochas co-defendant, Chinenye, bail in the terms of the administrative bail earlier granted to him by the EFCC.

Challenging trial validity

But Mr Okorocha, who currently represents Imo West Senatorial District, had filed a preliminary objection, alongside the 5th defendant, praying for an order quashing the charges preferred against him.

The senator described the suit as being unlawful, baseless, oppressive and a gross abuse of the process of the court.

He said the investigation on which the said charge was predicated, was the subject matter of suit number: FCH/PH/FHR/165/2021 wherein this Hon. Court, Coram Pam, J. had, in the final judgment at the suit of the applicant. declared unlawful and made an order prohibiting the EFCC from further proceeding.

But the EFCC, in its counter affidavit dated and filed on 18 Nov 2021 said it had seen and read through Mr Okorochas motion dated 28 Oct that the depositions therein are grossly misleading and untrue particularly paragraphs 3 and 4.

The anti-corruption agency urged the court to dismiss the application for lacking in merit.

(NAN)

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A former member of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential Campaign Council, Najaatu Mohammed, has accused Nigerias First Lady, Aisha Buhari, of being one of the cabals at the Aso Rock Villa.

Ms Mohammed made the damning allegation Monday morning in an interview aired on Arise TV.

The APCs former head of civil society organisations directorate was speaking against the backdrop of the recent claim made by the Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai.

Mr El-Rufai alleged there were certain elements within Aso Rock working against the presidential candidate of the APC, Bola Tinubu.

But while the Kaduna governor was silent on the identities of the cabal, Ms Mohammed fingered the First Lady as part of the dreaded caucus.

She said: We have to first try to understand what a cabal is, a cabal is a secret political group or faction they manipulate and control the system and everything that runs in the government And let me tell you one of the cabals is Aisha Buhari.

Aisha Buhari that is talking today is part of the cabal. Yes, we knew the cabal of Abba Kyari of late, the Mamman Daura that she (Aisha) couldnt come out to say. When she started talking about the cabal, she glossed over it, she didnt have the guts to come out and name names, but for the first time in Nigeria, I began to name names.

Having retweeted the video where Mr El-Rufai made the claim against the cabal, many interpreted Mrs Buharis action as in support of the claim made by the Kaduna State Governor.

Ms Mohammed, however, disagreed with the proposition as she insisted that though the First Lady chose to amplify the claim made by Mr El-Rufai, it does not mean she is not part of the cabal.

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She reinforced what El-Rufai said, she agreed with what El-Rufai said. El-Rufai had said there is a cabal in the Villa and she confirmed it, but what I am saying is this; she is also part of the cabal.

I am not trained to say they did this or that; I am trained to name names. You have to have the guts to tell Nigerians who these cabals are.

No response from Mrs Buhari

When contacted to respond to the allegation by Ms Mohammed, the media assistant to the First Lady, Aliyu Abdullahi, promised to get back once he gets a directive from his principal. He had not done so as of the time of filing this report.

However, another source close to Mrs Buhari who spoke on the condition of anonymity said he would be surprised to see the First Lady joining issues with Ms Mohammed.

I dont think the First Lady will dignify her with any response except she just wants to set the record straight

Najaatu is an attention seeker and the media is helping her, she says things she doesnt even know about and tries to make it look like she is fighting for Nigerians whereas she is only fighting for her pocket. the source concluded

Since resigning from the APC Presidential Campaign Committee, Ms Mohammed has pitched her tents with the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, Atiku Abubakar.

Alleged existence of cabal in Aso Rock

Allegations of cabals operating within President Buharis government predate the recent claims by Mr El-Rufai

In 2018, the First Lady made a similar claim that few people had caged her husband and were ruling the country.

Mrs Buhari then said although over 15 million Nigerians voted for Mr Buhari in 2015, only two or three persons have since taken control of the government.

She did not name the individuals.

Our votes were over 15 million in the last election, and after that only for us to be dominated by two people that hinder collective teamwork that we started, which is totally unacceptable, she said.

If 15.4 million people can bring in a government, and only for the government to be dominated by two people; where are the men of Nigeria? Where are the Nigerian men? What are you doing? Instead of them coming together and fighting, they kept visiting them one after the other, licking their shoes. I am sorry to use that word.

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Three state governments, Kaduna, Kogi and Zamfara, have sued the federal government at the Supreme Court over the hardship occasioned by the scarcity of the redesigned naira notes.

The three states are in northern Nigeria of which President Muhammadu Buharis home state, Katsina State, is a part. The governors of the three northern states that filed the suit are also members of the same party, APC, as President Buhari.

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) last October announced that it was redesigning the N200, N500 and N1,000 banknotes.

Godwin Emefiele, the CBN governor, announced 31 January as the deadline for the expiration of the old banknotes.

But due to the public outcry trailing the currency scarcity, Mr Emefiele extended the deadline till 10 February. He added that money deposit banks would continue to receive the old banknotes even after the deadline.

Despite the deadline extension, however, the scarcity of new notes has persisted.

Not pacified by the adjustments to the monetary policy, the three state governments on 3 February sued the federal government at the Supreme Court asking for an order suspending the policy.

The plaintiffs through their lawyer Abdulrakeem Mustapha, are seeking an order restraining the federal government through the CBNthe commercial banksfrom suspending on the 10th of February 2023 the timeframe within which the now older versions of the 200, 500 and 1000 denominations of the Naira may no longer be legal tender pending the hearing and determination of the substantive suit.

In the suit, the plaintiffs listed the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) as the sole defendant.

The case was predicated on Section 6(6)(a) of the Nigerian constitution.

The plaintiffs also cited Section 22 of the Supreme Court Act as basis for lodging the case.

Citizens suffering

In their filings before the Supreme Court, the plaintiffs said many citizens have to date not seen the newly redesigned naira notes let alone exchanged their old notes for the new notes, despite assurances by the government to make the currency available.

They contended that the inadequacy of the notice (of naira redesign) coupled with the haphazard, back-handed manner the exercise is being carried out and the attendant hardship has been well acknowledged even by the Federal Government of Nigeria.

The plaintiffs argued that there is no justifiable basis for the ongoing difficulties and suffering being meted out on the good people of Kaduna, Kogi and Zamfara States by the Federal Government.

10-day extension not sufficient

In buttressing the extent of the hardship being suffered by Nigerians, the plaintiffs lamented, economic activities are furiously grinding to a halt.

While noting that vast quantity of official worktime is spent looking for the scarce notes and hunger stalks the entire landscapes of Kaduna, Kogi and Zamfara States. The States are on the verge of anarchy.

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They further contended that the 10-day extension was insufficient, adding that, the federal government cannot bar Nigerians from redeeming their old naira notes at any point in time, despite the fact that the old notes are no longer legal tender.

Registering their despair, the States said unless (the Supreme) Court intervenes, their residents  will continue to go through a lot of hardship and would ultimately suffer great losses as a result of the insufficient.

In a 41-paragraph affidavit deposed to on behalf of the plaintiffs by Aisha Dikko, Kaduna State Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, the deponent said if the federal government is not restrained from implementing the monetary policy, the damages will be inadequate to compensate for the loss that shall be suffered by the Kaduna State Government and the good people citizens of the State.

The deponent said the plaintiffs have undertaken to indemnify the defendant/respondent (federal government) if it is later discovered that this application should not have been granted.

The federal government has yet to respond to the suit.

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The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court at Wuse Zone 2, Abuja, has ordered the Central Bank of Nigeria to ensure the enforcement of its 10 February deadline on the validity of the old naira notes.

The judge, Eleojo Enenche, gave the order on Monday in a ruling on an ex parte application by four opposition political parties.

The four parties  Action Alliance (AA), Action Peoples Party (APP), Allied Peoples Movement (APM) and National Rescue Movement (NRM)  in their application alleged that the CBNs new monetary policy was being sabotaged by Nigerian banks.

They sued President Muhammadu Buhari, the CBN and the CBN governor, Godwin Emefiele, along with 25 Nigerian banks as defendants.

In a public announcement last week, the CBN governor, Mr Emefiele, extended the deadline for legal tender status of the old N200, N500 and N1000 notes from 31 January to 10 February.

The extension followed a public outcry that greeted the scarcity of the new naira banknotes. The CBN governor announced the extension after meeting with President Buhari, and directed banks to receive the old bank notes even after the deadline.

Court order

Ruling on the opposition parties ex parte application on Monday, the judge issued an order restraining the CBN from suspending or interfering with the currency redesign deadline of 10 February.

The court also ordered the defendant not to suspend, stop, extend, vary or interfere with the extant termination date of use of the old N200, N500, and N1,000 bank notes being 10 February, 2013 pending the hearing and determination of motion on notice.

The court similarly ordered the Chief Executive Officers and Managing Directors of 25 Nigerian banks to show cause why they shall not be arrested and prosecuted for the economic and financial sabotage of the Federal Republic of Nigeria by their illegal act of hoarding, withholding not paying or distributing the new N200, N500, and N1,000 notes being the legal tender of the Federal Republic of Nigeria

On Monday, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), disclosed that it arrested the manager of a commercial bank branch in Abuja for allegedly hoarding the new naira notes.

The anti-graft agency, however, did not reveal the names of the bank and its manager.

The court restraining the CBN and other respondents in the suits from tampering with the deadline would last for seven days, a copy of the order seen by PREMIUM TIMES shows.

The order comes after three states being governed by the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) governors filed a suit at the Supreme Court challenging the deadline set by the CBN to phase out the old naira notes.

The states  Kaduna, Kogi and Zamfara  cited the hardship of many Nigerians who are grappling with the impact of the scarcity of the new naira notes as one of the reasons the CBN policy should be reversed.

Many Nigerians have had to spend long hours on queues to collect their money from Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) across the country. Many who cannot access the machines have been paying exorbitantly to be paid by Point on Sale (POS) retailers.

Other top APC members, including the partys presidential candidate, Bola Tinubu, have also criticised the CBN policy alleging that it was put together to derail the forthcoming general elections.

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As the Central Bank of Nigerias Naira redesign policy bites harder, the scarcity of new notes continues to disrupt business activities in markets, restaurants, banks, and major sales outlets across Nigeria.

In the midst of the operational challenges being faced by small businesses especially in rural areas, a PREMIUM TIMES survey showed that Point of Sale (PoS) transaction charges jumped 400 per cent in most cities across the country last week.

The impact of the CBN policy and its attendant chaos have frustrated efforts by many Nigerians operating in the nations cash-dependent informal economy to do business, make payments, and enjoy certain services.

PREMIUM TIMES findings showed that while the poor circulation of the new notes stifle economic activities, PoS operators have also had a hard time getting both the old and new notes from the banks in recent weeks. Some PoS agents who spoke with PREMIUM TIMES within the week said that their inability to access cash has stalled their operations, while operators who struggled to get cash blamed the hurdles they encountered at the banks for the increase in transaction charges.

Across some of the mobile money cash points visited in Lagos, Abuja, and other major cities, our reporters observed that charges on transactions have skyrocketed by over 400 per cent.

In other places, PoS outlets were shut as operators complained of scarcity of both the old and new notes.

Scarcity

The CBN on 26 October, 2022, announced the introduction of redesigned 200, 500 and 1,000 naira notes into the financial system. But since the notes were unveiled, Nigerians across different parts of the country have had a hard time accessing it from banks and ATM points.

Last week, amid the chaos caused by the scarcity of the new notes, the CBN extended the deadline for the phasing out of the old notes from 31 January deadline to 10 February. Despite the extension, many Nigerians working in the informal sector of the economy have had to scramble for the new notes while others lamented their inability to withdraw their hard earned money from their bank accounts.

There have equally been allegations of hoarding on the part of the Deposit Money Banks, while some mobile cash point vendors are said to be exploiting the situation by dispensing the new notes to customers at skyrocketed prices.

On Friday, the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele, asked Nigerians to be patient and join the bank queues to access their money.

Meanwhile, President Muhammadu Buhari during a meeting with the Progressive Governors Forum also urged citizens to give him seven days to resolve the cash crunch that has stifled productive engagements across the country.

As Nigerians besieged commercial banks nationwide to access cash, several videos have surfaced online showing frustrated customers vandalising bank properties due to their inability to get cash from the banks ATMs.

In the midst of the melee, anti-graft agencies and the State Security Services ( SSS) have equally arrested a number of citizens caught hawking the naira notes.

Despite the governments best efforts thus far, the chaos has worsened the hardship being faced by Nigerians in major cities and rural communities as the new deadline for the phasing out of old naira notes approaches.

Frustration

In Nigerias capital city, some of the PoS outlets visited within the week were under lock and key, while some that were open jerked up their charges for cash withdrawals and transfers.

At Lugbe Zone 6, Aina Wale, a PoS operator charged N800 for each N5000 cash withdrawal due to the scarcity of the naira notes.

Banks are not dispensing enough naira and this makes it very difficult for us to access the notes, he said. We dont plan for this, but it became necessary to do because we are now using money to collect money in banks.

Another operator in the area, who refused to have his name mentioned said that the banks are not giving out cash to customers despite the long queues in their branches.

We dont get the cash again, the POS vendor lamented, adding that he had to offer a bribe last Wednesday before a bank official offered to provide cash for him.

I said to myself I cant stay here. Could you believe that when I entered the bank there were queues also but I went straight to a bank official to help me out and the lady told me that she will collect some percentage which I agreed to and I was able to get just N20,000, he said.

Another POS operator at Zone 5, Peace Okoye, complained that operations have been difficult because of the scarcity of new and old notes.

Bank is not giving cash and today I went to that ATM in Lugbe Shoprite and it was the same thing. There was a long queue. Only one ATM was dispensing and it was dispensing just N2,000 and the highest you can withdraw there is N20,000 which means you have to withdraw 10 times before you can get the N20,000, people were much and I left, Ms Okoye explained.

No access to cash, so the thing just weakens me. If I have access to cash I would have made money this season.

Kapwa, Apo

At the Kapwa axis of Lugbe along airport road, PREMIUM TIMES also observed that several POS vendors kiosks were shut.

A POS operator at Kapwa who identified himself simply as Lukman, said he has not been operating for the past five days.

We dont have cash. Withdrawals have been very difficult at banks and ATMs, he said.

Most PoS outlets were also shut in the Apo resettlement area of Abuja as operators blamed scarcity of cash for their inability to meet customers needs.

They also alleged that bank officials give them both old and new naira notes at a fee, hence the reason behind the increase in charges on withdrawal.

Daniel Atuluku, an operator at the fish market, charges N600 on every N5,000 transaction, he told PREMIUM TIMES.

The man (banker) only gives me N300,000 daily and if I give people any amount they want, it wont go round. The first day I tried it, the money didnt last up to 30 minutes he said.

Even with that, I cant serve customers for the whole day and the stress my brother and I go through daily to get access to the man is another thing.

When people talk about the charges, they think we are making a lot of money from it but we sincerely pray this ends soon because we also suffer the same thing as the people.

Benin

PoS agents who spoke with this newspaper in Benin city, the capital of Edo State, described the cash crunch in the city as a big problem.

A PoS operator who identified himself as Abdul said many PoS agents in the state are now taking advantage of the situation to extort Nigerians.

We POS agents have now taken advantage of the situation. Although I cant blame them because they are now buying cash from either bank managers or agents of bank managers as if they are buying tomatoes in the market, he told PREMIUM TIMES in a telephone interview.

He alleged some agents are displaying both the new and old notes for sales like book vendors in the market. Mr Abdul claimed that among PoS operators, N100,000 new notes are being exchanged for N150,000 in Benin while the old notes of same amount are being exchanged for N120,000.

People are still buying it from them, and most of the buyers are PoS agents. So they will now increase withdrawals and transfer charges to make up for the extra cost of buying the currency, he explained.

Mr Abdul lamented that ATMs of top banks like Zenith, Access and GT banks in Benin are not dispensing cash unlike others like Union and Keystone banks.

Even the ones dispensing are rationing the cash. The maximum withdrawal is N20,000 and the stress is just too much, he said.

Similarly, another PoS agent, Hauwa, who does cash transactions at Aviele community in Auchi, said that she was discouraged by the queues at banks, in addition to the low amount of cash being paid to customers by banks.

The major thing now is that there is no money. Agents who have cash are charging N100 per N1000 (old currency) and N200 per N1000 of new notes, she said. Based on this, she said she has not been able to make any transactions within the past few days.

Lagos

In most places in Lagos, the nations commercial nerve center, PoS operators charged N100 for every N5,000 withdrawal before the new policy was introduced.

But PREMIUM TIMES found over the weekend that the charges have been jerked up to an average of N500. Similarly, PoS operators that charged N200 on every N10,000 transaction now charge an average of N1000 or more.

At the Ojodu area of Lagos State, a PoS operator who identified herself simply as Sandra told PREMIUM TIMES that the charges skyrocketed because of the difficulty experienced at the banks.

Its difficult to get cash, whether old or new notes, at the bank, she said. In some instances, we have to beg and bribe bank people and we also have to factor in those extra fees into our charges.

In most parts of Igando and Ijaiye areas in the state, residents told this newspaper that many PoS outlets were shut as they scramble for cash.

Sales have been very dull since this trouble started because people dont have cash, including even salary earners who have money in their accounts, Bisi Aina, a trader in Iyana-Ipaja area of the state, told PREMIUM TIMES Sunday evening.

Double whammy

The chaos caused by the cash crunch has been worsened by the hardship inflicted on Nigerians due to a lingering fuel crisis. In recent months, the scarcity of petroleum products across the country has stifled the operations of businesses that depend on generators for power supply.

Despite the governments repeated claims that the nation has enough supply, the scarcity has persisted amid a poor supply of electricity across the country.

In addition to the massive disruption in economic activities, the crisis has led to an unprecedented spike in the cost of essential goods and transportation services across states in the country.

Last Tuesday, President Muhammadu Buhari approved the constitution of a 14-member steering committee to address the supply and distribution of petroleum products across the country.

The Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), also attributed the lingering fuel scarcity in the country to a disruption in the product distribution chain caused by the activities of cross-border smugglers.The agency also claimed that there is petrol sufficiency of over 1.6 billion litres as of 26 January both on land and marine.

On Tuesday, Nigerias chief of defence staff, Lucky Irabor, warned that the scarcity had become a security concern and nobody is indispensable in bringing a solution to the problem.

On Friday, the Nigerian government said it is working towards finding a lasting solution to the lingering petrol scarcity across the country.

Despite the governments position, PREMIUM TIMES found that Nigerians have continued to suffer from scarcity of petrol across the country, especially in the nations commercial nerve center, Lagos.

As the cash crunch inflicts more pains on Nigerians, many angry Nigerians are taking to the streets to vent their frustration.

Protests, tension

On Friday, a protester was killed in Ibadan as security officers clashed with a group protesting scarcity of fuel and new naira notes in Apata area of the capital of Oyo State.

Protests have been going on in many parts of the city since Friday as mostly young people expressed their frustration over the scarcity in the state.

A group of protesters also attacked the Oyo State governors office when security agencies attempted to deny them access to speak with the governor.

Subsequently, on Saturday, soldiers and police officers were deployed to major areas where protests were taking place but the protesters in Apata refused to stop their protest when the security officers approached them.

Similarly, residents of Uvwie and Warri South Local Government Area of Delta State, on Friday, took to the streets to protest against lack of access to the naira.

The protest forced some banks to suspend activities and scores of market women barricaded the Warri-Sapele Road and NPA Expressway.

While tension rises in both states amid scarcity of the new notes, and amid fears that the violence could spread to other states of the federation, Nigerians await the impact of the CBN and Nigerian governments intervention in addressing their pains this week.

Mr Buhari last week urged Nigerians to give him seven days to address the hardship and other concerns generated by the new notes scarcity.

Experts Speak

In his intervention, an Abuja-based economist, Razaq Fatai, urged the CBN to allow both the new and old notes as legal tender until there are sufficient new notes in circulation.

They should temporarily allow both the old and new notes as legal tender until they are able to inject sufficient new notes into the system, Mr Fatai said.

He said the CBN also needs to step up their supervision of deposit money banks to ensure effective circulation of the money to citizens as soon as possible.

This is not the time to keep money in the vaults, he added.

On his part, Onofiok Kings, a financial expert, said a lot of Nigerian politicians are not happy with the naira redesigning policy because of illicit motives and vote-buying culture.

Basically, most politicians arent happy because they still have a lot of cash stacked up to use for bribe during the forthcoming elections, he said.

Even though its affecting the masses, Im happy with this decision of lack of circulation that is if its really being strictly controlled.

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Residents of the communities where members of vigilante groups were massacred by terrorists last Thursday have said the number of those killed had risen to 102 as of Sunday night.

The terrorists ambushed members of local vigilante groups from Bakori Local Government of Katsina while they were chasing the terrorists to retrieve the livestock they rustled from their communities.

Though the police claimed 41 people were killed, residents said the number of those actually killed in the ambush more than doubled the number given by the police.

PREMIUM TIMES gathered that the communities affected are under the Guga, Kakumi, Kandarawa and Jargaba wards of Bakori, one of the areas worse hit by the activities of terrorists in the state.

A community leader in Guga village, who asked not to be named for security reasons, told PREMIUM TIMES over the phone on Monday that 72 bodies had been retrieved and buried as of Sunday night.

Weve counted 102 of our people that have been killed but in the three wards of Guga, Kakumi and Kandarawa, weve buried 72 people. We couldnt retrieve the other dead bodies because most of them have decomposed while those who followed the terrorists deep into the bush were killed and we couldnt go since the bandits are still lurking around, he said.

He said those killed included vigilante members and other residents who volunteered to pursue the terrorists.

The community leader said some family members tried contacting their relations through the phone but the terrorists answered the calls.

They didnt kidnap any of them; they dont abduct vigilante members they kill them instantly, he said.

A resident of the Kakumi community, Najibu Aminu, told PREMIUM TIMES over the phone that the massacre has caused panic among residents.

The problem is that we dont have enough weapons to protect ourselves because the police and government have taken away our weapons in the name of peace. Our people are already in panic mode because of what happened. Who knows what will happen in the next few days because some of the terrorists were also killed during the fight, so Im sure they will plan to return and launch a deadlier attack, he said.

This reporter gathered that the worse hits communities are: Garangozai, Gidan Wawu, Gidan Sarkin Noma, Gidan Tanko, Layin Yannehu, Unguwar anbaushi, Gidan Kanawa, Unguwar Gero, Unguwar aga, Maiyaiya, Gangare, Gidan Cirai, Gidan Bawa, Gidan Aminu, Gidan Baushi and Gidan Gagare.

A leader of one of the vigilante groups, who was also part of the clash, told BBC Hausa that the terrorists overpowered them because they were better armed.

They have more weapons than us. You know our guns are mostly dane while they have AK 47 rifles and they were also more than us. We tried our best and we fought for two days without reinforcement or even assistance from security agents in the area, he said.

He told the BBC Hausa that despite their efforts in trying to get across to security agents working with them in the area, the security men didnt arrive until the following day when they had already been killed.

The police spokesperson in the state, Gambo Isa, was unreachable and didnt respond to an SMS sent to him on the number of victims.

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press release

In response to multiple news reports that police arrested several people, including prominent members of Cameroons security forces, in connection to their investigation into the murder of the Cameroonian journalist Martinez Zogo, the Committee to Protect Journalists issued the following statement:

Cameroonian authorities must ensure transparency in the investigation into the brutal killing of Martinez Zogo and guarantee that the process is followed in a way that delivers full justice, said Angela Quintal, CPJs Africa program coordinator, in New York. Unfortunately, past inquiries into the deaths of journalists, including Samuel Wazizi, have left much to be desired, and authorities must ensure that their investigations and findings surrounding Zogos murder are public and credible.

On Thursday, February 2, in a statement published on social media, Ferdinand Ngoh Ngoh, the secretary general of Cameroons presidency, announced that investigations led to the arrest of several individuals highly suspected of being involved in this heinous crime, and that others remain wanted. Ngohs statement did not name those arrested.

According to the same news reports, the investigations led to the recent arrests of Leopold Maxime Eko Eko, head of the General Directorate of External Intelligence (DGRE), and Justin Danwe, director of operations at the DGRE.

Unidentified attackers abducted Zogo, the director of the privately owned radio broadcaster Amplitude FM, from his car on the evening of January 17 in the capital city of Yaounde. The attackers chased Zogo, who had recently reported on alleged public embezzlement involving a prominent businessman, to the gate of the local gendarmerie office near the journalists home, where he had sought help. Zogos mutilated body was found on January 22; Cameroonian authorities announced the same day that they had begun an investigation to find the perpetrators and hold them accountable.

In a separate incident, Cameroonian journalist Samuel Wazizi died in government custody in August 2019, but authorities failed to inform Wazizis family of the death for 10 months or hand over his body, according to CPJ research. CPJ has called for Cameroonian authorities to fully account for Wazizis death. At least five journalists remain behind bars in Cameroon in connection with their work, according to CPJs December 1, 2022, prison census.
The traditional ruler of Ijaiye-Titun in Ogun State, Nofiu Adeyemi, was among scores of customers locked out of a branch of Guaranty Trust Bank (GTB) in Abeokuta on Monday where they had gathered in search of naira banknotes.

Mr Adeyemo had arrived at the bank, located opposite the secretariat of Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Oke-Ilewo, Abeokuta, and met a large crowd of restive customers waiting to withdraw cash.

Although the crowd made way for him as he moved to the entrance of the banking hall, bank officials, who were monitoring happenings outside through the Close Circuit Television (CCTV), ignored his knocks on the steel door.

After about 30 minutes of waiting, the embarrassed traditional ruler walked back to his sport utility vehicle and was driven out of the premises.

The multitude of customers had gathered at the bank premises from as early as 6.30 a.m. but were not allowed into the bank premises.

They later forced their way into the premises, which forced some officials of the bank to come out to inform them that there was no cash to be dispensed.

READ ALSO:

The customers, which included some women breastfeeding babies, embarked on a mild protest, vowing not to leave the premises until they collect money.

Some of the customers who spoke with our correspondent decried the scarcity of the naira, saying it has inflicted pain on the people.

Large crowds were seen in many banks in the Ogun State capital but most of the financial institutions were not dispensing cash, leaving their customers frustrated.

The extended window for the exchange of old naira notes for new designs of the banknotes will end on Friday.

Central Bank governor, Godwin Emefiele, said last week that the bank will continue to accept the phased-out naira notes at its offices after the deadline.

But because the bank has only one office in each state, it is unclear how it will handle the exercise, judging by the chaotic scenes being witnessed at commercial banks premises across Nigeria.

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The Nigerian government on Monday released the proceeds of the N130 billion Sukuk bond for the development of road infrastructure to the Federal Ministry of Works and Housing and Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA).

The Minister of Finance, Zainab Ahmed, and the Director General of the Debt Management Office, Patience Oniha, presented the N130 billion proceeds cheque to the ministries in Abuja.

The federal government had issued the debut Sovereign Sukuk of N100 billion in September 2017, with a tenor of seven years.

The Sukuk is a strategic initiative to support the development of infrastructure, promote financial inclusion and deepen the domestic securities market.

The minister said the FMWH will get N110 billion while the FCTA will get N20 billion in the 2022 Sukuk Issue Proceeds of N130 billion.

She also said the 2022 Sovereign Sukuk of N130 billion will be released as part of the capital expenditure in the 2022 Appropriation Act, which has been extended by the National Assembly to 31 March.

As at November 2022, N1.88 trillion had been released as Capital Expenditure, which represents about 40% performance when compared to the total Capital Budget of N4.7 trillion. This informed the need to extend the period to implement the capital component of the 2022 Budget.

It is important to add that beside the immense contributions of Sukuk to the funding of critical road infrastructure, the objectives of deepening the domestic capital market and financial inclusion are being achieved by the Government.

The private sector and sub-nationals have begun to embrace the instrument and I look forward to seeing more issuances in this regard as this will provide additional asset class for the rapidly growing ethical investors and funds in the economy, the minister said.

In her remark, the DG said the journey towards issuing a Sovereign Sukuk started some years back when the agency diligently worked with experts to get the process and documentation right.

According to her, the efforts paid off with the issuance of the first Sovereign Sukuk of N100 billion in September, 2017.

The DMO has issued Sukuk four (4) more times bringing the total amount raised as at December 2022 to N742.56 billion, Mrs Oniha said.

From the Sukuk issued between 2017 and 2021, a total of N612.56 billion was raised and deployed to the construction and rehabilitation of sections of seventy-one (71) roads and four (4) bridges covering a total of 2,820.06km.

Mrs Oniha commended the implementing ministries and their various contractors for supporting the DMO in the initiative.

Not surprisingly, the two Ministries are also beneficiaries of the N130 Billion 2022 Sovereign Sukuk, whose proceeds will be similarly deployed to road projects, she added.

Through the Sovereign Sukuk initiative, the DMO has demonstrated its strong alignment with the policy of President Muhammadu Buhari, on infrastructural development.

Furthermore, the DMO has positioned itself not only as an agency for managing the public debt including borrowing on behalf of the Federal Government, but as an active stakeholder in the domestic capital market through innovation, investor engagement and collaboration with other stakeholders.

She said the DMO remains committed to its mandate and other activities designed to develop the market.

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The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on Monday arrested the operations manager of a branch of an unnamed commercial bank in Abuja for allegedly hoarding N29 million of the new naira notes.

EFCCs spokesperson, Wilson Uwujaren, said in a statement that the bank refused to load its Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) despite having N29 million of the redesigned Naira notes in the branchs vaults.

The commission said it took the bank official, whose name was also not given, into custody for further questioning. It said its operatives also ordered the bank to load the money in the ATMs and make payment to customers over the counter.

The EFCC described the incident as a sabotage of the governments monetary policy by some banks.

Before he was whisked away for further questioning, the operatives ordered the loading of all the ATMs and the payment of the stipulated amount across the counter to the delight of the distraught customers who had spent hours on queues without getting the new notes.

This discovery, which indicates a sabotage of the governments monetary policy by some banks, was made by the EFCC in continuation of the ongoing surveillance and visit to banks across the country to access their vaults and verify whether they were deliberately refusing to dispense the redesigned Naira notes. More than five bank branches were covered today by the operatives in Abuja. Similar exercises were ongoing in Zonal Commands across the country, the commissions statement read in part.

The arrest came two days after the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) said it arrested two bank officials Osun State, for refusing to load its ATMs with cash.

The EFCC also in its statement, vowed to continue its operation until normalcy is restored to the banking system.

Nigerians finding it difficult to access their funds at any bank and suspects foul play should contact the commission, for immediate intervention.

Background

In recent weeks, Nigerians have been rushing to meet the CBN deadline for the phase-out of the old N200, N500, and N1,000 notes.

The new policy has created chaos with many Nigerians having to endure hours of queuing at Automated Teller Machines (ATM) points. Others have also had to pay exorbitant charges for withdrawals through Point of Sale (POS) centres.

READ ALSO: Court orders CBN to stick to 10 February validity date for old naira notes

As a result of the ongoing hardship experienced by many Nigerians, the CBN Governor, Godwin Emefile, had extended the earlier deadline of 31 January, by 10 days up until 10 February..

On Friday, President Muhammadu Buhari also urged citizens to give him seven days to resolve the cash crunch that has become a problem across the country from the policy of the CBN to change high value Naira notes with new ones.

He said this after the All Progressives Congress (APC) governors visited him at the Presidential Villa to seek solutions to the cash crunch which has plunged many Nigerians into hardship.

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The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, says the House will reconvene if the scarcity of Naira notes persists before the 25 February presidential and national assembly elections.

Mr Gbajabiamila stated this during a town hall meeting with some ethnic groups in Surulere, Lagos, on Sunday.

According to a statement by his media aide, Lanre Lasisi, after the meeting, the Speaker said the House will continue to monitor the CBNs implementation of the policy closely.

So, we are watching, and we are monitoring very closely. If need be, we will reconvene the House, even though weve all been away for our elections. I will call the House back if need be, he said

Mr Emefiele had last week appeared before the ad hoc committee of the House looking into the new Naira notes policy.

The lawmakers and Mr Emefiele agreed that commercial banks must accept the old notes even after the deadline of 10 February.

Meanwhile, all over the country, there is the scarcity of new notes which has caused violent protests in Oyo and Edo States.

Emefiele not above the law

Mr Gbajabiamila also said the governor of the CBN is not above the law, even though the bank is expected to be autonomous.

He told the audience that he was ready to sign the warrant of arrest if Mr Emefiele had defied the House.

I would have signed that warrant; it would have been the first time in the history of the National Assembly that a CBN governor would be arrested. I wouldve done it.

Many have argued on the independence of CBN, the autonomy of CBN. That does not make CBN above the law. The constitution gives the House the power to issue an arrest warrant against anyone, we can summon anybody, and that was exactly what the House was going to do until the CBN governor came, he said.

Mr Gbajabiamila said the House has shown its resolve to address the scarcity of the new notes.

He also said that amidst the ongoing hardship, the presidential candidate of the APC, Bola Tinubu, has identified with Nigerians and faulted the implementation of the policy at this time, which necessitated the extension of the deadline for the collection of the old currency.

He noted that the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, is supporting the policy despite the hardship on Nigerians.

So, you have the tale of two presidential candidates: one who stands with the people and says this currency swap must stop; the second one says, no, it cannot stop, its a good policy. CBN, dont listen to him. Let the people continue to suffer. I leave the rest to you to determine who is with you and who is against you, Mr Gbajabiamila said.

The National Assembly is currently shut until 28 February to allow federal lawmakers to campaign for the forthcoming elections.

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Governor of Kano State, Abdullahi Ganduje, said the untimely implementation of the naira swap policy, was deliberately done by the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele, as a retaliation for his failed presidential bid.

Mr Ganduje stated this on Sunday during a campaign rally, held at Tsanyawa Local Government Area, his media aide, Abba Anwar, said in a statement.

The CBN Governor is only doing this to confuse the forthcoming elections for no just reason.

 He (Mr Emefiele) has not been in good mood for long, because he failed to secure a presidential ticket on the platform of our great party, the APC, Mr Ganduje told voters at the rally.

The governor said the Kano State government and the APC in the state are against the timing of the naira redesign policy of the CBN governor.

Currency redesign is done across the globe, but not in the way we are witnessing in our country. The timing is wrong, the deadline given is very wrong and deliberate, Mr Ganduje said.

Mr Ganduje said he is summoning bank managers in the state for a briefing with the aim of finding a solution to cushion the effects of the hardship caused by scarcity of naira notes.

They should come over and explain to us, why our people are still suffering over this issue of naira swap. And I will go to them individually to supervise what is happening and what, the governor said.

Meanwhile, Mr Ganduje said the Kano government will distribute palliative to residents across the state to mitigate the suffering caused by the naira redesign.

We have a plan in the pipeline to start distributing palliatives very soon across all the 44 local governments, to cushion the effect of the hardship caused by the CBN Governor, to our people, the governor said.

Mr Ganduje visited the palaces of the district heads of Kunchi and Tsanyawa local governments. He urged community leaders to create awareness in their areas of influence that the hardship people face is caused by the CBN Governor, to confuse the democratic process.

The CBN announced the redesign of the three largest denominations of the naira  N200, N500, and N1,000  in October. Many Nigerians have condemned the policy due to the scarcity of new notes.

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Adams Oshiomhole, a former governor of Edo State, says violent protests over the scarcity of the new Naira notes may lead to the suspension of the forthcoming elections, if not addressed.

Mr Oshiomhole, who is the Deputy Director General of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential Campaign Council, described the Central Bank of Nigerias policy as senseless, adding that it is not the job of the bank to stop vote buying.

He stated this on Sunday during an interview on Channels TV.

If you have riots like you had in Ibadan and Benin  I dont know anywhere else  and they were taking place simultaneously, and you are now dealing with the issue of protecting lives and properties, will elections become a priority?

So, it is in that context that whoever scuttles the elections would have scuttled the chances of the APC winning the election.

You could see that the intention of the Bank is not to eliminate abuses but to stop the elections from taking place, Mr Oshiomhole said.

The CBN has set 10 February as the deadline for phasing out the old N200, N500 and N1, 000 notes. However, the implementation of the policy has created scarcity of the new notes across the country.

Members of the ruling party have been very vocal against the policy.

The presidential candidate of the party, Bola Tinubu, the Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo, Governor Nasir El Rufai of Kaduna State and several others within the party have criticised the policy.

Last week, some governors under the ruling party visited Mr Buhari to discuss the policy with him but the president asked for seven days to respond.

However, the presidential candidates of the Peoples Democracy Party (PDP) and Labour Party, Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi respectively, have backed the policy. Mr Obi asked Nigerians to patient with the federal government.

When he appeared before an ad hoc committee of the House of Representatives last week, the CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele, said banks must accept the old notes beyond the 10 February deadline.

Emefiele deceived Buhari

During the interview, Mr Oshiomhole also accused Mr Emefiele of deceiving President Muhammadu Buhari on the policy.

CBNs naira redesign policy is senseless CBN deceived Buhari and the intention behind it was to stop the elections.

So, I can guess  I was not there  that in obtaining the approval, I believe the CBN deceived the president by amplifying the need to have corruption-free electioneering as if election is the only project this president has a responsibility for.

To assume that every Nigerian is corruptand that this policy is meant to check corruption the CBN is not part of the institutions charged with the responsibility of ensuring free, fair and credible elections. That is not in the Act establishing the CBN, Mr Oshiomhole said.

The presidential and National Assembly elections are billed for 25 February, while governorship and States Assembly polls are scheduled for 11 March.

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The Presidential Campaign Council of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has criticised the presidential candidate of Labour Party, Peter Obi, for supporting the currency redesign policy being implemented by the Central Bank of Nigeria.

Mr Obi, on his Twitter handle on Sunday, said currency redesign will have long-term economic and social benefits to the country.

The currency redesign is not peculiar to Nigeria. It is an exercise that comes with some inconvenience and pain but it has significant long term economic and social benefits. Even though there are improvements that can be made, he said.

But the spokesperson of the APC PCC in Osun State, Remi Omowaiye, in a statement on Monday, said the policy is an attempt to inflict pains on Nigerians..

Mr Omowaiye accused Mr Obi of conniving with bank officials to inflict hardship on Nigerians.

I am not surprised that Peter Obi is doing this, he has been a chairman of a bank before, most of the bankers are benefitting from this hardship, so I understand where he is coming from. Peter Obi has serious interest in Fidelity Bank. He went to keep Anambra money in the fidelity bank, which he ought to have been used to develop the state, he said.

Peter Obi has once again displayed to us and demonstrated to us that his business interest supersedes the interest of Nigerians because I dont expect him to come out and start defending this policy . I would have expected him to sympathize with Nigerians and condemn this policy, this is the same way he has failed to condemn IPOB over the killing of innocent people.

The APC PCC spokesperson urged CBN to come up with effective strategies that will help help Nigerians rather than making them go through hardship before getting the new naira notes.

It is very important that this is a very Ill time policy. We are not saying they should not change currency but there should be enough strategy on how to do this. You collected old money from people, you forced us to bring old money to the bank, now it is the old money that you are returning back to people. It is obvious that Peter Obi wants to gain political profits from the agony of Nigerians, he said.

How did you explain it, people have money in the bank but they cant access their money. There is unrest in some towns in Nigeria. Two people have been killed in Ibadan, there was also demonstration in Warri , people are going through hard times because of this policy, he added

This is not the first time in the world that currency will be changed, when it was changed in the UK , they allowed the old currencies to fade out without putting a bottleneck in doing this.

He lamented lack of adequate infrastructure to transform the economy of the country to cashless policy.

The banks are not cooperating, most of the banks do not have network telecom infrastructure to take the capacity of people you want to migrate into cashless policy banking overnight, no one is saying you should not do your cashless policy but there is no country in the world today that is purely cashless policy, cashless economy, he said.

This is a Nigeria that we have in some states, particularly in the North where there is no bank in an entire local government. I was listening to Adam Oshiomole yesterday saying that in his senatorial district, just two local governments out of six have a bank, he added.

We can see that it is only Asiwaju that is sympathizing with Nigerians. This is not about vote buying, since they introduced their policy, has that stopped people from trooping to our rallies, since they introduced their policy, has that stopped people from supporting Asiwaju massively.

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The Supreme Court on Monday declared Senate President Ahmad Lawan as the authentic candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) for Yobe North Senatorial District for the 25 February general election.

The court made the declaration in a three-against-two split judgement of its five-member panel. The panel was led by Centus Nweze.

The majority judgement held that the decisions of the Federal High Court in Yobe and the Court of Appeal in Abuja were perverse and must be set aside.

The APC had challenged the judgements of the lower courts which affirmed Bashir Machina as the candidate of Yobe North Senatorial District for the election.

It urged the Supreme Court to nullify the two previous verdicts and legitimise APCs National Working Committees forwarding of Mr Lawans name to INEC as flagbearer for the poll.

In the majority decision, Mr Nweze said Mr Machina ought to have commenced his suit by a writ of summons going by the allegations of fraud levelled against the APC in transmitting Mr Lawans name to INEC.

But, two other members of the Supreme Court panel, Adamu Jauro and Emmanuel Agim disagreed with the majority judgement.

In the lead dissenting judgement, Mr Jauro held that the APC appeal is devoid of merit. He slammed N3 million fine against the APC in favour of Mr Machina.

Mr Agim while reading his dissenting view, said APCs primary election held on 9 June which produced Mr Lawan was an illegal contraption.

He noted that Mr Lawans withdrawal from the Yobe North Senatorial District race on 12 May, to vie for the APC presidential ticket, automatically disqualified the Senate President from the National Assembly election.

Mr Agim further said the purported primary election held on 9 June 2022, was a ruse as it was not monitored by INEC.

Mr Lawan is the incumbent occupier of the Yobe North Senatorial seat. He had sought to clinch APCs ticket for reelection to the Senate after his failed attempt at the partys presidential ticket last year.

The Court of Appeal in Abuja in November last year affirmed Mr Lawans rival, Mr Machina, as the partys valid candidate for the senatorial district.

But while Mr Lawan decided not to pursue the case further at the Supreme Court, the APC took on the mantle of appealing against the Court of Appeals judgement challenging the nomination of Mr Machina as the partys candidate for the senatorial district.

The APC insisted that Mr Lawan is the authentic senatorial candidate for the Yobe North Senatorial District for the forthcoming general election.

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Supporters of Atiku Abubakar in Rivers State, under the aegis Atiku Support Organisation, have demanded the release of over 30 of its members allegedly arrested in the state on the order of Governor Nyesom Wike.

Mr Atiku is the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for the 25 February election.

Spokesperson for the group, Victor Moses, made the claim in a statement on Sunday.

He said armed police officers invaded their meeting venue on Sunday in Port Harcourt and arrested their members.

The meeting was for preparation towards the PDP presidential campaign rally in the state on 11 February, he said.

Realising the armed men were sent to stop the meeting, some members escaped through the fence sustaining wounds caused by barbed wire, while over 30 of our members, state and LGA leaders, most of whom are women, were arrested and taken away in two white Hilux of the intelligence unit, while about four (Toyota) Hilux heavily armed with police sealed up the meeting venue, Mr Moses said.

Mr Moses said calls to the phone numbers of the arrested members were not going through.

He appealed to the inspector general of police to step into the matter and order the release of their members to avert a crisis in the forthcoming election.

The Commissioner for Information in Rivers, Chris Finebone, denied knowledge of the arrest but said members of the group may have been arrested for violating the law.

If anybody is arrested for going against the law the person might find it very convenient to drag the name of the governor into it, he said.

Police spokesperson in the state, Grace Iringe-koko, when contacted declined comments on the matter.

The spokesperson of the PDP Presidential Campaign Council in Rivers State, Leloonu Nwibubasa told PREMIUM TIMES, Sunday evening, he was aware of the incident but said he was yet to confirm if those arrested were Mr Atikus supporters.

Background

Mr Wike has been at loggerhead with Mr Atiku after the presidential primary of the party last year, which he lost to the former vice president.

The governor fell out with Mr Atiku for reneging on the alleged promise to ensure the exit of the National Chairman of the party, Iyorchia Ayu, so that a southerner can lead the party for the sake of a regional balance.

Messrs Atiku and Ayu are both northerners.

Mr Wike now leads the G5, a group of PDP governors who are aggrieved with Mr Atiku and the PDP leadership.

Governor Samuel Ortom (Benue), Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi (Enugu), Okezie Ikpeazu (Abia) and Seyi Makinde (Oyo) are the other members of the G5.

Members of the group who were appointed into the Atiku presidential campaign council withdrew their membership and boycotted its inauguration.

Governor Wike last week cancelled the approval it earlier granted the PDP Presidential Campaign Council to use the Adokiye Amiesimaka Stadium for the 11 February PDP presidential rally in the state.

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The World Bank Country Office in Nigerias capital city, Abuja, has said that the hardship being faced by Nigerians due to fuel scarcity and the naira redesign policy could escalate tension in Africas largest economy ahead of the general elections.

According to an internal document dated February 2, obtained exclusively by PREMIUM TIMES, the bank said that the deadline of 10 February for the phasing out of old naira notes will cause a cash crunch which could be economically and socially damaging to vulnerable people in Nigeria.

The shortage of cash compounds fuel shortages which have been ongoing for months, the bank said.

There is a clear risk that cash shortages cause hardship and frustration which could escalate social tensions, especially in a febrile political environment ahead of elections on February 25 (presidential and parliamentary) and March 11 (gubernatorial).

Prior to the implementation of the new note policy, the World Bank said the latest available data shows that only 45 per cent of Nigerian adults had a bank account, 34 per cent reported paying or receiving money digitally over the past year, and that only nine per cent made an in-store payment by digital means.

Based on this, it said the Nigerian authorities should consider allowing for a longer implementation period, well beyond February 10.

According to the bank, Nigeria is highly unlikely to achieve digital payments increase quickly enough to complement the lingering shortages of new notes across the country within the stipulated deadline.

Naira redesign, Scarcity

The Central Bank of Nigeria on 26 October, 2022, announced the introduction of redesigned 200, 500 and 1,000 naira notes into the financial system. But since the notes were unveiled, Nigerians across different parts of the country have had a hard time accessing it from banks and ATM points.

Last week, amid the chaos caused by the scarcity of the new notes, the CBN extended the deadline for the phasing out of the old notes from 31 January to 10 February.

Despite the extension, many Nigerians working in the informal sector of the economy have had to scramble for the new notes while others lamented their inability to withdraw their hard earned money from their bank accounts.

Deposit Money Banks have equally been accused of hoarding the new notes, while some mobile cash point vendors are said to be exploiting the situation by dispensing the new notes to customers at skyrocketed prices.

The World Bank in its document noted that anecdotal evidence and media reports suggest that the new notes are scarce.

The annual capacity of the national mint is reportedly 2 billion notes, so even assuming it produces only the highest denomination 1,000 naira notes, it would take a year to produce NGN 2 trillion worth of notes, it said.

Consequently, the bank noted that if existing notes are indeed demonetised on February 10, there will be a major shortage of physical currency.

Roughly N500 billion worth of new notes may be available, compared with NGN 800 billion worth of old notes outside of banks as of last week and NGN 2.7 trillion outside of banks before this policy began to get implemented, the bank said.

Socio-economic Cost

The World bank said the shortfall in the physical availability of cash seems to stifled economic activities as it is increasingly becoming difficult to transact business.

It said the shortage is likely to affect poor and vulnerable households in rural areas the most, since they have the highest dependency on cash, and the lowest access to banking and mobile money services.

At a minimum, the bank said that the new policy imposes a transaction cost on people by forcing them to deposit their existing notes or exchange them for new ones, potentially at a large premium to traders, which again may be most significant for the poorest and most isolated households.

Digital Payments

As of 2021, the world bank explained that the formal bank account ownership for Nigerian adults was below the average in the Sub-Saharan Africa region, as well as the global average.

It said only 34 per cent of Nigerian adults reportedly made or received digital payments in 2021 and that it appears overly optimistic to expect that the remaining large majority (two-thirds of people) can quickly switch to doing so despite being unfamiliar with the technology and possibly lacking access to mobile phones and digital devices.

Even in Kenya, which has one of the highest take-ups of mobile money in Africa, 22% of people still report not receiving or using digital payments, showing the continued need for cash even in an environment where digital payments have become the norm, the bank noted.

It said digitisation is a structural challenge that will take time and require a systematic approach, especially to address inclusion challenges.

While the total number of digital transactions in Nigeria has been growing rapidly year over year, the bank said the number of digital transactions per capita is still low compared to developed countries such as Sweden and Finland (where the use of cash is very low) with high levels of digital payments adoption.

Policy Outlook

In considering the timing of the policy implementation, the World bank recommended that the Nigerian authorities should also take into consideration the level of merchant acceptance of digital payments and adoption of in-store payments in the country.

At about 9 per cent of total transactions, the level of digital payments remains very limited when compared to peer countries, limiting the number of digital use cases for most peoples daily transactions, it said.

Differences in account ownership between urban and rural areas should also be considered, as the account ownership level and the access points distribution tend to differ, the bank said.

The bank noted that data on the size of the informal economy should be considered when promoting a rapid shift to digital payments, as informal businesses might face challenges in digitising their payment acceptance without undergoing a formalisation process.

Digital infrastructure gaps (i.e., poor connectivity, limited national ID coverage, etc.) and the payment systems operational reliability to absorb a steep increase of transactions from cash to digital in a limited timeframe should be considered, the bank added.

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ZHENGZHOU  During this year's Spring Festival holiday, the county of Tangyin in Henan province welcomed an increased number of tourists. Many of them came to pay tribute to Yue Fei, a Song Dynasty (960-1279) general and national hero.

The tourist surge was attributed to the success of Full River Red, a domestic blockbuster that debuted during Spring Festival. As of Jan 27, the last day of the holiday, the film had generated a total box-office revenue of about 2.6 billion yuan ($385 million), making it No 1 in the holiday box-office chart.

The historical drama, which shares the title with a well-known lyrical poem by Yue, was directed by acclaimed Chinese director Zhang Yimou. Its suspenseful plot revolves around a series of events surrounding Yue's death.

Many viewers were moved to tears by the ending of the movie, which featured thousands of soldiers reciting the lyrical poem in concert.

The film's popularity sparked public admiration for Yue, who gallantly fought battles against the Jurchen people and was celebrated for his loyalty and courage. "On Jan 27 alone, we received over 10,000 tourists," says Xu Suting, curator of the Yue Fei memorial hall in Tangyin county.

To cater to the tourists' enthusiasm, on Jan 26 the site announced that anyone who can recite the aforementioned lyrical poem in person can visit for free. On that very day, 437 visitors were granted free entrance after successfully reciting the composition.

"I wanted to visit the Temple of Yue Fei after watching the film," says a tourist surnamed Han. He says that by reciting the poem with his children and appreciating the steles engraved with the verses, he profoundly felt Yue's patriotic spirit.

Public interest in Yue's story also extended to other characters involved. At a tourist site in Zhoukou, Henan province, visitors waited in line to smack the bronze statue of a kneeling Qin Hui, a Song Dynasty official who is despised by Chinese people for plotting Yue's death by fabricating charges against him.

According to employees of the tourist site, "smacking Qin Hui "is a traditional local activity that has the connotation of chasing away bad luck. With Full River Red hitting the big screen this year, there are considerably more people participating in this activity.

One of the film's intentions is to illustrate and highlight Yue's spirit. In an article posted on China's leading film rating platform Douban, Chen Yu, the film's screenwriter, wrote that Yue's lyrical poem contains a kind of culture or emotion shared by Chinese people.

"By making this film, we try to explore why Chinese people are so familiar with Yue's lyrical poem and admire his character," writes Chen.
Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has learned that many Cameroonian intelligence officers have been arrested in connection with journalist Martinez Zogos murder, and that a suspect who has confessed to participating in the murder has even said that it was Cameroon's justice minister who ordered it.

More than 20 members of Cameroons General Directorate for External Investigations (DGRE) have been arrested in the capital in the past few days in connection with the murder of Martinez Zogo, whose mutilated body was found on 22 January. The shocking statements they have made to investigators have coincided with a political battle to succeed President Paul Biya, who will be 90 in a few days, and even attempts to destabilise the government.

Yesterday evening, DGRE boss Leopold Maxime Eko Eko, who is among those who have been arrested, was still denying that he was aware of the plan to silence Zogo, who was Radio Amplitude FMs presenter.

But his deputy, special operations director Justin Danwe, has provided a shocking statement. In confessions that he hand-wrote during his interrogation, and which RSF has seen, he provides a detailed account of the gruesome operation to silence Zogo and he emerges as the head of the unit that carried it out. Lt. Col. Danwe recognises his involvement and says he told his superior. His account shows that Zogos murder was a state crime.

He provides a detailed description of how Zogo was followed for a week, in order to establish the pattern of his movements, until his abduction on the evening of 17 January by DRGE members including Danwe, who was the one in charge. Zogo was reportedly taken to a building under construction that belongs to Jean-Pierre Amougou Belinga, a powerful businessman who Zogo had accused of embezzlement.

According to Danwes confession, Belinga himself then beat Zogo in the basement of his building and telephoned justice minister Laurent Esso, to whom he is close, to ask him what Zogos fate should be. Esso, who is one of the most powerful members of the government, allegedly responded that Belinga should finish the job to avoid a repetition of the case of Paul Chouta, a journalist who was beaten last year by a mysterious group of assailants who were never unidentified. They left Chouta for dead at the roadside but he ended up surviving.

According to Danwes statement, Belinga was not present when the job was finished, a task that Danwe acknowledges having carried out himself together with his men. According to the information that RSF has obtained from a medical source, Zogos body was badly mutilated. Fingers were cut off, his arms and legs were broken in several places, and a steel rod was rammed into his anus.

The investigation, which is being led by a mixed commission of gendarmes and police officers and is being carried out on President Biyas orders, has clearly made extraordinary progress in the past few days. How much further will it go? RSF has been told that other important persons, including several other ministers close to Belinga, could have been informed in advance of the plan to kill Zogo and could even have been involved.

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The outcome of the investigations remains very uncertain as the affairs ramifications reach up to the highest level of the state while the political environment is described by several local sources as verging on insurrectionary.

For a while last night, it was being reported that Belinga had been arrested, but he finally made an appearance at one of his companies this morning, displaying an extraordinary degree of calm given the accusations being made against him.

RSF has tried several times to reach the justice minister, without success.

Cameroon is ranked 118th out of 180 countries in RSF's 2022 World Press Freedom Index.
The All Progressives Congress (APC) has postponed its presidential campaign rally in Ibadan, Oyo State.

The rally had been scheduled for Tuesday at Mapo Hall in the state capital.

But the spokesperson of the APC in the state, Olawale Sadare, on Monday said the rally has been postponed indefinitely.

Mr Sadare said the postponement was due to fuel scarcity and unavailability of cash due to the currency redesign policy being implemented.

He further said the rally was postponed to allow President Muhammadu Buhari to resolve the issue of fuel and naira notes scarcity.

We regret to announce the indefinite postponement of our presidential rally earlier slated for tomorrow (Tuesday). The decision was taken, apparently, in consideration to the prevailing challenges facing the people and the need to allow President Muhammadu Buhari work around the situation and ensure that normalcy returns particularly as it concerns fuel and currency notes crisis, he said.

At Oyo APC, we were convinced that it was necessary to go ahead with event in order not to play into the hands of some anti-democratic forces who do not want the nations general election to go on as scheduled because they feel the outcome of the poll, this time, would produce a new order capable of returning Nigeria to Nigerians, he added.

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Although a new date is yet to be announced, I can assure the general public that Oyo state will host Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu in no time and it is going to be a huge success. However, we appeal for calm among the citizenry as we must not lose focus on doing all that is necessary to ensure the fruition of the dream to have Tinubu as the next president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

There has been chaos in many parts of Ibadan since last week as protesters took to the streets to express their grievances over hardship resulting from the scarcity of fuel and banknotes.

Protesters on Friday attacked the state governors office when security agencies attempted to prevent them from seeing the governor, Seyi Makinde.

Police in the state confirmed that one person was shot dead when security officers confronted a group of protesters on Sunday in the Apata area of Ibadan.

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The presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Tinubu, has said the Presidential Campaign Council of the party decided to go ahead with a planned rally in Katsina State despite the killing of vigilante members by terrorists to avoid giving the killers a sense of victory.

More than 100 vigilante group members were killed in a clash with terrorists last Thursday in the Yargoje forest of Kankara area.

Mr Tinubu said he discussed with the state governor, Aminu Masari, Sunday night whether the rally should be called off due to the killing but the governor advised otherwise.

Only yesterday, the governor and all of us discussed whether we should continue with the rally today or cancel. He (Me Masari) said if we cancel they (terrorists) they would appear to have achieved their objectives. There is nothing, nothing happened without the wills of Allah. We should take it (killing) as a crime without passion.. Well continue to welcome our president home continue with our rally and ignore the killers because they will pay the price because they have committed heinous crime thats not prescribed by any faith or believer. Therefore, we continue today by summoning our courage and I salute all of you., he said.

Mr Tinubu said he shared the pains of the people of the state.

He said the terrorists would not win against the state because the government would deal with them (terrorists).

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They (terrorists) will not win. The wicked shall perish; we will deal with them. No way that they will go scot-free. No way. Whether they derive some moment of joy or satisfaction, were saying were bold, were courageous. We believe in Allah and were better than them.. theyre evil.. well defeat them, he said.

Earlier at the Katsina Government House, Mr Tinubu pledged a N100 million Naira contribution to the state for onward distribution to victims of terrorist activities in the state.

In his remarks at the rally, President Muhammadu Buhari said they would continue to support the former Lagos governor since the party trusted Mr Tinubu to carry its mandate.

Ive come here to show you our candidate. The party we belong to..the party we accept as our own, the party that produced us, is the party that produced him (Mr Tinubu) therefore we would continue to show our support and campaign for our candidate, Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

He said those at the rally should tell their neigbours to vote for APC for stability in the country.

Mr Buhari said the price of petrol per barrel has significantly dropped compared to 1999 to 2015 when the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) was in power.

Please, this election tell your neighbours, family and friends to come out en masse and vote for our candidates at federal and State levels. Please and please, by God you people should continue to be patient, we need to continue to stabilise this country because you know how we met it. You know the situation. From 1999 to 2015 when I came to power, every day, this country was getting crude oil to the tune of 2,100,000 at 100 US dollar. When we came the price unfortunately dropped among other things. They also released terrorists in the place where there is fuel but even at that, look at what weve achieved,  he said.

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Outspoken Catholic priest, Ejike Mbaka, has warned President Muhammadu Buhari and the Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele, to end the scarcity of the redesigned naira notes in the country or face dire consequences.

Mr Mbaka who spoke during a service on Sunday at the Adoration Ministry ground, Enugu, said he received a mandate from God to ask Messrs Buhari and Emefiele to intervene in the matter if they want to escape Gods punishment.

A video clip of the cleric speaking during the service has been circulating on Facebook and other social media platforms.

I am giving both the president and the CBN governor a mandate from heaven. If they dont react immediately and stop this self-imposed wicked suffering on the people, they will suffer, Mr Mbaka stated.

Why do you want to multiply misery? People are sleeping in the banks to get their money. In which country has it ever happened? Parents cannot have money to buy foodstuffs for their children, he added.

Naira scarcity may affect 2023 polls

The cleric suggested the scarcity of the new naira notes was likely to affect the 2023 general election in the country.

Everybody is thinking about election. Do you think that if this situation continues, Nigerians will do election? Will people not be alive to do the election? Will dead men win elections? he said.

The cleric said the scarcity of the new naira notes had impoverished many families and was threatening to kill several others.

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Everybody is suffering now. People will suffer and suffer to get money and suffer more to take their money and there is still a country, he said.

Many Nigerians have been experiencing a scarcity of the new notes lately following CBNs policy for a phase-out of the old naira notes  N200, N500 and N1, 000.

There are long queues at ATM centres across Nigeria and most POS operators no longer have adequate cash to meet their customers needs. A few who do have cash, charge exorbitant fees for such transactions.

Im back, cant stop speaking up

PREMIUM TIMES reported that the leadership of the Catholic Diocese of Enugu had last October directed Mr Mbaka to step down as the spiritual director of the ministry and proceed to a monastery as part of the disciplinary measures against him.

The disciplinary measures against the cleric followed his scathing remarks against Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi.

In November, Mr Mbaka was spotted in a monastery in Los Angeles, United States, where he was said to have gone in continuation of the disciplinary measure imposed on him by the church leadership.

Last month, the cleric returned to Nigeria from the US and resumed activities at the ministry.

During the Sunday service, he said although he had completed the disciplinary measure at the monastery, he would not stop speaking up against unfair government policies in the country.

I am a prophet of God. My job is to speak. When God is angry, I will represent the voice of God in anger. When God is happy, I will speak and represent the voice of God in joy, he said.

Nobody can kill a man of God and until God says it is over.

The cleric said he was disturbed when he returned from his journey at a US monastery and met many Nigerians suffering due to fuel scarcity and new naira notes.

I have returned from the monastery, like Moses coming down from the mountain, only to see my people suffering in misery, in sorrow (and) in agony, he said.

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Enugu Senator, Chimaroke Nnamani, has insisted that his suspension by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for supporting the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Tinubu, was ill-conceived and unconstitutional.

Mr Nnamani, in a statement on Monday, said the decision of the party to suspend him without a fair hearing will collapse.

The senator has consistently expressed his support for Mr Tinubu against the candidate of his party, Atiku Abubakar.

Mr Nnamani, a former governor of Enugu State, is the senator representing Enugu East on the platform of the PDP.

He is also the senatorial candidate of the party for Enugu East in the 25 February National Assembly elections.

He was suspended in January, alongside eight other members of the party by the National Working Committee (NWC) over allegations of anti-party activities.

In the statement, Mr Nnamani stated that his right to a fair hearing was violated because he was neither informed of any complaints against him nor was he invited by the party.

He said: The PDP Penkelemesi suspension without hearing is incurably messy and will collapse.

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He explained that his support for Mr Tinubu was necessitated by the PDP refusal to comply with its own constitution to wit; that key political offices should at all times be rotated between the South and North to guarantee harmony, peace, fairness, equity and justice.

He stated that the main opposition party must put its house in order by ensuring justice and equity.

As it is now, there is no fairness, justice and equity in the PDP because both the Presidential Candidate and the National Chairman are from the same region

I am only exercising my right to freedom of choice and association. On this score, I stand with Tinubu, he said.

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Outspoken Catholic priest, Ejike Mbaka, has demanded the immediate release of Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the outlawed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB).

Mr Mbaka stated this on Sunday during a service at the Adoration Ministry Ground, Enugu.

A video clip of the cleric speaking during the service has been circulating on Facebook and other social media platforms.

Please, I ask in the name of God and that by the power of God, our leaders should quickly release Nnamdi Kanu, he said.

IPOB, in August 2021, introduced a sit-at-home order every Monday across the South-east to put pressure on the Nigerian government to release Mr Kanu, who is standing trial in Abuja for alleged terrorism.

The separatist group later suspended the order, in preference for it (the order) to be implemented only the days Mr Kanu appears in court.

But despite its suspension, residents of the five South-east states  Enugu, Ebonyi, Imo, Abia and Anambra- have been observing the Monday sit-at-home order, mostly out of fear.

Some residents and motorists, including commuters, have been attacked by gunmen for stepping out of their homes on Monday and other days declared as sit-at-home.

People suffering

Mr Mbaka bemoaned the suffering of the South-east residents over the sit-at-home.

He said the Nigerian government by not releasing Mr Kanu had shown no concern about the situation.

Igbos have been suffering. Students wouldnt go to school on Mondays, civil servants wouldnt go to work. Every Monday would be a lockdown. Our leaders dont care, Mr Mbaka said.

IPOB 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 the South-south.

Mr Kanu was first arrested in 2015 but was granted bail in April 2017. He fled the country after an invasion of his home in Afara-Ukwu, near Umuahia, Abia State, by the Nigerian military in September of that year.

He was re-arrested in Kenya and brought back to Nigeria in June 2021, about four years after he fled the country.

The Court of Appeal, Abuja, in October last year, held that the IPOB leader was extra-ordinarily extradited to Nigeria and that the action was a flagrant violation of the countrys extradition treaty and also a breach of his fundamental human rights.

The court, therefore, struck out the terrorism charges filed against Mr Kanu by the Nigerian government and ordered his release from the custody of the State Security Service.

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But the government refused to release the IPOB leader, insisting that he (Kanu) could be unavailable in subsequent court proceedings if released, and that his release would cause insecurity in the South-east.

The government, through the office of the Attorney-General of the Federation, appealed the court ruling and obtained a Supreme Court order staying execution of the court judgement.

Judiciary is dying

Mr Mbaka said the refusal by the government to release the IPOB leader after being acquitted by the court was an affront against the judiciary.

There is a problem. The judiciary is dying. If the court can acquit somebody and somebody else will say no, then the country is gone. Its a coup detat against the judiciary. And as a man of God, I stand up to say, release him (Kanu). Do the needful, he said.

The Catholic priest said he was speaking out because calamity could befall the leaders behind Mr Kanus continued detention after his court acquittal.

He said those keeping quiet should speak out because they could be the next victim of the interference of the executive arm of the government against the judiciary.

He added that the IPOB leader should be released because his continued detention can cripple the country.

Nnamdi Kanus case is like a trigger in the gun. You must be careful how you touch the trigger when the gun is loaded, Mr Mbaka said

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The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Rivers State Chapter, has ordered all civil servants in the state to sit at home if the scarcity of fuel and naira persists from Monday.

The NLC chairperson in the state, Beatrice Itubo, gave the directive while briefing reporters in the state on Sunday, Sun newspaper reported.

We have declared a sit at home for all workers from Monday till further notice if the fuel crisis and crazy transportation fare hike continues, Mrs Itubo said.

Mrs Itubo, who is the governorship candidate of the Labour Party in Rivers, said the action was not targeted at anyone or the state government.

Anyone or organisation who queries or sacks any worker who observes the sit-at-home declared will have the Rivers State NLC to contend with.

Ordinarily, if we had a listening government, I have no business to have started this journey. We cannot keep suffering because of this misrule.

We are reacting to the situation we find ourselves in as Nigerian workers, Mrs Itubo said, adding that it was one of the things that spurred her to run for the office of the governor of the state.

Her directives came hours after the presidential candidate of the Labour party, Peter Obi, urged Nigerians to be patient with the Central Bank of Nigeria over the currency swap policy which he said Nigerians would soon harvest its benefits.

Mr Obi, a former governor of Anambra State, stated this in a post on Twitter on Sunday.

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Many Nigerians have criticised the CBN and the federal government over the policy, which has brought hardship because of the scarcity of the redesigned naira notes.

Nigerians, including Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State, have described the policy as anti-people.

Amidst the hardship the policy has triggered, President Muhammadu Buhari, on Friday, urged citizens to give him seven days to resolve the cash crunch across the country.

Nigerias Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, on Friday, faulted the policy and lamented the hardship it has caused the masses.

Backstory

For weeks, Nigerians have been rushing to meet the CBN deadline for the phase-out of the old naira notes  N200, N500 and N1, 000.

There had been long queues at ATMs across the country. Point of Sales (POS) centres have cashed on the desperate situation to charge exorbitant fees.

The naira scarcity has compounded the fuel crisis in Nigeria. Prices of goods and services have continued to increase daily.

In response to the public outcry, the CBN extended the deadline from 31 January to 10 February.

Many Nigerians still keep vigil at ATM centres in long queues despite the extension while the POS operators no longer have cash to meet the demands of their customers. Those who manage to have cash charge exorbitant fees for such transactions leaving Nigerians stranded and helpless.

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The Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, has described as a victory for the All Progressives Congress (APC) the Supreme Court judgement affirming him as the Yobe APC Senatorial candidate.

He stated this while briefing journalists on Monday, in Abuja, after the judgement was delivered by Centus Nweze, a justice of the court.

Mr Lawan, while thanking God for the victory, said: Let me start by thanking God for his blessing and of course, what had happened today in the Supreme Court.

The judgement on Yobe North particularly, is a victory for APC in Yobe and generally APC across the country.

What happened was democracy at work and the courts gave their various judgements and of course the supreme court gave the final judgement.

I want to at this point, commend the supreme court and of course, the judiciary generally for making this kind of judgment to strengthen our democracy.

This is because it is not only for politicians to work and strengthen democracy, it is all of us and all the institutions have their roles to play. So I commend them.

He further thanked the APC for taking this matter to the supreme court.

So today, it is a victory for all of us involved. I am the symbol but the victory is for our party the APC and for democracy.

Mr Lawan also thanked his colleagues in the Senate for their support, love and partnership.

He said: I want to recommit myself that I will lead well.

We will always be appreciative of our colleagues who gave us the mandate to lead the ninth National Assembly.

We will be looking at 25 February when the presidential and the National Assembly elections will take place.

By the Grace of God, Nigerians will vote APC once again. On the 25th, the presidential candidate of the APC, Bola Tinubu, will be voted in as president of Nigeria by the grace of God alongside Senator Kashim Shettima who is the vice presidential candidate.

When it comes to the senatorial and House of Representatives, you know what it will be. It will be a landslide majority for the APC and the same thing for the House of Representatives.

The Supreme Court on Monday affirmed Mr Lawan, APC senatorial candidate for Yobe North.

In a majority judgement delivered by Mr Nweze, the court allowed the appeal filed by the APC against Bashir Machinas candidature.

NAN recalled that a judge, Monica Dongban-Mensen, who presided over a three-member panel of the appellate court, gave the affirmation in an appeal by the APC challenging the decision of Fadimatu Aminu, a judge of the Federal High Court, Damaturu.

Mrs Aminu of the Federal High Court had on 28 September 2022 declared Mr Machina as the winner of the primary election organised by the party on 28 May 2022.

However, having lost the APC presidential primary to Bola Tinubu, the party opted for Mr Lawan to replace Mr Machina.

But Mr Machina insisted that he would not withdraw for the senate president.

In the face of the controversy, the APC submitted the Senate Presidents name to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as its senatorial candidate for Yobe North.

Not satisfied with the decision of his party, Mr Machina headed to court to seek redress.

Specifically, Mr Machina. in his suit, asked the court to declare him as the validly elected senatorial candidate of the APC for Yobe North Senatorial District.

Mrs Aminu had nullified the parallel primary election that produced Mr Lawan on 9 June 2022, insisting that the National Working Committee of the APC conducted a valid primary election on 28 May, which was won by Mr Machina.

Consequently, the trial judge ordered the APC to forward the name of Mr Machina to INEC as the authentic winner of the primary election for the district.

(NAN)

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The Nigerian Air Force (NAF) says its maritime patrol aircraft, Cessna Citation CJ3, on a routine flight on Monday, carried out a controlled belly land at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos.

The NAF Director of Public Relations and Information, Wap Maigida, an air commodore, in a statement in Abuja, said the aircraft lost its tyres on a touch-and-go flight in Ilorin.

Mr Maigida said that there were no fatalities or injuries to any crew member or persons on the ground.

He said the Chief of the Air Staff, Oladayo Amao, an air marshall, had directed the immediate constitution of a Board of Inquiry to determine the cause(s) of the accident.

A Nigerian Air Force (NAF) maritime patrol aircraft, a Cessna Citation CJ3 on a routine flight today, 6 February 2023 lost its tyres on touch and go flight in Ilorin and had to carry out a controlled bellyland at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, the statement said.

Fortunately, there were no fatalities or injuries to any crew member and persons on the ground.

The Chief of the Air Staff, Air Marshal Oladayo Amao, has directed the immediate constitution of a Board of Inquiry to determine the cause (s) of the accident.

The NAF continues to solicit the understanding and support of the general public as it daily strives to ensure the security of Nigeria and Nigerians.

(NAN)

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The Kogi State High Court in Lokoja has ordered the chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Abdulrasheed Bawa, to be imprisoned for disobeying its order.

The court also directed the Inspector General of Police to arrest Mr Bawa and remand him in Kuje prison, Abuja, for the next 14 days, Channels Television reports.

The judge, Rukayat Ayoola, ordered that Mr Bawa be detained in prison until he purges himself of the contempt, meaning until he clears himself of the contempt for which he was jailed.

The EFCC chairman was not present in court during the sitting and is, however, not expected to spend time in jail, despite the court ruling, based on precedence.

Ms Ayoola issued the committal order based on an application filed by Ali Bello accusing Mr Bawa of disobeying a court ruling by going ahead to arraign him on 15 December 2022 against an earlier court order made on 12 December 2022.

In the said 12 December 2022 ruling, the court ruled that the arrest and detention of Mr Bello on 29 November 2022 by EFCC and its chair in the face of an earlier subsisting court order without a warrant of arrest or being informed of the offence for which he was arrested is unlawful and unconstitutional.

The court also held that the arrest and detention of the applicant contravened his right to personal liberty and dignity of the human person guaranteed under Chapter IV of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended) and Articles 5 and 6 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights.

The court had also ordered the respondents to tender an apology to the applicant in a national newspaper and awarded N10 million compensation for him.

The applicant said the EFCC chairperson was directed to produce him in court but failed.

Mr Bellos lawyer, Sumaila Abbas, had filed the application against Mr Bawa for arresting and detaining the applicant illegally.

The lawyer argued that despite the court ruling in his favour, the EFCC, in defiance of the order, went ahead, to arraign him for money laundering three days after the ruling.

The EFCCs applications for setting aside and staying execution of the ruling were refused for want of merit.

The applicant had applied to the court to issue Form 49, titled Notice to Show Cause Why Order of Committal Should not be Made.

The court ordered that the EFCC and Mr Bawa be served the motion of notice together with Form 49 by substituted means.

Form 49, issued on 15 December 2022, and addressed to Mr Bawa directed him to appear in court on 18 January 2023.

Earlier committal

The order issued by the court on Monday made the second time Mr Bawa would be ordered to be imprisoned by a court for contempt in less than four months.

The High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) in Abuja found Mr Bawa guilty of contempt on 28 October 2022.

The judge, Chizoba Oji, convicted Mr Bawa and ordered the Inspector of General of Police to put him in Kuje prison in Abuja for disobeying an earlier order of the court.

Ms Oji convicted and jailed Mr Bawa on 28 October in a ruling on an application by a former Director of Operations at the Nigerian Air Force (NAF), Rufus Ojuawo.

Mr Ojuawo, a retired air vice marshal (AVM), was previously prosecuted by the EFCC on corruption charges but was acquitted by another judge of the FCT High Court.

In his application levelling a charge of contempt against EFCC and its chairperson, Mr Ojuawo accused the agency and its leadership of violating the courts order issued on 21 November 2018 ordering them to return his seized Range Rover and N40 million to him.

The order has been subsisting since the time of Ibrahim Magu as the acting chairperson of the EFCC. The commission continued to disobey the court order after Mr Bawa became EFCC chairman in February 2021.

But the court on 10 November 22 nullified its committal order following an application by the EFCC chair to reverse itself.

Ruling on the request, Ms Oji said she was satisfied that the EFCC Chairman did not disregard the courts orders, asking him to release seized assets belonging to Rufus Ojuawo, a retired air vice marshal.

The judge held that evidence before her showed Mr Bawa had complied with the courts order, directing the EFCC to return a Range Rover Sport vehicle valued at N40 million, which it confiscated from Mr Ojuawo, a former Director of Operations at the Nigerian Air Force.

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Whether we like it or not, Nigeria fate is tied to restructuring. But like all revolutionary reforms, restructuring is highly contentious and would require that a careful consensus be negotiated across parties, tiers and organs of government. Like Mallam El-Rufai himself said in the interview, constitutional amendments take time. This is why it is wrong of him to scape-goat an individual simply because it is politically convenient to do so

I watched with utter surprise and some disappointment, Governor Nasir El-Rufais comment on Arise News last week that the APC has not kept its 2015 promise of restructuring because of the activities of some fifth columnists within the party. He specifically mentioned Dr Bukola Saraki who was president of the Senate at the time. This statement is not only untrue, but it is also unfair.

I was a member of the El-Rufai Committee on True Federalism, as well as a national officer of the party at the time. I am therefore in a position to know why we set up the committee and why the report of that committee was not implemented, and this has nothing to do with Dr Saraki or the Senate that he led.

I write this statement not to defend Dr Saraki. The person who has the job to do so has issued a statement in this regard. However, for the sake of posterity and those who are genuinely interested in the truth, it is important that those of us who were part of that story should speak out.

As the National Publicity Secretary of the APC at the time, I was the one who reported to the National Chairman, Chief John Oyegun, that the party was being severely criticised across the country for not keeping its promise on restructuring and, therefore, we needed to be seen to start taking actions on this particular cardinal principle of our party, since it appeared no one in government was willing to do so.

We discussed this extensively and agreed to set up a committee. Like most of us, the National Chairman instinctively trusted on the technical capacity of Governor El-Rufai to lead the committee, and this was unanimously agreed. The committees primary assignment was to resolve the apparent crisis of definition that had bedeviled the term restructuring. We felt it was important for us to understand what the general public expected from restructuring and attempt to reconcile this with what the party promised, before we moved to the implementation phase.

Even before we set out on the nationwide consultation, we knew it was going to be the easiest part of our assignment. We knew that the party did not have the mandate to initiate the kind of revolutionary constitutional amendment that our manifesto promised. At best, we could only hope to rely on the willingness of other actors, outside our control, to undertake the more difficult task of implementing whatever report the committee would be submitting.

As the National Publicity Secretary, I must admit that the issue of implementation was a secondary concern for me. At that point, anything that would make the party look good in the eye of the public who had begun to question our commitment to the issue of restructuring would be sufficient. The mere optics of setting up the committee and publicising the report would certainly help to ease up the pressure.

At the end of the nationwide consultation, the committee wrote a comprehensive report. It was to Governor El-Rufais credit as well as the Secretary of the committee, Senator Olubunmi Adetunmbi that the report also proactively included some draft bills that appeared ready for transmission to the legislature. I believed this was a smart pre-emptive move to push our case, knowing quite well how the simple process of producing draft bills could be the reason that no further action would be taken for a long time.

The next phase was to take the report to the various organs of the party for approval. But even at that initial stage, I observed that the problem of definition that we set out to solve still lingered. The South-West elements within the party felt that anything short of regionalisation was not good enough and would amount to a cynical bastardisation of the original promise made in the manifesto. The report from the South-South favoured resource control, while the North was largely indifferent. Perhaps most interesting for me was that despite what we all thought, we did not hear any agitation for Biafra in our South-East consultation, rather what they wanted was the creation of an additional state.

It is important to note however that the letters of the manifesto did not promise any of these sectional agenda. What was promised was a fundamental restructuring in governance anchored essentially on devolution of powers. While it was clear that there was still no shared understanding of what restructuring meant, the committee went ahead to make recommendations along the line of what the party had actually promised.

On 31 January, 2018, we presented a summary of the report to the general public in Abuja. When the report appeared finalised, we now came to the big issue of implementation. And everything happened as we had feared. Two options were available to us. One was to persuade Mr President to take ownership and lead the process; the other was to get our National Assembly caucus to accept the responsibility for the implementation of the report.

We generally preferred the first option, because we felt that the President could use his convening authority to bring everyone, including the National Assembly on board. We therefore started to look forward to an official presentation of the report to the President. To our disappointment, however, it was only the Chairman of the party, Chief Oyegun and the Committee Chairman, Mallam El-Rufai who had the opportunity of a private session to brief the President. From then onward, everything that we knew was what these two gentlemen told us.

They told us that the President was quite excited by the report. This greatly raised our hopes; even though we were not happy that we did not have the opportunity of a photo-op with the President, which in itself, would have made waves across the country that the party was actually making good on its restructuring promise. The second-best option was an official statement from the Presidency, acknowledging the partys report and making a categorical commitment to its implementation. We also expected the President to thereafter direct the Attorney-General to commence the process of transmitting the constitutional amendment proposals to the National Assembly. But to our utter dismay, none of these happened. If the President was indeed enthusiastic about our work as we were told, we saw no evidence of this or of any desire to own and lead the process.

We were therefore left with the second, but more complex, option of lobbying the National Assembly directly. We had anticipated this at the beginning when we embedded representatives of the National Assembly in the committee. However, this was the time that the relationship between the Senate and the Executive had more or less broken down. When we met with the party caucus in the Senate, it turned out to be a grievance ventilation session that left us feeling as though we had put the cart before the horse. All the senators had one issue or the other that they felt the party needed to address.

It was not the first time that the party would find itself caught in the middle of the raging acrimony between the two organs of our government. Yet, all we had was power of moral suasion. But from what I saw, it did not seem that both parties held the party in the highest esteem. In fact, I can confidently say that most of the frustrations that we suffered did not boil over only thanks to the great humility and maturity of Chief Oyegun.

Mallam El-Rufai knows that this is the truth, because he was actually one of the few governors who were always ready to champion the interest of the party. But I understand that it is more convenient to blame Dr Saraki and some fifth columnists than to blame Mr President. But those of us who risked our lives to traverse the country on this assignment and saw what eventually happened, are very clear why our work did not gain the required traction. Before we can blame Dr Saraki or the Senate under his leadership for the failure to implement the report, we have to be able to claim that the report was actually transmitted to him by the President, who has the power to do so. Can we honestly make this claim?

The fact that the party had to take it upon itself to set up the committee, after we had spent almost three years in government, says so much about how seriously the government had taken the party manifesto. Is Mallam El-Rufai not aware that it took the government less than a hundred days to disown the party manifesto and the policy documents derived from it as the work of some over-zealous party members, which they said had nothing to do with President Buhari? The truth is that the section of the party which felt triumphant after the 2015 presidential election failed to own the promise of restructuring or even the party manifesto altogether. Is it a secret that some powerful people in government had actually dismissed restructuring as an ACN/South-West agenda?

Yet, the entire claim of APC to a progressive ideology is anchored on this matter of restructuring. It was therefore reasonable to expect that this would top the agenda of government. But that was not what happened. The party took it upon itself to initiate the process in order to stave off the growing embarrassment in the media and the general public. But we had no illusion that there was very little we could do in terms of implementation. In the end, we had the report, but we did not have any off-takers willing to accept the job of implementation, whether at the Executive or the National Assembly level.

I am delighted to see that isolated progress has been made over the years on some of the issues, including some that started with Dr Sarakis Eighth Senate. But I doubt that this had anything to do with our report or that it even derived from any conscious attempt to deliver on the promise made in the party manifesto.

Whether we like it or not, Nigeria fate is tied to restructuring. But like all revolutionary reforms, restructuring is highly contentious and would require that a careful consensus be negotiated across parties, tiers and organs of government. Like Mallam El-Rufai himself said in the interview, constitutional amendments take time. This is why it is wrong of him to scape-goat an individual simply because it is politically convenient to do so, while ignoring the complexities inherent in the process and the prevailing political context that made collaboration among critical stakeholders impossible at the time.

Bolaji Abdullahi, a former federal minister, was National Publicity Secretary of the APC from 2016 to 2018.

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East African leaders on Saturday called for an immediate ceasefire in the Easter Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) during the extra-ordinary EAC summit held in Burundi's capital Bujumbura.

The summit was attended by all EAC leaders except South Sudan's Salva Kiir who was hosting Pope Francis in Juba.

DRC President Felix Antoine Tshisekedi and his Rwandan counterpart Paul Kagame attended the summit.

The summit resolved that an "immediate ceasefire by all parties" and the withdrawal of all armed groups, including foreign, in a statement be enforced.

The heads of state also directed army chiefs to meet within a week to set timelines for the withdrawal, while also highlighting "the need for enhanced dialogue among all the parties".

This summit comes hot on the heels of a worsening relationship between Rwanda and DRC involving the former shooting down the latter's military jet, while DRC also retaliated by expelling three Rwandan officials from Goma.

East African Community Secretary-General Peter Mathuki, in a letter dated February 1, asked Kinshasa to clarify why Rwandan officers serving at the regional force Headquarters in Goma were expelled.

DRC is yet to answer but continues to accuse Rwanda of supporting the M23 rebels.
The Federal High Court sitting in Damaturu, Yobe State on Monday ruled that the All Progressives Congress (APC) cannot field candidates for two House of Assembly seats of the state.

The two seats are Ngalda/Fika Constituency and Goya/Ngeji Constituency.

Fadima Aminu, a judge in the court, in October nullified the partys primaries conducted in both constituencies on 26 May, 2022 on the grounds of non-compliance with section 84(13) of the electoral Act 2022 and ordered fresh primaries to be conducted by the party within 14 days as required by law.

In their two separate suits, Musa Alhaji Yusuf V INEC and 2 others with case no FHC/DM/CS/18/2022 and Abdulmumini Hussaini V INEC and 2 others with suite no FHC/DM/CS/19/2022 both re-approached the court alleging that some directives contained in the judgement of October, 2022 were violated by the parties and therefore sought relief of the court to declared the exercise a nullity.

Delivering her judgement which was done via zoom and joined by the counsels to both parties, Mr Aminu declared that APC indeed failed to comply with the provisions of guideline in the conduct of primary elections as provided in the Electoral Act thus cannot sponsor candidates for the two state assembly seats.

The implication of this misconduct is for this Honorable Court to invoke provision of section 84(13) of the Electoral Act 2022 which reads: where a political party fails to comply with the provision of this Act in the conduct of its primaries, its candidature for election shall not be included in the election for the particular position in it, she said.

This court having been fortified by the above provision of the law and the recent Supreme Court decision of Hon. Nnamdi Ezeanyi and Hon. Jones Onyerere supra in conjunction in the earlier cited judicial and statutory authorities hereby tow the same line and pursuant to the provision of electoral Act 2022 and the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999, this Honorable court holds that since the time allowed by Electoral Act 2022 for the conduct of primaries and submission of candidates to political parties by INEC has elapsed, the APC shall not field candidate for seat of NGALDA/Fika Constituency of Assembly House of Assembly for the 2023 General election. This matter is hereby dismissed and each party bears its own cost. This is my decision. This shall be the judgement of this court, the judge declared.

The same provisions of the law were applied to the case of Goya/Ngeji House of Assembly constituency.

Counsels to the plaintiffs in both cases, Shamsuddeen Magaji, lauded the judgement and thanked the judge for her judgement.

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The presidential candidate of the ruling APC, Bola Tinubu, says he will end banditry, kidnapping and terrorism if elected in the 25 February election.

Mr Tinubu made the commitment on Monday in Katsina during a campaign rally which was turned into a prayer session because of the recent killing of some vigilante operatives in the state by fleeing terrorists.

More than 100 vigilant operatives were killed by terrorists who ambushed them in the Bakori Local Government Area of the state, although the police command in the state put the number at 40

The APC candidate said the rally had to go on because the governor of the state, Aminu Masari, advised that any attempt to cancel it will amount to giving in to the evil actions of the bandits.

Mr Tinubu commended those who managed to attend the rally despite what he called the sorrowful situation in the state.

A statement signed by Abdulaziz Abdulaziz on behalf of Tinubu Media Office on Monday noted Mr Tinubu charged those who attended the rally not to allow what he called the Poverty Development Party to come back to power.

No to PDP, no to evil, no to killers, the statement quoted him as chanting to the crowd of party supporters.

President Muhammadu Buhari who attended the rally said despite inheriting a poorly managed country, his administration has done well in turning the fortunes of the party.

Mr Buhari condoled with the people of the state over the banditry attack, urging them to remain courageous and hopeful to defeat terror.

Read the full statement below:

Banditry: APC converts campaign rally to a prayer session, promises end to criminality

 PDP sowed the seed of current woes  Masari

 Remain steadfast, dont despair Buhari

The presidential campaign rally of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Katsina State on Monday was scaled down to a prayer session over a recent murder of over 40 vigilantes in Bakori Local Government Area of the state by bandits.

Apart from scaling down the number of participants at the rally, which had President Muhammadu Buhari in attendance, the event was conducted in a sober atmosphere at the Muhammadu Dikko Stadium.

Party leaders such as the APC Presidential Candidate Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Katsina State Governor Aminu Bello Masari and Chairman of Progressive Governors Forum and Kebbi State Governor Atiku Bagudu told attendees at the event that there were debates on whether to postpone the rally outright in view of the mournful atmosphere.

We decided to go on because some people are already here and it will be disappointing for them to come without getting to see the President and Asiwaju. But we are here to condole with you. We will be back, said Governor Bagudu.

In his speech, President Buhari said despite inheriting a poorly managed country, his administration has done well in turning the fortunes of the party.

He condoled the people of Katsina over the banditry attack, urging them to remain courageous and hopeful in order to defeat terror.

Asiwaju Tinubu saluted those who summoned courage to attend the rally in spite of the sorrowful situation, as he expressed condolences to the government and people of Katsina State.

He assured the Katsina electorate of working hard to eliminate banditry in the state.

We will definitely deal with them. They will not go scot-free. Whether they derive some moment of joy or satisfaction, we are saying we are courageous, we are strong, we believe in Allah and we will defeat them. They are evil. We will eliminate them, he said.

Tinubu also gave kudos to members of security establishments, assuring them that their sacrifice would be rewarded.

He charged participants not to allow what he called the Poverty Development Party to come back to power. No to PDP, no to evil, no to killers, he chanted along with the crowd.

In his opening remarks, Katsina State Governor Masari warned Nigerians not to trust PDP with power again.

They had the opportunity. They didnt do anything meaningful and now they want to deceive. Dont fall for their sugar-coated words, he said.

The APC National Chairman, Senator Abdullahi Adamu and Director-General of the APC Presidential Campaign Council, Plateau State Governor Simon Lalong urged the Katsina electorate to queue behind President Buhari to support the APC presidential candidate and other candidates.

The event was attended by many party bigwigs, governors, members of the National Assembly and former governors.

Among those in attendance were Vice Presidential Candidate, Senator Kashim Shettima, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, Governors Nasir El-Rufai (Kaduna), Babagana Zulum (Borno), Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq (Kwara), Abubakar Sani Bello (Niger), Mohammed Badaru Abubakar (Jigawa), Abdullahi Ganduje (Kano), Abubakar Atiku Bagudu (Kebbi) and Babajide Sanwo-Olu (Lagos).

Others were Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed; Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika; Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Sadiya Umar Farooq, former Governor of Borno, Ali Modu Sheriff and a former governor of Bauchi State, Mohammed Abubakar, among others.

Tinubu Media Office

Abdulaziz Abdulaziz

February 6, 2023

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Seamless communications through greater connection, reduced power consumption, and rising demand for a smarter and greener world drive the growth of the global narrowband internet of things (Nb-IoT) market.

PORTLAND, Ore., Feb. 6, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Allied Market Research published a report, titled, "Narrowband Internet Of Things (NB-IoT) Market by Component (Solution, and Service), Deployment Mode (In-Band, Guard Band, and, Standalone), Application (Smart Meter, Smart Parking, Alarm & Detector, Smart Lighting, Tracker, Wearable, and, Others), and, Industry Vertical (Infrastructure, Agriculture, Automotive, Healthcare, Energy and Utilities, Manufacturing, Consumer Electronics, and Others): Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 2021-2031." According to the report, the global narrowband internet of things (NB-IoT) industry generated $634.34 million in 2021, and is estimated to reach $32.5 billion by 2031, witnessing a CAGR of 48.4% from 2022 to 2031. The report offers a detailed analysis of changing market trends, top segments, key investment pockets, value chains, regional landscapes, and competitive scenarios.

Drivers, Restraints, and Opportunities

Increasing adoption of IoT along with better battery life for connected devices and winding applications of NB-IoT technology is boosting the growth of the narrowband-internet of things (NB-IoT) market. In addition, the rapid development in IoT industry and rising demand for new cellular communication technology is positively impacting the growth of the narrowband-internet of things (NB-IoT) market. However, the stringent competition from alternate technologies and the lack of standardization of IoT regulations is hampering the narrowband internet of things (NB-IoT) market growth. On the contrary, increasing investments by technology companies and telecommunications service providers is expected to offer remunerative opportunities for the expansion of the narrowband-internet of things (NB-IoT) market during the forecast period.

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https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/request-sample/47698

Covid-19 scenario

The COVID-19 pandemic has rapidly spread globally and has negatively impacted the growth of the market due to the disruption in the production of IoT devices. Governments have imposed restrictions which in turn disrupted the supply chain of the narrowband internet of things (NB-IoT) market.

However, rise in number of people staying at home has boosted the demand for rapid Internet connectivity owing to which there has been a substantial increase in data usage propelling the demand for the narrowband-IoT market during the pandemic.

The solution segment to maintain its dominance during the forecast period

By component, the solution segment held the largest share in 2021, garnering nearly three-fourths of the global narrowband internet of things (NB-IoT) market revenue, and is projected to maintain its dominance by 2031. The service segment showcases the fastest CAGR of 49.9% during the forecast period. This is driven by improving network efficiency, increasing the capacity to support a massive number of new connections using only a portion of the available spectrum.

The standalone segment to rule the roost

By deployment mode, the standalone segment contributed to more than two-thirds of the global narrowband internet of things (NB-IoT) market share in 2021 and is projected to rule the roost by 2031. The same segment would also display the fastest CAGR of 50.3% throughout the forecast period. Surge in demand for IoT devices and provide energy-efficient and long-range network access to IoT devices fuel the segment growth.

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North America garnered the major share in 2021

By region, North America held the major share in 2021, garnering more than three-fifths of the global narrowband internet of things (NB-IoT) market revenue, and is expected to dominate by 2031. This is due to the presence of various leading device manufacturers and network service providers in the U.S. and other major regions across North America. Asia-Pacific, on the other hand, would showcase the fastest CAGR of 46.4% from 2022 to 2031.

Leading Market Players

Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd

Intel Corporation

Qualcomm Technologies, Inc

Nokia Corporation

The report analyzes these key players in the global narrowband internet of things (NB-IoT) market. These players have adopted various strategies such as expansion, new product launches, partnerships, and others to increase their market penetration and strengthen their position in the industry. The report is helpful in determining the business performance, operating segments, developments, and product portfolios of every market player.

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https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/checkout-final/d220d34310273669d6c83763f416a39c

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We are in professional corporate relations with various companies and this helps us in digging out market data that helps us generate accurate research data tables and confirms utmost accuracy in our market forecasting. Allied Market Research CEO Pawan Kumar is instrumental in inspiring and encouraging everyone associated with the company to maintain high quality of data and help clients in every way possible to achieve success. Each and every data presented in the reports published by us is extracted through primary interviews with top officials from leading companies of domain concerned. Our secondary data procurement methodology includes deep online and offline research and discussion with knowledgeable professionals and analysts in the industry.

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FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla., Feb. 6, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- In the wake of the recent increase in the popularity of the employee retention credit (ERC), many business owners have begun their search for a credible ERC advisor while a multitude of opportunistic "ERC mills" flood the market to offer their services. Our company recently published an informative article addressing what an ERC mill is and how to spot one. However, ERC mills are not the only ERC advisors offering services that they may be ill-equipped to provide. For example, we have seen boutique CPA firms, large accounting firms, and law firms provide ERC advice that either (i) causes their client to believe that they are ineligible for the ERC based on a misinterpretation or lack of knowledge of the law, or (ii) causes their client to believe that they are eligible for a credit that far exceeds the ERC that such client is entitled to under the law. Both mistakes can result in a costly, time-consuming headache for an employer seeking assistance with the ERC.

Learn about the risks business owners face when they retain an inexperienced or unqualified ERC advisor. Tweet this As demand for the Employee Retention Credit (ERC) increases, many business owners seek a credible advisor while opportunistic ERC mills flood the market. Yet, ERC mills aren't the only ill-equipped ERC advisors offering services they can't fully execute. In his article, Kyle Morabito, Esq., EZ-ERC Chief Legal Officer and Managing Director, reveals 6 major risks of retaining an unqualified advisor to process your ERC that can result in a costly, time-consuming headache for employers.

When discussing the ERC with potential clients, we are often asked "what is the worst outcome, other than IRS-imposed interest and penalties, that can result from engaging the wrong ERC advisor?" This article will discuss some of the pitfalls and risks business owners face when they retain an inexperienced ERC advisor to determine their "eligible employer" status and to calculate "qualified wages" under the ERC legislation.

Getting the FTE Count Wrong . Many retail and hospitality business owners (very often restaurants) tell us that their accountant advised that they were too large to take the ERC because they had more than 100 employees (i.e., the 2020 small employer full-time employee (FTE) threshold) or more than 500 employees (i.e., the expanded 2021 small employer FTE threshold). However, when we dig into the client's FTE reporting documentation, we discover that the same client had far less FTEs (i.e., employees that worked at least 130 hours per month) than their accountant suggested based on an inaccurate FTE count that either (i) counted all W-2 employees as FTEs, or (ii) counted full-time employee equivalents as FTEs. Therefore, in some cases, instead of being eligible for zero dollars (as advised by their accountant), a client with 1,000 W-2 employees, but only 400 FTEs, may be eligible for a seven-figure ERC for the 2021 eligibility period. We have corrected this mistake countless times and have explained to our clients that the FTE count was miscalculated, and they almost completely missed out on a substantial credit.



Misapplication of the Aggregation Rules or Related Parties Rule . Entities must be aggregated for ERC analysis purposes for the following reasons: (i) five or fewer individuals own 80% or more of multiple employers (i.e., a "brother-sister controlled group"); (ii) an employer owns greater than 50% of another employer (i.e., a "parent-subsidiary controlled group"); (iii) two or more professional service organizations are deemed to be an "affiliated service group"; or (iv) a "management organization" receives greater than 50% of its revenues from a "managed employer" (or related group of "managed entities").



Our experience is that the vast majority of ERC advisors do not understand how to properly apply the aggregation rules, which may result in one of the following three unfortunate outcomes: (i) an ERC advisor improperly concludes that the employer is part of an aggregated group that is too large to take the credit (which can result in completely missing out on a potentially substantial credit); (ii) an ERC advisor fails to realize that the employer is part of an aggregated group that is too large to take the ERC and they file for an ERC for which they are objectively ineligible; or (iii) an ERC advisor fails to take advantage of the fact that when a given entity is aggregated with other entities, it may turn on eligibility for such other entities that may not have qualified on a stand-alone basis (as ERC eligibility tests are applied on an aggregated basis). If such aggregated group is too large to take the credit, and the IRS discovers the misapplication of the aggregation rules, the employer will have to forfeit their entire credit (perhaps with interest and penalties).



Business owners are prohibited from filing for the ERC on wages paid to relatives of a majority equity owner of a business (e.g., parents, siblings, spouses, aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, etc.). Unfortunately, we have discovered that many ERC advisors neglect to ask their clients if any employees are related to a majority owner, and, therefore, fail to remove any related party wages from the ERC calculation. The IRS' request for documentation regarding the ERC (the precursor to an ERC audit) asks whether any employees are related to a majority owner; therefore, related party wages are "low-hanging fruit" for the IRS to claw back if your ERC advisor misapplied, or failed to apply, the related party rules.



Misunderstanding the Partial Suspension Test . The partial suspension test is often misunderstood and misapplied. Some ERC advisors (think traditional CPA firms) take an overly conservative reading of the Partial Suspension Test and conclude that a business is only eligible during times in which it was completely shut down by governmental order (i.e., a Full Suspension) or an overall revenue decline was present. Contrary to this overly conservative reading, the rules call for a Full or Partial Suspension of Operations and IRS Notice 2021-20 gives extensive examples of companies that are eligible for the ERC during periods in which they continued to operate, provided (i) more than a nominal portion1 of such business operations were subject to modifications due to a COVID governmental order, and (ii) such modifications had more than a nominal effect2 on such more than a nominal portion of such business operations.



Abuse of the OSHA General Duty Clause . On the other end of the spectrum, overly aggressive ERC advisors (think ERC mills) take too liberal a reading of the Partial Suspension guidance and claim that every company in the U.S. is eligible for the ERC. One argument that these ERC mills make is that every company in the U.S. was subject to OSHA's General Duty Clause for the entirety of the ERC eligibility period ( March 13, 2020 , through September 30 , 2021). The General Duty Clause requires every employer to provide every employee with a place of employment that is free from recognized hazards that are causing, or are likely to cause, death or serious physical harm.



The broad intent of the Partial Suspension legislation was to allow companies to seek ERC eligibility for instances in which executive orders enacted during the pandemic to slow the spread of COVID restricted their business operations (think social distancing orders, increased hygiene orders, and orders prohibiting employees from accessing their workplace within a set number of days after contracting COVID). These Partial Suspensions ceased to exist when the COVID executive order that restricted a business' operations was lifted. For instance, a Miami-Dade County restaurant that is restricted only by the local Miami-Dade County social distancing order is no longer under a Partial Suspension once that order is lifted, and almost all social distancing orders in the country were lifted by the end of Q2 2021 ( i . e ., the penultimate ERC eligible quarter under the Partial Suspension test). The intent of the Partial Suspension legislation was not to allow every company across the country to seek ERC eligibility, in reliance on the General Duty Clause, for periods after their local social distancing order was lifted.



Abuse of the Supply Chain Argument . Per Question 12 of IRS Notice 2021-20, an employer may be considered partially suspended if the business' suppliers are unable to make deliveries of critical goods or materials due to a governmental order that causes the supplier to suspend its operations. A reasonable and balanced interpretation of this guidance is that, if: (i) your supplier is U.S.-based; (ii) your supplier is under a Full or Partial Suspension due to a domestic COVID executive order; and (iii) your supplier's Full or Partial Suspension is causing your business operations to experience a more than nominal effect (i.e., due to a lack of necessary goods or materials), you may also be under an "indirect" Partial Suspension.



Unfortunately, some ERC mills are using this "supply chain hook" to advise their clients that almost all difficulties or delays in obtaining goods or materials through the supply chain can substantiate a Partial Suspension. The most problematic of these arguments is that: (i) a foreign supplier subject to a foreign COVID executive order can cause your business to be Partially Suspended; and (ii) any delay in receipt of foreign goods, perhaps due to delays at the eastern or western seaboard ports, can substantiate a Partial Suspension for your business. A well-crafted Full or Partial Suspension argument requires a strict and mechanical application of the guidance set forth in IRS Notice 2021-20.



Misapplication of the PPP/ERC Interplay . An employer may not file for the ERC on the same employee wages reported for PPP loan forgiveness. This is often referred to as the anti-double-dipping rule, as receiving the ERC on a government-provided PPP dollar would doubly benefit the employer. When designating wages as "ERC wages" after an employer has had a PPP loan forgiven, an ERC advisor must take a thoughtful approach to ensure the client is not engaging in "double-dipping," while concurrently deploying a strategy to maximize the ERC-qualified wages.



More sophisticated ERC advisors preserve the largest permissible pool of ERC wages while "deeming out" ineligible PPP wages by ( i ) looking inside and outside the PPP covered period to maximize the ERC eligible wages on an individual employee level, and (ii) looking to designate wages of high-earners and wages that exceed the $10,000 per-period ERC cap as PPP wages (as those wages could not be ERC eligible wages). Unfortunately, these more sophisticated techniques are not used by many ERC advisors, particularly traditional accounting and CPA practices. Inexperienced ERC advisors often take a more simplified approach in ( i ) refusing to look inside your PPP-covered period for ERC-eligible wages, or (ii) designating the first wages paid within a PPP-covered period as non-ERC eligible until such bucket of wages reaches the amount that the employer reported to its PPP lender as amounts used to pay employees. In both approaches, the ERC advisor has not maximized the ERC amount.

Conclusion . The issues detailed above are not an exhaustive list of the matters that can go wrong in engaging an inexperienced or overly aggressive ERC advisor. Of course, while not extensively covered in this article, punitive actions in the form of interest and penalties imposed by the IRS on overclaimed ERC may also result. Falling victim to the pitfalls referenced above may either: (i) cause you to leave ERC dollars on the table (perhaps even your entire ERC claim in some instances), or (ii) cause you to file for ERC amounts to which you are not truly entitled. The pitfalls outlined above are just some of the reasons why you should seek an experienced and credentialed group of both accountants and attorneys to help you navigate the complex and nuanced ERC landscape.

EZ-ERC is the only ERC advisory firm to have CPAs from the largest accounting firms in the world under the same roof as attorneys from the largest law firms in the world. EZ-ERC combines decades of first-in-class tax advisory experience, gained at highly reputable firms such as Deloitte, KPMG, RSM, and Alvarez & Marsal, with legal support from some of the largest, most sophisticated law firms in the world to deliver comprehensive and thoughtful ERC advisory services that are unparalleled in the ERC service industry. Where many ERC providers offer a "one-size-fits-all" approach, EZ-ERC provides a tailored, white-glove service that is demanded by business owners and management teams.

To learn how EZ-ERC and its team of advisors stands out from other ERC firms, visit the EZ-ERC Difference.

About the Author: Kyle Morabito, Esq. is the Chief Legal Officer and Managing Director of EZ-ERC. Kyle manages EZ-ERC's internal legal team and develops and manages EZ-ERC's partnerships with external professional advisors, including national law firms. Kyle is a corporate, M&A, and private equity attorney with international law firm and Wall Street experience.

1 See IRS Notice 2021-20, Question 11, which provides that "A portion of an employer's business operations will be deemed to constitute more than a nominal portion of its business operations if either (i) the gross receipts from that portion of the business operations is not less than 10 percent of the total gross receipts (both determined using the gross receipts of the same calendar quarter in 2019), or (ii) the hours of service performed by employees in that portion of the business is not less than 10 percent of the total number of hours of service performed by all employees in the employer's business (both determined using the number of hours of service performed by employees in the same calendar quarter in 2019)."

2 See IRS Notice 2021-20, Question 18, which provides that "A governmental order that results in a reduction in an employer's ability to provide goods or services in the normal course of the employer's business of not less than 10 percent will be deemed to have more than a nominal effect on the employer's business operations."

Media Contact: [email protected]

SOURCE EZ-ERC
Industry Leading Laser Practice Joins With AMP's Leading Aesthetic Platform

ARDMORE, Pa., Feb. 6, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Advanced MedAesthetic Partners (AMP) proudly welcomes the Main Line Center for Laser Surgery into its growing family. AMP will work hand in hand with this world-renown Pennsylvania practice as it continues its expansion, growing with the best and brightest.

"We are thrilled to welcome the Main Line Center for Laser Surgery to our team," shares Nicole Chiaramonte, AMP CEO. "Medical Director Eric Bernstein, MD, is among the world's leading laser medicine and surgery experts and has been an industry pioneer for over 20 years. His personal approach to patients and trailblazing experience in advancing technologies make him an ideal AMP partner."

The Main Line Center for Laser Surgery ethos puts patients first, delivering state-of-the-art laser and energy-based device treatments, injectable and skincare in the most professional, friendly and safe environment while advancing these technologies. Dr. Bernstein is widely regarded as a global authority on laser medicine and laser technology, and has dedicated his career not only to individualized patient care, but to sharing his expert knowledge by training hundreds of physicians. The Main Line Center for Laser Surgery is among the first in the United States and the World to gain access to the latest technologies.

AMP's desire to partner with the nation's top aesthetic practices, coupled with Dr. Bernstein's outcomes and philosophy that people come first, led directly to the Main Line Center joining the AMP team. The AMP platform implements proven strategies which will support Main Line Center for Laser Surgery's growth trajectory, helping the team reach new heights.

"The Main Line Center puts people first and is excited about the future under Advanced Medaesthetic Partners," says Dr. Bernstein. "We admire the industry leading team at the helm of AMP and their business approach and keen eye for growth are a wonderful fit for our practice. Our mission is to safely and effectively treat patients and share our outcomes advancing the health and wellbeing of patients. With AMP's growth platform, the sky's the limit."

ABOUT AMP

AMP is comprised of some of the most successful business and clinical leaders in the medical aesthetics industry. AMP support includes managerial, administrative, marketing, clinical training, information technology and numerous other elements to allow practices to focus on what they do best  serving their clients. Learn more at www.weramp.com

SOURCE Advanced MedAesthetic Partners
ARLINGTON, Va., Feb. 6, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The Air & Space Force Association's CyberPatriot National Youth Cyber Education program announced the 28 teams that will compete at the CyberPatriot XV National Finals Competition on March 18-20, 2023.

From the initial field of 5,266 teams that began the competition in October 2022, only 12 Open Division, 13 All Service Division, and three Middle School Division teams advanced through all four highly competitive online qualifying rounds to earn the distinction of National Finalist. They represent schools, JROTCs, and other educational organizations from around the world. The full list of finalists is available here.

While some regular powerhouse teams qualified again this year, such as Open Division teams Del Norte and Troy High Schools from California, some schools are making their first trip to National Finals, such as Carmel High School from Indiana and the first-ever Canadian team to qualify, Sisler High School from Winnipeg, Manitoba. Six All-American studentsthose who have made it to National Finals all four yearswill compete this year. Four All-Americans are from Del Norte in the Open Division and two are from Troy High School Navy ROTC.

For the first time since 2019, the National Finals Competition will be an exclusively in-person event at the North Bethesda Marriott in Rockville, Md.

"After three years of virtual or hybrid events we are excited to welcome all National Finalists to our in-person event," said Rachel Zimmerman, CyberPatriot's Senior Director of Business Operations. "The National Finalist teams should be proud of the accomplishment of qualifying for the National Finals. Over 5,000 teams started the competition and just 28 teams have the honor of being National Finalist."

The CyberPatriot Program Office's technical staff is planning a robust National Finals Competition, which will include the Network Security Master Challenge, the Cisco NetAcad Challenge, and the Boeing Cyber-Physical Challenge. Teams will also participate in a networking event with CyberPatriot sponsors and an Awards Banquet. Open and All Service Division teams are vying for scholarship funds, while Middle School Division teams have a chance to bring home bragging rights.

To learn more about CyberPatriot and register for the National Finals, please visit www.uscyberpatriot.org.

About CyberPatriot

CyberPatriot is the nation's largest youth cyber education program and AFA's flagship STEM program dedicated to strengthening cyber skills among American youth. In addition to the National Youth Cyber Defense Competition for high school and middle school students, the program features AFA CyberCamps, an Elementary School Cyber Education Initiative and Literature Series, a Tech Caregiver certification and community service opportunity, and CyberGenerationsa program aimed at equipping senior citizens with the skills needed to stay protected from cyber threats.

About AFA

An independent non-profit association, the Air & Space Forces Association is the single-largest professional military association dedicated to air and space power and to the advancement of aerospace education at every level. Founded in 1946, AFA is dedicated to promoting dominant U.S. Air and Space Forces as the foundation of a strong National Defense; honoring and supporting Airmen, Guardians, and their Families; and remembering and respecting the enduring heritage of the Air and Space Forces.

SOURCE Air & Space Forces Association
SACRAMENTO, Calif., Feb. 6, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The Associated General Contractors of California (AGC of California) announced the winners of the prestigious Constructor Awards and Achievement Awards on Friday, Feb. 3, at the Fairmont San Francisco, at its annual black-tie Installation & Awards Gala honoring the year's best in the construction industry.

"Every year, AGC of California celebrates the construction industry's innovators who are leading the way in building our state," said Dina Kimble, 2022-2023 AGC of California State Board president. Kimble, president and chief executive officer of Royal Electric Company, was elected to serve her second term as president of AGC of California's State Board. "This year, we recognize a diverse group of people and projects that represent how many facets of California life construction affects."

The Associated General Contractors of California announces the Constructor Awards and Achievement Awards winners. Tweet this

AGC of California's prestigious Constructor Awards program recognizes members' achievements for their skill, unique undertakings, and ability to address the most difficult challenges contractors encounter during project development. Only one prestigious Constructor sculpture is awarded in each category during AGC of California's "Oscar Night."

AGC of California's Achievement Awards honor individuals for outstanding contributions to the construction industry. The Construction Education Friend Award recognizes individuals who make outstanding contributions to construction education efforts and the development of the future construction workforce.

"This year's award recipients represent the diverse ways that people and the projects they build contribute to our communities," said Peter Tateishi, chief executive officer of AGC of California. "Each of our winners reflects the ingenuity and originality that the construction industry needs to build a brighter future for the state of California."

This year, AGC of California offers our appreciation and congratulations to the following recipients:

AGC of California's 2023 Constructor Awards

Specialty Under $10 Million

Caliagua Inc., AMC: Site Work & Rail Systems Project

Caliagua Inc., AMC: Site Work & Rail Systems Project Specialty $10 Million & Over

Royal Electric Company, SFO Runway 10L-28R

Royal Electric Company, SFO Runway 10L-28R Heavy Civil $15 Million & Under

Granite Construction Company, Highway 101 Multi-Use Path Overcrossing at Adobe Creek

Granite Construction Company, Highway 101 Multi-Use Path Overcrossing at Adobe Creek Heavy Civil $15 Million to $100 Million

Flatiron Construction, State Route 710 Freeway Widening & Rehabilitation

Flatiron Construction, State Route 710 Freeway Widening & Rehabilitation Heavy Civil $100 Million & Over

Skanska, Regional Connector Transit Project

Skanska, Regional Connector Transit Project Builder $15 Million to $75 Million

Otto Construction, Stanislaus State Vasche Library Renovation

Otto Construction, Stanislaus State Vasche Library Renovation Builder $75 Million to $200 Million

Hensel Phelps , LAX Airport Police Facility

, LAX Airport Police Facility Builder $200 Million & Over

Turner Construction Company, New Natural Resources Headquarters

Turner Construction Company, New Natural Resources Headquarters Excellence in Partnering

Granite Construction Company, State Route 99 Cosumnes Bridge Replacement Project

AGC of California's 2023 Achievement Awards

Harry Eckstein Safety Professional of the Year Award

Tod Decker , Blois Construction Inc.

, Blois Construction Inc. S.I.R. Achievement Award (Skill, Integrity & Responsibility)

Jose Mejia , California State Council of Laborers (Retired)

, California State Council of Laborers (Retired) Construction Education Friend Award

Emiliano Sanchez , Oakland Unified School District

, Oakland Unified School District Associate Achievement Award

Dr. Giovanna Brasfield , Brasfield & Associates

Dr. , Brasfield & Associates Specialty Contractor Achievement Award

Nataline Lomedico , Giroux Glass Inc.

, Giroux Glass Inc. Contractor Achievement Award

Dan McGrew , Griffith Company (Retired)

To learn more about the event and winners, please visit: https://www.agc-ca.org/sites/2023-installation/

About the Associated General Contractors of California

Since 1920, the Associated General Contractors of California (AGC of California) has worked alongside members to provide advocacy, education, career development, and networking opportunities to experienced and next generation construction and contracting professionals. AGC of California advocates for contractors with state and local governments, while helping members connect with industry leaders through services, innovative programs and events. Learn more at www.agc-ca.org.

MEDIA CONTACT

Erica Berardi

[email protected]

917.291.1814

SOURCE AGC of California
DURHAM, N.C., Feb. 6, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Alo, the North-Carolina based healthcare company founded to support independent providers and help them maintain their independence, is introducing the Alo Clinically Integrated Network (Alo CIN) for practices and provider groups across the state.

The Alo CIN will support providers, enabling them to work together to deliver more efficient, affordable, coordinated care without being tied to a specific health system. Practices and provider groups will have the opportunity to:

Join a results-oriented and collaborative network focused on improving quality of care, allowing for enhanced alignment with payors and other healthcare organizations.

Participate in the development and implementation of best practices and protocols designed to improve patient care, reduce unnecessary costs, and enable care teams and their patients to thrive.

Attain specialized medical expertise, resources, and professional development in order to help provide the best possible care to patients.

Access a unified data model and analytics to improve quality and reporting for clinical measures. The data, pulled from disparate IT sources, will help providers have a holistic, actionable view of their patients.

"We expect that by joining Alo's Clinically Integrated Network, providers will see improved patient outcomes and satisfaction, enhanced financial performance reflective of the value of our care model, and increased collaboration and opportunities to learn from other providers across the state," says Matt Eirich, Alo CEO.

In November 2021, Alo joined forces with Avance Care, a network of independently owned primary care practices across North Carolina. The partnership demonstrated Alo's commitment to supporting independent physicians and has led to the growth of Avance Care, which now operates 30 practices offering comprehensive primary care, psychiatry, neurology, behavioral health, nutrition and care management.

"Alo is excited to expand its network to support high-quality independent health care," says Dr. Paul Hain, Alo Chief Clinical Officer and Interim Avance Care Chief Medical Officer. "The Alo CIN will create a larger platform to influence and enhance patient care across North Carolina."

Alo will be hosting a webinar in late February to provide more details about this new offering. To be invited to this information session or to request more information, visit AloSolutions.com/contact-us .

About Alo

Alo provides the tools for independent clinicians to shape health care for the better  for patients, communities and themselves. Founded by a team of industry veterans that understand how to change the playing field for independent practices, Alo helps physicians focus on making sustainable improvements in care. The company is headquartered in Durham, NC. For more information, visit AloSolutions.com

SOURCE Alo
Accolade emphasizes Liquidware's 'channel first' policy

CHICAGO, Feb. 6, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Liquidware, the leader in digital workspace management, today announced that CRN , a brand of The Channel Company , has recognized Anthony Keller on its 2023 Channel Chiefs list. Every year, this list honors the IT channel executives who work tirelessly to advance the channel agenda and deliver successful channel partner programs and strategies.

Anthony Keller, Liquidware, Recognized as a CRN 2023 Channel Chief

Since joining Liquidware in 2021, Anthony has been instrumental in increasing Liquidware revenues via its channel and implementing new channel programs that benefit the channel's bottom line. Commenting on his second year of being recognized by CRN, Keller stated, "Having been a channel advocate for all of my career, I am delighted to be recognized by CRN for the second year running. Liquidware has a 'channel first' policy and, as we continue to evolve and develop our channel, I am confident our channel will continue to benefit from partnering with Liquidware."

During 2022, Anthony and his channel team achieved the following results:

Increased the number of active channel partners by 35%

Average deal size through the channel increased by 20%

Registered deal pipeline grew by 23%

License sales through the channel increased 20% year-on-year

"Liquidware and their solutions form an integral part of our offering to our clients," commented Steve Greenberg, President, Thin Client Computing. "As the industry players shift and technology platforms continually change, Liquidware has kept its laser focus on solving the real problems. It is a pleasure to work with Anthony and the Liquidware team as they understand the channel, how to collaborate, and how to build value for the customer and profit for the reseller."

The 2023 Channel Chiefs have helped their solution provider partners and customers navigate an increasingly complex landscape of interconnected challenges and shifting industry dynamics. With the innovative strategies, programs, and partnerships of these Channel Chiefs in place, the solution provider community has continued to thrive.

The 2023 CRN Channel Chiefs were selected by the editorial staff based on their record of business innovation and dedication to the partner community. This year's list represents the top IT executives responsible for building a robust channel ecosystem.

"Once again, this year's list gives well-deserved recognition to the IT Channel Chiefs who are dedicated to driving the channel agenda and advocating for the development of strong channel partnerships," said Blaine Raddon, CEO of The Channel Company. "Under their exceptional leadership, influence, and innovation, the IT channel vendor community continues to deliver solutions and services that meet the rapidly evolving needs of their solution provider partners and their customers."

The 2023 CRN Channel Chiefs list is featured in the February 2023 issue of CRN Magazine and online at www.CRN.com/ChannelChiefs .

About Liquidware

Liquidware is a leader in digital workspace management solutions for Windows desktops. The company's products encompass all facets of management to ensure the ultimate user experience across all workspaces  physical, virtual, DaaS or in the cloud. Enterprises across the globe utilize Liquidware solutions to dramatically decrease time spent managing desktops, while delivering increased security, flexibility, and scalability. Supported platforms include Microsoft physical, Azure Virtual Desktop (AVD), Windows 365, Citrix Desktops, VMware Horizon, Amazon WorkSpaces, and Nutanix Frame. Liquidware products are available through a global network of partners. For more information, visit www.liquidware.com or follow on Twitter @liquidware.

Media Contact:

Jane Rimmer | [email protected] | +44 7710 633488

About The Channel Company

The Channel Company enables breakthrough IT channel performance with our dominant media, engaging events, expert consulting and education, and innovative marketing services and platforms. As the channel catalyst, we connect and empower technology suppliers, solution providers, and end users. Backed by more than 30 years of unequaled channel experience, we draw from our deep knowledge to envision innovative new solutions for ever-evolving challenges in the technology marketplace. www.thechannelcompany.com

 2023 The Channel Company, LLC. CRN is a registered trademark of The Channel Company, LLC. All rights reserved.

The Channel Company Contact:

Natalie Lewis

The Channel Company

[email protected]

Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/620751/Liquidware_FInal_Full_Color_Logo.jpg

Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1995683/CRN_Channel_Chiefs_Logo.jpg

SOURCE Liquidware
As the scarcity of the new Naira notes stifle economic activities, PoS operators raised charges on transactions by 400 per cent.

As the Central Bank of Nigeria's Naira redesign policy bites harder, the scarcity of new notes continues to disrupt business activities in markets, restaurants, banks, and major sales outlets across Nigeria.

In the midst of the operational challenges being faced by small businesses especially in rural areas, a PREMIUM TIMES' survey showed that Point of Sale (PoS) transaction charges jumped 400 per cent in most cities across the country last week.

The impact of the CBN policy and its attendant chaos have frustrated efforts by many Nigerians operating in the nation's cash-dependent informal economy to do business, make payments, and enjoy certain services.

PREMIUM TIMES' findings showed that while the poor circulation of the new notes stifle economic activities, PoS operators have also had a hard time getting both the old and new notes from the banks in recent weeks. Some PoS agents who spoke with PREMIUM TIMES within the week said that their inability to access cash has stalled their operations, while operators who struggled to get cash blamed the hurdles they encountered at the banks for the increase in transaction charges.

Across some of the mobile money cash points visited in Lagos, Abuja, and other major cities, our reporters observed that charges on transactions have skyrocketed by over 400 per cent.

In other places, PoS outlets were shut as operators complained of scarcity of both the old and new notes.

Scarcity

The CBN on 26 October, 2022, announced the introduction of redesigned 200, 500 and 1,000 naira notes into the financial system. But since the notes were unveiled, Nigerians across different parts of the country have had a hard time accessing it from banks and ATM points.

Last week, amid the chaos caused by the scarcity of the new notes, the CBN extended the deadline for the phasing out of the old notes from 31 January deadline to 10 February. Despite the extension, many Nigerians working in the informal sector of the economy have had to scramble for the new notes while others lamented their inability to withdraw their hard earned money from their bank accounts.

There have equally been allegations of hoarding on the part of the Deposit Money Banks, while some mobile cash point vendors are said to be exploiting the situation by dispensing the new notes to customers at skyrocketed prices.

On Friday, the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele, asked Nigerians to be "patient and join the bank queues" to access their money.

Meanwhile, President Muhammadu Buhari during a meeting with the Progressive Governors' Forum also urged citizens to give him seven days to resolve the cash crunch that has stifled productive engagements across the country.As Nigerians besieged commercial banks nationwide to access cash, several videos have surfaced online showing frustrated customers vandalising bank properties due to their inability to get cash from the banks' ATMs.

In the midst of the melee, anti-graft agencies and the State Security Services ( SSS) have equally arrested a number of citizens caught hawking the naira notes.

Despite the government's best efforts thus far, the chaos has worsened the hardship being faced by Nigerians in major cities and rural communities as the new deadline for the phasing out of old naira notes approaches.

Frustration

In Nigeria's capital city, some of the PoS outlets visited within the week were under lock and key, while some that were open jerked up their charges for cash withdrawals and transfers.

At Lugbe Zone 6, Aina Wale, a PoS operator charged N800 for each N5000 cash withdrawal due to the scarcity of the naira notes.

"Banks are not dispensing enough naira and this makes it very difficult for us to access the notes," he said. "We don't plan for this, but it became necessary to do because we are now using money to collect money in banks."

Another operator in the area, who refused to have his name mentioned said that the banks are not giving out cash to customers despite the long queues in their branches.

"We don't get the cash again," the POS vendor lamented, adding that he had to offer a 'bribe' last Wednesday before a bank official offered to provide cash for him.

"I said to myself I can't stay here. Could you believe that when I entered the bank there were queues also but I went straight to a bank official to help me out and the lady told me that she will collect some percentage which I agreed to and I was able to get just N20,000," he said.

Another POS operator at Zone 5, Peace Okoye, complained that operations have been difficult because of the scarcity of new and old notes.

"Bank is not giving cash and today I went to that ATM in Lugbe Shoprite and it was the same thing. There was a long queue. Only one ATM was dispensing and it was dispensing just N2,000 and the highest you can withdraw there is N20,000 which means you have to withdraw 10 times before you can get the N20,000, people were much and I left," Ms Okoye explained.

"No access to cash, so the thing just weakens me. If I have access to cash I would have made money this season."

Kapwa, Apo

At the Kapwa axis of Lugbe along airport road, PREMIUM TIMES also observed that several POS vendors' kiosks were shut.

A POS operator at Kapwa who identified himself simply as Lukman, said he has not been operating for the past five days.

"We don't have cash. Withdrawals have been very difficult at banks and ATMs," he said.

Most PoS outlets were also shut in the Apo resettlement area of Abuja as operators blamed scarcity of cash for their inability to meet customers' needs.

They also alleged that bank officials give them both old and new naira notes at a fee, hence the reason behind the increase in charges on withdrawal.

Daniel Atuluku, an operator at the fish market, charges N600 on every N5,000 transaction, he told PREMIUM TIMES.

"The man (banker) only gives me N300,000 daily and if I give people any amount they want, it wont go round. The first day I tried it, the money didn't last up to 30 minutes" he said.

"Even with that, I can't serve customers for the whole day and the stress my brother and I go through daily to get access to the man is another thing.

"When people talk about the charges, they think we are making a lot of money from it but we sincerely pray this ends soon because we also suffer the same thing as the people."

Benin

PoS agents who spoke with this newspaper in Benin city, the capital of Edo State, described the cash crunch in the city as a "big problem".

A PoS operator who identified himself as Abdul said many PoS agents in the state are now taking advantage of the situation to extort Nigerians.

"We POS agents have now taken advantage of the situation. Although I can't blame them because they are now buying cash from either bank managers or agents of bank managers as if they are buying tomatoes in the market," he told PREMIUM TIMES in a telephone interview.

He alleged some agents are displaying both the new and old notes for sales like book vendors in the market. Mr Abdul claimed that among PoS operators, N100,000 new notes are being exchanged for N150,000 in Benin while the old notes of same amount are being exchanged for N120,000.

"People are still buying it from them, and most of the buyers are PoS agents. So they will now increase withdrawals and transfer charges to make up for the extra cost of buying the currency," he explained.

Mr Abdul lamented that ATMs of top banks like Zenith, Access and GT banks in Benin are not dispensing cash unlike others like Union and Keystone banks.

"Even the ones dispensing are rationing the cash. The maximum withdrawal is N20,000 and the stress is just too much," he said.

Similarly, another PoS agent, Hauwa, who does cash transactions at Aviele community in Auchi, said that she was discouraged by the queues at banks, in addition to the low amount of cash being paid to customers by banks.

"The major thing now is that there is no money. Agents who have cash are charging N100 per N1000 (old currency) and N200 per N1000 of new notes," she said. Based on this, she said she has not been able to make any transactions within the past few days.

Lagos

In most places in Lagos, the nation's commercial nerve center, PoS operators charged N100 for every N5,000 withdrawal before the new policy was introduced.

But PREMIUM TIMES found over the weekend that the charges have been jerked up to an average of N500. Similarly, PoS operators that charged N200 on every N10,000 transaction now charge an average of N1000 or more.

At the Ojodu area of Lagos State, a PoS operator who identified herself simply as Sandra told PREMIUM TIMES that the charges skyrocketed because of the difficulty experienced at the banks.

"It's difficult to get cash, whether old or new notes, at the bank," she said. "In some instances, we have to beg and bribe bank people and we also have to factor in those extra fees into our charges."

In most parts of Igando and Ijaiye areas in the state, residents told this newspaper that many PoS outlets were shut as they scramble for cash.

"Sales have been very dull since this trouble started because people don't have cash, including even salary earners who have money in their accounts," Bisi Aina, a trader in Iyana-Ipaja area of the state, told PREMIUM TIMES Sunday evening.

Double whammy

The chaos caused by the cash crunch has been worsened by the hardship inflicted on Nigerians due to a lingering fuel crisis. In recent months, the scarcity of petroleum products across the country has stifled the operations of businesses that depend on generators for power supply.

Despite the government's repeated claims that the nation has enough supply, the scarcity has persisted amid a poor supply of electricity across the country.

In addition to the massive disruption in economic activities, the crisis has led to an unprecedented spike in the cost of essential goods and transportation services across states in the country.

Last Tuesday, President Muhammadu Buhari approved the constitution of a 14-member steering committee to address the supply and distribution of petroleum products across the country.

The Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), also attributed the lingering fuel scarcity in the country to a disruption in the product distribution chain caused by the activities of cross-border smugglers.The agency also claimed that there is petrol sufficiency of over 1.6 billion litres as of 26 January both on land and marine.

On Tuesday, Nigeria's chief of defence staff, Lucky Irabor, warned that the scarcity had become a 'security concern' and 'nobody is indispensable' in bringing a solution to the problem.

On Friday, the Nigerian government said it is working towards finding a lasting solution to the lingering petrol scarcity across the country.

Despite the government's position, PREMIUM TIMES' found that Nigerians have continued to suffer from scarcity of petrol across the country, especially in the nation's commercial nerve center, Lagos.

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As the cash crunch inflicts more pains on Nigerians, many angry Nigerians are taking to the streets to vent their frustration.

Protests, tension

On Friday, a protester was killed in Ibadan as security officers clashed with a group protesting scarcity of fuel and new naira notes in Apata area of the capital of Oyo State.

Protests have been going on in many parts of the city since Friday as mostly young people expressed their frustration over the scarcity in the state.

A group of protesters also attacked the Oyo State governor's office when security agencies attempted to deny them access to speak with the governor.

Subsequently, on Saturday, soldiers and police officers were deployed to major areas where protests were taking place but the protesters in Apata refused to stop their protest when the security officers approached them.

Similarly, residents of Uvwie and Warri South Local Government Area of Delta State, on Friday, took to the streets to protest against lack of access to the naira.

The protest forced some banks to suspend activities and scores of market women barricaded the Warri-Sapele Road and NPA Expressway.

While tension rises in both states amid scarcity of the new notes, and amid fears that the violence could spread to other states of the federation, Nigerians await the impact of the CBN and Nigerian government's intervention in addressing their pains this week.

Mr Buhari last week urged Nigerians to give him seven days to address the hardship and other concerns generated by the new notes scarcity.

Experts Speak

In his intervention, an Abuja-based economist, Razaq Fatai, urged the CBN to allow both the new and old notes as legal tender until there are sufficient new notes in circulation.

"They should temporarily allow both the old and new notes as legal tender until they are able to inject sufficient new notes into the system," Mr Fatai said.

He said the CBN also needs to step up their supervision of deposit money banks to ensure effective circulation of the money to citizens as soon as possible.

"This is not the time to keep money in the vaults," he added.

On his part, Onofiok Kings, a financial expert, said a lot of Nigerian politicians are not happy with the naira redesigning policy because of illicit motives and vote-buying culture.

"Basically, most politicians aren't happy because they still have a lot of cash stacked up to use for bribe during the forthcoming elections," he said.

"Even though it's affecting the masses, I'm happy with this decision of lack of circulation that is if it's really being strictly controlled."
NEW YORK, Feb. 6, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Arsenal Capital Partners ("Arsenal"), a private equity firm specializing in building transformational industrial growth and healthcare companies, announced today that it has become a signatory of the United Nations-supported Principles for Responsible Investment ("UN-supported PRI" or "PRI").

The UN-supported PRI is a leading proponent of responsible investing across the globe, representing a global network of investors committed to integrating the consideration of material environmental, social and governance ("ESG") factors into their investment practices. Its signatories pledge to incorporate, where consistent with their fiduciary responsibilities, the UN-supported PRI's six principles for responsible investment into its investment and management practices to contribute to developing a more sustainable global financial system.

Terry Mullen, Managing Partner and Founder of Arsenal, said, "Arsenal's purpose is to positively impact and benefit all constituencies, and 'do right,' through building strategically important businesses and delivering value for all stakeholders. Since the inception of our firm in 2000, we have believed that integrating market-leading ESG factors into our company building strategies is core to building sustainably differentiated, top quality businesses. We have been and remain committed to incorporating current and future ESG considerations throughout the lifecycle of our investments."

To bolster and elevate the firm's expertise in responsible investing, in April 2022, Arsenal hired Marion Hayes as the Head of Responsible Investing. Ms. Hayes is a proven leader with 16 years of industry experience, including most recently as Senior Vice President of ESG Management of Brookfield Asset Management. At Arsenal, she will be focused on executing the firm's responsible investing program as well as leading new initiatives at both the firm and with its portfolio companies.

"With Marion's leadership, we have expanded our responsible investing capabilities and become a PRI signatory. Inclusion in the PRI will provide Arsenal with a broader network of investment manager peers with which to engage on best practices as well as resources for us to track tangible ESG achievements," said Jeff Kovach, Managing Partner and Founder of Arsenal.

"I am delighted to join Arsenal, which has a long, demonstrated history as a builder and owner of market-leading companies that incorporate responsible investing," said Marion Hayes, Senior Managing Director and Head of Responsible Investing. "The firm already has a strong set of ESG practices, and I welcome the opportunity to contribute toward Arsenal's responsible investing efforts, of which becoming a PRI signatory is an important milestone."

David Atkin, CEO at the Principles for Responsible Investment, comments: "We're pleased to welcome Arsenal as a signatory to the PRI. We know that collective action on responsible investment issues drives positive results  for investors and their beneficiaries alike. By working together, we are better able to deliver the progress the sector needs on sustainable investment issues, and we look forward to working alongside Arsenal to this end."

About Arsenal

Arsenal Capital Partners is a leading private equity firm that specializes in investments in industrial growth and healthcare companies. Since its inception in 2000, Arsenal has raised institutional equity investment funds totaling over $10 billion, completed more than 275 platform and add-on acquisitions, and achieved more than 30 realizations. The firm works with management teams to build strategically important companies with leading market positions, high growth, and high value-add. For more information, visit www.arsenalcapital.com .

About the Principles for Responsible Investment

The Principles for Responsible Investment is the world's leading proponent of responsible investment. Supported by the United Nations, it works to understand the investment implications of environmental, social and governance factors and to support its international network of investor signatories in incorporating these factors into their investment and ownership decisions. The PRI acts in the long-term interests of its signatories, of the financial markets and economies in which they operate and ultimately of the environment and society as a whole. Launched in New York in 2006, the PRI has grown to more than 5,100 signatories, managing over $121 trillion AUM. For more information, visit www.unpri.org .

Contact for Arsenal:

Jackie Schofield at Prosek Partners

[email protected]prosek.com

SOURCE Arsenal Capital Partners
TOKYO, Feb. 5, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Astellas Pharma Inc. (TSE: 4503, President and CEO: Kenji Yasukawa, Ph.D., "Astellas") today announced that at a meeting of its Board of Directors, held today, approved changes of its Representative Director, President and CEO and its management structure.

1Change of President and CEO

Kenji Yasukawa Naoki Okamura

Reason for Change

Astellas has been working on its Corporate Strategic Plan 2018 and Corporate Strategic Plan 2021 ("CSP2021") since fiscal year 2018, when Kenji Yasukawa was appointed as President and CEO, to realize its VISION "On the forefront of healthcare change to turn innovative science into VALUE for patients". During this time, Astellas overcame the patent cliff associated with the expiration of products exclusivity that had supported its growth in the past, and revenue has turned upward trend after bottoming out in fiscal year 2020. In addition, Astellas moved away from its past business model of creating products with a focus on specific disease areas and promoted a shift to the Focus Area approach of determining R&D areas from a multifaceted perspective, and is also making progress in developing new drug candidates that will drive future revenues.

Fiscal year 2023 is the right time to go on the aggressive to further accelerate growth, and Naoki Okamura will take over as new President and CEO. Astellas decided it is best for it to consider and implement strategies for achieving CSP2021, which ends in fiscal year 2025 and long-term growth beyond that under the new leadership. The environment surrounding the company is changing rapidly, such as increasing geopolitical risks and changes in the finances and markets of each country due to the COVID-19 crisis, but the new top management has the ability to flexible in response to such changes.

Changes of Representative Directors

Name New Position Current Position Kenji Yasukawa Representative Director, Chairman of the Board Representative Director, President and CEO Naoki Okamura Representative Director, President and CEO Representative Director, Executive Vice President

Effective date of change

April 1, 2023

2. Top Management (Effective April 1, 2023)

Claus Zieler will be appointed as CCO. He joined Astellas Group in 2019 as President, International Markets Commercial with experience in the commercial area at Schering and Bayer. He was appointed as President, Established Markets Commercial in January 2022. Together with Yukio Matsui, the current CCO, he has been implementing several imperative changes with his strong driving force and patient centric mindset.

Adam Pearson will be appointed as CStO. Since joining Astellas Group (former Yamanouchi Group) in 2004 after working at Boston Consulting Group, He has held various positions including Regional Senior Vice President, North Europe, Astellas Pharma Europe Ltd. and General Manager, United Kingdom, Astellas Pharma Ltd., and since 2020 has been Division Head of Corporate Strategy, leading the development and promotion of CSP2021.

Name New Title Current Title Naoki Okamura Representative Director, President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Representative Director, Corporate Executive Vice President, Chief Strategy Officer (CStO) Minoru Kikuoka Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Same as left Yoshitsugu Shitaka Chief Scientific Officer (CScO) Same as left Tadaaki Taniguchi Chief Medical Officer (CMO) Same as left Hideki Shima Chief Manufacturing Officer (CMfgO) Same as left Claus Zieler Chief Commercial Officer (CCO) President, Established Markets Commercial Adam Pearson Chief Strategy Officer (CStO) Executive Vice President, Corporate Strategy Katsuyoshi Sugita Chief People Officer and Chief Ethics & Compliance Officer (CPO & CECO) Same as left Catherine Levitt General Counsel (GC) Same as left

Yukio Matsui, the current CCO, will retire on March 31, 2023.

3. Change of Corporate Executive (Tantou-Yakuin) (Effective April 1, 2023)

Name New Position Current Position Minoru Kikuoka Corporate Executive Vice President Fukusyacho Tantou-Yakuin  Senior Corporate Executive Senmu Tantou-Yakuin 

Yukio Matsui, the current Senior Corporate Executive (Senmu Tantou-Yakuin), will retire on March 31, 2023.

About Astellas

Astellas Pharma Inc. is a pharmaceutical company conducting business in more than 70 countries around the world. We are promoting the Focus Area Approach that is designed to identify opportunities for the continuous creation of new drugs to address diseases with high unmet medical needs by focusing on Biology and Modality. Furthermore, we are also looking beyond our foundational Rx focus to create Rx+ healthcare solutions that combine our expertise and knowledge with cutting-edge technology in different fields of external partners. Through these efforts, Astellas stands on the forefront of healthcare change to turn innovative science into VALUE for patients. For more information, please visit our website at https://www.astellas.com/en.

Cautionary Notes

In this press release, statements made with respect to current plans, estimates, strategies and beliefs and other statements that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements about the future performance of Astellas. These statements are based on management's current assumptions and beliefs in light of the information currently available to it and involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties. A number of factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those discussed in the forward-looking statements. Such factors include, but are not limited to: (i) changes in general economic conditions and in laws and regulations, relating to pharmaceutical markets, (ii) currency exchange rate fluctuations, (iii) delays in new product launches, (iv) the inability of Astellas to market existing and new products effectively, (v) the inability of Astellas to continue to effectively research and develop products accepted by customers in highly competitive markets, and (vi) infringements of Astellas' intellectual property rights by third parties.

Information about pharmaceutical products (including products currently in development) which is included in this press release is not intended to constitute an advertisement or medical advice.

(Reference)

Curriculum Vitae of new Representative Director, Chairman of the Board

Name: Kenji Yasukawa Date of Birth: June 7, 1960 Place of Birth: Tokyo - Career History

April 2018 Representative Director, President and CEO, the Company (present post) June 2017 Representative Director, Executive Vice President, Chief Strategy Officer and Chief Commercial Officer, the Company April 2017 Senior Corporate Executive, Senior Vice President, Chief Strategy Officer and Chief Commercial Officer, the Company June 2012 Senior Corporate Executive, Senior Vice President and Chief Strategy Officer, the Company April 2012 Corporate Executive, Senior Vice President and Chief Strategy Officer, the Company April 2011 Corporate Executive, Vice President, Product & Portfolio Strategy, the Company October 2010 Corporate Executive of the Company, Therapeutic Area Head, Urology, Astellas Pharma Global Development, Inc. June 2010 Corporate Executive of the Company, Therapeutic Area Head, Urology, Astellas Pharma Europe B.V. April 2005 Vice President, Project Management, Urology, the Company April 1986 Joined the Company (former Yamanouchi Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.) - Education

July 2001 Showa University Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Japan, Ph.D. in Pharmaceutical Sciences March 1986 University of Tokyo, Master of Science, Agriculture

Curriculum Vitae of new Representative Director, President and CEO

Name: Naoki Okamura Date of Birth: September 18, 1962 Place of Birth: Shizuoka Prefecture - Career History:

April 2022 Representative Director, Executive Vice President and Chief Strategy Officer (CStO), the Company (present post) March 2022 Representative Director, Executive Vice President, Chief Strategy Officer and Chief Business Officer (CStO and CBO), the Company September 2021 Representative Director, Executive Vice President, Chief Strategy Officer, Chief Financial Officer and Chief Business Officer (CStO & CFO, and CBO), the Company October 2019 Representative Director, Executive Vice President, Chief Strategy Officer and Chief Financial Officer, (CStO & CFO), the Company June 2019 Representative Director, Executive Vice President, Chief Strategy Officer (CStO), the Company April 2019 Corporate Executive Vice President, Chief Strategy Officer (CStO), the Company April 2018 Corporate Executive, Chief Strategy Officer (CStO), the Company June 2016 Corporate Executive, Vice President, Corporate Planning, the Company April 2016 Vice President, Corporate Planning, the Company July 2014 Vice President, Licensing & Alliances, the Company April 2012 Senior Vice President, Chief Strategy Officer, Astellas Pharma Europe Ltd. October 2010 President & CEO, OSI Pharmaceuticals, Inc. April 1986 Joined the Company - Education

March 1985 University of Tokyo, Faculty of Pharmacy

Curriculum Vitae of new Chief Commercial Officer (CCO)

Name: Claus Zieler - Career History:

January 2022 President, Established Markets Commercial, Astellas Pharma Europe Ltd. (Present post) October 2019 President, International Markets Commercial, Astellas Pharma Singapore Pte Ltd. June 2015 Senior Vice President, Pharmaceuticals Region Asia Pacific, Bayer (South East Asia) Pte Ltd. October 2011 Operating Officer and Head of BU Cardiovascular & Neurology, Bayer Yakuhin Ltd. March 2007 General Manager HealthCare Belgium / Luxemburg, Bayer SA-NV Marsh 2005 General Manager Argentina, Schering Argentina May 2003 Vice President Business Development, Schering Berlin, Inc. May 1995 Regional Product Manager for Latin America, Schering AG

Curriculum Vitae of new Chief Strategy Officer (CStO)

Name: Adam Pearson - Career History:

April 2022 Executive Vice President, Corporate Strategy. Astellas Pharma Inc. (Present post) April 2020 Senior Vice President, Corporate Planning, Astellas Pharma Inc. April 2019 General Manager, United Kingdom, Astellas Pharma Ltd. July 2016 Regional Senior Vice President, North Europe, Astellas Pharma Europe Ltd. February 2011 General Manager, South East Europe, Astellas Pharma d.o.o. January 2007 Sales Director Netherlands, Astellas Pharma Netherlands, BV. January 2004 Director of Strategic Planning, Europe, Yamanouchi Europe Ltd. September 1994 Consultant & Project Leader, Boston Consulting Group

SOURCE Astellas Pharma Inc.
Unique Donation Made Possible by Texas Alternatives Foundation

AUSTIN, Texas, Feb. 6, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Abilitie CEO and founder Bjorn Billhardt and his family donated $1,000,000 of shares in his company to The University of Texas at Austin to benefit students in the Plan II Honors Program, and university-wide programs run through the School of Undergraduate Studies.

Bjorn Billhardt

Billhardt contributed the shares through the recently launched Texas Alternatives Foundation. The nonprofit provides a new and optimal way to contribute illiquid assets, like shares in privately-held businesses and limited partnerships, to UT Austin. Its objective is to maximize donor benefits and the impact on the university's mission. Billhardt's donation is the Foundation's first.

"I am thrilled to donate shares in Abilitie to UT through the Texas Alternatives Foundation," said Billhardt. "I believe that the Plan II Honors Program and the School of Undergraduate Studies are vital to the education of the next generation of leaders and entrepreneurs. I am honored to be able to support them in this way."

Billhardt's donation will support the Plan II Honors Program, one of the top liberal arts programs in the country. Plan II offers a rigorous curriculum that combines the study of humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences and prepares students for leadership roles in various fields. The donation will also benefit the School of Undergraduate Studies, which provides a wide range of academic programs, services and support for students, including administration of the national model Flag and Signature Course programs that broaden and strengthen the education of all UT undergraduates.

"We are incredibly grateful for Bjorn's generosity," said Dr. Brent Iverson, Texas Alternatives Foundation Board Member and former Dean of the School of Undergraduate Studies at UT Austin. "This donation will have a major impact on the education of our students and will help to ensure that UT Austin remains at the forefront of higher education in the nation."

"The Texas Alternatives Foundation is thrilled to have been able to work with Bjorn to facilitate this pioneering gift. We greatly appreciate the trust he's placed in us to be able to steward this generous gift of stock from a company that he's built through tremendous entrepreneurial effort," said Jarett Rodriguez, CEO of Texas Alternatives Foundation. "We aim to optimize the value of these assets to meet Bjorn and UT Austin's objectives. By donating these closely-held interests, Bjorn is helping us create a new way for the university to benefit from the investments of their alumni."

The Texas Alternatives Foundation maximizes donors' benefits and impacts on The University of Texas' mission to deliver the most excellent value and attain the highest levels of innovation and impact. The Foundation is working with business leaders to build a billion-dollar philanthropic pipeline of closely-held shares in Texas' most prized ventures, partnerships, and other illiquid assets.

For more information about the Texas Alternatives Foundation and its mission, please visit its website at www.texasalternativesfoundation.org.

Contact: Jarett Rodriguez, [email protected]

SOURCE Texas Alternatives Foundation
PLANO, Texas, Feb. 6, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Axis, the leading innovator in Security Service Edge, today announced that CRN, a brand of The Channel Company, has recognized Nicholas Mirizzi, Head of Global Channels and Alliances for Axis Security, on its 2023 Channel Chiefs list. Every year, this list honors the IT channel executives who work tirelessly to advance the channel agenda and deliver successful channel partner programs and strategies.

With more than 20 years in the channel, Mirizzi brings success to Axis' Channel Partners. He has been instrumental in expanding Axis' channel program through identifying and onboarding key target partners as well as delivering triple digit results and gross profit for partners in 2022.

"At Axis, in 2023, we believe the biggest challenge facing our industry will be economic uncertainty," said Mirizzi "Buying technology for technical value alone will be a thing of the past. All purchasing decisions will require significant business value justification alongside strong technical value. We are encouraging our strategic partners to unite with us, as we look to jointly help reduce the attack surface for enterprises and to embrace new technologies like Secure Services Edge to advance cybersecurity protection, and help transform networking for our clients."

The 2023 Channel Chiefs have helped their solution provider partners and customers navigate an increasingly complex landscape of interconnected challenges and shifting networking and security dynamics. With the innovative strategies, programs, and partnerships of these Channel Chiefs in place, the solution provider community has continued to thrive.

The 2023 CRN Channel Chiefs were selected by the editorial staff based on their record of business innovation and dedication to the partner community. This year's list represents the top IT executives responsible for building a robust channel ecosystem.

"Once again, this year's list gives well-deserved recognition to the IT Channel Chiefs who are dedicated to driving the channel agenda and advocating for the development of strong channel partnerships," said Blaine Raddon, CEO of The Channel Company. "Under their exceptional leadership, influence, and innovation, the IT channel vendor community continues to deliver solutions and services that meet the rapidly evolving needs of their solution provider partners and their customers."

The 2023 CRN Channel Chiefs list will be featured in the February 2023 issue of CRN Magazine and online at www.CRN.com/ChannelChiefs .

About Axis

Axis' vision is to bring harmony to workplace connectivity and that the sooner IT adopts zero trust, the sooner we can witness a world where the exchange of information is always fast, seamless, and secure. With 350 Axis cloud service edges across the world, Axis helps IT leaders enable their employees, partners, and customers to securely access business resources by making it simple to transform legacy networking and security environments, and embrace its unified Connectivity-as-a-Service platform. Through its world-class research and development and founding team which hails from Israel's acclaimed Unit 8200, Axis accelerates the world's transition to a modern workplace where hybrid work is made simple, digital experience is a competitive advantage, and business data remains protected from cyber threats - even as it moves to the cloud. For more information, visit www.axissecurity.com . Follow us on Twitter and on LinkedIn.

About The Channel Company

The Channel Company enables breakthrough IT channel performance with our dominant media, engaging events, expert consulting and education, and innovative marketing services and platforms. As the channel catalyst, we connect and empower technology suppliers, solution providers, and end users. Backed by more than 30 years of unequaled channel experience, we draw from our deep knowledge to envision innovative new solutions for ever-evolving challenges in the technology marketplace. www.thechannelcompany.com

Follow The Channel Company: Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook.

 2023 The Channel Company, LLC. CRN is a registered trademark of The Channel Company, LLC. All rights reserved.

SOURCE Axis Security
Baker Hill sees significant year-over-year revenue and profitability growth in 2022

CARMEL, Ind., Feb. 6, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Baker Hill, a leading financial technology provider in delivering solutions for loan origination, risk management and analytics, achieved record growth in 2022, increasing annual revenues by 15 percent, Baker Hill NextGen platform revenues by 30 percent, and profitability growth outpacing revenues increase.

Baker Hill's tremendous growth is the result of the company's rapidly expanding client base, which includes close to 50 net new financial institution clients added in the last 12 months, such as Flatirons Bank, Great Plains Bank and several other community banks and credit unions across the U.S.

This record growth demonstrates strong market demand among financial institutions for lending solutions that increase efficiencies, mitigate risk, support sound decision-making and more to optimize portfolio performance and profitability. Additionally, Baker Hill has expanded relationships with several existing clients, migrating 17 financial institutions to the company's flagship product, Baker Hill NextGen, an award-winning, end-to-end loan origination, risk management and analytics platform.

Virginia-based TowneBank is one of the many Baker Hill clients that upgraded to the full NextGen suite last year. A long-standing Baker Hill client, TowneBank's decision to transition to Baker Hill NextGen was driven by its commitment to investing in the most effective financial technology systems available.

"After working with Baker Hill for nearly two decades, we chose to take our partnership to the next level by transitioning to the full Baker Hill NextGen Loan Origination platform. Our team will use it for consumer, small business and commercial loans," said Brad Schwartz, President & Chief Operating Officer at TowneBank. "Given our history of working with Baker Hill and the value their technology consistently delivers, we look forward to our continued partnership together."

"Last year was a record year for Baker Hill and the milestones we achieved are a testament to the value our team and technology provides to the financial services industry," said John M. Deignan, president and CEO of Baker Hill. "I'm proud of my fellow colleagues for the positive impact they have made, both within our company and for our financial institution clients, despite ongoing economic uncertainties. As we head into 2023, I expect this momentum to continue, especially as more financial institutions seek to drive efficiencies in their lending workflows and manage portfolio risk in a rising rate environment."

Baker Hill anticipates another year of strong growth in 2023 and the company remains dedicated to empowering its financial institution clients with world-class loan origination and portfolio risk management technology. After achieving numerous milestones last year and growing its client roster, Baker Hill also expects to host its largest user conference yet, Prosper 2023, which will take place April 23rd  25th in Scottsdale, Arizona.

To register for Prosper 2023, and to view the agenda and speakers, visit the event website.

About Baker Hill

Baker Hill is in the business of evolving loan origination by combining expertise in technology with expertise in banking. Built on decades of walking alongside banks and credit unions as they provide vital resources to their communities, Baker Hill NextGen is a configurable, single platform SaaS solution for commercial, small business, consumer loan origination, and risk management that grows along with you as your business needs change. Baker Hill is lending evolved. For more information, visit bakerhill.com.

SOURCE Baker Hill
BOSTON, Feb. 6, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc. (NYSE: BHLB) today announced that its Board of Directors has determined that the Annual Meeting of Shareholders will be held at 10:00 am on Thursday, May 18, 2023 in a virtual meeting format. The date of Friday, March 24, 2023 was established as the record date for the determination of shareholders entitled to notice of, and to vote at, the Annual Meeting. Further information about the annual meeting will be available in early April at the Company's website at ir.berkshirebank.com.

ABOUT BERKSHIRE HILLS BANCORP

Headquartered in Boston, Berkshire Hills Bancorp (NYSE:BHLB) is the parent of Berkshire Bank. Founded in 1846, the Bank's vision is to serve as a high-performing leading socially responsible community bank. It empowers the financial potential of its stakeholders by making banking available where, when and how it's needed through an uncompromising focus on exceptional customer service, digital banking, and positive community impact. Providing a wide range of financial solutions through its consumer banking, commercial banking and wealth management divisions, the Bank has approximately $11.7 billion in assets and a community-based footprint of 100 financial centers in Massachusetts, New York, Vermont, Connecticut and Rhode Island. Named one of America's Most Trusted Companies 2022 by Newsweek, Berkshire is also listed in the Bloomberg Gender-Equality Index and a Best Place to Work for LGBTQ+ Equality. To learn more, follow us on Facebook , Twitter , Instagram , and LinkedIn .

Investor Relations Contacts

Kevin Conn, SVP, Investor Relations & Corporate Development

Email: [email protected]

Tel: (617) 641-9206

David Gonci, Capital Markets Director

Email: [email protected]

Tel: (413) 281-1973

SOURCE Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc.
The two companies seek to develop green and clean alternatives to synthetic polymers

BOSTON and QUAKENBRUCK, Germany, Feb. 6, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Bioweg, a producer of highly functional and customizable bio-based materials, and Ginkgo Bioworks (NYSE: DNA), which is building the leading platform for cell programming and biosecurity, today announced a collaboration to optimize the production of bacterial cellulose and to produce novel variants of cellulose with improved performance to serve a variety of end markets.

Bioweg's current products based on biodegradable bacterial cellulose have already been tested and implemented by companies as an effective substitute for widely used synthetic polymers such as acrylates, polyethylene, and polystyrene. Synthetic polymers often appear as microbeads (micropowders) and texturants (Rheology modifiers) in products throughout the cosmetics, homecare, personal care, agricultural coatings and other industries, which contribute to microplastic pollution in surface waters worldwide. It is estimated that an average person could be ingesting about 5 grams of plastic each week through the consumption of common foods and beverages, according to a study by the University of Newcastle . These microplastics are non-biodegradable and sometimes carry toxic chemicals on top of them. Regulatory agencies and communities around the world have addressed microplastics contamination through significant regulations. For example, in 2022 the European Chemical Agency announced phasing out periods of 4 and 6 years for microbeads in 'rinse-off' and 'leave-on' cosmetics, respectively.

"Consumers and companies are united in their commitment to finding better performing and more sustainable alternatives for everyday products to break the chain of microplastic pollution. Our solutions are not just tackling a major environmental, sustainability and health problem, but also present a robust market opportunity to replace plastic polymers in care, coatings, chemicals, and other industries," said Prateek Mahalwar, CEO at Bioweg. "We believe Ginkgo's strain engineering and screening capabilities can enable us to deliver our biobased solutions at scale and competitive pricing."

"Bioweg is addressing a significant need in the marketplace to develop and produce a new generation of clean alternatives to synthetic polymers," said Ena Cratsenburg, Chief Business Officer at Ginkgo Bioworks. "We are committed to supporting the shift to sustainable and bio-based high-performance alternatives and are thrilled to be working with Bioweg to address the pressing issues of microplastics contamination and promote responsible consumption."

About Bioweg

Bioweg, an innovative start-up based in Niedersachsen, Germany, is leading the charge against microplastics and petroleum-based polymers. With the EU's microplastics ban in sight, Bioweg is working to create alternative bacterial cellulose-based ingredients for personal care, cosmetics, seed and fertilizer coating, and the processed food industry. Combining biotechnology, materials science, and green chemistry, Bioweg utilizes waste or side streams from the food industry as feedstock to develop these solutions. The European Union has awarded Bioweg a 12.6-million-euro European Innovation Council funding for their outstanding efforts in creating a more sustainable future for generations to come. For more information, visit www.bioweg.com or their LinkedIn page.

About Ginkgo Bioworks

Ginkgo Bioworks is the leading horizontal platform for cell programming, providing flexible, end-to-end services that solve challenges for organizations across diverse markets, from food and agriculture to pharmaceuticals to industrial and specialty chemicals. Ginkgo's biosecurity and public health unit, Concentric by Ginkgo, is building global infrastructure for biosecurity to empower governments, communities, and public health leaders to prevent, detect and respond to a wide variety of biological threats. For more information, visit ginkgobioworks.com and concentricbyginkgo.com , read our blog , or follow us on social media channels such as Twitter (@ Ginkgo and @ ConcentricByGBW ), Instagram (@ GinkgoBioworks and @ ConcentricByGinkgo ), or LinkedIn .

Forward-Looking Statements of Ginkgo Bioworks

This press release contains certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws, including statements regarding the potential success of the partnership and Ginkgo's cell engineering platform. These forward-looking statements generally are identified by the words "believe," "can," "project," "potential," "expect," "anticipate," "estimate," "intend," "strategy," "future," "opportunity," "plan," "may," "should," "will," "would," "will be," "will continue," "will likely result," and similar expressions. Forward-looking statements are predictions, projections and other statements about future events that are based on current expectations and assumptions and, as a result, are subject to risks and uncertainties. Many factors could cause actual future events to differ materially from the forward-looking statements in this press release, including but not limited to:(i) volatility in the price of Ginkgo's securities due to a variety of factors, including changes in the competitive and highly regulated industries in which Ginkgo operates and plans to operate, variations in performance across competitors, and changes in laws and regulations affecting Ginkgo's business, (ii) the ability to implement business plans, forecasts, and other expectations, and to identify and realize additional business opportunities, (iii) the risk of downturns in demand for products using synthetic biology, (iv) the unpredictability of the duration of the COVID-19 pandemic and the demand for COVID-19 testing and the commercial viability of our COVID-19 testing business, (v) changes to the biosecurity industry, including due to advancements in technology, emerging competition and evolution in industry demands, standards and regulations, and (vi) our ability to realize the expected benefits of merger and acquisition transactions. The foregoing list of factors is not exhaustive. You should carefully consider the foregoing factors and the other risks and uncertainties described in the "Risk Factors" section of Ginkgo's quarterly report on Form 10-Q filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") on November 14, 2022 and other documents filed by Ginkgo from time to time with the SEC. These filings identify and address other important risks and uncertainties that could cause actual events and results to differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made. Readers are cautioned not to put undue reliance on forward-looking statements, and Ginkgo assumes no obligation and does not intend to update or revise these forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise. Ginkgo does not give any assurance that it will achieve its expectations.

GINKGO MEDIA CONTACT:

[email protected]

BIOWEG MEDIA CONTACT

[email protected]

GINKGO INVESTOR CONTACT:

[email protected]

BIOWEG INVESTOR CONTACT

[email protected]

SOURCE Ginkgo Bioworks
In-depth analysis of obesity highlights latest advances in weight loss drugs, the search for biological fitness mediators and the pros and cons of weight as a proxy for health

LONDON, Feb. 6, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- BioWorld published by Clarivate Plc (NYSE:CLVT), a global leader in connecting people and organizations to intelligence they can trust to transform their world, explores how difficult scientific detachment can be for health topics that have large cultural components- such as obesity. After many years of research and development, drug-induced weight loss has matured into a viable therapeutic option. Special investigation from BioWorld provides in-depth analysis of the latest advances in metabolic health, how fitness may play a role in these shifts and how scientists' perceptions of the obesity epidemic may shift.

According to the World Obesity Federation, one billion people globally will be living with obesity by 2030. With medical researchers' laser focus on finding solutions to address the obesity epidemic, excitement is finally building around the next generation of drugs developed to help adults shed excess weight. These new classes of drugs offer promising results and may provide an alternative solution to weight loss other than invasive procedures such as bariatric surgery. While new weight loss drugs are an extraordinary advance in medicine and will likely become some of the most prescribed of all medications in the upcoming years, how will perceptions in the medical community around the role of fitness in weight loss and overall health evolve?

Following deep analysis of the latest studies on weight loss, metabolic health and fitness, BioWorld Science Managing Editor, Anette Breindl, discusses:

How difficult scientific detachment can be for health topics that have large cultural components. Heated debates continue around the discrepancies between individuals with Body Mass Index (BMI) in the "overweight" range, often associated with the greatest longevity, and individuals in the so-called "Class I obesity" category, who often live as long as those with a "normal" BMI.

How weight loss is blind to the behavioral differences between brown and white fats. Weight may be a poor proxy for health as fat cells are distributed throughout the body, and the details of where they are and what they are doing matter a great deal.

The effects of GLP-1R agonists, also called incretin mimetics, which go far beyond weight loss, and the question of whether weight loss is causal to their effects.

How new methods are enabling a molecular understanding of exercise, which may be much more important to health than weight is.

Lynn Yoffee, Publisher, BioWorld said: "Drug-induced weight loss has finally matured into a viable therapeutic option for patients. At the same time, there are longstanding concerns that the health effects of weight might be overrated. Can a person still be considered fit and healthy despite being over what is considered a normal weight? BioWorld Science Managing Editor Anette Breindl has reviewed the latest research around these challenges and raised several complicated red flags, just as millions of people are desperately hoping that the new weight loss pills are the answer in the quest to be healthy."

For more exclusive in-depth coverage of obesity and metabolic health on BioWorld, visit: https://www.bioworld.com/articles/693766-as-weight-loss-medicine-advances-its-relevance-recedes.

Listen to the latest edition of the BioWorld Insider podcast, where BioWorld Science Managing Editor Anette Breindl, discusses her new analysis of multiple studies related to weight loss, metabolic health and fitness, which in many ways goes against the mainstream health care state of mind about obesity, here: https://www.bioworld.com/media/podcasts/532-bioworld-insider-podcast/play/31-rethinking-obesity-fitness-may-be-more-directly-linked-to-health-than-weight.

Join the conversation and mention BioWorld on Twitter and Clarivate for Life Sciences & Healthcare on Twitter and LinkedIn.

About BioWorld

With writers and editors stationed around the globe, BioWorld published by Clarivate, reports the breaking news - and provides key perspective on hundreds of therapeutics and devices in development, the companies behind those candidates, the business development transactions that evolve the markets, and the regulatory hurdles that both challenge and guard the processes. BioWorld has a long tradition of excellence in journalism. Collectively, the news services have been honored with 63 awards dating back to 1998, including 15 for BioWorld daily news services.

About Clarivate

Clarivate is a leading global information services provider. We connect people and organizations to intelligence they can trust to transform their perspective, their work and our world. Our subscription and technology-based solutions are coupled with deep domain expertise and cover the areas of Academia & Government, Life Sciences & Healthcare and Intellectual Property. For more information, please visit clarivate.com.

SOURCE Clarivate Plc
** Credit Union Encourages Los Angeles County Teachers to Apply for a Spring Project Grant **

LOS ANGELES, Feb. 6, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- California Credit Union invites all Los Angeles County teachers who have a dream class project idea to apply for a credit union grant through its bi-annual Teacher Grant program.

The California Credit Union spring grant program is available to full-time teachers in Los Angeles and Orange County, or credit union members teaching in California, looking to fund special learning opportunities for their students. The project should have clearly defined learning objectives tied to students' academic needs, display creativity, and benefit a significant number of students. Ten California Credit Union grants of $500 each will be awarded to area teachers in the spring program.

"As we celebrate 90 years of service to the education community, we're excited to once again offer special grants to support our teachers as they work to create innovative programming for their students," said California Credit Union President/CEO Steve O'Connell. "We encourage any teacher who has a dream program to apply for a grant and look forward to funding these inspiring projects."

Interested teachers can find more information and apply online at ccu.com/teachergrant. The application deadline is February 28, 2023.

Since the creation of the program in 2012, California Credit Union has awarded $165,000 in teacher grants to benefit students across Southern California. Last year's grant program funded a wide range of projects, including building solar powered ovens, starting a school radio station, hatching chicks, building a genetics lab, and creating a mariachi music program, among others.

About California Credit Union

California Credit Union is a federally insured, state chartered credit union founded in 1933 that serves public or private school employees, community members and businesses across California. With more than 165,000 members and assets of over $4 billion, California Credit Union has 24 branches throughout Los Angeles, Orange and San Diego counties. The credit union operates in San Diego County as North Island Credit Union, a division of California Credit Union. California Credit Union offers a full suite of consumer, business and investment products and services, including comprehensive consumer checking and loan options, personalized financial planning, business banking, and leading-edge online and mobile banking. Visit ccu.com for more information or follow the credit union on Instagram or Facebook @CaliforniaCreditUnion.

SOURCE California Credit Union
The A25 Concession is a critical 7.2 km toll road and bridge network serving Greater Montreal and its residents

With this transaction, the A25 will for the first time count a Quebec group among its shareholders

MONTREAL, Feb. 6, 2023 /PRNewswire/ - CDPQ, a global investment group, today announced it has reached an agreement with Transurban for the acquisition of a 50% interest in the A25 Concession, a 7.2 km toll road and bridge network which serves as a vital component of the Greater Montreal transportation network.

The transaction, valued at $355 million, allows CDPQ to acquire a high-quality asset that plays a central role in the transportation of residents of Greater Montreal, as well as for the movement of merchandise in Quebec and Eastern Canada. With a 50% stake, the CDPQ will have co-control of the A25 Concession. This is the second major partnership between CDPQ and Transurban, one of the world's largest operators in the sector, following CDPQ's 2021 investment in WestConnex, Australia's largest road infrastructure project.

Serving north-eastern Montreal and eastern Laval, this toll road is notable for its sustainable approach, offering faster and more efficient routes by car, public transit, bicycle and foot.

Emmanuel Jaclot, CDPQ's Executive Vice-President and Head of Infrastructure, said: "The A25 plays an essential role for many residents of Greater Montreal, providing faster routes, easing congestion on other arteries and facilitating public transit between Montreal and the North Shore. With this investment, CDPQ is excited to play a structuring role in the mobility of people and goods in Quebec, and we look forward to working with Transurban to ensure the best possible experience for users of A25."

Transurban Chief Executive Officer, Scott Charlton, added: "This is the second partnership between Transurban and CDPQ since the recent WestConnex transaction. We have found them to be a constructive, knowledgeable and collaborative partner and we are excited to continue the excellent working relationship. Both parties are aligned on the long-term aspirations for the North American market, and we look forward to pursuing new opportunities together."

A25 customers will not be affected by the transaction. Payment methods and customer support channels such as the website and service centre will continue to operate as usual, as will the Government of Quebec's free toll measures for electric vehicle owners.

Financial close is expected by March 31st, subject to customary closing conditions and relevant consents and approvals.

ABOUT CDPQ

At CDPQ, we invest constructively to generate sustainable returns over the long term. As a global investment group managing funds for public pension and insurance plans, we work alongside our partners to build enterprises that drive performance and progress. We are active in the major financial markets, private equity, infrastructure, real estate and private debt. As at June 30, 2022, CDPQ's net assets totalled CAD 391.6 billion. For more information, visit cdpq.com, follow us on Twitter or consult our Facebook or LinkedIn pages.

CDPQ is a registered trademark owned by Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec and licensed for use by its subsidiaries.

SOURCE CDPQ
Rwandans have been urged to bark efforts towards restoring and effectively exploiting wetlands in the country. The call was made during World Wetlands Day (WWD) which is marked every February 2.

This year's day was celebrated under the theme: "It's Time for Wetland Restoration". The call was made due to swamplands being lost three times faster than forests.

The theme selected by the Ramsar Convention--an intergovernmental treaty that provides the framework for the conservation and 'wise use' of wetlands and their resources--is an urgent call for humanity to restore degraded wetlands, and ensure that they are conserved, and sustainably used in order to achieve global targets for climate, biodiversity and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Rwanda endorsed Ramsar Convention in December 2003.

"Well-managed and restored wetlands improve communities' resilience to climate change and disaster risks that our country is facing through heavy rain or drought, thanks to wetlands' capacity to absorb and release water in due course.

"I, therefore, call upon everyone to contribute and play an upper role in preserving, protecting, and restoring our wetlands for the common benefit of everyone. I encourage the private sector to invest in wetland rehabilitation and restoration initiatives," said Jeanne d'Arc Mujawamariya, Minister of Environment.

To ensure the sustainable use of wetlands, she noted, all illegal activities in wetlands must be avoided.

"We ought to work together so that other unsustainable activities operating within wetlands come to an end. Achieving these goals will only be possible with the involvement of all stakeholders. We are working with local government authorities, civil society, private sector, development partners and government agencies and media to ensure the true value of wetlands to our socio-economic development is understood and act accordingly," she added.

Mujawamariya said celebrating World Wetlands Day is a good opportunity for Rwanda to build on the achievements made in environmental conservation and protection.

"A well-restored wetland can provide many of the services performed by the original natural wetland, including revive biodiversity, replenish and filter water, store carbon, blunt the impact of floods and storms, improve livelihoods, boost eco-tourism and enhance well-being," she added.

Rwanda's progress in wetland restoration

Over 935 wetlands, covering a total area of 176,337 ha, are classified according to characteristics such as soil type, vegetation, hydrology, and climatic zone.

The Prime Minister's Order number 006/03 of 30/01/2017, lists all swamplands, their characteristics, and boundaries and determines modalities of their use, development, and management.

Furthermore, Rwanda has made substantial progress in wetland management, particularly in the restoration and rehabilitation of degraded wetlands.

It includes the restoration of Nyandungu Eco Park and the initiation of wetlands rehabilitation projects in the city of Kigali.

Those to be rehabilitated are Rugenge, Rwintare, and lower Nyabugogo wetland areas which will be rehabilitated as part of the already existing project, Rwanda Urban Development Project (RUDPII).

The achievements also include the relocation of industries, commercial and household infrastructures from wetlands, and the development of the Wetland Master Plan for Kigali City, among others.

Restoring Kigali's degraded wetlands

At the national level, the celebration of World Wetlands Day is devoted to inspections in urban wetland areas of the City of Kigali, to ensure enforcement and compliance with the regulations on wetlands management.

The restoration of five degraded wetlands in the City of Kigali will start in June this year.

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Studies show that 35 per cent of the world's wetlands have disappeared in the last 50 years, and the surface area of wetlands in Kigali decreased from 100 square kilometres to 77 square kilometres.

To curb the trend, the government of Rwanda has secured $12 million (approx. Rwf 13 million) to restore five degraded wetlands in the City of Kigali. These include Gikondo, Rwampara, Rugenge-Rwintare, Nyabugogo and Kibumba.

Over 20 per cent of wetlands in Kigali - equivalent to 15.76 square kilometres--should be rehabilitated so as to regain quality and pristine nature.

The implementation of the Kigali City Wetland Master Plan would generate over $155 million (approx. Rwf 160 billion) annually according to the study, dubbed "Economics of Kigali City Wetland Ecosystem Services" that was carried out by environmentalists from Albertine Rift Conservation Society (ARCOS) in partnership with IUCN and REMA.

Nearly 90 per cent of the world's wetlands have been degraded since the 1700s. World Wetlands Day (WWD) is annually celebrated every year.
Chicago Auto Show's EV Test Track features six electric vehicles for consumers to experience, with nearly 30 EVs displayed on the show floor

Autel Energy, a leading provider of EV charging stations, announces it's the official EV charger of Chicago Drives Electric at the Chicago Auto Show

How to charge your EV promises to be a major question at this year's show

CHICAGO, Feb. 6, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Many consumers attending the Chicago Auto Show will be looking to purchase their first electric vehicle, and they'll be able to learn everything they need to know at McCormick Place.

This year's show, taking place Feb. 11-20, features nearly 30 electric vehicles. The Chicago Drives Electric indoor test track also returns to the auto show floor bigger and better than before covering 100,000 square feet of show floor space.

The electric vehicles at the 2023 Chicago Auto Shows indoor test track will be powered by EV chargers provided by Autel Energy. (John Thomas of Autel Energy pictured)

"With all the interest in EVs, what consumers want to know is how do I charge an EV if I buy one," says Autel Energy Chief Operating Officer John Thomas. "We're here at this year's show to answer your questions, and it's really not complicated. Eighty percent of charging is done at home. What worries people is the charging that they do away from home. We offer both solutions, at home charging and charging for your community.

"The great thing about EVs is you never have to go to a gas station. Your vehicle can always be full," Thomas says. "Most people charge their EVs like they charge their phones. You charge when you get home. That way, every morning when you leave you have a full charge. What can be complicated is selecting the kind of charger you want for your home or what kind of charger your township should install. For that, you must do your research. We're here to help and encourage you to visit the EV Test Track for a test drive and stop by our Autel Energy exhibit near the track to learn about charging."

Autel Energy has a 3,000-square-foot exhibit space adjacent to the track in the South Hall. The EV charging company is providing 15 chargers to keep all participating EVs on the track charged overnight.

Autel Energy's MaxiCharger family of products includes AC (Level 2) home and commercial chargers, DC bi-directional vehicle-to-everything (V2X) home charging, DC fast charging (Level 3) and digital energy management offerings, including mobile apps and Autel's ChargeCloud, the only all-in-one charging cloud solution available today. Autel's holistic approach to curating solutions that address the needs of the entire charging ecosystem helps balance the grid while enabling the organic expansion of power access.

Autel Energy has sold more than 10,000 residential and commercial EV chargers in only four months, with new customers signing on daily.

The 2023 Chicago Auto Show runs Feb. 11-20 at McCormick Place and is open to the public daily at 10 a.m. Tickets to the show are on sale at ChicagoAutoShow.com.

About Autel Energy

Autel Energy's vision is to create a seamless customer experience that enables the deployment of technology and smart infrastructure that accelerates the adoption of electric vehicles and energy management solutions worldwide. Autel Energy makes the most advanced products accessible and convenient for residential and commercial users offering hardware, software, apps, and cloud-based solutions to cover almost every use case and application. This includes world-class charging hardware for AC (Level 2) home and commercial, DC Bi-directional V2X power management, and DC (Level 3) fast charging from 40kW to 480kW with innovative configurability and modularity.

About the Chicago Auto Show

First staged in 1901, the Chicago Auto Show is the nation's longest running auto exposition in North America. The show is produced by the Chicagoland's new-car dealer association, the Chicago Automobile Trade Association, which has staged the show since 1935. The 2023 public show is Feb. 11-20 at McCormick Place. For more information and the latest updates, visit ChicagoAutoShow.com or Facebook.com/ChicagoAutoShow.com.

SOURCE Autel Energy
WASHINGTON, Feb. 6, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Yesterday the Chilean ice-water swimmer, Barbara Hernandez, made history by being the first person to swim 2.5 kilometers in the frozen waters of Antarctica.

Credit for the video is Eduardo Pena. Credit for the image is Shawn Heinrichs.

Hernandez, an experienced open water swimmer with previous world records including the Guinness World Record for completing the fastest ocean mile swim through the Drake Passage in southern Chile, is currently onboard a Chilean Navy ship in Antarctica to raise awareness for the need to protect its waters. As a member of the Antarctica2020 group of leaders calling for greater marine protection in the region and working closely with the Antarctic and Southern Ocean Coalition, she has been supporting the call to world leaders to act to ensure the conservation of the ocean and the continent at a meeting that will be happening in Santiago, Chile in June.

In just a simple swimsuit, in temperatures of 2.2 Celsius, with no protective clothing or grease, Barbara made the 45 minutes and 50 second swim, pushing through the icy waves in Chile Bay, Greenwich Island in the Antarctic Peninsula.

"I'm so happy and so relieved that it all went well. Swimming in Antarctica has been a dream I've had for years, and part of my longtime ambition to swim in parts of all seven of the world's oceans. Physically it has been incredibly tough, but all worth it if the message on the need for urgent action to protect these amazing waters reaches decision-makers," said Barbara Hernandez.

Currently, three large-scale marine protection proposals are on the table within the international body responsible for conserving Antarctica's waters- the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR)- in the East Antarctic, Weddell Sea and the Antarctic Peninsula, the same place where Hernandez undertook her extreme swimming challenge. These proposals, collectively covering almost 4 million square kilometers (1% of the global ocean), have been up for agreement for years, but geopolitics have hampered progress, with China and Russia yet to come onboard. To help move through this impasse, a special CCAMLR meeting dedicated to MPAs has been called from 19-23 June in Santiago, Chile.

"The courage that Barbara has shown in undertaking this swim in the name of Antarctic Ocean protection is truly inspirational. That someone put her life on the line to get greater awareness of the problems in the region, shows the urgency of the issue. We hope that leaders take notice and show political courage at the CCAMLR meeting in June to secure protection of these three large areas" said Claire Christian, Executive Director of the Antarctic and Southern Ocean Coalition.

Antarctica and its surrounding ocean and wildlife that live there are coming under increasing pressure from the climate crisis. This is further compounded by concentrated fishing in the area for krill, which is competing with the food sources for much of Antarctica's wildlife, such as whales, penguins and seals that rely on krill for survival. Science has shown that marine protected areas are a key tool to help build resilience for ocean habitats and wildlife to adapt to the increasing changes in the region.

"It has been 10 years since CCAMLR members agreed to have a network of Southern Ocean MPAs in place. In that time, we have seen climate change take its toll on the biodiversity of the region, and more concentrated fishing for krillthe very heart of the ecosystem. At the same time, countries have pledged to protect 30% of the global ocean by 2030, including last month with the adoption of the new Global Biodiversity Framework. This special CCAMLR meeting in Santiago offers a unique opportunity for leaders to show that they are serious about putting their commitments into action by designating these three large MPAs," said Andrea Kavanagh, director of the Pew Bertarelli Ocean Legacy Project's Antarctic and Southern Ocean work.

The Chilean government and Navy have been strong supporters of this initiative. Chile together with Argentina are also co-proponents of the marine protection proposal in the Antarctic Peninsula. "In the years that I have been working with the Chilean Navy and visiting Antarctica, I have seen a big change in the region. These changes are accelerating and I am sad that the Antarctica I remember from previous years will be gone forever. That is why we have been honored as the Chilean Navy to support Barbara with her swim and awareness-raising mission. My hope is that action does not come too late," said Navy Captain Arturo Prat.

A documentary crew has also been following Hernandez and the final piece will be available to watch in April.

Media contact: Karen Rauch - [email protected] , Tel: + +56967354769

Barbara Cvrkel  [email protected], Tel: +1 2025105670

Notes to editors:

The Antarctic and Southern Ocean Coalition (ASOC) is a coalition of conservation organizations from around the world to defend the integrity of Antarctic and Southern Ocean ecosystems from encroaching human activities. Its mission is to protect the Antarctic and Southern Ocean's unique and vulnerable ecosystems by providing the unified voice of the NGO community.

SOURCE Antarctic and Southern Ocean Coalition
QUZHOU, China, Feb. 5, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- This is a report from China.org.cn:

Miaoyuan village in eastern China held a ritual ceremony on Saturday to celebrate "Lichun," one of China's 24 solar terms to mark the formal start of spring.

The ceremony, performed in a time-honored fashion, began at 9 a.m. at a local temple. As part of the rituals, participants presented flower baskets and sacrificial offerings to Goumang, or the God of Spring in ancient China, to wish for a bumper harvest and prosperity in the year.

A highlight of the ceremony was "whip the spring ox," where an elder villager plowed the field with an ox-pulled plow, while a child whipped the ox, singing a folk song. In another ritual called "greet spring," 24 "spring messengers" stood on either side of the temple's doorstep and chanted "spring is coming," holding lanterns in their hands. These rituals symbolically signified the start of the farming season for the year.

The ritual ceremony, dated back hundreds of years, has been formally held each year since 2005 in the village at the start of spring.

The 24 solar terms, including Lichun, were added to the UNESCO list of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2016.

Chinese village greets spring with traditional rituals

http://www.china.org.cn/china/2023-02/04/content_85088639.htm

SOURCE China.org.cn
AUCKLAND, New Zealand , Feb. 6, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Global carbon footprint management fintech, Cogo , today announced that its carbon footprint management software is now listed on AWS Marketplace , a digital catalogue with thousands of software listings from independent software vendors that make it easy to find, test, buy, and deploy software that runs on Amazon Web Services (AWS). The listing will give more than 325,000 active AWS customers around the world access to Cogo's cloud-based carbon footprint technology that enables individuals and businesses to measure, understand, and reduce their impact on the climate.

Cogo works with 12 banks globally, including NatWest , Westpac, the Commonwealth Bank of Australia, Royal Bank of Scotland, Suncorp Bank, and most recently Kiwibank, to provide carbon emissions data for banking transactions such as spend on electricity and fuel. The Cogo Personal and Business Carbon Manager solutions calculate carbon footprints for both individuals and businesses, and can provide personalised recommendations on ways to lower carbon footprints. Customers can also share their progress, which can help businesses attract and retain customers.

"Carbon footprint integration is fast becoming a strategic priority for businesses, as customers seek ways to make more sustainable buying decisions and reduce their impact on the climate," said Ben Gleisner, Founder of Cogo. "Cogo makes these insights easy to see so customers can take immediate action. We're now excited to scale our solution globally by joining AWS Marketplace and making it easily available to AWS customers who share a desire to make a positive impact on our climate."

"Cogo also increases the sustainability of a bank's portfolio, assists with compliance around ever-tightening legal requirements including possible climate related financial disclosure, and comes with significant brand benefits from being a sustainability champion," adds Gleisner.

"Amazon is committed to building a sustainable business for our customers and the planet, and co-founded The Climate Pledge to reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2040  10 years ahead of the Paris Agreement," said Tiffany Bloomquist, Country Manager, Commercial Sector, AWS New Zealand. "We're also committed to powering our new AWS Asia Pacific (Auckland) Region with 100% renewable energy at launch. Cogo shares our commitment to sustainability and has developed an innovative way to help the finance sector make more carbon conscious decisions. We look forward to seeing them grow globally on AWS Marketplace and expand their solutions into new markets."

The solution in action

In 2021, NatWest contracted Cogo to integrate a carbon footprint tracker via an API into its retail banking app to support the bank's transition towards a net-zero, climate-resilient and sustainable economy. Agility, security, and low latency were requirements for the carbon footprint tracking feature to process large volumes of data from customer transactions on the mobile app.

"Our customers didn't understand what their impact was or what actions they could take to support the drive towards net-zero emissions," explains Rachael Colville-Walker, senior digital product owner at NatWest Group.

As an AWS Partner, Cogo built the API for NatWest on AWS using Amazon API Gateway, AWS Lambda, and Amazon Aurora. The bank had experience with other partners' solutions on AWS, which gave them confidence in Cogo's proposed solution. By integrating the feature into its retail banking app via an API, NatWest's retail customers can track how their spending impacts the climate and receive suggestions on how to reduce their carbon footprint.

"Cogo understands the regulatory environment and our privacy concerns. Solutions built on AWS tick all the security boxes for a financial organisation like ours," said Colville-Walker.

The bank and Cogo had a tight launch timeline of six months, aiming to introduce the tracking feature before the UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) in Glasgow, Scotland, later that year.

"The carbon tracking feature from Cogo is a differentiator for NatWest and clearly demonstrates our commitment to helping the UK achieve net-zero emissions," added Colville-Walker.

The fintech is on track to have over three million customers using its carbon footprint management features.

( Read the full case study here .)

About Cogo

Cogo is a carbon footprint management product that helps individuals and businesses to measure, understand and reduce their impact on the climate. Cogo does this through partnerships with some of the world's largest banks to integrate leading carbon-tracking functionality into their banking apps.

Cogo uses best-in-class models to provide accurate ways to measure carbon emissions specific to local markets and cutting edge behavioural science techniques to nudge customers to make more sustainable choices.

Cogo currently works with twelve banks, with plans to double this in the next twelve months. Founded in 2016, Cogo now employs over 100 people, operates in 12 countries across Europe and Australasia (including the UK, Netherlands, New Zealand, Australia, Japan and Singapore) and helps over a million customers around the world measure their carbon footprint.

Cogo has raised over US$12.5million in funding since launch.

To find out more information about Cogo, please visit cogo.co.

SOURCE Cogo
Henry receives recognition after accomplishing over 500% incremental channel pipeline growth in his first year at Gluware

SACRAMENTO, Calif., Feb. 6, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Gluware , the leader in intelligent network automation, today announced that CRN, a brand of The Channel Company, has recognized Colin Henry, VP of Channel Sales Gluware, as a 2023 Channel Chief. Every year, this list honors the IT channel executives who work tirelessly to advance the channel agenda and deliver successful channel partner programs and strategies.

Colin Henry joined Gluware as VP of Channel Sales in January of 2022 to lead strategy and execution for sales growth through indirect routes for Gluware's Intelligent Network Automation suite. Henry guided Gluware's investment in a dedicated headcount and an impactful training curriculum over the past year, overseeing significant growth and maturity for Gluware's partner program. Henry's strategic initiatives led Gluware to sign its first channel distribution agreement with Ingram Micro's Emerging Vendor Business Unit in Q3 of 2022. Gluware saw over 500% incremental pipeline growth from partners in total, enabling a multitude of new and existing partners to deliver professional services around intelligent network automation.

"I am proud to be listed in CRN Channel Chiefs list  it is an incredible honor and emblematic of the success that the Gluware channel sales team has seen in the past year," said Colin Henry, VP of Channel Sales, Gluware. "The team looks forward to building on the past year's growth through channel marketing efforts that help our partners increase awareness of key use cases that generate value for enterprises. We're targeting strategic investments with partners that are investing in market service offerings to accelerate the adoption of intelligent network automation."

"Colin's placement in CRN's Channel Chiefs is well deserved. It has been a thrill to see Colin's expertise at work as he's led Gluware's channel growth over the past year," said Jeff Gray, CEO and Co-founder, Gluware. "The channel program will be a key focus for Gluware in 2023, and we are excited to see the ongoing innovation and evolution under Colin's leadership."

The 2023 Channel Chiefs have helped their solution provider partners and customers navigate an increasingly complex landscape of interconnected challenges and shifting industry dynamics. With the innovative strategies, programs, and partnerships of these Channel Chiefs in place, the solution provider community has continued to thrive.

The 2023 CRN Channel Chiefs were selected by the editorial staff based on their record of business innovation and dedication to the partner community. This year's list represents the top IT executives responsible for building a robust channel ecosystem.

"Once again, this year's list gives well-deserved recognition to the IT Channel Chiefs who are dedicated to driving the channel agenda and advocating for the development of strong channel partnerships," said Blaine Raddon, CEO of The Channel Company. "Under their exceptional leadership, influence, and innovation, the IT channel vendor community continues to deliver solutions and services that meet the rapidly evolving needs of their solution provider partners and their customers."

The 2023 CRN Channel Chiefs list will be featured in the February 2023 issue of CRN Magazine and online at www.CRN.com/ChannelChiefs .

About Gluware

Gluware provides the leading intelligent network automation suite for the cloud era, trusted by Global 2000 enterprises, across industries, from Pharma to Finance. Gluware automates the networks of the world's largest and most complex enterprises keeping them secure and in compliance. The company's code-free, multi-vendor solutions and intent-based approach to network automation reduces the business risk of outages while lowering costs and increasing efficiency. For more information, please visit www.gluware.com .

About The Channel Company

The Channel Company enables breakthrough IT channel performance with our dominant media, engaging events, expert consulting and education, and innovative marketing services and platforms. As the channel catalyst, we connect and empower technology suppliers, solution providers, and end users. Backed by more than 30 years of unequaled channel experience, we draw from our deep knowledge to envision innovative new solutions for ever-evolving challenges in the technology marketplace.

www.thechannelcompany.com

Follow The Channel Company: Twitter , LinkedIn, and Facebook .

 2023 The Channel Company, LLC. CRN is a registered trademark of The Channel Company, LLC. All rights reserved.

The Channel Company Contact:

Natalie Lewis

The Channel Company

[email protected]

Gluware Contact:

Sena McGrand

Lumina Communications for Gluware

[email protected]

SOURCE Gluware
MIAMI, Feb. 6, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- On March 22nd and 23rd, the Ministry of Trade, Industry, and Tourism, along with ProColombia, the agency in charge of promoting Colombian exports internationally, will host the most crucial business meeting in the country in the city of Barranquilla.

Around two thousand Colombian providers are expected to meet with one thousand buyers from 60 different countries, the delegation of the United States being the largest one.

Photo Credit: ProColombia.

"This international trade promotion activity aims to generate business meetings to bring the Colombian supply of non-mining energy products and services closer to the international demand. Having this event of such magnitude for the first time in Barranquilla is meaningful. This city has one of the busiest ports in our country, and the Caribbean region has a diversified exportable offer," said Carmen Caballero, president of ProColombia.

It is worth mentioning that, according to the National Statistics Department (DANE), Colombia's non-mining exports reached US$21.6 billion between January and December 2022, representing an increase of 19% compared to the same period in 2021. The United States, Ecuador, Brazil, Mexico, Peru, and the Netherlands were the largest buyers of high-quality Colombian products and services.

Talking specifically about the United States, last year, Colombia exported US$ 6.6 billion to the US; this represented a 27% growth compared to the same period in 2021. Exports to the United States represented 31% of Colombian exports globally.

Even though traditionally, the most desired Colombian goods in the United States have been flowers, coffee, construction finishes, sourcing, and apparel, in the last few years, other sectors have shown remarkable dynamism and represent an immense opportunity for the local providers, such as metalworking and other manufacturing industries, auto parts, exotic fruits, rubber, plastics, and packaging.

"The United States, as well as our neighbors in Latin America and the Caribbean, will play a pivotal role during our Forum by doing business with Colombian exporters that bring the best commodities and services from different territories across our country. We want to invite North American buyers to keep discovering other industrial regions of Colombia and to think of Colombia as a geographically close and strategic ally for all their sourcing needs," concluded Caballero.

Last chance for American Buyers! Registrations are open until February 13th through the following link: https://mcr.macrorruedasprocolombia.co/macrorrueda95/

SOURCE ProColombia
Employer tech job postings increase, tech unemployment rate falls to 1.5%

DOWNERS GROVE, Ill., Feb. 6, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The latest data on tech employment presents a mixed picture, with a decline in current employment and an increase in employer job postings for potential future hiring, according to an analysis by CompTIA, the nonprofit association for the information technology (IT) industry and workforce.

Technology sector companies shed an estimated 2,489 positions in January, CompTIA's analysis of today's U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics #JobsReport reveals. The BLS significantly revised its November data, describing it as a "major revision reflecting content and coding changes in the retail and information sectors." 1 The change materially affects the sub-sector of tech companies classified under the information sectors which encompasses search and platform services, software, telecommunications, media and more.

Upon further clarification from the BLS these revisions were applied to the entire historical data series and not just the single month of November. Correcting for this change yields a modest gain of an estimated 2,500 net new jobs in the tech sector for November 2022 versus the mistakenly reported decrease of -151,900 in the prior CompTIA reporting2.

Technology occupations throughout the economy declined by an estimated 32,000 for the month, representing a fractional reduction of -0.5% of the total. The tech unemployment rate fell to 1.5% in January, an indication many laid off workers were re-hired and absorbed back into the labor market. The tech unemployment rate is also an indication that many of the layoffs occurring at the tech sector level are non-technical workers, such as sales, marketing or related business support positions.

"Despite the unusual backward revision by the BLS and the routine fluctuations in monthly labor market data, much of the big picture tech employment picture remains the same," said Tim Herbert, chief research officer, CompTIA. "Undoubtedly some companies over-hired and are now scaling back. The low tech unemployment rate and steady hiring activity by employers confirms the long-term demand for tech talent across many sectors of the economy."

Job postings for future tech hiring reversed last month's dip and increased by 22,408 to 268,898, according to CompTIA analysis of employer job posting data.3 Several major metropolitan markets saw a notable jump in tech job postings from December to January, including Atlanta (+2,941), New York City (+2,935), Dallas (+1,788), Houston (+1,156), Austin (+1,086), Tampa (+1,049) and Washington (+1,009).

Among industries, the highest volumes of job postings for tech positions were reported in the professional, scientific and technical services (40,712), finance and insurance (30,576) and manufacturing (24,269) sectors.

The "CompTIA Tech Jobs Report" is available at https://www.comptia.org/content/tech-jobs-report. For more analysis and perspective visit the CompTIA Tech Job Report video series at https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLuqIJd7KnBU_nZd2oXEwa0I5X7Vt124eM.

About CompTIA

The Computing Technology Industry Association (CompTIA) is a leading voice and advocate for the $5 trillion global information technology ecosystem; and the estimated 75 million industry and tech professionals who design, implement, manage, and safeguard the technology that powers the world's economy. Through education, training, certifications, advocacy, philanthropy, and market research, CompTIA is the hub for unlocking the potential of the tech industry and its workforce. https://www.comptia.org/

1 Monthly occupation level data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics tends to experience higher levels of variance and volatility. Labor market data from the BLS and employer job posting data from Lightcast may be subject to backward revisions. All estimated data may undergo future revisions by the BLS.

2 With revisions to the data series also occurring in the reporting of software sector employment.

3 Analysis of employer job posting data from Lightcast

Media Contact

Steven Ostrowski

CompTIA

[email protected]

630.678.8468

SOURCE CompTIA
CHICAGO, Feb. 6, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Conagra Brands, Inc. (NYSE: CAG) will present at the 2023 CAGNY (Consumer Analyst Group of New York) Conference on Tuesday, Feb. 21, at 9 a.m. ET.

Sean Connolly, president and chief executive officer of Conagra Brands, and Dave Marberger, executive vice president and chief financial officer at Conagra Brands, will present information on Conagra Brands' business strategies and financial outlook.

A video webcast of the presentation and presentation slides will be available on conagrabrands.com/investor-relations under Events & Presentations. A replay of the webcast will be available until Nov. 21, 2023.

About Conagra Brands

Conagra Brands, Inc. (NYSE: CAG), headquartered in Chicago, is one of North America's leading branded food companies. Guided by an entrepreneurial spirit, Conagra Brands combines a rich heritage of making great food with a sharpened focus on innovation. The company's portfolio is evolving to satisfy people's changing food preferences. Conagra's iconic brands, such as Birds Eye, Marie Callender's, Banquet, Healthy Choice, Slim Jim, Reddi-wip, and Vlasic, as well as emerging brands, including Angie's BOOMCHICKAPOP, Duke's, Earth Balance, Gardein, and Frontera, offer choices for every occasion. For more information, visit www.conagrabrands.com.

For more information, please contact:

MEDIA:

Mike Cummins | 312-549-5257

[email protected]

INVESTORS:

Melissa Napier | 312-549-5738

[email protected]

SOURCE Conagra Brands, Inc.
As an integrated owner and operator of biomethane projects, Cycle will begin rolling out its small-scale, modular plants to meet the growing demand and distributed nature of Ireland's agricultural/food waste feedstock.

LONDON and DUBLIN, Feb. 6, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Cycle, whose technologies capture, process and upgrade naturally occurring methane gas produced principally by the agri-food and livestock industries, today announced the opening of a new branch in Ireland. The Company has appointed James Manley as Country Manager of Ireland and will begin making significant investments across the country to support the Irish government's objective to exponentially increase the country's biomethane production from its current nascent levels.

"I'm very excited to announce the opening of our Irish branch, headed up by James who has more than 20 years of comprehensive experience operating across the agricultural sector," said Cycle CEO, Laurence Molke. "We're on a mission to reduce GHG emissions now and help meet the revised RePowerEU target of producing 35 bcm of biomethane by 2030. Investing in Ireland's new biomethane sector is another step towards reaching those goals."

To date, Ireland's green gas industry has developed slowly due to a lack of government regulatory and financial support, as well as challenges with accessing waste feedstock from its dispersed agricultural/food sectors. As of 2021, there were just a handful of biomethane plants operating in Ireland, compared to 365 in France and 238 in Germany.

However, the country's 180 million metric tonnes of annual agricultural waste are a feedstock resource readily available to be used for renewable natural gas production.

Cycle is a portfolio company of Ara Partners, a private equity firm that specializes in industrial decarbonization investments. Alongside Ara, whose European headquarters are in in Dublin, Cycle will invest and contribute towards the development of Irelands' growing renewable natural gas sector. Additionally, Cycle's manufacturing and technical subsidiary, FNX, supplies biomethane upgrading and liquefaction technology for small and medium-sized applications which are an ideal fit with the Irish market.

"Accessing that stranded feedstock requires a special approach that we can bring to the table," Molke explained. "Our technical solutions, our ability to build plants economically and our engineering experience are what will let us unlock Ireland's biomethane value chain."

Cycle builds, owns and operates small-to-medium-scale biomethane plants designed to be easily shipped and assembled on-site, making them ideal for deployment at remote locations to access feedstock that would otherwise be stranded.

"Our plants are skid-mounted and factory-tested by our experienced production and technical teams at FNX in Artea, the Basque country in northern Spain," Molke said. "This makes them easy to transport and minimises erection and commissioning delays. We have decades-long experience building greenfield projects and ample capital to play an active role in helping the biomethane market to take off in Ireland."

As of 2021, there were 1,067 biomethane plants in Europe. Just two of those are in Ireland. In 2022, the Irish government set the stage for growth, aiming to cover 10% of the gas needs with green gas by 2030. To meet this target, local production will need to reach 5.7TWh. The country produced just 25 GWh of biomethane between May 2020 and August 2022.

And while the country doesn't yet have a direct incentive program for the production of biomethane, Molke says that conversations with the country's gas grid operator, Gas Networks Ireland, shows a firm commitment to the development of biomethane in the country.

Gas Networks Ireland, the operator of Ireland's national gas network, is working to replace natural gas with renewable gases, such as biomethane and hydrogen, while complementing intermittent renewable electricity and supporting Ireland's journey to a cleaner energy future.

Gas Networks Ireland's Growth Development Manager, David Hanahoe said:

"Cycle's expansion into Ireland is another recognition of the country's potential to both produce biomethane and create an industry around it.

An Irish indigenous biomethane industry would not only support the decarbonisation of the agricultural sector, but it would also provide significant opportunities for rural communities and facilitate sustainable circular economies."

We are looking forward to working with Cycle to establish network entry connections, and to increase the amount of biomethane that can be transported to almost 720,000 homes and businesses across the country."

Mr Molke said he's looking forward to collaborating with Gas Networks Ireland to develop deeper connections in the country and, to help build an end-to-end biomethane ecosystem that will power the country's renewable energy transition.

About Cycle

Methane gas is a super-pollutant that's warming the climate 80 times faster than carbon dioxide. At Cycle, we build, own and operate plants that turn these harmful emissions into sustainable, renewable biomethane that's helping the world reach net-zero emissions. We're an end-to-end biomethane provider delivering innovative solutions that are slowing the pace of global warming - today.

About Gas Networks Ireland

Gas Networks Ireland operates and maintains Ireland's 2.7bn, 14,664km national gas network, which is considered one of the safest and most modern renewables-ready gas networks in the world.

Almost 720,000 Irish homes and businesses trust Ireland's gas network to provide efficient and reliable energy to meet their heating, cooking, manufacturing and transport needs.

The gas network is the cornerstone of Ireland's energy system, securely supplying more than 30% of Ireland's total energy, including 40% of all heating and almost 50% of the country's electricity generation.

By working to replace natural gas with renewable gases, such as biomethane and hydrogen, and complementing intermittent renewable electricity, Gas Networks Ireland is supporting Ireland's journey to a cleaner energy future.

www.gasnetworks.ie

Contact:

Andrea De Asco, Senior Marketing Manager

Cycle

[email protected]

+44 7874 162897

www.cycle.com

SOURCE Cycle0
WASHINGTON, D.C., February 6, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Dechert LLP announced today that an elite team of antitrust practitioners is joining the firm, including partners John A. ("Jay") Jurata, Jr. (Washington, D.C.), Russell Cohen (San Francisco) and Douglas Lahnborg (London).

From left to right: Russell Cohen (San Francisco), John A. (Jay) Jurata, Jr. (Washington, D.C.) and Douglas Lahnborg (London)

"Jay, Russ and Douglas's experience representing sophisticated technology companies in their most challenging antitrust matters, not only in the U.S. but also in the UK and EU, is unparalleled. Leading companies around the world look to them to overcome antitrust challenges," said Steven Bizar, co-chair of Dechert's antitrust/competition practice. "We are absolutely thrilled they are joining Dechert."

Mr. Jurata is widely acknowledged as a preeminent litigator whose practice focuses on technology platforms and issues at the intersection of antitrust and IP. Recognized by Chambers USA as a leading antitrust litigator, he represents key players in the technology industry. A 1992 cum laude graduate of Villanova University, Mr. Jurata spent seven years as a Surface Warfare Officer in the U.S. Navy. He attended the University of San Diego School of Law, where he served as the Editor-in-Chief of the San Diego Law Review and graduated summa cum laude as the valedictorian in 2000. Mr. Jurata was the head of the antitrust and competition group at his former firm.

Mr. Cohen will be joining the firm's antitrust practice in San Francisco, California. An experienced litigator, he represents leading high-tech companies in antitrust and unfair competition disputes. Mr. Cohen also maintains an active commercial litigation practice handling complex disputes for Silicon Valley and other technology industry companies, often in the funds space. He has been recommended as a top civil litigation/class action defense lawyer by The Legal 500. Mr. Cohen is a 1990 graduate of McGill University and 1995 graduate of Osgoode Hall Law School. Beyond the strength he brings to the global antitrust team, Mr. Cohen's addition highlights Dechert's commitment to the strategic growth of its interdisciplinary corporate, litigation, and financial services capabilities in California, as he is the seventh partner to join its San Francisco office in the past year and a half.

Mr. Lahnborg often represents global technology companies in cross-border matters before the European Commission and the UK Competition and Markets Authority. His practice spans merger control, abuse of dominance and private damages actions. Also frequently working alongside Mr. Jurata, he has been recognized as a leading antitrust and competition practitioner by Chambers Europe, IFLR, Who's Who Legal and The Legal 500 UK. Mr. Lahnborg received an LL.M. from Stockholm University in 1996 and an LL.M. from the London School of Economics and Political Sciences in 1997. At his former firm, Mr. Lahnborg founded the Brussels office and served as head of the London office.

Mike Cowie, co-chair of Dechert's antitrust/competition practice, said: "We are extremely pleased to welcome Jay, Russ and Douglas, particularly at a time when antitrust activity in the high-tech industry continues to increase globally. The expanded antitrust capabilities this team brings to our Washington D.C., San Francisco and London offices will be an enormous asset for industry leaders and for the firm."

Jay Jurata said: "Dechert's antitrust group has secured win after win at trial and before enforcement authorities in the U.S. and the EU. We look forward to building on these successes and capitalizing on the many synergies between our own work and theirs. Dechert's strategic posture and plans toward the technology industry offer strong opportunities for our practice. I am excited to be joining a firm where I can practice alongside so many talented lawyers I know and deeply respect."

Russ Cohen said: "I am thrilled to join Dechert, with its trial expertise both inside and outside of antitrust. I am also excited to be part of Dechert's growing California presence, where I will have the ability to nurture and grow our technology clients."

Douglas Lahnborg said: "Dechert has a premier transatlantic antitrust practice; its platform will strengthen our global relationships with our clients. While I will be focused on expanding Dechert's antitrust capabilities on the ground in the UK and in Brussels, I have been deeply impressed by the accomplishments of my future colleagues in both Europe and the U.S., and I am eager to collaborate with them."

Dechert's international antitrust/competition practice is known for innovative antitrust advice in the U.S. and Europe and a record of succeeding in the most challenging engagements. Recent wins include a landmark jury verdict for Endo Pharmaceuticals, Inc. following a three-week federal trial and obtaining a highly favorable resolution for Marriott International, Inc. that included a public apology from the plaintiff, following five days of a jury trial.

The dedicated 42-member team, with offices in Brussels, Frankfurt, New York, London, Paris, Philadelphia, Washington D.C. and San Francisco, is also known for DAMITT (Dechert Antitrust Merger Investigation Timing Tracker), a quarterly report that is a leading source on the duration of merger investigations in the U.S. and the EU, as well as the recently launched Boiling Points collection and counselling program, which provides guidance on assessing when hot documents may interfere with deal progress.

About Dechert

Dechert is a leading global law firm with 21 offices around the world. The firm advises on matters and transactions of the greatest complexity, bringing energy, creativity, and efficient management of legal issues to deliver commercial and practical advice for clients.

SOURCE Dechert LLP
Addis Ababa (ENA)  The National Electoral Board of Ethiopia (NEBE) disclosed that voting of referendum started today in six zones and five special districts in the Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples' Region (SNNP).

Chief Coordinator of the Referendum Coordination Office at the National Electoral Board of Ethiopia, Mekdes Mekonnen told ENA the voting is being conducted starting from early in the morning today in 3,771 polling stations under 31 centers.

The referendum is being held in Gamo, Gofa, South Omo, Gedeo, Wolaita, and Konso Zones as well as Derashe, Amaro, Burji, Ale, and Basketo special districts.

The Board has distributed all the necessary materials vital for the conduct of the referendum, she added.

The election officials, observers and security forces deployed at all levels are working in a coordinated manner to execute the election process, it was indicated.

According to the National Electoral Board of Ethiopia, more than 3 million people have been registered to participate in the referendum.
VANCOUVER, BC, Feb. 6, 2023 /PRNewswire/ - Deep-South Resources Inc. ("Deep-South" or the Company) (TSXV: DSM) announces that it will close a second tranche in an oversubscribed non-brokered private placement. The second tranche will be closed for an amount of $490,000.

A first tranche totaling $210,000 has already closed. The first tranche comprised 4,200,000 units at $0.05 per unit.

The total offering will comprise up to 14 million units at $0.05 per unit for a total of up to $700,000. Each Unit will consist of one (1) common share and one half (1/2) of one common share purchase warrant ("Warrant"). Each whole Warrant will entitle the holder thereof to purchase one (1) common share at an exercise price of $0.10 for thirty-six (36) months from the date of closing of the private placement. Each security issued has a mandatory four (4) month hold period from the date of closing of the placement.

The Company may pay a finder's fee to eligible persons in compliance with applicable securities laws and exchange policies. This financing is subject to TSX Venture Exchange approval.

The proceeds of the private placement will be used for further exploration on the projects in Zambia and for general working capital.

About Deep-South Resources Inc.

Deep-South Resources is a mineral exploration and development company. Deep-South's growth strategy is to focus on the exploration and development of quality assets in significant mineralized trends and in proximity to infrastructure in stable countries. In using and assessing environmentally friendly technologies in the development of its copper projects, Deep-South embraces the green revolution.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Caution Regarding Forward-Looking Information

Information contained in this news release which are not statements of historical facts may be "forward-looking information" for the purposes of Canadian securities laws. Such forward-looking information involves risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual results, performance, prospects and opportunities to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward looking information. The words "believe", "expect", "anticipate", "contemplate", "plan", "intends", "continue", "budget", "estimate", "may", "will", "schedule", "understand" and similar expressions identify forward-looking information. These forward-looking statements relate to, among other things: the Minister's refusal to renew the Company's Licence, the Company's intention to contest the Minister's decision before the Courts of Namibia and the outcome of such proceedings.

Forward-looking information is necessarily based upon a number of estimates and assumptions that, while considered reasonable by Deep-South, are inherently subject to significant technical, political, business, economic and competitive uncertainties and contingencies. Known and unknown factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking information. Factors and assumptions that could cause actual results or events to differ materially from current expectations include, among other things: political risks associated with the Company's operations in Namibia; the failure of the Namibian Government to comply with its continuing obligations under the Act to allow for the renewal of the Licence; the impact of changes in, or to the more aggressive enforcement of, laws, regulations and government practices; the inability of the Company and its subsidiaries to enforce their legal rights in certain circumstances. For additional risk factors, please see the Company's most recently filed Management Discussions & Analysis available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com.

There can be no assurances that forward-looking information and statements will prove to be accurate, as many factors and future events, both known and unknown could cause actual results, performance or achievements to vary or differ materially from the results, performance or achievements that are or may be expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements contained herein or incorporated by reference. Accordingly, all such factors should be considered carefully when making decisions with respect to Deep-South, and prospective investors should not place undue reliance on forward looking information. Forward-looking information in this news release is made as at the date hereof. The Company assumes no obligation to update or revise forward-looking information to reflect changes in assumptions, changes in circumstances or any other events affecting such forward-looking information, except as required by applicable legislation.

Web site: http://www.deepsouthresources.com

SOURCE Deep-South Resources Inc.
NEW YORK, Feb. 6, 2023 /PRNewswire/ --

Key takeaways

Projected returns on investment in pharma R&D in 2022 have fallen to 1.2%, the lowest ROI observed in 13 years. Tweet this Return on late-stage pipeline, 2013-2022

Projected returns on investment (ROI) in pharma R&D in 2022 have fallen to 1.2%, the lowest ROI observed in the 13 years since the research began.

(ROI) in pharma R&D in 2022 to 1.2%, the observed in the 13 years since the research began. The top 20 global pharmaceutical companies collectively spent $139 billion on R&D in 2022, down 2% from 2021.

on R&D in 2022, from 2021. The average cost of developing a new drug rose by $298 million to $2.3 billion in 2022.

by to in 2022. Average forecast peak sales per asset have decreased to $389 million in 2022, falling back from $500 million in 2021 and $422 million in 2020.

Why this matters

Deloitte's series of annual reports on "Measuring the return from pharmaceutical innovation" has provided insights into the state of biopharma R&D since 2010. For the first time since the research began, the average projected return on investment (ROI) in pharma R&D has fallen to 1.2%, the lowest the industry has seen. Findings from Deloitte's report indicate a return to the ROI experienced pre-pandemic and reflect the ongoing realities of the industry  increasing costs with declining returns.

Last year's report indicated a historic rise in ROI to 6.8%. This year, the analysis shows a decline of 5.6 percentage points from 2021 to 2022. This was likely driven primarily by the successful approvals of high forecast value drugs and medicines (especially COVID-19 vaccines and treatments) and a gap in late-stage pipeline assets that would replace those that were commercialized.

Average forecast sales are down

Deloitte's analysis shows the forecast average peak sales per asset  the amount of money a drug is expected to generate annually  have also declined, falling from $500 million in 2021 to $389 million in 2022. With COVID-19 emergency use approval (EUA) assets excluded, the average peak sales forecasts fell from $340 million in 2021 to $284 million in 2022.

The report also showed the estimated average cost of developing a drug, including the cost of failure, increased from $1,986 million in 2021 to $2,284 million in 2022. In total, the 20 companies analyzed spent $139 billion on R&D in 2022, a decrease of 2% compared to 2021 ($141 billion).

Key quotes

"After an unprecedented increase in ROI in 2021, we anticipated a decline in 2022 but this steep drop is greater than what many in the industry expected. A combination of factors influenced this decline and reflects not only challenges for the industry but also where there are opportunities. Last year shed light on what is possible, and this year, we're seeing that there is more work to be done to create lasting change and deliver on the collective mission to make the world a healthier place."

 Pete Lyons, U.S. life sciences sector leader, and principal, Deloitte Consulting LLP

"The last few years have demonstrated the tremendous impact that biopharmaceutical innovation can have on health care, and the decline in this year's results is broadly driven by the successful approval and commercialization of multiple new drugs and products this year. This is partly a reflection of the challenges R&D organizations face in cultivating a sustainable pipeline flow."

 Kevin Dondarski, life sciences R&D strategy leader, and principal, Deloitte Consulting LLP

Home-grown assets drive more than half of expected revenue

The research also revealed an increase in the proportion of forecast revenue from home-grown assets amongst the pharma cohort, rising from 29% in 2021 to 51% in 2022. This increase has likely been largely driven by the addition of five new high value assets in the R&D pipeline. At the same time, the proportion of forecast revenue from co-developed assets has almost halved year-on-year, falling from 46% in 2021 to just 18% in 2022.

Clinical trials of tomorrow

With the increase in average cycle times, rising costs to develop drugs and treatments, as well as the lower average forecast peak sales seen in this year's analysis, Deloitte's research reveals an opportunity for pharma R&D departments to transform the clinical trials process. Through combining patient-centered design with innovative digital technologies and data tools, it may be possible to improve the overall clinical trial experience for patients and physicians.

Methodology

"Measuring the return from pharmaceutical innovation 2022," is the 13th annual report from the Deloitte Center for Health Solutions, the research arm of Deloitte's life sciences and health care practices. The report explores the performance of the biopharmaceutical industry (biopharma) and its ability to generate returns from its investment in innovative new products.

Since 2010 Deloitte's "Measuring the return from innovation" series has tracked the projected return on investment from the late-stage pipelines from an original cohort of 12 leading global biopharma companies. During that time the cohort has expanded and today the top 20 global pharmaceutical companies are tracked using the same comprehensive and consistent methodology.

About Deloitte

Deloitte provides industry-leading audit, consulting, tax and advisory services to many of the world's most admired brands, including nearly 90% of the Fortune 500 and more than 7,000 private companies. Our people come together for the greater good and work across the industry sectors that drive and shape today's marketplace  delivering measurable and lasting results that help reinforce public trust in our capital markets, inspire clients to see challenges as opportunities to transform and thrive, and help lead the way toward a stronger economy and a healthier society. Deloitte is proud to be part of the largest global professional services network serving our clients in the markets that are most important to them. Building on more than 175 years of service, our network of member firms spans more than 150 countries and territories. Learn how Deloitte's approximately 415,000 people worldwide connect for impact at www.deloitte.com.

Deloitte refers to one or more of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited, a UK private company limited by guarantee ("DTTL"), its network of member firms, and their related entities. DTTL and each of its member firms are legally separate and independent entities. DTTL (also referred to as "Deloitte Global") does not provide services to clients. In the United States, Deloitte refers to one or more of the US member firms of DTTL, their related entities that operate using the "Deloitte" name in the United States and their respective affiliates. Certain services may not be available to attest clients under the rules and regulations of public accounting. Please see www.deloitte.com/about to learn more about our global network of member firms.

Copyright  2023 Deloitte Development LLC. All rights reserved.

SOURCE Deloitte
PUERTO GAITAN (META), Colombia, Feb. 6, 2023 /PRNewswire/ - Frontera Energy Corporation (TSX: FEC) ("Frontera" or the "Company"), Ecopetrol, Hocol, Tecpetrol and Cepsa, hydrocarbon companies that operate in Puerto Gaitan (Meta Department), express their deep concern about the serious social and economic consequences resulting from the blockade of the road that leads from Puerto Gaitan to the Rubiales village, which has already lasted 7 days, affecting the inhabitants of the department of Meta and the companies.

There are more than 5,332 workers in the sector and their families affected, in addition to those from other productive activities, whose rights to work and mobility are being violated, illegally preventing them from entering and leaving their work sites. The hydrocarbons industry stands in solidarity with them and with the other inhabitants of the area. Respect for the human rights of all of us who are part of the territory must be guaranteed.

The social and economic impacts are enormous, taking into account that the protesters are denying the provision of food and supplies, in addition to the necessary fuels for the continuous operation of the companies that are ceasing to produce more than 49,500 barrels of oil per day, to date.

Additionally, the impact on the oil operations in Meta is affecting the loading of the Cartagena and Barrancabermeja refineries, which puts at risk the supply of liquid fuels in Colombia and other countries to which we export.

As an industry, which is also a user of the Puerto Gaitan - Rubiales road, we respect the right to protest of the inhabitants of the area. However, we reject the illegal ways. For this reason, we invite the community, the departmental and local authorities, and the national government, to seek joint solutions that allow the blockade to be lifted and agreements to be reached in which the well-being of the department prevails.

Frontera Provides Operational Update On Quifa And CPE-6 Blocks

Frontera has reached its on-site storage capacity at Quifa and CPE-6 blocks and has temporarily shut-in approximately 11,500 boe/d of net production and has proactively suspended all of its construction and drilling activities in the area until further notice.

Frontera's foremost priority continues to be the health and safety of its employees, contractors and the communities it operates in with a key focus on protecting the environment. The Company is actively engaged in discussions with local and national authorities, other affected oil and gas companies, trade unions and associations to resolve the situation as soon as possible.

Frontera's diverse Colombian portfolio enables the Company to generate value-focused production and cash flow from across its operations and its transportation and logistics infrastructure has lessened potential day-to-day impacts to its production.

Year-to-date to January 31, 2023, the Company has averaged approximately 42,200 boe/d (consisting of approximately 23,200 bbl/d of heavy oil, 16,800 bbl/d of light and medium crude oil, 6.5 mmcf/d of conventional natural gas and 1,200 bbl/d of natural gas liquids). Frontera is monitoring the ongoing situation and will provide updates as appropriate.

About Frontera

Frontera Energy Corporation is a Canadian public company involved in the exploration, development, production, transportation, storage and sale of oil and natural gas in South America, including related investments in both upstream and midstream facilities. The Company has a diversified portfolio of assets with interests in 32 exploration and production blocks in Colombia, Ecuador and Guyana, and pipeline and port facilities in Colombia. Frontera is committed to conducting business safely and in a socially, environmentally and ethically responsible manner.

If you would like to receive News Releases via email as soon as they are published, please subscribe here: http://fronteraenergy.mediaroom.com/subscribe.

Corporate Presentation

See Frontera's corporate presentations at: https://www.fronteraenergy.ca/reports-presentations/

Social Media

Follow Frontera's social media channels at the following links:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/fronteraenergy?lang=en

Facebook: https://es-la.facebook.com/FronteraEnergy/

LinkedIn: https://co.linkedin.com/company/frontera-energy-corp

Advisories

Cautionary Note Concerning Forward-Looking Statements

This news release contains forward-looking information within the meaning of Canadian securities laws. Forward-looking information relates to activities, events, or developments that the Company believes, expects, or anticipates will or may occur in the future. Forward-looking information in this news release includes, without limitation, statements relating to the Company's commitment to putting the health and safety of its employees, contractors, service providers and the communities it operates in first; statements relating to the Company's ongoing work with local communities, area industry operators and all levels of government to understand and address local concerns and to safely resolve the blockades in a timely manner. All information other than historical fact is forward-looking information.

Forward-looking information reflects the current expectations, assumptions and beliefs of the Company based on information currently available to it and considers the Company's experience and its perception of historical trends, including expectations and assumptions relating to: the extent and severity of social unrest and blockades; commodity prices and interest and foreign exchange rates; the current and potential impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, actions of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, the impact of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, and the expected impact of measures that the Company has taken and continues to take in response to these events; the performance of assets and equipment; reforms that may be undertaken by the Government of Colombia; the availability and cost of labour, services and infrastructure; the development and execution of exploration and development projects; the receipt of any required regulatory approvals and outcome of discussions with governmental authorities; and the success of the Company's hedging strategy.

Although the Company believes that the assumptions inherent in the forward-looking information are reasonable, forward-looking information is not a guarantee of future performance and accordingly undue reliance should not be placed on such information. Forward-looking information is subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, some that are similar to other oil and gas companies and some that are unique to the Company. The actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking information, and even if such actual results are realized or substantially realized, there can be no assurance that they will have the expected consequences to, or effects on, the Company. The Company's annual information form dated March 2, 2022, its annual management's discussion and analysis for the year ended December 31, 2021, and other documents it files from time to time with securities regulatory authorities describe the risks, uncertainties, material assumptions and other factors that could influence actual results and such factors are incorporated herein by reference. Copies of these documents are available without charge by referring to the Company's profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. All forward-looking information speaks only as of the date on which it is made and, except as may be required by applicable securities laws, the Company disclaims any intent or obligation to update any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or results or otherwise.

SOURCE Frontera Energy Corporation
MADISON, Wis., Feb. 3, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Edgewood College has entered into a business partnership with upGrad, a global leader in online higher education. The partnership gives Edgewood College access to upGrad's expertise in emerging technologies in online education, and will enable the College to expand the work begun by the Dominican Sisters of Sinsinawa in the Fall of 1927, the first year Edgewood Junior College began educating students.

"This announcement represents a shift in thinking about the students we serve and the way in which they are served," President Andrew Manion said. "In 1927, providing opportunity for women was  in some circles  radical. It was a significant step. In the 1970s Edgewood College became coed  another significant pivot. Through the decades, other initiatives, such as our weekend degree program, our MBA programs for working adults, and others, we've responded to the changing needs of Greater Madison, of Wisconsin, and beyond. As we position for our centennial year, this agreement with upGrad  an international company that reflects shared values  positions us to serve our mission both here on campus and around the globe."

Edgewood College has entered into a business partnership with upGrad, a global leader in online higher education. Tweet this

In a joint statement, Eric Kuennen, President Partnerships, and Karan Raturi, General Manager upGrad North America, said: "We are delighted to embark on this transformational journey with Edgewood College. Leadership at the College has expressed an ambitious vision for its future, and upGrad aims to help bring that vision to reality. Working closely with academic and administrative stakeholders, upGrad will bring forth its global expertise in scaling online and hybrid programs, while ensuring that student success and career outcomes remain the defining pillars of our partnership." Company officials added that upGrad designs and executes innovative, customized solutions for higher education institutions through a selective partnership process.

"As we considered companies to help us expand our degree programs, it was critical for Edgewood College to find a partner that shares our values about academic outcomes, affordability, and accessibility for students," William Mangan, Provost/Vice President for Academic Affairs, said. "upGrad stood out to us as the premier global company for development and deployment of high-quality academic programs. The partnership between Edgewood College and upGrad will help transform the lives of students and build a more just and compassionate world, just as Edgewood College has been doing for more than 95 years."

Master of Arts and Master of Science degree programs will be among the first to roll into this new partnership and delivery initiative. Lifelong learning  a hallmark of the mission of Edgewood College  aligns well with the vision of upGrad, to work toward "career success for every member of the global workforce."

"Our colleges and universities are utilizing innovative strategies and partnerships to bring their educational experiences to the world," Zach Brandon, President of the Greater Madison Chamber of Commerce, said. "This Edgewood College initiative is the latest example of how Greater Madison continues to import talent and export solutions as we transform into a global innovation hub."

About upGrad

upGrad is a global leader in online higher education that leverages technology, pedagogy, and partnerships to deliver best-in-class learning and career outcomes for students.

About Edgewood College

Located in Madison, Wis., Edgewood College is a liberal arts Catholic college in the Dominican tradition. They serve approximately 2,000 undergraduate and graduate students. The College offers more than 40 academic and professional programs, including master's degrees in business, education, and nursing, and doctoral degrees in educational leadership and nursing practice. For more information about Edgewood College, please visit www.edgewood.edu, or call Ed Taylor at 608-663-2333.

SOURCE Edgewood College
Element's AVITI offers the most compelling combination of speed, accuracy, and value on the market

SAN DIEGO, Feb. 6, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Element Biosciences, Inc. the developer of an innovative DNA sequencing platform disrupting genomics  will present details about its new Avidity Cloudbreak technology and the company's innovation roadmap at the Advances in Genome Biology and Technology (AGBT) General Meeting Feb. 6-9, 2023, in Hollywood, FL.

With its new Cloudbreak chemistry coming in April, Element is accelerating the power of sequencing with 20 percent faster runs and a simplified workflow with Elevate linear libraries, all with superior accuracy at the industry's lowest cost. Element provides the highest quality sequencing on a benchtop for as low as $200 a genome, or $2 per gigabase.

Speed: Less than a year after its launch, AVITI is now the fastest desktop sequencer, based on average Q30+ gigabase per day. The new chemistry reduces sequencing time for 300G per flow cell down to 38 hours, 10 hours less than previously. Cloudbreak's faster run times make it easier for researchers to maximize the output of the AVITI sequencer during daily work schedules, as one run on a 150-cycle kit can be completed every 24 hours.





Less than a year after its launch, AVITI is now the fastest desktop sequencer, based on average Q30+ gigabase per day. The new chemistry reduces sequencing time for 300G per flow cell down to 38 hours, 10 hours less than previously. Cloudbreak's faster run times make it easier for researchers to maximize the output of the AVITI sequencer during daily work schedules, as one run on a 150-cycle kit can be completed every 24 hours. Flexibility: Increasing flexibility and ease of use, Cloudbreak introduces improved workflow to reduce hands-on time.





Increasing flexibility and ease of use, Cloudbreak introduces improved workflow to reduce hands-on time. Quality: Element has also improved overall accuracy -- with greater than 90 percent Q30, AVITI is the highest quality benchtop sequencer on the market. Element will present customer data on exome sequencing reporting the majority of bases on AVITI are >Q42, the first commercial platform consistently delivering data quality in excess of Q40.

Supporting the AVITI System, Element will also introduce the Elembio Cloud Platform (ECP), a customer-facing software portal that will allow customers to configure and manage their instruments, manage user access, and remotely monitor their sequencing runs.

"Our announcements at ABGT show Element's commitment to rapidly delivering further improvements to the industry-leading performance researchers can achieve with AVITI," said Matthew Kellinger, PhD, Element Vice President of Biochemistry and Co-Founder. "Our new Cloudbreak chemistry provides a foundation for our 2x300 chemistry being released later in 2023 to bring more innovative solutions to the genomics community."

Join Element for a series of talks at AGBT, including:

Tuesday, Feb. 7, 8:00 a.m. in Lounge 212:

Carrie Cibulskis, Director, Cancer Genomics, Broad Institute Genomics Platform, will present "Evaluation of Element AVITI in Cancer NGS Assays."

Jon Armstrong, VP of Research & Development, Jumpcode Genomics, will present "Boost your single cell studies with CRISPRclean and AVITI: Sequence less and see more usable data."

Semyon Kruglyak, PhD, Element VP of Informatics, will present "Avidity Sequencing: Quality and Applications."

Wednesday, Feb. 8:

Francisco Garcia, PhD, Element SVP of Software and Informatics, will present "ELEVATING Sequencing and Genomic Analysis with AVITI: Introducing AVITI OS 2.0 and Elembio Cloud," at 8:00 a.m. in Lounge 212, followed by an Open House and Q&A with Element CTO, SVP of R&D and Co-Founder Michael Previte and scientific leadership.

Matthew Kellinger, PhD, Element VP of Biochemistry and Co-Founder, will present data on Element's technology and future outlook in an AGBT Bronze Workshop talk, "Cloudbreak and Beyond: A Roadmap for Innovation" at 2:40 p.m. in the Grand Ballroom.

Shawn Levy, PhD, Element Chief Scientific Officer and SVP of Applications, will present a Technology/Biology session on "Avidity-based sequencing improves sensitivity and detection in metagenomic analysis" at 8:30 p.m. at the Great Hall 4-6.

The full schedule of Element events at AGBT can be found here:

About Element Biosciences, Inc.

Element Biosciences is a multi-disciplinary life science company currently focused on developing disruptive DNA sequencing technology for research and diagnostic markets. Through innovating every fundamental element of a sequencing system, Element empowers customers with affordable, high-quality data and an improved user experience, which in turn will accelerate scientific discoveries and broaden the use of genomic medicine. To learn more about Element, please visit www.elementbiosciences.com.

Media Contact:

Kristi Heim

Element Biosciences

[email protected]

SOURCE Element Biosciences
NORAM Sales VP has helped transform ESET's channel business since taking the role in fall 2021

SAN DIEGO, Feb. 6, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- ESET, a global leader in digital security, today announced that CRN, a brand of The Channel Company, has recognized Ryan Grant, Vice President of Sales for North America, on its 2023 Channel Chiefs list. Every year, this list honors the IT channel executives who work tirelessly to advance the channel agenda and deliver successful channel partner programs and strategies.

The 2023 Channel Chiefs have helped their solution provider partners and customers navigate an increasingly complex landscape of interconnected challenges and shifting industry dynamics. Ryan Grant joined ESET North America as Vice President of Sales in October 2021 to help transform its channel business to ensure partners have what they need to capture new opportunities and protect against an increasingly complex cybersecurity landscape. In this role, Grant manages the company's U.S. sales team, including enterprise, managed service providers (MSPs), mid-tier and large resellers, distributors, and eTail.

"I'm pleased to accept this award, which recognizes the work done across the team in 2022 to reenvision and transform our channel business for the future," said Grant. "When I came on board, I saw an immediate opportunity to change the way ESET supported its channel partners and their end customers  building a channel-first organization. We put in place a new business unit structure that provides customized go-to-market services, technical enablement, sales and marketing support for our national service provider, VAR, MSP, enterprise, and distribution customers. We also expanded our partner program and made important enhancements in tools and people to help the business to scale to new heights and create the best experience possible for our partners moving forward."

The 2023 CRN Channel Chiefs were selected by the editorial staff based on their record of business innovation and dedication to the partner community. For 30 years, ESET has helped governments, channel companies and businesses stay protected from the world's most advanced cybersecurity threats through a full suite of advanced security solutions. In 2022, ESET expanded its ESET PROTECT platform to include new cloud-based XDR, MDR and EDR solutions  including a range of enhancements for businesses, enterprises and MSPs. Other campaigns instituted by Grant include the competitive buyout program and expanding ESET's renewal-as-a-service offering to enable channel partners to stay focused on new business.

"Once again, this year's list gives well-deserved recognition to the IT Channel Chiefs who are dedicated to driving the channel agenda and advocating for the development of strong channel partnerships," said Blaine Raddon, CEO of The Channel Company. "Under their exceptional leadership, influence, and innovation, the IT channel vendor community continues to deliver solutions and services that meet the rapidly evolving needs of their solution provider partners and their customers."

"We are proud that CRN has honored Ryan for his exceptional efforts to further focus the company on our partners and provide innovative new programs that help expand sales," said Brent McCarty, President of ESET North America. "The cybersecurity environment is complex, and the process of managing security has become overwhelming for our end customers. Our channel partners play a key role in serving our customers, underlining the importance of strong channel leadership and a profitable partner program, which differentiates through incumbency protection and renewals-as-a-service for partners. Under Ryan's leadership, we will continue investing in new programs to ensure our partners have rich margins and products backed by decades of innovation, reliability, global research and best-in-class, local customer support."

Grant has extensive experience leading large channel teams skilled at lead generation, reseller recruitment, sales, business development, partner programs, channel marketing, product merchandising and pricing strategies. Grant joined ESET from Ingram Micro, where he spent more than two decades leading the VMware, Dell, and Integrated Solutions business units. In his most recent role, Grant served as vice president, advance solutions, with responsibility for more than $2 billion in annual revenue and oversight of 125 associates focused on sales, vendor management, marketing and purchasing.

The 2023 CRN Channel Chiefs list will be featured in the February 2023 issue of CRN Magazine and online at www.CRN.com/ChannelChiefs.

To learn more about ESET's partner program, visit https://www.eset.com/us/partnernow/.

About ESET

For more than 30 years, ESET has been developing industry-leading IT security software and services to protect businesses, critical infrastructure and consumers worldwide from increasingly sophisticated digital threats. From endpoint and mobile security to endpoint detection and response, as well as encryption and multifactor authentication, ESET's high-performing, easy-to-use solutions unobtrusively protect and monitor 24/7, updating defenses in real time to keep users safe and businesses running without interruption. Evolving threats require an evolving IT security company that enables the safe use of technology. This is backed by ESET's R&D centers worldwide, working in support of our shared future. For more information, visit www.eset.com or follow us on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter.

About The Channel Company

The Channel Company enables breakthrough IT channel performance with our dominant media, engaging events, expert consulting and education, and innovative marketing services and platforms. As the channel catalyst, we connect and empower technology suppliers, solution providers, and end users. Backed by more than 30 years of unequaled channel experience, we draw from our deep knowledge to envision innovative new solutions for ever-evolving challenges in the technology marketplace. www.thechannelcompany.com

Follow The Channel Company: Twitter, LinkedIn , and Facebook.

 2023 The Channel Company, LLC. CRN is a registered trademark of The Channel Company, LLC. All rights reserved.

SOURCE ESET
DALLAS, Feb. 6, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Fears Law is pleased to announce that attorney Jeremy Ayer has been promoted to Partner in the Dallas office, where he has been a vital part of the personal injury practice since 2018.

"This is an exciting transition for us," said firm founder Bryan Fears. "Jeremy is a critical thinker, a talented lawyer and a calculated leader. I am confident he will continue to bring great success to our team."

Mr. Ayer has handled cases involving catastrophic injuries, motor vehicle accidents, trucking accidents, pedestrian accidents, dog bites, premises liability, work injuries, fraudulent hospital liens and others. He has helped the Fears Law team of personal injury lawyers secure more than $31 million in verdicts and settlements on behalf of clients.

"I am very grateful that the firm continues to see value in what I bring to the team," said Mr. Ayer. "I am excited to take on this new title and the responsibilities and professional growth that come with it."

An East Texas native, Mr. Ayer attended top-ranked Bishop Thomas K. Gorman High School in Tyler before pursuing his undergraduate degree from Texas Tech University. He graduated from Florida Coastal School of Law and is a member of the National Trial Lawyers Association, the State Bar of Texas and the Dallas Association of Young Lawyers.

In 2022, Mr. Ayers was recognized by the National Trial Lawyers organization as one of the Top 100 Trial Lawyers and the Top 25 Motor Vehicle Trial Lawyers.

About Fears Law

Fears Law is a dynamic legal team focused on high-stakes catastrophic injury litigation, intellectual property and business law. A national law firm based in Dallas, Fears Law attorneys have a proven track record for achieving favorable verdicts and resolutions on behalf of clients. For more information, visit fears.com.

Media Contact:

Alyssa Woulfe

800-559-4534

[email protected]

SOURCE Fears Law
Now streaming - Female Disruptors UNSTOPPABLE Virtual Series is available On-Demand for FREE or VIP featuring 80+ of the most inspiring women in the world sharing exclusive talks, interviews, and fireside chats, plus a chance to win four MBA scholarships from Ducere Global Business School.

ORLANDO, Fla., Feb. 6, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Female Disruptors releases its 2023 UNSTOPPABLE Series https://female-disruptors-virtual-summit-2022.heysummit.com/ , now streaming in both video and audio experience.

"I curated a group of women ranging from rising stars to global leaders in technology, entrepreneurship, and marketing to mental, financial, and sexual wellness to share their path to success and disruption," said Female Disruptors founder, author, and entrepreneur Lisa Buyer.

SHOP The Future is Female: Themed Merchandise Female Disruptors also releases its newly available branded merchandise. Show your support for the movement and make a statement with products that empower and inspire women. From t-shirts to coffee mugs, this merchandise is a perfect way to spread the message and make a difference. Now streaming - Female Disruptors UNSTOPPABLE Virtual Series is available On-Demand for FREE or VIP featuring 80+ of the most inspiring women in the world sharing exclusive talks, interviews, and fireside chats, plus a chance to win four MBA scholarships from Ducere Global Business School.

Female Disruptors invites women from around the world to grab your pink coffee mug, throw on a Female Disruptors' T-shirt, register for your favorite talks, enter to win an MBA, and start binge-watching your future self's course of action.

Activate! Bridging Every Gap

The mission is to reach 1 million women worldwide, providing actionable lessons and hands-on conversations on preventing burnout in branding, finance, law, and sexual wellness.

With recent surveys showing women making up over 10 percent of Fortune 500 CEOs for the first time in history, it's more important than ever to level the playing field and create more opportunities for women. Access to information and resources is the first step toward closing the pay and equality gaps, the CEO and founders gap, and the even the orgasm gap.

The Female Disruptors UNSTOPPABLE VIP All-Access Pass includes:

Ducere's MBA Scholarship Opportunity: Automatically entered into a grand prize giveaway.

On-demand access to the Female Disruptors 2nd Annual Virtual Summit library + private community content.

$100 credit for a web3 identity and website from Unstoppable Domains.

credit for a web3 identity and website from Unstoppable Domains. Lifetime access to Lisa Buyer's Modern PR Secrets course.

Discounts on future Female Disruptors events and collaborations.

Early access to the Female Disruptors NFT collection.

Ducere Global Business School Gives Four MBA Scholarship Opportunities

Female Disruptors can also dive into the world of leadership and innovation with a cutting-edge MBA program at Ducere Global Business school.

"This MBA is double accredited by the University of Valencia and Rome Business School," said Ducere VP of Enterprise Caroline Raffi. "The MBA is recognized as the market leader in career-focused university education, with work-integrated assessments, 100% online-. Students learn from over 250 world leaders, from Presidents to Nobel Prize winners and graduate with a one-week immersion program and cultural tour in Rome."

SHOP The Future is Female: Themed Merchandise

Female Disruptors also releases its newly available branded merchandise . Show your support for the movement and make a statement with products that empower and inspire women. From t-shirts to coffee mugs, this merchandise is a perfect way to spread the message and make a difference.

Sign up now and be a part of the UNSTOPPABLE experience at https://female-disruptors-virtual-summit-2022.heysummit.com/ .

About Female Disruptors:

Female Disruptors is a female-focused brand dedicated to leveling the playing field, giving women their fair share of the spotlight, and reversing ageism, discrimination, and abuse of power. We empower, educate, and onboard women to create an unstoppable future, working with male allies to evolve and revolutionize the future for women.

Created as a magazine by Lisa Buyer in 2019, Female Disruptors has become a movement, building community and making a difference through education, collaboration, and inspiration.

Media Contact

Lisa Buyer, Founder

Female Disruptors

[email protected]

561-703-8555

https://www.femaledisruptors.com/

SOURCE Female Disruptors
Firmenich becomes the first company in the industry and the seventh in the world to achieve highest EDGE Lead certification, in Brazil and Mexico

Concurrently, the Group re-secures EDGE Move certification across its operations worldwide, while Firmenich USA advances to EDGEplus for eliminating ethnic pay gaps

GENEVA, Feb. 6, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Firmenich, the world's largest privately-owned fragrance and taste company, has reached EDGE Lead certification, the highest obtainable level of certification, for its efforts on diversity, equity and inclusion in Brazil and Mexico. Firmenich is the first company in the industry and the seventh in the world to receive this coveted certification. Following an external reassessment, Firmenich also resecured Global EDGE Move certification for its efforts to ensure gender equality across its operations around the world. In addition, Firmenich USA secured, in another industry-first, the EDGEplus level for its commitment and effective policies to eliminate ethnic pay inequality.

Firmenich Receives Top-Recognition by EDGE for Accelerated Efforts on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Firmenich Receives Top-Recognition by EDGE for Accelerated Efforts on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Firmenich Receives Top-Recognition by EDGE for Accelerated Efforts on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

Economic Dividends for Gender Equality (EDGE) is the leading global standard for gender equality in the workplace. Certification requires a rigorous external assessment of four key areas: representation across the company; pay equity; effectiveness of policies and practices to ensure equitable career flows; and the overall inclusiveness of the company culture. Organizations can progress through the various levels of certification: EDGE Assess, EDGE Move, EDGEplus and EDGE Lead. This global recognition demonstrates the intentional, prioritized, and measured actions by the Group to keep accelerating progress towards diversity, equity, and inclusion across the organization globally.

"I am very proud that Firmenich secured these important certifications and continues to further its efforts in this space, raising the bar for gender equality under EDGE's demanding benchmarks for continuous improvement," said Gilbert Ghostine, CEO Firmenich, "Being the first in our industry and the seventh in the world to reach the highest level of EDGE certification, in Brazil and Mexico, as well as the next level of certification in the USA is a testament to the excellent work of our teams across the globe. Through our focused efforts, we keep raising the bar, being an employer of choice, and a trusted and reliable partner for our customers."

"Firmenich continues to set the standard for excellence as the best place to work in our industry and beyond, and I am particularly pleased with the progress we've achieved," said Mieke Van de Capelle, Chief Human Resources Officer at Firmenich. "When we set out on our journey to achieve EDGE certification, we knew it would require lots of hard work and dedication. This has become a truly rewarding journey and in less than five years, we managed to move from entry level to being a global leader in diversity and inclusion in the world of work. In addition to strong representation of women across the organization, our efforts have also helped us to successfully grow and retain talent across all demographics and all layers of the organization."

"We congratulate Firmenich for achieving their Global Re-certification at the EDGE Move level, a demonstration of their long-term commitment to foster a gender-balanced, diverse and equitable work environment. Moreover, kudos to Firmenich Brazil and Firmenich Mexico for being re-certified at the highest level of certification - the EDGE Lead  which celebrates success in terms of workplace gender equality," said Aniela Unguresan, Founder, EDGE Certified Foundation & EDGE Strategy.

A pioneer in diversity and inclusion, Firmenich has a strong track record of securing workplace equality. In 2018, the Group was the seventh company in the world and the first in its industry to achieve global EDGE Assess recognition (the first level of certification). In 2021, the Group became the second company to reach the EDGE Move certification (advanced level of certification) globally, a recognition which has been confirmed following a thorough reassessment completed in 2023. Three markets achieved higher levels of certification. Firmenich USA reached EDGEplus certification, recognizing local efforts to systematically analyze and resolve intersectional issues between gender as well as several additional dimensions including gender identity, race, ethnicity, LGBTQIA+, working with a disability, nationality, and age. Extraordinarily, Brazil and Mexico achieved the highest obtainable result, EDGE Lead (the highest level of certification), setting a global example of successfully fostering equity in the workplace.

Since 2018, Firmenich has achieved significant milestones, from eliminating the gender pay gap worldwide to systematically implementing diverse talent pools. The Group has raised women's representation in leadership positions to 42%, expanded flexible working opportunities worldwide, implemented fair recruitment and promotion practices, as well as continuous training and mentoring, and has enhanced equal representation at all levels including critical pathways to senior management. Half of Firmenich's Executive Committee is female.

Embracing the power of inclusion of minority groups and effective representation, Firmenich's actions focus on new frontiers with targeted action that goes beyond gender, including different abilities, ethnic and socio-economic backgrounds, and sexual orientation.

Note to editors

After receiving EDGE Move certification for a first time in 2021, Firmenich has resecured EDGE Move certification in 2023 for a second time, confirming its continuous efforts to ensure gender equality globally.

Firmenich Brazil and Firmenich Mexico are the seventh and the eight organizations out of more than 380 assessed organizations, to receive the highest level of certification: EDGE Lead.

Firmenich USA is the first company in the industry to receive EDGEplus recognition, for eliminating ethnic pay gaps.

About Firmenich

Firmenich, the world's largest privately-owned fragrance and taste company, was founded in Geneva, Switzerland, in 1895, and has been family-owned for 127 years. Firmenich is a leading business-to-business company specialized in the research, creation, manufacture and sale of perfumes, flavors, and ingredients. Renowned for its world-class research and creativity, as well as its leadership in sustainability, Firmenich offers its customers superior innovation in formulation, a broad and high-quality palette of ingredients, and proprietary technologies including biotechnology, encapsulation, olfactory science, and taste modulation. Firmenich had an annual turnover of 4.7 billion Swiss Francs at end June 2022. More information about Firmenich is available at www.firmenich.com.

About EDGE Certification

EDGE is the only global assessment methodology and business certification standard for gender and intersectional equity. The EDGE assessment methodology was developed by the EDGE Certified Foundation and launched at the World Economic Forum in 2011. EDGE Certification has been designed to help companies not only create an optimal workplace for women and men, but also benefit from it. EDGE stands for Economic Dividends for Gender Equality and is distinguished by its rigor and focus on business impact. The methodology uses a business, rather than theoretical approach that incorporates benchmarking, metrics, and accountability into the process. It assesses policies, practices, and numbers across five different areas of analysis: equal pay for equivalent work, recruitment and promotion, leadership development training and mentoring, flexible working, and company culture. EDGE Certification has received the endorsement of business, government, and academic leaders from around the world. For more information, visit www.edge-cert.org

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1995748/Firmenich_EDGE_Move.jpg

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1995746/Firmenich_EDGE_Move_Plus.jpg

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1995747/Firmenich_EDGE_Lead.jpg

Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/798187/Firmenich_Logo.jpg

SOURCE Firmenich
FAIRMONT, W. Va., Feb. 6, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The FirstEnergy Foundation is granting $25,000 to the Central Appalachian Region of the American Red Cross to continue its important work in the Mon Power service area supporting the health and wellness of diverse community members through the American Red Cross Sickle Cell Initiative.

The grant will help the Red Cross aid people with sickle cell disease, the most common genetic blood disease in the U.S., which affects about 100,000 people, primarily of African descent. As a group, people with sickle cell disease experience worse health outcomes compared to patients with other diseases and have access to fewer health resources. The American Red Cross Sickle Cell Initiative will improve their quality of life by working to address health outcome disparities in African American communities.

"We're proud to help the American Red Cross serve those without access to the treatment they need. The organization's efforts align with our company's commitment to strengthening low-income and underserved communities," said Lorna Wisham, president of the FirstEnergy Foundation.

Beyond the few medications available to treat sickle cell disease, regular blood transfusions can be crucial to alleviating its painful and life-threatening symptoms. The closely matched blood needed by patients with sickle cell disease  which is most commonly supplied by blood donors who are Black or African American  is often in short supply. In fact, the Red Cross is currently only able to provide the most compatible units of blood for people with sickle cell disease about 50% of the time. While the percentage of the U.S. population that identifies as Black or African American is 13.4%, the percentage of blood donors who identify as Black or African American is less than 3%  a gap that demands immediate attention.

"We are grateful for the generous grant that will help us address this health disparity," said Erica Mani, Red Cross Regional CEO. "The Red Cross's goal is to triple the number of blood donors who are Black or African American by the end of 2025, as they have the greatest potential to supply a compatible blood unit for transfusion for people living with sickle cell disease."

The FirstEnergy Foundation is funded solely by FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE: FE) and provides support to non-profit, tax-exempt health and human services agencies; educational organizations; cultural and arts programs and institutions; and civic groups in areas served by FirstEnergy's 10 electric distribution companies and in areas where the company conducts business.

FirstEnergy is dedicated to integrity, safety, reliability and operational excellence. Its 10 electric distribution companies form one of the nation's largest investor-owned electric systems, serving customers in Ohio, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, West Virginia, Maryland and New York. The company's transmission subsidiaries operate approximately 24,000 miles of transmission lines that connect the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic regions. Follow FirstEnergy online at www.firstenergycorp.com and on Twitter @FirstEnergyCorp .

SOURCE FirstEnergy Corp.
Nairobi  Long-serving opposition leader Raila Odinga has thrown his weight behind sentiments by former First Lady Mama Ngina Kenyatta on payment of taxes.

Addressing a rally in Kibra on Sunday, Odinga shared in Mama Ngina's sentiments that the ongoing clamor on payment of taxes is politically instigated.

He accused President William Ruto of being insincere in pursuing tax cheats saying the President was overzealous than the biblical Zacchaeus.

"Ruto promised a poor man's government where people expected a caring regime but Kenyans have been rewarded with an I don't care government," he told the crowd in Kibra.

"Ruto found a little in people's pockets and now that little is being taken away to feed his rich friends," Odinga claimed.

He added: "Instead of redeeming people from poverty he is pushing people to poverty."

Odinga accused Ruto's government of targeting the Kenyatta family saying the Kenya Revenue Authority should be allowed to work without political interference.

Tax evasion

Odinga spoke a day after the Former First Lady broke silence over the tax evasion debate putting the Kenyatta business empire on the spotlight.

In an apparent response to allegations by President William Ruto's allies that businesses owned by the Kenyatta family had evaded taxes, the spouse of the country's founding leader Mzee Jomo Kenyatta and mother to immediate former President Uhuru Kenyatta said the claims were baseless.

"There are procedures on matters taxes and one cannot avoid paying taxes because it is against the country's law," she said during the handover of a church in Malindi whose construction she aided.

"If all these reports are true then they should reclaim the money from the businesses," she added.

In remarks delivered in Kiswahili, Mama Ngina appeared to suggest Ruto's campaign to tame tax evasion was politically motivated.

"Why do they get excited when they mention other people's names?" she posed.
TORONTO, Feb. 6, 2023 /PRNewswire/ - Franco-Nevada Corporation ("Franco-Nevada") (TSX: FNV) (NYSE: FNV) has been advised by its partner First Quantum Minerals Ltd. ("First Quantum") of the following updates in respect of the Cobre Panama mine:

On January 26, 2023 , the Panama Maritime Authority (the " AMP ") issued a resolution requiring the suspension of the concentrate loading operations at the Cobre Panama Port, Punta Rincon, until certification of the calibration of the scales by an accredited company had been initiated. First Quantum's subsidiary, Minera Panama, S.A. (" MPSA "), the operator of Cobre Panama, submitted proof of the initiation of the certification process by an accredited company on February 3, 2023 . Loading operations have been suspended while MPSA waits for a response from the AMP. If concentrate is not shipped by mid-February, it may be necessary for MPSA to suspend operations at Cobre Panama due to limited storage capacity on site.

, the Panama Maritime Authority (the " ") issued a resolution requiring the suspension of the concentrate loading operations at the Cobre Panama Port, Punta Rincon, until certification of the calibration of the scales by an accredited company had been initiated. First Quantum's subsidiary, Minera Panama, S.A. (" "), the operator of Cobre Panama, submitted proof of the initiation of the certification process by an accredited company on . Loading operations have been suspended while MPSA waits for a response from the AMP. If concentrate is not shipped by mid-February, it may be necessary for MPSA to suspend operations at Cobre Panama due to limited storage capacity on site. In two third-party proceedings before the Supreme Court of Panama , the Procurador de la Administracion of the Government of Panama (the "Administration's Attorney") filed motions on January 11, 2023 , requesting that the Supreme Court declare that the extension of MPSA's concession contract to 2037 be deemed without legal effect. The motions are contradictory to opinions previously issued by the Administration's Attorney in the same third-party proceedings and the Supreme Court has not yet ruled on the matter.

Please refer to First Quantum's press release dated February 6, 2023 for more detailed information.

For more information, please go to our website at www.franco-nevada.com

Forward- Looking Statements

This press release contains "forward-looking information" and "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities laws and the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, respectively, which may include, but are not limited to, statements with respect to future events or future performance, management's expectations regarding Franco-Nevada's growth, results of operations, estimated future revenues, performance guidance, carrying value of assets, future dividends and requirements for additional capital, mineral reserve and mineral resource estimates, production estimates, production costs and revenue, future demand for and prices of commodities, expected mining sequences, business prospects and opportunities, the performance and plans of third party operators, audits being conducted by the CRA, the expected exposure for current and future assessments and available remedies, the outcome of any discussions between the Government of Panama and the operator of the Cobre Panama project and the remedies relating to and consequence of any actions taken by the Government of Panama or the operator of the Cobre Panama project. In addition, statements relating to reserves and resources, gold equivalent ounces ("GEOs") and mine life are forward-looking statements, as they involve implied assessment, based on certain estimates and assumptions, and no assurance can be given that the estimates and assumptions are accurate and that such reserves and resources, GEOs or mine life will be realized. Such forward-looking statements reflect management's current beliefs and are based on information currently available to management. Often, but not always, forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of words such as "plans", "expects", "is expected", "budgets", "potential for", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "predicts", "projects", "intends", "targets", "aims", "anticipates" or "believes" or variations (including negative variations) of such words and phrases or may be identified by statements to the effect that certain actions "may", "could", "should", "would", "might" or "will" be taken, occur or be achieved. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of Franco-Nevada to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. A number of factors could cause actual events or results to differ materially from any forward-looking statement, including, without limitation: fluctuations in the prices of the primary commodities that drive royalty and stream revenue (gold, platinum group metals, copper, nickel, uranium, silver, iron ore and oil and gas); fluctuations in the value of the Canadian and Australian dollar, Mexican peso, and any other currency in which revenue is generated, relative to the U.S. dollar; changes in national and local government legislation, including permitting and licensing regimes and taxation policies and the enforcement thereof; the adoption of a global minimum tax on corporations; regulatory, political or economic developments in any of the countries where properties in which Franco-Nevada holds a royalty, stream or other interest are located or through which they are held; risks related to the operators of the properties in which Franco-Nevada holds a royalty, stream or other interest, including changes in the ownership and control of such operators; relinquishment or sale of mineral properties; influence of macroeconomic developments; business opportunities that become available to, or are pursued by Franco-Nevada; reduced access to debt and equity capital; litigation; title, permit or license disputes related to interests on any of the properties in which Franco-Nevada holds a royalty, stream or other interest; whether or not the Company is determined to have "passive foreign investment company" ("PFIC") status as defined in Section 1297 of the United States Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended; potential changes in Canadian tax treatment of offshore streams; excessive cost escalation as well as development, permitting, infrastructure, operating or technical difficulties on any of the properties in which Franco-Nevada holds a royalty, stream or other interest; access to sufficient pipeline capacity; actual mineral content may differ from the reserves and resources contained in technical reports; rate and timing of production differences from resource estimates, other technical reports and mine plans; risks and hazards associated with the business of development and mining on any of the properties in which Franco-Nevada holds a royalty, stream or other interest, including, but not limited to unusual or unexpected geological and metallurgical conditions, slope failures or cave-ins, flooding and other natural disasters, terrorism, civil unrest or an outbreak of contagious disease; the impact of the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic; and the integration of acquired assets. The forward-looking statements contained in this press release are based upon assumptions management believes to be reasonable, including, without limitation: the ongoing operation of the properties in which Franco-Nevada holds a royalty, stream or other interest by the owners or operators of such properties in a manner consistent with past practice; the accuracy of public statements and disclosures made by the owners or operators of such underlying properties; no material adverse change in the market price of the commodities that underlie the asset portfolio; the Company's ongoing income and assets relating to determination of its PFIC status; no material changes to existing tax treatment; the expected application of tax laws and regulations by taxation authorities; the expected assessment and outcome of any audit by any taxation authority; no adverse development in respect of any significant property in which Franco-Nevada holds a royalty, stream or other interest; the accuracy of publicly disclosed expectations for the development of underlying properties that are not yet in production; integration of acquired assets; and the absence of any other factors that could cause actions, events or results to differ from those anticipated, estimated or intended. However, there can be no assurance that forward-looking statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Investors are cautioned that forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance. In addition, there can be no assurance as to the outcome of the ongoing audit by the CRA or the Company's exposure as a result thereof. Franco-Nevada cannot assure investors that actual results will be consistent with these forward-looking statements. Accordingly, investors should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements due to the inherent uncertainty therein.

For additional information with respect to risks, uncertainties and assumptions, please refer to Franco-Nevada's most recent Annual Information Form filed with the Canadian securities regulatory authorities on www.sedar.com and Franco-Nevada's most recent Annual Report filed on Form 40-F filed with the SEC on www.sec.gov. The forward-looking statements herein are made as of the date of this press release only and Franco-Nevada does not assume any obligation to update or revise them to reflect new information, estimates or opinions, future events or results or otherwise, except as required by applicable law.

SOURCE Franco-Nevada Corporation
MAJURO, Marshall Islands, Feb. 6, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- 6th Feb 2023, Gate.io, the world's leading digital asset trading platform, has chosen Coinfirm, the global leader in analytics and anti-money laundering (AML) solutions for the blockchain industry, as one of its key AML/CFT partners.

The partnership will give Gate.io access to Coinfirm's industry-leading Coinfirm Analytics Platform, which offers real-time AML/CFT risk management solutions for digital assets and cryptocurrencies through knowledge of over 60 blockchains and 1 million+ tokens. In particular, Gate.io will be able to leverage Coinfirm's market-leading analytics tools to provide a secure environment to its customers and ensure compliance with applicable AML/CFT regulations worldwide.

Commenting on the partnership, Gate.io CEO & Founder Dr. Lin Han said: "At Gate.io, we continuously strive to mitigate AML/CFT and counterparty risks by integrating best-in-class security measures and safeguards into every part of our operations. Our collaboration with Coinfirm gives us a solid foundation to strengthen our service offerings further while ensuring compliance with global and local AML/CFT regulations."

Coinfirm CEO Dr. Mircea Mihaescu said: "We're very pleased that Gate.io chose our platform as their primary AML/CFT provider globally. We have invested significant resources into building our blockchain analytics capabilities and are confident that this partnership will benefit both parties in many ways."

The collaboration between Gate.io and Coinfirm is expected to provide a much higher level of security for digital asset exchanges worldwide by helping them proactively identify suspicious activity more quickly and accurately than ever before. It is also expected to bring greater consistency in AML/CFT compliance and risk management across Gate.io's operations globally, allowing it to more easily navigate complex local regulatory environments without sacrificing customer experience or increasing operational costs for customers who want to use its services internationally.

Since its founding, Gate.io's focus has always been to offer a secure and trustworthy digital asset experience by taking a user-first approach. By leveraging Coinfirm's technology and expertise, Gate.io aims to remain one of the most secure cryptocurrency exchanges in the world while staying ahead of the curve when it comes to compliance with applicable laws and regulations.

For more information visit: www.coinfirm.com

SOURCE Gate.io
NEW YORK, Feb. 6, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- As per Facts and Factors study, The global yeast market size was worth around USD 5 billion in 2021 and is predicted to grow to around USD 7 billion by 2030 with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of roughly 8.79% between 2022 and 2030.

Report Link With All Related Graphs & Charts: https://www.fnfresearch.com/yeast-market

Yeast Market Market: Overview

Yeasts are classified as members of the fungus kingdom. They are single-celled microorganisms that are eukaryotic, organisms with cells containing a nucleus. Yeast came into existence several billion years ago and currently, there are more than 1500 species of yeasts that have been recognized and recorded. As per estimates, almost 1% of all registered fungal species are composed of different types of yeasts. The unicellular property of yeasts is a result of years of evolution from multicellular predecessors.

Some yeast species have the ability to evolve multicellular characteristics by creating a large string made of false hyphae or pseudohyphae. These are the budding cells. The size of yeasts may vary depending on the species and the environment they grow. For instance, some yeast species have a diameter of 3 to 4 micrometers (m) while some may grow up to the size of 40 m.

Get a Free Sample Report with All Related Graphs & Charts (with COVID 19 Impact Analysis): https://www.fnfresearch.com/sample/yeast-market

Key Insights:

As per the analysis shared by our research analyst, the global yeast market is estimated to grow annually at a CAGR of around 8.79% over the forecast period (2022-2030)

In terms of revenue, the global yeast market size was valued at around USD 5 billion in 2021 and is projected to reach USD 7 billion , by 2030.

in 2021 and is projected to reach , by 2030. The market is projected to grow at a significant rate due to the high applications in the food and beverage industry

Based on application segmentation, food & beverages was predicted to show maximum market share in the year 2021

Based on type segmentation, baker's yeast was the leading type in 2021

On the basis of region, Europe was the leading revenue generator in 2021

Facts and Factors published the latest report titled "Yeast Market Size, Share, Growth Analysis Report By Application (Bioethanol, Food & Beverages, Feed, and Pharmaceuticals), By Form (Active Dry Yeast, Fresh Yeast, Instant Yeast, and Others), By Type (Brewer's Yeast, Baker's Yeast, Feed Yeast, Wine Yeast, Bioethanol Yeast, and Others), and By Region - Global and Regional Industry Insights, Overview, Comprehensive Analysis, Trends, Statistical Research, Market Intelligence, Historical Data and Forecast 2022  2030" into their research database.

Industry Dynamics:

Global Yeast Market Market: Growth Drivers

High applications in the food and beverage industry to propel market demand.

The global yeast market is projected to grow at a high CAGR is driven by the high applications of yeast in the food & beverages (F&B) industry, which is also one of the largest consumers in the global market. Yeast in the F&B sector has two main applications which include making alcoholic beverages and in the banking sector. Both the industry sub-units have registered remarkable growth in the last few years due to multiple factors.

The rise in demand for alcohol is expected to be propelled by the increasing disposable income of the growing urban population across developing nations, which is currently one of the most lucrative regional segments for players in the alcohol business. The sector is witnessing rising numbers of strategic collaborations to enter new markets as well as the use of advanced technology to create a seamless market for alcohol consumers.

Global Yeast Market Market: Restraints

Rising cases of yeast infection to restrict market expansion.

Yeast is not harmful if it is consumed through food or beverages in limited quantities. However, higher exposure to yeast can cause health concerns. Women on oral birth control pills or people who consume antibiotics regularly can start growing yeast at a high rate which often leads to medical issues like mouth sores, bloating, gas, itchy rashes, bad breath, or deposition of a coating at the top of the tongue. It can also cause other severe issues like irritation and itching in the vulva and the vagina. For instance, candidiasis, a form of yeast-induced fungal infection is known to cause oral thrush, joint pain, digestive issues, and tiredness amongst many other health problems.

Directly Purchase a Copy of the Report @ https://www.fnfresearch.com/buynow/su/yeast-market

Global Yeast Market Market: Opportunities

Growing investment in yeast-reinforced recombinant protein technology to provide growth opportunities.

The global yeast market is expected to benefit from the rising interest and growing investments in the pharmaceutical industry toward the development of yeast-based recombinant protein technology which has seen tremendous growth in the last decade for vaccine development. In these processes, yeasts play the role of host strains and vectors for protein expression. Recently a vaccine for the human hepatitis B virus was developed using saccharomyces cerevisiae, a type of yeast. Another most significantly used yeast for vaccine research is Pichia pastoris which is used to enhance the functional properties of potential antigens.

Global Yeast Market Market: Challenges

Higher capital gain desirability to challenge the market expansion.

As per critics in the pharmaceutical industry, some factors that could potentially damage the growth in the yeast-based vaccine development activities are the growing desire amongst market players for high capital gain making the end product out of reach for a large segment of the population due to the high cost of the product. Other factors like political instability and lack of infrastructure to promote growth in the pharmaceutical sector further pose challenges in the global yeast market.

Global Yeast Market Market: Segmentation

The global yeast market is segmented based on application, form, type, and region.

Based on application, the global market is divided into bioethanol, food & beverages, feed, and pharmaceuticals.

In 2021, the global market was dominated by the food & beverages industry owing to the growing demand for baked food products due to factors like a rise in population, a growing number of players including domestic and international businesses, a rise in disposable income, and product innovations along with the addition of multiple vertical segments of the already existing products in the business.

In simple bread recipes, yeast quantity should not be more than 1 to 1.5% of the flour weight

Based on type, the global market is segmented into brewer's yeast, baker's yeast, feed yeast, wine yeast, bioethanol yeast, and others.

The global market registered the highest growth in the baker's yeast segment mainly propelled by the high demand for Saccharomyces cerevisiae which is also known as baker's yeast

It is the most widely studied and exploited species amongst all of the other yeast species. It can reproduce either sexually or asexually and feeds on the sugar in the bread dough leading to the formation of carbon dioxide allowing the dough to expand

The doubling time for Saccharomyces cerevisiae is close to 90 minutes and is widely known for using different sugars

Based on form, the global market is segmented into active dry yeast, fresh yeast, instant yeast, and others.

Get More Insight before [email protected]: https://www.fnfresearch.com/inquiry/yeast-market

List of Key Players in Yeast Market Market:

Lantmannen Unibake

Dun & Bradstreet Inc

Associated British Foods PLC

General Mills Inc .

. Vandemoortele NV

Cole's Quality Food Inc

ADM

Daiya Foods Inc

Key questions answered in this report:

What are the growth rate forecast and market size for YEAST MARKET Market?

What are the key driving factors propelling the YEAST MARKET Market forward?

What are the most important companies in the YEAST MARKET Market Industry?

What segments does the YEAST MARKET Market cover?

How can I receive a free copy of the YEAST MARKET Market sample report and company profiles?

Report Scope:

Report Attribute Details Market size value in 2021 USD 5 Billion Revenue forecast in 2030 USD 7 Billion Growth Rate CAGR of almost 8.79 % 2022-2030 Base Year 2020 Historic Years 2016  2021 Forecast Years 2022  2030 Segments Covered By Application, Form, Type, and Region Forecast Units Value (USD Billion), and Volume (Units) Quantitative Units Revenue in USD million/billion and CAGR from 2022 to 2030 Regions Covered North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, and Middle East & Africa, and Rest of World Countries Covered U.S., Canada, Mexico, U.K., Germany, France, Italy, Spain, China, India, Japan, South Korea, Brazil, Argentina, GCC Countries, and South Africa, among others Companies Covered Lantmannen Unibake, Dun & Bradstreet Inc, Associated British Foods PLC, General Mills Inc., Vandemoortele NV, Cole's Quality Food Inc, ADM, Daiya Foods Inc, and others. Report Coverage Market growth drivers, restraints, opportunities, Porter's five forces analysis, PEST analysis, value chain analysis, regulatory landscape, market attractiveness analysis by segments and region, company market share analysis, and COVID-19 impact analysis. Customization Scope Avail of customized purchase options to meet your exact research needs. https://www.fnfresearch.com/customization/yeast-market

Free Brochure: https://www.fnfresearch.com/ask-to-analyst/yeast-market

Recent Developments

In December 2022 , Oriental Yeast, a Japanese firm, announced an investment of INR 900 crore to be directed toward the setting up of a new manufacturing plant in Pune city of India . The unit is expected to create close to 1000 direct and non-direct jobs and will benefit Oriental Yeast in its vision for international expansion

Oriental Yeast, a Japanese firm, announced an investment of INR to be directed toward the setting up of a new manufacturing plant in city of . The unit is expected to create close to 1000 direct and non-direct jobs and will benefit Oriental Yeast in its vision for international expansion In July 2022 , Novozymes announced the launch of Innova Turb and Innova Apex, two new yeasts to be used against the fermentation bottlenecks in the bioenergy industry. The new yeasts are designed to function in certain fermentation times which is beneficial to ethanol producers

Regional Dominance:

Europe to witness unprecedented growth during the projection period.

The global yeast market is expected to be dominated by Europe during the forecast period. The region is not only the largest consumer of yeast in the food & beverage industry but is home to some of the biggest exporters and producers of yeast. Lesaffre, the leading producer of the enzyme, if located in France, has invested multiple resources toward the research and innovation of new yeasts along with enhanced production capabilities. Europe is the hub of bakery products with consistently growing investments in product innovation and research.

Factors like product availability, the spread of preparation, convenience, and the affordable cost of frozen baked goods are some of the leading reasons for the growth in the regional bakery segment. Yeasts have been studied extensively in Europe for many years and currently, Germany is the leading nation in Europe contributing at the highest CAGR driven by rising investments in food supplement companies.

Global YEAST MARKET Market is segmented as follows:

Yeast Market Market: By Application Outlook (2022-2030)

Bioethanol

Food & Beverages

Feed

Pharmaceuticals

Yeast Market Market: By Form Outlook (2022-2030)

Active Dry Yeast

Fresh Yeast

Instant Yeast

Others

Yeast Market Market: By Type Outlook (2022-2030)

Brewer's Yeast

Baker's Yeast

Feed Yeast

Wine Yeast

Bioethanol Yeast

Others

Yeast Market Market: By Region Outlook (2022-2030)

North America

The U.S.

Canada

Europe

France

The UK

Spain

Germany

Italy

Rest of Europe

Asia Pacific

China

Japan

India

South Korea

Southeast Asia

Rest of Asia Pacific

Latin America

Brazil

Mexico

Rest of Latin America

Middle East & Africa

GCC

South Africa

Rest of Middle East & Africa

Press Release for Yeast Market Market: https://www.fnfresearch.com/news/global-yeast-market

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According to Facts and Factors, the global food pathogen testing market size was worth around in 2021 and is predicted to grow to around by 2030 with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of roughly 8% between 2022 and 2030. Enzyme Label Analyzer Report : According to the report published by Facts & Factors, the global enzyme label analyzer market size was worth around USD 2.32 billion in 2021 and is predicted to grow to around USD 3.96 billion by 2030 with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of roughly 7.90% between 2022 and 2030.

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Browse through Facts and Factors's coverage of the Global Food & Beverages Industry

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Facts and Factors is an obligated company. We create futuristic, cutting-edge, informative reports ranging from industry reports, and company reports to country reports. We provide our clients not only with market statistics unveiled by avowed private publishers and public organizations but also with vogue and newest industry reports along with pre-eminent and niche company profiles. Our database of market research reports comprises a wide variety of reports from cardinal industries. Our database is been updated constantly to fulfill our clients with prompt and direct online access to our database. Keeping in mind the client's needs, we have included expert insights on global industries, products, and market trends in this database. Last but not the least, we make it our duty to ensure the success of clients connected to usafter allif you do well, a little of the light shines on us.

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SOURCE FnF Research
Connected Care Industry Leader Achieves Internationally Recognized Security Certification

PALO ALTO, Calif., Feb. 6, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Glooko Inc. ("Glooko"), a leading provider of intelligent, connected care solutions for people with chronic conditions, today announced that it has received ISO 27001 certification for its data management and remote patient monitoring (RPM) platforms.

"Achieving this internationally recognized standard is evidence of Glooko's commitment to best-in-class business processes and security operations. This certification enables us to demonstrate to our current and future customers that we take the protection of health data seriously," said Glooko Chief Executive Officer, Russ Johannesson.

ISO 27001 is an international compliance framework set by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), and is the international security standard for protecting customer information.

Glooko's independent, third-party ISO 27001 auditor is SGS-TUV Saar, a joint venture of TUV Saarland, a German certification multinational founded in 1871, and Swiss-based SGS Group, the world's leading testing, inspection and certification company. Their certification confirms that Glooko has all the required controls in place for people, systems, and processes to ensure the security of customer data and the company's software platforms.

Compliance with this internationally recognized standard confirms that Glooko's security management program is comprehensive and follows gold-standard practices. By achieving ISO 27001 (Glooko also possesses SOC 2 Type II and HITRUST security certifications) the company can assure customers that attested measures are in place to secure patient health data from unauthorized access or compromise.

"This certification allows Glooko to meet compliance expectations for customers and partners who are looking for independent assurance of our security practices," said Prakash Menon, Chief Technology Officer for Glooko. "After going through a 12-month implementation and auditing process, we've fully implemented all ISO 27001 processes and controls. Customers should expect this level of commitment from any vendor that handles their data and we are happy to be able to provide this assurance to them."

Learn more: https://glooko.com/trust-privacy/

About Glooko

Glooko improves health outcomes of people with chronic conditions through its personalized, intelligent, connected care platform. Our proven technologies make lives better by revolutionizing the connection between patients and providers, driving patient engagement and adherence via digital therapeutics, and accelerating the speed of clinical trials. Glooko is globally deployed in over 30 countries and 8,000+ clinical locations. For more information, please visit glooko.com.

Media Contact

Tanya Rodante

Director of Global Communication

[email protected]

Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1043398/Glooko_Logo.jpg

SOURCE Glooko
Urges San Francisco reparations be rejected

SAN FRANCISCO, Feb. 6, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Richie Greenberg, San Francisco community activist today slammed the latest Reparations Plan submitted by a special committee for consideration by the mayor and Board of Supervisors (City Council). Hearings on the controversial plan begin this week.

"Federal and state laws exist preventing governments from awarding resources to groups of people based on race, gender or ethnicity. The San Francisco Reparations Plan flies in the face of law, namely the US Constitution's 14th Amendment and California Prop 209. An avalanche of lawsuits would ensue, should the city move forward on this."

"The plan is a blueprint to install segregation in San Francisco, encompassing a massive separation of the Black minority community (approx. 5% of the city's population) from the remainder of San Francisco yet be funded by the 95% non-Black residents. This is ludicrous and shocking. The 60-page plan is produced by the special reparations committee and submitted for consideration by the San Francisco Human Rights Commission. It must be solidly rejected."

Greenberg has created RejectThePlan.com, a website detailing the Reparations Plan's proposals, a copy of the plan for download, and commentary with his rationale for rejection.

Richie Greenberg is a San Francisco activist, former candidate for mayor, and the founder of the movement which successfully recalled district attorney Chesa Boudin.

Media Contact: [email protected]

Twitter: richieSF2016

Website: richiegreenberg.org

SOURCE Richie Greenberg
Early Childhood Education Franchise Opens in East Norriton, Brings Well-Rounded Program to the Community

EAST NORRITON, Pa., Feb. 6, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Celebree School, a leader in early childhood education that provides infant and toddler care, preschool, before and aftercare, and summer camp programs, will open its newest school in March in East Norriton. Located at 2714 Dekalb Plaza, the new school will provide a customized program that addresses the physical, social, emotional, and academic needs of children while adhering to Pennsylvania's early education standards.

Celebree School in East Norriton is owned and operated by local entrepreneurs Ashish and Ranjeeta Patel. Ashish has worked for Fortune 500 Financial Institutions and IT companies as a Senior Executive for the past 17 years, and Ranjeeta previously worked as a Senior IT Executive with Fintech Company. Ashish and Ranjeeta come from a family of educators who operate multiple education institutions and have been providing high-quality education for more than 35 years. Like their family, Ashish and Ranjeeta have always felt called to the education industry. After years of working in other industries, they are now able to answer that calling and pass on their love and commitment to quality education. They are both thrilled to have the opportunity to provide the best early childhood education experience for students in their community.

"Education is something we value and are very passionate about," said Ashish. "Coming from a family of educators has shown me the importance of a high-quality early education. I have experienced that first-hand as both a student and a father of two young boys. This has always been my calling, and my wife and I are fully invested in making sure our students receive the best education possible."

Celebree School lives by its promise to Grow People Big and Small, and was founded on the belief that success in early childhood development is equal parts curriculum and a connection that extends beyond the classroom to address the needs of the whole child and the whole family. Each Celebree School is a village made up of parents, children, and educators while providing curriculum-based care that prepares your child for kindergarten and beyond.

With a 25-plus-year history of providing superior early childhood education, Celebree School delivers a stable, secure learning environment that helps children develop a lifelong love of learning. Programs are available for children six weeks to 12 years old with unique curriculums designed to develop positive social skills and values while allowing children to learn about their world through age-appropriate play, projects, and activities. Care is available part time or full time and parents are allowed to drop in and visit at any time.

"We're honored to continue to help brilliant entrepreneurs like Ashish and Ranjeeta actualize their business goals and have them join our Celebree School family," said Richard Huffman, Founder and CEO of Celebree School. "As we continue to expand our brand's footprint through franchising, it's more important than ever that we partner with local community leaders who have a passion for early childhood education. The opening of this school brings me immense pride and joy. I know they are the perfect franchisees to drive our mission forward."

Celebree School began franchising in 2019 and now has 27 corporate locations, 14 franchise locations, and more than 70 franchise licenses in various stages development. With strategic expansion underway, the brand has set an aggressive development goal of opening 150 new schools by 2025. When franchisees invest with Celebree School, they're investing in an organization with a strong culture, solid systems, and a proven business model backed with 25-plus years of experience in providing exceptional early childhood education. For more information of franchising opportunities visit https://www.celebree.com/franchising/.

Celebree School  East Norriton is open Monday  Friday 6:30 a.m.  6:30 p.m. For more information on Celebree School in East Norriton, please visit https://www.celebree.com/east-norriton-pa/ or call 610-400-3404.

About Celebree School

Founded in 1994, Celebree School is a leader in early childhood education that provides infant and toddler care, preschool, before and aftercare, and summer camp programs. With a mission to Grow People Big and Small, Celebree School believes success in early childhood development is equal parts curriculum and connection. Each school employs a customized program that addresses the physical, social, emotional, and academic needs of children and follows applicable state guidelines. In 2019, Celebree School launched its franchise offering. Learn more about how we grow confident children who are prepared for school and life at Celebree.com. Connect with us on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.

Media Contact: Emily Eastin, Fishman Public Relations, [email protected]

SOURCE Celebree School
LONDON, Feb. 6, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The Healthcare CRM Market is anticipated to reach a valuation of USD 31.54 Billion by 2028 from USD 12.53 Billion in 2021, registering a CAGR of 14.1% over the forecast duration of 2022-2028.

The healthcare industry is anticipated to experience a surge in the demand for Customer Relationship Management (CRM) solutions due to the growing requirement for structured data and automation within healthcare organizations. Moreover, the advances in communication and Information Technology (IT) are also expected to influence the demand for healthcare-based CRM. During the COVID-19 pandemic, healthcare CRM solutions were utilized by various medical institutions, clinics, laboratories, and hospitals for creating and tracking appointments.

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Global Healthcare CRM Market Outlook (2022-2029)

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a considerable effect on the healthcare CRM market. According to the study published in the American Health Information Management in January 2021, titled The Impact of COVID-19 on Health Information Management, public health professionals have had to provide timely and accurate information to the public regarding testing and treatment, as well as the politicization of basic health routines, while also respecting individual liberties.

This act of informing the public may have resulted in a higher adoption of healthcare CRM for managing customer relationships, thereby driving the market expansion during the pandemic. This has necessitated creating marketing approaches that take into account psychological aspects to meet the actual needs and feelings of consumers.

Competitive Hierarchy

The Healthcare CRM market is characterized by intense competition among leading players and industry stakeholders, who are striving to gain a larger market share by implementing various strategic initiatives, such as portfolio expansion, product launches & upgrades, partnerships, regional expansion, and mergers & acquisitions. As an example, in September 2021, Salesforce launched the health cloud 2.0, a connected platform for providing better safety and health for customers, communities, and employees. Industry players such as IBM, Microsoft, and SAP are focusing increasingly on cognitive technology and artificial intelligence in order to improve the patient experience and gain an upper hand in the market.

Some of the major players in the healthcare CRM market are as follows:

SugarCRM

IBM

Keona Health

SAP SE

Microsoft

Health grades

Infor Inc.

Influence Health

Accenture

Oracle

EngageBay

HubSpot

Salesforce

Keap

Pipedrive

Netsuite CRM

Caspio

PatientPop

IMS InTouch

HIPAA CRM

Salesforce Health Cloud CRM

Segmental Outlook

By Component

Software

Services

By Deployment Model

On-premises

Web/cloud-based

By Functionality

Marketing

Customer service & support

Digital Marketing

Sales

Other

By End User

Healthcare providers

Healthcare payers

Life science industry

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Region-Wise Outlook

North America to lead the global Healthcare CRM Market regionally

In North America, the healthcare CRM market is predicted to maintain its leading position over the forecast period. Factors driving this growth include an advanced healthcare system, a rise in chronic diseases, an improved healthcare infrastructure, and an increased demand for healthcare CRM. Moreover, the prevalence of these conditions and the need for efficient healthcare services is likely to further boost the healthcare CRM market in this region.

Asia Pacific to be the second leading region in the global Healthcare CRM Market

The Asia Pacific market is projected to experience a remarkable growth rate of more than 10% over the forecast period, driven by government health care schemes. According to Wolters Kluwer, government expenditure on EHR/EMR systems is predicted to reach USD 794.6 million by 2018.

Category-Wise Outlook

Which deployment mode segment is forecasted to lead the overall market?

It is predicted that the Web/Cloud-based deployment model will constitute a large portion of the healthcare CRM market. This model provides the necessary scalability and flexibility for the healthcare industry to manage their data effectively. It also allows for secure access to data and integrates it with other systems to obtain a comprehensive view of the healthcare organization. Additionally, the cloud-based model reduces the cost of ownership and enables the system to adapt to changing demands in the healthcare environment.

Which is the leading functionality segment in the market?

The global Healthcare CRM market is dominated by the Sales segment in terms of Functionality, and is expected to be the fastest-growing. Market projections for the Marketing and Customer Service and Support segment are also notably positive, due to the abundance of CRM solutions and the initiatives taken by market players.

An example of this is Pegasystems' Pega for Healthcare & Life Sciences, a low-code healthcare engagement, efficiency, and self-service platform that caters to healthcare payers, pharmacy benefit managers, providers, and life science industry participants.

Which end user segment is anticipated to witness high growth in the coming future?

The healthcare segment of the healthcare CRM market is dominated by providers such as hospitals, clinics, and various specialized facilities, such as hospice care, long-term care, and life sciences companies including pharmaceutical, biotechnological companies, and Clinical Research Organizations (CROs). The healthcare payer segment is expected to experience the fastest growth in the near future, as payers such as insurance companies increasingly adopt CRM solutions. The life sciences industry segment is also anticipated to witness a growing adoption of CRM solutions.

Ongoing trends of global Healthcare CRM Market

The increasing need for early treatment of patients through home care, virtual care, mobile monitoring, and disease monitoring applications is projected to drive lucrative market growth in the coming years. Service providers and patients (payers) are both benefiting from care coordination and management, communication services, database construction, predictive services, chronic disease management, and collaborative services. In addition, hospitals worldwide are changing strategies and tactics to better compete with each other, resulting in improved customer outreach and marketing techniques.

On Special Requirement Healthcare CRM Market Report is also available for below region:

North America

U.S, Canada

Europe

Germany , France , U.K., Italy , Spain , Sweden , Netherland, Turkey , Switzerland , Belgium , Rest of Europe

Asia-Pacific

South Korea , Japan , China , India , Australia , Philippines , Singapore , Malaysia , Thailand , Indonesia , Rest Of APAC

Latin America

Mexico , Colombia , Brazil , Argentina , Peru , Rest of Latin America

Middle East and Africa

Saudi Arabia , UAE, Egypt , South Africa , Rest Of MEA

Major Developments

In April 2022 , Cured unveiled a new version of its digital marketing and customer relationship management (CRM) platform, which is designed specifically for healthcare, furthering its mission of providing comprehensive care.

, Cured unveiled a new version of its digital marketing and customer relationship management (CRM) platform, which is designed specifically for healthcare, furthering its mission of providing comprehensive care. In March of 2022, Epic unveiled a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system designed specifically for health systems. Additionally, they are in the process of creating an app that leverages real-world data to aid physicians in finding the best possible care for their patients.

In 2020, Zoho Corporation Pvt. Ltd. announced the launch of a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software designed for small and medium-sized businesses. This software enables users to create multiple customer pipelines and receive customer calls remotely.

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GURUGRAM, India, Feb. 6, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Germany Hyperscale Data Center Market is highly consolidated with 4 players - Equinix, Vantage Data Center, CyrusOne and Iron Mountain. These are the major hyperscale data center companies contributing 45% of market share in Germany catering to IT, BFSI and Telecom industry.

The 5G and 6G technology will push the adoption of IoT-enabled products in the Germany market.

Primary demand drivers for Hyperscale Data Center services in Germany are industries such as Cloud, followed by Telecom, 5G Deployment, and Artificial Intelligence (AI).

The industry is moving towards variety of technological advancement related to IoT and AI. These technologies ensure growth in terms of competitiveness and better customer services.

Current Market Positioning: The number of people connecting to the internet is continuing to drive demand for data-center-based compute and connectivity. Companies choose to "rent" server space from a cloud provider, which is eventually kept in a data centre, rather than investing in real hardware.

Energy Efficiency: It is a key component that drives the hyperscale data center market, as all businesses strive to improve their total energy efficiency. Organizations seek data centers that use the least amount of energy while having the least impact on the environment. The drive to save money on power rises the demand for energy-efficient hyperscale data centers. In data centers, high-density blade servers, and storage systems provide higher computation capability per Watt of energy consumption.

Increasing Investments: The rising number of smart hospitals in Germany owing to rising investments in digital healthcare infrastructure in the country. Smart hospitals accelerate patient's journey and increase operational efficiency. Increasing investments in communication and technology is also boosting the market growth in Germany.

Internet of Things devices: The increase in the Internet of Things (IoT) devices in the various industries is speculated to propel the growth of the market during the forecast period. Growing AI adoptions also boosts the growth of Hyperscale Data Centers.

Analysts at Ken Research in their latest publication- "Germany Hyperscale Data Center Market Outlook to 2027- Driven by the growing adoption of remote work and surging demand of cloud computing solutions" by Ken Research provides a comprehensive analysis of the potential of the hyperscale data center market in Germany. Growing volume of big data and Low costs to enterprises are expected to contribute to the market growth over the forecast period. Germany Hyperscale Data Center Market is expected to grow at a robust CAGR over the forecasted period 2022P-2027F.

Key Segments Covered:-

Segmentation By End Users

Enterprises

Cloud Providers

Segmentation By Industry Users:-

Technology

BFSI

Telecom

Healthcare

others

Segmentation By Type of Solutions provided:-

Storage

Network

Server

To learn more about this report Download a Free Sample Report

Key Target Audience

Data Centers Service Providers

Telecom Companies

Governments

Cloud Providers

Information Technology Companies

Telecommunication Service Providers

Enterprises

Time Period Captured in the Report:-

Historical Period: 2017-2022P

2017-2022P Base Year: 2022P

2022P Forecast Period: 2022P2027F

Companies Covered:-

Supply Side Companies

Vantage Data Center

CyrusOne

Equinix

Iron Mountain

Cloud HQ

Stack infrastructure

Interxion

Visit this Link :- Request for custom report

Demand Side Companies

Amazon web services

Oracle

IBM

Microsoft

Key Topics Covered in the Report:-

Executive Summary

Country Overview of Germany

Market Overview of Hyperscale Data Center in Germany

Market Size of Hyperscale Data Center Industry in Germany on the basis of Volume and Revenue, 2017-2022P

on the basis of Volume and Revenue, 2017-2022P Market Segmentation of Hyperscale Data Center Industry in Germany , 2022P(By End Users and Industry Users, and By Solutions Provided)

, 2022P(By End Users and Industry Users, and By Solutions Provided) Industry analysis

Growth Drivers of Hyperscale Data Center Market

Government Rules and Regulations in Germany Hyperscale Data Center Market

Hyperscale Data Center Market Issues and Challenges and Trends in Germany Hyperscale Data Center Market

Hyperscale Data Center Market TAM, SAM, SOM of Germany Hyperscale Data Center Market

Demand Analysis of Germany Hyperscale Data Center Market

Competitive Landscape

Value Chain Analysis

Market Segmentations; Competition; Future Market Size, 2027)

Competition Landscape

Cross Comparison of Major Companies on the basis of Data Centers, Location, Employees, Revenue and Certifications

Strengths and Weakness of Major Players in Germany Hyperscale Data Center Market

Hyperscale Data Center Market Future Outlook and Projections, 2022P-2027F

Future Market Segmentation (By End Users and Industry Users, and By Solutions Provided)

Analyst Recommendations

Research methodology

For more insights on the market intelligence, refer to below link:-

Germany Hyperscale Data Center Market

Related Reports by Ken Research:-

South Africa Hyperscale Data Center Market Outlook to 2027  Driven by the Growing Adoption of Remote Work and Surging Demand of Cloud Computing Solutions.

South Africa Hyperscale Data Centers Market is Expected to grow at a CAGR in double digits between 2022 and 2027E, one of the major determinants for the surging growth in coming years is attributed to the favourable government rules & regulations, formulated to support domestic and foreign investments in data and cloud infrastructure. Increased awareness on environmental impacts and government's aim to limit carbon footprints in upcoming years, will result in businesses adapting to a strategy to utilize least amount of energy. Teraco offering clients a global data center platform designed to enable digital businesses to scale within a highly connected data community across six Continents.

Malaysia Data Center Market Outlook to 2026 - Growing Demand from SMEs, Rising Internet Penetration Rate and Rising Number of Facilities to Drive the Malaysian Data Center market in the near future

Over the forecast period 2022-2026F, the Malaysia Data Center Revenue is further anticipated to increase at a significant double digit CAGR during the review period 2021 to 2026F. The emergence of 5G technology in Malaysia is likely to grow the adoption of IoT-enabled products in the Malaysia market further contributing to the development of data center industry.

Indonesia Data Center Market Outlook to 2026 - Growing Tech Savy Population, Internet Penetration Rate and Rising Number of Facilities to Drive the Indonesia Data Center market in the near future

Over the forecast period 2022-2026F, the Indonesia Data Center Revenue is further anticipated to increase at a significant double digit CAGR during the review period 2021 to 2026F. The Indonesian Government's program 'Making Indonesia 4.0' will put Indonesia among the top ten global economies by 2030 by implementing digital transformation in different industry verticals such as manufacturing, finance, healthcare, and more resulting in the higher demand for Data Center services by the end users in the country. The emergence of 5G technology in Indonesia is likely to grow the adoption of IoT-enabled products in the Indonesia market further contributing to the development of data center industry.

USA Hyperscale Data Center Market Outlook to 2027F- Driven by the growing adoption of remote work and surging demand of cloud computing solutions

According to Ken Research estimates, Hyperscale data center market in USA generated a revenue of USD ~ Billion in 2022, expanding at a CAGR of ~14% in between 2017 and 2022. The surging growth is attributed to the increasing usage of internet, popularity of smart homes, wearables, trend of automation across industries, etc. The growth of Big Data; data coming from a number of sources that needs to be stored, processed and analysed to make informed business decisions in each and every industry. The drive to lessen energy consumption will act as a catalyst for the increased demand of energy efficient hyper-scale data centers in coming years.

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SOURCE Ken Research
Eden recognized for empowering IGEL's channel organization to expand partner enablement to ensure alignment of goals and objectives; driving performance; and creating more meaningful impact for partners and their customers

SAN FRANCISCO, Feb. 6, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- IGEL , provider of the managed endpoint operating system for secure access to any digital workspace, today announced that CRN, a brand of The Channel Company, has recognized Phil Eden, Vice President of North America Channel Sales for IGEL, on its 2023 Channel Chiefs list. Every year, this list honors the IT channel executives who work tirelessly to advance the channel agenda and deliver successful channel partner programs and strategies.

During the last 18+ years, Eden has worked with emerging technology vendors, including RES Software (now Ivanti), Tricerat and Veeam, to establish partner ecosystems that have laid the groundwork for hyper growth. He joined IGEL in 2017 as Director of Channels for the East Region and was promoted to Vice President of Channel Sales for North America in early 2022, after serving as the company's Senior Director of Channel Sales for two years.

Some of Eden's key accomplishments over the past year at IGEL included working with the company's leadership team to create a plan for transitioning partners to IGEL's new subscription-based mode. He also empowered his team in the development and execution of the IGEL Services Specializations program; and, worked with them on expanding partner enablement to ensure alignment of goals and objectives, drive performance, and create more meaningful impact through, for example, funding for technical and business development resources.

"At IGEL, we are dependent on our partners for future growth and scale," said Eden. "Enablement is the foundation of a successful partnership. My team and I are passionate about advocating for our partners and our ecosystem and the idea of being intentionally different, or different by design, is something we perpetuate wherever we go. That creativity is the foundation of our success and that of our partners."

Jed Ayres, CEO, IGEL, added, "It is a tremendous honor to see Phil recognized by CRN as one of the IT channel's top influencers. During his career here at IGEL, he has done a phenomenal job in guiding our channel organization. The launch of our Service Specializations program is just one example of how IGEL is helping our partners grow their businesses by providing them with opportunities to invest in the skills they need to drive exceptional customer outcomes, accelerate digital transformation in the cloud, drive the adoption and evolution of cloud workspaces, and enable them to focus on how the endpoint device OS can have a significant positive impact on security."

The 2023 CRN Channel Chiefs were selected by the editorial staff based on their record of business innovation and dedication to the partner community. This year's list represents the top IT executives responsible for building a robust channel ecosystem.

"Once again, this year's list gives well-deserved recognition to the IT Channel Chiefs who are dedicated to driving the channel agenda and advocating for the development of strong channel partnerships," said Blaine Raddon, CEO of The Channel Company. "Under their exceptional leadership, influence, and innovation, the IT channel vendor community continues to deliver solutions and services that meet the rapidly evolving needs of their solution provider partners and their customers."

The 2023 CRN Channel Chiefs list will be featured during this month of February 2023 issue of CRN Magazine and online at www.CRN.com/ChannelChiefs .

Channel Leadership to be Showcased at DISRUPT23

IGEL will showcase its channel leadership and innovation at DISRUPT 23, the only global event focused on end user computing and the delivery of secure, high-performance digital workspaces to increasingly distributed hybrid workforces, from the cloud. The events will be held February 14-16 in Munich, Germany at the INFINITY Hotel & Conference Resort, and April 3-5 at the Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center in Nashville, Tennessee. To register visit: www.disruptEUC.com.

About IGEL

Today, the world of work is hybrid. Multiple clouds can deliver applications sourced from anywhere to a widely distributed workforce using all types of devices. Right at the moment when the world of work needs it most, IGEL has the solution for fully managed, secure endpoint access to any digital workspace that gives IT teams strong control and end-users the freedom to work as they wish in a hybrid world. Enabling choice of any cloud, from any device, anywhere, IGEL unlocks a collaborative and productive end user computing experience while solving the common security and management challenges required to compete and win in today's world of hybrid work. With a growing ecosystem of more than 100 IGEL Ready technology partners, IGEL has offices in Europe and the United States and is represented by partners in over 50 countries. For more information on IGEL, visit www.igel.com.

About The Channel Company

The Channel Company enables breakthrough IT channel performance with our dominant media, engaging events, expert consulting and education and innovative marketing services and platforms. As the channel catalyst, we connect and empower technology suppliers, solution providers and end users. Backed by more than 30 years of unequalled channel experience, we draw from our deep knowledge to envision innovative new solutions for ever-evolving challenges in the technology marketplace. www.thechannelco.com

Follow The Channel Company: Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook

 2023 The Channel Company, LLC. CRN is a registered trademark of The Channel Company, LLC. All rights reserved.

SOURCE IGEL Technology
opinion

In the "land of a thousand hills," as Rwanda is fondly known, the country is rich in plants and animals which makes part of the biodiversity. Rwanda is setting a precedent to the rest of the world in terms of cleanliness. This has not been the only investment, but the nation has demonstrated a strong commitment in promoting biodiversity conservation through the Rwanda green growth and climate resilience strategy.

This success is attributed to institutionalisation of activities and passing laws that reinforce them. We have seen "Umuganda" a well-known practice that every Rwandan and resident consciously strives towards specific projects by participating in community services in areas of residence on the last Saturday of each month. The ban on the use of non-biodegradable plastic bags and other similar materials resulted in zero littering across the whole country and this showed compliance from the general public and the tourists. The Government also embarked on projects to promote the existence of endangered species and a nationwide landscape restoration. Let us not forget the,"Car Free Day," to promote a healthier lifestyle and a green city which is a way to contribute to the reduction of gas emissions. The attitude of Rwandans towards conserving the natural heritage is amazing.

Now, the question comes, introduction of new varieties - will they adapt well in the current ecosystem without changing the God given creation of the beautiful Rwanda as we call it,"RWANDA NZIZA?" These altered varieties are commonly referred to as genetically modified organisms. Plants, animals, or micro-organisms that include foreign genetic material. However, one has to be specific whether it's GMOs or living modified organisms (LMOs). The forms of LMO are the material that propagate like seed and GMOs or GM commodities are all the processed products like cassava flour, maize flour, cereals, and others.

Rwanda is part of the East African Community and one partner state, Kenya, lifted a decade-long ban on the cultivation and importation of genetically modified food products, three months ago. The move for GMOs without being responsible will be considered as a man-induced threat and not natural threats.

Rwanda is a party to the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety and experience gained within the framework can contribute to the regulation of the emerging technologies that may have adverse effects to the environment, taking into account risks to human health.

Rwanda expressed safety concerns that it could face an influx of genetically modified food, feed, and their additives from Kenya. On another hand, experts in Rwanda are advocating for access to modern agricultural technologies and innovations, for example, the GM potato push.

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The government is so advanced in placing necessary institutional and legislative structures and this is what the biosafety measures is about. To introduce these technologies, it is imperative to first address regulatory means on borders, measures for controlled releases, building containment facilities, establishment of an inspectorate unit, coming up with biotechnology safety guidelines, engaging the masses both in education and addressing their concerns and taking decisions based on examining environmental and socio-economic risks that are carried out in a scientifically sound and transparent manner.

Biotechnology has the potential to generate benefits for humankind and contribute to sustainable development. In medicine, it has contributed to the development of vaccines, drugs, and diagnostic aids. In agriculture, it promises to enhance food security of crops with higher yields, improved nutritional value, and resistance to pests and environmental hazards, while reducing dependence on fertilisers and herbicides.

The writer is a biochemist and biological engineer with experience in biosafety and biosecurity through working in academia and the industry.

The views expressed in this article are of the writer.
NEW YORK, Feb. 6, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- King & Spalding announced today that Russell "Chip" Gaudreau and Jessica Gold have joined the firm's Trial and Global Disputes practice group as partners. They are based in New York.

Gaudreau and Gold have a broad range of experience defending multinational companies in complex product liability, toxic tort, pharmaceutical and medical device, and sales practices litigation, with a particular focus on developing and executing strategic litigation management and resolution strategies for clients.

Russell Chip Gaudreau Jessica Gold

"Chip and Jessica are great lawyers and gifted strategists with a reputation for helping clients achieve optimal resolutions in their complex, nationwide disputes," said Andy Bayman, leader of the firm's Trial and Global Disputes practice group. "They add significant heft to our strategic resolution practice, and their extensive experience in the pharmaceutical, medical device and healthcare fields complements our existing litigation depth and leadership in those areas well."

Gaudreau and Gold join the firm from Greenberg Traurig, where they were partners. Gaudreau earned his undergraduate degree from Hobart and William Smith Colleges, his J.D. from Suffolk University Law School and his L.L.M. from Georgetown University Law Center. Gold earned her undergraduate degree from Binghamton University and her J.D. from New York Law School.

"At King & Spalding, we are joining former colleagues we respect immensely, a New York litigation practice on a major upswing and a pre-eminent product liability and strategic resolution practice  it's an ideal situation," said Gaudreau. "Jessica and I are excited to collaborate with our new K&S team to achieve favorable outcomes for clients in litigation and to help the practice continue to grow."

Gaudreau and Gold are the 20th and 21st litigation partners to join King & Spalding in New York in the past three years, spanning its product liability and mass torts, financial services, commercial litigation, international arbitration and investigations teams.

About King & Spalding

Celebrating more than 130 years of service, King & Spalding is an international law firm that represents a broad array of clients, including half of the Fortune Global 100, with 1,200 lawyers in 23 offices in the United States, Europe, the Middle East and Asia. The firm has handled matters in over 160 countries on six continents and is consistently recognized for the results it obtains, uncompromising commitment to quality, and dedication to understanding the business and culture of its clients. More information is available at www.kslaw.com.

SOURCE K&S
LAS VEGAS, Feb. 6, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Lance Bradford and Sinetix, a leading business consulting firm, are excited to announce the launch of their new consulting services for mergers and acquisitions in Las Vegas. The company's team of experienced consultants will provide strategic guidance and support to businesses looking to merge or acquire other companies in the Las Vegas area. Lance Bradford, CEO of Sinetix, said, "We are thrilled to expand our services to include consulting for mergers and acquisitions. We understand that these types of transactions can be complex and stressful for businesses, which is why we are dedicated to providing expert guidance and support every step of the way."

Lance Bradford, Las Vegas Lance Bradford, Sinetix

The Team of Sinetix consultants have a wealth of experience in the field of mergers and acquisitions, having worked with a variety of businesses across different industries. They will work closely with clients to understand their unique needs and goals and develop a customized plan to help them achieve success. The consulting services offered by Sinetix will include strategic planning, due diligence, negotiation support, and post-transaction integration. The company is committed to providing the highest level of service to its clients and will strive to ensure that each transaction is completed smoothly and successfully.

Lance Bradford is one of the most trusted and respected executives and financial advisors in the industry, with a reputation that is expanding nationally. He has transitioned his past experiences, using his entrepreneurial spirit, to become a valuable partner in several businesses ensuring their growth and success.

If you're a business in Las Vegas looking to merge with or acquire another company, contact Lance Bradford and Sinetix today to learn more about how they can help.

Media Contact:

Lance Bradford

[email protected]

(702) 735-5532

SOURCE Lance Bradford
Tyre Nichols' wrongful death case brings more national attention to police brutality cases and availability for lawsuit funding

MEMPHIS, Tenn., Feb. 6, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Legal-Bay, the premier pre settlement lawsuit funding firm for Tennessee plaintiffs, announces today that they are providing increased funding for victims of police brutality and police misconduct. Legal-Bay has years of experience in this space, and is one of the leading funding companies for these types of lawsuits.

Police brutality refers to excessive use of force by law enforcement officers, often resulting in physical harm or even death. This issue has gained significant attention in recent years, particularly in the wake of high-profile incidents involving the death of ordinary citizens at the hands of the police, such as last week's unjust beating and subsequent murder of Tyre Nichols in Memphis, Tennessee.

This isn't the first time concerns have been raised regarding the Memphis Police Department (MPD). In recent years, the MPD has faced criticism for lowering its hiring standards, which has resulted in the employment of officers with prior criminal records and/or history of unethical behavior. This has led to increased scrutiny of the department and raised questions about the ability of these officers to effectively serve and protect the community.

If you're a plaintiff, lawyer, or family member in an active police brutality or police misconduct lawsuit and need an immediate cash advance against your impending settlement, please visit Legal-Bay HERE or call toll-free: 877.571.0405.

Memphis isn't the only city to have a harsh light shone on its policing practices. Law enforcement in California CA, New York NY, Texas TX, Florida FL, along with numerous cities and towns across the country are under fire for multiple incidents of excessive force, sparking outrage and protests among their inhabitants. Many members of the community at large are calling for an end to police brutality along with greater accountability for law enforcement officers, with requests for restructuring and/or complete overhauls of the policing system.

Thousands of police brutality lawsuits have been filed, costing taxpayers millions of dollars every year. The exact number of cases can vary depending on the source and definition of police brutality which can include general police misconduct or outright sexual assault. Additionally, not all cases of police brutality are reported, lowering the instances where a formal complaint or lawsuit would result.

For those victims who have filed suit against their attackers, the legal system can be long and arduous. And since plaintiffs are essentially battling these officers within the system that currently employs them, the road to a positive verdict can be devastating both emotionally as well as financially.

Chris Janish, CEO of Legal-Bay, commented on the situation, "Unfortunately we have seen this type of police conduct playing out across the country all too many times. The cases of George Floyd in Minnesota and Tyre Nichols in Tennessee are just two that have made national headlines; however, our underwriting team is constantly evaluating these cases throughout every state in the U.S. It's hard to comprehend the senselessness of why this is happening, but larger settlements on these cases should ultimately put pressure on the police departments and their cities to put better procedures in place."

If you're a plaintiff, lawyer, or family member in an active police brutality or police misconduct lawsuit and need an immediate cash advance or case cost funding against your impending settlement, please visit Legal-Bay HERE or call toll-free: 877.571.0405.

The issue of police brutality is complex and deeply rooted in systemic issues such as racial profiling, discrimination, and a lack of culpability. In many cases, law enforcement officers are not held accountable for their actions and are often protected by qualified immunity, a legal doctrine that shields government officials from being held personally liable for actions taken in the course of their duties.

Police brutality remains a significant problem in the United States and has been highlighted by a number of high-profile incidents in recent years. Numerous deaths at the hands of the police have raised important questions about the ability of law enforcement officers to effectively serve and protect the community, particularly in communities of color. To address this issue, there is a growing movement calling for reforms such as increased training, education, and accountability, and a shift towards community-oriented policing which would prioritize building relationships between law enforcement and the communities they serve. Lastly, the creation of independent review boards could ensure that incidents of excessive use of force would be fully investigated.

Chris Janish added a comment about the rise in cases within the Tennessee market, "Our firm is dedicated to serving the citizens of Tennessee, unlike many other companies within the industry who have chosen not to fund there. Places like Nashville and Memphis have seen sharp rises in population over the last ten years, and we stand ready to serve these markets as needed, providing the lowest rates to Tennessee clients in the Nashville and Memphis areas."

If you're a plaintiff, lawyer, or family member in an active police brutality or police misconduct lawsuit and need an immediate cash advance against your impending settlement, please visit Legal-Bay HERE or call toll-free: 877.571.0405.

Legal-Bay remains vigilant in helping clients who have been affected by police brutality. Additionally, any new clients that have other types of existing lawsuits and need cash now can apply for funding to help them get through their own financial crises. Legal-Bay funds all types of loans for lawsuits including personal injury, slips and falls, car, boat, or construction accidents, judgment or verdict on appeal, commercial litigation, contract dispute, Qui-tam or whistleblower cases, False Claims Act, patent litigation, copyright infringement, and more.

Legal-Bay's pre settlement funding programs are designed to provide immediate cash in advance of a plaintiff's anticipated monetary award. The non-recourse law suit loanssometimes referred to as loans for lawsuit or loans on settlementare risk-free, as the money doesn't need to be repaid should the recipient lose their case. Therefore, the lawsuit loan isn't really a loan, but rather a cash advance.

To apply right now, please visit the company's website HERE or call toll-free: 877.571.0405 where experienced agents are standing by to hear about the details of your specific case.

Contact: Chris Janish, CEO

Email: [email protected]

Ph.: 877.571.0405

Website: www.Legal-Bay.com

SOURCE Legal-Bay, LLC
SALEM, Utah, Feb. 6, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Loomwell is excited to share the upcoming 2023 wallpaper trends. For many homeowners and renters, peel and stick wallpaper is a great way to freshen any space without making permanent changes, and with the latest trends for this year, everyone is sure to find a style that suits their space.

Loomwells 2023 Peel and Stick Wallpaper Trends Loomwells 2023 Peel and Stick Wallpaper Trends

Not only has Loomwell planned their newest removable wallpaper designs around the upcoming trends for this year, but they also offer a wide selection of peel and stick designs to perfectly match any existing aesthetic or style. On top of that, all of their removable wallpaper is durable and long-lasting, meaning that it won't fade over time like many other wallpaper options. Additionally, Loomwell's wallpaper is moisture and humidity safe making it a perfect option for wallpapering non-traditional spaces, like bathrooms, backsplashes, laundry rooms, and more!

Now onto the four exciting new wallpaper trends to watch for! First up are smaller-scale prints like petite florals or simple geometric patterns. These dainty and detailed designs offer a subtle way to add a bit of texture and movement to your walls without overpowering the room. Loomwell's small scale wallpaper designs offer a subtle plaid pattern to any space that delicately adds to the overall aesthetic instead of detracting from it!

Second is a trend that's all about more! While accent walls have been a popular trend for many years, this trend is on the way out as more and more people are opting for fully wrapped rooms! Not only does it carry your design evenly throughout the space, but it also makes the room feel more complete while making a bold statement. Loomwell's Georgia wallpaper design offers a soft white and blue design that, when fully wrapped around any room, makes any space feel polished. If you're looking to lighten and extend a cozy or homey space, don't stop with just one accent wall!

While peel and stick wallpaper offers a simple, affordable, and effective way to transform any room, many homeowners are taking it one step further by pairing their new design with another wall treatment. Incorporate elements like wainscoting, board and batten, and shiplap for a more layered and textured look. For homeowners not sure where to start, Loomwell's Illyria wallpaper design features a warm and inviting flower and leaf design that pairs perfectly with wainscoting. Try white wainscoting for a brighter look or go with something darker to bring out the subtle floral details in the wallpaper.

Finally, with the rise in cottage core and modern farmhouse designs, earthy tones have become a popular choice. The newest trend calls for darker, bolder colors that still manage to bring warmth and coziness to the space. Look for dark, earthy tones of wallpaper like browns, greens, and blues. Loomwell's Staunton wallpaper design features a beautiful leaf design floating on a blue background, adding a natural, earthy charm to any space.

From the latest trends to classic designs, Loomwell's selection of peel and stick wallpaper is designed to give homeowners and renters a simple yet effective way to truly customize any home.

Visit Loomwell to see the available peel and stick wallpaper designs . Their tutorials provide information on how to measure, purchase, and install their removable wallpaper.

About Loomwell

Loomwell, the number one online wallpaper store, offers a wide selection of stylish, modern peel and stick wallpaper designs at an affordable price. Their removable wallpaper will help any homeowner or renter transform their space with ease. Loomwell's removable wallpaper is long-lasting, moisture-safe, and damage-free, creating the perfect backdrop for creating a warm and inviting atmosphere.

Contact Information

Name: Farra Lanzer

Email: [email protected]

Phone Number: 970-541-3284

SOURCE Loomwell
Centaur's precision medicine technology, licensed from Duke University School of Medicine, transports difficult to deliver agents across the blood brain barrier.

Multiple Oncology and CNS indications; first IND expected to be open in Q2 of 2023.

NEW YORK, Feb. 6, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Lucius Partners, LLC announced the addition of Centaur Bio, Inc. to the company's portfolio. Centaur's novel technology was originally developed by researchers in the Department of Neurosurgery at Duke University, led by Dr. John H. Sampson, the Robert H. and Gloria Wilkins Distinguished Professor and Chair of the Department of Neurosurgery. This novel technology facilitates transport of therapeutics to any tissue of interest, including the brain, potentially generating improved treatments for solid tumors and CNS disorders.

For many drugs and diagnostic agents, no readily available method permits effective access to certain privileged areas of the body. The first application of Centaur's precision medicine technology is BRiTE (Brain Bispecific T Cell Engager). BRiTE focuses on the transport of difficult to deliver T cell targeting agents across the blood brain barrier allowing access to the immunoprivileged brain. BRiTE is a translatable method to specifically target malignant glioma using a tumor-specific, fully human bispecific antibody that redirects patients' own T cells to recognize and destroy tumor cells. The lead product, CBRX-101, a proprietary EGFRvIII x CD3 BRiTE, can eliminate malignant glioma tumors in a variety of aggressive preclinical orthotopic tumor models. The first IND for CBRX-101 is expected to open in 2023.

"We are thrilled to join forces with world class teams at the Duke University School of Medicine and Lucius Partners to further the translation of preclinical proof of concept results in malignant glioma to human trials," said Michael Roberts, PhD., co-founder and Chief Executive Officer, Centaur Bio. "Our ambition is to ultimately make a meaningful and sustained impact in the treatment of patients with cancer."

Managing Partner of Laidlaw & Company and Founding Partner of Lucius, James Ahern, stated, "We are delighted to welcome Centaur to the Lucius family of companies; we see their technology as a potential game changer in cancer and CNS disorders. Centaur continues our legacy of partnership with world class entrepreneurs who develop technologies from elite university foundations."

About Centaur Bio, Inc.

Centaur Bio, Inc., a Delaware corporation founded in 2021 is dedicated to the development and commercialization of products utilizing Duke University School of Medicine's novel technology that enhances the delivery of drugs and other compounds to the brain and other tissues for a variety of indications, including in oncology and central nervous system diseases. Centaur holds an exclusive worldwide license to this technology from Duke. For more information, please visit http://www.centaurbio.com.

About Lucius Partners, LLC

Lucius Partners is a consultancy that provides a broad suite of services to help healthcare companies grow, achieve milestones and generate value for their shareholders.

Forward Looking Statements

This press release includes "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements in this press release include, but are not limited to, statements that relate to the advancement and development of the BRiTE technology, the commencement of clinical trials, the availability of data from clinical trials and other information that is not historical information. When used herein, words such as "anticipate", "being", "will", "plan", "may", "continue", and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. In addition, any statements or information that refer to expectations, beliefs, plans, projections, objectives, performance or other characterizations of future events or circumstances, including any underlying assumptions, are forward-looking. All forward-looking statements are based upon Centaur's current expectations and various assumptions. Centaur believes there is a reasonable basis for its expectations and beliefs, but they are inherently uncertain. Centaur may not realize its expectations, and its beliefs may not prove correct. Actual results could differ materially from those described or implied by such forward-looking statements as a result of various important factors, including, without limitation, market conditions and any Centaur filings made with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Consequently, forward-looking statements should be regarded solely as Centaur's current plans, estimates and beliefs. Investors should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Centaur cannot guarantee future results, events, levels of activity, performance or achievements. Centaur does not undertake and specifically declines any obligation to update, republish, or revise any forward-looking statements to reflect new information, future events or circumstances or to reflect the occurrences of unanticipated events, except as may be required by law.

Contact:

Patrick Gallagher

Managing Partner

Lucius Partners, LLC

[email protected]

Matthew Duffy

Managing Partner

Lucius Partners, LLC

[email protected]

Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1846494/Lucius_Partners_Logo.jpg

SOURCE Lucius Partners
Dedicated office in Baku will enable company to strengthen support for Azerbaijan's goal of securing 30 percent of power mix from renewable sources by 2030

Masdar has signed project agreements with Azerbaijan exceeding 10 GW capacity

ABU DHABI, UAE, Feb. 6, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Masdar, one of the world's fastest-growing renewable energy companies, has pledged to strengthen its support for Azerbaijan's renewable energy development with the opening of an office in Baku, the capital city.

Masdar Office Inauguration Baku

The inauguration event for the office, located in Port Baku Tower, was attended by His Excellency Mohammed Murad Al Blooshi, UAE Ambassador to the Republic of Azerbaijan, and Javid Abdullayev, Director of Azerbaijan Renewable Energy Agency under the Ministry of Energy, along with a delegation from Masdar, led by its Chief Executive Officer, Mohamed Jameel Al Ramahi. Masdar will work closely with the government and other stakeholders in Azerbaijan to accelerate the growth of its renewable energy sector, as the country continues to take bold steps to meet clean energy targets and transition to a low-carbon future.

HE Dr Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, UAE Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology, COP28 President-Designate, and Chairman of Masdar, said, "The United Arab Emirates and Azerbaijan both recognize the importance of investing in renewable energy to advance economic diversification, stability, and growth. Masdar's increasing scope of work in Azerbaijan, evidenced by its new Baku office, demonstrates the UAE's commitment to supporting decarbonization and sustainable development around the world."

HE Mohammed Murad Al Blooshi, UAE Ambassador to the Republic of Azerbaijan, said, "The opening of Masdar's office in Azerbaijan is a testament to the shared ambition of the UAE and Azerbaijan toward renewables and sustainability. Our two nations are committed to working together to create a sustainable future, and the new office will play a critical role in supporting this important work."

Mohamed Jameel Al Ramahi, Chief Executive Officer of Masdar, said, "The opening of our new office in Baku is a testament to Azerbaijan's increasing focus on renewable energy and Masdar's growing global portfolio, which we have pledged will reach 100 GW by 2030. We look forward to working with our partners in Azerbaijan to continue to deliver world-class projects in support of the country and its renewable energy goals."

Javid Abdullayev, Director of Azerbaijan Renewable Energy Agency, said, "Developing our ample renewable energy potential is a strategic priority for Azerbaijan, and we believe that working with partners like Masdar will help us achieve our goals and create a brighter, more sustainable future for our people. The agreements we have signed with Masdar will play a critical role in our green growth journey and we look forward to further collaborations."

Azerbaijan plans to increase its installed power capacity to 30 percent from renewable sources by 2030, to diversify its economy and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The Government has targeted developing renewable energy sources as a strategic priority for the country's development, and is looking to establish Azerbaijan as a green energy producer and exporter.

HE Ilham Aliyev, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, delivered a keynote address at Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week 2023, where he reiterated the country's clean energy objectives and highlighted how its partnership with Masdar will help in achieving them.

At ADSW, Masdar signed joint development agreements for onshore wind and solar projects, and integrated offshore wind and green hydrogen projects, with a total combined capacity of 4 gigawatts (GW). The projects are part of a larger agreement with Azerbaijan's Ministry of Energy to develop a renewable energy program on a bilateral basis, with a total capacity of 10 GW across multiple technologies, one of the largest such signings in Azerbaijan's history.

Masdar is also developing the 230-megawatt Garadagh Solar PV Plant in Azerbaijan. The plant will help to generate half a billion kilowatt-hours of electricity annually, enough to meet the needs of more than 110,000 homes, and will reduce emissions by more than 200,000 tonnes a year, while also creating valuable jobs. Masdar announced financial close on the plant in August 2022.

For more information please visit: http://www.masdar.ae and connect: facebook.com/masdar.ae and twitter.com/masdar

About Masdar

Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company (Masdar) is the UAE's clean energy champion and one of the largest companies of its kind in the world, advancing the development and deployment of renewable energy and green hydrogen technologies to address global sustainability challenges. Established in 2006, Masdar is today active in over 40 countries, helping them to achieve their clean energy objectives and advance sustainable development. Masdar is jointly owned by Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC), Mubadala Investment Company (Mubadala), and Abu Dhabi National Energy Company (TAQA), and under this ownership the company is targeting a renewable energy portfolio capacity of at least 100 gigawatts (GW) by 2030 and an annual green hydrogen production capacity of up to 1 million tonnes by the same year.

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1995868/Masdar_Office_Baku.jpg

Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1973446/Masdar_Logo.jpg

SOURCE Masdar
CAESAREA, Israel, Feb. 6, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Max Stock Ltd. (TASE: MAXO) (the "Company") announces that an annual general meeting of its shareholders will convene on Monday, March 13, 2023, at 10:00 AM (Israel time), at the offices of the Company's legal counsel  Herzog, Fox, Neeman & Co., at 6 Itzhak Sadeh St., Tel Aviv, Israel. An adjourned meeting, if required, will be held on Monday, March 20, 2023, at the same time and at the same place. The date of record for the meeting is Sunday, February 12, 2023.

The meeting's agenda and the proposed resolutions:

(1) Discussion on the Company's 2021 board report and financial statements

A discussion will be held on the Company's 2021 board report and financial statements published together with the Company's 2021 periodic report on March 23, 2022 (TASE Ref. No: 2022-01-028347). No vote will be held on this item.

(2) Reappointment of the auditor and authorizing the Company's board to establish the auditor's fees

It is proposed to reappoint Ernst & Young Israel - Kost Forer Gabbay & Kasierer, to serve as the Company's auditors until the next annual general meeting and to authorize the Company's board of directors to establish its fees.

(3) Reappointment of directors (non-external directors) for an additional term of office

It is proposed to approve the reappointment of directors currently serving on the Company's board of directors and who are not external directors, as follows: Ms. Zehavit Cohen, Mr. Ori Max, Mr. Shay Aba, Ms. Limor Brik-Shay and Ms. Suzan Mazzawi (independent director) for an additional term of service until the conclusion of the next annual general meeting.

(4) Appointing a director (non-external director) to the Company's board of directors - Mr. Guy Gissin

It is proposed to approve the appointment of Mr. Guy Gissin to serve as one of the Company's directors (non-external director), commencing from the approval date of his appointment by the general meeting until the conclusion of the next general meeting.

A convenience translation into English of the general meeting notice as well as the relevant voting card published on TASE can be accessed at https://ir.maxstock.co.il/en/shareholders-meetings/ . These documents include an overview of the voting instructions for the general meeting as well as provide the required disclosure of Mr. Gissin's professional qualifications.

About Max Stock

Max Stock is Israel's leading extreme value retailer, currently present in 56 locations throughout Israel. We offer a broad assortment of quality products for customers' everyday needs at affordable prices, helping customers "Dream Big, Pay Small". For more information, please visit https://ir.maxstock.co.il

Company Contacts:

Talia Sessler,

Chief Corporate Development and IR Officer

[email protected]

SOURCE Max Stock Limited
PORTLAND, Ore., Feb. 6, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Cambia Health Solutions has named Mihir Patel, Pharm.D., RPh, as its chief pharmacy officer. In this role, Patel will provide overall leadership and pharmacy direction across all lines of Cambia's health plan business. This includes driving delivery of the pharmacy program and integration into medical benefits, clinical improvement and cost-stewardship efforts.

Mihir Patel

"Mihir has tremendous expertise within the pharmacy industry, including a dedication to ensuring health care is affordable," said Tonya Adams, senior vice president and chief health services officer. "His leadership in managing our pharmacy program will help ensure our members have access to safe, effective medications at prices they can afford."

Patel is an experienced pharmacist with a career spanning more than 20 years across various pharmacy sectors including health plans, pharmacy benefit management, consulting and retail pharmacy. He has a passion for improving efficiencies and outcomes by combining effective medication management and health care IT solutions.

Before joining Cambia, Patel was vice president of pharmacy services at PacificSource health plans where he led all aspects of pharmacy operations. He also helped established the medical management team at Oscar Insurance, a technology-based startup health plan, and led various clinical and business development functions at EmblemHealth, Point-of-Care Partners, MedImpact Health Care Systems and Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey.

"Cambia's focus on making health care simpler and more affordable really resonates with me," said Patel. "I look forward to working with a broad array of leaders with diverse perspectives and backgrounds to improve member outcomes and experiences."

Patel is a registered pharmacist, graduating with Bachelor of Science and Doctor of Pharmacy degrees from Ernest Mario School of Pharmacy at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey. He also completed a Managed Care Residency at Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey. Patel lives in Portland, Ore., and serves on the board of directors at the United Way of the Columbia-Willamette.

SOURCE Cambia Health Solutions
Cooperation with The Royal Commission for Al-Ula Governorate to boost tourism, trade and quality of life of residents through digital technology and services

Mobily partners with Ericsson for connectivity optimization for numerous years

Mobily and Abunayyan Holding are Partnering to Fuel Innovation in Smart Cities

Mobily signs with Lebara to continue providing mobile virtual network (MVNO) services over the Mobily network

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia, Feb. 6, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Mobily, Leap's strategic digital partner has unveiled a series of agreements and partnerships across a wide range of technology fields such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), gaming, digital infrastructure and more on Day One of LEAP 2023.

As the thousands of delegates, experts and industry leaders attend the first day of the event to discuss, learn and collaborate on the future vision of technology, Mobily is already working with industry leaders to help usher in a whole host of new products and services.

Mobily is Leaps strategic digital partner (PRNewsfoto/Mobily KSA)

Highlights on day one for Mobily are announcements of new Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) with companies such as Ericsson, Nokia, and Abunayyan Holding as well as government related entities such as the Royal Commission for Al-Ula Governorate.

Royal Commission for Al-Ula Governorate

The Royal Commission for Al-Ula Governorate and Mobily have signed a Memorandum of Understanding that seeks to promote digital transformation in the Al-Ula Governorate by building the digital infrastructure of the region through better communications, information technology and digital services that improve the user experience. This is part of the authority's aim to raise the overall quality of services and life for residents and visitors to Al-Ula as in line with the Kingdom's Vision 2030 goals.

The partnership is part of Royal Commission for Al-Ula Governorate's wider aims to enhance cooperation across other sectors to make Al-Ula the ideal destination for living, working and visiting as well as for the arts, heritage and culture. Mobily will provide advanced services in various areas such as cloud computing, cybersecurity and more.

Ericsson

Mobily Pay has made an agreement with Swedish telecommunications giant Ericsson to become the company's technical support by providing ADM application development and management, which allows Mobily Pay to develop and launch new products and services to enhance the customers experience service for Mobily Pay. This in turn will increase the number of projects that can be delivered as well as execute solutions faster at a lower cost for Mobily Pay.

In a separate deal Mobily and Ericsson successfully deployed the Ericsson Artificial Intelligence (AI)-based network solution for predictive and automated network management to enable, enhanced and smart end-user experiences in Saudi Arabia. As the Kingdom continues to implement its ambitious Vision 2030, the number of connected devices is expected to grow, propelling forward the need for improved network capabilities.

Enabled by the presence of big data, and ever-expanding and more accessible computing power, Artificial Intelligence (AI)-based network solution redefines the very nature of network operations, solving complex challenges and supporting today's dynamic and multidimensional connectivity requirements.

Ericsson's AI-based network solution delivers comprehensive Machine Learning (ML) based 5G network diagnostics, root cause analysis and recommendations for superior user experiences. The smart, automated network diagnostics capabilities of Ericsson's cognitive software suite results in proactive network optimization, supporting Mobily in identifying and resolving network anomalies and constantly providing reliable connectivity.

Huawei Technology Investment Saudi Arabia

Mobily and Huawei Technology Investment Saudi Arabia, signed an agreement which will enable the joint development for digital transformation towards the implementation of Intelligent 5G and Customer Experience Management. The agreement, aligned with the 2030 vision for Quality of Life and Digital Economy, will enhance the overall 5G user experience with a goal to increase Mobily user loyalty and reduce the time-to-market for 5G in Saudi Arabia.

Abunayyan Holding

Mobily has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Abunayyan Holding that aimed at advancing the development of smart cities. The partnership will bring together the expertise and resources of both companies to create innovative solutions that improve the quality of life for urban residents.

With the rapid growth of cities, the demand for sustainable, efficient, and connected urban environments is increasing. This partnership will focus on developing cutting-edge technologies to tackle the challenges facing cities, including transportation, water, energy, waste management, and public safety. "We're thrilled to partner with Abunayyan Holding to bring our combined vision for smart cities to life" Omar Al-Rasheed, Chief Strategy and Digitalization Office of Mobily, said. "Our companies share a commitment to creating a better future for urban residents, and this partnership will allow us to accelerate our progress in this area."

"The partnership with Mobily represents an important step forward in our mission to build smarter, more sustainable cities," said Turki Al-Amri, CEO of Abunayyan Holding. "Together, we have the resources, expertise, and passion to create solutions that will have real impact on the lives of millions of people.".

Nokia

Mobily will work with Nokia Solutions and Networks to develop a range of sustainability solutions. This includes fighting climate change where both companies work to reduce their own emissions and support other industries to reduce pollution and achieve a net zero future. In this partnership, both parties are exploring the role of connectivity in providing strategic business value while boosting positive social empowerment. In addition to cooperating to build a diverse and inclusive, digitally skilled future generation of workers.

Ali Jitawi, Head of Mobile Networks Saudi Arabia, Nokia, said: "Mobily and Nokia are always keen to achieving global ESG goals set by the United Nations. Being a pioneer in ESG solutions, Nokia is working hand in hand with Mobily to position its latest sustainability solutions in the framework of this MoU."

Lebara

Mobily and Lebara renewed their existing agreement, with a new validity till 2026, with an aim to benefit a win-win business opportunity.

The agreement will also leverage Mobily's superior Network, Wholesale expertise and ensure faster decision making for Lebara with a flexibility to target new segments, tackle competition and other uncertain market variables.

Lebara, operating in KSA since 2014, as an MVNO on Mobily's network has grown year on year and has delivered outstanding financial performance especially in the past two years

Mobily receives Procurement Excellence Programme (PEP) Award from the Chartered Institute of Procurement & Supply (CIPS)

Mobily is the first telecom company in the Kingdom to receive this respected certificate in the field of procurement.

Mobily was able to pass the evaluation stages with full compliance in less than two months, which is a remarkable achievement, as some audits take up to a full year. To gain a PEP award companies must undertake a set of rigorous and intensive assessments of the procurement department including leadership and organization's effectiveness, procurement strategy, team efficiency, and procedures, as well as performance management.

This new achievement reflects Mobily's leading role in the telecommunications sector to provide quality levels of service adhering to the highest international standards. In addition, it reflects Mobily's procurement transparency, commitment, and effective strategy.

About Etihad Etisalat (Mobily)

Etihad Etisalat (Mobily) is a Saudi company launched commercially in May 2005. Mobily provides integrated services for three main sectors, individuals, businesses, and carriers. It has one of the largest wireless networks by coverage in Saudi Arabia as well as the region, and one of the widest FTTH networks, in addition to one of the largest data center systems worldwide.

Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1996744/Mobily_KSA.jpg

SOURCE Mobily KSA
Established collaboratively by seven student affairs professional associations

WASHINGTON, Feb. 6, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The Higher Education Consortium for Student Affairs Certification today announced the official launch of Student Affairs Educator Certification. This professional certification program offers a core student affairs educator credential (CSAEd) and specialty credentials in the functional areas of campus activities, campus housing and residential life, campus recreation, college unions, fraternity and sorority life, and student conduct administration. All certifications were developed to benefit mid-level professionals by formally recognizing their knowledge gained post-degree through several years of student affairs/services work experience and ongoing professional development.

The launch of Student Affairs Educator Certification marks the culmination of a multi-year development process led by the Consortium and involving hundreds of practitioner and graduate faculty subject matter experts in student affairs/services. The Consortium was established collaboratively by the student affairs professional associations ACUHO-I, ACUI, AFA, ASCA, NACA, NASPA, and NIRSA. The goals of the Consortium include supporting individual student affairs educators seeking to demonstrate learning achieved through work experience and further support their professional advancement into senior-level positions and transitions across student affairs/services functional areas.

"The essential work performed by student affairs educators has been exceptionally difficult these past years. Employees commonly report low morale, high attrition, and a desire for greater professional development. Certification offers an opportunity to address some of these challenges by providing student affairs divisions with a new means to recognize the knowledge their employees have continued to gain through work experience, encourage ongoing professional development, and achieve a tool to support mobility," says Joseph DeSanto Jones, executive director.

The pilot of Student Affairs Educator Certification occurred in fall 2022. Applications for spring will open on February 13, 2023. To learn more about applying, register for the Student Affairs Educator Certification Spring Info session here: https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZEpde6urjMrHtCweUPFKnkjzqQzkRWaNsTO .

For additional details about Student Affairs Educator Certification, visit the Consortium's website at https://studentaffairscertification.org/ .

About Higher Education Consortium for Student Affairs Certification

The Higher Education Consortium for Student Affairs Certification promotes and advances student affairs and services in higher education by assessing and recognizing individual educators who demonstrate competency in established domains, commit to ongoing learning and professional development, and comply with the code of ethics.

CONTACT:

Joseph DeSanto Jones,

[email protected]

SOURCE Higher Education Consortium for Student Affairs Certification
Harare - The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Acting Deputy Executive Director, and Director of Corporate Services Ms. Sonja Leighton-Kone will visit Zimbabwe from 06 to 11 February 2023.

During her visit, Ms. Leighton-Kone will meet with His Excellency President E.D. Mnangagwa; and other senior Government officials including Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Trade; Minister of Environment, Climate, Tourism and Hospitality Industry; Minister of Energy and Power Development; and Minister of Lands, Agriculture, Water, Fisheries and Rural Development. In addition, Ms. Leighton-Kone will be meeting with the UN Resident ad Humanitarian Coordinator Mr Edward Kallon and the UN Country Team.

During her visit Ms Leighton will engage senior Government officials on environmental opportunities and challenges especially issues linked to triple planetary crisis of climate change, loss of nature and biodiversity, and waste and pollution. Her discussions with Government will include on strengthening collaboration with UNEP and marshalling practical solutions to the triple planetary crisis supported by UNEP as part the 2022-2026 Zimbabwe UN Sustainable Development Cooperation.

Ms Leighton will also have consultations with the UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator, Heads of UN agencies in Zimbabwe and the UN Country Team on enhancing coordination and cooperation in the delivery of support to the country.

Facilitated by the Ministry of Environment, Climate, Tourism and Hospitality Industry, Ms. Leighton will also travel to the field to see projects on environmental sustainability.

Ms. Leighton-Kone will be accompanied by Frank Turyatunga, Regional Director, and Representative for Africa; Ms. Meseret Teklemariam Zemedkun, Head, UNEP Southern Africa Sub-Regional Office; and Rami Abdel Malik, Special Assistant to the Deputy Executive Director.
Developed to solve the growing interview-process issues organizations face with applicants "ghosting" or voluntarily self-withdrawing from job considerations, Greetr empowers applicants and recruiters across the entire hiring journey

BOSTON, Feb. 6, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Greetr (https://www.greetr.io) announced its public launch today out of High Alpha Innovation's venture building program with a pre-seed investment from Capital One Ventures, the venture capital arm of Capital One. Greetr, headquartered in Boston, is currently developing its product beta program.

Research shows that nearly 80% of job applicants who drop out of the hiring process cite a frustrating candidate experience heightened by complicated applicant tracking system (ATS) tools. Information asymmetry pervades the process: recruiters face limited meaningful interactions and difficulties differentiating candidates, while the applicant experience is often impersonal, one-sided, and lacking transparency. As a result, organizations ranging from small startups to Fortune 500 companies lose millions of qualified candidates each year  while demand for technical talent continues to rapidly grow.

Greetr's platform brings clarity to the hiring process, instantly conveying updates to applicants with personalized messaging and creating a customized communication solution as they move through the different stages of the interview process. In addition, Greetr offers a rich content-module library and easy-to-implement engagement streams for recruiters, giving employers the ability to track progress, clearly deliver milestone messages, and supplement existing ATS platforms with seamless integration.

"At Greetr, we believe it's time to recruit with transparency and personalization  not just for companies, but for applicants as well, said Bill Fanning, co-founder and CEO, Greetr. "By keeping highly-qualified candidates engaged and excited, we have an opportunity to reduce withdrawals, hire faster, and create a world where recruiting becomes a competitive advantage."

Greetr is led by co-founders Bill Fanning (CEO) and Tracy Adams (CTO). Fanning has a senior executive background in the HR tech space, where he helped large organizations rapidly grow sales, partnership, and customer success activities. Prior to founding Greetr, he served as Chief Revenue Officer of ThisWay Global, driving revenue growth through new business development and partner-ecosystem expansion. Previously, he held various leadership positions at JobTarget and America's Job Exchange. Fanning is a US Army Veteran.

Adams has extensive software engineering, product development, and leadership experience, serving in technical executive roles in the HR space. As COO and co-founder of ArsDigita (acquired by RedHat), Adams co-architected web application frameworks that served as the base platforms for hundreds of third party web applications. She has served as CTO at ACS Enterprise and Competency Assessment Solutions (acquired by Lawson) and played a key role in acquisition of ten companies. Prior to Greetr, Adams served as VP of Engineering at FoxyAI, an AI-powered intelligence tool for the real estate industry.

"Increasing engagement through the recruiting process gives candidates a deeper understanding of the company they may join and builds trust at pivotal moments in the recruiting journey," said Phil Kim, Partner, Capital One Ventures. "We have tremendous confidence in Greetr's strategic vision and look forward to seeing what the company will accomplish out of the gate."

"Bill and Tracy deeply understand what it means to transform the candidate experience," adds Elliott Parker, CEO of High Alpha Innovation, a venture builder that partners with world-class entrepreneurs, corporations and universities. "Nearly everyone who has applied for a job has acutely felt this problem, and Greetr is designed to solve it at scale."

About Greetr

Based in Boston, Greetr is a collaboration platform for recruiters, designed to dynamically engage prospective candidates, bring clarity to the hiring process and fill roles faster. Greetr introduces transparency to the recruiting process by converting disparate and obscured information into an interactive destination designed for productivity. Subscribing hiring professionals leverage Greetr to create personalized experiences for applicants, using content and messages that are tailored to their interview stage, role, and tenure. Learn more at www.greetr.io.

Media Contact:

Ben Roess

Marketing Associate, High Alpha Innovation

[email protected]

(937)477-9261

SOURCE High Alpha Innovation
SAN FRANCISCO, Feb. 6, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Bucking the trend of publishers cutting marketing budgets, Galbraith Literary Publishing is going big with grand plans in place to create immersive world-building for the readers of a new mystery novel, Who Killed Jerusalem? With a forthcoming national, online mystery hunt with an eye-popping $25,000 prize, as well as a sweepstakes trip to explore literary San Francisco with former Poet Laureate Kim Shuck, there are a plethora of options for fans wanting to experience this "zany, inventive & multilayered fever dream of murder and mayhem" (KIRKUS REVIEWS).

Publisher creates immersive & innovative world-building for the readers of a new mystery novel, Who Killed Jerusalem? Tweet this George Albert Brown's literary murder mystery novel, Who Killed Jerusalem? on sale now.

Who Killed Jerusalem? by George Albert Brown is a literary murder mystery that is based on Romantic-era poet and philosopher William Blake but upended into the setting of 1970s San Francisco. When poet laureate Ickey Jerusalem is found dead in a locked first-class toilet on an arriving red-eye flight, protagonist Ded Smith must immerse himself in the world of beauty, eccentricity, and metaphysics that surrounds the poet as he interviews Jerusalem's coterie to find the answer to this one-of-a-kind "whodunnit."

With this impressive novel as its jumping-off point (backed by multiple glowing industry reviews), the author and publisher have teamed up with Otherworldly Adventures, creators of puzzles and immersive experiences, to host a nation-wide, online treasure hunt with multiple cash prizes for the winners that will go live this fall.

To keep up with information regarding the prize draw and the fabulously unique promotion strategy surrounding this book's release, please visit whokilledjerusalemprizedraw.com in order to sign up for the publisher's newsletter.

Contact: Jessie Glenn

[email protected]

Mindbuckmedia.com

503-998-8770

SOURCE Galbraith Literary Publishing
WASHINGTON, Feb. 6, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- A new report released by PatientRightsAdvocate.org (PRA) found that a majority of hospitals continue to hide their actual prices from consumers more than two years after the Hospital Price Transparency Rule went into effect.

The latest Semi-Annual Hospital Price Transparency Compliance Report from PRA focused on the nation's largest hospitals systems and found that only 24.5% of the 2,000 hospitals reviewed were fully complying with the hospital transparency rule that went into effect on January 1, 2021. The price transparency law was intended to foster a functional competitive market in healthcare, allowing consumers to benefit from competition and, through choice, lower their costs of both care and coverage. Unfortunately, PRA's latest report indicates that the majority of consumers are still unable to benefit from the rule.

PatientRightsAdvocate.org previously released three reports, the last in August 2022 ,which showed 16% of hospitals were in compliance.

"Hospitals are required by law to clearly show all of their actual upfront prices," said Cynthia Fisher, Founder and Chairman of PatientsRightsAdvocate.org. "The only way to lower the cost of healthcare is to empower all consumers, unions, and workers who purchase plans to have the information needed to shop for care and coverage. Real prices protect consumers and let them fight overcharges and have recourse against errors, upcoding, and fraud."

The new analysis of 2,000 hospitals across the United States found:

Only 489 (24.5%) were fully compliant with the rule.

were fully compliant with the rule. 116 hospitals (5.8%) did not post any usable standard charges file and were in total noncompliance.

did not post any usable standard charges file and were in total noncompliance. Compliance varied widely among the largest hospital systems in the country:

None (0%) of the hospitals reviewed which were owned by HCA Healthcare, Tenet Healthcare, Christus Health, Providence , Bon Secours Mercy Health, UPMC, Mercy Health, UnityPoint Health, and Avera Health were found to be compliant.

of the hospitals reviewed which were owned by HCA Healthcare, Tenet Healthcare, Christus Health, , Bon Secours Mercy Health, UPMC, Mercy Health, UnityPoint Health, and Avera Health were found to be compliant.

58% of hospitals reviewed that are owned by CommonSpirit Health and 73% of hospitals reviewed that are owned by LifePoint Health were found to be complying.

reviewed that are owned by CommonSpirit Health and reviewed that are owned by LifePoint Health were found to be complying. There was a significant increase in the number of hospital pricing files that are 1GB or larger, making it difficult for researchers, technology innovators, and consumers to download, although many large hospitals have created compliant files less than 200MB in size.

"Systemwide Healthcare Price Transparency has the power to truly transform our healthcare system, but only if the rule is enforced and if hospitals comply," said Fisher. "Price discovery makes hospitals and insurance carriers compete on prices, quality, and outcome metrics, and ultimately lowers the costs of care and coverage."

You can view the full PatientRightsAdvocate.org price transparency compliance report here.

SOURCE Patient Rights Advocate
** Credit Union Encourages San Diego Teachers to Apply for a Spring Project Grant **

SAN DIEGO, Feb. 6, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- North Island Credit Union invites all San Diego County teachers who have a dream class project idea to apply for a credit union grant through its bi-annual Teacher Grant program.

The North Island Credit Union spring grant program is available to full-time teachers in San Diego and Riverside counties, or credit union members teaching in California, looking to fund special learning opportunities for their students. The project should have clearly defined learning objectives tied to students' academic needs, display creativity, and benefit a significant number of students. Ten North Island Credit Union grants of $500 each will be awarded to area teachers in the spring program.

"As part of our commitment to our education community, we're excited to once again offer special grants to support our teachers as they work to create innovative programming for their students," said North Island Credit Union President/CEO Steve O'Connell. "We encourage any teacher who has a dream program to apply for a grant and look forward to funding these inspiring projects."

Interested teachers can find more information and apply online at northisland.ccu.com/teachergrant. The application deadline is February 28, 2023.

Since the creation of the program in 2012, the credit union has awarded $165,000 in teacher grants to benefit students across Southern California. Last year's grant program funded a wide range of projects, including organizing a Girl Boss young entrepreneur program, starting a forensic science program, creating an egg drop STEAM challenge, and developing multi-cultural art & reading curricula, among many others.

About North Island Credit Union, a division of California Credit Union

California Credit Union is a federally insured, state chartered credit union founded in 1933 that serves public or private school employees, community members and businesses across California. With more than 165,000 members and assets of over $4 billion, California Credit Union has 24 branches throughout Los Angeles, Orange and San Diego counties. The credit union operates in San Diego County as North Island Credit Union, a division of California Credit Union. California Credit Union offers a full suite of consumer, business and investment products and services, including comprehensive consumer checking and loan options, personalized financial planning, business banking, and leading-edge online and mobile banking. Please visit northisland.ccu.com for more information or follow the credit union on Instagram or Facebook @northislandcu.

SOURCE North Island Credit Union
BETHLEHEM, Pa., Feb. 6, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- It's sort of like a 21-gun salute at a funeral  but to honor the quiet heroism of nurses. It's called the Nightingale Tribute, performed by a Nurse Honor Guard.

St. Luke's University Health Network is first in the Lehigh Valley, Pa., to form a Nurse Honor Guard. In addition to the Nightingale Tribute, the Guard may also serve as honorary pallbearers, provide casket honors and perform the stirring graveside Final Call to Duty, extinguishing the flame of a Nightingale Lamp.

"I remember to this day how it resonated with me and its importance for any and all nurses to receive this beautiful service," recalls Snyder, a nurse at St. Luke's Carbon Campus. Inspired by that touching experience, she set out to develop the St. Luke's Nurses Honor Guard to honor those who have dedicated their lives to the nursing profession and given so much to serve their community.

Among the services now offered free of charge by the St. Luke's Nurses Honor Guard:

The Nightingale Tribute  Known as the "Lady with the Lamp," Florence Nightingale saved many wounded soldiers during the Crimean War, laying the foundation for professional nursing. During the services, a member of the Honor Guard reads the Nightingale Pledge and a nursing sonnet, then places the rose while saying the nurse's name.

saved many wounded soldiers during the Crimean War, laying the foundation for professional nursing. During the services, a member of the Honor Guard reads the Nightingale Pledge and a nursing sonnet, then places the rose while saying the nurse's name. Honorary Pallbearers  The Honor Guard may be requested to attend the visitation and/or funeral services to serve as honorary pallbearers.

Casket Honor Guard  The Honor Guard may be posted at the head of the casket, standing silently to give their last respects.

Final Call to Duty  The Final Call to Duty may be performed during the services or at the gravesite. During the Final Call to Duty, the Nightingale Lamp is lit in the nurse's honor, and the nurse's name is called out as a request to report to duty. After the third and final call, and with no response, the nurse is announced as retired and the lamp's flame is extinguished.

"This is one of the greatest community services I have been involved with, and we are most honored that it has St. Luke's University Health Network representation," Snyder says. "It brings their career in nursing full circle. A career in nursing starts by the honor we receive at the time of our capping or pinning at our nursing school graduation. It stays with us throughout our nursing career until the end, when the honor guard performs the final call to duty, which is unanswered. They are then relieved of their nursing duty to rest in peace."

About St. Luke's

Founded in 1872, St. Luke's University Health Network is a fully integrated, regional, non-profit network of more than 18,000 employees providing services at 14 campuses and 300+ outpatient sites. With annual net revenue of more than $3 billion, the Network's service area includes 11 counties in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. Dedicated to advancing medical education, St. Luke's is the preeminent teaching hospital in central-eastern Pennsylvania.

SOURCE St. Luke's University Health Network
RARE DISEASE DAY  February 28th, 2023

The diseases are rare, but they impact a lot of people : nearly 300 million people are affected worldwide[1].

CASTRES, France, Feb. 6, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- International Rare Disease Day will be held on February 28, an opportunity for the Pierre Fabre Group to reiterate its commitment in this area, in which it is essential to put concrete action plans in place covering the entire spectrum of care from diagnosis to treatment and access to quality health care. There are around 5,000 to 8,000 known rare diseases in the world today2, 95% of which do not yet have a treatment3.

In addition to oncology and dermatology, Pierre Fabre has been involved in pediatric diseases for several years now, developing specific therapies for that patient population, which requires adapted treatments. Examples include infantile hemangioma where a therapy has been approved since 2014 and, more recently, X-Linked Hypohidrotic Ectodermal Dysplasia (XLHED) with a therapy under development.

Finding a treatment for children with XLHED, with the EspeRare Foundation

The Pierre Fabre Group has recently committed, with the EspeRare Foundation, to the development of an innovative therapy for the most common type of Ectodermal Dysplasia, XLHED, a rare genetic disease that affects the sweat and respiratory glands, skin, hair and teeth. EDELIFE, a large-scale clinical study, involving women who are pregnant with a boy carrier of the disease gene, was launched in July 2022.

For more information:

https://edelifeclinicaltrial.com/

Article from the New England Journal of Medicine

"I hope he gets to have a more normal life than my dad. That he's not restricted, that he can get to play outside with his friends. I want him to be able to accomplish what he wants and not have that hurdle (of XLHED)."

"I feel so much gratitude for the people doing the research and putting things in place."

Emily, mother of a boy affected by XLHED and treated in utero.

For more information on the Pierre Fabre Group's other commitments in the fight against rare diseases, please consult the complete press release in the media area of the company's website : https://www.pierre-fabre.com/en/mediaroom

1 https://www.rarediseaseday.org/

2 https://www.ema.europa.eu/en/human-regulatory/overview/orphan-designation-overview

3 https://www.thelancet.com/journals/landia/article/PIIS2213-8587(19)30006-3/fulltext

Press contact:

Anne Kerveillant

[email protected]

Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1328780/Pierre_Fabre_Logo.jpg

SOURCE Pierre Fabre
Murad Honors Their Holistic Wellness Approach Through Active Minds Partnership

LOS ANGELES, Feb. 6, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Leading clinical skincare brand, Murad, is partnering with Active Minds, the nation's premier nonprofit supporting mental health awareness and education for young adults. This partnership honors brand founder, Dr. Howard Murad's mission to create products and experiences not only for healthier skin but for happier lives. 20 years ago in 2003, Dr. Murad coined the term 'Cultural Stress', the day-to-day stress of modern living as a major factor contributing to the chronic exhaustion and declining health of people of all ages, which has a significant impact on skin health. Since, he's been committed to conquering the global health epidemic of stress.

Active Minds

Active Minds directly reaches around two million people annually through awareness campaigns, events, advocacy, outreach and more to give young adults the tools needed to help manage their mental health and raise awareness of the importance of reducing stress. Inspired by Dr. Murad's lifelong commitment to science-backed wellness, and to celebrate the brand's 20th anniversary of bringing awareness to Cultural Stress, Murad is committed to supporting Active Minds in their bi-annual Stress Less Week program. Stress Less Week supplies education, tips and resources designed to help young adults better understand and mitigate stress while helping to shape a positive mental health culture among their community. It also spreads the message that speaking up about one's struggles is a sign of strength and promoting self-care as a priority. This initiative will come to life across college campuses nationwide from April 24-28 and October 23-27.

"Dr. Murad has always believed that stress isn't just something you feel. His understanding of how stress impacts skin health inspired the formulation of our stress-addressing skincare products; Eczema Control, Intense Recovery Cream, Revitalixir Recovery Serum, City Skin Age Defense SPF 50 and more. We believe in a holistic approach to skin health supported by our four founding pillars, as it's important to care for your physical, mental and emotional well-being. This partnership with Active Minds brings our purpose of combating the global health epidemic of stress together," said Paul Schiraldi, CEO of Murad.

"Stress is unavoidable, especially in today's world. But, there are many ways we all can help navigate stressors to minimize harm, both to ourselves and others. One of the ways we encourage stressing less at Active Minds is through our national Stress Less Week- where we work to promote mental wellness and stress relief on college campuses across the country through innovative programming, support, and increased access to resources," said Alison Malmon, Founder and Executive Director of Active Minds. "Our partnership with Murad will help ensure that even more young adults have access to these resources specifically designed to help them stress less and take care of their mental well-being."

Consumers will be able to learn more about the partnership on www.murad.com/activeminds and will have an option for in-cart donation upon checkout. 100% of donations through December 31, 2023 will go directly to Active Minds. To learn more about Murad, visit www.murad.com and follow along with the brand on TikTok and Instagram, @muradskincare. To learn more about Active Minds, visit www.activeminds.org.

About Murad

In 1989, dermatologist and pharmacist Dr. Howard Murad founded Murad, Inc., the first modern doctor brand of clinical skincare products, setting a new standard for high-performance skincare. For more than 30 years, Murad has been committed to developing clinically proven, cruelty-free products that meet the meticulous standards for safety, efficacy, and care you'd expect from a doctor.

About Active Minds

Active Minds is the nation's leading nonprofit organization promoting mental health awareness and education for young adults. Active Minds has a presence at more than 1,000 campuses, schools, communities, and workplaces nationwide, and is powered by a robust Chapter Network, the nationally acclaimed Send Silence Packing exhibit, and inspiring Active Minds Speakers. The organization is dedicated to ending the silence and changing the culture around mental health for everyone.

SOURCE Murad
Finance software startup Quartr signs an API deal with Nordnet, the leading online broker in the Nordic region, reaching their almost two million customers. The partnership grants Nordnet access to Quartr's database of earnings calls, slide decks, reports, and financial segment data, providing its customers with a strong foundation to make informed investment decisions. At the same time, this creates a much wider and completely new distribution channel for the information that public companies provide.

STOCKHOLM & NEW YORK, Feb. 6, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Quartr (www.quartr.com) has passed an additional milestone on its mission to bring the financial community closer together by signing yet another important API deal - this time with the leading online broker in the Nordic region. The partnership enables Nordnet's almost two million customers to access crucial information such as earnings calls, accompanying documents, reports, slide decks, and financial segment data directly through its online brokerage platform.

"This is a very encouraging partnership, both for us and for Nordnet's almost two million customers. First-party information is significantly more valuable than noisy news feeds with contradictory analyst comments - certainly if you want to make rational investment decisions. We are convinced that our API solution will be value-creating for both investors and online brokers worldwide, and not least for public companies, as this enables them to get their equity stories told to a much wider audience," comments Sami Osman, CEO & Co-founder of Quartr.

"The data that Quartr provide compliments Nordnet's offering in a great way and aligns well with our ambition of democratizing savings and investments. As the first bank in the Nordic region to implement Quartr's API, we are giving private investors access to data that previously has been hard to reach unless you are an asset manager or investment banker," comments Johan Tidestad, Chief Communications Officer at Nordnet.

Contact

Sami Osman, CEO & Co-founder, Quartr

[email protected]

The following files are available for download:

https://mb.cision.com/Main/21895/3709215/1826617.pdf Quartr and Nordnet - English https://news.cision.com/quartr/i/1156x708-quartr-nordnet,c3140718 1156x708 quartr nordnet https://news.cision.com/quartr/i/1156x1156-quartr-nordnet,c3140719 1156x1156 quartr nordnet https://news.cision.com/quartr/i/sami-osman-quartr-ceo,c3140720 Sami Osman Quartr CEO

SOURCE Quartr
Enabling Sales and Service for its High-Speed Reducers in North America

ELGIN, Ill., Feb. 6, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Radicon Drive Systems (https://us.radicon.com) and Artec Machine Systems (https://www.artec-machine.com) have entered into a definitive agreement to serve customers seeking high-speed power transmission solutions in the United States, Canada, and Mexico. As per the agreement, Radicon, an Elecon Group Company, and Artec Machine Systems will collaborate to leverage the skills required to deliver state-of-the-art high-speed reducers with reliable services for clients throughout North America.

"Radicon highly engineered products are designed and built in India by the parent Elecon Engineering Company", said General Manager Hitesh Patel of Radicon Drive Systems based in Elgin, IL. "This partnership enables us to leverage our production skills with Artec's proficiency to serve customers seeking high-speed power transmission solutions in North America."

"Artec has been in business for five decades, having delivered engineered gears, that required unique solutions for high-speed applications", said John Amendola III, President of Artec Machine Systems based in North Branford, CT. "Artec's experience with high-speed gears, combined with Elecon's production capacity will enable us to deliver a dependable one-stop product to clients seeking such solutions in high-speed power transmission applications."

Elecon (https://www.elecon.com), based in India, manufactures all its gear units under one-roof, from design to gear-cutting, heat-treat, painting and final performance testing, assuring more dependable in quality in the product which in turn results in a greater return on investment for customers in United States, Canada, and Mexico.

About Radicon Drive Systems, Inc.

Radicon provides sales and service for various industrial power transmission products, from geared motors to industrial, planetary and worm reducers, couplings and more. It offers highly dependable and cost-effective solutions for Cement, Mining, Steel, Sugar, Material Handling, and other power intensive industries. Radicon is a US subsidiary of the Elecon Engineering Company, India, and is based in Elgin, Illinois.

About Artec Machine Systems, Inc.

Artec Machine has been trusted for engineering design, parts, field repair and maintenance of all types of heavy gear systems. It specializes in delivering customized power transmission solutions; from repair, rebuild and assembly of industrial gearboxes, testing, complete overhaul besides any emergency field service. Artec, was established in 1972 and is based in North Branford, Connecticut.

Media Contact:

JoAnn Stockdale

[email protected]

(847) 380-1220

https://us.radicon.com

Ahmet Kupeli

[email protected]

(203) 484-2002

https://www.artec-machine.com

SOURCE Radicon Drive Systems, Inc.
Follows exponential growth led by the expansion of consumer and health units

MIAMI, Feb. 6, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Republica Havas, a leading cross-cultural creative, media, and communications agency, and Republica Havas Health, a global health equity and wellness agency in partnership with Havas Health & You, announced the promotions of three key leaders to the role of Managing Director. The promotions follow an unprecedented year of business growth.

From left to right: Alexis Regalado, Marcela Maurer, Vanessa Bolanos

Marcela Maurer, Managing Director, Republica Havas

Promoted from Vice President and Group Account Director to Managing Director, Maurer will now lead account management across Republica Havas. Joining the agency in 2021, she spearheads the Baptist Health client partnership, and her previous client experience includes account leadership roles at such agencies as Ogilvy and Grey.

Vanessa Bolanos, Managing Director, Republica Havas Health

Bolanos' role expands from Vice President, Group Account Director to Managing Director, Republica Havas Health. As Managing Director, she will help lead the vision and growth of the new health equity and wellness division created in partnership with Havas Health & You. Initially joining the agency in 2012 as an Account Director, she returned in 2019 to lead the development of Republica Havas' health and wellness division.

Alexis Regalado, Managing Director, Republica Havas Group

Most recently Group Account Director, Regalado will now be charged with integration across Republica Havas Group and will help build partnerships and growth opportunities within the Havas Villages and offices in North America and beyond. With nearly six years at Republica Havas, she has been integral in developing and growing key clients, including Azamara, White Claw Hard Seltzer, and AARP, to name a few.

"Marcela, Vanessa, and Alexis are outstanding examples of our amazing top-tier talent and leaders," said Jorge A. Plasencia, Co-founder, Chairman and CEO, Republica Havas Group. "We are thrilled to unleash the unlimited potential of these leaders by elevating them to Managing Director, giving them the proper runway to accomplish even more."

Since its start in 2006, Republica Havas has sought to decode deep cultural insights, connecting brands with diverse communities through a culture-forward, social-first approach.

This approach has been pivotal in growing the agency to a roster of more than 30 brands across consumer, health, and social impact clients, with a range of segment-specific and mainstream assignments.

"These promotions are an incredibly well-deserved recognition of collaboration, talent and tenacity at the highest levels, helping to fuel the unprecedented growth of the last three years," said Anthony Bianco, Executive Vice President and General Manager of Republica Havas Group. "We have no doubt the best is yet to come in their expanded roles."

ABOUT REPUBLICA HAVAS GROUP

Republica Havas Group is a global communications company that includes Republica Havas, a leading cross-cultural creative, media, and communications agency, and Republica Havas Health, a health equity and wellness agency in partnership with Havas Health & You. Founded in 2006 in Miami, Florida, Republica Havas Group provides integrated services, including strategy, creative, media planning and buying, analytics and consumer science, digital marketing, public relations, social impact, and events and experiences to Fortune 500 and blue-chip clients. The agency has achieved National Minority Supplier Development Council's (NMSDC) Corporate Plus designation, recognizing certified minority businesses of the highest caliber. As the lead global multicultural partner of Havas Group, a subsidiary of Paris-based Vivendi, the company's employees represent over 25 nationalities. For more information, visit republicahavas.com and follow @republicahavas on social media.

SOURCE Republica Havas
Zanzibar  NEWLY established Zanzibar Seaweed Company (ZASCO) has secured the market for the Ulva seaweed variety, which was previously disregarded as waste and environmental nuisance.

ZASCO Director General Dr Masoud Rashid Mohammed said here over the weekend that the company has since September last year spent over 960m/- in the purchase of 1,200 tonnes at 800/- per kilogramme.

"Besides boosting the incomes of about 10,000 Zanzibaris, the business has helped to address the environmental challenges at our beaches," Dr Masoud told the Daily News, noting that the self-grown seaweed had always been an environmental bother along the beaches.

Ulva Lactuca is considered one of the most useful seaweeds, and its applications include applications in food, agriculture, pharmacology and medicine, the common name is sea lettuce-because of its appearance.

Ulva is considered a good source of nutrition. It contains high amounts of cobalamin, or vitamin B12, which plays an important role in maintaining the homeostasis of the brain and nervous system, as well as the formation of blood.

He said there is an investor who has expressed interest to invest in an Ulva processing plant in Zanzibar.

And, hardly a year since it started business in April last year, Dr Masoud said, ZASCO has influenced seaweed price hike of between 17 and 43 per cent to 2,100/- per kilogramme.

"We have experienced price rise albeit small even before we embark on domestic processing," Dr Masoud said, assuring that after completion of the multi-billion processing plant in Chamanangwe, Pemba, seaweed prices will skyrocket further.

Since ZASCO entered the seaweed buying business, the price of spinosum seaweed has risen by 43 per cent from 700/- to 1,000/- per kg while the cottonii variety's has increased to 2,100/- from the previous 1,800/- per kg, a 17 per cent rise.

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Dr Masoud said the 30-tonne capacity processing plant will transform the seaweed industry in the country into a money-minting undertaking.

"Seaweed farming is soon becoming the most lucrative business, with ZASCO being among the giant companies in Zanzibar," he said.

He challenged the private players in the industry to embrace value addition, which is the focus of the government.

"ZASCO has its doors open to all stakeholders who are willing to work together in value addition," he said.

ZASCO, the brain-child of President Hussein Mwinyi, is registered as a public company whose key task is to manage the seaweed business in the country. it was registered last January.

Zanzibar Social Security Fund is the major shareholder with over 50 per cent shares while Zanzibar Insurance Corporation and Zanzibar Ports.

Corporation control 26 and 11 per cent, respectively. Zanzibar State Trading Corporation controls the remaining shares.

President Mwinyi has since his election to the highest office in the land in October 2020 remained keen on seaweed, devising various measures to boost the production and marketing of the oceanic produce.

He has put special emphasis on domestic processing, arguing that there is no miracle to pay high prices to farmers in the absence of "our own processing plants."

Dr Mwinyi says the government is embracing spice farming, which he appreciates as highly lucrative and fits well in Zanzibar's limited land.

The Chamanangwe plant whose construction work is in speedy progress is perceived as the panacea to the seaweed price challenges in the country.
NEW YORK, Feb. 6, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- RightMove Powered by HSS, a nationwide provider of virtual musculoskeletal physical therapy co-founded by Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS) and Flare Capital Partners, has appointed former Walmart Health executive Marcus Osborne to be its Chief Executive Officer.

RightMove, which was announced in October and will launch mid-2023, also announced that leading venture capital firms Frist Cressey Ventures and Greycroft have joined HSS and Flare Capital Partners in its Series A financing.

RightMove Powered by HSS, a nationwide provider of virtual musculoskeletal physical therapy co-founded by Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS) and Flare Capital Partners, appoints Marcus Osborne to be its Chief Executive Officer.

Specialized in musculoskeletal health for 160 years, HSS is the world's leading academic medical center dedicated to the field, ranked #1 in orthopedics worldwide by Newsweek and nationwide by U.S. News & World Report. Half of all U.S. adults experience musculoskeletal health-related issues leading to an annual national health expenditure of over $380 billion USD, and rising. Access to high-quality physical therapy has been shown to reduce unnecessary surgeries, injections, emergency room visits, and imaging - resulting in better outcomes at a lower cost for patients, employers and payors.

"RightMove connects the world's largest concentration of knowledge and expertise in musculoskeletal health that is HSS to the enormous need for better quality diagnosis and treatment at population scale," said HSS CEO Louis A. Shapiro. "Marcus Osborne, Frist Cressey Ventures and Greycroft each bring to this their own singular strengths and together with Flare Capital Partners, we can positively transform quality and performance for millions nationwide."

For 15 years, Mr. Osborne played a key role in Walmart's push into healthcare. Announcing his move from Walmart last year, he said: "I'm not done trying to do what I can to make things a little betterI'm just going to do it while on a different path." Mr. Osborne's official start date as CEO of RightMove Powered by HSS is February 13.

Since the October announcement of the independent for-profit company's formation and Series A financing, Amy Fahrenkopf, MD, Senior Vice President of HSS and President of HSS Health, has served as interim CEO of RightMove. "We are delighted and encouraged to have secured both the iconic leadership of Marcus Osborne and partnerships with visionary investors Frist Cressey Ventures and Greycroft, particularly in the context of a challenging capital market," said Dr. Fahrenkopf.

Prior to earning his MBA at Harvard in 2007, Mr. Osborne completed an internship at The White House and served as Chief Financial Officer of the Clinton Foundation's HIV/AIDS Initiative. Since leaving as Senior Vice President of Walmart Health, Mr. Osborne has joined the Board of Directors of five early stage wellness and healthcare companies and serves as Executive Chairman of one of those.

"The number of Americans dealing with chronic musculoskeletal issues is staggering," said Marcus Osborne. "The opportunity to work with a best-in-class institution in HSS and phenomenal investors in Flare Capital Partners, Frist Cressey Ventures and Greycroft to deliver a next-generation solution to market to help address this massive problem is one that I'm enormously excited by."

Co-founded by former U.S. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, MD, and private equity pioneer Bryan Cressey, Frist Cressey Ventures is a venture capital firm with a mission of transforming healthcare to improve lives. "We don't believe that the status quo of musculoskeletal care available to the average American is good enough," said Navid Farzad, Partner at Frist Cressey Ventures. "We're grateful to be a part of the RightMove team and bring the world-class clinical excellence in musculoskeletal care at HSS to more people."

Greycroft's portfolio spans investments in a broad range of internet sectors, with companies headquartered in 19 countries. It concentrates on long-term, values-based opportunities with businesses committed to teamwork. "At Greycroft, we look to invest in areas like health tech that are rapidly evolving. In particular, we see an immediate opportunity to transform how MSK care is delivered and experienced. HSS is the premiere center for musculoskeletal health and we are thrilled to leverage their clinical expertise and data-driven approach to bring an innovative solution like RightMove to market," said Greycroft Partner Ellie Wheeler.

About HSS

HSS is the world's leading academic medical center focused on musculoskeletal health. At its core is Hospital for Special Surgery, nationally ranked No. 1 in orthopedics (for the 13th consecutive year), No. 3 in rheumatology by U.S. News & World Report (2022-2023), and the best pediatric orthopedic hospital in NY, NJ and CT by U.S. News & World Report "Best Children's Hospitals" list (2022-2023). In a survey of medical professionals in more than 20 countries by Newsweek, HSS is ranked world #1 in orthopedics for a third consecutive year (2023). Founded in 1863, the Hospital has the lowest complication and readmission rates in the nation for orthopedics, and among the lowest infection rates. HSS was the first in New York State to receive Magnet Recognition for Excellence in Nursing Service from the American Nurses Credentialing Center five consecutive times. An affiliate of Weill Cornell Medical College, HSS has a main campus in New York City and facilities in New Jersey, Connecticut and in the Long Island and Westchester County regions of New York State, as well as in Florida. In addition to patient care, HSS leads the field in research, innovation and education. The HSS Research Institute comprises 20 laboratories and 300 staff members focused on leading the advancement of musculoskeletal health through prevention of degeneration, tissue repair and tissue regeneration. The HSS Innovation Institute works to realize the potential of new drugs, therapeutics and devices. The HSS Education Institute is a trusted leader in advancing musculoskeletal knowledge and research for physicians, nurses, allied health professionals, academic trainees, and consumers in more than 145 countries. The institution is collaborating with medical centers and other organizations to advance the quality and value of musculoskeletal care and to make world-class HSS care more widely accessible nationally and internationally. www.hss.edu .

About Flare Capital Partners

Flare Capital Partners strives to help build significant healthcare technology, digital health, and healthcare services companies to improve health outcomes and broaden access while lowering costs of care. We partner with inspirational entrepreneurs who seek to transform the business of healthcare by developing innovative and impactful products and services. Flare Capital Partners is a team of proven healthcare technology investors and senior operating executives known for thought leadership and unparalleled strategic industry resources. Our firm has raised some of the industry's largest dedicated venture capital funds focused on early-stage opportunities in healthcare technology innovation, and our investors include leading healthcare companies, major institutional investors, important family offices, foundations, and sovereign wealth funds. We support portfolio companies over the entire company-building journey. Select portfolio companies include Aetion, Aspen RxHealth, Bright Heath, Cayaba Care, Circulation, Cohere Health, Eden Health, HealthVerity, Inbound Health, Iora Health, Oshi Health, Somatus, and VisitPay. The firm has developed the very successful Flare Scholar program with over 300 participants who have already gone on to sponsor 15 pre-seed companies. Additionally, the firm actively leverages its extended industry network, Executive Partners, and Industry Advisory Board for the benefit of the entrepreneurs and founders with whom it is privileged to partner. Learn more at www.flarecapital.com and follow the firm on Twitter @flarecapital

SOURCE Hospital for Special Surgery
CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Feb. 6, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Robert L. Doyle, MD, is being recognized by Continental Who's Who as a Top Pinnacle Provider for his contributions in the Child and Adolescent Psychiatry field.

Robert L. Doyle, MD

Dr. Doyle earned Bachelor of Science degrees in both Microbiology and Zoology and a Bachelor of Arts in Fine Arts from Louisiana State University. He earned a Doctor of Dental Surgery degree from the Louisiana State University School of Dentistry. He then earned his medical degree from the Louisiana State University Medical Center and his Master of Arts degree in Humanities from the Louisiana State University Graduate School. He completed his residency in psychiatry in 1996 and his fellowship in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center in 1998. He completed an additional fellowship in psychosomatic medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital in 1999. The doctor is board-certified in psychiatry, child, and adolescent psychiatry by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology (ABPN). According to Dr. Doyle, the ABPN is a not-for-profit corporation dedicated to serving the professions of psychiatry and neurology.

Dr. Doyle maintained an outpatient practice at Massachusetts General Hospital and McLean Hospital while focusing on research. He spent five years working with faculty and staff at Harvard University Health Services before changing direction to primarily inpatient child and adolescent psychiatry. He has extensive experience treating ADHD mood disorders and anxiety disorders as a clinical researcher in the Pediatric Psychopharmacology Research Unit at Massachusetts General Hospital. Dr. Doyle is the Assistant Medical Director of the McLean-Franciscan Child and Adolescent Inpatient Program and works part-time as an Instructor in Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School.

Dr. Doyle knew he wanted to be in the medical field from a young age and began his service as a dentist for four years. He then decided to return to school and become a psychiatrist. According to the doctor, he is passionate about his work and does research in many areas, including how inflammation affects the body.

Dr. Doyle is on the editorial board of The International Journal of Immunology and Pharmacology, recently cited as one of Italy's top ten scientific journals. In his first two years of practice at Mass General and McLean Hospital, he was honored with three Mass General Brigham in Excellence Awards.

In his spare time, Dr. Doyle enjoys design, such as architecture and interior design.

For more information, visit www.mcleanhospital.org/profile/robert-doyle.

Contact:

Katherine Green

516-825-5634

[email protected]

SOURCE Continental Who's Who
LadderUp launches for local retailers in Atlanta, Birmingham, Detroit, Houston and Washington, D.C. providing business owners with capital, e-commerce-focused technical assistance, and education from industry leaders

BIRMINGHAM, Ala., Feb. 6, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Applications opened today for LadderUp, an innovative new accelerator program from retail technology company Shipt that will equip local retailers with tools needed to thrive in an ever-evolving marketplace. The program builds upon a set of commitments announced at the White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health to expand access to food in underserved communities, particularly for those with mobility or transportation barriers.

LadderUp will support local economies by helping local small businesses, especially ones owned by LGBTQ+ people and people of color, grow and compete by providing capital, e-commerce-focused technical assistance, and education from industry leaders to businesses around the country. In line with their commitment to level the economic playing field for Black and other underrepresented populations, Shipt aims to have at least 50% of the businesses in LadderUp to be LGBTQ+ and BIPOC-owned.

"As a growing tech company that is putting food insecurity and equity at the forefront of its work, Shipt is proud to announce the launch of LadderUp," said Kamau Witherspoon, CEO of Shipt. "Working with small businesses to build up their capabilities is a key part of our commitment to help create healthier, more resilient and equitable communities. We recognize the unique role that we can play in both combating hunger in under-resourced communities and boosting small, local retailers that are so vital to communities across our country."

LadderUp applications are open today, February 6, through March 6, 2023, and small businesses in five cities can apply to be part of the program: Atlanta; Birmingham, AL; Detroit; Houston; and Washington, D.C. This opportunity is open to grocery/beverage, health, beauty, and floral/gifts retailers. If selected, small business owners will go through an extensive 8 week course learning from retail industry leaders on driving sustainable growth, building financial foundation, building efficiency, marketing, e-commerce 101, using Shipt, and the basic legal knowledge needed to run a business.

Upon completion of the program, retailers will have in-depth industry knowledge to help them navigate and understand trends in the evolving e-commerce landscape. Additionally, Shipt will provide each participating retailer who completes the LadderUp program $5,000 to help invest in their e-commerce. Shopify, a leading e-commerce company, is partnering with Shipt to teach a course in the program and provide no-cost access to their platform to help retailers build an online storefront, streamline operations, and optimize inventory tracking.

"At Shopify, our mission is to make commerce better for everyone," said Crystal Hunt, Shopify Sr. Program Manager of Partnerships Diversity & Belonging. "To achieve this mission we must bring more voices to entrepreneurship. Together with Shipt, we are reducing the unique barriers facing underrepresented business owners. Through this partnership we will create community and opportunity for the change makers, disruptors and creators of tomorrow, because we know the success of a single entrepreneur can create a legacy, power communities and inspire the world."

The LadderUp program builds on Shipt's existing work designed to support the communities in which it operates and serves. In 2022, Shipt awarded nearly $250,000 in microgrants to organizations who focused on food insecurity, economic disparities and youth workforce development. Shipt works with national partners such as Feeding America, American Red Cross and United Way to help funding go even further in the communities that need it the most.

More information is also available at Shipt.com/LadderUp .

ABOUT SHIPT

Through easy-to-use technology and a network of reliable workers, Shipt connects personal shopping and delivery to 80% of households in more than 5,000 U.S. cities. Shipt's app and website offer consumers access to a variety of stores and product categories including fresh foods, household essentials, wellness products, office and pet supplies. Shipt also helps power deliveries for retailers on orders placed on their own websites by leveraging Shipt Driven, a delivery-only last-mile offering. Shoppers and drivers on the Shipt platform are known for reliability and going above and beyond, including communicating in real time about preferences and substitutions. Shipt is an independently operated, wholly owned subsidiary of Target Corp. Founded and headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama, Shipt also maintains an office in San Francisco. For more information, visit Shipt's Newsroom.

SOURCE Shipt
STOCKHOLM, Feb. 6, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Skanska has signed a contract with the College of William and Mary to build a science center in Williamsburg, Virginia, USA. The contract is worth USD 79.5M, about SEK 830M, which will be included in the US order bookings for the first quarter of 2023.

The project includes construction of a new 38,000 square meter cutting-edge multi-function teaching and research facility and renovation of the existing 3,000 square meter science center.

The project will accommodate Mathematics, Computer Science, Kinesiology and the new Design and Engineering undergraduate program. The science programs will be in conjoined space to promote Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) initiatives in the state-of-the-art laboratories and teachings spaces designed for instruction and research.

Construction begins February 2023 and is slated for completion July 2025.

For further information please contact:



Ashley Jeffery,

Communications Manager,

Skanska Building USA,

tel +1 (813) 459 3682



Matti Kataja,

Acting Head of Media Relations and Public Affairs,

Skanska AB,

tel +46 (0)10 449 67 98



Direct line for media, tel +46 (0)10 448 88 99

This and previous releases can also be found at www.skanska.com.

The following files are available for download:

https://mb.cision.com/Main/95/3708823/1825529.pdf 20230206 US Science Center

SOURCE Skanska
According to a survey of autoimmune specialists, in the first week of launch, aided awareness of Amjevita is high, but willingness to prescribe is lacking.

EXTON, Pa., Feb. 6, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- AbbVie's Humira (adalimumab) is the world's best selling drug, but the entry of biosimilar challengers, with Amgen's Amjevita being the first of many more to come, is poised to put a dent in that title. Fortunately for AbbVie, stellar launches of other agents such as Rinvoq (upadacitinib) and Skyrizi (risankizumab), has kept the titan on top as the leading player in the autoimmune space.

Biosimilars are not new in the United States, or in the autoimmune markets. Beginning in 2016, biosimilar agents to Janssen's Remicade (Pfizer's Inflectra, Merck's Renflexis, and Amgen's Avsola) hit the market, resulting in not only erosion to branded Remicade share, but an overall dip in infliximab use. The difference with the adalimumab biosimilar entry is the sheer size of the Humira market, the strategic blocking of adalimumab biosimilars to date, and the vast number of challengers expected to enter the race with some anticipated to bring significant promotional muscle.

Amgen has a short window of opportunity as the only adalimumab biosimilar, and that window closes in July 2023 when potentially seven more adalimumab competitors could enter the market. Achieving preferred access with managed care plans will be key in such a crowded market, but Amgen is also betting that they can glean a competitive edge by leveraging their reputation in the autoimmune space (the company also markets Enbrel and Otezla) and supporting Amjevita with strong promotion and patient support.

Spherix surveyed 78 rheumatologists, dermatologists, and gastroenterologists last Friday, following the first week of Amjevita's launch. Unaided awareness of Amjevita was low, but aided awareness was high, with roughly three in four physicians reporting knowledge of the launch. Most learned about Amjevita via online news feeds or colleagues, few have had interaction with a sales representative; though respondents largely agree that they have increased confidence in Amjevita since Amgen is the manufacturer.

Unsurprisingly, specialists are more willing to use Amjevita in biologic-naive patients as opposed to switching patients who are stable on Humira. The majority agree that they will not use the product unless payers mandate it; only about 10% indicate they will prescribe Amjevita outright. While cost (to the system, to the patient) is a motivator to use biosimilars, there is barely any understanding among physicians of the cost and/or price of Amjevita. Most have expectations, however, that it will be at a discount to branded Humira. Of note, gastroenterologists appear to be slightly more receptive to Amjevita than their dermatology and rheumatology counterparts, as evidenced by increased willingness to outright prescribe the biosimilar or at least not specifically continuing to prescribe branded Humira.

Throughout 2023, Spherix will be tracking the evolution of the adalimumab (and broader US biosimilar) market via the Special Topix: Biosimilars Today and Tomorrow series. Through partnership with Spherix's vast network of dermatologists, rheumatologists, and gastroenterologists, Spherix will collect monthly data on awareness, familiarity, use and uptake, timeline to trial, promotional effort, managed care trends, and projected use. On a quarterly basis, the company will conduct a deep dive into barriers, promotion, patient types, patient engagement, the auto-immune biosimilar pipeline, and the managed care experience from the perspective of both physicians and biologic-coordinators who are on the front line of prior authorizations and managed care navigation. As additional biosimilars enter the market in July (Boehringer Ingelheim's Cyltezo, Samsung Bioepis/Organon's Hadlima, and Coherus' Yusimry, as well as several potential additional assets), Spherix will also explore differentiation between biosimilar brands.

About Special Topix

Special Topix  is an independent service that includes access to a report or series of reports based on current events or topics of interest in specialty markets covered by Spherix.

About Spherix Global Insights

Spherix Global Insights is a leading provider of market research, business intelligence and advisory services to the global life sciences industry. The company's unique service offerings are powered by deep therapeutic knowledge, the Spherix Network specialty physician panel, and commercially relevant analyses to enable strategic decision-making by our valued customers.

A trusted advisor and industry thought leader, Spherix Global Insights provides specialized market expertise in six (6) focused therapeutic areas including: dermatology, gastroenterology, nephrology, neurology, rheumatology and ophthalmology.

To learn more about Spherix Global Insights, visit spherixglobalinsights.com or connect through LinkedIn and Twitter.

Spherix Global Insights Contacts:

Chrystal Ferguson, Insights Director, Ophthalmology

[email protected]

Scott Upham, Corporate Communications

[email protected]

NOTICE: All company, brand or product names in this press release are trademarks of their respective holders. The findings and opinions expressed within are based on Spherix Global Insights analysis and do not imply a relationship with or endorsement by any company, brand, or product aforementioned.

SOURCE Spherix Global Insights
North Carolina Wealth Advisor Continues Commitment to Financial Education and Empowerment for Women Investors

CHAPEL HILL, N.C., Feb. 6, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Stearns Financial Group , a Registered Investment Advisory firm based in North Carolina and serving clients nationwide, announced today that Senior Wealth Management Advisor Haleh Moddasser, CPA has published Gray Divorce, Silver Linings: A Woman's Guide to Divorce After 50 (second edition) . The new book reflects changes in tax law implemented through the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA).

"Data shows that 66 percent of the time grey divorces are being initiated by women," explains Moddasser. "However, unless you're Melinda Gates or MacKenzie Bezos, getting a divorce after 50 can be devastating on a woman's financial security," explains Moddasser.

"...getting a divorce after 50 can be devastating on a woman's financial security," explains Haleh Moddasser Tweet this

Moddasser writes from experience with her own divorce journey plus over a decade of advising Boomer-age women, to provide a step-by-step guide to help women avoid the pitfalls of gray divorce, secure their financial futures, and move forward in life as confident investors.

PAY ATTENTION TO THE TAXES

When both parties are retired or near retirement, the division of assets in a gray divorce can be challenging. Adding to the complexity, the TCJA's biggest impact on divorce proceedings involves how alimony is taxed: It is no longer deductible for the person paying it, and no longer claimed as income for the person receiving it.

Divorces finalized before tax changes took effect are grandfathered in under the old rules. However, any change to that agreement could trigger adherence to the new laws.

Moddasser urges women to remember the impact of taxes during the division of all property, because what may look equal on paper could turn out to be significantly unequal when those assets are taxed. For example, an IRA and a Roth IRA both have $50,000; the Roth is actually worth more because the taxes have already been paid.

"Once, a woman came to me after settling for a $1 million lump sum from her divorce  an amount equal to what her husband was receiving," says Moddasser. "What she didn't realize, however, is that her portion had never been taxed, while his portion had. In effect, hers was worth about 30% less than $1M, which made it impossible for her to keep the home she wanted. Sadly, taxes are rarely top of mind during negotiations, which is why it is so beneficial to have the right team in place  each member with their own area of expertise supporting you through the process."

Gray Divorce, Silver Linings: A Woman's Guide to Divorce After 50 (second edition) is available for purchase on Amazon.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR AND STEARNS FINANCIAL GROUP

Haleh Moddasser, CPA, is a partner and senior wealth advisor at Stearns Financial Group, a fee-only investment management firm located in Chapel Hill, NC. Moddasser also leads Stearns women's advisory practice where she focuses on issues surrounding women and finance, including sustainable investing as a tool for creating social change. She is the author of two books; Women On Top: Women, Wealth & Social Change (4/28/2017) and Gray Divorce, Silver Linings: A Woman's Guide to Divorce After 50, second edition (10/7/2022). Haleh speaks at local and national events and serves as a media resource on a wide range of financial topics. Learn more at StearnFinancial.com or HalehModdasserAuthor.com .

Journalists who would like to receive a copy of the book for review can contact Karen Embry at [email protected] .

MEDIA CONTACT:

Karen Embry

Impact Communications

913-649-5009

[email protected]

Stearns Financial Group (SFG) is registered with Hightower Advisors, LLC, a registered investment advisor with the SEC. Advisory services are offered through Hightower Advisors, LLC. This is not an offer to buy or sell securities. No investment process is free of risk, and there is no guarantee that the investment process or the investment opportunities referenced herein will be profitable. Past performance is not indicative of current or future performance and is not a guarantee. The investment opportunities referenced herein may not be suitable for all investors. All data and information referenced herein are from sources believed to be reliable. Any opinions, news, research, analyses, prices, or other information contained in this research is provided as general market commentary, it does not constitute investment advice. SFG and Hightower shall not in any way be liable for claims, and make no expressed or implied representations or warranties as to the accuracy or completeness of the data and other information, or for statements or errors contained in or omissions from the obtained data and information referenced herein. The data and information are provided as of the date referenced. Such data and information are subject to change without notice. This is for informational purposes only; the opinions expressed are solely those of SFG and do not represent those of Hightower Advisors, LLC, or any of its affiliates. Hightower Advisors, LLC is a SEC registered investment advisor. Securities are offered through Hightower Securities, LLC member FINRA and SIPC. Hightower Advisors, LLC or any of its affiliates do not provide tax or legal advice. This material is not intended or written to provide and should not be relied upon or used as a substitute for tax or legal advice. Information contained herein does not consider an individual's or entity's specific circumstances or applicable governing law, which may vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction and be subject to change. Clients are urged to consult their tax or legal advisor for related questions.

SOURCE Stearns Financial Group
BOSTON, Feb. 6, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Appfire , an enterprise collaboration software company that enables teams to plan and deliver their best work, today announced that CRN , a brand of The Channel Company , has recognized Colin Puckett, senior vice president of global channel and field operations at Appfire, on its 2023 Channel Chiefs list. Every year, this list honors the IT channel executives who work tirelessly to advance the channel agenda and deliver successful channel partner programs and strategies.

Puckett leads a global team at Appfire, driving growth and expansion by working with channel partners to engage with prospects, communicating the value proposition of the company's products and increasing penetration within existing enterprise customers. Appfire does not have a direct sales team  instead, the company's channel partners are the primary point of contact for customers and drive the company's sales function. In less than one year, Puckett grew the purpose-built channel program that helped Appfire achieve record growth and eclipse more than $150 million in Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR) in 2022.

"I am immensely proud of my 28-person team that builds collaborative, customer-centric channel partner relationships and programs to multiply the impact that Appfire's suite of products can have for enterprise customers. This award is a testament to the dedication of our team," said Colin. "As many companies navigate economic uncertainty, I firmly believe that our talented partners and team will weather the storm as we make our solutions-based selling model even more efficient and deliver a best-in-class customer experience."

"Driven by Colin's visionary foresight and skilled direction, Appfire has seen exceptional growth, and I am thrilled to see him receive well-deserved industry recognition," said Randall Ward, co-founder and CEO of Appfire. "Our team works closely with partners to stay ahead of customer pain points by identifying emerging trends and developing trusted solutions to make work flow. The Appfire channel program remains pivotal to our future."

The 2023 Channel Chiefs have helped their solution provider partners and customers navigate an increasingly complex landscape of interconnected challenges and shifting industry dynamics. With the innovative strategies, programs, and partnerships of these Channel Chiefs in place, the solution provider community has continued to thrive.

The 2023 CRN Channel Chiefs were selected by the editorial staff based on their record of business innovation and dedication to the partner community. This year's list represents the top IT executives responsible for building a robust channel ecosystem.

"Once again, this year's list gives well-deserved recognition to the IT Channel Chiefs who are dedicated to driving the channel agenda and advocating for the development of strong channel partnerships," said Blaine Raddon, CEO of The Channel Company. "Under their exceptional leadership, influence, and innovation, the IT channel vendor community continues to deliver solutions and services that meet the rapidly evolving needs of their solution provider partners and their customers."

The 2023 CRN Channel Chiefs list will be featured in the February 2023 issue of CRN Magazine and online at www.CRN.com/ChannelChiefs .

About Appfire

Appfire is the leading enterprise collaboration software provider that makes work flow any way teams want to work, from planning to product ideation, to product development, project delivery, and beyond. Appfire gives teams the best solutions to enhance, augment, connect, and extend platforms like Atlassian, Salesforce, and Microsoft, enabling teams to thrive and do their best work together. Many of Appfire's popular software products are sold on the Atlassian Marketplace, where Appfire has the most widely adopted portfolio of Atlassian apps with 200,000+ active installations across tens of thousands of customers worldwide. Appfire's popular solutions help teams with Workflow & Automation, Product Portfolio Management, IT Service Management, Document Management, Business Intelligence and Reporting, Administrative Tools, Agile Tools, Developer Tools, Time Tracking, Publishing, and Visual Collaboration. Learn more at www.appfire.com.

About The Channel Company

The Channel Company enables breakthrough IT channel performance with our dominant media, engaging events, expert consulting and education, and innovative marketing services and platforms. As the channel catalyst, we connect and empower technology suppliers, solution providers, and end users. Backed by more than 30 years of unequaled channel experience, we draw from our deep knowledge to envision innovative new solutions for ever-evolving challenges in the technology marketplace. www.thechannelcompany.com

Follow The Channel Company: Twitter , LinkedIn, and Facebook .

 2023 The Channel Company, LLC. CRN is a registered trademark of The Channel Company, LLC. All rights reserved.

SOURCE Appfire
TECNO will launch its first foldable phone - PHANTOM V FOLD at MWC 2023

PHANTOM V Fold will be the world's first left-right foldable smartphone powered by MediaTek Dimensity 9000+ processor, unlocking incredible power and performance

LONDON, Feb. 6, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- TECNO, an innovative technology brand with operations in over 70 global markets, announced that its first-ever left-right foldable smartphone, the PHANTOM V Fold, will launch on February 28 at MWC Barcelona 2023. The device will be the world's first left-right foldable smartphone to be powered by MediaTek Dimensity 9000+ processor and will set a new standard for premium user experience with incredible performance capabilities.

PHANTOM V Fold is the worlds first left-right foldable smartphone to be equipped with MediaTek Dimensity 9000+ processor.

PHANTOM is a premium technology sub-brand of TECNO. Its growing range of genre-defining smartphones with phenomenal premium performance capabilities goes hand-in-hand with the continuous evolution of MediaTek's top-of-the-line 5G smartphone chipset. The development of ever more powerful processors enables PHANTOM to continue in its pursuit of even more premium performance and even greater technologies. As the world's first left-right foldable smartphone to be equipped with MediaTek Dimensity 9000+ processor, the two brands are pushing boundaries together to deliver the ultimate user experience.

"We are delighted to be marking another exciting and important milestone together with MediaTek with the launch of the PHANTOM V Fold. In developing the world's first left-right foldable smartphone to be equipped with MediaTek Dimensity 9000+ processor, we are underlining our firm belief in the ability of this partnership to continue delivering unparalleled experiences to our customers around the world." said Jack Guo, General Manager of TECNO.

MediaTek Dimensity 9000+ is a dual-5G processor with dual-SIM functionality customized for its large-screen design, boasting an overall AnTuTu test score of over 1.08 million points, one of only two processors in the world to exceed the one-million-point mark. While foldable devices often suffer from high power consumption due to their large-screen designs and customized functions, the MediaTek Dimensity 9000+ ensures remarkable performance with lower power consumption thanks to its advanced 4nm manufacturing process and architectural design. The device's sophisticated engineering provides users with a seamless experience when switching between the main and secondary screens, with easy multi-tasking between games and video playback.

"The MediaTek Dimensity 9000+ processor provides the foundation of excellent performance needed for the smartphones of today," said Finbarr Moynihan, Vice President, Corporate Marketing of MediaTek. "This chip enables TECNO to bring the PHANTOM V Fold to market with a powerful flagship experience, and we look forward to the continuation of this valuable collaboration."

TECNO and MediaTek's firm partnership extends to MWC Barcelona 2023, where there will be close interaction between the brands, while the groundbreaking new PHANTOM V Fold powered by MediaTek Dimensity 9000+ processor will also be officially launched at the event. Celebrating the best of TECNO's spirit of innovation, guests are invited to attend the official launch on February 28 at 15:30 in Hall 6, Theatre 1, Fira Gran Via.

To apply to attend the PHANTOM V Fold official launch, please visit:

https://www.mwcbarcelona.com/agenda/session/tecno-phantom-v-fold-global-launch

SOURCE TECNO
Expect more shareholder proposals, more big "A" activism, and less support for directors

NEW YORK, Feb. 6, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- A new report by The Conference Board forecasts that the 2023 proxy season is bound to be even more challenging than in previous years. The report identifies several factors that will contribute to a tumultuous season ahead, including:

The overall volume of shareholder proposals will likely continue to rise.

There will be an increase in "anti-ESG" proposals, which often ask for the same action as "pro-ESG" proposals but have different rationales and consequences if they are approved.

Asset managers have adopted policies that will lead to more votes against directors on, among other things, governance practices and problematic compensation packages.

Investors' diminishing tolerance for adjustments, discretion, and special grants in executive compensation is expected to result in lower levels of support for company say-on-pay proposals.

Big "A" shareholder activism is likely to rise, due in part to the current economic environment and the implementation of the SEC's universal proxy rule.

The insights on the 2023 proxy season are based on a review of management and shareholder proposals at Russell 3000 companies for (full years) 2021 and 2022, as well as recent discussions with leading US public companies and institutional investors with over $20 trillion in assets under management.

The Conference Board produced the study with ESG analytics firm, ESGAUGE, in collaboration with Russell Reynolds Associates and Rutgers University's Center for Corporate Law and Governance. Insights from the new analysis include:

1) Overall Takeaways: Shareholder Proposals

2022 saw a sharp rise in the volume of shareholder proposals in the Russell 3000.

E&S proposals drove the increase: In total, 871 proposals were filed in 2022 compared to 798 in 2021. And of the 871 proposals filed last year, 512 were E&S proposals.

In total, 871 proposals were filed in 2022 compared to 798 in 2021. And of the 871 proposals filed last year, 512 were E&S proposals.

E&S proposals saw high withdrawal levels: 34 percent of such proposals were withdrawn. At the same time, compared to 2021, E&S proposals were less likely to be omitted, a result of the SEC's Staff Guidance on the omission of certain types of shareholder proposals.

34 percent of such proposals were withdrawn. At the same time, compared to 2021, E&S proposals were less likely to be omitted, a result of the SEC's Staff Guidance on the omission of certain types of shareholder proposals.

Governance proposals were, yet again, most likely to come to a vote: 82 percent were voted on.

82 percent were voted on. Average support for shareholder proposals dipped to 31 percent in 2022 from 35 percent in 2021.

Driving the decrease: It is attributed to declining support for both governance and E&S proposals. In fact, average support in all E&S areas (including environmental, social, and human capital management proposals) declined compared to 2021.

The 2023 Proxy Season: What to Expect

"Declining average support for shareholder proposals on environmental and social topics is not a sign of ESG backlash but does reflect factors that could continue into 2023," said Merel Spierings, author of the report and researcher at The Conference Board ESG Center. "These include the nature of the proposals, especially those that are of lower quality, less relevant to the company's business, or reflect overreach by the proponent; the rationale offered by the proponent; the nature of the recipient, such as companies that already have strong ESG records; and investors seeking common ground with companies on E&S issues."

2) Governance Proposals: 2022 Highlights

In 2022, the number of filed and voted on governance proposals declined in the Russell 3000.

Governance proposals decreased: 272 proposals were filed versus 316 in 2021. Additionally, the number of proposals voted on dropped from 241 in 2021 to 222 proposals in 2022.

272 proposals were filed versus 316 in 2021. Additionally, the number of proposals voted on dropped from 241 in 2021 to 222 proposals in 2022.

Average support also declined but still surpassed that of E&S proposals : Average support decreased, going from 41 percent in 2021 to 37 percent in 2022. Still, more of such proposals passed compared to E&S proposals (15 percent versus 11 percent).

: Average support decreased, going from 41 percent in 2021 to 37 percent in 2022. Still, more of such proposals passed compared to E&S proposals (15 percent versus 11 percent). Proposals on special shareholder meetings surged.

A dramatic rise: Special shareholder meetings increased markedly from 37 in 2021 to 115 in 2022. Furthermore, a vast majority (96 percent) came to a vote.

Special shareholder meetings increased markedly from 37 in 2021 to 115 in 2022. Furthermore, a vast majority (96 percent) came to a vote.

Average support increased: The average support of these proposals also grew, from 34 percent in 2021 to 37 percent in 2022.

The average support of these proposals also grew, from 34 percent in 2021 to 37 percent in 2022.

Passage also increased: Whereas 4 proposals passed in 2021, 8 passed in 2022.

The 2023 Proxy Season: What to Expect

"It's important not to ignore the G in ESG. In fact, we expect that governance proposals will be both more likely to go to a shareholder voteand receive higher levels of support at annual meetingsthan environmental and social proposals," said Paul Washington, Executive Director of The Conference Board ESG Center. "Major institutional investors are taking a harder line on governance issues, such dual-class shares, staggered boards, over boarding, and board diversity. By contrast, as they are trying to separate the wheat from the chaff in environmental and social proposals, they are quite open to listening to companies explain the real-world implications of approving shareholder proposals in those areas."

3) Environmental Proposals: 2022 Highlights

In 2022, the number of environmental proposals filed and voted on increased sharply in the Russell 3000.

Environmental proposals surged: 2022 saw 146 proposals filed, compared to 85 in 2021. And 65 were voted on, compared to 31 in 2021.

2022 saw 146 proposals filed, compared to 85 in 2021. And 65 were voted on, compared to 31 in 2021.

Driving the increase: It was driven by climate-related proposals, of which 102 were filed.

It was driven by climate-related proposals, of which 102 were filed.

But average support declined: While more proposals passed compared to 2021, as a result of more proposals coming to a vote, average support declined, from 40 percent in 2021 to 34 percent in 2022.

While more proposals passed compared to 2021, as a result of more proposals coming to a vote, average support declined, from 40 percent in 2021 to 34 percent in 2022. Plastic pollution was the most successful environmental topic in terms of average support.

Average support dipped but was still higher than other E&S topics: Average support ticked down to 52 percent from 53 percent in 2021. Still, it was the only E&S topic receiving average majority support in 2022, compared to five topics in 2021.

2023 Proxy Season: What to Expect

"Climate-related proposals will likely continue being a dominant theme in 2023 but expect a growing number of proposals on certain other environmental topics," said Umesh Chandra, Executive Director of ESGAUGE. "Companies should anticipate increasing levels of shareholder proposals on issues such as biodiversity, plastic pollution, and deforestation."

4) Human Capital Management and Social Proposals: 2022 Highlights

Human Capital Management Proposals

In 2022, the number of human capital management proposals grew substantially, and more of such proposals came to a vote.

HCM proposals increased : 2022 saw 175 proposals filed compared to 134 in 2021. Among these proposals, 100 were voted on compared to 56 in 2021.

: 2022 saw 175 proposals filed compared to 134 in 2021. Among these proposals, 100 were voted on compared to 56 in 2021.

But relatively fewer proposals passed, and average support declined: 14 passed compared to 13 in 2021. Average support also dropped from 36 percent in 2021 to 27 percent in 2022.

14 passed compared to 13 in 2021. Average support also dropped from 36 percent in 2021 to 27 percent in 2022.

Proposals on racial equity and civil rights audits gained traction: 43 proposals were filed compared to 9 in 2021. And this year, 31 were voted on compared to 9 in 2021. Furthermore, last year's proposals were likely to go to a vote (72 percent) and received significant shareholder support (33 percent).

Social Proposals

In 2022, the number of social proposals increased. Compared to other E&S areas, these proposals came to a vote most frequently.

Social proposals rose: 2022 saw 191 social proposals filed compared to 176 in 2021. Moreover, 136 were voted on versus 98 in 2021.

2022 saw 191 social proposals filed compared to 176 in 2021. Moreover, 136 were voted on versus 98 in 2021.

But passage and average support declined: 5 proposals passed compared to 15 in 2021. Average support also dropped, from 28 percent in 2021 to 22 percent in 2022.

5 proposals passed compared to 15 in 2021. Average support also dropped, from 28 percent in 2021 to 22 percent in 2022. Shareholders' focus on corporate political activity continued.

Corporate political activity proposals increased: 98 proposals were filed compared to 75 in 2021. Among these proposals, 58 were voted on compared to 50 in 2021.

98 proposals were filed compared to 75 in 2021. Among these proposals, 58 were voted on compared to 50 in 2021.

Traditional lobbying proposals were most likely to come to a vote: As was the case in 2021, among corporate political activity proposals, those relating to traditional lobbying were most likely to come to a vote (76 percent).

As was the case in 2021, among corporate political activity proposals, those relating to traditional lobbying were most likely to come to a vote (76 percent).

The health-related lobbying proposal had a successful debut: New in 2022 was the proposal on health-related lobbying. The three proposals that went to a vote reached an average support of 42 percent.

New in 2022 was the proposal on health-related lobbying. The three proposals that went to a vote reached an average support of 42 percent.

That marks the third-highest level of average support for any E&S proposal, only behind plastic pollution and employee arbitration policy proposals.

2023 Proxy Season: What to Expect

"Although companies may choose to implement shareholder proposals that receive majority support, they will still want to keep a cost-benefit analysis in mind when doing so," said Merel Spierings, author of the report and researcher at The Conference Board ESG Center "For example, companies have invested substantial resources in producing reports on racial equity audits, only to find that the resulting report received little, if any reaction, including from the proponent and major investors who supported a shareholder proposal on the topic."

5) Management Proposals: 2022 Highlights

Director Elections

In 2022, average support for directors continued to decline in the Russell 3000.

Average support decreased slightly: Average support for directors dipped to 94 percent from 95 percent in 2021.

Average support for directors dipped to 94 percent from 95 percent in 2021.

As in prior years, directors at the smallest companies received the lowest average levels of support: Directors at companies with revenues under $1 billion received 90 percent average support, while directors at companies with revenues above $1 billion received 95 percent average support.

The 2023 Proxy Season: What to Expect

"Looking ahead, support for director elections will likely continue declining. In 2023, major institutional investors will not wait for a shareholder proposal to address governance topics," said Justus O'Brian, Co-Head, Board & CEO Advisory Partners of Russell Reynolds Associates. "Rather, companies whose governance practices are out of alignment with investor expectations will see a decline in support for incumbent directors even without a shareholder proposal on the ballot. These negative votes will likely concentrate on members of committees that areor should beresponsible for the subject matter."

Say-on-Pay

In 2022, average support for company say-on-pay proposals declined.

Average support decreased in the Russell 3000: It dipped to 89 percent from 90 percent in 2021.

It dipped to 89 percent from 90 percent in 2021.

The share of proposals receiving between 50 to 70 percent approval rate rose: The share increased from 4 percent in 2021 to 6 percent in 2022.

The share increased from 4 percent in 2021 to 6 percent in 2022.

70 percent often marks the threshold below which proxy advisors and investors more closely scrutinize companies' responsiveness to shareholder concerns.

The 2023 Proxy Season: What to Expect

"In the upcoming proxy season, the levels of support for say-on-pay proposals will continue declining. The number of companies receiving a negative say-on-pay vote will likely further increase, especially at companies that are not providing sufficient context and detail on executive compensation decisions," said Matteo Gatti from Rutgers Law School's Center for Corporate Law and Governance. "Moreover, investors' tolerance for adjustments to programs is diminishing, making them more likely to vote against say-on-pay proposals."

About The Conference Board ESG Center

The Conference Board ESG Center serves as a resource, platform, and partner to help Member companies address their priorities in corporate governance, sustainability, and citizenship. www.conferenceboard.org/esg

About The Conference Board

The Conference Board is the member-driven think tank that delivers trusted insights for what's ahead. Founded in 1916, we are a non-partisan, not-for-profit entity holding 501 (c) (3) tax-exempt status in the United States.

www.conferenceboard.org

About ESGAUGE

ESGAUGE is a data mining and analytics firm uniquely designed for the corporate practitioner and the professional service firm seeking customized information on U.S. public companies. It focuses on disclosure of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) practices such as executive and director compensation, board practices, CEO and NEO profiles, proxy voting and shareholder activism, and CSR/sustainability disclosure. Our clients include business corporations, asset management firms, compensation consultants, law firms, accounting and audit firms, and investment companies. We also partner on research projects with think tanks, academic institutions, and the media.

About Russell Reynolds Associates

Russell Reynolds Associates is a global leadership advisory firm. Our 520+ consultants in 47 offices work with public, private and nonprofit organizations across all industries and regions. We help our clients build teams of transformational leaders who can meet today's challenges and anticipate the digital, economic and political trends that are reshaping the global business environment. From helping boards with their structure, culture and effectiveness to identifying, assessing and defining the best leadership for organizations, our teams bring their decades of expertise to help clients address their most complex leadership issues. We exist to improve the way the world is led. www.russellreynolds.com

About the Rutgers Center for Corporate Law and Governance

The Rutgers Center for Corporate Law and Governance is a project of the Rutgers University School of Law, located in Camden and Newark, New Jersey. The Center is an interdisciplinary forum for research, analysis, and discussion of current issues in corporate law and governance. The Center serves as a resource for students, faculty, alumni, and the business and nonprofit communities. Its objectives are to identify and promote best corporate law and governance practices and law reform, and to build bridges between Rutgers Law School, the business and nonprofit communities, government officials, and other Rutgers University units. For more information, visit https://cclg.rutgers.edu/

SOURCE The Conference Board
GURUGRAM, India, Feb. 6, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Malaysia BNPL Market is at growing stage and has a consolidated market with about 5-6 major players capturing large portion of the market. Atome is the market leader.

The population of Malaysia is becoming more tech-savvy which will drive the adoption of technology and hence, BNPL services in the country.

is becoming more tech-savvy which will drive the adoption of technology and hence, BNPL services in the country. E-commerce will continue to drive the majority of revenue for BNPL industry due to increasing popularity of E-Commerce among the population.

Central and Eastern Malaysia will continue to attract more investment with Pahang aiming to become leading state in business activity and Selangor attracting more investors by having highly skilled labor.

Entry of Global BNPL Players: The Malaysian BNPL industry has become one of the most attractive markets in the Southeast Asian region. As a result, global BNPL platforms are considering to extend their product offerings for consumers in the country. In Singapore and Malaysia alone, the firm is expecting the BNPL market to grow significantly by 2025. In these two Southeast Asian countries, the firm is looking at the target market for bigger ticket installment plans. Notably, in New Zealand and Australia, the firm has partnered with 5,000 merchants.

Emerging New Players: Malaysian BNPL Market is expected to grow over the coming years and thus, new players are entering the market intending to gain market share in the already competitive but growing BNPL industry. Shop Back Pay Later, the BNPL feature, integrates the services of Hoolah acquired by firm in 2021. The entry of these new players into the BNPL sector is expected to further drive competition and innovation in Malaysia and assist in the growth of the market.

E-Commerce driving market: E-commerce will continue to drive the majority of revenue for BNPL industry due to increasing popularity of E-Commerce among the population. As more vendors adopt BNPL services, it will lead to increase in traction for BNPL Players in E-Commerce earning them more revenues. Rise of new segments like Automotive, Insurance etc. will reduce the share of E-commerce in BNPL.

Analysts at Ken Research in their latest publication "Malaysia BNPL Market Outlook to 2027F- Driven by Digitalization, Rising Tech-Savvy Population, Increasing M&A Deals, Partnerships between BNPL players" by Ken Research observed that BNPL Market is an emergent BNPL Market in Malaysia at a growing stage from the economic crisis after pandemic. The Entry of Global BNPL Players, Strategic Partnerships along with government initiatives is expected to contribute to the market growth over the forecast period. The market is expected to grow at a 38.5% CAGR during 2022-2027F owing to the rise in economy of the country, increasing young population and new government policies.

Key Segments Covered in the report:-

Malaysia BNPL Market

By Mode Of Payment

Online

Offline

By End-users

E-Commerce Retail

Consumer Electronics

Food Aggregators

Travel Aggregators

Others

To learn more about this report Download a Free Sample Report

By Geography

Kuala Lumpur

Selangor

Sabah

Sarawak

Others

By Age Group

18-30

30-40

40-50

Above 50

Key Target Audience:-

Bankers and associations

Government associations

Corporates

Investment firms

Government Bodies & Regulating Authorities

Fintech companies

Venture capitalists

Time Period Captured in the Report:-

 Historical Period: 2019-2022P

2019-2022P  Base Year: 2022P

2022P  Forecast Period: 2022P-2027F

Visit this Link :- Request for custom report

Companies Covered:-

Atome

MY IOU

Shopback

Split

Grab's Pay Later

Pace

Key Topics Covered in the Report:-

Global Overview of Buy Now Pay Later Industry

Ecosystem and Value Chain of Malaysia BNPL Market

Market Size of Buy Now Pay Later Industry in Malaysia

Market Segmentation of Buy Now Pay Later Industry in Malaysia

SWOT Analysis and Growth Drivers of Malaysia BNPL Market

Trends and Challenges of Malaysia BNPL Market

Demand Side Analysis and Supply Side Analysis

Competition Framework of Malaysia BNPL Market

Future Outlook of Future Outlook

Case Study and Analyst Recommendations

For more insights on the market intelligence, refer to below link:-

Malaysia Buy Now Pay Later Market

Related Reports By Ken Research:-

South Africa Buy Now Pay Later Market Outlook to 2027F Driven by digitalization, government support, increasing working age population, with upsurge in Gen-Z & millennials population coupled with shifting preference towards easy interest free extra credit line sources

Buy Now Pay Later industry in South Africa is estimated to generate a revenue of USD 1569 Million in 2027E, expanding at a CAGR of double digits in between 2022P and 2027E Increasing demand for extra credit line with less stringent KYC procedures without relying on CIBIL scores will be traction for consumers for utilization of BNPL services. Retailers as end user will witness upsurge in revenue contribution to 80% of the market share as more retailers will be coming forward to incorporate the BNPL services in their online and offline store to increase consumer base by collaborating with BNPL players.

KSA Buy Now Pay Later Market Outlook to 2027- Driven by digitalization, government support as a part of Saudi vision 2030 increasing Genz & millennials population due to influx of expatriates coupled with shifting preference towards easy interest free extra credit line sources

The KSA BNPL industry is estimated to expand at a CAGR of ~xx% in between 2022P and 2027E on the basis of number of transactions done. Increasing adoption of cashless society with emergence of digital payments fueled by surging working age class will derive the traction of BNPL industry among the users in KSA Increasing demand for extra credit line with less stringent KYC procedures without relying on CIBIL scores will be traction for consumers for utilization of BNPL services. Average order value of BNPL transactions is estimated to expand at a CAGR of xx% in between 2022P and 2027E. A gradual increase in the contribution of below 24 years of age group in market share will be observed in the coming future. This is attributed to increasing GenZ and millennials who will be readily adopting BNPL as the mode of their transactions. Online mode of payment will continue to dominate the BNPL industry in KSA due to Sharia compliant which promotes digital payments when compared to offline mode.

UAE Buy Now Pay Later Industry Outlook to 2027: Driven by adoption of cashless society, increasing Genz & Millennials population coupled with shifting preference towards easy interest free extra credit line sources

UAE BNPL market is expected to expand with a single digit CAGR in between 2022 and 2027 on the basis of revenue generated. It is anticipated that BNPL industry will grow at a substantial rate owing to factors such as due to wider acceptability at shops and better product offerings in a competitive landscape in the coming years. UAE has been culturally conservative towards BNPL and it is always seen as a debt trap instrument. But new-age start-ups are very focused on changing this mentality by creating awareness about how BNPL can be used for daily expenditure. Many new FinTechs will be entering the UAE BNPL space by offering BNPL cards to individuals and corporates. All the BNPL Players in this space are trying to attract customers through their digital offerings and will witness significant growth in new BNPL customers in the coming years. BNPL Players are also focusing on bringing out co-branded cards with features and rewards dedicated to a segment. Some global players are providing best-in-class BNPL solutions with the latest mobile application features such as digital onboarding, enhanced UX/UI, single click payment, QR, token-based payments, dispute resolution, in-app support and spend analysis. Traditional players need to take a cue from these players to enhance their offerings in the coming future. Players in this sector need to focus more on building the omnichannel ecosystem to cater to both the offline and online market.

India Buy Now Pay Later Market Outlook to 2026: Cascading Growth driven by one-click payment ease, unmatched expediency among lending solutions and free of cost deferment of payments, coupled with rising adoption by Merchant Payments due to increase in Customer Conversion and Sales Value

The Used Buy Now Pay later Market in India is anticipated to grow with the growing adoption of smart phones and internet penetration, credit demand unfulfilled by credit cards, and convenience offered by BNPL platforms. Over the forecast period FY'22-FY'26, the India Buy Now Pay Later Market is further anticipated to showcase an upward trend in terms of Gross Merchandise Value ("GMV") and average ticket size, much faster than the earlier years, with the market consistently expanding. Expected RBI regulations are expected to make the market more secure for customers as well.

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SOURCE Ken Research
Tanzania Bureau of Standards (TBS) has said the number of verified food services providers in Dar es Salaam is not satisfactory.

The standard institution said to reverse the trend is now embarking on a special campaign to educate the service to provide on the importance of abiding with food standards.

The TBS, Food Risk Assessment Unit, Acting Manager, Dr Ashura Kilewela, currently the number of the food-related service providers is not tallying with those verified.

"The number of food service providers such as food transporters and millers of various grains verified by the TBS is not satisfactory compared to the number of service providers in Dar es Salaam," Dr Kilewela said.

The officer was representing TBS Director General Mr Athuman Ngenya when launching a special training for food related stakeholders held recently in Dar.

The training was centred on raising awareness of the importance of being verified for food vendors and small grain millers in Dar es Salaam.

"Since food is health, business, and also a country's economy... it is important that stakeholders are complying with the rules and regulations so that they produce good and safe food," said Dr Ashura.

Additionally, she said that the purpose of the training was to provide education to the vendors to abide by the laws and regulations of TBS to ensure that the community gets safe food.

Dr Ashura also said the government aims to ensure that it has a large network that deals with the quality and safety of food, which is why they are providing such training to council and city officials.

"We do not do these tasks alone, we collaborate with health and business experts from various areas and since we are in Dar es Salaam today, those who participated in the training are from here," she added

Ms Ashura added that regardless of the efforts made including the announcements to invite people to the training, the number of attendees still was not sufficient, calling upon those attending the training to become ambassadors to others.

Mr Ally Shaban, one of the training attendees, said the course will help mostly the food vendors since it will be giving service to the community by complying with the standards set by the TBS.
BAODING, China, Feb. 6, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- On February 2, GWM released Preliminary Earnings Estimate of 2022: GWM achieved a record high in the operating revenue. With the 137.351 billion CNY in 2022, it has exceeded 100 billion CNY for the fourth year, while the 8.279 billion CNY of the net income attributable to shareholders shows a year-on-year increase by 23.09%.

The Operating Revenue of GWM in 2022 Exceeds CNY 137.3 Billion

In the complex and ever-changing environment in 2022, GWM has still achieved record highs in revenue and overseas sales, substantial growth in profits, continuous optimization of product mix, and brand premiumization, keeping in a sustainable and healthy trend.

The overseas sales of GWM also made a record high. The 173,200 units sold overseas in 2022 shows a year-on-year increase by 21.28%. The "ONE GWM" global brand strategy announced in 2022 will continue to promote the expansion of its global market.

In 2022, the upgrading of the product mix and the increase of the brand value are remarkable. The average price per unit by 128,700 CNY shows a year-on-year increase of 20.8%, with the sales ratio of models above 200,000 CNY increasing to 15.27%. The penetration rate of intelligent models has reached 86.17%.

The excellent product mix comes from the investment insistence in strong technology R&D. Under the longstanding principle of over-investment in R&D, GWM aims to achieve the complete ownership of the core technology. The real strength of the "Technology GWM" will continue to be consolidated to build a more solid forest ecosystem and inject new energy and intelligent technology into more models.

In the new energy field, GWM continued to advance pure electric, hybrid, and hydrogen technologies, ushered in the first upgrade of the intelligent DHT, and launched more than 10 new energy products such as the HAVAL H6 PHEV, WEY Coffee 01, and some new models of ORA. As the accelerating intelligence in the field in 2022, the sales of vehicles equipped with Coffee Intelligence exceeding 200,000 units, and the cumulative mileage of the Coffee Intelligence assisted driving system exceeding 25 million kilometers.

In 2023, by putting more focus on the main channels of the auto market, GWM will be more user-centered to directly meet their needs with a comprehensive renewal. Over 10 more new energy products are expected to be launched throughout the year.

GWM will further promote the transformation of the marketing system, by focusing more on superior resources and strengthening strategic coordination. Especially in terms of brand strategy, it will deepen "ONE GWM" for comprehensive remodeling. In 2023, the company will continue to take technology as the base to steadily improve product strength, and stimulate system efficiency with innovation, trying to sprint for the annual sales target of 1.6 million units.

SOURCE GWM
DUBLIN, Feb. 6, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Today's U.S. Electric Power Industry, Renewable Energy, ISO Markets, and Power Transactions" training has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

If you want to truly understand the U.S. electric power industry, this course is for you.

This in-depth program provides a comprehensive and clear explanation of the structure, function, and current status of today's U. S. electric power industry; the many industry topics listed below; and how PPAs and other power transactions are done.

Each part of this complex industry will be explained piece-by-piece, and then the pieces will be integrated so that you will leave the seminar with an understanding of "how it all fits together."

What You Will Learn

The structure and function of the electric service system, its terminology and units, and the properties of electricity.

How the North American power grid is structured and how it operates; how the major sources of electric generation work ( coal, natural gas, nuclear, renewables ) and the issues they face; how control areas, spinning reserves, AGC and economic dispatch works.

Who the key players in the industry are, and why the industry is so difficult to restructure.

The differences between cost-of-service regulation, open access markets, ISOs, transcos, ITCs, RTOs, and ICTs.

What the "smart grid" is, a summary of the different business models being tested, a discussion of the key issues and and how the smart grid is likely to develop.

The major issues facing wind energy, solar and other renewables and how these generation sources relate to the proposed buildout of the backbone power grid.

How ISO Day-Ahead auction markets operate, or will operate, in PJM, New York , Texas , California and other markets; what locational marginal pricing (LMP) is, and why it is important; how LMP is applied in the ISO markets, and why FTRs, TCCs, CRRs, TLRs, RPM and forward capacity markets are important concepts to understand. (The seminars presented at the Houston and California locations will discuss the Texas and California /Western Power markets respectively. Philadelphia, New York and Washington D.C. seminars will focus on PJM, MISO and the New York ISO.)

, , and other markets; what locational marginal pricing (LMP) is, and why it is important; how LMP is applied in the ISO markets, and why FTRs, TCCs, CRRs, TLRs, RPM and forward capacity markets are important concepts to understand. (The seminars presented at the and locations will discuss the and /Western Power markets respectively. and seminars will focus on PJM, MISO and the New York ISO.) The structure and characteristics of the bilateral spot and forward wholesale power markets.

The terminology, concepts and mechanics of bulk power trading, and the difference between physical, scheduled and contract path power flows.

Why open access retail electricity markets may finally now develop.

The basics of executing a wholesale power transaction - including common contract language and what NERC tags are.

What "sellers choice is", and how forward "daisy chains" form at virtual trading hubs.

How to financially trade physical power with financial bookouts.

An overview of the three different types of forward electricity markets: physical, over-the-counter financial and NYMEX futures.

The basics of the NYMEX electricity futures contract, and how it can be used to hedge electricity price risk

An introduction to electricity swaps and Cfds and how these relate to ISO financial transmission rights.

The definition of heat rates, spark spreads, dark spreads and heat-rate-linked power transactions.

Who Should Attend:

Among those who will benefit from this seminar include energy and electric power executives; attorneys; government regulators; traders & trading support staff; marketing, sales, purchasing & risk management personnel; accountants & auditors; plant operators; engineers; and corporate planners.

Types of companies that typically attend this program include energy producers and marketers; utilities; banks & financial houses; industrial companies; accounting, consulting & law firms; municipal utilities; government regulators and electric generators.

Key Topics Covered:

The properties and terminology of electricity - current, power, var, voltage, etc

An overview of the electric service system, and how it works

The pros and cons of different sources of electric generation ( coal, natural gas, nuclear, renewables ), and how they work.

The structure and function of the North American power grid.

Who the various industry participants are and their roles.

Why restructuring today's power markets is such a complicated task.

How control areas function, what spinning reserves are, and how the lights are kept on.

A summary of FERC Orders 888, 889, & 2000

The difference between ISOs, ITCs, Transcos and RTOs.

What TLRs, ATC, OASIS, pancaking rates, shrinkage, economic dispatch and other terms mean.

What locational Marginal Pricing (LMP) is and why it's used

What the "smart grid" is, a summary of the different business models being tested, a discussion of the key issues and and how the smart grid is likely to develop.

The major issues facing wind energy, solar and other renwables and how these generation sources relate to the proposed buildout of the backbone power grid.

The difference between auction and bilateral bulk power markets and the pros & cons of each

The fundamentals of the PJM, MISO, ERCOT or California wholesale market (Depending on seminar location) and the role of LMP

wholesale market (Depending on seminar location) and the role of LMP How the PJM/MISO/ERCOT/ California two-settlement energy and Day-Ahead markets operate, or will operate.

two-settlement energy and Day-Ahead markets operate, or will operate. The meaning of the terms "RPM" and "Forward Capacity Markets " and why this issue is important.

A summary of the key issues of today and where the U. S. electric power industry is headed, including a discussion of the smart grid, renewable energy and the building of new transmission lines..

The pros & cons of PJM's RPM generation capacity planning proposal versus MISO's energy-only market-based approach.

What PJM FTRs are; their equivalent names in other ISOs, and how and why these financial instruments are used.

An overview of the similarities and differences between the PJM, New York , New England, MISO, ERCOT and/or California markets. (Depending on seminar location)

, New England, MISO, ERCOT and/or markets. (Depending on seminar location) The fundamentals of bilateral bulk power trading units and terminology.

The three different types of wholesale forward power markets.

Common contract language used for bilateral power transactions.

What OASIS & NERC tags are.

How power marketers and traders use "sellers choice" to buy and sell forward power at "virtual hubs" across North America .

Speakers:



John Adamiak

President

PGS Energy Training



John Adamiak is President and Founder of PGS Energy Training and an expert in energy derivatives and electric power markets. Mr. Adamiak is a well-known and highly effective seminar presenter who has over 20 years experience in the natural gas and electric power industries. His background includes 15 years as a seminar instructor, 9 years of energy transaction experience, and 6 years of strategic planning and venture capital activities. John's academic background includes an M.B.A. degree from Carnegie Mellon University.



For more information about this training visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/ithnxd

About ResearchAndMarkets.com

ResearchAndMarkets.com is the world's leading source for international market research reports and market data. We provide you with the latest data on international and regional markets, key industries, the top companies, new products and the latest trends.

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SOURCE Research and Markets
Savic to Drive Industry-Leading Global Agency Network into Next Chapter of Growth

NEW YORK, Feb. 6, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- UM, a global media agency network of IPG Mediabrands, today announced the appointment of Sasha Savic to Global Chief Executive Officer. Savic, an IPG alumnus, will set the vision for the agency's global growth while overseeing strategy, product, operations and management of clients including American Express, Honda, Johnson & Johnson, Levi Strauss & Co., Nestle and Sony, among others. He will report directly to Mediabrands Global CEO, Eileen Kiernan.

New UM Global CEO Sasha Savic to Drive Industry-Leading Global Agency Network into Next Chapter of Growth. Tweet this Sasha Savic, UM Global CEO

"A tenacious and dynamic leader who cares deeply about people, clients and community, Sasha is a consummate relationship builder who has driven results for some of the world's most iconic brands," said Kiernan. "His love of the business complements our strong, values-driven global culture, and his will to win and commitment to excellence will supercharge how we show up in the marketplace and for our clients. We are thrilled to welcome him back to the IPG family."

As Global CEO, Savic will galvanize the UM community around a growth mindset, leveraging the agency's industry-leading data capabilities to optimize and energize its go-to-market strategy. Known for his effectiveness in building inclusive and connected workplace cultures, he will be integral to advancing UM's commitment to diversity, marketplace equity, media responsibility and sustainability.

"The role of media is timeless, and I am excited to join the global leadership team at UM, the undisputed leader in unlocking the power of data to enhance the purpose and longevity of brands," said Savic. "Building connections is what drives me  from strengthening community to partnering with clients to connecting consumers' needs to a brand's purpose and value. I look forward to bringing together content, data and brand meaning to create sustainable, long-term growth at UM, where I first got my media chops and fell in love with this industry."

Most recently, Savic was the Global Chief Innovation Officer at EssenceMediacom after serving as U.S. CEO for nearly a decade. His leadership resulted in nine consecutive years of growth, and he was recognized as Adweek's U.S. Executive of the Year in 2021. Prior to MediaCom, Savic was Chief Operating Officer at Havas Media Group N.A., driving strategy and business performance. With three decades of experience in media, he has also held senior leadership roles at McCann New York and UM, leading media efforts for brands like Procter & Gamble, Microsoft, Intel and Mastercard.

Savic has served on the jury for Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, the Effie Awards and Brand Film Festival. In 2019, he led the launch of the New Majority Ready (NMR) Coalition, a movement to help brands engage with multicultural audiences and place diversity at the forefront of their strategies. He is also a member of the 4As Media Leadership Council and supports environmental causes and sustainability through participation in NASF and ASF in North America.

About UM

UM is a global media agency committed to Futureproofing our clients' businesses for the now and the next. We leverage the transformational power of rich business analytics and real-time intelligence to maximize growth and activate the full consumer journey across content and connections. Our consultative approach and agile model, rooted in diversity, equity and belonging, drive better business outcomes for brands. As the leading global media network in IPG Mediabrands, UM operates in over 100 countries, with more than 3,000 people innovating on a roster of global clients including Accenture, American Express, ExxonMobil, GoPro, Johnson & Johnson, Levi Strauss & Co, Mattel, Sony and Spotify. For more information, please visit https://www.umww.com/ .

SOURCE UM
Criminal justice reform advocate explores prison experience through poetry

HOUSTON, Feb. 6, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Award-winning author, poet and lawyer Reginald Dwayne Betts will give a solo performance on Thursday, Feb. 16, in celebration of Black History Month at the University of Houston Law Center.

As part of the Bracewell LLP Distinguished Lecture in Racial and Social Justice, Betts will present "Felon: An American Washi Tale," which combines traditional theater, poetry, fine art and Japanese paper-making. The piece is a theatrical version of a collection of poetry titled "Felon," which won the 2020 American Book Award.

Reginald Dwayne Betts will give a solo performance on Thursday, Feb. 16 at the University of Houston Law Center. Tweet this

Formerly incarcerated, Betts transformed himself from a 16-year-old sentenced to nine years in prison to a critically acclaimed writer and Yale Law School graduate.

He holds a B.A. from the University of Maryland; an M.F.A. from Warren Wilson College; and a J.D. from Yale Law School, where he was awarded the Israel H. Perez Prize for best student note or comment appearing in the Yale Law Journal. He is a Ph.D. in Law candidate at Yale and, as a Liman Fellow, he spent a year representing clients in the New Haven Public Defender's Office. In 2020, he founded Freedom Reads, a non-profit organization that opens libraries in prisons.

Betts was also one of 25 selected for the 2021 MacArthur Fellowship  a prestigious honor, also known as a genius grant, that awards exceptionally talented and creative individuals with a significant, unrestricted grant.

"Bracewell is proud to partner with the University of Houston Law Center in bringing this timely and innovative presentation to the campus and greater Houston community," said Bracewell Managing Partner Gregory M. Bopp.

The event is co-sponsored by Bracewell LLP, the University of Houston Law Center and the University of Houston College of Education. Attendees will receive one hour of Texas continuing legal education credit.

The presentation will be in-person on Thursday, Feb. 16 at 6:30 p.m. Central at the University of Houston Law Center, 4170 Martin Luther King Blvd. Attendees may also join virtually. Participating attorneys will receive one hour of Texas continuing legal education credit.

For more information on this speaker please visit: www.simonspeakers.com

Click here to register.

Click here for more event information.

University of Houston Law Center media contacts: Carrie Anna Criado, UH Law Center Assistant Dean of Communications and Marketing, 713-743-2184, [email protected]; Bonnie Buffaloe, Communications Manager, 713-743-9137, [email protected].

About the University of Houston Law Center

The University of Houston Law Center (UHLC) is a dynamic, top tier law school located in the nation's 4th largest city. UHLC's Health Law, Intellectual Property Law, and Part-time programs rank in the U.S. News Top 10. It awards Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D.) and Master of Laws (LL.M.) degrees, through its academic branch, the College of Law. The Law Center is more than just a law school. It is a powerful hub of intellectual activity with more than 15 centers and institutes which fuel its educational mission and national reputation. UHLC is fully accredited by the American Bar Association and is a member of the Association of American Law Schools.

About the University of Houston College of Education

As part of a Carnegie-designated Tier One research institution in one of the nation's largest and most diverse cities, the University of Houston College of Education works to improve educational and health outcomes for all children and families. The college prepares teachers, school leaders, health specialists, counselors, psychologists, higher education professionals, researchers and other change agents. With a commitment to equity, belonging and success, the college serves more than 3,500 students in undergraduate and graduate programs that have earned national recognition and accolades.

About the University of Houston

The University of Houston is a Carnegie-designated Tier One public research university recognized with a Phi Beta Kappa chapter for excellence in undergraduate education. UH serves the globally competitive Houston and Gulf Coast Region by providing world-class faculty, experiential learning and strategic industry partnerships. Located in the nation's fourth-largest city and one of the most ethnically and culturally diverse regions in the country, UH is a federally designated Hispanic- and Asian-American-Serving institution with enrollment of more than 47,000 students.

SOURCE University of Houston Law Center
NEW YORK, Feb. 6, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The aerospace industry in Germany has had unprecedented success over the last two decades. Germany is the leading production and sales market in the Europe region and contributes to the top aviation needs among the different countries. The country's world-class R&D infrastructure and powerful manufacturing base empower international investors to develop cutting-edge technologies for tomorrow's aerospace and defense needs. Compared with other major aerospace and defense manufacturing countries, Germany's rare mix of a powerful manufacturing base and cost efficiency are unique competitive advantages for the current market. To know more, Buy the report!

Technavio has announced its latest market research report titled Global Unmanned Sea Systems Market 2023-2027

Germany is one of the top key country contributors to the unmanned sea systems market. The global unmanned sea systems market is estimated to grow at a CAGR of 9.78% between 2022 and 2027. The size of the market is forecast to increase by USD 3,751.78 million. Technavio's report extensively covers market segmentation by type (UUVs and USVs), technology (remotely operated vehicles and autonomous vehicles), and geography (North America, Europe, APAC, South America, and the Middle East and Africa).

The report also includes detailed analyses of the competitive landscape of the market and information about 15+ market vendors including 5G International Inc., BAE Systems Plc, Boston Engineering Corp., Groupe Gorge SA, Kongsberg Gruppen ASA, Maritime Robotics AS, Maritime Tactical Systems Inc., Ocean Aero, Rafael Advanced Defense Systems Ltd., Saab AB, SeaRobotics Corp., Teledyne Technologies Inc., Textron Inc., Thales, ThyssenKrupp AG, The Boeing Co., Lockheed Martin Corp., L3Harris Technologies Inc., Elbit Systems Ltd., and General Dynamics Corp.

For vendor offerings - Request a PDF Sample!

Aerospace and defense vendors will try to recover from the losses caused by the COVID-19 pandemic by identifying key suppliers that can be vulnerable in the short- and mid-term. These vendors are also focusing on alternative supply chain strategies, such as vertical integration and exploring new sources of supply to overcome the limited supply of raw materials in the future. Also, in some countries, the government is unveiling plans to support many enterprises in the aerospace and defense sector. The aerospace and defense market also faces inhibitory influences that can hinder the growth prospects of both prime integrators and their supply chains. However, the predisposition for the deployment of UUVs is notably driving the market growth.

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The unmanned combat aerial vehicle (UCAV) market is estimated to grow/decline at a CAGR of 6.74% between 2022 and 2027. The size of the market is forecast to increase by USD 1,061.1 million . The growth of the market depends on serval factors, including the growing export demand from smaller economies, escalating security threats, and the changing nature of advanced warfare.



is estimated to grow/decline at a between 2022 and 2027. The size of the market is forecast to increase by . The growth of the market depends on serval factors, including the growing export demand from smaller economies, escalating security threats, and the changing nature of advanced warfare. The commercial satellite imaging market is estimated to grow at a CAGR of 6.24% between 2022 and 2027. The size of the market is forecast to increase by USD 1,722.63 million . The growth of the market depends on serval factors, including the advances in satellite imaging technologies, the growing satellite-based telemetry applications, and the increasing demand for EO imaging systems.

Technavio's analysis of the unmanned sea systems market also includes:

CAGR of the market during the forecast period 2023-2027

Detailed information on factors that will drive unmanned sea systems market growth during the next five years

Precise estimation of the unmanned sea systems market size and its contribution to the parent market

Accurate predictions on upcoming trends and changes in consumer behavior

The growth of the unmanned sea systems market industry across

A thorough analysis of the market's competitive landscape

Comprehensive details of factors that will challenge the growth of the unmanned sea systems market

Unmanned Sea Systems Market Scope Report Coverage Details Page number 168 Base year 2022 Historic period 2017-2021 Forecast period 2023-2027 Growth momentum & CAGR Accelerate at a CAGR of 9.78% Market growth 2023-2027 $ 3,751.78 million Market structure Fragmented YoY growth 2022-2023(%) 9.34 Regional analysis North America, Europe, APAC, South America, and Middle East and Africa Performing market contribution APAC at 34% Key countries US, China, Japan, Germany, and France Competitive landscape Leading Vendors, Market Positioning of Vendors, Competitive Strategies, and Industry Risks Key companies profiled 5G International Inc., BAE Systems Plc, Boston Engineering Corp., Groupe Gorge SA, Kongsberg Gruppen ASA, Maritime Robotics AS, Maritime Tactical Systems Inc., Ocean Aero, Rafael Advanced Defense Systems Ltd., Saab AB, SeaRobotics Corp., Teledyne Technologies Inc., Textron Inc., Thales, thyssenkrupp AG, The Boeing Co., Lockheed Martin Corp., L3Harris Technologies Inc., Elbit Systems Ltd., and General Dynamics Corp. Market dynamics Parent market analysis, Market growth inducers and obstacles, Fast-growing and slow-growing segment analysis, COVID 19 impact and recovery analysis and future consumer dynamics, Market condition analysis for forecast period Customization purview If our report has not included the data that you are looking for, you can reach out to our analysts and get segments customized.

Table of Content:

1 Executive Summary

1.1 Market overview

Exhibit 01: Executive Summary  Chart on Market Overview



Exhibit 02: Executive Summary  Data Table on Market Overview



Exhibit 03: Executive Summary  Chart on Global Market Characteristics



Exhibit 04: Executive Summary  Chart on Market by Geography



Exhibit 05: Executive Summary  Chart on Market Segmentation by Type



Exhibit 06: Executive Summary  Chart on Market Segmentation by Technology



Exhibit 07: Executive Summary  Chart on Incremental Growth



Exhibit 08: Executive Summary  Data Table on Incremental Growth



Exhibit 09: Executive Summary  Chart on Vendor Market Positioning

2 Market Landscape

2.1 Market ecosystem

Exhibit 10: Parent market



Exhibit 11: Market Characteristics

3 Market Sizing

3.1 Market definition

Exhibit 12: Offerings of vendors included in the market definition

3.2 Market segment analysis

Exhibit 13: Market segments

3.3 Market size 2022

3.4 Market outlook: Forecast for 2022-2027

Exhibit 14: Chart on Global - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)



Exhibit 15: Data Table on Global - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)



Exhibit 16: Chart on Global Market: Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)



Exhibit 17: Data Table on Global Market: Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

4 Historic Market Size

4.1 Global unmanned sea systems market 2017 - 2021

Exhibit 18: Historic Market Size  Data Table on Global unmanned sea systems market 2017 - 2021 ($ million)

4.2 Type Segment Analysis 2017 - 2021

Exhibit 19: Historic Market Size  Type Segment 2017 - 2021 ($ million)

4.3 Technology Segment Analysis 2017 - 2021

Exhibit 20: Historic Market Size  Technology Segment 2017 - 2021 ($ million)

4.4 Geography Segment Analysis 2017 - 2021

Exhibit 21: Historic Market Size  Geography Segment 2017 - 2021 ($ million)

4.5 Country Segment Analysis 2017 - 2021

Exhibit 22: Historic Market Size  Country Segment 2017 - 2021 ($ million)

5 Five Forces Analysis

5.1 Five forces summary

Exhibit 23: Five forces analysis - Comparison between 2022 and 2027

5.2 Bargaining power of buyers

Exhibit 24: Chart on Bargaining power of buyers  Impact of key factors 2022 and 2027

5.3 Bargaining power of suppliers

Exhibit 25: Bargaining power of suppliers  Impact of key factors in 2022 and 2027

5.4 Threat of new entrants

Exhibit 26: Threat of new entrants  Impact of key factors in 2022 and 2027

5.5 Threat of substitutes

Exhibit 27: Threat of substitutes  Impact of key factors in 2022 and 2027

5.6 Threat of rivalry

Exhibit 28: Threat of rivalry  Impact of key factors in 2022 and 2027

5.7 Market condition

Exhibit 29: Chart on Market condition - Five forces 2022 and 2027

6 Market Segmentation by Type

6.1 Market segments

Exhibit 30: Chart on Type - Market share 2022-2027 (%)



Exhibit 31: Data Table on Type - Market share 2022-2027 (%)

6.2 Comparison by Type

Exhibit 32: Chart on Comparison by Type



Exhibit 33: Data Table on Comparison by Type

6.3 UUVs - Market size and forecast 2022-2027

Exhibit 34: Chart on UUVs - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)



Exhibit 35: Data Table on UUVs - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)



Exhibit 36: Chart on UUVs - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)



Exhibit 37: Data Table on UUVs - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

6.4 USVs - Market size and forecast 2022-2027

Exhibit 38: Chart on USVs - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)



Exhibit 39: Data Table on USVs - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)



Exhibit 40: Chart on USVs - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)



Exhibit 41: Data Table on USVs - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

6.5 Market opportunity by Type

Exhibit 42: Market opportunity by Type ($ million)

7 Market Segmentation by Technology

7.1 Market segments

Exhibit 43: Chart on Technology - Market share 2022-2027 (%)



Exhibit 44: Data Table on Technology - Market share 2022-2027 (%)

7.2 Comparison by Technology

Exhibit 45: Chart on Comparison by Technology



Exhibit 46: Data Table on Comparison by Technology

7.3 Remotely operated vehicle - Market size and forecast 2022-2027

Exhibit 47: Chart on Remotely operated vehicle - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)



Exhibit 48: Data Table on Remotely operated vehicle - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)



Exhibit 49: Chart on Remotely operated vehicle - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)



Exhibit 50: Data Table on Remotely operated vehicle - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

7.4 Autonomous vehicle - Market size and forecast 2022-2027

Exhibit 51: Chart on Autonomous vehicle - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)



Exhibit 52: Data Table on Autonomous vehicle - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)



Exhibit 53: Chart on Autonomous vehicle - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)



Exhibit 54: Data Table on Autonomous vehicle - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

7.5 Market opportunity by Technology

Exhibit 55: Market opportunity by Technology ($ million)

8 Customer Landscape

8.1 Customer landscape overview

Exhibit 56: Analysis of price sensitivity, lifecycle, customer purchase basket, adoption rates, and purchase criteria

9 Geographic Landscape

9.1 Geographic segmentation

Exhibit 57: Chart on Market share by geography 2022-2027 (%)



Exhibit 58: Data Table on Market share by geography 2022-2027 (%)

9.2 Geographic comparison

Exhibit 59: Chart on Geographic comparison



Exhibit 60: Data Table on Geographic comparison

9.3 North America - Market size and forecast 2022-2027

- Market size and forecast 2022-2027 Exhibit 61: Chart on North America - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)

- Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)

Exhibit 62: Data Table on North America - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)

- Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)

Exhibit 63: Chart on North America - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

- Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

Exhibit 64: Data Table on North America - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

9.4 Europe - Market size and forecast 2022-2027

- Market size and forecast 2022-2027 Exhibit 65: Chart on Europe - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)

- Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)

Exhibit 66: Data Table on Europe - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)

- Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)

Exhibit 67: Chart on Europe - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

- Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

Exhibit 68: Data Table on Europe - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

9.5 APAC - Market size and forecast 2022-2027

Exhibit 69: Chart on APAC - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)



Exhibit 70: Data Table on APAC - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)



Exhibit 71: Chart on APAC - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)



Exhibit 72: Data Table on APAC - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

9.6 South America - Market size and forecast 2022-2027

- Market size and forecast 2022-2027 Exhibit 73: Chart on South America - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)

- Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)

Exhibit 74: Data Table on South America - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)

- Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)

Exhibit 75: Chart on South America - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

- Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

Exhibit 76: Data Table on South America - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

9.7 Middle East and Africa - Market size and forecast 2022-2027

and - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 Exhibit 77: Chart on Middle East and Africa - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)

and - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)

Exhibit 78: Data Table on Middle East and Africa - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)

and - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)

Exhibit 79: Chart on Middle East and Africa - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

and - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

Exhibit 80: Data Table on Middle East and Africa - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

9.8 US - Market size and forecast 2022-2027

Exhibit 81: Chart on US - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)



Exhibit 82: Data Table on US - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)



Exhibit 83: Chart on US - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)



Exhibit 84: Data Table on US - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

9.9 China - Market size and forecast 2022-2027

- Market size and forecast 2022-2027 Exhibit 85: Chart on China - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)

- Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)

Exhibit 86: Data Table on China - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)

- Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)

Exhibit 87: Chart on China - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

- Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

Exhibit 88: Data Table on China - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

9.10 Germany - Market size and forecast 2022-2027

- Market size and forecast 2022-2027 Exhibit 89: Chart on Germany - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)

- Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)

Exhibit 90: Data Table on Germany - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)

- Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)

Exhibit 91: Chart on Germany - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

- Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

Exhibit 92: Data Table on Germany - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

9.11 France - Market size and forecast 2022-2027

- Market size and forecast 2022-2027 Exhibit 93: Chart on France - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)

- Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)

Exhibit 94: Data Table on France - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)

- Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)

Exhibit 95: Chart on France - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

- Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

Exhibit 96: Data Table on France - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

9.12 Japan - Market size and forecast 2022-2027

- Market size and forecast 2022-2027 Exhibit 97: Chart on Japan - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)

- Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)

Exhibit 98: Data Table on Japan - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)

- Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)

Exhibit 99: Chart on Japan - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

- Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

Exhibit 100: Data Table on Japan - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

9.13 Market opportunity by geography

Exhibit 101: Market opportunity by geography ($ million)

10 Drivers, Challenges, and Trends

10.1 Market drivers

10.2 Market challenges

10.3 Impact of drivers and challenges

Exhibit 102: Impact of drivers and challenges in 2022 and 2027

10.4 Market trends

11 Vendor Landscape

11.1 Overview

11.2 Vendor landscape

Exhibit 103: Overview on Criticality of inputs and Factors of differentiation

11.3 Landscape disruption

Exhibit 104: Overview on factors of disruption

11.4 Industry risks

Exhibit 105: Impact of key risks on business

12 Vendor Analysis

12.1 Vendors covered

Exhibit 106: Vendors covered

12.2 Market positioning of vendors

Exhibit 107: Matrix on vendor position and classification

12.3 BAE Systems Plc

Exhibit 108: BAE Systems Plc - Overview



Exhibit 109: BAE Systems Plc - Business segments



Exhibit 110: BAE Systems Plc - Key offerings



Exhibit 111: BAE Systems Plc - Segment focus

12.4 Elbit Systems Ltd.

Exhibit 112: Elbit Systems Ltd. - Overview



Exhibit 113: Elbit Systems Ltd. - Product / Service



Exhibit 114: Elbit Systems Ltd. - Key offerings

12.5 General Dynamics Corp.

Exhibit 115: General Dynamics Corp. - Overview



Exhibit 116: General Dynamics Corp. - Business segments



Exhibit 117: General Dynamics Corp. - Key news



Exhibit 118: General Dynamics Corp. - Key offerings



Exhibit 119: General Dynamics Corp. - Segment focus

12.6 Groupe Gorge SA

Exhibit 120: Groupe Gorge SA - Overview



Exhibit 121: Groupe Gorge SA - Business segments



Exhibit 122: Groupe Gorge SA - Key news



Exhibit 123: Groupe Gorge SA - Key offerings



Exhibit 124: Groupe Gorge SA - Segment focus

12.7 Kongsberg Gruppen ASA

Exhibit 125: Kongsberg Gruppen ASA - Overview



Exhibit 126: Kongsberg Gruppen ASA - Business segments



Exhibit 127: Kongsberg Gruppen ASA - Key news



Exhibit 128: Kongsberg Gruppen ASA - Key offerings



Exhibit 129: Kongsberg Gruppen ASA - Segment focus

12.8 L3Harris Technologies Inc.

Exhibit 130: L3Harris Technologies Inc. - Overview



Exhibit 131: L3Harris Technologies Inc. - Business segments



Exhibit 132: L3Harris Technologies Inc. - Key news



Exhibit 133: L3Harris Technologies Inc. - Key offerings



Exhibit 134: L3Harris Technologies Inc. - Segment focus

12.9 Lockheed Martin Corp.

Exhibit 135: Lockheed Martin Corp. - Overview



Exhibit 136: Lockheed Martin Corp. - Business segments



Exhibit 137: Lockheed Martin Corp. - Key news



Exhibit 138: Lockheed Martin Corp. - Key offerings



Exhibit 139: Lockheed Martin Corp. - Segment focus

12.10 Maritime Robotics AS

Exhibit 140: Maritime Robotics AS - Overview



Exhibit 141: Maritime Robotics AS - Product / Service



Exhibit 142: Maritime Robotics AS - Key offerings

12.11 Maritime Tactical Systems Inc.

Exhibit 143: Maritime Tactical Systems Inc. - Overview



Exhibit 144: Maritime Tactical Systems Inc. - Key offerings

12.12 Ocean Aero

Exhibit 145: Ocean Aero - Overview



Exhibit 146: Ocean Aero - Product / Service



Exhibit 147: Ocean Aero - Key offerings

12.13 Saab AB

Exhibit 148: Saab AB - Overview



Exhibit 149: Saab AB - Business segments



Exhibit 150: Saab AB - Key news



Exhibit 151: Saab AB - Key offerings



Exhibit 152: Saab AB - Segment focus

12.14 Textron Inc.

Exhibit 153: Textron Inc. - Overview



Exhibit 154: Textron Inc. - Business segments



Exhibit 155: Textron Inc. - Key news



Exhibit 156: Textron Inc. - Key offerings



Exhibit 157: Textron Inc. - Segment focus

12.15 Thales

Exhibit 158: Thales - Overview



Exhibit 159: Thales - Business segments



Exhibit 160: Thales - Key offerings



Exhibit 161: Thales - Segment focus

12.16 The Boeing Co.

Exhibit 162: The Boeing Co. - Overview



Exhibit 163: The Boeing Co. - Business segments



Exhibit 164: The Boeing Co. - Key news



Exhibit 165: The Boeing Co. - Key offerings



Exhibit 166: The Boeing Co. - Segment focus

12.17 thyssenkrupp AG

Exhibit 167: thyssenkrupp AG - Overview



Exhibit 168: thyssenkrupp AG - Business segments



Exhibit 169: thyssenkrupp AG - Key news



Exhibit 170: thyssenkrupp AG - Key offerings



Exhibit 171: thyssenkrupp AG - Segment focus

13 Appendix

13.1 Scope of the report

13.2 Inclusions and exclusions checklist

Exhibit 172: Inclusions checklist



Exhibit 173: Exclusions checklist

13.3 Currency conversion rates for US$

Exhibit 174: Currency conversion rates for US$

13.4 Research methodology

Exhibit 175: Research methodology



Exhibit 176: Validation techniques employed for market sizing



Exhibit 177: Information sources

13.5 List of abbreviations

Exhibit 178: List of abbreviations

About Us



Technavio is a leading global technology research and advisory company. Their research and analysis focus on emerging market trends and provides actionable insights to help businesses identify market opportunities and develop effective strategies to optimize their market positions. With over 500 specialized analysts, Technavio's report library consists of more than 17,000 reports and counting, covering 800 technologies, spanning across 50 countries. Their client base consists of enterprises of all sizes, including more than 100 Fortune 500 companies. This growing client base relies on Technavio's comprehensive coverage, extensive research, and actionable market insights to identify opportunities in existing and potential markets and assess their competitive positions within changing market scenarios.

Contacts



Technavio Research

Jesse Maida

Media & Marketing Executive

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UK: +44 203 893 3200

Email: [email protected]

Website: www.technavio.com

SOURCE Technavio
Company Now Offers Contract Manufacturing, Packaging and Serialization Capabilities

MAPLE GROVE, Minn., Feb. 6, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Upsher-Smith Laboratories, LLC (Upsher-Smith), a Midwest-based pharmaceutical company focused on specialty brands and generics, today announced the opening of its new, 270,000 square-foot, state-of-the-art greenfield manufacturing facility. The Maple Grove, Minnesota facility offers fully up-to-date packaging and serialization capabilities and supports contract manufacturing for third parties.

Now Open: Upsher-Smiths state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in Maple Grove, MN

Upsher-Smith will draw upon its long-standing, award-winning relationships with distributors and demonstrated track record in several key areas such as Food and Drug Administration (FDA) compliance and inspection history, Environmental Health & Safety performance, and superior customer service. The Company's prime geographical location and outstanding history of quality allow Upsher-Smith to offer controlled costs and award-winning levels of customer support.

"Upsher-Smith is a trusted partner in health with a 104-year history of manufacturing excellence," said Rich Fisher, President and COO, Upsher-Smith. "The opening of this world-class facility marks another important milestone for our company. We plan to use this innovative asset to support our own organic production and pipeline as well as partners looking for end-to-end supply chain solutions in the contract manufacturing space."

Upsher-Smith's offerings include environmentally sustainable solvent and aqueous-based oral solid dosage (OSD) manufacturing in tablet or capsule form, powders, liquids, and suspensions. Serialized packaging solutions include OSD/liquid bottles, unit dose blisters and liquid cups, and powder filling in sachets, bottles, and cans. Outbound packaging configurations are also aggregated in accordance with the pending Drug Supply Chain Security Act (DSCSA) conformance standards. Visit https://www.upsher-smith.com/plant-c/ to learn more about Upsher-Smith's manufacturing, packaging, and analytical capabilities, and wide range of processing equipment.

In addition to Upsher-Smith's new facility, the Company manufactures small, commercial batches of products destined for FDA submissions and clinical purposes in a nearby Pilot Plant, known as Plant B.

Upsher-Smith's contract manufacturing and corporate development teams will be available to meet with potential partners and answer questions during the Association for Accessible Medicines (AAM) Annual Meeting, February 13-16 in Orlando, FL and the Drug, Chemical & Associated Technologies Association (DCAT) Week, March 20-23 in New York, NY. To schedule a meeting, email [email protected], with AAM or DCAT in the subject line.

About Upsher-Smith

Upsher-Smith Laboratories, LLC is a trusted U.S. pharmaceutical company that strives to improve the health and lives of patients through an unwavering commitment to high-quality products and sustainable growth. The company brings brands and generics to a wide array of customers, always backed by its attentive level of service, strong industry relationships, and dedication to uninterrupted supply. For more information, visit www.upsher-smith.com .

SOURCE Upsher-Smith Laboratories, LLC
LOS ANGELES, Feb. 6, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- VinFast today announced U.S. Bank (NYSE: USB) has been chosen as its preferred provider of retail financing and leasing of VinFast vehicles in the United States.

U.S. Bank is a trusted lender for vehicle finance and leasing, serving millions of customers through consumer and business banking, payment services, corporate and commercial banking and wealth management and investment services.

Under the partnership, U.S. Bank will officially provide financing and leasing solutions for VinFast vehicles at VinFast showrooms and via the VinFast website.

"With the goal to make electric vehicles accessible to everyone, VinFast is constantly looking for optimal solutions for customers. Thanks to this agreement, VinFast customers will have access to competitive finance and lease rates and world-class customer service from U.S. Bank," said Madam Le Thi Thu Thuy, Vingroup Vice Chair and CEO of VinFast Holdings.

"Many Americans will purchase their first electric vehicle this year and we are excited to expand our presence in making EV ownership a reality through our relationship with VinFast," said John Hyatt, Executive Vice President, U.S. Bank, Dealer Services. "Through financing and leasing with U.S. Bank, VinFast customers will enjoy a secure, digital-first experience that takes just minutes."

The announcement comes as VinFast is preparing to open more showrooms in California, with plans for more locations around the country soon.

About U.S. Bank:

U.S. Bancorp, with approximately 77,000 employees and $675 billion in assets as of December 31, 2022, is the parent company of U.S. Bank National Association. The Minneapolis-based company serves millions of customers locally, nationally and globally through a diversified mix of businesses: Consumer and Business Banking; Payment Services; Corporate & Commercial Banking; and Wealth Management and Investment Services. MUFG Union Bank, consisting primarily of retail banking branches on the West Coast, joined U.S. Bancorp in 2022. The company has been recognized for its approach to digital innovation, social responsibility, and customer service, including being named one of the 2022 World's Most Ethical Companies and Fortune's most admired superregional bank. Learn more at usbank.com/about.

About VinFast

VinFast - a member of Vingroup  envisioned to drive the movement of global smart electric vehicle revolution. Established in 2017, VinFast owns a state-of-the-art automotive manufacturing complex with globally leading scalability that boasts up to 90% automation in Hai Phong, Vietnam.

Strongly committed to the mission for a sustainable future for everyone, VinFast constantly innovates to bring high-quality products, advanced smart services, seamless customer experiences, and pricing strategy to inspire global customers to jointly create a future of smart mobility and a sustainable planet. Learn more at: https://vinfastauto.us/.

About Vingroup

Established in 1993, Vingroup is one of the leading private conglomerates in the region, currently focuses on three main areas: Technology and Industry, Services and Social Enterprise. Find out more at: https://www.vingroup.net/en .

SOURCE VinFast Automotive
KYIV, Ukraine, Feb. 6, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Western NIS Enterprise Fund (WNISEF, the Fund) announced today receipt of new funding of $135 million to expand its ability to meet critical needs and further its contribution to economic recovery in Ukraine and Moldova (the Region). These funds were transferred from The U.S. Russia Investment Fund (TUSRIF), in partnership with the U.S. Congress via U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).

"We are proud of WNISEF's longstanding track record in our Region, both in deploying a broad investment program by directly investing $188 million in SMEs for nearly three decades, as well as disbursing technical assistance funding of over $50 million since 2015 to promote exports, support local economic development, finance impact investments and launch innovative economic leadership programs, as well as support early-stage start-ups", said Dennis A. Johnson, Chairman of WNISEF's Board of Directors. "With the destruction, loss of life, and mass suffering resulting from the Kremlin's full-fledged invasion of Ukraine, this new funding is needed now more than ever. Additional resources will support worthy initiatives, including those focused on helping displaced businesses and workers, and on supporting municipalities, NGOs, businesses, and other organizations to contribute to Ukraine's economic revitalization and rebound, in coordination with the U.S. and Ukrainian governments. Moldovan enterprises also require our continued support as Moldova has taken in more Ukrainian refugees per capita than any other country, with the country impacted severely by rising energy and living costs".

Jaroslawa Z. Johnson, WNISEF President and Chief Executive Officer (unrelated to Dennis A. Johnson), said: "Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are an engine of growth both globally, as well as increasingly, in Ukraine and Moldova. With USAID's backing, and these additional resources, we will restart our direct investment program focused on providing seed capital to help catalyze vital projects, and continue to back early-stage IT start-ups in both Ukraine and Moldova, as well as expanding to include start-ups in the creative clusters, as well as those focused on local community initiatives and launched by disadvantaged members of society". Ms. Johnson added, "WNISEF's Legacy Programs provide technical assistance focused on transforming the lives of ordinary people in Ukraine and Moldova, and continue to deliver impact and results throughout this unjust war. We will continue our Legacy Programs in both countries, which will train the next generation of leaders, empower women and young people, rebuild destroyed communities and expand our Impact Investing program to businesses supporting IDPs, veterans, women, persons with disabilities, and other vulnerable groups."

Western NIS Enterprise Fund (WNISEF) is a $150 million regional fund, a pioneer in Ukraine and Moldova with 29 years of successful experience in investing in small and medium-sized companies. WNISEF was funded by the U.S. government via the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). Through its direct investment program, and in sponsoring the launch of Horizon Capital in 2006, WNISEF has invested $188 million in 136 companies employing over 26,000 people; and, unlocked $2.3 billion of total capital for Ukrainian and Moldovan companies. In 2015, WNISEF launched a $35 million legacy program focused on export promotion, local economic development, impact investing and economic leadership. Investment reflows provide additional capital to fund investments and the legacy program, thus furthering its resources. WNISEF funds innovative and high-impact programs aiming to support Ukraine and Moldova during this critical period. Visit www.wnisef.org

SOURCE Western NIS Enterprise Fund
CHENGDU, China, Feb. 5, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The 31st International Times Young Creative Awards recently held the annual awards ceremony. After three-month competition, a total of 99,694 entries were received from nearly 750,000 Chinese young people from China, as well as the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, Italy, Malaysia, Vietnam, Indonesia, etc.

The 31st International Times Young Creative Awards Ceremony (PRNewsfoto/Yili Group) Yili AMBROSIAL award-winning design (PRNewsfoto/Yili Group) AMBROSIAL yogurt was launched in Singapore (PRNewsfoto/Yili Group) Yili Group Roadmap to Net-Zero (PRNewsfoto/Yili Group)

Yili AMBROSIAL yogurt partners with the award for the first time and launched the AMBROSIAL Yogurt Environmental Protection Design Award, calling for examples of public service advertising, industrial and packaging design related to environmental protection. It has received a total of 5419 entries submitted from over 1,000 colleges and universities across the world.

Since its inception in 1992, the Times Young Creative Awards, widely considered to be the "Oscars of Youth Creation", has become of the most prominent competitions for creatives among worldwide Chinese youth. For years, the number of the participating teachers and students has been over 10 million.

Original Only Once

Themed "Original Only Once", the 31st International Times Young Creative Awards provided a platform for brands to gather the most creative works of the year. Yili AMBROSIAL yogurt seeks to connect and to send a message of "environmental awareness" to Gen Z in Chinese communities all around the world.

Yili AMBROSIAL Yogurt Environmental Protection Design Award has received entries under various themes including polar preservation, energy saving and carbon emission reduction. Two students from the Beijing University of Technology and Hsiuping University of Science and Technology in Taichung City respectively received awards under this category.

A Net-Zero Carbon Future

Since Yili first publicly espoused its forward-looking "Green Leadership" concept in 2007, the Group has ceaselessly endeavored to take sustainability to the next level. In 2009, Yili embraced the strategy of supply chain green transformation, subsequently upgrading the strategy to the "New Vision for Value Creation". Throughout this journey, not only has Yili remained committed to its own low-carbon transformation goals but has also stayed true to the mission of reducing carbon its footprint across the entirety of the industrial chain.

AMBROSIAL yogurt launched minimally printed Tetra Pak packaging products during the first phase of the competition. The new packaging allows for the printed surface - FSC certified environmentally sustainable paper - to be reduced by about 70%. Every 100,000 cartons of minimally printed products will generate a carbon reduction of 1,861kg, showcasing the brand's commitment to sustainability.

Moving forward, Yili will continue to expand the boundaries of socially responsible marketing. Through the Group's effort in engaging more customers and partners across the industrial chain, Yili will carry forward positive changes to the environment and jointly create a green and net-zero carbon future.

Image Attachments Links:

Link: http://asianetnews.net/view-attachment?attach-id=437604

Caption: The 31st International Times Young Creative Awards Ceremony

Link: http://asianetnews.net/view-attachment?attach-id=437611

Caption: Yili AMBROSIAL award-winning design

Link: http://asianetnews.net/view-attachment?attach-id=437612

Caption: AMBROSIAL yogurt was launched in Singapore

Link: http://asianetnews.net/view-attachment?attach-id=437613

Caption: Yili Group Roadmap to Net-Zero

SOURCE Yili Group
NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J., Feb. 6, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Zachary P. Englert, DO, FACS, is being recognized by Continental Who's Who as a Top Pinnacle Professional for his contributions to the Trauma and General Surgery Fields.

Zachary P. Englert

Dr. Englert earned a Bachelor of Science degree in pre-medical studies, minoring in biology, from Pennsylvania State University. He graduated with his Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine degree from the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine in 2009 and completed a residency in general surgery at Vidant Medical Center/East Carolina University in 2015. Dr. Englert finished a fellowship in surgical critical care and acute care surgery at the University of Maryland Medical Center in 2017.

Dr. Englert is a top trauma and general surgeon working at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital  New Brunswick and Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital - Somerset. He specializes in both operative and non-operative management of life-threatening traumatic injuries. He also serves as an Assistant Professor within the Division of Acute Care Surgery at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School.

The doctor is board-certified in general surgery and surgical critical care by the American Board of Surgery (ABS). Dr. Englert notes that ABS is an organization that provides board certification to qualified physicians who specialize in the use of surgery to aid in the diagnosis and treatment of disease. Acute care surgery is a surgical specialty that focuses on the treatment of time-sensitive surgical pathology of the abdominal contents, including the esophagus, stomach, small bowel, colon, liver, pancreas, gallbladder, appendix, and other body systems. Acute care surgeons follow the patient through critical care and surgical recovery all the way to outpatient care.

Dr. Englert practices surgery in both New Jersey and Missouri and is affiliated with Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital, Barnes-Jewish Hospital, and SSM Health Saint Louis University Hospital. Dr. Englert has four publications, more than 50 citations and is a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons. He is also a member of the Eastern Association for the Association of Trauma, the Excelsior Society, and the New Jersey Committee on Trauma.

Dr. Englert served four years of active duty in the United States Air Force and is currently a Lieutenant Colonel serving with the Missouri National Guard. He is also a veteran of the conflict in Afghanistan. He serves as an instructor for the Center for Sustainment of Trauma and Readiness Skills (C-STARS), an Air Force trauma training platform designed to maintain the trauma readiness of Air Force medical personnel.

Contact: Katherine Green, 516-825-5634, [email protected]

SOURCE Continental Who's Who
Children interact with lion dance performers in Lucun Village of Balidian Town, Huzhou City, east China's Zhejiang Province, Feb. 5, 2023. People celebrate the Lantern Festival, the 15th day of the first month of the Chinese lunar calendar, with various traditional customs across the country. (Xinhua/Huang Zongzhi) People guess lantern riddles at the waiting hall of the Tianjin West Railway Station in north China's Tianjin, Feb. 5, 2023. People celebrate the Lantern Festival, the 15th day of the first month of the Chinese lunar calendar, with various traditional customs across the country. (Xinhua/Sun Fanyue) People perform dragon dance in Baiyin, northwest China's Gansu Province, Feb. 5, 2023. People celebrate the Lantern Festival, the 15th day of the first month of the Chinese lunar calendar, with various traditional customs across the country. (Xinhua/Chen Bin) People perform dragon dance in Yangpu District, east China's Shanghai, Feb. 5, 2023. People celebrate the Lantern Festival, the 15th day of the first month of the Chinese lunar calendar, with various traditional customs across the country. (Xinhua) Children interact with lion dance performers in Lucun Village of Balidian Town, Huzhou City, east China's Zhejiang Province, Feb. 5, 2023. People celebrate the Lantern Festival, the 15th day of the first month of the Chinese lunar calendar, with various traditional customs across the country. (Xinhua/Huang Zongzhi) People perform traditional Yangge dance in Midong District in Urumqi, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Feb. 5, 2023. People celebrate the Lantern Festival, the 15th day of the first month of the Chinese lunar calendar, with various traditional customs across the country. (Xinhua/Wang Fei) Tourists in traditional costume enjoy boat ride in Lucun Village of Balidian Town, Huzhou City, east China's Zhejiang Province, Feb. 5, 2023. People celebrate the Lantern Festival, the 15th day of the first month of the Chinese lunar calendar, with various traditional customs across the country. (Xinhua/Huang Zongzhi) People purchase Yuanxiao, sweet glutinous rice dumplings for celebrating the Lantern Festival, at a country fair in Yingkou, northeast China's Liaoning Province, Feb. 5, 2023. People celebrate the Lantern Festival, the 15th day of the first month of the Chinese lunar calendar, with various traditional customs across the country. (Xinhua/Yao Jianfeng) Children guess lantern riddles in Yangpu District, east China's Shanghai, Feb. 5, 2023. People celebrate the Lantern Festival, the 15th day of the first month of the Chinese lunar calendar, with various traditional customs across the country. (Xinhua) People perform dragon dance in Xuyi County in Huai'an, east China's Jiangsu Province, Feb. 5, 2023. People celebrate the Lantern Festival, the 15th day of the first month of the Chinese lunar calendar, with various traditional customs across the country. (Xinhua/Ji Chunpeng) Folk artists perform "Dongbei Dagu", a folk art of drum music and recitative, at a country fair in Yingkou, northeast China's Liaoning Province, Feb. 5, 2023. People celebrate the Lantern Festival, the 15th day of the first month of the Chinese lunar calendar, with various traditional customs across the country. (Xinhua/Yao Jianfeng) People perform dragon dance in Midong District in Urumqi, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Feb. 5, 2023. People celebrate the Lantern Festival, the 15th day of the first month of the Chinese lunar calendar, with various traditional customs across the country. (Xinhua/Wang Fei) People perform folk drum dance in Baiyin City, northwest China's Gansu Province, Feb. 5, 2023. People celebrate the Lantern Festival, the 15th day of the first month of the Chinese lunar calendar, with various traditional customs across the country. (Xinhua/Chen Bin) Tourists taste Tanghulu, a traditional Chinese snack of candied fruit, in Houlihua Village of Renqiu, north China's Hebei Province, Feb. 5, 2023. People celebrate the Lantern Festival, the 15th day of the first month of the Chinese lunar calendar, with various traditional customs across the country. (Xinhua/Mu Yu) Children perform lion dance in Longde County in Guyuan, northwest China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, Feb. 5, 2023. People celebrate the Lantern Festival, the 15th day of the first month of the Chinese lunar calendar, with various traditional customs across the country. (Photo by Tang Chengzhuo/Xinhua) Fireworks explode in celebration of the Lantern Festival in Hangzhou, capital of east China's Zhejiang Province, Feb. 5, 2023. (Xinhua/Huang Zongzhi) Fireworks explode in celebration of the Lantern Festival in Hangzhou, capital of east China's Zhejiang Province, Feb. 5, 2023. (Xinhua/Jiang Han) Fireworks explode in celebration of the Lantern Festival in Hangzhou, capital of east China's Zhejiang Province, Feb. 5, 2023. (Xinhua/Jiang Han) Fireworks explode in celebration of the Lantern Festival in Hangzhou, capital of east China's Zhejiang Province, Feb. 5, 2023. (Xinhua/Jiang Han) Fireworks explode in celebration of the Lantern Festival in Hangzhou, capital of east China's Zhejiang Province, Feb. 5, 2023. (Xinhua/Jiang Han) Fireworks explode in celebration of the Lantern Festival in Hangzhou, capital of east China's Zhejiang Province, Feb. 5, 2023. (Xinhua/Jiang Han) Fireworks explode in celebration of the Lantern Festival in Hangzhou, capital of east China's Zhejiang Province, Feb. 5, 2023. (Xinhua/Huang Zongzhi) Fireworks explode in celebration of the Lantern Festival in Hangzhou, capital of east China's Zhejiang Province, Feb. 5, 2023. (Xinhua/Jiang Han) People perform "Wulong Xuhua" to celebrate the Lantern Festival in Taijiang County, southwest China's Guizhou Province, Feb. 4, 2023. The traditional "Wulong Xuhua" show is a kind of dragon dance performed amid fireworks by the Miao ethnic group. Local people of Taijiang County attended a "Wulong Xuhua" competition on the eve of the Lantern Festival, the 15th day of the first month of the Chinese lunar calendar, which falls on Feb. 5 this year. (Xinhua/Yang Wenbin) People perform "Wulong Xuhua" to celebrate the Lantern Festival in Taijiang County, southwest China's Guizhou Province, Feb. 4, 2023. The traditional "Wulong Xuhua" show is a kind of dragon dance performed amid fireworks by the Miao ethnic group. Local people of Taijiang County attended a "Wulong Xuhua" competition on the eve of the Lantern Festival, the 15th day of the first month of the Chinese lunar calendar, which falls on Feb. 5 this year. (Xinhua/Yang Wenbin) People perform "Wulong Xuhua" to celebrate the Lantern Festival in Taijiang County, southwest China's Guizhou Province, Feb. 4, 2023. The traditional "Wulong Xuhua" show is a kind of dragon dance performed amid fireworks by the Miao ethnic group. Local people of Taijiang County attended a "Wulong Xuhua" competition on the eve of the Lantern Festival, the 15th day of the first month of the Chinese lunar calendar, which falls on Feb. 5 this year. (Xinhua/Yang Wenbin) People perform "Wulong Xuhua" to celebrate the Lantern Festival in Taijiang County, southwest China's Guizhou Province, Feb. 4, 2023. The traditional "Wulong Xuhua" show is a kind of dragon dance performed amid fireworks by the Miao ethnic group. Local people of Taijiang County attended a "Wulong Xuhua" competition on the eve of the Lantern Festival, the 15th day of the first month of the Chinese lunar calendar, which falls on Feb. 5 this year. (Xinhua/Yang Wenbin) People perform "Wulong Xuhua" to celebrate the Lantern Festival in Taijiang County, southwest China's Guizhou Province, Feb. 4, 2023. The traditional "Wulong Xuhua" show is a kind of dragon dance performed amid fireworks by the Miao ethnic group. Local people of Taijiang County attended a "Wulong Xuhua" competition on the eve of the Lantern Festival, the 15th day of the first month of the Chinese lunar calendar, which falls on Feb. 5 this year. (Xinhua/Yang Wenbin) People perform "Wulong Xuhua" to celebrate the Lantern Festival in Taijiang County, southwest China's Guizhou Province, Feb. 4, 2023. The traditional "Wulong Xuhua" show is a kind of dragon dance performed amid fireworks by the Miao ethnic group. Local people of Taijiang County attended a "Wulong Xuhua" competition on the eve of the Lantern Festival, the 15th day of the first month of the Chinese lunar calendar, which falls on Feb. 5 this year. (Xinhua/Yang Wenbin) People perform "Wulong Xuhua" to celebrate the Lantern Festival in Taijiang County, southwest China's Guizhou Province, Feb. 4, 2023. The traditional "Wulong Xuhua" show is a kind of dragon dance performed amid fireworks by the Miao ethnic group. Local people of Taijiang County attended a "Wulong Xuhua" competition on the eve of the Lantern Festival, the 15th day of the first month of the Chinese lunar calendar, which falls on Feb. 5 this year. (Xinhua/Yang Wenbin) People perform "Wulong Xuhua" to celebrate the Lantern Festival in Taijiang County, southwest China's Guizhou Province, Feb. 4, 2023. The traditional "Wulong Xuhua" show is a kind of dragon dance performed amid fireworks by the Miao ethnic group. Local people of Taijiang County attended a "Wulong Xuhua" competition on the eve of the Lantern Festival, the 15th day of the first month of the Chinese lunar calendar, which falls on Feb. 5 this year. (Xinhua/Yang Wenbin) People perform "Wulong Xuhua" to celebrate the Lantern Festival in Taijiang County, southwest China's Guizhou Province, Feb. 4, 2023. The traditional "Wulong Xuhua" show is a kind of dragon dance performed amid fireworks by the Miao ethnic group. Local people of Taijiang County attended a "Wulong Xuhua" competition on the eve of the Lantern Festival, the 15th day of the first month of the Chinese lunar calendar, which falls on Feb. 5 this year. (Xinhua/Yang Wenbin) People perform "Wulong Xuhua" to celebrate the Lantern Festival in Taijiang County, southwest China's Guizhou Province, Feb. 4, 2023. The traditional "Wulong Xuhua" show is a kind of dragon dance performed amid fireworks by the Miao ethnic group. Local people of Taijiang County attended a "Wulong Xuhua" competition on the eve of the Lantern Festival, the 15th day of the first month of the Chinese lunar calendar, which falls on Feb. 5 this year. (Xinhua/Yang Wenbin) People perform "Wulong Xuhua" to celebrate the Lantern Festival in Taijiang County, southwest China's Guizhou Province, Feb. 4, 2023. The traditional "Wulong Xuhua" show is a kind of dragon dance performed amid fireworks by the Miao ethnic group. Local people of Taijiang County attended a "Wulong Xuhua" competition on the eve of the Lantern Festival, the 15th day of the first month of the Chinese lunar calendar, which falls on Feb. 5 this year. (Xinhua/Yang Wenbin) Folk artists perform in Wude Town of Wenxian County, Jiaozuo City of central China's Henan Province, Feb. 5, 2023. Various events are held across the country to celebrate the Lantern Festival, the 15th day of the first month of the Chinese lunar calendar, which falls on Feb. 5 this year. (Photo by Xu Hongxing/Xinhua) This aerial photo taken on Feb. 5, 2023 shows people performing dragon dance in Xinhuang Dong Autonomous County of Huaihua City, central China's Hunan Province. Various events are held across the country to celebrate the Lantern Festival, the 15th day of the first month of the Chinese lunar calendar, which falls on Feb. 5 this year. (Photo by Zhou Xiuyuchun/Xinhua) People perform dragon dance in Xinhuang Dong Autonomous County of Huaihua City, central China's Hunan Province, Feb. 5, 2023. Various events are held across the country to celebrate the Lantern Festival, the 15th day of the first month of the Chinese lunar calendar, which falls on Feb. 5 this year. (Photo by Zhou Xiuyuchun/Xinhua) Children perform lion dance in Longde County of Guyuan City, northwest China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, Feb. 5, 2023. Various events are held across the country to celebrate the Lantern Festival, the 15th day of the first month of the Chinese lunar calendar, which falls on Feb. 5 this year. (Photo by Tang Chengzhuo/Xinhua) People perform in Baiyin City, northwest China's Gansu Province, Feb. 5, 2023. Various events are held across the country to celebrate the Lantern Festival, the 15th day of the first month of the Chinese lunar calendar, which falls on Feb. 5 this year. (Xinhua/Chen Bin) Members of a female waist drum team perform in Zixing City, central China's Hunan Province, Feb. 5, 2023. Various events are held across the country to celebrate the Lantern Festival, the 15th day of the first month of the Chinese lunar calendar, which falls on Feb. 5 this year. (Photo by Li Ke/Xinhua) People perform lion dance in Baiyin City, northwest China's Gansu Province, Feb. 5, 2023. Various events are held across the country to celebrate the Lantern Festival, the 15th day of the first month of the Chinese lunar calendar, which falls on Feb. 5 this year. (Xinhua/Chen Bin) A girl is pictured during a dragon dance performance in Changning County of Yibin City, southwest China's Sichuan Province, Feb. 5, 2023. Various events are held across the country to celebrate the Lantern Festival, the 15th day of the first month of the Chinese lunar calendar, which falls on Feb. 5 this year. (Photo by Zhuang Geer/Xinhua) People perform in Fudian Town, Ruyang County of Luoyang City, central China's Henan Province, Feb. 5, 2023. Various events are held across the country to celebrate the Lantern Festival, the 15th day of the first month of the Chinese lunar calendar, which falls on Feb. 5 this year. (Photo by Kang Hongjun/Xinhua) People watch a lion dance performance in Qingdao, east China's Shandong Province, Feb. 5, 2023. Various events are held across the country to celebrate the Lantern Festival, the 15th day of the first month of the Chinese lunar calendar, which falls on Feb. 5 this year. (Photo by Wang Haibin/Xinhua) People perform dragon dance in Dingxi, northwest China's Gansu Province, Feb. 5, 2023. Various events are held across the country to celebrate the Lantern Festival, the 15th day of the first month of the Chinese lunar calendar, which falls on Feb. 5 this year. (Photo by Wang Kexian/Xinhua) People perform in celebration of the Lantern Festival in Longchuan County of Dehong Dai and Jingpo Autonomous Prefecture, southwest China's Yunnan Province, Feb. 5, 2023. Various events are held across the country to celebrate the Lantern Festival, the 15th day of the first month of the Chinese lunar calendar, which falls on Feb. 5 this year. (Photo by Liang Zhiqiang/Xinhua) This aerial photo taken on Feb. 5, 2023 shows people performing dragon dance in Luxian County, southwest China's Sichuan Province. Various events are held across the country to celebrate the Lantern Festival, the 15th day of the first month of the Chinese lunar calendar, which falls on Feb. 5 this year. (Xinhua/Jiang Hongjing) People perform in Luxian County, southwest China's Sichuan Province, Feb. 5, 2023. Various events are held across the country to celebrate the Lantern Festival, the 15th day of the first month of the Chinese lunar calendar, which falls on Feb. 5 this year. (Xinhua/Jiang Hongjing) A woman guesses lantern riddles in Neiqiu County of Xingtai City, north China's Hebei Province, Feb. 5, 2023. Various events are held across the country to celebrate the Lantern Festival, the 15th day of the first month of the Chinese lunar calendar, which falls on Feb. 5 this year. (Photo by Liu Jidong/Xinhua) This aerial photo taken on Feb. 5, 2023 shows people celebrating the Lantern Festival in Longchuan County of Dehong Dai and Jingpo Autonomous Prefecture, southwest China's Yunnan Province. Various events are held across the country to celebrate the Lantern Festival, the 15th day of the first month of the Chinese lunar calendar, which falls on Feb. 5 this year. (Photo by Liang Zhiqiang/Xinhua) People perform dragon dance in Bijie, southwest China's Guizhou Province, Feb. 5, 2023. Various events are held across the country to celebrate the Lantern Festival, the 15th day of the first month of the Chinese lunar calendar, which falls on Feb. 5 this year. (Photo by Chen Jingui/Xinhua) People perform dragon dance in Meitan County, Zunyi City, southwest China's Guizhou Province, Feb. 5, 2023. Various events are held across the country to celebrate the Lantern Festival, the 15th day of the first month of the Chinese lunar calendar, which falls on Feb. 5 this year. (Photo by Luo Xinghan/Xinhua) People perform wooden-bench dragon dance in Pingyang Village of Majian Town, Zhuji City, east China's Zhejiang Province, Feb. 5, 2023. Various events are held across the country to celebrate the Lantern Festival, the 15th day of the first month of the Chinese lunar calendar, which falls on Feb. 5 this year. (Photo by Guo Bin/Xinhua) People guess lantern riddles in Xixiu District of Anshun City, southwest China's Guizhou Province, Feb. 5, 2023. Various events are held across the country to celebrate the Lantern Festival, the 15th day of the first month of the Chinese lunar calendar, which falls on Feb. 5 this year. (Photo by Chen Xi/Xinhua) Children interact with lion dance performers at a kindergarten in Hangzhou City, east China's Zhejiang Province, Feb. 5, 2023. Various events are held across the country to celebrate the Lantern Festival, the 15th day of the first month of the Chinese lunar calendar, which falls on Feb. 5 this year. (Photo by Xu Junyong/Xinhua) People visit a temple fair at Zhongnanmen historical and cultural tourist area in Tongren City, southwest China's Guizhou Province, Feb. 5, 2023. Various events are held across the country to celebrate the Lantern Festival, the 15th day of the first month of the Chinese lunar calendar, which falls on Feb. 5 this year. (Photo by Peng Jun/Xinhua) People perform in Luxian County, southwest China's Sichuan Province, Feb. 5, 2023. Various events are held across the country to celebrate the Lantern Festival, the 15th day of the first month of the Chinese lunar calendar, which falls on Feb. 5 this year. (Xinhua/Jiang Hongjing) This aerial photo taken on Feb. 5, 2023 shows people performing dragon dance in Bijie, southwest China's Guizhou Province. Various events are held across the country to celebrate the Lantern Festival, the 15th day of the first month of the Chinese lunar calendar, which falls on Feb. 5 this year. (Photo by Han Xianpu/Xinhua) Folk artists perform in Yuanshi County of Shijiazhuang City, north China's Hebei Province, Feb. 5, 2023. Various events are held across the country to celebrate the Lantern Festival, the 15th day of the first month of the Chinese lunar calendar, which falls on Feb. 5 this year. (Photo by Liang Zidong/Xinhua) Folk artists perform in Zunhua City, north China's Hebei Province, Feb. 5, 2023. Various events are held across the country to celebrate the Lantern Festival, the 15th day of the first month of the Chinese lunar calendar, which falls on Feb. 5 this year. (Photo by Liu Mancang/Xinhua) Folk artists perform in Hanbin District of Ankang City, northwest China's Shaanxi Province, Feb. 5, 2023. Various events are held across the country to celebrate the Lantern Festival, the 15th day of the first month of the Chinese lunar calendar, which falls on Feb. 5 this year. (Photo by Zhao Huabin/Xinhua) People perform dragon dance in Niuchang Village of Meitan County, Zunyi City, southwest China's Guizhou Province, Feb. 5, 2023. Various events are held across the country to celebrate the Lantern Festival, the 15th day of the first month of the Chinese lunar calendar, which falls on Feb. 5 this year. (Photo by Li Renjun/Xinhua) People perform dragon dance in Fudian Town, Ruyang County of Luoyang City, central China's Henan Province, Feb. 5, 2023. Various events are held across the country to celebrate the Lantern Festival, the 15th day of the first month of the Chinese lunar calendar, which falls on Feb. 5 this year. (Photo by Kang Hongjun/Xinhua) Folk artists perform in Nanhe District of Xingtai City, north China's Hebei Province, Feb. 5, 2023. Various events are held across the country to celebrate the Lantern Festival, the 15th day of the first month of the Chinese lunar calendar, which falls on Feb. 5 this year. (Photo by Zhang Chi/Xinhua) Tourists visit a lantern fair at the Fuzi (Confucius) Temple scenic area in Nanjing, east China's Jiangsu Province, Feb. 4, 2023. Lantern fairs and light shows were held to celebrate the Lantern Festival, which falls on Feb. 5 this year. (Xinhua/Li Bo) This aerial photo taken on Feb. 4, 2023 shows a night view of a lantern fair at the Fuzi (Confucius) Temple scenic area in Nanjing, east China's Jiangsu Province. Lantern fairs and light shows were held to celebrate the Lantern Festival, which falls on Feb. 5 this year. (Xinhua/Li Bo) Tourists take a selfie at a lantern fair at Jinjiang amusement park in east China's Shanghai, Feb. 4, 2023. Lantern fairs and light shows were held to celebrate the Lantern Festival, which falls on Feb. 5 this year. (Xinhua/Wang Xiang) Tourists look at light installations during a light show at Beijing Expo Park in Beijing, capital of China, Feb. 5, 2023. Lantern fairs and light shows were held to celebrate the Lantern Festival, which falls on Feb. 5 this year. (Xinhua/Ju Huanzong) People experience shadow puppetry during a lantern fair at Hubei Provincial Museum in Wuhan, central China's Hubei Province, Feb. 5, 2023. Lantern fairs and light shows were held to celebrate the Lantern Festival, which falls on Feb. 5 this year. (Xinhua/Xiao Yijiu) Visitors look at lanterns during a lantern fair at Hubei Provincial Museum in Wuhan, central China's Hubei Province, Feb. 5, 2023. Lantern fairs and light shows were held to celebrate the Lantern Festival, which falls on Feb. 5 this year. (Xinhua/Xiao Yijiu) Tourists visit a lantern fair at the Fuzi (Confucius) Temple scenic area in Nanjing, east China's Jiangsu Province, Feb. 4, 2023. Lantern fairs and light shows were held to celebrate the Lantern Festival, which falls on Feb. 5 this year. (Xinhua/Li Bo) Tourists visit a light show at Nangong World Botanical Amusement Park in Beijing, capital of China, Feb. 5, 2023. Lantern fairs and light shows were held to celebrate the Lantern Festival, which falls on Feb. 5 this year. (Xinhua/Ren Chao) This aerial photo taken on Feb. 4, 2023 shows a night view of a lantern fair at the Fuzi (Confucius) Temple scenic area in Nanjing, east China's Jiangsu Province. Lantern fairs and light shows were held to celebrate the Lantern Festival, which falls on Feb. 5 this year. (Xinhua/Li Bo) This photo taken on Feb. 4, 2023 shows a night view of a lantern fair at the Fuzi (Confucius) Temple scenic area in Nanjing, east China's Jiangsu Province. Lantern fairs and light shows were held to celebrate the Lantern Festival, which falls on Feb. 5 this year. (Xinhua/Li Bo) Tourists look at light installations during a light show at Beijing Expo Park in Beijing, capital of China, Feb. 5, 2023. Lantern fairs and light shows were held to celebrate the Lantern Festival, which falls on Feb. 5 this year. (Xinhua/Ju Huanzong) Tourists visit a lantern fair at Jinjiang amusement park in east China's Shanghai, Feb. 4, 2023. Lantern fairs and light shows were held to celebrate the Lantern Festival, which falls on Feb. 5 this year. (Xinhua/Wang Xiang) Tourists watch a dance performance during a lantern fair at Jinjiang amusement park in east China's Shanghai, Feb. 4, 2023. Lantern fairs and light shows were held to celebrate the Lantern Festival, which falls on Feb. 5 this year. (Xinhua/Wang Xiang) Tourists visit a light show at Nangong World Botanical Amusement Park in Beijing, capital of China, Feb. 5, 2023. Lantern fairs and light shows were held to celebrate the Lantern Festival, which falls on Feb. 5 this year. (Xinhua/Ren Chao) Tourists visit a light show at Nangong World Botanical Amusement Park in Beijing, capital of China, Feb. 5, 2023. Lantern fairs and light shows were held to celebrate the Lantern Festival, which falls on Feb. 5 this year. (Xinhua/Ren Chao) Tourists look at light installations during a light show at Beijing Expo Park in Beijing, capital of China, Feb. 5, 2023. Lantern fairs and light shows were held to celebrate the Lantern Festival, which falls on Feb. 5 this year. (Xinhua/Ju Huanzong) The moon and light installations are pictured during a light show at Beijing Expo Park in Beijing, capital of China, Feb. 5, 2023. Lantern fairs and light shows were held to celebrate the Lantern Festival, which falls on Feb. 5 this year. (Xinhua/Ju Huanzong) Visitors pose for a photo during a lantern fair at Hubei Provincial Museum in Wuhan, central China's Hubei Province, Feb. 5, 2023. Lantern fairs and light shows were held to celebrate the Lantern Festival, which falls on Feb. 5 this year. (Xinhua/Xiao Yijiu)
Many Nigerians have condemned the introduction of the new currency notes.

Governor of Kano State, Abdullahi Ganduje, said the untimely implementation of the naira swap policy, was deliberately done by the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele, as a retaliation for his failed presidential bid.

Mr Ganduje stated this on Sunday during a campaign rally, held at Tsanyawa Local Government Area, his media aide, Abba Anwar, said in a statement.

"The CBN Governor is only doing this to confuse the forthcoming elections for no just reason.

" He (Mr Emefiele) has not been in good mood for long, because he failed to secure a presidential ticket on the platform of our great party, the APC," Mr Ganduje told voters at the rally.

The governor said the Kano State government and the APC in the state are against the timing of the naira redesign policy of the CBN governor.

"Currency redesign is done across the globe, but not in the way we are witnessing in our country. The timing is wrong, the deadline given is very wrong and deliberate," Mr Ganduje said.

Mr Ganduje said he is summoning bank managers in the state for a briefing with the aim of finding a solution to cushion the effects of the hardship caused by scarcity of naira notes.

"They should come over and explain to us, why our people are still suffering over this issue of naira swap. And I will go to them individually to supervise what is happening and what," the governor said.

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Meanwhile, Mr Ganduje said the Kano government will distribute palliative to residents across the state to mitigate the suffering caused by the naira redesign.

"We have a plan in the pipeline to start distributing palliatives very soon across all the 44 local governments, to cushion the effect of the hardship caused by the CBN Governor, to our people," the governor said.

Mr Ganduje visited the palaces of the district heads of Kunchi and Tsanyawa local governments. He urged community leaders to create awareness in their areas of influence that the hardship people face is caused by the CBN Governor, to confuse the democratic process.

The CBN announced the redesign of the three largest denominations of the naira - N200, N500, and N1,000 - in October. Many Nigerians have condemned the policy due to the scarcity of new notes.
Arterial Network Seychelles - an artists' civil society network - has kicked off the year with its first exhibition - 'Untitled 3' - providing artists the platform to exhibit and sell art they have produced during the past month.

The gallery manager at the Eden Art Space gallery, Shelley Morden, told SNA that the network found it important to start the year with an untitled exhibition.

"Artists have been painting over the Christmas period and through the period of the Affordable Art Fair. We wanted to give them the opportunity to make some early sales at the start of the year to help them roll through the year," said Morden.

Talking about the introduction of the series, the manager outlined that soon after joining the network, she understood that artists tend to paint what they feel as opposed to what a theme might be about.

"Historically, we have named and themed our exhibitions to go along a certain route or to represent a certain subject matter. With themes being as they are, and artists struggling with materials and their ability to paint many pieces is extremely limited now, I still wanted to make it possible for them to sell their art without having to adhere to a theme," explained Morden.

The 'Untitled' series allows artists to bring in artwork pieces that are not subject to any restrictions of a theme. It allows artists to bring in their best pieces showcasing whatever has inspired them recently.

Morden added that with the previous exhibition - The Affordable Art Fair - more prints were on sale because artworks had a price cap.

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"This exhibition moves completely away from that towards having more originals in the gallery for contrast," she said.

There are over 40 art pieces being exhibited, ranging from sculptures, acrylic on canvas, watercolor, print, and mixed media among others. The exhibition is open to view until March 11.

On the current art scene of Seychelles, Morden shared that she is seeing artists develop themselves and grow.

"They need our support; they need our recognition and they need us to realise how important art is in our lives. We do take for granted people who produce creative things be it music, art, or poetry as we do not realise how much of an impact it would have if we didn't have those things in our lives," said Morden.

Arterial Network Seychelles has three solo shows lined up, and a group show of a particular group of Seychellois artists coming up. The upcoming group show will be "Nou Lar Sesel" (Our Seychelles Art). This will be a group of artists brought together by well-known artist Colbert Nourrice.

Arterial Network Seychelles, launched in November 2011, aims at supporting and developing art in Seychelles, an archipelago in the western Indian Ocean. It is part of Arterial Network, a Pan-African civil-society network grouping artists, cultural activists, entrepreneurs, enterprises, non-profit organisations, institutions, and donors active in Africa's creative and cultural sectors.
Amman, Feb 6 : Jordan has announced the closure of all livestock barns in the country for 14 days after detecting a new strain of the foot-and-mouth disease (FMD), local media reported.

Jordan's Ministry of Agriculture also decided on Sunday to temporarily suspend imports of rough fodder from Iraq after the spread of the disease, Xinhua news agency reported, citing the state-run Al Mamlaka TV.

The ministry said most registered cases of FMD in the Al Dhuleil area to the north of Zarqa governorate were infections of a new strain of the disease.

The ministry said it took several precautionary measures and contacted the ministries and local administration to move ahead with veterinary quarantine, sanitization and immunization.

The ministry also launched a campaign to immunize livestock and establish veterinary hospitals.

Ali Ghabayen, president of the Al Dhuleil Dairy Cattle Association, said 90 percent of cows and calves on farms in the Al Dhuleil area are infected with the new strain of FMD, and 150 cows and calves have died of FMD in Al Dhuleil.

The ministry said that it is contacting companies that manufacture veterinary vaccines against the new strain.

In a statement issued on Sunday, Laith Al Hajj, head of the Cow Breeders Society, said the losses of the new strain have so far reached around 25 million Jordanian dinars ($35.24 million).
Lucknow, Feb 6 : Three persons were killed and two sustained injuries in a collision between an SUV and a truck in Bachhrawan area of Uttar Pradesh's Rae Bareli district.

All the passengers in the SUV were residents of Khaga in Fatehpur district and they were returning from Lakhimpur Kheri after attending a 'tilak' ceremony.

SHO, Bachhrawan, N.S. Kushwaha said that the accident took place when the SUV hit a speeding tipper truck. The impact of the collision was so strong that the SUV was reduced to a mangled heap of metal.

Later, a police team, along with fire personnel, rushed to the spot and pulled out the passengers from the mangled SUV with the help of gas-cutters, said the SHO.

"We pulled out five persons from the SUV who were in an unconscious state. They were rushed to a nearby CHC, where three were declared brought dead, while two others were referred to KGMU Trauma Centre in Lucknow," said the SHO.

The deceased were identified as Rajesh Singh (49), Anugrah Pratap Singh (39), and Pratap Bhan Gappu (39), while Suresh Agrahari and Raj Kumar Singh were referred to Lucknow.

The police said all were farmers from Fatehpur. A police team has been formed to nab the errant truck driver.

Raj Kumar Singh, who has been injured, said, "We were moving at a snail's pace while the truck driver seemed to be drunk. Our SUV was hired from a travelling agency."
Juba, Feb 6 : The United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) has condemned deadly violence in Kajo-Keji County in South Sudan's Central Equatoria State that left at least 27 dead and several others injured on February 2.

Nicholas Haysom, the UN secretary-general's special representative in South Sudan, called on the authorities to urgently launch an investigation and hold perpetrators to account, Xinhua news agency reported.

"This violence is unacceptable and was in sharp contrast to the message of the Ecumenical Peace Pilgrimage to South Sudan, which called for peace and reconciliation," Haysom said in a statement issued in Juba, the capital of South Sudan.

He said at least 2,000 people, mainly women and children, have become internally displaced, including 30 unaccompanied children.

The UN expressed concern about the resurgence of killings and violence stemming from long-standing tensions between cattle-keepers and host communities in Central Equatoria State and in other parts of the country.

Over the past two weeks, the UNMISS said, escalating violence has resulted in at least 45 deaths among unarmed civilians in Kajo-Keji and Mangalla Payam, among other areas in Central Equatoria.

Haysom urged South Sudanese leaders to encourage restraint and avoid fueling any conflict, noting that the UNMISS is increasing patrols to the affected areas, and engaging the authorities as well as community leaders, to end these hostilities and seek peaceful solutions.

The UNMISS said it welcomes the government's deployment of troops to the area to ease tensions and protect internally displaced persons.
Los Angeles, Feb 6 : American computer-animated musical fantasy comedy film 'Encanto' clinched 3 honours at the 65th edition of the Grammy Awards. The album won Best Compilation Soundtrack for Visual Media, Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media and Best Song Written for Visual Media for the song 'We Don't Talk About Bruno'. The film's music was done by Germaine Franco.

Franco became the first woman to score a Disney animated feature film with 'Encanto'. Franco, who is of Mexican American descent, began composing as a student at the Shepherd School of Music at Rice University, where she graduated in 1984.

'Encanto' follows a multigenerational Colombian family, the Madrigals, led by a matriarch whose children and grandchildren, except for Mirabel Madrigal, receive magical gifts from a miracle that helps them serve the people in their rural community called the Encanto.

The 65th annual Grammy Awards are being held at the Crypto.com Arena, Los Angeles. It recognises the best recordings, compositions, and artists of the eligibility year, running from October 1, 2021, to September 30, 2022.

-- Except for the title, this story has not been edited by Prokerala team and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed
Lucknow, Feb 6 : The Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court has declined to issue directions to Lucknow Municipal Corporation (LMC) to kill birds and animals that have become nuisance in the state capital.

Dismissing the plea, the bench held: "Such a direction cannot be issued by the Court as there is no provision which obliges the LMC to kill innocent animals." The bench of Justices Ramesh Sinha and Subhash Vidyarthi passed the order on a PIL moved by a local lawyer Manoj Dubey.

Arguing for the petitioner, senior advocate Sudeep Seth had sought issuance of a direction for LMC to discharge the duty of eliminating birds, animals, strays and ownerless dogs causing nuisance in Lucknow.

The bench declined to issue any such direction.

Welcoming the verdict, animal rights activist Kamna Pandey said: "It is a landmark verdict. It is significant and cuts through the current motivated campaign against dogs seeking to create an atmosphere of hate and hostility towards man's best friend. It restores balance and returns good sense to the prevailing debate."
Lucknow, Feb 6 : Historical and heritage buildings and monuments located on the heritage zone from Kaiserbagh to Hussainabad in Lucknow, are being revamped and renovated on a war footing to welcome delegates for the G20 and GIS events.

The Hussainabad Trust is working on the Bada Imambara and Naubat Khana, while the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) is giving a facelift to Residency and Lucknow Development Authority (LDA) is illuminating all the monuments with facade lighting.

The benches installed in these monuments are also being painted and flowering plants have been planted in vacant areas.

Apart from this, PWD and LMC are painting dividers, installing flower pots and getting walls painted under flyovers and boundary walls. The roads are also being renovated by the PWD.

Officials said the area was chosen because most of the monuments are located on the stretch where delegates will visit and learn about the city's Nawabi culture and history.

Municipal commissioner Inderjit Singh said: "The beautification drive is not only event-oriented, but will continue after that and the area will be developed as a major tourism hub." LDA executive engineer Manoj Kumar said: "As of now, facade lighting is being done in three monuments -- Bada Imambara, Naubatkhana and Residency. Five more monuments -- Clock Tower, Rumi Darwaza, Sadat Ali Khan Tomb, Kothi Darshwan Vilas and Kotshi Gulistan-e-Iram -- will be illuminated in the second phase to promote night tourism in the area." He said that a mechanism would be created to sustain and maintain the beautification of the heritage area being developed for night tourism.

Such a mechanism should also have public participation to imbibe a sense of belongingness among people, thus motivating them in conservation of the monuments.
Seoul, Feb 6 : The number of international flights in South Korea has returned to 60 per cent of pre-Covid levels in January, helped by increased travel to Japan and Asian countries, the Transport Ministry said on Monday.

In January, international flights that went through Incheon International Airport reached 27,206, recovering from the 45,046 flights marked in January 2019, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said in a statement.

The number of passengers on international routes stood at 4.61 million in January, 58 per cent of 8.02 million in January 2019, Yonhap News Agency quoted the Ministry as saying.

Eased Covid-19 restrictions helped unleash pent-up travel demand on international routes to Japan, Vietnam, Thailand and other Southeast Asian countries.

In October, South Korea removed a Covid-19 polymerase chain reaction test requirement for inbound travellers on the first day of their arrival.

Japan lifted the ban on the number of inbound passengers and resumed visa-free travel for visitors from specific countries, including South Korea, on October 11, 2022.
Meerut : , Feb 6 (IANS) An illicit relationship between an aunt and a nephew has led to the murder of a 32-year-old man who was shot dead by the two.

The woman was his wife who was in a relationship with the nephew. A senior police officer said that the deceased, Sandip, was a resident of Dahar village. On Thursday, Sandip went missing without a trace, after which his kin filed a complaint.

Based on suspicion, police questioned his wife Preeti, 28 and she confessed to the crime.

According to police, Preeti revealed that she was in a relationship with Johnny, 20, and they hatched a plan to get rid of Sandip.

Police then reached the crime scene and recovered the body. Later, the body was handed over to the kin after post mortem.

Aniruddh Singh, Superintendent of Police, said that a case under section 302 (murder) was registered against them based on the complaint by kin of the deceased.

Both the accused have been arrested and further investigation is ongoing, he added.
Lucknow, Feb 6 : Samajwadi Party (SP) president Akhilesh Yadav has asked the 'religious scientists' of the BJP to explain the verses in Ramcharitmanas and he would stop asking questions.

Akhilesh said that he had no problem with Ramcharitmanas "but what is wrong is wrong".

"They (BJP) are 'religious scientists' and know everything so they should explain to us," he stated.

Senior SP leader Swami Prasad Maurya, last month, had triggered a row over the ancient text Ramcharitmanas, saying that the poet-saint Tulsidas in some of the verses of the epic had used derogatory references for backwards, Dalits and women.

Akhilesh said, "I listen to bhajans every day for at least an hour in the morning. Samajwadis follow all the avatars of Lord Vishnu. But if the Opposition is raising some questions, then Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath should reply to them." The SP chief also talked about Karna (a warrior in the epic Mahabharat)' who was raised in a Shudra family.

Akhilesh said, "Because of being a Shudra, he too had to face humiliation and those people who fragmented the society in castes are the ones who do not want caste census. If those people get the caste census done, they will be out of power. If we come to power, we will get the caste census done in three months in the state." Akhilesh further said, "The caste system is an old problem -- 5,000 years old...the problem will not go away in a day. If you read Mahabharat, then you will know what all Karna had to suffer. Also read what the eminent poet Ramdhari Singh Dinkar wrote about Karna. He wrote that Karna had to suffer because of being a Shudra." Akhilesh alleged the BJP does not want the society to get rid of the caste system.

"These people do not want the backwards and Dalits to get the rights given to them by the Constitution. It is only after the caste census that these caste members will be able to get their rights through reservation in jobs," he said.

He further said: "Samajwadis had never insulted anyone, they accepted all. We respect all scriptures. We have left some things for the Prime Minister. The BJP people are 'religious scientists', let them explain (the verses in Ramcharitmanas), we will stop asking questions."
Lucknow, Feb 6 : The agreement signed between Meta (Facebook's parent company) and Uttar Pradesh Police has already had the desired impact - it has saved two lives in a week.

In the first incident, a college student in Ambedkar Nagar district said in an Instagram post late Friday night that she was going to commit suicide and posted pictures of pills she intended to take.

In the second incident, a man preparing to hang himself from a ceiling fan, beamed a live telecast of the act on Instagram from Ghaziabad.

In both cases, the tech giant managed to foil their attempts by alerting the local police, who traced the two people and stopped them from committing suicide.

Rahul Srivastav, additional superintendent of police ATS/In-charge of Social Media Centre of UP Police, said: "Under the prevailing agreement between Uttar Pradesh Police and Facebook from March 2022, if any person posts something related to suicide or self-harm on Facebook or Instagram, then Meta Headquarters in the USA immediately sends an alert to the social media centre of UP Police headquarters through phone and e-mail." He added that more than 10 lives have been saved so far.

In the Ambedkar Nagar incident, Srivastav said that Meta sent an alert to the social media centre of UP Police with her details, after which police reached the woman's place in 15 minutes, thwarted her attempt and took her family into confidence.

On the directions of Additional Director General, Law and Order, Prashant Kumar, Superintendent of Police of Ambedkar, Nagar Ajit Kumar Sinha has deputed a woman officer Rukmani Verma to counsel the girl.

In the Ghaziabad incident, after receiving an alert from the social media centre of UP Police, Vijayanagar police station inspector Anita Chauhan reached the spot within 13 minutes and prevented the man from killing himself.

The man was depressed after losing Rs 90,000 in business.

Ghaziabad Police counselled the man and spoke to his family.

"UP Police are making diverse use of social media for the cause of public service, offering a bouquet of online services. We have a dedicated and well-trained team of more than 500 police personnel who work round-the-clock to render any kind of assistance," he said.

Srivastav further said: "Considering the sensitivity of the issue, we are coming up with a detailed SOP for such cases in which there shall be a provision for sustained follow-up and counselling by professional counsellors of UNICEF. We also sensitise district-level officers to regularly keep in touch with the victim and ensure all possible help."
Jerusalem, Feb 6 : The Israeli Secondary School Teachers' Association staged a strike in high schools in the country for a pay increase.

Some middle school teachers who are members of the association also took part in the strike, which aimed to pressure the Finance Ministry into reaching a new collective agreement with teachers in time, as the previous one had expired more than a year ago, reports Xinhua news agency.

The association said in a statement that the ministry had yet to negotiate such an agreement, leaving the teachers with "no one to talk to".

The organisation demands, among other things, that the minimum salary of a secondary education teacher be raised to 12,000 new shekels ($3,511).

Responding in a statement, the Ministry claimed that it was not avoiding the talks and called on the teacher's association to get back to the negotiations.
Chennai, Feb 6 : The Tamil Nadu Police has opened history-sheets against 'ganja' peddlers in southern districts of the state, police said.

This action comes after high incidences of 'ganja' being peddled in the districts of Madurai, Tenkasi, Virudhunagar, Dindigul, Theni, Ramanathapuram, Sivaganga and Tirunelveli.

According to sources in the South Zone police department, history-sheets have been opened against 624 'ganja' peddlers.

Generally history-sheets are opened against law and order and regular offenders, but the South Zone police have opened the history-sheets to curb the increasing incidences of ganja peddling in these districts.

In 2022, the South Zone police have attached properties worth Rs 12.5 crore of ganja peddlers and their relatives in connection with 13 cases of peddling and seizure of huge quantities of ganja and other banned psychotropic drugs.

The police have also frozen 1,956 bank accounts of the peddlers and their relatives. In another interesting development, the South Zone police have started collecting bonds from those convicted in ganja peddling cases to curb their further entry into the drug peddling business.

Police sources told IANS that bonds have been collected from 1,377 suspects and a total of 58 offenders who violated the bond conditions were arrested.

The South Zone police have requested the special court to obtain bonds against convicts in ganja smuggling cases citing Section 34 of the NDPS Act.

The police said that earlier, the accused may be convicted with simple punishments, including a few weeks of prison and a small fine and once the convicts come out of the prison they again indulge in peddling.

After bonds were introduced, things turned murkier for the ganja peddlers and the police is expecting that the menace is curbed to a larger extent.
Athens, Feb 6 : Three children and a woman died after a boat carrying yet unknown number of refugees and migrants capsized off the Greek island of Leros in the Aegean Sea.

The body of the woman was collected in the sea, Xinhua news agency quoted the Hellenic Coast Guard as saying in a statement on Sunday.

The three children had been transferred to a local hospital where they died, the local Port Authority said.

A total of 39 people were rescued, according to the latest count, and many were of African descent, according to AMNA.

Survivors told authorities there were about 40 people, among them minors and a person with disabilities, on board the dinghy that had set sail from the Turkish coast, a Hellenic Coast Guard statement said.

A search and rescue operation was still underway to locate survivors in a rocky remote part of the island amid bad weather conditions with heavy rainfall, strong wind and low visibility, the Coast Guard said.

Greece has been at the forefront of the refugee and migrant influx since 2015 and hundreds have perished in the Aegean Sea in the past eight years.
Seoul, Feb 6 : Rescuers searching a 24-tonne fishing boat that capsized off South Korea's southwestern coast found three missing crew members dead inside the shipwreck on Monday, Coast Guard officials said.

Seawater started to flood the ship's engine room, causing the vessel, the Cheongbo, to overturn at 11.19 p.m. on February 4 in waters 16.6 km west of the uninhabited island of Daebichi that lies some 20 km from the southwestern county of Sinan, reports Yonhap News Agency.

The sinking had left nine of the 12 people, including three foreign nationals, on board the ship missing, while the other three were rescued by another boat at the scene.

Divers on an underwater search entered the sunken ship and found one of those missing crew members inside the ship's cabin at 3.22 a.m. and retrieved the body, Coast Guard officials said.

Authorities identified him as the ship's chief engineer in his 60s.

Two more crew members -- one Korean and the other foreigner -- were later found dead near the vessel's stern by Coast Guard divers.

Rescue workers had difficulty entering the ship, where entangled fishing gear and nets blocked their path.

They planned to bring the shipwreck out of the water around noon to search its interior for the missing.
New Delhi, Feb 6 : Cyber-security researchers on Monday said they have discovered a spear phishing campaign targeting multiple IT firms where scammers were sending WhatsApp messages to top tier employees' personal numbers pretending to be their CEO.

CloudSEK analysts found a spear phishing campaign targeting multiple corporations wherein a specific form of a message purportedly coming from superiors or CEOs may actually be a fraud.

In these messages, the threat actor pretends to be the company's CEO and sends a WhatsApp message to employees (mostly top-level executives) on their personal phone numbers.

Scammers misuse CEOs' publicly available pictures by using WhatsApp profile pictures as a social engineering tactic to convince the victim.

"The research unveiled lead generation and business information tools being misused by these scammers to extract personal phone numbers," said a CloudSEK researcher.

The scam begins with employees receiving an SMS-based message from an unknown number allegedly impersonating a top-ranking executive from the organisation.

The reason for impersonating the top-ranking executive is to instill urgency and panic.

If the receiver of the SMS acknowledges the scammer with a response, the threat actor/scammer would request to complete a quick task. The quick tasks commonly include purchasing gift cards for a client or employee and/or wiring funds to another business.

"In some cases, the scammer may ask employees to send personal information (like PINs and passwords) to third parties, often providing a plausible reason to carry out the request," said the report.

Threat actors often use commanding and persuasive language to convince the email victim to respond.

Senior employees of the organisation can be looked up from LinkedIn.

Threat actors then use popular sales intelligence or lead generation tools such as Signalhire, Zoominfo, Rocket Reach to gather personal identifiable information (PII) like emails, phone numbers, and more.

"These online databases of businesses have their methodologies for obtaining, verifying, and then selling the employees' contact details of an entity," said the report.
Following opposition parties met in LOP Shri Mallikarjun Khargeji's Chamber in Parliament Building to chalk out strategy on Adani Financial Scam & other issues. Image Source: IANS News

Following opposition parties met in LOP Shri Mallikarjun Khargeji's Chamber in Parliament Building to chalk out strategy on Adani Financial Scam & other issues. Image Source: IANS News

Following opposition parties met in LOP Shri Mallikarjun Khargeji's Chamber in Parliament Building to chalk out strategy on Adani Financial Scam & other issues. Image Source: IANS News

Following opposition parties met in LOP Shri Mallikarjun Khargeji's Chamber in Parliament Building to chalk out strategy on Adani Financial Scam & other issues. Image Source: IANS News

Following opposition parties met in LOP Shri Mallikarjun Khargeji's Chamber in Parliament Building to chalk out strategy on Adani Financial Scam & other issues. Image Source: IANS News

Following opposition parties met in LOP Shri Mallikarjun Khargeji's Chamber in Parliament Building to chalk out strategy on Adani Financial Scam & other issues. Image Source: IANS News

New Delhi, Feb 6 : The opposition parties on Monday protested in front of the Gandhi statue in Parliament premises demanding a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) or Supreme Court monitored probe into the allegations of fraud and stock manipulation against the Adani Group.

Ahead of the meeting, the opposition parties met at the leader of opposition, Mallikarjun Kharge's Chamber in Parliament Building to chalk out the strategy on Adani Financial Scam and other issues.

Apart from the Congress, the meeting was attended by the DMK, NCP, BRS, JD(U), SP, CPI(M), CPI, Kerala Cong (Jose Mani), JMM, RLD, RSP, AAP, IUML, RJD and Shiv Sena (Uddhav Thackeray) Meanwhile, the Congress MPs in both Houses have moved notices to discuss the issue.

While Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi on Friday had said that the government has nothing to do with the matter and the opposition is raising it as it is bereft of issues.

Speaking to reporters in Parliament, Joshi, when asked about the government's stand on the Adani group issue, said that the government has got nothing to do with the matter.

"Government has nothing to do with it (Adani group issue)... The opposition is disrupting the House as it has no other issues," the Parliamentary Affairs minister said.
Washington, Feb 6 : The top cybersecurity diplomat in the US, Nate Fick, has revealed his personal Twitter account was hacked.

In a tweet, Fick said that "My account has been hacked. Perils of the job." It was not clear who was responsible for the hack or if cyber-criminals posted anything derogatory from his personal account.

According to a CNN report, US President Joe Biden in June announced to nominate Fick to lead the newly-formed Bureau of Cyberspace and Digital Policy.

The bureau is aiming to make digital rights issues an "intrinsic part of US foreign policy" amid nation-state threats from Russia and China.

Fick was a Marine Corps veteran and former chief executive of a cybersecurity firm.

Fick was scheduled to travel to Seoul this week to discuss cybersecurity cooperation with the South Korean government.

Meanwhile, a report said that China has been orchestrating cyber attacks on both allies and competitors, adding that the countries affected include Russia, the US, Iran and South Korea.

According to the Indo Pacific Centre for Strategic Communications (IPCSC), a Chinese hacking group had launched a cyberattack on 12 Korean academic institutions.

Twelve South Korean websites attacked by a Chinese hacking group remained unable to be accessed even days after the incident.

The Chinese attackers, identifying themselves as Xiaoqiying, hacked into the websites of 12 academic organisations and institutions Sunday, including the Korea Research Institute for Construction Policy, the Korean Archaeological Society and the Korean Academy of Basic Medicine & Health Science.
Chennai, Feb 6 : In line with Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman's budget announcement, the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) should set a committee of its own to review its various regulations governing the sector, said industry experts.

They also said the said committee should have representation from all the regulated entities and policyholders.

Industry officials told IANS that the Regulations Review Committee (RRC) and the various sub-groups set up by the two insurance councils -- Life Insurance Council and General Insurance Council -- does not have proper representation from major stakeholders.

It is also learnt the IRDAI's Board's sanction has not been obtained on the setting up of RRC with the officials of the insurance regulator.

The RRC was set up by the two insurance industry bodies on September 6, 2022 -- based on IRDAI's letter dated July 29, 2022.

Sitharaman presenting her budget for 2023-24 in Parliament said: "To meet the needs of Amrit Kaal and to facilitate optimum regulation in the financial sector, public consultation, as necessary and feasible, will be brought to the process of regulation-making and issuing subsidiary directions." Continuing further she said: "To simplify, ease and reduce cost of compliance, financial sector regulators will be requested to carry out a comprehensive review of existing regulations. For this, they will consider suggestions from public and regulated entities. Time limits to decide the applications under various regulations will also be laid down." Incidentally the first Chairman of the IRDAI N.Rangachary had voiced out a similar view to IANS in 2021 itself.

"It is time to do a review of IRDAI. It is more than two decades since IRDAI came into existence. As a matter of fact, every regulatory organisation should be reviewed at regular intervals," Rangachary told IANS.

It was Rangachary who had paved the regulatory path for the sector as the first head of IRDAI.

"There should be a review committee to go into all regulatory aspects. It is time to see whether the original goal of forming the regulatory body has been fulfilled and if not, the action to be taken," Rangachary suggested.

It should also be noted that the various regulations that were brought in when the sector was opened up has stood the test of time with no major issues plaguing the sector.

Be that as it may, industry officials told IANS that the RRC and the sub-groups set up by the two insurance councils last year suffer from some issues which need to be sorted out.

Though the Finance Minister had said the financial sector regulations would be reviewed based on suggestions from public and regulated entities, the RRC does not have any representation from the policyholders or the intermediaries like agents and brokers.

The mandate of RRC is to streamline various regulations guidelines, circulars, etc., would be required to recommend appropriate draft regulatory stipulations for the industry. The RRC has formed nine subgroups to represent various stakeholders.

"Not even once has the RRC sub-group of the intermediaries met once. The meeting has to be held fast," K.C. Lokesh, Convenor, Confederation of General Insurance Agents Associations of India, told IANS.

He also said the main committee or the RRC does not have any representation from the 40 lakh insurance agents, which should be corrected.

Sumit Bohra, Chairman of the sub-group and President, Insurance Brokers Association of India (IBAI) told IANS, that: "There is no representation of the insurance brokers in the RRC. Further the sub-group to study the existing regulations and recommend the changes has not met even once." Bohra told IANS that S.N. Jayasimhan, Chief General Manager (Intermediaries), IRDAI and the Convenor of the RRC's sub-group on the Unified Regulations for Insurance Intermediaries, had raised several issues relating to the RRC.

Replying to Bohra's letter on the issue of not calling a meeting of the sub-group, Jayasimhan said he had flagged many regulatory concerns while going through the Order that was finalised in respect of the main RRC and various sub-groups.

A copy of the email was seen by IANS.

Jayasimhan in his reply to Bohra had said that he had shared a note on the regulatory concerns with N.S.Kannan, RRC Chairman and CEO, ICICI Prudential Life Insurance, Tapan Kumar Singhel, Co-Chair and MD & CEO, Bajaj Allianz General Insurance, Naveen Tahiliyani, Managing Director, TATA AIA Life Insurance and few others including Bohra.

"This apart, as IRDAI Legal Department was coordinating the efforts of the exercise, I had informed of the same to Mr Nithyanandam (IRDAI official) as well," Jayasimhan's email to Bohra notes.

"As you have desired to know the status of Sub-Group's progress, I would like to point out that the Legal Department or none from Mr N.S. Kannan, Mr Thapan (Tapan) Singhel, Mr Navin Thaliyani (Naveen Tahiliyani), including you had provided any answer on how the issues pointed out have been addressed/resolved, to enable a coordinated approach to bring the Regulations as required," the email adds.

Industry officials to whom IANS spoke were of the view that the issues raised by the senior IRDAI official were valid and progressive.

Interestingly, the two councils are said to be the industry's self regulatory bodies. But they seemed to have failed to notice the regulatory violations by its members and take necessary action.

For instance, a probe by the Directorate General of Goods and Services Tax Intelligence has found several leading insurance companies of tax fraud to the tune of over Rs 820 crore -- claiming input tax credit without supply of any goods and services.

Be that as it may, Jayasimhan declined to comment when contacted by IANS for clarifications on issues mentioned in the email to Bohra.

The core contention of Jayasimhan is that IRDAI cannot allow the industry bodies to frame the regulations, which the Parliament has delegated to it.

The key issues flagged by Jayasimhan are that the terms of reference of RRC do not include governance, operation process, standard operating procedure and its confirmations.

Also, it mentions non-availability of common methodology to consolidate the effort, conflict of interest in making the officers of IRDAI to work with the industry, where IRDAI is attempting to discharge its Regulatory mandate through Councils or through Insurers in RRC.

According to Jayasimhan's mail, IRDAI officers can be just convenors to bring coordination amongst the stakeholders and not members Further, the mail mentions that the convenors and Chairmen of sub-groups are not part of the RRC which will finally result in not having a proper coordination of sub-group efforts.

In specific, the mail points out that "Outside legal experts, who were not involved in Insurance Operations will at best be only editing the language without the knowledge of Insurance Business.

"Hence, the RRC should identify a Legal/Compliance Officer with adequate experience and exposure to Insurance Business to be involved at sub-group level, before the same is submitted to the RRC," he had opined in his mail to Bohra.

On the contrary, the RRC has engaged a law firm to work on the regulations.

According to Jayasimhan's email, the RRC should have a Past President of Institute of Chartered Accountant of India (ICAI) as one of its Members as Accounting and the IFRS squarely is in the territory of the ICAI and the mandate of implementing the IFRS is also with the ICAI.

Further, it is through the Past President of the ICAI, all accounting and IFRS requirements need to be frozen to make the necessary recommendations to ICAI's President, who is a Member in the Board of IRDAI, states the email.

Meanwhile, the RRC was given two months time to submit its report when it was set up on September 6, 2022.

(Venkatachari Jagannathan can be reached at V.Jagannathan@ians.in)
Kalaburagi : , Feb 6 (IANS) A video of Karnataka Police shooting a knife-wielding rowdy in the leg has gone viral on social media.

The rowdy, Fazal Bhagavan, was wielding a knife and threatening people in the market area of the Kalaburagi city.

The police, which rushed to the spot, were attacked by Fazal, who was wielding the knife dangerously towards the people. The police warned him repeatedly to drop the weapon and surrender.

Fazal did not listen to the warnings and continued creating a scene in the public for more than one hour. Finally, the senior police officer shot him in the leg twice. As he collapsed, the police took him into custody.

The accused was admitted to a private hospital and administered treatment.

The incident took place on Sunday evening in the Chowk Police station limits of Kalaburagi city.

The video of the accused wielding the knife was shot by the police, which has gone viral on social media. The police are investigating the case.

Further details are awaited.
Rijeka : , Feb 6 (IANS) Borna Coric fired Croatia through to the Davis Cup Finals for a fourth time after ending Austria's hopes of a final day fightback in their 2023 Qualifier.

Coric saw off Dominic Thiem 7-6(3) 6-2 in an hour and 45 minutes to prevent Jurgen Melzer's visiting side from gaining any further momentum after Austrian doubles pair Lucas Miedler & Alexander Erler had recorded a surprise triumph over the home side in the doubles.

Austria's doubles pair upset Nikola Mektic and Ivan Dodig 6-3 7-6 (11) in one hour and 50 minutes to deny a Croatian clean sweep after the two Bornas - Borna Coric and Borna Gojo - had won their singles on the opening day.

That left Thiem with an opportunity to take the contest to a deciding fifth, but the 2020 US Open champion, still on the comeback trail from a wrist injury, struggled for consistency against Coric.

"I enjoyed the fight, it was great," Coric was quoted by ATP Tour website. "It was great to play in front of the home crowd. I was very happy with the way I was playing on the important points. I was very aggressive so I'm super happy with the win." In the other qualifiers, Korea Republic recovered from 0-2 down for the first time to claim a remarkable 3-2 victory over Belgium, while Finland sealed their first-ever berth in the Finals Group Stage with a 3-1 win over Argentina.

Elsewhere, Netherlands cruised past Slovakia 4-0, and there were 3-1 victories for Chile and Czech Republic over Kazakhstan and Portugal respectively.

The six victorious teams follow Great Britain, Serbia, Switzerland, Sweden, USA and France in progressing from this weekend's Qualifiers.

The 12 winning nations in the Qualifiers joined 2022 champions Canada, 2022 runners-up Australia and wild cards Italy and Spain at the 2023 Finals.

The Group Stage will be played across four venues from September 12 to17, with the eight best-performing teams advancing to the Final 8 in Malaga, Spain from November 21 to 26.
New Delhi, Feb 6 : Both Houses of Parliament were adjourned till 2 p.m. on Monday after the opposition tried to raise the issue of Adani.

The adjournment motion in the Lok Sabha was rejected by the sSpeaker and the suspension of business notice was rejected by the Rajya Sabha chairman.

There were 10 notices in the Upper House by the opposition on the issue but were disallowed. Following pandemonium the House was adjourned till 2 p.m.

Earlier, the opposition parties protested at the Gandhi statue in Parliament premises demanding a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) investigation or Supreme Court monitored probe in the Adani issue.

K.C. Venugopal of the Congress said, "The government's stand is exposed in the matter... that is why they are running away from debate and constituting a JPC." Ahead of the House proceedings, the opposition parties met in leader of opposition Mallikarjun Kharge's Chamber in Parliament Building to chalk out a strategy on Adani financial scam & other issues.

Apart from the Congress, the meeting was attended by the DMK, NCP, BRS, JD(U), SP, CPI(M), CPI, Kerala Cong (Jose Mani), JMM, RLD, RSP, AAP, IUML, RJD and Shiv Sena (Uddhav Thackeray) On Friday, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi said that the government has nothing to do with the matter and the opposition is raising it as it is bereft of issues.

Speaking to reporters in Parliament, Joshi, when asked about the government's stand on the Adani group issue, said that the government has got nothing to do with the matter.

"Government has nothing to do with it (Adani group issue)... The opposition is disrupting the House as it has no other issues," the Parliamentary Affairs minister said.
Thiruvananthapuram, Feb 6 : The health condition of two-time former Kerala Chief Minister and veteran Congress leader, Oommen Chandy has now become a point of discussion, forcing him to clarify on social media stating that his immediate family and the Congress were helping him get the best treatment.

This comes after allegations that Oommen Chandy was not being given proper treatment and his health was deteriorating every minute. His 42 close relatives, including a sibling, have written to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan seeking constituting a medical board to examine the health of the ailing former CM.

At present, Chandy's treatment is being managed by his immediate family, while his younger brother Alex V. Chandy, relatives and friends comprising a total of 42 persons have signed a memorandum and submitted it to Vijayan seeking his intervention.

During the last leg of his second term as the Chief Minister in 2015, Chandy's voice level dropped and was taken to a few hospitals in the state as well as outside the state and abroad for treatment.

On January 1, he returned from treatment from Bengaluru, which was a follow-up treatment after he was treated in Germany.

The present impasse began after Chandy was supposed to return for follow-up treatment to Bengaluru, he did go there but was reported to have returned very quickly.

Meanwhile, after this news spread in the media, the latest development is Chandy will be proceeding to Bengaluru soon.

Now all eyes are on what action Vijayan will take after the receipt of the memorandum. With the upcoming state Assembly session, will this issue be raised on the floor of the Assembly as Chandy is now the longest serving legislator in the Assembly since 1970.

At present, Chandy's voice has again turned very feeble.
Hyderabad, Feb 6 : In another setback to the Telangana government, the state High Court on Monday dismissed its appeal challenging the transfer of the investigation into the MLAs poaching case to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

The division bench comprising Chief Justice Ujjal Bhuyan and Justice N. Tukaramji dismissed the petitions of the state government and MLA Pilot Rohit Reddy challenging the order of the single judge transferring to the CBI the case relating to the alleged attempt to poach four legislators of the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS).

The division bench ruled that the single judge bench's order can't be faulted and interfered with.

The division bench's order paved the way for CBI investigation into the sensational case. The High Court did not accept the request of the Advocate General to stay the implementation of the order as the state government plans to challenge the same in the Supreme Court.

On December 27, 2022, Justice B. Vijaysen Reddy ordered the transfer of the MLAs' Poachgate case to the CBI. The High Court had also quashed a Government Order under which a Special Investigation Team (SIT) was constituted by the state government to probe the case.

The single judge had pronounced the order on the petitions filed by the accused priest Ramchandra Bharati, pontiff Simhayaji, and restaurant owner Nandu Kumar that they did not have faith in the SIT investigation.

The judge had also observed that the media should not have been given access to investigation material. He also noted that the state has not responded to the question who provided the Chief Minister with investigative materials.

During the hearing on appeal filed by the state government, Supreme Court advocate and senior counsel Dushyant Dave had faulted the order of the single judge for coming to a conclusion based on apprehensions of the accused and the BJP without any material beyond reasonable doubt.

Dave told the court that once evidence was submitted to the court, it becomes a public document and such revealing of the public document by Chief Minister to the media cannot be considered as leakage of material by the investigating agency. He pointed out that while the BJP was toppling State governments by defecting MLAs from other parties across the country, there was nothing wrong about the Chief Minister of Telangana bringing to the notice of millions of voters the politics played by BJP.

The three accused were arrested by Cyberabad police from a farmhouse at Moinabad near Hyderabad on the night of October 26, 2022 when they were allegedly trying to lure four MLAs of BRS with offers of huge money.

Cyberabad police conducted the raid on a tip-off by Pilot Rohit Reddy, one of the MLAs. He alleged that the accused offered Rs 100 crore to him and Rs 50 crore each to three others to make them defect to BJP.

The state government had subsequently constituted SIT headed by Hyderabad Police commissioner C.V. Anand to probe the case.

BJP general secretary B.L. Santosh,ABharath Dharma Jana Sena (BDJS) president Tushar Vellapally and a doctor from Kerala, Jaggu Swamy, lawyers Srinivas and Pratap Goud and Nanda Kumar's wife Chitralekha were also summoned by the SIT for questioning.

Santosh, Tushar and Jaggu Swamy had approached the High Court and secured a stay on the notices.

The high court on December 1 granted conditional bail to the accused.

However, Ramachandra Bharati and Nanda Kumar were re-arrested by the police soon after their release from jail on December 8 in connection with other cases registered against them.

While Ramachandra Bharati was booked for holding multiple passports, Aadhaar cards and other documents, five cases were registered against Nanda Kumar for cheating and other offences.
New Delhi, Feb 6 : Congress MP Shashi Tharoor hit back at the BJP after facing criticism for tweeting on the demise of former Pakistan President Parvez Musharraf.

"Question to BJP leaders frothing at the mouth: if Musharraf was anathema to all patriotic Indians, why did the BJP Government negotiate a ceasefire with him in 2003 & sign the joint Vajpayee-Musharraf statement of 2004? Was he not seen as a credible peace partner then?" Tharoor tweeted.

Tharoor on Sunday condoled the demise of former Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf.

Tharoor said that Musharraf, who was once an implacable foe of India, had become a real force for peace during 2002 to 2007.

"I met him annually in those days at the @un &found him smart, engaging & clear in his strategic thinking. RIP," the Thiruvananthapuram MP said.

Taking to Twitter, Tharoor posted: "Pervez Musharraf, Former Pakistani President, Dies of Rare Disease: once an implacable foe of India, he became a real force for peace 2002-2007. I met him annually in those days at the @un &found him smart, engaging & clear in his strategic thinking. RIP" Musharraf, 79 died of a rare disease in a hospital in Dubai on Sunday.
Chennai, Feb 6 : The next movie of Tamil superstar, Thalapathy Vijay, 'Leo', according to reports, has collected Rs 246 crore from digital rights, satellite, and music rights.

The movie directed by Tamil's super director Lokesh Kanagaraj (previously in the news for 'Vikram') has collected a huge amount immediately after the announcement promo of the movie was done.

Kanagaraj's previous movie 'Vikram' featuring Kamal Haasan shattered collection records and, the industry buzz suggests, the movie 'Leo', in which he is uniting with Thalapathy Vijay, seems headed in the same direction.

According to Tracktollywood.com, the movie has been made at a cost of around Rs 250 crore and that it has already collected a staggering Rs 246 crore. The digital rights of the movie fetched it Rs 150 crore while its satellite rights gave Rs 80 crore and the music rights led to a collection of Rs 16 crore.

The movie has Bollywood star Sanjay Dutt as the anti-hero and hence a huge money has come from Hindi dubbing rights.

The last movie of Kanagaraj and Vijay together, 'Master' was a blockbuster success and expectations are high on them reuniting for 'Leo'.

Sources in the Tamil film industry told IANS that such a huge collection was not expected in the initial stages of a movie's promo.

The film also features the reunion of Vijay and Trisha after 14 years. Others in the lead roles are Arjun Sarja, Mansoor Ali Khan, Gautam Vasudev Menon and Priya Anand.

The YouTube promo of the movie, meanwhile, has also been a big global hit, surpassing even the views garnered by Shah Rukh Khan-starrer 'Jawan' and 'Tiger 3'.

-- Except for the title, this story has not been edited by Prokerala team and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed
Seoul, Feb 6 : South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol's approval rating rose 2.3 percentage points over the week to 39.3 per cent last week, a weekly poll showed Monday.

The negative assessment on Yoon's conduct of state affairs slipped 2.0 percentage points to 57.8 per cent, according to local pollster Realmeter.

Support for the ruling conservative People Power Party came to 41.0 per cent last week, up 2.4 percentage points from a week earlier, reports Xinhua news agency.

The main liberal opposition Democratic Party's popularity rating decreased 3.1 percentage points to 42.3 per cent.

The minor progressive Justice Party won 3.6 per cent of support score last week, down 0.3 percentage points from the previous week.
Bengaluru, Feb 6 : Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in Bengaluru on Monday as Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai, Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot and state BJP chief Nalin Kumar Kateel extended a warm welcome to him.

Modi arrived in a special flight to the HAL airport in Bengaluru and visited the Bengaluru International Exhibition Centre in the outskirts of the city to inaugurate the India Energy Week in a special chopper.

The Prime Minister on his one-day visit, will inaugurate HAL helicopter factory in Gubbi taluk of Tumakuru. This manufacturing facility spread across 615 acre of land is dubbed as India's largest manufacturing facility of light utility helicopters and Indian multirole helicopters.

He will also address a public rally after inaugurating the HAL manufacturing factory. The foundation stone for the manufacturing unit was laid by Modi in 2016.

The Prime Minister will also lay the foundation stone for Tumakuru industrial township, an industrial node on the Chennai-Bengaluru industrial corridor. The project is aimed to provide employment to more than 90,000 people. It is spread over 1,722 acre and is being implemented at a cost of Rs 1,701 crore.

Later, Modi will inaugurate multi-village water supply schemes under the Jal Jeevan Mission in Tiptur taluk and Chikkanayakanahalli taluk in Tumakuru, which will provide clean water for 1.86 lakh people from the Hemavathi river at a cost of Rs 435 crore and Rs 115 crore respectively.

The Prime Minister is likely to have two more visits to Karnataka. His visit to inaugurate Shivamogga airport on February 27 is already confirmed.

Modi will also visit Bengaluru to inaugurate the Aero India Show, to be held between February 13 and 17.

The BJP insiders say the Prime Minister will be highlighting the development and contribution of the double-engine government at the state and the Centre.
Ankara/Damascus, Feb 6 : Over 300 people were killed and more than 1,000 others injured in Turkey and Syria after a massive earthquake measuring 7.8 on the Richter scale struck a wide area near the two countries' border, according to authorities.

The US Geological Survey said the tremor occurred at 4.17 a.m. at a depth of 17.9 km near the Turkish city of Gaziantep, reports the BBC reported.

Addressing reporters, Turkey's Interior Minister Suleymon Soylu said the 10 cities of Gaziantep, Kahramanmaras, Hatay, Osmaniye, Adiyaman, Malatya, Sanliurfa, Adana, Diyarbakir and Kilis were affected.

While in Malatya province, north-east of Gaziantep, at least 23 people were killed, in Sanliurfa, to the east, there were 17 deaths, the Minister said, adding that the rest of the fatalities were reported in Diyarbakir and Osmaniye.

About 440 people were injured in Turkey and 639 in Syria.

Meanwhile, the Syrian Health Ministry said that 237 people were killed due to the quake which was also felt in Lebanon and Cyprus.

The fatalities were reported in the regions of Aleppo, Hama, Tartus and Latakia, according to the Syrian Arab News Agency.

The agency quoted Deputy Minister of Health Ahmad Damiriyeh as saying that general emergency plans have been implemented to provide for the affected areas and that private hospitals have been ordered to receive all injured cases, reports Xinhua news agency.

The Ministry of Transport announced earlier the suspension of train traffic on all railways as a precautionary measure, pending inspection of the bridges and tracks of the railway network.

Authorities in the two neighbouring nations fear an increase in the death toll as many buildings have collapsed and rescue teams were deployed to search for survivors under huge piles of rubble.

The initial quake was followed by another one measuring 6.4 on the Richter scale at 4.26 a.m., Xinhua news agency quoted Turkey's Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD), as saying.

At least 50 successive earthquakes were recorded with a maximum magnitude of 6.6, said AFAD.

Widespread damage was reported in at least 10 provinces in southern and southeastern Turkey, it added.
Patna, Feb 6 : Unidentified thieves have stolen two km railway track in Bihar's Samastipur district, an official said.

The stolen track connected Lohat sugar mill with Pandaul railway station. As the sugar mill was shut for the past few years, there was no movement on the route.

Two Railway Protection Force employees have been suspended in connection with the matter.

Samastipur DRM has constituted a team to investigate the matter.

The theft was carried out in "connivance" with RPF personnel, sources said.

As there was no movement on that stretch, the thieves stole the track and sold it to scrap dealers. Thefts of railway scarps are a regular affair in Bihar but this is probably the first time that 2 km track was stolen.

An FIR has been registered by RPF.
New York, Feb 6 : The Senate in the US state of Utah unanimously passed a resolution highlighting the history and significant contributions of the Sikh community.

The resolution, which was passed last week, appreciated the Sikhs for their humanitarian services, despite receiving hate and facing oppression for their faith worldwide.

"The Senate unanimously passed H.J.R (House Joint Resolution) 4, a resolution highlighting the history and significant contributions of the Sikh community. We were joined by members of Utah's Sikh community as well as those from India and other parts of the world," a tweet from the Utah Senate read.

The resolution was moved by Representative Angela Romero and Senator Luz Escamilla from Salt Lake City.

It noted Sikhism as one of the largest religions in the world focused on "loving service to humanity," but has for long faced "oppression and discrimination throughout the world".

"The state of Utah seeks to further the diversity of its community and afford all residents the opportunity to better understand, recognise, and appreciate the rich history and shared experiences of Sikhs to enforce laws for access to equal opportunity of humans, irrespective of their caste, creed, colour, or appearance," the resolution stated.

Before Utah, 15 other states, including New Jersey and Pennsylvania, have recognised the Sikh community for their service.

In December, Utah became the 15th state in the US to include information about Sikhism, Sikh practices, and traditions in their schools' social studies syllabi.

Sikhism is the fifth largest religion in the world and the community has contributed to American society for over 125 years in the fields of civil rights, politics, agriculture, engineering, and medicine.
New Delhi, Feb 6 : A plea has been moved in the Supreme Court against the appointment of advocate L. Victoria Gowri as an additional judge of the Madras High Court.

However, a short while before the petition was mentioned for urgent hearing, Union Law Minister Kiren Rijiju tweeted that the Centre has appointed 13 additional judges to high courts, which included Gowri's name.

Senior advocate Raju Ramachandran mentioned the matter before a bench headed by Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud. Ramachandran sought for urgent listing of the petition, saying it is an urgent petition by senior lawyers of Madras concerning the impending appointment and they are praying for interim relief.

He urged the apex court to hear the matter at the earliest. Initially, the bench said it will hear the matter next Monday. But Ramachandran pressed for an earlier date for hearing, and then the Chief Justice agreed to take up the matter on Friday.

According to reports, some lawyers have also written to the President and the Chief Justice of India registering their protest against the proposed elevation of Gowri as a judge.

The Supreme Court collegium on January 17 had proposed the elevation of advocate Lekshmana Chandra Victoria Gowri, as judge of the Madras High Court.
Los Angeles, Feb 6 : On the eve of the 65th Grammy Awards, the music industry's glitterati were jazzed for the chance to resume the tradition of coming together for a night of tributes, shout-outs and impressive displays of talent, reports 'Variety'.

Here are a few things 'Variety' learned from Clive Davis's pre-Grammy Gala at the Beverly Hilton on Saturday evening (U.S. Pacific Time).

Swiss Beatz does a spot-on Davis impression.

Atlantic Records' Julie Greenwald is a "bad-ass bitch" in Cardi B's estimation.

Elvis Costello considers Nick Lowe "his hero".

Joni Mitchell digs the sound of Latto's 'Big Energy'.

It's still a ton of fun to sing along with Frankie Valli, especially when he's backed by four Italian rockers with swagger to spare.

Atlantic Records' Craig Kallman spent his childhood studying the fine print of album credits, searching for 'mythic' names such as Ahmet Ertegun, Mo Ostin and, of course, Clive Davis.

"This is a mind-blowing experience for me," Kallman told the crowd as he and Greenwald were saluted with the Industry Icons award, recognising their success as leaders of Atlantic Records and their long respective runs in music.

Greenwald, who was introduced with Bronx flair by Cardi B, also brought an aw-shucks attitude in accepting the kudos, according to 'Variety'. "Not bad for a Jewish girl from the Catskills," Greenwald said, recalling her early years working for Lyor Cohen at Rush Management and Def Jam Records.

"It was us against the world, bringing rap to the mainstream," she said. Greenwald also used her platform to urge the room to fight the growing instances of prosecutors using rap lyrics as evidence in criminal trials. (California passed legislation banning the practice last fall.)
Bengaluru, Feb 6 : Swiggy on Monday announced it has appointed three independent directors to its Board - Mallika Srinivasan, Padma Shri awardee and Chairman and Managing Director of TAFE; Shailesh Haribhakti, Chairman of Shailesh Haribhakti & Associates; and Sahil Barua, Managing Director and CEO at Delhivery.

They are the first independent directors on Swiggy's board and join current members: ASriharsha Majety - CEO and Co-founder of Swiggy; Nandan Reddy, Co-founder of Swiggy; Larry Illg, CEO of Prosus Edtech and Food; Ashutosh Sharma, Head of Investments- India, Prosus Ventures; Sumer Juneja, Managing Partner, India and EMEA, SoftBank Investment Advisors; and Anand Daniel, Partner at Accel.

"Getting these new and powerful perspectives and strengthening our governance will immensely benefit us as we march ahead in our mission to bring unparalleled convenience to consumers," said Majety.

Srinivasan said that she is pleased to join the Board as the "company moves forward in pushing boundaries and redefining newer segments." "I look forward to supporting the Swiggy management team in their quest to build a world-class business that serves millions of customers in their everyday needs," added Barua.

Swiggy connects consumers to over 200,000 restaurant partners in hundreds of cities. Its quick commerce grocery service Instamart is present in over 25 cities.
New Delhi, Feb 6 : With the arrest of a notorious burglar and a receiver of stolen items, the Delhi Police on Monday claimed to have solved 12 cases of theft registered across South Delhi.

The cases were reported in Vasant Vihar, Vasant Kunj, RK Puram and Saket among other areas.

Police said that they recovered 15 mobile phones from the possession of the 45-year-old burglar identified as Bhupender alias Balle from Faridabad, Haryana, and the receiver Sonu, a 31-year-old resident of the capital city's Badarpur area.

The Deputy Commissioner of Police (southwest) Manoj C said that on February 3, specific inputs were received regarding the presence of a desperate burglar in the area following which a police team laid a trap at Faridabad and succeeded in arresting Bhupender.

On cursory search, police found eight stolen mobile phones and a pair of Air Pods in Bhupender's possession.

"During interrogation, it was revealed that the accused had come out of jail two months ago and he is a habitual burglar. He used to steal mobile phones, laptops, purses from houses and sold the stolen mobile phones to Sonu," said the DCP.

A further raid was conducted in Badarpur which led to Sonu's arrest.

"A total of seven stolen mobile phones recovered from his possession," said the official, adding that Bhupender is also found previously involved in 23 cases of burglary and house thefts.
Phnom Penh, Feb 6 : Cambodia sent the 13th batch of 216 peacekeepers to join a UN mission in Lebanon.

The military multi-skilled engineering group would substitute the 12th batch, whose one-year term had come to an end, Gen. Sem Sovanny, director-general of the National Centre for Peacekeeping Forces, said during a farewell ceremony held at the Phnom Penh international airport late Sunday night, reports Xinhua news agency.

"It's another pride for our country and people, and it reflects Cambodia's active contributions to maintaining peace and security in war-torn countries," he said.

Sovanny advised them to strictly comply with the UN rules and disciplines, the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces' code of ethics, and the host country's laws.

"You all must keep in mind that your mission represents not only the UN and the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces, but also Cambodia as a whole, so it's essential to uphold national honour in all of your activities during both on and off duty," he said.

The peacekeepers will work on landmine clearance, construction of roads, bridges, shelters and pumping wells, he said.

The Southeast Asian nation first sent troops overseas on UN peacekeeping missions in 2006.

To date, the country has dispatched a total of more than 8,000 blue berets to join UN peacekeeping missions in Sudan, South Sudan, the Central African Republic, Chad, Syria, Lebanon and Mali.
Mumbai, Feb 6 : Bollywood superstars Shah Rukh Khan and Salman Khan teamed up on-screen for the delight of their fans in 'Pathaan' and now the post-credit scene is turning out to be a landmark in Hindi cinema given the magnitude of their stardom and their impact on the screen.

The two actors spoke on joining forces as their titular characters of Tiger and Pathaan and also the spy universe of YRF.

Salman said: "For Shah Rukh and I to come together on the big screen, it always needed a special film and I'm glad 'Pathaan' is that film. When we did 'Karan Arjun', it was a blockbuster and now, Pathaan, which is part of YRF's Spy Universe, has also turned out to be a blockbuster. I'm aware that audiences love to see us together on screen and I'm happy that they have given us so much love in 'Pathaan'. I was floored when Adi narrated the sequence to me and told me about his vision to bring us together on screen again." SRK said: "Trust me when I say this, Salman and I have always wanted to act together but we were waiting for the right film, the right script because we both knew that there would be incredible excitement to see us on screen but we would have to deliver that promise to audiences because they love us so much. If not, they would be mighty dejected and it wouldn't work for the project. Matlab fans ka sawaal hai, choti script pe nahi chodh sakte types (Since it's for the fans the script has to be good)."
Guwahati, Feb 6 : At least four tourists were injured during an elephant safari in Assam's Kaziranga National Park on Monday, officials said.

Speaking to IANS, Divisional Forest Officer Ramesh Gogoi said: "According to the primary information received so far, two elephants engaged in a minor tussle during the safari. In the course of that, four tourists riding on an elephant fell to the ground. One 26-year-old girl was somewhat badly injured. Rest have sustained minor injuries." The forest staff immediately rushed the tourists to a nearby hospital for treatment.

Later, they were shifted to Jorhat Medical College and Hospital.

"In safaris, we have many elephants, and tourists sometimes insist on spotting rhinos from a very close position. Two elephants confronted each other during such a time," Gogoi said.

The incident occurred in the Kohora range of the park.
New Delhi, Feb 6 : Both Houses of Parliament were adjourned till Tuesday amid protests and sloganeering from opposition parties demanding a discussion and a probe into allegations of fraud against the Adani Group.

During the Budget session, which began on January 31, only the President's address and the Budget presentation took place. Even the motion of thanks on the President's address could not be initiated as the opposition has remained resolute in raising its demand for a discussion over the Adani Group.

In the morning, there were 10 notices in the Upper House by the opposition on the issue but were disallowed. Following pandemonium, the House was adjourned till 2 p.m., but later when it assembled again, the opposition demanded discussion on the Adani issue and the House was adjourned for the day Earlier, the opposition parties protested at the Gandhi statue in Parliament premises demanding a JPC probe or Supreme Court-monitored probe in the Adani issue.

K.C. Venugopal of the Congress said, "The government's stand is exposed in the matter and that is why it is running away from debate and constituting a JPC." Ahead of the meeting, the opposition parties met at the leader of opposition Mallikarjun Kharge's Chamber in Parliament building to chalk out a strategy on the Adani financial scam and other issues.

Apart from the Congress, the DMK, NCP, BRS, JD(U), SP, CPI(M), CPI, Kerala Cong (Jose Mani), JMM, RLD, RSP, AAP, IUML, RJD and Shiv Sena (Uddhav Thackeray) attended the meeting.
Mumbai, Feb 6 : Ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's daylong visit to Mumbai, the police have banned the use of drones, paragliders and remote-controlled microlight aircraft, all types of balloons, kites, at various locations in the city, an official said here on Monday.

The ban will be effective for 24 hours from the midnight of February 9-10 to midnight of February 10-11 near the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharashtra International Airport, INS Shikra, Marol in Andheri east and Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus.

In the order, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Ops) Sham Ghuge said: "On the occasion of the Prime Minister of India's Mumbai visit at Mumbai Airport, INS SHIKRA, CSMT and Marol, Andheri, on February 10, 2023, large number of VIPS, Various Officers in large numbers are expected to attend the program. It is necessary that some checks should be put on activities around Mumbai, so that Terrorist/Anti-Social elements may not attack through drone, paragliders, remote control microlight aircraft, all types of balloons, kites and immediate action is necessary for the prevention of the same." "These activities shall not be allowed in the jurisdiction of Airport Police Station, Sahar Police Station, Colaba Police Station, M.R.A.Marg Police Station, MIDC Police Station & Andheri Police Station., and anyone flouting them shall attract action," said Ghuge.

Modi is expected to attend a series of events in Mumbai city and suburbs on February 10 and will be accompanied by many VIPs like the Governor, Chief Minister, Deputy CM and others.
Hyderabad, Feb 6 : The government of Telangana has hiked allocations for agriculture and allied sector and some other key departments in the state Budget 2023-24 presented on Monday.

The election year Budget, pegged at Rs 2.90 lakh crore, has no new schemes but the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) increased allocations for some of its flagship schemes.

The Budget outlay has been increased by about 13 per cent over 2022-23.

The size of last year's Budget was Rs 2.56 lakh crore.

Presenting his fourth Budget and the last of the BRS government in its present term, state Finance Minister T. Harish Rao announced Rs 1,000 crore for new recruitments in government departments and Rs.500 crore for providing Infrastructure facilities to all universities.

He proposed Rs 26,831 crore for agriculture and allied departments, which along with irrigation remained priorities of the government.

For farmers' debt waiver, the government has allocated Rs 6,385 crore, an increase of Rs 2,385 crore over last year For Rythu Bandhu, the flagship scheme to provide investment support to farmers at the rate of Rs.10,000 per acre annually, the allocation has been increased marginally to Rs 15,075 crore. The allocation for insurance to farmers has been revised from Rs 1,465 crore to Rs 1,589 crore.

Harish Rao proposed Rs 26,885 crore for the irrigation sector and reiterated the government's commitment to bring an additional 50,24,000 acres under irrigation in the next two to three years to take the total area to 1 crore 25 lakh acres.

Stating that Telangana is the only state in the country providing uninterrupted 24-hour quality power supply to all the sectors of the economy and free power to the agriculture sector, he enhanced allocation for power subsidy to Rs 12,000 crore from Rs 10,500 crore in 2022-23.

Under Aasara pensions, provided to various categories of beneficiaries, the allocation has been enhanced by Rs 271 crore to Rs 12,000 crore for 2023-24.

Under the flagship scheme Dalit Bandhu, the Minister proposed Rs 17,700 crore. During the years, 1,100 Dalit families in each of the 118 Assembly constituencies will be provided Rs 10 lakh each.

The allocation for the education department is pegged at Rs 19,093 crore. For the medical and health department, he proposed Rs 12,161 crore.

The state Finance Minister proposed Rs.2,500 crore for maintenance of R&B roads and s.2,000 crore for maintenance of Panchayat Raj roads He also announced the contract employees will be regularized and the pay scales of employees of SERP will be revised from April, 2023.
New Delhi, Feb 6 : Capital amounting to Rs 2,76,043 crore infused in public sector Banks (PSBs) since FY 2017-18, has been funded through recapitalisation bonds issued by the Central government and subscribed by the recapitalised banks for the full amount of capital infused.

According to information provided by the Union Ministry of Finance in a written reply in Lok Sabha on Monday, capital is infused by the Centre in PSBs from time to time to supplement their efforts to meet capital requirement.

As per Reserve Bank of India (RBI) guidelines and policy approved by banks' boards, non-performing assets (NPAs), including, those in respect of which full provisioning has been made on completion of four years, are removed from the balance-sheet of the bank concerned by way of write-off.

"Banks evaluate/consider the impact of write-offs as part of their regular exercise to clean up their balance-sheet, avail of tax benefit and optimise capital, in accordance with RBI guidelines and policy approved by their Boards. As per inputs received from RBI, scheduled commercial banks (SCBs) wrote-off an amount of Rs. 10,09,511 crore during the last five financial years, from FY 2017-18 to FY 2021-22," said the reply.

The borrowers of written-off loans continue to be liable for repayment, and the process of recovery of dues from the borrower in written-off loan accounts continues.

Banks continue to pursue recovery actions initiated in written-off accounts through various recovery mechanisms available, and through sale of NPAs, said the Ministry.

The reply further said that all PSBs have a well-established vigilance mechanism headed by a Chief Vigilance Officer directly appointed by the Centre.

CVOs of banks keep a close watch on various aspects of the bank's functioning. As per RBI instructions on the internal control and inspection/audit system in banks, the central bank has advised banks regarding fixing of staff accountability aspect of irregularities, malpractices, at all levels.

As banks write-off only those NPAs which have been fully provided for, and continue their efforts to recover the dues, write-off exercise does not amount to misappropriation of funds, added the Ministry.
New Delhi, Feb 6 : The total exposure to top 10 borrowers from Scheduled Commercial Banks as reported in the Central Repository of Information on Large Credits (CRILC) database is Rs 12,71,604 crore, informed the Union Ministry of Finance in a written reply in the Lok Sabha on Monday.

A large part of this exposure is from Public Sector Banks amounting to Rs 8,10,941 crore and from Private Sector Banks it is Rs 3,70,973 crore.

As per inputs received from the RBI, in order to protect banks from risk, it has implemented large exposure framework which limits the exposures that a bank can take to a single counterparty and a group of connected counterparties to 20 per cent (extendable to 25 per cent by the Board of the bank under exceptional circumstances) and 25 per cent, respectively, of the eligible capital base of the bank, said the reply.

Also, as per the RBI guidelines, banks are required to have a clear policy regarding the Debt-Equity Ratio for project financing to ensure that promoters bring in equity funds proportionate to bank finance.

To address the concentration risk emanating from large exposure to banking system, the RBI has stipulated banks to maintain additional provisions of 3 percentage points and additional risk-weights of 75 percentage points over the applicable provision and risk-weights respectively, on the incremental exposures towards specified borrowers having overall aggregate sanction credit limit of Rs 10,000 crore.

The Ministry in its written reply informed that to protect financial institutions in case of default or payment delay by large borrowers, the RBI has taken multiple steps. A comprehensive framework has been put in place for early recognition and resolution of stress in the borrower accounts manifesting in payment default providing a principle-based framework for time-bound resolution of large borrowers. Delayed resolution is disincentivised in the form of additional provisioning on the financial institutions, it said.

Concrete steps have been taken in resolution of specific, large-value stressed accounts under the provisions of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code and minimum provisioning requirements have been prescribed for both standard advances and non-performing advances which are expected to mitigate the impact of default by large borrowers, on the financial health of the financial institutions, said the reply.
Gurugram, Feb 6 : Gurugram Police have arrested two drug peddlers and seized 285 kilograms of cannabis from them valued at more than Rs 40 lakh in the market, police said on Monday.

The police have also seized a truck which the accused used for the transportation of the contraband from Vishakapatnam (Andhra Pradesh).

The arrested culprits were booked under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act and were taken on police remand on Monday, the police said.

The culprits were arrested by a crime unit of Manesar from Sultanpur toll plaza on the Kundli-Manesar-Palwal (KMP) Expressway after they received a tip-off on Sunday.

The police said the suspect - Ashok Kumar alias Guddu and Arvind Kumar were heading towards Bahadurgarh in Haryana and Delhi to sell narcotics but were nabbed by the crime branch team of the Gurugram Police.

During questioning, the culprit disclosed that they had sourced the narcotics from Vishakapatnam for potential customers in Delhi and NCR.

"We are checking their criminal records and whether they have been arrested earlier. A case under relevant sections of the NDPS Act was registered against the accused at Farrukhnagar police station," said Vijay Pratap Singh, DCP (crime).
Thiruvananthapuram, Feb 6 : Amid a controversy in the state over the treatment being provided to two-time former Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy, his close aide and veteran Congress leader A.K. Antony enquired about his health on Monday.

In the Congress for the past four decades, there is a faction led by Antony, but all along it was managed by Chandy.

A controversy has surfaced when Chandy's younger brother Alex V. Chandy and 41 others, mostly relatives and close aides of the now ailing Chandy, had sent a memorandum seeking the intervention of Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan to ensure that proper medical care is given to Oommen Chandy.

Antony said he often enquires about Chandy's health.

When the media persisted with the question of Chandy's health, Antony said he came to discuss politics and asked the media not to speculate further.

Meanwhile, Chandy's brother levelled serious allegations against Chandy's wife, son Chandy Oommen and elder daughter Maria, who he says are not giving him proper treatment and hence they were forced to approach Vijayan.

"My brother's youngest daughter Achu is very keen and doing her best to give him the best treatment. My brother is not allowed to see those who come to see him. Mani C. Kappan, the legislator from Pala, along with his wife was not allowed to meet my brother. Now after the memorandum to the Chief Minister was given, there is huge pressure to withdraw it. After my brother came from Bengaluru last month, no treatment is being given for the past 15 days," said Chandy's brother.

During the last leg of his second term as the Chief Minister in 2015, Chandy's voice level dropped and he was taken to a few hospitals within and outside the state and abroad for treatment.

On January 1, Chandy returned from treatment from Bengaluru, which was a follow-up treatment after he was treated in Germany.

The present row began after Chandy was supposed to return for the follow-up treatment to Bengaluru. He did go there but was reported to have returned quickly.

The latest development is that Chandy will be proceeding to Bengaluru soon.

Now it remains to be seen what action Vijayan will take after the receipt of the memorandum.

With the upcoming state Assembly session, will this issue be raised on the floor of the Assembly as Chandy is now the longest serving legislator in the Assembly since 1970.

At present, Chandy's voice has again turned very feeble.
New Delhi, Feb 6 : Edtech firm BYJU's will not be able to meet its March 2023 deadline to achieve group-level profitability, as it envisioned in its earnings in October last year, reliable sources said on Monday. On top of it, its results for most of the months for the current fiscal year are delayed again.

Sources told IANS that the company, which has sacked thousands of employees to date and has taken deeper cuts, is still unable to achieve profitability at group level amid mounting losses.

In October after firing 2,500 employees and consolidating its business in the country, Mrinal Mohit, CEO, BYJU'S India business, had said that "these measures will help us achieve profitability in the defined time frame of March 2023".

At a group level, BYJU's had said its top priority is to achieve "overall profitability by March 2023".

However, this appears impossible now with the company still struggling to stem growing losses.

Last week, the edtech major laid off another 15 per cent of its employees, or more than 1,000 people, mainly from its engineering teams, as the company continues phased layoffs to remain growth-oriented in a global economic meltdown.

Between April-July 2022, the company logged a revenue of Rs 4,530 crore. Post that, there has been no communication from the company about the pending results.

The edtech unicorn reported a loss of Rs 4,588 crore for the fiscal year that ended on March 31, 2021.

BYJU's had claimed it clocked gross revenues of nearly Rs 10,000 crore in FY22.

Meanwhile, according to sources, BYJU's acquisition of Delhi-based offline test preparatory services provider Aakash for nearly $1 billion is still incomplete and Aakash Chaudhry, Co-Promoter and Managing Director of Aakash Educational Services Limited (AESL), has resigned from the board.

When reached, Aakash declined to comment.

New reports emerged in December that BYJU's, which may have seen a definite erosion in its last market value at $22 billion, hasn't paid several of its vendors for months.

According to Morning Context, "some of the payments are due since March and there is trouble with their clearance. In the eight months to October 2022, cumulative dues to vendors have crossed Rs 90 crore".

When reached, BYJU's had not offered a comment on this report.

In seemingly fresh trouble for BYJU's, some lenders had asked the edtech unicorn to repay part of a $1.2 billion loan they recently bought into as they renegotiate terms of the debt.

The demand from creditors comes at a time when BYJU's was in the process to restructure the loan.
Hyderabad, Feb 6 : The Telangana government on Monday allocated Rs 2,500 crore for Metro Rail project in Hyderabad including for extending metro services to the old city and for metro connectivity to the airport.

In the Budget for 2023-24 presented in the State Assembly, Rs 1,500 crore has been allocated for Hyderabad Metro Rail (HMR).

The government also allocated Rs 500 crore each for extending Metro Rail services to the old city and metro connectivity to Rajiv Gandhi International Airport at Shamshabad.

State Finance minister T. Harish Rao, in his budget speech, only elaborated on the allocation made for metro connectivity to airport.

He noted that the number of air travellers using the international airport has been increasing day by day. The expansion facilities at the airport at a cost of Rs 7,500 crore have been taken up to meet the requirements even if the air traffic goes up to 4 crore passengers per year. He said the expansion facilities will be completed by June.

The minister said with the objective of facilitating the passengers to reach the airport in the shortest possible time from different areas, it has been envisaged to extend metro rail services to the airport. This metro lane will commence from Raidurg and terminate at Shamshabad Airport covering a distance of 31 km.

Recently, Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao has laid the foundation for metro connectivity to the airport. This project will be taken up at a cost of Rs 6,250 crore with own resources of the State government and will be completed within the next three years, he said.

Another Rs 500 crore have been allocated for extending Hyderabad Metro Rail services to the old city. An equal amount was allocated in the Budget for the previous year but the work was not taken up.

L&T Metro Rail Hyderabad (L&TMRH) has completed the first phase of the Metro Rail project across three corridors to a total length of 69.2 km. While L. B. Nagar to Miyapur and Nagole to Raidurg corridors have been completed, Jubilee Bus Station (JBS) to Falaknuma is yet to be completed. On the third corridor, connectivity has been provided from JBS to Mahatma Gandhi Bus Station (MGBS) also called Imlibun.

The developer has not taken up expansion in the old city due to lack of permission. Religious and heritage structures along the proposed route in the old city and financial losses suffered by the developer and operator due to Covid-19 pandemic are cited as the reasons for the delay in construction of Metro works on the 5.5 km stretch.

The state government has still not made clear if it will fund the work in the old city on its own. The concessionaire is unlikely to fund the works as the project cost has already escalated substantially for property acquisition, shift of utilities like electricity lines, water pipelines and the construction of elevated viaducts as well as stations.

In 2021, AL&TMRHL sought the state government's help to overcome the losses it incurred due to the pandemic.

The 73-km elevated metro is the biggest metro project in the world in public private partnership (PPP) model built at a total cost of Rs 20,000 crore.
New Delhi, Feb 6 : Samsung India on Monday said that it has received bumper pre-booking for the its newly-launched Galaxy S23 series in India, with 1,40,000 units worth Rs 1,400 crore being pre-booked in the first 24 hours which is a record for its flagship device portfolio in the country.

Raju Pullan, Senior Vice President, Mobile Business, Samsung India, told IANS that these devices are being manufactured at the company's Noida factory.

"This time, we have seen 2X demand for the Galaxy S23 series from last year. The response to Galaxy S23 series, especially the Ultra model, is due to attractive pre-booking offers and our popular digital lending programme Samsung Finance+ which has brought thousands of aspirational Indians into our fold," Pullan told IANS.

Samsung had opened pre-booking for its new Galaxy S23 Series across online and offline retail stores in the country on February 2.

"The record pre-bookings in the first 24 hours demonstrate the excitement among Indian consumers with Galaxy S23 series' groundbreaking camera capabilities, future-ready mobile gaming experience and eco-friendly materials," Pullan noted.

Customers pre-booking Galaxy S23 Ultra can get Galaxy Watch4 LTE Classic and Galaxy Buds2 at a special price of Rs 4,999, effectively saving more than Rs 43,000 on these two devices.

Galaxy S23 Ultra comes with an all-new 200MP sensor with adaptive pixels which can capture images with epic details. With the Super Quad Pixel AF, the rear camera can focus on subjects 50 per cent faster.

The front camera on Galaxy S23 series now comes with Dual Pixel autofocus technology along with Nightography, which allows shooting from the front camera even in low lighting conditions. The Dual Pixel, autofocus technology, also ensures 60% faster focus from the front camera.

The Galaxy S23 series starts from Rs 74,999 in India, and comes in three variants -- S23, S23+, and S23 Ultra -- in phantom black, cream, green, and lavender colours. Galaxy S23 Ultra (12/256GB) begins from Rs 124,999.

The company already fulfils a majority of the domestic demand in India through local manufacturing at the Noida factory.

Samsung inaugurated the world's largest mobile factory in Noida in 2018, with the vision to make India a global manufacturing hub.
Chandigarh, Feb 6 : Lok Sabha MP from Punjab's Patiala constituency and former Union Minister Preneet Kaur on Monday hit back at the Congress for its show-cause notice to her for alleged anti-party activities.

Preneet Kaur is the wife of former Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh. She is a four-time MP from Patiala.

In her letter addressed to Congress disciplinary action committee's member secretary Tariq Anwar, the Patiala MP said: "At the onset I am surprised to see that a person who left the Congress party in 1999 on the issue of Sonia Gandhi being a foreign national, and stayed out for 20 years till 2019, and had to face disciplinary action himself, is now questioning me on a so-called disciplinary matter." Talking about the Punjab leaders, she said: "The Congressmen in Punjab who have made allegations against me are those who have many issues pending against them.

"If you call my husband (Amarinder Singh), who was then Chief Minister, he will give you details about their doings. He protected them because they were from his own party. However, I suppose you will not do that." The Patiala MP further said she will keep on working for her constituents.

"As per your show-cause notice, I have always stood by my constituents, constituency and my state, Punjab, and have taken up their issues regardless of which government is in power. I hope you are aware that every minister of the Congress government in any state has to meet his department, the Union Government Minister, in this case the BJP government, to get their state's issues resolved.

"This was done in the past Congress government in Punjab and today I am sure that it is being done by the Congress government in Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan as well. I too shall always continue to meet the state and governments to resolve such issues, whether you like it or not." Kaur ended the letter by saying, "As to action against me, you are free to take whatever action you wish."
Kolkata, Feb 6 : Bollywood actor and BJP leader Paresh Rawal heaved a sigh of relief on Monday after a single-judge bench of the Calcutta High Court dismissed the FIR filed against him for his anti-Bengali comments.

With the FIR being dismissed, the city police will not be able to carry out any further investigation against him in the matter and hence the petition in the court also stands dismissed.

The case was filed against Rawal by CPI(M) politburo member and party's state secretary in West Bengal Md Salim at Taltala Police Station in Kolkata. He alleged that the comments made by the actor were meant to provoke riots and destroy the harmony between Bengalis and other communities across the country and cause public mischief.

"Gas cylinders are expensive but they will come down. People will get employment too. But what will happen if Rohingya migrants and Bangladeshis start living around you, like in Delhi? What will you do with gas cylinders? Cook fish for the Bengalis?" the actor had said while campaigning for BJP in Gujarat at that point of time.

While dismissing the FIR on Monday, Calcutta High Court's single-judge bench of Justice Rajasekhar Mantha observed that the actor-turned-politician made that comment in Gujarati language and later also apologized for the same through a Twitter message.

"So, there can be questions about the seriousness of the FIR filed at Taltala Police station in Kolkata in the matter," Justice Mantha said.

Then, he questioned Md Salim's counsel whether there is any concrete reason to go ahead with the case in the matter. As the counsel said that he would like the decision on this count to be taken by the court, Justice Mantha dismissed the FIR and ordered that there will be no further investigation in the matter.

After his comments in December last year drew severe criticisms, the veteran actor tendered a public apology. "Of course, fish is not the issue as Gujaratis cook and eat fish. But, to be clear, I meant illegal Bangladeshis and Rohingyas. However, if I have offended your thoughts and views, I sincerely apologise," he had tweeted then.
New Delhi, Feb 6 : The Delhi High Court on Monday said that it will hear the final submissions in the bail plea of Enamul Haque, who was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on February 18, 2022, as the prime accused in a cattle smuggling case across the India-Bangladesh border in West Bengal, on February 14.

Haque's counsel senior Advocate Vikas Pahwa will appear before Justice Anup J. Bhambhani's bench.

Earlier, Pahwa had submitted that this is the third arrest of his client.

Pahwa had argued that the ED should satisfy the court on how the proceeds of crime are generated in this case.

He had also submitted that all the allegations on the CBI charge-sheet name accused persons, but nothing about the offences, cattle smuggling, etc, and it has no supporting evidence at all.

"They have not identified the hawala channels, no bank statements, no statements that money has come from Bangladesh, nothing on how the money was used," he had said.

He had also pointed that they have just picked up a diary but there is no evidence of who had given the money to Manoj Sinha, who is Haque's staff. They (ED) have just picked the entries from the diary.

Pahwa had submitted that the link of the proceeds of crime is missing.

He had said: "It is ED's duty to establish the foundation facts of the case. The burden of proof shifts only when trial starts and the charge-sheet is filed." On December 13, Pahwa had argued that the investigation agency failed to show scheduled offences, and proceeds of crime, and thus, Section 3 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act falls flat in the case against Haque.

Pahwa had submitted that what Haque is doing is taking place throughout the country, which is buying cattle auctioned by the government and then selling them in the market.

He had contended that money laundering is not a standalone offence according to the apex court's judgment in the Vijay Madanlal case.

He had argued that the ED is accusing Haque of cattle smuggling under Sections 120B, 420 of the IPC and not bribery. He had added that if cattle are smuggled out of the country then the money has to come to India.

Pahwa had also submitted that the ED is showing two transactions, one of Rs 12.5 crore and Rs 6.1 crore to two different people based on a handwritten diary by Sinha, who has not been charge-sheeted, nor is an accused or his handwriting has been matched.

Moreover, Sinha doesn't even know Haque.

"In fact, the ED is relying on a certified true copy they took from CBI," Pahwa had added.
Gurugram, Feb 6 : To prevent crimes and maintain law and order across the state, the Haryana government has launched a special campaign 'Aakraman-4', police said.

As part of this campaign launched on Sunday, 207 special teams, including 828 Gurugram police personnel, under the campaign nabbed 207 criminals along with a criminal carrying a reward of Rs 15,000 and 15 wanted criminals during the 24-hour operation after raiding several places in the city.

During the operation, a total of 77 cases were registered against such criminals under various sections of the IPC at different police stations.

During this special drive, a total of 18 accused carrying illegal weapons were arrested and a total of 18 cases were registered against them in the concerned police stations and a total of 18 country-made pistol/pistols and nine live cartridges were recovered from their possession.

A total of 41 accused of possessing/selling illicit liquor were arrested and 41 cases were framed against them as well as a total of 788 bottles of liquor and 60 bottles of beer were recovered from their possession.

While taking action against those who keep/sell narcotics, a total of seven accused and seven cases were registered against them and 288 kilogram of ganja was also recovered.

Similarly, while taking action against those involved in gambling the Gurugram police arrested eight accused and filed a total of eight cases against them under the Gambling Act, from whose possession a total of Rs.38,700 was recovered.

A total of 51 declared proclaimed offenders and bail jumpers were arrested during this special drive.

In major cases the district police also nabbed five wanted criminals involved in murder cases, seven accused in crimes against women, two wanted in robbery cases, two accused in cow smuggling, and two wanted in snatching and theft.

"It was a state-wide campaign following an order given by the police headquarters. To curb crime and nab criminals in Gurugram the police also nabbed 15 wanted criminals and even rescued a missing girl from the clutches of the criminals. Such campaign will be conducted in future as well," Vijay Pratap Singh, DCP (Crime) said.
Chandigarh, Feb 6 : Twenty-two years ago, a Canadian-born Indian woman, Jassi, paid a heavy price for defying her parents to marry a poor peasant from Jagraon in Punjab.

She was kidnapped, defaced and killed. Her husband, Sukhwinder Mithu, survived the murderous attack on him but has been a living corpse since then.

On one side, he's fighting for justice for Jassi, and on the other, he's fighting the influential persons, 'corrupt' police who slapped one after another seven 'false' police cases on him.

All this to make him submit.

Mithu has already been acquitted in six of those cases, and the Commission for Inquiry into false police cases upheld his innocence along with an award of compensation of punishment for guilty cops.

However, the orders issued by Justice Mehtab Singh Gill (retd.) are yet to be implemented. Jassi's mother and uncle, Malkiat Kaur and Surjit Badesha, were extradited for the crime in January 2018, 18 years after Jassi's murder. Their trial has been going on since then in a Sangrur court.

Investigative journalist Jupinderjit Singh has brought out Mithu's suffering and Jassi's gruesome honour killing in his book 'Butchered for Love' (FernTree Publishing), which was released at Inkreadible Writer's Fest last week.

Written from the point of view of different characters involved in the story, the book narrates Jassi and Mithu's immortal love tale, including the letters they wrote, the sweet-nothings they shared, and just about a month of togetherness they had before the contract killers swooped like vultures on them.

The book paints a gory yet accurate picture of the menace of honour killing in India. "It is a dishonourable killing," Jupinderjit Singh told IANS while talking about the book.

A chronicler of the case for more than two decades now, Jupinderjit Singh has written 100-plus news articles about it. His reports appearing in The Tribune were taken up further by foreign journalists as well. His earlier work included the discovery of the lost pistol of Shaheed Bhagat Singh, with which the martyr killed British Police Officer J.P. Saunders in December 1928.

"I have seen much bloodshed and macabre killings, but the way Jassi was killed disturbed me the most," he said.

Sample this excerpt from the book, "Even if you had the hardest heart in the world, you would tremble at the marks on Jassi's body. Using a sword, the killers had made three deep horizontal cuts. First, a 7.5-inch long and two-inch wide across her face, cutting the nose into two. Then, below the neck was a 4 x 2.5-inch slit mark that had caused her death. When your throat is slit, you can't even scream because the blood enters your air pipe and lungs, asphyxiating you within seconds.

"At best, Jassi could have only gurgled her agony. It didn't end there. Another deep horizontal cuts, 6.5-inche long and 2.5-inch wide across Jassi's breasts. A punishment for going against the wishes of her parents. They called it an act of saving the family's honour. But where's the honour in this?" Jupinderjit Singh's questions in the book, "I wonder if the hearts of the contract killers didn't bleed for a moment when Jassi was crying, beckoning God and humanity, and compassion in them when they were killing and ravaging her. Or didn't they even think about their sin when they left Mithu for dead in the fields and snatched his Jassi forever from him? Just a few thousand currency notes were enough to make them beasts." Jassi's life was killed in the bud.

Speaking for oppressed and suppressed women who can't choose their life partner even in the modern world, Jupinderjit Singh writes, "Jassi lived chasing a dream, and she died doing so. She was a free bird, and no one could clip her wings. She and Mithu were born miles away and nurtured in completely contrasting conditions. But while they narrowed the gap of continents between them, they could not win over the narrow-minded people and eventually paid for it dearly." (Vishal Gulati can be contacted at vishal.g@ians.in)
Mumbai, Feb 6 : Global natural resources and technology conglomerate Vedanta on Monday appointed David Reed as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of its semiconductor business.

He will be responsible for setting up a state-of-the-art semiconductor fab unit and semiconductor assembling and testing unit, the company said in a statement.

Reed was formerly with NXP Semiconductors, where he was Executive Vice President and General Manager of global operations.

"He has played a pivotal role in shaping the entire global semiconductor industry. His expertise and experience will be an asset as we embark upon this critical journey with Foxconn to help create a sustainable domestic electronic manufacturing ecosystem in India," said Anil Agarwal, Chairman, Vedanta.

A 35-year veteran in the semiconductor industry, Reed's extensive international experience includes establishment of a complete semiconductor ecosystem with global execution of wafer fabrication, research and development, assembly and testing, total quality management and packaging, and supply chain management.

Reed began his career at Texas Instruments in 1984, where he served for 26 years in a variety of leadership roles across the world.

"This venture is a watershed development for the global semiconductor industry, and I am excited to be part of it. I look forward to leading a diverse team of highly talented and committed professionals and will work alongside them to bring this historic project to fruition," said Reed.

In September 2022, Vedanta signed an MoU with the Gujarat government to set up India's first semiconductor fab unit, a display fab unit, and a semiconductor assembling and testing unit in the state.

Vedanta in collaboration with Taiwanese manufacturing giant Foxconn is all set to manufacture semiconductors on Indian soil with the $19.5 billion pact for such plants in Gujarat.

Vedanta has recently signed MoUs with 30 Japanese companies for development of India's semiconductor and display glass manufacturing ecosystem.
Seoul, Feb 6 : Samsung Electronics has agreed to pay $150 million to Nanoco Technologies in settlement for a patent lawsuit over a technology used in Samsung's quantum-dot LED TV, a litigation finance firm for the British company has said.

GLS Capital announced the two parties reached the settlement shortly before the start of the trial on January 6 to end the litigation, according to a joint press release by GLS Capital and Nanoco.

The settlement includes a license agreement and the transfer of "certain patents" and settles all related proceedings in the US, Germany and China, the release said, without providing further details, reports Yonhap news agency.

Samsung and Nanoco announced last month the settlement was reached, but no details on the terms of the settlement deal were disclosed.

Nanoco sued Samsung in 2020, accusing the South Korean tech giant of copying its technologies related to the synthesis and use of quantum dots.

Nanoco is known for its development and manufacturing of the quantum dot displays without the use of cadmium, a toxic metal.
Thiruvananthapuram, Feb 6 : In a first of its kind in Kerala, a fast-track court in the state capital city on Monday sentenced a transgender for sexual assault on a 16-year-old boy.

The court sentenced the transgender to six years imprisonment, besides imposing a fine of Rs 25,000.

The police said the incident occurred in 2016, when the now transwoman, who was a man during a train journey to the state capital city, met the young boy.

The 'man' got friendly with the boy and when the train reached the central station here, he took the boy to a comfort station and sexually assaulted him.

Later, on several occasions the 'man' called on the boy's mobile but he kept away and later when he started sending messages on the Facebook account of the boy, whose account was tagged to his mother's mobile phone, the boy's mother after watching for a while sked her son about the matter.

The son told what had happened and soon a case was registered with the local police.

When the trial was going on, the 'man' became a transwoman and is now known as Sanchu Samson.
New Delhi, Feb 6 : In the last one year, a total of 63 passengers have been placed in the "No Fly List" for unruly behaviour. These include two incidents of urinating that have come to the notice of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).

Minister of State for Civil Aviation, V.K. Singh in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha on Monday said: "In last one year, a total of 63 passengers have been placed in the "No Fly List" for such period, as recommended by the airline's Internal Committee, constituted in accordance with Civil Aviation Requirements (CAR), Section 3 -- Air Transport, Series M, and Part VI titled "Handling of unruly/disruptive passengers." Government data disclosed that the number of incidents related to unruly behaviour of passengers in the flights has risen in the last one year.

In reply to another query, the Ministry informed that there are 143 passengers who have been placed in the 'No Fly List' since 2017 for a period as per the recommendations of the respective Internal Committee constituted by the airline.

As per the provision mentioned in CAR, a 'No Fly List' is maintained by DGCA containing specific information related to the passenger involved, contact details of identification documents, date of occurrence, sector, flight number, period of imposition of ban etc.

The majority of passengers placed in the "No Fly List" were for violation related to not wearing a mask or not obeying the instructions of crew members, said the reply by the Ministry.

The reply informed that as regarding specific incidents related to urination, action was taken by DGCA for non-compliance to applicable regulations.

For an incident in AI-102 flight, New York to New Delhi, dated November 26, 2022, a financial penalty of Rs 30,00,000 has been imposed on Air India. A financial penalty of Rs 3,00,000 has been imposed on Director Flight services of Air India and license of pilot in command suspended for three months.

For the incident in flight AI-142, Paris to New Delhi dated December 6, 2022, a financial penalty of Rs 10,00,000 has been imposed by the DGCA on Air India, said the reply.
Ludhiana, Feb 6 (IANS) Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Monday called upon the industrialists to showcase 'Brand Punjab' before the global industry coming to the state for participating in the Invest Punjab Summit on February 23-24. Image Source: IANS News

Ludhiana, Feb 6 (IANS) Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Monday called upon the industrialists to showcase 'Brand Punjab' before the global industry coming to the state for participating in the Invest Punjab Summit on February 23-24. Image Source: IANS News

Ludhiana, Feb 6 (IANS) Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Monday called upon the industrialists to showcase 'Brand Punjab' before the global industry coming to the state for participating in the Invest Punjab Summit on February 23-24. Image Source: IANS News

Ludhiana, Feb 6 : Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Monday called upon the industrialists to showcase 'Brand Punjab' before the global industry coming to the state for participating in the Invest Punjab Summit on February 23-24.

Interacting with industrialists during a session organised here, the Chief Minister said Punjabis are known world over for their hard work and entrepreneurship skills.

He said Punjabi entrepreneurs have proved their mettle across the globe, adding now the time has come to showcase the vast potential of the state to the world.

Mann said it is the need of hour to make the state an industrial hub of the country.

The Chief Minister said he was not here amongst the industrialists to invite them for the summit. Rather the industrialists should support the government and act as hosts to the global captains coming to the summit.

Mann envisioned that the day is not far when Punjab will emerge as a frontrunner state in industrial growth.

The Chief Minister said the state contributes 3 per cent in the national GDP.

He said Punjab is a blessed land which has fertile land and innovative people who can do anything for the country and its people. "The state is number 1 in startups and the entrepreneurs from Punjab have left an indelible imprint in the world economy." The Chief Minister said the government has introduced the new industrial policy to give impetus to industry and commerce. This policy has been framed after due consultations with all stakeholders, especially the industrialists.

Mann said any other suggestion in regard to this policy is always welcome, adding the government will soon introduce colour coding for stamp papers to facilitate the industrialists for early clearance of their new projects.

The Chief Minister said the Invest Punjab Summit will prove to be a milestone in giving a major fillip to industrial growth. The government has already finalised arrangements for this mega event.

Mann said the main motive behind giving fillip to industrialisation in the state is to reverse the trend of brain drain in the state by opening new vistas of employment for the youth.
New Delhi, Feb 6 : A down-and-out Pakistan is spinning new conspiracy theories after Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif claimed that a plot had been conceived to freeze the Kashmir issue for 20 years.

Sharif of course hastened to declare that no Pakistani could even think of allowing this to happen, the Dawn reported.

Pakistan's economy is on the brink and the success of India's global diplomacy has pushed Pakistan into a corner, especially among the leading Islamic nations but Shehbaz Sharif is busy stoking the Kashmir issue.

"Moments ago, some people shared with me in the (speaker's) chamber that a plot was conceived to defer the plebiscite in Kashmir until the next 20 years. There cannot be any conspiracy and cruelty with the Kashmiris bigger than this," Sharif said, according to the 'Dawn' report.

"I think no Pakistani politician or serviceman or soldier can even think anything like this," added the premier, the Dawn reported.

PM Sharif's disclosure was a veiled affirmation of rumours doing the rounds for some time about the freezing of Kashmir issue for 20 years through backchannel diplomacy. He didn't add detail to it, the Dawn reported.

"We are faced with huge financial challenges. While I talk to you here, an IMF delegation in Islamabad is combing every book and subsidy of every single penny.

"We have to live, but like the living nations do and not with a begging bowl. This continued to happen over the past 75 years, but someone somewhere has to stop it. And this will stop when the whole nation will unite to challenge poverty, hunger and dearness, and generate the country's internal resources," Sharif said.
Mumbai, Feb 6 : Days after the Nashik Graduates Constituency polls in which a rebel Congressman Satyajeet Tambe won as an Independent backed by the Bharatiya Janata Party, wide cracks have emerged in the state Congress.

A senior 8-time MLA and Congress Legislative Party leader Balasaheb Thorat has reportedly shot off a letter to the Congress high command complaining against the state party president Nana Patole.

The development has created ripples in the party as the mild-mannered Thorat is himself a former state party chief and minister for several years, with a reputation to take along all sections and factions of the state unit.

Addressing party workers and supporters on Sunday, Thorat expressed distress at the manner in which the 'dirty intra-party politics' ostensibly fuelled the recent rebellion by his nephew Tambe - who won the Nashik MLC seat.

"I have informed the central leadership in Delhi about this entire episode. Appropriate action will be initiated," said Thorat, without taking names.

Tambe -- who vanquished Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA)'s united candidate and a former BJP rebel Shubhangi Patil -- has also alleged that the recent developments were a 'conspiracy' to put his uncle (Thorat) in trouble.

Incidentally, after her defeat by Tambe, Patil has joined the Shiv Sena (UBT), even as the MVA leaders have signalled to the Congress to sort out its internal issues on priority.

When questioned, a tense Patole said he was not aware of any such letter written by Thorat or its content, so he was not in a position to reply to anything based on hearsay.

Among other things, Tambe -- who was expelled by the Congress for six years -- had claimed that he was denied the AB Form for the MLC polls despite an assurance from the party, compelling him to contest as a Independent and emerging victorious.

Though the state Congress has denied Tambe's allegations, other senior leaders including Vijay Wadettiwar have termed the entire issue as disturbing and called for thrashing it out in the party forum later this week.

Enjoying a rapport with Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, Tambe - a former state Youth Congress president - has dropped ample hints of joining hands with the BJP.

Hoping to avert such a possibility, MVA leaders including Nationalist Congress Party's Leader of Opposition Ajit Pawar, have urged the Congress and Tambe to forget the past, bury the hatchet and make up.
New Delhi, Feb 6 : The Supreme Court on Monday issued notice on a plea filed by same-sex couple challenging the Kerala High Court order directing one of them to attend counselling sessions with a psychiatrist.

The plea said the petitioner and the detenu are female as per their gender orientation and they both wish to get married and be together as it challenged the Kerala High Court's January 13, 2023 order, which directed the detenu to attend counselling sessions with a psychiatrist so far as her sexual orientation is concerned.

The plea contended that the parents of the detenu have kept the detenu in illegal custody against her will so as to impede the marriage between the petitioner and the detenu.

A bench headed by Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud and comprising Justices P.S. Narasimha and J.B. Pardiwala directed that the parents of the detenu would produce the detenu before the family court at Kollam and they shall arrange for an interview of the detenu with an officer of the Supreme Court.

The bench added that the officer of this court shall submit a report on whether she is being kept in illegal detention. "The statements shall be recorded in a fair manner, without any correction. Report to be submitted in a sealed cover. There shall be a stay of further proceedings before the high court till the next date of listing," said the bench, which also issued notice on the petition.

Earlier during the day, advocate Sriram P. mentioned the plea before a bench headed by Chief Justice Chandrachud and sought urgent hearing in the matter. The bench asked the counsel to keep the brief ready and it will hear the matter at the end of the board.

"The present Special Leave Petition is seeking to invoke the basic principle of Habeas Corpus and seeking the detenu to be produced before the court physically," said the plea.

It contended that the detenu, through video conferencing, clearly told the high court that she is in love with the petitioner and the detenu wanted to come with the petitioner and live happily with her ever after.

The plea said: "The High Court erroneously sought the detenu to be sent for counselling. The counselling impugned herein is obviously counselling to change her sexual orientation. It is most respectfully submitted that this counselling is proscribed under law and the High Courts of Madras, Uttarakhand, and Orissa have specifically and categorically followed the law laid down by this High Court prohibiting it."
Greater Noida, Feb 6 : A group of men, including a car driver, thrashed a toll collector and security personnel deployed at Luharli toll plaza on National Highway-91 in Greater Noida, when the latter demanded toll payment from one of the accused.

The incident was captured in a CCTV camera installed at the toll plaza.

The miscreants fled from the spot with the car soon after the incident.

Toll plaza manager Mukesh Kumar said that when a car driver was asked for toll payment at around 11.30 a.m. on Monday, he started misbehaving with the toll personnel.

Kumar added that more men, who appeared to be locals joined and assaulted him and security personnel, Shyamveer.

A complaint has been registered at Dadri police station.

Kumar said that such violent incidents kept happening on a regular basis in the area and no action had been taken by the police officers in the matter.
New Delhi, Feb 6 : The IFSO unit of Delhi Police's Special Cell has arrested an Italy-based Indian national, who was trying to cheat a senior bureaucrat by impersonating himself as the "Vice President of India", an official said on Monday.

The arrested individual has been identified as Gagandeep Singh. One of his aides, Ashwani Kumar, was also apprehended.

Gagandeep Singh, an Indian national based in Italy since 2007, created a fake WhatsApp profile with the picture of the Vice President of India to cheat the bureaucrat. Another accused, identified as -- Ashwani Kumar, was arrested for providing an OTP for the WhatsApp account to Singh, DCP, Intelligence Fusion & Strategic Operations (IFSO), Prashant Gautam, said.

"The accused also used to send messages to other government officials," the police officer said.

Singh, a resident of Jammu, was living in Offanengo, Italy. After his arrest, police recovered two mobile phones from his possession. He created a fake WhatsApp account using a photo of the Vice-President of India and sent messages to senior government officials, Gautam said.

Police arrested Kumar first and Singh later, from IGI Airport.

"An information regarding the creation of a fake WhatsApp account using the photo of the Vice president of India was received at IFSO unit of Delhi Police. Accordingly, a case was filed in this regard," the police officer said.

The details of the WhatsApp profile were obtained and the IP address of the sender was traced to Italy.

"The police team started working on all technical aspects. Immediately, raids were conducted and Kumar was apprehended," the DCP said.

"After an extensive hi-tech investigation and analysing technical details, Singh, who was living in Italy, was arrested," he added.

Before creating the WhatsApp account, Singh watched several YouTube videos and got the contacts of senior government officials online. Later, he obtained an OTP to create a WhatsApp account of an Indian mobile number from Kumar, the police said.

"After creating a WhatsApp account, he put the picture of the Vice President of India and started contacting senior government officials and sought favours from them," Gautam said.

Singh had been living in Offanengo, Italy since 2007 along with his family. He studied till Class 9 in India, and cleared the Class 12 exam later in Italy. He works as a labourer at a company in Italy.
Guwahati, Feb 6 : The All-India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) is preparing to approach the Supreme Court against the recent crackdown on child marriages in Assam, a member of its working committee said on Monday.

The decision was taken at a board meeting in Lucknow on Sunday, Guwahati High Court senior advocate and committee member Hafiz Rashid Ahmed Choudhury said.

"I raised the issue, and there was a detailed discussion on this," he said.

A case related to the minimum age of Muslim girls getting married is pending before the Supreme Court.

"According to Muslim personal law, a girl belonging to the Muslim community can get married after she attains the age of 15. The High Court of Punjab and Haryana in a verdict, said that a Muslim girl can marry a man of her choice once she is 15 years old. These types of marriages are not illegal even as per the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006," said Choudhury.

However, the high court judgement was challenged in the apex court by the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights.

The senior advocate informed that the All-India Muslim Personal Law Board would appeal to become a party in the above case.

"Although this case is not connected with Assam, both matters are related to the fixing of the minimum age of females for getting married. Therefore, we would like to be a party to it," he added.

Choudhury alleged that the Assam government has not followed laws while arresting people on the child marriage issue.

"Child marriage must be stopped, but before taking any such actions, the government should first spread awareness against it," he added.
Hyderabad, Feb 6 : Tollywood actress Rakul Preet Singh and film producer Jackky Bhagnani will headline a fashion show-cum-fundraiser for actor-producer Lakshmi Manchu's NGO, Teach for Change, which is working in the space of quality education for children from disadvantaged communities.

The annual show will be held in Hyderabad on February 19. It promises to have a robust lineup of film stars from Bollywood and the South as well as sportspersons. Funds raised from the show will be utilised for Teach for Change's campaigns throughout the year.

The stars will sashay down the ramp in designer Varun Chakkilam's outfits, a collection especially designed for the show.

Started in 2014 by Lakshmi Manchu and Chaitanya MRSK, Teach for Change has created various winning modules, ranging from a flagship volunteer programme to creating an ICT infrastructure and smart classrooms in government schools.

The organisation has so far worked with 432 government schools, transforming the lives of 42,608 students across Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.

Speaking on the occasion, Lakshmi Manchu said: "This fundraiser is a platform that can help bridge their basic educational needs with our willingness to support their cause. I am so grateful to all my industry friends, family and colleagues who have time and again supported this cause for Teach for Change and have come together to support and celebrate." Designer Varun Chakkilam said: "Lakshmi is a powerhouse of energy and anything she touches is always the real deal. The show is just one evening but has a ripple effect round the year. It is really humbling to be a part of something that is larger than all of us."
Chennai, Feb 6 : VCK founder-leader Thol Thirumavalavan has said that the "politics of hate" practiced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi must be opposed.

On the occasion of the screening of the Tamil version of the BBC documentary on the Prime Minister at the party headquarter 'Ambedkar Thidam' on Sunday, Thirumavalavan said that Narendra Modi reached the top by spreading the politics of hate. He said that Modi has not come to the top by pursuing ideological politics or by fighting for the welfare of the poor and the working class.

Thol Thirumavalavan stated, "Prime Minister Narendra Modi has grown and reached the top by spreading hate and letting loose violence claiming that only he has the ability to do such things. That's how he grew from a state-level leader to a national leader." He said that a few organizations like the VCK and the Dravidar Kazhagam (DK) were opposing the politics of the BJP and added that the discussion should be on what would happen to the country if Narendra Modi came back to power in 2024.

The VCK founder said that many are opposed to the politics of the VCK and the DK and are critical of Periyarism. He said, "We are not saying that Dravidar politics or Periyarism are beyond criticism but at present, the biggest challenge before us is Modi's politics of hate." He asked, "How are we going to overcome the politics of hate practiced by Modi." The screening of the documentary by the Left activists was prevented in some campuses. This has led to the CPI-M Tamil Nadu state secretary, K. Balakrishnan issuing a statement calling upon the government to protect the basic rights of individuals.

VCK leader and Member of Parliament from Villupuram constituency D. Ravikumar, Tamil movie director Vettrimaran, and Dravidar Kazhagam leader Kali Poonkundran were present at the screening of the documentary.
Bhubaneswar, Feb 6 : President Droupadi Murmu is scheduled to arrive here on Friday for a two-day trip to Odisha during which she will visit Lingaraj temple in Bhubaneswar, besides attending other programmes.

The President made her maiden visit to Odisha on November 10 and 11 last year.

Murmu would attend three public programmes during her second visit to Odisha after assuming the office of President, Cuttack-Bhubaneswar police commissioner, Saumendra Priyadarshi said.

She would attend two programmes in Bhubaneswar and one in Cuttack, besides visiting the Lingaraj temple, he said.

As per schedule, she would arrive here at Biju Patnaik International Airport on February 10 around noon and would proceed to Utkal Mandap, Bhubaneswar to attend the foundation day of Jnanaprabha Mission as chief guest.

After lunch, she will attend the second convocation of Rama Devi Women's University. She will spend the night at Raj Bhawan.

Next morning, Murmu is scheduled to visit Lingaraj temple and then proceed towards Cuttack to inaugurate the second Indian Rice Congress at ICAR.

Then she will leave for Delhi from Bhubaneswar Airport on the same day.

The state administration has geared up to welcome the President in her home state.

A high-level meeting to this effect was held under the chairmanship of Chief Secretary Suresh Chandra Mahapatra on Monday.

Mahapatra directed concerned officials to stay alert and keep strict vigil over the entire process meticulously so as to make the visit of Murmu free of any hitches and omissions.

Officials said RT-PCR test of all staff to be deployed for the visit, dignitaries and appointees will be conducted 72 hours prior to the event.

Use of face masks has been made mandatory for all who will attend the President's programmes.

She visited Lord Jagannath temple Puri, her alma mater, and attended the civic reception and launch of an Odia textbook for engineering courses.
Bengaluru, Feb 6 : OPEC Secretary General Haitham Al Ghais on Monday said that by 2045, an investment of $12 trillion is needed in the oil and gas sector, which suffers from chronic underinvestment.

Animesh Singh Bengaluru, Feb 6 (IANS) OPEC Secretary General Haitham Al Ghais on Monday said that by 2045, an investment of $12 trillion is needed in the oil and gas sector, which suffers from chronic underinvestment.

Addressing a ministerial session during the India Energy Week which began here, Ghais said that while energy security is important, meeting growing demand is equally important.

"A balanced approach is right for energy security. When we speak about energy security, it is always about production, capacity and supply. However there is a situation of demand also," he said.

Citing example of India, the OPEC Secretary General said that it is a classic example of exponential demand as it's economy is set to double by 2030.

In this context he said that OPEC believes that all forms of energy are required for countries like India.

The OPEC, Ghais added, is not against energy transition, but it believes that transition should be done by reducing emissions.

"We need to work together to achieve this in a just manner," he said.
New Delhi, Feb 6 : Delhi Lt Governor V.K. Saxena has approved the filling up of teaching and non-teaching staff of government-aided schools through DSSSB as is being done in the case of Delhi government schools.

"However, since this would require amendment in the Delhi School Education Rules (DSER), 1973 and the Delhi School Education Act (DSEA), 1973 that governs such provisions, the LG has directed the government (Education Department) to follow the laid down procedure in this regard," said a statement from Raj Niwas.

"To ensure that the autonomy of such schools and their Selection Committees, tasked with the responsibility of making such recruitments is maintained, it has been decided that against every vacancy to be filled, the Selection Committees of the government-aided schools will be provided with the panel of three names by the DSSSB for them to make a choice," the LG office said.

In case of government schools, the DSSSB selects and provides one candidate against each vacancy.

There are about 8,300 sanctioned posts in 207 government-aided schools against which recruitments are done from time to time. While the DSER, 1973 provides for a Selection Committee, with the nominee of the Director of Education, for such recruitments, the rules are silent about the procedure to be adopted by these Selection Committees for selection of teachers and clerical staff.

The said provisions shall be optional for government-aided minority schools.
Hyderabad, Feb 6 : Opposition parties in Telangana on Monday slammed the state Budget 2023-24, saying it is full of lies and is misleading.

Congress Legislature Party (CLP) leader Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka described the Budget as juggling with numbers. He said that it does not reflect the ground realities in the state.

He said there was no truth in the claim by Finance Minister T. Harish Rao that farmers are being provided 24-hour electricity and alleged that the agriculture sector is getting power for only five hours a day.

Vikramarka said weaker sections were allocated only Rs 6,229 crore in the Rs.2.90 lakh crore Budget. He remarked that if there is growth in one sector it is the revenue through liquor.

The BJP also came down heavily on Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) government saying the Budget is misleading.

Union Minister G. Kishan Reddy alleged that the Budget is full of lies, inflated numbers, and false promises.

Targeting Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao, he said that the "farmhouse family" allocated Rs 1,000 crore for advertisement and publicity, which is a 575 per cent increase over the last year. He said almost the same amount was allocated for Aarogyasri health insurance scheme for the poor.

"The BRS government budgets have a history of high budgetary projections, decreased revised estimates and low actual spending. This year too the same trend continues," Kishan Reddy said.

"People are fed up with such gimmicks and will see through this and say no to such no outcome budgets," he added.

State BJP President Bandi Sanjay said that the Budget is juggling with numbers to mislead people, and except targeting the Centre, there was nothing in it.
Kohima, Feb 6 : Nagaland Chief Minister and senior Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party (NDPP) leader Neiphiu Rio on Monday said that there is not much challenge from the opposition parties in the February 27 Assembly elections.

After filling his nomination in the Northern Angami-II assembly constituency, Rio said that the NDPP-BJP alliance would comfortably retain power in Nagaland.

"There is no doubt that the alliance (NDPP-BJP) would come back to power with a thumping majority. We would soon announce the common minimum programme," the Chief Minister told the media.

He said that the people would vote the alliance on the performance of the all party United Democratic Alliance (UDA) government. The NDPP and the BJP had contested the 2018 elections with a 40:20 seat-sharing formula and the alliance partners in July last year have decided to continue with the same understanding.

Later Rio tweeted : "Filed my nomination papers as a candidate for the 11 Northern Angami-II A/C for the upcoming Nagaland Assembly Elections 2023. I thank the people of my constituency for putting their trust in me thus far, and I humbly seek their blessings and support again." Deputy Chief Minister and BJP legislature party leader Yanthungo Patton also submitted his candidatures in the Tyui Assembly Constituency. He was accompanied by Union Home Minister Arjun Munda and BJP national spokesperson Nalin Kohli.

Besides independent candidates, 12 political parties are in the fray for the February 27 assembly elections. Many political parties which have not been in the forefront in state politics are making an entry in this election. These include the Rising People's Party, North East Democratic Front, Republican Party of India-Athawale and Lok Janshakti Party-Ram Vilas) also put up their candidates for the first time.

The Aam Aadmi Party said it will announce the names of candidates on Tuesday, which is also the last date for filing of nominations.

The Naga Peoples' Front (NPF) has announced 22 candidates, and the Congress released the names of 25 nominees so far.

NPF President Shurhozelie Liezietsu said that the party would not field candidates in all the 60 seats. NPF legislature party leader Kuzholuzo Nienu said that the Nagas were victims of dirty politics now with money being the deciding factor.The NPF had suffered a severe jolt in April last year when 21 of the 26 NPF legislators led by former Chief Minister T.R. Zeliang had "merged" themselves with the NDPP and formed the all-party United Democratic Alliance (UDA) government to expedite the Naga political dialogue with the Central government.

This time, Zeliang is contesting as the NDPP nominee from Peren constituency.
New Delhi, Feb 6 : A Delhi man has been arrested for strangling his paralysed father to death after the latter urinated in his bed, a police official said on Monday.

The accused has been identified as Sumit, a resident of Anand Parbat area of central Delhi.

According to Deputy Commissioner of Police, Central, Shweta Chauhan, a police control room call was received in Anand Parbat police station at around 9 p.m. on Friday regarding the death of a person.

"A police team reached the spot and found one person lying on the bed. Initially, it appeared a natural death as deceased Jitendra Sharma was paralysed and addicted to alcohol also," she said.

However, police began a probe after the deceased's wife told police that she suspects her son was behind the murder of her husband.

"The body was shifted to RML Hospital and after autopsy, the doctor orally informed that it was not a case of natural death and appeared to be a case of homicidal death or strangulation. Subsequently, a murder case was registered and investigation was taken up," said the DCP.

During investigation, the statement of a neighbour was recorded who informed that on the same day, he was also drinking alcohol along with the deceased and his son.

"He also mentioned that he left both of them around 6.30 p.m and af ter sustained interrogation and confrontation with a witness, Sumit (son of the deceased) confessed to his crime," said the DCP.

On interrogation, Sumit told police that he and his father used to live together as his mother left them a long time ago.

"His father was paralysed and he had to take care of him alone. On the day of the incident, he and his father had consumed 11 quarters of alcohol since morning. In the evening, his father urinated on the bed and he got frustrated over it and killed him by strangulating him," said the official.
Thiruvananthapuram, Feb 6 : Amid ongoing controversy in the state over the treatment being provided to two-time former Kerala chief minister Oommen Chandy, he was admitted to a leading private hospital here on Monday evening.

According to reports, he has been admitted after doubts were raised when he had fever and suspected pneumonia. According to his ailment, he was supposed to have returned to Bengaluru for further treatment, but did not go and it was then the present furore surfaced.

Doctors have examined him and said things are fine.

This sudden development came soon after his close aide and veteran Congress leader A.K. Antony enquired about his health on Monday.

There is a faction led by Antony in the Congress for the past four decades, but all along it was managed by Chandy.

A controversy erupted when Chandy's younger brother Alex V. Chandy and 41 others, mostly relatives and close aides of the now ailing Chandy, sent a memorandum to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan seeking his intervention to ensure that proper medical care is given to Oommen Chandy.

Antony said he often enquires about Chandy's health.

When the media continued questioning over Chandy's health, Antony said he came to discuss politics and asked the media not to speculate further.

Meanwhile, Chandy's brother levelled serious allegations against Chandy's wife, son Chandy Oommen and elder daughter Maria, who he says are not giving him proper treatment and hence they were forced to approach Vijayan.

"My brother's youngest daughter Achu is very keen and doing her best to give him the best treatment. My brother is not allowed to see those who come to see him. Mani C. Kappan, the legislator from Pala, along with his wife was not allowed to meet my brother. Now after the memorandum to the Chief Minister was given, there is huge pressure to withdraw it. After my brother came from Bengaluru last month, no treatment is being given for the past 15 days," said Chandy's brother.

During the last leg of his second term as the chief minister in 2015, Chandy's voice level dropped and he was taken to a few hospitals within and outside the state and abroad for treatment.

On January 1, Chandy returned from Bengaluru after a follow-up treatment, after he was treated in Germany.

The present row began after Chandy was supposed to return for the follow-up treatment to Bengaluru. He did go there but was reported to have returned quickly.

Now, it remains to be seen what action Vijayan will take after the receipt of the memorandum.

With the upcoming state Assembly session, will this issue be raised on the floor of the Assembly as Chandy is now the longest-serving legislator in the Assembly since 1970.

At present, Chandy's voice has again turned very feeble.
Srinagar, Feb 6 : Former Jammu and Kashmir chief ministers Omar Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti on Monday launched a frontal attack on the Union Territory administration's anti-encroachment drive, with the National Conference leader saying that people should be allowed to prove their claim while the PDP leader said use of bulldozers has made Kashmir worse than Afghanistan.

At a press conference on Monday, Abdullah said the government should allow people to prove their claim on the lands they occupy and make the use of bulldozers its last resort.

The National Conference vice-president asserted that his party was not against those who have grabbed state land, but some proper procedure should be followed.

"In Jammu and Kashmir, there is chaos everywhere. Bulldozers are being sent everywhere to demolish houses, complexes and buildings. But nobody knows what is the procedure.

"My sister approached the high court with regard to the proposed demolition of the Gupkar house of Omar and was told by the government that the lists making rounds in the media are forged.

"No government is supposed to bring trouble for the people. Bulldozers should be the last resort. The government must issue proper notice to those who have grabbed state land and give them at least six weeks time to prove their claim on land under them and show the documents.

"In our case, my sister produced the documents before the high court that states that the lease of Gupkar house is still active and has some years to expire. Likewise, people should be given time to present the documents and let the revenue team verify the same. If after proper verification, land under anybody is found in illegitimate possession, then a bulldozer can be used.

"The government should also make public a genuine list of people who have occupied state land. It seems that the ongoing drive is aimed at creating a wedge between communities. This drive lacks proper procedures.

"Officials accompanying bulldozers at Nedous, told my relatives that they had pressure from the top and had to do something to show their bosses," he said.

Omar alleged in many areas the ongoing demolition-cum-eviction drive is becoming a hub of corruption.

"I got many calls from several areas with people saying that they are being told to pay Rs 1 or 1.5 lakh to get their names removed from the list," he said.

He said that National Conference MPs will try to raise the issue in the Parliament if they are given time to speak.

Former chief minister and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) president, Mehbooba Mufti told a separate media conference on Monday that the use of bulldozers has made Kashmir worse than Afghanistan.

She alleged that the anti-encroachment drive launched is being used as a weapon to suppress the people.

She said they are not against the government's move to retrieve the land from land grabbers but the livelihood of people should not be affected.

Mehbooba also alleged that the drive is aimed at taking the shelters away from the people and the situation in Kashmir has turned worse than Afghanistan.

She also alleged that the government is trying to divert attention from the main issue of restoration of statehood, Article 370 and other things.
Kolkata, Feb 6 : A single-judge bench of the Calcutta High Court has summoned the entire panel of interviewers for conducting aptitude tests for the teacher eligibility test (TET) for recruitment of primary teachers in 2016.

On Monday Justice Abhijit Gangopadhyay of the Calcutta High Court observed that from the affidavit submitted by the West Bengal Board of Primary Education (WBBPE) it is clear that no proper aptitude test was conducted in the primary teachers' recruitment in 2016 and rather the candidates were given average marks just based on the total marks secured in the interview and written examination.

Justice Gangopadhyay ordered that in the first phase the panel members from Hooghly, Howrah, North Dinajpur, Cooch Behar and Murshidabad districts will have to be present in his court on February 21 at 2 p.m. He will personally question them in a closed-door courtroom, where only panel members summoned and the counsels of all parties concerned will be allowed to stay.

He also directed that the panel members coming from faraway districts from Kolkata will be provided a conveyance allowance of Rs 2,000 each by the WBBPE. Those panel members coming from nearby districts will be entitled to an allowance of Rs 500 each. In due course the panel members from other districts will also be summoned.

It is learnt that as per rules a separate aptitude test is a must for primary teachers' recruitment besides the interview and this aptitude test carries separate marks also. It is a kind of practical test to know how capable the candidates are of interacting with the children in the primary section.
Patna, Feb 6 : After Upendra Kushwaha called for a party meeting, JD-U national President Lalan Singh on Monday said that he is just a MLC and not the Parliamentary Board President.

"During the party election on December 5, 2022, there was only one poll held and that was for party's national President. No other polling took place to elect the President of the JD-U Parliamentary Board. Upendra Kushwaha is only a MLC of the party and not holding any post," he said in a media interaction here.

After becoming the national President of the party, Lalan Singh said that there was no committee formed.

However, Lalan Singh's claim is said to be contradictory as Kushwaha participated in several programmes of the party as Parliamentary Board President.

On December 10 and 11, the party had called the National Executive Council meeting where Kushwaha participated in the capacity. Besides, he participated in a number of meetings headed by Nitish Kumar and Lalan Singh.
Bengaluru, Feb 6 : With India making it clear that it will "play the market card and import crude from wherever it's available", OPEC Secretary General Haitham Al Ghais on Monday said that the grouping had "solid ties" with India, as it is ready to supply more oil and petroleum products to it.

Talking to media persons on the sidelines of the India Energy Week, Ghais, asked whether OPEC feared loss of market share as India is buying a bulk of its crude from Russia, said that OPEC shares a diverse relationship with India which dates back to a long time.

"Relationship between India and OPEC is solid and it forges ahead into other dimensions like investments," he said.

Earlier, Petroleum Minister Hardeep Puri while addressing a ministerial session, said: "India will play the market card and import crude from wherever it's available." He said that while there have been nations who did not enjoy the luxury of not having to worry about meeting their daily energy needs, India has managed to ensure smooth supply of crude to its people.

On fuel prices, Puri said that the government took a hit and decreased excise duty on petrol and diesel twice in the past 15 months to insulate people from high prices of crude and let go of its revenue.

"Now we are taking steps to ensure that there is no repeat of an energy crisis, and therefore we are entering into long term supply agreements. We will play the market card and import crude from wherever it's available," he said.

Puri further said that India is also increasing its transition towards biofuels and green hydrogen.
London, Feb 6 : A 61-year-old Indian-origin man has been jailed for 30 months for sexually assaulting a 16 year-old girl in the UK.

Anandarajah Bremakumar, of Colindale in London, was sentenced to 30 months' imprisonment following a hearing at Wood Green Crown Court last week, the Metropolitan Police said.

He was found guilty of four counts of sexual activity with a child following the conclusion of a trial at the same court on December 6, 2022.

The court heard how Bremakumar carried out the abuse in 2010, targeting a young girl under the age of 16 who was known to him.

However, the police were not made aware of the incident until 2019 when a report was made to officers by a therapist. Police then spoke to the victim, who agreed to support the investigation, according to a statement by the Metropolitan Police.

"This young woman has shown immense courage in speaking to the police and supporting this investigation. I hope the fact that Bremakumar has been found guilty gives her a sense that justice has been done," a Met Police spokesperson told MyLondon.

Further evidence was gathered by the police from those who knew Bremakumar at the time of the incident.

Bremakumar, who was arrested on April 30, 2021, denied the allegations but he was subsequently charged on December 16, 2021.
New Delhi, Feb 6 : The Supreme Court on Monday slammed the Uttar Pradesh Police over the delay in lodging FIR in a hate crime, saying in a secular country, there is no space for such offences on the basis of religion.

A bench of Justices K.M. Joseph and B.V. Nagarathna said that there is no space for hate crime on the basis of religion in a secular country and it is the primary duty of the state to protect the citizens.

"It is said he was wearing the cap.... when such crimes are not acted against then an atmosphere is fostered which is a dangerous issue and it has to be rooted out from our lives," it said, warning the authorities if they ignored it, one day, it would come for you.

The top court made these observations while hearing a plea by 62-year-old, Kazeem Ahmad Sherwani, who claimed to be a victim of an alleged hate crime at Noida in July 2021.

The bench told Additional Advocate General Garima Prasad, representing the Uttar Pradesh government, that the incident cannot be swept under the carpet and expressed concern that the FIR in the incident was registered in January 2023, almost one and half year after the date of the incident in July 2021.

The bench observed that the FIR was registered only after the last date of hearing in January, when it directed the UP Policce -- which denied the case being a hate crime -- to produce the case diary. In the previous hearing, the bench had expressed its discontent over the state's failure to lodge cases against those accused of hate crimes.

The bench told the UP government counsel: "Will you not acknowledge that there is a hate crime and you will sweep it under the carpet? We are only expressing our anguish." It stressed that be it in minority or majority, certain rights are there which are inherent in human beings. "You are born into a family and raised in one; but we stand out as a nation. You have to take this seriously," said the top court.

Senior advocate Huzefa Ahmadi, representing the petitioner, submitted that the state government had refused to acknowledge the matter as a hate crime and act promptly.

Additional Solicitor General K.M. Nataraj, representing the Delhi Police, contended that there were injuries to the petitioner due to resistance. The bench replied that it should not be denied that there exists some in the country, who have communal attitude and they usually do it. Nataraj submitted that since the petitioner is from the minority community, the incident does not become a hate crime.

The bench then said: "If you ignore this, then one day it will come for you...", and added that solutions can be found only when one recognises the problem.

The apex court asked the Uttar Pradesh Police to bring on record within two weeks when the accused in the incident were arrested and when they got out on bail.

The petitioner moved the apex court seeking action against the accused who tortured him and also police officers who declined to take action on his complaint.
Bengaluru, Feb 6 : Aam Aadmi Party's Karnataka communication in-charge Brijesh Kalappa on Monday said Prime Minister Narendra Modi was misleading people by coining words like glocal and Amrit Kaal, challenging him to answer five questions related to industrialist Adani.

"The Adani company is limping day by day. In this context, we would like to ask some questions to PM Modi. Did Adani get the lion's share of $22 billion worth of 26 contracts that took place in May 2015 when he went to China with Gautam Adani? Was it in Adani's aircraft or not that Modi travelled mostly in the 2014 and 2019 elections? Is it true or false that PM Modi spoke to the Australian PM to benefit Carmichael Mining Company headed by Gautam Adani? Is it true or false that when Modi went to Mongolia in 2020, he introduced Adani to the Prime Minister there? If an Indian company invests abroad, it gets help from that country and not from our country. But is it true or false that Adani had received a subsidy of Rs 10,000 crore from SBI for the Carmichael project? I am also concerned as to why local banks there have not helped if it were a profitable enterprise. I would like to ask these five questions to Modi, who has come to Bengaluru," said Kalappa.

"The Hindenburg report has come in relation to the Adani company. After this, his company's share has been falling. It is common for shares of companies to rise and fall. But what was the need for you to put the government money in that company and make room for the company? About Rs 86,000 crore has been invested in the Adani company by a government company called LIC. About Rs 1 lakh crore has been invested in the Adani company by SBI. The State Bank of Mysore (SBM) of Karnataka was merged with SBI in 2017. That is, kannadigas' money was in SBI, which is today invested in the Adani company," said Brijesh Kalappa.

Kalappa also took potshots at the frequent visits of the Prime Minister to Karnataka where elections are due in a few months.

"PM Modi has come to Bengaluru for the third time this month. Modi did not come when he was asked to come when 50 people had died due to potholes. He didn't even come when he said there was no drinking water in the Cauvery and Mekedatu issues. He didn't come even when Karnataka begged for a final notification on the Krishna river issue. He didn't come even when there was a raging border dispute between Karnataka and Maharashtra, nor did he come on the Mahadayi issue. Even when there was a border dispute between Karnataka and Maharashtra on the Belagavi issue. Even 26 MPs of the BJP did not turn up. But Modi is present only during elections. So let the Prime Minister answer this. Otherwise it is not a glocal. We have to come to the conclusion that it is the 'gothra' of the people of Karnataka," said Brijesh Kalappa.
Hyderabad, Feb 6 : Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) President, A. Revanth Reddy, on Monday launched Haath Se Haath Jodo padyatra in the state to take Rahul Gandhi's message of Bharat Jodo Yatra to people.

The padyatra is also aimed at highlighting the failures of the Central and the state governments.

Revanth Reddy launched the foot-march in Mulugu district after offering prayers to tribal deities Samakka and Saralamma.

He along with local Congress MLA Seethakka and hundreds of party workers participated in the walkathon for six kilometers on the first day.

Addressing the participants, Reddy said he would work the spirit of tribal warriors Seethakka and Saralamma to fight and end autocratic and feudal rule in the state.

Reddy, who is also a Member of Parliament, later tweeted that the first day of the padyatra was a huge success. "We will continue to take the message of our leader Rahul Gandhi Ji to every nook and corner of the state," he said.

Reddy would walk 20 to 25 km each day and interact with a cross-section of people along the padayatra route with an objective of covering 60 Assembly constituencies in the state in phases in the next two months.

Congress MP Uttam Kumar Reddy and some other top leaders also launched padyatras in their respective constituencies.

In Mahabubnagar, Adilabad and other places, protests were also held as part of padyatras demanding action against industrialist Adani over the scam. The protestors raised slogans against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Adani, alleging that the government at the Centre is trying to shield the industrialist.

Congress leaders alleged that PM Modi is protecting his best friend. They staged a protest against the Modi government's refusal to allow a debate in Parliament or to constitute Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) to probe the scam.
Jaipur, Feb 6 : Lok Sabha MP Diya Kumari along with a team of public representatives and BJP workers from Rajasthan's Rajsamand district on Monday met Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw at the Rail Bhavan in Delhi, and expressed gratitude for the approval of Rs 968.92 crore for Mavli-Marwar gauge conversion work.

Sharing the sentiments of the party workers with the Union Minister, Kumari said: "The residents and BJP workers of the area are delighted with the approval of the Mavli-Marwar gauge conversion.

"The long wait of 8-9 decades is finally over and the people are grateful to the Narendra Modi-led Central government. The people expect that the work of the first phase should be duly completed and the work of the second phase should also start as soon as possible," Kumari said.

Meanwhile, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said: "The country can be taken forward only by expanding the railway services and all this is possible due to the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi who closely monitors each and everything." The Union Minister said that the work on the first phase would be started soon.
Changes to China's pandemic control measures forecast to help spark revival

A base jumper leaps off the Kuala Lumpur Tower during an annual tower jump event in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Feb 3, 2023. [Photo/Xinhua]

Indonesia and other countries in Southeast Asia are looking forward to rising numbers of travelers from other regions, notably China, which is widely expected to play a crucial role in reviving the region's tourism industry.

While authorities and businesses in many countries counted on China-supported recovery during the ASEAN Tourism Forum that ended in Yogyakarta on Sunday, local officials expressed their delight about the return of Chinese tourists and more exchanges with Chinese businesses.

"We expect rising numbers of tourists from China to visit our province, which is famous for environmental tourism, with a selection of superb snorkeling and dive sites as well as the Komodo National Park, home to giant lizards," said East Nusa Tenggara Province Vice-Governor Josef A. Nae Soi.

In 2019 the number of Chinese visitors to the Komodo National Park and the surrounding snorkeling areas reached 8,400, compared with 9,300 French visitors, the provincial tourism department said.

Tourist numbers will rapidly rise in the coming years following the pandemic, Nae Soi said.

"We expect that the forum will turn out good results also for our province."

The provincial government has adopted policies and is taking actions to make the region more attractive by developing quality homestays for tourists in different parts of the region, rich in traditional cultures, he said.

I Putu Winastra, chairman of the Bali chapter of the Association of the Indonesian Tour and Travel Association, said Bali and other tourist centers in Indonesia will be further linked with ASEAN countries as well as other countries, especially China.

"We are calling for the establishment of direct, regular flights from ASEAN countries and China  to Bali and eventually to other tourist centers in Indonesia, which is crucial to the region's tourism recovery."

He also expressed his hope that the Yogyakarta meeting of ASEAN tourism ministers would lead to concrete actions for tourism promotion in and outside the region.

In addition to transportation connections, Deputy Secretary-General of ASEAN for Economic Community Satvinder Singh called for more friendly visa requirements for ASEAN citizens.

In a recent interview with local media, Sandiaga Uno, Indonesia's minister of tourism and creative economy, forecast that the country would welcome more than 250,000 Chinese tourists within the year.

Experts and analysts have expressed confidence in the return of Chinese tourists and their positive influence on economic recovery in ASEAN countries as China eases cross-border travel.

Key industry

To countries such as Thailand with tourism as a key industry, the return of Chinese tourists brings hope of new vitality to local tourism.

The Tourism Authority of Thailand says it expects 7 to 10 million Chinese tourists to arrive this year, with 300,000 coming in the first quarter.

On Friday, Thai AirAsia announced it would resume operating eight aircraft that were grounded during the pandemic and is considering shifting planes from other areas to cater to the growing number of visitors from China, the Bangkok Post reported.

Overseas group tours from China will resume on Monday. A total of 20 destination countries are on the list, including Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Singapore and Sri Lanka.

Last month Fitch Ratings, a research company in Hong Kong that specializes in credit ratings, commentary and research for global capital markets, published a commentary that said changes to China's COVID control measures will increase the likelihood of a swift recovery for tourism in the Asia-Pacific region that had relied heavily on outbound Chinese travelers before the pandemic.

Leonardus Jegho is a freelance journalist for China Daily.
New Delhi, Feb 6 : The Supreme Court on Monday orally observed that just because one is a constitutional authority, they cannot say they are above the law, while directing the Uttar Pradesh government to dispose of all cases related to premature release of prisoners within a period of three months of the prisoner becoming eligible.

The Uttar Pradesh government counsel contended before a bench headed by Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud that there may be certain "practical aspects" which can prevent authorities from following the directions, involving the disposal of cases related with premature release of convicts. Counsel pointed out that the decision-making process involves many officials, which includes the Director General-Prisons, then the matter is examined by the state government and finally, the Governor.

At this, the Chief Justice said: "There is no vacuum at the constitutional level... that's how prescient the Constitution is. Just because one is a constitutional authority, they cannot say they are above the law." The bench, also comprising Justices P.S. Narasimha and J.B. Pardiwala, directed the officials of legal services authorities in Uttar Pradesh to collect information from district and state prisons on convicts who have become eligible for premature release. It further directed the state government that all cases in connection with the premature release of prisoners shall be disposed of within three months of the prisoner becoming eligible for the relief.

The apex court was informed that 2,228 convicts are entitled for remission in Uttar Pradesh. Emphasising on implementing the process in a transparent manner, the bench also directed the jail superintendents in UP to furnish information to the secretaries of the district legal services authority (DLSAs) to ensure that the process of premature release is implemented efficiently.

The apex court made it clear that the state government should take final decision based on the policy governing the premature release of convicts.

According to Uttar Pradesh government' s 2018 policy, a convict serving a life term would be considered for premature release if the person has undergone a total of 20 years of the sentence - 16 years of the actual sentence and four years of remission.

The apex court, besides Uttar Pradesh, also issued notices to Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra on monitoring the premature release of convicts there.

In September last year, the apex court had taken note of the Uttar Pradesh policy on remission. According to this policy, there will be no requirement for an application for premature release from a convict and their cases will be considered automatically by the jail authorities.
New Delhi, Feb 6 : The Delhi High Court on Monday was informed by the Centre that the draft for online gaming regulation has been circulated and it is in the process of finalising the same with two rounds already over.

The Central government's counsel said: "Draft regulation has been circulated and consultations with the stakeholders have started.

"Two rounds have already happened. We are in the process of finalising the same." A division bench of Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma and Justice Subramonium Prasad, hearing petitions by advocate Atul Batra and Avinash Mehrotra, said that the court would hear the matter post eight weeks.

In Batra's plea, it was stated that in the name of "games of skill", "games of chance" are being promoted and that equates to online gambling, which is as bad as any substance abuse.

It was stated that keeping a tab on online gambling is must and if it is not done, it might be harmful for the youth as they can fall prey to such games damaging their life personally and professionally.

Howevet, Batra, who said that it (his plea) does not require any further order, was granted liberty to approach the court again in case of any grievance while the latter closed the proceedings on the same.

In the petition by Mehrotra, which seeks recovery of taxes due from online players and site operators, it is claimed that with online gambling system not being regulated in India, it is also a great place for carrying out hawala operations and laundering money.

The plea seeks court's direction to the Centre to prosecute the unscrupulous owners/proprietors, and the promoters of the online gambling websites in accordance with law.
New Delhi, Feb 6 : The personnel of Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) have been deployed at 66 airports to provide security to the facilities and installations, while in the remaining airports, the security is provided by the state police.

Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS), the Civil Aviation Security Regulator in India, after reviewing risk and threat assessments carried out by Central Security Agencies, issues Aviation Security circulars/orders for effective implementation of security controls at all Indian airports for the purpose of safeguarding civil aviation activities/operations from an act of unlawful interference, said Minister of State, Civil Aviation, V.K. Singh in a written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha on Monday.

The CISF apprises relevant authorities from time to time about Aviation Security in different forums.

The security system at airports is reviewed regularly and upgraded as per the requirement by the BCAS in consultation with concerned agencies and stakeholders, including CISF and Airport Operators, depending upon threat perceptions, and corrective measures taken.

For enhancement of security infrastructure at airports, some of the technologies deployed and proposed for deployment include Computer Tomography Explosive Detection Systems (CT-EDS) machines and Dual Generator X-BIS machines.

Besides, Automated Tray Retrieval System (ATRS) has been installed at Chennai, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Delhi and is under trials at Delhi and a few more airports.

Moreover, directions have been issued for the Minimum Technical specification for Perimeter Intrusion Detection System (PIDS). It has been installed at Delhi, Hyderabad and Bengaluru airports.

Full body scanners at all airports have been planned in a phased manner, mainly at all hypersensitive and sensitive airports on a priority basis.

Radiological Detection Equipment at airports is also planned in a phased manner.

Biometric Centralised Access Control Systems have been launched in 48 Airports.
New Delhi, Feb 6 : The Delhi High Court on Monday, taking note of submissions of jailed minister Satyendar Jain's co-accused Ankush and Vaibhav Jain in the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) case, listed the matter for the next hearing on February 7.

Appearing for Ankush and Vaibhav Jain, counsel Sushil Kumar Gupta said: "Satyendar Jain has nothing to do with the company. All the companies belong to us." Special Judge Vikas Dhull had denied the two bail on November 17.

Gupta said: "We were having an effective position in the company. We had sent the money/cash to Kolkata-based companies." He argued that there are no "proceeds of crime" in the present case and according to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI)'s charge sheet, it is generated only at the end of the cheque period.

"The whole fulcrum of a PMLA case lies on the proceeds of crime," he said.

Gupta further argued that the present case uses a disproportionate assets (DA) case, which is a period-specific offence, but to establish an offence under the PMLA, the Enforcement Directorate has to establish "proceeds of crime".

Earlier, Satyendar Jain's counsel senior advocate N. Hariharan asked where is the minister involved in the present case and how is he related to it as the money was Ankush and Vaibhav Jain's and it came back to their account without any premium.

"My (Satyendar Jain's) assets before and after the cheque period remained the same," he had said.
New Delhi, Feb 6 : BJP's Delhi Working President Virendra Sachdeva on Monday attacked the AAP for allegedly defying the instructions of the presiding officer of the MCD House as well as law, questioning in this circumstances, how will the capital get a Mayor.

Arguing that a 2016 Delhi High Court order states that nominated councillors will also be members of the MCD House and can contest elections to the standing committee, he asked when the court has given them the right to contest the election, then why can't they vote? Sachdeva also said that on the demand of the MCD itself, a top law officer advised that the nominated councillors have right to vote in the election of Mayor, Deputy Mayor etc, and thus the presiding officer allowed them.

It is beyond comprehension that the Aam Aadmi Party will neither listen to the legal advice nor listen to the presiding officer, he said.
Amaravati, Feb 6 : Daughter of a leader belonging to opposition TDP in Andhra Pradesh will receive financial assistance of Rs 84 lakh from the state government to realise her dream of pursuing higher education in the US.

Sailaja, daughter of Bodrothu Srinivasa Rao, a former sarpanch hailing from Sangam village in Vizianagaram district, is one of the beneficiaries under Jagananna Videshi Vidya Deevena, under which the government provides financial assistance to those who want to study abroad.

She is one among the 213 students who have been selected as beneficiaries of the scheme. A few days ago Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy released the first installment of financial assistance under the scheme.

According to the TDP leader, his daughter Sailaja went to the US to pursue higher studies and to make ends meet, he had to take a huge loan, whose repayment was his biggest cause of worry. However, thanks to Chief Minister Jagan Reddy's revolutionary schemes in the field of education, Srinivasa Rao's daughter is all set to receive financial aid of over Rs 84 lakh over the next two years under the Jagananna Videshi Vidya Devana scheme.

Financial aid worth Rs 13,99,154 has been offered as the first instalment and a total of Rs 84 lakh financial help will be granted over the next two years, officials said.

"My daughter studied at IIT in Hyderabad and went to the US. We took a loan for her education and were worried if we would ever be able to repay it. But today, my daughter got assistance via Jagananna Videshi Vidya Deevena Scheme. We will always be indebted to Jagananna. He is a revolutionary leader and for him welfare of the people is his only priority. Now, I want my daughter to complete her studies and return to Andhra Pradesh and contribute towards the state's development," said Srinivasa Rao.

Sailaja, who is currently pursuing her Masters from the University of Washington in Seattle, expressed her gratitude to the Chief Minister. "Jagan garu, it is only because of you that students are able to pursue a privileged Masters degree like this. Thank you so much for this opportunity. This is among the top 100 universities of the world. I am really happy to be here," she said.

Under the Videshi Vidya Deevena scheme, the state government fully reimburses tuition fees to SC, ST, BC and minority students up to Rs 1.25 crore and up to Rs 1 crore to EBC students who have secured ranks in top 100 Universities.

Similarly, 100 per cent tuition fee reimbursement would be made up to Rs 75 lakh to SC, ST, BC and minority students and up to Rs 50 lakh or 50 per cent of the tuition fee, whichever is less, for EBC students who secured admissions in the Universities ranked 100 to 200 as per the QS World University rankings.

The financial assistance comes in the form of reimbursement for aspects like airfare and visa fee. Following the students' receipt of their immigration cards (I-94), the first payment will be made; the second, following the results of the first semester; and the third, following the completion of the second and third semesters. The criteria is that the candidate's annual family income should not exceed Rs 8 lakh.
Bengaluru, Feb 6 : Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday held a meeting with top energy industry leaders on the sidelines of the India Energy Week.

Vedanta Resources chief Anil Agarwal, Petronas head T.M. Taufik and OPEC chief Haitham Al Ghais were among the leaders who were present at the meeting.

"India can help the world solve the climate crisis with technology and investment made in innovation in the energy sector. It's delightful to listen to PM Modi in India energy week," Joseph McMonigle, secretary general of International Energy Forum, said after the meeting.

"It was an amazing meeting with PM Modi today who addressed us at India Energy Week. I have no doubt that India is the most attractive place for exploration and production of oil and gas," Agarwal said.

Petronas chief Taufik said: "India is sending important messages across the world as it takes on the G20 presidency. No less than Prime Minister Modi is sending strong guidelines on how to navigate energy transition. I'm in admiration of his ability to sell the concept and also fight for energy justice." "We all support the Prime Minister's vision and policies on energy security, affordability and low carbon as India continues to grow in terms of energy needs as well as being a leader in the transition," said William Lin, executive vice president of British Petroleum.

"An honour to meet Prime Minister Modi today. We had an extensive discussion where we listened to the vision laid out by him for India and how energy security, affordability and accessibility play an important role to make this vision a reality," Ghais said.
Istanbul/Damascus, Feb 6 : Over 2,300 people were killed - over 1,500 in Turkey and at least 810 in Syria, thousands more injured, and extensive damage caused in both countries, including fires in fuel pipelines and oil refineries, as a massive quake, measuring 7.8 on the Richter scale, struck the two countries' border region early on Monday.

As rescue teams scrambled in freezing weather to extricate trapped people from under debris of collapsed buildings and arrange shelter for the affected, another major earthquake, measuring 7.5, rocked the same region, as did dozens of after-shocks. Some of these were so powerful as to be classed as major quakes in their own right.

The death toll in Turkey has risen to 1,541, according to Vice President Fuat Oktay, while more than 9,700 people have been injured after the two quakes.

He said that there were as many as 145 aftershocks following both quakes, three of whose magnitudes were larger than 6.

Figures from Syria put the toll at above 800, across government and rebel-held areas, the BBC reported.

The 7.8 magnitude quake struck near Turkey's Gaziantep early on Monday (local time) and its tremors were said to be felt all around the Middle East region from Cairo to Beirut to Baghdad. It even prompted Italy to declare a tsunami warning.

The new 7.5-magnitude tremor hit at around 1.30 p.m. local time and was described, by officials, as a new quake, not an aftershock.

Pictures from the affected areas were harrowing, showing widespread destruction of public and private property, including some ancient cultural sites, and traumatised people. People, who were lucky enough to escape into the open, were seen crying about their kin still trapped under the debris of collapsed buildings as others tried to provide solace and assurance.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's adviser Inur Cevik, terming the disaster "widespread and devastating", said there was no shortage of resources in trying to find survivors, but rather that it was a race against time.

"The adverse weather conditions and people that are under the rubble, you have to save them before the weather drops in and kills these people because of the cold, so people who are now under the rubble, there's a mad rush to get them out," Cevik told the BBC.

"We have radars, body sensors, but you know there's so much widespread devastation that you can't reach everywhere - some of it you have to listen (for)... (People are asked to stay) silent so that they can hear some people calling for help." The wave of destruction swept through 10 Turkish provinces, including Kahramanmaras, Gaziantep, Sanliurfa, Diyarbakir, Adana, Adiyaman, Malatya, Osmaniye, Hatay, and Kilis, while in Syria, northern Aleppo, Hama, Latakia, and Tartus were the affected areas, RT reported.

In both countries, the quake caused damage to key infrastructure. In Turkey's Kilis Province, natural gas pipelines ruptured, with the fuel bursting into large plumes of flame, according to footage circulating online. Operator BOTAS said it cut the flow, but pressurized gas in the pipeline continued to feed the fires.

In Syria, a refinery in the city of Baniyas, one of the largest in the country, had to be shut down for at least 48 hours due to cracks in the chimney of its power unit, the Ministry of Oil and Mineral Resources reported. Train services were also shut as a precautionary measure.

The leaders of countries around the world have pledged to send support to help rescue efforts in Turkey and Syria, while the UN held a minute of silence as a gesture.

Russian President Vladimir Putin sent messages of condolence to his Turkish and Syrian counterparts Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Bashar al Assad and said his government was ready to help. Russian rescue teams have been sent to both countries to assist at the disaster sites, RT reported.

US President Joe Biden, in a tweet, said: "I am deeply saddened by the loss of life and devastation caused by the earthquake in Turkiye and Syria. I have directed my team to continue to closely monitor the situation in coordination with Turkiye and provide any and all needed assistance." UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said in a statement: "My thoughts are with the people of Turkiye and Syria this morning, particularly with those first responders working so valiantly to save those trapped by the earthquake. The UK stands ready to help in whatever way we can." French President Emmanuel Macron described the images coming from both countries as "terrible" and said his country "stands ready to provide emergency aid", while German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said his country mourned with the relatives of those killed and "will of course send help".

India on Monday said it was ready to help Turkey in its hour of crisis.

Expressing concern and shock over the massive earthquake, Prime Minister Narendra Modi stated that India's "140 crore people are with the victims of the earthquake in Turkey".

In response to a tweet by President Erdogan, Modi said, "Anguished by the loss of lives and damage of property due to the Earthquake in Turkey. Condolences to the bereaved families. May the injured recover soon. India stands in solidarity with the people of Turkey and is ready to offer all possible assistance to cope with this tragedy." The Ministry of External Affairs said that in light of Prime Minister Modi's instructions to offer all possible assistance to cope with the earthquake in Turkey, P.K. Mishra, Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister, held a meeting to discuss immediate relief measures.

It said that two teams of NDRF comprising 100 personnel with specially trained dog squads and necessary equipment are ready to be flown to Turkey for search and rescue operations.

Medical teams are also being readied with trained doctors and paramedics with essential medicines. Relief material will be dispatched in coordination with the Turkish government.

Israel has said it will send search and rescue and medical teams to both Turkey and Syria.

"This is what we do around the world and this is what we do in areas close to us," Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said, the BBC reported.

Other countries like Azerbaijan, Greece, Serbia, and Spain have also offered help.
Agartala, Feb 6 : West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee began her two-day visit to poll-bound Tripura on Monday and will hold a road-show and and address an election rally on Tuesday.

Banerjee said that Tripura is her home as she visited the state many a times since she was in Congress.

Accompanied by Trinamool national General Secretary Abhishek Banerjee, she arrived in Agartala on Monday evening and then went to southern Tripura's Udaipur where she offered puja at the Tripura Sundari Temple - built by King Dhanya Manikya in 1501 and 51 Shakti Peeths in the country.

"I offered puja to ensure the welfare of our Maa-Maati-Maanush. Whenever I visit Tripura, I come to this temple and visit several places of religious importance as I respect all religions," Banerjee told the media.

"I was among the three leaders who worked the most when Congress came to power in this state. This is why I know various areas in Tripura stretching from Sonamura to Kailashahar. When no one was there and BJP was oppressing people, Trinamool Congress was the only party standing with the people here." Drawing parallels between the cultures in Tripura and West Bengal, she said that Bengal and Tripura share a deep connection. "I consider Tripura as my home so I have returned to my home. I can speak my language here and eat the food I like. From food to attire to behaviour, everything is almost the same." Sharing her concern over the breakdown of law and order in the state, the West Bengal Chief Minister said that Trinamool Congress workers and leaders have been attacked. The vehicles of leaders including the party's Rajya Sabha member Sushmita Dev, Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar, Dola Sen, Rajib Banerjee, and Abhishek Banerjee have been vandalised, she said.

The Trinamool on Sunday issued their first list of 22 candidates for the February 16 elections to the 60-seat Tripura assembly.
New Delhi, Feb 6 : The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Monday arrested one more person from Bihar's Motihari district, in connection with a case related to the busting of a suspected terror module in the Phulwari Sharif area of Patna, an official said.

The arrested individual has been identified as Irshad a.k.a. Belal. He was apprehended from Jitaura village, an official said, adding that two iron swords and a banner of the banned organisation Popular Front of India (PFI) were also later recovered from a hideout at Parsauni village in Muzaffarpur district.

The NIA said that Irshad -- the seventh accused in the case, was found to have been actively involved in PFI's criminal conspiracy to spread communal hatred and enmity.

Irshad had attended training classes held under the garb of Physical Education at Ahmad Palace in Patna's Phulwari Sharif area.

He was also associated with PFI's training centres and activities.

Six persons were arrested earlier in this case pertaining to PFI's unlawful and violent activities.

The case was initially registered at Phulwari Sharif police station in Patna on July 12, 2022, and 10 days later, the probe into the matter was taken over by the NIA.

One person --Yakoob, is still absconding. He had recently posted a derogatory and inflammatory Facebook video, aimed at disturbing peace and communal harmony. Many Facebook users have criticised that post.

Earlier on Sunday, the NIA had carried out extensive searches in Motihari district of Bihar, and had arrested two persons.
Bengaluru, Feb 6 : Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the India Energy Week (IEW) 2023 on Monday. Participants from different countries gathered to discuss topical energy issues.

Rosneft Chief Executive Officer Igor Sechin also visited Indian Energy Week. Together with Prime Minister Modi, Sechin attended the ministerial session on Price and Supply Volatility and discussed energy cooperation between Russia and India.

According to the IMF's recent estimates, India and its neighbours will account for half of global economic growth this year. In contrast, the contribution of the US and the Eurozone will amount to only 10 per cent. India's "enlightened national interest" principles are highly respected.

Based on these principles, the government implements an independent, pressure-free economic policy in harmony with its partners. Cooperation opens up new horizons.

India, as the world's most populous nation, has become a leader in global economic dynamics, demonstrating rapid improvements in the lives of its people. It is a big country with a young, ambitious population, where dynamics are of the utmost importance.

It is no coincidence that analysts and experts predict growth rates of up to 7 per cent per annum for India. In turn, Russia achieved a result more significant than many of the world's leading economies in the face of unprecedented sanctions, pressure, and confrontation with almost the entire Western world. Despite the evolving situation around us, implementing major economic programmes has already proven to be a tremendous psychological victory. This will determine success in other spheres.

Thus, the actions of the world hegemon, in an attempt to preserve its hegemony by all means, destroyed the single energy market. To date, there is no single global energy market. Energy security is no longer a global concern. As a result of these actions, all the principles of market trading have been destroyed to date.

Market pricing, contract law and, in general, the possibilities of legal protection of market participants have been abolished. In addition, logistics chains built up for decades have been forcibly severed. The blown-up Nord Stream project serves as an illustrative example.

The reformatting of the European gas market is the most compelling example.

At first, contrary to common sense, Europe was first made to abandon long-term contracts and switch to spot pricing, which led to an unprecedented price increase before the well-known events in Ukraine in the midst of the forced green transition and under-investment in conventional energy. After eliminating Russian competition from the European market through sanctions and pressure, the Americans offered to return to long-term contracts that guarantee a return on investment. This is a banal case of unfair competition.

Consequently, Europe has lost its key competitive advantage -- access to cheap and reliable Russian energy carriers -- and is forced to pay three to five times higher prices for gas.

According to Bloomberg, the rejection of Russian gas has already cost Europe about 1 trillion euros.

As a result of a reasonable rejection of the accelerated energy transition, focusing on extracting conventional hydrocarbons, US oil majors have become leaders in capitalisation.

By the way, BP, the leader of the green agenda, demonstrated a different approach. They could not, like their competitors, take advantage of the current situation. Based on the results published in its annual reports, we could reasonably assume that BP may announce a return to the strategy of conventional production and a reduction in green investments that generate losses. The total amount of announced write-offs is $38 billion.

It is also observed in the audited annual reports that BP, Rosneft's 20 per cent shareholder, has revised the value of Rosneft's stake to $24 billion based on Rosneft's performance results.

Rosneft assures the corporate world that it will work hard to keep the trust of its shareholders. At the same time, it should be noted that such an increase in the incomes of oil majors is not only due to favourable market conditions. A number of companies maximise profits and increase capitalization by directing funds to pay dividends and buy back shares.

Another beneficiary, taking advantage of the global energy crisis, is the Western military-industrial complex.

The answer to the destruction of the global market and the severance of logistics chains is the regionalisation of markets, and the development of new safe logistics. The regionalisation of markets means forming regional payment systems with their own regional settlement and reserve currencies.

Obviously, the main risks of volatility are unprecedented sanctions pressure, including the so-called 'price cap'. Non-market interventions must be treated calmly. Experts know how to find a solution. The reference price for Russian oil cannot be decided where this oil does not exist. If there are no supplies to Europe, then the reference prices will be decided from where it arrives -- FOB Nakhodka, Dubai, and so on.

As it is written in the Ecclesiastes: "If something is crooked, it can't be made straight; if something isn't there, it can't be counted." The fundamental reason for the energy crisis is primarily underinvestment in the industry as consumption grows and the pace of resource replenishment is insufficient.

The annual OPEC report indicates the opinion of Secretary-General Haitham Al Ghais: that to meet the growing oil demand alone by 2045, investments to the tune of $12 trillion are needed. Consumption today is 100 million barrels per day and continues to grow. The four countries with the highest resource base, however, remain the same: Venezuela, Russia, Saudi Arabia and Iran.

Russian companies, Rosneft in particular, are among the few that have not reduced their level of investment in development over the past decade. Today, Rosneft is implementing the world's largest investment project to create a new oil and gas province in Eastern Siberia, Vostok Oil, with a resource base of 6.5 billion tons.

One of the drivers of Rosneft's low carbon operations is Vostok Oil. The flagship project's carbon footprint is only a quarter of the average global indicators of projects in the modern oil industry.

The Vostok Oil project is distinguished by its uniquely low sulphur content -- 0.01-0.04 per cent. The indicator is comparable to the Euro-3 standard for diesel fuel. Vostok Oil actually produces green barrels with the help of advanced technologies. Rosneft is one of the leaders of the low-carbon agenda. The company was the first in the domestic energy sector to set a net zero target by 2050 for Scopes 1 and 2.

In India, such projects are implemented by Nayara. As part of the reinforcement of energy security, we are ready to increase supplies on a long-term basis and diversify supplies. Rosneft will support the activities of Nayara Energy shareholders to develop refining capacities, develop petrochemistry and expand the retail business.

Rosneft can and will work wherever there is growth potential and intent to protect our interests, despite external pressure.

Such countries constitute the largest and growing part of the world's energy consumption. Rosneft noted the responsible, balanced position of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and our other OPEC+ partners, acting in the long-term interests of stabilising the energy market, despite enormous external pressure.

In fact, one just doesn't have to step on any rake. All in good time. First, real new green technologies should be developed that can actually reduce carbon emissions. Such technologies simply do not exist right now.

It is necessary right now to reduce emissions in the traditional energy industry, using the technological potential that gives a real effect. Dynamic economic growth in India means large-scale energy consumption and demand growth.

This development of the global energy sector is in Russia's interests. Therefore, it will do everything it can to support India's plans. The speed of adapting our economies to new conditions will be of key importance.
Dubai, Feb 6 : The funeral prayers of former Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf will be held on Tuesday. A source in the know of things said the prayers will be held at Karachi in Pakistan at the Polo Ground Malir Cantt. The former President will be laid to rest at the Army Cemetery, Musharraf left Pakistan in 2008 and since then, he has been shuttling between Dubai, London and the US. Since 2016, he has been living permanently in Dubai.

There were two reasons for shifting to Dubai. Firstly, his guest lecture sessions in the US and UK were almost over, and secondly, since he was suffering from a rare disease -- Amyloidosis, Musharraf could not be treated at any hospital in Pakistan.

He was undergoing treatment for this disease at the American Hospital in Dubai. Also, the disease is treated only in the hospital of University College London in Britain.

What was Pervez Musharraf's last wish? I met Pervez Musharraf 3-4 times between 2017-2019 when he was in good health and often used to interact with the media.

His only wish was to get a chance to go back to Pakistan just once.

Born in Delhi, India, he wanted only one thing in his last time that once he got a chance to go back to Pakistan.

During my first interaction with Musharraf, I asked "you have ruled a country... but what is there in your heart that you wish it could be more"? He replied: "I want to go back to Pakistan, at least one chance should be given to go back to that land." His wish, however, is being fulfilled after his death.

Musharraf had high hopes that after the formation of Imran Khan's government, he could get some respite in the case of treason and he could go back to Pakistan. But he was sentenced to death in 2019. It was the first time in the history of Pakistan that a former military ruler faced trial for treason. The death sentence, however, was later cancelled by the Lahore High Court.

In 2019, I met Pervez Musharraf after his death sentence to find his side, but he refused to speak on camera, and it looked like the decision had come as a blow to the former Pakistan president.

Musharraf usually lived in his Dubai penthouse with his manager, guards and staff, while his son and daughter lived in the UK and Pakistan. A general who was always surrounded by the army, in his last time, away from his loved ones, got into the arms of death alone.

Tabish Zaidi, a close aide of Musharraf in Dubai, said: "Being close to him over the years in Dubai, I met him on various occasions and always found him concerned about Pakistan. He told me in the last meeting a few months back that he did whatever he could to create a better and more prosperous state for present and future generations."
United Nations, Feb 7 : Warning that poverty and hunger are rising around the world, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has asked the G20 nations led by India to come up with a package offering investments and debt relief to nations of the Global South to help achieve the UN's development goals.

Unveiling his proposal for a 'New Agenda for Peace' during a briefing on his priorities for this year, Guterres told the General Assembly on Monday that by the time of the summit on the UN's Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in September, "I urge the G20 to agree on the global SDG Stimulus that I proposed at last November's G20 Summit to support the countries of the Global South".

His New Agenda proposals covered a gamut of issues that included preventing a nuclear holocaust, reforms of the economic infrastructure, new technologies, social media and bigotry.

Guterres projected a gloomy picture of the world "staring down the barrel of a confluence of challenges unlike any other in our lifetimes" with wars, economic inequalities,Aclimate change and "epic geopolitical divisions".

His most serious warning was about the threat of a nuclear war, pointing out that the "Doomsday Clock" of the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists that purports to show the likelihood of a nuclear holocaust was at 90 seconds to midnight.

"We are at the highest risk in decades of a nuclear war that could start by accident or design" from "the 13,000 nuclear weapons held in arsenals around the world," he said.

"Nuclear-armed countries must renounce the first use of these unconscionable weapons," he said.

India has declared that it will not use nuclear weapons first, as has China, but others with atomic weapons have not adopted the policy.

Guterres also called attention to "the dangers posed by new technologies".

He said that the New Agenda should include "international bans on cyberattacks on civilian infrastructure, and internationally agreed limits on lethal autonomous weapons systems", a reference to robots and drones.

He suggested a new type of counterterrorist operations by regional force under Security Council mandates as he unveiled his proposal for a New Agenda for Peace with a warning that humanity is facing its "darkest hour".

He said, "The New Agenda for Peace must recognize the need for a new generation of peace enforcement missions and counter-terrorist operations, led by regional forces, with a Security Council mandate under Chapter VII" of the UN Charter that provides for action on threats to peace.

The prospect for peace is diminishing in the Russian invasion of Ukraine while "the chances of further escalation and bloodshed keep growing", he said "I fear the world is not sleepwalking into a wider war.A I fear it is doing so with its eyes wide open," Guterres said.

In dealing with poverty and inequalities, he said "the global financial architecture does not need a simple evolution; it needs a radical transformation".

"A new determination to ensure developing countries have a far greater voice in global financial institutions" and "a new commitment to place the dramatic needs of developing countries at the centre of every decision and mechanism of the global financial system, were needed".

Focusing on the Abrahamic faiths, Guterres said, "antisemitism, anti-Muslim bigotry, the persecution of Christians, racism and white supremacist ideology are on the march" but left out the attacks on and threats faced by minorities belonging to religions like Hinduism, Sikhism and Bahaism.

More broadly, he said, "Ethnic and religious minorities, refugees, migrants, indigenous people and the LGBTQI-plus (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Intersex and other) community are increasingly targeted for hate, online and off".

He said that many in positions of power profit by sowing division and hatred and "weaponise cultural differences".

"Social media platforms use algorithms that amplify toxic ideas and funnel extremist views into the mainstream" and "advertisers finance this business modela while "some platforms tolerate hate speech - the first step towards hate crime", Guterres said.

He said that all stakeholders should agree to a Code of Conduct for information integrity on digital platforms.

The UN chief said that "everyone with influence on the spread of mis- and disinformation on the internet - governments, regulators, policymakers, technology companies, the media, civil society -" should act.

(Arul Louis can be contacted at arul.l@ians.in and followed at @arulouis)
Ideal Option, a national leader in outpatient medication-assisted treatment for opioids, methamphetamine, alcohol and polysubstance, will host an open house at their clinic in Springdale at 2112 W Huntsville Ave, Ste. B. The event will kick off with an opening address from newly appointed Arkansas Drug Director Boyce Hamlet.

During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, substance use and overdose deaths skyrocketed across Arkansas. According to the AR Opioid Dashboard, in Washington County alone, overdose deaths increased by 79% from 2020 to 2021.

Ideal Option data from 2021 show 44% of patients in Arkansas tested positive for multiple substances at enrollment, most commonly opioids and methamphetamine.

On Wednesday, February 15, from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m., all members of the community are invited to attend the Open House at Ideal Options clinic in Springdale located at 2112 W Huntsville Ave, Ste. B.

During the open house, attendees can enjoy refreshments and learn more about the services provided by Ideal Option, tour the facility, meet expert staff and pick up materials.

For questions about this event, email Senior Marketing Manager Olivia Roe at oliviaroe@idealoption.net.

About Ideal Option

Headquartered in Kennewick, Washington, Ideal Option was founded in 2012 and has since helped more than 65,000 patients through a network of over 80 office-based medication-assisted treatment (MAT) clinics across 11 states. With a mission to serve under-served communities, Ideal Option accepts all forms of insurance including Medicaid and Medicare. Financial assistance and payment plans are also available.

Ideal Option's team of medical providers carry certifications in Addiction and Emergency Medicine, Internal, and Family Medicine, among other specialties. The company also employs social workers, caseworkers, counselors, and mental health practitioners. This holistic approach helps drive positive outcomes, including family stability, stable housing, improved overall health, and reduced rates of recidivism.

In all the communities it serves, Ideal Option collaborates with existing stakeholders and providers to improve the continuum of care. This approach includes partnerships with emergency rooms and county jail systems, where individuals with substance use disorder often appear, as well as collaborating with numerous support agencies and municipal programs addressing social needs such as housing, mental health, and nutrition support.
Neighborhood Credit Union representatives with the 2022 Grand Prize Winner (center), Sharon G. This is our 15th grand prize giveaway since the launch of our Prize Savings account, and its always one of the highlights of our year," said Francis Santana. "Our goal is to provide an avenue that encourages better savings habits and leads to the financial security our members deserve!"

When Sharon Garfield answered a phone call from a Neighborhood Credit Union representative informing her that she had won something and needed to visit her local Coppell branch, she assumed it was a small prize. Once Garfield arrived on January 4, 2023, she was greeted with an oversized check for $49,999.99. With absolute shock in her eyes, What? Are you kidding? was the first thing Garfield managed to say as she looked at the check presented to her. Garfield has been a member of Neighborhood Credit Union since September 2013.

When asked if she had any ideas of what to do with the winnings, she shared that she and her husband had recently started a charitable fund for their family. They will utilize the fund to donate to charities they are passionate about throughout the year, so the Prize Savings Account grand prize money will be an exceptional starter for their fund. Garfield was very gracious and so excited, mentioning that she will keep Neighborhood CU updated with what charitable deeds they do with their fund over the years.

We just funded our charity less than two weeks ago. My husband and I are going to access it throughout the year to make charitable donations, said Garfield. In October, we will have an all-family meeting, and that is when everyone will have an opportunity to get involved and pick a charity of their choice to donate with the remaining funds. This $49,999.99 will be a great contribution to our cause!

Neighborhood Credit Union created the Prize Savings Account in 2007 when saving accounts were at an all-time low. The goal of Prize Savings was to encourage more people to save money by offering prizes and rewards throughout the year, so members could experience immediate and tangible rewards to help incentivize good savings habits that can reap long-term. Over the years, the prizes have changed from physical to cash deposits. Neighborhood Credit Union has weekly giveaways of $1,000, along with the grand prize of $49,999.99, announced every year in January.

This is our 15th grand prize giveaway since the launch of our Prize Savings account, and its always one of the highlights of our year! Our goal is to provide an avenue that encourages better savings habits and leads to the financial security our members deserve, said Senior Vice President of Retail and Business Development, Francis Santana. "We keep the concept simple to ensure everyone can take advantage of our program, and we add a fun factor with our giveaways. We are proud of the meaningful impact Prize Savings is making in our members lives, and we hope to keep building on that.

How the Prize Savings Account Works: Neighborhood Credit Union members receive one drawing entry for every $25 monthly average balance in their Prize Savings Account. The greater the savings, the more chances a member has of winning. Members are eligible for weekly drawings, culminating with the annual grand prize, drawn each January 1 based on the average monthly balance in the savings account at close of business on December 31.

About Neighborhood Credit Union: The oldest credit union in Dallas (chartered April 18, 1930), Neighborhood Credit Union is a not-for-profit financial organization serving anyone who lives, works or worships in the State of Texas. With nearly 60,000 members, $1 billion in assets and locations across North Texas, Neighborhood Credit Union has been a loyal and trusted partner for over 92 years and continues to welcome new members daily. For more information, call (214) 748-9393 or visit our homepage.
Its no longer enough to just offer a loyalty program. Consumers are demanding additional incentives to engage with. Were expecting to see brands get very creative with their loyalty tactics going forward. - Tyler Haskins, EVP of Marketing at ebbo.

Loyalty programs continue to play a critical role in brands customer engagement strategies, but it takes more than simply having a program to build long-term relationships. Consumers are becoming more motivated by incentives layered into these programs.

Known as loyalty amplifiers, incentivized engagements like sweepstakes, trivia, UGC contests and more can help brands boost engagement in their loyalty programs.

ebbo, a leading provider of end-to-end loyalty solutions, explored the growing interest in such engagements in its 2023 Customer Engagement Data Study surveying 2,500 U.S consumers about how incentives impact their behavior.

ebbos research found that 90% of consumers agree theyre more likely to engage with a brand if it offers incentives, and further, 57% of consumers have made first-time purchases with brands because of participating in an incentive. It is clear that consumers are looking to brands for new ways they can engage and earn benefits.

Offering loyalty amplifiers in loyalty programs, like sweepstakes, trivia and user-generated content, helps brands achieve loyalty goals like member acquisition, onboarding, increased sales, point burn, retention and brand advocacy.

Key findings from the report include:



90% of consumers agree theyre more likely to engage with a brand if it offers incentivizes.

57% of consumers have made a first-time purchase with a brand as a result of participating in an incentive.

59% of consumers have switched from a brand they regularly purchase from to a different brand that offered better-incentivized engagements.

Ease of participation is the No. 1 factor that makes consumers most excited about the incentivized engagements they participate in.

33% of consumers who havent recently participated in an incentivized engagement say its because the brands they engage with most often dont offer them.

There has never been a more opportune time for brands to focus on strategies that turn consumers into true brand advocates, said Tyler Haskins, EVP of Marketing at ebbo. Its no longer enough to just offer a loyalty program. Consumers are demanding additional incentives to engage with through loyalty amplifiers like sweepstakes, trivia, social contests and more. Were expecting to see brands get very creative with their loyalty tactics going forward.

Download the 2023 Customer Engagement Data Study here.

About ebbo

ebbo is an all-in-one loyalty company that has helped leading brands build unforgettable customer experiences for over two decades. In addition to its suite of uniquely configurable loyalty solutions, ebbos data-driven, full-service approach helps brands build customer engagement on repeat. ebbo is based in Rocky Hill, CT with offices in Michigan and team members all over the U.S. For more information, visit http://www.ebbo.com.
I was first named a Top Doctor by Castle Connolly in 2014. Its an honor to still be here in 2023.

Social media sensation and Beverly Hills board-certified plastic surgeon Dr. Gary Motykie has been named a Top Doctor in Los Angeles in the field of plastic surgery for the 2022-2023 calendar year by Castle Connolly. The Top Doctor designation is selected yearly by Castle Connollys peer-based nomination process. The designation involves hundreds of thousands of medical professionals casting votes from across the nation.

I was first named a Top Doctor by Castle Connolly in 2014. Its an honor to still be here in 2023, says Dr. Motykie. Its humbling to know that my peers in the medical field can recognize the work that my team and I do to deliver outstanding patient experiences. Im especially excited for 2023 because were launching my newest regenerative protocol, called Stellar Anti-Aging. Stellar Anti-Aging will help patients address the primary signs of aging from the inside-out through human biologics, senolytics, and stem cell therapy.

Dr. Motykie operates a full-service aesthetic facility (plastic surgery, med spa, and surgery center) at the intersection between West Hollywood and Beverly Hills in Los Angeles. He also has a med spa outside of Chicago called Motykie Med Spa Barrington. Dr. Motykie is known for pioneering natural-looking results for celebrities and patients alike.

2023 marks the 30th anniversary of the annual Castle Connolly Top Doctors list. Castle Connolly's Top Doctors list represents the top 7% of physicians in the United States. All Castle Connolly Top Doctor recipients are nominated by their peers and then vetted by the Castle Connolly research team. Castle Connolly evaluates professional qualifications, education, hospital and faculty appointments, research leadership, professional reputation, disciplinary history, and interpersonal skills, among other things.

About Dr. Gary Motykie:

Dr. Gary Motykie is a Board-Certified Plastic Surgeon who is highly skilled in all aspects of breast, body, and facial aesthetic and rejuvenation surgical procedures. Dr. Motykie has more than 80,000 subscribers and fans between YouTube and TikTok, where he uploads videos discussing celebrity plastic surgery, plastic surgery secrets and procedures, and other cosmetic innovations. Patients and fans can view his surgical transformations on his Instagram, @DrGaryMotykie, which boasts more than 170,000 followers.
We are excited to introduce the Draft Top LIFT and a new category of bar ware to attendees of the Inspired Home Show

Draft Top, manufacturer of one-of-a-kind bar tools, today announced their participation in the 2023 Inspired Home Show. Draft Top will be exhibiting at Booth S744 at the Inspired Home Show held at the McCormick Center in Chicago from March 4-7, 2023.

Formerly the International Home + Housewares Show, The Inspired Home Show is North Americas largest housewares trade show. More than 52,000 home and housewares professionals from more than 130 countries attend the show in Chicago to discover new housewares products and industry trends, meet face-to-face with executives from top retail and manufacturer brands, and gain the insights, leads and exposure to jump-start a successful year.

Draft Tops newest product, the LIFT, lifts and removes the lid from any canned beverage leaving a smooth rim and open can to elevate the overall beverage experience. Draft Top LIFT is the worlds first bar tool designed to remove the top of beverage cans, providing a complete sensory perception of sight, smell, and taste. Draft Top LIFT allows consumers to enjoy the full aroma and smooth pour of their favorite beverage, whether its an IPA, RTD, seltzer or canned coffee all without needing a glass or wasting a plastic cup.

We are excited to introduce the Draft Top LIFT and a new category of bar ware to attendees of the Inspired Home Show, said Shawn Harlan, Chief Marketing Officer of Draft Top. We designed the Draft Top LIFT to enhance the beverage experience of any canned drink from craft beer to canned cocktails, and anything in between. We look forward to meeting with retailers, industry partners, and members of the media and showcasing the Draft Top LIFT at this years show.

As seen on Shark Tank, Draft Top currently has sales in over 50 countries and invites existing and potential retailers to booth S744 to learn more about the LIFT. For additional information on the company, please visit Draft Top.

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About Draft Top

Made in the USA, Draft Top Inc., manufactures and distributes one-of-a-kind bar tools designed to create an ENJOYABLE drinking experience by safely removing the tops of beverage cans. Drinking from cans is indisputably sub-par when compared to bottles or glasses and this is due to sensory perception science. You cant taste what you cant smell. Draft Top set out to solve this problem and has created a whole new category for barware. For more information, please visit http://www.drafttop.com
The InOrbit Robot Space launches in Mountain View, California This is a space for the robotics community at large to learn and advance the state of the art in robot operations. Its also a place for everyone else  from kids to older adults  to experience how robots can help with everyday chores.

InOrbit Inc, the leading provider of cloud-based robot operations (RobOps) software, is excited to announce the grand opening of the InOrbit Robot Space in Mountain View, California. This community space, product showroom and concept store gives visitors the chance to see the industry's latest autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) in action and get hands-on with the InOrbit RobOps platform. Visitors can experience live robots performing tasks such as restocking merchandise and delivering customer orders.

Whether in person or remotely via multiple live-streaming cameras, decision makers can see robots from different vendors working together in the real world. This ability to orchestrate multi-vendor robot fleets at scale through a single pane of glass is what sets InOrbit apart. Robotics companies that are part of the InOrbit Connect ecosystem will be able to showcase their robots in a realistic, yet scaled-down environment.

Our goal is to demystify and raise awareness of the real-world application of robots, said Florian Pestoni, CEO and co-founder of InOrbit. Were excited to exhibit robots from our partners like OTTO Motors and other industry leaders. This is a space for the robotics community at large to learn and advance the state of the art in robot operations. Its also a place for everyone else  from kids to older adults  to experience how robots can help with everyday chores.

"We are happy to participate in the InOrbit Robot Space launch and are excited at the prospect of seeing our robots working in this new community space," said Jay Judkowitz, VP of Product at OTTO Motors. "InOrbit has been a great partner to OTTO Motors and shares our vision of bringing industry-leading robots and operations to life automating the world's dullest, dirtiest, and deadliest jobs."

In addition to showcasing the latest technology and selling merchandise for all ages, the InOrbit Robot Space aims to educate the public on the role of modern robots in everyday life. In contrast with some preconceived notions about robots, often shaped by sci-fi movies or outdated ideas about industrial automation, visitors to the concept store can experience first hand how the latest robots use AI, sensors and software to intelligently navigate around obstacles to carry out their mission. The InOrbit Robot Space will also be available for community events, meetups, and educational talks, allowing people to get hands-on with real robots, explore RobOps best practices, and learn what it takes to orchestrate diverse robot fleets in real-world scenarios.

InOrbit will be hosting Women in Robotics, Silicon Valley Robotics, and Robot Operations Group meetings at the Robot Space.

In order to remain competitive, we need more high school girls and undergrad women to choose career paths in computer science and engineering, said Andra Keay, President of Women in Robotics and Managing Director of Silicon Valley Robotics. The InOrbit Robot Space will be a great location for SVR and WiR events, helping attendees connect with successful women in robotics and get hands-on experience with the latest in robotics and robot operations.

The Silicon Valley-based members of ROG will now have a place to meet in real life, said Joe Wieciek, Director of Technical Operations at Outrider and co-founder of the Robot Operations Group. As a community for robot operations experts, we had a hugely successful RobOpsCon in 2022 and continue to meet throughout the year. We appreciate InOrbits support as a founding sponsor and community host.

To make the topic more accessible to all, the company mascot known as Orbito has been appointed community ambassador. This adorable robot avatars role is to connect with burgeoning roboticists of all ages. 3D figures as well as t-shirts and other items featuring Orbito will be available for sale.

The InOrbit Robot Space is located at 293 Castro St, in Mountain View, California. Operating hours are Monday-Friday 12 pm - 6 pm, starting on February 20th. To learn more please visit https://www.inorbit.ai/robotspace

The InOrbit Robot Space grand opening event occurred on February 3rd. For media assets including photos and videos of the launch event, please click here.

About InOrbit

Headquartered in Mountain View, California, InOrbit is the leading platform for RobOps at scale. The company empowers robot developers and end users to maximize the potential of every robot. InOrbits multi-cloud platform enables efficient robot operations and provides observability through secure, real-time analytics and data collection, robot performance monitoring, incident response and root-cause analysis. The InOrbit Connect certification program allows end users across industries to orchestrate robots for multiple tasks and from multiple vendors to optimize productivity. For more information, please visit http://www.inorbit.ai.

Press Contact:

Michelle McIntyre

MMC PR

408-621-1686

michelle@michellemcintyrecommunications.com
Aerial Anybody that goes to the Cacique peninsula will fall in love with it, said Steve Case, co-founder of AOL and Chairman and CEO of Revolution. Ive traveled the world and theres something magical about this place."

Revolution Places, the real estate and hospitality investment arm of Revolution, LLC, and IMI Worldwide Properties, today announced the release of a new luxury residential offering in Latin America, the Waldorf Astoria Residences Guanacaste. Situated on the dramatic cliffside peninsula of Cacique in Costa Ricas celebrated Guanacaste province, the Waldorf Astoria Residences Guanacaste will feature 19 condominium residences and 22 estate homes, alongside the anticipated 190-key Waldorf Astoria Guanacaste, as the brands first debut in Costa Rica. With a focus on sustainability, connection to nature, and premium luxury amenities and experiences, the residential community offers an unparalleled private ownership opportunity in an ecologically rich and visually stunning oceanfront environment.Anybody that goes to the Cacique peninsula will fall in love with it, said Steve Case, co-founder of AOL and Chairman and CEO of Revolution. Ive traveled the world and theres something magical about this place. My dream is for Cacique to offer visitors an opportunity to experience the peninsula in residences that reflect the beauty of this location. We have spent more than a decade finding the right partners and plans to honor this special place.

OWNING A PIECE OF PURA VIDA

Boasting panoramic views of the Pacific Ocean and the Bay of Papagayo, the Waldorf Astoria Residences Guanacaste are designed to set a new standard for luxury living. The propertys 19 condominium residences range from two to three bedrooms across 1,509 to 2,209 square feet, with two-bedroom residences starting at $1.62 million and three-bedroom residences at $2.72 million. Buyers seeking larger accommodations can select from 22 estate homes, with floorplans including four-bedroom, two-story estates at 3,996 square feet; five-bedroom, two-story estates at 4,982 square feet; and five-bedroom, three-story estates at 4,996 square feet. Pricing on the estates starts at $5.31 million for the four-bedroom floorplans and $6.37 million for the five-bedroom floorplans. All residences and estates will come fully furnished and owners have the option to include their home in a vacation rental program. The interiors of both the residences and estate homes will seamlessly integrate elements of the surrounding natural environment, featuring organic materials, clean lines, and local architectural influences.This project is truly one of the most stunning properties weve ever had an opportunity to work with and the location on the Cacique peninsula cant be beat, says Mike Collins, co-founder and CEO of IMI Worldwide Properties. With nine of the estate homes and one of the private condominium residences reserved at this time, were already seeing incredible demand for this offering and the community that Revolution Places and Waldorf Astoria brand had envisioned.

SUSTAINABILITY

At the forefront is the developments commitment to sustainability and environmentally responsible practices. The site plan for the community prioritizes biophilic design, preserving the unique natural topography and native species, and implementing high-efficiency heating, cooling, and wastewater systems. Revolution Places has partnered with an award-winning team of architects, designers, and planners, including Garnier Arquitectos, Robles Arquitectos, Gensler, and EDSA to bring this vision to life. Residents will enjoy thoughtful design features that blend into the peninsula's natural environment, including water elements throughout the property and a spa built atop a naturally occurring creek. The site plan emphasizes walkability, with all amenities and necessities within a short walk of the residences, and a fleet of electric vehicles available for longer on-property transportation needs.

WORLD-CLASS HOSPITALITY EXCELLENCE

As the brands first residential property in Costa Rica, Waldorf Astoria Residences Guanacaste will offer homeowners access to the premium amenities and personalized services synonymous with Waldorf Astoria brand and heritage. Residents will enjoy exclusive hotel amenities, including a beach club, cenote-inspired spa with treehouse-style treatment rooms, multiple restaurants, event facilities, and meeting rooms, and a soothing holistic wellness center complete with a state-of-the-art gym, movement studio, outdoor yoga, and lap and thermal pools.

COSTA RICAS MOST SOUGHT-AFTER DESTINATION

Just 25 minutes from the Daniel Oduber Quiros International Airport (also known as the Liberia International Airport) with direct flight access from more than 20 international destinations across the U.S., Canada, Mexico, and Europe, the Waldorf Astoria Residences Guanacaste is ideally situated on the Cacique peninsula and within a short drive of two neighboring towns offering authentic Costa Rican culture. The property provides immediate access to Playa Penca, a secluded stretch of beach ideally suited for swimming, watersports, and boating. At the same time, those seeking adventure farther afield can enjoy the regions dynamic tropical rainforest environment with a variety of national parks, trails, caves, volcanoes, and waterfalls to explore. The Guanacaste province is also home to one of the worlds rare Blue Zones, where residents are known to live longer and healthier lives. Waldorf Astoria Residences Guanacaste will break ground in Q2 of 2023 and is set to deliver in Q4 of 2024. Sales of the residences are offered exclusively through IMI Worldwide Properties.

For more information, please visit https://clientportal.waldorfastoriaresidencesguanacaste.com/pressrelease/. Waldorf Astoria Residences Guanacaste is owned by Revolution, Cacique Investors LLC, and Garnier & Garnier, who is also the projects Costa Rican developer. GFG Securities LLC raised equity and debt financing.###

ABOUT REVOLUTION PLACES:

Revolution Places invests in unique real estate and hospitality opportunities that promote new models for travel and tourism based on healthy lifestyles, sustainable luxury, and appreciation for the natural environment. Revolution Places is part of Revolution LLC, a D.C.-based investment firm led by AOL Co-founder, Steve Case. Learn more at https://revolution.com/entity/places/.

Revolution Places Media Contact:

Tracy Zuckerman Van Grack

Tracy.VanGrack@revolution.com

516.524.6124

ABOUT IMI WORLDWIDE PROPERTIES:

IMI Worldwide Properties is an innovative and integrated real estate brokerage firm focused on new and emerging luxury real estate. For over 30 years, IMI Worldwide Properties has created some of the most recognized luxury real estate communities around the world. For more information, please visit http://www.imiliving.com.

ABOUT WALDORF ASTORIA HOTELS & RESORTS:

Waldorf Astoria Hotels & Resorts is a portfolio of more than 30 iconic properties that creates a unique sense of place with a relentless commitment to elegant service, one-of-a-kind experiences and culinary expertise in landmark destinations around the world. Inspired by their timeless environments and sincerely elegant service, Waldorf Astoria hotels deliver an effortless experience seamlessly, creating a true sense of place for guests through stunning architectural features, brand rituals, the famous Peacock Alley, refined art collections, and elevated in-room amenities. In addition to the brands world-class hotel offerings, Waldorf Astoria boasts a global residential portfolio that provides the comfort of a private home combined with unsurpassed amenities and high-touch service. Waldorf Astoria is part of Hilton, a leading global hospitality company. Experience an unforgettable stay at Waldorf Astoria Hotels & Resorts by booking at waldorfastoria.com or through the industry-leading Hilton Honors app. Hilton Honors members who book directly through preferred Hilton channels have access to instant benefits. Learn more about Waldorf Astoria Hotels & Resorts at stories.hilton.com/waldorfastoria, and follow the brand on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.

ABOUT GFG:

GFG Securities, LLC ("GFG Securities") is a boutique real estate investment banking firm that assists public and privately owned businesses with domestic and international investment banking services, including equity and debt capital raising, mergers & acquisitions, and strategic consulting services. Headquartered in Miami, FL, GFG Securities has acted as the primary liaison in debt and equity capital raising transactions in excess of $1.9 billion with average transaction values between US$20 and US$500 million. Visit http://www.gfgsecurities.com for company information.

GFG Media Contact:

David Ramos

davidr@gfgholdings.com

305.810.6500

ABOUT GARNIER & GARNIER:

Garnier & Garnier Desarrollos Inmobiliarios (Garnier) has over 25 years of experience in the conceptualization, development, and disposition of Real Estate Projects throughout Costa Rica. Garnier has been involved in the design and construction of over 1,500,000 square meters of development throughout its history, with well over $600 MM of construction in the last 5 years. Focused on the development of industrial parks and free trade zones, corporate office parks, and hospitality/residential projects, Garnier brings a sustainable and innovative approach to traditional real estate development.

Visit http://www.garnier.cr for company information.
Livesay & Myers, P.C. proudly announces the promotion of attorney Joe Menze to the position of Senior Associate. My vocabulary does not encompass enough adjectives to describe Joe, said Ariel Baniowski, a partner at the firm. Joe is energetic, eager, and wholly devoted to his craft and his clients. Whether at the negotiation table or in the courtroom, Joes knowledge and commitment is both evident and invaluable." Mr. Menze works in the firms Manassas office, and represents clients in Manassas, Prince William County and surrounding areas. An attorney since 2015, he has practiced exclusively family law since 2016. Originally from Fort Wayne, Indiana, Mr. Menze earned his law degree from William & Mary Law School after graduating from Indiana University  Fort Wayne.Mr. Menze is currently included in the 2023 edition of Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch for his work in Family Law. He currently holds a perfect 10.0 rating from Justia. Mr. Menze resides with his husband in Northern Virginia. About Livesay & Myers, P.C.Livesay & Myers, P.C. is an award-winning family law firm with offices in Manassas, Fairfax, Ashburn, Arlington and Fredericksburg, Virginia. The firm was founded in 2003 by partners James Livesay and Kevin Myers. By 2016, the firm had made the annual Virginia Lawyers Weekly list of Virginias Largest Law Firms, debuting at #64 (and moving up to #46 by the 2022 edition). Livesay & Myers, P.C. appears in the 20182023 Editions of the U.S. News - Best Lawyers listing of Best Law Firms. By the 2022 Edition, the firm had moved into Tier 1the highest ranking availablein Family Law for the Washington, D.C. region.
The decision was made in order to streamline our operations and deliver better overall service as one company operating under a single management structure.

American Cladding Technologies, a leading provider of laser metal deposition services for the past decade, has announced it will begin operating as a division of Joining Technologies. Both companies are owned by Joining Industries, Inc.

Greg Miller, President of Joining Technologies, says the decision was made in order to streamline our operations and deliver better overall service as one company operating under a single management structure.

This shift in operations is expected to be nearly seamless, as both companies were already sharing certain resources, including sales, marketing and quality engineering.

American Cladding Technologies (ACT) will move its equipment and staff to the Joining Industries Headquarters building at 17 Connecticut South Drive, just a quarter of a mile away from its current location at 15a International Drive. ACT will take over the space currently occupied by JT Automation, another Joining Industries company, which will move to a newly acquired property in Windsor in April 2023.

Although ACT will go forward as a division of Joining Technologies rather than a separate company, they will continue use of the American Cladding Technologies brand and website http://www.americancladding.com. Forthcoming web updates will establish a clearer connection to Joining Technologies.

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About Joining Technologies

Joining Technologies is a leading provider of precision welding, machining, and build-to-print services. For over 30 years, the company has developed solutions for organizations nationwide with focuses in aerospace, automotive, defense, energy, firearms, medical device and semiconductor manufacturing. Located in East Granby, Connecticut, the Joining Technologies facility is equipped with cutting edge laser welding, electron beam welding, resistance welding, wire EDM, laser cutting, and laser cladding stations.

As a member of the Joining Industries family, the companys mission is to create a platform where meaningful business happens, and to leverage it to improve the lives of everyone we can possibly touch,: our employees, our customers, our suppliers, our community. This is our guiding light, our True North.

To learn more visit joiningtech.com and follow us on LinkedIn for the latest company news.
Were grateful for Veritys Microgrant program and the opportunity to expand our curriculum and outreach work, said Franklyn Smith, Co-Founder.

Verity Credit Union, a $735 million asset financial institution in Seattle that focuses on socially responsible banking, announced today the recipients of its Fall 2022 Microgrant application pool. Launched in 2017, Veritys Microgrant Program demonstrates its commitment to supporting underserved communities by inviting organizations and nonprofits to apply to receive these funds. The program aims to help organizations with limited access to traditional funding due to organizational size, age, or tax-exemption status.

Our Microgrant program was designed to bolster organizations in our community whose work mirrors our own in contributing to the growth and success of individuals and groups that dont have the same access to support and resources, said Ziquora Banks, Chief Impact Strategy Officer. This years recipients demonstrate the reach of this program, meeting the unique needs of a diverse cross-section of communities.

Verity Credit Unions Fall 2022 Microgrant recipients are:



Fresh Start Professional Services: a collective of BIPOC community members who provide supportive services to BIPOC youth and adults in transition  from homelessness, foster care, the justice system, and treatment facilities. The Verity Microgrant will support Fresh Starts general programming  a 16-hour curriculum covering goal planning and effective communication skills, plus introduction classes to professional fields like community-based digital equity and broadband installation, community advocacy, leadership, and entrepreneurialism.

Project Be Free (PBF) was founded in 2020 by a group that recognized that the systems in place to address domestic violence were being overwhelmed by the COVID-19 pandemic, leading to an increase in racial disparities among those receiving aid. The Verity Microgrant will support ongoing programming, which includes general crisis response, domestic violence advocacy, family support groups, doula-led mothers support groups, a shared youth mentorship program, and a yearly Survivor Wellness Symposium.

Sduhubs Cultural and Family Services (SCFS): Founded to support the Snohomish Tribe, which is not federally acknowledged and as a result, does not receive the same level of federal support as other tribes in terms of social welfare, education, health, and hunting/fishing commerce. The organization helps fill these gaps, providing expertise and support to over 1600 members of the Snohomish Tribe, their families, and other community members. The Verity Microgrant will go toward their future plans for cultural exchange and community support throughout Snohomish traditional territories.

[South Tacoma Economic Green Zone (STEGZ): A group dedicated to the creation of a new land-use code for clean energy and green businesses in South Tacoma, currently designated an economic opportunity zone, encouraging businesses to move to the area and create local economic growth. The Verity Microgrant will provide STEGZ with funds for community organization, online and postal mail outreach, contracting subject matter experts to assist with code review and updates, and data management.

Yasuke Pharm: Family-owned and BIPOC-led, Yasuke Pharm is an organization dedicated to disrupting inequities in food systems, healing generational trauma within the BIPOC community, and building long-term restorative economic justice. Veritys Microgrant will support the collective of farmers, food system professionals, educators, healthcare workers, and mental wellness practitioners to continue their work with underserved communities.

Were grateful for Veritys Microgrant program and the opportunity to expand our curriculum and outreach work, said Franklyn Smith, Co-Founder. Fresh Start staff and volunteer work is deeply rooted in and focused on promoting education and vocational training as a ladder to success, aligning with Veritys mission to enable prosperity for all.

Veritys Microgrant program prioritizes organizations with a total asset size of less than $250,000. The program accepts applicants on a rolling basis, announcing new recipients in the spring and fall of each year.

Visit Verity Microgrant Programfor more information.

ABOUT VERITY CREDIT UNION

Verity Credit Union is one of Washington States longest-standing credit unions, putting people, the planet, and prosperity for all above the bottom line. Our mission is to make meaningful, positive, and lasting change by partnering with our members and communities to co-create solutions. As a socially-responsible financial institution, about 95% of our deposits support the local economy and members with loans big and small to improve the well-being of businesses and individuals, especially those who have been historically left out of the financial system. We are one of few financial institutions with a Black woman CEO and leadership team and board that identifies predominantly female, allowing us to embody the change were working towards. Together, we can create stronger, healthier, more sustainable communities by making-people centric decisions.

Media Contacts:

Revolution PR for Verity Credit Union

Jennifer Ritchie, Nicole Hong

verity@revolutionpr.com
Howler Head Expands Distribution to Brazil and Australia Our partnership with Campari Group is allowing us to accelerate our global expansion plans for Howler Head exponentially.

Campari Group and Catalyst Spirits announce today Howler Head Bourbon  the official flavored bourbon whiskey of UFC and the original banana-flavored super-premium bourbon whiskey  is now available in Brazil and Australia. The launches coincide with UFC 283: TEIXEIRA vs. HILL in Rio de Janeiro and UFC 284: Makhachev vs. Volkanovski in Perth. Campari Group controls a 15% interest in the popular Catalyst Spirits brand, which is also available in the United States, Canada and the U.K.

Our partnership with Campari Group is allowing us to accelerate our global expansion plans for Howler Head exponentially, said Simon Hunt, CEO of Catalyst Spirits. Campari Groups strong in-market experience and relationships enable us to easily enter these exciting whiskey markets with instant and efficient impact, allowing us to take full advantage of the growing demand globally for flavored and unflavored Bourbon.

Whiskey sales around the world have spiked in recent years, driven in great part by flavored whiskies. The global flavored whiskey market was expected to reach a value of US$27 billion by 2022, according to Future Market Insights, with North America, Europe, Latin America and Asia-Pacific driving significant volume increases. Launched in the U.S. in 2021, Howler Head sold nearly 70,000 9L cases in 2022 and has quickly become one of the fastest-growing whiskey brands in the United States.

To promote the launch in Brazil, Howler Head signed former UFC lightweight champion Charles Oliveira and UFC middleweight Caio Borralho  both hugely popular Brazilian athletes  to serve as spokespeople for the brand in marketing efforts, including Oliveira making personal appearances to greet fans in Rio during fight week of UFC 283. For the introduction in Australia, Howler Head has enlisted UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski, an Aussie himself, who is also fighting in the title fight at UFC 284.

In addition to Oliveira, Volkanovski and Barralho, Howler Head has also signed former UFC strawweight champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk and rising stars Sean OMalley and Charles Jourdain to promote the brand globally. Through its partnership with UFC, Howler Head has the ability to reach 700 million UFC fans worldwide.

With bourbon whiskey serving as one of our global priority brand pillars for Campari Group and the recent positive trends in Brazil, Howler Head is an ideal fit for our local portfolio, said Gustavo Bruno, Campari Group Country Managing Director Brazil.

In addition to being an exceptionally high-quality liquid, in line with flavored whiskey trends, Howler Head has established a clear unique brand personality and, through its deep relationship with UFC, we believe it will be a hit in Australia, said Simon Durrant, Managing Director of Campari Group Australia. Along with Alexander Volkanovski, we will also be engaging additional fighters to endorse the brand in Australia. We are very pleased to give consumers the chance to meet and greet some of the greatest athletes in the world during the week of February 6th at UFC 284 in Perth.

Media images of Howler Head can be found HERE.

ABOUT HOWLER HEAD

Howler Head is the original banana-flavored super-premium bourbon whiskey. It starts with real, carefully crafted Bourbon made with the finest grains and mineral-rich water. The resulting Bourbon is then aged for two years in charred American white oak barrels. Following the aging, the fine Bourbon is then blended with natural banana flavor.

ABOUT CATALYST SPIRITS

Catalyst Spirits is a global spirits company focused on leveraging the new economy and our vast experience to build and rapidly grow premium brands consumers truly want. Our fine spirits portfolio includes Howler Head, the original banana flavoured bourbon and the official flavoured whiskey of UFC; The Oceanus Hibernicus, a unique blend of Irish and Scottish malt whisk(e)y; and a number of other exciting brands in development. The Catalyst Spirits team leverages hundreds of years of in-depth industry know-how to develop impactful brands and bring them to market with pace, building them with exceptional marketing, retail, ecommerce and distributor support. Catalyst Spirits is a remote-work company with team members spread across North America and Europe. For more information on Catalyst Spirits, visit http://www.catalyst-spirits.com and for Howler Head visit http://www.howlerhead.com.

ABOUT CAMPARI GROUP

Campari Group is a major player in the global spirits industry, with a portfolio of over 50 premium and super premium brands, spreading across Global, Regional and Local priorities.

Global Priorities, the Groups key focus, include Aperol, Appleton Estate, Campari, SKYY, Wild Turkey and Grand Marnier.

The Group was founded in 1860 and today is the sixth-largest player worldwide in the premium spirits industry. It has a global distribution reach, trading in over 190 nations around the world with leading positions in Europe and the Americas.

The Groups growth strategy aims to combine organic growth through strong brand building and external growth via selective acquisitions of brands and businesses.

Headquartered in Sesto San Giovanni, Italy, Campari Group owns 23 plants worldwide and has its own distribution network in 23 countries. The Group employs approximately 4,000 people.

The shares of the parent company, Davide Campari-Milano N.V. (Reuters CPRI.MI - Bloomberg CPR IM), have been listed on the Italian Stock Exchange since 2001.
Noah's Kite is an inspiring childrens story that takes readers into an ice cream park filled with peppermint swings and ice cream hills. Noah's Kite is the creation of the published author, Bonnie Kliewer-Spang, a member of the Society of Childrens Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI), the National Association of Writers in Education (NAWE), and the Academy of American Poets.

While writing for the college paper at Imperial Valley College, Bonnie received an associate of arts degree as a rehabilitation technician for the physically limited. She also received an associate of science degree in early childhood education. Bonnie received her teaching credential, as well.

Author Bonnie Kliewer-Spang writes, An ice-cream park! Granny Bear cries. Lets see what is in the park. A place to wear your winter clothes, mittens, hats, and coats. Lets see if blessed Karis will take us there. Hold on, Noah! Whee! It is like being at the snow, but its ice cream. Cold ice cream, hills and valleys of different kinds of ice cream!

Published by Christian Faith Publishing, Bonnie Kliewer-Spangs new book brings young readers and listeners along for an exciting adventure.

View a synopsis of Noah's Kite on YouTube.

Consumers can purchase Noah's Kite at traditional brick & mortar bookstores, or online at Amazon.com, Apple iTunes store, or Barnes and Noble.

For additional information or inquiries about Noah's Kite, contact the Christian Faith Publishing media department at 866-554-0919.
Daily Doses of Hope: Coping in This Cultural Hurricane: an eye-opening book of devotionals, essays, and reflections on life written from a Christian perspective. Daily Doses of Hope: Coping in This Cultural Hurricane is the creation of published author Gary Salmons, who received his BA in history and social studies education from UNC-Chapel Hill and is the sole proprietor of Graco Vending Co., Inc.

It's impossible to miss. Our culture is convulsing. Something fundamental has gone awryout of whackas the wise ones used to say. It's no exaggeration to say that every day one picks up the newspaper or tunes in the TV news, another cataclysmic event has occurred, writes Salmons.

So what's the solution? What do we do? We've tried political remedies to no avail. We've swung back and forth to two extremities on the political continuum. We've placed our faith in policies to pull us out of the predicament; nonetheless, our nation is divided like never before.

Are we hopeless? If we continue to view human solutions as our answers, then maybe the answer is sadly yes. But what if we considered Christ and his gospel as the counters to our collapsing culture? He is. What if the principles held forth by the Prince of Peace could dissolve all international conflicts? They can.

This book was written to ignite hope, to encourage, comfort, and urge its readers, according to 1 Thessalonians 12:2. Sometimes, it seems as if we need a life raft as we drift upon these stormy seas. May these reflections bring you peace.

Published by Christian Faith Publishing, Gary Salmonss new book was born back in 2014, when the author would send daily devotionals to his sons, Chase and Christian Blake, to encourage them along their journey to discover the Lord and craft a relationship with him. Through sharing his writings with the world, Salmons hopes to encourage readers, provide peace to those who need it, and to invite the curious to consider Christ as the preeminent solution to every problem.

Consumers can purchase Daily Doses of Hope: Coping in This Cultural Hurricane at traditional brick & mortar bookstores, or online at Amazon.com, Apple iTunes store, or Barnes and Noble.

For additional information or inquiries about Daily Doses of Hope: Coping in This Cultural Hurricane, contact the Christian Faith Publishing media department at 866-554-0919.
Jude Okpala, who was born in Nigeria, has completed his new book Pacification of the Primitive Tribes of the Lower Niger: a gripping and potent work that contains several interesting stories that describe African womanhood.

Among the stories are The Gaps in My Memory, A Childless Wife, The Silence of the Gods, The House Girl, and the title story, Pacification of the Primitive Tribes of the Lower Niger.

Author Jude Okpala studied English literature and philosophy at Howard University. His short stories, criticisms, and poems are in collections like E. Ethelbert Millers Beyond the Frontier, BMa: The Sonia Sanchez Literary Review, Black British Writing, and Black British Aesthetics Today. His previous major works include The Visible Man and The Uncircumcised.

Okpala writes, Fide opened one of the drawers in his library and pulled out a brown folder. It was dusty and wrinkled on the edges and was secured tightly with a rope. He blew on it slowly to ward off the creams of dust. He then looked at what he had written over thirty years ago on the folder: the Pacification of the Primitive. There was no impression on his face, which was then plain like his bald head. What was rather remarkable was his overall weakness; his hands trembled as he was untying the folder. When he pulled out a ream in it, his hands were also trembling, even as he sifted through the pages. He flipped through the first few pages; there was evidence of hesitations shown through cancellations and ripped pages, then he came to the section the author had entitled The Evil Forest. On the margin, the author had other narratives that clarified what he was saying about the forest. There was a marginal narrative about egwugwu. Literally, he had unmasked egwugwu, calling it a heathenish recreation at best yet a masculine secret society aimed at hoodwinking the people.

Published by Page Publishing, Jude Okpalas collection of immersive stories describe the depth of African womanhood.

Readers who wish to experience this work can purchase Pacification of the Primitive Tribes of the Lower Niger at bookstores everywhere, or online at the Apple iTunes Store, Amazon, Google Play, or Barnes and Noble.

For additional information or media inquiries, contact Page Publishing at 866-315-2708.

About Page Publishing:

Page Publishing is a traditional, full-service publishing house that handles all the intricacies involved in publishing its authors books, including distribution in the worlds largest retail outlets and royalty generation. Page Publishing knows that authors need to be free to create, not mired in logistics like eBook conversion, establishing wholesale accounts, insurance, shipping, taxes, and so on. Pages accomplished writers and publishing professionals allow authors to leave behind these complex and time-consuming issues and focus on their passion: writing and creating. Learn more at http://www.pagepublishing.com.


Welcome Inn Christmas: An Invitation to Prayer through Illustrated Poetry: a series of poems with accompanying artwork to help bring readers closer to God, specifically during Christmastime. Welcome Inn Christmas: An Invitation to Prayer through Illustrated Poetry is the creation of published author Mary Beth Osiecki, who resides with her husband in North Jersey and has devoted her life to helping others grow in their faith and relationship with the Lord.

Welcome Inn Christmas is a compilation of poems and prayers God sent to me just before Christmas--one poem each Christmas for more than three decades--that have a universal appeal any time of the year for those seeking a deeper encounter with the divine Creator, writes Osiecki. If you want to make your Christmas celebration a truly spiritual one, pray with one selection each day of December, and Jesus will be born anew in your heart and life.

Come see the face of God as you allow these words to speak to your heart and the illustrations to enter your soul. Spend time making room for the Lord of all and discover a fresh perspective that will change everything. God is waiting.

Published by Christian Faith Publishing, Mary Beth Osieckis new book is a wonderful companion for those who seek to better understand the Savior and his infinite blessings and invites readers to allow their minds and hearts to be open to receive the authors incredible poetry. With vibrant and gorgeous illustrations by Tami Joe DeLisle, Welcome Inn Christmas will bring joy to Christian readers and those curious about knowing Christ alike.

Consumers can purchase Welcome Inn Christmas: An Invitation to Prayer through Illustrated Poetry at traditional brick & mortar bookstores, or online at Amazon.com, Apple iTunes store, or Barnes and Noble.

For additional information or inquiries about Welcome Inn Christmas: An Invitation to Prayer through Illustrated Poetry, contact the Christian Faith Publishing media department at 866-554-0919.
A dancer from the age of three, Sara DeGennaro has had a love of ballet for most of her life. Now an instructor who has her own dance studio, she shares the excitement of learning ballet in her new childrens book, Sofias First Ballet Class: Ballet is Fun!

Young Sofia shares her excitement with readers as she dons her new pink tutu and ballet slippers in anticipation of her first class. She arrives to meet her teacher, Miss Mary, who teaches the class of budding ballerinas.

I have students who have gone on to dance professionally in New York City, for Ballet Austin, and the Radio City Rockettes, DeGennaro said. Once upon a time, they were all young students, excited to chase their dreams on their first day of class, just like Sofia.

In the book, DeGennaro gives readers a sample of the fundamentals of ballet as the ballerinas learn correct posture, proper stretching practices, and introduces important basic poses and first steps.

I wanted to share my love of dance with a new generation, DeGennaro said. Dance has such a powerful positive impact. It is an incredible art and sport that teaches discipline, strength, grace, and how to work hard.

DeGennaro wants to inspire children to try new things and leap for their dreams. She plans to continue sharing Sofias ballet journey in future books.

Sofias First Ballet Class: Ballet is Fun!

By Sara DeGennaro

ISBN: 9781665727877 (softcover); 9781665727891 (electronic)

Available at Archway Publishing, Amazon and Barnes & Noble

About the author

Sara DeGennaro was introduced to ballet at age three, accepted by the prestigious School of American Ballet at eight, and earned the privilege to perform with the schools renowned affiliate, New York City Ballet. DeGennaro also trained internationally with the Royal Danish Ballet, Copenhagen. After a fulfilling and notable career on stage, she returned to Long Island and opened a classical dance school for young girls and boys thats been operational more than 25 years. For more information, please visit http://www.saradegennaro.com.

General Inquiries:

LAVIDGE  Phoenix

Ashley Fletcher

afletcher@lavidge.com
"SinglePoint was embracing a similar strategy as our company. And after four successful acquisitions, they determined that joining forces with Bluewave to create a leading national IT advisory business was a better strategy than going it alone," said Seth Penland, Founder and CEO of Bluewave.

Bluewave Technology Group, LLC ("Bluewave"), a strategic, high-growth technology advisory and lifecycle management company, today announced that it has acquired Single Point Communications Group, LLC ("SinglePoint"), a Louisville technology consulting and advisory agency. This transaction further expands the company's footprint in Louisville following the announcement of Virtual Telecomm, making it the most significant IT advisory firm in the region. Bluewave now has over 140 employees and offices throughout the U.S., serving over 6,000 clients.

SinglePoint has a rich history in IT advisory, having been formed in 2016 when Soterra Capital, an investment and asset management firm, acquired Kentucky-based SinglePoint Solutions and Palladium Communications Group. To expand its footprint, SinglePoint acquired two leading IT agencies in 2021: Engaged Pro, based in Louisville, Kentucky, and Sky Technology Partners in Wayne, New Jersey. In 2022, the company acquired SinglePoint Solutions of Central Kentucky, another IT agency based in Lexington, Kentucky. The combined entity operated under the SinglePoint Solutions brand, providing an enhanced single-point-of-contact experience to support their clients' long-term IT solutions, sourcing, and service needs.

With deep IT specialization capabilities in the healthcare industry and a strong track record of delivering value and driving cost savings to customers in retail, logistics, banking, and finance segments, SinglePoint has built trusted partnerships with enterprise clients. SinglePoint has focused on optimizing critical infrastructure and applications through its expertise in building and executing high-value cloud computing, Disaster Recovery as a Service (DRaaS), and data center solutions for clients with mission-critical needs.

"Soterra is a unique, long-term focused, family-office-backed sponsor that had no interest in selling SinglePoint," said Jeremy Carter, Managing Partner at Soterra. "Our expectations and plan were for SinglePoint to be a near-permanent hold, but as we came to understand Bluewave's strategy and team, we realized we have a similar view of this market and how to best position for the future. By coming together with Bluewave, we decided that we could generate more value with lower risk for our team and owners and deliver a better experience to our customers. We are excited and eager to continue transforming this industry together."

"The Bluewave team shares our DNA of ensuring that customer outcomes are top of mind," said Nic Jones, President of SinglePoint. "As we envisioned all of us as one team, it became apparent that our people and clients would greatly benefit by locking arms with Bluewave to lead customers through the IT procurement landscape moving forward. The added scale and expertise will bring significant value to clients as we look to disrupt and set a new standard for IT procurement and consulting."

"SinglePoint was embracing a similar strategy as our company. And after four successful acquisitions, Soterra determined that joining forces with Bluewave to create a leading national IT advisory business was a better strategy than going it alone," said Seth Penland, Founder and CEO of Bluewave. "With SinglePoint, we are strengthening our presence in Kentucky, New York, and New Jersey. And we are doubling down on our enterprise focus with investments in experienced technologists who are vital in enabling organizations to stay ahead in the fast-changing market."

The acquisition of SinglePoint further enhances the level of support Bluewave delivers to clients while expanding its portfolio of IT advisory expertise and capabilities. It marks an essential milestone in the company's aggressive growth plan with Columbia Capital, a sector-focused investment firm with investments in enterprise IT, digital infrastructure, and mobility, to build a national technology advisory services provider. The financial terms of this transaction were not disclosed. Following this transaction, Soterra will continue to work with Bluewave to leverage relationships to broaden the Bluewave ecosystem, and Nic Jones will be joining Bluewave as Vice President of Sales.

About Bluewave Technology Group

Bluewave is a premier technology advisory and lifecycle management company with a comprehensive approach to optimizing clients' ability to grow revenue, reduce costs, and improve efficiency. Bluewave streamlines the technology buying and management process for businesses of all sizes across the United States with four key services: Technology Evaluation, Strategic Sourcing, Expense Management, and Operations Support. Specializing in modernizing the IT and telecom infrastructure, Bluewave partners with proven cloud, network, security, and collaboration service providers to develop the best solution while maximizing the clients' technology investment. Learn more at http://www.bluewave.net.

About SinglePoint Solutions

SinglePoint Solutions was founded in 1999 and is headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky. It operates as a technology solutions consultant that serves medium-sized enterprises. The company offers comprehensive technology audits and sells a broad array of communications, connectivity, security, and data services custom-architected to meet customers' needs and deliver substantial cost savings.

About Soterra Capital

Soterra Capital is a private investment firm with offices in Austin, Texas, and Louisville, Kentucky. The firm takes a fundamental, long-term investment approach, focused on private companies in the lower middle market with capable management teams, strong operations, and a commitment to excellence, integrity, family, and faith. The managing partners are Mark Franco and Jeremy Carter. For more information, visit Soterra's website at https://www.soterracap.com/about-us.
Im thrilled to have the opportunity to partner with Smile Brands to open this state-of-the-art facility and serve the community of Laveen.

Smile Brands Inc., one of the nations leading providers of business support services to dental groups in the United States, today announced the grand opening of another affiliated Bright Now! Dental office, serving the community of Laveen, AZ.

Patients will enjoy convenient hours, a comfortable office, and full-service care at the new Laveen location. The newest Bright Now! Dental office provides full-service general dentistry, plus cosmetic dentistry, endodontics, clear aligners, and oral surgery. Located at 7625 S 59th Avenue, Suite 150, in Laveen, the office will be open on weekdays. Bright Now! Dental accepts most major insurance plans and offers flexible financing options so patients can afford the care they need.

To celebrate the grand opening, the new Laveen office will offer a special $59 new patient package, including an exam and digital x-rays, and $100 off dental services over $300. Opening this new location helps Smile Brands and its affiliated dental groups achieve their mission to provide Smiles for Everyone by bringing affordable dental care to local neighborhoods.

Leading the clinical team in the new Bright Now! Dental office is Dr. Priya Venkata. Dr. Venkata is committed to providing a friendly and knowledgeable approach to patients so that they are happy with their smiles.

I strive to treat everyone with the highest level of care and compassion and enjoy getting to know my patients on a personal level, explains Dr. Venkata. Im thrilled to have the opportunity to partner with Smile Brands to open this state-of-the-art facility and serve the community of Laveen.

Prospective patients can call the new Laveen Bright Now! Dental office at 623-777-5555. People can also schedule appointments online.

About Smile Brands Inc.

Smile Brands, based in Irvine, California, is one of the largest providers of dental support services in the United States. The company supports nearly 700 affiliated practices, with more than 7,500 dedicated team members across 30 states. Smile Brands supports a portfolio of over 75 brands including well-known regional brands: Bright Now! Dental, Castle Dental, Merit Dental, Midwest Dental, Monarch Dental, and Mondovi Dental. The company provides comprehensive business support services through exclusive long-term agreements with affiliate dental groups, allowing affiliated practices to spend more time caring for patients and less time on the administrative, marketing, and financial aspects of operating a dental office. The organization receives frequent recognition for its award-winning culture and has been recognized as a Best Place to Work by Glassdoor, Comparably, Stevie Awards, and more. Smile Brands is a portfolio company of Gryphon Investors, a leading middle-market private equity firm based in San Francisco, California. Visit smilebrands.com for more information.
Fredericks City Hall Park is rich with our communitys history. We are thrilled to tell this story of community change in Frederick during the Civil War era." - Jake Wynn, Marketing and Communications Manager, Visit Frederick

In 1864, a new Maryland constitution went into effect outlawing the practice of slavery in the state. A newly written Civil War Trails sign at Fredericks City Hall tells the story of how Frederick residents voted in favor of emancipation in the fall of 1864. The sign also shares the story of an African American man, born into slavery in Frederick County, who went on to excel as an American chess expert.

In the autumn of 1864, Maryland voters went to the polls in a referendum on a new state constitution that outlawed the practice of slavery. Speeches for and against the new constitution took place all over Frederick County, including at City Hall Park, then the grounds of the Frederick County Courthouse. Among those speaking out in favor of the constitution in Frederick was Montgomery Meigs, a well-known politician from Montgomery County and the first postmaster general in the administration of Abraham Lincoln.

On October 12-13, voters in the City of Frederick went to the polls and supported the new constitution and the abolition of slavery in the state by a vote of 735 to 441. The referendum passed statewide and slavery ended across Maryland on November 1, 1864.

Among the nearly 3,000 Frederick County residents emancipated under the new constitution was Theophilus A. Thompson. The Frederick County native became the first nationally recognized Black chess player. The sign features his story and an image of Thompson from his book, Chess Problems: Either to Play and Mate, published in 1873.

Fredericks City Hall Park is rich with our communitys history. We are thrilled to tell this story of community change in Frederick during the Civil War era, said Jake Wynn, Marketing and Communications Manager for Visit Frederick. The tourism office is responsible for managing the 38 Civil War Trails markers in Frederick County, in collaboration with Civil War Trails, Inc. and the Maryland Office of Tourism Development. Civil War Trails is a multi-state trail system featuring more than 1,200 historic sites and locations.

The sign replaced a previous Civil War Trails marker on the site that focused on Roger Brooke Taney, a one-time Frederick County resident and Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. Taney, whose bust was removed from City Hall Park in 2017, died in October 1864. He is best-known as the author of the Dred Scott decision, an 1857 Supreme Court case in which Taney wrote that the United States Constitution did not give rights of citizenship to African Americans.

Ironically, Taney died on October 12, 1864 in Washington, DC as residents of Maryland voted to end slavery in his home state, said Wynn.

The Dred Scott decision was later overturned by the 13th and 14th amendments to the United States Constitution.

Visit Frederick is the recognized Destination Marketing Organization for Frederick City and Frederick County, Maryland. It operates the Frederick Visitor Center and related Visit Frederick programs that include Destination Marketing and Group Tour Marketing. For more information about Visit Frederick, visit http://www.visitfrederick.org or call 301-600-4047.
Matt Durham joins CMI Media Group as Director, Global Media. Were ready to bring our data-driven and disruptive approach to Europe and beyond," said Dr. Susan Dorfman, President and CEO.

Healthcare agency CMI Media Group, a WPP company (NYSE: WPP), has launched its global omnichannel capability, expanding its presence globally with a regional hub in London. Following over 30 years of steady exponential growth, including being named one of the fastest growing agencies in the world by Adweek three times in the past 4 years, the company has opened its first regional headquarters in London, with additional offices to come. The global expansion marks CMI Media Groups continued evolution beyond media to bring healthcare clients omnichannel orchestration, reaching and engaging healthcare audiences when, where and how they prefer.

Leading the London practice will be Matt Durham as Director, Global Media. He brings over a decade of international pharmaceutical and healthcare media planning and strategy experience. Durham has led media campaigns across all major therapeutic categories and has been associated with most of the top 10 pharmaceutical companies.

Recent research focusing on European markets shows a disconnect between what healthcare professionals want and what healthcare brands are currently providing. For example, HCPs are looking for better access to digital learning tools, podcasts, and other resources, while pharma companies polled stated that these areas were lower priority. CMI Media Group will apply its expertise in omnichannel orchestration and data-centric strategic planning, with extensive experience in HCP audiences, to help global clients reach their goals.

CMI Media Group has been working with agency partners to offer global services to multiple healthcare clients and will continue this momentum with its newly established global presence.

In this continuously-changing market, healthcare professionals need better support from healthcare brands now more than ever. We are uniquely positioned to help our clients deliver on that need, thanks to our long-standing experience in servicing our clients globally, paired with our over 30 years of dedicated strategic healthcare marketing, said Justin Freid, Chief Media & Innovation Officer. We have been working with clients globally for many years and collaborating with international partners to deliver what our clients need. Were now ready to officially bring that experience and expertise to all of our clients.

To mark this milestone, CMI Media Group is releasing new research in collaboration with partner Medscape, concentrating on how physicians throughout Europe engage with personal and non-personal promotion. What European Prescribers Want and Need from Life Sciences Companies will show important insights into how healthcare brands should be prioritizing their advertising spend. This material captures how doctors are currently utilizing media, including medical journals and websites, reviews the best ways to share new developments, and analyzes how often they connect with sales reps. Healthcare brand clients can request a copy of this research at this link. CMI Media Group will host a live webinar along with Medscape to highlight key findings from the research on media consumption preferences and behaviors among European HCPs. Details for this webinar are available at this link.

Were known in the industry as innovators who build from scratch when a solution doesnt already exist, and we have seen a deep need for our expertise on the ground in markets beyond US, said Susan Dorfman, President and CEO. Were ready to bring our data-driven and disruptive approach to Europe and beyond.

CMI Media Group is WPPs leading healthcare media specialist. The company has brought many firsts to healthcare marketing as the premier healthcare-focused media buying and planning resource to the worlds game changers in pharma and life sciences. The company recently celebrated the 10th anniversary of its industry-changing platform, Empower. It is the industrys first and only people-first precision and performance data platform that manages the complete marketing process. From insights to planning and media activation to optimization, Empower leverages consistent healthcare audience data. CMI Media Groups omnidynamic approach to media earned PM360s Most Innovative Company recognition in December 2022.

Talented professionals looking to join CMI Media Group in the UK can contact Gina Santacaterina, Senior Talent Acquisition Partner, at gsanta@cmimediagroup.com.

About CMI Media Group

CMI Media Group, a WPP company (NYSE: WPP, http://www.wpp.com), is a full-service media agency focused solely on health, wellness, and pharmaceutical marketing. CMI Media Groups core offerings include Audience Strategy, Planning, Development, and Insights; Data and Analytics; Buying and Investment; and Direct Response and Customer Experience. As the leading media resource for the worlds top healthcare companies, CMI Media Group brings together leading technology, data, and talent to deliver seamless capabilities for clients. CMI Media Group has been recognized as a leader in DE&I, talent retention and employee development as well as one of the industrys best places to work. To apply for a position within our teams visit https://cmimediagroup.com/careers/
Angels in My Eyes: Based on a True Story: a heartfelt celebration of all God has offered to a woman in need of spiritual healing. Angels in My Eyes: Based on a True Story is the creation of published author Darlene Eagle, a mother of two who overcame abuse and addiction through Christ.

Eagle shares, This book is about being a blessed, normal person in the kingdom of God, receiving such a special gift as many of us do receive from being part of the body of Christ. I was so broken, just a helpless feeling so deep inside; now Im free. God blessed me with the gift of seeing angels, dreams, and visions. Im just another born-again believer, so I know you, too, can have a special gift from Christ. Maybe singing, music, writing books, prophecy, healing; maybe seeing angels.

Living with the angels is so reassuring of my relationship with Christ. I love waking up every day to angels who are always with me, floating around or zooming around at the beach. I love the dreams and visions the Lord gives me. Its so entertaining, prophetic, and cool. It keeps me in the knowing of the spiritual realm, the unseen realm, and our heavenly Father, who continues to bless me daily. He will take you as you are, broken, sad, addicted, whatever. Come as you are.

My prayer life manifests the glory of God almost every time, and this has changed my life forever. I am so very grateful for the Lord Jesus and the body of Christ being in my life. The Lord ordered me to leave California, my friends, family, and business for a year or so, and I did it. I returned to my dads home forty-three years later. The Lord sent me back to California from Minnesota and ordered me to my dads home. Not my choice of a starting point in California, but through my obedience, the Lord made beautiful memories from that return home. He turned ashes into beauty in a very short time.

Published by Christian Faith Publishing, Darlene Eagles new book will captivate the imagination as readers explore key moments in the authors healing journey.

Eagle shares in hopes of encouraging others to be open to the gifts God makes available to all members of His Kingdom.

Consumers can purchase Angels in My Eyes: Based on a True Story at traditional brick &mortar bookstores, or online at Amazon.com, Apple iTunes store, or Barnes and Noble.

For additional information or inquiries about Angels in My Eyes: Based on a True Story, contact the Christian Faith Publishing media department at 866-554-0919.
As we evolve into the next chapter of our legacy, we look forward to the support of Dental Care Alliance in this journey," shared Dr. Brunsden

Dental Care Alliance (DCA) proudly announce the affiliation of KidZdent, a nine doctor, single location orthodontic and pediatric practice located in Old Bridge, NJ.

Founded in 1985 by owners Dr. Cavan Brunsden, a pediatric dentist, and Dr. Nancy Villa, an orthodontist, the practice prides itself on their strong ties to the surrounding communities. The dentists, orthodontists, and experienced team members at KidZdent are known for the inviting and educational environment they have created. Key to their success is a tell-show-do approach to treating children, which allows the child and the parent to feel at ease throughout the entire appointment.

KidZdents mission is to create an inviting and educational environment for children. The state-of-the-art dental practice and highly qualified, experienced team has helped countless families acquire healthier and more attractive smiles. The team takes the time to explain treatments, answer all questions, and ensure that all patients, from toddlers to young adults, are comfortable and happy.

The entire teams prides itself on staying current with modern pediatric dental treatments and techniques, and provide educational materials and instruction in ways that children and families alike can understand.

Dr. Cavan Brunsden, DMD, Pediatric Dentist, was formerly an elementary school teacher and assistant principal. He completed his dental degree at Rutgers School of Dental Medicine where he graduated as a member of OKU, the national dental honor society. Following a two-year pediatric dental residency at Albert Einstein/Montefiore Medical Center in New York, Dr. Brunsden began practicing pediatric dentistry in New Jersey in 1981.

Dr. Brunsden has served as past president of The Middlesex County Dental Society, trustee of the New Jersey Dental Association, and for forty years served as Children's Dental Health and as state manager of the award winning Give Kids a Smile free dental care program.

KidZdent took forty years to develop into an ideal model for the delivery of oral health care to children. The needs of the child have always directed us to educate, to treat, and to provide compassionate care, said Dr. Brunsden. As we evolve into the next chapter of our legacy, we look forward to the support of Dental Care Alliance in this journey.

Dr. Nancy Villa, DMD, Orthodontist, grew up in Jersey City and became interested in the art of orthodontics while working as a dental assistant. She attended Rutgers University and received a bachelors degree in science, and later received her Doctor of Dental Medicine from the Rutgers School of Dental Medicine. Following dental school, Dr. Villa completed a two-year postgraduate program to become a specialist in orthodontics at Montefiore Medical Center and Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York.

Family Orthodontics at KidZdent is dedicated to the art of creating beautiful faces with aligners and braces. Over the years we have earned the respect of our community and our affiliation with DCA allows us to continue to serve, shared Dr. Villa.

This affiliation continues the rapid growth and momentum for the organization and brings DCAs footprint in New Jersey to 19 allied practices, and DCAs total footprint to over 390 allied practices across the US. This affiliation increases DCAs presence in central New Jersey as DCA strategically builds market density to serve the lifetime needs of patients in these communities.

Drs. Brunsden and Villa have built KidZdent into a first-class practice with an outstanding reputation for serving patients and the community, commented Andrew Clarke, Vice President, Business Development. KidZdents team-oriented culture is especially suited to provide excellent care to the families they serve. They are a truly special group, and we are thrilled to have them join Dental Care Alliance.

The Brunsden  Villa Pediatric Dental Care Center at Rutgers School of Dental Medicine was created to educate pediatric dentists to serve the needs of the children in New Jersey.

Dental Care Alliances mission is to advance the practice of dentistry by partnering with and supporting dental professionals to create a lifetime of healthy smiles. DCA currently supports over 400 allied practices and more than 900 dentists across 22 states. DCAs allied practices represent all dental specialties and treat patients under more than 140 brand names.


Ethiopia is vulnerable to the effects of climate change, including increases in average temperature and changes in precipitation. The country is striving to be climate neutral. Overhauling its rural economy to support more sustainable agriculture and regenerate degraded forests is part of the plan to achieve this.

In the new Net Zero show, Net Zero Speaks With Thomas Minda, scientist, educator, researcher and climate leader based at Arba Minch University in Ethiopia, Minda discusses with Climate Activist Barry Nyuydze Berry the impact of weather and climate on Ethiopias agricultural sector.

For the last 4 years the crops in Ethiopia have failed, says Thomas Minda. In Ethiopia climate change must be integrated into school curriculum. Minda also discusses Ethiopias need to transition to renewable energy: We are a mountainous country which is conducive to hydropower.

Watch the show here

The Protect our Planet Movement in association with Planet Classroom has launched the acclaimed Net Zero video and podcast series in which 24 youth climate activists from the Protect Our Planet (POP) Movement in association with Planet Classroom ask international thought leaders working on the environment the big questions as to how their nations are progressing towards their 2050 Net Zero pledges.

About the Protect Our Planet Movement

The Protect Our Planet (POP) Movement is an initiative designed to address the urgent need to share information and knowledge with the youth on solutions to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) adopted by the UN, mitigate climate change, and adapt to its growing impacts. Intended to ultimately reach the size, scale, and momentum to become a global movement, POP mobilizes the youth worldwide to take collective action needed to mitigate climate change and protect threatened ecosystems.

About the Planet Classroom Network

The Planet Classroom Network, organized by CMRubinWorld, brings together musicians, dancers, video game creators, filmmakers, activists, learning innovators and emerging technologists from around the world to entertain, educate and engage youth, and to provide a rich cultural experience for all. Content showcased for youth and by youth on the Planet Classroom Network is provided by 30 cultural organizations from around the world. Young people globally played a significant role in conceptualizing, creating, and producing the network's vision and programming.

For more information on CMRubinWorld

Follow @CMRubinWorld on Twitter

Contact Information:

David Wine

David(at)cmrubinworld(dot)com
Global law firm Greenberg Traurig, LLP Real Estate Practice Shareholder Jon S. Robins will serve as a co-presenter discussing real estate financing and how to best structure loans with various types of borrowers and guarantors in a continuing legal education (CLE) course, Feb. 7 at 1 p.m.

The course, titled Structuring Real Estate Financing with Foreign Borrowers, Trusts, and Tenants in Common, will discuss foreign parties as investors and guarantors, due diligence in structuring loans, transfer and loan documents revisions, and more.

Participants are eligible for CLE credit and a fee is associated with each webinar. For registration information, please click the link here.

Based in the firms Philadelphia office, Robins focuses his practice on real estate, equity investment, and finance activities for clients in the private equity fund, hedge fund, corporate, and investor space. With more than 20 years of experience, he routinely represents conduit lenders, insurance companies, family offices, and private equity funds in matters such as restructuring and enforcement of mortgage loans, formation of joint ventures, mezzanine, and construction loans, and more. Robins also advises clients on tactics to resolve default situations and enforce remedies and regularly presents, speaks, and counsels on related topics.

About Greenberg Traurig's Real Estate Practice: The Greenberg Traurig Real Estate Practice is a cornerstone of the firm and recognized leader in the industry. The firms real estate attorneys deliver diversified and comprehensive counsel for property acquisition and investment, development, management and leasing, financing, restructuring, and disposition of all asset classes of real estate. The team draws upon the knowledge and experience of more than 700 real estate lawyers from around the world, serving clients from key markets in the United States, Europe, the Middle East, Latin America, and Asia. The groups clientele includes a broad range of property developers, lenders, investment managers, private equity funds, REITs, and private owners. The firms real estate team advises clients on a variety of matters across a broad spectrum of commercial, recreational, and residential real estate, including structured equity and debt and the hybrids.

About Greenberg Traurig: Greenberg Traurig, LLP has more than 2650 attorneys in 44 locations in the United States, Europe, Latin America, Asia, and the Middle East. The firm is a 2022 BTI Highly Recommended Law Firm for superior client service and is consistently among the top firms on the Am Law Global 100 and NLJ 250. Greenberg Traurig is Mansfield Rule 5.0 Certified Plus by The Diversity Lab. The firm is recognized for powering its U.S. offices with 100% renewable energy as certified by the Center for Resource Solutions Green-e Energy program and is a member of the U.S. EPAs Green Power Partnership Program. The firm is known for its philanthropic giving, innovation, diversity, and pro bono. Web: http://www.gtlaw.com.


"We are thrilled to be at this point in our organization's journey, and we see this as a continuation of a highly productive partnership," stated Eric Kehmeier, CEO of Integrated Business Technologies. "As The 20 MSP, we are now in a position to offer our clients even more advanced IT solutions."

Integrated Business Technologies today announced its acquisition by The 20 MSP, a leading managed service provider with offices nationwide.

Integrated Business Technologies (IBT) is a managed service provider serving clients throughout Oklahoma. The organization has experienced steady growth over the past several years and boasts a proven track record of client success and satisfaction.

As a member of The 20's growth platform, Integrated Business Technologies has benefitted from The 20's business model, leveraging it to drive growth, enhance service offerings, and become a leading MSP in Tulsa and Oklahoma City.

With this acquisition, The 20 MSP and Integrated Business Technologies seek to build on their preexisting partnership, remain on a rapid growth trajectory, and develop new, higher-value offerings for their collective client base.

"We are thrilled to be at this point in our organization's journey, and we see this as a continuation of a highly productive partnership," stated Eric Kehmeier, CEO of Integrated Business Technologies. "IBT has been able to achieve this level of success by being a dedicated business partner to small and medium-sized companies, helping them to thrive through cutting-edge technology. As The 20 MSP, we are now in a position to offer our clients even more advanced IT solutions and support."

"Integrated Business Technologies is an exemplary MSP that we've had the privilege of working closely with through our MSP growth platform," said Tim Conkle, CEO of The 20. "Their commitment to never cutting corners and going that extra mile to ensure client success makes us confident that this acquisition is going to help us bring our collective client base even better support, along with a wider range of services and offerings. It's an honor to welcome this talented and motivated team to The 20 family."

This acquisition by The 20 MSP expands the company's national footprint and continues an aggressive growth plan that reflects the vigorous consolidation activity across the MSP industry. The 20 MSP has more acquisitions lined up in the coming months. "This is an exciting step forward in our growth journey, but it's one of many we plan on taking," said Conkle.

About The 20 MSP

The 20 MSP has been helping businesses succeed through better technology since 1986. As a leading provider of managed IT services, The 20 MSP serves hundreds of businesses nationwide, providing each one with white glove service, secure and streamlined IT infrastructure, and 24/7/365 support. We believe in building lasting relationships with clients founded on trust, communication, and the delivery of high-value services for a fair and predictable price. Our clients' success is our success, and we are committed to helping each and every organization we serve leverage technology to secure a competitive advantage and achieve new growth. To learn more, visit the20msp.com

About Integrated Business Technologies

Since 2007, Integrated Business Technologies has been a leading provider of IT support and consulting, focusing on small and medium-sized businesses in the Tulsa and Oklahoma City areas. We have helped hundreds of businesses increase productivity and profitability by making IT a streamlined part of operations. We equip our clients with customized technology solutions for greater operational value and to reduce risk.
Law Office of Blumenthal Nordrehaug Bhowmik De Blouw LLP For more information about the class action lawsuit against TheKey of California, LLC, call (800) 568-8020 to speak to an experienced California employment attorney today.

The San Francisco employment law attorneys, at Blumenthal Nordrehaug Bhowmik De Blouw LLP, filed a class action complaint alleging that TheKey of California, LLC violated the California Labor Code. The TheKey of California, LLC class action lawsuit, Case No. C23-00082, is currently pending in the Contra Costa County Superior Court of the State of California. A copy of the Complaint can be read here.

According to the lawsuit filed, Defendant allegedly (a) failed to pay minimum wages, (b) failed to pay overtime wages, (c) failed to provide legally required meal and rest periods, (d) failed to provide accurate itemized wage statements, (e) failed to reimburse employees for required expenses, (f) failed to provide wages when due, and (g) failed to pay sick wages, all in violation of the applicable Labor Code sections listed in California Labor Code Sections  201-204, 226, 226.7, 233, 246, 510, 512, 1194, 1197, 1197.1, 2802, and the applicable Wage Order(s), and thereby gives rise to civil penalties as a result of such alleged conduct.

TheKey of California, LLC allegedly failed to reimburse employees for required business expenses. California Labor Code  2802 expressly states that "an employer shall indemnify his or her employee for all necessary expenditures or losses incurred by the employee in direct consequence of the discharge of his or her duties..." During employment, Plaintiff and other California Class Members were allegedly required to use their personal cellular phones as a result of and in furtherance of their job duties.

For more information about the class action lawsuit against TheKey of California, LLC, call (800) 568-8020 to speak to an experienced California employment attorney today.

Blumenthal Nordrehaug Bhowmik De Blouw LLP is an employment law firm with offices located in San Diego, San Francisco, Sacramento, Los Angeles, Riverside and Chicago that dedicates its practice to helping employees, investors and consumers fight back against unfair business practices, including violations of the California Labor Code and Fair Labor Standards Act. If you need help in collecting unpaid overtime wages, unpaid commissions, being wrongfully terminated from work, and other employment law claims, contact one of their attorneys today.

***THIS IS AN ATTORNEY ADVERTISEMENT***
Protecting workers from SARS-CoV-2 reinfection requires a multipronged public health approach including up-to-date vaccination, mask use as recommended, and reduction in underlying health disparities.

A new study for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirms what health experts have long argued: mask use, vaccinations, and boosters reduce the risk of COVID-19 reinfection.

The study, which Abt Associates co-authored, looked at previously infected essential and frontline workers who have participated in studies of SARS-CoV-2 since July 2020. Beyond the benefits of frequent mask use and vaccination, the study found that those with a third dose of mRNA vaccine had the lowest risk of reinfection with Omicron. The Omicron variant had a greater potential for reinfection than previous variants. Two or three doses of an mRNA vaccine reduced the risk of reinfection by more than 50%.

The biggest risk factors for reinfection included infrequent mask use and a first infection more than a year earlier. Demographically, the non-Hispanic Black population was most at risk. As ever greater numbers of the population have been infected, understanding the risk factors for reinfection has become much more critical, says Brian Sokol, vice president, Digital Delivery.

The study adds that Protecting workers from SARS-CoV-2 reinfection requires a multipronged public health approach including up-to-date vaccination, mask use as recommended, and reduction in underlying health disparities.

The results came from data gathered from 4,707 frontline workers in eight locations enrolled in two studies: the Arizona Healthcare, Emergency Response, and Other Essential workers Study and the Research on the Epidemiology of SARS-CoV-2 in Essential Response Personnel study. Participants self-collected weekly nasal specimens regardless of symptoms and when they felt the onset of COVID-19like illness symptoms.

You can find the article here: https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/29/3/22-1314_article

###

About Abt Associates

Abt Associates is a global consulting and research firm that combines data and bold thinking to improve the quality of people's lives. We partner with clients and communities to advance equity and innovationfrom creating scalable digital solutions and combatting infectious disease, to mitigating climate change and evaluating programs for measurable social impactand more.

http://www.abtassociates.com

Contact: Stan Crock

stan_crock@abtassoc.com

(301) 347-5402
Advancing IVD technologies are increasing the range of diseases and disorders adaptable to physicians office testing.

The in vitro diagnostics (IVD) market follows patients where technologies allow. Theres no greater evidence of the need for IVD product makers to find a market in physician office labs than the declining hospital bed count. With declining hospital beds in developed countries and slow growth in hospital bed volume even in developing nations, it makes sense that more testing will be shifted in venue to the point of care.

Physicians offices have evolved into a sizable specialty market served by IVD. Physician Office In Vitro Diagnostic (IVD) Test Markets, a January 2023 report published by leading medical market research firm Kalorama Information, projects IVD product sales of over $8.3 billion in 2022. Over the next several years, the notable trends and factors will impact the value and volume of physicians office testing activities implemented worldwide.

The availability and accessibility of hospitals within a country are best measured by the number of inpatient beds in operation. Most developed countries incorporate an adequate supply and distribution of hospital beds, with some, such as France, Germany, Japan, and South Korea maintaining a surplus capacity. By contrast, the majority of developing countries experience shortages and imbalances in hospital beds. Exceptions include Russia and a number of other East European countries, Brazil, China, and Turkey. These countries have a comparatively high number of hospital beds measured against population. However, a large percentage of these beds are located in old, technologically deficient facilities with limited treatment capabilities. The number of acute care hospital beds in operation worldwide is projected to total slightly more than 19.9 million in 2027, up just under 1.0% annually from 2022. This is anemic growth, if it were not for the availability of other venues such as the physician office, the outpatient center and the home.

The report, "Physician Office In Vitro Diagnostic (IVD) Test Markets," reveals that 770 million world physician office visits will occur in 2023, providing ample opportunity for testing. This figure does not include urgent care centers, though Kaloramas report computes a separate market size and forecast for that figure.

Driving physician office lab IVD revenue growth is:



the increase in numbers of diseases for which the physician office is often first to test  COVID-19, cancer, hepatitis, influenza, malaria, chlamydia, HIV, tuberculosis and pneumonia.

advancing IVD technologies will increase the range of diseases and disorders adaptable to physicians office testing.

a gradual easing of pandemic pressures declining, along with increasing competition from self-testing products, will lead to a steady reduction in the number of COVID-19 tests implemented by physicians offices.

the increasing availability of point-of-care (POC) IVD testing in retail establishments and hospital outpatient departments will hold down the overall global volume of traditional physicians office testing.

Factors limiting the market include:

cost pressures from government health programs and health insurance providers will limit coverage and reimbursement rates for physicians office tests.

although growing, the volume of physicians office tests implemented in most developing countries will remain comparatively low due to imbalances in the availability and accessibility of healthcare.

the expanding use of wearable healthcare devices and telehealth services, especially in the developed countries, will hold down the overall volume of physicians testing by reducing the number of unnecessary tests.

The report also found that COVID-19 testing products will continue to account for the largest share of global sales, but their overall sales value will decrease steadily as the volume of new cases declines and alternative self-testing products capture away potential applications. Non-COVID infectious diseases tests, particularly new diseases or diseases for which new tests are introduced, will post the second-largest worldwide sales value among IVD products used in physicians office laboratories next five years.

In addition, based on an increasing use in patient physical examinations and wellness checkups, IVD reagents and instruments that measure or detect blood gases, blood-related functions, cancer and cardiac markers, coagulation factors, cholesterol electrolytes, and glucose (including HbA1c) are projected to post steady growth or better in worldwide physicians office laboratories.

PURCHASE THE REPORT

This report analyzes trends in global demand for in vitro diagnostic (IVD) products used in physicians office laboratories. Specific products consist of reagents, test kits, standards and controls, and instruments and systems based on immunoassay, clinical chemistry, hematology, molecular, microbiology, and coagulation technologies. Physicians office laboratories are defined as point-of-care (POC) testing sites within traditional practices or urgent care centers staffed by one or more physicians. Most of these laboratories implement IVD procedures through one or more portable desktop instruments that yield rapid diagnostic results.

For more information or to purchase the market research report "Physician Office In Vitro Diagnostic (IVD) Test Markets," visit: https://kaloramainformation.com/product/physician-office-in-vitro-diagnostic-ivd-test-markets/.

ABOUT KALORAMA INFORMATION

Kalorama Information, part of Science and Medicine Group, is the leading publisher of market research in healthcare areas, including in vitro diagnostics (IVD), biotechnology, medical devices, and pharmaceuticals. Science and Medicine Group supports companies seeking to commercialize the rapidly changing marketplace at the intersection of science, medicine, and technology. Comprised of industry-leading brands, Science and Medicine Group serves analytical instrument, life science, imaging, and clinical diagnostic companies by helping them create strategies and products to win markets and provide platforms to digitally engage their markets through a variety of innovative solutions. Kalorama Information produces 30 reports a year. The firm offers a Knowledge Center, which provides access to all published reports.
Italian Wine Unplugged 2.0 The Benchmark Producers feature is a particularly important aspect of this revised edition. Carefully chosen by an international team of Italian wine experts, this selection makes it easier for our readers to get their hands on a bottle of wine that truly represents a particular grape or region.

Italian Wine Unplugged 2.0 is a comprehensive yet concise introduction to Italian wine and its native grapes. This updated edition goes deeper than ever before into the history, geology, and science behind modern Italian wine culture.

But Italian Wine Unplugged 2.0 is more than just another wine textbook. The fully updated second edition was inspired by students of the Vinitaly International Academy and painstakingly reviewed and revised by an expert panel of certified Italian Wine Ambassadors from across the globe. It also includes a new Benchmark Producers feature which allows readers to identify wines that best represent the most important Italian grape varieties.

Stevie Kim, founder of Mamma Jumbo Shrimp, said: The Benchmark Producers feature is a particularly important aspect of this revised edition. Carefully chosen by an international team of Italian wine experts, this selection makes it easier for our readers to get their hands on a bottle of wine that truly represents a particular grape or region.

Elena Barbero of Vietti Winery in Piedmont said: Nebbiolo is the principal vine of one of the most adept wine-growing areas in the world - the Langhe. From this grape Barolo is produced, a wine that is both powerful and elegant at the same time. We are delighted to be included as a Benchmark Producer and want to thank all those who appreciate this vine by inviting them to visit our magnificent region - Piedmont!

Italian Wine Unplugged 2.0 is available to order now on Amazon or directly from the Mamma Jumbo Shrimp website: https://mammajumboshrimp.com/collections/books.

_____________

About: Mamma Jumbo Shrimp is the umbrella brand of the Just Do The Work agency, founded by Stevie Kim, Managing Director of Vinitaly International. The goal of Mamma Jumbo Shrimp is to bring together a global community of wine enthusiasts by harnessing emerging social media platforms and creating high quality content in its products, such as podcasts, books, videos and maps. Mamma Jumbo Shrimp promotes engaging communication, information, and education in entertaining, inclusive formats.


Morrison Foerster, a leading global law firm, today announced that Tabitha Saw has joined the firm as a partner in its Transactions Department and global Private Equity Real Estate Group, based in Singapore. Her arrival further cements Morrison Foersters position as the premier private equity real estate (PERE) firm in Asia. Saws addition also highlights the continued expansion of Morrison Foersters Singapore office following the addition of private equity and M&A partner Steven Tran last month.

Saw represents investment managers, institutional investors, and owner operators in complex, high-value real estate and data center transactions. She has advised on the establishment of multiple capital raising platforms across Asia-Pacific and has significant experience in hyperscale leasing and co-location arrangements, greenfield and brownfield acquisitions, and operational arrangements.

Tabitha is a highly regarded private equity real estate lawyer in the region, whose superb reputation in logistics and data centers fully aligns with our existing core strengths in these areas, said Eric Piesner, Morrison Foersters Asia Managing Partner. Data centers in particular are an increasingly important asset class for our PERE clients. Since 2019, our Asia offices have advised on more than 50 data center transactions, and we anticipate our clients will remain very active in this sector. Her extensive data center credentials, combined with her deep experience in the logistics/industrial real estate space and cross-border practice, are highly synergistic with our clients needs.

Some of Saws representative transactions include advising FLOW Digital Infrastructure on the establishment of its joint venture platform with AyalaLand Logistics Holdings Corp. to develop carrier-neutral data centers across the Philippines and the platforms acquisition of land for the Laguna data center facility; ESR, a leading global asset manager in industrial real estate, on the development of a US$2.15 billion multi-phase data center campus in Osaka City; and Yondr, a global developer, owner operator, and service provider of hyperscale data centers, on its 200MW hyperscale campus development across 72.8 acres of land acquired from TPM Technopark Sdn Bhd, in Johor, Malaysia.

Morrison Foerster has a stellar PERE practice both in Asia and globally, and a market-leading reputation across Asia, including in Japan, which is a key market for my clients, said Saw. I am also drawn to the firms diversity and collaborative and inclusive culture. I look forward to working with a great team and advising on the complex, high-value PERE transactions that the Morrison Foerster platform is known for.

2023 marks the 40th anniversary of Morrison Foersters presence in Asia. Morrison Foersters Singapore office, one of the firms five offices in Asia, recently celebrated its tenth anniversary. Leading legal directory The Legal 500 named Morrison Foerster Law Firm of the Year - Singapore in 2020 and 2021.

Were delighted to continue 2023 on a high note by welcoming Tabitha to the Singapore office and our Corporate Group, hot on the heels of Steve Trans arrival last month, said Singapore Office Managing Partner Shirin Tang. Tabitha is a great strategic and personal fit for the firm and the office. I also personally look forward to working closely with Tabitha to advise our clients on their complex real estate transactions.

Saw earned her B.A. from Cambridge University, and is admitted to practice in Singapore and England and Wales. She previously practiced at another leading global law firm. Saw is recognized as a Next Generation Partner for Corporate and M&A in Singapore and private equity real estate specialist by The Legal 500 Asia-Pacific 2021-2023, and ranked for Corporate/M&A in Singapore by Chambers Asia-Pacific 2022-2023.

About Morrison Foerster

Morrison Foerster is a leading global law firm that transforms complexity into advantage for its clients. 2023 marks the 40th anniversary of Morrison Foersters presence in Asia. Our clients include some of the largest financial institutions, banks, consulting and accounting firms, and Fortune 100, technology, and life sciences companies. Highlighting the firms commitment to client service, leadership in market-changing deals and impact litigation, and values-based culture, Morrison Foerster was recognized as one of the top 10 firms on The American Lawyers 2021 and 2022 A-List. Year after year, the firm receives significant recognition from Chambers and The Legal 500 across their various guides, including Global, USA, Asia Pacific, Europe, UK, Latin America, and FinTech Legal. Our lawyers passionately care about delivering legal excellence while living our values. Morrison Foerster has a long-standing commitment to creating a culture that respects and celebrates differences, while providing an inclusive environment. The firm has achieved Mansfield Certification Plus since 2018 as a result of successfully reaching at least 30 percent women, communities of color, and LGBTQ+ lawyer representation in a notable number of current leadership roles and committees. The firm also has a long history of commitment to the community and society through providing pro bono legal services, including litigating for civil rights and civil liberties, improving public education and fostering the wellbeing of children, advocating for veterans, promoting international human rights, enforcing the right to asylum, and safeguarding the environment. For more information, visit http://www.mofo.com.
Alyssa Gaines I think more young people who saw the same things I saw, who have complex experiences, complex feelings will discover that fine arts can also be an outlet and a way to make material change in our community.- Alyssa Gaines

Alyssa Gaines grew up visiting The Childrens Museum of Indianapolis with her family and even attended her high school prom at the worlds largest childrens museum. It is there, with her parents and grandparents, that the young girl from the citys east side developed her sense of curiosity about the world through exhibits like Take Me There: Egypt, China and Greece as well as Mini Masterpieces.

As the nation celebrates Black History month, the National Youth Poet Laureate returned to The Childrens Museum to see some of her favorite exhibits and was inspired to give back to the community that has supported her along the way. "I love coming back home. Connecting with and performing for kids from my hometown has been one of my favorite experiences as National Youth Poet Laureate, said Alyssa Gaines, 2022 Youth Poet Laureate of the United States, hosted by Urban Word. I think more young people who saw the same things I saw, who have complex experiences, complex feelings will discover that fine arts can also be an outlet and a way to make material change in our community.

Alyssa started her journey to becoming the 2022 Youth Poet Laureate of the United States by becoming the first-ever Indianapolis Youth Poet Laureate and earned the Midwest Regional Ambassador title. The young poet, who attends Harvard University, performed some of her favorite pieces from her growing body of work at The Childrens Museum as part of Black History Month. These pieces led her to become the National Youth Poet Laureate and the opportunity to be featured in Scholastics Best Teen Writing, the Wall Street Journal, NPR, The Kennedy Center, Library of Congress and with Katie Couric Media.

Because I started to write at a young age, I learned to write about things that immediately influenced me. So, as Im older I write about things Im passionate about, where Im from, my hometown, the people who raised me and taught me all the lessons I know now, said Gaines.

dear east side--

when i picture you, i do not picture the headlines.

you are the basements

where east side teens cry and sing songs only we know.

screaming eulogies at the night stars as an act of defiance,

knowing the kids on the news could've been us.

you're the jiggalate that has not yet been gentrified,

all of us in one motion

bobbing to your heartbeat

and when they see us they already know how we what.

but your voice cracks under crime statistics

corpses clog your arteries

you hug so tight that you never let go of some of us,

stuck between these blocks.

but we love you because in a world that can't stand to see us live

we live on the east side where each day of life is a reason for celebration.

you're a bleeding heart all over the streets

a crisp-white airbrushed tee

a cap to the side

a candy-paint job that fingers have yet to touch

how beautiful.

a graveyard and a bumping house party

your skin, your sacred sidewalks

people die on the east side,

but oh how we live here too.

This is an excerpt from her poem, "Love Letter to the Eastside." She worked on creating the moving words for a couple of years as an ode to the hometown she loves, and as a reflection on its complexity. This piece seeks to humanize the injustice and incredible tragedy of systemic racism, generational poverty, gun violence, and disinvestment while holding fast to the resilience, triumph, and overcoming abilities of her community.

When I write about issues facing the community, I try to write from a place of love, she said. So even when I write about gun violence, issues of identity and of being a young Black woman from the east side of Indianapolis  there are always things I uncover through that writing process about community, about love, about healing.

Alyssa comes from a strong arts and writing program thanks to Indiana Youth Poet Laureate program, which falls under VOICES Corp. "We believe deeply in the brilliance of our youth. By equipping our youth with the literary arts skills, historical knowledge, and awareness of how social change happens, we help them make meaning of their individual experiences in light of our collective realities, said Lauren Hill, director, Indiana Youth Poet Laureate program. We listen to and affirm them, and we create spaces for them to reflect, question, heal, and hope through poetic inquiry so that they, and all of us, can grow. We feel a deep sense of pride, gratitude, and motivation to keep growing our work given that Alyssa is our 2022 National Youth Poet Laureate, and we found out last week that another talented youth who served as our 2022 Indiana Youth Poet Laureate, Charlotte Yeung, just earned the Midwest Regional Ambassador title, making her one of four finalists who will now compete for the 2023 National Youth Poet Laureate title."

Through culturally sustaining education, healing-centered engagement and workforce development, VOICES provides the relationships, resources and opportunities for youth to heal, grow and further their path toward economic self-sufficiency and civically engaged lives. The Childrens Museum of Indianapolis firmly believes that empowering youth with opportunities to share their voices is one of the most powerful gifts we can give them and cannot wait to see how Alyssa Gaines words and actions impact the world.
"I had the benefit of a collection of many sources; documents, agency investigative reports, court deposition transcripts, media accounts, and individual interviews with the Charleston Fire Department personnel"

On June 18th, 2007, at 7:07p.m., a 911 call came into dispatch at the Charleston City Fire Department reporting a major structure fire at a discount furniture store, called Sofa Super Store. 16 firefighters went inside to confront the fast-moving flames, and only seven made it back out. In the Last Alarm: The Charleston 9 author Thomas A. Woodley details how nine brave firefighters battled the blaze and died doing their duty, and the heart-wrenching impact their loss had on the families, friends, and community.

Woodley is a retired litigation lawyer who spent over four decades representing firefighters and emergency medical service workers. He combined his vast familiarity with firefighters and countless hours of research to show how multiple problems led to the tragic outcome.

I had the benefit of a collection of many sources; Woodley said, documents, agency investigative reports, court deposition transcripts, media accounts, and individual interviews with the Charleston Fire Department personnel.

Woodley, armed with all his findings, shows how life-endangering conditions combined together to create a perfect fire storma fuel-ladened furniture store that was a ticking time bomb, and a fire department at the time that was under-staffed, ill-equipped, and far below national fire service and safety standards.

Even though the lives of nine firefighters ended that day, their legacy includes lessons to be learned and improvements to be made in adequate staffing, training, proper equipment, and standard operating procedures, as well as treating firefighters suffering from PTSD.

These lessons were not only learned by the Charleston Fire Department, but they reverberated in fire departments throughout the U.S. and Canada.

Last Alarm: The Charleston 9

By: Thomas A. Woodley

ISBN: 9781663243881 (softcover); 9781663243898 (hardcover); 9781663243867 (electronic)

Available at iUniverse, Amazon, and Barnes & Noble

About the author

Thomas A. Woodley, a labor litigation lawyer who represented firefighters and emergency medical service workers for more than forty years, uses his familiarity with the fire service to provide a detailed, well-researched, and fact-based account of the Sofa Super Store fire and the tragic deaths of nine firefighters. He formerly served as general counsel of the International Association of Fire Fighters, a union of over 325,000 members.. To learn more, please visit https://www.iuniverse.com/en/bookstore/bookdetails/839850-last-alarm
My story unravels, through my thoughts and afterthoughts, until a few months after I came out of jail, this experience, while the worst, is also the best, as I am now who I am because of it

In 2013, the author simply known as Hope had her future plans ironed out, without any wrinkles. She was in Lebanon, pursuing her degree in education, had a great job as a teaching intern, and her social life was as bright as ever. On May 11th, Hope would, unfortunately, find out that the future holds no promises.

Caged Free Bird: Diary Part 1, is Hopes horrifying documentation of her experience as an innocent woman, wrongfully jailed in Lebanon, accused of dealing drugs.

I went through a traumatic experience, as an innocent person wrongfully imprisoned, Hope said. Its affected my life for years, until today. Im a fighter. Thats whats gotten me through it and Im not stopping now.

Hope invites her readers to see the truth about the female prison system in the Middle East, through the eyes of a falsely accused woman. With eight months of jail time to prove her innocence, she documents her experiences as she meets innocent and guilty women of all ages and backgrounds.

My story unravels, through my thoughts and afterthoughts, until a few months after I came out of jail, Hope said. This experience, while the worst, is also the best, as I am now who I am because of it.

In her book, Hope describes her mental health journey, from how she was wrongly treated and how she persevered to rebuild her life.

In May 2023, Hope will graduate with her masters degree in clinical psychology, to pursue a career helping rehabilitate others. She plans to start her career in Lebanon.

Caged Free Bird: Diary Part 1

By Hope

ISBN: ISBN 9781665732666; 9781665732659 (electronic) Available at Archway, Amazon and Barnes & Noble

About the author

Hope is pursuing her degree in forensic psychology after her experience in Lebanon, and her passion is growing daily to help others. Although she has moved around the world, from Dubai to the U.S., Hope is currently exploring the city of Charlotte, N.C. With her cat, Sylvester, whom she rescued when she found out her verdict seven years ago, Hope is now learning and developing psychological theories to adapt and give back to the community. She is currently pursuing her M.Ed. in Clinical Psychology at Winthrop University and will graduate in May 2023. To learn more, please visit https://www.archwaypublishing.com/en/bookstore/bookdetails/842127-caged-free-bird.
Huma.AI Client Use Cases Huma.AI starts where Chat GPT ends,

Huma.AI, a leading healthcare AI company, announced today the launch of its industry-first AI platform for life sciences, which is designed to accelerate the development of life-saving drugs through better usage of their data.

Historically, it has taken 10 years and approximately $2.6 billion to develop a new drug, with a 95% failure rate. This is primarily because 80% of the healthcare/life science data is text-based (unstructured) and siloed in 90-100 disparate data sources. The industry primarily relies on manual curation of data, leaving many critical questions unanswered.

Huma.AIs natural language processing (NLP) platform replaces and automates such manual curation. It connects and searches multiple, disparate, unstructured data sources, returning answers to questions in seconds.

Huma.AIs industry-first generative AI platform for enterprises leverages existing large language models to surface previously unknown intelligence. Going beyond ChatGPT, it analyzes private enterprise data from multiple sources and its expert-in-the-loop approach leads to the highest accuracy possible. Use cases include medical affairs (tell me what I dont know), clinical development (better trial design), post market surveillance (systematic literature review and state-of-the-art appraisal) and real-world evidence (patient journey).

ChatGPT is one of the fastest adopted AI tool in history. It is incredibly useful for general purpose, but not yet adequate at handling complex life science data. We have been working with OpenAI for quite some time to address that, said Huma.AI co-founder and CEO Lana Feng, Ph.D., who previously worked at Novartis Oncology Business Unit to establish international partnerships for their precision medicine programs. She joined Novartis through its acquisition of Genoptix where she built its BioPharma division from zero to $45 million in five years by creating alliances with pharmaceutical companies and providing companion diagnostics development for targeted cancer therapies.

Huma.AI starts where ChatGPT ends, said Greg Kostello, co-founder and CTO of Huma.AI and author of Huma.AIs NLP granted patent with 25 claims.

Kostello, whose experience also includes contributions to Apple Computer, was previously the CEO for a SaaS Platform used by Cisco, ESPN and NASA, managing petabytes of data. He boasts a 35-year career dedicated to architecting and managing technology systems that solve complex data and business problems. He also worked with video enabling technology at three startups, one acquired by Facebook, EVP of Technology at MP3.com, was President of VUNet Technologies, co-founded a startup acquired by Netscape, and was a team leader that built the core engine for Firefox.

Huma.AIs generative AI platform is highly accurate and validated by global pharmaceutical customers showing it has performed better than human experts.

Customers have commented: We thought the analysis was written by an expert and We thought this kind of output from AI was a pipe dream.

Attached is a PDF documenting customer use cases.

Huma.AI will have a presence at the Clinical Operations Conference-SCOPE 2023 in Orlando, Florida from February 6-9, 2023. SCOPE Summit has driven innovation in clinical trials and digital health for 14 years.

About Huma.AI

Co-founded by Lana Feng Ph.D. and Greg Kostello, Huma.AI is a leading generative AI company offering a powerful and user-friendly NLP platform that turns life science domain experts into their own data scientists. The name Huma means human plus machine where humans always come first. Its transformative, human-centric AI platform has garnered tremendous industry recognition, and Huma.AI currently works with many pharmaceutical and medical device and IVD companies across the globe. Learn more at https://huma.ai.

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Growing and advancing our staff while keeping them teaching supports our school communitys commitment to excellence. This program is a powerful and valuable way to make education a benefit of employment at North Harrison, said Nathan Freed, Superintendent of North Harrison Community Schools.

North Harrison Community Schools today announces a partnership with BloomBoard to make educator retention and advancement a district priority, ensuring its place as a school district of choice for educators. Through this program, teachers can earn an accredited Masters Degree of Curriculum and Instruction from a university partner of BloomBoard. This partnership with the district offers professional skill building and employment incentives to advance teaching talent.

North Harrison Community Schools will cover half of the associated costs with participation for up to 18 staff members. In return, participants agree to continue teaching in the school district for at least three years. The North Harrison Community School Board of Education approved the partnership with BloomBoard, and teachers have already begun coursework to earn credentials.

Our teachers want the best practices and instructional strategies to share within their classroom, and BloomBoards model is set up to do just that, said Nathan Freed, Superintendent of North Harrison Community Schools. Growing and advancing our staff while keeping them teaching supports our school communitys commitment to excellence. This program is a powerful and valuable way to make education a benefit of employment at North Harrison.

All 50 states have reported shortages in at least one subject area. In Indiana, there are an estimated 980 teacher vacancies. The U.S. has experienced recurring teacher shortages for decadesa condition the COVID-19 pandemic has only worsened. Teacher turnover has been shown to:



This program provides incentives that encourage current education staff to stay within the district while also attracting new teachers and staff:

$5,000 pay increase upon completion of the program

A low-cost alternative for completing a Masters Degree

Teachers complete courses while working in the classroom

Ability to further retirement account savings through pay bump

The turnkey program includes a combination of online and on-the-job learning processes. Teachers receive faculty advising and participate in structured collaboration forums. They earn their degree credits by submitting portfolios of evidence from their own classroom practices to demonstrate their abilities. This learn-by-doing approach allows teachers to conduct their studies while teaching in the classroom, making their coursework immediately applicable and the degree earning process more efficient.

BloomBoard is proud to partner with North Harrison Community Schools to assist with its efforts to honor teachers and support their advancement, said Sanford Kenyon, CEO of BloomBoard. "This partnership provides teachers access to unique, on-the-job learning that allows them to show what they know in their classroom practice and earn a university degree at the same time, all financially supported by the district.

North Harrison Community Schools is offering this program to staff in part by leveraging federal relief aid. Schools applying for federal funding must spend at least 20 percent of the funds to address learning loss through evidence-based interventions that respond to students academic, social and emotional needs.

On Feb 9th at 7 pm EST, teachers participating in the Masters Degree program will be recognized in a brief ceremony and reception at North Harrison Middle School during the scheduled board meeting. For more on BloomBoard, visit http://www.bloomboard.com.

About North Harrison Community Schools

North Harrison Community School Corporation commits to provide differentiated curriculum and instruction to K-12 students identified as high ability, regardless of individual differences. We recognize some students possess, or are capable of possessing, extraordinary ability and/or talent and should be challenged to reach their utmost level of achievement consistent with their ability. NHCS recognizes the need to provide unique learning experiences to enhance the development of each students academic, social, and psychological needs to become productive citizens in an ever-changing world.

About BloomBoard

BloomBoard is a talent development provider that enables K-12 school districts to grow, advance and retain educators by making professional education a benefit of employment. We offer turn-key programs for school districts to move educators forward at all points of their professional journey. Our platform connects districts to higher education institutions that offer certification and degree programs using a unique, on-the-job instructional model. We help to assess needs, build and implement plans, and celebrate educator success.
With the current housing market, many people are being priced out of housing, leaving a gap in the workforce housing market, said Northern.

Economic development professionals talk a lot about creating jobs, strengthening neighborhoods, and stimulating business. If an economy is to be built to sustain families across the nation, housing opportunities must be included as part of economic development. In 2023, the need for affordable housing will be even more urgent. The Houston Housing Authority, for example, opened its public housing waitlist for the first time in five years. Since January 15, the agency has received more than 31,000 applications. This indicates a resounding and growing need for even more affordable housing.

With more people re-entering the workforce in person and an increasing need for housing, the cost of living is becoming increasingly unaffordable. This is making it difficult for lower-income households to afford a place to live and is leading to an increase in homelessness.

Many experts are making their forecasts on what the housing trends will look like heading into the new year. David A. Northern, Sr., CEO and President of the Houston Housing Authority, shares his thoughts on what trends stand out and will affect Americans most in 2023:

Maximize Use of Existing Government Programs

For the last few years, COVID-19 has put a major strain on the economy. The housing industry is no exception. With unemployment rates still on the high end, many are struggling to afford their rent or mortgage payments, and more people are being pushed into homelessness. In response, there is an increased need for more affordable housing options. Northern believes the first step in addressing this need is to increase the availability of affordable housing: We must expand existing programs, such as Low-Income Housing Tax Credits, and create new ones, such as rent relief or rent-to-own programs. In addition, local, state, and federal governments should invest in housing that is designed to meet the needs of those most affected by the pandemic, such as seniors, low-income families, and essential workers.

In addition to increasing availability, Northern strongly believes there is a need to ensure housing is more affordable. This includes measures such as rent control, housing subsidies, and rent-to-own programs. Governments should also give incentives to developers to build affordable housing, and they should reduce zoning regulations and other barriers to construction. When we liminate barriers, we create opportunities, said Northern.

The Need for More Workforce and Mixed-Income Communities

As our population expands, so does the need for adequate housing. With the current housing market, many people are being priced out of housing, leaving a gap in the workforce housing market, said Northern. This gap needs to be addressed so that working people can afford to live in their communities. One way to address the workforce housing gap is to create more mixed-income communities. This means creating housing in which people of different economic backgrounds can live in the same neighborhood. Northern shared how people of different economic backgrounds can benefit from living in the same neighborhood, as they can learn from one another and help to create a more diverse and vibrant community.

Another option is to create more workforce housing. This could be accomplished by creating more affordable housing units, as well as providing incentives for developers to build housing for working people. This could include providing tax credits, grants, or other incentives for developers to build housing for working people. Finally, local governments could create incentives for businesses to provide housing for their employees. This could include providing tax credits for businesses that provide housing for their employees or providing incentives for businesses to create affordable housing.

Offset Rising Rent Trends

Rent trends have been on a steady incline for many years now, leaving many people struggling to find affordable housing. Northern stated how this has been especially true in metropolitan areas where the cost of living is higher, and the availability of affordable housing is limited. With rent prices continuing to rise, the need for affordable housing has become even more pressing.

For those who may not be able to afford market-rate rent, there are a few options. Government-subsidized housing programs can help those with low incomes and few resources. Such programs are often available through local housing authorities and are designed to provide safe and affordable housing to those who qualify. For those who do not qualify for government assistance, there are still a few options available.

Nonprofits, such as Habitat for Humanity, provide housing to those who cannot afford market-rate rent. Additionally, it is often possible to find apartments or houses that are owned by private landlords, who may be willing to offer discounted rent prices to those in need, said Northern.

The rising rent trend is a sign of the times, and unfortunately, many people are being forced to look for alternative housing solutions. Those who need affordable housing should take advantage of the programs and assistance available to them, so they can find a safe and secure haven. Having more affordable housing options in 2023 can help to alleviate some of these issues. Affordable housing can help people save money and to put it towards other necessities. It can also help to stabilize neighborhoods and provide economic opportunities for people who otherwise would not be able to afford to live in certain areas. Northern makes it clear: We must collaborate and advocate now for a better tomorrow for all.

ABOUT HHA

Houston Housing Authority (HHA) provides affordable homes and services to more than 60,000 low-income Houstonians, including over 17,000 families housed through the Housing Choice Voucher Program as well as another 4,200 living in 19 public housing and tax credit developments around the city. HHA also administers one of the nation's largest voucher programs exclusively serving homeless veterans. More information about the Houston Housing Authority can be found at http://www.housingforhouston.com.
We credit our growth and success over the last three years to the loyalty and dedication of our clients and employees. By increasing our service offerings with our PrideStaff Financial division, we look forwadto continued success and many years of connecting top-level talent with our valued clients.

With economic uncertainty fueling a growing interest in qualified finance professionals, and 7% projected job growth in the accounting sector between 2020 and 2030, PrideStaff, a nationally franchised staffing organization, is pleased to announce that their award-winning Houston (Northwest) office has added a PrideStaff Financial division to its existing operations.

A natural extension of PrideStaffs staffing and placement franchise, the offices new division will specialize in accounting and financial staffing, offering expanded services for local companies seeking accounting, bookkeeping, and finance specialists. Owner/Strategic-Partner, Michael L. Troyer, will be heading PrideStaff Financial Houston (Northwest), assisted by Branch Manager, Amanda Hatch. Troyer, Hatch, and the team in northwest Houston look forward to providing specialized solutions to even more employers and professionals in the financial and executive search arena. "We are thrilled to add a new and valuable level of service to job seekers and employers in our local market, said Troyer. In preparation, weve relocated to a larger facility and trained additional staff to service this business unit.

We credit our growth and success over the last three years to the loyalty and dedication of our clients and employees. By increasing our service offerings with our PrideStaff Financial division, we look forward to continued success and many years of connecting top-level talent with our valued clients.

PrideStaff Financial is a vital part of The PrideStaff Companies, allowing us to meet clients growing finance and accounting staffing needs, despite fierce competition for scarce talent, stated Ashli Fernandez, VP of PrideStaff Financial. Michael, Amanda, and their team will leverage their extensive professional networks and PrideStaffs national recruiting resources, to make swift and advantageous matches between talented job seekers and the employers who need them most.

As a national staffing services organization, PrideStaff Financial provides outstanding service and results by removing the guesswork from staffing. PrideStaff Financial was developed to meet the specific staffing needs and challenges associated with accounting and finance; from accounts payable and receivable staffing, to executive recruiting.

By investing in the client and talent experience, PrideStaff Financial has earned ClearlyRateds coveted Best of Staffing 10-Year Client and Talent Diamond Awards for providing superior service to their clients and candidates for at least ten consecutive years. The 10-year Diamond Award is earned by fewer than .5% of all accounting and financial staffing firms in the US, placing PrideStaff Financial in a truly elite group of companies that lead the industry in satisfaction.

About PrideStaff Financial

A division of PrideStaff, PrideStaff Financial specializes in accounting and financial staffing. The parent company was founded in the 1970s as 100% company-owned units and began staffing franchising in 1995. They operate over 85 offices in North America to serve more than 5,000 clients. With 40 plus years in the staffing business, headquartered in Fresno, CA, all PrideStaff brands offer the resources and expertise of a national firm with the spirit, dedication and personal service of smaller, entrepreneurial firms. For more information on PrideStaff Financial services, visit our website.

PrideStaff and PrideStaff Financials shared Mission: Consistently provide client experiences focused on what they value most.


Our best walk EVER!: a delightful outdoor adventure with heart. Our best walk EVER! is the creation of published author Shirley Rodgers, a dedicated wife, mother, and grandmother who resides in Georgia.

Rodgers shares, This book is about how a simply beautiful familys walk in the woods turns into one of the happiest moments of their lives!

Published by Christian Faith Publishing, Shirley Rodgerss new book is told through the eyes of a squirrel child and focuses on the love of a family, sharing the love and stresses a child goes through with a new sibling.

Rodgers shares a charming narrative paired with vibrant illustrations for the enjoyment of readers of all ages.

Consumers can purchase Our best walk EVER! at traditional brick & mortar bookstores, or online at Amazon.com, Apple iTunes store, or Barnes and Noble.

For additional information or inquiries about Our best walk EVER!, contact the Christian Faith Publishing media department at 866-554-0919.
The BACnet Institute offers on-demand courses that provide CEUs and PDHs upon completion, over 150 articles, white papers and presentations, and a knowledge-sharing community forum. We are continuously adding new content and strive to keep the site relevant and an easy path to BACnet information and learning for everyone involved with BACnet systems.

The BACnet Institute (TBI), the online learning environment offering on-demand courses, multimedia resources and a community forum, is celebrating its sixth anniversary, having launched during the AHR Expo 2017. Currently there are over 6,000 registered users from 80 countries worldwide. The platform is a free central, comprehensive source that offers globally relevant information and education related to BACnet building automation system (BAS) implementation.

In 2020, BACnet International gained IACET accreditation and was able to start issuing CEUs for the courses offered through The BACnet Institute. Professional Development Hour (PDH) credits are also available. Courses currently available on The BACnet Institute include the introductory BACnet Basics, The Facility Managers Guide to Building Automation Systems which provides valuable insight on how to implement a BACnet-based BAS effectively and efficiently, and BACnet Device Profiles which introduces learners to the various BACnet device profiles and explains the role of each in building automation.

Along with the on-demand courses, TBI provides a library of articles, white papers and recorded conference sessions in its Resources section. There are now over 150 materials which include a mix of curated industry information as well as articles specifically commissioned to meet the evolving needs of the BACnet community. Past BACnet International AHR Expo education sessions have been recorded and are available on the site.

A community forum is the third piece of TBI. The forum is an interactive environment that offers knowledge-sharing and provides an opportunity for users to submit BACnet-related questions to be answered by a panel of experts. Answers to submitted questions are posted in the forum, which can then be searched by all registered users.

Were pleased to offer an independent source for accessible BACnet information and education and are delighted to see so many taking advantage of this resource, stated Andy McMillan, president and managing director of BACnet International. We are continuously adding new content and strive to keep the site relevant and an easy path to BACnet information and learning for everyone involved with BACnet systems.

Although access to the resources on The BACnet Institute is free, registration is required. Interested users can sign up at thebacnetinstitute.org.

About The BACnet Institute

The BACnet Institute (TBI) is an online resource providing access to BACnet information and education. It is designed to serve as a central resource with eLearning courses, a curated library and a platform for collaboration and knowledge exchange. TBI is intended to serve the needs of the whole BACnet community including building owners and operators, system integrators, consultants, facility management professionals and product developers. It provides opportunities for participants to learn about and share innovative strategies, research, and best practices from anywhere around the world, at any time of the day. The BACnet Institute operates under the auspices of BACnet International in collaboration with other BACnet industry groups.

About BACnet International

BACnet International is an industry association that facilitates the successful use of the BACnet protocol in building automation and control systems through interoperability testing, educational programs and promotional activities. BACnet International oversees operation of the BACnet Testing Laboratories (BTL) and maintains a global listing of tested products database. The BACnet standard was developed by the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) and has been made publicly available so that manufacturers can create interoperable systems of products. BACnet International complements the work of the ASHRAE standards committee and BACnet-related interest groups around the world. BACnet International members include building owners, consulting engineers and facility managers, as well as companies involved in the design, manufacture, installation, commission and maintenance of control equipment that use BACnet for communication. For more information, please visit bacnetinternational.org.
"It is the attendees and the enthusiasm they bring, their willingness to learn, share, and grow. I am invigorated by the networking, the birth of lifelong friendships, and the emergence of new leaders.

The Association of Clinical Documentation Integrity (ACDIS) is holding its 2023 national conference May 811 at the Hyatt Regency in Chicago, Illinois. The 2023 ACDIS national conference provides opportunities for attendees to flourish personally and professionally in their clinical documentation integrity (CDI) role. With five tracks of unparalleled education, there are more than 50 sessions for attendees to choose from to nourish their professional soul, cultivate plans for personal and staff development, and create a CDI program that will blossom.



Track 1: Clinical and Coding. A much-loved conference staple that includes core clinical and coding concepts that are vital to those engaged in ongoing medical record reviews. Its perfect for those new to CDI, as well as for those who wish to expand or refresh their knowledge.

Track 2: CDI Master Class. For those wishing to expand their professional skills and explore advanced concepts in CDI.

Track 3: Quality and Regulatory. Explore the ways regulatory initiatives affect CDI practices and the ways programs are meeting new challenges by examining how documentation affects quality-of-care outcomes.

Track 4: Management and Program Development. Devoted to expanding program parameters and innovating CDI staff/management experiences and expertise.

Track 5: Innovation and Expansion. An exploration of cutting-edge advancements, including nontraditional settings, concurrent coding, data analytics, and outpatient CDI.

ACDIS Interim Director Laurie Prescott, RN, MSN, CCDS, CCDS-O, CDIP, CRC, reflects on what is so special about the ACDIS conference: It is the attendees and the enthusiasm they bring, their willingness to learn, share, and grow. I am invigorated by the networking, the birth of lifelong friendships, and the emergence of new leaders. She adds, The only thing better than seeing old friends is introducing them to new ones and watching as each ignites the passion for all things CDI in the other.

Prescott is one of the featured keynote speakers at the 2023 conference with a session titled The Choice to Flourish. The other keynotes include:



The Importance of Being  YOU: Lessons in AuthenticityBrian Murphy (former ACDIS director)

Leading with an Inclusive Lens: Achieving Organizational Synergy with Diversity and InclusionJermaine M. Davis, PhD

Flight 20222023: Destination Uncharted TerritoryAmelia Rose Earhart

New for 2023 are special networking meetups hosted by ACDIS CDI instructors and staff to facilitate networking and problem-solving. Starting on Tuesday, May 9, there will be lunch discussion groups dedicated to outpatient CDI, pediatric CDI, CDI educators/second-level reviewers, and new/aspiring leaders. On Wednesday, May 10, attendees can make new friends and meet local(ish) colleagues during the first state chapter/networking group day or learn more about ACDIS committees.

ACDIS is also excited to bring back the in-person ACDIS Symposium: Outpatient CDI May 78 for the first time since 2019. The Symposium will be held alongside The Physician Advisors Role in CDI Preconference, with two tracks providing beginner or intermediate/advanced education.

To learn more about the 2023 ACDIS conference, visit https://www.acdis.org/2023conference or contact a Customer Service representative at 800-650-6787 x4005 and HCEvents@hcpro.com.

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About ACDIS

The Association of Clinical Documentation Integrity Specialists (ACDIS) is the nation's only association dedicated to the CDI profession. As the premier healthcare community of CDI professionals, ACDIS shares the latest tips, tools, and strategies to implement successful CDI programs. ACDIS also provides continuing education, certifications, training, networking events, CDI resources, and opportunities for professional growth. Learn more at https://acdis.org/.

About HCPro

For over 34 years, HCPro, a division of Simplify Compliance LLC, has specialized in providing the latest healthcare regulatory information through industry-leading publications, continuing education, online coding platforms, instructor-led training, events, consulting services, and more to deliver consistent training, achieve compliance, and maximize workflow efficiencies, resulting in measurable performance and financial improvements. Visit http://www.hcpro.com/.
The foundation has been a strong advocate for access to Jesuit education and support for family businesses, and Im thrilled that we have been able to advance these common goals," said USF President Paul J. Fitzgerald, S.J.

The University of San Francisco (USF) has received a gift of $4.25 million from the Carl Gellert and Celia Berta Gellert Foundation to support students coming to USF from the nine counties of the Greater Bay Area. The remainder will go toward the School of Managements Gellert Family Business Center founded in 2001.

The foundation has been a longtime supporter backing the universitys efforts for several decades, and it has been steadfast in its investment in the Bay Area community, said USF President Paul J. Fitzgerald, S.J. This generous gift culminates our wonderful partnership over several decades. The foundation has been a strong advocate for access to Jesuit education and support for family businesses, and Im thrilled that we have been able to advance these common goals.

The Carl Gellert and Celia Berta Gellert Foundation has been serving the Bay Area community and Catholic schools since 1958. The foundation decided recently to sunset its operations, and in the process, USF was selected to receive a significant share of the assets from the dissolution of the foundation.

For the past 40 years, generous scholarship funding from the Gellert Foundation has enabled many first-generation students to access a Jesuit education. Nearly 32% of USF students identify as first-generation to attend college. Since 2014, the Gellert Foundation and USF have been able to award more than 37 first-generation students with scholarships ranging from $5,000 to $10,000 each. To keep Jesuit education accessible for first-generation students, $3.75 million of the recent gift will go toward establishing the Carl Gellert and Celia Berta Gellert Endowed Scholarship Fund.

Over the past two decades, the USF School of Managements Gellert Family Business Center has become an essential resource hub. The Center supports family businesses with their transition needs and provides support for businesses long-term success by facilitating access to critical business resources, hosting networking events, and advancing the field of family business through research and education.

The remaining $500,000 of the Gellert foundations most recent gift will go to sustaining the legacy and continuity of the Center, which will allow sliding scale subsidies on membership dues and program tuition payments for qualifying small and medium-sized businesses.

This new endowment will allow the Center to continue to advance scholarly, creative and community-focused activities that sustain and aid in the continuity of families-in-business as well as the growth of the next generation of family firm leaders, said Monika Hudson, EdD, Director, Gellert Family Business Center.

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About the University of San Francisco

The University of San Francisco is a private, Jesuit Catholic university that reflects the diversity, optimism, and opportunities of the city that surrounds it. USF offers more than 230 undergraduate, graduate, professional, and certificate programs in the arts and sciences, business, law, education, and nursing and health professions. At USF, each course is an intimate learning community in which top professors encourage students to turn learning into positive action, so the students graduate equipped to do well in the world  and inspired to change it for the better. For more information, visit usfca.edu.

About the USF School of Management

Founded in 1925, University of San Franciscos School of Management is on the forefront of educating the next generation of conscious, mindful business leaders. Each year those students join the over 40,000 School of Management alumni around the world to create ethical and innovative change in the private, public, and non-profit management sectors. The School of Management is accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges Senior College and University Commission (WSCUC) and the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB).
Vice President of PMO, Joslin Glotzer attended the awards ceremony on Friday February 3rd.

ThunderCat Technology was recently named as one of the 2023 Best Places to Work in Virginia. The annual list of the Best Places to Work in Virginia was created by Virginia Business Magazine and Best Companies Group.

This statewide survey and awards program is designed to identify, recognize, and honor the best places of employment in Virginia, benefiting the state's economy, workforce, and businesses. The 2023 Best Places to Work in Virginia list is made up of 100 companies. ThunderCat placed 3rd on the midsize employers list for 2023. This is ThunderCats 10th year on the list.

To be considered for participation, companies had to fulfill the following eligibility requirements:



Be a for-profit, not-for-profit business or government entity;

Be a publicly or privately held business;

Have a facility in the state of Virginia;

Have at least 15 employees working in the state of Virginia; and

Be in business a minimum of 1 year.

Companies from across the state entered the two-part survey process to determine the Best Places to Work in Virginia. The first part consisted of evaluating each nominated company's workplace policies, practices, philosophy, systems, and demographics. This part of the process was worth approximately 25% of the total evaluation. The second part consisted of an employee survey to measure the employee experience. This part of the process was worth approximately 75% of the total evaluation. The combined scores determined the top companies and the final ranking. Best Companies Group managed the overall registration and survey process in Virginia and analyzed the data and used their expertise to determine the final ranking.

We are and always have been a place that prides itself on being somewhere that people are challenged, acknowledged, and rewarded. A place with true purpose that gives back to the community. With many returning to work, some remaining work from home (WFH), and others hybrid as the new norm our latest challenges are communications, collaboration, and connection. We strive to ensure people feel a part of the team and make sure our in-person opportunities build that connection, said CEO, Tom Deierlein.

For more information on the Best Places to Work in Virginia program, visit http://www.BestPlacesToWorkVA.com.

About ThunderCat Technology

Currently ranked #65 on the Solution Provider 500, the award winning ThunderCat Technology is a Ser-vice-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSB) that delivers technology products and services to government organizations, educational institutions, and commercial companies. Led by a combat-wounded CEO, ThunderCat is a systems integrator that brings an innovative approach to solving cus-tomer problems in and around the datacenter by providing strategies for Data Storage, Networking, Cyber Security, and Cloud Transformations. A proven leader, ThunderCat Technology provides and op-timizes technologies from best of breed manufacturers. Clients include DOD, DHS, VA, Treasury, FBI, State of Virginia, State of NY, Sony, VISA, and CareFirst. http://www.thundercattech.com
Theres nothing that takes you out of your own time more than stepping into another time, Gail Tsukiyama says via Zoom from her home in El Cerrito, Calif., which boasts views of San Francisco Bay. Ive always thought there was something romantic about historical fictionabout seeing how people lived and worked, how they brought us to where we are.

Tsukiyama is the author of eight works of historical fiction, all focused on the Chinese and Japanese experience. Her latest, The Brightest Star (HarperVia, June), is about the pioneering 20th-century actor Anna May Wong, considered to be the first Asian American Hollywood film star.

This was Tsukiyamas first time writing about a real person, and the experience was a bit intimidating. It was funand frightening! she admits. Anna May Wong left footprints in the world, and I wanted to do her justice, to show her as a flesh-and-blood human, someone who climbed over barriers against the odds.

Born in San Francisco, Tsukiyama was raised by a Chinese mother from Hong Kong and a Japanese father from Hawaii. She was a quiet child, unlike the flamboyant Wong, who left school as a teenager to pursue acting. Tsukiyamas novel is a nuanced study of Wongs life, with a focus on her careerparticularly her fight to be taken seriously by a racist industry that typecast Asian performersand on her relationship with her traditional Chinese family, including a father who likened acting to prostitution.

I empathized with and understood Anna May Wong, Tsukiyama says. I dont know if another writer who wasnt Asian, who hadnt grown up in the culture, would understand the stress she was under.

Tsukiyama was inspired to write her book after watching the series Killing Eve. Not all writers are deep, she jokes. While watching the show, I was thinking about how wonderful it was that Sandra Oh was the lead, and that it couldve been a role for any actressand thats what you want. And that got me thinking about Anna May Wong. She was a trailblazer, the first one to say, Im an Asian actress, hire me. 

Tara Parsons, Tsukiyamas editor at HarperVia, praises Tsukiyama for her ability to bring Wongs world to life through fiction. This book has the hallmarks of what Gail is so amazing at, Parsons says. You can picture the time that youre inthe smells, the sounds, the sights. She puts you there. Shes a beautifully evocative writer.

Joy Harris, Tsukiyamas agent, says The Brightest Star gives readers a chance to delve meaningfully into Wongs story. You really feel like youre hearing Anna May Wongs voice, she notes. Youre hearing about her determination and terrible disappointments. This book will allow people to connect with her, to see the racism of that time. You cant help but understand the difficulties of this womans life when you read it.

Tsukiyama has been amplifying Asian voices throughout her career, and her new novel offers an intimate look at what made the original Chinese American film star tick. Anna May Wong was the first, and its important for readers to know thatto understand how hard it was and still is, she says. Her life is a great story in itself, but it goes beyond what she did, its how it reverberates. I feel lucky that I can take that story and hopefully keep it going.

Gail Tsukiyama will sign ARCs of The Brightest Star at the evening author reception on Feb. 22, 56 p.m., in Hall 4B.

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Beginning March 1, IndieBound.org, the American Bookseller Association's consumer-facing online bookselling and marketing platform, will switch to using Bookshop.org to handle sales and fulfillment. All buy buttons on bookstores sites or affiliated sites using IndieBound links will switch to Bookshop.org links.

In a letter sent to publishers and other industry members, Bookshop.org founder and CEO Andy Hunter explained that the change over was meant to occur in spring 2020 but was delayed because of the pandemic. "The shift to Bookshop.org buttons was meant to eliminate consumer confusion, improve data for the indie channel, convert more consumers, generate more revenue for booksellers due to a simpler purchase flow and higher conversion rate, and optimize the impact of Bookshop.org for independent bookstores. Now, beginning March 1st, all of this will be possible as IndieBound buy buttons will become Bookshop.org buy buttons with a new tagline emphasizing support for independent bookstores,' Hunter explained in the letter

IndieBound.org will continue to host an independent bookstore store finder, the indie bestseller list, the Indie Next list and Kids Next list, and information about other independent bookstore programs.

"We currently have 1,650 stores on Bookshop, which is about 70% of the ABA's membership," Hunter, told PW. He predicted that booksellers will likely see a significant increase in online sales, as the average conversion rate of Bookshop.org store pages is over 12% vs. 6% for other online bookselling platforms.

The ABA has provided a page explaining further details of the switch for booksellers and an online FAQ from Bookshop.org answers many of the questions booksellers may have about working with Bookshop and the conversion.

In his letter, Hunter said that since the launch of Bookshop.org in January 2020, U.S. independent bookstores have earned over $24.6 million on the platform and he estimated that the combined online sales of independent bookstores have grown over 500% since 2019.

In the FAQ, Bookshop.org offers a high level of optimism. "We believe that together, with the right strategies, cooperation, and execution, we can grow ecommerce revenue for independent bookstores by 500% in the next five years - substantially improving the viability and margins of the bookselling business."
Less than a month after a group of 11 authors, in coordination with the Authors Guild, filed a breach of contract suit in a U.S. District Court in Florida over unpaid and unaccounted royalties, the now defunct publisher, Authors Place Press, has settled the case. Although exact details of the settlement were not disclosed, the parties told the court in a filing late last week they had reached an agreement in principle and would file dismissal documents "as soon as practicable."

In a statement, the Authors Guild said the settlement won "key concessions" to "protect the interests of authors into the future." Among the settlement provisions, AG officials said Authors Place Press owner Tony Ferraro had agreed to revert rights to all the plaintiff authors and terminate their agreements; provide the authors with all electronic and text design files and any artwork associated with their work at no charge; and pay "a token monetary payment" to lead plaintiff Karyn Schoenbart, who helped organize and finance the suit.

This settlement means Authors Place can no longer hold authors hostage while cheating them out of payments theyre owed, said Authors Guild CEO Mary Rasenberger, in a statement. And it sends a clear message to other publishers that theyll be held accountable for any attempt to take advantage of authors.

Filed on January 6, the complaint claimed that Authors Place Press and Ferraro had failed to fulfill their contractual obligations and to pay or properly account for royalties. The suit also named the companys predecessor, Motivational Press, and its CEO, Justin Sachs, as defendants. According to court documents, Motivational Press was acquired by Ferraro in early 2019.

The case was spearheaded by Schoenbart, the former CEO of the NPD Group and author of Mom.B.A.: Essential Business Advice from One Generation to the Next. With help from the Authors Guild, Schoenbart organized 10 more authors to join the action. The suit claimed copyright infringement, breach of contract, and unjust enrichment, and had sought a ruling giving the the authors back their book rights, as well as an accounting to determine the amount of unpaid royalties owed.

At the time of the filing, the website for Authors Place Press stated that the company was no longer in operation. Authors Guild officials confirmed in its statement that the publisher had shut down operations, "so we are assured that it will not be able to exploit other authors in the future."

The Authors Place Press settlement comes after the Authors Guild last month also won a promise from another publisher, Adelaide Books, to pay outstanding royalties and revert rights to a group of authors who had complained about the publishers practices.
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Robyn Dixon is explaining why she kept quiet about the cheating drama surrounding her husband, Juan Dixon, on Real Housewives of Potomac.

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The 43-year-old television personality addressed the cheating rumors surrounding Juan Dixon during Sunday's episode of Watch What Happens Live.

Dixon had said on her Reasonably Shady podcast last week that Juan Dixon engaged in "inappropriate behavior" by messaging with a woman in Canada during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The reality star said that Juan Dixon was not unfaithful and did "not date" the woman, and told fans that she would share more about the situation on the paid platform Patreon.

On WWHL, host Andy Cohen asked Dixon why she didn't bring up her situation with Juan Dixon in RHOP Season 7, which has featured much drama about infidelity.

"It was so in the back of my mind. We dealt with it, we moved on from it. I don't know why I would say, 'Hey guys, pick me, let's talk about my issues,'" Dixon said. "It wasn't an issue at that moment when we were filming ... It wasn't relevant to where we were in that present time."

Dixon also explained why Juan Dixon's name appeared on an alleged hotel receipt, saying the woman flew to Maryland and told Juan Dixon that she lost her wallet in the casino.

"Apparently she was really stressed out, really distraught. He feels bad for her, he goes to the hotel, puts his card down at the counter or whatever, and that's it," she said.

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Dixon will further address the situation during the three-part RHOP Season 7 reunion, which begins Feb. 19. Part 3 will feature a one-on-one interview between Dixon and Cohen.
This proposed facility is a far cry from the most basic demands of BLM  police training in de-escalation tactics, racial bias and sensitivity. If constructed, Cop City will be larger than any other similar facility proposed by the Atlanta Police Foundation, and the dangers of police militarization extend past Atlanta to cities across the U.S. that may use the facility or construct their own. Atlanta is, in effect, the guinea pig determining whether other cities and countries will build similar unwanted police training centers.
Whether you are looking to be active, indulge in art or relax, there are a plethora of unique opportunities to celebrate with your valentine in the Classic City. Here are eight ways to celebrate with your significant other, whether youre artsy, sporty or just looking to unwind.
Athens legend William Orten Carlton, otherwise known as Ort, died at St. Marys hospital Saturday afternoon at 73 years old, according to Flagpole Magazine.

Carlton was known for his influence on Athens culture, and contributed to Flagpole for decades, writing on various topics, from beer to road trips. Memorial services have not yet been shared, according to Flagpole.
I now have a stack of 13 unopened paperback books, looming over my desk. For some readers, being required to read these books may seem both daunting and nauseating. For English and journalism majors such as myself, those 13 books are equivocal to pure heaven.
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Has been working as a photojournalist since 2007, before moving into newspapers, he worked with an NGO called Project HOPE. He then went to work for the Press and Sun-Bulletin in New York, and then in New England working for the Brattleboro Reformer.
The former Chemco Building on the banks of the Connecticut River in Bellows Falls.
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg in Oslo, Norway, on Jan 5, 2023. [Photo/Agencies]

The meeting between visiting NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida last week must have made the guest feel relieved as it enabled him to avoid the embarrassment of returning to Brussels empty-handed from his Asian trip, the first of its kind by a NATO chief in history.

The two sides said they welcomed progress toward Japan transitioning into the North Atlantic Treaty Organization's new Individually Tailored Partnership Program, which is expected to elevate bilateral cooperation "to new heights that reflect the challenges of a new era". That merits the attention of the whole Asia-Pacific, which should be alert to what it might herald.

Japan, which is pursuing greater global status through militarism, is doing nothing but offering the rapacious Cold War transatlantic alliance the means to gain a foothold in the Far East to maintain the order based on "rules" that serves the United States, something the US, their common patron, is of course happy to encourage.

Stoltenberg claims that the Asia-Pacific is being threatened by the "authoritarian pushback against the international rules-based order" by Beijing and Moscow, which only sets the stage for him to try and sell the argument that "transatlantic and Indo-Pacific security is deeply interconnected".

The proposition that Russia and China form an evil axis threatening the "rules-based international order" is something strategists in Washington are trying hard to peddle around the world.

The way the NATO chief called on Japan to understand the scale of the "challenge" from China and address it together clearly makes China a common "adversary" to them, his denial of that notwithstanding.

Were it not for Japan's readiness to jump onto the US' China-containment bandwagon, which can provide it with a cover to "normalize" its status on the world stage, it would have been difficult for Stoltenberg to find a crack into which to drive NATO's wedge in the region.

In that sense, Japan has sacrificed the whole region's interests by letting the wolf into the fold with the sheep in the otherwise peaceful and stable Asia-Pacific.

The tensions in Sino-US relations have given the right-wing political forces in Japan an opportunity to retake the stage. They have prompted the country's once relatively rational and pragmatic China policy to fade fast, and Japan has now become the most active wholesaler of the "China threat" theory in Asia.

Colluding with NATO will prove to be only a beginning for the sufferings Japan will inflict upon the whole region and itself.
Beijing says President Bidens order to shoot it down seriously damaged bilateral relations.

The Chinese balloon drifts above the Atlantic Ocean, just off the coast of South Carolina, with a fighter jet and its contrail seen below it, Saturday, Feb. 4, 2023.

UPDATED at 12:57 p.m. EST on 02-06-2022

An operation is underway to recover the debris of the suspected Chinese spy balloon shot down by the U.S. Air Force as Beijing warns against escalation and threatens retaliation.

Multiple naval vessels with divers have been deployed while a salvage ship is on its way to the recovery site off the South Carolina coast, U.S. defense officials told reporters at a Pentagon briefing Saturday.

The FBI, under the counter-intelligence authorities, is also taking part in the process, the officials said.

Meanwhile, Chinese officials said they strongly protest against the U.S.'s use of force to attack the civilian unmanned airship that has seriously impacted and damaged both sides' efforts and progress in stabilizing Sino-U.S. relations.

Vice minister of foreign affairs Xie Feng on Monday lodged a solemn presentation to the U.S. embassy in Beijing and urged the U.S. not to take further actions that harm China's interests, and not to escalate or expand the tension.

Newspapers in the Chinatown district of Los Angeles on Sunday, Feb. 5, 2023. Credit: AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes

China insisted the balloon was a civilian meteorological airship that strayed into the U.S. airspace due to force majeure, or unforeseeable circumstances and accused Washington of overreacting.

U.S. officials said theyre confident it was a surveillance balloon.

National Security Council spokesman John Kirby on Monday rejected the claim that the balloon was a civilian meteorological airship, and said the United States had no plans to return the debris to Beijing.

It strains credulity, as we have been saying for many days, that this was some sort of innocent weather balloon that was just floating upon the winds, Kirby told reporters. We know that they had a measure of control over its speed and its direction, and we believe it was conducting surveillance over sensitive military sites.

Kirby also denied the Chinese Foreign Ministrys claims that shooting down the balloon violated international law.

The answer is unequivocally no, he said. In fact, that's why we did it about six miles off the coast, inside our territorial airspace, so that we could comply with international law, unlike the Chinese who didn't comply with international law by flying it over sovereign U.S. airspace.

Kirby added that U.S. authorities were waiting to learn more about the purpose of the balloon from the recovered debris.

It was an overreaction if it was only a weather balloon," said John Blaxland, professor of International Security and Intelligence Studies at the Australian National University (ANU). "But if it proves to be something more than that, there appears to be some justification for a fairly stern response."

We should have some further insights when the pieces are recovered, he said.

While President Xi Jinping has backed away from the wolf warrior diplomacy in recent months, substantively Chinas actions remain as assertive as ever and the balloon incident suggests that continues, the Canberra-based professor added.

Recovery process

U.S. officials first detected the balloon on Jan. 28, when it entered U.S. airspace near the Aleutian Islands.

It was shot down by an F-22 Raptor fighter using a single AIM-9X Sidewinder missile at 2:39 p.m. on Saturday afternoon. The debris was spread over seven miles (11.2 kilometers) and in 47 feet (14.2 meters) of water.

The recovery is anticipated as fairly easy, a senior military official said, and could be done in days, rather than weeks or months.

The U.S. Navy has deployed the destroyer USS Oscar Austin, the cruiser USS Philippine Sea and the USS Carter Hall, an amphibious landing ship, in support of the strike.

Data obtained by RFA from the ship-tracking website MarineTraffic show that as of Monday morning the USS Oscar Austin is heading northwards, suggesting the initial search has been done and mission participants are waiting for the salvage vessel to do a more thorough search and recovery when it arrives, said Carl Schuster, former director of operations at the U.S. Pacific Command's Joint Intelligence Center.

U.S. defense officials said a U.S. Navy salvage ship has been dispatched and would be on-scene within a couple of days.

The salvage vessel will have equipment on it to ensure the recovered material is preserved, said Schuster.

The retired U.S. Navy captain warned that the search area may be larger than expected as the waters off South Carolina have strong currents and a soft, sandy bottom so the smaller pieces will be moved or covered.

But salvage vessels have the capability to calculate that drift, find and recover the material.

Once confident they have recovered everything, they will take it somewhere, probably Norfolk or Dahlgren, to reassemble and analyze it, Schuster said.

At the briefing on Saturday, a senior U.S. defense official said the Pentagon will seek to recover all debris and any material of intelligence value, as well as to work closely with the FBI on the chain of custody.

Not the first incident

The defense official added that the surveillance balloon's overflight of U.S. territory was of intelligence value to us ... we were able to study and scrutinize the balloon and its equipment, which has been valuable.

This surveillance balloon purposefully traversed the United States and Canada. And we are confident it was seeking to monitor sensitive military sites, he said.

There were three Chinese surveillance balloons operating in the Western Hemisphere at the same time, the official said.

These balloons are all part of a PRC fleet of balloons developed to conduct surveillance operations, which have also violated the sovereignty of other countries, he said, referring to China by its official name the Peoples Republic of China.

Chinese balloons also briefly transited the continental United States at least three times during the Trump administration, the official added.

I suspect other such encounters may emerge, but Xi has to be careful, said Professor John Blaxland at ANU.

China still needs a relatively cooperative United States and further aggravation will make U.S. concessions all the more difficult politically for Biden, he said.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks at a joint news conference at the State Department in Washington, U.S. on Feb. 3, 2023. Credit: Reuters/Jonathan Ernst

The incident led to State Secretary Antony Blinken canceling his planned trip to Beijing last Friday.

Post-balloon ordeal, its hard to imagine the Biden admin rescheduling Blinkens visit to China anytime soon, wrote Derek Grossman, a security and Indo-Pacific analyst at Rand Corporation, a policy think tank.

And any talk of maintaining guard rails in the relationship to prevent competition from spiraling out of control seems unthinkable now, Grossman wrote on Twitter.

The analyst argued that the U.S. response to the incident that he called our hysteria has diminished the chance of a thaw in the bilateral relations.

Shooting down a Chinese balloon over U.S. airspace is an excessive reaction that may escalate tensions with China and invite diplomatic or other retaliation, said Andy Mok, a senior research fellow at the Center for China and Globalization in Beijing.

It is crucial for nations to act with restraint and avoid any actions that could cause unintended consequences, Mok told RFA.

Updated to include comments from National Security Council spokesman John Kirby.
Guo Yi was detained in Beijing as she tried to put a poster of Peng Lifa in a Beijing toilet, a rights group says

Authorities in China have been holding feminist and LGBTQ+ activist Guo Yi for more than three months after she stuck up posters repeating the protest slogans hung from a Beijing traffic overpass in October by Peng Lifa, known as the "Bridge Man" protester, a rights group has reported.

Peng, who hung two protest banners  one of which called for the removal of Chinese leader Xi Jinping  on a Beijing flyover on the eve of the ruling Chinese Communist Party's 20th National Congress has been widely hailed as a hero on social media and by overseas activists.

"Guo Yi was arrested on or around Oct. 20, 2022, when she took a poster of Bridge Man Peng Lifa she had made to a toilet to post it," the Weiquanwang rights website reported. "Bridge Man posters were later also found at her home, and we believe that she has been [formally] arrested now."

Guo, a graduate of Tsinghua University's School of Economics and Management, hails from the northwestern region of Xinjiang, where she won a top liberal arts scholarship to study in Beijing. She has been involved in activism to promote womens rights and other social issues. Guo, also known as Edith, had also penned a screenplay titled "The Way of the Vagina, the group said.

Her apparent detention comes amid an ongoing crackdown on the "white paper" protests of late November 2022, which were sparked by a fatal lockdown fire in Xinjiang's regional capital Urumqi, with dozens of young activists, mostly women, detained across China in recent weeks.

Citizens, not slaves

The Bridge Man protest sparked a slew of protests and rallies on university campuses outside China, although participants said they risked bringing trouble down on the heads of their families back home if the police found out they had taken part.

One of his banners read: "Remove the traitor-dictator Xi Jinping!" while another called for: "Food, not COVID-19 tests. Freedom, not lockdowns. Reforms, not the Cultural Revolution. Elections not leaders," adding: "Dignity, not lies. Citizens, not slaves."

In December 2022, Weiquanwang said police had arrested Nanchang-based artist Xiao Liang after he painted a portrait of Peng Lifa and posted it on Twitter.

Veteran rights activist Zhou Fengsuo, who heads the New York-based group Human Rights in China, said Guo hadn't committed any crime.

"Guo Yi's actions should have been protected by her civil rights, because she did no more than express her mind," Zhou told Radio Free Asia. "She has committed no crime, and this was an entirely personal action."

"The regime has already held her for 100 days, every day of which is a crime against her," he said. "She should be released immediately."

He called on Tsinghua alumni to speak out on Guo's behalf, in the hope of gaining an earlier release.

New generation

He said Guos voice represented a new generation who dared to speak out against the Chinese Communist Party, and as such were the main hope for change in China.

Guo was last seen at a screening she held at her home of a film shortly after the Oct. 1 National Day holiday, according to a Jan. 31 article on the Women4China Stack Exchange page signed by Wen Xin.

"Everyone sensed that something was going to happen, but nobody knew what Edith was going to do," said the article, describing Guo as "skinny with short red hair ... appearing agile enough to carry the weight of the whole world."

"After graduating, she went on to organize cultural activities for migrant women workers," the article said, adding that she had once hoped to live in the southern city of Shenzhen.

It said Guo had also been writing and staging her feminist screenplay, and had gone out of her way to enlist a trans woman as one of the actors. It said her connection to the LGBTQ+ community likely made her more vulnerable to mistreatment by the authorities.

"When the police went to her apartment to search for the Bridge Man posters, they must have seen the rainbow flag in the room," the article said.

"This would have made the police even more certain that she was a 'reactionary' - given the close attention they've been paying to women's rights and LGBT issues during the arrests and interrogations that followed the white paper protests."

The article said Guo's family and lawyers have remained silent, and that an application for bail for her had been unsuccessful.

"Edith did nothing wrong; she was a ray of red as the revolution spread. Keep fighting the good fight," the article said, quoting her Instagram signature.

Translated by Luisetta Mudie. Edited by Malcolm Foster.
People standing in line for the public gallery say they were paid to be there as police patrol the area with dogs

Pro-democracy activist Emily Lau Wai-hing gestures as she arrives at the West Kowloon Magistrates' Courts in Hong Kong, Monday, Feb. 6, 2023.

A Hong Kong court on Monday began the trial of 16 defendants out of a group of 47 former opposition politicians and activists charged with subversion under the national security law for taking part in a democratic primary in the summer of 2020.

Former journalist Gwyneth Ho, a 2019 protest movement activist, former nursing student Owen Chow and labor unionist Winnie Yu are among those to stand trial in front of three government-picked national security judges and no jury.

It is the most high-profile trial to be brought under the draconian law, which was imposed on the city by the ruling Chinese Communist Party as a response to the 2019 protest movement.

The 16 are standing trial after pleading not guilty to charges of "incitement to subvert state power" linked to their participation in a democratic primary that the authorities said was a bid to subvert the government by winning a majority of seats in the Legislative Council.

The remainder, including pro-democracy activist Joshua Wong, Occupy Central founder Benny Tai and journalist-turned-lawmaker Claudia Mo, have pleaded guilty. All defendants could face life imprisonment.

People wait outside the West Kowloon Magistrates' Courts before the start of the national security trial for the pro-democracy activists in Hong Kong, Monday, Feb. 6, 2023. Credit: Associated Press





Hundreds of people, including friends and relatives of defendants, stood in line early on Monday morning outside West Kowloon Magistrates Court to gain a public seat at the trial, as police in bulletproof vests with dogs patrolled the area, where taller security fencing had replaced the usual waist-height traffic barriers. A bomb-disposal truck was also parked at the scene.

A helicopter labeled on a flight-tracking app as belonging to the Hong Kong Government Flying Service hovered above the court building at around 8.30 a.m., circling the area at least twice.

Paid to stand in line

Some elderly people standing in line told Radio Free Asia that they had been paid HK$150 (US$19) an hour to stand in line for "just listening in for three or four hours," but said they had no idea what the case they were observing was.

Others responded that they didn't know what the trial was about or refused to answer questions, while some reportedly told other media outlets that they were getting paid to stand there, prompting speculation they had been sent to occupy seats to prevent supporters of the defendants from getting in.

Around 100 of those in line had brought seats and even sleeping bags with them, but brushed off reporters' questions with "I came here by myself," or "I don't know," or "I was bored" when asked why they were waiting for one of the 400 public gallery seats at the trial.

Meanwhile, Chan Po-ying, who heads the pro-democracy League of Social Democrats and deputy Dickson Chau held up a banner outside the court that read: "A democratic primary isn't a crime! Shameful suppression!" while calling for the release of the 47 political prisoners.

Chau was taken away by police for taking off his mask  which are still mandated in public places in Hong Kong  and fined HK$5,000 (US$637).

No crime to answer

Before opening statements began, the 16 defendants entered their "not guilty" pleas, with Chan's husband and veteran activist Leung Kwok-hung telling the court: "There's no crime to answer. It is not a crime to act against a totalitarian regime."

Judge Andrew Chan responded by calling for "respect" from the defendants and members of the public.

Hong Kong police confront Chan Po-ying, [left] who heads the pro-democracy League of Social Democrats and deputy Dickson Chau as they hold up a banner outside the West Kowloon Magistrates' Courts in Hong Kong, Monday, Feb. 6, 2023. Credit: AFP





As the trial, which is expected to last up to 90 days, got under way, prosecutor Jonathan Man told the court that four of 47, all of whom were arrested more than two years ago, would testify against the 16 now on trial.

The four defendants turned witness for the prosecution were former pro-democracy lawmaker Au Nok Hin, former district councilors Andrew Chiu and Ben Chung, and businessman Mike Lam, Man said.

Prosecutor Anthony Chau said the 2020 democratic primary was a "conspiracy" to undermine the government.

"This case involves a group of activists who conspired together and with others to plan, organize and participate in seriously interfering in, disrupting or undermining the performance of duties and functions ... by unlawful means with a view to subverting the state power," Chau said.

Thirteen of the 47 defendants were granted bail in 2021, while the other 34  including 10 who pleaded not guilty -- have been in pre-trial custody for more than two years despite international criticism.

Evil will grow more rampant

Chow, a frontline protester in 2019 who later stood in the primary on a "localist" platform aimed at preserving Hong Kong's unique identity, wrote on his Facebook page on Monday: "Evil will always grow more rampant when goodness lapses, so we must insist on what is right."

Gwyneth Ho rose to local fame for her live reporting on the 2019 protests, in particular her live footage of white-clad government supporters attacking democracy activists and passers-by at the Yuen Long MTR station on July 21, 2019, which included footage of them attacking her.

Police officers stand guard outside the West Kowloon Magistrates' Courts ahead of the national security trial for the pro-democracy activists in Hong Kong, Monday Feb. 6, 2023. Credit: Associated Press

Amnesty International Deputy Regional Director Hana Young called for the charges to be dropped altogether, saying the activists were forced to choose between pleading guilty to "a non-existent crime" in the hope of more lenient treatment, or to stand trial with almost no hope of acquittal.

With this mass trial, the Hong Kong government is attempting to shut off all meaningful political participation in Hong Kong, Young told the Associated Press.

Following the democratic primary in 2020, the government postponed the Legislative Council elections the primary was preparing for and changed the electoral system so that pro-democracy candidates couldn't run.

The subsequent "election" of chief executive John Lee in a poll in which he was the only candidate wiped out any distinction between the city and the rest of mainland China, commentators said at the time.

More than 10,000 people have been arrested and 2,800 prosecuted in a citywide crackdown on the 2019 protest movement, mostly under public order charges.

Around 230 have been arrested under the national security law, which criminalizes public criticism of the Hong Kong and Chinese governments, as well as ties and funding arrangements with overseas organizations deemed hostile to China.

Translated by Luisetta Mudie. Edited by Malcolm Foster.
Su Mon Htet was treating wounded pro-democracy guerillas when she was hit.

Su Mon Htet, a medic in a pro-democracy militia, was killed when junta troops fired heavy artillery in Myanmars Sagaing region.

A 20-year-old medic with the Underground Lightning Guerrilla Group died in a heavy artillery blast in Myanmars northern Sagaing region, the anti-junta militia said in a statement.

Su Mon Htet was on a frontline mission to treat comrades injured after they launched a mine attack on troops Sunday, the group said.

On the morning of Feb. 5, twelve junta troops -- including an informant -- were killed in mine attacks on a junta column, the guerrilla groups spokesman Bo Mone Daing told RFA.

The junta column with more than 40 soldiers picked up the dead bodies. The female medic Su Mon Htet was hit when the troops opened fire with ammunition and heavy artillery ... ammunition on our side was limited, so we couldnt fire back.

Su Mon Htet died on the spot, the spokesman said. She was cremated and her remains buried in Sadaung township on Sunday evening.

The funeral ceremony in Sadaung township, Sagaing region on Feb. 5, 2023.

Credit: Underground Lighting Guerrilla Group

As many as six members of the Underground Lightning Guerrilla Group, fighting alongside the Ohn Taw Dragon GZ militia, were killed according to Bo Mone Daing.

Two years of intense fighting in Sagaing region have left many Peoples Defense Forces severely short of weapons and ammunition. Many groups fight with hand-made guns which often backfire, killing or injuring troops.

Last Wednesday, three pro-democracy fighters died in a battle in another Sagaing region township as they ran short of ammunition.

The shadow National Unity Government says around 3,000 people have died nationwide in the two years since the military seized power from them in a coup. Almost half of them were freedom fighters, including many teenagers.

Translated by RFA Burmese. Edited by Mike Firn.
Although ASEAN chair Indonesia appears to be pushing the bloc to accelerate talks with China for a code of conduct to avoid conflicts in the South China Sea, Beijings increasing activities in waters of Southeast Asian claimant states would stall an agreement, analysts warned.

At the end of a two-day meeting of the regions top diplomats in Jakarta, Retno Marsudi, the foreign minister of Indonesia, said they discussed code of conduct (COC) negotiations and were committed to concluding them as soon as possible.

Towards that end, Retno said Indonesia would host several rounds of negotiations, with the first one to take place next month.

We noted the need to find new strategies/approaches to speed up the process of the COC negotiation, according to a statement issued on Saturday by Indonesia, the 2023 holder of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations chair. The meeting was the first one hosted by Jakarta in that role.

However, the regional atmosphere isnt conducive for such talks, and so it doesnt seem likely that such negotiations will end swiftly and successfully, analysts said.

Recent instances of Chinese coercion at sea against its Southeast Asian rivals, such as Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines, wouldnt contribute to the building of trust, Collin Koh, a researcher at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies in Singapore, told BenarNews.

This only means that Beijings proposals and even overtures in the negotiations could be regarded with suspicion by these countries.

Koh said he foresaw negotiations on the issue going on well beyond Indonesias one-year chairmanship of ASEAN.

The negotiations aim to establish a set of rules to govern the behavior of all parties in the South China Sea, one of the worlds busiest waterways for shipping and a source for oil, natural gas and minerals.

These discussions between China and Southeast Asian claimant states have been going on for decades, but progress has been slow because of the complex and sensitive nature of disputes in the maritime region.

The South China Sea is claimed by ASEAN member-states Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Vietnam, and there have been several incidents involving the deployment of military assets and fishing boats in the area.

While Indonesia does not regard itself as a party to the dispute, Beijing claims historic rights to parts of the sea overlapping Indonesias exclusive economic zone.

ASEAN and China signed the non-binding Declaration of Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DOC) in November 2002 as a basis for a peaceful dispute resolution, but this was not implemented successfully.

It was the first political document signed by China and ASEAN to set up basic principles for negotiation and foster dialogue among claimants with a code of conduct as the ultimate target.

It is now 21 years later, and code of conduct negotiations will still not be completed any time soon, said another analyst, Siswanto Rusdi.

We dont know if China is changing, because it all depends on China, Siswanto, executive director of the Jakarta-based National Maritime Institute, told BenarNews.

They prefer to negotiate bilaterally, as opposed to using the ASEAN platform.

On Saturday, some ASEAN foreign ministers expressed concerns about land reclamations and serious incidents in the South China Sea, saying they have eroded trust and confidence, increased tensions and may undermine peace, security and stability in the region.

We emphasized the importance of non-militarization and self-restraint in the conduct of all activities by claimants and all other states, including those mentioned in the DOC, that could further complicate the situation and escalate tensions in the South China Sea, they said, according to the statement from the ASEAN chair.

The ministers also expressed concern about cross-straits tensions between China and Taiwan, and warned of open conflicts that could threaten regional peace and stability.

ASEAN stands ready to play a constructive role in facilitating peaceful dialogue between all parties, including through utilizing ASEAN-led mechanisms to de-escalate tension, to safeguard peace, security and development in the area adjacent to our region, it said.

China last month renewed its threats to invade Taiwan, news agencies reported. Beijing considers Taiwan a Chinese province.

BenarNews is an RFA-affiliated news service
Geshe Phende Gyaltsen served as mediator in conflicts and was active in renovating a monastery

Tibetan political prisoner and Buddhist monk Geshe Phende Gyaltsen died in prison on Jan. 26, sources inside Tibet and in exile told Radio Free Asia. He was 56.

Chinese authorities reportedly warned local residents not to spread the news of his death, a source inside Tibet said, adding that Geshe Phende was very healthy and did not suffer from any illness before he was imprisoned by the Chinese government.

Chinese police arrested him last March, detained for actively engaging in the renovation of Shedrub Dhargyeling monastery in Lithang, a Tibetan source living in exile told RFA.

He also helped and assisted as a mediator between conflicting parties in the county, the source said. We dont know if he was found guilty.

Born in Jhongpa village in Lithang, Tibet, Phende Gyaltsen visited India in 1985 to study Buddhism and received a Geshe degree  similar to a PhD  from the Sera Mey Monastery in southern India. He later returned back to Tibet.

In July 2022, Phende Gyaltsen was taken to a hospital in Lithang because of his ill health. Still, he was reportedly returned to detention, where he passed away last month.

We believe that his health condition deteriorated in the prison after going through physical torture, the source inside Tibet said.

Authorities kept his body from the public, who wanted to pay last respects to the religious figure. But Chinese authorities placed tight restrictions in the region and the source said even his family was not allowed to perform last rites on his body.

Pema Gyal, a researcher at Tibet Watch, said that Phende Gyaltsens story is one of several Tibetans who have suffered under Chinese rule.

Many innocent Tibetans who died in the Chinese prisons died solely because of the harsh physical abuse and mistreatment they go through under the Chinese government from coercing confessions, he said.

Translated by Tenzin Dickyi. Edited by Nawar Nemeh and Malcolm Foster.
Actions underscore the lengths to which Chinese police will go to keep tabs on Uyghurs abroad

In this April 2, 2021, photo, a Uyghur demonstrator wearing a mask painted with a artwork with colors of East Turkestans flag and Chinas flag, participates in a protest in Istanbul, Turkey, against Chinese authorities detentions, forced sterilizations, and forced labor of Uyghur minority in Xinjiang, China.

After Yasinjan and his family moved to Istanbul in 2016, the police back home in Xinjiang tried to keep in touch. They wanted to know all about the clientele at the modest barbershop he opened in the Zeytinburnu district, home to a large Uyghur immigrant population.

The police contacted him on his phone. He refused to talk to them. They sent threats through his relatives. He ignored them. They imprisoned his father-in-law. He didnt budge. Then, this January, the police tried something new: They sent him a customer.

The nervous young Uyghur man was an indiscreet spy. He walked into the shop, took out his phone and started recording. He taped Yasinjan asking him to wait his turn. He taped the other customers in the shop. He went back outside and took shots of the storefront.

I realized something was wrong, so I called him and said it was his turn, Yasinjan told Radio Free Asia. When he came into the barbershop, he confessed everything.

A police officer in Hotan, in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, had been messaging him, asking him to surveil Yasinjan and other Uyghurs in Istanbul, the man said. He relented when his mother, still in Hotan, started texting him the same requests. And hed already sent all his footage and notes to the police.

More than six years into Chinas campaign to eradicate independent Uyghur society at home, Yasinjans experience underscores the lengths to which the Chinese authorities go to keep tabs on ordinary Uyghurs abroad.

The roughly 50,000 Uyghurs in Turkey face unique risks. The country has welcomed waves of Uyghur refugees since the 1950s, under policies supporting ethnic groups with cultural and linguistic ties to Turkey. Now home to the largest Uyghur emigree population outside of Central Asia, Turkey has become a focus for Chinese espionage.

Chinese officials consider those in exile, just by being abroad, people who they need to keep a very close eye on, said Maya Wang, associate director of Human Rights Watchs Asia division.

The purpose is to tighten control and surveillance and repression of everyone who is from that community, generating a sense of fear, and therefore compliance and loyalty, to the Chinese government, even when you are thousands of kilometers away from Beijing, she said.

Intimidated to become informants

Several Uyghur expatriates, all over the world, told RFA of recent Chinese attempts to intimidate them into becoming informants. They had all downloaded WeChat or Douyin, the Chinese version of Tiktok, in order to keep in touch with relatives back home.

Officials had then manipulated those digital ties to try to coerce them into spying on their communities abroad. Many of these Uyghurs declined to go on the record, fearing for the safety of relatives still in China.

In this Dec. 4, 2022, photo, members of Uyghur communities set fire to a makeshift Chinese flag during a protest against Chinese authorities' treatment of Uyghur minority in Xinjiang, near the Chinese consulate in Istanbul, Turkey. (AFP Photo/ Yasin Akgul)





The reluctant spy played WeChat voice messages from the Hotan policeman for the crowd at the barbershop. Yasinjan shared the voice messages, as well as a recording of his conversation with the informant, with RFA.

Brother, lets start the job today, start doing the barber immediately, then do Abduleziz, that assholes thing there are plenty of things to do, the policeman said in one voice message, speaking in Uyghur.

The officer paid the informant 500 Turkish lira (US$27) for each piece of information he shared, he told Yasinjan.

It wasnt clear why Chinese police targeted Yasinjans shop. He had participated in Uyghur community protests against the Chinese government, but he wasnt otherwise politically active. Perhaps the fact that it was a barbershop was enough to gain their attention, he and his wife Hadiche guessed.

Here were Uyghur men, from all over the region, relaxing and socializing. Even if the scene presented no security risk to China, it was still of interest to local Xinjiang officials, who are tasked with collecting data on all individuals with hukou residency registrations tied to their jurisdictions, including former residents living overseas.

The top-level government gives these orders to tighten control over these communities, and at the lower level, these become some kind of quotas, said Human Rights Watchs Wang. This is how the Chinese bureaucracy works: one layer to the next, exerting pressure to fulfill quotas.

Undermining trust

Coercing Uyghurs to gather information on each other undermines trust and can dampen social and cultural gatherings, preventing Uyghur refugees from rebuilding their communities abroad.

Uyghurs can become suspicious of one another and such an erosion of trust takes a toll on the community and frays its social fabric, Natalie Hall, non-resident fellow at the Oxus Society for Central Asian Affairs, wrote in an email interview.

In a 2021 report, the Uyghur Human Rights Project and the Oxus Society documented 5,530 instances of warnings, threats, and arrest requests directed at Uyghurs abroad, in 22 different countries, over the course of 19 years.

In this March 25, 2021, photo, Uyghurs living in Turkey, display placards during a protest against the visit of China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi to Turkey. (AP Photo/Emrah Gurel)





At his barbershop, Yasinjan agonized over what to do with this informant. Should he report him to the Turkish police? Consulting with his other Uyghur customers, Yasinjan let the man go  after extracting a promise that he would never spy for the Chinese again.

The promise did nothing to assuage Yasinjans anxiety, however. His barbershop was still a target for the Chinese police.

His father-in-law, Osman Memet, was still in prison. He had few protections. Turkish law heavily penalizes espionage, but Yasinjans barbershop contained no state secrets. And the Turkish government treads carefully around China, given its increasing investments in the region.

Strained political ties

Still, Chinas heavy-handed approach to Uyghurs in Turkey has strained the bilateral relationship, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu told journalists in December. They have extradition requests for people who are our citizens, who live in Turkey year-round, and we dont grant any of them, Cavusoglu said.

Short of refusing extradition requests, however, the Turkish government does little to protect its ethnic Uyghur citizens from the Chinese state.

Abdukerim, a Turkish citizen and former resident of Xinjiangs Qarghiliq, said police in his hometown have been threatening him over the phone ever since he moved to Turkey in 2013. He shared some of the WeChat voice messages with RFA.

We know what kind of business you are busy with there, the officer said. However important your business is, it cannot be more important than your mother.

Heaven is at the foot of the mother, the officer went on, quoting a famous hadith, or saying of the Prophet Muhammad. Ask about your mothers well-being, when her situation now is not good.

When Abdukerims mother died in 2020, the police started threatening the rest of Abdukerims family back home.

Death is for everyone, young and old, the officer said. Your mother died, and now you may talk to your relatives and ask about their well-being while they are alive. We will make that arrangement for you.

Abdukerim says these threats, and his isolation from family, have caused him long-term psychological distress.

The penalties for going public with Chinese threats can be even more severe.

Uyghur resident in Turkey Yusupjan Emet told Al Jazeera in 2019 that Chinese agents had coerced him into informing on Turkish Uyghurs by arresting and torturing his mother. They threatened to keep her in custody unless he cooperated.

I reported on everything people did  what they ate, drank, what they did in private in their homes, whether it was friends or relatives, I shared it all, he said.

In 2020, Yusupjan was shot twice in the back in Istanbuls Avcilar District. Two suspects apprehended by Turkish police insisted they had shot him due to personal hatred. The case is still under investigation.

The choices for overseas Uyghurs facing Chinese police intimidation are stark, particularly in countries like Turkey where their status can be precarious. They can seek help from under-resourced authorities who may not understand their plight, or wish to anger China.

They can go to the media, and risk exposing themselves. They can cooperate, breaking the law and undermining their new communities in order to maintain their ties to their home region. Or they can cut off all connections with family.

I do know a lot of people decided to not contact their families back home for a while, said Wang, of Human Rights Watch, with the hope that that pressure to spy is going to lessen over time, when the officials responsible for filling these quotas forget about these people.

Translated by Nadir and edited by Malcolm Foster.
Nguyen So Lo sent books on how to improve Vietnams politics and economics to senior Communist Party officials.

Nguyen Son Lo of the SENA Institute of Technology Research and Development and some of his publications.

Vietnams Ministry of Public Security has ordered the detention of the former director of the Southeast and North Asia Institute of Technology Research and Development following six months of house arrest.

According to a post on its website on Feb. 2, the ministrys Security Investigation Agency arrested Nguyen Son Lo because he showed signs of continuing to commit crimes.

The ministry launched an investigation in July 2022, under the controversial Article 331 of Vietnams Penal Code for "abusing freedom and democracy infringe upon the interests of the state, the legitimate rights and interests of organizations and individuals."

Human rights groups in Vietnam and around the world say 331 is used to silence and arbitrarily detain political activists.

The ministry said it had issued an arrest warrant for the accused for temporary detention and a search warrant for the defendant's residence and workplace, without saying what crimes Lo allegedly continued to commit.

The ministry has never given specifics on why Lo was being investigated, saying last July the Investigation Security Agency was focusing on investigating, collecting documents, and consolidating evidence on the criminal acts of the accused and related individuals  according to the provisions of law."

Lo founded the think-tank, known as SENA, and wrote many books intended to offer advice to Vietnams leaders, with recommendations on politics, economy and culture.

Los close friend Nguyen Khac Mai, director of the Hanoi-based Minh Triet Cultural Research Center, told RFA last year the Communist Party advised him not to send his books to provincial party secretaries or National Assembly deputies but send them internally to groups such as the Secretariat and the Politburo of the partys Central Committee.

On July 4, 2022, the Vietnam Union of Science and Technology Associations said it had decided to suspend the operations of the institute and take steps to abolish it, saying its establishment and operations violated regulations.

Translated by RFA Vietnamese. Edited by Mike Firn.
When the Taliban returned to power in 2021 in a lightning military insurrection that toppled Afghanistans internationally recognized government, the country immediately fell into diplomatic isolation.



Two of Kabuls neighbors to the north, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan, chose a different route, putting the hard-line groups fractious history with the former Soviet Central Asian republics aside and prioritizing engagement over criticism and pressure.



But a giant canal project in Afghanistan now taking shape that the Taliban is pursuing at a rapid pace is giving the two water-stressed countries doubts about whether strategic patience with the Islamic fundamentalist group will yield rewards.



If you look at other projects that have involved Afghanistan and Central Asia somehow, there has often been a win-win element, Jennifer Brick Murtazashvili, founding director of the Center for Governance and Markets at the University of Pittsburgh, told RFE/RL.



But the Qosh Tepa Irrigation Canal, which will divert large volumes of water from the dwindling transboundary Amu Darya River, is a very different case.



This is very much zero sum, because water is a finite good and there dont seem to be any benefits for Afghanistans neighbors here, said Murtazashvili, adding that she expects the Central Asian countries to pursue a lot of quiet diplomacy on the project that will add to the pressures faced by outsized agricultural sectors already battling climate change and historical mismanagement.

But the Taliban will be probing to see how far it can go, Murtazashvili said, something she suggested its downstream neighbors will have to get used to.



If the first Taliban [regime that ruled most of Afghanistan from 1996 to 2001] was weighed down by insurgency and in some ways never really behaved like a state, Taliban 2.0 seems to really like the idea of projecting state power, Murtazashvili said.



Old Project With New Momentum



The stated dimensions of the irrigation canal that workers started digging last spring are enough to understand why the downstream countries have concerns.



With a length of 285 kilometers and a width of some 100 meters, experts believe it could draw a significant portion of the Amu Daryas flow while irrigating 550,000 hectares of land.



An Afghan civil servant with knowledge of the project told RFE/RLs Uzbek Service that work on the second of three stages of the project that began in the spring of 2022 is expected to begin in the coming months, with more than 100 kilometers already dug and visible from space.



The plan to irrigate land in northern Afghanistan is not new.



Farid Azim, an official at the National Development Company overseeing its construction, pointed out last year that Afghanistans first president, Mohammad Daud Khan, had a similar vision in the 1970s.

The project was most recently pursued by the U.S.-backed administration of President Ashraf Ghani -- which the Taliban overthrew less than two years ago.



A press release issued by the United States Agency for International Development from 2018 marking the launch of a Washington-funded feasibility study for Qosh Tepa described a 200 kilometer-long canal serving a cultivated catchment area of 500,000 hectares.



Developing Afghanistans agriculture sector provides great potential for employment and economic growth, then-U.S. Ambassador John R. Bass said in the release.



But the project was not a pressing concern for neighbors, primarily because political infighting and chronic instability in northern Afghanistan had made it impractical.



Bismellah Alizada, a researcher at Londons School of Oriental and African Studies, told RFE/RL that Rashid Dostum, who was the Afghan first vice president from 2014 to 2020, was among the influential politicians with concerns about the project.



One of those concerns was that it would be used to benefit and resettle members of the politically dominant Pashtun group to which President Ashraf Ghani belonged, Alizada said.



Dostum -- an ethnic Uzbek warlord -- long enjoyed strong ties to the regime in Uzbekistan and was even reported to have fled there when the Taliban captured Mazar-e Sharif, overwhelming forces jointly under his command before the group advanced on Kabul.

Members of Dostums exiled Junbish-e Milli party have reiterated these concerns more recently, but the reality is that the Taliban has no opponents capable of preventing it from forging ahead with giant public works projects, Alizada said.



More obvious obstacles are technical capacity and cash, with billions of dollars in funds belonging to Afghanistans central bank frozen after the Taliban takeover. That would make it hard for the cash-strapped Taliban to finance a project whose first phase cost nearly $100 million, according to reports.



But Graeme Smith, a senior consultant for the International Crisis Groups Asia Program, said the Taliban has a strong political will to finish off projects begun by the former government with Qosh Tepa the biggest that the group has revived so far.



With their very limited resources, the Taliban have prioritized [Qosh Tepa], said Smith, expressing skepticism that the Islamic fundamentalist group would pay attention to its neighbors concerns.



The Taliban is a nationalist movement intensely focused on their domestic constituencies, Smith said.



I think its fair to assume they will continue governing with a strong focus on issues inside the country and less regard for concerns outside, he told RFE/RL.



Games Of Leverage



Taciturn Turkmenistan has so far said nothing about the canal project.



But a Turkmenistan-based hydrologist speaking in March to RFE/RLs Turkmen Service on condition of anonymity called the project not a problem, but a disaster.



RFE/RL correspondents in the closed authoritarian country reported this year about severe water shortages in Turkmenistans Soviet-built Karakum Canal, which is four times the length of the one the Taliban is seeking to complete.



The World Resources Institute in 2019 ranked Turkmenistan as one of 17 countries in the world with extremely high water stress. Uzbekistan and Afghanistan were placed in the next highest category. Central Asia as a whole depends on rivers that rise in mountains, where many glacier stocks are being depleted by climate change.



Tashkent, whose own Moscow-imposed, cotton-growing legacy is one of the chief causes of the Amu Daryas demise, has been more proactive on Qosh Tepa.

According to the Talibans deputy prime minister for economic affairs, Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, the topic was among those broached by Uzbek presidential envoy and former Foreign Minister Abdulaziz Komilov when he was in Kabul last month for talks on economic cooperation.



Komilov was cited by Baradars office as saying that Uzbekistan was ready to work with the Islamic emirate (the Taliban-ruled Afghanistan) through technical teams in order to maximize the benefits of the Qosh Tepa canal project.



Uzbekistan provided no comment to that effect in its release on the talks, but President Shavkat Mirziyoev -- in a national address in December -- flagged Qosh Tepa as a concern as he touched on the problem of desertification.

At the moment, we consider it necessary to conduct practical talks on the construction of a new canal in the Amu Darya basin with the interim government of neighboring Afghanistan and the international community based on international standards and taking into account the interests of all countries in the region, he said.



We believe that this approach will be supported by our neighbors.



Mirziyoevs preference for dialogue over threats on transboundary water use has been welcomed by the neighborhood since predecessor Islam Karimov passed away in 2016.



This appears to have worked with upstream Kyrgyzstan, where successful border negotiations saw Uzbekistan granted de facto control of a strategic reservoir located inside Kyrgyz territory, albeit not without a rash of political discontent in Kyrgyzstan.

And although authoritarian Karimov virulently opposed the construction of giant hydroelectric dams in Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, Mirziyoev has given both his blessing, with Tashkent even attaching itself to Kyrgyzstans Kambar-Ata-1 project as a partner -- a move that will give it a hand in upstream management.



Qosh Tepa, however, is becoming a source of public anxiety in Uzbekistan.



With the volume of the Amu Darya water [already] decreasing, Afghans will take a quarter of its water through this canal, complained Uzbek academic and outspoken government critic Khidirnazar Allakulov in an interview with RFE/RLs Uzbek Service.



Instead of solving the problem, the Uzbek government takes the Taliban to Samarkand, dressing them and presenting them with gifts. The government bows to Afghanistan.. Not only the current generation, but also future [Uzbek] generations can be endangered by the water problem, Allakulov said.



Regular exchanges between the Turkmen and Uzbek governments and the Taliban predated the fall of the Ghani government, and Turkmenistan was among the first countries in the world to accept a Taliban-appointed ambassador.

But in line with the international community as a whole, neither has recognized the new regime in Kabul.



This only complicates what Alizada calls the legal lacuna between Afghanistan and its former communist neighbors, since Kabul had not previously signed treaties with them on transboundary management.



And while Afghanistan is keen for more trade opportunities and relies on its northern neighbors for supplies of electricity for several provinces, there are other areas of these bilateral relations where the Taliban feels it has real leverage, Alizada argued.



For the Central Asian countries, I think the number one concern is hard security, especially with the regions history with transnational extremist groups. The Taliban will continue to use assurances on security in negotiations with these countries going forward.
MINSK -- A Belarusian businessman has been sentenced to five years in prison for "insulting" disputed ruler Alyaksandr Lukashenka while commenting on a deadly police shoot-out at a Minsk apartment that left a KGB officer and an IT worker dead in September 2021.

The Minsk-based Vyasna (Spring) human rights center said on February 6 that the Minsk City Court sentenced Hleb Hladkouski five days earlier after finding him guilty of insulting Lukashenka, inciting social hatred, calling for sanctions against Belarus, and obstructing journalistic activities.

Hladkouski was arrested on September 30, 2021, after he posted a comment regarding the police shooting in Minsk several days earlier.

Little is known about the shooting that resulted in the deaths of Andrey Zeltsar, who worked for U.S.-based IT company EPAM, and KGB officer Dzmitry Fedasyuk.

Authorities claimed at the time that an especially dangerous criminal had opened fire on security officers after they showed up at his apartment looking for individuals involved in terrorist activities.

Lukashenka has issued thinly veiled threats to people who posted comments on social media praising Zeltsar and criticizing Fedasyuk, saying, "We have all their accounts, and we can see who is who."

Multiple individuals have received prison terms in recent months on charges related to comments about the incident.

Belarus witnessed unprecedented anti-government protests after a presidential election in August 2020 in which Lukashenka claimed victory while rights activists and opposition politicians said the poll was rigged.

Thousands were detained in the subsequent protests and there have been credible reports of torture and ill-treatment of detainees by security forces. Several people have died during the crackdown.

Lukashenka, 68, has leaned heavily on Russian support amid Western sanctions while punishing the opposition and arresting many of its leaders or forcing them abroad.

The United States, the European Union, and several other countries have refused to recognize Lukashenka's self-declared victory in the 2020 vote.
TBILISI -- A court in Tbilisi has rejected an appeal to release former Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili from prison on health grounds, Saakashvili's legal team said.

Judge Giorgi Arevadze said the arguments presented during 15 hearings did not satisfy the request to suspend the sentence of the imprisoned ex-president and immediately announced his decision on February 6 after hearing closing arguments.

The motion to postpone or release the sentence due to Mikheil Saakashvili's illness should not be granted," Arevadze said.

In a statement shared by Saakashvili's team, the ex-president slammed the ruling as a "death sentence" handed down by his political opponents.

"The Georgian court hearing turned out to be a total joke," Saakashvili said. "The government's experts did not even bother to see me.... Now I've basically got a death sentence.

Saakashvili, who was Georgias president from 2004 to 2013, is serving a six-year sentence for abuse of power, a charge that he and his supporters say was politically motivated.

Family members and his lawyers have warned for months that Saakashvilis health condition has been deteriorating, even as he receives treatment in a private clinic in Tbilisi.

His medical team says his health has worsened significantly since he went to prison in October 2021 and staged repeated hunger strikes to protest his incarceration.

Saakashvili's legal team has also asserted that he was "poisoned" with heavy metals while in custody.

During a hearing last week, he asked for the opportunity for adequate treatment as he asked to have his sentence suspended so he can be transferred abroad for more intensive care.

But Georgian officials have raised doubts about how critical his health situation is.

Saakashvili is currently on trial on separate charges of violently dispersing an anti-government rally in November 2007 and illegal border crossing.

With reporting by Reuters
Welcome back to The Farda Briefing, an RFE/RL newsletter that tracks the key issues in Iran and explains why they matter. To subscribe, click here. www.rferl.org/a/31793259.html



I'm RFE/RL correspondent Golnaz Esfandiari. Here's what I've been following during the past week and what I'm watching for in the days ahead.

The Big Issue

Iran appears to be making headway toward renewing official ties with Saudi Arabia and Persian Gulf states that in some cases have been publicly avoiding Tehran for decades.

The foreign ministers of Iran and Saudi Arabia held talks in Beijing on April 6 in a significant step toward restoring diplomatic relations, which were cut in 2016 after protesters attacked Saudi diplomatic missions in Iran following Riyadhs execution of prominent Saudi Shi'ite cleric Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr.

Iran also accepted an invitation from Saudi King Salman for President Ebrahim Raisi to visit Riyadh, while Tehran said it will send a similar invitation to the Saudi king. Meanwhile, a Saudi delegation traveled to Iran on April 9 to discuss the reopening of the embassy in Tehran and a consulate in Mashhad. The trip came as Iranian media reported on April 8 that a street sign near the Saudi consulate in Mashhad provocatively named after Sheikh al-Nimr had been quietly removed. An Iranian delegation also arrived in Saudi Arabia on April 12 to pave the way for the reopening of Iranian diplomatic missions there.

Iran is meanwhile taking steps to improve ties with other countries in the region, naming an ambassador to the United Arab Emirates (U.A.E.) and working to decrease tensions with Egypt and Bahrain.

Why It Matters: Iran and Saudi Arabia appear to be pursuing implementation of last months Chinese-brokered agreement, possibly clearing the way for Tehran to de-escalate tensions with other countries that followed Riyadhs lead on a rupture seven years ago.



What's Next: Tehran and Riyadh could move surprisingly swiftly toward normalization, but its no sure thing. Abdolrasool Divsallar, a visiting professor at the Catholic University of Milan (UCSC), told me that the political environment between the two regional rivals could encourage the start of military and security talks within months.

But Divsallar also warned that opponents at home and abroad could still undermine the agreement. Hard-liners in Iran may act as a spoiler rather than as a supporter of the deal, he said, adding that Israel could do the same.

The regional tensions between Israel and Iran, on one side, andbetween Iran, Saudi [Arabia] and the United States, on the other side, are two dynamics that make this process very fragile, he said.

Divsallar also suggested that any normalization between Iran and countries with less appetite for a quick restoration of ties, for instance Bahrain, could take longer.

They feel more secure under the current status quo rather than immediately normalizing their ties with the Islamic republic and losing their leverage, he said, adding, They may wait to see a major change of policies.

Stories You Might Have Missed

Irans civil aviation sector has for years been under Western sanctions that prevent it from purchasing new aircraft or spare parts for repairs. Now, Russia's oldest airline, Aeroflot, has sent one of its passenger planes to Iran for repairs for the first time ever. Aeroflot reportedly ran into obstacles at home stemming from Western sanctions over Russias ongoing, unprovoked invasion of Ukraine. The RBK media group cited an Aeroflot representative and sources close to the company on April 11 as saying that an Airbus A330-300 had been sent to Tehran on April 5 to be repaired by specialists from Iran's Mahan Air.

Iranian pensioners staged protests in more than a dozen cities across Iran, demanding higher pensions amid soaring prices. Protests were reported on April 9 in Tehran, Ahvaz, Mashhad, Isfahan, Arak, Qom, Shush, Tabriz, and several other cities where retirees complained of poor living conditions and chanted anti-government slogans. Labor protests in Iran have swelled as the economy deteriorates following years of mismanagement compounded by crippling U.S. sanctions.

What We're Watching

Prominent Iranian female religious scholar Sedigheh Vasmaghi has challenged Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei over the Islamic republics mandatory hijab law.

In a letter published online, Vasmaghi asked about the reasoning behind Irans strict model for womens dress and said the Koran does not specify the need for women to cover their hair in public.

There is no evidence to show that during the time of the Prophet Muhammad women were harassed and punished for not covering their hair or even their bodies, Vasmaghi, who has published several books on Islamic jurisprudence, wrote.

Why It Matters: Vasmaghis letter is significant for its timing -- just days after Khamenei asserted that the removal of the hijab in public was religiously banned. But it is also important because it comes from a religious woman who wears the veil while opposing the mandatory hijab, which is seemingly being defied by a growing number of women.

That's all from me for now. Don't forget to send me any questions, comments, or tips that you have.

Until next time,

Golnaz Esfandiari

If you enjoyed this briefing and don't want to miss the next edition, subscribe here. It will be sent to your inbox every Wednesday.
Ukrainian authorities said Russian shells blasted a residential building in the eastern city of Slovyansk, killing at least eight people and injuring more than 20, while British military intelligence said Ukrainian troops had been forced to pull back from some areas in and around Bakhmut as the Kremlins forces intensified their assault on the besieged and mostly ruined city.

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 Russians launched several strikes on residential areas of the city, destroyed high-rise buildings, and damaged a school, Pavlo Kyrylenko, the governor of the Donetsk region, said on April 14.

Kyrylenko later told Ukrainian television that "eight people died and 21 people were injured.

Kyrylenko initially put the death toll at five with 15 injured but said that "there is a possibility that seven people, including one child, are under the rubble."

Ukrainian police tweeted that among the dead was a 2-year-old child who died in an ambulance" after being pulled from the ruins.

President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said that "the evil state once again demonstrates its essence. Just killing people in broad daylight. Ruining, destroying all life."

Moscow routinely denies that it has targeted civilian areas despite widespread evidence of such attacks.

Earlier, the Ukrainian military said its forces had repelled 49 attacks by invading Russian forces over the past day in the east as intense fighting continued in and around 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.

"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 intelligence report said that Ukrainian troops had been forced to withdraw from some territory in Bakhmut, which Russian forces have struggled to capture over several months from determined Ukrainian defenders.

"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.

Battlefield reports could not immediately be verified.

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.

Ukraine will "test and use" any non-banned weapons to liberate its territory, including Russian-occupied Crimea, the head of its National Security and Defense Council said on April 14.

"Crimea is the territory of Ukraine, and we will test and use there any weapons not prohibited by international laws that will help liberate our territories," Oleksiy Danilov tweeted.

With reporting by AP and Reuters
ALMATY, Kazakhstan -- How does public land suddenly become private?

For years that question has vexed Kazakh citizens who have watched stretches of green belonging to state institutions get gobbled up to make way for new housing, offices, and shopping malls.

The answer, they say, lies in elite connections, and for much of Kazakhstans more than 30 years of independence there was arguably no businessman better connected than Timur Kulibaev, the son-in-law of the countrys first president, Nursultan Nazarbaev.

Kulibaev co-owns the countrys largest bank, Halyk, with his wife -- Nazarbaevs second daughter, Dinara Kulibaeva -- and was for more than a decade chairman of the Atameken National Chamber of Entrepreneurs. The pair have a combined wealth of just under $8 billion, according to Forbes Kazakhstan.

The same website ranks Kulibaev as Kazakhstans second-richest businessman behind metals king Vladimir Kim, an oligarch who is viewed as tightly linked to Nazarbaev.

But there was a reconfiguration of the elite after the unprecedented bloody unrest that rocked Kazakhstan in January 2022 and caused at least 238 deaths.

Nazarbaev shed his remaining government positions and a constitutionally enshrined role as Leader of the Nation, stressing that all powers now lay with the man that he handpicked as president in 2019, Qasym-Zhomart Toqaev.

The strongmans relatives followed suit, losing government positions and roles in charge of state corporations. Kulibaev stepped down from his role at Atameken.

But unlike other family members, he has remained in view, attending a business forum where Toqaev spoke in January and attending the new presidents inauguration, where Nazarbaev was also present, following a snap presidential election in November.

And, as a new investigation by RFE/RL shows, Kulibaev still has plans for major developments on some of the most desirable land in Kazakhstans largest city, Almaty. Property that was privatized in circumstances still not fully known.

Whether or not the magnate can keep the land amid the shifting political tides in Kazakhstan will be interesting to see.

Military Hospital To Hotel?

When protesters descended on Almaty by the thousands in early January last year their demand for Nazarbaevs exit from politics, Shal ket (Old Man Out), was loud and clear.

Things turned violent on January 5, as the citys presidential residence became the center of a bloody battle between protesters and government troops.

Lying across the street from the site of the residence that was badly burned and later demolished by authorities is a 3.8-hectare plot of land that has been derelict since 2014.

Before then it was the site of a building used as a military hospital by the Defense Ministry. The decision to raze the hospital and rebuild it on the outskirts of Almaty in 2010 generated opposition from retired military veterans while raising suspicions of insider deals.

Certain people and structures have had their eyes on this land for some time. Only buildings of public importance should be on the central square of Almaty, fumed Seitqazy Mataev, a former presidential press secretary and influential media owner.

Mataev wasnt wrong about that.

RFE/RLs Kazakh Service discovered that the company that built the new hospital at a reported cost of $23 million -- and the company that owns the plot across the street from the presidential residence -- are one and the same, Dostyk Stroi (Friendship Construction).

At the time, the centrally located plot was reported to be worth nearly twice as much as the hospital cost to rebuild. The value of the land has grown considerably since then.

Dostyk Stroi is owned by two companies, Joint Technologies and Kipros, both of which list Kulibaev as their ultimate beneficiary.

But how was the land privatized?

During the period in which Kulibaevs company acquired the land, Almatys City Hall was headed by Akhmetzhan Esimov, while the defense minister was Adilbek Zhaqsybekov.

Among Nazarbaevs numerous allies, these two were regarded as particularly loyal to the first family.

Esimov is sometimes cited by media as a blood relative of Nazarbaev.

Responding to a request by RFE/RL, the Defense Ministry said Esimovs municipal government initially took control of the land before it was privatized.

The transfer of the land was signed by then-Prime Minister Serik Akhmetov on November 8, 2013.

Data on the governments land registry site shows that the plot where the military hospital once stood is slated for a hotel, although the timeline for construction remains unclear and the land has stood idle for nearly a decade.

'High Quality Plots' Where Space Is Limited

On its website, developer Atlas Development describes Deniz Park, an office and residential complex currently under construction, as "the choice of those who seek to live and work in high quality spaces."

Deniz Park will include a spacious lobby, terraces with lush greenery, and areas for informal meetings. The picturesque territory of the complex will organically and harmoniously fit it into the surrounding landscape.

But the territory where Deniz Park is being built used to belong to the state-owned Al-Farabi Kazakh National University.

Two years ago it became known that two companies owned by Kulibaev, Omirex and Atlas Development, were beneficiaries of a deal to lease 0.8 hectares of the universitys land for the office and residential development that is close to the high-end Esentai Mall and the Ritz Carlton hotel.

RFE/RL has since learned that an adjacent plot of 1.8 hectares is completely owned by the Kulibaev-controlled company, Kipros.

This plot was first privatized in 2007 when Imangali Tasmagambetov was the mayor of Almaty. Al-Farabi Kazakh National University told RFE/RL last year that the deal was agreed to by City Hall, the Education Ministry, and a company called Esentai Development.

The day before the agreement was signed, Zhanseit Tuymebaev was appointed education minister in place of Birganym Aitimova. In a curious twist of fate, Tuymebaev is now the rector of the university.

RFE/RL was unable to find Esentai Development in a government database of registered companies. But in the past, a company with the same name was associated with Serzhan Zhumashov, who shares ownership of Esentai Mall with Qairat Boranbaev, a Nazarbaev in-law who is currently jailed on embezzlement charges.

It is not known when and by what means the land formerly owned by the university fell under the ownership of Kulibaevs company.

It is also unclear how concerned authorities are about checking the legality of the privatization.

In October, the state Committee for the Management of Land Resources in Almaty told RFE/RL that it would begin an investigation of the land transfer, starting with a visit to City Hall.

Two months later, an official from the committee told RFE/RL that investigative activities have not yet begun.

City Hall told RFE/RL in January 2023 that the amount of land transferred from the university was initially larger, some 6.6 hectares. The majority of the land was returned to the university, the city said, leaving only the 1.8-hectare plot privatized.

The fate of the 0.8 hectares of land leased to Atlas Development and Omirex, on the other hand, is in the balance. In August 2022, the Committee for the Management of Land Resources in Almaty challenged the legality of the arrangement in court.

In October, the court returned the territory to the university. Atlas Development is appealing that decision.

Previous investigations by RFE/RL have found that members of the Nazarbaev family own dozens of lavish properties on massive tracts of land in Almaty and other parts of the country.

Naturally, they own plenty of eye-popping mansions in foreign jurisdictions, too, notably palatial homes in Switzerland and Germany.

One member of the Nazarbaev family who seems to have been forced to give up his land assets is Bolat Nazarbaev, the former presidents brother.

On February 2, the ruling Amanat party said that more than 300,000 hectares of land owned by Bolat Nazarbaev in the southern Zhambyl region and the oil-rich western Mangystau region had been confiscated by the government due to illegalities in the deals, with land owned by his companies in Almaty also under investigation.

The Amanat party was formerly called Nur Otan and was set up by Nursultan Nazarbaev. It is currently preparing for the March 19 parliamentary elections.

Kulibaev and his wife, in the meantime, are preparing to sell a minority stake in Halyk Bank, according to some media reports.

Eurasianet wrote that the couples apparent consideration of a sale sparked chatter about whether this is a response to Astanas efforts to curb the sway that Nazarbaevs relatives have over Kazakhstans economy since the January 2022 uprising was crushed.

The Kulibaevs had -- via their holding company ALMEX -- offered to sell Halyk shares in 2019, the year Toqaev became president.

At the time, ALMEX cited multiple appeals by the international investment community as justification for the decision.

Written in English by Chris Rickleton based on reporting by Manas Qaiyrtaiuly
Allies of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, including current and former officials, could soon face fresh U.S. sanctions for alleged corruption, sources told RFE/RL's Hungarian Service, a possible further sign of worsening ties between Washington and Budapest.

U.S. officials familiar with the draft bill but who did not want to speak on the record because of the sensitivity of the matter, told RFE/RL that the draft legislation, if passed by Congress, would allow the Secretary of State to blacklist targeted individuals.

The sources did not specify which individuals could be sanctioned if the measures are approved. The United States has sanctioned individuals close to Orban before. In 2014, Washington banned several Hungarians from entering the United States.

"The move is long overdue. Though it is not the first time it is happening, the U.S. should have played a much rougher game when it comes to corruption [in Hungary] and this is a good move. It is probably the only language that the Orban government understands," Dalibor Rohac, a senior research fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, told RFE/RL.

The report by RFE/RL comes days after Washington imposed sanctions on three officials -- two Russians and a Hungarian -- from the Russian-controlled International Investment Bank (IIB), which is headquartered in Budapest.

In announcing the move on April 12, Washington said Budapest had ignored U.S. concerns raised over the opaque Kremlin platform.

Relations between Washington and Budapest, a member of both NATO and the European Union, are already strained due to Orbans strengthening of ties with Russia and China and what Brussels sees as backsliding on democracy and freedoms.

On April 13, Orbans government announced it would quit the IIB, which claims to fund development projects in Eastern Europe.

Russia is the IIBs largest shareholder, while Hungary was its second largest. Senior Hungarian officials had held major roles in the institution, including holding board seats. The bank moved its headquarters to Budapest in 2019.

Other Eastern European countries cut ties with the IIB after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

On April 14, Orban said Hungary had abandoned the institution because U.S. sanctions had ruined it, adding that Hungary would comply with sanctions on Russia but continue to speak out against them.

The United States had "not given up on its plan to squeeze everyone into a war alliance," a step Hungary -- which is not supplying weapons to Ukraine -- would resist, Orban said.

On April 13, U.S. Ambassador to Hungary David Pressman said the United States had raised concerns about the presence of the bank but that, unlike other NATO allies, the Hungarian government dismissed the concerns.

"We have concerns about the continued eagerness of Hungarian leaders to expand and deepen ties with the Russian Federation despite Russias ongoing brutal aggression against Ukraine and threat to transatlantic security," Pressman said.

Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto visited Moscow earlier this week for talks on gas and oil supplies. He also discussed an ongoing project by the Russian atomic power agency, Rosatom, to expand a nuclear plant in Hungary.

With reporting by Reuters
MOSCOW -- A court in Moscow has sentenced in absentia a popular food blogger and magazine founder over her online posts about Russia's ongoing unprovoked invasion of Ukraine.

The Basmanny district court sentenced the Ukrainian-born Nika Belotserkovskaya on February 6 after finding her guilty of distributing "false information" about Russia's armed forces.

Belotserkovskaya, who founded the St. Petersburg magazine and website Sobaka, currently lives in France.

Russia's Investigative Committee in March 2022 opened a criminal case against Belotserkovskaya, who blogs under the name Belonika, for allegedly spreading false news about the Russian Army on her Instagram account, which now has 1.3 million subscribers.

She was accused of publishing several Instagram posts containing "deliberately false information about the armed forces of the Russian Federation's destruction of cities and civilians in Ukraine, including children, during a special military operation." Some of the posts cited the coverage of the war by Western news agencies and media outlets.

In May last year, Russian authorities added her to the nation's wanted list and issued an arrest warrant for her. Belotserkovskaya then wrote on the Internet that it meant she is "a decent person."

That was followed up in in June, with the impounding of all of her property in Russia.

Russia's media regulator, Roskomnadzor, has strictly restricted access to information about the war in Ukraine launched by Russia in late February last year and directed media to describe events in Ukraine as a special military operation and not a war or an invasion.

Following the opening of the criminal case against her in March, Belotserkovskaya transferred ownership of Sobaka to employees.
KHERSON, Ukraine -- After three years in pretrial detention in Kherson, Pavlo, a man who is accused of rape, was suddenly free one day last November: The Russians overseeing the jail where he was held ran away, he said, leaving the cell keys behind.

As the Russian forces that had occupied the large southern city since March withdrew, in a major setback for Moscow in its war to subjugate Ukraine, the Russians administering the facility opted to release the hundreds of detainees being held there.

The jail employee who came to open the door of Pavlos cell told the inmates, Go wherever you want, he said.

After over eight months of frequent threats, violence, and abuse under Russian supervision, most of them did.

We all left, Pavlo said, adding that most of them went home, in part because thats where their identification documents were.

When Kyiv-loyal prison staff returned to the detention center shortly after Ukraine regained control of Kherson on November 11, just 11 inmates remained. Before the invasion, there had been 350.

Of those who left, some have been recaptured and some have turned themselves in to Ukrainian authorities. But with prosecutors cases against them stymied by the war and the continued Russian occupation of swaths of the south, some of those prisoners have been released again.

Schemes, the investigative unit of RFE/RLs Ukrainian Service, spoke with several of these prisoners a week after their surprise release.

Their stories illustrate both the struggle to reimpose rule of law in Kherson, whose population has shrunk by 80 percent to some 60,000 people , and the harsh living conditions in a prison under Russian occupation.

As of early February, 76 inmates from the Kherson detention center remained at large, including individuals facing charges of murder and robbery, according to a high-ranking source at the facility who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to release such information publicly.

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.

Pavlos time as a fugitive was brief. Ukrainian police soon returned him and a fellow prisoner, Yuriy, who faces charges of intent to commit murder and robbery, when they failed to show their passports at a checkpoint.

Everyone was quickly caught and brought back, Pavlo said.



Within four days of the Russian troops withdrawal, Ukrainian law enforcement returned 166 released inmates to the detention center, according to the then-chief of the National Police, Ihor Klymenko.

Some surrendered at roadblocks, Kherson regional prosecutor Pavlo Mashkovskiy claimed. One such prisoner, who did not want to be filmed, told Schemes that he wanted to avoid fresh charges since he already was nearing the end of his sentence.

But even back in custody, Pavlo and Yuriys legal statuses remained in limbo. Their cases have been unable to proceed because the courthouse that contains the related documents is in Nova Kakhovka, a nearby Dnieper River port city that remains under Russian control.

Without a court authorization for the two mens continued detention, prison officials simply set Pavlo and Yuriy free, pending court rulings on their cases. They left the jail on November 22.

Both men maintain they are innocent. They asked to be identified only by their first names to protect their privacy.



Pavlo claimed that law enforcement cautioned the pair upon their release to avoid looting, not to roam around, and to find an opportunity to spend this time productively since, once something works out with the courts, they would be back in jail.

The two men did not receive even a single hryvnya to tide them over, Yuriy alleged, though Ukrainian law stipulates financial assistance.

But Pavlo does not fear the future.

We are all peasants. We are from a village. We will find and help old people, and there will be something to eat," he said.

Senior Ukrainian officials did not order the evacuation of prison and jail administrators or detainees before Russian forces took over Kherson on March 1, 2022. In an interview with German state broadcaster DW, Deputy Justice Minister Olena Vysotska attributed that decision to difficulties coordinating with other government bodies and a lack of safe locations for the evacuees.

Consequently, during Russias more than eight-month occupation of Kherson, the detention centers population swelled from 350 to 435 inmates, its maximum capacity, according to the high-ranking source at the facility.

A separate facility that the Russian occupiers used as a detention center came to be known as a torture chamber.

Former captives there have described brutal beatings and the use of stun guns during interrogations. One elderly local woman claimed that she and others had heard screams and, at night, bursts of machine-gun fire when walking past the detention center.



The Kherson regional prosecutors office is investigating the alleged death of a prisoner at the center where Pavlo, Yuriy, and others were held during the Russian occupation. The inmates name has not been released.

Both Pavlo and another former inmate mentioned a fatal shooting.

We heard that they shot one person, said Pavlo. Everyone heard it, he added.

One guy was shot, I know for sure, the other former inmate, a woman, told Schemes.

"The guys, I know, were beaten very badly, she said, adding that she had heard this from multiple inmates and kitchen staff in the cafeteria at the facility.

The woman, who was convicted of a drug-related offense and had been transferred to the Kherson pretrial detention center from a prison by the Russians, is due for release in 2025 and says her sentence should be shortened because of the hardships she endured under the Russian administration of the detention facility. She would not give her name for fear of repercussions.

Russian jail guards severely humiliated the Ukrainian detainees for whom they were responsible, Pavlo said. Sometimes the guards threatened the prisoners with hand grenades or fired their guns at the prison itself, he claimed.

The Russian guards reportedly brooked no discussion or questioning.

"If an officer came in, everyone had to turn to the window, hands behind their backs, the female former prisoner said. No moving, no turning. Some were forced to kneel."

Female inmates were allowed just a few minutes once every two weeks to call their families, she said, but only if you worked hard and earned it.

As a result, she continued, prisoners repeatedly painted or whitewashed the same thing just to do something and be able to call home. She said that she herself often worked until 11 p.m. for permission to phone her 7-year-old child.

Communications with male inmates were no better.

The Russian [guard] used to come in, open the door with his foot, and was, like, Everybody get up! or, Lie down with your face to the floor! recounted Yuriy. In short, it was better under Ukraine.

Prison employees who were loyal to Kyiv immediately left after the occupation began, the woman said. Those who remained simply changed their shoes -- collaborated -- she claimed.

They felt their power, began to show their arrogance, she continued. How? Mostly by abusing the people here.

To date, five prison employees have been detained on suspicion of treason, sources within the Kherson Regional Prosecutors Office told Schemes.

The regional prosecutor, Mashkovskiy, stated that his office is searching for documents and evidence about other potential cases of collaboration at the detention center.

For now, the facility is no longer used. On December 2, 2022, Russian gunfire damaged some of its buildings. The remaining inmates were transferred to other Ukrainian jails.

Written by Elizabeth Owen based on reporting by Serhiy Andrushko of Schemes.
BELGRADE -- Bosnian Serb leader Milorad Dodik -- who has been sanctioned by the United States and Britain over alleged destabilization efforts and corruption -- has threatened that he could push for the independence of the Serbian entity of Bosnia-Herzegovina over a dispute involving a controversial property law.

We are considering in the most serious terms to make a decision on independence and secede Republika Srpska [from Bosnia] unless the property issue is solved," Dodik said on April 14 while on a visit to Belgrade to meet Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic.

Republika Srpska has tried multiple times to implement a property law that aims to transfer Bosnian state property to Republika Srpska, despite it being deemed unconstitutional.

Republika Srpska authorities said they were implementing the law in late February. However, it represents a direct challenge to previous decisions by the high representative to Bosnia, Christian Schmidt, to repeal the decree creating the law and to suspend it pending a final decision by Bosnias Constitutional Court.

Republika Srpska says the law aims to ensure that properties used by the authorities of the entity, including local governments, public companies, public institutions, and other departments founded by Republika Srpska belong to them.

The countrys Constitutional Court has stated that the national parliament must adopt a property law that would be valid across Bosnia and not one of the countrys two entities.

The 1995 Dayton Agreement ended the Bosnian civil war and established an administrative system under which Bosnia remains partitioned between the Serbian entity -- Republika Srpska -- and the Bosniak-Croat federation, connected by a weak central government.

Dodik has long threatened to seek Republika Srpska's independence from the rest of Bosnia. He rejects the administrative arrangement and the authority of the Office of the High Representative, the international community's overseer of civil and other aspects of the Dayton Agreement.

With reporting by Reuters
The leader of Russia's Republic of Tyva in Siberia, Vladislav Khovalyg, has sent his representatives to parts of Ukraine's Russia-occupied Donetsk region after a group of Tyvan men mobilized to fight with the Russian armed forces invading Ukraine complained of ill treatment.

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.

In a video posted on Telegram on February 6, the men said they had been mobilized in September and gone through poor military training in the Novosibirsk region, where they were told that they will serving in a patrolling unit.

According to the men, they were transferred to the Donetsk region in late December, where they had not been officially registered with any Russian military unit, while some of them were ordered to fight against Ukrainian forces on the line of contact, which is not what a patrolling unit does.

The men also said Russian-backed separatists from the Donetsk region, as well as military police, came to them and beat them severely while saying that they now belong to them.

"In that case, we are not soldiers of the Russian Federation," the men said in the video.

Footage also showed two men in military uniform forcing a third man to kneel as they put the barrel of an assault rifle to his head. It is not clear who is in the footage and when the video was shot.

Khovalyg called the situation "a flagrant case that discredits the situation of mobilized men," adding that he already talked to the leader of Russia-backed separatists in Donetsk, Vitaliy Khotsenko, regarding the situation before sending his representatives to the Russia-controlled part of Donetsk.

Tyva's former leader, Sholban Kara-Ool, also issued a statement on January 6, saying he had canceled a business trip across Siberia and would urgently travel to Donetsk to personally look into the situation.

In recent years, soldiers in the Russian armed forces conscripted from Tyva complained about race-based bullying because of their ethnicity, as Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu's father was a Tyvan.

Tyvans (Tuvinians) are a Turkic-speaking ethnic group of some 308,000 people, mainly residing in the remote republic on the Russian-Mongolian border.
Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabic publicly apologized on February 6 for the appearance on the official government website of the phrase Republic of Kosovo, saying it was the result of an unforgivable translation error.

Serbia does not acknowledge the independence of its former province, and Brnabics government, along with populist President Aleksandar Vucic, has waged a campaign aimed at persuading more than 100 countries to withdraw their official recognition.

"I couldn't sleep last night, Brnabic told Serbias public broadcaster. I don't know what I'm doing. I can't kill myself over it. But I'm sorry that it's being used by the political opposition to score some political points.

Brnabic said there would be consequences for the Internet team that works on the government website. In the broadcast, she called it a "gross, unforgivable mistake by the translator."

Official Serbian documents describe Kosovo as part of Serbia.

Former Serbian Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic, who is in the opposition, shared a screenshot on January 5 of the original wording in English next to the Serbian-language version referring to KiM.

The English-language statement was subsequently amended to read Kosovo and Metohija, a term used by Belgrade that evokes the Serbian Orthodox Churchs historical presence the region.

The item in question relates to a February 2 special session of the Serbian National Assembly at which Vucic accused Kosovos leadership and its Western allies of seeking to avoid the obligation to form the Community of Serb Municipalities (ZSO) since Russias full-scale invasion of Ukraine began last year.

Pristina has failed to provide the legal groundwork for the formation of the ZSO as a conduit for dialogue with minority Serbs despite its inclusion in the so-called Brussels Agreement signed by Kosovo in 2013.

Belgrade and Pristina have been locked in mostly stagnant talks organized by EU officials for a decade to pursue a normalization of relations, a development that could allow Kosovo access to blocked multilateral institutions.

The past year has seen tensions rise at their shared border, including as a result of Kosovar Prime Minister Albin Kurtis imposition of a reciprocal license-plate requirement on vehicles in northern Kosovo owned by ethnic Serbs who oppose such registration as a de facto recognition of Kosovos independence.

Serbia has long refused to respect Kosovar vehicle registration and other documents.

Ethnic Serbs make up a majority in four northern Kosovar regions but are otherwise far outweighed by ethnic Albanians.
Activist Polat Shamshetov, who on January 31 was handed a prison term along with 21 other people for taking part in unprecedented anti-government protests in Uzbekistan's Autonomous Republic of Karakalpakstan last year, has died in custody.

Uzbekistan's Prosecutor-Generals Office said on February 6 that Shamshetov, 45, had died two days earlier of a "thromboembolism of the pulmonary artery and acute heart failure."

Self-exiled Karakalpak activists said over the weekend that Shamshetov might have been tortured to death in custody and demanded a thorough investigation of Shamshetov's death.

Shamshetov was the chief of Karakalpakstans Interior Ministrys detective unit before his arrest in early July last year. He was a son of the late first and only president of the Republic of Karakalpakstan, Dauletbai Shamshetov, who led the autonomous republic in 1991-1992 before Tashkent canceled the post.

Polat Shamshetov was among Karakalpak activists who were handed prison terms in Uzbekistan's southwestern city of Bukhara on January 31 for their roles in the protests in Karakalpakstan in July. He was found guilty of inciting mass unrest and taking part in them and handed a six-year prison term.

Lawyer and journalist Dauletmurat Tajimuratov received the longest prison term in the case -- 16 years, on a charge of plotting to seize power by disrupting the constitutional order, organizing mass unrest, embezzlement, and money laundering.

Four defendants, including another journalist, Lolagul Qallykhanova, were handed parole-like sentences and immediately released from custody.

Other defendants were sentenced to prison terms of between three and 8 1/2 years. It remains unclear how the defendants pleaded.

Uzbek authorities say 21 people died in Karakalpakstan during the protests, which were sparked by the announcement in early July last year of a planned change to the constitution that would have undermined the region's right to self-determination.

The violence in Nukus, the main city in Karakalpakstan, forced President Shavkat Mirziyoev to make a rare about-face and scrap the proposal.

Mirziyoev accused "foreign forces" of being behind the unrest, without further explanation, before backing away from the proposed changes.

The trial started in late November in Bukhara, around 600 kilometers from both Nukus and the capital, Tashkent.

Mirziyoev came to power in 2016 after the death of his autocratic predecessor, Islam Karimov.

Karakalpaks are a Central Asian Turkic-speaking people. Their region used to be an autonomous area within Kazakhstan before becoming autonomous within the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic in 1930 and then part of Uzbekistan in 1936.

Karakalpakstan is home to fewer than two million people, out of a nation of 35 million, but it covers more than one-third of Uzbekistan's territory.

The European Union has called for an independent investigation into the violence.

With reporting by RFE/RL's Uzbek Service
Welcome to Wider Europe, RFE/RL's newsletter focusing on the key issues concerning the European Union, NATO, and other institutions and their relationships with the Western Balkans and Europe's Eastern neighborhoods.

I'm RFE/RL Europe Editor Rikard Jozwiak, and this week I'm drilling down on two major issues: the debates over Belarus sanctions and Russian oil caps, and what they really have in common; and why Ukraine is being overly ambitious in its attempts to join the European Union in two years.

Brief #1: Russian Oil Caps, Sanctions On Belarus, And The Battle For The 'Global South'

What You Need To Know: Over the last week, EU ambassadors have grappled with three separate, but intertwined topics directly related to the war in Ukraine: a new sanctions package on Belarus, the possibility of setting two new price caps on Russian oil products, and a review of the already existing price cap on Russian crude oil that was agreed in December 2022.

While there is consensus among the 27 EU member states that all three are needed, views differ on both the content and the timeline.

All three issues also concern the EU's relationship with the so-called Global South, in this case meaning countries, especially in Asia and Africa, that tend to be economically poorer than European nations but are playing an increasingly important role in world politics due to their steady economic growth.

Within the context of the war in Ukraine, Brussels has been keen to secure the support of many of these southern nations when it comes to votes in the United Nations condemning Moscow.

But the EU is also extremely wary of Kremlin propaganda, which portrays the bloc's Russia sanctions as damaging for the world economy and for creating shortages of food and fuel globally.

Deep Background: Perhaps the easiest bit for EU officials and diplomats to agree on is the new price caps.

This is because they are in agreement with the Group of Seven (G7) leading advanced economies that the cap should be $100 for Russian petroleum products, such as diesel, and $45 for other cheaper products made from oil, such as liquid paraffin and industrial lubricants.

There was also a strong desire to agree on this by February 5 when the EU embargo on buying these types of Russian oil products enters into force.

With most shipping and insurance companies based in the EU and G7 countries, the caps are meant to reduce the revenue that Moscow gets from sales to non-EU/G7 countries, while ensuring vital supplies continue to flow to the Global South.

The same idea was behind the EU/G7 cap on Russian crude oil, set at $60 per barrel in early December 2022. While that cap has contributed to the Kremlin losing out on crucial cash to fund its invasion of Ukraine, the Baltic trio of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, as well as Poland, wanted an immediate review undertaken by the European Commission with the view to potentially lowering the cap to $40-50.

And they wanted this to happen before green lighting any agreement on the new caps. For most other EU countries, the United States, and the European Commission, the review can wait until March.

Drilling Down:

The European Commission analysis is that the price cap works: lower prices without the disruption of deliveries to third countries. The commission has also noted that China uses the cap to further negotiate the price down.

The Baltic trio, on the other hand, has pointed to the EU regulation, agreed in December 2022, that stipulates that the oil price cap "shall be reviewed, as of mid-January 2023 and every two months thereafter." The trio also notes that Brussels agreed that the cap should be at least 5 percent below the average market price for Russian oil.

With Russian oil currently selling around $50 per barrel, the Baltic countries are arguing that a $60 cap is an empty gesture, pointing to some estimates that show Russia still gets $600 million per day from the sale of various fossil fuels.

Other EU member states, however, shoot back that the G7 isn't bound by the EU regulation and that a review first in March will allow a rather volatile market to adjust to the cap introduced just two months ago.

In the end, EU ambassadors agreed on February 3 on the two new petroleum product price caps at the expected rate of $100 and $45. And to placate the Baltic trio and Poland, a clear legal procedure spelt out how the March review of the oil cap will be carried out.

The need not to disrupt the flow of oil to the EU's southern partners is the overriding fear here. That apprehension is noticeable in the EU's latest sanctions package on Belarus, the first since the summer of 2022. The proposal mirrors some of the measures already applied to Russia, such as an EU ban on providing IT services, consulting, polling services, and luxury goods to the country and a prohibition on the import of Belarusian steel and gold.

But just as with the last EU sanctions package on Russia, agreed at the end of 2022, there is also a derogation when it comes to fertilizers and food products. The Belarus proposal, seen by RFE/RL, notes that this is "in order to further address food security concerns in third countries" and that individuals who play "a significant role in international trade in agricultural and food products, including wheat and fertilizers" can have their assets unfrozen by Brussels.

For Minsk, this could mean Belarusian tycoon Ivan Halavaty and Russian billionaire Mikhail Gutseriyev, who has been supportive of Belarusian leader Alyaksandr Lukashenka, could potentially see EU asset freezes against them dropped.

Brief #2: Ukraine's Overly Ambitious Plan To Join The EU

What You Need To Know: Possibly the biggest talking point from last week's EU-Ukraine get-together in Kyiv was the timeline for Ukraine's EU membership.

Ahead of the meeting, Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal confidently proclaimed that his country had a very ambitious plan to join the club within two years.

He repeated the same thing at the press conference after his government had met with the 16 visiting European commissioners, although he did add the caveat that the approval process in EU member states might well take longer.

On that point he's certainly not wrong: There is a need for all 27 to agree to opening accession talks, and the same unanimity is needed to open and close every one of the 33 negotiation chapters.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, who was standing next to Shmyhal, diplomatically dodged the question of timelines, simply adding bureaucratic platitudes such as "the accession process is merit-based."

She did note, however, that Kyiv's "speed and ambition and determination, while being in an atrocious war, is impressive."

Deep Background: Ukraine has every right to be optimistic about its chances. Last year, it received candidate status three months after applying -- something of a record -- and there is still widespread political and popular support across the EU for Ukraine and Ukrainians.

The fact that over half of the college of European commissioners travelled together to Kyiv is significant.

And, while there, they did agree on measures that will help Ukraine get closer to the bloc, including a road map to improve the country's access to the European Union's lucrative single market in areas such as public procurement and industrial products.

Import duties for Ukrainian goods will be waived for another year and the "solidarity lanes" -- transport links between the EU and Ukraine -- will be given a funding boost of 1 billion euros ($1.1 billion).

Drilling Down:

Yet, there is a hard road ahead. When Ukraine got its candidate status, it also received seven conditions to fulfil in order to open accession talks, including the enactment of new anti-oligarch and media laws, greater protection for national minorities, and reforming the country's Constitutional Court and anti-corruption bureau.

While Shmyhal says that all seven conditions have been either met or that considerable progress has been made, several EU officials I spoke to on condition of anonymity said that only about 50 percent of the work has been accomplished so far.

The European Commission will come with its big assessment on Ukraine's progress in October and, while Kyiv hopes for a positive review and the start of accession talks by the end of the year, there is every chance that the EU will come with more conditions before any talks can start. That would push the timeline to 2024 and possibly even beyond.

It is also worth noting that, while in Kyiv, the European Commission quietly published its assessment on how aligned Ukraine, as well as the other EU hopefuls Georgia and Moldova, are with EU legislation in all policy fields. Out of 33 chapters, Ukraine is deemed to have "a good level of preparation" in only four, including energy and foreign policy. To adopt all the necessary EU legislation within a year will be something of a Herculean task.

Then there is also the skepticism, notably among western member states, about rushing Ukraine into the EU. While some eastern member states wanted something akin to an official midterm report on Kyiv's accession progress already in the spring, that idea was shot down and will now simply be an "oral update" by the European Commission that won't have much legal bearing.

For more EU foot-dragging, look no further than the EU-Ukraine summit declaration that EU ambassadors haggled over for days. The main bone of contention was this sentence: "The EU acknowledged the considerable efforts that Ukraine demonstrated in the recent months towards meeting the objectives underpinning its candidate status for EU membership." In early drafts, the word "progress" was used in the sentence, however a good number of western EU member states objected, and it was replaced with "efforts." As a diplomat from one eastern member state noted to me: "Ukraine might be ambitious, but I really sometimes wonder if we are."

Looking Ahead

A week after travelling to East Asia to visit Japan and South Korea, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg will spend most of this week in the United States, meeting with both the U.S. secretaries of state and defense, the National Security Council, and members of Congress. Expect a full range of issues to be discussed, including more arms to Ukraine, preparation for the meeting of NATO defense ministers in Brussels in mid-February, and the NATO summit in Vilnius in July.

EU leaders will gather in Brussels on February 9-10 for their first summit of the year. The focus will be on migration issues, amid a recent spike in asylum requests in the EU. The issue mainly concerns the bloc's southern borders, so the influx of Ukrainian refugees since Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022 is not on the table. It's likely that EU candidate countries in the Western Balkans will be asked to do more to combat migrant smuggling along the so-called "Western Balkan route" leading to the EU.

That's all for this week. Feel free to reach out to me on any of these issues on Twitter @RikardJozwiak or on e-mail at jozwiakr@rferl.org.



Until next time,



Rikard Jozwiak

If you enjoyed this briefing and don't want to miss the next edition, subscribe here. It will be sent to your inbox every Monday.

And you can always reach us at newsletters@rferl.org.
Mountain Province Diamonds announces Q1 2023 production and sales results Mountain Province Diamonds Inc. announced production and sales results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2023 from the Gahcho Kue Diamond Mine. 1,319,603 carats recovered, 11% higher than last year's comparable quarter (Q1 2022: 1,185,156...

Indian Sightholder VD Global returns 'Beating Heart' to De Beers for testing VD Global, an Indian Sightholder of De Beers, found a rare diamond in its lot from the supply from the miner. On finding the unusual piece diamond inside a diamond, VD Global named it ' Beating Heart, and returned it to De Beers for testing.

RBPlat CEO, COO to keep positions until buyout is completed Royal Bafokeng Platinum (RBPlat) has agreed to extend the duration of its CEO and COO contracts for a few months until assurance on ongoing corporate action is obtained, or until October 7, whichever comes first.



Marula signs official commercial contracts for Tanzanian projects Marula Mining, an Africa-focused mining and development company, has signed commercial agreements with Takela Mining Tanzania on the Kinusi copper project and the Nyorinyori graphite project, as well as with Kusini Gateway Industrial Park (KGIP)...
View the photo gallery: Spreckels mansion for sale

As two tragic deaths fade from memory, the owner of the historic Spreckels mansion on Coronados Ocean Boulevard has raised the asking price to $17.9 million in reaction to sustained interest and limited supply of such properties.

Theres both market demand and the markets appreciating, said Scott Aurich, listing agent for Pacific Sothebys International Realty. Recent sales prompted a million-dollar increase in the listing price, he added.

Current San Diego County real estate listings include 12 pricier properties, up to as much as $40 million in Rancho Santa Fe. But none can equal this houses history.

Its a one-of-a-kind asset, he said.

The 19,000-square-foot lot at 1043 Ocean Blvd. includes the house John D. Spreckels built in 1908, the guesthouse his son Claus built in 1928 and two units above the garage. The 10,500 square feet of living space includes 10 bedrooms and 11 bathrooms plus a four-car garage and a 1,000-square-foot basement.

Other appointments include a deck overlooking the beach, a courtyard with a pool and spa, and a media room with a 132-inch projection TV. The home has been staged with custom furniture, art work and other furnishings costing $330,000 that are included in the price.

Aurich said the price was increased by $1 million in reaction to market demand.

The house is known locally for the accidental death in July 2011 of Max Shacknai, 6, son of owner Jonah Shacknai, and the apparent suicide two days later of Rebecca Zahau, 32, the owners girlfriend.

You deal with it upfront with full disclosure, Aurich said of the two incidents.

Recent sale history of 1043 Ocean Blvd.

1979: $800,000

1982: $1.25 million

1986: $1.275 million

2007: $12.75 million

2013: $9 million

State law requires a seller to disclose any death that has occurred on-site for the previous three years, regardless of cause. Aurich said he will continue that disclosure as long as he is the agent. But he said awareness of the deaths has diminished considerably in recent months.

It is now at least further behind us, so that most people dont have much concern or interest in it, he said, and three serious parties are considering purchasing it.

Some interest has come from Asia and Mexico.

All appreciate the historic significance and dont really want to modify it anyway, he said.

Shacknai, who bought the home for $12.5 million in 2007, had planned a complete remodel but never started construction. County records show he sold the property for $9 million in July to a limited liability company, which during a lengthy escrow period spent $2.4 million in upgrades and $330,000 in furnishings.

The principal in the new ownership is Robert Harris, owner of a Logan, Utah-based private aircraft company who also owns two homes in Coronado Cays.

The balcony off the fourth bedroom is where Rebecca Zahau apparently committed suicide by hanging in July 2011.  Earnie Grafton

Caylee Pinsonneault and her mother, Sheryll Jackman, of Seaside Home design group handled the interior design and architectural details; Caylees husband, Joe, handled the financial details; and her father, Harry Jackman, at the Jackman Group handled construction.

Spreckels, of course, was San Diegos very own tycoon a century ago. Son of the Spreckels sugar king, he owned the Hotel del Coronado and most of Coronado, downtown San Diego property, the San Diego Union and Evening Tribune and the local streetcar system, and he had a hand in many major issues, from water development to railroads.

In 1907 he started construction on both the Ocean Boulevard property and his main residence, now the Glorietta Bay Inn on Glorietta Blvd., just east of the hotel. He gave the beach house to his son Claus as a wedding present in 1910, and Claus wife, Ellis, lived there until her death in 1967.

A media room with a giant TV projection screen was added to the third-floor attic area.  Earnie Grafton

Both homes were designed by Harrison Albright, Spreckels go-to architect. He also designed the Coronado Public Library, Spreckels Theatre and U.S. Grant Hotel downtown and the Spreckels Organ Pavilion in Balboa Park.

Among the luminaries entertained at the house over the years was the future King Edward VIII. When he was the prince of Wales, he visited San Diego in 1920 and dropped by before attending a banquet in his honor at the Hotel Del. Hes the one who abdicated in 1936 to marry his love, Wallis Warfield Simpson. She was married to a naval officer in San Diego in 1920, but contrary to numerous conjectures, she was out of town the week of the princes visit and did not meet him at the time.

The house was again in the spotlight in 1982, when it was the site of the annual Designer Showcase home tour sponsored by the San Diego Historical Society and the local chapter of the American Society of Interior Designers.

By the time Shacknai bought the house, the designers flourishes had faded, and the property needed a major fixup.

In January 2012, Pinsonneault and her parents launched physical improvements to the house and its furnishing for potential buyers.

We came to the conclusion it would offer a better selling price if we staged it, Pinsonneault said.

Major changes included enlarging the kitchen, rearranging the master bedroom suite, adding an outdoor second floor deck and turning the attic into a media room with the big-screen TV and a pool table. Other major improvements included new roofs, skylights, window repair and replacement, gutters, electrical upgrade, interior and exterior paint, air conditioning and plumbing.

Mother and daughter selected items from their Seaside Home showroom in the former Saks Fifth Avenue store and special ordered items from various furniture suppliers.

Sheryll Jackman said the style was picked to link both the traditional historic layout of the house and contemporary tastes desired by modern families.

You could have a contemporary mirror and add gold leaf, she said.

The two secondary bedrooms on the second floor were not furnished, and the balcony where Rebecca Zahau was found hanging nude by her brother was not altered.

Every house in Coronado has had some (death story), Pinsonneault said. There is nothing in the room to alert a visitor to the hanging.

As grand as the main house is  with its sweeping staircase, light-filled foyer, dining room and sunroom/TV room  the guesthouse is perhaps more interesting.

It was designed by Richard Requa, San Diegos leading architect of Mexican-style residences with their telltale red tile roofs and white stucco walls. The original woodwork, light fixtures and restored murals of historic scenes remain in place. And in the master bedroom, the only furniture left from the Spreckels era is a bed and two side tables.

As construction and furnishing dragged on, some options were dropped from the project, including an elevator, wine cellar, home gym and ping-pong room in the attic.

Lets just finish the house  were so close, Pinsonneault said was attitude this past spring.

But the decorators and owner didnt cut corners. They spent top dollar on bedding and artificial flower arrangements, outfitted the kitchen with dinnerware and appliances and installed an audio system and hooked up cable TV to flat-screen TVs. They could have saved hundreds of dollars by using plastic stand-ins as is common at many model home complexes.

Are you going to be that cheap that you wouldnt spend $400 on a TV and do plastic? Pinsonneault asked.

Added her mother, Its just a different clientele in that respect. We really tried to do something that works.

The assessed value is $7.7 million, reflecting a discount for the main's house's historic designation. The current annual tax bill is $82,069, according to the county assessor's office.
The city of Chula Vista paid an employee $400,000 to settle a sexual harassment lawsuit she filed against the city and a co-worker, according to the settlement agreement.

The settlement stems from a lawsuit filed May 2017 in which Mariana Garcia, 25, accused Alejandro Ruiz-Velasco, 42, of sexually harassing her from 2014 to 2017.

There is no court record of the settlement because the parties agreed to settle out of court. The document itself is public, but none of the parties involved are allowed to talk about it because of a non-disclosure provision written into the settlement agreement.

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News of the settlement agreement came to light after Garcias lawyer, Dan Gilleon, mistakenly told the San Diego Reader that his client was paid $400,000.

Gilleon told the Union-Tribune he was reminded of the confidentiality provision of the agreement after speaking with the Reader. He shared a copy of the complaint from the May 2017 lawsuit but declined to answer more questions about the settlement agreement.

According to the agreement, which was obtained through a public records request, Chula Vista and Ruiz-Velasco do not admit any liability and signed the agreement solely to avoid the cost and risk of continued litigation.

Garcias lawsuit against the city of Chula Vista claims Ruiz-Velasco repeatedly asked Garcia out on lunch dates for several years, made unannounced visits to her work space, made inappropriate comments about her appearance, told co-workers he wanted to wake up next to her because shes so beautiful, and sent Garcia emails containing sexual innuendos.

The city denied the allegations, court records show.

Ruiz-Velasco works as a conservation specialist for the citys CLEAN Business Program. Garcia worked as a project coordinator for the Department of Economic Development. They worked under different supervisors.

According to the complaint, Garcia confronted Ruiz-Velasco about his behavior in June 2016, when he allegedly interrupted a group lunch to say he would totally date Garcia if she were older. Garcia told Ruiz-Velasco to leave her alone, that she would never go out with him so he should stop asking her out.

In November 2016, Garcia printed Ruiz-Velascos emails and told her supervisor at the citys Department of Economic Development about the alleged harassment. Garcia asked her supervisor to follow up with Human Resources. The complaint claims Garcias supervisor never alerted HR.

In December 2016, Ruiz-Velasco allegedly interrupted a conversation Garcia and friends were having about traditional Mexican Christmas foods by saying that a candy treat called piloncillo is also slang for vagina. Later that day, Ruiz-Velasco emailed Garcia saying all that talk about candy made him crave piloncillo.

Ruiz-Velasco hired his own attorney, Mitchell Dean, in October 2017. Dean argued that the allegations do not meet the severe and pervasive standard of sexual harassment, court documents show.

Even looking at all instances alleged by plaintiff from November 2013 until June 2016, there is no severe incident and, even added together, the six specific incidents alleged do not even approach the evidence needed to sustain a finding of pervasiveness, Dean wrote in court documents.

Dean did not respond to a request for comment or a request to speak with his client, Ruiz-Velasco.

By January 2017, Garcia had met with a psychiatrist who prescribed medication and wrote her a note requesting she be moved to another work site because of anxiety and panic attacks, according to court documents.

The city moved Garcia to a temporary work site but did not allow her to take any of her personal belongings from her old cubicle. The city took no action against Ruiz-Velasco, according to the lawsuit.

Ruiz-Velasco received a $11,000 raise  from $38,384 to $49,629  during the alleged harassment period, according to data from Transparent California. He currently earns $55,671 a year, according to the city.

Garcia moved away from San Diego some time after filing the lawsuit, Gilleon said.

A city spokeswoman, Anne Steinberger, declined to comment on the settlement, citing the nondisclosure stipulation.

While we cannot discuss the details of the Citys investigation in this case, or any personnel action taken as a result thereof, we can say that the citys investigation into the matter revealed information consistent with Mr. Ruiz-Velascos account of his conduct, she said. The citys decision to settle the case was a business decision to avoid the projected significant additional expenses and uncertainty of litigation.

She offered the following statement:

As with all cases, the city takes the allegations seriously. The city has a discrimination and sexual harassment policy in place, which it strictly enforces. In addition, city employees are expected to comply with all state and federal laws regarding discrimination and harassment.

City employees who are supervisors are required to complete sexual harassment training. Chula Vista is evaluating potential updates to its employee conduct policies and training requirements, Steinberger added.

Contact Gustavo Solis via Email or Twitter
VISTA -- A plot to kidnap, torture and murder her formerbusiness partner and lover has earned a Fallbrook woman a sentenceof life in federal prison.

After a two-week trial last year that included the testimony ofa former Soviet spy, Kimberly Bailey was convicted of kidnapping,conspiracy to kidnap, and using interstate commerce in amurder-for-hire scheme in connection with the disappearance ofRichard Post, 54, a San Diego private investigator. Jurors atBaileys trial decided that prosecutors had not proved beyond areasonable doubt that Post was, in fact, murdered.

Prosecutors alleged in court documents that Post was shot andkilled in Mexico in August 1998. His body has not been found.

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Bailey, who sold machines that she said cured diseases withelectromagnetic waves, contended that Post embezzled money from hercompany and that he is alive and spending the money in Mexico.Prosecutors dismissed Baileys arguments as an attempt to avoidresponsibility for Posts death.

After her trial, Bailey began representing herself, withattorney Bernard Skomal appointed to serve as an advisory attorney.Skomal and Assistant U.S. Attorney Barbara Major, who prosecutedthe case, could not be reached for comment Friday.

Federal prosecutors alleged in court documents that Bailey, JohnKrueger and Humberto Iribe developed a plan in August 1998 tokidnap Post for the unfair way they felt he was treating them andto recover money they alleged he had stolen from Bailey.

Post was lured to Mexico on Aug. 20, 1998, with lies and falsepromises. He then was snatched off the street and taken to anabandoned house in Tijuana, where Bailey, Krueger and Iribediscussed the kidnapping and how to cover up the crime, prosecutorsalleged.

Prosecutors alleged Post was held hostage for five days asKrueger and Bailey traveled between the U.S. and Mexico and lied toPosts family about what had happened to him.

Bailey tried to persuade Iribe to hold Post captive the rest ofhis life, but when Iribe refused, Bailey paid him extra money tokill and bury Post, prosecutors alleged.

Prosecutors alleged Iribe killed Post on Aug. 25, 1998. Baileypaid Iribe $60,000 for his role in the crimes, prosecutorsalleged.

Iribe has pleaded not guilty and is awaiting a September courtappearance to schedule a trial and other court dates. Kruegerpleaded guilty in October 2001 to conspiracy to kidnap and agreedto testify against Bailey at her trial. He was sentenced inNovember 2002 to 12 years in prison.

Prosecutors alleged that after the killing, Bailey admitted toseveral people that she had paid to have Post kidnapped andmurdered. One of those people, according to prosecutors, wasSvetlana Ogorodnikova, who testified against Bailey seven yearsafter being released from federal prison.

Ogorodnikova had served half of an 18-year sentence she receivedfor seducing a Los Angeles FBI agent into selling a confidentialdocument to the Soviet Union in the 1980s.

Ogorodnikova testified that she and her husband moved toBaileys ranch in 1999, and that Bailey had asked her if she couldhire a hit-man to kill witnesses and others involved in the murderof Post.

City News Service contributed to this story.

Contact staff writer Scott Marshall at (760) 631-6623 orsmarshall@nctimes.com.

Re the absence of ages for the defendants:

No documents Ive been able to review in the federal courtrecords provide an age or date of birth for any of the defendantsin this case. None of the stories we have previously publishedprovide an age for Bailey. I also was unable to reach theprosecutor or the attorney advising Bailey to ask for the ages.
The newly-identified species belongs to the frog genus Hyperolius and has an unusual trait  its completely silent.

The new species is a member of a group of spiny-throated reed frogs within the Hyperolius genus.

Its a very odd group of frogs, said Dr. Lucinda Lawson, a conservation biologist at the University of Cincinnati.

The male frogs dont call like most other frogs do. We think they may use the spine as something like Braille for species recognition.

Without a call, they need some other way to recognize each other.

This group of frogs has only a few species, found in small populations that make them rare and at risk of extinction. Finding a new member of this group is a major win for conservation.

Named Hyperolius ukaguruensis, the new species occurs in the Mamiwa-Kisara North Forest Reserve in the Ukaguru Mountains of Tanzania.

It has unique body proportions, with smaller eyes in relation to its head than other spiny-throated reed frogs.

Describing a species is the first step toward protecting it, particularly in increasingly fragmented forests like those in the Ukaguru Mountains, Dr. Lawson said.

According to the team, Hyperolius ukaguruensis could be of high conservation concern.

The Mamiwa-Kisara North Forest Reserve is a T-shaped remnant forest, Dr. Lawson said.

It has a lot of edge effects from people cutting firewood.

There are all sorts of pressures on this forest. Its easy to cross the whole thing in just a few hours of hiking.

Knowing how many species exist and where is critical to conservation, said Dr. H. Christoph Liedtke, a postdoctoral researcher with the Spanish National Research Council.

The Ukaguru Mountains are part of the greater Eastern Arc Rift, a fascinating cradle of biodiversity, with many species endemic to single mountain blocks.

The fast population growth in Tanzania means that the mountain forest habitats are under growing threats from people.

I was thrilled to help describe a new species, said Dr. Simon Loader, curator of vertebrates at Londons Natural History Museum.

The discovery shows how much more there is to learn about diversity-rich parts of the world.

We still have a long way to go before understanding what species are there and where they can be found. This is particularly the case for the biodiverse-rich submontane forests of Tanzania.

Amphibians are especially susceptible to human impacts. Since they absorb chemicals through their skin, they are vulnerable to toxins or changes in water acidity, Dr. Lawson said.

If a birds habitat is destroyed, they sometimes can fly to a new forest. But thats hard for amphibians.

Having a diverse number of species is important to maintain healthy ecosystems.

We think about this question a lot: why does one species matter?

Frogs are part of the food chain. They eat insects and, in turn, are eaten by other animals.

If this one species goes extinct, nothing much happens. We just lose one more strand in the fabric of the ecosystem.

But if you keep pulling out strands, the ecosystem becomes destabilized and the fabric unravels.

The teams paper was published online in the journal PLoS ONE.

_____

L.P. Lawson et al. 2023. Diversification of spiny-throated reed frogs (Anura: Hyperoliidae) with the description of a new, range-restricted species from the Ukaguru Mountains, Tanzania. PLoS ONE 18 (2): e0277535; doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0277535
After taking out INR 20,000 crore equity fundraising plant last week because of a stock rout set off by Hindenburg Researchs fraud allegations against conglomerate, the Adani group plans to trim its capital spending plans, as reported to a renowned media house for the development of the financial sector. While providing more collateral in form of stock pledges for lending, the group might be moderating its capex plans in some of the businesses as stated. In one of the publications by the renowned media house, two of the people quoted saying, At Adani, there is a rethink on the capex. The group may moderate its capex plans in some of the businesses. So, instead of targeted growth over 12 months, they may look at a time frame of 16-18 months for that quantum of growth in certain businesses.

The conglomerate will be returning to the usual growing pace as one normalcy returns, as reported the group might look at the 16-18 months for the growth in certain businesses instead of a 12-month target.

The company will be using the alternative funding channels from internal accruals, promoter equity funding and private placements for funding projects.

The Adani Group generates INR 57,000  INR 60,000 crore of Ebitda year wise and out the same, around half of the amount is available to the group as cash, which the group plans to use for capex, working capital requisites and meeting immediate payments, which are worth around $300 million over the next six months, as two people added.

On pledges, the move for providing more collateral is after stocks of group companies faced a rout in the market last week after the Hindenburg report levelled allegations of stock manipulations and accounting fraud.

The group will be planning for complete reduction of the share pledges, the newspaper quoted an executive close to the development as said.

The executive said, The company will pay down all share-backed loans; that will happen very shortly. Second, they will build up more cash buffers in these businesses, they are already very strong, and this will be demonstrated next week when the results are out.

The market value of the billionaire Gautam Adanis companies has slumped by almost half since the Hindenburg Research released on a report on January 24 with acquisitions of the conglomerate of stock manipulation and accounting fraud. The group has denied the allegations of Hindenburgs corporate wrongdoing and threatened legal actions.

Business Plans Again To Evolve

As per the shares in Adani companies recovered after the sharp fall of the earlier in the day, the seven listed firms have still lost half of the market value or more than USD 100 billion in combination. Since the US-based short-seller last week questioned the group over the debt levels, Reuters reported. The listed Adani firms are now having a combination market value of USD 108 billion, versus USD 218 billion before the Hindenburgs report.

The research firm, that had the short positions in Adani companies through US-traded bonds and non-Indian traded derivative instruments, stated key listed companies in the group had substantial debt and the entire group on precarious financial footing.

The report released just ahead of INR 20,000 crore (USD 2.5 billion) follow-on public offer (FPO) by Adani Groups flagship firm Adani Enterprises.

In a response of 413 pages, the Adani Group 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.

As the Adani Group said, 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.

Hindenburgs Statements And Conclusion

Hindenburgs in the statements said, The Adani response did not address any of the substantive points that the report raised. Rather, Adani has stoked a nationalist narrative that seeks to conflate the meteoric rise and the wealth of its chairman, Gautam Adani, with the success of India itself.

Some of the posts on Twitter painted Hindenburg founder Nathan Anderson as a shrewd upstart that specializes on identifying and profiting from corporate disasters. It claims and counter claims for taking over social media as facts are a tad more nuanced than Twitter trends that have you to believe.

Videos and posts that are shared under the Hidenburg exposed hashtag also noted that the company was known as a ponzi hunter which is a tag that has been used by several western media organizations. Social media posts cited that a gunfight and four-hour standoff with FBI agents at Las Vegas attorney Matthew Beasley for underscoring their point while not mentioning in the same way.

Hindenburg Research is a short-seller firm in the US which is making headlines after its report on billionaire Gautam Adanis conglomerate that caused a rout in Adani Group stocks. The Adani Group companies now have a market capitalization of INR 99 billion, which was INR 217 billion before the Hindenburg Research report, which is business website Fortune estimated.

The Adani Group has lost INR 118 billion in 10 days, it is a 50 percent decline since Hindenburg accused the group of stock manipulation, improper use of tax havens, money laundering and mounting debts.
In a joint effort to promote online safety, the Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In), the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), the Government of India, and Koo join hands to raise awareness (#CyberSecurityAwareness) about cybersecurity attacks, frauds, and crimes on the occasion of Safer Internet Day(#SaferInternetDay) observed every year on the first Tuesday in February 2023. The collaboration efforts will help to sensitize internet users about safe online practices through posting infographics, videos, and awareness campaigns on the @KooPolicy, @KooForGood and @IndianCERT official social media handles.

As the use of social media continues to skyrocket, it is essential for social media intermediaries like Koo to take responsibility and ensure a safer online experience for their users. In 2022, India saw over 13 lakh cyberattack incidents, making cybersecurity a key concern of all sectors.

Koo, a user-friendly and transparent micro-blogging platform, has a strong commitment to user safety online. The company has previously joined forces with CERT-In during the National Cyber Security Awareness Month in October 2022 (#NCSAM2022) to educate and train over 4,000 young people from colleges across India on cyber security best practices.

Dr. Sanjay Bahl, Director General, CERT-In, said, "Cybersecurity is one of the three focus areas of the Digital Economy Working Group during India's G20 Presidency, and as part of the Presidency, the Hon'ble Minister for Electronics & Information Technology, Communications, and Railways, Shri Ashwini Vaishnaw, has launched the " Stay Safe Online" campaign. With the exponential increase in the number of internet users in India, it is crucial to raise awareness regarding cyber hygiene among citizens and for them to stay safe in the online world. In this journey of inclusiveness and the spirit of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam, Koo is a natural partner to reach out to citizens in their local language for this awareness.

Aprameya Radhakrishna, Co-founder & CEO of Koo, said, "At Koo, we understand the importance of creating a safe and secure online space for our users to express themselves freely. Our unwavering commitment to providing a safer internet experience is evident in our range of safety features, including a verification process, a reporting and blocking feature, deep technologies and teams dedicated to moderating content, and data protection through encryption. We have best-in-class processes to ensure the communitys safety. We believe that every individual should have the right to express their thoughts without having to worry about cyber threats, and we are committed to our efforts toward a more responsible and secure online community".

On Safer Internet Day, Koo is taking the lead as a responsible social media intermediary to curb cyber attacks by driving awareness through education. This partnership reinforces the company's commitment to providing a secure and safer internet experience.
Flash, a major technology provider, and electronic component producer have entered into a technological collaboration with GEM motors, one of the leading European inventive companies specializing in achieving good motors for electric vehicles.

Under this new partnership, both brands will manufacture hub motors for various EV segments, in the range of 1 kW to 15 kW. With the flexible and modular motor design, Flash can customize motors faster to customers' requirements and project deadlines.

Flash will also get access to 20 global patents of GEM motors and will become a global manufacturing hub. Flash has been successfully collaborating with leading international players to become the first company in India to have an extensive and robust range from 1 kW to 540 kW, catering to a comprehensive range of electric segments  from a small electric two-wheeler to a larger electric bus.

This technological collaboration is the second international partnership, with leading global players, in three months. These strategic partnerships will allow the transfer of advanced technologies, proficiencies, and access to newer markets to bring major cost savings for the company's esteemed customers.

GEM motors modular multiphase motor technology integrates all components of an electric drive system into a compact solution and simplifies the electrification of vehicles, while minimizing their weight and transmission costs, thereby being cost-effective. The portfolio boasts advanced features such as enhanced safety and reliability, modular design that increases redundancy, and a fully integrated in-wheel drive that significantly shrinks the weight and maximizes the efficiency of the overall drive system.

Sanjeev Vasdev, Managing Director, Flash, said, In line with the global mobility trend and to strengthen India's forthcoming electric vehicle ecosystem, we are delighted to partner with a distinguished player, GEM motors. We look forward to manufacturing GEM motors' patented, modular multiphase motor technology in India and catering to EV OEMs across the world.

The partnership will accelerate the shift to sustainable mobility with innovation-driven differentiation for our customer's mobility requirements. In addition to being highly strategic and exclusive for the Indian market, this partnership aligns with our commitment to being a one-stop solution provider for EV motors globally. Flash is now the first company in India to have a product portfolio of motors ranging from 1kW to 540kW across two /three wheelers, passenger cars, LCVs, HCVs including electric buses," he added.

Simon Madelj, CEO, of GEM motors, said, Our solutions are visionary innovative designs with a low number of parts which effectively optimize the space to drive simplicity and superior performance. We are delighted to have a strong partner like FLASH and their strong focus on production and quality in manufacturing will enable us to reach newer heights in the global market.

GEM motors have already on-boarded over 15 customers in Europe, North America, and other countries for their range of motors and are looking to further strengthen their position in India with this new alliance with Flash.
Raghnall Insurance Broking, a leading provider of insurance and risk management services in India, today announced the launch of its new offering - Business Cyber Shield. This new-edge solution is designed to provide comprehensive cyber security solutions for businesses of all sizes. The launch of Business Cyber Shield is Raghnall's commitment to provide the latest digital offerings that help its clients identify, mitigate, and manage the risks associated with the growing threat of cyber-attacks.

The Business Cyber Shield is an end-to-end solution that helps businesses identify potential cyber threats, assess the risk, and implement comprehensive security measures. This comprehensive offering includes a range of services, including vulnerability assessment, continuous monitoring, and incident response. The product is designed to be scalable, so it can be customised to meet the needs of businesses of all sizes, from small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to large corporations.

Mr. Amit Goel, Director of Raghnall Insurance Broking & Risk Management. Said, Raghnall has a deep-rooted expertise in insurance and risk management, with a strong focus on innovation and digitalization. Our highly experienced team of experts has been at the forefront of protecting businesses against the ever-evolving cyber threats. With the launch of Business Cyber Shield, we are bringing our expertise and technology-driven approach to the next level, ensuring comprehensive protection for businesses of all sizes in India.

Cyber risk is a reality for businesses of all sizes. By understanding these risks and taking steps to protect companies can mitigate the potential impact of a cyber incident and keep business running smoothly, informs Goel.
According to a source familiar with the transaction, Google, a subsidiary of Alphabet Inc., has invested close to $400 million in artificial intelligence firm Anthropic, which is developing a competitor to OpenAI's ChatGPT. According to Thomas Kurian, CEO of Google Cloud, "AI has moved beyond academic research to become one of the major drivers of technological change, creating new potential for development and improved services across all industries."

"Google Cloud is offering open infrastructure for the upcoming wave of AI startups, and our collaboration with Anthropic is a terrific illustration of how we're enabling people and companies to harness the potential of trustworthy and ethical AI."

What is Chat GPT: In November 2022, OpenAI debuted ChatGPT, a chatbot. ChatGPT is an AI tool that responds to queries from users in a variety of subject areas with responses that sound realistic. It is constructed on top of the GPT-3 family of big language models from OpenAI and is modified using supervised and reinforcement learning methods. On November 30, 2022, ChatGPT was introduced as a prototype. It soon gained popularity for its thorough responses and clear responses in a variety of subject areas.

Chat GPT Plus: In the meantime, OpenAI has begun a US trial of the ChatGPT Plus membership procedure. What sets it apart: ChatGPT Plus, a new $20/month subscription service, will offer users a number of advantages such as quicker response times and 'general' access even during periods of high demand.

"We adore our free users and will keep ChatGPT accessible for free. We will be able to support as many individuals as possible having free access by providing this subscription pricing, "Read the declaration.

The business stated: "Based on your input and requirements, we intend to improve and grow this product. Additionally, we'll soon be offering the (ChatGPT API waitlist), and we're actively looking into solutions for more affordable plans, business plans, and data packs."

Microsoft and Open AI: The two companies recently expanded their collaboration. According to the release, "This multi-year, multi-billion dollar investment from Microsoft follows their previous commitments in 2019 and 2021 and will allow us to continue our independent research and develop AI that is increasingly safe, useful, and powerful."
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Jack Dikian of Mosman notes that ABBA had four 2023 Grammy Award nominations and wonders, Did they send their circa 70s virtual avatars to the awards ceremony?

In the late 1980s, some friends and I owned a racehorse which was bred from a mare called Sweet Words, recalls Alan Marel of North Curl Curl. Of course, we named it Vogon Sonnet. It was about as successful as Vogon poetry (C8) was popular.

Now that Helen Lewins frog issues (C8) are sorted, our attention turns to the woes of Susan Rowe and her amplified PVC dweller. While Bob Phillips of Cabarita suggests sending in the frogmen, Paul Keys of Clouds Creek reckons, Susan could eliminate her frog and help the ecosystem by placing a red-bellied black snake in the pipe. Now thats a frog in the throat.

Roger Harvey of Balgowlah says: Decades ago, my sisters home featured a tiered garden with small pond at the top. One loud frog was driving her nuts until, in desperation, she offered anyone in the house $50 to get rid of it. The 10-year-old daughter went quietly up there, bucketed the pond dry and pocketed the cash.

The ABCs website reports that vision of the Chinese balloon shot down by the US appeared to show what looked like a burst balloon descending downwards. Thats in case you were wondering if gravity still works, reports Adrian Connelly of Springwood.
Government funding for the states private and Catholic school students increased at a faster rate than for children enrolled in NSW public schools over the past decade.

A new Productivity Commission report found federal and state money going to NSW non-government schools grew by 27.2 per cent over the 10 years to 2021, jumping from $9683 to $12,313 per year.

By comparison, funding for public school students increased by 23.9 per cent over the same period from $17,693 to $21,923 a year.

The sharper increase in funding for non-government schools was mirrored across the country and comes after another Productivity Commission report released last month highlights how the nations literacy and numeracy results had gone backwards despite a $319 billion funding deal being struck in 2018.
NSW Labor would rip up existing plans for housing development at metro stations and redo them with significantly higher density closer to central Sydney to rebalance population growth around infrastructure.

Opposition planning spokesman Paul Scully said the $65 billion metro network was an important addition to Sydneys connectivity, but it was a huge price tag and for that cost, the metro must become the spine of a sensible increase in new housing.

Shadow minister for planning and public spaces, Paul Scully. Credit: Dominic Lorrimer

Im worried were again failing to align population growth and public transport investment, he told the Committee for Sydneys Sydney Summit on Monday. When we get the opportunity to deliver more affordable and key worker housing near metro stations, we should be taking it.

We cant pretend we dont need more nurses, paramedics, police officers, teachers, cleaners or hospitality workers closer to Sydney CBD. We do, and the metro provides an opportunity to do that.
The NSW governments bungled purchase of Spanish-built trains is at serious risk of further delays because of a failure to properly plan for $300 million in upgrades necessary for them to run on rail lines from Sydney to Melbourne, Brisbane, Canberra and across the state.

A confidential review also warns that a major maintenance facility under construction for the new fleet risks becoming a white elephant if delays to the delivery of the trains from a Spanish manufacturer drag on for years.

Upgrades to refuelling facilities at Melbournes Southern Cross station are among many works necessary for NSWs new train fleet to operate. Credit: Darrian Traynor

The contractor building the Dubbo rail maintenance centre, which is over budget, has churned through nine project managers in less than three years.

The delivery of the new fleet from Spanish manufacturer CAF, which built trams for Sydneys inner west light rail line, is running three years late due to a stoush with Transport for NSW over design changes to the off-the-shelf trains.
Police charge woman with murder after death of child in Melbourne home

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Sydney man pleads not guilty to manslaughter over Gold Coast chip brawl

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By Li Shuo

The first joint air exercise between Japan and India ended on January 26, pushing bilateral defense relations to a higher level. Recently, while deepening its military integration with the US, Japan has continuously established military cooperation mechanisms with Australia, India, the UK, France, Germany, the Philippines and other countries that originally only existed between allies. Japan also made clear provisions in three security documents including the National Security Strategy issued in mid-December.

According to the National Security Strategy of Japan, Japan should further promote efforts to realize a Free and Open Indo-Pacific (FOIP) by deepening cooperation with the so-called like-minded countries through the Japan-US alliance as a cornerstone and through efforts such as the Japan-US-Australia-India (Quad) partnership. At the same time, Japan shall vigorously build a multilayered network among its ally and like-minded countries, expand it, and strengthen deterrence . In the future, Japan will actively carry out bilateral and multilateral security dialogues, bilateral training and exercises, and extensively conclude information protection agreements , Acquisition and Cross-Servicing Agreement (ACSA) and Reciprocal Access Agreement (RAA), speed up the research and development of military equipment, promote the transfer of defense equipment and technology, support other countries in building naval and air reconnaissance and early warning capabilities, and carry out strategic communication activities.

In addition, Japan's National Defense Strategy outlines three main defense goals, the second of which is to work with allies and so-called like-minded countries to jointly prevent attempts to unilaterally change the status quo by force. The strategy also lists ways to achieve the three defense goals. First, enhance the overall defense system while thoroughly strengthening the defense forces. Second, further strengthen cooperation with the US and enhance the deterrent and response capabilities of the Japan-US alliance. Third, strengthen cooperation with so-called like-minded countries and jointly maintain a free and open international order. It can be seen that Japan has taken the construction of a generalized military alliance as an important means of intervening in international security affairs, stirring up the security situation in the Asia-Pacific region, increasing international political influence, and realizing its ambition as a military power.

Japan's new National Defense Strategy has formulated different plans for different countries and regions in terms of specific measures to build a generalized military alliance. For example, Japan regards Australia as a special strategic partner and will build a close military cooperative relationship with Australia that is second only to the Japan-US alliance. Japan will build a special strategic global partnership with India, and promote bilateral cooperation in maritime security, equipment technology, and military exercises. Japan will strengthen the capability to jointly deal with issues in the so-called Indo-Pacific region and even around the globe with countries such as Britain, France, Germany, and Italy, build a multilayered dialogue mechanism, promote the development of next-generation fighter jets, exchange ships and military aircraft, and strengthen cooperation on security issues such as intelligence reconnaissance against the DPRK and strikes against pirates of Somalia. Japan will enhance its capability to respond to "Indo-Pacific" security issues in coordination with Canada and New Zealand. Japan will strengthen cooperation with the Nordic, Central and Eastern European countries, and the Baltic countries in cognitive warfare, network security, and hybrid warfare. Japan and Southeast Asian countries will carry out dialogues at different levels, send ships and military aircraft to dock and transit, promote the export of weapons and equipment, and support military capacity building. Japan will support Mongolia's military capacity building, and strengthen joint military exercises and equipment technology cooperation. Japan will develop military cooperation with Central Asian countries and exchanges. Japan will work with the US, Australia, Britain, and other countries to support the construction of coastal defense forces and other military capabilities of Pacific Island countries. Japan will strengthen military cooperation and exchanges with countries along the coast of the Indian Ocean, in the Middle East and Africa.

While improving its own military strength, Japan has also continued to strengthen military cooperation with so-called like-minded countries based on the Japan-US alliance, and its defense relations with some countries have even reached a level of closeness between allies. This has exposed its ambition to become a military power and to intervene in global security affairs, which deserves close attention and high vigilance.
WARNING: This article contains offensive language.

A prominent Melbourne lawyer, who represented underworld figure Mick Gatto and champion jockey Danny Nikolic, has been accused of pressuring a former client to withdraw her complaint to the legal industry regulator.

Hazel Brown told The Age that Pat Lennon gave her a handwritten letter she was asked to copy, sign and send to the Legal Services Commissioner to recant her original complaint of misconduct against him.

Pat Lennon pictured in 2016. Credit: Jesse Marlow

Brown had been embroiled in a dispute with Lennon after borrowing about $20,000 from Argyle Lending  owned by Lennons wife, Jane  in 2016 and paying 20 per cent interest on the loan for the first year and 23 year per cent for each following year.
The section of Swan River where a teenage schoolgirl was fatally mauled by a shark on Saturday will be reopened on Monday afternoon and water patrols in the area will end.

Stella Berry, 16, died on the beach near the old Fremantle traffic bridge after being attacked while swimming near a pod of dolphins as her friends on a jetski watched on.

The City of Fremantle confirmed the waterways would be reopened to the public at 3.30pm, following the once-in-a-century tragedy.

WA Premier Mark McGowan said the state government would consider what, if any, safety measures could be introduced to prevent another attack, once it received a report from the Department of Fisheries.
Alcohol bans will be reinstated in town camps and remote Aboriginal communities to curb a crime wave plaguing Alice Springs.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Northern Territory Chief Minister Natasha Fyles separately announced the return of the restrictions, which each community will have to vote to opt out of.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has announced the return of alcohol bans in Alice Springs. Credit: James Brickwood

The Northern Territory government will legislate new alcohol restrictions when they meet next week so that Northern Territory town camps and communities return to an opt-out system, Albanese told parliament on Monday afternoon.

The dry zones will remain in place until an approved community alcohol management plan is developed and agreed to by the liquor controller in the Northern Territory, and then it will need to be put to a local community with a 60 per cent threshold.
The Greens chose to elevate her again in 2020 when she replaced Di Natale when he resigned from parliament in November that year. The party gave her the great gift of being the incumbent senator when she led the Greens ticket in Victoria last May. All parties have rats who desert the tribe, but Thorpe has ratted in rapid time. Mal Colston was a Labor senator for 24 years before quitting the party for the crossbench in 1999. Julian McGauran was a Nationals senator for 19 years before switching to the Liberals in 2006. Thorpe has jumped ship in two years and five months. This weakens Thorpes credibility in parliament  it is hard to crusade for honesty in politics after a jump like this  but this rarely matters to politicians who choose to go it alone. She has always believed in her personal mission, not in the Greens, and some in the party always thought her departure was only a matter of time. The greater damage is to the Greens because it has sold voters one thing and delivered them something else, the classic definition of a bait-and-switch in the retail trade.

The Greens gained 529,429 primary votes in the Senate race in Victoria, just short of a full quota, so Thorpe needed preferences (including from Labor) to gain her seat. The vast majority of the support was above the line for the party, not for her. She gained only 40,174 votes in her own name. Thorpe cannot claim much of a mandate with those numbers. Nobody can be sure how many of those voters, especially Greens members, like Thorpe more than the party. This could turn into a deep rupture over the direction of the Greens, if not an existential crisis, if Thorpe emerges as a popular champion for thousands of young people drawn to a harder line on Indigenous sovereignty, as many were at the January 26 protest marches. But Thorpe is no champion. At least, not yet. She has been accused of bullying Indigenous elders like Aunty Geraldine Atkinson, for instance. There are clearly questions about her behaviour  and Bandt gave no assurances about this on Monday. Do you believe Senator Thorpe has acted with propriety during her time as a Greens senator? he was asked. He ducked the question. Twice.
Greens senator Lidia Thorpe has split from the party after a long-running dispute over the Voice to parliament referendum and will move to the crossbench.

Greens leader Adam Bandt pleaded with Thorpe to remain in the party, but the controversial senator said her defection was necessary to speak freely on issues and lead a black sovereignty movement in Australia.

Senator Lidia Thorpe at her press conference, resigning from the Greens. Credit: Alex Ellinghausen

It has become clear to me, I cant do that from within the Greens, she said at a press conference. Now I will be able to speak freely on all issues from the sovereign perspective without being constrained by portfolios and agreed party positions.

This is a movement I was raised in, my elders marched for a treaty  this is who I am. My focus now, is to grow and amplify the black sovereign movement in this country.
Former trade minister Stuart Ayres, who lost his cabinet position in the midst of the John Barilaro job scandal, is a key target of a scathing public report which found the process lacked transparency, integrity and amounted to a jobs for the boys appointment.

An upper house inquiry found that Ayres, who has been promised a return to Premier Dominic Perrottets cabinet if the Coalition secures an election victory, misled the public and potentially the parliament in relation to Barilaros recruitment as US trade commissioner.

Stuart Ayres resigned as trade minister over his role in the recruitment process. Credit: Dominic Lorrimer

The Labor-led inquiry made the findings in a searing interim report of the jobs scandal that paralysed the Perrottet government last year.

Fiery testimony at public hearings and reams of internal government documents last year exposed damning revelations, including that Barilaro was not the preferred candidate for the role.
I have had the tragic duty of presiding over the funerals of six people who have committed suicide due to their gambling. Their losses, their shame, their losing battle to stop gambling  all became too much. The pain suffered by family and friends is indescribable. The loss of life is so senseless and horrific. It is why I have been such a prominent campaigner for gambling reform for more than three decades.

NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet and Opposition Leader Chris Minns have differing approaches to gambling reform. Credit: Renee Nowytarger, Dominic Lorrimer

And I am thrilled that poker machine reform has become a central feature of the NSW election campaign. To have imagined this would happen in NSW  which is the belly of the beast for the poker machine industry  is almost beyond belief.

Premier Dominic Perrottets proposed reforms are very significant. They represent the most significant and wide-ranging poker machine reforms that I have seen in more than 30 years of campaigning to limit gambling harm.

While they are not perfect, they get the majority of the policy right, and most central is a mandatory cashless gambling card linked to an individual who has to prove their identity. This will combat the billions of dollars poured into poker machines in pubs and clubs for money laundering or simply the proceeds of crime. Its also an effective way to reduce the harm that comes when there are no controls at all on gambling spending.
Fault lines will endure without Voice It seems rather hypocritical of George Brandis to complain about the nastiness in the Voice debate perpetrated, he says, by the Yes advocates ( Malign wary voters and Voice will fail, February 6). He claims that public discussion of a sensitive issue can take place without rancour, yet he launches into vitriolic attacks on those who support the Yes vote, failing to criticise any of the No advocates. He seems to want to make political capital out of the issue. Let us hope the Australian people, who will ultimately decide, will see that it is really a simple proposition, that Indigenous people deserve to be recognised in the Constitution and have a say in matters that affect them. It is not rocket science. Brian Parker, Terrigal I think Brandis for all his political nous is a naive babe in the woods. Many of those opposed to the Voice are just waiting in the wings for Labor to produce more detail about how the Voice will operate. Then they can just go on a vitriolic campaign about how appalling the mechanism is rather than address the real issue: do we want our Indigenous people to have an increase in input as to how this country is run. Lets remember all we are giving is the ability to make recommendations to parliament. It is hardly earth-shattering or radical. For goodness sake it must be better than what we have got. John Rome, Mt Lawley (WA) In his attempt to defend Peter Dutton delaying in making the vote for the Voice bipartisan, Brandis neglects some key issues. Have the Liberals talked to Indigenous people to ask what they think? How many opposition members (and government for that matter) have truly engaged with our First Nations people?

Here lies the problem. Unless we can really engage with individuals in our area the fault line between our cultures will continue. Glenys Quirk, Forster Brandis says same-sex marriage supporters did not malign those who wished to retain the traditional definition of marriage as homophobic. I have a different recollection of the same-sex marriage debate where opponents were regularly attacked as homophobic and bigots. As such tactics worked previously, its highly likely Yes proponents for the Voice campaign will label No supporters as racists and bigots. Riley Brown, Bondi Beach I add another piece of wise advice to that offered by Brandis: before you attempt to answer an opponents questions, think carefully about why he or she is asking them at this time. Sometimes wisdom demands a careful look between the lines. Don Squires, Lake Cathie Why should pokies changes be on the public purse? Im confused and disgusted. Why is the state government allocating $340 million to overhaul the gambling industry (Pokies revolution, February 6)? That means we are paying for what private enterprise should do. It is great that we have legislation passed to have cashless gaming but that should be it. Clubs and pubs can fix their own pokies, or do without. It is not taxpayers responsibility to pay for pokies to be rejigged to be cashless. To do so makes a mockery of the legislation - $340 million can do a lot for supporting people who need somewhere to live, or help to give up gambling.

Jacqui Keats, Black Head

Loading Giving clubs grants and cash incentives to convert is a ridiculous proposition. The timeline is five years - more than enough time for any club to plan and cover the possible costs. This just seems like paying smokers to convert from tobacco cigarettes to vapes. Warwick Spencer, West Pymble I applaud the premiers efforts to introduce cashless gaming. One glaring omission in the announcement, though. No mention of ensuring that no politician has any involvement whatsoever in the distribution of the funds designed to assist venues to make the transition. Wouldnt want to create a bets-rort, would we? Ian Jackson, Freshwater Hooray to the pokies revolution and Perrottets promised reforms, especially grants to pubs and clubs for new income streams like live music. All musicians who are old enough remember well it was the pokies that killed the Sydney live music scene. Glenn Larner, Freshwater

Billion-dollar train blowout unforgiveable Will the debacle over providing NSW with workable trains and ferries ever end (New train fleets $1b cost blowout, February 6)? Surely, this latest mess will cause a major shake-up of how such purchases are planned. Why were the plans for our new trains not subjected to minute examination? Where was the list of necessary safety considerations and specific facilities, such as bike racks? The secret report quoted suggests that the Rail Tram and Bus union may have their own objections to the design of the trains that are to be built, further complicating their production. Surely, an intelligent approach for those at Transport for NSW would be to consult with the unions before the plans are agreed to. The people who work on the trains every day are alive to the safety issues and workplace conditions in a way no-one in an office can be. Commuters and taxpayers expect much more from their government. Basic competency would be a great start, a bit of creative intelligence would be welcome. Throwing away 1 billion dollars is unconscionable, there are so many places the money could be put to good use. Sue Adams, Dulwich Hill New rental plan not a good idea There would be many older people who actually value their privacy and peace after decades of raising their families, and young people who look forward to their independence (Fix to rental crisis on for young and old, February 6). The premiers plan for older people to rent rooms to young people is a poor resolution to the rental and property housing crisis. A less patronising, more respectful idea would be to support the creation of multi-age communities as happen in Scandinavia and the Netherlands where young and old co-exist in their discrete dwellings. Young people should be entitled to their own homes. Alison Stewart, Riverview

Lots of jobs that work overtime Sean Kellys excellent article was excellent was a real wake-up call for us all, not just for those who strive to survive life in the parliamentary bubble (I worked crazy hours as a political staffer. It was exhilarating, but less might be more for democracy, February 6). Teachers also deserve more recognition for all those hours spent, before and after school, even during the vacations. Like political staffers, teachers are so often dedicated to doing their best, but too often their efforts are just taken as being part of the job, and it is time now to really assess the validity of the demands expected. Penelope Graham, Kensington Longer hours doesnt necessarily mean better decisions. David Rush, Lawson Barangaroo quality not about the water Its good to know there are no water quality issues at the proposed Nawi Cove swimming spot at Barangaroo. Its a shame the same couldnt be said of the surrounding area, with the rank odour of corruption and privilege oozing out of the casino that dominates the site (Toe in the water for a second swimming spot, February 6). Colin Stokes, Camperdown

Redressing the balance Ross Gittins article suggests moderation in all things, known by the Greeks as the golden mean(A better economy comes from policy, not picking sides, February 6). Heres hoping the present government might implement this in the public/ private mix in areas such as housing, aged and child care, health and education just to mention a few such areas where the balance needs to be rectified. Josephine Piper, Miranda What to know about banknotes Your correspondent is correct, our banknotes are all the same width (Letters, February 6). However, to help the visually impaired identify the notes, they increase in length by 7mm with each denomination. The notes also have a raised bump on the top left front of the note for the same reason; one bump on the $5, two bumps on the $10, three bumps on the $20 and so on. The front of the note is the side with the governor of the RBAs signature. Paul Keir, Strathfield

Woke is a tired word Your correspondent doesnt understand woke - she is not meant to (Letters, February 6). Woke

is a word dreamed up in some right-wing think tank to be used as a pejorative for anything that is contrary to their hard line ideology. Its used instead of constructive criticism. John Grinter, Katoomba Young deserve a say Arlo Foyn Hill and Qing Ng brilliantly put the case for lowering the voting age to 16 (Well inherit your climate war. Let teens vote on it, February 6). It is their generation and beyond that will be faced with the consequences of our inaction on climate change and they deserve a say in electing representatives who will take strong action to mitigate the effects of this disaster. Most young people are far more informed than previous generations were at 16. Now is the time to shake up our politicians with the addition of these thoughtful young people into our electoral system. Graeme Lechte, Brunswick West (Vic) It is obvious that there are many well-informed and politically aware teenagers who are keen to have the right to vote. However, there are many who are poorly informed and have little interest in politics. I suggest that voting could be voluntary between the ages of 16 and 18 to allow politically savvy young people to have their say. Ruth Magoffin, Cheltenham
The Greens longest-serving member of Yarra City Council has quit the party, after her colleagues restricted public access to council meetings to once a month.

Councillor Amanda Stone, first elected to the council in 2008, will now sit as an independent for Nicholls ward, which covers the suburbs of Carlton North, Fitzroy and parts of Collingwood.

Amanda Stone, pictured outside Fitzroy Town Hall in 2020, soon before the Greens took control of Yarra City Council. Credit: Luis Enrique Ascui

Stone let her party membership lapse late last year, soon after opposing the bid by other Greens councillors to reduce public meetings to once a month. Before the Greens took control of the council in 2020, public meetings were held every fortnight.

While Stone made her decision in December, her colleagues only learned the news on Sunday when the Greens emailed branch party members, a day before Victorian senator Lidia Thorpe announced her resignation from the Greens.
Well learn more about the China-US balloon incident in the days to come, but one key lesson is clear already: the relationship between the two great powers is extremely brittle.

Trust between the capitals is so low that the balloon only had to show up and it immediately crashed a much-anticipated trip to Beijing by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

Illustration: Andrew Dyson Credit:

Its purpose was to build a floor for the relationship in the words of US President Joe Biden. The floor was meant to stop the relationship from spiralling down towards conflict.

Thatll have to wait now. When a US fighter-bomber shot down the balloon, an indignant China said it was reserving the right to take further actions in response. Beijing says it was a simple weather balloon; the Pentagon says it was a surveillance craft.
London: Former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull has said that China will lift its trade bans on Australia as Beijing is looking for a way to climb down from the unsuccessful sanctions.

Beijing slapped bans worth tens of billions of dollars on Australian coal, lobsters, barley and wine as relations between the Morrison government and China soured during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Former Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull.

Links between the two countries reached a nadir when Chinese officials refused to answer phone calls from Australian counterparts.

But the relationship has thawed with the election of Labor to government, with Foreign Minister Penny Wong visiting Beijing in December and Trade Minister Don Farrell invited to visit the Chinese capital in the near future.
Kyiv: President Volodymyr Zelenskys political party says it will move to replace Ukraines defence minister, as fierce fighting rages in the east amid what Ukrainian officials say is the beginning of a new Russian offensive.

Oleksii Reznikovs fate has been the subject of increasing speculation amid a growing scandal about financial impropriety within the ministry and an accompanying government investigation into corruption.

Ukrainian Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov. Credit: AP

Davyd Arakhamia, the head of Zelenskys Servant of the People party in parliament, said on Sunday (Kyiv time) that Reznikov would be transferred to the leadership of another ministry and that Major General Kyrylo Budanov, the current military intelligence chief, would replace him.

Reznikov has not been directly implicated in any wrongdoing, and Arakhamia did not link the move to concerns about the corruption scandal. Reznikov would become the highest ranking official in Zelenskys government to be reassigned in the nearly 12 months since Russias full-scale invasion began.
Chilean authorities have detained 10 people accused of causing deadly bushfires, a government official said.

The blazes, fanned by severe heat and dry winds, have led to 24 deaths and more than 1000 injuries, and those who started them potentially face harsh consequences, Interior Ministry Undersecretary Manuel Monsalve, said at a press conference on Sunday (Monday AEDT).

Volunteers carry supplies for firefighters near trees burning in Puren, Chile, on Saturday. Credit: AP

The intentional starting of fires will be criminally prosecuted by the government, Monsalve said. The law is especially harsh regarding the crime of arson. The sentences range from five years and one day to 20 years. They are high penalties, and well pursue the highest penalties the law allows.

Authorities are working to contain 51 of 260 bushfires currently burning, with 28 of them considered particularly dangerous, Monsalve said. The blazes have destroyed 800 homes, and 26 people are hospitalised with serious burns.
PHILIPSBURG:--- In a two-hour introduction session, new Minister of Tourism, Economic Affairs, Transport & Telecommunication (TEATT) Minister Leo Lambriex and his cabinet met with 8 board representatives of the St. Maarten Hospitality & Trade Association (SHTA). The Minister laid out his immediate plans for improving the look and feel of the visitor experience and action points for his tenure and took note of the priorities of the private sector.

Minister Lambriex shared his goal, to focus on the existing qualities of the tourism-dependent destination and fixing what is easy to improve without major capital investments. The Minister made clear that in the competitive tourism market, it is of great importance that attention is paid to the upkeep and beauty of the tourism product. St. Maarten needs to make sure an eye for detail is maintained to offer a great holiday experience to its many visitors. An attractive product is what makes people come back; an unattractive product makes people choose another destination for their next holiday. The Minister, having operated tour companies himself, cited from his own experience how central the level of cleanliness and order is to visitors. Recently, the Minister launched improvement ideas for the Philipsburg area.

The association agreeing wholeheartedly with his convictions pertaining to beautification, the Minister discussed how the Ministry and SHTA could collaborate on projects pertaining to destination beautification. The SHTA added that the currently often congested traffic situation, with only 84% of the 2016 room count having returned to the market, is an additional variable influencing the image of the destination.

Within the same context of choosing improvement over the expansion of the tourism product, SHTA shared various economic indicators with the Minister, showing effort is still needed to bring the destination back to the 2016 situation.

Occupancy for December 2022 was 2% under that of December 2021. Through January yielded better results, the association has concerns about the traditionally low summer occupancy given the unexpectedly low December occupancy. The private sector sees more government investment in destination marketing as essential for economic growth. Though SHTA supports diversification, the reality has it that the economy is over 80% dependent on tourism. At the same time, available funds to promote the destination per hotel room are not even 40% of that of the French side of St. Martin, Aruba, or Curacao. SHTA estimates that every dollar invested in marketing returns fivefold to government coffers via, amongst others, room tax, timeshare tax, and turnover tax, making destination marketing a priority for all.

SHTA repeated its well-known plea for swift implementation of a St. Maarten Tourism Authority (STA), modeled after the very successful institute in Aruba and a project of which various of Minister Lambriexs predecessors were in support. The Aruban Tourism Authority does not just contribute year-round to high occupancy rates and hence income for the private sector and government, but also to beautification projects. Knowing the island well due to visits to relatives in Aruba, Minister Lambriex also cited other best practices of this island that could be applied to St. Maarten.

Other topics discussed were increased government income via the collection of AirBnB fees and the need for a dedicated team to implement this action, Expedia Campaigns, the worrisome state of the (real) Gross Domestic Product or GDP, private sector representation in the Socio-Economic Council (SER), implementation of the ED Card program, private sector taxation, geographical information about St. Maarten visitors and upcoming SHTA plans.

The Minister, the cabinet, and the SHTA jointly stated their intent to explore increasing cooperation over the upcoming months.
PHILIPSBURG:--- The marketing teams of the Tourist Office of Saint-Martin and St. Maarten Tourist Bureau met on January 26 for what will be a monthly working session, to discuss various subjects relating to the promotion of the destination.

Two Hearts, One island, the French side, and the Dutch side work regularly on the common objective of promoting Saint Martin Sint Maarten and target various markets and groups. This was the first monthly meeting of the year 2023, as the goal is to meet every month, in order for the teams of the two tourist offices to discuss with each other the various actions that will take place this year.

On January 26, the meeting brought together the directors Aida Weinum (Office of Tourism of Saint-Martin) and May Ling Chun (St Maarten Tourist Bureau); North American Market Managers Suzanne Scantlebery (OT) and Marla Chemont (STB); local market managers Nathalie Pinthiere-Brooks (OT), Neilleda Desir (OT), and Claudia Vinga (STB), Cherinah Franken (STB) Head of Product Development, and market coordinator South America William Bell (STB); communication officer Sacha Bresse (OT); Executive Assistant Rosette Pantophlet (STB).

With the objective to share a common vision to increase the destination market share, the monthly meetings will provide opportunities for the marketing teams of the two offices to highlight the destination tourisms high-impact operations, the remaining challenges to be addressed and take stock of the actions carried out jointly.

The working session was also an opportunity to raise the problems encountered by two sides of the island, including the management of the photo and video content for digital platforms, essential for the promotion of the destination. The employees were able to discuss their practices to optimize updates and publications. The STB informed OT that last year for 2022 it had launched a call for content creators for videographers, photographers, influencers, and graphic designers in order to create content consisting of both sides of the island (gastronomy, landscapes, etc.), and will be doing this once more for 2023.

Shared actions

In the meeting discussions concerning the annual calendar of marketing actions on the North American, Latin American, regional markets, European, niche markets as well the local market also took place. The two offices of tourism regularly carry out common actions such as campaigns with tour operators such as Expedia, travel agent roadshows, or participation in trade fairs. The organization of a Pop Up Store (date?) at the Destreland shopping center in Guadeloupe and at the commercial center of the roundabout in Martinique will also be from representations of both the Dutch and French sides. The two offices of tourism have shown great cooperation on the marketing concept of pop-up shops for promotion in this regional market, which exists of a lively stand, dancers, hoteliers from both sides, and event promoters, the prefect formula for collaboration.

Discussing at the start of the year is a real opportunity to continue to pool our financial and human efforts, says the director of the Office of Tourism of Saint-Martin, Aida Weinum. We informed our counterparts that our 2023 promotional campaign would focus on the pillar event theme, by informing them of the 9 key special events on the French side on which we are to support to deploy our communication strategy".

Quick starting the year with a vision that will involve, and includes our French side counterpart based on the actions that we are able to collaborate on, will grow the cooperation stronger and gives us the opportunity to execute those actions with an impact, says May-Ling Chun Director of Tourism of Sint Maarten.

Information, consultation, and collaboration: for the tourist offices of Saint- Martin and Sint Maarten, and the promotion of the destination remains a co-construction.
~ Wants French and Dutch medical teams to forge cooperation to reduce costs for both sides.~

PHILIPSBURG:--- The Royal family His Majesty King Willem Alexander and his wife Her Royal Highness Queen Maxima and his 19-year-old daughter Princess Amalia arrived in St. Maarten on Monday. The Royals are on an overseas countries tour, they previously visited Curacao and Aruba last week. The intention of the royal visit is to present Princess Catharina Amalia who is now 19 years old and next in line to ascend the throne.

One of the sites the Royals visited was the St. Maarten Medical Center where the Royals and State Secretary Alexandra van Huffelen showed keen interest in the services St. Maarten Medical Center provides to the BES islands namely Saba and Eustastia.

Director of SMMC Dr. Felix Holiday gave the Royals a rundown of all that was done since the year 2018 (post hurricane Irma). According to the itemized list, Holiday said SMMC is the primary hospital for St. Maarten, Saba, and Eustatius. While SMMC was established in 1991 for a population of a mere 23, 000 people the SMMC serves an estimated 60,000 people currently. Their mission is to provide high-quality care close to home.

Holiday said that SMMC has 19 medical specialties with 95 beds, of which 15 are in Auxiliary care. He said that currently there are 88 dialysis patients, 9 of whom are from Saba (3) and St. Eustatius (6).

As for the New General Hospital that is currently under construction Dr. Holiday said the new facility will have 14 beds, with 31 dialysis positions. The building will be hurricane resistant that can sustain 200mph hurricane-force winds.

Holiday explained that SMMC is facing some challenges since Hurricane Irma, COVID-19, and the War in Ukraine all impacted the reconstruction due to price increases.

Holiday further informed the Royals that because of the high cost of airfares, the SMMC began sending specialists from St. Maarten to consult with patients on those islands.

The Royal family showed keen interest in the medical services SMMC is providing to its patients, His Majesty asked Holiday what protocol SMMC follows when it comes to its medical staff most of whom are from different islands. Holiday explained that SMMC follows the BIG protocol and for non-Dutch medical staff, their qualification and training have to be equivalent to the BIG.

Another question posed to the medical team that accompanied Holiday was how the patients in St. Maarten reacted during the COVID-19 pandemic. His Majesty said that during the first 8 weeks of the pandemic in The Netherlands, no one reported to the hospitals there for medical care, thus he wanted to know if it was the same here in St. Maarten. They explained that patients in St. Maarten reacted the same as they did in the Netherlands since most people were afraid to visit the hospitals for medical care.

The Royals also asked what some of the diseases are that affect patients in St. Maarten, they said that St. Maarten has a high rate of Hypertension, Diabetes, and Prostate Cancer. One of the challenges the cardiologist said is the fact that patients are not in compliance with their treatment. She explained that lots of patients prefer to use herbal medications and while she recognizes that, she also believes that patients must also follow their medical protocols. SMMC explained that over the past years, there has been an increase in prostate patients. They said in the past men were not heeding the necessary tests and or treatments for prostate due to a taboo however, that situation has drastically improved.

French and Dutch Cooperation

Questions from His Majesty and Princess Catharina Amalia focus on if Saba and St. Eustatia have medical equipment for the specialists to use when they travel there to consult with patients. The cardiologist said they do have ultrasound machines in both islands that they use for ultra-sound and images.

The Royal Family also questioned the working relationship between St. Maarten and Saint Martin. They wanted to know if French side patients use the services offered by SMMC and vice versa. Holiday said that the language barrier and the fact that the local government of Saint Martin does not have the authority to decide what happens with healthcare hinders cooperation. Holiday explained that because the French are socialist the French Hospitals prefer to send their patients to either Guadeloupe or Martinique and even though those are overseas islands the French claimed that it costs them less to evacuate their patients. Holiday however believes that it is a way for the French to keep their monies in their own pockets.

State Secretary Alexandra van Hufflen said that the Minister of Interior and Overseas Affairs has expressed his wishes to sign a Memorandum of Understanding with the Netherlands in order for the two sides to work together. His Majesty instructed Van Huffelen to ensure that the matter of cooperation is further discussed with the French Minister of Overseas and Interior Affairs. He jokingly said that one of the areas that they need to work on is the French Language which Holiday explained poses a major problem. His Majesty raises concern about the fact that St. Maarten and Saint Martin do not produce anything and the length of time it would take for either side to receive spare parts in the event their MRI equipment broke down.

The Royals also wanted to know what is bothering SMMC or the island that they have not yet heard of or read about. In response to the question, Holiday said the lengthy procedures with the World Bank pose real problems for the projects. However, Her Majesty Queen Maxima made it clear that the Dutch Government wanted to ensure that the trust fund monies gets into the right hands and that it is well spent. She said that despite the lengthy procedures the money is still available to St. Maarten for its projects.

His Majesty also asked about the working relationship between St. Maarten, Aruba, and Curacao and if patients are evacuated to the islands that have the specialist that is needed. SMMC and its team explained that the three islands are also working closely and indeed depending on the islands the evacuation is done.
Vice-president of the Romanian Academy, historian Razvan Theodorescu, died on Monday aged 83 at the Floreasca Emergency Hospital in Bucharest, spokesperson of the medical facility Dr. Bogdan Oprita confirmed for AGERPRES.

Razvan Theodorescu was admitted to the hospital about three weeks ago.

"It is with pain in our hearts that we announce the passing into eternity of academician Razvan Theodorescu, member of the Scientific Board of the Bucharest Metropolitan Library. The Bucharest Metropolitan Library expresses its deep regret for this loss and sends its condolences to the bereaved family, to all the friends and those who knew him," reads a Facebook post of the Bucharest Metropolitan Library.
Daniel Jinga, the managing director of the Bucharest National Opera, and Malikov Akif Turan Oglu, the general director of the Azerbaijan State Academic Opera and Ballet Theatre, signed a strategic partnership between the two national cultural institutions in Baku, a press release from ONB, sent to AGERPRES on Monday, reads.

The collaboration memorandum between the two theaters involves the building of a creative partnership, through which the two parties express their confidence in the modernity of the opera house and in the values of culture placed at the service of the public. The two sides show their openness to exchanges of directors, soloists, conductors, technicians, and also productions, for the common interest of both sides.

"The opening of this collaboration improves the already continuously developing relations between Romania and Azerbaijan, confirms the strategic partnership between the two states also in the field of culture and will generate the creation of new joint high-level events," the source adds.

In this context, on 4 February, Daniel Jinga, the managing director of the Bucharest National Opera, conducted the Rigoletto by Giuseppe Verdi on the first opera stage in Azerbaijan, with an international cast.
In the plenary session, the deputies held a moment of silence in memory of academician Razvan Theodorescu, who died on Monday at the age of 83, told Agerpres.

"Today we have a very sad piece of news: a scientist of the nation, a great scholar and a good man - the professor, academician Razvan Theodorescu has died. We are leading today a rare person on his last earthly road and to the lessons of rare people we must always meditate. On my behalf, of the Parliamentary Group of the Social Democratic Party (PSD), I send condolences to the family. We are thinking, first of all, of Ilinca, the daughter of Professor Razvan Teodorescu, of the family and of the big family of Romanian culture that today is in mourning. In order to preserve the memory of the one who leaves us today, I propose to keep a minute of silence in memory of the professor and academic Razvan Theodorescu," said PSD Deputy Ioan Vulpescu.

He emphasized that Razvan Theodorescu was one of the best specialists of Romanian history and civilization, "one of the very few who stood up against the demolition and relocation of heritage churches".

"Along the way, he was Minister of Culture and Religions in the PSD Government, the Government led by Prime Minister Adrian Nastase between 2000 and 2004, he was a senator, he was an academician. In recent years, he was the vice-president of the Romanian Academy," recalled Vulpescu.
The plenary meeting of the Chamber of Deputies gathered on Monday to debate the simple motion against Interior Minister Lucian Bode, which has been submitted by the Save Romania Union (USR) and MPs of the Right Force Party, with the vote to be cast on Wednesday.

The meeting is chaired by Speaker of the Deputies' Chamber Marcel Ciolacu who announced that only 218 deputies are present out of the total of 330, told Agerpres.

Deputies of the USR and the Right Force Party submitted, last week, to the plenary meeting, the simple motion against minister Bode called "Romania deserves much more than thieves in public offices."

The signatories argue that the purpose of this simple motion is to draw attention to "the impermissible delay in a governmental position of a man who doesn't deserve it" as he "doesn't deserve his academic title" or "the respect of the people who worked honestly in Romania."

Moreover, the USR and the Right Force Party believe that minister Bode should also be held accountable for the "humiliating failure of Romania in its attempt to join Schengen," as well as "the rigged tenders for the purchase of cars for party and state clients of the governmental arch."
The Air Base "Mihail Kogalniceanu" is much more than a military base, becoming a "symbol" of the manner in which the free world relates to the security events which take place at east of Romania, National Defence Minister Angel Tilvar conveyed on Monday.

He toured, alongside Chief of the Defense Staff Daniel Petrescu, the 57th Air Base "Mihail Kogalniceanu" in Constanta county, told Agerpres.

"I have seen here all the inter-operability conditions which must be met by the forces acting together. Here, we have a constant training climate. For instance, today, I have witness an air policing exercise conducted with the Italian detachment. I had discussions with the command teams of the contingents deployed at the Mihail Kogalniceanu base and conveyed them our support, because the activity here implies ensuring the best conditions for the allied militaries and for our servicemen," the minister stated, according to a National Defence Ministry (MApN) release.

Commandant of the 57th Air Base, Comandor Nicolae Cretu presented a situation of the joint training activities through bilateral and multinational exercise hosted last year and in the prospect for 2023.

The visit's agenda also included a meeting with the command teams of the allied detachments deployed at the Mihail Kogalniceanu base - the US 101st Airborne Division, the Italian Forces detachment and a liaison team of the French Army.

The Romanian officials expressed appreciation for the consistent commitment of the allied forces deployed in Romania for strengthening security of the Euro-Atlantic space on the Eastern Flank, which, according to them, represents a clear proof of NATO's unity and solidarity in the context of the war in Ukraine and the crisis in the region.
Deputy of the Alliance for the Union of Romanians (AUR) George Simion argued on Monday in the plenary meeting of the Chamber of Deputies that nobody threatens the stability and security of the country "besides incompetent ministers," with reference to Interior Minister Lucian Bode, told Agerpres.

"I would like, for the years in which the ministers had decency and knew what a honorable resignation means, to keep a moment of silence," Simion stated in the beginning of his speech, at the debate of the simple motion against minister Bode.

He argued that half of the Liberals (the National Liberal Party) are ashamed that they endorse Lucian Bode in office.

"Half of the deputy colleagues of the former National and Liberal Party are ashamed that they have to endorse in office this character who missed Romania's entry in Schengen. Earlier, our colleagues were in the Government yard, where the gendarmes and special troops of Mr Bode removed them by force. (...) If you want to blame the war for the fact that Mr Minister Lucian Bode is in office, it is an embarrassing excuse. Nobody threatens the stability and security of the country besides the incompetent ministers which you have in this shameful cabinet," the AUR leader conveyed.

The simple motion against Interior Minister Lucian Bode is under debate on Monday, in the plenary meeting of the Chamber of Deputies and the vote will be cast on Wednesday.
Strengthening cooperation in the area of bilingual education through the expansion of the bilingual high schools network, the training of teaching staff and trainers were some of the topics which Minister of Education Ligia Deca and French Ambassador Laurence Auer tackled on Monday.

Other topics were aimed at the possibilities to relaunch cooperation in the area of professional and technical education, with a better involvement of the French economic operators present in Romania, the identification of concrete solutions regarding the methods of certification and recognition of the language skills acquired by pupils, in accordance with European recommendations, after taking the tests of Baccalaureate in two foreign languages of international circulation.

Moreover, also discussed was the identification of new topics of common interest in the development of cooperation in the higher education area, "better promotion" of French-speaking university specializations in Romania, including on the portal https://studyinromania.gov.ro/. AGERPRES
The Romanian Embassy in Ankara was notified by family members from Romania regarding the situation of another group of nine Romanian Erasmus students, located in Turkey, in Kayseri, an area where, according to available information, the earthquakes did not cause significant material destruction, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MAE) informed on Monday.

In the dialogue with the diplomatic mission, the family members emphasized that the condition of the students is good. Five of them requested assistance in order to return to Romania, and the representatives of the diplomatic mission maintain the dialogue with them, stated the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, told Agerpres.

According to the ministry, at the level of the Romanian Embassy in Ankara, a notification was received regarding the presence of a woman with Romanian citizenship, mother of four children, who is safe.

At the same time, a request for information and assistance concerning a Romanian citizen in a penitentiary in the Republic of Turkey was received from Romania. The representatives of the embassy took the necessary steps to obtain information.

Until this moment, there have been no reports from the Turkish authorities regarding possible Romanian citizens affected by the earthquakes, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs reported.

The Romanian Embassy in Ankara continues the dialogue with the Turkish authorities and with the Romanian citizens who contacted the diplomatic mission and provides consular assistance, according to the legal powers.

The MAE reiterates the recommendation addressed to Romanian citizens in the areas affected by the earthquake to obtain information from official sources about the evolution of the situation on the spot and to comply with the instructions of the Turkish authorities.

Romanian citizens can request consular assistance at the following telephone numbers of the Romanian Embassy in Ankara: +90.312.447.7945 and +90.312.447.7940, calls being redirected to the Contact and Support Center for Romanian Citizens Abroad (CCSCRS) and answered by Call operators Center in permanent mode. At the same time, Romanian citizens have at their disposal the emergency telephone number of the consular section in Ankara: +90.532.318.1726.
Romania's Foreign Minister Bogdan Aurescu on Monday had a telephone conversation with his Slovakian counterpart Rastislav Kacer focusing on Romania's accession to the border-free Schengen area, as well as on the state of bilateral relations and European current affairs, told Agerpres.

According to the Romanian Foreign Ministry (MAE), Aurescu "mentioned his special appreciation for Slovakia's constant support for Romania's accession to the Schengen area and mentioned the diplomatic steps taken by Romania since the beginning of the year in order to achieve its objective of accession to the Schengen area in a dialogue with Austria, the Swedish Presidency of the EU Council and counterparts from most of the EU member states."

MAE says that so far Aurescu has had conversations with the ministers of foreign affairs or European affairs in 21 EU and Schengen states and received messages from them reconfirming active support for Romania's accession to the European border-free area.

Kacer reiterated Slovakia's staunch and fully solidary support for Romania's accession to the Schengen area and assured that Romania can count on the full availability of his country, including through a constant and active dialogue with the other European partners on this subject.

Aurescu mentioned the positive role played by the Slovakian minority in Romania and the Romanian community of Slovakia in strengthening the bilateral relationship.
Chairman of the Forta Dreptei (Right Force) party, Ludovic Orban, said on Monday that the Government "attacks democracy" and has come to represent "a serious danger" for the rights and freedoms of Romanian citizens", considering that it refuses to organize elections in over 50 localities.

Ludovic Orban submitted with the Bucharest Court of Appeal an administrative action in which he requests the Government to issue a decision for the organization of local elections in more than 50 localities.

"For over a year, the Government has been refusing to respect the right to vote of hundreds of thousands of Romanian citizens who have the right to elect their mayor. The law stipulates that within 90 days from the vacancy of a mayor office or from the dissolution of a local council, so within a maximum of 90 days, the Government has the obligation to organize elections. The Government has refused to organize local elections in more than 50 localities for over a year. It is an attack against democracy, the right to vote and to be elected by the citizens of these local communities. (...) The Government is attacking democracy and has come to represent a serious danger for the rights and freedoms of Romanian citizens," declared Ludovic Orban before the first term of the trial held at the Bucharest Court of Appeal.AGERPRES
The Minister of Interior, Lucian Bode, on Monday said there has been a concerted political attack against him for months, noting that, in order to participate in the debate of the simple motion submitted to the Chamber of Deputies, he gave up a joint Romania - Republic of Moldova action, told Agerpres.

"I responded today to a regulatory, democratic request of the Chamber of Deputies and appeared before fellow deputies to explain, as far as the signatories of the so-called motion can understand, what are, in fact, the reasons behind this concerted political attack, which went on for several months, against me. Today, although I should have participated in a joint activity between Romania and the Republic of Moldova, in Vama Albita, (...) I canceled this joint activity with the Republic of Moldova, and I am present here, today, in front of my fellow MPs," stated Bode, before the debates.

He claimed that he has specific arguments for the text of the motion. At the same time, Bode stated that the motion "has nothing to do" with the Regulation of the Chamber of Deputies, which stipulates that such an approach can be taken by 50 Mps on matters of internal policy.

"MAI is mentioned in this motion only once, while the names of a journalist and USR (Save Romania Union) are mentioned 12 times," explained the minister.
Romanian Foreign Minister Bogdan Aurescu on Monday had a telephone conversation with his Luxembourgish counterpart Jean Asselborn, with Asselborn reconfirming Luxembourg's staunch support for Romania's accession to the Schengen area.

According to a press release of the Romanian Foreign Ministry (MAE), Asselborn appreciated that Romania "is fully prepared, meeting all the necessary criteria and its accession will contribute in a positive way to the consolidation of the European design, the security of the European Union, as well as the single market." He gave assurances that Romania "can continue to fully count on Luxembourg to support Romania's objective of joining the Schengen area in a dialogue with the other European partners," says MAE.

Aurescu informed Asselborn of the diplomatic steps taken by Romania in order to achieve its goal of joining the Schengen area, in a dialogue with Austria, the Swedish presidency of the EU Council and the counterparts from most of the EU member states.

The head of the Romanian diplomacy mentioned the increasing importance of strengthening bilateral co-operation in the new geopolitical context generated by the aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine and thanked Luxembourg once again for deploying a contingent of Luxembourgish soldiers to the NATO battlegroup in Romania, a decision which is in the final approval phase. Availability for intensifying co-operation between the national police forces was also mentioned.

The two ministers also assessed the latest security developments in the South Caucasus as part of the implementation of the EU civilian monitoring mission at the border between Armenia and Azerbaijan.

MAE says that so far Aurescu has had conversations with the ministers of foreign affairs or European affairs in 20 EU and Schengen states and received messages from them reconfirming active support for our Romania's accession to the European border-free area. AGERPRES
A young Ukrainian citizen involved in cigarette smuggling, discovered by the road traffic police on national road DN 18, near Mara locality, was held into custody on Monday for 30 days, announced the spokesperson of the Sighetu Marmatiei Border Police Territorial Inspectorate (ITPF), Iulia Stan.

"Based on the existing evidence, the criminal investigation body within the Maramures Border Police Territorial Office ordered the detention for 24 hours of the 19-year-old Ukrainian citizen, involved in the smuggling case of February 5, 2023. Today, the Ukrainian citizen has been brought before the judge at the Sighetu Marmatiei Court, who ordered the measure of preventive detention for a period of 30 days," said Iulia Stan.

According to the same source, the Ukrainian citizen was taken into custody by the Maramures County Police Inspectorate, told Agerpres.
Academician Razvan Theodorescu was and he will remain one of the great people of this country, says the Minister of Culture, Lucian Romascanu.

"With deep sadness I learned about the death of academician Razvan Theodorescu, one of the chosen people who left a deep mark on the Romanian cultural and society. Art historian with a PhD in historical sciences, he will remain an example for all of us to follow. I had the honor to meet with him on various occasions recently and I enjoyed his support in the context of the ministry's collaboration with the Academy. I gratefully received the precious advice he offered. While becoming head of the Romanian Television immediately after the Revolution, and Minister of Culture between 2000 and 2004, Razvan Theodorescu was also the head of the Arts, Architecture and Audiovisual Department of the Romanian Academy, secretary general of the International Association of Southeast European Studies, full member of the Romanian Academy since 2000, of which he was a correspondent since 1993. As a professor collaborating with several universities in the country, he devoted his entire life to our culture, enriching the Romanian heritage. He was also and he will remain one of the great people of this country. May God rest him in peace!," the Minister of Culture, Lucian Romascanu, said on Monday in a post on Facebook.

***

Razvan Theodorescu was born on May 22, 1939, in Bucharest, and attended the Faculty of History at the University of Bucharest, where he became a doctor of historical sciences, with a thesis entitled "Byzantine, Balkan and Western Elements in Early Romanian Medieval Culture (10th - 14th centuries)."

He has published more than 15 works on history, Romanian and European art, such as "Byzantium, the Balkans, the West in Early Romanian Medieval Culture - the 10th-14th centuries," "A Millennium of Art in the Lower Danube (400 - 1400)," "History Seen Up Close," "Romanian Civilization between Medieval and Modern. The horizon of the image (1550-1800), I-II," "The 900 days of 'Manipulation'," "La peinture murale moldave des 15-eme - 16-eme siecles," "Roumains et Balkaniques dans la civilization sud-est europeenne," "Our Europe and us" and about 600 articles in magazines in the country and abroad.

Throughout his life, he received numerous awards, in the country and abroad, and he is a Knight (since 1997) and Commander (since 2003) of the Order of Arts and Letters of the French Republic, Grand Officer of the National Order of Merit (since 2000), Knight of the "Falling Cross with Swords" - Ukraine (2004), Knight of the Order of the Cross Bearers of the Holy Sepulcher - Jerusalem (2004), "300th Anniversary of Saint Petersburg" Medal - Russia (2004), Commander of the Military Order of Romania (2012) and Doctor Honoris Causa of several universities in the country.

Razvan Theodorescu is a laureate of the Herder Prize (1993), and among the prizes offered throughout his life are also the Bernier Prize of the French Institute (1969), the "Nicolae Balcescu" Prize of the Romanian Academy (1976), the "Flacara" Prize (1987) and the "Nicolae Iorga" Award of the International Ecumenical Centre for Spiritual Dialogue (1999). AGERPRES
The number of arrivals of foreign visitors recorded at the Romanian border crossing points was 12.69 million, in 2022, an increase of 187% compared to 2021, according to data centralized by the National Institute of Statistics (INS) and released on Monday.

The foreign visitors come mostly from European countries (94%), especially from the European Union (34.6%). Moreover, the top 6 spots, according to the share in the total number of arrivals, belong to countries located in Europe: Ukraine (25.9%), Republic of Moldova (20.5%), Bulgaria (12.1%), Hungary (6.8%), Turkey (5.7%) and Serbia (3.4%), told Agerpres.

In 2022, there were 4.397 million arrivals from European Union countries (34.6% of total arrivals), up 41.2% compared to 2021.

Compared to 2021, there were significant increases in the number of visitors coming from Australia, Oceania and other territories (+472.7%), Asia (+155.4%), America (+142.0%), Africa (+96.7%) and Europe (+84.1%).

The number of departures of Romanian visitors abroad in 2022 was 17.265 million, increasing by 48.3% compared to 2021.

The border crossing points that recorded the largest number of visitors were Otopeni (1660 thousand arrivals), Giurgiu (1196.1 thousand arrivals), Siret (1055.3 thousand arrivals) and Albita (1011.5 thousand arrivals).

At the same time, the border crossing points where the most departures were registered were: Otopeni (4116.6 thousand departures), Bors (1148 thousand departures), Nadlac II (963.7 thousand departures) and Cluj Napoca (903 .5 thousand departures).

In 2022, road transport was the most used means of transport. Thus, road transport was the most used by foreign visitors to travel in Romania and is still preferred by Romanians who go abroad.

Regarding the arrivals of foreign visitors to Romania, in 2022, compared to the previous year, there were significant increases in the use of rail transport (+224.3%), air transport (+121.1%), and sea means of transport (+106.7%) and road means of transport (+77.7%).

The biggest increases, compared to the same period of the previous year, in terms of the departures of Romanian visitors abroad, were recorded in the use of rail transport (+166.9%), air transport (+80.8%), road transport (+31.8%) as well as sea transport (+7.3%).
The General Inspectorate of the Border Police informs that on Sunday, 67,032 people entered Romania through the border points, of which 6,665 were Ukrainian citizens, according to a press release sent to AGERPRES on Monday.

Approximately 141,300 people, Romanian and foreign citizens, and over 37,400 means of transport, in both directions, went through the control formalities (both in the direction of entry and exit) through the border points throughout the country.

Starting from February 10 (pre-conflict period), 3,481,431 Ukrainian citizens entered Romania.

The border police detected 41 illegal acts (23 crimes and 18 misdemeanors) committed by both Romanian and foreign citizens, and the value of the fines applied amounts to over 10,100 RON.

Goods were seized for confiscation in the amount of approximately 365,500 RON.

Also on Sunday, 24 foreign citizens who did not meet the conditions provided for by law were not allowed to enter the country, and nine Romanian citizens were also not allowed to leave for various legal reasons.
The Ministry of Development, Public Works and Administration (MDLPA) transferred, on Monday, the amount of 4,425,038.88 RON, for the settlement of invoices for eight investment objectives financed by the Anghel Saligny National Investment Program, told Agerpres.

The invoices were submitted by the local authorities for works to modernize some streets and roads of local interest, as well as for the expansion of some sewerage networks, stated the Minister of Development, Cseke Attila, according to a press release.

Through the Anghel Saligny National Investment Program, the Government (via the Ministry of Development), has a budget of 65.5 billion RON, under which it provides basic services in localities (water, sewerage and gas) and rehabilitates roads and bridges.

The status of payments made is available on the MDLPA website, at the link: https://www.mdlpa.ro/pages/plati.
Romania is interested in completing its consumption needs using the Egyptian liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) terminal, until the moment when it will be able to capitalize on deep-sea gas from the Black Sea, said prime minister Nicolae Ciuca, after the Sunday meeting he had, in Cairo, with the minister of oil and mineral resources from Egypt, Tarek El Molla.

"The diversification of gas supply resources will represent, both for Romania and for Central and Eastern Europe, a solution to strengthen energy security. I discussed in Cairo, with the Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, Tarek El Molla, about concrete ways to catalyze our traditional relations through joint projects in the field of energy", stated Ciuca, in a message posted on the Government's Facebook page.

The prime minister expressed his confidence that the necessary solutions will be found to supplement the amount of gas needed by Romania, as well as to provide support to the Republic of Moldova.

"The operating expertise and the transport networks at our disposal are important assets to qualify our country as a partner of the projects jointly developed with the Egyptian investors in the fields of oil and gas. Consultations continue at the level of experts, as well as between the Transgaz National Company and the Egyptian company ENI, which provides 60% of the gas needed for the consumption of this country. The Memorandum of Understanding signed between Transgaz and Egas offers a clear perspective for the realization of our projects," added Nicolae Ciuca.AGERPRES
Prime minister Nicolae Ciuca sent, on Monday, a message of solidarity and compassion with the Turkish people and emphasized that Romania is ready to offer support after the devastating earthquake that hit Turkey on Monday evening.

"Our thoughts are with the Turkish people, with the families of the victims and with all those injured or affected by the devastating earthquake that hit Gaziantep. Romania is ready to offer support!" Nicolae Ciuca wrote on the Government's Twitter page.AGERPRES
Social Democratic Party (PSD) Chairman Marcel Ciolacu said that certain ministers might be replaced the moment the PSD takes over the rotating premiership of the government, bringing to mind that the political agreement provides for four changes at the rotation.

Ciolacu said that PSD's rotation at the helm of the government will definitely take place, but not necessarily precisely on May 25.

"The prime minister will look into the governmental efficiency of the Social Democrat ministers and we will have this discussion within the coalition. I think that each of the parties will propose certain changes. (...) Some ministers must provide certain clarifications. I wouldn't want the new government to carry on with these aspects still unsettled. (...) The political agreement provides for 4 minister changes at the handover of the rotating premiership which we will discuss. They are the two ministries with approval powers - the Finance Ministry and the Justice Ministry - and the Ministry of European Funds and the Transport Ministry," Ciolacu on Sunday told private broadcaster Antena 3.

According to the PSD leader, most of the ministers will continue in the new government, and he commended ministers Marcel Bolos and Sorin Grindeanu for their work.

"There are two ministers who stood out: EU Funds Minister Marcel Bolos, who did wonders in just a short time under the conditions of the previous and the next financial year, and Transport Minister Grindeanu, who signed a 10-year high amount of contracts that also will be implemented very well. International and European bodies have praise for the two of them as well," Ciolacu added. AGERPRES
The government has decided on Monday to send to Turkey a RO-USAR team, personnel specialized in search and rescue interventions with the Romanian General Inspectorate for Emergency Situations (IGSU), to provide support to the country heavily hit by last night's earthquake.

The decision was made in a meeting of the National Committee for Emergency Situations, convened by prime minister Nicolae Ciuca at the proposal of the Department for Emergency Situations, following consultation with president Klaus Iohannis.

According to a Government release, the Department for Emergency Situations, through the General Inspectorate for Emergency Situations, in its capacity as the national contact point, received from the Emergency Response Coordination Center of the European Commission (ERCC), through the Common Emergency Communication and Information System (CECIS), the request of the Turkish authorities for the granting of international assistance, considering the emergency situation generated by the 7.8-magnitude quake that hit the country last night.

"Following the activation of the EU Civil Protection Mechanism, the Government of Romania decided to send a RO-USAR team, specialized personnel for intervention in such situations with the IGSU, to Turkey, the country heavily affected by last night's earthquake. The support offered by the Romanian state was accepted by the Turkish authorities, specifying, at the same time, that the IGSU rescue teams, together with the SMURD Bucharest medical team (an integral part of INSARAG), together with the Romanian Air Force personnel with the MApN [the Ministry of National Defence], are already prepared for this support mission," the press release states.

The cited source specifies that the support will be granted based on the request for international assistance formulated by the Government of the Republic of Turkey under the EU Civil Protection Mechanism.

"Romania continues to honour its international commitments, remaining a partner in solidarity to states facing major emergency situations," further informs the press release.AGERPRES
Ten short films from seven countries have been selected to compete in the third edition of the Film O'Clock International Festival.

The festival will take place February 28 - March 4, with simultaneous runs in cinemas/physical spaces in seven countries: Lithuania, Ukraine, Romania, Greece, Bulgaria, Egypt and South Africa, as well as a series of online discussions and debates, told Agerpres.

In Romania, the Film O'Clock International Festival will be hosted by the Muzeul Taranului Cinema Hall in Bucharest.

The selection committee was composed of three renowned members - Andrew Mohsen, film critic and artistic director of the Cairo International Film Festival; Zhana Kalinova, programmer of the Sofia International Film Festival, and Mirona Radu, director, producer and director of the O'Clock International Film Festival.

From over 70 entries received from the participating countries, the committee chose the 10 films that will compete for the festival awards: "Aurica, a Dog's Life", directed by Mihai Dragolea (Romania); "Canary," directed by Chrysoula Korovesi and Marios Gampierakis (Greece); "Dad's sneakers," directed by Olha Zhurba (Ukraine); "Iota Period Omega," directed by Alexis Alexiou (Greece); "Liturgy of Anti-Tank Obstacles," directed by Dmytro Sukholytkyy-Sobchuk (Ukraine); "My Girl Friend," directed by Kawthar Younis (Egypt); "On/Off," directed by Jurg Slabbert (South Africa); "Parking Lot," directed by Jore Janaviciute (Lithuania); "Theatrical Romance," directed by Teodora-Kosara Popova (Bulgaria); and "To Vancouver", directed by Artemis Anastasiadou (Greece).

"I am very excited about this year's selection for it is challenging, full of strength and creativity. I am sure that it will satisfy the most demanding moviegoers and that it will be a starting point for substantial discussions with creators. I would like to remind you that we, Film O' Clock, we want to improve the viewing experience by means of moderated discussions after the screenings. For those for whom the previous festival experience is important, all the selected films brilliantly respond to this requirement, bringing together laurels from Venice, Berlinale, Locarno and Sundance," said Mirona Radu is quoted as saying in a press release.

In addition to film screenings and discussions with the creative teams, the festival will organise two online events on March 4.

At 11:30hrs, "Rethinking the Classics: A Modern Perspective" will be organised, a conference that will bring together film buffs, filmmakers, film critics and other industry experts to examine the definition of a "modern classic" and how films fall into this category "challenging heritage." The conference will also focus on the new generation of filmmakers and how they reflect on the past and the present.

"Her Story, Her Future: Empowering Women in the Film Industry," a conference that will explore the power of mentoring and networking as a way to support and encourage women in the film industry, will be organised at 15:00hrs, providing information about platforms and initiatives in participating countries that explore opportunities for interaction and collaboration.

The International Film O'Clock Festival was founded in 2021 with the aim of creating a communication and discussion platform for film lovers and filmmakers living in countries within the same time zone, the 25th meridian east, to celebrate time, empathy and cultural diversity.

The third edition of the festival is organised and produced by Creatrix Fama and the ABI Foundation.
Head of the Emergency Situations Department (DSU) Raed Arafat announced that Romania will send to Turkey a RO-USAR (Romanian Urban Search and Rescue Team) rescue team, made up of 60 persons and 4 search dogs, as well as three aircraft, which will transport seven tones of equipment.

He also mentioned that the team leaving on behalf of Romania is authorized by the United Nations, being trained for international interventions.

"We have offered support through the European Union Civil Protection Mechanism, through which the request was received from the Turkish authorities. We have been accepted. We were the second team to be accepted, after the Neatherlands, in order to send search and rescue teams. At this moment, our team is made up of 60 persons, who include: 52 persons on behalf of the search-rescue Unit of the Inspectorate General for Emergency Situations [IGSU]; medical personnel - two doctors and two nurses from the SMURD Bucharest [Mobile Emergency Service for Resuscitation and Extrication]; two volunteers from the Club of service dogs with two dogs that have participated in other missions, in addition to the two dogs that are also sent by the IGSU. So, we are talking about four search dogs, from the earthquake zones, trained in this regard," Arafat said at the Otopeni Airport.

Arafat mentioned that the Romanian Air Forces within the National Defence Ministry (MApN) put three aircraft at their disposal, which will transport 7 tones of search-rescue equipment, including tents and food, because the teams will have to be completely independent for a period of at least 14 days.

"The first two airplanes (...) will take two and a half hours to the point where they will land, which is the airport in Adana, after which the third plane, with a difference of about two hours, will leave with the rest of the equipment," he said.

Arafat added that today, a video-conference organised by the European Commission was held, that was also attended by other European states which intend to endorse Turkey.

"Almost all Europe is mobilizing and many offers will come and many have already been accepted this morning," Arafat said.

The DSU head mentioned that the support efforts must be coordinated with the authorities in Turkey, through the Department for Emergency Situations.

In respect to Romania's training for such a situation, at internal level, Raed Arafat stated that our country has spend, throughout the past years, "huge amounts" of European funds for equipment.

Nine Erasmus students will be brought to Romania, but our country also accepted to take over other European citizens, to bring them from Turkey, Arafat also mentioned. AGERPRES
Interior Minister Lucian Bode stated that Romania proves it is a provider of civil protection at European level through its participation in the international support mission in Turkey, adding that he is confident that the RO-USAR (Romanian Urban Search and Rescue Team) team will intervene exemplarily, as it has done in other mission, told Agerpres.

"Romania responded positively to a support request formulated through the European Union Civil Protection Mechanism, after the devastating earthquake which occurred last night in Turkey, near Gaziantep city. Romania's gesture to sent in a short period of time a complex team made up of 60 people with expertise on the search - rescue area, on the medical area - is one of solidarity in such a tragic situation and I am confident that, this time, too, the RO - USAR team will intervene exemplarily, as it has done in the previous mission on the territory of Albania," Bode wrote on Monday, on his Facebook page.

The Interior minister underscored that the professionalism of the Romanian rescuers is recognized across the world.

Head of the Emergency Situations Department (DSU) Raed Arafat announced that Romania will send to Turkey a RO-USAR rescue team, made up of 60 persons and 4 search dogs, as well as three aircraft, which will transport seven tones of equipment.
Romania's Interior Ministry (MAI) is still on the front line in all that means saving the people affected by the catastrophe in Turkey, Interior Minister Lucian Bode said on Monday, told Agerpres.

"MAI is still on the front line in all that means saving people in need. (...) We stand in solidarity with Turkey, a friendly country, a very good neighbour of Romania. We have already sent the first team of rescuers to the area affected by this catastrophe; we can say apocalyptic dimensions when talking about what happened in Turkey," Bode said at the Parliament House.

He added that on Monday morning Romania responded to the requests received through the European protection mechanism, being practically among the first member states to offer its help.

"Romania has already sent to Turkey the first 60 rescuers, 52 colleagues from Emergency Management Inspectorate (ISU), four doctors and nurses from SMURD, two coordinators from the Emergency Management Department (DSU), as well as two volunteers from an NGO, a DSU partner, who loaded over seven tonnes of first aid materials in the three aircraft. There are also four dogs specialised in such activities. When the first aircraft returns to Romania, the 10 Romanians will be brought back. (... ) At the same time, we have expressed our readiness to other states to evacuate their nationals, foreign nationals located in the stricken area in Turkey. If necessary, Romania will provide more," said Bode.

He added that all three aircraft that moved equipment to Turkey can be used to fly to Romania people who need it.

"Less than an hour ago, there were 13 states that expressed their willingness to provide aid. Let's see what the aid is made of. (...) We are paying great attention and are very concerned about the scale of this catastrophe; we are talking about apocalyptic dimensions. (...) Everything is coordinated at the European level. (...) The two DSU officers will enter the command body of the European mechanism and they will be part of the decision to coordinate these situations."

A 7.8-magnitude earthquake struck central Turkey and northwestern Syria at 04:17hrs. local time (01:17hrs GMT), according to the United States Geological Survey. The centre of the earthquake was the Turkish city of Gaziantep, not far from the border with Syria.

A 6.7-magnitude aftershock struck the same region about ten minutes later.
The Romanian Foreign Ministry (MAE) on Monday made public the emergency contacts for Romanians affected by recent major earthquakes in Turkey and recommended that the telephone lines not be busy.

According to MAE, in case of groups of affected Romanian citizens, it is recommended that only one person contact the consular staff, and that the information be disseminated to the others.

MAE advises the Romanian citizens in the areas affected by the earthquake to inform themselves from official sources about the developments at the scene and to follow the instructions of the Turkish authorities.

Romanian citizens can request consular assistance by dialling the telephone numbers of the Romanian Embassy in Ankara: +90.312.447.7945 and +90.312.447.7940, with the calls being redirected to the Contact and Support Centre for Romanian Citizens Abroad and taken over by a call centre 24/7.

At the same time, Romanian citizens can use the emergency telephone number of the consular section in Ankara: +90.532.318.1726.

MAE reported on Monday morning that the Romanian Embassy in Ankara was contacted on the emergency line of the diplomatic mission by a group of 10 Romanian citizens - a teacher and 9 Erasmus students - who were staying at a hotel at Kahraman Maras, an area hit by the earthquake. They requested consular assistance and support for repatriation and reported that they were safe. They will be repatriated by a military aircraft, according to the Department for Emergency Management. AGERPRES
Tickets are likely to go quickly starting Friday to see Neil Gaiman in St. Louis for the St. Louis Literary Award.

They go on sale at 10 a.m. Feb. 10. He will receive the award April 13 at the Sheldon Concert Hall in a live event with interviewer and St. Louis native Jon Hamm.

Tickets will be $10; buyers may purchase up to four tickets. Find more information on the event website.

Usually author events for the St. Louis Literary Award are free, but the demand is expected to exceed availability for Gaiman. The concert hall does have seats for just over 700.

Gaiman is the first awardee to have written a deep shelf of books for younger readers: His The Graveyard Book of 2009 won Newbery and Carnegie medals, and Coraline received Hugo and Nebula awards.

Many of Gaimans works have been developed for TV or film, including American Gods, Good Omens and Coraline. The Ocean at the End of the Lane has become a stage play in Britain. The Sandman, a series, premiered last summer on Netflix.

The St. Louis Literary Award is given through St. Louis University Libraries. The St. Louis Literary Award department also includes a Campus Read series, which is open to the public; the Undergraduate Writing Award; Literature & Medicine; Inspired By Arts Showcase for High School and College Students; and the Walter J. Ong S.J. Award for Excellence in Graduate Student Research.

Before Gaiman comes to St. Louis, a series of Campus Read Book talks take place over Zoom. Register here.

Neil Gaiman is one of those rare writers whose work transcends generations, not unlike Tolkien and Rowling or even former St. Louis Literary Award recipients Margaret Atwood, Edwidge Danticat and Michael Chabon, said Ted Ibur, executive director of the award. They are all writers who move seamlessly and beautifully when writing for children, YA or an adult audience.

Gaiman, however, has had his audience grow up with him over the past 30-plus years, with an ever-growing number of fans. Our selection committee saw in Neil Gaiman a brilliantly engaging writer whose characters and storylines feel simultaneously familiar and completely original.

Actor Hamm, who appeared in Good Omens, last year said in a Washington Post article that Neil breaks life down to the fundamentals of what it is that makes us human.

Hamm added: Its not about what makes us American, or what makes us Black or White or any of the labels that weve established for ourselves over the course of however many millennia weve been here, but what it is that connects us.

Disclosure: Jane Henderson was a member of the committee that selected Gaiman for the literary award.
UPDATED with additional details on victims

LINCOLN COUNTY  Three teenagers are dead and two others injured after a Sunday morning crash in Lincoln County.

Authorities said a 17-year-old girl was driving a 2008 Ford Focus too fast for conditions on South Chantilly Road, northeast of Moscow Mills, before 4 a.m. Sunday. The vehicle went airborne, south of Ethington Road. It landed and skidded, then struck a tree and overturned, according to the Missouri Highway Patrol.

Three passengers were pronounced dead at the scene: William Flickinger, 18, of Troy, Mo.; Emily McNees, 17; and Kaeden Tyler, 15.

The driver, also from Winfield, and another passenger, Trevor J. Bogert, 20, of Troy, Mo., were taken to Mercy Hospital with serious injuries.

No one in the vehicle was wearing a seat belt, authorities said.

The Missouri Highway Patrol arrived at the scene at around 4:15 a.m. after a request for assistance from the Lincoln County Sheriffs Department, patrol Cpl. Dallas Thompson said.

The school district released a statement Monday.

The Lincoln County R-III family was heartbroken to learn of the death of three of our students and the critical condition of another, the district wrote in the statement.

We extend our sympathy and condolences to the family of the students and all individuals impacted by this tragedy.

Emily was enrolled at St. Charles Community College and had wanted to be a nurse, according to her online obituary. Emily had been a cheerleader at Troy Buchanan High School; she graduated in December of 2022.

"Emily valued being with her family and loving on her baby cousins," her obituary said. "She had a smile that could light up a room. Emily was very social and enjoyed hanging out with her friends. She was the queen of selfies and had a big heart. Emily was forgiving, strong willed and loving."
Joe Holleman Joe Holleman is a reporter for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Follow Joe Holleman 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

Gov. Mike Parson declared Monday, Feb. 6, as Ronald Reagan Day in Missouri  making the Show-Me sector the 40th state to so honor the nations 40th president.

Parsons action drew a nice thank-you note from the Ronald Reagan Legacy Project, which has been pushing the designation since 2011.

Political wags may recall that the organization also was the main force behind a proposal in the early 2000s to put Reagans face on the $10 bill, replacing Alexander Hamilton.

That drive wilted, as did another to put Reagan on the dime coin, replacing President Franklin D. Roosevelt. That effort died when Nancy Reagan personally opposed the plan.
Updated at 7:45 p.m. Sunday with the identity of the victim.

FERGUSON  St. Louis County police are investigating the shooting death of a man found in Ferguson on Saturday.

Ferguson police officers were called to the 100 block of North Marguerite Avenue at 7:56 p.m. Saturday for a welfare check. When police arrived, they found 43-year-old Marcus Allen, of Marlborough, dead from a gun shot wound. Ferguson police asked the St. Louis County Police Department to lead the investigation, authorities said.

The public is asked to call the St. Louis County Police Department at 636-529-8210 or CrimeStoppers at 1-866-371-8477 with any information.
The boy, 13, told officers he was out walking on Mimika Avenue shortly before 10 p.m. when he heard gunfire and then felt pain in his back, po
JEFFERSON CITY  One senators plan aimed at China is likely to gain renewed attention after a suspected Chinese spy balloon drifted over Missouri on Friday before the U.S. military shot it down over the Atlantic Ocean on Saturday.

The measure by Senate President Pro Tem Caleb Rowden, R-Columbia, would ban TikTok, owned by Chinese company ByteDance Ltd., from state devices and would also bar China, Iran, North Korea and Russia, as well as entities controlled by the four nations, from owning real estate in Missouri.

Around the country, folks are taking notice of what states (including Missouri) are doing to push back against China and their continued aggression, Rowden said Sunday on Twitter. In Missouri, were going to keep pushing!

The limits on foreign ownership of farmland would mark a partial end to a policy lawmakers initiated in 2013 over the veto of Democratic Gov. Jay Nixon allowing foreign companies to control up to 1% of the states farmland.

The legislation allowed Shuanghui International of Hong Kong (now known as WH Group), which acquired Virginia-based Smithfield Foods, to legally own about 42,000 acres of Missouri farmland. Lawmakers moved again in 2015 to loosen oversight of foreign purchases.

Rowdens legislation, which would require voter approval in 2024, wouldnt touch the 1% cap on foreign-owned land but would ban purchases by some of the countrys biggest adversaries.

Rowden, as a state representative, supported the 2013 legislation allowing foreign ownership.

I think we know more about China, I think we know more about some of our adversaries now maybe than we did then, Rowden said Thursday. I think the worlds changed a little bit.

He said the bill is aimed at a blacklist of countries that we just dont trust enough to own our farmland.

As for companies like Germanys Bayer or Belgium-based Anheuser-Busch InBev, Rowden said, Im not sure that we should feel particularly threatened by that.

If the Chinese are buying farmland, you know, 15 miles outside of Fort Leonard Wood, that could be the problem, Rowden said.

As far as land that has already been purchased, you cant do anything about it, Rowden said. I think anything that you try to do that would be retroactive would be thrown out in court.

Rowden was mentioned Monday in Missouri Scout as a potential contender for secretary of state in 2024. His measure may not ultimately be the one that gains traction. In the Senate, there are at least nine measures addressing foreign ownership of farmland.

As for the provision banning TikTok, a spokeswoman for Gov. Mike Parson said in December that the app was already not allowed to be downloaded on state phones nor do any state phones have it.

Eight of the nine bills addressing real estate were sponsored by Republicans. But as recently as last year, state Sen. Doug Beck, D-St. Louis County, was the only lawmaker in the upper chamber who filed a bill addressing foreign ownership. (Democrat Trudy Busch Valentine hammered Republican U.S. Sen. Eric Schmitt on the issue during last years U.S. Senate race.)

Legislation this year by Beck would prohibit agricultural land acquisitions by foreign owners and would require proposed land deals by foreign owners to be submitted to the Department of Agriculture to determine whether such transfer of agricultural land is conveyed in accordance with the prohibition, according to a bill summary.

Becks bill has yet to receive a committee hearing.

The Senate Agriculture, Food Production and Outdoor Resources Committee held a hearing on foreign ownership legislation by Sen. Bill Eigel, R-Lake Saint Louis, on Jan. 24.

The committee that day also considered a plan by Sen. Jason Bean, R-Holcomb, to lower the 1% foreign ownership cap to 0.5% and bars foreign ownership within 30 miles of agricultural land, military installations and military contractors.
Max Herrick pulled over on the interstate near Harrisonville, Missouri, on a spring night in 2020 to offer antifreeze to a woman whose car had overheated.

He had lost a grandson to an overdose just hours before, but aiding stranded motorists was second nature to the 73-year-old retired school custodian, who remembered thousands of students names and regularly brought food pantry donations to a retirement community.

He always was there to help people, said his son Bobby Herrick, who was in the car with him that night.

Just moments later, a truck driver trying to text his wife a picture of the hand sanitizer he had purchased swerved onto the shoulder and plowed into the vehicles, according to court and crash records. While the truck driver was not injured and the woman and Bobby Herrick recovered from their injuries, Max Herrick became one of at least 382 people who died in Missouri crashes involving a distracted driver from 2017 through 2021, according to the Missouri Coalition for Roadway Safety.

Despite such tragedies, Missouri is one of two states  the other is Montana  that do not prohibit all drivers from text messaging while operating vehicles. (Missouri has such a law for people 21 and younger.)

Before this year, Missouri state lawmakers from both parties had proposed more than 80 bills since 2010 with varying levels of restrictions on cellphone use and driving. Similar legislation has been proposed in Montana, too. In both states, such bills have faltered, largely because Republican opponents say they dont think the laws work and are just another infringement on peoples civil liberties.

Nevertheless, Missouri Republicans and Democrats introduced at least seven bills this session concerning hand-held phone use while driving  and road safety advocates think such legislation has a better chance of passing this year. Montana, meanwhile, has a bill seeking to block localities distracted driving laws.

Im from the party that wants to minimize the amount of laws  and I agree  but you got to be smart about it, said Jeff Porter, a Republican and former Missouri state representative who proposed legislation three times to limit hand-held cellphone use. There are actually laws that are needed to try to provide awareness and save unnecessary deaths.

Supporters of hands-free driving laws concede that distracted driving restrictions are not a panacea for all traffic fatalities. And even if Missouri passes additional restrictions on cellphone use, small nuances in wording could influence whether such a law is effective.

Nationwide, about 3,000 people typically die in distracted driving crashes each year, according to National Highway Traffic Safety Administration data, though researchers suggest thats an undercount. While hands-free options are now standard for new vehicles, the number of distracted driving deaths has stayed relatively steady. They represented at least 1 in 12 traffic fatalities in 2020.

Distracted driving laws reduce fatalities  if, like the ones established in 24 states, they ban all hand-held cellphone use rather than banning only a specific activity such as texting, according to the Governors Highway Safety Association and a study published in 2021 in the journal Epidemiology. Banning texting alone does not make a difference, those researchers found.

Oregon and Washington saw significant reductions in the rates of monthly rear-end crashes when they broadened their laws to prohibit holding a cellphone as compared with states that banned only texting, according to a study from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. Those two states also prohibited holding a phone when stopped temporarily  say, at a red light.

If you tell a driver that they are breaking the law just by holding the phone in their hand, a police officer who is trying to enforce that law doesnt have to decide whether or not the driver is texting, said Ian Reagan, a senior research scientist at the Insurance Institute.

By contrast, California broadened its texting bans to prohibit holding and using a phone but did not specify whether that ban applied to a driver stopped temporarily. It did not see a significant reduction in rear-end crashes, which the researchers said are a more telling metric than the often-underreported crashes attributed to distracted driving.

Whatever the cause, traffic fatalities have soared since the pandemic began. Among the 10 states with the highest rates of deaths from fatal motor vehicle crashes in 2020, according to the Insurance Institute, only one, Tennessee, had a ban on hand-held phone use for all drivers at the time. Among the 10 states with the lowest rates of such fatalities, all but Utah had a handheld ban for all drivers.

Montana ranked fifth-highest, and Missouri came in at No. 12.

Adrienne Siddens lost her husband, Randall, who was working at a Columbia, Missouri, triathlon in 2019, because a woman using her cellphone to video chat was driving 18 mph over the speed limit and not paying attention to cars stopped at a red light. The driver swerved and entered a lane that was closed for the race, according to court records.

The woman hit two pedestrians, including Randall, who flew more than 127 feet. He spent most of the next six months on life support before dying.

I now have to raise our three beautiful babies alone, Adrienne Siddens, who was pregnant with their third child when the crash occurred, testified in a March 2022 hearing on Porters bill. With your help, passing this legislation and enforcing a hands-free policy, so many other families will not have to experience this grief.

Republicans referred the legislation to the state Houses Downsizing State Government Committee. The bill died.

State Rep. Tony Lovasco, a St. Charles County Republican who served on the committee, told Kaiser Health News hes concerned that either law enforcement could use a ban to stop people randomly or they would have difficulty enforcing it.

Im very hesitant to adopt a prohibition on a particular kind of distraction, as opposed to simply enforcing the traffic laws and making sure that people arent weaving in and out of lanes, Lovasco said.

In Montana, Republicans such as state Sen. Jeremy Trebas not only dont support a statewide ban, but they also want to overrule Missoula and the 14 other Montana cities, towns, and tribal governments that have enacted bans on hand-held cellphone use while driving.

These laws are going to make the roads more dangerous because people are just going to hide it and put the phone lower in their car instead of keeping their phone up and their eyes up, said Trebas, who drafted legislation this year that would prevent local governments from enacting such ordinances. Trebas described his evidence to support that assertion as mostly anecdotal.

John MacDonald, a former lobbyist for Missoula, opposed a similar bill by Trebas that failed in 2017. MacDonald ascribed resistance to a statewide ban to the same forces that made Montana the last state to establish a numerical speed limit; its limit was reasonable and prudent until 1999.

Its something ingrained in Montana that our vehicle is sort of an extension of our home, and the government should not be dictating to us how we can behave in that vehicle, said MacDonald.

A law like Trebas proposal already exists in Missouri: Even if a Missouri municipality establishes a ban on texting and driving, as the St. Louis suburb Kirkwood did in 2014, its not enforceable because the state says its law supersedes local ordinances.

Angela Nelson, AAA Missouris vice president of public affairs and government relations, said her groups past education on the perils of distracted driving has helped position new statewide proposals to pass this year. The group, part of a coalition that aims to curb distracted driving accidents, endorsed legislation from two Republicans that restricts holding an electronic communication device, as well as using one, while driving. Other Republican legislators introduced a measure to just expand the texting ban to all drivers, regardless of age. AAA has not taken a position on that one.

Lovasco, though, said it was too early to predict whether any will pass.

Siddens, who has advocated for such bills since she lost her husband, remains optimistic that Missouri lawmakers will pass a tougher law after hearing about the tragedies for so many years. At some point, they will do something about it, she said. They will have to.

Kaiser Health News (KHN) is a national health policy news service. It is an editorially independent program of the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation which is not affiliated with Kaiser Permanente.
JEFFERSON CITY  A state-run youth detention facility in north St. Louis, the scene of multiple escapes in recent years, may be shuttered under a plan backed by Gov. Mike Parson.

In his State of the State speech last month, the Republican chief executive called on lawmakers to approve $7.2 million in new spending to construct a new youth center in the St. Louis region that includes classrooms, dormitory space, a kitchen and offices.

If approved, the new facility would replace the Hogan Street Regional Youth Center, which is operated by the Missouri Department of Social Services.

The Hogan Street facility has outlived its usefulness, officials said.

It makes a lot of sense to do a replacement, said Scott Odum, director of the DSS Division of Youth Services.

While many of the states juvenile facilities operate out of the limelight in the $60 million per year juvenile justice division, Hogan Street has been in the news for escapes.

In June 2022, an 18-year-old man broke his ankles and fractured his spine while trying to run away.

In 2021, a teenager was charged after prosecutors say he and four other boys overpowered unarmed staff, forcing their way out of the building and taking two cars belonging to staff members.

The 35,100-square-foot building previously existed as a school for St. Liborious Catholic Church, which closed in 1992. The buildings three dormitories are located on the second floor.

For now, the agency isnt publicly saying whether it has a new site in mind.

I would say everythings on the table, Robert Knodell, director of DSS, said in an interview with the Post-Dispatch.

Juvenile justice programs operate under what is known as the Missouri Model, which places an emphasis on rehabilitation in small group settings with minimal physical force.

In 2021, the most recent year available, 86% of the youth released from custody did not return to the department of the adult prison system one year after release.

Not every case is a success story. In January, a teenage boy from Florissant pleaded guilty in St. Louis juvenile court to shooting at police while trying to flee in a stolen vehicle.

Judge Barbara T. Peeples declined to certify the 17-year-old as an adult. She ordered him committed to the Division of Youth Services until he turns 18.

In testimony prior to the decision, officials said the boy had 21 prior referrals to the juvenile court system, mainly in St. Louis County, where hed received numerous services. He previously ran from the Hogan Street facility.

In an interview with the Post-Dispatch, the boys grandmother said he lived with her in Florissant. She said he was jumped at Hogan, which motivated him to escape from the secure facility.

My grandson ran because they were jumping on him, the grandmother said.

The agency, meanwhile, wants to keep the new facility within the orbit of the St. Louis region to keep youth close to home and to keep workers close to their job sites.

Wed like to stay in the existing area, Odum said.

Hogan is designed to hold three groups of eight to 10 youths. But because of staffing levels, instead of 30 kids, there are 14. Across the division, there is money to operate 50 groups, but only 38 are in place due to limited staff.

With salary hikes and increased hourly pay for overnight workers, hiring may be on an upswing.

Were close to some stability on the staffing front, Odum said.

According to the agencys budget request, turnover in the youth division was at 48%, meaning nearly half of the workers came and left within the year.

Of those, the frontline youth specialists who deal directly with the juveniles had the highest rate of turnover, according to the agencys budget request.

The number of youth sent to the juvenile centers has dropped dramatically in recent years. Last year, the facilities were home to an estimated 913 youth, down from more than 1,400 in 2017.

That drop could be due to the effects of the pandemic on policing and court operations, which may have reduced the number of commitments to the state facilities.

In June 2020, the majority of youth housed at Hogan Street tested positive for COVID-19.

Fifteen of 28 residents at the center had active infections at the time, while eight of 42 staff had active infections.

The pandemic challenged Missouris model for handling juvenile offenders.

Under the state program, youth are housed in dormitories rather than in individual rooms. That made it easier for COVID-19 to be transmitted among the residents and staff.

For workers, entering the facilities was a big ask.

But, Odum said, They did very hard work for a very long time. Our culture is intact.

Jesse Bogan of the Post-Dispatch contributed to this report
WASHINGTON  U.S. lawmakers are sounding the alarm about challenges facing the U.S. defense industrial base as the war in Ukraine strains weapon supplies.

It could take years to replenish certain types of weapons the U.S. sent to Kyiv, with no easy way to ramp up production quickly. That has policymakers deeply concerned about whether the U.S. would be able to field enough weapons if conflict broke out in the Taiwan Strait.

The House Armed Services Committee is scheduled to examine the defense industrial base during its second hearing of the year on Wednesday.

"This ought to be a flashing red light for us, and it's shocking to me," said Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, during an event at the American Enterprise Institute in late January. "This is a huge, glaring problem."

The issue could prove crucial as Congress considers its annual defense policy legislation. After President Joe Biden sends Congress his fiscal 2024 budget in March, the defense committees will begin compiling the mammoth bill, with a House markup expected in the late spring or summer.

"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," Rep. Adam Smith, D-Wash., ranking member of the House Armed Services Committee, said in a Fox News interview. "It's a huge priority for our committee to increase that production capacity."

Pressing shortages

According to a report published by the Center for Strategic and International Studies, the U.S. could run out of critical weapons like long-range, precision-guided munitions less than a week into a possible Taiwan Strait war.

The report stresses that U.S. aid to Ukraine is not the problem in and of itself, since a war in the Indo-Pacific would largely require different types of weapons. But the sheer number of munitions required to sustain Ukraine  where the U.S. is not even actively involved  clarifies how quickly stockpiles could be depleted if another war broke out.

"The war in Ukraine has shown us that our industrial base is not prepared," said CSIS International Security Program director Seth G. Jones, the report's author. "It's not producing the kinds of munitions and materiel we need for a conventional war and for conventional deterrence. So, you know, it's a wake-up call."

Part of the problem, Jones said, is that defense contractors cut back on production of certain weapons when there's less need for them, making it difficult to scale up quickly when demand surges.

It could take seven years to restore U.S. inventories of 155mm precision-guided munitions, eight years to replace Javelin anti-tank missile systems and 18 years to replace Stinger surface-to-air missiles, according to a CSIS analysis of how long it would take at recent production rates to replenish weapon inventories.

If the Defense Department surges production by committing more funding, those timelines speed up significantly  but still linger in the multiyear range, according to that analysis.

"What industry will tell you is that the reason that they don't have the ability to make as many weapons as we now need is because they don't want to make that major investment without what they refer to as a demand signal, without knowing that we're going to buy them," Smith said. "Predicting future conflict is actually more difficult than it looks. U.S. taxpayers don't want to spend a ton of money on weapons that we don't need."

Congressional efforts

Lawmakers made some policy changes with an eye to defense industrial base issues in the most recent National Defense Authorization Act, which was signed into law last December.

The legislation authorized the Pentagon to establish multiyear contracts for certain weapons the U.S. provided to Ukraine.

Multiyear conflicts encourage higher production rates because contractors can count on a stable supply of funding over longer periods of time.

"In the last NDAA, we put specific language in to encourage the production of munitions because we're using so much  particularly artillery shells," said Democrat Jack Reed of Rhode Island, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee. "So we are very, very conscious of our industrial base."

Defense Department officials maintain they're aware of the challenges and have been working to address them. During a media roundtable in late January, Douglas Bush, the assistant Army secretary for acquisition, said the Pentagon is working to develop multiyear contracts based on the new authorities Congress provided in the NDAA.

He also said he was confident in the department's ability to speed up production of critical weapons should war break out in the Indo-Pacific.

"What I have seen from this ramp-up is, I do believe we are capable of ramping up quickly, because we're doing it right now, and I believe that American industry can and would respond," Bush said. "I think there are really important policy questions to think through regarding how big the war reserves need to be, how much planning we do for mobilization in advance, and how much resources we're willing to put against this need."
ISLAMABAD  Gen. Pervez Musharraf, who seized power in a bloodless coup and later led a reluctant Pakistan into aiding the U.S. war in Afghanistan against the Taliban, has died, officials said Sunday. He was 79.

Musharraf, a former special forces commando, became president through the last of a string of military coups that roiled Pakistan since its founding amid the bloody 1947 partition of India. He ruled the nuclear-armed state after his 1999 coup through tensions with India, an atomic proliferation scandal and an Islamic extremist insurgency. He stepped down in 2008 while facing possible impeachment.

Later in life, Musharraf lived in self-imposed exile in Dubai to avoid criminal charges, despite attempting a political comeback in 2012. But it wasnt to be as his poor health plagued his last years. He maintained a soldiers fatalism after avoiding a violent death that always seemed to be stalking him as Islamic militants twice targeted him for assassination.

I have confronted death and defied it several times in the past because destiny and fate have always smiled on me, Musharraf once wrote. I only pray that I have more than the proverbial nine lives of a cat.

Musharrafs family announced in June 2022 that he had been hospitalized for weeks in Dubai while suffering from amyloidosis, an incurable condition that sees proteins build up in the bodys organs. They later said he also needed access to the drug daratumumab, which is used to treat multiple myeloma. That bone marrow cancer can cause amyloidosis.

Shazia Siraj, a spokeswoman for the Pakistani Consulate in Dubai, confirmed his death and said diplomats were providing support to his family.

The Pakistani military also offered its condolences as did Pakistani Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif, the younger brother of the prime minister Musharraf overthrew in 1999.

May God give his family the courage to bear this loss, Sharif said.

Pakistan, a nation nearly twice the size of California along the Arabian Sea, is now home to 220 million people. But it would be its border with Afghanistan that would draw the U.S.s attention and dominate Musharrafs life a little under two years after he seized power.

Al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden launched the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks from Afghanistan, sheltered by the countrys Taliban rulers. Musharraf knew what would come next.

America was sure to react violently, like a wounded bear, he wrote in his autobiography. If the perpetrator turned out to be al-Qaida, then that wounded bear would come charging straight toward us.

By Sept. 12, then-U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell told Musharraf that Pakistan would either be with us or against us. Musharraf said another American official threatened to bomb Pakistan back into the Stone Age if it chose the latter.

Musharraf chose the former. A month later, he stood by then-President George W. Bush at the Waldorf Astoria in New York to declare Pakistans unwavering support to fight with the United States against terrorism in all its forms wherever it exists.

Pakistan became a crucial transit point for NATO supplies headed to landlocked Afghanistan. That was the case even though Pakistans powerful Inter-Services Intelligence agency had backed the Taliban after it swept into power in Afghanistan in 1994. Prior to that, the CIA and others funneled money and arms through the ISI to Islamic fighters battling the 1980s Soviet occupation of Afghanistan.

The U.S.-led invasion of Afghanistan saw Taliban fighters flee over the border back into Pakistan, including bin Laden, whom the U.S. would kill in 2011 at a compound in Abbottabad. They regrouped and the offshoot Pakistani Taliban emerged, beginning a yearslong insurgency in the mountainous border region between Afghanistan and Pakistan.

The CIA began flying armed Predator drones from Pakistan with Musharrafs blessing, using an airstrip built by the founding president of the United Arab Emirates for falconing in Pakistans Balochistan province. The program helped beat back the militants but saw over 400 strikes in Pakistan alone kill at least 2,366 people  including 245 civilians, according to the Washington-based New America Foundation think tank.

Born Aug. 11, 1943, in New Delhi, India, Musharraf was the middle son of a diplomat. His family joined millions of other Muslims in fleeing westward when predominantly Hindu India and Islamic Pakistan split during independence from Britain in 1947. The partition saw hundreds of thousands of people killed in riots and fighting.

Musharraf entered the Pakistani army at age 18 and made his career there as Islamabad fought three wars against India. Hed launch his own attempt at capturing territory in the disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir in 1999 just before seizing power from Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.

Yet as ruler, Musharraf nearly reached a deal with India on Kashmir, according to U.S. diplomats at the time. He also worked toward a rapprochement with Pakistans longtime rival.
President Joe Biden is under pressure from activists to make good on his 2020 campaign vow to prioritize gun reform, with some suggesting that Tuesdays State of the Union address would be the perfect forum to get specific about whats next. Theyre right. While the Republican-controlled House will block any significant legislation for the next two years, there are things Biden can do administratively. As one activist told Politico, theyre calling on Biden not to just ask Congress to do something, but to also do more himself.

For starters, he can and should declare a national emergency in response to the epidemic of gun violence, which would create a framework for taking action. Thats one of the recommendations of a letter signed by 117 gun-reform organizations.

As first reported recently by Politico, the coalition is also calling on Biden to establish a federal office of gun violence prevention with a fulltime director to coordinate between agencies that would be involved in gun-safety reforms. Among those reforms could be the clarification of licensing requirements for gun dealers through the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, with an eye toward expanding the use of criminal background checks in gun sales.

Its an issue of special importance in states like Missouri, which has no background-check requirements in state law. Only federally licensed dealers here are required to run those checks. This creates a loophole in which a private, unlicensed seller can legally sell a gun to a complete stranger without a background check, as long as the seller isnt engaged in the business of selling firearms.

Its a vague standard that some might argue wouldnt apply to, say, those who sell firearms on the side out of a home or at gun shows. But reformers argue the bureau could clarify with a rule that the licensing standard applies to anyone who sells guns for profit  a logical definition and one that would loop in more sellers, thus requiring background checks of their buyers, even in Missouri.

Activists are also asking Biden for more stringent enforcement of an existing law restricting the importation of foreign-made assault weapons. They want the Federal Trade Commission to crack down on deceptive firearms advertising and marketing to minors. And they want Biden to press Congress for $5 billion to community violence intervention programs and incentives for states to establish their own offices of gun violence prevention.

As the coalitions letter notes, the new Republican House majority has the stated intention  to block life-saving legislation on guns. The presidents go-to strategy lately of just calling for the revival of the assault weapons ban isnt a realistic goal in the current Congress. But these and other administrative suggestions are concrete steps he can take while continuing to use the presidential pulpit to keep the issue in the public eye.
Taiwan was impressed with how Ukraine defeated the Russian 2022 invasion, but Taiwanese leaders are still trying to determine how best to translate the Ukrainian experience into something Taiwan can use. The missing element appears to be the military training Ukrainians underwent between 2015 and 2021. This was in reaction to the Russian seizure of Crimea and some of eastern Ukraine in 2014. The unexpected rapid mobilization of Ukrainian troops persuaded the Russians to agree to a ceasefire that lasted until 2022. During the ceasefire Ukraine reformed, retained and rearmed its military. Thats what Taiwan is now doing. The first step was to increase conscript service from three to twelve months. Next came changes to the training conscripts receive. The new training program concentrates on teaching Taiwanese to fight effectively using proven training techniques used by Western nations and now by Ukraine as well. China has also adopted many of these techniques but no longer has conscription and implemented the training program in a haphazard fashion. If Taiwan can implement the training realistically and thoroughly Taiwanese troops will have an edge if China attacks.

China has been reluctant to attack because such an operation is not guaranteed to work and failure costs China a lot more than Taiwan. If the Chinese attack fails, the Chinese communist government and supreme leader Xi Jinping and the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) are in big trouble because of the economic damage that will do to China. Sanctions and blockade imposed on China will be far worse if the fighting, or Taiwanese scorched earth tactics, significantly damages or destroys key Taiwanese electronic component manufacturing operations. Taiwan is the sole source for many of these components and losing that production will have far reaching economic repercussions worldwide.

Taiwan is seeking to reduce that dependence on production that takes place only in Taiwan by establishing plants in other countries to provide another source of these components. That is a work-in-progress that will take several years to complete. The military reforms follow a similar timeline. These reforms have to carefully translate Ukrainian experience and Western training methods into something that works for Taiwan. This requires cooperation between Taiwanese military procurement efforts and military reform.

The Ukrainian experience has already persuaded most Taiwanese that they could reliably defeat Chinese attack plans. Taiwanese also note that CCP rule in China is failing, especially since Xi Jinping reversed many of the reforms the CCP implemented in the 1980s to get the Chinese economy going and curb most government efforts to disrupt that economic growth. Democracies have similar problems but, because they are democracies have an effective way to fix things by electing new officials.
MONTRAL, QC / ACCESSWIRE / February 6, 2023 / Critical Elements Lithium Corporation (TSX-V:CRE)(OTCQX:CRECF)(FSE:F12) ("Critical Elements" or the "Corporation") is pleased to announce that the Environmental and Social Impact Review Committee (the "COMEX") "), an independent body composed of members appointed by the governments of Quebec and the Cree Nation, has completed its review of Hydro-Quebec's connection of the Rose Lithium-Tantalum mine and 315-kV Eastmain-1-Nemiscau powerline relocation project, and recommends that the Quebec Minister of the Environment, the Fight against Climate Change, Wildlife and Parks (the "Minister") authorize the connection and powerline relocation project, subject to certain conditions.

The recommendation was adopted at the 408th meeting of the COMEX held on November 2, 2022, however it was just recently made public with the release of the minutes of the meeting on the COMEX website.

This is another significant step for the Rose Lithium-Tantalum Project ("Rose" or the "Project"). For the Project to go forward, Hydro-Quebec will have to relocate a segment of the Eastmain-1-Nemiscau line (which currently crosses the future mine site on a distance of 4.1 km), construct a 315/25-kV transformer substation, and connect the mine to the Eastmain-1-Nemiscau powerline.

With the favourable decision of the Federal Minister of Environment and Climate Change rendered in August 2021, the approval by the Quebec Minister of Natural Resources and Forests of the rehabilitation and restoration plan concerning the Project in May 2022, the receipt of the Certificate of Authorization pursuant to section 164 of Quebec's Environment Quality Act from the Minister in November 2022, and the COMEX recommending that the Minister authorize Hydro-Quebec's connection and powerline relocation project, the Corporation is getting a step closer to moving forward with the Project.

"With the COMEX recommending the authorization of Hydro-Quebec's connection and powerline relocation project, we hope that Hydro-Quebec will soon get the required authorization from the Minister of the Environment, the Fight against Climate Change, Wildlife and Parks. We are excited about the prospect of moving forward with the Rose Lithium-Tantalum Project in the James Bay Eeyou Istchee region," stated Jean-Sebastien Lavallee, CEO of Critical Elements.

About Critical Elements Lithium Corporation

Critical Elements aspires to become a large, responsible supplier of lithium to the flourishing electric vehicle and energy storage system industries. To this end, Critical Elements is advancing the wholly owned, high purity Rose lithium project in Quebec, the Corporation's first lithium project to be advanced within a land portfolio of over 1,050 square kilometers. On June 13th, 2022, the Corporation announced results of a feasibility study on Rose for the production of spodumene concentrate. The after-tax internal rate of return for the Project is estimated at 82.4%, with an estimated after-tax net present value of US$1.9 B at an 8% discount rate. In the Corporation's view, Quebec is strategically well-positioned for US and EU markets and boasts good infrastructure including a low-cost, low-carbon power grid featuring 93% hydroelectricity. The project has received approval from the Federal Minister of Environment and Climate Change on the recommendation of the Joint Assessment Committee, comprised of representatives from the Impact Assessment Agency of Canada and the Cree Nation Government and also received the Certificate of Authorization pursuant to section 164 of Quebec's Environment Quality Act from the Quebec Minister of the Environment, the Fight against Climate Change, Wildlife and Parks.

For further information, please contact:

Patrick Laperriere

Director of Investor Relations and Corporate Development

514-817-1119

[email protected]

www.cecorp.ca

Jean-Sebastien Lavallee, P. Geo.

Chief Executive Officer

819-354-5146

[email protected]

www.cecorp.ca

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is described in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Cautionary statement concerning forward-looking statements

This news release contains "forward-looking information" within the meaning of Canadian Securities legislation. Generally, forward-looking information can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "scheduled", "anticipates", "expects" or "does not expect", "is expected", "scheduled", "targeted", or "believes", or variations of such words and phrases or statements that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will be taken", "occur" or "be achieved". Forward-looking information contained herein include, without limitation, the permitting process of the Rose Lithium-Tantalum Project, as well as the outcome of such process and positive effects for the Rose Lithium-Tantalum Project. Forward-looking information is based on assumptions management believes to be reasonable at the time such statements are made. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information.

Although Critical Elements has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. Factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from expected results described in forward-looking information include, but are not limited to: the final outcome of the permitting process, the Corporation's ability to meet all conditions imposed thereunder and its effects on the development of the Rose Project, as well as those risk factors set out in the Corporation's Management Discussion and Analysis for its most recent quarter ended November 30, 2022 and other disclosure documents available under the Corporation's SEDAR profile. Forward-looking information contained herein is made as of the date of this news release and Critical Elements disclaims any obligation to update any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or results or otherwise, except as required by applicable securities laws.

SOURCE: Critical Elements Lithium Corporation

View source version on accesswire.com:
VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / February 6, 2023 / Relevant Gold Corp. (CSE:RGC) (the "Company" or "Relevant Gold") is pleased to announce the results of its initial 3,500m drilling exploration program on its Golden Buffalo Project, located in the Company's 15,095 hectare land package in the South Pass Gold Field, Wyoming, USA. Highlights of the program include 1 metre (core length) of 83.8 g/ton Au in Hole 22GB-012 and 14 of 26 holes reporting anomalous gold (>0.1 g/ton Au). The results indicate that the Golden Buffalo Shear is a fertile orogenic gold structure and provides initial proof of concept that large scale Abitibi-style mineralization may exist in central Wyoming (See Press Release 11/07/2022). Drilling Highlights include:

Hole 22GB-012: 1 metre (m) core length of 83.8 g/ton Au from 170m - 171m and 2m grading 0.17 g/ton Au from 171-173m representing a discrete 3m shear zone grading 28 g/ton Au

and representing a discrete 3m shear zone grading 28 g/ton Au 22GB-013: 1.29m (core length) of 0.62 g/ton Au from 104.32m - 105.61m and 0.84m of 1.16 g/ton Au from 138m - 138.84m

and Hole 22GB-006: 3.2m (core length) of 0.53 g/ton Au from 32m - 35.2m

from 32m - 35.2m Mineralization was consistently found in individual shear strands within the overall 20m+ wide Golden Buffalo Shear Zone.

54% of holes drilled intersected anomalous (>0.1 g/ton Au) gold mineralization

Orogenic/Abitibi-style alteration observed in all 26 drill holes.

Drill holes stepping out 400-500m to the North confirmed continuity of multiple mineralized shear zones parallel to the Golden Buffalo Shear Zone (GBSZ).

The holes reported here from the 2022 Golden Buffalo exploration program are the first efforts to identify district-scale orogenic gold opportunities in the long underexplored central Wyoming Gold Belt. High-grade gold has long been known from the region, but only recently have a series of major Archean shear zones been recognized as hosting this gold. This indicates modern exploration concepts of "orogenic gold", such as those developed in the prolific Canadian Abitibi Gold Belt (>200 million ounces of gold production) can be applied in the region. Importantly, recent plate tectonic studies suggest that Wyoming was connected to the Abitibi Gold Belt at the time of mineralization and was later rifted apart to its present position. This increases the potential that the multiple shears identified to date in the Company's 15,095 hectare land package should have excellent potential for a major gold discovery. These shears are being systematically mapped and sampled, with initial results expected soon.

"These exciting results confirm gold mineralization and Abitibi-style alteration are indeed associated with large-scale shear structures cutting the property. The high-grade gold in 22GB-012 proves that gold mineralization continues to depth, confirming that our Abitibi-style gold mineralization model is appropriate for the project," said Robert Bergmann, CEO of Relevant Gold. "We are very excited with these results and look forward to combining them with our regional mapping and sampling to target the multiple Golden Buffalo-style shear zones we've mapped traversing the claim package. We eagerly anticipate drilling some of these shears in our 2023 work program."

Key Observations from Drill Core

The Company's primary focus for this drilling program was to test the continuation of the Golden Buffalo Shear Zone to depth, along strike and begin to define the subsurface geology, architecture, alteration and pathfinder geochemistry. The following key observations were made:

The Golden Buffalo Shear Zone is traceable from surface to a vertical depth of at least 300m. It remains open at depth.

Strike length of the Golden Buffalo Shear Zone was expanded to approximately 800m. Step out holes 400 - 500m to the North (22GB-009 and 22GB-014) cut multiple mineralized shear zones parallel to the Golden Buffalo Shear Zone.

Gold mineralization correlates strongly with As, Ag, Sb and W.

Deep drilling beneath the Golden Buffalo Shear Zone from holes 22GB-009 and 22GB-014 illustrates widening of the Golden Buffalo Shear Zone at depth.

Abundant episodic, complex quartz vein arrays were cut in most drill holes.

Quartz veining includes steeply dipping (~85) shear parallel veins and repeated shallowly- dipping (~35) extensional vein sequences.

Below the 30-50m oxidized zone, pyrite-pyrrhotite is associated with shear zones and related quartz veining.

Alteration mineralogy includes an Abitibi-style assemblage of biotite, chlorite, actinolite, sericite, tourmaline and silicification.

The style of orogenic quartz-sulfide veining is typical of that occurring in a brittle-ductile transition zone.

Shear zones consist of an anastomosing, multi-strand array of E-W striking, steeply south (~85) dipping structures that vary in width from 150m.

Twenty-six holes were completed, totaling 3,478m, of HQ and PQ oriented diamond core drilling (Figure 1). Hole 22GB-012 intersected 1m (core length) of 83.8 g/ton Au from 170m - 171m within a discrete 3m wide mineralized shear strand averaging 28 g/t gold, which importantly correlates as the downdip extension of the surface trace of the Golden Buffalo Shear Zone (Figure 2). Hole 22GB-013 was drilled from the same pad (different azimuth) and intersected 1.29m of 0.62 g/ton Au from 104.32m - 105.61m and 0.84m of 1.16 g/ton Au from 134m - 134.85m within the Golden Buffalo Shear Zone (see core photos).

Surface trenching and drilling has begun to define the Golden Buffalo Shear Zone as a series of anastomosing shear strands within an overall zone ranging from 150m wide. Both the high-grade mineralization cut in drill core and surface trench data shows that gold mineralization occurs along the contact margins of the Golden Buffalo Shear Zone within a heavily sheared and compositionally banded schist subunit of the regionally productive Miner's Delight Formation.

The gold-bearing intercepts lie in similar shear "strands" within the overall shear zone, indicating at least one fertile gold mineralization stage. The 83.8 g/t gold interval lies within a 3m mineralized shear strand, which fits with the style of high-grade coarse gold found variably distributed within the 20m+ wide shear zone historically mined at Golden Buffalo. This suggests the entire 3m wide strand could intermittently contain similar coarse gold along strike and dip.

The Company understands that orogenic gold systems display coarse gold biases ("nugget effects") in assay results, so the Company uses a rigorous analytical process and has submitted samples to ALS for reruns and additional analysis to further understand the variability of high-grade coarse gold at the Golden Buffalo project and the best protocols for accurately determining gold contents.

"Our experience in these systems predicted this issue, which is why we are refining our analytical process to understand the distribution of coarse gold within the broader shear zone," stated Brian Lentz, CXO. "The super high-grade result in Hole 12, plus seeing visible gold in the cuttings from intervals that did not report appreciable grades, has stimulated re-assaying larger bulk samples from several intervals to determine if coarse gold was not adequately captured by the protocols used initially. Those results will be reported once in hand".

Figure 1. Plan view map of drill hole traces with downhole lithology and gold assays (100ppb = 0.1 g/ton).

Figure 2. Cross section of holes 22GB-012 and 22GB-013.

Highlighted Drilling Results:

Table 1. Highlight intercepts of gold assay results from initial 2022 drilling at Golden Buffalo. This table shows all the anomalous gold assay results of >/= 0.1 g/ton Au with results of >0.25 g/ton as bolded text. All intervals shown above are core length intervals.

QA/QC

Samples were submitted to the certified laboratory ALS Minerals, Inc for preparation and assaying at their Twin Falls, Idaho; Reno, NV; Loas, PDR; Hermosillo and Zacatecas, Mexico facilities; additional assaying and analysis was performed at their Reno, USA, Mexico, Loas and North Vancouver, Canada facilities (ALS facility info here). Most samples were fire assayed for gold with the Au-AA24 method using a 50g sample and atomic absorption finish, and some samples were analyzed with the Au-AA23 method using a 30g sample, also with the atomic absorption finish. Additional assay methods included metallic screen fire (Au-SCR24) and gravimetric assays (Au-GRA22). Furthermore, some samples were analyzed for multi-element geochemistry using method ME-MS61 with a 4-acid digestion.

ALS employs an internal QA/QC to ensure proper sample preparation and equipment calibration. Additionally, Relevant Gold's QA/QC program includes regular insertion of CRM standards, duplicates, and blanks into the sample batches to further monitor lab accuracy, precision, and equipment calibration.

All results and QA/QC have been reviewed by Mr. Brian Lentz, CPG, who is the Chief Exploration Officer and Qualified Person for the Company.

About Relevant Gold Corp.

Relevant Gold Corp. is a North American gold exploration company founded by experienced exploration geologists and operated by a highly respected team with a proven record of significant value creation for shareholders. Relevant Gold is focused on the acquisition, exploration, discovery, and development of district-scale gold projects in the state of Wyoming - one of the most mining friendly jurisdictions in the United States and globally.

On behalf of Relevant Gold Corp.,

Rob Bergmann, Chief Executive Officer

More information

For further information about Relevant Gold Corp. or this news release, please visit our website at www.relevantgoldcorp.com or contact Rob Bergmann, President and CEO, or Kristopher Jensen, Manager of Investor Relations, at 763-760-4886 or by email at [email protected].

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements and Historical Information

This news release contains certain statements that constitute forward looking information within the meaning of applicable securities laws. These statements relate to future events of Relevant Gold Corp. ("Relevant" or "Relevant Gold" or "the Company"). Any statements that express or involve discussions with respect to predictions, expectations, beliefs, plans, projections, objectives, assumptions or future events or performance (often, but not always, using words or phrases such as "seek", "anticipate", "plan", "continue", "estimate", "expect", "forecast", "may", "will", "project", "predict", "potential", "targeting", "intend", "could", "might", "should", "believe", "outlook" and similar expressions) are not statements of historical fact and may be forward looking information. Forward looking information involves known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking information. Such risks include, among others, the inherent risk of the mining industry; adverse economic and market developments; the risk that the Company will not be successful in completing additional acquisitions; risks relating to the estimation of mineral resources; the possibility that the Company's estimated burn rate may be higher than anticipated; risks of unexpected cost increases; risks of labour shortages; risks relating to exploration and development activities; risks relating to future prices of mineral resources; risks related to work site accidents, risks related to geological uncertainties and variations; risks related to government and community support of the company's projects; risks related to global pandemics and other risks related to the mining industry. The Company believes that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking information are reasonable, but no assurance can be given that these expectations will prove to be correct and such forwardalooking information should not be unduly relied upon. These statements speak only as of the date of this news release. The Company does not intend, and does not assume any obligation, to update any forwardalooking information except as required by law. This document does not constitute an offer to sell, or a solicitation of an offer to buy, securities of the Company in Canada, the United States or any other jurisdiction. Any such offer to sell or solicitation of an offer to buy the securities described herein will be made only pursuant to subscription documentation between the Company and prospective purchasers. Any such offering will be made in reliance upon exemptions from the prospectus and registration requirements under applicable securities laws, pursuant to a subscription agreement to be entered into by the Company and prospective investors.

The scientific and technical contents of this release have been approved by Mr. Brian C. Lentz, CPG #11999, Chief Exploration Officer of the Company, who is a "Qualified Person" as defined by Canadian National Instrument 43-101 (Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects). Mr. Lentz is not independent of the Company.

SOURCE: Relevant Gold Corp.

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TORONTO--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- CIBC Innovation Banking today announced that Mark Usher has been appointed Senior Vice-President, Innovation Banking; President and Executive Managing Director, CIBC Innovation Banking, effective February 28, 2023, taking on the role currently held by Mark McQueen who is departing to start the next chapter in his career.

Under Mark McQueens leadership, CIBC Innovation Banking has become a leading financial services provider to entrepreneurs and investors in the North American innovation economy. Building CIBC Innovation Banking from the ground up to 14 offices globally today, Mark and his team have been instrumental in helping execute on our client-focused strategy and positioning this business well for the future.

Marks deep passion for his work leaves an indelible mark on the many clients he has helped to achieve their ambitions, said Jon Hountalas, Group Head, Canadian Banking. We wish him all the best as he takes on new adventures.

Mark Usher joined CIBC with the acquisition of Wellington Financial in 2018 where he has served as a key member of the leadership team and has been pivotal in building the Innovation Banking business. He brings more than 25 years of financial services and innovation economy experience to this role, including deep relationships with many of CIBCs existing clients and industry stakeholders.

Mark has a proven track record and has established himself as a dedicated and client-focused leader who is well-positioned to continue to build our business in the innovation ecosystem on both sides of the border, added Hountalas.

I look forward to working with our team to help our clients achieve their ambitions in the innovation ecosystem, said Mr. Usher. Were proud of the relationships weve built together in the five years since CIBC and Wellington Financial came together, and our entire team is committed to delivering for our clients as we move forward.

About CIBC Innovation Banking

CIBC Innovation Banking delivers strategic advice, cash management and funding to innovation companies across North America, the UK, and select European countries at each stage of their business cycle, from start up to IPO and beyond. With offices in Atlanta, Austin, Boston, Chicago, Denver, Durham, London, Menlo Park, Montreal, New York, Reston, Seattle, Toronto and Vancouver, the team has extensive experience and a strong, collaborative approach that extends across CIBCs commercial banking, private banking, wealth management and capital markets businesses.

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Deborah Rowe [email protected] 416-586-7019

Source: CIBC Innovation Banking
MIAMI--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Following the release of the Zero Draft of the pandemic accord (WHO CA+) by the World Health Organization (WHO) Intergovernmental Negotiating Body (INB) on Feb. 1, AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) urges the establishment of an independent body, outside and above the WHOs governance structure, to prevent another public health catastrophe like the COVID-19 pandemic. The INBs WHO CA+ will be up for consideration at its fourth meeting on February 27 through March 3.

The Lancet article A Global Public Health Convention for the 21st Century details the reforms needed for a new global health architecture, which are covered in a range of important topics, including equity, governance, global coordination, and global health financing. While the Zero Draft includes several of the recommendations in the article, the WHO CA+ lacks an adequate proposal for an effective governing body with appropriate mechanisms to promote compliance.

Prior to the publication of the Zero Draft, global public health experts called for the creation of an independent body that sits above or outside of the governance structure of the WHO. The need for such a body to be established by the UN General Assembly and comprised of heads of state and governments has also been echoed in the G20 High-Level Independent Panel report, published in June of 2021.

It was clear before and during the peaks of the pandemic that the WHO was not enoughnot strong enough nor trusted enoughto enforce or convince all countries to follow the International Health Regulations [IHR-2005]. Too many countries went their own way and ignored WHO recommendations, said Dr. Jorge Saavedra, Executive Director of the AHF Global Public Health Institute. COVID-19 touched and impacted everything, from health and the economy to politics and communities. The WHO wasnt sufficient, and thus we need a more effective body to deal with pandemics.

This needed independent body would address the shortcomings observed during the COVID-19 pandemic response, including geopolitical division and logjams at the WHO and the need to maintain high-level political commitments and monitor progress toward pandemic goals and targets set by the WHO. It should also guide the allocation of resources in global health financing and hold actors accountable. While the Zero Draft contains provisions for establishing a Governing Body of the WHO CA+ (Article 20), it is essential for it to be made independent and at arms-length from the WHO.

The WHO also failed to obtain all the epidemiological and initial genomic sequencing information from China, which would have allowed scientists to discern the origins of SARS-CoV-2, added AHF President Michael Weinstein. The Wuhan lab leak theory is still a big question mark, and a lack of transparency on U.S. oversight on its grantees research has been called into question  another sign that WHO cannot even enforce epidemiological transparency  a weakness its had since its founding.

The Zero Draft does not relegate the establishment of compliance mechanisms to the Governing Body or COP of the WHO CA+ (Article 22). Accountability mechanisms, as well as incentives and disincentives for compliance, must be written into the agreement rather than negotiated after it comes into force. These mechanisms need to be clearly delineated in the WHO CA+ to ensure that they are legally binding, whereas decisions made after the fact by the COP may not be legally binding.

Lastly, the lack of representation by non-state actors (non-governmental organizations/civil society) in the governance structure outlined in the proposed agreement is disappointing. Throughout assessing the necessary reforms and proposing changes, non-state actors have been an integral component of the global health ecosystem. Therefore, civil society and other non-state actors must be given an adequate voice in the WHO CA+ process and structure moving forward.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230206005634/en/

Ged Kenslea, Senior Director, Communications, AHF

+1 323.308.1833 work

+1 323.791.5526 mobile

[email protected]



Denys Nazarov, Director of Global Policy and

Communications, AHF

+1 323.308.1829

[email protected]

Source: AIDS Healthcare Foundation
Article 223-16 of the General Regulations of the Financial Markets Authority (AMF - Autorite des Marches Financiers)

LYON, France--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Regulatory News:

MaaT Pharma (EURONEXT: MAAT  the Company), a French clinical-stage biotech and a pioneer in the development of Microbiome Ecosystem TherapiesTM (MET) dedicated to improving survival outcomes for patients with cancer, today published the number of shares comprising the share capital and the total number of voting rights (Article L. 233-8 of the French Commercial Code (Code de commerce) and Article 223-16 of the General Regulations of French Autorite des Marches Financiers (AMF)) on January 31, 2023.

Listing place: Euronext Paris

ISIN code: FR0012634822

Website: www.maatpharma.com

Date Total number of shares comprising the share capital Total number of

theoretical voting rights (1) Total number of effective voting rights (2) 01/31/2023 9 942 996 9 942 996 9 942 996

(1) In accordance with Article 223-11 of the AMF General Regulation, this number is calculated on the basis of all shares to which voting rights are attached, including shares whose voting rights have been suspended.

(2) Effective voting rights correspond to the total number of voting rights that may be used at a General Meeting. The total number of effective voting rights is calculated without taking into account the shares with suspended voting rights.

About MaaT Pharma

MaaT Pharma, a clinical stage biotechnology company, has established a complete approach to restoring patient-microbiome symbiosis in oncology. Committed to treating cancer and graft-versus-host disease (GvHD), a serious complication of allogeneic stem cell transplantation, MaaT Pharma has launched, in March 2022, a Phase 3 clinical trial for patients with acute GvHD, following the achievement of its proof of concept in a Phase 2 trial. Its powerful discovery and analysis platform, gutPrint, supports the development and expansion of its pipeline by determining novel disease targets, evaluating drug candidates, and identifying biomarkers for microbiome-related conditions. The companys Microbiome Ecosystem Therapies are produced through a standardized cGMP manufacturing and quality control process to safely deliver the full diversity of the microbiome, in liquid and oral formulations. MaaT Pharma benefits from the commitment of world-leading scientists and established relationships with regulators to support the integration of the use of microbiome therapies in clinical practice.

MaaT Pharma is listed on Euronext Paris (ticker: MAAT).

Forward-looking Statements

All statements other than statements of historical fact included in this press release about future events are subject to (i) change without notice and (ii) factors beyond the Companys control. These statements may include, without limitation, any statements preceded by, followed by or including words such as target, believe, expect, aim, intend, may, anticipate, estimate, plan, project, will, can have, likely, should, would, could and other words and terms of similar meaning or the negative thereof. Forward-looking statements are subject to inherent risks and uncertainties beyond the Companys control that could cause the Companys actual results or performance to be materially different from the expected results or performance expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230206005380/en/

MaaT Pharma  Investor Relations

Herve AFFAGARD

Co-Founder and CEO

Sian Crouzet, COO/ CFO

+33 4 28 29 14 00

[email protected]

MaaT Pharma  Media Relations

Pauline RICHAUD

Senior PR & Corporate Communications Manager

+33 6 07 55 25 36

[email protected]

Trophic Communications  Corporate and Medical Communications

Jacob VERGHESE or

Gretchen SCHWEITZER

+49 151 7441 6179

[email protected]

Source: MaaT Pharma
DENVER--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Newmont Corporation (NYSE: NEM, TSX: NGT) today confirmed it has submitted a non-binding proposal to acquire 100% of the issued share capital of Newcrest Mining Limited (Newcrest) by way of a scheme of arrangement. The proposed transaction would combine two of the sectors top senior gold producers, and set the standard for sustainable and responsible gold mining.

Newmonts proposal to combine with Newcrest is on the basis of 0.380 Newmont shares per Newcrest share, which would result in the combined company being 30 percent owned by Newcrest and 70 percent owned by Newmont. This represents a compelling opportunity for the shareholders of both companies to share in the upside of putting together two complementary businesses.

Newmonts proposal is subject to certain customary conditions, including due diligence to the satisfaction of both parties, entry into a scheme implementation agreement and a recommendation from the Newcrest Board of Directors that Newcrest shareholders vote in favor of the proposal.

We believe a combination of Newmont and Newcrest presents a powerful value proposition to our respective shareholders, workforce and the communities in which we operate, said Tom Palmer, President and CEO of Newmont. The proposed transaction would join industry-leading portfolios of assets and projects to create long-term value across the combined global business, and we welcome the consideration of Newcrests Board of Directors.

Newmont remains fully committed to acting in the best interest of Newmont shareholders. Newmont and its Board of Directors advises shareholders need not take any action at this time as there can be no certainty that a transaction will be concluded.

Newmont has engaged BofA Securities, Centerview Partners LLC and Lazard as its financial advisers, and King & Wood Mallesons and White & Case LLP as its legal advisers.

No Offer or Solicitation

This news release is neither an offer to purchase or exchange nor a solicitation of an offer to sell securities of Newmont or Newcrest. In furtherance of this proposal and subject to future developments, Newmont may file one or more registration statements, proxy statements or other documents with the SEC. This communication is not a substitute for any proxy statement, registration statement, prospectus or other document Newmont or Newcrest may file with the SEC and Australian regulators in connection with the proposed transaction. INVESTORS AND SECURITY HOLDERS OF NEWMONT AND NEWCREST ARE URGED TO READ THE PROXY STATEMENT(S), REGISTRATION STATEMENT, PROSPECTUS AND OTHER DOCUMENTS FILED WITH THE SEC CAREFULLY IN THEIR ENTIRETY IF AND WHEN THEY BECOME AVAILABLE AS THEY WILL CONTAIN IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT THE PROPOSED BUSINESS COMBINATION TRANSACTION. Investors and securityholders may obtain a free copy of the disclosure documents (when they are available) and other documents filed by Newmont with the SEC at the SEC's website at www.sec.gov. The disclosure documents and other documents that are filed with the SEC by Newmont may also be obtained on Newmonts website at www.newmont.com or obtained for free from the sources listed below. Newmont and certain of its directors and executive officers may be deemed to be participants in any solicitation of proxies from Newcrest stockholders in respect of the proposed transaction between Newmont and Newcrest. Information regarding Newmonts directors and executive officers is available in its proxy statement for its 2022 annual meeting of stockholders, which was filed with the SEC on March 7, 2022. This document can be obtained free of charge from the sources indicated below. Additional information regarding the interests of these participants in such proxy solicitation and a description of their direct and indirect interests, by security holdings or otherwise, will be contained in any proxy statement and other relevant materials to be filed with the SEC in connection with the proposed transaction if and when they become available.

Cautionary Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, which are intended to be covered by the safe harbor created by such sections and other applicable laws. Where a forward-looking statement expresses or implies an expectation or belief as to future events or results, such expectation or belief is expressed in good faith and believed to have a reasonable basis. However, such statements are subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors, which could cause actual results to differ materially from future results expressed, projected or implied by the forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements address expected future results, and often contain words such as anticipate, intend, plan, will, would, estimate, expect, believe, target, indicative, preliminary or potential. Forward-looking statements may include, without limitation, statements relating to the proposal to acquire the share capital of Newcrest, expected terms, including consideration and premium, and expected benefits and opportunities of the proposal, including in connection with value creation. There is no certainty that any transaction will occur on the proposed terms, within any particular timeframe, or at all. Risks include fluctuations in company stock price and results of operations; uncertainties regarding the outcome of discussions between Newmont and Newcrest with respect to the proposal, including the possibility that the parties may not agree to pursue a business combination or may be materially different from the terms of the proposals described herein; the ability to consummate the proposed combination or achieve the expected benefits; uncertainties with respect to shareholder approvals; potential regulatory or closing delays; the industry and market reaction to Newmonts proposal; and changes in the overall economic conditions. The forward-looking statements are also subject to other risks and uncertainties, including those more fully described in Newmonts Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2021 and most recent Form 10-Q and SEC filings. Newmont does not undertake any obligation to communicate publicly revisions to any forward-looking statement to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this press release or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events, except as may be required under applicable securities laws. Investors should not assume that any lack of update to a previously issued forward-looking statement constitutes a reaffirmation of that statement. Continued reliance on forward-looking statements is at investors own risk.

About Newmont

Newmont is the worlds leading gold company and a producer of copper, silver, zinc and lead. The Companys world-class portfolio of assets, prospects and talent is anchored in favorable mining jurisdictions in North America, South America, Australia and Africa. Newmont is the only gold producer listed in the S&P 500 Index and is widely recognized for its principled environmental, social and governance practices. The Company is an industry leader in value creation, supported by robust safety standards, superior execution and technical expertise. Newmont was founded in 1921 and has been publicly traded since 1925.

At Newmont, our purpose is to create value and improve lives through sustainable and responsible mining. To learn more about Newmonts sustainability strategy and initiatives, go to www.newmont.com.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230205005052/en/

Media Contact

Carolina Lucaroni

786.643.9230

[email protected]

Investor Contact

Daniel Horton

303.837.5468

[email protected]

Source: Newmont Corporation
Calm Cool + Corrected Eczema + Dermatitis Clinical Repair Balm to be Featured on It Takes Two with Mary & Sandra at 2 p.m. ET and Girls Night In With Courtney & Jane at 9 p.m. ET

EMERYVILLE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- NovaBay Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NYSE American: NBY) announces that Chief Product Officer Audrey Kunin, MD will be a live on-air guest on two QVC network shows on February 7, 2023. Dr. Kunin will be discussing DERMAdoctors problem-solving Calm Cool + Corrected 1% Colloidal Oatmeal Eczema + Dermatitis Clinical Repair Balm on It Takes Two With Mary & Sandra at 2 p.m. Eastern time and on Girls Night In With Courtney & Jane at 9 p.m. Eastern time.

This is the ideal time of year for our moisturizing Calm Cool + Corrected 1% Colloidal Oatmeal Eczema + Dermatitis Clinical Repair Balm as eczema flare-ups occur more frequently in the winter months due to cold weather and dry air from indoor heating systems, said Dr. Kunin. Our clinical-strength, high-potency balm helps to temporarily relieve eczema, rashes, redness, dryness and itchiness and is suitable for the whole family wherever eczema strikes. Our product packaging proudly features the National Eczema Association Seal of Acceptance for meeting the Associations rigorous standard for providing benefits and improving the quality of life for people with eczema and sensitive skin.

Its exciting to appear on these two popular QVC shows to spotlight the significant benefits of Calm Cool + Corrected Eczema Clinical Repair Balm, added Dr. Kunin. QVC attracts a demographic that complements our social media promotions to reach the estimated 31 million Americans with eczema who may benefit from our product.

Calm Cool + Corrected 1% Colloidal Oatmeal Eczema + Dermatitis Clinical Repair Balm features eczema-active 1% colloidal oatmeal with enhanced beta glucan to help relieve minor skin irritations and itching, together with an advanced complex of ceramides and essential lipids to maximize hydration and dermatologic botanicals that calm and soothe the skin.

Dr. Kunin is a board-certified dermatologist, author, clinician, educator, television personality and recognized trailblazer in the skincare industry. She founded DERMAdoctor to formulate and commercialize highly effective, prestige solutions for common skincare concerns that have been overlooked by the beauty industry. DERMAdoctor delivers on the promise that clinical skin therapy can be simple and easy to use, while providing significant and measurable results. DERMAdoctor products are developed to provide real solutions for real people with real skin-related concerns.

About NovaBay Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

NovaBay Pharmaceuticals, Inc. develops and sells scientifically created and clinically proven eyecare and skincare products. NovaBays leading product, Avenova Antimicrobial Lid & Lash Solution, is often prescribed by eyecare professionals for blepharitis and dry-eye disease and is also available directly to eyecare consumers through online distribution channels such as Amazon. DERMAdoctor offers more than 30 OTC dermatologist-developed skincare products through the DERMAdoctor website, well-known traditional and digital beauty retailers, and international distributors. NovaBay also manufactures and sells effective, yet gentle and non-irritating wound care products. The PhaseOne brand is distributed through commercial partners in the U.S. for professional use only, and the NeutroPhase brand is distributed in China by Pioneer Pharma (Hong Kong) Company Ltd.

NovaBay Pharmaceuticals Forward-Looking Statements

Except for historical information herein, matters set forth in this press release may be forward looking within the meaning of the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including statements about the commercial progress and future financial performance of NovaBay Pharmaceuticals, Inc. This release contains forward-looking statements that are based upon managements current expectations, assumptions, estimates, projections and beliefs. These statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding our business strategies, current partnerships, marketing efforts, and any future revenue that may result from such partnerships and related marketing initiatives, as well as generally the Companys expected future financial results. These statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results or achievements to be materially different and adverse from those expressed in or implied by the forward-looking statements. Factors that might cause or contribute to such differences include, but are not limited to, risks and uncertainties relating to the size of the potential market for our products, the possibility that the available market for the Companys products will not be as large as expected, the Companys products will not be able to penetrate one or more targeted markets, and revenues will not be sufficient to meet the Companys cash needs. Other risks relating to NovaBays business, including risks that could cause results to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements in this press release, are detailed in NovaBays latest Form 10-Q/K filings and Registration Statement on Form S-1 filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, especially under the heading Risk Factors. The forward-looking statements in this release speak only as of this date, and NovaBay disclaims any intent or obligation to revise or update publicly any forward-looking statement except as required by law.

Socialize and Stay Informed on NovaBays Progress

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Avenova Purchasing Information

For NovaBay Avenova purchasing information:

Please call 800-890-0329 or email [email protected]

Avenova.com

DERMAdoctor Purchasing Information

For DERMAdoctor purchasing information:

Please call 877-337-6237 or email [email protected]

DERMAdoctor.com

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230206005067/en/

NovaBay Contact

Justin Hall

Chief Executive Officer and General Counsel

510-899-8800

[email protected]

Investor Contact

LHA Investor Relations

Jody Cain

310-691-7100

[email protected]

Source: NovaBay Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Prostate Screening EpiSwitch (PSE) blood test shows significant potential as an accurate and rapid cancer screening diagnostic

High accuracy (94%), PPV (92%), and NPV (94%) reported in the high-impact, peer-reviewed journal Cancers

Experts from Oxford BioDynamics, Imperial College London, University of East Anglia, and Imperial College NHS Trust contributed to multi-institutional clinical study

This published data packet supports commercialization of the EpiSwitch platform which includes this novel and accurate prostate cancer test

OXFORD, England--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Oxford BioDynamics, Plc (AIM: OBD, the Company), a biotechnology company developing precision medicine tests based on the EpiSwitch 3D genomics platform, announces the publication of compelling results involving OBDs technology in the multi-disciplinary PROSTAGRAM study using blood to detect prostate cancer in an at risk population. These results were referred to in the recent results statement.

The peer-reviewed work, published in the high-impact journal, Cancers, was a collaboration between OBD, Imperial College London, University of East Anglia, and Imperial College National Health Service (NHS) Trust under the direction of the UKs leading prostate cancer experts.

The NHS considers the widely available prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test as inaccurate1. A positive result from a standard PSA test is unreliable and often suggests prostate cancer is present when no cancer exists. The inaccuracy of current screening protocols leads to many men getting unnecessary referrals for expensive MRI scans and highly invasive, medieval biopsies. Only about a quarter of people who have a prostate biopsy due to an elevated PSA level are found to have prostate cancer2.

In the PROSTAGRAM screening pilot study, blood from 147 men enrolled in the study and patients from Imperial College NHS Trust were tested using the standard prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test and an EpiSwitch prostate cancer classifier, developed by OBD3. The resultant Prostate Screening EpiSwitch (PSE) blood test, which combines the PSA component and the EpiSwitch classifier, demonstrated a remarkable 92%:94% positive:negative predictive value and an accuracy of 94%.

As a rapid and minimally invasive test, the highly accurate PSE blood test has unprecedented potential as a screening diagnostic that can minimise unnecessary referrals to expensive and invasive procedures.

Principal investigator Mathias Winkler, M.D., F.R.C.S., Consultant Urologist and Surgeon, Charing Cross Hospital and Imperial College London, said: The EpiSwitch PSE results from this study have significant clinical relevance. We are looking forward to working with OBD to complete all the follow-up steps introducing it to clinical practice, bringing this valuable EpiSwitch tool into the hands of clinicians.

First author Prof. Dmitry Pchejetski, Ph.D., Professorial Research Fellow and Head of the Tumour Microenvironment and Chemotherapy group at Norwich Medical School, said: "When tested in the context of screening a population at risk, the EpiSwitch PSE test yields a rapid and minimally invasive prostate cancer diagnosis with impressive performance, which suggests a real benefit for both diagnostic and screening purposes."

The peer-reviewed manuscript, titled "Circulating chromosome conformation signatures significantly enhance PSA positive predicting value and overall accuracy for prostate cancer detection," is available online in Cancers4 https://doi.org/10.3390/cancers15030821.

The accurate, rapid, minimally invasive, and cost-effective PSE test was built using OBDs EpiSwitch 3D genomics platform and methodology. For each patient, PSE captures a personal, systemic fingerprint of specific regulatory network changes associated with prostate cancer.

"OBD's EpiSwitch 3D genomics platform has once again demonstrated the ability to provide a clinically important diagnostic solution to the global medical community; this time as a highly relevant screening test for prostate cancer," said Dr Jon Burrows, OBD's Chief Executive Officer. "There is a clear need in everyday clinical practice for a highly accurate (94%) blood test that can screen men for prostate cancer and accurately identify those at risk, while sparing those who up to now would be subject to unnecessary, expensive and invasive procedures. This is another example of how OBDs product portfolio can contribute to reducing the total cost of care for global health."

This work follows OBD's first EpiSwitch test in oncology: the EpiSwitch CiRT (Checkpoint inhibitor Response Test), commercially available in the US and UK as an LDT CLIA test5. The first-of-its-kind CiRT test predicts, with 85% accuracy6, an individual patients likely therapeutic response to immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs), a family of widely used immunotherapies that can give some patients a real boost to their cancer recovery and survival.

References

[1] NHS Health A to Z. Prostate cancer: PSA testing (2021). https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/prostate-cancer/psa-testing

[2] Barry, M. J. (2001). Prostate-SpecificAntigen Testing for Early Diagnosis of Prostate Cancer. New England Journal of Medicine, 344(18). https://doi.org/10.1056/nejm200105033441806

[3] lshaker, H., et al. (2021). Chromatin conformation changes in peripheral blood can detect prostate cancer and stratify disease risk groups. Journal of Translational Medicine, 19(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12967-021-02710-y

[4] Pchejetski, D., et al. (2023). Circulating Chromosome Conformation Signatures Significantly Enhance PSA Positive Predicting Value and Overall Accuracy for Prostate Cancer Detection. Cancers, 15(3), 821. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/cancers15030821

[5] Oxford BioDynamics Plc. (2022). EpiSwitch CiRT. https://www.mycirt.com

[6] Hunter, E., et al. (2021). Development and validation of blood-based predictive biomarkers for response to PD-(L)-1 checkpoint inhibitors: evidence of a universal systemic core of 3D immunogenetic profiling across multiple oncological indications. MedRxiv, 2021.12.21.21268094.

-Ends-

For more information on Oxford BioDynamics, visit the company website at oxfordbiodynamics.com and follow on Twitter @OxBioDynamics and LinkedIn.

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Oxford BioDynamics Plc

Tel: +44 (0)1865 518910

Jon Burrows, CEO

Paul Stockdale, CFO



Shore Capital

Nominated Adviser and Broker

Tel: +44 (0)20 7408 4090

Stephane Auton

John More



Instinctif Partners

Tel: +44 (0)20 7457 2020

Melanie Toyne-Sewell, [email protected]

Rozi Morris



PCG Advisory Group  US Investor Relations

Tel: +1 646 863 6341

Jeff Ramson, [email protected]

Kirin Smith, [email protected]

Source: Oxford BioDynamics, Plc
RESTON, Va.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Science Applications International Corp. (NYSE: SAIC) will host an Investor Day for analysts and institutional investors at the Mandarin Oriental in New York City on Tuesday, April 11, 2023 with management presentations scheduled to begin at 10:45 a.m. ET.

Analysts and institutional investors will be invited to preregister and attend through an invite that will be distributed at the end of February. To receive an invitation and more information, please contact Vice President of Investor Relations Joe Denardi at [email protected].

A live webcast of the event and a full copy of the presentation materials will be available on the investor relations section of SAICs website. A replay of the webcast will also be made available shortly after the event.

SAIC Chief Executive Officer Nazzic Keene and members of the executive leadership team will discuss the companys long-term strategy, operations and financial outlook. The event will include a showcase featuring several innovative capabilities and offerings, as well as an opportunity to further discuss the company at lunch following management presentations.

About SAIC

SAIC is a premier Fortune 500 technology integrator driving our nations technology transformation. Our robust portfolio of offerings across the defense, space, civilian and intelligence markets includes secure high-end solutions in engineering, digital, artificial intelligence and mission solutions. Using our expertise and understanding of existing and emerging technologies, we integrate the best components from our own portfolio and our partner ecosystem to deliver innovative, effective and efficient solutions that are critical to achieving our customers' missions.

We are approximately 26,000 strong; driven by mission, united by purpose, and inspired by opportunities. SAIC is an Equal Opportunity Employer, fostering a culture of diversity, equity and inclusion, which is core to our values and important to attract and retain exceptional talent. Headquartered in Reston, Virginia, SAIC has annual revenues of approximately $7.4 billion. For more information, visit saic.com. For ongoing news, please visit our newsroom.

Forward-Looking Statements

Certain statements in this release contain or are based on forward-looking information within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by words such as expects, intends, plans, anticipates, believes, estimates, guidance, and similar words or phrases. Forward-looking statements in this release may include, among others, estimates of future revenues, operating income, earnings, earnings per share, charges, total contract value, backlog, outstanding shares and cash flows, as well as statements about future dividends, share repurchases and other capital deployment plans. Such statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risk, uncertainties and assumptions, and actual results may differ materially from the guidance and other forward-looking statements made in this release as a result of various factors. Risks, uncertainties and assumptions that could cause or contribute to these material differences include those discussed in the Risk Factors, Managements Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations and Legal Proceedings sections of our Annual Report on Form 10-K, as updated in any subsequent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and other filings with the SEC, which may be viewed or obtained through the Investor Relations section of our website at saic.com or on the SECs website at sec.gov. Due to such risks, uncertainties and assumptions you are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date hereof. SAIC expressly disclaims any duty to update any forward-looking statement provided in this release to reflect subsequent events, actual results or changes in SAICs expectations. SAIC also disclaims any duty to comment upon or correct information that may be contained in reports published by investment analysts or others.

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Thais Hanson

703.676.8215 | [email protected]

Source: Science Applications International Corp.
Partnership to develop and grow local startups will continue through 2027

LONG BEACH, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Leading business organizations Sunstone Management, the Sunstone Community Fund, and the Long Beach Accelerator (LBA) today announced a five-year extension of their memorandum of understanding, continuing their partnership that began in 2020. Together, Sunstone and the LBA will continue to partner to develop LBAs accelerator program intended to support new and innovative startups in the Long Beach community.

Sunstone and the LBA signed their extended MOU during an event on February 2 featuring staff members as well as Mayor of Long Beach Rex Richardson. Sunstone Management, the Sunstone Community Fund, and the LBA are members of the Launch Beach Coalition, a group of private, public, and nonprofit organizations working to bring 100 new startups to Long Beach over the next five years with the support of Mayor Richardson. The partnership agreement will be a key component of Mayor Richardsons Grow Long Beach initiative announced at his recent State of the City address.

The incredible team behind the Long Beach Accelerator have been crucial partners to Sunstone Management, said John Keisler, CEO and Managing Partner of Sunstone Management. Over the next few years, we look forward to continuing to work together to accomplish our mutual mission of bringing diverse startups to Long Beach to create a thriving economic ecosystem.

The past two years have been an excellent collaboration, showing us whats possible in building a next-generation, highly valuable P3 tech accelerator in the City of Long Beach, said Andrea White-Kjoss, Managing Director of the Long Beach Accelerator. The extension of this relationship creates the environment to build on those early successes and make Long Beach a global tech startup hub by 2030.

The accelerator program will accept startups identified and selected by the LBA, featuring two cohorts per year. Participating founders will have access to educational, networking and mentorship opportunities, and will receive the opportunity to be part of a Demo Day for investors. Sunstone will increase their investment to $150,000 per startup upon acceptance to the LBA program.

Since 2021, the LBA has graduated 29 cohort companies that have earned revenue of over $4 million.

Interested startups can access the online application via the LBA website. Applications for Cohort 6 will open in early February. Sign up for social media and contact list to be notified.

About Sunstone Management

Sunstone Management is a diversified private capital sponsor firm located in Southern California that invests in diverse early-stage technology entrepreneurs who seek to build great companies. We believe in the aspirational power of the American economy to attract and inspire investors and entrepreneurs from throughout the world. We deliver new and exciting opportunities for economic growth through the creation of innovative public-private partnerships, and our unique experience across government, education, and private sectors. Identified by Financial Times as one of Americas Fastest Growing Companies.

LinkedIn | Twitter | Facebook | Crunchbase | Pitchbook

About Sunstone Community Fund

The Sunstone Community Fund is a Donor Advised Fund managed by the National Philanthropic Trust. It is an important component of Sunstone Managements vision to advance public-benefit programs that support the development of inclusive and vibrant entrepreneurial ecosystems. The SCF supports a network of universities, nonprofit organizations, and government agencies that develop and implement university-based entrepreneurship programs, early-stage tech accelerators, and advance local economic development through inclusive entrepreneurship and innovation.

Website | LinkedIn

About the Long Beach Accelerator

The Long Beach Accelerator is not your typical accelerator. It was established with the entrepreneur in mind with full support from the city, private investors, and CSULB. Program participants have access to capital to support them through acceleration and expansion. Cohort members have real government access to help navigate through the regulatory maze and provide resources and guidance at every level. They also have access to key university and industry partners and some of the largest markets in the world. The LBA is focused on providing exceptional vision and value to this ecosystem, and in seeking out and supporting companies founded by diverse entrepreneurs.

Website | LinkedIn

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Erin McGarvey

[email protected], 203-770-1013

Source: Sunstone Management
BRUSSELS--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Syntagma Capital today announces that it has entered into exclusive negotiations with Nexans SA to acquire its LAN/data center (LAN/DC) and Telecom /Fibre (FTTx) division. The business designs, manufactures, and distributes smart connectivity solutions based on optical fibre and copper technologies to data centers, smart buildings, and telecom operators. The business is headquartered in Paris, France and employs ca. 680 people across its 8 sites located in France, Belgium, Germany, Greece, Morocco and China, and it generated ca. 200m in revenues across 100+ countries.

The proposed transaction, which is subject to the fulfillment of customary closing conditions, including the information and consultation of works councils and other regulatory approvals, is expected to be completed by the end of the first half of 2023.

We are pleased to partner with management to continue to grow the business. Providing the backbone for data management is an exciting prospect. Despite a challenging M&A market, we are continuing to find attractive opportunities to invest our capital while providing sellers with divestiture solutions for complex carve outs where speed and certainty are of the essence. This transaction represents our most recent carve out and reflects Syntagmas strategy to acquire businesses that will benefit from a new owner to drive the next area of growth said Syntagma Managing Partner Sebastien Kiekert Le Moult.

Christopher Guerin, Chief Executive Officer of Nexans declared: We are pleased that our Telecom Systems colleagues will join a strategic new home with Syntagma Capital to further invest and grow the business. This powerful combination will deliver meaningful opportunities to employees and customers. I would like to thank the teams for the excellent work they have done in the past, and I am confident in their future development.

Syntagmas ability to manage complex carve out was critical in differentiating us. The business provides significant opportunities to grow in the coming years said Syntagma Partner Frank Coenen. We expect to leverage the companys extensive technical know-how, global presence and strong customer relationships, to accelerate its growth, both organically and through targeted M&A investments in key product areas and geographies.

Syntagmas team involved in the transaction included Sebastien Kiekert Le Moult (Managing Partner), Frank Coenen (Partner), Benjamin Dahan (Partner), Joao Pilecco (Senior Vice President), and Ludovic Ruffenach (Senior Associate).

Willkie Farr & Gallagher provided legal counsel to Syntagma, PwC provided financial, legal, tax, and social advice, Roland Berger provided commercial and strategy support, and ERM advised on ESG and EHS matters.

About Syntagma Capital

Syntagma invests in companies that can benefit from hands-on operational expertise to accelerate growth and improve performance for all stakeholders. We are true operators with experience working in and managing companies on a global scale, leveraging our in-house resources to develop successful strategies, execute them to realize their full potential and create sustainable long-term value. Syntagma invests and operates companies in a broad range of industries with a specific focus on the material, chemical, industrial and business services markets and including manufacturing, distribution, transportation and logistics, equipment rental, metals services and other industries. Syntagma, as signatory of the UN PRI, is committed to high ESG standards across all its investments and is based in Brussels, Belgium. For more information, please visit: https://syntagmacapital.com

About Nexans

For more than a century, Nexans has played a crucial role in electrifying the planet and is committed to electrifying the future. With almost 25,000 staff in 42 countries, the Group is driving the change towards the new world of electrification: a safer, more sustainable, renewable, carbon-free world, accessible to all. In 2021, Nexans generated 6.1 billion in standard sales. The Group is a leader in the design and manufacture of cable systems and services in five main areas of activity: Energy Production & Transmission, Distribution, Uses, Industry & Solutions and Telecom & Data. Nexans was the first player in its industry to create a Corporate Foundation to support actions that promote access to energy for disadvantaged populations worldwide. The Group is committed to helping achieve carbon neutrality by 2030.

Nexans. Electrify the future.

Nexans is listed on the Euronext Paris stock market, compartment A.

For more information, please visit www.nexans.com

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Marie Ciparisse

Phone: +32 (0)2 315 70 12

Email [email protected]

Source: Syntagma Capital
VC firm leads investment to scale successful summer internship program across life science hubs

BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Third Rock Ventures has signed on as a Founding Partner in the national expansion of Project Onramp, a signature program of Life Science Cares that creates paid summer internships for college students who are under-resourced and often first-generation, helping to bridge the opportunity gap for these promising young people.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230206005064/en/

Third Rocks commitment is the first in a capacity-building campaign that aims to scale Project Onramp to serve 1,000 students each summer by 2027. This contribution will be matched two-to-one by a generous donor, whose commitment to the program catalyzed a plan to replicate the model and reach more students in key life science industry hubs.

We are proud to be a Founding Partner in Project Onramps efforts to scale their reach and impact, said Reid Huber, Ph.D., Partner at Third Rock. We and our portfolio companies have a long-standing relationship with Project Onramp and have been impressed and inspired by their mission. Third Rock is committed to cultivating the next generation of innovators in biotech and ensuring that we are doing all that we can to help under-represented communities find a way to our industry. We see Project Onramp as an important component of how we can increase exposure and access to that talent today and into the future.

Beyond the financial investment, as a Founding Partner Third Rock will also serve as a leading voice on the Project Onramp National Advisory Board, bringing their leadership to bear as the program expands and responds to fast-changing industry needs. Third Rock aims to hire Project Onramp interns for company creation, as well as firm operations, and will continue to promote Project Onramp opportunities across its portfolio of companies. As alumni of the program graduate and enter the workforce, Third Rock and its companies will have access to this experienced and diverse pool of talent.

Project Onramp was launched in Boston in 2019 and since has served more than 300 students. The program was piloted in Philadelphia and the Bay Area in 2022, and 30 additional students were matched with industry jobs. Since the programs inception, more than 100 companies have hosted students in 30+ different roles throughout their organizations. Early tracking of alumni shows increasing numbers of students securing full time roles in the life science industry upon graduation. Ninety-four percent of current undergraduate interns report they would definitely consider or are now more likely to consider pursuing a career in the life sciences industry after their internship experience.

The opportunities available in firms like Third Rock and their vibrant startup portfolio are potentially life-changing for motivated and talented young people from all neighborhoods and all backgrounds in the Greater Boston area, said Sarah MacDonald, President of Life Science Cares Boston. In making this commitment, the team at Third Rock is embracing the opportunity to lead how our industry grows and changes for years to come.

In total, the capacity-building campaign will raise $6 million to scale the program across LSC affiliates in Boston, Philadelphia, San Diego, the Bay Area and New York. Funding will also help build an alumni network to support students post-internship and into their first full-time jobs. Other early funders include Google Ventures and JLABS.

Project Onramp disrupts the current pipelines of talent into the industry by adding a new pool of students into the mix. We are so grateful to Third Rock for recognizing this opportunity, and for helping us to maximize our impact through both their gift, and the help and input of their partners and other team members, said Lila Neel, Director of Project Onramp at Life Science Cares.

The program is gearing up for Summer 2023, as companies begin to submit job descriptions for paid summer internships set aside for Project Onramp applicants. Over the next few months, Project Onramp staff will work with Student Support Partners to identify students with the requisite skills and interest in each role. Companies will then interview, evaluate and hire a candidate who meets their needs.

About Third Rock Ventures

Third Rock Ventures is a leading healthcare venture firm focused on advancing disruptive areas of science and medicine to deliver breakthroughs to patients. By starting with big ideas and fostering collaboration among people with expertise in science, medicine, business and strategy, we aim to discover, launch and build innovative companies that can transform the lives of patients. Our mission is to be the preferred partner for entrepreneurs, investors, employees and industry to build great companies that discover and develop products that make a difference for the patients we serve. For more information, please visit https://www.thirdrockventures.com.

About Project Onramp

Project Onramp creates paid summer internships for college students who are under-resourced and underrepresented, helping to bridge the opportunity gap for these promising young people. Companies commit or create internship positions and, working with student support partners & select universities, Project Onramp provides candidates who have the required coursework and unmatched energy for the opportunity. The Onramp team provides additional support and professional development for students, to ensure they make the most of their summer and leverage their opportunities well beyond. Learn more at https://lifesciencecares.org/project-onramp/.

About Life Science Cares

Life Science Cares (LSC) activates the financial and human capital of the life sciences industry and partners with nonprofits to disrupt the cycle of poverty and inequality in our communities. Since launching in 2016, LSC has invested more than $10 million and tens of thousands of volunteer hours in community organizations providing access to basic needs, access to education or access to opportunity. LSC currently operates in five locations that boast a critical mass of companies working in biotech, pharmaceuticals, medical technology, and research: Boston, Philadelphia, San Diego, the San Francisco Bay Area and New York. Learn more at https://lifesciencecares.org/.

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Third Rock Ventures

Cynthia Clayton

[email protected]

Source: Third Rock Ventures
Association award recognizes Underwoods research in workforce diversity as significant with implications for professional practice in continuing higher education

PHOENIX--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- University of Phoenix is proud to announce that Kimberly Underwood, Ph.D., MBA, chair of the Center for Workplace Diversity and Inclusion Research (CWDIR), is the recipient of the UPCEA Research and Scholarship Award for 2023. UPCEA is the association for college and university leaders in professional, continuing, and online education, and 2023 Association Awards program includes recognition of both individual and institutional achievement across the UPCEA membership. Award recipients will be honored at the 2023 UPCEA Annual Conference, March 22-24 in Washington, D.C.

Dr. Underwoods research and scholarship are vital and instructive to the progress we can make as a society toward an enriched and inclusive workforce, states John Woods, Ph.D., provost and chief academic officer. The UPCEA award honors her contributions and promotes her approach to making inclusion and belonging a natural progression of understanding the contributions of diverse individuals in learning environments, the workforce, and communities.

The UPCEA Research and Scholarship Award recognizes significant new research with implications for professional practice in the field of continuing higher education, which Underwood is advancing through CWDIR and its practitioner-focused work in Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging (DEIB).

As the CWDIR Chair, Underwood guides many faculty, students, and alumni in research and scholarship focused on various aspects of DEIB in higher education and the workforce. She also serves as the Executive Sponsor of the Research, Scholarship, and Thought Leadership working group within the UOPX Presidents Advisory Council on Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging. She is a highly sought after subject matter expert and consultant for various internal Colleges and departments and several external organizations to advance their DEIB strategies and initiatives.

I am honored to receive this award and share this with my amazing team in the Center for Workplace Diversity and Inclusion Research, states Underwood. To be recognized by your peers is incredibly gratifying and I am so thankful to UPCEA and colleagues for supporting my nomination for this prestigious award.

Underwood and her senior research fellows, Drs. Sandra Sessoms-Penny and Joy Taylor recently completed a nationwide study on Black male educators, examining the lived experiences that impact the socialization and retention of these teachers within the K-12 educational system during the early years of teaching.

Underwood is currently participating in a collaboration between University of Phoenix and Jobs for the Futures (JFF) Center for Racial Economic Equity exploring ways to support building social capital for Black learners and workers. Underwoods other research agenda items in her center include organizational diversity socialization in Fortune 500 companies, the impact of police violence against African American males on K-12 classrooms, and belonging and social capital in online education and the workforce.

UPCEA reviews institutions providing online education and identifies whether they meet seven different Hallmarks of excellence. In 2021, University of Phoenix was recognized by UPCEA in achieving recognition across all seven.

Learn more about UPCEA here.

About University of Phoenix

University of Phoenix is continually innovating to help working adults enhance their careers in a rapidly changing world. Flexible schedules, relevant courses, interactive learning, and Career Services for Life help students more effectively pursue career and personal aspirations while balancing their busy lives. For more information, visit phoenix.edu.

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MEDIA CONTACT: Sharla Hooper

University of Phoenix

[email protected]

Source: University of Phoenix
NEW YORK & BANGALORE, India--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Wipro Limited (NYSE: WIT, BSE: 507685, NSE: WIPRO), a leading technology services and consulting company, announced that it has been included in the 2023 Bloomberg Gender-Equality Index (GEI) for the fourth consecutive year.

Wipro is one of 484 companies across 50 countries and regions to join the 2023 Bloomberg Gender-Equality Index (GEI) with its unequivocal focus on the Inclusion and Diversity agenda.

Among the initiatives contributing to Wipros continued ranking over the years are Women of Wipro, Enrich and Begin Again programs. Launched in 2008, the Women of Wipro (WOW) program, comprises of innovative and unique series of Life - Stage based initiatives that have helped nurture an equal opportunity culture, support the career ambitions of women executives, and facilitate greater business participation by women leaders at different levels within the organization. Wipros flagship program Enrich, a sponsorship program for high-potential women leaders, is now running its second batch and Begin Again, a second career program that hires women who have taken a break from their careers, has been receiving good response. Over the last couple of years, the companys gender diversity at leadership levels has doubled. Wipro is a signatory of the Women Empowerment Principles (established by UN Global Compact and UN Women) since 2012, showing its commitment to the agenda of gender equality and women empowerment at the workplace.

We are honoured to be included in the Index for the fourth consecutive year with a significant progress over the last 2 years. At Wipro, we are focused on ensuring that inclusion is deeply ingrained within our culture and our policies reflect the essence of our strong inclusive mindset. I would define our inclusion journey as an ongoing process, fully recognizing the need to preserve our commitment while strengthening it so that everyone at Wipro, feels included, valued and accepted, said Sunita Cherian, Chief Culture Officer & Senior Vice President, Corporate Human Resources, Wipro Limited.

Bloomberg Gender-Equality Index is a modified market capitalization-weighted index that aims to track the performance of public companies committed to transparency in gender-data reporting. This reference index measures gender equality across five pillars: female leadership & talent pipeline, equal pay & gender pay parity, inclusive culture, anti-sexual harassment policies, and pro-women brand. Member companies represent 54 industries, including financials, technology and utilities, and few new ones like steel, diversified industrial, etc.

About Wipro Limited

Wipro Limited (NYSE: WIT, BSE: 507685, NSE: WIPRO) is a leading technology services and consulting company focused on building innovative solutions that address clients most complex digital transformation needs. Leveraging our holistic portfolio of capabilities in consulting, design, engineering, and operations, we help clients realize their boldest ambitions and build future-ready, sustainable businesses. With over 250,000 employees and business partners across 66 countries, we deliver on the promise of helping our customers, colleagues, and communities thrive in an ever-changing world. For additional information, visit us at www.wipro.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

The forward-looking statements contained herein represent Wipros beliefs regarding future events, many of which are by their nature, inherently uncertain and outside Wipros control. Such statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding Wipros growth prospects, its future financial operating results, and its plans, expectations and intentions. Wipro cautions readers that the forward-looking statements contained herein are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from the results anticipated by such statements. Such risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, risks and uncertainties regarding fluctuations in our earnings, revenue and profits, our ability to generate and manage growth, complete proposed corporate actions, intense competition in IT services, our ability to maintain our cost advantage, wage increases in India, our ability to attract and retain highly skilled professionals, time and cost overruns on fixed-price, fixed-time frame contracts, client concentration, restrictions on immigration, our ability to manage our international operations, reduced demand for technology in our key focus areas, disruptions in telecommunication networks, our ability to successfully complete and integrate potential acquisitions, liability for damages on our service contracts, the success of the companies in which we make strategic investments, withdrawal of fiscal governmental incentives, political instability, war, legal restrictions on raising capital or acquiring companies outside India, unauthorized use of our intellectual property and general economic conditions affecting our business and industry.

Additional risks that could affect our future operating results are more fully described in our filings with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission, including, but not limited to, Annual Reports on Form 20-F. These filings are available at www.sec.gov. We may, from time to time, make additional written and oral forward-looking statements, including statements contained in the companys filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission and our reports to shareholders. We do not undertake to update any forward-looking statement that may be made from time to time by us or on our behalf.

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Media Contact:

Nisha Chandrasekaran

Wipro Limited

[email protected]

Source: Wipro Limited
By Geoffrey Smith

Investing.com -- Chevron (NYSE: CVX) stock opened lower on Monday despite a report suggesting it is reviving talks to exploit some of the world's largest reserves of natural gas shale.

The Wall Street Journal said Chevron - which announced record profits and a $75 billion buyback last week - is to resume talks with Algeria, in a move that could in the long term offer an alternative to Russian pipeline gas for Europe, as well as allowing Chevron to leverage the expertise with shale technologies that it has developed in the U.S. market.

Algeria is estimated by the Energy Information Administration to have reserves of as much as 707 trillion cubic feet of gas, more than the U.S. and only behind China and Argentina in terms of total reserves. Almost all of those reserves are under the unpopulated wastes of the Sahara desert, meaning that the disruption to human settlements from drilling-related earthquakes is greatly reduced.

The WSJ cited unnamed people familiar with the matter as saying that Chevron had recently revived talks that had gone cold since the 2020 signing of a memorandum of understanding with the North African country.

A spokeswoman for Chevron confirmed to the WSJ that the company has an agreement with state oil and gas concern Sonatrach to access data on the Ahnet-Gourara and Berkine Basins, three of Algerias biggest natural gas reservoirs.

Algeria has increased its shipments of natural gas to Italy sharply over the last year as European buyers have desperately scrambled to replace Russian suppliers. However, it cut supplies to Spain in a diplomatic dispute over the status of Western Sahara, which has been occupied by Morocco for the last 50 years.

Europe's security of supply has been shaken by the Kremlin's invasion of Ukraine a year ago. While it is expected to get through the current winter without the need for rationing thanks to a streak of unusually warm weather, analysts warn that it still faces stiff challenges in replacing what was previously its biggest source of imports.

"While the EU has made a political decision to eliminate its dependence on Russian gas well before 2030, it is not in control of either the scale or the timing of this process," Katja Yafimava, an analyst with the Oxford Institute for Energy Studies, said in a report published on Monday. "Next winter...could be significantly more challenging if Russian gas supplies were to decrease further or stop altogether, especially if accompanied by rising China LNG demand, interruptions of other supplies, and cold winter temperatures."
FILE PHOTO: The logo of Bayer AG is pictured at the facade of the historic headquarters of the German pharmaceutical and chemical maker in Leverkusen, Germany, April 27, 2020. REUTERS/Wolfgang Rattay

By Emma-Victoria Farr, Patricia Weiss and Oliver Hirt

FRANKFURT (Reuters) -Bayer investor Jeff Ubben has contacted fellow shareholders in the German group, investors and sources familiar with the matter told Reuters, in an apparent attempt to rally support for big changes at the drugs-to-pesticides company.

The campaign increases the pressure on non-executive Chairman Norbert Winkeljohann, who has faced calls from large shareholders for the swift replacement of Chief Executive Werner Baumann, who engineered Bayer's troubled Monsanto takeover.

The approaches come after Ubben's activist investment fund Inclusive Capital Partners said last month it had bought a 0.83% stake in Bayer.

Ubben told the Financial Times at the time he would prefer an external candidate to replace Baumann and that while a break-up of the group may not be necessary, it needs to be considered.

David Herro, deputy chairman of Harris Associates, told Reuters in brief emailed comments that Ubben had contacted him to discuss Bayer. He did not provide further details.

Ubben has also been in touch with a portfolio manager at a large German mutual funds firm, and proposed a meeting, according to a person familiar with the matter.

Another source said Ubben had reached out to a large number of institutional Bayer investors to get support for a campaign to quickly replace Baumann with a candidate from outside the company to revive the sagging share price.

The investors declined to be identified due to the sensitivity of the matter.

Ubben did not respond to requests for comment.

A spokesperson said Bayer was always open to a constructive dialogue with shareholders and declined to comment further.

Two large German mutual companies and major Bayer shareholders Union Investment and Deka have also said they would like a swift CEO changeover at the group, whose business spans drugs, consumer healthcare products, seeds and pesticides.

Investors who have publicly called for a swift CEO change hold at least a combined 6.7% in Bayer, according to Refinitiv data.

Activist investor Bluebell Capital Partners, which has built an undisclosed stake, is looking for similar. It also wants a break-up of the company.

STRATEGIC CHANGES

It's unclear if there is consensus on the strategic changes that shareholders want the future leadership to pursue.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, one fund manager said a break-up of Bayer must not be rushed and may come in gradual moves.

Harris Associates's Herro said he preferred an external CEO appointment in the near future but added there was "nothing specific" when asked about his demands regarding strategy and group structure.

Any attempts by shareholders to coordinate how they exert influence over a company is a balancing act because shareholders who are found to act in concert and hold a combined 30% voting stake have to make a takeover offer to the remaining shareholders under German law.

Other obligations that come with acting in concert include publication of the size of jointly held stakes, which financial and activist investors typically seek to avoid.

The annual shareholder meeting scheduled for April 28 will be an opportunity for investors to express their views.

Despite recent improvements in the company's agriculture business and drug development prospects, Bayer shares have been weighed down by litigation related to a product it acquired through its 2018 takeover of Monsanto.

A stalwart of German industry with a nearly 160-year history, Bayer has lost over 40% of its market value since buying Monsanto.

Shareholders have also cited a lack of market confidence in top management as a burden on shares.

Baumann, who engineered the Monsanto deal with the backing of then-Chairman Werner Wenning, was given a new contract in 2020 that runs until 2024 and said at the time he would leave the company when that expires.

($1 = 0.9308 euros)

(Reporting by Patricia Weiss and Emma-Victoria Farr in Frankfurt, Oliver Hirt in Zuerich;Additional reporting by Svea Herbst in New York;Writing by Ludwig Burger;Editing by Josephine Mason and Mark Potter)
A man holds a laptop computer as cyber code is projected on him in this illustration picture taken on May 13, 2017. REUTERS/Kacper Pempel/Illustration

By Krystal Hu

(Reuters) - Cohere, an AI foundation model company that competes with Microsoft-backed OpenAI, is in talks to raise hundreds of millions of dollars in a funding round that could value the startup at more than $6 billion, sources told Reuters, in the latest sign of the investment frenzy around generative AI.

Toronto-based Cohere, established by former researchers at Alphabet in 2019, has quickly risen through the AI startup ranks given their intensive research background and close ties to Google, investors said.

Foundation models are AI systems that are trained on large sets of data, with the ability to learn from new data to perform a variety of tasks. Generative AI aims to make human-like creations through computer code that has processed vast amounts of data.

Cohere is planning on introducing a new dialogue model that would resemble ChatGPT to let enterprise users generate text and engage with the model to refine the output. Unlike ChatGPT, Cohere's technology will mainly be accessible to developers and businesses, CEO Aidan Gomez told Reuters in an interview.

"Our chat models are focused more on business applicable tasks like answering questions than writing poems. We dont plan to hand them over to everyone to use for free without limit," said Gomez. "We want to build a healthy and sustainable business."

Gomez declined to comment on the funding status of the company.

It was not immediately clear how much Cohere was seeking to raise in the current round. Sources requested anonymity for discussing private funding matters.

Cohere has raised $170 million to date from funds including Index Ventures, Tiger Global and AI luminaries Geoffrey Hinton, Fei-Fei Li and Pieter Abbeel.

FOCUS ON NLP

Focusing on training natural language processing (NLP) models, Cohere competes with a group of foundation model providers such as OpenAI and Anthropic.

Gomez said the company differentiates itself by focusing on serving enterprise users, and Cohere has been talking to companies from marketing, consulting and tech to help them incorporate generative AI.

Cohere announced a cloud partnership with Alphabet to access its TPU computing power last year. Its language AI also becomes available on Amazons fully managed machine learning service SageMaker in January.

Last month, Cohere hired Martin Kon, the former chief finance executive at YouTube, to lead its product and market strategy. Cohere is powering some consumer applications including Hyperwrite, which helps people write faster and generate articles using AI.

"We expect this year to be a breakout year for us to bring in enterprise customers," said Gomez.

Gomez said Cohere will focus on text generation models, unlike its peer OpenAI which has released GPT-3 model for text as well as DALL-E for image generation.

Since the launch of ChatGPT in November, the technology that can generate prose, imagery or computer code on command has attracted investors' attention. Other foundation model providers such as Anthropic is also in talks to raise funding at multi-billion valuations, investor sources said.

With Microsoft Corp's $10 billion investment in OpenAI, other big tech companies, including Alphabet and Oracle, are also looking at investing in AI startups, sources said.

Gomez said Cohere will not take strategic investments that require exclusive rights.

"It's important for us to stay independent and work with different cloud providers," said Gomez.

(Reporting by Krystal Hu in Toronto; Editing by Kenneth Li and Grant McCool)




On 27 February 2023 the Extraordinary General Meeting of Shareholders of Snaige AB, the address of head office Pramones str. 6, Alytus, the company code 249664610 (hereinafter, the Company) is convened (hereinafter, the Meeting).

The Company will present the restructuring plan to the shareholders, which changed insignificantly when one of the mortgage creditors of AB SNAIGE transferred the claim rights to a new creditor, and the latter wanted to adjust the restructuring plan.

According to the Company's restructuring plan, AB SNAIGE should resolve the temporary difficulties that arose due to the crisis of raw materials in , the increase in the price of energy resources and the war in Ukraine.

Before the change of the mortgage creditor, the Company's other creditors approved the Company's restructuring plan by a majority of votes during the first creditors' meeting.

According to Mindaugos Sologubas, the Company's general director, the shareholders' meeting should approve the new restructuring plan because the changes made are not essential.

Currently, AB SNAIGE continues its activities by manufacturing refrigeration appliances for domestic and professional purposes, paying employees and taxes to the state on time, and developing new projects.

The place of the meeting at AB Snaige office, at the address Kareiviu str. 6, Vilnius, Lithuania.

The Meeting commences  at 10 a.m. (registration starts at 9.45 a.m.).

The Meetings accounting day  20 February 2023 (the persons who are shareholders of the Company at the end of accounting day of the General Meeting of Shareholders or authorized persons by them, or the persons with whom shareholders concluded the agreements on the disposal of voting right, shall have the right to attend and vote at the General Meeting of Shareholders).

The meeting is initiating and convening by the decision of the Managing Director of the Company.

Agenda and draft decisions of the Meeting:

The agenda question 1. Regarding the approval of the restructuring plan of the Company.

Draft of the decision: To approve the restructuring plan of the Company.

The Company shall not provide the possibility to participate and vote in the Meeting through electronic communication channels.

Draft resolutions on agenda issues, documents be submitted to the General Meeting of Shareholders and other information related with the exercising of the shareholders rights are available on the website of the Company www.snaige.lt on menu item For investors. This information will be also available for the shareholders at the head office of the Company (Pramones street 6, Alytus) on business days from 9:00 am. till 16:00 pm. (on Fridays till 14:00), tel. +370 315 56206.

Shareholders holding shares that grant at least 1/20 of all votes shall have the right of proposing to supplement the agenda of the Meeting by providing the Meeting draft resolution on each additionally proposed issue or in case no resolution is required - the explanation. The proposals to supplement the agenda shall be submitted in writing or by e-mail. The proposals shall be presented in writing to the Company on business days or by sending it by registered mail at the address Snaige AB, Pramones street 6, LT-62175 Alytus, Lithuania. The proposals submitted via the e-mail shall be sent by e-mail [email protected] . The proposals to supplement the agenda with the additional issues shall be submitted till 12 February 2023, 4:00 p.m. In case the agenda of the Meeting is supplemented the Company will report on it no later than 10 days before the Meeting in the same ways as on convening of the Meeting.

Shareholders holding shares that grant at least 1/20 of all votes shall have the right of proposing new draft resolutions on the issues already included or to be included in the agenda of the Meeting. The proposals shall be submitted in writing or by e-mail. The proposals shall be presented in writing to the Company on business days till 24 February 2023, 2 p.m. or by sending it by registered mail at the address Snaige AB, Pramones street 6, LT-62175 Alytus, Lithuania. During the Meeting the proposals shall be submitted to the Chairman of the Meeting after he announces the Meeting agenda and no later than the Meeting starts working on the issues of agenda. The proposals submitted via the electronic mail shall be sent on [email protected] . The proposals submitted on this e-mail till 24 February 2023, 2:00 p.m. will be discussed during the Meeting.

The shareholders shall have the right to present questions related to the General Meeting of Shareholders' agenda issues to the Company in advance in writing. The shareholders shall present the questions not later than 3 business days before the Meeting via the electronic mail on [email protected] . The Company undertakes to respond to the submitted questions via the electronic mail till the Meeting day, except the questions related to the Companys commercial secret and confidential information.

During the registration to attend the Meeting the shareholders or the persons authorized by them shall submit a document which is a proof of his identity. The shareholders' authorized persons shall submit the power of attorney confirmed by the established order. The power of attorney issued by the natural person shall be notarized. A power of attorney issued in a foreign state must be translated into Lithuanian and legalized in the manner prescribed by law. Representative can be authorized by more than one shareholder and shall have a right to vote differently under the orders of each shareholder. The shareholder holding shares of the Company, where the shares have been acquired on his own behalf, but for the benefit of other persons, must disclose before voting at the General Meeting of Shareholders to the Company the identity of the final customer, the number of shares that are put to the vote and the content of the voting instructions submitted to him or any other explanation regarding the participation agreed upon with the customer and voting at the General Meeting of Shareholders.

Shareholder shall also have the right to authorize through electronic communication channels another person (natural or legal) to participate and vote in the Meeting on shareholder's behalf. Such authorization shall not be confirmed by the notary officer. The power of attorney issued through electronic communication channels must be confirmed by the shareholder with a safe electronic signature developed by safe signature equipment and approved by a qualified certificate effective in the Republic of Lithuania. The shareholder shall inform the Company on the power of attorney issued through electronic communication channels by e-mail [email protected] no later than the last business day before the meeting at 2:00 p.m.

Each shareholder or representative thereof shall have the right to cast his/her vote in advance in writing by filling in a general ballot paper. The general ballot paper form is on the Company's website www.snaige.lt on menu item For Investors. Upon the written shareholders request, the Company no later than 10 days before the Meeting shall send a general ballot paper by registered mail or hand it in person against signature. The general ballot paper filled shall be signed by the shareholder or his/her representative. In case the ballot paper is signed by the shareholder's authorized representative, such person along with the filled ballot paper shall submit the document to confirm the voting right. The ballot paper filled and the document confirming the voting right (if required) shall be submitted in a written form to the Company by registered mail at the address Snaige AB, Pramones street 6, LT-62175, Alytus, Lithuania, or by submitting it to the Company. Validated will be dully filled-in ballot papers, received until the meeting.

The following information and documents are available on the website of the Company www.snaige.lt on menu item For Investors:

- The notification on the convening of the Meeting, draft resolutions on each agenda issue;

- The total number of the Companys shares and the number of shares with voting rights on the convening day of the Meeting;

- General ballot paper form.

Managing Director

Mindaugas Sologubas

Phone +370 652 11997





Attachment
FILE PHOTO: The logo of the Carlyle Group is displayed at the company's office in Tokyo, Japan October 17, 2018. REUTERS/Issei Kato/

By Chibuike Oguh

(Reuters) -Carlyle Group Inc on Monday appointed former Goldman Sachs Inc executive Harvey Schwartz as its chief executive officer, taking on the tasks of driving the private equity firm's earnings, growing its assets under management and boosting its stock price.

Schwartz's appointment, after a six-month search, takes effect on Feb. 15. Kewsong Lee departed as CEO last August after his turnaround efforts fell short of expectations. David Rubenstein, William Conway and Daniel D'Aniello - Carlyle founders who still control 26% of the firm - also felt Lee did not adequately consult them on major decisions.

Schwartz, 58, retired as Goldman Sachs' president and co-operating officer in 2018 after a 20-year career at the bank, where he held other leadership roles including chief financial officer and global co-head of its trading division. Unlike most Wall Street executives with Ivy League pedigrees, Schwartz graduated from Rutgers University before earning an MBA at Columbia. He joined Goldman in 1997.

He was a leading contender to replace former Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein, but lost out to David Solomon.

Schwartz is set to earn $1 million as base salary and up to $3 million as annual bonus. He will be granted Carlyle stock valued at $180 million on his start, regulatory filings showed.

Carlyle shares closed 2.91% lower at $36.31 per share after Monday's announcement. Carlyle, which has $369 billion in assets under management, is set to report its fourth-quarter earnings on Feb. 7.

Investors will be watching closely how Schwartz leads Carlyle, which is seen as having underperformed its rivals Blackstone Inc, Apollo Global Management Inc and KKR & Co Inc in recent years.

"We would view the conclusion of this (CEO) search as a positive," Jefferies analysts wrote in a note, while adding there will be a "necessary grace period to better understand any new strategic initiatives."

(Reporting by Chibuike Oguh in New York and Niket Nishant in Bengaluru; editing by Will Dunham and Marguerita Choy)
Miami, Florida--(Newsfile Corp. - February 6, 2023) - Cellular VPN launches a technological service, the first of its kind, that allows its users to use their smartphone's internet and cellular VPN app to have the ability to earn from the usage of VPN services by other users. Cellular VPN recently announced publicly the services they intend to offer their users upon their launch, knowing that VPN is very important to internet users, in that it provides a safe mode for surfing the web through its privacy and data security features.





CellularVPN

To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/8744/153438_cellularvpnimage.jpg.

Cellular VPN has developed a one-of-a-kind business model that enables anyone to take part in a more secure cyber future. This model is in tandem with their mission to partner with their clients and create a reliable residential proxy solution where other VPN users can use their client's real IP, location, and internet package to deflect online attacks. So, cellular VPN users can lend their internet connection, IP, and online location that other users can hop from one proxy to another to protect their online information from browsers, major IT companies, and data leaks and get paid in return.

Cellular VPNs have invested remarkable resources into their vision to revolutionize the ease of use of the internet space and achieve their goal as the leading VPN app in the tech space.

Some of the services unique to Cellular VPN includes the Cellular VPN App. The Virtual Private Network app provides an encrypted server for users and hides or modifies their IP address from the websites they visit, corporations, and hackers. As a result of the VPN's protection, the user is free and safe from any consequences if their identity were to be known. In addition, cellular VPN provides clients discounted access to all VPN services through their mobile VPN app and other VPN apps and can help them earn income together with their usage.

Another service unique to the company is the access to other Premium VPNs. Cellular VPN has helped VPN users pick out and collate top-rated VPNs they can trust to meet their needs. Not only that, but they also reviewed the VPNs with respect to necessary indicators such as privacy features, internet speed, live chat support, and more. So, any registered user on Cellular VPN can see the list of recommended VPNs that best fits their demands.

For more information, please visit https://cellularvpn.com/

Social media links:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/cellularvpn

Telegram: https://t.me/cellularvpn

Facebook: https://web.facebook.com/cellularvpn

Media Contact:

Full Name: Luke Baker

Email: [email protected]

Company Name: Cellular VPN LLC

Location: 1200 Brickell Ave, Ste 1950 #180, Miami, FL 33131

Website: http://www.cellularvpn.com

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/153438
Calgary, Alberta--(Newsfile Corp. - February 6, 2023) - Fathom Nickel Inc.(CSE: FNI) (FSE: 6Q5) (OTCQB: FNICF) (the "Company" or "Fathom") is pleased to announce the receipt of the Gochager Lake Exploration Permit. Field crews are currently mobilizing to commence the Q1-2023 exploration program immediately. Drilling will commence on or about February 10 at Gochager Lake. The Gochager Lake Project is host to disseminated - massive sulphide nickel-copper-cobalt mineralization. For the first time in the history of the project, the Company will employ borehole electromagnetic surveys ("BHEM") in an effort to delineate semi-massive to massive zones of nickel-copper-cobalt mineralization. Nickel-copper-cobalt mineralization was first recognized on the property in the late 1960's.

Commenting on the Gochager Lake Project, Ian Fraser, CEO and VP Exploration stated, "The Gochager Lake Project is an important addition to the Company's portfolio of "battery metal" projects. We look forward to applying BHEM in our effort to delineate zones of semi-massive to massive nickel-copper-cobalt mineralization within broader disseminated mineralization that defines the historic Gochager Lake deposit."

Summary

Receipt of exploration permit for the recently acquired Gochager Lake Project.

Commencement of Q1 2023 exploration program at Gochager Lake and Albert Lake Projects.

Drilling to start around February 10, 2023 at Gochager Lake; results expected by mid April.

Historic Drillhole at Gochager had a 294-meter intercept that returned 0.58% Ni, 0.11% Cu starting immediately below surface; within this interval was a 9.70-meter section that assayed 2.37% Ni, 0.35% Cu and 0.14% Co.

Gravity survey initiated at the Tremblay Olson Claims area (Albert Lake) with drilling to start around 4th week of February.

The Gochager Lake Property and Q1-2023 Drill, BHEM Program

The Gochager Lake Property is comprised of nine mineral dispositions totalling 4,696 hectares located in north-central Saskatchewan, approximately 75 km north of the town of La Ronge and in close proximity to the Company's flagship Albert Lake Project (Figure 2). Within the historic Gochager Lake deposit1, diamond drillhole I-12 drilled in 1967 had a 290.4-meter intercept that returned 0.58% Ni, 0.11% Cu starting immediately below surface. Within this interval, and at the base of this interval, a 9.70-meter section assayed 2.37% Ni, 0.35% Cu and 0.14% Co. In 2018, drillhole GL18-001 intersected semi-massive to massive, magmatic nickel sulphide mineralization (Figure 1) within the vicinity of historic drillhole I-12 demonstrating this style of mineralization exists within the historic deposit and that it does contain significant nickel-copper-cobalt mineralization.

Figure 1 - Drillhole GL18-001; 1.95% Ni, 0.22% Cu, 0.13% Co / 2.7m at 126.7-129.4 meters2





To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

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The Company intends to drill a hole in close proximity to historic drillhole I-12 primarily for the purpose of providing a BHEM platform to test for continuation and orientation of semi-massive to massive nickel-copper-cobalt lenses. These lenses are expected to be contained within the broader disseminated mineralization that defines the historic Gochager Lake deposit. In addition, and for the first time in the property's history, the drillhole will be systematically sampled for cobalt. Previous operators only sporadically sampled for cobalt. As a result, the amount of cobalt associated with the known nickel-copper mineralization in not well understood. A second drillhole will be drilled for the purpose of better defining lithology and mineralization controls. This drillhole will be drilled approximately 25 meters along strike of the I-12 location and the dip and azimuth will be designed to be perpendicular to the interpreted trend of the Gochager Lake deposit. This drillhole will also be probed by the BHEM tool. The Company is also optimistic that the two drillholes drilled in 2018 will also provide platforms for additional BHEM surveys. Drillhole results from the program will be released once received and interpreted by the Company. Pending actual timing for the receipt of assays from our lab, we anticipate releasing the results in late March - early April.

Figure 2 - Gochager Lake Property Location Map





To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

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The Albert Lake Property and Q1-2023 Exploration Program

Exploration at Albert Lake has also commenced. A crew was mobilized to site over the weekend of February 3-5 to initiate gravity survey coverage over the Tremblay-Olson Claims area. Fathom conducted a gravity survey in 2021 in the historic Rottenstone Mine area and this survey proved instrumental in defining the structural corridor that is host to The Bay Island Trend.

The gravity survey will tie into the existing gravity stations and is expected to take up to 10 days to complete. Results of this survey will be utilized, along with other geophysical models the Company has been developing, to target drill locations within the Tremblay-Olson Claims area. The Company anticipates issuing details on the planned Albert Lake program prior to commencement of drilling which is expected to begin in the 4th week of February.

Qualified Person and Data Verification

Ian Fraser, P.Geo., CEO, VP Exploration and a Director of the Company and the "qualified person" as such term is defined by National Instrument 43-101, has verified the data disclosed in this news release, and has otherwise reviewed and approved the technical information in this news release on behalf of the Company.

About Fathom Nickel Inc.

Fathom is an exploration company that is targeting magmatic nickel sulphide discoveries to support the rapidly growing global electric vehicle market.

The Company now has a portfolio of two high-quality exploration projects located in the prolific Trans Hudson Corridor in Saskatchewan: 1) the Albert Lake Project, a 90,000+ hectare project that was host to the historic and past producing Rottenstone deposit (produced high-grade Ni-Cu+PGE, 1965-1969), and 2) the Gochager Lake Project, a 4,696-hectare project that is host to a historic (NI43-101 non-compliant) open pitable resource consisting of 4.3M tons at 0.295% Ni and 0.081% Cu1. The Company anticipates Winter 2023 exploration programs at both projects.

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD

"Ian Fraser P.Geo."

CEO, VP Exploration, Director

For Further Information Please Contact:

Ian Fraser, Chief Executive Officer and Vice-President, Exploration

1-403-650-9760

Email: [email protected]

Manish Grigo, Director of Corporate Development

+1-416-569-3292

Email: [email protected]

Forward Looking Statements:

This news release contains "forward-looking statements" that are based on expectations, estimates, projections and interpretations as at the date of this news release. Forward-looking statements are frequently characterized by words such as "plan", "expect", "project", "seek", "intend", "believe", "anticipate", "estimate", "suggest", "indicate" and other similar words or statements that certain events or conditions "may" or "will" occur, and include, without limitation, statements regarding payment of terms under the Option Agreement, permitting for the Property, receipt of an exploration permit, timing of the exploration program on the Property and the Company achieving the earn-in thresholds under the Option Agreement. Forward-looking statements relate to information that is based on assumptions of management, forecasts of future results, and estimates of amounts not yet determinable. Any statements that express predictions, expectations, beliefs, plans, projections, objectives, assumptions or future events or performance are not statements of historical fact and may be "forward-looking statements." Forward-looking statements are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties which could cause actual events or results to differ from those reflected in the forward-looking statements, including, without limitation: risks related to failure to obtain adequate financing on a timely basis and on acceptable terms; risks related to the outcome of legal proceedings; political and regulatory risks associated with mining and exploration; risks related to the maintenance of stock exchange listings; risks related to environmental regulation and liability; the potential for delays in exploration or development activities or the completion of feasibility studies; the uncertainty of profitability; risks and uncertainties relating to the interpretation of drill results, the geology, grade and continuity of mineral deposits; risks related to the inherent uncertainty of production and cost estimates and the potential for unexpected costs and expenses; results of prefeasibility and feasibility studies, and the possibility that future exploration, development or mining results will not be consistent with the Company's expectations; risks related to commodity price fluctuations; and other risks and uncertainties related to the Company's prospects, properties and business detailed elsewhere in the Company's disclosure record. Such forward looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. These forward- looking statements are made as of the date hereof and the Company does not assume any obligation to update or revise them to reflect new events or circumstances except in accordance with applicable securities laws. Actual events or results could differ materially from the Company's expectations or projections.

NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION TO UNITED STATES NEWSWIRE SERVICES OR FOR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES. ANY FAILURE TO COMPLY WITH THIS RESTRICTION MAY CONSTITUTE A VIOLATION OF U.S. SECURITIES LAWS

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/153745
Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - February 6, 2023) - Pivotal Metals Ltd (ASX: PVT) is pleased to announce that the company is presenting a live virtual corporate update hosted by Red Cloud Financial Services on February 10th, 2023 at 11:00 AM ET.

We invite our shareholders, and all interested parties to register for the webinar and participate in the live Q&A session at the end of the presentation moderated by Red Cloud.

The replay will be emailed out to all webinar registrants proceeding the event and will also be available on the Red Cloud website.

For more information and to register: https://redcloudfs.com/rcwebinar-pvt/.

Introduction to Pivotal Metals, an ASX listed company focusing on battery metals in Quebec with an exciting portfolio including development and exploration

Commodities to be covered: Copper, Nickel, PGMs.

About Pivotal Metals Ltd

Pivotal holds the flagship Quebec Horden Lake property, benefitting from a large JORC mineral resource estimate containing copper, nickel, palladium and gold with further upside to come following planned work in 2023 to incorporate known occurrences of silver and cobalt. Horden Lake is complemented by a battery metals exploration portfolio located within the prolific Quebec Belleterre-Angliers Greenstone Belt containing high-grade nickel copper PGM sulphide occurrences.Pivotal also owns the Santa Comba and San Finx tungsten and tin development projects in Spain.

About Red Cloud Financial Services Inc.

Red Cloud Financial Services Inc. is a comprehensive capital markets platform that provides a full range of unconflicted corporate access and media related services. Offering these services as a unified platform provides the ultimate value proposition for junior resources companies in their efforts to broaden their capital markets presence.

About Red Cloud Securities Inc.

Red Cloud Securities Inc. is an IIROC-regulated investment dealer focused on providing unique comprehensive capital market services and innovative financing alternatives to the junior resource sector. The company was founded by capital markets professionals with extensive experience in the junior mining industry.

For further information:

Pivotal Metals Ltd

Steven Turner, Managing Director

+34604075456

[email protected]

For additional information contact [email protected] or visit:

www.redcloudfs.com

www.facebook.com/RedCloudFinancialServices

www.twitter.com/RedCloudFS

www.linkedin.com/company/red-cloud-financial-services-inc

www.youtube.com/c/RedCloudFinancialServicesInc

www.instagram.com/redcloudfs
San Jose, California--(Newsfile Corp. - February 5, 2023) - Simplifying Calculation, a startup based in Silicon Valley, has announced the release of its new software PFS/NetWorth Calculator (BETA). The software is designed to provide users with a complete dynamic snapshot of their financial standing, enabling them to list all of their assets and liabilities, calculate their net worth, and save this information for future reference.

A Personal Financial Statement (PFS) is a summarized document that outlines an individual's net worth. It lists assets, liabilities, income sources, expenses, and other relevant information about the individual's finances. This document can be used by lenders or investors to assess the creditworthiness or risk levels associated with lending money or investing in the individual's business.

[Personal Financial Statement and NetWorth Calculator]

Knowing one's net worth is the primary reason for preparing a Personal Financial Statement. It refers to the total value of all assets such as cash and investments minus any liabilities such as outstanding loans or credit card debt. Understanding net worth gives visibility into the amount of money available for investment and provides key insights into personal financial health.

Having an up-to-date PFS can assist in securing loans or other forms of financing from lenders. Banks and lenders require this information as most loans tend to require personal guarantees. An accurate PFS provides the necessary visibility for lenders to make an informed decision about offering financing for personal or business growth and expansion purposes.

A net worth calculator is an online tool used to track and calculate an individual's total assets minus their total liabilities. To get the most out of this tool, it's important to input accurate information about all assets and liabilities. The calculator generates an accurate calculation of both total assets and liabilities, and provides insight into potential areas for improvement or growth in financial management.

For more information on PFS/NetWorth Calculator from Simplifying Calculation, please visit Net Worth Calculator.

The startup is also building other softwares in Small Business Lending such as SBA 7a vs 504, Commercial Mortgage, Business Term Loan, Business Equipment etc.

These softwares can be previewed at Business Lending.

Simplifying Calculation aims to help simplify the calculation process that is a part of any financial transaction, be it for personal finance, small business, or investments.

The company's goal is to power finance through simplicity.

Media Contact:

Company Name: Simplifying Calculation

Contact Person: Media Relations

Address: 99 Almaden Blvd # 600, San Jose, California, US

Email: [email protected]

Website: Simplifying Calculation

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/153694
First Project in Texas Adds 1.4MW to UGE's Operating Portfolio

Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - February 6, 2023) - UGE International Ltd. (TSXV: UGE) (OTCQB: UGEIF) (the "Company" or "UGE"), a leader in commercial and community solar, has acquired two solar projects and one battery energy storage system ("BESS") in Texas. The first project reached commercial operation this week, shortly after closing the acquisition. The acquisition marks UGE's entrance into the Texas market.

The acquisition is comprised of two ground-mount solar projects and one BESS project, all located in Bastrop County, Texas. The first solar project, which totals 1.4MW DC, achieved commercial operation ("COD") on January 31. The second solar project, with a rated capacity of 1.3MW DC, is expected to reach the NTP ("Notice to Proceed") milestone by the end of Q2 and reach commercial operation by the end of the year. The energy produced by the first project will be sold to the City of Smithville, Texas, where the projects are sited, under a Power Purchase Agreement ("PPA"), providing the town with cheaper, cleaner electricity. UGE has a Memorandum of Understanding ("MOU") with a potential off-taker of the second project, which the Company anticipates will convert into a PPA in the coming months.

"The new Smithville solar farm will reduce energy costs for our City while simultaneously lowering our carbon emissions," said Robert Tamble, Smithville City Manager. "We look forward to partnering with UGE in the future to bring additional renewable energy to our community."

UGE is developing a BESS to pair with the two solar projects. The combination of solar and BESS, which the Company has already begun to pursue at many of its eligible projects, maximizes the usability of energy generated by the solar installation while further strengthening grid resiliency for the surrounding community.

Although there is not yet a community solar program in the state of Texas, the market for clean energy in the state is robust, with municipalities and commercial customers routinely procuring large amounts of renewable energy. Additionally, ERCOT, the Independent System Operator (ISO) that controls approximately 75% of the grid in Texas, has well-developed rules for interconnection, making project development faster and easier in Texas than in many other states. UGE will continue to pursue more projects in Texas in 2023 and beyond.

"The Texas market is ripe with opportunity for UGE to apply its expertise in developing mid-sized renewable energy projects," said Nick Blitterswyk, Founder and CEO of UGE. "This is the first of many projects that UGE will develop, own, and operate in Texas."

The terms of the acquisition have not been released for competitive reasons but meet or exceed UGE's project return thresholds. With commercial operation on the first project, UGE's U.S. operating portfolio grows from 2.3MW to 3.8MW.

About UGE

UGE develops, owns, and operates commercial and community solar projects in the US and strategic markets abroad. Our distributed energy solutions deliver cheaper, cleaner energy to businesses and consumers with no upfront cost. With over 500MW of global experience, we work daily to power a more sustainable world.

For more information, contact UGE at:

+1 917 720 5685

[email protected]

Forward-Looking Statements

Certain information set forth in this news release may contain forward-looking statements that involve substantial known and unknown risks and uncertainties, certain of which are beyond the control of the Company. Forward-looking statements are frequently characterized by words such as "plan", "continue", "expect", "project", "intend", "believe", "anticipate", "estimate", "may", "will", "potential", "proposed" and other similar words, or statements that certain events or conditions "may" or "will" occur. These statements are only predictions. Readers are cautioned that the assumptions used in the preparation of such information, although considered reasonable at the time of preparation, may prove to be imprecise and, as such, undue reliance should not be placed on forward-looking statements. Forward looking statements include, but are not limited to, the anticipated use of proceeds, and the listing of the Green Debentures on the TSX Venture Exchange. The Company assumes no obligation to update forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by applicable law.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/153640
TOKYO, Feb. 5, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Astellas Pharma Inc. (TSE: 4503, President and CEO: Kenji Yasukawa, Ph.D., "Astellas") today announced that at a meeting of its Board of Directors, held today, approved changes of its Representative Director, President and CEO and its management structure.

1Change of President and CEO

Reason for Change

Astellas has been working on its Corporate Strategic Plan 2018 and Corporate Strategic Plan 2021 ("CSP2021") since fiscal year 2018, when Kenji Yasukawa was appointed as President and CEO, to realize its VISION "On the forefront of healthcare change to turn innovative science into VALUE for patients". During this time, Astellas overcame the patent cliff associated with the expiration of products exclusivity that had supported its growth in the past, and revenue has turned upward trend after bottoming out in fiscal year 2020. In addition, Astellas moved away from its past business model of creating products with a focus on specific disease areas and promoted a shift to the Focus Area approach of determining R&D areas from a multifaceted perspective, and is also making progress in developing new drug candidates that will drive future revenues.

Fiscal year 2023 is the right time to go on the aggressive to further accelerate growth, and Naoki Okamura will take over as new President and CEO. Astellas decided it is best for it to consider and implement strategies for achieving CSP2021, which ends in fiscal year 2025 and long-term growth beyond that under the new leadership. The environment surrounding the company is changing rapidly, such as increasing geopolitical risks and changes in the finances and markets of each country due to the COVID-19 crisis, but the new top management has the ability to flexible in response to such changes.

Changes of Representative Directors

Name New Position Current Position Kenji Yasukawa Representative Director, Chairman of the Board Representative Director, President and CEO Naoki Okamura Representative Director, President and CEO Representative Director, Executive Vice President

Effective date of change

April 1, 2023

2. Top Management (Effective April 1, 2023)

Claus Zieler will be appointed as CCO. He joined Astellas Group in 2019 as President, International Markets Commercial with experience in the commercial area at Schering and Bayer. He was appointed as President, Established Markets Commercial in January 2022. Together with Yukio Matsui, the current CCO, he has been implementing several imperative changes with his strong driving force and patient centric mindset.

Adam Pearson will be appointed as CStO. Since joining Astellas Group (former Yamanouchi Group) in 2004 after working at Boston Consulting Group, He has held various positions including Regional Senior Vice President, North Europe, Astellas Pharma Europe Ltd. and General Manager, United Kingdom, Astellas Pharma Ltd., and since 2020 has been Division Head of Corporate Strategy, leading the development and promotion of CSP2021.

Name New Title Current Title Naoki Okamura Representative Director, President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Representative Director, Corporate Executive Vice President, Chief Strategy Officer (CStO) Minoru Kikuoka Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Same as left Yoshitsugu Shitaka Chief Scientific Officer (CScO) Same as left Tadaaki Taniguchi Chief Medical Officer (CMO) Same as left Hideki Shima Chief Manufacturing Officer (CMfgO) Same as left Claus Zieler Chief Commercial Officer (CCO) President, Established Markets Commercial Adam Pearson Chief Strategy Officer (CStO) Executive Vice President, Corporate Strategy Katsuyoshi Sugita Chief People Officer and Chief Ethics & Compliance Officer (CPO & CECO) Same as left Catherine Levitt General Counsel (GC) Same as left

Yukio Matsui, the current CCO, will retire on March 31, 2023.

3. Change of Corporate Executive (Tantou-Yakuin) (Effective April 1, 2023)

Name New Position Current Position Minoru Kikuoka Corporate Executive Vice President Fukusyacho Tantou-Yakuin  Senior Corporate Executive Senmu Tantou-Yakuin 

Yukio Matsui, the current Senior Corporate Executive (Senmu Tantou-Yakuin), will retire on March 31, 2023.

About Astellas

Astellas Pharma Inc. is a pharmaceutical company conducting business in more than 70 countries around the world. We are promoting the Focus Area Approach that is designed to identify opportunities for the continuous creation of new drugs to address diseases with high unmet medical needs by focusing on Biology and Modality. Furthermore, we are also looking beyond our foundational Rx focus to create Rx+ healthcare solutions that combine our expertise and knowledge with cutting-edge technology in different fields of external partners. Through these efforts, Astellas stands on the forefront of healthcare change to turn innovative science into VALUE for patients. For more information, please visit our website at https://www.astellas.com/en.

Cautionary Notes

In this press release, statements made with respect to current plans, estimates, strategies and beliefs and other statements that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements about the future performance of Astellas. These statements are based on management's current assumptions and beliefs in light of the information currently available to it and involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties. A number of factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those discussed in the forward-looking statements. Such factors include, but are not limited to: (i) changes in general economic conditions and in laws and regulations, relating to pharmaceutical markets, (ii) currency exchange rate fluctuations, (iii) delays in new product launches, (iv) the inability of Astellas to market existing and new products effectively, (v) the inability of Astellas to continue to effectively research and develop products accepted by customers in highly competitive markets, and (vi) infringements of Astellas' intellectual property rights by third parties.

Information about pharmaceutical products (including products currently in development) which is included in this press release is not intended to constitute an advertisement or medical advice.

(Reference)

Curriculum Vitae of new Representative Director, Chairman of the Board

Name: Kenji Yasukawa Date of Birth: June 7, 1960 Place of Birth: Tokyo - Career History April 2018 Representative Director, President and CEO, the Company (present post) June 2017 Representative Director, Executive Vice President, Chief Strategy Officer and Chief Commercial Officer, the Company April 2017 Senior Corporate Executive, Senior Vice President, Chief Strategy Officer and Chief Commercial Officer, the Company June 2012 Senior Corporate Executive, Senior Vice President and Chief Strategy Officer, the Company April 2012 Corporate Executive, Senior Vice President and Chief Strategy Officer, the Company April 2011 Corporate Executive, Vice President, Product & Portfolio Strategy, the Company October 2010 Corporate Executive of the Company, Therapeutic Area Head, Urology, Astellas Pharma Global Development, Inc. June 2010 Corporate Executive of the Company, Therapeutic Area Head, Urology, Astellas Pharma Europe B.V. April 2005 Vice President, Project Management, Urology, the Company April 1986 Joined the Company (former Yamanouchi Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.) - Education July 2001 Showa University Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Japan, Ph.D. in Pharmaceutical Sciences March 1986 University of Tokyo, Master of Science, Agriculture

Curriculum Vitae of new Representative Director, President and CEO

Name: Naoki Okamura Date of Birth: September 18, 1962 Place of Birth: Shizuoka Prefecture - Career History: April 2022 Representative Director, Executive Vice President and Chief Strategy Officer (CStO), the Company (present post) March 2022 Representative Director, Executive Vice President, Chief Strategy Officer and Chief Business Officer (CStO and CBO), the Company September 2021 Representative Director, Executive Vice President, Chief Strategy Officer, Chief Financial Officer and Chief Business Officer (CStO & CFO, and CBO), the Company October 2019 Representative Director, Executive Vice President, Chief Strategy Officer and Chief Financial Officer, (CStO & CFO), the Company June 2019 Representative Director, Executive Vice President, Chief Strategy Officer (CStO), the Company April 2019 Corporate Executive Vice President, Chief Strategy Officer (CStO), the Company April 2018 Corporate Executive, Chief Strategy Officer (CStO), the Company June 2016 Corporate Executive, Vice President, Corporate Planning, the Company April 2016 Vice President, Corporate Planning, the Company July 2014 Vice President, Licensing & Alliances, the Company April 2012 Senior Vice President, Chief Strategy Officer, Astellas Pharma Europe Ltd. October 2010 President & CEO, OSI Pharmaceuticals, Inc. April 1986 Joined the Company - Education March 1985 University of Tokyo, Faculty of Pharmacy

Curriculum Vitae of new Chief Commercial Officer (CCO)

Name: Claus Zieler - Career History: January 2022 President, Established Markets Commercial, Astellas Pharma Europe Ltd. (Present post) October 2019 President, International Markets Commercial, Astellas Pharma Singapore Pte Ltd. June 2015 Senior Vice President, Pharmaceuticals Region Asia Pacific, Bayer (South East Asia) Pte Ltd. October 2011 Operating Officer and Head of BU Cardiovascular & Neurology, Bayer Yakuhin Ltd. March 2007 General Manager HealthCare Belgium / Luxemburg, Bayer SA-NV Marsh 2005 General Manager Argentina, Schering Argentina May 2003 Vice President Business Development, Schering Berlin, Inc. May 1995 Regional Product Manager for Latin America, Schering AG

Curriculum Vitae of new Chief Strategy Officer (CStO)

Name: Adam Pearson - Career History: April 2022 Executive Vice President, Corporate Strategy. Astellas Pharma Inc. (Present post) April 2020 Senior Vice President, Corporate Planning, Astellas Pharma Inc. April 2019 General Manager, United Kingdom, Astellas Pharma Ltd. July 2016 Regional Senior Vice President, North Europe, Astellas Pharma Europe Ltd. February 2011 General Manager, South East Europe, Astellas Pharma d.o.o. January 2007 Sales Director Netherlands, Astellas Pharma Netherlands, BV. January 2004 Director of Strategic Planning, Europe, Yamanouchi Europe Ltd. September 1994 Consultant & Project Leader, Boston Consulting Group

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SOURCE Astellas Pharma Inc.
New product in company's biofuels portfolio helps mitigate production loss due to heat stress in yeast fermentation

DES MOINES, Iowa, Feb. 6, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Kemin Industries, a global ingredient manufacturer that strives to sustainably transform the quality of life every day for 80 percent of the world with its products and services, recently launched FermSAVER, a tea-extract product utilized during yeast fermentation for ethanol production, as part of its growing Kemin Bio Solutions portfolio.

FermSAVER was developed to help reduce stress when yeast is exposed to excess heat generated during the summer months. Supplementation with FermSAVER has been shown to improve ethanol production during periods of heat stress compared to yeast alone.

"Managing heat during ethanol production is critical to any bioethanol facility," said Jason Ackerman, General Manager, Kemin Bio Solutions. "We are thrilled to introduce FermSAVER, which can give ethanol producers peace of mind during high-heat periods by helping to maintain productivity."

During industrial fermentation, yeast generates excessive heat through normal metabolic processes. In the absence of cooling  and during summer months when chiller effectiveness is lower  yeast fermentation is significantly affected, resulting in reduced ethanol production.

Ethanol manufacturing facilities have typically relied on cooling towers to reduce the negative consequences of heat generated during fermentation, but cooling towers may fail or become overwhelmed during periods of high heat. When this occurs, the facility must take action that is costly and may still not correct the production loss. FermSAVER can decrease the stress experienced by yeast during periods of increased temperature, ultimately leading to improved ethanol yield.

Kemin is deeply committed to providing science-backed solutions to the industries it serves and undertook a multi-year project to discover and develop the FermSAVER technology, which resulted in a patent application.

"Kemin is constantly innovating and developing novel solutions for issues prevalent in the ethanol industry and beyond," said Brandon Lewis, Ph.D., Principal Scientist, Kemin Bio Solutions. "FermSAVER is yet another example of a Kemin solution directly addressing a customer need."

For more information on the Kemin Bio Solutions portfolio of products, visit www.kemin.com/bio. The Kemin Bio Solutions team will also be available at the Iowa Renewable Fuels Summit on February 7, 2023, at Booth 17.

About Kemin Industries

Kemin Industries (www.kemin.com) is a global ingredient manufacturer that strives to sustainably transform the quality of life every day for 80 percent of the world with its products and services. The company supplies over 500 specialty ingredients for human and animal health and nutrition, pet food, aquaculture, nutraceutical, food technologies, crop technologies, textile, biofuel and animal vaccine industries.

For over half a century, Kemin has been dedicated to using applied science to address industry challenges and offer product solutions to customers in more than 120 countries. Kemin provides ingredients to feed a growing population with its commitment to the quality, safety and efficacy of food, feed and health-related products.

Established in 1961, Kemin is a privately held, family-owned-and-operated company with more than 3,000 global employees and operations in 90 countries, including manufacturing facilities in Belgium, Brazil, China, Egypt, India, Italy, San Marino, Singapore, South Africa and the United States.

Media Contact: Emily Claghorn, Marketing Communications Manager[email protected] | +1 (515) 720-5709

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SOURCE Kemin Industries
The $23 million Series A led by Alphabet's CapitalG includes prominent investors Nat Friedman (former CEO of Github and co-creator of Copilot), Elad Gil, and Amplify Partners, bringing the company's total funding to $28 million.

SAN FRANCISCO, Feb. 6, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Magic.dev, a new startup that is developing an AI-powered software engineer, announced a $23 million Series A led by Alphabet's independent growth fund, CapitalG, with participation from prominent investors Nat Friedman, Elad Gil, and Amplify Partners. This brings the company's total funding to $28 million.

Magic is developing an "AI colleague" for software engineering. Like a human engineer, it aims to communicate in natural language and collaborate with users on complex code changes. Powered by large language models, the product operates like an AI pair programmer able to understand and continually learn more about the context of the work and the user.

Magic co-founder and CEO Eric Steinberger said, "Our mission is to deploy AI to accelerate science and make the world more productive. For decades, technology was just a tool; soon it will be a colleague. The adoption of 'AI assistants' in the workplace will be as impactful as the industrial revolution, and it's important to get this transition right." He added, "I'm excited to be applying our technology to the field of software engineering; it's highly complex, collaborative, and a bottleneck for many organizations. Due to what remains a tight technical talent market, many organizations are unable to hire the engineers they need. Magic will enable people and organizations to build game-changing technology faster and more easily than has ever been possible before."

Before founding Magic in 2022, Steinberger founded ClimateScience.org in order to make climate change education accessible to children worldwide, worked as an ML researcher at FAIR, and studied computer science at the University of Cambridge.

"I've been evaluating enterprise applications for AI for the past three years," said CapitalG partner Jill Chase who led the investment and will be joining Magic's board. "Code generation is an obvious application for AI, given the magnitude of the software development market and the clear ROI associated with productivity gains. It's a space where the best technology will win because the open ecosystem allows for easy distribution of the best product. Magic is highly differentiated from other code generation start-ups because it's on a path to go far beyond simple code completion; it's building a true AI colleague. This has the potential to fundamentally change software development."

Elad Gil, serial entrepreneur and investor, said, "Eric and his team have a strong vision for AI's potential in the field of code generation. I'm excited to back Magic in this exciting space."

Mike Dauber, general partner at Amplify Partners, added, "Despite all of the attention given to Generative AI, we were surprised and impressed by how much better Magic was than anything else that we'd seen. Magic has the potential to grow into a truly generational business."

Over the last few years the high cost of software developer talent (on average about $150K+ per year) and the scarcity of that talent (IDC predicts a shortfall of 4 million engineers by 2025) have fostered interest in developer productivity tooling. IDC estimates there to be 25 million developers worldwide and predicts that number to grow to 40 million by 2027. Magic's technology will help software developers scale their impact and build better products faster.

About Magic.dev

Magic is a public benefit corporation dedicated to building and safely deploying aligned, superhuman AGI. Seeing AI complete complex tasks feels like magic to us, and we can't wait to see what developers will build with our product. Learn more at www.Magic.dev.

About CapitalG

CapitalG, Alphabet's independent growth fund, invests in remarkable companies transforming the fields of enterprise infrastructure, security, and data; fintech; and consumer services and marketplaces. CapitalG partners with growth stage companies in their transition from startup to scale up through hands-on assistance from its in-house growth team and connections to Google's engineering, product, marketing, sales and people operations experts worldwide. More than 3,000 Googlers and Alphabet leaders have advised more than 4500 portfolio employees at companies including Airbnb, CrowdStrike, Databricks, Duolingo, Lyft, Robinhood, Stripe, UiPath, and Zscaler, among others. Learn more at www.CapitalG.com.

Media contact:

Melissa Sobel, CapitalG Communications Partner,[email protected]

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SOURCE CapitalG
WASHINGTON, Feb. 6, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- On Sunday, honorary co-chairs of No Labels, U.S. Senators Joe Manchin (D-WV) and Susan Collins (R-ME), headlined a No Labels Strategy Session in Miami, Florida, to coalesce Congressional moderates heading into the 118th Congress. The session featured robust discussions surrounding the most pressing issues facing America ranging from the debt ceiling to immigration.

"The 117th Congress was overwhelming proof that bipartisanship can and does work. This weekend, we were proud to lead important bipartisan discussions about the most pressing issues facing our country with a robust group of Congressional leaders who share our commitment to bipartisan compromises. We are encouraged by these productive conversations and are resolute in our determination to tackle these challenges head on and deliver lasting solutions for the American people," said Senators Manchin and Collins.

The gathering also featured:

No Labels national co-chairs Governor Larry Hogan (R-MD), Senator Joe Lieberman (I-CT) and Dr. Benjamin Chavis, Jr.,

No Labels vice-chairs John Hope Bryant and Mack McLarty

Senators Kyrsten Sinema (I-AZ) and Bill Cassidy (R-LA)

Representatives Henry Cuellar (D-TX), Tony Gonzales (R-TX) and Vicente Gonzalez (D-TX)

Former Senator Bob Corker (R-TN)

Former Governors Bill Haslam (R-TN), Pat McCrory (R-NC), Deval Patrick (D-MA) and Tim Pawlenty (R-MN)

Former Representatives Mick Mulvaney (R-SC) , Max Rose (D-NY) and Tulsi Gabbard (I-HI)

Former Mayor Mike Rawlings (D-TX)

Lanhee Chen

Mark Penn

No Labels is a national movement of Democrats, Republicans and Independents working to bring America's leaders together to develop common-sense two-party solutions to America's biggest problems. The Senate and House members that No Labels gathered in Miami were a driving force behind many of the most notable achievements of the previous Congress including the 2021 infrastructure bill, the 2022 CHIPS Act and gun safety bill and a rewrite of the Electoral Count Act.

Contact: Jennifer Lawrence, 512-516-2138, [email protected]

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SOURCE No Labels
OTCGH PROMOTES SNEHA BAGRI, CHIEF COMPLIANCE OFFICER, TO SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT AND CCO AS COMPANY DOUBLES DOWN ON ITS COMMITMENT TO BEST-IN-CLASS COMPLIANCE

HOUSTON and LONDON and NEW YORK , Feb. 6, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Leading independent interdealer broker OTC Global Holdings (OTCGH) announced today the expansion of its Compliance department with the promotion of several employees and the addition of new hires. This announcement comes as OTC Global Holdings registered record growth in 2022 and prepares to continue its expansion over the next years.

Our record growth and expansion plans for the next 24 months require us to double-down on our compliance capabilities.

OTC Global Holdings has become a commodity brokerage powerhouse covering financial and physical instruments globally. As the company continues to grow and the regulatory environment continues to evolve, OTCGH is committed to elevating the compliance team to a best-in-class enterprise. "Our record growth and the expansion plans for the next 24 months require us to double-down on our compliance capabilities," said Javier Loya, Co-CEO at OTC Global Holdings. "The need has emerged not only to service the regulatory commitments of OTCGH, but also to bring our compliance officers to the table before decisions are made to ensure and confirm all our operations are within regulation," he added.

At the helm of the Compliance Team overhaul, Sneha Bagri will serve as Senior Vice President and Chief Compliance Officer. In her role, Ms. Bagri oversees all of OTCGH's compliance and regulatory dealings, including four NFA-registered IBs globally. With 17 years of experience in the futures industry, Ms. Bagri has been managing the compliance program at OTCGH since 2015. Prior experience includes Goldman Sachs futures operations for nine years, where she led multiple risk review global initiatives including the Dodd-Frank conversion of OTC swaps to cleared futures. "It has been an honor to work along Javier, Joe, and the entire OTCGH team as the company has grown into the largest interdealer broker of commodities in the world. We have a great team with excellent experience, and the new hires and internal promotions will help us maintain a tough compliance department commensurate with the expansion plans of the firm," said Ms. Bagri.

Today's announcement also includes the promotion of Jennifer Lauletti to Compliance Manager and Lavinia Nemer to Compliance Analyst. The company also announced the addition of Bill Phypers as Senior Compliance Officer overseeing OTC Europe and Lloyd Jensen as Compliance Officer for Oil Brokerage Limited, an OTC Global Holdings subsidiary in London. "We are delighted to add Bill and Lloyd to our UK compliance team," says Joe Kelly, Co-CEO of OTC Global Holdings. "They will work closely with our CFO to deliver all aspects of OTCE's and OB's compliance program, including stewarding and on-boarding brokers, AML compliance, market surveillance and general trade queries from exchanges and regulators."

Bill Phypers will occupy the position of FCE and NFA registered Compliance Officer and Money Laundering Reporting Officer for both OTCE and OB. He is a veteran commodities compliance officer joining OTCGH from TP ICAP, where he spent the past 10 years. Lloyd Jensen is a former commodities trader and compliance officer with more than 15 years of experience working with household names such as BGC, EDF&Man as well as PVM Oil Futures and Newedge Prime Brokerage Group.

About OTC Global Holdings

OTCGH is the world's largest independent institutional broker of commodities, covering financial and physical instruments from offices in Chicago, Geneva, Houston, London, Louisville, New Jersey, New York and Singapore. OTCGH has been awarded "Broker of the Year" by Energy Risk. With a portfolio of nearly 20 companies, OTCGH is a liquidity provider on CBOT, ICE, NYMEX, and NODAL. The company serves more than 450 institutional clients, including over 70 members of the Global Fortune 500, and transacts in hundreds of different commodity delivery points in Asia, Europe and the Americas. www.otcgh.com

About Oil Brokerage Ltd

Oil Brokerage Ltd. is a subsidiary of OTC Global Holdings. The London-based company has established as excellent operation brokering in, but not limited to, North West Europe, the Mediterranean, West Africa, the Arab Gulf and USA. Now in its 35th year, the company has established itself as a leader in the broking of Oil and Refined Products. Over the course of the last 10 years Oil Brokerage Limited has expanded its product offering from Gasoline and Naphtha across the barrel (to also include LNG) whilst increasing the geographical locations from which it provides its services. The recent addition of Physical Shipbroking to its portfolio provides the company with a sustainable competitive advantage through the next decade.

www.oilbrokerage.com

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SOURCE OTC Global Holdings
1606 Corp. Now Trading on OTC Under Symbol "CBDW"

Company Formed as a 1-for-1 distribution to shareholders of SinglePoint Inc.

PHOENIX, Feb. 6, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- www.singlepoint.com (OTCQB: SING) ("SinglePoint" or "the Company"), a renewable solar energy and sustainable solutions provider, announced today that the Company's first spinoff to shareholders, 1606 Corp. (OTC: CBDW) has started trading under the symbol "CBDW" after completing all the requisite filings.

SinglePoint. Inc. spun off its CBD operations and distributed stock to its common shareholders in April 2021 as part of a planned strategy to concentrate on solar energy, energy storage, and sustainable solutions. Post distribution, 1606 Corp. became an independent operating entity with its own management team and employees and is a growth-oriented provider of health and wellness products. 1606 Corp. began trading on the OTC Markets on Jan. 17, 2023. CBD.Inc and 1606 Corp. look to accumulate a diverse portfolio of CBD products and companies nationwide by consolidating the fragmented CBD industry via acquisitions.

Wil Ralston, CEO of SinglePoint, said, "We are happy to see that our first spinoff to shareholders has been listed on the OTC and is being actively traded. CBDW/1606 Corp. is the first of multiple planned spinoffs of previously acquired assets that do not fit within our go-forward plan. Future potential spin-offs will allow SinglePoint to focus on the core business units, reduce management distraction, increase revenue, and improve profit margins. We are committed to focusing our efforts and resources on our existing core business units (solar energy and indoor air purification) and identifying accretive and complementary acquisition opportunities that fall within our strategic criteria."

Ralston continued, "We are executing our plan to drive long-term growth and are fortunate to be positioned in market segments with unprecedented multi-year tailwinds due to the recently passed historical federal funding available for clean indoor air, solar, renewable energy, and energy storage. Our focus has been heavily concentrated on preparing for a successful uplisting to a national exchange which we believe provides greater access to the right type of institutional investors that will allow the Company to continue aggressive execution against our targeted acquisition strategy. We will continue to streamline operations and focus our resources on simplifying and clarifying our go-forward business offerings and taking necessary corporate actions that provide a clearer snapshot of our true market value. We believe the future is bullish and bright because we have established positions in long-term, transformational business opportunities."

About SinglePoint Inc. (OTCQB: SING)SinglePoint is a sustainable lifestyle Company focused on the solar energy and storage and indoor air purification markets. The Company plans to build the largest renewable energy solutions network and modernize the traditional solar energy and energy storage business model. SinglePoint continues to execute its acquisition strategy by exploring future growth opportunities in indoor air purification and ventilation, electric vehicle charging, solar as a subscription service, and additional energy efficiencies and appliances that enhance sustainability and healthier life. For more information, visit the Company's websites: www.singlepoint.com, www.bostonsolar.us, and www.bpasolutions.com.

About CBD, Inc. (OTC: CBDW)1606 Corp acquires and develops CBD brands, including Truz and CBD Singlez (www.1606hemp.com). The Company utilizes an acquisition model aimed at consolidating the fragmented CBD industry. 1606 Corp primarily focuses on Hemp and CBD products, brand development, and establishing distribution channels. 1606 Corp. was awarded the ticker symbol CBDW on Jan. 12, 2022, and began trading on the OTC Market on Jan. 17, 2023. Corporate websites -- www.1606hemp.com and www.CBD.Inc.

Forward-Looking StatementsCertain statements in this news release may contain forward-looking information within Rule 175 under the Securities Act of 1933 and Rule 3b-6 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and are subject to the safe harbor created by those rules. All statements, besides statements of fact included in this release, including, without limitation, statements regarding revenue projections, financing opportunities, potential plans and objectives of the Company, anticipated growth, and future expansion, are forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements.

Technical and other complications, which may arise, could prevent the prompt implementation of any strategically significant plan(s) outlined above. The Company undertakes no duty to revise or update any forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this release.

Investor Contact:Tra-Digital IR[email protected](212) 389  9782 ext. 107

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SOURCE SinglePoint Inc.


The picture shows the 10th Chinese peacekeeping medical contingent to Mali providing free medical clinic.

BEIJING, Feb.6 -- At the invitation of the Sector East of the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA) and the local government, the 10th Chinese peacekeeping medical contingent to Mali went to the Rand School in Gao on February 1 to provide free medical clinic.

The Chinese peacekeeping medical contingent has sent out an expert team of 16 doctors from multiple clinical disciplines, including respiration, digestion, gynecology and pediatrics, epidemic prevention, and laboratory medicine, to offer free diagnosis and treatment for teachers and students in schools against seasonal epidemics, infectious diseases, and other common and frequently-occurring diseases.

During the breaks, the Chinese expert team also visited the school hospital and carried out communication activities. The backbone doctors provided on-site teaching and technical assistance to help improve the diagnosis and treatment level of the local hospital.

And the Chinese medical contingent also donated food, medicine, health and epidemic prevention materials, as well as other school supplies, to the school on the same day.

Representatives of Rand School expressed their sincere gratitude for the clinic and donation of the Chinese peacekeeping medical contingent, and highly praised the on-site help and guidance of Chinese medical experts. Commander of the Sector East of the MINUSMA, who participated in the event, also gave his thumbs up to the Chinese medical team.
By Supantha Mukherjee and Aziz El Yaakoubi

(Reuters) - Oracle Corp plans to invest $1.5 billion in Saudi Arabia in the coming years as it builds up its cloud footprint in the kingdom and opens its third public cloud region in Riyadh, a company official said.

Increased demand for cloud computing has pushed technology companies such as Oracle, Microsoft, Amazon and Alphabet's Google to set up data centres across the world to speed up data transfer.

Saudi officials have pressed international companies to invest in the kingdom and move their regional headquarters to Riyadh in order to benefit from government contracts. "We are finalising the plans for opening the Riyadh region. We are still working with our suppliers before we can announce the actual date," Nick Redshaw, a senior vice president at Oracle, said in an interview from Dubai.

Redshaw said the investment will be made over several years without providing detail. He added that Oracle would also expand the capacity of its cloud region in Jeddah, which the company first opened in 2020.

The company made the announcement as global tech companies gathered for a major tech conference in the Saudi capital. Though Oracle lags its bigger rivals in the race to corner the cloud computing market, it was among the first large tech companies to open a data centre in Saudi Arabia.

The kingdom has been devoted hundreds of billions of dollars to an economic transformation, known as Vision 2030, led by its de facto ruler Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

But it has struggled to attract foreign direct investment (FDI), one of the pillars of Vision 2030, which aims at diversifying the economy away from oil.

FDI reached just under $4.1 billion in the first half of 2022, a fraction of the ambitious $100 billion target set for the end of this decade. While Oracle has been working with the government, Saudi Arabia has been trying to encourage foreign firms to set up headquarters in the country or risk losing out on government contracts and has given them until the end of 2023 to comply. "We are working closely with the Saudi government to finalise plans for that regional headquarter requirement and we will announce them as we finalise that with them," Redshaw said. Oracle has also won contracts from the crown prince's $500 billion flagship NEOM project, a futuristic mega city and economic zone which the crown prince is building on the Red Sea coast. NEOM is one of our largest consumers of cloud capability in Saudi Arabia, Redshaw said.

(Reporting by Supantha Mukherjee in Stockholm and Aziz El Yaakoubi in Riyadh; editing by Jason Neely)
Chinese authorities have confirmed that an "unmanned aircraft" flying over Latin America originated in China, even as Beijing stepped up its protests against the U.S. military's decision to shoot down a suspected Chinese spy balloon that traversed the United States last week.

At a regular news briefing on Monday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said that the second balloon came also from China but claimed that it was used for civilian flight tests. "Due to the impact of weather and limited self-steering ability, this aircraft seriously deviated from its scheduled course," Mao said.

The Pentagon had identified the vehicle as another suspected Chinese surveillance device, similar to the huge white globe spotted by civilians Wednesday as it hung over the U.S. state of Montana. Beijing said that one was a weather balloon blown off-course.

Asked why China had so much trouble keeping its balloons in check, Mao said that she was "not an expert" and could only say that "this is not the first time that control was lost of balloons used for scientific purposes by the international community."

Separately on Monday, Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Xie Feng lodged "solemn representations" with the United States Embassy in Beijing over the use of an F-22 Raptor to shoot down the balloon that had slowly drifted across U.S. continental airspace over multiple days. "The facts are very clear that this incident was accidental and it must not be misrepresented," he said. "China urges the U.S. side not to escalate or broaden a tense situation."

After initially expressing regret for the appearance of the balloon, China's stance hardened over the weekend with accusations that the U.S. response was an "overreaction" and had "seriously violated international practices." The Chinese military said that it reserved the right to use unspecified "necessary means" in similar situations.

After U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken delayed a planned trip to Beijing over the incident, China has sought to both contain diplomatic fallout and signal resolve to domestic audiences.

Although few hoped for a significant detente, Blinken's visit would have been the first in five years by America's top diplomat to China and would have helped capitalize on a meeting between President Joe Biden and Chinese leader Xi Jinping in November.

After a decade of increasingly bellicose foreign policy, Xi began his third term in office with a display of diplomatic pragmatism spurred, analysts said, by a desire to ease international tensions and focus on economic and COVID troubles at home.

Instead of improved relations, China now finds itself struggling to prevent a lingering crisis spreading beyond its relationship with the United States.

So far, however, Latin American countries have mostly remained silent about the second balloon. Colombia's air force said Saturday that it had monitored an object flying at 55,000 feet across its airspace.

Within China, nationalist Chinese commentators have piled on with memes mocking the United States and unsubstantiated theories to back up their claims that the incident demonstrates American weakness.

Zhanhao, one of the most popular current-affairs blogs on social media platform WeChat, declared that the United States "had not discovered" the balloon when it entered U.S. airspace and merely got lucky. "This is like advertising a weakness in American anti-air defenses. If a relevant country wants to attack the United States, there just need to develop a 'research' balloon," the article said.

The article didn't mention that the U.S. officials considered shooting the balloon down earlier but decided to wait until it was above open water to avoid the risk of debris hitting people on the ground.

But Mao, the ministry spokesperson, suggested Monday that it was China that had been unaware of the balloon entering U.S. airspace. Asked when Chinese authorities noticed the balloon had gone off-course, she said, without elaborating, "after the U.S. side reported it, we immediately investigated."

The Washington Post's Lyric Li in Seoul contributed to this report.
OSAN AIR BASE, South Korea  Around 50 U.S. service members, veterans, and their families gathered atop a hill on this installation south of Seoul to remember a seasoned combat veteran who helped turn the tide of the 1950-53 Korean War.

The Thursday ceremony paid respects to the memory of Army Capt. Lewis Millett, who led the soldiers of Easy Company, 27th Infantry Regiment, in what the Army regards as its last major bayonet charge.

The charge took place at Osan on Feb. 5, 1951, according to the Army. Millett was awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions that day.

The captain was leading his company against a strongly held Chinese Communist position when he noticed an Army platoon pinned down by small-arms, automatic and antitank fire, according to his 2009 Army obituary.

Millett, who received a battlefield commission during World War II, decided the only way to gain the upper hand was to take the hill.

Fix bayonets, Millett yelled as he and his men charged up the hill, according to an Eighth Army account of the charge.

Millett dodged eight grenades but a ninth left him with shrapnel in his legs and back, according to the account. He continued to fight until Easy Company was atop Hill 180, now known as Bayonet Hill. Millett, who retired a colonel, died Nov. 14, 2009, at Loma Linda, Calif., at age 88, according to his obituary.

Milletts heroism was recalled once more during Thursdays ceremony, hosted by the 3rd Battlefield Coordination Detachment-Korea. The guest speaker, Army Brig. Gen. Mark Holler, Eighth Armys deputy commander for operations, recalled meeting Millett in 1996.

Milletts deeds exemplify the Armys fighting spirit, Holler said.

I ask myself, would todays soldiers be able to do the same thing? It wasnt many years later that I got the answer, he said. During my combat tours in Afghanistan and Iraq, I can attest that the American fighting spirit is as strong today as it was 72 years ago.

Holler laid a basket of flowers at the Hill 180 monument in memory of the battles fallen soldiers. He was joined by Col. Jeffrey Munn, commander of the battlefield detachment; South Korean army Col. Lee Hyun Gyu; and Ron Davis, former commander of the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 8180.

We have to remember what occurred  educate those on what occurred so that we understand the purpose of why were here," Munn said. Those who sacrifice before us to establish the freedoms and that peace that we enjoy today are the bedrock and foundation for why were here to preserve that same peace.

Ernest Lee, a retired Air Force chief master sergeant, said the retelling of the fight brought up many of emotions.

A lot of us went through similar things in our time as active-duty members, he told Stars and Stripes after the ceremony.

This man was a warrior through and through, Lee said. While the character of the war may have changed over time, the nature of war remains the same. It will require leaders  young, mid-level and senior leaders  who have a warriors spirit and are willing to be bold and audacious when it counts.
An undisclosed number of B-1B Lancers from South Dakota landed on Guam last week for another of a series of bomber task force missions.

The aircraft, assigned to the 34th Expeditionary Bomb Squadron at Ellsworth Air Force Base, S.D., arrived Feb. 1 at Andersen Air Force Base, according to a Pacific Air Forces news release Friday.

A bomber task force demonstrates the Air Forces ability to rapidly deploy anywhere, anytime and provide lethal precision strike options, according to the release.

Our mission here plays a crucial role in ensuring this dynamic region is free from coercion and accessible to everyone, Lt. Col. Jeffrey Carter, the squadrons director of operations, said in the release.

A squadron spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment Monday.

Bombers routinely deploy to the island territory, a strategic U.S. military hub and home to Andersen, Naval Base Guam and Marine Corps Camp Blaz, still under construction.

The 37th Expeditionary Squadron, also out of Ellsworth, deployed to Guam in October as a bomber task force. Four Lancers also deployed in June. Those bombers flew a variety of missions, including exercises with the Japan Air Self-Defense Force and refueling operations with the Royal Australian Air Force.

Lancers from the 34th are expected to continue to integrate and train with Allies and partners through various operations and exercises in the region, according to the release.

The task force missions support National Defense Strategy objectives of integrated deterrence, create advantages for the U.S. military and enable the bombers to operate both overseas and near the continental U.S., the release said.

Guam is home to key regional power projection platforms and logistical nodes and is an essential operation base for U.S. efforts to maintain a free and open Indo-Pacific region, according to the National Defense Strategy.

Within the context of homeland defense, an attack on Guam or any other U.S. territory by any adversary will be considered a direct attack on the Unite States, and will be met with an appropriate response, the document states.

A $1 billion effort to establish a comprehensive, integrated missile defense system for Guam is underway, an endeavor some lawmakers regard as urgent given North Koreas stepped-up missile testing and Chinas military ambitions in the region.
An Air Force pilot program aims to address high unemployment among military spouses stationed overseas by helping them more quickly land a new job.

The new direct-hire authority program is designed to provide civilian spouses who face restrictive employment laws in foreign countries with easier access to base employment, the service said in a statement.

Employers participating in the effort would be able to allow spouses to skip the line of a longer, competitive hiring process for open positions.

We recognize that spouse employment is a fundamental quality of life issue for our airmen and guardians, especially for families in overseas locations, John Carbone, the Air Forces director of civilian force management for manpower, personnel and services, said in the statement Thursday.

Direct-hire positions must be permanently located overseas and compensated under the general schedule or federal wage system grade of GS-15 or below and equivalent, according to the Air Force statement.

The Air Force said it will use public notices via civilian personnel offices and will identify qualifying jobs on usajobs.gov and afcivilianservice.com.

U.S. citizens who are dependents with command sponsorship are eligible for the program, Air Force spokeswoman Laurel Falls told Stars and Stripes on Friday. Non-citizen spouses with U.S. resident visas and green cards would not be eligible.

The number of jobs that will be made available under the program is unclear because it will be up to hiring managers to choose whether to participate. Additionally, the availability of positions will vary over time, Falls said.

Initial appointments to jobs under the program are limited to two years and can be extended twice for a maximum of six years, according to the Air Force statement.

The employment also would end when the military member moves to another assignment or in the event of divorce, death, retirement or separation from active duty by the sponsor.

Military spouses face significant unemployment and wage disparities compared with their civilian counterparts because of the challenges posed by frequent relocations and deployments, according to the Air Force Personnel Center and several outside studies in recent years.

The pilot program is scheduled to run through 2026.
In the latest indication of expanded state secrecy in wartime Russia, President Vladimir Putin on Monday signed legislation that will exempt Russian lawmakers from a previous requirement that they disclose details of their income, expenses and property.

The law, which will come into effect on March 1, will still require members of parliament to submit an income declaration, but in a summarized format without any personal data. Previously, information about deputies and senators' income was posted annually before April 1.

The Kremlin spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, has defended the change in disclosure rules, citing the imperatives of the war in Ukraine, which Russian officials call a "special military operation."

The move to exempt Russian lawmakers from disclosure requirements they long disdained, and that often raised questions about how some accumulated unusual wealth, comes as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has undertaken an aggressive anti-corruption sweep in recent days, aimed at assuring Western backers that billions in economic aid and donated weapons will be well-managed.

Moscow's new law was adopted in the State Duma, Russia's lower house of parliament, by a large majority: with only 24 of 450 lawmakers against it, and 18 abstaining.

One of the bill's architects, Pavel Krasheninnikov, told the Russian daily Komsomolskaya Pravda that the requirement to publish income had dissuaded public figures and business executives from running for office.

"Among other things, that's why  that you 'have to mess around' with the paperwork and filing. You see, simply put, not everyone wants to do it.  They are lazy.  People do not want to show their income," Krasheninnikov said.

Peskov insisted last month that the new law would not affect the state's "fight against corruption."

But anti-corruption advocates say that since Russia's invasion of Ukraine, many formerly public state databases and documents have gone dark. Even basic economic data is now being kept secret.

"Weirdly enough, Russia was one of the most transparent jurisdictions to carry out investigations in," Maria Pevchikh, who leads the investigation team at opposition figure Alexei Navalny's Anti-Corruption Foundation, said in an interview.

"Now they have stopped everything," Pevchikh said. "They have stopped publishing declarations, tax returns for government officials. They have started to partially censor the register of legal entities, the companies house  the land registry."

With the world's eyes focused on Russia's onslaught in Ukraine, Pevchikh speculated that war has emboldened the Kremlin to gradually remove anti-corruption checks and balances.

"When you are committing genocides with one hand, no one really cares what you are doing with the other hand," she said.

Last year, Russia, as has been typical, achieved a poor score on Transparency international's annual Corruption Perceptions Index, ranking 137 out of 180 countries.

Some pro-war hawks in Russia have complained that a string of battlefield defeats were due at least in part to corruption in the Defense Ministry and the military leadership that left units ill-equipped. Some have accused commanders of hiding the poor conditions during inspections by political leaders.

The shortcomings of Russia's regular military have forced the Kremlin to rely on soldiers for hire, including the Wagner mercenary group, which for months has a led a fierce assault on the eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut.

On Monday, the head of Wagner, business executive Yevgeniy Prigozhin, claimed to have flown on a Sukhoi SU-24 fighter jet during a bombing run on Bakhmut, which is known in Russian as Artemovsk.

In a video, Prigozhin appears to be flying through the night wearing a helmet and mask. "We are landing, we bombed Bakhmut," Prigozhin says to the camera, removing his mask. Prigozhin called on Zelensky to join the dogfight.

"Let's meet in the skies. If you win, we will give you Artemovsk. If not, we will go as far as Dnipro," Prigozhin said.

On Monday, a Moscow court also dismissed a Russian journalist's appeal in a libel lawsuit filed by Prigozhin two years ago, after the journalist described him as the "owner" of Wagner.

Prigozhin sued Ekho Moskvy editor in chief Alexei Venediktov for libel in June 2021 but last year publicly admitted that he had in fact founded the paramilitary group. This followed years of mounting evidence that he had founded the group, which Prigozhin had repeatedly denied.

Venediktov wrote on Telegram that the court had not explained why it dismissed the appeal. Also on Monday, Ukraine's parliament adopted a resolution denouncing Wagner.
WASHINGTON  The U.S. government launched a mission to salvage what officials say is spy equipment from the Chinese balloon shot down off the coast of South Carolina on Saturday, as pressure mounted on President Joe Biden to hit back at Beijing over the incident with new export controls on sensitive technology.

The government anticipates finding equipment capable of taking detailed photographs, along with other sensors, one person familiar with the matter said. U.S. lawmakers are already demanding to know if the balloon's payload contains technology from the U.S. or its allies, another person said. Both asked not to be identified because the administration doesn't want to reveal exactly what it suspects the balloon was carrying.

The balloon, said to be the size of at least two school buses, and its sensors are lying in 50 feet of water and scattered over a seven-mile area off Myrtle Beach. Divers and cranes operating from the surface were expected to haul it up in the coming days, potentially giving intelligence analysts crucial insight into Chinese spying capabilities.

China says it was nothing more than a weather-monitoring balloon that strayed off course, while the U.S. insists it was much more, and part of a broader spying plan by the Chinese government. With that in mind, people familiar with the matter said the Biden administration was calibrating how severely and swiftly to retaliate.

In a sign of the new tensions likely to come, China's Foreign Ministry sharpened its tone on Sunday and said it now reserves the right to respond after a U.S. F-22 fighter jet popped the balloon with a Sidewinder missile and sent its payload crashing into the ocean. Beijing said the U.S. violated international practices after an accidental incursion by the balloon. "China will resolutely safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of the company concerned, and reserves the right to make further responses if necessary," the foreign ministry said in a statement.

The international back-and-forth was a reminder that while the balloon may have come crashing down, the bizarre spying saga that surrounded it is far from over. Biden will almost certainly make reference to the episode in his State of the Union speech on Tuesday, another person familiar with the matter said.

Blinken's trip

One option is to send Secretary of State Antony Blinken to China with a much tougher message than the one he had planned to bring this week, before he postponed the trip when the balloon's presence over the U.S. was disclosed.

People familiar with the matter said he didn't want to risk the public relations disaster of landing in Beijing while the balloon was still in the air over U.S. territory. But now the administration believes Blinken should return soon. They argue for a much tougher approach both on the balloon and evidence the U.S. has that officials say shows Chinese companies have been quietly supporting Russia's war effort in Ukraine.

The episode is already ratcheting up pressure on the administration to push even harder with its existing strategy of trying to hobble China's ability to access an array of high-tech semiconductors used in sophisticated military applications, as well as the valuable equipment used to manufacture such chips.

And even if it doesn't spur specific new measures, the embarrassingly public act of alleged espionage has made it more difficult for the U.S. and China to stabilize diplomatic ties over thorny issues such as Taiwan, particularly with the Biden administration facing growing pressure from critics and a Republican-controlled Congress.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, a New York Democrat, said senators will get a full classified briefing on Feb. 15, which will give the administration time to collect and sort through the evidence to back up its claim.

"The bottom line here is that shooting down the balloon over water wasn't just the safest option, but it was the one that maximized our intel gain," Schumer said in a statement.

Balloons like the one blown apart Saturday are not uncommon, but this time the Chinese made a mistake by flying it low enough to be spotted by commercial pilots and people on the ground, according to one person familiar with the matter. Typically balloons like the one shot down fly above 80,000 feet and as high as 100,000 feet.

The administration has already faced fierce GOP criticism in recent days for being weak on China and not shooting down the balloon sooner. U.S. officials argued that it simply wasn't safe to bring the floating orb down over land when it was carrying a large and heavy payload.

The administration may not feel the need to level any other immediate consequences on Beijing for the episode given that U.S. officials are comfortable with their broader position in terms of competition with China. The person familiar with the administration's thinking on the matter cited work already underway on further export controls and tightened investment restrictions on strategic sectors in China.

Starting in October, the Biden administration rolled out tough export controls against China that have curtailed Beijing's ability to access high-end semiconductors, and the U.S. has only closed the vice more tightly since  including signing up nations to the effort such as the Netherlands and Japan, whose firms manufacture some of those chips.

With assistance from Peter Martin and Victoria Cavaliere.

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Visit bloomberg.com.

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AUSTIN, Texas  Air Force Reserve Maj. Andre McDonald told jurors in a San Antonio courtroom that he killed his wife during a fight about finances, but he had only meant to knock the wind out of her.

McDonald, 43, testified last week in his trial on a murder charge for the 2019 death of his wife Andreen McDonald. He was accused of killing his 29-year-old wife and then hiding her body under the remains of a dead cow on a private ranch about 5 miles from the couples home.

But jurors on Friday found him guilty of the lesser charge of manslaughter. Judge Frank Castro sentenced McDonald on Monday to 20 years in prison.

McDonald, who served in the active-duty Air Force from 2004 to 2014, worked as a cyberspace effects operator at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland Air Force Base with the 426th Network Warfare Squadron. Col. Richard Erredge, commander of 960th Cyberspace Wing, said Monday during the sentence hearing that the Air Force has begun the process to discharge McDonald from the service, though it was pending the outcome of the trial.

McDonald testified last week for several hours and told jurors that he killed his wife during a physical fight at their home. He said he was defending himself from a woman who was larger than him and who he thought was trying to steal from him.

The couple had gone to H&R Block on Feb. 28 to sign tax documents, according to evidence and witness testimony during the trial. She owned and operated Starlight Homes Assisted Living. McDonald, who was also listed on the business, helped launch it with his own savings in 2012, about two years after the Air Force moved him to San Antonio.

McDonald said he had wanted a divorce years earlier, but his wife talked him out of it to avoid splitting the value of the business with him as required by state law.

While signing the tax documents, McDonald learned his wife had opened a new corporation without him.

He said he also knew his wife was having an affair.

McDonald told those gathered in the courtroom that he feared his wife was planning to have him killed during a trip to Jamaica that she had proposed.

Once the couple returned home from the H&R Block that day, they began to argue. McDonald said he left the home at one point for several hours to avoid the argument.

When he returned at about midnight, the argument reignited and became explosive, he said.

When I walked into the bedroom, she follows me there, cursing at me. When I turned around, she comes into my face, McDonald said on the witness stand. When she spit in my face, she's right there and I grabbed her face ... that's when the heads collided.

His wife began to bleed, he said, so she went into the bathroom to examine her injury in the mirror. McDonald said, after she saw the blood, she came toward him throwing punches at his face, so he used her body weight to trip her and bring her to the ground.

He said he kicked her twice while she was on the ground but stopped when he heard the footsteps of their then 7-year-old daughter Alayna.

He said he left his wife on the ground wheezing while he put their daughter back in her bed. He returned about 20 to 30 minutes later and his wife was dead.

The first thought that I had was, Oh my god, you know, Andreens dead. I'm probably going to get blamed for this. Alayna is not going to have any parents. The second thought I had was, Why the hell did this have to freaking happen to me?  McDonald said.

He said he did not think to call emergency services because he never thought about calling anybody to revive a dead person. He then began to remove her body from the house and send phony text messages to his wifes phone to make it appear as if she had left the house on her own.

McDonald said he placed her body into two large trash bags, dragged her through the house and into the trunk of his car. He drove out to a private ranch near the couples home  leaving his daughter home alone  and left his wifes body near the remains of a dead cow.

McDonald had stripped his wifes body, so when he returned home he burned her clothing in the backyard before getting his daughter onto her school bus and he went to work at Lackland Air Force Base, he said.

He returned days later to the site where he had left his wifes body and got angry again with her for putting him in this situation, he said, so he used a hammer to hit the body in the face and neck. McDonald said, at that point, he attempted to burn her body but he did not have enough gasoline.

So, he moved the bones of a nearby dead cow on top of what remained of his wife.

Investigators found Andreen McDonalds remains there about five months later, which were mostly bones, and dental records were used to confirm it was her. Medical experts testified an exact cause of death could not be determined because her body had been reduced to 18 pounds of bones.

John Convery, McDonalds defense attorney, said his client's actions after Andreen McDonalds death had to do with panic and fear.

To find him guilty of murder, the jury would have needed to believe McDonald acted with intention.

He has taken responsibility, Convery told the jury. What happened in that brief time  is simply not murder.
WASHINGTON (Tribune News Service)  U.S. lawmakers are sounding the alarm about challenges facing the U.S. defense industrial base as the war in Ukraine strains weapon supplies.

It could take years to replenish certain types of weapons the U.S. has sent to Kyiv, with no easy way to ramp up production quickly. That has policymakers deeply concerned about whether the U.S. would be able to field enough weapons if conflict broke out in the Taiwan Strait.

The House Armed Services Committee is set to examine the defense industrial base during its second hearing of the year on Wednesday.

This ought to be a flashing red light for us, and its shocking to me, Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, said during an event at the American Enterprise Institute in late January. This is a huge, glaring problem. And right now I dont see the sort of all-hands-on-deck commitment to try to address that.

The issue could prove crucial as Congress considers its annual defense policy legislation. After President Joe Biden sends Congress his fiscal 2024 budget in March, the defense committees will begin compiling the mammoth bill, with a House markup expected in the late spring or summer.

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, Rep. Adam Smith, D-Wash., ranking member of the House Armed Services Committee, said in a Fox News interview. Its a huge priority for our committee to increase that production capacity.

Pressing shortages

According to a report published by the Center for Strategic and International Studies, the U.S. could run out of critical weapons like long-range, precision-guided munitions less than a week into a possible Taiwan Strait war.

The report stresses that U.S. aid to Ukraine is not the problem in and of itself, since a war in the Indo-Pacific would largely require different types of weapons. But the sheer number of munitions required to sustain Ukraine  where the U.S. is not even actively involved  clarifies how quickly stockpiles could be depleted if another war broke out.

The war in Ukraine has shown us that our industrial base is not prepared, said CSIS International Security Program director Seth G. Jones, the reports author. Its not producing the kinds of munitions and materiel we need for a conventional war and for conventional deterrence. So, you know, its a wake-up call.

Part of the problem, Jones said, is that defense contractors cut back on production of certain weapons when theres less need for them, making it difficult to scale up quickly when demand surges.

It could take seven years to restore U.S. inventories of 155mm precision-guided munitions, eight years to replace Javelin anti-tank missile systems and 18 years to replace Stinger surface-to-air missiles, according to a CSIS analysis of how long it would take at recent production rates to replenish weapon inventories.

If the Defense Department surges production by committing more funding, those timelines speed up significantly  but still linger in the multiyear range, according to that analysis.

What industry will tell you is that the reason that they dont have the ability to make as many weapons as we now need is because they dont want to make that major investment without what they refer to as a demand signal, without knowing that were going to buy them, Smith said. Predicting future conflict is actually more difficult than it looks. U.S. taxpayers dont want to spend a ton of money on weapons that we dont need.

Congressional efforts

Lawmakers made some policy changes with an eye to defense industrial base issues in the most recent National Defense Authorization Act, which was signed into law last December.

The legislation authorized the Pentagon to establish multiyear contracts for certain weapons the U.S. has been providing to Ukraine, including Patriot missile interceptors, Stingers and 155mm rounds. It also authorized multiyear contracts for munitions that could be critical to Taiwans defense, such as long-range anti-ship missiles.

Multiyear conflicts encourage higher production rates because contractors can count on a stable supply of funding over longer periods of time.

In the last NDAA, we put specific language in to encourage the production of munitions because were using so much  particularly artillery shells, Democrat Jack Reed of Rhode Island, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said in an interview. So we are very, very conscious of our industrial base.

Defense Department officials maintain theyre aware of the challenges and have been working to address them. During a media roundtable in late January, Douglas Bush, the assistant Army secretary for acquisition, said the Pentagon is working now to develop multiyear contracts based on the new authorities Congress provided in the NDAA.

He also said he was confident in the departments ability to speed up production of critical weapons should war break out in the Indo-Pacific.

What I have seen from this ramp-up is, I do believe we are capable of ramping up quickly, because were doing it right now, and I believe that American industry can and would respond, Bush said. I think there are really important policy questions to think through regarding how big the war reserves need to be, how much planning we do for mobilization in advance, and how much resources were willing to put against this need.

Looking ahead

With a new Republican majority in the House eager to probe the Biden administrations shortcomings, the state of the defense industrial base and its readiness for a major conflict is likely to remain a major topic in the months ahead.

An Air Force general last week suggested the U.S. could be at war with China by 2025, though the Pentagon has since distanced itself from those remarks.

Were on a peacetime footing with our industrial base, and we dont have the ability with these high-tech, high-end weapons to start, to flip a switch and start mass-producing them, said Republican Michael Waltz of Florida, chair of the House Armed Services Readiness Subcommittee. So were going to be pushing the Pentagon hard to come to us with solutions.

The growing concern over challenges to the defense industrial base also comes amid swirling rumors that House Republicans may seek to cut defense funding as part of a broader effort to curtail spending to fiscal 2022 levels.

Although key Republican committee leaders like House Armed Services Committee Chairman Mike D. Rogers of Alabama and House Appropriations Chairwoman Kay Granger of Texas have balked at significant defense cuts, other lawmakers have signaled they are open to trimming waste at the Pentagon, including by going after woke programs they see as politically controversial.

But most Republicans remain solidly supportive of assisting Ukraine and deterring China and would likely sign off on another hefty Pentagon budget alongside Democrats.

I think we all believe that our military industrial complex has been under stress, Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said during a press conference in January. Were running out of weapons, so nows not the time to go cheap on our military.

Jones, the author of the CSIS report, stressed that the investments in weapons for which hes advocating dont necessarily need a significant budget boost  just a refocus on munitions that are critical to deterrence.

I would say even if the defense budget stayed the same, or even as the defense budget decreased, these steps should be taken regardless, he said. So that would just mean reprioritizing what the department is spending its money on.

Beyond Congress critical power-of-the-purse role, Jones said, it can help address the problems through oversight and accountability of the Pentagon and the State Department, which is responsible for foreign military sales.

Congress is going to have to hold the executive branchs feet to the fire on this, year after year, Jones said.

2023 CQ-Roll Call, Inc., All Rights Reserved.

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(Tribune News Service)  George J. Johnson proudly served as a U.S. Marine Corps military policeman during World War II in the early to mid 1940s.

Like many veterans from that time, however, the 101-year-old Lauderhill resident never discussed his service much. In fact, many in his family never even knew he was a veteran at all.

Six years ago was the first time we heard he was a Marine, Grace King, Johnsons cousin and caretaker, said.

Not only was he a Marine, Johnson was a Montford Point Marine, one of about 20,000 men who were pioneers in the Corps  the first Black men allowed to become part of the storied few and proud after President Franklin Delano Roosevelt issued an executive order in 1941 prohibiting the armed services from barring African Americans from military duty.

Johnson is scheduled to receive his Congressional Gold Medal Monday at noon during a ceremony at the African American Research Library and Cultural Center in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

Montford Point was their segregated training base located where the Marine Corps main East Coast infantry operations are located in Camp Lejeune in North Carolina.

While it would still be another eight years before the U.S. military branches would become fully integrated, the bigoted notion that Blacks werent worthy enough to die for the country was slowly eroding.

The Montford Point Marines proved themselves in basic training and most went on to defy the racist naysayers at the time and distinguish themselves  some overseas in fierce battles like Peleliu and Iwo Jima.

But, compared to the famed Tuskeegee Airmen and other Black fighting units that broke color barriers during World War II, the accomplishments and service of Montford Point Marines have attracted far less attention.

Its very sad. This is a part of history that went unrecognized for so long, King said.

They not only bore the same physical and psychological wounds of combat and endured the same everyday rigors of military service as their white brothers in arms, they also paid a lifelong price for being the first to have to work twice as hard and take twice the punishment as white recruits.

It was not pretty, said Mallorie Berger, a Coral Springs woman whos become a Montford Point Marines historian and advocate for the few remaining surviving members and their families since discovering her grandfather was one while conducting research in November 2021.

Set aside what the Marine Corps does to build you up, she said. That wasnt it. It was trauma. It was abuse. It was very ugly.

Why is dad not the same?

The first wave of Montford Point Marines were trained by white drill sergeants when they arrived in 1942. By the end of the war in 1945, all Montford Point drill instructors were Black, according to a Military.com article on the men.

But, eager to show their dedication to the Corps, the Black drill sergeants were just as tough and brutal as the white instructors, Berger said.

The son of a drill sergeant Berger met through her investigations told her that his father returned home from service suffering from post traumatic stress before that was even defined.

And, people didnt understand, why is Dad not the same? Why did Grandpa change after he came back? And, thats what they were struggling with, Berger said. Theres just so much that were learning about these men.

Berger discovered by accident her grandfather, Maurice Burns, was a Montford Pointer. He died in 1996, and although she knew he was a veteran, she assumed that he  like her father and uncle  was in the Army. That was because like many other Montford Point Marines, he simply never really discussed his service.

But I didnt know about it because he didnt talk about it. And, as Im learning through my journey of trying to find the families of descendants of Montford Pointers, its the same story. They didnt talk about it, she said.

Congressional Gold Medal

Berger became determined to find out more about Montford Point after reading a 2017 article about the veterans. She learned that President Barack Obama signed a law in November 2011 awarding the men the Congressional Gold Medal.

And at the end it said that if you know someone who served at Montford Point, they would be eligible for the bronze replica of the Congressional gold medal, and heres the email, contact address, and so on and so forth, Berger said.

While going through Maurices things, she found what looked like a high school yearbook. It was his blue book that contained photos of his training class. Berger was astonished to now know about her grandfathers actual service background since learning about the historical significance of his time in the Corps.

These men are living legends, she said.

Berger contacted the Montford Point Marines Association and the process began to get Pvt. Maurice Burns his long-overdue medals.

She also found letters her grandfather wrote to the Veterans Administration in the 1970s trying to get medical benefits for injuries he sustained as a Marine.

Unlike most recruits who were in their late teens or early 20s, Maurice was in his 30s when he enlisted. The rigors of intense training Marines are known to endure took their toll on his body, leaving him with pain he would bear the rest of his life.

He had written to his drill instructor from Montford Point, saying, Hey, I need your help getting medical coverage. I endured such treatment that caused back problems for me in 1944, Berger said. You all were forcing me to do things I could not do. You were expecting me to do things a 17 year old, 18 year old could do, and when I couldnt do them, I forced my body into these positions I couldnt normally get into, and because of that, I have had back issues for the past 26 years, eventually becoming disabled.

Reading the letters breaks Bergers heart to this day.

I thought, oh my God, he lived 26 years in excruciating pain. I knew that, and to find out that the VA is not going to give him medical coverage to deal with this, she said.

You see me

Berger became adept at the type of detective work it takes to navigate through the military bureaucratic maze to track down the service records for families of other Montford Point Marines. Its become almost a full-time job.

Her mission now: Get the rest of the men their medals they earned.

Immediately following a segment Miami television news station Local 10 did on Bergers work with the Montford Point Marines last month, the station received a call from King saying that her cousin was an alumnus.

Berger went to Johnsons home to speak with him the next day.

It was probably one of the best stories Ive experienced. Hes got this Florida A&M sweatshirt on, and a World War II Veteran hat on, Berger said.

She looked at him sitting in his wheelchair and said, Youre a Montford Point Marine.

And, he looked at me and said, You know? And, we looked at each other and he sat straight up, Berger said. He looked at me like, Oh my God, you see me.

She then showed Johnson a copy of the Blue Book from his time at Montford Point.

He just sat there and stared at it. He would just stare into the faces of these Black men. And, he just said, the memories are coming back.

Johnson could not be interviewed for this story because his health is deteriorating, King said. But, she said he is aware and proud he will be receiving the Congressional Gold Medal.

At least he will receive this before he departs, she said.

The family of another Montford Point Marine, Cpl. Moses Williams, who died in 1970, will also receive his medal.

A number of dignitaries are expected at the event, as well as three other living Montford Point Marines  Cpl. Allen Williams from West Palm Beach, Cpl. George McIvory from Jacksonville and Platoon Sgt. Charles Foreman from Orlando.

Berger continues to track down the few living veterans of Montford Point and their relatives. There are 25 families confirmed to attend a medal ceremony at the Montford Point Marines Association Museum in Jacksonville, N.C., on Aug. 25.

We probably have another in the pipeline. We had 11 last year, she said. So, were looking at another 45, so by the time June rolls around, I expect to have probably 100 families to go to Jacksonville.

She doesnt plan to stop looking after that.

Weve got to tell these mens stories and get them recognized, Berger said. If we dont, the stories will die with history, and we cant allow that to happen.

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Sex beast Clement Limen was jailed for seven years after drugging and raping two women after party at his flat

A convicted rapist suspected of prowling nightclubs and pubs to spike womens drinks is believed to have been deported from Ireland two weeks after finishing his seven-year prison sentence.

The Sunday World revealed last month how former Sligo resident Clement Limen left the Midlands Prison two days early but was taken into custody again by the Garda National Immigration Bureau.

He spent the following two weeks at Cloverhill Prison before being deported, according to sources.

It is not possible to officially confirm to what country the flamboyant Cameroon native is likely to have been sent.

A Department of Justice spokesperson previously told the Sunday World they do not comment on individual cases.

The 50-year-old was jailed in 2017 after he lured two women to his flat for a party and then raped them both.

Both women remember how Limen gave them a drink which one described as funny and the other said was strong and they also shared a joint with him.

Each of them described remembering nothing beyond a certain point until waking up.

After his conviction in 2017 Limen had become notorious in Sligo over fears he had been spiking womens drinks.

Gardai were aware of the suspicions but could not do anything until they had proof that he was drugging women, according to sources.

A number of pubs and clubs in the city had barred him for suspicious incidents at the same time

Limen had been living in Sligo for the previous seven years and had also become known for his over-the-top dress-sense and larger-than-life personality.

He was known by a number of aliases and would tell women in nightclubs that he was a rich American millionaire. On the night of the rapes Limen was telling people his name was Obama.

Limen was described in court as a university graduate from Cameroon and had no previous convictions.

The trial judge said the crime was aggravated by the trauma and anguish it caused the victims and there was no basis for suspending any part of the sentence.

Limens failed appeal against the conviction went as far as the Supreme Court.

At his Central Criminal Court trial in 2017 one woman told the court in her victim impact statement how her life has changed dramatically since the night she was raped.

I was once carefree and fun-loving. I became introverted and racked with anxiety. I regularly wake with a jolt, thinking he is standing over me.

The second woman said she was still coming to terms with the incident that destroyed the previous three years of her life.

She told Limen: It is impossible to underestimate what has been done to me unless youre standing in my shoes.

He carried my listless body into a bedroom where he violated and raped me.
The sheriff of Davidson Country during the first trial, David Grice, was accused by Martens lawyer of posting support for the Irish on social media.

Molly Martens lawyers have claimed it is impossible to find fair jurors for the convicted killers retrial if it remains in her native Davidson County in North Carolina.

Especially when the Irish have relentlessly painted a factual narrative for residents of Davidson County that Jason Corbett was a kind, gentle husband and father, they recently alleged.

Martens lawyers have provided an 11-page chronology of social media posts that he claims proves the media coverage of the case will impact a fair jury  all 11 pages are redacted, Evoke.ie reports.

"For more than seven years now, through books, interviews and social media postings, the Irish have relentlessly painted a factual narrative for residents of Davidson County that Jason Corbett was a kind, gentle husband and father whose first wife suddenly died from an asthma attack, and who was later brutally assaulted  without cause  by his evil second wife, he said in a motion to change the trial venue.

A widower whose first wife died suddenly from an asthma attack, Jason Corbett had hired Molly as a nanny before the pair began a relationship and moved to the US with his children.

The father-of-two was found beaten to death in the bedroom of his North Carolina home in 2015.

Molly (39) and her father Tom (72) were found guilty of the second-degree murder of Limerick man Jason in 2017.

Their convictions have been overturned by the North Carolina Court of Appeals and a retrial is set to begin in June.

Molly, however, has been fighting to have the case moved to a different jurisdiction as she claims previous coverage and support for the Irish make impartial jurors impossible to come by in Davidson County.

In a recent hearing, Douglas Kingsbery, Mollys lawyer, claimed the notion that Jason Corbett was a kind, gentle husband and father whose first wife wife suddenly died from an asthma attack, and who was later brutally assaulted  without cause  by his evil second wife is disputed.

"Yet, in truth, these are disputed claims that go to the very heart of what a jury must decide based upon the evidence presented at trial, wrote Mr Kingsbery.

Martens lawyers also claim that multiple jurors and members of law enforcement were impacted by the intense media coverage during the first trial.

The Irish Sun reports that Mr Kingsbery recently told a hearing that the jury foreman echoed a theme long trumpeted on social media by the Irish - that Molly was bipolar and displayed dual personalities.

He claims another juror also expressed an us versus them sentiment in favour of law enforcement and prosecutors against the outsider accused.

The sheriff of Davidson Country during the first trial, David Grice, was accused by Martens lawyer of posting support for the Irish on social media.

Judge David Hall is scheduled to hear Molly Martens  and her father Toms  requests to relocate the retrial this Friday.

He has issued a gag order on everyone involved in the case, including prosecutors, witnesses and criminal defence attorneys.

The Corbett family in Ireland are included in the gag order.
Samara Baschiera (33) and the man slapped each other across the face and body as the fight escalated out of control

A tattoo artist got into a violent street brawl with a motorist after pulling a windscreen wiper off his car during a row on a Dublin city centre street.

Samara Baschiera (33) and the man slapped each other across the face and body as the fight escalated out of control after she damaged his vehicle, a court heard.

Baschiera, of Ardmore Park, Tallaght, pleaded guilty to affray and criminal damage.

Adjourning the case, Judge Bryan Smyth said he would apply the Probation Act, leaving her without convictions if she donated 1,000 to charity.

Dublin District Court heard the incident happened at Capel Street on May 6, 2021.

Garda Sergeant Tony Flanagan said the accused was in an argument with a man and pulled a windscreen wiper off his vehicle.

The altercation developed, he said and each party alleged that they had been assaulted by the other.

Samara Baschiera pleaded guilty to affray and criminal damage.   Collins Dublin, Garrett White

The other person had also pleaded guilty and had already been dealt with by the courts, Sgt Flanagan said.

The court heard the pair had assaulted each other by slapping each other on the face and body.

The row resulted from a traffic incident between a pedestrian  the accused  and the driver of the car.

Baschieras damage to the car escalated the situation. Sgt Flanagan said he was not aware of the cost of the damage but the other party did not wish to pursue this.

Baschiera only had one previous conviction, for uninsured driving.

She deeply regrets her actions on the day, her lawyer said.

It would have been her case that it was an unfortunate situation that got out of control, and there was aggression on both sides, she said.

The accused accepted her actions were totally wrong.

She was from Brazil but had been living and working in Ireland for quite a long time, her lawyer said.

This is utterly out of character, the lawyer added.
Business partner says he had no idea of Celtic Tiger socialites links to drug dealers

Criminal Assets Bureau target Marcus Sweeney wanted to build up an online empire centred around an internet sex toy shop, the Sunday World can reveal.

Sweeney believed the sex shop, which he wanted to go live during the pandemic, had the potential to rake in 10,000 a month in profits.

By September 4, 2021, the venture had progressed to a point where he and a business partner officially registered Sex Health Toys as a business name with the Irish Companies Office.

But, Sweeneys partner in the doomed project today reveals how their plans collapsed  after payment providers refused to work with them and the former socialite failed to come up with 25,000 to fund a guerrilla marketing campaign.

We tracked Sweeneys business partner down to a remote part of Galway this week where the entrepreneur said he was shocked at the claims made against Sweeney in the High Court that he is "up to his oxters in organised crime.

Brendan Grendon

I dont read newspapers so I had no idea about any of this, he told the Sunday World when we called to his door.

I promote websites online.

He came to me through some advertising I did. We got chatting over the phone and he had good ideas, I thought.

So, what we did was, we proceeded to buy an internet domain (address) for the adult store. I have developers who make the stores, so I paid for one of the stores  it didnt cost me much on the basis that he would put what he was saying was 25,000-plus into marketing.

He was talking about guerrilla marketing and that kind of stuff. So, I thought: Fine. If you do the marketing, Ill do the ordering of any products.

But, he never did and it never got off the ground.

Sweeney associate Kuldip Singh   Colin Keegan

And just recently, after about a year of paying for the monthly term fees on the site, I contacted him to invoice for the fees and told him I wanted to sell the site.

But I never got a buyer for the site, I got inquiries but I never got a buyer.It was his idea and it should have gone well.

The businessmen continued: He (Sweeney) had loads of different ideas.

So, I sent him to a couple of developers in Dublin at the time who had a site they were selling.

And he was talking about incorporating all their websites into one company and selling the company at a later stage.

The businessman said such was the level of interaction with Sweeney he felt that they had almost become friends and they met in person to discuss the venture at the Musashi restaurant in Blanchardstown.

He had charm and he was very friendly  it felt like we were mates, he said.

Marcus Sweeney

He told me he was very close to (a high-profile female influencer) and she had a big social presence that he could promote this store.

But he didnt want to buy just this store.

He had this idea that we could increase our brand and our value by linking other stores to this one.

Such was the businessmans confidence in Sweeney, he decided to set up the store with him as partners.

I paid the 20 fee to register the business name.

And he convinced me to buy seven or eight other domains surrounding it, because his vision was the value of these domains would increase because of the success of our store.

I entertained him  I bought the domains.

Marcus Sweeney with Katy French

According to garda, and at the same time the businessman was sitting down to a slap-up sushi meal in Dublin with the former Celtic Tiger socialite, Sweeney had already faced down a death threat from drug traffickers over failed investments.

He had been served with a Garda Information Message (GIM) in 2020  a form given to people by officers when they receive credible intelligence that there is an immediate threat to their life.

Sweeney is believed to have been threatened after a money-laundering plot on behalf of criminals linked to The Family  who are regarded as Irelands biggest heroin dealing mob went wrong.

Garda believe Sweeney, who is founder and director of Evergreen Wealth Management, and another business associate held a meeting with some of the investors in the firm in early 2020 over the debts.

This, according to garda in their CAB case, was done to reduce the threats to their person and property.

The deal was only for certain investors, one of whom was believed to be convicted heroin dealer Brian Grendon.

But, Sweeneys partner in the sex shop venture says he was blissfully unaware of any of this.

What was going to make our shop different, was that he was waiting for 50,000 to come through from a land sale and he was going to invest 25,000 in guerrilla marketing, he said.

So, this would be marketing out on the street with sexy girls publicising the products.

We were talking in figures of 10,000 a month plus in profit.

Asked why the venture failed, the businessman said one of the primary difficulties was in finding a payment processor for the site.

That was the major problem. We couldnt find anyone to take the payments.

Asked what happened with the promised 25,000 in marketing money, the businessman replied: Nothing!

We havent had a falling out or anything, I could ring him right now, but I just gave up on it.

Details of Sweeneys ties to organised crime were laid bare before the High Court last month with Mr Justice Alexander Owens describing the former restaurateur as up to his oxters in organised crime.

He made the comments when ruling on an application from the Criminal Assets Bureau (C) seeking to deem Co Meath lands linked to Sweeneys firm EWM (Evergreen Wealth Management) Property Holdings Limited the proceeds of crime.

The bureau alleged convicted heroin dealer Brian Grendon, of Rowlagh Park, Clondalkin, Dublin, invested 20,000 in Evergreen in 2015 through his company BG Autos.

The bureau said it suspects Grendon invested significantly higher cash amounts in Evergreen. Grendon was not a party to CABs proceedings.

In August 2019, a garda detective was watching as Sweeney met with Grendon at the Liffey Valley Shopping Centre car park.

Immediately afterwards Sweeney met with Kuldip Singh from Birmingham and Turkish national Ali Adnan Duran, both known at that stage to be involved in the drugs trade.

When garda raided the B&B room where the pair were staying in Saggart, Co Dublin they found 14 half-kilo blocks of heroin with a street value just shy of 1m.

All three were arrested and while Sweeney was later released without charge, Singh would later be jailed for four years and Duran for nine years.

Sweeneys partner in the failed internet sex shop start-up said he was stunned by the allegations made against the former restaurateur in court.

Its a bit amusing but scary also to find out youve been involved with someone like that.

When I met him, I read about the stuff about him and his girlfriend (model Katy French) and what had happened during the Celtic Tiger.

Sweeney was a celebrated socialite during the Celtic Tiger era and had a famously turbulent relationship with the model Katy French.

That relationship came to an end in 2007 when he walked into his Il Pomo Doro restaurant on South William Street in Dublins city centre and found her posing in lingerie for photographs.

Katy later died tragically from a cocaine overdose.

I gave him the benefit of the doubt, said the businessman, and, to be honest, all Im trying to do is make a few quid online.

I wasnt looking to be best buddies, he added.
The Spanish retailers Henry Street store in the capital was evacuated this morning after the leak destroyed the shop floor, according to one Twitter user.

Clothes have been removed from the shopfloor. Photo: Conor Gibson

Hundreds of garments were removed from a Zara store in Dublin today after a large water leak flooded the store.

The Spanish retailers Henry Street store was evacuated this morning after the leak destroyed the shop floor, according to one Twitter user.

Zara on Henry st has been destroyed due to a large water leak coming from the 1st floor, the stock has been removed to prevent further damage #Dublin pic.twitter.com/NwFC97pNkq  Conor FK Gibson   (@ConorFKGibson) February 6, 2023

Sharing a photo of Zaras shop front, they said: Zara on Henry St has been destroyed due to a large water leak coming from the 1st floor, the stock has been removed to prevent further damage #Dublin.

Dublin-based plumbing company Super Drain sent a number of vehicles to the scene to investigate the leak shortly after 11am.

Clothes have been removed from the shopfloor. Photo: Conor Gibson

They were joined by personnel from cleaning company Ailesbury Services to clean and drain the excess water from the store.

Speaking to the Sunday World, a spokesperson for Super Drain confirmed that a number of vehicles were dispatched to deal with the issue.

We have some vehicles over there at the moment  two trucks and a couple of vans. Its just a leak and theyre cleaning the water up, they said.

Zara Ireland have been contacted for comment.
However, gardai have said they are well prepared for protests in Dublin

A protest against the housing of 100 migrants at the former ESB office block in East Wall, Dublin, last month. Photo: Niall Carson   PA

An appropriate policing plan is in place to deal with an anti-immigration protest and a pro-refugee solidarity gathering in Dublin city centre today.

Councillors have said it is impossible to know if the anti-immigration protest will see a large turnout.

However, gardai have said they are well prepared for protests in Dublin.

A Garda spokesperson stated they are "aware" of the "potential" protests due to take place today.

An Garda Siochana will have an appropriate and proportionate policing plan in place, they added.

Meanwhile Sinn Fein councillor Micheal MacDonncha believes a split is evident within the anti-immigration movement. He said this could affect the turnout at todays protest.

The Irish Freedom Party is organising the anti-immigration protest at Connolly Station in Dublin at 2pm.

However Sinn Fein has urged the public to attend a counter movement at the GPO if they want to voice their concerns.

Le Cheile, a cross-sectoral alliance, which says it is working against the far right in Ireland, is inviting the public to attend the pro-refugee gathering at the GPO at 1.30pm.

Donaghmede Sinn Fein councillor Mr MacDonncha told the Irish Independent: We are hearing of splits, tensions and rivalries between the far right groups, the National Party and the Freedom Party and protesters. The protesters in East Wall and North Strand, would not be aligned to the Freedom Party.

However, its very difficult to know what numbers will be there. It seems the larger numbers in communities dont go to the city marches.

In the past couple of weeks, it seems this hysteria about alleged crimes carried out by asylum seekers, have been made up, they didnt happen at all.

Asylum seekers are being blamed for attacks on women. The far right have really ramped it up, theyre trying to bring people out through fear tactics.

Its impossible to say the numbers who will be at the Connolly Station protest but we encourage a solidarity gathering with refugees at 1.30pm with community groups.

North inner city Labour councillor Joe Costello said he also did not know how many protesters will gather in the city centre today.

However, he said protesters from East Wall and other inner city areas, are not aligned with the Freedom Party.
The Tipperary native was arrested in October while travelling and has been accused of anti-government propaganda

Bernard Phelan has been detained in Iran since October last year.

Imprisoned Irishman Bernard Phelan (64) remains locked up in Iran despite the release of tens of thousands other prisoners.

The Tipperary native was arrested in October while travelling and is currently being held in Mashhad accused of anti-government propaganda.

He has denied the charge.

Iranian state media reported that tens of thousands of prisoners  including some arrested in recent anti-government protests  have been pardoned by the supreme leader Ali Khamenei.

Mr Phelans family revealed to RTE yesterday that the Clonmel man is not among them.

The pardon came with a number of conditions, including that it would not include dual national citizens, those accused of corruption on earth, spying for foreign agencies or those affiliated with groups hostile to the Islamic Republic, IRNA reports.

Read more

Mr Phelan holds Irish and French citizenship, with both Irish and French officials working closely together to secure his release.

In a statement to RTE yesterday, the Department of Foreign Affiars said that it remained "very concerned" about Mr Phelan and continues to "provide consular assistance, in close coordination with France".

Though not commenting directly on the latest developments, the Department said Mr Phelans release has been raised repeatedly with Iranian authorities, including by the Tanaiste.

The Paris-based travel consultant has a heart condition and a chronic bone issue and suspended a hunger strike two weeks ago.

The statement said that "the need for his urgent release on humanitarian grounds" has been stressed to Iranian officials.

About 20,000 people have been arrested in connection with protests that began following the death of a young Iranian Kurdish woman last September, activist news agency HRNA says.

Mahsa Amini died in the custody of Irans morality police.

Human rights groups believe over 500 people have been killed as part of a State crackdown.

The Iranian judiciary claims at least four have been hanged.
The tax-free payment  which will not impact their right to go to court for compensation  has been offered for the last five months

Health Minister Stephen Donnelly has approved five claims and the sixth is undergoing assessment. Photo: Brian Lawless/PA   Brian Lawless

Just six claims for an ex-gratia payment of 100,000 out of a possible 50 have been made by the relatives of healthcare workers who died after contracting Covid-19 in the course of their work, it has emerged.

The tax-free payment  which will not impact their right to go to court for compensation  has been offered for the last five months.

A spokeswoman for the Department of Health said six claims have been made for the payment.

It comes as the nation marks the contribution of frontline workers, across various sectors  not just in healthcare  who maintained key services during the worst of the pandemic, including throughout lockdowns, with a bank holiday today.

Health Minister Stephen Donnelly has approved five claims and the sixth is undergoing assessment.

While we cannot be certain of the total number of healthcare workers whose families may be eligible for this payment, we know that deaths in this cohort were thankfully relatively rare.

"We expect fewer than 50 applications in total.

The spokeswoman said the department has contacted local human resources departments of healthcare facilities where it is known that a healthcare worker was employed, in order to encourage relatives to apply.

According to the Health Protection Surveillance Centre (HPSC), 23 healthcare workers who contracted Covid-19 have died to date since the start of the pandemic.

Last September, Minister Donnelly said he had received approval for the scheme and it included deceased healthcare workers who were designated essential during the first phases of the pandemic.

This includes GPs and others working in primary care, including administrative staff.

It also includes disability services staff, private staff in nursing homes and throughout the healthcare system.

This payment is in addition to any other arrangements a person may have in place  for example, HSE employees may be entitled to an injury grant based on a multiple of salary  or benefit that may be payable on death and does not impact their legal rights.

It will be open to the families of workers from across the healthcare system who have passed away, the minister said.

The payout, which is administered by Pobal, follows similar schemes in other countries, including the UKs NHS which makes a payment of 60,000 (66,798).

Minister Donnelly said: When this pandemic began, there were no vaccines, and our understanding of Covid-19 was limited.

Nevertheless, we had to ask healthcare workers to come to work in workplaces where we knew Covid was present.

"They were required to assume an unknown level of risk in their work, a level that had not existed before, and they took on that risk.

The Government has already taken steps to recognise this phenomenal dedication but in a small number of cases, the worst happened, and something more is appropriate.

Many healthcare workers contracted Covid-19  over 39,000 according to the HPSC.

Most of those cases were reported in the most recent waves of infection, and, thankfully, vaccinations have meant that the vast majority of people recovered.

"Unfortunately, a small number of healthcare workers contracted Covid-19 in work and sadly passed away.

Since the first death occurred, this has been of significant concern to myself and my colleagues in Government.

And I am now putting in place this scheme to try to alleviate any short-term financial hardship the families of healthcare workers who lost their lives may be suffering; and as a gesture of further recognition on behalf of the people of Ireland.

I am keenly aware of tragic cases where families have been left without any income, for example where a worker was a locum or temporary worker.

This payment will mean that these families will have some support from the state to provide for their needs and serves as an acknowledgment of our debt of gratitude to the extraordinary sacrifices their loved ones made to protect others.

Eligibility extends to hospital services, therapy services, testing and tracing staff, workers in laboratory, drug treatment and addiction, hospice services, pharmacy, primary care, dental, blood donation and tissue or organ donation and related services.

Also included are residential careers, including those for nursing homes, mental health and substance abuse, disabilities and childrens residential services.

It also extends to homecare, home-help and other health services in the community such as caring for the homeless, services provided by minor injury units, maternity services and food safety and environmental services.
President Michael D Higgins has expressed his deepest sympathies to Niamh Bhreathnachs friends and family following the announcement.

Former Labour Party TD and Minister for Education, Niamh Bhreathnach who was responsible for abolishing third level education fees, has died at the age of 77.

President Michael D Higgins has expressed his deepest sympathies to Niamh Bhreathnachs friends and family following the announcement.

He said: That legacy includes the abolition of third-level undergraduate tuition fees and significant increases in education spending, the introduction of the Leaving Certificate Applied Programme, and making the Transition Year Programme available to all second-level schools, any of which one their own would reflect a significant term of office.

Influenced by her training as a teacher of those with special needs and drawing on her practical experience as a teacher in the Oliver Bond Complex in Dublin, Niamh emphasised a child-centred approach and her introduction of the Breaking the Cycle programme led to targeted supports for urban and rural schools in disadvantaged areas.

"This would later becoming the Deis programme. Her period as Minister for Education saw marked reductions in the pupil teacher ratio.

Niamh acted as Minister for Education, the first Labour politician to hold the post marking a historical significance in the country.

Her period as Minister for Education also saw appropriate recognition of the importance of technology and technical training and, as Minister, Niamh oversaw the upgrading of Regional Technical Colleges to Institutes of Technology, Mr Higgins said.

Ms Bhreathnach was born in 1945 and was one of five daughters to Breandan Breathnach and Lena Donnellan.

Former Taoiseach John Bruton said: I wish to express heartfelt sympathy with her husband Tom, with her two children and with her colleagues in the Labour Party on the death of Niamh Bhreathnach.

"She was a Minister for Education who made a real difference to the lives of Irish people, and the benefits of her work endure to this day, notably the abolition of third level fees and the upgrading of Colleges of Technology, he added.

Labour TD, Ged Nash Tweeted his condolences: A true reformer and radical in the proud Labour tradition has left us. From Breaking the Cycle and Early Start to the Leaving Cert Applied, Niamh changed countless lives. Sincerest condolences to Tom, Cliodhna and Macdara Ferris. Rest in peace.

Fianna Fail TD Cormac Devlin said: Saddened to learn of the death of former Minister and DLR Cathaoirleach Niamh Bhreathnach. Niamh espoused a passion for politics and a desire to improve the lives of all those she represented. Condolences to Tom, her family, friends and party colleagues.

She is survived by her husband Tom Ferris, her two children Cliodhna and Macdara, son-in-law Bryan, grandchildren Tom and Alice, sisters Sighle, Fionnuala and Eadaoin.
The event will take place on Friday, March 3, from 10.30am to 4.30pm at the Ulster University Magee Campus.

Former Taoiseach Bertie Ahern, US Senator George Mitchell (centre) and former British Prime Minister Tony Blair (r) smiling after they signed the Good Friday Agreement. Photo: PA

A summit to commemorate the Good Friday Agreements 25th anniversary will take place in Derry next month.

The Peace Summit 2023 will be hosted by the John and Pat Hume Foundation and Community Dialogue in partnership with the Glencree Peace and Reconciliation Centre, Youth Action NI, Holywell Trust, Ulster University and the Integrated Education Fund.

The event will take place on Friday, March 3, from 10.30am to 4.30pm at the Ulster University Magee Campus.

The Peace Summit is being supported by the International Fund for Ireland and will take place to honour the Good Friday Agreement, which will be 25 years old in April this year.

Ulster University's Magee campus in Derry

It will investigate the unfinished business of peace and reconciliation in Northern Ireland over the past 25 years and produce recommendations for a way forward for the next 25 years.

It will also consider what young people want for the future and use their responses to influence government policy and decide how current peace building advocates can support a new generation of peace builders to deliver a united and shared society.

In advance of the summit, the partner organisations have been engaging with young people across NI, peacemakers, community and minority groups.

A draft Peace Summit report will be presented on 3 March 2023 with panel and roundtable discussions.
The protestors were made up of members of different communities, some of whom have held smaller separate protests in recent months, from areas such as East Wall, Cabra, Finglas, Drimnagh and Summerhill.

Pro-refugee supporters Aneta Stepien from Poland, Maire Ni Mhardha from Maynooth and Andrew Pringle from Scotland taking part in a rally on O'Connell Street. Photo: Steve Humphreys

A large anti-immigration rally protested at the offices of several major media organisations in Dublin city today saying they are being wrongly portrayed as far-right.

More than 2,000 people gathered at Connolly Station and then marched in growing numbers to the offices of Mediahuis, who print the Irish Independent, and then to the offices of the Irish Times on Tara Street, the Bauer Media group on Digges Lane which owns radio stations including Newstalk and Today FM, and then to the offices of Bay Broadcasting on Castleforbes Road in the Dockland area which controls a number of radio stations.

The protestors were made up of members of different communities, some of whom have held smaller separate protests in recent months, from areas such as East Wall, Cabra, Finglas, Drimnagh and Summerhill.

Outside the offices of Mediahuis on Talbot Street, speaker Malachy Steenson addressed the crowd and was critical of the media, saying it portrayed protestors as far right.

Anti-immigration protestors on Talbot Street, Dublin. Photo: Steve Humphreys

When someone arrives in immigration and they have no passport they tell them to get back on the plane. But then the people say theyre claiming asylum and they take them in. Thats the problem, and thats what has to change, he said.

He added that the housing of refugees in a school in Drimnagh over the Christmas holidays was a trial run for what theyre going to do in the summer when the secondary schools close.

Every political party in this country is shifting its position. They are still calling us racist and unrepresentative. Were not going to take any lectures from somebody who recognises that the political ground is shifting away from them. We will shift the political ground here.

The working-class people of Dublin and of Ireland have told the Paul Murphys and Ruth Coppingers and the rest of them that they no longer represent us. This is the first grass roots movement that is growing from the ground up.

"We have no leaders and we have no formal structures, and they just cant understand why, after lecturing us for years, we arent saying ah shur, carry on lads, said Mr Steenson.

He was then critical of Unite trade unions Brendan Ogle, saying that in a recent radio interview he said he thinks protestors need to be re-educated.

We are the people doing the re-education. He is the one that needs to be re-educated, along with Unite and Siptu and all the other trade unions in this country, he said.

A man commented from the crowd that Sinn Fein at one stage did have the working-class people behind them. Now they have f**k all, he shouted.

In the crowds there were banners showing anti-Sinn Fein sentiment, with one poster of Mary Lou McDonald with the word Traitor written on top.

Outside the offices of theIrish Times, Finglas man Gavin Pepper told the crowd that protestors are sick of being called racists, and sick of being called liars.

Were out for our kids and our families. Were out for the safety of our kids, he said.

He branded politicians Paul Murphy, Leo Varadkar, Micheal Martin, Mary Lou McDonald, and everybody in the Dail, and socialist Ruth Coppinger as frauds.

Another speaker, a man named Martin from Cabra, said he had no bother with these people coming in, but why should they get housing above ours?

They should go through the same process we do, because theyre no better than us and were no better than them, he added.

Meanwhile, outside the GPO on O'Connell street around 400 people gathered for a Stand Against Racism protest in solidarity with asylum seekers.

Local communities, minority groups, elected representatives and activists spoke about the need for solidarity with refugees against a rise in hate spreading online.

Signs and banners reading, refugees welcome lined O'Connell Street as the crowd gathered around lunchtime to counter the anti-immigration refugees outside Connelly Station.

Pro-refugee supporters Aneta Stepien from Poland, Maire Ni Mhardha from Maynooth and Andrew Pringle from Scotland taking part in a rally on O'Connell Street. Photo: Steve Humphreys

Memet Uludag, chair of United Against Racism, said vulnerable refugees are fleeing war, oppression and are facing serious problems in Ireland.

Between housing, health, education, to all sorts of cost-of-living economic problems, none of this racism and pointing fingers are going to solve these problems, he said.

Mr Uludag said the housing crisis predates the refugees, the idea that refugees have caused the housing crisis is not the case.

Pro-refugee supporters taking part in a rally on O'Connell Street. Photo: Steve Humphreys

People Before Profit TD Paul Murphy, who attended the event, condemned recent assaults against refugees.

What has happened in the last week alone is horrifying, he said.

It is one week since there was an attack on homeless people at a camp in Ashtown, purely because they are not from this county."

He added that videos circulating online of threats against migrants are tragic and a combination of alienation and neglect of working-class communities and the worsening housing crisis has created a division which the far-right is feeding off.
The ministers comments come amid survey findings showing large numbers of people believe Ireland has already taken in too many migrants

The Justice Minister has said gardai will conduct checks on passengers leaving planes in Ireland without travel documentation.

Simon Harris said the checks will take place three times a week on average.

He vowed to face down far-right agitators who seek to exploit community tensions on the migration issue.

Mr Harris again denounced people who are trying to sow community divisions over the migration emergency and pledged that the Government will continue to support victims of war and discrimination who seek assistance in Ireland. He believed the vast majority of Irish people support this stance.

The ministers comments come amid survey findings showing large numbers of people believe Ireland has already taken in too many migrants and growing signs of some community tension on the issue.

Those people who go into communities stoking up tensions and spreading lies must be, and will be, faced down, the interim justice minister said.

Gardai in Dublin have been devising policing plans for demonstrations likely to happen in the centre of the capital today.

The minister has also pledged to speed up decisions on asylum claims, however, he said gardai will step up checks on people arriving into the country without documentation.

Mr Harris said cases of asylum applications for migrants from what was generally deemed a safe country of origin had been taking between 17 and 24 months to process. But this timeframe would now be reduced to 12 weeks.

A safe country is one deemed to generally uphold good practice on human rights. But these applications must be assessed on an individual basis to ensure the authorities in such countries are in fact upholding their obligations.

Ireland is a fair and compassionate country for those fleeing serious life-threatening difficulties and most Irish people totally support that policy. But we also need to show that we have a balanced, rules-based system for welcoming those in such difficulties and dealing compassionately  but more promptly  with their applications, Mr Harris said.

The minister said the border management unit and gardai from the Garda National Immigration Bureau will regularly meet with airline passengers as they leave planes at Dublin and other airports after declaring they have no identity documents. Such checks are expected to happen three times per week on average.

Officials pointed to the increase in the number of deportation orders being issued to migrants with a total of 645 such orders being issued since last September and 128 in the month of January alone. It is understood that many people leave after getting such orders but in some cases the intervention of gardai is needed.

There is growing speculation the Government will begin to look at tapering off supports for Ukrainian migrants in due course as the first anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine approaches on February 24. There is also talk of speeding up a citizenship process for Ukrainians entering the European Union.

But it is likely that such changes in approach would be better done at a coordinated EU level. This and other issues will be discussed when the EU leaders meet at a special summit on Thursday in Brussels.
Their deaths are not being treated as suspicious

Twins Claire and Steve O'Neill who were found dead on Saturday in south Belfast.

Tributes have poured in after Belfast twins Claire and Stevie ONeill died suddenly in the south of the city.

The pair, who were described as being inseparable, died suddenly on Saturday at a property at Annadale Crescent..

The twins were found dead side-by-side at the property not far from the River Lagan.

Two other men were taken to hospital.

A 37-year-old mother of three, Claire had been living in the area with her five-year-old son.

Her twin brother, Stevie was visiting his sister.

Claire O'Neill

A fitness fanatic, the Ormeau Road father-of-one was planning on taking part in a 56-mile challenge in aid of cancer research.

The kindness and generosity of the siblings were hallmarks of the many tributes paid to them. Childhood friend, Sarah Wilson said the two were selfless, and would be sorely missed.

Said Sarah: Im going to miss you Claire, also Stevie, my childhood friend. Two of the kindest people you could meet, would give you their last. May you rest in peace.

Tributes were also paid by relatives. One told the Sunday World: The twins were the life and soul of the entire ONeill family. And Stevie was raising money for cancer.

Everyone loved the twins, and we all thought the world of them. They were so popular.

One local resident commented on the pairs closeness.

Its just awful. Claire and Stevie came into the world together and now in death they leave it together.

You never saw one without the other. They were always very close.

Katie Deadman, a close friend, said that the pair treated her like a member of their own family as she paid tribute to them on Facebook.

Both treated me like one of their own. From when their mother brought me into the family, she wrote.

Will miss you Steven and Claire. We will still have our night out for you, give your family the strength to get through this.

Stevie O'Neill

Several emergency vehicles attended the scene in the early hours of Saturday morning, which included fire appliances, three ambulances and five police vehicles. Two men at the property were taken to hospital.

Police have confirmed that a man in his 40s was arrested in connection with the events, but has been released on bail. They said that the circumstances around the deaths are not being treated as suspicious.

Police are continuing to investigate the circumstances surrounding the sudden deaths of two people at a house in the Annadale Crescent area of Belfast on Saturday, 4th February, said a police spokesman.

One man in his 40s has been arrested in relation to the investigation, and has since been released on police bail to allow for further police enquiries.

A post mortem has taken place and the deaths are not being treated as suspicious at this time, the spokesman added.
Surrey Police have not disclosed the cause of their deaths but said they are confident that no-one else was involved.

Former colleagues of a headteacher found dead at her home with her husband and daughter have paid tribute to their dear friend.

Emma Pattison, who was head at Croydon High School before she joined Epsom College in September last year, died on Sunday with her daughter Lettie, seven, and her husband George.

Surrey Police have not disclosed the cause of their deaths but said they are confident that no-one else was involved.

Cheryl Giovannoni, chief executive of the Girls Day School Trust (GDST), of which Croydon High School is part, said: We are immensely shocked and saddened by the news about the death of Emma Pattison, her daughter Lettie and her husband George.

Our thoughts are with their family at this time, as well as everyone at Croydon High School, and Epsom College, which Emma joined as head in September 2022.

Police at Epsom College in Surrey on Monday (Lucas Cumiskey/PA)   Lucas Cumiskey

Emma was a much loved and respected member of the GDST community, as well as a talented head and teacher and a dear friend to many of us.

She touched the lives of all of us with her energy, wisdom and kindness during her six years as head of Croydon High School and the school will always bear the legacy of her inspiring leadership.

We are taking time to support staff and students at Croydon High School as well as everyone in the GDST family, and their wellbeing will be our priority in the coming days.

Mrs Pattison, 45, was found with her husband and daughter at their home in the grounds of independent school Epsom College in the early hours of Sunday.

Local MP Chris Grayling called the deaths an appalling tragedy, adding: I know everyone locally will be shocked about what has happened.

A spokesman for South East Coast Ambulance Service confirmed that paramedics attended the home but would give no further information.

Emma Pattison was found with her husband and daughter (John Wildgoose/Epsom College/PA)   John Wildgoose/Epsom College

Epsom College said on Twitter that staff and pupils would pay their respects to their wonderful head Mrs Pattison on Monday.

The school said: The shocking and tragic news has now reached many about the death of our head, Emma Pattison. The College community will be coming together today to process the news, grieve and pay our respects to a wonderful head.

We will be in close contact with Surrey Police over the coming weeks and months. We hope everyone will respect the privacy of Emmas family at this time and allow the Colleges pupils, staff and wider community the time and space necessary to come to terms with this loss.

Police said the familys next of kin have been informed and are being supported by specialist officers, and that the three deaths have been reported to the coroner.

The shocking and tragic news has now reached many about the death of our Head, Emma Pattison. The College community will be coming together today to process the news, grieve and pay our respects to a wonderful Head. 1/3  Epsom College (@EpsomCollegeUK) February 6, 2023

Surrey police and crime commissioner Lisa Townsend said there will be an increased police presence in the area in the coming days to provide reassurance.

She added: I was shocked and saddened to learn of the awful incident at Epsom College at the weekend and I want to offer my deepest sympathies to the family and friends of those who lost their lives.

These events will no doubt have a profound and lasting impact on both the staff and students at the college and the wider local community. My heart goes out to all those affected by this terrible and tragic incident.

Mrs Pattison became Epsoms first female head in September 2022 after six years as headteacher of Croydon High School in south London.

Boarding students at the college pay more than 42,000 a year and its alumni include Conservative MP Sir Michael Fallon, broadcaster Jeremy Vine and comedian Tim Vine.

Dr Alastair Wells, chairman of the board of governors at Epsom College, said: On behalf of everyone at Epsom College, I want to convey our utter shock and disbelief at this tragic news.

Our immediate thoughts and condolences are with Emmas family, friends and loved ones, and to the many pupils and colleagues whose lives she enriched throughout her distinguished career.

Emma was a wonderful teacher, but most of all she was a delightful person. In time we will commemorate Emma and her family, in the appropriate way, and in line with the wishes of her family.

But for now, we ask that we are all given the time, space and respect we need to come to terms with this tragic loss.

Epsom College won the top prize at the Independent Schools of the Year Awards 2022, with judges calling it a beacon of excellence.

The school was also named the winner of the student wellbeing award at the October ceremony thanks to its whole-school approach to mental health and the wellbeing of both its staff and pupils.

More than 850 boys and girls attend the school, which was founded in 1853, and its acting head has been listed as Paul Williams.

A statement from HMC (The Heads Conference), which represents hundreds of leading private schools across the UK, said: Everyone at HMC is devastated to hear of the awful news from Epsom College that we have lost Emma Pattison and her family.

Our thoughts and prayers at this time are for Emmas family and close friends as well as the Epsom College, Croydon High School and St Johns Leatherhead communities.

Mrs Pattisons husband George was a chartered accountant who was director of a management consultancy firm called Tanglewood 2016, according to Companies House.

Helplines: If you have been affected by any of the issues raised in this article, click HERE for more information
The quake, which hit in the early darkness of a winter morning, was also felt in Cyprus and Lebanon.

People search through rubble following an earthquake in Diyarbakir, Turkey February 6, 2023. REUTERS/Sertac Kayar   REUTERS

People search through rubble following an earthquake in Diyarbakir, Turkey February 6, 2023. REUTERS/Sertac Kayar   REUTERS

People search through rubble following an earthquake in Diyarbakir, Turkey February 6, 2023. REUTERS/Sertac Kayar   REUTERS

A major earthquake of magnitude 7.8 struck central Turkey and northwest Syria on Monday, killing more than 500 people and injuring hundreds as buildings collapsed across the region, triggering searches for survivors in the rubble.

The quake, which hit in the early darkness of a winter morning, was also felt in Cyprus and Lebanon.

"We were shaken like a cradle. There were nine of us at home. Two sons of mine are still in the rubble, I'm waiting for them," said one woman, her arm broken and wounds on her face as she spoke in an ambulance near the wreckage of the seven-storey block where she lived in Diyarbakir.

"I have never felt anything like it in the 40 years I've lived," said Erdem, a resident of the Turkish city of Gaziantep, near the quake's epicentre, who declined to give his surname.

"We were shaken at least three times very strongly."

People search through rubble following an earthquake in Diyarbakir, Turkey February 6, 2023. REUTERS/Sertac Kayar   REUTERS

Read more Second earthquake hits Turkey as death toll surpasses 1,300

Turkey's vice president Fuat Oktay said 284 people had been killed and 2,323 people were injured, as authorities scrambled rescue teams and supply aircraft to the affected area, while declaring a "level 4 alarm" that calls for international assistance.

In Syria, already devastated by more than 11 years of civil war, a government health official said more than 237 people had been killed and some 600 injured, most in the provinces of Hama, Aleppo and Latakia, where numerous buildings tumbled down.

In the Syrian rebel-held northwest, a rescue service said dozens had been killed.

Read more Turkey Syria earthquakes deadliest in a decade as death toll passes 9,000

Turkish state broadcaster RTR showed rescue workers in Osmaniye province using a blanket to carry an injured man out of a collapsed four-storey building and putting him in an ambulance. He was the fifth to be pulled from the rubble, it said.

Footage on broadcaster CNNTurk showed the historic Gaziantep Castle was severely damaged.

President Tayyip Erdogan spoke by telephone with the governors of eight affected provinces to gather information on the situation and rescue efforts, his office said in a statement.

People search through rubble following an earthquake in Diyarbakir, Turkey February 6, 2023. REUTERS/Sertac Kayar   REUTERS

'VERY TRAGIC'

Footage from the Syrian border town of Azaz - an area held by opposition forces - showed a rescue worker carrying a toddler from a damaged building.

"The situation is very tragic, tens of buildings have collapsed in the city of Salqin," a member of the White Helmets rescue organisation said in a video clip on Twitter, referring to another town about 5 km (3 miles) from the Turkish border.

Homes were "totally destroyed", said the rescuer on the clip, which showed a street strewn with rubble.

President Bashar al-Assad was holding an emergency cabinet meeting to review the damage and discuss the next steps, his office said.

Syrian state television showed footage of rescue teams searching for survivors in heavy rain and sleet. Health officials urged the public to help take the injured to emergency rooms.

"Wounded people are still arriving in waves," Aleppo's health director, Ziad Hage Taha, told Reuters by telephone.

The Greek Orthodox Archdiocese in Aleppo posted photographs of blocks of stone that had crashed down onto its mezzanine.

In nearby countryside, rescuers carried a bloodied, wailing baby out of a collapsed building, while, in the town of Azaz, a crane prised away slabs of concrete as rescuers carried away a body wrapped in a sheet.

Many buildings in the region had already suffered damage in fighting during nearly 12 years of civil war.

People in Damascus, and in the Lebanese cities of Beirut and Tripoli, ran into the street and took to their cars to get away from their buildings in case they collapsed, witnesses said.

U.S. OFFER OF HELP

The United States was "profoundly concerned" about the quake in Turkey and Syria and was monitoring events closely, White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said on Twitter.

"I have been in touch with Turkish officials to relay that we stand ready to provide any and all needed assistance," he said.

The U.S. Geological Survey said the magnitude 7.8 quake struck at a depth of 17.9 km. It reported a series of earthquakes, one of 6.7 magnitude.

The region straddles seismic fault lines.

It is the most severe quake in Turkey since 1999 when a similar magnitude quake devastated Izmit and the heavily populated eastern Marmara Sea region near Istanbul, killing more than 17,000.

The tremor lasted about a minute and shattered windows, according to a Reuters witness in Diyarbakir, 350 km (218 miles)to the east, where a security official said at least 17 buildings collapsed.

Authorities said 16 structures collapsed in Sanliurfa and 34 in Osmaniye.

Broadcasters TRT and Haberturk showed footage of people picking through building wreckage, moving stretchers and seeking survivors in the city of Kahramanmaras, where it was still dark.

"Our primary job is to carry out the search and rescue work and to do that all our teams are on alert," Turkish Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu told reporters.

Tremors were also felt in the Turkish capital of Ankara, 460 km (286 miles) northwest of the epicentre, and in Cyprus, where police reported no damage.

"The earthquake struck in a region that we feared. There is serious widespread damage," Kerem Kinik, the chief of the Turkish Red Crescent relief agency, told Haberturk, issuing an appeal for blood donations.

Turkey is among the most earthquake-prone countries in the world. More than 17,000 people were killed in 1999 when a 7.6-magnitude quake struck Izmit, a city southeast of Istanbul. In 2011, a quake in the eastern city of Van killed more than 500.

(Additional reporting by Akriti Sharma in Bengaluru, Maya Gebeily in Beirut, Kinda Makieh in Damascus, Jonathan Spicer and Daren Butler in Istanbul and Humeyra Pamuk in Washington; Writing by Jonathan Spicer, Robert Birsel; Editing by Tom Hogue and Clarence Fernandez)
President Michael D Higgins offered his solidarity to the Turkish people as Italy issues a potential tsunami alert

People search through rubble following an earthquake in Diyarbakir, Turkey February 6, 2023. REUTERS/Sertac Kayar   REUTERS

People search through rubble following an earthquake in Diyarbakir, Turkey February 6, 2023. REUTERS/Sertac Kayar   REUTERS

People search through rubble following an earthquake in Diyarbakir, Turkey February 6, 2023. REUTERS/Sertac Kayar   REUTERS

A powerful 7.8 magnitude earthquake has hit Turkey and Syria killing more than 1,300 people  with the toll expected to rise.

A second earthquake is also understood to have hit Turkey this morning.

The quake, centred close to the southeastern city of Gaziantep, about 90km from the Syrian border, left a huge trail of destruction in both countries and was felt as far away as Cairo. It led Italy to issue a potential tsunami alert.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Twitter that search and rescue teams were immediately dispatched to the areas hit by the quake, with it being the largest disaster in the country since the Erzincan earthquake of 1939. More than 912 people have been killed in the country, with more than 5,000 injured.

The quake, which hit in the early darkness of a winter morning, was also felt in Cyprus and Lebanon.

"We were shaken like a cradle. There were nine of us at home. Two sons of mine are still in the rubble, I'm waiting for them," said one woman, her arm broken and wounds on her face as she spoke in an ambulance near the wreckage of the seven-storey block where she lived in Diyarbakir.

Read more Turkey Syria earthquakes deadliest in a decade as death toll passes 9,000

"I have never felt anything like it in the 40 years I've lived," said Erdem, a resident of the Turkish city of Gaziantep, near the quake's epicentre, who declined to give his surname.

"We were shaken at least three times very strongly."

President Michael D Higgins offered his solidarity to the Turkish people.

"As President of Ireland, may I offer my profound sympathy on behalf of the people of Ireland to the peoples of Turkiye and Syria who are experiencing the devastating earthquakes which have taken place this morning, Mr Higgins said.

All of our thoughts are with those who have lost loved ones and those have been injured, and we send our support to those emergency services who continue with the work of rescuing and protection of those impacted by these terrible tragedies.

As President of Ireland, I wish to assure those members of the Turkish and Syrian communities living in Ireland who may have relatives directly impacted that we are offering them our solidarity at this time.

Turkish state broadcaster RTR showed rescue workers in Osmaniye province using a blanket to carry an injured man out of a collapsed four-storey building and putting him in an ambulance. He was the fifth to be pulled from the rubble, it said.

People search through rubble following an earthquake in Diyarbakir, Turkey February 6, 2023. REUTERS/Sertac Kayar   REUTERS

Footage on broadcaster CNNTurk showed the historic Gaziantep Castle was severely damaged.

President Tayyip Erdogan spoke by telephone with the governors of eight affected provinces to gather information on the situation and rescue efforts, his office said in a statement.

Footage from the Syrian border town of Azaz - an area held by opposition forces - showed a rescue worker carrying a toddler from a damaged building.

"The situation is very tragic, tens of buildings have collapsed in the city of Salqin," a member of the White Helmets rescue organisation said in a video clip on Twitter, referring to another town about 5 km (3 miles) from the Turkish border.

Homes were "totally destroyed", said the rescuer on the clip, which showed a street strewn with rubble.

President Bashar al-Assad was holding an emergency cabinet meeting to review the damage and discuss the next steps, his office said.

Syrian state television showed footage of rescue teams searching for survivors in heavy rain and sleet. Health officials urged the public to help take the injured to emergency rooms.

"Wounded people are still arriving in waves," Aleppo's health director, Ziad Hage Taha, told Reuters by telephone.

People search through rubble following an earthquake in Diyarbakir, Turkey February 6, 2023. REUTERS/Sertac Kayar   REUTERS

The Greek Orthodox Archdiocese in Aleppo posted photographs of blocks of stone that had crashed down onto its mezzanine.

In nearby countryside, rescuers carried a bloodied, wailing baby out of a collapsed building, while, in the town of Azaz, a crane prised away slabs of concrete as rescuers carried away a body wrapped in a sheet.

Many buildings in the region had already suffered damage in fighting during nearly 12 years of civil war.

People in Damascus, and in the Lebanese cities of Beirut and Tripoli, ran into the street and took to their cars to get away from their buildings in case they collapsed, witnesses said.

U.S. OFFER OF HELP

The United States was "profoundly concerned" about the quake in Turkey and Syria and was monitoring events closely, White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said on Twitter.

"I have been in touch with Turkish officials to relay that we stand ready to provide any and all needed assistance," he said.

The U.S. Geological Survey said the magnitude 7.8 quake struck at a depth of 17.9 km. It reported a series of earthquakes, one of 6.7 magnitude.

The region straddles seismic fault lines.

It is the most severe quake in Turkey since 1999 when a similar magnitude quake devastated Izmit and the heavily populated eastern Marmara Sea region near Istanbul, killing more than 17,000.

The tremor lasted about a minute and shattered windows, according to a Reuters witness in Diyarbakir, 350 km (218 miles)to the east, where a security official said at least 17 buildings collapsed.

Authorities said 16 structures collapsed in Sanliurfa and 34 in Osmaniye.

Broadcasters TRT and Haberturk showed footage of people picking through building wreckage, moving stretchers and seeking survivors in the city of Kahramanmaras, where it was still dark.

"Our primary job is to carry out the search and rescue work and to do that all our teams are on alert," Turkish Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu told reporters.

Tremors were also felt in the Turkish capital of Ankara, 460 km (286 miles) northwest of the epicentre, and in Cyprus, where police reported no damage.

"The earthquake struck in a region that we feared. There is serious widespread damage," Kerem Kinik, the chief of the Turkish Red Crescent relief agency, told Haberturk, issuing an appeal for blood donations.

Turkey is among the most earthquake-prone countries in the world. More than 17,000 people were killed in 1999 when a 7.6-magnitude quake struck Izmit, a city southeast of Istanbul. In 2011, a quake in the eastern city of Van killed more than 500.

(Additional reporting by Akriti Sharma in Bengaluru, Maya Gebeily in Beirut, Kinda Makieh in Damascus, Jonathan Spicer and Daren Butler in Istanbul and Humeyra Pamuk in Washington; Writing by Jonathan Spicer, Robert Birsel; Editing by Tom Hogue and Clarence Fernandez)
The former Love Island star jetted off to the Middle East over the bank holiday weekend and announced her arrival on Instagram.

Maura flew out to Dubai this week

Maura Higgins has shared a series of sizzling snaps from her trip to Dubai on social media.

The former Love Island star jetted off to the Middle East over the bank holiday weekend and announced her arrival on Instagram.

The Longford lady shared a carousel of photos from an evening in Dubai, where she flaunted her toned abs in front of the Dior 3D printed concept store on the Jumeirah beach.

Maura wore a sheer green dress Revolve that crossed over her chest and joked that her boob tape was holding on for dear life.

She paired her look with a slicked back bun and a white Fendi handbag.

Captioning the post, she wrote: Dubai, its been a minute.

Friends and fans flocked to the comments section to compliment the 32-year-old on her stunning photoshoot, with best pal and new mum Molly-Mae Hague leaving a series of sweating emojis.

EastEnders star Jacqueline Jossa said Mauras look was a moment while fellow Love Islander Ellie Brown wrote Wowww and shared a heart-eye emoji.

It comes after Maura sent her followers into a frenzy after sharing sultry snaps from a glamorous photoshoot last week.

The bombshell looked incredible according to Love Island pals as she posed in a black mesh jumpsuit and knee-high leather boots.

"When Mario says action, she captioned the post, tagging her celebrity makeup artist Mario Dedivanovic  who she shares with Kim Kardashian.

Mauras famous friends took to the comments section as they reacted to the striking shots.

"I gasped, said Molly-Mae, while other former Love Islanders gushed over the Irish star.

"Omg incredible, said Tasha Ghouri, while Faye Winter left the sweet comment: Angel.

Danica Taylor said oh wow and influencer Maeve Madden commented: Oh she slayssss.

TOWIE star Lauren Goodger praised the unreal images of Maura posed against a grey background.
My daughter met a man on First Dates so why cant I?

Phil is going on First Dates

The mum of a woman who met her fiance on First Dates had a crack at finding romance on the show herself.

Carla Maria (41), who will marry Dundalk man James Shez Sherry (41) in November after they met on the show, accompanied her mum Phil (65) to the Gibson Hotel in Dublin late last year for her own blind date.

Ive four grown-up children and they always would have liked me to meet somebody, Phil tells the Sunday World.

Im very independent, I do everything on my own. I go on holidays on my own, but they always want me to meet somebody and I do want to share my life with someone.

Then, when Carla did the show and suggested it to me, I said absolutely not, Im not doing it.

But I was talked around into doing it because I reached 65 last year and I thought I have to do something memorable for reaching 65  retirement age.

Thats really the reason I did it. It pushed me out of my comfort zone and, trust me, I was pushed out of my comfort zone.

Carla and Shez will get married in November

Antrim woman Phil works for Tusla in Donegal and lives just inside the Co Derry border.

My contract says I can retire at 65, but I havent retired, I continue to work. As long as youre in good health and youre able, she explains.

She cut a dash in the restaurant by wearing a bright red fedora, but admits she was initially a bit nervous.

Seeing Mateo for the first time, I just though he looked the exact same in real life as he does on screen. Alice, the waitress, was really lovely, a really nice girl, she smiles.

Phil was paired with Galway man Stan (69).

Somebody said he looked like Santa Claus. I didnt think Kenny Rogers until later but thats pretty much what he was like, she chuckles. You should never judge a book by its cover.

She wasnt bowled over by his looks though. It wasnt a wow moment, Phil confirms.

Asked who her dream man would be, she exclaims: Give me Patrick Swayze, I loved him in Dirty Dancing.

Read more Only in Ireland, you go on a blind date and end up sitting opposite your neighbour

Viewers will see some explosive moments between Phil and Stan.

When he mentioned dogs, alarm bells went. I wanted somebody who would be spontaneous and say pack your bag, were going away for the weekend, you cant do that when youve got a dog.

I had a German shepherd and I know I will have a dog again, she admits.

She wants a man in her life to share it with her.

I love walking. Id love to hike, but hiking on your own is not quite safe, she says.

With seven grandchildren Im kept going. I love clothes, I love fashion. Im due to go to Portugal and also Canada later this year.

She is excited for Carla and Shezs big day in November.

I think I will have to wear a less casual hat for it than a fedora, even though I love them, she laughs.

Im absolutely delighted for Carla so I am, and Shez. Its just worked out so well for the pair of them.

Its what you would read in a storybook, its a novel.

First Dates is on RTE2 on Thursday at 9.30pm.
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Prime Minister Chris Hipkins has described this morning's Waitangi dawn service as moving and says he welcomes the shift away from a focus on politics.

Hundreds of people gathered before dawn to commemorate 183 years since Te Tiriti o Waitangi was signed.

Waitangi Day 2023

Hipkins says the national day had a greater focus on reflection and celebration than years ago.

The criticism that politicians had come to Waitangi in the past and used Maori as a way to increase their votes was a fair one, he says.

Hipkins says he saw his role as lighting the path forwards and not playing in the uncertain space where politicians could create fear and division.

"I think Maori have often been used as a way for politicians to whip up votes in other parts of the population and that's something that I find abhorrent."

Asked to compare this year's Waitangi commemorations to previous years, Hipkins says in the last five years there had been a trend for less politics on Waitangi Day.

"I think there's been a trend in the last five and a half years or so ... for a bit less politics on Waitangi Day and a bit more reflection and a bit more commemoration and a little bit more celebration and I really welcome that."

Hipkins says he first attended Waitangi commemorations at Waitangi about 15 years ago and overall he had always found it "to be a pretty positive experience".

As prime minister his role was "to try and preserve a sense of unity and common purpose," Hipkins says.

"It's easy to create division when it comes to race relations and we've seen that in the past; governments have tried to to avoid that, it tends to have come from those who are not in government who are trying to get into government and I think that's most unfortunate."

National Party leader Christopher Luxon says New Zealand was an intelligent country that could engage in proper debates.

Christopher Luxon speaking at Waitangi on Sunday. Photo: RNZ / Ella Stewart.

"I think what I've seen in reaction to some of our positions say on co-governance, is you end up with some lazy sort of baseless accusations of racism frankly," he says.

"Because that's not what I'm doing, I'm having a conversation to say I'm interested in the ends of advancing all Maori and all non-Maori ... the means by which I do that may be different."

The fact that National does not support co-governance of public services should not be misinterpreted as the party lacking ambition or aspirations for Maori in New Zealand, he says.

Open discussion needed

A lot of New Zealanders were scared to talk about the treaty and our history, we needed good honest relations to take place, Hipkins says.

"We have to create sort of safe spaces for people to say what they think, I think we get into dangerous territory when people stop saying what they think because they're worried what the response to that might be and then you just perpetuate misunderstanding.

"I think when you create an environment where people can say what they think and other people can challenge that and people don't have to feel offended or confronted by that."

The signing of Te Tiriti o Waitangi was a bold vision, Hipkins says.

"If we go to the spirit of what they were trying to accomplish, I think they were trying to accomplish an ability for us all to live here together, to all prosper together without conflict."

The goal of the treaty was to try to avoid the conquest and conflict that occurred during settlement of some other countries during the mid-1800s, he says.

The history of Aotearoa shows this attempt was somewhat limited and conquest and conflict still followed, Hipkins says.

But the goal was a very noble one and the ongoing importance of the treaty recognises that it was a goal that was worth striving for, Hipkins says.

'You just can't beat ... hearing the diversity' - Tipene

Last year Covid forced the cancellation of the dawn service and other official Waitangi events. Waitangi National Trust Board chair Pita Tipene was asked what it was like to have to the events back on, and the crowds back at Waitangi.

"I think when people say he aha te mea nui o te ao, he tangata, he tangata, he tangata, when I was here with my mokopuna last year and we were the only ones here due to Covid, and we had our own karakia."

"Funnily enough, it was a similar bleak sort of a morning.

"You just can't beat having so many people, a throng of people, hearing different voices, hearing the diversity, but feeling the unity that everybody is seeking."

History was also made this morning, with the delivery of the first Muslim prayer at the dawn service, from Labour MP Ibrahim Omer.

"We look at Te Tiriti of Waitangi as being between Maori and European or Pakeha, but we really need to be thinking much, much more of the other ethnicities in our country that make up a multicultural tapestry of our nation.

"How we view it is that we have tangata whenua, or people of the land, and tangata Tiriti, which is the broad application of all people who have come here over time."

Luxon defends description of treaty signing as 'little experiment'

Luxon spoke at Waitangi yesterday, but missed the dawn service on Monday instead opting to go to an event at the Takapuna Boat Club in Auckland.

One part of Luxon's speech yesterday caused some controversy: "We started on the 6th of February 1840 as a little experiment, and look at us now - the 21st century success story able to tackle the challenges that come our way."

Today, Luxon clarified that he did not mean to say that the treaty was an experiment.

"What we've done here in New Zealand is incredibly special, I mean if you think about the goodwill of those people who were here negotiating that treaty, it was unprecedented in many ways."

Looking at what happened in other countries and how they have developed over time the treaty what had been done in New Zealand was incredibly special, he says.

"So it was a brave experiment to set up a treaty as a foundation for a whole new country, that didn't happen if you think about it pre-1840 around the world."

The intention was great, but the Crown did not honour its obligations and that was what a lot of New Zealand's modern history had been about in terms of trying to deal with that issue, Luxon says.

Treaty settlements, Ngapuhi and rangatiratanga

Asked about the concept of rangatiratanga, or the right of Maori to rule themselves, Hipkins says he was comfortable with the notion of "by Maori for Maori".

In education there had been significant expansion of things like kura kaupapa Maori and in health some progress was being made in a by Maori for Maori approach, he says.

"I think the government can be a better partner, we can have a better relationship, we can work together better when it comes to all things Maori."

Hipkins says the Ngapuhi settlement was likely to be one of the most complex and difficult to achieve, but it was important to continue to approach it "with good faith and good will".

"We've still got a process that we're going through, what I can provide assurance about though is that the Crown will approach that with good faith and we want to get a settlement, so that's a pretty good starting point."

Luxon defended National's goal that all treaty settlements should be completed by 2030.

Having a deadline made a government focus on getting that job done, he says.

"Treaty settlements are full and final, I mean the individual settlements are full and final, not to be opened up and discussed again."

He acknowledged that everyone had a lot of work to do in terms of digesting the latest Waitangi Tribunal report on the Ngapuhi claim.

On rangatiratanga, Luxon says there was one sovereign state here in New Zealand and it was the government.

Equity and equal opportunity

Equity and equal opportunity were two concepts that politicians needed to spend more time talking about, Hipkins says.

"Equal opportunity doesn't guarantee an equal outcome, but equal opportunity also in itself isn't necessarily equity because if you're starting from a very different place then the opportunity in front of you might be the same, but your ability to take up that opportunity might be vastly different."

For example, a child who starts school and already has a good base of education will be ahead of a child starting school with no education base, Hipkins says.

So treating them exactly the same in the classroom is not equity, although it might be equal opportunity, he says.

To try and address this in the education sector the government had just changed the way schools were funded to allow targeted additional funding to schools with equity challenges, and the same would be done for early childhood centres, he says.

National rejects co-governance of public services

Luxon says National was very supportive of co-management arrangements and it had led to better outcomes.

"But when it comes to the provision of national public services, from a government that's accountable to all New Zealanders, and those services are designed to deliver to people in need, we think the better way is to have a single system of delivery."

But there could be innovation within that system to ensure services were being delivered to those communities that needed it, he says.

Luxon says he was focused on outcomes which were targeted on the basis of need which could be delivered through many organisations which would do a much better job than central government would.

- RNZ.
Tauranga and the wider Western Bay of Plenty are commemorating at the Tauranga Moana Waitangi Day Festival - being held in the Historic Village at 17th Avenue.

The event is being marked as one full of "reverence, ceremony and fun".

Celebrated annually on February 6, Waitangi day is the national day of New Zealand, marking the anniversary of the initial signing of the Treaty of Waitangi on the same date in 1840.

The event is running from 10am to 4pm today.

Earlier this week, the Tauranga Moana Waitangi Day Dawn Service at Hopukiore (Mount Drury Reserve) was cancelled due to the poor weather expected over the weekend.

AArt and craft workshops are available at the event. Photo: David Hall.

Entertainment, food and performances are abound, along with plenty of Maori art and craft workshops, koru sand art, and the newly-introduiced Treaty Storyboard Trail - the perfect way for family and whanau to learn and celebrate the history of Aotearoa.

Showcasing the importance of ethnicity, community, and connectedness, the event began with a welcome from celebrated actress and community leader Mabel Wharekawa-Burt, who will share the MC duties for the day.

The New Zealand Navy raised the flag and Kathy Phillips lead the national anthem. Photo: David Hall.

For the first time, free buses are available to transport attendees to and from the festival.

He Iwi Kotahi trustee and professional historian Buddy Mikaere, who has a passion for bringing people together, says the festival is designed for everyone.

Its a time for us to commemorate the signing of the Treaty and to acknowledge and embrace Taurangas growing multicultural, multi-ethnic makeup. It is why we named our organising Trust He Iwi Kotahi  Together As One because in a real sense; in a community sense, we sincerely want to promote unity across all our cultures and ethnicities.

What we are saying is that everyones views and beliefs deserve respect, and our festival provides that opportunity. We want to create a sense of belonging and wellbeing for all, says Buddy.

Check out some more pictures of the event below.

To see what else is happening around the country, visit this link.
Gun owners could have to pay police to attend if their firearms are stolen in a burglary under a new proposal.

The suggestion comes as police review firearms licence fees, which have not changed in more than two decades. Police are proposing raising the licencing fee by nearly 500 per cent.

Gun groups and the ACT party have both suggested charging firearms owners for police to attend the loss, theft or burglary of a firearm is a breach of the Arms Act.

Council of Licensed Firearm Owners spokesperson Hugh Devereux-Mack called on Police Minister Stuart Nash to rethink the proposal, saying it breached the current law.

This breaks section 80 of the Arms Act, which states that activities subject to cost recovery do not include the response of the police to calls relating to potential offending.

Counselor Raphael van Workum says the hunter gatherer is an important part of Kiwi culture and mental wellbeing, so a licence shouldn't only affordable to those in wealthy sectors. Video: Olivia Caldwell/Stuff.

Devereux-Mack says the Government needed to step in, as charging gun owners who had been burgled was unreasonable.

If this passes, it will be inevitable that other communities could be targeted to pay the cost of burglary investigations after they suffer a loss. This establishes a precedent for user pays policing.

Theres no filter, no balance, and no attempt to create reasonable rules. No-one seems to run the proposals against the Arms Act to check if they are lawful.

Its part of a wider review into fees for firearms users, including how much of the processing cost should be passed on to licence holders: 25 per cent, 50 per cent, or 75 per cent.

Since 1999, firearms users have been charged $126.50 for a licence. If 75 per cent of the processing cost is passed on, a first-time applicant would then have to shell out $625.50 for a five-year licence, and a 10-year renewal would cost $727.50.

Some hunting advocates warned the increase could encourage some to hide their guns in a mates cabinet to avoid paying, or lead to some users skipping the vetting process and safety course to hunt without a licence.

A Police spokesperson says the proposed fee increases are only in the consultation stage at this point.

However the fees in case of a burglary did not breach the Arms Act.

The Section 80(2)(b) of the Arms Act specifies the activities that are not eligible for cost recovery, they were: Police to calls relating to potential offending, the conduct of criminal investigations; or the prosecution of criminal offences.

Devereux-Mack believed two other proposed fee changes came very close to breaking the Arms Act too.

Dealers, collectors, museums, and all other endorsement holders could pay for police to check their security measures where a theft or burglary of firearms had occurred.

Licenced firearm owners would also have to pay police to update their records if their home or premises had been burgled.

Devereux-Mack says this was a double standard compared with other burglaries, such ramraids at dairies.

Its a small step away from paying for car theft investigations through your vehicle licence, whether or not police find it, or are even willing to look.

Devereux-Mack says the proposed fees were excessive and appeared to charge users twice.

Police want to charge victims full price for police attendance at the scene of a burglary, and for the bookkeeping afterwards. This can be viewed as re-victimisation.

The review is happening because authorities realised the regulation of firearms was under resourced following the 2019 terror attack in Christchurch.

The Governments 2022 Budget then promised $208m over four years to establish a new police firearms business unit.

The Government had previously been covering much of the licence processing costs itself. It spent $115.2 million in the last 10 years, while firearms users contributed just $26.4m. It is not known when a decision on the new fees would be made.

ACTs firearms reforms spokesperson, Nicole McKee, says the proposal was equivalent to charging a victim for an investigation into a crime committed against them.

Licensed firearms owners deserve the same rights as any other victim of crime. They go through many checks and balances to be able to legally own their firearms  they should not be treated as if they are in the wrong for doing so.

The police should be encouraging people to report stolen firearms, not charging them a fee.

McKee suggested taking firearms law and administrative duty away from police, and introducing a new firearms law.

This means the police can focus on dealing with actual criminals, instead of treating licenced firearms owners like criminals."

- Olivia Caldwell/Stuff.
There is still no decision on the fate of the Covid-19 Leave Support Scheme, with Government officials saying discussions are ongoing.

The scheme was introduced in 2020 as part of the $73.7 billion Covid-19 Response and Recovery Fund.

It was set up to lessen the burden on employers and employees who were absent from work because of Covid-19.

The scheme allows employers to apply for payments of up to $600 per week for those working 20 hours or more, or $359 per week for those working less than 20 hours, to help cover wages if they were self-isolating.

Applications are open to businesses, self-employed and sole traders, charities, non-government organisations, incorporated societies, local government, post-settlement governance entities and state-owned enterprises could apply.

Public sector employers are not eligible.

The scheme also supported household contacts, but that was removed in September with a change in isolation requirements.

Last year, Cabinet discussed the future of the scheme with the epidemic notice, set in March 2020, due to expire.

A total of $50m was allocated by Government in Budget 2022 for the scheme, with about $8m paid out since January.

Minister for Social Development (MSD) Carmel Sepuloni says discussions are ongoing in regard to whats next.

Minister for Social Development Carmel Sepuloni says the scheme will continue until further decision is made. Photo: Robert Kitchin/Stuff.

Itll continue to be available for people until further decisions are made, she says.

More than 561,000 jobs have benefited from the scheme in the last two years.

Since March 17, 2020, a total of 561,330 applications were approved and $764.3m paid out as of January 13, according to the latest MSD data.

Last year, more than $590m was paid out across 500,000 jobs.

March last year recorded the highest monthly pay out, with 142,137 jobs supported, 26,073 of which were sole traders. December's numbers were 30,417 in approved applications.

E tu Union director Mat Danaher says the scheme should be retained by Government for as long as possible.

He says thousands of union members have benefitted from the support and were still using it.

Its fair to say that ultimately, the scheme was better than any alternatives. The fact is the Opposition wasnt offering anything as robust to help workers impacted by Covid, Danahar says.

However, we cant ignore the fact its inequitable by design, there were disparities for low income earners.

He says there was confusion earlier on when the scheme was implemented about how much an employee would be paid.

The employee should get 100 per cent of their pay because it wasn't a fault of their own that they couldnt afford to attend work.

The welfare system at the moment doesnt work for low paid workers. The scheme has shown that there is appetite out there  a lot of employers used it in good faith, and when our members faced an issue, they could change that with the help of the union.

He says if the scheme is kept focused, and eligibility strict, it could be around for longer.

I am not surprised if Government were discussing its future, or parts of it, because theres little use to it now, with other schemes in place as well, Mackay says.

It was definitely useful, but Id suspect its being used less. Businesses now are screaming out for more workers.

Mackay says the scheme had played its part.

Theyve hit the target, and now its whether it should stay, and for practical reasons, keep it.

- Torika Tokalau/Stuff.
As the Chateau Tongariro doors shut seven years shy of its centenary, it joins a growing list of historic tourism buildings closed by earthquake regulations.

Rotorua's grand Tudor-style museum and Blue Baths, like the iconic ski lodge, are exemplars of the golden age of New Zealand tourism when the Government spent and built lavishly to lure well-heeled adventurers to our shores.

Now the buildings that filled tourists' albums for more than a century sit idle and cordoned off due to rules that sprung out of the collapse of badly designed 1980s structures in the Christchurch quake.

Is the risk real or have we gone too far down the safety path at the expense of our built heritage and tourism offering?

According to Dr Esther Aigwi, Auckland University of Technology School of Future Environments lecturer, the question of whether we risk losing too many heritage buildings unnecessarily can be answered in one word: Absolutely.

The 2010/2011 Canterbury earthquakes revealed the risk of losing a significant proportion of New Zealands heritage buildings and precincts to abandonment and demolition, she says.

Its not just earthquakes putting our built heritage at risk, however.

Before the Building (Earthquake-prone Buildings) Amendment Act 2016 was introduced, many heritage buildings in New Zealand, especially in provincial areas, were already experiencing high vacancy due to the soaring cost of maintaining and conserving significant heritage features.

So apart from earthquakes, the heritage buildings in New Zealand are also threatened by fires, housing development activities, and demolition by neglect, which may all be interrelated in most cases.

Aigwi says it's simply inevitable that buildings the age of the Chateau, and older, will not meet modern seismic safety standards.

There is some good news however, from Aigwis AUT colleague John Ingham, Civil and Environmental Engineering head of department.

The science exists to strengthen almost anything, he said. In the end it will always come down to money.

Ingham says the real issue is the need for a nationwide conversation about what heritage buildings we want to keep.

While these were conversations taking place in engineering and heritage circles, mums and dads dont have it on their radar, especially during a cost of living crisis and with flood disasters playing out across the North Island.

Another thorny issue, he says, is the double-whammy inherent in the march of time.

Just as a building gets older, we understand more about earthquakes.

The [safety] criteria keeps going up and up, he says. As the criteria becomes more stringent, the costs go up.

He's sure the Chateau could be saved, its just a question of the price tag.

Ingham says he has some sympathy for the hotels former owners, Malaysian-based holding company KAH New Zealand.

Its logical from an asset perspective ... A heritage building is a pain in the arse.

If I was sitting in Malaysia, Id make the same decision. Its a commercial business decision.

Now the Chateau has been handed over to the Department of Conservation, making it their decision.

Operations manager for Tongariro, George Taylor says he cant yet provide any estimate for the cost of strengthening work.

Aigwi says given the buildings status as a Category 1 heritage, building funds should be available from the National Heritage Preservation Fund, administered by Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga.

That 's supported by Heritage New Zealands John OHare.

The Grand Chateau is a truly iconic building of national significance and we urge best efforts are made to strengthen and restore it so it can continue to be enjoyed by New Zealanders and overseas visitors.

Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga experts can provide free conservation advice should the owners wish to undertake work on the building. We also welcome further applications to the National Heritage Preservation Incentive Fund from the Chateau owners.

Visit Ruapehu general manager Jo Kennedy certainly hopes the Chateau has a future, describing the building as an important part of the regions tourism offering nationally, and internationally.

It is our largest hotel with over 100 rooms, and we look forward to understanding the next stage of the buildings life.

Its a sentiment shared just under 200km north in Rotorua.

The Chateau Tongariro Hotel is certainly a significant part of Ruapehus tourism landscape and we know the impact of its closure will be felt by local operators who are a part of that eco-system, says Rotorua Economic Development chief Andrew Wilson.

And whilst the immediate focus will be largely on its closure, were sure the local community will rally together to discuss possible options for its future use.

One person who knows the challenges created by a seismically unsafe heritage buildings is former Rotorua Mayor Steve Chadwick.

It was under her tenure that the tourism icon, Rotorua Museum, closed its doors after the appearance of cracks in part of the building following the 2016 Kaikoura earthquake.

She says iconic buildings play an incredibly important role for visitor destinations, and while she was heartened to know engineering solutions exist, they come at a cost.

Rotorua has been incredibly fortunate to attract regional and central Government funding for the [museum] restoration as ratepayers cant afford the huge cost.

This will be an even greater challenge for Ruapehu district.

I wish them well. It is a country-wide challenge. Our history and stories are what visitors love.

-Benn Bathgate/Stuff.
It began with an old hand-operated fuel pump.

It grew into an interest, then something of an obsession, and over the past 40-odd years Brian Taylor has amassed hundreds and hundreds of items in the three-bay shed on his Hawkes Bay orchard.

Avid collectors and restorers like Taylor, 79, typically have a theme of some kind at the core of their obsession (which, naturally, might not be a way theyd describe it).

For Taylor, the core is petrol. Which on the face of it mightnt sound very interesting, but when it branches out into a massive collection that includes historic signs, cans, bottles, parts, and no end of other accoutrements, each of which comes with a story from Taylor, it can be very interesting indeed.

Taylors a petrol-head. He trained as a mechanic and throughout his life has maintained a keen interest in restoring old cars, especially Packards.

Brian Taylor, 79, has a story about nearly every item in the auction. Video: John Cowpland/Stuff.

Early on in his collecting years, which really began in earnest about 20 years ago, he told himself hed sell his collection before he reached 80.

He reaches that milestone in December, so hes put the various pieces up for auction now. Its laid out at Rata Auction house in Havelock North ahead of what is expected to be a very well attended auction on March 4.

Taylor will miss these bits and pieces. Hes spent many a weekend travelling to various corners of the country to buy them. The entire collection has been sourced in New Zealand, and nothing was bought online. Swap meets, garage sales and car clubs have been a big source of intel, but nothing beats word of mouth or a bit of inside knowledge.

Taylor bought this old Ministry of Defence sign from a bloke in the lower South Island. Photo: John Cowpland/Stuff.

Theres a large old roadside sign for Atlantic fuel, for example, that Taylor discovered was being used by a farmer on the Napier-Taupo Road as a cover on one of his troughs. He was allowed to have the sign as long as he replaced it with something so I took up a sheet of stainless steel I had and swapped it over.

Other items were found at dumps, or were brought to Taylor once word got out about his penchant.

Ive had a lot of good luck, he says.

Theres the odd non-motor related item, like an old barbers chair he had his eye on for 15 years before the owner finally agreed to sell it. He had to drive to Te Awamutu to get that, then spent about $500 restoring it.

Taylor has restored some items. Others, like all the signs, hes left as is. Photo: John Cowpland/Stuff.

Its a challenge, really, to get something thats nearly completely stuffed and to fix it up, he says.

For the past 10 years or so he allowed visitors to view his collection.

His wife Margaret, oddly enough, doesnt share Taylors interest in these things, but has been very supportive.

She was at a garage sale once and heard a couple of blokes talking to each other about a decrepit old toy pedal car and how no-one would ever buy it.

She thought to herself those blokes dont know Brian. And sure enough I saw it and bought it, he says.

There are several collections of labels amongst the lots for auction. Photo: John Cowpland/Stuff.

Its one of several restored toy pedal cars in the auction.

Taylor will miss these things when they go, but hes looking forward to seeing like-minded people buying them.

Picking up an old glass fuel bottle he says See this? There will be a bloke who has a whole collection of these bottles apart from this one. This will complete his collection, and Ill get a kick out of seeing that, he says.

Hes not sure whats next for him and Margaret, but hes not one for staying still for long.

Youve got to be busy. Other people might like reading the paper or playing bowls. I go to the shed and make a pedal car, or turn something up on the lathe, or get an old oil tin and clean it and put it on display, knowing Ive saved it, he says.

The blue fuel pump on the left of this photograph was the first item in Taylors collection. Photo: John Cowpland/Stuff.

Or Ill repair something thats not worth repairing, like the barbers chair, and turn it into a piece of art. If we dont save these things, in another 20 years well go round looking at mobile telephones in collections, he says.

Rata House owner and auctioneer Peter Maidens says there had been a huge amount of interest in the auction.

This is one of the biggest collections Ive seen, of any kind, says Maidens, who has been running auctions in the region since 1996.

Details of the auction can be found on the Rata House website.

- Marty Sharpe/Stuff.
??#Ahora. Presidente del Poder Judicial, Javier Arevalo Vela, se reune con Directora (e) del Banco Mundial de Bolivia, Chile, Ecuador y Peru, Pilar Maisterra. pic.twitter.com/yoD65IVlBo
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Saludamos al pueblo y Gobierno del Ecuador por el exitoso desarrollo de las elecciones seccionales y consulta popular el dia de hoy, que demuestra la solidez de la institucionalidad democratica ecuatoriana. @CancilleriaEc
In context: It's an argument that has been raging for years: is buying a second-hand graphics card worth the risk when it could have been used extensively for crypto mining? Probably the most famous of all the tech YouTube channels, Linus Tech Tips, has long said that former mining cards don't automatically suffer from performance issues, and could even be a better buy than those that were used exclusively for gaming. Now, Linus might have proven this claim.

Tech Tips' Linus Sebastian has long been a passionate advocate for buying second-hand graphics cards. It's an especially appealing prospect in an era when Nvidia is often referred to as the scalper. But fears that auction-site cards might have been used 24/7 for mining put many potential buyers off---there have been plenty of reports of these cards being worked close to death. Manufacturer Palit previously advised customers to avoid them as its independent tests proved the GPU's performance is reduced by about 10% after almost a year of mining use.

To try and confirm what effects mining has on cards, Linus bought 19 second-hand models last year that at some point were desirable for mining and hard to find for gaming; a mix of AMD Radeon 5700s, and Nvidia RTX 3060s, 3070s, and 3080s. These were tested against lightly-used GPUs from the channel's own stock.

Only two of the 19 cards tested had any noticeable issues: a Gigabyte Eagle RTX 3060 OC and a Sapphire Pulse RX 5700 XT. The Nvidia card's clock speeds were lower than normal due to it reaching temperatures over 100C and thermally throttling. The Sapphire Pulse didn't experience substantially lower clock speeds on Kombustor, and both the temperatures---it was the coolest out of all the 5700 models---and gaming performance were unaffected, so the AMD card could have had a reduced power target only visible in MSI's program.

The gaming tests showed little variation between the cards, all performing as they should. Interestingly, the control GPU's 1% lows were lower than the mining models. Linus notes that the heating and cooling cycles and the higher clock speeds of gaming-only cards cause more damage to a GPU than what you would see in cards used only for mining.

It was also discovered that the Eagle OC's VRAM performance had deteriorated substantially, making this the only one of the 19 cards Linus suggests returning for a refund---or using eBay's buyer protection policy.

Linus does make some good points, and the results are pretty eye-opening. The only caveats to the tests are that 19 cards isn't a huge sample, and while they're more than likely to have been used for mining at some point, this isn't 100% certain.

Not all mining cards are going to be safe, of course. Last year brought news of Vietnamese cryptocurrency miners preparing used graphics cards for resale by washing them with a high-powered jet nozzle. More recently, there was a story of miners trying to deceive customers by painting over the cards' memory before resale, making their wear-and-tear appear less extensive.

Ultimately, the video should give gamers more confidence when buying a second-hand card. It seems those used regularly for gaming are just as, if not more, likely to have problems compared to those used for mining.
The NASA IMAP (Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe) completed its critical design review (CDR).

(Photo : Illustration by NASA via Getty Images)

In this undated handout, an artist's rendering shows one of four planets found orbiting the star 55 Cancri. The discovery of this planet makes the system the first known to have four planets.

The international space union already had other CDRs for IMAP's subsystems and instruments.

The latest CDR, completed on Jan. 31, is the last one since it is the overall review of the NASA Standing Review Board (SRB).

NASA IMAP Completes Critical Design Review

According to SciTech Daily's latest report, the latest critical design review is important for the IMAP mission.

(Photo : Photo by NASA/Getty Images)

This artist's rendering shows NASA's Stardust spacecraft on a mission to collect and return the first samples of dust from a comet. For now, the craft is collecting dust particles, smaller than one-hundredth the width of a human hair, that permeate the universe as the ship travels in the same direction as the dust stream until December 9, 2002.

Also Read: NASA is Building an Advanced Air Mobility System to Make Air Taxis, Drone Deliveries a Reality

This is because the NASA SRB used this review to know if the spacecraft can start its construction.

Thankfully, SRB said that the NASA IMAP is good to go, and it has a lot of work to do.

As of writing, NASA is already working on some of the probe's components.

These include structure parts, engineering instruments, as well as flight models.

"With 10 instruments designed and built globally, the complicated dance of testing, cross-calibrating, and integrating these pieces is carefully choreographed," said NASA via its official NASA Gov blog post.

What is NASA IMAP

The NASA IMAP is a new mission proposed by Princeton University.

The educational institution works with NASA and other partner institutions to make the IMAP mission possible.

Other partners include the John Hopkins University Applied Space Laboratory, SpaceX, and NASA Goddard Space Flight Center.

NASA said that IMAP will allow them to explore the solar neighborhood called "heliosphere." The spacecraft will have two missions.

These are understanding the following:

Interaction of the solar wind with the interstellar medium.

The acceleration of energetic particles.

As of writing, NASA is still preparing the IMAP mission so that it can be launched accordingly. It is scheduled on February 2025.

But, this date is still tentative depending on the international space agency's challenges.

In other news, the NASA Perseverance rover completed 10 sample tubes deposit on Mars.

We also reported about the successful NASA ISS spacewalk, which was conducted to upgrade the laboratory's power generation system.

For more news updates about NASA and its upcoming space missions, keep your tabs open here at TechTimes.

Related Article: NASA's Hubble Space Telescope Sees a Glittering Chaos in NGC 6355 Located Inside the Milky Way

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India's Central Government has already started the undertaking of the ban on almost 240 betting and loan-lending apps from China, or those with links to the massive East Asian country. This centers on the significant crackdown against China, citing concerns about security and fears regarding the infamous data tracking and monitoring of the Chinese government.

There is also significant tension between the Chinese and Indian border, where there are hostilities shown by both sides, further escalating their concerns against each other.

India to Ban 232 Chinese Betting, Loan-Lending Apps

(Photo : SAJJAD HUSSAIN/AFP via Getty Images)

Local residents play games on their mobile phones while sitting in an alley in New Delhi on May 4, 2022.

According to a report by ANI News India, The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) advised the Central Government of the ban on Chinese apps present in the country. MeitY also received recommendations for these Chinese-linked apps banned by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA).

It is centered on 138 betting apps and 94 loan-lending apps from China.

The ban will center on Chinese apps and those with links to the East Asian country, citing security fears as its main concern.

The Indian government has already started the process of banning these 232 apps in the country, and this may not yet be the end of the restrictions against the Chinese.

Read Also: Apple India Production to Increase by 25%: Less Reliance on China?

India, China Tension; Not its First Apps Ban

The South China Morning Post cited different reasons for this Chinese ban on India, and one of them is the ongoing tension in its borders, with military personnel at a standoff.

Several years ago, India also initiated a ban against Chinese apps in the country, and it initially centered on the likes of TikTok, "PUBG Mobile" from Tencent, UCBrowser, and more.

China Data Privacy Concerns

There are massive security concerns against China from many countries, and one of them is the United States citing data privacy and tracking to be the main reasons for its worry about Chinese-developed apps. One of the most controversial concerns now is with ByteDance's TikTok, particularly its alleged access to US-based data which the Chinese government uses.

Several institutions are already wary of this Chinese access to American data, and Congress has already looked into the app's ban on government devices across different states.

This also follows the ban on US schools for TikTok to be installed on university or college devices and its staff.

India is also one which raised its concerns against China due to its significant presence in the world now, as well as its notorious data tracking security issues. After the initial bans on many apps from the past years, the Indian government is adding more to the list, centering on Chinese-based links present on the applications in the country.

Related Article: India's Long-Range Agni-V Nuclear Ballistic Missile Recently Tested Despite Tensions with China

 2023 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
The Alaska State Troopers have already identified the remains found in 1997 near the Alaska and Canada border, where a hunter found a skull near the Porcupine River. This answers the nearly 30-year-old mystery of the skull, and after the research to identify the person, the Alaskan agency claimed that he was a New Yorker.

The mysterious skull's remains now close the book on this case, centering on a bear attack that led to this New York man's death in the late 1990s.

Alaska: Skull Found in 1997 Identified as a New York Man

(Photo : PATRICK T. FALLON/AFP via Getty Images)

The Matanuska Glacier, a 27-mile (43.5kms) long valley glacier feeding water into the Matanuska River, on July 10, 2022, about 100 miles (161kms) northeast of Anchorage near Palmer, Alaska.

According to a report by AP News, a skull from 1997 found by a hunter was recently studied by the Alaska State Troopers to learn more about who they are and where it came from to close the book on this case. They identified the person as Gary Frank Sotherden, a man from New York who was the victim of a bear attack in the Alaskan region.

Sotherden was reported missing in the 1970s, and no further information was given regarding who he is and what he does. It was only said that he was formerly from the Big Apple state.

Moreover, he was found near the banks of the Porcupine River in Alaska, 8 miles from the Alaska-Canada border, by a hunter in 1997 who relayed it to the troopers.

Read Also: Archaeologists May Have Discovered Egypt's Oldest, Most Complete Mummy at 4,300 Years

Genetic Genealogy Used in Identifying the Lone Skull

The method used by the State Troopers was Genetic Genealogy. According to Medline Plus, this is a way of looking into a person's DNA and genetics to learn more about their family ancestry and identities. With the help of technology, the researchers could identify the person from New York and trace it back to him despite being missing for more than five decades.

Using Technology to Identify Ancient Remains

Technology has proved to be a vital tool in helping researchers learn more about the past, and modern resources have already helped a lot with the world's needs. One iconic study was with Malaysia's Penang Woman, whose remains were found in 2017.

Researchers used facial reconstruction technology to know her looks and identify her heritage, with claims that she lived through the Neolithic Stone age in her lifetime.

There are ways to preserve certain artifacts or skeletons from the past, but it also allows researchers to learn more about what is inside using contemporary tools to uncover remains. A "Golden Boy" mummy from Egypt was recently the center of the study where radiologists helped scan its remains and look at what is inside without invasive procedures for their probe.

Discoveries in the past are given another chance for their identification and commemoration using the world's technological development, now centering on learning more about what happened and who they are. The remains of Gary Frank Sotherden and his unfortunate end are now given a rest, thanks to the efforts of the Alaska State Troopers.

Related Article: Archaeologists Uncover 5,000-year-old Tavern, Ancient Fridge in Iraq

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In light of the recent tightening of the US ban on Huawei, Qualcomm has taken the opportunity to make things clearer about its supply to the Chinese telecom giant. Alex Rogers, president of Qualcomm Technology Licensing (QTL) and Global Affairs, clarified the situation.

Rogers Confirms US Changes have No Impact on Qualcomm Chips Going to Huawei

According to the story by Giz China, in the Q1 2023 earnings call, Rogers said that the new changes applied by the US government remain unknown to Qualcomm. The company, therefore, does not see any significant impact it will have on its shipment of 4G chips and WiFi chips to Huawei.

An article by Huawei Central shares how Rogers says the US government's new changes have no real impact on the supply of Qualcomm technology to Huawei, as the company already has a license that allows it to ship 4G chips and WiFi chips to the company, as they do not present any national security threats.

Restoring Investor Confidence in Huawei After Commerce Department Consideration

This is even though the US Commerce Department is considering not issuing new licenses. Rogers explained that the company has yet to receive official notice, so it is confident in its current trade situation with Huawei.

The news is certainly welcome for Huawei, as the company was worried about losing access to Qualcomm's technology. This clarification also brings back investor confidence in the Chinese telecom giant, as it removes the huge burden of possible loss of access to important technology from their list of worries.

Qualcomm Rescues Huawei: Technology Supplier Confirms that Restrictions Do Not Impact their Snapdragon Chips

As the US government continues to impose restrictions on the Chinese tech giant Huawei due to national security concerns, many were left anxious and worried about what this ban would mean for the company's chances of launching new products and gaining access to the latest technology.

For example, reports claimed that the US had barred all 4G chips, WiFi 6 and 7 chips, and AI chips from being shipped to Huawei. Fortunately, Qualcomm, one of the leading suppliers of chips to mobile phones, has recently cleared the air and confirmed that such new restrictions do not affect its shipment of Snapdragon chips to Chinese companies.

Read Also: Apple iPhone Ultra Likely to Release This 2024: Here's What to Expect

Alex Rogers Sets Record Straight on Qualcomm's Ability to License 4G and WiFi Chips to Huawei

On the company's Q1 2023 earnings call, Qualcomm's president of Qualcomm Technology Licensing (QTL) and Global Affairs, Alex Rogers, set the record straight by saying that the US government's move does not impede on the company's license to ship 4G chips and WiFi chips to Huawei.

He explained that Qualcomm has been holding this license for some time now and doesn't present any national security risks. Therefore, Qualcomm sees no significant impact from the recent changes from the US department.

This piece of news, then, is certainly welcome news for Huawei and its fans, who have already been affected by the US government's actions, as it allows the company to launch its three new flagship models in 2023, the Huawei P60 series, Mate 60 series, and the Huawei Foldable Mate X3.

Related Article: New Higher-End iPhone Could Arrive, But It's Not 'Ultra!' What's The Difference Between Pro and Pro Max?

 2023 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Google is taking another step towards making the internet more accessible and widely adopted with a new experimental web browser for iOS. The browser, made with Google's Chromium engine, has the potential to change the way web browsing for Apple devices works.

Google Chrome App For iOS: Accessing the Powerful Chromium Engine

The powerful Chromium engine, already used on Windows and MacOS operating systems, will make finding and accessing web content easier and faster on iOS. The Chrome browser is already one of the most widely used worldwide and is easy to install on any device.

According to the story by Giz China, the only option available to those who want to use it on an iOS device is to install the Google Chrome app, which uses Apple's WebKit engine. Although similar in principle, the experience is slightly different.

New Browser with Chromium Engine Could be Coming to Apple Devices

A browser, called Blink Engine by the article, made with Google's Chromium engine, and therefore with a similar experience as on other operating systems, would be a welcome addition for iOS users who are accustomed to the Chrome interface. More details were explained in an article by The Register.

Rumors have it that the new browser will most likely be rejected due to Apple's strict guidelines for the App Store, which currently only allow browsers using the WebKit engine; however, this has yet to be confirmed, as explained further in an article by Mac Rumors.

Google's New Experiments with iOS: A Sign of Coming Changes?

Google's effort towards making the internet globally available and widely adopted is admirable, and this new experimental browser for iOS is proof of that. Although some of its features might not fit Apple's current policies, it might be a sign of what's to come for the Apple ecosystem.

It looks like Google is quietly preparing for potential changes coming to iOS in the near future. The search giant recently started working on an alternative browser for the iPhone and iPad, even though it will never reach users due to Apple's App Store rules.

Rumors of Possible Changes to iOS 17 App Store Rules

Despite this, the project could be foundational if Apple decides to open its platform to third-party browsers with their own engines and app stores. The Google project is still in its early stages, described by the company as "an experimental prototype."

This could be due to the uncertain future of Apple's App Store rules, thanks to the pressure from the Biden administration and other governments. This has sparked rumors that iOS 17 could come with some deep changes in this regard.

Read Also: Google Chrome on Android Update Likely to Add 'Quick Delete' Feature: Here's How it Works

Google Preparing for Market Changes in Anticipation of iOS Changes

The search giant could be preparing for such changes, ready their product in case iOS allows third-party browsers and their own app stores. This could give Apple device users more browsing options, opening new possibilities for developers and users.

Despite Google's exploration of the iOS browser market, its usage is unlikely ever to become available to end users as the search giant will abide by Apple's rules.

Related Article: Google TV Android Gets Material You Design Upgrade: 4x5 Preview Size

 2023 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
El Peru manifiesta su profunda solidaridad con los pueblos de Turkiye y Siria por los terremotos registrados desde anoche y las lamentables perdidas humanas ocasionadas. Expresamos nuestras condolencias a las familias de las victimas y afectados.




Companies today are facing cyber threats that are constantly increasing in volume, severity and sophistication. Recently, Mailchimp, Riot Games and LastPass all found themselves on the wrong ends of data breaches. These repeated security lapses beg the question: How effective is modern cybersecurity training, and what should organizations do to future-proof it?

Security awareness training in enterprises has come a long way since employees were forced to listen to quarterly two-hour lectures about phishing. Despite advances in training methods, the evidence tells us that companies must use better tactics to ensure employees eliminate mistakes when interacting online.

Lets take a look at how enterprises can future-proof their approach towards cybersecurity awareness training.

Educate

Cybersecurity training and the messaging around it can often seem threatening to employees. For instance, a company might list the potential ramifications of a data breach, such as brand image loss, system downtime or loss of revenue, and leave employees in fear of clicking the wrong link.

These fear-based methods do not change employee behavior, since they aren't learning anything. They're merely tiptoeing, trying their best to not bring the company down. The result is a level of cybersecurity knowhow that is less developed and cannot cope with modern malicious tactics.

Companies must instead acknowledge the difficulty in spotting malicious tactics and offer as many educational resources to employees as possible. For instance, educating employees about the anatomy of a personal data breach is a good way to emphasize the serious nature of a company data breach.

Offering resources that help employees check whether they have personally suffered from cybercrime builds empathy, leading to more engagement in training. Talking about important incidents (whether internal or external) and highlighting possible steps to mitigate those risks will help companies build a culture of cybersecurity.

Emphasize the why

In an age where brand trust is a type of currency, cybersecurity readiness has become a differentiating attribute for many enterprises. While executives and customer-facing employees understand this fact, many internally-facing employees do not. To them, cybersecurity is something that simply exists, much like accounting or sales exists. It's someone else's responsibility and is full of technical jargon they do not understand.

Shifting an employee's mindset from this to assuming responsibility for cybersecurity, no matter their technical skill, is essential to boosting training programs. After all, even the best training module will fail to impact an employee who believes the material has nothing to do with them.

One way of explaining the importance of cybersecurity is by quantifying the impact of data breaches. Numbers, charts, and images convey the consequences of such incidents. As noted above, its important to remember that the aim isn't to scare employees into accepting cybersecurity. Instead, companies can highlight positive stats, such as how much money an employee will contribute to the bottom line by following basic cybersecurity principles.

And if framed as part of an action plan, demonstrating the after-effects of negligent security practices, using a gamified training platform, is also a good way to drive home the "why" behind cybersecurity.

Simulate threats

People learn by doing. Companies can trot out as many experts as they like in seminars, but until employees get their hands dirty working through an incident, information is unlikely to stick. Simulations have come a long way over the past decade and currently help companies create realistic environments that simulate breaches.

A basic simulation could walk the user through an incident and demonstrate the negative effects of a breach. A full-blown simulation can have employees deal with threats interactively while rewarding them for good performance.

The data from these platforms can be used to create customized learning paths. The result is a workforce that receives tailored security training, instead of a one-size-fits-all program that leaves many unengaged.

Companies can use simulations to train their technical personnel too. Penetration tests and red hat testing give security teams the training they need to simulate threats and prepare them for real-world incidents.

Hit the right frequency

Deliver training lessons far apart, and employees will forget what they learned. Deliver them too close together, and everything becomes a whirlwind of facts that employees soon forget as they lament being taken away from their core responsibilities for yet another training. There is no single great training frequency.

Much depends on an individual's ability to retain information and employ it. The key to hitting the right frequency is measuring training data and noting the progress each person makes on the training platform. For instance, if an employee is having issues with certain tasks, delivering those tasks repeatedly to enforce repetition is a good idea.

Currently, cybersecurity training assumes every employee has a similar technical background and ability to retain information. While trainers know this isn't true, they have no choice due to limited training windows and the formats used to deliver information.

Gathering feedback from employees regarding training frequency is also a good way to figure out the right frequency when delivering training programs.

Measure the right KPIs

Many companies lack a way of measuring the effectiveness of their training programs. This is because of the way most training is delivered. Group seminars and presentations do not give trainers enough feedback to measure effectiveness.

Even the enterprises that use electronic platforms to deliver training often end up measuring the wrong KPIs, such as the percentage of lessons completed or time spent on the platform. Instead, companies must measure KPIs that quantify the behavior change effectiveness of their programs.

For instance, instead of measuring the number of tasks successfully completed, measuring in-task actions such as methods used or decisions made will let trainers know how employees are behaving under stressful situations.

Rethinking KPIs will help companies understand how their employees are reacting to training and how prepared they are to deal with a real-world situation.

Effective security training is critical

Security training is critical to preventing cybercrime. The current state of security training leaves a lot to be desired, and companies have a lot of room to improve. Rethinking training formats and measuring the right KPIs will help companies design training programs that impact employees and prevent security incidents.
YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 6, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan expressed condolences to the families of the victims of the earthquake in Turkey and Syria and said that Armenia is ready to provide assistance.

Saddened by the news of the devastating earthquake in Turkiye & Syria that resulted in the loss of so many lives. Our deepest condolences to the families of the victims and we wish a speedy recovery to the injured. Armenia is ready to provide assistance, PM Pashinyan tweeted.
The FBI launches an alert about 'hacking by load' at mobile charging points at airports, hotels or shopping centers

Las Margaritas is called 'food house', but it is much more

"Thousands of corpses discovered": FSB published documents about Nazi atrocities in the prisoner of war camp near Stalingrad

The Future of Online Casinos and the Technologies That Will Shape It

"A deliberate and premeditated act": in Angers, an investigation opened after the ransacking of a church

"Can cause very serious complications": doctors - about the increase in the incidence of measles in Russia

10 restaurants to eat (very good) for less than 40 euros in Madrid

Recommendations for the President: Lady Gaga and Bruce Cohen became co-chairs of the White House Committee on Culture and Arts

The healthiest prepared dishes of Mercadona to get out of the way when we have not had time to prepare food

Train tickets on the first day of the "May Day" holiday will be on sale from tomorrow Special trains such as "barbecue" have attracted attention

The 77-year-old Taiwan compatriot landed to worship his ancestors, "After more than three years, I finally came back." 

Everything we learned (or not) from the Transition: "There were things pending, yes, but 45 years have passed and some have not been resolved"

A cancer drug sold out in pharmacies for at least seven days

Why is it heavy on your humidity? After reading the seconds, I understand!

Are those who are always to blame for everything to blame?

Beatriz Flamini's incredible statement after 500 days in a cave: "I didn't want to go out"

Kvyat will perform at the World Endurance Championship under the flag of Italy

Entering the 20th season of the Chinese Super League, what is different this time?

"Sport will be killed in the country": Ukrainian officials banned athletes from competing with Russians and Belarusians

Tuchel considered himself his first lawyer and asked for his forgiveness. Bayern Munich impose huge financial penalty on Mane

Eslov won the eighth Swedish Championship: "One of the better teams in Europe"

The independent director system ushered in a comprehensive reform in response to the five major concerns of the market

The new Housing Law extends the rent cap to all owners and reduces to five the houses of a large holder

Mishustin: Russia's economy has coped with the challenges of the pandemic and unprecedented sanctions

The first Hunan (Huaihua) RCEP Economic and Trade Expo was held in May

(Focus on the Expo) Japanese and Korean SMEs take advantage of the Expo to explore the Chinese market

The Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and private enterprises in the Chengdu-Chongqing region joined hands to carry out exchanges

The Housing Law puts tenants and landlords in agreement: "It's a farce" and prices will continue to rise

Domestic oil prices are expected to rise on the 17th, and No. 95 gasoline in some areas may return to the "8 yuan era"

May Day Holiday Train Tickets On Sale Today Be aware of these changes

Inflation: the Smic will increase "by a little more than 2%" on May 1, according to Elisabeth Borne

Money flight: the population in the United States began to actively buy cryptocurrencies and gold against the backdrop of the banking crisis

A fighter of the Armed Forces of Ukraine spoke about the joy of a resident of Artyomovsk who mistook him for a Russian soldier

Japan: Osaka should be born the first casino in the history of the archipelago

Hamas warns against compromising Al-Aqsa. Marches in Gaza to mark "Jerusalem Day" and Israel arrests and injures dozens in the West Bank

G7 Climate, Energy and Environment Ministers' Meeting to be held in Sapporo on June 15 and 16

This is Europe - Raphael Glucksmann: "We Europeans have been naive, intoxicated and corrupted by Russia"

Sheikh Raed Salah reveals: Some Arabs told me to leave Al-Aqsa Mosque and there are documents that are not the time to reveal them now

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Kuleba said that Kiev is waiting for an invitation to the alliance from the NATO summit in July

Mother of US journalist detained in Russia continues to believe in 'happy ending'

Alessandro Lequio breaks his silence: "It makes me sad that my son is once again the protagonist of today"

Former Pentagon adviser McGregor: Ukraine may disappear as a state by the end of the year

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The Future of Online Casinos and the Technologies That Will Shape It

Political scientist Dudchak on Hersh's statement about Zelensky: there are probably a lot of such stories

Mass poisoning on MasterChef 11: "We're sorry. It is an absolutely exceptional case in these 11 years"

The sexist murder of an influencer shakes the Dominican Republic: her ex shoots her in the head three days after trying

The Bank of Japan unveils new banknotes and introduces a hologram that looks like a moving portrait

She demanded to separate from him and found all his money in the name of his mother. Shock at Moroccan Achraf Hakimi's divorce and Spanish wife

Beatriz Flamini's incredible statement after 500 days in a cave: "I didn't want to go out"

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A fighter of the Armed Forces of Ukraine spoke about the joy of a resident of Artyomovsk who mistook him for a Russian soldier

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YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 6, ARMENPRESS. Russia is ready to send two Il-76 planes with rescuers to Turkey to help eliminate the consequences of the deadly earthquake, Russias Emergencies Ministry told TASS on Monday.

"The Emergencies Ministry of Russia is ready to send rescuers to the Republic of Turkey to help eliminate the consequences of the devastating earthquake that occurred in the province of Gaziantep at night," TASS quoted the ministry as saying.

Russias Emergencies Ministry has put 100 staff of the Centrospas airmobile rescue squad and the Leader Center for High Risk Rescue Operations on standby on an instruction from Emergencies Minister Alexander Kurenkov, it said.

Russias Emergencies Ministry is always ready to render assistance to a friendly state whose citizens have found themselves in a difficult situation, the minister said.

"Our rescuers have all the required expertise and equipment to eliminate the consequences of such emergencies and are already prepared to depart for the quake-hit area," Kurenkov said.
LITERATURE | Author After Hours

In her book Before We Were Yours," New York Times bestselling author Lisa Wingate fictionalized one of the countrys most notorious real-life scandals. In the first half of the 20th Century, Georgia Tann was the director of a Memphis-based adoption organization that kidnapped and sold poor children to wealthy families all over America. Wingate will he discussing the book in Baton Rouge at Author After Hours at the public library. Copies of Wingates books will be available for purchase. During the Author After Hours event, Wingate will give insight into her writing process and style, and following the presentation, Wingate will have a question-and-answer period and a book signing.

Author After Hours with Lisa Wingate is at 7 p.m. Saturday, April 13, at the Main Library, 7711 Goodwood Blvd. Free. ebrpl.com; lisawingate.com.

 BY BRUCE Q. WILLIAMS
There will be five thousand free spots open at early childhood education centers this fall in New Orleans.
In the fawning world of Silicon Valley, they are collectively known as the A-Team but on current form they would probably struggle to break out of a paper bag, never mind a maximum security stockade.

After a week in which a slowdown of the Federal Reserves inflation-busting campaign sparked a strong stock market rally, the titans of the tech world took turns to spoil the party once again, posting a succession of underwhelming financial results.

Apple CEO Tim Cooks China moves have been costly. Credit: AP

Google parent Alphabet posted below-par figures with the slowdown at video sensation YouTube a notable black spot. Amazon spooked shareholders with bearish outlook for the coming months. Yet it is the reversal at Apple that is increasingly standing out in the post-COVID tech wreck that has overshadowed markets for the past year. Indeed, 2023 is likely to be remembered as the moment when one of the worlds most-admired companies finally paid a heavy price for tying its fortunes so closely to those of Beijing, and a remarkable run during which Apple became the worlds first $US1 trillion ($1.4 trillion), $US2 trillion and then $US3 trillion company came to a spectacular end.

It is rare that Apple disappoints Wall Street but on Thursday the iPhone maker shocked analysts after missing forecasts for the first time in seven years. Sales dropped 5 per cent to 96 billion ($168 billion) in the three months to the end of December. Profit, meanwhile, slid to just under 25 billion from 28 billion.
Gambling reform advocates and key independent MPs have lauded the NSW governments promise to introduce cashless gaming across the state, but industry heavyweights have warned rushing to implement the policy will cost jobs.

NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet on Monday outlined his governments plan to transition the states poker machines to cashless technology by 2028 in a $340 million package ahead of the March state election.

West HQ chief executive officer Richard Errington on Monday. Credit: Flavio Brancaleone

The new policy, which includes a government buyback of 2000 poker machines, was celebrated by Alliance for Gambling Reform chief advocate Tim Costello, who described Perrottets plan as historic.

Ive been waiting for this day for 25 years, he said. It is the biggest social reform that I have ever witnessed as a reform advocate.
A garbage truck driver has allegedly been stabbed with a pen in what police say was a road rage incident in Sydneys south that closed two southbound lanes on Southern Cross Drive.

Police said they received reports that a 49-year-old man had been stabbed in the arm by the driver of a silver Kia Carnivale wagon.

Southern Cross Drive has reopened after a road rage incident earlier this afternoon. Credit: Nine News

Officers are searching for the Kia driver and have commenced an investigation.

The alleged incident occurred between General Holmes Drive and Botany Road, on the border of Botany and Mascot, about 3.25pm on Monday.
South Africa: Freight bottlenecks, geopolitical conflicts hampering mining sectors

Mineral Resources and Energy Minister, Gwede Mantashe, says the country has to urgently prioritise the resolution of challenges facing freight and railways operations if the mining industry is to capitalise on the current minerals boom.

The Minister made the call while delivering the opening address at the 2023 Investing in Africa Mining Indaba in Cape Town on Monday.

Addressing delegates, he said 2022 had been a grim year for the mining industry.

It is a year in which international and domestic factors negatively affected mining production and mineral sales.

International factors included soaring energy prices due to the ongoing geopolitical dynamics, whereas domestic factors included the ongoing power supply disruptions (load shedding) and the logistical bottlenecks on our railways and ports.

Mantashe said the soaring of global energy prices negatively impacted the industrys operational costs.

For instance, the price of crude oil averaged $100 per barrel in 2022 and as a result, mining companies had to pay exorbitant prices for fuel and electricity, he said.

Domestically, the industry was hard hit by increased power outages.

This, Mantashe said, led to a decline in mineral production across all commodities.

It is estimated that load shedding cost the economy about R1 billion a day. In November 2022, mining production contracted by 9%, marking a 10th consecutive month of contraction in volumes produced.

That decline is manifesting itself in many ways. You find mines producing and keep stockpiles because those stockpiles cannot be moved to the ports. Those are the issues we need to confront. Investors, as they come here, must appreciate that we have these challenges and we have to overcome them.

However, looking at positives, the Minister pointed to the success of Goldfields, which during this period increased production by 10%.

He said Goldfields was an example of innovation and foresight that led to different outcomes compared to the rest.

It is our considered view that Gold Fields performance was in part because of the reforms on embedded generation which they took advantage of following the amendments to Schedule 2 of the Electricity Regulation Act (ERA), he said.

Last year, the Act was amended to allow the licensing requirement for generation projects for own use. The cap was increased from 1 megawatt to 100 megawatts, and ultimately removed altogether.

This cushioned them [Goldfields] from the impact of load shedding, as they were able to generate their own energy, and thus increased and maintained production, he said.

With the industry relying heavily on efficient transportation, Mantashe said the current logistical bottlenecks on railways and ports continue to contribute to the decline in export volumes of bulk commodities.

These include coal, iron ore, manganese and chrome.

As a result, the country is not fully benefitting from the commodity boom of these minerals.

Transnet is currently exploring efforts aimed at accelerating the improvement of its rail network to support the return to service of locomotives to enable the export of bulk commodities.

We further welcome the establishment of joint structures by Transnet and the Minerals Council South Africa (MCSA) to ensure that all possible actions are taken speedily to stabilise and improve South Africas operation efficiencies at the ports.

We believe this kind of cooperation between Transnet and the industry will bear fruits like we saw at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, Mantashe said.

At the centre of the countrys current energy challenges, he said, is the decline in the Energy Availability Factor (EAF) from an estimated 75% to 49%.

Therefore, the most feasible and logical option to exercise to resolve load shedding is by arresting the decline in the EAF, he said.

Mantashe said failure to attend to and address the declining Eskom plant performance and subsequent higher stages of load shedding is an irritation to society and has the potential of pitting society against government.

Curbing mine deaths

In the past year, the industry, he said, made significant inroads in reducing fatalities.

In 2022, the industry recorded 49 fatalities, which was the lowest ever in history.

The figure represents a 34% improvement year-on-year, compared to 74 fatalities recorded in 2021.

Meanwhile, the Minister told delegates that the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy and the Industrial Development Corporation have created a R500 million exploration fund to help the country unleash junior miners and the emergence of new mines.

He said the fund will be supported with geological information to de-risk the exploration activities and increase the chances of success.

The initial phase of the implementation of this fund is deliberately kept small to prove the value of geological information to accelerate advancement along the exploration value chain trajectory to pre-feasibility stage, he said.  SAnews.gov.za

This story has been published on: 2023-02-06. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.


A balloon flies in the sky over Billings, Montana, US, Feb 1, 2023. [Photo/Agencies]

China has strongly protested the United States' overreaction to the entry of a Chinese unmanned civilian airship into US airspace, saying that Washington's handling of the incident was a test of its sincerity in stabilizing and improving bilateral ties as well as its approach to crises.

Vice-Foreign Minister Xie Feng made "a stern demarche" with the US embassy in China on Sunday after Washington shot down the airship, which China had confirmed to be a civilian airship for research purposes that had deviated far from its planned course.

"China has already stated that it is completely an unexpected and accidental incident caused by force majeure. But the US turned a deaf ear and insisted on indiscriminate use of force against the civilian airship that was about to leave the US," Xie said.

The US obviously overreacted, and seriously violated the spirit of international law and international practice, he said.

Xie said that the Chinese government is closely following the development of the situation, will resolutely safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese companies and reserves the right to make further necessary responses.

Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said on Monday that China has been communicating with the US and demanded that it appropriately deal with the situation in a calm and professional way.

"We hope the US will work with China to properly handle our differences, avoid miscalculation and misunderstanding, and refrain from harming our mutual trust," she said.

Mao also confirmed that another balloon, spotted over Latin America, was an unmanned civilian airship from China on a test flight that severely deviated from its course and accidentally entered Latin American and Caribbean airspace.

"As a responsible country, China always strictly abides by international law and has briefed related countries about the situation in order to properly handle it. The airship poses no threat to any country, and all parties said they understand it," she said.

In a statement issued on Sunday, Venezuela's Foreign Ministry said the nation supports dialogue to peacefully resolve conflicts. It also condemned the attack by the United States on the Chinese airship that exhibited a technical malfunction and "did not pose any military or physical threat".

Karen Kwiatkowski, a former Pentagon analyst, told Russian news agency Sputnik that the incident had given Washington the pretext it needs to feed anti-China hysteria amid tectonic shifts being witnessed in the global geopolitical and economic order.

Speaking on CNN, Philip Mudd, a former Central Intelligence Agency and Federal Bureau of Investigation agent, said "we twisted ourselves around a balloon for days in Washington DC".

"Look, if the Chinese want to collect photos of America, you could get to Google Earth; you could get a Chinese secret satellite if they want to intercept communications. They could do it with satellites," he said.
YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 6, ARMENPRESS. The Armenian Ministry of Foreign Affairs opened a hotline for citizens of Armenia requiring assistance, as well as information requests regarding the possible presence of Armenian nationals among the victims of the earthquake in Syria and Turkey.

The foreign ministry hotline is available at: +374 60 620 111 (landline), +374 55 620 111 (mobile, WhatsApp, Viber), and [email protected] via email.
The resignation of Senator Lidia Thorpe from the federal Greens did not come as a shock to party insiders who had viewed her exit as a matter of when not if. The only surprise for these party members was that her sensational resignation came so soon on Monday, and not following a scheduled party room meeting later in the day.

As recently as Friday there were murmurings from Greens members that Thorpes position as the partys First Nations spokesperson was untenable.

They wanted her replaced by Western Australia senator Dorinda Cox, a Yamatji-Noongar woman. It was expected Thorpe would then walk out, partly due to a deteriorating professional relationship between Thorpe and Cox, but party sources said other recent events had brought matters to a head.

Since the election, Greens leader Adam Bandts commitment to accommodating Thorpes ambiguous and faltering position on an Indigenous Voice to parliament appeared increasingly fraught, if not misguided to many party members.
Victorias largest private school has suffered a blow in its bid to expand its Brighton campus with Bayside Council joining the fight against the proposal.

Haileybury has already aggrieved 120 neighbouring residents with its plan to demolish heritage homes and build a three-storey arts and sports centre.

Hampton resident Felicity Frederico stands outside the entrance to Haileyburys Brighton campus at pick-up time. Credit: Justin McManus

Now the council has called on the Andrews government to reject Haileyburys expansion, arguing it would cause traffic chaos, do unacceptable damage to the areas heritage values and damage local amenity.

Planning laws introduced by the state government in 2019 stripped councils and residents of legal avenues to object to development proposals by non-government schools. When it introduced those laws, the government said they would stop important school projects being held up in court.
Victorian students are among the lowest funded in the country, with funding for private school pupils growing at a faster rate than their public counterparts over the past decade.

A new Productivity Commission report finds federal and state funding per student in Victorian non-government schools grew 31 per cent over the 10 years to 2021. Funding per student in Victorian state schools grew by 27.1 per cent over the same period.

The report shows that overall government funding per student grew by 28.6 per cent in Victoria over the decade, the highest growth rate in the country.

But at $17,174 per student, Victorian students are the second-lowest funded in the country, only ahead of South Australian students.
James Condon swims three times a week in Perths Swan River with around a dozen members from the Albion Swim Group.

The group all wear shark deterrent bands around their ankles, purchased two years ago after Bicton father-of-two Cameron Wrathall suffered horrific injuries when he was bitten on the leg near Blackwall Reach. The shark responsible for the incident was believed to be 2-3 metre bull shark.

The Albion Swim Group on a previous swim near the spot where 16-year-old Stella Berry was fatally attacked by a suspected bull shark. Credit:

The presence of bull sharks in the Swan River has again been catapulted into public consciousness after teenager Stella Berry was fatally attacked by a suspected bull shark near the old Fremantle traffic bridge on Saturday.

Its a spot the Albion Swim Group are familiar with. They hit the water each week from the Swan Yacht Club in East Fremantle and swim to the Leftbank traffic bridge. Its a return trip of 4.2 kilometres.
Government funding to West Australian private schools has increased significantly over the past decade, while over the same period funding to public schools declined.

The revelation was contained in the Productivity Commissions latest Government Services Report on childcare, education and training, released on Tuesday.

Students from public schools in WA received less funding in 2021 than they did 10 years ago. Credit: Simon Schluter

While funding to government schools is 1.8 per cent lower in 2021 than it was in 2011, funding to private schools has climbed by 15.6 per cent.

WA was the only state in Australia where funding per student has declined.
The delay is not a strong indication of US intelligence agencies being preoccupied with concerns about the Chinese balloons threat to national security. It is a fact of modern geopolitical tension that the worlds two superpowers spy on each other. Its just that usually they dont get caught by members of the public posting pictures of their spy craft online. (China claims the balloon is a civilian meteorological device that had blown helplessly off course).

Once the photo of the balloon went viral, the US had no choice but to engage in its own performative diplomacy. It was the image going public rather than the presence of the balloon itself that forced President Joe Biden to respond to growing domestic political pressure about being too soft on China. He ordered it shot down.

There are few positives out of this distraction for either side but one stands out. The guardrails that have been established between Beijing and Washington since Biden took office and Chinese officials emerged from zero-COVID hostility appear to be working.

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Both sides knew how the other was going to react before they did anything concrete. It would be surprising if US authorities had not said to their Chinese counterparts that they were going to shoot the balloon down. Likewise, the Chinese would have made them fully aware that it would invoke a rhetorical response but nothing more. Biden said on Sunday that the White House had been communicating with their Chinese counterparts throughout.
YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 6, ARMENPRESS. International human rights lawyer Geoffrey Robertson published an article in The Independent regarding the closure of the Lachin Corridor by the Azerbaijanis and emphasized that Nagorno Karabakh originally belonged to Armenia and has always been inhabited mainly by Armenians.

ARMENPRESS reports Geoffrey Robertson started the article as follows: Russia, Great Britain, the USA, France and China have the power to stop authoritarian Azerbaijan, which has besieged Nagorno-Karabakh in order to starve 120 thousand inhabitants.

The author stressed that the blockade is a crime against humanity and contradicts a number of agreements, but the Azerbaijanis have besieged for two months and are still continuing the blockade. It is noted that the Lachin Corridor is a vital link for the daily delivery of 400 tons of essential goods to the Armenians of Karabakh, as well as for the movement of citizens, schoolchildren and ambulances.

"Of course, it would be faster by air transportation, but the government of Azerbaijan has threatened to shoot down any passenger or cargo plane that tries to land in Stepanakert, the capital of Nagorno-Karabakh. The country is a hostage of Azerbaijan and history. it originally belonged to Armenia and has always been inhabited mainly by Armenians, known for their early Christian churches and unique carpets. In the 19th century it was occupied by Russia, and in 1921 Stalin arbitrarily and wrongly included this Christian enclave as an independent region within Muslim Azerbaijan. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the people of Nagorno-Karabakh demanded independence and fought a war to achieve it," reads the article.

Geoffrey Robertson noted that after the victory, Armenians enjoyed relative peace until Azerbaijan attacked in 2020. He also referred to the trilateral declaration of November 9, 2020.

"Russia stood as the guarantorof the agreement. Russia assigned 2,000 "peacekeepers" to monitor the corridor, but they proved unable, or perhaps unwilling, to disperse the self-declared "environmental activists" blocking the corridor, who are encouraged by the Azerbaijani government, which generally bans demonstrations and imprisons protesters, reads the article.

The columnist noticed that many of the "protesters" have tattoos, which proves that they are members of the "Grey Wolves". It is emphasized that the "protesters" are encouraged by dictator Ilham Aliyev. The author of the article also reminds about the meeting of the UN Security Council held on December 20 and the demand of the members. The article mentions that Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov only belatedly contacted his Azerbaijani counterpart and urged them to disperse the demonstration, adding that Russia has lost its influence after the events in Ukraine.
Hong Kong: The mass trial of prominent pro-democracy figures in Hong Kong began on Monday in the citys largest national security case to date and a test of the rule of law that has underpinned the financial centres success.

The 47 defendants range from legal scholar Benny Tai to former legislators Claudia Mo and Leung Long Hair Kwok-hung and former student leader Joshua Wong. Some face a maximum of life imprisonment on conviction.

A pro-democracy demonstrator waits outside the West Kowloon Magistrates Courts as the group was charged in 2021. Credit: Bloomberg

The prosecution of so many key opposition figures at once will draw focus on the controversial security law and the citys future as an international hub at a time when the government is seeking to promote Hong Kong globally after years of COVID isolation battered its reputation.

Its been a long and arduous process. The activists were arrested in January 2021 and charged two months later in a move that drew criticism from US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and other governments. Since then, some 30 defendants have been held without bail under the higher threshold set by the security law. Many chose to plead guilty during detention, including Wong, with only 16 choosing to fight the charges.
London: Rescuers are working frantically to save hundreds of people who remain trapped under the rubble of destroyed buildings in Turkey and Syria as the death toll rose to more than 5000 the day after some of the biggest earthquakes to hit the region in almost a century flattened neighbourhoods.

Countries around the world dispatched teams to assist in the rescue efforts, but the number of emergency crews on the ground remained few on Tuesday, with their efforts impeded by freezing temperatures and close to 200 aftershocks, which made the search through unstable structures perilous.

In Turkey, the death toll climbed to 3419 people, Vice President Fuat Oktay said, Turkeys Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD) said 5775 buildings had been destroyed in the quake, which had been followed by 285 aftershocks, and that 20,426 people had been injured.

The death toll in government-held areas of Syria climbed to 812 people, with some 1450 injured, according to the Health Ministry. In the countrys rebel-held northwest, the oppositions Syrian Civil Defense, or White Helmets, the paramedic group leading rescue operations, said that at least 790 were killed and more than 2200 injured.
New York: An Alzheimers care centre in Iowa has been fined $US10,000 ($14,500) after mistakenly declaring a patient dead.

The patient, a 66-year-old woman who was not named, was declared dead by staff members of the Glen Oaks Alzheimers Special Care Centre in Urbandale, Iowa, on January 3, and transported to a funeral home, according to a states Health Department report.

The woman had been declared dead at a special care centre in Iowa before she was later found breathing. Credit: iStock

But when staff members at the funeral home unzipped the body bag, she was alive and gasping for air, according to a citation from the Iowa Department of Inspections and Appeals.

The woman was admitted to the special care centre in December 2021 with early onset dementia, anxiety and depression. She entered hospice care in late December 2022 with senile degeneration of the brain and was treated with the anxiety drug lorazepam and morphine, a painkiller, according to the report.
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 In an age of satellites and drones, this seemed like a spy thriller out of a different time. A large white balloon, dangling surveillance gear, lumbered its way across American skies for a week, hovering above sensitive nuclear missile silos (and stunned civilians) before at last being shot down off the coast. The blast was so loud it shook homes nearby in South Carolina. The balloon that had been tracked on TV screens, and in the Pentagon war room, now looked like a shrivelled Kleenex, one observer said, as it fell into the sea. But it sparked a fierce diplomatic row between Beijing and Washington, days out from a highly anticipated trip to China by Secretary of State Anthony Blinken. Those talks were quickly called off. China confirmed the balloon was Chinese but claimed it was just a weather balloon blown off course  shooting it down was an overreaction by the United States. The US insisted the balloon was spying  that it was manoeuvrable and carrying surveillance gear. The Pentagon now says it was part of a huge global surveillance program by China, collecting intelligence on high from more than 40 countries across five continents. Since then, four more flying objects have been spotted in North and Latin American skies. The secrets of the first balloon at least may lie in its payload  the main bundle of tech about the size of three buses run off solar panels  that seemed to be sucking up radio waves and other transmissions like a vacuum cleaner, says military analyst Malcolm Davis. Gathering that kind of intelligence above Americas key nuclear weapons sites is very serious, he says, farcical though a balloon in the sky may seem. I think China was sending a message. So, what message? Why a balloon? And what of these other mystery objects? A surveillance balloon near Ypres during World War I. Credit:Getty Images

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Why use a spy balloon? Since French spies first took to hot air balloons in the 18th century, there have been eyes in the sky. Soldiers with binoculars hovered in balloons during the American Civil War to try to collect intel on the Confederate army. This is old tech, says Davis at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute. But, though satellites are now the preferred method of peering behind enemy lines, balloons still have advantages. They may be less obvious on radar; or, at least, less provocative than flying a drone, Davis says. Satellites are getting sharper all the time but they still zoom around the planet at thousands of kilometres an hour. They spend moments examining a site where a balloon can spend hours. And theyre after different things. You can already zoom in on the US missile silos on Google Earth. Spy balloons carry sensors to pick up electronic signals you may not detect from space, such as military radio waves (or microwaves from mobile phones). US command and control still uses radio, says Davis, who recalls listening in to US military channels as a teenager with a shortwave radio. Theyd send code words back and forth as a test. US officials later identified the equipment on board the Chinese balloon as spy gear to detect electronic signals, including multiple antennas capable of collecting and geolocating communications. The balloon was hovering over Montana and parts of the US that house key nuclear missile silos. Thats a very provocative act, says Davis, the kind of intelligence gathering a nation would want to do to plan a first-strike nuclear attack  even if there is no indication thats what the Chinese had in the mind.

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Once the balloon was detected, the US government acted immediately to protect against the collection of sensitive information, a Pentagon spokesman said. That could mean going quiet, Davis explains, restricting military communications in the area. Or jamming, trying to disrupt or overload the balloons sensors. Why was the Chinese balloon a big deal? China is far from the only country to use spy balloons and this wasnt the first Chinese balloon to stray into US airspace. While Republicans were quick to criticise President Joe Biden for waiting to shoot down this balloon until it was away from civilians, officials soon confirmed at least three other balloons had been detected but left in the sky by the Trump administration. Another balloon had also entered US airspace under Biden. So the Chinese probably felt the Americans wouldnt shoot it down this time, Davis says. Loading Only this balloon was much more public, hovering overhead longer in sensitive military territory. People on the ground were filming it. Conservatives posted videos with their sniper rifles trained on the balloon (although it was well out of range). And the Biden administration says it had ramped up its surveillance considerably since the last balloon sighting, leaving it primed to detect this new intrusion. Still, getting caught (as a balloon was bound to in such delicate airspace) might have served China too. Maybe they wanted to send a challenge to the US, prior to the Blinken visit, to put the US in a position of weakness, says Davis.

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As for Chinas intelligence gain, CNN reports that US officials assessed it likely gleaned little, as they found the balloon appeared to stop transmitting information back to China once the US detected it. Much of its tech might now be destroyed, even as navy divers continue to salvage it from shallow waters off the South Carolina coast. It hit the water fast, like hitting concrete at that height, says Davis. But the US will piece together what they can. It was certainly not a weather balloon, thats for sure. Blinken says his trip to China has not been cancelled indefinitely and communication lines between Washington and Beijing remain open. But the US has now sent their own message in shooting it down, says Davis. It wont back down on this. What about the other unidentified objects? Just as the first balloon vanished beneath the waves, the US revealed a second had been sighted over Latin America (though not on track for the US). That one was also claimed by China, but left to drift on. Then, in the days after, three other balloon-like objects were shot down by the US: one roughly the size of a small car over Alaska; one cylindrical shape over central Yukon in Canada; and an octagonal object over Lake Huron in Michigan near the Canadian border. But, as the White House conceded, they may not be spy balloons, or even balloons, at all. Some were travelling at lower altitudes, where commercial jets fly. And their debris may never be completely recovered. One object crashed down in the freezing Arctic Circle, another came down over the Canadian Rockies, and a third was more than a hundred feet underwater in Lake Huron.

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YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 6, ARMENPRESS. Today, Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan hosted the participants of the "iGorts" program intended for the involvement of diaspora specialists in the state administration bodies of the Republic of Armenia, ARMENPRESS was informed from the Office of the Prime Minister.

In his welcoming address, the Prime Minister said:

"High Commissioner for Diaspora Affairs,

Dear participants of "iGorts" program,

I welcome you all and I am glad for the meeting. I am also glad that the program is being successfully implemented, and during the previous years we actually had quite a lot of people who have been employed in the state administration system of the Republic of Armenia.

I hope that also after this round, many of those present will stay to work in Armenia, to support the Republic of Armenia in increasing the efficiency of the administration and management of state institutions, because in fact, our greatest need and necessity, like any state, is to have and attract personnel who are able to solve issues, rather than raising questions. That, I think, is the biggest problem, and I hope that those present are people with those skills and abilities.

And also, of course, this becomes a special format, a special mission in this historical period, and I want to thank all of you for showing this willingness, because for participate in this program, you have to make a decision, and it is not an easy decision at all.

I hope that this decision you made will not bring disappointment, first of all to you, and as a result of that decision, the quality of our public administration system will improve, our relations with the diaspora will be more substantive and concrete, and the results will be more measurable and tangible."

High Commissioner for Diaspora Affairs Zareh Sinanyan thanked Prime Minister Pashinyan for the appreciation and provided details on the progress of the program, stating the following.

"Honorable Mr. Prime Minister, dear "iGorts" participants,

The Office of the High Commissioner for Diaspora Affairs of the Republic of Armenia has been implementing the "iGorts" program since 2020, the goals of which are the improvement of the state administration system, the involvement of the Diaspora in the administration system, as well as professional repatriation. The program participants are involved in the work of the state administration bodies of the Republic of Armenia for a period of 1 year. Their work experience and abilities are applied in the works and programs implemented by state bodies, contribute to the implementation of innovative ideas and field research.

About 68 percent of the participants of the previous 2 rounds were repatriated, against the expected 25 percent. Some of them have been appointed to high positions, namely deputy minister, committee chairman, director of the SNPO, advisor to the minister and other public service positions. 60 percent of the participants of the 2021-2022 program who remained in Armenia got a job, 13 of them in the state administration bodies of Armenia.

Let me talk a little about the "iGorts" program 2022-2023. This year again we have 50 experts working in 24 different departments, including new departments for this year, such as the Statistical Committee, the Television and Radio Commission and the Market Supervision Inspection Body. The participants have arrived from Russia, USA, Lebanon, Argentina, Belgium, Egypt, France, Canada, Belarus and Ukraine.

As you can see, Mr. Prime Minister, our "iGorts" participants are mostly young, but we have representatives from all age groups. Of course, we don't have any age restrictions and have no such intentions. They work with great enthusiasm despite all the difficulties. On the contrary, everyone realizes that with their involvement, with their participation, they bear a small part of the responsibility and burden.

The participants of the "iGorts" program expressed their gratitude to the Government of the Republic of Armenia for the opportunity to work in various state departments of our country and presented their work and shared their impressions.

An exchange of ideas followed. The Prime Minister answered many questions of the participants of the meeting, which related to the reforms of the state administration system, foreign policy, security challenges, reforms in the education sector, realization of the potential of the Diaspora, promotion of repatriation, digitalization agenda, social programs, balanced territorial development, etc. Nikol Pashinyan presented the steps and programs implemented by the Government in the mentioned directions, and referred to the upcoming activities.

Summarizing the meeting, the Prime Minister once again emphasized the "iGorts" program, one of the goals of which is to use the potential of our compatriots in the Diaspora in overcoming the challenges facing our state. "Our goal is to make Armenia an attractive and comfortable country to live in. We need to identify the root causes of existing problems and try to solve them. One of the fundamental reasons is the low or non-existent level of institutionalization. It is greatly appreciated that you have come and want to contribute your experience to the accomplishment of state institutions of Armenia. We must make efforts to ensure efficiency and development," said Nikol Pashinyan and wished success to "iGorts" participants.
On February 6-7, Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan will pay a working visit to Berlin, the foreign ministry said in a press release.

February 6, 2023, 09:41 Armenian FM to visit Germany

STEPANAKERT, FEBRUARY 6, ARTSAKHPRESS: Minister Mirzoyan will have a meeting with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Federal Republic of Germany Analena Berbock, after which the ministers will hold a press conference.

Within the framework of the visit, Ararat Mirzoyan will also have meetings with representatives of German legislative bodies and the expert community.

During the meetings, a number of topics will be addressed, including the issues of expanding the cooperation between Armenia and Germany and the Armenia-EU partnership, the challenges to the stability and security in the South Caucasus, the humanitarian crisis created in Artsakh as a result of the blockade of the Lachin Corridor by Azerbaijan, the process of normalisation of Armenia-Azerbaijan relations and other issues of bilateral interest.
2 Indiana Officers Shot, Suspect Dead After Gunfire Exchange

MITCHELL, Ind.Two southern Indiana law enforcement officers were shot and wounded early Sunday during an exchange of gunfire with a suspect who fled a traffic stop on foot and fired at the officers before he was fatally shot, police said.

Both officers flown to a hospital in Indianapolis, where they are were in stable condition with injuries that are not life-threatening, said Sgt. John Perrine of Indiana State Police.

The man who fired at the officers was pronounced dead at a local hospital, he said. His name was not immediately released.

The shooting occurred in the Lawrence County city of Mitchell, about 75 miles southwest of Indianapolis, after a county sheriffs deputy pulled a vehicle over at a gas station along State Road 37 about 3:15 a.m. for a traffic violation, Perrine said.

That officer was soon joined by a second Lawrence County Sheriffs deputy with a police dog and a Mitchell police officer, he said. After the police dog alerted officers to possible drugs inside the mans car, the officers searched it and discovered narcotics.

When officers tried to handcuff the man he fled on foot across State Road 37 into a grassy area. Once officers caught up with him, the man began to physically resist arrest before he pulled a handgun and fired at the officers at point blank-range, Perrine said in a news release.

The wounded officers were a Lawrence County Sherriffs deputy and a Mitchell police officer. At least one of the officers was able to return fire, fatally wounding the man, Perrine said.

State police are investigating the shooting and Perrine said they will be checking the officers body and dashboard cameras as part of the investigation.
4 JCPOA Signatories Say Iran Inconsistent in Meeting Nuclear Obligations, Citing IAEA Report

Head of Atomic Energy Organization of Iran Mohammad Eslami and International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Rafael Grossi attend the opening of the IAEA General Conference at their headquarters in Vienna, Austria, on Sept. 26, 2022. (Leonhard Foeger/Reuters)

A U.N. watchdog report shows Irans Islamic regime is being inconsistent in meeting its nuclear obligations, JCPOA signatories the United States, Britain, France, and Germany said in a joint statement on Feb. 3.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) criticized Tehran on Feb. 1 for making an undeclared change to the interconnection between the two clusters of advanced machines enriching uranium to up to 60 percent purityclose to weapons gradeat its Fordow plant.

Tehran said the IAEAs position on its nuclear work was not correct.

The IAEA found the change during an unannounced inspection on Jan. 21 at the Fordow Fuel enrichment Plant (FFEP), a site dug into a mountain where inspectors are stepping up checks after Tehran said it would dramatically expand enrichment.

As stated by the Agency, this unnotified change is inconsistent with Irans obligations under its NPT-required Comprehensive Safeguards Agreement, the four countries said in their statement, referring to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons.

The IAEA inspectors interpretation was incorrect but he reported it to the agency  We immediately provided the explanation to the IAEA on the same day, Iranian nuclear chief Mohammad Eslami said on Feb. 2.

The production of high-enriched uranium by Iran at Fordow carries significant proliferation-related risks and is without any credible civilian justification, the joint statement said, adding Tehran has not offered a credible answer yet to the IAEAs outstanding questions as part of its safeguards investigation.

Fordow is so sensitive that the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) nuclear deal between Iran and major powers banned enrichment there.

Since the United States pulled out of the deal in 2018 and reimposed sanctions against Iran, the Islamic Republic has breached many of the deals restrictions on its nuclear activities.

By Kanishka Singh
Alcohol Bans for Crime-Stricken Alice Springs Camps

The front yard of the home of indigenous campaigner Barbara Shaw in the Mount Nancy town camp at Alice Springs in Australia's Northern Territory state on Oct. 13, 2013. (Greg Wood/AFP via Getty Images)

Alcohol bans will be reinstated in central Australian Indigenous communities and town camps.

The Northern Territory (NT) government will introduce legislation next week to return the areas to temporary dry zones, Chief Minister Natasha Fyles said on Monday.

Weve heard loudly and clearly that the matter and decision of alcohol on community needs to be one that is made by the entire community, she told reporters.

This is why were creating a circuit breaker  until communities can develop and vote on the alcohol management plans they want to see.

The federal government also announced it would invest $250 million in community safety and services in Alice Springs, in addition to the $48 million announced in January. Funding will go towards job creation, youth engagement, and support for health and domestic violence services.

This isnt just about alcohol, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese told Parliament on Monday.

It is about a lack of employment services, a lack of community services, a lack of educational opportunity. This is intergenerational disadvantage.

The decision comes after Albanese visited Alice Springs in January amid growing frustration over alcohol-fuelled violence and theft.

He also met with Fyles in Canberra on Thursday, when they discussed recommendations submitted by the newly appointed central Australian regional controller Dorrelle Anderson.

Anderson, who was appointed after the prime ministers visit, reviewed the territorys opt-in alcohol restrictions that replaced expired intervention-inspired liquor bans last year.

Under the new legislation, communities can apply to opt out of the ban, as long as 60 percent of residents support the decision, and they have an alcohol management plan.

Alcohol-related harm is still the NTs biggest social challenge, Fyles said. But it is a legal product, and we need to manage the complexities of that product.

NT Opposition Leader Lia Finocchiaro said the measures were not enough.

There was no promise of additional police or sending Australian Federal Police into Alice Springs, which would make an immediate impact on the ground.

NT Senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price earlier made an impassioned plea for alcohol bans to be reinstated in Alice Springs to tackle a surging crime wave.

Senator Price told Parliament her family had experienced sexual violence, trauma, and murder in central Australia because of alcohol.

Federal Labor MP Marion Scrymgour said of her hometown: I was visiting the hospital over the Christmas break, and I saw firsthand how critical the situation was.

Nursing staff and doctors are run off their feet and beds are filled with alcohol-related crimes.

But the underlying issues that drive the crisis in central Australia still need to be addressed: poverty, unemployment, a severe shortage of housing, family and domestic violence, disaffected youth, neglect of the bush.
Alex Murdaugh Murder Jury to Hear Financial Crimes Evidence

Alex Murdaugh (R) sits with defense attorney Jim Griffin during his double murder trial at the Colleton County Courthouse in Walterboro, S.C., on Feb. 3, 2023. (Sam Wolfe/The State via AP, Pool)

A judge ruled Monday he will allow jurors to hear evidence that disgraced South Carolina attorney Alex Murdaugh was stealing money from his law firm and clients and committing other financial crimes long before his wife and son were killed in 2021.

Prosecutors have said those witnesses are key to their case in Murdaughs double murder trial to show he was worried his alleged crimes were about to be discovered and that Murdaugh killed his family to get sympathy and buy time to cover up the missing money.

Murdaugh, 54, is standing trial in the shootings of his 52-year-old wife, Maggie, and 22-year-old son, Paul, on June 7, 2021, at their Colleton County home. He faces 30 years to life in prison if convicted of murder.

The defense argued that prosecutors want to smear Alex Murdaugh with details of his finances because they have lots of evidence he stole money but none on the killings. Murdaughs lawyers said it is ridiculous that a lawyer would think scrutiny into his life would be diminished by the brutal deaths of his family.

In explaining his ruling, Judge Clifton Newman said the jury is entitled to consider whether Murdaughs apparent desperation and dire financial situation resulted in the killings of his family.

Newman said he didnt think the financial crime evidence alone would persuade the jury to convict Murdaugh of murder.

The decision means jurors over the next several days will hear from witnesses who testified previously before a judge about how Murdaugh secured $4 million in settlements for the family of the longtime Murdaugh housekeeper who died in a fall. He allegedly kept the money for himself.

Other testimony includes the office manager confronting Murdaugh over almost $800,000 in missing law firm fees the day of the killings and how a key hearing in a wrongful death lawsuit that might reveal the true condition of Murdaughs finances was scheduled for three days after his wife and son were shot. The hearing was cancelled.

Alex Murdaugh (center R) speaks with defense attorney Jim Griffin (center L) during his double murder trial at the Colleton County Courthouse in Walterboro, S.C., on Feb. 3, 2023. (Sam Wolfe/The State via AP, Pool)

Early Monday afternoon, the woman taking care of Alex Murdaughs mother testified about how he stopped by to visit her the night of the killings. Murdaugh said he found the bodies after seeing his mother, who has dementia.

Shelley Smith testified Monday that was the first time she saw Murdaugh visit his mother during her 8 p.m. to 8 a.m. shift, although during cross-examination the defense brought up a statement Smith previously made to a state agent in which she said Murdaugh has visited late at night before and was the most frequent visitor among his siblings.

Alex Murdaugh stayed about 20 minutes or so, laying beside his mother and holding her hand, Smith said. She didnt notice any blood on him.

Smith also testified that Alex Murdaugh visited nine days after the killings at 6:30 a.m. and was carrying a blue tarp. In their opening statement, prosecutors mentioned a blue rain coat with gunshot residue on it. Defense attorney Jim Griffin spent several minutes getting Smith to say the item was big, like a tarp, not a raincoat.

Judge Newmans decision to allow evidence of Alex Murdaughs possible financial crimes came after hearing from a potential witness Mondaya lawyer representing a family suing Murdaugh over a boat crash killed 19-year-old Mallory Beach in 2019. Alexs son Paul Murdaugh was driving the boat and faced a felony charge of boating under the influence at the time of his death.

When Alex Murdaugh called 911 and first spoke to investigators after his wife and son were killed, he mentioned people who knew Beach being angry with his son.

Beach family attorney Mark Tinsley said Alex Murdaugh and his lawyer were working hard to keep his financial information out of Tinsleys hands when the killings happened.

Pretty quickly I recognized, the case against Alex, if he was the victim of some vigilante, would in fact be over, Tinsley said.

He said Murdaughs lawyer told him Alex Murdaugh was broke, but Tinsley didnt believe it given what appeared to be a successful law practice and his familys generational wealth. He said justice called for damages from Murdaugh because they could not bring Beach back.

The Beach family stood on the causeway for eight days while their daughters body was in the water, Tinsley said. I dont know there is any amount of money somebody would willingly take to go through what they went through.

By Jeffrey Collins
Amid Spy Balloon Controversy, Biden Admin Approves $2.1 Billion Aid Package to Defend Ukrainian Skies

A Ukrainian soldier keeps position sitting on a ZU-23-2 anti-aircraft gun at a frontline, northeast of Kyiv on March 3, 2022. (Aris Messinis/AFP via Getty Images)

As national attention was captured by a Chinese surveillance balloon flying over the United States, the Biden administration has approved another $2.1 billion military aid package to strengthen Ukraines air defense arsenal.

The package includes $425 million in arms and equipment drawn from existing U.S. stockpiles, as well as $1.75 billion in Ukraine Assistance Security Initiative (UASI) funds, which Ukraine can use to purchase new weaponsparticularly those related to air defensefrom manufacturers contracted with the U.S. Department of Defense.

In Fridays announcement, the Pentagon said the package includes critical air defense capabilities to help Ukraine defend its people.

Read More US Would Run Out of Munitions in War With China: Report

Specifically, Ukraine will receive additional ammunition for High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS), additional 155-millimeter artillery rounds, additional 120-millimeter mortar rounds, 190 heavy machine guns with thermal imagery sights and specialized anti-drone ammunition, 181 Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) Vehicles, 250 Javelin anti-armor systems, 2,000 anti-armor rockets, Claymore anti-personnel munitions, and many other items of field equipment.

With the $1.75 billion UASI funds, Ukraine will be able to order from a range of air defense hardware, including two HAWK air defense firing units, four air surveillance radars, anti-drone warfare systems, and anti-aircraft guns and ammunition. Ukraine may also buy equipment needed to integrate Western air defense launchers, missiles, and radars into their existing air defense systems.

In total, the United States has now committed $30 billion in security assistance to Ukraine since the beginning of the Biden Administration, the Pentagon said, noting that the United States has sent more than $32 billion in military aid to Ukraine since the 2014 Crimea crisis and more than $29.3 billion since last February, when Russia launched what it called a special military operation against Ukraine.

The United States will continue to work with its Allies and partners to provide Ukraine with capabilities to meet its immediate battlefield needs and longer-term security assistance requirements, it added.

The announcement comes as the Biden administration faces criticism over its handling of a Chinese spy balloon, which reportedly traveled from China to Alaska and through northwest Canada before arriving in Montana, where it was spotted by local residents.

I believe that Montana truly got a firsthand look at the Biden administrations weakness on foreign policy this week, Sen. Steve Daines, a Montana Republican, said during a press conference on Friday. It is a tremendous embarrassment for the United States of America.

Montanans and all the American people deserve answers from the Pentagon and from this administration on what happened and what is being done to ensure this never happens again, Daines said.

The balloon was carrying a large payload underneath the surveillance component, according to Brig. Gen. Patrick Ryder, Pentagons chief spokesperson. However, the Pentagon said it estimated that the transit might not add much value to Beijings intelligence-gathering effort.

Currently, we assess that this balloon has limited additive value from an intelligence collection perspective, Ryder said Friday.

Montanas Democratic Senator Jon Tester announced on Friday that the Senate defense subcommittee that he chairs will hold a hearing to demand that Biden administration officials answer questions about the balloon.

Montanans value their freedom and privacy, and Ill always fight to defend both, Tester said in a statement. Chinas actions are a clear threat to those values and to Americas national security, and Im demanding answers from the Biden Administration.
That Was Fast: China Bans Decentralized Twitter-Like App Over Illegal Content

Customers shop at apple's flagship store for smart products on Nanjing Road pedestrian street in Shanghai, China, Feb. 23, 2022. (Costfoto/Future Publishing via Getty Images)

Apple has reportedly removed Damus, a Twitter-like social media app backed by the nostr protocol, from its Chinese app store owing to content deemed illegal by the Chinese communist regime.

Damus shared on Feb. 2 a screenshot of an Apple notification, stating that the app failed a security assessment of information services with attribute of public opinions or capable of social mobilization.

We are writing to notify you that your application, per demand from the Cyberspace Administration of China, will be removed from the China App Store because it includes content that is illegal in China, which is not in compliance with the App Store review guidelines, the notification reads.

The removal happened just two days after Apple approved Damuss listing in the App Store.

That was fast, Damus said of the Beijings ban.

Damus is built on top of nostr, a decentralized social media protocol designed to give users full control over their data. Former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey donated 14 bitcoin (around $319,796 at the time of writing) to nostrs development last year.

The apps approval process had been challenging because Apple requires services to have a system for flagging content.

Damus eventually found a way to be listed in the App Store on Feb. 1, after which it entered the top 10 in the Social Networking chart just hours after its release.

a milestone for open protocols#nostr is now officially on the Apple App Store with @damusapp:https://t.co/GQmvPE5nfX  jack (@jack) January 31, 2023

The decentralized structure of the nostr protocol likely contributed to Damuss removal from the Apple China App Store as it potentially allows users to circumvent Chinas internet censorship. China was rated not free by U.S.-based Freedom Houses Freedom in the World ranking in 2022.

Apple said in its notification to Damus that apps must comply with all legal requirements in any location where you make them available, and that it is the app developers responsibility to make sure your app conforms with all local laws.

In October 2019, Apple removed an app that protesters in Hong Kong used to track police movements named HKmap.live, saying the app violated its rules because it was used to ambush police.

According to Freedom House, China has one of the worlds most restrictive media environments, with thousands of websites blocked by the ruling Chinese Communist Party, including YouTube, Twitter, and Facebook.

State management of the telecommunications infrastructure enables the blocking of websites, removal of smartphone applications from the domestic market, and mass deletion of social media posts and user accounts that touch on banned political, social, economic, and religious topics, it stated.

Reuters contributed to this report.
April 11, 2023 13:31

ICRC transfers 15 patients from Stepanakert to Yerevan

Due to the blocking by Azerbaijan of the only road connecting Artsakh with Armenia,15 patients from the Republican Medical Center the Republic of Artsakh with serious diseases of the oncology as well as pathologies requiring emergency surgical interventions and post- implantation correction have been transported today, to specialized medical institutions of the Republic of Armenia with the mediation and escort of the International Committee of the Red Cross, the Healthcare Ministry of Artsakh reported.
Arizona Hospital on Very Thin Margin After Spending $20 Million Caring for Illegal Aliens

U.S. Border Patrol agents check for identification of immigrants as they wait to be processed after crossing the border from Mexico in Yuma, Ariz., on June 22, 2022. (Qian Weizhong/VCG/Getty Images)

An Arizona hospital is being overwhelmed with illegal alien patients that are placing a strain on medical resources and could leave the facility on the verge of collapsing, according to a top hospital official.

Dr. Robert Transchel, the president and CEO of Arizonas Yuma Regional Medical Center, told Fox News on Feb. 5 that the hospital is owed more than $20 million in free, uncompensated care that it has provided to illegal aliens who have crossed the border into the United States.

The situation with the unpaid care fees has been ongoing at the facility for more than a year, Transchel said and is unsustainable.

Despite reaching out to city, state, and federal government leaders to communicate the issue, they are allegedly doing nothing to address the problem or help provide the much-needed funding, according to the hospital CEO.

Its been a long journey, he said. Weve been at this for well over a year now. We tracked our uncompensated care for a period of over six months, and we calculated that weve provided over $20 million in uncompensated care to the migrants crossing the border.

The Yuma Regional Medical Center in Arizona is the only hospital within 180 miles and saw around 4,400 more patients last fiscal year compared to the year prior, News Nation reported.

According to its official website, the non-profit hospital has 406 beds and is staffed by 2,400 employees, over 400 medical practitioners, and hundreds of volunteers.

Transchels comments come as the immigration crisis at the southern border continues to worsen, with roughly 5 million illegal aliens crossing the border since President Joe Biden took office, according to data from U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP).

Illegal immigrants gather by the border fence after crossing from Mexico into the United States in Yuma, Arizona, on Dec. 9, 2021. (Charlotte Cuthbertson/The Epoch Times)

Not a Sustainable Model

As a result of what many Republican lawmakers believe are Bidens lax border policies, dozens of communities located along the border, such as Yuma, are now struggling with the influx of illegal aliens that are placing accommodation and food banks under stress.

Between 2021 and 2022 alone, there has been a 171 percent increase in crossings in Yuma according to CBP data. Yuma has a population of about 97,000.

County Chairman Tony Reyes declared a state of emergency in the unincorporated areas of Yuma in December amid an ongoing health and humanitarian crisis at the U.S.Mexico border prompted by the rise in respiratory syncytial virus and influenza, as well as a continued surge in illegal alien entries.

At the time, Reyes said that local health care resources were being stressed and that a further influx of illegal aliens crossing the southern border was likely to continue to strain the ability of medical staff and local hospital resources to provide essential and necessary medical care to Yuma residents as well as the migrant community.

Transchel told Fox News that he has communicated with Arizona officials and Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas regarding the unpaid medical bills, and that while officials have been sympathetic about the hospitals situation, the issue has not been resolved.

That has left the non-profit hospital operating on a very thin margin with no payer source for illegal alien treatment.

Its not a sustainable model to have these continued rising expenses without a revenue source to offset that, Transchel said. Were fine today, and well be fine tomorrow. The problem is, if this continues, its gonna build-up, and its gonna continue to be a problem.

The Epoch Times has contacted the Department of Homeland Security and the White House for comment.
Australia will become the first country to reclassify medicines containing methylenedioxymethamphetamine, more commonly known as MDMA (ecstasy) and psilocybin, to treat certain mental health conditions.

The Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) announced on Feb. 3 that they will permit authorised psychiatrists to prescribe MDMA for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and psilocybin for treatment-resistant depression.

MDMA is the active ingredient found in the party drug ecstasy, and psilocybin is the active ingredient found in psychedelic magic mushrooms.

From July 1, authorised psychiatrists with specialised qualifications and expertise to diagnose and treat patients with severe mental health conditions will be able to prescribe medicines containing these psychedelic substances.

This comes despite those therapies not being well established.

MDMA and psilocybin are still listed as prohibited substances, but all other legal uses will remain limited to clinical trials.

To prescribe MDMA and psilocybin, psychiatrists must be approved under the Authorised Prescriber Scheme by the TGA following approval by a human research ethics committee.

Authorised Prescribers by the TGA are allowed to prescribe medication and supply therapeutic goods to specified patients under strict controls to ensure the safety of patients. Authorised prescribers must also report the number of patients treated every six months to TGA.

Biggest Trial into Effects of Psychedelics

Australias Swinburne University has signed a $5 million (US$3.46 million) clinical research trial with Woke Pharmaceuticals into the effects of psilocybin, the active ingredient in psychedelic mushrooms, in treating treatment-resistant depression.

Commencing in mid-2023, this trial will be the biggest research agreement in this area in Australia, with approximately 160 patients who will participate in a randomised controlled trial of either two or three doses of psilocybin for psychotherapy versus a placebo.

During the trial, the psilocybin drug candidate WP002 will be used via a formulated rapid-release tablet by the pharmaceutical company.

Psychedelics could transform the landscape of treatments for many psychiatric disorders, including major depression, said Prof. Susan Rossell, the lead researcher of the research trial.

The initial positive findings from the literature need to be pursued with large real-world trials, like the one we are conducting. Exploring the effectiveness of two or three dosing sessions will provide critical data on the sustainability of benefit and effective real-world treatment regimens of psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy for those with treatment-resistant depression.

Further, as funding and the clinical material will be supplied by Woke Pharmaceuticals, this will enable Swinburne University to collaborate with Monash University and the University of Tasmania on the research.

Not Enough Long-Term Data

However, the TGAs decision to list the psychedelics has been met with mixed reactions by researchers and academics in the medical field, including the studys lead researcher.

Rossell has said she is concerned about broadening the treatment at a larger scale without long-term data to analyse.

I have a significant degree of caution about this decision because these treatments are not well established at all for a sufficient level of broad-scale implementation. Substantial further research needs to be done, said Rossell in her comments published on Scimex.

First, to confirm efficacy to international standards for all psychotropic medications and to understand which conditions are best treated and which formulations will best serve the patients and minimise risks. Weve got no data on long-term outcomes at all, so that worries me a lot, which is one of the reasons why Im doing my very large study.

Further Research is Required on the Effects

Enterprise Fellow at the University of South Australias Clinical and Health Sciences, Mike Musker, said the long-awaited access to MDMA and psilocybin would offer relief to many who experience PTSD and depressionespecially army veterans and those who have worked in emergency services but who have not been treated with standard psychiatric medication.

The prescribing of these drugs has been prohibited for use by government drug agencies (TGA, FDA) even though early research over the last two decades has produced some promising results, the resistance to their use has remained, Musker said.

The journal Nature suggested that these drugs are shaking up psychiatry by providing treatments for conditions which were previously seen as intractable. There are risks, however, with any new drug, and there is a potential that using a mind-altering drug can lead to psychosis, which has been seen with drugs like cannabis.

Melbourne Universitys Chair of Clinical Psychology, Prof. Kim Felmingham, said the approval of MDMA-assisted therapy for PTSD is promising and exciting, based on positive clinical results, but needed additional research to understand the mechanisms underpinning MDMA-assisted therapy to address what therapy works for each individual with PTSD.

No one PTSD treatment is a panacea that will treat everyone with PTSD effectively, and MDMA is not an exception, he said.

Additional research on this topic would allow us to streamline our health resources, direct people to the most effective treatment for them and improve the accessibility of treatments for people living with PTSD.

Meanwhile, Prof. Richard Bryant from the University of New South Wales School of Psychology said the science is at a point where we can say it is too early to be prescribing MDMA for PTSD patients.

Instead, we should be investing in research to understand how MDMA can be used in relation to proven treatments, Bryant said.
Australia to Keep Engaging With Beijing, Foreign Minister Says US Should Do the Same

Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong listens to a question during a joint news conference after the 32nd annual Australia-U.S. Ministerial Consultations at the U.S. State Department in Washington D.C. on Dec. 6, 2022. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

Following the downing of a Chinese surveillance balloon by the U.S. military, Australias foreign minister says that while there are concerns about international laws being violated, her government would continue engaging with Beijing.

We have come to government with a very clear view about the importance of stabilising the relationship with China, and weve taken many steps to seek to achieve that, Penny Wong told reporters in Canberra on Feb. 6.

We will cooperate where we can, we will disagree where we must, but well continue to engage in our national interest.

The minister also urged the United States to do the same, believing it to be important that competition does not escalate into conflict.

We share the U.S. concerns about the infringement or the violation of international law, but what we would now encourage is continued dialogue because the world wants a peaceful, stable, prosperous world. And that means the great powers will need to continue to engage, she said.

But former Defence Minister Kevin Andrews warned against being so quick to continue engagement without being clear in its criticism of the Chinese regimes actions.

The flight of the spy balloon over U.S. military bases was a calculated breach of international law, he told The Epoch Times in an email.

While Australia should endeavour to engage the CCP, it must condemn such actions and be mindful of the regimes ongoing disdain for international norms.

Former executive director of the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI) Peter Jennings said he was not aware of any balloon incidents in Australia, but warned of its possibility and urged the government to be prepared.

We know we are a high-priority intelligence target and balloons can float in the southern hemisphere as effectively as they can in the north, Jennings told the Australian Financial Review.

The real test for Australia is what would we do if we found one over Alice Springs, for example.

Would we have the gumption to do what the Americans have? I believe we should.

The suspected Chinese spy balloon drifts to the ocean after being shot down off the coast in Surfside Beach, S.C., on Feb. 4, 2023. (REUTERS/Randall Hill)

Australia-Chinas Thawing Relations

The incident comes just before Australian Trade Minister Don Farrell meets his Chinese counterpart in a bilateral video conference on Feb. 6.

Ahead of the first meeting between the countries trade officials in three years, the Australian government was confident that Beijing would eventually remove trade sanctions on a range of goods.

It is my objective, as quickly as possible, to stabilise this relationship and get our products back in front of the Chinese consumers, Farrell said.

These problems are not going to be solved overnight, and all of the problems are not going to be solved straight away  But we need to start the process.

However, he said it would take time for Beijing to lift its bans on about $20 billion (US$14 billion) worth of trade, including wine, lobster, meat, barley, and coal exports which was imposed in 2020 after then-Prime Minister Scott Morrison called for an independent investigation into the origins of COVID-19, the disease caused by the CCP virus.

Unacceptable: U.S. State Department

The Chinese spy balloon was shot down after President Joe Biden gave the go ahead to take down the surveillance balloon as soon as the mission could be accomplished without undue risk to American lives under the balloons path, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said.

He added that the balloon was being used by Beijing in an attempt to surveil strategic sites in the continental United States.

After careful analysis, Austin said they ruled out the possibility of downing the balloon over land due to the size and altitude of the balloon and its surveillance payload, which would pose an undue risk to people across a wide area.

U.S. officials previously estimated its size at about three school buses, flying at about 18,000 metres (60,000 feet).

The balloon flew from China, then to the Aleutian Islands of Alaska, and through northwest Canada before arriving somewhere in Montana on Wednesday, according to reports. Montana is one of three homes for U.S. nuclear strategic silos.

The incident caused Secretary of State Antony Blinken to postpone his trip to Beijing just hours before he was scheduled to depart Washington for a two-day visit.

After consultations  we have concluded that the conditions are not right at this moment for Secretary Blinken to travel to China, a senior State Department official told reporters on Feb. 3.

We have noted the PRC [Peoples Republic of China] statement of regret, but the presence of this balloon in our airspace is a clear violation of our sovereignty as well as international law, and it is unacceptable that this has occurred, the official said.

Eva Fu and Cindy Zhan contributed to this article.
Australian PM Cites Jan. 6 Riots in Bid to Win Support for Changing the Constitution

A speech of subtle contradictions

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese addresses the 2023 Chifley Research Centre Conference at the National Press Club of Australia in Canberra on Feb. 5, 2023. (AAP Image/Mick Tsikas)

Avoiding an incident like the Jan. 6 Capitol riots in Australia is one reason why voters should support a major alteration to the countrys Constitution, says Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.

In his latest bid to win over the public for The Voice to Parliament proposal, the prime minister claimed such a sensible change would protect Australias democracy against poisonous conspiracy theories.

Albanese also alluded to the controversy around the 2020 U.S. presidential election result, as well as the more recent Brazilian uprisings, saying we must also heed the warning they carry.

While he spoke about the need for the Constitution to be nourished, protected, cared for, treated with respect, he also said it was dynamic, not static.

Change driven by the people is not a threat to the systemit is a vital and necessary part of it, he told the Chifley Research Centre at the National Press Club on Feb. 5.

Also, in a salvo aimed at critics of his Labor governments proposal, the prime minister said there were people pushing misinformation on social media about The Voice.

Drumming up outrage, trying to start a culture war. Thats an inevitable consequence of trying to achieve change, he said.

The speech drew a sharp response from the Indigenous leader Warren Mundine, who said Albanese was grasping at straws and struggling to make an argument for The Voice.

What Powers Will The Voice Have?

The main thrust of the Voice to Parliament campaign is to embed an advisory body into the Constitution that would enable Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to provide advice to the Parliament on policies and projects that impact their lives.

However, the proposal has raised a swathe of questions over the extent of the powers of such a body, with critics pondering if the body, for example, would have the power to veto legislation. Could it hold up bills already passed by the existing houses of Parliament? Who would decide who sits on the new advisory body? And why does it need to be enshrined into the Constitution instead of just legislated via Parliament?

Albanese maintained that the body would not have any special power or be a third chamber to Parliament.

The Referendum Working Group have already outlined some clear fundamentals. The Voice wont administer funding. It will not deliver programs, the prime minister said.

It will not have any kind of veto power over decision-making. And in the course of the year, there will be more information for people to examine.

Yet whether those details are provided before or after a national referendum is yet to be decided.

Further, the prime minister said no details of the actual working mechanisms of The Voice would be written into the Constitution.

Thats not how it works, Albanese said.

For example, the Constitution says the Commonwealth Parliament will have power to make laws for the naval and military defence of the Commonwealth.

It doesnt spell out the size of the [Australian Defence Force], or where it should be based or what sort of defence hardware we should have, he said, effectively hinting at the possibility that The Voices authority and powers can be changed (and widened) in future like how other government departments are.

Current Indigenous Policy Does Not Work, Thats Why We Need The Voice: PM

The prime minister also conceded that governments from both sides have invested billions into Indigenous policy to little effect.

But by and large, we have been repeating the same process and expecting a different outcome. Imposing decisions from Canberra, he said.

But assuming that one size will fits all and ignoring the wisdom of the community.

Enshrining a Voice in the Constitution is our best chance to change that because it has come from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people themselves.

Yet this is the exact point detractors of The Voice have been critical of.

Former Labor MP Gary Johns wrote in The Epoch Times that there is not one single Indigenous voice.

Indigenous Affairs Minister Linda Burney recently also claimed that not enshrining the Voice into Parliament would ignore the wishes of the more than 1,200 First Nations leaders who took part in nationwide consultations that led to the Uluru Statement,' he wrote.

Yet the Statement was composed by a small coterie and presented in Alice Springs to a gathering of just 250 delegates.

Meanwhile, former national president of the Australian Labor Party, Warren Mundine, said there were still many questions about how The Voice would resolve on-the-ground issues like youth violence in the central Australian town of Alice Springs, which has garnered national headlines in recent weeks.

Why is it so important to change? What is the benefit of it? Is it going to stop situations like Alice Springs? Because Alice Springs is just the tip of the iceberg, and the government cant even respond to that, the No to The Voice campaign member told The Epoch Times.

No one knows what The Voice is, and they havent been able to explain why it is going to make Aboriginal lives better. Hows it going to resolve all the plethora of problems that Aboriginal communities deal with? he said.
Barbara Kay: Assenting to a Blanket Rule on Pronoun Use Is to Lose Ones Right to Say Aloud That the Emperor Is Naked

Women's rights activist Kellie-Jay Keen-Minshull speaks during a Let Women Speak rally in opposition to government legislation making it easier for people to self-identify their gender, fearing it would allow sexual predators to gain access to women-only spaces, in Glasgow, Scotland, on Feb. 5, 2023. (Andy Buchanan/AFP via Getty Images)

Commentary

In 2016 and 2019, a violent Scottish thug by the name of Adam Graham raped women he had met online. After being charged, he renamed himself Isla Bryson and assumed feminine lamination (wig, cosmetics, etc.) Graham did not have a gender recognition certificate, but was nevertheless remanded to Scotlands only womens prison, Cornton Vale. He was convicted in Glasgow High Court last month.

Nobody was fooled by Grahams opportune gender epiphany. And yet, reflexively, the media almost invariably used she/her pronouns in their coverage of the trial. The Times said that Bryson had committed the crimes before her transition. Even the conservative Telegraph chose to avoid pronouns altogether by sticking with nouns throughout its account.

More jarring, the legal actors in the trialapart from the rape victimsassiduously stuck with the female name or pronouns. The jury was told that Graham must be referred to as Isla Bryson, while the prosecutor alleged that Isla had used her penis to commit a rape.

After his conviction, Grahams defence lawyer stated that charges against Graham should be dropped because he identifies as a woman: If you accept that evidence, that she is transitioning, that she is aiming to continue on that path to becoming female gender, that goes a long way to acquitting her of these charges. (Acquitting? This is crazy talk. Surely even the most obtuse lawyer would understand that if this strain of logic were to set a legal defence precedent, rapists would be transitioning en masse.)

How do people come to accept that evidence? Through ideological grooming. And the grooming begins with manipulation of the language. Choosing the humble pronoun as the thin end of the radical gender ideology wedge was a tactical stroke of genius. If you look at a convicted male rapist and say he, your tongue is in harmony with your thoughts. If your tongue feels obliged to say she when your brain is continually registering he, you are practising Orwellian doublethink, which creates anxiety and saps self-confidence. That is the objective. Live not by lies, Soviet dissident Alexander Solzhenitsyn exhorted us. But once doublethink is the social norm, there are consequences to open dissent that few public figures are in a position to disregard.

Even the judge was in on the lie. He said to Graham, Ms. Bryson, you have been convicted He did not have to do that. In the United Kingdom, judges bench book offers guidance, not instruction, encouraging use of preferred name and pronouns only as a matter of common courtesy.

The word courtesy in this context cries out for interrogation. Courtesy is part of our social contract. Mutual respect between strangers is critical in creating high-trust public forums, where anti-social behaviour can instantly turn a pleasant environment into a space associated with uncertainty or fear. That is why we become agitated when people disregard queues for service, the queue being the epitome of common courtesy.

In a courtroom there is a need for rules and order, to be sure. But the contract in a courtroom is procedural, not social. In the circumstances, a courtesy to Graham was a discourtesy to his victims, who were there to witness Grahams very male crimes.

Another version of the courtesy trope often invoked by trans activists is Be kind. Or occasionally a trans stakeholder will allude to the Golden Rule (Do unto others). The problem with both be kind and the Golden Rule is that they were conceived as ethical guides to behaviour between one individual and another. They were not conceived as guides to the treatment of belief systems. Being kind to trans ideology often means being cruel to women. Assenting to a blanket rule on pronoun use whose terms are set by radically left-wing interest groups shilling for system grifters like Adam Graham, is to sign away ones right to say aloud that the emperor is naked.

Thus, the use of the pronouns and the new name in the Graham trial courtroom were Kabuki theatre: insincere, ritualistic virtue-signalling to the gender Comintern.

In real theatres, of course, audiences are not dragged onstage and compelled to read from scripts. Increasingly, though, that is a precise analogy to what is presently happening through institutional capture. In the United Kingdoms Royal College of Psychiatrists (RCP), for example, as reported by Yasmin Zenith in The Critic, a British magazine, a schism has developed between acolytes of radical gender ideology and dissenters who (rightly) consider it unscientific and a danger to freedom of speech.

Leaked slides from a November webinar presentation by gender ideologue Dr. Joseph Hartland, EDI Deputy Ed Director at Bristol Medical School, showcased the internal tensions, which clustered around the use of preferred pronouns. One slide asserted that failure to use examples like ze/hir constitutes an act of aggression. Another slide describes biological sex as socially contrived. People with testes is presented as appropriate language. Hartland was unreceptive to challenges from collegial attendees, characterizing the 45 questions following his talk as 80 per cent transphobic. The RCP later denounced the webinar audience on Twitter, declaring themselves appalled by the dissenters behaviour.

One often hears the dictum, The inmates are running the asylum, usually meant half in jest, but it certainly applies here without a hint of humour. If the discipline of psychiatry is completely swallowed by the preferred pronoun python, as seems plausible from this UK scenario, it doesnt take a great stretch of the imagination to conjure a future in which citizens who insist that sex is real and dimorphic, or that human beings cannot literally change their sex, will be labelled mentally ill. Weve seen this movie before. It did not end well.

Publications are (so far) not bound by any law to use preferred pronouns. Yet, as noted above, most mainstream media unprotestingly toe the ideological line on reflexive pronoun assignation. In my latest column for the National Post, which was about the injustice of housing male sex offenders in womens prisons, I included a note to readers that I would not refer to Graham by any other than his dead name and he/him referents. Fortunately, my choice secured editorial assent. This time.

But Canadian mainstream media receive government funding in the form of tax breaks and subsidies. Conceivably, woke government honchos could force those on the receiving end to choose between imposed pronoun compliance on their reportage and opinion writers and columnists freedom to dissent. At that point, those of us who write frequently on this subject will have a certain cost/benefit analysis to perform.

Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
Big Pharma Set to Hit Sales Cliff as Demand for COVID Vaccine Is Set to Plummet in 2023

Big Pharma is facing a reckoning as they face a sales cliff with demand for the COVID vaccine projected to plummet by the end of the year.

The worlds largest pharmaceutical companies have raked in billions from the COVID-19 pandemic over the past two years, after governments around the world mandated vaccines for their populations.

The once massive sales of vaccines and treatments to treat the pandemic are expected to plunge in 2023, however, with investors pressuring pharmaceutical executives to now spend their windfalls carefully, Reuters reported.

Major drugmakers such as Pfizer, BioNTech, Moderna, Gilead Sciences, AstraZeneca, and Merck are estimated to have made about $100 billion in profits from COVID vaccines last year.

Most drug companies predict that vaccine sales could fall by nearly two-thirds at the end of 2023 due to massive existing stockpiles of the drugs, especially in the wealthier countries which acquired the bulk of the shots, according to Reuters.

However, Big Pharma (a collective term for the largest companies in the industry) has weathered steep losses in the past, as when, for example, patents on big-selling drugs expire and generic rivals edge into the market. Executives therefore plan well in advance for potential price swings.

Vaccine Demand Hits a Wall for Big Pharma

Demand has reportedly hit a peak, as the amount of people wishing to take the vaccine has dropped, while many are also gaining immunity from previous infections.

Persistent and widespread skepticism over the vaccines and government mandates have also been a key factor in plunging sales.

The Republican-controlled House of Representatives voted to end the three-year federal public health emergency for the pandemic last week over opposition from the Biden administration and the Democrats.

Growing concern that the vaccines were causing serious injuries, combined with news that pharmaceutical executives allegedly had full knowledge of the potential serious reactions to their products, has caused a public backlash.

Pfizer, the biggest financial beneficiary of the vaccines, made more than $56 billion in revenue last year from the drug it co-developed with the German firm BioNTech and from its COVID antiviral treatment Paxlovid.

The pharmaceutical company is expecting revenue for 2023 to drop to around $21.5 billion, but some analysts believe that its forecasts are overly optimistic.

We remain skeptical that COVID revenues will grow in 2024 and beyond, JP Morgan analyst Chris Schott wrote in a research note.

He said that vaccination rates could fall even farther, exceeding the drop in demand for boosters in 2022.

Moderna, another major vaccine manufacturer, also expects its revenue for 2023 to fall sharply.

The companys messenger RNA vaccine hauled in around $18.4 billion in 2022, but analysts expect earnings to drop to around $7 billion in 2023, reported Reuters.

Shares of Moderna have done well in recent months, but the stock price has since fallen from its pandemic high of close to $500 in August 2021, to $170.48 on Feb. 6.

Other Pharmaceutical Companies Face Dip in COVID Drug Sales

Other drugmakers have felt a milder impact from their pandemic-related drug sales.

Merck, which reported sales of $5.7 billion from vaccine sales, with a total of more than $59 billion in sales last year, may see its earnings drop below $1 billion in 2023, say analysts.

We are not counting on Lagevrio as a driver of growth for our business, Merck CEO Rob Davis told Reuters last week, regarding his companys antiviral pill.

We very much saw Lagevrio as an opportunity to make a meaningful difference at a time of need.

Eli Lilly and Co. gained $2 billion last year from its monoclonal antibody COVID treatments, but is not expecting any earnings from the drug for 2023.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration revoked its authorization of Lillys latest antibody drug, Bebtelovimab, in November 2022, as it was found to be ineffective against Omicron variants.

We did fine with COVID, Eli Lilly CEO Dave Ricks told Reuters in an interview

We made a little bit of money with it. What we did with that was we mostly reinvested it in R&D [research and development], and last year was a record R&D spending year for the company, Ricks noted.

Reuters contributed to this report.
California Wont Mandate COVID-19 Vaccines for School Attendance

California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced a children's mental health program at McLane High School in Fresno, Calif., on Aug. 18, 2022. (Courtesy of Office of Gov. Gavin Newsom)

California wont mandate the COVID-19 vaccine for children to attend school as state health officials back away from a plan that was originally announced in 2021 by Gov. Gavin Newsom.

The California Department of Public Health is not currently exploring emergency rulemaking to add COVID-19 to the list of required school vaccinations, but we continue to strongly recommend COVID-19 immunization for students and staff to keep everyone safer in the classroom, the department said in a statement, according to The Associated Press. Any changes to required K-12 immunizations are properly addressed through the legislative process.

Newsom also will no longer be able to quickly authorize any new pandemic-related restrictions on Californians as the state exits the COVID-19 emergency period on Feb. 28.

Newsom issued the first statewide stay-at-home order in the United States on March 19, 2020, and announced the plan to vaccinate more than 6.7 million public and private school students with the COVID-19 vaccine in October 2021. The state already had a mask mandate.

We have to do more, he said during a news conference at the time, after visiting with seventh graders. We want to end this pandemic. We are all exhausted by it.

In 2022, California delayed the plan to mandate vaccination for school kids until the summer of this year as state officials awaited final approval from the Food and Drug Administration. However, with the number of cases declining considerably, emergency authorizations regarding the pandemic are being pulled back.

Recent revelations regarding some of the adverse effects of the vaccine might have also played a part in the policy reversal.

mRNA Vaccine Reactions for Children

Researchers in North Carolina found that children with natural immunity to COVID-19 were better protected against infection compared to those who were vaccinated.

Nonvaccinated children between the ages of 5 and 11 who were infected and carried natural immunity had 88.4 percent protection against reinfection compared to 59.7 percent protection offered by a primary series, or two doses, of mRNA vaccines from Pfizer or Moderna, the study showed.

A study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention revealed that more than 1,600 children ages 5 to 11 experienced systemic reactions such as fever, diarrhea, and vomiting after receiving an updated Pfizer or Moderna COVID-19 vaccine.

Zachary Stieber contributed to this report.
Canada Sends Military Aircraft Into Haitis Skies as Gang Violence Escalates

Minister of National Defence Anita Anand holds a media availability on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, on Jan. 26, 2023. (The Canadian Press/Spencer Colby)

Canada has sent one of its military planes to Haiti to help the country cope with escalating violence.

A joint statement today from National Defence Minister Anita Anand and Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly says Canada has deployed a CP-140 Aurora aircraft to help disrupt the activities of gangs in Haiti.

Gang violence has become a reality for those living in the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince since last summer, with hundreds having reportedly been kidnapped and killed.

The UN has also said gangs are restricting access to necessities like health care and water and are also allegedly sexually assaulting women and children.

Haitis political and humanitarian crisis has led to calls for Western countries to intervene, with the Canadian government saying the aircraft deployment comes in direct response to Haitis request for help.

The government says the patrol aircraft is currently in Haiti and will remain there for a number of days to help with surveillance and intelligence efforts.

The aircraft deployment is the latest step the government has taken to assist Haiti, and not indicative of a military intervention.

Other support measures to date include levying sanctions against individuals it views as responsible for the violence in Haiti.

The deployment of a Canadian patrol aircraft will strengthen efforts to fight criminal acts of violence and to establish the conditions necessary for a peaceful and prosperous future, Anand said in Sundays statement.
CCP Meteorological Research Balloon Is Affiliated With the Military: Analysts

Analysts say the shooting down of spy balloon is a must

Suspected Chinese spy balloon seen in the sky over the United States. (Chase Doak/AP/Screenshot via NTD)

After the United States shot down the Chinese spy balloon on Saturday, Beijing protested and said its the U.S. attack on a civilian unmanned airship by force. But Chinese analysts agreed that the shooting down of the balloon was necessary to address the aggression of the Chinese regime.

On Feb. 5, Beijing issued a statement saying that it is a clear overreaction and a serious violation of international practice from the United States, and China will safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of the company concerned.

Earlier, Beijing admitted that the balloon was from China, was of a civilian nature, and was for the purpose of meteorological research, said a foreign ministry press communique on Feb. 3.

Analysts told the Chinese language edition of The Epoch Times that obviously the United States did not fall for Beijings claim of a civilian and research airship.

Civil-Military Integration

Writer Li Mianxuan explained that under the ruling of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), the regime controls all resources, so the CCP used the claim of a civilian company owning the balloon to cover its military purpose.

To ensure its autocracy, the state always owns part of the civilian stakes. He said, Civilian organizations are obligated to serve the best interests of national security under the National Security Law.

(Left) The Chinese balloon drifts to the ocean after being shot down off the coast in Surfside Beach, S.C., on Feb. 4, 2023. (Right) The aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson participates in a group sail during the Rim of the Pacific exercise off the coast of Hawaii, on July 26, 2018. (Randall Hill/Reuters; Petty Officer 1st Class Arthurgwain L. Marquez/U.S. Navy via AP)

For instance, according to the CCPs National Security Law, under item 4 of Article 77, citizens and organizations should provide convenient conditions or other kinds of assistance to national security work.

As early as 1969, the CCP merged the Military Meteorological Bureau of the General Staff and the Central Meteorological Bureau, according to a joint notice by the State Council and the Central Military Commission.

The merger was to Implement centralized and unified leadership over meteorological work, for both peacetime and wartime, to facilitate national defense construction, and national economic construction, said Notice number 50 (1969), dated Dec. 4, 1969.

In 2017, the CCP further regulated a close civil-military integration (CMI) strategy in the national defense science and technology industry.

The purpose of the integration was to allow military and civilian resources to share and support each other and be effectively commercialized, according to the stated opinion of the CMI.

Wu Zuolai, a U.S.-based Chinese scholar who survived the 1989 Tiananmen Massacre, said the entry of the balloon over U.S. air was a symbolic move of the CCP. He said, If its tolerated, many more will follow, balloon, drone, whatever, along with the equipment attached to the balloon. He agreed with the U.S. governments response to the balloon.

Zhang Xiaogang, one of the organizers of the Australian Value Alliance, also an expert in computer science, suspects that the Chinese balloon was testing the efficiency of the U.S. air defense system.

But above all, he believes that the CCPs intention was to demonstrate its aggression. He said, Its a public challenge to the United States,  especially [since] the balloon could also collect information, such as radio and communication information.

In Feb. 2022, the Chinese National Defense Ministry published an article on the military balloon.

The article titled, Military Balloon: Floating in the Battlefield Cracks, emphasized the characteristics of the military balloon as a low-cost operation, that is capable of carrying loads up into the air, has been used for air defense and bombing, and has been used in the cracks of the battlefield.

The national defense article concluded: The military balloon will continue to be used in the cracks of the battlefield for a long time.

Haizhong Ning and Luo Ya contributed to this report.
Chinas Cell Phone Shipments Plummeted by 43 Million in 2022 to Lowest Level in Ten Years

A Weibo page about the death of a student in Chengdu with 1.72 billion views is displayed on a mobile phone in Beijing, China, on May 13, 2021. (Ng Han Guan/AP Photo)

Chinas smartphone market fell 13.2 percent in 2022, to their lowest level in a decade, International Data Corporation (IDC)s latest report shows.

According to IDCs global mobile tracker report, released Jan. 29, about 286 million smartphones were shipped in China in 2022, the lowest number of smartphones shipped in China in ten years. It was also the first time in that period that shipments fell below the 300 million mark. Some commentators believe that a major underlying reason is Chinas rapidly decreasing population.

Smartphone shipments in China in 2022 were down 43 million units from 2021, when about 329 million smartphones were shipped: a 13.2 percent year-on-year drop.

Chinas top five smartphone vendors are vivo, Honor, OPPO, Apple, and Xiaomi. With the exception of Honor, all exhibited significant declines in shipment volume in 2022. Vivo fell 25.1 percent year-on-year; OPPO, Apple, and Xiaomi fell 28.2 percent, 4.4 percent, and 23.7 percent respectively. Although Honors shipment volume increased, its previous base was lower than that of the other vendors.

Xiaomis Mi4i smartphone and Mi Band fitness tracker. (Money Sharma/AFP/Getty Images)

Worldwide, smartphone shipments fell last year, declining 11.3 percent, according to a separate IDC report released on Jan. 25.

Guo Tianxiang, a senior analyst at IDC China, pointed out that the reasons for the decline in Chinas smartphone market include market saturation and longer replacement cycles; bottlenecks in technology development and insufficient innovation; improved product quality and performance; and a decline in consumer income and confidence caused by the pandemic.

The pandemic could also be a major reason for the plunge in cell phone shipments, U.S.-based China expert Li Yanming told The Epoch Times on Feb. 2.

When COVID-19 first broke out in 2020, Chinas cell phone subscriptions plummeted by 22 million. The massive subscription drop raised questions about the viruss true death toll in China.

If only 10 percent of the cellphone accounts were closed because the users died because of the CCP virus, the death toll would be 2 million, Tang Jingyuan, a U.S.-based China affairs commentator, told The Epoch Times in 2020.

A coffin is loaded from a hearse into a storage container at the Dongjiao crematorium and funeral home in Beijing on Dec. 18, 2022. (Getty Images)

According to data released by Chinas three major mobile phone operators, the number of mobile phone users in China decreased by 2.478 million in January of 2020. The following month, the number fell further, by a drastic 19.4555 million, with a total net decrease of 21.933 million users in the two months.

At the time, Chinese writer Fang Fang wrote in her online diary, later published as Wuhan Diary: Dispatches from a Quarantined City: What broke my heart more was a picture sent by my doctor friend  mobile phones lying on the floor of a funeral house, all of whose owners had been reduced to ashes.

Although China has been criticized for its lack of transparency in reporting statistics, even official reports indicate that Chinas population is declining, with an official report showing that the population dropped last year for the first time in decades.
On February 6, President of the Artsakh Republic Arayik Harutyunyan convened a working consultation with the leadership of the law enforcement agencies, the Presidential Office stated.

February 6, 2023, 18:14 President Harutyunyan convened a working consultation with the leadership of the law enforcement agencies

STEPANAKERT, FEBRUARY 6, ARTSAKHPRESS: Issues facing the law enforcement system of the republic and measures taken to overcome them were on the discussion agenda.

In his remarks, the Head of the State touched upon the activity of the law enforcement agencies following the 44-day war of 2020, emphasizing that thanks to their professional work, it was possible to return the country's domestic life to normal in a short period of time. The President expressed his gratitude to the representatives of the system for fulfilling their official duties with high responsibility, unconditionally complying with the constitutional principle of the supremacy of law.

"Never think that your work goes unnoticed, it is appreciated by both the people and the state", Arayik Harutyunyan said.

Referring to the efforts undertaken to ensure stability and security of domestic life in the republic, the President highlighted that there is still a lot to be done, starting from increasing the level of discipline in public life to the fight against crime.

"I admit that numerous issues are merely artificial and are often conditioned by my silence. But I assure you in many matters and situations the silence of the supreme state authority is not a sign of inaction, but rather a necessity. We must fully assess the situation we are living in and understand that very often not everything needs to be voiced," the President noted.

During the consultation, President Harutyunyan set a number of tasks for the law enforcement agencies based on the complaints and concerns received from the public:

a) to intensify the efforts made in the direction of bringing the level of legal security and protection of the legal order to a qualitatively new dimension in Artsakh, as well as improving the state of public safety in public places,

b) to take all measures within the scope of their authority to prevent all steps and actions leading to internal division, inciting enmity towards each other, internal instability by using objective concerns and discontent of people, and to give a legal assessment to criminal manifestations of such actions.

The Head of State also emphasized the need to pay close attention to phenomena that are in the spotlight of the public.

In particular, the President instructed the relevant structures to take all operational-investigative measures to detect any criminal violation in the process of providing financial resources for the repayment of credit obligations to the banks of those economic entities that had business programs in the territories that went under the control of Azerbaijan in the aftermath of the 44-day war of 2020, and to bring the persons who committed the violations to responsibility.

President Harutyunyan also noted the need for taking all measures towards identifying the persons who embezzled the funds provided by the Artsakh Investment and Village and Agriculture Support Funds especially after November 2020, used them for no purpose or maliciously evaded their payment as well as compensation for damage caused to the funds and the state.

Secretary of the Security Council Samvel Shahramanyan, head of the President's Office Karen Shahramanyan, and other officials partook in the consultation.
Beijing Confirms That Balloon Spotted Over Latin America Is From China

Chinese authorities have confirmed that the balloon that was spotted over Latin America this past weekend is Chinese. Officials in Colombia confirmed a sighting of an airborne object similar to a balloon flying over its territory, in a statement on Saturday, Feb. 4.

According to the statement from the Colombian military, its air defense service detected the object, described as similar to a balloon, moving at a speed of 25 knots per hour entering the countrys northern airspace at an altitude of 55,000 feet. The Colombian Air Force mobilized to monitor the object until it exited the countrys airspace. The military determined that the object posed no threat to national security, defense, or air safety.

On Monday, Feb. 6, Chinese authorities confirmed that the balloon over Latin America was Chinese. It has come to our attention that the vessel in question is from China, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Mao Ning said at a press conference Monday.

Mao stated that the second balloon was being used for civilian flight testing. She claims that due to weather impact and limited navigation capabilities, the balloon significantly veered from its intended path.

Furthermore, she claimed that the aircraft had accidentally entered Latin American and Caribbean airspace. Speaking to journalists, Mao mentioned that the second balloon had deviated greatly from its course due to the aircrafts limited maneuverability. She stated, The unmanned airship in question that came from China is of a civilian nature and used for flight tests, further adding, China is a responsible country and has always strictly abided by international law in order to inform and properly deal with all parties concerned, without posing any threat to any country.

Similar Balloon Shot Down Above US Territorial Waters

Military jets shot down a similar balloon in United States airspace on Saturday amidst claims that it was being used for surveillance. Last week, the Chinese Communist Party confirmed that the balloon flying over the United States was Chinese and claimed it was a civilian meteorological balloon that had been blown off course. However, this assertion was widely contested by United States military officials.

Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III said in a written statement that the balloon was being used in an attempt to surveil strategic sites in the continental United States and that it was brought down above U.S. territorial waters.

A senior defense official stated that although the balloon did not pose a military or physical threat, its intrusion into American airspace was a violation of U.S. sovereignty. The official denied the Chinese claims that the balloon was a runaway weather balloon. He stated that it was a surveillance balloon seeking to monitor sensitive military sites.

The United States is now taking steps to recover the balloon and protect against its collection of sensitive information. United States Navy and Coast Guard vessels have established a security perimeter around the area where the balloon came down and are searching for debris. The recovery mission is expected to be fairly easy as the balloon came down in a shallow area.

Local officials in North and South Carolina have issued warnings to locals not to touch any debris from the suspected Chinese spy balloon and said people should contact local authorities if debris from the balloon washes ashore.
Chris Christie Spars Online With Trump After Saying He Cant Defeat Biden in 2024

Former New Jersey Governor Says Biden is 'Not Capable of Running a Traditional American Race' in 2024

Former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie looks on prior to a game between the Indianapolis Colts and the Dallas Cowboys at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas on Dec. 04, 2022. (Richard Rodriguez/Getty Images)

Chris Christie, a Republican and a former New Jersey governor, traded jabs with former President Donald Trump last weekend.

The online spat came as Christie, who endorsed Trump in the 2016 race for GOP presidential nomination after dropping out of the race himself, cast doubts on Trumps second bid for the White House.

I dont think so, he said when asked if Trump could defeat Biden during a Sunday appearance on ABC News This Week.

In a Sunday post on Truth Social, Trump blasted Christie as a failed governor, saying he never wanted him.

Sloppy Chris Christie, the failed former Governor of New Jersey, spent almost his entire last year in office campaigning in New Hampshire for the Republican Nomination for President. Much like his term in office, where he left with an Approval Rating of just 9 percent, his Presidential campaign was a complete disaster, Trump wrote.

He endorsed me the following day, later recommended Chris Wray for the FBI (how did that work out?), went down in flames, and then was SALVAGED by ABC FAKE NEWS. I never wanted him!

Donald Trump (L) speaks with Chris Christie (R) after he delivered remarks on combatting drug demand and the opioid crisis in the East Room of the White House in Washington on Oct. 26, 2017. (Jim Waston/AFP via Getty Images)

Hours later, Christie snapped back at the former president on Twitter, saying Trump was the only man to lose to Biden outside Delaware.

Im the target of Donald Trumps new tantrum. None of his lies about me today bothered him when he asked me to prep him for every general election debate or offered me 3 different cabinet posts, he said on Twitter.

Hes the only man to lose to Biden outside Delaware. That loss to Joe still stings.

Old and Boring

While Christie is critical of Trump, the former governor also blasted the possibility of Joe Bidens bid for a second term.

In the end, Joe Biden is not an exciting candidate. Hes old. Hes boring. And the American people are not relating to him, Christie said in the interview with ABC.

Christie said Biden, who turned 80 last November, wouldnt be able to withstand another traditional presidential campaign trail, which could involve seven to eight stops in a single day.

Do you see Joe Biden on Air Force One doing seven, eight, campaign stops a day at 82 years old? he said. Can you imagine how many gaffes there are gonna be in those speeches?

Hes not capable of running a traditional American race.

Already the oldest person to sit in the Oval Office in the countrys history, Biden would be 86 by the time a second term ended should he win. Questions around the Democratic Presidents age have already swirled in his own party as well as in the country.

Despite age concerns and the recent classified documents scandal, Biden devotees said they hope the president could run for a second term.

I am looking forward to supporting the president, Sharif Street, head of Pennsylvanias Democratic Party, said at the Partys conference last weekend in Philadelphia. As Biden took the stage, crowds shouted four more years!

President Joe Biden arrives to board Air Force One at Hancock Field Air National Guard Base in Syracuse, New York, on Feb. 4, 2023. (Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images)

Biden has yet to announce his reelection plan, though he publicly said he intended to do so.

However, Trump has already launched his 2024 campaign. The former president officially announced his candidacy last November.

Several Republicans, meanwhile, have declared their support for Trumps return.

Im for Donald Trump because I know what Im going to get. We need somebody that on day one can get this country back on track. That can secure our border and bring order out of chaos. Somebody that the Russians and the Chinese fear. Somebody that can take the fight to the terrorists, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said after formally declaring he would back Trump in the 2024 campaign.

Reuters contributed to this report.
David and Jackie Bajc at the Shen Yun Performing Arts performance at The State Theatre at Playhouse Square on Feb. 5, 2023. (Michael Huang/The Epoch Times)

CLEVELANDWhen the Chinese Communist Party took power in China, Chinese culture was physically destroyed and spiritually warped. Thankfully, Shen Yun Performing Arts is reviving this lost culture and sharing it with the world.

Theyre beautiful, just to see what their culture was like in the past, so they can express it now in the United States, it was great, said Jackie Bajc, a retired teacher. She and her husband David saw Shen Yun at The State Theatre at Playhouse Square on Feb. 5.

Shen Yun is based in New York and it is dedicated to reviving the deeply spiritual culture that China once had.

Fantastic. Were faith-based people so that really means a lot to us to see something like that, said David Bajc, a corporate strategic planner.

Having a brother who had lived in China before, it was no surprise to Mrs. Bajc to see Shen Yun depicting the crimes against humanity that are happening in present-day China through a story-based dance.

He would tell us about how they used to have to go to church in secret, said Mrs. Bajc.

Due to Shen Yun showcasing a China before communism and revealing such crimes, Shen Yun is unable to perform in China.

[Shen Yun is] not allowed, which is kind of disturbing that the Chinese people are missing this great type of show. Its sad, said Mr. Bajc.

It kind of takes me back and [lets me] appreciate what we have here in the United States, the freedoms that we have, that we can see things like that, he added.

And the Bajcs thought what they saw in Shen Yun was beautiful.

I loved it. It was very good. I love the scenery, the background, and the dancing was beautiful. It was gorgeous, said Ms. Bajc.

Shen Yuns backdrop technology is patented. The way the artists interact with the backdrop allows the characters being depicted to fly high into the sky or dive deep into the sea.

I loved the performance. I liked the backgrounds, the color  all the interaction between the performers and the screens, and then how the colors all come together. It was very enlightening and very divine, added Mr. Bajc.

Reporting by Michael Huang 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.
Communist Chinas Balloons Preview Its Hegemonic Ambitions

A balloon flies in the sky over Billings, Montana, on Feb. 1, 2023, in this picture obtained from social media. (Chase Doak/via Reuters)

Commentary

For about three years, China has been using stratospheric balloons to harass our allies and now to violate United States territory, sparking shock among Americans and tragicomic indecision by the Biden administration.

But the larger issue is that these balloons signal a new phase in the Chinese Communist Partys (CCPs) ambition to achieve political-military hegemony.

Americans reacted with justified outrage on Feb. 1, when the residents of Billings, Montana, witnessed the U.S. Air Force intercepting a massive 120-foot balloon with a visible large solar-powered payload, soon identified as Chinese.

Although Chinas foreign ministry on Feb. 3 claimed it was a civilian balloon for meteorological or weather missions with limited self-steering capability that had blown off course, it had the ability to deliberately maneuver to near Montanas Malmstrom Air Force Base (AFB), host of 150 intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs), and Wyomings Francis E. Warren AFB, host to another 150 ICBMs.

But even if it was a mere Chinese weather balloon, it had a deadly serious mission: to transmit detailed weather information such as temperatures and atmospheric density vital for the highly accurate targeting of Peoples Liberation Army Rocket Force ICBMs to take out U.S. ICBM silosin the event of a nuclear war.

With such nuclear implications, why on Feb. 3 did Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning feel confident enough to downplay the incident and urge the United States to handle the balloon matter in a cool-headed way?

Perhaps Chinas confidence stems from its years of conducting similar balloon surveillance against U.S. allies, with Washington failing to issue protests until this most recent incident.

On Feb. 4, an unnamed senior defense official briefing reporters claimed that Chinese balloons transited the continental United States briefly at least three times during the Trump administration, which was immediately denied by former President Donald Trump and many of his senior officials.

However, the record does show that over the past three years, Chinese surveillance balloons have harassed U.S. allies, friends, and a U.S. military base in Hawaii.

On July 17, 2020, a similar balloon and payload structure was observed over Sendai, Japan. Another balloon appeared over Taipei, Taiwan, in September 2021, and then in March 2022, flying over the strategic Songshan Airport, a likely target for Chinese airborne troops.

Then, on Jan. 6, 2022, the same balloon was observed over Indias Port Blair, a very strategic Indian military port in the Andaman Islands close to the Straits of Malacca.

On Feb. 16, 2022, the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command reported that tactical aircraft were launched to investigate a high altitude object floating in the air near Hawaii, specifically the island of Kauai, which hosts the Pacific Missile Range sophisticated air, naval, and undersea testing facility.

On Dec. 18, 2022, a different, larger airship-style stratospheric balloon was observed about 62 miles from Subic Bay in the Philippines, where the Philippines is to allow U.S. Navy assets to be based once more.

The CCPs balloon harassment campaign has two more implications.

First, it signals that Chinas Peoples Liberation Army (PLA) is actively contesting near space, a region just below low Earth orbit or an altitude of about 100 miles, where high-altitude airships, unmanned aerial vehicles, and hypersonic aircraft are able to carry out surveillance and strike missions, rapidly replacing satellites that may be targeted and struck down.

People gather at the beach as they watch the Long March 5B Y3 carrier rocket, carrying the Wentian lab module, lift off from the Wenchang Space Launch Center in Wenchang, in southern Chinas Hainan Province, on July 24, 2022. (Zhang Liyun/Xinhua via AP)

In addition to the helium-filled stratospheric balloon, such as the one that just crossed the United States, in 2015, the Beijing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics displayed its research into the building of a large solar-powered stratospheric blimp-shaped airship.

Chinese military technical universities and state-owned corporations, such as the China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation, flaunt programs such as Tengyun, which includes very high-altitude, solar-powered unmanned aircraft and a combined-cycle turbofan/rocket-powered hypersonic vehicle for launching payloads into space or conducting long-range surveillance and strike missions.

A second implication of Chinas balloon surveillance campaign is that the CCP and the PLA are beginning to project their campaigns of military coercion from adjacent regions to far regions in the Western Hemisphere.

PLA Navy ships regularly conduct patrols around and between the Japanese islands, while Taiwan is subjected to daily PLA Air Force and PLA Navy harassment.

PLA Navy and Maritime Militia forces harass Vietnamese and Philippine-controlled islands in the South China Sea, while Chinese Coast Guard ships harass Indonesia. PLA Navy ships parade off the coast of Australia, and the PLA Navy builds a regular presence in the Indian Ocean.

In September 2021, the largest PLA Navy warshipthe 12,000-ton Type 055conducted a freedom of navigation patrol between some of the U.S. Aleutian islands, which received little attention from the U.S. media.

But Chinas brazen deployment of a surveillance balloon to cross the continental United States signals that as the PLA gathers new capabilities, they will be sent on increasing missions to intimidate Americans.

The United States can look forward to PLA Navy aircraft carrier battle groups sailing off the U.S. Pacific and Atlantic coasts, and PLA Air Force bombers conducting patrols far east of Hawaii, as the PLA seeks military access and ports in Central and South America, complimenting access and bases on Africas west coast.

The CCPs goal is to isolate the United States and other democracies in order to achieve its ambition of global hegemony.

It isnt acceptable that CCP leaders were able to watch for seven days, from their balloons Jan. 28 crossing into U.S. territory to its destruction on Feb. 4, as the Biden administration struggled to decide whether to defend the United States.

One lesson for the CCP may be that it could take seven days for the United States to make up its mind to defend against a Chinese attempt to invade democratic Taiwan.

To deter Chinas use of unmanned balloons and aircraft to harass U.S. allies and violate U.S. territory, the United States requires the means to capture these platforms, perhaps an unmanned Lockheed Martin C-130 aircraft adapted for capture operations.

To prepare now for PLA military future coercion in the Western Hemisphere, the United States will require a large fleet of smaller frigate-size ships more heavily armed than the new USS Constellation class.

The U.S. Air Force will require a large fleet of 4-plus generation capable combat aircraft and more large tanker and transport aircraft to respond to CCP and PLA power projection in the Western Hemisphere and to defend U.S. allies.

In addition, the United States must develop platforms and weapons to match Chinese capabilities in near space, as it struggles to defend space-borne military assets and defend U.S. and allied access to the moon.

Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
Confident About 2024 Win, Trump Swats Away Christie and Other GOP Critics

Poll shows voters unenthused about both Biden and Trump, raising chances of possible Independent candidate surfacing

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump announces that New Jersey Governor Chris Christie officially supports the Trump campaign during a rally at the Fort Worth Convention Center on Feb. 26, 2016, in Fort Worth, Texas. (Tom Pennington/Getty Images)

Former President Donald Trump is swatting away some prominent GOP predictions that his attempt to retake the White House will fail.

Just days after Trump debuted his 2024 presidential run with a speech in New Hampshire, the governor of that state said he doubted Trumps bid to retake the White House from Democrat President Joe Biden would succeed.

Gov. Chris Sununu (R-N.H.) also said he was thinking about running against Trump for the Republican presidential nomination; so did the mayor of Miami, Florida, Francis Suarez, according to ABC News interviews on Feb. 5.

Neither of those potential candidates faced Trumps wrath. But Republican Chris Christie did in the wake of Christies ABC News prediction of a Trump loss.

Now an ABC News contributor, Christie predicted Trump would fall to defeat in 2024 for the same reason he lost in 2020: Hes toxic, Christie said.

Trump Fires Back

Trump retorted on Truth Social: Sloppy Chris Christie, the failed former governor of New Jersey, spent almost his entire last year in office campaigning in New Hampshire for the Republican nomination for president.

Much like his term in office, where he left with an approval rating of just 9 percent, his presidential campaign was a complete disaster. He endorsed me the following day, later recommended Chris Wray for the FBI [how did that work out?], went down in flames, and then was salvaged by ABC fake news. I never wanted him!

Christie later replied on Twitter: Im the target of Donald Trumps new tantrum. None of his lies about me today bothered him when he asked me to prep him for every general election debate or offered me three different cabinet posts. Hes the only man to lose to Biden outside Delaware. That loss to Joe still stings.

A former Trump administration member, Christie has flip-flopped from Trump critic to supporter over the years.

In response to the dust-up between Christie and Trumpand other predictions of a Trump lossone meme supporting Trump pointed out: The Republicans calling President Trump too divisive for 2024 are the same ones who said he would never win in 2016.

Beneath those words were pictures of Christie, U.S. Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah), former U.S. House Speaker Paul Ryan, and Republican strategist Karl Rove.

Old and Boring

During his ABC news analysis of the early stages of the 2024 presidential campaign, Christie bluntly criticized Bidens chances for reelection.

Joe Biden is not an exciting candidate, Christie said. Hes old. Hes boring. And the American people are not relating to him.

Christie backed up that opinion by citing a new ABC News-Washington Post poll showing that six out of 10 Americans believe Biden accomplished little during his first two years in office.

While some pundits have stated that Biden is the only candidate who has shown he can beat Trump, Christie said the current political landscape is different now than when Biden sought the presidency in 2020.

Joe Biden barely had to leave his basement in Wilmington; he didnt have to campaign  What he had in 2020 was a gift: Donald Trump was toxic, and he had a pandemic, Christie said.

As of Feb. 6, Trump was the sole declared candidate for the 2024 presidential race.

Christie, a former presidential candidate who experienced the rigors of facing off against Trump, said he thinks he knows why opponents might be slow to declare their candidacies.

Who wants to be the first in the pool with Donald Trumpwhen he has no one else to shoot at? Christie asked.

More Supporters Than Ever

Over the past weekend, Trump used his Truth Social platform to tout recent opinion poll results showing him slightly ahead of Biden, but not outside the margin of error, according to the Real Clear Politics average.

For all of my many supporters, and the number is higher than ever before, I am pleased to report that our poll numbers are excellent, Trump wrote, even though he said many polls have proven to be so corrupt, wrong, or incompetent in the past  they have become somewhat meaningless, just a political weapon.

In recent days, Trump has reiterated his resolve to save America from radical Left ideology.

During his initial campaign speech in Salem, N.H., Trump declared: Im more angry now, and Im [more] committed now than I ever was.

That quote has served as fodder for online meme-makers who support Trump.

On Truth Social, Trump posted a picture of himself shouting and wrote, This is how I feel about our country, and how it is being totally ruined and destroyed!

Prime Time For Third-Party Candidate?

Meanwhile, some pundits wonder whether the time might be ripe for a third-party candidate to arise, considering that Americans seem lukewarm about both Biden and Trump.

A poll released on Feb. 3 showed 49 percent of Republican-leaning voters would prefer someone other than Trump as their partys presidential nominee. However, when asked if Trump and Biden were squaring off in an election right now, Trump would win, 48 percent to 44 percent.

If Trump were to win another term as president, 43 percent of those surveyed said they would feel positive about that, while only 36 percent reported they would feel that way about a second Biden administration, the ABC News-Washington Post poll said.

Looking ahead to spring 2024, a Vanity Fair article posited this scenario: America wakes up to realize that voters in the primaries have nominated two menages 81 and 77, respectivelyto face off in the general election.

The article said that many people worry about an older president possibly lacking the mental sharpness of a younger one. Further, greater numbers of Americans now consider themselves to be independents rather than Democrats or Republicans.

So, the article suggests that such a political climate might favor a third-party candidate rising to the top.

The article says there would be plenty of qualified and compelling figures happy to step up and accept the challenge.
Congressional Intel Leaders to Be Briefed on Trump, Pence, Biden Classified Documents

Congressional intelligence leaders will be briefed this week on the classified documents cases involving President Joe Biden, former President Donald Trump, and former Vice President Mike Pence, a staffer for House Intelligence Committee Chair Michael Turner (R-Ohio) told The Epoch Times on Feb. 6.

Turner first announced that a briefing will take place while speaking to NBCs Meet the Press host Chuck Todd on Feb. 5. Neither he nor his staffer offered a specific date for the prospective briefing.

The staffer confirmed that the briefing will be for the Gang of Eight, a group of eight members of Congress who are kept aware of classified intelligence matters.

In addition to Turner, the Gang of Eight includes the House Intelligence Committees ranking member, Rep. Jim Himes (D-Conn.); Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) and Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), the chairman and vice chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee; Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.); Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.); and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.).

Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.), Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) attend a Congressional Gold Medal Ceremony for U.S. Capitol Police and D.C. Metropolitan Police officers in the Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol Building in Washington on Dec. 6, 2022. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

Turner requested briefings from the Department of Justice and Office of the Director of National Intelligence regarding the Biden classified documents on Jan. 12, soon after materials were found at the presidents Wilmington, Delaware, residence.

The Epoch Times reached out to committee staff to ask if Turner had received either or both of those briefings.

Turner drew attention to some apparent inconsistencies in the Biden administrations handling of the Trump documents, which led to the execution of a search warrant by the FBI at the former presidents Mar-a-Lago residence in Palm Beach, Florida.

The Biden administration told the American public that they raided Donald Trumps home because it was a national security risk. But what we found in the intelligence community and the intelligence committee is that the Biden administration had not engaged at all anyone who was in national security on the issue of threats from these documents, he said.

It took Congress to step in and say, We want a security threat. And then they tried to deny giving the briefing to us from that threat.

Staff for Turner didnt offer more detail to The Epoch Times on the alleged denial.

Balloon Elevates Suspicion

Turner and Todd also discussed the Chinese surveillance balloon that crossed the United States in recent days.

A jet flies by a Chinese balloon as it floats off the coast in Surfside Beach, S.C., on Feb. 4, 2023. (Randall Hill/Reuters)

U.S. fighter jets shot down the balloon off the coast of South Carolina on Feb. 4.

Turner said a balloon flyover had occurred earlier under the Biden administration, citing a briefing he had received.

Yet he struck a less certain note when asked about the administrations claims that Chinese surveillance balloons had passed over the United States multiple times while Trump was president.

The president [Biden] allowed this to go across our most sensitive sites, and wasnt even going to tell the American public, Turner said.

It sounds like he did put the order in on Wednesday to shoot it down, and that its the military that said, Hey, its not safe yet. Do you accept that? Todd asked.

No, theres no excuses here. When this first occurred last time during this administrationremember, this is the third year of this administrationthey should have been preparing for this, Turner answered, later adding that the military should have downed the craft when it was spotted over Alaska.

He questioned the administrations priorities as to security briefings, suggesting that the emphasis on Trumps documents was misplaced.

Whats interesting is that the moment this balloon became public, I got a notice not from the administration that Im going to get a briefing on this balloon, but they have to rush to Congress now to talk to us about Donald Trumps documents, Turner said.

The lack of any briefing on the balloon apparently hadnt changed since Feb. 5, according to the Turner staffer.

The Epoch Times reached out to the Biden administration for comment but didnt receive a response by press time.
Cutting Red Tape Could Let Canadian Doctors Provide 55.6 Million More Patient Visits per Year: Report

A health-care worker makes his way into the Emergency Department of the Vancouver General Hospital in Vancouver on March 30, 2020. (The Canadian Press/Jonathan Hayward)

Physicians in Canada are collectively spending some 18.5 million hours a year on unnecessary paperwork and administrative tasks, according to a report by the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB).

That time could be used to provide the equivalent of 55.6 million more patient visits annually, according to Patients Before Paperwork, a new CFIB report released on Jan. 30.

The report notes that the countrys health-care system is facing multiple complex challenges including a chronic shortage of health professionals, an aging population, and capacity constraints.

Red tape is consistently identified as an obstacle that detracts from patient care and contributes to physician fatigue and burnout, said the report. It added that this burden impacts patient care by limiting the time doctors can spend with existing patients and the number of new patients doctors can take on.

Keir Johnson, spokesperson for Doctors Manitoba, told The Epoch Times that the report used a very comprehensive study to estimate the administrative burden on Canadian doctors.

The report uses data from a 2020 study conducted by Nova Scotias Office of Regulatory Affairs and Service Effectiveness as a benchmark to estimate the total physician red tape in each province and territory as well as the number of patient visits that could take place if this administrative burden was eliminated.

The data indicated that each doctor in N.S. spends the equivalent of more than one full day per week, or 10.6 hours, completing administrative tasks. That would amount to an equivalent annual total of 1.36 million hours that a doctor could instead use to accommodate 1.73 million patient visits annually.

Unnecessary tasks include work that could be eliminated entirely as well as work that does not require a physicians clinical expertise and could be done by someone else, said a Jan. 30 CFIB news release announcing publication of the report as part of the organizations 14th annual Red Tape Awareness Week.

Examples provided include requiring doctors to complete lengthy and redundant forms and processes, and time-consuming tasks like filling out overly complicated paperwork for insurance companies.

Red Tape

Nova Scotia has set a target to reduce administrative burden on doctors by 10 percent by 2024, with a goal of freeing up roughly 50,000 hours of physician time a year, or the equivalent of 150,000 patient visits.

To achieve this goal, the province said it will work with doctors to identify specific forms and processes that can be shortened, eliminated, or done by someone other than a doctor, according to the report.

CFIB suggests that other provincial and territorial governments also work with their respective medical associations to try to reduce physician red tape.

Johnson said the government of Manitoba has just announced a joint task force with Doctors Manitoba to measure and reduce administrative burdens for physicians.

The task force will work to find specific solutions to help doctors in that province eliminate unnecessary paperwork.

Red tape hurts everyone, and we should be looking to reduce it wherever we can especially where it promises to free up time in areas we care about, said Laura Jones, CFIB executive vice-president and co-author of the report, according to the news release.

Whether we are talking about health-care availability or housing affordability, red tape reduction should be part of the solution. This is common sense that is too often overlooked, Jones said.

The news release said that in a recent CFIB survey, conducted in November 2022, 88 percent of small business owners said addressing health-care challenges should be a top priority for governments.

A CFIB survey conducted just two months earlier, in September 2022, reported that 60 percent of respondents said addressing health-care challenges, such as shortages of staff, emergency rooms, and ambulances, should be a top government priority.

The CFIB is the countrys largest non-profit association of small businesses that advocates for policy change at various levels of government.
Delete TikTok App to Protect Your Personal Data, Says UK Lawmaker

TikTok logos are seen on smartphones in front of a displayed ByteDance logo in this illustration taken on Nov. 27, 2019. (Dado Ruvic/Reuters)

People should delete TikTok from their smartphones to protect their personal data from hostile threats, a senior British Conservative lawmaker has said.

There have long been concerns around TikTok over its links to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), because its parent company ByteDance was founded in the country, and critics have raised fears data could be passed to the Chinese state.

Alicia Kearns, a Conservative MP who chairs the Foreign Affairs Committee in the House of Commons, told Skys Sophy Ridge On Sunday programme that the video-sharing platform is linked to the CCPs efforts to build a tech totalitarian state.

Conservative MP Alicia Kearns, chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee, speaks during a debate on the Procurement Bill in Parliament, Westminster, London, on Jan. 9, 2023. (Screenshot via The Epoch Times)

Asked if she is advising people to delete TikTok from their phones, Kearns replied: Without question. I dont have it on my phone and its fascinating how often you speak to people and they go, Im going home tonight to have a serious conversation with my children.

It is not worth having that vulnerability on your phone and it is the ultimate data source for anyone with hostile efforts.

The fact is, now this isnt just me saying Im worried, delete it, we have evidence that TikTok has been used to track down sources for journalists. Everyone should be concerned about that.

We Are Being Naive

In a letter addressed to Kearns in December 2022, TikTok Government Relations Director Elizabeth Kanter confirmed some ByteDance staff in China may access UK users personal data, adding the access is limited and subject to strict security controls and authorisation approval protocols that are overseen by the companys U.S.-based security teams.

Kanter said TikTok is a global company with a global leadership team that is separate from ByteDances China-based subsidiary Douyin, whose employees do not have access to TikTok UK users personal data.

She also said the company had not been asked for TikTok UK user data by the CCP, had not provided such data, and would not do so if asked.

But Kearns rejected TikToks claims.

She told Sky News: We are being naive. TikTok gave evidence to my committee where they said there was no way that individuals working in China could get access to the data of Britons. But what weve now seen is that people working in China for TikTok hacked into European data so it could track down the source of a journalist.

Because what TikTok does is it gives away the data that makes you most vulnerable: who are you friends with; what are your interests; what are the interests you have that you may not want publicly disclosed; who you are having private conversations with; the locations you go to. Theres a reason why China has this app. Theres a reason why theyre buying up gay dating apps.

The Conservative MP added: Our data is a key vulnerability and China is building a tech totalitarian state on the back of our data. So we have to get far more serious about protecting ourselves.

Speaking just hours after the United States shot down a suspected Chinese spy balloon, Kearns said: While balloons are an important diplomatic spike in opportunity to have this conversation, our bigger concerns are the data penetration, pathway dependency that China is creating on Chinese companies, the way in which theyre intimidating those who sought refuge in the UK and around the world.

Internal CCP Committee

The UKs Security Minister Tom Tugendhat on Dec. 13 said the Chinese regime has considerable sway over the algorithms, warning the app is a powerful tool to push false narratives.

Megan Prangley, a China expert at the Henry Jackson Society, told The Epoch Times that TikToks claims were not credible because ByteDance has an internal CCP committee and its highly likely that a China-based employee can access the data and streamline it to the government.

She also referenced Chinas National Intelligence Law, which requires all organisations and citizens to support, assist, and cooperate with national intelligence efforts.

This is just where you cannot trust the Chinese government, Prangley said, adding employees could be coerced into sharing whatever particular piece of information will be desired at the given time.

A TikTok spokesman said: TikTok is enjoyed by millions of people across the UK, and we want to be clear that they can trust us with their data.

Were taking steps like storing UK user data in our data centre operations in Ireland, starting this year; further reducing employee access to data; and minimising data flows outside of Europe.

We have written to Ms. Kearns on a number of occasions to ensure she has all the facts and information available and we look forward to having constructive engagement with her on these important issues in the near future.

Lily Zhou and PA Media contributed to this report.
Twitter on Track to Break Even Financially in 2023, Elon Musk Says

Billionaire Tesla CEO Elon Musk arrives at the San Francisco headquarters of Twitter on Oct. 26. 2022, stating, Let that sink in as he completes his $44 billion acquisition of the social media company. (Twitter account of Elon Musk/AFP via Getty Images)

Twitter is on a path to financially break even this year, Elon Musk said in a Feb. 5 tweet, as the company implements several measures to boost declining revenues.

The comment followed a December 2022 statement by Musk that he was optimistic about the companys cash flow this year.

Last 3 months were extremely tough, as had to save Twitter from bankruptcy, while fulfilling essential Tesla & SpaceX duties. Wouldnt wish that pain on anyone, Musk wrote. Twitter still has challenges, but is now trending to breakeven if we keep at it. Public support is much appreciated!

In November 2022, Musk said Twitter was losing more than $4 million per day, and that was one reason for laying off a large number of employees in October 2022, along with slashing many corporate perks, including free lunches, home internet, day care, wellness programs, and training and development to rein in costs.

During a Twitter Spaces discussion on Dec. 21, 2022, Musk revealed that when he acquired Twitter in late October 2022 for $44 billion, the business was headed toward a negative cash flow of $3 billion per year.

Thats why he was cutting costs like crazy, Musk said. For 2023, the billionaire entrepreneur exuded hope that the companys financials would take a turn for the better.

With the changes that were making here on massively reducing the burn rate and building subscriber revenue, I now think that Twitter will, in fact, be OK next year, Musk said. I think we will be roughly cash-flow break-even. Thats what I expect for next year.

Revenue Drop

According to data from Standard Media Index, advertising spending on Twitter dropped by 71 percent in December 2022. Musk earlier blamed activist groups for the revenue decline.

Twitter has had a massive drop in revenue, due to activist groups pressuring advertisers, even though nothing has changed with content moderation and we did everything we could to appease the activists. Extremely messed up! Theyre trying to destroy free speech in America, Musk said in a Nov. 4, 2022, tweet.

Twitter introduced several new incentives to attract advertisers, including free ads, allowing greater control over ad positioning, and lifting a ban on political advertising.

Twitter also has massively reduced its workforce to cut costs. When Musk took over, the company had about 7,500 employees. In a Jan. 21 tweet, Musk revealed that the firm had about 2,300 active working employees.

Boosting Revenues

To increase revenues, Musk implemented a paid-in subscription service called Twitter Blue that adds a blue checkmark to an account and gives users additional features, such as allowing them to edit tweets within a 30-minute window, use custom app icons, bookmark tweets into folders, and so on.

In the United States, Twitter Blue is available for $8 per month for Web users and $11 per month for Android and iOS users.

Twitter also indicated that it will start charging for access to its Application Programming Interface (API), which is used to create third-party apps by developers. Until now, developers could freely access the API.

The free access ends on Feb. 9.

Free API is being abused badly right now by bot scammers & opinion manipulators. Theres no verification process or cost, so easy to spin up 100k bots to do bad things. Just ~$100/month for API access with ID verification will clean things up greatly, Musk wrote in a Feb. 3 tweet.

In January, Twitter auctioned off dozens of appliances, furniture, memorabilia, and other items from the companys headquarters in San Francisco.

Andrew Moran contributed to this report.
Ex-Trump Adviser John Bolton Responds to Claims of Chinese Spy Balloons During Trump Presidency

Then-national security adviser John Bolton (R) listens to then-President Donald Trump talk to reporters during a meeting of his cabinet in the Cabinet Room at the White House in Washington, on Feb. 12, 2019. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Former national security adviser John Bolton said that it would be problematic if alleged Chinese spy balloons transited over the United States under the Trump administration without federal officials being notified at the time.

There were a flurry of reports over the weekend, citing allegedly anonymous U.S. officials, that claimed Chinese balloons flew over the United States when former President Donald Trump was in office. However, Trump, Bolton, and other administration officials refuted those claims and said they were never alerted about such matters.

Later, anonymous officials told Fox News on Monday that those balloons werent detected until President Joe Biden took office. The Epoch Times has contacted several Department of Defense spokespeople for comment, while the Pentagon has not publicly commented on the recent allegations.

A so-called senior official told Fox that U.S. intelligence, not the Biden administration, assessed that Chinese military surveillance balloons transited the continental U.S. briefly at least three times during the prior administration and once that we know of at the beginning of this administration, but never for this duration of time. There were also claims of an alleged spy balloon crashing in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Hawaii about four months ago.

But on Monday, Bolton questioned those reports. Well, if it wasnt detected when it happened, how did we detect it more recently? Did the Biden administration invent a time machine? he asked during a CNN interview on Monday.

What is the basis of this new detection? Now, I understand the administration has offered to brief former national security officials from the Trump administration, Bolton said.

If U.S. military officials did not alert staff in the Trump administration, it would be significant, he said.

I will say this, if there was any actual knowledge that these balloons were over the United States and higher authority wasnt told, thats a serious problem, he told CNN, also saying, As far as I know, every Trump administration official who has been asked, has said they didnt know anything about it.

Trump Mounts Defense

On Sunday, the former president and other former senior officials, including John Ratcliffe and Richard Grennell, pushed back against claims made on Sunday.

The Chinese spy balloon drifts to the ocean after being shot down off the coast in Surfside Beach, S.C., on Feb. 4, 2023. (Randall Hill/Reuters)

This never happened. It would have never happened, Trump told Fox News, adding that the Chinese regime respected us greatly when he was in office. It never happened with us under the Trump administration and if it did, we would have shot it down immediately, added Trump. Its disinformation.

Mark Esper, who served under Trump as secretary of defense for several years, similarly refuted claims about balloons flying over the United States under the previous administration during a Sunday interview.

I dont ever recall somebody coming into my office or reading anything that the Chinese had a surveillance balloon above the United States, he told CNN. I would remember that for sure.

Its not true. I can refute it, ex-Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe told Fox News. The American people can refute it for themselves. Do you remember during the Trump administration, when photographers on the ground and commercial airline pilots were talking about a spy balloon over the United States that people could look up and see, even with the naked eye, and that a media that hated Donald Trump wasnt reporting?

It comes after a U.S. military F-22 jet shot down the balloon off the Carolina coast after it traversed sensitive military sites across North America. The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has insisted flyover was an accident involving a civilian aircraft.

The presence of the balloon in the skies above the United States dealt a severe blow to already strained U.S.Chinese relations that have been in a downward spiral for years. It prompted Secretary of State Antony Blinken to cancel a Beijing trip that was scheduled for this month.

U.S. President Joe Biden issued the shootdown order after he was advised that the best time for the operation would be when it was over water, U.S. officials said. Military officials determined that bringing down the balloon over land from an altitude of 60,000 feet would pose an undue risk to people on the ground.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Glen Lake Elementary School in Hopkins, MN has several students with physical disabilities that are unable to use playground equipment during recess. Troubled by the lack of adaptive playground equipment for their disabled classmates, the 5th grade class too matter in their own hands and through various fundraising activities that included collecting spare change, hosting bake sales, and asking for donations from local businesses successfully raised a whopping $300,000 for a new accessible, inclusive playground that will include a swing and merry-go-round. This playground is set to open in fall of 2023.

The students are not stopping here though. They are aiming to raise $700,000 to fund a fully accessible upper playground. An additional $75,000 will fund another accessible area near the grades 1/2 wing of the school, allowing wheelchair access to the outdoor classroom. But thats not all! The school is aiming to raise a total of $900,000 to fund a wheelchair swing and merry-go-round at their neighboring school, Gatewood.

Head over to The Glen Lake Accessible Playground Project fundraising page to see the progress and to make a donation.

Source: CBS News
Experts Predict Another Wave of COVID Infections in China

A man stands in front of a cordoned-off area, where COVID-19 patients lie on hospital beds in the lobby of the Chongqing No. 5 People's Hospital in China's southwestern city of Chongqing on Dec. 23, 2022. (AFP via Getty Images)

China has experienced a massive COVID-19 surge across the country since December 2022, with infection rates estimated at more than 80 percent, and experts predict that another wave of infections is coming.

The Chinese communist regimes State Council stated during a Jan. 30 press conference that the overall COVID-19 situation in the country has entered a low epidemic level and that various places have maintained a steady decline in cases.

However, the regimes lack of transparency has cast doubt over the COVID-19 information it has released.

Patients on beds set up in the atrium area of a busy hospital are cared for by relatives and medical staff, in Shanghai on Jan. 13, 2023. (by Kevin Frayer/Getty Images)

According to mainland Chinese media, the more infectious Omicron subvariants of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, such as CH.1.1, XBB.1.5, BQ.1.1, BQ.1, and XBB, have been detected in China.

Zhang Wenhong, Chinas top virologist and director of Chinas Medical Center for Infectious Diseases, predicted that the peak of the next wave of COVID-19 infections in China will be in May and June. He estimated that the infection rate of the next wave will be about 25 to 50 percent and that symptoms may be less severe compared with the current wave.

Xing Mingyou, a medical expert at Huazhong University of Science and Technology in China, also predicted another wave, telling Yangtze River Daily that the peak of the next wave of infections may come between March and May and that the number of infections and disease severity will be weaker than those of the previous wave.

2 Groups Considered at High Risk

Lu Mengji, a Chinese German virologist, told China News Weekly on Feb. 1 that its expected that from late March onward, as the populations immunity declines, the risk of infection will increase. He also predicted another COVID-19 wave in May and June.

Lu said that many elderly people who have been infected and people with poor physical fitness may experience more severe symptoms if theyre infected again.

Dr. Jonathan Liu, a professor at a traditional Chinese medicine college in Canada and director of the Kangmei Traditional Chinese Medicine Clinic, told The Epoch Times on Jan. 31 that the COVID-19 epidemic in China is complicated.

The Chinese regime saying that the epidemic has reached a low epidemic level is a bit too optimistic and too early, he said. The risk of the large number of people traveling cannot be taken lightly, and rural areas may face greater risks. High mortality rates may be more likely to occur among the elderly.

A man wears a face shield as he assists a loved one on a stretcher in the hallway of a busy hospital in Shanghai on Jan. 14, 2023. (Kevin Frayer/Getty Images)

COVID-19 vaccination rates among the elderly in China are extremely low.

The Epoch Times obtained an internal document issued by Hezhou City government of Guangxi Province on Jan. 19 that shows that the elderly population in the city doesnt want to be vaccinated.

Many people in China have been worried that Chinese-made vaccines may have undesired side effects and havent encouraged their elderly to get vaccinated.

Liu said the COVID-19 infections in mainland China are mainly caused by the BA.5 subvariant of the Omicron variant; the XBB.1.5 subvariant, which has been spreading all over the world; and the CH.1.1 subvariant, which is more concerning.

Some people call it Orthrus, the two-headed dog in Greek mythology, because of its super immune escape ability and [because its] highly transmissible. Vaccination and booster shots are useless. The next wave of infections may surge in the mainland soon, and there may even be a third wave, he said.

Li Yun and Fang Xiao contributed to the report.
Fathers Losing Even More Ground in the Family Court

A dad and his daughter enjoy the last sunset of the year in Manhattan Beach, Calif., on Dec. 31, 2018. (Chris Delmas/AFP via Getty Images)

Commentary

Submissions on the Australian governments draft Family Law Amendment Bill are due by Feb. 27. There is much to be concerned about in Attorney-General Mark Dreyfuss draft amendment. But perhaps its most problematic aspect is the proposal to remove the order for equal shared parental responsibility.

As noted by Patrick Parkinson, a leading family law academic, the draft released on Jan. 30 stripped almost all references which encourage the meaningful involvement of both parents in relations to the child after separation.

One of the well-known facts about divorce is that children often adapt better to their parents separation if they are allowed to have a continuing contact with both of their parents. Indeed, a recurring theme in the field of child psychoanalysis is that children of divorced parents often desire to develop a meaningful relationship with both of their parents.

Richard Warshak, an American clinical and research psychologist, says that sharing overnight care is generally not problematic even for the very little child. In normal circumstances, he explains, little children are more likely to do better if they have overnight contact with both parents.

This conclusion is endorsed by more than 110 leading researchers and practitioners, including Barry Nurcombe, an emeritus professor of child and adolescent psychiatry at the University of Queensland.

According to Nurcombe: The experts who signed the report are amongst the best in the world in their fields  The paper highlights the fact that current policies relating to overnight contact with  young children have been excessively affected by a misplaced concern to the mother.

A father plays with one of his daughters during breakfast at his home in Berlin, Germany, on Aug. 31, 2010. (Sean Gallup/Getty Images)

In this sense, one of the most disturbing trends in contemporary society is the increasing distance, if not complete alienation, of fathers from their biological children.

For divorced or separated men, a particular cause of dismay and distress may be the loss of contact with children they have loved, protected, and helped raise.

An Uphill Battle

In Australia, thousands of fathers have had their contact with their children limited to a few hours and often spend huge sums on lawyers, fighting to be able to care for their children overnight.

One can hear the testimony of good fathers whose spouses have run off and been awarded the sole custody of their biological children while they are expected to pay full support.

The more a mother can restrict the fathers access to the children, the more financial reward she receives in the form of compulsory support payments extracted from the father.

Add false accusations of domestic violence, and then the father will be required to prove his innocence before he is allowed within 100 metres of his children.

Indeed, a restraining order, even when based on allegations that are unsubstantiated, is a powerful weapon in the fight for primary custody and restricted access.

David Collier, a retiring judge from the Parramatta Family Court, explains that false accusations of domestic violence have become a major weapon in the war between parents who wish to secure full custody of their children.

The outside of the Supreme Court of New South Wales building is seen in Sydney, Australia, on Oct. 9, 2013. (William West/AFP via Getty Images)

Bettina Arndt, an Australian writer who specialises in gender issues, has also noted that there is a problem.

Surveys of magistrates have revealed most agree that false allegations of violence are being used to gain an advantage in family law battles. Thats why most family law cases now include allegations of violence. Such an allegation often results in good fathers having to pay for supervised contact to see their children, and most end up losing contact. The current system is set up to disadvantage fathers, and the proposed changes will make it so much worse.

In its review of submissions to a government inquiry about changes in the family law system, the Australian Family Association (AFA) noted the prevalence of a feminist view among pro-women groups, which appears to consider that children are all-right without any contact with their biological fathers.

One such submission went so far as to postulate that fathers should have no contact whatsoever with their children after the divorce. By contrast, AFA has noted how the father groups have a special focus on the needs of the child, particularly meaningful contact with the fathers and emotional support to their children.

System Overlooking Devastating Effects on Good Fathers

The evidence is overwhelming that when marriages fail, Australian fathers are much less likely to be awarded custody of their children and far more likely to be displaced from the family home.

Since the system tends to favour women with the custody of children and the family home (even where men are unemployed and have nowhere else to go), these are significant factors in the growth of male homelessness and suicide in Australia.

Indeed, suicide is the number one killer of Australian men under the age of 44. Such an increase in male suicide is at least partially due to relationship breakdown and parental alienation, coupled with poorer support among divorced males.

According to research by the Australian Institute of Suicide Research and Prevention, almost half of all the male suicides in this country are directly linked to family law issues such as child custody and pending legal matters.

As Arndt points out:

There is solid evidence that the major cause of suicide in this country is not mental health problems but rather the toll taken by a family break-up, where fathers often face mighty battles trying to stay part of their childrens lives, up against a biased family law system which fails to enforce contact orders, and often facing false violence allegations which are now routinely used to gain an advantage in family court battles.

In this sense, some fathers who know about these serious problems are trapped in coercive relationships due to the entirely reasonable fear of losing access to their children.

A family lying on a couch, using a laptop. (Westend61/Getty Images)

There has also been an increase in cases of men falling victim to the controlling behaviour of women who use their children as leverage to threaten their fathers into staying in abusive relationships.

Family courts, particularly where children are involved, are quite renowned for supporting women, says Kate Ryan (pdf), a family lawyer, who also believes that women know that and use it and know that their children are a hard-hitting point, yet thats manipulation.

Although the media, government inquiries, and pronouncements by politicians appear to suggest that child abuse is perpetrated overwhelmingly by biological fathers, decades of research indicate that children who live without their biological fathers are at significantly higher risk of being abused.

According to Parkinson, girls, in particular, are at much greater risk of sexual abuse from the mothers new partner than from their own father.

Naturally, sensible people would see this as a pointer to the protective nature of the bond between daughters and fathers. Nonetheless, defending the important role played by fathers in the protection of their children is not part of the prevailing agenda.

Instead of addressing the problems described above, the present proposal of the Australian government to remove the order of equal shared parental responsibility provision will inevitably lead to even more unjust outcomes for both children and good parents.

Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
FBI Arrests Man, Woman With Extremist Views in Alleged Power Grid Attack

The FBI and U.S. Attorneys Office in Baltimore said they arrested two people who were allegedly attempting to attack a Maryland power grid.

In a news conference on Monday, FBI and Department of Justice officials said that Sarah Clendaniel of Catonsville, Maryland, and Brandon Russell of Orlando, Florida, allegedly plotted to shoot multiple electrical substations in the Baltimore area and wanted to completely destroy this whole city.

These plans were stopped thanks to the swift action and collaboration of our federal, state, and local enforcement partners, U.S. Attorney of Maryland Erek Barron said in the press conference.

An FBI official told reporters that the agency views the suspects as racially or ethnically motivated extremists.

The accused were not just talking, but taking steps to fulfill their threats and further their extremist goals, said Thomas Sobocinski, special agent in charge of the FBI Baltimore field office, according to multiple news outlets.

Russell provided instructions and location information. He described attacking the power transformers as the greatest thing somebody can do, Sobocinski added. Their actions threatened the electricity and heat of our homes, hospitals, and businesses.

According to court documents (pdf), officials claimed Russell said he had National Socialist beliefs and that he and his roommates were members of Atomwaffen. A footnote in the paper said that Atomwaffen is described by law enforcement as a racially or ethnically motivated violent extremist group.

The charging documents also said that Clendaniel allegedly told an undercover agent that shots targeting five substations would completely destroy this whole city, adding that a good four or five shots through the center of them  should make that happen. According to the documents, she said that such efforts would probably permanently completely lay this city to waste if we could do that successfully.

Following the announced indictments, utility companies Exelon and BGE released a statement, saying that the Federal Bureau of Investigation has notified Exelon and BGE that it has disrupted a plot to target several BGE electric substations with gunfire. There were no disruptions to service or damage to substations, the statement said.

The sun shines over towers carrying electical lines in San Francisco on Aug. 30, 2007. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

We are working closely with the FBI and state and local law enforcement as they continue their investigation, and we are thankful for their vigilance and the precautions taken to protect the electric grid for our customers and employees, the firms said.

Law enforcement acted before the perpetrators were able to carry out their plan, and there was no damage to any of the substations, nor was any service disrupted. The substations are not believed to have been targeted out of any connection to BGE or Exelon, or because of any particular vulnerability, the companies said.

Other Incidents

About a month ago, a Colorado dentist was arrested after he set fire to a vehicle, causing damage to a Las Vegas-area power station, officials said. The suspect was identified as 34-year-old Mohammed Mesmarian, who faces terrorism-related charges over the incident.

Several days ago, a Las Vegas judge ruled that Mesmarian was not competent to stand trial because he could not understand the charges against him.

In a separate incident, two Washington state men were arrested for several alleged attacks on power substations near Tacoma, although the two werent charged with terrorism-related counts. Authorities said the two men wanted to knock out power to the area to commit a burglary targeting a local business, according to charging documents.

While the power was out, after the Graham and South Hill attacks, the two went to a local business, Crahan drilled out a lock, and Greenwood entered to steal from the cash register, agents wrote in charging documents filed in the Western Washington U.S. District Court.

Emily Langlie, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorneys Office, told USA Today that their motive appeared to be for monetary gain but didnt rule out terror-related charges.

Late last year, a utility in North Carolina reported outages from what local authorities said were orchestrated shootings that are now being investigated by federal law enforcement. The FBI also investigated shots fired near a power facility in South Carolina days later.

No arrests have been made in connection to the incidents in North and South Carolina. Its also not clear if those attacks were related to the charges filed against Clendaniel and Russell on Monday.

Reuters contributed to this report.
Feds Open to Amending Canadas Bail Laws, Says Justice Minister, as Provinces Call for Action

Justice Minister David Lametti rises during question period in the House of Commons in Ottawa on May 16, 2022. (The Canadian Press/Patrick Doyle)

The federal government will look at Canadas Criminal Code with a view to amending bail laws following calls for urgent changes by provincial leaders, says Justice Minister and Attorney General David Lametti.

Well look at Criminal Code amendments to the bail regime. The provinces have asked us to do it, the Justice ministers have asked us to do it, and we have been doing that work, Lametti said on an episode of CTVs Question Period on Feb. 5.

This isnt something that started last week or a few weeks ago; this started last fall. So we will come together hopefully with some ideas in the very short term to fix that.

In late December 2022, 28-year-old Ontario Province Police (OPP) constable Grzegorz Pierzchala was shot and killed while on duty, and one of the two suspects in his murder charge was a repeat offender who was out on bail.

In a letter to the federal government in mid-January, Canadas premiers unanimously called for Ottawa to immediately reform the countrys bail regime.

The letter followed an earlier call by the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police for the government to amend the Criminal Code.

As we mourn the tragic passing of Constable Pierzchala, the criminal justice systems limitations and ineffective management of chronic and prolific offenders is painfully obvious, the association said in a statement.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Jan. 16 that the government is looking carefully and quickly at potential changes it could make to Canadas bail system.

Lametti said on Question Period that Ottawa is doing some bail-reform work, but added that the provinces are also responsible for making some of their own amendments.

Its not simply federal Criminal Code amendments, he said. Its provincial administration. How can we help the provinces better administer bail?

This Cant Go On

OPP Commissioner Thomas Carrique said he was outraged following Pierzchalas murder that one of his suspected killers was out on bail.

This should never have happened, he said during a press conference on Dec. 29, 2022.

Appearing on Question Period after Lametti, Carrique said that meaningful, responsible changes to the Criminal Code are needed immediately.

This cant go on. We need leadership. We need meaningful change, and we need to take responsibility for our communities, he said.

The OPP commissioner also said he is in complete disagreement with those who argue that Canadas bail laws are already very strict for repeat offenders known to be dangerous.

There are casesin the case of Constable Pierzchalawhere the individual charged with first-degree murder had shown a concerning pattern of non-compliance with previous weapons and firearm-related prohibitions and other court-imposed conditions, Carrique said.

Randall McKenzie, one of the suspects in Pierzchalas murder case, had already been prohibited from owning firearms following two previous court orders in 2016 and 2018.

Violent offenders are being released into communities and they are, in some cases, victimizing people within their own communities, Carrique said.

This is about the safety and security of innocent Canadians.

The Canadian Press and Marnie Cathcart contributed to this report.
Feds Wont Immediately Prioritize Recovering $170 Million in Funding on Closed Vaccine Factory: Minister

Innovation, Science, and Industry Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne responds to a question during Question Period in Ottawa on Nov. 16, 2022. (Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press)

The federal government will not immediately prioritize recovering over $170 million in funding spent on a Quebec-based COVID-19 vaccine manufacturing factory that was recently shut down by its parent company, says Industry and Innovation Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne.

Medicago Inc., the manufacturer of the plant-based COVID vaccine, Covifenz, announced on Feb. 3 that it will be closing after its parent company, Mitsubishi Chemical Group (MCG), cut all future investments in the company.

The first order of business is really to try to find a partner who can help us preserve the jobs, preserve the technology, and the intellectual property, Champagne said in reference to the closure of Medicago while speaking with reporters in Ottawa on Feb. 3, as first reported by Blacklocks Reporter.

The federal government announced in October 2020 that it would invest up to $173 million in Medicago, part of which would go toward building the companys Quebec City vaccine factory, as a way of supporting Canadas response to COVID-19 and future preparedness.

When asked by reporters if Ottawa would be looking to recover the funds now that Medicago will be halting operations, Champagne said, thats not the main focus today.

We have a number of legal [recourses], but the order of business [is to] preserve the jobs, he said.

Champagne added that he has consulted with the federal Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos and the Quebec government to prepare to find an industrial partner who could take the business forward since MCG will be pulling its Medicago investments.

Its really about finding solutions now, he said, adding that the company has assured the federal government it will respect its prior commitments to both Ottawa and the Quebec government.

Medicago

The federal government also previously signed an agreement with Medicago to obtain up to 76 million doses of what was then its COVID-19 vaccine candidate, which wouldve been enough to vaccinate 38 million people.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said the investment, which came through Ottawas Strategic Innovation Fund, was a testament to Canadas commitment to evidence-based solutions for COVID.

At the same time, the federal government also invested up to $18.2 million in a Vancouver-based biotech company called Precision NanoSystems Incorporated (PNI), which was developing its own COVID vaccine.

Ottawa said the investments in Medicago and PNI would help create and maintain approximately 440 full-time jobs.

Health Canada approved Medicagos plant-based Covifenz vaccine in February 2022 for individuals aged between 18 and 64, but the World Health Organization (WHO) rejected Medicagos vaccine application for emergency use a month later due to the companys ties to tobacco companies.
Fire Damages Buddhist Temple in Melbournes Southeast

Firefighters are seen at the scene of a fire at the Bright Moon Buddhist Temple in Springvale South, Melbourne. Eighty firefighters have battled a blaze that has damaged the temple. Monday, February 6, 2023. (AAP Image/Diego Fedele)

A Buddhist temple in Melbournes southeast has been gutted by fire, leaving a small community devastated.

Crews were called to the Bright Moon Buddhist Temple in Springvale South at about 8 p.m. on Sunday as large flames engulfed the building.

It took about 80 firefighters more than two hours to control the blaze.

About 30 residents in the surrounding area had to be evacuated, while others were told to close doors and windows and turn off heating and cooling systems.

No one was injured in the blaze, Fire Rescue Victoria confirmed.

Firefighters are seen operating at the scene of a fire at the Bright Moon Buddhist Temple in Springvale South, Melbourne. Eighty firefighters have battled a blaze that has damaged the temple. Monday, February 6, 2023. (AAP Image/Diego Fedele)

Firefighters were continuing to put out spot fires on Monday morning, Assistant Chief Fire Officer Paul Foster said.

This was an extensive fire, very rapidly developing and quite spectacular to look at, he told ABC News Breakfast on Monday morning. It was seen for many kilometres around.

It was still too early to determine the cause of the blaze, Foster said.

Its understood up to 1000 members of the Springvale Buddhist community had their loved ones ashes kept inside the temple.

Resident Jenny Tang, who had her fathers ashes at the site, said she was devastated.

I was really in shock and never thought it would happen, she told 3AW on Monday morning.

Its a sanctuary. Its a place where I can go and chat with my dad because I lost him suddenly. It was also a place of worship. It means a lot to us.

A person reacts to the destruction of the Temple at the scene of a fire at the Bright Moon Buddhist Temple in Springvale South, Melbourne. Eighty firefighters have battled a blaze that has damaged the temple. Monday, February 6, 2023. (AAP Image/Diego Fedele)

Its still unsafe to enter to building, so Tang was unsure whether her fathers ashes could be salvaged.

Fire Rescue Victoria will work with the local Buddhist community as they investigate the fire.

Theres a very culturally sensitive operation weve conducted here, Foster said.

Not only is it a place of worship, its a place of gathering for the local Buddhist community.

Home Affairs Minister Clare ONeil, the federal member for the Springvale region, said the communitys devastation was palpable.

This temple was like a second home for so many, built up by contributions from local volunteers and worshippers over decades into something beautiful, she tweeted on Monday.

This is a devastating time for the Buddhist community in Melbourne. I know that, together, we can rally to support them in a time of real need.
Fire in Houston Airport Locker Room Delays Morning Flights

People wait in a hallway at the George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston in a file photo. (Brandon Bell/Getty Images)

HOUSTONA fire at Houstons largest airport delayed flights on Sunday and forced passengers and employees to temporarily evacuate a terminal, officials said. No injuries were reported.

Houston firefighters were called to Bush Intercontinental Airport after a fire was reported in an employee locker room in Terminal C around 5:30 a.m., according to a statement from United Airlines. The airport is a major hub for the company.

Customers and employees were evacuated from the terminal and Uniteds inbound flights were halted from 5:32 a.m. to 7 a.m.

The airline said 23 of its inbound flights were delayed. Operations have since returned to normal.

Were grateful to the Houston Fire Department and Houston airport staff for their response. We are assisting customers impacted by delays, United said.
First Hearing on Weaponization of Federal Government Is Just Days Away, Heres What to Expect

Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) speaks during an on-camera interview near the House Chambers during a series of votes in the U.S. Capitol Building in Washington on Jan. 9, 2023. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

The first hearing of the House subcommittee on the weaponization of the federal government has been formally scheduled and is just days away, with Republican lawmakers vowing to follow the truth where it leads and Democrats arguing the panel is going to go after every conspiracy theory thats out there.

The Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government is scheduled to convene for the very first time at noon on Feb. 9 on Capitol Hill.

With a broad mandate that includes subpoena power and the authority to investigate ongoing criminal probes, the panel will look into any areas where the federal government may have abused its power and violated the rights of American citizens.

We will follow the truth where it leads, Rep. Mike Johnson (R-La.), one of the members of the subcommittee, said in a post on Twitter, while sharing the schedule for the panels first meeting, which will take place at the Rayburn House Office Building.

Republicans have compared the panel to the Church Committee, a respected Senate select committee that in the 1970s uncovered abuses by U.S. intelligence agencies.

The American people deserve to have confidence in their government, Rep. Tom Cole (R-Okla.), chair of the House Rules Committee, said on the House floor earlier in January. They deserve to know that the broad powers granted to the federal government through the FBI, to the Department of Homeland Security, and to the intelligence agencies, are not being abused.

Rep. Tom Cole (R-Okla.) during a hearing in the U.S. Capitol in Washington on Dec. 18, 2017. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Democrats have portrayed the subcommittee as a partisan fishing expedition.

Theyre going to go down the rabbit hole, theyre going to go after every conspiracy theory thats out there, Rep. John Garamendi (D-Calif.), a member of the subcommittee, said in an interview Sunday on MSNBC.

Garamendi acknowledged the importance of investigating government abuses and that Congress, which is tasked with oversight, should probe any related allegations. At the same time, he portrayed the panels eight Democrats as dedicated to seeking the truth while accusing the Republicans of pursuing far-fetched hypotheses.

We want the truth, we want it to come out, and were quite certain that the latest conspiracy thing will be on Mr. Jordans agenda for the next two years but you can count on the eight of us on this committee to make sure that the American public knows the truth, Garamendi said, referring to Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), who chairs the subcommittee.

The talking points made the rounds over the weekend as the nations focus turns to the panels inaugural meeting in just several days.

What theyre interested in doing is chasing down rainbow conspiracies and far-right fearmongering to their base, Del. Stacey Plaskett (D-Virgin Islands), the Democrat ranking member on the committee, told MSNBC in an interview Friday.

Plaskett, who was a manager during the impeachment proceedings of former President Donald Trump, claimed in the interview that Democrats on the panel will be the truth squad.

The GOP-controlled House voted on Jan. 10 to establish the subcommittee, with the text of the resolution outlining its various functions.

Del. Stacey Plaskett (D-Virgin Islands) answers questions at a press conference after the conclusion of former President Donald Trumps second impeachment trial in Washington on Feb. 13, 2021. (Win McNamee/Getty Images)

What to Expect?

The Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government has the power to examine the federal governments broad involvement in investigations of U.S. citizens, including ongoing criminal investigations.

Additionally, the committee has the authority to investigate the way federal agencies communicate with private companies in order to gather information on Americans.

Several members of the subcommittee told The Epoch Times in recent interviews that the panel will specifically focus on alleged abuses by the Department of Justice (DOJ) and FBI, the legality of vaccine mandates, disinformation about conservative-sponsored election integrity laws, and government-directed censorship of Americans by big tech firms.

The proposal for the subcommittee came after Republicans signaled that they want a top-to-bottom investigation of the FBI after the Twitter Files, internal company communications that were provided by Elon Musk to several journalists, suggested that the agency pressured Twitter to censor free speech.

The FBI has denied any wrongdoing, and in an emailed statement to The Epoch Times, a spokesperson said the agency regularly notifies private sector entities about foreign malign influence, but that any actions are taken independently by companies.

One of the Twitter Files releases included screenshots of FBI requests for Twitter to censor posts on the platform, while other messages showed Twitter complying in a dynamic independent journalist Matt Taibbi described as a master-canine relationship.

A crest of the Federal Bureau of Investigation inside the J. Edgar Hoover FBI Building in Washington on Aug. 3, 2007. (Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images)

Signature Abuse of Power of Our Time

Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), a member of the panel, told The Epoch Times that the panel will push for accountability for alleged abuses by federal agencies.

The weaponization of the federal government against the American people is the signature abuse of power of our time, and I see no way Congress can look away and not seek due accountability, Issa said.

Subcommittee member Rep. Chris Stewart (R-Utah), who also serves on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, told The Epoch Times that his priority is to investigate the now-debunked allegations that the Trump campaign colluded with Russia in election interference during the 2016 campaign.

My priorities are really a continuation of the work that weve been doing through the Intelligence Committee that highlights and recognizes and roots out the corruption that weve seen from leadership in some of our most key agencies that just hasnt been exposed or held accountable, like it should have been, Stewart told The Epoch Times.

Rep. Mike Johnson (R-La.), a member of the panel, told The Epoch Times that the work of the committee will also help make sure abuses by federal agencies dont happen again.

Since the beginning of the Biden administration, some federal agencies designed to serve and keep Americans safe have instead been turned against them, he said.

This fact is beyond dispute. The Biden administration has used counterterrorism resources against the parents of school children, raided the homes of political opponents, targeted conservative states over their election integrity laws, inflated domestic extremism statistics, and instituted illegal vaccine mandates, just to name a handful of examples, he added.

Rep. Mike Johnson (R-La.) speaks during a hearing of the House Judiciary Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington on July 14, 2022. (Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images)

Deranged Ploy?

Democrats have raised concerns about the ability of the committee to probe ongoing criminal investigations, which are generally outside the purview of congressional oversight.

This is a violation of separation of powers, and its also very dangerous, said Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.), the top Democrat on the Judiciary Committee.

Rep. Jim McGovern (D-Mass.) derided the panel on the House floor on Jan. 10, calling it nothing more than a deranged ploy by the MAGA extremists who have hijacked the party and want to use taxpayer money to push their far-right conspiracy nonsense.

Speaking on the House floor, Jordan disputed this characterization.

A ploy? Its not a ploy when the Department of Justice treats parents as terroristsmoms and dads simply showing up at a school board meeting to advocate for their son or daughter, Jordan said. Its not a ploy when the FBI pays Twitter $3 million to censor American citizens.

Dozens of whistleblowers have come talked to Republican staff on the Judiciary Committee doesnt think this is a ploy. Thats why they talked to us. They know how serious this is, Jordan added.

The FBI told The Epoch Times in an earlier statement that its work is not political and that its dedicated to protecting the American people from terrorism, violent crime, cyber threats and other dangers. The agency added that, regardless of criticism, we will continue to follow the facts wherever they lead, do things by the book, and speak through our work.

John Ransom and Mimi Nguyen-Ly contributed to this report.
Former Speaker Boehner Urges Supreme Court to Block Bidens Student Loan Cancellation Plan

The Supreme Court should disallow President Joe Bidens sweeping plan to partially forgive student loans, former House Speaker John Boehner and former Reps. Howard Buck McKeon (R-Calif.) and John Kline (R-Minn.) told the court.

Biden introduced the plan in August 2022 in a move that critics decried as a constitutionally dubious attempt to shore up Democrats fortunes ahead of the November 2022 congressional elections. While the Congressional Budget Office said the plan could cost about $400 billion, the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania estimates the price tag could exceed $1 trillion.

About 26 million people reportedly applied under the program before courts blocked it last year. Of those 26 million, 16 million were reportedly approved before the government stopped accepting applications.

Boehner, an Ohio Republican who left Congress in 2015, said the plan is unlawful and that the Biden administration failed to follow proper procedures in its rush to finalize debt relief before last years elections.

The comments came in a friend-of-the-court brief in Biden v. Nebraska filed on Feb. 2 (pdf), which was joined by McKeon and Kline, who crafted the loan relief legislation the president says empowers him to grant debt relief. McKeon left Congress in 2015; Kline left in 2017.

Despite the staggering scope of this regulatory action, it was taken with breathtaking informality and opacity, Boehner and the other two lawmakers said.

The Department of Education did not undertake the notice-and-comment process required for rulemaking, much less solicit any public input.

The agency did not even issue a formal order or directive setting out its cancellation program. Instead, it issued a press release on August 24th along with two legal memoranda providing its justifications, and, later, a hastily created [Frequently Asked Questions] section on its website.

The Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in the case, Biden v. Nebraska, on Feb. 28. A separate but related case, known as Department of Education v. Brown, will be heard the same day. The debt relief program was already blocked by lower federal courts.

The department claims it has the authority to move forward with the debt relief proposal, which would cancel as much as $20,000 in loan principal for 40 million borrowers, under the Higher Education Relief Opportunities for Students Act of 2003 (HEROES Act).

The government put a pause on student loan payments and interest during the recent pandemic but then claimed in 2022 that the pandemic gave it emergency authority under the law to proceed with partial loan forgiveness. Republicans, who took the majority in the House of Representatives in January, say the emergencies arent justified and should be ended sooner.

In a move that could undermine the governments legal arguments in the Supreme Court case, Bidens Office of Management and Budget said on Jan. 30 that on May 11, it would end the national emergency and the public health emergency, which were declared by the Trump administration three years ago. Those two official emergencies enabled federal agencies to exercise expansive powers in managing the governments response to the COVID-19 virus.

Biden sparked confusion on Jan. 31 when he told a reporter that the COVID-19 emergency will end when the Supreme Court ends it. White House officials didnt respond by press time to a request by The Epoch Times for clarification of the presidents comment.

Boehner, McKeon, and Kline, who were all involved in the passage of the HEROES Act, said the statute was enacted after the 9/11 terror attacks to provide student loan relief to military service members and their families but was never intended to be used to cancel debts en masse.

The three former lawmakers said in the brief filed on their behalf by Pacific Legal Foundation that they know perhaps better [than] anyone why the Departments justification is wholly at odds with the Acts text, the context in which it was passed, and what has always been understood to be the limits of the Acts reach.

As they know, firsthand, Congress did not, and surely could not, have ever expected the Act to be misused and distorted by the Department in the policy now before this Court.

The purpose of the HEROES Act is to repay the brave Americans who endure great personal hardship in service to their country with a modest protection against the distractions of administrative obligations arising from their student loans, the brief stated.

But the lawmakers said they didnt intend to empower the Secretary [of Education] to radically change the student loan system itself, much less absolve borrowers who havent suffered hardship from the responsibilities they took on as borrowers.

U.S. Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar took the opposite tack in a previous court filing (pdf).

She said that the entire purpose of the HEROES Act is to authorize the Secretary to grant student-loan-related relief to at-risk borrowers because of a national emergencyprecisely what the Secretary did here.

Other opponents of the Biden plan, including 17 states, 128 members of the House of Representatives, and 43 senators, have also filed briefs.

In January, the NAACP, as well as the American Federation of Teachers, American Association of University Professors, and American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees, filed briefs supporting the Biden administrations position.
The CCP Deceived Me: Former Chinese Propagandist Shares Her Journey Awakening to CCPs Abuses

Lin Yudan, a former Chinese state propaganda media reporter, shared her journey from being misled by Beijings disinformation about Falun Gong to admiring the courage of adherents of the spiritual practice. Through this, she went from tolerating the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) to renouncing the Party.

She regretted how her naive behaviors had made her an accomplice of an evil-doer. My affection and upright characteristics have been manipulated by the CCP, she said.

In an interview with the Chinese-language edition of The Epoch Times on Jan. 26, she expressed her apology to Falun Gong for falling for the propaganda of the regime and revealed her journey of awakening and withdrawal from the CCP.

Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa, is an ancient Chinese spiritual practice consisting of simple, slow-moving meditation exercises and teachings based on the principles of truthfulness, compassion, and tolerance. It grew in popularity during the 1990s, with 70 million to 100 million adherents in China by the end of the decade, according to official estimates at the time.

Feeling threatened by its popularity, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) launched a systematic elimination campaign in July 1999. Since then, millions have been detained inside prisons, labor camps, and other facilities, with hundreds of thousands tortured while incarcerated, according to the Falun Dafa Information Center.

The Enraged Monkey King

Lin immigrated to the United States in 2012 and before that, CCP publications and propaganda were her only sources of information.

She used to be a journalist for Shanghai Law Journal, the main political and legal propaganda front designated by the municipal Party Committee.

She admitted that she fell for the CCPs political propaganda that labeled Falun Gong as superstitious. The CCPs 2001 state TV report that smeared Falun Gong adherents with a staged self-immolation incident in Tiananmen Square shocked her. The film aired bloody images of self-immolation that caused her to malign Falun Gong.

In 2001, the International Educational Development, Inc. presented a video to the United Nations that confirmed the self-immolation to be a staged event arranged by CCP state media with the purpose of discrediting Falun Gong to justify its violent suppression of Falun Gong.

In 2003, the World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong (WOIPFG) also began its own investigation. As the investigation found, the incident could be the biggest known conspiracy undertaken by the Chinese leadership since the Communist Party came to power, said WOIPFG President John Jaw.

Not until Lin came to the United States did she gradually learn the lies and brutality that the CCP has exploited throughout its history, including how the CCP treated the prisoners of war, the so-called three-year natural disaster were actually man-made disasters that caused the great famine in China, on top of the devastating Cultural Revolution, the 1989 Tiananmen Massacre, and persecution of Falun Gong.

In 2021, she adopted Monkey King as her username on Twitter, as the Monkey King is famous for wreaking havoc in Heaven, and started her campaign to fight against the CCP.

Falun Gong practitioners take part in the Chinese New Year Parade in Flushing, New York, on Jan. 21, 2023 (Samira Bouaou/The Epoch Times)

An Ignorant Accomplice of Evil

She was aware of CCPs dictatorship and political movements, I was very disgusted with the CCP, but not to the point of hating it, she said, referring to before she came to the West.

I was too naive  with my affection and righteousness, the CCP deceived me and I became an accomplice of evil instead, she said.

Her ignorance has caused her great pain and regret about how shes been nasty toward the Falun Gong adherents for a very long time.

She said, Its a humiliation to myself, and I hate CCP for that, because it hurt me badly, and its very personal.

She stressed that she cant tolerate any accomplice to evil.

She particularly appreciated The Epoch Times for helping her learn more about the truth, especially for the effort The Epoch Times has put into covering and reporting Hong Kongs 2019 anti-extradition movement.

Understanding Forced Organ Harvesting

She mentioned her medical background had her misunderstand the exposure of live organ harvesting.

She said live organ harvest means literally to harvest the organs alive  I thought, the organs would lose their vitality during the live harvest because of the excruciating pain of the victim during the process. Therefore, I found it hard to believe. She also highly doubted that the CCP would be as evil.

However, the large number of Chinese transplants drew her attention and she reexamined the facts after she came to the United States.

After so many online videos about missing Chinese were made available overseas, such as people grabbing victims right on the street into vans, and many college students going missing, on top of whats revealed about doctors operating inside prisons on illegally imprisoned Falun Gong adherents: Then I realized the live organ harvest was real, and what The Epoch Times reported was real.

Previously, the Chinese language edition of The Epoch Times received a list of missing youth on Feb. 17, 2022, from a Chinese parent whose son went missing in 2015. According to the list, there were at least 372 Chinese families looking for their missing children. Many parents also signed a commitment of 100,000 yuan ($14,840) reward to people who help to find the children.

Gratitude and Trust

She indicated that many of the programs and reports by The Epoch Times and its sister media NTD have become her favorites. She said many of the programs are not just exposing the CCP, but also being responsible for American society, exposing the dark side of the leftist extremists in America.

She expressed her deepest concern about the leftist extremists pushing the United States toward the evil abyss of socialism.

She said: I have finally escaped China, and landed the paradise of my dream, the United States of America. It would be the most terrible nightmare if the United States would become another China.

Among the many programs, she particularly enjoys the channel Fang Wei Time, a regular contributor to NTD. She said the show has provided some direction to herself as a Chinese American. She said, He helped me to walk through the fog of confusion. Now I know what to do for my second hometown and defend for the next generations of America.

Lin Yudan renounces the Young Pioneers of China through the Global Service Center for Quitting the Chinese Communist Party on Jan. 24, 2023. (Screenshot/The Epoch Times)

Anti-Communism Isnt Enough

On Jan. 24, Lin announced her withdrawal from the CCP. She explained her joy of awakening.

I renounced the CCP with my real name. I threw away the only red rag left in me by the CCP! This red rag is communism, and it is dirty. I feel much cleaner, refreshed, and joyful, she said.

In her statement to withdraw from the Young Pioneers, she wrote: I was born in a Christian family. I have loved the country and hated the party since I was a child. I had refused the application to the Young Pioneers. I was well-known for being a bad student. In order to transfer to another school, I was forced to wear the red scarf. I was young, and I didnt reject the red scarf because I thought it was pretty. But I was wrong, I regretted it. Now I renounce the Young Pioneer with my real name, to cut off the remaining relationship with the red rag of the CCP!

Under the CCPs rule, elementary school students who join the Young Pioneers will wear a red scarf as a symbol.

She took joining the Young Pioneer as a stain on her life. She believes its her responsibility to take the initiative to remove the stain. To recognize the mistake you made in life, to correct it, and to make up for the mistake, thats the meaning of renouncing the Young Pioneers to me, she said.

She once thought that being anti-communist was good enough. But finally, she realized the true purpose is to cut clean from the CCP.

She said that now her soul can freely and boldly accept the final judgment. Theres a difference after renouncing the CCP, she said, Its both physically and spiritually refreshing.

She now has the courage to face Jesus in the final judgment. She said: I can now say to my Lord Jesus: I used to have a red scarf, but I erased it. I have declared to withdraw from the Young Pioneers. I do not have this sin anymore. I have sinned, but I have repented.

She hoped to call on the Chinese to reflect on the true meaning of renouncing the CCP. Whats the meaning to you as a person, and the meaning to you after life, she said.

According to the record of the Global Service Center for Quitting the CCP, from Dec. 3, 2004, to Feb. 5, 2023, more than 408 million people have declared their withdrawal from the CCP and its affiliated organizations.

Luo Ya, Haizhong Ning, and Xiao Lusheng contributed to this report.
A sheriff with more than 50 years of law enforcement experience will be U.S. Rep. Claudia Tenney's guest for President Joe Biden's State of the Union address Tuesday.

Tenney, R-Canandaigua, invited Yates County Sheriff Ron Spike to attend the annual event. Members of Congress are allowed to have one guest join them for the address held in the House of Representatives.

"(Spike) is an exemplary law enforcement officer and dedicated public servant," Tenney said in a statement. "House Republicans are committed to standing up for our brave law enforcement officers, who put their lives on the line every day for our safety."

Spike has been a member of the Yates County Sheriff's Office for 52 years. According to his biography, he graduated from Monroe Community College and began working for the agency as a deputy sheriff in 1970. Three years later, he was promoted to criminal investigation and became chief deputy sheriff in 1982. In that role, he supervised the department's law enforcement bureau.

He was elected county sheriff in 1991 and was sworn into office on Jan. 1, 1992.

Spike is a former president of the New York State Sheriffs' Association  he led the statewide organization in 2000  and serves on the National Sheriffs' Association's executive board. He has participated in various training courses, including the FBI National Academy and the National Sheriffs' Institute. He chairs the state Municipal Police Training Council  a position he has held under five governors since 1997.

His awards include recognition he received before becoming Yates County sheriff. He was the recipient of the New York State Sheriffs' Association's deputy sheriff of the year award in 1981 after he saved a person's life in a house fire.

"I look forward to attending the State of the Union address alongside Congresswoman Claudia Tenney," Spike said. "I'm proud to represent Yates County and all of New York's law enforcement during this important address."

Tenney represents the 24th Congressional District that includes all or parts of 12 counties in western New York, the Finger Lakes region and North Country. Cayuga and Yates counties are in the district.

Biden is scheduled to deliver the State of the Union address at 9 p.m. Tuesday.

In other news:

 Another central New York member of Congress did not have to look far for his State of the Union guest.

U.S. Rep. Brandon Williams will be joined by his wife, Stephanie, for the address. Williams, R-Sennett, represents the 22nd Congressional District that includes a portion of Oswego County and all of Onondaga, Madison and Oneida counties.
Gabbard, GOP Senators to Appear in First Hearing on Weaponization of the Federal Government

Tulsi Gabbard and two Republican senators will testify in the first hearing of the House Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government.

A source familiar with the proceedings told the Epoch Times that Gabbard, as well as Sens. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) and Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) will appear in the committees first hearing. CNN first reported on the plan.

In November, Republicans unveiled a massive 1,050 page whistleblower report detailing weaponization of the federal government (pdf).

Now back in the majority, and with subpoena power under their control, Republicans are hoping to do more to address these allegations.

Gabbard, a former Democrat and representative from Hawaii, gained national notice during her 2020 presidential run. She marketed herself as a moderate, and spent much of her campaign energy on opposing the many foreign entanglements and wars the United States is involved with.

Since then, Gabbard has moved away from her party, officially leaving the Democratic Party in October 2022.

Afterwards, Gabbard announced she had signed on with Fox News as a contributor, making her debut in December 2022 with a surprise appearance on Tucker Carlson Tonight.

During one appearance on the program, Gabbard denounced the FBI raid on President Donald Trumps Mar-a-Lago home, which many Republicans point to as an instance of the weaponization of the federal government for partisan ends.

Whistleblower Report

In the whistleblower report, Republicans gave an indication of the matters they may investigate through the Weaponization Committee.

One of the most significant findings of the report showed that the FBI has been encouraging its agents to artificially inflate the number of domestic violent extremism (DVE) incidents.

Whistleblowers, Republicans said, have described how FBI leadership is pressuring line agents to reclassify cases as domestic violent extremism even if the matter does not meet the criteria.

In at least one case of DVE, the attempted kidnapping of Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, the FBI played a much more active role. Ahead of the 2020 election, a plot was uncovered to kidnap Whitmer, whose COVID policies sparked intense national debates before the election.

The accused would-be kidnappers were right-wing, and reports had suggested that the plot had developed organically.

But during the trial, it became obvious that this wasnt the case: defense attorneys argued that their clients were pushed into crime by the FBI. According to defense attorneys during the trial, at least 12 FBI informants and agents were involved in the plot.

Suppressing Opposition Reports

Additionally, the report notes the FBIs role in suppressing the since-authenticated story about Hunter Bidens laptop, with Republicans saying that the presidents son has received preferential treatment from federal law enforcement.

The contents of the laptop included several photos of Hunter Biden in sexual situations, sometimes with people who appeared to be substantially younger than 18. Others showed the presidents son using drugs such as crack cocaine. Still, other sections of the laptops contents raised questions about the Bidens business dealings, with some emails and texts suggesting that Hunter Biden may have traded on his fathers prestige and influence for financial gain.

The story was broken by the New York Post, a conservative-leaning media outlet that was founded by Alexander Hamilton. After posting the laptop story to their Twitter page, the newpaper was suspended by the platform pending removal of the story. Similar suppression followed with other media outlets that reported on the contents of the laptop.

According to the report, some of that may not have been organic behavior by social media platforms.

The Judiciary Republicans noted that, during an August appearance on Joe Rogans podcast, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg acknowledged that Facebook had suppressed the story at the FBIs urging.

At the same time, dozens of national security and federal law enforcement agents signed a letter claiming that the story was Russian disinformationa claim that has since been shown to be patently untrue.

Around the same time, Republicans unveiled a report showing that the FBI had been aware of the allegations surrounding the younger Bidens business dealings with Chinese and Ukrainian interests for years, but hadnt taken action to look into the potential national security threat.

Republican efforts to get answers for this apparently significant oversight by the DOJ and FBI were met with silence. But GOP findings do provide some clues.

According to the report, a whistleblower allegation suggests that FBI leadership in Washington may be the reason why the FBI seems to have provided Hunter Biden with special treatment.

The Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government is scheduled to convene for the first time on Capitol Hill at noon on Feb. 9.

With a broad mandate that includes subpoena power and the authority to investigate ongoing criminal probes, the panel will look into any areas where the federal government may have abused its power and violated the rights of American citizens.

We will follow the truth where it leads, said Rep. Mike Johnson (R-La.), one of the members of the subcommittee, in a post on Twitter, while sharing the schedule for the panels first meeting, which will take place at the Rayburn House Office Building.

Republicans have compared the panel to the Church Committee, a respected Senate select committee that in the 1970s uncovered abuses by U.S. intelligence agencies.

The American people deserve to have confidence in their government, Rep. Tom Cole (R-Okla.), chair of the House Rules Committee, said on the House floor earlier in January. They deserve to know that the broad powers granted to the federal government through the FBI, to the Department of Homeland Security, and to the intelligence agencies, are not being abused.

Tom Ozimek contributed to this report.
Greens Senator Lidia Thorpe Quits Party Over Indigenous Voice to Parliament

Incoming Senator Lidia Thorpe during her swearing-in at in the Senate at Parliament House on October 06, 2020 in Canberra, Australia. (Photo by Sam Mooy/Getty Images)

The Greens Indigenous Spokesperson, Lidia Thorpe, has quit the Greens party and will move to the crossbench.

Thorpe announced the move on Feb. 6, saying she had realised that she could no longer pursue her advocacy for the Blak Sovereign Movement from within the Greens.

I have told Greens Leader Adam Bandt and the Senate President that I am resigning from the Greens to sit on the Senate crossbench, Thorpe said.

This country has a strong grassroots Black Sovereign Movement, full of staunch and committed warriors, and I want to represent that movement fully in parliament.

It has become clear to me that I cant do that from within the Greens. Now I will be able to speak freely on all issues from a sovereign perspective without being constrained by portfolios and agreed party positions.

Australian Senator Lidia Thorpe addresses the media and crowd on November 15, 2022 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Tamati Smith/Getty Images)

Thorpe noted that she felt she could not continue in the Greens party after fellow party members told her they wished to support the Voice to Parliament, which she said was at odds with the community of Indigenous activists who believed it better to pursue the goal of a Treaty between Australia and Indigenous communities.

This is the movement I was raised inmy Elders marched for Treaty. This is who I am, Thorpe said. I have spent my entire life fighting for justice, to defend our Sovereignty, to save Blak lives. That is my goal.

Thorpe said she would now focus on growing the Blak Sovereign Movement around Australia, although she would still vote with the Greens on environmental issues.

To my mob, I say thisyour strength is my strength, your fight is my fight, your struggle is my struggle. Im ready for what comes next in the fight for a future where our kids are with their families, where our people are not killed in custody, where the chains that the system wraps around our people are lifted, she said.

Bandt Sought to Keep Thorpe in the Party

Greens Leader Adam Bandt said in a press conference that Thorpe had made a phenomenal contribution to the Greens and that he was genuinely sorry to see her leave the party.

Im sad to see her go, as I respect her greatly as a fighter for her people, Bandt said. I tried hard to get her to stay with the Greens as our First Nations spokesperson, but she has chosen another course to advance the Blak Sovereignty movement.

Bandt noted that he had confirmed with Thorpe that she would be able to vote independently on the Voice, which was allowed under the Greens Party constitution.

There is a place for her in the party. Shes obviously come to a different view, Bandt said. I am sad about that, but that is what shes decided.

The Greens will continue to work closely with Senator Thorpe on a range of issues, and I thank her for committing to vote with the Greens on climate.

Thorpe Yet to Reveal Position on Indigenous Voice

However, despite her reason for leaving the Greens centring on the partys support for the voice, Thorpe noted that she was not yet ready to announce her final position on the Voice to Parliament.

I want to continue my negotiations with the government, she said.

First Nations Sovereignty is crucial, but so is saving lives today. They could do that by implementing the recommendations from the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody and the recommendations from the Bringing Them Home report.

Thorpe has previously been highly critical of the Labor plan to support the Voice to Parliament, saying it did not help Indigenous communities.

Labor needs to stop tinkering around the edges with new so-called solutions. Im seeing a lot of time and energy being put towards laying out a pathway to the Voice while neglecting work that is decades overdue, Thorpe said in 2022.

This is not the first time Labor has been in government and ignored the self-determined solutions our old people gave them in favour of photo ops. Is this a government that takes Black Lives Matter seriously? Will they implement the remaining recommendations? Clocks ticking, Labor.
Can you imagine to what degree one country lies to the world about its COVID-19 death toll? This multiple-part series dives into the superficially reported COVID-19 death tolls by this countrys regime and explores the truth.

Summary of Key Facts

Part 1 of this series revealed that the data on COVID-19 deaths in China are dubious. China is estimated to have underreported 140-fold the COVID-19 death rate.

Chinas regime has published three different sets of official COVID-19 death toll figures.

Based on social media reports, a massive increase in the death toll is evident by many corpses on the street, a shortage of coffins, and long waits for cremation services in China.

An influential social media website revealed that Beijings daily COVID-19 death toll in December was 4,320 but could be as high as 10,000. Based on the 4,320 figure, we estimated a 0.0206 percent mortality rate in Beijing. If this mortality rate is applied to Chinas population of 1.45 billion, the daily COVID-19 death toll in China could be 298,700.

Crematorium industry data show a steady decline in overall mortality in China before 2019. From 2020 to 2022, there was a sharp increase in the number of cremation furnaces and employees working in the industry.

We created a model to estimate the number of COVID-19 deaths in China from 2020 to 2022; the results range from 355,230,027 and 387,408,912.

In Part 1, we exposed the controvertible COVID-19 data reported by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Our findings indicated that the data do not reflect the severity of COVID-19 in China, leading us to investigate the countrys actual death toll.

A Country With Four Sets of COVID-19 Data

Chinas regime has reported at least three different sets of COVID-19 death tolls.

The first set comes from the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (China CDC). As of Jan. 8, 2023, the cumulativefrom the beginning of the pandemicCOVID death toll was 5,272.

Surprisingly, on Jan. 12, 2023, the China CDC reported 59,938 deaths from Dec. 8, 2022, to Jan. 12, 2023. This figure is taken from a China CDC report:

The second set of data is on the WHO website, as of Jan. 8, 2023, the cumulative death toll was 76,674. As of Feb. 1, 2023, the cumulative death toll increased to 111,621.

In the third set of data, according to Our World in Data as of Jan. 8, 2023, the cumulative death toll was 5,273. As of Feb. 1, 2023, the cumulative death toll was 84,190.

(Our World in Data/Johns Hopkins University)

There is a fourth set of data that the CCP has not yet disclosed to the world: the actual COVID-19 death toll.

Estimated China COVID-19 Death Toll December 2022 to January 2023

Data from multiple sources of information on cremation, funeral supplies, and crematorium services have led to the conclusion that the actual death toll in China could be far beyond what the world has been told.

As reported on Dec. 27, 2022, from Chongqing, the number of cremations overwhelmed the crematory system. This led to an increase in furnaces and the recruitment of new employees to work the furnaces; and the employees often had to work overtime to cover the demand.

A photo taken on Jan. 4, 2023, captures an overloaded crematorium in Shanghai, with similar scenes reportedly playing out in other Chinese cities.

On Jan. 11, 2023, The Epoch Times received a video from an insider contact in China; the video recorded corpses scattered on a city street in China. The gentleman who recorded the video said, The corpses are everywhere inside and outside the camps. Its so scary. Its horrible! In the video, he also suggested that people spend their money as soon as possible and enjoy their life, as one could not know how much time was left.

We tried to locate the original owner of this video but could not find his exact name. The man had seen many people die in China. One can infer that he wants the whole world to know the truth about the death toll in China. If you know the owner of this video, please get in touch with The Epoch Times immediately.

Based on his accent, the man is likely from a mid-sized city in southern China. What about large cities like Beijing and Shanghai?

A netizen from Zhejiang informed The Epoch Times that Chinese manufacturers of coffins, urns, and other funeral supplies could not keep up with the current demand.

On Jan. 25, Business Insider reported a shortage of coffins in Chinas countryside, where people prefer to bury bodies rather than opt for cremationand that funeral costs were skyrocketing.

A prominent Chinese intellectual, Wanli Xiong, with a masters degree in urban planning from Harvard, disclosed the following information via Twitter on Dec. 25, 2022:

According to accurate information, recently, there have been 8,000 people dying in Beijing every day, a four-fold increase. The peak death toll was 10,700 on Dec. 21, 2022. Not all of them are elderly. There are also people in their 20s. Due to the limited storage volume of the hospital mortuary, a cold meat warehouse in Yuquan Ying (a place in Beijing) has been opened, and 15,000 corpses have been placed there. However, more corpses are piled up outside. The party leader of Beijing, Li Yin, cried out loud when he witnessed this scene, requesting that more cold meat warehouses be opened to store more corpses.

Beijings daily death toll from Wanli Xiong, an influential Chinese intellectual from Harvard. (Screenshot)

Xiong wrote: After 20 days, there could be 200,000 deaths in Beijing. There are many such metropolises in China, especially the northern areas.

Xiong stated that the above numbers could be regarded as official. It was also added by netizens on the same website, Literature City, that there is a simple way to estimate the situation in Beijing: 90 cremation furnaces in 12 crematoria are now burning 24 hours a day, and one body burns in about half an hour. How many are cremated in a day is easy to calculate (90 x 48 = 4,320). That is at least 4,320 deaths per day in Beijing.

Considering that Beijing is a densely populated urban municipality and that rural areas will likely have different rates of COVID-19 mortality than urban areas, it would be impossible to pinpoint the number of daily COVID-19 deaths in all of China. However, we can make a rough estimate.

Some 21 million people live in Beijing; 4,320 deaths daily would equal roughly a 0.0206 percent mortality rate. According to the United Nations, as of Feb. 2, the total population of China was 1.45 billion. If we calculate 0.0206 percent of 1.45 billion, the outcome is that about 298,000 corpses are cremated daily in China.

A Look at Chinas Crematorium Industry

The countrys cremation data indicate death rates in 2020 and 2021.

CEIC Data Global Database provided data for this investigation. Founded in Hong Kong in 1992 by economists, CEIC has close working relationships with primary sources, including the China Ministry of Civil Affairs.

Those in positions of authority may have already altered the original data. However, writers, journalists, and individuals in China report that death rates are overwhelming the countrys crematoria.

More than half of the people in China are cremated after death. Therefore, an increase in the number of facilities and employees concurrent with the pandemic may indicate a related rise in fatalities.

Pre-COVID-19 Drop in Crematory Employees and Crematoria

According to CEIC, funeral services employment in China dropped steadily between 2015 and 2019.

Chinas crematory industry number of employees. (CEIC Data)

From 2018 to 2019, the number of crematoria decreased slightly.

These figures suggest that the overall number of deaths in the country had stabilized by 2019, resulting in funeral companies laying off workers and closing crematoria. Interestingly, the crematoria were not permanently shut down but remained on standby.

Then there was a turnaround. Coinciding with the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of crematoria increased by more than 10 percent in 2021. This change indicates that the countrys death rate significantly rose from 2019 to 2021. Also notable is that the number of employees in the cremation industry increased from 79,163 in 2019 to 87,000 in 2021.

The number of cremation furnaces steadily increased from 2015 to 2018, before the pandemic. However, its important to note that during this period, there was a simultaneous decrease in employees in the industry.

This hints that the number of deaths was likely stable before 2019 and that the upsurge in cremation furnaces was not caused by increased deaths but perhaps by other factors, such as financial incentives.

One plausible explanation is that an overall trend of increasing cremation rates led to more people entering the field, opening new cremation facilities, and purchasing additional cremation furnaces. However, this is only speculative.

Abrupt Increase of Crematory Personnel and Crematoria in 2020 and 2021

We hypothesize that the number of deaths in the country following the onset of the pandemic was so staggering that the cremation furnaces across the nation were overwhelmed.

An additional 643 furnaces were built between 2019 and 2021 to meet the rising demand for cremation services. This unexpected increase in cremation furnaces hints at the severe COVID-19 death toll.

How We Examined the Data

To calculate total deaths, we will use the following equation:

Deaths = (number of corpses per furnace per day multiplied by the number of cremation furnaces x 365 days) / (cremation rate)

Calculating the number of corpses cremated per day is not a straightforward process. There are several variables, such as furnace operation hours, the time required to cremate a corpse, and the number of corpses cremated per furnace. Additionally, the cremation ratethe number of corpses cremated in a year divided by the total number of deathsalso needs to be considered. This rate can be influenced by various cultural, religious, and government factors.

Cremation times vary widely depending on the furnace and the body being cremated. While some furnaces can complete the process in as little as 20 minutes, others may take up to an hour. For this analysis, we will use a conservative estimate of 45 minutes, the average time required to cremate a corpse. This is even more conservative than the numbers from the netizen in Beijing, which reported 30 minutes to cremate a corpse.

Assuming that cremating a body takes about 45 minutes and the cremation furnaces are running for an average of 18 hours a day (some reports suggest that the crematoria have been running 24/7 since the pandemic started), we can estimate that an average of 24 bodies are cremated each day per crematory furnace.

An analysis of Babaoshan Funeral House, one of Beijings largest cremation facilities, documented a total of 456 corpses a day for 19 furnaces working around the clock; that is 24 corpses per day per furnace, matching our estimation.

Multiplying 24 corpses per day per furnace by the total number of cremation furnaces (6,619 in 2020) and the number of days per year (considering that 2020 was a leap year), we estimate 58,141,296 cremations in 2020 alone.

Chinas COVID-19 Death Toll From 2020 to 2022

In 2020, China had a cremation rate of 55.7 percent. Therefore, the total number of deaths in China in 2020 could be a staggering 104,382,937.

Meanwhile, multiple factors, such as the number of corpses in one furnace, changes in cremation rates, and unreported deaths, may result in a further adjustment of the death total.

Factor 1: Numerous Chinese reports confirm that due to an overwhelming number of corpses and tight budgets, crematoria resorted to placing multiple corpses in one furnace. This practice will increase the death total. Factor 1 would increase by 1.1- to 1.2-fold total deaths.

Factor 2: The cremation rate is another crucial factor challenging to estimate. Generally speaking, the cremation rate should have decreased in 2021 and 2022because high death rates lead to difficulty in cremating bodies, resulting in a lower cremation rate. Factor 2 would also increase the death total by 1.1- to 1.2-fold.

Using the same process, we can estimate the total deaths for 2021 and 2022.

As of Jan. 28, 2023, no CEIC official data were available for the number of crematoria and cremation rates in 2022. To account for this, we used a forecasted estimate of 7,750 based on the assumption of a similar increasing trend from 2020 to 2021 for the number of crematoria and 58.8 percent for the cremation rate.

Note that all the numbers are total deaths, not limited to COVID-related deaths. COVID-related deaths are excess deaths (total deaths minus average annual deaths).

Per data from Statista, the mortality rate (which factors in not only deaths but also birth rates) in China was 7.04 to 7.09 deaths per 1,000 inhabitants from 2016 to 2019. Considering that 1.43 billion was the 2019 population size, and the 2019 mortality rate was 7.09 per 1,000, the non-COVID-related death total was 10,138,700.

The reported mortality rate in China from 2000 to 2022. (Statista)

Our analysis estimates the COVID-19 death toll for 2020, 2021, and 2022 was 94,272,837, 94,658,927, and 101,940,492, respectively, adding up to 290,872,256.

Considering our estimates for Factors 1 & 2multiple corpses per furnace and reduced cremation rateswe estimate a range of total COVID-19 deaths between 355,230,027 and 387,408,912.

Cremations and death toll calculation table. (The Epoch Times)

Future Perspectives

It is widely acknowledged that Chinas response to the COVID-19 pandemic has been inadequate, and attempts to conceal the outbreaks scope are disturbing.

Part 1 of this series uncovered the implausible claim made by the Chinese regime that the countrys COVID-19 death toll was 5,273 as of Jan. 8, 2023. While our analysis has shown that the actual COVID-19 death toll in China is significantly higher than officially reported, the exact number remains unknown.

The CCP made a sudden 180-degree turn from its zero-COVID policy to completely opening on Jan. 8, 2023, and reported a more than ten-fold higher COVID-19 death toll occurring in one month.

Our estimates in this article ranged from 355 to 387 million in 20202022. This shocking death toll scale remains unconfirmed.

Although the actual COVID-19 death toll from China remains unknown, it is crucial to understand the impact of the pandemic in China and globally now and in the next few years. This is not the final report of this series; we will remain vigilant and continue to report and analyze new information and events that come to light.

Meanwhile, while the COVID-19 pandemic has not yet ended, it is advisable to bear in mind that although many people died in China and elsewhere, there are many people who remain uninfected because they have preserved their natural immunity to efficiently protect them against infection.

Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times. Epoch Health welcomes professional discussion and friendly debate. To submit an opinion piece, please follow these guidelines and submit through our form here.
I hope we dont find out that somehow this mRNA lingers in the body, says Dr. Jordon Walker, a director of mRNA R&D [research and development] at Pfizer, in a video secretly recorded by Project Veritas.

Sorry, Walker. Weve known definitively for over a year the mRNA does linger, in some cases for at least 60 days. The world-class pathology group at Stanford University reported this in Cell on Jan. 24, 2022 Immune imprinting, breadth of variant recognition, and germinal center response in human SARS-CoV-2 infection and vaccination. And the longer mRNA persists, the more highly toxic spike protein it will produce, and the greater chance for health problems.

(The usual caveats apply to hidden camera videos. Pfizers official statement reacting to the previous videos featuring Walker suggests authenticity, but we dont know for sure.)

Walker also wonders about the potential causes of widespread menstrual irregularities. He says the vaccine must be interacting with the HPG (hypothalamus, pituitary, gonad) axis the hormonal chain which regulates menstruation and numerous other biosystems. Hes confused, however, because, The vaccine doesnt cross the blood-brain barrier.

Except it absolutely does go to the brain. Weve also known this for a long time, as many autopsies attest. It doesnt even occur to Walker that the lipid nanoparticles (LNPs) also go directly to the ovaries, as weve known since the spring of 2021 when Canadian vaccinologist Dr. Byram Bridle dug up Pfizers regulatory dossier submitted to the Japanese government.

Weve known for at least 20 months that instead of remaining near the injection site, as advertised, the LNPs go all over your body, even crossing the blood-brain barrier. They get into nearly every cell and tissue type. New autopsies are showing wider and deeper infiltration every day. Just yesterday, pathologist Dr. Ryan Cole revealed a new autopsy with spike all over the adrenal glands.

The mRNA lasts far longer than advertised, at least 60 days, according to the Cell paper by Stanford pathologists. Natural mRNA breaks down and dissolves in minutes or hours. Its very unstable, which is a good thing. The modifiedRNA used in the shots, however, is synthetic. Pfizer and Moderna replaced all the uracils (U) with pseudo-uridine (  ), which, we now know, stabilizes the modRNA and prevents it from breaking down. They thought this would be beneficial, producing more antigen for longer and possibly reducing inflammation.

), which, we now know, stabilizes the modRNA and prevents it from breaking down. They thought this would be beneficial, producing more antigen for longer and possibly reducing inflammation. Persistent modRNA then keeps producing spike protein for long periodsnot minutes or days but perhaps weeks or months. It produces it all over the body, in many tissues. RNA is a code, not the drug itself, so as long as it persists, it will tell your ribosomes to keep making protein. So how do you control the dose? I dont think we can. In many cases, persistent mRNA might produce vast but unknown quantities of spike, delivering super-doses of what we now know is a highly toxic protein.

Spike particularly attacks the vascular endothelia, the lining of our blood vessels and capillaries, which permeate every tissue. The result is often far, far more spike, for much longer, in many more tissues, than nearly anyone would produce during a natural infection.

In most natural infections, our immune systems kill off the virus in our mucosal layersnasopharynx, lungs, gutover the course of several days. The virus (and spike protein) therefore do not often reach tissues beyond the mucosal layer.

In severe COVID-19 infections, the spike can damage lung, vascular, and kidney tissues, etc., and trigger a cytokine storm. But the vaccines generate far more spike and totally bypass the mucosal layerour first line of defensegoing directly to our sensitive organs.

If this video is legitimate, it could break open a more public conversation about the many deep scientific and health concerns weve had for two years. At the very least, it reveals how little some executives within Pfizer understand about their own products and what the science and data have been telling us.

It seems censorship at scale boomeranged on its practitioners.

Originally from the authors Substack, reposted from the Brownstone Institute

Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times. Epoch Health welcomes professional discussion and friendly debate. To submit an opinion piece, please follow these guidelines and submit through our form here.
Sleeping is essential for good health. When people sleep too much or too little, the risks of various diseases increase. Research in Japan revealed that sleeping for more than eight hours or sleep irregularity might increase the risks of all types of mortality.

The Department of Epidemiology for Community Health and Medicine, Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine, Japan, conducted a massive study that began in 2005 and lasted for nine years.

The results showed that sleeping too much or sleep irregularity increased the risks of all-cause mortality by 15 to 30 percent. The results were published in the British journal ScienceDirect on Oct. 10, 2022.

To study the association between sleep irregularity and the risks of mortality, lecturer Teruhide Koyama and his colleagues used data from the Japan Multi-Institutional Collaborative Cohort Study (J-MICC).

J-MICC is a prospective cohort study and aims to understand the association between the Japanese lifestyle and disease. The study followed 736,319 person-years (mean of 9.01 years) from 2005 to 2014, and 3,376 deaths were recorded. The mortality rate per 1,000 people was 4.59.

The research team divided the entire group into six subgroups according to sleep duration and sleep regularity and compared the mortality rate among the groups.

The mortality rate of the group of participants who slept more than eight hours was 15 percent higher than those who slept six to eight hours. The mortality rate of participants who slept irregularly was 30 percent higher than those who slept regularly.

Then the research team divided all the participants into six groups according to sleep duration and sleep regularity: groups who slept less than six hours, six to eight hours, and eight hours or above. And each group was further divided into those who slept regularly and slept irregularly.

The research team used the group who slept regularly for six to eight hours as the control group and compared the risks of mortality of other groups, taking the consideration of other factors which might affect the mortality rate (age, gender, BMI, drinking habits, smoking habits, exercise habits, educational backgrounds, ischemic heart disease, stroke, cancer history, and locations of the research).

The results showed that the risk of mortality increased by 14 percent in the group of those who slept regularly for more than eight hours.

When participants slept irregularly, regardless of their sleep duration, the risks of all types of mortality were significantly increased, by 21 percent for those who slept less than six hours, by 23 percent for those who slept six to eight hours, and by 52 percent for those who slept more than eight hours.

The study shows an association between sleep irregularity and all-cause mortality in a large Japanese population, providing further confirmation of the need to consider not only sleep duration but also the regularity aspect of sleep schedules.
It all started in early 2020 when our world turned upside down. Never before had we witnessed such unimaginable social controls threaten our human rights and freedoms. Now, three years later, the truth is finally coming out about the pandemic and what it means for our future.

Download Interview Transcript | Download my FREE Podcast

Kheriaty is also a plaintiff in the Missouri v. Biden case, filed by the attorneys general of Missouri and Louisiana, in which they argue that the Biden administration is colluding with Big Tech to illegally censor Americans. Dr. Jay Bhattacharya and Martin Kulldorff, who holds a doctorate in operations research and industrial engineeringtwo authors of the Great Barrington Declaration, an early critique of lockdowns and school closureshave also joined the case.

Another lawsuit, filed by Childrens Health Defense (CHD), Dr. LeTrinh Hoang, and Physicians for Informed Consent, is also seeking to get AB 2098 tossed out. On Dec. 7, 2022, attorneys for the CHD filed a motion for a preliminary injunction while its legal challenge makes its way through the courts. On Jan. 26, 2023, Senior U.S. District Judge William Shubb granted the CHDs preliminary injunction.

Together with four other California-based doctorsTracy Hoeg, Ram Duriseti, Pete Mazolewski, and Azadeh KhatibiKheriaty filed a lawsuit against Newsom and other officials, including the president and members of the Medical Board of California, to block this law.

On Sept. 30, 2022, California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed California Assembly Bill 2098, which was set to take effect on Jan. 1, 2023. It prohibits doctors from providing COVID-19 treatment or advice that includes false information, and/or contradicts contemporary scientific consensus, and/or is contrary to the standard of care. A doctor found to violate this law is guilty of unprofessional conduct and can face disciplinary action, including having his or her medical license revoked.

In his book The New Abnormal: The Rise of the Biomedical Security State, Dr. Aaron Kheriaty details how the COVID pandemic paved the way for the implementation of a totalitarian one-world government, where human rights and freedoms will no longer exist.

In the video above, I interview Dr. Aaron Kheriaty, author of The New Abnormal: The Rise of the Biomedical Security State. Kheriaty is a medical doctor and psychiatrist and worked as a professor in the School of Medicine at the University of California Irvine for 15 years before getting fired for his objections to mandatory COVID shots.

He also directs the Bioethics and American Democracy Program at the Ethics and Public Policy Center and is a senior scholar and fellow of the Brownstone Institute.

As ethics program director and ethics community chair, I was involved in basically all of the pandemic policy drafting, right up until the vaccine mandate, Kheriaty says.

Our committee at the office of the president had done the ventilator triage policy, the vaccine allocation policy. But when it came to the vaccine mandate, it came down from on high and there was no discussion debate. Our committee was not involved in drafting the policy.

I was very concerned about the lack of open discussion and debate. Because of all the sensitive policies that we had developed during the pandemic, this one I thought was going to be the most ethically controversial, problematic, and the most publicly fraught.

So I was puzzled by the fact that we didnt really have a conversation about it. I published a piece in The Wall Street Journal last year, arguing that vaccine mandates are unethical based on the principle of informed consent, which I teach to all the medical students every year.

This is the principle that an adult of sound mind has the right to decide what medications or interventions to accept or decline, and that they have the right to make this decision on behalf of their children who are not yet old enough to give consent.

I was very concerned that vaccine mandates were just tossing this principle overboard under the guise of, Were in emergency and so the regular rules dont apply. I think its precisely in wartime and crises that its all the more important to stand fast and hold onto our ethical principles, because those are the times where were most tempted to abandon them. And when you do that, you can often invite disaster.

Doctors Were Bullied Into Not Writing Medical Exemptions

Despite several efforts, the university refused to engage in a debate, and instead put the mandatory COVID jab policy in place. As students started to be steamrolled, many reached out to Kheriaty for help. Theyd say things like, Im not a religious person, and so, in good conscience, I dont want to submit a dishonest religious exemption, but I have other moral or ethical concerns about this vaccine.

Others were unable to get an appropriate medical exemption. The reason they couldnt get one was that the California Medical Board sent a letter threatening to revoke the medical license of any physician who wrote inappropriate exemptions. The board, of course, never defined what was appropriate or inappropriate, but it had the intended effect. Doctors were incredibly hesitant to write medical exemptions at all, for fear of the repercussions. Kheriaty said:

I remember one patient of mine, a young man who went to his rheumatologist and this doctor told him, Given your autoimmune condition, given what Ive seen of the vaccine data so far, I recommend that you dont get the vaccine because I think youre young and otherwise healthy. Youre not at high risk of COVID, but the vaccine could exacerbate your autoimmune condition.

The patient then turned to him and said, OK, can you write me a medical exemption because theres a mandate at my place of employment? The same doctor that just recommended against the vaccine said, No, Im sorry, I cant do that because I might lose my medical license. So this was the, in my view, intolerable situation that we found ourselves in 2021.

I just couldnt imagine trying to teach the principle of informed consent, which I do in the second lecture, or talking with them about integrity and moral courage, standing up and doing the right thing even though youre at the bottom of the hospital hierarchy as a medical student.

I couldnt imagine having those conversations if I had seen something being rolled out that I knew was wrong, that I knew was harming people. I could see my colleagues, nurses, and other very good professionals in the hospital getting fired, having their jobs threatened by this [mandate]. If I hadnt stood up and done something, I just dont think I would have woken up with a clear conscience.

Kheriaty Fired After Legal Challenge

Kheriaty ended up filing a lawsuit in federal court, challenging the vaccine mandate. He argued on behalf of people with natural immunity because, strategically, he thought that was an argument that stood on solid ground legally. The university responded by first placing him on investigatory leave, followed by unpaid suspension. Two months after the lawsuit was filed, they fired him. Kheriaty ended up opening a private practice, and so far has fared well.

I have been able to provide for my family and get, almost, back to the point where I was before in terms of earnings, he said. But its much more hand to mouth now. I dont know how things are going to look year to year. Im not a salaried employee anymore, but Ive been able to cobble together various sources of support, including the book I wrote 

Ive been able to replicate my clinical work. Im able to see my patients in my private practice. Im able to do my research, writing, and speaking. The Ethics and Public Policy Center in D.C., the Brownstone Institute, and the Zephyr Institute have offered me a bit of support to keep that work going.

The one thing I havent really been able to replicate, at least not in the same way, is the teaching and supervision of medical students and residents, which I really enjoyed  That was hard to walk away from, but when I mention that, other people have told me, Yes, but youre teaching now, youre just teaching on a different and maybe even on a bigger scale, because my case got quite a bit of attention.

My social media profile expanded and Ive been given lots of opportunities this year to speak on podcasts to larger audiences, to speak at conferences, and Ive met some extraordinary people in the medical freedom movement. So I have new colleagues and new friends that are really remarkable and amazing people that I feel a strong connection and solidarity with, because were all trying to pull the cart in the same direction.

Were all concerned about whats happened to science and medicine during the pandemicor I should say whats happened over the last several decades that really fully manifested during the pandemic.

So its been exciting to be a part of that, to be able to testify at the U.S. Senate, at the California Senate, to get involved in some other legal cases that have to do with physicians free speech rights and preserving the integrity of the doctor-patient relationship, so that outside governmental intrusions dont undermine it.

The work Ive done this year has been really tremendously rewarding, and Im grateful for that, so I have no regrets. And even without all those things, theres nothing better than waking up with a clear conscience, knowing that I tried to do the right thing and that I didnt compromise my convictions out of convenience.

Preserving the Freedom of Speech for Physicians

One of the legal cases Kheriaty has gotten involved with is trying to block a new California law from taking effect. On Sept. 30, 2022, California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed California Assembly Bill 2098, which was set to take effect on Jan. 1, 2023.

AB 2098 prohibits doctors from providing COVID-19 treatment or advice to a patient when that treatment or advice includes false information, and/or contradicts contemporary scientific consensus, and/or is contrary to the standard of care.

A doctor found to violate this law is guilty of unprofessional conduct and can face disciplinary action, including having his or her medical license revoked. As noted by Kheriaty:

This, to my mind, obviously undermines the core element that has to be the centerpiece of medicine, which the trust that the patient has in their physician 

I dont know of anyone who would want to ask their physician a question  and not have their physician give them an honest answer based on his or her actual medical judgment and reading of the scientific literature. A physician with a gag order is not a physician that you can trust.

So together with four other California-based doctorsTracy Hoeg, Ram Duriseti, Pete Mazolewski, and Azadeh KhatibiKheriaty filed a lawsuit against Newsom and other officials, including the president and members of the Medical Board of California, to block this law.1

I think everyone wants their physician to be able to say what they think  and not just be reading from a script that the government gave them, Kheriaty says.

So this lawsuit challenges this unjust law in federal court, again on the basis of a constitutional claim that this, No. 1, infringes on the rights of free speech of the physician and, No. 2, is also a violation of the 14th Amendment Equal Protection Rights of Physicians 

We have a constitutional right thats been established by the courts interpretation of the 14th Amendment to have laws that are sufficiently clear that a person can know whether or not theyre in violation of the law, so that you dont have this looming thing in the background that youre always wondering, Am I OK or am I not OK? So Im cautiously optimistic that we will prevail in court.

Federal Judge Grants Preliminary Injunction

Another lawsuit, filed by Childrens Health Defense (CHD), Dr. LeTrinh Hoang, and Physicians for Informed Consent, is also seeking to get the law tossed out. On Dec. 7, 2022, attorneys for the CHD filed a motion for a preliminary injunction while its legal challenge makes its way through the courts.2

On Jan. 26, 2023, Senior U.S. District Judge William Shubb granted the CHDs preliminary injunction.3,4 According to Shubb, the defendants failed to provide evidence that scientific consensus has any established technical meaning, and that the law provides no clarity on the meaning of the word misinformation. As noted by Shubb:5

Who determines whether a consensus exists to begin with? If a consensus does exist, among whom must the consensus exist (for example practicing physicians, or professional organizations, or medical researchers, or public health officials, or perhaps a combination)?

In which geographic area must the consensus exist (California, or the United States, or the world)? What level of agreement constitutes a consensus (perhaps a plurality, or a majority, or a supermajority)? How recently in time must the consensus have been established to be considered contemporary?

And what source or sources should physicians consult to determine what the consensus is at any given time (perhaps peer-reviewed scientific articles, or clinical guidelines from professional organizations, or public health recommendations)?

The statute provides no means of understanding to what scientific consensus refers  Because the term scientific consensus is so ill-defined, physician plaintiffs are unable to determine if their intended conduct contradicts the scientific consensus, and accordingly what is prohibited by the law 

Vague statutes are particularly objectionable when they involve sensitive areas of First Amendment freedoms because they operate to inhibit the exercise of those freedoms.'

As reported by the CHD:6

Judge Shubbs ruling prevents enforcement of AB 2098 pending resolution of the lawsuit. According to lead counsel Rick Jaffe, Judge Shubb looked at the law and correctly determined that the COVID misinformation was unconstitutionally vague, in large part because the plaintiffs in both cases showed there is no current scientific consensus, given the fast-changing pace of the pandemic.

The case will now proceed on two tracks, Jaffe said, adding: The parties will continue to litigate the case before Judge Shubb and we will be filing a motion for summary judgment in the not-too-distant future.

But because we won, and because a judge in the Central District of California denied a similar challenge to AB 2098, the attorney general will certainly appeal and argue that the central district judge was right. So there is much more to come.'

Kheriaty Is Also Suing the White House

Kheriaty is also a plaintiff in the Missouri v. Biden case, filed by the attorneys general of Missouri and Louisiana, in which they argue that the Biden administration is colluding with Big Tech to illegally censor Americans. Dr. Jay Bhattacharya and Martin Kulldorff, who holds a doctorate in operations research and industrial engineeringtwo authors of the Great Barrington Declaration, an early critique of lockdowns and school closureshave also joined the case.

Theres been a lot of attention in recent weeks on the Twitter files, where were looking under the hood at that social media company and seeing, for example, a relationship with the FBI, where the FBI is basically telling Twitter what to do and what to censor and which accounts to shut down, Kheriaty says.

Arguably, the social media companies can do this as private entities  but inarguably, no one doubts that the federal government cannot censor Americans. Thats a clear free speech First Amendment violation. And the federal government cannot  pressure other entities into doing its bidding as a long arm of its censorship regime.

Were hoping, first of all, to uncover exactly whats going on with this collusion, and the materials that we have so far in discovery in this case have clearly shown that not only is this happening, but its happening on a vaster scale than we suspected when we first filed the lawsuit. At least 17 different federal agencies have been involved in this censorship regime.

So I think that case is going to receive increasing attention in the new year as it proceeds and as more and more information comes out from other investigative reporters on whats been going on 

During his deposition for this case, Dr. Anthony Fauci, former director of the National Institutes of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, had what Kheriaty calls wildly implausible memory lapses. He said I dont know 174 times. If he were to be honest  hes probably worried that it would implicate him in ways that are problematic, Kheriaty says.

Propaganda in the COVID Era

Ive previously interviewed psychologist Mattias Desmet about the role of mass formation in the governments ability to infringe on our human rights and freedoms. Kheriaty agrees that the mass formation mechanism has been part of the problem, but its not the only one.

I dont think mass formation is the only mechanism at work in terms of accounting for our COVID response. In addition to that theory, which I mentioned in my book, I take a look at the more deliberate employment and deployment of fear through propaganda.

And, through other subtle and not so subtle mechanisms of coercion that were operating during the pandemic[I look at] financial incentives and power dynamics that also help to account for what happened to us and why so many people went along with it.

The control of the flow of information has been extremely important during the pandemic. I think without the governments partnering with private entities in these vast censorship enterprises, we would not have adopted policies like lockdowns and school closures. We wouldve had much more pushback against policies like vaccine mandates than we saw.

When you lock people down at home and so theyre isolated behind screens, forced to interact with one another only through this medium, they cant have quiet face-to-face conversations at the watercooler, then you control the flow of information that theyre getting through the control of social media, the control of mainstream media.

And then [when] you deploy very sophisticated high-level propaganda techniqueswartime propaganda techniquesand you deliberately deploy fear as a mechanism of control, then you create conditions where people go along with manifestly unjust policies, and not only are not troubled by that, but actually believe that theyre doing good.

These things are framed as duties of a good citizen. And people who challenge these policies are immediately branded with, You only care about money. You dont care about not killing grandma, this sort of thing.

This desire to be a good person, this desire to be seen as among the virtuous because Ive done what Im told to do and Ive done what it looks like everyone else is wanting to do or being told to do, this is a very powerful tonic that has proven to be very effective over the last three years.

Why We Must Understand the Big Picture

On Oct. 23, 2022, Bill Gates, Johns Hopkins, and the World Health Organization cohosted yet another tabletop exercise dubbed Catastrophic Contagion, involving a novel pathogen called severe epidemic enterovirus respiratory syndrome 2025 (SEERS-25), which primarily affects children and teens.

When asked if he believes COVID-19 was a kind of fine-tuning of a process the globalist cabal intends to deploy in the future during another pandemic, Kheriaty replied:

Monkeypox never took hold as the next crisis but, yes, I think weve adopted a new model of governance and this is what I argue in The New Abnormalthat even though a lot of these individual policies have been rolled back, some of the problematic policies that weve mentioned, the whole infrastructure for lockdowns, for digital surveillance through vaccine passport-type technology and through digital track and trace technology, this infrastructure has been put in place.

Its still in place and its just waiting for the next declared public health crisis. This new model of governance involves unprecedented level of control over peoples lives, their movements, their speech, their freedom of association, and it requires that we jump from one declared crisis to the next to keep this state of emergency going, so that certain people can maintain power  and continue to advance their aims.

In Chapter 3 of the book, I talk about what some of the next steps are in the rollout of what I call a biosecurity or biomedical security paradigmthings like digital IDs tied to biometric data like your iris scan, your face ID, your fingerprint; eventually, data from wearables or implantable devices on your vital signs and your moment-to-moment health status or emotional status.

Central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) will be the financial arm of that monitoring, surveilling, and controlling apparatus, so theres going to be another declared public health crisis. You see an attempt to reframe other issues from racism to climate change as public health issues.

People in positions of power have floated serious proposals to do rolling lockdowns to deal with the climate crisis, for example, or the energy crisis in Europe, so were going to see something.

Whether its a computer virus or an enterovirus, a gastrointestinal bug that disproportionately impacts childrenbecause children were largely spared from COVID and not enough parents vaccinated their children in the eyes of the biosecurity paradigm elitesI dont know.

I dont know exactly what issue is going to be the one that takes hold, but there will be another declared public health crisis, sometime in the next two to three years, with attempts not only to revive COVID-era policies and mechanisms of control, but to advance additional pieces in that regime. Of that, I have absolutely no doubt.

One of the reasons I wrote the book  [was] to look toward the future and to ask, OK, how is this apparatus, this biomedical security apparatus going to be deployed down the road, and what are the next steps in that process?

[I ask this ] so that we can realize that if we dont start standing up for certain freedoms, if we dont draw lines and say, These are rights that should never be relinquished, even during an emergency or a declared crisis, if we dont start doing that, and if were not aware of what the next steps in this process are going to be and how theyre going to be sold to us, then were going to find ourselves caught off guard once again.

In a crisis where theres fear and uncertainty, were not going to be able to think clearly. Were going to lose our heads again and were going to wake up in a year or two or three and wonder, How did we get here? What happened to us? and I dont want to see that happen again. Weve already relinquished enough of our freedoms, weve already endured the enormous collateral harms of our disastrous pandemic policies, and to my view, we cant go down that road again in another few years.

Looking Ahead

In the epilogue of the book, titled Seattle 2030, Kheriaty imagines what life might be like seven years from now, if we dont change course.

What I do in the first half of the epilogue is try to give the reader a sense of how some of these new technologies and measures are going to be sold to the public, so the first couple of pages of the epilogue dont seem dystopian 

Its only once you get about halfway through that you start seeing, OK, there are some flies in the ointment, and theres people in this society under this regime who are not benefiting, who are excluded by the social credit system and other mechanisms of social and financial control.

There are certainly health problems that are not being solved by twice-a-year mRNA injections, and probably being exacerbated by this model of treating human beings as though were hardware that needs software updates in the form of gene therapies.

Hopefully, by the end of the epilogue, the reader wakes up and recognizes, Oh, my goodness, this is not the kind of society that I want to live in. This is certainly not the kind of society that I want my children or my grandchildren to grow up in.

I didnt invent any new technologies to describe in the epilogue  [I say] A few years from now, if certain things that are readily available are adopted on a mass scale and deployed in particular ways, this is what your life is going to look like. Is this the kind of life that you want to lead?

So its an attempt to bring together the future-oriented gaze of the book and help people really get a firm and concrete grasp of whats coming down the pike if we dont stand up and resist.

Is There a Way to Resist CBDC Implementation?

I believe the implementation of CBDCs will be instrumental in the coming control scheme, because once the globalist cabal has direct access to your money, you become far easier to control. And, the way its looking right now, CBDCs are inevitable. The question is, how do we opt out of the system?

This is a really hard problem and its a really important question, Kheriaty says. I think we have to learn how to opt out of the system and develop, whether its a parallel economy or parallel medical institutions, that truly are independent.

We have to do that right now, and we have to develop those things soon, because if we collectively get into an opt-in situation with digital IDs and CBDCs, then resistance to that system will be almost impossible 

I think we need to start thinking small and local, and to develop strong face-to-face communities of communication, interaction, mutual support, and exchange. The currency works because of a communal agreement that when I give you this piece of paper, its going to be worth something.

Its a mutual agreement that were going to use this mechanism of exchange, and this mechanism of measuring market value is how currency becomes currency.

So [as a] collective, [we need to say] No, were not going to go cashless. If as a collective, we say, No, were not going to transition all of our assets into a centrally controlled digital currency, well halt the process of that becoming the default or the only game in town.

Beyond that, I wish I could tell you what the answer looks like and what these parallel economies are going to look like. I dont know the answer to that, and part of the reason I dont know the answer is because thats not how novel solutions develop. Novel solutions dont develop from a couple of perceptive or intelligent people figuring it all out.

They require the collective wisdom of a lot of people trying things, some of which dont work and some of which work. They require people at the local level asking, What are the needs of the population here close to home? which may look very different from the needs of a population in a different setting or in a different context.

Past the Point of No Return, All Freedom Will Be Lost

Kheriaty goes on to explain why getting out of the control systemonce CBDCs are fully implemented and society has gone cashlesswill be near-impossible:

CBDCs need to be distinguished from decentralized digital currencies like Bitcoin. The feds are issuing a digital dollar, and if that digital currency is adopted to the point where weve gone entirely cashless, then were in a situation in which you can be locked out of your ability to engage in financial transactions if you dont comply or if you dont behave.

And, as I explain in the book, if you have a digital dollar in your digital wallet, its not actually the same as a dollar bill in your real wallet. The reason for that is, lets say the government gives you $1,000 tax rebate in the form of a digital dollar. They may even sweeten the deal saying, Well give you a $1,000 check in your bank account or we will give you $1,200 in the form of a digital dollar, right?

Oh, OK, Ill take the digital dollar. Thats a no-brainer. Its more money. Well, two to three years from now, once weve gone cashless, that digital dollar can be programmed to have conditions attached to it.

In other words, the government can say, Heres your tax rebate, but you got to spend this $1,200 sometime in the next nine months, and if you dont, then its going to turn into $600. And if you dont spend it in the next six months after that, its going to disappear.

So what you have in your digital wallet is not actually like cash. Cash doesnt just disappear. It doesnt have an expiration date on it. The government can also say, You have to spend it on these favored industries.

Or, You cant spend it on these disfavored industries. You cant give a donation or contribution to support Dr. McCulloughs podcast because hes a disinformation spreader, or, You have to spend it on green energy, or whatever.

Once this is tied to a digital ID, the government will be able to track all of your financial transactions using this digital currency. It will be able to nudge you and punish you in the ways that I have described.

If you try to opt out of that system, basically youre not going to be able to engage in financial transactions, or youre going to find yourself in some parallel economy that involves bartering chickens or something like thatvery primitive kind of economic transactionsbecause all of the banks and all of societys mainstream institutions are going to rely on this digital system of productivity and exchange and currency to engage in all transactions.

So once the system is in place, its going to be very hard to resist because an algorithm in the sky or a person can push a button and, look, you can no longer buy gasoline. You can no longer purchase things online unless you get your booster shot or unless you do what the public health authorities are telling you to do.

So its a system of near total surveillance and control that wouldve made the totalitarian dictators of the past salivate. Hitler or Stalin could only have dreamed of this level of intrusive surveillance and minute control over the movements and the behavior of the populations that they were governing.

More Information

I completely agree with Kheriatys notion that it is imperative that people understand where were headedthat the COVID measures werent just responses to a given pandemic, but rather laid the foundation for a totalitarian one-world government, where human rights and freedoms will no longer exist.

This is likely the biggest challenge mankind has ever faced as a collective, and it requires strong collective resistance. For that resistance to occur, however, people must understand whats going on. So to learn more, be sure to pick up a copy of Kheriatys book The New Abnormal: The Rise of the Biomedical Security State and share it with friends and family.

 Sources and References
Hong Kong 47: Pro-Democracy Figures On Trial in Landmark Case

All charged with subversion of state power, imprisoned for more than 700 days without trial

The 47 HK pro-democracy activists alleged to be involved in organizing and participating in a "primary election" and charged with "conspiracy to subvert state power," have been remanded nearly 2 years since their first court appearance in March 2021. Sixteen of them who have pleaded not guilty resume their trial in the West Kowloon Magistrates' Court on Feb. 6. The picture shows more than 100 citizens queued outside the court waiting for entry in the early morning hours. Feb. 6, 2023. (Adrian Yu/The Epoch Times)

A group of 47 pro-democracy activists in Hong Kong (HK 47) charged with conspiracy to subvert state power are back in court after almost two years. Among them, 16 defendants who have pleaded not guilty began their trial in the West Kowloon Magistrates Court (acting ad interim for the High Court) on Feb. 6. The trial is estimated to last 90 days.

The HK 47 primary election trial is the first case of conspiracy to subvert state power under the Hong Kong National Security Law. If convicted, there will be three levels of punishment. The ringleader(s) could face life imprisonment.

The 47 defendants appeared in court for the first time in early March 2021, and 13 of them have been released on bail to date. The remaining 34 were remanded, and as of the trial date, 32 of them had been detained for more than 700 days.

Over 100 Show Up for Hearing

At about 5:30 a.m. on Feb. 6, when the court was still closed, there was already a long queue outside the West Kowloon Court. Many people came fully prepared, bringing chairs and sleeping bags to wait for the hearing. At the same time, a large contingent of police officers was on standby at the scene.

In addition to social activists, there were representatives from consulates in the queue, including the U.K., the U.S., Australia, France, Italy, and the EU. Frequent social activist Alexandra Wong Fung-yiu waved the British flag at the prison van entrance. And she was surrounded by some police officers.

The police erected an orange ribbon to seal off the area and sent officers to guard it. There were police dogs patrolling, and a helicopter circled over the court building.

Protesters Taken Away

Three members of the League of Social Democrats protested outside the court on the morning of the trial, expressing their innocence in the primary election and demanding the release of political prisoners.

They asked to protest at the main entrance, but police refused and surrounded them in a flower trough opposite the court.

One of them, Dickson Chau, pulled off his mask while speaking for a few seconds to the reporters, and the police immediately accused him of not wearing a mask in public and took him into a police van. With the reporters rushing forward to catch the view, there was a brief period of chaos at the spot.

Chan Po-ying, the Leagues chairperson, told the Epoch Times that she feels despair as now Hong Kong is now like a democracy within a birdcage, all demonstrations big and small require clemency from the government, and almost every petition and demonstration by the League has been suppressed in different ways. But she still hopes to be able to continue the petition.

Three members of the League of Social Democrats staged a protest outside the trial of the HK 47, demanding the release of political prisoners. They were surrounded by a large contingent of police officers and taken to the demonstration area on the opposite side in Hong Kongs West Kowloon Magistrates Court on Feb. 6, 2023. (Adrian Yu/The Epoch Times)

Primary Elections

After the outbreak of the anti-extradition movement in Hong Kong, the anti-communist democrats won a landslide victory in the 2019 District Council elections. Pro-democracy supporters hoped that the democrats could continue this momentum and win more than half (over 35) of the seats in the Legislative Council election scheduled for 2020. The success of that would mean they can exert more pressure on the government and upend the situation where pro-communist factions control the legislature.

The democrats held a primary election on July 11-12, 2020, hoping they could decide who stands for what in the relevant Legislative Council seats. The result of the primary election was not legally binding, but it was the decision of the Hong Kong voters. Despite the fact this election was not arranged by the government, there were more than 610,000 voters.

However, the 47 candidates for this primary election were later charged with conspiracy to subvert state power by the Hong Kong government.

The 16 defendants who have pleaded not guilty by now are all former pro-democracy district councilors. Ng Kin-wai, who pleaded guilty earlier, said in court on the first day of the trial, I failed to subvert the state power. I plead guilty and concede to the charge. With that guilty plea, he is not required to attend the remainder of the hearing.

Violating the Principle of Presumption of Innocence

On Feb. 4, Lew Mon-hung, a former member of the Chinese Peoples Political Consultative Conference, criticized the case as not complying with the principle of the presumption of innocence under the Hong Kong Basic Law, which led to prison without trial and damaged Hong Kongs status as an international financial center.

In an interview with the Epoch Times, he said that it was shocking that the 47 people in the primary election case were detained for more than 700 days without trial or sentencing, regardless of whether they pleaded guilty or not.

The Basic Law states clearly that the common law is retained in Hong Kong. What does the spirit of the common law include? The first thing is respect for the organic unity of objective and procedural justice, respect for judicial independence, adherence to the principle of presumption of innocence, and the jury system. It is within such a legal system that a mechanism of judicial independence is included. Lew said,

The Basic Law was promulgated by the rubber stamp Congress of the China Communist Party (CCP) on April 4, 1990, and came into effect after the CCP took over Hong Kong on July 1, 1997. Article eight of the Basic Law stipulates that common law is retained.

Lew also questioned why, with no trial and without sentencing, a guilty plea, or not, those people were imprisoned for more than 700 days. This is a blatant violation of the common law basics of the principle of presumption of innocence.

He emphasized that Hong Kong was known as one of the four Asian tigers in the last century and later became an international financial, trade, and shipping center because freedom and the rule of law were here as the cornerstones of Hong Kong. And with them, Hong Kong people have the freedom of not fearing, thus gaining international recognition.

Lew said bluntly that the cornerstone of Hong Kongs freedom and the rule of law has been destroyed. He said, Hong Kongs talents and funds have flowed out and flowed to competitors as in the tale of two cities.

Lew called on the Chinese and Hong Kong authorities to return to the Basic Law. Only under one country, two systems can Hong Kongs status as an international financial center be revived.
Hong Kong Falun Gong Practitioner Acquitted for Displaying Informational Posters

A Falun Gong practitioner, who defended herself in court, has been acquitted for displaying informational posters at a flyover near Sheung Shui Station, Hong Kong.

In 2021, local authorities issued Tsang Hau Sim a ticket for displaying posters on government land without permission for her displays that showed information on the prosecution of Falun Gong by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).

On Feb. 3, Tsangs case was heard by Magistrate Kelly Shui at Fanling Magistrates Courts, with barristers Lai Sze Wai representing the Hong Kong Government. The prosecution had 11 witnesses, including the staff members of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD) and Lands Department, nine of whom testified in court.

Tsang defended herself without legal representation. And she did not call a single witness.

Speaking to The Epoch Times, Tsang, in her seventies, admitted that it had been a very challenging time for her fighting the case herself. She had difficulties understanding the legal documents but was motivated by the fact that she had done nothing wrong in telling the truth.

She told the court that on May 27, 2021, she had several posters out leaning on her trolley while talking to passersby about the persecution of Falun Gong by the CCP and that employees from the FEHD issued her a ticket soon after they saw her doing so.

She admitted that she had not obtained a permit; however, she pointed out that the public had no channel to apply except for going through local councilors. She further explained that some Falun Gong practitioners had inquired about how to apply for permits at the Lands Department and had been told by staff that no application was required for displays not exceeding 24 hours.

Tsang said that she only put the panels out when she was handing out Falun Gong flyers and had no intention of displaying them permanently. She believed she didnt break the law even though she didnt apply for a permit.

In handing out the judgment, Shui indicated that the FEHD staff members observed the accused displaying her poster for only 30 minutes, which failed to demonstrate some degree of permanence and habitual regularity, a requirement to convict someone for the said contravention, according to a previous judgment of the Court of Final Appeal. Shui also said that the FEHD should observe for an extended period to ensure the permanence and regularity of the accused actions before they issue tickets.

As a result of the verdict, the prosecution will return the confiscated panels to Tsang.

Posters Exposed Lies of the CCP About Falun Gong

Tsangs posters, pictured in the courtroom, showed how the former CCP regime head Jiang Zemin staged the Tiananmen self-immolation incident in 2001 to smear Falun Gong. The panels, illustrated by stills from a China Central Television (CCTV) video, reveal numerous signs of falsification of the incident. The panels also include information on a website that calls on the public to quit the CCP and its associated organizations.

In her written submission to the court, Tsang emphasized that she displayed the posters in order to expose the lies of the CCP about Falun Gong and its persecution. She also cited an independent peoples tribunal in the UK, which found the CCP guilty of organ harvesting, murder, and genocide.

In her statement, Tsang said, because the persecution of Falun Gong by the CCP is still going on, I am compelled to come out and do my part, to tell the truth to all those who have been poisoned by the lies of the CCP, to stop and expose the horrific crimes, and to spread the message of Falun Dafa to all. This is why I did what I did at the Sheung Shui Flyover.

Tsang said that her act was a peaceful expression of views, exercising her rights to freedom of speech and freedom of assembly granted to Hong Kong people under Article 27 of the Basic Law, which should be protected by the Basic Law. Her display at the flyover was not permanent and regular, as referred to in the judgment of the court, nor did it cause any disruption to the environment. She questioned the selective enforcement by FEHD, as there are many displays on the streets of Hong Kong every day.

Tsang: It Was a Relief

It had been nearly two years since the court case began, and Tsang said that the legal process had been very difficult. She said she spent a lot of time understanding the law and poring over the documents, including the testimonies of 11 witnesses. Tsang said, Im in my 70s, but I felt like an elementary school student doing homework, often for hours. At first, she was very stressed and worried that she would not be able to speak well in court, but her faith in Falun Gong helped her to look past her personal loss or gains and to face the trial in a calm manner.

Asked why she chose to go to court and defend herself instead of just paying the fine of a few thousand Hong Kong dollars (approximately $450), Tsang replied it was because she didnt think she had done anything wrong. Tough it might be, she knew she had to fight the charge. We are speaking out against the persecution. Every Falun Gong practitioner is doing it around the world. Why cant we do it in Hong Kong?

Since the CCPs persecution of Falun Gong started in 1999, Falun Gong practitioners in Hong Kong have been protesting peacefully through various means, including putting on banners and posters in busy places and scenic spots. Despite the recent crackdown on civil organizations, Falun Gong practitioners in Hong Kong continue to expose the persecution of Falun Gong to the public by doing exercises and distributing publications in public places.

Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa, is a Chinese spiritual practice consisting of simple, slow-moving meditation exercises and teachings based on the principles of truthfulness, compassion, and tolerance. It grew in popularity during the 1990s, with 70 million to 100 million adherents in China by the end of the decade, according to estimates at the time.

Despite the brutal persecution by the CCP, Falun Gong has spread throughout the world and has received over 3,000 recognitions to date. The founder, Mr. Li Hongzhi, has had his major work, Zhuan Falun, translated into more than 40 languages.
Senate Defense Panel to Hold Hearing for Real Answers Over Chinese Balloon: Sen. Tester

A view of what is believed to be a Chinese spy balloon when it was shot down, seen from Holden Beach, N.C., on Feb. 4, 2023. (Allison Joyce/Reuters)

The Senate Defense Appropriations Subcommittee will hold a hearing to get answers surrounding the suspected Chinese spy balloon that floated for days over U.S. airspace.

Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.), the subcommittees chairman, said on Feb. 3 that Biden administration officials will have to answer questions about the balloon, which was first acknowledged while in the sky over the Democrats home state of Montana.

Montanans value their freedom and privacy and Ill always fight to defend both, Tester said in a statement. Chinas actions are a clear threat to those values and to Americas national security, and Im demanding answers from the Biden Administration.

I will be pulling people before my committee to get real answers on how this happened, and how we can prevent it from ever happening again.

An exact date for the hearing has yet to be scheduled.

Republican Response

Montanas other U.S. senator, Sen. Steve Daines (R-Mont.), has voiced strong disapproval against the Biden administrations handling of the Chinese balloon, calling it a show of weakness and indecision that has empowered and emboldened our enemies.

I believe that Montana truly got a firsthand look at the Biden administrations weakness on foreign policy this week, Daines said during a Feb. 3 press conference. It is a tremendous embarrassment for the United States of America. Montanans and all the American people deserve answers from the Pentagon and from this administration on what happened and what is being done to ensure this never happens again.

The aircraft, flying at about 60,000 feet, was described to be the size of three buses with the ability to maneuver. According to Pentagon, it flew from China, then over Alaskas Aleutian Islands, and through northwest Canada before being seen in the area of Billings, Montana.

Equipped with a large payload underneath the surveillance component, the balloon had already traveled over sensitive military sites before it was spotted by local residents. Montana is home to one of Americas three nuclear missile silo fields at Malmstrom Air Force Base.

Defense Secretary Confirms Destruction

Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin confirmed on Feb. 4 that the balloon was destroyed, telling reporters that President Joe Biden gave his authorization on Feb. 1 to shoot it down as soon as the mission could be accomplished without undue risk to American lives under the balloons path.

The balloon was being used by Beijing in an attempt to surveil strategic sites in the continental United States, he noted.

After careful analysis, Austin said, military commanders decided to not shoot down the balloon over land due to the size and altitude of the balloon and its surveillance payload, which would pose an undue risk to people across a wide area. Instead, they waited to carry out the attack until the balloon was safely over the Atlantic.

The balloon incident is expected to further strain the already tense relationship between Washington and Beijing. Just hours before Secretary of State Antony Blinken was set to embark on his visit to China, he said he would have to indefinitely postpone the high-stakes trip.

In light of Chinas unacceptable action, I am postponing my planned travel this weekend in China, Blinken said on Feb. 3, noting that his department decided that conditions were not conducive for a constructive visit at this time after discussing the matter with other Biden administration officials and with members of Congress.

Correction: The headline has been updated to reflect the subcommittee is part of the Senate. The Epoch Times regrets the error.
Immigration Reform Group Calls on McCarthy to Get Border Security Bill Onto House Floor

Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas), here speaking at a four-hour Jan. 30 House Rules Committee, has filed the Border Safety & Security Act of 2023, which immigration reform proponents want House Speaker Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Callf.) to fast-track onto the chamber floor. (Win McNamee/Getty Images)

One of the nations largest nonprofits lobbying for immigration reform is calling on House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) to bring Republican-sponsored border security bills onto the chamber floor so they can be adopted and implemented as soon as possible.

NumbersUSA Vice President Chris Chmielenski said the first measure that should be put before lawmakers is The Border Safety & Security Act of 2023 filed by Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) on Jan. 9.

Something needs to be done. We dont think the Biden administration is doing anything, or the Senate is doing anything to secure the border, Chmielenski told The Epoch Times. First and foremost, weve got to deal with the border crisis.

Arlington, Virginia-based NumbersUSA describes itself as the leading grassroots organization fighting to cut legal and illegal immigration  [with] 8 million participants nationwide. It has been battling to scuttle the amnesty proposals of the Trump, Obama, and Bush administrations since its 1997 founding.

Border Bill Awaits Hearings, Faces Resistance

Roys bill, HR 29, which had 64 co-sponsors as of Feb. 5, is set to be heard before the House Homeland Security and Judiciary committees but isnt among measures being fast-tracked to the chamber floor. No dates are set for committee hearings.

Roy told The Epoch Times in January that McCarthy assured Republican holdouts during the week-long negotiation that allowed him to ascend to chamber leadership that immigration-related bills would get to the floor, including his Texas border plan.

Roy said the bill is a simple proposal, especially for lawmakers who support border security and the Title 42 public health order that allows the United States Border Patrol to quickly expel some illegal aliens. Youre either for it or youre against it, he said.

The bill requires the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to suspend entry of any non-U.S. national without valid documents if it doesnt have the capacity to detain them while their status is being sorted out or the ability to return them to a foreign country contiguous to the United States.

Theres nothing new in the bill except that Roys measure allows states to seek legal action to force the DHS to enforce the existing law.

The Biden administration isnt enforcing the Trump-era Remain in Mexico policy while also decreasing detention space, meaning aliens who entered the United States illegally are allowed to enter before their cases are adjudicated.

Under this catch-and-release system, illegal aliens are provided a trackable phone and a court date thats often months or even years later.

While the Remain in Mexico program was enforced under the Trump administration, illegal immigration dropped by about 75 percent, according to U.S. Customs & Border Protection (CBP).

Despite the U.S. Supreme Court ordering the Biden administration to reinstate the policy in August 2022, no illegal aliens have been placed in the program, according to CBP statistics.

Roy said Congresss default position should be operational control of the border but his measure has drawn fierce opposition from a coalition of 253 nongovernmental organizations who say it would shut our border to all asylum-seekers, no matter how strong their cases might be.

If adopted, the coalition said in a letter to Congress, the policy would return refugees of all nationalities and ages, including children, directly to harm and death.

Credible Fear Claims Clogging System

But Chmielenski said the asylum system, as currently interpreted, is broken and should be scrapped until Congress addresses comprehensive immigration reform.

People can claim as a first step credible fear of returning to their country. For the most part, [immigration officials] accept illegal aliens claims at face value and put them in asylum proceedings, he said.

As a result, there are more than 1 million of these claims on the docketa 1 million-claim backlogand a five- to 10-year wait to get before an immigration judge.

What makes the policy so frustrating, he said, is a majority of those claiming credible fear as a reason for staying in the United States are rejected once they get before an immigration judgeif they show up.

House Republicans must end this catch-and-release and limit the Biden administrations use of advance parole, Chmielenski said, by restoring the Trump administration policy to make them wait in Mexico.

NumbersUSA maintains Roys bill is a good start but definitely not the gold standard of legislation it wants to be enacted, Chmielenski said.

When asked what the gold standard would be, he said, One of the significant things that the bill does not deal with is the whole issue with asylum, which Roy insists will remain intact as currently defined.

Adopt Legal Workforce Act ASAP

Rep. Ken Calverts (R-Calif.) proposed Legal Workforce Act has the support of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, National Restaurant Association, and National Home Builders Association. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)

Another immigration bill that NumbersUSA supports is Rep. Ken Calverts (R-Calif.) proposed Legal Workforce Act, which would make mandatory and permanent requirements related to using an electronic employment eligibility verification system.

HR 319, which has six co-sponsors, is to be heard before the House Judiciary Committee, the Ways and Means Committee, and the Education and the Workforce Committee. No hearing dates are set.

American jobs should only go to people legally authorized to work in our country, Calvert said in a statement accompanying the bills introduction. The passage of the Legal Workforce Act would represent a crucial step towards fixing our broken immigration system. Until we have a mandatory workforce verification systemlike E-Verifyin place, immigrants will have an incentive to come into our country through illegal means. We want and need immigrants to come to our nation to contribute to our economic success, but we must also remain a sovereign nation governed by the rule of law.

Chmielenski said Calverts proposed Legal Workforce Act has actually been endorsed by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the National Restaurant Association, and National Home Builders Association. These are organizations that tend to oppose additional mandates on employers.

Right now, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures, 22 states impose some form of mandatory E-Verify rather than just requiring I-9, he said, which puts the onus on employers to become document experts. E-Verify is a touchy subject in the states but [mandatory E-Verify] would replace a patchwork of laws from state-to-state and go a long way to addressing the nations immigration issues.

Such a measure has wide support from a vast majority of Americans and businesses themselves support one uniform law rather than having to play by different rules in different states, Chmielenski said.

Ultimately, NumbersUSA wants Congress to engage in comprehensive immigration reform, which hasnt been addressed since 1986 under the Reagan administration, he said.

But first things first, especially when confronted with a border crisis and whats politically feasible in the here and now, Chmielenski said, lauding House Republicans for at least saying they will make this issue a priority.

Essentially, Roys bill puts a marker out there and says we are taking this seriously. If you ask voters around the country what steps need to be taken to end the border crisis, the vast majority say if somebody crosses the border illegally, they should be detained or turned away, he said.
It is unusual for higher fees or taxes to be supported by those who will be most affected by the increase. But New York snowmobile groups, including a statewide organization, have endorsed Gov. Kathy Hochul's proposal to raise the snowmobile registration fee.

Hochul included the fee increase in her 2023-24 state budget plan. Under the existing fee structure, the cost to register a snowmobile is $100 if the individual is not affiliated with a club, with $90 of those funds going to the state's Snowmobile Trail Development and Maintenance Fund. Club members pay $45, with $35 for the trail maintenance fund.

If the proposal is approved, the maintenance fund portion of the fee would increase from $90 to $125 for individuals who don't belong to a club and from $35 to $55 for club members. The total cost of registering a snowmobile would increase from $100 to $135 for nonmembers and from $45 to $65 for those affiliated with a club.

Jennifer Senf, executive director of the New York State Snowmobile Association, said it would be the first registration fee increase in 15 years.

The revenue from the fees supports the maintenance of snowmobile trails. The New York State Snowmobile Association supports the fee increase to boost the trail maintenance fund administered by the state Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation. The money is distributed to snowmobile clubs  there are more than 220 in New York, according to Senf  to tend to the 10,400 miles of trails.

"We would not have a trail system if it wasn't for the volunteers that maintain the trails," she said.

Senf estimated that 100,000 people register their snowmobiles every year, although that can fluctuate due to weather conditions. Based on the average number of registrations, she said the increased fee would provide an additional $2 million for trail maintenance.

Snowmobile groups also support the fee hike. Chris Lukins, vice president of the Weedsport Winter Wanderers in Cayuga County, told The Citizen that if the fee does not increase, many clubs will lack the funds necessary to maintain the trails.

It is an all-volunteer effort but requires a lot of work. Those tasks include installing signage  the clubs buy the stakes and signs  and making trail improvements. Clubs also groom the trails to ensure they are flat for riders.

"With this increase, it is going to bring more money into that state trail fund to offset the cost to snowmobile clubs of creating and maintaining these trails," Lukins said.

Whenever there is a fee increase, concerns are raised about whether the money will go to its intended target or redirected to the state's general fund. But in a memo detailing the proposal to raise the snowmobile registration fee, the state Division of Budget writes that the additional revenue "will directly support the improvement and maintenance of the New York snowmobile trails."
Iranian Regime Acknowledges Tens of Thousands Detained in Protests

Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei speaks during a meeting via video conference with people from East Azarbaijan in Tehran, Iran, on Feb. 17, 2022. (Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader/WANA/Handout via Reuters)

Irans supreme leader on Sunday reportedly ordered an amnesty or reduction in prison sentences for tens of thousands of people detained amid nationwide anti-government protests shaking the country, acknowledging for the first time the scale of the rebellion.

The decree by Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, part of a yearly pardoning the supreme leader does before the anniversary of Irans 1979 Islamic Revolution, comes as authorities have yet to say how many people they detained in the demonstrations. State media also published a list of caveats over the order that would disqualify those with ties abroad or facing spying chargesallegations which have been met with wide international criticism.

Khamenei agreed to offer amnesty and reduce the sentences of tens of thousands accused and convicted in the recent incidents, the state-run IRNA news agency said in a Farsi report. A later IRNA report carried by its English-language service said the pardons and commuted sentences were for tens of thousands of convicts, including the arrestees of the recent riots in Iran. Authorities did not immediately acknowledge the discrepancy in the reports.

The reports about the decree offered no explanation for the decision by Khamenei, who has final say on all matters of state in Iran. However, prisons and detention facilities already had faced overcrowding in the country after years of protests over economic issues and other human rights issues.

Activists immediately dismissed Khameneis decree.

Khameneis hypocritical pardon doesnt change anything, wrote Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam of the Oslo-based group Iran Human Rights. Not only all protesters must be released unconditionally, but also it is a public right that those who ordered the bloody repression and their agents are held accountable.

Authorities also did not name any of those who had been pardoned or seen shorter sentences. Instead, state television continued to refer to the demonstrations as being a so-called foreign-backed riot, rather than homegrown anger over the September death of Masha Amini, an Iranian-Kurdish woman detained by the countrys morality police. Anger also has been spreading over the collapse of the Iranian rial on international markets, as well as Tehran arming Russia with bomb-carrying drones in its war on Ukraine.

More than 19,600 people have been arrested during the protests, according to Human Rights Activists in Iran, a group thats been tracking the crackdown. At least 527 people have been killed as authorities violently suppressed demonstrations, the group said. Iran hasnt offered a death toll for months. It already has executed at least four people detained amid the protests after internationally criticized trials.

All this comes as Irans nuclear deal has collapsed and Tehran has enough highly enriched uranium to potentially build several atomic bombs if it chooses, the United Nations top nuclear envoy has said. A shadow war between the Iranian regime and other regional powers is also ongoing, with the latest development seeing Tehran criticize Israel for a Mossad drone attack on its military workshop in Isfahan in central Iran last week.

Tehran did not offer an explanation of what was happening at the workshop.

Former Iranian PM, Former President Call for Reform

Meanwhile, a long-detained opposition leader and the former prime minister of the Islamic republic in 1981 to 1989 called for a nationwide referendum about whether to write a new constitution.

Mir Hossein Mousavis call, posted late Saturday by the opposition Kaleme website, included him saying he didnt believe Irans current system giving final say to a supreme leader worked any longer. He also called for the formation of a constitutional assembly of real representatives to write a new constitution.

People have the right to make fundamental revisions in order to overcome crises and pave the way for freedom, justice, democracy and development, he said in his statement.

The refusal to take the smallest step towards realizing the rights of citizens as defined in the constitution  has discouraged the community from carrying out reforms.

It remains unlikely Irans theocracy will heed the 80-year-old politicians call. He and his wife have been under house arrest for years after his disputed presidential election loss in 2009 led to the widespread Green Movement protests that security forces also put down. However, he himself had supported and served in Irans theocracy for decades.

Iranian supporters of defeated reformist presidential candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi demonstrate in Tehran, Iran, on June 18, 2009. Former head of Israels Mossad said that Mousavi is leading a real revolution that has far-reaching consequences. (Getty Images)

In 2019, Mousavi compared Khamenei to the former Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, whose rule saw troops gun down demonstrators in an event that led to the Islamic Revolution.

Separately, reformist Mohammad Khatami, former Iranian president from 1997 to 2005, urged free and competitive elections after the release of political prisoners both imprisoned and under house arrest.

Reformism at least has faced a  dead end, so people have a right to be frustrated about it as they are about the ruling system, Khatami said in a statement circulated online.

He said he hoped that non-violent civil methods would force the governing system to change its approach and accept reforms.

Currently, hard-liners control all levers of power in the country. Reformists like Khatami and Mousavi previously sought to change and open up Irans Islamic Republic while maintaining its system. But increasingly, protesters have demanded an end to theocratic rule in the country.

The Epoch Times contributed to this report.
John Robson: The Upside to Canadians View That Canada Is Broken Is That Most Are More Indignant Than Resigned

Commentary

Imagine living where two-thirds of the inhabitants think everything is broken in this country right now. Then imagine it being good news. Because, according to a new Leger poll, if youre a Canadian you do and it is.

Obviously, it would be better to live where the vast majority did not think things were broken, if they were correct. But its hard to think of a place where they would be correct. Given flawed human nature, government and society have always been in bad condition everywhere. Indeed, most people through most of history have rightly believed they lived somewhere that everything was broken and, worse, could not be fixed.

Ive twice referred on this topic to Austria-Hungary, which crumbled in 1918 and only lasted four years, as with the Ottoman Empire that bit the dust four years later, because its neighbours were terrified of the mess it would create when it crumbled. (I dont normally quote Hitler except to warn about how evil people think, but his Mein Kampf ridiculing of Germanys pre-Great War ally as this mummy of a state is memorably bang on.)

If you read the newspapers, including foreign news, you see that most people today live in places where they would have to be insane not to think everything was broken, probably irreparably. I dont want to single out, say, Mali or Syria, because there are so many others, like Putins Russia. And it wasnt better in the old days in, say, Mexico under Porfirio Diaz, or Russia under Aleksandr III or Ivan the Terrible.

Nor, I might add in this context, is The Woman Kings glossy portrait of life in 19th-century Dahomey credible. But it is instructive to think about the late Roman Republic, in which people like Cicero were delivering Philippics and moaning O Tempora O Mores.

Nowadays I do not think our very broken schools are teaching kids who Cicero was or what was bothering him. But he was very popular in the 18th century, more than during his first-century B.C. lifetime, because many people saw signs of serious trouble around them and were determined to do something about it.

Which is why this poll result is good news. Again, it would be better if Canadians were rightly pleased with the state of affairs. But as things stand theyd have to be insane, and the most alarming possibility would be to live somewhere like Camazotz where propaganda plus mental decay produced a demented conviction that everything was fine. Instead, when politicians brush aside complaints that things are broken, we apparently brush them aside. Phew.

To inhabit a regime where things were so bad you werent allowed to complain would also be terrible. And many do. Remember the old joke about a pollster saying, Excuse me, Im surveying public opinion on meat shortages, and an American responds with Whats shortage? a Soviet with Whats meat? and a Chinese with Whats public opinion? (And you can, or once could, add an Israeli, Bostonian, or some such going, Whats Excuse me?)

Obviously, Canadians know what all these things are, and its good. Moreover, were angry that things are broken, which is also good up to a point. Its very dangerous to sink into rage and paranoia over such conditions. But almost anything beats sinking into resignation, which is what happened in most places over most of history.

General Jose de la Cruz Porfirio Diaz Mori, for instance, was President of Mexico for seven terms between 1876 and 1911, basically the real-world Autumn of the Patriarch, a period of hallucinatory stagnation in which time itself seemed have stopped. And then it restarted with a hideously violent revolution, underlining the terrible human cost of situations so bad the populace succumbs to fury, despair, or a toxic mix of the two.

In Canada we havent. Not even with a major public sector union deciding nows a good time to demand a 47 percent raise over three years. Such a thing needs to be hooted off the stage, especially given that the public sector is the most conspicuously busted part of our society nowadays. But it almost certainly will be, because Canadians havent given up or broken down. We want better and, crucially, still believe in it.

It wont be easy, and we cant go blaming others. Not even for electing these politicians; we did it to ourselves. And social disorder, increasing rudeness, lack of self-restraint, these mores didnt fall from the sky or the Peace Tower. We embraced radical personal liberation, from social institutions, individual character, and ultimately reality itself and, just as Cicero warned, collapsing political self-government is driven by the collapsing personal kind.

Which is very bad. No question. Were in a mess we made. But were upset, indignant, and, I think, determined, rather than bitter, resigned, and malevolent. Which is very good.

Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
Judge Dismisses $25 Million Defamation Lawsuit Against 1st Hospital to Impose COVID-19 Vaccine Mandate

Doctor says she plans to appeal

The exterior of the Houston Methodist Hospital in Houston, Texas on June 9, 2021. (Brandon Bell/Getty Images)

A judge in Texas has dismissed a lawsuit that was filed against the first hospital in the United States to impose a COVID-19 vaccine mandate.

Dr. Mary Bowden filed the suit against Houston Methodist, alleging that the system defamed her by calling her opinions about the COVID-19 vaccines and COVID-19 treatments harmful to the community and that Bowden was spreading dangerous misinformation.

Houston Methodist asked the court to toss the litigation.

Harris County Judge Mike Engelhart agreed and dismissed the suit on Jan. 31, according to the court docket.

We can now put this behind us and continue our focus on our patients, employees and community, Houston Methodist CEO Dr. Marc Boom said in a statement to news outlets.

As health care workers, we have a sacred oath to do no harm, and part of that oath means doing everything possible to prevent the spread of misinformation that is harmful to our community, he added.

Bowden, who had asked for $25 million in damages, vowed to appeal the ruling.

She warned doctors via Twitter that the ruling means any hospital can now disagree with your medical views, launch a worldwide PR campaign to cast you as dangerous, and walk away with no consequences.

We will most certainly appeal and resolve this in a fair court, she also said.

Public Statements

The suit was triggered by public statements by Houston Methodist, which said that Bowden was offering opinions that are harmful to the community and do not reflect reliable medical evidence or the values of Houston Methodist.

The system also claimed that Bowden is spreading dangerous misinformation which is not based in science.

Boom, the CEO, made similar claims during a television appearance.

Bowden had described prescribing ivermectin to patients and said her experience was the medicine treated COVID-19.

She also grew suspicious of the COVID-19 vaccines after being presented with many fully vaccinated patients.

The statements were defamatory because Bowden published true facts with a scientific basis and never offered misinformation, according to the suit.

Bowden resigned from Houston Methodist shortly after the systems statements were made.

First Mandate

Houston Methodist announced its mandate on April 1, 2021. More than 150 workers were either fired or quit over a refusal to get vaccinated.

I know we can count on you to help protect our patients and the community. It is our duty as health care professionals to do no harm and protect the safety of all of usour colleagues, our patients and our society, Dr. Rob Phillips, Houston Methodists chief physician executive, said at the time.

The vaccines do not prevent transmission of COVID-19 and have performed increasingly worse against the illness as newer variants have emerged.

Nearly half of the COVID-19 hospitalizations the hospital reported in late 2021 were vaccinated, researchers with the system and other institutions found.

The system faced staffing shortages in 2022 despite the mandate.

After booster shots were cleared in the United States due to waning vaccine effectiveness, Houston Methodist mandated boosters for its staffers.

But the system chose not to mandate updated booster shots that were authorized without clinical data in the fall of 2022.
Just How Hard Were We Trolled?

Commentary

What if Dr. Anthony Fauci co-authored an article on vaccines that would have gotten you and me blocked and banned at any point in the past three years? That just happened.

His article in CellRethinking next-generation vaccines for coronaviruses, influenzaviruses, and other respiratory virusesstates it as plainly as possible: the COVID-19 vaccine didnt work because it couldnt work.

First some review from what we knew before this whole fiasco began.

Vaccines arent suitable for coronaviruses. Such respiratory viruses spread and mutate too quickly. This is why there has never been a vaccine for the common cold and why the flu shot is predictably suboptimal. Vaccines can only be sterilizing and contribute to public health when the virus is a stable pathogen, such as smallpox and measles. For coronaviruses, theres really only one way forward: better antivirals, therapeutics, and acquired immunity.

The above paragraph has been repeated to me countless times in my life, especially after COVID-19 hit. Every expert was on the same page. There was simply no question about it. Anything that would be called a vaccine would lack the features of vaccines past. It wouldnt stop infection or transmission, much less end a bad season for respiratory viruses. This is why the Food and Drug Administration has never approved one. It wouldnt and couldnt make it through trials, especially given the safety risks associated with every vaccine.

Maybe, maybe, there exists the possibility that you can come up with one variant, but it isnt likely to be approved in time to be effective. It might provide temporary protection against severe outcomes from one variant, but it will be useless against further mutations. In addition, vaccine-induced protection isnt as broad as natural immunity, so its likely that the person would get infected later. Boosting is likely only to pertain to last months mutation and raises dangers of itself: imprinting the immune system in ways that make it less effective.

Sadly, posting those three paragraphs on social media at any point in the past three years would likely get you censored or even banned. Normal science was suppressed. Common knowledge among experts was verboten. Everything weve learned for a century or even two millennia was thrown out. The job of censorship was tasked to a gaggle of ill-educated tech workers obeying the FBI overlords, so they went along.

And here we are two years after the vaccine rollout and the truth is rather well known. The vaccines were an enormous flop. At best. At worst, they caused tremendous amounts of injury and death as compared to any vaccine ever approved for the market. That they were forced on people in many professionsand backed by a Stalinesque media frenzyis simply incredible. Several cities even locked themselves down for the vaccinated only. Even now, unvaccinated non-Americans cant travel to the United States, unless they come across the southern border.

And yet only now does Fauci choose to lay out the science that we knew long ago. Theres nothing particularly interesting in his article. Only the timing is interesting: following trillions in pharma profits and millions displaced by mandates and suffering from injury all over the world. Now he says that there was really no chance that the vaccine would be either effective or necessarily safe.

This is a level of trolling thats truly unthinkable and indescribable.

Heres the summary of the article:

Viruses that replicate in the human respiratory mucosa without infecting systemically, including influenza A, SARS-CoV-2, endemic coronaviruses, RSV, and many other common cold viruses, cause significant mortality and morbidity and are important public health concerns. Because these viruses generally do not elicit complete and durable protective immunity by themselves, they have not to date been effectively controlled by licensed or experimental vaccines.

In this review, we examine challenges that have impeded development of effective mucosal respiratory vaccines, emphasizing that all of these viruses replicate extremely rapidly in the surface epithelium and are quickly transmitted to other hosts, within a narrow window of time before adaptive immune responses are fully marshaled.

There are profound safety issues to consider, too. It takes a very long time to assure that. Fauci wrote:

Considering that vaccine development and licensure is a long and complex process requiring years of preclinical and clinical safety and efficacy data, the limitations of influenza and SARS-CoV-2 vaccines remind us that candidate vaccines for most other respiratory viruses have to date been insufficiently protective for consideration of licensure 

Further, vaccines certainly cant improve on what even natural immunity cant do:

Taking all of these factors into account, it is not surprising that none of the predominantly mucosal respiratory viruses have ever been effectively controlled by vaccines. This observation raises a question of fundamental importance: if natural mucosal respiratory virus infections do not elicit complete and long-term protective immunity against reinfection, how can we expect vaccines, especially systemically administered non-replicating vaccines, to do so?

This is why the flu vaccines have never been able to elicit durable protective immunity against seasonal influenza virus strains, even against non-drifted strains.  Their effectiveness against clinically apparent infection is decidedly suboptimal, ranging from 14 percent to 60 percent over the past 15 influenza seasons.

Now, its not as if Fauci admits that the vaccine was a complete flop. Of course, he has to engage in the usual incantations of the glories of the COVID-19 vaccination.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the rapid development and deployment of SARS-CoV-2 vaccines has saved innumerable lives and helped to achieve early partial pandemic control, he wrote.

Note the word innumerable. It means theres no number and no possibility of a number. Exactly. Also note early partialweasel words to cover the reality of egregious failure.

If you click through the citation to this dubious claim, its from April 2021, early in the mutation process, when we hardly had any data at all to justify such celebration. Why is Fauci citing a two-year-old piece in defense of the vaccine? Because thats all there is to cite: two-year-old hagiographies without meaningful data.

How precisely can we account for this fiasco? If they knew, and they did know, how is it that they put us through this horrible upheaval? The most dreadful theory is that they knew for sure that the virus would become endemic through exposure. But the point of slowing the spread and flattening the curve (lockdowns and masking) while trashing and nearly banning other therapeutics was to preserve the customer base for the new experimental product.

That product was mRNA, which is supposed to be a platform for future vaccines. This is why the Johnson & Johnson vaccine was taken off the market.

Under this theory, they wanted to prolong the pandemic for as long as possible so they could collect data on how well the vaccine worked. And they wanted to try it universally, which is why we didnt hear much at all about the risk gradient of the vaccine itself. This also accounts for the deliberate drumming up of disease panic and forced distancing.

So let that sink in. They utterly smashed the world as we knew itviolating all human rightsin order to test out a new technology at great profit to themselves. In other words, they treated us all as lab rats.

An entire generation of politicians needs to be toppled from power all over the world. The same goes for media professionals, tech CEOs, and public-health officials. They all have to go. And we need a thorough accounting, not to mention guarantees, that nothing like this will ever happen again. As for Moderna and Pfizer, one could easily make a case for forcing their immediate end as corporate entities.

Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
Kamala Harris Is Doing Her Job as Border Czar, Biden Admin Asserts

Officials focus on vice president's efforts to stop flow of illegal immigrants from Central America

Vice President Kamala Harris delivers remarks on the South Lawn of the White House, in Washington, on Sept. 13, 2022. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

Senior Biden officials held a press conference on Monday on the causes of illegal immigration from northern Central America to the United States, and what the administration, with Vice President Kamala Harris leading the effort, is doing to reduce this migration.

In addressing the crisis at the southern border, particular focus was put on stemming the flow of illegal immigrants from the Northern Triangleor Northern Central Americanations: El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras.

Harris has come under heavy criticism for what has been widely perceived as her lack of engagement on the nations southern border, since President Biden appointed her as the border czar early in his administration.

With Biden saying he intends to seek reelection, what progress he can show on the border could be critical to his chances.

The vice president is working to address the root causes of migration, the factors that drive people to migrate in the first placeincluding sometimes an absence of hope for economic opportunity. an official stated. [The] administration is simultaneously working to ensure safe, orderly, and humane processing system at the border.

A Border Patrol agent instructs illegal immigrants who crossed the Rio Grande into El Paso, Texas, as seen from Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, on Dec. 19, 2022. (John Moore/Getty Images)

Officials said the number of encounters border officials had in January 2023 with those from Northern Central America trying to cross the border was 71 percent lower than in August 2021, the month in which the highest number of encounters were recorded during the Biden administration.

And, yet, overall, the southern border remains in crisis

Data from the U.S. Customs and Border Protection documents a rapid rise in encounters between border agents and those seeking to cross the southern border into the United States, with that number being 458,000 in 2020, 1.7 million in 2021, and 2.3 million in 2022.

A Sept. 20, 2022, Newsweek story, Border Crossings 3 Times Higher Under Biden Than Trump, reported that Data from the U.S. Border Patrol (USBP) and Office of Field Operations (OFO) compiled by Newsweek show that the average number of encounters under Biden reached totals of roughly 189,000 per month, compared to an average of just under 51,000 per month during the Trump presidency.

Keeping a Focus on Central America and the Northern Triangle

Harris visited Guatemala in June 2021, and while in the country sounded a message meant for those who might have been considering trying to enter the United States illegally.

Do not come. Do not come, she said. The United States will continue to enforce our laws and secure our border.

A keystone of the vice presidents plan is the Call To Action program in which companies have been recruited to invest in Central America with the goal of creating economic and job opportunities at home for citizens of the region.

As the officials explained, when Call To Action launched in late May of 2021, 12 companies were on board. Today senior officials noted that the number of participating companies is at 50, and that $3.2 billion has already been invested in the program, with that number rising soon to $4.2 billion following Harriss planned announcement of a $950 million commitment.

We are redoubling humanitarian and development assistance in this region., an official said. We are cracking down on the multibillion human smuggling industry that exploits migrants and we are expanding legal pathways for migration from Central America.

We doubled the number of temporary worker visas that we issued to nationals of the three northern Central American countries. We also increased refugee resettlement from Central America six-fold.
Mali Junta Expels UN Missions Human Rights Chief

The Malian interim government on Sunday said the head of the U.N. peacekeeping missions human rights division had 48 hours to leave the country as he had been declared persona non grata.

In a statement, it said the decision to expel Guillaume Ngefa-Atondoko Andali was connected to what Malis ruling junta said was his allegedly biased choice of civil society witnesses for U.N. Security Council briefings on Mali, the most recent of which was held on Jan. 27.

The U.N. mission in Mali MINUSMA did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Andali could not be reached for comment.

Malis ruling military regime have come under pressure for alleged human rights violations and abuses reportedly perpetrated by Malian armed forces in partnership with the Russian private military contractor Wagner Group in Mali.

On Jan. 31, U.N. experts called for an independent investigation into possible war crimes and crimes against humanity by both these forces.

The Malian regime, which took power in a 2021 military coup, on Saturday released a statement that pushed back against some of the U.N. allegations and emphasised the authorities commitment to respecting human rights in accordance with international and national law.

Mali has previously said Russian forces in the country are not mercenaries but trainers helping local troops with equipment bought from Russia.

Russias Lavrov Visits to Strengthen Defense Ties

Meanwhile, the juntas foreign ministry said on Sunday that Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will pay a two-day visit to Mali this week, describing the visit as a reflection of a shared wish to strengthen defence and security ties.

Lavrov will arrive in Bamako on Monday. It is the first time a Russian foreign minister has officially visited the West African nation and reflects Moscows focus on extending its reach on the continent while it is at loggerheads with Western powers over its invasion of Ukraine.

Read More South Africa Defends Planned Military Drills With Friends Russia and China

Since coming to power in a 2020 coup, Malis junta has turned to Moscow even as it sparred with neighbours and Western nations over election delays and its decision to work with Russian mercenaries to combat an Islamist insurgency.

This high-level visit is in line with the political choice made by the Transitional Government to expand and diversify strategic partnerships, the Malian ministry said in a statement.

Lavrovs visit shows the firm will of the Malian and Russian heads of state to give new impetus to the relations of friendship and bilateral cooperation  in priority areas, in particular defence and security, the ministry said.

Mali is engaged in a fight against extremists linked to al Qaeda and ISIS who have waged a decade-long insurgency that has spread to neighbouring countries.

Last year, Russian President Vladimir Putin told Mali that Moscow was committed to strengthening cooperation to help root out the extremists. It has also promised shipments of fuel, fertiliser, and food worth around $100 million.

Malis growing friendliness with Russia has coincided with a breakdown in relations with France, the former colonial power. Last year, the rift led Paris to withdraw all its troops that had been battling extremists since 2013.

Lavrov is currently in Baghdad for talks on improving bilateral ties and energy cooperation.
Mexican Actor Pablo Lyle Gets Prison for Road Rage Death

Pablo Lyle gestures toward family members as they appear in court at the Richard E. Gerstein Justice Building in Miami on Dec. 12, 2022. (Carl Juste/Miami Herald via AP, Pool)

MIAMIMexican actor Pablo Lyle was sentenced Friday to five years in prison for involuntary manslaughter after fatally punching a man during a road rage confrontation in Miami in 2019.

The sentence came almost four years after Lyle was charged with murder in the death of a man he struck during a traffic incident.

Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Marisa Tinkler Mendez announced the sentence two months after rejecting the actors request for a new trial and upholding the guilty verdict reached by a jury in October.

The 36-year-old Mexican telenovela star, who appeared in the Netflix crime series Yankee, had faced a maximum sentence of up to 15 years in prison. The judge also ordered eight years of probation, conflict resolution management, and 500 hours of community service for the actor.

The actor has 30 days to appeal the sentence.

Dressed in a red jail uniform, Lyle looked calm and expressed repentance during the more than three-hour hearing. He has been detained since his Oct. 4 conviction.

I am very sorry, Lyle said in Spanish, looking at some of the members of Hernandez family who were in the court room, among them his son. I always pray for him and for you, with all my heart.

After a week-long trial, a six-member jury convicted Lyle of involuntary manslaughter in the death of Juan Ricardo Hernandez, 63.

Hernandez, who was unarmed, suffered a traumatic brain injury and died four days later while hospitalized.

Lyles lawyers argued that he acted in self-defense. They also said that there were inconsistencies in the evidence during the trial.

Telenovela star Pablo Lyle tries to regain his composure after reading a statement in court apologizing to the Hernandez family during his sentencing in Miami-Dade Criminal Court in Miami on Feb. 3, 2023. (Jose A. Iglesias/El Nuevo Herald via AP, Pool)

When handing down her sentence, the judge, however, said that Lyle made a poor decision and acted out of anger.

The evidence shows that the action of Mr. Lyle was an act of violence, Tinkler said. Mr. Lyle has to be held responsible for those actions.

The road confrontation was captured by security cameras.

Lyles brother-in-law was taking the actor, his wife and two children to the airport. Their car passed that of Hernandez, who stopped at a red light, got out and approached the drivers window of Lyles vehicle to claim that they had blocked his way.

According to security video footage, Lyle and Hernandez got into an argument, and the actor punched Hernandez in the face. Lyle claimed he was defending himself. He said that his children were terrified and that he feared Hernandez had a weapon.

At the hearing, Lyles wife, his brother-in-law and his sister offered testimony before the judge made her decision public.

On Hernandezs side, his son described him as a very happy, attentive person, with good health and principles. Juan Ricardo Hernandez Jr. asked the judge to sentence Lyle to the maximum of 15 years.

He said that the day before the altercation, he had been with his father.

I didnt want to believe it was him, Hernandezs son said of going to the hospital to see his father after receiving news of the incident.

By Gisela Salomon
Miami Black Leaders Apologize to Gov. DeSantis After Member Called Him Racist

The Miami-Dade Black Affairs Advisory Board apologized to Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis over the weekend after one of its members described him a racist.

Pierre Rutledge, the head of the Miami-Dade Black Affairs Advisory Board, issued a statement on behalf of the organization and apologized to the Republican governor after a member said last week that DeSantis is a racist.

We take it to heart when someone uses the term racist, Rutledge said, reported Fox News and the Miami Herald, which reported that he made that comment at a Feb. 3 press conference. Words matter. And so as chair, I must start by saying we want to pull that back. Theres nothing wrong with saying were sorry. Thats not what we intended to say or be depicted by anyone. And thats not the feeling of this board.

Another official, Miramar Mayor Wayne Messam, said that he also cant call the governor racist. I dont know him personally. I dont know his heart, reported WSVN. However, he claimed that DeSantis policies always [seem] to attack black people and people of color, without elaborating.

DeSantiss administration has not responded to a request for comment.

Rutledge, who is also a local school administrator, did not immediately respond to an Epoch Times request for comment. The Miami-Dade Black Affairs Advisory Board also did not respond to a request for comment.

Rutledges comment came after Miami lawyer Stephen Hunter Johnson said last week that our governor is racist during a Miami-Dade Black Affairs Advisory Board meeting about DeSantis having blocked an African-American studies course, according to the Herald. After the comment, the board members unanimously voted to draft a letter to DeSantis to object against his rejection of the course.

During Fridays news conference, Rutledge made the apology while also simultaneously saying that the board released the letter to DeSantis to criticize his decision.

Politics has no place in determining school curriculum, Rutledge said, according to WSVN. If we rely on elected officials to tell our children what they can and cannot learn about, that is the epitome of political indoctrination.

The flurry of comments came after DeSantiss administration rejected the College Boards Advanced Placement African American History course for high school students in his state, asserting it violates Floridas recently passed Stop WOKE Act.

Please allow this letter to serve as confirmation that the Florida Department of Education (FDOE) does not approve the inclusion of the Advanced Placement (AP) African American Studies course in the Florida Course Code Directory and Instructional Personnel Assignments (adopted in State Board of Education Rule 6A-l.09441, Florida Administrative Code), reads a Jan. 12 letter issued by the Florida Department of Education, addressed to College Board Florida Partnership Senior Director from Florida Department of Education Commissioner Manny Diaz, Jr.

As presented, the content of this course is inexplicably contrary to Florida law and significantly lacks educational value, the letter said, adding that should College Board be willing to come back to the table with lawful, historically-accurate content, FDOE will always be willing to reopen the discussion.

In a recent news conference, DeSantis made reference to the topics that he believed were tantamount to left-wing indoctrination, including queer theory and movements that seek to abolish prisons.

This course, when I heard it, didnt meet the standards. I figured, Yeah, they may be doing [critical race theory], DeSantis told reporters in Jacksonville last week. Its way more than that. This course on Black history, what [is] one of the lessons about? Queer theory. Now, who would say thats an important part of black history, queer theory? That is somebody pushing an agenda on our kids.

Last week, the College Board issued a revision to the course. In the official framework made public on Wednesday, topics such as Black Lives Matter, reparations, and queer theory are no longer subjects to be taught. They are included only on a list of topics that states and school systems could suggest to students for end-of-the-year projects.

A spokesperson for DeSantis on Wednesday told The Associated Press that the state education department is reviewing the revised curriculum for compliance with Florida law.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Ministers and Departments Spent Over $800,000 on Speechwriters in the Past 3 Years

Minister of Environment and Climate Change Steven Guilbeault rises during question period in the House of Commons on Oct. 21, 2022. (The Canadian Press/Adrian Wyld)

Federal departments and their ministers have spent over $800,000 to hire speechwriters in the past three years, according to information tabled in the House of Commons.

The Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations has been the highest spender for such services, with $142,439 in contracts since 2019. Environment and Climate Change Canada came in second at $134,139.

The information was provided by departments following a written question by Conservative MP Mike Lake (Edmonton-Wetaskiwin). The response was tabled by the government in an Inquiry of Ministry on Jan. 30.

Lake sought information on contracts such as dates, providers, and on the specific speeches produced.

Ministers have used speechwriters when giving addresses to interest groups, but also when they participate in House of Commons debates or testify before committee.

Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault had his speech written by a contractor when he spoke in the Commons in June 2021 when he was the Heritage minister.

Guilbeaults speech was in response to a motion tabled by the Bloc Quebecois about Quebecs constitutional status and the French language, and praised his governments support of culture in the province.

Hand in hand with Quebec, we have developed many of our cultural flagships, Guilbeault said. The speech cost $765, according to Heritage Canada.

Guilbeault successor, Pablo Rodriguez, paid $487 to a speechwriter to prepare his opening remarks at a Heritage Commons committee in February 2022.

Youve heard me before. I often ask the question, Can you imagine a day without arts, without culture? It would be boring. Without theatre, television, movies, books, it would be super boring, said Rodriguez, addressing pandemic supports to the culture industry.

Heritage Canada spent $63,980 in speechwriting services from April 2020 to March 31 of this year.

Some of the speeches and costs for Heritage Canada include $450 for the Pride National Conference, $350 for a virtual cocktail event with the Quebec music industry, and $975 for an Anti-Racism Action Program 2.0 funding announcement.

Several other ministers have outsourced speeches for parliamentary procedures, such as Public Safety Marco Mendicino.

Craig Steenburgh is by far the more sought-after speechwriter by federal government departments, receiving over $300,000 during the studied period. Contracts appear under entity names Craig Steenburgh, Steenburgh & Associates, and Craig Steenburgh and Associates.

Steenburghs website says hes one of Ottawas busiest independent communications writers and provides a link to a speech he wrote for Queen Elizabeth II in 2007.

The other top provider of speechwriting services is Marshall-Daigneault & Associates, which received $145,140 in contracts over the period.

Not all departments resort to outside speechwriters, according to the information provided. The offices of the minister of health and the minister of foreign affairs, for example, say they have not issued any contracts for speechwriting.

Information about speechwriting for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was marked as not available.

The information provided by the Privy Council Office says it can hire speechwriters for the Clerk, the Deputy Clerk and unspecified ministers. It spent $18,000 for the period January 2021 to end of fiscal year in March.
New Details Emerge in Shooting of Off-Duty Cop in Brooklyn

New York City Police Commissioner Keechant Sewell (center) speaks to reporters during a press conference in New York City on Dec. 31, 2022. (NYPD via AP)

New details have emerged in the shooting of an off-duty NYPD officer in Brooklyn over the weekend.

Police are still searching for the suspect who shot and critically wounded the off-duty officer in an attempted robbery on Feb. 3, at around 7 p.m. in East New York, Brooklyn.

NYC officials said the officer set up a meeting through Facebook Marketplace to check out and buy a used Honda Pilot from an online seller.

The NYPD said that the off-duty cop arrived in the company of his brother-in-law, carrying $24,000 for the potential car purchase, when the ambush occurred.

The pair met with the suspect after he lured them into a dark driveway at 472 Ruby Street, near Linden Boulevard, when he pulled out a gun and announced his intent to rob them, reported the New York Post.

The armed suspect shouted give me your money, according to the police.

The off-duty officer pulled out his sidearm in response and exchanged fire with the suspect.

The suspect then fired at least five shots with a 9mm handgun, with one round hitting the officer in the head and exiting out the back, according to the NY Post.

The officers brother-in-law, who immediately picked up the gun when the officer fell, returned fire and was left unscathed during the incident.

The suspect then jumped into the drivers seat of a waiting black BMW SUV and sped off.

Veteran NYPD Officer Remains In Critical Condition

It is unknown at this time if the attempted robber was wounded during the gunfight, or if he even knew that his intended victim was an off-duty officer.

Officials announced that the off-duty officer is currently in critical condition at Brookdale Hospital.

The officers who arrived on the scene found the wounded officer on the ground with his NYPD shield and service weapon nearby.

The 26-year-old officer, whose identity has not been released, is from Deer Park, New York, and is a five-year veteran of the force who serves at the 66th Precinct, in the neighborhood of Borough Park.

Detectives believe that the male shooter, who remains at large, may be responsible for similar robberies in the city and they are tracing him through Facebook.

The investigators are specifically looking at a similar robbery that took place on the same street on Jan. 13, which involved $18,000.

Please keep this young officer in your prayers. He is currently fighting for his life, Keechant Sewell, New York Citys Police Commissioner, told reporters.

Robberies Through Facebook Ads Becoming a Concern

Meanwhile, federal agents have joined the NYPD to assist detectives with the investigation.

In October 2022, federal prosecutors indicted a pair of Bronx teenagers who pulled off a similar but separate online scheme to lure victims into robberies. The pair ended up murdering a 20-year-old Rockland County man who responded to their Facebook ad for a motorcycle in the Bronx in May 2022.

We will catch the person responsible for this act, NYC Mayor Eric Adams told reporters over the weekend.

Far too often Ive stood at hospitals. On one side, the police commissioner; on another, the rooms where family members are mourning. And then that same sound: Tell me its not true. Please tell me its not true,' said Adams, who spoke with the officers wife and two children.
Beijing (Gasgoo)- Chinese autonomous driving computing platform developer RHINO Tech on February 6 announced the recent completion of its Angel+ financing round, which was jointly led by Xiaomi Group and Xiaomi-associated Shunwei Capital.

Photo credit: RHINO Tech

Other investors of the round include CICV Investment, Cathay Capital, Sense Capital, MiraclePlus, GSR Ventures, Grit Ventures, Tsari Capital, and Z&Y Capital.

According to RHINO Tech, it bagged several hundreds of millions of yuan in the Angel+ round.

Notably, well-known investors such as YuanBio Venture Capital, NIO Capital, Zhen Fund, SEE Fund, and Sky9 Capital were all participants in RHINO Techs Angel round.

Founded in April 2022, RHINO is committed to building innovative onboard intelligent computing platforms, providing high-level intelligent driving chips, easy-to-use open tool chains, and full-stack autonomous driving solutions to help automakers build low-cost, large-scale, and automated iterative capabilities, achieving high-quality and efficient mass production and delivery of autonomous driving products.

Proceeds from this round will be used for product development, mass production, and market expansion, said RHINO Tech.

Currently, RHINO Tech has built a full-fledged R&D team of more than 200 people, with R&D centers in Beijing, Shanghai, Hefei, and Hangzhou. The core technical staff has an average of over a decade worth of practical experience in autonomous driving chip design, algorithm and tool chain development, automotive system, and product delivery, etc.

The startup's first SoC for next-generation urban NOA solutions is scheduled for mass production in 2024.
NYC Ends COVID-19 Vaccine Mandate for City Employees

A healthcare worker administers a shot of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine to a woman at a pop-up vaccination site operated by SOMOS Community Care during the pandemic in Manhattan in New York City, on Jan. 29, 2021. (Mike Segar/Reuters)

New York City will make COVID-19 vaccinations optional as of Feb. 10 for current and future city employees, including police officers, firefighters, and teachers, Mayor Eric Adams said on Feb. 6.

With more than 96 percent of city workers and more than 80 percent of New Yorkers having received their primary COVID-19 series and more tools readily available to keep us healthy, this is the right moment for this decision, Adams, a Democrat, said in a statement.

Vaccination requirements also will be lifted for nonpublic school, early child care, and day care staff, according to a statement from Adams.

City workers stepped up tremendously throughout the pandemic, the mayor added. From our health care frontline workers and first responders who saved lives, to the city employees who kept our streets clean, our schools open, and our streets safe, we owe city workers a debt of gratitude for their service during New York Citys darkest days.

COVID-19 mandates saved lives and were absolutely necessary, NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene Commissioner Dr. Ashwin Vasan said.

We cannot overstate our appreciation for the millions of New Yorkers who made the necessary sacrifices to keep our city safe and save lives, he added.

Meanwhile, the 1,780 former workers who were fired for not submitting proof of vaccination will not be able to automatically return to their previous positions, the city said. They will be able to apply for positions with their former agencies through existing city rules and regulations and hiring processes.

A spokesman for Adams told the New York Post that the city wont provide back pay for the terminated employees.

New York City Mayor Eric Adams speaks onstage during NYC & Company Foundation Visionaries & Voices Gala at The Plaza Hotel in New York on Dec. 5, 2022. (Slaven Vlasic/Getty Images for NYC & Company Foundation)

The COVID-19 vaccine mandate, which faced numerous lawsuits, was first imposed in October 2021 by then-Mayor Bill de Blasio, a Democrat, who also set proof-of-vaccination rules on restaurants, concert venues, and other establishments. Adams in September 2022, also lifted de Blasios private-sector vaccine mandate, although it isnt clear to what extent the rule was actually enforced.

Republicans praised Adams for lifting the COVID-19 vaccine mandate.

This news will come as an incredible relief to thousands of city workers and their families, and the parents and guardians who have been barred from attending their childrens public school events, the City Councils six Republicans, along with two Democrats, said in a joint statement, according to local media.

There is more to be done for those workers who were unjustly fired for making personal medical choices, but this is a tremendous step toward righting the wrongs of the previous administrations misguided pandemic policies.

Lawsuits

A Staten Island judge in October 2022 ordered New York City workers who were terminated to be reinstated. The city has since appealed the ruling.

We shouldnt be penalizing the people who showed up to work, at great risk to themselves and their families, while we were locked down, Staten Island Supreme Court Justice Ralph Porzio wrote. He said that Dr. David Chokshi, the former city health commissioner, overstepped his authority when issuing the mandate.

About a month ago, dozens of New York City workers filed a $230 million lawsuit that sought to end the citys mandate.

Thousands of protesters against the NYC vaccine mandates march along the Brooklyn bridge into Manhattan, New York, on Oct. 26, 2021. (Sarah Lu/The Epoch Times)

The ex-workers, the lawsuit stated, have been unemployed for over a year, and most have lost their homes or the ability to support their families. The court papers also said that the petitioners have been mocked for their religious beliefs, including by the city.

Elaborating, a lawyer representing those plaintiffs stated that he believes every single one of his clients was treated unfairly by the city.

Most of the petitioners have been employed for over 20 years, and the city showed a lack of respect to these people, James Mermigis told the New York Post. They just terminated them as if they were working there for six months.

Also in January, a New York court struck down a statewide vaccine mandate that was imposed on health care workers, ruling that Gov. Kathy Hochul and the states health department overstepped their authority.

In a ruling issued on Jan. 13, state Supreme Court Judge Gerard Neri wrote the statewide COVID-19 vaccine mandate for medical staff null, void, and of no effect.

In true Orwellian fashion, the Respondents acknowledge then-current COVID-19 shots do not prevent transmission, Neri wrote, citing a Summary of Assessment of Public Comment that was submitted as evidence in the case.
NIH Regulations on Risky Research Too Secretive and Vague: Advisers

Acting Director of National Institutes of Health Lawrence Tabak testifies during a hearing before the Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies of House Appropriations Committee at Rayburn House Office Building on Capitol Hill May 11, 2022. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)

U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) regulations on research that increases one or more aspects of a pathogen need improvement, according to a group of advisers tasked with reviewing the rules.

If experiments meet certain definitions, they are supposed to be reviewed before being funded by the U.S. government under an oversight system implemented in 2012. The system is meant to ensure that the benefits of risky experiments called gain-of-function research outweigh the risks.

The framework has largely failed, outside experts have said, pointing to how the oversight has been essentially nonexistent.

The National Science Advisory Board for Biosecurity, tasked by the NIH to review the system, agreed in a recent draft report.

Thats due in part to the definitions that trigger reviews being too narrow, including the definition for potential pandemic pathogens (PPPs), the expert advisers said.

The framework requires the review of research that involves, or is reasonably anticipated to involve, creation, transfer, or use of enhanced PPPs.

PPPs are defined as being likely highly transmissible and likely highly virulent; enhanced PPPs are defined as a PPP resulting from the enhancement of the transmissibility and/or virulence of a pathogen.

Misinterpretations can happen due to the current definitions, such as excluding research on pathogens that arent PPPs but that is expected to result in the creation of a pathogen that meets one or both definitions, the board said.

The thresholds conveyed by the terms highly transmissible and highly virulent could result in some research not being appropriately evaluated, such as those that could result in a pathogen with moderate transmissibility, or moderate virulence, which could still have severe impacts on public health, health care system capacity, or national security, Syra Madad, an epidemiologist who helped lead the boards work, said during a Jan. 27 meeting reviewing the report.

Among the groups recommendations is expanding the definition of an enhanced PPP and imposing U.S. regulations on all foreign laboratories funded by the United States that are conducting risky experiments.

The report represents one of the final steps in work that began in January 2020 but was paused due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Dr. Lawrence Tabak, the acting NIH director, asked the board to resume the work in 2022.

The board can only make recommendations. It is up to U.S. government officials whether to approve them.

The NIH and its partners, including the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, will consider the report as part of reviewing the oversight framework, Tabak said in a statement.

During the meeting, the board voted in favor of finalizing the draft findings, with the incorporation of comments from members of the public who shared their views.

Some experts urged caution, arguing that stricter oversight could impede necessary experiments.

Although the committee and the reason were doing this is well-intentioned, we have to be really careful of unintended consequences, Jeremy Kamil, an associate professor of microbiology and immunology at Louisiana State University, said. Too many regulations would lead to the delay in developing crucial drugs, he said.

Others said the recommendations would help improve the system but would not go far enough.

That includes the framework explicitly applying to all U.S. government agencies, not just the Department of Health and Human Services, the NIHs parent agency, Dr. Tom Inglesby said.

Inglesby, director of the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, also said the board should be more explicit about how research is referred to department level review, adding, Its not clear how that happens now, who does that and there really isnt a record of it.

Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Wash.), chairwoman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, said the report underscored the need for changes to the framework.

I am encouraged that now even the Biden administration recognizes this fact. However, these recommendations are just the start, and our committees oversight will push for greater transparency into how the United States makes funding decisions regarding potentially risky pathogenic research, Rodgers said in a statement.

She pointed to a U.S. Government Accountability Office released in January that found U.S. health officials do not make clear how they review and approve proposals for research involving altered pandemic potential pathogens.

The office said officials should work with the NIH and other funding agencies to clearly define reasonably anticipated and to be more transparent with information, much of which is currently withheld from the public.

Around the same time, the Department of Health and Human Services inspector general said that NIH officials failed to adequately monitor money granted to EcoHealth Alliance, the New York-based group that funneled some of the funds to the Wuhan Institute of Virology. That lab is situated near where the first COVID-19 cases were detected.

The deficient monitoring limited the ability of the NIH to understand the nature of the research conducted, identify potential problem areas, and take corrective action, the watchdog said.

In 2022, the NIH ended a subgrant to the Wuhan laboratory because it refused to provide requested information, including results from some experiments on bat-related coronaviruses.
No Response From Pulitzer Committee After Watchdog Issues Critical Review of Medias RussiaGate Coverage

Former President Donald Trump speaks at the Conservative Political Action Conference at the Hilton Anatole in Dallas, Texas, on Aug. 6, 2022. (Brandon Bell/Getty Images)

The Pulitzer committee is yet to respond to a media watchdogs scathing review of multiple media outlets coverage of the now-debunked Trump-Russia collusion narrative.

The Columbia Journalism Review spent 18 months looking back on the press coverage of the former president in a report published on Jan. 30, and took aim at a number of publications, including The New York Times and the Washington Post for their coverage of what became widely known as Russiagate.

Seven and a half years ago, journalism began a tortured dance with Donald Trump, the man who would be the countrys forty-fifth presidentfirst dismissing him, then embracing him as a source of ratings and clicks, then going all in on efforts to catalogue Trump as a threat to the country (also a great source of ratings and clicks), the review read.

No narrative did more to shape Trumps relations with the press than Russiagate. The story, which included the Steele dossier and the Mueller report among other totemic moments, resulted in Pulitzer Prizes as well as embarrassing retractions and damaged careers.

Specifically, the Columbia Journalism Review took aim at what it called serious flaws in the medias reporting of the false TrumpRussia narrative, particularly when it comes to both The New York Times and the Washington Post, which it said had failed to follow its own rules for using anonymous sources, upon which many of their stories reportedly heavily relied upon.

Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) holds a copy of the Steele Dossier during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on Capitol Hill on Dec. 11, 2019. (Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images)

Pulitzer Prize Winners

The report also cited both publications use of false or misleading statements regarding Trump as well as their misleading use of statistics, noting that when those storylines were authoritatively undercut, the follow-ups were downplayed or ignored.

The New York Times and The Washington Post both shared the 2018 Pulitzer Prize for national reporting for their deeply sourced, relentlessly reported coverage in the public interest that dramatically furthered the nations understanding of Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election and its connections to the Trump campaign, the President-elects transition team and his eventual administration, according to Pulitzers official website.

Donald Trump has since asked that the Pulitzer board rescind its awards to the two publications but his demand was rejected.

Following the publication of the report last month, Trump released a statement saying that the report was a STAGGERING, detailed account of the lies, disinformation, and complete lack of journalistic integrity exhibited by the purveyors of Fake News at the Washington Compost (sometimes known as the Washington Post), the Failing New York Times, and many others.

This proves, once again, that the corrupt, woke, radical Democrats stole the 2020 election, making it impossible for that fact to be called the Big Lie, as the Marxists and Communists in our Country attempt to portray it, he added.

President Donald Trump speaks on the phone with Russian President Vladimir Putin in the Oval Office of the White House, in Washington on Jan. 28, 2017. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

Steele Dossier Discredited

Former British intelligence officer Christopher Steeles infamous Steele dossier, which has since been widely discredited, was used to obtain a spy warrant on members of the Trump 2016 presidential campaign.

The dossier was paid for by the Hillary Clinton campaign and the Democratic National Committee. A number of the spy warrants were later declared invalid while officials admitted the spying shouldnt have been carried out.

In a statement to Fox News, a Washington Post spokesperson said: We are proud of our coverage of the investigation into Russias interference in the 2016 campaign, including our stories that were awarded the Pulitzer Prize for furthering the nations understanding of this consequential period.

We approached this line of coverage with care and a great sense of responsibility. On the few occasions in which new information emerged that caused us to reexamine past reporting, we did so forthrightly, the statement added.

A spokesperson for the Pulitzer committee declined to comment, citing pending litigation.
Officials Fear Catastrophic Explosion After Major Train Derailment in Ohio

Portions of a Norfolk and Southern freight train that derailed Friday night in East Palestine, Ohio, are still on fire at mid-day, on Feb. 4, 2023. (Gene J. Puskar/AP Photo)

Residents in an Ohio village were urged to evacuate after a train derailed, causing a catastrophic tanker failure that could result in an explosion that may shoot shrapnel thousands of feet, officials said.

Within the last two hours, a drastic temperature change has taken place in a rail car, and there is now the potential of a catastrophic tanker failure which could cause an explosion with the potential of deadly shrapnel traveling up to a mile, Gov. Mike DeWine said in a statement on Sunday that called on residents of the village of East Palestine to evacuate. The village is located in northeastern Ohio.

His statement did not specify what was in that car or whether it was among those that had been carrying hazardous materials. Federal investigators had announced earlier Sunday that a mechanical issue with a rail car axle caused the fiery derailment near the Pennsylvania state line Friday night.

Authorities urged anyone within a 1-mile radius of the site to leave immediately. Many had, but local officials indicated more than 500 residents had declined to evacuate, the statement said.

No injuries to crew, residents, or first responders have been reported so far. DeWine activated the National Guard and other personnel over fears of a possible explosion.

Mayor Trent Conaway, who declared a state of emergency in the village, told The Associated Press that one person was arrested for going around barricades right up to the crash during the night. He warned that more arrests would follow if people do not stay away.

Updated info from the briefing: There were 20 total hazardous material cars in the train consist10 of which derailed. 5 of the derailed hazmat cars were carrying vinyl chloride. We have not confirmed vinyl chloride has been released other than from the pressure release devices.  NTSB Newsroom (@NTSB_Newsroom) February 5, 2023

I dont know why anybody would want to be up there; youre breathing toxic fumes if youre that close, he said, stressing that monitors of air quality away from the fire showed no levels of concern and the towns water is safe because it is fed by groundwater unaffected by some material that went into streams. Environmental protection agency crews were working to remove contaminants from streams and monitor water quality.

Sheriffs went door-to-door Sunday to count residents remaining and urge people within the evacuation area to leave. Schools and village offices will be closed at least through Monday, and businesses within the evacuation zone are not allowed to open Monday, officials said, AP reported.

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), which is investigating the incident, said that about two-dozen train cars were carrying hazardous materials and ten of those cars derailed. And five of the derailed cars were carrying vinyl chloride, which is described as highly flammable by the Environmental Protection Agency (pdf).

The agency said in a statement Saturday, however, that it has not confirmed vinyl chloride has been released other than from the pressure release devices.

Train operator Norfolk Southern said that vinyl chloride, combustible liquids, butyl acrylate, and benzene residue were being carried on the derailed train. It was also carrying non-hazardous materials such as plastic pellets, wheat, and liquors.

According to a Facebook post made on the East Palestine page, the fire from the derailment has similar constituents as a wood fire and that short-term exposure to some of the substances emitted during the derailment doesnt present a long-term health risk to locals. However, vinyl chloride and benzene can cause cancer in people exposed in the workplace to high concentrations for many years.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Oil Production Faces Serious Problem in 2024, With Implication for Prices, Says Goldman Sachs

A 3D-printed oil pump jack is seen in front of the OPEC logo in this illustration picture, on April 14, 2020. (Dado Ruvic/Reuters)

Goldman Sachs Group predicts that oil will rise above $100 a barrel this year and that there could be a serious supply problem into 2024, as spare production capacity runs dry.

The sanctions against Russian oil exports and rising demand from China, as it ends its zero-COVID lockdown policy, is expected to raise prices above its current level of around $80 by the end of the year. Goldmans chief commodity strategist Jeff Currie told Bloomberg News.

Oil prices have been volatile since the pandemic hit, falling below $20 in 2020, before soaring close to $130 per barrel after Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, which disrupted supplies and fell short of global demand.

The war caused the cost of gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel to skyrocket, as refineries maxed out capacity, before falling again in the year, as countries found alternative sources.

Last December, Goldman gave a bearish forecast on most asset classes, except for commodities, which were predicted to rise by 43 percent, as supply shortages bite.

Commodities have gone up and down since then, and they experienced a modest rise following Chinas reopening.

The sector has since slumped, with oil trading just above the Biden administrations refill floor of $72 per barrel to restock the Strategic Oil Reserve, despite economists predictions that Chinas demand for crude will hit record highs in 2023.

A Lack of Investment in Oil Sector to Blame for Pending Price Spikes

Currie told Bloomberg at a conference in the Saudi Arabian capital of Riyadh on Feb. 5 that a lack of much-needed investment in production to meet rising oil demand has become a key factor in raising up prices.

He said that this lack of capacity will become a major issue next year as oil prices skyrocket.

The commodity supercycle is a sequence of price spikes with each high higher and each low higher, said Currie.

The Goldman analyst predicts that oil markets will hit a deficit of supply compared to demand by May, which would use up much of the remaining capacity and stockpiles of the worlds major producers, and raise prices again above $100 a barrel by 2024 due to the situations with Russia and China.

Saudi Oil Minister Defends OPECs Actions

Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia energy minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman blamed a lack of investment in refining capacity for the pending supply crisis while speaking at the Riyadh conference on Feb 4.

He reiterated OPECs cautious stance in deciding when to ramp up output after its leadership committee recommended no output changes last week.

I will believe it when I see it, and then take action, said the prince.

If people had trusted us then, we wouldnt have undergone the trepidations that happened, said bin Salman, who was referring the brief spike in prices last fall when OPEC+ cut production by two million barrels a day.

Saudi Arabia and Russia are the de facto leaders of OPEC+, a 23-nation cartel of the worlds key oil producers.

The bloc is attempting to balance supply and demand while keeping prices high enough to satisfy its members.

The prince claimed that OPEC+s move to limit supplies had saved oil markets during the plunge in demand during the pandemic.

Goldman Analyst Believes OPEC Will Raise Its Production Limits Later This Year

Currie maintained Goldmans view that OPEC+ would eventually unwind production limits and will likely raise its output later this year, but the oil cartels market-monitoring committee recently recommended that it will maintain current oil output levels for now.

Right now, were still balanced to a surplus because China has still yet to fully rebound, Currie told Bloomberg. repeating his prediction that capacity will be stretched when demand outstrips supply by the end of this year.

Are we going to run out of spare production capacity? Potentially by 2024 you start to have a serious problem, asked Currie.
Pentagon Concedes Awareness Gap That Caused Failure to Detect 3 Chinese Spy Balloons During Trump Years

General Glen VanHerck, Commander of U.S. Northern Command and North American Aerospace Defense Command, testifies during a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on Capitol Hill March 24, 2022 in Washington. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

A top U.S. general charged with monitoring the nations airspace said that the military didnt detect previous incursions into U.S. airspace by Chinese spy balloons.

Air Force Gen. Glen VanHerck, who serves as commander of North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD), said that Chinese spy balloons previously went undetected on at least three occasions during the Trump administration.

I will tell you that we did not detect those threats, and thats a domain awareness gap, VanHerck said during a press briefing on Feb. 6.

The appearance of a Chinese communist spy balloon over the continental United States this past week has raised concerns about the United Statess military and political readiness, as well as its ability to simply respond to possibly hostile violations of its sovereignty.

VanHerck said that NORAD, which is jointly operated by the United States and Canada, first detected the spy balloon on Jan. 28 over the Aleutian Islands of Alaska, although President Joe Biden has said he wasnt briefed on the matter until Feb. 1.

The balloon was allowed to continue flying over U.S. airspace until it was shot down off the South Carolina coast on Feb. 4.

VanHerck said that the U.S. military and intelligence agencies exercised maximum precaution to prevent any intelligence collection from the spy balloon, and had also worked to collect information of their own about Chinas capabilities.

He said that the incident provided the United States with unique opportunities to conduct counterintelligence against the balloon but declined to comment on what capabilities were deployed to covertly examine the balloon.

To that end, VanHerck did say that the intelligence gathered from the balloon and how it operated was well worth the wait of shooting it down.

He added that U.S. intelligence determined the previous flights after the fact based on additional means of collection of intelligence without offering further details on whether that might be cyber espionage, telephone intercepts, or human sources.

Earlier on Feb. 6, White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said that since Biden took office, the United States enhanced its surveillance capabilities to allow it to detect things that the Trump administration was unable to detect.

As a result, we were able to go back and look at the historical patterns and uncover multiple instances during the Trump administration in which Chinese surveillance balloons traversed American airspace and territory, Sullivan said at a Feb. 6 event hosted by the U.S. Global Leadership Coalition.

Over the weekend, former President Donald Trump and several top U.S. officials during his administration said that they were never briefed on Chinese balloons entering U.S. airspace. The Biden administration has since offered to brief former Trump officials on the matter.

The presence of a so-called awareness gap in U.S. and Chinese balloon technologies is important due to the increasing prevalence of such devices for collecting surveillance and even as weapons of war.

Communist China previously tested the use of high-altitude balloons for dropping hypersonic missiles, and the United States has also looked into using the technology for deploying swarms of drones equipped with explosives.

Eva Fu and Reuters contributed to this report.
Political Belief Would Be Protected Under Human Rights Act if MPs Bill Passes

A file photo of Conservative MP for Sherwood Park-Fort Saskatchewan Garnett Genuis in the House of Commons, Ottawa, on May 3, 2022. (Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press)

Conservative MP Garnett Genuis has proposed legislation to include political belief or activity as a protected category in the Canadian Human Rights Act.

I do think political discrimination is a growing problem and there is some urgency to putting this forward, he told The Epoch Times.

The legislation is aimed at the federally regulated sector, which includes banks and social media companies, both of which have been points of particular concern for political discrimination, Genuis said. Banks froze the accounts of Freedom Convoy supporters, and social media platforms are at the centre of political censorship debates.

Genuis said these private institutions are quasi-public, acting at the behest of the government.

That gives you sort of the worst of both worlds, he said. You have the lack of autonomy that would normally exist in the private sector, but you have the lack of accountability that would normally exist in the public sector.

Workers Rights

Genuis said hes not worried only about bank customers, for example, being discriminated against by the bank. Hes worried about employees at companies across the country being discriminated against by their employers.

He gave the high-profile example of well-known author, speaker, and psychologist Jordan Peterson being chastised by the College of Psychologists of Ontario for his social media posts on politically charged topics.

There are plenty of lower-profile cases too, Genuis said. Im worried about the everyday secretary, grocery clerkthe person whos trying to get by and support their family and who feels vulnerable to employment-based discipline if they express certain political views on their personal time, on their personal channels.

He said he aims to protect people on both sides of the political spectrum. He gave the hypothetical example of an oil worker active with a political party on the left. I want to protect that persons right as an employee to hold those views, even if those views may be contrary to the economic interests of their employer.

Scope of the Problem

Its hard to quantify the scope of this kind of problem. Two researchers reviewing all available data in Canada on private employees being disciplined for social media posts, for example, noted that they mostly only see cases where unions are involved and theres arbitration.

We dont see a whole lot of cases coming through the courts, said one of the researchers, University of Ottawa Communications Professor Daniel J. Pare, during a panel discussion in 2021. A lot of folks who find themselves in this situation often are in precarious positions, so the idea of going to court and the expense that that incurs is [prohibitive].

Charles Smith, a political studies professor at the University of Saskatchewan, added that they have seen anecdotal evidence, however, that this is happening quite often in non-unionized companies as well.

Genuis says that regardless of how often it happens, people should be protected against it. For example, he said, people are rarely discriminated against for their marital status these days, but theres no harm in having that protection remain in the Human Rights Act.

Public employeesincluding doctors and nurseshave hitherto relied on free expression rights to combat professional discipline for expressing political views, Genuis said. This legislation could give such individuals another legal tool. Being able to use the Human Rights Act as well likely provides a faster and more convenient remedy.

Genuis said some people will go to the extreme and say this legislation would protect people advocating violence or racism. And frankly, thats ridiculous, he said. The human rights protections we have exist within the framework of a rule-of-law society. They dont allow just anyone to do just anything.

Bill C-257 went through a first reading in the House last year. The Senate version, S-257, was first read November last year and has a better chance of moving forward quickly, Genuis said. If S-257 makes it through the Senate, C-257 will receive higher priority in the House.
Repression of Uyghurs in Chinas Xinjiang Continues Unabated: Advocate

A facility believed to be a reeducation camp where mostly Muslim ethnic minorities are detained, in Artux, north of Kashgar in China's western Xinjiang region, on June 2, 2019. (Greg Baker/AFP/Getty Images)

The harsh repression of ethnic Uyghurs in Chinas far western Xinjiang region continues even after the United States and other countries recognized the atrocities as genocide, according to Salih Hudayar, the prime minister of the East Turkistan government-in-exile.

According to estimates by researchers, the Chinese regime has detained more than one million Uyghurs and other ethnic minorities in internment camps in Xinjiang, where they are subjected to torture, rape, forced labor, and political indoctrination by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).

In 2020, the Trump administration declared Beijings repression of Uyghurs a genocide.

The U.S. recognition of the genocide has led to similar recognitions by nearly a dozen parliaments in the E.U., the United Kingdom, Canada  and so forth. Its also brought more awareness on whats happening to the Uyghurs and the other Turkic peoples of Eastern Turkistan, Hudayar told China in Focus on NTD, sister media outlet of The Epoch Times, on Jan 18.

But sadly, it hasnt been enough to stop the genocide, he noted, saying, The Chinese government continues to carry out genocide, even in 2023. It continues to deny the fact that its carrying out genocide, he added.

Hudayar said that despite the CCPs lifting of its strict zero-COVID policies nationwide, the situation in Xinjiang remains unchanged.

Sadly, the Chinese government, although officially stated that it has ended the quarantines and it has ended the zero COVID draconian policies, you still see them continuing to build so-called quarantine facilities and internment camps across the deserts of East Turkistan, he said.

So nothing has changed when it comes to the Uighurs. The genocide continues, the Chinese governments manipulation, its lies continue, he added.

Hudayar highlighted the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, which President Joe Biden signed into law in December 2021 and which went into effect in June, banning imports from Xinjiang unless companies can prove that the products werent produced using forced labor.

The advocated believes the legislation is not strong enough to end the practice of forced labor.

We need to understand that its not just in East Turkistan [Xinjiang], the Chinese government is relocating Uyghurs in mass, forcibly relocating them to other provinces in China, where theyre continuing to be used as slave labor, he said.

To effectively put an end to forced labor in Xinjiang, the advocate suggested legislation that would essentially ban all products made in China.

This is the only way that we can stop the forced labor until China stops the genocideuntil they can allow independent investigators to go into China to go into East Turkistan, to confirm that its not using it, he said.

They use lies as a tool of diplomacy as a tool of governance, so we need to take whatever the Chinese government says with a grain of salt, and do our own proper investigation, and assess the situation accordingly, Hudayar added.

Population Decline

As Chinese officials reported Chinas first annual population fall in decades, the regimes genocide of the ethnic Uyghurs has contributed significantly to the decline, according to Hudayar.

Per a release by the countrys National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), the Chinese population declined by roughly 850,000 people to a total of 1.41175 billion in 2022. This is the first annual population decline in China officially reported since 1961the last year of the countrys Great Famine.

The Uyghurs population decline makes up a substantial portion of that figure, Hudayar said. Since 2017, our population growth has plummeted in some areas to 0% because of the Chinese governments forced sterilization, forced marriages policy, and mass internment policy.

According to a 2021 report (pdf) by Newlines Institute for Strategy and Policy, Uyghur women are subjected to forced IUD insertions, abortions, and injections or medication halting their menstrual cycles, while Uyghur men of childbearing age are targeted for internment, depriving the Uyghur population of the ability to reproduce.

As a result of these interconnected policies, growth rates in Uyghur-concentrated areas are increasingly approaching zero, the report stated.

Naveen Athrappully contributed to this report.
Republicans Criticize Biden Over Chinese Spy Balloon

President Joe Biden arrives to board Air Force One at Hancock Field Air National Guard Base in Syracuse, New York, on Feb. 4, 2023. (Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images)

Republican senators have criticized President Joe Biden over his handling of the Chinese spy balloon, but Democrats in the Senate said the criticism is unfounded.

The balloon was shot down off the coast of South Carolina by a U.S. fighter jet on Feb. 4, after having flown over several Midwest states. According to the Pentagon, the balloon first entered the U.S. air defense zone north of the Aleutian Islands of Alaska on Jan. 28, then entered Canadian airspace on Jan. 30, before reentering U.S. airspace over Idaho on Jan. 31. It was spotted above Montana on Feb. 2the day the Pentagon first revealed the existence of the balloon.

President Joe Biden issued the order to shoot down the balloon but had wanted to take it down earlier, on Feb. 1. However, he was advised against shooting it down over land since doing would pose undue risk to civilians on the ground.

On Feb. 5, the day after the balloon was brought down, Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) issued a statement criticizing Biden for reacting too slowly.

As usual when it comes to national defense and foreign policy, the Biden Administration reacted at first too indecisively and then too late. We should not have let the Peoples Republic of China [PRC] make a mockery of our airspace, McConnell said.

He added, It defies belief to suggest there was nowhere between the Aleutian Islands of Alaska and the coast of Carolina where this balloon could have been shot down right away without endangering Americans or Canadians.

This was a reminder of the PRCs brazenness and President Biden missed the opportunity to defend our sovereignty, send a message of strength, and bolster deterrence, McConnell said.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) speaks during a news conference following a closed-door lunch meeting with Senate Republicans at the Capitol in Washington, on Jan. 31, 2023. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

Republicans

Several Republican senators also criticized the Biden administration for waiting too long to take action.

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), in an interview with CBS Face the Nation on Sunday, said it shouldnt take a week to shoot down the balloon.

I want to start by doing something that I dont do very often, which is commending Joe Biden for actually having the guts to shoot this down, Cruz said. That was the right thing to do. That is absolutely what the president should have done.

Unfortunately, he didnt do that until a week after it entered U.S. airspace, Cruz continued. He allowed a full week for the Chinese to conduct spying operations over the United States, over sensitive military installations, exposing not just photographs but the potential of intercepted communications.

Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) told CNNs State of the Union on Sunday that Biden should have gone on TV to inform the public about the situation.

I think the dereliction of duty begins with this, Rubio said. Why not, on Tuesday or Wednesdayyou know people are going to see this. At some point, youre going to have to disclose it. And they probably didnt want to, because they didnt want to have their hand forced on canceling this [Secretary of State Antony] Blinken visit.

Presidents have the ability to go before camera, go before the nation and basically explain these things early on, Rubio continued.  I dont understand why he wouldnt do that. And that is the beginning of dereliction of duty.

Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) speaks during a Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies hearing on Capitol Hill in Wash., on May 17, 2022. (Anna Rose Layden/Pool/Getty Images)

Blinken was originally scheduled to arrive in China on Feb. 5 for a two-day visit. He postponed the trip, telling China that its action was irresponsible and a clear violation of U.S. sovereignty.

Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), in an interview with Fox News on Sunday, said the Chinese spy balloon was a test and Biden failed.

What began as a spy balloon has become a trial balloon, testing President Bidens strength and resolve. Unfortunately, the president failed that test, and thats dangerous for the American people, Cotton said. The president was paralyzed for an entire week by a balloon. We should have shot this balloon down over the Aleutian Islands; we should never have allowed it to transit the entire continental United States.

Democrats

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) held a press conference in New York on Sunday, during which he defended Biden from GOP criticism.

Republican critics were breathless, political, and premature. President Biden and his team were calm, calculating, and effective, Schumer said.

The New York lawmaker applauded Bidens leadership for choosing to take down the balloon over water to ensure the safety of all Americans.

The bottom line here is that shooting down the balloon over water wasnt just the safest option, but it was the one that maximized our intel gain, Schumer added.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) speaks during a news conference at the Capitol in Washington, on Feb. 2, 2023. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

Also on Sunday, Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) told NBCs Meet the Press that Republicans were being hypocritical in their criticism of Biden.

Its problematic for a Democrat or Republican to have one standard for one president, another standard for another president, Booker said.

He added, We should remember that this is now known to have happened under the Trump administration multiple times. And so to create another standard for Biden when Trump, it seems, allowed this to go over the United States is just a bit hypocritical.

A senior defense official said on Saturday that Chinese spy balloons transited over the United States at least three times during the Trump administration. However, the claim has since been refuted by former President Donald Trump and some former Trump officials.

They are putting out that a Balloon was put up by China during the Trump Administration, in order to take the heat off the slow moving Biden fools, Trump wrote on his Truth Social account.

China had too much respect for TRUMP for this to have happened, and it NEVER did. JUST FAKE DISINFORMATION!
BUSAN, South KoreaA Korean literary master was amazed by the artistic and cultural values he saw in Shen Yun Performing Arts after attending a performance at Sohyang Theatre in Busan on Feb. 5.

I was deeply moved by Shen Yun. This performance is a collection of all the great achievements in Chinas civilization.  Choi Sang-yoon

Shen Yun is reviving traditional values in the big dye vat of modern ideologies. This brave work has a far-reaching significance which is beyond any ideology or -ism, said Mr. Choi Sang-yoon. I was deeply moved by Shen Yun. This performance is a collection of all the great achievements in Chinas civilization.

Mr. Choi is a literary master in South Korea. He is an honorary professor at Dong-A University, the chairman of the Korean Art and Culture Critics Association, the chairman of the Art City Busan forum, and a consultant of the Busan Federation of Art Organizations.

New York-based Shen Yun is the worlds top classical Chinese dance company, and has a mission to show the beauty and goodness of China before communism. Mr. Choi said Shen Yun presented classical Chinese dance and used very advanced technology in artistic forms.

Everybody knows this is a traditional art or old thing. But Shen Yun uses the animated backdrop which is the most advanced technology. No matter what background an audience is, he or she will say wow when they see Shen Yun, he said.

Mr. Choi explained the 3-D backdrop used by Shen Yun created the circumstances of the stories.

This is an awesome technology. Its full of vividness and realism. Its very valuable, he said. You cant find any creative design that is comparable to Shen Yuns backdrop. This performance deserves the highest praise.

Shen Yun frequently has over a dozen of dancers dancing together. I thought one or two dancers may make a fault. Surprisingly, all the dancers danced so synchronously. Their movements are very difficult to do and require high technical skills. But they didnt make any faults, he said.

They danced like one body. I suggest our Korean artists learn from 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.

Mr. Choi said he received these messages from Shen Yun, by which he was very touched.

Korean history is that of the nobility, he said. What Shen Yun presents includes nobility, such as emperors, generals, etc., and the ordinary people as well. This is a brand-new experience for me.

Mr. Choi expressed his respect to Shen Yuns artistic director.

I fully respect the artistic director. He organized so many different art forms together that includes the live orchestra under the stage, he said. He isnt an ordinary person. He has extraordinary knowledge and wisdom. I admire him. He is really amazing!

Mr. Choi has attended Shen Yun three times. He said he wont feel tired of it no matter how many times he watches Shen Yun.

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.

A Majestic Show

Ms. Jung Soon-ok is the chairwoman of the Volunteer Association of the Jinju National Museum. She attended Shen Yun for the first time on Feb. 5, and said she couldnt wait to see it again right after the show.

Shen Yun is amazing, she said. The performance interpreted the Chinese culture as a very grand and powerful one. The show is majestic, and I was left with a great feeling overall.

Ms. Jung was surprised that the tradition Shen Yun presented is harmonious with current society, and she felt Shen Yun dancers are very pure.

She said she would introduce Shen Yun to all her friends by telling them: If you want to know the real China, you have to learn it from Chinese traditional culture. The best way is attending Shen Yun.

Ms. Jung Soon-ok, the chairwoman of the Volunteer Association of the Jinju National Museum, attends Shen Yun Performing Arts at the Sohyang Theatre in Busan, South Korea, on Feb. 5, 2023. (Kim Guk-hwan/The Epoch Times)

Reporting by Epoch Times Staff in Busan, South Korea.

The Epoch Times is a proud sponsor of Shen Yun Performing Arts. We have covered audience reactions since Shen Yuns inception in 2006.
LOS ANGELESUS Arcades, the leading adult arcade technology company in the country, has released its national arcade trends for Q4, 2022.

Sorry, were a little late with these stats, but we hope they dont disappoint, said US Arcades VP Lewis Adams. I know I always enjoy reading bestsellers lists.

Real stats were pulled from US Arcades for October through December 2022.

MOST POPULAR CATEGORY

STRAIGHT

MOST POPULAR STUDIO (GAY)

RAGING STALLION

MOST POPULAR STUDIO (STRAIGHT)

SEVENTEEN

MOST POPULAR STUDIO (TRANS)

GROOBY

MOST POPULAR GENRES



GAY

BIG DICKS

BAREBACK

STRAIGHT

ANAL



TRANS

FETISH

BIG DICKS

BI-SEXUAL

THREESOME

FETISH

MOST WATCHED MOVIE

GAY

MASSAGE BAIT #4

STRAIGHT

BIG DIX LITTLE CHIX



TRANS

ALL MY MOTHERS LOVERS

BI-SEXUAL

WANNA FUCK MY WIFE, GOTTA FUCK ME TOO #7

STATE WITH THE BUSIEST ARCADES



1 - RHODE ISLAND

2 - CALIFORNIA

3 - NEW YORK

STATE WITH MOST LIVE CAM VIEWERSHIP



1 - RHODE ISLAND

2 - NEW YORK

3 - CALIFORNIA

LONGEST CONTINUOUS ARCADE SESSION (city, state only)

FIRST PLACE

PORTLAND, OR - 7:31:13

SECOND PLACE

HAVRE DE GRACE, MD - 6:19:16

THIRD PLACE

LAS VEGAS, NV - 6:14:14

LONGEST CONTINUOUS LIVE CAMS SESSION (city, state only)

FIRST PLACE

GHENT, WV - 5:00:17

SECOND PLACE

PROVIDENCE, RI - 4:06:26



THIRD PLACE

SOMERVILLE, MA - 4:04:26

CITIES WITH THE MOST FIRST TIME CAM USERS (city, state only)

FIRST PLACE

PROVIDENCE, RI

SECOND PLACE

SAN BERNARDINO, CA

THIRD PLACE

CEDAR RAPIDS, IA

For updates, follow @US_Arcades and @peepmaps on Twitter.

For more information, contact Adams at 818-888.8738 or [email protected].
Shen Yun Performing Arts World Companys curtain call at the Sohyang Theatre in Busan, South Korea, on Feb. 5, 2023. (Kim Guk-hwan/The Epoch Times)

BUSAN, South KoreaA former Korean mayor was impressed by Shen Yun Performing Arts, saying after the performance that he was going to call his children to tell them to attend the show.

The artistic level of Shen Yun is super high, said Mr. Song Do-geun, the former mayor of Sacheon and former director of the Seoul Regional Land Management Agency, after attending New York-based Shen Yun at the Sohyang Theatre in Busan on Feb. 5.

Mr. Song said Shen Yun used art to present culture and values, which he greatly appreciated.

The performance talks about Chinese civilization but adds some humor and interesting factors. It delivers profound meanings in an easy way. It made me feel very excited, he said.

New York-based Shen Yun is the worlds top classical Chinese dance company, and has a mission to show the beauty and goodness of China before communism.

Mr. Song said saving and reviving the traditional Chinese culture is very important.

This performance presents the culture. Its great for everybody, he said. Shen Yun is the main artery to continue the 5,000-year history of China.

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.

Mesmerizing

Mr. Shin Kyung-soo, the head of a lumber company, said he was touched by Shen Yun, and was mesmerized by the show.

I wonder how Shen Yun can take us into the worlds of the dances, he said. Its amazingly superb.

Mr. Shin said Shen Yun was majestic and left him greatly satisfied.

The male dancers are very powerful. They are really valiant, he said. The female dancers are very expressive and graceful. Everything is perfect.

Mr. Shin was surprised by Shen Yuns animated backdrop.

The dancers entered the backdrop after jumping from the stage, and then landed on the stage from the backdrop. Its magic! The design is fantastic, he 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.

Mr. Shin Kyung-soo, the boss of a lumber company, attends Shen Yun Performing Arts at the Sohyang Theatre in Busan, South Korea, on Feb. 5, 2023. (Lee You-jung/The Epoch Times)

Best in the World

Ms. So Yu-soon is the director of the culture section at the Gyeongnam Daily and the CEO of the Italian furniture store Bellini. She said Shen Yuns backdrop and overall artistic ability were the best in the world.

Since the curtain was first opened, the scenes on stage have been extremely magnificent, she said. Shen Yuns images and techniques are so wonderful. You cant find any shortage of them.

Ms. So was amazed by Shen Yuns dancers.

I was shocked when I first saw Shen Yun dancers use their bodies to express the story and everything, she said. All dancers were shining on stage because they all supported others. I believe their moral standards are very high. They are best both in physical skills and in spirit.

Ms. So said there are many magical things in Shen Yun, such as the dancers interacting with the animated backdrop, and the live orchestra having both Eastern and Western instruments.

Shen Yun has the ability to surpass human beings, she said with a big smile, adding that no other performance could compare.

Ms. So appreciated Shen Yun performance in Busan. This is the best gift to us, to everyone living in Busan, she said.

Every year, Shen Yun puts on an all-new production, including new choreography, music, costumes, and backdrop sets. The Shen Yun 2023 season will be its biggest yet, with its eight equally sized touring companies set to visit more than 180 cities across five continents.

Ms. So Yu-soon, the director of the culture section at the Gyeongnam Daily, attends Shen Yun Performing Arts at the Sohyang Theatre in Busan, South Korea, on Feb. 5, 2023. (Lee You-jung/The Epoch Times)

Finding New Motivation

Mr. Park Soo-bong is an adjunct professor at Dongwon University of Science and Technology. He told The Epoch Times that he found new motivation in life from Shen Yun.

I think the subject of Shen Yun is truthfulness, compassion, and tolerance. I felt these three words are the truth of our daily life, he said. I had an argument with my wife because we have different opinions on dealing with relationships with others. When I saw these three words, I found a new motivation to live.

Mr. Park said being materially rich cant make people happy, but the values Shen Yun presented can uplift people and inspire people to look forward. He was moved by the dancers.

Their movements can touch my heart. I saw other theatergoers were also moved. I felt this secret power, but cant explain the reason, he said. The dances are like Shen Yuns name.

The name Shen Yun means the beauty of divine beings dancing.

Reporting by Epoch Times Staff in Busan, South Korea.

The Epoch Times is a proud sponsor of Shen Yun Performing Arts. We have covered audience reactions since Shen Yuns inception in 2006.
Shlomo Perel, Holocaust Survivor, Film Subject, Dies at 98

Shlomo Perel at his home in Givatayim, Israel, in an undated photo. (Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial via AP)

JERUSALEMShlomo Perel, who survived the Holocaust through surreal subterfuge and an extraordinary odyssey that inspired his own writing and an internationally renowned film, died on Thursday in central Israel. He was 98.

Perel was born in 1925 to a Jewish family in Brunswick, Germany, just several years before the Nazis came to power. He and his family fled to Lodz, Poland, after his fathers store was destroyed and he was kicked out of school. But when the Nazis marched into Poland, he and his brother, Isaac, left their parents and fled further east. Landing in the Soviet Union, Perel and Isaac took refuge at childrens home in what is now Belarus.

When the Germans invaded in 1941, Perel found himself trapped again by World War IIs shifting front linesthis time, captured by the German army. To avoid execution, Perel disguised his Jewish identity, assumed a new name and posed as an ethnic German born in Russia.

He successfully passed, becoming the German army units translator for prisoners of war, including for Stalins son. As the war wound down, Perel returned to Germany to join the paramilitary ranks of Hitler Youth and was drafted into the Nazi armed forces.

After Germanys surrender and the liberation of the concentration camps, Perel and Isaac, who survived the Dachau camp in southern Germany, were reunited. Perel became a translator for the Soviet military before immigrating to what is now Israel and joining the war surrounding its creation in 1948. His life regained some semblance of normalcy as he settled down in a suburb of Tel Aviv with his Polish-born wife and became a zipper-maker.

Perel remained silent for many years, Yad Vashem, Israels Holocaust memorial, said in a statement, mainly because he felt that his was not a Holocaust story.

But in the late 1980s, Perel couldnt keep silent about the tale of his wild gambit anymore. He wrote an autobiography that later inspired the 1991 Oscar-nominated film Europa Europa.

As the film captivated audiences, Perel became a public speaker. He traveled to tell the world what he witnessed throughout the tumult of the Holocaust, in which 6 million Jews were slaughtered by the Nazis, and to reflect on the painful paradoxes of his identity.

Shlomo Perels desire to live life to the fullest and tell his story to the world was an inspiration to all who met him and had the opportunity to work with him, said Simmy Allen, spokesperson for Yad Vashem.

Perel died surrounded by family at his home in Givatayim, Israel.
Sold-Out Crowd at Greek Theatre Pays Tribute to Late Mountain Lion P-22

P-22the late, beloved, and resilient LA mountain lion who famously crossed two major freeways and became known as The Hollywood Catgot another star turn during the National Wildlife Federation #SaveLACougars campaigns sold-out celebration of his life at the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles.

The program Saturday featured a wide array of people who made connections with P-22 over the years as he roamed Griffith Park, where he made his home after navigating his way across the 405 and 101 freeways.

Actors, musicians, and tribal representatives joined wildlife officials and politicians to pay tribute to the late mountain lion, who captured the imagination of so many with his improbable survival for so many years in the urban landscape of the second-most populous city in the United States.

Weve learned how to live with mountain lions now: He showed us the way, how to do it, said Alan Salazar, elder with the Fernandeno Tataviam Band of Mission Indians, whove lived on the land around Griffith Park for thousands of years.

People roll their eyes a little bit, I heard people say Thats so LA that a memorial for a mountain lion would sell out,' said City Councilwoman Nithya Raman of District 4, who represents the area. And you know what I thought? Yeah, its only in LA  only in LA would  his presence delight my constituents so much.'

Watts musician Warren Dickson, CEO of 3rd Rock Hip-Hop, performed a song he composed about P-22.

Actor Rainn Wilson took the stage with a guitar and performed a comic song in honor of P-22, telling the crowd beforehand that were all here to celebrate wild and natural Los Angeles.

The 1960s doo-wop group The Tokensincluding the offspring of two founding membersperformed their chart-topping 1961 hit single, The Lion Sleeps Tonight.

The event was hosted by Beth Pratt, California regional executive director for the National Wildlife Federation, who delivered a eulogy for the animal.

P-22 never got to be a mountain lion, she said. His whole life, he suffered the consequences of (living in such a highly urban area).  The most fitting memorial to P-22 will be how we carry his story forward in our work. One crossing is not enough  we must build more.

Photojournalist Steve Winter of National Geographicwho snapped the iconic photo of P-22 with the Hollywood sign in the backgroundnoted the mountain lion has been called the most famous animal in America since Lassie, but there were nine Lassies and there was only one P-22.

In 25 years of working with big cats with National Geographic, Ive never seen a wild animal so transform a community, Winter added.

Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Burbank)one of a trio of local congressional representatives who called Friday for the creation of a postage stamp to honor the famous felinewas also on hand.

P-22 was many thingsour favorite celebrity neighbor, occasional troublemaker, a beloved mascot for our city, and a magnificent creature that reminded us that we are a small part of a natural world greater than ourselves, Schiff said.

Free tickets to the event became available in early Januaryshortly after P-22 was euthanizedbut were scooped up almost immediately. The celebration began at noon and was being live-streamed for the many Angelenos who couldnt snag a ticket.

P-22 was euthanized Dec. 17 after being examined by wildlife officials who captured the cat following recent signs of distress, including a series of attacks on pet dogs in the area.

The lion was one of many Southland-area cats being tracked by National Park Service researchers. His exploits were documented in various media accounts, including his daring freeway crossings, hiding out under a Los Feliz home in a standoff that drew widespread attention, and even being named a suspect in the killing of a koala at the Los Angeles Zoo.

He was believed to be about 11 or 12 years old, making him the oldest cat in the NPS study of Southland lions. Likely born in the Santa Monica Mountains, P-22 somehow found his way to his tiny, nine-square-mile home in Griffith Park, separated from his birth area by two of the busiest freeways in the world.

Defying expectations, he persisted for more than 10 years in the smallest home range that has ever been recorded for an adult male mountain lion.

He was initially captured and outfitted with a tracking collar in 2012. At the time of his last capture, he weighed 123 pounds. After he was captured last month, wildlife experts said P-22 had facial injuries consistent with being struck by a vehicle.

Experts ultimately made the decision to humanely euthanize the animal at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park, where he was being treated, to spare him further suffering.

P-22s advanced age, combined with chronic, debilitating, life-shortening conditions and the clear need for extensive long-term veterinary intervention left P-22 with no hope for a positive outcome, according to the California Department of Fish and Wildlife.

The cats remains have since been taken to the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County.

The #SaveLACougars campaign is currently building the Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing over the 101 Freeway in the Agoura Hills area. The project is seen as a major and critical step in enabling big cats and other wildlife to expand their territoriesand to do so safely, without having to cross major roads, as did P-22.

The landscaped crossing will span 10 lanes of the 101 Freeway in Liberty Canyon when completed in 2025, and aims to provide a connection between the small population of mountain lions in the Santa Monica Mountains and the larger and genetically diverse populations to the north.
South Africa to Host Strange Naval Drills With Warships From China, Russia

Russian President Vladimir Putin (2nd R) stands with three Russian naval officers at a parade marking Navy Day in St. Petersburg, Russia, on July 31, 2022. (Maxim Shemetov/Reuters)

South Africa is set to host what analysts have described as 10 days of war games with China and Russia from Feb. 17 to Feb. 26, which coincides with the anniversary of the Kremlins invasion of Ukraine.

The countries involved have described the event, to be held off South Africas east coast, as a multilateral maritime exercise.

We are very much looking forward to seeing the Russian and Chinese navies in action; I am sure our navy will learn a lot, a senior official in South Africas defense department told Voice of America.

They have told us the warships are on their way, and they intend to demonstrate all kinds of sophisticated equipment and weapons, navigation systems, and much more.

Guy Martin, a military and defense analyst at defenceWeb, a portal that analyzes military and security issues in Africa, told The Epoch Times that the Russian warship Admiral Gorshkov, currently off the Syrian coast, would soon make its way to the port of Durban.

Its armed with hypersonic Zircon missiles, he said.

According to the Missile Defense Advocacy Alliance, Zircon missiles fly at nine times the speed of sound and have a range of at least 750 kilometers (466 miles), although the Russian military insists the range is more than 1,000 kilometers (620 miles).

The Zircon missile is strategically valuable due primarily to its speed, the alliance states on its website.

In April 2017, it was reported that the Zircon had reached a speed of Mach 8 during a test. If that information is accurate, the Zircon missile would be the fastest in the world, making it nearly impossible to defend against due to its speed alone.

Another valuable aspect of the missile is its plasma cloud. During flight, the missile is completely covered by a plasma cloud that absorbs any rays of radio frequencies and makes the missile invisible to radars. This allows the missile to remain undetected on its way to the target.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has boasted about the Zircon missiles being able to pierce American defense systems, Martin told the Epoch Times.

He loves talking about them and really regards them as being the showpiece of his arsenal of cruise weapons, he said.

So, for him to be sending a ship armed with Zircons to South Africa is quite something.

The message its sending is, We regard our relationship with you as so close that were willing to show you our best weapons; were willing to show you the full capabilities of our naval force, and we know you wont tell the West anything about what we show you, because youre on our side against the imperialists.

The Admiral Gorshkov wouldnt be the first major Russian vessel to be welcomed to South Africa by the African National Congress (ANC) government of President Cyril Ramaphosa.

In December 2022, the Russian cargo ship Lady R docked at Simons Town naval base near Cape Town, with Pretoria ignoring United States and European sanctions on the vessel.

State officials later confirmed that the ship received a consignment of ammunition they said had been ordered by Moscow before the COVID pandemic.

Then, on Jan. 28, the Akademik Alexander Karpinsky docked in Cape Town to refuel, having traveled from her homeport of St. Petersburg. The research ship was met by crowds of environmental activists protesting against its annual oil and gas surveys in the Antarctic.

Brooks Spector, a former U.S. diplomat in Africa and Asia who now resides in Johannesburg, told The Epoch Times the South African governments oft-stated neutrality in the war in Ukraine is a myth.

The upcoming war games offer more evidence, as if it was needed, that the ANC is firmly supportive of Moscows actions in Ukraine, he said.

This naval exercise thats going to take place happens to be taking place precisely on the date that the Russians invaded Ukraine.

Thats a serious symbol of an alignment, if not in word, then certainly in deed.

The sensible and sensitive course of action for Pretoria wouldve been to quietly opt out of the joint military exercise, in a way that wouldnt have offended the Kremlin, Martin said. Instead, he says, the ANC chose to hand Russia a valuable PR victory and to show the middle finger to the West.

Professor Christopher Isike, a political scientist at the University of Pretoria, told The Epoch Times that character and consistency are missing from South Africas contradictory stance on the Ukraine war.

Its a contradiction to say South Africas neutral, but then its planning to engage in military drills with Russia deliberately timed by Russia to coincide with the first anniversary of its invasion of Ukraine, he said.

Soviet Military Training

He said Ramaphosas administration keeps repeating that it wants peace and negotiation and respects the United Nations charter, yet it wont condemn an attack on a sovereign nation.

Its a contradiction to frown on what it says is the Western strategy of regime change in Iraq or Libya, and then be silent about Russias strategy of removing the current government in Kyiv, Isike said.

Martin said it seems as if the ruling partys history is once again trumping whats in South Africas present-day best interests.

Several leading ANC members were educated in and received military training in the former Soviet Union during the apartheid era. Moscow also supported the ANCs armed struggle for liberation with weapons and money.

But economist Iraj Abedian told The Epoch Times that South Africa has little to gain, and plenty to lose by maintaining close ties with the Putin regime.

If you look at the amount of trade that South Africa gets with Russia versus the West, or even with any of the other BRICS countries, its extremely minimal, Abedian said.

There are more than 600 American companies in South Africa, including motor industry giants such as Ford and General Motors, all contributing heavily to the economy.

Nostalgic Reasons

Economically speaking, it doesnt make sense at all for the government to ally itself with Russia, Steven Gruzd, head of the African Governance and Diplomacy Program at the South African Institute of International Affairs, told The Epoch Times.

Therefore, the only logical conclusion to draw is that the ANC is with Russia for nostalgic reasons, and also because it has bought into the Russian narrative that the war also represents a struggle against the imperialist West that bullies smaller countries.

This, of course, ignores the fact that Russia is bullying Ukraineor trying to, at least.

Spector said the ANC is ignoring the wishes and desires of its own people by siding with Russia.

The African middle-class and aspirant middle-class population is growing dramatically, and there are more people under the age of 30 in Africa than anywhere else, he said.

Ask those people if they want Russian or American goods and services. Pretty much everybody Ive met in Africa who has any money is keen to get hold of some aspect of American output.

Martin said South Africas participation in naval exercises, no matter the countries involved, is also strange on a practical level, given the poor state that its navy is in.

Much of South Africas naval fleet is in drydock because of a lack of funding and poor maintenance of vessels.

Minimal Navy Budget

The South African navy is largely inactive, Martin said. Its very short on available vessels. Its vessels go in for repair and maintenance and theyre just never seen again, for whatever reasons. Their budget is absolutely minimal. And because of this, its sea hours have been cut dramatically.

A few years ago, the navy had enough money to spend 12,000 hours at sea; at the moment, its 8,000 hours and it doesnt even use these because its vessels are often broken, or the navy doesnt have money to fuel the vessels.

So Id like to see what it puts on the water. Its going to be a big ask to expect it to take part effectively in a big operation like this, unless our navy is just going to observe what the Russians and Chinese do.

For Spector, Beijings relative silence around the upcoming maritime exercise isnt surprising.

The Chinese see this effort, I think, more in terms of being able to watch very closely the quality and effectiveness of Russian long-range naval operations, rather than a full-hearted participation in a tripartite naval exercise, he said.

In this sense, the Chinese are participating to gauge the ability of Russia, as a nation with naval ambitions and opportunities, because the Chinese are spending a great deal of time and energy building up their own naval capabilities, mostly focused on the Pacific, of course.

As for the South African government, its energies and sensitivities remain directed firmly eastward. It described as hypocritical the Biden administrations stated concerns about any country  exercising with Russia as Russia wages a brutal war against Ukraine.

A senior South African diplomat told The Epoch Times: America has no right to criticize our drills with Russia, especially as it has just held its largest-ever military exercise with Israel.

We consider Israel to be an apartheid state that for a long time has waged an unlawful war on Palestine.

But we dont say were concerned about Americas alliance with Israel because we respect every countrys right to choose its friends.
Terror Suspect in Nevada Solar Plant Fire Found Incompetent for Trial

Mohammed Mesmarian is led out of the courtroom after he interrupted the court proceedings before his case being called during his arraignment at the Regional Justice Center, in Las Vegas, on Jan. 10, 2023. (Bizuayehu Tesfaye/Las Vegas Review-Journal via AP)

A Nevada judge has ruled that a man facing terror-related charges after allegedly driving his vehicle through a gate at a solar power plant near Las Vegas and setting the car on fire is not competent to stand trial.

Mohammed Reza Mesmarian, 34, was identified as the suspect who drove his vehicle through a fence at the Mega Solar Array facility in the desert northeast of Las Vegas on Jan. 4 and set the vehicle on fire, in turn disabling the facility, which is owned by Chicago-based Invenergy and serves several Las Vegas Strip properties operated by MGM Resorts International.

Mesmarian, reportedly a dentist from Colorado, was arrested later at the Lake Mead National Recreation Area in southeastern Nevada and charged with six felony charges, including committing an act of terrorism, first-degree arson, third-degree arson, destroying or injuring real or personal property, and escape by a felony prisoner.

Mesmarian initially appeared in court in early January but was escorted from that hearing after he become verbally disruptive, The Associated Press reported. His lawyer, Nick Pitaro, subsequently requested that Mesmarian undergo a mental health evaluation before facing charges.

In his court appearance on Feb. 1, Pitaro told district Judge Christy Craig that two psychiatrists found his client was unable to understand the criminal charges against him.

Ultimately, Craig ruled Mesmarian incompetent to stand trial and ordered that he remain in custody at a Nevada facility where he can undergo further treatment and restoration to competency, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported.

During Wednesdays competency hearing, Mesmarian stood up and told the jurist frustrate African Americans for no  with old laws after the judge handed down her decision, according to the publication. He then sat back down beside other defendants in the courtroom before the judge explained: Its OK. Its routine.

An aerial view of the MGM Mega Solar Array facility northeast of Las Vegas on Jan. 10, 2023. (Bizuayehu Tesfaye/Las Vegas Review-Journal via AP)

Increasing Attacks on Solar Plants

Mesmarians alleged attack on the solar power plant followed a number of similar incidents at power plants in the states of Washington, Oregon, and North Carolina in recent months, some of which led to arrests.

In December, outages at two substations in Moore County were caused by what local officials say were orchestrated shootings that damaged equipment and left more than 45,000 customers without power for several days.

That incident is now being investigated by federal law enforcement who have yet to find a suspect or suspects.

Another power substation in North Carolina was damaged due to alleged gunfire earlier this month as federal officials have expressed concerns over the security of the nations electricity transmission network.

Mesmarians alleged attack on the Mega Solar Array facility caused a fire that created major damage and it could take at least two years for the facility to receive replacement parts, an employee of the facility told 8NewsNow.

However, no one was hurt in the fire.

Police said Mesmarian denied attempting an act of sabotage and told investigators he favors renewable, clean energy. He reportedly said he believed the solar plant was a Tesla facility connected to the network and that his actions represented moving forward in the world.

Mesmarian lived in Aurora, Colorado, according to The Associated Press, and worked as a dentist. Court records show that he filed Chapter 7 bankruptcy in October, the publication reported.

Mesmarians lawyer could not be reached for comment.
Texas Sheriffs Join Forces to Tackle Cartel, Border Crime

Border Patrol agents take into custody several illegal immigrants who were being smuggled from the U.S.Mexico border to San Antonio, in Brackettville, Texas, on Aug. 26, 2022. (Charlotte Cuthbertson/The Epoch Times)

KINNEY COUNTY, TexasCowboy hats filled a local barbecue restaurant in Brackettville last week as Texas sheriffs convened in a border county thats being clobbered by human smuggling.

The sheriffs, all from non-border counties, were responding to a call for help from Kinney County Sheriff Brad Coe.

I am requesting any aide [sic] that your county may be able to provide in this border crisis, whether it be manpower, equipment, or operators. This crisis has made all counties a border county, Coe stated in a letter sent to 40 Texas counties in late January.

Kinney County sits between Del Rio and Eagle Pass and is a main thoroughfare for illegal immigrants trying to get to San Antonio undetected.

Our homes are being broken into in the middle of the night. The local school district has been forced to erect military barricades around campus to protect students from smugglers evading law enforcement, Coe said in his letter. Walking outside on our own property after dark is no longer safe. The residents of Kinney County no longer enjoy the comfort and safety of their own home.

After meeting with the sheriffs and other law enforcement officers on Feb. 2, Coe said he was overwhelmed with the support from other counties, including Gonzales, Wilson, Wharton, Refugio, Kingsville, Nixon, and Goliad.

They saw the need. They know that whats affecting us today will affect them tomorrow. And thats what its all about, Coe told The Epoch Times.

Just days earlier, Coe had said, Sometimes, I feel like Im the only one thats fighting this battle.

Counties offered to lend Kinney County a command trailer, an intel analyst, deputies, and more.

Its just like any war, you try to gain control of this spot and then you take it down to the border, regaining control of the border area, Coe said.

Once we gain control of that, well the interior can take care of itself. But it all starts at the border. With a little bit of interdiction, a little bit of time, a little effort, a little money, we can push it elsewhere. Thats the ultimate goalkeep it out of Kinney County and then well go from there.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott had previously sent a letter to counties encouraging them to act as coalitions to combine their resources and coordinate their activities to successfully protect their residents, according to Coe.

Bringing Help

Goliad Sheriff Roy Boyd was instrumental in bringing law enforcement together in Kinney County and plans to help with any ongoing operations.

Goliad sits 200 miles north of the U.S.Mexico border, within the corridor to Houston, and Boyd monitors more than a dozen cartel sites within his county.

He and several other sheriffs and police chiefs drove four hours southwest to Kinney County on Feb. 2.

Before Brad [Coe] even sent out the letter, wed already been talking about going to help him, because we know hes overrun, Boyd told The Epoch Times. And part of that, to be quite honest, some of that is our own doing.

In March 2022, Boyd put together a 20-agency task force to dismantle the cartel-run operations in his area that runs from the Rio Grande Valley up to Houston. He said the cartels would smuggle at least 25,000 illegal immigrants through his county per year.

The success in his region pushed cartel operations further west and into Kinney County.

There were two main groups under the same organization. And in one week, we took down both of those groups, Boyd said.  They were in charge of all major smuggling operations, they worked for multiple cartels. And they were also the taxing entities for the cartels.

He commended Abbott and the state Legislature for providing the resources to make it possible.

Goliad Sheriffs Office has five additional deputies compared to two years ago, all because of the governor, Boyd said. They saw that we were serious about actually accomplishing the mission.

He also said the prosecution side of the equation is often the weak link, but a federal prosecutor in Corpus Christi is now taking charges on all of the smuggling cases on the federal side, which they havent historically done.

Human Smuggling

Coe said hes now working on logistics to get the operation underway as soon as possible.

The number of human smugglers arrested by the Kinney County Sheriffs Office over the past two years has more than quadrupled. Deputies arrested 741 smugglers in 2022, up from 169 in 2020.

Related are the high-speed vehicle pursuits, which have doubled, causing multiple deaths. In 2022, deputies were involved in 139 vehicle pursuits, up from 61 in 2020.

Aside from the human smuggling in vehicles, thousands of illegal immigrants try to evade Border Patrol by walking through the ranches around the inland border highway checkpoints.

During the last nine months of 2022, at least 21,000 suspected illegal aliens were viewed on cameras set up by Kinney County, moving on foot either inside Kinney County or on trails and passages that lead into the county.

To our knowledge, none have been apprehended, and their whereabouts today are unknown, the sheriffs office said.

The population of Kinney County is around 3,100.
The Aid Trap

Commentary

When rich nations fall into recession, their governments do what they canbut after 100 years of socialism (the entire 20th century), those governments know now not to intervene in the economy. To prevent a financial crisis, yes, they loan money to banks, but otherwise, they stay back.

Poor nations havent learned this. Recession or no, they always look to government.

Even when the citizens are entrepreneurial, their economies are so regulated, so manipulated by a few families who own the important businesses and resources, that they have to look to government. They have to ask for foreign aid.

They know their leaders will grab a good portion for themselves, yet they know theyll also get somethingfood or employmentbecause otherwise theyll riot. Their leaders wont let that happen; thered be no foreign aid.

The World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, sovereign wealth funds, and private investors are awash in capital, more than they know what to do with. They push poor nations into accepting foreign aid, and worse, into making huge loans.

Think of the Greek euro crisis. Foreign aid and foreign investment are the absolute sine qua non of their economic existence. And then theres Egypt.

Its all a trap. No one can do for others what they must do for themselves. Foreign aid, then, prevents citizens from solving their problems.

Aid could go to privately held businesses, but if they dont exist, no foreign aid. Strapped with debt, those nations will be exploited by China, a nation that has not learned the 20th centurys greatest lesson: Dont go socialist.

Nor has China learned the 19th centurys greatest lesson: Dont go colonialist. Nouveau riche China, with no history of democracy, pluralism, or self-control, knows only totalitarianism. If youre a nation receiving aid from China, know that China cares not one iota about you.

The most successful foreign aid ever, the U.S. Marshall Plan for Europe after World War II, channeled money directly to businesses, not to governments. That aid was not meant to bolster governments, infrastructure, or employment. It was understood that businesses would get the economy going, after which everything else would fall into place. Pure Adam Smith.

Marshall Plan money was loaned directly to businesses, which repaid the loans to their respective governments, which only then would spend money on infrastructure. The Marshall Plan put the horse before the cart. It was genuine foreign aid. Nations were not expected to repay.

The Marshall Plan was a development bank administered by the 1948 Economic Cooperation Administration (ECA) of the U.S. government. That program today would be a complete failure, as foreign aid today does not go directly to private businesses.

The purpose of the Marshall Plan was to bring back business, not create business. The ECA will be another 20th century central decision-making institution handing out moneyprogressive socialism. It will be a government agency looking first to protect its own existence rather than to insure the success of its projects. If it fails, like all government agencies, it will simply ask for more money without realizing the agency was the reason for the failure.

With vast financial power to grant or deny loans, an ECA will protect that position by extending its reach. Its public choice theory.

The U.S. Federal Reserve is a perfect example. The Fed was designed as a lender of last resort, with clear guidelines for preventing a financial crisis; i.e., loan money to any and all credit-worthy lending institutions that put up real assets as collateral (Cf. Lombard Street, by Walter Bagehot).

The Fed today is an overreaching powerhouse that creates its own guidelines. To prevent the 2008 recession from deepening, it loaned to any institution it deemed too big to fail, without regard to credit-worthiness and without regard to the quality of underlying collateral.

As collateral, the Fed accepted complicated and fraudulent credit security agreements and worthless mortgages. Working with the U.S. Treasury, the Fed today dictates fiscal and monetary policy to the nation.

The new ECA will do the same. Like China, as soon as there is a financial crisis in the less-developed world, the ECA will distribute foreign aid to anyone it can find. With the power to grant or deny loans, like the International Monetary Fund, it will dictate foreign policy.

Yet, just as the Fed did not prevent Fannie Mae from purchasing fraudulent mortgages (to the contrary, it practically ordered Fannie Mae to purchase those subprime mortgagesthe very cause of the 2008 financial crisis), so, too, will the ECA make fraudulent loans and cause financial crises around the world. Like the Fed, it will solve problems simply by offering money.

The role of the Fed and an ECA is to provide stability, which is completely counterproductive to a dynamic economy. Instability is the essence of creative destruction, the invisible hands self-correction process, with markets self-correcting naturally from an overexpansion of credit.

In a recession, nations must wait it out, not stimulate growth; the market is recovering from growth. You dont offer a seven-course meal to someone who just threw up from overeating.

In 2008, the Fed threw billions of dollars into the market, which prevented a financial crisis, but it did not stimulate the economy. It flooded the engine, which is why frightened banks hoarded the money.

In a supply-side economy, producers produce only when they are confident, not because the government gave demanders money. Both price stability and the multiplier effect are meaningless in a recession. They prolong the downturn. The 2008 recession, over in 2011, lasted until 2018. The 1929 depression, over in 1933, lasted until 1941.

In a financial crisis, an ECA will act like the Fed. It will stimulate the economies of less-developed nations by throwing money at them. But those ECA loans, like Fed loans, will be hoarded. When the ECA runs out of money (because, unlike the Fed, it cant print money), Congress, our foreign policy lender of last resort, will provide more.

But when those loans are not repaid, will Congress raise taxes or cut spending in order to provide more funds? No, it will borrow.

U.S. foreign aid helps no one. If money solved problems, there wouldnt be problems. One thing the world doesnt lack is money. The world has more than it can spend$100 trillion in surplus cash, $1,000 trillion ($1 quadrillion) in derivatives. Why? Because investors cant find viable capital projects. It is why the New York Stock Exchange is so overpriced: The whole world is competing to invest there.

It is why Greece nearly collapsed: The whole world competed to loan it more money than it could handle. With so much money chasing so few viable capital projects, pushing up asset prices and lines of credit (with most nations not dealing with their debt and unfunded liabilities), the world economy could crash.

Top-down solutions are not an answer. Market economies are a bottom-up phenomenon. They consist of individuals producing goods and services and then trading for other goods and services. A market economy is nature itself, human nature, individuals following their economic instincts.

Societies where individuals are not entrepreneurial, not producing, not saving, not working 12 hours a day, six days a week (because they just love making money), will never become Asian Tigers. Theyll be gobbled up by China.

Did the Asian Tigers become tigers because their governments funded their industries? No. The world thinks so, but thats not the case. In Japan, the government did invest in private industries, but those industries failed. It was industries that the Japanese government did not supportauto and electronicsthat saved Japan.

Plus, new companies should not begin operation on borrowed money; its the worst thing they can do. Its skipping a step. Companies should start small (so that mistakes are small) and then reinvest profit back into the business. Thats how to grow a business.

One of the many serious errors of Soviet communism was that it started too large. Apple and Hewlett Packard started in their garage.

Economic growth is the solution to the worlds problems. People with money in their pockets dont need government. Rather, governance is the source of the worlds problems. Bad governance, especially in poor nations, is the reason they have so little economic growth and the reason Americas Founding Fathers practically eliminated government.

They wrote a one-page Constitution that stated that legislators would be elected and Congress would make law (not government agencies). The Constitution also enumerated governmental powera post office, a navy, etc.in a very short list. Thats a model that works.

Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
A rather unremarkable hill in New Zealand has become world-famous for one feature alone, namely: its name, believed to be the longest place name on Earth. With 85 characters and 40 syllables, the toponym is a mouthful for most, though indigenous Polynesians or the most talented linguists might have a better row with it.

The tongue-twisting nomenclature is pronounced, Taumata whakatangi hangakoauau o tamatea turi pukakapiki maunga horo nuku pokai whenua kitanatahu. And all but the bravest of non-native speakers might wind up speechless before even opening their mouths to utter it.

The road sign leading up to the place with the longest name in the world. This image was cropped and color corrected. (itravelNZ/CC BY 2.0)

The 1,000-foot hill is situated near Porangahau in Hawkes Bay on New Zealands North Island. Its huge name has been shortened to Taumata Hill by locals, but the original proper noun encompasses an entire story which translated into English by Atlas Obscura goes thus: The summit where Tamatea, the man with the big knees, the slider, climber of mountains, the land-swallower who traveled about, played his nose flute to his loved one.

The loved one of warrior chief and explorer Tamatea of the Ngati Kahungunu tribe was, in fact, his brother, who was killed in battle against the rival Ngati Hine tribe as they were crossing Porangahau. According to a sign at the site, Tamatea remained at the battleground for days playing laments to his brother on his Maori flute.

The hill with the longest name in the world in New Zealand. (Public Domain)

The hill was named by the Maori people in his honor and the extensive length of its name corresponds to their reverence. Wine expert, traveler, and weird place name enthusiast Julien Miquel has labored to pronounce the tongue-twisting name for our listening pleasure and explains some of the finer points of the word in a YouTube video here.

Taumata Hill has earned a spot in the Guinness Book of World Records as the longest place name on the planet. It is celebrated by locals and tourists alike and while the hill itself rests on private property, a view just off Wimbledon Road with an impressive sign offers a great spot for taking photos.

Share your stories with us at emg.inspired@epochtimes.com, and continue to get your daily dose of inspiration by signing up for the Inspired newsletter at TheEpochTimes.com/newsletter
Toronto Police Seek Homicide Suspect in Assault That Killed Former CBC Producer

Toronto police on Feb. 3, 2023, issued the photograph of homicide suspect Robert Robin Cropearedwolf, 43, wanted for manslaughter in the death of 73-year-old former CBC producer Michael Finlay, who died on Jan. 31, 2023, after a random assault in Toronto on Jan. 24, 2023. (Photo Courtesy Toronto Police Handout)

Toronto police are seeking homicide suspect Robert Robin Cropearedwolf, age 43, of Toronto, who is wanted for manslaughter in an assault that led to the death of 73-year-old retired CBC producer Michael Finlay.

Finlay was a 31-year veteran with the public broadcaster. He died on Jan. 31 as a result of injury he suffered during an assault on Danforth Avenue on the afternoon of Jan. 24, according to a Feb. 3 police news release.

Police said the suspect was walking along Danforth, encountered the victim, and assaulted him. After the victim fell to the ground and sustained serious injuries, the suspect fled the scene.

Toronto police on Feb. 1, 2023, issued the photograph of a suspect wanted for manslaughter in the death of 73-year-old former CBC producer Michael Finlay, who died on Jan. 31, 2023, after a random assault in Toronto on Jan. 24, 2023. (Photo Courtesy Toronto Police Handout)

At a Feb. 3 news conference, detective Jason Hillier said numerous witnesses had come forward and the police had been provided with closed circuit television video, which were key in identifying Cropearedwolf.

Hillier spoke directly to the suspect, stating, If you are watching this, I encourage you to speak to a lawyer and turn yourself in to the nearest police station.

He said that the victim and assailant were not believed to have known each other and that police believe the assault was random.

Finlay was conscious when he was taken to hospital and police were able to speak with him, said Hillier, noting that unfortunately  he ultimately passed away from the injuries.

On Feb. 1, the Toronto Police Service released an image of the suspect and asked for help from the public in identifying the man.

The news release linked to an earlier release from Jan. 28 that described the suspect as a male, 6 feet tall, in his 20s, with a slim build, saying he was last seen wearing a red paper mask with flames on it, a black sweater, and black pants.

According to a Feb. 1 Toronto Sun report, the suspect allegedly pushed Finlay from behind. Finlay fell to the ground face first, reportedly suffering a crushed lung and head wounds.

The police would not provide or confirm details on the victims injuries. When asked, Hillier said, Its part of the investigation. And it is for the courts. The detective said he did not want to prejudice a potential jury pool going forward.

Known to Police

The Sun reported on Feb. 4 that Cropearedwolf has an extensive criminal history, starting in 2001, when he was wanted by the Calgary Police Service on several serious warrants. He was facing three counts of break-and-enter, one count of mischief over $5,000, and one count of failure to comply with a court order.

An individual with the same name as the suspect was arrested in 2011 in Idaho in connection with a string of robberies in California. Reports indicate that at a traffic stop, police found a stolen chequebook, fake drivers licences and state ID cards, jewelry, electronics, binoculars, bolt cutters, and other burglary-related items, plus several stolen U.S. passports. It is not confirmed that this is the same suspect, however.

Cropearedwolf was also charged in 2017 with several suspected break-ins in the Toronto area, which included alleged thefts of cash, electronics, and jewelry worth over $2 million. He was described by police at the time as being a 5-foot-6-inch male weighing 145 pounds, with long black hair, often braided, with star tattoos on both elbows.

In a Feb. 1 article, CBC said an email had been sent to CBC staff by Cathy Perry, executive director of newsgathering and operations, informing them of Finlays death. He was described as an exceptional storyteller, documentary maker, and editor.

According to Perry, Finlay travelled the globe to produce radio documentaries for a number of the broadcasters programs, including Sunday Morning. If you worked on a documentary with Michael, you were experiencing the pinnacle of the craft, the email said.
Tory MP Calls on Feds to Ban Funding of Research in Collaboration With Chinese Military

Conservative MP Michael Chong rises during Question Period in the House of Commons on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on June 13, 2022. (The Canadian Press/Justin Tang)

Conservative MP and foreign affairs critic Michael Chong is calling on the Liberal government to ban all federal funding of Canadian research projects that are working in collaboration with the Chinese military.

For years, the government has supported research with Chinas military despite the advice of [the Canadian Security Intelligence Service] against doing so since 2018, Chong said during question period in the House of Commons on Feb. 6.

Chong noted that Chinese military scientists were previously given access to Canadas only Level-4 virology lab, the National Microbiology Laboratory in Winnipeg.

Chong added that the federal government is also currently funding research with Beijings military university in areas like quantum cryptography, photonics, and space science.

Chong asked if the government now understands the threat posed by Beijing following the news of a Chinese high-altitude surveillance balloon floating across North America last week before it was shot down by the U.S. government off the coast of South Carolina.

Will it [the federal government] now issue a ministerial policy directive to ban research funding with Chinas military? Chong asked.

Liberal MP Jennifer OConnell, who is also parliamentary secretary to the intergovernmental affairs minister, responded by saying all research projects done in collaboration with foreign governments are reviewed on national security grounds.

We are working with universities to fill gaps where they exist, OConnell said, adding, We will take the national security issues of this country very seriously.

We did establish a process with universities for research under security guidelines.

Research

A U.S.-based data security company recently found that 50 Canadian universities worked in collaboration with Chinese military scientists from the National University of Defence Technology (NUDT) between 2005 to 2022, conducting research on advanced, sensitive technologies.

The Canadian institutions included the University of Waterloo, University of Toronto, the University of British Columbia, and McGill University, among others.

The study, conducted by Strider Technologies Inc. and first reported on by the Globe and Mail, found that collaborations with NUDT included 240 joint research papers published within the past five years by 10 of Canadas top universities.

Federal Innovation Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne told a parliamentary committee on Feb. 2 that the collaboration is unacceptable.

Im looking to impose additional requirements when it comes to strengthening research security in Canada, he told the Commons Standing Committee on Science and Research.

We need to be eyes wide open, and we need to ensure that sensitive research and our [intellectual property] is adequately protected. And when it comes to national security  there is no compromise.

Katabella Roberts, Isaac Teo, and Andrew Chen contributed to this report.
WASHINGTON  Appearing before a federal judge after pleading guilty to a felony charge in the deadly Capitol riot, former West Virginia lawmaker Derrick Evans expressed remorse for letting down his family and his community, saying he made a "crucial mistake."

Less than a year later, Evans portrays himself as a victim of a politically motivated prosecution as he runs to serve in the same building he stormed on Jan. 6, 2021. Evans is now calling the Justice Department's Jan. 6 prosecutions a "miscarriage of justice" and describes himself on twitter as a "J6 Patriot."

"Some ppl have said I need to apologize and condemn #J6 if I want to win my election as the media will attack me," he tweeted recently after announcing his bid for a U.S. House seat in 2024. "I will not compromise my values or beliefs. That's what politicians do. We need Patriots not politicians."

Evans joins a series of Jan. 6 defendants who  when up against possible prison time in court  expressed regret for joining the pro-Trump mob that rattled the foundations of American democracy only to strike a different tone or downplay the riot after receiving their punishment.

The very first Jan. 6 defendant to be sentenced apologized in court and then went on Fox News Channel shortly after and seemed to minimize the riot. Another defendant who called Jan. 6 "horrifying and disgusting" later donned an orange jumpsuit to play the part of a distraught prisoner in a bizarre tribute to imprisoned Capitol rioters during a conservative conference.

Some defendants drew ire from judges or the Justice Department for their inconsistent comments. But because some conservatives hold up Jan. 6 defendants as martyrs, there's a political and possibly financial incentive for them to change their tune.

It could push judges to impose stronger punishments for rioters who haven't yet made it to the end of their criminal cases. Even before Evans' sentencing, the judge who heard his case began questioning the sincerity of rioters' apologies after he felt duped by another defendant, saying he was "all too familiar with crocodile tears."

In some cases, judges questioned whether they should undo defendants' convictions or plea deals after they made statements in public that appeared to go against what they said in court. On Friday, U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta ordered an Illinois man convicted last week to explain why the judge shouldn't vacate his conviction after he agreed in court that he participated in the riot and then told a newspaper he didn't actually think he committed the crimes with which he was charged.

Before being sentenced last June to three months behind bars for a civil disorder charge, Evans said he regrets his actions every day and told Senior Judge Royce Lamberth he is a "good person who unfortunately was caught up in a moment."

Shortly after, prosecutors wrote to the judge about several statements Evans made on a radio show and that were "inconsistent with the contrition" he showed at sentencing.

When asked whether he regretted his actions, Evans said on the show that he regretted the "situation" he was in. But he said he was "never going to have regrets when it comes to standing up and doing what's right."

Evans said in an email to The Associated Press that he still stands behind what he said in court.

"That was my message to the judge. This is my message to the media. It's time to tell the real story of what happened personally to me that day," he said.

Evans said he lost "almost everything"  including his job as a state delegate and time with his kids  because of his decision on Jan. 6. "How could I not regret that?" he asked. But he said he is "done being portrayed as a villain" when he is not, noting that he didn't overrun any officers and was inside the Capitol for only 10 minutes.

When determining an appropriate sentence, judges generally take into account whether defendants took responsibility for their actions and appear genuinely sorry. In some Jan. 6 cases, judges faulted defendants for not appearing to show true remorse even before their punishment has been handed down.

A lawyer for Trennis Evans III, who took a swig of whiskey in a congressional conference room during the riot, told the judge in court papers that Evans was "sincerely remorseful, and duly contrite." But after Evans suggested at his November sentencing that Jan. 6 defendants were being treated unfairly  even though he said he condemned what happened that day  the judge said she didn't believe he showed "full and genuine remorse."

Months after he was ordered to serve 20 days in jail, the Texas man traveled to South Dakota to urge state lawmakers to support a resolution encouraging "the humane and fair treatment" of Jan. 6 defendants. The resolution failed by unanimous vote.

The first Jan. 6 defendant to get her punishment, Anna Morgan-Lloyd, told Lamberth she was ashamed of the "savage display of violence" at the Capitol before he sentenced her to probation.

Shortly after, however, the Indiana woman told Fox News host Laura Ingraham that people were "very polite" during the riot and that she saw "relaxed" police officers chatting with rioters.

Lamberth apparently hasn't forgotten about it. The judge wrote in court papers that he hoped another defendant's "change of heart" was sincere because his hopes were "dashed" in her case. In another case, he wrote that he "often finds it difficult to ascertain the sincerity" of Jan. 6 defendants' remorse.

"Many defendants appear sincere at sentencing, boasting of their purportedly deep shame, regret, and desire to change and be law-abiding citizens," Lamberth wrote. "But this Court is all too familiar with crocodile tears."

Images of chaos: AP photographers capture US Capitol riot
Troubling Increase in Victorian Deaths by Suicide

In 2020, nearly 46,000 people died by suicide in America, and there were an estimated 1.2 million attempts.(Lightspring/Shutterstock)

Victoria has recorded its highest number of deaths by suicide in more than 20 years.

There were 756 suicide deaths last year, a nine percent increase on 2021 numbers, according to the latest coroners report published on Monday.

It is the highest number of deaths the court has seen since it started recording suicide data in 2000.

More people took their lives in the later part of 2022, with about 65 deaths per month between August and December compared to 58 per month earlier in the year.

There was also a spike in people aged 65 and over dying by suicide, a 32 percent increase on the 2021 numbers.

These numbers are very troubling, State Coroner John Cain told ABC Radio Melbourne on Monday.

With every one of these suicides, theres family and friends sitting there that are deeply impacted and traumatised.

A teenager with a laptop in Arlington, Va., on June 11, 2021. (OLIVIER DOULIERY/AFP via Getty Images)

In Victoria, all suspected suicides are required to be reported to the coroner for investigation.

Social isolation, mental health issues, substance abuse, familial conflict and financial pressures remain common stressors in cases of suicide.

It was also difficult for people to access and navigate the states mental health system, Judge Cain said.

He encouraged the Victorian government to implement at pace the remaining recommendations from the states mental health royal commission.

We need to make sure that the professional supports and assistance are there when people need them so its not a disheartening exercise, Judge Cain said.

We really need to make it easy for people, for family and friends, to be able to assist and guide somebody into the system so we can try and drive this number down.

The coroners court is continuing to investigate the majority of suicides that happened last year.

Lifeline 13 11 14

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Ukraines Defence Ministry in Turmoil as Russia Readies Offensive

KYIVUkraine sent mixed messages about the fate of its defence minister on Monday, leaving a key post in its war effort in doubt even as it braces for a new Russian offensive.

The questions left dangling over Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov were the first public sign of serious disarray in Ukraines wartime leadership.

A day after announcing that Reznikov would be sidelined, a top ally of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy appeared to row back for now, saying no personnel changes in the defence sector would be made this week.

David Arakhamia, chief of the parliamentary bloc of Zelenskyys party, had said the head of military intelligence, Kyrylo Budanov, would take over the defence ministry, while Reznikov would be made minister of strategic industries.

But Zelenskyy remained silent on the issue, while Reznikov said on Sunday he had not been informed of any move and would reject the strategic industry job if offered it.

The confusion caps a two-week crackdown on alleged official wrongdoing in Ukraine that has led to the biggest shakeup since Russias invasion.

Central and regional officials were fired or quit, security forces raided a billionaires home and investigations were launched into suspected fraud at the main oil company and refinery. The Defence Ministry was caught up in accusations it contracted to overpay for food, although Reznikov was not personally accused of any wrongdoing.

Zelenskyy claims the actions are intended to show that Kyiv can be a safe steward of billions of dollars of Western aid. But they risk destabilising the political class that had stood together against Russias invasion.

Meanwhile, Russian forces have been advancing for the first time in six months in relentless battles in the east. A regional governor said Moscow was pouring in reinforcements for a new offensive that could come as soon as next week.

Ukrainian army from the 43rd Heavy Artillery Brigade fire the German howitzer Panzerhaubitze 2000, called Tina by the unit, near Bahmut, in Donetsk region, Ukraine, on Feb. 5, 2023. (Marko Djurica TPX Images of the Day/Reuters)

Everything Will Be Resolved

Reznikov, a 56-year-old lawyer, has been the face of Ukraine at international meetings when allies have pledged billions of dollars in arms, and has been warmly received in Western capitals including Paris just last week.

One obstacle to replacing him with Budanov, an enigmatic, fast-rising 37-year-old military intelligence officer decorated for operations that remain secret, is a rule requiring the defence minister be a civilian.

Volodymyr Fesenko, a political analyst at the Penta think tank, said he expected Budanov to request retirement from the military before his appointment, while Reznikov could be given a post of special envoy, making use of his stature abroad.

Everything will be resolved, Fesenko told Reuters.

Ukraines defence ministry did not respond to a request for comment regarding Reznikov and Reuters could not immediately reach Reznikov or Budanov directly.

In announcing plans for the change, Arakhamia said Ukraines armed forces should be overseen by people with a background in defence or security in wartime: War dictates changes in personnel policy, he wrote on the Telegram messaging app.

But Zelenskyy adviser Mykhailo Podolyak noted that Reznikov was respected by allies: Reznikov was extremely efficient in terms of communication with our partners. And this is a very important component in this case.

Reznikov said on Sunday any decision on a reshuffle was up to Zelenskyy but the planned transfer was news to him. He would reject the strategic industry job if offered it, because he lacked the expertise, he was cited as saying by Fakty ICTV online media.

Offensive at Any Time

The war is reaching a pivotal point as its first anniversary approaches, with Ukraine no longer making gains as it did in the second half of 2022 and Russia now pushing forward with hundreds of thousands of mobilised reserve troops.

Ukraine is planning its own counter-offensive, but waiting on promised Western battle tanks and infantry fighting vehicles.

Russia was sending more reserves and equipment into eastern Ukraine, Serhiy Haidai, governor of the eastern Luhansk region said on television, adding that shelling was no longer round-the-clock as Russian forces prepare for a full-scale offensive.

After Feb 15 we can expect (this offensive) at any time, he said.

Russias defence ministry said its forces had taken control of Mykolaivka, a small village in the adjoining Donetsk region, according to state media. There was no immediate response from Ukraine, which has disputed other Russian battlefield reports.

Russias main target has been the town of Bakhmut, where its state media said the Wagner mercenary group had gained a foothold.

Wagner chief Yevgeniy Prigozhin, accused by Ukraine of sending thousands of Russian ex-prisoners to their deaths around Bakhmut, released a video saying he was in a tactical bomber plane that had just bombed the town. He said he would fly a fighter jet on Tuesday and challenged Zelenskyy to an aerial duel.
US Agriculture Exports Hit Record High in 2022

The U.S. Department of Agricultures Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) reported an exceptional 2022 due to increasing agricultural trade, which is enhancing its efforts to help adapt to climate change and global food and nutrition security.

United States agricultural exports reached a record $196 billion in the fiscal year 2022. The top five markets for American food and agricultural exports were China, Canada, Mexico, Japan, and the EU, according to the USDAs Feb. 6 press release. In the fiscal year 2022, exports to all five markets reached record levels, with soybeans, corn, and beef proving to be the top agricultural export commodities. All three saw an increase in export values in the last fiscal year and set new records.

Following the cancellation of USDA-sponsored trade missions in 2020 and 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, FAS hosted five in-person agribusiness trade missions in 2022. FAS helped U.S. exporters connect with customers in the Philippines, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, Kenya, Tanzania, Spain, and Portugal. During the trade missions, more than 1,300 business-to-business meetings were held, resulting in over $42 million in 12-month projected sales.

FAS also worked to meet the administrations climate goals by working with global partners to help to collaborate and share U.S. experiences on climate, smart farming, and ranching practices and research, according to the press release.

In addition to these achievements, FAS established new collaborations with Howard University and the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities, expanding its talent pool and giving minority groups more chances to boost international food security and increase agricultural exports from the United States as part of the administrations efforts to advance equity.

President Joe Biden is expected to take stock of the years accomplishments as he gets ready to deliver the 2023 State of the Union address and is thought likely to push forward initiatives to support global trade as a driver of economic growth, champion climate change solutions, and combat global hunger through FAS programs.

Undoubtedly, 2022 was a landmark year for the Foreign Agricultural Service. The day-to-day work of our staff brought an incredible series of successes for U.S. farmers and ranchers, food processors, exporters, and everyone involved in agricultural trade abroad, said FAS Administrator Daniel B. Whitley, according to the press release. The U.S. agriculture sector not only set new export records but also reaped the benefits of USDA and FAS efforts to expand climate change mitigation work, strengthen global food security activities, and establish new diversity programs.
Victoria May Remove Lords Prayer from Parliament Sittings

Former Australian Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce and other MPs pray at Parliament House in Canberra, Australia, on July 29, 2019. (Tracey Nearmy/Getty Images)

The Australian state of Victoria may soon remove Lords Prayer from its upper and lower houses procedures as politicians return to the parliament from the new year break.

The long-standing tradition, which was started in 1918, is now at risk as several political parties have committed to having it scrapped when the state parliament resumes on Feb. 7.

In 2021, then-crossbencher Fiona Patten, who is an atheist and the leader of the Reason Party (previously known as Sex Party), proposed a motion to replace the prayer in the upper house with a moment of silence for politicians to reflect on their responsibilities to the people of Victoria.

Patten said her initiative was pro-religion and pro-Christianity and that the change was necessary at a time when there were significant shifts in religions and beliefs in Australia.

This is about disadvantaging no one and making space for everyone, she said.

Our heritage is important. But it is not immutable, and I think it is certainly insufficient grounds to reject a simple change that reflects the changing nature of our community.

Fiona Patten of the Reason Party speaks to the media outside Victorian Parliament in Melbourne, Australia, on Oct. 26, 2021. (Darrian Traynor/Getty Images)

The Age reported that following the motions announcement, Labor struck a deal with Patten to have it delayed to focus on health and economic issues amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

However, in exchange, Labor had to commit to removing the Lords Prayer in both houses if re-elected in November 2022.

At the time, Attorney-General Jaclyn Symes, a Labor MP, said if Labor won the state election, the party would come up with a replacement model that was purpose fit for Victoria.

In another political spectrum, Liberal MP David Davis, the opposition leader in the upper house, criticised the motion, saying it was part of a culture war and an attack on Western tradition.

Renewed Calls for the Prayer to be Scrapped

While Patten lost her upper house seat after the November 2022 election, she has started a petition to call on Premier Daniel Andrews and Attorney-General Jaclyn Symes to keep their promise.

In the week ending Feb. 5, over 20 Victorian councillors wrote to the Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission, the premier, and other ministers to ask the state government to introduce new rules that remove single-faith prayers from council sittings.

Patten, who is working with newly-elected upper house MPs from the Legalise Cannabis Party, said the crossbench had not discussed a replacement to the prayer nor any timeline with the Labor government.

I suspect that now with the petition and the (councillors) letter that this will initiate those conversations, she said in comments obtained by AAP.

Deputy Victorian Greens Leader Ellen Sandall said it was surprising for the Lords Prayer to remain part of the parliaments procedure of both houses and that she would table a motion in the lower house to replace it.

Our parliament should reflect the diversity of the whole Victorian community, not just those of one particular faith, she said.

Meanwhile, Andrews said a replacement model for the prayer was likely to be considered via a parliamentary committee.

There are parliamentary committees that could do that important work, he told reporters on Feb. 5.

And make sure that perhaps that prayer changes to be more reflective of the fact there are many different faiths across our Victorian community, not just the Christian faith.

The Lords Prayer is currently recited in both houses of the federal parliament and other states and territories at each opening sitting, except for the Australian Capital Territory (ACT), which replaced it with an invitation to pray or reflect in 1995.

However, there have been many attempts to remove the prayer from state and federal parliaments in recent years, with the latest one struck down by the federal Senate in July 2022.

Christianity in Decline

The renewed call for removing the Lords Prayer in Victoria comes as Australia sees a sharp drop in the number of people following Christianity.

According to the 2021 Census, Christianity still remained the most common religion in the country at 43.9 percent, down from 52.1 percent in 2016 and 61.1 percent in 2011.

Parishioners pray at St Pauls Anglican Church in Sydney, Australia, on Oct. 25, 2020. (Lisa Maree Williams/Getty Images)

In addition, there was a fall of over one million people in the Christian population compared to the previous Census.

Among the Christian denominations, Anglican reported the most significant decrease at 604,900, followed by Catholic at 215,900 and Uniting Church at 196,900.

At the same time, the percentage of people with no religious affiliation rose substantially from 30.1 percent to 38.9 percent in 2021.

Among the states, Tasmania had the highest proportion of non-religious citizens at 50 percent, followed by South Australia at 45.8 percent and ACT at 44.2 percent.

The Epoch Times has reached out to the Liberal Pary and the Liberal Democratic Party but has not received a reply at the time of publication.
Virginia State Senators to Biden: Address Communist Chinas Crimes

Virginia state senator Mark J. Peake (R-Lynchburg) at the state capitol in Richmond, Va., in January 2023. (Courtesy of Sen. Mark Peakes Office)

FAIRFAX COUNTY, Va.Virginia state senators Mark J. Peake (R-Lynchburg) and Chap Petersen (D-Fairfax) have written a joint letter asking President Joe Biden to address the crimes that the CCP [Chinese Communist Party] has committed along with the dangers that the party poses.

Citing the Chinese spy balloon flying over America for days before the U.S. military shot it down on Saturday, Peake told The Epoch Times, Its time for Joe Biden to wake up and take a stand against the CCP and let them know where America stands.

Petersens father-in-law is from North Korea. The family was Christian and persecuted; the senators grandfather-in-law was executed by the communists.

This issue of religious persecution by communist governments is something that we know about firsthand, and I will speak up, the senator told The Epoch Times.

In the letter dated Jan. 30, Sen. Peake enclosed a copy of the resolution he sponsored during this years Virginia legislative session.

I support the resolution because no individual should be persecuted for their spiritual practices. But unfortunately, Falun Gong practitioners continue to be persecuted for expressing their spiritual beliefs, he wrote in the document.

Therefore, taking my expressed concerns into consideration, I would like to stress heavy emphasis and urgency in addressing the threat of the CCP, he added.

Peake wrote the letter upon finding out that he couldnt introduce the resolution to the Virginia Senate because the Virginia Senate Rules Committee deemed the issue a federal matter and not within the states power, even though the Virginia House passed a similar resolution last year.

The Epoch Times has contacted the White House and State Department for comment.

Falun Gong practitioners join the Independence Day parade in Fairfax, Va., on July 4, 2022. (Terri Wu/The Epoch Times)

Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa, a meditation discipline based on truthfulness, compassion, and tolerance, was introduced in Virginia in 1996. In three years, the CCP began a nationwide suppression of the peaceful discipline in China as the practices popularity had drawn an uncomfortably large number of adherentsestimated at over 70 million.

Over the past 23 years, millions of adherents to the principles of truthfulness, compassion, and tolerance have been held in labor camps, mental asylums, drug rehabilitation centers, unofficial black jails, or other detention facilities. The vilification, forced slave labor, torture, and organized killing through forced organ harvesting arising from the persecution have led to an untold number of deaths. Those who survived are left with injuries and financial and psychological harms suffered from the ongoing abuses.

Among these atrocities, Peakes resolution highlighted forced slave labor and forced organ harvesting, and the importance of informing Virginia residents and the medical community of such crimes.

He said that the CCPs forced organ harvesting on Uyghurs was well-known, but I think its important for Virginians to know that they [CCP] are doing it to the Falun Gong as well, in addition to the slave labor and the brutality that they have raked upon the Falun Gong.

In the resolution, Peake also cited local support in the Commonwealth, Despite little media coverage of the CCPs persecution of Falun Gong, more than 5,000 Virginia residents have signed petitions to their local governments, and more than 20 Virginia localities have adopted related resolutions condemning the CCPs atrocities against Falun Gong practitioners in China, including the use of forced organ harvesting and slave labor.

Among the supportive localities, the County of Fluvanna in Peakes district passed a resolution condemning the persecution (pdf) in November 2021. The City of Fairfax in Petersens district also passed a similar resolution in June 2021.

Previously in 2020, both Peake and Petersen joined 47 other Virginia lawmakers in sending a letter to the then-Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, urging him to take forceful, and sustained action to end the mental and physical torture and immoral practice of non-consenting organ harvesting by the CCP.
Yellen: Every Responsible Member of Congress Must Agree to Raise Debt Ceiling

U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen attends a bilateral meeting with China's Vice-Premier Liu He in Zurich on Jan. 18, 2023. (Michael Buholzer/Keystone via AP)

U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen says Congress must increase the nations debt ceiling to avoid financial disaster.

America has paid its bills on time since 1789. And not to do so would produce an economic and financial catastrophe, Yellen said Feb. 6 on ABCs Good Morning America.

And every responsible member of Congress must agree to raise the debt ceiling. Its something that simply cant be negotiable.

Less than a week prior to Yellens comment, Rep. Kevin Hern (R-Okla.) said the exact opposite.

Democrats demands that Republicans vote for a clean debt limit increase to accommodate trillions of dollars of new spending Republicans opposed is nothing more than an irresponsible, cynical, political stunt, Hern, chairman of the House Republican Study Committee, wrote to committee members on Feb. 1.

Republicans are seeking spending concessions in exchange for increasing the debt ceiling. President Joe Biden has refused to enter into negotiations on the subject because failure to raise the debt ceiling would put the full faith and credit of the nation at risk.

Nevertheless, Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) met to begin talks on the subject on Feb. 1.

The following day, Biden and McCarthy sat side by side at the National Prayer Breakfast in Washington, and both spoke cordially about their initial discussion. Yet both remain committed to their respective positions.

We will not pass a clean debt ceiling without some form of spending reform, McCarthy told reporters at the Capitol later in the day.

The debt ceiling is the statutory limit on government borrowing. The current debt ceiling is $3.4 trillion.

Since the United States has operated on a deficit budget in all but four years since 1970, ongoing borrowing is required to meet the spending obligations already passed by Congress.

The United States approached its debt ceiling in January. To forestall a financial crisis, Yellen took extraordinary measures to keep the nation below that limit until sometime in June.

So far, Republicans have avoided giving specifics about the spending cuts they plan to make. However, they have said that Social Security and Medicare would not be targeted for reductions.

Those programs total more than $1.8 trillion annually, more than all discretionary spending programs combined.

The president will release his budget on March 9.

Yellen, despite her dire warning of financial catastrophe if the debt ceiling is not raised, is optimistic that it will be. She said that Congress has always recognized that this is their responsibility, and it needs to do [so] again.
You Accept You Might Die: A Year of Volunteering in Ukraine

Aid workers from Britain continue to risk their own lives to bring aid to war-ravaged Ukraine almost a year after Russian invasion

(R) Jack Ross from British aid charity Vans Without Borders delivering drones to the 1st Presidents Battalion in Ukraine on Jan. 19, 2023. (Courtesy of Jack Ross)

Every time Jack Ross crosses the Polish border into Ukraine, he knows there is a high probability he could lose his life.

The British aid volunteer has travelled to the war-torn country eight times since Russias invasion.

There, his aid vehicles have been attacked, his team shot at and, on many occasions, he has narrowly escaped ferocious shelling.

With the conflict now coming up on the 12-month mark, Ross says like many of his fellow aid workers, he is determined to keep going.

When you come to Ukraine, you have to accept that you might die, the 24-year-old told The Epoch Times.

If it happens, it happens. If its my time, its my time. But what Im keen to do is just to try and help as many people as possible.

I think lifes very good in the United Kingdom. We take a lot of things for granted.

When you come over here, and you see people in genuine need, people who literally have nothing, its hard not to want to come to help.

The Portsmouth-born aid worker, who runs charity Vans without Borders, is one of dozens of Brits who have put their lives on the line to help deliver humanitarian aid since the conflict broke out almost a year ago.

To date, there have been no official figures on the number of aid worker casualties in Ukraine.

A woman walks out from a residential building which was hit by a Russian rocket in the city center of Kharkiv, Ukraine, on Feb. 5, 2023. (Andrii Marienko/AP Photo)

However, the most recent Aid Worker Security Report (pdf) said it expected deaths, injuries, and attacks to rise significantly owing to the war.

Last month, two British aid workers were confirmed dead after being reported missing in the east of Ukraine.

Chris Parry, 28, and colleague Andrew Bagshaw, 47, had travelled to Soledar to help with human evacuations when their vehicle was reportedly hit by a shell in January.

On Saturday, it was confirmed their bodies had now been handed over by the Russians as part of a prisoner of war exchange, according to Andriy Yermak, the head of the Office of the Ukrainian President.

Minimising the Risk

Ross had just arrived in the country on his latest aid mission when Parrys and Bagshaws deaths were announced.

Weve had a few close shaves, he explained. One of our guys only got shot at once, and that was by a Ukrainian checkpoint because he was driving after curfew. He was OK, van wasnt hit.

When we were in Dnirpro we had a brick thrown at our van by who we think were Russian sympathisers.

Again, in terms of shellingconstant. Weve been in multiple areas where you can literally feel your teeth rattling. Thats how close the explosions are.

He added: We believe we were targeted when we went to the village of Mildura by Russians because we were helping the Ukrainian villages.

Then people from a neighbouring village under Russian occupation came in started taking photos of us.

Two minutes later shells started coming into the village and a rocket flew over the top of it and landed about a kilometre away. So we were quite lucky to get out of there.

Since starting the regular aid voyage six months ago, Ross said he has cut down the numbers in his aid team visiting Ukraine, mostly for safety reasons.

The first time we came over, there was just three people, he told The Epoch Times. The next time was 15 people. Next time, we had 15, [then] dropped down to 10. And now we work with a core of our six people.

Ross added: What weve realised is, its good to bring a lot of people over.

But where everyone has a range of abilities, its not safe to bring everyone to the areas we go to.

So I cant in good conscience take someone who has no war zone experience [] to an area where a bomb could go off 100 metres from them.

And they have a complete panic attack and breakdown because it puts them at danger and puts the team in danger because someones going to have to go pick them up, throw him in a car, and drive.

So we work with a very small team of people whove been doing this almost as long as me and try and just maximise our efforts over here.

A Ukrainian State Emergency Service firefighter smokes as he takes a break following Russian shelling that hit an industrial area in Kherson, Ukraine, on Feb. 5, 2023. (Libkos/AP Photo)

Foreign Fighters

Closer to the frontline there are the Britons who are helping Ukraine in a different way.

According to the countrys Foreign Minister, Dmytro Kuleba, 20,000 people from 52 countries signed up to join the International Legion of Defence of Ukraine in the aftermath of the Russian invasion.

Many of those fighters are from the UK.

One of those is Billa pseudonymwhose identity cannot be revealed for security reasons.

In his 50s, he left his UK home in early January to make the crossing to the conflict zone to help with the military fight.

Initially, it was an offer to go and help with humanitarian issues, Bill told The Epoch Times.

And then as time went on I actually met individuals who were in the military [from] there.

As youre there, you see what the Ukrainian people are suffering, you see the devastation. And you understand this is not going to go away.

Bill travelled to Ukraine with a number of people with previous military experience, also from the UK.

He said: Individuals who had worked with security services in the United Kingdom, and others who would have expertise on ordinance or unexploded IEDs and things like that.

I was there to train in surveillance techniques. And there were probably a number of classes with specialised units and military intelligence.

The other one was actually how to actually identify and defuse homemade IEDs. And to show how simple they were to make.

And I mean, these people  theyre prepared to kill to take their country back.

Local resident Halyna, 67, looks out from a kitchen of her house damaged by a Russian military strike in the town of Hlevakha, outside Kyiv, Ukraine, on Jan. 26, 2023. (Valentyn Ogirenko/Reuters)

After spending three weeks training with Ukrainian forces, Bill travelled back to the UK, but intends to return in six weeks ahead of a suspected Russian offensive expected to take place to mark a year since the invasion.

On Sunday, Oleksiy Reznikov, Ukraines defence minister, said that his country expected Russias invading forces to launch a new offensive in the Donbas and southern areas where it currently occupies close to 20 percent of Ukrainian territory later this month.

Bill added: Ukrainian forces have actually regained most of the ground that they had lost with the invasion, they have pushed the Russian forces right back almost to the initial border.

But they are expecting a big counter defensive over maybe the next two or three weeks.

So I will go back again, yes  probably within the next six weeks or so.

It is not clear how many fighters, including foreign troops, have been killed or injured since the war broke out on Feb. 24, 2022.

In November, Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, said between 10,000 and 13,000 troops had died, according to the BBC.

Neither Ukraine nor Russia tend to release figures for casualties, and Podolyaks comments have not been confirmed by the Ukrainian military, according to the outlet.

In October, the most senior U.S. general, Mark Milley, said around 100,000 Russian and 100,000 Ukrainian soldiers had been killed or wounded since the start of the war.

Those figures have not been verified by either Ukraine or Russia.

As of Jan. 29, 2023, over 7,000 civilian deaths have been recorded in Ukraine, according to he Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (pdf). Of them, 438 were children.

PA Media contributed to this report.
That release could not be found.
Chinese tourist slashed by Phuket tour shop owner

PHUKET: Police have charged the female owner of a small tour shop in Kata for slashing a Chinese tourist with a knife after refusing to refund the full outstanding deposit for a tour the Chinese tourist and his family did not go on.

tourismviolencecrimepolice

By Eakkapop Thongtub

Monday 6 February 2023, 06:17PM

The tour shop owner, identified by police as only Ms Wiri, was charged for assault causing physical injury and carrying a weapon in a public place, Phuket Provincial Police confirmed in a statement issued this afternoon (Feb 6).

Phuket Provincial Police said the statement was in response to a news report by small local channel Krabi TV News Online. However, the incident was reported by, among others, the much more popular news show News at Mor Chit Today broadcast by the national TV station Channel 7.

Ms Wiri acknowledged the charges against her, but claimed she was acting in self-defense, said the police statement.

The claim of self-defence contradicts a video of the incident posted online by the tourist himself, Fang Liqiao, who uploaded the footage to TikTok.

A copy of the video was posted on the Chinese social media platform Douyin, where the post received 2,684 likes and 1,290 comments.

The video shows Ms Wiri verbally abusing Mr Fang and making the effort to walk up to him and kick him. She then pulled out a folding knife and slashed at him. Mr Fangs left arm suffered a light cut after he raised his arm to protect himself.

Police explained in their statement that the attack was the result of an argument over Ms Wiri, owner of the Blue Ocean Travel tour shop in Kata, refusing to refund the full deposit paid for a tour to the Similan Islands that the Chinese family never got to enjoy due to a mix-up over which resort where the tourists were supposed to be picked up.

On Jan 29, Mr Fang bought a tour package from Blue Ocean Travel for his family of four to enjoy a trip to the Similan Islands, police explained.

At that time the family were staying at the Pamookkoo Resort in Kata. The family were supposed to be picked up at the resort to go on the trip on Jan 31.

Mr Fang paid a deposit of B5,000 for the family of four to go on the trip.

On Jan 30, Ms Wiri called Mr Fang and asked him to pay the outstanding amount for the trip. Mr Fang said he would pay the rest to the driver when the driver came to pick them up, police said.

At that time, Mr Fang explained that he and his family were now staying at the Chanalai Flora Resort, also in Kata.

Ms Wiri told police that on Jan 31 she asked the driver to pick the family up at Chanalai Flora Resort at about 6am, but the driver could not find the tourists, so they missed the trip to the islands.

However, Mr Fang later showed police that on that morning he had made seven calls to contact the company, with no response. The company said later that the driver had gone to the wrong hotel, police reported.

Mr Fang finally managed to contact Ms Wiri that afternoon, and asked to be refunded his deposit.

He arrived at the tour shop, accompanied by Tourist Police to help negotiate, police explained.

However, the two could not reach agreement.

Ms Wiri was willing to refund B3,400, but not the remaining B1,600 Mr Fang had paid as a deposit. She had already paid the national park entrance fee of B1,600 in advance, she explained.

Ms Wiri said she was inside her office on Feb 1 when Mr Fang returned with his family at about 10am and again asked for his full refund.

She claimed that the Chinese tourist was raging and hit the offices glass window. She also claimed that Mr Fang had punched her twice, one of the two times was in the face, she said.

They all went out of the office, and that was when Mr Fang began recording the incident, Ms Wiri said.

In the video posted online, Mr Fang said the incident would be reported to the Chinese Embassy in Bangkok.

Col Pisit Sawadthavorn of the Phuket Tourist Police today said that police will report the incident themselves to the Chinese Embassy.

We will not wait for the embassy to contact us. We will bring the investigation result to them. Phuket is welcoming a lot of tourists nowadays. We have to be a good host, Col Pisit said.
Chinese travel companies resume full operations

BANGKOK: Chinese travel agencies will today (Feb 6) resume outbound group tours to 20 countries including Thailand, following the relaxation of rules governing personal foreign travel at the beginning of the year.

tourismeconomicsChinese

By Bangkok Post

Monday 6 February 2023, 01:53PM

Officials welcome the first group of Chinese tourists to arrive in Thailand at Suvarnbhumi airport on Jan 9.(Photo: Varuth Hirunyatheb / Bangkok Post

The number of Chinese tourists visiting Thailand is expected to hit pre-COVID-19 pandemic levels by the end of the year, said deputy government spokeswoman Traisuree Taisaranakul, citing a projection by the Aeronautical Radio of Thailand Co, reports the Bangkok Post.

In 2023, the company expects 36,896 flights from China, a 227.6% increase, Ms Traisuree said.

Transport Minister Saksayam Chidchob has been monitoring airports capacity to handle the expected rise in tourist volumes.

He wanted to ensure their convenience at Suvarnabhumi airport and the five other international airports under the Airports of Thailand, she said.

Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha appreciates the hard work of all sides in contributing to the recovery of Thailands tourism, said PMs Officer Minister Anucha Burapachaisri.

Another indicator of the recovery was recent figures reported by Grabtaxi (Thailand) Co which showed a 45% growth in business in the third quarter of last year, compared with the figures in the previous quarter, said Mr Anucha.

Additionally, the decision by Qatar Airways to add three more direct flights from Doha to Phuket from the start of this month means the airline is now operating the full seven flights daily between Doha and Thailand again, he said.

More importantly, he said Thailand has also been voted along with Singapore and Japan to be in the worlds top three destinations in Southeast Asia.

Meanwhile, a video interview given by Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul with Chinese media outlet CCTV which was posted on cctvplus.com has been viewed more than 490 million times.

The health minister said he appreciated the positive comments from Chinese viewers who apparently were impressed by his remarks about the long-held close ties between Thailand and China.

He said Thai and Chinese people are more like a family.

I really appreciate that Chinese people havent forgotten Thailand and I believe that Thai peoples love for their Chinese counterparts is a family bond.

May I invite everyone in China to come and visit Thailand?

Im sure every Thai is looking forward to welcoming all of you, Mr Anutin said in the video interview, which was recorded on Jan 9 when he visited Suvarnabhumi to welcome Chinese arrivals.
Navy defends efforts to find missing fishing crew

PHUKET: The Royal Thai Navy Third Area Command, based at Cape Panwa, has defended its efforts to locate a fishing boat and three crew on board that have been missing for 18 days.

marineSafetymilitary

By The Phuket News

Monday 6 February 2023, 11:07AM

Local fishing boat Sor Sakulphet, measuring three metres wide and 10m long, departed Phuket Fishing Pier on Jan 19, Rear Admiral Arpakorn Yukongkaew, Commander-in-Chief of the Royal Thai Navy Third Area Command 3, told the press yesterday (Feb 5).

The boat had one Thai national, Rung Khamluewong, and two Myanmar nationals on board. The boat was heading out to fish about 120 nautical miles southwest of Phuket, Rear Admiral Arpakorn said.

Since then the boat has been out of contact, he added.

As of today, no person has confirmed seeing the boat or contacting any person on board for 18 days.

It is expected that the boat may have had an engine failure, causing it to drift with the wind to the southwest, Rear Admiral Arpakorn said.

The Third Area Command had dispatched Navy boats and aircraft to search the area, but so far without success.

The Navys Coast Guard Operations Unit 452 at La-ngu and Unit and 491 at Koh Lipe, both in Satun province, had been alerted to the situation and coordinated their search efforts.

The network of fishing vessels in the area has also been asked to keep an eye out for the boat, Rear Admiral Arpakorn said.

Today (Feb 6), maritime reconnaissance aircraft DO 228, which are capable of long-range flights, will be dispatched to aid the search efforts, he said.

We will contact the military operations centres in Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia), Jakarta (Indonesia) and New Delhi (India) to assist in coordinating, investigating and finding out more, in case the boat ends up drifting into the territorial waters of those countries, Rear Admiral Arpakorn said.

The Royal Thai Navy Third Area Command will continue to monitor the situation, he assured.

Any person with information that might lead to locating the missing boat were urged to contact the Third Area Command on the 24-hour hotline 076-391598.
Sudden braking blamed for Azur Air incident

PHUKET: The aborted takeoff by an Azur Air flight at Phuket International Airport on Saturday (Feb 4) has been attributed to a sudden braking fault with the wheels under the right side of the aircrafts fuselage.

tourismtransportSafetyRussian

By The Phuket News

Monday 6 February 2023, 09:55AM

The Airports of Thailand Phuket branch, which operates Phuket International Airport has issued a statement about the incident, which saw the Boeing 767-300ER come to a shuddering halt on the runway at about 5pm on Saturday.

The plane was bound for Moscow with 309 passengers and 12 cabin crew on board. The aircraft was brought to a stop and all people on board were safely evacuated. No people were reported injured in the incident.

The announcement, by the Special Affairs and Public Relations Division, Administration Department, at Phuket Airport, said that the Air Control Tower, operated by Aerothai, had noticed smoke on the right engine of the aircraft and contacted the pilot to enquire about the cause.

The pilot requested abort takeoff due to sudden braking, the announcement said.

The braking system of the right wheelbase of the aircraft had failed, it added.

Of note, the announcement made no mention of flames coming out of the right engine, as seen in photos of the aircraft while it was still on the runway.

It took about 40 minutes to move the aircraft off the runway, and when the aircraft was on the taxiway it could not be moved further, the announcement said.

The aircraft blocking the taxiway obstructed other aircraft from taking off or landing while repairs were made to the aircraft.

The obstruction of the taxiway resulted in delays in aircraft arriving to land at the airport. Some aircraft were kept in holding patterns, some were flown to Krabi airport and Suvarnabhumi Airport. In total 16 airlines were affected, the announcement said.

After Phuket Airport was aware of such events it was not complacent in the event that happened by carrying out the relevant parts and coordinating with the airline to hurry up repairs the aircraft in order not to impede the taxiway quickly, the announcement added.

The airline completed the repair of the aircraft at 00:10 and was able to move the aircraft out of the taxiway at 00:30 on February 5, 2023, the announcement confirmed.

This is to build confidence among all stakeholders. Airports of Thailand will investigate the cause of the incident for safety and management [of airlines] to strictly comply with national and international standards, the statement concluded.
The United States has re-opened an embassy in the Solomon Islands after a 30-year absence. The last U.S. embassy in the Solomons closed in 1993 amid post-cold war budget cuts. The diplomatic overture came in line with its years-long re-engagement efforts as it seeks to boost diplomatic relations in the Pacific region as a counter to China.

Though ostensibly asserted on the benign rhetoric to help the islanders redress their mounting problems  from ever-encroaching climate disaster to economic distress  the U.S.'s desperate diplomatic re-orientation drive at a time when the region is turning into a hotbed of geopolitical hostility is widely perceived as a part of its wider geostrategic agenda to woo the Pacific countries into serving as geopolitical pawns against China.

But given the broadly-shared revulsion to geopolitics and renewed regional vision across the pacific region, it raises a reasonable question: Can U.S. renewed diplomatic overtures reinstate its relevance in the region? Decades of western negligence and contempt combined with the innate U.S. foreign policy drawbacks have rendered the U.S. by a large margin irrelevant to the Pacific Island states and littoral nations.

Lack of endurance

Strategic interests have been the key driver of U.S. engagement. Typically, such a sort of engagement starts with many monumental commitments to its counterparts without pitching any required administrative details on how to get those materialized. With half-hearted efforts and episodic attention all along the way, the United States withdraws as soon as it realized existing commitments are no longer worth keeping.

The Pacific Islanders, which were used as militarized "containment bulwarks" during the Cold War and later abandoned into a decades-long diplomatic afterthought, are now mature enough to discern such dubious western intents and their "temporary pivot" to entrap the region into a self-interest driven geopolitical gambit. They have witnessed how Washington failed to follow up on its promises.

Priority problem

"Putting the cart before the horse"  America has long had a "priority problem" in its engagement with the Pacific nations. During its heydays of diplomatic engagement, the U.S. placed greater priority on issues such as vague security, ineffectual financial handouts, or empty liberal ideological buzzwords  including human rights, democracy, etc.  other than on those that could have made them structurally strong, economically sustainable, and resilient to the ever-engrossing climate change.

In a statement, while officially announcing the opening of the new embassy, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the U.S. stands committed to working for the Indo-Pacific region to be "free and open" and an "environment where democracy can flourish." His remarks imply the U.S. overemphasizes geopolitical and value-centric priorities rather than the ones the Pacific countries are concerned about.

Similarly, the Biden administration put a host of Pacific priorities into the deal sealed with the Pacific countries last year. It is needless to say that the core concern, albeit implicit for the time being, was geopolitics posing the risk of overshadowing and even undermining the Pacific priorities.

But Pacific nations largely don't share U.S. values and rarely feel any sort of inclination to the American system, and secondly, current diplomatic emphasis is a "temporary pivot" passively prompted by China's growing influence in the region instead of one induced by active and generous intents to establish enduring relations to the Pacific's long-term benefits.

Commitments problem

Last year, the U.S.-Pacific Island Country summit concluded with numerous commitments to the Pacific nations. Yet, given Washington's longstanding "over-commitment but under-delivery" tendency, toxic political division at home, lack of administrative details to the policy promises, and so forth, it is highly suspicious whether Washington could drive those commitments into any transformative values.

The United States announced at the Pacific summit that it would invest more than $810 million in expanded U.S. programs in collaboration with private U.S. companies. Unfortunately, the initiative was thin on how Washington would get private companies to invest in the Pacific given their long-standing aversion to investing in the region.

As noted by Graeme Smith, a Pacific Islands expert at the Australian National University, in the New York Times, "You can turn the military tap on and, with congressional approval, the aid tap, but unlike China, they can't push their companies to engage with the region." Besides, a bogged-down bureaucratic tortoise and red-tap tangle embedded within the very administrative structure of the U.S. would make the commitments coming to reality much harder.

Opening up an embassy is largely a symbolic gesture of what was termed, "America is back." But here time and circumstances can carry much significance concerning the diplomatic re-orientation, especially when bilateral relation between China and the U.S. have spiraled into wider escalation and the countries within the region are at risk of getting dragged into this disastrous path. While the overall American foreign policy tendency has taken more "Kinetic form," such a non-kinetic approach should be taken with the utmost caution.



The author Hafijur Rahman is a columnist and Security and Strategic analyst, working in a prominent Strategic Studies Center in Bangladesh. (Source: CGTN)


There are 6,900 women diagnosed with breast cancer in Quebec every year, and the Quebec Breast Cancer Foundation works to provide support and fund research to help those affected by the disease. For more than 25 years, this non-profit charitable organization has been dedicated to the provinces breast cancer patients as well as its scientific and medical communities. And, with no governmental support, they rely on the generosity of individuals as well as businesses to help them raise the funds they need to do the important work that they do.

CEO of the QBCF, Karine-Iseult Ippersiel, was given the role the day the COVID lockdown started. We had our annual benefit event on the 11th and did not expect a pandemic that week, she said in a recent phone interview. It was quite the challenge on my side. Since then, I have been on the ground learning every day. The foundation functions 100 per cent on donations with no government help. For every Quebec foundation theres a Canadian foundation looking for the same dollars, so its a lot of hard work, strategy, passion, and dedication by the crew here.

They are 29 people working at the Foundation. We have great team spirit. We consult with breast cancer survivors and patients going through treatment, and we have a phone line that is operated by breast cancer survivors so they can help you navigate the system to get a diagnosis in a timely manner.

Since the pandemic started, the QBCF had to adjust to the new virtual reality. They started by meeting virtually with patients to help them access doctors and nurses, and get prescription renewals, a service they had throughout the lockdown and continue to offer today. The pandemic proved that this service was great because our patients didnt have to leave home, Ippersiel explained, citing that oftentimes they are immune compromised. We also have lots of different virtual programs for patients, like meetings with social workers to manage stress and anxiety, and to figure out how to tell your family or children that you have breast cancer. All these services went virtual.

They also hosted virtual events and had major fundraising campaigns online. We had to adapt to the new reality and now the post-pandemic world too.

Ippersiel toured all of Quebec last year, visiting every region and meeting with different groups, nurses, and community organizations. It was important to her to connect with communities from all parts of the province. I covered all the grounds to go and hear from real people, she said. We have a major data access problem in Quebec healthcare  the data we have is from 2017 or 2019, and we want to make sure that we know what is actually happening in the communities around us. The foundation will help community organizations provide better services with financial or HR support of any kind. We are very invested in community health services in breast cancer.

With such big goals for the coming year, the QBCF are in need of support by way of donations and partnerships. We have different ways of fundraising: pure donations that can be monthly or annual, and peer-to-peer community-driven initiatives, Ippersiel explained.

One such project was hosted last year on the South Shore where 600 female motorcyclists did a full day of riding and fundraising  all while in pink  and raised almost $350,000. The organization also teams up with larger corporations to raise funds. Cashmere toilet paper for example, is giving a portion of their sales to the Foundation. There are more than 60 partnerships such as this, and they are one of the main sources of financial support.

To learn more about the Quebec Breast Cancer Foundation, their services, or to donate, visit rubanrose.org
Carly Berkenmeier RN has received her ONS/ONCC Chemotherapy Immunotherapy Certificate. Berkenmeier joined JCH&L as the oncology nurse in December 2022.

This certificate means Berkenmeier possesses knowledge in the subspecialty chemotherapy and immunotherapy administration. This course equips her with the tools she needs to safely administer chemotherapy and immunotherapy to our patients with cancer, while providing the type of quality care demanded by JCH&L.

The course is intended for nurses who have knowledge of cancer basics and are in a position to regularly administer chemotherapy and immunotherapy. It builds on a foundation of cancer knowledge, with the learner earning a certificate of added qualification upon successful completion.

The certification is renewable every two years.

Joni Tilford, MD, oncologist with Cancer Partners of Nebraska, and Matthew Shupe, DO, oncologist with Hematology oncology, each come to JCH&L monthly for clinics. Ancillary services available include lab, radiology, respiration therapy and surgery. JCH&L can take orders for services  including chemotherapy and ancillary services  from any physician or oncologist.

For more information, contact JCH&L Outpatient Services at 402-729-6851.
SEAN BERGEL, Wheeler, Baseball, Junior; Bergel struck out eight and allowed only five hits as Wheeler defeated Griswold in its season opener. Bergel walked just one batter and allowed two earned runs.

CAMI BROWN, Stonington, Softball, Junior; Brown finished 11 for 16 in four games for the Bears. Brown doubled four times, tripled twice and drove in nine runs.

CASEY MACERA, Westerly, Girls Lacrosse, Freshman, Macera scored five goals in a Division III win against Rocky Hill. Westerly ended a 15-game losing streak with the victory.

ADAM CARPENTER, Chariho, Baseball, Sophomore; Carpenter pitched a two-hitter in his varsity debut as the Chargers beat East Providence. Carpenter carried a no-hitter into the sixth. He struck out 10 and did not walk a batter.

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Jayleesha Cooper said her life changed when she attended Holy Name School in Omaha.

Where she was previously struggling in public school, Cooper said she thrived at the Catholic school. But she was only able to attend the school, she said, through a scholarship, even with her mother working multiple jobs.

"There's no reason that a parent should have to sacrifice so much time with their children just to afford a quality education," Cooper said.

She testified before the Legislature's Revenue Committee on Friday to support LB753, which Sen. Lou Ann Linehan of Omaha hopes will help more students like Cooper attend schools that cater to their needs.

LB753 would create income tax credits for donations to organizations that provide scholarships to attend parochial schools. The amount available for tax credits would start at $25 million in 2024, with annual increases of up to 25% possible in future years, although Linehan said she planned to bring an amendment that would push those increases back two years.

The public hearing Friday stretched for more than five hours, concluding without a vote on whether to advance the bill.

Other supporting testimony for LB753 largely came from former students of parochial schools like Cooper, or people who have worked for them. They all attested to the value of private schools.

Opponents were mostly made up of public school representatives, along with parents, policy groups and religious officials. They argued that LB753 would harm public schools and Nebraska students while allowing private corporations to take advantage of state benefits.

"This system will bleed your funding and endanger the children you intend to help," said Vanessa Clark, dean of Trinity Episcopal Cathedral in Omaha.

Linehan, the Revenue Committee chair, has made multiple attempts to pass similar measures in previous sessions, but those efforts failed to make it across the finish line. This time around, she introduced the legislation with the support of Gov. Jim Pillen and has 29 state senators co-sponsoring it, including a few lawmakers who opposed the previous efforts.

Pillen testified in support of LB753, saying the bill was just one piece of his education plan, which also includes increasing state dollars for public schools through a $1 billion education fund. He said the bill is not about pitting public schools against private schools, referencing a claim made by critics.

"We need both for a great quality of life," Pillen said.

Linehan also took time to address claims made by opponents, which she said was "misinformation." She said the bill would not support for-profit schools, nor would it take money away from public schools. She said the scholarships would be distributed to students through a tiered system largely based on need.

Opponents disputed Linehan's claims. The most common argument was that the money meant for LB753 should support public schools instead. Cheryl Logan, superintendent of Omaha Public Schools, said the $25 million that would be diverted from the general fund under the bill would be better served going to the state's school funding formula.

Money doesnt exist in one pot, Logan said. Its all connected.

Sen. Kathleen Kauth of Omaha, a Revenue Committee member, pressed Logan on her opposition to the bill, saying she found it absolutely ridiculous that she would oppose a measure Kauth believes will help students receive a better education.

Kauth asked Logan if she would like the state to get rid of other tax credits that go to support causes such as affordable housing. She didnt let Logan fully answer that question, and instead pressed Logan about OPS students' test scores, which she implied were low.

Logan noted that OPS has both the highest- and lowest-performing schools in the state. Though she said it can be easy to generalize OPS as the largest district in Nebraska, the district serves students that most private schools would not enroll.

Kauth is a co-sponsor of LB753. In total, six of the eight members of the Revenue Committee are sponsors of the bill.

Several representatives of nonprofits said encouraging donations to private schools under the bill would in turn discourage donations to public schools. Some opponents also said LB753 would benefit wealthy Nebraskans receiving the tax credits more than it would actually help disadvantaged children.

"This bill is not about helping kids," said Tim Royers with the Nebraska State Education Association. "It's about money."

A few critics drew comparisons to other states that have passed similar measures, claiming such efforts lowered the quality of education in those states, and allowed corporations and for-profit schools to take advantage of the programs over time.

Meet the Nebraska state senators making laws in 2023




Former President Donald Trump has vehemently denied recent reports that Chinese spy balloons flew over the United States during his time in office. In a statement published on his Truth Social platform, Trump labeled the reports as FAKE DISINFORMATION and claimed that China had too much respect to engage in such activities.

The Chinese Balloon situation is a disgrace, Trump wrote. They are only good at cheating in elections, and disinformation  and now they are putting out that a Balloon was put up by China during the Trump Administration, in order to take the heat off the slow moving Biden fools.

However, the Department of Defense has stated that Chinese spy balloons flew over the U.S. at least three times during Trumps presidency. Trump allies argue that the previous flights were not as long nor did they fly over sensitive sites as the recent one.

Meanwhile, U.S. officials have confirmed that a Chinese spy balloon crashed into the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Hawaii four months ago. Fox News has also reported that at least one Chinese spy balloon flew over portions of Texas and Florida during the Trump administration, despite the former presidents denial.

The situation has sparked controversy and raised questions about the security and surveillance capabilities of foreign powers. It remains to be seen how the current administration will respond to this issue and address any potential threats to national security.

Several former Trump administration officials have come forward to dispute reports that Chinese spy balloons flew over the United States during the former presidents time in office. John Bolton, former National Security Adviser, stated that he was not aware of any such incidents during his tenure and that he had never heard of any of that occurring before [he] joined in 2018. Robert OBrien, who served as National Security Adviser from 2019 to 2021, also confirmed that he had no knowledge of such activities.

Former Acting Director of National Intelligence, Ric Grenell, stated that during his deep dive into Chinas spying activities and the origins of COVID, the issue of Chinese spy balloons never came up. John Ratcliffe, former Director of National Intelligence, also dismissed the claims, saying that the American people could easily refute them if they were true.

Former Defense Secretary Mark Esper said he had no recollection of Chinese surveillance balloons being brought to his attention while he was at the Pentagon. Chris Miller, former Acting Defense Secretary and Director of the National Counterterrorism Center, stated that he had never heard of such balloons while he was in government.

The Department of Defense has claimed that Chinese spy balloons flew over the US at least three times during Trumps presidency. However, the lack of evidence and denial from several top officials of the previous administration cast doubt on the veracity of these reports.

(YWN World Headquarters  NYC)




The United States has formed a perimeter off the coast of South Carolina in response to a shot down Chinese spy balloon. US ships have been deployed to secure the area as a salvage vessel will not arrive for several days.

US officials have confirmed that an F-22 Raptor fighter jet was responsible for shooting down the balloon with a single AIM-9X sidewinder missile. The incident occurred at 2.38pm on Saturday, off the coast of Myrtle beach.

Audio from one of the two fighter jets involved in the mission, with callsigns FRANK01 and FRANK02, has been released. The audio reveals the moment the pilots confirmed the successful hit on the balloon. They reported to the Eastern Air Defense Sector that the balloon was completely destroyed.

LISTEN TO THE AUDIO BELOW:

(YWN World Headquarters  NYC)




A spy balloon that U.S. officials believe was sent by China was a trial to see Americas response, according to former Secretary of State and CIA director Mike Pompeo. Pompeo criticized the handling of the situation by the Biden administration, who chose not to shoot down the stratospheric surveillance aircraft for several days after it was sighted over the continental U.S. The balloon was finally taken down by the U.S. military on Saturday, after traveling across a vast area of the U.S. and Canada.

Pompeo argues that the balloons appearance in American skies was a test that the Biden administration failed. He told Trey Gowdy on Fox News that the Chinese probably got all the collection they needed for the first few days and now they understand that they can penetrate U.S. airspace without fear of retaliation. Pompeo also commented that Chinese spying on Americano surprise and the weakness of America just is going to invite more aggression.

The balloons appearance in the U.S. came just days before a scheduled trip by Secretary of State Antony Blinken to Beijing to meet with Chinese leader Xi Jinping. However, this trip has since been canceled. On Saturday, Biden told reporters that he had ordered the Pentagon to shoot down the balloon as soon as possible, and the military chose to do so over water for safety reasons.

China has claimed that the aircraft was a civilian weather balloon that had been blown off course. The U.S. officials contest this claim. Chinas foreign ministry issued a statement on Sunday saying it reserves the right to take further actions in response to the balloon being shot down. Another balloon passed over South America over the weekend, which China also claims was for civilian use.

Pompeo was asked why the balloon wasnt shot down sooner, and he responded that he could not articulate why the Biden administration did not take down the threat immediately. He suspects that the balloon would have been picked up as soon as it entered the Air Defense Identification Zone, an area in which identity checks for aircraft are required. Pompeo commented that this isnt something small coming across [the Pacific]; its not even a fast mover. This is going slow and it is big.

(YWN World Headquarters  NYC)




Gen. Pervez Musharraf, who seized power in a bloodless coup and later led a reluctant Pakistan into aiding the U.S. war in Afghanistan against the Taliban, has died, officials said Sunday. He was 79.

Musharraf, a former special forces commando, became president through the last of a string of military coups that roiled Pakistan since its founding amid the bloody 1947 partition of India. He ruled the nuclear-armed state after his 1999 coup through tensions with India, an atomic proliferation scandal and an Islamic extremist insurgency. He stepped down in 2008 while facing possible impeachment.

Later in life, Musharraf lived in self-imposed exile in Dubai to avoid criminal charges, despite attempting a political comeback in 2012. But it wasnt to be as his poor health plagued his last years. He maintained a soldiers fatalism after avoiding a violent death that always seemed to be stalking him as Islamic militants twice targeted him for assassination.

I have confronted death and defied it several times in the past because destiny and fate have always smiled on me, Musharraf once wrote. I only pray that I have more than the proverbial nine lives of a cat.

Musharrafs family announced in June 2022 that he had been hospitalized for weeks in Dubai while suffering from amyloidosis, an incurable condition that sees proteins build up in the bodys organs. They later said he also needed access to the drug daratumumab, which is used to treat multiple myeloma. That bone marrow cancer can cause amyloidosis.

Shazia Siraj, a spokeswoman for the Pakistani Consulate in Dubai, confirmed his death and said diplomats were providing support to his family.

The Pakistani military also offered its condolences as did Pakistani Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif, the younger brother of the prime minister Musharraf overthrew in 1999.

May God give his family the courage to bear this loss, Sharif said.

Pakistan, a nation nearly twice the size of California along the Arabian Sea, is now home to 220 million people. But it would be its border with Afghanistan that would soon draw the U.S.s attention and dominate Musharrafs life a little under two years after he seized power.

Al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden launched the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks from Afghanistan, sheltered by the countrys Taliban rulers. Musharraf knew what would come next.

America was sure to react violently, like a wounded bear, he wrote in his autobiography. If the perpetrator turned out to be al-Qaida, then that wounded bear would come charging straight toward us.

By Sept. 12, then-U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell told Musharraf that Pakistan would either be with us or against us. Musharraf said another American official threatened to bomb Pakistan back into the Stone Age if it chose the latter.

Musharraf chose the former. A month later, he stood by then-President George W. Bush at the Waldorf Astoria in New York to declare Pakistans unwavering support to fight with the United States against terrorism in all its forms wherever it exists.

Pakistan became a crucial transit point for NATO supplies headed to landlocked Afghanistan. That was the case even though Pakistans powerful Inter-Services Intelligence agency had backed the Taliban after it swept into power in Afghanistan in 1994. Prior to that, the CIA and others funneled money and arms through the ISI to Islamic fighters battling the 1980s Soviet occupation of Afghanistan.

The U.S.-led invasion of Afghanistan saw Taliban fighters flee over the border back into Pakistan, including bin Laden, whom the U.S. would kill in 2011 at a compound in Abbottabad. They regrouped and the offshoot Pakistani Taliban emerged, beginning a yearslong insurgency in the mountainous border region between Afghanistan and Pakistan.

The CIA began flying armed Predator drones from Pakistan with Musharrafs blessing, using an airstrip built by the founding president of the United Arab Emirates for falconing in Pakistans Balochistan province. The program helped beat back the militants but saw over 400 strikes in Pakistan alone kill at least 2,366 people  including 245 civilians, according to the Washington-based New America Foundation think tank.

Though Pakistan under Musharraf launched these operations, the militants still thrived as billions of American dollars flowed into the nation. That led to suspicion that still plagues the U.S. relationship with Pakistan.

After 9/11, then President Musharraf made a strategic shift to abandon the Taliban and support the U.S. in the war on terror, but neither side believes the other has lived up to expectations flowing from that decision, a 2009 U.S. cable from then-Ambassador Anne Patterson published by WikiLeaks said, describing what had become the diplomatic equivalent of a loveless marriage.

The relationship is one of co-dependency we grudgingly admit  Pakistan knows the U.S. cannot afford to walk away; the U.S. knows Pakistan cannot survive without our support.

But it would be Musharrafs life on the line. Militants tried to assassinate him twice in 2003 by targeting his convoy, first with a bomb planted on a bridge and then with car bombs. That second attack saw Musharrafs vehicle lifted into the air by the blast before touching the ground again. It raced to safety on just its rims, Musharraf pulling a Glock pistol in case he needed to fight his way out.

It wasnt until his wife, Sehba, saw the car covered in gore that the scale of the attack dawned on him.

She is always calm in the face of danger, he recounted. But then, she was screaming uncontrollably, hysterically.

Born Aug. 11, 1943, in New Delhi, India, Musharraf was the middle son of a diplomat. His family joined millions of other Muslims in fleeing westward when predominantly Hindu India and Islamic Pakistan split during independence from Britain in 1947. The partition saw hundreds of thousands of people killed in riots and fighting.

Musharraf entered the Pakistani army at age 18 and made his career there as Islamabad fought three wars against India. Hed launch his own attempt at capturing territory in the disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir in 1999 just before seizing power from Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.

Sharif had ordered Musharrafs dismissal as the army chief flew home from a visit to Sri Lanka and denied his plane landing rights in Pakistan, even as it ran low on fuel. On the ground, the army took control and after he landed Musharraf took charge.

Yet as ruler, Musharraf nearly reached a deal with India on Kashmir, according to U.S. diplomats at the time. He also worked toward a rapprochement with Pakistans longtime rival.

Another major scandal emerged under his rule when the world discovered that famed Pakistani nuclear scientist A.Q. Khan, long associated with the countrys atomic bomb, had been selling centrifuge designs and other secrets to countries including Iran, Libya and North Korea, making tens of millions of dollars. Those designs helped Pyongyang to arm itself with a nuclear weapon, while centrifuges from Khans designs still spin in Iran amid the collapse of Tehrans nuclear deal with world powers.

Musharraf said he suspected Khan but it wasnt until 2003 when then-CIA director George Tenet showed him detailed plans for a Pakistani centrifuge that the scientist had been selling that he realized the severity of what happened.

Khan would confess on state television in 2004 and Musharraf would pardon him, though hed be confined to house arrest after that.

For years, A.Q.s lavish lifestyle and tales of his wealth, properties, corrupt practices and financial magnanimity at state expense were generally all too well known in Islamabads social and government circles, Musharraf later wrote. However, these were largely ignored.  In hindsight that neglect was apparently a serious mistake.

Musharrafs domestic support eventually eroded. He held flawed elections in late 2002  only after changing the constitution to give himself sweeping powers to sack the prime minister and parliament. He then reneged on a promise to stand down as army chief by the end of 2004.

Militant anger toward Musharraf increased in 2007 when he ordered a raid against the Red Mosque in downtown Islamabad. It had become a sanctuary for militants opposed to Pakistans support of the Afghan war. The weeklong operation killed over 100 people.

The incident severely damaged Musharrafs reputation among everyday citizens and earned him the undying hatred of militants who launched a series of punishing attacks following the raid.

Fearing the judiciary would block his continued rule, Musharraf fired the chief justice of Pakistans Supreme Court. That triggered mass demonstrations.

Under pressure at home and abroad to restore civilian rule, Musharraf stepped down as army chief. Though he won another five-year presidential term, Musharraf faced a major crisis following former Prime Minister Benazir Bhuttos assassination in December 2007 at a campaign rally as she sought to become prime minister for the third time.

The public suspected Musharrafs hand in the killing, which he denied. A later United Nations report acknowledged the Pakistani Taliban was a main suspect in her slaying but warned that elements of Pakistans intelligence services may have been involved.

Musharraf resigned as president in August 2008 after ruling coalition officials threatened to have him impeached for imposing emergency rule and firing judges.

I hope the nation and the people will forgive my mistakes, Musharraf, struggling with his emotions, said in an hourlong televised address.

Afterward, he lived abroad in Dubai and London, attempting a political comeback in 2012. But Pakistan instead arrested the former general and put him under house arrest. He faced treason allegations over the Supreme Court debacle and other charges stemming from the Red Mosque raid and Bhuttos assassination.

The image of Musharraf being treated as a criminal suspect shocked Pakistan, where military generals long have been considered above the law. Pakistan allowed him to leave the country on bail to Dubai in 2016 for medical treatment and he remained there after facing a later-overturned death sentence.

But it suggested Pakistan may be ready to turn a corner in its history of military rule.

Musharrafs resignation is a sad yet familiar story of hubris, this time in a soldier who never became a good politician, wrote Patterson, the U.S. ambassador, at the time.

The good news is that the demonstrated strength of institutions that brought Musharraf down  the media, free elections and civil society  also provide some hope for Pakistans future. It was these institutions that ironically became much stronger under his government.

(AP)




President Joe Biden sounded like a candidate making his case for a second term Friday night as he rallied a raucous meeting of national Democrats who chanted, Four more years!

The only thing missing was an official announcement  thats not expected for at least several weeks.

Speaking to the Democratic National Committee after a strong jobs report, Biden boasted about helping create a strong economy and said his administration had made the countrys most significant federal investments in public works, health care and green technology in decades. He also slammed Republican extremism, suggesting that party is still too beholden to former President Donald Trumps Make America Great Again movement.

Let me ask you a simple question. Are you with me? a grinning Biden asked onstage in Philadelphia as hundreds of party leaders from around the country interrupted him with cries of Four more years! Four more years!

He later added, to nearly as loud applause, America is back and were leading the world again.

Biden has sought to seize the political offensive after a strong midterm election season for his party and as he looks toward 2024, with Trump having already announced another bid for the White House. Its especially important given mounting pressures in Washington, including a special counsel investigation into his handling of classified documents and a Republican-controlled House eager to serve as a check against Biden and his agenda on Capitol Hill.

Speaking before Biden on Friday night, Vice President Kamala Harris was just as defiant about the GOP and its staunch opposition to issues like abortion rights.

There are those who want to stand in the way of our momentum, she said. The extremist, so-called leaders, who want to distract and divide our nation as they ban books, as they reject the history of America, as they criminalize doctors and nurses and the sacred right to vote.

At a DNC fundraiser before taking the stage, Harris referenced Democrats holding onto Senate control during falls midterms and reminded a smaller crowd: Its not the time to pat ourselves on the back. Its the time to see it through.

And thats going to take as much work, if not more, than everything that everyone here put into where we are today, she said.

Looking to the future himself, Biden told the same reception: No matter who is president, things are going to change radically in the next 15 years.

Are we going to be leading the pack? he added. Or are we going to be the end of it?

Earlier in Philadelphia on Friday, Biden and Harris visited a water treatment plant and hailed $15 billion in funding to remove lead pipes from service lines around the country. That comes from a bipartisan infrastructure package, which is also bankrolling railway projects the president spent this week trumpeting.

The issue has to do with basic dignity, Biden said. No amount of lead in water is safe. None.

With the State of the Union address coming next week, Biden has renewed calls for political unity, something hes acknowledged being unable to achieve despite his promises as a candidate in 2020. But those appeals havent tempered Bidens broadsides against Trump and the former presidents MAGA movement.

This aint your fathers Republican Party, Biden said, adding that the GOP agenda was so extreme that we have to keep pointing out what the other team wants. Of Trump loyalists, he said, These arent conservatives.

Thats made some Democrats anxious to see Biden stay aggressive in touting his record.

The president is trying to solve the problems of the nation on infrastructure, on microchips, on gun safety, on health care, said Randi Weingarten, a DNC member and president of the American Federation of Teachers. Compare (that) to the GOP, which seems to be on a revenge agenda.

Bidens speech comes the day before the DNC is set to approve an overhauled presidential primary calendar starting next year that would replace Iowa with South Carolina in the leadoff spot. New Hampshire and Nevada would go second, followed by Georgia and Michigan  a change the president has championed to ensure that voters of color have more influence deciding the partys White House nominee.

The new calendar would be largely moot if Biden runs again, since party elders wont want to oversee a drawn-out primary against him. Democrats have been solidly unified in their opposition to the new Republican-controlled House, while no major Democratic challenger is thought to be preparing to run against Biden.

Bidens advisers havent waited for his official reelection announcement, already spending weeks making staffing arrangements and readying lines of political attacks against Republicans seen as early presidential front-runners, including Trump, who launched his campaign in November, and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.

Alan Clendenin, a DNC member from Florida, said Biden has strengthened the economy, reestablished U.S. global standing and promoted inclusive values  the opposite of what Trump and DeSantis stand for.

They predicted gloom and doom. Hes proved them all wrong, said Clendenin, who kicked off a DNC Southern caucus meeting by noting that Florida has begun lagging behind other states in key policy areas and joking of its governor, Thats what happened when youre led by the devil.

Biden repeatedly denounced extreme MAGA Republicans as a threat to the nations democracy in the runup to the midterms and gloated a bit Friday about the results.

People looked at me like I was nuts, he said, referring to his repeated emphasis on MAGA Republicans last fall. Theyre nuts. Im not nuts.

The president, meanwhile, will have a harder time campaigning on future legislative accomplishments now that the GOP controls the House. A coming fight over extending the nations legal debt ceiling may only harden partisan clashes.

Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy said he and the White House would continue talking about ways to avoid a debt limit crisis. But, referring to federal spending, McCarthy said, The current path were on we cannot sustain.

Biden has also suggested that simply bashing Republicans wont be enough, however, noting that Democrats have seen their support among Americans without a college degree decline. He said Friday night that his party stopped talking to blue-collar workers.

We have to get working-class people to say we see them, the president added.

In a more lighthearted nod to the coming Super Bowl, Biden declared Fly, Eagles, fly! and called fans in Philadelphia the most informed, obnoxious fans in the world.

That would ostensibly include his wife, Jill, who is a diehard Eagles supporter.

(AP)




Former fighter pilot Lieutenant Colonel (res.) Zeev Raz was summoned on Sunday morning for questioning at the Lahav 433 unit under a warning, on suspicion of incitement and violence against Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu.

The police stated on Sunday afternoon: A short time ago, the officers of the cyber unit in Lahav 433 detained Zeev Raz following a post he published and on suspicion of incitement and threats, and he is being brought to the units offices at this time.

The police also announced that they opened an investigation against Adv. David Hodek on suspicion of the crime of incitement to violence. The case is being investigated by the National Fraud Investigations Unit (NAU) in Lahav 433.

Both men now claim that their words were misconstrued, with Raz even claiming that his statement was a quote from someone else. In an interview with Yisrael Hayom, Raz said that the statement he published was a quote from Dr. Avshalom Elitzur  a lecturer at Tel Aviv University  and that he retracted the words and therefore deleted the post he published.

Adv. Hodek told Kan News on Sunday that he apologizes that his words were interpreted incorrectly and caused a furor. He added that he opposes violence and that the reforms must be fought in every legal way.

Hodek added that the intention was to illustrate the danger that will occur if we become a dictatorship, with the legal reform, he said, being the first step in the process. The legislative process being called the reforms may lead to the destruction of democracy and places the country in existential danger, he said.

He claimed he did not call for the use of firearms at all, but that if they come to impose a dictatorship on me and use firearms against me, I will return fire in self-defense.

Regarding the police investigation, Hodek claimed that it was a completely political investigation.

Shin Bet head Ronen Bar on Motzei Shabbos said that the law enforcement system is adopting a zero-tolerance policy toward those who incite violence or call for harm to individuals and elected officials as well as those who call for harm to protesters.

(YWN Israel Desk  Jerusalem)




Ukraines defense minister expressed confidence Sunday that Western allies would agree to the countrys latest weapons request  warplanes to fight off Russian forces that invaded nearly a year ago.

Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov told a news conference in Kyiv that Ukraine has already received everything from its wish list to Santa, except planes.

There will be planes, too, Reznikov predicted. The question is just what kind exactly. Consider that this mission is already completed.

So far, Ukraine has won support from Baltic nations and Poland in its quest to obtain Western fighter jets. But several Western leaders have expressed concern that providing warplanes could provoke the Kremlin and draw their countries deeper into the conflict, which has cost tens of thousands of lives and wreaked massive destruction.

Kyiv says such jets are essential to challenging Russias air superiority and ensuring success in a Russian offensive that Reznikov predicted could begin around the wars one-year anniversary, Feb. 24.

Not all Western weapons will arrive by then, but we have the resources and reserves to help stabilize and sustain the offensive, Reznikov told reporters.

Since the war began, Western leaders have balked at some of Ukraines requests, such as for longer-range missiles and tanks, only to agree later. The warplanes are the latest example.

Ukraine has relocated its warplanes and concealed air defense assets, hampering Moscows efforts to gain full control of the skies. After suffering early losses, the Russian air force has avoided venturing deep into Ukraines airspace and mostly focused on close front line support.

German-made tanks are on the way to Ukraine. Reznikov said his forces would begin training on Leopard tanks in Europe on Monday, before their delivery to Ukraine. So far, Canada, Poland, Germany, Great Britain and the United States have announced they will supply tanks to Ukraine.

The Kremlin has said Western countries supply of increasingly sophisticated and more weapons will only prolong the conflict, and it has characterized NATO as a direct participant. Reznikov, commenting on the supply of Western weapons and the state of the Ukrainian army, took the rhetoric further on Sunday, telling reporters: I absolutely boldly claim that we have become a de facto NATO country. We only have a de jure part left.

Ukraine has applied to join NATO, as have two of Russias other neighbors, Finland and Sweden.

On the battlefield, Kharkiv regional governor Oleh Syniehubov said four people were injured Sunday when a Russian S-300 missile fell near an apartment block in Kharkiv city, and another was hurt when a missile hit a university building. Video showed the building hit was the National Academy for Urban Economy, about 700 meters from the citys central square.

Meanwhile, heavy fighting continued in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine, one of four regions that Russia illegally annexed last year even though its forces do not fully control the area. Donetsk governor Pavlo Kyrylenko said five civilians were wounded in rocket attacks during the night in the city of Druzhkivka and that the town of Avdiivka and its outskirts were also fired on.

In the Donetsk city of Bakhmut, the epicenter of the fiercest fighting in Ukraine, the Ukrainian military said Sunday it had repelled Russian attacks. The founder of the mercenary group Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, said in a Telegram post that Kyivs forces were not retreating and that there are fierce battles for every street, every house, every stairwell.

In the Black Sea port of Odesa, workers labored to connect temporary generators shipped in to restore electricity. The city and surrounding area were plunged into darkness over the weekend following a large-scale network failure.

Grid operator Ukrenergo said that the failure involved equipment repeatedly repaired after Russias savage strikes on Ukraines energy grid, and that residents should brace themselves for lengthy blackouts.

As of Sunday afternoon, about 280,000 customers  40% of the customers  remained without power, said prime minister Denis Shmyhal.

(AP)




China on Monday accused the United States of indiscriminate use of force in shooting down a suspected Chinese spy balloon, saying it seriously impacted and damaged both sides efforts and progress in stabilizing Sino-U.S. relations.

The U.S. shot down the balloon off the Carolina coast after it traversed sensitive military sites across North America. China insisted the flyover was an accident involving a civilian aircraft.

Vice Foreign Minister Xie Feng said he lodged a formal complaint with the U.S. Embassy on Sunday over the U.S. attack on a Chinese civilian unmanned airship by military force.

However, the United States turned a deaf ear and insisted on indiscriminate use of force against the civilian airship that was about to leave the United States airspace, obviously overreacted and seriously violated the spirit of international law and international practice, Xie said.

The presence of the balloon in the skies above the U.S. dealt a severe blow to already strained U.S.-Chinese relations that have been in a downward spiral for years. It prompted Secretary of State Antony Blinken to abruptly cancel a high-stakes Beijing trip aimed at easing tensions.

Xie repeated Chinas insistence that the balloon was a Chinese civil unmanned airship that blew into U.S. airspace by mistake, calling it an accidental incident caused by force majeure.

China will resolutely safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese companies, resolutely safeguard Chinas interests and dignity and reserve the right to make further necessary responses, he said.

U.S. President Joe Biden issued the shootdown order after he was advised that the best time for the operation would be when it was over water, U.S. officials said. Military officials determined that bringing down the balloon over land from an altitude of 60,000 feet (18,000 meters) would pose an undue risk to people on the ground.

What the U.S. has done has seriously impacted and damaged both sides efforts and progress in stabilizing Sino-U.S. relations since the Bali meeting, Xie said, referring to a recent meeting between Biden and his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, in Indonesia that many hoped would create positive momentum for improving ties that have plunged to their lowest level in years.

Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning provided no new details on Monday, repeating Chinas insistence that the object was a civilian balloon intended for meteorological research, had little ability to steer and entered U.S. airspace by accidentally diverging from its course. She also did not say what additional steps China intended to take in response to Washingtons handling of the issue and cancellation of Blinkens trip, which would have made him the highest-ranking U.S. official to visit since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

We have stated that this is completely an isolated and accidental incident caused by force majeure, but the U.S. still hyped up the incident on purpose and even used force to attack, Mao said at a daily briefing. This is an unacceptable and irresponsible action.

Balloons thought or known to be Chinese have been spotted from Latin America to Japan. Japanese Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihiko Isozaki told reporters Monday that a flying object similar to the one shot down by the U.S. had been spotted at least twice over northern Japan since 2020.

We are continuing to analyze them in connection with the latest case in the United States, he said.

Mao confirmed that a balloon recently spotted over Latin American was Chinese, describing it as a civilian airship used for flight tests.

Affected by weather and due to its limited self-control ability, the airship severely deviated from its set route and entered the space of Latin America and the Caribbean by accident, Mao said.

Washington and Beijing are at odds over a range of issues from trade to human rights, but China is most sensitive over alleged violations by the U.S. and others of its sovereignty and territorial integrity.

Beijing strongly protests U.S. military sales to Taiwan and visits by foreign politicians to the island, which it claims as Chinese territory, to be recovered by force if necessary.

It reacted to a 2022 visit by then-U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi by firing missiles over the island and staging threatening military drills seen as a rehearsal for an invasion or blockade. Beijing also cut off discussion with the U.S. on issues including climate change that are unrelated to military tensions.

Last week, Mao warned Pelosis successor, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, not to travel to Taiwan, implying that Chinas response would be equally vociferous.

China will firmly defend its sovereignty, security and development interests, Mao said. McCarthy said China had no right to dictate where and when he could travel.

China also objects when foreign military surveillance planes fly off its coast in international airspace and when U.S. and other foreign warships pass through the Taiwan Strait, accusing them of being actively provocative.

In 2001, a U.S. Navy plane conducting routine surveillance near the Chinese coast collided with a Chinese fighter plane, killing the Chinese fighter pilot and damaging the American plane, which was forced to make an emergency landing at a Chinese naval airbase on the southern Chinese island province of Hainan. China detained the 24-member U.S. Navy aircrew for 10 days until the U.S. expressed regret over the Chinese pilots death and for landing at the base without permission.

The South China Sea is another major source of tension. China claims the strategically key sea virtually in its entirety and protests when U.S. Navy ships sail past Chinese military features there.

At a news conference Friday with his South Korean counterpart, Blinken said the presence of this surveillance balloon over the United States in our skies is a clear violation of our sovereignty, a clear violation of international law, and clearly unacceptable. And weve made that clear to China.

Any country that has its airspace violated in this way I think would respond similarly, and I can only imagine what the reaction would be in China if they were on the other end, Blinken said.

Chinas weather balloon explanation should be dismissed outright, said Oriana Skylar Mastro, an expert on Chinese military affairs and foreign policy at Stanford University.

This is like a standard thing that countries often say about surveillance assets, Mastro said.

China may have made a mistake and lost control of the balloon, but it was unlikely to have been a deliberate attempt to disrupt Blinkens visit, Mastro said.

For the U.S. administration, the decision to go public and then shoot down the balloon marks a break from its usual approach of dealing with Beijing on such matters privately, possibly in hopes of changing Chinas future behavior.

However, Mastro said, it was unlikely that Beijing would respond positively.

Theyre probably going to dismiss that and continue on as things have been. So I dont see a really clear pathway to improved relations in the foreseeable future.

(AP)




Chief Rabbi Rav Dovid Lau spoke with Rabbanim in Turkey on Monday afternoon about the situation of their kehillos in the wake of the devastating earthquakes the country suffered earlier in the day.

HaRav Lau first spoke with the Ashkenazi Rav and Chabad shliach in Istanbul, Rav Menachem Mendel Chitrik, who said that he had just landed in the area close to the epicenter in order to supervise emergency aid. Rav Chitrik said that Baruch Hashem, the last Jew that was trapped under a collapsed building in the area was rescued from the ruins.

Afterward, Rav Lau spoke with Rav Yitzchak Peres, the Rav of the the Yenikoy kehilla and member of the Istanbul Beis Din, who said that there are currently 14 Jews missing  12 who live near the Syrian border and two who live in southern Turkey. All contact has been lost with them and they making extensive efforts to locate them.

Rav Pinchas Goldschmidt, president of the Conference of Rabbis of Europe, stated in response to the disaster: A terrible disaster occurred today on European soil and we all pray and hope that all the missing will be found safe and sound. We are anxiously following the situation of the Jewish community and are sending reinforcements and prayers for their safety.

(YWN Israel Desk  Jerusalem)




Magen David Adom (MDA), Israels national EMS organization, and Hatzolah Air, an American aviation organization that provides emergency medical air transport, have formed a partnership that will put MDAs flight paramedics aboard Hatzolah Air and MDA Medevac helicopters to provide medical evacuations in Israel.

Hatzolah Air, headquartered in New York, operates a fleet of Medevac aircraft and receives dozens of requests each month for aviation rescues in the US, Israel and many other countries globally. Hatzolah Air is not in any way affiliated with the similarly named United Hatzalah, which is a separate and unrelated organization.

This partnership will ensure that seriously injured and critically ill Israelis who find themselves far from medical facilities will get the lifesaving care they need, said Eli Bin, director-general of Magen David Adom. And it is another connection between MDA and the American Hatzolah movement, strengthening the cooperative relationship weve long had.

The relationship between MDA and Hatzolah goes back decades, said Eli Rowe, president of Hatzolah Air. When Israel has been under rocket attack or reeling from terrorist bombings, Hatzolah Divisions from across America sent teams of doctors, paramedics, and EMTs to provide Israel with additional resources in their hour of need.

Likewise, MDA regularly provides American and International Hatzolah members with high-level training conducted in the U.S. and Israel and, more recently, has made its cutting-edge dispatch technology available to its American counterparts.

MDA provides Medevac flights out of Tiberius in Israels north and near Beer Sheva in the south, providing nationwide coverage for people critically ill and injured and far from hospitals or the specialized medical care their conditions require. Ever since MDA established Medevac services in Israel more than 15 years ago, it contracted with Lahak Aviation to provide the helicopters and pilots, while medical crews consist of MDA paramedics. The contract with Lahak expires in March.

This new initiative will take effect before the contract with Lahak expires, providing a brief overlap to ensure continuous and uninterrupted Medevac services. Under the agreement, pilots will be provided by Israel-based Brook Aviation and all medical crews will consist of MDA paramedics, as has been the case since the programs formation.

Previously, we have successfully partnered with Hatzolah Air on medical evacuations, said MDAs Eli Bin. This has included single patients and, in the case of our recent work transporting Ukrainians to Israel, many injured refugees, patients, and Holocaust survivors. We look forward to Hatzolah Air upgrading and expanding MDAs airborne medical evacuation capabilities.

As an organization exclusively dedicated to providing emergency medical flights, using both helicopters and jets, Hatzolah Airs partnership with MDA provides the organizations with the potential for expanded medical flight services, including transporting patients to or from Israel for specialized surgeries and providing international relief flights in times of natural disasters.

Strengthening the partnership between Hatzolah Air  and all the Hatzolah chapters  is ultimately all about achieving one goal, Hatzolah Airs Rowe said. Its about saving more lives.
Crypto companies marketing their services in the UK have been told to prepare for changes to advertising rules, with the risk of up to two years in prison for those who breach them.

The Financial Conduct Authority said that while the final rules for cryptoasset promotions have not yet been published, it would take the same approach for the advertising of other high-risk investments.

This would mean firms being required to make their promotions 'clear, fair and not misleading', and use specific risk warnings. Customers should also be offered a 24-hour cooling off period to reconsider their purchases.

Crypto regulation: The FCA said the new ad rules will apply to all firms targeting UK consumers

'This regime will apply to all firms marketing cryptoassets to UK consumers regardless of whether the firm is based overseas or what technology is used to make the promotion,' the watchdog said today.

The FCA has also outlined who will get to approve crypto ads - at the moment, advertising by crypto companies must be approved by a firm with full FCA authorisation.

But after plans unveiled by the Government last week, not yet implemented, companies which are registered with the FCA under its anti-money laundering regime will also be allowed to issue their own promotions in the UK.

This arrangement will stay in place until new crypto regulation is introduced, which is expected sometime in 2024.

'Promotions that are not made using one of these routes will be in breach of section 21 of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (FSMA), which is a criminal offence punishable by up to two years imprisonment,' the FCA said.

The watchdog will also be given supervision and enforcement powers over crypto firms that comply with its anti-money laundering rules.

It said: 'We will take robust action where we see firms promoting cryptoassets to UK consumers in breach of the requirements of the financial promotions regime.

'This may include, but it is not limited to, take downs of websites that are in breach, issuing public warnings and enforcement action.'

The FCA stressed that cryptoassets remained high risk, as highlighted by the failure of FTX, one of the world's biggest digital asset exchanges.

'We have repeatedly warned that consumers should be prepared to lose all of their money if they buy cryptoassets,' it said.

'Cryptoasset businesses marketing to UK consumers, including firms based overseas, must get ready for this regime.

'Acting now will help ensure they can continue to legally promote to UK consumers.

'We encourage firms to take all necessary advice as part of their preparations.'

The FCA's warning comes a week after much-anticipated regulatory plans published by the Treasury.

Under the plans, it could become mandatory for crypto firms seeking to do business in the UK to be authorised by the FCA.

Currently, firms have to apply for FCA registration under its anti-money laundering regime - but the vast majority of them fail basic checks needed to operate, recent figures have shown.

Around 85 per cent of companies that applied to the FCA to register were 'unable' to meet the minimum standards required, including measures to combat money laundering and terrorist financing.
Growth: During Murray's chairmanship of Sosandar, the firm became one of the UK's fastest-growing fashion brands

Fashion brand Sosandar has paid tribute to its chairman Bill Murray, who has died aged 58.

Murray had been non-executive chairman of the womenswear brand since January 2016, having first begun working with the company two years previously.

He helped founders Ali Hall and Julie Lavington 'with fundraising and numerous aspects of bringing the business to life' after the pair quit their jobs at the fashion magazine Look, according to Sosandar's website.

During his tenure, the firm went from selling less than 100 garments out of Hall's spare room to becoming one of the UK's fastest-growing fashion brands, with nearly 30million in annual sales.

Primarily aimed at the over-30s market, the retailer counts television presenters Holly Willoughby, Fearne Cotton, Susanna Reid and Britain's Got Talent judge Amanda Holden among its celebrity customers.

Revenues received a further boost from the group forging partnerships with some of Britain's most famous retailers, including Next, John Lewis, and Marks & Spencer.

Sainsbury's also recently reached an agreement to stock a number of Sosandar's curated collections, initially on a digital-only basis, before being sold in some outlets later this year.

The Wilmslow-based company revealed record sales of 11.6million and its fifth successive quarter of profitability for the three months ending December, following strong demand for higher-priced items.

It noted that all product categories sold well, but there was particularly strong demand for partywear coats and formal tailoring during the Christmas season.

In a statement to investors, Hall and Lavington said that Murray had 'left a lasting legacy to the business, and his dedication and commitment to the success and growth of Sosandar will be deeply missed'.

The founders added: 'Our thoughts and condolences to Bill's family and loved ones during this terribly difficult and sad time.'

As well as being chairman of Sosandar, Murray held the same role at the Hollins Murray Group, a commercial property business based in Cheshire that his great-grandfather founded.

He was also a director at Paragraph Publishing, whose portfolio includes magazines centred on the drinks, travel and hospitality industries, software firm TrackBack, and the UK Online Management trade body.

Prior to those appointments, he spent more than two decades at Haymarket Media Group, the owner of What Car? and Autocar magazines, where he rose to become managing director of the publisher's digital businesses.
It's no secret that destructive wildfires have proliferated across the West in recent years.

But new research shows the number of structures destroyed by wildfires has grown significantly more than fires themselves have increased  and humans are to blame.

In the Western U.S., 30% more land burned in wildfires in the 11 years from 2010 to 2020 than burned in the previous 11 years, 19992009. But between those same two periods, the number of structures burned by wildfires increased nearly 250%. So, while wildfires burned somewhat more land, they burned a whole lot more homes and outbuildings. That meant that the structure-loss rate, or the average of how many structures were lost per area burned, increased from 1.3 structures per 4 square miles burned to 3.4 structures per 4 square miles burned. That outpaced not just the increase in wildfires in the West, but also the 40% increase in homes.

Human-caused fires drove the accelerated destruction of property: Three-quarters of the fires that destroyed structures were started by humans.

The revelation was the product of a study published Wednesday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science-Nexus. University of Montana Professor of Fire Ecology Philip Higuera was the lead author. The study was the result of Higuera's visiting fellowship at the University of Colorado Boulder. CU Professor Jennifer Balch, doctoral student Maxwell Cook and Director of Earth Lab Analytics Hub Natasha Stavros co-authored the study.

In a phone call Friday, Higuera said the team zeroed in on the changing rate of property destruction because structure loss is one of the "most acute" ways in which wildfires hurt humans: "We are seeing increasingly negative impacts on humans. Wildfires are increasingly causing human suffering."

He said the team knew from previous work that most structures burned in wildfires are lost to fires started by humans. But they wanted to understand how the phenomenon varied regionally, such as by state. And they wanted to see if there was a detectable trend from one decade to the next.

The study looked at 15,001 western U.S. wildfires from 1999 through 2020. In that time, the team found, 62% of all structures lost were burned in three exceptionally brutal years for destructive wildfires in the West: 2017, 2018 and 2020. And one state  California  accounted for 77% of the 85,014 structures burned in those 22 years.

"It's dominated by California, but it's not just California," Higuera said. "The direction that every western state was going in all points the same way," of increased structure loss. "Those are some sobering findings that I think should be alarming to us and they should help motivate us to be proactive and acknowledge that, with growth and expansion, we need to be very conscious of the flammability of the environment that we live in and the fact that that is increasing as climate is changing."

Only New Mexico and Arizona saw decreases in the number of structures lost per area burned. States with high percentages of undeveloped or public lands and relatively small populations  like Montana, Wyoming and Idaho  accounted for significantly smaller portions of structure losses.

Although structure losses in Montana increased alongside other Western states, the growth was not as dramatic. In Montana, the number of structures lost to wildfire increased 36% between the two spans of time in the study. The structure-loss rate  the number of structures lost per area burned  in Montana increased 44%. While less than some other states' increases, Higuera said it was still significant.

"We do live in a state still where only 11% of the fires resulted in home and structure loss," he said. "The majority of fires do not destroy homes and structures. That's even more true in Montana."

Human causes, solutions

Across the West, only 12% of fires burned structures, the study found. The team determined that was at least partly because lightning-caused fires, which often occur in remote areas with few or no structures, accounted for 65% of the area burned.

But 76% of structures burned were destroyed in human-caused fires. The increase in structure losses corresponded with a 51% increase in human caused wildfires between 19992009 and 20102020. Human-caused fires often occur around developed areas, and on average destroy more than 10 times the number of structures per square mile burned than lightning-caused fires.

Because most structures are burned in human-caused fires, Higuera said, "it really misguides us" to think of wildfire only in terms of overall acres burned. In terms of impacts to structures, a more telling measurement is the acres burned by human-caused fires, because those are the fires most likely to destroy structures.

Climate change plays a role, too, the team found, by extending fire season in the West well beyond early fall. As the West warms and dries, arid and windy conditions ripe for wildfire can now last through December and begin earlier in spring. That means that more times of the year without lightning now offer conditions primed for human-caused wildfire.

But because most structures are destroyed in an increasing number of human-caused fires, Higuera said, humans have the ability to affect the trend the team discovered.

"The flip-side of that is that gives us a big lever we can change pretty immediately, or at least quicker," he said. "We need to mitigate climate change, but it's not like that's going to happen in five years."

Solutions could include more careful planning around development in fire-prone landscape, the team advised, and improvements to structures' fire resistance. Improving landscape resilience to severe wildfire could also help, particularly around development. And people need to be more conscious throughout the year of activities that can start wildfires.

"It is amplifying Smokey Bear's message," Higuera said. "The key message of this age, is we need to not be thinking about Smokey Bear just in the summer."
North Dakota will receive nearly $425,000 in a multistate settlement with the cryptocurrency platform Nexo Capital Inc., which was accused of selling unregistered securities.

Nexo has agreed to pay a $22.5 million fine to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and $22.5 million in fines to states and U.S. territories to settle charges that the firm failed to register its crypto asset lending product.

Nexo offerend and sold its Earn Interest Product to more than 93,000 investors in the U.S., totaling more than $800 million. There were 169 accounts in North Dakota, totaling $770,000, according to the state Securities Department.

Nexo is alleged to have failed to comply with state securities registration requirements and, as a result, investors were sold unregistered securities in violation of state law and were deprived of critical information necessary to understand the potential risks of the EIP, according to the Securities Department.

While new technology may alter the form of a financial instrument or transaction, it does not necessarily alter the substance," Securities Commissioner Karen Tyler said in a statement. "Digital asset intermediaries engaging in securities transactions need to come into compliance with the existing laws and regulations designed to protect investors who put their assets at risk.

The $22.5 million is being divided equally among the 53 states and territories. North Dakota will deposit its portion into the Investor Education and Technology Fund maintained by the Securities Department.
Ukraine sowed confusion on Monday about whether its defence minister would be replaced, creating doubts about the leadership of its war effort just as it braces for an expected Russian offensive.

The questions over Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov were the first public sign of serious disarray in Ukraines wartime leadership.

A day after announcing that Reznikov would be sidelined, a top ally of President Volodymyr Zelenskiy appeared to row back, saying no changes would be made this week.

David Arakhamia, chief of the parliamentary bloc of Zelenskiys party, had said the 37-year-old head of military intelligence, Kyrylo Budanov, would replace Reznikov, who would become minister of strategic industries.

But Zelenskiy remained silent, while Reznikov said on Sunday he had heard nothing.

The confusion caps a two-week crackdown on alleged official wrongdoing, Ukraines biggest political and administrative shakeup since Russia invaded a year ago.

Central and regional officials were fired or quit, security forces raided a billionaires home and investigations were launched into suspected fraud at the main oil company and refinery. The Defence Ministry was accused of overpaying for food, although Reznikov was not personally accused of any wrongdoing.

Zelenskiy says he needs to show that Kyiv can be a safe steward of billions of dollars of Western aid. But the moves may risk destabilising a political class that had stood together against Russias invasion.

Meanwhile, Russian forces have been advancing for the first time in six months in relentless battles in the east. A regional governor said Moscow was pouring in reinforcements for a new offensive that could begin next week.

EVERYTHING WILL BE RESOLVED

Ukraine is itself planning a spring offensive, but awaiting delivery of promised longer-range Western missiles and battle tanks.

Some of the Wests support has also come in the form of economic sanctions, and there was a sign that these were hitting Russias foreign revenues just as it raises spending on the war.

The Finance Ministry said vital oil and gas revenues were down 46% from January 2022 because of the discount that Russian crude now trades at on world markets.

While budget revenues for the month were down 35.1%, spending was up 59%, and already more than 10% of the full-year spending plan.

Reznikov, a 56-year-old lawyer, has been the face of Ukraine at international meetings where allies have pledged billions of dollars in arms, and has been warmly received in Western capitals  including Paris just last week.

One obstacle to replacing him with Budanov, a fast-rising officer decorated for operations that remain secret, is a rule requiring the defence minister to be a civilian.

Volodymyr Fesenko at the Penta think tank said he expected Budanov to quit the military, while Reznikov could be given a post of special envoy, making use of his stature abroad.

Everything will be resolved, Fesenko told Reuters.

Ukraines defence ministry did not respond to a request for comment and Reuters could not immediately reach Reznikov or Budanov.

In announcing plans for the change, Arakhamia said Ukraines armed forces should be overseen in wartime by people with a background in defence or security: War dictates changes in personnel policy, he wrote on the Telegram messaging app.

But Zelenskiy adviser Mykhailo Podolyak said Reznikov had been extremely efficient in terms of communication with our partners.

He called on national television for an end to the speculation: The president will make the decision, this decision will then be discussed at various levels then it will be officially communicated.

Reznikov said on Sunday that any decision was up to Zelenskiy but that he had heard nothing about a transfer. He said he would reject the strategic industry job because he lacked the expertise.

OFFENSIVE LOOMS

The war is reaching a pivotal point as its first anniversary approaches, with Ukraine no longer making gains as it did in the second half of 2022 and Russia pushing forward with hundreds of thousands of mobilised reserve troops.

Serhiy Haidai, governor of the eastern Luhansk region, said on television that shelling was no longer round-the-clock as Russian forces sent in reserves and equipment to prepare for a full-scale offensive.

After Feb. 15 we can expect (this offensive) at any time, he said.

Russia said its forces had captured Mykolaivka, a village in the adjoining Donetsk region.

There was no immediate response from Ukraine, which has disputed other Russian battlefield reports.

Russias main target has been Bakhmut, where its state media said the Wagner mercenary group had gained a foothold.

Wagner chief Yevgeniy Prigozhin, accused by Ukraine of sending thousands of Russian ex-prisoners to their deaths around Bakhmut, released a video purportedly showing him in a tactical bomber that had just struck the town. He said he would fly a fighter on Tuesday and challenged Zelenskiy to an aerial duel.

Source: Reuters
Deltapath Intros SMS Business Texting Solution

Business communications via chat is increasing as a preferred method of contact for both customers and business users. While most are using text and chat more regularly it also saves time and creates a way to increase reach and engagement.

UC company Deltapath is focused on helping organizations to better communicate and recently announced its Deltapath Business Texting solution. The SMS offering helps improve targeted business experiences and offers things like 1-on-1 group texting for consumers, partners, suppliers and other businesses.

The texting solution is currently available to Deltapath UCaaS customers in the U.S. and Canada and the company plans to launch the service in other parts of the world in the near future.

Commenting on the latest release and the importance of making this channel available to businesses, David Liu, CEO, and founder of Deltapath said, "In the business world, interactions with external parties are typically limited to email, phone calls, and scheduled conferences. However, statistics clearly show that there is another business channel out there that is underutilized. It is an easy and convenient channel for everyone, and consumers want businesses to use it to communicate with them.

Many businesses are already offering the option for consumers to use text messages to contact them, but there are still many looking for a reason to add another channel. And with the proliferation and worldwide use of mobile devices today its a no brainer. In 2022, there were 8.39B mobile phone subscriptions across the world and many consumers have already said theyd prefer to text businesses if the option exists.

With the new Deltapath Business Texting solution, customers will reach out to the company via a dedicated business phone number.

Business users are able to reply to the conversations via a desktop computer or continue the conversation on a mobile device using the Deltapath Switchboard and the Deltapath Mobile app without any hiccups on the recipient's end.

Deltapath Business Texting  SMS gives businesses access to a larger audience and helps them transform how they communicate. For example, businesses can share important news with customers over texts or move a project forward faster by getting people together from different companies in a group chat," said Liu.

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Edited by Greg Tavarez
[February 05, 2023] Majority of Cambridge Research Papers Now Open Access

Over 50 percent of Cambridge University Press research articles are now published open access (OA) and so freely available to read. Having passed the 50 percent threshold for last year - approximately 10,000 papers being fully open - Cambridge University Press is aiming for the vast majority of its research papers to be published fully open access by 2025. OA research has a significantly higher readership and impact. Such articles published by Cambridge alone - and freely available online via Cambridge Core - receive about 3.5 times more full text views and on average 1.6 times more citations. Under traditional subscription models, readers, or their institutions, pay to access research. Transformative agreements for thousands of institutions Cambridge, the world's oldest academic press, has signed transformative agreements covering 2,000 institutions worldwide: enabling researchers at those universities and research institutes to publish open research at no additional cost. Cambridge hitting this open access milestone is especially remarkable, as about 60 percent of its research publications are in the humanities and social sciences - fields where research funding constraints have historically held back open research adoption, relative to science, technology and medicine. Cambridge open access papers meet the highest standards, undergoing thorough peer review, before becoming permanently available for anyone to read and use. Over 400 Cambridge journals offr open access options to publishers; 66 with fully open access and 340 hybrid.



Mandy Hill, Managing Director, Academic at Cambridge University Press & Assessment, said: "Two years ago, we set a bold ambition to transition our research publishing to open access by 2025 and this is a major milestone towards that goal. As an academic publisher we are committed to maximising the dissemination and impact of high-quality research and open access is a sustainable route to support that mission. "That's why we will not stop at half of our journal papers being open access: we are working to make the vast majority of such research fully open by 2025.

"Transformative agreements have provided an important route towards open access for all authors, irrespective of their funding. We are building on this momentum to exploring a range of business models to take us beyond the Transformative Agreement and establish innovations to ensure the world's academics, students and citizens can enjoy open access in a sustainable manner." Sustainable and open Cambridge has adopted, and in some cases pioneered, financial models to make open research sustainable. In the United States alone, Cambridge signed more than 300 such agreements within the last two years, including with the University of California, the world's leading public research university system. The publisher has developed its own open research platform, Cambridge Open Engage, to accelerate dissemination and collaboration. This has led to a partnership with ChemRxiv, as well as major conferences like Climate Exp0 and has extended our existing relationship with the American Political Science Association (APSA). The open approach is bolstered by Cambridge Prisms, a series of fully open access journals that map out and build connections in cross-disciplinary subject areas to address real-world challenges. Coastal Futures, Precision Medicine, Global Mental Health and Extinction launched in January 2023, with Plastics and Water set to launch in early summer. Beyond journal papers, Cambridge is experimenting with new models to publish open research monographs, such as Flip it Open, which makes the most popular books freely available online once they have met a revenue threshold. -ends- View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230205005004/en/

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[February 05, 2023] Otis selects EVCo to convert its Singapore service fleet to electric vehicles

An initial group of vehicles have been converted to Electric Vehicles (EVs) and Otis Singapore plans to convert its full fleet of vehicles to electric vehicles by 2024.

As part of its global Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) goals, Otis has committed to reduce its Scope 1 and Scope 2 Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions by 50% globally by 2030. SINGAPORE, Feb. 6, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- As part of its commitment to environmental sustainability, Otis (NYSE: OTIS), the world's leading company for elevator and escalator manufacturing, installation, and service, has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding with EVCo to convert Otis fleet vehicles in Singapore to Electric Vehicles. "As a manufacturer and service provider for building equipment and technology globally, Otis is always exploring ways to develop more sustainable solutions that the world needs," said Grant Mooney, Managing Director, Otis Southeast Asia. "These electric vehicles will provide a more sustainable way for our service professionals to get to and from customer sites as they keep passengers on the move. It is our honor to work with EVCo, a pioneer in end-to-end electric-Mobility-as-a-Service solutions, because they share our vision for a more sustainable future through greener technology." To date, an initial group of vehicles under Otis subsidiary brands Sigma and 9G have been converted to EVs. Otis Singapore plans to convert its entire fleet to electric vehicles by 2024. Both parties will also work together to build a digital operations platform allowing users to achieve effective operations through route optimization and preventive maintenance of the vehicles. "EVCo is committed to supporting customers with their vehicle electrification journey and decarbonization goals  from the assessment of fleet mobility needs and provision of cost-effective electric vehices to the seamless integration of data-driven operating systems," shared Fuji Foo, Managing Director, EVCo. "We are delighted to collaborate with Otis as we contribute to a greener and more sustainable land transport sector in Singapore."



Under the agreement, both parties will also work together to build a digital operations platform allowing users to utilize data and achieve effective operations through route optimization and preventive maintenance of the vehicles. In addition, to demonstrate its support for Singapore's Electric Vehicle Campaign 'Power EVery Move', Otis has included the campaign logo on its fleet of vehicles. Launched by the Land Transport Authority in 2022, the EV campaign aims to support Singapore's 2030 Green Plan by raising awareness of EVs and their benefits to owners and the environment, and how we can adopt responsible and gracious sharing practices of charging infrastructure.

This effort in Singapore is part of a global initiative by Otis to reduce emissions from its fleet, and joins similar projects in Europe and North America. In addition to integrating electric and hybrid vehicles into its fleet, Otis is committed to various initiatives to reduce its environmental footprint as part of the company's global ESG goals. These include Environment & Impact goals to: Reduce Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions by 50% by 2030

Reach carbon neutrality for factory electricity by 2030

Achieve 100% factory eligibility for zero-waste-to-landfill certification by 2025

Achieve ISO 14001 certification for all factories by 2025, which has been accomplished Otis also aims to reduce the lifecycle environmental impacts of our products through innovation. Our Gen2 elevator, now standard with the ReGen drive, is up to 75% more efficient than conventional systems without regenerative drives. To learn more about ESG at Otis, visit https://www.otis.com/en/sg/our-company/esg. About Otis Otis gives people freedom to connect and thrive in a taller, faster, smarter world. The global leader in the manufacture, installation and servicing of elevators and escalators, we move more than 2 billion people a day and maintain more than 2.2 million customer units worldwide  the industry's largest Service portfolio. You'll find us in the world's most iconic structures, as well as residential and commercial buildings, transportation hubs and everywhere people are on the move. Headquartered in Connecticut, USA, Otis is 69,000 people strong, including 41,000 field professionals, all committed to meeting the diverse needs of our customers and passengers in more than 200 countries and territories. To learn more, visit www.otis.com and follow us on LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook and Twitter @OtisElevatorCo. SOURCE Otis Elevator

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[February 06, 2023] HTPE invests in Jiangsu Shekoy, a Subsidiary of Yoke Technology

WUXI, China, Feb. 6, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Huatai International Private Equity Fund ("HTPE"), the Greater China focused private equity investment platform under Huatai Securities, is pleased to announce that it completed investment in Jiangsu Shekoy Semiconductor New Material Co. Ltd. ("Jiangsu Shekoy" or the "Company"). The total financing amount of this round reaches RMB 1.745 billion. This investment is another milestone for HTPE in semiconductor industry, demonstrating its confidence in the growth potential of China's semiconductor enterprises. Jiangsu Shekoy is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Jiangsu Yoke Technology (002409.SZ). Since its establishment, the Company focuses on manufacturing advanced semiconductor materials, such as precursors, photoresist, and supporting reagents. Its customers include top semiconductor and display panel manufacturers around the globe. This new investment is supported by a group of top industrial and strategic investors to help further improve the Company's competitiveness and expand local production capacity. Jiangsu Shekoy is poised to become one of the leading semiconductor precursors and panel photoresists supplier in China. Yang Lei, Manging Partner of HTPE, commented:" Semiconductor is one of our key focuses among all technology-related sectors. After investing in the midstream and downstream within semiconductor industry, we strategically make further investment in semiconductor materials, one of the core elements in upstream supply chain. This expands HTPE's footprints in semiconductor sector and contribute to the development of China's high-tech industry.



Equipped with top international management team and technical experts, Jiangsu Shekoy has attained extensive experiences in the industry as well as a solid customer base. We believe it will pioneer in this exciting space. Going forward, HTPE will continue to facilitate the development of China's semiconductor sector both horizontally and vertically, further integrate its value chain, and contribute to the industry ecosystem upgrading." About Jiangsu Shekoy

Established in July 2016, Jiangsu Shekoy is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Jiangsu Yoke Technology (002409.SZ), which specializes in manufacturing semiconductor precursors, SOD, display photoresistsm etc. Through internal R&D upgrade and external M&A activities, Jiangsu Shekoy has been achieving technological breakthroughs and improving its product lines. About HTPE Huatai International Private Equity Fund ("HTPE") is a USD private equity fund under Huatai Securities, one of China's largest financial conglomerates. HTPE is focused on mid-to late-stage significant minority growth equity and mid-market buyout investment opportunities in China and beyond, covering healthcare, semiconductor, hard tech, TMT, and consumer sector. The core investment team is comprised of investment veterans with more than ten years of experience in private equity and capital markets. Leveraging on Huatai's solid platforms and networks in China and worldwide, HTPE utilizes a unique multi-pronged strategy and integrates its global best practice, broad know-how, deep industry understanding, as well as comprehensive local expertise and experience to capture high growth potential across a variety of sectors, to identify and work with top-notch companies with promising capabilities at different stages. Contact us: [email protected] SOURCE Huatai International Private Equity Fund (HTPE)

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[February 06, 2023]

Skanska builds integrated science center in Virginia, USA, for USD 79.5M, about SEK 830M

STOCKHOLM, Feb. 6, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Skanska has signed a contract with the College of William and Mary to build a science center in Williamsburg, Virginia, USA. The contract is worth USD 79.5M, about SEK 830M, which will be included in the US order bookings for the first quarter of 2023.

The project includes construction of a new 38,000 square meter cutting-edge multi-function teaching and research facility and renovation of the existing 3,000 square meter science center.

The project will accommodate Mathematics, Computer Science, Kinesiology and the new Design and Engineering undergraduate program. The science programs will be in conjoined space to promote Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) initiatives in the state-of-the-art laboratories and teachings spaces designed for instruction and research.

Construction begins February 2023 and is slated for completion July 2025.

For further information please contact:



Ashley Jeffery,

Communications Manager,

Skanska Building USA,

tel +1 (813) 459 3682



Matti Kataja,

Acting Head of Media Relations and Public Affairs,

Skanska AB,

tel +46 (0)10 449 67 98



Direct line for media, tel +46 (0)10 448 88 99

This and previous releases can also be found at www.skanska.com.

The following files are available for download:









https://mb.cision.com/Main/95/3708823/1825529.pdf 20230206 US Science Center



View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/skanska-builds-integrated-science-center-in-virginia-usa-for-usd-79-5m-about-sek-830m-301739119.html

SOURCE Skanska
[February 06, 2023] SYNTAGMA CAPITAL enters into exclusive negotiations to acquire Nexans' LAN/data center ("LAN/DC") and Telecom /Fibre ("FTTx") division.

Syntagma Capital today announces that it has entered into exclusive negotiations with Nexans SA to acquire its LAN/data center ("LAN/DC") and Telecom /Fibre ("FTTx") division. The business designs, manufactures, and distributes smart connectivity solutions based on optical fibre and copper technologies to data centers, smart buildings, and telecom operators. The business is headquartered in Paris, France and employs ca. 680 people across its 8 sites located in France, Belgium, Germany, Greece, Morocco and China, and it generated ca. 200m in revenues across 100+ countries. The proposed transaction, which is subject to the fulfillment of customary closing conditions, including the information and consultation of works councils and other regulatory approvals, is expected to be completed by the end of the first half of 2023. "We are pleased to partner with management to continue to grow the business. Providing the backbone for data management is an exciting prospect. Despite a challenging M&A market, we are continuing to find attractive opportunities to invest our capital while providing sellers with divestiture solutions for complex carve outs where speed and certainty are of the essence. This transaction represents our most recent carve out and reflects Syntagma's strategy to acquire businesses that will benefit from a new owner to drive the next area of growth" said Syntagma Managing Partner Sebastien Kiekert Le Moult. Christopher Guerin, Chief Executive Officer of Nexans declared: "We are pleased that our Telecom Systems colleagues will join a strategic new home with Syntagma Capital to further invest and grow the business. This powerful combination will deliver meaningful opportunities to employees and customers. I would like to thank the teams for the excellent work they have done in the past, and I am confident in their future development." "Syntagma's ability to manage complex arve out was critical in differentiating us. The business provides significant opportunities to grow in the coming years" said Syntagma Partner Frank Coenen. "We expect to leverage the company's extensive technical know-how, global presence and strong customer relationships, to accelerate its growth, both organically and through targeted M&A investments in key product areas and geographies."



Syntagma's team involved in the transaction included Sebastien Kiekert Le Moult (Managing Partner), Frank Coenen (Partner), Benjamin Dahan (Partner), Joao Pilecco (Senior Vice President), and Ludovic Ruffenach (Senior Associate). Willkie Farr & Gallagher provided legal counsel to Syntagma, PwC provided financial, legal, tax, and social advice, Roland Berger provided commercial and strategy support, and ERM advised on ESG and EHS matters.

About Syntagma Capital Syntagma invests in companies that can benefit from hands-on operational expertise to accelerate growth and improve performance for all stakeholders. We are true operators with experience working in and managing companies on a global scale, leveraging our in-house resources to develop successful strategies, execute them to realize their full potential and create sustainable long-term value. Syntagma invests and operates companies in a broad range of industries with a specific focus on the material, chemical, industrial and business services markets and including manufacturing, distribution, transportation and logistics, equipment rental, metals services and other industries. Syntagma, as signatory of the UN PRI, is committed to high ESG standards across all its investments and is based in Brussels, Belgium. For more information, please visit: https://syntagmacapital.com About Nexans For more than a century, Nexans has played a crucial role in electrifying the planet and is committed to electrifying the future. With almost 25,000 staff in 42 countries, the Group is driving the change towards the new world of electrification: a safer, more sustainable, renewable, carbon-free world, accessible to all. In 2021, Nexans generated 6.1 billion in standard sales. The Group is a leader in the design and manufacture of cable systems and services in five main areas of activity: Energy Production & Transmission, Distribution, Uses, Industry & Solutions and Telecom & Data. Nexans was the first player in its industry to create a Corporate Foundation to support actions that promote access to energy for disadvantaged populations worldwide. The Group is committed to helping achieve carbon neutrality by 2030. Nexans. Electrify the future. Nexans is listed on the Euronext Paris stock market, compartment A.

For more information, please visit www.nexans.com View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230205005028/en/

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Rep. Bernie Satrom lets out a hearty "gee whiz" when informed he's among lawmakers who have brought the most bills this legislative session.

"What happens is, once I leave Bismarck at the end of the session, as things come up and as I have discussions with people ... and I have ideas, I have them drafted and then when I show up in Bismarck, I've got a pile of them," said Satrom, R-Jamestown.

He and Rep. Ben Koppelman, R-West Fargo, have brought the most bills in the House of Representatives, at 15 apiece.

Sen. Jeff Magrum, R-Hazelton, has brought the most Senate bills, at 25.

Lawmakers have introduced 929 bills this session; the 1987 Legislature's 1,249 bills is the modern-day record.

Magrum said much of his legislation comes from constituents, "and it's hard to say no." He has multiple bills on topics such as carbon dioxide pipelines, private property rights, election procedures and vaccines.

"We're taking on a lot of big issues," said Magrum, a first-term senator who served in the House from 2016-22. "I'm willing to take them on because sometimes you have to have a pretty thick skin to take some of these issues on, and I guess I feel like I can handle the job, so I'm ready to do it."

Satrom, first elected in 2016, said his bills address everything from the State Investment Board to artificial insemination without consent to renaming bridges in honor of veterans.

Koppelman, who's served a decade in the House, quipped he's "on the down trend," having introduced 17 bills in 2021, though he usually introduces more than 10. He said he aims for his bills to be "divided into an idea that can be easily digested," citing his various gun bills this session.

"Just trying to make bills in bite-size pieces that are easy to digest and have a better chance of passing," Koppelman said.

He's also introduced bills that would restrict transgender athletes in K-12 and college sports, and to raise the interstate highway speed limit to 80 mph.

Satrom said he felt a sense of urgency due to new term limits approved by voters last year, that "If there was anything I wanted to do, I need to do it now." He actually had more bills drafted than the 15 he introduced, many of those from constituents.

Scheduling isn't always easy for them. Satrom said he had three bills scheduled for the same time one day, a "tricky" situation.

Koppelman said he had a slight conflict on a day he had six bill hearings, but a committee chairman rearranged the schedule for him.

Magrum said a number of his bills have "gratefully" been heard before committees on which he sits. He said he also taps bill co-sponsors to fill in and help the legislation through committees.

"I ask them, first thing, 'Are you going to help me if I do this bill? Don't leave me hanging, I'm not a one-man show,'" Magrum said.
[February 06, 2023] Dechert Welcomes International Team of Preeminent Antitrust Practitioners

LONDON, Feb. 6, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Dechert LLP announced today that an elite team of antitrust practitioners is joining the firm, including partners John A. ("Jay") Jurata, Jr. (Washington, D.C.), Russell Cohen (San Francisco) and Douglas Lahnborg (London). "Jay, Russ and Douglas's experience representing sophisticated technology companies in their most challenging antitrust matters, not only in the U.S. but also in the UK and EU, is unparalleled. Leading companies around the world look to them to overcome antitrust challenges," said Steven Bizar, co-chair of Dechert's antitrust/competition practice. "We are absolutely thrilled they are joining Dechert." Mr. Jurata is widely acknowledged as a preeminent litigator whose practice focuses on technology platforms and issues at the intersection of antitrust and IP. Recognized by Chambers USA as a leading antitrust litigator, he represents key players in the technology industry. A 1992 cum laude graduate of Villanova University, Mr. Jurata spent seven years as a Surface Warfare Officer in the U.S. Navy. He attended the University of San Diego School of Law, where he served as the Editor-in-Chief of the San Diego Law Review and graduated summa cum laude as the valedictorian in 2000. Mr. Jurata was the head of the antitrust and competition group at his former firm. Mr. Cohen will be joining the firm's antitrust practice in San Francisco, California. An experienced litigator, he represents leading high-tech companies in antitrust and unfair competition disputes. Mr. Cohen also maintains an active commercial litigation practice handling complex disputes for Silicon Valley and other technology industry companies, often in the funds space. He has been recommended as a top civil litigation/class action defense lawyer by The Legal 500. Mr. Cohen is a 1990 graduate of McGill University and 1995 graduate of Osgoode Hall Law School. Beyond the strength he brings to the global antitrust team, Mr. Cohen's addition highlights Dechert's commitment to the strategic growth of its interdisciplinary corporate, litigation, and financial services capabilities in Clifornia, as he is the seventh partner to join its San Francisco office in the past year and a half.



Mr. Lahnborg often represents global technology companies in cross-border matters before the European Commission and the UK Competition and Markets Authority. His practice spans merger control, abuse of dominance and private damages actions. Also frequently working alongside Mr. Jurata, he has been recognized as a leading antitrust and competition practitioner by Chambers Europe, IFLR, Who's Who Legal and The Legal 500 UK. Mr. Lahnborg received an LL.M. from Stockholm University in 1996 and an LL.M. from the London School of Economics and Political Sciences in 1997. At his former firm, Mr. Lahnborg founded the Brussels office and served as head of the London office. Mike Cowie, co-chair of Dechert's antitrust/competition practice, said: "We are extremely pleased to welcome Jay, Russ and Douglas, particularly at a time when antitrust activity in the high-tech industry continues to increase globally. The expanded antitrust capabilities this team brings to our Washington D.C., San Francisco and London offices will be an enormous asset for industry leaders and for the firm."

Jay Jurata said: "Dechert's antitrust group has secured win after win at trial and before enforcement authorities in the U.S. and the EU. We look forward to building on these successes and capitalizing on the many synergies between our own work and theirs. Dechert's strategic posture and plans toward the technology industry offer strong opportunities for our practice. I am excited to be joining a firm where I can practice alongside so many talented lawyers I know and deeply respect." Russ Cohen said: "I am thrilled to join Dechert, with its trial expertise both inside and outside of antitrust. I am also excited to be part of Dechert's growing California presence, where I will have the ability to nurture and grow our technology clients." Douglas Lahnborg said: "Dechert has a premier transatlantic antitrust practice; its platform will strengthen our global relationships with our clients. While I will be focused on expanding Dechert's antitrust capabilities on the ground in the UK and in Brussels, I have been deeply impressed by the accomplishments of my future colleagues in both Europe and the U.S., and I am eager to collaborate with them." Dechert's international antitrust/competition practice is known for innovative antitrust advice in the U.S. and Europe and a record of succeeding in the most challenging engagements. Recent wins include a landmark jury verdict for Endo Pharmaceuticals, Inc. following a three-week federal trial and obtaining a highly favorable resolution for Marriott International, Inc. that included a public apology from the plaintiff, following five days of a jury trial. The dedicated 42-member team, with offices in Brussels, Frankfurt, London, New York, Paris, Philadelphia, San Francisco and Washington D.C., is also known for DAMITT (Dechert Antitrust Merger Investigation Timing Tracker), a quarterly report that is a leading source on the duration of merger investigations in the U.S. and the EU, as well as the recently launched Boiling Points collection and counselling program, which provides guidance on assessing when hot documents may interfere with deal progress. About Dechert

Dechert is a leading global law firm with 21 offices around the world. The firm advises on matters and transactions of the greatest complexity, bringing energy, creativity, and efficient management of legal issues to deliver commercial and practical advice for clients. Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1996345/Dechert_Antitrust.jpg Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1675243/Dechert_Logo.jpg View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/dechert-welcomes-international-team-of-preeminent-antitrust-practitioners-301739237.html

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[February 06, 2023] Genius Group to Host Virtual Investor Meeting with CEO Roger Hamilton on February 15th

SINGAPORE, Feb. 06, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Genius Group Limited (NYSE American: GNS) (Genius Group or the Company), a leading entrepreneur edtech and education group, announces that it will host a virtual investor meeting on Wednesday, February 15, 2023, with its Chief Executive Officer, Roger Hamilton.

The virtual meeting will be held as a YouTube Livestream, and will include: An overview of Genius Groups curriculum

A summary of the Companys Metaversity & A.I. development plan

Details of the Companys recently announced spin-off of Entrepreneur Resorts Ltd

Details of the Companys recently announced dual listing on the Upstream Exchange

The process for shareholders to follow to redeem their $10 per share NFT coupons

Further updates on the actions being taken by the Companys Illegal Trading Task Force

An opportunity to answer questions and respond to shareholder enquiries

As part of Genius Groups commitment to a high level of ongoing investor communications, the intention is for this Virtual Investor Meeting to be held on a monthly basis. To ensure all enquiries are answered, all shareholder questions need to be submitted in advance to the email address [email protected] . Livestream Information: Time: Wednesday, February 15, 2023, at 4:15 p.m. EST / 5:15 a.m. SGT Webcast: We will livestream the investor call on YouTube on the following link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YEjFVU-pIG4



An archived replay of the presentation will be available on Genius Groups Investor Relations website and on YouTube on the above link. About Genius Group

Genius Group is a world leading entrepreneur Edtech and education group, with a mission to disrupt the current education model with a student-centered, life-long learning curriculum that prepares students with the leadership, entrepreneurial and life skills to succeed in todays market. The group has a group user base of 4.3 million users in 200 countries, ranging from ages 0 to 100. Investor Notice Investing in our securities involves a high degree of risk. Before making an investment decision, you should carefully consider the risks, uncertainties and forward-looking statements described in our most recent Annual Report on Form 20-F for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2021, filed with the SEC on May 13, 2022. If any of these risks were to occur, our business, financial condition or results of operations would likely suffer. In that event, the value of our securities could decline, and you could lose part or all of your investment. The risks and uncertainties we describe are not the only ones facing us. Additional risks not presently known to us or that we currently deem immaterial may also impair our business operations. In addition, our past financial performance may not be a reliable indicator of future performance, and historical trends should not be used to anticipate results in the future. See "Forward-Looking Statements" below. Forward-Looking Statements Statements made in this press release include forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of words such as may, will, plan, should, expect, anticipate, estimate, continue, or comparable terminology. Such forward-looking statements are inherently subject to certain risks, trends and uncertainties, many of which the Company cannot predict with accuracy and some of which the Company might not even anticipate and involve factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from those projected or suggested. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements and are advised to consider the factors listed above together with the additional factors under the heading Risk Factors in the Company's Annual Reports on Form 20-F, as may be supplemented or amended by the Company's Reports of a Foreign Private Issuer on Form 6-K. The Company assumes no obligation to update or supplement forward-looking statements that become untrue because of subsequent events, new information or otherwise. Contacts Investors:

Flora Hewitt, Vice President of Investor Relations and Mergers and Acquisitions

Email: [email protected] Media Contacts: Adia PR

Email: [email protected] US Investors:

Dave Gentry

RedChip Companies Inc

1-800-RED-CHIP

[email protected]



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[February 06, 2023] Endogena Therapeutics Receives US FDA Fast Track Designation for EA-2353 for the Treatment of Retinitis Pigmentosa

SAN FRANCISCO, TORONTO and ZURICH, Switzerland, Feb. 06, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Endogena Therapeutics Inc., a clinical-stage biotech company focused on the development of endogenous regenerative medicines, announced today that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has designated the investigation of EA-2353 for the treatment of retinitis pigmentosa (RP) as a Fast Track development program. Fast Track is a process designed to enable patients to benefit earlier from important new drugs for serious conditions. EA-2353 takes a novel, small-molecule approach and selectively activates endogenous retinal stem and progenitor cells, which differentiate into photoreceptors and can potentially preserve or restore visual function. This gene-independent treatment approach has significant advantages in RP, which has multiple genetic causes. EA-2353 was granted orphan drug designation by the US FDA in May 2021. RP is a serious and debilitating condition. It consists of a group of inherited diseases causing slow and progressive retinal degeneration and loss of vision, for which there is currently no treatment for most patients. It is a leading cause of inherited blindness, with an estimated 1.5 million people worldwide presently affected. Endogena Therapeutics is currently conducting a phase 1/2a dose-escalation study in collaboration with our lead investigator, Mark Pennesi, MD, PhD, Professor of Ophthalmology at the Casey Eye Institute in Oregon, USA, to examine the safety, tolerability and preliminary efficacy of EA-2353 administered by intravitreal injection in patients with RP (ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT05392751). A total of14 patients with RP due to any pathologic genetic mutation are being recruited across up to six sites in the USA, and the first patient was dosed in July 2022.



This Fast Track designation will enable Endogena Therapeutics to have more frequent communications with the US FDA on the development of EA-2353 and allow more rapid regulatory review of the future new drug application. Matthias Steger, PhD, MBA, CEO of Endogena, said: This acknowledgement by the FDA of the potential of EA-2353 for RP gives hope for patients living with this devastating degenerative disease. It is a significant milestone for our company, our investors, and gives recognition to our dedicated team at Endogena, who have been working for the past six years to reach this point.

Endogenas artificial intelligence-driven drug discovery platform, combined with cutting edge knowledge of molecular pathways that regulate retinal stem cells and retinal pigment epithelial cells, provides a potential new treatment paradigm to tackle degenerative conditions related to aging and genetic disorders. Beyond EA-2353, other products in Endogenas pipeline include a treatment for dry age-related macular degeneration (AMD), which is approaching IND-enabling studies, and earlier programs in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) and hematopoietic recovery. About Endogena Endogena Therapeutics Inc. is a clinical-stage biotech company that discovers and develops first-in-class endogenous regenerative medicines to repair and regenerate tissues and organs. Its approach has the potential to change the way degenerative conditions related to aging and genetic disorders are treated. The concept is based on selective regulation of endogenous adult stem- and progenitor cells for controlled tissue repair by small molecules. Endogenas most advanced programs target degenerative diseases of the eye, including retinitis pigmentosa and geographic atrophy (secondary to AMD). Endogena is registered in San Francisco, USA, headquartered in Zurich, Switzerland, and holds a research facility at JLABS in Toronto, Canada. For more information, please visit www.endogena.com Follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter See our YouTube channel for a video explaining how EA-2353 works. For more information on the clinical trials, please visit www.clinicaltrials.gov (Reference: NCT05392751). For media enquiries, please contact: Free Range Communications  [email protected]

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[February 06, 2023] Cathedra Bitcoin Announces Hosting for Remaining New Machines

(Block Height: 775,225) - Cathedra Bitcoin Inc. (TSX-V: CBIT; OTCQX: CBTTF) ("Cathedra" or the "Company"), a Bitcoin company that develops and operates world-class bitcoin mining infrastructure, is pleased to provide the following updates with respect to its diversified bitcoin mining operations. On February 3, 2023, the Company entered into a hosting agreement under which it will deploy the last of its new machines, consisting of 490 Bitmain Antminer S19J Pro and 50 Bitmain Antminer S19 XP machines, at a third-party data center in Kentucky. Under the terms of the hosting agreement, which lasts for an initial term of 12 months, the Company will pay a fixed rate of US$0.07 per kilowatt hour, plus 10% of gross bitcoin revenue produced by the hosted machines. The Company expects the machines to be deployed by mid-February 2023. Upon deployment of these machines at the Kentucky site and the 773 S19J Pro machines the Company previously announced it will be deploying at its new leased facility in Washington, the Company expects its diversified bitcoin mining operations to realize active hash rate of at least 378 PH/s, an approximately 53% increase from its current active hash rate of 247 PH/s, at a blended average efficiency of 29.7 joules per terahash. Management Commentary "We are delighted to have secured capacity for all of our new machines in a capital efficient manner. Last year we were forced to adapt to historically challenging bitcoin mining conditions on the fly, and I am proud of the flexibility and creativity our team demonstrated in finding homes for these machines. "Upon completing these final deployments, our active fleet will consist of over 4,400 latest-generation machines producing over 378 PH/s of hash rate using underclocked settings to maximize our operating margins. We will have delivered hash rate growth of approximately 425% since new management joined the Company in Q4 2021 (with hash rate of approximately 72 PH/s), compared to 103% hash rate growth for the bitcoin network over the same period. "With these final hosting agreements secured, we are excited to begin looking toward the future once more," remarked AJ Scalia, Chief Executive Officer of Cathedra Bitcoin. About Cathedra Bitcoin Cathedra Bitcoin Inc. (TSX-V: CBIT; OTCQX: CBTTF) is a Bitcoin company that develops and operates world-class bitcoin mining infrastructure. Cathedra believes sound money and abundant energy are the fundamental ingredients to human progress and is committed to advancing both by woring closely with the energy sector to secure the Bitcoin network. Today, Cathedra's diversified bitcoin mining operations total 247 PH/s and span three states and five locations in the United States. The Company is focused on expanding its portfolio of hash rate through a diversified approach to site selection and operations, utilizing multiple energy sources across various jurisdictions.



For more information about Cathedra, visit cathedra.com or follow Company news on Twitter at @CathedraBitcoin or on Telegram at @CathedraBitcoin. Cautionary Statement

Trading in the securities of the Company should be considered highly speculative. No stock exchange, securities commission or other regulatory authority has approved or disapproved the information contained herein. Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Forward-Looking Statements This news release contains certain "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities laws that are based on expectations, estimates and projections as at the date of this news release. The information in this release about future plans and objectives of the Company, are forward-looking information. Other forward-looking information includes but is not limited to information concerning: the intentions and future actions of senior management, the intentions, plans and future actions of the Company, as well as the Company's ability to successfully mine digital currency; revenue increasing as currently anticipated; the ability to profitably liquidate current and future digital currency inventory; volatility of network difficulty and, digital currency prices and the resulting significant negative impact on the Company's operations; the construction and operation of expanded blockchain infrastructure as currently planned; and the regulatory environment of cryptocurrency in applicable jurisdictions. Any statements that involve discussions with respect to predictions, expectations, beliefs, plans, projections, objectives, assumptions, future events or performance (often but not always using phrases such as "expects", or "does not expect", "is expected", "anticipates" or "does not anticipate", "plans", "budget", "scheduled", "forecasts", "estimates", "believes" or "intends" or variations of such words and phrases or stating that certain actions, events or results "may" or "could", "would", "might" or "will" be taken to occur or be achieved) are not statements of historical fact and may be forward-looking information and are intended to identify forward-looking information. This forward-looking information is based on reasonable assumptions and estimates of management of the Company at the time it was made, and involves known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking information. The Company has also assumed that no significant events occur outside of the Company's normal course of business. Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. The Company undertakes no obligation to revise or update any forward-looking information other than as required by law. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230206005238/en/

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[February 06, 2023] PDS User Group Association to Host 36th Conference

BLUE BELL, Pa., Feb. 06, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- PDS, a leading provider of human capital management (HCM) solutions, today announced that its User Group Association (UGA) will hold its 36th Conference on May 9-12, 2023 at The Worthington Renaissance Fort Worth, in Fort Worth, Texas. This years conference theme is Steering Vista into the Future focused on leveraging the power of PDS industry-leading software solution, Vista, helping clients maximize their investment, optimize the many available features, and learn about planned improvement to help better manage their workforce.

The PDS UGA Steering Committee and staff have developed a comprehensive conference agenda that includes valuable sessions to help our clients get the most out of Vista, said Pat Palmer, president and CEO at PDS. In our 36th year of holding this event, we are excited once again to not only offer our clients a valuable learning experience, but also provide an environment where they can network and learn best practices from other Vista users. Like past conference events, the event will provide a variety of knowledge-sharing options for attendees. It will also include the popular brainstorming sessions from years past, which provide valuable input on product enhancements, and enable participants to help direct the future of Vista. Another valued component of the conference is the opportunity to network, troubleshoot and find solutions with the help of PDS Support, Professional Services, Engineering and Sales stff at the Vista Solutions Center.



About PDS UGA Since 1974, the PDS User Group Association (PDS UGA) has helped educate its users on making the most of their software investment. Today, the PDS UGA consists of more than 1,000 members, led by a committee composed of PDS staff and end users.

About PDS PDS is a leading provider of HCM systems offering a core suite of recruiting, onboarding, human resource, benefits, payroll, and time and attendance software throughout the U.S., Canada and the Caribbean. PDS Vista suite enables organizations to minimize the time invested in administrative HCM and payroll activities by streamlining and automating those processes and facilitating strategic decision-making capabilities. Its innovative, personalized technology is backed by a team of experts who know your name, so you get a truly personalized experience your way, on your terms. Founded in 1974, PDS is a privately held company headquartered in Blue Bell, Pa. For more information on PDS or PDS Vista solution and services visit www.pdssoftware.com. PDS and the PDS logo are registered trademarks and Vista is a trademark of Personnel Data Systems, Inc. All other trademarks or registered trademarks are properties of their respective owners. Learn more about Vista product capabilities in our Vista Highlights info sheet and in this brief product overview video. A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/033b58d3-b59c-4319-8087-a1b4d529ffee

Pat Palmer [email protected] 610.238.4686 (w) | 610.220.6298 (c)

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[February 06, 2023] Southern Glazer's Wine & Spirits Reopens Las Vegas Academy

Southern Glazer's Wine & Spirits (Southern Glazer's)-the world's preeminent distributor of beverage alcohol-today announced that it is reopening its renowned Las Vegas Academy, Southern Nevada's top beverage education center, after temporarily suspending in-person instruction because of the pandemic in 2020. The Academy returns with a full catalog of courses including its distinguished and comprehensive Academy of Spirits, Mixology and Fine Service. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230206005021/en/ The Academy plans to offer more than 15 classes in 2023 including Masterclass sessions and seasonal classes. The mainstay Academy of Spirits, Mixology and Find Service course has been an important part of the Academy's core curriculum since it was created. The course covers all things wine, beer, and spirits. Students will learn about the history, geography, culture, service technique, and impact of their favorite wines and spirits over 12-weeks or a new acelerated 5-day bootcamp.



The Academy has served Southern Nevada since 2000 and has been critical in training thousands of food and beverage specialists in Las Vegas. Hospitality is the primary economic engine in Las Vegas and the Academy supports the industry by educating service professionals and preparing them for further certifications in wine and spirits. Accreditation through Southern Glazer's of Nevada's Academy is considered a top training among the Valley's top bars and restaurants and a strong pre-accreditation resource for international beverage examinations like The Court of Master Sommeliers and Wine & Spirit Education Trust (WSET). The 2023 course catalog was curated by Master Sommelier Joseph Phillips and Mixologist Livio Lauro, both employees of Southern Glazer's and respected experts in their respective fields. Southern Glazer's has similar hospitality education centers across its U.S. footprint, including its state-of-the-art SGWS Wynwood facility in Miami, Florida. The Company employs Master Mixologists across North America, responsible for educating bartenders, beverage buyers, and corporate clients about the latest trends in cocktail culture and to develop world-class beverage programs that raise the bar for today's demanding consumers. Southern Glazer's Mixologists hold multiple certifications from accredited organizations, such as the U.S. Bartenders Guild, BarSmarts, Wine & Spirit Education Trust, Society of Wine Educators, and Cicerone Certification Program, to name a few. Southern Glazer's also boasts the industry's first national wine team dedicated to providing top quality wine education and certification for its employees and customers across the country.

About Southern Glazer's Wine & Spirits Southern Glazer's Wine & Spirits is the world's preeminent distributor of beverage alcohol, and proud to be a multi-generational, family-owned company. The Company has operations in 44 U.S. states, the District of Columbia, and Canada. In 2021, Southern Glazer's was selected as a U.S. Best Managed Company by Deloitte Private and The Wall Street Journal, as well as ranked as one of Newsweek's Top 100 Most Loved Workplaces. Southern Glazer's urges all retail customers and adult consumers to market, sell, serve, and enjoy its products responsibly. For more information visit www.southernglazers.com. Follow us on Twitter and Instagram @sgwinespirits and on Facebook at Facebook.com/SouthernGlazers. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230206005021/en/

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[February 06, 2023] PARAPRO PRESENTS THE FUTURE OF SCIENTIFIC EXCHANGE AT MAUI DERM HAWAII 2023

Thought Leader AI Enables Prescribers to Transcend Boundaries of Space and Time to Speak "Live" with Leading Medical Experts CARMEL, Ind., Feb. 6, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- ParaPRO, a specialty pharmaceutical company focused on innovative treatments for human ectoparasites, introduced Thought Leader AI  a pioneering medical education platform that enables healthcare practitioners to engage "live" with leading clinical experts on topics of public health at Maui Derm Hawaii 2023. The presentation was moderated by Maui Derm founder, Dr. George Martin, during a "Talk Story" session on January 23, 2023. Attendees were among the first to experience the educational benefits of Thought Leader AI specific to the identification, diagnosis, and treatment of scabies, a common, but underrepresented health concern. "We were excited to share Thought Leader AI with conference attendees," said Bill Culpepper III, President of ParaPRO. "This new technology allows healthcare practitioners, many of whom don't often see scabies in their practices, to have what feels like a real conversation with a clinical expert and enables us to share their knowledge and clinical experiences with practitioners everywhere, regardless of the physical barriers to in-person interaction. Thought Leader AI also informs clinicians about available treatment options, including the first and only FDA-approved "complete cure" for scabies." Thought Leader AI features three highly respected disease-state experts including Dr. Theodore Rosen, MD, FAAD, Professor of Dermatology at Baylor Collge of Medicine; Chief of Dermatology Service at Michael E. DeBakey Veterans Affairs Medical Center.



According to Dr. Rosen, "The use of AI-based interactive technology is going to change the way we look at educating practitioners from this point forward." To preview Thought Leader AI and learn more, visit www.ThoughtLeaderAI.org.

About Thought Leader AI Thought Leader AI is a pioneering medical education platform to advance public health that was unveiled to pediatricians at the American Academy of Pediatrics National Conference and Exhibition in October 2022. This groundbreaking solution, a collaboration between ParaPRO and the University of Southern California Institute for Creative Technologies (ICT), enables prescribers to ask questions that prompt real-time responses from three highly respected physicians in the form of digital human avatars, using AI-based natural language processing, revolutionary filming techniques, and specialized display technologies. Now and into the future, practitioners, fellows, and residents can have conversational interactions with these thought leaders by transcending the physical boundaries of time and space. About Scabies Scabies is one of the most common and underrepresented global public health concerns. It affects people of all races and social classes and can spread rapidly under crowded conditions where there is frequent close body contact. There are an estimated 850,000 - 1 million cases of scabies in the United States each year.1 Scabies is caused by an infestation of the skin by the human itch mite Sarcoptes scabiei var. hominis. The microscopic scabies mite burrows into the upper layer of the skin where it lives and lays its eggs. The most common symptoms of scabies are intense itching and a pimple-like skin rash. The scabies mite is usually spread by direct, prolonged, skin-to-skin contact with a person who has scabies.2 About ParaPRO ParaPRO LLC. is a specialty pharmaceutical company focused on innovating anti-parasitic formulations that minimize the disruption and economic burden on patients and families and providing support for the broader professional community with the most current insights, tools and resources that educate and inform. In 2021, the company introduced the first product (new drug application) for scabies to be approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in more than 30 years and the only targeted topical therapy that meets the FDA's new criteria for a "complete cure".3,4 For more information, visit www.ParaPRO.com. About Maui Derm Maui Derm is the leader in dermatology medical education for MDs, NPs, and PAs. Maui Derm's lectures, panel discussions, and workshops are designed to bridge the ever-widening knowledge gap by providing an in-depth look at topics vital to the practice of dermatology. For more information, visit www.mauiderm.com. References IQVIA March 2019- March 2021 . Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Parasites. https://www.cdc.gov/parasites/scabies/. Accessed, 9/26/22. U.S. FDA (n.d.). Orange Book: Approved Drug products with Therapeutic Equivalence Evaluations. https://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/cder/ob/index.cfm . Accessed, 9/26/22. Data on file, ParaPRO, LLC View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/parapro-presents-the-future-of-scientific-exchange-at-maui-derm-hawaii-2023-301739423.html SOURCE ParaPRO, LLC

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[February 06, 2023] EY Canada unveils annual report measuring corporate responsibility impact

Report analyzes collective Canadian impact on firm's people, communities and clients 30k hours volunteered to more than 150 organizations through the EY Ripples program

hours volunteered to more than 150 organizations through the EY Ripples program Doubled the Neurodiversity Centre of Excellence program footprint, with 62% more hires

Completed six strategic acquisitions and a made-in- Canada alliance to enhance capabilities TORONTO, Feb. 6, 2023 /CNW/ - EY Canada is proud to issue its 2022 corporate responsibility report, capturing how the firm is delivering on its purpose of building a better working world by being better today, bolder tomorrow. The report provides an overview of how the firm is making its people a priority, actively investing in communities and serving clients with purpose day by day, year over year.



"Brick by brick, we're building progress, not just through statistics and metrics, but through the passion and commitment of our more than 8,000 people across Canada, who live our purpose every day," explains Jad Shimaly, Chair, CEO and Chief Inclusiveness Officer at EY Canada. "We're excited to share how we're moving the needle further by creating a culture of belonging within EY and beyond, while helping our clients grow and redefine the value they create for their own stakeholders, customers and communities." Fostering belonging and exceptional people experiences The firm is differentially investing in its people, their wellness, growth and success by maximizing its $12m investment commitment to provide transformational learning and development experiences. This includes thre, free accredited master's programs focused on technology, business analytics and sustainability.



That investment works hand in hand with its collective pledge to put diversity, equity and inclusiveness (DE&I) at the core of the organization. Last year, the firm witnessed a 492% increase in membership of its eight professional networks across Canada, which aim to create a greater space to listen, learn and further the DE&I agenda in EY and beyond, while helping our people build an exceptional EY experience that means the most to them. Empowering communities to grow, evolve and thrive

In 2022, EY Canada and its people contributed to helping local communities and the planet by investing more than 30,000 hours through the EY Ripples program. Working closely with over 150 organizations that support diverse, racially and economically marginalized communities, EY people have collectively impacted over 736,700 lives from coast-to-coast. By supporting organizations that accelerate sustainability, enable entrepreneurship and improve healthcare and education, the firm is focused on creating meaningful change for society, while contributing to Canada's economic growth. In line with EY's global ambition of becoming net-zero by 2025, Canada has made lasting progress with 97% of Canadian offices now operating in LEED-certified buildings and achieving a 76% reduction in business travel emissions. "We've been a force for positive environmental change across the market, rallying alongside other organizations, industry and geopolitical groups such as the International Sustainability Standards Board, UN Conference on Biodiversity and the Business Renewables Centre to accelerate our sustainability efforts together," says Kent Kaufield, ESG Markets Leader and Chief Sustainability Officer at EY Canada. Helping clients address challenges and seize opportunities With innovation at the heart of its client-serving operations, the firm has invested heavily to strengthen solutions and results-driven capabilities. In 2022 alone, we expanded the EY Neurodiversity Centres of Excellence program in Canada with three new locations and a 62% increase in hires, announced a new global Shopify alliance, six acquisitions and an EY Cannabis Centre of Excellence. "As we continually invest in our client service capabilities, we're fostering trust, spearheading transformation and supporting growth that helps businesses run better and generate sustainable value," adds Linda Williams, Managing Partner, Clients, Markets & Growth at EY Canada. About EY EY exists to build a better working world, helping create long-term value for clients, people and society and build trust in the capital markets. Enabled by data and technology, diverse EY teams in over 150 countries provide trust through assurance and help clients grow, transform and operate. Working across assurance, consulting, law, strategy, tax and transactions, EY teams ask better questions to find new answers for the complex issues facing our world today. EY refers to the global organization, and may refer to one or more, of the member firms of Ernst & Young Global Limited, each of which is a separate legal entity. Ernst & Young Global Limited, a UK company limited by guarantee, does not provide services to clients. Information about how EY collects and uses personal data and a description of the rights individuals have under data protection legislation are available via ey.com/privacy. EY member firms do not practice law where prohibited by local laws. For more information about our organization, please visit ey.com. Follow us on Twitter @EYCanada. This news release has been issued by Ernst & Young LLP SOURCE EY (Ernst & Young)

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[February 06, 2023] Chris Peterson of Anomali Honored as a 2023 CRN Channel Chief

Anomali, the leader in modernizing and scaling security operations, today announced that CRN, a brand of The Channel Company, has recognized Chris Peterson, Vice President of Worldwide Partnerships, on its 2023 Channel Chiefs list. Every year, this list honors the IT channel executives who work tirelessly to advance the channel agenda and deliver successful channel partner programs and strategies. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230206005171/en/ Chris Peterson of Anomali Honored as a 2023 CRN Channel Chief (Photo: Business Wire) Peterson has spent more than 25 years building and leading channel sales programs at top enterprise cybersecurity companies. Before joining Anomali in 2021, he served as Vice President of Global Partnerships at Tenable, where he was responsible for developing and implementing partner programs that contributed to the company's successful IPO in 2018. In addition to this year's recognition, Peterson has been named a CRN Channel Chief several other times during his career, executed numerous 5-Star rated Partner Programs for multiple years, and is recognized as an industry thought leader in his professional field. Over the past 12 months, under Peterson's leadership, Anomali introduced the Anomali Resilience Partner Program to support the company's move to a channel-first strategy and to improve partner-retained margins. Anomali also expanded its channel-dedicated field team and debuted the Platinum Elite Technical Certification Program, a new technical enablement certification program that provides partners' engineers with access to the same technical curriculum available to Anomali field and customer success engineers, regardless of their current partner level. "I am very fortunate to have a high perfoming, expert team, who consistently exceeds expectations on behalf of our partners. Over the past year, Anomali has significantly increased its channel engagement, leading to 3X growth in our channel-initiated pipeline. As a channel-first company, Anomali is committed to enabling our partners to help thousands of organizations more efficiently and effectively defend their businesses from the latest cyber adversaries," Peterson said.



The 2023 Channel Chiefs have helped their solution provider partners and customers navigate an increasingly complex landscape of interconnected challenges and shifting industry dynamics. With the innovative strategies, programs, and partnerships of these Channel Chiefs in place, the solution provider community has continued to thrive. The 2023 CRN Channel Chiefs were selected by the editorial staff based on their record of business innovation and dedication to the partner community. This year's list represents the top IT executives responsible for building a robust channel ecosystem.

"Once again, this year's list gives well-deserved recognition to the IT Channel Chiefs who are dedicated to driving the channel agenda and advocating for the development of strong channel partnerships," said Blaine Raddon, CEO of The Channel Company. "Under their exceptional leadership, influence, and innovation, the IT channel vendor community continues to deliver solutions and services that meet the rapidly evolving needs of their solution provider partners and their customers." The 2023 CRN Channel Chiefs list will be featured in the February 2023 issue of CRN Magazine and online at www.CRN.com/ChannelChiefs. About Anomali Anomali is the leader in modernizing and scaling security operations, delivering breakthrough levels of security visibility and intelligence-driven threat detection & response. In a world filled with SIEM, SOAR, and XDR, the Anomali Platform amplifies visibility, integrating existing security controls and enriching them with actionable context to stop adversaries. Anomali helps customers and partners transform their SOC platform by elevating security efficacy and reducing costs with automated processes at the heart of everything. The solution is anchored in big-data management and boasts the world's largest repository of global intelligence that supports native-cloud, multi-cloud, on-premises, and hybrid deployments. Founded in 2013, Anomali serves global B2B enterprise businesses, large public sector organizations, ISACs, ISAOs, service providers, and Global 1000 customers to help safeguard the world's critical infrastructure, companies, and people. Leading venture firms, including Google Ventures, General Catalyst, and IVP, back Anomali. Learn more at www.anomali.com. About The Channel Company The Channel Company enables breakthrough IT channel performance with our dominant media, engaging events, expert consulting and education, and innovative marketing services and platforms. As the channel catalyst, we connect and empower technology suppliers, solution providers, and end users. Backed by more than 30 years of unequaled channel experience, we draw from our deep knowledge to envision innovative new solutions for ever-evolving challenges in the technology marketplace. www.thechannelcompany.com Follow The Channel Company: Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook.  2023 The Channel Company, LLC. CRN is a registered trademark of The Channel Company, LLC. All rights reserved. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230206005171/en/

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[February 06, 2023] TopMark Funding Closes Another Record-Setting Year in 2022 Delivering Significant Revenue Growth Year Over Year

TopMark Continues Growth Momentum Through Increased Number of Transactions and Has No Plans for Slowing Down in 2023 ROSEVILLE, Calif., Feb. 6, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- TopMark Funding , a premier funding destination for commercial vehicle dealerships and small to midsized fleets, closed 2022 with 92% year-over-year revenue growth while holding margins. Despite the economic headwinds and challenges in the transportation market related to both increased fuel pricing and suppressed spot rates, TopMark garnered impressive numbers in Q4 2022 exceeding its Q4 2021 revenue by 25%. TopMark ended the year with an increased volume (Total Amount Financed) of 1.75 times year-over-year performance and the number of funded transactions was up 44% from the previous year. "One of our goals in 2022 was to fund more volume overall while handling the transactions more efficiently for our clients. That's exactly what we did as the team delivered 10 projection-breaking months last year," said Managing Director and Co-Founder Evan Lang. "The Topark team is leading the commercial vehicle funding industry and we've got even more in store for this upcoming year, all in service of delivering the very best funding solutions for our clients."



In 2022, the company increased its funded volume from the previous year by over 65%. It finished ahead of its 2022 revenue goal by 22% while enhancing profit margins between years. One of TopMark's primary strategies for its rapid growth has continued to be grounded in focused talent expansion. The company's best-in-class team of senior equipment finance sales professionals specializing in commercial vehicle transactions is paying off for the organization. The TopMark sales representative team has grown by 42% in experienced transaction specialists from 2021. This, along with pursuing added efficiencies through technology, will continue to be areas that the company is focused on advancing in 2023, all with the goal of helping better serve TopMark's growing customer base and partner dealerships.

About TopMark Funding

TopMark Funding, LLC, is a premier funding partner for dealerships, specializes in financing commercial vehicles, and can effectively and efficiently handle dealer transactions. Founded in 2015, the company has a proven track record of helping transportation companies expand by offering strategic funding solutions for growing small and mid-sized fleets. With a laser focus on speed, accuracy, and unmatched customer service, TopMark Funding and its dedicated team actively assist dealers in financing more than $12 million of commercial vehicles each month. MEDIA CONTACT:

Jamie Haley

[email protected]

818.635.6809 View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/topmark-funding-closes-another-record-setting-year-in-2022-delivering-significant-revenue-growth-year-over-year-301739461.html SOURCE TopMark Funding

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Shane Johnson has always found the Garrison Dam Tailrace to be a "magical" place. One outing there in early January had a fairy tale ending.

The 34-year-old oil field worker from Minot and friend Brandon Gullickson traveled to the open waters below the Garrison Power Plant on Jan. 3 -- what Johnson described as a "downright cold miserable foggy night." He had only one bite the entire night, but it was an enchanted one -- a whopper burbot.

"Once I grabbed the jaw on that thing and lifted it in the air and tried to get the lure out of its mouth, we knew it was a possible state record," Johnson said.

The state Game and Fish Department has now confirmed that the 19-pound, 8-ounce burbot broke a state record that had been in the books for nearly 40 years. The previous record of 18 pounds, 4 ounces was set in 1984 by Orland Kruckenberg, a Hazen angler who was fishing the Knife River.

Burbot are the only freshwater member of the cod family. They look like a cross between a catfish and an eel, with a flattened head and single barbel on the bottom side of the jaw, and a slender eel-like tail. The color ranges from a pale green with brown spots to a darker olive. Its firm white meat is edible and sometimes referred to as "poor man's lobster."

Wing wall whopper

Johnson and Gullickson were fishing on the power plant "wing walls" extending into the Tailrace, 25-30 feet above the water's surface. Johnson had a quarter-ounce jig on his line -- 6-pound-test FireLine -- and was jigging for walleyes when he got a hard hit.

Johnson went from thinking he had a large walleye on the line to envisioning a paddlefish, then based on the fish's reactions either a big northern, trout, salmon or catfish.

"We didn't know it was a burbot until I got it up to the surface. At that point we were like, 'Holy crap, that's a huge burbot!' he said.

They maneuvered the lunker into a net that was connected to the wall's chain-link fence via a rope, and hauled it up.

"It took probably six to eight minutes dragging the fish back and forth. We had it in the net a few different times, but when we went to lift it up, the net would roll the wrong way," Johnson said. "Definitely plenty of opportunity for the fish to come off, but luckily it stayed hooked."

The 41.5-inch fish weighed 20 pounds, 6 ounces on Johnson's hand-held scale. Meanwhile, Gullickson was looking up the state record.

"He yelled, 'Holy crap. You just got the state record!" Johnson said. "I just thought, we've got to get to a scale now."

It was 11:30 at night, so the fish was out of the water for about 11 hours before Johnson could get a certified weight at Charlie's Country Sausage in Minot, with a state game warden there to witness the weighing. The fish had lost some weight due to dehydration, so the official weight was 19 pounds, 8 ounces, but still bigger than any before caught in North Dakota.

"The only bite I had all night long, and a state record," Johnson said.

He has fished the Tailrace for about 15 years and has caught more than a dozen burbot, typically in the 2-3 pound range. He plans to keep this one.

"I'm going to have it mounted," he said. "Since it's a once-in-a-lifetime state record fish, I'm looking at doing a fully encased coffee table or display case in my living room somewhere."

He also looks forward to many future trips to the Tailrace.

"I love that place ... it's just kind of a magical place. The lights on the dam are lit up, there's fog over the water, ducks and geese chattering, peaceful and beautiful," he said. "And it's right in our backyard."

Falling records

Game and Fish keeps a list of of 30 fish records. Eighteen of them have fallen or been tied since 2000, with a dozen set or tied since 2010. 2023 is the third consecutive year for a record -- Bismarck angler Mitch Estabrook landed a record 60-pound, 8-ounce buffalo fish with a bow at Heart Butte Reservoir in May 2022, and Dickinson angler Jared Shypkoski hauled in a 16-pound, 6-ounce walleye on the Missouri River south of Bismarck in March 2021.

Game and Fish has attributed the windfall of whoppers to several factors, including more anglers, more fishable waters in the state due to recent wet years, stepped-up fish stocking efforts and better angling techniques.

Seven current record fish have been caught at the Tailrace.

North Dakota's longest-standing fish record is a 2-pound, 12-ounce bluegill that Velva angler Budd Hystad caught nearly 60 years ago, in October 1963.
[February 06, 2023] RevBits Endpoint Security Fully and Successfully Deployed, in a government-based entity PoC, for a True Air-Gapped Environment

RevBits announces that it has successfully deployed its endpoint security solution in a true air-gapped environment for a federal government entity. RevBits Endpoint Security (RB/EPS) is a fully featured, robust next-generation endpoint security solution. Its detection and blocking capabilities are based on a three-phased analysis engine that utilizes traditional AV signature scanning, a sophisticated machine learning model, and an advanced behavioral analysis protocol. The solution's Phoenix module monitors for common exploit methods to provide additional protection. The solution's EDR module enhances endpoint security and threat mitigation, offering the market the most feature-rich forensics and control capability imaginable. Malicious endpoint investigations are limitless, with a forensics selection menu of over seventy different artifacts collected on schedule or demand and partial and full memory dumps. US Patented technology in the EDR module offers Windows kernel-level security technology that prevents unauthorized drivers from loading onto the operating system. All endpoint processes, registries, and file structures are accessible through a full GUI or a command line function. Simply put, the solution's EDR module is an endpoint administrative and forensics game-changer. Government entity PoC requirements for an EPS solution in an Air Gapped Environment: A recent government-based entity PoC required an EPS solution deployment in a true air-gapped environment. The entity had a primary concern centered around workstations and the air-gapped network's vulnerability to malware introduction via USB devices. The requirement mandated that complete solution functionality on air-gapped workstations and all administrative needs be without internet connectivity. Additionally, the entity required deep forensics capacity and artifact collection on schedule or demand. Defining Air Gap: Techopedia: "An air gap is a security measure tha isolates a digital device component or private local area network (LAN) from other devices and networks, including the public internet. An air gap is also known as an air wall, and the strategy of using air gaps to protect critical data is also known as security by isolation.



Air gaps are used to protect critical computer systems and the data they store from malware, keyloggers, ransomware, and other types of unauthorized access. This strategy seeks to ensure the total isolation of a given system electromagnetically, electronically, and physically." RevBits Endpoint Security - our Air Gap capability:

RB/EPS was deployed in an on-premises configuration for the government PoC, with complete user control of all solution capabilities. Every product feature on the protection and detection side and the EDR forensics and mitigation side is entirely functional without internet access. The user assumes a higher level of responsibility in terms of administration, but this aspect is already in place for an actual air-gapped environment. All solution functionality can run without external dependencies, such as offline licensing, forensic extraction, malware detection, and blocking, USB control, scanning, and analysis. RB/EPS and all other RevBits cybersecurity solutions are deployable in an on-premises, hybrid-cloud, or SaaS configuration. About RevBits Established in 2018, RevBits is a comprehensive cybersecurity company dedicated to providing customers with superior protection and service. RevBits delivers protection against the most sophisticated cyber threats companies face by offering multiple advanced security capabilities that can be administered through a unified security platform. RevBits is headquartered in Mineola, NY with offices in Princeton, NJ, Boston, MA, London, England, and Antwerp, Belgium. For more information on RevBits please visit RevBits. RevBit's complete solution suite offerings are RevBits Endpoint Security, RevBits Email Security, RevBits Privileged Access Management, RevBits Zero Trust Network, and RevBits Deception Technology. For customers running more than one RevBits solution, the administration is managed through RevBits Cyber Intelligence Platform, a unified, single-pane environment that curates, correlates, and alerts to threats while delivering intelligence for a quick administrative response. RevBits Cyber Intelligence Platform integrates with all common SIEMs. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230206005010/en/

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[February 06, 2023] Memphis Street Academy Exceeds Growth Expectations with Impressive PVAAS Results

American Paradigm Schools (APS) today revealed Memphis Street Academy (MSA), part of its network of four charter schools in North and Northeast Philadelphia, has achieved impressive results on the Pennsylvania Value-Added Assessment System (PVAAS). The data show MSA exceeded the standard for growth in math and science and met the standard for growth in English Language Arts (ELA) during the 2021-22 school year. The marks across grades 6-8 demonstrate remarkable academic achievement under unprecedented circumstances disrupting the normal continuity of education, including the COVID-19 pandemic, implementing virtual learning for the entire 2020-21 school year, regularly quarantining scholars and classes, and residing in one of the least vaccinated areas in Philadelphia. MSA saw growth far above the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania at an average of 90% compared to the state's 75.6%, utperforming the state by an average of 14.4% for all three tested subject areas combined.



"At Memphis Street Academy, we create meaningful learning experiences helping our students discover their capacity for growth and success," said Ashley Redfearn, CEO of American Paradigm Schools. "Our teachers' commitment to creating an environment of trust and safety is paying dividends for students, allowing them to defy expectations in the face of difficult obstacles. These results further illustrate what can be accomplished when educators believe in every student's potential." PVAAS is one tool the Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) and Local Educational Agencies (LEAs) use to calculate student growth achievement and achievement projection data, in conjunction with overall achievement data, ensuring students are on a path to proficiency and beyond. Educators employ this data to make data-informed instructional decisions to ensure students meet or exceed academic growth and achievement targets.

These results emerge as the school fights to remain open. In June 2022, the School District of Philadelphia voted to invoke the surrender clause for MSA, which will force the school to shut down, displacing 550+ students, 96% of whom identify as Hispanic, Black, or Multi-racial. MSA has filed a Civil Rights complaint in federal court. "American Paradigm Schools is committed to offering quality educational experiences for students in North and Northeast Philadelphia, and we have an obligation to the students, families, and communities of Memphis Street Academy to remain steadfast," added Kristine Magargee, Chief Academic Officer of American Paradigm Schools. "This PVAAS data underscores the progress being made by MSA, and we plan to continue our mission of providing accessible, innovative instructional opportunities that empower scholars with a passion for learning." About Memphis Street Academy Memphis Street Academy Charter School (MSA) is one of four American Paradigm Schools located in Northeast Philadelphia that aims to enhance, support and promote critical thinking and problem-solving skills of its school-aged learners as they master Pennsylvania and national Common Core Curriculum standards. The mission of Memphis Street Academy is to transform the learning environment for its scholars in grades 5 through 8 - who not only reside in the catchment area of the school, but who also comprise a diverse learning body from all over the City of Philadelphia, and from all ethnic, religious, and cultural backgrounds. For more information, visit: www.ap-schools.org/Memphis-Street-Academy. About American Paradigm Schools American Paradigm Schools (APS) is a nonprofit charter management organization that supports and serves four charter schools in North and Northeast Philadelphia. These schools are: First Philadelphia Preparatory Charter School; Lindley Academy Charter School; Memphis Street Academy; and Tacony Academy Charter School. For more information, visit www.ap-schools.org. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230206005383/en/

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[February 06, 2023] Giovanni Palazzo Named Chairman of Electrify America and Executive Leader of Volkswagen Group Global Charging and Energy

EV infrastructure veteran Rob Barrosa named President and CEO of Electrify America RESTON, Va., Feb. 6, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Electrify America announced today two leadership changes with Giovanni Palazzo becoming Chairman of the Board of Electrify America and Senior Vice President of Charging and Energy, a global position at Volkswagen Group, and Rob Barrosa becoming Electrify America's President and CEO. Palazzo will continue to work closely with Electrify America in his role as chair, which is effective February 15, 2023. He will begin his new responsibilities leading global Charging and Energy on July 1. Palazzo and Barrosa will work closely over the coming months to ensure Barrosa's successful transition into his new role starting June 1. Palazzo has been president and CEO of Electrify America since 2018. Prior to coming to Electrify America, Palazzo held numerous executive leadership positions with Volkswagen Group starting in 2011. He has concentrated on electric mobility and infrastructure, having served as Head of E-Mobility Business, Group Strategy, Volkswagen Group, prior to joining Electrify America. Under Palazzo's leadership, Electrify America has expanded to more than 800 charging stations and 3,500 chargers in under five years. The first station opened in May 2018. The company has announced plans to have more than 1,800 charging stations and 10,000 chargers by 2026 in the U.S. and Canada. The company registered more than 6 million customer charging sessions in 2022, nearly five times the charging sessions the previous year. In 2022, Electrify America signed an agreement with Siemens Financial Services to become the company's first external investor. Electrify America has also established extensive cooperation and charging agreements with more than 17 electric vehicle manufacturers. The company also entered the home charging market with the establishment of Electrify Home and now provides turnkey EV charging solutions to businesses, utility companies, fleet owners, travel centers and convenience stores through its business unit Electrify Commercial.



"It's been a privilege to work with such an incredibly talented team and to oversee the tremendous strides Electrify America has made in electric vehicle infrastructure and the promotion of EV adoption over the past several years. We look forward to Rob Barrosa's continued leadership as Electrify America continues to evolve and expand on our mission toward a more sustainable future," said Giovanni Palazzo, president and CEO, Electrify America. "His background as an electric vehicle charging engineer, combined with his strategic business approach, will help us continue bringing the latest in EV charging technology to our customers." Since joining Electrify America in 2018, Barrosa has held several key leadership positions with responsibility for technology, energy management, product planning and infrastructure development to support the fast-paced deployment of Electrify America charging stations. In addition, he led the team that launched the Electrify Canada charging network in 2018. He has also led business partnerships, marketing and e-commerce for Electrify America, as well as the company's Electrify Home and Electrify Commercial business units.

"I want to thank Giovanni for his leadership in rapidly expanding the Electrify America network," said Barrosa. "I look forward to his continued support in his new role as chairman of the company." Barrosa has more than 16 years of focused experience in developing and deploying EV infrastructure to support the growth of electric mobility. About Electrify America

Electrify America LLC, the largest open DC fast charging network in the U.S., is investing more than $2 billion in Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) infrastructure, and access. The investment will enable millions of Americans to discover the benefits of electric driving and support the build-out of a nationwide network of ultra-fast community and highway chargers that are convenient and reliable. Electrify America and Electrify Canada expect to have more than 1,800 total charging stations with over 10,000 individual chargers in the United States and Canada combined by 2026. During this period, Electrify America will be expanding to 49 states and the District of Columbia, supporting increased ZEV adoption with a network that is comprehensive, technologically advanced and customer friendly. Electrify America earned the 2020 and 2021 "EV Charging Infrastructure Best-in-Test" award from umlaut, an infrastructure and benchmarking specialist, now part of Accenture, as published in Charged Electric Vehicles Magazine. Electrify America's Electrify Home offers home charging solutions for consumers with flexible installation options. Electrify Commercial provides expert solutions for businesses looking to develop electric vehicle charging programs. View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/giovanni-palazzo-named-chairman-of-electrify-america-and-executive-leader-of-volkswagen-group-global-charging-and-energy-301739434.html SOURCE Electrify America, LLC

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[February 06, 2023] Mark Fitzmaurice of IRONSCALES Honored as a 2023 CRN Channel Chief

IRONSCALES, the leading enterprise cloud email security platform, today announced that CRN, a brand of The Channel Company, has recognized Mark Fitzmaurice on its 2023 Channel Chiefs list. Every year, this list honors the top IT channel executives who work tirelessly to advance the channel agenda and deliver successful channel partner programs and strategies. Mark Fitzmaurice is a veteran channel sales leader with over 20 years of channel and technology experience. He holds a B.A. in Marketing from the University of Maryland, as well as an MBA in Finance from the Robert H. Smith School of Business. Throughout his career, Mark has worked with global resale, integration, consultative, managed services, and technology partners to create joint solutions that deliver meaningful, differentiated value for partners and customers. Over the years, he has applied his expertise with great success across a wide variety of industry segments, including: cybersecurity, networking, high-performance computing, cloud technologies, and virtualization. During his tenure at IRONSCALES, Mark has helped to build a veteran channel sales leadership team, and was instrumental in the development of the company's new channel partner program, @SCALE. The @SCALE program enables partners to provide comprehensive email security to their customers through a powerful, yet simple email security platform designed for today's global enterprise organizations. Championing a channel-first sales model, IRONSCALES offers their @SCALE partners guaranteed margins, significant growth opportunities, protected revenue, and world-class resources and tools. "I am proud to congratulate Mark on this well-deserved recognition," said Eyal Benishti, IRONSCALES CEO. "Mark embodies everything that this award celebrates, as he works tirelessly to advance the channel agenda at IRONSCALES and was instrumental in the launch of our new channel partner program, @SCALE. We are proud of Mark's accomplishments and know this is only the latest in a long list of accomplishments and accolades." The 2023 Channel Chiefs have heled their solution provider partners and customers navigate an increasingly complex landscape of interconnected challenges and shifting industry dynamics. With the innovative strategies, programs, and partnerships of these Channel Chiefs in place, the solution provider community has continued to thrive.



The 2023 CRN Channel Chiefs were selected by the editorial staff based on their record of business innovation and dedication to the partner community. This year's list represents the top IT executives responsible for building a robust channel ecosystem. "Once again, this year's list gives well-deserved recognition to the IT Channel Chiefs who are dedicated to driving the channel agenda and advocating for the development of strong channel partnerships," said Blaine Raddon, CEO of The Channel Company. "Under their exceptional leadership, influence, and innovation, the IT channel vendor community continues to deliver solutions and services that meet the rapidly evolving needs of their solution provider partners and their customers."

The 2023 CRN Channel Chiefs list will be featured in the February 2023 issue of CRN Magazine and online at www.CRN.com/ChannelChiefs. Additional Resources Learn how security leaders reduce cybersecurity risk, improve SOC team efficiency, and reduce security vendor costs with IRONSCALES' unique human intelligence (HI) and artificial intelligence (AI) email security platform.

Discover the true cost of phishing on organizations as well as what IT and Security professionals believe is coming next in the new report, "The Business Cost of Phishing."

Conduct an immediate email health check to see existing threats within your email environment with IRONSCALES' 90-Day Scanback.

Gain access to free phishing simulation testing and training with IRONSCALES Starter.

Follow IRONSCALES on Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook. About IRONSCALES IRONSCALES is the leading cloud email security platform for the enterprise that uses machine learning and AI to stop advanced phishing attacks that bypass traditional security solutions. Its award-winning self-learning platform continuously detects and remediates advanced threats like Business Email Compromise (BEC), credential harvesting, Account Takeover (ATO) and more. As the most powerfully simple email security platform, IRONSCALES helps enterprises reduce risk, boost security team efficiency, and build a culture of cybersecurity awareness. IRONSCALES is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia and is proud to support more than 10,000 customers globally. Visit http://www.ironscales.com or @IRONSCALES to learn more. About The Channel Company The Channel Company enables breakthrough IT channel performance with our dominant media, engaging events, expert consulting and education, and innovative marketing services and platforms. As the channel catalyst, we connect and empower technology suppliers, solution providers, and end users. Backed by more than 30 years of unequaled channel experience, we draw from our deep knowledge to envision innovative new solutions for ever-evolving challenges in the technology marketplace. www.thechannelcompany.com Follow The Channel Company: Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook.  2023 The Channel Company, LLC. CRN is a registered trademark of The Channel Company, LLC. All rights reserved. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230206005189/en/

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[February 06, 2023] LATYS Secures $3 Million in Seed Round Led by Rhapsody Venture Partners

LATYS, a startup delivering a drop-in antenna that extends wireless signals without interference, announced its $3 million seed financing from hard tech investor Rhapsody Venture Partners (Rhapsody) with participation from existing investor, TandemLaunch Ventures. The funds will support production and commercial launch of the first-generation product for customers where existing wireless solutions hit range and interference limits. The funding arrives as LATYS successfully completed field trials that proved their metasurface antennas enable more than 4x increase in throughput for existing router networks, without creating any interference. LATYS' technology is signal agonistic and expected to find broad adoption in 5G, IoT, Wi-Fi, and Industry 4.0. LATYS' unique antenna technology utilizes a metasurface to repeat wireless signals, without any processing by passively focusing the signal. Customers with existing Wi-Fi networks can resolve dead zone issues simply by placing LATYS metasurface antennas as signal repeaters. They can also resolve interference and reliability issues in mesh networks, by replacing mesh routers with LATYS' passive antennas. In field tests, LATYS antennas have improved throughput in dead zones by over 300%. Unlike traditional mesh networks and router extenders which emit omnidirectional signals along congested frequencies such that every "hop" halves bandwidth and creates inescapable interference and latency, the patented LATYS antenna isolates signals in space to optimize bandwidth delivery for any signal, from sub-7 GHz to mmWave 5G. The device uses "off-the-shelf" components, fits a thin and small form factor, and slashes network energy usage by more than 8x. "Controlling the flow of iformation in space is the key to unlocking next generation wireless network performance," says Paul Tornatta, CEO LATYS. "LATYS' metasurface antennas put the energy in the network where it needs to be, when it needs to be there rather than broadcasting over large areas. We call this technique Intelligent Spatial Multiplexing. We're very excited to be working with Rhapsody Venture Partners and TandemLaunch to bring this technology to fruition."



"From your home network, to challenging industrial use cases, wireless networks are at or beyond breaking points. Everyone knows of their experience of a dropped or latent signal. What is an inconvenience for your facetime call, is a critical issue in many infrastructures. Existing solutions throw more active signal processing devices at the problem, which means you've created new interference. LATYS' antennas blew us away, because they took a completely different approach," said Bernard Lupien, General Partner at Rhapsody. "We've looked at more than a dozen wireless network startups, and were amazed at what LATYS has accomplished. We are thrilled to partner with the LATYS team as they redefine wireless networks." "What the LATYS team has developed over the last two years is impressive and we're delighted to continue our support in the commercialization of their product," Says Helge Seetzen, general partner at TandemLaunch.

For more information about LATYS, contact [email protected]. About Rhapsody Venture Partners Rhapsody Venture Partners is a seed-stage venture firm in Cambridge, MA, that funds early-stage applied science and engineering companies. Rhapsody's team works side-by-side with entrepreneurs to secure anchor customers that reduce time-to-commercialization and accelerate growth. About TandemLaunch TandemLaunch creates, incubates, and accelerates early-stage technology start-ups based on inventions from the world's top universities in the areas of artificial intelligence, computer vision, IoT, audio and advanced sensors. The Company scouts thousands of technologies every year from a network that spans over 600 universities worldwide. Having successfully executed over 50 technology transfer agreements, TandemLaunch is a spinout foundry with an international scope, producing high-impact, IP-focused companies with an unprecedented rate of success. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230206005234/en/

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[February 06, 2023] Consello Continues Expansion with Office Openings in London and Miami

LONDON and MIAMI, Feb. 6, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Consello, the financial services advisory and strategic investing platform, is pleased to announce the establishment of offices in both London and Miami. The new office locations will introduce Consello's investing and advisory services to two new major businesses hubs. Several senior executives and additional employees will be joining the company in both locations. "As we continue our global expansion, it is essential that we have a strong presence in the locations most important to our clients," said , Chairman and CEO of The Consello Group. "Direct connectivity to the UK and European markets is crucial to the continued international expansion of our business and our ability to best serve our global clients. Our office in Miami will tap into the burgeoning financial and business activity in South Florida that has seen such rapid growth in recent years."



Consello, launched in 2022, continues to rapidly develop its operations around the world. The company currently has four operating divisions, including Investing, Digital Assets Advisory, Growth and Business Development, and Merchant Banking and M&A Advisory. The company already has nearly 60 employees and advisors. About Consello

The Consello Group is a financial services advisory and strategic investing platform. At Consello we invest capital to grow companies, and we execute for our banking clients across industries. We also offer business development services to help companies grow and a digital assets advisory business to help companies participate in the global digital financial services ecosystem. Consello offers these four distinct but integrated lines of businesses all on one platform: Investing, Digital Assets Advisory, Growth and Business Development, and Merchant Banking and M&A Advisory. Contact: [email protected] View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/consello-continues-expansion-with-office-openings-in-london-and-miami-301739518.html SOURCE Consello

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[February 06, 2023] Roman Dubczak is Appointed Chair of CIBC Mellon Boards

Dan Smith steps down as CIBC Mellon Chair after five years of service TORONTO, Feb. 6, 2023 /CNW/ - CIBC Mellon announced today Roman Dubczak, Deputy Chair, CIBC Capital Markets, has been named Chair of the Board of Directors for CIBC Mellon Global Securities Services Company (GSS) and Chair of the Board of Directors for CIBC Mellon Trust Company (CMT). Roman Dubczak joins both Boards effective February 20, 2023. He replaces Daniel J. Smith ("Dan"), who steps down as Chair of both Boards. Roman Dubczak is responsible for senior client relationships and strategy as well as strategic opportunities at CIBC Capital Markets. He is a member of the CIBC Capital Markets Executive and Management Committees and is also a board member of CIBC World Markets Inc. Mr. Dubczak originally joined CIBC in 1992 and has worked in a variety of capital markets roles. He has previously led CIBC's Global Investment Banking, Global Equities, Equity Capital Markets and Corporate Debt Origination franchises. Mr. Dubczak holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree from the University of Toronto and a Master of Business Administration from the Schulich School of Business, as well as CA, CPA, CFA and ICD.D designations. He is also a past Chair of the Investment Industry Association of Canada (IIAC). "We congratulate Roman on his appointment as Chair of our Boards, and look forward to benefitting fom his insights and extensive connectivity across the Canadian investment industry," said Mal Cullen, Chief Executive Officer, CIBC Mellon. "Roman's perspective and leadership, as well as his deep connectivity across the CIBC enterprise, will no doubt be valuable as we bring more total enterprise solutions to our clients in Canada."



"On behalf the CIBC Mellon team, we thank Dan Smith for his leadership as Chair as well as for remaining available to us in the months ahead in an advisory capacity to support a smooth transition. Dan presided over tremendous growth over the past five years, and we appreciate his many contributions to our enterprise success," added Mal Cullen. CIBC Mellon is the corporate brand of CIBC Mellon Trust Company and CIBC Mellon Global Securities Services Company and may be used as a generic term to reference either company or both companies collectively. A full listing of Board membership is available via CIBC Mellon's website at www.cibcmellon.com

About CIBC Mellon

CIBC Mellon is a Canadian company exclusively focused on the investment servicing needs of Canadian institutional investors and international institutional investors into Canada. Founded in 1996, CIBC Mellon is 50-50 jointly owned by The Bank of New York Mellon (BNY Mellon) and Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC). CIBC Mellon's investment servicing solutions for institutions and corporations are provided in close collaboration with our parent companies, and include custody, multicurrency accounting, fund administration, recordkeeping, pension services, exchange-traded fund services, securities lending services, foreign exchange processing and settlement, and treasury services. As at December 31, 2022 CIBC Mellon had more than C$2.4 trillion of assets under administration on behalf of banks, pension funds, investment funds, corporations, governments, insurance companies, foreign insurance trusts, foundations and global financial institutions whose clients invest in Canada. CIBC Mellon is part of the BNY Mellon network, which as at December 31, 2022 had US$44.3 trillion in assets under custody and/or administration. CIBC Mellon is a licensed user of the CIBC trade-mark and certain BNY Mellon trade-marks, is the corporate brand of CIBC Mellon Global Securities Services Company and CIBC Mellon Trust Company, and may be used as a generic term to refer to either or both companies. Media Contact: Alexandra DeCata, Corporate Communications, CIBC Mellon, 416-643-6126, [email protected] SOURCE CIBC Mellon

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[February 06, 2023] Wedia to attend Canada's DX3 2023

Wedia is excited to take part in Canada's largest retail, marketing and technology event on March 1-2, 2023. TORONTO, Feb. 6, 2023 /CNW/ -- With a series of international speakers, expert industry insights and workshops taking place over two days in Toronto's Congress Centre, this year's DX3 looks set to be an interactive and provoking event, taking on everything retail, marketing and technology. Ever conscious of retail brands' need to operate on an omnichannel, international level, whilst focusing on the latest technology, Wedia, through its Digital Asset Management (DAM) platform continues to provide innovative solutions for companies across the world. Companies such as Decathlon, Danone and Michelin trust Wedia to deliver a solution which streamlines marketing campaigns through intuitive distribution, storage and creation technology. It is for this reason that Wedia is happy to join the DX3 event and delve into the future of marketing and retail. With a series of industry experts taking part in conferences and panels over the two-day event, Wedia is happy to announce that Sebastien Bardoz, VP Sales and Operations for North America at Wedia will be taking part in two panels during DX3. The first pael on Headless Commerce at 4pm on March 1 will look at the steps to enrich the customer experience, along with APIs and other integrations. On March 2, Sebastien Bardoz will take part in a second panel, Sustainable Technology Solutions, where panellists will discuss the safeguarding of the planet and the efficient technology solutions to help the cause.



"DX3 is an exciting opportunity to look back at what has affected retail and marketing over the last few years and understand the trends and innovations which are going to shape the future." Sebastien Bardoz, VP Sales and Operations for North America at Wedia. For those interested in understanding further how Wedia and its DAM solution can help their business, Wedia will be happy to meet them at their dedicated stand or through one-on-one meetings which can be set up with Sebastien Bardoz.

About Wedia Listed on Euronext Growth, the Wedia Group is an international player, leader in SaaS software and consulting, dedicated to marketing and communication departments. Through its three offerings, Wedia, Galilee and Iconosquare, the group helps its clients to personalise, distribute and measure the performance of their marketing content. The Group's high-end and innovative positioning has been recognised by prestigious clients (Decathlon, Royal Canin, Sephora) and by the main technology analysts (Gartner and Forrester) To serve its 6,000 customers in more than 130 countries, the Wedia Group, based in France, Germany and Canada, can count on more than 150 committed employees. The Wedia Group has achieved a turnover of 18 million in 2022, of which more than 65% is SaaS revenue, and is steering its development with a proven mix of controlled organic and external growth. Contact Info

Name: Lynn Klemke, Events and PR Manager

Email: [email protected]

Phone: 01 44 64 87 60

Website: https://www.wedia-group.com/ SOURCE Wedia

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[February 06, 2023]

Allied Electronics & Automation Rebrands as RS

The rebranding will provide exciting new opportunities to improve efficiencies, generate sustainable value, and increase scalability for stakeholders worldwide.

FORT WORTH, Texas, Feb. 6, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Allied Electronics & Automation, the main trading brand of RS Group plc in the Americas (LSE: RS1), a global omni-channel provider of industrial product and service solutions, has rebranded as RS. This rebranding will elicit new opportunities to help industrial customers overcome challenges and further enhance the company's user-friendly, technology-enabled customer experience in the region.

"Aligning under the banner of RS extends our ability to deliver value for our customers," Jessie Dearien .

Rebranding Allied as RS is RS Group's latest effort to consolidate the product offer, service portfolio, and proven experience of its trusted global brands under a single, unified RS brand identity. This will provide exciting new opportunities to improve efficiencies, generate sustainable value, and increase scalability for stakeholders worldwide.

Customers in the Americas, extending from small single-site businesses to global multi-site companies, will continue to enjoy access to a broad and deep range of more than 750,000 stocked industrial and electronic products and a wide portfolio of service solutions for design, procurement, inventory, and maintenance.

"Allied earned a reputation as a leading distributor of industrial products and services in North America and was recognized for being reliable and committed to solving our customers' problems. RS is founded on these same core values, so aligning under the banner of RS extends our ability to deliver value for our customers," said Jessie Dearien, RS Vice President of Marketing, Americas. "Being part of the global RS team will enable us to leverage our expertise and experience across the Group. Our aim is to think bigger, make the impossible possible, become the first choice for our stakeholders, and make amazing happen for a better world."

The continued unification of the RS brand will also present opportunities for the Group to increase its share of a large, fragmented market, drive continued market outperformance, and accelerate organic growth. In addition, the increased global collaboration will fuel environmental, social, and governance (ESG) initiatives aimed at creating a more sustainable and inclusive world and drive strong revenue, cash conversion, and attractive returns.

About RS in the Americas

In the Americas region, RS (formerly Allied Electronics & Automation) supplies more than 230,000 stocked industrial and electronic products from more than 650 trusted suppliers. These products cover categories extending from automation and control equipment to interconnect, passive, active, and electromechanical components and include more than 80,000 high-quality, competitively priced RS PRO products, the own brand of RS.







RS also offers a comprehensive suite of services and tools including the industry's largest collection of 360 product images, an extensive range of 3D CAD models, more than 1.1 million up-to-date datasheets, a highly experienced technical support team, and kitting, bagging, and labeling services. In addition, RS publishes a series of expert advice articles, interviews, and podcasts crafted to place critical industry knowledge and expertise at its customers' fingertips and help them identify product and technology solutions as unique as their businesses.

RS Integrated Supply also operates in the Americas, delivering integrated global supply solutions that cover outsourced procurement, storeroom management, and transactional processing services for the maintenance, repair, and operations (MRO) and original equipment manufacturing (OEM) industries.

About RS Group

RS Group plc is a leading global omni-channel industrial product and service solutions provider to customers who are involved in designing, building, and maintaining industrial equipment and operations, safely and sustainably. RS Group plc stocks more than 750,000 industrial and electronic products, sourced from over 2,500 leading suppliers, and provides a wide range of product and service solutions to over 1.2 million industrial customers. With operations in 32 countries, we trade through multiple channels and ship over 60,000 parcels daily.

RS supports customers across the product life cycle, whether via innovation and technical support at the design phase, improving time to market and productivity at the build phase, or reducing purchasing costs and optimizing inventory in the maintenance phase. RS offer customers tailored product and service propositions that are essential for the successful operation of their businesses and help them save time and money.

RS Group plc is listed on the London Stock Exchange with stock ticker RS1 and in the fiscal year that ended March 31, 2022, reported revenue of $3.3 billion.

For more information about RS in the Americas region, please visit https://us.rs-online.com or connect with us via social media on Facebook , Twitter , LinkedIn , and YouTube. For more information about RS Group, please visit https://www.rsgroup.com/ or connect with us on LinkedIn or Twitter. For more information about RS DesignSpark, please visit www.rs-online.com/designspark or connect with us on Twitter.

Learn why customers make RS their first choice:

https://youtu.be/h3JmQsCxkpk

Editorial Contact & Media Inquiries:

Karen Gavenda

RS Director of Marketing

Americas

[email protected]

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/allied-electronics--automation-rebrands-as-rs-301739571.html

SOURCE RS
[February 06, 2023] UWM Appoints Andrew Hubacker Chief Financial Officer

United Wholesale Mortgage (UWM), the #1 overall lender in America, has named Andrew Hubacker its new Chief Financial Officer. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230206005258/en/ UWM's Chief Financial Officer, Andrew Hubacker (Photo: Business Wire) Hubacker will assume the position immediately and will oversee all financial aspects of the company including accounting, internal and external reporting, financial compliance, tax, treasury and liquidity management, and budgeting and forecasting. Hubacker originally joined the company in October of 2020 as Chief Accounting Officer and took on the role of Interim Principal Financial Officer in July of 2022. "Andrew has made such a positive impact at UWM since the day he started," said Mat Ishbia, president and CEO of UWM. "His nearly three decades of experience and deep knowledge allowed him to expand our finance team's capabilities and made him a key player in helping UWM go public back in 2021. He has been acting as the CFO since the passing of Tim Forrester, and has done a phenomenal job in all aspects. I know he's capableof taking on this role and has been doing it at a high level already."



Hubacker was originally recruited by the late Timothy Forrester, UWM's previous CFO, to help take the company public via the largest SPAC in history at the time. Hubacker's extensive background and expertise made him the perfect candidate for the role. In a condensed amount of time he helped implement new finance processes and programs to transition the company from private to publicly-held, shares of which trade on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). More recently, Hubacker played a key role in helping UWM achieve its goal of becoming the number 1 overall lender in the nation by helping lead various initiatives to enhance the company's liquidity and financial position. These initiatives have helped provide the company with the necessary liquidity to support its strategic objectives that ultimately helped UWM rise to the top.

"I'm humbled to be named UWM's Chief Financial Officer," said Hubacker. "From helping to take the company public through the largest SPAC in history, to becoming the #1 overall mortgage lender in the nation, my experiences at UWM have been nothing short of extraordinary. The positive mindset and service mentality every single team member and leader have here is truly unmatched. I'm eager to continue elevating and enhancing the role and capabilities of our finance team as a strategic business partner to the company." Prior to joining UWM, Hubacker spent 18 years at Deloitte & Touche, LLP, including over 12 years as an audit partner. He also spent time at AOL, LLC and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). He is a Certified Public Accountant in the state of Michigan and graduated from Michigan State University with a bachelor's degree in accounting. Hubacker resides in Bloomfield Township, Michigan with his wife and three children. About UWM Holdings Corporation and United Wholesale Mortgage Headquartered in Pontiac, Michigan, UWM Holding Corporation (UWMC) is the publicly traded indirect parent of United Wholesale Mortgage, LLC ("UWM"). UWM is the nation's largest home mortgage lender, despite exclusively originating mortgage loans through the wholesale channel. UWM has been the largest wholesale mortgage lender for 8 consecutive years and is also the largest purchase lender in the nation. With a culture of continuous innovation of technology and enhanced client experience, UWM leads the market by building upon its proprietary and exclusively licensed technology platforms, superior service and focused partnership with the independent mortgage broker community. UWM originates primarily conforming and government loans across all 50 states and the District of Columbia. For more information, visit uwm.com or call 800-981-8898. NMLS #3038. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230206005258/en/

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The North Dakota Industrial Commission voiced unanimous support Monday to move toward filing a lawsuit challenging Minnesotas carbon-free electricity legislation, with North Dakotas governor arguing the neighboring state is overreaching.

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz is expected to sign a bill that requires Minnesota utilities to transition to 100% carbon-free electricity by 2040. The bill would prevent North Dakota utilities from exporting power generated from coal and gas to Minnesota. North Dakota exports about 50% of its electricity supply, with the vast majority used in Minnesota, according to the North Dakota Lignite Energy Council.

North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, who chairs the states Industrial Commission, said state leaders tried unsuccessfully to urge Minnesota to amend the bill so it would not affect North Dakota utility companies. North Dakota officials will continue to work with Minnesota to attempt to reach an agreement to avoid a lawsuit, Burgum said.

By regulating the percent of electricity sold, theyre essentially overreaching and affecting North Dakota companies, he said.

Burgum said he supports Minnesotas efforts to decarbonize, but he said the interstate commerce clause and other areas of law prevent Minnesotas Legislature from having a say over how North Dakota businesses operate.

We respect state sovereignty and their ability to regulate their own industries but not their ability to regulate their neighbors, the governor said.

Burgum noted North Dakotas goal of becoming carbon neutral by 2030, but added that has to be balanced with providing low-cost, stable and reliable electricity.

I think we all care deeply about clean air and clean water, he said.

Other members of the Industrial Commission are Agriculture Commissioner Doug Goehring and Attorney General Drew Wrigley.

Goehring said North Dakota wanted to avoid a lawsuit by suggesting an amendment to the legislation. North Dakota leaders advocated for the legislation to apply only to electricity generated within Minnesota.

Im a bit frustrated that we have to go down this road, he said.

Wrigley said North Dakota has prevailed in similar litigation in the past.

The commission met in a closed-door executive session for about 30 minutes to consult with attorneys. Commissioners then directed the appointment of special assistant attorneys general and allocated $1 million from the Lignite Research Fund to pay for litigation. Commissioners also voiced support for a proposed legislative appropriation of $3 million for a lawsuit.

A spokesperson for Walz did not immediately return messages seeking comment.
[February 06, 2023] GAIMIN and BNB Chain AMA to bolster Web3 esports Growth Initiatives.

ZUG, Switzerland, Feb. 6, 2023 /PRNewswire/ - GAIMIN (www.gaimin.io), the world's leader in delivering decentralised, distributed data processing power today announces an AMA (Ask Me Anything) on 7th February, in conjunction with BNB Chain (www.bnbchain.org), to discuss how GAIMIN and GAIMIN's esports team, GAIMIN Gladiators (www.gaimingladiators.gg), will be partnering to deliver Web 3 esports growth initiatives. With the global blockchain gaming market projected to grow from $4.6bn in 2022 to $65.7bn in 2027, GAIMIN is at the forefront of delivering blockchain technology and solutions to the gaming industry to facilitate their transformation to in-game Web3 technologies. Following the recent announcement that GAIMIN and BNB Chain will be working together to accelerate the growth of blockchain technology in the gaming sector, GAIMIN and BNB Chain will be holding an AMA (Ask Me Anything) on Tuesday 7th February, 1pm UTC, to allow all interested parties to get the latest information and updates on this partnership. Martin Speight, CEO of GAIMIN said "I am delighted to be working with BNB Chain to deliver Web3 technology to the gaming community. Our technology is designed to enable game developers to convert their AAA Web2 games to Web3 and allow the incorporation of blockchain functionality and services into their games." Walter Lee, Partner Growth and GameFi leader at BNB Chain, commented, "We selected GAIMIN to become our first Partner for Web3 esports Growth Initiatives following our review of its business model and its ability to reach the global gaming community. We are particularly excited by GAIMIN's approach to developing Web3 based technologies that allow games developers, and most importantly gamers, to benefit from this growth market." Andrew Faridani, CMO of GAIMIN added, "This AMA will give anyone interested in how BNB Chain, GAIMIN and GAIMIN Gladiators will be delivering strategic initiatives over the coming months to deliver Web 3 technology to the esports and gaming industries. Please join us on BNB Chain's Twitter Spaces on the 7th February and all will be explained!". These are exciting times, not only for GAIMIN and BNB Chain, but also for gamers and the gaming community. We are at the start of this paradigm shift in this emerging industry and we are excited about how through this partnership we can suppot its growth.



To participate in the AMA follow https://twitter.com/i/spaces/1BdGYyddMlvGX About BNB Chain

BNB Chain is a community-driven, decentralised and censorship-resistant blockchain, powered by BNB. It consists of BNB Beacon Chain and BNB Smart Chain (BSC), which is EVM compatible and facilitates a multi-chain ecosystem. It is the world's largest smart contract blockchain in terms of transaction volume and daily active users. It has processed 3 billion transactions to date, from 240+ million unique addresses, bringing developers massive user access with ultra-low gas fees and zero downtime since inception. The ecosystem has more than 1,300 active Apps across multiple categories such as DeFi, Metaverse, blockchain games, NFT and more. About GAIMIN GAIMIN.IO Ltd (GAIMIN) is a UK and Swiss based gaming company focused on helping the gaming community monetise the computational power of their gaming PC. GAIMIN has created a decentralised data processing network harnessing under utilised processing power typically found in gaming PC's to create a world-wide decentralised data processing network, delivering supercomputer performance. With a free to download PC-based application, GAIMIN monetises the under utilised performance through innovative approaches to delivering supercomputer level data processing performance from a world-wide network of independent processing devices which power GAIMIN.CLOUD. Focusing initially on video rendering and AI data processing, with an always available service to power blockchain computations, the GAIMIN data processing network is continuously delivering data processing services and returning rewards back to its user community. GAIMIN rewards users in its own crypto currency, GMRX which can then be used for purchases on the GAIMIN Marketplace for NFTs, in-game assets, accessories and merchandise, or it can be converted to fiat or a different crypto currency. For more information on GAIMIN click on this link: www.gaimin.io

To download the GAIMIN app, please go to www.gaimin.gg For up to date information, please follow the following GAIMIN social media accounts: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Gaimin.io

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gaimin_io/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/GaiminIo

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/gaimin/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/Gaimin

Telegram: https://t.me/officialgaimin

Discord: https://discord.gg/SmYsmVS8x7

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@gaimin.gg

For more information on GAIMIN's app, see here: GAIMIN App Announcement For further information, please contact: The Americas, Middle East and Australian Pacific - Andrew Faridani, Chief Marketing Officer for GAIMIN (based in Toronto, Canada): [email protected] UK and Europe - Marc Bray, Chief Communications Officer for GAIMIN (based in Manchester, UK): [email protected] View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/gaimin-and-bnb-chain-ama-to-bolster-web3-esports-growth-initiatives-301739630.html SOURCE Gaimin

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[February 06, 2023] Pacific Science Center Announces New Summer Camp Location in South Seattle

Award-Winning Camps Now Offered at Salish Sea Elementary School in Othello Square SEATTLE, Feb. 6, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Pacific Science Center (PacSci) will offer summer camps in a new location in South Seattle this year. The new site, located at Salish Sea Elementary School in South Seattle's Othello Square, includes PreK programming, PM extended care for busy parents and guardians, and 33 scholarship spots. Summer campers will engage in a variety of topics such as "Under the Sea", "What's Up Doc?", "To the Moon", "Mission to Mars", "Cooking Up Science", and more. "We are delighted to expand inclusive and accessible STEM programming to the South Seattle community, which has a rich history and diversity," said Will Daugherty, PacSci's CEO. "Summer camps are an invaluable resource that provide students with opportunities to engage with STEM outside of the classroom, and the PacSci team is incredibly excited to bring those opportunities to students in South Seattle. We also hope to learn and partner with South Seattle communities to inspire new STEM learning for students."



South Seattle during the summer," said Erin Okuno , PacSci board member and South Seattle resident. "Out-of-school time exploration, wonder, and connecting to people and communities help children learn and see themselves as part of a larger world." PacSci's award-winning summer camps offer more than 100 exciting opportunities for exploration and experimentation. In addition to the new location in South Seattle, PacSci will continue to offer summer camps at five other locations across the Puget Sound, including Mercer Slough in Bellevue; Explorer West Middle School in West Seattle; St. Thomas Middle School in Medina; Kirkland Seventh-Day Adventist School; and the PacSci campus itself. Over 300 scholarship spots are available across all locations. PacSci also offers girls-focused and sensory-friendly summer camp options.

Camp registration opens on Monday, February 6 for PacSci members and on Monday, February 13 to the public. To learn more and register, visit PacSci.org. About Pacific Science Center Pacific Science Center is an independent, not-for-profit institution in Seattle, Washington and has been a gateway to access science education and innovation for over 60 years. The institution's mission is to ignite curiosity in every child and fuel a passion for discovery, experimentation, and critical thinking in all of us. Pacific Science Center innovated during the pandemic to expand its digital and virtual programming and increase its reach across Washington, employing technology to bring experiential STEM education directly to homes and classrooms. In 20212022, its interactive online programs reached nearly half a million people and Virtual Field Trips reached more than 28,000 students across the state. PacSci imagines a future in which it serves every grade in every preK-8 Title I school in the state with programming in schools, digital and virtual programming, and in-person field tripsall at no cost to schools, educators, or families. View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/pacific-science-center-announces-new-summer-camp-location-in-south-seattle-301739713.html SOURCE Pacific Science Center

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[February 06, 2023] Meharry Medical College and Heritage Group Partner to Encourage More Minority-Owned Businesses and Entrepreneurs

Meharry Medical College, one of the nation's oldest and largest historically Black academic health science centers, has announced a new partnership with Heritage Group, a Nashville-based private equity firm focused on investments in the health care industry. The partnership seeks to diversify the entrepreneurial landscape and pave the way for the next generation of minority business owners by providing Meharry students the opportunity to learn more about health care finance. Leaders at Meharry and Heritage Group believe the partnership is particularly important at this time in the nation's history when the COVID-19 pandemic has exposed and exacerbated socioeconomic, gender and racial inequities across society, including corporate America. Part of Heritage Group's broader diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs, the partnership will introduce Meharry students to finance, investment and health care entrepreneurship so that they are better equipped to pursue business opportunities that will impact the lives of the people they serve. "This partnership with Heritage will allow our students to gain deeper knowledge in the financial and health care sectors," said James E.K. Hildreth, Ph.D., M.D., president and CEO of Meharry Medical College. "It is proven that when businesses have diverse leadership, they are more likely to consider and address the needs of underserved populations. This is particularly important in health care, where treatments and medicines are currently being formulated without regard to the minority community. We are grateful to Heritage for recognizing this dynamic in our corporate world and for investing its time into ensuring that the health care business leadership of the future looks differently than it does today." A Meharry-Heritage Fellowship is the centerpiece of the partnership. Each semester, a student will be chosen from a pool of applicants to work with members of the Heritage team, developing and refining an investment thesis, conducting market research and performing due diligence on potential investments. Fellows will determine their own schedules with Heritage Group and collaborate with portfolio company management teams on strategic and operational initiatives. Heritage Group will provide students with financial knowledge and access to a network of individuals that will enhance their own entrepreneurial endeavors. Shanice Cheatham, a presidential fellow at Meharry with a bachelor's degree in celllar and molecular biology and a Master of Public Health in health policy and management from Kent State University, is the inaugural Meharry-Heritage Fellow. Cheatham began working with Heritage last year to expand her knowledge in health care finance and build a business model she will use to obtain investor funding for a water-filtration system she invented-Medical Purification Pack. She created the water system after her father's 2015 battle with Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), a staph infection resistant to some antibiotics. The Medical Purification Pack will provide a medical-grade hand washing system-with water standards higher than regular drinking water-to developing nations to decrease the number of post-surgical infections.



"A common challenge among young inventors and entrepreneurs is funding, specifically how to attract investors to raise the funds necessary to make your idea a reality," said Cheatham. "I'm extremely grateful for the relationships I've built at Heritage Group and the constant support and encouragement I've received throughout my fellowship. This fellowship has helped me acquire the knowledge and skills needed to continue my mission of decreasing the number of bacterial infections experienced in underdeveloped countries." Cheatham has used her experience at Heritage Group to tweak her business model, setting her on a path to target a possible $3 million in federal grants. After her fellowship concludes this month, she plans to continue pursuing her business while training to become a trauma surgeon and creating a global health surgery center for underserved communities.

"We are extremely grateful to be working with Shanice and with Meharry to help diversify the next generation of health care companies," said Jesse Bland, a partner at Heritage Group. "As our footprint has grown, we have increased our focus on environmental, social and governance issues. We believe the private equity industry has a responsibility to ensure that all entrepreneurs in our country, regardless of background, have a fair and equitable opportunity to realize their business ideas. This goal aligns with Meharry's mission to advance health equity and empower diverse populations, and we are proud to partner with the College in this endeavor." About Meharry Medical College Meharry Medical College, founded in 1876, is the nation's largest private, independent historically Black academic health sciences center dedicated solely to educating minority and other health professionals. True to its heritage, it is a United Methodist Church-related institution. The College is particularly well known for its uniquely nurturing, highly effective educational programs; emerging preeminence in health disparities research; culturally sensitive, evidence-based health services and significant contribution to the diversity of the nation's health professions workforce. Diverse Issues in Higher Education's ranking of institutions annually lists Meharry as a leading national educator of African Americans with M.D. and D.D.S. degrees and Ph.D. degrees in the biomedical sciences. Visit www.mmc.edu to learn more. About Heritage Group Heritage Group is a Nashville, Tennessee based, healthcare-focused private equity firm with more than 35 years of experience financing and operating healthcare companies. Heritage has over $700 million of assets under management and seeks to make majority and minority investments in high-growth healthcare services and healthcare technology businesses that address the challenges of the U.S. healthcare system. The firm's limited partners include some of the leading healthcare organizations in the nation, including large provider systems, payers, and healthcare service providers, which collectively operate over 600 hospitals and insure more than 45 million lives. For more information, visit www.heritagegroupusa.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230206005611/en/

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[February 06, 2023] Cogo leverages AWS Marketplace to scale cloud-based carbon management software to help lower carbon emissions

AUCKLAND, New Zealand , Feb. 6, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Global carbon footprint management fintech, Cogo , today announced that its carbon footprint management software is now listed on AWS Marketplace , a digital catalogue with thousands of software listings from independent software vendors that make it easy to find, test, buy, and deploy software that runs on Amazon Web Services (AWS). The listing will give more than 325,000 active AWS customers around the world access to Cogo's cloud-based carbon footprint technology that enables individuals and businesses to measure, understand, and reduce their impact on the climate. Cogo works with 12 banks globally, including NatWest , Westpac, the Commonwealth Bank of Australia, Royal Bank of Scotland, Suncorp Bank, and most recently Kiwibank, to provide carbon emissions data for banking transactions such as spend on electricity and fuel. The Cogo Personal and Business Carbon Manager solutions calculate carbon footprints for both individuals and businesses, and can provide personalised recommendations on ways to lower carbon footprints. Customers can also share their progress, which can help businesses attract and retain customers. "Carbon footprint integration is fast becoming a strategic priority for businesses, as customers seek ways to make more sustainable buying decisions and reduce their impact on the climate," said Ben Gleisner, Founder of Cogo. "Cogo makes these insights easy to see so customers can take immediate action. We're now excited to scale our solution globally by joining AWS Marketplace and making it easily available to AWS customers who share a desire to make a positive impact on our climate." "Cogo also increases the sustainability of a bank's portfolio, assists with compliance around ever-tightening legal requirements including possible climate related financial disclosure, and comes with significant brand benefits from being a sustainability champion," adds Gleisner. "Amazon is committed to building a sustainable business for our customers and the planet, and co-ounded The Climate Pledge to reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2040  10 years ahead of the Paris Agreement," said Tiffany Bloomquist, Country Manager, Commercial Sector, AWS New Zealand. "We're also committed to powering our new AWS Asia Pacific (Auckland) Region with 100% renewable energy at launch. Cogo shares our commitment to sustainability and has developed an innovative way to help the finance sector make more carbon conscious decisions. We look forward to seeing them grow globally on AWS Marketplace and expand their solutions into new markets."



The solution in action In 2021, NatWest contracted Cogo to integrate a carbon footprint tracker via an API into its retail banking app to support the bank's transition towards a net-zero, climate-resilient and sustainable economy. Agility, security, and low latency were requirements for the carbon footprint tracking feature to process large volumes of data from customer transactions on the mobile app.

"Our customers didn't understand what their impact was or what actions they could take to support the drive towards net-zero emissions," explains Rachael Colville-Walker, senior digital product owner at NatWest Group. As an AWS Partner, Cogo built the API for NatWest on AWS using Amazon API Gateway, AWS Lambda, and Amazon Aurora. The bank had experience with other partners' solutions on AWS, which gave them confidence in Cogo's proposed solution. By integrating the feature into its retail banking app via an API, NatWest's retail customers can track how their spending impacts the climate and receive suggestions on how to reduce their carbon footprint. "Cogo understands the regulatory environment and our privacy concerns. Solutions built on AWS tick all the security boxes for a financial organisation like ours," said Colville-Walker. The bank and Cogo had a tight launch timeline of six months, aiming to introduce the tracking feature before the UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) in Glasgow, Scotland, later that year. "The carbon tracking feature from Cogo is a differentiator for NatWest and clearly demonstrates our commitment to helping the UK achieve net-zero emissions," added Colville-Walker. NatWest is on track to have over three million customers using its carbon footprint management features. ( Read the full case study here .) About Cogo Cogo is a carbon footprint management product that helps individuals and businesses to measure, understand and reduce their impact on the climate. Cogo does this through partnerships with some of the world's largest banks to integrate leading carbon-tracking functionality into their banking apps. Cogo uses best-in-class models to provide accurate ways to measure carbon emissions specific to local markets and cutting edge behavioural science techniques to nudge customers to make more sustainable choices. Cogo currently works with twelve banks, with plans to double this in the next twelve months. Founded in 2016, Cogo now employs over 100 people, operates in 12 countries across Europe and Australasia (including the UK, Netherlands, New Zealand, Australia, Japan and Singapore) and helps over a million customers around the world measure their carbon footprint. Cogo has raised over US$12.5million in funding since launch. To find out more information about Cogo, please visit cogo.co. View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/cogo-leverages-aws-marketplace-to-scale-cloud-based-carbon-management-software-to-help-lower-carbon-emissions-301739865.html SOURCE Cogo

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[February 06, 2023] BGL Welcomes Craig M. Decker as Managing Director within Business & Industrial Services

NEW YORK, Feb. 6, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Brown Gibbons Lang & Company (BGL), a leading independent investment bank and financial advisory firm, is pleased to announce the addition of Craig M. Decker as a new Managing Director within its Services vertical. Craig, who has over 20 years of experience in M&A advisory and capital markets transactions spanning the transportation, logistics, and supply chain sectors, will lead BGL's Transportation & Logistics investment banking activities. Based in New York City, Craig also adds to BGL's expanding presence on the East Coast. "I'm thrilled to be joining a team of this caliber and look forward to adding to the momentum of the firm's expansion." "On the heels of Eliott Musick joining our Services vertical to lead our Facility & Field Services business, Craig expands our ongoing efforts ithin infrastructure services through his impressive career in transportation, logistics, and supply chain," said Effram Kaplan, Head of BGL's Services vertical and lead within its Environmental & Industrial Services business. "Craig enables us to scale our knowledge and skills across our client base and bring additional ideas and opportunities to the market. We are very pleased to welcome him to BGL and excited about the additional resources we can offer our clients."



Prior to joining BGL, Craig was a Managing Director at Headhaul Capital Partners, a merchant banking firm specializing in the transportation and logistics sector. In 2018, Craig founded CMD Advisory (CMDA), an investment banking firm focused on providing comprehensive advisory and private capital services to public and private companies across all sub-sectors of the transportation industry. Previously in his career, Craig headed the investment banking group at Wolfe Capital Markets & Advisory, the broker-dealer affiliate of Wolfe Research, LLC, a specialized practice focused on the transportation and logistics sector. "BGL has demonstrated impressive growth over the past several years," said Decker. "I'm thrilled to be joining a team of this caliber and look forward to adding to the momentum of the firm's expansion in NYC and beyond."

Craig holds an MBA from New York University's Leonard N. Stern School of Business and earned his B.A. from Villanova University. Craig's hire follows the addition of Eliott Musick to the firm's Services vertical as lead banker in the Facility & Field Services sector, which was announced in July 2022. About Brown Gibbons Lang & Company

Brown Gibbons Lang & Company (BGL) is a leading independent investment bank and financial advisory firm focused on the global middle market. The firm advises private and public corporations and private equity groups on mergers and acquisitions, capital markets, financial restructurings, business valuations and opinions, and other strategic matters. BGL has investment banking offices in Chicago, Cleveland, Los Angeles, and New York, and real estate offices in Chicago, Cleveland, and San Antonio. The firm is also a founding member of Global M&A Partners, enabling BGL to service clients in more than 30 countries around the world. Securities transactions are conducted through Brown, Gibbons, Lang & Company Securities, LLC, an affiliate of Brown Gibbons Lang & Company LLC and a registered broker-dealer and member of FINRA and SIPC. For more information, please visit www.bglco.com. View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/bgl-welcomes-craig-m-decker-as-managing-director-within-business--industrial-services-301739928.html SOURCE Brown Gibbons Lang & Company

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Campaign season kicks off with a series of rigged gatherings that MIGHT OR MIGHT NOT influence many people.

Consider this question . . .

In the era of social media and following the disconnect of the pandemic . . . Will Kansas City voters flock to candidate forums?!?

Not so long ago . . . Top columnists for the biggest Kansas City newspapers used to stake out these rituals. Nowadays, I'd be surprised to see if their zoom calls registered more than 10 people.

More to the point . . .

KANSAS CITY CANDIDATE FORUMS MIGHT BE A THING OF THE PAST ESPECIALLY WHEN THEY'RE KINDA RIGGED!!!



We've explained this previously . . . But here's our main point of contention . . .



The CA was formerly a membership organization comprised of dozens of neighborhood leaders . . . Now it is a political action committee run by a handful of people pushing a slate of development friendly candidates.



Still . . . For better or worse . . . This is sorry the state of local politics and it's worth a peek . . .



The Citizens Association is announcing citywide KCMO Council Candidate forums.



Candidates for the Kansas City, MO City Council will appear in candidate forums across the city. The forums are organized by citizens, for citizens. You are invited to join our movement. Register today here on this site for the various candidate forum locations. The complete schedule is below. Another first, we invite you to complete this Citizen Survey to have your voice heard. We'll make sure the candidates know what we want for our city. Once you share your email address, we'll stay in touch with ways to join us and participate.

Here's a look at the schedule . . .

Read more via www.TonysKansasCity.com link . . .
For more context on this tragic news of ongoing gunfire . . . Let's not forget the YEARS of political fighting amongst Eastsiders and the entire city over a stretch of road dedicated to the late civil rights leader.



KCMO finally settled on a location that didn't really make anyone happy.

Today, here's a glimpse at the current condition of the locale . . .



"One victim suffered critical injuries while another sustained non-life-threatening injuries, according to KCPD.Police say there is currently no word on whether anyone is in custody in connection to the shooting."

Read more via www.TonysKansasCity.com link . . .

KCPD says one person is in critical condition after a double shooting on MLK Blvd. The Kansas City, Missouri Police Department is investigating a double shooting Sunday afternoon near Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. and Kensington Ave. Police say the incident left one person in critical condition. Another victim reportedly suffered non-life-threatening injuries in the shooting.

One critically injured in shooting Sunday afternoon KANSAS CITY, Mo. - One person is in critical condition after a shooting that occurred Sunday afternoon. Officers responded to Dr. Martin Luther King Boulevard and Kensington Ave around 1:04 p.m. and found the victim suffering from gunshot wounds.

2 injured in shooting near Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard in Kansas City, Missouri KANSAS CITY, Mo. - The Kansas City, Missouri, Police Department responded to reports of a shooting at around 1:04 p.m. Sunday near Dr. Martin Luther King Boulevard and Kensington Avenue. Upon arrival to the scene, police found two victims. One victim suffered critical injuries while another sustained non-life-threatening injuries, according to KCPD.

Developing . . .
Yes, your auto insurance company can drop you. Heres how to protect yourself against worst-case scenarios

A 74-year-old Brampton retiree was dumped by her insurance company after she was in two accidents, even though she says one wasnt her fault.
This is Up and Down, where we give a brief thumbs up or thumbs down on the issues from the past week.

Up

Boardings at airports in North Dakota's eight largest cities in 2022 surpassed 1 million for the first time amid the coronavirus pandemic. It's another sign of a return to normalcy. The airports in Bismarck, Fargo, Grand Forks, Minot, Devils Lake, Jamestown, Dickinson and Williston had a total of 1,028,159 passenger boardings last year, up 16% from 2021 and 80% higher than in 2020. That's the year the pandemic hit and boardings plummeted to a record low. State Aeronautics Commissioner Kyle Wanner says North Dakotas airline passenger demand "is within reach of a full recovery to pre-pandemic levels." And he says that bolsters the justification for airlines to add more flights and destinations.

Down

State lawmakers have once again denied medical marijuana patients the option of edibles. Patients under North Dakota's state-run program have a variety of options, ranging from dried leaves to patches to lotions. But many have been calling for years for edibles to be added to the list, saying they're healthier, easier to use, and that they provide a more accurate dosing method. The main opposition seems to center around the fear that children will think edibles are candy and eat them. That can be said about many things, including medicine that comes in the form of pills. Lawmakers need to trust medical marijuana patients to be responsible, rather than automatically expect the opposite.

Up

Two University of Mary nursing students jumped into action last month when a 70-year-old woman lost consciousness on a flight from Florida to Bismarck. Gracie Zottnick and Josh Sipes, who are dating, heard an announcement seeking medical personnel. The students helped take vitals and administer oxygen, and helped the woman drink orange juice when she regained consciousness. They also stayed with the woman until the plane landed in Bismarck and emergency responders came aboard to take over. Zottnick said she was initially in shock, but the basics of training kicked in as they responded.

Down

Its disappointing that North Dakota lawmakers have already killed a bill that sought to establish a pilot program to reduce the cost of prescription drugs. Senate Bill 2031 would have cut drug prices for nearly 60,000 current and retired public employees and their dependents who are insured through the North Dakota Public Employees Retirement System. Supporters wanted to expand the program to all residents in the future. It was a complex proposal and the committee could not find a way to make it effective or enforceable, according to Sen. Kristin Roers, R-Fargo. Its unfortunate the proposal died so early in the legislative session. Helping North Dakotans afford their medications is an issue worthy of further exploration.
John Mearsheimer | The elites play games with our plant and our lives

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oVUCCLDUb-k

Chris Hedges Fan Club 6.21



0:00

I has several questions dealing with what kind of scenarios could be realistic for the war in Ukraine to end; now given your distinctive positions how would you see that what would be a realistic scenario going forward for the war well.

I agree with Carl there when you ask Carl that question a slightly different form he basically said it's very hard to figure out where this train is headed I don't

0:25

know how this one is going to end

0:27

right I do want to go to Great Lengths

0:29

to make sure we don't end up getting uh

0:32

incinerated in a nuclear war but I don't

0:34

know where it's going to end because

0:36

what I hear you say also from your

0:38

intervention is that there is no obvious

0:39

end to this war because Russia is not

0:42

going to back down and the ukrainians

0:44

get the support for Europeans and the US

0:47

is also not going to back down right I

0:49

said that in my formal remarks

0:52

go back to this Russia Putin Putin is

0:54

not going to back down

0:56

and there might be a difference I I I

0:59

think there are a fair number of people

1:01

in Moscow even in senior positions who

1:03

would be interested in closing down this

1:05

war tomorrow

1:06

would they could would that include

1:09

Crimea withdrawing from Crimea probably

1:12

not probably not

1:14

so then we will be back to where we were

1:17

but uh prior to sort of February the

1:20

24th where we did not have an agreement

1:23

on Crimea and I think it could take

1:25

quite some time to get some sort of

1:27

solution to Crimea but I think the other

1:31

issues I would not consider it entirely

1:33

impossible that at some point in time we

1:36

get the change that sort of they

1:38

understand in Moscow that what they're

1:41

heading into into something that's got

1:43

to be danger for Russia not because we

1:46

are going to invade Moscow that's not

1:48

going to happen

1:50

but it's going to implode

1:52

and they will try to rescue what can be

1:55

rescued and go for something that might

1:58

be acceptable but that will only be

2:01

possible if we can give and and I think

2:04

we'll talk about the post Putin it's not

2:06

going to happen with Putin and it's also

2:08

going to be dependent us helping to

2:10

secure and and give a new future to

2:13

Ukraine because as I said if we don't

2:15

get a stable Ukraine

2:17

uh we will not get a stable Europe

2:19

because then there will be a constant

2:22

Temptation for I mean if you see some of

2:25

the loonies that are paraded on Russian

2:27

television these days they're truly

2:29

dangerous loonies parading there but

2:32

we'll give temptation to them but we do

2:34

not know where this war will end we do

2:36

not not know where Russia will end up

2:38

what we do know is that there is a

2:43

movement towards a geopolitical rivalry

2:46

where you have the UF and China coming

2:49

back to John's intervention and the U.S

2:52

Russia now where is Europe in all this

2:56

in the

2:59

now where is excuse me where is Europe

3:01

in that picture because the Rivalry is

3:06

primarily the dyad between the UF and

3:09

China on the one hand and you depicted

3:11

to be the U.S and Russia on the other so

3:13

it's a tripolar dynamic but where is

3:17

Europe in that dynamic

3:21

in that particular Dynamic I mean we are

3:23

John mentioned the Taiwan issue uh as

3:27

perhaps the most dangerous one which is

3:29

really is a very very different issue

3:31

because it's really done the resolve the

3:32

Civil War from 1949 and and the Chinese

3:36

want to sort of obey Jing once in some

3:39

sort of way primarily prevent Taiwan

3:41

from going independent they would

3:43

consider that something completely

3:45

unacceptable so we are distinctly in

3:48

favor of one China principle we say

3:50

however defined it somewhat differently

3:51

and we are in favor of a peaceful

3:53

resolution to it and we are distinctly

3:55

against

3:57

uh trying to resolve that by military

3:59

means then Europe is not a military

4:01

power in that part of the world we are

4:04

trading power we are diplomatic power

4:06

but we are not a military power with

4:07

that part of the world

4:09

yeah yeah uh I think uh the United

4:12

States is deeply committed to containing

4:15

if not uh rolling back Chinese power and

4:21

that containment strategy has two

4:24

Dimensions to it one is a military

4:26

Dimension and the other is an economic

4:28

Dimension and in terms of the military

4:30

Dimension the Europeans are going to

4:33

play hardly any role at all I think we

4:34

agree on that

4:36

where the Europeans are going to matter

4:38

is on the economic front and this is a

4:40

very tricky issue and they're of course

4:43

now lots of articles in the media on

4:45

this subject but the Europeans are going

4:49

to want to trade extensively with China

4:54

this is especially true given the

4:56

negative Economic Consequences of the

4:59

Ukraine war and it's no accident that

5:02

early last month the German Chancellor

5:05

went to Beijing and there's all sorts of

5:07

evidence the Europeans are thinking

5:09

about trading more and more with China

5:12

and of course the Europeans because they

5:14

have these sophisticated economies with

5:16

all these sophisticated technologies

5:18

will trade Technologies with the Chinese

5:22

which will enrage the Americans the

5:25

Americans are going to want the

5:26

Europeans to help Washington throttle

5:32

the Chinese economy you are not going to

5:35

have any interest in throttling the

5:37

Chinese economy you're going to have an

5:40

interest in enhancing your prosperity

5:43

facilitating economic growth and that

5:45

means more trade with Europe so I think

5:48

there is a potential

5:51

for significant tension between the

5:55

United States and Europe

5:57

over the whole issue of trade between

6:01

Europe and China

6:04

now is this not the challenge because we

6:07

have no good deterrent to prevent war

6:10

and instability in a more multi-polar

6:14

world and that means that we are moving

6:16

over to more hybrid measures now the new

6:19

U.S uh defense strategy talks about

6:23

integrated deterrence which is not only

6:25

military but which is also integrating

6:28

all other kinds of of domains all the

6:31

military domains but also sanctions and

6:33

a number of other institutional measures

6:36

now how does this look from the

6:39

perspective of Europe is Europe is the

6:41

EU ready for that world

6:44

I think to some extent Europe is more

6:46

ready than Americans are in the sense

6:48

that I said

6:50

um EU is very much a Hybrid Power if you

6:52

talk talk about all of the different

6:54

elements of hybrid Warfare they are

6:58

elements where there are instruments in

7:00

the hands of the European Union uh we

7:02

are not a military power we don't have

7:04

any armored divisions at all but we

7:07

coordinate cyber policies we coordinate

7:09

trade policies we coordinate migration

7:11

policies to a certain extent not always

7:13

a smashing success has to be said we

7:16

coordinate uh security sort of domestic

7:19

security Affairs that sort of thing that

7:22

is necessary in order to meet hybrid

7:24

threats we have I think more instruments

7:28

than the Americans have for obvious

7:30

reasons because the U.S continent has

7:33

not been fake as you said you live in

7:35

peace with the Canadians and the

7:36

Mexicans uh while we have been uh

7:39

exposed to these sorts of hybrid things

7:41

and accordingly have more instruments

7:44

so you think that Europe is well

7:46

equipped I wonder why it's well equipped

7:48

I mean shouldn't but but we are better

7:50

equipped and we are equipping ourselves

7:52

uh that I would argue but what do you

7:54

think of my argument that the Europeans

7:57

are going to trade with the Chinese in

8:00

ways that's going to anger The Americans

8:04

are we were going to trade with Chinese

8:05

we do or also the Americans do America

8:07

American yes exports you know what I'm

8:10

saying here high technology yeah on high

8:13

tech there's an element of tension

8:15

sometimes uh we have this sort of Chip

8:17

restrictions that came in the beginning

8:20

of October that affects a couple of

8:22

European companies that are less happy

8:24

there will be talks as a matter of fact

8:26

on Tuesday uh in Washington in the

8:30

traded Technology Council and see if we

8:31

can sort out these issues yeah yeah uh

8:34

we have a trade relationship across the

8:35

Atlantic that is not without its

8:37

tensions growing tensions at the moment

8:40

growing tensions due to certain

8:42

protectionist tendencies in American

8:43

politics but we normally sort them out

8:47

um the relationship across the Atlantic

8:49

uh we are allies whatever that means but

8:52

that doesn't mean that we are 100 of the

8:54

same view all the time never been the

8:57

case uh not now either and and of course

9:00

the difference I would say the the

9:02

fundamental difference between the

9:03

European View

9:04

an American view on China is that

9:07

for the U.S correct me if you think I'm

9:10

exaggerating

9:12

but for the U.S it's a fear of what I

9:14

call 1870

9:17

um 1870 was when

9:20

U.S replaced Britain as the dominating

9:23

power in the world in terms of economy

9:25

and there was consequences coming out of

9:28

that and and Americans of course feared

9:31

that an increasingly economically

9:33

powerful China

9:35

will over time

9:37

replace the Americans replace U.S as the

9:40

dominant power in the world I think

9:41

that's grossfully exaggerated I don't

9:44

think it will happen

9:46

but there's no question that that is

9:47

driving a lot of the fears in American

9:49

politics yeah but you know I think that

9:53

you are right that that is the great

9:56

fear that they will the Chinese will

9:58

overtake us the United States and I also

10:01

agree that it is probably greatly

10:04

exaggerated but this gets to my earlier

10:07

point that you never want to

10:09

underestimate the extent to which great

10:13

Powers assume worst case assumptions or

10:16

make worst case assumptions about the

10:19

other side so when you bring NATO

10:23

up to Russia's borders even if there are

10:26

no military forces American military

10:28

forces on Ukraine's territory and even

10:31

if it's going to take a long time for

10:34

Ukraine to become a member of NATO from

10:37

a Russian point of view they assume

10:39

worst case and they get really scared

10:41

because it's a security issue and the

10:43

same thing is true with the Americans

10:45

looking at China the Americans are

10:47

scared stiff

10:49

she pointed out that China is going to

10:51

overtake them and great powers are just

10:55

they get very nervous they get very

10:59

antsy and then they pursue risky

11:02

strategies that's the point I've tried

11:03

to drive home yet I mean

11:06

not quite the same thing but I'm in

11:08

Norway as a border with Russia Norwegian

11:11

Force which is very close to more months

11:13

which is the most yes density's

11:15

concentration of nuclear military power

11:17

that's been fairly okay uh since the

11:21

1940s I don't think the Russians were

11:23

particularly happy about Russia about

11:24

Norway joining NATO they were not but

11:27

his work Estonia is a member of NATO

11:31

um that is very close to Saint

11:32

Petersburg I mean the the Border City of

11:35

narva is closer to Saint Peters than to

11:37

Talib

11:39

um they live fairly harmoniously

11:40

together that is not a threat it works

11:44

but don't you see uh geopolitics leading

11:47

to an escalation of tensions in the

11:50

Arctic and in the north doesn't the fact

11:53

that the Cold War was a bipolar

11:56

situation that was relatively stable we

12:00

are now in a situation that is fairly

12:02

unstable because we do not know exactly

12:04

where we are heading and we have major

12:06

states that are uncertain about the

12:08

capabilities and the intentions of the

12:10

others and that brings us into a very

12:12

dangerous territory

12:14

it does but but but but the Arctic is

12:17

essentially not another thing and that

12:19

is of course the fact that the ice is

12:21

receding

12:22

and that means that for example now if

12:25

you want to go with north of Siberia you

12:29

can't go without the help of the

12:30

Russians simply not doable

12:33

um

12:35

20 30 years down the road 40 50 years

12:37

down the road you might have a lot of

12:40

commercial traffic going to the north of

12:41

Siberia and that will invite a lot of

12:44

legal and political issues be that

12:46

rivalry a bit something else I don't

12:49

think war is going to break out in the

12:50

Arctic but we're going to face a number

12:52

of new questions primarily as a result

12:55

of climate change I would argue but that

12:58

is also more urgent because we have

13:00

climate cooperation among the major

13:02

Nations how does the geopolitical

13:04

Rivalry influence our ability to move

13:09

forward and climate if you look at what

13:11

has happened over the past 10 months

13:12

they didn't it didn't vary

13:15

optimistic would you say

13:17

no I wouldn't although

13:19

Russia was never a big play on global

13:23

climate they should have been because

13:25

they're going to be performantly

13:26

affected by it and it takes them a long

13:27

time to understand that that's going to

13:30

be the case China is a was the big one

13:33

India to a certain extent we have I

13:36

think is 28 to 29 of global emissions

13:40

all from China and even if they are

13:42

leaders in Lord of the Renewables and

13:45

other things now they're also the

13:47

leaders in Coal emissions which is the

13:49

most dangerous thing so um one of the

13:51

good things that came out of the meeting

13:52

between Biden XI Xin ping in Bali was

13:56

that they restarted

13:58

the climate dialogue and the president

14:01

of the European Council is invading

14:02

today

14:04

in order to discuss primarily we start

14:07

in the climate dialogue with the Chinese

14:10

Russia different thing but we know that

14:13

war is a very very

14:16

detrimental activity for climate and for

14:20

uh focus on climate issues the emissions

14:23

in Europe have certainly taken a

14:25

different uh Road and so has the

14:28

situation with coal in Asia and so forth

14:30

so this is having very detrimental

14:32

effects both on emissions but also on

14:35

the economies that we need to turn it

14:37

around so there are certainly some very

14:39

unfortunate consequences for for for

14:42

climate in the short to midterm

14:46

I think to get in agreement on climate

14:50

uh and to get agreements on how to deal

14:54

with pandemics and to get arms control

14:57

agreements unique cooperation among the

15:01

great powers in the system the most

15:03

powerful states

15:05

as we remember we shut down

15:09

proliferation in the second half of the

15:11

Cold War because the United States and

15:14

the Soviet Union decided to create the

15:16

npt the nuclear suppliers group and so

15:19

forth and so on the great Powers have to

15:22

cooperate there's no question about that

15:25

the problem that we face today is

15:27

twofold first of all they're not two

15:30

great powers in the system like there

15:33

were during the Cold War there's not one

15:35

great power which is really the ideal

15:37

situation like there was in the unipolar

15:40

moment there are three great powers

15:43

second problem is

15:45

a young woman named Eliza George who

15:48

wrote

15:49

article on proliferation during the Cold

15:53

War and her argument is the more intense

15:57

the security competition between great

16:00

Powers the less likely it is you'll get

16:04

cooperation on proliferation and

16:07

assorted issues because the great Powers

16:11

really don't want to cooperate they want

16:13

to contest each other and she shows that

16:16

you got very little

16:18

cooperation between the United States

16:20

and the Soviet Union on the nuclear

16:22

proliferation front in the Hat first

16:25

half of the Cold War it was with the

16:27

coming of day taunt where you've got

16:29

cooperation between more cooperation

16:31

between the United States and the

16:32

Soviets that led to cooperation on the

16:36

proliferation front anyway all this is

16:39

to say when you look at the fact that we

16:41

have three great powers that you have to

16:43

coordinate and that you have an intense

16:45

security competition in East Asia

16:48

between the United States and China you

16:50

have an intense security competition

16:52

almost a war between the United States

16:54

and Russia and Europe it's no accident

16:57

ladies and gentlemen the Xi Jinping

17:00

recently told John Kerry that he was not

17:03

interested in cooperating on climate and

17:07

it's no accident that the Russians have

17:10

just made it clear that they're not that

17:12

interested in cooperating on arms

17:14

control with the United States so I

17:16

think we're going to have a lot of

17:18

trouble

17:19

garnering copyright cooperation on this

17:23

set of issues moving forward because of

17:25

the change in the structure of the

17:27

system moving to multi-polarity and the

17:29

intensity the Cooper of the competition
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.
One of Britains foremost historians of modern China A detailed and fascinating account of how the Chinese leaderships strategy has evolved across erasand how its recent overtures to regional and international audiences have corresponded to shifts in domestic education and internal propaganda about World War II Chinas Good War is at its most interesting when probing Beijings motives for undertaking such an ambitious retooling of its past in the first place. Howard W. French, Wall Street Journal

The range of evidence that Mitter marshals is impressive. The argument he makes about war, memory, and the international order isoriginal. The Economist

Excellent [By] one of the worlds leading Sinologists Allow[s] the readerand the next US administrationto prepare for what China may do next. James Kynge, Financial Times

Insightful Mitter opens a window into the legacy of Chinas experience of World War II, showing how historical memory lives on in the present and contributes to the constant evolution of Chinese nationalism. In this deft, textured work of intellectual history, he introduces readers to the scholars, filmmakers, and propagandists who have sought to redefine Chinas experience of the war Yet Mitter does not shy away from exposing some of the political fictions that the CCP imposes on Chinas pastto the detriment of its attempt to craft a persuasive narrative about Chinas future. Jessica Chen Weiss, Foreign Affairs

Explains how Beijing once underplayed the war, but it has now become a keystone of its claims to legitimacy and to regional hegemony. James Palmer, Foreign Policy

Fascinating An excellent guide to Chinese historiography Mitter has written an important book that should serve to counter some of the cruder ways in which China is being misrepresented in the United States. Michael Burleigh, Literary Review

Illuminates the fraught and complex manner in which historical memory functions in modern China. Jonathan Chatwin, Los Angeles Review of Books

Mitter chronicles the changing tides of official wartime narrative in China Chinas Good War is clear that national narratives are rarely based on historical scholarship, but rather on external politics. Paul French, South China Morning Post

A timely insight into how memories and ideas about the second world war play a hugely important role in conceptualizations about the past and the present in contemporary China. Peter Frankopan, The Spectator

Mitters most penetrating observations relate to how ordinary people have used contested memories of Chinas good war to implicitly critique the Communist Partys attacks on Chinese people Shows how conversations about one proud part of Chinas history are in fact conversations about more recent traumas. Jeremy Brown, Times Literary Supplement

Rana Mitter has been researching and teaching about Chinas Second World War for well over two decades now [He] writes extremely well, and the book is a pleasure to read A good place to start for those who wish to better understand 21st-century China. Peter Gries, China Quarterly

As China grows more powerful, the meaning of the war is changing. Rana Mitter argues that Chinas reassessment of the World War II years is central to its newfound confidence abroad and to mounting nationalism at home. Hindustan Times

Shows that the history of wartime China has been largely shaped by just one of its outcomes: the ascendancy of the Chinese Communist Party and the creation of a state that depends heavily on a certain sort of history for its legitimacy. Antonia Finnane, Inside Story

A fascinating read that examines Chinas growing nationalism with a longer lens than most. Alec Ash, The Wire China

So timely and valuable. John Darwin Van Fleet, Asian Review of Books

Will appeal to many in the general public, as well as to scholars of contemporary China and international relations. Norton Wheeler, China Information

His informative analysis of Chinas reinterpretations of World War II offers an insight for different audiences to acquaint with Chinas domestic dynamics and international ambition We all need to keep Mitters message in mind: Chinas revisionist interpretation of World War II is shaping its new national identity and internationalism. Catherine Chang, Chinese Historical Studies

The first full-length history of Chinas changing memory of World War II and its impact on the construction of Chinas domestic and international identity Provides an important starting point for both popular interest in and future research on Chinas emerging reconceptualization of World War II and its domestic and international implications. Edward A. McCord, Journal of Chinese Military History

An understanding of China today requires a grasp of its history through its own eyes, including the unfolding national narrative on the Second World War. Mitter confirms his status as one of the worlds leading sinologists in this lucid work as he explores fresh intellectual terrain, awakening us to Chinas radically different perspectives on critical wartime events. This book will unsettle much received wisdom in the West on the war whose outcome determined much of the current global order. Kevin Rudd, former Prime Minister of Australia and President of the Asia Society Policy Institute

A brilliant and profoundly researched work. Mitter demonstrates that alone among major combatant nations, Chinas official historical narrative of World War II has undergone radical swings not just on the basic facts, but also on how memory serves (or not) to validate Chinas governments. He provides timely and nuanced insights into how war memory today is deployed by both the Chinese government and the Chinese people. Richard B. Frank, author of Tower of Skulls: A History of the Asia-Pacific War

A breathtaking study of the relationship between history, nationalism, and collective memory by a China eager to assert its new moral and international standing in the world. In a sweeping yet detailed chronicle of the ways in which China is refashioning a new wartime narrative, Mitter provides extraordinary insights into the inner workings of its rise as a global power. For anyone interested in understanding how Chinese leaders are laying the groundwork for their claim as guarantor of the international order, this brilliant book is an absolute must-read. Sheila Miyoshi Jager, author of Brothers at War: The Unending Conflict in Korea

Written with the flair we have come to expect from esteemed China historian Rana Mitter, Chinas Good War provides indispensable and timely context for the upsurge in Chinese nationalism now remaking Sinoforeign relations. Karl Gerth, author of Unending Capitalism: How Consumerism Negated Chinas Communist Revolution
Dr Teh Kok Peng retired from GIC at the end of June, 2011 and stayed on as Adviser for two years. Before his retirement, he was President of GIC Special Investments from April 1999 to June 2011. Prior to this, he was concurrently Deputy Managing Director of Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and Deputy Managing Director of GIC. He began his career with the World Bank under the Young Professionals Program in Washington D.C.

Director

Mr Bert HOFMAN

Mr Bert Hofman, a Dutch national, is the director of the East Asian Institute at NUS and Professor of Practice at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy. Before joining NUS, he has been working with the World Bank for 27 years, 22 of which in Asia, and 12 of which on China. Mr Hofman was the World Bank Country Director for China 2014-2019, the country economist 2004-2008, and the Chief Economist for the World Bank in the East Asia and Pacific region 2011-2014. He also worked on Indonesia, the Philippines, Korea and Mongolia. Before coming to the World Bank, Mr Hofman worked at the Kiel Institute of World Economics, The OECD and NMB Bank (Now ING). Mr Hofman has extensive experience in advising governments around the region on a wide range of development issues, and he has published on fiscal policy, debt issues, and Chinas and Indonesias recent economic history.

Tel: (65) 6516 5067

E-mail: eaihob@nus.edu.sg

Assistant Director (Policy Research) and Senior Research Fellow

Dr CHEN Gang 

Assistant Director (Policy Research) and Senior Research Fellow

Education Background

PhD (Contemporary International Relations), China Foreign Affairs University, 2006

MA (Contemporary International Relations), China Foreign Affairs University, 2001

BA (English), China Foreign Affairs University, 1998 Research Interests

Chinas Political Economy

Environmental Governance in China

International Relations

Transnational Cooperation against Climate Change


(Photo : Joshua Earle on Unsplash)

If you're looking for amazing places to stay in Iceland, you can't go wrong with these 5 can't-miss spots. Whether you're looking for a luxurious hotel, a cosy cottage, or an adventure-filled campsite, Iceland has it all. With its stunning landscapes and unique culture, Iceland is the perfect destination for your next vacation. Read on to learn about the best places to stay in Iceland and start planning your dream getaway.

1) Thingvellir National Park

Thingvellir National Park is a must-see for anyone looking for an unforgettable experience in Iceland. Located about 45 minutes northeast of Reykjavik, the park encompasses a variety of terrain from jagged lava fields to rugged highlands and glacial rivers. This incredible area is a designated UNESCO World Heritage Site, and it's home to some of Iceland's most iconic natural attractions. Thingvellir National Park is also a historically significant site, being the former location of the first Icelandic parliament. Here, visitors can explore ruins and remnants of the original 930 AD assembly, making it a great spot to visit for history buffs. So, if you are travelling to Iceland make sure to stay near the Thingvellir National Park.

2) Vatnajokull National Park

The Vatnajokull National Park is the largest and most popular national park in Iceland, spanning across 13 percent of the country. This park is located in the south-east of Iceland and is home to some of the most incredible natural wonders in the world, including some of the largest glaciers and ice caves in Europe. It is also home to beautiful glacial lakes, volcanoes, waterfalls and lava fields. Visitors to Vatnajokull National Park can explore the stunning landscapes of this breathtaking park on foot or by car, which is why so many people book accommodation nearby, whether it's a hostel or cottage. Many of the trails are marked and there are plenty of opportunities for sightseeing and photography. The best way to experience the park is to stay in one of the many campsites and guesthouses located around its perimeter. From these locations, you can easily access some of the park's most popular attractions, such as the Skaftafell Nature Reserve and Jokulsarlon Glacier Lagoon.

3) Reykjavik

Reykjavik is the capital of Iceland and a great place to stay if you're looking to explore the country. Reykjavik is known for its vibrant nightlife, wide variety of restaurants, and abundance of cultural sites. During the day, enjoy the many museums, galleries, and historic sites that Reykjavik has to offer. In the evening, check out some of the best bars in Iceland, or take a stroll around the harbour. If you want to really make your stay in Reykjavik unforgettable, don't miss out on seeing the Aurora Borealis from one of the nearby hills. Accommodation in Reykjavik can range from hotels, to hostels, to Airbnb rentals. There are plenty of options for every budget and preference. Hotels in Reykjavik are very centrally located and definitely worth staying at.

4) Geysir

Geysir is an incredible area to stay while in Iceland. This geothermal area is home to several active geysers, hot springs, and pools of bubbling mud. The most famous geyser here is Strokkur, which erupts every few minutes with a tremendous show of steam and water. It's definitely one of the most unique experiences you can have in Iceland. You can also take a dip in the natural hot springs here to relax and soak in the warmth. There are plenty of lodging options nearby, from campsites to cottages, so Geysir is a great place to explore if you're looking for a home base for your Icelandic adventure.

5) Hvitarvatn

Hvitarvatn is an enchanting lake located in the western part of Iceland. The lake is surrounded by vast green meadows and snow-capped mountains, and provides a picturesque setting for a peaceful retreat. Hvitarvatn is also home to many species of birds, including swans and geese. The area around the lake offers plenty of activities for the adventurous traveller. Hikers can explore the trails around the lake, and anglers will find plenty of fish to catch in the lake's waters. For those looking for a more relaxing experience, there are several hot springs near the lake where visitors can take a dip and relax in the naturally heated water. If you're looking for a place to stay in Hvitarvatn, there are several small hotels and guesthouses located nearby. Some of these offer breathtaking views of the lake and surrounding area, while others provide cosy accommodations with plenty of amenities.
February 6 2023

East Dunbartonshire Council has opened a consultation on phased plans to revamp Bishopbriggs town centre.

Running through to 28 February the event details measures to prioritise active travel and public travel as well as the enhanced public realm.

Key moves include wider footways and tree planting throughout central areas, focussing on issues such as poorly maintained paving, heavy traffic and a lack of crossing points.

Councillor Gordan Low, leader of the council, said: "It's important to note that this concept plan is not set in stone - it's an overview of aspirations for Bishopbriggs town centre. All feedback will be collated and analysed, and will inform detailed proposals. Further consultation will then be held."

Areas earmarked for attention include Bishopbriggs Park, The Cross and the dominant A803 arterial road.
November 29 2018

Paisley-based architecture practice Framed Estates has overseen a novel assisted-living complex on the outskirts of Nairobi, Kenya.

Fadhili Care at Greenpark Estate has been designed on behalf of Superior Homes Kenya to change the way that the elderly live across Africa by enabling residents to live closer to their families in a high quality environment.

Comprising 41 individual homes the complex comes equipped with a 24-hour emergency care service for residents.

Architect Sheenagh Gray commented: Assisted living is a new concept for Kenyan society  the same could be said across many African countries. Historically, young people have moved to the cities for work and older people have remained in rural areas, which has created a disconnection in many families. This development aims to tackle that problem head-on, bringing different generations closer together and helping Kenyas elderly live more comfortably.

There are significant benefits to be realised from working on international projects like this  not only have we worked with the local team to develop their skills, but they have given us new perspectives on architecture that we can bring into our work in Scotland and beyond.

Framed Estates plan further work with Superior Homes, targeting revenues of 250k for 2018.
Investors dumped more Adani stock on Monday as India's opposition staged protests calling for a full inquiry into allegations of major accounting fraud at the country's biggest conglomerate

Mumbai, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 6th Feb, 2023 ):Investors dumped more Adani stock on Monday as India's opposition staged protests calling for a full inquiry into allegations of major accounting fraud at the country's biggest conglomerate.

The group owned by tycoon Gautam Adani has lost around $120 billion in value since the claims were levelled by short-seller US investment group Hindenburg Research on January 24.

Trading in Adani Total Gas, in which French oil giant TotalEnergies owns a 37.4-percent stake, and in Adani Power was again suspended on Monday after the stocks fell five percent.

Shares in flagship Adani Enterprises, which before the rout had gained more than 1,000 percent in five years, closed 0.7 percent lower, having been off almost 10 percent in volatile early trade.

The slide has raised concerns about the group's ability to raise fresh financing to pay down its debts. It cancelled a share sale, and reportedly also a bond issue, last week.

Adani said Monday it was prepaying loans worth $1.1 billion, taken against shares for three of its companies, ahead of their maturity in September 2024. Analysts said the move was meant to reassure investors.

The announcement came as The Economic Times newspaper reported that Britain's Standard Chartered had joined Swiss banking giant Credit Suisse and Citigroup in the United States in halting the acceptance of Adani bonds as collateral for loans it advances to private banking clients.

The main opposition Congress party, which has called for a "serious investigation" into Adani's companies by the central bank and regulator, on Monday staged protests, including in New Delhi and Mumbai.

The party says that Gautam Adani's close ties with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is also from Gujarat state, allowed him to win contracts unfairly and to avoid proper oversight.
French automaker Renault and Japanese partner Nissan said on Monday they were opening a "new chapter" in their tension-marred alliance as they signed a deal to reboot their 24-year relationship

London, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 6th Feb, 2023 ) :French automaker Renault and Japanese partner Nissan said on Monday they were opening a "new chapter" in their tension-marred alliance as they signed a deal to reboot their 24-year relationship.

The "rebalanced" partnership approved by their boards will end Renault's dominant position, reducing its stake in the Japanese firm from 43.4 percent to 15 percent, the same size as Nissan's share in its French counterpart.

The agreement includes Nissan taking a stake of up to 15 percent in Renault's new electric vehicle venture Ampere, the companies said in a joint statement.

They also announced joint projects in Latin America, India and Europe for the production of pick-up trucks, SUVs and electric cargo vans.

The alliance began in 1999, when Renault rescued Nissan from bankruptcy. Mitsubishi Motors joined in 2016, when Nissan took a 34-percent stake in its struggling Japanese rival.

Tensions erupted in 2015 when the French state increased its stake in Renault. It was later reduced and an agreement was reached to cap the government's ability to interfere in the alliance's affairs.

The union was shaken again by the 2018 arrest of Nissan boss Carlos Ghosn, who claimed the charges against him were intended to prevent him from bringing the Japanese and French automakers closer together.

The Renault board approved the overhaul on Sunday while Nissan signed off on it on Monday, a week after the agreement was announced, following months of painstaking negotiations.

Analysts have described the rebalancing of the deal as a way to build confidence between the carmakers, especially after the fallout from the Ghosn scandal.

"We must build a strong culture of transparency and respect," Nissan chief executive Makoto Uchida said at a press conference held on neutral ground in London.

The Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi alliance -- which today counts 375,000 employees worldwide -- was the world's top carmaker by sales in 2018 but has since fallen behind Toyota, Volkswagen and Hyundai-Kia.

"The basis of this deal is that we are reactivating business operations like at the beginning of this alliance," Renault CEO Luca de Meo said in English.

"We will be consistent, result focused, generous and fair, as we have been on our side of the negotiations," he said.
(UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News / WAM - 07th Feb, 2023) DUBAI, 6th February, 2023 (WAM)  Dubai, this week, played host to the 15th edition of the Emirates Airline Festival of Literature (EAFL), bringing together 270 of the worlds greatest writers and thinkers. One of the worlds top literary events, the Festival this year offered a veritable treat for lovers of the written word with one of the most diverse line-ups in its history. The week-long Festival, which concluded today, featured a stellar mix of global celebrities, past festival favourites and an exciting line-up of new writers.

Since its inception in 2009, the Emirates Airline Festival of Literature has grown into a global platform for writers to showcase their talent and a forum for sharing the literary worlds perspectives on subjects ranging from politics to technology. The Festival has grown steadily, with the events vast digital reach bringing together over 100,000 lovers of the written word in the last two years alone.

Almost 1,800 authors worldwide have participated in the Emirates Airline Festival of Literature in the last 15 years.



H.H. Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, President of the Dubai Civil Aviation Authority, Chairman and Chief Executive of Emirates Airline and Group and Chairman of the Emirates Literature Foundation, said: The emergence of the Festival as one of the worlds top literary events reflects the vision of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, to make Dubai a pre-eminent global hub for creativity and a focal point for cultural growth in the Arab world. The Festival, which is a flagship event in Dubais cultural Calendar, is also integral to the citys goal to transform itself into a global destination for creative talent. Over the last 15 years, the Festival has enriched the creative landscape in the UAE and the region by bringing together some of the worlds greatest writers, thinkers and intellectuals.

Apart from fostering a dialogue on the role of the written word in society, the EAFL has also been instrumental in spreading a love of books and writing in the UAE and the region. The Festival is an expression of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashids deep belief that reading and knowledge are vital to the progress of nations. In 2013, HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid issued a decree to establish the Emirates Literature Foundation to nurture a passion for literature, catalyse cultural exchange and support the four pillars of the writing community: readers, writers, publishers and librarians.



The inaugural edition of the Emirates Airline Festival of Literature in 2009 featured a glittering line-up of 65 authors from around the world, including award-winning Nigerian novelist Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Scottish poet and playwright Carol Ann Duffy, Emirati poet Nujoom Al-Ghanem and historical fiction novelist Philippa Gregory. Since then, international authors who have graced the prestigious event have included not just critically acclaimed literary giants and pop-fiction heavyweights but also global celebrities, social activists, business leaders and political figures whose books have captured the imagination of readers across the world.

Formidable literary figures who have taken the stage at the Festival include Turkish author Elif Shafak; Lebanese-born French author and journalist Amin Malouf; Pulitzer Prize-winning Irish author Frank McCourt, who made one of his final public appearances at the Festival before his death; and popular writer Jeffery Archer, the only author ever to have been a number one bestseller in fiction, short stories and non-fiction with global sales of 275 million copies in 97 countries and 51 languages.

Other master storytellers who have addressed the Festival include Shashi Tharoor, one of Indias most well-known public intellectuals, writers and politicians; David Walliams, English comedian, actor, writer, and television personality; Thomas Erikson, best-selling author of non-fiction books; and Jeff Kinney, American author and cartoonist, best known for the children's book series Diary of a Wimpy Kid.

The 2021 edition of the Festival saw the youngest ever Nobel-prize winner Malala Yousafzai making a passionate plea to increase girls access to education.



Apart from fostering global literary conversations, the Festival has promoted a wider appreciation of Arabic literature, poetry, and Emirati culture. Every year, the event brings together leading UAE writers, speakers and emerging talent in a series of sessions, panels, and workshops. Offered in Arabic and English as part of the Bil Emirati theme, sponsored by the Dubai Culture and Arts Authority, these sessions cover recent developments in the publishing industry, culture and folklore, literature and sustainability, among other topics.

Isobel Abulhoul, OBE, CEO and Trustee of the Emirates Literature Foundation, said: The Emirates Airline Festival of Literature continues to support the leaderships objective of fostering a culture of reading in the UAE. Over the last 15 years, the event has created unique opportunities for the local community to engage with literature and connect with writers from around the world. The Festival has also succeeded in creating a platform not only for established Emirati writers to express their creativity but also for promising new literary voices to be recognised. It is a great platform to spotlight Dubai as a cultural destination for international speakers and audiences and has created many opportunities for locally based creatives to showcase their talent in other literary festivals.

Emirati authors who have participated in the Festival include His Excellency Mohamed Ahmed Al Murr, Chairman of the Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum library Foundation, former Speaker of the Federal National Council and author of 10 books and novels; His Excellency Omar Saif Ghobash, Assistant Minister for Culture and Public Diplomacy; Dr. Rafia Ghobash, the Founder of the Womens Museum, Dean of the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences at UAE University from 1992-2000 and author of several books documenting UAE heritage, history and poetry; Maisoon Saqr Al Qasmi, poet, author, and artist; Nujoom Al Ghanim, multi-award-winning poet, artist and filmmaker; Reem Al Kamali, novelist; Dr. Afra Atiq, poet, scholar and artist; Maitha Al Khayat, childrens author and illustrator; Dubai Abulhoul, author, Rhodes Scholar, and founder of the Fiker Institute; and Dr. Reem Al Gurg, writer, professor and scholar specialising in children's literature.



This years Emirates Airline Festival of Literature continued the events journey of celebrating enthralling storytelling, with events held at the Intercontinental Festival City and across the Creek at the Mohammed Bin Rashid Library. The two venues were connected by an abra service across the water, representing the Festivals voyage to bridge cultures.

The Festival featured almost 300 sessions offering something for everyone - from live music and poetry performances to workshops, film screenings, and talks by some of the biggest Names in literature. The line-up at the 2023 Festival included Brian Cox, Emmy-award winning patriarch of the hit streaming series Succession; renowned writers Mohsin Hamid and Alexander McCall Smith; childrens writers David Walliams, Ben Miller and Oliver Jeffers; Indian journalist Barkha Dutt; internationally renowned writer, professor, and Emmy- and Peabody-nominated producer Reza Aslan; Malaysian journalist and author Marina Mahathir; award-winning Iraqi novelist Inaam Kachachi; notable Saudi poet Jassim Al Saheeh and Emirati author Maisoon Saker Al Qassimi, 2022 winner of the Sheikh Zayed Book Award.
Santa Juana, Chile, Feb 6 (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 6th Feb, 2023 ) :Maria Ines Hernandez described forest fires ravaging central Chile with the death so far of 24 people as hell on earth.

The 55-year-old social worker in the town of Santa Juana in the hard-hit Bobio farming region said many houses in he area were reduced to ashes.

"It is a miracle that some of the houses were spared," Hernandez told AFP. "Now we are afraid that the fire will return.... Where will we find refuge? Where? How?" Santa Juana is considered ground zero in the fires that have been burning for five days now. Ten of the fatalities happened in the town, five of them from just one family.

It is home to about 13,000 people, including in adjacent farming estates set amid rolling hills.

"It is rough land, with difficult access," mayor Ana Albornoz said Saturday.

"Most of the homes were lost because we got no help. With help from the air we could have saved most of the houses, but this was not the case," said Hernandez.

Parts of Santa Juana appeared as disaster zones: buildings in smoldering ruins, shells of vehicles baked into the scarred earth, all enveloped in a smokey, orange-tinted sky.

Some of the areas burned in these fires are poor and isolated, and beset with violent clashes between Mapuche Indigenous people on one hand and the government, timber companies and private land owners on the other.

Miguel Angel Henriquez, a 58-year-old farmer in Santa Juana, said he and his wife deliberated too long over whether to escape the approaching flames and are lucky to be alive.

"We waited until the end, but the fire cut us off on all sides," he said.

They went back in the direction from which they had started and ran into firefighters, neighbors and police.

"As the fire approached I told them, 'either we get out of here now or we die right here.' We hid behind the firetruck." Henriquez recalls seeing a neighbor brave the flames to try and rescue some of his animals. "He did not come out. I yelled at him to come out of the fire, but he didn't listen." The home of Carmen Cuevas, 49, escaped all damage, so she went out in a pickup truck to distribute water and other relief supplies to hard hit neighbors.

"This hurts all of us. It is a shame to see all of this reduced to ash," she said.

Other towns were also heavily damaged in the fires, such as Puren in the Araucania region. The stories of total loss come one after another.

A Mapuche man named Jose Ankalao said 70 percent of his village in an ancestral area called Wallmapu was destroyed, including land he inherited from his great-great-grandfather.

"This is such a huge tragedy. I don't know if people can comprehend what is happening," he tweeted.
On January 18th, Des Moines Police apprehended Trevyn Wayne Hill, 21, of Las Vegas, and charged him with assault while displaying a dangerous weapon. At the time Mr. Hill was naked, and wielding a toilet plunger.

Are the Des Moines PD really that threatened by a plunger?

KIRO7:
Kyiv, Ukraine, Feb 6 (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 6th Feb, 2023 ) :Ukraine's defence minister will be replaced by the chief of military intelligence ahead of an expected Russian offensive and following corruption scandals, a senior lawmaker said on Sunday.

"Kyrylo Budanov will head the defence ministry, which is absolutely logical in wartime," said senior lawmaker David Arakhamia, referring to the 37-year-old head of military intelligence.

Oleksiy Reznikov, 56, will be appointed minister for strategic industries, the lawmaker said without specifying a timeline for the planned reshuffle.

"War dictates personnel policies," added Arakhamia, who is the head of President Volodymyr Zelensky's party.

"Time and circumstances require reinforcement and regrouping. This is happening now and will continue to happen in the future," he added.

"The enemy is preparing to advance. We are preparing to defend ourselves." Reznikov said in an interview with a local news site that he had not been told about his new appointment to the Ministry of Strategic Industries.

"I can comment that this is new information for me. I did not have any conversation about the Ministry of Strategic Industries with the president of Ukraine," he said.

One of the best-known faces of Ukraine's war effort, Reznikov was appointed defence minister in November 2021 and has helped secure Western weapons to buttress Ukrainian forces.

But his ministry has been beset by corruption scandals.

Reznikov's deputy was forced to resign in late January after the ministry was accused of signing food contracts at prices two to three times higher than current rates for basic foodstuffs.

Speaking to reporters earlier Sunday, Reznikov said only President Volodymyr Zelensky, who last week stepped up efforts to clamp down on corruption, could decide his fate.

"The stress that I have endured this year is hard to measure precisely. I am not ashamed of anything," Reznikov said. "My conscience is absolutely clear."
Deputy Speaker of National Assembly Zahid Akram Durrani on Monday directed the Inspector General of Police (IGP) Islamabad to take not only action against the culprits involved in the sexual assault of a girl in F-9 Park but also submit a report to the House within 24 hours

ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 6th Feb, 2023 ) :Deputy Speaker of National Assembly Zahid Akram Durrani on Monday directed the Inspector General of Police (IGP) Islamabad to take not only action against the culprits involved in the sexual assault of a girl in F-9 Park but also submit a report to the House within 24 hours.

Giving a ruling, the Deputy Speaker remarked that such heinous acts could not be tolerated and there was a need to take stern action against all those involved in the incident.

Earlier, speaking on a point of order, Maulana Abdul Akbar Chitrali and Mohsin Dawar sought the Deputy Speaker's ruling on the tragic incident.

Maulana Chitrali while condemning the incident, said that F-9 Park was situated in a sensitive area and questioned government's security mechanism.

A young girl was sexually assaulted in F-9 park by armed persons, he said.

Mohsin Dawar while deploring the incident said it was a very unfortunate incident.

He said the interior minister should brief the house on the tragic incident.
(@ChaudhryMAli88)

Minister for Information and Broadcasting Marriyum Aurangzeb on Monday said Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had directed to restore the Wikipedia website with immediate effect

ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 6th Feb, 2023 ) :Minister for Information and Broadcasting Marriyum Aurangzeb on Monday said Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had directed to restore the Wikipedia website with immediate effect.

"The prime minister has also constituted a cabinet committee on the matters related to Wikipedia and other online content," the minister said in a tweet.

She said the five-member committee, spearheaded by Minister for Information Technology and Communication Syed Amin Ul Haque, included Minister for Information and Broadcasting Marriyum Aurangzeb, Law Minister Senator Azam Nazeer Tarar, Minister for Trade Syed Naveed Qamar, and Minister for Communication Asad Mehmood.

PM Shehbaz Sharif constituted the committee as well as issued the directives for the restoration of the Wikipedia website in light of the recommendations of a ministerial committee, which conducted the "preliminary examination of the matter (Ban on Wikipedia)".

The ministerial committee included the ministers for Information and Broadcasting, Law and Justice, and Economic Affairs.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres believes that the United States and China will be able to resolve the crisis caused by a high-altitude Chinese balloon spotted in US airspace in a responsible manner, spokesman Stephane Dujarric said on Monday

UNITED NATIONS (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 06th February, 2023) UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres believes that the United States and China will be able to resolve the crisis caused by a high-altitude Chinese balloon spotted in US airspace in a responsible manner, spokesman Stephane Dujarric said on Monday.

"We are obviously concerned about the heightened tensions between China and the US. The secretary-general is confident that both China and the US will be able to resolve this issue bilaterally in a responsible manner," Dujarric told a briefing.

The United Nations, however, has no information on the issue, apart from what has been published in the media, he added.

Last week, a high-altitude Chinese balloon, which the US claimed was conducting surveillance, was spotted over the United States before a fighter jet shot it down on Saturday.

China argued the airship was engaged in scientific research, but the incident nevertheless sparked a diplomatic row, including the postponement of a trip by Secretary of State Antony Blinken to Beijing.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told his Turkish counterpart, Mevlut Cavusoglu, that Moscow was ready to help Ankara deal with consequences of a deadly earthquake, the Russian Foreign Ministry said on Monday

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 06th February, 2023) Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told his Turkish counterpart, Mevlut Cavusoglu, that Moscow was ready to help Ankara deal with consequences of a deadly earthquake, the Russian Foreign Ministry said on Monday.

Early on Monday, a magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck southeastern Turkey. According to the latest data, 1,121 people were killed, 7,634 were injured. Damage was also reported in several regions of Syria, tremors were also felt in the Lebanese capital of Beirut. In Syria, the fatalities topped 400 people, almost 1,300 were injured.

Around 13:25, another magnitude 7.6 eartquake occurred, according to Turkish seismologists.

"Sergey Lavrov expressed his condolences over the numerous human casualties and large-scale destruction caused by a powerful earthquake in Turkey. In follow-up to the telegram of Russian President Vladimir Putin sent to the leadership of Turkey, the minister reaffirmed Russia's readiness to immediately provide the necessary assistance," the ministry said in a statement.

The ministry noted that the phone conversation between the two ministers had taken place at the initiative of the Russian side.
(@ChaudhryMAli88)

Ohio Governor Mike DeWine on Monday urged residents of the town of East Palestine to evacuate if they are within one mile of a train derailment due to the risk of an explosion

WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 06th February, 2023) Ohio Governor Mike DeWine on Monday urged residents of the town of East Palestine to evacuate if they are within one mile of a train derailment due to the risk of an explosion.

"Residents living within a mile of the train derailment site who have not yet left their homes are asked to immediately evacuate due to the potential of a major explosion," DeWine said in a statement via Twitter.

On Friday night, a train derailed near the Ohio-Pennsylvania border due to a mechanical issue.

On Monday morning, a drastic temperature change was detected in a rail car, threatening catastrophic tanker failure and a potential explosion with the ability to send shrapnel up to a mile, DeWine's statement said.

Although most people in the area have already evacuated, more than 500 have declined to leave their homes, the statement said.
Russian President Vladimir Putin held a telephone conversation with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and confirmed Russia's readiness to provide necessary assistance in eliminating the consequences of the earthquake, the Kremlin said on Monday

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 06th February, 2023) Russian President Vladimir Putin held a telephone conversation with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and confirmed Russia's readiness to provide necessary assistance in eliminating the consequences of the earthquake, the Kremlin said on Monday.

Earlier in the day, Turkey's Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD) said that a 7.4-magnitude earthquake occurred in the Kahramanmaras province at 01:17 GMT. Later, the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC) said that it recorded another earthquake of 7.7 magnitude in the central part of Turkey at 10:24 GMT. According to the latest information, the death toll has risen to 1,498 people, and over 7,600 people received injuries. Strong tremors were also felt in neighboring Syria, which reported at least 403 victims.

"A telephone conversation took place between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Having expressed deep condolences on the devastating earthquakes in Turkey, which caused numerous deaths, Vladimir Putin confirmed his readiness to immediately provide Turkish partners with the necessary assistance in dealing with the consequences of this natural disaster. Concrete proposals have already been sent to the Turkish side through appropriate channels," the statement said.

Erdogan, in turn, told Putin that he was instructing the country's competent agencies to accept the help of Russian rescue teams.

"Turkish president warmly thanked Vladimir Putin for such a quick and sincere response and said he was instructing the country's competent agencies to accept the help of Russian rescue teams," the statement said.
UN chief Antonio Guterres warned nations Monday that he fears the likelihood of further escalation in the Russia-Ukraine conflict means the world is heading towards a "wider war." The secretary-general laid out his priorities for the year in a gloomy speech to the United Nations General Assembly that focused on Russia's invasion, the climate crisis and extreme poverty

United Nations, United States (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 6th Feb, 2023 ) :UN chief Antonio Guterres warned nations Monday that he fears the likelihood of further escalation in the Russia-Ukraine conflict means the world is heading towards a "wider war." The secretary-general laid out his priorities for the year in a gloomy speech to the United Nations General Assembly that focused on Russia's invasion, the climate crisis and extreme poverty.

"We have started 2023 staring down the barrel of a confluence of challenges unlike any in our lifetimes," he told diplomats in New York.

Guterres noted that top scientists and security experts had moved the "Doomsday Clock" to just 90 seconds to midnight last month, the closest it has ever been to signaling the annihilation of humanity.

The secretary-general said he was taking it as a warning sign.

"We need to wake up -- and get to work," he implored, as he listed his urgent issues.

Top of the list was Russia's war in Ukraine, which is approaching its one-year anniversary.

"The prospects for peace keep diminishing. The chances of further escalation and bloodshed keep growing," he said.

"I fear the world is not sleepwalking into a wider war. I fear it is doing so with its eyes wide open." Guterres referenced other threats to peace, from the Israeli-Palestinian conflict to Afghanistan, Myanmar, the Sahel and Haiti.

"If every country fulfilled its obligations under the (UN) Charter, the right to peace would be guaranteed," he said, He added it is "time to transform our approach to peace by recommitting to the Charter -- putting human rights and dignity first, with prevention at the heart." More broadly, Guterres denounced a lack of "strategic vision" and a "bias" of political and business decision-makers towards the short term.

"The next poll. The next tactical political maneuver to cling to power. But also the next business cycle -- or even the next day's stock price.

"This near-term thinking is not only deeply irresponsible -- it is immoral," he added.

Stressing the need to act with future generations in mind, the secretary-general repeated his call for a "radical transformation" of global finance.
MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 06th February, 2023)  Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy proposes to extend the martial law and general mobilization, which expire on February 19, for another 90 days, according to a draft law submitted to the Ukrainian parliament, the Verkhovna Rada, on Monday.

"To extend the term of martial law in Ukraine from 5:30 a.m. (03:30 GMT) on February 19, 2023, for a period of 90 days," a statement read.

It is also proposed to extend the term of mobilization by 90 days.

Kiev declared martial law and general mobilization at the start of the Russian military operation in Ukraine last February, and extended them until February 2023 in November.
The amazing rescue by the Coast Guard of a man on a boat capsizing in monster surf has an odd backstory. It seems the Pirate captaining the boat had stolen her mere days after performatively leaving a fish on the porch of the "Goonies" house in Astoria, Oregon. After the rescue was aired on news and became a hit on the internet, authorities received a number of calls identifying the boat thief as the Goonies fish-gifter.

ABC7:

On Wednesday, police in Astoria, Oregon, received a report that a man had left a dead fish on the porch of the house used in the "The Goonies," police said in a news release. The 1985 comedy adventure was based on a story by Steven Spielberg. CNN affiliate KGW reported that surveillance video at the house showed the man laying the fish on the porch and making a cell phone video of it before walking away. Police searched two days for the man, identified as 35-year-old Jericho Labonte. On Friday morning, the Coast Guard received a mayday broadcast from a man piloting a boat at the mouth of the Columbia River, the agency said in a series of tweets. Coast Guard video showed two helicopters arriving to find the boat being tossed by waves, the Coast Guard said on Twitter.

Here is video of the gentleman leaving the fish:

and here is his own video of the event!

and this is an obligatory truffle shuffle!
Vietnam Briefing has developed into a premium source for insight on doing business in Vietnam. It publishes business news concerning foreign direct investment into Vietnam, including the most important tax, legal and accounting issues. The Vietnam Briefing Magazine was first published in 2009, and is contributed to by investment professionals based in Vietnam.
A powerful 7.8 magnitude earthquake rocked wide parts of Turkey and Syria early Monday, toppling hundreds of buildings and killing more than 3,400 people, with more residents believed to be trapped under the rubble.

The epicenter of the pre-dawn earthquake was near Gaziantep, close to the Turkey-Syria border, and it was followed by a separate magnitude 7.5 earthquake about 100 kilometers (62 miles) north in the early afternoon.

On both sides of the border, residents were jolted awake as they rushed outside on a cold, rainy and snowy night. Many buildings were flattened into piles of pancaked floors, with aftershocks continuing to rattle the region.

Officials in Turkey said at least 2,316 people were killed with more than 13,000 injured. They said more than 7,800 people had been rescued and that at least 5,600 buildings had collapsed. Syria reported 1,444 deaths and about 3,500 people injured, according to figures from the Damascus government.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said, "Because the debris removal efforts are continuing in many buildings in the earthquake zone, we do not know how high the number of dead and injured will rise."

He declared seven days of national mourning.

Awale Ahmed Darfa, a Somali student in Gaziantep at the epicenter, told VOA Somali, "A large earthquake hit while we were asleep. ... The situation turned critical very quickly. We heard screams, cries and people running. The buildings were shaking as if they were shaken by Jinn [evil spirits]. Everyone ran to wherever they felt they would be safe."

The student added, "We are now outside since we left our homes around 4 a.m. There is a problem being outside  it is rainy, cold, windy, and we are not wearing protective clothing. Outside, everyone is wearing what they were wearing [while] asleep. Some people do not have shoes. They told us we could not go back to the buildings because of the fear [of aftershocks]. That is the disaster here."

The earthquake struck a region enveloped on both sides of the border by more than a decade of civil war in Syria. On the Syrian side, the swath affected is divided between government-held territory and the country's last opposition-held enclave, which is surrounded by Russian-backed government forces. Turkey, meanwhile, is home to millions of refugees from the conflict.

The opposition-held regions in Syria are packed with about 4 million people displaced from other parts of the country by the fighting. Many of them live in buildings that are already damaged from past bombardments. On Monday, hundreds of families remained trapped in rubble, an opposition emergency organization, the White Helmets, said in a statement.

Strained health facilities and hospitals were quickly filled with the injured, rescue workers said. Others had to be emptied, including a maternity hospital, according to the SAMS medical organization.

Monday's quake destroyed the historic Gaziantep Castle and many other historic buildings in the area.

In the Turkish city of Mersin, resident Nurhan Kiral told VOA's Turkish Service that the earthquake lasted about a minute.

"We woke up with the tremor and got out of the bed. Rubble fell from the chimney. Rubble fell from the empty space between the buildings. It was terrifying," Kiral said.

The Syrian American Medical Society said its hospitals in Syria were "overwhelmed with patients filling the hallways."

"Many hospitals are full, but some critical facilities, including Al Dana Hospital, had to evacuate patients after sustaining severe damage from the earthquake," the group said in a statement. "Likewise, the Idleb Maternity Hospital was forced to transfer all newborns to a nearby hospital."

Temperatures in some areas were expected to drop to near freezing overnight.

Residents in Turkey's western city of Izmir organized a clothing donation campaign to help the earthquake victims.

Emre Demirpolat told VOA's Turkish Service, "We brought blankets and heaters. We need to be united. ... In such bad times, we must support each other. While we can't stay outside for 10 minutes in this cold, people there shudder to think about the loss of their homes and when they will get to go to a warm place."

In other parts of Turkey, residents struggled to find transportation to travel to the earthquake-stricken area to see their relatives and loved ones.

Serdar Ozdemir, an Ankara resident, told VOA's Turkish Service he was finally able to get a bus ticket to go to the city Malatya, after not being able to find a car rental.

"I can't rent a car. There's no way to go. I have been looking for a car here for hours."

Meanwhile, countries around the world were rushing to send rescue workers, equipment and medical aid to Turkey and Syria.

Erdogan said 45 countries had offered to help with search and rescue efforts in Turkey.

Turkey is in one of the world's most active earthquake zones.

In 1999, more than 17,000 people were killed when a 7.4-magnitude earthquake  the worst to hit Turkey in decades  struck near Duzce, in the northwest of the country.

In October 2022, a magnitude 7.0-quake hit the Aegean Sea, killing 116 people and wounding more than 1,000. All but two of the victims were in Izmir, Turkey.

Some material for this article came from The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters.
Wailing children, flattened buildings and hospitals full of bodies - a devastating earthquake on Monday looked painfully familiar for Syrian families and rescuers worn down by nearly 12 years of bombardment and displacement.

The 7.8 magnitude earthquake sent people rushing into the streets in the country's north, where air strikes and shelling have already traumatized the population and weakened the foundations of many buildings.

In the rebel-held town of Jandaris in Aleppo province, a mound of concrete, steel rods and bundles of clothes lay where a multi-story building once stood.

"There were 12 families under there. Not a single one came out. Not one," said a thin young man, his eyes wide open in shock and his hand bandaged.

"We were pulling people out ourselves at three in the morning," he said, his breath visible in the cold winter air as he spoke.

Young men could be seen clawing through debris and heaving hammers onto slabs of concrete to look for survivors. Dented water tanks and solar panels had flown off roofs and landed on the damp ground.

The White Helmets, a rescue service founded in rebel-held territory to treat people hurt in bombardment, said at least 147 people were killed in opposition-held northwest Syria. In government-held territory, officials put the death toll at more than 300 with more than 1,000 injured.

In Turkey, President Tayyip Erdogan said more than 900 people were killed and more than 5,000 injured.

"We are in a race against time to save the lives of those under the rubble. Even if our teams are exhausted, we don't have time to rest," White Helmets head Raed Fares told Reuters by phone.

He said air strikes over the years had left buildings structurally fragile so they "immediately collapsed", ultimately leading to more deaths.

Freezing temperatures

Millions of people in northwest Syria have been left vulnerable by the conflict, according to the United Nations, which says 2.9 million people in the region have been displaced and 1.8 million are living in camps.

The rescue teams have worked for years rescuing people from shelling and aerial raids by Syrian government or Russian forces which often hit the same location multiple times, risking paramedics' lives.

"At least now, no one is going to bomb us as we work," Fares said.

But the cold winter weather added another challenge for the rescue workers, who said families have been left exposed in near-freezing temperatures and heavy rains.

In the countryside of Idlib province, the earthquake damaged the modest structures set up in displacement camps hosting Syrians who had fled the war over the years, said Ahmad al-Sheikh, a resident of a nearby border town.

Further west, the main hospital in the rebel-held town of Afrin was teeming with wounded residents writhing on the ground and women struggling to reach loved ones by phone as the lines were down.

Medics zipped up black body bags on a bloodstained floor as toddlers screamed in the background.

"Ambulance sirens are heard everywhere. People are shocked," said Afrin resident Ibrahim Obaid. "The situation is so tragic. There's so much fear and we still feel the tremors."
Russian hired gun Igor Mangushev, who held up the skull of a Ukrainian activist during a concert last August, was shot in the skull himself on Saturday. The heinous degenerate, who was shot with a handgun at "close range, execution style," according to The New Voice of Ukraine, is now in the neurosurgery wing of a hospital in Kadiivka, Ukraine.

"He is still alive, but with such an injury, the prospects are not very good," said a Ukranian journalist, according to Daily Beast.

From Daily Beast:

Mangushev, 36, is a captain in the Russian army who goes by the callsign "Bereg." He boasts reputed links not only to neo-Nazi groups, but also to the notoriously vicious private mercenary group Wagner and its founder-fiancier, Yevgeny Prigozhin, having done disinformation work for companies ensconced within Prigozhin's media and consulting empire. "I think we can safely describe this as a hit," tweeted Mark Galeotti, a London-based political scientist and expert in Russian security affairs. "Was this about him or a proxy attack on Prigozhin? Obviously at this stage, impossible to say." In a thread analyzing the situation, Galeotti concluded that "his could be a warning, or taking a pawn off the board, or a sign that Prigozhin's more thuggish rivals feel he is weakened enough that they can move."

"We're alive, and this guy's already dead," Mangushev had told the crowd at a nightclub last summer while holding a skull. "Let him burn in hell. He wasn't lucky. We'll make a goblet out of his skull." Looks like the Russian hitman's luck has run out as well.
EDITOR'S NOTE: The sixth paragraph of this article has been updated to include a response from the Taliban spokesperson that came after publication.



Concerns are mounting for an award-winning photojournalist detained in Kabul by the Taliban for nearly a month.

Mortaza Behboudi, who has dual Afghan and French citizenship, arrived in Kabul on January 5 for a reporting assignment. But he was arrested by the Taliban on accusations of spying after he applied for press accreditation, media rights organizations say.

A joint statement by Reporters Without Borders (RSF) and journalists at several leading French news outlets on Monday called on the Taliban to end this senseless situation.

We remained silent for 30 days about the detention of Mortaza Behboudi, the statement read. Today, we are letting the world know that he was arrested in Kabul one month ago, on 7 January, in the hope that he will be released as quickly as possible and will be able to return to France.

RSF reported that its assistance helpline received a call from Behboudis phone on January 15, but no message was left.



The Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid on Tuesday confirmed to VOA that Behboudi was being detained by the directorate of intelligence. "The detail of the case has not been shared yet," the spokesperson said. "But he is fine and he was treated well.

Behboudis journalism primarily focuses on refugees, including camps in Greece.

He has twice been forced into exile, first as a child when his family moved to Iran to escape Taliban rule, and later in 2015 when he requested asylum in France after being threatened for his journalism.

At that time, Behboudi had been living and working in Afghanistan, where he had returned in 2012 to attend university. His coverage of the opium trade made him a target for the Taliban, according to the Paris Institute for Critical Thinking.

Since seeking asylum in France, Behboudi has established himself as a renowned international journalist. He helped co-found Guiti News in 2018  a media venture run by French and refugee journalists, and he freelanced for news outlets including Radio France, Liberation, and La Croix.

Behboudis contribution to media coverage of Afghanistan, including under Taliban rule, has been recognized with two Bayeux Prizes and the Varenne award for national daily press.

Since taking power in August 2021, the Taliban have briefly detained a handful of foreign journalists, including Foreign Policy magazine columnist Lynne ODonnell and the American filmmaker Ivor Shearer.

Arrests of local journalists have also increased, with Afghanistan featuring for the first time in 12 years on the annual census of jailed reporters, published by the Committee to Protect Journalists.
At a central square in Serbias capital of Belgrade, dozens of Russians gathered recently to denounce President Vladimir Putins war in Ukraine, holding up photos of political prisoners from their homeland.

Across the plaza, a billboard touts the Russian propaganda outlet RT, which has launched an online news portal in the country but is banned elsewhere in Europe. Heroic portraits of a bare-chested Putin adorn souvenir T-shirts and coffee mugs, or are painted on city walls.

These conflicting images reflect the complex and delicate relationship these days between Russia and Serbia.

The Slavic country is Moscows closest ally in Europe, with historic, religious and cultural ties that are bolstered by Kremlin political influence campaigns. Russia backs Serbias claim over its former province of Kosovo, which declared independence in 2008 with Western support. And Serbia has refused to impose sanctions on Moscow over the invasion.

At the same time, Serbia wants to join the European Union. Populist President Aleksandar Vucic has denounced the invasion, and about 200,000 Russians have flooded into the country in the past year, with many seeking a new life in a brotherly land free of Kremlin oppression.

Here in Belgrade, we are not perceived with hostility, and that means a lot, said Anastasia Demidova, who arrived in the Balkan nation from Moscow three months ago.

Ive been talking to a lot of Serbian people here and other foreigners. When they ask me what are you doing here, I say: We are against Putin and for a democratic Russia and we are against the war in Ukraine, obviously, she told The Associated Press.

Others say they fled to avoid being drafted or because Western sanctions crippled their businesses or took away their jobs.

As a result, Russian can be heard spoken everywhere in Belgrade, a city of about 2 million. Russian-owned restaurants and bars have sprouted. Private Russian enterprises have mushroomed, especially in the IT sector. The influx has sent the price of real estate soaring.

This reminds some here of the wave of Russians fleeing the Bolshevik Revolution in 1917, and many of those who stayed in Serbia left their mark on its culture and art.

These modern Russians, however, are maintaining links to their homeland, including financial ties, said historian Aleksej Timofejev. Unlike their predecessors, he said, they cant go onward to the West because of the sanctions and still need visas to travel to richer countries in Europe.

They did not choose this country but came here because it is the only one that would have them, Timofejev added.

The newcomers say they can still feel Moscows heavy-handed influence, especially when it comes to Serbians approval for Putin, via media outlets like RT.

Russian activist Petar Nikitin calls it a coordinated propaganda effort.

Nikitin first came to Serbia in the early 2000s. Back then, this admiration for the Russian government was a lot more marginal ... and I saw it grow exponentially, he said.

Russians who recently arrived, who didnt know much about Serbia before, yes, many of them told me they were completely shocked to see this idolization specifically of Putin, and this picture of Russia that is completely divorced from reality, Nikitin said.

Moscow has boosted this sentiment in the pro-Russia media by feeding Serbian anger with the West over Kosovo following the breakup of former Yugoslavia in the 1990s. The dispute between Serbia and Kosovo has been a source of tension since the war in 1998-99 that ended when a NATO bombing campaign forced Serbia to pull out of the former Serbian province after a bloody crackdown against Kosovo Albanian separatists and civilians.

Serbias rejection of Kosovos declaration of independence has Moscows support  one of the reasons why Belgrade maintains friendly relations with Putin and has refused to join Western sanctions.

While Vucic has criticized the invasion of Ukraine, he puts a uniquely Balkan spin on it.

We do support territorial integrity of Ukraine, as we do support territorial integrity of Serbia, he told the World Economic Forum in Davos last month. So  they ask me, Is Crimea part of Ukraine or Russia? Yes, its part of Ukraine. Donbas is part of Ukraine. If you ask us.

His country will stick to that, and we will be more loyal to territorial integrity of U.N. member states than many others that changed their stance on territorial integrity of Serbia, Vucic added, referring to the support for Kosovos independence from Washington and other countries.

Western officials have stepped up pressure on Vucic to make a decisive turn away from Moscow if Serbia wants to join the EU. They fear that Russia could stir trouble in the Balkans through its Serbian proxies to avert some of the international attention from Ukraine.

Recently, the Russian private military contractor Wagner Group ran advertisements on RTs Serbian-language outlet recruiting Serbs to fight in Ukraine. It is illegal for Serbs to take part in conflicts outside the country, although about a dozen joined Russia-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine after battles broke out there in 2014.

Owned by Putin-linked oligarch Yevgeny Prigozhin, Wagner has taken a prominent and active role in Ukraine and also has sent its mercenaries to several African countries. Last month, U.S. State Department Counselor Derek Chollet held talks with Vucic to voice concerns about Wagners activities in Serbia.

Nikitin, the Russian activist who has formed a group called Russian Democratic Community, has teamed up with a Serbian lawyer to file a lawsuit demanding an investigation of the mercenary group. That led to increased threats against more liberal Russians from right-wing Serbian organizations with close links to Wagner and Moscow.

The threats that I receive directly and to my inbox are quite carefully worded  they are quite obvious, Nikitin said. They range from get out of Serbia to very obscene insults involving my family. And veiled threats that I am soon going to meet people who are dead.

Nikitin said his more liberal-minded countrymen in Serbia are eager to show they dont support Putins war or his crackdown on opposition groups at home.

We want to be very open about who we are and why we hold the views that we hold, he said.

Artem, a 33-year-old web developer from St. Petersburg, said that he fled to Serbia with his wife and two pets shortly after the war began on February 24. He spoke with the AP on condition that his last name not be used for safety reasons.

Speaking at a Belgrade bar thats an unofficial hub for more liberal Russians  its Wi-Fi password is Nowar2402  he said hes been helping Ukrainian refugees in Serbia through online aid campaigns, providing information on how to start a new life.

Leaving Russia was some kind of protest because I didnt agree at all with the war, Artem said. War for me is not an answer for any conflict or anything.
India is preparing to relaunch its INS Vikramaditya aircraft carrier after a major refit, a critical step toward fulfilling its plan to deploy two carrier battle groups as it seeks to strengthen its regional maritime power to counter China's increasing assertiveness.

The Vikramaditya, a former Soviet carrier acquired from Russia, is expected to be launched imminently and will join India's first domestically built carrier that was launched in September, the INS Vikrant, in undergoing outfitting and sea trials, with the plan to have both fully operational later this year.

"This is significant in terms of India's power projection capabilities, primarily within the Indian Ocean," said Viraj Solanki, a London-based expert on Indo-Pacific defense with the International Institute for Strategic Studies.

"This really gives India an option to display its ability to counter China within the Indian Ocean, which is the Indian navy's priority."

China's People's Liberation Army Navy has been expanding and modernizing for more than a decade and is now the world's largest. In June, it launched its first domestically designed and built aircraft carrier, the country's third overall, as part of a program to extend its range and power and become more of a "blue water" force that can operate globally.

At the same time, China's People's Liberation Army has undertaken massive investment in ballistic and cruise missile technology, and the U.S. Defense Department says it will have the ability to conduct "long-range precision strikes against land targets from its submarine and surface combatants" in the "near term."

As Beijing increases its naval presence around Taiwan and pushes its claims in the South China Sea, the U.S., Britain and other allies have responded with regular naval exercises in the region and passages through the Taiwan Strait as they pursue a policy of a "free and open Indo-Pacific."

China has not yet sailed an aircraft carrier into the Indian Ocean but is expected to do so within the next few years. It already has other vessels operating regularly in the region and has established its first overseas base in the Horn of Africa country of Djibouti, which gives it easy access to the Indian Ocean.

China set off alarm bells in New Delhi in August when it docked what India called a "spy ship" in Sri Lanka's Hambantota port off of India's southern coast, a facility that was leased to China in 2017 for 99 years.

"New Delhi sees Beijing as encroaching into its traditional sphere of influence, especially in the Indian Ocean region," said Ridzwan Rahmat, a Singapore-based analyst with the defense intelligence company Janes.

"While a potential war with China will likely be fought inland, China's presence in the Indian Ocean region can severely disrupt India's sea lines of communication, which will be essential in sustaining the war effort. The Indian navy's recent modernization track is to ensure that scenarios like these will not take root," Rahmat said.

Like China, India has nuclear weapons and has been building nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines as part of its "nuclear triad" of air, sea and land-based platforms. It currently has two such subs and plans for two more, as well as nuclear-powered attack submarines.

Its fleet also includes 10 destroyers, 12 frigates and 20 corvettes.

India and China clashed on their land border in 2020, with 20 Indian and four Chinese soldiers killed. The skirmish turned into a long standoff in the rugged mountainous terrain where each side has tens of thousands of military personnel.

Retired Indian navy chief Arun Prakash suggested that experience could make the seas more important in the event of a future conflict.

"The 30-month-long Sino-Indian military impasse in the Himalayas and China's strategic posturing in the South China Sea should be clear pointers for India's decision-makers that maritime power will have a critical role to play as an instrument of state policy in future outcomes," Prakash wrote in December in The Indian Express.

With two carriers, India's plan is to have one stationed on each coast, said Capt. D.K. Sharma, a retired Indian navy spokesperson who now consults on defense issues.

India's focus has tended to be toward Pakistan in the west, but with the presence of Chinese vessels in critical shipping lanes east of India, it is prudent for the Indian navy to make its presence felt there as well, Rahmat said.

He cautioned, however, that India still lacks many of the support systems, among other things, to make its carriers effective.

"The vessels themselves may be operational but the Indian navy is still several years away from being able to project its forces credibly into the Indian Ocean region," he said.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi hailed the launch of the Vikrant as a victory in his "Make in India" campaign to become more self-reliant in defense.

"The government doesn't really have the money or the vision to go in for another aircraft carrier," he said.

In its proposed 2023-24 budget presented Wednesday, the government increased defense spending by less than 2%, further calling into question major new investments in carriers. Even if it does go ahead, a third carrier would take years to build.

As it outfits the Vikrant, India is expected to decide soon on the purchase of 26 maritime strike fighters  either the French Rafale-M or American F/A-18. The Indian air force already operates a version of Dassault Aviation's Rafale, which would make maintenance easier, while Boeing's F/A-18 can carry more missiles.

The Vikramaditya will continue to operate Russian-made MiG-29K fighters India already owns.

India has been seeking to lessen its reliance on equipment from Russia, which currently provides about 60% of its inventory, with the war in Ukraine raising questions about their effectiveness and the availability of spare parts. The United States and other allies have been pitching themselves to New Delhi as alternatives and are increasing their cooperation with the key regional player as they intensify their own focus on the Indo-Pacific.

However, experts say that even with domestic production and diversification of acquisitions, it could take India 20 years to get past its dependence on Russian supplies and spares.

Even before the Russia-Ukraine war, India was increasing its diplomatic engagement with the Quad grouping of the U.S., India, Japan and Australia, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, and other countries individually, Solanki said.

"This really accelerated after the June 2020 India-China clashes on the border," he said. "That is when we've seen a real shift and focus to engage with the Quad, with France, to engage with the U.K. more actively, work with Europe further  and work with the ASEAN countries as well."
A technology and defense initiative by India and the United States aims at countering China and reducing New Delhis dependence on Russian weapons. Analysts say it also marks a significant push in tightening the U.S. and Indias strategic partnership.

Both countries will deepen cooperation in areas like quantum computing, artificial intelligence, 5G wireless networks and semiconductors  areas in which China has acquired a dominating position.

This convergence comes at a time when technology is becoming a determinant in U.S.-China relations and in some ways the geopolitics of technology is shaping the global balance of power, said Harsh Pant, the vice president of studies and foreign policy at the Observer Research Foundation in New Delhi. This also represents America placing a huge bet on Indias emergence as a major player in the Indo-Pacific.

Senior officials from both countries met in Washington earlier this month for the U.S.-India Initiative on Critical and Emerging Technologies, which was announced by U.S. President Joe Biden and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi last May on the sidelines of a Quad summit held in Tokyo.

Jake Sullivan, the U.S. national security adviser, told reporters that the goal is for technological partnerships to be the next big milestone in the India-U.S. relationship.

Concerned about U.S. reliance on China for critical components such as semiconductors, Washington has taken steps to halt the sale of advanced semiconductor technology to Beijing and wants to shift the manufacture of such components to friendly countries.

India, whose relations with Beijing have plummeted since a deadly clash along their Himalayan border three years ago, also wants to boost local manufacturing in crucial sectors such as semiconductors which are at the heart of modern electronic devices.

Geopolitics is a big driver of this new initiative, said Michael Kugelman, director of the South Asia Institute at the Wilson Center. He says the agreement reflects how far the India-U.S. relationship has come over the last few decades. In recent years theyve built enough trust to be talking about technology transfers and intelligence-sharingsomething that Washington tends to do only with its closest strategic partners.

The agreement also aims to facilitate joint development of defense technologies and weapons production in India. New Delhi wants to coproduce weapons in India with foreign defense manufacturers rather than purchase them outright, but U.S. restrictions on transferring defense technology have stalled such efforts with American companies.

The initial focus will be on jet engines, artillery systems and armored infantry vehicles. During the February 1 meeting in Washington, American officials said that the government would look into expediting a review of an application by U.S. manufacturer General Electric to jointly build jet engines in India for Indian aircraft.

The more India and the U.S. will work on cutting edge technologies, the less relevant Russia will become to Indias strategic calculations, Pant said.

Indias partnership with Washington has been spurred by New Delhis growing worries about China as troops from both countries faceoff along their disputed Himalayan border for a third winter. However, India did not join in Western sanctions against Russia or outright condemn the Russian invasion of Ukraine, raising questions about the divergent position it took from the U.S.

Analysts in India pointed out that besides its longstanding policy of strategic autonomy, New Delhis choices were also constrained by its heavy dependence on Russia for weapons. Although India has diversified its defense purchases in recent years, more than two thirds of its military equipment is of Russian origin and critical to its security needs amid its standoff with China.

Washingtons current policy is to play a long game and to try to persuade New Delhi that over the longer term, Moscow will be too cash-strapped and sanctioned to provide military supplies to India, Kugelman said. And that the U.S. will position itself to provide India with the types of military equipment that New Delhi has long secured from Russia.

However, translating the potential of the defense and technology agreements on the ground remains to be tested because much will depend on how private companies in both countries move to firm up partnerships. While India has a highly skilled workforce, American companies have long complained of Indian regulations that have been an obstacle to manufacturing in the country. India on the other hand cites strict U.S. regulations on technology transfers as hampering those efforts.

But the agreement is seen as a positive signal of the two countries overcoming long-standing issues of trust.

Despite Indias stand on Ukraine, despite some other problems, these have become marginal to the larger strategic vision that the two nations have. It is now guided by the Indo-Pacific, where they are increasingly on the same side, Pant said.
Italy has become the latest country to join the U.S.-led Mineral Security Partnership that promotes ethical mining. The U.S. Undersecretary of State for Economic Growth, Energy, and the Environment, Jose Fernandez, made the announcement while attending the Investing in African Mining Indaba, or conference.

In his keynote address, Fernandez said members of the Mineral Security Partnership  which now include Italy, 11 other countries and the European Union  will soon announce details of their environmental, social and governance principles.

He said the aim of the partnership, announced in June last year, was to add ethical values to the entire critical minerals and batteries value chain.

We want to involve the communities affected by potential projects and the decision-making process. And if you were to say that were doing this to protect our bottom line, youd be partly right. Weve seen too many instances around the world, some going on right now in South America, where community opposition has led to the closure of otherwise profitable mines, he said.

But Fernandez said the MSP also wants to protect the environment. He said in their meetings with potential partners, its been clear that many companies want to do the right thing for the planet.

They wont make investments in projects that destroy precious rain forests, that are not committed to the remediation of mines, that require pay-offs to government officials. They just wont do it. Their shareholders wont allow it. Their customers will reject them and our laws will punish such conduct, he said.

Fernandez said thats why many companies have joined the United States Public Private Alliance on responsible minerals trading.

Companies such as Tesla going into the mining business for nickel to ensure the stability and transparency of supply chains. General Motors has made public commitments to sustainable sources. Ford and other car makers have also made similar promises, said Fernandez.

He said since beginning its work less than a year ago, the MSP has looked at 200 projects and chosen 12 to work on. He gave some examples of their work.

Two east Asian countries are creating a critical minerals and metals cooperation center where one country will share critical expertise with the other. In the Pacific region, minerals production is booming and a couple of our partners are working together to develop battery materials and will work to attract transparent investment and trade in the Pacific. Were also looking at mid-stream processing in two key countries, one in Africa, the other in Latin America that could in fact revolutionize their work force development. MSP partners are also assembling a public private consortium to develop state of the art processing facility in Latin America to form a complete value chain in that region, he said.

Fernandez said that ethical conduct in this sector is critical as the world races to make an energy transition to stop rapid global warming.

Meanwhile, in his opening address at the event, South Africas Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy Gwede Mantashe stressed that South Africa is trying to end a long-running problem of frequent power outages. Daily power cuts have impacted mining production.

It also impacts on the mood of the country. Thats why as the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy, weve put four points that we think need attention if we are going to overcome load-shedding within the next 12 months. This will give them space to work on long-term energy security for the country, he said.

The Investing in African Mining Indaba ends on Thursday.
February 6 is the Global Day of Solidarity with Leonard Peltier, a Native American activist who has been imprisoned for almost five decades.

Erika Guevara-Rosas, Americas Director at Amnesty International, said in a statement that people around the world are calling on President Biden to finally grant Leonard clemency. She said February 6 marks the beginning of Leonards 48th year of incarceration.

Peltier, who is 78, has been repeatedly denied parole.

He was a leader in the American Indian Movement when he was arrested, following a shoot out on the Pine Ridge reservation in South Dakota in 1975 in which two FBI agents were killed.

There were several inconsistencies in his case, but he was found guilty and sentenced to two consecutive life sentences.

Before his court case began, he fled the country, fearing that he would not receive a fair trial, but he was found in Canada.

Two other men facing the same charges as Peltier were found not guilty.

Amnesty International has long maintained that there are serious concerns about the fairness of proceedings leading to his trial and conviction, Guevara-Rosas said in a statement.

As President Biden prepares to address the public on Tuesday at the State of the Union Address, she said, we urge the administration to uphold their commitment to human rights and grant Leonard Peltier clemency on humanitarian grounds and as a matter of justice.
Southern Turkey has been struck by a powerful earthquake along the Syrian border. Authorities have confirmed nearly one thousand dead and hundreds more injured, with a state of emergency declared. Calls are out for international assistance.

A man calls out to someone buried deep in the rubble of a collapsed apartment block in the southern city of Malatya. All over southern Turkey, rescuers are in a desperate race against time to find survivors following one of the most powerful earthquakes to strike the country in decades. Videos on social media show streets of destroyed apartment blocks due to the quake, which had a magnitude of 7.8 according to preliminary readings.

Collapsing buildings hampered rescue efforts as powerful aftershocks shook the region. Professor Orhan Tatar of Turkey's disaster response agency AFAD warned of the scale of aftershocks.

Tatar said, There have been more than a hundred aftershocks, three of them are above 6.6, and there has just been another earthquake centered in the town of Elbistan triggered by the initial quake.

Turkish Vice President Fuat Oktay said more than 1,700 buildings had collapsed by late morning. Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu said all the country's resources are being mobilized.

Soylu said all of Turkeys governors were on duty. He added that gendarmerie, police, the Turkish Armed Forces, disaster and emergency teams, Turkish Red Crescent, and search and rescue teams from all over the country were being dispatched to the region.

The earthquake struck at 4:15 a.m. local time between the cities of Karamanmaras and Gaziantep.

Two state hospitals were among the buildings that collapsed Monday in southern Turkey. The strong quake surpasses the 1999 shock that hit close to Istanbul and killed more than 17,000 people.

Many people in the region were on the streets in sub-zero temperatures.

Severe winter conditions are hampering rescue efforts due to heavy snow in the region. Many roads have been heavily damaged, and at least one runway at an airport was rendered unusable.

The Turkish government declared a state of emergency and called for international assistance.

The United States issued a statement saying "any and all" needed assistance would be provided. Ukraine, India, and Israel are also offering support as Turkey mobilizes for what is expected to be one of the largest emergency operations in the country's history. Syrian health officials said at least 371 people were killed in the government-held areas, while rescue workers said at least 221 others died in rebel-controlled areas.

Chris Hannas contributed to this report.
Battles are raging in the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine, with the city of Bakhmut and the nearby towns of Soledar and Vuhledar at the epicenter of relentless fighting.

"The battles for the region are heating up," Donetsk Governor Pavlo Kyrylenko said in televised remarks, adding that "the Russians are throwing new units into the battle and eradicating our towns and villages."

Russia's military buildup along the Ukrainian border and particularly along Ukraine's eastern and northeastern boundaries since late January 2023 are also indicative of a possible large Russian offensive before the anniversary of Russia's invasion on February 24, Ukrainian officials said Monday.

Ukrainian military intelligence spokesperson Vadym Skibitsky predicted that Russia will likely press its offensive in the Donbas and could also launch an attack in the Zaporizhzhia region. He added that Russia is likely to mobilize another 300,000 to 500,000 troops in addition to the 300,000 mobilized in the fall.

Rumors of a political reshuffling within the Ukrainian government add another layer of challenges to Ukraine's defensive war against Russia. Reports of a possible resignation or removal of Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov came after a series of accusations of corruption within the ministry. The questions over Reznikov's fate were the first public sign of serious rift in Ukraine's wartime leadership.

Sunday, Kyiv announced that Reznikov would be transferred to the post of minister for strategic industries to strengthen military-industrial cooperation and would be replaced by General Kyrylo Budanov, the head of the country's military intelligence agency.

Since then, David Arakhamia, head of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's parliamentary bloc, reversed his earlier comments, saying on Telegram that "there will be no personnel changes in the defense sector this week."

Reznikov has said that while he was not planning to resign, any decision about his future would be made by the president.

UN chief warns of escalation

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Monday warned nations that he fears the likelihood of further escalation in the Russia-Ukraine conflict means the world is heading toward a "wider war."

"The prospects for peace keep diminishing. The chances of further escalation and bloodshed keep growing," he told diplomats in New York. "I fear the world is not sleepwalking into a wider war. I fear it is doing so with its eyes wide open."

As Ukraine awaits more weapons from the West to repel Russian forces, Switzerland is close to breaking with a centuries-long tradition as a neutral state, as pro-Ukrainian sentiments pervade public and political sectors, pressuring the government to end its ban on exports of Swiss weapons.

Under Swiss neutrality, dating back to 1815 and enshrined by treaty in 1907, Switzerland will not send weapons directly or indirectly to combatants in a war.

Lawmakers are divided on the issue.

"We want to be neutral, but we are part of the Western world," said Thierry Burkart, leader of the center-right FDP party, who has submitted a motion to the government to allow arms re-exports to countries with similar democratic values to Switzerland.

Norway's prime minister proposed Monday a $7.3 billion aid package for Ukraine, the latest show of support from Ukraine's European allies as it fights off a Russian invasion.

Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere told reporters after meeting with opposition leaders that the aid would be delivered over a five-year period, and that his government wants to add additional support for other countries affected by the conflict.

"We are proposing that Norway gives a binding and lasting contribution to Ukraine," he said.

Norway's parliament must approve the aid package.

The Financial Times reported Monday that the European Union is preparing for a potential visit this week by Zelenskyy to address the European Parliament.

EU leaders traveled last week to Kyiv to meet with Zelenskyy and other Ukrainian leaders to discuss the EU's response to Russia's invasion as well as Ukraine's application to join the European Union.

The United States and other Western governments have pledged billions of dollars in new military assistance, including tanks and infantry fighting vehicles to help Ukraine withstand new attacks and launch counteroffensives.

"Not all of the Western weaponry will arrive in time," Reznikov said. "But we are ready. We have created our resources and reserves, which we are able to deploy and with which we are able to hold back the attack."

Some information for this report came from The Associated Press, Reuters and Agence France-Presse.
Pope Francis said Sunday he is planning to visit India next year and is studying a possible trip to Mongolia later in 2023 in what would be a first for a pope.

Francis outlined his upcoming travel schedule during his flight back to Rome from South Sudan.

He confirmed that he would be in Lisbon, Portugal for World Youth Day the first week of August and would participate in a Sept. 23 meeting of Mediterranean bishops in Marseille, France.

He said there was "the possibility" that he would fly from Marseille to Mongolia, which would be a first for a pope.

Looking further ahead, Francis said he thought he would visit India in 2024, after plans for a trip in 2017 fell apart.

Francis spoke to reporters after a six-day visit to Congo and South Sudan, where he was joined in the South Sudanese capital, Juba, by the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby and the moderator of the Church of Scotland, the Rt. Rev. Iain Greenshields.

The Catholic, Anglican and Presbyterian leaders made a novel joint visit to push South Sudan's political leaders to make progress on implementing a stalled 2018 peace accord that ended a civil war following the country's 2011 independence from Sudan.

Welby and Greenshields joined Francis aboard the papal plane back and took part in his airborne news conference, during which they were asked if they would be willing to join Francis on future trips too.

Welby said he would be "delighted to" if it might be helpful, joking that the papal plane was "the best airline I've ever flown on."

Greenshields also was keen but noted his mandate ends in May.

In a nod to the nearly all-male Vatican delegation that accompanies Francis on his foreign trips, Greenshields pointed out that he would be replaced by "a very capable woman" as moderator of the Church of Scotland, the Rev. Sally Foster-Fulton, an American. The Church of Scotland has had ordained female ministers since the 1960s.

"She would be delighted to do the same thing," he said.

The Vatican delegation, made up mostly of cardinals and bishops, traditionally only includes one woman: a protocol expert in the Vatican secretariat of state. On this trip, Francis also invited as his personal guest a Congolese nun.
Mayor Byron Brown and other sponsors are encouraging consumers to shop Black this month at the Broadway Market.

Every Saturday in February, the Broadway Market will celebrate Black History Month with a Black-owned vendor marketplace and a gift card promotion. Shoppers who buy from any of more than 20 Black-owned businesses at the market, including three Black-owned businesses that operate year-round at the Broadway Market, will receive a $25 gift certificate to use at dozens of Black businesses throughout the Buffalo community.

Shoppers can choose from pop-up vendors at the market or permanent vendors.

Margie's Soul Food has been a year-round vendor at the Broadway Market for more than two decades. Dexter's Hats, Caps & Things and clothing store Burke Sportz are also year-round vendors.

Celebrate Black History Month through exhibits, stories and a gala Here's a look at several Buffalo-area events that recognize and celebrate Black culture and contributions throughout February.

The gift certificates are accepted at more than 35 Black-owned businesses in the city, including Mr. Love's Barber Shop on Jefferson Avenue, Freddie J's Barbecue on Grant Street and Dazzling Beauty nail salon on Delaware Avenue  as well as the Broadway Market vendors.

In addition to the mayor's office and the Broadway Market, sponsors of the promotion include the Buffalo Bills Foundation, Buy Black Buffalo and Highmark Western New York.

The gift certificates are available on a first-come, first-served basis while supplies last and are valid until April 30. Some vendors have a minimum-spend threshold to receive the gift certificate.
Scores of Sudanese protested in the capital Monday against diplomatic relations with Israel, after last week's surprise visit by the Israeli foreign minister.

Dozens of Sudanese protesters chanted no normalization with Israel, as they held banners blaming Sudanese military leader Abdul Fattah al-Burhan for committing a betrayal.

Mondays protest comes days after Sudanese and Israeli officials announced that the two countries are moving toward normalizing ties.

The announcement was made Thursday after an official visit by the Israeli Foreign Affairs Minister Eli Cohen, who met with Sudanese officials in Khartoum.

Speaking to VOA during Mondays protest, Mohammed Al Safi said, he rejects any form of normalization with Israel.

Al Safi, who is a member of the self-described popular campaign against normalization with Israel, said al-Burhan's decision doesnt reflect the will of the Sudanese people.

We are at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to raise our voice that Khartoum shall remain the town for No to peace, no to normalization and no to recognition of Israel, he said.

That policy, known as the Three Nos, was established at a 1967 Arab League summit in Khartoum, soon after the 1967 Mideast War when Israel took control of Jerusalem and the West Bank.

Another protester, Tamadur Omer, said she took part in the protest to reject the illegality of the decision taken by the Sudanese military leaders.

Speaking to VOA while wearing a Palestinian scarf around her neck, she said her religion doesnt allow her to live in peace with the Israeli people. That is why the governments decision doesnt serve the interest of all Sudanese people.

As a Muslim, I reject the normalization in principle and value, she said. And as a Sudanese people, we will not sell our country to Zionists. Such a decision can only be the mandate of an elected and a legitimate government.

Another demonstrator, Al Fadil Abu Basher, said protesters will push to maintain the rejection of any ties with Israel.

"This is an unconstitutional and illegal decision and they, the military, do not have the right to take such a decision, he said. We are ready to face the illegal step with all the rejection [it] means. All means are open for us.

Abdulrahman Khaleel, the spokesperson of the Sudanese Foreign Affairs Ministry, downplayed the protest, saying people are free to demonstrate.

It is normal that part of the Sudanese are against this. They have a right to express their opinion, he said.

In 2020, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Morocco all normalized relations with Israel as part of the U.S.-brokered Abraham Accords. Sudan separately announced plans to establish diplomatic ties with Israel in a deal brokered by the administration of former U.S. President Donald Trump.

In January 2021, Sudans government issued a declaration paving the way to normalizing ties with Israel, and later approved a bill abolishing a boycott of the country dating back to 1968.
A political partisan divide quickly emerged Sunday over the U.S. shoot-down of a suspected Chinese spy balloon, with the Biden administration defending its safe takedown offshore over the Atlantic Ocean while Republicans contended it should have been shot down more than a week ago before it could fly across the country over key military installations.

Pete Buttigieg, President Joe Bidens transportation chief, told CNNs State of the Union show that Chinas deployment of the balloon was an unacceptable intrusion on American sovereignty. But he said the U.S. military, on Bidens order last Wednesday, shot it down Saturday without any damage to people or propertyafter assessment of the risks of doing it over the U.S. mainland.

This was done in a very effective way, he said.

The debris from the missile strike on the balloon, which had been drifting at an altitude of more than 18,000 meters (11 miles), landed about 10 kilometers (6 miles) off the shoreline of the southern U.S. state of South Carolina. Buttigieg said the debris field stretched for more than 11 kilometers (7 miles).

Watch related video by Veronica Balderas Iglesias:

U.S. Navy ships were collecting the debris from the ocean, and it was being sent to the FBIs laboratory outside Washington for analysis.

Republican lawmakers criticized Biden for not shooting down the balloon when it was first sighted January 28 over the Aleutian Islands, part of the far northwestern state of Alaska, rather than let it drift west to east for a week over the entire U.S. mainland, including numerous military bases.

China said the balloon was gathering meteorological data and driven off course by wind currents, sending it over the United States, which the U.S. dismissed as a cover for an intelligence-gathering mission. China has not said where it had intended for the balloon to go.

U.S. military officials said, however, that whatever intelligence the balloon may have transmitted back to China was inconsequential and no different from what China and the U.S. collect from spy satellites both deployed over each others territory.

Republican Senator Tom Cotton of Arkansas, a frequent Biden critic, told Fox News Sunday that the balloon mission was a reminder of what the Chinese are capable of and that it had inflicted humiliation  an embarrassment on the United States.

Another Republican, Senator Marco Rubio of Florida, told CNN, There was messaging behind this from China.

This is a failure I dont understand, Rubio said. Why let it fly across the middle of the country over military bases? If we fly anything over China, theyre going to shoot it down.

Chinas foreign ministry said in a statement that the U.S. shoot-down of the balloon was an obvious overreaction and a serious violation of international standard practice, and repeated its claim that the balloon was being used for meteorological research.

The airship first entered the U.S. air identification zone more than a week ago, then crossed into Canadian airspace. The U.S. Department of Defense said the balloon reentered U.S. airspace January 31. It was seen Thursday flying over Montana where U.S. nuclear missiles are siloed.

The U.S. has said it took technological measures to prevent the balloon from gathering any information as it crossed the country.

The discovery of the Chinese balloon is seen as ill-timed for Beijing. It happened right before Secretary of State Antony Blinken was scheduled to visit China and meet with President Xi Jinping. Blinken canceled his trip after the discovery of the balloon.

Dennis Wilder, a former China analyst with the CIA, told VOA that the incident comes at a sensitive time for Chinas leader.

President Xi Jinping is on what I would call a charm offensive right now that started after [the] zero-COVID [policy] was lifted, ending COVID-19 lockdown restrictions. Wilder said, ... he wants to tell the world that China is open for business again. He wants very much to see American investors come back.

Wilder said he thinks the incident will set off a new round of tension between the U.S. and China.

If the United States is able to recover from the ocean information that shows that this indeed was a spy mission and not a meteorological mission and shows that evidence to the Chinese, we are going to embarrass the Chinese, he said. We may well very much embarrass the People's Liberation Army. And so, I think that that will be difficult to manage, particularly if the United States comes out very publicly with this information. So, there's going to be a tense period here.

Another Chinese balloon was spotted flying over Latin America.
The number of rhinos poached for their horns in South Africa decreased slightly in 2022 but more must be done to save them in provincial parks, the environment ministry said on Monday.

A total of 448 rhinos were illegally killed countrywide last year, three fewer than in 2021. However, the figures are still higher than they were the year before, when COVID-19 restrictions in South Africa led to a fall in poaching.

Demand for rhino horns has decimated their population over the decades in South Africa and neighboring Botswana and Namibia. The poaching often involves international criminal syndicates and local poachers, who smuggle the horns internationally.

They are seen as a supposed medicine and jewelry in some East Asian countries.

Rhino poaching has seen a decline in South Africa's national parks due to dehorning programs, increased vigilance and collaboration between authorities on their conservation, Environment Minister Barbara Creecy said.

However, she appealed to provincial authorities to do more, saying the poachers have now shifted their focus from national parks to provincial parks and private game reserves in the KwaZulu-Natal province.

"We believe that if provincial authorities in KwaZulu-Natal follow our model, they will be able to significantly curb rhino poaching in their provincial parks before it is too late," Creecy said.

South Africa is home to the world's largest population of near-threatened white rhinos and about half of the total endangered black rhino population on the African continent.
When asked how she made her breakthrough in investigative journalism, Cecilia Okoth says it came down to having a curious mind.

Assigned to cover a media briefing at a cancer treatment center in Uganda's capital, Kampala, the reporter was intrigued by the patients waiting on the building's veranda.

Many had traveled from across Uganda for treatment that is supposed to be free. But when Okoth spoke with the patients, she heard stories of irregularities in the care, with some patients saying doctors had asked them for bribes.

Because of her inquisitive nature, Okoth said, that "debut story became my main sort of breakthrough."

Okoth went undercover to look into the allegations raised by patients. When her story was finally published by Uganda's New Vision media group in August 2018, it made waves.

"Parliament acknowledged the article, and many people were able to share their experiences on social media about how they had been harassed by the same medical doctors that I caught on camera," she told VOA. "That alone gives me the satisfaction that I was able to do something different for society."

In more recent years, Okoth has reported on issues affecting children and young people  a focus that led her in 2023 to join the communications team at the nongovernmental organization, ChildFund in Uganda.

She cites another of her investigative pieces as a turning point. It was 2019, and Okoth was in the Kenyan capital for a conference on child protection.

"We took a break to go and see what Nairobi was like. And then I noticed young girls from a particular ethnic tribe," she said. "I was so curious."

The reporter found that girls from Napak district in northern Uganda, some as young as 10, were being taken to Nairobi on the promise of school or work.

"But it was child trafficking. And most of these girls ended up being sexually abused," she said.

As well as reporting on the case, Okoth was able to help rescue nearly 300 girls.

"[They] were brought back and taken to facilities for sort of rehabilitation  trying to get them to do things and learn skills," she said.

For Okoth, "[It's] not just about exposing the wrongdoing but being a story that will even wake up the government to say, 'We didn't know this is where our girls were ending up.'

"We must do a lot about looking at government solutions, and then journalists  the fourth estate and the voice for the voiceless  can change the narrative," she said.

Fellow Ugandan journalist Solomon Serwanjja shares a similar view. In an interview with VOA last month, he said reporters can help bring change.

"Everyone talks about changing the world. But changing the world requires that we do something," he said.

Doctors save lives, lawyers defend the weak, politicians pass good laws, said Serwanjja. "And fighting for freedoms is changing the world as an investigative journalist," he said.

As journalists, "when we see something is going wrong, we have the platforms, we have the audience, we have the equipment, we have the knowledge, we have the skills to do something about it," Serwanjja said.

But looking into corruption and wrongdoing can bring risks in Uganda. Human Rights Watch, in its World Report published in January, noted that authorities in Kampala often fail to hold security forces accountable for human rights violations, including restrictions on freedom of expression and assembly. The report found that journalists are also "routinely harassed and intimidated."

Media rights organizations, including Reporters Without Borders, have also cited challenges for media, including attacks, kidnappings, and threats for those who report on influential figures.

But when asked about the risks she and others in Uganda face, Okoth said, "Tell me any profession that has no risks. If there's something wrong, there must be someone to start that talk," she said.

And the reward from bringing important issues to light keeps Okoth going.

"My journey in investigative journalism has paid off because I have been focusing on issues with children. The injustices and providing proper and workable solutions," she said.

It is that interest that led Okoth to take a position at ChildFund.

She sees the work as a continuation of her reporting career, saying, "I wouldn't have gotten there if I didn't do these stories that expose the wrongdoings  it has enabled me to embark on a career that will help me continue my passion for children."

Okoth would like to see more newsrooms encouraging female reporters to take on complex stories.

When she started in journalism, she didn't think she would be qualified for investigative reporting.

"I often looked at it as something that was [reserved] for the seniors in the newsroom, and being a female was even worse because we know that investigative journalism is usually a bit complicated in safeguarding yourself," Okoth said.

"The newsroom, like some organizations, is primarily male-dominated," she said. "It is high time for editors to deliberately encourage their [female reporters] to go for these stories."

This article originated in VOA's English to Africa service.
South Africa has recorded two confirmed imported cases of cholera, the health department said Sunday, as it called for vigilance.

The cases were of sisters who had in January traveled to Malawi, where a cholera outbreak since last year has claimed more than 1,000 lives as of January, the highest on record in the country.

"Both patients had developed symptoms on their return to Johannesburg," the health department said in a statement.

"A close contact (household family member) of one of the patients was admitted to hospital on 4 February with diarrhea and dehydration, and is considered a possible case," it said, adding laboratory test results were pending.

Cholera is an acute diarrheal infection caused by the bacteria Vibrio cholerae and can be deadly if left untreated. It is mainly spread by contaminated food and water.

Cholera is not endemic in South Africa, the health department said. The last outbreak in the country was in 2008-2009 when about 12,000 cases were reported following an outbreak in neighboring Zimbabwe which led to a surge of imported cases and subsequent local transmission.
France will provide subsidies to wine producers in regions like Bordeaux to offload surplus supplies, the agriculture ministry said on Monday, as the renowned industry struggles with declining consumption.

Falling demand for red wine, as French consumers drink less alcohol or turn to other wine categories, has hammered the sector in Bordeaux, even as champagne makers have been toasting record sales.

As a short-term measure, the government will channel up to 160 million euros ($172.03 million) of national and European Union aid this year for distilling surplus stocks into alcohol, the ministry said in a statement after a meeting with industry representatives.

A similar step was taken three years ago to absorb excess supplies caused by the closure of French bars and restaurants during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The government will also study longer-term measures for the wine industry to adapt to climate change, consumer trends and export demand, the ministry said.

A crisis committee has been set up in Bordeaux by the local prefect (regional administrator) to look into steps including pulling up some vineyards to counter disease, it added.
The war in Ukraine has left thousands of wounded soldiers, many of whom require the latest technologies to heal and return to normal life. For VOA, Anna Chernikova visited a rehabilitation center near Kyiv, where cutting edge technology and holistic care are giving soldiers hope. (Myroslava Gongadze contributed to this report. Camera: Eugene Shynkar )
Turkish police have arrested 15 people for alleged links to the extremist Islamic State group, the country's official news agency said late Saturday, following days of security warnings by Western consulates.

Anadolu news agency, sourcing an Istanbul police statement, said the group was detained for purportedly planning attacks on the Swedish and Dutch Consulates in Istanbul as well as on churches and synagogues. But the police added they couldn't ascertain any concrete threats against the locations.

The intelligence that led to the police operation stated that the group may have received instructions from an affiliate of IS called Islamic State-Khorasan Province, which is active in South Asia and Central Asia.

Sweden and the Netherlands have been the subject of angry protests in Turkey after an anti-Muslim activist burned the Muslim holy book in Stockholm, and a similar action took place in The Hague.

This week, a group of Western countries temporarily closed their consulates in Istanbul over security concerns. Turkish government officials accused them of failing to share information on the security threat that led to the closures and of aiming to cause harm to Turkey.

In November, a bombing on Istanbuls bustling Istiklal Avenue, located in the heart of the city and near several foreign consulates, killed six people and wounded several others. Turkish authorities blamed the attack on Kurdish militants, but they have denied involvement.
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The Philippines is forging closer military ties with the United States, granting U.S. forces access to an additional four military sites. As VOAs Chris Casquejo explains, the enhanced partnership comes amid rising concerns over an increasingly aggressive China. Produced by Chris Casquejo
JUBA, SOUTH SUDAN  Pope Francis called on Catholic clergy Saturday, especially those in Africa, to raise their voices against injustice and abuse of power by authorities. Francis was speaking to church leaders on his second day in Juba, South Sudan, where he is on a three-day ecumenical peace pilgrimage.

Pope Francis said Saturday the church should play a significant role in ending violence and bad governance in Africa by speaking out about injustices committed by those in power.

The pope said, if we want to be pastors who intercede, we cannot afford to remain neutral before the pain caused by acts of injustice and violence. To violate any right against any woman or man is an offense against Christ.

The pope was addressing Catholic bishops, priests, and nuns at Juba's St. Therese Cathedral, where he also cautioned against remaining neutral to injustice.

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He said we are called to intercede for our people, to raise our voices. We cannot afford to remain neutral.

Using a metaphor, the pope equated the Nile River, which passes through Juba from Lake Victoria, the world's largest freshwater lake, to the Mediterranean Sea, as the tears of the people of South Sudan immersed in endless suffering.

The pontiff asked, how can we exercise our ministry in this land, along the banks of a river bathed in so much innocent blood, among the tear-stained faces of the people entrusted to us?

He challenged the clergy to be "courageous and generous souls, ready to suffer and die for Africa.

He told said we need courageous, generous souls ready to die for Africa,"

On Friday, Pope Francis urged South Sudanese leaders to shun violence and embrace peace and he also called on the international community to refrain from interfering in the affairs of a sovereign Africa.

Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby is accompanying the ecumenical pilgrimage.

My heart breaks. I can hardly speak with sorrow for South Sudan. I beg that at every level, from the president to the smallest child, that people find the mercy of God and are transformed. And that there is peace and good government," Welby said. "That they will not steal money. That no one kills their neighbors for cattle.

Rebecca Nyandeng, wife of South Sudan founding father the late John Garang, told citizens to shun ethnic divisions.

She said, I am heartbroken that Dr. John died for the independence of this country, yet the very people he died for are now killing themselves. By the fact that you are still killing yourselves, it means he had died in vain. Please accept one another, stop division and stop killing each other. God has come to us in the form of the visit of Pope Francis, Archbishop of Canterbury and Moderator General of the Church of Scotland.

The three religious leaders later, participated in a joint interdenominational prayer session.

This historic ecumenical visit by the prominent religious leaders is considered a sign of inter-religious unity and their commitment to bear witness to the Gospel, as well as an action to promote peace and reconciliation among the people of South Sudan.
Life Storage, the Amherst-based company that is one of the nations biggest self-storage facility operators, is in a fight to stay independent.

Public Storage, the nations biggest self-storage company, launched an unsolicited takeover bid for Life Storage on Sunday, offering to pay $11 billion to acquire the Amherst firm and paying shareholders a 17% premium over its market value on Friday.

But so far, Life Storage officials have shown little interest in accepting the offer, telling Public Storage officials that the company is not for sale after receiving a similar offer in private late last year.

But by taking its acquisition bid public, Public Storage is showing that it wont back down and is turning up the pressure on Life Storage executives, potentially signaling a fight over the local companys fate that could lead to a bidding war or prompt the emergence of another potential suitor.

The takeover bid, if successful, would further pare the already small ranks of publicly traded companies based in the Buffalo Niagara region. Columbus McKinnon, a materials handling equipment maker long based in Amherst, said last year that it would move its corporate headquarters to North Carolina, leaving the region with 18 publicly traded companies based here.

The fight over Life Storage began on Dec. 22, when Public Storage first approached Life Storage executives with its very strong interest in acquiring the nations No. 4 self-storage operator. But a week later, Life Storage responded by saying the company was not for sale and repeating that again in a Jan. 31 letter after Public Storage continued to press for a deal.

"We have made numerous attempts to engage in a constructive private dialogue with you and your board over the past two months," Public Storage CEO Joseph Russell and Chairman Ronald Havner Jr. wrote in a letter to Life Storage executives on Sunday.

"Instead of meaningfully engaging with us, you sent a letter on January 31 bluntly asserting that our offer is not in the best interests of your shareholders without providing any explanation or avenue for discussion," the Public Storage executives wrote. "We believe your persistent unwillingness to engage in discussions regarding this highly beneficial transaction is contrary to the interests of your shareholders."

So Public Storage took its takeover attempt public, launching a hostile bid for Life Storage on Sunday night that values each Life Storage share at around $129.30 per share  a 17% premium from its closing price on Friday.

The news of the takeover bid pushed Life Storage shares up by 11% Monday to $123.02. Public Storage shares fell by 63 cents to $307.84.

Life Storage, in a statement, said the terms of the deal offered by Public Storage were "substantially similar in all material respects" to the earlier offer that was made privately and was turned down.

Life Storage said it was studying the Public Storage bid and urged its shareholders to take no action.

Public Storage said the acquisition would create an industry-leading company that would have better prospects for growth and profitability.

"Our proposal would create a combined company with significant advantages, more robust operational capabilities and a strong trajectory for profitable growth," Russell and Havner wrote.

Public Storage, at the same time, said it was raising its dividend by 50%, boosting the yield on its shares to 3.9%. That moves Public Storages dividend payout closer to the 4.4% yield on Life Storage shares  an important consideration for income-oriented investors.

The self-storage industry is highly fragmented, with the five biggest operators  a group that includes both Public Storage and Life Storage  controlling only about 19% of the U.S. market, according to Morningstar Inc. analysts.

Public Storage is No. 1, with a market share of about 9%, while Life Storage is the fourth-biggest with a market share of just over 4%, according to data compiled by another major self-storage firm, Extra Space Storage.

Both companies have grown by acquisition, and both have used a strategy of concentrating their holdings in key markets. Public Storage, for instance, gets about 25% of its operating income from the San Francisco and Los Angeles markets.

Life Storage gets just under half of its revenue from its facilities in Florida and Texas, with New York City, Chicago, Houston and Atlanta ranking among its top four markets.

Public Storage is more than twice the size of Life Storage, based on some industry metrics. Public Storage's 2,836 facilities are more than double the 1,172 facilities that Life Storage operates. Public Storage has 202 million square feet of net rentable space, which is more than twice as much as the 86 million square feet that Life Storage has.

Public Storage, in its letter, said an acquisition would accelerate growth within the combined company. It said operating margins at Public Storage facilities are around 80%, compared with 73% for Life Storage.

The Public Storage executives, in their letter, said Life Storage would benefit from the use of Public Storage's revenue generation systems and improved efficiency through economies of scale.

"Our industry leading brand, balance sheet and lower cost of capital, combined with the significant operational efficiencies we expect to achieve through the proposed transaction, will make the combined company more profitable and nimble, driving cash flow and value creation for the shareholders of the combined company," the executives wrote.

Size and concentrated markets are important for the industry's biggest players because the industry is so fragmented. The cost savings that the big players, like Public Storage and Life Storage, can offer from their centralized call centers and back office operations provide efficiencies that mom-and-pop operators can't match.

"The development process for self-storage is relatively simple compared with other real estate subsectors and the lead time required to build a self-storage facility is also quite short around one-year," said Suryansh Sharma, a Morningstar analyst, in a report on Public Storage. "Managing a local self-storage facility is also relatively simple, such that small-scale owners can operate self-storage facilities at a basic level of profitability without significant managerial or operational infrastructure."
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After the EU border agency Frontex said more migrants and asylum seekers are now taking the Balkan route to western Europe than any other, research groups argue its because sea routes are becoming more dangerous. Henry Wilkins reports. Camera: Henry Wilkins
In buildings across Western New York on Monday morning, the work week began with a violent jolt and a variation of the same four words: "Was that an earthquake?"

It was.

Buffalo and surrounding communities appear to have emerged virtually unscathed from the 3.8 magnitude earthquake that struck Erie County, but it certainly gave people a fright.

"I heard a loud bang, and then the building started shaking," said Jorge Luis Vega, who lives at the Mill at Crossroads on Doat Street. "I live on the third floor, and I thought the lady upstairs from me took a mattress and hit it against the wall. It really scared me."

The U.S. Geological Survey reported a 3.8 magnitude earthquake at 6:15 a.m. centered on the northeastern edge of West Seneca. The Canadian government's Earthquakes Canada initially reported the seismic event as a 4.2 magnitude earthquake.

"I am relieved, at this point, that it doesn't look like there are any injuries or much in the way of property damage," Mayor Byron Brown said. "That is certainly a relief."

Jim LiPuma of Academy Road said the "heavy vibration shook the whole house. It was crazy."

We got up to see if a car hit the house, or something like that. That's what it felt like," LiPuma said, though he also suspected it could have been an earthquake.

LiPuma said something fell off the wall in his basement. His next-door neighbors house fared worse, with seven bricks from the chimney scattered on the ground.

"The house trembled. It felt like a rumble," said Clinton Johnson, who lives on Genesee Street and admitted feeling "a little scared."

The earthquake is nothing the public should be alarmed about, according to Michel Bruneau, a University at Buffalo professor in structural engineering. They occur frequently in Western New York, which has the Clarendon-Linden fault system, but on a scale that makes them go unnoticed.

"There are earthquakes all the time here," said Bruneau, author of "Blessings of Disaster: "The Lessons That Catastrophes Teach Us and Why Our Future Depends On It." "They tend to be small  1.7, 2.3, 2.9  but every now and then, you get bigger ones."

But 3.8 magnitude earthquakes are still unexceptional, he said.

"There are literally tens of thousands of 3.8 magnitude earthquakes a year worldwide," Bruneau said.

The largest earthquake in Western New York in the past century, he said, was in 1929, when Attica had one with a 4.8 magnitude. That was still 10 times larger on the logarithmic scale, he said, than what Buffalo experienced.

Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz said shortly after 6:30 a.m. that he had spoken with his county emergency services department and confirmed the initial reports showed the quake had been "felt as far north as Niagara Falls and as south as Orchard Park."

West Seneca Supervisor Gary Dickson said the windows in his home shook, and his first thought was a transformer had blown up, or a big truck had an accident in front of his house. He went outside to check things out, and found nothing.

Dickson said West Seneca police have had no reports of damage, and no one appears to have lost power. There are electric substations near the reported epicenter in the Mineral Springs-Indian Church roads area, Dickson said.

Nearby Lackawanna also appears to have been unaffected, city spokesman Charles Clark said.

"As of this point, we are not aware of any damages or injuries related to that," Clark said. "It was just a shocking event, and we reacted pretty much the same way as everybody else did."

Small quakes are not unheard of in Western New York. In May 2020, the U.S. Geological Survey reported a 2.3 magnitude earthquake that was felt by Hamburg residents. A 4.4 magnitude quake in May 2013 in Quebec was felt on both sides of the border.

A far bigger earthquake with horrific consequences struck Turkey and Syria early Monday.

More than 2,300 people were killed in both countries, with 8,000 reported injured in Turkey alone from a 7.8 magnitude earthquake that struck 14 miles east of Nurdagi in Turkey's Gaziantep province, according to the Washington Post.

Update: Powerful quake rocks Turkey and Syria, kills more than 2,300. Live updates. A powerful 7.8 magnitude earthquake rocked southeastern Turkey and northern Syria early Monday, toppling hundreds of buildings and killing more than 1,300 people.

Multiple powerful aftershocks have followed, including a severe tremor with a magnitude of 7.5.

Bruneau said that earthquake and the one that struck Buffalo were coincidental.

"There is no correlation whatsoever," he said.
Shopping mall in central Rome touted as site for new Starbucks but for now location remains a secret.

The American multinational coffee chain Starbucks is preparing to open in the centre of Rome, according to reports in the Italian media, possibly in the Galleria Alberto Sordi on Via del Corso.

Although rumours of Starbucks opening at the prestigious site have circulated for months, an advert in recent days has refuelled speculation that the coffee giant will launch at the prime location, currently undergoing renovation works.

"Starbucks continues to grow and one of its next stops will be in Rome, where we will soon open a new welcoming store in the centre", reads the advert by Percassi, the sole licensee partner with Starbucks in Italy.

Starbucks is seeking baristas and managers for both the new outlet in the city centre as well as at its first outlet in the greater Rome area, at the Castel Romano shopping mall, where it launched in April 2022.

Galleria Alberto Sordi

Formerly known as Galleria Colonna, the shopping mall was renamed after the much-loved Roman actor Alberto Sordi following his death in 2003.

The building, designed in the Art Nouveau style, was inaugurated in 1922 and finally completed in 1940. It was built on the site of the late 16th-century Palazzo Piombino which was demolished in 1889.

The once bustling Galleria Alberto Sordi in the centre of #Rome pic.twitter.com/5qnZgSXLRK  Wanted in Rome (@wantedinrome) November 14, 2022

The mall, which remains open to passersby despite all of its shops being shut, recently made news headlines after the closure of its landmark Feltrinelli bookshop.

In September La Repubblica newspaper reported that Starbucks was planning to open a 600-m outlet near Rome's Termini station, with an eye on the tourists and pilgrims set to arrive in Rome for the Vatican's Jubilee Year in 2025.

The chain had intended to launch near the Vatican in 2020, at the former Maraldi bookshop on Via dei Bastioni di Michelangelo, however this plan was reportedly abandoned due to the covid pandemic.

Then there were rumours that Starbucks would open in Rome's central Piazza S. Silvestro - another high-density tourist area - in the Palazzo Marignoli building that houses the new flagship Apple store. That too appears to have come to nothing.

Starbucks launched in Italy in 2018, opening at Piazza Cordusio in Milan, and in October 2021 it announced plans to open more than 20 new stores in Italy by the end of 2023.

Photo credit: Harun Ozmen / Shutterstock.com.
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At first glance, the military seems to be the one area of beleaguered Brexit Britain still holding up. The UK spent 2.3% of gross domestic product on defense in 2021 and has the second-highest defense budget in NATO after the US, which is in its own league. Not long ago, Defense Secretary Ben Wallace was singing the praises of the countrys military modernizing capabilities after a 14% increase in defense budget over four years, the largest such check written since the end of the Cold War.

But last week, a senior US general reportedly told Wallace that the British Army is no longer regarded as a top-level fighting force. There was Wallace in the House of Commons, echoing the criticism; we have hollowed out and underfunded the military, he told MPs.

There is an element of theater to such warnings. Former Prime Minister Liz Truss had promised to increase defense spending to 3% of GDP, but Sunak has other priorities. In fact, he didnt list Britains defense needs as one of his top five goals last month. Theres nothing like an upbraiding from a US four-star to help Wallace lobby for more resources.

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The US also has an interest in Britain paying a little more attention to the state of its military; its a lot harder to bring the public along if US allies are not seen to shoulder enough of the collective security burden. Both France and Germany are increasing defense expenditure significantly in light of the war in Ukraine. The unidentified generals comment, however, was uncomfortable because it speaks to the need for a serious debate about what kind of military Britain needs and can afford.

Until the early 1990s, the British Armys core mission was to prepare for all-out, World War II-style fighting but with nuclear weapons deployed on the battlefield. Campaigns in Afghanistan and Iraq and against terrorist groups in the Middle East forced a refocus on lighter operations suited to smaller conflicts and counterinsurgencies. More recently, tanks were seen as almost retro, much to the concern of some. You cannot hold ground with cyber, Tobias Ellwood, chairman of the Commons Defense Select Committee snapped during a 2021 exchange when then Prime Minister Boris Johnson was explaining why cuts to tank forces were justified by the need to refocus on cyber and other modern capabilities.

Britains Army tends to be a force amplifier, a major asset when it comes to remote operations and supporting allies in the battlefield with logistics or training. The UKs special forces also remain very much top drawer, expanding where other elite units have contracted, notes Simon Anglim, a military historian at Kings College London. But, as the general was alluding, Britains army is no longer suited to fighting major land battles.

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The UKs recent announcement that it would send 14 Challenger 2 main battle tanks to Ukraine was more symbolic than material in Ukraines battle to eject Russian invaders. Britains own fleet of battle tanks is depleted, so meeting Ukraines much higher demand would have been impossible. Indeed, the UK has just over 200 Challenger 2 tanks, which Anglim describes as elderly and breaking down. Nearly 150 of these will be upgraded with new turrets and engines with German know-how. The Moroccan army has over 1,000 tanks and Azerbaijan over 900.

The issues that will no doubt have caught the Pentagons eye go beyond battle tanks, however. Britains artillery and air-defense systems are effectively obsolete but wont be replaced before 2030. Plans to scrap the Warrior fighting vehicles mean infantry will struggle to keep up with the tanks. The Global Firepower ranking, based on potential conventional war-making capability, places the UK as a top 5 world power; it ranks second among 145 countries for aircraft carriers, sixth for frigates and eighth for destroyers. But it is only 57th in combat tanks and mobile artillery, and 59th in mobile rocket-projecting vehicles.

British capabilities arent just hobbled by a lack of investment in certain areas. Its defense-procurement processes have long been riddled with cost overruns and delays. Theres no more frustrating example than the disastrous 5.5 billion contract with General Dynamics Land Systems UK to deliver 589 Ajax armored vehicles, billed as the eyes and ears of the British Army. When training vehicles were finally delivered  years late  crews suffered hearing loss and injuries due to noise and vibrations. If we offered those to the Ukrainians, they would say no, quips Anglim.

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Numerous reviews into procurement have struck notes of exasperation. The Public Accounts Committee wrote in 2021 of the continued poor trade record of the Department and its suppliers and the wastage of taxpayers money running into the billions. Having high-spec, all-seeing weaponry is great provided you can actually get it into the field.

We are getting to the point where the British Army really needs to decide what its going to do. Is it going to be a heavy conventional war fighting force or a lighter out of area one, focusing on special forces, remote warfare and friendly forces capacity says Anglim.

These are both budget questions and strategic ones. As a former defense and foreign secretary, Malcolm Rifkind has some experience in striking that balance, and he also sounds concerned. Although our defense expenditure is very large, the new procurement turns out to be much more expensive than predicted because new technology means constantly upgrading our fighting equipment, he notes. It may be that we need to consider whether we should be quite so ambitious about the advanced quality of our aircraft, ships, etcetera, if that is leading us to be unable to provide sufficient boots on the ground.

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The MOD has acknowledged that Britain would struggle to stand up an armed division of 10,000. Rifkind says manning the army should be a priority and would like to see forces increased back to 100,000 from around 80,000 regular troops, but notes the Army isnt the only consideration. As a maritime power, Britain also needs more frigates and destroyers to accompany its new aircraft carriers.

One of the main reasons Britain has been able to fund a fairly large welfare state  and particularly its National Health Service  is because the UK has enjoyed a substantial peace dividend, not just since the Cold War ended, but really since World War II. There was no guns versus butter tradeoff to be made. That has now changed.

War has a way of reordering priorities. Vladimir Putin has made it clear he sees Russian forces in Ukraine confronting NATO; nobody can say where that will lead. It has at least led to a redrafting of Britains 2021 Integrated Review of defense and foreign policy, which envisaged an Indo-Pacific tilt. The new version is to be published shortly. Thats a start, but it doesnt take a US general to note that the strategic vision is only as credible as the forces behind it.

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This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners.

Therese Raphael is a columnist for Bloomberg Opinion covering health care and British politics. Previously, she was editorial page editor of the Wall Street Journal Europe.

Elaine He is Bloomberg Opinions data visualization columnist in Europe, focusing on business and markets coverage. Before joining Bloomberg, she was a graphics editor at the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times.

More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com/opinion

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For those betting against the worlds ability to kick its carbon addiction, the commodities boom of the past few years has provided fresh ammunition. Tesla Inc.s Model 3 contained 4.5 kilograms of cobalt in its power pack in 2018, materials analyst Benchmark Minerals Intelligence estimated at the time. Scale that up to the 7.8 million electric vehicles sold last year  10% of the global market  and then project forward into a future where that share rises toward 100%, and you can quickly see the world running into a supply problem.

Sure enough, prices for lithium-ion batteries rose last year for the first time since at least 2010 as materials pushed up the price, according to BloombergNEF. You would hardly be surprised if things got worse as green investments in the US, European Union and China ramp up over the coming years.

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The metals demand from the energy transition may top current global supply, the International Monetary Fund warned in a 2021 analysis. Difficulty securing materials such as lithium, cobalt, tellurium and copper could hamper the shift to cleaner energy, Imperial College Londons Energy Futures Lab wrote in December.

New data from the US Geological Survey show why some of those fears are likely to be overblown. Each year, the USGS analyzes almost every commodity on earth, from iron ore to indium and palladium to peat, to get a handle on whether production is sufficient to meet the worlds  and in particular, Americas  needs.

The latest figures show a boom in supplies of many of the most important minerals for the energy transition. Lithium reserves are up 18% from last year. Cobalt has seen a 9.2% gain. Rare earths, which have a range of high-tech applications including magnets in electric car motors and wind turbines, saw reserves up 8.3% after standing still for at least five years.

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Part of this is a mathematical result of the rising prices that pushed lithium carbonate to nearly $80 a kilogram ($36 a pound) last year, from a range of $10/kg to $20/kg previously. Reserves measure minerals that can be profitably mined, so when price expectations increase, the reserve base will grow as well. Mostly, however, it comes from miners going out and doing what miners do when the market prices of their commodities go through the roof: Dusting off old geological results and drilling rock to find new deposits.

This process is aided by the sums of money that have flowed into battery materials in recent years as fears of supply tightness have grown. The small volumes involved in elements such as lithium, cobalt, and battery-grade nickel have meant that major mining companies tended to ignore them to focus on the vast cashflows that can be generated from iron ore, copper, aluminum and (until recently) coal.

Automotive companies, which have most to lose from a supply shortfall, have stepped in, too. General Motors Co. last week invested $650 million in Lithium Americas Corp., which hopes to produce 80,000 metric tons of lithium carbonate from a mine in Nevada  equivalent to more than 10% of global production last year. Tesla, meanwhile, has reconfigured its batteries so that half of its cars contain no cobalt or nickel at all, helping to shave demand even as supply increases. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. argued last year that the battery materials boom had already peaked, with huge supply investments likely to push prices into a slump until the second half of this decade.

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The same goes for the effect of all these materials on another non-renewable resource  the atmospheres carrying capacity for carbon dioxide emissions. Building all the power sector infrastructure needed to give the world a two-thirds chance of keeping global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius would use up between 1% and 9% of the worlds carbon budget, according to a study in the science journal Joule last month by researchers led by Seaver Wang of the Breakthrough Institute, a climate-related US think tank. In 84% of the scenarios the researchers examined, all the wind turbines, cement foundations, solar panels and steel frames installed up to 2050 would use up about six months worth of current emissions, while decarbonizing a sector that accounts for as much as 40% of our annual carbon pollution.

In that, the market for transition materials is just repeating a pattern thats held since the Biblical Pharaoh dreamed of seven years of plenty turning to seven years of famine. Fears of catastrophic shortfalls arent so much a prophecy of doom, as a corrective that ensures the right investments are made to guarantee supply always meets demand. Even a once-in-history switch to low-carbon power wont be enough to break that eternal rule.

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 The Smartest EV Batteries May Not Be the Best Ones: Anjani Trivedi

 Platinums Lesson for Lithium-Ion Batteries: David Fickling

This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners.

David Fickling is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering energy and commodities. Previously, he worked for Bloomberg News, the Wall Street Journal and the Financial Times.

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The US is in the thick of a nursing shortage. And yet, nursing schools are turning away more qualified applications than ever. The main bottleneck, schools say, is that there arent enough instructors or training sites to accommodate the vast number of interested students. Restoring the pandemic-depleted health-care workforce depends on fixing this mismatch.

Covid-19 took a toll on nurses. Many older ones retired early, fearful of catching the virus or plain exhausted from the demands of the job. Fleets of younger nurses left salaried positions at hospitals for more lucrative contract work. Those who remained as full-time staff have described working 24-hour shifts, with barely enough time to eat or use the restroom. Tens of thousands of nurses have gone on strike, most demanding better working conditions.

Against these odds, young people are still eager to become nurses, which remains a well-paid, highly regarded profession. Enrollment in entry-level baccalaureate programs, the largest pipeline into nursing, increased 3.3% in 2021. That doesnt account for all the qualified students who are turned away  some 76,000 applications  because schools dont have the resources to teach them.

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Breaking this cycle first requires boosting the ranks of instructors. A survey released by the American Association of Colleges of Nursing in October showed more than 2,100 full-time faculty vacancies, roughly 85% of which require or prefer a doctoral degree. Such strict qualifications are unnecessarily limiting, and the candidate pool is vanishingly small.

In some cases, school administrators are hamstrung by state nursing boards or regional accreditation requirements that faculty have a higher degree than the program in which theyre teaching. But largely, its a matter of prestige. The proportion of faculty with doctoral degrees factors into school rankings, and top credentials are the key to getting tenure.

Such gatekeeping is counterproductive: More faculty means more students and hence more tuition. Hiring more masters-level professors would be a good start. Longer term, increasing stipends for full-time doctoral students and offering tuition assistance for part-timers would help replenish the wave of Ph.D.-level faculty planning to retire. Loan forgiveness, meanwhile, could offset the stark salary differential with clinical practice, another oft-cited impediment to recruiting faculty.

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Nursing education also depends on preceptors, clinicians who supervise training  typically for free and on their own time. The Affordable Care Act included $200 million for a pilot program to determine whether paying preceptors for certain nursing students would help schools expand enrollment and increase the number of graduates. It worked: Average enrollment and graduations were almost double at schools that participated in the program. Congress should authorize funding to replicate this model, which is based on the successful federal program that subsidizes medical-school residents.

The instructor shortage has knock-on effects for clinical training, too: Just imagine dumping a bunch of students in an understaffed emergency room. Hospital closures have only compounded the problem. Some Covid-era models could easily address this challenge. Simulation, for example, is becoming increasingly sophisticated, and recent studies have shown its benefits. State licensing boards should more uniformly recognize these hours for credit. Governors should also build on interstate alliances that strengthened during the pandemic, which would both expand the number of training sites and get state licensing requirements in sync. For specialties like psychiatric nursing, training via telehealth across state lines is a big win for students and patients, particularly in rural areas. Currently, allowing such experience to qualify for credit requires Herculean coordination between state boards and schools. This should be streamlined.

The need to increase investment in nursing schools has rare bipartisan support. With the political will, and a bit of creative thinking, the US can solve an immediate staffing crunch and ultimately save lives.

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The Editors are members of the Bloomberg Opinion editorial board.

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What exactly do the UKs ruling Conservatives have to show for more than a decade of power? This is the awkward question haunting the party and its accidental helmsman, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, ahead of the next election. Wp Get the full experience. Choose your plan ArrowRight True, they got Brexit done  if you like that sort of thing and a large chunk of voters still do. They stood up to Russia over Ukraine. But how have recent governments improved the countrys long-term performance?

The Tory record is patchy, at best  a problem for a party whose calling card has long been economic pragmatism and prosperity. The small print, however, tells a different story: Conservatives have ducked planning reforms that would have a multiplier effect on the economy, failed to boost R&D spending and played musical chairs with the health service bureaucracy to no good effect.

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Now a wave of strikes, prompted by the cost-of-living crisis, threatens to undermine one of their few real policy achievements  school reform. Last Wednesday, the majority of state schools in England and Wales were fully or partially closed when teachers began a series of seven strikes planned by their largest union, the National Education Union (NEU), in support of higher pay.

The strikes threaten to compound the damage inflicted during the pandemic by some of the longest state-school closures in a developed country. Ministers just wrung their hands when the unions demanded that headteachers give up on classroom teaching. Lockdown saw the education of hundreds of thousands of children set back irretrievably, while the mental health of the most vulnerable suffered.

The impact on employability and life chances down the line will be damaging. The government did, however, promise to make amends. Sunaks predecessor but one, Boris Johnson, appointed an education bureaucrat Kevan Collins to draw up a recovery plan. After asking for 15 billion ($18 billion), he was promised 10 billion; when this was slashed to 1.5 billion by then Chancellor Sunak, Collins quit.

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I write as the father of a teenager confined to our house for months during Covid. Now in her final year of state school, my daughter faces summer exams that will determine her place at university. Opinion polls show that the voters are more forgiving of the strikers than me, but the impact of stop-start education is that teenagers often stop and then are reluctant to re-start. School is a habit. Break it and a kind of apathy sets in.

An OECD survey of 36 developed countries reveals that average salaries for teachers with 15 years experience in England are higher than in most European countries, including Finland, which tops many league tables for education attainment across the socioeconomic spectrum. Teachers in the UK are required to be at work for 1,265 hours over 195 days  a requirement lower than any other developed nation except Luxembourg. On the other side of the ledger, teachers complain of a hefty workload of marking outside the classroom and real-term cuts in their salaries.

Until recently, state education standards in England and Wales were steadily improving. Credit where credit is due: The Tories supercharged reforms initiated by Tony Blairs Labour government to enable academy schools to operate autonomously of local government bureaucrats and also allowed parents and charities to set up independent free schools. In the US context, this would be equivalent to rolling out charter and magnet schools nationwide.

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A city academy helped one of my sons get a place at a prestigious college in Oxford University with unstinting support. More importantly, the focus on excellence helped many more youngsters get to dentistry and medical school or top-notch science universities  many from backgrounds where that might have appeared to be an impossible dream.

So for all the road bumps along the way, reforms have delivered some results.

In his Autumn Statement, Chancellor Jeremy Hunt cited the OECDs 2018 Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) results for attainment in reading, science and mathematics among 15-year-olds. The UK had, he boasted, risen nine places in the global league tables for maths and reading in the last seven years.

According to another international study, Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS), which uses slightly different metrics to PISA, of the reading ability of nine-year-olds in 50 countries in 2016, England had risen to joint eighth place, from joint tenth in 2011.

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In Scotland, however, where education is a devolved matter, the nationalist government has refused to enact similar reforms and the countrys schools  once much superior to those of England  have slipped down the international league tables.

But that is only one part of the story. How does the country equip its children for employment? A bleak IMF assessment of the countrys prospects post-Brexit concluded, UK students rank low on tests of basic skills, while UK firms continue reporting shortages of skilled workers, including those with technical education.

A hundred days or so ago, Gillian Keegan became the fifth person to hold the role of Education Secretary in just four months  perhaps a faster turnover than pen monitors in many classrooms. It is hard not to agree with Geoff Barton, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, who commented that the revolving door shows a complete disregard for the importance of what should be a key government post.

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Keegan left school at 16 to become an apprentice at a car factory at Kirkby, Liverpool, on the first rung of a 30-year business career. She speaks from the heart about vocational training. Hunt, prompted by his prime minister, has increased spending on schools and brought in Michael Barber, Tony Blairs education and policy guru, to advise on reforming and improving skills.

Sunak, Hunt and Keegan clearly want to make a difference, but is the Conservative partys heart in it? Many of their MPs and ministers educate their children privately or move in circles where this is the norm. A lot have still not recovered from retrograde arguments over the abolition of grammar schools.

Tories seem more interested in fighting a civil war over tax cuts than building on one of their best policies. But if the party wants to secure the UKs long-term prosperity, a second education revolution is required. Stopping the strikes is not enough. As a rule of thumb, good teachers need to be paid more (especially where there are vacancies in science and maths), but the price must be more flexibility in rooting out the laggards.

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This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners.

Martin Ivens is the editor of the Times Literary Supplement. Previously, he was editor of the Sunday Times of London and its chief political commentator.

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The alliance forged by Carlos Ghosn between Renault SA and Nissan Motor Co. is being revamped as the carmakers chart separate paths, an outcome set in motion by his arrest on charges of financial misconduct four years ago. After serving two lengthy stints in jail before being released on bail, Ghosn slipped out of the country in late 2019 and found sanctuary in Lebanon, where he has citizenship. He has professed his innocence and said the deck had been stacked against him. While the carmakers are making a fresh start, the Ghosn saga remains unfinished business.

1. What was Ghosns connection to Japan?

Ghosn, now 68, had had a high profile in the country since 1999, when the French automaker rescued Nissan with a cash injection. Ghosn, who had revived Renault as executive vice president, was assigned to turn around the Japanese carmaker. He reduced purchasing costs, shut factories, eliminated 21,000 jobs and invested the savings into 22 car and truck models in three years. It wasnt long before he was feted in manga comic books, mobbed for autographs during plant tours, and generally heaped with national adulation for saving a car company once given up for dead. But hed been called out over his pay in Japan, where executive compensation is a touchy topic.

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2. What were the allegations?

Ghosn was indicted in Tokyo on charges of under-reporting about $80 million in compensation and income during the decade before his arrest. He was also charged with three counts of breach of trust, two of which allege that he used foreign corporate entities in 2017 and 2018 to funnel $5 million from Nissan into accounts that he controlled and used to purchase a yacht and support a technology investment fund started by his son, Anthony. The charges carry a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison.

3. Why the focus on compensation?

Starting in 2009, when Japan required companies to make executive compensation public, Ghosns reported pay fell to roughly half what he had been making before, but his deferred compensation ballooned. Japanese law requires remuneration to be reported in the year its fixed, even if the payout happens later. (There are similar rules in Europe.)

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4. What did Renault do?

Frances largest carmaker alerted French authorities after finding some of Ghosns expenses involve questionable and concealed practices and violations of the groups ethical principles. Ghosn stepped down as Renault chairman and chief executive on Jan. 23, 2019. French investigators issued international arrest warrants for Ghosn in April 2022.

5. Will Ghosn ever be put on trial?

Unclear. Lebanon could try him on the allegations from Japan, though Ghosn is regarded by many Lebanese as a national hero. (Ghosn also has citizenship in Brazil, where he was born, and in France.) Japan may yet attempt to get him back, though it doesnt have an extradition treaty with Lebanon  which, in any case, doesnt extradite its citizens.

6. What explains Nissans tension with Renault?

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By the time of his arrest, Renaults partnership with Nissan had become strained, and Nissans then-CEO, Hiroto Saikawa, was seeking to rebalance what he and others at the Japanese company viewed as a relationship increasingly tilted in favor of the French carmaker and its most powerful shareholder, the French state. New management at Nissan pressed forward with a rebalancing of the relationship, with both announcing a plan for Renault to reduce its stake in the Japanese carmaker to 15% from 43%, and Nissan regaining voting rights for its 15% stake in the French carmaker.

7. What has Ghosn said about the charges?

I have not fled justice  I have escaped injustice and political persecution, he said soon after his arrival in Lebanon. He called the Japanese justice system rigged and said he had been deprived of basic human rights, including the presumption of innocence. In court in early 2019, Ghosn said the agreements for deferred pay were non-binding draft proposals and so didnt need to be disclosed. His French lawyer said Ghosn didnt get the deferred pay and there is no certainty he ever would have. Addressing a news conference in Lebanon in January 2020, Ghosn said he would stand trial in any country where I believe I can receive a fair trial, but didnt think that was the case in Japan. After the French arrest warrants were issued, he called his situation a tragedy. You have a masquerade of a justice in Japan and what makes me very sad is that in a certain way France has been an accomplice of it, he said.

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8. What is Ghosns gripe with Japans legal system?

After his first arrest, Ghosn spent more than 100 days in jail and was released on bail of 1 billion  among the highest ever in Japan  only to be rearrested a month later on new charges. He was granted bail again after three weeks. Initial conditions included restrictions on the use of his mobile phone and the internet. He could only use a computer offline at his lawyers office and had cameras monitoring his house. His second release had similar conditions, which the court said were meant to prevent the destruction of evidence.

9. Is this how Japans legal system is supposed to work?

For the most part, yes. Suspects in Japan routinely endure lengthy pre-trial detentions and repeated grillings by prosecutors without a lawyer present. Periodically rearresting a suspect on suspicion of new charges allows prosecutors to keep the suspect in custody while attempting to build a case or secure a confession. Tight budgets and a culture of wanting to save face mean that prosecutors usually pursue only those cases they are sure to win. In 2015, a trial was requested in just 7.8% of cases overseen by the public prosecutors office. That helps explain why more than 99% of cases that go to trial end with a conviction; in England and Wales, for comparisons sake, the conviction rate is 87%.

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10. Who else was charged?

Two Americans who helped Ghosn escape were brought to Japan, served time for their role and were released in late 2022. Nissan was indicted over the saga as well, and was ordered by a Tokyo court to pay a 200 million ($1.5 million) fine. The company said it strengthened its corporate governance and compliance, and filed amended financial statements. Former Nissan executive Greg Kelly  known as Ghosns gatekeeper and confidant  was found guilty on some charges related to helping him under-report income, but was given a six-month suspended jail sentence. Lawyers for Kelly, also an American, argued that he had no motive to hide any compensation for Ghosn and no knowledge of any plans to repay Ghosn for reduced income.

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Following the annual meeting of the American Meteorological Society, the New York Times featured an article on an active debate as to whether there is too much hype terminology being used not just in TV weathercasts, but in the general media. It is understandable why this issue has bubbled up. The terms are being heard more often by the general public, lay reporters and spoken more often by broadcast meteorologists. The issue isnt so much on misuse by professionals. Its more a matter of the terms sounding like hype.

Some of the greater frequency in usage can be laid at the feet of news producers and writers who have become more familiarized with the terminology due to the increase in extreme weather events around the globe. The number of extreme weather disasters is climbing rather steadily. For evening network newscasts and in local TV news, audience research shows a very high and growing interest in the publics fascination and alarm in seeing more and more of these events.

The thing about these terms is that none of them is new in science. They are not going to vanish and may, in fact, be used more often as potentially climate change-linked extreme weather events continue to become more numerous around the globe.

We can start with the ominous bomb cyclone term, which has been heard more often in recent years but remains a relatively less frequent occurrence in the intensification of a low pressure system, or cyclone. (All lows are cyclones.)

The vague term bomb was first used by Norwegian meteorologists during World War II, though it didnt yet have a formal definition other than to describe an explosively deepening sea cyclone. Its formal use began in an MIT paper published in 1980 that defines a bomb cyclone to one in which the central pressure has fallen by at least 24 millibars  thats a huge pressure fall  within 24 hours. The cyclone that fueled the 60 mph and 70 mph gusts of the Christmas blizzard had undergone what we meteorologists call bombogenesis in its pressure falls. The storm went from this to this, in rapid intensification.

Since the formalized scientific term of bombogenesis/bomb cyclone has been around for 43 years, and was developed by MIT researchers in published journals, does the science need to consider changing the term because it sounds too alarming? My editorial view is no, because when a bomb cyclone impacts a populated area it generally is a dangerous storm. It is part of the scientific literature. Its use is appropriate as long it meets the criteria.

Inappropriate use is a reminder of why meteorologists are sticklers for severe weather terms being used only when specific criteria is met. One term that is often misused is high winds. The misuse is committed by lay reporters and writers, not meteorologists. High winds require either sustained winds of more than 40 mph for at least an hour, or gusts over 58 mph. That is, a high wind warning is a severe weather term, and means wind damage is expected. Very windy does not equate to high winds, and big snowstorms do not equate to blizzards, unless the scientific criteria (for wind speed and low visibility) is met. This is to avoid the dilution of the terms so that the warning of severe weather is not lost on the public, business and political leaders by misuse and overuse.

Another term that was in the news more often last month is atmospheric river. This kind of stream of moisture-laden air traversing long distances over ocean waters produced the tremendous and deadly devastation in central and northern California recently. Its not a new term. This phenomenon was first discussed in published papers during the early 1990s.

In my experience, its been properly applied when its been in the news, with supportive evidence seen on TV and in print from satellite imagery. Ergo, there is no need to call that hype.

There is nothing new about polar vortex, either. It has always been present but became popularized in recent decades. It is a higher altitude band of winds that, when disrupted and weakened, can stretch southward and send polar air at the surface southward as well. Some stretching of the polar vortex occurred leading up to our blizzard. The fact that polar vortex has become popularized doesnt mean its wrong to use it properly.

These terms can become buzzwords, true enough, just like all natural. The difference here is, unlike all natural, these weather buzzwords are based in real science with defined criteria.

Its midwinter without midwinter weather

As advertised last week, the polar blast made a quick exit. Sundays high temperature bounced back to 43 after Saturdays low started at 0. After a cooler Monday, temps will bounce back to the mid-upper 40s Tuesday, with some south-southwest gusts of 45 mph likely by afternoon. Rain showers will average less than .25 inch.

Combined with the limited snowmelt, this may be enough to bring back the parade of muddy paw prints in homes like mine. (Im going to steam mop the floors anyway, to make room for the new mud.)

Wednesday will be our best chance this week for some limited sunshine to boost morale, with a high reaching the upper 30s-40 on a light southwest breeze.

If Tuesdays showers dont bring back muddy paws, Thursdays widespread rain will. Readings will return to the mid-upper 40s on a stiff southerly flow  bad news for the ski slopes, unfortunately.

We should be mainly dry Friday, with temps returning to the low 40s. Colder weather will return by Saturday, but nothing approaching a deep freeze. A brisk northerly flow will make it the most wintry day of the week, with some snow showers and a high around 30.

If the ski operators think its economically feasible to make snow for next weekend, they should be able to add to depleted bases on Friday night and even more so Saturday night, looking ahead to Sunday dawn lows.

The tough call for the resorts is the return to milder weather by Monday, with highs returning to the mid-40s. Temperatures in the lower atmosphere will be running above average most or all of next week, as seen in ensemble patterns. The colors tell the story, in the legend.

There are fuzzy ensemble hints of some colder air reloading to our northwest, east of an upper air ridge developing near Alaska, which might brink a somewhat colder pattern for the latter part of the month. Fuzzy, though, is the keyword.
The United States is finally ready to take the plunge when it comes to electric vehicles. But our flawed EV charging system is standing in the way.
Orchard Park gym owner Robert F. Dinero was found guilty of trespassing at Orchard Park Middle School after being told he was not allowed in the building.

Dinero, 51, was found not guilty in a separate incident, both violations.

He also has two other charges against him regarding entering a school after he was banned and violating an order of protection by sending the superintendent an email, according to Erie County District Attorney John J. Flynn.

Dinero was arrested Dec. 9, 2021, after he entered the middle school. He had been told he was not allowed in any school building for violating the district's code of conduct. Orchard Park Village Justice James C. Cosgrove found Dinero guilty after a bench trial Thursday. He ordered Dinero to pay a $75 fine and $125 surcharge.

Cosgrove found Dinero not guilty of trespassing Dec. 14, 2021, at Orchard Park High School.

Dinero was charged with trespassing Jan. 14, 2022, after he was accused of entering Ellicott Elementary school twice in violation of the district's regulations. At his arraignment, the court issued a temporary no-contact order of protection that prohibited Dinero from communicating with school district officials.

Dinero also was charged with second-degree criminal contempt, a misdemeanor, for reportedly sending an email April 27, 2022 to the school superintendent in violation of the order of protection.

The temporary no-contact order of protection remains in effect, according to Flynn. A final no-contact order is to be discussed March 2.
Charter Hall boss David Harrison, who oversees Australias largest office portfolio, sees a big gap looming between Australias gleaming new city office towers and a generation of tired older buildings.

The biggest issue facing offices is that there is going to be a real bifurcation of tenants wanting modern buildings versus older buildings, Harrison said.

David Harrison sees a big gap between new and old office towers. Credit: Renee Nowytarger

Australias cities, particularly Melbourne and Sydney, are struggling to attract workers back into business districts despite widespread scrapping of pandemic restrictions. Occupancy last year remained stubbornly low, prompting fears of ghost buildings and a hollowing-out effect on shops and other retail activity in city centres.

But there are signs of improvement. Office occupancy figures from the Property Council of Australia point to a welcome bump in workers making the commute into CBD offices in November.
Dubai, United Arab Emirates: Irans supreme leader has reportedly ordered an amnesty or reduction in prison sentences for tens of thousands of people detained amid anti-government protests shaking the country, acknowledging for the first time the scale of the crackdown.

The decree by Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, part of a yearly pardoning the supreme leader does before the anniversary of the 1979 Islamic Revolution, comes as authorities have yet to say how many people they detained in the demonstrations. State media also published a list of caveats over the order that would disqualify dual citizens or those facing spying charges  allegations which have been met with wide international criticism.

Protesters chant slogans in response to the death of a woman detained by the morality police, in downtown Tehran, Iran on September 21, 2022. Credit: AP

Khamenei agreed to offer amnesty and reduce the sentences of tens of thousands accused and convicted in the recent incidents, the state-run IRNA news agency said in a Farsi report. A later IRNA report carried by its English-language service said the pardons and commuted sentences were for tens of thousands of convicts, including the arrestees of the recent riots in Iran. Authorities did not immediately acknowledge the discrepancy in the reports.

The reports about the decree offered no explanation for the decision by Khamenei, who has final say on all matters of state in Iran. However, prisons and detention facilities already had faced overcrowding in the country after years of protests over economic issues and other matters.
We should have shot this balloon down over the Aleutian Islands. We should never have allowed it to transit the entire continental United States, said Republican Senator Tom Cotton, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, referring to the chain of small islands that arc off the coast of mainland Alaska. Cotton told the Fox News Sunday program that he believed Biden had waited to disclose the penetration of US airspace because he wanted to salvage Secretary of State Antony Blinkens planned diplomatic trip to Beijing, which ultimately was postponed. I think part of it is the presidents reluctance to take any action that would be viewed as provocative or confrontational towards the Chinese communists, Cotton added. Biden said he issued an order on Wednesday to down the balloon after it crossed into Montana, but the Pentagon had recommended waiting until it could be done over open water to protect civilians from debris crashing to Earth from nearly twice the altitude of commercial air traffic.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, a Democrat, said of the Republican criticisms: they are premature and they are political. The Defence Department in the coming week will brief the Senate on the suspected Chinese spy balloon and Chinese surveillance, Schumer told a news conference on Sunday. Second Chinese balloon Colombias air force issued a statement on Saturday (Colombian time) providing limited details concerning a possible balloon its air defence system had located on Friday morning. US military officials had on Friday said another Chinese balloon was spotted somewhere over Latin America but did not specify its location.

The remnants of a large balloon drift above the Atlantic Ocean. Credit: Chad Fish via AP According to the Colombian air force statement, an object was detected over its territory at an altitude of 17,000 metres that had entered the South American countrys airspace to the north moving at an average speed of 25 knots, or roughly 47 kilometres per hour. The statement added that the object exhibited characteristics similar to those of a balloon, and that the air force monitored it until it left the countrys airspace. It was determined that it did not represent a threat to national security, the statement added. No other official confirmation of unidentified balloons flying over other Latin American countries has been issued as of Monday.

In recent days, however, balloon sightings have been made in Venezuela and Costa Rica by multiple social media users. Loading Nuclear missile sites Republican Representative Mike Turner, chairman of the House of Representatives Intelligence Committee, said the panel also was set to receive a briefing on the spy balloon this week, though the exact timing has not been determined. Turner said the balloon travelled unhindered over sensitive US nuclear missile sites, and that he believed China was using it to gain information on how to defeat the command and control of our nuclear weapons systems and our missile defence systems.

The president has allowed this to go across our most sensitive sites and wasnt even going to tell the American public if you hadnt broken the story, Turner told NBCs Meet the Press program. There was no attempt to notify Congress, no attempt to put together the Gang of Eight (a bipartisan group of congressional leaders). I think this administration lacks urgency. Republican US Senator Marco Rubio, vice chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, told the ABC News program This Week that he would ask administration officials what future preparations have been made to prevent such an incident. Rubio also said China was trying to send a message that it could enter US airspace, adding that he doubted that the balloons debris would be of much intelligence value. Trump on Sunday disputed Austins statement that Chinese government surveillance balloons transited the continental United States briefly three times during his presidency. China had too much respect for TRUMP for this to have happened, and it NEVER did, Trump wrote on social media.

Speaking on Fox News Channels Sunday Morning Futures show, Trumps former director of National Intelligence, John Ratcliffe, also denied such balloon incidents. Loading China on Sunday condemned the US action against what Beijing called an airship used for meteorological and other scientific purposes that had strayed into US airspace completely accidentally  claims rejected by US officials. China had clearly asked the US to handle this properly in a calm, professional and restrained manner, Chinas foreign ministry said in a statement. The US had insisted on using force, obviously overreacting. But Republican Representative Michael Waltz backed up Austin, telling The Washington Post that the Pentagon had notified Congress that Chinese balloons were spotted near the United States several times during Trumps tenure.
Two brothers of Robert Armbruster, who was once a suspect in the unsolved 1966 murder of Monsignor Francis J. OConnor, say he was a fragile, lovable man incapable of violence.

The nieces and nephews of Rev. John D. Lewandowski, who also was once a suspect in the murder, declined to talk about their uncle.

Both men were questioned and fingerprinted by Buffalo police 57 years ago, according to police reports The Buffalo News obtained.

Neither was charged with killing O'Connor, a rising star in the Buffalo Catholic Diocese who served as the editor of The Magnificat, the diocesan weekly newspaper.

And now both Armbruster and Lewandowski are dead.

Armbruster, who had been hired by OConnor in 1965 to work as a reporter at the paper, died four years ago at the age of 76. He was struck by a utility truck in Bergenfield, his New Jersey hometown. An estimated 700 people attended his funeral Mass, including nine Catholic priests and one Episcopal clergyman, according to his relatives.

Lewandowski died in a Bailey Avenue apartment in 1982 at the age of 49. He had resigned from the priesthood in 1970, according to the diocese.

Death records show he died of a heart attack and the funeral home, in an act of charity, provided a shirt and tie for Lewandowski to be buried in.

And not everyone in Buffalo has forgotten Lewandowski. His name appears in pending civil lawsuits against the diocese accusing him of molesting seven boys during his time as a priest.

His only sibling, an elderly sister, is infirm and unavailable to speak on her brothers behalf, relatives told The News.

Armbruster's relatives are eager to share their brothers legacy.

They say his life was filled with volunteer work and devotion to the Catholic Church. He served meals to the needy and assisted the homeless and was known as the unofficial mayor of Bergenfield, said Bill Armbruster, one of his four brothers.

In his later years, Armbruster, a retired newspaper copy editor, traveled to the Philippines several times and stayed with a family he helped support financially. He also visited seminaries in the Philippines to offer encouragement and insights into the doctrine of the churchs Second Vatican Council, Bill Ambruster said.

Back in Bergenfield, Armbruster had lived with his parents, taking on more and more responsibilities so that they could remain in their home as they grew old, the brother said.

The family was aware that something terrible had happened during Armbrusters time in Buffalo, according to Joseph Armbruster, another brother.

We knew the priest was murdered and Bob was questioned, said Joseph Armbruster, adding, Bob wouldnt hurt a flea. Bob looked out for everybody.

A fellow writer at the Catholic newspaper in the 1960s said Armbruster was outraged at how Buffalo police treated him during questioning about the monsignors death.

Anthony Bannon told The News that Armbruster told him he was held at Police Headquarters, roughed up and questioned by police for more than 24 hours, without being allowed to sleep.

Armbruster told him that detectives were asking him over and over again about his relationship with Monsignor OConnor and trying to get him to admit that he killed him."

"He was very shaken up. He told me, I have to get out of Buffalo. I cant work here or live here anymore,  Bannon recalled.

Armbruster, Bannon said, made good on his decision to leave.

A few days after the murder, Bob disappeared for a whole day. Then, he came back to The Magnificat office, cleared out all his belongings and left. We never saw him again, said Bannon, who was executive director of the Burchfield Penney Art Center at SUNY Buffalo State and director of George Eastman House International Museum of Photography and Film in Rochester.

Bill Armbruster explained that his brother could, at times, be emotional and cited an incident that occurred in his brothers adolescent years.

He was accidentally shot by another kid who was playing with his fathers gun. It went off and it hit Bob in the leg. Maybe that contributed to Bobs sometimes fragile state, Bill Armbruster said.

On the day he was struck by a utility truck, Joseph Armbruster said it was believed that his brother was crossing the street from his home to go to a doughnut shop for his morning coffee.

At the hospital, Joseph Armbruster said, two priests were at his brother's bedside when the decision was made to take him off life support.

My brother Bob was one of the kindest and gentlest people I have ever known, Joseph Armbruster said.

After the OConnor murder in 1966, family members say, to their knowledge, Robert Armbruster never returned to Buffalo.

***

Read series' conclusion on Tuesday: Family left in the dark about why murder went unsolved

Catch up on the series: Who killed the monsignor? Exploring the murder of Monsignor Francis J. O'Connor, its investigation and its legacy

How we reported this series Watchdog reporter Lou Michel filed a Freedom of Information Law request in January 2022 for Buffalo Police records on the unsolved 1966 murder of Buffalo Diocese Monsignor Francis J. OConnor. He and reporter Dan Herbeck were given access to the Police Departments box of approximately 100 reports on the case. In addition, they interviewed more than 120 people, including retired police officers who worked on the case, people who talked with the Buffalo Police homicide chief who oversaw the investigation, and relatives and acquaintances of OConnor and of three diocese employees who were once suspects.
The WCO conducted a WCO Data Model National Workshop in Bishkek, Kyrgyz Republic, from 16 to 20 January 2023 at the request of the State Customs Service (SCS) under the Ministry of Finance of the Kyrgyz Republic, with funding from the Customs Cooperation Fund (CCF) of China. The goal of this Workshop was to assist the SCS in designing and implementing the WCO Data Model, which is to serve as the foundation for developing a new Customs Information System to replace the legacy system.

During the Workshop, the host country shared information with WCO experts on the legacy system, the needs of SCS, the design of the new system, and the need for compliance with the WCO Data Model. SCS also provided information on the current development status of the most recent information system, and on the Smart Border pilot project at one Customs post.

WCO experts presented SCS with Indonesias experiences of developing the Customs Information System and implementing the WCO Data Model. They also encouraged all participants to complete the mapping of the Kyrgyz National Dataset using the WCO DM App. The participants mapped the Kyrgyz National Dataset to ensure that the new Customs Information System that was being developed conformed with the WCO Data Model as an international standard.

WCO Experts provided several recommendations based on the outcome of the Workshop, including completing the mapping of the SCS dataset to the WCO Data Model, continuing and ensuring the sustainability of in-source development by SCS, and producing My Information Packages (MyIPs) and sharing them with global stakeholders via the WCOs MyIP repository.

Contact capacity.building@wcoomd.org for additional information on capacity-building activities.
People die every day. And in the ordinary course of events, there's an established and delicate process for removing the deceased swiftly and sensitively from hospitals, nursing homes and residences.

But that process was shot to pieces during the Christmas week blizzard.

"It was terrible, absolutely terrible," said Brian K. Lewis, owner and funeral director for the Brian K. Lewis Funeral Home, which has two locations in East Buffalo.

Not only did 47 people in Western New York die due directly to blizzard conditions, but countless others died during that period due to normal factors of age and illness. The problem was, while the storm raged and wind, snow and abandoned cars blocked off street access for hours and then days, picking up the dead became impossible.

Family residences and nursing homes were left with deceased individuals in bedrooms. Hospital morgues began filling up. Police and National Guard were forced to take over body retrieval and release duties. Erie County began calling for additional, temporary storage trailers.

And funeral home staff, who normally retrieve bodies, were forced to either wait or come up with ever more creative ways to reach the dead.

"In my 40 years as a funeral director, Ive never had a situation like that happen where I wasnt able to pick up," said David Zabinski, owner and funeral director of Kolano Funeral Home in the city's Black Rock neighborhood.

Four more Buffalo blizzard fatalities identified The identities of four more of the 47 people who died due to the Christmas weekend blizzard have been confirmed by The Buffalo News.

During the blizzard and in the immediate aftermath, the difficult and dangerous work of body retrieval often fell to Buffalo police officers and other first responders instead of undertakers.

Local governments and the Erie County Health Department worked with area hospitals, which have their own morgues, so that bodies could be brought to the nearest hospitals for safekeeping. But as hospital and Medical Examiner's Office cadaver storage space began filling up, the deceased had to be taken elsewhere.

Many were ultimately brought to the Erie County Emergency Operations Center, where three cold storage trailers were parked, said County Executive Mark Poloncarz. The National Guard brought in the first two storage trailers with a body capacity of 10 each. But those filled so quickly that, eventually, the state had to send over a 40-body mobile morgue trailer from Rochester.

"The 40-person trailer never got completely full, but it got pretty close," Poloncarz said.

The deceased who arrived unidentified had fingerprints and other photos taken so that their names could eventually be found. The county put the National Guard in charge of receiving and releasing the dead.

Funeral home directors and staff were challenged to retrieve bodies as quickly as possible from wherever they were. But a hierarchy of retrieval priorities soon developed.

"If somebody passed in the hospital, you could buy some time," said Kevin M. Mason, who operates the Kevin M. Mason Funeral Home in Buffalo's Kaisertown neighborhood.

What we know about the people who died in Buffalo Niagara's blizzard At least 40 people have died in Erie and Niagara counties due to the blizzard that paralyzed the city of Buffalo for six days.

Hospitals had their own morgues, as did the Medical Examiner's Office and the Emergency Operations Center. Those individuals could be stored in safe, secure and refrigerated areas. Moreover, if individuals were suspected to have died as a direct result of the blizzard, their remains were taken to the Medical Examiner's Office for autopsy investigations, so the urgency to retrieve those bodies wasn't as great, Zabinski said.

But if someone had died in a nursing home or private residence, they presented immediate and serious challenges.

Lewis recalled one instance where an individual died at home under hospice care during the blizzard. There was no way the funeral home could reach the individual, so Lewis had to advise the family to quarantine the deceased in a bedroom with the window open a few inches to keep the room cool, and to shut the door and seal the bottom so the rest of the house could stay warm.

It took 2 days for the funeral home to finally claim the remains. The side street where the house was located was still unplowed when his staff arrived so they had to park along the nearest main road.

"We had to carry the remains about a block and half down the street," he said.

Funeral home staff had to be extra careful on pickup runs. Even after the blizzard technically ended, abandoned cars still sat in the streets and many roads remained unplowed.

"You dont want to be in an accident with the body in the van," Mason said.

Nursing homes, meanwhile, had to upend their traditional body removal policies. Typically, they require bodies to be removed from the facility within a few hours of passing and taken away inconspicuously through a side or rear entrance so they aren't seen by other nursing home residents, Mason said. But during and immediately after the storm, funeral home staff had to scramble to find any way in and out of these facilities.

Mason recalled when he and his staff arrived at one nursing home to pick up a deceased individual right after Christmas. They were able to pull up in front of the building, but the nursing home itself was still snowed in and the lot was unplowed. So his crew pulled a shovel out of their retrieval van and shoveled their way to the front door. That was the door they carried the body out.

Lewis said he was grateful he had recently bought a new pickup truck for his funeral home and had it outfitted with a $10,000 plow blade. Originally, he said, he got the truck and blade because the snowplowing service he hired kept arriving late. He decided to get rid of the service and plow his lot himself. Never did he imagine he'd wind up using the vehicle to retrieve the deceased, he said.

His funeral home wound up recovering about half a dozen deceased individuals during and after the blizzard. In one case, the retrieval truck was parked so far away that the deceased person had to be tied to a backboard that was fashioned into a makeshift sled and pulled to the retrieval truck.

"We had no choice," he said.

Even after remains were safely retrieved, he said, all the traditions and rites associated with burial and cremation were delayed after the storm. Churches were closed, cemetery roads remained buried, crematories were closed off, casket and and burial vault providers couldn't deliver.

"It was like a trickling down effect," Mason said. "It really, really affected everyone."

When one family asked when services might be held, he answered, "I have no idea."

Funeral home directors also had to console individuals who lost loved ones unexpectedly during the holidays, including those who froze to death as a direct result of the blizzard, they said. Both Lewis and Zabinski handled multiple cases of blizzard-related deaths.

Looking back, all the funeral home directors said they hope the blizzard experience is a one-time event because they don't know how they could have handled it any differently.

"Ive been a funeral director for 40 years, and Ive never had a situation like that happen," said Zabinski, a fourth-generation funeral home director. "Hopefully, it doesnt happen again."
If you know of local business openings or closings, please notify us here.

PREVIOUS OPENINGS AND CLOSINGS

- Air Products & Chemicals Inc. plans to invest a half-billion dollars to produce environmentally friendly hydrogen in New York state.

- The Trexlertown Chick-Fil-A plans to add a second drive-thru lane as part of a plan to reduce traffic congestion.

- The Harrisburg-based Mid Penn bank has opened its first full-service branch in the Lehigh Valley in South Whitehall.

- The Allentown Planning Commission put off a decision on a new Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen at the site of the former Nostos Greek restaurant.

- The former Star Crete concrete plant at the intersection of Farmersville Road and Easton Avenue has been sold for $1.58 million, and that may clear the way for a medical office building.

- The local business SuperSets Gym will open its third location in Allentown's South Mall, with no opening date set yet.

- The jewelry boutique Versant will close later this year, but the business will be consolidated at Gary Werkheiser's other location in Saucon Valley Square.

- The DSW Woodmill Commons has moved to Berkshire West, 1101 Woodland Road in Wyomissing.

- Trainer Michael Melendez has opened his new Reading Extreme Boxing Club where PacSun used to operate in the Berkshire Mall.

- Frackville NAPA Auto Parts held a grand opening with the Schuylkill Chamber of Commerce and Frackville Business & Professional Association.

- Fyzical Therapy & Balance Centers in North Manheim Township held a grand opening, in conjunction with the Schuylkill Chamber of Commerce and Pottsville Business Association.

- PDC Machines, a maker of hydrogen compressors, showed off a new plant in Lower Salford.

- Maya Capital Partners has acquired Amwell Valley Self Storage, a 265-unit storage business on Route 31 in Ringoes, New Jersey.

- Norwescap is buying the former Sullivan's on the Main restaurant in Phillipsburg to renovate the building and then use it for programs to help educate and feed people.
Call it the yin and yang of American law enforcement.

Two stories on page B5 of Thursdays Buffalo News focused on corrections officers, but the issues they raised cover everyone in law enforcement, from the heightened dangers that officers face to the need to monitor those vested with extraordinary powers. Too often, critics acknowledge only one side of that coin, either excusing misconduct or disregarding the real risks of law enforcement. It shouldnt be difficult to recognize both.

One story reported on a violent confrontation that injured a deputy in the Erie County Holding Center. An inmate already charged with crimes of violence punched the deputy in the face, knocking him unconscious.

The inmate, Bilal Wright, 44, was charged with a felony count of assault while confined in a correctional facility as well as another misdemeanor. The deputy, identified only by his last name, Mallia, hit his head on the wall and his face on a metal bunk. He regained consciousness while being transported to Erie County Medical Center, where he was treated for his injuries.

The second story reported on a lawsuit filed by the New York Civil Liberties Union against the state Department of Corrections and Community Supervision for denying access to records of misconduct by corrections officers. Those are public records, based on the repeal of a state law that previously shielded them.

Access to such information would qualify as a crucial aspect of oversight in any circumstance, but Western New Yorkers already know that official misconduct occurs in their jails. Indeed, Erie County is doing its best right now to prevent residents from seeing body camera video showing an officer kicking a handcuffed inmate in or near his head.

Erie County deputies learned that former Sheriff Timothy Howard would tolerate misconduct and even criminality, in the jails or on the street. But his successor, John Garcia, who counts as an improvement, doesnt want the public to see the video.

Other instances of unprovoked violence by officers have occurred in the Buffalo city jail, at the Attica Correctional Facility and elsewhere. Brutality is illegal  and expensive.

Together, instances of violence by and against jailers make the case for close supervision of those facilities and for high expectations, backed up by professional standards and the training needed to meet them.

Law enforcement is hard work. Officers environments are replete with dangers that need to inform how the public evaluates their performance. Thats a fact.

But this coin has two sides, and its also a fact that New Yorkers need to know when public employees who are empowered to carry guns and to deprive citizens of their liberty abuse the authority that is only on loan to them.

  

Whats your opinion? Send it to us at lettertoeditor@buffnews.com. Letters should be a maximum of 300 words and must convey an opinion. The column does not print poetry, announcements of community events or thank you letters. A writer or household may appear only once every 30 days. All letters are subject to fact-checking and editing.
ALLENTOWN, Pa. - Allentown police are investigating a shooting Sunday night.

Police said a gunshot victim walked into a local hospital.

Investigators said they were still piecing together where the shooting happened and who all was involved.

Around 9:30 p.m. Sunday, a heavy police presence was seen in the area of South Lumber and Vine streets, but it's not clear if it's related to the shooting.

Police have not released any further information.
BETHLEHEM, Pa. - In a letter to families, Bethlehem Area School District Superintendent Joseph Roy said BASD Dining Services received shipments of juice products that were discovered to have signs of egg larvae or maggot activity on some crates/pallets.

The shipments were received last week, over several days, Roy said.

In a few instances, maggots attached to the exterior of drink cartons were transferred to student trays, according to the letter.

Roy says the beverage products were disposed of at all 22 schools after the identification of the issue. As of this time, the issue involved four schools: Freedom High School, East Hills Middle School, Freemansburg Elementary, and Thomas Jefferson Elementary, Roy said.

Aramark, the district's dining services manager, is working with dining services staff at all 22 schools to conduct quality assurance inspections related to receipt of deliveries, Roy said. The City of Bethlehem Health Bureau was also consulted to review the steps that Aramark has taken to address the problem.

"The health and safety of our students and staff must always be a top priority," Roy said. "Food safety must be a given. We expect the same high standards from our food and beverage vendors."

"Maggots are disgusting," Roy said. "It's disgusting that they even made it into the delivery areas of the kitchens."

Roy spoke with 69 News just a few hours after his initial email to parents to give an update on the investigation.

After further investigation, he says that at Freemansburg and Thomas Jefferson elementary schools, the products never made it to the serving line. However, that wasn't the case for all of the schools.

"Freedom High School and East Hills Middle School, some of the products made it to the serving line," Roy said. "And we're aware of just two incidents where a single maggot was on a tray."

He said milk cartons weren't impacted, and that the insects were only found near the juice products. He also said the food was never contaminated.

"I want to make it really clear; it was on the crates or the pallets, nothing in food," Roy said. "So even though it was juice, they were the sealed containers. It was on the crates that they came in on."

Roy said the juice was delivered by supplier Lehigh Valley Dairy Farms, and that BASD will no longer be using its products.

Roy, however, is taking responsibility, saying district employees should have done a better job of catching the issue before the bugs got into the cafeterias. He says BASD will also be checking shipments before they come into schools.

"What we needed to do better, was really what the first two schools did, which is the delivery came, they inspected it and identified a problem, and put it back out there," Roy said. "We've got to make sure that happens every day with every delivery."

Lehigh Valley Dairy Farms released a statement Monday, saying, in part, "...our top priority is producing safe, nutritious, and high-quality products. Nothing is more important than the health and well-being of the communities we serve."

The company apologized to the district.

"An investigation is underway to determine the source of the reported insect activity," the company said. "Based on the findings of our investigation, we will take appropriate corrective actions as necessary."

The company said that before making any future deliveries to the district, product crates and cartons will undergo additional inspections to verify crates are clean.
WASHINGTON - A man whose father died after fighting a three-alarm house fire in Schuylkill County in December will be attending President Joe Biden's State of the Union Address Tuesday night.

U.S. Rep. Susan Wild invited Nick Gruber, son of New Tripoli Volunteer Firefighter Marvin Gruber, and Nicks wife Natalie, to Washington for the speech, according to a news release from Wild's office.

On December 7, 2022, Marvin Gruber and Assistant Fire Chief Zachary Paris died after responding to the fire in West Penn Township.

Marvin Gruber also served as the assistant chief of Northampton Community Colleges public safety department, having worked at NCC for over 20 years.

I am honored to have Nick and Natalie as my guests to the State of the Union, said Rep. Wild. It is with deep sadness that we honor the sacrifice of their family, and of the Paris family, and I hope that we can raise awareness of the issues firefighters face so that meaningful legislation and investment can take place to prevent future tragedies.

The State of the Union Address will take place at 9 p.m. and will be livestreamed on wfmz.com.
Curve Leicester has unveiled its festive show coming later this year.

The award-winning venue, who presented the five-star revival of The Wizard of Oz last Christmas (that production is now set to run at The London Palladium), will be staging Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice's beloved musical Evita, directed by artistic director Nikolai Foster.

Curve's chief executive Chris Stafford and Foster said: "Evita stands as one of the definitive musicals of all time and we are beyond excited to be presenting a brand-new Made at Curve production of Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber's masterpiece later this year.

"Eva Peron has now acquired legend status; her profoundly moving story is fascinating and remains intensely relevant to the world in which we live today.

"We've always tried to offer our audiences here in Leicester bold and visually arresting productions of the great musicals and Evita promises to continue this tradition, as we aim high and try to match the original ambition Tim and Andrew had when they first created this extraordinary piece of musical theatre.

"All of us at Curve look forward to delivering a brand-new production of this astonishing musical to our stage."

Telling the tale of the rise and fall of the iconic Argentinian figure, the 1978 musical (which celebrates its 45th anniversary this year) includes numbers such as "Buenos Aires", "Another Suitcase in Another Hall", "Oh What a Circus" and "Don't Cry for me Argentina".

The show is set to run from 27 November 2023 to 13 January 2024  marking another original revival of a Lloyd Webber musical at Curve after The Wizard of Oz and the WhatsOnStage Award-winning Sunset Boulevard.

Casting, creative team and more are to be revealed. Tickets for the show go on sale later in February.

The venue also announced it will co-produce the first tour of Come From Away, as well as a staging of Jim Cartwright's Road with De Montfort University.
Celebrated musical Girl from the North Country is set for the big screen.

Conor McPherson's award-winning musical, nominated for WhatsOnStage Awards, Olivier Awards (winning two) and Tony Awards, is set in 1934 in Duluth, Minnesota during the Great Depression. It features the music of Bob Dylan, with songs including "Forever Young," "All Along The Watchtower," "Hurricane," "Slow Train Coming," "Make You Feel My Love" and "Like A Rolling Stone."

Dylan said of the show: "To be associated with Conor is one of the highlights of my professional life. It goes without saying the man is a genius for putting this thing together and I'm thrilled to be a part of the experience. My songs couldn't be in better hands. The play had me crying at the end. I can't even say why. When the curtain came down, I was stunned. I really was."

The film is being produced by Blueprint Pictures (The Banshees of Inisherin) with a cast set to include Chloe Bailey (Jane), Tosin Cole (ear for eye), Olivia Colman (The Favourite) and Woody Harrelson (Trinagle of Sadness).

The show is currently touring the UK having completed two West End seasons and an initial run at the Old Vic.

Harrelson will play guesthouse owner Nick Laine, with his wife Elizabeth played by Colman and Bailey as their adopted daughter Marianne. Cole plays escaped convict Joe.

Release dates and further plans for the film are to be revealed.









The show is written and directed by McPherson (who will also write and direct the movie), with scenic and costume design by Rae Smith, orchestrations, arrangements, and music supervision by Simon Hale, additional arrangements by Hale and McPherson, lighting design by Mark Henderson, sound design by Simon Baker, movement direction by Lucy Hind and casting by Jessica Ronane.

The tour is currently at Birmingham Alexandra (7 to 11 February), and is set to visit Grand Opera House, Belfast (14 to 18 February), His Majesty's Theatre, Aberdeen (21 to 25 February), Norwich Theatre Royal (28 February to 4 March), Curve, Leicester (7 to 11 March) and New Wimbledon Theatre (14 to 18 March).
TORONTO  First Quantum Minerals Ltd. says the Panama Maritime Authority has suspended loading operations of copper concentrate at the port for its Cobre Panama mine.

The stoppage related to the certification of the scales at the facility is the latest development in the company's dispute with Panama over tax and royalty payments.

First Quantum, which says it has submitted the required paperwork, says it may become necessary to shut the mine if concentrate is not shipped by mid-February due to limited storage capacity at the mine site.

The Panamanian government ordered the suspension of work at the mine in December after the two sides failed to reach a new profit-sharing agreement.

First Quantum has said it is prepared to agree with, and in part exceed, objectives the government outlined last year related to revenues, environmental protections and labour standards.

The company says this includes a minimum of US$375 million per year in government income, including corporate taxes and a profit-based mineral royalty of 12 to 16 per cent, with downside protections aligned with the government's position.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 6, 2023.

Companies in this story: (TSX:FM)

The Canadian Press
Wicked has unveiled plans for a series of school and community workshops running across 2023.

The hit production  which is also embarking on a new tour at the end of the year  will partner with not-for-profit community charity Starling Arts (who emphasise positive changes to mental health and wellbeing through singing) as part of their broader Wicked Acting Learning initiative.

Starling Arts co-founders Anna Shields and Emily Garsin said: "We're thrilled to embark on this partnership with Wicked Active Learning. These workshops fuse together our passion for musical theatre, singing and wellbeing in a package that complements both the show and the curriculum.

"Wicked is the perfect story for exploring big ideas and we're excited to work with people of all ages through this new workshop offering. As advocates of how the arts can boost mental health, Starling Arts look forward to these workshops providing participants with a toolkit of Wicked inspired skills they can use to improve their mood and support their peers and community groups throughout life."

Schools will be able to organise workshops through the www.WickedActiveLearning.co.uk website.

The move comes during the start of Children's Mental Health Week 2023, which runs through to 12 February. The theme for 2023 is Let's Connect.

Wicked's executive producer Michael McCabe said: "We're delighted to announce this partnership with the brilliant Starling Arts company, who will now be exclusively delivering workshops on behalf of Wicked Active Learning. The COVID pandemic fundamentally altered the lives of many young people and UK schools continue supporting them to recover both academically and in terms of their wellbeing.

"We've long admired the inspirational work that Anna Shields and Emily Garsin have been doing in schools and communities, particularly during, and in the aftermath of, the lockdowns, boosting mental health and self-confidence through singing workshops and choirs. It's an honour to be collaborating with them and particularly appropriate to be announcing our partnership during Children's Mental Health Week."

Wicked Active Learning has a variety of ongoing projects, including creative writing competition "Wicked Writers", alongside the National Literacy Trust.
The most striking recurring image in Smoke is of the two actors playing in, and getting covered with, what looks like volcanic ash. Polina Kalinina and Julia Levai's taut, spare staging has the audience seated on all four sides of a low box, a playpen almost, filled with the stuff. It hangs in the air, scatters across the floor, pours down in cascades and rivulets on the actors' bodies and hipsterish clothes If at first, this serves as an artful metaphor for the act of smoking (one character bums a cigarette off the other but instead of lighting up, quantities of black powder are trickled from hand to hand), by the end of the 75-minute performance, it feels as though it has come to signify carnal knowledge, loss of innocence, even depravity.

Volcanic is as good a word as any to describe Kim Davies's 2014 play, a sexed-up, strung-out two-hander that riffs on Strindberg's Miss Julie but which, with its sadomasochistic powerplay overtones and eye-watering explicitness, is equally reminiscent of, respectively, David Ives's Venus In Fur and Patrick Marber's Closer. Not that Davies's text, which turns Count's daughter Julie and manservant Jean into modern Manhattanites Julie and John, she the privileged student offspring of an internationally acclaimed photographer and he the intern of said artist, is derivative. Divided into brief, staccato scenes, it's bracingly witty, tart and unnerving, and although it deviates significantly from the Strindberg, it's way more satisfying than Polly Stenham's 2018 Julie for the National, which recast the title character as a coke-snorting Hampstead party girl intent on seducing her rich-as-Croesus father's chauffeur.

This Julie and John meet while cooling off in the kitchen (the only other object in Sami Fendall's strikingly stark set is a derelict refrigerator) at a Harlem bondage party. They flirt, hedge around each other with shared observations about the BDSM scene, and, then, arguably even more dangerously, critique Julie's father, a man so demanding he thinks nothing of calling his employee in the early hours of the morning with a random thought. The stylised movement and absence of props, apart from a knife, a goldfish in a plastic orb, and all that powdered darkness, serves to draw us into the disturbing heart of this provocative chamber piece, over which the suggestion of erotic promise hovers like a wreath of smoke. One of the many fascinating things about Kalinina and Levai's work here, in tandem with Davies's cracking writing and a truly remarkable cast, is how such an abstract presentation makes so vivid and specific these characters and the worlds they inhabit.

It soon becomes clear that Davies is exploring more than mere erotica as the piece moves into the tricky joint terrains of coercion and consent, and what started out as playful, sexy banter becomes authentically sinister action, before turning into something downright nasty. John performs an act of such violation on Julie that it takes the breath away, and there is ambiguity over her willingness to participate. If the staging were less stylised and more realistic, the script could potentially be accused of gratuitous sensationalism but ingeniously, Kalinina, Levai and the invaluable intimacy director Asha Jennings-Grant keep us a few steps removed, although what we do get to witness is plenty graphic enough. There then follows a verbal worm-turning of such scabrous viciousness that it's likely to ruin the evening for anybody suffering from fragile masculinity.

These aren't spoilers: anyone familiar with Strindberg's classic will have an idea of what to expect. But what might surprise, and what makes Smoke rise from thought-provoking shocker to unmissable event, is the quality of the acting. Meaghan Martin and Oli Higginson are astonishing. Tender, brutal and utterly convincing, the measured sensuality of their movements contrasting intriguingly with line deliveries so naturalistic they sound like improvisation, this stunning pair mine Davies's text for all its dark humour and ambiguity. They also achieve a combustible sexual chemistry. Higginson brilliantly conveys John's vacillation between carnal predator and fragile loser alongside a queasy realisation that he is not nearly as in charge of this situation as he thought he was. Martin compellingly suggests that beneath Julie's urbane exterior cowers a bewildered child damaged by an absent father figure, and gets a chilling solo final moment where the abstract gives way to the literal, suggesting that, whatever comes next, this young woman will never be the same again.

Smoke assuredly won't be for everyone: it's strong meat that will give you a lot to chew over afterwards, but the staging is a thing of terse wonder, and Higginson and Martin are delivering two of the most exciting performances on any current London stage.
The Alfa-Bank building in Minsk, Belarus on November 15, 2016. On Feb. 24, 2022, federal sanctions barred Canadians from doing business with Alfa-Bank. (Vasily Fedosenko/Reuters - image credit)

Canada's economic measures against Russia  which are meant to target the assets of wealthy oligarchs and government officials  are hitting the personal finances of people with no ties to the Putin regime, CBC News has learned.

Some Canadian residents who have no connections to the Russian government and don't support President Vladimir Putin's war on Ukraine say their personal savings have been frozen because of how Global Affairs Canada administers its sanctions.

Acting in tandem with other Western allies, Canada has been blocking all financial dealings and freezing Canadian-held accounts linked to a list of sanctioned individuals and business entities  a list that now runs to over 2,100 names.

CBC News has spoken to four individuals who are not named on this list and are not accused of supporting Putin's regime. They say they can't access tens of thousands of dollars in personal savings because the major banks they and their families dealt with in Russia and Kazakhstan were caught up in Canada's sanctions.

"I support Ukraine in this. A lot," said Natasha, who's originally from Belarus but moved to Saint Petersburg for university. She said she and her husband were offered jobs in Canada's tech sector and left Russia in 2020, looking for a "better and safer life."

CBC News has agreed not to use her last name or show her face because she's concerned about her job security.

Natasha and her husband have applied for, but have not yet received, permanent residency in Canada. Because of the strong emotions the war in Ukraine evokes, she said, she also fears online harassment.

In the weeks before Russia invaded Ukraine, Natasha worried about losing the savings she and her husband left behind in Alfa-Bank, Russia's largest private bank  between $80,000 and $133,000 Cdn, she said.

"Because of the history of where I come from, I just thought that it would be very risky to have anything there," she said.

Story continues

She began the process of moving her money to a Canadian account. But the transfer wasn't complete by Feb. 24  when Ottawa's sanctions barred Canadians from doing business with Alfa-Bank. Her money was blocked and frozen.

Her application for an exemption is now part of a growing backlog at Global Affairs, as non-sanctioned individuals plead for ministerial permits to release their personal savings.

"Maybe [Canadian government officials] don't have enough time to dig into this and to actually see that regular people who are already here, who pay taxes and work hard and are part of this community here, are also affected. And it's just not fair," Natasha said.

It's also not clear that the impact of Canada's sanctions on non-oligarchs like Natasha is actually accomplishing anything.

'Absolutely unfair'

"When we look at the purpose of economic sanctions  they are implemented to change behaviour, and in this case to change the behaviour of the Putin regime regarding the invasion and continued war in Ukraine," said John Boscariol, a trade lawyer who represents businesses and individuals affected by sanctions regulations. (He has not been retained by any of the individuals interviewed for this story.)

"Freezing these personal remittances  [for example] that happened to be sent by grandparents to their grandchildren, do not change and will never change the behaviour of the Putin regime," he said. "It's just an untenable situation and absolutely unfair for those that are caught up in it."

Keith Whelan/CBC News

Last month, the RCMP reported that over $122 million Cdn in Canadian assets had been frozen since Russia invaded.

But the RCMP's tracking doesn't distinguish between the wealth of oligarchs and the more modest savings Natasha and her husband hoped to use for a down payment on a home.

They aren't the only small fish caught up in Ottawa's sanctions net.

Svetlana's employer transferred her from Moscow to Toronto in 2021. She recently became a permanent resident of Canada. Fearing both for her employer and her personal security, she also asked that her surname and image not appear in this article.

"While I was opening my first bank account, which was obviously one of the first things you do when you come to a new country, I was told that if anything's wrong with my work permit, then my account's going to be terminated," she said.

That's why she left about $39,000 Cdn in personal savings behind in Russia  a nest egg she reported to Canadian officials during her immigration process to prove she had the means to support herself.

A 'night full of tears'

"I had signs of severe depression. Life back in Russia was not easy," Svetlana said. "After I moved to Canada, I had hopes that I could build a better life here. Less stressful, at least."

A doctor advised her not to follow the news too closely to help manage her stress. On the night Russia invaded Ukraine, she was out for dinner with a Ukrainian friend.

"I got back home and he texted me: 'Do not read anything. Do not open newsfeeds. Like, just don't do it.' And of course I did that immediately after I got that message," she said.

After a "night full of tears," she said, she contacted her Alfa-Bank branch back in Russia at 3 a.m. Toronto time to pull her money out. Mere hours later, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his ministers stepped in front of microphones to announce Canada's new sanctions.

Svetlana's money never arrived. Just like Natasha's, it was blocked in transit and never reached her Canadian account  but Alfa-Bank says it no longer holds it. She's struggled to figure out what happened.

Associated Press

Alfa-Bank suggested to her weeks later that her transfer "most likely" was frozen by the Canadian government. It directed her to a website where she could apply for an exemption.

Global Affairs Canada confirmed it received her application but never explained why her savings are frozen. Svetlana said the only feedback she got from the department was an auto-reply e-mail thanking her for her patience as the department faces a backlog of requests.

"What frustrates me the most is that I don't see any actions. They do not communicate, they do not provide any time estimations, so we just don't know what to expect," she said.

"I did nothing wrong."

Russian citizens aren't the only ones being kept from their savings by Canadian sanctions.

Darya  who also spoke to CBC News on the condition that her last name be withheld  is working and raising two young kids, aged five and eight, with her husband in Winnipeg. Their immigration was approved under the provincial nominee program earlier in the pandemic, but they couldn't move to Canada from Kazakhstan until near the end of 2021.

Darya said she doesn't support Vladimir Putin either. Her mother is of Ukrainian descent.

When they sold their property in Kazakhstan, they brought some of the proceeds with them and left the rest with Darya's brother, to transfer later.

Valentyn Reznichenko/Telegram/Reuters

When they needed the rest of their money, her brother discovered that only one local bank could send a Swift transfer abroad: Sberbank Kazakhstan, a subsidiary of a Russian state-owned bank that's been blacklisted by Canada.

Although it was once part of the Soviet Union, Kazakhstan is now an independent country with its own financial system. The bank told her brother that Canadian sanctions would not affect the transfer. But the funds never made it to Darya's account in Canada.

She applied to Global Affairs for an exemption to release the money  tens of thousands of dollars  in late March. The department told her that her application would be considered. Since then, silence.

"Now it has been ten months and we have nothing," Darya said. "For us, it's a large amount of money, and we earned this money in Kazakhstan."

She said she and her husband were turned down for a Canadian mortgage because they didn't have enough for a down payment.

"My immigration now  it's not so pleasant," she said.

'We're slowly losing hope'

Madina Muslimova is another permanent resident of Canada who moved to Toronto from Kazakhstan in 2018.

She's now working while raising a toddler on her own. She hopes to return to school to do a master's degree. Her parents, now in their 70s, recently sold some assets so they could help her out financially.

Her mom has a visitor's visa and comes to help out, but she requires medical treatment that the family must pay for out of pocket while she's in Canada. Which is why her family tried to move a six-figure sum into Madina's Canadian account.

Just like Darya, they learned the hard way that Sberbank Kazakhstan wasn't excluded from Canada's regulations.

"My parents chose that bank," Madina said. "It was just across the street  they thought it was stable."

The Kazakh subsidiary was sold and rebranded last summer to escape from Russian sanctions, but that move came too late for Madina's family  their funds appear to be frozen too.

WATCH | Permanent resident says she's losing hope:

"I still have not received any clarification about where my funds are," Madina said. "We relied on that money  I think we're slowly losing hope, to be honest."

CBC News asked Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly what her department was doing to manage its backlog of sanctions exemption requests.

"Our goal is to really target Putin and his enablers. That has been our strategy for Canada [and] for all our allies as well," the minister said.

"When it comes to individual cases, we'll do what will work on a case by case basis. You want to make sure that the essence of our approach is respected. And we want to make sure that we have a human approach."

In a written statement sent to CBC News in December, Global Affairs said that while it cannot speak about individual applications, it "is not seeking to confiscate assets owned by non-listed individuals or entities."

But how long will it take the department to run due diligence and release the savings belonging to Natasha, Svetlana, Darya and Madina?

"They are really being treated as collateral damage," Boscariol said.

He said he believes Global Affairs now has a backlog of over 500 applications, with limited resources to tackle it.

Last November, Boscariol appeared before a Senate committee as an expert witness on sanctions measures. He gave the department a failing grade for its administration, saying Canada is missing opportunities to put in place more effective compliance measures.

"There's some good lessons we could learn from our allies on this in the United States and the United Kingdom," he told CBC News.

The European Union, for example, has exempted personal remittances for people who don't own sanctioned companies and aren't government officials.

Boscariol said he also believes Canada could issue a general licence to cut its backlog much faster.

"Our quarrel is not with the people of Russia," Prime Minister Trudeau said on the day these sanctions were announced. "It is with President Putin and Russian leadership that has enabled and supported this further invasion of Ukraine."

"I'm a Canadian resident and these sanctions affected us heavily," Natasha told CBC News. "So I don't know how to react to that."
A propane fire occurred Saturday at Mississippi Welders Supply in Goodview, resulting in one employee suffering minor injuries.

At 11:31 am on Saturday, the Goodview, Winona and Minnesota City fire departments responded to the propane fire after an employee called 911 finding heavy fire on the loading dock on the backside of the building containing propane cylinders.

The scene, in the 5000 block of West Sixth Street, had flames visible from the building and several explosions were heard by responding officers and neighbors in the area, said the Winona County Sheriffs Department.

Large amounts of water were used to quickly extinguish the fire. And the area was evacuated by the Goodview Police Department with the assistance of the Winona Police Department, Winona County Sheriffs Office, Minnesota State Patrol and the Winona County Search Operations and Rescue Team. Initially, they thought a larger area needed to be evacuated, which turned out not to be the case, said the sheriffs department.

One employee suffered minor injuries, was treated by the Winona Area Ambulance on the scene and did not need to go to the hospital. Winona County Emergency Management also assisted on the scene and fire crews remained at Mississippi Welders Supply until 1:50 p.m., Goodview Fire Department said.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation, assisted by the state Fire Marshalls Office.

Touring the River Valley: Winona County What do you love most about Winona County? (filmed in 2021) Lakeview Hills Lake and High School Greenery Hills Greenery Structures Water Hills Farm Turbines Farm Farm Welcome to Utica Tractor Farm land Solar panels Crop land Farm equipment Cows Farm land Water Winona County sign Flag Water Whitewater State Park Bridge Greenery Hills Walking path Water Fire tower Garvin Heights Garvin Heights Garvin Heights Sugar Loaf River Bridge Winona County
WASHINGTON  Heres a look at how area members of Congress voted over the previous week.

House votes

Petroleum reserve: The House has passed the Strategic Production Response Act (H.R. 21), sponsored by Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Wash. The bill would require the federal government to take measures to increase oil and natural gas production on federal lands when it makes withdrawals from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. Rodgers said it will help ensure this vital American energy asset and American security interests will not be drained away for nonemergency, political purposes. A bill opponent, Rep. Frank Pallone Jr., D-N.J., said that by limiting releases from the Reserve, it will hamstring the single most important tool the Biden administration has used to fight Putins price hike on gasoline. The vote, on Jan. 27, was 221 yeas to 205 nays. Yeas:

Finstad, R-MN (1st)

Finance and fraud: The House has passed the Financial Exploitation Prevention Act (H.R. 500), sponsored by Rep. Ann Wagner, R-Mo., to allow an investment management company (also known as a mutual fund) to delay its redemption of a security if it believes the redemption was fraudulently requested, and use the delay to determine whether the request is valid. Wagner said the bill will provide our potentially vulnerable investors with an important layer of investor protection to help make sure that they receive the hard-earned savings that they have built up over the years. The vote, on Jan. 30, was unanimous with 419 yeas. Yeas:

Finstad, R-MN (1st)

COVID vaccines and health care workers: The House has passed the Freedom for Health Care Workers Act (H.R. 497), sponsored by Rep. Jeff Duncan, R-S.C., to cancel the COVID vaccination requirement for health care workers at facilities that receive funds from Medicare and Medicaid. Duncan said the requirement has only created resentment and distrust toward the government and loss of jobs, nursing jobs, CNA jobs, often replaced with traveling nurses being paid a higher rate, a higher cost for the taxpayers and the hospitals. A bill opponent, Rep. Kathy Castor, D-Fla., said halting vaccination for healthcare professionals would severely and irreparably harm patients and undermine the patient-public interest. The vote, on Jan. 31, was 227 yeas to 203 nays. Yeas:

Finstad, R-MN (1st)

Ending COVID health emergency: The House has passed the Pandemic is Over Act (H.R. 382), sponsored by Rep. Brett Guthrie, R-Ky., to terminate the COVID public health emergency declared by President Trump on Jan. 31, 2020, on the date the bill becomes law. Guthrie said: The American people are tired of living in a perpetual state of emergency, and it is long overdue for Congress to take back the authorities granted under Article I of the Constitution. A bill opponent, Rep. Frank Pallone Jr., D-N.J., called it a reckless plan that would jeopardize the health of millions of Americans by immediately ceasing these important response programs without advanced preparations. The vote, on Jan. 31, was 220 yeas to 210 nays. Yeas:

Finstad, R-MN (1st)

Remote work policies: The House has passed the Stopping Home Office Works Unproductive Problems Act (H.R. 139), sponsored by Rep. James Comer, R-Ky. The bill would require the federal governments executive branch agencies to reinstate the telework policies they had as of the close of 2019. Comer said the reversion was needed because due to the expansion of remote work following the emergence of COVID, federal agencies are falling short of their missions. They are not carrying out their duties. They are failing the American people. An opponent, Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., said: Telework has strengthened private and public workplaces across the land, enhanced productivity, increased efficiency, improved the morale and satisfaction of the workforce, reduced traffic congestion, and made positive environmental changes. The vote, on Feb. 1, was 221 yeas to 206 nays. Yeas:

Finstad, R-MN (1st)

Ending national COVID emergency: The House has passed a resolution (H.J. Res. 7), sponsored by Rep. Paul A. Gosar, R-Ariz., to end the national emergency in response to COVID that was declared by President Trump on March 13, 2020. Gosar said the resolution was needed to have the House perform its most basic constitutional duty: checking the powers of the executive branch and the power of the purse. An opponent, Rep. Rick Larsen, D-Wash., said: Terminating the emergency declaration now sends the wrong message and could have consequences for public health and safety. The vote, on Feb. 1, was 229 yeas to 197 nays. Yeas:

Finstad, R-MN (1st)

Removing member from committee: The House has passed a resolution (H. Res. 76), sponsored by Rep. Max L. Miller, R-Ohio, to remove Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., from the House Foreign Affairs Committee. Miller said the action would state clearly that the House does not condone hate and to reaffirm that we will always condemn anti-Semitism that Omar has expressed in remarks criticizing Israel. Omar said she has merely spoken on behalf of those who are experiencing unjust wars, atrocities, ethnic cleansing, occupation, or displacement. The vote, on Feb. 2, was 218 yeas to 211 nays. Yeas:

Finstad, R-MN (1st)

Socialism: The House has passed a resolution (H. Con. Res. 9), sponsored by Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar, R-Fla., to denounce socialism in all its forms, and oppose the implementation of socialist policies in the U.S. A supporter, Rep. Jodey C. Arrington, R-Texas, called socialism a series of actions that rob people of their freedom and concentrate power in the hands of a few in their central government. An opponent, Rep. Brad Sherman, D-Calif., said the resolution presented a misleading and sophomoric description of history. We are told that all socialism is equal, and that Marxist-Leninism is the same as the European Socialists. The vote, on Feb. 2, was 328 yeas to 86 nays. Yeas:

Finstad, R-MN (1st)

Along with roll call votes this week, the House also passed the following measures: the Commercial Remote Sensing Amendment Act (H.R. 290), to provide for transparent licensing of commercial remote sensing systems; and the Expanding Access to Capital for Rural Job Creators Act (H.R. 298), to expand access to capital for rural small businesses.

Senate votes

Peace institute member: The Senate has confirmed the nomination of Roger Israel Zakheim to be a member of the board of the U.S. Institute of Peace for a 4-year term. Zakheim, director of the Reagan Institute since 2018, has also been a lawyer specializing in government and public policy, and a military official in the George W. Bush administration. The vote, on Jan. 30, was 84 yeas to 10 nays. Yeas:

Klobuchar, D-MN; Smith, D-MN

Second peace institute member: The Senate has confirmed the nomination of Joseph Lee Falk to be a member of the board of the U.S. Institute of Peace for a 4-year term. Falk is a consultant at the Akerman LLP law firm and has served on the J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board. The vote, on Feb. 2, was 60 yeas to 37 nays. Yeas: Klobuchar, D-MN; Smith, D-MN

IN PHOTOS: Winhawks Fall to Albert Lea Winhawk Hockey Aven Prodzinski Up Ice High Sticking Dubek Defends The Goal Mason Wadewitz Controls the Puck Wesylee Kohner Works the Puck Behind the Goal GOAL!! Aven Prodzinski Looks to Score The Future Of Hockey Aven Prodzinski With the Puck Wesylee Kohner Jackson Cada Brings the Puck Up Ice Albert Lea Hockey Goalie Michael Dubek Faceoff Aven Prodzinski Controls the Puck Teis Larsen With the Puck Mason Wadewitz Michael Dubek With the Save Goal for the Winhawks Mason Wadewitz Michael Dubek In Goal for the Winhawks
Its hard for Sharon Hookstead to pick her favorite thing about winter in Wisconsin.

A member of the Wisconsin State Horse Council Equine Foundation (WSHCEF), Hookstead is a farmer. She spends much of her time taking care of her animals in the beauty of the area: the rolling hills, the quiet trees, the skies alit with V-formations of geese honking their winter songs.

If she had to pick something, she said, Wisconsin winters are very pretty when everything is covered in snow, looking so clean.

Winter in Wisconsin is also fun. Hookstead knows that, too, being part of the Wisconsin State Horse Council Equine Foundations annual Winter Fun Day. It returns to Springbrook Events, N8400 Cty Road I in rural Burnett, on Feb. 11.

The event is free, though there are charges for food and some activities. It runs from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. There are both indoor and outdoor activities.

Hilly and wooded, the 132-acre Springbrook Events retreat has been operated as a bed and breakfast and hosts weddings, romantic getaways and family gatherings.

The annual event, which began in 2010, evolved from a sleigh rally that began in Columbus. Its now been expanded to include a model horse show, dog sled demonstrations, live music and much more.

Seeing the people have fun at a beautiful scenic facility, is what Hookstead is excited about. The sleighs and horses, the draft horses pulling bobsleds, the dogs and their sleds, the model horses, the vendor shopping, the food.

The barn, temperature controlled, opens at 8 a.m. for the model horse show. One of the biggest shows in the Midwest, it features many unique models. Displays are judged on various categories. Awards are given to top models.

Also inside will be a variety of vendors. Their booths will be festooned with wares for sale.

Nearby will be the Sleigh Bell Cafe, which will be ringing customers with their hot food and beverages.

For those eager for outdoor activities, there are a plethora of them.

I am excited about the whole event, not any one thing, Hookstead said.

From 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. there will be dog sledding demonstrations. Visitors can picture themselves racing the fabled Iditarod, or, perhaps, think themselves characters in a Jack London story. The call of the wild, indeed.

There will also be skijoring demonstrations. Skijoring is a winter sport in which a person on skis is pulled by a horse, or, oftentimes, with a dog, another animal, or a motorized vehicle. Skijoring derives from a Norwegian word meaning ski driving.

Scenic bobsled rides happen from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m with a sleigh parade at 11:30 a.m. Visitors will be able to vote for their favorite sleigh. With raffles, door prizes, a bonfire, smores and more, the event is sure to be an event to remember.

Proceeds from the Winter Fun Day are used to support and promote the horse industry around the state. The WSHCEF, which puts on the event, is a nonprofit created to better serve Wisconsins growing equestrian community and to help that community realize its full potential.

On Feb. 11 there will be a winter wonderland where locals gather to celebrate horses, the beauty and spirit of Wisconsins winter months, and the joy of community.
A bridge in Courtland has been closed for years due to the state officials and railroad officials disagreeing on a final plan. The bridge on County Highway A, just south of Randolph, has been closed since 2020.

The bridge, which sits in the town of Courtland, was built by the Union Pacific Railroad (UPRR), the former Chicago and Northwestern lines, in 1910. It is made of timber with an asphalt base and goes over the railway tracks. The bridge currently has large Bridge Out signs on both ends. There is also guard rail blocking the entrance and large concrete blocks to stop all traffic from crossing bridge.

The railway closed the bridge due to a number issues including no longer being safe for public use, Columbia County Highway Commissioner Chris Hardy said.

Hardy explained the county has been planning to replace the bridge since 2017, but has been slowed by the UPRR and the Wisconsin Department of Transportation. The two entities cannot come to agreement on the final design of the bridge, according to Hardy.

The railway built the bridge and therefore have to agree to the bridge concurrence, Hardy said. They built the bridge so they need to agree to the final plan before construction can begin.

The Wisconsin Office of Commissioner Railroads ruled last year in favor of a petition by the DOT.

Yash P. Wadhwa, Commissioner of Railroads with the OCR wrote in his final decision that UPRR that the delay in approving a preliminary engineering agreement for the CTH A has led to more risk to the public.

The WisDOT and UP have been at an impasse for more than two years over a Preliminary Engineering (PE) Agreement and Stipulation that has significantly delayed a project to replace a seriously deficient structure under 23 U.S.C. 144. This lack of action has placed public safety at risk, Wadhwa wrote.

Weve been working to replace this for almost eight years now, Hardy said. The issues with the DOT and UPRR are still at odds over the design of the bridge.

The bridge is part of the DOT local bridge program and when the design is completed will be funded by federal, state and county funds. The CTH A Bridge would be funded with 80% federal and state funds with the county responsible for the remaining 20%. Hardy added a portion of that 20% will come from the railway because of an existing agreement between Columbia County and UPRR.

Hardy said he has heard from Randolph Fire department and EMS that having the bridge out makes getting to the area in Courtland difficult.

There are two town roads near the bridge but one has a low clearance and theres also a sharp, narrow S-curve on one of the town roads, Hardy said.

County Supervisor Adam Hahn represents the towns of Courtland and Fountain Prairie and the Village of Cambria. He said he wants the bridge issues resolved as soon as possible.

This is taking county traffic and is going into the towns. It will lead to the towns having to fix the infrastructure caused by this closure, Hahn said.

Im a family farmer in the area and it is directly affecting our farm, Hahn said. Trucks are getting re-routed through the area for a road that just ends now.

Hardy said the design for the bridge is 60% completed, but there are still design issues that need to be resolved with the railway and DOT.

The portal for the railway and the vehicle traffic designs have been completed, Hardy said. So the rough idea of the bridge stuff has been completed.

The remaining portion is a final bid package that will include all aspects of the bridge construction and the complete design.

There are similar bridge concerns off of CTH A with Sterk Road Bridge and Inglehart Road Bridge. Hardy said he expected the bridge designs to be approved and then bid out the project.

However, Hardy thinks the OCR may have to rule on the design of those bridges, too. These two bridges also involve the DOT and UPRR.

The CTH A Bridge was set to be bid out later this year in September, but Hardy said that will be delayed as the two sides still have not agreed on a final design plan.

This is a continuing issue and there is a growing necessity for it to be resolved, Hahn said.

Close PHOTOS: A look inside Beautifully Blemished Sharon Wade's Beautifully Blemished shop has become a fixture on Portage's West Cook Street, serving vintage and antique lovers, crafters, and local folks who just love a good project. People like Wade, for whom the shop is a long-standing "dream."
Tuesday marks the beginning of Wisconsins spring election season, as clerks offices around the state open for early in-person voting.

Spring elections typically draw far lower voter turnout than other ones. But partisans on both sides consider the upcoming Wisconsin Supreme Court race to be at least as important as any other.

Voters this month will decide which two Wisconsin Supreme Court candidates compete in April, an election that will decide the courts ideological balance as it is expected to rule soon on the future of abortion and redistricting in the state.

Plenty of other critical races will appear on voters ballots in February, too, depending on where the voter lives. In Madison, city residents will choose which two mayoral candidates advance to the April 4 general election.

The election is Feb. 21, but state law allows nearly two weeks of in-person voting before then.

Heres what you need to know heading into the election.

How does early voting work?

State law allows early voting  or what is technically known as in-person absentee voting  no earlier than 14 days preceding the election and no later than the Sunday preceding the election. That makes for a possible 13 total days of early voting.

Within those strictures, clerks are allowed to set their own hours, days, and, to some extent, sites for early voting.

Where can I vote?

In most municipalities, the local clerks office is the only voting site for early voting, according to Madison city attorney Mike Haas, a former state elections commission administrator.

In Madison, however, there are more than two dozen places where residents can cast a ballot. But because of a quirk in state law, Madison voters are not allowed to vote early at the city clerks office in the City-County Building.

Madisons early voting sites dont share the same open dates or hours, but none will be open before Feb. 7 or after Feb. 19. You can find a list of local early voting sites at tinyurl.com/Madisonvoting. Any Madison voter can go to any of those locations.

Madisonians who arent registered to vote can sign up at any of the citys early voting locations. But by state law, there will be no voter registration at the sites on Feb. 18 and Feb. 19.

How do I vote?

First off, make sure youre registered to vote. You can check the status of your voter registration and register to vote at myvote.wi.gov/RegisterToVote.

To register, you need to bring photo identification, such as a Wisconsin drivers license or a passport. Voters also need to provide proof of residence, such as a utility bill with current address. New voters or those who have changed their name or address since they last voted can fill out a new registration form at their polling place. Proof of residence is required to register.

What do I need to vote?

An acceptable photo ID is needed, such as a Wisconsin Department of Transportation-issued drivers license or identification card, a U.S. military ID card, a U.S. passport, an identification card issued by a federally recognized Indian tribe in the state, or a photo identification card issued by a Wisconsin accredited university or college that includes the date of issuance, signature of student and expiration date no later than two years after the date of issuance. Those with an expired university or college ID must also provide a separate document proving current enrollment.

Find more information at bringit.wi.gov.

Whats on my ballot?

You can find out whats on your local ballot at myvote.wi.gov/en-us/Whats-On-My-Ballot.

The Wisconsin Supreme Court race is the only election appearing on statewide ballots this February. Four candidates are seeking to replace a conservative justice in a critical race that will decide the courts ideological balance.

The conservatives in the race are former Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Dan Kelly and Waukesha County Circuit Judge Jennifer Dorow. The liberals are Dane County Circuit Judge Everett Mitchell and Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Janet Protasiewicz.

The election is highly partisan. But because its technically a nonpartisan race, all four candidates will appear on the same primary ballot. The top two vote-getters, no matter which partisan camp they belong to, will advance to the April 4 election. That means, technically, either two liberals or two conservatives can advance, though such a result appears unlikely.

In Madison, voters in February will decide which two mayoral candidates advance to the April 4 election. The candidates running are Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway, Scott Kerr and Gloria Reyes.

There also will be primary elections in eight Madison City Council districts.

See who the Wisconsin State Journal has endorsed for president, from Biden to Reagan and Honest Abe 2016 -- Hillary Clinton (lost) 2012 -- Mitt Romney (lost) 2008 -- Barack Obama (won) 2004 -- George W. Bush (won) 2000 -- George W. Bush (won) 1996 -- Bob Dole (lost) 1992 -- Bill Clinton (won) 1988 -- George H. W. Bush (won) 1984 -- Ronald Reagan (won) 1980 -- Ronald Reagan (won) 1860 -- Abraham Lincoln (won)
Drew Zaruba is just 21-years-old, and that surprises a lot of people.

They dont expect a college student to be a major player in the local real estate scene.

Theres definitely a shock factor when people meet me for the first time, Zaruba says with a smile.

Dont let his age fool you, though. With a real estate portfolio totaling $1.3 million, the University of Nebraska at Kearney senior is quickly building a reputation in the business.

Zaruba already owns four rental properties in the Kearney area and hes always looking for the next investment opportunity.

I hate sitting around, he said. I want to be working and I want to be building something. Im constantly trying to do more deals and make new connections.

That drive, according to Zaruba, is what makes him successful.

Back in his hometown of Columbus, the Scotus Central Catholic graduate stocked meat and cheese at the local Hy-Vee to earn money, which he wisely stashed in a savings account.

After enrolling at UNK, where hes studying business administration with a finance emphasis, Zaruba decided to start investing that cash. When the stock market crashed at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, he saw an opportunity to capitalize on the low prices.

As long as you could walk in a straight line, you could make money, said Zaruba, who also invested in Bitcoin and began trading options.

Meanwhile, he continued to research other investment strategies, which led to his aha moment.

We were renting a house my sophomore year and I thought to myself, You know, I could probably just go buy a house, he explained. Its called house hacking when you live with roommates and they rent bedrooms from you.

He started his property search with a Facebook post that drew a response from Brandon Benitz, a real estate agent at Century 21 Midlands in Kearney with multiple connections to UNK.

I sat down with him and he gave me a bunch of books to read and other resources to look at, then we started walking properties together, Zaruba said.

They checked out nearly 20 properties before finding one that matched Zarubas buying criteria. He closed on the property  a stacked duplex with three bedrooms in each unit  in September 2021. Zaruba has purchased two more duplexes since then, including a four-bedroom property where his former roommates live.

He likes to remodel or renovate the properties himself, then rent them to fellow Lopers.

I think I have 20 students on campus who call me their landlord, he said with a laugh.

That strategy works surprisingly well.

I havent had any problems, Zaruba said. Theyre all super easy to deal with and Im happy to have them as tenants.

I definitely could have outsourced this to a property manager, but the returns are bigger if I do it myself, and nobody cares about your property like you do, he added.

Zaruba spends most of his time at the barndominium, a 3-acre property just west of Kearney that he purchased in October. Inside the 3,600-square-foot pole barn, theres an 1,100-square-foot apartment with one bedroom, a bathroom, kitchen, living room, dining area and laundry.

He transformed the shop space into an event venue featuring three televisions and a large bar that seats 25-30 people. That space is available for rent  it hosted a Century 21 holiday party and a UNK students graduation party in December  and Zaruba plans to make the apartment available through Airbnb.

Its pretty nice, he said. Im really happy with it.

In addition to managing his own properties, Zaruba works as a commercial and investment real estate agent at Century 21 Midlands. He earned his license in June 2021 and joined the local agency a year ago.

He also founded Antler Capital, a real estate syndication company that acquires and manages multifamily properties for investors.

At some point in time Id like to focus on that, but thats not where Im at right now, said Zaruba, who visited Scotus Central Catholic and Axtell Community School last fall to talk to students about entrepreneurship and personal finance. He also spoke last summer at an event hosted by UNKs Center for Economic Education.

Speaking to the students at Scotus was kind of surreal, because some of them went to school with me, said Zaruba, whose younger sister attends the 7-12 school in Columbus.

A deans list student, Honors Program member and recipient of the prestigious Board of Regents Scholarship, Zaruba will graduate from UNK in May, then he plans to continue working and investing in the Kearney real estate market.

His goal is to close on another rental property the day he receives his degree.
Photo taken on Sept. 14, 2020 shows the outside view of the United Nations headquarters in New York, the United States. [Xinhua/Wang Ying]

BEIJING, Feb. 4 (Xinhua)  "A strong buttress to the blue flag (of the UN)" was how Csaba Korosi, president of the 77th session of the UN General Assembly (UNGA), depicted China in late September last year.

The UN official, who took the occasion of the 73rd anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China back then to acknowledge the country's contribution to promoting development and prosperity, gave credit to China's strong support of the United Nations one more time on Thursday.

China is an important partner of the United Nations, Korosi said as he is visiting the country from Wednesday to Saturday at the invitation of Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang.

There are good reasons for Korosi's comments. China, a permanent member of the UN Security Council and the first country to put its signature on the UN Charter, has been firmly supporting the UN-centered international system and the international order underpinned by international law, and helping build a more peaceful and better world with its wisdom and solutions.

Key Force for World Peace

Founded at the end of World War II, the United Nations bears the expectation of all for permanent peace. Sharing its vision of maintaining peace and stability, China believes that peace is the most precious, and has practiced "harmony without uniformity" since antiquity.

Since the founding of the United Nations, China has actively participated in the political settlement of major regional hotspot issues, including the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue, the Iran nuclear issue, Afghanistan, Myanmar, and the Palestine-Israel issue.

It has been upholding the authority and unity of the UN Security Council, and supporting UN mediation in accordance with its mandate. It has also played an active role in the international arms control and disarmament process, and has acceded to dozens of international arms control treaties and mechanisms, including the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons.

In response to mounting conflicts and security challenges in today's world, Chinese President Xi Jinping proposed the Global Security Initiative (GSI) at the opening ceremony of the Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference 2022.

The GSI has won wide recognition from the international community, including the United Nations. The initiative advocates that humanity is an indivisible security community. It offers Chinese wisdom to bridge the peace deficit of mankind, and contributes Chinese solutions to address global security challenges.

Regarding the ongoing Ukraine crisis, China decides its position and policy based on the merits of the matter concerned, upholds objectivity and fairness, and actively promotes peace talks.

"China's idea of being a builder of world peace, contributor to global development, defender of the international order and provider of public goods are consistent with the ideals of the UN Charter," former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has said.

Engine of Global Growth

"Facing the severe shocks of COVID-19, we need to work together to steer global development toward a new stage of balanced, coordinated and inclusive growth. To this end, I would like to propose a Global Development Initiative (GDI)," Xi put forward this idea for the first time at the general debate of the 76th session of the UNGA in September 2021.

The initiative aims to stay committed to development as a priority, to a people-centered approach, to benefits for all, to innovation-driven development, to harmony between man and nature and to results-oriented actions.

The GDI has yielded preliminary results. To date, more than 100 countries and a number of international organizations, including the United Nations, have committed support to the GDI, and close to 70 countries have joined the Group of Friends of the GDI.

A Global Development Promotion Center was created, with 31 countries and regional organizations joining its network. A Global Development Project Pool was set up, with the first list of 50 projects launched. A total of 1,000 human resources training programs have been conducted, including more than 50 member countries of the Group of Friends of the GDI.

Meanwhile, the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) has become a popular international platform to promote the public good and cooperation since it was proposed 10 years ago, covering two thirds of countries and a third of international organizations in the world.

China's development and contributions will benefit many countries as the world's population exceeds 8 billion, said Natalia Kanem, executive director of the UN Population Fund.

Making the World Less Poor

"China has met the basic living needs of its 1.3 billion-plus people and lifted over 700 million people out of poverty, which is a significant contribution to the global cause of human rights," said Xi in his keynote speech at the UN Office at Geneva in January 2017.

In December 2020, China announced that it has accomplished its poverty alleviation target of the new era as scheduled. During eight years of sustained work, China has lifted its entire rural poor population under the current standard out of poverty.

Poverty is a chronical problem in human society. China is ready to share its experiences with the rest of the world for the global cause of poverty alleviation.

In recent years, China has supported the development of developing countries through "six 100 projects"  100 poverty reduction projects, 100 agricultural cooperation projects, 100 aid for trade projects, 100 ecological conservation and climate change response projects, 100 hospitals and clinics, and 100 schools and vocational training centers.

In Asia, China carried out the East Asia Poverty Reduction Demonstration Cooperation Technical Assistance Projects program in the rural communities of Laos, Cambodia and Myanmar.

In Africa, China has helped African countries build water conservancy infrastructure, set up demonstration zones for agricultural cooperation, and carried out China-Africa cooperation projects involving a Chinese-invented technology using grass to grow mushrooms.

In the South Pacific region, China has carried out technical cooperation assistance projects in infrastructure construction, agriculture and medical care.

In Latin America, China has built agricultural technology demonstration centers to help local people in recipient countries shake off poverty.

Commenting on China's poverty reduction drive, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said those achievements are "the biggest contribution for dramatical reduction of poverty."

Fighting COVID Together

"People of different countries have come together. With courage, resolve and compassion which lit the dark hour, we have confronted the disaster head on. The virus will be defeated. Humanity will win this battle," Xi said in a statement at the general debate of the 75th session of the UNGA in September 2020, when the world was ravaged by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Since the outbreak of COVID-19, China has been sharing with the world its experience in fighting against the virus in a timely manner, assisting other countries with much-needed supplies, and actively engaging in global anti-pandemic cooperation.

So far, it has provided anti-pandemic supplies to 153 countries and 15 international organizations, and co-hosted more than 300 exchange activities on epidemic prevention and control and medical treatment with over 180 countries and regions and more than 10 international organizations.

China is also the first country to propose COVID-19 vaccines as a global public good, support vaccine intellectual property rights exemption, and champion cooperation on vaccine production with developing countries, which has injected strong impetus into bridging the global immunization gap. Applying Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) for the treatment of COVID-19 infections, the country has introduced TCM techniques to more than 150 countries and regions, and offered ready-for-use TCM to those in need.

Lauding China's help for developing countries in their fight against the pandemic, Romina Sudack, a member of the Study Group on China and Argentina of the National University of Rosario, said China has been implementing the vision of a community with a shared future for mankind with concrete actions.

Champion of Global Climate Governance

Championing the vision of ecological conservation, China has become a solid contributor to tackling climate change and the betterment of global climate governance.

And the Chinese president has on multiple occasions elaborated on China's propositions on jointly building a clean and beautiful world for all countries.

"Clear waters and green mountains are as good as mountains of gold and silver. We must maintain harmony between man and nature and pursue sustainable development," Xi said at the UN Office at Geneva in 2017.

In the past decade, China made historic contributions to the conclusion and quick implementation of the Paris Agreement, was among the first to adopt and release the country's National Plan on Implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and implement the obligations under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

China also announced 1+N policies for peaking carbon emissions and achieving carbon neutrality with clear timetables and roadmaps. The country has become a world leading player in renewable energy, and is mounting consistent efforts to tap the potential of a green BRI.

As the largest developing country, China is striving to build a community of life for man and nature with unprecedented ambition and action to help achieve sustainable development worldwide.

UNFCCC Executive Secretary Simon Stiell spoke highly of China's firm and consistent stand on actively tackling climate change, as well as its moves to turn climate commitments into concrete actions.

At a time when the world is facing an energy crisis, China continues to make solid progress in dealing with climate change and plays an important role in advancing the global response to climate change, Stiell said.

(Source: Xinhua)
As a result of the hard work of the members of Yongli Vegetable Cooperative (in Jinping, a village in Zhangxian, a county in Northwest China's Gansu Province), various vegetables grow vigorously in the cooperative's vegetable base. Many farmers are grateful to Wang Yufang, president of the cooperative, who, during the past several years, has been working hard to ensure rural residents' well-being, while leading the cooperative to remarkable success.

Cadres with Zhangxian Women's Federation in recent years have led women in contributing to the promotion of China's social and economic development. As a result, outstanding entrepreneurs (in Zhangxian), who have helped rural residents escape poverty by developing production, have appeared in large numbers. Wang is an example of such entrepreneurs.

Wang during the past three years has led farmers in cultivating more than 300 mu (20 hectares) of vegetables, and more than 100 mu (7 hectares) of mushroom mycelium (a mass of branching, thread-like hyphae that make up the vegetative portion of a fungus or fungus-like bacterial colony), combined, in Zhangxian. That, in turn, has promoted local economic development.

In 1991, Wang was born into a poverty-stricken rural family in Jinping. Soon after she completed her graduate studies, in 2019, Wang returned to her hometown. She wanted to use what she had learned to repay her hometown for the care and assistance she had received. As she was aware that Jinping's fertile land and humid climate was suitable for growing vegetables, Wang decided to help farmers attain wealth by cultivating vegetables.

She realized she should teach farmers how to use scientific and technological knowledge in production, so she could help them get rich. So, Wang took every opportunity (including learning from agricultural technicians and reading books to teach herself about the skills) to improve her vegetable-growing skills. She also attended various training courses, provided by the local government, to help farmers improve their agricultural-production skills. At last, Wang yielded fruitful results through unremitting efforts  she has since led many farmers (in Zhangxian) in cultivating vegetables. Their efforts have paid off, as they have reaped a bumper harvest of vegetables within a year.

Shortly after that, Wang made great efforts to improve her skills in growing mushroom mycelium. During the past few years, she has taught more than 100 farmers how to cultivate mycelium.

With the help of the local government and rural residents, Wang in 2019 established Yongli Vegetable Cooperative. The cooperative leads farmers in growing vegetables in the base, and buys farmers vegetables at preferential prices. As Wang has used scientific methods to manage Yongli, the cooperative has developed soundly during the past several years.

Within a short time , Wang established an e-commerce service center (in the village). The center helps farmers sell, online, agricultural products to urban residents. As a result, an increasing number of farmers (in Jinping and its neighboring villages) have attained wealth by growing vegetables and fruits during the past few years.

Wang also registered a brand name  Yuanyou  for ecological agricultural products grown by the cooperative, so it would be easier to expand her business. During the past few years, the cooperative has developed into a multifunctional base, in which visitors can enjoy the views and pick fruits and vegetables. Wang vows to make greater efforts to help local farmers promote sales of their vegetables and fruits, so Yuanyou products will be known across the country.

When she learned the massive flood had occurred in Central China's Henan Province in July 2021, Wang immediately organized the cooperative's members to pick vegetables in the base, so they could donate the vegetables to the victims of the flood.

In October 2021, a truck, loaded with 5.75 tons of vegetables, arrived in the anti -epidemic "battlefield" (in Lanzhou, capital of Gansu Province). The vegetables were donated by Wang and the cooperative's members.

Given her outstanding work performance, Wang was elected a deputy to the People's Congress of Zhangxian. She said she was greatly inspired by the honor, and she vowed to make greater efforts to lead the cooperative's members in helping more rural residents live better lives.

Photos Supplied by Interviewee

(Women of China English Monthly December 2022 issue)
U.S. Sen. Jack Reed, Mayor Lisa Baldelli-Hunt and R.I. Department of Transportation Director Peter Alviti outlined an initial award of $6.5 million in federal funding for improvements to Woonsocket bridges during a gathering in Harris Hall on Friday. The group of officials also made a stop at the River Street Bridge, one of the structures to benefit from the planned improvements.
Violet Snow, left, and Morgan Dewese, both of Girl Scout Troop 625, wave to motorists in front of their cookie stand at the Burger King in North Kingstown on Sunday morning.
The teacher shortage has given new life to the effort to eliminate basic-skills testing for Nebraska teachers.

The Nebraska state teachers union and representatives of teacher-prep programs are calling again to get rid of the requirement, arguing that it would remove a roadblock thats keeping new teachers out of classrooms.

Nine people testified in favor of repeal last week at a hearing held by the Nebraska Department of Education. The hearing was on a department proposal to repeal Rule 23, which requires basic-skills testing of new teachers. A department official called testing an unnecessary barrier that surrounding states dont have.

No one testified in favor of testing.

Opponents have tried before to eliminate testing, arguing that a single high-stakes test cant predict whos a good teacher and that applicants of color have a harder time passing the test, which prevents the hiring of more diverse teachers.

The teacher shortage gripping Nebraska and the nation has given opponents a fresh argument.

State lawmakers opened the door to repeal last year, approving a law that allows teachers to show competency by multiple measures such as course work or college entrance exams. Rules established by the Nebraska Department of Education, however, still require the basic-skills test. The state uses the Praxis Core test by ETS of Princeton, New Jersey, to test basic skills.

If the board repeals Rule 23 and other references to testing in its rules, that would clear the way for new teachers to get certified without passing Praxis.

Gov. Jim Pillen would have to sign off on the rule changes, which also would be reviewed by the Nebraska attorney general.

In 2019, the Nebraska State Board of Education considered axing the test but backed off after then-Gov. Pete Ricketts expressed concern it would lower the bar for teachers.

Since then, the teacher shortage has worsened.

Removing any unnecessary barriers could drastically reduce the number of vacant teaching positions in Nebraska, said Christian Legler, assistant professor and chair of the educational foundations and leadership department at Wayne State College.

According to a survey last fall by the Nebraska Department of Education, the number of reported unfilled teaching jobs across the state is up nearly 60% over the previous year. Unfilled positions are those either left vacant or filled by teachers not fully qualified for the area they will teach.

Jackie Egan, speaking for a collaboration of organizations, including Nebraskans for Peace, testified that getting rid of the Praxis wouldnt lower the bar.

She said teacher candidates should be able to demonstrate quality teaching ability by being observed and evaluated while they work with students.

Certainly portfolios, video tapes, recommendations from other experienced teachers and administrators would all keep our standards as high as possible, she said.

She said student diversity in Nebraska is increasing while teacher diversity is not.

A diverse teaching force should be of concern to many districts across the state, she said. Several towns have large Hispanic populations, certainly Grand Island, Scottsbluff, Lexington, Schuyler, Columbus. And one demographer predicts that Norfolk will be the next Hispanic-majority town in the state.

There is no evidence, Egan said, that higher test scores produce better teachers, particularly for students of diverse racial linguistic and cultural backgrounds.

Brad Dirksen said the repeal would allow Nebraska to be more competitive in recruiting teachers, as no other state that borders Nebraska requires basic-skills competency examinations for certifications.

Most research finds that certification exams are not strong predictors of teaching effectively, said Dirksen, administrator for the office of accountability accreditation and program approval at the Nebraska Department of Education. Basic-skills competency examinations also add to costs for new educators.

Dirksen said a bachelors degree and completion of an approved educator preparation program, including student teaching, demonstrate an applicant has the skills to be a teacher.

Thirty-three states do not require a basic-skills competency examination to be certificated as an educator, he said.

Gene Russel, superintendent of Ogallala Public Schools, said his district has three potential teachers, who would be a great fit for students and the community, who have their degree but cant pass the Praxis.

Russel said a candidates Praxis score doesnt factor into hiring decisions.

I have met zero superintendents or principals that have said, You know what, they were a great interview, they had great references, but gosh, their Praxis score was a 140. We really like it to be a 152 or something. 

Aurora Urwiler, a student at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln majoring in agricultural education, said the test has caused a lot of havoc in my journey to being a teacher. Many of Urwilers friends changed their majors because of Praxis, she said.

Urwiler took it 10 times before passing, costing her $1,260, she said.

April Buschelman, president of the Nebraska Association of Colleges for Teacher Education, said teacher-education institutions want the repeal. NACTE is an organization of all Nebraska teacher-education institutions approved by the Nebraska State Board of Education.

Buschelman said the states educator-prep organizations produce about 1,400 teachers each year and enroll about 3,000 students in their programs. While that may seem high, she said, the number of students enrolled in Nebraska teacher-prep programs has decreased by more than 1,500 in the past nine years.

Sara Skretta, senior director of accreditation, placement and licensure in the College of Education and Human Sciences of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, said repealing the rule would address recruitment and retention.

Eliminating the rule would level the playing field for all students wanting to be teachers-college students, who graduate from low-performing high schools, and adults who are returning as a second career and often struggled to pass the Praxis exam, she said.

The test is a barrier to a diverse educator workforce, she said.

According to ETS, the testing company, UNL had a 79% pass rate on the test from Sept. 21 through Aug. 22.

The demographic breakdown during that same time showed white students with an 82% pass rate, while other populations passed at rates much lower, she said.

The 10 richest cities in Nebraska for 2023 10.Bellevue 9. South Sioux City 8. Gering 7. La Vista 6. Columbus 5. Ralston 4. Papillion 3. Schuyler 2. Seward 1. Gretna
'He was one of these rockstars': Former FBI agents shocked at the indictment of one of their own
The Plantation Action Committee in Sri Lanka (PACSL) appeals to workers in Sri Lanka and internationally to join our struggle to defeat the ongoing witch hunt of plantation workers at the Alton, Velioya and Katukelle estates victimised for fighting for better wages and working conditions. We demand the withdrawal of the frame-up court cases and the immediate and unconditional reinstatement of all sacked employees at these estates.

* On February 5, 2021, about 500 Alton estate workers participated in a one-day national strike of plantation workers demanding a 1,000-rupee ($US2.75) daily wage. The Alton workers, however, continued their walkout for another 47 days in protest against the estate managements provocations. When workers demonstrated outside the managers bungalow on February 17, they were falsely accused of assault and damaging property. The accused workers have denied all charges.

Twenty-eight workers were sacked at the Alton estate at Up-Cot in Maskeliya on April 21, 2021, and a court case filed against 22 of them on the bogus charges. The 22 were accused of physically assaulting estate manager Sathyamoorthy Subash Narayanan and assistant manager Anushan Thiruchelvamand, damaging the managers residence.The Alton estate is owned by Horana Plantation Company.

Workers marching towards Upcot in Maskeliya for a protest picket on 28 August 2022. [Photo: WSWS]

Their court case has been repeatedly postponed because the police have been unable to submit any of the charges. Every time these workers are ordered to appear in court, the police say that the attorney general has not sent the charge sheets. The last hearing on January 11 was also postponed until March 15.

* In June 2021, ten workers from the Velioya estate in Hatton, which is operated by the Hatton Plantation Company, were sacked by management. These ten workers, as well as a schoolteacher, a bus conductor from state-owned Ceylon Transport Board, and a samurdhi (government welfare) worker living in the same estate, face a court trial.

Their crimes were to demand food relief during the COVID-19 lock-down and for demonstrating outside the estate office. The workers have been charged with damaging the estate tea factory and threatening officers, allegations that they completely deny. While five of the 10 estate workers were later reinstated, the court action against all these workers is still pending. The last hearingdue on December 21 last yearwas postponed after the court was told that the estate manager who filed the case had gone overseas.

* On September 29, 2021, Katukelle estate workers struck in protest against managements victimisation of P. Ponnirselvi, a female worker, and demonstrated near the estates tea factory. After an altercation between workers and estate officials, the police arrested 11 workers who were later released on harsh bail conditions and the court case filed.

These workers were in the forefront of the fight against increasing workloads and for a 1,000-rupee daily wage. Almost one year has passed but no charge sheet has been produced by the Talawakelle police. The last hearing, which was supposed to be on December 27, has been postponed until February 7.

Victimised Katukelle estate workers on their way home after being released on October 7, but subjected to harsh bail conditions. [Photo: WSWS]

This witch-hunting is a part of broader attack, not just on estate employees but on the wages, working conditions and democratic rights of the entire working class.

The tea industry in Sri Lanka has plunged into crisis due to falling demand and rising competition on the world markets from other tea-producing countries, such as Kenya, China and India. Tea exports have also been impacted by the US-NATO war against Russia. Sri Lankan exporters confront problems sending tea to Russia, one of its main markets, because of US sanctions against that country.

Plantation companies are ruthlessly attempting to impose this crisis on estate workers by cutting wages and driving up workloads. They are also imposing productivity-based revenue sharing systems which destroy workers social benefits, including the hard-won pension funds, and transform them into tenant farmers.

Estate workers have repeatedly fought for a 1,000-rupee daily wage since 2016 and opposed plantation productivity increases. The companies have rejected workers demands while reaping huge profits.

Successive governments, including the current Wickremesinghe administration, have given their blessings to the plantation companies, backing their repressive actions, low wages and higher workloads.

Role of the estate trade unions

The witch-hunting of Alton, Velioya and Katukelle workers has been endorsed by the Ceylon Workers Congress (CWC), the National Union of Workers (NUW) and the Up-Country Peoples Front. These, and all the other plantation trade unions, have rejected any fight to defend these workers.

Instead, they have collaborated with management and police in the witch hunt of the workers. Alton is a case in point. CWC local leaders provided the company and the police with a list of workers to be arrested. Some of the accused were even told by the union to surrender to the police.

The plantation unions have systematically worked with the companies to increase workloads, cut wages and impose productivity-based revenue share systems. They have betrayed every struggle by estate workers, including national strikes involving hundreds of thousands in 2016, 2018 and 2021. Allied with the ruling and opposition parties, these unions function as industrial police for the plantation companies and the government.

As a result of these bitter experiences, we have realised that estate workers cannot defend their social and democratic rights through these organisations. That is why we took initiative to form our own action committee, independent of the unions, to fight for our rights.

We are not responsible for the economic predicament of the tea industry, which is a product of the crisis of capitalism. Having toiled for generations while facing social misery, we are the real producers of the massive profits accumulated by the tea companies. Our living conditions have deteriorated even further as a result of the austerity measures being implemented by the current Wickremesinghe government on the orders of the International Monetary Fund.

Most of us still live in small line-rooms built during the British Colonial era which lack basic amenities, such as drinking water, lavatories and proper educational facilities for our children.

The PACSL has decided to launch a vigorous campaign to defend our colleagues at Alton, Velioya and Katukelle as part of the fight to secure plantation workers rights.

Our campaign for withdrawal of all the frame-up charges and the immediate reinstatement of all sacked workers is inseparably connected to the defence of the democratic rights of the working class as a whole.

We appeal to all workers to build this defence campaign by sending letters and emails to the address below demanding the reinstatement of all those victimised and the withdrawal of all police charges.

Please send copies of your letters and emails to the PACSL and contact us to take forward this fight. We plan to hold major meetings in the plantations and other parts of Sri Lanka to build support for this campaign.

Attorney General

Mr. Sanjay Rajaratnam

No. 159 , Hulftsdorp,Colombo 12.

Email: administration@attorneygeneral.gov.lk

Secretary, Ministry of Public Security

Mr. P.V. Gunatillake

Email: civilsecurity@defence.lk

Inspector General of Police

Mr. C. D. Wickramaratne

Email: telligp@police.lk

Send copies to the SLPAC:

Email: plantationacsl@gmail.com
The Socialist Equality Party (US) condemns the attacks on Chicago first ward Alderman Daniel La Spata, a member of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA). On February 3, the windows and glass walls of La Spatas campaign office were smashed by two men clad in black, according to police. La Spata reported the security camera in the office was not working.



La Spata issued a statement the following day: Were concerned that this is political retribution. Even at the beginning of our campaign back in October, we experienced attacks that felt like old-school Chicago politics. If vandals thought they would frighten or intimidate our staff and volunteer teams, they didnt succeed. Honestly, I believe this will only energize the base of neighborhood support that weve seen so far.

Broken glass windows and walls at Chicago first ward Alderman Daniel La Spata's office, February 3, 2023. [Photo: Daniel La Spata]

In the upcoming Chicago elections set for February 28, La Spata faces three opponents, including disgraced former first ward Alderman Proco Joe Moreno, who La Spata unseated in 2019, Sam Royko, attorney and son of the late columnist Mike Royko, and local preservationist Andy Schneider.

The first ward is on the near northwest side of Chicago and includes sections of trendy neighborhoods including Wicker Park, Bucktown, Logan Square and Ukrainian Village.

This is not the first time La Spata has been targeted for politically motivated violence. Last fall, while riding his bike with a group of supporters, La Spata was hit with a cup of beer hurled at him by former candidate for Illinois state representative Robert Zwolinski. La Spata told the media his group had come upon a chalking of F*** La Spata on their route when a man came running toward the group yelling and flung beer from a red Solo cup. Zwolinski took credit for the attack on Twitter but the alderman declined to press charges.

Alderman Moreno, first appointed to fill a vacancy in 2010 by Mayor Richard M. Daley, was involved in a series of scandals ranging from drunken destruction and abuses of power, filing fraudulent police and insurance claims for a stolen car that resulted in the arrest of his then-lover, and impersonating a police officer in order to secure a convenient parking spot. While out on bond, he sideswiped eight parked cars in the ward. He lost re-election in disgrace.

Touting his relationships with police and businesses in his effort to regain office this month, Moreno states he is being treated for alcoholism. His campaign also enjoys support from powerful members of the city council.

The municipal election campaign is well under way in Chicago, and nine candidates are vying for the office held by Mayor Lori Lightfoot, a right-wing representative of big business and defender of Chicago police violence. The unpopular incumbent is losing more support to opponents every week, and she has begun lashing out, particularly at groups she deems her opponents on the left.



At the February 1 city council meeting, Lightfoot had DSA leader Sean Estelle escorted out of the chamber by police. Estelle made remarks during the public portion of the meeting, reading a protest against the mayors decision to enter into a 15-year contract with Commonwealth Edison, the electric company at the center of an investigation into years of corruption with state and local Democrats. Lightfoots decision to conclude the deal did not pass in the city council.

There was some shock expressed at Lightfoot using police to remove Estelle. Local public television affiliate WTTW reported he had made no disruption. Estelle hadnt even spoken to anyone else at the meeting before being approached by a police sergeant and being asked to leave the chambers, the station said.

To dismiss such attacks as a typical manifestation of the Chicago Way of Democratic Party political thuggery misses their broader significance. The same day La Spatas office was smashed up, the US House of Representatives passed a resolution denouncing socialism, which declared social programs and other forms of wealth redistribution to be basically unconstitutional.

The resolution was supported by the whole of the Democratic leadership in the House and by a majority of the House Democratic caucus, in preparation for new measures slashing government spending on social programs.

The DSA bases itself on the myth the Democratic Party can be reformed. This is as the Democrats are using the DSA to launder their reputation, after decades of pro-war and pro-Wall Street policies, by promoting DSA officials, including Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, to leadership positions. The Democratic Party, in trying to present itself as progressive, aims to keep workers and youth tied to it, and hold off the eventual emergence of a mass socialist movement.

The resort by both corporate-controlled parties to political repression and violence has an objective driving force. It is taking place amid a historic escalation of social demands by workers, who have shouldered decades of cuts and austerity and the loss of more than 1 million lives to preventable death from COVID-19. A wave of powerful strikes and protests has erupted in the US and globally, and governments are making preparations not to offer crumbs, but are attempting to halt wage growth by engineering a recession and further slashing social spending.



It is this movement of the working class that is this ruling class partys greatest fear, and the escalating political violence and hostility to even the most basic social programs, and the expanding war efforts, underscore the dangers posed in maintaining any illusions about the capitalist parties.
Emergency departments (EDs) across Australia face a growing crisis in 2023, with reports of long wait times, life-threatening delays and dangerous understaffing.

A recent survey by the Australasian College for Emergency Medicine (ACEM) highlighted a national shortage of emergency doctors. The survey found ED directors were expecting widespread shortages in 2023, including shortfalls of 28 percent for specialist trainees, 30 percent for junior medical officers and 10 percent for senior decision-makers. The ACEM said this was a product of staff leaving due to unsustainable working conditions.

ICU nurses protesting outside Westmead Hospital on January 19, 2022. [Photo: NSW Nurses and Midwives' Association]

The crisis is particularly acute in rural, regional and remote EDs, where staff shortages are as high as 85 percent for specialist trainee roles, 66 percent for junior medical officer positions and 22 percent for senior decision-making roles.

In December, the Age reported that Victorian EDs were experiencing such a significant staffing crisis that they were often forced to run at reduced capacity and many staff were working double or extra shifts to cover absences. Doctors expressed concern that smaller EDs, particularly in regional areas, would be forced to close because they could not operate safely.

Dr Andy Tagg, deputy chair of ACEMs Victorian faculty, told the Age that EDs were regularly short of junior doctors, nurses and senior consultants. ACEM President Dr Clare Skinner said burnt-out colleagues were facing some of the busiest, most crowded shifts theyve ever worked in their lives. There were significant numbers of patients with COVID or disease exacerbated by COVID.

Senior emergency doctor Simon Judkins told the Age some EDs, particularly those in regional areas of Victoria, could be considered sometimes unsafe due to the lack of staff.

He said: I think theres a lot of EDs moving into [2023] who are really looking at their roster templates and thinking how the hell are we actually going to get by? There [are] so many gaps in their rosters that they are concerned about the safety of their ED.

Understaffing has been exacerbated by the ongoing wave of COVID-19 infections, the product of the let it rip COVID policies embraced by all Australian governments, federal and state alike. In the second week of December, some 1,500 staff were unable to work due to COVID-19 infection across Victorian hospitals.

The crisis in emergency care is reflected in figures tabled in the Victorian state parliament last month, which showed hundreds of people have waited more than 24 hours in emergency departments. Western Health, which serves a major working-class region of the states capital, was the worst performing area. Sunshine Hospital emergency department recorded 366 patients forced to wait more than 24 hours for treatment in 2021-22. At Footscray hospital, 65 people waited more than 24 hours.

This crisis is mirrored across the country. Bed-block and increased ambulance ramping outside overcrowded emergency departments have been reported in every state and territory in recent months.

In Queensland, recent government figures show that between June and September, 6,979 patients waited more than 24 hours in emergency departments, across the states 26 largest hospitals.

In Western Australia, ambulances spent 66,000 hours ramped outside hospitals in 2022, the worst annual figure on record.

In New South Wales, between July and September 2022, just 65.6 percent of ED patients were treated within the timeframe appropriate for the severity of their injury or illness, 9 percentage points lower than in 2021. In working-class Western Sydney, just 43.2 percent of patients received timely emergency care, down from 52.4 percent the previous year.

The healthcare crisis was also highlighted in South Australia last month, with the resignation of a high-ranking emergency physician from Royal Adelaide Hospital. Dr Megan Brooks issued a four-page letter warning that the hospitals emergency department lacked the resources to provide timely and safe patient care.

Focusing her criticism on the hospitals finance and planning leadership, she wrote: If the clinical teams conducted our work with the same flagrant disregard for basic governance processes and professionalism, we would be at risk of being barred from clinical practice It offends our very humanity, and flies in the face of all that we are trained to do we have looked every one of those patients in the eye and been forced to decide that another human being needs care before them.

In response to the letter, state Labor Health Minister Chris Picton acknowledged the hospital system was suffering from years of neglect. The Labor party regained office in South Australia last year after a campaign focussed on the disastrous state of the public health system. But when Labor was last in office, from 2002 to 2018, it slashed health spending, presided over rising levels of ambulance ramping and shut down hospitals, including the Adelaide General Repatriation Hospital. Labor, moreover, has accelerated the let it rip COVID policies that are overwhelming the healthcare system.

At the end of December, the Tasmanian branch of ACEM issued a press release entitled Tasmanias emergency doctors: healthcare staff are breaking, after a code yellow was issued at the Royal Hobart Hospital. Dr Juan Asceno-Lane, Tasmanian chair of ACEM, explained: What [a code yellow] means, in real life, is that the hospital and interconnected health system are overwhelmed. There are far too many sick and injured people, and there are not enough trained staff and beds to cope with demand.

Asceno-Lane continued: No one wants to watch elderly patients, who are so confused and disorientated from being stuck in the ED for days and days, due to a lack of spaces in care or hospital, that they must be sedated.

The nationwide crisis is the product of decades of funding cuts to public healthcare under successive state and federal governments, Labor and Liberal-National. This offensive is only being deepened under the Albanese Labor government.

Federal budget papers handed down in October revealed payments to the states and territories for public hospitals are expected to decrease by more than $755 million this financial year and $2.4 billion over four years.

The Labor government has also refused to increase Medicare consultation rates for doctors, which have been frozen for most of the past decade. This is increasingly driving doctors, including GPs, to abandon bulk-billing and demand up-front payments from patients that will only be partially reimbursed. Those who cannot afford to pay are forced to attend hospital emergency clinics for medical assistance, putting further strain on public hospital emergency departments.

Throughout Australia and around the world, health systems are in crisis. This cannot be resolved under capitalism, which subordinates the health and lives of ordinary working people to the demands of the corporate and financial elite for ever-increasing profits and harsh cuts to social spending.

What is required is a political struggle, led by rank-and-file committees of health workers, to establish workers governments and implement socialist policies. This includes reversing the decades-long bipartisan privatisation drive and placing the entire hospital system under genuine public ownership and democratic workers control, along with the major corporations and banks.

Only in this way can the highest standard of healthcare be made freely available to all, with decent wages and conditions for every worker in the health system.
For a person to better understand someone elses situation, its been said they have to walk a mile in that persons shoes.

Community CARES is giving people a chance to walk two.

On Feb. 25, the nonprofit will host its first Coldest Night of the Year walk, a two-mile fundraising trek to support the organization, which is dedicated to providing resources and services for Cumberland Countys homeless.

Registration for the event will begin at 4 p.m. with the walk kicking off at 5 p.m. at Dickinson College at the corner of West and Louther streets. It will end at First United Church of Christ at 30 N. Pitt Street where a soup social will follow.

By walking together in the chill of the night, participants will better understand the experience of being on the streets during a cold winter, while raising funds to aid the work of Community CARES in providing much-needed support to members of our community, Community CARES said.

Beth Kempf, Community CARES executive director, said the event began in Canada in 2011. It made its debut in the United States last year and she said this will be the first time Community CARES will host the walk, but hopefully not the last.

Kempf said she hopes to offer two walk lengths in the future and she wants to see the event take place annually in Carlisle.

Its a great platform to educate more people on vulnerabilities of people and also give them a real easy way of making an impact, she said.

Last year Cumberland Countys annual Point in Time Homeless Census totaled 110 unsheltered and 121 sheltered people, said Connect to Home Regional manager and count coordinator Chris Kapp, who works for the Cumberland County Housing and Redevelopment Authorities.

She said the count takes place each year on a random night in January where volunteers spread out across the county to conduct observational and conversational surveys and document the number of homeless people in different areas. The data from this years census, which occurred Jan. 25, is expected to be released in the spring, Capp said.

The Coldest Night of the Year Walk will support Community CARES three shelters and the organizations street outreach and homeless prevention programs.

Kempf said the fundraising goal is $20,000.

This actually marries so well with our mission and the work that we do, she said. Its both supporting what we do but also advocating for those who are living in the circumstance and giving [a] real-life tangible understanding of it.

Participants can register for the event as individuals or in teams online at Coldest Night of the Years website, and walkers who raise $150, or $75 for participants under the age of 18, are eligible to receive a hat.

Questions about the event can be directed to Community CARES Community Development Assistant Faith Trayer at 717-249-1009 ext. 2234 or ftrayer@morethanshelter.org.
The Northeast US was hit with the coldest temperatures seen in decades over the weekend as an arctic air mass passed over the region. The polar vortex was accompanied by powerful winds, driving wind chills to dangerous levels.

Temperatures broke records over a century old early Saturday in Boston, where real temperatures hit 10 Fahrenheit, and in Providence, Rhode Island, which plunged to 9 degrees Fahrenheit (both about 23 Celsius), according to the National Weather Service (NWS). Temperatures dropped to 4 degrees in New York City, 6 in Hartford, Connecticut and 15 in Concord, New Hampshire, with strong winds making it feel much colder everywhere.

Thomas Moore, right, rests on his bed inside a shelter at Crossroads Rhode Island during a wave of frigid weather in Providence, R.I., Friday, February 3, 2023. A frigid Arctic front swept in from Canada, leading communities in the Northeast to close schools and open warming centers Friday. [AP Photo/David Goldman]

The summit of Mount Washington in New Hampshire, the regions highest elevation at 6,288 feet, plummeted to a low of 47 degrees (44 Celsius) early Saturday morning, tying the previous record set in 1934. Wind chills atop the mountain approached 110 degrees (79 Celsius). The NWS in Caribou, Maine, tweeted on Friday that it had received reports of frostquakes, tremors in the earth similar to earthquakes, caused by sudden cracks in the frozen ground.

According to poweroutage.us, 18,000 customers in Maine and New York state were without electricity Saturday morning; power had been restored to all but 5,000 customers by afternoon.

The frigid weather followed the month of January that saw record high temperatures in many areas of the region. While the cold snap might appear to contradict the growing evidence of global warming, many meteorologists argue that such wild gyrations in temperatures are actually an indication of climate change. Some scientists say the rapid warming in the Arctic may be increasing the likelihood that frigid polar air can dive southward.

In New York City, a Code Blue was in effect, meaning that no one seeking shelter should be denied. A cold emergency was declared through Sunday by Mayor Michelle Wu in Boston, where city and agency workers visited outside areas which many homeless people regularly frequent. Boston authorities reported that only 10 people chose to remain outdoors Friday night in the citys largest tent encampment.

Massachusetts Governor Maura Healy ordered Bostons South Station to remain open to the homeless to sleep after the private property manager of the train station had recently illegally locked them out by tying the doors shut with trash bags. Dozens of people slept on benches and up against walls in the station Friday night.

In late December, state housing officials sent a letter to the Massachusetts legislature warning that within months the state may run out of space and not be able to place homeless families in the states emergency shelter system unless action was taken.

Mike Kennealy, state housing and economic development secretary, and Jennifer Maddox, undersecretary for the state Department of Housing and Community Development, cited decreased exits from the shelter system and increased entries into it as reasons for the emergency housing shortage. They said the state would not be able to expand funding and operation of the existing network of 3,500 shelter units, meaning those seeking housing might be turned away.

Winter temperatures in colder regions of the country mean that many homeless individuals and families who have been sleeping in cars, emergency rooms, campgrounds, state forests and other places not fit for human habitation seek emergency shelter. As of mid-December, 294 homeless families were living in motels or temporary shelters instead of in more traditional shelter units.

Last year, Massachusetts had the third-highest number of homeless families in the country. The state also has a right-to-shelter law that requires the state government to immediately house certain families that apply for help. However, such laws are next to useless under conditions where the funding does not exist to meet the increased need.

Freezing temperatures only add to the crisis that exists due to exploding home and rental prices and under conditions where increasing numbers of people have been pushed into homelessness due to unemployment, low wages and the skyrocketing cost of living. The pandemic has only exacerbated this crisis.

In addition, thousands of immigrants have come to New England and New York after being sent there in provocations by the fascistic governors of Texas and Florida. In September, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis ordered two planeloads of migrants flown to the Massachusetts offshore island of Marthas Vineyard, where they were abandoned with nothing but the clothes on their backs.

The record-breaking cold weather has also exposed the deteriorating state of Massachusetts hospital system. On Saturday night, a pipe burst in the Boston Medical Centers emergency department, flooding it and forcing it to be closed until Tuesday. Ambulances will be diverted to other hospitals until it can reopen.

This latest crisis comes as median ambulance response times in Boston for life-threatening emergencies such as cardiac arrest, arterial bleeds or unconsciousness have grown significantly over the past year, rising from just over 7 minutes to 7.7 minutes in December, according to Boston EMS records.

Response times citywide are the slowest since at least 2014. In some Boston neighborhoods, response times are even worse, hitting nearly 11 minutes in Hyde Park and 9.5 minutes in West Roxbury for urgent calls. In such emergencies, seconds can mean the difference between life and death.

According to a recent analysis by the Boston Globe, the delays are due not only to high call volumes and short-staffing of health care workers, who have left the profession due to deteriorating conditions, low pay and burnout during the pandemic. A central cause is hospital overcrowding, due to hospitals inability to quickly discharge patients to understaffed nursing homes and rehabilitation centers.

This hospital capacity crisis is slowing ambulance service by forcing EMS workers to stand in line until hospital teams can take over their patients care. EMTs call this holding the wall, according to Cataldo Ambulance Service, one of the busiest ambulance companies in Eastern Massachusetts.

David Franklin, a paramedic with Cataldo, told the Globe, Sometimes ambulances are backed up at a hospital 12 deep, waiting for the hospital triage nurse to speak to others ahead of them in line. Ambulance crews were forced to wait for up to two hours on some days in December at Massachusetts General Hospital, according to the Globe.
25 years ago: Mass demonstrations in Germany against unemployment

Helmut Kohl

On February 6, 1998, approximately 40,000 people in Germany took part in demonstrations held outside unemployment offices. Their protests coincided with the release of the latest official unemployment figures, which registered a total of 4,823,000 jobless workers, or 12.6 percent of the working population.

An additional 2 million unemployed were not counted in the official jobless figures, either because they were unregistered, or they were covered by early retirement, retraining programs or other government schemes for those unable to find work.

Not since the winter of 1932-33 had so many Germans been unemployed. The jobless rate in east Germany was particularly high, standing at 21.1 percent. The number without work in the east had increased by 180,000 since January 1997, and stood at 1.6 million. In most towns and cities one in four persons of working age was unemployed.

A sharp increase in joblessness was expected in 1998 because expenditures were being cut back sharply by federal, state and local governments. In the east many of the so-called employment schemes were also coming to an end. Some 200,000 jobs in the auto industry were forecast to go, nearly one-third of the workforce.

The protests were largely directed against Chancellor Helmut Kohl, who was being held responsible for the relentless rise in unemployment. When Kohl came to power in 1982, replacing the Social Democrats, unemployment stood at 1.8 million in West Germany. It rose continually since then, and with increasing speed since reunification in 1989.

In the spring of 1991 when Kohl told the east Germans, I am convinced the east will become a blossoming landscape within three to five years, there were 900,000 unemployed in the former GDR. When unemployment in the east reached the record levels of the 1930s, in the winter of 1995-96, the chancellor, together with the employers and the unions, promised that the jobless rate would halve by the year 2000. Since then, the government, corporate management and the trade union bureaucracy had all distanced themselves from these promises.

50 years ago: Forty workers killed in New York City gas explosion

Photograph of a gas tank at which a disaster occurred, taken in April 1973.

On February 10, 1973, a natural gas tank owned by the Texas Eastern Transmission pipeline company (TETCo) exploded in Staten Island, New York. The massive explosion killed 40 workers who had been inside the tank for cleaning and repairs.

The tank was used to store liquefied natural gas before it was distributed for use in homes in the New York City area. To make it possible to transport large quantities of the fuel over great distances, natural gas is supercooled and condensed into a liquid form, which also makes the substance far more volatile.

The blast was so powerful that the concrete cap at the top of the tank was blown 30 feet into the air before crashing down on the workers trapped inside. Only 3 workers who had been present at the site of the explosion survived. Among the dead, workers ages ranged from early 20s to mid-50s.

The entire site was turned to rubble and fires burned in what remained of the tank for several hours. One firefighter told a reporter at the scene, It was like a science fiction novel, or Dantes Inferno. It took rescue crews 12 days to dig through the rubble and recover all the bodies of the workers.

In response to the blast the New York City government passed laws halting the construction of two similar tanks that had begun. New York state would pass a similar law that remained in effect until 2015. Large-scale liquid natural gas storage remains banned inside of New York City.

The explosion was caused by the negligent lack of safety standards in both TETCos operation of liquid natural gas facilities and in federal legislation. In 1978 when proposing to Congress the Liquified Gas Facility Safety Act, New York Representative John H. Murphy told Congress, My involvement in the Staten Island case has convinced me that we lack any sound, cohesive, and comprehensive program for the siting, design, construction, or operation of liquid gas facilities.

TETCo immediately began denying any responsibility for the disaster. Representatives from the company claimed that the tank had been constructed with materials that were not flammable and could not have caught fire. Later investigations by the US Bureau of Mines proved this claim false.

In 1974, charges of 40 counts of negligent homicide were brought against TETCo. However, no individuals from TETCo were indicted by the court, meaning that no prison terms could be imposed on any executives or managers of the company.

After two years in court TETCo was ordered to pay a total of $11 million in settlements. Some of the individual settlements provided workers families with as little as $60,000 in compensation. The court decided that the value of a workers life depended on the victims age, number of dependents and earning power, as well as the earning capability of a victims widow.

75 years ago: Southern Democrats rail against civil rights proposal

Sen. James Eastland of Mississippi

This week in February 1948, leading Democratic Party politicians from the American South began a revolt against extremely limited proposals by President Harry Truman to recognize the civil rights of African Americans. The campaign included threats to try to scuttle Trumans candidacy as Democratic Party nominee in upcoming presidential elections.

On February 2, Truman had delivered a speech to a joint session of Congress, in which he spoke in general terms on the importance of civil rights. The only concrete measures he canvassed were for increased federal protections against the murderous practice of lynching, the establishment of a permanent Fair Employment Practices Commission to guard against racial discrimination in hiring and measures to ensure that the right to vote was respected. The speech nevertheless provoked substantial opposition, above all from Southern Democrats.

On February 9, Democratic Party Senator from Mississippi James Eastland first raised the suggestion of a Southern challenge to Trumans candidacy in response to the potential civil rights measures. In a hysterical speech, Eastland combined open racism with anti-communist redbaiting:

We find the national Democratic leadership today attempting to barter the Souths social institutions for the political favors of mongrel Northern minority groups in politically doubtful states. We are expected to remain docile while the pure blood of the South is mongrelized by the barter of our heritage by Northern politicians in order to secure political favors from Red mongrels in the slums of the cities of the East and Middle West.

On February 12, Eastland and his colleagues convened a meeting in Mississippi attended by some 4,000 Democrats. It passed a resolution calling on all true white Jeffersonian Democrats to prepare a national convention to consider a Southern nominee for the presidency who would prosecute the struggle against even minimal steps towards racial equality.

The reaction again highlighted the historical basis of the Democratic Party, in an alliance between a corrupt political machine in the East Coast states, and the racist Southern elite that had no differences with, and in some cases furnished the membership of, the fascistic Ku Klux Klan.

Truman was hardly a radical. In the aftermath of World War II, he had overseen the efforts of the federal government to beat down a major movement of the working class, including through the illegalization of strikes. He would mobilize the military and the National Guard in various states to defeat struggles by workers. Internationally, Truman led the turn to a Cold War policy of aggressive confrontation with the Soviet Union, aimed at securing the untrammeled hegemony of American imperialism. The anti-communist purges of Hollywood and other segments of American society were the domestic counterpart to this aggressive and militarist foreign policy.

100 years ago: Irish Free State offers amnesty to IRA insurgents

A prisoner under escort at the South Western Front during the Irish Civil War, July 22, 1922

On February 8, 1923, Defense Minister and Commander-in-chief of the Irish Free States National Army, Richard Mulcahy offered a ten-day amnesty to members of the Irish Republican Army who were engaged in an insurgency against the government in opposition to the Anglo-Irish treaty of 1921. The Free State was supported militarily and diplomatically by British imperialism.

The offer of an amnesty had been preceded by the announcement by the army that Liam Deasy, the deputy commander of the insurgents, who had been captured in January, had called on anti-Treaty leader Eamon de Valera to begin negotiations with the Free State for surrender. Deasy was under threat of execution, which the army had stayed because of the announcement. He was widely denounced as a traitor by insurgents. Later in life, Deasy argued that he had opposed the war and would have called for negotiations between the two sides anyway.

The Free State had imposed the death penalty for all insurgent prisoners. At least 34 had been executed in January.

On February 11, a group of Anti-Treaty IRA soldiers and their commander surrendered in County Cork, one of the traditional centers of Irish nationalism, although denunciations of Deasy by anti-treaty nationalists continued. Irregulars fired on a church service attended by members of the National Army in Clonmel, County Tipperary.

The amnesty marked the beginning of the end of the Irish Civil War. By March, some leaders of the IRA were prepared to surrender but were held in check by the IRA Chief-of-Staff, Liam Lynch. Lynch was killed in military action on April 10, and by May 24, the anti-Treaty IRA had declared a ceasefire.
On Saturday 4 February, the Sozialistische Gleichheitspartei (Socialist Equality Party-SGP) held an anti-war rally on Potsdamer Platz in Berlin, Germany. More than 300 people were in attendance. Reporters from the World Socialist Web Site spoke with numerous participants before and after the rally.

Fynn, a student from Hesse, has been reading the WSWS for almost a year. He said he wants to study history in order to learn from it for the future and to eliminate the prevailing injustice in society.

To attend the rally, Fynn drove overnight to send a message against the war, as he said. I just think its totally wrong how the politicians are currently dealing with the conflict in Ukraine. And it is a pity that there is practically no other side, that you only hear those who claim that war is necessary.

Fynn [Photo: WSWS]

Fynn said he hoped that the rally could help educate people that there is another option, too, which is to stand up against the war. He drew a connection between the danger of war and mad policies in every social sphere. All this is rooted in capitalism; it amounts to exploitation, and it isnt sustainable, he said.

The main thing is to make a profit, he added. Workers are told that capitalism is the only system that works, but at some point I doubted this lie myself and started reading my way into socialism.

Sarah [Photo: WSWS]

Sarah is a social education assistant and is currently undergoing further training. She said she is appalled by the escalation of the war in Ukraine. This should not happen under any circumstances. It just scares me that many people still close their eyes, especially in such a situation. And then theres COVID and climate change as well.

Sarah came to the rally to get in touch with like-minded people. Thats why I'm here today. A friend of mine is coming, she said. Im just very curious what it will be like today.

Sarah is currently on a work experience placement in a kindergarten, where she is confronted with the consequences of the exploding cost of living.

She said she repeatedly experiences the desperation of the parents because of money. Its horrible to see. The early childhood educators, however, are no different; even they can no longer make ends meet, Sarah explained.

Everything is lacking. And you can see it too. For example, in the childrens clothing, and in part also in social behavior, because there is a lack of support, at the day care center and, of course, also from the parents. Parents simply dont have time because they have to work, she said. For these reasons, Sarah thought the rally was important. We need to take a stand, she said.

Richard is from Texas and has been studying in Berlin for three months. He came across the rally because he was looking for a workers party in particular. He described the endless escalation of war, no matter from which side, as inhumane.

There would be so many ways to negotiate, but that wont be done, Richard said. NATO has played an antagonistic role since 1991. It has expanded further and further east since the dissolution of the Soviet Union.

Richard stressed that he is far from defending Putin and the invasion of Ukraine. But from a geopolitical perspective, it is clear that Russia is responding to interference in its sphere of influence, he added. This has been seen before in the context of Georgia, he noted.

When asked whether he sees a connection between war and capitalism, Richard replied, Imperialism is the highest stage of capitalism. And any further growth of capitalism leads to conflicts with other nations, for example, for resources and labor.

Richard strongly condemned the fact that Germany and the other NATO powers are today supplying battle tanks to Ukraine. These Leopard deliveries make the war a proxy war against Russia. For its part, when Russia supplies weapons to allies, such as Iran, it is always demonized. But NATO is doing the same thing.

He pointed out that the US supports numerous dictatorships worldwide, adding: Ukraine is completely corrupt. It is the most corrupt country in Europe, and far-right forces play a leading role in its policies. Ukrainian fascists were already involved in the Holocaust during World War II, and today these forces are trivialised there in politics and in schools.

Claudius Sassini [Photo: WSWS]

War means No Future, proclaimed the sign that Claudius Sassini carried at the rally. He said, Im not partisan in any way, but Im against the war. Because we simply must be against war; in war there are only losers.

Asked about his opinion on the causes of the current war in Ukraine, Claudius said that it can only be understood on the basis of its history. As early as 2014, the Americans were active on the Maidan, and since then they have for six years ensured that a civil war prevailed. He pointed out that the Russian-speaking minority was oppressed, and even the Russian language was banned.

Then he turned to speak about the Greens. Normally the Greens were the anti-war party, but that has now changed, he said. It is shocking, in a way, how far the Greens are moving towards war and militarism today. This has been going on for a long time, but now they are the most ardent war advocates of all. Claudius explained that the bourgeois media are no longer committed to telling the truth at all. The media is pursuing its own goals. This omission and distortion of reality is wrong, he remarked.

The SGPs rally at Potsdamer Platz provided a rare opportunity for Claudius to express his opinions. I am fundamentally against the war. And I hope that a lot of people will join us and speak out against it as well.

Moritz [Photo: WSWS]

Moritz works as a software developer. Asked why he had come, he replied, Because I see that there is no other movement that seriously opposes the war. There are others who also say they are against war or for peace. But this is then connected with the Russian perspective, i.e. with the Russian state. Or peace is cited to justify weapons deliveries to Ukraine. Both are not effective, on the contrary.

The more weapons you deliver to Ukraine, or the more troops you send there, the more the civilian population suffers, and they bear the least responsibility of all for the war. Theyre really just cannon fodder. The Ukrainian people seem to be starting to realise this. People there will probably start to wonder: What is really happening here? For whom are they being incinerated? And that can lead to them taking up resistance there as well.

When asked at what point he had come to the conclusion that political action is necessary, Moritz replied, I used to be in a bourgeois party, in the Pirate Party. Ive seen it degenerate more and more. And then came the question: Is there an alternative? There was nothing left in the bourgeois camp.

I came across the SGP and understood that it has a completely different orientation. And that gave me hope again that you can really change something. It is said that we [must] overthrow capitalism and build socialism all over the world. This allows us to solve all the current problems. Not only the war, but also the climate crisis or the other problems that have existed for decades. Because even before the war, we still faced spending cuts for everything.

Regarding the significance of the SGP rally, he said, It is definitely good to send a clear signal here: We do not want war, we do not want capitalism either. We no longer want all these problems, and we will abolish capitalism so that there will never be more wars. And I think thats a very good prospect. We need to get to the point where no one in the world can start a war anymore, because humanity has united under the socialist banner. That is why were standing up here.
Last Thursday evening, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris. This was Netanyahus first official foreign visit since he once again became Prime Minister on December 29 last year.

While no official remarks or transcript were published after Macron and Netanyahus meeting, the details of the conversation given to the major newspapers by government officials make clear that the purpose of the meeting was to plan the escalation of NATOs war in Ukraine and Israels provocations against Iran.

French president Emmanuel Macron, right, welcomes Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu prior to their meeting at the Elysee Palace, in Paris, France, Thursday, February 2, 2023. [AP Photo/Michel Euler]

The meeting took place amid the efforts of imperialist powers to drastically escalate the war in Ukraine. In the first week of January, Macron became the first NATO leader to announce the delivery of tanks to Ukraine, which has now led to the delivery of 120 advanced battle tanks and even more advanced missile systems to the front lines by EU powers and the United States. It is now widely expected that, in a further escalation, NATO countries will soon deliver fighter jets to Ukraine.

In this context, Netanyahu used the meeting to play his Ukraine card, agreeing to send Israeli armaments to Ukrainian forces at his meeting with Macron. In exchange, he sought assurances from France and her European allies that the 2015 Iranian Nuclear treaty will not be revived, and that European powers will continue to turn a blind eye to Israeli bombing raids against Iran, the far-right character of Netanyahus government, and its repressive measures at home.

According to a source quoted in Le Monde who had knowledge of the meeting, Netanyahu promised the French president that Israel would deliver military things to Ukraine. Israeli foreign minister Eli Cohen is due to travel to Kyiv next week to finalize the delivery of Israeli arms to the Ukrainian army.

In return, Macron expressed his readiness to weigh sanctions on the IRGC (Irans Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.) In Fridays press conference after Thursdays meeting, Netanyahu stated that, France and Israel are drawing much closer in the way they see the Iran threat.

The two leaders both lead crisis-riddled regimes that are reviled by broad sections of their populations. As their meeting took place, millions of French and Israeli workers and youth were protesting their respective governments. Indeed, it is more or less apparent that Netanyahu hoped his first official state visit would provide favorable publicity as new Prime Minister and allow him to gloss over massive internal opposition to his regime.

In Israel, demonstrations against Netanyahus far-right coalition government and its proposed judicial reform have continued into their fifth week. On Saturday, tens of thousands marched in 20 cities across the country, protesting Netanyahus attempted reform to emasculate the judiciary and block prosecution of Netanyahu himself, and against his government, which is made up of far-right nationalists, racists, and homophobes.

In France, Macron oversees an equally fragile regime. The president is facing mass protests of workers and youth against his overwhelmingly unpopular pension reform and rapidly declining standards of living. On January 31, 2.5 million people marched against the reform, according to the French unions, and even the governments own figure of 1.27 million protesters was a record. This followed a one-day strike on January 18 that was also supported by millions.

The closed-door meeting took place as Netanyahus government is waging a series of violent assaults on the Palestinian people, with 32 people killed by Israeli forces or settlers in January alone. This included the Israeli security forces raid on the Jenin refugee camp on January 26, which killed 10. Netanyahus new offensive is part of his governments use of state violence to massively expand settlements in the West Bank and suppress any domestic opposition to annexation of Palestinian territories.

Even behind closed doors, Macron did not condemn the murderous policies of the Israeli state. Instead, he cautioned Netanyahu: If you continue what you are doing in Palestine, it will be difficult for Saudi Arabia to accept an agreement with you.

In other words, Macron only objects to an escalation of violence against Palestinians insofar as it threatens the NATO-backed axis of Israel and Saudi Arabia against Iran in the Middle East. Indeed, in 2022 Macrons government denounced charities and organizations which label the Israeli states persecution of its Palestinian population and the privileged legal status of Jewish citizens as apartheid.

Macron is clearly concerned by the instability of Netanyahus regime. According to the leaked remarks, the French president told Netanyahu that the judicial reform opens a crisis unprecedented since the birth of the state in 1948, and warned that if it goes through, Paris should conclude that Israel has moved away from a common conception of democracy.

Macrons criticisms, though they make clear that the imperialist bourgeoisies are well aware of the anti-democratic character of the present Israeli regime, are shot through with hypocrisy. In alliance with Marine Le Pens far-right National Rally, the president of the rich has overseen his own battery of anti-democratic laws, including the discriminatory anti-Muslim law and the Global Security Law, which outlaws taking photos or video of police.

Macrons refusal to publicly condemn Netanyahus judicial reform or Israels murderous suppression of Palestinians, despite his misgivings about their geopolitical consequences, flows from the bloody policies of the NATO powers themselves. Above all, they now seek to secure extensive Israeli support for imperialist war against Russia in Ukraine. Macrons own pension cut aims to free up the state budget to fund French imperialisms rapid rearmament and delivery of weapons to Ukraine without cutting into the wealth of the super-rich.

Macron and Netanyahu are widely aware of mass opposition to their regimes and the NATO-Russia war. That is why these two democratic leaders met behind closed doors in order to plan the next stage of escalation of the war in Ukraine and how to continue efforts to provoke the bourgeois-nationalist Iranian regime into an action that can be seized upon to justify all-out war against Iran.

The fact that two such widely reviled politicians can come together and plot military attacks on major powers like Russia and Iran must be taken as a warning by masses of workers internationally. The danger that the Ukrainian war could spread across the entire Middle East, and turn into a direct conflict between major, nuclear-armed powers, is very real.

Moreover, neither Macron nor Netanyahu see the eruption of political opposition and social protest in the working class and youth in any way as a reason to change their policies. Instead, they are trying to create conditions to double down on their reactionary policies by accelerating their military escalation and demanding that the population rally to them and to the armed forces in order to prosecute the wars which they themselves are playing a decisive role in launching.

The way forward is the construction of a mass, international anti-war movement in the working class, independent of the entire political establishment. Only such a force can smash the reactionary influence of figures such as Macron and Netanyahu and halt the military escalation they are recklessly setting into motion before it erupts into a global conflagration.
On Saturday, the Sozialistische Gleichheitspartei (SGP, Socialist Equality Party) held a powerful anti-war rally at Potsdamer Platz in Berlin, in which over 300 people participated. It was the SGPs main rally in its election campaign for the Berlin state House of Representatives, which the party is conducting on the basis of a socialist program against war and social spending cuts.

The strong response to the rally shows that the party is giving a voice to widespread opposition to war and austerity and fighting to arm it with a socialist perspective. The SGP is the only party to oppose the ruling classs war in Ukraine and the danger of a third world war fought with nuclear weapons.

Use the arrows to cycle through the photos of this slideshow

In his introductory remarks, moderator Johannes Stern, editor-in-chief of the German-language edition of the World Socialist Web Site, recalled the revolutionary socialist Karl Liebknecht, who called for a fight against war and against the German government at the same location:

The demonstration, which took place in the midst of the mass death of the First World War, was an important step in building a powerful anti-war movement. This movement culminated in the October Revolution of 1917 in Russia and a year later in the November Revolution here in Germany, which finally put an end to the war. Our rally is in this tradition.

SGP Chairman Christoph Vandreier then sharply condemned the war policy of the federal government and the reactionary policy of nationalist demagogues like Sahra Wagenknecht. The war can only be stopped if workers all over the world fight together against the warmongers in their own country, Vandreier said. Like Liebknecht back then, we say today: The main enemy is at home! German imperialism, the German war party, German secret diplomacy!

At the same time, Vandreier rejected the lying war propaganda of the bourgeois media and declared that the people in Ukraine themselves were the first to suffer from the German and Western war escalation. According to estimates, he said, well over 100,000 Ukrainians have already lost their lives. The decision to send battle tanks does not diminish this number, but pushes it higher!

He continued: NATOs commitment to Ukraines reconquest of Crimea means nothing less than the deliberate acceptance of a catastrophic nuclear war against Russia.

As in the First and Second World Wars, he declared, it is the capitalist elites in whose interests the war is being waged.

Vandreier went on to explain:

While the DAX (German stock exchange) corporations are reaping record profits and the number of millionaires continues to rise, tens of thousands of workers are being thrown out of their jobs! Day care centers, schools and hospitals are seeing their budgets cut to finance the horrendous rearmament.

The warmongering of the Social Democrats and the Greens is supported by the Left Party, Vandreier stressed, whose lead candidate, Klaus Lederer, is demanding arms deliveries to the Ukrainian military, and, like a true militarist, accusing anyone who criticizes this of open complicity with Putin.

Speaking on behalf of the International Youth and Students for Social Equality (IYSSE), the youth and student movement of the SGP and its sister parties in the International Committee of the Fourth International, Gregor Link summarized the political experiences that youth and young workers have gone through all over the world.

He emphasised that in order to put an end to the capitalist evils of war, social spending cuts, environmental destruction and dictatorship, young people had to take part in the struggles of the working class and play a leading role in building the revolutionary socialist party. This required a break with all pseudo-left tendencies, whose role is to tie young people to the capitalist system.

The international perspective of the SGP was underlined by several greetings from its international sister parties, which were read at the rally. Joseph Kishore, national secretary of the Socialist Equality Party in the US, stated that US imperialism in Ukraine was continuing its decades-long war policy, focused today on subjugating Russia and waging war against China.

The greetings from Russian socialists warned that the Putin regime, threatened with being overthrown, could resort to nuclear weapons, and noted that the working class in Russia also supports the fight against war.

The greetings of the French and British parties reported that mass strikes involving millions of workers are developing against the war and austerity policies of the Macron and Sunak governments.

As all of the speakers stressed, this oppositionwhich is developing rapidly in Germany as wellis the basis for stopping the war and averting a third world war.

Ulrich Rippert, founding member and longtime leader of the SGP, referred to the growing struggles of the working class around the world and concluded that the fight against war and austerity requires breaking the straitjacket of the unions and uniting workers internationally.

He stressed that the SGP rally demonstrated:

There is a party that consistently opposes the war conspiracy in politics and the media, does not adapt and is not intimidated. Our party opposes the danger of a third world war and a nuclear catastrophe by mobilizing the working class on the basis of an international and socialist program.

Ninety years after Hitler took power, which led to the greatest crimes in human history, the lessons of Leon Trotskys struggle against Stalinism are of the utmost political importance, Rippert said, adding:

Socialism is not the past, but the future! And that future depends on what those who have gathered here and watched the SGPs election campaign do. Today, a third world war can only be prevented if a new mass socialist party is built that unites the working class internationally.
American novelist Russell Bankss death on January 3 is a loss to contemporary literature. He was one of the few artists of his generation who chose to depict the daily lives, struggles and tragedies of working people. Banks did so in a genuine and relatively spontaneous manner, although within the artistic and ideological limits imposed by the culture and politics of the last half century.

Most of his 21 fiction works concern working class people, often in upstate New York and northern New Hampshire. The strongest and most intriguing works remain the interrelated short stories in Trailerpark (1981), the novels Continental Drift (1985), Affliction (1989) and The Sweet Hereafter (1991), and the stories in A Permanent Member of the Family (2013).

Russell Banks, 2011 [Photo by Larry D. Moore / CC BY 2.0

Other less artistically successful but more ambitious works include Cloudsplitter (1998), about the abolitionist John Brown, and his final work, The Magic Kingdom (2022).

A film version of The Sweet Hereafter (1997), written and directed by Canadian director Atom Egoyan, received two Oscar nominations. Affliction was also adapted as a film, directed by Paul Schrader (of Blue Collar fame). It was released in 1997 as well, starring Sissy Spacek, Nick Nolte, Willem Dafoe and James Coburn. It was nominated for two Oscars, with Coburn winning for best supporting actor.

As a writer of fiction, Banks regarded himself as a product and adherent of classical American realism. He told the Guardian in a 2000 interview that he identified with an important tradition in American writing, going back to Mark Twain and forward to Raymond Carver and Grace Paley, whose work is generated by love of people who are scorned and derided. He was particularly influenced by the Chicago realist Nelson Algren, whom he regarded as his mentor.

Banks followed an urge that was common in an earlier period of American literature: to show how ordinary people really lived.

Banks was born in 1940 in Newton, Massachusetts, the son of a plumber and a homemaker, but soon moved to Barnstead, New Hampshire, where he was raised. He was bright and artistically talented, but received no encouragement to be a writer. His father, an abusive alcoholic, deserted the family when his son was 12. Banks received a full-tuition scholarship to attend Colgate University in upstate New York, but left after six weeks and traveled to Florida, where he hoped to find passage to Cuba to join Fidel Castros guerrilla movement.

Later, he attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill where he was inspired by the civil rights movement and became a member of the Students for a Democratic Society (SDS). Banks began to compose poetry in the 1970s, a volume of which was published in 1974. His long prose poem, Family Life, was published in 1975 followed by Hamilton Stark in 1978, a novel about a conservative plumber in New Hampshire, narrated by a Christian socialist.

For much of the rest of his life, Banks taught writing at various universities, in particular Princeton University, where he was close with his colleagues novelists Joyce Carol Oates and Toni Morrison. He lived in upstate New York and Florida.

Banks came to prominence with his third novel, Continental Drift, which tells the alternating stories of an oil burner repairman, Bob DuBois, who moves with his family from New Hampshire to Florida, and Vanise Dorsinville, a Haitian refugee fleeing from poverty and trying to reach the United States. In many ways, it is Bankss most accomplished work. He looks at the difficult, even tragic circumstances of two sets of working people from different parts of the Western Hemisphere. Both characters seek a better life. Both experience frustrations, indignities, abuse and ultimately tragedy, but one which emerges seamlessly out of social conditions they confront in common.

In Continental Drift, Banks raises the possibility of larger forces acting behind individuals lives but dismisses it. The metabolic rate of history is too fast for us to observe it.  At the same time, the metabolic rate of geology is too slow for us to perceive it, so that, from birth to death, it seems to us  that everything happening on this planet is what happens to us, personally, privately, secretly.

Continental Drift, Russell Banks

The skepticism about knowing the world is also applied to relations between people. When Bob has an affair with a young black woman in Florida, Banks informs us, but like most white men, hes not imaginative enough to believe that being a woman is extremely different from being a man and being black extremely different from being white.

Of course, common sense tells us that women are different from men (and so is being black different from being white). But how different, and what weight do those differences have under varying conditions? In a maternity ward, being a woman is very importantly different from being a man. In other situations, a strike struggle, for example, there is no difference of any significance. But Banks is clearly hinting at what we today would term identity politics.

Because there is not a past in Continental Drift that we can understand, there is really no future, no end to the present agonies that people, especially the poor, suffer. Hope is in short supply. This is roughly the outlook Banks conveys in his fiction.

His next novels focused on working class life in the chilly Northeast. Affliction is a humane portrait of Wade Whitehouse, a part-time cop and snow-plow driver in New Hampshire. Wade is forced off the emotional and moral rails by his painful family history, by his employer and by his encounters with the wealthy summer people in his town. The novel ends in murder.

Bankss portrayal of Wade and the other characters, however, is circumscribed, and the broader world of the 1980s does not enter the novel, at least not consciously or systematically. Everything in Affliction happens, as it were, personally, privately, secretly. The story is narrated by Wades educated brother, who has escaped from the town, but Banks does not use him, as he might have, to give a wider-angle view of Wade and the other figures.

The case is similar with The Sweet Hereafter, a novel about the deaths of 14 children in a school bus accident in a small town in upstate New York. The unendurable tragedy for the families, the bus driver and the one high school girl who survives is explored with great sensitivity, but still with a sharp, almost exclusive focus on a handful of families.

In this instance, once again, a character more removed from the immediate communitythis time a city lawyer arranging a lawsuit for the familiesmight have added some perspective on the event and on the towns residents, but instead we are drawn (disturbingly) into the sufferings of his own family. Here too hope is dashed everywhere.

Although Banks left his working class characters largely outside of history, he earnestly tried to deal with historical topics, for the most part unsuccessfully, in other novels. In Cloudsplitter, the abolitionist John Brown is a man of tremendous courage and energy impelled to act for justice and equality. Browns raid on the federal armory in Harpers Ferry, Virginia in October 1859, as heroic as it was, was only a prelude to the greatest war against slavery in history, less than two years in the future.

Nick Nolte in Affliction (1997)

Yet in Bankss work, Brown and his life are for the most part events in themselves, disconnected from the coming bloody conflict. Here the problem is not the absence of history, but a faulty view of history. Browns son, Owen, who narrates the book, says at one point: The three-hundred-year-long War Between the Races, from before the Revolution up to and including Harpers Ferry, was being fought mainly as the War Against Slavery [meaning Browns activities].  The truth is, for us, the so-called Civil War was merely an aftermath.

One reads this and recognizes Owen as a middle-class inhabitant of the late 20th and early 21st century, not the 19th. These are Bankss views. As he told the Paris Review in an interview in 1998 (the year Cloudsplitter was published): Im a white man in a white-dominated, racialized society. In Owens mouth, these sentiments take us out of the realm of artistic and historic plausibility.

Bankss last novels were also set in the past, but were largely missed opportunities. Foregone (2021) treats a muckraking documentary filmmaker dying of cancer, but focuses on the regrets of his past personal life, not the content of his lifes work. Banks described it as a memoir of sorts.

The Magic Kingdom (2022) purports to be the narrationrecorded in 1971 on reel-to-reel tapesof a Florida realtor who was raised in a utopian socialist commune in the 1890s, worked on a plantation at the turn of the century and then lived among the egalitarian religious group, the Shakers. In the end, the themes of the novel, love, collectivism and murder, do not add up.

Banks had profound aims as an artistto write about how people lived now and to depict characters set against the backdrop of significant events. But he wrote in a period that was extraordinarily difficult for artists. As the WSWS noted earlier about Banks:

The problems depicted are bound up with some of the difficulties of the last half-century or more, including the virtual criminalization of left-wing thought. Insofar as Banks accepts the limitations of his fictional figures, the weight of various social trends, including residual anticommunism, makes its presence felt.

Banks, nevertheless, distinguished himself from the literature of his times because not only did he write about the working class, but he also took its side. He believed, moreover, that fiction could help people understand the world and, in that way, change it.

The last, worthy word belongs to Banks, from the end of Continental Drift:

Good cheer and mournfulness over lives other than our own, even wholly invented livesno, especially wholly invented livesdeprive the world as it is of some of the greed it needs to continue to be itself. Sabotage and subversion, then, are this books objectives. Go, my book, and help destroy the world as it is.
On February 2, the obligation to wear masks on trains and long-distance buses ended throughout Germany. This requirement has now also been lifted in public transport in all federal states. This step, which is not based on any scientific evidence, opens the door to the spread of new, even more dangerous variants of the coronavirus.

Woman wearing a mask on the underground [Photo by Arquus / wikimedia / CC BY-SA 4.0

The abolition of the requirement to wear a mask goes hand in hand with another momentous decision: the cabinet and federal Labour Minister Hubertus Heil (Social Democrat, SPD) have declared the early termination of the Coronavirus Occupational Health and Safety Regulation. Originally due to end on April 7, this regulation now only applies primarily to medical and geriatric care facilities.

In all other workplaces, the company hygiene concept is also no longer applicable. This provided that employees who tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 had to isolate themselves (most recently for five days). They will now be even more reluctant to stay at home with a coronavirus illness as the pressure of staff shortages and workloads increases in many workplaces. The fight against coronavirus is thus declared a private matter for each individual.

Parallel to these fatal decisions, politicians mollifying statements that there is no longer any coronavirus danger are piling up. We have the pandemic under control, claimed Stephan Weil (SPD), Minister President of Lower Saxony, for example. That was why the nationwide uniform requirements for occupational infection control were no longer necessary. Bundestag (parliamentary) deputy Andrew Ullmann (Liberal Democrats, FDP) declared categorically: The pandemic in Germany is over. Christian Social Union (CSU) state Health Minister Klaus Holetschek in Bavaria cheered: This [end of mandatory mask wearing] is a milestone. It shows that normality is taking hold more and more.

In an interview with the Rheinische Post, federal Health Minister Karl Lauterbach (SPD) made clear what kind of normality was taking hold. What we observe in people who have had several coronavirus infections is alarming. ... If someone has a severely aged immune system after two infections, it is advisable that they avoid further Covid infections. This is from the same man who, as federal health minister, is responsible for lifting the regulations and personally announced the end of mandatory mask wearing on trains and buses.

Politicians are lifting all protective measures in a situation where life expectancy is falling for the first time since the Second World War. Since the start of the pandemic in 2020, excess mortality has been shown to increase year by year. But the spread of the virus, the allowing of new mass infections, is no accident. Such decisions are politically deliberate.

They coincide with the decision to send heavy battle tanks, the Leopards, to war against Russia. The German economy is being converted more and more into a war economy. The ruling class and its lackeys in the traffic light coalitionthe SPD, FDP and Greensare gearing up for a new, big war, and in this context they are prepared to walk over corpses.

They are also prepared to throw all scientific knowledge overboard. Coronavirus is becoming endemic, for example, is a frequently heard whitewash. For example, there was much to suggest that the virus had changed to an endemic state, said Hesses state Social Affairs Minister Kai Klose (Greens) in Wiesbaden on January 30.

This claim is completely unscientific and has already been clearly refuted by serious virologists. SARS-CoV-2 is not an endemic but an epidemic disease: it has spread worldwide, is highly contagious and is transmitted from person to person. The virus is also constantly mutating and producing new, increasingly dangerous variants. This finding has already been demonstrated in detail by the Global Workers Inquest into the COVID-19 Pandemic. In reality, the claim Coronavirus is becoming endemic is synonymous with the endless spread of the virus and mass deaths.

This is why even the World Health Organisation (WHO) maintains the highest warning level, three years after the start of the pandemic. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has continued to classify the pandemic as an emergency of international concern. Ghebreyesus added that he remains very concerned about the situation in many countries and the rising number of deaths.

Probably the most important reason for the WHO decision now is the unprecedented coronavirus wave in China. The country, which maintained an effective zero-COVID policy for almost three years, dropped all protective measures in early December due to massive pressure from Western states. Since then, it has been overwhelmed by an unprecedented wave of infections and deaths.

In China, a large part of the 1.4 billion population has already been infected and almost one million people are estimated to have died from SARS-CoV-2 in the last two months alone. Infections have peaked at 4.8 million a day, according to calculations by London-based Airfinity, which specialises in health data. Deaths are estimated to have climbed to the horrendous figure of more than 36,000 coronavirus deaths in 24 hours on January 26.

It is obvious that under such conditions it is only a matter of time before an even more deadly mutation once again takes hold of the whole world. Further, the example of China shows strikingly that no single country can declare the pandemic over until it is over worldwide.

In the United States, an average of 500 people die every day from SARS-CoV-2. Coronavirus variant XXB.1.5, also called Kraken, was first widespread in the northeastern United States. Now it is spreading to the UK, and virologists believe that this extremely easily transmitted Omicron subtype could also become the dominant variant in Germany.

So far, more than 21 million people worldwide have died from COVID-19. Germany has officially registered almost 166,000 coronavirus deaths, very many of whom could still be alive today with a better pandemic policy. According to data from the Robert Koch Institute, 150 or more coronavirus deaths have been reported almost daily recently, with 154 on Thursday. In total, 726 COVID-19 patients died in the last week, as many deaths in one week as if two jumbo jets had crashed.

The number of unreported cases is high because the data become more unreliable every day. Since the infection has been declared a private matter, there are neither free lateral flow tests available nor easily accessible PCR tests nor reliable daily reports.

Meanwhile, cries for help are piling up on social networks: For three years I was able to protect myselfnow coronavirus has caught me after all. And often they come from people who, as high-risk patients, have been very careful all along. As a result of the removal of all protective measures, they have now fallen badly ill after all. Also, the deleterious effects of post-COVID and Long-COVID on an entire society cannot yet really be assessed.
Over the past four days, the American population has been subjected to a barrage of war propaganda over the claim that China sent a huge balloon visible to the naked eye to spy on US nuclear bases.

The media machine is operating at full throttle. Since the balloons existence was publicly announced last week, breathless coverage provided minute-by-minute updates on the progress of the floating white balloon as it slowly traversed across the continental United States. The story led every newspaper for days, was the first item on the evening news broadcasts, and dominated the 24-hour cable news networks.

A Chinese balloon drifts over Myrtle Beach, South Carolina shortly before being shot down by an US F-22 fighter jet. [Photo by Russotp / CC BY-SA 4.0

On Friday, former President Donald Trump called for the balloon to be shot downa demand that was repeated by Republican and Democratic politicians. On Saturday, under orders from Biden, the US Air Force shot down the balloon in the first US attack on a Chinese aircraft since the Korean War.

A day after the existence of the balloon was publicly announced, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken canceled his scheduled trip to China, which had been promoted as part of a supposed rapprochement between the two countries.

All of the media coverage has accepted the unsubstantiated claim that the airship was a secret Chinese surveillance balloon specifically targeting US military installations.

While the specific purpose of the balloon cannot be definitively stated, the notion that the Chinese government is seeking to secretly obtain vital information on US nuclear weapons by means of a gigantic and clearly visible object slowly passing through US airspace is, to put it mildly, ludicrous.

Far more likely is the account given by Beijing that the high-altitude balloon was conducting meteorological surveillance and was blown off course, entering the United States on January 28. It is a civilian airship used for research, mainly meteorological, purposes, Chinas Foreign Ministry said. Affected by the Westerlies and with limited self-steering capability, the airship deviated far from its planned course.

NASA has launched dozens of balloon missions similar to the one destroyed by the US Air Force on Saturday. According to a NASA presentation by University of Hawaii Professor Peter Gortham, Balloons offer flight opportunities for unique science investigations that require, or can be done in, near-space.

According to the website of NASAs Arctic balloon program, Scientists use scientific data collected during balloon flights to help answer important questions about the universe, atmosphere, the Sun and the space environment.

A worker helps inflate NASAs super pressure balloon, launched from Wanaka Airport, New Zealand, in 2016. Scientists regularly launch balloons into the atmosphere to study physics and meteorology. [Photo: NASA/Bill Rodman]

In publications that are written primarily for those within the state apparatus, a more sober assessment can be found. The Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), a leading think tank connected to US intelligence agencies, commented on Friday that the most likely explanation is that this is an errant weather balloon that went astraylost weather balloons are the basis of many UFO sightings.

The CSIS added that the incident is embarrassing for China, and some Chinese meteorologist may be packing his or her bags for reassignment to Inner Mongolia.

But in the media, such an appraisal is nowhere to be found. That the white orb is a spy balloon is taken as fact, and no section of the US media has even suggested the possibility of the most routine and reasonable explanationthat this was a peaceful research mission just like NASA has conducted dozens of times.

Instead, the Biden administration, working together with the Republican Party and with the support of the US media, seized on the opportunity to whip up anti-Chinese hate and xenophobia.

The aim of this campaign is to condition the public to accept US plans for war with China that have been years in the making, and to construe China, which the United States is encircling with offensive missiles just miles from its coastline, as the aggressor in the Sino-American conflict.

The script of this weeks imminent threat is well-worn. This type of wall-to-wall media hysteria was used to justify the 1991 Gulf War, the 1998 bombing of Yugoslavia, the 2001 invasion of Afghanistan, the 2003 invasion of Iraq, and the 2011 bombings of Syria and Libya. All of these claimsabove all the Bush administrations assertions that the Iraqi government of Saddam Hussein possessed weapons of mass destructionturned out to be nothing more than hot air.

But the media, acting as if the American people are all idiots, is reprising its role, hoping it will have the time-tested result of laying the groundwork for Americas next war of choice. This time, the target is not an impoverished former colony, but China, the worlds second-largest economy with the worlds second-largest military budget.

Even as the US and NATO powers recklessly escalate the war with Russia over Ukraine, the ruling class is preparing for a conflict with China, for which the war against Russia has been viewed as a necessary precondition.

In 2018, the United States adopted a National Security Strategy that urged the Pentagon to make its highest priority preparing for a war with China. While the military was operating with this conception, the US media kept these plans secret from the American population.

But this weeks media hysteria over the balloon was used to introduce the concept of a potential war with China as a positive good, for which the United States needs to prepare.

The declaration by Air Force General Mike Minihan that the US faces a war with China by 2025 has been treated by the media as a sage and impartial warning.

He called for building a fortified, ready, integrated, and agile Joint Force Maneuver Team ready to fight and win inside the first island chain, referring to Taiwan, Japan, and other islands off the coast of China.

Implying that large numbers of his command will die in such a war, Minihan instructed them to consider their personal affairs and whether a visit should be scheduled with their servicing base legal office to ensure they are legally ready and prepared.

Chuck Todd, moderator of Meet the Press, asked Democratic Senator Cory Booker, Are you going to be supporting whatever it takes to prepare for war with China over Taiwan? Do we need to do more to prepare for that potential?

In just the past week, the United States announced a plan to put additional bases in the Philippines from which it could launch attacks on China. Biden also held discussions with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on the remilitarization of the country in preparation for a conflict with China.

The entire incident is a lesson in how the media works to advance US war plans, promoting trumped-up threats against the US and covering up Washingtons aggressive actions against the targets of its wars.

The latest campaign to demonize China has parallels to the promotion by both the Trump and Biden administrations of the Wuhan lab lie, the conspiracy theory that COVID-19 was created by scientific research at the Wuhan Institute of Virology.

The desperate character of both of these lies reflects the basic reality that there does not exist significant support within the US population for the US governments plans for war. This passive opposition must, however, be transformed into a conscious mass anti-war movement based on an orientation to the working class and the perspective of socialism.
Families of two of the 29 workers killed in the Pike River coal mine disaster in New Zealand have taken court action to obtain documents and information relating to the decision to drop charges against Pike River Coal chief executive Peter Whittall in 2013. Whittall was the only person charged with health and safety violations in relation to a series of underground explosions that trapped and killed the men in November 2010.

No one has been held accountable for the deaths, despite voluminous evidence, partly uncovered by a 2012 royal commission of inquiry, showing that the company broke the law and turned the mine into a death trap. The mine had no proper emergency exit, its underground ventilation and methane gas monitoring were grossly inadequate, equipment was constantly breaking down, and questions were raised about the reliability and safety of the underground fan.

The charges against Whittall were withdrawn by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) in exchange for an unsolicited $3.41 million payment to be divided among the victims families. This deal, reached behind the backs of the families, was ruled to be unlawful by the Supreme Court in 2017. However, the charges against Whittall were not reinstated and none of the lawyers or state bureaucrats involved faced any consequences for breaking the law.

There are many unanswered questions about how the deal was reached, the legal advice provided to MBIE by state solicitors, and the involvement of members of the then-National Party government. A crucial question is the source of the $3.41 million. Whittalls lawyers told Stuff last July that this was paid by an insurer under the terms of an insurance policy held by Pike River Coal. However, Pike River Coal had earlier refused a court order to pay $4.17 million in fines and reparations, declaring that it was bankrupt and had exhausted its insurance money.

Bernie Monk (left) and Christopher Harder outside the courtroom in Wellington on February 2, 2023. [Photo]

On February 2, former criminal lawyer Christopher Harder spoke in the Wellington High Court on behalf of Bernie Monk and Dean Dunbar, whose sons Michael and Joseph were killed in the series of underground explosions at Pike River.

Harder outlined the case for documents and correspondence held by WorkSafe (formerly the Department of Labour) relating to the unlawful deal to be made public, including emails between Whittalls lawyer Stuart Grieve KC and Crown solicitor Brent Stanaway. Harder also called for the release of a transcript from an earlier High Court hearing, held in 2015, in which some of the families sought a judicial review of the decision to drop charges.

Crown lawyer Amy Hill, appearing on behalf of WorkSafe in last weeks hearing, explained that some documents were already publicly availableincluding an email sent by Grieve offering the $3.41 million paymentbut argued that others should remain hidden. She asserted that this was not a case of the Crown [trying] to avoid scrutiny, but that there was a public interest in maintaining legal privilege for conversations between lawyers.

Harder earlier told the court that legal privilege does not allow two lawyers to discuss something that is a criminal offence. He referred to correspondence in 2013 between Grieve to Stanaway in which Whittalls lawyer proposed a voluntary payment [to the families]... conditional upon charges being dropped. Harder said: What is described here is nothing less than an offer of a bribe.

Instead of reporting Grieve to the Law Society for his proposition, Stanaway took the offer to his colleagues at MBIE for discussion, and ultimately it was accepted. District court judge Jane Farish then defended the withdrawal of charges at a district court hearing on December 12, 2013, declaring that this was not Whittall buying his way out of a prosecution and that the voluntary payment is really a side-issue.

Asked by Justice Jillian Mallon last week what Monk and Dunbar were ultimately seeking to accomplish, Harder explained: These gentlemen want accountability.  Nobodys been publicly held accountable. Their aim was to bring so much pressure to bear on the politicians that they will reopen the mine and get the bodies and examine the crucial evidence underground that could establish the precise cause of the explosions and lead to successful prosecutions.

In 2021, the Labour Party-led government shut down a re-entry operation into the mine and then permanently sealed it. Minister for Pike River Re-entry Andrew Little falsely claimed that it was too dangerous to re-enter the mine workings where human remains are located, as well as the underground fan that may have sparked the explosion. Monk, Dunbar and other family members and supporters protested against the decision. They were supported by leading international mine experts, led by former Chief Inspector of Mines Tony Forster, who explained how the mine workings could be safely entered using standard techniques.

At the conclusion of last weeks hearing, Justice Mallon reserved her decision.

Speaking to the World Socialist Web Site (WSWS), Harder said: The key question remains: who ultimately paid the $3.41 million? If the money was paid by Whittalls insurer, that is one thing. If the money was paid by a third party who had something to gain by the Whittall prosecution not proceedingi.e., so that issues of ignition and possible causation of the explosion were not discussed or probed in open courtthen there should be a fresh criminal investigation of all persons or companies potentially involved, as this would be a serious criminal endeavour.

Bernie Monk carrying a picture of his son Michael, who died at the age of 23 in the Pike River mine disaster. [Photo: WSWS]

Monk told the WSWS he was very pleased to have been granted the court hearing after years of applying to WorkSafe, the police and the Ombudsman to release information, including the legal advice given to MBIE in 2013. He said it was an absolute insult to the families that, despite the Supreme Court ruling that the deal to protect Whittall was unlawful, no one had been held accountable for the disaster and the subsequent cover-up.

Monk said he had told WorkSafes lawyer Hill: Im not going to go away, whether we win or not They might think that were going to go away, but its just not going to happen.

Dunbar said Pike River had revealed that this is a justice system that has a noose around its neck If anybody suggests that we havent got a two- or three-tier justice system then theyre not paying attention.

Dunbar also pointed out that there were unanswered questions about what caused the second explosion at Pike River Coal, five days after the initial blast, which may have been started by a conveyor belt being switched on. Police, who were then in charge of the mine site, have denied that their actions may have led to this explosion, which put an end to any talk of a rescue or recovery operation.

Dunbar said WorkSafe saw its job as protecting big business and blaming the poor workers in the forestry and mining industry for killing themselves at work. The unions performed the same role, he added.

The Department of Labour (now called WorkSafe) knew about the dangerous conditions in Pike River mine prior to the explosion but did nothing to stop its operations. Any trial of Whittall or other members of Pike Rivers management would have exposed the complicity of this government agency. It also could have shed light on the criminal role played by the trade unions.

Andrew Little, the Labour governments minister in charge of Pike River since the 2017 election, who was instrumental in shutting down the re-entry operation, was the leader of the miners union, the Engineering, Printing and Manufacturing Union at the time of the disaster in 2010.

The EPMU did nothing to protect its members at Pike River, despite knowing the mine was extremely unsafe. It made no public criticism of Pike River Coal prior to the disaster. Shortly after the first underground explosion, Little defended the company, falsely telling the media that Pike River had a good health and safety committee thats been very active and that there was nothing unusual about the mine.
This article was originally posted as a thread on Twitter.

February 5, 2023, marks the 20th anniversary of US Secretary of State Colin Powells 2003 speech at the Security Council of the United Nations. In front of a worldwide audience, Powell told lies to justify the Bush administrations criminal decision to invade Iraq.

Colin Powell holding a model vial of anthrax while giving his lying speech to the United Nations Security Council to justify the invasion of Iraq. [Photo: Public Domain]

Among the lying statements made by Powell were:

We have first-hand descriptions of biological weapons factories on wheels and on rails. Our conservative estimate is that Iraq today has a stockpile of between 100 and 500 tons of chemical weapons agents. He [Saddam Hussein] remains determined to acquire nuclear weapons.  He is so determined that he has made repeated covert attempts to acquire high-specification aluminum tubes from 11 different countries. What I want to bring to your attention today is the potentially much more sinister nexus between Iraq and the al-Qaida terrorist network  Iraqi officials deny accusations of ties with al-Qaida. These denials are simply not credible.

Powells lies, which had been scripted by President George W. Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and other political criminals, cleared the path for the March 2003 invasion of Iraq. It began with the Shock and Awe bombardment of Baghdad, which destroyed much of the city.

The war resulted in the killing of hundreds of thousands of Iraqis and the destruction of what had been a highly developed country. The CIA and military conducted a brutal campaign of torture and murder. None of the officials responsible for the crimes were ever punished.

This grim anniversary is not being observed by the US media, which prefers not to recall the crimes of the not-too-distant past as it concocts the lies that are needed to promote the escalating war against Russia.
New Cumberland Borough Police reported that an undetonated explosive device believed to be from the World War II era was discovered Sunday morning in the 500 block of Brandt Avenue.

State Police Hazardous Device and Explosives Section took possession of the device for further analysis, according to police.

Police said several residents were displaced for a short period of time until the device was safely moved from the scene.

New Cumberland Fire Department assisted with traffic control until the incident was cleared.
This statement will be distributed by the International Youth and Students for Social Equality (IYSSE) club members to students and young people around Australia as universities resume for the 2023 academic year.

Under capitalism, young people are being confronted with crises which threaten their very futuresenvironmental destruction, financial meltdown and nuclear Armageddon.

The war in Ukraine is a war between US-NATO forces and Russia, with Ukraine as the battlefield. The first shots of World War III have already been fired.

Not a week goes by without a major expansion of NATO involvement in the conflict.

France said Wednesday January 4, 2023 it will send French-made AMX-10 RC light tanks to Ukraine, the first tanks from a Western European country, following an afternoon phone call between French President Emmanuel Macron and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. [AP Photo/Jeremy Bessat/Armee de Terre]

Already in 2023, twelve NATO countries have pledged to send a combined 120 to 140 modern main battle tanks to Ukraine, and there are calls in the media and political establishment for the US to send F-16 supersonic, nuclear-capable fighter jets.

The hope that reason will prevail and the NATO powers will pull back from the brink is a dangerous and politically disarming delusion.

Mutually Assured Destructionthe conclusion that nuclear weapons would never be used because no one could possibly win such a conflicthas been replaced by the US and its allies with the criminally insane doctrine so what!

Students and youth must join the fight against the US-NATO imperialist war in Ukraine and the reckless escalation toward nuclear catastrophe.

The IYSSEs exposure of US imperialism and its NATO allies as the instigators and aggressors in the conflict in no way equates to support for the reactionary, national chauvinist capitalist regime in Russia headed by President Vladimir Putin which we oppose and condemn.

The conflict in Ukraine, however, cannot be understood from the standpoint of which country fired the first shot. It can only be understood by grasping the socioeconomic and geopolitical interests that have led to this point.

US and European imperialism aim to defeat Russia for the purpose of dismembering the country and gaining control over its immense supply of natural resources, removing it as an obstacle for imperialist domination of the Eurasian landmass, and in preparation for a far deadlier war against China which the US sees as the main rival to its global hegemony.

The Australian population has been placed on the frontlines of US-led war plans against China in the Asia-Pacific by successive Labor and Liberal-National Coalition governments. Such a war would inevitably become a nuclear conflict. When was anyone in Australia asked to vote on nuclear war against Russia or China? They werent!

Australian imperialism functions as the most aggressive attack dog in the confrontation with China, motivated in part by Australias own predatory interests in the South Pacific.

Since coming to office, Anthony Albaneses Labor government has deepened and accelerated Australian involvement in the preparations for war. The militarist build up has enjoyed the full support of the entire political establishment, including the Greens and various independents.

Also lining up behind imperialist war against Russia and preparations for military conflict with China are the pseudo-left parties such as Socialist Alternative, Socialist Alliance and Solidarity.

These organisations use the false and reactionary slogan of defending Ukrainian sovereignty to justify a war prepared, stoked and waged by the most powerful imperialist powers in the world, the US and its NATO allies. They use the false claim that China and Russia are imperialist to justify and endorse the war aims of US and Australian imperialism.

The IYSSE rejects all justifications for war put forward by the fake left, based on the obsolete concept of national defence. We are for the unity of Russian and Ukrainian workers against war.

As the great Russian Marxist Leon Trotsky wrote in War and the Fourth International in 1934:

A socialist who preaches national defence is a petty-bourgeois reactionary at the service of decaying capitalism. Not to bind itself to the national state in time of war, to follow not the war map but the map of the class struggle, is possible only for that party that has already declared irreconcilable war on the national state in time of peace.

The pro-war positions of the pseudo-left serve to legitimise and blunt opposition to a much broader military build-up, which finds particularly stark expression at the universities.

Every major university in Australia has established ties with the military and arms manufacturers to help prepare war. Many host pro-war think tanks to promote imperialist propaganda.

Under these conditions, the anti-democratic disaffiliation of the IYSSE at Macquarie University (MQ) in Sydney and the University of Melbourne (UofM) in 2022 is a warning that university administrations, working hand-in-glove with the student unions, will attempt to silence any anti-war opposition. Administrative errors were cynically seized upon by the student unions on both campuses to close down the clubs.

IYSSE members campaigning in Melbourne [Photo: WSWS]

The IYSSE is the only club on the campuses fighting for a socialist opposition to war. We demand the reaffiliation of our clubs at MQ and UofM, which are both lively student organisations with active memberships that conduct frequent activities that include regular club meetings, public events and campaigns.

To build an anti-war movement, youth and students must understand the roots of war.

War emerges not from the psyche of individual capitalist politicians, but from the objective economic processes of capitalism itself.

War is the product of the inherent contradictions of capitalism between the world economy and its division into competing nation states, and between the private ownership of the means of production and their socialised nature, operated by a billions-strong international working class.

These contradictions are causing an intractable breakdown of global capitalism.

The US ruling elite is seeking to arrest its economic crisis and prevent its decline as the global superpower. Its strategists regard China as the main threat to its ability to hold on to its global hegemonic rule. Meanwhile, the other imperialist powers, including Germany, Japan and Australia, are remilitarising or accelerating military spending as they strive to defend their own imperialist interests.

War abroad also means war against the working class at home. As more than $575 billion over a decade is to be spent to expand the military, Australias ruling elite is slashing spending on education, healthcare and social infrastructure. The political establishment is turning ever more directly to authoritarian forms of rule to enact its pro-war and anti-working-class agenda.

These ruling elites sit atop a social powder keg and are attempting to use war to divert outward growing working-class hostility to mass illness, death and destitution.

Anyone who thinks that nuclear war is impossible because of the mass death and destruction it would incur need only look at the willingness of the ruling elite to sacrifice human lives for profit amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Using the murderous and unscientific, profit-driven policies of herd immunity and let the virus rip, the capitalist classes have declared an end to the pandemic as thousands continue to die every week. Over 21 million worldwide have died from COVID, with many millions more enduring the disabling effects of Long COVID.

Meanwhile, workers are being made to bear the burden of an economic crisis through the assault on their wages and living conditions.

But the international working class is entering into struggle against capitalism. The past 12 months have seen renewed struggles of health workers, autoworkers, railway workers, food production workers, dockers and many more in Australia, the US and throughout the world.

It is to this emergent movement of the working class that youth and students must turn in the struggle against war and as part of the fight against the capitalist system, which is its cause.

In a statement by the IYSSE published November 4 on the World Socialist Web Site titled, A call to youth throughout the world: Build a mass movement to stop the Ukraine war!, we say:

While the development of the war raises great dangers for young people and for all of mankind, the IYSSE bases its program not on despair, but on confidence that we can fight and win the future. The fatalism of the pessimists expresses an outlook that remains trapped within the confines of what is possible within the capitalist world order. Optimism arises out of an understanding that the same capitalist crisis that produces war, dictatorship, climate change and social reaction also produces the growth of international working-class struggle.

Whether it is war, the COVID-19 pandemic or climate change, none of the major issues confronting the population can be resolved on a national basis. Neither bombs, viruses nor global warming adhere to national borders. These threats can only be addressed internationally and through the mobilisation of the working class.

History shows that revolution is possible and capitalism can be overthrown. The Russian Revolution in October 1917 overthrew the profit system in a socialist revolution and established the worlds first workers state.

It was the most progressive event in human history and the worlds greatest ever anti-war movement, setting in motion the end of the First World War. What it also showed is that the crucial task is the building of a revolutionary leadership in the working class.

Only with the political guidance of this leadership can the working class begin the socialist reorganisation of the world to end war, poverty, disease, dictatorship and environmental destruction due to climate change.

The IYSSE is the only youth and student organisation in the world fighting to build an anti-war movement. Join the IYSSE in the struggle for a revolutionary, anti-war leadership in the working class today.
As the new far-right government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ramps up its murderous repression of the Palestinians, the head of Sudans military junta, General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, has agreed to normalise relations with Israel in the near future.

It is yet another sordid betrayal of the Palestinians by an Arab regime that has barely been reported in the Arab media, much less commented upon or criticised.

Sudan's head of the military, Gen. Abdel-Fattah Burhan, speaks during a press conference at the General Command of the Armed Forces in Khartoum, Sudan, October 26, 2021. [AP Photo/Marwan Ali, File]

The announcement came during Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohens visit to Khartoum, the Sudanese capital, where he also discussed military and security issues. The signing ceremony of the peace agreement will take place in a few months time in Washington after the establishment of a civilian government as part of the ongoing transition process in the country, according to a statement issued by Israels Foreign Ministry.

Sudan follows the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bahrainunquestionably given the nod by Saudi Arabiaand Morocco, which normalised relations with Israel under the Abraham Accords brokered by the Trump administration and Egypt and Jordan, which recognised Israel in 1979 and 1994 respectively. These agreements, establishing diplomatic and trade relations, ended the state of war and boycott by members of the Arab League since the establishment of the state of Israel, the ArabIsraeli War and the displacement of 700,000 Palestinians in 1948.

The agreements made visible their back-channel security, intelligence and commercial dealings with Israel and their repudiation of any commitment to the establishment of a Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capitalbased on Israels full withdrawal from the territories captured in the 1967 Arab Israeli warand a just settlement of the Palestinian refugee problem based on UN Resolution 194.

It was in Khartoum after the 1967 Arab Israeli war that the Arab League famously inaugurated its three nos policy in relation to Israel: no peace, no recognition and no negotiations. Now, as far as the Arab regimes are concerned, the Palestinians no longer matter.

While Sudan had accepted the Abraham Accords in November 2020, signing with the US in exchange for a package of vital financial incentives, including Sudans long-awaited removal from Washingtons list of State Sponsors of Terrorism, it had not signed the agreement with Israel. Discussions stalled after the militarys sacking of Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok and his transitional civilian government in October 2021, when the Biden administration suspended $700 million in financial assistance to Sudan.

Cohen, speaking at a press conference Thursday, said that the visit to Sudan laid the foundations for a historic peace agreement with a strategic Arab and Muslim country. The peace agreement between Israel and Sudan will promote regional stability and contribute to the national security of the State of Israel. The signing would serve as an opportunity for the establishment of relations with other countries in Africa as well as the strengthening of existing ties with African countries.

Sudan occupies a strategically important location on the shores of the Red Sea, between Egypt and Eritrea, where it controls maritime routes. It borders on Ethiopia, one of Israels most important allies on the African continent, whose leader Abiy Ahmed paid his first visit to Sudan since the military coup.

Under longtime dictator Omar al-Bashir, who was aligned with Qatar, Turkey and the Muslim Brotherhood and had supported Hamas, the bourgeois clerical group that controls the Gaza Strip, Sudan was subject on several occasions to Israeli bombings of convoys allegedly carrying weapons and ammunition to Hamas.

Al-Burhan, following his pre-emptive military coup in the face of mass protests against al-Bashir in April 2019, has repudiated Sudans alliance with the Palestinians and Hamas, to secure security and trade deals with Israel. This was part of a bid to win favour with Washington, amid a deepening economic and political crisis. While he announced a framework deal in December, after months of protests and repression in which 120 protesters were killedfor a two-year civilian transition towards electionsit is widely viewed as yet another fraudulent cover for military rule and has been met with mass protests.

Protesters march on Friday, July 1, 2022 in Khartoum, Sudan, a day after nine people were killed in demonstrations against the countrys ruling generals. (AP Photo/Marwan Ali)

The US Biden administration is determined to sever Sudans relationship with Iran, Russia and China, close Sudans large Red Sea port of Port Sudan to the Russian navy, and strengthen its regional anti-Iran alliance.

The UAE, which has signed extensive commercial deals to open economic zones and ports in Sudan, and Egypt have welcomed normalization. Hamas condemned the move, which contradicts the general Sudanese stance that is against the normalization of ties with the Israeli occupation state and supports the just Palestinian cause and called on the Sudanese leadership to backtrack on this decision that contradicts the interests of the brotherly people of Sudan and would only serve the Israeli occupations agenda.

This latest normalisation deal deepens the treacherous role of the Arab bourgeoisie, which has now formally buried its own two state solution and confirms that the nationalist agenda championed by all sections of the Palestinian bourgeoisie provides no way forward for the decades-long struggle of the workers and oppressed masses.

On Thursday, Chad's President Mahamat Idriss Deby, who took power after his father, the dictator Idriss Deby, was killed by rebel forces in 2021, opened the countrys embassy in Ramat Gan, a suburb of Tel Aviv, some 50 years after diplomatic ties were severed in 1972. Chad is a member of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), founded in 1969 after a fire in the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem apparently started by a Christian fundamentalist. Like the Arab League the OIC is ostensibly committed a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and a boycott of Israeli products to pressure Israel into ending the occupation. In establishing relations with Chad, one of the poorest countries in the world, Netanyahu is signalling that the Palestinians do not figure on the agenda of either the Arab or Muslim states.

These developments come just weeks after the installation of the most far-right government in Israels history, one that includes fascistic and racist parties based on Jewish settlers, and ultra-Orthodox parties which seek to suppress not only the Palestinians but the more secular sections of the Jewish population.

It has stepped up Israels already savage repression of the Palestinians in pursuit of its programme of accelerated settlement expansion and moves towards full annexation of the Palestinian territories illegally occupied since the 1967 Arab Israeli war. This was combined with imposing even more pervasive apartheid conditions for Palestinians, including legislation making it easier to disqualify Arab legislators, and provocations at the al-Aqsa Mosque compound.

Last year, 231 Palestinians lost their lives in extra-judicial killings at the hands of the Israeli military and settlers, the highest number since 2005. Some 35 Palestinians have already been killed this year. One factor in the massive raid on Jenin by the Israel military last month that left 10 dead and 20 injuredas well as terrorising the Palestinian populationwas to provoke retaliation by desperate Palestinians to deflect anger against the government outwards and demobilise the anti-government protests.

A key element in Netanyahus expansionist plans at the expense of both the Palestinians and the Israeli working class is his bolstering of the governments powersto be achieved by neutering the judiciary. This is in the service of Israels plutocrats, ruling over one of the most socially polarised countries in the OECD group of advanced economies, raising the spectre of civil war.

The court reform plan has sparked mass opposition, with weekly demonstrations protesting the governments plans. Saturday witnessed the fifth such protest with widening participation across the country as tens of thousands took to the streets of Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, Haifa and other towns and cities. Anti-occupation groups including Combatants for Peace, Machsom Watch, Peace Now and A Land for All, took part in a separate demonstration in Tel Aviv under the slogan, There is no democracy with occupation.

Demonstrations were also held in some 20 cities in North America, Europe and Australia.

The recent events have exposed the twin political myths of the Middle East. First, the transformation of the Palestinian Liberation Organisation into a repressive adjunct of the Israeli state, and by extension US imperialismimposing impoverishment of the Palestinian massesrefutes the notion that bourgeois nationalism, even in its most radical form of the armed struggle, could end the oppression of the Arab masses. Second, the emergence of a fascistic government in Israel and the very real prospect of civil war shatters any conception that the establishment of a Jewish state based on the dispossession and removal of the Palestinian people could provide a safe haven for the Jewish people.

Bitter historical experiences demonstrate the failure of movements and programmes based upon nationalism, which serve the interests of a narrow social layer, the capitalist class, not the working class. The essential precondition for ending repression, poverty and war in the Middle East is the unification of the Israeli workers with their class brothers and sisters in the Palestinian territories and across the Middle East and internationally, to put an end to capitalism and re-organise society on a socialist basis. This is the perspective of permanent revolution fought for by the International Committee of the Fourth International.
Information is from police reports and may be incomplete depending on the status of an investigation. Phone numbers are nonemergency.
Though Penn State Dickinson Law made the U.S. News & World Report ranking this past year, Penn State announced that both of its law schools are withdrawing from consideration.

Justin Schwartz, interim executive vice president and provost of Penn State, last week announced the reasoning behind the decision, which was made in collaboration with Dickinson Law Dean Danielle Conway and Penn State Law interim Dean Victor Romero.

For years, law school deans and faculty have been expressing concerns about the deeply flawed yet highly influential ranking of law schools published annually by U.S. News and World Report, Schwartz said in a statement. Relying heavily on a subjective rating submitted by law school administrators and faculty as well as attorneys and judges, the rankings are more of a popularity contest based on perceived prestige, rather than a useful tool to help prospective students make a decision about where to pursue their legal education.

He said the rankings methodology was inconsistent with the two schools core values of excellence in teaching, scholarship, service and community, and he said both are champions of justice, equity and inclusion.

Furthermore, both law schools are actively engaged in equity and inclusion work, and the U.S. News rankings undermine these efforts by deploying a methodology that functions to exclude minoritized communities from gaining access to and participating in legal education and the profession, among other negative impacts, he said.

The Associated Press reported that in January, school deans took issue with the changes in the magazines methodology, including an increased weight on outcomes for students such as bar exam passage and employment, and a reduced weight on assessment surveys from academics, lawyers and judges.

In the fall, a majority of the top 14 law schools announced they would no longer submit data for the rankings, according to the Associated Press, with Yale Law School being the first to withdraw.

While the media outlet has made clear that it will continue to rank law schools and update its methodology, we hope the withdrawal of schools will encourage prospective students to look elsewhere for widely available insights while choosing a law school, Schwartz said.

He said the two law schools, as well as any accredited by the American Bar Association, provide transparent information about their programs and enrollment on their ABA Standard 509 reports, and other third-party resources are available online to provide analysis and data on law schools.
The Pennsylvania Department of Revenue on Monday warned residents to look out for scam letters that are being sent out this tax filing season.

The department said one recurring scam involves phony letters that are sent to taxpayers through the mail. The Final Demand for Payment letters threaten wage garnishment and the seizure of property or assets unless the recipient calls a phone number to satisfy a lien.

We want Pennsylvanians to remember four simple words  dont take the bait. Take a moment to think over the situation and make sure that youre taking the proper steps to ensure that any notice you receive in the mail is legitimate, said acting Revenue Secretary Pat Browne. We have received many reports on this scam that involves fraudulent notices. This is a common time of the year for scam artists to impersonate a government agency to victimize hard-working Pennsylvanians.

The department said the notices are usually sent from phony entities that closely resemble the name of a collection agency or a state taxing agency. Residents should keep an eye out for dubious claims or suspicious details, such as letters coming from the nonexistent Tax Assessment Procedures Domestic Judgment Registry, letters without a return address, letters saying the recipient owes the State of Pennsylvania instead of the Commonwealth or Department of Revenue, generic information instead of details about the taxpayers account, and a focus on public records, such as tax liens, that anyone can access.

The department recommends residents examine the notice for vague language, factual errors or inconsistencies, conduct research online regarding the purported names and phone numbers and generally not to provide personal information or money until they are sure the mailer or caller is legitimate.

Those concerned about a notice can verify the information with the Department of Revenue by calling 717-425-2495, ext. 72267.

Those who believe they are victims of a scam can contact the Department of Revenues Bureau of Fraud Detection & Analysis by emailing Ra-rvpadorfraud@pa.gov or calling 717-772-9297. The bureaus phone line is open from 9 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. weekdays.
According to a press release issued by the U.S. Attorneys Office in the Eastern District of Missouri, St. Louis, a doctor admitted on Friday that he diluted methadone that was dispensed in a St. Francois County methadone clinic in 2021.

Dr. Sunil G. Chand, 59, pleaded guilty in front of U.S. District Judge Sarah E. Pitlyk to one count of adulterating a drug with the intent to defraud or mislead. He admitted that while the owner of Best Medical LLC, a family medicine clinic in Leadington, he added saline and water to bottles of methadone to conceal a shortage of the drug from the Drug Enforcement Administration.

Dr. Chand decided in 2020 to open a methadone clinic to treat patients with narcotic use disorders, his plea agreement says. Dr. Chand caused Best Medical to obtain a DEA registration authorizing it to operate as a narcotic treatment program and to store and dispense Schedule II controlled substances, including methadone, to treat patients with narcotic use disorders.

On April 6, 2021, the clinic received twelve 1,000 milliliter bottles of methadone oral concentrate. Best Medicals methadone clinic opened the next day, treating patients who came in to receive an oral, liquid dose of methadone.

By April 22, Dr. Chand became aware that methadone was missing. Instead of reporting the methadone loss to the DEA within one business day of its discovery, as required, he instructed Best Medicals clinical director several days later to complete and submit a DEA Form 106 to report the loss.

Dr. Chand admitted that the form, submitted April 28, inaccurately reported that 1,075 milliliters of methadone had been lost. Dr. Chand then came in on a Sunday, when the clinic was closed, to dilute the methadone, his plea agreement says.

As part of the plea agreement, Dr. Chand has also agreed to surrender his DEA registration, which authorized him to prescribe certain controlled substances.

Dr. Chand is scheduled to be sentenced May 30. The charge carries a maximum penalty of three years in prison, a $250,000 fine or both.

As part of our mission, DEA is dedicated to patient safety and oversight of all medical professionals registered with DEA, said Diversion Program Manager Inez Davis, DEAs lead for the Diversion program in Missouri, Kansas and southern Illinois. Dr. Chand abused his authority and public trust by altering controlled substance medications intended for those seeking treatment for substance use disorders. With this acknowledgement of wrongdoing, his patients will no longer be subjected to substandard care.

The Food and Drug Administration oversees the U.S. drug supply to ensure that they are safe and effective; those who distribute adulterated drugs may place American consumers at risk, said Special Agent in Charge Charles L. Grinstead of the FDA Office of Criminal Investigations Kansas City Field Office. Our office will continue to pursue and bring to justice those who violate laws designed to protect the public health.

The Drug Enforcement Administration and the Food and Drug Administration, Office of Criminal Investigations investigated this case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Amy Sestric is prosecuting the case.
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy is slated to address the debt ceiling Monday evening as deadline on a federal default grows closer.

The Republican leader met with President Joe Biden last week to discuss the looming debt limit deadline and the GOP demand that spending cuts be made as part of a deal to extend the ceiling. While McCarthy has said Social Security and Medicare will not be affected, he has yet to spell out specific cuts to government spending.

In addition, the full U.S. Senate will get a classified briefing Feb. 15 on the suspected Chinese surveillance balloon, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., announced on Sunday.

Lawmakers have been gearing up for Biden's State of the Union address this week, but the attention on the speech is now clouded by the political furor over the Chinese spy balloon, with Republicans arguing Biden was too slow to act in shooting down the balloon.

Here's what else is happening in politics:

Most Democrats don't want Biden to run again. A new poll shows that only 37% of Democrats say they want Biden to seek a second term.

Biden looks to reelection bid: Biden's State of the Union address is expected to lay out his vision for the remaining two years in his presidency and also make the case for his reelection in 2024.

What to expect in Biden's address: Besides setting up for his reelection campaign, Biden is likely to talk about a variety of issues: Ukraine, the debt ceiling, immigration reform, bipartisanship in Washington and more.

House GOP investigations ramp up: House Republicans have started a plethora of probes into Biden and his circle, including a look at Hunter Biden's art.

Stay in the conversation on politics: Sign up for the OnPolitics newsletter

WASHINGTON - Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) speaks during a news conference outside of his office at the U.S. Capitol on January 24, 2023 in Washington, DC..

Its time to get to work: McCarthy delivers remarks on debt ceiling

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., said Monday he's willing to negotiate a deal with Biden on extending the debt limit if it targets "wasteful Washington spending," but he stopped short of spelling out what Republicans want eliminated.

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Mr. President, its time to get to work, McCarthy said. Surely, we can both agree that the national debt is too high. Surely, we both agree inflation hurts American families. Surely, we can trim waste and streamline programs to make them both stronger and more efficient. So, lets do this.

While McCarthy called upon the president to work with the Republican party, the GOP leader proposed no specific measures to address the debt limit except to say it would not include Social Sec. McCarthy's remarks come one week after he first met with Biden to discuss the looming debt limit deadline.

 Sarah Elbeshbishi

We did the right thing: Biden says US relations with China not hurt by spy balloon

President Joe Biden said Monday that he doesnt believe the spy balloon that the U.S. shot down from the Atlantic coast will weaken relations with China.

Weve made it clear to China what were going to do, Biden told reporters after returning to the White House from Camp David. They understand our position. Were not going to back off. We did the right thing.

China, which has denied the balloon was for spying, on Sunday condemned the action by the U.S. and said it reserves the right to take further actions in response.

Asked why China would commit such a brazen act like deploying a spy balloon across the continental U.S., Biden smiled and responded. Theyre the Chinese government.

- Joey Garrison

White House offers little clarity on past spy balloon incidents under Trump administration

White House spokesman John Kirby provided little clarity over previous incidents of Chinese spy balloons, including three the administration has said happened when Donald Trump was president.

Kirby told reporters he couldnt speak to what awareness there was in the previous administration about these. All three balloons were in U.S. airspace for brief periods, unlike the latest balloon, which traveled across the U.S. for days, according to Kirby. He declined to say where the past incidents occurred.

Trump on Sunday denied the Defense Departments claim that Chinese balloons entered the U.S. while he was president.

Key Trump administration officials have been offered briefings on what the Biden administration knows about the past events, Kirby said. He declined to specify whom the administration has reached out to and whether that includes Trump himself.

 Maureen Groppe

Top Georgia election official backs early primary  but not as soon as Biden wants

Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger wants his state to become an early presidential primary host  just not in 2024, as President Joe Biden and the Democratic Party are pushing.

The Republican election chief, who garnered attention for rebuffing then-President Donald Trumps efforts to overturn his 2020 loss in Georgia, told The Associated Press hed back an early primary in 2028.

Its the first time Raffensperger, who sets Georgias primary election dates, has endorsed the idea of Georgia as an early nominating state, though not as soon as the Democratic National Committee and the White House want.

-- Caren Bohan

George Santos to bring former 9/11 rescue firefighter to State of the Union address

Rep. George Santos, R-N.Y., honored Michael Weinstock on the House floor Monday, announcing that hell bring the former volunteer firefighter who was at ground zero during the Sept. 11 attacks as his guest to the State of the Union Tuesday. Santos previously faced backlash after falsely implying that his mother died that day after being trapped in the South Tower of the World Trade Center when it was struck.

During his floor speech, Santos detailed Weinstocks neuropathy diagnosis  a result of damage to the nerves near the brain and spinal cord  that has since been tied to 9/11 but has failed to be among the conditions covered by the World Trade Center Health Program despite past efforts to do so, the freshman lawmaker said.

Michael had been unloading medical equipment out of an ambulance when the south tower crumbled and nearly crushed Michael to death. Today Michael suffers from a painful and incurable disease, neuropathy, Santos said. Since the World Trade Center Health Program does not cover neuropathy, people like Michael must pay out of pocket for treatment, medications and other medical needs.

 Sarah Elbeshbishi

No thank you to another Biden campaign?

A majority of Democrats think one term is enough for President Joe Biden, even though he has hinted he will run for president again in 2024.

The new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research shows just 37% of Democrats say they want him to seek a second term, down from 52% in the weeks before last years midterm elections.

The poll suggests relatively few U.S. adults give him high marks on his legislative accomplishments either. Follow-up interviews with poll respondents suggest that many believe the 80-year-olds age is a liability, with people focused on his coughing, his gait, his gaffes and the possibility that the worlds most stressful job would be better suited for someone younger.

-- The Associated Press

Biden's State of the Union address: What else to expect

A divided Congress. An expected upcoming re-election announcement. Those are the twin forces that will shape President Joe Bidens State of the Union address Tuesday.

Delivering the second State of the Union of his presidency, Biden will amplify his message that Democrats and Republicans can work together.

But facing dim prospects for more major legislative wins, a looming showdown over the federal budget and a GOP House investigating his administration and family, Biden will tout his successes and lay out what more he wants to do if given the chance.

 Maureen Groppe and Michael Collins

Is he running?: 5 big questions Joe Biden will answer in the State of the Union

President Joe Biden arrives in Hagerstown, Md., on Feb. 4, 2023.

Biden schedule this week

President Joe Biden's will travel to key states in the 2024 presidential map as he emphasizes his bipartisan message following the State of the Union address. He will discuss the economy and jobs in Madison, Wis., on Wednesday, and efforts to protect Social Security and Medicare during a trip to Tampa, Fla., on Thursday.

On Friday he meets with Brazil's President, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, That meeting comes a month after supporters of the country's former president, Jair Bolsonaro, stormed Brazil's Congress. The uprising drew international attention in part because

it was reminiscent of the violent Capitol attack on Jan. 6, 2021, in the U.S.

-- Holly Rosenkrantz

House GOP investigations into Biden and White House ramp up

One political party controls the U.S. House, and the other party holds the presidency  so you know what that means.

It's time to investigate the president again.

House Republican investigators take a big public step Wednesday on that front when the House Oversight Committee holds a hearing on how Twitter handled news reports of Hunter Biden's laptop, which included some of his business records. The hearing is scheduled for the morning after Biden delivers his State of the Union address, and could take attention away from the messages from his speech that the White House wants to amplify.

 David Jackson and Candy Woodall

Hunter Biden's paintings can cost $500K: The GOP wants to know why

Hunter Biden, son of President Joe Biden, boards Air Force One with the president on Feb. 4, 2023, in Syracuse, N.Y.

Biden hints at 2024 bid in Philadelphia

President Joe Biden has not announced a 2024 bid for the presidency, but his message to party loyalists this weekend was unmistakable.

"We're just getting started," Biden said at a Democratic National Committee meeting. "We've got a lot more to do."

Biden is expected to launch another White House bid in the coming months. His appearance before party leaders at a DNC function in Pennsylvania laid a foundation for reelection that the president is expected to build on next week in his State of the Union address.

 Francesca Chambers

'Four more years': Biden hints at 2024 as he rallies Democratic Party leaders in Philadelphia

President Joe Biden speaks at the Democratic National Committee Winter Meeting, Friday, Feb. 3, 2023, in Philadelphia.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Biden's State of the Union overshadowed by spy balloon: recap
Mandatory Credit: Photo by Andy Kropa/Invision/AP/Shutterstock (9052523n) Actor Charles Kimbrough attends "Murphy Brown: A 25th Anniversary Event" presented by ENCORE, in New York ENCORE Presents Murphy Brown: A 25th Anniversary Event, New York, USA

Andy Kropa/Invision/AP/Shutterstock

Charles Kimbrough, best known for his work on CBS's hit sitcom Murphy Brown, has died. He was 86.

Per his family, Kimbrough died of natural causes Jan. 11 at Southern California Hospital in Culver City, Calif.

Kimbrough's agent, Donna Massetti of SMS Talent, said in a statement: "[We] mourn the loss of Charles Kimbrough, a client and friend for over 30 years. Whether on stage or in front of the camera he was a joy to behold."

Kimbrough's portrayal of straight-faced anchorman Jim Dial on Murphy Brown earned him an Emmy nomination for outstanding supporting actor in a comedy series in 1990, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

He appeared on all 247 original episodes of the series when it aired from 1988 to 1998, and reprised his character for three episodes in the 2018 reboot, per The New York Times.

RELATED: Melinda Dillon, Actress Known for A Christmas Story, Dead at 83

In a 2007 clip for The Interviews: An Oral History of Television, Murphy Brown creator Diane English said that Kimbrough "wrote a whole biography for his character before he started to play him."

"Charlie is the most lovable, lanky, rubbery, sweet, adorable man," English added. "When he came in to read for us as Jim Dial, he brought it all there: ramrod posture, anchor voice, slicked-back hair. He brought a credibility to the character."

In 2012, Kimbrough told The Wall Street Journal, "Unfortunately, I'm really good at playing jackasses of one kind or another. I've always been slightly self-conscious as an actor, and I guess that sometimes reads as pomposity."

"Starting when I was 30, I somehow gave off an impression at an audition that had them mentally put me in a three-piece suit or put an attache case in my hand," he continued. "If there was a stiff-guy part, the director would brighten up when I came in. That wasn't the response I wanted. I was in anguish."

RELATED: George R. Robertson, Chief Hurst Actor in Police Academy Franchise, Dead at 89

LOS ANGELES - JANUARY 1: Murphy Brown, a CBS television situation comedy program featuring topical current events and satire. Pictured is Charles Kimbrough (as Jim Dial, news anchor). January 1, 1993. (Photo by CBS via Getty Images)

CBS via Getty

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Kimbrough also voiced the puritanical gargoyle Victor in both of Disney's animated The Hunchback of Notre Dame films and its several video game iterations.

Before his film and TV roles, Kimbrough was a seasoned Broadway veteran, majoring in music and theater at Indian University. He earned a Master's degree from the Yale School of Drama before he took the stage, NYT reported.

He received a Tony Award nomination for best featured actor in a musical in 1971 for his portrayal of Harry in the original production of Stephen Sondheim's Company, according to THR. He also played two characters in Sondheim's Pulitzer Prize-winning Sunday with George, which opened in 1984.

In 1995, Kimbrough starred opposite Sarah Jessica Parker in the original off-Broadway production of Sylvia. His most recent stage appearance was with Jim Parson in a 2012 revival of Harvey, per THR.

Never miss a story  sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human-interest stories.

Kimbrough is survived by his son John, granddaughter Cody, sister Linda, nephew Colin and stepdaughter Holly.
Each day across our community, parents are working hard to build a better tomorrow for their families. Florida parents are resilient, determined and hopeful for the future of their children.

David Brown

Essential to the success of each child in Florida is a dynamic education system that can meet the unique needs of all children to foster their God-given talent and potential. Education and political leaders across Florida have been working diligently to augment our publicly funded education system with solutions that are flexible enough to meet the needs of all students, including those with unique abilities.

One of those solutions is House Bill 1, landmark legislation filed by Choice and Innovation Subcommittee Chair Kaylee Tuck (R-Lake Placid) that would increase access to innovative educational resources. Currently, families and caregivers of lower-income students and children in foster care can receive vouchers to attend private schools if their assigned public school is not meeting their educational needs. HB 1 would expand that opportunity to all Florida parents, as well as cover some educational expenses like home schooling, tutoring and specialized testing. Families would receive the money through state-funded Education Savings Accounts (ESAs).

For parents of children with unique abilities, including autism, this bill would be a game changer. Amber Zollinger is one of those parents. She recalls her oldest child sobbing through testing, only to find out she didnt qualify for extra academic services at school because she wasnt bad enough. Now, years later, she is finally getting the academic support she needs through Step Up for Students, a state-run scholarship program intended to close educational gaps of marginalized students. Zollinger was able to enroll her child in a smaller, specialized academic program.

Schools as a whole have a lot of work to do for our kiddos with special needs, but being able to have the choice back then has made all the difference, Zollinger said. I am so appreciative that our local and state leaders are trying to make a difference.

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Florida House Speaker Paul Renner (RPalm Coast) is among those endorsing the bill, saying that it would empower parents and children to decide the education that meets their needs. Lower-income families would still have priority, but parents of children on the autism spectrum could explore educational options available at other schools, including private schools.

For the past eight years, Cape Coral-based Family Initiative has served as a resource and vocal advocate for children and families with autism, including more than 1,800 families in 2022 alone. Family Initiative was among the groups that participated in the development of HB 1 and our leadership, along with several families, helped launch the bill in Tallahassee. We are very grateful to representatives Persons-Mulicka and Roach for taking a lead and supporting the bill in its first subcommittee stop.

A singular approach to teaching and learning is not effective for all students. Children with autism dont learn in the same manner as their peers, and parents should be able to identify an environment that offers better opportunities to thrive academically. If that is a public school, great. If that is a private school, great. If that is home school, great.

HB 1 would provide funding that allows parents to customize their childs education and provide access to innovative education resources. Supporting school choice empowers parents, creates competition that drives schools to enhance academic programs, serves as a catalyst for innovation and raises the level of excellence in schools across Florida. That is exactly what every parent, taxpayer, employer and community member should want in an education system.

David Brown is the co-founder and president of Cape Coral-based Family Initiative, a nonprofit dedicated to supporting children and families with autism. Please visit FI-Florida.org for more information.

This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: Empower parents for a stronger community
The Daub family's home in York, Pennsylvania. Google Maps

A family of three was found shot dead in their Pennsylvania backyard last week.

Police are describing it as a suicide pact, citing handwritten documents left behind.

A family friend said they were conservative Christians who were "hell-bent" on Donald Trump winning in 2020.

A family of three from Pennsylvania was found shot dead in their backyard last week in what police are calling a suicide pact, according to NBC News.

Police discovered the bodies of Morgan Daub, 26, and her parents James Daub, 62, and Deborah Daub, 59, in York County, Pennsylvania, after neighbors requested a welfare check, NBC News reported.

The West Manchester Township Police Department said it appeared to be a "joint decision" to end their lives, citing notes found inside the family home, the news outlet said.

The police department added that it believes that Deborah Daub killed her husband, and was then killed by their daughter, who died by suicide, adding that there is no evidence that anybody else was involved, according to NBC News.

The lead detective in the case, Timothy Fink, told local media outlet York Dispatch that the department reached this conclusion from handwritten notes left behind by the family members, but added: "We may never know with certainty exactly who fired each shot."

An investigation into the deaths has concluded for now, Fink said, per York Dispatch.

According to those who knew the family, and who spoke to NBC News, they were Christian conservatives who were outspoken in their political beliefs.

Deborah Daub and her daughter were "huge" supporters of former President Donald Trump, said Bret Stabley, who knew the family as they frequented his store, per NBC News.

The family "was never shy about letting anybody know what their beliefs were," Stabley said, according to NBC News.

A neighbor, who asked to remain anonymous, told the media outlet that the family's front yard was "littered" with pro-Trump banners and, later, anti-abortion signs.

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Stabley told NBC News that Deborah Daub and her daughter were "hell-bent on Trump winning" the 2020 election, adding: "Like this could be the end if he doesn't."

He said he stopped seeing them after Trump's election loss.

Stabley also said that Morgan, the daughter, was "very meek," had been homeschooled, and often had her mother speak on her behalf, according to NBC News.

In an interview with The Christian Post, a childhood friend described Morgan as having grown up in a "very uptight Christian household," adding that she wasn't allowed to use social media, have a boyfriend, or go out with her friends.

The lead detective, Fink, also said that documents left behind at the family's home showed that Morgan had told her mother that she was having "auditory hallucinations" that weren't improving, per York Dispatch.

Read the original article on Business Insider
The treasures are amongst hundreds belonging to the legendary actor that are up for grabs.

A treasure trove of artifacts from the Golden Age of Hollywood is headed to auction.

Nearly 250 items from the property of legendary actor Gregory Peck and his wife, Veronique, will be offered via Heritage Auctions later this month. Highlights from the collection include a leather-bound, photo-filled To Kill a Mockingbird scriptfor which Peck won his first and only Oscarand a 35th-anniversary copy of the novel signed by its author, Harper Lee.

Heritage Auctions, HA.com

Peck, whom the American Film Institute named 12th-greatest male star of Classic Hollywood Cinema, is best known for playing Atticus Finch, the small-town Alabama lawyer tasked with proving the innocence of a Black man wrongly accused of rape. Generations of schoolchildren have watched the 1962 adaptation of To Kill a Mockingbird, which served as an introduction to Peck and the kinds of forthright, decent roles to which he was drawn.

Bettmann/Getty Images

My dad was exactly who you think he was, his son, Anthony Peck, said in a statement. Harper Lee once said the role of Atticus Finch gave Gregory Peck the chance to play himself. Because he was that man.

Many more of Pecks personalized book-bound screenplays are also part of the collection, including Roman Holiday, Duel in the Sun, Spellbound, Cape Fear, and The Omen. Also available are the poker table, chairs and chips given to the Pecks by Frank and Barbara Sinatra, who joined them for regular games. Theres even an embroidered needlepoint Harper Lee gave to Peck on his 71st birthday amongst the actors beloved keepsakes.

Heritage Auctions, HA.com

"Everything in this auction was chosen in the interest of supporting our fathers legacy and showing the kind of man he was, Anthony said in a statement. He was so true to himself. He didnt take a single job for the money. He did what he wanted to do and what interested himand, honestly, that was helping others.

Anthony and his siblings will donate a portion of the auctions proceeds to World Central Kitchen, a nonprofit organization founded by chef Jose Andres to feed those impacted by war, disaster, and tragedy.

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The auction launched on January 31 and runs through February 23. Visit HA.com for more information.



For more Southern Living news, make sure to sign up for our newsletter!

Read the original article on Southern Living.
WASHINGTON  Kentucky Rep. James Comer will lead the charge, in his new role as the head of an influential congressional committee, when the curtain goes up this week on House Republican investigations into President Joe Biden and his family  starting with a hearing Wednesday about how Twitter blocked messages about Hunter Bidens laptop.

The House Oversight and Accountability Committee hearing will open the panels door on investigations into Hunter Biden and potential attempts to influence his fathers politics through business deals in Ukraine or China, or through high-price sales of his own paintings.

Comer became Oversight chairman after his party won control of the House in November's election,

Were going to start with the hard drive because theres a lot of evidence on the hard drive that suggests Joe Biden knew very well what his family was involved in," he told reporters last month. "We want to make sure that our national security isnt compromised because China is an adversary right now."

More:Who is James Comer? What to know about 2023's House Oversight Committee chair

Joe Biden has denied discussing business or benefiting from his sons deals. Hunter Biden's lawyers have asked the Justice Department and Delaware attorney general to investigate the distribution of information from the laptop for possible criminal prosecution.

The Oversight hearing, coming the day after Bidens State of the Union speech, offers a showcase of Republican investigations into the Democratic president. But Democratic lawmakers blasted the inquiry as hyper-partisan conspiracy theories that have been debunked.

Heres what we know about the committee investigation so far:

Hunter Biden's laptop: What does it have to do with Trump, Giuliani and the 2020 election?

The laptop has become a focal point of Republican investigations because it contains a trove of documents and pictures of Hunter Biden.

A computer repairman, John Paul Mac Isaac, gave the laptop information to the FBI after Hunter Biden failed to pick up the MacBook Pro following repairs in April 2019. Mac Isaac later gave the laptop to former President Donald Trump's personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani. Giuliani gave the laptop to local police and shared the contents with reporters.

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The New York Post reported in October 2020  weeks before the presidential election  on emails about Hunter Biden's business dealings in Ukraine and possible links to his father.

The story described 2015 emails indicating then-Vice President Joe Biden met with a high-ranking official at Burisma Holdings, a Ukrainian energy company whose board employed Hunter Biden. The meeting would have come at a time when Biden was pressuring Ukraine to fire its prosecutor general, who was investigating the company Trump has criticized.

But Bidens campaign said, No meeting, as alleged by the New York Post, ever took place.

When Trump raised questions about the laptop at a presidential debate, Biden replied that it was Russian disinformation. The laptops legitimacy has since been confirmed by CBS News, but the contents remain under investigation.

More:Biden family hearings to begin Feb. 8 as House GOP probes Twitter, Hunter Biden laptop

Hunter Biden asks DOJ, Delaware attorney general to investigate distribution of laptop information

Hunter Bidens lawyers sent letters Wednesday asking the Justice Department and Delawares attorney general to investigate who accessed, copied and disseminated information from the laptop.

Abbe Lowell, one of Hunter Bidens lawyers, said the actions taken with the laptop more than merit a full investigation and, depending on the resulting facts, may merit prosecution under various statutes.

The committee seeks Treasury documents about 'suspicious' Hunter Biden banking transactions

The committee asked the Treasury Department for documents about 150 alerts from U.S. banks about suspicious transactions involving Hunter Biden and James Biden, the president's brother. The committee also asked the Prewitt Mahler Tucker Private Wealth Management Group about its management of Hunter Bidens finances including questionable business dealings.

The suspicious transaction reports dont necessarily flag wrongdoing because they generally cover transactions greater than $5,000 and the department received 3.6 million reports last year.

Comer said documents suggest Hunter Biden was paid $80,000 per month by Burisma and benefitted from a $5 million deal in China, which was wire-transferred through corporate intermediaries. Comer said he would like to find out what Hunter Biden provided in exchange.

Comer argued the payments were "influence peddling," and acknowledged there might be nothing to the suspicious reports, but he wants to review them.

Ian Sams, a White House spokesperson for oversight, called the request for banking records a political stunt driven by the most extreme members of the Republican conference.

More:'The Joe Biden investigation': What to expect from Jamie Comer as House Oversight chair

Joe Biden denies profiting from son

Joe Biden denied repeatedly he received any benefit from his sons business deals. Republicans questioned his truthfulness.

I have never spoken to my son about his overseas business dealings, Biden said in 2019.

But Comer labeled the claim false because of documentation of meetings from Hunter Bidens personal calendar and White House visitor records.

Joe Biden earlier denied receiving foreign payments during a 2020 presidential debate.

I have not taken a penny from any foreign source at any point in my life, Biden said.

The former vice president denied accusations from Trump about a secret bank account in China.

Hes talking about me taking money from China? Biden said of Trump. Ive not taken a penny from any country. Ever. Ever. Ever.

What do the Secret Service and FBI know?

The committee is also investigating how federal agencies such as the Secret Service and the FBI have dealt with Hunter Biden.

The panel asked who had access to Joe Bidens former office and his home, where classified documents from his time as vice president were discovered in November and December.

Ron Klain, Bidens chief of staff, told the panel the White House doesnt maintain visitor logs for the house. But the Secret Service generates law enforcement records for people who visit, so Comer asked the agency for those records from when Biden left the Obama administration in January 2017.

The committee asked the FBI for information about Hunter Biden's relationship with JiaQi "Jackie" Bao, whom lawmakers identified as having ties to the Chinese Communist Party. Bao helped Hunter Biden broker a 2017 deal for a U.S. purchase of liquefied natural gas through CEFC China Energy, according to the committee.

But the deal collapsed in 2019 when CEFC's leaders were arrested in the U.S. and charged with corruption for projects in Africa, according to the committee.

Previous Senate investigation found no evidence of wrongdoing

Republicans on a pair of Senate committees investigated the laptop and found in September 2020 no evidence of wrongdoing or corrupt actions by Joe Biden in connection with his sons dealings in Ukraine.

The 87-page report found Hunter Bidens role at the Ukrainian energy company Burisma problematic but said it was unclear whether he influenced U.S. foreign policy while Joe Biden was vice president.

But Republicans serving in the minoritydidnt have the authority to subpoena witnesses, which Comer now has.

Who is testifying from Twitter?

Republicans have accused social media companies such as Twitter of suppressing information about Hunter Bidens laptop in the weeks before the 2020 election.

Jack Dorsey, Twitters CEO at the time, said later that blocking the article with zero context was unacceptable.

The committee called former Twitter executives as witnesses for the hearing: Yoel Roth, former global head of trust and safety; Vijaya Gadde, former chief legal officer and James Baker, former general counsel.

Baker is a former general counsel for the FBI, an agency lawmakers accused of encouraging social media companies to suppress stories before the election because of concerns about hacking. Gadde explained at the time how Twitter revised its policy allowing tweets about the laptop after suppressing them for days.

Courier Journal reporter Morgan Watkins contributed to this article.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Ky. Rep. James Comer to lead House hearing on Hunter Biden's laptop
Fredericktown Fire Department responded to a call on Saturday at 11:35 a.m. for a residential fire located at 1861 Madison 212.

When crews arrived on the scene, the home was already fully engulfed in flames.

Fredericktown Fire Chief John Clark said the fire was caused by a space heater. He said multiple propane tanks located inside the home exploded.

Cherokee Pass Fire District were called in to help with water and man power. Crews remained on the scene for two hours.

No injuries were reported.

Clark said, during these last few cold months, it is important for homeowners to remember to heat their homes safely.

Space heaters may provide warmth and comfort, but they pose a serious fire hazard if not used correctly, Clark said. Always follow the manufacturers safety guidelines and keep heaters a safe distance from anything that can catch fire.
Liberian President William V.S. Tubman sits for a portrait while visiting Akron in 1954.

Star-spangled banners fluttered over Akron. Upon first glance, they looked like typical U.S. flags, but careful observers noticed subtle differences.

These flags had 11 red and white stripes instead of 13, and they featured a lone white star on the blue field in the corner.

Akron officials gave Liberian President William V.S. Tubman the red-carpet treatment when he arrived for a visit in 1954. After meeting with President Dwight D. Eisenhower in Washington, the 58-year-old West African leader embarked on a three-week tour with the Rubber City as his first major stop.

Local history:Akron landmarks in Black history

President Tubman, likable leader of the little Liberian Republic, came to town today and charmed his way into the hearts of all he met, the Beacon Journal reported.

Liberia maintained a special relationship with America. The republic was formed in the 1820s as a colony for formerly enslaved people and free-born Black people from the United States and Caribbean nations. It adopted English as its official language, named its capital city, Monrovia, for U.S. President James Monroe, based its constitution on the U.S. Constitution and patterned its flag after the U.S. emblem.

Liberian leader receives key to city

Akron Mayor Leo Berg and U.S. Rep. William H. Ayres led a local delegation of 100 community leaders as Tubmans train arrived at 8:40 a.m. Oct. 22 at Union Depot. U.S. Secret Service agents, uniformed police and plainclothes detectives provided security as Tubman stepped off the Pullman car.

A smiling Berg held a large ceremonial key to the city and asked if the president would please accept it.

With pleasure, Tubman replied.

Tubman noted that it was his third visit to the city. He had come to Akron in 1928 as a Liberian senator and returned in 1943 as president-elect.

Each time, the welcome becomes more hearty, he said.

Ayres greeted Tubman in the name of the people of Ohio.

The friendliest of relations always have existed between your state and my country, Tubman replied.

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Liberian President William V.S. Tubman accepts the key to the city from Akron Mayor Leo Berg and U.S. Rep. William H. Ayres at Union Depot in 1954. United Auto Workers-CIO representative William Fowler and Akron Assistant Law Director Rufus Thompson are next up in the receiving line.

Tubman felt a deep kinship with Akron. Liberian leaders credited Firestone Tire & Rubber Co. with saving the nation of 1 million from economic collapse.

In 1926, Harvey S. Firestone Jr. had approached Liberia about growing rubber, noting that its fertile soil and tropical climate were ideal. The Akron company lent $5 million to the nation to launch the industry.

By the early 1950s, the Firestone plantation in Liberia was the largest in the world, covering 90,000 acres with 10 million rubber trees producing 72 million pounds of rubber per year. With 30,000 Liberians working for the company, Firestone had become the nations largest private employer.

Your state has done great things for my country, Tubman said.

Reporters flock to Mayflower Hotel

A six-limousine caravan whisked him to the Mayflower Hotel, which was decked out in American and Liberian flags.

Tubman freshened up in the presidential suite on the 16th floor, changed into a blue suit, dined on scrambled eggs, ham, sausage, toast and coffee, smoked a cigar and welcomed reporters for a news conference.

Gentlemen, I am at your disposal, he said.

The only thing more important than the press of this country is the Congress of the United States.

Tubman fielded questions about international relations, U.S. policies and racial tensions in Africa. A reporter asked him if he was concerned about the spread of communism in his nation.

There is such unification in my country that there is hardly any possibility for communism or any ism to find a foothold or to prosper, Tubman said.

Harvey S. Firestone Jr., chairman of Firestone Tire & Rubber Co., leads Liberian President William V.S. Tubman on a tour of the company in 1954.

The Liberian leader returned to the caravan for a tour of the city. He viewed the Elizabeth Park housing project, the new Akron Expressway, Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co., Akron Municipal Airport, the Rubber Bowl and Derby Downs before stopping at Plant 2 of Firestone.

Firestone Jr. led Tubman on a tour that included newly arrived rubber from Liberia, scientific advancements at the research center and the Harvey S. Firestone Memorial.

Honorary degree at University of Akron

Tubman next traveled to the University of Akrons new Memorial Hall, where President Norman P. Auburn presided over a special convocation attended by 1,500 people.

Firestone President Lee R. Jackson, chairman of the universitys board of directors, introduced the Liberian president, saying the ties of friendship between his country and ours have been strong for more than a century  these bonds have grown stronger with the passing of the years.

Auburn honored Tubman for his dedication to the advancement of your nation and to the well being of your people.

Liberal Arts College Dean Ernest H. Cherrington Jr. conferred an honorary doctor of laws degree upon the statesman.

Firestone Tire and Rubber Co. Chairman Harvey Firestone Jr. chats with Liberian President William V.S. Tubman and Liberian Ambassador C.L. Simpson in Akron in 1954.

Liberian Ambassador C.L. Simpson joined Tubman for a reception at the Akron Community Service Center. Attorney W. Howard Fort, president of the center, and Hugh Colopy, president of the Akron Bar Association, welcomed Tubman and presented him with a lifetime membership to the center.

Tubman shook hands and greeted all he met with a smile.

Gala dinner for President Tubman

That evening, Firestone hosted a gala dinner in the Terrace Room of the Mayflower Hotel. Ohio Gov. Frank Lausche was among 130 invited dignitaries. The Beacon Journal called it probably the most elaborate dinner in Akrons history.

The engraved menu featured seven courses: Persian Caviar and the Fruits of the Seas and Lakes, Essence of Truffles Consomme and Cheese Sticks, Terrapin a la Maryland, Filet Mignon Henry IV with Bearnaise Sauce, Braised Belgian Endives and Parisienne Potatoes, Lime Sherbet, Hearts of Palms Vinaigrette and Coupe Mayflower, Petit Fours and Sugar Fruits.

Five wines were served: Harveys Bristol Fino Sherry, Neuchatel 1950, Chateau Margaux 1949, and Moet and Chandon 1943 champagne.

Afterward, waiters served liqueurs, Haitian coffee and Havana cigars.

In a tribute speech, Firestone Jr. saluted Tubman for modernizing Liberia through improvements in infrastructure, education, health care and sanitation.

Liberian President William V.S. Tubman and Harvey Firestone Jr. hold a tire before the curing process in 1954 at Firestone Tire and Rubber Co. in Akron.

To all these achievements on a national level, he has added another of vital importance in the international political sphere, Firestone said. This has greatly increased the stature of Liberia among liberty-loving nations.

He praised Tubman for being extremely vigilant in guarding against the infiltration of evil influences.

In return, Tubman praised Firestone for playing an incomparable role in the economic and social development of Liberia and in further strengthening of mutual friendship between the United States and Liberia.

Eternally indebted to Akron

The West African leader left Akron after midnight on a train bound for Chicago, where he planned to meet former Illinois Gov. Adlai Stevenson and place a wreath on the grave of President Abraham Lincoln.

I feel eternally indebted to the people of Ohio, particularly Akron and Harvey S. Firestone Jr., for the warmth of their reception, Tubman said before departing.

That warm relationship continued for the rest of his life.

Liberian President William V.S. Tubman enjoys a cigar during his 1954 visit to Akron.

President of Liberia for a record 27 years, Tubman was 75 when he died unexpectedly July 23, 1971, in London following complications from surgery. His body was flown to Monrovia aboard Queen Elizabeth IIs jet.

President Tubmans sudden and untimely passing is a great loss to his family, to his nation and mankind, eulogized Raymond C. Firestone, chairman and chief executive officer of Firestone Tire & Rubber Co.

Over the years, we have known him as a dedicated leader of his people who worked zealously to achieve stability and peace in his country and in the world.

As a world statesman and as president of Liberia, he devoted his life to the betterment of his fellow man and his beloved Liberian people.

He will be mourned as a world leader and a dedicated human being, but most of all, I shall miss him as a man. It was a privilege and an honor to call him a friend.

The Liberian flag was flown at half-staff at Akron rubber companies.

Mark J. Price can be reached at mprice@thebeaconjournal.com.

Local history:101 trailblazers who achieved famous firsts in Akron Black history

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Local history: Hello, Mr. President! Liberian leader toured Akron
Microsoft Activision Deal Expected to Be Opposed by UK Too (Updated)

Update:

Microsoft has reached out to PlayStation LifeStyle via its PR agency to state that it does not believe that the Activision Blizzard deal will be blocked in the U.K. Microsoft believes that it has a strong case for the acquisition.

Original story:

A new report claims that the Microsoft Activision deal is expected to be officially opposed by U.K. regulator Competition and Markets Authority (CMA). The New York Times claims to have been told by sources familiar with the matter that Microsoft itself expects the acquisition to be opposed by the CMA.

Microsoft Activision deal recently received letter of objections from EU

Following weeks of rumors, Microsoft received a formal letter of objections over the proposed acquisition by E.U. regulator last week. The list of objections have yet to be made public but concerns about the move being anti-competitive are uniform across the board.

According to The New York Times, Microsoft believes that the European Commission is open to concessions, and hopes that itll convince both CMA and EC to accept the concessions and approve the deal. This, in turn, will make it easy for Microsoft to fight off U.S. regulator Federal Trade Commission, which sued to block the acquisition back in December.

Conversely, should the acquisition be blocked by either one of the aforementioned regulators, the Microsoft Activision deal will essentially be doomed. As pointed out by experts, the agencies could also put pressure on one another to oppose the deal.

The post Microsoft Activision Deal Expected to Be Opposed by UK Too (Updated) appeared first on PlayStation LifeStyle.
At 2 p.m. Feb. 6, the Shreveport Police Department announced that Officer Alexander Tyler, 23, was placed on administrative leave following a fatal shooting that occurred on Feb. 3.

On Friday, Alonzo Sentell Bagley, 43, died at Ochsner LSU Health around 11:30 p.m. following a confrontation with Tyler.

Bagley was fatally shot during the confrontation that occurred at an apartment complex in the 1600 block of Fullerton Street.

SPD said that Tyler was hired by department in May of 2021.

The investigation into this incident has been turned over to the Louisiana State Police. A press conference will be held by LSP Monday afternoon.

Makenzie Boucher is a reporter with the Shreveport Times. Contact her at mboucher@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Shreveport Times: Officer involved in Friday shooting identified by SPD
Private Function Granted an Exemption to Sell Their New Scratchable Album in South Australia

Melbourne pub-punks Private Function recently announced that the first 3000 vinyl pressings of their new album, 370HSSV 0773H, would feature a scratchable cover. Three Australiana-themed icons will be hidden under the scratch panels, and one of the 3000 copies will feature three identical icons.

Private Function will reward whoever gets their hands on that copy with a signed test pressing of the album, $2999 in cash, and print that persons face onto every album pressing thereafter. However, due to South Australias Lotteries Act, the band were sorry to report that the scratchable cover wouldnt be available in the state.

South Australia gives Private Function the all clear

South Australias Liquor and Gambling Commissioner Dini Soulio was asked about the 370HSSV 0773H ban by Adelaide paper The Advertiser. There are strict requirements under the Lotteries Act in South Australia for anyone wanting to offer any form of instant win scratchie promotion to ensure consumers are protected, he said.

However, Soulio was optimistic that a practical solution could be found. A few phone calls later, and Private Function were granted an exemption by the SA commissioner, allowing them to sell and distribute the scratchable album covers in South Australia.

Soulio explained the decision in an interview with ABC Radio Adelaide. The idea that someone is going to become addicted to scratchies by buying multiple albums is probably not a high risk from my point of view, the commissioner said.

The band responded to the news with typical, tongue-in-cheek hyperbole: Today is a great day for rock and roll. We thank the South Australian government for working with us and allowing the sales of our new record in your fine state. In an era of political uncertainty, one thing is certain  rock and roll will always prevail.

370HSSV 0773H will arrive on Friday, 31st March. Pre-orders are open now.

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Further Reading

Private Function to Release New Album as LP-Sized Scratchie

Lineup Announced for Boogie 2023: Private Function, Surprise Chef, Phil Jamieson and More

Knotfest Australia Sideshows Announced for Megadeth, Trivium, Spiritbox and More

The post Private Function Granted an Exemption to Sell Their New Scratchable Album in South Australia appeared first on Music Feeds.
Report: Internal Reaction To AEW House Shows

AEW announced that the company will start holding house shows, and the internal reaction has reportedly been positive.

The company previously held The House Always Wins, its first non-televised live event, on April 9, 2021. AEW will kick off its House Rules series of non-televised live events with a show on March 18 in Troy, Ohio.

According to Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful Select, several talent they knew something like the House Rules series was coming, and one indicated that some wrestlers have pushed for it. Per one source, they would prefer to work for AEW and get reps in there rather than elsewhere. One source also shared their belief that the house shows will benefit the younger and/or more inexperienced talent, and having these live events could help them grow. The source noted that being able to have longer matches at the live events, as opposed to typically short matches on AEW, will help them.

Sapp also noted that the talent expected the house shows to be filmed, which is the usual procedure for major companies, but its unclear whether they will be aired in some capacity.

WrestleZone will provide more information as it becomes available.

RELATED: Chris Jericho Hopes AEW Re-Signs Brian Cage: He Is One Of A Kind

The post Report: Internal Reaction To AEW House Shows appeared first on Wrestlezone.
Tay Melo: Going To Japan Has Been A Dream For A Long Time, I'm Waiting For The Opportunity

Photo Credit: All Elite Wrestling

Tay Melo is interested in going to Japan to train.

Melo signed with WWE in 2016, and she worked for the company until 2020, when she was released in a wave of cuts. She then started competing for AEW in August 202, and she signed with the company he next month. Melo has been a featured member of the roster ever since. Among other highlights, she joined the Jericho Appreciation Society in 2022.

The AEW star recently spoke with Dark Puroresu Flowsion, and in one highlight, she was asked whether she would be interested in going to Japan to train.

Going to Japan has been a dream for a long time, even before wrestling. I know that Ill learn a lot and it can change my career for the better. I remember training with Meiko Satomura for a little bit in NXT. I asked her to help me with my kicks and the way she teaches, the way she moves is everything, I just loved it. I had the pleasure to work with Kairi, Io Shirai, and Shida, and man I always learned a lot from them and had so much fun. Its truly the style I love and feel comfortable [with]. Im super open to going to Japan, I really want to go. Im waiting for the opportunity.

Melo hasnt wrestled since the January 13 episode of AEW Rampage, where she and Anna Jay lost to Ruby Soho and Willow Nightingale in a Street Fight.

The post Tay Melo: Going To Japan Has Been A Dream For A Long Time, Im Waiting For The Opportunity appeared first on Wrestlezone.
If you're gonna put a ring on it, these are the way to go.

Though engagement rings tend to get all the shiny attention, wedding bands are an important symbol of love and commitment that have been worn for centuries beginning in ancient Egypt and Greece. The simple band represents eternity and infinity, and the styles available nowplatinum to rose gold, simple to adorned, classic to mysticalare as beautiful and varied as the person wearing it. If you are looking for a wedding band for a soon-to-be-bride, we found a lovely variety of styles and prices to fit your needs so scroll on and have fun.

Here at Parade.com, we're all about sharing products we love with our audience. When you make a purchase on an item seen on this page, we may earn a commission, however, all picks are independently chosen unless otherwise mentioned.

31 Best Women's Wedding Bands

Known for it's sparkle, this total one carat diamond band checks the boxes of quality and style. The Leo One-Carat Round-Cut 14k White Gold Band, $2639.99 ay Kay Jewelers

Available in both platinum and 14k yellow gold, we love the understated sophistication of this band. Zac Zac Posen East West Single Baguette Diamond Ring, $1,592 at Blue Nile

This deconstructed diamond band looks dainty on the finger or beautiful when stacked with your engagement ring. Laurie Fleming Daphne Band, $825 at Catbird

The brilliance of the 0.25 total carat weight of the diamonds pop against the brown, creating a truly dazzling band. Boucheron 18k White, Rose, and Yellow Gold & Diamond Wedding Band, $5,250 at Saks Fifth Avenue

Available in yellow, rose and white gold, this rugged unisex band also comes in different widths, so you can choose your preference. Bittersweets NY Cowboy Hammered Gold Wedding Band, $2,175 at Catbird

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We're obsessed with this "hidden rainbow" band that features multi-colored sapphires to a gorgeous effect. Engraving is available. Hidden Rainbow Natural Sapphire & 14k Two-Tone Gold Wedding Band, $1,625 at Shane Co.

Black diamonds in rhodium-plated 18k gold make this sleek band beautiful and edgy. Sethi Couture Black Diamond Bezel Band Ring, $1,300 at Nordstrom

After Kate Middleton, the Princess of Wales, received her sapphire engagement ring from Prince William, sales of sapphire rings went through the roof. Ever stylish, we love the bursts of color in this pretty band. Whimsy Classic Natural Sapphire and Diamond Wedding Band, $755 at Shane Co.

This made-to-order ornate basket-weave band comes in both white and yellow gold. Bella Vaughan Basket Weave Diamond Eternity Ring, $3,990 at Blue Nile

With hundreds of five-star reviews, this classic band from Blue Nile comes in six different metals and colors and is a steal coming in around $300. Blue Nile Classic Wedding Ring $312 at Blue Nile

This classic band is set with a variety of stones. They include citrine, turquoise, emerald, ruby, sapphire and diamonds that are black, yellow and white. It is groovy in all the right ways. Leo Black The Mystical Eternity Band, $1,500 at Catbird

Created and designed in Los Angeles by a husband and wife team, the rose cut diamond set in rose gold band is exudes one of a kind love. Sirciam Rose Cut Diamond Eternity Band. $1,760 at Anthropologie

The butterfly motif of this diamond and gold band is enchanting. Monique Lhuillier Bliss Diamond One Carat Marquise, Pear, & Round-Cut 18k Gold, $2,799.99 at Kay Jewelers

This dainty art-deco ring looks lovely alone or stacked with other rings. Sethi Couture Art Deco Diamond Band Ring, $2,640 at Nordstrom

Not only are these natural rubies ravishing, there are also untreated and the "hardest gemstone on earth" making them super durable and ideal for everyday wear. Venus Natural Ruby & Diamond Wedding Band in 14k Gold, $825 at Shane Co.

Handmade in New York, there is something raw and pure about this braided ring. Satomi Kawakita Braided Ring, $413 at Catbird

Ying and yang, day and night, this striking sapphire and diamond ring symbolizes our favorite pairings. Erstwhile Day and Night Diamond and Sapphire Band, $4,250 at Catbird

Not only is this gold vermeil and pave diamond band lovely and affordable, it's made with sustainably-sourced materials. Monica Vinader Diamond Eternity Band, $450 at Nordstrom

Designed by famed jeweler Neil Lane, this rose-gold stunner features baguette diamonds and carved details. Neil Lane 1/3 Carat Diamond & Rose Gold Wedding Band. $1,189 at Kay Jewelers

Available in rose, white and yellow gold along with platinum, this twisted diamond eternity band is elegant and affordable. Blue Nile Petite Twist Diamond Eternity Ring, $553 at Blue Nile

This art deco stunner beauty in rose, white, and yellow gold and comes with arresting black diamonds as well. Art Deco Natural Diamond Contour Wedding Band, $1,625 at Shane Co.

This handmade in New York band is perfect to show your love to the moon and back. Anthony Lent Crescent Moonface Ring With Diamond Eyes, $1,500 at Catbird

This simple and lovely band comes in four metal options. Beckett Bezel-Set Natural Diamond Wedding Band, $685 at Shane Co.

There's something so whimsical and innocent about this heart band from James Avery. James Avery 14k Two Hearts Together Ring, $220 at Dillard's

Turn heads with this breathtaking triple row diamond and sapphire ring. Triple Row Sapphire and Diamond Ring, $1,494 at Blue Nile

Made in Italy, this mod band made with pink gold demands attention. Repossi Berbere Pink Gold Wedding Band, $650 at Saks Fifth Avenue

This polished ring that comes in rose and yellow gold is an edgy twist on a classic band. Fringe Contour Wedding Band, $365 at Shane Co.

This exquisite peacock feather ring is heirloom quality. Boucheron Plume de Paon 18k White Gold & Diamond Peacock Feather Ring, $6,300 at Saks Fifth Avenue

We love the minimalist silhouette of this gold and diamond band. John Hardy Bamboo Gold Diamond Pave Slim Band Ring, $1,295 at Nordstrom

Inspired by a 15th century Roman ring of two hands clasped in "agreement," this artsy ring affirms your "I do!" Catbird Wedding Pas de Deux Ring, $410 at Catbird

Playful yet elegant, this band is a reminder to always keep your love fun. Erstwhile Twisted Diamond & 18k Yellow Gold Band, $3,500 at Catbird
Getty Images

Early Monday morning, a 7.8-magnitude earthquake struck Turkey and Syria. Millions of people across the two countriesas well as in Lebanon, Cyprus, and Israelfelt the impact of the quake, and dozens of aftershocks have occurred since, including another 7.5-magnitude earthquake in southeastern Turkey on Monday afternoon. So far, more than 1,800 people are confirmed to have died and more than 7,600 people have been injured, per the Washington Post.

According to the BBC, the earthquake happened in a region of instability called the East Anatolian fault. A fault is a crack in the Earths crust that can move over time, causing earthquakes. Back in 1882, a 7.4-magnitude quake on the fault caused immense damage to towns in the area and claimed the lives of at least 7,000 people. Per the BBC, Damaging aftershocks continued for nearly a year after the earthquake, too.

As for Monday mornings earthquake, a rescue operation is currently underway across much of southern Turkey and northern Syria. As the recovery efforts continue, heres how you can help support the victims of this disaster.

Getty Images

Donate to the Union of Medical Care and Relief Organizations.

The Union of Medical Care and Relief Organizationswhich has provided relief and medical care to victims of war in Syria since 2012has put out an urgent call to the international community to release emergency funds to provide aid and rescue resources immediately. In a statement, the UOSSM said its hospitals and medical facilities are overwhelmed and will need support to ensure lives are saved during this crisis.

Donate to the UOSSM here.

Donate to the International Blue Crescent Relief and Development Foundation.

The International Blue Crescent Relief and Development Foundation has offices across the affected region and is currently assisting local authorities in their efforts, per the Seattle Times.

In a public appeal, the IBC stated that its urgent needs include tents, heaters for tents, blankets, thermal clothes, ready-to-eat food, and basic first aid kits.

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For more information on the IBCs work and how to donate, head to the IBC website.

Share information from reputable sources.



During a disaster like this, misinformation can spread quickly, especially on social media, so make sure youre getting your information from reputable sources. Although social media can play a great part when it comes to raising awareness, its vital to fact check what youve seen online, particularly if youre considering donating money and want to ensure your funds are going to the right place.

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As mayonnaise prices continue to rise, shoppers are asking which mayo substitutes to add to their grocery carts. (Photos: Getty; illustration by Liliana Penagos)

When Hellmann's announced it was discontinuing sales of mayonnaise in South Africa due to rising costs, many Americans wondered if the days of mayonnaise were also numbered in the U.S.

For some, panic set in. "I can't fathom a mayo-less USA," says recipe developer and bar owner Paul Kushner. "The horror!"

Fortunately, Americans can breathe a sigh of relief. "There's no change to Hellmann's mayonnaise in the U.S., Canada and other countries across the globe," a spokesperson for the brand reassures Yahoo Life. In fact, Hellmann's recent investment in a commercial featuring Jon Hamm and Brie Larson, slated to debut during Super Bowl LVII, provides reassurance that the iconic mayonnaise is here to stay.

Still, the announcement has some wondering if there are alternatives to the popular condiment, just in case rising costs mean the end of mayonnaise on supermarket shelves. Even if mayonnaise does stay widely available, rising prices are making some think twice about grabbing a jar. Due to rising egg and soybean costs, the price of mayonnaise has risen an incredible 18% over the past year and Kusher says rising mayo prices "seem to have no end in sight."

Mayo fam, fear not Hellmanns mayo is widely available in the U.S. and elsewhere around the world, just sadly not in South Africa until further notice. That means theres still time to stock up before your Big Game party next Sunday!  Hellmann's (@Hellmanns) February 1, 2023

The good news is homemade mayonnaise is very easy to make  at a fraction of the cost of store-bought spreads. Plus, there are mayo alternatives, like avocado on sandwiches or Greek yogurt in tuna salad. Some recipe developers, like Aubrey Babb, think these mayonnaise-free options are "great substitutes" and "arguably even better" than the real thing.

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But Kusher cautions while "these substitutes all taste great  and some even have a healthier macronutrient profile than mayo  they do not taste like mayo." That means anyone using a mayo substitute should expect their dish to have a different flavor profile.

Babb says "the more ingredients in the recipe, the easier a swap is to hide," noting those with a more "discerning palate" may notice the change more easily. But don't shy away from giving it a try. Many substitutes are really close, while others may end up being a favorite condiment that's more affordable or healthier than mayo.

The mayo substitute you choose depends on the dish. A great mayo substitute for sandwiches, for example, probably won't work as well as a substitute in pasta salad.

Sandwiches: Try avocado or aioli on sandwiches instead of mayonnaise. "If you've never had a tuna sandwich with avocado  please go try it," says food blogger Jenna Dziak. "I love it with lots of salt and pepper and some vinegary hot sauce, too."

Aioli, which is simply olive oil and garlic emulsified to make a thick, creamy sauce can "really bring out the flavor of your sandwich ingredients," says Dziak. To make aioli, all you need is a mortar and a pestle. "Pound a couple garlic cloves into a paste and then start adding olive oil into it very slowly until you get an incredible, thick sauce," Dziak explains.

Chef and food scientist Michael Murdy also recommends "Greek yogurt with chopped herbs such as dill, parsley and chives" on sandwiches. He explains "this combination adds a light, creamy texture and a hint of freshness." Mustard and hummus can also easily be swapped for mayo on sandwiches, with no special prep required.

Deviled eggs: Even deviled eggs can be made without mayonnaise. Food blogger Pamela Reed recommends mixing ranch dressing and cream cheese together along with paprika, dill relish and salt, to create deviled eggs so good you won't miss the mayo.

Potato salad: Potato salad without mayonnaise can still be delicious. Reed recommends skipping the mayo and using ranch salad dressing instead.

Pasta salad: According to Kushner, the best substitutes for mayo in pasta salad are "sour cream or tahini, blended with a smidge of ice water to create a creamy dressing." Because sour cream and tahini both have strong tastes, Kushner recommends adding seasonings typically found in mayonnaise, like mustard powder and salt, or adding a splash of Worcestershire sauce.

Tuna salad: Kitchen blogger Claire Onidi recommends substituting sour cream or Greek yogurt for mayonnaise in tuna salads. "Both are tangy like mayonnaise and thick and creamy enough to bind the salad together," she says.

All-purpose substitutes: "It seems ridiculous to say that cashews taste like mayonnaise, but somehow, it's accurate," says chef Robert Jit. He recommends making a cashew cream to use as a substitute for mayo for almost any purpose. "[Cashews] have a strong mayonnaise flavor after being blended with water and a pinch of salt," he says, adding that cashew cream may be a little thicker than mayonnaise, but "has a texture comparable to mayo."

Chef and food blogger Amy Smith also likes cashew cream as a mayonnaise substitute. To make cashew cream, Smith recommends soaking cashews overnight and blending them into a "smooth cream." Then, add some lemon juice or apple cider vinegar to give cashew cream a little more zing. Vegan mayo is another good all-purpose mayo substitute Smith describes as "pretty damn close" to the real thing.

Prefer to make your own mayonnaise at home? Babb shares her recipe with Yahoo Life.

Aubrey's Kitchen Homemade Mayonnaise (with flavor variations)

Courtesy of Aubrey Babb

(Photo: Aubrey Babb)

Equipment:

1 immersion blender or food processor

Ingredients:

1 whole egg (room temperature)

2 teaspoons lemon juice

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

 teaspoon kosher salt

 cup neutral oil (canola, grapeseed, safflower)

Instructions:

In food processor or jar (immersion blender), add egg and blend thoroughly for at least 30 seconds. Be sure the blade is touching the ingredients otherwise it will not properly emulsify. Add lemon juice, Dijon mustard and salt. Continue to blend for another 30-60 seconds. Scrape the sides of the food processor or jar. Start to slowly add the oil, a few drops at a time, blending between each addition. Be very patient at the start as you need your mixture to emulsify and you do not want your mayonnaise to break. Continue slowly until you have added about  cup of oil. Once the mixture begins to thicken, you can increase to a thin stream of oil until the remaining oil has been added. If the mixture gets too thick, add a teaspoon of water if needed. Add any additional salt, lemon juice or mustard to your taste.

Mayonnaise-making tips:

Be sure that your blade touches the ingredients. If you are making a single batch, if the container is too wide and doesn't touch the starting ingredients (before you start adding oil), you will have trouble with the emulsification process.

Go slow. If you add the oil too quickly your mayonnaise will not emulsify and you will be left with a soupy frustrating mess.

Whisk method: Follow the mayo recipe instructions except you will use a small bowl.

Flavor variations:

Roasted garlic: Add some delicious roasted garlic for a creamy garlic mayo. If you are a garlic person, be sure to measure with your heart.

Chipotle: Blend your mayo with some canned chipotle peppers for a smoky flavor explosion.

Curry: Add a sprinkle of curry powder or masala for a delicious Indian-inspired flair.

Spicy mayo: Drizzle in some sriracha or chili crisp to up your spicy heat flavor bomb.

Honey mustard: If you dig a sweet and savory combo, this is the way. Add a drizzle of honey and some yellow mustard.

Wellness, parenting, body image and more: Get to know the who behind the hoo with Yahoo Lifes newsletter. Sign up here.
Travelers must book by the end of Monday.

AaronP/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images

JetBlue is turning 23 and is celebrating with huge savings, one for each day this week.

The airline will kick things off Monday with a one-day-only fare sale with one-way tickets starting at just $49, the airline shared with Travel + Leisure. To take advantage, travelers must book on Monday for travel from March 1 through April 26 on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.

The tickets are nonrefundable, but do include government taxes and fees.

Travelers can fly from New York to Charlotte, Fort Lauderdale to New Orleans, or Savannah to New York all starting at just $49 one-way.

The sale is valid across much of JetBlues network, including some Caribbean routes, but is not valid on flights to London. The airline, which started flying to London in August 2021, plans to also launch flights to Paris starting this summer.

Beyond Mondays savings, JetBlue will release a new deal each day this week as part of the birthday festivities.

Travelers who book a Blue, Blue Basic, or Blue Extra fare must pay $35 for a checked bag and $45 for a second one. Customers who book a Blue Basic fare are not permitted to bring a carry-on bag unless they are members of JetBlues elite Mosaic loyalty program, which the company recently overhauled for this year.

The new loyalty program changes, which are expected to be implemented in the spring, will utilize a tile system to measure a customers progress toward Mosaic status and allow customers to choose a reward for every 10 tiles they earn through the companys Perks You Pick. These perks will include everything from access to an expedited security lane to an onboard alcoholic drink, a one-time 2X points bonus on a JetBlue Vacations package, and more.

Most JetBlue flights include the companys signature amenities like unlimited free high-speed Wi-Fi and live TV channels.

Last week, JetBlue also expanded its booking services to all travelers, regardless of if they booked a JetBlue flight or not, allowing customers to use its booking platform Paisly and earn TrueBlue points when they reserve cars, accommodations, and activities.

For more Travel & Leisure news, make sure to sign up for our newsletter!

Read the original article on Travel & Leisure.
For the first time in SI Swimsuit history, live content will be released from a photo shoot.

Hailey Clauson, Katie Austin, Brooks Nader and Camille Kostek. SI Staff

Breaking news! For the first time in its history, SI Swimsuit is releasing real-time content from a photo shoot. The team is down in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, at the new SI Resorts property, one of the largest and most exclusive resort developments in the Western Hemisphere. Follow our social media channels for behind-the-scenes sneak peeks.

Katie Austin, a 2021 Swim Search co-winner and 2022 co-Rookie of the Year, has returned for her third year in the magazine. Other models at the shoot include Brooks Nader (fifth year), Camille Kostek (sixth year), and Hailey Clauson (seventh year). Kostek and Clauson are both former cover models as well.

Austin shared her excitement about the real-time content release saying, "Wow! Sharing this in real-time with everyone is genius. I'm thrilled that you can all be a part of the experience and see the behind-the-scenes content.

Follow along on our social media channels so you don't miss out on the daily updates, sneak peeks and laughs from the beautiful Dominican Republic.
People in Pakistan can once again use Wikipedia , three days after the country blocked the website over content that regulators deemed "sacrilegious." As TechCrunch notes, prime minister Shehbaz Sharif ordered officials to unblock Wikipedia after determining that the ban was not a suitable measure to restrict access to some objectionable contents/sacrilegious matter on it. Sharif's office said in a statement that the "unintended consequences of this blanket ban" outweighed the "benefits."

The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) "degraded" access to Wikipedia last Wednesday, warning the site's operators that they had 48 hours to remove certain content or face repercussions. Wikipedia apparently demurred and the PTA blocked the site in Pakistan on Friday.

Meanwhile, Sharif is establishing a cabinet committee to "explore and recommend alternative technical measures for removal or blocking access to objectionable content posted on Wikipedia and other online information sites, in view of our social, cultural and religious sensitivities, on the touchstone of proportionality." The committee is also being tasked with offering other suggestions aimed at "controlling unlawful content in a balanced manner."

Sharif asked the committee to provide the cabinet with recommendations within one week. That doesn't give the committee members much time to fully assess and analyze the many, many considerations that go into content moderation.
The actress posted a photo on social media from when she was 14 years old.

Sofia Vergara was clearly feeling nostalgia for her younger years when she shared a major throwback photo on Instagram.

The 50-year-old posted a picture of herself when she was just a teenager, wearing elaborate earrings and a little makeup, posing while looking off to the side.

Vergara shared a little background of the photo in the caption, but not much, simply writing, "#tbt barranquilla #the80s #14yrs."

Based on that, it's likely that the photo was taken in Barranquilla, Colombia, where she grew up, when she was 14 years old. The actress was born in 1972, so this was likely shot sometime in 1986. Vergara began modeling and acting at a very young age, so it's possible that this was an early job.

Either way, one thing is for certain: Vergara looks exactly the same now. Comparing the throwback photo to Vergara today, not much has changed, and she still looks beautiful and youthful.

Many of her social media followers had similar thoughts, with one commenting, "Still the same ."

"Adorable to gorgeous " said another.

One person was simply amazed that Vergara still had such an old photo, writing, "This photo must be 30 years old!"

Vergara first started gaining attention for her on-screen talent at the age of 22 after she moved to Miami, Florida.

She told Variety of her struggles finding a manager, "I was very young when I signed my first contract, and I did it myself. I needed a manager, and that didnt exist for a Latina personality. It existed for Latina musicians, but not on TV.

But Vergara persevered, and thanks to her success with Modern Family and other projects, Forbes listed her as the highest-paid female actor in the world for seven years.

Still, the 50-year-old is proud of her past and growing up in Colombia, and she often shares bits and pieces with her fans, including throwback photos like this.
Ledger Columnist Bruce Anderson in Lakeland Fl Thursday December 22,2022.Ernst Peters/The Ledger

When Florida HB1467 passed in 2022, most of us were unaware of its far-reaching and potentially damaging eccentricity.

Among other things, according to state Rep. Anna Eskamani, the bill [requires that] all books  be inventoried into an online database where anyone  in the world  can contest to remove books. Even folks who dont live in FL or have kids in the school district can try to remove  books.  [t]he bill was then expanded by the Board of Education to be enforced, not just on school libraries, but on classroom libraries too.

Eskamani is horrified, of course, and has posted all this to remind people that elections have consequences and that folks should get out and vote. Im sympathetic and think voting is a good thing - particularly in voting for those who know how to write an airtight bill, as opposed to the nitwits who authored this thing.

Bad as this bill is, where others see oppression, I see opportunity.

I know how to use the inter-web. so I feel particularly empowered to take charge, in my own little citizens way, and partake in the merriment of the book ban fad. Why should the responsible types have all the fun? I have my own list of books no child should ever see, and I see no reason why I should not exercise my own fine-honed preferences. After all, blotting out things based on your own silly opinions  and skirting annoying and bothersome hurdles like reason, taste, history and good sense  is a wonderful tradition in public service running all the way back to the Roman statesman Marcus Porcius Cato (234149 BC). What was good enough for Cato the Censor should be good enough for me.

Lets ignore ideological toxins. I have bigger fish to fry. There are other, more polluting things out there between the bookends that pose an even greater threat. I nominate all the Twilight books  not for their demonic content, but because they are demonically, turgidly, unrelentingly boring in a way only Beelzebub himself would approve.

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Anything Disney has to go. They are lurid and stupidly commercial as a genre, but particularly annoying are any of them that purport to draw on the classical Greek myths.

Students should be forced to read Robert Graves. Id dump all of Willa Cather on general principles. The Yearling and The Red Badge of Courage have to go (both were memorized by generations  its time to find something else) and lets rid ourselves of any Dickens that has snuck in. I was made to read Great Expectations as a child, myself, and still suffer from the trauma. Conrad (the horror, the horror!) would be Out. James Joyce? Out. Too confusing, even for high schoolers. And Moby Dick. Please. The legions of kids that have had to sort out Ahabs weirdness is legendary.

Before I am misunderstood, let me make it crystal clear that I believe that parents should have an absolute right to control the stuff their kids are reading. Im radical enough to think having textbook committees is a very good idea, since I know the only people likely to be willing to serve on them are people actually dedicated to their childrens education. I am also a believer in exterior review of books for the libraries  even classroom libraries. I very much like the way Polk Countys School Board is vetting books. That method could become a standard model for the rest of the state.

But having this process open to all lets in a potential flood of idiocy that Im not willing to work with. Leaving it up to the random internet users as to which books may be offered in schools is a bad thing. It conjures up visions of crabby, childless old men, bent over a computer screen deciding what is or is not appropriate for someone elses kids.

There are things that should be left to the parents, and this is one of them.

Bruce Anderson is the Dr. Sarah D. and L. Kirk McKay Jr. Endowed Chair in American History, Government, and Civics and Miller Distinguished Professor of Political Science at Florida Southern College. He is also a columnist for The Ledger.

This article originally appeared on The Ledger: The book ban bandwagon: Jump aboard!
I was luckier than most when I returned from Vietnam.

Unlike my flight over  a military charter from Travis AFB near Oakland, California  I had travel orders home on a commercial flight. I stopped in Hawaii for a few days, and from there I called my girlfriend, Kathy Huckaby, a United Airlines stewardess based in San Francisco.

Uniteds flights to Honolulu were reserved for very senior crews, and she was at the bottom of the seniority list, so I just asked her if she could pick me up at the airport when I got in.

I was in for a big surprise when I boarded my flight. There was Kathy, who greeted me at the doorway with a big kiss, much to the applause of her fellow crew members and nearby passengers.

Army Special Forces Capt. Frank Lennon is surprised by his girlfriend, United Airlines stewardess Kathy Huckaby, as he boarded his flight in Honolulu in July 1968. Soldiers who voluntarily extended their combat tours received an extra 30 days paid leave, and Lennon was headed home between tours.

She told Uniteds crew schedulers that her boyfriend was returning from Vietnam on such and such a flight and asked if was there any way she could be assigned to work it.

One of the stewardesses scheduled for that flight was sympathetic and swapped schedules so Kathy could surprise me. That photo, included with this column, is one of my favorite pictures.

Sadly, most of my fellow returning veterans, 2.7 million of them, did not get such a soft landing.

More:A soldier, teacher and Dad: A veteran's relationship with father shaped by service

More:Can bonds built in military service help elected officials overcome the partisan divide?

Fast forward to Dec. 15, 2022

At a TD Garden hockey game against the LA Kings, the Boston Bruins recognized me for my overall military service, my time in Vietnam and my efforts in support of veterans and veteran organizations over the years. (Im not sure how they chose me, but it probably had something to do with this Veterans Voice column.)

During a TV timeout, they posted a tribute on the Jumbotron, and then cut to a live shot. The crowd reaction was incredible; even the players were banging their sticks on the boards. I was totally blown away.

Even escorted by Bruins staff, it took me a long time to get back to my seat. Dozens of strangers stopped me to say "Thank you for your service" or Welcome home, brother! Parents even asked me to pose for photos with their children.

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This was a far cry from the welcome we received when we returned from Vietnam.

I understood I was representing thousands of others, but the message was clear. That outpouring was for their grandfathers, fathers, uncles and brothers who may never have been properly welcomed home. I was the surrogate, but it was still a powerful experience for me personally.

The video tribute on the Jumbotron at TD Garden on December 15 included photos of various stages of Lennons military career. This image shows him as a West Point cadet.

Fifty years ago

The Welcome Home (or lack thereof) for Vietnam vets is a complicated issue, but it is not as clear-cut as it appeared back then.

Most of the guys I knew did not face overt anger and hostility. Most of us experienced almost nothing when we got home  and that was worse, in its own way.

In hindsight, its easier to understand why that happened.

The biggest single factor was the rolling nature of Vietnam assignments. Servicemen typically did one-year tours of duty  unlike WWII, when you signed up for the duration. When I returned home in 1969, the war still had several more years to go. Its difficult for a town to celebrate its returning veterans one week when others from the same town are on their way to Vietnam the following week.

Vietnam veteran Jerry Lembke wrote a book, The Spitting Image: Myth, Memory, and the Legacy of Vietnam. He says this revolving door of service came to represent something many Americans would rather not accept: defeat. Vietnam was a lost war, Lembcke says. You dont have parades for soldiers coming home from a war they lost.

What was different about WWII?

When WWII ended, there was a clear-cut victory, and there were huge demobilizations. Entire units returned home en masse, making it far easier and more appropriate for parades and welcome home celebrations.

Those demobilizations could take months, and travel was by sea. Those leaving the combat zone had time to reassess and decompress with their buddies before facing families, friends and the alien world of civvie street."

We flew home one veteran at a time. You could be sitting in your living room, cracking a cold one and trying to deal with a crying baby within three days of being shot at in a hostile jungle environment. The military did very little to prepare us for that transition.

More significantly, the country was locked in bitter debate about the war. Many families (including my own) were split by the antiwar movement. These heated arguments kept many from welcoming the veterans or recognizing their service.

Traditional veteran service groups did not exactly embrace us either. Their priorities were still focused on the needs of those who fought in earlier wars. More than once, I heard grumbling from older vets to the effect of, At least we won our war.

Lennon with his seatmates, Liz Kenney of Providence and Donovan Ross of Southbridge, Mass.

In two weeks I will delve more deeply into this issue, and I encourage input from Vietnam veterans. Please reach out if you have an experience you would like to share about coming back to the world. Email me at veteranscolumn@providencejournal.com

Also, the Bruins are seeking other service members to be honored (the 8-Spoked Salute) at upcoming games. Please fill out a form at this URL saying why your individual should be selected: https://www.nhl.com/bruins/community/8-spoked-salute

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Who needs volunteers? Who wants to volunteer? Many veteran-centric organizations have events or projects that are labor-intensive and could use volunteer help to get them across the finish line. On the other hand, some of you readers may have some extra time that you would be willing to donate to a worthy project or cause. If you fall in either category, please email veteranscolumn@providencejournal.com and we will try to make the appropriate connections.

Learn to Weld Training Program: The Steel Yard in Providence seeks Service Members/Veterans for a one-week long program running from March 6  March 10, 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., and the application deadline is Feb. 16.

Attendees will learn foundational welding and employable soft skills through an artistic curriculum. Participants will receive a $250 stipend and a Certificate of Completion. There is NO COST for you to apply or attend the training  YOU GET PAID! To apply, email workforce@thesteelyard.org, call 401-273-7101 or visit www.thesteelyard.org/job-training/

CALENDAR

Wednesday, Feb. 15, 4-6:30 p.m.; Free Ice Skating, Providence Ice Rink (Kennedy Plaza). Providence Vet Center and Guaranteed Rate report there is no attendance limit, so bring the entire family. Skate rentals are also 100% free.

You must register for this event online.

Please follow the below link to RSVP:

When selecting which loan officer invited you, please choose Suzanne Caldeira who has been working with the Vet Center to make this happen.

2.15.23 Sweetheart Skate Night with Guaranteed Rate Tickets, Wed, Feb 15, 2023 at 4:00 PM | Eventbrite

Tuesday, February 21, 7-8:30 p.m.; FREE ticket to Letters From Home: The 50 States Tour, McVinney Auditorium, 43 Dave Gavitt Way (Westminster St. near the Cathedral). This is a high energy performance in the style of a USO show. Tickets are on sale for $26, but veterans can request free tickets by emailing Erinn Dearth at erinn@firstinflightentertainment.com

To report the outcome of a previous activity, or to add a future event to our calendar, please email the details (including a contact name and phone number/email address) to veteranscolumn@providencejournal.com

This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Boston Bruins 8-Spoked Salute recognizes Vietnam veteran Frank Lennon
Senator Cory Booker is asking his colleagues to cool off the rhetoric aimed at China after the US shot down a spy balloon over the weekend and a four-star US general predicted that war with the rival superpower was inevitable.

The New Jersey Democrat spoke Sunday on NBCs Meet the Press with Chuck Todd. During the interview, he knocked what he said was a growing drumbeat or rush to conflict with the Peoples Republic of China that was unhealthy and ran the risk of souring peaceful alternatives.

His remarks came in response to a question from Mr Todd asking him to declare whether he was prepared to support whatever it takes to prepare for war with China over Taiwan.

The US and many other countries consider Taiwan to be an independent country, as, crucially, does Taiwans government. China, on the other hand, views Taiwan as part of its territory and regularly threatens other countries for maintaining diplomatic ties with Taiwans government.

I'm... a believer that strong diplomacy can work to counter Chinese aggression, Mr Booker said on Sunday, adding: [T]his rush, or a drumbeat, to war is really problematic to me when there are a whole bunch of other options.

Mr Booker went on to praise Joe Biden and his administration for pursuing those other options, telling Mr Todd that Mr Biden has been reaching out across the aisle and finding good ways to counter and check China's aggressions, China's espionage, but also to look at ways to strengthen ties with China that enable us to better keep them at the table.

It was a series of comments that served as a counterbalance to shocking statements from hawkish conservatives including a top Air Force general as well as the new chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Michael McCaul.

A memo first reported two weeks ago by NBC News written by four-star Gen Mike Minihan of Air Mobility Command warned that the US would be at war with the PRC by 2025, a prediction that was echoed by Mr McCaul on Fox News hours later.

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"I hope he's wrong," the congressman said of Gen Minihans prediction. "I think he's right though, unfortunately."

Those statements rippled through the media and sparked a wave of condemnations in Chinese media, and would serve as a backdrop to news that broke this weekend of a Chinese surveillance balloon being spotted at a low altitude over the continental US. The surveillance craft, which officials in Beijing confirmed was of Chinese origin, would be shot down by US forces on Saturday.

That incident would spark another round of condemnations from Beijing and appears to have also resulted in US Secretary of State Antony Blinken postponing a diplomatic trip to the country, a sign of the continued souring of US-China relations.
Editor's note: This story was updated Feb. 6 to correct a misspelling of Rep. Bill Rehm's last name in one instance.

Democrats stalled five Republican-led bills to increase penalties for both violent crime in New Mexico and drug trafficking this week in the State House of Representatives, amid calls for the state to crack down on its crime problem.

House Bills 61, 60, 59, 58 and 57 were sponsored by Rep. Bill Rehm (R-31), a former narcotics officer, and a group of largely GOP cosponsors, but the bills were tabled Tuesday in the House Consumer and Public Affairs Committee after motions from Democrat members.

HB 60 would have increased penalties for fentanyl possession, establishing a scale of prison sentences based on the amount of the drug possessed, while HB 59 would make possessing a gun during drug trafficking a third-degree felony, and House Bill 57 would grant immunity from litigation or tort claims related to alleged damages or injury for merchants who apprehend shoplifters.

More:With fentanyl deaths rising, New Mexico lawmakers look for solutions to fight trafficking

House Bill 58 would have expanded the States definition for violent felonies, which result in life imprisonment, according to current sentencing laws, after three convictions, while removing the eligibility of parole in most cases.

House Bill 61 would increase sentencing for felons in possession of firearms.

The committee that voted to table each of Rehms bills, meaning no action was taken and a separate vote was required to take them back up, was made up of four Democrats and two Republicans with votes mostly along party lines.

More:Wanted Carlsbad man shot after wielding sledgehammer during police standoff at home

'Deadly' fentanyl should garner tougher sentences, sponsor says

HB 60 would have required possession of 50 to 90 milligrams, or 25 to 49 pills, to incur a sentence increase by three years.

Possession of 100 to 149 mg, or 50 to 74 pills would see a sentence of five years added, and 150 mg or more, or 75 pills, would earn a sentence of seven years incarceration.

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Rehm characterized the bill as a measure to target dealers peddling in the dangerous but increasingly popular opioid, responsible for 39 percent of opioid-related drug overdoses in New Mexico, which account for two out of three overall overdoses, according to a June 2022 report from the New Mexico Department of Health.

More:Alcohol a factor in deadly head-on car crash near Carlsbad, police say

Fentanyl is known to be 50 times more potent than heroin, and 100 times stronger than morphine, with a 2 mg dose proving fatal, records show.

New Mexico Rep. Bill Rehm, R-Albuquerque, speaks to reporters on Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2019, after unveiling a proposal aimed at bail reform in New Mexico.

Fentanyl is so dangerous that six out of 10 pills have a lethal dose of fentanyl in them. Basically, one out of every four users will die of an overdose, Rehm said in an interview with the Current-Argus.

This legislation is really going after the drug dealer.

More:Police seeking leads, family hopes for answers after Carlsbad man found dead

He said he was open to negotiating the amounts and sentence enhancement specified in the bill.

We either take some kind of action to disincentivize the distribution, or I hate to it this way, we increase the line item at the (Office of the Medical Investigator) for body bags, Rehm said before the committee.

An analysis from the Legislative Finance Committee reported HB 60 would result in more incarcerations, which averaged about $55,000 per inmate in New Mexico in Fiscal Year 2022.

More:Artesia woman charged with prostituting child family member to boyfriend

But the report also contended increasing penalties that result from conviction was shown to do little to deter crime, and that resources should be put toward solving crimes and convicting offenders.

Research shows the certainty of being caught is a more powerful deterrent to crime than severity of punishment, and although laws and policies designed to deter crime focus mainly on increasing the severity of the punishment, this does little to deter criminals because most know little about sanctions for specific crimes, read the report.

Rep. Andrea Romero (D-46) said this meant the higher criminal penalties included in the bill were unlikely to deter fentanyl possession.

More:$15,000 drag racing car stolen in Carlsbad, police say

The criminalization of this possession, in any of the analysis that weve received about how to address this problem, this isnt how to do that, she said.

Bill creates fear of excessive force during hearing

During his presentation to lawmakers, Rehm contended HB 57 was not intended to allow excessive force be used against shoplifters, but opponents of the legislation argued the language was too broad to prevent it.

I dont want them using excessive force. Nowhere in this bill does it allow or sanction excessive force, Rehm said during the committee hearing.

More:Lawmakers push bill to require solar panels at New Mexico schools receiving state grants

But Chair Rep. Joanne Ferrary (D-37) responded that the bills language was too broad to define reasonable force and could result in alleged thieves being injured.

Because theres not really a clear definition of reasonable in this, that could be something that goes above and beyond because the person wouldnt be held accountable, she said. I think thats the problem I have with this bill.

Political tactics prevent progress on crime, GOP says

Rehm criticized Democrats on the committee for blocking efforts he said would seek to address growing crime problems throughout New Mexico.

More:New Mexico lawmakers support spending $75 million on state's conservation efforts via bill

Today the progressives made clear that they are unwilling to lock up felons with illegal firearms, but they are willing to make felons out of law-abiding gun owners, Rehm said in a statement following the votes to table his bills.

He said state lawmakers and Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham recently voiced the need for policy to reduce crime in New Mexico, but Tuesdays vote got in the way of progress.

Just days ago, we joined the Governor in her office, with statewide media, for productive talks about bipartisan action against crime and todays disappointing votes reveal that House Democrats on the House Consumer & Public Affairs committee care little about improving public safety in meaningful ways, Rehm said.

These political tactics are highly frustrating to the many victims of crime that spend their personal time advocating in Santa Fe for a safer New Mexico.

Adrian Hedden can be reached at 575-628-5516, achedden@currentargus.com or @AdrianHedden on Twitter.

This article originally appeared on Carlsbad Current-Argus: GOP bills on fentanyl, drug trafficking in New Mexico blocked by Dems
Ron DeSantis, Floridas governor and a potential Republican presidential prospect, says he wants to mandate a core curriculum in public universities as a way to ensure young Floridians are grounded in Western civilization.

To the nations higher education leaders, that idea is political kryptonite.

Proponents of the core curriculum say every student should emerge from college with a core of human knowledge: not necessarily Shakespeare and Dante per se, but some sense of civilizations greatest books and finest ideas.

But college faculties have struggled to decide what a core curriculum should include. Rather than require any specific course, most universities fall back on broad distribution requirements, mandating that students take a STEM course here, an arts course there, to explore the academic world beyond their major.

At schools with comparatively lax distribution rules, no one must study any one discipline, let alone take a prescribed course. As a result, students can graduate from Amherst, Brown, Johns Hopkins or UCLA without ever taking a class in science or history or foreign language.

Supporters of core learning say those schools  indeed, most American universities  abdicate their responsibility to make specific choices about what students should learn.

I think that there are some things that everybody ought to know, said Roosevelt Montas, senior lecturer in American studies and English at Columbia University. Its an idea that academia has largely walked away from, but without, I think, a very good reason.

From 2008 to 2018, Montas directed the core curriculum at Columbia, founded in 1919, one of a few surviving programs that require all undergraduates to complete a sequence of interdisciplinary courses.

A few other institutions also maintain ancient core curricula, programs formed in the pre-digital age. The University of Chicago requires undergraduates to complete an expansive core curriculum, choosing from a menu of customized courses. St. Johns College, the famed great books school, teaches a four-year sequence of foundational texts at campuses in Annapolis, Md., and Santa Fe, N.M.

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All of those institutions regularly review and revise their core programs to add diversity and depth.

Weve added Simone de Beauvoir. Weve added Baldwin. Weve added Toni Morrison. These are all lengthy debates, said Mark Roosevelt, president of St. Johns in Santa Fe. Its sort of like amending the U.S. Constitution. It should be hard.

But to create a new core curriculum from scratch?

It would be incredibly difficult to craft a core curriculum today, and I dont know anybody whos trying to do it, Roosevelt said.

Generations ago, professors taught from a static list of Western scholars, most of them dead, white and male. Late in the 1800s, the advent of the modern research university inspired a movement away from general education to academic specialization and majors. After 1900, an influx of immigrants sparked a decades-long resurgence of core programs that stressed Western intellectual thought.

In the civil rights years, critics assailed core courses for ignoring women, Black Americans and pretty much anything outside the white, European American tradition. Colleges abandoned core curricula en masse.

In the modern era, students typically pass from a high school where most courses are prescribed to a college where they are free to study pretty much what they want.

Leaders of academia argue that their job is to teach students how to think, problem-solve and interact with the world, not to assign a list of essential books.

The great books that long populated core curricula have become so bound up with white, male, Euro-centric culture that the terms great books and core curriculum themselves are falling from favor.

I try not to use the words great books, said Kyna Hamill, director of the core curriculum at Boston University.

BUs core is optional, and the readings go well beyond Euro-American culture. Courses include The Way, a survey of Aristotle, Confucius, Laozi, Virgil, and texts from ancient India and Persia. The common theme: thinking about the best way to live, Hamill said.

The Columbia scholar Montas, who grew up in the Dominican Republic and Queens, argues against the idea that a great books course amounts to an indoctrination in Western values.

There is nothing wrong, per se, with being a dead, white male, he said. That is not a criterion for either inclusion or exclusion. And if we are going to have an education that takes the past seriously, that means that we are going to be studying a group of producers of intellectual content who are not representative of our current intellectual diversity.

At the University of Chicago, students in one core-curriculum sequence transition from Homers Odyssey to Harriet Jacobss Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl. Another group reads The Pillow Book, a work of Japanese antiquity, alongside Saint Augustines Confessions.

Theres a pretty big geographic range, said Eric Slauter, deputy dean of the universitys humanities division. Theres a pretty big chronological range.

Champions of the core curriculum include the American Council of Trustees and Alumni, a nonprofit that advocates for colleges to take a more active role in deciding what courses students take.

The group grades colleges on whether they specifically require students to study science, math, economics, U.S. government or history, foreign language, literature and composition.

The University of Chicago and Columbia both earn Bs. St. Johns gets an A. Amherst, Brown, Harvard, Hopkins and UCLA all receive Fs.

A core curriculum is the most reasonable safety net that we have to ensure that students get a strong foundational education, said Michael Poliakoff, president of the trustees and alumni group. Theres something really wonderful, really magical, when faculty ask that question, What is really essential?, and act on it.

Poliakoffs group leans conservative, rare in higher education, and was founded in part to balance academic liberalism. The schools awarded As in its grading scale amount to fewer than two dozen in all, include the U.S. Air Force and Military academies, the University of Georgia, a smattering of Christian colleges and the aforementioned St. Johns.

The new push for a core curriculum in Florida is part of a larger campaign by a conservative governor to root out perceived liberal bias in the states education systems.

In Florida, we will build off of our higher education reforms by aligning core curriculum to the values of liberty and the Western tradition, DeSantis said during a press conference Tuesday.

Handouts from the governors office gave sketchy details, but both The New York Times and the Chronicle of Higher Education reported that DeSantis intends to require courses in Western civilization in Floridas public universities.

Academic leaders counter that no state government should impose lesson plans on a university.

I dont think that the site of curricular decision is the state legislature, Montas said. I think the site is the faculty of the school.

Whatever comes of the Florida governors initiative, the core curriculum may be seeing a modest resurgence.

Large-scale, mandatory core programs such as the ones at Columbia and the University of Chicago remain rare. But Montas says he has witnessed a mini-Renaissance in recent years around introducing core texts, foundational texts, into the curriculum. Its not an explosion of that, but significant, steady growth.

A nonprofit Association for Core Texts and Courses maintains a list of several dozen colleges with great books programs. Most are optional. A few require all students to crack a core text at some point in their studies.

Stanford University recently launched a new program in Civic, Liberal and Global Education for all first-year students: a core curriculum in all but name.

In a recent op-ed, headlined Enough With the Culture Wars, the programs director described the effort as nothing short of an attempt to revive liberal education for the 21st century.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Jahanara Begum was on a birthday video call with her granddaughter, who wore her favorite purple dress and couldn't wait to try her cake.

The little girl was turning 5, and her mother, Saima Tasnim Shapla, had decorated their home in Paterson with balloons.

Whats the special occasion?" Begum joked on the call from her home in Bangladesh. "Why didnt you invite me?

Despite the loving banter, Begum could sense something was wrong with Shapla.

Shaplas husband was abusive, and had threatened to kill her, Begum said. After a brief split, they had reconciled at the urging of elders, who, in their community, are viewed as authority figures and caregivers. But Shapla felt tension at home. And from across the world, Begum could feel it, too.

That phone call was the last time they spoke.

The night of the birthday celebration, Shapla was killed. She was 22 years old.

Her husband, Md A. Hossain, strangled her to death, leaving her at the bottom of the stairs in the basement while their daughter slept upstairs, authorities say.

He later called 911 to report that his wife was dead, and since then has admitted to police that he killed her and has been charged with murder, court records show.

Jahanara Begum (pictured here) traveled from Bangladesh to New Jersey after her daughter was killed in a domestic violence crime in June 2022.

Advocates who help domestic violence victims in Patersons Bangladeshi community said they learned about the incident several weeks later, when the Department of Children and Families reached out seeking a family to foster the young girl, who had been in a temporary home.

"This is a tragic case, but unfortunately, we see this more often than we want to see it in the South Asian community," said Navneet Bhalla, executive director of Manavi, a New Jersey nonprofit that supports South Asian survivors of domestic violence. "We know there is deep-rooted patriarchy. We know there are certain cultural norms and gender norms that are widely accepted and promoted."

"When there is domestic violence, there is a lot of victim blaming," Bhalla said. "Why did the victim not leave? It's the wrong question to ask, blaming the victim instead of holding the perpetrator accountable."

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Today, Manavi and other advocacy groups are honoring Shaplas life with a campaign to raise awareness about domestic violence and urge people to speak out against abuse. For South Asian women, who may face unique obstacles related to language, immigration status and culture, the struggle to end abuse requires a community response, advocates say.

Reconciling with her abuser

Shapla, described as a devoted daughter and happy young woman, entered an arranged marriage with Hossain in 2015 in Bangladesh. Two years later, they moved to Michigan, where her husband was a legal resident, and where his parents lived.

She dreamed of a prosperous life, said Begum, who is now in New Jersey trying to adopt her granddaughter. Shapla envisioned one day owning a home and bringing her mother to live with her. She wanted her daughter to go to Islamic school and attend a good college, Begum said in a recent interview.

There were problems from the start. Shapla told her mother that her in-laws in Michigan treated her poorly, hitting her and depriving her of food. After six months, Shapla and Hossain returned to Bangladesh for a visit. Hossain took her passport and green card, and family members believed he was planning to strand her there, Begum said.

Village elders recommended that the couple relocate to Paterson, where there is a large Bangladeshi community and where Hossain had distant relatives. They moved in with Hossains aunt.

Attempts to speak with the elders were not successful.

In New Jersey, Shapla got a job at a Dunkin Donuts while her husband worked at a discount store. She often posted videos on her YouTube channel, showing her fun-loving side. She captured scenes of the cascading waters at the Great Falls park and of snow blanketing cars and sidewalks outside her home. She posted clips cooking traditional dishes like chicken curry and meat kabab.

Shapla narrated the videos but didnt appear in them. Often, she turned the lens on her daughter, who smiled as she shopped with her mother at grocery stores, jumped in the snow and enjoyed her mothers cooking.

The online cheeriness masked what advocates said was a harrowing home life. In court documents, police said they had a prior report of domestic assault and that Shapla had a temporary restraining order against Hossain. The details of these events are unclear, as the Paterson Police Department twice denied requests for records related to the crime.

Shaplas situation in Paterson was bad, Begum said. Hossain  whose name, Md, is short for Mohammed  had pointed a large knife at her and threatened to kill her more than once.

He used to say, Im going to kill you, right in front of the aunt, Begum said.

Begum was told that these things happen in marriage and the couple would be fine.

Shapla was hit, strangled and bashed in the head with a teacup, Begum said. In 2020, she got a two-week restraining order and told the court she feared him and wanted a divorce.

Hossain pleaded with community elders, who arranged a reconciliation, Begum said.

Last year, Shapla visited Bangladesh after her father died. When she returned on May 2, Hossain was in Michigan. So she changed her locks and urged her landlord not to let him in.

Again, Hossain met with elders, apologized and said he wanted to go back home and reconcile with his wife. He promised he wouldnt treat her badly anymore. They called Begum, who told them: All I can say is do whats best for her. Im not there.

Shapla let him back into her home, but tension hung over them like a dark cloud. She had a feeling he was going to do something bad, Begum said. She wasnt willing to accept him anymore.

'A nice guy'

On Sunday, June 5, the Paterson Police Department received a 911 call from Hossain saying his wife was dead. Police and medical personnel arrived at the apartment and found her on the floor near the basement stairs, pronouncing her dead at the scene.

At the police station, Hossain told officers that they argued after their daughter went to sleep. He said he placed his hands on her throat during a struggle until they both passed out.

Begum sobbed while recalling the devastating phone call when she learned that her only child had been killed.

I dont want any woman or daughter to go through the experience my daughter lived through, she said. I dont want anyone to lose their life like that.

Begum said she does not hold a grudge against the people who advised Shapla and Hossain to reconcile their marriage. Like many abusers, he presented himself as a good man who loved his family. They did not know that he intended to kill her, she said.

According to everybody, he was a nice guy, said Smita Nadia Hussain, co-founder of BAWDI, the Bangladeshi American Women's Development Initiative, based in Paterson. Abusers are charming. They look like your everyday guy. They are teachers, doctors, anyone. They smile at you. You dont know whats happening behind closed doors. Thats why women are not believed.

Saima Tasnim Shapla, a Bangladeshi woman who was killed in a domestic violence incident is remembered at a vigil at Pennington Park in Paterson on Nov. 12, 2022.

Theres a tremendous amount of guilt and shame in the community," Hussain added. "Yet, there are questions. [People say] hes a nice guy, so she must have triggered him.

Paterson City Council President Shahin Khalique, who is Bangladeshi American, said community leaders told him they did not know the couple and that Hossain may have sought help from elders he knew through his family. The couple had not been in Paterson long and traveled between New Jersey, Michigan and Bangladesh.

"The incident  it was shocking," he said. "That was probably the first incident of homicide of that nature in our community, and Ive been here over 30 years."

In New Jersey, Begum has gotten legal assistance from Manavi as she tries to adopt her granddaughter  or get a visa so she can stay in the U.S. to care for her.

"She's my only kin," she said. "I dont have anyone left in my life. This will bring peace to my mind."

Honoring Shaplas memory

While domestic violence affects people of all ethnic, racial and faith backgrounds, South Asian immigrants may face unique challenges. They may not know English and may lack understanding of services and rights in the U.S. Some also worry about their immigration status if they report a crime or separate from a spouse, often because their visa is linked to marriage or their husbands job.

Other barriers include cultural stigma over divorce and distance from family support systems.

"Domestic violence is seen as a private matter and as a family matter," said Bhalla, of Manavi. "Often in South Asian communities, the accepted cultural norm is not to talk about it happening, because it's airing dirty laundry and it brings shame to the community or family.

"Rather than telling survivors what they should and should not do, ask them what they need to feel safe and supported, and most importantly, never judge, so they feel empowered to come forward," Bhalla said.

Nearly half of South Asians in the U.S. are affected by domestic violence, according to authors of a 2021 report in the Journal of Interpersonal Violence, which surveyed 468 South Asian women and men.

With offices in New Brunswick, Paterson and Jersey City, Manavi provides services annually to about 450 women, including counseling, advocacy, legal support and transitional homes for South Asian women leaving abusive relationships. Manavi also fields more than 3,000 calls to its 24-hour domestic violence hotline.

Advocates are fighting so that Shaplas killing will not be forgotten or overlooked.

We can be ashamed, sad, regretful, Hussain said. We cant change the past, but what about now? You can do better now. I would like the issue of interpersonal violence to be less hush-hush, less seen as a family issue, but seen as a community issue.

Smita Nadia Hussain is photographed in front of her home in Bloomingdale on Jan. 26, 2023. Hussain is the co-founder of Bangladeshi American Women's Development Initiative (BAWDI), a nonprofit that seeks to empower, support, activate and organize Bangladeshi women in New Jersey.

At a vigil in November in Paterson, advocates asked participants to honor Shaplas memory "by making sure that each one of us collectively step up, speak out, take action and do everything we can to end the epidemic of domestic violence.

BAWDI, Manavi and Wafa House also paid tribute to six other South Asian women killed in domestic violence incidents in the U.S. last year.

If you are going through this situation," Hussain said, "know there are resources available if you leave those circumstances.

How to get help

Manavi's confidential domestic violence hotline runs 24 hours a day/seven day a week. If you or someone you know needs support, call (732) 435-1414 or email manavi@manavi.org. Staff and volunteers speak English, Hindi, Punjabi, Urdu, Farsi, Gujarati, Bengali, Kannada, Telugu, Marathi, Tamil, French, Swahili and Kikuyu.

Wafa House, a domestic violence center in Clifton, offers services in English, Arabic and Spanish. Its hotline number is 800-930-WAFA (9232)

The New Jersey Domestic Violence Hotline, at (800) 572-SAFE (7233), accepts calls 24 hours a day/seven days a week. Interpretation services are available. It provides confidential access to domestic violence information and services, including crisis intervention, referral and advocacy.

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Domestic violence killing rattles Paterson's Bangladeshi community
A Lebanon man died in car crash on Highway 99 in Marion County on Saturday night, Feb. 4.

Oregon State Police troopers responded to single-vehicle crash at around 7:24 p.m. on Highway 99 near milepost 43, according to an OSP news release.

Police discovered Jose Trinidad Sanchez Encizo, 42, of Lebanon, was driving a red Toyota Yaris southbound near Perkins Road Northeast when he crossed the center line, left the roadway into a ditch and crashed into a tree. He was pronounced dead at the scene, the news release said.

Marion County Fire and Medics, the Oregon Department of Transportation and the Marion County Medical Examiner's Officer assisted OSP.
A lawyer representing Navy Seals who do not want to be vaccinated against Covid-19 told a federal appeals court Monday that their lawsuit over a now-withdrawn vaccine mandate isnt moot even though Congress passed legislation last December ordering the policy canceled.

During arguments before the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans, attorney Heather Hacker said the service members still face the possibility of discipline over their refusal to get vaccinated and the government has not ruled out taking vaccination status into account when doling out future assignments.

Even though the mandate has been repealed, the Navy will continue to use vaccination status as a requirement for the class members to be able to fulfill their job duties, Hacker said during the 40-minute argument. It's even worse now because the Navy will not even consider the plaintiffs requests for religious accommodation anymore.

The appeals court issued no immediate rulings Monday.



Justice Department attorney Casen Ross urged the appeals court to set aside as moot preliminary injunctions a federal judge in Texas issued early last year against the Biden administration policy requiring service members to receive a coronavirus vaccine unless granted a religious exemption.

Ross said the National Defense Authorization Act passed in December effectively reversed that policy and rendered the injunctions against the policy moot. Lawmakers acted to nix the military vaccine mandate over the opposition of President Joe Biden, who signed the broader defense measure anyway. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin formally repealed the orders related to the policy last month.

This court should accordingly follow its routine practice and vacate those injunctions because these appeals have become moot, Ross said.

The Supreme Court stepped in last March to block a portion of the injunctions, essentially giving the military unfettered authority to make deployment decisions. The Biden administration did not ask the high court to disturb portions of the injunctions prohibiting discipline or removal of service members who refused to get vaccinated or said it violated their religious beliefs.

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Three conservative justices dissented from that decision. However, Justice Brett Kavanaugh backed it, saying it was in keeping with a tradition of giving the president broad authority over the military.

However, at Mondays arguments, Judge James Ho said he didnt think the policy was about military needs at all.

It was about a vaccine policy for the entire country or at least a large percentage. ... So, this was not a military decision. This was a social policy decision, declared Ho, an appointee of President Donald Trump. There's no discussion of military readiness or anything. It's a perhaps debatable or worthy vaccine mandate policy discussion we can have, but it doesn't sound in military necessity or military readiness. It sounds in social policy.

Ho also suggested that Bidens stated desire to maintain the policy meant it was possible it could return in the future.

This change is a policy you all vociferously oppose. So, it sort of seems weird to say that there's no controversy anymore, the judge said.

While Ho sounded inclined to leave the injunctions in place, another judge on the panel, James Graves, seemed to be considering wiping them out while letting the litigation continue in the district court. Graves, an appointee of President Barack Obama, asked repeatedly whether the injunctions were actually blocking any policy that is currently in effect.

Judge Kyle Duncan, a Trump appointee, expressed concern that the Navy seemed to have abandoned the religious exemption process it had put in place when the mandate was in effect.

Ho and Duncan pressed Ross about whether the Justice Department contends the case is completely moot or whether the service members can continue to press their legal battle in the lower court. Ross took the unusual tack of declining to say, even though a filing addressing that issue is due in the district court later Monday.

The government hasn't made a filing yet in that case, and, so, I think it would be premature for me to make any representation to this court, Ross said. We have a number of hours before it's actually due. So, I don't want to get in front of those litigators.
An engine burst into flames on a tourist plane carrying 321 passengers in Thailand as the tyres exploded shortly after take-off, leaving the pilot to abruptly stop the departure.

The emergency incident saw 309 passengers and 12 crew offloaded from the Russian tourist plane and transferred to a new aircraft. Footage shows the Boeing 767-306ER burst into sudden flames due to an engine surge.

Landing gear was also set alight on the same right-hand side of the aircraft, causing the departure of the plane to be aborted.

The flight was aborted after the incident (Igor Zhorov)

There is suspicion that Russian airlines are cutting corners on safety and have been operating without proper maintenance following tough sanctions imposed on the country following Vladimir Putins war in Ukraine.

A top Russian aviation official said Western-made airliners, which are not undergoing normal service in Russia due to sanctions, can be used until 2030.

Head of the Russian Federal Agency for Air Transport, Alexander Neradko said: I am confident that it has not become more dangerous to fly - and it has nothing to do with the presence or absence of original spare parts.

He demanded that the term cannibalism stopped being used to describe planes in Russia being kept in the air using spare parts from other aircrafts.

It appeared at the behest of those who have never worked in civil aviation and who are unaware of the fact that the practice of interchanging serviceable spare parts from jet to jet has always been widespread, even during the Soviet times, he claimed.

The 26-year-old aircraft operated by Azur Air was en route from Phuket International Airport to Moscow when the incident occurred.

Passengers aboard the aircraft include those families of men hiding from Vladimir Putins mobilisation decree. Other men were returning to Russia after running out of money, despite fear they could be mobilised in a new forced recruitment drive that could see them.

The Russian airline said in a statement: Airline technical specialists have already started work to eliminate the malfunctions.

Passengers of flight ZF-3604 will be provided with a hotel, hot meals and soft drinks while waiting for departure to Moscow.

Passengers were told they would now fly on Sunday on a replacement aircraft. One report suggested the aircraft was close to taking off at 125mph when problems started to arise.
ABOARD THE PAPAL PLANE (AP)  Pope Francis, the head of the Anglican Communion and top Presbyterian minister together denounced the criminalization of homosexuality, and said gay people should be welcomed by their churches.

The three Christian leaders spoke on LGBTQ rights during an unprecedented joint airborne news conference Sunday while returning home from South Sudan, where they took part in a three-day ecumenical pilgrimage to try to nudge forward the young countrys peace process.

They were asked about Francis recent comments to The Associated Press, in which he declared that laws that criminalize gay people were unjust and that being homosexual is not a crime.

South Sudan is one of 67 countries that criminalizes homosexuality, 11 of them with the death penalty. LGBTQ advocates say even where such laws are not applied, they contribute to a climate of harassment, discrimination and violence.

If he [Pope Francis] is coming here and he tells us that marriage of the same sex, homosexuality, is legal, we will say no, Michael Makuei Lueth, South Sudans information minister, said after the popes AP interview and ahead of his visit.

On Sunday, Francis referred to his Jan. 24 comments to the AP and repeated that such laws are unjust. He also repeated previous comments that parents should never throw their gay children out of the house.

To condemn someone like this is a sin, he said. Criminalizing people with homosexual tendencies is an injustice.

People with homosexual tendencies are children of God. God loves them. God accompanies them, he added.

Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby and Church of Scotland's Iain Greenshields speech out in defense of the LGBTQ community to the the media on Pope Francis' plane from Juba to Rome on Sunday.

Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby and Church of Scotland's Iain Greenshields speech out in defense of the LGBTQ community to the the media on Pope Francis' plane from Juba to Rome on Sunday.

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, recalled that LGBTQ rights were very much on the agenda of the Church of England, and said he would quote the popes own words when the issue is discussed at the churchs upcoming General Synod.

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I wish I had spoken as eloquently and clearly as the pope. I entirely agree with every word he said, Welby said.

Recently, the Church of England decided to allow blessings for same-sex civil marriages but said same-sex couples could not marry in its churches. The Vatican forbids both gay marriage and blessings for same-sex unions.

Welby told reporters that the issue of criminalization had been taken up at two previous Lambeth Conferences of the broader Anglican Communion, which includes churches in Africa and the Middle East where such anti-gay laws are most common and often enjoy support by conservative bishops.

The broader Lambeth Conference has come out twice opposing criminalization, But it has not really changed many peoples minds, Welby said.

The Rt. Rev. Iain Greenshields, the Presbyterian moderator of the Church of Scotland who also participated in the pilgrimage and news conference, offered an observation.

There is nowhere in my reading of the four Gospels where I see Jesus turning anyone away, he said. There is nowhere in the four Gospels where I see anything other than Jesus expressing love to whomever he meets.

And as Christians, that is the only expression that we can possibly give to any human being, in any circumstance.

The Church of Scotland allows same-sex marriages. Catholic teaching holds that gay people must be treated with dignity and respect, but that homosexual acts are intrinsically disordered.

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Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders will deliver the GOPs response to President Joe Bidens State of the Union address on Tuesday night  but viewers might want to do some fact-checking before taking anything she says at face value.

During Sanders two-year tenure as the press secretary for Donald Trumps White House, stint as a Fox News commentator and new job as Arkansas Republican governor, Sanders has earned a reputation among her critics for lying with ease  something shes admitted under oath to doing  and fiercely defending Trumps most offensive behavior.

In no particular order, here are some of Sanders most egregious lies and outrageous remarks you should reacquaint yourself with before her Tuesday night address:

She said Trumps policy of separating children from their parents at the border and locking them in detention facilities was very biblical.

When Trump retweeted three unverified, Islamophobic videos, Sanders insisted it didnt matter if the videos were real and told reporters that if theyre focusing on the nature of the video, youre focusing on the wrong thing.

Weeks after a gunman slaughtered 19 children and two teachers at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, she declared in a speech that we will make sure that when a kid is in the womb, theyre as safe as they are in a classroom. At that point in 2022, there had already been 27 school shootings that year.

She refused to say the press was not the enemy of the people.

White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders talks to journalists outside the West Wing of the White House in April 2019.

White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders talks to journalists outside the West Wing of the White House in April 2019.

She admitted to lying during a press conference about former FBI director James Comey when she claimed countless FBI agents told her they were happy Trump fired him. She confessed under oath during special counsel Robert Muellers investigation that this was not true, but she downplayed it as a mere slip of the tongue.

She twice used her government Twitter account to slam businesses she took personal issue with: a small restaurant in Virginia that refused to serve her and The New York Times for publishing an anonymous op-ed critical of the Trump administration. Former White House ethics chiefs said these incidents were illegal ethics code violation.

She mocked Biden for stuttering  a speech impediment hes dealt with throughout his life  after a Democratic presidential debate in 2019.

She posted an Infowars-produced video of CNNs Jim Acosta that appeared doctored to make him seem aggressive toward a White House intern, and used it to defend the Trump administration taking away Acostas White House press credentials.

She claimed God wanted Donald Trump to become president.

She falsely claimed that Trumps border wall had stopped nearly 4,000 known or suspected terrorists at the U.S.-Mexico border in 2018. In reality, the wall  for which Trump was demanding $5.7 billion in federal funds to build  had only stopped six people on the No Fly List.

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Sanders speaks during a press briefing at the White House in October 2018.

Sanders speaks during a press briefing at the White House in October 2018.

She claimed that the Mueller report findings were a total and complete exoneration of Trump even though the report summary explicitly said it does not exonerate him.

When a journalist used the term lopping heads off to refer to the need for a staff shakeup on the White House communications team, she took it very, very literally. Theyve said I should be choked, they said I should deserve a lifetime of harassment, but certainly never had somebody say that I should be decapitated, Sanders said in 2019.

She defended Trumps unprecedented refusal to share his tax returns by claiming members of Congress are not smart enough to look through the thousands of pages that I would assume President Trumps taxes will be.

While running for governor of Arkansas, she vowed not to support any rape or incest exceptions in legislation banning abortion  an extreme position out of step with the vast majority of Americans, including more than three-quarters of Republicans, studies have found.

As Arkansas governor, she banned the term Latinx from any official state documents, saying the word  which came into use in recent years as an inclusive, gender-neutral term to describe someone of Hispanic or Latino origin  constitutes ethnically insensitive and pejorative language.

Related...
MAPUTO, Mozambique, February 06, 2023--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Compass Group Holdings, a leading Energy Project Management, and Integrated Services company operating in East Africa, and headquartered in Maputo, Mozambique, is delighted to announce the appointment of Ambassador Carlos dos Santos to the Board as Executive Chairman with immediate effect.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230206005124/en/

Ambassador Carlos dos Santos appointed as Executive Chairman of Compass Group Holdings. (Photo: Business Wire)

Ambassador Carlos dos Santos is a career Diplomat with distinctive business experience and most recently served as The Ambassador of Mozambique to the United States and High Commissioner for Canada (2015-2022).

Prior to this prominent role, his extensive and renowned career included serving as the High Commissioner for the United Kingdom, Ambassador to Ireland and Governor at the Commonwealth Board of Governors (2011-2015), and Ambassador of Mozambique to Germany, Austria and the Holy See (2006-2011). He also served as Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Mozambique to the United Nations from 1996 to 2002.

Among several other senior international roles throughout his diplomatic career spanning 40 years, Ambassador Carlos do Santos held the position of Director for Europe and the Americas at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation (2005-2006), and was Senior Advisor to the President of the Republic of Mozambique.

Ambassador Carlos dos Santos unrivalled experience and unique knowledge in the public sector will bring comprehensive leadership to Compass Group, both in their current operations, but also as a guide to its future as the group continues along its path of exponential growth. Compass Groups intent is to continue building world-class knowledge, services and experience as a Mozambican company to investors and developers seeking to deliver energy, natural resources and infrastructure projects in East Africa and beyond.

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Miles Pelham, Founder and President, of Compass Group Holdings commented:

"It is a great privilege to welcome Ambassador Carlos dos Santos to the Board as Executive Chairman. His significant experience and understanding in Mozambique establishes his appointment as an important step towards strengthening the Compass executive foundation as we continue to progress with our plans for the Group's future growth and development. The Ambassadors breadth and depth of global experience and relationships formed in support of the development of Mozambique will add substance and direction at a level which will ensure our current objectives related to long-term sustainability are reinforced."

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230206005124/en/

Contacts

Press Queries press@cc-g.com

To learn more visit: www.cc-g.com
President Joe Biden will deliver his second State of the Union address on Tuesday 7 February  his first since the Republicans took control of the House of Representatives after Novembers midterms.

Mr Bidens speech will take place at 9pm EST (2am GMT) and will be carried live across the major American news networks. It marks the unofficial start of the 2024 presidential campaign, with the Democrat discussing key areas of public concern, from police reform and the economy to Russias war in Ukraine.

He is expected to lay out policy priorities, champion the countrys bounceback from Covid-19 and draw contrasts between his administrations hopes of encouraging unity post-Trump and the behaviour of certain fringe Republicans still more interested in sowing division, judging by the chaotic (and ultimately unsuccessful) resistance mounted to stop Kevin McCarthy securing the House speakership.

Mr Bidens address to the joint session of Congress will also provide him with a platform from which to reassure Democrats that he is fighting fit and ready to embark on a second term, despite having turned 80 in November.

As is customary, the president will be flanked by the House speaker, Mr McCarthy, and his vice president, Kamala Harris, as he delivers his speech to the assembled members of the House and Senate, with family, friends and specially invited guests looking down from the balcony of the lower chamber.

Among the parties already invited to attend this years event include RowVaughn and Rodney Wells, the mother and stepfather of Tyre Nichols, and Brandon Tsay, the hero of the Monterey Park mass shooting.

Heres a guide to everyone confirmed so far.

RowVaughn and Rodney Wells

Tyre Nichols, 29, a FedEx driver by profession, was brutally beaten by five police officers during a routine traffic stop in Memphis, Tennessee, on 7 January and died three days later of his injuries in hospital.

The officers concerned have all been dismissed and an investigation into their conduct is underway but the release of bodycam footage of the incident has provoked fresh outrage and renewed calls for reform.

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The deceaseds parents were invited to attend the State of the Union by Congressional Black Caucus chairman Steven Horsford, a Nevada Democratic congressman, and have accepted.

Like so many, I was outraged and deeply pained to see the horrific video of the beating that resulted in Tyre Nichols death, Mr Biden has said of the incident.

It has a lot to say and do with the image of America. It has a lot to do with whether or not we are the country that we say we are.

Vice President Harris has since attended Nichols funeral in Memphis alongside civil rights leaders the Reverend Al Sharpton and Ben Crump.

Brandon Tsay

Mr Tsay, 26, was invited to the State of the Union by California Democratic congresswoman Judy Chu after he heroically intervened to disarm the gunman who carried out the mass shooting at a Lunar New Year celebration in Monterey Park near Los Angeles on 21 January, saving an untold number of lives.

According to CNN, just an hour after Ms Chu extended the invitation to Washington, he was called by Mr Biden himself to make the same offer, the president having already been in touch to thank Mr Tsay for his bravery.

I wanted to call to see how youre doing and thank you for taking such incredible action in the face of danger, Mr Biden had told him.

I dont think you understand just how much youve done for so many people who are never going to even know you. But I want them to know more about you.

Mr Tsay has since been awarded a medal of courage by the Alhambra Police Department during a ceremony on Sunday.

Darrell Woodie

Greg Steube, the Florida Republican congressman who has been in recovery ever since falling from the roof of his house on 18 January, has announced that the Good Samaritan who saved him by calling an ambulance has been rewarded with an invite to Mr Bidens address.

Mr Steube spent the night in intensive care after sustaining multiple but non-life threatening injuries after falling approximately 25 feet from a ladder while cutting tree limbs at his property in Sarasota.

While I will still be in Sarasota recovering from my injuries, it is my privilege to share that Mr Darrell Woodie will be attending next weeks State of the Union as my official guest! the politician wrote on Twitter.

Mr. Woodie called 911 after witnessing my accident and is the epitome of a Good Samaritan!

Jill Bidens special guests

The first lady has invited a number of people to watch her husbands address, including Oksana Markarova, the Ukrainian ambassador to the US, Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen, Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger, 13-year old diabetes advocate Joshua Davis, Ohio nurse Refynd Duro and United Steelworkers veteran Joseph JoJo Burgess.

Each of these individuals, with their resilience, innovation, service, and courage, were chosen by the White House because they represent policies or themes to be addressed by the president in his speech, her staff said in a statement.
Let these spring-fed waters cool you down.

Robbie Caponetto

When temperatures start to rise in Texaswhich, lets be honest, is most of the yearpeople beat the heat with a beloved warm-weather activity, and its not locking the door shut to keep all the good air-conditioning inside. Tubing down rivers has long been a favorite pastime of Texans (and Southerners in general) in the spring and summertime when everyone is just looking for a way to cool down. The affordable outdoor excursion offers old-fashioned fun for families and friends.

Luckily, the Lone Star State has plenty of tubing spots to flock to when the weather calls for it. Just make sure to show up prepared with sunscreen, water, and a waterproof speaker ready to play country tunes in the background. Here are the best rivers to float in Texas.

Frio River

BROWN W. CANNON III

One of the most beautiful places to float, the Frio River is cool and calm. Youre able to enter from Garner State Park, which is located more remotely in Texas Hill Country near Concan around an hour-and-half drive from San Antonio. Warning: Cell service can be unreliable, so make a clear plan with your group beforehand if traveling. There are many campsites and rustic cabins in the park for overnight stays.

Guadalupe River

Robbie Caponetto

The Guadalupe River is easily the most well-known tubing river in the entire Lone Star State. The 230-mile river runs from Central Texas all the way to the Gulf of Mexico. The most popular stretches to float are in the Texas Hill Country, especially near New Braunfels, Canyon Lake, San Marcos, and San Antonio. Hop off near New Braunfels in Gruene Historic District for a bite to eat at The Gristmill, which sits on the banks. The chicken-fried steak is famed!

San Marcos River

Getty Images/Creative Credit

This Hill Country river is another extremely popular place to float, particularly for the college kids at Texas State University in San Marcos. For those wishing for a quick adventure, theres an hour-long float that runs from the towns City Park to Rio Vista Park. This spring-fed river is a tributary of the Guadalupe, which means it boasts cool temperatures year-round. It can get quite crowded during warmer months, so heed the crowds.

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Pedernales River

Getty Images/CrackerClips

Youve likely heard Willie Nelson croon about this Texas river, and the scenery explains it all. Along the river, you can see limestone formations and waterfalls, but make sure to stay on the approved tubing route, as certain areas can get rough or precarious. If going during the summer months, check for tickets ahead of time, as youll enter the river in the Pedernales Falls State Park.

Comal River

Getty Images/Creative Credit

The spring-fed Comal River moseys through New Braunfels until eventually reaching the Guadalupe River. You can expect the water to be between 70 and 72 degrees year-round, and the floating stretch is under three miles, which makes it ideal for those looking for a half-day activity. End your float at the tubers exit right before the Comal River meets the Guadalupe River.



Trinity River

Getty Images/Mark Perry

Those looking to float near Fort Worth or Dallas can grab a tube and head to the Trinity River. The standout bonus of floating Trinity River is that every Saturday in the summertime, you can catch live music as you float, known as the Rockin The River concert series. They even do a fireworks show after every performance. You can enter and exit the river at the public beach near the festivities.

Colorado River

Getty Images/simonkr

The largest river on the list, the Colorado River flows through seven states. Many even opt for a multi-day floating excursion in order to make the most of the expansive river and its many sandbars. You can make your starting point in Columbus, Texas, for rentals or supplies, which is around an hour-and-half drive from Houston. Austinites can easily float the Colorado River by way of nearby Bastrop.

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Read the original article on Southern Living.
Photo Illustration by Thomas Levinson/The Daily Beast/Wikimedia Commons

When progressive Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) was briefly entertaining a run for the White House in early 2019, he promised that if he took the plunge, his campaign would reject corporate PAC money.

But Brownwho since declining to seek the presidency has accepted more than $1 million in corporate PAC donationswill not make that same promise as he gears up for whats sure to be a contentious re-election fight in 2024.

Anyone who knows Sherrod knows hes one of the nations strongest leaders in taking on big corporations on behalf of Ohio workersthats one of the reasons Ohioans continue to elect him to the U.S. Senate and why he will win this race in 2024, Brown campaign manager Rachel Petri said in a statement to The Daily Beast. We are proud of the grassroots coalition hes built and have no doubt it will show up to support him again as we gear up for next year.

Want a closer look inside the pockets of the governments most powerful players? Subscribe to the Pay Dirt newsletter here for exclusive reporting every Thursday.

Petri did not reply when asked why Brown, who accepted more than $7 million in corporate PAC money before 2019, believed standards were different when it came to his Senate candidacy. (Petri most recently managed Sen. Raphael Warnocks victorious 2022 campaign in Georgia, which set fundraising records despite rejecting corporate PAC money.)

Sen. Sherrod Brown: I Don't Think Democrats Were Talking to Working-Class Americans of All Races

Politics provides the likely explanation.

Unlike with the crowded 2020 presidential field, where corporate PAC support functioned as a test of progressive street cred, Browna longtime incumbent who prides himself as a champion of unions and the working class, and the only Ohio Democrat elected to statewide office since 2011wont likely face much of a primary challenge from the left this time around.

But while Brown may reason that his corporate supportor the contradictions that surround itisnt high on the list of issues for Ohio voters, that luxury doesnt apply across the board.

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Republicans, meanwhile, arent sweating this question. Of the more than 70 politicians who ran for Congress last year with a no corporate PAC money pledge, all but a few were Democrats. Sens. Ted Cruz (R-TX), Josh Hawley (R-MO), and Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) have all sworn off corporate PAC donations. But for Senators Cruz and Hawley, thats because corporate PACs have sworn them off, after their support for overturning the 2020 election.

At the end of the day, the no corporate PAC money pledge is almost exclusively a litmus test for populist liberals. A total of 155 Democrats took the vow in 2020, and it will surely be a trial on the 2024 campaign trail as well, even as corporations flee politics following the MAGA revolt on Jan. 6.

Take Rep. Katie Porter (D-CA), who recently announced her bid to replace 89-year-old Sen. Dianne Feinstein. Last month, Porter told NPR that rejecting corporate PACs is one way to get Washington working.

If Democrats and Republicans were refusing corporate PAC money like I have, who were refusing lobbyfederal lobbyist checks like I have, then I think you would see more ability to have conversation about the issues, Porter said, adding that voters dont want you to be bought and paid for.

Porter has already attempted to use the issue to contrast herself with rival Rep. Adam Schiff, who has said he wont take corporate funds after accepting tens of thousands of dollars over his career. Our senator should work for Californians, not corporations, Porter said in a statement following Schiffs candidacy announcement last month. Im proud to be the only candidate who has never taken a dime of corporate PAC money.

Family Member Dumbfounded by Santos Campaigns Donation Claim

But the pledge is also widely seen as cosmetic. First, corporate PACs dont account for a lot of political spending. While some companies can pull in billions of dollars a year, federal election law evens the playing field a bit, limiting their PAC gifts to $5,000 per candidate per election. Many of those PACs pull a large portion of their fundssometimes the majority of itfrom executives.

The pledge also comes with loopholes wide enough to accommodate millions of dollars. And given the myriad paths political cash can take to a candidatee.g., via trade groups, individual executives, or contributions from other candidates, leadership PACs, and other groups that do accept corporate moneythe pledge can open even the most well-meaning candidates to allegations of hypocrisy.

Of course, there are also more direct accusations. While Browns case in particular drew criticism in 2019, his 2024 decision would appear to sidestep that issue.

Brown has burnished a reputation as an anti-corporate crusader, but his campaign and leadership PAC have collected more than $8 million from corporate PACs during his three decades in federal office, including from lobbying groups, according to federal data. His top industries include lobbyists, health care, insurance, and the financial sector, with the Center of Responsive Politics labeling him an industry favorite for his third-place ranking among recipients of credit union money.

Brown received more than $100,000 from corporate groups in the last quarter of 2022 alone, FEC filings show, with donors including New York Life, Blue Cross/Blue Shield, Squire Patton Boggs, Visa, Microsoft, and defense contractors Northrup Grumman and Booz Allen Hamilton.

Asked about that record in 2019, Brown told Politico, My head is not turned by that. And I can prove it.

Its personal to me what Wall Street overreach and Wall Street greed can do, he said, pointing to the foreclosure crisis in his home state of Ohio. Its not personal that I aim at their executives or aim at them as a company as much as it is, how do we make good things happen? And weve had some success doing that.

Brown has criticized some of his corporate benefactors, including General Motors, Amazon, and Wells Fargowhich could evince hypocrisy or integrity, depending how you slice it.

While some incumbents havent officially announced their re-election intentions yet, The Daily Beast reached out to a number of 2024 Democratic senatorial contenders for this report, including many who have previously sworn off corporate donations. Only Sheldon Whitehouse and Kirsten Gillbrand replied, both confirming they will uphold their pledge for 2024.

Dems Have a Plan for a More Moneyball Approach to Campaigns

Like Brown, Gillibrand swore off corporate cash when she joined the presidential primary field in 2019. But unlike Brown, Gillibrand appears to have stemmed the flow to her Senate committee and leadership PAC, refunding the single offending checka $2,000 gift from Cloroxs PAC in 2020.

A handful of liberalsChris Murphy, Maria Cantwell, and Bernie Sandershave all kept their noses clean, Roll Call reported last year, as has outspoken progressive Elizabeth Warrenat least since taking the pledge in 2018 ahead of her own 2020 run.

New Jerseys Bob Menendez, who faces the prospect of campaigning while under criminal investigation, has not taken the pledge. Hes already got a primary challenger on the left, and his campaign accounts have been stuffed with corporate cash. Martin Heinrich of New Mexico is playing it close to the vest, but his Lobo PAC has been cited as a significant conduit for corporate money to other candidates. Same with Montanas Jon Tester, who hasnt announced his plans, either.

Nevadas Jacky Rosen, who heads into re-election with a staggering $4.4 million, has also been dinged as a corporate recipient and conduit to pledge-takers. As have Bob Casey and Tim Kaine, another corporate favorite. And the jury is still out on Tammy Baldwin, whose 2018 bid saw an endorsement from campaign finance reform advocates End Citizens United, despite not taking the pledge.

While Arizonas Kyrsten Sinema does not shy from courting corporate donors, she has bowed out of the 2024 Democratic primary and will apply her fat stack of campaign cash as an independent in what will likely be a three-way general election fight. But her most prominent Democratic opponent, Rep. Ruben Gallego, has enjoyed hundreds of thousands of dollars in corporate PAC support, including from defense contractors.

In 2019, Gallego called out then-Democratic candidate Mark Kellyat the time a potential primary rivalfor violating the spirit of his no corporate PAC money pledge by taking in thousands in speaking fees at corporate events.

And then theres Joe Manchin. Like Sinema, Manchin has in recent years tested the patience of his liberal colleaguesand hes also a top corporate target. In fact, over the last three months of 2022, Manchin saw far more financial support from companies than he did from his West Virginia constituents, who contributed a total $1,130.

In that same period, corporate PACs gave Manchin $89,300.

Read more at The Daily Beast.

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After 25 years on the bench, U.S. District Judge Victoria Roberts  a legal pioneer who fought to have more diverse juries in federal court, became the only Black woman to serve as president of the Michigan Bar Association and pulled off the rare move of throwing out a high-profile domestic terrorism case a decade ago  is stepping down.

Roberts will retire Sept. 1, leaving behind a legacy of advocacy for equality, justice, truth  and making tough calls, even if it went against the norm.

In perhaps the boldest move of her career, Roberts pulled the plug on the sensational Hutaree militia case after listening to weeks of testimony and concluding that the government had no case. The group did not plot to overthrow the government and spark a violent uprising, she determined before sending the jury home.

U.S. District Court Judge Victoria Roberts

Roberts 'did the right thing,' though unconventional, in Hutaree case

In another rare move that day  Roberts also let the cameras in her courtroom, which is not allowed in federal court. But Roberts did it anyway, throwing court security for a loop as she allowed media in to interview the jurors, and the world to see the defendants who had been locked up for years rejoice in their victory.

"It would have been very easy for her to just punt and leave it to the jury," said defense attorney Bill Swor, who represented the lead defendant in the Hutaree case. "There is a great deal of institutional pressure and inertia on judges to allow cases to go to a jury for a decision. Judges don't get any criticism if they let a case go to the jury and the jury acquits a defendant."

Congratulations Judge Roberts! https://t.co/Xl6MZ5x49P  MI Supreme Court (@MISupremeCourt) August 12, 2018

Swor continued: "But Judge Roberts put those institutional pressures aside and did the right thing. She analyzed the facts carefully and determined that no crime had been committed."

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Swor, who has been practicing law for 50 years, said he can count on one hand how many times a judge has dismissed a case at the end of trial, and sent the jury home.

Defense lawyers routinely make such requests  though they are rarely honored.

"That took guts," defense attorney Mike Rataj said at the time.

More:University of Michigan blasted by judge over investigation into former doctor

More:Ex-DPS official at center of kickback scheme gets 3 years in prison

Leaving Federal Court are, from left, Joshua Stone, David Stone Jr., Tina Stone and David Stone Sr. in Detroit on Thursday, March 29, 2012. From the Free Press story: The Hutaree terror case officially ended today (3/29/2012) with the last two defendants cutting deals with the government on weapons charges, two days after their five codefendants were cleared of all charges by a federal judge. David Stone Sr. left the federal courthouse at 1:10 p.m. hand in hand with his wife and two sons after two years of being locked up in prison on charges he plotted a violent revolt against the government that included killing police officers with bombs and guns.

Retirement 'will leave the bench with a significant void'

Ten years later, Rataj echoed similar praises.

"It took a tremendous amount of judicial courage to pull the plug on that case," said Rataj, calling Roberts "one of the best judges that I've ever appeared in front of."

"Even if she ruled against you  you walked away with a decent feeling," said Rataj, recalling a time when Roberts gave one of his clients a stiffer punishment than he wanted. "She had articulated why. And like I said  you never walked out of her courtroom with a bad feeling, you always felt that you got a fair shake, and that justice was served. She's going to be sorely missed."

Added longtime defense attorney Art Weiss, who also worked o the Hutaree case: "Her retirement will leave the bench with a significant void. Throughout her judicial career, she has consistently displayed intellectual decisiveness, integrity and intestinal fortitude."

Prosecutors express respect

Former U.S. Attorney Barbara McQuade, who ran the U.S. Attorney's Office during the Hutaree trial, also had words of praise for Roberts, calling her a "dedicated, thoughtful, meticulous judge who takes seriously her duty to administer equal justice under the law."

"The legal community will miss Judge Roberts," McQuade said. "I did not agree with every one of Judge Roberts' decisions, but I respected her judgment and fierce independence."

Former federal prosecutor Mark Chutkow recalled handling numerous difficult cases before Roberts, including a Ukranian human trafficking ring, a large oil spill in the Rouge River and a bribery kickback scheme at Detroit Metro Airport. In every case, he remembers Roberts as being fair-minded, and never taking sides.

"She took the bench every day without a preconceived notion of how a case should be decided," Chutkow said. "She never put her thumb on the scale ... her departure will leave a big hole in our state's justice system."

Roberts' inspiring backstory

Roberts was nominated to the federal bench in 1997 by then-President Bill Clinton. She was the first judge to address the issue of the lack of representation of Black people in federal juries in the Eastern District of Michigan, and chaired causes that led to changes in how juries are picked.

In legal circles, it was hard to ignore Roberts' passion for racial justice. It was part of her life story.

A Detroit native, Roberts  one of seven children  was raised by blue-collar parents who instilled a strong work ethic. She graduated class valedictorian from St. Martin de Porres High School in 1969 and went on to study journalism and sociology at the University of Michigan. Her dream was to become a journalist, though that was cut short soon after college by a newspaper editor.

According to a 2018 article in the Legal News, a Detroit News editor told Roberts during an interview that despite her excellent writing portfolio, the newspaper had already hired a Black reporter.

"I left The Detroit News in tears," Roberts told reporter David Ashenfelter. "It was the first time I had faced such blatant racism.

It was that setback that catapulted her legal career. At the advice of a friend, she decided to pursue law instead to battle injustice.

She went on to graduate from Northeastern University School of Law in Boston, spent 20 years in private practice and then became a federal judge.

'This is indeed a bittersweet moment'

At an annual legal conference last year at the Westin Book Cadillac, Judge Roberts spoke to a group of accomplished lawyers about "why race matters." Among those in attendance was veteran defense attorney Jim Thomas.

"She gave a heartfelt and personally revealing talk that showed how it was that she came to accomplish so much," Thomas said, adding, "It is not hard to empathize with her story. She is  and very well should be  an example to us all."

After listening to Roberts speak, Thomas said one "could not help but realize that she was formed, not only by her childhood experiences of separation and discrimination ... but also by the love and affection of her family," and her "determination to succeed in her education."

Above all, she was resilient. Despite setbacks and rejections, Roberts went on to build a successful career in the law.

"That pursuit led her to a successful practice, the recognition of her peers, the presidency of the Michigan Bar and finally the appointment to a federal judgeship, which she most capably administered fairly and with consideration to all sides.,' Thomas said. "She has the respect and admiration of the government and the defense. I wish her luck and happiness."

In announcing her retirement, Roberts offered words of praise for her judicial colleagues.

"It has been my highest honor to be in association with all of you and our former colleagues," Roberts wrote in a letter that was provided to the Free Press. "Few have the privilege or opportunity to serve the public in such an impactful way and to make decisions that influence every aspect of life and public policy. You have met the challenges with the devotion that our calling requires of us. Please know that I respect you all, and I will miss you."

She concluded: "After 22 years in practice and 25 on the bench, I look forward to the epilogue of my life. This is indeed a bittersweet moment."

Contact Tresa Baldas: tbaldas@freepress.com

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit's 'gutsy' federal judge who pulled off a rare move will retire
Dr. Richard Strauss wasnt the only one.

Strauss was accused of sexually abusing at least 177 patients during his time at Ohio State University. But he was just one of hundreds of Ohio physicians who sexually abused or harassed hundreds more patients throughout 42 years, a Dispatch investigation has found.

Following a state investigation into the State Medical Board of Ohios botched handling of accusations against Strauss, Dispatch reporters launched their own probe.

Reporters found the state medical board for years didn't do enough to warn and protect the public from serial sexual abusers and harassers despite a decades-long history of doctors preying on patients. The medical board's investigations have been shrouded in secrecy with just a fraction of the allegations ever being made public.

The alleged sexual misconduct of the doctors varies widely. And the victims often suffer in silence or never receive the justice they seek.

Even with the endorsement of the governor and medical board director, reforms proposed in 2022 went nowhere. That legislation has yet to be reintroduced this year, leaving holes in a system that is supposed to protect the public from predatory doctors.

State medical board failed to protect Ohioans from doctors' sexual misconduct

A Dispatch investigation found more than 250 Ohio doctors have been disciplined for sexual misconduct by the State Medical Board of Ohio in the last 42 years. At least 199 of those doctors sexually abused or harassed over 440 patients. READ MORE

'He deserved worse than what he got': Circleville doctor may have abused 150 patients

The late Dr. Ray Carroll of Circleville was abusing young women and girls at the same time Dr. Richard Strauss was abusing students at Ohio State. READ MORE

'Nobody cares': Columbus-area man took his own life after accusing doctor of sexual abuse

A Columbus-area man said in personal writings that he took his own life because of sexual abuse he suffered at the hands of his doctor for years. READ MORE

Story continues

'A black hole': How the state medical board bungled sex abuse cases for years

A Dispatch investigation found inconsistencies and delays in how the State Medical Board of Ohio dealt with doctor sexual misconduct. READ MORE

Sickening snapshots: A closer look at accusations of doctors preying on patients

Medical board records paint a detailed picture of what happens in exam rooms where doctors abuse or harass patients. READ MORE

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Preying on Patients: Hundreds of doctors have abused, harassed Ohioans
Are you a college student looking to make some extra money on the weekends? Maybe you have a natural urge to nurture and are looking for a way to utilize that as a job.

If youre considering becoming a nanny or caregiver, theres a few things you need to know before you accept a job.

This week, were talking about caregiver job scams  and how to avoid them. You may have a desire to take care of others, but con artists certainly dont.

Looking for work

When you begin to look for babysitting or nanny work, youre likely to check the internet first. Maybe you use Craigslist or Care.com. You might even post in a local Facebook group, asking if anyone needs a caregiver.

These can all be legitimate ways to find good gigs. But scammers know this. They know where good-natured people go to find their next job. And they know how to fool you.

Fortunately, the Federal Trade Commission has some tips for avoiding a fraudulent job offer.

If youre offered a job and hired without an interview  be suspicious. Look out for convenient excuses for no in-person or over the phone contact with the solicitor.

They might say theyre out of town or too busy to meet up. Dont accept a job without meeting your potential boss. But keep in mind that an interview doesnt mean youre not talking to a scammer.

Be wary if you receive a check before you even begin your job. This could be a fake check scam. The employer might say its your first paycheck or that its to buy supplies for the job.

Later, theyll ask you to send some of the money to someone else or to return it to them. Theyll say they overpaid you or have an unexpected medical bill. The check is fake and by the time the bank realizes, the fraudster will already have your money.

When you accept a job offer

Lets say you find a potential nanny job that sounds ideal. You interview with the potential employer, and everything seems legitimate. They offer you the job. Now what?

There are still a few steps you can take to protect yourself in the event that youre the target of a caregiver job scam.

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Before you give over any personal or financial information, do some research on your potential boss. You can search online using their name, email, phone number and more. Use keywords like scam or complaint. You may encounter some people who have had bad experiences with your new employer.

Dont send money to your potential boss either. Your employer pays you  not the other way around. Also, if your boss asks you to send money via gift card or wire transfer, dont do it.

Before you start work as a nanny or caregiver, make sure to get everything in writing, including the job duties, the pay, the hours and any other important information. If the employer refuses, this is a red flag.

Are you looking for a new babysitting job? Dont rush into anything. Take your time, follow these steps and hopefully youll find the perfect caregiver job in your neighborhood.
Law enforcement agencies are making a new effort, including offering rewards for information, in the case of a Bradford County woman who has been missing for 12 years.

The FBI Pittsburgh field office, Pennsylvania State Police and West Virginia State Police hope to find answers to the disappearance of Maria Nina Miller, of Towanda, who was 34 when she was last seen Feb. 5, 2011.

Miller was born in the Philippines and moved to the United States with her husband, Kenneth Miller, who was in the U.S. Army at the time, according to Pennsylvania Crime Stoppers.

Maria Miller in 2011

The FBI became involved in this case a few years ago, according to Catherine Coennen, spokesperson for the Pittsburgh field office.

"The community deserves closure and Ms. Millers family deserves answers about her whereabouts for the last 12 years," Coennen said.

The FBI is offering a $5,000 reward for information that leads to a resolution in the case. Pennsylvania Crime Stoppers is offering an additional $2,000 reward.

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In 2005, the Millers lived in Norfolk, Virginia, where Kenneth Miller was an Army recruiter, according to Pennsylvania Crime Stoppers. In 2010, he was transferred to Towanda to continue his recruiting efforts, and the couple moved into an apartment in the borough.

Maria Miller was last seen at the Dandy Mini Mart in Wysox where she worked. She reportedly took two planned days off work and told co-workers she was planning to visit Kenneth's mother, who was ill and in the Charleston Area Medical Center in Charleston, West Virginia.

Kenneth Miller told police the couple drove to the parking lot of the hospital, where he and Maria got into an argument, and according to Kenneth, she demanded he take her to Virginia Beach.

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Kenneth Miller said he dropped his wife off at an unknown apartment complex in Virginia Beach.

Maria was not reported missing until June 10, 2011, four months after she was last seen, and that report was made by the U.S. Army after it was made known nobody could find or contact her.

At the time of her disappearance, Maria Miller was 5-foot-1-inch tall, 125 pounds with black hair and brown eyes. She would now be 46 years old.

Anyone with information about the case is asked to contact Pennsylvania State Police in Towanda at 570-265-2186, the Troop P Criminal Investigation Assessment Unit at 570-822-5515, or the FBI Pittsburgh field office at 800-CALLFBI or tips.fbi.gov.

Follow Jeff Murray on Twitter @SGJeffMurray. To get unlimited access to the latest news, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.

This article originally appeared on Elmira Star-Gazette: Renewed FBI search for PA woman missing since 2011
Future Market Insights Global and Consulting Pvt. Ltd.

Foam Cooler Box: The Perfect Companion for Outdoor Adventures; a 6.6% CAGR is Anticipated in the Foam Cooler Box Market until 2033. The US foam cooler box market is a growing and competitive industry, with the US holding a 21.2% share of the global market in 2022. The popularity of foam cooler boxes among outdoor enthusiasts is increasing due to their efficiency, lightness, and ease of transport. The market in China is expected to grow at a 9.01% CAGR, reaching a value of over US$ 244.2 million by 2033

NEWARK, Del, Feb. 06, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- According to new market research conducted by Future Market Insights (FMI), sales of foam cooler boxes are anticipated to soar at a 6.6% CAGR, hitting US$ 1.72 billion in 2023. By 2033, the foam cooler box market is projected to exceed US$ 3.26 billion at this compound annual growth rate.



In response to growing consumer demand for practical and environment-friendly flexible packaging, the foam cooler box market has experienced significant growth over the past decade.

The rise of outdoor recreation like camping and picnics has also contributed to the market's expansion. Great-quality foam cooler boxes are in high demand as a result of high disposable income and the growing trend of private labels.

The availability of huge sizes in light weights is one further benefit of adopting foam cooler boxes. In light of this, a foam cooler box is more appropriate for discrete handles than an insulated cooler.

Get a Sample PDF of the Report @ https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/sample/rep-gb-13962

A foam cooler box comes in a range of sizes and configurations that are typically not offered by a conventional plastic or metal cooler. Demand is anticipated to increase for foam cooler boxes that can be handled differently.

Since foam cooler boxes are more affordable than metal and plastic coolers, the food sector favors them. Exceptional insulation potentials are supplied by the foam cooler box, which aids in keeping food fresh for a long time. A foam cooler box is also recommended for storing seafood goods.

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The market has benefited from the drive toward sustainable development and environmental friendliness. To address the increased demand for sustainable packaging options, manufacturers are putting a great emphasis on developing foam cooler boxes from eco-friendly materials including recyclable and compostable polyurethane.

Owing to the pharmaceutical sector's increasing application of foam cooler boxes, the United States is the market leader in this niche. Foam cooler boxes used in pharmaceuticals are expanding at a decadent rate in Europe, particularly in nations like Germany. China is likely to be the top producer and user of foam cooler boxes in the Asia Pacific region and is anticipated to have a big market opportunity during the forecast period.

Key Takeaways

The market in the United Kingdom is anticipated to rise, exhibiting a CAGR of 5.43% through 2033.

The United States dominated the market in 2022 holding a 21.2% share of the global market.

In 2022, Japan held a 4.8% market share globally.

With a CAGR of 10.11% from 2023 to 2033, India is expected to advance significantly in the market.

The market in China is expected to proliferate, registering a CAGR of 9.01% over the forecast period.

Germany accounted for 3.7% of the global market in 2022.

Ask An Analyst @ https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/ask-the-analyst/rep-gb-13962

Competitive Landscape:

The top manufacturers of the foam cooler box market are Igloo Products Corporation, The Coleman Company, Inc., Sonoco ThermoSafe, Cool Ice Box Co Ltd, Coldchain Technologies, Inc., Plastilite Corporation, Pelican Products, Inc., MacNeill Pride Group (ORCA), Bison Coolers, RTIC Outdoors LLC, Koolatron US, Aohong Industry Co., Ltd., Rodman Plastics Company Ltd., Carris Pipes & Tubes Pvt. Ltd., and others.

These companies have used several strategies to outperform their rivals. They give top emphasis to innovation, boosting output and quality, providing top-notch customer service, implementing cost-cutting measures, differentiating their products and services, and creating a strong brand identity. By launching new goods, making acquisitions, establishing alliances, restructuring their businesses, and working together, they have increased their client base and revenue.



Recent Developments:

In November 2022, to lease the revolutionary Pegasus ULD temperature-controlled bulk shipping container, Sonoco ThermoSafe and Qatar Airways Cargo established a global strategic collaboration. A direct connection to Pegasus ULD containers from Qatar Airways Cargo is made possible by the arrangement for pharmaceutical freight forwarders. This approach is a subset of Qatar Airways Cargo's Next Generation strategy.





In July 2022, Yeti Coolers, LLC launched Roadie 48 and Roadie 60. These two brand-new coolers are the company's premium mobile hard coolers to existence. These coolers include telescopic trolley handles instead of the Haul's non-extendable, wagon-style handles, which more accurately represent a transportable carry-on bag.



Market Segmentation

By Capacity:

Up to 25 Quart

26-75 Quart

Above 150 Quart



By Carrying Method:

Side Handles

Lid Handles

Shoulder Strap



By Material type:

Expanded Polystyrene

Expanded Polypropylene

By End-use Industry:

Food & Beverages

Pharmaceutical

Cosmetics & Personal Care



By Region:

North America

Latin America

Europe

The Middle East and Africa

East Asia

South Asia

Oceania



View Full Report@ https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/foam-cooler-box-market

Table of Content

1. Executive Summary | Foam Cooler Box Market

1.1. Global Market Outlook

1.2. Demand-side Trends

1.3. Supply-side Trends

1.4. Technology Roadmap Analysis

1.5. Analysis and Recommendations

2. Market Overview

2.1. Market Coverage / Taxonomy

2.2. Market Definition / Scope / Limitations

3. Market Background

3.1. Market Dynamics

3.1.1. Drivers

3.1.2. Restraints

3.1.3. Opportunity

3.1.4. Trends

3.2. Scenario Forecast

3.2.1. Demand in Optimistic Scenario

3.2.2. Demand in Likely Scenario

3.2.3. Demand in Conservative Scenario

3.3. Opportunity Map Analysis

3.4. Product Life Cycle Analysis

3.5. Supply Chain Analysis

Click Here for Foam Cooler Box Market 200 pages TOC Report

Explore Trending Reports of Packaging:

Corrugated Box Market : The corrugated box market is anticipated to have an effective CAGR of 5.0% during the period of 2022-2032. The corrugated box market is expected to expand from US$ 134.7 Billion in 2022 to US$ 219.4 Billion in 2032. Previously, the market grew at a faster rate of 2.5% from 2015 to 2021, culminating in a market of US$ 128.1 Billion in 2021.



Microtube Box Market : Global sales of microtube boxes were valued at US$ 264.6 Billion in 2021, and are expected to reach US$ 277.65 Billion in 2022, experiencing an annual increase worth 4.9%. Furthermore, the market is likely to reach US$ 465.34 Billion, growing at a CAGR of 5.3% from 2022-2032.



Slide Tray Box Market : The global slide tray box market is currently valued at US$14.5 Billion in 2023 and is anticipated to expand at a CAGR of 6.5%. Owing to the advances in packaging the market is likely to propel to US$ 27.2 Billion by 2033.



Jewellery Box Market : The jewellery box market was valued at around US$ 146.8 Mn in 2021 and the sales of are projected to reach US$ 249.2 Mn by the end of 2032. Growth in the jewellery box market is expected to accelerate at a CAGR of 5.0% between 2022 and 2032.



Packaging Foam Market : The global packaging foam market was valued at US$ 6.6 Bn in 2022 and is projected to record a CAGR of 5.7% during the review period from 2022 to 2026.



About Future Market Insights, Inc.

Future Market Insights, Inc. is an ESOMAR-certified business consulting & market research firm, a member of the Greater New York Chamber of Commerce and is headquartered in Delaware, USA. A recipient of Clutch Leaders Award 2022 on account of high client score (4.9/5), we have been collaborating with global enterprises in their business transformation journey and helping them deliver on their business ambitions. 80% of the largest Forbes 1000 enterprises are our clients. We serve global clients across all leading & niche market segments across all major industries.



Contact Us:



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Google is rushing to take part in the sudden fervor for conversational AI, driven by the pervasive success of rival OpenAI's ChatGPT. Bard, the company's new AI experiment, aims to "combine the breadth of the world's knowledge with the power, intelligence, and creativity of our large language models." Not short on ambition, Google!

The model, or service, or AI chatbot, however you wish to describe it, was announced in a blog post by CEO Sundar Pichai. He pointedly notes Google's recentering around AI some years back, as well as the fact that the most influential concept (the Transformer) was created by the company's researchers in 2017.

"It's a really exciting time to be working on these technologies as we translate deep research and breakthroughs into products that truly help people," Pichai writes. It's hard not to wonder while reading this how Google managed to get leapfrogged so decisively by OpenAI, the latter of which is now synonymous with the technologies the former pioneered.

The short explanation is that tech moves fast and big companies move slow, and while Google released paper after paper and tried to figure out how to fit AI into its existing business strategies, OpenAI has focused on making the best models and let people figure out their own applications.

Bard shows Google taking a page from that playbook, releasing a "lightweight" version of the model for testing purposes. The model uses Google's own LaMDA (Language Model for Dialogue Applications) to power a conversational AI that can also draw on information from the web. How exactly it does that is not clear from the blog post, but it appears to at least keep more or less current.

Bard "help[s] explain new discoveries from NASA's James Webb Space Telescope to a 9-year-old, or learn more about the best strikers in football right now, and then get drills to build your skills."

Image Credits: Google

(Update: As Isabel Angelo points out on Twitter, this very first demonstration of Bard contains a non-trivial error. The Webb did not take the first pictures of an exoplanet. Not a great start!)

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Google of course maintains the most up to date record of web content on Earth, and no doubt Bard will be using that information to its benefit, but exactly how it processes and packages that information for you and your nine-year-old will only be clear once people start using it.

The post notes you can also use Bard to "plan a friend's baby shower," "compare two Oscar-nominated movies" and "plan a trip to Ecuador." One can picture how an AI model might do any of these things using the various search results and data firehoses Google has access to, but this experiment will likely be limited to telling you stuff, not doing deep integrations with things like your calendar or airlines.

Of course every conversational AI must face the inevitable (these days, almost instant) attempts to bait it into saying something hateful, foolish or embarrassing. Google will surely be recording conversations with users "to make sure Bard's responses meet a high bar for quality, safety, and groundedness in real-world information." The last one is clearly a shot across OpenAI's bows, as well as Microsoft's, since the former's models don't cite their sources and the latter's short-lived Galactica famously invented them.

(Update: "In light of recent announcements," Microsoft has now made public a previously confidential event being held tomorrow in Redmond. The topic is not officially declared but it is widely expected to be a Bing-OpenAI tie-up that brings a next-generation language model to Microsoft's perennially beleaguered search engine. An early version of the features was reportedly tested and leaked by student Owen Lin, but we have been unable to confirm anything from that post.)

AI will be coming to Google Search more directly in the form of several new features "which can help synthesize insights for questions where there is no one right answer. Soon, you'll see these AI-powered features in Search that distill complex information and multiple viewpoints into easy-to-digest formats, so you can quickly understand the big picture and learn more from the web," the company said in a separate email. Nuance but bullet point format, got it.

While no doubt people will ask it variations on the Trolley Problem, the example provided is someone asking "Is piano or guitar easier to learn and how much practice does each need?"

Image Credits: Google

Not an ethically charged query (for most) but also not necessarily one with a simple result. But if of a hundred articles comparing the various learning rates of instruments there is some sort of consensus about the difficulty, with various caveats and tips also common, Google can just suck those up and pop them at the top of the search results.

Questions abound: isn't that just plagiarism? Will sponsored results go above or below, and will they be included and/or promoted within the AI framework? What qualifies as a question with no right answer? Can users customize the results or crawling process?

We may very well learn the answers to these questions at Google's Search and AI event Wednesday morning, one that strangely goes unmentioned in Pichai's post. You can watch the livestream right here at 6:30 AM Pacific time or check the front page for more info then.
Grammys 2023: The Roots, Missy Elliott, Run-DMC Celebrate 50th Anniversary of Hip-Hop

After a show-opening performance from Bad Bunny and monologue from host Trevor Noah, Brandi Carlile helped kick off the 65th annual Grammys with a searing performance of her multi-nominated song Broken Horses. She was joined by her regular band and backing vocalists Lucius for the segment, which was introduced by her wife Catherine Shepherd and two daughters, who promised the artist would rock everyones faces off.

Carlile has already enjoyed a big night at the Grammys, including winning best rock performance and best rock song for Broken Horses as well as best Americana album for her acclaimed 2021 release In These Silent Days. In total, Carlile is nominated for seven awards tonight. During her early acceptance speeches, Carlile paid tribute to her mom, talked about first meeting her twin touring bandmates Phil and Tim Hanseroth 22 years ago in Seattle, and thanked everyone in the Emerald City that made us want to strive for this incredible accolade.

More from Spin:

The Grammy wins come after a big year for Carlile in which she helped bring Joni Mitchell back to the stage at the Newport Folk Festival, guested at Elton Johns final U.S. performance at Dodger Stadium, and released a Laurel Canyon-inspired version of In These Silent Days, entitled In the Canyon Haze. This year, Carlile is slated to work with Dolly Parton on her rock-inspired album, tour with Pink over the summer, and reconnect with Mitchell for two June shows at the Gorge in Washington State.

For more of SPINs 2023 Grammy coverage, click here.

To see our running list of the top 100 greatest rock stars of all time, click here.

The post Grammys 2023: The Roots, Missy Elliott, Run-DMC Celebrate 50th Anniversary of Hip-Hop appeared first on SPIN.
Cybercriminals are actively exploiting a two-year-old VMware vulnerability as part of a ransomware campaign targeting thousands of organizations worldwide.

Reports emerged over the weekend that VMware ESXi servers left vulnerable and unpatched against a remotely exploitable bug from 2021 were compromised and scrambled by a ransomware variant dubbed ESXiArgs. ESXi is VMwares hypervisor, a technology that allows organizations to host several virtualized computers running multiple operating systems on a single physical server.

France's computer emergency response team CERT-FR reports that the cybercriminals have been targeting VMware ESXi servers since February 3, while Italys national cybersecurity agency ACN on Sunday warned of a large-scale ransomware campaign targeting thousands of servers across Europe and North America.

U.S. cybersecurity officials have also confirmed they are investigating the ESXiArgs campaign. "CISA is working with our public and private sector partners to assess the impacts of these reported incidents and providing assistance where needed," a CISA spokesperson told TechCrunch. "Any organization experiencing a cybersecurity incident should immediately report it to CISA or the FBI."

Italian cybersecurity officials warned that the ESXi flaw could be exploited by unauthenticated threat actors in low-complexity attacks, which don't rely on using employee passwords or secrets, according to the Italian ANSA news agency. The ransomware campaign is already causing "significant" damage due to the number of unpatched machines, local press reported.

More than 3,200 VMware servers worldwide have been compromised by the ESXiArgs ransomware campaign so far, according to a Censys search (via Bleeping Computer). France is the most affected country, followed by the U.S., Germany, Canada and the United Kingdom.

It's not clear who is behind the ransomware campaign. French cloud computing provider OVHCloud backtracked on its initial findings suggesting a link to the Nevada ransomware variant.

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A copy of the alleged ransom note, shared by threat intelligence provider DarkFeed, shows that the hackers behind the attack have adopted a "triple-extortion" technique, in which the attackers threaten to notify victims customers of the data breach. The unknown attackers are demanding 2.06 bitcoin  approximately $19,000 in ransom payments  with each note displaying a different bitcoin wallet address.

In a statement given to TechCrunch, VMware spokesperson Doreen Ruyak said the company was aware of reports that a ransomware variant dubbed ESXiArgs appears to be leveraging the vulnerability identified as CVE-2021-21974 and said that patches for the vulnerability were made available to customers two years ago in VMwares security advisory of February 23, 2021.

Security hygiene is a key component of preventing ransomware attacks, and organizations who are running versions of ESXi impacted by CVE-2021-21974, and have not yet applied the patch, should take action as directed in the advisory, the spokesperson added.

Updated with comment from CISA.
Tre Evans-Dumaran, Maui Firefighter Dies After Being Sweeten Into Storm Drain and Carried Out to Sea

GoFundMe

A 24-year-old Hawaii firefighter who was in critical condition after being swept into a storm drain has died.

Tre' Evans-Dumaran was helping residents in Maui on Jan. 27 after a storm caused flooding in the area when he got swept into a storm drain, according to Maui County officials. He was later found 800 yards away from where the storm drain ended near the shoreline at Kulanihakoi Street.

Although he initially survived, county officials shared the news of his death on Saturday.

"We want to thank the entire community for the outpouring of love during this time," Evans-Dumaran's mother, Chelsie Evans, said in a statement. "My heart tells me that Tre' wants to say thank you for loving his family, his fire 'ohana, his friends during this time."

She went on to say that she knew her won would "want people to keep giving blood, to keep doing your part as a hero, in the way he lived every day on Earth."

Fire Chief Brad Ventura & Mayor Bissen offer statements on the passing of Tre' Evans-Dumaran https://t.co/V7AxEsfwqp pic.twitter.com/x3LuIHPi0u  County of Maui (@CountyofMaui) February 5, 2023

RELATED: Man and Woman from Calif. Drown in 6-Ft. Waves While Vacationing in Maui, Officials Say

The firefighter was in Kihei on Jan. 27 responding to storm conditions when he was swept into the drain and into the ocean, per his GoFundMe and a county release. .

Evans-Dumaran, who worked for the fire department for over 3 years, was listed in critical condition at Maui Memorial Medical Center's intensive care unit and treated with multiple "life-saving measures," per the county. Before his death, loved ones said he had been "slowly making positive and promising signs of progress."

In an update on GoFundMe, his mom said that his lungs were beginning to improve and that the the right side of his heart was "showing signs of struggle," before it began responding well to medication. The next day, she said he opened his eyes gave a thumbs up at the request of those in the hospital.

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Sadly, on Saturday, the county confirmed his death.

"Today brought devastating news to our firefighting 'ohana. One loss is one too many and while we face the tremendous loss of one of our own, we are united in the strength we want to give to Tre's family and to each other," Fire Chief Brad Ventura shared in a statement.

"The amount of support from throughout our community and beyond Maui has been incredible. We've all felt the depth of aloha and it makes all the difference," his statement continued. "Tre' loved being a firefighter and he loved those he worked with. Serving the community came naturally to him because he was so happy to serve people."

RELATED: Girl, 16, Dies in Australia Shark Attack After Jumping into Water to Swim with Dolphins: 'We Are Devastated'

Mayor Richard Bissen, Jr. also said in statement that the county was "devastated by the turn of events."

"My heart was broken by the news," he said. "Every day our emergency responders put their lives at risk to help others, looking out for the community they serve. This is a reminder of that risk and the courageous work they do for all of us. In his fight to recover, we rallied behind Tre' just as he would for others. We will focus on supporting Tre's 'ohana and fellow firefighters with comfort and prayers."

RELATED: Calif. Woman Dies After Being Swept Out of Popular But Teacherous Maui Swimming Hole the Waioka Pond

As for his family, as of Monday the GoFundMe organized by Evans has already raised around $136,000 of its $10,000 goal. Initially intended to help the firefighter during the "fight of his life," donations are still coming in.

"Lord, hear me. You created THE most amazing soul and you gifted him to a teenage girl not ready to be a mom, but I took you up for the challenge," Evans shared in an update on Sunday. "I loved that gift more than I knew a 15 year old's heart could bare. I did my very best, although imperfect, to care for this beautiful gift with my whole being."

"Yesterday. You took your gift back. He was yours to begin with. I understand. But hear me. Every, single, day of my life I will be crying out to you, demanding that you take care of my baby," she continued. "You created me to not rest, to fight, to use by body and my brain to advocate for others. Every ounce of me that's left will be commanding that you are always with him and loving him. Although I've heard others say there is no greater love than yours, let me be clear, my baby still deserves more than you can give him."

Evans concluded her statement by sharing that "the rest of us here on earth try to get by one breath at a time I beg, please, please, never stop trying to give him more."
Gary Frank Sotherden

A skull found in the wilderness of Alaska more than 25 years ago belonged to a New York man who went missing in the 1970s, according to authorities.

Gary Frank Sotherden, of Clay, N.Y., went missing in 1976 near the Porcupine River in northeastern Alaska, according to Syracuse.com and The New York Times.

The skull was recovered in July 1997 along the same river, about eight miles from the Alaska-Canada border, the Associated Press and Times reported.

In April 2022, Alaska State Troopers said investigators were able to extract DNA from the skull, but faced a months-long process to identify the remains, per the Times.

RELATED: Kayaker, 39, Found Dead Days After He Went Missing While Crabbing in Calif. Bay with Friends

However, a recent 23andMe test taken by Gary's brother Stephen Sotherden helped authorities officially identify the remains, the newspaper reported.

"We've been working on it for 45 years, and it's nice that things came to a conclusion," Stephen, 76, told the Times.

A spokesperson for the Alaska State Troopers did not immediately respond to PEOPLE's request for comment.

Gary Frank Sotherden

Rick Bowmer/AP/Shutterstock

Tim DeSpain, a spokesperson for the Alaska State Troopers, said Gary appears to have been attacked by a bear "based on the shape, size and locations of tooth penetrations to the skull," according to the AP.

DeSpain said it is unclear if the bear's attack led to Gary's death, per the news agency.

RELATED: Missing Girl, 17, Likely Froze to Death After Driving Into a Ditch in Rural Wisconsin: Officials

Gary was adventuring outdoors with friends when he went missing in 1976, the Times reported. At one point, the group opted to travel on either side of the Porcupine River, but they later learned that Gary had disappeared.

The skull found in 1997 was located in the same area as Sotherden's last known whereabouts, DeSpain said, per the AP. Officials that searched the area did not uncover any other remains.

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Gary's family has presumed he was dead after a mountain guide they hired discovered the missing man's campsite, and personal belongings such as his drivers license and a pair of broken glasses, according to Syracuse.com and the Times.

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The hunter's loved ones also honored his life with a headstone at Pine Plains Cemetery in Clay that says, "Lost in Alaska," according to the outlets.

RELATED: Missing 22-Year-Old Hiker Found Dead in Calif. Wilderness Park: 'The Family Is Extremely Grieved'

In December, eight months after the initial breakthrough, state troopers called Stephen and informed him that they had positively identified his brother's remains, according to Syracuse.com.

Stephen said he previously thought his brother may have fallen through ice, but said the medical examiner's report "was much more brutal than I had hoped," per the report.

"It's been hard all the way along, but it's nice to at least know what happened," he told the Times.
/NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION TO UNITED STATES NEWSWIRE SERVICES OR FOR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES/

VANCOUVER, BC, Feb. 5, 2023 /CNW/ - BBTV Holdings Inc. (TSX: BBTV) (the "Company"), a media tech company that uses technology enabled solutions to help content creators and influencers become more successful, is pleased to announce it has entered into a non-binding term sheet for a US$16 million senior secured term loan (the "Term Loan") from MEP Capital Holdings III, L.P. ("MEP"), an arm's length investment capital firm based in New York.

BBTV Logo (CNW Group/BBTV Holdings Inc.)

The Term Loan will bear interest at 16% per annum and mature on the 4th anniversary of the closing date of the Term Loan. Interest is payable on a quarterly basis, with the principal payable upon maturity. Ten million (US $10 million) of the Term Loan is committed, with approximately US $6 million being conditional upon a performance target related to the Company's top Base Solution Channels and Content Management business being met for H1 2023 (the "Performance Target"). The Company intends to use the proceeds of the Term Loan for working capital and to pay-out the Company's CAD overdraft facility with a Canadian chartered bank.

The Term Loan will be secured by a perfected, sole first-priority security interest in all tangible and intangible assets of the Company and its Canadian and U.S. wholly-owned subsidiaries, now existing or acquired (the "Loan Security"), subject to certain carve-outs or pari passu rights in favour of UFA Film und Fernseh GmbH ("UFA") which holds a convertible promissory note from the Company due May 26, 2026. MEP and UFA are expected to enter into an intercreditor agreement providing, among other things, for the priorities of the two lenders with respect to the Loan Security. All of the Company's active direct and indirect wholly-owned subsidiaries will act as co-borrowers or guarantors of the Term Loan.

In connection with the Term Loan the Company will issue MEP a share purchase warrant (a "Warrant") to purchase in aggregate that number of Subordinate Voting Shares that is equal to 2% of the Company's fully diluted Subordinate Voting Shares as determined on the "Warrant Share Calculation Date" (see further details below), provided that MEP shall not be permitted to exercise this Warrant to acquire beneficial ownership of, or control or direction over, securities of the Company carrying more than 9.9% of voting rights attached to the Company's outstanding voting securities. The Warrant Share Calculation Date is (a) the date MEP determines to exercise the Warrants; (b) the date of conversion of the first of the Company's securities convertible into Subordinate Voting Shares on a non-fixed price basis that results in one percent (1.0%) or more of such Subordinated Voting Shares being issued and outstanding on a fully-diluted basis, and (c) the closing date of the Company's next equity financing for not less than US$5 million led by a non-affiliated reputable investor. The Warrants are exercisable at CAD$0.01 per Subordinate Voting Share for a period of 8 years, with the Warrants being exercisable at the option of the holder on a cashless basis. The Warrants entitle MEP to certain standard anti-dilution protections for reclassification and corporate reorganizations. In the event the Performance Target is not met, then the number of Subordinate Voting Shares issuable upon exercise of the Warrants will be reduced to 1% of the Company's fully diluted Subordinate Voting Shares.

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MEP and the Company negotiated the Term Loan and the Warrant at arm's length.

Closing of the Term Loan, including issuance of the Warrant, is subject to, among other things, the completion of due diligence and definitive agreements, as well as conditional approval of the Toronto Stock Exchange ("TSX"). In addition, issuance of the Warrant requires approval of the Company's shareholders under the rules of the TSX for the following reasons: 1) the exercise price of the Warrants is less than the market price required by section 607(i) of the TSX Company Manual, being the 5 day VWAP on the date notice was filed with TSX ending on February 2, which is $0.68. The exercise price of $0.01 is a discount to market of 98.5%; and 2) the number of Subordinate Voting Shares that may be issued on exercise of the Warrants, which is 2% of the fully diluted Subordinate Voting Shares determined as at the Warrant Share Calculation Date could be greater than 25% of the number of securities of the Company currently outstanding, on a non-diluted basis, as the number of Subordinate Voting Shares issuable on exercise of the Warrant is not fixed at the time of entering into the Term Loan. Section 607(g)(i) of the TSX Company Manual requires security holder approval if the number of Subordinate Voting Shares issued upon exercise of the Warrants could exceed this 25% threshold. The Company intends to rely on an exemption from the requirement to obtain shareholder approval at meeting and to instead obtain such shareholder approval by way of written consent pursuant to Section 604(d) of the TSX Company Manual.

As at the date of this press release, the Company has 33,269,751 shares outstanding on a fully diluted basis. If the Warrant Share Calculation Date was the date of this press release, then upon full exercise of the Warrants, MEP would be entitled to receive 665,395 Subordinate Voting Shares in aggregate upon full exercise of the Warrants. Of our current issued and outstanding shares, this is 3.1%. If the Company's outstanding shares on a fully diluted basis were to increase to 5 times the current number as at the Warrant Share Calculation Date, then the Company would have 166,348,755 shares outstanding on a fully diluted basis and MEP would be entitled, upon full exercise of the Warrants, to receive 3,326,975 Subordinate Voting Shares, which is 15.5% of our current outstanding shares. As at the date of this press release, the Company has a combined total of 21,484,238 Subordinate Voting Shares and Multiple Voting Shares outstanding, of which 25% is 5,371,059. For this scenario, the Company's fully diluted Subordinate Voting Shares on the Warrant Share Calculation Date would need to be 268,552,950 shares.

To the Company's knowledge, no person other than the Company's founder and CEO, holds more than 10% of the Company's outstanding securities. As of the date of this news release, the CEO holds, directly or indirectly, 6,408,505 (100%) Multiple Voting Shares and 587,104 (3.89%) Subordinate Voting Shares, for a total of 6,995,609 shares, which is 32.56% of the Company's total issued and outstanding shares and represents 81.7% of the total votes which may be cast by all shareholders. The issuance of Subordinate Voting Shares to MEP upon exercise of the Warrants will not affect control of the Company.

This news release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy the securities in the United States nor shall there be any sale of the securities in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful. The securities have not been and will not be registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the 1933 Act), or any state securities laws and may not be offered or sold in the United States unless registered under the 1933 Act and any applicable securities laws of any state of the United States or an applicable exemption from the registration requirements is available.

For more information visit www.the Company.com .

About the Company

The Company is a global media and technology company headquartered in Vancouver, Canada. The Company's mission is to help content creators become more successful. With creators ranging from individuals to global media brands, the Company provides comprehensive, end-to-end Solutions to increase viewership and drive revenue powered by its innovative technology, while allowing creators to focus on their core competency  content creation. In December 2021, the Company had the fourth most unique monthly viewers among digital platforms with more than 600 million globally, who consumed more than 35 billion minutes of video content [1]. ( www.the Company.com )

[1] Calculations and classifications made by the Company based on data from Comscore's "Top 12 Countries = December 2021 comScore Video Metrix Media Trend  Multi-Platform  Top 100 Video Properties Report"; Top 12 countries represent ~50% of world's digital population.

Links to SEDAR filings, conference call recordings and press releases are available on the investor website at: https://investors.the Company.com/

For further information please contact:

Media Relations: pr@bbtv.com

Investor Relations: ir@bbtv.com

Forward-looking Statements

This press release contains "forwardlooking information" and "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of applicable securities laws (collectively, "forward-looking information"). Forward-looking information is not information about historical facts but instead represents the Company's intentions, beliefs, plans, goals, objectives and strategies regarding future events and results. Forward-looking information contained in this press release includes, without limitation, the terms of the Term Loan and the Warrant, statements that the Term Loan will close, and the Company will issue MEP the Promissory Note and Warrants; the use of proceeds of the Term Loan, the Note will bear interest at 16% per annum and mature on the 4th anniversary of the closing date of the Term Loan, and the Company will pay interest on a quarterly basis; the Company will meet the Performance Target; the Term Loan will be secured; that the Warrants will entitle MEP to purchase in aggregate that number of Subordinate Voting Shares that is equal to 2% of the Company's fully diluted Subordinate Voting Shares as determined on the Warrant Share Calculation Date; the three scenarios for possible share issuances if the Warrant Share Calculation Date was the date of this press release, if the Company's outstanding shares on a fully diluted basis were to increase to 5 times the current number as at the Warrant Share Calculation Date, and if MEP were to receive 25% of the current outstanding shares; calculations of the CEO's holdings the event the Warrant is exercised immediately upon Closing of the Term Loan; the Warrant issuance not affecting control of the Company; the Company will receive approval of the TSX; and the Company's intent to use the proceeds of the Term Loan for working capital and to pay-out the Company's CAD overdraft facility with a Canadian chartered bank.

Forward-looking information is subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors, many of which are beyond the Company's control, that may cause actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information, including but not limited to the risk that the Company's assumptions on which its forward-looking information is based may not be accurate. The terms of the Term Loan and the Warrants are subject to change as the parties negotiate the definitive documents. The closing of the Term Loan and the issuance of the Warrant will be subject to the satisfaction of certain conditions including, but not limited to, the receipt of all necessary approvals, the completion of an intercreditor agreement with UFA, and the absence of material adverse changes. There can be no assurance that the parties will enter into the definitive documentation, or if definitive documentation is entered into, that the terms of the Term Loan and the Warrants and the conditions to receiving the proceeds of the Term Loan will be as disclosed above, that the necessary approvals will be obtained, that the Term Loan will close as anticipated, or that MEP will exercise the Warrants. Other risks that may impact the closing of the Term Loan, or the use of proceeds, include the Company's significant reliance on its relationship with one digital platform; the impact of the continuing COVID-19 pandemic and of the current recessionary environment; the risks of potential claims of infringement by the Company or its content providers of third party intellectual property and other rights; changes in laws and regulations; as well as other factors discussed in the Company's Final Long Form Prospectus dated October 22, 2020, its Annual Information Form dated March 29, 2022 and in our MD&A dated November 14, 2022 each filed on sedar at www.sedar.com and in the Company's other filings with the Canadian securities regulatory authorities at www.sedar.com . The Company does not undertake any obligation to update any forwardlooking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as expressly required by applicable law.

BBTV-F

SOURCE BBTV Holdings Inc.

Cision

View original content to download multimedia: http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/February2023/05/c5257.html
Photo Illustration by Kelly Caminero / The Daily Beast / Reuters

South Carolina jurors will be allowed to hear about Alex Murdaughs alleged financial crimes in his murder triala tremendous win in the prosecutions argument that the former lawyer fatally shot his wife and son in a twisted cover-up scheme of his misdeeds.

Circuit Court Judge Clifton Newman on Monday granted the states request to introduce evidence surrounding allegations Murdaugh engaged in a years-long scheme to steal over $8 million from his former law firm and clients in an attempt to maintain his public standing as a member of a prominent legal family in the Lowcountry.

I find that the jury is entitled to consider whether the apparent desperation of Mr. Murdaugh because of his dire financial situation, the threat of being exposed for committing the crimes for which he was later charged, resulted in the commission of the alleged crimes, Newman said Monday.

The evidence is the crux of the prosecutions argument that Murdaugh murdered his 52-year-old wife, Maggie, and his 22-year-old son, Paul, in June 2021 in an attempt to garner sympathy and shift the public narrative away from his financial crimes.

Did These Two Witnesses Save the Prosecution's Case Against Alex Murdaugh?

The ruling came after a two-day hearing outside the presence of the 12-person jury, where prosecutors presented several witnesses who detailed how Murdaugh allegedly stole money under the guise of legal assistance, how he was being forced to expose his financial statements in a civil litigation surrounding a 2019 boat crash, and how he was confronted about almost $800,000 of missing legal funds by a co-worker on the day of the murders.

The state argues that the logical nexus between the murders and other crimes is that the looming exposure of financial crimes provided motive for the murders and is evidence of malice, an essential element of the crime of murder, Newman added.

Murdaugh, 54, has pleaded not guilty to two counts of murder and two counts of possession of a weapon during the commission of a violent crime in connection with the double homicide.

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Prosecutors allege that Murdaugh murdered his family amid mounting fear that a years-long scheme to swindle money from those around him was going to come to light.

Over the last two weeks, prosecutors have called over a dozen witnesses to the stand to describe how Paul and Maggie were brutally murdered near the dog kennels of the Murdaugh family estate. Defense attorneys, however, say there is no hard evidence or motivation to prove that Murdaugh killed his family.

Law enforcement officers have described a slew of evidence prosecutors say proves that Murdaugh is the only perpetrator here, including cell phone data and his initial interviews with law enforcement.

The only real piece of evidence that has blown up the defenses argument so far has been a video Paul Murdaugh made in the dog kennels five minutes before he was murderedwhere prosecutors allege Alex and Maggie can be heard in the background. Two of Pauls friends also testified last week they were 100 percent sure Alex Murdaugh can be heard in the video, which would shatter his alibi that he was asleep in the main house at the time of the murders.

On Monday, jurors also heard from the caretaker of Murdaughs mother, who said the former lawyer was fidgeting when he came to visit the night of his murders.

Mushelle Shelley Smith testified that it was unusual for Murdaugh to visit late at night and that he had stayed over for about 20 minutes. Later, she said Murdaugh told her he had been at the house for 30 or 40 minutes.

In another conversation after the slayings, Smith said Murdaugh offered to help her with her wedding expensesthough she said they had never discussed her upcoming nuptials previously. She also said Murdaugh offered to pull strings to help her get another job.

Prosecutors, however, have not yet been able to explain to the jury why they believe fear of exposure led Murdaugh to murder his familyand how his alleged financial crimes are involved. Prosecutors have also not been able to explain to the jury how Murdaugh would have been able to fatally shoot his son and wife with two different guns before visiting his ailing mother in quick succession.

But Newmans ruling will now finally give prosecutors the chance to clear some confusion for the jury about their case. It will also provide jurors with insight into Murdaughs last few days before the murders.

Jurors are expected to hear testimony about how Murdaugh was over $4.2 million in debt and how thousands of dollars had been overdrawn from his account that summer.

Jeanine Seckinger, the CEO of Murdaughs former law firm, told Newman last week that she confronted Murdaugh about missing money owed to the firm on the day of the murders. She said that Murdaugh insisted that he was preparing his financials for an upcoming hearing in a civil litigation case about the 2019 boat crash that killed 19-year-old Mallory Beach. At the time of his murder, Paul was facing charges after drunkenly crashing the boat that killed his friend.

Jurors are also expected to hear from Mark Tinsley, a lawyer who represented the Beach family. Tinsley told the judge Monday that he was pushing to see Murdaughs financials after he claimed he would be unable to pay the settlement the civil case was seeking.

He doesnt want me to have access to his accounts, to see how much money he is making and actually has, so lets enter into an agreement and settle the case, Tinsley said. If youre a good plaintiffs lawyer, everything you do in a case is to put pressure on the other side.

After the murders, however, Tinsley said that the June 10, 2021, hearing into Murdaughs finances was postponedand he considered dropping the case if there was any chance the crimes were connected to his clients death.

WATCH: Sons Video Destroys Murdaugh Alibi, Prosecutors Say

If it seemed like this was retaliation, a jury wouldnt return a verdict against Alex, Tinsley said. I would have dropped the case.

Seckinger also noted that after the murders, Murdaugh was distraught and nobody wanted to harass him about the missing legal fees, which prosecutors allege was his main goal. Three months later, however, Seckinger said her team pressured Murdaugh again about missing fundsleading to his ultimate resignation.

For Robert McDonald, a criminal justice lecturer at the University of New Haven, the prosecutorial win does not necessarily mean a slam dunk conviction. He noted that it will be tough to say how the jury will accept the prosecutions argument that Murdaugh was motivated to murder his family based on fear of exposure in his other crimes and success in the states case will have to do with how it is presented if it is allowed into the trial and how the defense will refute that issue.

He also added that the defense will continue to try to poke holes in the testimony of the investigators and witnesses to counter the prosecution's case.

Murdaughs lawyers will need to set up a strategy that will present some explanations to the jury as to why he was engaging in that unethical behavior and will need to attempt to separate the financial issues with the murder of his wife and son, McDonald, who is not connected to the case, added.

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London Business School Jobs Report: Shining In Tough Times

LBS London campus

MBA salaries and job offer rates stabilized in 2022 at most of the leading business schools in the United States. The pandemic recovery has been slower for European schools, however; the latest evidence is INSEADs recently released employment report, which last week showed that average salaries actually declined for the newest crop of graduates  a rarity year to year at any elite B-school.

If they want to be inspired, European B-schools may look to London Business School, which released its MBA Class of 2022 employment report this month showing that job offers 90 days after graduation were impressively high at 94% (up from 93% last year) and job acceptances were steady at 91%, down from 92%.

Other highlights for LBS include a big jump in average pay and continued high demand for tech grads. In U.S. dollars, base salaries for LBS MBAs jumped to an average of $124,822, up 9% one year after they increased 7.8% from the Class of 2020. Consulting was again the top industry, with 37% of the class finding work there, and the average consulting salary growing more than 11% to $129,195.

Source: LBS

OUR STUDENTS SHONE ACROSS THE BOARD

Finance salaries, reported by 27% of the Class of 2022, again paced all base salaries for LBS MBAs with an average of $135,949, up more than 10% from last year. And in tech, which drew 29% of this years grads (up from 26% in 2021), average salary climbed 9.6% to $114,929  despite a perceived implosion in the industry.

Max salaries and other compensation were impressive as well, topped by someone in investment management who reported a starting salary of $210,000. A consultant reported other comp of $530,400, and a techie in fintech reported other comp of $368,812. See salary details in the table at the bottom of this page.

We are delighted that 91% of our MBA 2022 graduates accepted job offers within three months of graduation, says Christian Dummett, executive director of LBS Career Centre, in a forward to the new employment report. The last year has been one of the toughest on record for business school graduates and we are proud that, despite these challenges, our students shone across the board.

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Source: LBS

MORE THAN 5% OF 2022 CLASS ARE ENTREPRENEURS

Demand for LBS MBAs continues to transcend borders, sectors and markets, Dummett adds, with the 2022 class finding jobs in 40 locations around the world. The class of 514, itself comprised of 65 nationalities, overwhelmingly chose to stay in the UK: 63% opted to begin their post-MBA careers there, he writes. Another 7% found work in continental Europe, 7% in North America, 11% in Asia, and 6% in the Middle East/Africa. More than half of the 2022 class switched locations (55%) or sectors (58%), and one third (34%) switched both.

Top employers of LBS MBAs are the MBB consulting firms: McKinsey hired 54, Boston Consulting Group hired 32, and Bain & Company hired 29. Amazon is the top tech recruiter, with 25 hires this year.

Additionally, 28 of the Class of 2022 are using the entrepreneurial skillsets developed during their MBA to pursue their own business ventures, Dummett writes.

I am confident that, having dealt with so much uncertainty during their program and overcoming every challenge with such collaborative spirit, this group of students are more than prepared to kick-start their professional careers, he writes.

Source: LBS

DONT MISS OUR REPORT ON LAST YEARS LBS EMPLOYMENT DATA

The post London Business School Jobs Report: Shining In Tough Times appeared first on Poets&Quants.
Majority of Canadians say that privatization won't fix the health care crisis

OTTAWA, ON, Feb. 5, 2023 /CNW/ - In anticipation of a First Ministers meeting this week, the 425,000 members of the National Union of Public and General Employees (NUPGE) have a clear message: Abandon for-profit schemes in health care - Canadians want more investment in public health care, more funding, and more workers. The federal government must not allow provinces to use the health care crisis to undermine the Canada Health Act and expand privatization.

The National Union of Public and General Employees (NUPGE) is national organization representing 425,000 workers. We are the national voice of 13 Component unions whose members deliver services of every kind to the citizens of their home provinces. (CNW Group/NATIONAL UNION OF PUBLIC AND GENERAL EMPLOYEES)

"When it comes to privatization, people are against the wealthy buying their way to the front of the line."

"Anyone who tells you privatization will fix our health care system is simply ignoring the facts," says Bert Blundon, NUPGE President. "Report after report has said that privatization ends up costing more, hurts quality, and is unaccountable to those who rely on it."

"This poll confirms that Canadians are opposed to privatization, even in the face of severe problems created by underfunding, mismanagement, and shifting priorities," said Blundon.

A recent poll, conducted by Abacus Data, on behalf of NUPGE, said that 89% of Canadians agree that health care should be universal and based on people's needs. People are genuinely concerned about the expansion of for-profit private health care in our system.

77% believe that increasing jobs in the for-profit health sector will lead to an exodus of workers, putting further strain on an overburdened public system.

75% believe that the loss of workers to for-profit clinics will create further strain on workers and the system, leading to reduced availability of services and reduced ability to provide quality services in the public system.

68% said that a 2-tier system means wealthy people will have a great health care system while middle- and lower-income people will be stuck with worse services.

"We are hearing loud and clear that Canadians do not want to hand over our public health care system to those who want to make a profit off of people who need care," Blundon continues. "When it comes to privatization, people are against the wealthy buying their way to the front of the line.

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"Contrary to the PM's recent comments, privatization is not an innovation. After everything we learned during the pandemic, we need the federal government to prevent the expansion of a for-profit model in our health care system and actually invest in public health care," said Blundon.

"The First Ministers need to listen to Canadians who are worried that with the huge shortage of health care workers, any health care worker poached to the for-profit system would be making a bad situation much worse," said Jason MacLean, NUPGE Secretary-Treasurer.

"We need the federal government to enforce the Canada Health Act and prevent the expansion of for-profit care in Canada. Bringing long-term care under the Canada Health Act and committing to universal pharmacare would be 2 strong steps forward. The federal government must increase funding, so it keeps up with rising costs, ensuring that federal funds are spent on public health care where they are needed most. That means creating more positions and hiring more health care workers decent wages to reduce the strain on the frontline workers," continued MacLean.

"Any announcement by the Prime Minister and Premiers, without these conditions, is unacceptable. We are demanding that the Prime Minister do what's right and push back on those premiers who are undermining our health care system using a crisis of their own making," concluded Blundon

Link to poll

SOURCE NATIONAL UNION OF PUBLIC AND GENERAL EMPLOYEES

Cision

View original content to download multimedia: http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/February2023/05/c1524.html
Maryland State Police, Pinellas County Sheriff's Office

A neo-Nazi couple recently out of prison may soon be back behind bars after they allegedly blabbed to an undercover informant last month that they planned to sabotage power stations in Maryland.

Brandon Russell, 27, and his girlfriend Sarah Clendaniel, 34, are accused of plotting to shoot up five substations that serve the Baltimore areaan attack Clendaniel told a federal informant would completely destroy Baltimore, said Erek L. Barron, U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland.

Russell and Clendaniel are facing up to 20 years in prison for the foiled attack plan. Their first court appearance will be on Monday in Baltimore federal court.

Russell, a neo-Nazi leader who founded the far-right group Atomwaffen, had been jailed in 2018 for keeping lethal bomb-making materials in his apartment. Atomwaffen has been known to threaten journalists, African American churches and Jewish organizations. Clendaniel was locked up in a different prison for a spate of convenience store robberies where she wielded a machete and demanded cash and cigarettes.

Despite being in separate facilities, court filings summarized by Barron in a press conference Monday revealed that Russell and Clendaniel hit it off while incarcerated and allegedly teamed up to attack power stations once out.

Thomas Sobocinski, the lead agent at the FBIs Baltimore field office, called the couple racially or ethnically motivated extremists.

Part of the couples devious plan was to hit the power stations after a winter storm when most people are using max electricity, prosecutors said in a criminal complaint, the Washington Post reported. Sobocinski said that Clendaniel told an informant their goals were to lay this city to waste, referencing Baltimore.

The accused were not just talking, but taking steps to fulfill their threats and further their extremist goals, Sobocinski said.

Prosecutors allege Russell wanted to target transformers specifically because theyre custom made and could take almost a year to replace.

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Russell allegedly described the attack as the greatest thing somebody can do. His girlfriend, apparently dying of kidney disease, allegedly told an informant she just wanted to accomplish something worthwhile before she died, Sobocinski said.

Before trying to carry out the attack, prosecutors say Clendaniel left a statement that referenced Hitler, the Unabomber, and a Norwegian mass killer, adding that she would sacrifice everything for her people.

If we can pull off what Im hoping  this would be legendary, Clendaniel told the informant on Jan. 29, the criminal complaint says.

Intentional attacks on power grids in the U.S. came into sharper focus late last year, with two high-profile incidentsone in North Carolina, the other in Washingtonthat left about 60,000 homes and businesses without power just before the holidays.

Intentional Vandalism Leaves 40,000 Without Power in N.C.

The Program on Extremism at George Washington University issued a report in September that said white supremacists, specifically, had become laser-focused on attacking the U.S. energy sector in the last six years.

Even before the dual attacks last year, the Department of Homeland Security had issued a warning that infrastructure attackslike the one allegedly plotted by Clendaniel and Russellwere likely coming.

That warning, posted in November to the National Terrorism Advisory System Bulletin, said people of a wide range of ideological beliefs and personal grievances continue to pose a persistent and lethal threat to the Homeland.

Sobocinski, when asked, said the FBI has no indication that Clendaniel and Russells foiled plot had any ties to the December attacks in Washington and North Carolina.

The couple were taken into custody last week in their native statesFlorida for Russell, Maryland for Clendaniel.

In a statement to The Daily Beast, Baltimore Gas and Electric thanked the FBI for its vigilance in stopping the planned attack.

This work is even more important now as threats have increased in recent years, the statement said. We are working closely with the FBI and state and local law enforcement as they continue their investigation, and we are thankful for their vigilance.

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Kim Michele Richardson is a New York Times, Los Angeles Times and USA TODAY bestselling author. She lives in Kentucky and writes historical fiction set in familiar surroundings, with characters easily identifiable with the rural Kentucky setting.

Richardson has said of her writing, I stumbled across the heroic librarians of the Great Depression and the rare blue skinned Kentuckians. I could not stop thinking about them and wanted to embrace their strengths and uniqueness in story.

And that she has most certainly done. The lead characters in her books are strong-willed women who face hardship head on and demonstrate the strength of character often found in women who have struggles in life.

"The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek" by Kim Michele Richardson. The author will be speaking at the next Lunch 4 Literacy event in Oak Ridge.

Have you heard of the blue-skinned people? You may want to preview this condition prior to the luncheon so you will better understand what Richardson is including in her story and why the condition existed in rare individuals, as recent as the 1970s: https://www.iflscience.com/the-science-behind-the-mysterious-blue-people-of-kentucky-47413.

Troublesome Creek, Kentucky, is the setting for this look at the mysterious blue-skinned people starting in 1820 when Martin Fugate came to live there and married Elizabeth Smith. Four of their seven children were blue skinned. The latest person to exhibit this rare condition was Benjamin Stacey, born in 1975.

Richardson captures the impact of such odd-colored skin, as well as other struggles of the region during the Great Depression and shows the determination of a single woman who was convinced books could bring meaning to the depressed area and their people, who were struggling just the make a living. The narrative is exciting and is said to be an  important footnote of history that should be prized and preserved. See the many more accolades here: https://www.kimmichelerichardson.com/the-book-woman-of-troublesome-creek.

"The Book Woman's Daughter" by Kim Michele Richardson.

She has been recognized with multiple awards for her five historical fiction novels and a bestselling memoir. We are fortunate she has agreed to speak to the Lunch 4 Literacy Luncheon.

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The event

Richardson has agreed to be the featured speaker via Zoom at the annual Lunch 4 Literacy luncheon held by Altrusa International of Oak Ridge and the Breakfast Rotary Club of Oak Ridge. The past few years have seen the luncheon remain a premier annual Oak Ridge event despite the limitations caused by the pandemic.

In addition to the event, here are some other methods of enjoying a fuller experience of Richardsons work:

Passage Read by Author: https://youtu.be/2LnlKjogt3M;

Free 70-page "Book Woman of Troublesome Creek" Companion Booklet download with historical photos, recipes, and tips from the 1930s Kentucky packhorse librarian initiative: https://www.dropbox.com/s/sum63mkpyw63ocw/BookWomansDaughter-BookClubGuide.pdf?dl=0;

Free "Book Womans Daughter" Companion Booklet download with historical photos, recipes and tips: https://cdn.sourcebooks.com/assets/downloads/readinggroups/BookWomansDaughter-BookClubGuide.pdf;

Official "Book Woman of Troublesome Creek" Book Trailer: https://youtu.be/pytN4Lrsees;

Official "Book Womans Daughter" Book Trailer: https://youtu.be/r6NZVWtuBes;

Full Version Song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pXc7cjPUOsY

Book Woman of Troublesome Creek tribute song by Ruby Friedman Orchestra: https://youtu.be/tPPvkTkxnNc;

An interview with Kim Michele Richardson: https://www.bookbrowse.com/author_interviews/full/index.cfm/author_number/3243/kim-michele-richardson.

Additionally, signed copies of "The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek" ($16) and "The Book Woman's Daughter" ($17) will be available for purchase at the following locations: Bud's Coffee Shop, The Ferrell Shop, the Oak Ridge Public Library, Southern Bliss Boutique, and TN Bank.

As you can see, this year is no exception for the annual Lunch 4 Literacy Luncheon, as a nationally well-known bestselling author is again featured. Also, other experiential options to enjoy the program are available as well as the opportunity to purchase and read her books.

The winners of last year's grants

Thanks to the several faithful sponsoring organizations and the continuing support of attendees, more literacy grants are anticipated in 2023. Last year $32,218 was awarded by the Altrusa Foundation and the Oak Ridge Breakfast Rotary Club Foundation.

The 2022 Lunch 4 Literacy grant recipients were:

Clinton Middle College and Career Academy, Lake City Middle School, Norris Middle School, Norwood Middle School, and Robertsville Middle School received funding for author visits by popular childrens author Nathan Hale for students of all six Anderson County and Oak Ridge middle schools.

Aid to Distressed Families of Appalachian Counties (ADFAC) received funding for backpacks and supplies for its annual School Supplies Program.

Boys & Girls Clubs of North Anderson County received funding for books and supplies for the Rookie Readers after-school program for K-2 kids at four club locations.

Clinton Middle College and Career Academy received funding for copies of graphic-novel version of book, to support eighth-grade English instruction.

Dutch Valley Elementary School's Future Pioneers program received funding for books and supplies for outreach to preschool-age children and families.

Dutch Valley Elementary received funding for books and supplies for Reading Enrichment activities to encourage readers to develop more advanced reading skills.

Emory Valley Early Learning Center received funding for math and literacy games, toys and books for the new outdoor classroom/natural playground.

Friends of Literacy received funding for Literacy to Go book/resource packs for use by Oak Ridge Preschool families during school breaks.

Glenwood Elementary School received funding for books for the school's Book Vending Machine used in an initiative to reduce truancy by incentivizing attendance.

Grand Oaks Elementary School Library received funding for books to update the collection in the school library.

Grand Oaks received funding for art supplies and books for programming that links art and literacy.

Grand Oaks fourth grade received funding for book tasting and other activities to engage students and families in reading.T

Roane Imagination Library received funding for contribution toward the local share of costs of sending Dolly Partons Imagination Library books to local kids.

The specifics

So, make plans now to attend the annual Lunch 4 Literacy Luncheon on March 21, at 11:30 a.m. at the Oak Ridge High School for social networking gathering and box lunches, or at 12:45 p.m. for the event and online speaker in the auditorium.

Tickets are available at Eventbrite at: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/2023-lunch-for-literacy-tickets-517107651907.

D. Ray Smith, writer for the Historically Speaking column.

D. Ray Smith is the Oak Ridge city historian and longtime "Historically Speaking" columnist for The Oak Ridger.

This article originally appeared on Oakridger: Bestselling author to speak at annual literacy fundraiser
Pamela Anderson and Dan Hayhurst

loose women/youtube Dan Hayhurst and Pamela Anderson

Pamela Anderson has had her share of high-profile relationships, but her most recent flew under the radar.

The actress married her builder and bodyguard, Dan Hayhurst, on Dec. 24, 2020, after meeting him while he was renovating her Vancouver Island, Canada home. In January 2022, their separation was confirmed after one year of marriage.

"Pamela went into this relationship hopefully," a source told PEOPLE after the split. "She goes into everything hoping for the best. She thinks every marriage will be her last."

"I think they had a lot in common, especially their love of Vancouver Island," the source said. "But they fell out of love."

After the split from her fourth husband, Anderson began to compile her memoir Love, Pamela and work on the Netflix documentary Pamela, a Love Story.

Here's everything to know about Pamela Anderson's ex-husband, Dan Hayhurst.

They met while he was working on her house

In September 2020, a source told PEOPLE Anderson was dating Hayhurst after the two had "been together for a while."

"She's very happy," the source said. "And they've been together for the entire pandemic. She's super happy and he's been helping her fix up her home on Vancouver Island."

After getting married, the newlyweds appeared on the British talk show Loose Women for an interview via video call from bed. They confirmed meeting while Hayhurst was working on the model's home.

"He was working here and I got stuck here during COVID and we stuck together," Anderson shared.

He married Anderson in 2020

Pamela Andersons Fourth Husband Dan Hyhurst

Courtesy RASTA Farm Sanctuary

On Jan. 27, 2021, Pamela Anderson confirmed to the Daily Mail she'd married Hayhurst on Christmas Eve in an intimate ceremony at her Canadian home.

"I'm exactly where I need to be-in the arms of a man who truly loves me," Anderson told the outlet.

The mother of two said they had tied the knot "on the property I bought from my grandparents 25 years ago," adding, "This is where my parents were married and they are still together. I feel like I've come full circle."

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The couple's wedding photographer and cake baker Heather Ross told PEOPLE of the nuptials, "Pamela was beaming with love. They were just so happy and focused on each other."

The bride's bouquet included pine boughs from her property, plus an "olive branch for peace, roses for romantic love, exotic orchid for passionate love and baby's breath to represent new beginnings," Ross shared.

Anderson described him as "a good guy"

Pamela Andersons Fourth Husband Dan Hyhurst

Courtesy RASTA Farm Sanctuary

During their interview with Loose Women, the newlyweds revealed what attracted them to each other.

"He's the kinda guy I would have met if I didn't go round the world and get crazy," Anderson shared, describing Hayhurst as "a good guy." "It's nice to be with a real man who can actually change a lightbulb. He's useful. It's a new thing."

When Hayhurst was asked what drew him to the activist, he said, "I couldn't resist and she couldn't resist me," then added, "I'll show you under the covers if you want."

He separated from Anderson after a year

After a year of marriage, a representative for the Baywatch alum confirmed to PEOPLE that Anderson had split from her bodyguard husband in January 2022.

While living in her grandparents' former farmhouse on Vancouver Island, Anderson recalled to Vanity Fair that she began to "romanticize everything," including the people working on her renovations.

"Everyone was looking good  all the contractors that were here," she said. However, their short marriage lasted less than a year because "it ended up being a disaster," she told the outlet.

In January 2023, Anderson told The Sunday Times that getting romantic with her contractor "was stupid, and I do regret that." She said of the marriage, "It was worse than any of them. And I realized, 'Oh my God, I'm caught up in this whole thing, what am I doing?' It just struck me, this is another disaster. ... I was paying for everything, cooking, cleaning for everybody. And so I just got out of it as soon as I could."

Hayhurst was Anderson's fourth husband

Hayhurst was Anderson's fourth marriage. In 1995, she famously married Motley Crue drummer Tommy Lee after only knowing each other for four days. They share two sons together, Brandon Thomas and Dylan Jagger. The couple divorced in 1998.

In 2006, she married and divorced Kid Rock. In 2007, and again in 2013, she married and divorced Rick Solomon.

She later married film producer Jon Peters for a total of 12 days in 2020, though their marital union was never official since they never filed the paperwork.

He's a builder for a Canadian animal sanctuary

RASTA Sanctuary, a farm animal sanctuary in Chemainus, Canada, shared several photos of Hayhurst and Anderson on Instagram in late 2020 to thank them for their work towards the sanctuary, where Hayhurst was working as a builder.

In one post before their Christmas Eve wedding, the sanctuary thanked the "incredibly generous and most kind and thoughtful couple."

"Yesterday Pamela surprised us all with an early Christmas gift by most generously covering the cost of the cement for the footings in the construction of our new barn and we truly couldn't be more grateful," the sanctuary wrote.

They added of Hayhurst, "Her very hardworking partner Dan is our builder and he's doing a fantastic job both coordinating the project as well as getting down and dirty to get the work done."
First Canadian Gift ever from this U.S. foundation; Cancer Knows no Borders

TORONTO, Feb. 6, 2023 /CNW/ - Paula and Rodger Riney, through the Paula and Rodger Riney Foundation, have announced a $9.2-million grant to the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre at University Health Network (UHN) to support multiple myeloma research.

Princess Margaret Cancer Foundation logo (CNW Group/Princess Margaret Cancer Foundation)

The grant is the first in Canada from the Paula and Rodger Riney Foundation, which is based in the U.S., and will fund four projects with potential clinical impact using novel therapies being developed at The Princess Margaret.

Multiple Myeloma is a blood cancer caused when abnormal plasma cells in the bone marrow proliferate. Survival outcomes in this cancer have improved substantially over the past decade due to the advent of new therapeutics. The Princess Margaret has been at the forefront of these developments. Nevertheless a cure remains elusive and drug-related toxicities continue to take a toll on patients, underscoring the need for more innovative therapies.

"The very generous commitment of the Paula and Rodger Riney Foundation will make an incalculable difference in advancing research in our core strengths including diagnostics, antibody treatment, immunotherapies and cell-free genomics," said Dr. Keith Stewart, Director of the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, and Vice President Cancer at UHN. "We are most grateful to Paula and Rodger Riney for their leadership which will help patients at the Princess Margaret and around the world."

Rodger Riney, who is based in St. Louis, Missouri, said his own experience with myeloma motivated him to support organizations at the leading edge of research. "There is no time to waste in the pursuit of better understanding, treatment and cures for this cancer. We applaud The Princess Margaret for its innovative work in this field which will save patients' lives and hope our gift will inspire others."

Other notable Riney Foundation recipients include the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Massachusetts General Cancer Centre and the Mayo Clinic.

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Dr. Miyo Yamashita, President and CEO of the Princess Margaret Cancer Foundation, called the gift, "generous, unprecedented and transformational": "We share Rodger and Paula's vision of a future where multiple myeloma patients no longer face an incurable disease. Only through these global partnerships will we achieve this. Cancer knows no borders."

An estimated 4,000 Canadians were diagnosed with multiple myeloma in 2022, and an estimated 1,650 Canadians died from this cancer.

The Princess Margaret has one of the largest multiple myeloma programs worldwide and runs more than 40 myeloma clinical trials every year. It also conducts 300 stem cell transplants for Myeloma patients annually. Toronto's highly diverse population helps ensure that the research benefits the broadest spectrum of patients.

Scientists at The Princess Margaret are embarking on promising studies with antibody-based NK cell and T-cell receptor targeted immunotherapies, radiation-labeled antibody theranostic agents, as well as new small molecule-based approaches.

"Our antibody immunotherapy research continues the work of visionary Dr. Tak Mak who in 1984 was the first to clone the T-cell receptors," said Dr. Stewart. "His breakthrough advanced the development of immunotherapy work he is continuing today with a project to develop a new T-cell-based therapeutic for myeloma."

This project is one of four the Paula and Rodger Riney Foundation is funding. The others are:

Improving Multiple Myeloma Surveillance using plasma whole gene sequencing, led by Drs. Trevor Pugh, and Suzanne Trudel;

Testing new bi-specific antibodies harnessing NK cells with the potential to kill myeloma cells, led by Dr. Rodger Tiedemann;

Advancing Pikfyve inhibition as a target in Myeloma, led by Dr. Stewart.

About The Princess Margaret Cancer Foundation

The Princess Margaret Cancer Foundation is Canada's largest and leading cancer charity, dedicated to raising funds for Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, one of the world's top five cancer research centres known for its game-changing scientific achievements and exceptional patient treatment and care. Through philanthropy, events, our world-leading home lottery program, and commercialization initiatives, we make possible the critical funding required to accelerate cancer research, education, and clinical care  benefitting patients at Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, throughout Canada and the world. www.thepmcf.ca

About Princess Margaret Cancer Centre

Princess Margaret Cancer Centre has achieved an international reputation as a global leader conquering cancer and delivering personalized cancer medicine. The Princess Margaret, one of the top five cancer research centres in the world, is a member of University Health Network (UHN), which also includes Toronto General Hospital, Toronto Western Hospital, Toronto Rehabilitation Institute, and the Michener Institute for Education. UHN is fully affiliated with the University of Toronto. www.theprincessmargaret.ca

SOURCE Princess Margaret Cancer Foundation

Cision

View original content to download multimedia: http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/February2023/06/c6728.html
EASTON  An Easton police officer fired a single fatal gunshot at a 56-year-old woman who threatened to shoot herself and officers and who later pointed a rifle-style BB gun at police, Bristol County District Attorney Thomas Quinn said Monday.

The Southeastern Regional Emergency Communications Center received a 911 call about 11:30 a.m. Sunday from an Ashland resident who requested a well-being check be conducted for his mother.

"The caller stated that his mother, Marianne Griffiths, 56, had told him that she had injected herself with a dangerous amount of insulin in an attempt to commit suicide," Quinn said in a written statement Monday.

Easton police responded to the home at 32 Spooner St. and encountered Griffiths and other family members.

"After a brief discussion with her, she ran downstairs and threatened that she would shoot the police and herself," the statement says. "The officers inside immediately evacuated the other people in the home and exited the residence. At that point Griffiths ran back upstairs, approached the front entry way to the home and pointed what appeared to be a rifle at the officers, who were now standing outside the home. An Easton Police Officer then fired one shot, before retreating to cover."

A smoking backpack, scooters Lithium-ion battery fires on the rise in Brockton area

Griffiths was struck once in the chest and died, Quinn said.

"Once police re-entered the home, they secured the rifle Griffiths was holding, which turned out to be a pump action BB gun," the district attorney said.

Easton Police Chief Keith Boone said in a Sunday night statement that the officer fired a single gunshot while "fearing for their safety." That officer, who has not been named, has been placed on paid administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigation, per department policy, Boone said.

Quinn said preliminary information obtained during the investigation revealed Griffiths suffered from "long-term mental health issues and suicidal ideation."

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"A full investigation is underway and a final report on all facts, circumstances and conclusions will be released publicly upon the conclusion of the investigation," the statement says.

Enterprise senior reporter Cody Shepard can be reached at cshepard@enterprisenews.com.

This article originally appeared on The Enterprise: Easton police officer shoots, kills woman holding rifle-style BB gun
When a police officer realized his K-9 partner was stuck in a patrol car as a tornado was about to hit Deer Park, Texas, he ran right into the storm.

Amid high winds, lightning, torrential rain, and near-zero visibility, Joel Nitchman raced toward the vehicle, which was parked in the lot of the police station.

Surveillance footage from the police department captures the harrowing moments as debris is flying and lightning strikes.

Watch the video to see the officer's daring dog rescue

Humankind from USA TODAY tells uplifting stories about kindness, triumphs, and special relationships. We wouldn't be able to show the world all this kindness if it weren't for people like you who capture kind moments on camera!

If you have a video, photo, or even a story you want to share, click the link below to tell us all about it. Someone from the Humankind team will reach out to you if we want to do a story about your kind moment.

SUBMIT HERE

Not sure what kind of content to submit? Check us out on any of these social media platforms and take a look around! We cover all sorts of good news moments about humans, animals, members of the U.S. military, kind kids, sportsmanship on and off the field, and more!

There's enough bad news out there! Help us show the world how much good news we have all around us.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Police officer rescues K-9 partner during Deer Park tornado
MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday approved the sale of Mercedes-Benz's local financial services division to Russian car dealer Avtodom, nudging the German automaker closer towards fully offloading its Russian assets.

Mercedes-Benz suspended production at its factory in Russia and halted exports to the country last March, and said in October it would fully quit the Russian market, selling stakes in its Russian assets to a local investor.

Its exit is part of a exodus of global companies from Russia after Moscow sent tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine last February.

Under Russian law, Putin is required to approve the sale of stakes in Russian finance or energy ventures, while approval from a separate government commission is required for deals involving firms from so-called "unfriendly" countries that have imposed sanctions against Russia.

Putin signed an order on Monday approving the sale of Mercedes-Benz Bank Rus - the auto company's financial services arm in Russia - to Avtodom, which specialises in sales of premium vehicles.

Avtodom said it now hoped to receive permission from a separate government commission by the end of February to finalise a deal for all of Mercedes-Benz's Russian assets, including a factory outside Moscow where it will look to restore production that was mothballed almost a year ago.

Heavily reliant on Western financing and global supply chains, Russia's auto industry has been hit hard by Western sanctions.

Auto production slumped 67% in 2022 to just 450,000 passenger cars, the industry's worst showing since the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991.

The terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Several Western companies sold their Russian operations for symbolic sums, such as one rouble ($0.01) or one euro ($1.08), with some adding buy-back clauses to facilitate a possible return to Russia in the future.

(Reporting by Elena Fabrichnaya Writing by Jake Cordell; Editing by Mark Potter)
Ralphie Demon Dog Finds Home

Niagara SPCA/facebook

Ralphie the 'demon' dog has a heavenly home.

The rescue dog first made headlines in January when the Niagara Country SPCA posted about the pup on Facebook.

In their adoption post, the New York shelter described the 26-Lb. dog as a "fire-breathing demon" and "a whole jerk- not even half."

"Ralphie is a terror in a somewhat small package," the Niagara Country SPCA shared on social media before adding details about the dog's bad behavior.

The comical and brutally honest Facebook post won Ralphie numerous admirers and many adoption applications.

RELATED: Britain's Ugliest Dog Treated to Spa Day of Posh Pampering: Peggy 'Loved Every Second'

While the Niagara County SPCA worked on finding Ralphie the right home, the shelter provided updates on the dog's training to be "a proper gentleman."

Then, on Feb. 2, the organization announced on Facebook that "Ralphie the terror" had been adopted and followed up the news with another post providing details on the pet's new home.

Ralphie Demon Dog Finds Home

Niagara SPCA/facebook

In the follow-up post from Feb. 4, the Niagara County SPCA shared a note from Ralphie's mom about his first few days as an adopted dog.

"I am completely in love!!! He's AMAZING ... I was literally questioning where the name 'Demon Dog' came from, and then I saw a few things ... although, I'm pretty convinced it's nothing we can't work on and get figured out!" read the note from Ralphie's pet parent.

RELATED: Bruno the Cat Finds New Owners After Previous Family Returned Pet for Being 'Too Affectionate'

"He found a happy place with me because he saved me as much as I saved him  I feel blessed!" she added.

According to the new pet owner, Ralphie is working on his housetraining, curbing his nipping, and learning how to ask for things nicely. He responds well to the "secret training treat" of sliced hot dogs.
Does your recipe have what it takes to go head-to-head with the Original Fish Taco?

SAN DIEGO, February 06, 2023--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Calling all fish taco lovers! Rubios Coastal Grill is holding their first-ever battle for the best fish taco. Taco fans, age 18 and over, from California, Arizona and Nevada, are encouraged to submit their best, original and most delicious fish taco recipes. Finalists will come to San Diego for the chance to win $1,000 and have their taco featured on Rubios menu.

The window to submit online recipes, along with mouth-watering photos, is February 6 27. Next, the public will vote for the top three crave-worthy recipes. The three finalists will be invited to Rubios San Diego Test Kitchen during the week of April 17. While in San Diego, they will cook their fish tacos live for a panel of judges, including the man behind Rubios fish taco phenomenon, Ralph Rubio.

"Its Rubios 40th anniversary, and were looking forward to tasting some delicious and innovative fish taco recipes from our very own fans," said Rubios Co-Founder, Ralph Rubio. "To this day, I remember that incredible bite of my first fish taco in San Felipe. Its that same craveable wow factor that we are looking for in our grand prize winner. Good luck!"

Fish taco recipe submissions should fit in with the Rubios menu, and can include one protein of shrimp, mahi mahi or pollock. They should feature either corn, flour or keto tortillas, and can include any of Rubios ingredients plus up to three new ingredients. For more information, visit http://www.rubios.com/fish-taco-battle.

About Rubios Restaurants:

Rubios first opened in 1983 in the San Diego neighborhood of Mission Bay, now celebrating their 40th Anniversary. Today, Rubios uses responsibly sourced seafood and continues to expand its menu with innovative recipes ranging from seafood tacos and burritos to California Bowls and crisp, fresh salads. In addition, Rubios offers all-natural chicken, raised without antibiotics, and all-natural USDA Choice steak, "no fried" pinto beans, handmade guacamole, a variety of proprietary salsas, and craft beer and hard seltzer beverage options. The award-winning restaurant regularly receives accolades for its famous Original Fish Taco. Rubios is headquartered in Carlsbad, Calif., has over 3,000 employees and currently operates nearly 160 restaurants.

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View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230206005201/en/

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REUTERS/Tatyana Makeyeva

The Kremlin has quietly ordered an upgrade to bomb shelters across Russia, according to four former and current Russian officials who spoke with The Moscow Times.

An order was given from Moscow to carry out this work everywhereinspection and repair, one Russian official told the outlet in a report published Monday. Moscow has not publicly announced the updates.

Local authorities have reportedly spent hundreds of millions of rubles on the bomb shelter preparations, which allegedly began in February 2022 after Russia invaded Ukraine. The preparations will reportedly continue this year. And although in some regions authorities have installed signs near the shelters, some authorities have sought to downplay the updates, in an apparent attempt to avoid causing panic.

The demand for bomb shelters in Russia rose last year after Putin announced the partial mobilization of troops for the war in Ukraine, according to Russian news outlet 66.RU. The shelters built then would allow people to remain inside them for as long as a year, and could allow people to survive a nuclear explosion. Residents in Moscow, Belgorod, and Kursk have also reportedly been building bomb shelters.

U.S. officials have been warning for weeks that Russia is likely preparing a new offensive. The news comes as Russia prepares to mobilize 300,000 to 500,000 additional troops in the army to run offensive operations in both the south and east of Ukraine, according to a Ukrainian military intelligence assessment released Monday. The operations are expected to take place in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, as well as in the Zaporizhzhia region.

Putins Men Fear Minced Meat Fate in New Offensive

This is another obvious sign that Putin's Kremlin has no intention of ending the war, a representative for the intelligence directorate, Vadim Skibitskyi, said Monday.

The mobilization, which the intelligence branch assesses will last up to two months, is in addition to the partial mobilization of 300,000 Russia ordered last fall, which coincided with increased interest in shelters.

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The news that the Russian government has initiated updates to bomb shelters throughout the country comes days after the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) warned that Russia is chipping away at a key nuclear arms control treaty.

Moscow has refused to allow U.S. inspections on its territory since August, and NATO ambassadors said in a statement last week that Russia is failing to comply with its obligations under the New START Treaty. The treaty was meant to establish limits on deployed strategic nuclear warheads, deployed and non-deployed intercontinental ballistic missile launchers, and heavy bombers equipped for nuclear armaments.

Tensions flared last year over whether Moscow would resort to nuclear weapons in the war in Ukraine. Russia accused Ukraine without evidence of preparing a dirty bomba weapon with both conventional explosives and radioactive materialas fears mounted that Russian President Vladimir Putin was working to create a justification to use nuclear weapons.

Ukraines Main Directorate of Intelligence of Ukraines Ministry of Defense announced Monday it is monitoring Russian forces nuclear capabilities.

Ukrainian intelligence constantly monitors the movement of all carriers and monitors active measures that the 12th Main Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, which is responsible for the preparation and delivery of nuclear charges to weapons, can conduct or is conducting, Skibitskyi said.

There are other indications that Russia is preparing for more action in Ukraine. Satellite imagery analysis shared exclusively with The Daily Beast last month showed Russia is preparing to be on defense in Ukraine. The imagery shows Russia has been building fortifications, such as trenches and dragons teeth, throughout eastern Ukraine in an apparent attempt to prepare for a Ukrainian counteroffensive and hold onto seized Ukrainian territory.

Some analysts suggested the fortifications buildup could indicate Russia is preparing for a renewed offensive in the new year.

Intel Reveals Putin on Thin Ice in Panicked Hunt for Troops

Andriy Chernyak, a representative of the Ukrainian military intelligence branch, said last week that there are some clues that Russia has already begun its new offensive.

Already, the Russians are bringing in more reserves and equipment and building up fortifications in Luhansk, according to Serhii Haidai, the head of the Luhansk Regional Military Administration. A new Russian offensive in the Luhansk region can be expected anytime after Feb. 15, Haidai assessed.

Behind the scenes, however, Moscow is fretting about whether a mobilization will increase domestic dissent over the war, according to a British intelligence assessment.

The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine has assessed that Russia is relying on recruitment incentives to build up forces in Kherson in Ukraine.

In order to replenish their manpower losses, the occupiers are also conducting propaganda and agitation work among young people on top of the mobilization. For example, cadet classes with enhanced military training are being created in schools of Kherson oblast, a spokesperson for the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said Monday. The Russian invaders promise that the alleged benefit for the graduates of these classes will be entering contract military service at sergeant positions.

Evgeniy Prigozhin, the leader of Wagner Group, a Russian private mercenary group, has no qualms about relying on prisoners to take up arms and go to the front, according to the White House National Security Council.

He's not afraid to throw convict after convict into the fight, National Security Council Coordinator, John Kirby, told reporters on a call Monday.

Read more at The Daily Beast.

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Despite New York having a record-breaking eight shark bites along its beaches last year, shark bites dropped again worldwide.

Fifty-seven unprovoked bites were reported in 2022, most in the United States and Australia, the Florida Museum of Natural Historys Florida Program for Shark Research announced Monday in its annual report. That ties 2020 for the lowest since 2008. The 10-year average is 74.

Two things may account for the fewer bites and fewer fatal bites, said Gavin Naylor, the research program director.

Generally speaking, the number of sharks in the worlds oceans has decreased, which may have contributed to recent lulls, Naylor said. It's also likely fatalities are down "because some areas have recently implemented rigorous beach safety protocols, especially in Australia.

Florida, with its 825 miles of sandy beaches, again led the world with 16 unprovoked bites, according to the programs International Shark Attack File.

The program researches reported shark bites, focusing on unprovoked bites rather than bites that occur when sharks are either intentionally or unintentionally provoked, such as being snagged by a fishing hook.

Protecting sharks: These species are getting new international protections

Bull sharks such as this one are often the culprit in shark bites.

Where did fatal shark attacks occur?

Only five fatal shark attacks were reported in 2022, down from nine in 2021 and 10 in 2020.

The U.S. had one unprovoked fatality. Kristine Allen, 60, of Bellingham, Washington, went missing in December while snorkeling with her husband, Blake, off Keawakapu Beach in Maui, Hawaii, the Associated Press reported. Witnesses reported seeing a 10- to 12-foot shark, believed to be a tiger shark, in the area, according to the Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources.

Elsewhere, two fatal attacks occurred on the same day in Egypts Red Sea and two fatal attacks took place in South Africa.

Australia had nine shark bites. Single bites were reported in New Zealand, Thailand and Brazil.

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Where were shark bites reported?

A total of 41 bites were reported in the U.S.:

New York: 8 reported, 6 confirmed

Florida: 16

Hawaii: 5

South Carolina: 4

California: 4

North Carolina: 2

Texas: 1

Alabama: 1

Two of the Florida bites resulted in injuries that required amputations, the report stated, both likely from bull sharks. A woman snorkeling in the Dry Tortugas was bitten by a lemon shark, only the 11th known unprovoked attack from that species.

Volusia County, Florida  often dubbed the unofficial shark bite capital of the world  reported seven bites, the most in Florida.

How to reduce your risk of a shark attack

The chance of being bitten by a shark remain incredibly low, the program reported. Certain measures can make swimmers safe, reducing the risk of a bite:

Remove reflective jewelry.

Avoid areas where people are fishing.

Leave the water if you see abundant bait fish.

Swim in groups.

Dont wander too far from shore.

Swim in front of a lifeguard.

Dont swim in dim or dark light.

What's behind New York's record shark bites?

The majority of the bites in Long Island were probably sand tiger sharks attracted by an influx of baitfish, Naylor said.

The Gulf Streams eddies ebb and flow each year. Sometimes they can come very close to shore, bringing nutrients and fish with them," he said. "The juvenile sand tigers will follow the fish, which in some cases leads to an uptick in encounters with people."

A 2016 study showed juvenile sand tiger sharks had taken up residence in Great South Bay, New York  between Fire Island and Long Island  and sharks continue to use the sheltered bay as a nursery.

Juveniles tend to be more experimental and will try things that an adult shark wouldnt, Naylor said. If fish are especially dense where people are swimming and visibility is poor, then it is more likely that young sharks, which lack the experience of older animals, will mistake a swimmers foot for their intended prey.

Learn more about sharks

Shark numbers: An 'alarming' worldwide decline as many species face extinction

If a shark approaches: Calm safety diver explains how to act

A drone's view: Drones reveal shark fests, though US bites remain rare

GRAPHIC: What lies beneath coastal waters? Beware of sharks close to shore

Dinah Voyles Pulver covers climate and environmental issues for USA TODAY. She can be reached at dpulver@gannett.com or at @dinahvp on Twitter.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Shark attacks, bites dropped worldwide in 2022. Here's why.
Transparency Market Research

Rise in prevalence of cancer across the globe creates business opportunities for the T-cell therapy market

Wilmington, Delaware, United States, Feb. 07, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Transparency Market Research Inc. The global T-cell therapy market is estimated to grow at a CAGR of 27.9% by the end of 2033, according to the research report by TMR.



T-cell therapy is a type of immunotherapy that harnesses the power of a patients T-cells. T-cells are a type of white blood cell that can combat cancer. The global T-cell therapy market is gaining momentum due to the rise in success rates of this therapy in treating several types of cancer, which has created potential growth prospects for the T-cell therapy industry.

The number of clinical trials has increased in recent years. T-cell therapies are used for treating various types of cancer. Further, the global T-cell therapy market is expected to continue to grow due to technological advancements.

Request to Sample PDF of this Strategic Report (Use Corporate Mail ID for Top Priority): https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=S&rep_id=75857

T-cell therapy Market: Growth Drivers

Increase in incidence of cancer worldwide is driving demand for innovative treatments, including T-cell therapies. The development of new T-cell therapy techniques and the upgrade of existing ones are driving the T-cell therapy industry growth.

Governments and regulatory bodies across the world are taking steps to encourage the development and approval of T-cell therapies, which is boosting the T-cell therapy business.

T-cell therapies have proved to be efficient in treating several types of cancer, particularly those that are resistant to traditional treatments, which is fueling demand for these treatments.



Key Findings of T-Cell Therapy Market



Based on therapy, the CAR-T segment has gained immense popularity owing to the rise in number of successful clinical trials. Advanced technology, such as next-generation CAR-T immunotherapy, adopted by healthcare practitioners has increased the revenue share of this segment in the T-cell therapy market.

By modality, the research segment is projected to show exponential growth during the forecast period. The number of therapies in the research stage is high, which is estimated to ultimately boost market progress in the near future. Furthermore, the pharmaceutical industry is likely to dominate the market due to the increase in sales of products in this category in the T-cell therapy business.

T-cell receptor based therapies have proved to be effective for melanoma treatment, which has created revenue generation opportunities for this segment.



Story continues

T-Cell Therapy Market: Regional Dynamics

Key regions into which the T-cell therapy market is divided are Asia Pacific, Europe, North America, Latin America, and the Middle East & Africa.

North America is the largest market for T-cell therapies. High prevalence of cancer, favorable regulatory policies, and an increase in investments in R&D activities, are expected to influence market growth.

Europe is also a growing market for T-cell therapies due to lucrative reimbursement policies and rise in number of healthcare centers providing advanced treatment for cancer

Asia Pacific is a potential market for T-cell therapies, fueled by factors such as a rapidly growing population and increasing investment in healthcare development. Furthermore, clinical studies to develop effective drugs for cancer in countries such as China have led to lucrative growth of the market.



T-Cell Therapy Market: Competitive Landscape

The T-cell therapy market is highly competitive, with several large pharmaceutical companies and biotechnology companies competing for market share. Pharmaceutical companies and research institutions are collaborating and partnering to develop new T-cell therapies to expand their market. High cost of T-cell therapies is a challenge for the market, although the cost is expected to decrease through technological innovations. The T-cell therapy market is also benefiting from an increase in investment from venture capital firms, private equity companies, and pharmaceutical companies.

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Key participants operating in the market are:

Pfizer Inc.

Gilead Sciences Inc.

Novartis AG

Amgen

Celgene Corporation

Sorrento Therapeutics

TCR2 Therapeutics Inc

Merck KGaA

Bluebird Bio Inc.

Fate Therapeutics

T-Cell Therapy Market: Segmentation

By Indication Hematologic Malignancies Lymphoma Leukemia Myeloma Solid Tumors Melanoma Brain & Central Nervous System Liver Cancer Other solid Tumors



Other Indications

By Therapy Type CAR T-cell Therapy T Cell Receptor (TCR)-based Tumor Infiltrating Lymphocytes (TIL)-based

By Modality Research Commercialized

Regional Outlook

North America

Latin America

Europe

APAC

MEA

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New York, New York--(Newsfile Corp. - February 6, 2023) - Center for Civic Citizens' Welfare and Community Development (CWCD Africa) has recently unveiled the latest version of the election monitoring app "Zabe 2.0" to make way for a free, fair, and transparent voting system ahead of the general elections.





Entrepreneur Khalil Halilu

With 2023 approaching fast, the Nigerian general elections are just around the corner. Owing to the country's history of political unrest and the potential for electoral violence or contested elections, there are impending hazards, as Nigerians gear up for the voting that could make or break the nation's democracy. However, things seem to be different this time.

Thanks to seasoned tech entrepreneur Khalil Halilu, his election resource, Zabe 2.0, has Nigerians prepped up for an election that is more open and transparent. According to the foundation, the election monitoring app is set to bring about the necessary change in the voting mechanism pre, during, and post-elections.

Mr. Khalil Halilu, the Chief Executive Officer of the CANS Innovation Hub, a division of the CWCD, stated during the launch event that the app effectively addresses societal problems and paves the way for a fair and transparent election. Zabe, which means "to vote" in Hausa, was created by the CANs foundation to contribute to better election management in Nigeria.

"Zabe is an election monitoring app that leverages on the power of crowd source data to bring transparency in votings through voter tabulation in terms of result and incidence reporting," Mr. Khalil stated during the inauguration event in Abuja. The CEO further went on to explain that Zabe 2.0, an upgrade to Zabe 1.0 in 2018, is a cutting-edge data collection and processing system designed ahead of Nigeria's 2023 general elections.

Launching on the back of its predecessor's success, Zabe 2.0 provides a more effective method of collating results and ensuring electoral transparency. Explaining the difference between the two versions that span four years, Mr. Khalil revealed that the newly released Zabe 2.0 has a resource center that will serve as the information hub for voter education and survey and will counter fake news.

Story continues

In order to bolster democratization across the continent, Khalil Halilu and the CANs team have provided the necessary technical support for Nigeria's electoral authority with the election monitoring platform, Zabe 2.0, all set to raise the bar of election transparency in Africa.

About CWCD Africa

Center for Civic Citizens' Welfare and Community Development (CWCD Africa), the foundation arm of the CANS Innovation Hub, is a non-governmental organization with a mission to drive social change, accountability, peace, security, and transparency using sustainable and emerging technologies. Through the use of localized tech solutions tailored for the African market, the organization aims to be at the forefront of transformational development in Africa through innovation.

Since its inception in 2018, CWCD Africa has created various technological solutions catering to the nation's social evils. The organization's portfolio includes RISE, a platform connecting relief-seekers affected during the COVID-19 crisis to relief providers, UNSUB, which connects abuse victims to stakeholders, ENGAGE, a crowdsourcing platform allowing citizens to engage government on critical issues concerning them, and the BACKUP app which is a digital intervention app to fight human rights violations and police brutality.

Contact info

Website: https://thecans.ng/

Business Line: +234(0) 8101801383

Contact Name: Khalil Halilu

Email: cwcdafrica@gmail.com

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/153709
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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.
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Officers from the National Bureau of Investigations have caught 17 people  six doctors, the chief executives of eight companies and three employees  in a fraud case related to medical orthopaedic aids, after an investigation that began in November.

The case has 26 suspects, the Emergency Police announced.



Specialist doctors are accused of prescribing the orthopaedic aids with the highest state subsidies regardless of whether patients needed them or not and then claiming the relevant state funds illegally.



Nearly 250 police officers searched more than 60 locations during a nationwide raid.



Two of the doctors are from Szeged; the other four are based in Mako, Szigetszentmiklos, Szekszard and Budaors.



The collaborating heads of orthopaedic aid manufacturers are mostly in Szeged but one is based in Cegledbercel and another in Budapest.



Police seized dozens of mobile phones, 47 computers and laptops, company documents, and medical aids, as well as Ft 80 million impounded from the suspects bank accounts and in cash, and other assets worth more than Ft 70 million.



Units of the Counter-Terrorist Police were needed during the operation, as several suspects had firearms.



Photo courtesy: Police.hu
Hungarian authorities are responsible for the death of 22-year-old Syrian Farhan Alhowais, who drowned in the Tisza in 2016 as a result of police brutality and violent coercion, the European Court of Human Rights ruled.

Alhowais tried to enter Hungary from Serbia in June, 2016, by crossing the Tisza river with his brother and other refugees in a boat, aided by people-smugglers.



The Helsinki Committee said that, upon reaching the shore, police unleashed dogs and tear gas at the refugees, forcing them back into the river.



Alhowais was injured and then drowned in the Tisza while his brother and cousin returned to the Serbian side of the river.



The Hungarian authorities did not investigate the circumstances of the incident substantively, the NGO said.



Alhowaiss brother sued Hungary at the ECHR, alleging loss of right to life, inhumane treatment, and the absence of substantive investigations.



In response to the ruling, the Interior Ministry said The attack on Hungary by the Soros network in connection with a death in Hungary is nothing more than another attempt to exert pressure and discredit our country and Hungarian border defence.



The verdict is not binding and the ministry says Hungary can be expected to file an appeal against the ruling.
Serving this regime is more than a sin: it is shameful, and Fidesz voters should be ashamed of themselves, Ferenc Gyurcsany, the leader of the opposition Democratic Coalition (DK), told the party congress.

The opposition should work to weaken the government by all available legal means, he said. The current government is against the homeland, unlawful, immoral, dishonest and criminal, Gyurcsany said.



He said Russian President Vladimir Putin was a war criminal, without question, since the murder of hundreds of civilians in Bucha, Ukraine, in early 2022.



Hungary is cooperating with a war criminal, and whats more, it does so without reaping any advantages, he said. Prime Minister Viktor Orban has lost his independence and isnt a sovereign person but a serf to Russian power, he said. The country has to oppose such a leader, he added.



One of the most important issues in Hungary is education and schools, Gyurcsany said. The sector needs funds, but also a reform that focuses on childrens soul, thoughts, personality, curiosity and thirst for knowledge, he said.



Gyurcsany said of the Roma community in Hungary that they are right to feel they have been abandoned by everyone.



An 800,000-strong minority have been cast aside because they are Roma, and are facing terrible poverty, isolation and discrimination, he said. DK is offering a home to all opponents of the Orban government, he said.



Commenting on the speech, Fidesz communications director Istvan Hollik said Gyurcsany had clearly brought the entire dollar left to its knees.



Leftist parties continue to act against the interests of Hungarians, he said in a video on Facebook. Hungary has but one left wing, and that is led by Gyurcsany, he said.



The speech has also shown that the party has no intention to change its policies.



They will continue to push their pro-war, pro-sanctions policies, as their foreign financers expect them to do, he said.
Budapest Mayor Gergely Karacsony has delivered aid, including a mobile lifting crane for street lighting maintenance, and eight washer-driers to the mayor of Berehove (Beregszasz), a sister city for Budapest, during his visit to Transcarpathia. Karacsony said that during the visit, he also held talks with leaders of the Berehove region and ethnic Hungarian interest-protection and professional organisations.

He added that he visited the institutions in Berehove and the region in order to gain first-hand experience of the situation and to deliver aid from Budapest.



He said he had established contact with Zoltan Babjak, his counterpart in Berehove, on the first day of the war in Ukraine, and humanitarian aid tailored to demand has been continually offered to the city from Budapest ever since.



Given that Berehove and its region are rich in thermal water resources, Budapest has offered its experiences in the use of geothermic energy in preparation for the post-war period, Karacsony said.
The new European Union sanctions will ban the imports and re-export of Russian oil products from Sunday, but Hungarys exemption from the former and various alternative resources will ensure the countrys energy security, the energy ministry said.

Thanks to Hungarys government, pipeline deliveries received exemption when Russian crude imports were restricted in the summer of 2022, the ministrys statement said.



The ban on the imports of oil products and on the re-export between member states will impact Hungarys trade with other member states and its purchases from the Bratislava refinery, the statement said.



The countrys energy security continues to be ensured through domestic production and imports through the Friendship and Adria pipelines, as well as other imports, it said.



At the same time, the consequences of the sanctions may result in rising energy prices in Europe and then in Hungary, it said.



Since Russia supplied about half of Europes diesel imports, Europe is expected to face diesel shortages and rising prices of oil products, the statement said.



It will probably have to resort to imports from India, the Middle East and China, it said.



MTI Photo
Commentators disagree sharply on Prime Minister Orbans call for peace talks and an armistice in Ukraine.

At a roundtable discussion with a dozen conservative foreign journalists, Prime Minister Orban discussed the prospects of the war in Ukraine. According to the journalists reports, PM Orban said that Putin cannot afford defeat in Ukraine if he wants to win reelection in 2024.



He added that if Putin were to lose power, he could be followed by an even more radical warmonger. PM Orban also said that Russia cannot tolerate a NATO presence in its direct neighbourhood, but nor does it have the capacity to occupy the whole of Ukraine nor change its government.



All they can do is to turn it into an ungovernable mess, a no mans land like in Afghanistan, PM Orban suggested. NATO may soon have to decide, he continued, if it also wants to send soldiers in order to defend Ukraine.



However unlikely it sounds now, the possibility that Russia might at some point use nuclear weapons cannot be ruled out, the Hungarian Prime Minister remarked. Ukrainian politicians have harshly criticized Mr Orban for, in their view, proposing a bald comparison between Ukraine and Afghanistan.



In Magyar Demokrata, Gabor Bencsik interprets the war in Ukraine as a European civil war. The conservative commentator writes that the war is being fought for domination among European countries. Bencsik, however, blames the war on the US, accusing it of trying to make Ukraine its military and economic headquarters, close to the borders of Russia.



He suggests that the war is beneficial for the US, as it costs no US lives but boosts the US arms industry. The resulting intra-European fight will weaken the global power of Europe, he adds. As for Hungary, Bencsik agrees with the government that our primary concern should be to stay out of the conflict even as members of NATO and the EU, and thus we have no option but to support their sanctions on Russia.



Magyar Nemzets Zsolt Jeszenszky thinks that Russia cannot be defeated. The pro-government columnist denounces the Russian aggression, but maintains that it was provoked by Ukraines ignorance of what he calls Russias legitimate geopolitical interests.



The conflict, Jeszenszky speculates, was therefore the result of US expansion which aimed at weakening Russia. Russia is using Ukraine as a proxy in its efforts to achieve its own aims, while Europe sleep-walks without considering its own interests, Jeszenszky contends.



He goes on to claim that Hungarys and Europes interest would be an immediate armistice, bearing in mind the economic costs of the war. Jeszenszky emphasises that any further military escalation would result in further devastation and even more deaths.



He dismisses the suggestion that Russia could be defeated like Nazi Germany, as the former has nuclear weapons. The longer the war and the bigger the destruction, the more dependent Europe will become on the US, Jeszenszky fears.



Heti Vilaggazdasags Arpad W. Tota finds Prime Minister Orbans call for an armistice and peace talks a tacit endorsement of Russian President Putins military aggression. The liberal pundit believes that a ceasefire would give Russia time to regroup before continuing its offensive and would also tacitly recognize Russias territorial gains.



Tota believes that to achieve peace, Russians need to be fought back as Nazi Germany was in the Second World War and Putin needs to be defeated. He accuses the Hungarian Prime Minister of not supporting Western military efforts to liberate Ukraine out of fear that his ideological ally, President Putin would be defeated as well.



Writing in the same weekly, Marton Gergely also accuses Prime Minister Orban of siding with Russian President Putin by suggesting that the Russian offensive will not stop unless a secure buffer zone is established between Russia and Ukraine.



The liberal analyst points out that such a zone could be secured only if Ukraine gives up territories occupied by Russian troops. Gergely, however, is optimistic that NATO weapons will help Ukraine defeat Russia. In conclusion, he writes, despite PM Orbans disagreement with the weapons supply to Ukraine by countries that are members of NATO and the EU, as a NATO member herself Hungary cannot be neutral in this war.



This opinion does not necessarily represent the views of XpatLoop.com or the publisher.

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Photo: PM's Press Office Zoltan Fischer
Hungarians will be proven right, Prime Minister Viktor Orban said, commenting on recent statements on border protection by two top EU officials.

Orban responded to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen calling the strengthening of the Turkish-Bulgarian border the most important task in connection with the reinforcement of the EUs land borders.



The prime minister also noted that Manfred Weber, leader of the European Peoples Party (EPP) group in the European Parliament, proposed building fences in exceptional cases at the blocs external borders with EU support.



Ursula von der Leyen and Manfred Weber would strengthen the EUs border protection. There we go! Hungarians not are, but will be right! Orban said on Facebook.



In a post on Twitter, the Hungarian prime minister said: Finally! Dear Ursula von der Leyen, dear Manfred Weber, welcome to the club!



Weve been fighting for stronger borders for 10 years. As it turned out we Hungarians have been right all along, Orban said.
The government still expects all retailers to comply with government mandated price caps, the government spokeswoman told a press conference.

Alexandra Szentkiralyi said there was no excuse for anyone to disregard the caps on the price of basic foodstuffs.



Last week, the consumer protection authority carried out inspections in 468 outlets, and only in 99 stores were there an absence of violations of the regulation, she noted. Consumer protection procedures were launched in 369 cases.



Various shortfalls included inadequate information on the price cap and the inability of a retailer to prove that they had complied with all provisions.
Back in 2021, Air India scripted history by successfully travelling over the North Pole to undertake the world's longest air route flying between San Francisco and Bengaluru, covering a distance of about 16,000 kilometres, continuously flying for over 17 hours. In a few years, long haul will become even longer. Qantas, the Australian Airline has announced that from late 2025, it will fly passengers on non-stop flights from Australia's east coast to London that would see you in the air for more than 19 hours in one stretch. While the planes are getting better and better so complete such arduous journey, what will happen to your body during one of these longer flights?

1. You can become dehydrated

Dehydration is common on long-haul flights. It can explain why your throat, nose and skin can feel dry on an aeroplane. The longer the flight, the greater the risk of dehydration. That's because of low levels of humidity in the cabin compared with what you'd expect on the ground. This is mostly because a lot of the air circulating through the cabin is drawn from the outside, and there's not a lot of moisture in the air at high altitudes.

You also risk dehydration by not drinking enough water, or drinking too much alcohol (alcohol is a diuretic, resulting in an increase in fluid lost). So drink water before you jump on the plane. During the flight, you'll also need to drink more water than you usually would.

2. Havoc on your ears, sinuses, gut and sleep

As the cabin pressure changes, the gas in our bodies reacts accordingly. It expands as the aircraft climbs and pressure decreases, and the opposite occurs as we descend. This can lead to common problems such as:

Earaches - when the air pressure either side of your eardrum is different, placing pressure on the eardrum



Headaches - can be caused by expanding air trapped in your sinuses

Gut problems - just accept that you're going to fart more.

You can also feel more sleepy than usual. That's due to the body not being able to absorb as much oxygen from the cabin air at altitude than it would on the ground. Slowing down is the body's way of protecting itself, and this can make you feel sleepy. The good news is that most of these problems won't necessarily be more pronounced on longer flights. They're mainly an issue as the plane climbs and descends.

3. You could develop blood clots

Blood clots, associated with being immobile for long periods, are usually a big concern for passengers. These include clots that form in the leg (deep vein thrombosis or DVT) that can travel to the lung (where it's known as a pulmonary embolism). If you don't move around on the plane, and the more of the following risk factors you have, the greater the chance of blood clots developing:

Older age

Obesity

Previous history or a family history of clots

Certain types of clotting disorders

Cancer

Recent immobilisation or surgery

Pregnancy or recently given birth

Hormone replacement therapy or oral contraceptive pill.

According to a review in 2022, combining data from 18 studies, the longer you travel, the greater the risk of blood clots. The authors calculated there was a 26% higher risk for every two hours of air travel, starting after four hours. So what about the risk of clots on these longer flights? We won't know for sure until we start studying passengers on them. Until that evidence comes in, the current advice still applies. Keep moving, stay hydrated and limit alcohol consumption.

There's also evidence for wearing compression stockings to prevent blood clots. These stockings are said to promote blood flow in the legs and to help blood return to the heart. This would normally happen by muscle contractions from moving or walking. A 2021 Cochrane review combined the results of nine trials with 2,637 participants who were randomised to wear compression stockings (or not) on flights lasting more than five hours.

No participants developed symptomatic DVTs. But there was evidence people who wore the stockings considerably reduced their chance of developing clots without symptoms, and we know that any clot can potentially grow, move and subsequently, cause symptoms.

So if you are concerned about your risk of developing blood clots, see your GP before you fly. Usually if you do develop a blood clot, you won't know about it until after the flight, as the clot takes time to form and travel. So keep an eye out for symptoms after the flight - pain and swelling in a leg (often just the one), chest pain, coughing and shortness of breath. And seek emergency health care if you do.

4. Then there's jet lag, radiation, COVID

Then there's jet lag, which is a stranger to few of us. This is a disconnect between the time your body thinks it is and the time by the clock, as you cross time zones. Longer flights mean you are more likely (but not always) to cross more time zones. Jet lag will usually become more problematic when you cross three or more, especially if you're travelling east.

And if you take long-haul flights very often, it's reasonable to assume that the longer you're in the air, the greater the exposure to cosmic radiation. As the name suggests, this is radiation that comes from space, which may increase the risk of cancer and reproductive issues. We don't know what level of exposure is safe.

However, unless you fly frequently it's unlikely to be a problem. If you're pregnant or have other concerns, have a chat to your GP before you fly. And don't forget COVID. Take the usual precautions - wash your hands regularly, wear a mask and don't fly if you're unwell.

In a nutshell

Research into how the body reacts to these longer, non-stop flights between Australia and Europe is in its early stages. Teams in Australia are looking at this now. Until then, if you're taking a regular long-haul flight, the advice is relatively simple.

Follow the advice the airlines give you, and see your GP before you travel if necessary. During flight, make that extra effort to move about the cabin, drink water, wear a mask and practise good hand hygiene. And see a doctor immediately for any worrying symptoms after your flight, as blood clots can take hours or even days to form, grow and move along your veins.

With PTI inputs
The F-22 Raptor, made by aviation giant Lockheed Martin is the world's first 5th generation fighter jet, and is exclusively built for the United States Air Force. The F-22 is also among one of the most expensive fighter jets projects ever, along side the F-35 Lightning. However, unlike the F-22, the F-35 is offered to other NATO nations and is widely used by countries like Japan, Turkey among others. The Raptor is known for its dogfighting capabilities, beyond-visual-range (BVR) combat, and stealthy design. On February 4, 2023, a United States Air Force F-22 fighter jet shot down a suspected Chinese spy balloon off the coast of South Carolina.

Interestingly, this is the first-ever kill shot of the F-22 over the US Soil, or anywhere else. This has generated a lot of memes on the internet, with experts calling the first kill shot of the multi-billion dollar F-22 project worthless. The reason for F-22 not being engaged into any enemy kill is due to the fact that F-22 doesn't take part in any out-of-the-US military activity. On the other hand, there has been no intrusion of any enemy aircraft over the United States in years.

While multiple fighter jets and refuelling aircraft of the US Military were involved in the mission to take down the Chinese Spy Balloon that entered the US Airspace over a week ago, only the F-22 Raptor fighter jet was involved in the kill shot. The fighter flew from the Langley Air Force Base in Virginia and took the shot at the suspected Chinese Spy Balloon using a single AIM-9X supersonic, heat-seeking, air-to-air missile.

"They successfully took it down, and I want to compliment our aviators who did it," US President Joe Biden said. Biden said that he had issued an order on Wednesday to take down the balloon, but the Pentagon had recommended waiting until it could be done over open water to safeguard civilians from debris crashing to Earth from thousands of feet (meters) above commercial air traffic.

The balloon, which was estimated to be about the size of three school buses, was shot down about six nautical miles off the US coast, over relatively shallow water, potentially aiding efforts to recover elements of the Chinese surveillance equipment in the coming days, officials said.

(With agency inputs)
A total of 63 passengers have been placed on the "No Fly List" in the past year due to disruptive behaviour. These comprise two instances of urinating that the Directorate General of Civil Aviation has been aware of (DGCA). On the advice of the airlines, the duration of the passenger ban has been determined. Furthermore, according to government statistics, there have been more incidences of rowdy behaviour on flights in the past year.

Minister of State for Civil Aviation, V.K. Singh in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha on Monday said: "In last one year, a total of 63 passengers have been placed in the "No Fly List" for such period, as recommended by the airline`s Internal Committee, constituted in accordance with Civil Aviation Requirements (CAR), Section 3 -- Air Transport, Series M, and Part VI titled "Handling of unruly/disruptive passengers."

Also read: Turkey Earthquake: Antakya Hatay Airport Runway Closed Due to Massive Destruction; Watch Video

In reply to another query, the Ministry informed that there are 143 passengers who have been placed in the `No Fly List` since 2017 for a period as per the recommendations of the respective Internal Committee constituted by the airline.

As per the provision mentioned in CAR, a `No Fly List` is maintained by DGCA containing specific information related to the passenger involved, contact details of identification documents, date of occurrence, sector, flight number, period of imposition of ban etc.

The majority of passengers placed on the "No Fly List" were for a violation related to not wearing a mask or not obeying the instructions of crew members, said the reply by the Ministry.

The reply informed that as regarding specific incidents related to urination, the action was taken by DGCA for non-compliance to applicable regulations.

For an incident on AI-102 flight, New York to New Delhi, dated November 26, 2022, a financial penalty of Rs 30,00,000 has been imposed on Air India. A financial penalty of Rs 3,00,000 has been imposed on the Director of Flight services of Air India and the license of pilot in command suspended for three months.

For the incident in flight AI-142, Paris to New Delhi dated December 6, 2022, a financial penalty of Rs 10,00,000 has been imposed by the DGCA on Air India, said the reply.

With IANS Inputs
On February 6, 2023, Ricky Kej, the Bengaluru-based Musician created history for becoming the only Indian to win three Grammy Awards. Back in October 2022, Ricky shared a horrifying experience on Twitter for getting stuck in Turkey for more than 30 hours, after a Frankfurt-Bengaluru Lufthansa flight made an emergency landing at the Istanbul International Airport. The flight was diverted to Turkey after a passenger suffered a medical emergency onboard the plane. While the flight was supposed to take off after deboarding the said passenger and completion of some technical processes, all the passengers got stuck at the Istanbul International Airport for over 31 hours.

Moreover, the passengers on the flight had complained of poor efforts from the crew for their support. Among the passengers was Ricky Kej, Grammy winning music director from India. He tweeted on October 19, 2022 afternoon about getting stuck at the airport. Little did he know, he will be stuck for more than 30 hours.

Can't believe how @lufthansa takes Indian customers for granted. My Frnkfurt-Blore flight landed last evening 7pm in Istanbul for medical emergency. 17 hours later - no hotel, no staff, no explanation, 300 passengers stranded, no info whatsoever. @AmbAckermann @GermanCG_BLR  Ricky Kej (@rickykej) October 19, 2022

He tweeted "Can't believe how lufthansa takes Indian customers for granted. My Frnkfurt-Blore flight landed last evening 7pm in Istanbul for medical emergency. 17 hours later - no hotel, no staff, no explanation, 300 passengers stranded, no info whatsoever."

Later, he tweeted a barrage of updates about the wait at the airport in Turkey. His last tweet stated "Over 31 hours now... Still stranded in Istanbul. Thanks to the utter disregard of Indian passengers by lufthansa. Still not even a statement, or any info from them. Zero accountability. Shows how much they care. Two nights now without a bed, no access to luggage, etc.."

The airline, confirmed the emergency landing due to a patient who had a medical condition. Also, it said in a statement, For safety reasons, the oxygen cylinders used to treat the medical emergency must be replaced before continuing the flight. Unfortunately, this (took) more time than originally expected. The flight continuation from Istanbul to Bangalore is now scheduled for 8 pm local time Wednesday (October 19). Lufthansa deeply regrets the circumstances and is doing everything to minimise the inconveniences for its passengers."
New Delhi: Anand Mahindra certainly knows how to keep his followers interested by providing stuff that quickly becomes viral. He posted a really amusing image of the "Chat GPT" golgappa stall on Monday. A chatbot powered by artificial intelligence (AI), called Chat GPT, is currently all the rage on social media. Mahindra acknowledged that the photo may have been altered, but he still thought it was creative.

Anand Mahindra tweeted about the article. The post included an image of the "Chat GPT" golgappa corner. Given that chaat is another name for delicacies like aloo tikki, the wordplay was absolutely genius. (Also Read: OnePlus 11 to Launch on Feb 7; Check Expected Price Release Date, Price in India, Specifications, Other Details)

"Though it appears to have been Photoshopped, this is ingenious. Everything we come across is de-mystified and "Indianized" by us!" Mahindra wrote the post's caption.

This looks photoshopped but its clever, nonetheless. We know how to Indianize & de-mystify everything we encounter! pic.twitter.com/zg6HCKo1MN February 6, 2023

The post received a tonne of online attention as well as a tonne of responses from Twitter users.

AI will serve well modelled paani Puri PA (AGoodBuck) February 6, 2023

Powered by AI(Aloo+Imli) Bhupesh kumar (BhupeshAKumar) February 6, 2023
New Delhi: An employee of the Bank of India of Nadiad-Kapadwanj branch was assaulted by two customers over the issue of a bank loan on February 03. The thrashing was caught on the CCTV cameras installed in the bank.

Manish Dhangar, serving as an officer with the Bank of India's Nadiad-Kapadwanj branch, handling the loan desk was thrashed by the customer, CCTV recordings available at the bank showed.

#WATCH | An employee of the Bank of India, Nadiad branch was thrashed by a customer over the issue of a bank loan on 3rd February. Case registered under SC-ST (Prevention of Atrocities Act) in Nadiad Town Police Station#Gujarat pic.twitter.com/JJbMzA2cOO  ANI (@ANI) February 5, 2023

Meanwhile, an IANS report has showed that police have arrested both the persons accused of thrashing the BOI employee.

In his complaint, Dhangar said, "On Friday afternoon, a customer named Samarth Brahmbhatt reached the branch and started beating me. He slapped me three to four times, and even kicked me. When the other staff tried to intervene, Samarth's friend Parth, who was accompanying him, kicked me," reported IANS.

According to Dhangar, Samarth was angry with him and the bank because the repeatedly calls were made to him to submit a copy of his house insurance policy.

Samarth had threatened over phone that he will not submit the insurance policy.

Samarth had taken a home loan from the bank. During audit, it was found that the customer had not submitted his house insurance policy, which was required since the house was not mortgaged with the bank.

With IANS Inputs
International Day of Zero Tolerance to Female Genital Mutilation: Female Genital Mutilation FGM, also known as female genital cutting, female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C), and female circumcision, is a practise in which a woman's external genitalia are cut or removed. The mutilation is justified for a number of cultural, religious, and social grounds, but none of them are medically appropriate.

The UN has established a global awareness day to raise awareness of the horrifying practise of female genital mutilation (FGM). The day gives organisations, victims, and governments a platform to voice out against the abuse.

What is Female Genital Mutilation?

FGM is the term used to describe "any surgeries involving partial or complete removal of the female external genitalia or other harm to the female genital organs for non-medical reasons." Human rights for women and girls are violated by FGM.

FGM is a practise in which a female's external genitalia are cut or removed. It is also referred to as female genital cutting, female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C), and female circumcision. For instance, in a relavtively smaller study conducted in Mumbai found out that the Bohra sect in India engages in FGM, which entails whole or partial removal of the clitoral hood.

International Day of Zero Tolerance to Female Genital Mutilation 2023: Historical Significance

The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that 3 million girls are at risk of having FGM every year and that more than 200 million girls and women have undergone the surgery globally. After the Campaign Against Female Genital Mutilation officially declared "Zero Tolerance to FGM" in Africa on February 6, 2003 saw the creation of the International Day of Zero Tolerance for FGM.

200 million women & girls alive today have been subjected to female genital mutilation (FGM), which involves altering or injuring the female genitalia for non-medical reasons.



It's a human rights violation.



More from @UNFPA on Monday's #EndFGM Day. https://t.co/xicMqnk08A pic.twitter.com/OqTDK0KVEI  United Nations (@UN) February 6, 2023

International Day of Zero Tolerance to Female Genital Mutilation 2023: Theme

The theme of the 2023 International Day to End Female Genital Mutilation is "Partnership with Men and Boys to Change Social and Gender Norms to End FGM."

International Day of Zero Tolerance to Female Genital Mutilation: Dark facts

According to the World Heatlh Organization website, FGM is categorized into four broad categories in 1995 and again in 2007:

Type I: Partial or total removal of the clitoris and/or the prepuce.

Type II: Partial or total removal of the clitoris and labia minora, with or without excision of the labia majora.

Type III: Narrowing of the vaginal orifice by cutting and bringing together the labia minora and/or the labia majora to create a type of seal, with or without excision of the clitoris. In most instances, the cut edges of the labia are stitched together, which is referred to as infibulation.

Type IV: All other harmful procedures to the female genitalia for non-medical purposes, for example: pricking, piercing, incising, scraping and cauterization.

International Day of Zero Tolerance to Female Genital Mutilation: Prevalence in India and worldwide

The practise of FGM is heavily concentrated in a wide range of countries from the Atlantic coast to the Horn of Africa, in regions of the Middle East including Iraq and Yemen, and in some Asian nations like Indonesia, according to statistics from large-scale representative surveys. The prevalence of the practise is above 90% in Somalia, Guinea, and Djibouti, although it only affects 1% or less of girls and women in Cameroon and Uganda.

However, FGM is an issue relating to human rights that affects women and girls all around the world. According to the findings, FGM occurs in a number of countries, including Colombia, India, Malaysia, Oman, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates.

The type of FGM performed, the circumstances surrounding the practise, and the size of the population groups affected differ tremendously in each of these countries.

(Disclaimer: The article is based on information and data available on official UN & WHO websites. Zee News does not confirm this.)
New Delhi: Delhi Police has busted an extortion gang and arrested four members, including a woman who allegedly honey-trapped people by introducing herself as a masseuse. The accused have been identified as Sunny Suneja, Md. Shafiq, Deepak Budhiraja, and Hemlata. Two of the accused impersonated security officials to threaten and extort money from the victims. Shahdara Deputy Commissioner of Police Rohit Meena all the accused were booked under sections 389, 419, 170, 120 B and 34 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) on the basis of a complaint filed by Nand Kishor resident of Balbir Nagar Shahdara.

Delhi Police busted an extortion gang and arrested four members, including a woman who allegedly honey-trapped people by introducing herself as a masseuse. Two of the accused impersonated security officials to threaten and extort money from the victims: Rohit Meena, DCP Shahdara pic.twitter.com/ZSnsjhadXt  ANI (@ANI) February 5, 2023

In his complaint, Nand Kishore said that he was surfing the internet wherein he came across one number on one website. The complainant then had a WhatsApp conversation with one lady who introduced herself as a massage provider and they became WhatsApp friends. On the very next day, the complainant and that lady met at the signature bridge. The lady kept engaging him in talks and chats on WhatsApp.

On January 29, the lady asked the complainant to meet him at DTC Depot Seemapuri. When the complainant reached there after around 30 minutes later the above lady came with another lady and introduced her as her friend.

After that lady asked the complainant to go to her friend`s house and thereafter they went to a room. After some time suddenly someone knocked at the door and suddenly 4-5 people appeared in front of the door, they introduced themselves as an officer from the Crime Branch, a landlord, and a woman who introduced herself as a member of an NGO and a person with the Uniform posing himself as Sub Inspector from Delhi Police," the police said in a statement.

The person who introduced himself as a policeman threatened that they would involve him in the POCSO Case as he was trying to involve in a relationship with the minor girl. They also took the complainant`s phone and deleted data from his phone. They also beat him up and told him to either give Rs 10 lakhs or they would implicate him in a false case.

When the complainant refused to give the money, the men in uniform threatened to take him to Police Headquarters and then told him to sit in the car outside. The man in uniform and the other posing himself as a Crime branch officer took the complainant in the car. And as they reached opposite the CNG Pump Delhi Road the complainant said that he would arrange for the money, the men posing as police personnel stopped the car.

Meanwhile, the complainant somehow pushed himself outside the car, and on hearing his shouts, the crowd gathered and caught the man posing himself as police personnel.

A PCR call was made, and the accused later identified as Sunny Suneja was handed over to police," the police further said. The accused Sunny Suneja was interrogated and arrested in the case.

He disclosed that the person who posed himself as Crime Branch Officer was Honey Saxena. "He stated that Honey Saxena introduced himself as a coordinator who provided work to the actors. Honey Saxena asked Sunny to act as a police officer and on his behest, he pretended as SI during the whole fake raid," the police added.

Police uniform worn by Sunny Suneja, a Car used in the incident, four mobile phones used by accused persons, sweater of accused Deepak recovered.
BYD, the electric vehicle maker, announced that it has delivered the first batch of over 340 BYD Atto 3 premium electric SUVs in the month of January 2023. These EVs were part of the dealer dispatch last month and will be handed over to its customers pan India. The BYD Atto 3 was launched in India recently at a starting price of Rs 33.99 Lakhs (Ex-showroom). The electric SUV has received around 2,000 since its bookings, which began on October 11, 2022. BYD India plans to expand its dealer footprint to 53 by the end of this year.

As a global model, 252,251 units of BYD Atto 3 were sold in just 11 months globally since its launch in various countries and regions. In January 2023 itself, 23,231 units of BYD Atto 3 were sold globally in a single month, gaining good traction among customers.

It is equipped with the ultra-safe Blade Battery and the born EV platform (e-Platform 3.0). This electric SUV is available in 4 colours: Boulder Grey, Parkour Red, Ski White, and Surf Blue. At the recently concluded Auto Expo 2023, BYD also debuted a Limited Edition BYD Atto 3 in an exclusive Forest Green shade at Rs 34.49 lakhs (Ex-showroom Delhi), which is also now available for bookings/deliveries.

The SUV provides fast charging from 0% to 80% within 50 minutes, a certified range 480km as per NEDC standard and 521km according to ARAI tests with a higher battery capacity of 60.48kWh, and a 0-100km/h acceleration time of 7.3 seconds.

The BYD Atto 3 also features L2 Advanced Driving Assistance System (ADAS) called BYD Dipilot, 7 airbags, a panoramic sunroof, a 12.8-inch (32.5cm) adaptive rotating suspension electronic pad, 360 holographic transparent imaging system, NFC card key, the Vehicle to Load (VTOL) mobile power station and other leading configuration, making this car competitive in the market.

Sanjay Gopalakrishnan, Senior Vice President of Electric Passenger Vehicle Business, BYD India, said, We are delighted to announce deliveries of our first-born EV platform (e-Platform 3.0) premium electric SUV in India. We have been receiving incredible response for the BYD ATTO 3 e-SUV from customers. The excitement and enthusiasm to own and drive the sporty and feature rich BYD ATTO 3 is exuberant. The customer feedback and interest make us confident of capturing the Indian electric vehicle segment at a faster pace than we could have thought of.
The Adani-Hinderburg Research incident that led to the fall in shares of the business conglomerate has given the Opposition a weapon ahead of the budget session of Parliament. Both the houses of Parliament - the Rajya Sabha and the Lok Sabha have been adjourned continuously as while the Opposition is demanding a discussion on the issues in the house, the government has refused to buzz. A united Opposition relentlessly demanded discussing the allegations of fraud against the Adani Group. The Opposition parties also held a meeting to discuss their strategy and agreed that there should a discussion in Parliament on the issue and a Joint Parliamentary Committee should investigate the matter.

Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar did not accept 10 notices given by various leaders of opposition parties to suspend the listed business of the day and take up the issue raised by them. Adani Group stocks have taken a beating on the bourses after US-based activist short-seller Hindenburg Research made a litany of allegations, including fraudulent transactions and share price manipulation, against the Gautam Adani-led group, which has dismissed the allegations as lies.

Opposition parties have alleged that the meltdown in Adani Group shares is a scam that involves common people's money as LIC and SBI have invested in them. Congress said that amid allegations against Adani Group, Modi government's deafening silence suggests collusion. "Days after Adani Scam, PM Modi is silent on his mitra Adani. Despite his love for saying his 'Mann ki Baat', avoids talking about the Adani scandal. Why is he scared? The nation eagerly awaits his "Mann ki Baat" on Adani," said Congress.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said Prime Minister Narendra Modi will do his best to avert a discussion on the Adani issue in Parliament, asserting that the country should know what power is behind the billionaire businessman.

"Modi ji will do his best to avert a discussion on Adani ji in Parliament. There is a reason for it and you know that. I want there should be a discussion on Adani issue and the truth should come out. The lakhs and crores of corruption that has taken place should come out. The country should know what is the power behind Adani," said Gandhi.

Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Manoj Jha attacked the Centre for covering up the Adani-Hindenburg issue and demanded a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) probe in the matter. "People are worried but the government is trying to cover up the Adani issue. Gautam Adani is claiming that this is an attack on the nation, but when did he become a national person?...We want a JPC probe into the matter as soon as possible," said Manoj Jha.

Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) MP Mahua Maji also attacked the government and said that the Opposition is united. "Why does PM Modi not want to come and face this? Everything is being privatised gradually, they are being shielded. You can see where the country is heading. The entire Opposition is united, we are protesting. We want answers, why is Adani being shielded?" she said.

TMC MP Mahua Moitra, who claimed to have written to SEBI as well in this regard, slammed the finance ministry for its inaction. "$100bn market cap lost in 4 days. LIC, SBI & PNB with large positions in stock. Indian markets slammed for cancelled FPO. Investors losing faith in SEBI. Some storm, some teacup, Mr Finance Secretary!" said Moitra.

Please see my intervention on Adani in Dec 2019 in lok sabha & see how I was being shut up.

And they say they have nothing to hide! #TruthNeverDies pic.twitter.com/xRzP9omuDP  Mahua Moitra (@MahuaMoitra) February 5, 2023

BSP supremo Mayawati yesterday said that the Adani episode will have a long-term impact on the country's economy and it is "unfortunate" that the government is not taking people of the country into confidence on the issue. The former Uttar Pradesh chief minister also asserted that India's image is at stake due to the issue. "How can Adani episode by forgotten on Ravidas Jayanti as it is a new cause of concern? Instead of finding a solution to such matters, the government is making new promises and ignoring the people. The image of India is at stake due to Adani issue and everyone is concerned but the government is taking this issue very lightly. This is something to think about," Mayawati said in a statement.

Y Sathish Reddy, Chairman of Telangana State Renewable Energy Development Corporation, said in a tweet, "Key officials of Finance Ministry & Niti Aayog raised solid red flags before Adanis illegal capturing of 6 airports. Yet, #Modi bypassed every official & tweaked every law to gift airports to his friend."

On the other hand, terming the Adani Group issue as "storm in the tea cup", Union Finance Secretary T V Somanathan recently said that fluctuations like this comes and goes. "I had said that in terms of our macroeconomic numbers, the issue (Adani enterprises issue) is like a storm in a tea cup and I still stand by that statement," he said in response to a query during a press conference in Mumbai.

Meanwhile, another plea has been moved in the Supreme Court seeking to constitute a Committee under the monitoring of the retired Supreme Court judge to investigate the Hindenburg Research report. The petition has been moved by advocate Vishal Tiwari. In his plea, the petitioner said that he wants to depict the drastic condition and fate of people when there arise situations of share fall in the securities market due to various reasons at hand.

The petitioner said that in the aftermath of an unprecedented attack on billionaire Gautam Adani's vast empire by Hindenburg, the market value of all 10 Adani stocks have halved with investors sitting with a colossal loss of Rs 10 lakh crore. In the last seven trading sessions since the release of the report by the American short-seller, the market capitalisation of all 10 Adani Group stocks is down by over 51 per cent to Rs 9.31 lakh crore. (With agency inputs)
DASARAHALLI: JD(S) leader and former chief minister H D Kumaraswamy, has courted a row by saying that Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) is trying to impose Union Minister Pralhad Joshi, as the next chief minister of the state if the party wins the assembly elections which is scheduled to be held this year.

"RSS is contemplating that Prahalad Joshi should be made the next CM of Karnataka after the elections. Pralhad Joshi is not from the Brahmin community that belongs to Dakshin Karnataka, but He (Joshi) belongs to the Brahmin community which split the Sringeri Mutt," Kumaraswamy said here on Sunday.

Joshi is currently Union Minister of Parliamentary Affairs, Coal and Mines and represents the Dharwad Lok Sabha segment.He made this statement in response to Joshi taking a swipe at the JD(S) Pancharatna Yatre, saying that a Navagraha Yatre should have been undertaken instead. Kumaraswamy said he even had the list of deputy CM probables.

"A meeting of RSS leaders was held in Delhi where the party decided the next CM and Joshi will be the next Chief Minister. 8 names for deputy CMs have also been picked up by the party," HDK said. He said the voters should not fall prey to the machinations of RSS and false promises of the BJP.

Ahead of the elections, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be visiting Bengaluru today where he will dedicate to the nation various developmental works.
Hailakandi (Assam), Feb 6 (PTI) A 17-year-old girl allegedly died by suicide in Assam's Cachar district after her family prevented her from going ahead with wedding plans with her lover, police said on Monday.

The incident occurred amid the state government's crackdown on child marriage, which also led to the cancellation of several weddings of underage girls in Assam's Barak Valley comprising Hailakandi, Cachar and Karimganj districts.

At least 2,441 people have been arrested in the state till Monday in the continuing operation against child marriage, launched on February 3.

In Dhalai area of Cachar district, a 17-year-old girl hanged herself on Saturday after her family refused her permission to marry her lover now, a police officer said.

She had prepared to elope with her lover, but the family came to know about it and prevented her. There have been about 19 arrests in child marriage cases in neighbouring villages, a relative of the girl said.

The number of arrests till Sunday evening was 243 in Barak Valley 80 in Cachar, 82 in Hailakandi 82 and 81 in Karimganj.

A number of people have cancelled scheduled weddings since the drive started, according to owners of wedding halls owners.

One such wedding was called off in Srimantakanishail village in Karimganj as the bride will be completing 18 years in two months.

When the bride's family brought this point up, both the families decided to postpone the wedding till the girl attains the legal age for marriage,? the owner of a wedding hall said.

The MLA of Sonia constituency in Cachar district, Karim Uddin Barbhuiya, urged Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma to exempt those married for many years from police action.

In a statement, he said families are being disrupted and the future of the children of such families is at stake.

Barbhuiya urged the chief minister to stop ?harassing the poor and weaker sections of the society' in this drive against child marriage.

The state cabinet had recently approved a proposal to book men who have married girls below 14 years of age under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.

Cases under the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006 will be registered against those who have married girls in the age group of 14-18 years, the cabinet decided.

The offenders will be arrested and the marriages declared illegal.

Assam has a high rate of maternal and infant mortality, with child marriage being the primary cause, according to reports by the National Family Health Survey (NFHS).

(The above article is sourced from news agency PTI. Zeenews.com has made no editorial changes to the article. News agency PTI is solely responsible for the contents of the article)
Various court rulings have maintained that be it, girl or boy, they have equal rights on their ancestral properties. However, the matter gets complicated when Muslim laws enter the scene. Taking into consideration Mohammedan laws, an Ahmedabad court dismissed a plea filed by three Hindu daughters claiming share from the retirement benefits after her death. The woman got a job on compassionate grounds after her husband's death as she was pregnant at that time besides having two daughters. Since she did not live with the in-laws, her paternal family took care of the three daughters.

The woman later married a Muslim man and converted to Islam. She had a son from the second marriage. Before the woman died in 2009, she named her son as her nominee. The court noted that her Hindu children cannot be her successors according to Mohammedan laws. The local court also held the woman's Muslim son was her Class I heir and rightful successor as per the Mohammedan laws, said reports.

After their mother's death, the three daughters filed a suit claiming their share from their mother's provident fund, gratuity, insurance, leave encashment and other benefits as they contended before the court that being biological daughters, they are Class I heirs.

According to the reports, the Ahmedabad court rejected the daughters' appeal considering the aspects of the principle of estoppel. It also took into consideration material evidence like a notarized affidavit of conversion to Islam, her marriage registration and the entry of the nominee in her service records.

The court noted that if the deceased was Muslim, her Class I heirs cannot be Hindus. Since the mother converted to Islam at a later stage and the daughters are Hindu, the daughters despite being heirs, are not entitled to inheritance.

The court also noted that as per Hindu inheritance laws, Hindu daughters are not entitled to any right from their Muslim mothers.
Guwahati, Feb 6 (PTI) Claiming that law was being "abused in Assam on the pretext of the crackdown on child marriage, the TMC on Monday sought the intervention of the Chief Justice of Gauhati High Court.

State TMC president Ripun Bora, in a letter to the chief justice, urged him to restrain the state government from "such inhuman and unlawful activities".

The Assam Police, as part of the crackdown on child marriage, have arrested 2,441 accused since Friday, with Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma asserting that the drive will continue till 2026 Assembly polls.

"All of a sudden, Assam police across the state, at the instruction of Chief Minister Dr Himanta Biswa Sarma, operated crackdown for the last 3 days against the so-called offenders under Protection of Child Marriage Act 2006 in a most whimsical manner (sic)," he wrote.

Bora claimed that several accused were arrested in a "retrospective manner, without any proper FIR and evidence".

The arrests have also led to situation of unrest in different places with people gheraoing police stations,thereby "disrupting normal public life", he pointed.

Many families with infants, children and pregnant women have been rendered helpless, following the arrest of the men in their households, which is in violation of human rights, the TMC state chief alleged in the letter.

He sought the chief justice's intervention for finding out why the police allegedly acted merely at the instruction of the CM, without observing the due process of law.

Bora urged the chief justice to protect the rights of the public and take action against those who are responsible for the "gross abuse of law".

(The above article is sourced from news agency PTI. Zeenews.com has made no editorial changes to the article. News agency PTI is solely responsible for the contents of the article)
Bhopal: Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has said senior citizens of the state will also have the option to travel by flights on pilgrimage from next month as part of a government scheme. He was speaking in Bhind on Sunday (February 5) to mark the birth anniversary of Sant Ravidas and to launch the Chambal division 'vikas yatra'.

"The birthplace of Sant Ravidas will also be included in this government pilgrimage scheme, known as Mukhyamantri Tirth-Darshan Yojana. We will also take senior citizens by flights for pilgrimage," Chouhan said.

Under the 'Mukhyamantri Tirth Darshan Yojana', eligible senior citizens above 60 years of age can visit any of the listed pilgrimage places on government expenses.

While addressing the gathering, Chouhan also said that Bhind, which has a municipal council at present, will be upgraded as a municipal corporation, and the city would also get a medical college.

The 'vikas yatra' will go to all wards and villages in the state and provide benefits of government schemes to eligible people, while inauguration and foundation stone laying of developmental projects will also take place during the yatra, the CM said.
Thiruvananthapuram: Intensifying the protest against the budget proposals, four opposition Congress MLAs in Kerala on Monday (February 6) launched a sit-in protest at the entrance of the state Assembly here. Congress MLAs Mathew Kuzhalnadan, Shafi Pramabil, Najeeb Kanthapuram and C R Mahesh staged a sit-in at the entrance of the Assembly when the House took up the discussion on the budget presented by Finance Minister K N Balagopal on Friday.

Kuzhalnadan said the opposition will continue its protest till the government withdraws its proposal to impose cess on fuel.

The Left government's budgetary proposal to impose cess on petrol, diesel and liquor continued to trigger widespread protests in Kerala. On Monday, Youth Congress workers took out a protest march to the Assembly which turned violent in the state capital.

The government had, however, justified its decision saying such a measure was announced as the state was facing a huge financial crisis due to the policies of the BJP-led Union government.

Presenting the budget, the Finance Minister had said on Friday that it was proposed to levy a Social Security Cess on Indian Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL) and on the sale of petrol and diesel as the commitment to continue protecting the decent lives to vulnerable sections of society.

The budget has proposed a Social Security Cess on sale of petrol and diesel at the rate of Rs two per litre.
New Delhi: The municipal House in Delhi is set to convene today to elect a mayor for the city after failing to carry out the exercise in two previous attempts. This will be the third session after the high-stakes municipal polls held on December 4. The first two sessions -- held on January 6 and January 24 -- were adjourned by the presiding officer without electing a mayor as the sessions were marred by the ruckus and acrimonious exchanges among the members of the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Aam Aadmi Party.

According to the DMC Act 1957, the mayor and the deputy mayor are to elected in the very first House that convenes after the civic polls. However, it has been two months since the municipal elections were held, and Delhi is still to get a mayor.

While the first session of the 250-member House after the civic polls went fully in vain, in the second session, the nominated members followed by elected members took oath, many of whom had chanted slogans like 'Bharat Mata ki Jai' and 'Jai Shri Ram' after taking oath.

The second municipal House, briefly adjourned after the oath-taking ceremony, was later adjourned till next date by the presiding officer and BJP councillor Satya Sharma.

While BJP members had walked out of the chamber shouting slogans against the AAP and its national convenor Arvind Kejriwal, the AAP members refused to budge from their seats, and held a peaceful protest in the House for nearly five hours.

Before dispersing from the Civic Centre, senior leaders of the AAP, including Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh, had told reporters after emerging from the House that by "not allowing" the mayoral election to take place, the BJP was "strangulating democracy" and "starting a dangerous tradition".

AAP leader and party MLA Atishi had appealed to Lt Governor V K Saxena to ensure the election for mayor, deputy mayor and six members of the standing committee are held at the earliest.

The third session of the House after the high-stakes municipal polls is slated to be held on Monday. The civic polls were held on December 4 and the counting of votes took place on December 7.

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) had emerged as a clear winner in the polls, bagging 134 wards and ending the BJP's 15-year rule in the civic body. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won 104 wards to finish second, while the

Congress won nine seats in the 250-member municipal House which convenes on February 6 for the third time after the 2022 civic polls. BJP's mayoral candidate is Rekha Gupta.

The nominees for the post of deputy mayor are -- Aaley Mohammad Iqbal (AAP) and Kamal Bagri (BJP).

Besides mayor and deputy mayor, six members of the MCD's standing committee are also slated to be elected during the municipal House.

The maiden meeting of the newly-elected MCD House on January 6 was adjourned without electing the mayor and the deputy mayor amid loud protests by AAP councillors over the presiding officer's decision to administer oath to the 10 aldermen first.

The Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) had come into being in April 1958 and its mayor wielded influential power and carried a huge prestige till 2012 when the corporation was split into three separate civic bodies, each having its own mayor.

But, in 2022, the Centre brought a legislation to unify the North Delhi Municipal Corporation (104 wards), South Delhi Municipal Corporation (104 wards) and East Delhi Municipal Corporation (64 wards) into a single entity, though it had capped the total number of wards at 250, down from 272 wards earlier.

Thus, after the mayoral poll, Delhi will get a mayor for the city as a whole after more than a decade.

This was also the first municipal election after the redrawing of the wards in the year gone by, the exercise being necessitated after the Centre brought a legislation in Parliament to unify the three local bodies.

The Parliament on April 5 had passed the Delhi Municipal Corporation (Amendment) Bill-2022 to unify three civic bodies in the national capital into a new unified entity.

The post of mayor in Delhi sees five single-year terms on a rotation basis, with the first year being reserved for women, the second for the open category, third for the reserved category, and the remaining two also being in the open category.

The MCD headquarters is housed in the towering Civic Centre. In 1958, it had began its journey from the historic 1860s-era Town Hall in old Delhi, and was shifted to the swanky complex in April 2010.
Some individuals around the world like to take inspiration from books, resources, and the experiences they gain in their lifetimes, while some others believe in taking inspiration from real life success stories with the aim to follow their dreams and aspirations in life, taking a cue from how others walked their path to glory. Dubai-based real estate entrepreneur Dileep Heilbronn tried doing the same and focused on what his heart sought until he turned from a professional in the corporate real estate world to becoming a self-made entrepreneur in the industry. Today, he is the founder and CEO at Heilbronn Contracting and is the brain behind the real estate developer brand Heilbronn Properties based in Dubai, UAE.

Speaking more about his journey, he says he came from a small town Edappal in Kerala, Malappuram District and completed his diploma in Civil Engineering from SSMPT College. He moved to Mumbai in 1990 and, in 1991, went to Dubai. In Dubai, he worked as a Quantity Surveyor in a multinational construction firm with a salary of USD250/month and had accommodation in labour camp. He continued working there for ten years and, in 2002, founded his own company Heilbronn Contracting. He always had dreamt of having a respectable life, becoming wealthy enough, having cars, watches and a dream life.

From living in labour camp, Dileep Heilbronn went on to create the life he always sought, becoming a self-made success story, living in the billionaire area called Emirates Hills in his own villa with a dozen of super cars. He is proud of how far his business has reached in the industry, where it has been behind some of the landmarks in Dubai and India. Some of their projects are the Chilled Water Pipe Network for the Burj Khalifa District, and external infrastructure works for the Mall of Emirates and Madinat Jumeirah. Their flagship project was The Emirates Rugby Sevens, which was completed in less than a years duration.

As a team, they are also proud of getting associated with Emirates, the worlds biggest airline. They have done major projects like Emirates Airlines headquarter roads and infrastructure, DNATA warehouses, Emirates Aviation College, Emirates Flight Training Academy, airport runway renovation, airbus A380 hangers infrastructure works, flight engine testing facility, call centre, Al Maha Resort road, Sky Cargo Terminal in Dubai, Dubai World Central Airport, and students accommodation for Emirates Aviation College, doing 20 years of continued business relationship with the airlines.

Dileep Heilbronn (@dileepheilbronn) has also grown as a self-made designer and is a millionaire riding super cars like Lamborghini and Ferrari since 2006-2007.

There is so much that budding entrepreneurs can learn from him and take inspiration from to create their own success stories.

(Above mentioned article is a Consumer connect initiative, This article does not have journalistic/editorial involvement of IDPL, and IDPL claims no responsibility whatsoever.)
MTN Group successfully argued against a massive GHS8.2 billion (US$665 billion) tax bill from the Ghana government, which withdrew the bill after accusing the operator of under-declaring revenue for four years.

The operator was slapped with a massive bill by the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) last month (January 13) as the company was accused of under-declaring its revenue, and subsequently being charged lower tax.

The GRA granted MTN 21 days to engage with the authority and explain its revenues between 2014-2018. MTN was accused of under-declaring revenue by 30%.

In a statement, the operator said the GRA had fully withdrawn the assessment of its finances and said it maintains its planned investment and developmental initiatives over the medium-term to drive digital and financial inclusion in Ghana.
Thane: The industries that were reluctant to come to Maharashtra and shifted operations elsewhere in the recent past did so due to non-cooperation from the then state government and were unaware change was set to happen, Chief Minister Eknath Shinde said on Monday. The Shinde government came to power in June last year following his rebellion against then chief minister Uddhav Thackeray, which also split the Shiv Sena. His government comprises the Balasahebanchi Shiv Sena and the Bharatiya Janata Party.

Maharashtra, since then, has also been seeing a tussle between the ruling dispensation and the opposition parties over mega projects choosing to set base in other states. Notable among these were the Vedanta-Foxconn semiconductor project and the Tata-Airbus military transport aircraft, both of which moved to neighbouring Gujarat.

Speaking at the concluding function of the four-day CREDAI MCHI property exhibition, Shinde said, "Some of the industries that left the state did so due to non-cooperation by the then (Maha Vikas Aghadi) government over two-and-half-years. These industries were unaware the government here was about to change."

"Now, they (opposition Thackeray faction of the Sena, Congress, NCP) are blaming us for industries moving away. Do industries move out in just two months? Our government has the full support of the Centre. We signed MoUs worth Rs 1.30 lakh crore at the recent World Economic Forum in Davos," he added.

Asserting that good roads were a prime requirement for development, Shinde quoted former US president John F Kennedy who had said "American roads are not good because America is rich, but America is rich because American roads are good".
The free foodgrain being distributed under the National Food Security Act reaches your home through Fair Price Shops/Public Distribution System (PDS) dealers. These dealers play a crucial role as a medium to help reach the subsidized ration to you. However, for the next three days, you won't be able to receive ration from these shops if you are a ration card holder. The All India Fair Price Shop Dealers' Federation has announced a three-day strike in support of their 11-point demands from the Union Government.

"We have already intimated about our viability getting bad to worse and our very sustenance is at a stake. All our requests, reminders and pleadings to the Union government for kindly looking into our problems and taking remedial measures have been in vain. We are hoping against hope and kept our fingers crossed for the Union Budget, 2023-2024 which might bring some good news and relief for the PDS and the consumers. We particularly expected that the budget would be a pathfinder for arresting the spiralling prices of essential items," said the AIFPSDF.

It said that the federation was expecting the government to resume PM Ggarib Kalyan Anna Yojana but that also did not happen. "We particularly expected ... the recommendation of the World Food Program appointed by the same Union Government for revision of margin of the fair price Shop dealers which had been submitted as early in February 2020 would be implemented and our prayers for the supply of pulses, edible oil and sugar at fair prices through Fair Price Shops to arrest the spiralling prices of these commodities would be considered but all our hopes have been belied and instead of bringing relief to the consumers belonging to the middle and lower middle class, prices of demands have been cut down for the benefit for those who have plenty," it added.

The federation further said that it has no 'other option, but to go ahead with our already announced program in the form of ration bandh and PoS bandh on 7th, 8th and 9th February 2023 followed by Parliament march on 22nd March 2023 for pressing our 11 Point demands'.

"We assure all our cardholders that there will be no disruption in supply and we are committed to ensuring distribution on all other days of the month working overtime if needed with the permission of the state governments," it said.
The seventh edition of Formula Bharat - India's Formula Student Competition - was held at the Kari Motor Speedway in Coimbatore from January 19 to 24, 2023. A total of 53 engineering student teams (1500+ students) from across India registered for the Formula Bharat 2023 competition. As outlined in the competition rules, each team was required to design and fabricate a life-size formula-style vehicle that best met the goals and objectives outlined in the competition rules, whether they were competing in the combustion or electric vehicle categories. During the six-day competition, a jury of representatives from the motorsport, automotive, and supplier industries assessed the teams and their vehicles based on engineering design, overall cost, marketability, and dynamic performance. The judging of the static events have been taking place virtually since October 2022 and they ended with the presentations delivered by the finalists at the competition on-site. At present, Formula Bharat is the only Formula Student competition in South Asia that is recognized in the FS World Rankings.

After a one-year hiatus, this season of Formula Bharat was hosted at full capacity with a range of activities on track. A number of technical and recruitment-driven presentations were delivered by the competitions sponsors during the course of the event. These presentations led to lively discussions in which the students contributed many interesting ideas and questions. A Faculty Advisor Meet was also hosted as faculty members' advice and support are crucial to the teams success at the competition. Footfall was up at the competition site as the event was open to visitors. Additionally, guided tours provided visitors and new teams with an opportunity to learn about the history of Formula Student and the concept behind the competition. A notable mention was the students who arrived from Bangladesh with the goal of participating in this Indian competition next season.

As the automotive industry evolves, cookie-cut engineers with exceptional grades are no longer in demand. Formula Bharat is a proven platform for hiring talented engineering graduates with practical engineering skills and the significant increase in recruitment drives observed on-site this season was a testament to the kind of calibre the industry has been looking to recruit. Recruiters on-site included Brose India, Godrej & Boyce, EFEV Charging Solutions Pvt. Ltd (E-Fill), and Numeros Motors.

The winners of the Formula Bharat 2023 competition were announced during the Awards Ceremony on Tuesday, January 24. Veloce Racing from Vishwakarma Institute of Technology was crowned the overall event winner of the combustion category this season, followed by Team Stallions of the Institute of Technology of Nirma University in second place, Team Maverick of the PVGs College of Engineering and Technology & G. K. Pate (Wani) Institute of Management in third place and STES Racing of Sinhgad College of Engineering in fourth place. The overall event winner of the electric category was STES Stallion Motorsport Electric from Smt. Kashibai Navale College of Engineering, followed by Team Kratos Racing Electric from Pimpri Chinchwad College of Engineering in second place, Raftar Formula Racing Electric from the Indian Institute of Technology Madras in third place and Team Octane Racing Electric of the College of Engineering Pune in fourth place.

The Formula Bharat competition is hosted by Curiosum Tech Private Limited based in Mumbai. The companys vision is to Build Better Engineers and its 2023 platform was sponsored by the following organizations who believe in the platforms mission: HARMAN Automotive, Mathworks, Zuken India Private Limited, Exponent Energy, Ather Energy, Brose, Bosch Global Software Technologies Pvt Ltd, Fabheads, Ansys, EFEV Charging Solutions Pvt. Ltd (E-Fill), Micelio Mobility Private Limited, Numeros Motors, MTS Italy, Coexlion Private Limited, and Altair. The Formula Bharat 2023 competition was also supported by 250 volunteers from all over the world, many who are Formula Student alumni themselves.

For more information on the competition and on how you can participate, visit www.formulabharat.com

(Above mentioned article is a sponsored feature, This article is a paid publication and does not have journalistic/editorial involvement of IDPL, and IDPL claims no responsibility whatsoever.)
New Delhi: Kerala Congress MP Shashi Tharoor has now reacted to fierce criticism over his remarks on the demise of late former Pakistan military dictator-turned-President Pervez Musharraf whom he described as foe-turned-real force for peace in his condolence message. "I was raised in an India where you are expected to speak kindly of people when they die. Musharraf was an implacable enemy and was responsible for Kargil War but he did work for peace with India, in his own interest, 2002-7. He was no friend but he saw strategic benefit in peace, as did we," Tharoor said in a tweet.

I was raised in an India where you are expected to speak kindly of people when they die. Musharraf was an implacable enemy &was responsible for Kargil but he did work for peace w/India, in his own interest, 2002-7. He was no friend but he saw strategic benefit in peace,as did we.  Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) February 5, 2023

Tharoor had on Sunday condoled the demise of the former Pakistan military ruler stating that "once an implacable foe of India, he became a real force for peace between 2002-2007."`Pervez Musharraf, Former Pakistani President, Dies of Rare Disease`: once an implacable foe of India, he became a real force for peace 2002-2007," Tharoor said in a tweet. "I met him annually in those days at the @un & found him smart, engaging & clear in his strategic thinking. RIP," the former minister of state for external affairs said.

Pervez Musharraf, Former Pakistani President, Dies of Rare Disease: once an implacable foe of India, he became a real force for peace 2002-2007. I met him annually in those days at the @un &found him smart, engaging & clear in his strategic thinking. RIP https://t.co/1Pvqp8cvjE  Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) February 5, 2023

Former Pakistan President and Army Chief Pervez Musharraf died on Sunday after a prolonged illness at the American Hospital in UAE's Dubai after spending several years in self-imposed exile. He was 79. He survived numerous assassination bids and found himself on the front line of the struggle between militant Islamists and the West.

Tharoor`s post brought fierce criticism from the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party. Union Minister Rajeev Chandrashekhar hit out at Tharoor saying his post "best describes Congress."

Chandrashekhar while taking to Twitter, slammed the grand old party for finding peace in a person who "inflicted terror a backstabbing conflict and tortured our soldiers in violation of every International law".

"Nothing like a proper military thrashing for Fatcat Pak Dictator Generals to become a "force for peace" and develop "clear strategic thinking". Notwithstanding many lives lost n international laws violated and harm caused all around, these Generals will have their admiring fans in India (sic)," the Minister of State for Electronics and Information Technology, Rajeev Chandrasekhar wrote in his tweet.

Nothing like a proper military thrashing for Fatcat Pak Dictator Generals to become a "force for peace" n develop "clear strategic thinking".



Not withstandng many lives lost n Intl laws violated n harm caused all around, these Generals will hv their admiring fans in India https://t.co/uo5gRu9AYQ  Rajeev Chandrasekhar (@Rajeev_GoI) February 5, 2023

In another tweet, Chandrasekhar said, "That a former Cong Foreign Min (a party that refused to celebrate Kargil Vijay Diwas till 2010) wud think that a Pak General who inflicted terror, a backstabbing conflict n tortured our Soldiers in violation of every Intl law, wud be a "force for peace" - best describes Congress.

That a former Cong Foreign Min (a party that refused to celebrate Kargil Vijay Diwas till 2010) wud think that a Pak General who inflicted terror, a back stabbing conflict n tortured our Soldiers in violatn of every Intl law, wud be a "force for peace" - best describes Cong. https://t.co/uo5gRu9AYQ  Rajeev Chandrasekhar (@Rajeev_GoI) February 5, 2023

Gen Musharraf was Pakistan`s army chief during the Kargil war between India and Pakistan. The conflict between the two countries is believed to have been orchestrated by Musharraf without the knowledge of the then-Pakistan Prime Minister, Nawaz Sharif.

Musharraf was the tenth president of Pakistan after a successful military coup in 1999. He served as the 10th Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee of Pakistan (CJCSC) from 1998 to 2001 and the 7th top general from 1998 to 2007.

(With Agency Inputs)
New Delhi: The Municipal Corporation of Delhi failed to get a mayor for the third time in a month after ruckus erupted in the civic house over the nominated members being allowed to vote in the election to the post. "Municipal House in Delhi adjourned till next date," Presiding Officer Satya Sharma said. Soon after the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) House assembled around 11:30 am, after a delay of half an hour, Sharma announced that elections to the posts of mayor, deputy mayor and Standing Committee members will be held simultaneously.

"Aldermen will be allowed to vote in the elections for mayor, deputy mayor and Standing Committee members," she said. The announcement drew protests from AAP councillors. Party leader Mukesh Goel said aldermen can't vote. To this, Sharma said, "People have sent you here to serve them, let the election be held." Following this, the House was adjourned briefly.

This is the third session of the House after the December 4 municipal polls. The first two sessions -- held on January 6 and January 24 -- were adjourned by the presiding officer without electing a mayor following a ruckus and acrimonious exchanges between the members of the BJP and the AAP. According to the Delhi Municipal Corporation (DMC) Act, 1957, the mayor and the deputy mayor are to be elected in the very first session of the House after the civic polls. However, it's been two months since the municipal elections were held and Delhi is yet to get a mayor.

The AAP had earlier objected to Lt Governor V K Saxena nominating 10 aldermen to the MCD house without consulting the city government. On Sunday, AAP councillors wrote to Sharma seeking debarment of the aldermen from voting in the election of mayor, deputy mayor and Standing Committee, saying that if it happens, it will be an insult to the people of Delhi. They said the nominated members cannot vote in accordance with the Constitution and the DMC Act.
New Delhi: More than 30 lakh Indians went abroad for higher education during 2017-2022, the Ministry of Education told Lok Sabha on Monday. The information was shared by Subhas Sarkar, the Union Education Minister of State, in a written response to a question by JD(U) MP Rajiv Ranjan Singh alias Lalan Singh and others.

"Ministry of Home Affairs' Bureau of Immigration, maintains departure and arrival data of Indians. But there is no index for capturing the category of Indians going abroad for higher education purpose. Purpose of Indians going abroad for higher education is captured manually based either on their verbal disclosure or the type of visa of the destination country produced by them at the time of immigration clearance," he said.

Sarkar said 7.50 lakh Indians disclosed their purpose of visit as study or education while going abroad in 2022.

The number in preceding years was -- 4.4 lakh (2021), 2.59 lakh (2020), 5.86 lakh (2019), 5.17 lakh (2018) and 4.54 lakh (2017).

The minister was also asked if it is a fact that the money being spent by Indian students abroad is more than the education budget of the country, and if the government has any proposal to establish "International University of high standard" to save the said funds.

Responding to this part of the question, Sarkar said, "as of now there is no proposal to set up International University in the country".

"However, University Grants Commission (UGC) has drafted enabling Regulations to facilitate establishment of campuses of Foreign Higher Educational Institutions in India.

"The draft University Grants Commission (Setting up and Operation of Campuses of Foreign Higher Educational Institutions In India) Regulations, 2023 was placed in the public domain seeking feedback, suggestions, comments etc from all stakeholders by January 18, 2023. However, in view of the requests received from stakeholders, the last date for receiving comments on the draft Regulations has been extended till February 20," he said.
NEW DELHI: Kerala Congress MP Shashi Tharoors praise for former Pakistan President, who died on Sunday after a prolonged illness, has created a bitter political storm in the country, with the ruling BJP saying ''it has exposed the true colour'' of the main opposition party. Hitting out at Tharoor, BJP spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla said, "Pervez Musharraf architect of Kargil, dictator, accused of heinous crimes who considered Taliban & Osama as 'brothers' & 'heroes' who refused to even take back bodies of his own dead soldiers is being hailed by Congress! Are you surprised? Again, Congress ki pak parasti!"

Pervez Musharraf- architect of Kargil, dictator, accused of heinous crimes - who considered Taliban & Osama as brothers & heroes - who refused to even take back bodies of his own dead soldiers is being hailed by Congress! Are you surprised? Again, Congress ki pak parasti! 1/2 pic.twitter.com/I7NnLRRUZM  Shehzad Jai Hind (@Shehzad_Ind) February 5, 2023

"Once upon a time Musharraf had hailed Rahul Gandhi as a gentleman perhaps that endears Congress to Musharraf??" he said. "From 370 to Surgical Strike to doubting Balakote Congress echoed Pak line & hails Musharraf but called our own chief 'Sadak Ka Gunda'.This is Congress!!" Poonawalla said.

Parvez Musharraf who had hailed Osama Bin Laden & Taliban had sung praises of Rahul Gandhi too - called him a gentleman and pledged his support to him!!



Perhaps this is the reason why Shashi Tharoor is eulogising the architect of Kargil & a backer of terrorism!! Sigh https://t.co/nhE1emXqV8 pic.twitter.com/tYRt7UxEFH  Shehzad Jai Hind (@Shehzad_Ind) February 5, 2023

In another tweet, the BJP leader shared an old video of Musharraf talking about his son being invited by Rahul Gandhi and Musharraf's wife, brother and son being invited for lunch by former prime minister Manmohan Singh when they were on a Delhi visit, during his tenure as the Pakistan president.

BJP spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia also slammed Tharoor saying, "Sharm ek Sheikh to Sharm Kar Shashi. Misplaced priorities of a former external affairs minister." "Congress eulogising a person who attacked our country during Kargil. Indians revere martyrs Capt Vikram Batra, Lt Manoj Pandey, Grn Yogendra Yadav, Rifleman Sanjay Kumar not Pervez," he said.

In response to the criticism by BJP leaders, Tharoor on Monday tweeted, "I was raised in an India where you are expected to speak kindly of people when they die." "Musharraf was an implacable enemy & was responsible for Kargil but he did work for peace with India, in his own interest, 2002-7. He was no friend, but he saw strategic benefit in peace, as did we," the Congress leader said.

I was raised in an India where you are expected to speak kindly of people when they die. Musharraf was an implacable enemy &was responsible for Kargil but he did work for peace w/India, in his own interest, 2002-7. He was no friend but he saw strategic benefit in peace,as did we.  Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) February 5, 2023

Tharoor had on Sunday condoled the demise of the former Pakistan military ruler stating that "once an implacable foe of India, he became a real force for peace between 2002-2007."`Pervez Musharraf, Former Pakistani President, Dies of Rare Disease`: once an implacable foe of India, he became a real force for peace 2002-2007," Tharoor said in a tweet.

"I met him annually in those days at the @un & found him smart, engaging & clear in his strategic thinking. RIP," the former minister of state for external affairs said. Tharoor`s post brought fierce criticism from the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party. Union Minister Rajeev Chandrashekhar hit out at Tharoor saying his post "best describes Cong" (Congress).

Tagging Tharoor's earlier tweets, Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar slammed the grand old party for finding peace in a person who "inflicted terror a backstabbing conflict and tortured our soldiers in violation of every International law".

"Nothing like a proper military thrashing for Fatcat Pak Dictator Generals to become a "force for peace" and develop "clear strategic thinking". Notwithstanding many lives lost n international laws violated and harm caused all around, these Generals will have their admiring fans in India (sic)," the Minister of State for Electronics and Information Technology, Rajeev Chandrasekhar wrote in his tweet.

Nothing like a proper military thrashing for Fatcat Pak Dictator Generals to become a "force for peace" n develop "clear strategic thinking".



Not withstandng many lives lost n Intl laws violated n harm caused all around, these Generals will hv their admiring fans in India https://t.co/uo5gRu9AYQ  Rajeev Chandrasekhar (@Rajeev_GoI) February 5, 2023

General Musharraf passed away on Sunday at American Hospital in UAE after a prolonged illness. He was suffering from amyloidosis, a rare disease caused by a build-up of an abnormal protein called amyloid in organs and tissues throughout the body, according to his family.

Musharraf was born on August 11, 1943, in Delhi. He assumed the post of Chief Executive after imposing martial law in the country in 1999 and served as the president of Pakistan from 2001 to 2008. In her condolence message, former J&K chief minister and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) president Mehbooba Mufti said Musharraf was perhaps the only Pakistani general who genuinely tried to address the Kashmir issue.
After a visible tussle between the Centre and the Supreme Court of India, the apex court today finally got five more judges taking its total strength to 32. With this, there are only two vacancies in the top court now. Two days ago, Law Minister Kiren Rijiju had announced the appointment of the five judges. These five judges are Justices Pankaj Mithal, Chief Justice of Rajasthan High Court, Justice Karol, Chief Justice of Patna High Court, Justice Kumar, Chief Justice of Manipur High Court, Justice Amanullah of Patna High Court and Justice Misra of Allahabad High Court.

The Centre cleared the names after a tiff between the government and the judiciary over the process of appointing judges to the Supreme Court and the 25 high courts. The apex court and the government have openly expressed their differences over the Collegium system of appointment of judges in the higher judiciary. While the Centre wants its representation in the Collegium, the apex court is against it.

Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud today administered the oath of office to five new judges. With the appointment of the five judges, the total number of judges in the apex court has risen to 32, two short of the full strength. Their names were recommended for elevation as apex court judges by the Supreme Court Collegium on December 13, 2022.

Rijiju had recently described the Collegium as being "alien" to the Indian Constitution, while Vice President and Rajya Sabha chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar

questioned the Supreme Court striking down the National Judicial Appointments Commission (NJAC) Act and a related constitution amendment Act in 2015.

Through the NJAC law, the government had sought to replace the Collegium system of appointing Supreme Court and High Court judges with a new method.

The Centre had assured the top court that the Collegium's recommendation for the appointment of five judges in the apex court will be cleared soon.

On January 31, the Supreme Court collegium had recommended two more names for elevation as top court judges -- Allahabad High Court Chief Justice Rajesh Bindal and Gujarat High Court Chief Justice Aravind Kumar.

Once they are appointed and take oath, the top court will have its full strength of 34.

While recommending the two names, the Collegium had said that the names sent by it on 13 December 2022 "shall have precedence over the two names recommended presently for appointment to the Supreme Court." (With PTI inputs)
New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday condoled the loss of life in the massive earthquake that rattled Turkey and nearby areas and claimed more than 100 lives. Deeply anguished over the loss of lives and property in Turkey, the Prime Minister said that India stands in solidarity with Turkey in this tough time."Anguished by the loss of lives and damage of property due to the Earthquake in Turkey.

We are all looking at the destructive earthquake that hit Turkey. There are reports of the deaths of several people as well as damage. Damages are suspected even in countries near Turkey. The sympathies of the 140 crore people of India are with all earthquake-affected people: PM pic.twitter.com/Y7zCeoViJI  ANI (@ANI) February 6, 2023

Condolences to the bereaved families. May the injured recover soon. India stands in solidarity with the people of Turkey and is ready to offer all possible assistance to cope with this tragedy," PM Modi tweeted. At least 76 people have been killed across seven provinces in Turkey and 42 were reported dead in Syria in initial reports after a deadly earthquake struck 23 kilometres (14.2 miles) east of Nurdagi in Turkey`s Gaziantep province on Monday, Anadolu Agency reported citing disaster management authorities. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Twitter that "search and rescue teams were immediately dispatched" to the areas hit by the quake.

Moreover, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar also tweeted and expressed grief over the loss of lives in the tragic earthquake that jolted both Turkey and Syria."Deeply distressed by the loss of lives and damage in the earthquake in Turkiye," he wrote on Twitter as he conveyed his support to his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu. The US National Security Advisor also took to Twitter and assured Turkey of timely assistance for the quake-hit country to cope well.

He tweeted, "The U.S. is profoundly concerned by today`s destructive earthquake in Turkiye & Syria. I have been in touch with Turkish officials to relay that we stand ready to provide any & all needed assistance. We will continue to closely monitor the situation in coordination with Turkiye."Multiple aftershocks followed the quake. Social media videos showed multiple collapsed buildings in Turkey and Syria with terrified locals huddling on the streets.

Southern and central Turkey have both experienced powerful aftershocks. According to CNN, the strongest aftershock, measuring 6.7 in magnitude, struck around 32 kilometres (20 miles) northwest of the original earthquake`s epicentre about 11 minutes later. Several provinces in Southern Turkey also reported loss of lives.

The governor of Malayta province in Turkey said that at least 23 people were killed in his province, and 420 were injured. 140 buildings were destroyed, he added."At least 6 people killed, 79 injured, 6 buildings destroyed in southern Diyarbakir province as 7.4 earthquake hits southern provinces of Turkiye: Diyarbakir governor," the Anadolu Agency tweeted.There were reports of destroyed buildings in Turkey and Syria, where tremors also were felt.
New Delhi: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Monday said Prime Minister Narendra Modi will do his best to avert a discussion on the Adani issue in Parliament, asserting that the country should know what power is behind the billionaire businessman. "Modi ji will do his best to avert a discussion on Adani ji in Parliament. There is a reason for it and you know that. I want there should be a discussion on the Adani issue and for the truth should come out. The lakhs and crores of corruption that has taken place should come out. The country should know what is the power behind Adani," Gandhi told reporters here.

"For a number of years, I have been talking about the government and 'Hum do, Humare do'. The government does not want and is scared of a discussion in Parliament on Adani ji. The government should allow a discussion in Parliament and there will be attempts to avoid it," he also said. The Congress has stepped up the offensive against the government over the Adani-Hindenburg issue and is seeking a discussion in Parliament.

Also read: I Dont Listen to Rahul Gandhi: Union Minister Nitin Gadkari on Success of Bharat Jodo Yatra

The party has also demanded an impartial investigation under the supervision of the Supreme Court or a joint parliamentary committee to probe the charges raised in the Hindenburg report against the Adani Group.

The Congress is alleging that the issue involves crores of rupees of common people invested in the Adani Group, whose shares have seen a beating on the stock markets ever since the allegations of "financial malpractices and stock manipulation" came out in the Hindenburg research report.

The Congress and other opposition parties have stalled proceedings in both houses of Parliament while seeking a discussion on the issue.

(With inputs from PTI)
Technology giant Oracle has announced plans to invest US$1.5 billion to meet cloud computing demand in Saudi Arabia.

Its plans include opening a third public cloud region in Saudi Arabia, located in Riyadh, joining the existing Oracle Cloud Jeddah Region and the planned Oracle Cloud Region to be located in the futuristic city of NEOM.

To quickly meet the requirements of its growing cloud business in Saudi Arabia, Oracle says it will also expand the capacity of the Oracle Cloud Jeddah Region.

Oracle says it will work with the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT) and the Communications and Information Technology Commission (CITC) to establish a commercial and operational model for an additional cloud region in Saudi Arabia that is aligned with Saudi government requirements and local data residency regulations. Oracle will also work with MCIT to help foster the development of Saudi Arabias cloud industry.

In its announcement of these plans Oracle quotes IDC, which estimates that public cloud spending in Saudi Arabia will increase at a CAGR of 26.8% over the coming years to reach US$3.1 billion in 2026.

Oracle says it has also committed to powering all worldwide Oracle Cloud Regions with 100% renewable energy by 2025.

This investment announcement may be timely. Reuters points out that Saudi officials have been pressing international companies to invest in the kingdom and move their regional headquarters to Riyadh in order to benefit from government contracts.
New Delhi: Why did the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) negotiate a ceasefire and sign a joint statement with former Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf, if he was `anathema to all patriotic Indians`, Congress leader Shashi Tharoor said on Monday. Tharoor`s remarks came while hitting out at criticism from the BJP drawn at him after his tweet condoling the demise of the former Pakistan military ruler by calling him a "real force for peace".

"Question to BJP leaders frothing at the mouth: if Musharraf was anathema to all patriotic Indians, why did the BJP government negotiate a ceasefire with him in 2003 & sign the joint Vajpayee-Musharraf statement of 2004? Was he not seen as a credible peace partner then?" Tharoor said in his tweet. Earlier, Tharoor had said, "I was raised in an India where you are expected to speak kindly of people when they die.

"I was raised in an India where you are expected to speak kindly of people when they die. Musharraf was an implacable enemy and was responsible for Kargil but he did work for peace w/India, in his own interest, 2002-7. He was no friend but he saw strategic benefit in peace, as did we," Tharoor said.

Tharoor on Sunday condoled the demise of the former Pakistan military ruler stating that though he was once an implacable foe of India, he became a real force for peace between 2002-2007."`Pervez Musharraf, Former Pakistani President, Dies of Rare Disease`: once an implacable foe of India, he became a real force for peace 2002-2007.

I met him annually in those days at the UN and found him smart, engaging and clear in his strategic thinking. RIP," Tharoor said in a tweet. Tharoor`s post brought fierce criticism from the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party. Union Minister Rajeev Chandrashekhar hit out at Tharoor saying his post "best describes Cong" (Congress).

Chandrashekhar while taking to Twitter, slammed the party for finding peace in a person who "inflicted terror a backstabbing conflict and tortured our soldiers in violation of every International law"."Nothing like a proper military thrashing for Fatcat Pak Dictator Generals to become a "force for peace" and develop "clear strategic thinking".

Not withstanding many lives lost n Intl laws violated n harm caused all around, these Generals will have their admiring fans in India (sic)," Minister of State for Electronics and Information Technology Rajeev Chandrasekhar wrote in his tweet. In another tweet, Chandrasekhar said, "That a former Cong Foreign Min (a party that refused to celebrate Kargil Vijay Diwas till 2010) wud think that a Pak General who inflicted terror, a backstabbing conflict n tortured our Soldiers in violation of every Intl law, wud be a "force for peace" - best describes Cong.

"Musharraf passed away on Sunday at a hospital in the UAE after a prolonged illness, reported Daily Pakistan. Musharraf was Pakistan`s army chief during the Kargil war between India and Pakistan.

The conflict between the two countries is believed to have been orchestrated by Musharraf without the knowledge of the then Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. Musharraf was the tenth president of Pakistan after a successful military coup in 1999. He served as the 10th Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee of Pakistan (CJCSC) from 1998 to 2001 and the 7th top general from 1998 to 2007.
New Delhi: Congress President and Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge on Monday said that the opposition would raise the Adani issue in Parliament as the government especially Prime Minister Narendra Modi is silent on the issue.

"We will raise Adani issue in Parliament. Government is silent on such a big issue, especially PM Modi," Kharge said. Meanwhile, Congress Lok Sabha MP Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury said that the opposition has made a strategy for Parliament over the Adani issue.

"We will have a meeting now. The entire opposition will come together; the discussion will be done and a decision will be made. It`s not an issue of Congress only, but that of India`s common people," he said.

Chowdhury also attacked Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman over her remarks that "opposition is doing hypocrisy over Adani issue."

"I would like to advise Nirmala Sitharaman that democracy, instead of autocracy, should continue in India. It is not hypocrisy when we put forth our views and make demands. It is democracy. What your government does is an autocracy," Chowdhury said.

Notably, the opposition parties including Congress, DMK, NCP, BRS, JD(U), SP, CPM, CPI, Kerala Congress (Jose Mani), JMM, RLD, RSP, AAP, IUML, RJD and Shiv Sena have constituted meeting in LoP Mallikarjun Kharge`s chamber in Parliament to chalk out a strategy on Adani-Hindenburg report and other issues.

Delhi | Opposition parties - Congress, DMK, NCP, BRS, JD(U), SP, CPM, CPI, Kerala Cong(Jose Mani), JMM, RLD, RSP, AAP, IUML, RJD & Shiv Sena meet in LoP Mallikarjun Kharges Chamber in Parliament Building to chalk out a strategy on Adani-Hindenburg & other issues.



(Video: AICC) pic.twitter.com/2z6ubrMB5J  ANI (@ANI) February 6, 2023

Earlier, Congress announced that the party will launch protests from the Parliament to the streets on February 6 amid the ongoing Hindenburg-Adani row.

The party has decided to hold countrywide protests in front of Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) offices and State Bank of India (SBI) branches.In Delhi, the demonstration will be held by NSUI-Youth Congress outside the SBI office and LIC office located at Parliament police station.

Congress leaders across the country will protest outside the SBI office and LIC office, in which prominent leaders of the states will participate. Congress MPs will protest near the Gandhi statue in Parliament House on Monday.

Although the Congress is getting the support of other Opposition parties on the Adani issue, it has to be seen whether the parties such as the Bharat Rashtra Samithi, Aam Aadmi Party and Trinamool Congress, which are seen together in the meetings, will join the Congress demonstration or extend moral support.

However, the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and Janata Dal (Secular) have kept their distance from Congress on this issue.It is being argued by the Opposition that the investment of the Adani group in public sector banks such as the SBI and LIC has had a big impact on the savings of the middle class.

Opposition MPs said the government was not allowing the issue to be discussed in Parliament. After the uproar in Parliament, the proceedings of both Houses of Parliament were adjourned till February 6.

A report by a US-based Hindenburg Research surfaced on January 24, claiming that the Adani Group had weak business fundamentals, and was involved in stock manipulation and accounting fraud, among others. The report triggered a sell-off of shares of all Adani Group companies.
MUMBAI: A woman is entitled to maintenance under provisions of the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act (DV Act) even after divorce, the Bombay High Court has said. A single bench of Justice R G Avachat in the order of January 24 upheld a May 2021 order passed by a sessions court directing the man, a police constable, to pay a maintenance of Rs 6,000 to his divorced wife per month.

The bench in its order noted that the plea raises a question as to whether a divorced wife is entitled to claim maintenance under the DV Act. The high court in its order noted that the definition of the term 'domestic relationship' suggests a relationship between two persons who live or have, at any point of time (mostly in the past), lived together in a shared household, when they were related by consanguinity, marriage or through a relationship in the nature of marriage.

"The petitioner being husband was under statutory obligation to make provisions of maintenance of his wife. Since he failed to make such provision, the respondent/wife had no option but to file an application under the DV Act," the court said.

Justice Avachat further said the man was 'fortunate' that he was directed to pay only a sum of Rs 6,000 per month when he was in police service and was drawing a salary of more than Rs 25,000 per month.

As per the plea, the man and the woman got married in May 2013 but started living separately from July 2013 due to matrimonial disputes. The couple later got divorced.

During the divorce proceedings, the woman had sought maintenance under the DV Act.

The family court had rejected her application following which she approached the sessions court which in 2021 allowed her plea.

The man in his petition in the HC claimed since there is no marital relationship in existence any more, his wife was not entitled to any relief under the DV Act.

He further said that all arrears of maintenance were cleared by the date of dissolution of marriage.

The woman opposed the plea and said provisions of the DV Act ensure that even a wife, who has been divorced or has obtained a divorce, was entitled to claim relief of maintenance and other ancillary reliefs.
Indian Army Recruitment 2023: The Indian Army has invited applications from unmarried male and unmarried female Law Graduates for the grant of Short Service Commission in the Army for the Judge Advocate General Branch. According to a notification released on the official website (https://www.joinindianarmy.nic.in), the Short Service Commission will be granted to male and female candidates in the regular Army for 14 years -- for an initial period of 10 years extendable by a further period of four years.

Selected candidates will be detailed for Pre-Commission training at OTA, Chennai according to their position in the final order of merit, up to the number of available vacancies, subject to meeting all eligibility criteria.

"Candidates will neither be allowed to marry during the period of training nor will he/she be allowed to live with parents/guardians. Candidates must not marry until they complete the full training at OTA," the official notification read.

"A candidate if he/she marries, while under training, shall be discharged and will be liable to refund all expenditure incurred on him/her by the Government," it added.

Indian Army Recruitment 2023: Vacancy Details

Men - 06



Women - 03

Indian Army Recruitment: Educational Qualification

A candidate needs to have a minimum 55% aggregate marks in his/her LLB Degree (three years professional after graduation or five years after 10 plus 2) examination.

In addition, the CLAT PG Score of the preceding year is mandatory for all candidates (including LLM qualified and LLM appearing candidates) who apply for courses starting in a particular year.

The candidates should be eligible for registration as an advocate with the Bar Council of India/State.

The Candidate should be from a College/University recognized by the Bar Council of India.

Indian Army Jobs 2023: Age Limit

A candidate should be 21 to 27 years as on July 1, 2023 (Born not earlier than July 2, 1996, and not later than July 1, 2002; both dates inclusive).

Army Recruitment: How To Apply

Applications will only be accepted online on the website -- www.joinindianarmy.nic.in.

Click on Officer Entry Appln/Login and then click Registration (Registrations are not required if already registered on www.joinindianarmy.nic.in).

Fill out the online registration form after reading the instructions carefully.

After getting registered, click on Apply Online under Dashboard.

A page Officers Selection - Eligibility will open.

Then click Apply shown against Short Service Commission JAG Entry Course.

A page Application Form will open. Read the instructions carefully and click Continue to fill in details as required under various segments.

Save & Continue each time before you go to the next segment.

After filling in details on the last segment, you will move to the page Summary of your information wherein you can check and edit the entries already made. Only after ascertaining the correctness of all your details, click on Submit.

Please note that the candidates are required to take out two copies of their application having Roll Number, 30 minutes after the final closure of the online application on the last day.

Army Recruitment 2023: Last Date To Apply

The last date to apply is February 16 (3 PM).
Soon commuters in Agra will get a big relief from daily traffic jams as the city of Taj will soon be getting its first metro. The Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath earlier today revealed that the metro services will be operational for the people of Agra by the beginning of 2024. He was inaugurating the underground work for the tunnel of the Agra Metro Rail Project being undertaken by Uttar Pradesh Rail metro Corporation (UPMRC), where he stated this. According to a statement, the priority corridor is a six kilometers corridor, from Taj East Gate to Jama Masjid.

UP CM Adityanath said, "The priority corridor of six kilometers would be completed ahead of the six months of the scheduled target and Metro services will be operational for the people of Agra by the beginning of 2024."

Also read: Vande Bharat Express Damaged Again, Stone Pelted on Train in Chhattisgarh

The priority corridor would have three elevated metro stations Taj East Gate, Basai Metro Station, and Fatehabad Road Metro Station along with three underground metro stations Taj Mahal, Agra Fort, and Jama Masjid.

"Agra Metro would not only help in the public transportation it will also help tourists and generate employment opportunities for the youths. Metro rail services in Lucknow, Noida, Greater Noida, Ghaziabad, and Kanpur are operational."

"Agra will also emerge as a metro city in the future and give plenty of employment opportunities, enhanced tourism, and boost its image on the world map," he added.

The chief minister also inspected the route for the proposed G20 summit that is going to be organised in Agra from February 10-13. "I have inspected the route for the G20 summit. Uttar Pradesh is ready to host G20 summits with full enthusiasm."

UPMRC Managing Director Sushil Kumar said, "UPMRC has always executed metro projects timely and ahead of schedule. This time as well we will achieve the same milestone, by delivering a world-class metro to the people of Agra ahead of the set timeline."

Panchanan Mishra, Deputy General Manager (DGM) and Public Relation Officer (PRO) at Agra Metro told PTI, "After the first breakthrough at Agra Fort Metro Station, the tunnel boring machines (TBM) will then go towards Taj Mahal Metro Station (Purani Mandi Chauraha) and will be retrieved thereafter from the retrieval shaft."

"One TBM will weigh around 450 tonnes and its length is approximately 85 meters. The TBM operates for around 10 meters every day. It will operate from Monday to Friday and on Saturday and Sunday the machinery will be repaired," he added.

The excavation work of the tunnel will be done through two TBM named 'Yamuna' and 'Ganga'. The foundation of Agra Metro Rail was laid virtually by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on December 7, 2020.

(With inputs from PTI)
New Delhi: In a first-of-its-kind innovation, Drishti Marine, Goa's state-appointed lifeguard organisation, has introduced artificial intelligence (AI) in the form of Aurus, a self-driving robot and Triton, an AI-powered monitoring system, to augment its life-saving capabilities along Goa's popular beaches and water bodies. The incorporation of AI-based support follows an increase in beach-related incidents due to the rising numbers of domestic and foreign tourists flocking to the coastline.

The past two years have witnessed over 1,000 rescue incidents along the coastal belt, which have required assistance from Drishti Marine's lifesavers, according to an official statement. Both the AI-monitored camera-based systems can monitor the surroundings, assess and detect risks, and share real-time information with on-duty lifeguards so they may respond faster to avoid tragic incidents. (Also Read: Google Layoffs 2023: Employee Gets Fired at 2 AM, Was Feeding New Born Baby)

Developed by Drishti Works, a division of Drishti, Aurus mans the state's expansive coastal stretch. The new addition will aid in increased surveillance and crowd management of beaches. Aurus is a self-driving robot developed to assist lifesavers by patrolling extensive non-swim zones and alerting tourists during high tide.

It employs artificial intelligence to assist lifeguards in a variety of beach duties. Aurus will work alongside lifesavers in emergency circumstances, from patrolling to providing multilingual notifications.

Furthermore, the AI bot bears a 100-kilo payload and hence also doubles up as a logistics support vehicle. Aurus has completed 110 hours of autonomous work along the coast, covering approximately 130 kilometres.

Along with the Aurus, the Triton AI system's primary focus is to provide completely AI-based monitoring of non-swim zones, thereby, alerting tourists of the danger and notifying the nearest lifesaver. It will work in tandem with Aurus to provide comprehensive coverage of the beaches.

Triton will patrol non-swim zones, identify and transfer information to lifesavers and help them identify tourists entering the water during high tide and in danger-prone areas.

"The main reason is to incorporate new technology under the banner of lifesaving to help to mitigate risks while assisting the manpower to be more effective in ensuring the safety and security of individuals on the beaches. The inclusion of AI highlights the progress made in the department of lifesaving.

As society grows more and more reliant on technology, it's only suitable to ensure it is appropriately applied in all sectors of life," said Navin Awasthi, Operations Head of Drishti Marine. Triton has so far completed 19,000 hours of runtime. Aurus and Triton are operated by 'tech lifesavers' who are located in the central control room.

The team decides the areas that AURUS and TRITON will patrol. On-site lifesavers are given the training required to operate basic aspects of the two technologies. Aurus is currently deployed at Miramar Beach in North Goa for assistance in beach closure, while Triton is deployed at Baina, Velsao, Benaulim, Galgibag in South Goa and Morjim in North Goa.

"Both Aurus and Triton are largely support systems. The device has the potential to save lives, especially during peak season when lifeguards must monitor and patrol wide portions of the beach that are swamped with visitors. The two AI-based systems have increased team efficiency and enabled wider coverage.

We hope that as the systems improve, they will become an essential part of every beach, making our beaches the best protected in the world," Navin Awasthi added. Drishti intends to deploy 100 Triton units and 10 AURUS units on the beaches of Goa this year.
San Francisco: Twitter CEO Elon Musk on Sunday said that the microblogging platform will enable a free write-only Application Programming Interface (API) for bots providing good content.

"Responding to feedback, Twitter will enable a light, write-only API for bots providing good content that is free," he tweeted.

Last week, Twitter announced that it will stop offering free access to its API from February 9 and instead launch a paid version.

The Twitter Developer account announced in a series of tweets that the company will be discontinuing support for both the legacy v1.1 and the new v2 of its Twitter APIs.

"Starting February 9, we will no longer support free access to the Twitter API, both v2 and v1.1. A paid basic tier will be available instead," the Twitter Developer account tweeted.

"Over the years, hundreds of millions of people have sent over a trillion tweets, with billions more every week," it added.

Meanwhile, Twitter has told businesses to pay $1,000 per month for retaining gold badges and brands and organisations which do not pay the money will lose their checkmarks.

The Elon Musk-run company, which is busy monetising its platform through various means, will also charge an extra $50 per month to add badges to each account affiliated with the brand, reports The Information.
Till date, there have been many popular leaders all over the world, who have earned a lot of names, and who have also got a lot of love from the public. These people have also done a lot of work for their country and their people, due to which they have a different respect in the hearts of the people. But today we are also going to talk about a leader whose name was well known, but not for his good deeds, but for his infamous deeds. His name was 'Adolf Hitler'. He was a dictator of Germany, who in his time had instilled fear in people in such a way that people used to tremble just by his name.

Fear of Dentist

Hitler's personal dentist, Johannes Blaschke, had told that Hitler was suffering from gum disease and his breath was also very bad. It was realized that Hitler wanted to avoid the dentist at all costs, and in fact had a great deal of fear of it.

Afraid of Sex

Hitler's sex life has long been a subject of historical debate. British historian Ian Kershaw said Hitler was repulsed by personal contact and afraid of catching a sexually transmitted disease.

Fear of Blade

Hitler was very afraid of the name of the blade and because of this fear he avoided shaving and getting a haircut. He often used to shave his own hair. Hitler was suffering from a mental illness called paranoia, in which he always felt that people wanted to kill him. He always trembled at the name of death.

Hypochondriac

Adolf Hitler was a 'hypochondriac', that is, he was very afraid of diseases and serious situations. He used to cure his diseases by himself. He later began treating his ailments with dangerous solutions such as wood alcohol, atropine, and strychnine. He used leeches to lower his blood pressure, and was afraid of being poisoned even in the fresh air.

Fear of Losing

Hitler was also afraid of losing. When the Soviet Union's Red Army occupied Berlin, Hitler committed suicide on 30 April 1945, fearing defeat.

Art of Whistling

Adolf Hitler briefly played the harmonica and flute. In addition to all this, he could also whistle very well, and often used to whistle songs.

An Artist

Adolf Hitler's father wanted him to become a civil servant, but Hitler always wanted to be an artist. But he was rejected twice by the Academy of Arts in Vienna. After his mother passed away from breast cancer, Hitler lived in a homeless shelter, and for some time sold drawings on postcards to make money.

Dog Lover

Adolf Hitler had a German Shepherd named 'Blandy'. He would spend hours training his dog, preferring to spend time training his dog rather than attending important meetings. Soon all his generals realized that if the dog performed well, Hitler would be in a better mood and would listen more eagerly to his ideas. It was said by many generals that this dog had a great influence at critical moments during the Russian campaign.

Mystery of Death

Adolf Hitler married Eva Braun in 1945, but only thirty-six hours later, they both committed suicide. Hitler shot himself in the head, while Braun killed herself using cyanide poison. Hitler had already given instructions that his body should be burnt after his death. In 2009, a DNA test was done on a skull believed to be Adolf Hitler's. But tests revealed that the skull belonged to a young woman. This discovery gave more strength to the possibility, in which it is believed that Hitler did not commit suicide. Rather, he had created such a pretense to save himself from being caught.
Bangladesh has once again asked Pakistan to publicly apologize for the massacre by the Pakistani invading forces in the 1971 Liberation War. Foreign Minister of Bangladesh AK Abdul Momen made this demand in a meeting with Pakistani State Minister for Foreign Affairs Hina Rabbani Khar in Sri Lanka's capital Colombo last Saturday. However, Momen said that Hina Rabbani was unresponsive to his proposal.

This information was given by the Foreign Minister, Momen, while replying to newsmen at the state Guest House 'Padma' on Sunday afternoon. He said, "She (Pakistan's Minister of State for Foreign Affairs) told me they want to strengthen ties with us. We have told her to publicly seek an apology for the genocide in 1971. She avoided the issue and did not reply. She said they have certain limitations. I said we have certain limitations here."

The foreign minister said, "Pakistan wants to increase trade relations with us. They want to FOC. I said you have given anti-dumping conditions and she said that was a good point. That seemed positive to me. They want to improve relations with the entire Indian subcontinent, not just Bangladesh."

The Foreign Minister visited Colombo on February 3 and 4 to attend Sri Lanka's 75th Republic Day celebrations. On the sideline of the event, Pakistan's State Minister for Foreign Affairs Hina Rabbani Khar made a courtesy call with the foreign minister of Bangladesh on Saturday.
Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif claimed that India would not be able to cast an evil eye on his nuclear-armed country, which has the "power to pull out the enemys evil eye and crush it under its feet. "In an address in PoK on Sunday, as streamed by various YouTube channels the Pakistan Prime Minister said, "Pakistan is a nuclear power and India cannot look at us with an evil eye. We have the power to take it out and crush it under the feet." The Pakistan PM also raked up the Kashmir issue again by underlining the need of gaining economic and political stability "to get freedom for the Kashmiris."

He said, "Pakistan will continue to lend moral, diplomatic, and political support to the Kashmir cause, until its freedom from Indian oppression." This is not the first time that Pakistan has been flexing its nuclear muscle in front of India. Time and again, Islamabad has escalated the cross-border issues and has also stated how the country's nuclear assets "meet each and every international standard in accordance with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)."

Also read: 'Aatta Mila Kya': Pakistan PM Shehbaz Sharif Brutally Trolled After 'Solidarity' Tweet on Kashmir

At Sundays rally, Sharif is heard saying, "Yeh jo badi badi riyasatein hain jinhone jabhooriyat k libase odh rakhein hai.... toh jiski laathi uski bhais (All these big big nations who have cloaked themselves under democracy seems like they are doing whatever they wish to, unchallenged). "However, in an interview with Dubai-based Al Arabiya TV early this January, the Pakistan Prime Minister stated that after three wars with India, it has learnt its lesson and now wants peace with its neighbour.

"We have learnt our lesson, and we want to live in peace with India, provided we are able to resolve our genuine problems," Sharif said. Sharif also called for "serious and sincere talks'' with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on "burning points like Kashmir."

"My message to the Indian leadership and Prime Minister Modi is that let's sit down at the table and have serious and sincere talks to resolve our burning points like Kashmir. It is up to us to live peacefully and make progress or quarrel with each other and waste time and resources," Sharif said. With reference to Sharif's interview, a spokesperson of the Pakistan Prime Minister's Office raked up the issue of Kashmir and called for the restoration of Article 370.

"Prime Minister has repeatedly stated on record that talks can only take place after India had reversed its illegal action of August 5, 2019; without India's revocation of this step, negotiations are not possible. The settlement of the Kashmir dispute must be in accordance with the UN resolutions & the aspirations of the people of Jammu and Kashmir," read a statement by the Pakistan PMO.

Meanwhile, the Pakistan PM at Sunday`s rally in PoK touched on the financial crisis faced by his country. "We are faced with huge financial challenges. While I talk to you here, an IMF delegation in Islamabad combing every book and subsidy of every single penny."

"We have to live, but like the living nations do and not with a begging bowl. This continued to happen over the past 75 years, but someone somewhere has to stop it. And this will stop when the whole nation will unite to challenge poverty, hunger, and dearness and generate the country`s internal resources."

(With inputs from ANI)
Wiregrass 2-1-1 will be celebrating National 2-1-1 day in a big way on Friday by cutting the ribbon on its new location and hosting an event with the goal of raising $10,000 to ensure that the location will be around for years to come.

United Way Worldwide declared Feb. 11 as National 2-1-1 day to help raise awareness of 2-1-1 call centers and the crucial role that they play in helping residents connect with health and social services.

2-1-1 is a 24/7 free and confidential information service that connects individuals to a community resource specialist who can help find lifesaving resources that are available in your area.

Wiregrass 2-1-1 has been helping residents in Southeast Alabama connect with these services for 15 years. An estimated 392,000 referrals have been provided to organizations who help people living in the local community.

Fridays event will kickoff at 10:30 a.m. with a ribbon cutting ceremony at the facility on 2358 Columbia Highway. In order to help the organization reach its $10,000 goal, Tim and Linda Duke are matching dollar for dollar on each donation.

You can donate by texting 211Day to 53-555 or go to www.Wiregrass211.com
New Delhi: Former Israel Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said Russian President Vladimir Putin had promised not to kill his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky. Bennette said that in March last year, he had asked Putin if he intends to kill Zelenky to which the Russian president responded negatively.

Naftali Bennett, who acted as a mediator between the two countries at beginning of the Russia-Ukraine war, in an interview with Hanoch Daum revealed that he asked Putin if he intended to kill the Ukrainian president.

"I asked 'what's up with this? Are you planning to kill Zelensky?' said Naftali Bennett. He further added that Putin said, "I won't kill Zelensky."

Benette further said during the interview, "I have to understand that you're giving me your word that you won't kill Zelensky." During the conversation between Benette and Putin, the Russian president maintained that he won't kill Zelensky. Benette made the revelation in the interview that was self-published on the Former Israeli PM's own YouTube channel.

Naftali Bentte further said after the meeting with Putin, he called Volodymyr Zelensky and informed him of the Russian president's promise. "Listen, I came out of a meeting, he's not going to kill you," Benette told Zelensky to which he asked, 'are you sure?' "100% he won't kill you," said Benette.

Meanwhile, Putin on February 2 ordered his armed forces to observe a unilateral 36-hour cease-fire in Ukraine this weekend for the Orthodox Christmas holiday, the first such sweeping truce move in the nearly 11-month-old war. Kyiv indicated it won't follow suit.

An uneasy calm in Kyiv on Friday was broken by air raid sirens that also blared out across the rest of Ukraine despite a Russian cease-fire declaration for the Orthodox Church Christmas that Ukrainian officials scorned. No explosions were heard in the Ukrainian capital, but any fighting elsewhere in the country could take hours to become public.
London: Salman Rushdie, the Mumbai-born author of Booker Prize-winning novel 'Midnight's Children', said on Monday that he feels lucky to have survived the last year's brutal stabbing at a literary event in the US as he spoke for the first time about the "colossal attack". The 75-year-old British American novelist was giving a lecture at the Chautauqua Institution in New York, where he is based, on August 12 last year when a man stormed the stage and stabbed and punched him several times.

In his first interview since the attack which has caused loss of vision in one eye, the author told 'The New Yorker' magazine that his main feeling was one of gratitude to those who showed their support and his family, including sons Zafar and Milan.

I'm able to get up and walk around: Salman Rushdie after being stabbed

"I'm lucky. What I really want to say is that my main overwhelming feeling is gratitude," Rushdie told the magazine.

"I'm able to get up and walk around. When I say I'm fine, I mean, there are bits of my body that need constant check ups. It was a colossal attack," he said.

Three-quarters of my life has happened since fatwa over 'The Satanic Verses': Salman Rushdie

Asked if he felt it had been a mistake to let his guard down in New York, years after the fatwa by Iran's former supreme leader Ayatollah Khomeini called on Muslims to assassinate the author over the allegedly 'blasphemous' novel 'The Satanic Verses', he replied: "Well, I'm asking myself that question, and I don't know the answer to it. I did have more than 20 years of life. So, is that a mistake?"

"Also, I wrote a lot of books. 'The Satanic Verses' was my fifth published book, my fourth published novel and this ['Victory City'] is my twenty-first. So, three-quarters of my life as a writer has happened since the fatwa. In a way, you can't regret your life," he added.

The photo in @NewYorker is dramatic and powerful but this, more prosaically, is what I actually look like. pic.twitter.com/ydrV7WvWgE  Salman Rushdie (@SalmanRushdie) February 6, 2023

The celebrated author told the magazine that he was very moved by the tributes that his near-death inspired and is determined to look forward.

"It's very nice that everybody was so moved by this, you know. I had never thought about how people would react if I was assassinated, or almost assassinated," he said.

"I've tried very hard over these years to avoid recrimination and bitterness. I just think it's not a good look. One of the ways I've dealt with this whole thing is to look forward and not backwards. What happens tomorrow is more important than what happened yesterday," he added.

"She kind of took over at a point when I was helpless," he said of his wife, poet and novelist Rachel Eliza Griffiths.

His latest novel, 'Victory City', completed before the attack, traces back to a trip decades ago to Hampi, the site in Karnataka of the ruins of the medieval Vijayanagara empire.

"The first kings of Vijayanagara announced, quite seriously, that they were descended from the moon... It's like saying, "I've descended from the same family as Achilles.' Or Agamemnon. And so, I thought, well, if you could say that, I can say anything," the author said.

Rushdie's attacker Hadi Matar is being held in the Chautauqua County Jail in the village of Mayville, charged with attempted murder in the second degree and facing a lengthy prison sentence.
Dubai/Islamabad: The special flight from Dubai to repatriate the mortal remains of Pakistan's former military ruler Pervez Musharraf was delayed, media reports said on Monday. Musharraf, the architect of the Kargil War in 1999, died on Sunday in Dubai after a prolonged illness. The 79-year-old former military ruler, who had been in the UAE since 2016, was undergoing treatment for amyloidosis at American Hospital Dubai.

Musharraf's mortal remains were supposed to have been flown to Pakistan on a special flight at 11:30 am local time, according to Geo TV. But the special flight has not arrived in Dubai so far.

"We were told the aircraft will leave Dubai on Monday morning with Pervez Musharraf's body. We don't even know the reason behind the delay," Urdu news channel Aaj News reported.

The former Pakistan Army chief will be laid to rest at the Karachi Old Army graveyard and his funeral prayers will be offered at Gul Muhar Polo Ground in Malir Cantt on Tuesday after Zuhr prayers, according to The Express Tribune.

Pakistan's Foreign Office spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch said Pakistan's missions in the United Arab Emirates are facilitating the transportation of Musharraf's mortal remains, the Dawn newspaper reported.

The former military leader's wife Sehba Musharraf, son Bilal and daughter Ayla will bring Musharraf's mortal remains to Pakistan, according to Geo TV.

It said that Musharraf's mother was buried in Dubai while his father was laid to rest in Karachi. Musharraf seized power by ousting Sharif in a 1999 bloodless coup. He served as Pakistan's president from 2001 to 2008.

Musharraf, who was born in New Delhi in 1943 and fled to Pakistan in 1947, was the last military dictator to rule Pakistan.


New Delhi: More than 1,400 people were killed and thousands injured on Monday (February 6, 2023) after a massive earthquake struck central Turkey. The magnitude 7.8 quake, which was centered north of Gaziantep, a Turkish provincial capital, hit in the early morning and is said to be the worst to strike Turkey this century. Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said over 5,300 people sustained injuries, and that around 2,800 buildings had collapsed in Turkey. He said he could not predict how much the death toll would rise as search and rescue efforts continued.

"Everyone is putting their heart and soul into efforts although winter season, cold weather, and the earthquake happening during the night makes things more difficult," Erdogan said.

The powerful earthquake also wreaked havoc in war-torn Syria, where around 960 people have so far died in the disaster.

The tremors were also felt in Cyprus and Lebanon.

ALSO READ | Turkey Earthquake: India to Send NDRF, Medical Teams After PM Modi Offers all Possible Assistance

"I have never felt anything like it in the 40 years I've lived," news agency Reuters quoted Erdem, a resident of Gaziantep, as saying.

"We were shaken like a cradle," an injured Turkish woman said.

"There were nine of us at home. Two sons of mine are still in the rubble, I'm waiting for them," she said while speaking in an ambulance near the wreckage of a seven-storey block where she had lived in Diyarbakir in southeast Turkey.

Drone footage showed rescuers in the Turkish city of Adana searching through the rubble of a collapsed building after a major earthquake of magnitude 7.8 struck central Turkey and northwest Syria https://t.co/qhP64Hpz5m pic.twitter.com/bKlC0lRGtE  Reuters (@Reuters) February 6, 2023

A 29-year-old Meryem from the southeastern Turkish city of Kahramanmaras, near the epicenter, said, "We woke up to a big noise and severe shaking. There were two aftershocks right after that."

"I was so scared, thought it will never stop. I took some things for my one-year-old son and left the building," Meryem added.

In the Turkish city of Adana, one resident said three buildings near his home were toppled.

Drone footage showed rescuers in the Turkish city of Adana searching through the rubble of a collapsed building after a major earthquake of magnitude 7.8 struck central Turkey and northwest Syria https://t.co/qhP64Hpz5m pic.twitter.com/bKlC0lRGtE  Reuters (@Reuters) February 6, 2023

"I don't have the strength anymore," one survivor was heard calling out from beneath the rubble as rescue workers tried to reach him, said a resident.

Turkey's worst earthquake since 1999

Turkey is among the most earthquake-prone countries in the world.

The earthquake on Monday was Turkey's most severe quake since 1999, when one of similar magnitude devastated Izmit and the heavily populated eastern Marmara Sea region near Istanbul, killing more than 17,000.

In 2011, a quake in the eastern city of Van killed more than 500.
London: Former Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has reacted to the demise of the ex-chief of army staff and former President General Pervez Musharraf. Taking to his official Twitter handle, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supremo wrote a verse in Arabia with the hashtag Pervez Musharraf. The verse loosely translated to English reads, "We belong to Allah, and to Him, we shall return.

"Musharraf, who had been living in Dubai since 2016, passed away on Sunday. His mortal remains will be brought to Pakistan for burial, The Express Tribune reported. Pakistan`s former President and chief of army staff were suffering from amyloidosis, a rare disease caused by a build-up of an abnormal protein called amyloid in organs and tissues throughout the body, The Express Tribune reported citing his family.

The build-up of amyloid proteins can make it difficult for the organs and tissues to function properly. Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif condoled the demise of the ex-chief of army staff and former President Pervez Musharraf. He tweeted, "I offer my condolences to the family of General (retd) Pervez Musharraf.

May the departed soul rest in peace!" Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Fawad Chaudhry also condoled the demise of Parvez Musharraf. He tweeted, "Pervez Musharraf passed away, he was a great person, his friends proved to be small, always Pakistan first was his thought and ideology, may God have mercy on him.

"Reacting to the news, Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said that the Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee (CJCSC) General Sahir Shamshad, and tri-services chiefs expressed heartfelt condolences on the former army chief`s demise."CJCSC and services chiefs express heartfelt condolences on the sad demise of General Pervez Musharraf, former president, CJCSC, and chief of army staff. May Allah bless the departed soul and give strength to the bereaved family," the military`s media wing said.

Notably, Musharraf joined the Pakistan Army in 1964, as per The Express Tribune report. He assumed the post of Chief Executive after imposing martial law in Pakistan in 1999. Pervez Musharraf served as the President of Pakistan from 2001 to 2008.
A man fired on a group of horse riders on Saturday in Florida near the Alabama state line south of Dothan and injured one woman, an Alabama veterinarian, according to eyewitness accounts and a report from the Jackson County Sheriffs Office in Florida.

Its a miracle that no one is dead, Hannah Todd, who attended the event, told AL.com. I would classify this as an attempted mass murder.

The man had walked into the camp of a horse-riding club and opened fire on people and horse trailers that were parked there, she said.

Todd said her two children, ages six and two, were in their horse trailer asleep when their trailer was hit with bullets. The shooter was about 50 yards from their horse trailer when he opened fire, she said.

At least four or five horse trailers have bullet holes from the attack, Todd said.

The shooting victim, Dr. Susan Wells, a veterinarian from Lillian, Alabama, was shot in the leg and the bullet went all the way through her right calf, said Todd, who was among those helping to treat her injury. Wells was treated at a hospital emergency room and was released on Saturday night, Todd said.

She is doing fine, thank God, Todd said.

Wells was not on horseback at the time she was shot, but was standing near her horse trailer when the man approached and started shooting, Todd said. Bullets sprayed all around the horses and hunting dogs, but no animals were injured, Todd said.

Wells, reached by phone Monday, described being shot by the gunman. He came in, stopped, took aim at our trailers and animals, and shot at us, she said. Its a miracle no more people were injured.

She said she believes he emptied two 30-bullet clips from his semi-automatic weapon. I dont want this lunatic out on the streets again, she said.

Earnest Jett Jr., the suspect, was arrested in Alabama after being tracked across the state line. He was seen crossing U.S. 231 on foot about 4 p.m. Saturday and was arrested by the Florida Highway Patrol.

At about 3:30 p.m., the sheriffs office received a report of someone being shot near 2110 Hook Way, north of Campbellton, Fla.

Deputies and Florida highway patrol officers responded and Alabama authorities were alerted in case the suspect crossed state lines.

A single suspect had come out of a wooded area and fired dozens of rounds at a group of horse riders, hitting one victim, the sheriffs office said.

The suspect did not have a weapon when he was arrested, but the K-9 Tracking Unit was able to locate various items of evidence and, eventually, the weapon, the sheriffs office said.

Jett was arrested and transported to the Houston County jail. He will await extradition back to Jackson County where he will face an Open Count of Second-Degree Attempted Murder and numerous other felony charges.

WTVY reported that court records indicate Jett, 47, lives in Madrid, Alabama.

Todd, one of the horse riders, said that the horse-riding event was called the Rocky Creek Field Trial. Held on private property about 400 yards from the Alabama state line, its run by an association that allows riders to train their quail dogs. The riders carry weapons and ride behind the hunting dogs but do not shoot live ammunition during the event, she said.

About 30 horse riders took part in the event, she said.

The shooter, who apparently lived on land adjacent to the property where the event took place, had visited the camp a day earlier and complained about the riders, according to some club members who spoke to him, Todd said.

Everyone got a weird vibe from him, she said. He seemed like he may be on drugs.

Sheriff Donald Edenfield thanked the Florida Highway Patrol, Alabama Law Enforcement Highway Patrol and Houston County Sheriff Donald Valenza and his office for their assistance taking Jett into custody.
Press Release

February 6, 2023 CHIZ ASKS DOH TO LEAD STUDY ON STATE OF PHL MENTAL HEALTH Alarmed over reports of suicide cases among students, Senator Chiz Escudero has called on the Department of Health (DOH) to lead a nationwide study that will enable the government to get a bigger picture of the current mental health state of Filipinos. The veteran legislator stressed a comprehensive study is needed to have a holistic and effective approach in addressing the problem in general. The move, he said, will also supplement the recent survey conducted by the Department of Education (DepEd) on the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic in the mental health of elementary and high school students. Escudero recalled that since early 2021, when he was still the governor of Sorsogon, has already been urging the national government to conduct the study so effective measures can be drafted and put in place o help Filipinos cope with the mental stress and anxiety caused by the global health crisis. At the time, there were already reports of people, both students and workers, experiencing clinical depression and even suicides. "Kalagitnaan pa lamang ng pandemya noong 2021 bagaman ako ay gobernador pa ako noon, ang aking pinanukala ay marapat na tingnan ng pamahalaan ang iba't ibang mental health issues na kinakaharap ng ating mga kababayan--elementary, high school, college o nagtatrabaho man--dahil malaki ang epekto na dulot ng pandemya, lalo na ang mga lockdowns, sa ating mga kababayan," Escudero said. "It has been two years and I have yet to see a comprehensive study on this subject. Kaya lumalabas na may problema tayo sa elementary at high school students dahil iyan lamang naman ang may datos at pag-aaral na ginawa," he added. According to DepEd, there were 404 students who died by suicide during the Academic Year 2021-2022 while some 2,147 attempted suicides were recorded. A DepEd representative at the Senate Committee on Basic Education hearing last week informed the senators that the worst might not be over since 100-percent in-person classes for public and private schools only resumed in November after two years of remote learning. "Hindi sapat ang mga datos na ating nalaman. Ito ang aking panawagan, marapat na tingnan ng DOH ang kasalukuyang mental health situation sa ating bansa, hindi lamang sa mga mag-aaral--elementary, high school o college," said Escudero, who chairs the Senate Committee on Higher, Technical and Vocational Education. "Dapat na maisama sa pag-aaral pati na mga ordinaryong mga Pilipino mula sa ibat-ibang sektor, nagtatrabaho o walang trabaho. Mahalagang makuha ang mga datos na iyan para malaman natin kung papaano natin gagawan ng remedyo o solusyon ang problemang ito," the Bicolano senator stressed. While he was governor, as an advocate of mental health and wellness, Escudero has also been pushing for a wider coverage of the Universal Health Care (UHC) program to include the promotion of mental health, and not just the treatment of mental health-related issues. Escudero said there is really a need to promote mental health and wellness that is strongly supported by the government due to the alarming rise in mental health-related cases in the country.
VSPT Wine Group opens UK unit

Chiles VSPT Wine Group has announced the launch of a UK subsidiary.

VSPT UK will strengthen distribution and service to the market and retailers, the company said.

VSPT, which also has holdings in Argentina, counts San Pedro, Graffigna, Vina Leyda, Tarapaca, Sideral and Altair among its brands.

The opening of a UK arm follows subsidiaries in both the US and China.

VSPT global sales director German del Rio said this subsidiary is part of a global strategy identifying key markets. Being close to our partners and building brands together, is key to premiumise and grow our business, said del Rio. We have been developing this model for a couple of years and we are confident with our new strategy being implemented in the UK.

The UK team will be headed by Cristian Le Dantec as Europe commercial director, while Marcela Burgos will take the role of area sales manager and John Hearn will work on business strategy development.

VSPT UK has also signed an agreement with Encirc for bottling and warehousing, which will allow the company to bottle some of its brands locally. Encirc operates a few bottling facilities in Europe and last year agreed to buy Accolades The Park facility in Bristol.

The UK is a key market for us, said Le Dantec. We are sure that this new strategy and route-to-market will help us to improve agility in terms of logistics and deliver best-in-class service. Our ambition is to become the preferred partner for retailers while we continue working with our current importers and distributors, like Enotria & Coe who have an important role in our distribution strategy.

The new strategy also forms part of VSPTs sustainability measures.

Related articles:
A worker oversees fuel transfer from a Skypec truck to an aircraft. Photo courtesy of Skypec

Vietnam Airlines is looking for a consultancy to help it sell a stake in fuel distributing subsidiary Skypec amid the threat delisting from the stock market for making losses.

The company said in a statement that consultancies could make their offers until February 8.

Skypec, wholly owned by Vietnam Airlines, and Petrolimex Aviation are the two biggest jet fuel distributors in Vietnam.

It has total storage capacity of over 220,000 cubic meters, including at major seaports and 18 airports, and can fuel 214,000 aircraft annually.

Before the Covid-19 pandemic broke out Skypec was one of the biggest money spinners for Vietnam Airlines.

The airline has been warned by the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange that it would be delisted for posting losses.

As of last year it had an accumulated loss of VND34.2 trillion (US$1.46 billion).

Last year the company had to sell a 35% stake in Cambodia Angkor Air for $35 million to increase its equity to avoid delisting.
Delivery startup Loship is confident it will make profits this year, something most of its competitors have yet to achieve.

Nguyen Hoang Trung, CEO of one of only two delivery startups in Vietnam, told VnExpress that Loship suffers "very little" loss.

Last year its revenues increased by 500% thanks to business optimization with 250,000 locations and more than five million customers.

It expects to turn profitable this year.

Losing money is the norm in the food delivery and ride-hailing industry.

As of 2021, Grab Vietnam had chalked up cumulative losses of VND4.365 trillion (US$186 million). Gojek is also VND4 trillion in the red.

Both incur huge selling expenses running ino trillions of dong.

Nguyen Hoang Trung, CEO of Loship. Photo by VnExpress/Quynh Nhu

This year the industry faces pressure from rising fuel prices.

Trung said all other apps are also affected by Regarding the increase in gasoline price, this but "honestly not too much". When the Russia-Ukraine war took place, it was a nightmare in the beginning. But so far, the gas price has not changed too much and its even cheaper than at the beginning of the crisis. It shows that gas price will continue to increase and then decrease. In the short term, this affects the income of shippers, but not in the long term.

He said gasoline price increases have a knock-on effect on all prices, including restaurants. But when they go down, other prices do not follow suit and remain high, and this causes people to gradually stop ordering food, which affects shippers, he said.

Over time many shippers decide to stop working for apps, as is happening in places like China, Europe, the U.S., and India.

In 2021 and 2022 Loship spent a lot of money on acquiring new customers, and so marketing costs accounted for over 60% of its expenses. This led to some differences of Loship from others in the market that werent "properly recognized" by the customers. One of these differences is that Loship offers free delivery within a certain distance.

Trung and his team wondered if Loship would be any different from its competitors if they continued to do this. Existing users are still Loship users but they can also be using other apps. Realizing the problem, Loship began to cut its promotions, reducing costs.

Trung explained: "No matter how big you are, there is always a limit. Money doesn't fall from the sky.

"Each company has a long-term strategy for the amount of money it has. The better their strategy, the more money in in their account. Then, even during difficult times they can afford to be generous to their customers."

To achieve the goal of breaking even this year Loship is prioritizing cash flows. Last year the company cut 50% of its payroll. Besides, from the second quarter all marketing activities essential ones were frozen.

Loship shippers in Dong Nai Province. Photo by VnExpress/Quynh Nhu

Trung thinks the reason Loship is approaching breakeven is that it has found the balance between customers, shippers and restaurant partners, something he admitted was not easy to achieve. Any increase in price could drive customers into the arms of another platform, and any cut in payments to shippers could cause them to take out their frustration on customers, he pointed out.

In the next three years food delivery and supermarkets would still be the markets that have great competition. Apps would also offer additional services like their own e-wallets to increase convenience for users, he said.

But he made it clear Loship has no intention of entering the fintech industry since that would require a big investment. Instead, they want to exploit the number of restaurant partners for raw materials supply.

A recent report by iPOS, a platform that provides sales, operations, and human resource solutions for more than 100,000 restaurants and coffee shops, shows that the food delivery market in Vietnam grew three-fold since the Covid outbreak to VND29.9 trillion last year.

More than 12 million people ordered food delivery through online platforms, with the number growing annually at 17.5%.

But the market is dominated by foreign enterprises with 58% of consumers choosing to order on ShopeeFood. It was followed by GrabFood, Baemin and Gojek.

The only two homegrown players in the market, Loship and beFood, accounted for around 7%. The market still has a lot of room for competition when most of the big applications on the market recorded a reduction in percentage of users.
Durian prepared to be exported to China in Tien Giang Province. Photo by VnExpress/Linh Dan

Durian prices have tripled to VND150,000-VND190,000 ($6.40-$8.10) per kilogram at southern farms as demand from China has risen.

Khang, a durian trader in the southern city of Can Tho, said that he has not been able to buy enough quantity to sell to domestic buyers, as farmers are only willing to sell at high prices.

"In Can Tho, one kilogram costs VND150,000 but there is little supply," said Khang. "This price level is uncommonly high."

Hanh, a trader in Tien Giang who sells to Chinese buyers, said that she has been busy going to farms and paying high rates. She says she is even willing to pay commissions to those who introduce her to new farms.

Local farmers say that durian prices in southern Tien Giang province range from VND120,000 to VND190,000, a triple increase year-on-year.

Traders sell to Chinese buyers at even higher prices, from VND170,000 to VND290,000.

They say that demand from China has surged several times from previous years. Traders need to gather hundreds of tons each day to deliver to China but supply can only meet 30% to 50% of their needs.

Linh in Tien Giang can buy only around 17 tons a day, even though she needs hundreds of tons. "I just pack everything I have and send it to buyers," she said.

In September last year, the first batch of fresh Vietnamese durian was sent to China under an official quota as the two countries agreed on a protocol that allows Vietnamese farmers to grow durian under Chinese standards.

In order to export the fruit, fresh durians need to be grown in areas that are approved by Chinese authorities and need to pass many stringent criteria concerning packaging and quality.

Ngu Hiep Durian Company in Tien Giang, however, said that only a small amount of the fruit meets export standards this season and therefore prices are rising.

As of now Tien Giang has 20,000 hectares of land planted with durian, and 13,000 hectares of the fruit are set to be ripe for harvest soon; this land will produce nearly 300,000 tons.

However, few areas in Tien Giang have been approved by Chinese authorities, and so the province is requesting over 1,000 hectares be made eligible for exports. It hopes to eventually have 50% of its farming area approved by China.

Last year, Vietnams durian exports reached nearly $400 million, with $300 million of it bought by China.

The Vietnam Fruit and Vegetables Association said that Vietnamese durian has advantages over those grown in Thailand and the Philippines for export to China.

Those two countries can only export during certain seasons, while in Vietnam exports can be made all year.

It takes only 1.5 days to transport durian from Vietnam to China and this ensures the freshness of the fruit. Furthermore, Vietnams transportation costs are also lower than in those countries.
A rescue vessel attends to a 24-ton fishing boat that overturned off the coast of Sinan, South Jeolla Province, South Korea. Photo by Mokpo Coast Guard

A pair of Vietnamese deep-sea fishers have been confirmed missing after their fishing boat sank near South Korea this week, the foreign ministry announced.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs told VnExpress that two Vietnamese nationals are among the nine fishermen missing after their boat capsized off the coast of Sinan County in Jeonnam Province last Saturday.

Five bodies have been found by South Korean officials, although their nationalities have yet to be confirmed.

The Vietnamese Embassy in South Korea has contacted the families of the two missing Vietnamese citizens to inform them of the situation. Local authorities are currently providing assistance to the missing fishermens worried-sick families.

When the fishing vessel Cheongbo, which carried a mixed international crew of 12, sank off the coast of South Korea, three on board were lucky enough to be quickly rescued by a passing commercial vessel.

On Sunday, Korea Joongang Daily quoted a surviving crew member as saying that the two missing Vietnamese had alerted the ships engineer that the engine room had flooded just three hours into the vessels journey towards the rich marine life of Chuja-do, a minor archipelago halfway between South Jeolla and Jeju Island.



Other survivors reported that the ships fishing equipment blocked some of the vessels escape routes, leaving some unable to abandon the sinking trap.

South Korean officials have mobilized 30 coast guard ships and at least eight military planes to scour the sea for the 8 missing mariners.

President Yoon Suk-yeol of South Korea has ordered the deployment of all available resources to find the missing crew and bring solace to their loved ones.
Four Nigerian tourists arrested for overstaying their visas in Phuket

Travelers arrive at the airport in Phuket, Thailand, July 1, 2021. Photo by Reuters

Police in Thailands Phuket resort island have detained four Nigerian men for overstaying their visas for three to four years.

The arrests came following tip-offs from local residents in Muang District, who said the foreigners acted suspiciously, Bangkok Post reported late last week.

Police said the group of Nigerian citizens always rented houses in isolated areas and rarely went out. The four are being held at a police station for further investigation.

Overstaying for 90 days or more is a serious offense in Thailand, where offending tourists face deportation or being banned from reentering the Southeast Asian country.

Last month, Thai police also detained three South Korean nationals for overstaying their visas and sent them home.

Thailand received 11 million foreign visitors last year thanks to easing of Covid restrictions and introducing a new friendly visa policy.

The Thai government is targeting 25 million foreign arrivals this year.
Join us for a timely discussion on the rise of hateful speech and Antisemitic sentiment in Europe today. We will be joined by the European Commission coordinator for combating Antisemitism and fostering Jewish life: Katherina von Schnurbein. Together we will explore possible solutions to counteract this worrisome trend, especially by implementing the IHRA definition.

The discussion will take place in Room SPAAK 5B1 in the European Parliament building in Brussels from 13:30-15:30, followed by refreshments.

The event is free and open to the public but registration is required.
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The Tigray Peoples Liberation Front and the Government of Ethiopia signed a permanent cessation of hostilities agreement after a two-year conflict.
In a recent meeting, Secretary of State Antony Blinken and British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly reaffirmed their support to Ukraine as it defends itself from Russias brutal attacks.

Secretary Blinken applauded the UKs commitment to send Challenger 2 tanks and additional artillery systems to Ukraine, elements that will continue to reinforce and add to what the United States has provided.

We remain united in strengthening our humanitarian assistance to the Ukrainian people, said Secretary Blinken. To prevent greater humanitarian catastrophe, the United States has joined in applying economic pressure through sanctions and export controls on Moscow designed to deprive Russia of the resources it needs to keep fueling its war machine.

Were undertaking these efforts and more to put Ukraine in the strongest possible position when a negotiating table emerges -- so that there can be a just and durable peace, said Secretary Blinken.

With regard to Iran, the United States stands with the British Government in condemning Irans execution of Iranian-British dual national Alireza Akbari, which was politically motivated and unjust. It fits a pattern of abuse by the regime: detentions, torture, forced confessions, unjust executions, said Secretary Blinken:

Well continue to work with the United Kingdom and our other allies and partners to hold Irans leadership accountable for these and other abuses. Well keep standing with the brave Iranians who are standing up for their own basic rights led by young women  all of this in the face of extraordinary repression.

The Peoples Republic of China was also a topic of discussion. Secretary Blinken welcome(ed) the United Kingdoms commitment to deepening its engagement in the Indo-Pacific. We look forward to continuing our close consultation on a host of issues in the region, including maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait.

On the subject of Northern Ireland, Secretary Blinken affirmed U.S. support for the Belfast Good Friday Agreement. The United States believes that there must be a negotiated settlement to the implementation of the Northern Ireland Protocol thats acceptable to all sides. The United Kingdom and the European Union have recently made substantive progress towards the negotiated solution.

The United States and United Kingdom, said Secretary Blinken, are adding another chapter to a very long history of this Special Relationship at a time when it could not be more important and could not be more vibrant.
ELKO  Elko High School junior Ashlee Sandoval won first place at the Elko County Poetry Out Loud Competition held Jan. 17. She will advance to the Nevada Poetry Out Loud state competition March 11 in Reno.

Sandoval will have the chance to compete at the national competition held in May in Washington D.C. EHS junior Katherine Winer placed second and EHS freshman Natasha Tervort placed third. These students competed against seven other Elko County School District high school students.

The Nevada Arts Council is proud to present Poetry Out Loud. Supported by the National Endowment for the Arts and the Poetry Foundation, this exciting program is a national arts education program that encourages the study of great poetry by offering free educational materials and a dynamic recitation competition to high schools across the nation.

This program helps students master public speaking skills, build self-confidence, and learn about literary history and contemporary life.
CARSON CITY  In its first full month of operation in January, a new automated chat feature on the Nevada Department of Motor Vehicles website assisted more than 90,000 customers with basic DMV information. The DMV chatbot, available in English and Spanish, is one of the first visible results of the DMVs Department Transformation Effort.

The chatbot is easy to use and has the potential to divert up to 30 percent of phone calls made to the Department, said DMV Director Julie Butler. Its among the first of many major improvements to come. Within the next few years, nearly all DMV transactions will become available online.

The Department Transformation Effort, a four-year project to overhaul the agency and its IT infrastructure, is moving ahead rapidly with several other new conveniences in addition to the chatbot:

 Customers waiting for a drivers license or ID card can now check the cards production and mailing status through their MyDMV account

 The DMV launched a pilot program February 1 to enable auto dealers to submit vehicle title paperwork online

 We have just begun research to bring state-of-the-art technology to our call center

 A new case management system for the Compliance Enforcement Division will launch in March. Customers will be able to submit complaints against auto dealers or other DMV licensees online.

The chatbot is built on the Salesforce customer relationship platform using Salesforces Einstein artificial intelligence. It will continue to improve over time with guidance and content enhancement from DMV staff. Salesforce is the centerpiece of DTE and is a proven platform used by thousands of businesses worldwide.

Transactions such as applying for an original drivers license online are more complicated and will take time to build out, Butler added. But we have six teams working simultaneously to bring a host of new services to Nevadans within just a couple of years.

See dmv.nv.gov/dmvfuture for more information.
Circus artists Giang Quoc Co and Giang Quoc Nghiep (Photo: Ngo Tran Hai An/Vietnam+)

They walked the 40-cm wide and 10-m long surface and climbed up and down 10 steps in 1 minute and 55 seconds.

The brothers made the record at their first perfomance so they did not need to do it again.

They walked the 40-cm wide and 10-m long surface and climbed up and down 10 steps in 1 minute and 55 seconds.

Co, 34 years old, and Nghiep, 38 years old, said that the record making at this time will a milestone that closes their successful career.

In 2021, the acrobat brothers set a new world record in head-to-head balancing in Catalonia, Spain.

The Vietnamese artists, with Nghiep balancing atop Co's head, climbed 100 stairs in 53 seconds at Girona Cathedral, the same venue where they set their previous record of 90 steps in 52 seconds in 2016.

Co started circus training when he was four, while Nghiep began at five. The two went professional in 1999. Their head-to-head balancing act got them into the top three finalists on Britains Got Talent in 2018.

Quoc Co, Quoc Nghiep pose for a picture with certificate from the Guinness World Records.

The Guinness World Records invited Vietnamese acrobat brothers Giang Quoc Co and Giang Quoc Nghiep to perform in a head-to-head balancing act in the northern Italian city of Milan this February in an attempt to set a new world record.

Quoc Nghiep and his brother Quoc Co, who are widely known as Giang Brothers, have accepted an invitation from the Guinness World Records Organisation to go to Milan, Italy to set a new record on February 1-7, 2023.

Vietnams airports serve more than 9.8 million passengers in January

Airports across Vietnam handled more than 9.8 million passengers in January, an increase of 13.8% compared to the previous month, VNA cited data of the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam (CAAV).

Noi Bai International Airport on January 16, one week before the celebration of Lunar New Year (Tet) festival. (Photo: VNA)

Of the total, the number of international passengers reached 2.3 million, a 10% rise month on month, while the number of domestic passengers was 7.5 million, an increase of 15% month on month.

Domestic airlines carried 4.85 million passengers, up 13.4% including 1.1 million international passengers and 3.75 million domestic ones.

About 112,000 tonnes of cargo were handled at the airports in the first month of 2023, up 11.6% compared to December 2022.

During the 7-day Lunar New Year (Tet) holiday, airports across the country served more than 1.9 million passengers, an increase of 58%, and more than 7,600 tonnes of cargo, down 11.6% compared to the same period of the Lunar New Year in 2022.

Particularly, Vietnamese airlines transported more than 967,000 passengers and 1,550 tonnes of cargo, an increase of 60.7% and 28.4% respectively compared to the same period last year.

Tan Son Nhat International Airport in Ho Chi Minh City saw 20,975 flights, an increase of about 26.5% over the same period in 2022, and 3,147,014 passengers, up 61%.

Noi Bai International Airport from January 19 to 29 (or the 28th day of the 12th lunar month to the 8th day of the first lunar month) saw 5,618 flights, an increase of 49% compared to the same period of last year. Nearly 900,000 passengers traversed the airport during the festive time, up 71%.

According to the CAAV, although the number of passengers increased during the Tet holiday, there were no congestions at airports, especially Noi Bai and Tan Son Nhat airports.

"Airports proactively prepared for the festive time and worked closely with airlines and ground service units to provide maximum support for passengers, especially large groups and last-minute guests," said the agency.

Airline agencies asked to tighten control over smuggling by air

The Civil Aviation Administration of Vietnam (CAAV) has asked agencies under its wing to strengthen inspection and supervision to promptly detect and handle smuggling by air.

Flight passengers at Noi Bai International Airport.(Photo: VNA)

VNA reported that according to the newly-issued plan of CAAV, the CAAV asked northern, central and southern airport authorities to intesify supervision to prevent and combat smuggling, commercial fraud, and counterfeit goods of relevant agencies, units, organisations, and individuals in areas under their management.

Businesses operating in airports have to have commitments to strictly complying with anti-smuggling regulations.

Units are asked to strengthen inspection and supervision at sensitive locations such as aviation security checkpoints, baggage and cargo service areas, aircraft repair and maintenance areas, and areas for gathering objects and tools for meals served on aircraft, especially international flights, to promptly detect violations.

The Airports Corporation of Vietnam (ACV) and Van Don International Airport are asked to closely coordinate with relevant units to organise training for the aviation security force so that they are equipped with the proper skills and knowledge to detect counterfeit goods.

The CAAV also asked for further exchange of information and situations among agencies to better control and prevent smuggling activities by air.

Airlines are asked to direct their flight crews and flight attendants to have regular tests while they are on duty.

For Vietnam Air Traffic Management Corporation (VATM) and businesses providing catering services, petrol, aircraft repair and maintenance, cargo and service providers at airports, the CAAV requires strict control of people, vehicles, and objects of the units when entering and exiting restricted areas in airports to prevent the acts or abetting acts to smuggling, commercial frauds, and counterfeit goods./.
With thousands of years of history, Chinese civilization has contributed immensely to the growth of the world. As an old civilization, China's rich traditions and history have spanned over thousands of years where the core and essence are defined by its uniqueness and sense of peace, openness and inclusiveness. The core philosophical traditions have a logic of virtue, duty, and moral principles, especially in serving the people. These ideas have shaped the way China has evolved into today's global leader.

Photo taken on May 16, 2018 shows the Orange Line Metro Train (OLMT) during a test run in eastern Pakistan's Lahore. (Xinhua/Jamil Ahmed)

Over the past decade, China has staunchly contributed to cause of peace and development. In this regard, the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) has remained an important contribution from China to common prosperity for the region via infrastructure outreach, trade, social development, and communication opportunities.

Thousands of years ago, the ancient Silk Road thrived with the nature of a path towards openness, friendship and cooperation. Goods and ideas were exchanged among diverse cultures along the routes, with ever-mounting enlightenment thriving with people traveling across continents. The essence of tolerance and dialogue had been transmitted in the giant trade network, becoming one of the most valuable legacies of the ancient Silk Road.

In 2014, the ancient Silk Road has evolved into a modern mega gateway to international cooperation when the visionary Chinese President Xi Jinping announced the massive infrastructure and investment project Belt and Road Initiative. The Initiative was proposed to forward the spirit of the ancient Silk Road, promoting the principles of peaceful coexistence and mutual communication that take root in Chinese civilization.

President Xi has emphasized on many occasions that the BRI should be built into a road of peace.

"We should foster a new type of international relations featuring win-win cooperation; and we should forge partnerships of dialogue with no confrontation and of friendship rather than alliance," said President Xi in his keynote speech at the opening ceremony of the first Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation in Beijing.

All countries should respect each other's sovereignty, dignity and territorial integrity, each other's development paths and social systems, and each other's core interests and major concerns, he said.

Aerial photo shows a container vessel sailing into Tianjin Port in north China's Tianjin Municipality, Feb. 22, 2021. (Xinhua/Zhao Zishuo)

The BRI is also a road of openness. Linking countries across Asia, Africa, and Europe, the BRI has made it its main aim to boost trade and economic development and build closer ties among countries. The BRI is helping connect civilizations through trade and making the connectivity to exchange business and services. Apart from trade and business, the BRI facilitates exchanges of ideas, customs, traditions, and values among the connected civilizations. The BRI is creating an environment for cooperation and convergence amongst cultures with the sense of mutual respect at its core. BRI serves as a platform for the world to unite to fight global challenges, including poverty, climate change, inequality, and to pursue sustainable development. Through this shared cooperation, the countries can learn from each other to find reciprocal solutions.

Through efforts like this, China has made a significant contribution towards human development, and strengthened dialogue and exchanges between different civilizations. China also offers inspiration for others to follow the examples of how the Chinese have made progress and led to peaceful coexistence. Chinas ideals of global governance are based on its philosophy of peaceful coexistence, mutual respect, and equality. These ideals are justified. They are requirements of the time to shun the Cold War mentality because of the need to uplift the lives of humanity as there is no planet B.

Contributed by Muhammad Asif Noor, Director of the Centre for BRI and China Studies

Editor: WXL
Children interact with lion dance performers in Lucun Village of Balidian Town, Huzhou City, east China's Zhejiang Province, Feb. 5, 2023. People celebrate the Lantern Festival, the 15th day of the first month of the Chinese lunar calendar, with various traditional customs across the country. (Xinhua/Huang Zongzhi)

People guess lantern riddles at the waiting hall of the Tianjin West Railway Station in north China's Tianjin, Feb. 5, 2023. People celebrate the Lantern Festival, the 15th day of the first month of the Chinese lunar calendar, with various traditional customs across the country. (Xinhua/Sun Fanyue)

People perform dragon dance in Baiyin, northwest China's Gansu Province, Feb. 5, 2023. People celebrate the Lantern Festival, the 15th day of the first month of the Chinese lunar calendar, with various traditional customs across the country. (Xinhua/Chen Bin)

People perform dragon dance in Yangpu District, east China's Shanghai, Feb. 5, 2023. People celebrate the Lantern Festival, the 15th day of the first month of the Chinese lunar calendar, with various traditional customs across the country. (Xinhua)

Children interact with lion dance performers in Lucun Village of Balidian Town, Huzhou City, east China's Zhejiang Province, Feb. 5, 2023. People celebrate the Lantern Festival, the 15th day of the first month of the Chinese lunar calendar, with various traditional customs across the country. (Xinhua/Huang Zongzhi)

People perform traditional Yangge dance in Midong District in Urumqi, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Feb. 5, 2023. People celebrate the Lantern Festival, the 15th day of the first month of the Chinese lunar calendar, with various traditional customs across the country. (Xinhua/Wang Fei)

Tourists in traditional costume enjoy boat ride in Lucun Village of Balidian Town, Huzhou City, east China's Zhejiang Province, Feb. 5, 2023. People celebrate the Lantern Festival, the 15th day of the first month of the Chinese lunar calendar, with various traditional customs across the country. (Xinhua/Huang Zongzhi)

People purchase Yuanxiao, sweet glutinous rice dumplings for celebrating the Lantern Festival, at a country fair in Yingkou, northeast China's Liaoning Province, Feb. 5, 2023. People celebrate the Lantern Festival, the 15th day of the first month of the Chinese lunar calendar, with various traditional customs across the country. (Xinhua/Yao Jianfeng)

Children guess lantern riddles in Yangpu District, east China's Shanghai, Feb. 5, 2023. People celebrate the Lantern Festival, the 15th day of the first month of the Chinese lunar calendar, with various traditional customs across the country. (Xinhua)

People perform dragon dance in Xuyi County in Huai'an, east China's Jiangsu Province, Feb. 5, 2023. People celebrate the Lantern Festival, the 15th day of the first month of the Chinese lunar calendar, with various traditional customs across the country. (Xinhua/Ji Chunpeng)

Folk artists perform "Dongbei Dagu", a folk art of drum music and recitative, at a country fair in Yingkou, northeast China's Liaoning Province, Feb. 5, 2023. People celebrate the Lantern Festival, the 15th day of the first month of the Chinese lunar calendar, with various traditional customs across the country. (Xinhua/Yao Jianfeng)

People perform dragon dance in Midong District in Urumqi, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Feb. 5, 2023. People celebrate the Lantern Festival, the 15th day of the first month of the Chinese lunar calendar, with various traditional customs across the country. (Xinhua/Wang Fei)

People perform folk drum dance in Baiyin City, northwest China's Gansu Province, Feb. 5, 2023. People celebrate the Lantern Festival, the 15th day of the first month of the Chinese lunar calendar, with various traditional customs across the country. (Xinhua/Chen Bin)

Tourists taste Tanghulu, a traditional Chinese snack of candied fruit, in Houlihua Village of Renqiu, north China's Hebei Province, Feb. 5, 2023. People celebrate the Lantern Festival, the 15th day of the first month of the Chinese lunar calendar, with various traditional customs across the country. (Xinhua/Mu Yu)

Children perform lion dance in Longde County in Guyuan, northwest China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, Feb. 5, 2023. People celebrate the Lantern Festival, the 15th day of the first month of the Chinese lunar calendar, with various traditional customs across the country. (Photo by Tang Chengzhuo/Xinhua)

Fireworks explode in celebration of the Lantern Festival in Hangzhou, capital of east China's Zhejiang Province, Feb. 5, 2023. (Xinhua/Huang Zongzhi)

Fireworks explode in celebration of the Lantern Festival in Hangzhou, capital of east China's Zhejiang Province, Feb. 5, 2023. (Xinhua/Jiang Han)

Fireworks explode in celebration of the Lantern Festival in Hangzhou, capital of east China's Zhejiang Province, Feb. 5, 2023. (Xinhua/Jiang Han)

Fireworks explode in celebration of the Lantern Festival in Hangzhou, capital of east China's Zhejiang Province, Feb. 5, 2023. (Xinhua/Jiang Han)

Fireworks explode in celebration of the Lantern Festival in Hangzhou, capital of east China's Zhejiang Province, Feb. 5, 2023. (Xinhua/Jiang Han)

Fireworks explode in celebration of the Lantern Festival in Hangzhou, capital of east China's Zhejiang Province, Feb. 5, 2023. (Xinhua/Jiang Han)

Fireworks explode in celebration of the Lantern Festival in Hangzhou, capital of east China's Zhejiang Province, Feb. 5, 2023. (Xinhua/Huang Zongzhi)

Fireworks explode in celebration of the Lantern Festival in Hangzhou, capital of east China's Zhejiang Province, Feb. 5, 2023. (Xinhua/Jiang Han)

People perform "Wulong Xuhua" to celebrate the Lantern Festival in Taijiang County, southwest China's Guizhou Province, Feb. 4, 2023.

The traditional "Wulong Xuhua" show is a kind of dragon dance performed amid fireworks by the Miao ethnic group. Local people of Taijiang County attended a "Wulong Xuhua" competition on the eve of the Lantern Festival, the 15th day of the first month of the Chinese lunar calendar, which falls on Feb. 5 this year. (Xinhua/Yang Wenbin)

People perform "Wulong Xuhua" to celebrate the Lantern Festival in Taijiang County, southwest China's Guizhou Province, Feb. 4, 2023.

The traditional "Wulong Xuhua" show is a kind of dragon dance performed amid fireworks by the Miao ethnic group. Local people of Taijiang County attended a "Wulong Xuhua" competition on the eve of the Lantern Festival, the 15th day of the first month of the Chinese lunar calendar, which falls on Feb. 5 this year. (Xinhua/Yang Wenbin)

People perform "Wulong Xuhua" to celebrate the Lantern Festival in Taijiang County, southwest China's Guizhou Province, Feb. 4, 2023.

The traditional "Wulong Xuhua" show is a kind of dragon dance performed amid fireworks by the Miao ethnic group. Local people of Taijiang County attended a "Wulong Xuhua" competition on the eve of the Lantern Festival, the 15th day of the first month of the Chinese lunar calendar, which falls on Feb. 5 this year. (Xinhua/Yang Wenbin)

People perform "Wulong Xuhua" to celebrate the Lantern Festival in Taijiang County, southwest China's Guizhou Province, Feb. 4, 2023.

The traditional "Wulong Xuhua" show is a kind of dragon dance performed amid fireworks by the Miao ethnic group. Local people of Taijiang County attended a "Wulong Xuhua" competition on the eve of the Lantern Festival, the 15th day of the first month of the Chinese lunar calendar, which falls on Feb. 5 this year. (Xinhua/Yang Wenbin)

People perform "Wulong Xuhua" to celebrate the Lantern Festival in Taijiang County, southwest China's Guizhou Province, Feb. 4, 2023.

The traditional "Wulong Xuhua" show is a kind of dragon dance performed amid fireworks by the Miao ethnic group. Local people of Taijiang County attended a "Wulong Xuhua" competition on the eve of the Lantern Festival, the 15th day of the first month of the Chinese lunar calendar, which falls on Feb. 5 this year. (Xinhua/Yang Wenbin)

People perform "Wulong Xuhua" to celebrate the Lantern Festival in Taijiang County, southwest China's Guizhou Province, Feb. 4, 2023.

The traditional "Wulong Xuhua" show is a kind of dragon dance performed amid fireworks by the Miao ethnic group. Local people of Taijiang County attended a "Wulong Xuhua" competition on the eve of the Lantern Festival, the 15th day of the first month of the Chinese lunar calendar, which falls on Feb. 5 this year. (Xinhua/Yang Wenbin)

People perform "Wulong Xuhua" to celebrate the Lantern Festival in Taijiang County, southwest China's Guizhou Province, Feb. 4, 2023.

The traditional "Wulong Xuhua" show is a kind of dragon dance performed amid fireworks by the Miao ethnic group. Local people of Taijiang County attended a "Wulong Xuhua" competition on the eve of the Lantern Festival, the 15th day of the first month of the Chinese lunar calendar, which falls on Feb. 5 this year. (Xinhua/Yang Wenbin)

People perform "Wulong Xuhua" to celebrate the Lantern Festival in Taijiang County, southwest China's Guizhou Province, Feb. 4, 2023.

The traditional "Wulong Xuhua" show is a kind of dragon dance performed amid fireworks by the Miao ethnic group. Local people of Taijiang County attended a "Wulong Xuhua" competition on the eve of the Lantern Festival, the 15th day of the first month of the Chinese lunar calendar, which falls on Feb. 5 this year. (Xinhua/Yang Wenbin)

People perform "Wulong Xuhua" to celebrate the Lantern Festival in Taijiang County, southwest China's Guizhou Province, Feb. 4, 2023.

The traditional "Wulong Xuhua" show is a kind of dragon dance performed amid fireworks by the Miao ethnic group. Local people of Taijiang County attended a "Wulong Xuhua" competition on the eve of the Lantern Festival, the 15th day of the first month of the Chinese lunar calendar, which falls on Feb. 5 this year. (Xinhua/Yang Wenbin)

People perform "Wulong Xuhua" to celebrate the Lantern Festival in Taijiang County, southwest China's Guizhou Province, Feb. 4, 2023.

The traditional "Wulong Xuhua" show is a kind of dragon dance performed amid fireworks by the Miao ethnic group. Local people of Taijiang County attended a "Wulong Xuhua" competition on the eve of the Lantern Festival, the 15th day of the first month of the Chinese lunar calendar, which falls on Feb. 5 this year. (Xinhua/Yang Wenbin)

People perform "Wulong Xuhua" to celebrate the Lantern Festival in Taijiang County, southwest China's Guizhou Province, Feb. 4, 2023.

The traditional "Wulong Xuhua" show is a kind of dragon dance performed amid fireworks by the Miao ethnic group. Local people of Taijiang County attended a "Wulong Xuhua" competition on the eve of the Lantern Festival, the 15th day of the first month of the Chinese lunar calendar, which falls on Feb. 5 this year. (Xinhua/Yang Wenbin)

Folk artists perform in Wude Town of Wenxian County, Jiaozuo City of central China's Henan Province, Feb. 5, 2023. Various events are held across the country to celebrate the Lantern Festival, the 15th day of the first month of the Chinese lunar calendar, which falls on Feb. 5 this year. (Photo by Xu Hongxing/Xinhua)

This aerial photo taken on Feb. 5, 2023 shows people performing dragon dance in Xinhuang Dong Autonomous County of Huaihua City, central China's Hunan Province. Various events are held across the country to celebrate the Lantern Festival, the 15th day of the first month of the Chinese lunar calendar, which falls on Feb. 5 this year. (Photo by Zhou Xiuyuchun/Xinhua)

People perform dragon dance in Xinhuang Dong Autonomous County of Huaihua City, central China's Hunan Province, Feb. 5, 2023. Various events are held across the country to celebrate the Lantern Festival, the 15th day of the first month of the Chinese lunar calendar, which falls on Feb. 5 this year. (Photo by Zhou Xiuyuchun/Xinhua)

Children perform lion dance in Longde County of Guyuan City, northwest China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, Feb. 5, 2023. Various events are held across the country to celebrate the Lantern Festival, the 15th day of the first month of the Chinese lunar calendar, which falls on Feb. 5 this year. (Photo by Tang Chengzhuo/Xinhua)

People perform in Baiyin City, northwest China's Gansu Province, Feb. 5, 2023. Various events are held across the country to celebrate the Lantern Festival, the 15th day of the first month of the Chinese lunar calendar, which falls on Feb. 5 this year. (Xinhua/Chen Bin)

Members of a female waist drum team perform in Zixing City, central China's Hunan Province, Feb. 5, 2023. Various events are held across the country to celebrate the Lantern Festival, the 15th day of the first month of the Chinese lunar calendar, which falls on Feb. 5 this year. (Photo by Li Ke/Xinhua)

People perform lion dance in Baiyin City, northwest China's Gansu Province, Feb. 5, 2023. Various events are held across the country to celebrate the Lantern Festival, the 15th day of the first month of the Chinese lunar calendar, which falls on Feb. 5 this year. (Xinhua/Chen Bin)

A girl is pictured during a dragon dance performance in Changning County of Yibin City, southwest China's Sichuan Province, Feb. 5, 2023. Various events are held across the country to celebrate the Lantern Festival, the 15th day of the first month of the Chinese lunar calendar, which falls on Feb. 5 this year. (Photo by Zhuang Geer/Xinhua)

People perform in Fudian Town, Ruyang County of Luoyang City, central China's Henan Province, Feb. 5, 2023. Various events are held across the country to celebrate the Lantern Festival, the 15th day of the first month of the Chinese lunar calendar, which falls on Feb. 5 this year. (Photo by Kang Hongjun/Xinhua)

People watch a lion dance performance in Qingdao, east China's Shandong Province, Feb. 5, 2023. Various events are held across the country to celebrate the Lantern Festival, the 15th day of the first month of the Chinese lunar calendar, which falls on Feb. 5 this year. (Photo by Wang Haibin/Xinhua)

People perform dragon dance in Dingxi, northwest China's Gansu Province, Feb. 5, 2023. Various events are held across the country to celebrate the Lantern Festival, the 15th day of the first month of the Chinese lunar calendar, which falls on Feb. 5 this year. (Photo by Wang Kexian/Xinhua)

People perform in celebration of the Lantern Festival in Longchuan County of Dehong Dai and Jingpo Autonomous Prefecture, southwest China's Yunnan Province, Feb. 5, 2023. Various events are held across the country to celebrate the Lantern Festival, the 15th day of the first month of the Chinese lunar calendar, which falls on Feb. 5 this year. (Photo by Liang Zhiqiang/Xinhua)

This aerial photo taken on Feb. 5, 2023 shows people performing dragon dance in Luxian County, southwest China's Sichuan Province. Various events are held across the country to celebrate the Lantern Festival, the 15th day of the first month of the Chinese lunar calendar, which falls on Feb. 5 this year. (Xinhua/Jiang Hongjing)

People perform in Luxian County, southwest China's Sichuan Province, Feb. 5, 2023. Various events are held across the country to celebrate the Lantern Festival, the 15th day of the first month of the Chinese lunar calendar, which falls on Feb. 5 this year. (Xinhua/Jiang Hongjing)

A woman guesses lantern riddles in Neiqiu County of Xingtai City, north China's Hebei Province, Feb. 5, 2023. Various events are held across the country to celebrate the Lantern Festival, the 15th day of the first month of the Chinese lunar calendar, which falls on Feb. 5 this year. (Photo by Liu Jidong/Xinhua)

This aerial photo taken on Feb. 5, 2023 shows people celebrating the Lantern Festival in Longchuan County of Dehong Dai and Jingpo Autonomous Prefecture, southwest China's Yunnan Province. Various events are held across the country to celebrate the Lantern Festival, the 15th day of the first month of the Chinese lunar calendar, which falls on Feb. 5 this year. (Photo by Liang Zhiqiang/Xinhua)

People perform dragon dance in Bijie, southwest China's Guizhou Province, Feb. 5, 2023. Various events are held across the country to celebrate the Lantern Festival, the 15th day of the first month of the Chinese lunar calendar, which falls on Feb. 5 this year. (Photo by Chen Jingui/Xinhua)

People perform dragon dance in Meitan County, Zunyi City, southwest China's Guizhou Province, Feb. 5, 2023. Various events are held across the country to celebrate the Lantern Festival, the 15th day of the first month of the Chinese lunar calendar, which falls on Feb. 5 this year. (Photo by Luo Xinghan/Xinhua)

People perform wooden-bench dragon dance in Pingyang Village of Majian Town, Zhuji City, east China's Zhejiang Province, Feb. 5, 2023. Various events are held across the country to celebrate the Lantern Festival, the 15th day of the first month of the Chinese lunar calendar, which falls on Feb. 5 this year. (Photo by Guo Bin/Xinhua)

People guess lantern riddles in Xixiu District of Anshun City, southwest China's Guizhou Province, Feb. 5, 2023. Various events are held across the country to celebrate the Lantern Festival, the 15th day of the first month of the Chinese lunar calendar, which falls on Feb. 5 this year. (Photo by Chen Xi/Xinhua)

Children interact with lion dance performers at a kindergarten in Hangzhou City, east China's Zhejiang Province, Feb. 5, 2023. Various events are held across the country to celebrate the Lantern Festival, the 15th day of the first month of the Chinese lunar calendar, which falls on Feb. 5 this year. (Photo by Xu Junyong/Xinhua)

People visit a temple fair at Zhongnanmen historical and cultural tourist area in Tongren City, southwest China's Guizhou Province, Feb. 5, 2023. Various events are held across the country to celebrate the Lantern Festival, the 15th day of the first month of the Chinese lunar calendar, which falls on Feb. 5 this year. (Photo by Peng Jun/Xinhua)

People perform in Luxian County, southwest China's Sichuan Province, Feb. 5, 2023. Various events are held across the country to celebrate the Lantern Festival, the 15th day of the first month of the Chinese lunar calendar, which falls on Feb. 5 this year. (Xinhua/Jiang Hongjing)

This aerial photo taken on Feb. 5, 2023 shows people performing dragon dance in Bijie, southwest China's Guizhou Province. Various events are held across the country to celebrate the Lantern Festival, the 15th day of the first month of the Chinese lunar calendar, which falls on Feb. 5 this year. (Photo by Han Xianpu/Xinhua)

Folk artists perform in Yuanshi County of Shijiazhuang City, north China's Hebei Province, Feb. 5, 2023. Various events are held across the country to celebrate the Lantern Festival, the 15th day of the first month of the Chinese lunar calendar, which falls on Feb. 5 this year. (Photo by Liang Zidong/Xinhua)

Folk artists perform in Zunhua City, north China's Hebei Province, Feb. 5, 2023. Various events are held across the country to celebrate the Lantern Festival, the 15th day of the first month of the Chinese lunar calendar, which falls on Feb. 5 this year. (Photo by Liu Mancang/Xinhua)

Folk artists perform in Hanbin District of Ankang City, northwest China's Shaanxi Province, Feb. 5, 2023. Various events are held across the country to celebrate the Lantern Festival, the 15th day of the first month of the Chinese lunar calendar, which falls on Feb. 5 this year. (Photo by Zhao Huabin/Xinhua)

People perform dragon dance in Niuchang Village of Meitan County, Zunyi City, southwest China's Guizhou Province, Feb. 5, 2023. Various events are held across the country to celebrate the Lantern Festival, the 15th day of the first month of the Chinese lunar calendar, which falls on Feb. 5 this year. (Photo by Li Renjun/Xinhua)

People perform dragon dance in Fudian Town, Ruyang County of Luoyang City, central China's Henan Province, Feb. 5, 2023. Various events are held across the country to celebrate the Lantern Festival, the 15th day of the first month of the Chinese lunar calendar, which falls on Feb. 5 this year. (Photo by Kang Hongjun/Xinhua)

Folk artists perform in Nanhe District of Xingtai City, north China's Hebei Province, Feb. 5, 2023. Various events are held across the country to celebrate the Lantern Festival, the 15th day of the first month of the Chinese lunar calendar, which falls on Feb. 5 this year. (Photo by Zhang Chi/Xinhua)

Tourists visit a lantern fair at the Fuzi (Confucius) Temple scenic area in Nanjing, east China's Jiangsu Province, Feb. 4, 2023. Lantern fairs and light shows were held to celebrate the Lantern Festival, which falls on Feb. 5 this year. (Xinhua/Li Bo)

This aerial photo taken on Feb. 4, 2023 shows a night view of a lantern fair at the Fuzi (Confucius) Temple scenic area in Nanjing, east China's Jiangsu Province. Lantern fairs and light shows were held to celebrate the Lantern Festival, which falls on Feb. 5 this year. (Xinhua/Li Bo)

Tourists take a selfie at a lantern fair at Jinjiang amusement park in east China's Shanghai, Feb. 4, 2023. Lantern fairs and light shows were held to celebrate the Lantern Festival, which falls on Feb. 5 this year. (Xinhua/Wang Xiang)

Tourists look at light installations during a light show at Beijing Expo Park in Beijing, capital of China, Feb. 5, 2023. Lantern fairs and light shows were held to celebrate the Lantern Festival, which falls on Feb. 5 this year. (Xinhua/Ju Huanzong)

People experience shadow puppetry during a lantern fair at Hubei Provincial Museum in Wuhan, central China's Hubei Province, Feb. 5, 2023. Lantern fairs and light shows were held to celebrate the Lantern Festival, which falls on Feb. 5 this year. (Xinhua/Xiao Yijiu)

Visitors look at lanterns during a lantern fair at Hubei Provincial Museum in Wuhan, central China's Hubei Province, Feb. 5, 2023. Lantern fairs and light shows were held to celebrate the Lantern Festival, which falls on Feb. 5 this year. (Xinhua/Xiao Yijiu)

Tourists visit a lantern fair at the Fuzi (Confucius) Temple scenic area in Nanjing, east China's Jiangsu Province, Feb. 4, 2023. Lantern fairs and light shows were held to celebrate the Lantern Festival, which falls on Feb. 5 this year. (Xinhua/Li Bo)

Tourists visit a light show at Nangong World Botanical Amusement Park in Beijing, capital of China, Feb. 5, 2023. Lantern fairs and light shows were held to celebrate the Lantern Festival, which falls on Feb. 5 this year. (Xinhua/Ren Chao)

This aerial photo taken on Feb. 4, 2023 shows a night view of a lantern fair at the Fuzi (Confucius) Temple scenic area in Nanjing, east China's Jiangsu Province. Lantern fairs and light shows were held to celebrate the Lantern Festival, which falls on Feb. 5 this year. (Xinhua/Li Bo)

This photo taken on Feb. 4, 2023 shows a night view of a lantern fair at the Fuzi (Confucius) Temple scenic area in Nanjing, east China's Jiangsu Province. Lantern fairs and light shows were held to celebrate the Lantern Festival, which falls on Feb. 5 this year. (Xinhua/Li Bo)

Tourists look at light installations during a light show at Beijing Expo Park in Beijing, capital of China, Feb. 5, 2023. Lantern fairs and light shows were held to celebrate the Lantern Festival, which falls on Feb. 5 this year. (Xinhua/Ju Huanzong)

Tourists visit a lantern fair at Jinjiang amusement park in east China's Shanghai, Feb. 4, 2023. Lantern fairs and light shows were held to celebrate the Lantern Festival, which falls on Feb. 5 this year. (Xinhua/Wang Xiang)

Tourists watch a dance performance during a lantern fair at Jinjiang amusement park in east China's Shanghai, Feb. 4, 2023. Lantern fairs and light shows were held to celebrate the Lantern Festival, which falls on Feb. 5 this year. (Xinhua/Wang Xiang)

Tourists visit a light show at Nangong World Botanical Amusement Park in Beijing, capital of China, Feb. 5, 2023. Lantern fairs and light shows were held to celebrate the Lantern Festival, which falls on Feb. 5 this year. (Xinhua/Ren Chao)

Tourists visit a light show at Nangong World Botanical Amusement Park in Beijing, capital of China, Feb. 5, 2023. Lantern fairs and light shows were held to celebrate the Lantern Festival, which falls on Feb. 5 this year. (Xinhua/Ren Chao)

Tourists look at light installations during a light show at Beijing Expo Park in Beijing, capital of China, Feb. 5, 2023. Lantern fairs and light shows were held to celebrate the Lantern Festival, which falls on Feb. 5 this year. (Xinhua/Ju Huanzong)

The moon and light installations are pictured during a light show at Beijing Expo Park in Beijing, capital of China, Feb. 5, 2023. Lantern fairs and light shows were held to celebrate the Lantern Festival, which falls on Feb. 5 this year. (Xinhua/Ju Huanzong)

Visitors pose for a photo during a lantern fair at Hubei Provincial Museum in Wuhan, central China's Hubei Province, Feb. 5, 2023. Lantern fairs and light shows were held to celebrate the Lantern Festival, which falls on Feb. 5 this year. (Xinhua/Xiao Yijiu)

Editor: Zhang Zhou
People look at lanterns at a shopping mall in Yantai, Shandong province, Feb 1, 2023. Various folk activities are being held across the country to celebrate the Lantern Festival, which falls on February 5 this year. [Photo by Tang Ke/For chinadaily.com.cn]

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Tourists enjoy a Guangdong Lion Dance show in Foshan, south China's Guangdong Province, Jan. 12, 2023. The Guangdong Lion Dance, which was listed as a national intangible cultural heritage in 2006, is a combination of martial arts, dance and music. It originated from the royal lion dance during the Tang Dynasty (618-907) and was later introduced to the south by migrants from the north. The Guangdong Lion Dance developed into its modern form during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). In Chinese tradition, people regard the lion as a symbol of braveness and strength, which can drive away evil and protect humans and livestock. Dancing on the poles makes the art a gripping spectacle. There are usually poles of heights between 1.2 meters and 2.5 meters with up to 1.8 meters between them. Lion Dancers have to practice very hard to avoid tumbling to the ground. The Guangdong Lion Dance is popular not only in Guangdong Province, but also among the overseas Chinese, making it a cultural bridge for overseas Chinese who are seeking their national roots. (Xinhua/Liu Dawei)

Guangdong Lion Dancers practice at a training base in Foshan, south China's Guangdong Province, Jan. 13, 2023. The Guangdong Lion Dance, which was listed as a national intangible cultural heritage in 2006, is a combination of martial arts, dance and music. It originated from the royal lion dance during the Tang Dynasty (618-907) and was later introduced to the south by migrants from the north. The Guangdong Lion Dance developed into its modern form during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). In Chinese tradition, people regard the lion as a symbol of braveness and strength, which can drive away evil and protect humans and livestock. Dancing on the poles makes the art a gripping spectacle. There are usually poles of heights between 1.2 meters and 2.5 meters with up to 1.8 meters between them. Lion Dancers have to practice very hard to avoid tumbling to the ground. The Guangdong Lion Dance is popular not only in Guangdong Province, but also among the overseas Chinese, making it a cultural bridge for overseas Chinese who are seeking their national roots. (Xinhua/Liu Dawei)

This aerial photo taken on Jan. 24, 2023 shows people enjoying a Guangdong Lion Dance show in Foshan, south China's Guangdong Province. The Guangdong Lion Dance, which was listed as a national intangible cultural heritage in 2006, is a combination of martial arts, dance and music. It originated from the royal lion dance during the Tang Dynasty (618-907) and was later introduced to the south by migrants from the north. The Guangdong Lion Dance developed into its modern form during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). In Chinese tradition, people regard the lion as a symbol of braveness and strength, which can drive away evil and protect humans and livestock. Dancing on the poles makes the art a gripping spectacle. There are usually poles of heights between 1.2 meters and 2.5 meters with up to 1.8 meters between them. Lion Dancers have to practice very hard to avoid tumbling to the ground. The Guangdong Lion Dance is popular not only in Guangdong Province, but also among the overseas Chinese, making it a cultural bridge for overseas Chinese who are seeking their national roots. (Xinhua/Liu Dawei)

This aerial photo taken on Jan. 12, 2023 shows a giant costume of the "Lion King" lifted to be on display during a parade in Foshan, south China's Guangdong Province. The Guangdong Lion Dance, which was listed as a national intangible cultural heritage in 2006, is a combination of martial arts, dance and music. It originated from the royal lion dance during the Tang Dynasty (618-907) and was later introduced to the south by migrants from the north. The Guangdong Lion Dance developed into its modern form during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). In Chinese tradition, people regard the lion as a symbol of braveness and strength, which can drive away evil and protect humans and livestock. Dancing on the poles makes the art a gripping spectacle. There are usually poles of heights between 1.2 meters and 2.5 meters with up to 1.8 meters between them. Lion Dancers have to practice very hard to avoid tumbling to the ground. The Guangdong Lion Dance is popular not only in Guangdong Province, but also among the overseas Chinese, making it a cultural bridge for overseas Chinese who are seeking their national roots. (Xinhua/Liu Dawei)

Guangdong Lion Dancers practice at a training base in Foshan, south China's Guangdong Province, Jan. 13, 2023. The Guangdong Lion Dance, which was listed as a national intangible cultural heritage in 2006, is a combination of martial arts, dance and music. It originated from the royal lion dance during the Tang Dynasty (618-907) and was later introduced to the south by migrants from the north. The Guangdong Lion Dance developed into its modern form during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). In Chinese tradition, people regard the lion as a symbol of braveness and strength, which can drive away evil and protect humans and livestock. Dancing on the poles makes the art a gripping spectacle. There are usually poles of heights between 1.2 meters and 2.5 meters with up to 1.8 meters between them. Lion Dancers have to practice very hard to avoid tumbling to the ground. The Guangdong Lion Dance is popular not only in Guangdong Province, but also among the overseas Chinese, making it a cultural bridge for overseas Chinese who are seeking their national roots. (Xinhua/Liu Dawei)

Guangdong Lion Dancers perform in Foshan, south China's Guangdong Province, Jan. 12, 2023. The Guangdong Lion Dance, which was listed as a national intangible cultural heritage in 2006, is a combination of martial arts, dance and music. It originated from the royal lion dance during the Tang Dynasty (618-907) and was later introduced to the south by migrants from the north. The Guangdong Lion Dance developed into its modern form during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). In Chinese tradition, people regard the lion as a symbol of braveness and strength, which can drive away evil and protect humans and livestock. Dancing on the poles makes the art a gripping spectacle. There are usually poles of heights between 1.2 meters and 2.5 meters with up to 1.8 meters between them. Lion Dancers have to practice very hard to avoid tumbling to the ground. The Guangdong Lion Dance is popular not only in Guangdong Province, but also among the overseas Chinese, making it a cultural bridge for overseas Chinese who are seeking their national roots. (Xinhua/Liu Dawei)

Guangdong Lion Dancers practice at a training base in Foshan, south China's Guangdong Province, Jan. 13, 2023. The Guangdong Lion Dance, which was listed as a national intangible cultural heritage in 2006, is a combination of martial arts, dance and music. It originated from the royal lion dance during the Tang Dynasty (618-907) and was later introduced to the south by migrants from the north. The Guangdong Lion Dance developed into its modern form during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). In Chinese tradition, people regard the lion as a symbol of braveness and strength, which can drive away evil and protect humans and livestock. Dancing on the poles makes the art a gripping spectacle. There are usually poles of heights between 1.2 meters and 2.5 meters with up to 1.8 meters between them. Lion Dancers have to practice very hard to avoid tumbling to the ground. The Guangdong Lion Dance is popular not only in Guangdong Province, but also among the overseas Chinese, making it a cultural bridge for overseas Chinese who are seeking their national roots. (Xinhua/Liu Dawei)

A giant costume of the "Lion King" is lifted to be on display during a parade in Foshan, south China's Guangdong Province, Jan. 12, 2023. The Guangdong Lion Dance, which was listed as a national intangible cultural heritage in 2006, is a combination of martial arts, dance and music. It originated from the royal lion dance during the Tang Dynasty (618-907) and was later introduced to the south by migrants from the north. The Guangdong Lion Dance developed into its modern form during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). In Chinese tradition, people regard the lion as a symbol of braveness and strength, which can drive away evil and protect humans and livestock. Dancing on the poles makes the art a gripping spectacle. There are usually poles of heights between 1.2 meters and 2.5 meters with up to 1.8 meters between them. Lion Dancers have to practice very hard to avoid tumbling to the ground. The Guangdong Lion Dance is popular not only in Guangdong Province, but also among the overseas Chinese, making it a cultural bridge for overseas Chinese who are seeking their national roots. (Xinhua/Liu Dawei)

Guangdong Lion Dancers perform at a training base in Foshan, south China's Guangdong Province, Jan. 13, 2023. The Guangdong Lion Dance, which was listed as a national intangible cultural heritage in 2006, is a combination of martial arts, dance and music. It originated from the royal lion dance during the Tang Dynasty (618-907) and was later introduced to the south by migrants from the north. The Guangdong Lion Dance developed into its modern form during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). In Chinese tradition, people regard the lion as a symbol of braveness and strength, which can drive away evil and protect humans and livestock. Dancing on the poles makes the art a gripping spectacle. There are usually poles of heights between 1.2 meters and 2.5 meters with up to 1.8 meters between them. Lion Dancers have to practice very hard to avoid tumbling to the ground. The Guangdong Lion Dance is popular not only in Guangdong Province, but also among the overseas Chinese, making it a cultural bridge for overseas Chinese who are seeking their national roots. (Xinhua/Liu Dawei)

This aerial photo taken on Jan. 12, 2023 shows a giant costume of the "Lion King" being on display during a parade in Foshan, south China's Guangdong Province. The Guangdong Lion Dance, which was listed as a national intangible cultural heritage in 2006, is a combination of martial arts, dance and music. It originated from the royal lion dance during the Tang Dynasty (618-907) and was later introduced to the south by migrants from the north. The Guangdong Lion Dance developed into its modern form during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). In Chinese tradition, people regard the lion as a symbol of braveness and strength, which can drive away evil and protect humans and livestock. Dancing on the poles makes the art a gripping spectacle. There are usually poles of heights between 1.2 meters and 2.5 meters with up to 1.8 meters between them. Lion Dancers have to practice very hard to avoid tumbling to the ground. The Guangdong Lion Dance is popular not only in Guangdong Province, but also among the overseas Chinese, making it a cultural bridge for overseas Chinese who are seeking their national roots. (Xinhua/Liu Dawei)

A giant costume of the "Lion King" is on display during a parade in Foshan, south China's Guangdong Province, Jan. 15, 2023. The Guangdong Lion Dance, which was listed as a national intangible cultural heritage in 2006, is a combination of martial arts, dance and music. It originated from the royal lion dance during the Tang Dynasty (618-907) and was later introduced to the south by migrants from the north. The Guangdong Lion Dance developed into its modern form during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). In Chinese tradition, people regard the lion as a symbol of braveness and strength, which can drive away evil and protect humans and livestock. Dancing on the poles makes the art a gripping spectacle. There are usually poles of heights between 1.2 meters and 2.5 meters with up to 1.8 meters between them. Lion Dancers have to practice very hard to avoid tumbling to the ground. The Guangdong Lion Dance is popular not only in Guangdong Province, but also among the overseas Chinese, making it a cultural bridge for overseas Chinese who are seeking their national roots. (Xinhua/Liu Dawei)

This aerial photo taken on Jan. 12, 2023 shows a giant costume of the "Lion King" being on display during a parade in Foshan, south China's Guangdong Province. The Guangdong Lion Dance, which was listed as a national intangible cultural heritage in 2006, is a combination of martial arts, dance and music. It originated from the royal lion dance during the Tang Dynasty (618-907) and was later introduced to the south by migrants from the north. The Guangdong Lion Dance developed into its modern form during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). In Chinese tradition, people regard the lion as a symbol of braveness and strength, which can drive away evil and protect humans and livestock. Dancing on the poles makes the art a gripping spectacle. There are usually poles of heights between 1.2 meters and 2.5 meters with up to 1.8 meters between them. Lion Dancers have to practice very hard to avoid tumbling to the ground. The Guangdong Lion Dance is popular not only in Guangdong Province, but also among the overseas Chinese, making it a cultural bridge for overseas Chinese who are seeking their national roots. (Xinhua/Liu Dawei)

Guangdong Lion Dancers are seen at a training base in Foshan, south China's Guangdong Province, Jan. 13, 2023. The Guangdong Lion Dance, which was listed as a national intangible cultural heritage in 2006, is a combination of martial arts, dance and music. It originated from the royal lion dance during the Tang Dynasty (618-907) and was later introduced to the south by migrants from the north. The Guangdong Lion Dance developed into its modern form during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). In Chinese tradition, people regard the lion as a symbol of braveness and strength, which can drive away evil and protect humans and livestock. Dancing on the poles makes the art a gripping spectacle. There are usually poles of heights between 1.2 meters and 2.5 meters with up to 1.8 meters between them. Lion Dancers have to practice very hard to avoid tumbling to the ground. The Guangdong Lion Dance is popular not only in Guangdong Province, but also among the overseas Chinese, making it a cultural bridge for overseas Chinese who are seeking their national roots. (Xinhua/Liu Dawei)

Guangdong Lion Dancers perform at a training base in Foshan, south China's Guangdong Province, Jan. 13, 2023. The Guangdong Lion Dance, which was listed as a national intangible cultural heritage in 2006, is a combination of martial arts, dance and music. It originated from the royal lion dance during the Tang Dynasty (618-907) and was later introduced to the south by migrants from the north. The Guangdong Lion Dance developed into its modern form during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). In Chinese tradition, people regard the lion as a symbol of braveness and strength, which can drive away evil and protect humans and livestock. Dancing on the poles makes the art a gripping spectacle. There are usually poles of heights between 1.2 meters and 2.5 meters with up to 1.8 meters between them. Lion Dancers have to practice very hard to avoid tumbling to the ground. The Guangdong Lion Dance is popular not only in Guangdong Province, but also among the overseas Chinese, making it a cultural bridge for overseas Chinese who are seeking their national roots. (Xinhua/Liu Dawei)

Tourists enjoy a Guangdong Lion Dance show in Foshan, south China's Guangdong Province, Jan. 12, 2023. The Guangdong Lion Dance, which was listed as a national intangible cultural heritage in 2006, is a combination of martial arts, dance and music. It originated from the royal lion dance during the Tang Dynasty (618-907) and was later introduced to the south by migrants from the north. The Guangdong Lion Dance developed into its modern form during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). In Chinese tradition, people regard the lion as a symbol of braveness and strength, which can drive away evil and protect humans and livestock. Dancing on the poles makes the art a gripping spectacle. There are usually poles of heights between 1.2 meters and 2.5 meters with up to 1.8 meters between them. Lion Dancers have to practice very hard to avoid tumbling to the ground. The Guangdong Lion Dance is popular not only in Guangdong Province, but also among the overseas Chinese, making it a cultural bridge for overseas Chinese who are seeking their national roots. (Xinhua/Liu Dawei)

Tourists enjoy a Guangdong Lion Dance show in Foshan, south China's Guangdong Province, Jan. 12, 2023. The Guangdong Lion Dance, which was listed as a national intangible cultural heritage in 2006, is a combination of martial arts, dance and music. It originated from the royal lion dance during the Tang Dynasty (618-907) and was later introduced to the south by migrants from the north. The Guangdong Lion Dance developed into its modern form during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). In Chinese tradition, people regard the lion as a symbol of braveness and strength, which can drive away evil and protect humans and livestock. Dancing on the poles makes the art a gripping spectacle. There are usually poles of heights between 1.2 meters and 2.5 meters with up to 1.8 meters between them. Lion Dancers have to practice very hard to avoid tumbling to the ground. The Guangdong Lion Dance is popular not only in Guangdong Province, but also among the overseas Chinese, making it a cultural bridge for overseas Chinese who are seeking their national roots. (Xinhua/Liu Dawei)

Guangdong Lion Dancers practice at a training base in Foshan, south China's Guangdong Province, Jan. 13, 2023. The Guangdong Lion Dance, which was listed as a national intangible cultural heritage in 2006, is a combination of martial arts, dance and music. It originated from the royal lion dance during the Tang Dynasty (618-907) and was later introduced to the south by migrants from the north. The Guangdong Lion Dance developed into its modern form during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). In Chinese tradition, people regard the lion as a symbol of braveness and strength, which can drive away evil and protect humans and livestock. Dancing on the poles makes the art a gripping spectacle. There are usually poles of heights between 1.2 meters and 2.5 meters with up to 1.8 meters between them. Lion Dancers have to practice very hard to avoid tumbling to the ground. The Guangdong Lion Dance is popular not only in Guangdong Province, but also among the overseas Chinese, making it a cultural bridge for overseas Chinese who are seeking their national roots. (Xinhua/Liu Dawei)

Tourists enjoy a Guangdong Lion Dance show in Foshan, south China's Guangdong Province, Jan. 12, 2023. The Guangdong Lion Dance, which was listed as a national intangible cultural heritage in 2006, is a combination of martial arts, dance and music. It originated from the royal lion dance during the Tang Dynasty (618-907) and was later introduced to the south by migrants from the north. The Guangdong Lion Dance developed into its modern form during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). In Chinese tradition, people regard the lion as a symbol of braveness and strength, which can drive away evil and protect humans and livestock. Dancing on the poles makes the art a gripping spectacle. There are usually poles of heights between 1.2 meters and 2.5 meters with up to 1.8 meters between them. Lion Dancers have to practice very hard to avoid tumbling to the ground. The Guangdong Lion Dance is popular not only in Guangdong Province, but also among the overseas Chinese, making it a cultural bridge for overseas Chinese who are seeking their national roots. (Xinhua/Liu Dawei)

This aerial photo taken on Jan. 12, 2023 shows Guangdong Lion Dancers performing in Foshan, south China's Guangdong Province. The Guangdong Lion Dance, which was listed as a national intangible cultural heritage in 2006, is a combination of martial arts, dance and music. It originated from the royal lion dance during the Tang Dynasty (618-907) and was later introduced to the south by migrants from the north. The Guangdong Lion Dance developed into its modern form during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). In Chinese tradition, people regard the lion as a symbol of braveness and strength, which can drive away evil and protect humans and livestock. Dancing on the poles makes the art a gripping spectacle. There are usually poles of heights between 1.2 meters and 2.5 meters with up to 1.8 meters between them. Lion Dancers have to practice very hard to avoid tumbling to the ground. The Guangdong Lion Dance is popular not only in Guangdong Province, but also among the overseas Chinese, making it a cultural bridge for overseas Chinese who are seeking their national roots. (Xinhua/Liu Dawei)

Editor: JYZ
People wait for the unrolling of a huge thangka scroll bearing the image of the Buddha during the "sunning of the Buddha" ceremony at the Labrang Monastery in Xiahe County, northwest China's Gansu Province, Feb. 3, 2023. (Xinhua/Zhang Zhimin)

LANZHOU, Feb. 3 (Xinhua) -- More than 76,000 believers and tourists from home and abroad attended a grand Tibetan Buddhist event, known as the "sunning of the Buddha" ceremony, held Friday at the Labrang Monastery in northwest China's Gansu Province.

Buddhists, Tibetan residents, and tourists gathered in the square in front of the monastery at around 9:00 a.m., waiting for the ceremony.

Around one hour later, about 100 lamas carried a huge thangka scroll bearing the image of the Buddha to a nearby hill, where the thangka was unrolled at around 10:30 a.m. for believers to worship.

After sunbathing for around an hour, the portrait was rolled up with loud cheers from the audience.

The annual event is one of the most important ceremonies at Labrang Monastery, one of the six great temples of the Gelug Sect of Tibetan Buddhism, which was built in 1709.

The centuries-old ceremony is held each year on the 13th day of the first lunar month. It is not only a grand festival for Buddhists, but also a platform to showcase the unique Tibetan culture and customs to tourists.

The ceremony had been suspended since 2020 due to the COVID-19 epidemic.

This aerial photo taken on Feb. 3, 2023 shows the "sunning of the Buddha" ceremony at the Labrang Monastery in Xiahe County, northwest China's Gansu Province. (Xinhua/Zhang Zhimin)

Lamas prepare to uncover the large yellow curtain on a huge thangka scroll bearing the image of the Buddha during the "sunning of the Buddha" ceremony at the Labrang Monastery in Xiahe County, northwest China's Gansu Province, Feb. 3, 2023. (Xinhua/Zhang Zhimin)

This aerial photo taken on Feb. 3, 2023 shows the "sunning of the Buddha" ceremony at the Labrang Monastery in Xiahe County, northwest China's Gansu Province. (Xinhua/Zhang Zhimin)

This photo taken on Feb. 3, 2023 shows the "sunning of the Buddha" ceremony at the Labrang Monastery in Xiahe County, northwest China's Gansu Province. (Xinhua/Zhang Zhimin)

Editor: 
Russian personnel from Kaliningrad Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) have arrived at the temporarily seized by the occupiers Zaporizhia NPP, National Nuclear Generating Company Energoatom said on the Telegram channel on Monday.

"The occupiers think that Russian nuclear scientists will be able to work for the seized Ukrainian power plant. The 'touring performers' include engineers for reactor operation, shift supervisors, electricians, and other 'nuclear specialists'," it said.

The occupiers promised the personnel training on a full-scope simulator, however, the Ukrainian trainers, who are supposed to teach how to use it, refused to work for the enemy, and the Rushists blocked their access to their workplaces, Energoatom said.

"Anyway, now the Russian 'gastarbeiters' are unable to improve their skills. However, they are showing off that they have received an offer to sign contracts for half a year and bring their families to Enerhodar," the company said.

Energoatom again called on nuclear experts to not sign any contracts with the enemy in order to avoid becoming an aggressor's accomplice and destroying their own future.
The shares of Kryvy Rih Iron Ore Plant owned by the Ukrainian businessman have changed the owner, NV Business reports, citing the London court decision.

According to the report, Kolomoisky sold 50% of the mine in Kryvy Rih for $926 million to Russian citizen Mikhail Voevodin  allegedly, the businessman concluded such an unusual agreement with the Russian businessman before the nationalization of PrivatBank.

It is noted that Kolomoisky continues to manage the mine.

The publication refers to the decision of the High Court of Justice in London published on January 31, 2023, by which it strengthened the effects of the Worldwide Freezing Order (WFO) on the former owners of PrivatBank, Ihor Kolomoisky and Hennadiy Boholiubov.

Now WFO can be applied to transactions carried out in the last 5 years, that is, after the introduction of worldwide arrest. This applies to dividends, their distribution or other income, as well as bank accounts in excess of GBP 1 million. The court did not take into account the arguments of Kolomoisky's side.

"There are several surprising features in the agreement. Firstly, the initials but not the full names of the parties to the agreement are indicated on the document,; secondly, the period for which payments must be completed is not indicated; thirdly, the jurisdiction for resolving disputes is not indicated, although at the top of the document it is indicated that it was signed in Geneva. Under the terms of the agreement, Kolomoisky continues to manage the sold stake until the settlement is completed, and Voevodin agreed to limit his right to dispose of the shares," the publication said, referring to the comments of a PrivatBank representative during the meeting.

At the same time, with reference to the judge, it is noted that the agreement regarding the plant is notable for its informality - it is surprising that the agreement fixing the obligation to pay almost $1 billion for the fulfillment of certain conditions has such a form. He also agreed with the conclusion of the representative of PrivatBank that the agreement showed the existence of close relations and a high degree of trust between Kolomoisky and Voevodin.

Voevodin and Selivanova were in the unified state register of legal entities and individual entrepreneurs among the ultimate owners of Kryvy Rih Iron Ore Plant in 2019-2020.

In the British court, the financial institution accuses the former owners of withdrawing almost $2 billion. Currently, the amount is $4 billion, including interest, PrivatBank data are given in the publication.
A draft resolution was registered in the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, which refers to sending Mikheil Saakashvili abroad for medical treatment. Olena Shuliak, Chairman of the People's Servant party, wrote about this to the Telegram channel.As she reported, with the resolution they address Georgia, the European Parliament, the Council of Europe, the European Commission, PACE, and the parliaments of the EU member states. The document was signed by 90 deputies of the Verkhovna Rada."The former president of Georgia and the current citizen of Ukraine is currently in critical condition. Therefore, the Georgian side must provide proper medical assistance, as well as create conditions for his transfer to one of the European or American clinics for treatment," wrote Shuliak.Chairman of Georgian Dream Irakli Kobakhidze once again said that the resumption of flights with Russia is welcome.According to him, this will benefit Georgian citizens living in Russia."We made our statement regarding the resumption of flights, our position is simple. This was the sanction that was imposed on Georgia by Russia in 2019, this, of course, aggravated the situation of our citizens. We remind you that if 800,000 Georgian citizens live in the Russian Federation. If Russia lifts this sanction, and it is up to them, we welcome it because it will be a benefit to our compatriots and fellow citizens. This is our very clear position," Kobakhidze stated.On January 18, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that he hopes they will be able to resume direct flights with Georgia soon.The President of Georgia, Salome Zourabichvili, assessed the idea of resuming direct flights with Russia negatively."At this point, if we remember anything about Russia's outdated tricks, we should understand that the Kremlin will 'bring up' such topics when it hopes to create some kind of rift between us and our Western partners," Zourabichvili stated.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky has submitted to the Verkhovna Rada bills on prolonging martial law and general mobilization.

Bills No. 8419 and No. 8420 were registered in the Verkhovna Rada on Monday, the parliament said on its the website.

According to bill No. 8419, the president proposes to extend the period of martial law in Ukraine for 90 days from 05:30 on February 19, 2023.
Whatever the pressure from Russia at the frontline, we must withstand it, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky said in a video address on Sunday, February 5.

"There are already many reports that the occupiers want to do something symbolic in February. Try to make up for their last year's losses. We see this increased pressure in different directions of the frontline, as well as pressure in the information field. It is very difficult in Donetsk region  fierce battles. But no matter how hard it is and no matter what the pressure, we must withstand it," he said.

"We must use every day and every week to strengthen our defense at the frontline, to strengthen our international positions, to increase pressure on Russia and give our people new opportunities to get through this difficult time. We have no other alternative than to defend ourselves and win," he said.
Ukraine does not rule out a new attack by the Russian army in February, the Ukrainian Defense Forces are ready for this, Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov has said.

As the minister said at a press conference on Sunday, February 5, the situation in eastern Ukraine will remain difficult, but manageable.

Reznikov said the Defense Forces are holding out in the east of the country.

According to him, Ukraine expects an attack in February, since Russia likes symbolism, the Ukrainian forces are ready for this.

"There are no unexpected things," the minister said.

He also said Ukraine continues to accumulate reserves.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky has signed documents on the deprivation of citizenship of former Education Minister Dmytro Tabachnyk, former head of the presidential administration Andriy Klyuev, former Minister of Internal Affairs Vitaliy Zakharchenko and other officials from the time of former president Viktor Yanukovych, head of the Servant of the People faction David Arakhamia said.

"President Zelensky has deprived traitors who were one of the pillars of the Yanukovych regime from citizenship of Ukraine," Arakhamia said on his Telegram channel.

According to him, among them Klyuev, Tabachnyk, Oleksandr Klymenko, Zakharchenko, Oleksandr Yakymenko.

"So are less public people from their political orbit," he said.

Arakhamia also said the next step would be the imposition of sanctions on them, the arrest and seizure in favor of the state of all their property, corporate rights and other assets.

He said "everyone who has information about the property of these persons, report to this address: arakhamiia@rada.gov.ua."

As reported, Zelensky made it clear that he had signed documents on the loss of Ukrainian citizenship by a number of people.
Over the course of a day, the Armed Forces of Ukraine repelled enemy attacks in the area of 14 settlements in Donetsk region. Ukrainian aviation, rocket troops and artillery attacked 17 areas where the enemy's manpower and equipment were concentrated, the General Staff said.

"Over the past 24 hours, our units repelled the attacks of invaders in the areas of the settlements of Verkhniokamianske, Vasiukivka, Bakhmut, Ivanivske, Kamianka, Pervomaiske, Vesele, Nivelske, Krasnohorivka, Maryinka, Pobeda and Novomykhailivka of Donetsk region," the AFU said on Facebook page on Monday.

"Over the past day, the Ukrainian aviation of the Defense Forces delivered nine strikes on enemy concentration areas and a strike on the positions of its anti-aircraft missile systems. And units of the missile forces and artillery of the Ukrainian Defense Forces hit the command post, eight enemy manpower concentration areas and an ammunition depot," the AFU said.

It is emphasized that the invaders are focusing their main efforts on conducting offensive operations in Kupiansk, Lyman, Bakhmut, Avdiyivka and Novopavlivka directions.

"In the course of hostilities in the area of the town of Bakhmut, there is a complete lack of coordination and interaction among the military personnel of the Russian occupation forces and mercenaries of the so-called Wagner PMC," the Ukrainian military said.

The General Staff also said that in the village of Vasylyivka, Zaporizhia region. There, the occupiers have equipped a local children's hospital as a military hospital for wounded servicemen of the Russian armed forces. The admission of children to the hospital has been stopped.
First Canadian Leopard for Ukraine already arrived in Poland

The first Leopard 2 tank allocated by Canada to help Ukraine has already been delivered to Poland, Canadian Defense Minister Anita Anand has said.

"The first Canadian Leopard 2 main battle tank that we've donated to Ukraine has now arrived in Poland. Alongside our allies, we'll soon be training the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the use of this equipment," Anand said on Twitter.

She said Canada will continue to support Ukraine.

As reported, a Canadian Air Force aircraft carrying a Leopard 2 tank was reported to have departed from Halifax on Saturday, February 4.

"Today [on February 4], an Air Force of Canada aircraft departed Halifax carrying the first Leopard 2 main battle tank that Canada is sending to Ukraine," Canadian Defense Minister Anita Anand said on Twitter on February 4.

She said Canada supports the people of Ukraine and we will continue to supply the Armed Forces of Ukraine with the equipment necessary for victory.

Earlier it was reported that Ottawa will supply Ukraine with four Leopard 2 tanks.
Ukraine ready to send rescuers to Turkey to wind up consequences of earthquake  Kuleba

Ukraine is ready to send rescuers to Turkey to help wind up the consequences of the earthquake, Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba has said.

"Ukraine stands ready to send a large group of rescue workers to Turkiye to assist crisis response. We are working closely with the Turkish side to coordinate their deployment," Kuleba said on Twitter on Monday.

As a result of a powerful earthquake in Turkey, according to the latest data, some 912 people died, in neighboring Syria 326 people, the Anadolu agency said on Monday.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said the death toll from the magnitude seven and a half earthquake in Turkey rose to 912 people, the number of victims was about 5,400. He called the earthquake "the largest disaster in the last century."

The president said rescue work is ongoing and Turkey has received offers of assistance from 45 countries, as well as from the EU and NATO.

In turn, the Syrian Ministry of Health reports that the number of victims of the earthquake in the country has reached 326.

A powerful earthquake in Turkey and Syria and the subsequent aftershocks led to the collapse of numerous buildings in several provinces, the tremors were felt by the inhabitants of Lebanon, Jordan and Israel.
Ukraine was among the first countries to express its readiness to help Turkey with cleaning up the earthquake aftermath, Ambassador of Ukraine to Turkey Vasyl Bodnar has said.

"When it became known about the quakes or the volumes of destruction, Turkey addressed the international community with a request for help. Currently, each country is responding as much as it can. We were among the first to express readiness to help, and currently, we are communicating regarding how we can assist," he said on the air of the national telethon on Monday.

According to the ambassador, work is being carried out to organize the arrival of a Ukrainian rescue team to Turkey.

The diplomat also said that at that moment there was no "threatening" information about Ukrainians who live in Turkey.

"There is information that the members of some families could not contact their relatives who lived in the Hatay Province and in some other regions. We have created an operational headquarters. We are collecting all available information and requests from our citizens. We are involving our community and businesses who are in that region and are able to check whether our citizens are there. The authorities are also involved," the ambassador said.

He also said that "currently, it is difficult to get reliable information" as there is no connection in the affected districts.

"In addition, the priority efforts are directed at rescuing those who are under the rubble and helping those injured," Bodnar said.

"We have received more than 20 appeals, and we are processing all of them. We also forward these requests to the Turkish side, as well as our representatives who are trying to find any information through the local networks. However, so far there is no full or threatening information," he said.
The Verkhovna Rada has appealed to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE PA) and the parliaments of its member states about the inadmissibility of the participation of parliamentarians of the Russian Federation and the Republic of Belarus in the work of the statutory bodies of the Assembly.

Corresponding draft resolution No. 8396 was supported by 322 deputies at the plenary session of the parliament in Kyiv on Monday, member of the European Solidarity faction Oleksiy Honcharenko said on the Telegram channel.

The MPs called on the OSCE PA to approve the rules of procedure of the Assembly providing for the suspension of the powers of representatives of the parliaments of the participating states who violate the OSCE principles and commit an act of armed aggression and, in particular, to decide on the suspension of powers against members of the parliamentary delegations of the Russian Federation and Belarus.

The MPs also asked the parliaments of the OSCE member states to urge their governments to apply visa restrictions to members of the parliaments of the Russian Federation and Belarus who are under sanctions of the European Union and other OSCE participating states.

In addition, the MPs proposed to the parliaments of the OSCE participating states to approve legislative norms on the confiscation of frozen financial and other assets of the Russian Federation and its citizens for their further transfer to Ukraine as compensation for the harm caused by aggression, to join the initiative to create a Special International Tribunal, to recognize the Russian Federation as a terrorist state and to increase sanctions pressure on it.
The Russian occupiers have carried out five missile and 12 air strikes on the territory of Ukraine during the day, according to the operational information on the Russian invasion as of 18:00 on Monday, published on the Facebook page of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

Also, the occupiers carried out 36 attacks from multiple rocket launchers during the day, in particular, on civilian objects in thetown of Hola Prystan of Kherson region and Kherson. Enemy shells damaged residential buildings, there are civilian casualties, the report says.

The areas of about 70 settlements in Sumy, Kharkiv, Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhia, Dnipropetrovsk and Kherson regions were shelled, in particular, the towns of Vovchansk, Kharkiv region, Kreminna, Luhansk region, Bakhmut, Avdiyivka, Krasnohorivka, Maryinka and Vuhledar, Donetsk region, Huliai-Pole, Zaporizhia region, Hola Prystan and Kherson.

"The threat of further Russian air and missile strikes on the entire territory of Ukraine remains high," the report says.
At the invitation of Premier of the State Council Li Keqiang, Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Cambodia Hun Sen will pay an official visit to China from February 9 to 11.

CCTV: You just announced that Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen will visit China. Can you share more about this visit? How does China view the current China-Cambodia relations? And what does China expect to achieve through this visit?

Mao Ning: Prime Minister Hun Sen is a good and old friend of the Chinese people. He is the first foreign leader to be received by China after the Spring Festival this year, which speaks to the high quality of China-Cambodia relations. During the visit, Chinese leaders will meet and hold talks with him respectively to have in-depth exchanges of views on bilateral relations and regional and international issues of common interest.

China and Cambodia have traditionally been close neighbors and iron-clad friends. The China-Cambodia friendship, forged by the older generation of the leaders of the two countries, has stood the test of time and grown from strength to strength. Under the strategic guidance of the leaders of the two countries, efforts to build the China-Cambodia community with a shared future has achieved fruitful outcomes in recent years, bringing tangible benefits to the peoples of our two countries and making positive contribution to the peace and prosperity in the region and beyond. This year marks the 65th anniversary of the establishment of China-Cambodia diplomatic relations and the China-Cambodia Friendship Year. China hopes to take this visit as an opportunity to push for even greater progress in the building of the China-Cambodia community with a shared future and carry forward the China-Cambodia friendship from generation to generation.

CNN: The Pentagon says another surveillance balloon from China has been spotted over Latin America and the US says there were three instances during the Trump administration of China flying surveillance balloons over the US. Whats the purpose of these balloons from China?

Mao Ning: With regard to the balloon over Latin America, it has been verified that the unmanned airship is from China, of civilian nature and used for flight test. Affected by the weather and with limited self-steering capability, the airship deviated far from its planned course and entered into the airspace of Latin America and the Caribbean. China is a responsible country and always acts in strict accordance with international law. We have informed relevant sides. It is being properly handled and will not pose any threat to any country. They have expressed their understanding.

As to the alleged three instances of China flying surveillance balloons over the US during the Trump administration, I noted that Mr. Trump has denied the claim.

CNN: The US is confident though that what they shot down is in fact a spy balloon. Can you help us understand how this could be a weather balloon?

Mao Ning: The Chinese side has provided relevant information to the US side on multiple occasions. The unmanned airship is found to be a civilian airship used for meteorological and other research purposes. Affected by the Westerlies and with limited self-steering capability, the airship deviated far from its planned course. This is entirely an unexpected, isolated incident caused by force majeure.

As a responsible country, China strictly adheres to international law and respects the sovereignty and territorial integrity of other countries. As history shows, it is the US that has repeatedly trampled on international law and violated the sovereignty and territorial integrity of other countries. The Chinese side has made it clear that this is entirely an unexpected, isolated incident caused by force majeure. The US sides deliberate hyping up of the matter and even use of force are unacceptable and irresponsible.

Sky News: The eyes of the world are now on China as you know following the shooting down of that balloon. Does China recognize how dangerous this moment could be? And with that in mind, should it avoid tit-for-tat escalations, especially if the debris gathered shows that the balloon was spying?

Mao Ning: We have stated several times that this incident was totally unexpected and caused by force majeure. The US Department of Defense already stated that the balloon does not present a military or physical threat to people on the ground. China has time and again made that clear to the US, and yet the US side still went ahead with the use of force, which is a clear overreaction. The Chinese side is firmly opposed to that.

I wish to stress that in the face of this kind of unexpected, isolated incidents, both sides, the US in particular, should act in a calm, professional and proper manner without the use of force.

Beijing Youth Daily: Your colleague said that the 14th Love Knows No Borders international charity sale includes a livestreaming sale scheduled during the evening around February 8. Can you update us on the event?

Mao Ning: Thanks for your interest in the event. With the support and contribution from various quarters in China and abroad, the opening ceremony of the 14th Love Knows No Borders international charity sale was successfully held in an online format on January 17. A livestreaming sale has been scheduled for 7:30 p.m. on February 8. Some diplomatic envoys and senior diplomats in China and representatives from the two counties paired with our ministry in Yunnan Province and the two counties in Hebei Province which have support-driven and cooperative ties with our ministry will promote the products of the charity sale and showcase diverse culture on CCTV news app and the CCTV news channel at Taobao Live.

Donations collected at the event will be used for projects of warmth, which will install and upgrade shower facilities for elementary and middle schools in Malipo and Jinping, two counties in Yunnan, bringing warmth to nearly 20,000 children there to help them grow up healthily. We hope friends from home and abroad will join the upcoming events of the Love Knows No Borders international charity sale online, share your love and contribute to rural revitalization.

Xinhua News Agency: We noted that President of the 77th session of the UN General Assembly Csaba Korosi wrapped up his visit to China over the weekend. Could you share more information with us?

Mao Ning: President of the 77th session of the UN General Assembly Csaba Korosi paid a visit to China from February 1 to 4 upon invitation. Premier Li Keqiang and State Councilor Wang Yi met with him respectively. Foreign Minister Qin Gang held talks with him. The two sides exchanged in-depth views on the current international situation, the role of the United Nations and issues of common interest. During the visit, President Csaba Korosi also met with officials of relevant ministries and leading officials of the Henan Provincial Party Committee. He also went to Zhengzhou, Henan, where he visited the central route of the South-to-North Water Diversion Project that crosses the Yellow River.

Korosi is the first senior official of the UN system to have visited China this year. China always supports multilateralism, the work of the UN and the important role of the UN General Assembly. This visit has been a complete success and Ive come up with three keywords to highlight the outcomes.

The first is unity. Both sides agreed that its important to uphold multilateralism, safeguard the authority of the UN, and firmly uphold the UN-centered international order and the basic norms governing international relations based on international law. We need to remain committed to making international relations more democratic and further increase the representation and say of developing countries in international affairs.

The second is development. Both sides agreed to put development at the center of the global agenda, host UN high-level forums on sustainable development this year, support developing countries in enhancing their capacity for self-driven development, and ensure that no country and no one is left behind on the path of common development. China is ready to strengthen the synergy between the Global Development Initiative and the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and carry out more practical cooperation projects that deliver tangible results.

The third is challenge. Both sides agreed that in the face of multiple challenges and crises in todays world, countries should attach importance to the application of science and technology, and strengthen the unique role of data in water conservation, climate response, biodiversity conservation and implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. China supports the UN Water Conference to be held in March and appreciates the personal efforts made by President Csaba Korosi for the event.

Bloomberg: First, youve characterized both balloons as entering the US and Latin America accidentally and being blown off course, so I guess the question is, why is China having so much trouble controlling weather balloons? And is it gonna take steps to sort of remedy that problem?

Mao Ning: Im not an expert on controlling the balloon, so Im probably not the right person to answer this question. But to my knowledge, this is not the first time in the world that balloons for scientific research went out of control.

Dragon TV: Former President of Pakistan Pervez Musharraf passed away due to illness on February 5. Do you have any comment?

Mao Ning: Former President Musharraf was an old friend of the Chinese people. He made important contribution to China-Pakistan relations. We deeply mourn the passing of Mr Musharraf and extend our sincere sympathies to his family. China stands ready to work with Pakistan to carry forward our iron-clad friendship, deepen the China-Pakistan all-weather strategic cooperative partnership, and advance the building of an even closer China-Pakistan community with a shard future in the new era.

Wall Street Journal: To your knowledge, are there any other balloons in the world that currently the government or China has lost control of? What information can you share with us about that?

Mao Ning: Ive shared with you what I know. I dont have other information.

AFP: The foreign ministry said this morning that Vice Foreign Minister Xie Feng has lodged stern representations to the US Embassy over the handling of the Chinese balloon. Could you give more details about this encounter? Did Vice Minister Xie meet personally with the US Ambassador? And China has said it reserves the right to further respond to the balloon being shot down. What responses does China plan to take?

Mao Ning: The Chinese side has put out a press release regarding Vice Foreign Minister Xie Fengs demarche and you may refer to that. I want to stress that despite our repeated communication with the US, the US side still went ahead with the use of force. This is a clear overreaction. The Chinese side is firmly opposed to that. The US side needs to stop pushing the envelope and stop escalating or exacerbating the situation. The Chinese side will respond as necessary in light of the development of the situation.

New York Times: Is China taking the position that it reserves the right to shoot down unmanned aircraft that fly across its borders without permission or is China taking the position that it is wrong to shoot down unmanned aircraft that fly across borders without permission?

Mao Ning: I want to stress that the US made an overreaction by using force on a strayed unmanned civilian airship. This violates customary international practice.

TASS: How does China see the prospects of BRICS? How do you assess Chinas influence and role in BRICS development? What is Chinas position on BRICS expansion? If BRICS countries start to use more local currencies for settlement in international trade and other areas and reduce the use of the US dollar, how do you view this? Do BRICS countries need to create a common currency? A separate question. On February 1, Ukrainian law enforcement agencies expanded their fight against corruption and searched the homes of many incumbent and former high-ranking officials and rich businessmen. Do you have anything to comment on this?

Mao Ning: On your first question, BRICS came into being as the world was experiencing major transformation. After more than a decade of continuous hard work and nurture, BRICS cooperation has struck deep roots and come a long way. It has enjoyed robust momentum and become a key force in international affairs. China, as the BRICS chair last year, held a successful 14th BRICS Summit and achieved a series of pioneering, guiding and institutional outcomes. During the BRICS China Year, more than 160 meetings and events, covering more than 30 specific areas, were held, leaving a deep China imprint on BRICS cooperation.

The XIV BRICS Summit Beijing Declaration noted that We support promoting discussions among BRICS members on BRICS expansion process. China will continue to follow the BRICS spirit of openness, inclusiveness and win-win cooperation, work with BRICS partners, strengthen cooperation with other emerging markets and developing countries, and jointly advance the BRICS expansion process on the basis of full discussion and consensus through consultation.

In recent years, BRICS countries have made progress through exchange and cooperation in financial and monetary sectors. This is of great importance to facilitating trade among BRICS countries and jointly promoting economic recovery.

On your second question, what you mentioned is Ukraines domestic affair, and we will not comment on that.

Bloomberg: On Friday China dismissed the head of its weather department. This came just after the Pentagon said that the balloon was over Montana which houses US nuclear missile sites. Was this dismissal of the weather department official related to the balloon? Separately, Secretary of State Antony Blinken has said that he will postpone his trip to China. Are there any plans for that trip to be put back on the schedule?

Mao Ning: On your first question, there is an announcement on the website of the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security of China. I have nothing more to share.

You mentioned Secretary Blinkens visit to China in your second question. In fact, neither China nor the US has ever announced that there would be a visit. It is a matter for the US to make its latest announcement. It is the responsibility of the diplomatic teams on both sides to properly manage bilateral relations.

CNBC: I have two questions. The first question is, the US Senator Schumer said that once the balloon was exposed to the public, China attempted to maneuver the balloon to leave the US as soon as they could. Can the Chinese side confirm this? And how did it attempt to maneuver the balloon? The second question is, now that we dont know exactly when Blinken would be coming to visit China, what sorts of actions is China planning in order to put further guard rails on the US-China relationship and prevent further economic fallout?

Mao Ning: On your first question, I can tell you that we have maintained communication with the US side and made a great effort to handle this matter in a responsible way.

On China-US relations, China views and grows its relations with the US in accordance with the three principles of mutual respect, peaceful coexistence and win-win cooperation proposed by President Xi Jinping. At the same time, we firmly uphold our sovereignty, security and development interests. The unintended entry of the airship into US airspace is totally unexpected and isolated. It is, however, a test for the US sides sincerity about stabilizing and improving its relations with China and its approach to crisis management. The US side needs to work with China to properly manage differences and avoid misunderstanding and miscalculation and damaging mutual trust.

AFP: Australian Trade Minister Don Farrell has said that he has agreed to an in-person meeting with Chinese Minister of Commerce Wang Wentao. Can you confirm this and can you share any details of the recent talks between the two trade ministers?

Mao Ning: The Ministry of Commerce has put out a release, which you may refer to. I would refer you to the responsible department for the specifics.

Reuters: I understand what you said just now about China reserving the right to take necessary actions in relation to the shooting down of the balloon by the US but what would be your position hypothetically before this balloon incident? Would China shoot down a US balloon or drone if it finds it above Chinese territory?

Mao Ning: I do not take hypothetical questions. What I can tell you is that the unintended entry of the airship is an entirely unexpected, isolated incident caused by force majeure. The US side needs to handle it in a calm, professional and proper manner.

New York Times: China has objected to the downing in shallow water of the balloon. Where did China want the balloon to go instead? Did it expect it to crash into the ocean? Did it expect it to land on a Chinese ship in the ocean? Did it expect it to fly back to China? What was the plan for the airship if it had not been downed?

Mao Ning: This is a hypothetical question, which I cannot answer.

We have repeatedly stressed to the US that it should act in a calm, professional and proper manner without the use of force.

Reuters: At what point, on which day did the foreign ministry find out about this balloon? Was it before or after the US said it has discovered this balloon?

Mao Ning: China is a responsible country. After the US side informed the Chinese side of the situation, we immediately verified it and communicated it to the US side, and we specifically asked the US side to properly handle the matter in a calm, professional and restrained manner.

Reuters: Does it concern or worry China that it doesnt have an overall systematic way of tracking where its balloons are so that it needs to rely on the other countries to let it know that they have found a balloon in their airspace?

Mao Ning: I have stressed repeatedly that this is an unexpected, isolated incident caused by force majeure and should be handled in a calm, professional and proper manner.

Wall Street Journal: We saw this morning the statement that Vice Foreign Minister Xie Feng had met with or had conveyed his reaction to the US embassy. Im curious, over the weekend, can you comment on whether theres been any other direct communication between the US and China specifically about the downing of the aircraft? For example, has the Chinese Ministry of Defense communicated at all with the Pentagon about this issue?

Mao Ning: I can share with you that China has been in communication with the US and specifically asked the US side to properly handle the matter in a calm, professional and restrained manner. We made the result of our verification available to the US side in a timely way.

Reuters: This is about the Australian Trade Minister Don Farrells upcoming meeting with his Chinese counterpart Wang Wentao. Just to confirm does this meeting replace the online meeting that the commerce ministry confirmed last week? Or has that meeting been postponed and replaced with this in-person meeting?

Mao Ning: Im not aware of the specifics. I would refer you to the Ministry of Commerce.

AFP: A magnitude 7.8 earthquake today has killed hundreds of people in Turkiye and Syria. Have any Chinese citizens been hurt and is China planning to provide humanitarian assistance?

Mao Ning: We have been closely following the major earthquake that hit Turkiye and Syria. We mourn for the victims and express our sympathies to those who lost their loved ones and people who are injured. We sincerely hope that the Turkish and Syrian people will overcome the disaster and rebuild their home at an early date.

After the earthquake, Chinese embassies and consulates in the region, including in Turkiye and Syria, immediately activated emergency response mechanisms to verify the situation of Chinese citizens affected by the earthquake. So far, no Chinese casualties have been reported. Chinese diplomatic and consular missions in the affected region will continue to closely follow the situation on the ground and provide consular protection and assistance to Chinese citizens there.

Wed also like to take this opportunity to remind fellow Chinese compatriots in Turkiye and Syria to guard against post-earthquake secondary disasters.
Occupiers toughen filtration measures, cut wages for residents in occupied territories who refuse to apply for Russian passports  AFU General Staff

The Russian occupation forces continue taking measures to force the locals to apply for Russian passports in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) has said.

"In Kreminna, Luhansk region, they cut wages by 30% for the employees of the so-called 'state enterprises of the LPR [Luhansk People's Republic]' who have not applied for Russian passports," it said on Facebook on Monday.

The occupiers are also toughening the filtration measures in the temporarily occupied territories of Kherson region.

"Employees of the Russian FSB [Federal Security Service] have arrived in Novotroyitske to check the local pro-Ukrainian population," the General Staff said.
The United States Department of Justice and Department of State jointly with their Ukrainian colleagues are working on a mechanism to transfer the seized assets of Russian oligarch Konstantin Malofeev to Ukraine, Prosecutor General of Ukraine Andriy Kostin has said.

"This is a historic decision. It became possible due to two-chamber support in the American parliament This means that the West is serious about fighting the Russian elites," he said on the air of the national telethon on Monday night.

Kostin recalled that new legislation was adopted in the U.S. in December 2022 and this example shows the legislation in action.

"This confiscation is the result of long-term cooperation between the PGO and the U.S. Department of Justice, our groups for search and confiscation of assets of those who support the war against Ukraine," he said.

"So far the assets have been transferred from the U.S. Department of Justice to the Department of State [] both parties are working on specifics measures regarding the process of transferring these assets to Ukraine," the Prosecutor General said.

According to him, details will become known in the next few days, and the Ukrainian side actively cooperates with American colleagues.

"To be continued. This work is permanent. Our teams are involved in almost daily work When we have information about who is the next, we will announce it and, I hope, we will also do this together with the U.S. Attorney General," Kostin said.
Georgia's UNM opposition party gathering in Tbilisi to work out plan to secure Saakashvili's release

Chairman of the United National Movement (UNM) opposition party Levan Khabeishvili has called on other members of this party to gather at its central office in Tbilisi on Monday evening to draw up a plan of action to secure the release of former Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili from custody.

Khabeishvili told reporters earlier that "the most radical measures will be taken" to have Saakashvili released from custody.

The Tbilisi City Court on Monday ordered Saakashvili to remain in custody and rejected his defense team's motion to defer the ex-president's prison sentence due to his illness.
Special tribunal can be created on basis of intl agreement or agreement between UN and Ukraine

A special tribunal to bring to justice the military-political leadership of the Russian Federation for crimes of aggression can be created on the basis of a multilateral international agreement or an agreement between the UN and Ukraine, and there are also other mechanisms, Prosecutor General Andriy Kostin notes.

"The most important thing for us is that the very idea of creating a Special tribunal or other judicial jurisdiction to punish the highest military and political leadership of the Russian Federation for crimes of aggression is now supported by many countries," Kostin said on the air of the national telethon on Monday evening.

According to him, a group of countries that support the creation of the tribunal "are working out, including legal mechanisms under which the tribunal will be created and will work."

"For Ukrainians and Ukraine, the main thing is that the entire democratic world has united in order to punish Putin and his entourage for the crime of aggression The most important thing is a political decision," the Prosecutor General stressed.

He reported: "We also expect the relevant resolution of the UN General Assembly, which will precede the creation of the mechanism of the tribunal itself. This resolution is expected in the coming months, I hope it will be in March, but this is the work of diplomats."

The Ukrainian Prosecutor General explained that in order for the tribunal to be truly international, from the point of view of Ukraine, the best option is to create this tribunal on the basis of a multilateral international treaty, following the example of the Nuremberg.

Another model, according to the Prosecutor General, provides for the creation of a Special Tribunal on the basis of an agreement between the UN, after the support of the UN General Assembly resolution on the creation of a Special Tribunal, and Ukraine, that is, on the basis of an agreement between the UN and Ukraine.

Also, as Kostin noted, other mechanisms are being considered.

"But I hope that the tribunal will be created ... either on the basis of a multilateral international agreement or on the basis of an agreement between the UN and Ukraine after the relevant resolution of the General Assembly," Kostin summed up.
A Tbilisi city court has ordered Mikheil Saakashvhili to remain in custody, an Interfax correspondent reported.

The hearing on whether the ex-president of Georgia can be released or have his prison sentence deferred began in December last year. More than twenty doctors who monitored him at the Vivamed clinic, were questioned as witnesses, including foreign medics who diagnosed Saakashvili with heavy metal poisoning, dementia and emaciation.

The foreign doctors recommended specialist treatment in the United States or Europe.

Saakashvili's Vivamed physicians think otherwise. They say their patient is not suffering from any disruption of vital functions.

According to representatives from the ruling Georgian Dream party, Saakashvili feigns illness and is ruining his health on purpose by rejecting the services of Georgian doctors and eating minimum of food.
On Tuesday, February 7, at 11.00, the press centre of the Interfax-Ukraine News Agency will host a press conference regarding the exclusion of Russian and Belarusian athletes from participating in international competitions. Participants include Head of the All-Ukrainian Trade Union of Athletes, Workers in the Fields of Physical Culture and Sports, Youth Policy and National Patriotic Education Serhiy Byzov; Ukrainian judoka of Georgian origin, Honored Master of Sports, World Champion 2009, Vice-Champion of Europe 2009; the first world champion in judo in the history of Ukraine, deputy of Kyiv city council from the Servant of the People party Georgii Zantaraia; public and political figure, MP of Ukraine of the fifth convocation Yuriy Zubko; MP of Ukraine of the VII and VIII convocations Serhiy Kaplin (8/5a Reitarska Street). The event will be streamed on the YouTube channel of Interfax-Ukraine. Admission of journalists requires registration on the spot. Details at: (098) 234 8888, psu@fpsu.org.ua (Serhiy Byzov).
The Ukrainian Red Cross Society (URCS), together with colleagues from the Canadian Red Cross, donate potbelly stoves to houses where internally displaced persons (IDP) who moved to Cherkasy region live.

"The Ukrainian Red Cross Society, together with the Canadian Red Cross, donate potbelly stoves. Within a month, all districts of Cherkasy region will receive stoves. They will be installed in houses without gas supply, in which IDPs received shelter," the URCS said on its official Facebook page.

The URCS clarified that households in 19 communities of Cherkasy district of the region have already received assistance.
On 3 June, EgyptAir will start operating three direct flights a week from Cairo International Airport to Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey using its latest Boeing B787-9 aircraft.
Hong Kong: Chan Kwok-ki inspects control point

Acting Chief Executive Chan Kwok-ki inspected Lo Wu Control Point today, the first day of the full resumption of normal travel between Hong Kong and the Mainland.

Mr Chan noted that since normal travel between the two places resumed, all boundary control points (BCPs) have commenced operation without any prescribed daily number of people or pre-departure nucleic acid test requirements imposed.

As at noon, around 83,000 passengers travelled through the boundary control points, with 50,000 of them departing from Hong Kong and 33,000 entering the city.

With the full co-operation of relevant sectors and close liaison with the authorities of the central government as well as the Guangdong and Shenzhen governments, all seaborne, land and air BCPs including the newly opened ones are operating in an orderly manner, he said, adding that arrangements have been put in place on local transport connecting such points.

Mr Chan received a briefing by the relevant departments at Lo Wu Control Point on triage procedures, immigration clearance and customs clearance arrangements for travellers.

He was pleased to learn that the control point is running well and instructed such departments to monitor the passenger flow closely and conduct proper crowd management control, especially on weekends and holidays when there is larger number of cross-boundary travellers.

On transport arrangements, Mr Chan directed the relevant departments to maintain close contact with public transport operators to ensure sufficient transport services to carry travellers to and from the BCPs during opening hours. He also reminded them to closely co-operate with the MTR Corporation and monitor the people flows at the Lo Wu and Lok Ma Chau Spur Line control points.

The Acting Chief Executive spoke with some of the passengers and was glad to hear that they are satisfied with the smooth arrangements they experienced. He instructed the staff manning the control point to provide necessary information and assistance for travellers such as assisting them with completing the health declaration form that is required by the Mainland before crossing the boundary.

While expressing gratitude to all the personnel for their hard work on the full resumption of normal travel with the Mainland, Mr Chan stressed that the Co-ordination Group on Resumption of Normal Travel will monitor such travel with the relevant bureaus, departments and organisations.

Close liaison with the relevant authorities of the central government as well as the Guangdong and Shenzhen governments will also be maintained to ensure the smooth implementation of normal travel with the Mainland, he added.

This story has been published on: 2023-02-06. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
She told MPs that North Korean defectors are not recognized as refugees in China and women in particular often become targets of human trafficking. Park won the Asian Women of Achievement Award in 2018 and Amnesty International's Brave Award last year.

After gaining asylum in Britain in 2008, Park worked as an activist for North Korean women and children's rights. She testified before a hearing in the U.K. Parliament in June 2019 and gave a harrowing account of the abuses suffered by North Koreans like herself.

"I couldn't speak a word of English when I came to the U.K. 13 years ago," she told the Chosun Ilbo last week. "The U.K. was a land that gave me a new life filled with opportunities and challenges."

The British Conservative Party said Park Ji-hyun (52) will be the first-ever North Korean defector to run in an election other than South Korea. She is a candidate for the Holyrood ward in Bury, Greater Manchester.

When asked why she went into party politics, Park said, "I wanted to contribute to my local community." The decisive moment was when she took 7,000 face masks provided by a South Korean businessperson to a U.K. nursing home last year. They thanked her for helping them despite her own difficulties as a refugee.

"I am so thankful to this country for teaching me how to speak English and helping me settle down," she said. "Until now, I have been working for the human rights of other defectors and now I want to work for all U.K. citizens."

However, her chances of winning are not high because Manchester is a staunchly Labour city and Holyrood has few Korean residents.

"I don't mind if I don't get elected," she said. "I just want to give hope to other defectors and refugees that they can do it too. I hope more people challenge themselves after I do."

Park was born in Chongjin, North Hamgyong Province and fled North Korea in 1998, when the reclusive state was ravaged by famine. She was sold off to a farmer in China for W750,000 and gave birth to his son (US$1=W1,121).

But then she was caught by police and sent back to the North in 2004, where she ended up in a labor camp. She fled the North again six months later to see her son back in China, and together they went to the U.K. where they were given asylum in 2008.

Although she lives in the U.K., Park said her roots lie in South Korea. "The taegukgi (South Korea's national flag) hangs in my living room and I teach my three children that we are Koreans," Park said. "I would have lived in freedom if North and South Korea had not been divided. I hope to see reunification soon so that my fellow North Koreans can enjoy freedom."
By Qalbinur

February 6 marks Day 57 of the non-stop vigil of the Azerbaijani eco-activists on the Lachin road that connects ethnic Armenians of Karabakh with Armenia.

Contrary to the blatant propaganda of pro-Armenian circles, on February 5, nearly 40 vehicles of the Russian peacekeepers moved freely on the Khankandi-Lachin road, carrying food, medications, as well as basic-needs products.

Moreover, ICRC vehicles kept carrying passengers both to Armenia and from there to Karabakh as daily videos from the venue of the pickets indicate.

The Russian military trucks and ICRC vehicles also serve different purposes, and no doubt that separatists and big fishes in a little pond, who realize the day of reckoning is nearing for them to be hunted for their crimes, and the tragedies they have plunged the region into conflicts and wars for over 30 years, are using the last opportunity to flee the region using humanitarian vehicles.

In the meantime, the fuss the separatists in Karabakh, Armenia, and elsewhere have kicked off over the rightful picketing of the road by Azerbaijani eco-activists is purely designed to protect the interests of those, who have sucked veins of Azerbaijani territories and pocketed millions from looting the mineral resources of Karabakh.

However, as they have been deprived of plundering gold, molybdenum, and other precious metals from deposits in Karabakh for nearly 60 days, and the howl they raised accompanied by certain corrupt circles in France, the USA, and certain European nations are to protect their interests and income.

The peaceful protest of Azerbaijani non-governmental organizations on the Lachin-Khankendi road against the illicit exploitation of Azerbaijan's mineral resources in the area of Russian peacekeepers' temporary deployment has been going on for nearly 60 days.

Previously, following the talks with the Russian peacekeepers' command on December 3 and 7, 2022, a group of experts from the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources, the State Property Service under the Ministry of Economy, and AzerGold CJSC were going to begin preliminary monitoring of the illicit mineral resource exploitation, as well as emerging environmental implications on Azerbaijani lands, where the Russian peacekeepers are temporarily deployed, on December 10, 2022.

The expert team was expected to inspect the environmental condition at the Gizilbulag gold deposit and the Damirli copper-molybdenum deposit, monitor various areas, organize cadastral property records, assess potential risks and threats to the environment, as well as underground and surface water sources.

However, when arriving in the monitoring area, the expert group, accompanied by Russian peacekeepers, faced provocations. The planned initial inspection and monitoring did not take place because the Russian peacekeepers not only did not create necessary conditions but also prevented the entire process from carrying on.
The airship first entered the U.S. air identification zone on Jan. 28, then crossed into Canadian airspace. The U.S. defense department said the balloon reentered U.S. airspace Tuesday. It was seen Thursday flying over Montana where U.S. nuclear missiles are siloed.

China's foreign ministry said in a statement that the U.S. action was "an obvious overreaction and a serious violation of international standard practice," and repeated its claim that the balloon was being used for meteorological research. The Pentagon said the balloon was being used for surveillance.

A U.S. fighter jet shot down a Chinese spy balloon Saturday, after it spent nearly a week floating over U.S. territory. The airship fell into the Atlantic Ocean, about 10 kilometers off the coast of the U.S. state of South Carolina.

President Joe Biden ordered the balloon shot down as soon as it was safe to do so. The Pentagon chose to wait until the craft was over open water. The U.S. has said it took measures to prevent the balloon from gathering any information as it crossed the country.

The discovery of the spy balloon comes at a sensitive time for China. It happened right before U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken was scheduled to visit China and meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping. Blinken canceled his trip after the discovery of the spy balloon.

Dennis Wilder, a former China analyst with the CIA, told VOA State Department Bureau Chief Nike Chang that the incident comes at a sensitive time for China's leader.

"President Xi Jinping is on what I would call a charm offensive right now that started after zero-COVID was lifted," Wilder said, "where he wants to tell the world that China is open for business again. He wants very much to see American investors come back."

Wilder said he thinks the incident will set off a new round of tension between the US. And China. "If the United States is able to recover from the ocean information that shows that this indeed was a spy mission and not a meteorological mission and shows that evidence to the Chinese, we are going to embarrass the Chinese. We may well very much embarrass the People's Liberation Army. And so I think that that will be difficult to manage, particularly if the United States comes out very publicly with this information. So there's going to be a tense period here."

Another Chinese balloon was spotted flying over Latin America.
Many cases of child marriage in Assam, a state of 35 million people, go unreported. Only 155 cases of child marriages in the state were registered in 2021, and 138 in 2020, according to the National Crime Records Bureau.

Those arrested this week included more than 50 Hindu priests and Muslim clerics for allegedly performing marriages for underage girls in Assam, state police chief Gyanendra Pratap Singh said. "We have so far arrested 2,169 men based on 4,074 registered police cases involving a total of about 8,000 men," said Singh.

Indian police have arrested more than 2,000 men in a crackdown on illegal child marriages involving girls under the age of 18 in a northeastern state, officials said Saturday.

In India, the legal marriageable age is 21 for men and 18 for women. Poverty, lack of education, and social norms and practices, particularly in rural areas, are considered reasons for child marriages across the country.

Television images Friday showed some young women with infants in their arms, crying and protesting the sudden arrests of their husbands. "We were struggling and somehow making ends meet. But we were happy together. Who will provide for our livelihood now that my husband has been arrested?" asked a young woman.

Singh said child marriages were one reason for the state's high infant mortality and maternal mortality rates. "I have asked the Assam police to act with a spirit of zero tolerance against the unpardonable and heinous crime on women," Himanta Biswa Sarma, the state's top elected official, tweeted.

India's Parliament is considering legislation to raise the age for marriage for women to 21 from 18, to bring it in line with men and promote gender equality.

India's Minister for Women and Child Development Smriti Irani told Parliament on Friday that the move would enable girls to complete their education and achieve economic independence apart from achieving physical and psychological maturity.
Civil servants now believe themselves at a disadvantage compared to white-collar workers in terms of both social status and pay, a survey suggests.

The Korea Institute of Public Administration polled 1,000 government workers last summer and found that 31.9 percent feel private-sector jobs confer a higher social status, while 31.4 percent feel the other way. The rest said the two are about equal or gave no answer.

The institute has conducted the survey every three years since 1998, and this is the first time that those who feel their own status is inferior to private-sector workers outnumbered those who feel secure in the hacking order. As recently as 2019, the figures were 38 percent versus 18.4 percent.

Respondents admitted that the comfortable pension is a great plus of the public sector, but only 41.7 percent in the latest survey said their jobs were better than private-sector positions.
The U.K.'s King Charles last week met North Korean defector and rights activist Park Ji-hyun.

Park (53) was invited to a reception at Buckingham Palace in London on Feb. 1 to celebrate the contributions of Asian communities to Britain.

"Historical moment!!" she tweeted alongside a picture of her with the king.

"It was an honour and privileged to meet the His Majesty King Charles lll and the Queen Consort," Park said. She quoted the king as saying it was the first time he has met a North Korean defector.

In a conversation with the king and the queen, Park thanked the U.K. for giving her the opportunity to settle in a free country after escaping from North Korea, where no human rights are guaranteed.
KYODO NEWS - Feb 6, 2023 - 22:35 | All, Japan

A high school student in Kawasaki near Tokyo was stabbed on his way to school on Monday, with a minor who knows the victim arrested the same day on suspicion of attempted murder, police said.

The 16-year-old student's injuries are not life-threatening, the Kanagawa prefectural police said. The attacker fled the scene.

According to investigative sources, the suspect, also 16, is a former schoolmate of the victim but is now studying at a different high school.

The suspect, who is from Kawasaki, denied the allegation.

The police are investigating whether he had a grudge against the hospitalized boy, who lives in Tokyo's Setagaya Ward.

The student was walking to school at about 8:20 a.m. when he was attacked with a knife in a residential area in Kawasaki's Asao Ward, sustaining injuries on the back of his head.

There were no signs of an altercation before the incident, and an eyewitness reported seeing the attacker leave the scene on foot, the police said.

A knife that appears to have been used in the attack was found at the scene, the police said.

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KYODO NEWS - Feb 6, 2023 - 21:03 | All, World, Coronavirus, Travel/Tourism

China on Monday resumed overseas group tours for Chinese citizens after a roughly 3-year hiatus due to the coronavirus pandemic, but the tours will be limited to 20 countries, with Japan excluded from the list.

Japan's tourism and retail industry had been hoping for the resumption of group tours from China as they comprised a major portion of inbound travelers before the pandemic, but the prospect of their return remains uncertain.

Beijing opposes Tokyo's recent decision to strengthen border controls for travelers inbound from China following a surge in coronavirus cases in the country.

The 20 countries approved for the resumption of the service by Beijing include Thailand, one of the most popular destinations in China, Indonesia, the Maldives, New Zealand, Russia, Singapore and Switzerland.

Yasufumi Yamada, head of the Shanghai office of the Japan National Tourism Organization, expressed disappointment that Japan was not included in the list of overseas destinations for group tours.

"We hope to welcome (visitors from China) soon," Yamada said, adding that efforts will be made to promote information about rural areas in Japan.

The Shanghai office held an event Saturday in Beijing promoting traditional towns and sites in Nagano, Ishikawa and Okayama prefectures.

Xu Yongli, a Beijing resident who participated in the event, urged Japan to relax its border controls and expressed his hope to soon visit Naraijuku, a historical town used as a lodging spot along what was a major route during the Edo Era (1603-1868), in Nagano Prefecture.

Japan had a record-high 31.88 million foreign visitors in 2019, with travelers from China comprising around 30 percent, according to the tourism organization.

During that year, Chinese travelers spent 1.77 trillion yen ($13.4 billion), making up 36.8 percent of the total expenditure of all inbound travelers.

But due to coronavirus pandemic restrictions that came into force in 2020, the number of Chinese travelers fell sharply. Despite Japan relaxing its border controls in October last year, travelers inbound from China remain at around 20,000 to 30,000 a month.

China reopened its borders and abandoned quarantine measures on Jan. 8, marking a full departure from its strict "zero-COVID" policy, although it saw widespread infections.

In response, several countries including Japan and South Korea have strengthened their border controls for travelers inbound from China.

Japan currently requires travelers from mainland China to show proof of a negative COVID-19 test taken within 72 hours of departure.

In addition, all travelers from mainland China, including those who have visited the country within seven days, are required to take a PCR or high-sensitivity antigen test upon arrival in Japan. Those who test positive must quarantine at a designated facility for up to seven days.

China opposes Tokyo's measures, calling them unscientific and discriminatory.
"The mainstream media and quite a number of politicians and governments intimidate us daily that China's rise poses a threat to the rest of the world and especially to the West," said veteran Spanish journalist Javier Garcia in his new book "China, Threat or Hope. The Reality of a Pragmatic Revolution."

"China is not a threat at all," Garcia said in an interview with Xinhua, noting that the country has become the second world economic power "without practically firing a single shot, without violence, without wars, without colonialism."

Produced by Xinhua Global Service
ANKARA, Feb. 6 (Xinhua) -- Search and rescue efforts are underway in southern and southeastern Turkiye after three powerful earthquakes struck the country within 10 hours on Monday, killing at least 1,498, injuring 8,533 and damaging 2,834 buildings, according to Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD).

A magnitude-7.7 earthquake struck Turkiye's southern province of Kahramanmaras at 4:17 a.m. local time (0117 GMT). It was followed by a magnitude-6.4 quake a few minutes later in the country's southern province of Gaziantep and a magnitude-7.6 earthquake at 1:24 p.m. local time (1024 GMT) in Kahramanmaras Province.

Rescue teams from the Turkish Red Crescent and AFAD were dispatched to the earthquake zone, while the Turkish forces, search and rescue volunteers, and the rescue teams of several local administrations were also involved in the efforts.

A total of 9,698 search and rescue personnel and 216 vehicles were dispatched to the disaster-stricken regions, AFAD said.

The Turkish military also sent personnel from the provinces of Istanbul, Ankara and Izmir, with 18 aircraft, said a military statement, adding 500 commandos and 600 soldiers were dispatched to Malatya Province, while Gendarmerie General Command sent 200 soldiers to Adana Province.

The Turkish Defense Ministry has set up an air corridor to enable search and rescue teams to reach the quake-affected zone.

The search and rescue efforts are being hampered by a winter blizzard as the temperatures were recorded as minus 10 degrees Celsius in most of the 10 Turkish provinces that were affected by the quakes.

The weather service has forecast rain and sleet across southeastern Turkiye until Thursday.

NTV broadcaster showed rescue efforts in the snowy Kahramanmaras Province, where two children were pulled alive from under huge slabs of concrete debris.

People trying to leave the quake-hit areas, causing traffic jams and hampering emergency efforts, the NTV reported.

Turkiye issued a level-4 alarm after the earthquakes, which includes a call for international aid.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Turkiye received offers for help from some 45 countries in the aftermath of the earthquakes.

Monday's earthquake is believed to be the strongest in Turkiye since the magnitude-7.9 tremor in eastern Erzincan Province that killed 33,000 people in 1939. 
International students in northeast China's Liaoning were invited to experience the charm of Lantern Festival, the final day of the traditional Chinese New Year celebrations.





Produced by Xinhua Global Service




DAMASCUS/BEIRUT, Feb. 6 (Xinhua) -- Syrian Deputy Minister of Health Ahmad Damiriyeh on Monday confirmed 111 deaths and over 500 injuries, due to an earthquake that struck the region, according to the state news agency.

The Syrian Arab News Agency quoted Damiriyeh as saying that general emergency plans have been implemented to provide for the affected areas and that private hospitals have been ordered to receive all injured cases.

The Syrian Ministry of Transport announced earlier the suspension of train traffic on all railways as a precautionary measure, pending inspection of the bridges and tracks of the railway network.

The powerful earthquake was also felt across Lebanon, where people drove their vehicles areas away from buildings, hoping to stay safe from possible subsequent quakes.

People in Tripoli and surrounding areas fired bullets in the air to wake those asleep for fear of further tremors and damage. 
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has expressed condolences to President of Turkiye Recep Tayyip Erdogan over the earthquake.

Dear Mr. President,

My dear brother,

We were very saddened by the news of heavy casualties and destruction as a result of a strong earthquake that hit Kahramanmaras and was felt in many parts of brotherly Turkiye.

I express our readiness to provide all kinds of assistance at this difficult moment, and on the occasion of the tragedy, on my own behalf and on behalf of the people of Azerbaijan, I extend my deep condolences to you, families and loved ones of those who died, and the brotherly people of Turkiye, and wish the injured recovery as well as the elimination of the consequences of the earthquake.

May Allah rest their souls in peace!

Ilham Aliyev

President of the Republic of Azerbaijan

Baku, 6 February 2023
ISTANBUL, Feb. 6 (Xinhua) -- Aid poured out from Turkiye's major cities on Monday after a magnitude 7.4 earthquake struck the country's southern province of Kahramanmaras and left hundreds of people dead and thousands injured.

Some 912 people were killed and over 5,000 others injured after two strong earthquakes jolted southern Turkiye early Monday, said Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

The earthquake occurred at 4.17 a.m. local time (0117 GMT), followed by another magnitude 6.4 quake. Damage was reported in at least 10 provinces in southern and southeastern Turkiye.

Ali Yerlikaya, the governor of Turkiye's largest city Istanbul, said on social media that over 1,000 personnel, including healthcare workers, four search and rescue dogs and 30 tons of aid materials had been dispatched to the region, adding that 19 ambulances also departed from Istanbul.

Some 703 police officers and 376 gendarmes have also been dispatched from Istanbul to participate in search and rescue missions.

Meanwhile, city hall has dispatched its resources. Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu told local media that 311 search-and-rescue personnel, 20 construction vehicles and two trucks that can produce thousands of meals daily are heading to the affected areas.

Imamoglu said that 26 specialized containers to meet the survivors' lavatory needs as well as sleeping bags and blankets were also ready to go. Turkiye's Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency, the department responsible for coordinating disaster relief, has dispatched Istanbul municipality aid to the southern city of Hatay.

Tunc Soyer, mayor of the western city of Izmir, also announced that the municipality's search and rescue teams, comprised of 7 vehicles and 41 personnel, have been dispatched to the southeastern province of Osmaniye.

Many provinces near the disaster area have also sent medical teams and ambulances.

The country's defense ministry has put the Turkish Armed Forces Humanitarian Aid Brigade and transport planes on standby. Defense Minister Hulusi Akar, the chief of general staff and the chief of land forces are all heading to the affected areas.

"We dispatched all our search and rescue teams to earthquake zones. We set the highest alert," Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu told reporters.

Soylu also called out for international assistance. "We've set up a fourth-level alert. This is an alarm that includes international assistance." 
A bustling night fair has been held in Qilou old street in China's Haikou to celebrate the Lantern Festival, which features products from both home and abroad.





Produced by Xinhua Global Service
QUITO, Feb. 5 (Xinhua) -- Ecuador's constitutional referendum and local elections ran smoothly Sunday, said the National Electoral Council (CNE), which is expected to proclaim the results once the counting is concluded.

According to the electoral body, the elections began at 7 a.m. and closed at 5 p.m. local time (2200 GMT), with over 13.4 million eligible voters called on to elect 5,660 local officials, including mayors and municipal councilors, in one of the largest elections ever held in Ecuador.

Voters also needed to elect seven councilors of the Council for Citizen Participation and Social Control -- an entity aims to promote the exercise of rights related to citizen participation -- and to join a constitutional referendum on issues ranging from security to the environment.

CNE President Diana Atamaint said the polling was "taking place with absolute normality," and the results would be officially announced when the last vote has been counted.

It's mandatory for citizens aged 18-65 to cast their eight votes, the most in the country's election history.

The electoral race is marred by violence and insecurity that has led to at least five deaths of candidates, local media reported. 
BEIJING, Feb. 6 (Xinhua) -- China is willing to provide emergency humanitarian assistance in accordance with the needs of earthquake victims in Turkiye and Syria, said Xu Wei, spokesman for the China International Development Cooperation Agency.

China expresses its sympathies and concerns over the casualties and property losses in Turkiye and Syria caused by the earthquake, Xu said. China is in communication with relevant government departments in the two countries. 
JINAN, Feb. 6 (Xinhua) -- In the warm winter sun, colorful koi fish swim freely in their ponds at an industrial park in Sanshilipu Township of Gaotang County, east China's Shandong Province.

"Since one month before the Spring Festival holiday, our cooperative has seen booming sales of koi fish. Average daily sales via livestreaming e-commerce exceed 10,000 yuan (around 1,480 U.S. dollars)," said Feng Yuetong, a Xuma Xincun Village local and a member of the Guangshun koi fish breeding cooperative.

Xuma Xincun was once a village without pillar industries, and residents could only work the soil.

In recent years, the village has taken advantage of the local natural conditions such as dense ponds and abundant water resources, and is now developing a koi fish breeding industry.

The Sanshilipu Township has organized professional teams to provide regular technical guidance for koi fish breeding enterprises and farmers. It is also promoting an ecological koi fish breeding model, and is building a koi fish cultural industry cluster integrating scientific research, seedlings, breeding, sales and tourism.

Xuma Xincun has established the Guangshun koi fish breeding cooperative and introduced e-commerce to help farmers expand their sales market.

Sanshilipu's koi fish industrial park now has a breeding scale of more than 1,000 mu (66.7 hectares), with an annual output value of 300 million yuan, creating jobs for more than 2,000 people.

In Xuma Xincun, the collective income hit 250,000 yuan last year. "The locals' lives are getting better. Now they have moved into modern communities," said Xia Guangshun, the village's Party chief.

Like Xuma Xincun, other villages in Gaotang County are developing koi fish breeding industries.

At present, Gaotang has over 390 koi fish breeding households and 47 breeding enterprises. The county's koi fish breeding area has exceeded 8,000 mu (about 533 hectares) and its annual koi fish fry breeding capacity has hit 300 million, with an output value of 800 million yuan.

There are more than 30 varieties of koi fish in Gaotang. According to variety and appearance, the price of a koi fish ranges from hundreds of yuan to hundreds of thousands of yuan, said Yang Fugui, president of the Gaotang County koi fish association.

Gaotang has been awarded the "China's Koi Fish Capital" title by the China Fisheries Association. In recent years, Gaotang koi fish have not only been sold across China, but also to a number of Southeast Asian countries.

"Koi fish represent good luck and great riches in Chinese culture. The Gaotang koi fish breeding business has brought wealth to locals," Yang said. 
BEIJING, Feb. 6 (Xinhua) -- At the invitation of Chinese Premier Li Keqiang, Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Cambodia Hun Sen will pay an official visit to China from Feb. 9 to 11, Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Mao Ning announced on Monday.

As an old friend and good friend of the Chinese people, Hun Sen will be the first foreign leader China hosts after the Chinese Lunar New Year in 2023, which fully demonstrates the high level of bilateral ties, Mao said in a press briefing.

During the visit, Chinese leaders will meet and hold talks with Hun Sen to exchange in-depth views on bilateral relations as well as regional and international issues of common concern, she added.

Noting China and Cambodia are traditional and friendly neighbors enjoying an iron-clad friendship, Mao said that the relationship forged by the older generations of leaders has grown stronger and the China-Cambodia community with a shared future has yielded fruitful results in recent years, bringing tangible benefits to the two peoples and contributing to peace and prosperity of the region and the world.

This year marks the 65th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties and also the China-Cambodia Friendship Year, which China hopes will help promote the building of a China-Cambodia community with a shared future and carry on their friendship from generation to generation, she said. 
More than 1,180 folk artists from across China gathered in Majie Village in central China's Henan Province to take part in a folk art fair that has a history of over 700 years. Follow German expat Joel Walker to find out what to see at the fair.





Produced by Xinhua Global Service
A customs officer guides a passenger arriving in Shenzhen from Hong Kong at the Lo Wu Control Point in Shenzhen, south China's Guangdong Province, Feb. 6, 2023. (Xinhua/Liang Xu)

SHENZHEN/HONG KONG, Feb. 6 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese mainland fully resumed normal travel with the Hong Kong and Macao special administrative regions (SARs) starting Monday, in what is expected to be a strong boost for the two regions' economic development.

Starting Monday, the Lo Wu Control Point, the Lok Ma Chau/Huanggang Control Point and the Heung Yuen Wai/Liantang Control Point opened up, marking the full resumption of the functioning of all seven boundary control points between Shenzhen and Hong Kong.

Monday's first group of travelers included students, cyclists, and people traveling for business and family reunions.

At the Liantang Control Point, red welcome banners and flower bouquets added to the joyful atmosphere greeting commuters. Around 6:30 a.m., cross-boundary students and their parents, who were about to leave for Hong Kong for the new semester, were already queued up for departure.

Pan Qiaojuan, who lives in Shenzhen's Luohu district, arrived early with her son for the long-awaited trip. "I've been looking forward to this moment. Today, my son will go back to his middle school in Hong Kong and we will also visit his grandparents there. We haven't seen one another for a long time."

Group tours between the mainland and the two SARs also resumed on Monday. 

Passengers depart for Hong Kong at the Lo Wu Control Point in Shenzhen, south China's Guangdong Province, Feb. 6, 2023. (Xinhua/Liang Xu)

A traveller passes the ticket gate at the Heung Yuen Wai/Liantang Control Point at the Hong Kong-Shenzhen boundary in south China, Feb. 6, 2023. (Xinhua/Chen Duo)

A staff member helps a traveller pass the ticket gate at the Heung Yuen Wai/Liantang Control Point at the Hong Kong-Shenzhen boundary in south China, Feb. 6, 2023. (Xinhua/Chen Duo)

Cycling enthusiasts from Hong Kong arrive in Shenzhen, south China's Guangdong Province, Feb. 6, 2023. (Xinhua/Mao Siqian)

Choi Kai Yeung, the first traveller since the operation of the Heung Yuen Wai/Liantang Control Point, passes the ticket gate at the Heung Yuen Wai/Liantang Control Point at the Hong Kong-Shenzhen boundary in south China, Feb. 6, 2023. (Xinhua/Mao Siqian)

Travellers arrive at the departure hall of the Lo Wu Control Point at the Hong Kong-Shenzhen boundary in south China, Feb. 6, 2023. (Xinhua/Lui Siu Wai)

Staff members are on duty at the departure hall of the Heung Yuen Wai/Liantang Control Point at the Hong Kong-Shenzhen boundary in south China, Feb. 6, 2023. (Xinhua/Chen Duo)

Travellers arrive at the departure hall of the Lo Wu Control Point at the Hong Kong-Shenzhen boundary in south China, Feb. 6, 2023. (Xinhua/Lui Siu Wai)

A traveller leaves a note on a billboard after arriving in Shenzhen, south China's Guangdong Province, Feb. 6, 2023. (Xinhua/Liang Xu)

Travellers arrive in Shenzhen, south China's Guangdong Province, Feb. 6, 2023. (Xinhua/Liang Xu)

Travellers go through entry procedures at the Lo Wu Control Point at the Hong Kong-Shenzhen boundary in south China, Feb. 6, 2023. (Xinhua/Liang Xu)

The first batch of travellers from Hong Kong to Shenzhen pass the bridge linking the two cities at the Lo Wu Control Point at the Hong Kong-Shenzhen boundary in south China, Feb. 6, 2023. (Xinhua/Liang Xu)

Vehicles depart for Hong Kong at the Heung Yuen Wai/Liantang Control Point at the Hong Kong-Shenzhen boundary in south China, Feb. 6, 2023. (Xinhua/Mao Siqian)

Members of a tour group from south China's Guangdong Province pose for a photo with the mascot of Macao tourism in south China's Macao, Feb. 6, 2023. The Chinese mainland fully resumed normal travel with the Hong Kong and Macao special administrative regions (SARs) starting Monday, in what is expected to be a strong boost for the two regions' economic development.

On Monday, a total of 135 people from six mainland tour groups arrived in Macao. The Macao Government Tourism Office held welcoming ceremonies at the Hengqin port and Macao International Airport respectively, presenting souvenirs to tour group members. (Xinhua/Cheong Kam Ka)

Members of a tour group from south China's Guangdong Province pose for a group photo at Hengqin port in south China's Macao, Feb. 6, 2023. The Chinese mainland fully resumed normal travel with the Hong Kong and Macao special administrative regions (SARs) starting Monday, in what is expected to be a strong boost for the two regions' economic development.

On Monday, a total of 135 people from six mainland tour groups arrived in Macao. The Macao Government Tourism Office held welcoming ceremonies at the Hengqin port and Macao International Airport respectively, presenting souvenirs to tour group members. (Xinhua/Cheong Kam Ka)

Members of a tour group from south China's Guangdong Province select characteristic food at a shop in south China's Macao, Feb. 6, 2023. The Chinese mainland fully resumed normal travel with the Hong Kong and Macao special administrative regions (SARs) starting Monday, in what is expected to be a strong boost for the two regions' economic development.

On Monday, a total of 135 people from six mainland tour groups arrived in Macao. The Macao Government Tourism Office held welcoming ceremonies at the Hengqin port and Macao International Airport respectively, presenting souvenirs to tour group members. (Xinhua/Cheong Kam Ka)

A member of a tour group from south China's Guangdong Province takes a selfie in south China's Macao, Feb. 6, 2023. The Chinese mainland fully resumed normal travel with the Hong Kong and Macao special administrative regions (SARs) starting Monday, in what is expected to be a strong boost for the two regions' economic development.

On Monday, a total of 135 people from six mainland tour groups arrived in Macao. The Macao Government Tourism Office held welcoming ceremonies at the Hengqin port and Macao International Airport respectively, presenting souvenirs to tour group members. (Xinhua/Cheong Kam Ka)
People check damaged buildings after the earthquakes in Malatya, Turkiye, on Feb. 6, 2023. At least 284 people were killed and 2,323 others injured after two strong earthquakes jolted Turkiye early Monday and damaged more than 1,700 buildings, Turkish Vice President Fuat Oktay said. (Photo by Mustafa Kaya/Xinhua)

ANKARA, Feb. 6 (Xinhua) -- At least 284 people were killed and 2,323 others injured after two strong earthquakes jolted Turkiye early Monday and damaged more than 1,700 buildings, Turkish Vice President Fuat Oktay said.

A magnitude-7.4 quake struck the Pazarcik district of southern Kahramanmaras province at 04:17 (0117 GMT), followed by another magnitude 6.4 quake, which hit southern Gaziantep province at 04:26 (0126 GMT), said the country's Disaster and Emergency Management Authority.

The focus of the quake was located at a depth of 7 km.

At least 78 successive earthquakes were recorded with a maximum magnitude of 6.6, Oktay told reporters.

Damage was reported in at least 10 provinces in southern and southeastern Turkiye.

The NTV broadcaster showed dozens of collapsed buildings in several provinces and people crowding up on the darkened streets with rescue workers carrying out search-and-rescue operations.

"We dispatched all our search and rescue teams to earthquake zones. We set the highest alert," Turkish Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu told reporters.

"We've set up a fourth-level alert. This is an alarm that includes international assistance," Soylu said.

The earthquake came as the region was under a snowstorm expected to continue until Thursday.

An explosion occurred on a gas pipeline in Turkiye's southern province of Hatay. Turkiye's state-owned energy company BOTAS has suspended natural gas flow to southern Gaziantep, Hatay and Kahramanmaras provinces.

Monday's earthquake is believed to be the strongest in Turkiye since the magnitude 7.9 eastern Erzincan province quake of 1939, which killed 33,000 people. 

People check damaged buildings after the earthquakes in Malatya, Turkiye, on Feb. 6, 2023. At least 284 people were killed and 2,323 others injured after two strong earthquakes jolted Turkiye early Monday and damaged more than 1,700 buildings, Turkish Vice President Fuat Oktay said. (Photo by Mustafa Kaya/Xinhua)

People check damaged buildings after the earthquakes in Malatya, Turkiye, on Feb. 6, 2023. At least 284 people were killed and 2,323 others injured after two strong earthquakes jolted Turkiye early Monday and damaged more than 1,700 buildings, Turkish Vice President Fuat Oktay said. (Photo by Mustafa Kaya/Xinhua)

Damaged buildings are pictured after the earthquakes in Malatya, Turkiye, on Feb. 6, 2023. At least 284 people were killed and 2,323 others injured after two strong earthquakes jolted Turkiye early Monday and damaged more than 1,700 buildings, Turkish Vice President Fuat Oktay said. (Photo by Mustafa Kaya/Xinhua)

People check damaged buildings after the earthquakes in Malatya, Turkiye, on Feb. 6, 2023. At least 284 people were killed and 2,323 others injured after two strong earthquakes jolted Turkiye early Monday and damaged more than 1,700 buildings, Turkish Vice President Fuat Oktay said. (Photo by Mustafa Kaya/Xinhua)

People check damaged buildings after the earthquakes in Malatya, Turkiye, on Feb. 6, 2023. At least 284 people were killed and 2,323 others injured after two strong earthquakes jolted Turkiye early Monday and damaged more than 1,700 buildings, Turkish Vice President Fuat Oktay said. (Photo by Mustafa Kaya/Xinhua)

Damaged buildings are pictured after the earthquakes in Malatya, Turkiye, on Feb. 6, 2023. At least 284 people were killed and 2,323 others injured after two strong earthquakes jolted Turkiye early Monday and damaged more than 1,700 buildings, Turkish Vice President Fuat Oktay said. (Photo by Mustafa Kaya/Xinhua)

People stay outside their residence due to the earthquakes felt in Tripoli, Lebanon, on Feb. 6, 2023. At least 284 people were killed and 2,323 others injured after two strong earthquakes jolted Turkiye early Monday and damaged more than 1,700 buildings, Turkish Vice President Fuat Oktay said. These quakes were also felt in neighboring countries including Lebanon and Syria. (Photo by Khaled Habashiti/Xinhua)

People stay outside their residence due to the earthquakes felt in Tripoli, Lebanon, on Feb. 6, 2023. At least 284 people were killed and 2,323 others injured after two strong earthquakes jolted Turkiye early Monday and damaged more than 1,700 buildings, Turkish Vice President Fuat Oktay said. These quakes were also felt in neighboring countries including Lebanon and Syria. (Photo by Khaled Habashiti/Xinhua)

People stay outside their residence due to the earthquakes felt in Tripoli, Lebanon, on Feb. 6, 2023. At least 284 people were killed and 2,323 others injured after two strong earthquakes jolted Turkiye early Monday and damaged more than 1,700 buildings, Turkish Vice President Fuat Oktay said. These quakes were also felt in neighboring countries including Lebanon and Syria. (Photo by Khaled Habashiti/Xinhua)
TIANJIN, Feb. 6 (Xinhua) -- North China's Tianjin Municipality is scheduled to hold the seventh World Intelligence Congress, a major artificial intelligence (AI) event in China, in May, its organizers said on Monday.

The conference will focus on the implementation of a national strategy and promote the industrial layout of Tianjin in 12 key industrial chains, according to the Secretariat of the Organizing Committee of the World Intelligence Congress.

The event will seek to build a global platform for exchange, cooperation, win-win outcomes and sharing in the field of intelligent technology, it said.

Since its inauguration in 2017, the event has offered a platform for scientists, entrepreneurs and economists from home and abroad to discuss the frontier trends of intelligence technology. 
By Azernews

Fatima Hasanova

Azerbaijan has expressed condolences to Turkiye over the devastating earthquake that occurred this morning in the city of Kahramanmaras, Azernews reports.

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev sent a letter of condolence to Turkiye's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan over the numerous casualties and destruction caused by the terrible earthquake.

"We are deeply saddened by the news of numerous casualties and destruction as a result of the strong earthquake that occurred in Kahramanmaras and was felt in many parts of brotherly Turkiye. We are ready to provide all kinds of assistance at this difficult moment," the letter read.

The Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry also expressed condolences to Turkiye in a Twitter post.

"We received the news about the loss of life and destruction as a result of the strong earthquake that occurred in the city of Kahramanmaras, in brotherly Turkiye. We offer our deepest condolences to the families and relatives of the deceased. Azerbaijan is always with Turkiye," the ministry stressed.

Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov held a phone conversation with his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu and conveyed his condolences to the families of those who died as a result of the strong earthquake, as well as to the government and people of Turkiye. The minister wished the injured to recover soon.

He emphasized that Azerbaijan is always with brotherly Turkiye and is ready to provide every assistance in the direction of eliminating the consequences of the earthquake.

For his turn, Mevlut Cavusoglu expressed his gratitude to Azerbaijan for solidarity and support.

As instructed by the Azerbaijani president, the rapid rescue forces, made up of 370 people, left for the fraternal Turkiye to join the search and rescue operations.

Similarly, Azerbaijani Defense Minister Col-Gen Zakir Hasanov sent his condolences to his Turkish counterpart Hulusi Akar.

"I was deeply saddened by the news that people were killed and injured as a result of a strong earthquake in Turkiye. Your pain is our pain. We are always with fraternal Turkiye. I pray for mercy to those who died as a result of this tragedy, share the pain of their loved ones, and offer my deepest condolences to their families. I wish recovery to all the injured. Rest in peace," the letter reads.

The Azerbaijani embassy in Ankara also expressed condolences to Turkiye.

"We express our condolences and wish healing to the injured as a result of the earthquake that occurred in Pazarcik District of Kahramanmarash and was also felt in nearby cities. We are with you, Turkiye!", the message said.

The Organization of Turkic States sent its condolences to Turkiye and stated that it stands with the fraternal nation during this difficult period.

The European-Mediterranean Seismological Center reports that on January 6, a 7.4-magnitude earthquake was felt in central Turkiye. The epicenter of the earthquake was 26 kilometers from Gaziantep, which has a population of about 1.06 million. The earthquake's epicenter was located 7 km below the surface. According to Turkiye's Disaster and Emergency Management Authority, three more earthquakes with magnitudes of 6.4 to 6.6 shook the province of Gaziantep in southeast Turkiye.
NEW YORK, Feb. 5 (Xinhua) -- A whopping lineup of Chinese exhibitors made their presence at the Texworld New York City (NYC), a key business platform to source fabric and materials for fashion.

The three-day event, running from Tuesday through Thursday, witnessed a strong desire for face-to-face communication and closer collaboration between the U.S. and Chinese textile communities.

"Everyone is excited. That's not only us as organizers, but the buyers are super excited to finally have Chinese presence here again," Texworld NYC Show Director Jennifer Bacon told Xinhua during the event.

"It feels like the real show again. The vibe has been very vibrant," she said. Chinese presence "is needed at this community and this platform," given China's crucial role in the global textile supply chain, Bacon added.

More than 300 exhibitors from 24 countries and regions attended the event, and about half of the exhibitors were from China, the organizer said.

"There were visitors coming to us as soon as our booth opened in the morning," Tang Mingxing, sales manager of Jiangsu Soho Technology Trading Co., a Chinese company specializing in manufacturing sleepwear and other apparel, told Xinhua.

Tang said they also reconnected in person with several of the local business partners at the show, their first physical reunion since the onset of the pandemic.

Face-to-face communication and exchanges are vital to establishing business ties and enhancing the relationship, he said.

"Our booth has attracted a lot of visitors and guests. I even don't have time for dinner," said Jiang Nan, general manager of Jiangsu Romrol Group Outdoor Material Co., who has attended the event 11 times.

"By talking to local buyers and textile professionals during the exhibition, we've learned more about the trend in the U.S. market," he said.

Participating in trade shows and events in the United States is extremely important for Chinese companies, which also helps promote mutual understanding, said Jiang.

Face-to-face communication at the exhibition is crucial for consolidating current business relations and exploring new business opportunities, said Lisa Li, a representative of Zhejiang Trimax International Group, an enterprise dedicated to the export of high-end fashion clothing, jewelry and fabrics.

Ezra Jack Cattan, president of Ezrasons Inc., a New York-based apparel and accessories company, told Xinhua that he is "very pleased" to see Chinese exhibitors return.

"I hope ... we could do more cooperation together and we could visit each other more often," he said.

Chinese suppliers are very efficient, honest, and they deliver on time, said Cattan, who has been dealing with China since 1993.

"That's very important in this business climate. I always enjoy doing business with China," he said.

Noting China's textile community plays a key role in the global supply chain in terms of innovation and quality, the business leader said he hopes to continue his good cooperation with Chinese partners.

The collaboration between U.S. and Chinese businesses in the fashion and apparel industry is positive, necessary, and has great potential, said Bacon. 
AMMAN, Feb. 6 (Xinhua) -- Jordanian King Abdullah II on Monday sent messages of condolence to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad respectively after strong earthquakes jolted the two countries.

Expressing his sympathies and wishing the injured a speedy recovery, the Jordanian king said he had issued orders to aid the families impacted by the earthquakes, the Royal Hashemite Court said in a statement.

Also on Monday, Jordan's Lower House issued a statement to express condolences to and showed solidarity with Ankara and Damascus.

Jordan's Foreign Ministry also released a statement offering condolences over the loss of lives in the earthquakes.

More than 1,600 people were killed and thousands injured after strong earthquakes jolted parts of Turkiye and northwest of Syria early Monday. 
BEIJING, Feb. 5 (Xinhua) -- A seminar was held Sunday by the Taiwan Work Office of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, gathering more than 50 businesspeople representatives from Taiwan at the start of the Chinese New Year.

At the event, Song Tao, head of both the Taiwan Work Office of the CPC Central Committee and the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, expressed festival greetings to all the Taiwan businesspeople.

Efforts should be made to thoroughly implement the guiding principles of the 20th CPC National Congress as well as the CPC's overall policy for resolving the Taiwan question in the new era, and uphold the policies of peaceful reunification and "one country, two systems," said Song.

Song pledged further efforts to help Taiwan businesspeople and enterprises integrate into the mainland's new development pattern and participate in high-quality development, to advance exchanges and cooperation in various sectors across the Taiwan Strait, and to facilitate people's cross-Strait travels.

As long as the Taiwan authorities can recognize the 1992 Consensus, which embodies the one-China principle, cross-Strait consultations and negotiations will resume, said Song.

He also called on Taiwan compatriots and businesspeople to actively promote cross-Strait exchanges and cooperation, resolutely oppose separatist activities aimed at "Taiwan independence" and interference by external forces, and promote peaceful development of cross-Strait relations and advance the process of China's peaceful reunification.

Noting the immense development potential and bright prospects on the mainland, Lee Cheng-hung, chairman of the Association of Taiwan Investment Enterprises on the Mainland, said Taiwan businesspeople are full of confidence in their development here.

At the seminar, Taiwan businesspeople based in places such as Guangxi, Sichuan, Zhejiang and Shanghai also expressed their views on promoting the cause of national reunification, chasing dreams on the mainland, contributing to Chinese modernization and deepening cultural and people-to-people exchanges across the Strait. 
More than 76,000 believers and tourists attended the "sunning of the Buddha" ceremony, a grand Tibetan Buddhist event, in NW China's Gansu Province. The centuries-old ceremony is held each year on the 13th day of the first lunar month.





Produced by Xinhua Global Service
MACAO, Feb. 6 (Xinhua) -- Macao's economy is showing a momentum of accelerated recovery with multiple favorable factors emerging after three years of COVID-19 pandemic, Ho Iat Seng, chief executive of the Macao Special Administrative Region (SAR), said Monday.

The number of tourists visiting Macao increased obviously during the Spring Festival holiday from Jan. 21 to 27, injecting vigor into different industries and enhancing public confidence in economic development, Ho said at a meeting on economic development of the Macao SAR.

He said the Macao SAR government will maintain the sound momentum and put in place various plans to promote economic recovery, speed up economic diversification, advance the building of the Guangdong-Macao in-depth cooperation zone in Hengqin, neighboring Zhuhai city, and better integrate into the overall national development.

The government will also adopt a strategy to gradually optimize its industrial structure and increase the weight of major industries of big health, modern finance, high technologies, conventions and exhibitions, as well as culture and sports, Ho added.

He also pledged continuous efforts to participate in the building of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. 
The Melbourne Symphony Orchestra performs during the 10th annual Chinese New Year Concert at the Hamer Hall in Melbourne, Australia on Feb. 4, 2023. (Photo by Tower Liu/Provided by Melbourne Symphony Orchestra)

"I hope that a Western audience will feel Chinese music and Chinese composers really have something significant to say not just about the art form, but also about music, communication, culture, history and people," said the conductor.

MELBOURNE, Australia, Feb. 6 (Xinhua) -- Opened by an epic "Symphonic Overture No.1" and surprising the audience with a "Spring Festival Overture" encore, the Chinese New Year Concert held here presented a two-hour musical conversation between Chinese, Australian and European symphony pieces, bridging together Eastern and Western cultures through musical notes to ring in a harmonious Year of the Rabbit.

The year 2023 also marks the 10th anniversary of the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra (MSO)'s Chinese New Year Concerts. To celebrate this special occasion on the eve of the Chinese Lantern Festival, the Saturday night program involved works from Chinese composers Guan Xia, Ding Shande, Ye Xiaogang and Chinese Australian composer Julian Yu.

Chinese soprano Zhang Meigui (center) performs during the 10th annual Chinese New Year Concert at the Hamer Hall in Melbourne, Australia on Feb. 4, 2023. (Photo by Laura Manariti/Provided by Melbourne Symphony Orchestra)



Meanwhile, the pop-meets-classic "Elevator Music" by Australian composer Graeme Koehen and renowned Western pieces, such as "Regnava nel Silenzio" and "The Sleeping Beauty: Suite," were also performed alongside the oriental melodies.

Under the baton of Chinese-Singaporean conductor Darrell Ang, about 100 MSO musicians and four Melbourne-based Chinese traditional instrument performers shared the center stage of the 2,500-seat Hamer Hall, where the Chinese "mouth organ" Sheng and Xylophone worked in harmony to create a symphonic painting of China's Sichuan province, while Western music techniques added fresh spice to Chinese folk songs.

To many non-Chinese ears, Guan Xia's "Symphonic Overture No.1" may sound far less well-known than the "Jasmine Flower," when they think of a Chinese song. But Ang decided to open the concert with this orchestral piece and it indeed impressed the audience, no matter what their cultural backgrounds.

"I like the first one. It's epic," Emily, one of the audience and an MSO violinist, told Xinhua during the interval. Another spectator Barbara, who attended all 10 editions of the MSO's Chinese New Year Concert, referred to Guan's composition as one of her favorites as well.

"It was just a very enjoyable piece, quite varied in its interpretation. As an opening, it's basically an overture to the other pieces of music. It was really a good piece for the start of the concert," said Babara.

A musician performs a Chinese traditional musical instrument "di" during the 10th annual Chinese New Year Concert at the Hamer Hall in Melbourne, Australia on Feb. 4, 2023. (Photo by Laura Manariti/Provided by Melbourne Symphony Orchestra)



The soundtrack can date back to 2001, when Guan composed for the Chinese TV series "The Years of Burning Passion" and absorbed the prelude of his 1997 national opera "Dawn of Sorrow" as the opening of the TV series. "Symphonic Overture No.1" includes lyrical piano melodies, energetic percussions and solo violin junctures to express heroism and idealism.

"I want to bring something from China that the Chinese who live here in Melbourne know very well and can immediately connect with," Ang told Xinhua. "I want them to sit in the concert hall, listen to this music and immediately think of their motherland and feel that 'I'm back home in China, I want to be there, my heart is there, my memories are there and my love is there.' I want to start the concert with this connection."

That resonation didn't only arise from Chinese communities. "Guan created a wonderful work of music, like the audience said it's epic. For me, there is also a strong feeling and love of home," said Ang.

"So it doesn't matter if you are Chinese, or if you are Australian. You will understand the message. You will feel the message. This composition very successfully conveys this feeling."

The symphony work "Sichuan Image" is performed during the 10th annual Chinese New Year Concert at the Hamer Hall in Melbourne, Australia on Feb. 4, 2023. (Photo by Laura Manariti/Provided by Melbourne Symphony Orchestra)



Speaking of the program that he and MSO Chairman David Li discussed back and forth for almost two months, Ang told Xinhua that they eventually settled on something that is not only Sichuan-focused, not only China-focused, but also something that is world-focused.

"It is very important that this program reflects the relationship or the friendship between China, Australia and the rest of the world," said Ang.

"This special occasion of Chinese New Year is not just very important to me myself, but also very important to many Chinese and Asian people. I hope this occasion has given a very good opportunity for all of us to come together and to experience our friendship and our love for one another through music," the conductor noted.

Having served as the artistic director and chief conductor of China's Sichuan Symphony Orchestra since 2017, Ang finished his MSO debut with "Spring Festival Overture" in the encore.

Following that, more opportunities lie ahead for the Grammy-nominated talent to return to the Hamer Hall, as a multi-year collaboration agreement was reached between the two orchestras, which entails co-commissioning of Chinese and Australian works, sharing of knowledge in administration and operations, promotion of each other in home countries, as well as musicians and chief conductor exchanges.

Bearing Chinese traditions in his blood and commanding an extensive repertoire, the aspiring Ang, who is fluent in six languages, is standing at the crossroad of cultural exchange and remains dedicated to bringing more Chinese music to the global stage.

Chinese Singaporean conductor Darrell Ang (center) thanks the audience during the 10th annual Chinese New Year Concert at the Hamer Hall in Melbourne, Australia on Feb. 4, 2023. (Photo by Laura Manariti/Provided by Melbourne Symphony Orchestra)



"I think the difference with Chinese music, as compared to Western music, is that for Chinese composers, the first thing that they always do is to make sure that their music will always contain elements of their background, their culture and their history," said Ang.

"I hope that a Western audience will feel Chinese music and Chinese composers really have something significant to say not just about the art form, but also about music, communication, culture, history and people," said the conductor.

"It is my responsibility to promote Chinese music, especially those modern and contemporary pieces, to the international audience," he added.
Rescuers work near the rubble of a building destroyed in a powerful earthquake in the city of Jableh, Latakia province, Syria, on Feb. 6, 2023. (Str/Xinhua)

Update on Turkiye's earthquakes:

-- at least 1,762 killed, 12,068 wounded;

-- at least 5,606 buildings destroyed;

-- 6,445 rescued so far from the rubble;

-- rescue mission continues to the night amid cold, rainy weather.

ANKARA, Feb. 6 (Xinhua) -- The death toll is rising after Turkiye's southern provinces were jolted by strong earthquakes on Monday with at least 1,762 people lost their lives, 12,068 others injured, according to Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD).

A total of 5,606 buildings were damaged, and a least 6,445 people were rescued from the wreckages, the agency said, adding that the search for people trapped in toppled buildings continues.

A magnitude-7.7 earthquake struck Turkiye's southern province of Kahramanmaras at 4:17 a.m. local time (0117 GMT). It was followed by a magnitude-6.4 quake a few minutes later in the country's southern province of Gaziantep and a magnitude-7.6 earthquake at 1:24 p.m. local time (1024 GMT) in the Kahramanmaras Province.

Residents ran out of their homes in their pajamas and t-shirts after the ground shook early Monday and have been waiting on the streets covered with ice and snow through the day.

Rescuers work among the rubble of a building destroyed in a powerful earthquake in the city of Jableh, Latakia province, Syria, on Feb. 6, 2023. (Str/Xinhua)

Turkiye's southern province of Hatay bordering Syria suffered the most loss of life in the earthquake with at least 520 casualties. Two hospital buildings in the Hatay province collapsed, Turkish Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said.

Rescue teams from the Turkish Red Crescent and AFAD were dispatched to the earthquake zone, while the Turkish security forces, search and rescue volunteers, and the rescue teams of several local administrations also participated in the efforts.

The Turkish Defense Ministry has set up an air corridor to facilitate search and rescue teams to reach the quake-affected zone.

Defence Minister Hulusi Akar said 3,500 soldiers participate in rescue operations. He noted that 17 aircraft are flying to the region from Istanbul, Izmir, and Ankara, carrying aid supplies.

AFAD President Yunus Sezer said nearly 15,000 rescue personnel and about 5,000 vehicles and construction equipment had been deployed in the region.

People search for survivors among the rubble of a building destroyed in a powerful earthquake in the city of Jableh, Latakia province, Syria, on Feb. 6, 2023. (Str/Xinhua)

The search and rescue efforts are being hampered by a winter blizzard as the temperatures recorded below 10 degrees celsius in most of the affected provinces. The weather service was forecasted rain and sleet across southeastern Turkiye until Thursday.

Turkiye issued a level-4 alarm after the earthquake, which includes a call for international aid. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Ankara received offers for help from some 45 countries in the aftermath of the quake.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said members of the alliance were mobilizing support for Turkiye. More than 20 countries have sent rescue teams and assistance to help rescue efforts of Turkiye.

An explosion occurred on a gas pipeline in Turkiye's southern province of Hatay and natural gas flow to southern Gaziantep, Hatay and Kahramanmaras provinces was suspended as a precaution.

At the port of Iskenderun district in southern Hatay province, a fire broke out following the earthquake and emergency services intervened in the blaze.

Rescue work is in progress after a deadly earthquake in Hama province, central Syria, Feb. 6, 2023. (Str/Xinhua)

In southern Gaziantep, walls and watch towers of an ancient castle, constructed as an observation point by the Hittite Empire, have been leveled, while other parts are largely destroyed by the earthquake.

Turkiye declared national mourning for a week, with the flags to be flown half-mast. The Turkish education ministry has announced that schools across the country will be closed for seven days until Feb. 13.

"Due to the earthquakes that took place in our country on Feb. 6, a national mourning period was declared for seven days," said President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. "Turkish flag will be hoisted at half-mast until sunset on Sunday all around Turkiye, at all foreign representations."

The country has often faced earthquakes due to its location at the crossroads of three different tectonic plates in Anatolia.

Monday's earthquake is believed to be the strongest in Turkiye since the magnitude 7.9 eastern Erzincan province quake of 1939, which killed 33,000 people.

In 1999, a 7.4-magnitude quake hit northwestern Izmit province, around 90 km east of Istanbul, killing at least 17,500 people, including 1,000 living in Istanbul.

The Turkish authorities have introduced tighter building regulations, revised urban planning, and improved key public infrastructure amid a public awareness campaign following the 1999 quake. 
Rescue work is in progress after a deadly earthquake in Aleppo province, northern Syria, Feb. 6, 2023. (Str/Xinhua)

ALEPPO, Syria, Feb. 6 (Xinhua) -- People are still in shock and panic in the northern Aleppo province, one of the worst-affected Syrian areas, after the catastrophic earthquake that jolted parts of Syria and Turkey earlier on Monday.

In the Karm al-Jabal neighborhood in the old quarter of the provincial capital of Aleppo, Muhammad Boushi was walking in shock, not knowing what to do because the whole family of his brother is still stuck under the rubble, with no way to reach them.

Boushi was lucky to have woken up by the tremor and fled his house before his building collapsed in the same neighborhood, but his brother's family did not.

"We felt the earthquake and immediately took to the streets. Everyone left and took shelter on the streets. And we heard that buildings had collapsed so we came to help. The civilians started to help rescue people from under the rubble, whether dead or alive. My 37-year-old brother, his wife, and their three children are still under the rubble. We are trying to contact them via mobile phone. It's ringing but no one is answering," Boushi said.

Rescue work is in progress after a deadly earthquake in Hama province, central Syria, Feb. 6, 2023. (Str/Xinhua)

Mahmoud Muhammad, who lives in the nearby al-Shaar area, which was heavily damaged during Syria's civil war, told Xinhua that after the earthquake, he left his house in a panic, but later joined thousands of others in attempting to rescue the less fortunate.

Braving cold and rainy weather, he and others have been helping the government workers in rescuing their fellow neighbors.

"Around 4:30 in the morning, homes started to shake so we woke up and went down to the streets. We heard a bang and we rushed to see what was going on and tried to help. I hope all those under the rubble stay alive," he told Xinhua.



Rescue work is in progress after a deadly earthquake in Aleppo province, northern Syria, Feb. 6, 2023. (Str/Xinhua)

Mamdouh Barot, who also lives in the al-Shaar area, said he and his family left their apartment when it started to shake. When they got to the street, their building's upper floors collapsed in front of their eyes.

Barot lived on the ground floor so he took the risk to go back to his apartment and grabbed some belongings.

"When I came out, I heard a big noise. So we ran, not daring to look back. When we returned there later, we found the building had totally collapsed," he said.

Powerful earthquakes rocked southern Turkiye and its neighbor Syria early Monday, killing at least 1,651 and injuring 11,119 in Turkiye so far, according to statistics released by Turkiye's Disaster and Emergency Management Authority.

According to the Syrian health ministry and the Britain-based pro-rebel Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a 7.7-magnitude earthquake jolted the northern Syrian provinces of Latakia, Tartous, Hama, Aleppo, and Idlib on Monday, killing at least 870 and injuring 1,326.

Rescue work is in progress after a deadly earthquake in Hama province, central Syria, Feb. 6, 2023. (Str/Xinhua)
ADDIS ABABA, Feb. 6 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) on Monday called for a renewed commitment to end female genital mutilation in Ethiopia.

The UNFPA and UNICEF made the joint call in line with the International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) which is annually commemorated on Feb. 6. This year's event is being commemorated under the theme "Partnering with Men and Boys to Transform Social and Gender Norms to End FGM."

The two UN agencies called for a sustainable partnership and engagement with men and boys of Ethiopia to enforce the actions against FGM and transform the deeply rooted social and gender norm, and allow girls and women to fully realize their rights and potential.

According to figures from the UN, Ethiopia has made remarkable progress in the last decade in the reduction of FGM prevalence among girls and women aged 15-49 from 74 percent in 2005 to 65 percent in 2016. However, Ethiopia is still home to 25 million circumcised women and girls.

"I would like to congratulate the Ethiopian government for the progress made so far and for their commitment to ending FGM," the statement quoted UNICEF Representative in Ethiopia Aboubacar Kampo as saying. "Girls are subjected to FGM without a choice, and it is a clear violation of their protection rights."

"We must collectively redouble our efforts to end this harmful practice including scaling up our engagement with men and boys to change attitudes so that the next generation of girls can live healthier lives," Kampo said.

In Ethiopia, the most common rationale for the practice of FGM on girls and women is meeting societal expectations including traditions, culture, and norms exerting control over women's sexuality, and preserving women's virginity until marriage and family honor.

This reasoning is claims founded on false beliefs and culture and is passed on from one generation to another over time until they are believed to be true, the statement said, adding that partnering and engaging men and boys are critical steps in communicating the facts about FGM and its inherent risks.

According to the two UN agencies, Ethiopia has been making progress in attitude change towards FGM with 86.7 percent of boys and men, and 79.3 percent of girls and women aged 15-49 believing that FGM should not continue as a practice. 
A young girl browses children books at a booth during the Cairo International Book Fair (CIBF) in Cairo, Egypt, on Feb. 5, 2023. Held at Egypt International Exhibition Center in New Cairo, the 54th CIBF kicked off on Jan. 25 and continues till Feb. 6, exhibiting books of at least 1,047 publishing houses from over 50 countries.

The fair, which is organized by the GEBO of the Ministry of Culture, attracted nearly 3 million visitors. (Xinhua/Ahmed Gomaa)

by Mahmoud Fouly

CAIRO, Feb. 5 (Xinhua) -- Decorated with Chinese-style red lanterns, the pavilion of translated Chinese books saw a big turnout of book lovers at the 54th edition of Cairo International Book Fair (CIBF), the largest book fair in the country.

The pavilion of Bayt Al-Hekma Cultural Group, a publishing house mainly devoted to the Arabic translation of Chinese books as well as Chinese language learning books and courses, displayed during the fair about 1,000 book titles in Arabic and English on Chinese culture, history, literature, economy, and among many others.

Visitors of different ages frequented the pavilion of Chinese books. Some parents picked children's books for their kids and some teens and young people were attracted to books on Chinese culture, history and development.

Abdel-Rahman Ibrahim, an 18-year-old high school student, was taking a tour of the pavilion to pick a book on Chinese history.

"China has overcome a lot of problems throughout its history while the Chinese wisdom is shown in their literature, thoughts and philosophy," the Egyptian student told Xinhua.

The fair also saw many Chinese-learning Egyptian students coming for relevant books, dictionaries and lexicons to help improve their linguistic skills.

"I greatly admired the Chinese culture and people. So, I want to learn more about China, an ancient civilization with a unique language, history, literature and culture," Noura Gamal, a junior student of Chinese at Ain Shams University in Cairo, told Xinhua.

Meanwhile, a Chinese novel translated into Arabic by Egyptian translator Radwa Imbabi won the best-translated children's book at the fair.

Ahmed al-Saeed, CEO of the group, said that China's tremendous development is one of the reasons for the growing popularity of Chinese books.

"We cover everything related to China for Arab readers. We provide printed, audio and electronic books on the most well-known Arab platforms, and they achieve great success. We have moved from the stage of promotion to that of popularity," said the head of Bayt Al-Hekma.

Mohamed El-Fiqi, head of the General Egyptian Book Organization (GEBO)'s central department for marketing, told Xinhua that "the Chinese pavilion participates in the fair with many rich book titles that increase every year in a very successful effort to bring the cultures of Egypt and China closer."

Held at Egypt International Exhibition Center in New Cairo, the 54th CIBF kicked off on Jan. 25 and continues till Feb. 6, exhibiting books of at least 1,047 publishing houses from over 50 countries.

The fair, which is organized by the GEBO of the Ministry of Culture, attracted nearly 3 million visitors. 

A man holds books bought at the Cairo International Book Fair (CIBF) in Cairo, Egypt, on Feb. 5, 2023. Held at Egypt International Exhibition Center in New Cairo, the 54th CIBF kicked off on Jan. 25 and continues till Feb. 6, exhibiting books of at least 1,047 publishing houses from over 50 countries.

The fair, which is organized by the GEBO of the Ministry of Culture, attracted nearly 3 million visitors. (Xinhua/Ahmed Gomaa)

People visit the Cairo International Book Fair (CIBF) in Cairo, Egypt, on Feb. 5, 2023. Held at Egypt International Exhibition Center in New Cairo, the 54th CIBF kicked off on Jan. 25 and continues till Feb. 6, exhibiting books of at least 1,047 publishing houses from over 50 countries.

The fair, which is organized by the GEBO of the Ministry of Culture, attracted nearly 3 million visitors. (Xinhua/Ahmed Gomaa)

People visit the Cairo International Book Fair (CIBF) in Cairo, Egypt, on Feb. 5, 2023. Held at Egypt International Exhibition Center in New Cairo, the 54th CIBF kicked off on Jan. 25 and continues till Feb. 6, exhibiting books of at least 1,047 publishing houses from over 50 countries.

The fair, which is organized by the GEBO of the Ministry of Culture, attracted nearly 3 million visitors. (Xinhua/Ahmed Gomaa)
By Azernews

Sabina Mammadli

Azerbaijani Parliamentary Human Rights Committee included preparations of a bill on Great Return to the liberated territories in its work plan for 2023, Azernews reports.

On November 16, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev endorsed the "I State Program on the Great Return to Azerbaijan's Liberated Territories".

Under the state program, Azerbaijan has identified a number of grandiose goals as it envisages the resettlement of 34,500 families to the liberated territories by 2026. The relocation of families to houses to be built in stages is planned to be carried out in accordance with the scheduled restoration work.

Under the state program, the National Agency for Mine Clearance of Azerbaijani Territories is to clear 280,000 hectares of de-occupied territories from mines by 2026.

The agency will carry out this task jointly with the Interior, Defense, and Emergencies Ministries.

At the same time, 215,000 hectares of territories should be cleared of mines in 2022-2025.

Following the Action Plan, construction activities are to be carried out, irrigation water will be provided for ??12,100 hectares of area in Gubadli and Zangilan Districts based on the design documentation for the Zabuxcay reservoir and the major pipelines extending from it.

Azerbaijan plans to build the gas distribution network in liberated Aghdam, Fuzuli, Shusha, Khojavand, Zangilan, Kalbajar, Lachin, Gubadli, Jabrayil, Tartar and Khojaly districts from 2022 through 2026 following the Action Plan.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi speaks at the inauguration ceremony of the India Energy Week 2023 at Bengaluru, the capital city of Karnataka state, India, Feb. 6, 2023. The India Energy Week 2023 kickstarted Monday with the aim to showcase the country's rising prowess as an energy transition powerhouse. (Str/Xinhua)

NEW DELHI, Feb. 6 (Xinhua) -- Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday urged global investors to explore investment opportunities in the country's energy sector, said a statement issued by the Prime Minister's Office.

Modi made the call while inaugurating the India Energy Week 2023 at Bengaluru, the capital city of Karnataka state.

Underlining the major role of the energy sector in setting the direction of the future of the 21st-century world, Modi said India was one of the strongest voices in the world for energy transition and for developing new resources of energy.

"Unprecedented possibilities are emerging in India that is moving with a resolution of a developed India," Modi said.

The prime minister said that India's energy demands will be highest in the present decade which presents an opportunity for the investors and stakeholders of the energy sector.

Modi said India was working on mission mode to increase the consumption of natural gas in the energy mix from 6 percent to 15 percent by 2030 where all the needed infrastructure will be provided by "One Nation One Grid."

The Indian Prime Minister said the gas pipeline network has increased to 22,000 km from 14,000 in 2014 and pointed out that the network will expand to 35,000 km in the next four to five years.

Highlighting India's emphasis on domestic exploration and production (EP), Modi said the sector has shown interest in the areas hitherto considered inaccessible.

"We have reduced the no-go areas. Due to this, one million square kilometre area has been freed from the restrictions of no-go. I would urge all the investors to make use of these opportunities, and increase your presence in the exploration of fossil fuels," he said.

The India Energy Week 2023 kickstarted Monday with the aim to showcase the country's rising prowess as an energy transition powerhouse.

According to officials, the event will bring together leaders from the traditional and non-traditional energy industry, governments, and academia to discuss the challenges and opportunities that a responsible energy transition presents.

It will see the presence of more than 30 ministers from across the world. Over 30,000 delegates, 1,000 exhibitors and 500 speakers will gather to discuss the challenges and opportunities of India's energy future. 

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi (C) is presented a jacket, which is made from recycled polyethylene terephthalate bottles, at the inauguration ceremony of the India Energy Week 2023 at Bengaluru, the capital city of Karnataka state, India, Feb. 6, 2023. The India Energy Week 2023 kickstarted Monday with the aim to showcase the country's rising prowess as an energy transition powerhouse. (Str/Xinhua)
DHAKA, Feb. 5 (Xinhua) -- Bangladesh's Buddhist community celebrated Maghi Purnima on Sunday.

This festival is commemorated on the night of the full moon in the month of Magh, the 10th month in the Bengali calendar during winter season, through remembering Gautama Buddha and the announcement of his impending death.

As one of the biggest religious festivals of the Buddhist community, the festival's daylong celebration started with the lighting of lamps and hoisting of national and religious flags atop the monasteries and other religious organizations.

The community also arranged other celebration programs including blood donation, "sangadana" (presentation to the monks), discussions and "panchashila" (prayers).

Special prayers were offered at all monasteries across the country, seeking peace, progress and prosperity of the nation.

Since Sunday morning, hundreds of Buddhists were seen to throng monasteries in Dhaka. They also took part in various rituals and offered fruits, flowers and candles to statues of Lord Buddha who was born on a full moon day in 563 BC.

There are many enjoyable activities that happen during the special occasion such as releasing sky lanterns into the clear moonlit night and followers of the Bahu Chakra (a unique arrangement to prayer).

Traditional fairs were also organized at Bangladesh's Buddhist populated regions.

The day is a public holiday in Bangladesh.

On the occasion, Bangladesh newspapers publish different articles while state-run and private TV channels air special programs highlighting the significance of the day. 
QALAT, Afghanistan, Feb. 6 (Xinhua) -- At least two commuters were killed and 11 others were injured as a car collided with a vehicle in Afghanistan's southern Zabul province on Sunday, provincial director for public health Abdul Hakim said on Monday.

"Two dead bodies and eleven injured persons, all the victims of road accident have been taken to hospital in the provincial capital Qalat city," Hakim told reporters but didn't give more details.

In the meantime, Zabul's provincial government spokesman Matihullah Qanet told Xinhua that two road crashes killed two and injured 11 others outside Qalat on Sunday evening.

Congested roads, old vehicles and reckless driving are blamed for road accidents in Afghanistan. 
VIENTIANE, Feb. 6 (Xinhua) -- The Lao government and private sectors are actively preparing for the arrival of Chinese tour groups.

"We are working in partnership with travel agencies, hotels and other tourism-related businesses to improve facilities and services in readiness for the return of Chinese tour groups," local Lao daily Vientiane Times quoted Darany Phommavongsa, director general of the Tourism Management Department of the Lao Ministry of Information, Culture and Tourism, as saying.

"We held a meeting with private companies to discuss ways to improve facilities and design activities to entice more Chinese visitors to Laos. Those activities will soon be finalized," the official told the daily on Friday.

Tourism experts predict that millions of Chinese tourists will visit ASEAN countries and many of them will travel on the China-Laos Railway, which runs from Kunming, capital of southwest China's Yunnan province, to Vientiane.

During the Visit Laos-China Year in 2019, more than a million Chinese nationals visited Laos, Darany noted, adding that "our ministry is in the process of reviewing and re-certifying hotels in Vientiane, awarding them different stars."

"This regrading of hotels is part of the government's efforts to improve the standard of hotel services in Laos. We are also working with the private sector to improve tourist attractions and services delivered by the hospitality sector."

Laos has been ranked by international media organizations including CNN, National Geographic and the Telegraph as one of the world's top travel destinations for 2023. 
COLOMBO, Feb. 6 (Xinhua) -- South Korea has increased Sri Lanka's annual job quota to 6,500 in 2023, a Sri Lankan minister said Monday.

Minister of Labor and Foreign Employment Manusha Nanayakkara said this is the highest quota Sri Lanka has received since the job program with South Korea started.

The minister said that over 300,000 Sri Lankans left for foreign jobs in 2022 and Sri Lankans need more foreign job opportunities.

Workers' remittance is one of the main sources of foreign revenues for Sri Lanka.

Sri Lankan workers remitted around 3.8 billion U.S. dollars in 2022, official data revealed. 
A woman votes at a polling station in Nicosia, Cyprus, Feb. 5, 2023.

Voters in Cyprus went to the polls on Sunday to elect a new president to succeed outgoing President Nicos Anastasiades. (Photo by George Christophorou/Xinhua)

NICOSIA, Feb. 5 (Xinhua) -- Former Cypriot foreign minister Nicos Christodoulides took the lead in Cyprus' presidential election on Sunday, and will face off with Andreas Mavroyiannis, who came second, in a runoff on Feb. 12.

Christodoulides, who ran as an independent, garnered 32.04 percent of the vote, and Mavroyiannis, who also ran as an independent and supported by the left wing AKEL party, garnered 29.61 percent of the vote, Chief Returning Officer Costas Constantinou announced after the counting of all votes on Sunday.

Fourteen candidates participated in the election, but none of them won an absolute majority.

Averof Neophytou, leader of the ruling DISY party, ended third with 26.11 percent of the vote and was thus left out of the presidential race, ending the party's ten-year-long hold on power in the eastern Mediterranean island.

Neophytou's performance in the election was considered by political analysts as a blow not only to himself but also to his right-wing party.

Both Christodoulides and Mavroyiannis had been close associates of the outgoing president Nicos Anastasiades who will step down at the end of February.

Christodoulides served for four years as spokesman for Anastasiades and then as his foreign minister for another four years.

Mavroyiannis, a diplomat at the foreign ministry, had been Anastasiades' negotiator in peace talks with Turkish Cypriots for a settlement to the Cyprus problem.

Political analysts said that the two presidential hopefuls would start wooing DISY voters for their support ahead of the runoff vote.

A DISY official said the party would meet on Monday to decide its official stance in relation to the runoff.

The Chief Returning Officer said that out of 561,273 registered voters 404,403 people, or 72.05 percent, cast ballot papers. 

People vote during the presidential election at a polling station in Nicosia, Cyprus, Feb. 5, 2023. Former Cypriot Foreign Minister Nicos Christodoulides took the lead in Cyprus' presidential election on Sunday, and will face off with Andreas Mavroyiannis, who came second, in a runoff on Feb. 12. (Photo by George Christophorou/Xinhua)

Cyprus' outgoing President Nicos Anastasiades (C) votes at a polling station in Limassol, Cyprus, Feb. 5, 2023. Former Cypriot Foreign Minister Nicos Christodoulides took the lead in Cyprus' presidential election on Sunday, and will face off with Andreas Mavroyiannis, who came second, in a runoff on Feb. 12. (PIO/Handout via Xinhua)

Andreas Mavroyiannis, who runs as an independent and is supported by the left wing AKEL party, votes at a polling station in Nicosia, Cyprus, Feb. 5, 2023. Former Cypriot Foreign Minister Nicos Christodoulides took the lead in Cyprus' presidential election on Sunday, and will face off with Andreas Mavroyiannis, who came second, in a runoff on Feb. 12. (Photo by George Christophorou/Xinhua)

Averof Neophytou, leader of the ruling DISY party, votes at a polling station in Nicosia, Cyprus, Feb. 5, 2023. Former Cypriot Foreign Minister Nicos Christodoulides took the lead in Cyprus' presidential election on Sunday, and will face off with Andreas Mavroyiannis, who came second, in a runoff on Feb. 12. (Photo by George Christophorou/Xinhua)

Former Cypriot Foreign Minister Nicos Christodoulides (L) , who runs as an independent, votes at a polling station in Pafos, Cyprus, Feb. 5, 2023. Former Cypriot Foreign Minister Nicos Christodoulides took the lead in Cyprus' presidential election on Sunday, and will face off with Andreas Mavroyiannis, who came second, in a runoff on Feb. 12. (PIO/Handout via Xinhua)
Rescue work is in progress after a deadly earthquake in Aleppo province, northern Syria, Feb. 6, 2023. A major earthquake of magnitude 7.7 knocked down multiple buildings in southern Turkiye and northern Syria on Monday. (Str/Xinhua)

ANKARA/DAMASCUS, Feb. 6 (Xinhua) -- More than 1,600 people were killed and thousands of others injured after strong earthquakes jolted parts of Turkiye and northwest of Syria early Monday, as local rescuers are battling harsh winter conditions to search for survivors under rubble.

A magnitude-7.7 earthquake struck Turkiye's southern province of Kahramanmaras at 4:17 a.m. local time (0117 GMT). It was followed by a magnitude-6.4 quake a few minutes later in the country's southern province of Gaziantep and a magnitude-7.6 earthquake at 1:24 p.m. local time (1024 GMT) in the Kahramanmaras Province.

At least 78 aftershocks were recorded, Turkish Vice President Fuat Oktay has said. The quakes were also felt in Lebanon, Israel and Cyprus.

In Turkiye, 1,121 people were killed, 7,634 injured and 2,824 buildings damaged, the country's Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD) said.

The most serious property damage and loss of lives occurred in the Pazarcik, Elbistan and Turkoglu districts of Kahramanmaras Province, Turkiye's NTV reported.

In war-torn Syria, the health ministry said at least 371 people were killed and 1,089 others injured in the country, excluding the casualties in the rebel-held areas in Idlib Province. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a pro-rebel Britain-based watchdog, said 150 people were killed by the earthquake in the provinces of Idlib and Aleppo.

Soon after the tremors, Turkiye's state-owned energy company BOTAS suspended natural gas flow to the southern provinces of Gaziantep, Hatay and Kahramanmaras. The airport in Hatay was damaged and flights were halted.

Turkish Energy Minister Fatih Donmez said there were power outages in the provinces of Antep, Hatay and Kilis, according to Turkish media reports.

People trying to leave the quake-hit areas, causing traffic jams and hampering emergency efforts, the NTV reported.

The temperatures were recorded as minus 10 degrees Celsius in most of the 10 Turkish provinces that were affected by the quakes, which came with rains and snowfall, according to Turkiye's meteorology agency.

RELIEF OPERATIONS UNDERWAY

Turkiye's Defense Ministry has put the Turkish Armed Forces Humanitarian Aid Brigade and transport planes on standby. Defense Minister Hulusi Akar, the chief of general staff and the chief of land forces were all heading to the affected areas.

"We dispatched all our search and rescue teams to earthquake zones. We set the highest alert," Turkish Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu told reporters.

Ali Yerlikaya, the governor of Turkiye's largest city Istanbul, said on social media that over 1,000 people, including healthcare workers, four search and rescue dogs, and 30 tonnes of aid materials had been dispatched to the quake-hit region.

Tunc Soyer, mayor of the city of Izmir on Turkiye's western coast, announced that the municipality's search and rescue teams, comprised of seven vehicles and 41 people, had been sent to the southeastern province of Osmaniye.

Many Turkish provinces near the quake-hit areas have also sent medical teams and ambulances, according to local media reports.

In Syria, soon after the earthquake, the government set up a 24-hour central operation center led by Prime Minister Hussein Arnous to coordinate earthquake relief operations. All relevant ministries, institutions and authorities were on alert, state news agency SANA reported.

Relief operations were already underway in the central Syrian city of Hama, according to Syrian Interior Minister Muhammad Khaled Rahmoun.

"Rescuers have started to save people from under the rubble, hospitalize the wounded, provide medical help to the wounded, and secure shelters for people whose buildings were damaged," he said.

Historic sites in Syria were affected. Parts of the Ottoman mill in the Citadel of Aleppo fell and the defensive walls have cracks, said the antiquities and museums directorate.

OTHER COUNTRIES SEND CONDOLENCES, OFFER TO HELP

Soon after the earthquakes, Chinese President Xi Jinping sent messages of condolence to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad respectively.

In two separate messages to his Turkish and Syrian counterparts, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi on Monday expressed Iran's readiness to provide Turkiye and Syria with immediate rescue and relief aid, according to the website of the Iranian president's office.

Lebanon's caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati on Monday ordered relevant Lebanese ministries to support Turkiye and Syria after the powerful earthquakes hit the two countries.

While condoling the loss of lives in the massive earthquakes, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Monday that India is ready to extend assistance to Turkiye.

In a statement, the Pakistani Foreign Ministry voiced its solidarity with Turkiye in dealing with the quakes' aftermath.

TURKIYE's PRONENESS TO EARTHQUAKES

Monday's earthquake is believed to be the strongest in Turkiye since the magnitude-7.9 tremor in eastern Erzincan Province that killed 33,000 people in 1939.

Turkiye is frequently shaken by earthquakes due to its tectonic location.

In 2020, the country recorded almost 33,000 earthquakes in the region, according to the AFAD. Out of these, 332 earthquakes were of magnitudes 4.0 and higher.

"Turkiye is located on active fault lines and such an earthquake was expected. We as humans have to be prepared for such a scenario," Turkish seismology expert Ovgun Ahmet Ercan told the private broadcaster Fox TV.

He said a massive plan of public works, which is based on scientific planning, is necessary to reconstruct cities threatened by natural disasters.

"Much has been done by the state and the civil society in Turkiye with regard to earthquake preparations, but still this is not enough, much more is needed," Sukru Ersoy, a professor of geology from Istanbul's Yildiz Technical University, told NTV.

Naci Gorur, a prominent Turkish seismologist, asked the Turkish authorities to take urgent measures as soon as possible to build earthquake-resistant structures, as he believed that previous major quakes have built pressure on the fault line and have slowly crept toward major cities throughout the years. 

Rescue work is in progress after a deadly earthquake in Aleppo province, northern Syria, Feb. 6, 2023. A major earthquake of magnitude 7.7 knocked down multiple buildings in southern Turkiye and northern Syria on Monday. (Str/Xinhua)

Rescue work is in progress after a deadly earthquake in Aleppo province, northern Syria, Feb. 6, 2023. A major earthquake of magnitude 7.7 knocked down multiple buildings in southern Turkiye and northern Syria on Monday. (Str/Xinhua)

Rescue work is in progress after a deadly earthquake in Aleppo province, northern Syria, Feb. 6, 2023. A major earthquake of magnitude 7.7 knocked down multiple buildings in southern Turkiye and northern Syria on Monday. (Str/Xinhua)

Rescue work is in progress after a deadly earthquake in Aleppo province, northern Syria, Feb. 6, 2023. A major earthquake of magnitude 7.7 knocked down multiple buildings in southern Turkiye and northern Syria on Monday. (Str/Xinhua)

Rescue work is in progress after a deadly earthquake in Aleppo province, northern Syria, Feb. 6, 2023. A major earthquake of magnitude 7.7 knocked down multiple buildings in southern Turkiye and northern Syria on Monday. (Str/Xinhua)

Rescue work is in progress after a deadly earthquake in Aleppo province, northern Syria, Feb. 6, 2023. A major earthquake of magnitude 7.7 knocked down multiple buildings in southern Turkiye and northern Syria on Monday. (Str/Xinhua)

People check damaged buildings after the earthquakes in Malatya, Turkiye, on Feb. 6, 2023. At least 284 people were killed and 2,323 others injured after two strong earthquakes jolted Turkiye early Monday and damaged more than 1,700 buildings, Turkish Vice President Fuat Oktay said. (Photo by Mustafa Kaya/Xinhua)

People check damaged buildings after the earthquakes in Malatya, Turkiye, on Feb. 6, 2023. At least 284 people were killed and 2,323 others injured after two strong earthquakes jolted Turkiye early Monday and damaged more than 1,700 buildings, Turkish Vice President Fuat Oktay said. (Photo by Mustafa Kaya/Xinhua)

Damaged buildings are pictured after the earthquakes in Malatya, Turkiye, on Feb. 6, 2023. At least 284 people were killed and 2,323 others injured after two strong earthquakes jolted Turkiye early Monday and damaged more than 1,700 buildings, Turkish Vice President Fuat Oktay said. (Photo by Mustafa Kaya/Xinhua)

People check damaged buildings after the earthquakes in Malatya, Turkiye, on Feb. 6, 2023. At least 284 people were killed and 2,323 others injured after two strong earthquakes jolted Turkiye early Monday and damaged more than 1,700 buildings, Turkish Vice President Fuat Oktay said. (Photo by Mustafa Kaya/Xinhua)

People check damaged buildings after the earthquakes in Malatya, Turkiye, on Feb. 6, 2023. At least 284 people were killed and 2,323 others injured after two strong earthquakes jolted Turkiye early Monday and damaged more than 1,700 buildings, Turkish Vice President Fuat Oktay said. (Photo by Mustafa Kaya/Xinhua)

Damaged buildings are pictured after the earthquakes in Malatya, Turkiye, on Feb. 6, 2023. At least 284 people were killed and 2,323 others injured after two strong earthquakes jolted Turkiye early Monday and damaged more than 1,700 buildings, Turkish Vice President Fuat Oktay said. (Photo by Mustafa Kaya/Xinhua)

People stay outside their residence due to the earthquakes felt in Tripoli, Lebanon, on Feb. 6, 2023. At least 284 people were killed and 2,323 others injured after two strong earthquakes jolted Turkiye early Monday and damaged more than 1,700 buildings, Turkish Vice President Fuat Oktay said. These quakes were also felt in neighboring countries including Lebanon and Syria. (Photo by Khaled Habashiti/Xinhua)

People stay outside their residence due to the earthquakes felt in Tripoli, Lebanon, on Feb. 6, 2023. At least 284 people were killed and 2,323 others injured after two strong earthquakes jolted Turkiye early Monday and damaged more than 1,700 buildings, Turkish Vice President Fuat Oktay said. These quakes were also felt in neighboring countries including Lebanon and Syria. (Photo by Khaled Habashiti/Xinhua)

People stay outside their residence due to the earthquakes felt in Tripoli, Lebanon, on Feb. 6, 2023. At least 284 people were killed and 2,323 others injured after two strong earthquakes jolted Turkiye early Monday and damaged more than 1,700 buildings, Turkish Vice President Fuat Oktay said. These quakes were also felt in neighboring countries including Lebanon and Syria. (Photo by Khaled Habashiti/Xinhua)
by Maria Spiliopoulou

ATHENS, Feb. 6 (Xinhua) -- Devastated twice in a decade (in 2012 and 2021) by wildfires, part of the Sounion National Park, 9 kilometers north of the ancient Temple of Poseidon that overlooks the Aegean Sea and about 40 kilometers south of Athens, could no longer regenerate naturally on its own.

The environmental organization WWF Greece (the Greek chapter of the World Wildlife Fund), in collaboration with the Greek government and support of private sponsors, has launched a pilot program that aims to restore part of the national park and show the way for the future of reforestation in Greece, their representatives told Xinhua recently.

In November and December 2022, approximately 15,000 tiny trees and bushes were planted in a 200,000-square-meter area next to the village of Agios Konstantinos near the national park. The 2021 wildfire has left behind only ashes and a few burnt tree trunks.

The area was part of the 125,000 hectares of forest and arable land, which were destroyed by multiple wildfires in 2021, according to the Greek government. The summer of 2021 witnessed the worst wildfire-linked catastrophe in the country since the 2007 wildfires that scorched 270,000 hectares.

Meteorologists and other experts connected the 2021 disaster to the worst heatwave the country experienced in three decades due to climate change. As climate change had intensified in recent years, the frequency and intensity of wildfires had also increased, WWF Greece said.

Under the pilot project, in late 2022, some 300 trained WWF volunteers helped to plant pines, oaks and 12 other categories of plants that were carefully selected based on scientific studies.

Pines and oaks had existed in the area prior to many wildfires in the past century, while other plants were chosen for their resilience to fires and climate change, said Nicos Georgiadis, forest management officer at WWF Greece.

"This restoration has clearly taken into account the climate crisis and all the parameters it brings. One of the main goals is to create a resilient forest, adapted to the climate crisis," Georgiadis explained.

Scientists participating in the program were experimenting with various methods of planting and preserving the trees to improve the sustainability of the regenerated park and the area's rich biodiversity, he said. Within the next two-three years, they would have a clear understanding of the success of the project.

"We are optimistic it will bring some new standards to how plantings and restoration of forest ecosystems should be done," Georgiadis said, noting that several failures of artificial reforestation operations so far were attributed by experts to mistakes in planting and maintenance, as well as to the initial selection of plants.

Sounion's pilot project also aims to protect, highlight and restore archaeological findings revealed during the marking stage. Archaeologists have been working next to scientists and WWF Greece representatives to identify areas of interest and antiquities.

Maria Stathi, an archaeologist of the Ephorate of Antiquities of East Attica, told Xinhua that the Lavreotiki area, where the national park is located, was known as a significant ancient mining district, and to date archaeologists had unearthed remains of ore cleansing workshops, cemeteries and residences.

"We had very good cooperation (in the project). Areas were excluded from the reforestation due to the archaeological findings," she said. 
WASHINGTON, Feb. 6 (Xinhua) -- Multiple deaths were reported in several fatal shootings across the United States over the weekend, revealing again the insurmountable problem of gun violence in the country.

A 19-year-old woman was killed and four others injured in a shooting at a concert in Newport, Arkansas on Saturday night, local media reported, citing police sources.

One of the wounded was taken to hospital for further treatment and two people have been arrested, with more arrests expected, said the report, adding that an investigation is underway.

Another 41-year-old victim was lethally shot while sitting in his vehicle in the Lawndale neighborhood of Chicago Saturday morning, local police said.

The man, who succumbed to his injuries after he was sent to a local hospital, was attacked by a gunman in a silver sedan who fled the scene on Lexington Street, according to the police.

Another shooting took place at the DeSoto County Fair in a rural part of Florida on Saturday, killing a teenage boy, local authorities said.

The shooting was identified as an isolated incident and the police have failed to catch the gunman by midday Sunday, they added.

The murderous weekend again raised the escalating issue of gun violence in the United States to public concern, sparking an outcry for stricter gun controls.

The United States has reported over 3,500 deaths from gun violence since the start of this year with more than 50 mass shootings recorded, according to Gun Violence Archive, a website that tracks gun violence in the country.

"We have the highest rates of gun deaths in the world. We have more guns than people ... We have more than one gun for every man, woman and child in America. That is insanity," Paul Cole Padilla, an educational administrator, told Xinhua.

"The trend (of gun violence) is going to get worse," said Stephen Ndegwa, a lecturer on international relations at the Nairobi-based United States International University-Africa.

The expert warned that 2023 could be "the worst year" of gun violence in the history of the United States if the trend continues.

Cihat Yayci, a retired Turkish admiral, said the high rate of individual armament ownership, resulting from the powerful gun lobbies in the United States, is one of the main reasons for the increasing shootings in the country.

Both Republicans and Democrats are funded by gun rights advocacy groups, which have been conducting intense propaganda among ordinary people, said Yayci.

Late last month, U.S. President Joe Biden released a statement, calling for tightened restrictions on gun purchase.

According to Biden, a federal Assault Weapons Ban and legislation were reintroduced to raise the minimum purchase age for assault weapons to 21 after the mass shootings.

"I once again urge both chambers of Congress to act quickly and deliver this Assault Weapons Ban to my desk, and take action to keep American communities, schools, workplaces, and homes safe," he noted. 
New Delhi:

Days after BJPs Pragya Singh Thakur faced embarrassing mid-air drama on a commercial flight, the Bhopal lawmaker once again found herself in a sticky situation outside a prominent university in her constituency. In an incident that took place on December 25, the BJP MP was greeted with terrorist slogan when she was meeting two students of Makhanlal Chaturvedi National University of Journalism and Communication in Bhopal. Right outside the university gates, she was surrounded by students, many of them belonging to NSUI. They didnt let the MP to enter the university. They raised aatankwadi wapas jayo" and "Pragya Thakur go back" slogans. She retreated and left the place. However, afterwards, she said that she will consult legal experts and subsequently take legal action against all those involved.

#VIDEO | BJP MP Pragya Thakur greeted with 'aatankwadi wapas jao' slogans outside Bhopal university (25.12.2019). Watch video



Y: ANI



READ full story: https://t.co/wAjGpjOtg2 pic.twitter.com/bBRmgVpytd  News Nation (@NewsNationTV) December 26, 2019

On December 23, Thakur was embroiled in a tiff with a co-passenger on a commercial flight. In the viral video of the mid-air drama, Thakur was heard telling angry co-passengers that she is willing to relinquish her seat so long as the issue is clarified through documentary proof.

"I said this at the beginning -- show me your rulebook. If I don't feel comfortable, I will go," she says, adding that she had agreed to go economy even though "she has the right to a first class seat". "You should have the moral compass to own up if other people are being inconvenienced because of you. Despite being a (political) leader, you are holding 50 people at ransom," the man is heard telling the Bhopal MP. Pragya Thakur and other man also argued over the language used. Pragya Thakur also filed a complaint with Bhopal Airport Director alleging that she was not allotted the seat that she had booked in a SpiceJet flight and the conduct of the airline crew was not right with her.

During her campaigning days, the Malegaon blast accused had said that former Anti-Terrorist Squad chief Hemant Karkare died in the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks as she had cursed him for treating her very badly while she was in custody in the 2008 Malegaon blast case. Hemant Karkare falsely implicated me. He died of his karma. I told him, he will be destroyed. I told him his entire dynasty will be erased. Maine kaha tera (Karkare) sarvanash hoga, she had said. Pragya had also stirred some controversy during her oath-taking ceremony in the Lok Sabha.

The Malegaon blast accused took oath in Sanskrit and ended it with 'Bharat Mata Ki Jai' slogan. Later, BJP members continued to raise 'Bharat Mata Ki Jai' slogans, teasing the Opposition. They started raising slogan after oath taking by every BJP member. Pragya Thakur defeated Congress stalwart and former chief minister Digvijay Singh from Bhopal Lok Sabha Constituency. Previously, Thakur was rebuked by none other than Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself. At that time, she had termed Mahatma Gandhis killer Nathuram Godse as real patriot.

PM Modi had said that he could never forgive her from his heart for that remark. Thakurs legal troubles are also mounting. Previously, the Special NIA Court had directed Thakur, Lt Col Prasad Purohit and all other accused of Malegaon 2008 blast case to remain present before the court at least once a week. The National Investigation Agency (NIA) Court, which expressed displeasure over their absence in the courtroom, has set May 20 as the next date of hearing. Six people were killed and over 100 injured when an explosive device strapped to a motorcycle went off near a mosque in Malegaon, a town about 200 km from here in north Maharashtra, on September 29, 2008.
By Azernews

Fatima Hasanova

On January 5, Jeyhun Bayramov visited the victims of the January 27 terror attack on the Azerbaijani embassy in Iran, Azernews reports via the Foreign Ministry's Twitter page.

"Today, Minister of Foreign Affairs @Bayramov_Jeyhun visited our colleagues Vasif Tagiyev and Mahir Imanov, who were injured as a result of the terrorist attack committed against the Azerbaijani Embassy in Iran on January 27, 2023, and wished recovery to our colleagues whose condition is considered satisfactory," read the ministry's tweet.

As reported earlier, the head of the security guard of the Azerbaijani embassy in Iran was killed in the armed attack on the building on January 27 at about 0830 hours.
Company Logo

Dublin, Feb. 06, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "Level II ITAR/EAR Officer" training has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

Building on critical compliance issues, this two-day, hands-on knowledge-sharing event teaches attendees how to build a bulletproof compliance program, conduct audits and draft a policy and procedure manual in order to become an effective compliance official.

Students will utilize scenarios and exercises to learn how to oversee an audit, develop an internal training program, utilize EAR exceptions effectively and examine the roles of the Empowered Official/Compliance Official, making this a MUST-ATTEND seminar!

Two-day seminar fee includes breakfast, lunch, seminar manual and a current copy of the ITAR. Space is limited. Registration will close once capacity is reached.

Key Topics Covered:

DAY 1: Tuesday, June 6th



COMPLIANCE BUILDING BLOCKS

Keynote Presentation "How to Build a Bulletproof Compliance Program" Debi Davis, Vice President, Global Compliance, TransDigm Group.

Presentation: "A-Z: How to Conduct a Comprehensive Audit" From the Audit Plan, documents to review, interviews to drafting the audit report.

Exercise 1: "Drafting an Audit Plan"

Presentation: "Significance of The Military End User (MEU) List"

TESTING YOUR COMPLIANCE PROGRAM

Presentation: "Transactional Testing & Due Diligence"

Presentation: "Key Elements of a Policy & Procedure Manual"

Presentation: "Unlocking the Keys to an Effective Training Program"

DAY 2: Wednesday, June 7th



COMPLIANCE OFFICIALS AND THE EAR

Presentation: "The 10 Effective Habits of an ITAR/EAR Compliance Official"

Presentation: "Navigating the Complexities of the EAR"

Presentation: "Using the STA Exception Effectively"

Exercise 2: "Testing Your EAR Prowess"

REMEDIAL MEASURES

Presentation: "Top Ten Violations Under Commerce/BIS Charging Letters" Tips to avoid making these mistakes in your company.

Presentation: "Due Diligence: The Importance of Checking Intermediaries and End Users"

Exercise 3: "End User Exercise"

Presentation: "Sentinel, Blue Lantern Programs & State/DTCC Company Visits" An examination of Commerce/BIS and State/DTCC internal compliance efforts.

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Speakers



Suzanne Palmer

President

Export Compliance Solutions



Suzanne Palmer, President of Export Compliance Solutions, has 15 years of experience within the State Department and as a Licensing Officer, and over 10 years direct experience with the U. S. defense industry.

After leaving the State Department she joined Northrop Grumman Electronic Systems in Baltimore and then went on to work at Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Lab. Combining U.S. Government and defense industry experience, Ms. Palmer specializes in training, interpreting the ITAR and the EAR Export Control Reform initiative and applying U.S. export control regulations.

She has served on the Defense Trade Advisory Group (DTAG) and as a Special Compliance Official (SCO) for a company operating under a Consent Agreement.



Lisa Bencivenga

Various



Lisa Bencivenga has has over twenty years of varied experience in export/import licensing and compliance issues with major defense contractors.

She has had the leading role in developing and implementing internal compliance programs, providing regulatory guidance, instituting license databases, training personnel at all corporate levels, conducting audits requested by clients and/or directed by the U.S. Department of State, coordinating investigations and working closely with legal departments while administering the full spectrum of corporate international export/import activities.

She has several years of experience in space-related export issues which includes obtaining and implementing complex licensing arrangements related to spacecraft and launch activities as a result of her employment with Orbital Sciences Corporation and The Boeing Company.



For more information about this training visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/as3xba

About ResearchAndMarkets.com

ResearchAndMarkets.com is the world's leading source for international market research reports and market data. We provide you with the latest data on international and regional markets, key industries, the top companies, new products and the latest trends.

CONTACT: CONTACT: ResearchAndMarkets.com Laura Wood,Senior Press Manager press@researchandmarkets.com For E.S.T Office Hours Call 1-917-300-0470 For U.S./ CAN Toll Free Call 1-800-526-8630 For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900




DUBLIN, Feb. 6, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The "EU (European Union) Pharmaceutical Regulations & Strategy Training Course" conference has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

Research and Markets Logo

Creating and coordinating an effective regulatory strategy is an essential part of the work of a regulatory affairs department and can save valuable time and money.

This interactive course will provide an up-to-date overview of the European pharmaceutical regulatory environment, procedures and obligations and discuss how to interpret and apply the legislation. The impact of Brexit on the regulatory requirements for companies operating in the important pharmaceutical markets in Great Britain and Northern Ireland will be discussed.

The programme will cover the legal basis of regulation, development strategies and the importance of pre-submission activities as well as an overview of the format for the presentation of data, the registration procedures and post-authorisation obligations and strategic considerations. The impact of post-Brexit changes on obtaining and maintaining marketing authorisations in the UK will be discussed.

Case studies and discussion sessions throughout the two days will explore options and strategies for key regulatory activities and will provide an opportunity to share experiences with our expert trainer and other delegates.

Benefits of attending

Understand the legal basis of the EU regulatory environment

Review procedures for applying for marketing authorisation in the EU/EEA and in the UK

Discuss the impact of Brexit and consequent changes

Discuss development strategy and pre-submission activities

Discuss post-authorisation obligations and strategic considerations

Who Should Attend:

The course is designed primarily for regulatory affairs personnel, however, it will also be of value to those who interact with the regulatory affairs function in order to gain an understanding of action timelines and information requirements. It will be particularly relevant to all those working in:

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Regulatory affairs

Project management

Business planning

Commercial management

Manufacturing and QA

Labelling and artwork

Medical information

Clinical

Pharmacovigilance

Key Topics Covered:

EU regulatory environment: legal basis

Key regulations, directives and guidelines

Impact of Brexit

Information sources

Case study one

Development and Strategy

Drug discovery

Scientific advice

Development process

Pharmaceutical R&D

Non-clinical tests

Clinical studies - Phase I to III

EU Clinical Trials Regulation

Types and categories of marketing Authorisations

The Common Technical Document (CTD)

Overview of Structure and content of a CTD

The European Medicines Agency (EMA)

Structure and function

Applying for marketing authorisation in the EU with a discussion on the impact of Brexit

The EU centralised procedure for marketing authorisation

Other EU centralised procedures

Referral and arbitration

Other registration procedures

Coordination group

Decentralised procedure

Mutual recognition procedure

National procedures

Managing product labelling

Case study two

Abridged applications and Generics

Types and Requirements

Product Life Cycle; Post approval

Patents and SPCs

Parallel trade

How the process works

Impact of Brexit

Post-authorisation obligations; pharmacovigilance, variations and renewals

Pharmacovigilance and GCP inspections including discussion on the impact of Brexit

Licence variations

Type I and Type II variations and timelines

Procedures and timelines

Extensions

Case study three

Renewals

Sunset clause

Phase IV Trials

Classification change

Generic development

Strategic factors

Criteria for successful products

For more information about this conference visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/lfdbvd-european?w=5

About ResearchAndMarkets.com

ResearchAndMarkets.com is the world's leading source for international market research reports and market data. We provide you with the latest data on international and regional markets, key industries, the top companies, new products and the latest trends.

Media Contact:

Research and Markets

Laura Wood, Senior Manager

press@researchandmarkets.com

For E.S.T Office Hours Call +1-917-300-0470

For U.S./CAN Toll Free Call +1-800-526-8630

For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900

U.S. Fax: 646-607-1907

Fax (outside U.S.): +353-1-481-1716

Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/539438/Research_and_Markets_Logo.jpg

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SOURCE Research and Markets
Altus Group Limited

GlobeSt.com highlights innovative organizations and individuals shaping the modernization of CRE industry

TORONTO, Feb. 06, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Altus Group Limited (Altus or the Company) (TSX: AIF), a leading provider of asset and fund intelligence for commercial real estate, is pleased to announce it was recognized by GlobeSt.com Real Estate Forum as a 2023 Influencer in CRE Tech.



It is an honor for Altus to be recognized on this years CRE Tech Influencers list, said Jorge Blanco, Chief Commercial Officer at Altus. We have expanded our data science and analytics capabilities over the last two years to offer our clients new tools to better manage performance and risk, which in todays dynamic environment are highly relevant and impactful.

Additionally, Altus Vice President of Data and Analytics, Michael Clawar, was recognized as a CRE Tech Influencer within the lists Individual category for his role in shaping Altus data science strategy and product roadmap.

It is a privilege to be named among this impressive group of fellow industry leaders whose innovation and expertise have helped propel CRE technology forward, said winner Michael Clawar.

The GlobeSt. Real Estate Forum is a leading publication for CRE professionals. This years award series sought to spotlight the outstanding CRE organizations and individuals that have influenced the industry through technological expertise and innovation. The winners were recognized for their role in assisting companies in managing processes through their technological expertise leveraging new and/or improved technology applications. These companies and experts have made notable contributions and provided critical guidance to their business and the industry at-large despite quickly changing macroeconomic conditions.

About Altus Group

Altus Group is a leading provider of asset and fund intelligence for commercial real estate. We deliver intelligence as a service to our global client base through a connected platform of industry-leading technology, advanced analytics, and advisory services. Trusted by the largest CRE leaders, our capabilities help commercial real estate investors, developers, proprietors, lenders, and advisors manage risks and improve performance returns throughout the asset and fund lifecycle. Altus Group is a global company headquartered in Toronto with approximately 2,700 employees across North America, EMEA and Asia Pacific. For more information about Altus (TSX: AIF) please visit altusgroup.com.

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FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT:

Elizabeth Lambe

Director, Global Communications, Altus Group

(416) 641-9787

Elizabeth.Lambe@altusgroup.com




EDMONTON, AB, Feb. 6, 2023 /CNW/ - AutoCanada Inc. ("AutoCanada" or the "Company") (TSX: ACQ), a multi-location North American automobile dealership group, announced today that it has amended and extended its existing credit facility to April 15, 2026.

AutoCanada Inc. Logo (CNW Group/AutoCanada Inc.)

The amended credit facility increases the revolving facility from $275 million to $375 million. In December 2022, the Company had exercised a $50 million accordion to increase the revolver from $225 million to $275 million. The amended facility also increases the wholesale floorplan financing facility from $1,060 million to $1,220 million and includes a $15 million wholesale leasing facility, for total aggregate bank facilities of $1.6 billion.

"We are pleased to have completed the amendment of our credit facility and appreciate the strong support and commitment from our bank partners," said Paul Antony, Executive Chairman of AutoCanada. "These amendments to our credit facility provide additional flexibility allowing us to execute on our growth strategies and maintain our balanced approach to capital allocation."

About AutoCanadE:l

AutoCanada is a leading North American multi-location automobile dealership group currently operating 82 franchised dealerships, comprised of 28 brands, in eight provinces in Canada as well as a group in Illinois, USA. AutoCanada currently sells Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, Ram, FIAT, Alfa Romeo, Chevrolet, GMC, Buick, Cadillac, Ford, Infiniti, Nissan, Hyundai, Subaru, com Audi, Volkswagen, Kia, Mazda, Mercedes-Benz, BMW, MINI, Volvo, Toyota, Lincoln, Acura, Honda and Porsche branded vehicles. In addition, AutoCanada's Canadian Operations segment currently operates three used vehicle dealerships and one used vehicle auction business supporting the Used Digital Retail Division, 11 RightRide division locations, and nine stand-alone collision centres within our group of 24 collision centres. In 2021, our dealerships sold approximately 86,000 vehicles and processed over 800,000 service and collision repair orders in our 1,303 service bays generating revenue in excess of $4 billion.

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Additional information about AutoCanada is available at www.autocan.ca and www.sedar.com.

Forward Looking Statements

Certain statements contained in this press release are forward-looking statements and information (collectively, "forward-looking statements") within the meaning of the applicable Canadian securities legislation. We hereby provide cautionary statements identifying important factors that could cause our actual results to differ materially from those projected in these forward-looking statements. Any statements that express, or involve discussions as to, expectations, beliefs, plans, objectives, assumptions or future events or performance (often, but not always, through the use of words or phrases such as "will likely result", "are expected to", "will continue", "is anticipated", "projection", "vision", "goals", "objective", "target", "schedules", "outlook", "anticipate", "expect", "estimate", "could", "should", "plan", "seek", "may", "intend", "likely", "will", "believe" and similar expressions) are not historical facts and are forward looking.

Further, any forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date on which such statement is made, and, except as required by applicable law, we undertake no obligation to update any forward-looking statement to reflect events or circumstances after the date on which such statement is made or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events. New factors emerge from time to time, and it is not possible for management to predict all of such factors and to assess in advance the impact of each such factor on our business or the extent to which any factor, or combination of factors, may cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statement.

The forward-looking statements included in this press release are not guarantees of future performance and should not be unduly relied upon. Readers are cautioned that forward-looking statements are based on current expectations, estimates and projections that, by their nature, forward-looking statements involve a number of known and unknown risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated and described in the forward-looking statements. These known and unknown risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to: future operating results, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our operations, financial condition and liquidity and the duration of such impacts; potential changes in the regulatory and legislative environment; volatility in interest and tax rates; operating risks inherent in the automotive retail industry; and changes in general economic conditions including the capital and credit markets.

Forward-looking statements involve estimates and assumptions and are subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors some of which are beyond our control and difficult to predict. Accordingly, actual results or outcomes may differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements.

AutoCanada cautions that the foregoing list of assumptions, risks and uncertainties is not exhaustive. The Company's Annual Information Form and other documents filed with securities regulatory authorities (accessible through the SEDAR website at www.sedar.com) describe the risks, material assumptions and other factors that could influence actual results and which are incorporated herein by reference. The forward-looking statements contained in this press release speak only as of the date hereof and AutoCanada assumes no obligation to publicly update or revise them to reflect new events or circumstances, except as may be required pursuant to applicable securities laws.

SOURCE AutoCanada Inc.

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Baker Hill sees significant year-over-year revenue and profitability growth in 2022

CARMEL, Ind., Feb. 6, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Baker Hill, a leading financial technology provider in delivering solutions for loan origination, risk management and analytics, achieved record growth in 2022, increasing annual revenues by 15 percent, Baker Hill NextGen platform revenues by 30 percent, and profitability growth outpacing revenues increase.

Baker Hill's tremendous growth is the result of the company's rapidly expanding client base, which includes close to 50 net new financial institution clients added in the last 12 months, such as Flatirons Bank, Great Plains Bank and several other community banks and credit unions across the U.S.

This record growth demonstrates strong market demand among financial institutions for lending solutions that increase efficiencies, mitigate risk, support sound decision-making and more to optimize portfolio performance and profitability. Additionally, Baker Hill has expanded relationships with several existing clients, migrating 17 financial institutions to the company's flagship product, Baker Hill NextGen, an award-winning, end-to-end loan origination, risk management and analytics platform.

Virginia-based TowneBank is one of the many Baker Hill clients that upgraded to the full NextGen suite last year. A long-standing Baker Hill client, TowneBank's decision to transition to Baker Hill NextGen was driven by its commitment to investing in the most effective financial technology systems available.

"After working with Baker Hill for nearly two decades, we chose to take our partnership to the next level by transitioning to the full Baker Hill NextGen Loan Origination platform. Our team will use it for consumer, small business and commercial loans," said Brad Schwartz, President & Chief Operating Officer at TowneBank. "Given our history of working with Baker Hill and the value their technology consistently delivers, we look forward to our continued partnership together."

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"Last year was a record year for Baker Hill and the milestones we achieved are a testament to the value our team and technology provides to the financial services industry," said John M. Deignan, president and CEO of Baker Hill. "I'm proud of my fellow colleagues for the positive impact they have made, both within our company and for our financial institution clients, despite ongoing economic uncertainties. As we head into 2023, I expect this momentum to continue, especially as more financial institutions seek to drive efficiencies in their lending workflows and manage portfolio risk in a rising rate environment."

Baker Hill anticipates another year of strong growth in 2023 and the company remains dedicated to empowering its financial institution clients with world-class loan origination and portfolio risk management technology. After achieving numerous milestones last year and growing its client roster, Baker Hill also expects to host its largest user conference yet, Prosper 2023, which will take place April 23rd  25th in Scottsdale, Arizona.

To register for Prosper 2023, and to view the agenda and speakers, visit the event website.

About Baker Hill

Baker Hill is in the business of evolving loan origination by combining expertise in technology with expertise in banking. Built on decades of walking alongside banks and credit unions as they provide vital resources to their communities, Baker Hill NextGen is a configurable, single platform SaaS solution for commercial, small business, consumer loan origination, and risk management that grows along with you as your business needs change. Baker Hill is lending evolved. For more information, visit bakerhill.com.

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SOURCE Baker Hill
JAKARTA, Indonesia and SINGAPORE, Feb. 6, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Asia's largest SaaS and frontline workforce management platform, BetterPlace announced its entry into South-East Asia with the acquisition of a majority stake in Indonesia's leading blue collar workforce fulfillment company, MyRobin , for an undisclosed amount.

BetterPlace_Logo

Despite being a region with a high rate of digital adoption, the frontline workforce management space in South-East Asia has still not gone through significant digital transformation. The enterprises continue to work with fragmented solutions & a host of vendors to manage their blue collar workforce, resulting in suboptimal productivity. With close to 200mn frontline workers in SEA, the market size for frontline workforce management in the region is as large as $280bn making it the perfect market for a horizontal SaaS offering that provides all frontline workforce management services under one roof. BetterPlace, having seen success for its horizontal suite of services in India, aims to replicate the same in SEA.

Commenting on this acquisition, Pravin Agarwala, Co-founder & Group CEO at BetterPlace said, "Driven by the vision to optimize frontline workforce management for enterprises, a combination of consolidation and innovation was the right way to go about building the world's most comprehensive workforce management platform that exists today. As the largest player in Asia today, we are thrilled to welcome MyRobin to the BetterPlace family and further our vision towards formalizing the frontline workforce globally. With our technology and MyRobin's expertise in operating in Indonesia, we would be able to introduce equitable opportunities for the frontline segment."

With over 3 million workers in their community, MyRobin provides on-demand, pre-screened, frontline workers on a long and short-term basis to enterprises in Indonesia. In addition, MyRobin provides attendance and performance management services, and through their product MyWarung, offers embedded financial services like early wage and BNPL, and has its own frontline workforce upskilling platform called MyRobin Academy. Launched in 2020 in Indonesia, MyRobin has enterprises such as Shopee, Astro, Sicepat, E-Fishery, Kopi Kenangan among clients. The company has recorded a growth of 7X in 2022 and has had a direct impact on 44,000 families in the last 2 years.

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Commenting on the partnership, Ardy Satria Hasanuddin, Co-founder & CTO at MyRobin said, "Over the last four years we have been able to empower over 3 million frontline workers in over 270 cities in Indonesia to live a life of dignity by elevating them to the formal economy and giving them access to formal finance, jobs, and training. As the next chapter of our growth we would like to take our vision and expertise to more geographies and BetterPlace is the perfect partner who will enable us to achieve this goal. We are delighted and excited to be part of BetterPlace and aspire to become instrumental in achieving our shared goal of creating a better place for enterprises and frontline workers across the world."

With a robust business model, MyRobin had received funding from global investors including Antler, SOSV, Accion Venture Lab and Investible. This acquisition is part of a series of investments being made by BetterPlace to expand into the SEA markets. In the near future, the company plans to expand into Malaysia, Thailand, and the Philippines through both organic and inorganic strategies. BetterPlace recently raised $40mn as part of its extended Series C round which resulted in international investor Macquarie Capital joining the captable along with Jungle Ventures, Unitus, BII, Capria and 3one4 Capital.

SOURCE BetterPlace
CHICAGO, Feb. 6, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The 2023 CABDA Midwest Bicycle Expo will be held February 8 & 9, at the Schaumburg Convention Center, located near Chicago's O'Hare Airport.

Sales Trainer Joe Marcoux giving a skills clinic at the CABDA Expo. Photo by Alex Carroll, ARC Photography

CABDA Expo, known colloquially as "The Show for Bike Shops", is North America's largest B2B trade show for bicycle manufacturers, distributors, retailers, component companies, apparel brands, and accessory producers. The event features two days of technical training, educational seminars, sales clinics, and exhibits from over 200 leading brands.

CABDA Midwest will also feature business profitability workshops and panel discussions moderated by the National Bicycle Dealers Association (NBDA).

"Coming on the heels of our successful show last month in California, we're absolutely ecstatic to welcome the bike industry back to our hometown," said CABDA Show Director Jim Kersten. "Shop owners and manufacturers have been through a wild ride of corona-related supply chain issues these past few years, and it feels good to be getting back to normal again."

CABDA's 2021 iteration was held as a smaller, hybrid event: with attendees and exhibitors participating both in-person and online. CABDA's planned in-person 2022 Midwest event was cancelled due to the spike in Covid cases due to the Omicron variant.

New for 2023, CABDA unveiled their E-Mobility Showcase, a "Show-Within-A-Show" focused on e-bikes and e-scooters. The E-Mobility Showcase features an indoor demo space and a special track of educational sessions focused on battery technology and safety issues pertaining to the growing popularity of electric bicycles.

"The rapid proliferation of e-bikes and other e-powered products is a sea-change moment for bike shops." Kersten said, "How dealers sell, service, and market these bikes to their customers is changing quickly. Providing the technical training and best practices for safe operation and battery storage will be incredibly important moving forward."

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CABDA (which originally stood for Chicago Area Bicycle Dealers Association) was relaunched in 2015 and has grown from a small, local event into North America's preeminent B2B gathering of bicycle industry professionals, and now includes three annual trade shows:

CABDA West took place January 10 & 11 outside of Los Angeles;

CABDA Midwest takes place February 8 & 9 in the Chicagoland Area;

CABDA East takes place March 8 & 9 in the New York City Metro Area.

CABDA is a trade-only event and not open to the public.

Exhibitor information and attendee registration can be found at www.cabdashow.com.

For more information contact:

Jim Kersten. (847) 714-7007, jim@cabda.com

CABDA Logo

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SOURCE CABDA Expo LLC
Robert Handler

Senior Counsel, Blank Rome LLP

Los Angeles, CA, Feb. 06, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Blank Rome LLP is pleased to announce that Robert Handler has joined the firms Corporate, M&A, and Securities practice group as senior counsel in the Los Angeles office. A corporate transactions pro with a focus on middle-market private businesses, Rob joins Blank Rome from Glaser Weil where he served as a partner in the Corporate and Real Estate groups.

Robs addition continues the strategic growth of Blank Romes Los Angeles and Orange County offices, which have expanded to over 70 attorneys since welcoming prominent corporate, finance, M&A, IP, privacy, and real estate attorneys over the last two years. Rob also strengthens the firms highly ranked national corporate practice, which has added nearly 20 attorneys over the past two years in Los Angeles, Houston, and New York.

We are thrilled to welcome Rob to our Los Angeles office, said Grant Palmer, Blank Romes Chair and Managing Partner. Rob is well known for being a trusted legal and business advisor, and we are confident that our clients on the West Coast and throughout the country will benefit from Robs experienced counsel.

Rob focuses his practice on the representation of middle-market private businesses and their high-net-worth owners on a wide range of matters, including structuring and forming businesses; commercial financing; purchases, sales, financing, and leasing of real estate; mergers and acquisitions; and licensing intellectual property. Rob frequently serves as outside general counsel to such businesses. Over the course of his career, Rob has represented companies from sole proprietors to the Fortune 500, spanning commercial banking, finance, film production, fashion design and manufacturing, commodities, commercial leasing, and more.

He is also well regarded in the Los Angeles-based fashion industry, where he represents clients in M&A and IP licensing transactions and is active as a counselor and board member on several industry organizations.

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We are excited to welcome Rob to our expanding corporate and transactions practice in Los Angeles, said Louis Rappaport, Partner and Co-Chair of Blank Romes Corporate, M&A, and Securities practice group. His impressive experience handling corporate transactions in a variety of industries will further strengthen our national corporate team, including our intellectual property licensing and real estate capabilities.

After meeting with many of my new colleagues at Blank Rome, I quickly realized that this is an incredibly sophisticated, collegial, and supportive firm, said Handler. I am excited to help further develop Blank Romes corporate resources and collaborate with my colleagues across the firm to support my clients. He added, I am also looking forward to having the opportunity to reunite with several of my former colleagues, Saul Breskal, Jamie Garelick, and Jerry Katz.

Rob earned his J.D. at the University of Southern California Gould School of Law, where he was a member of the Southern California Law Review, and his B.A., with distinction, from the University of Michigan. He is a member of the California Fashion Associations board of advisors and the City of Hope apparel industries board. He also volunteers with nonprofit organizations, providing free legal services for those who need it most.

About Blank Rome

Blank Rome is an Am Law 100 firm with 14 offices and more than 600 attorneys and principals who provide comprehensive legal and advocacy services to clients operating in the United States and around the world. Our professionals have built a reputation for their leading knowledge and experience across a spectrum of industries and are recognized for their commitment to pro bono work in their communities. Since our inception in 1946, Blank Romes culture has been dedicated to providing top-level service to all of our clients and has been rooted in the strength of our diversity and inclusion initiatives. For more information, please visit blankrome.com.

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CONTACT: Kate Tavella Blank Rome LLP 215.988.6988 tavella@blankrome.com




Boxed, Inc.

Leading Italian foods importer to outsource inventory management, fulfillment, and transportation services from Boxed

NEW YORK, Feb. 06, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Boxed (NYSE: BOXD) (Boxed or the Company), an e-commerce grocery platform that sells bulk consumables and licenses its e-commerce software to enterprise retailers, today announced an arrangement with Colavita USA to manage the Italian specialty food manufacturers third party direct-to-consumer logistics, including inventory management, warehousing, and fulfillment.



Colavita is family owned and operated since 1938 and present in over 80 countries worldwide. In the major U.S. market, Colavita distributes to retail grocery store chains, specialty food stores, and wholesale suppliers, as well as restaurants, caterers, and other foodservice operators. The company will outsource its third-party logistics to Boxed, using its flagship, fully automated fulfillment center in Union, NJ. Colavitas U.S. operations are headquartered in Edison, NJ. The deal will solidify Colavitas e-commerce distribution in the continental United States.

We have established relationships with hundreds of vendors like Colavita, and now we are in a position to provide them with all of their supply chain and logistics operations needs, said Alison Weick, President, eCommerce at Boxed.

Colavita is the leading importer of Italian specialty food products in the U.S. Best known for its extra virgin olive oil, other product offerings include a variety of premium vinegars, pasta, sauces, and vegetables, as well as iconic Italian brands such as Perugina, Rio Mare, Mulino Bianco, and San Benedetto. Colavita is also a major partner and supplier for the leading meal solution company, HelloFresh.

Our relationship with Boxed as a vendor has always been strong. We are beyond excited to expand that synergy to include their supply chain and fulfillment expertise, said Giovanni Colavita, CEO of Colavita USA.

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Boxed is also exploring opportunities with other vendors to leverage its expertise with warehousing, order fulfillment, and shipment.

About Boxed

Boxed is an e-commerce retailer and an e-commerce enabler. The Company operates an e-commerce retail service that provides bulk pantry consumables to businesses and household customers, without the requirement of a big-box store membership. This service is powered by the Companys own purpose-built storefront, marketplace, analytics, fulfillment, advertising, and robotics technologies. Boxed further enables e-commerce through its Software & Services business, which offers customers in need of an enterprise-level e-commerce platform access to its end-to-end technology. The Company has developed a powerful, unique brand, known for doing right by its customers, employees and society. For more information visit www.boxed.com .

Media Contacts

David Taft

Boxed

dave@boxed.com

Investor Contacts

Chris Mandeville

ICR

BoxedIR@icrinc.com




First Vice-President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Mehriban Aliyeva has shared a post on her official Instagram page in connection with the earthquake in Turkiye.

Mehriban Aliyeva said: It is with deep sorrow that I received the news about the consequences of a strong earthquake that occurred in the south-east of Turkiye. May Allah rest the souls of those who died during the tragedy in peace. I extend my deep condolences to their relatives and friends. I wish the injured a speedy recovery. I pray to the Almighty God for the strength and patience for all the people of Turkiye!
Future Market Insights Global and Consulting Pvt. Ltd.

Increasing Incidence of Burn Injuries to Propel the Growth of for Asia Pacific Burn Treatment Market at 5% CAGR through 2033. North America is expected to possess 25% market share for the Burns Treatment Market

NEWARK, Del, Feb. 06, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The global Burns Treatment Market is predicted to generate a market value of US$ 1.2 billion in 2023 and a market value of US$ 2.59 billion by 2033, with a CAGR of 8% from 2023 to 2033. In the historical period 2018 to 2022, the market for Burns Treatment grew at a CAGR of 5%.

According to the National Center for Biotechnology Information, approximately 486,000 patients require treatment for burns, and 40,000 require hospitalization within the United States each year. Nationally, 70% of patients who are burned receive burns that comprise less than 10% total body surface area (%TBSA), and 88% of all patients receive a less than 20% TBSA burn

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The growth of the is driven by increased awareness, significant growth in healthcare spending, and a rising incidence of burns. Asia Pacific is a growing market due to a shift towards point-of-care healthcare. The increasing number of hospitals in India and China presents a promising market opportunity globally.

North America is anticipated to acquire a market share of about 25% in the forecast period. This growth is attributable to the rising prevalence of the condition in the region. Furthermore, government initiatives and increase in the number of research partnerships are boosting the market growth across North America.

Key Takeaways from the Market Study

From 2018 to 2022, the burn treatment market grew at a CAGR of 5%.

The global burn treatment market is expected to grow with a 8% CAGR during 2023 to 2033.

As of 2033, the burn treatment Market is expected to reach US$ 2.59 Billion

According to the FMI analysis, hospitals account for the largest market share.

North America is expected to possess 25% market share for the burn treatment market.

The Asia Pacific market is predicted to increase significantly throughout the forecast period, with a CAGR of 5% during the forecast period.

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A series of international level collaborations involving healthcare stakeholders across various institutional settings are fueling further clinical trials and research studies dedicated to discovering burn treatment. says an FMI analyst

View Complete Report@ https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/burns-treatment-market

Market Competition

Key players in the Burns Treatment Market are Smith & Nephew, ConvaTec Group, B. Braun Melsungen AG, Molnlycke Health Care, Integra LifeSciences, Coloplast A/S, Paul Hartmann AG, 3M, Acelity L.P. Inc., and Medtronic among other global players.

In June 2022, the British Columbia Children's Hospital, Canada, received about USD 1 million from the BC Professional Fire Fighters Burn Fund to support specialized care for kids with burn injuries.

In June 2021, the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Avita Medical's expanded use of the RECELL System in combination with meshed autografting for treating all sizes of acute full-thickness thermal burn wounds for both pediatric and adult patients.

More Insights Available

FMI, in its new offering, presents an unbiased analysis of the global burn treatment market, presenting historical analysis from 2018 to 2022 and forecast statistics for the period of 2023 to 2033.

The study reveals essential insights on the basis of treatment type, degree of burn, & region.

Key Segments Profiled in the Burns Treatment Industry Survey

Treatment Type:

Wound Care Dressings Antimicrobial Dressings Hydrocolloid Dressings Hydrogel Dressings Film Dressings Foam Dressings Alginate Dressings

Wound Care Therapy Thermal Burn Therapy Negative Pressure Wound Therapy Ultrasound Therapy Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy

Medications Burn Creams & Ointments Anti-infective Drugs Painkillers & Anti-anxiety Medications IV-Fluids & Therapeutic Peptide





Degree of Burn

First-degree Burns

Second-degree Burns

Third-degree Burns



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Table of Content

1. Executive Summary | Burns Treatment Market

1.1. Global Market Outlook

1.2. Demand-side Trends

1.3. Supply-side Trends

1.4. Technology Roadmap Analysis

1.5. Analysis and Recommendations

2. Market Overview

2.1. Market Coverage / Taxonomy

2.2. Market Definition / Scope / Limitations

3. Market Background

3.1. Market Dynamics

3.1.1. Drivers

3.1.2. Restraints

3.1.3. Opportunity

3.1.4. Trends

3.2. Scenario Forecast

3.2.1. Demand in Optimistic Scenario

3.2.2. Demand in Likely Scenario

3.2.3. Demand in Conservative Scenario

3.3. Opportunity Map Analysis

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Have a Look at Related Reports of the Healthcare domain

IV Infusion Gravity Bags Market Size: The global IV infusion gravity bags market garnered a market value of US$ 723.8 Million in 2022 and is expected to accumulate a market value of US$ 1281.3 Million by registering a CAGR of 5.87% in the forecast period 2022 to 2032.

Large Volume Wearable Injectors Market Share: Global Large Volume Wearable Injectors demand is anticipated to be valued at US$ 2,800.0 Million in 2022, forecast to grow at a CAGR of 8.9% to be valued at US$ 7,142.3 Million from 2022 to 2032.

Reverse Transcriptase Enzymes Market Demand: The reverse transcriptase enzymes market size is anticipated to rise to US$ 335.0 Million in 2022. The reverse transcriptase enzymes market is likely to reach US$ 481.8 Million with a CAGR of 3.4% by 2032.

Quantitative Pathology Imaging Market Trends: The global quantitative pathology imaging market is forecasted to be appraised at US$ 9.5 Billion by 2032, up from US$ 2.77 Billion in 2022, by advancing at a CAGR of 11.9% during the forecast period.

Revision Knee Replacement Market Analysis: The revision knee replacement market is likely to rise to US$ 1.3 Billion in 2022. The revision knee replacement market is estimated to reach US$ 2 Billion with a CAGR of 4.1% by 2032.

About Future Market Insights (FMI)

Future Market Insights (FMI) is a leading provider of market intelligence and consulting services, serving clients in over 150 countries. FMI is headquartered in Dubai and has delivery centers in the UK, US, and India. FMI's latest market research reports and industry analysis help businesses navigate challenges and make critical decisions with confidence and clarity amidst breakneck competition. Our customized and syndicated market research reports deliver actionable insights that drive sustainable growth. A team of expert-led analysts at FMI continuously tracks emerging trends and events in a broad range of industries to ensure that our clients prepare for the evolving needs of their consumers.

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Highlights:

Most notably, led the development and construction of several mines in the Flin Flon Greenstone Belt, including two of the largest, the 777 mine as well as the discovery and initial development of the Lalor mine;

Instrumental in the development and transformation of HudBay into a substantial international mining company ; and

Will assist the Company in advancing Pine Bay and other Callinex projects through the next stages of development.

VANCOUVER, BC, Feb. 6, 2023 /PRNewswire/ - Callinex Mines Inc. (the "Company" or "Callinex") (TSXV: CNX) (OTCQX: CLLXF) is pleased to announce it has appointed mining engineer and entrepreneur Peter R. Jones to the Company's Technical Team. Peter has over 50 years mining industry experience spanning many areas of the world, including the Flin Flon Greenstone Belt. Peter led the development and construction of several mines in the Flin Flon Greenstone Belt, including two of the largest, the 777 mine as well as the discovery and initial development of the Lalor mine. Peter also provided leadership and strategic vision to establish HudBay Minerals Inc. ("HudBay") which is now a respected multinational mining company.

Callinex Mines Inc. Logo (CNW Group/Callinex Mines Inc.)

Peter Jones stated, "I am very pleased to be working with the Company to help move Pine Bay and other Callinex properties through the next stages of project development, leading to mine production."

Callinex President and CEO, Max Porterfield, stated, "We are excited to welcome Peter as a member of our technical team. His strong leadership and technical skillset are a big boost in critical areas of our business at the perfect time." Mr. Porterfield continued, "I'm looking forward to working with Peter to advance our discoveries at Pine Bay."

Mr. Jones was instrumental in the development and transformation of HudBay and its predecessor, Hudson Bay Mining and Smelting Company, Ltd. ("HBMS") into a substantial international mining company. As the CEO of HBMS and then HudBay, in 2004 he orchestrated the company's initial public offering and acquisition of HBMS from Anglo American. He oversaw HudBay's emergence until 2008, and its turnaround after rejoining in 2009 and eventually re-retiring in 2010.

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Peter played a key role in the development of Hudbay's flagship 777 mine; which produced for nearly two decades until recently closing, and the Konuto Lake and Chisel North mines. It's worthy to note that Konuto Lake was one of the fastest discoveries to go into production in just 18 months after its initial discovery. Subsequently, he oversaw HudBay's other strategic initiatives, including the discovery and advancement of the Lalor mine which is currently producing in the Snow Lake area of the Flin Flon Greenstone Belt.

Mr. Jones currently serves as Chairman of Reyna Silver Corporation and is on the board of Reyna Gold Corporation. He graduated from the Camborne School of Mines in the U.K. and is a Professional Engineer in Canada. Previously, he served as Chairman of the Mining Association of Canada for several years and in 2006 was awarded the Turnaround Entrepreneur of the Year, Prairie Region, by Ernst and Young.

About Callinex Mines Inc.

Callinex Mines Inc. (TSXV: CNX) (OTCQX: CLLXF) is advancing its portfolio of base and precious metals rich deposits located in established Canadian mining jurisdictions. The focus of the portfolio is highlighted by the rapidly expanding Rainbow Discovery at its rich VMS Pine Bay Project located near existing infrastructure in the Flin Flon Mining District. The second asset in the portfolio is the Nash Creek Project located in the VMS rich Bathurst Mining District of New Brunswick. A 2018 PEA generates a strong economic return with a pre-tax IRR of 34.1% (25.2% post-tax) and NPV8% of $230 million ($128 million post-tax) at $1.25 Zinc. The third asset, 100% owned Point Leamington Deposit in Newfoundland, is located in one of the richest VMS and Gold Districts in Canada. Callinex prepared a pit constrained Indicated Mineral Resource of 5.0 Mt grading 2.5 g/t AuEq for 402 koz AuEq (145.7 koz gold, 60.0 Mlb copper, 153.5 Mlb zinc, 2.0 Moz silver, 1.5 Mlb lead), an pit constrained Inferred Mineral Resource of 13.7 Mt grading 2.24 g/t AuEq for 986.5 koz AuEq (354.8 koz gold, 110.2 Mlb copper, 527.3 Mlb zinc, 6.2 Moz silver, 7.0 Mlb lead) and an out-of-pit Inferred Mineral Resource of 1.7 Mt grading 3.06 g/t AuEq for 168.5 koz AuEq (65.4 koz gold, 13.3 Mlb copper, 102.9 Mlb zinc, 1.4 Moz Ag, 2.6 Mlb lead).

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Some statements in this news release contain forward-looking information. These statements include, but are not limited to, statements with respect to future expenditures. These statements address future events and conditions and, as such, involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the statements. Such factors include, among others, the ability to complete the proposed drill program and the timing and amount of expenditures. Except as required under applicable securities laws, Callinex does not assume the obligation to update any forward-looking statement.

Cision

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SOURCE Callinex Mines Inc.
VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Feb. 05, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada (APF Canada) and Universities Canada are excited to invite members of the media to the inaugural Canada-in-Asia Conference 2023 in Singapore on February 21-23, 2023.



A signature event for Canada-connected individuals, businesses, and institutions across Asia, the Canada-in-Asia Conference (CIAC2023) will gather Asia-based alumni of Canadian universities and key leaders from business and government in Canada and Asia to catalyze a new and transformative phase of Canada-Asia engagement.

Over two days at the Fairmont Singapores Raffles City Convention Centre, the conference program combines keynote and interdisciplinary plenary sessions, concurrent thematic activities based on priority sectors, strategic networking opportunities, and an evening gala  alongside activities organized by participating universities and organizations with their respective communities.

This event is a unique opportunity for us to build and strengthen individual and institutional linkages across Canada and Asia, and work together to find solutions to pressing challenges facing our world, said Jeff Nankivell, President and CEO, Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada. Singapore sits at the centre of dynamic Asia, and we look forward to constructive, high-level discussions between senior representatives of the governments and universities of Canada, Singapore, and the wider region.

Canadas universities are global leaders in developing the talent and leading research that demonstrate Canadas unique capabilities and contributions, said Paul Davidson, President, Universities Canada. Our alumni in Asia act as ambassadors for that work, and for Canada. Engaging these individuals and building strong people-to-people connections across borders and barriers will deepen Canada-Asia relations in business, governments, academia, and civil society.

Accredited members of the media are invited to attend the inaugural Canada-in-Asia Conference as space allows. Please contact our media representative below for further information and registration.

The Canada-in-Asia Conference is presented with the assistance of the Government of Canada. APF Canada and Universities Canada are grateful for this support. We would also like to thank our Major Partners, Sun Life, Invest in Canada, Export Development Canada, and Royal Bank of Canada; our Supporting Partners, the Gouvernement du Quebec and Investissement Quebec; and our Associate Partners, BMO, Bombardier, CIBC, Government of Saskatchewan, Invest Alberta, McMillan LLP, Fasken, Gowling WLG, and McCarthy Tetrault.

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The Canada-in-Asia Conference would also not be possible without our Gold University Partners, University of Waterloo, McGill University, University of Toronto, York University, University of British Columbia, Western University, and the University of Alberta; our Silver University Partners, The Research Universities Council of British Columbia, University of Ottawa, University of Saskatchewan, and University of Calgary; and our Bronze University Partner, SFU Alumni.

APF Canada and Universities Canada would also like to thank our in-kind partners: the C100, Mila, the Toronto Centre, and the Business Council of Canada.

Key Links :

Conference Website: www.canada-in-asia.ca

APF Canada: www.asiapacific.ca

Universities Canada: www.univcan.ca

Contacts :

Media

Michael Roberts

Communications Director

Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada

communications@asiapacific.ca

Mobile: 604-649-4863

Universities Canada

Graham Barber

Assistant Director, International Relations | Directeur adjoint des relations internationals

Universities Canada | Universites Canada

Gbarber@univcan.ca

Mobile: 819-328-6777

About the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada:

The Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada is dedicated to strengthening ties between Canada and Asia with a focus on expanding economic relations through trade, investment and innovation; promoting Canadas expertise in offering solutions to Asias climate change, energy, food security and natural resource management challenges; building Asia skills and competencies among Canadians, including young Canadians; and, improving Canadians general understanding of Asia and its growing global influence.

Visit APF Canada at www.asiapacific.ca

About Universities Canada:

Universities Canada is the voice of Canadian universities, at home and abroad. A membership organization providing university presidents with a unified voice for higher education, research, and innovation, Universities Canada advances the mission of its member institutions to transform lives, strengthen communities, and find solutions to the most pressing challenges facing our world. The organization advocates for Canadian universities at the federal level, provides a forum for university leaders to share ideas and address challenges in higher education, supports students by providing information on university study and offering scholarships on behalf of private sector companies, and fosters collaboration among universities and governments, the private sector, communities, and international partners.

Visit Universities Canada at www.univcan.ca








Expanded A4 product line incorporates fast print speed and long-lasting consumable supplies to support a variety of work environments

imageCLASS X series of desktop printers and multifunction devices

Canon U.S.A., Inc. is expanding its product offering by adding four new A4/letter-size models to the imageCLASS X series.

MELVILLE, N.Y., Feb. 06, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Canon U.S.A., Inc., a leader in digital imaging solutions, is expanding its product offering by adding four new A4/letter-size models to the imageCLASS X series of desktop printers and multifunction devices.1 Designed for users across a variety of work environments  including corporate and satellite offices, and home offices  these models offer fast print speeds while also implementing sophisticated security and control features.2



These new models continue to support the traditional workplace environment as well as remote and hybrid work styles, helping employees stay connected and maintain access to critical business information  regardless of location. The new imageCLASS X models are added to a strong lineup that earned the Buyers Lab (BLI) 2023 A4 Line of the Year Award and 2023-2025 Most Energy Efficient Laser A4 Brand Award.

The exciting new additions include the imageCLASS X LBP1800 Series, incorporating both the LBP1871 and LBP1861 models. These are single-function black-and-white printers offering the fastest speeds to date on a Canon imageCLASS printer with up to 75 pages-per-minute (PPM) for the LBP1871 and 65 PPM for the LBP1861.



The new series offers an increased paper capacity for high-volume printing with up to 4,300 sheets; a 700-sheet increase from its predecessor models, the LBP352dn and LBP351dn. The imageCLASS X LBP1800 Series models also share the same toner cartridge as the imageRUNNER ADVANCE DX 717iF Series, which has twice the yield of the cartridge of the predecessor models for efficient operation and fewer replacement requirements.

The new LBP1800 Series also incorporates additional security features such as McAfee Embedded Control. McAfee Embedded Control utilizes whitelisting to help protect the device against malware and tampering of the firmware and applications while the machine is in use. Contributing to consistency across a fleet, this security feature is also supported on the imageRUNNER ADVANCE DX models, imagePRESS Lite C270 Series, as well as the imageCLASS X MF1538C and LBP1538C models.

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Expanding Canons offering in color multifunction printers, the imageCLASS X MF1333C is now added to the line-up with a print speed up to 35 PPM and scan speed up to 50 images-per-minute (IPM) in black-and-white and up to 40 IPM in color. This new model, which replaces the imageCLASS X MF1127C, offers a five-inch color touch panel. An easy-to-use drag-and-drop feature has been introduced, allowing for the customization of the user interface by moving the locations of icons and features on the screen to help increase workflow efficiency and save time.

The imageCLASS X LBP1333C model, which replaces the imageCLASS X LBP1127C, is a single-function color printer with a print speed up to 35 PPM. Like the MF1333C model, this model offers a five-inch color touch panel and a new drag-and-drop feature that allows users to customize their UI with preferred settings.

All four new models support the Canon PRINT Business app, allowing users to perform many functions from their compatible smartphone. These devices can also be integrated with the optional uniFLOW Online output management solution to allow employees to seamlessly print and scan documents, whether they're working from the corporate office, their home office, or a combination of both. Through this integration, organizations and their administrators can benefit from enhanced security, detailed reporting, and potential cost savings with comprehensive tracking and management in order to provide a print and scan infrastructure that is flexible, has more security controls, and is built for the future of hybrid work.

We are confident that these new models will continue to support our customers with their evolving business needs, said Shinichi "Sam" Yoshida, executive vice president and general manager of Canon U.S.A., Inc. Canon continues to support its customers with technology designed for the modern work environment.

Availability and Pricing:

The new imageCLASS X models are available now for ordering and are comprised of the black-and-white imageCLASS X LBP1871(MSRP: $4,800) and LBP1861 (MSRP: $3,400); Color imageCLASS X MF1333C (MSRP: $2,000); and Color imageCLASS X LBP1333C ($1,400).* For more information, please visit www.usa.canon.com.



About Canon U.S.A. Inc.

Canon U.S.A., Inc., is a leading provider of consumer, business-to-business, and industrial digital imaging solutions to the United States and to Latin America and the Caribbean markets. With approximately $30.3 billion in global revenue, its parent company, Canon Inc. (NYSE:CAJ), as of 2022 has ranked in the top-five overall in U.S. patents granted for 37 consecutive years and was one of Fortune Magazine's World's Most Admired Companies in 2022. Canon U.S.A. was featured in Newsweeks Most Loved Workplaces list for 2021, ranking among the top 100 companies for employee happiness and satisfaction at work. Canon U.S.A. is dedicated to its Kyosei philosophy of social and environmental responsibility. To learn more about Canon, visit us at www.usa.canon.com and follow us on Twitter@CanonUSA.

###

 Based on weekly patent counts issued by United States Patent and Trademark Office.

1 imageCLASS X models are available through Canon Solutions America, Inc. and Canon authorized partners.

2 Canon offers security features that can help your business. Many variables can impact the security of your devices and data. Canon does not warrant that the use of its features will prevent malicious attacks, or prevent misuse of devices or data or other security issues.

* Specifications, availability and prices are subject to change without notice. Actual prices are set by individual dealers and may vary.

Attachment

CONTACT: Brian Bohl Canon U.S.A., Inc. 516-408-8214 bbohl@cusa.canon.com




LONDON, Feb. 6, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Yannick Alleno, one of the most Michelin-starred chefs in the world, announces the opening of Pavyllon London in early summer 2023, set within the acclaimed Four Seasons Hotel London at Park Lane. The new restaurant will bring Chef Yannick's refined neighbourhood dining style to London, offering a British expression of his signature modern French dishes within one of Mayfair's most prestigious addresses.

CHEF YANNICK ALLENO TO OPEN PAVYLLON LONDON AT FOUR SEASONS HOTEL LONDON AT PARK LANE IN EARLY SUMMER 2023

Commenting on the significant new opening, Chef Yannick says, "Partnering with the iconic Four Seasons brand has always been a dream of mine, and I am so excited that this partnership will be conceived in London, where I have long wanted to open. Together, we've created a concept that will reflect the contemporary and vibrant nature of the city it will call home, while appealing to locals, visitors, and all who enter its doors."

Pavyllon London will champion laid-back luxury, pairing fine cuisine with a modern and warm environment  a reflection of Chef Yannick's long-standing love affair with London and his firm belief that restaurants form the backbone of the city's social scene. Guests will enjoy diverse menus in a welcoming setting, perfect for any occasion  from leisurely lunches with family to joyous dinners with friends, ultimately creating a dynamic dining experience that encapsulates London's lively nature, local characters and the shared passion for hospitality of Chef Yannick and Four Seasons.

"Across our growing global portfolio of nearly 600 restaurants and bar outlets, Four Seasons consistently offers best-in-class, innovative concepts that are brought to life by creative craftspeople who share our passion for exceptional service and culinary excellence," says Kimberly Grant, Global Head of Restaurants and Bars, Four Seasons. "We are thrilled that Chef Yannick has chosen Four Seasons to partner on his first opening in London. Together, we are raising the bar even higher, with a concept that reflects the future of fine dining with elevated cuisine and service, with a distinctly warm and welcoming touch."

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Located within Four Seasons Hotel London at Park Lane in a freshly designed space, Pavyllon London will be a hub of community for local patrons and international travellers alike. To dine at the restaurant's counter will be to take front-row seats at his theatre.

Lynn Brutman, Regional Vice President and General Manager of Four Seasons Hotel London at Park Lane comments, "Ever since Four Seasons opened its first European hotel here in London, we've been dedicated to creating exceptional experiences for all who visit our iconic, legacy property. With the opening of Pavyllon London, we look forward to elevating the dining experience at our Hotel even further with a fully re-imagined space in which Pavyllon will come to life, continuing to solidify our position as a destination of choice in London for locals and travellers alike."

On the Menu at Pavyllon London

The menu at Pavyllon will be ever-changing, a testament to Chef Yannick's creative food philosophy that every great classic is avant-garde. While dishes will be rooted in French gastronomy and techniques, and share influence with Pavyllon Paris, Chef Yannick will draw inspiration from seasonal British produce to create a truly modern dining experience.

The menus will also reflect a passionate belief of Yannick's that chefs have a responsibility to look after the good health of their guests. He reforms classical approaches by reducing the amount of sugar, fat, and salt in his dishes without compromising flavour or any sense of indulgence. Underpinning his philosophy of modern French cuisine are multiple pillars, another being the importance of sauce, and Extraction, a technique he developed in 2013, as well as fermentation.

This is best represented in dishes found in Pavyllon Paris such as: perfect egg, Paris ham jelly, Isigny cream and Maison Prunier caviar and vegetable raviolis with spring extraction broth and Perfumed oils as well as Chef Yannick's interpretation of the French classic - cheese souffle, steamed with Comte and celery extraction. For the main affair, guests can expect aiguillette of sea bass with a celery extraction sauce and Pavyllon's surf and turf, blue lobster and wagyu beef mille-feuille choron sauce beaten with toasted sesame oil.

The wine offering has been equally well considered with the help of superstar sommelier Vincent Javaux, and will be vast yet discerning, including prestigious references from some of the world's best vineyards alongside family-owned chateaus. There will also be a significant selection of wines available by the glass.

About Chef Yannick Alleno

Chef Yannick Alleno is widely regarded as one of the world's finest chefs, holding 15 Michelin stars across his 14 global restaurants, found in the likes of Paris, Dubai, Monaco, Seoul and Courchevel. Since the beginning of his career, he has become known for his reinvention of Modern French cuisine with dishes rooted in French gastronomy but taking inspiration from modern techniques and seasonal ingredients. His three restaurants in Pavillon Ledoyen hold six stars  three at Alleno Paris, two at L'Abysse and one at Pavyllon  making it the most star-rated independent establishment in the world. His restaurant Le 1947 at Cheval Blanc in Courchevel, also holds three Michelin stars.

About Four Seasons Hotel Park Lane

For those seeking kind and intuitive luxury, Four Seasons Hotel London at Park Lane brings to life elevated experiences in an iconic London location. A short stroll from the city's main attractions and famous shopping streets, it is ideally located to explore the city. Featuring newly designed rooms and a rooftop Spa for a unique city wellness experience, the Hotel is ideal for the modern traveller.

Media Contact

Stephanie Moyer

smoyer@kwtglobal.com

Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts (PRNewsfoto/Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts)

Cision

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SOURCE Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts
NORTHAMPTON, MA / ACCESSWIRE / February 6, 2023 / Expedia Group



Expedia Group, Monday, February 6, 2023, Press release picture

Travel is a force for good and a belief that is central to everything we do at Expedia Group. It guides our commitment to making a positive impact on the world. It also means we recognize the importance of being a responsible and sustainable business; not just for our own success, but for the well-being of our planet and the communities we serve. We're delivering on this commitment by working on improving access for underserved travelers, democratizing the travel business by creating a fairer travel economy and continuously striving for innovation to shape a sustainable future for travel.

As part of this effort, we launched the first Expedia Group Accelerator initiative last September. It is designed to advance innovation in the travel industry by supporting startups and small- and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) to fast-track their growth and innovate on Expedia Group's purpose-built technology platform. The first program focuses on empowering companies that are working to increase access for underserved travelers. Next year, the Accelerator initiative will launch an additional program focused on co-developing new capabilities.

"We're excited to leverage our expertise with Expedia Group on how we can make the world accessible; that's our purpose as a company." - Alvaro Silberstein, co-founder & CEO of Accelerator finalist Wheel The World

After careful consideration, we're thrilled to announce the 12 finalists for this year's program who were selected from a pool of hundreds of applicants across the globe. Each company is a true trailblazer with its own unique story and works tirelessly to break down barriers for travelers.

Increasing access for travelers with disabilities

Becoming RentABLE was founded by Lorraine Woodward after years of frustration in trying to find accessible short-term rental properties for her family's vacations. Through the years, Lorraine has seen a real need for an accessible property each time she talked to her renters, many of whom haven't had the ability to vacation, due to lack of access, until they found her accessible rental. Lorraine and co-founder Jennifer Springer aim to improve accessibility in the rental property market, looking beyond the wheelchair toward a broader range of accessibility accommodations.

Be My Eyes is a mobile app that connects people with sight impairments to volunteers through live video. After noticing that people who are blind would often video call family members for help in solving what seems like everyday tasks, Be My Eyes was founded to create a video-calling platform for the visually impaired that is staffed by a network of volunteers so that they don't have to solely rely on family and friends. Since the company launched in January 2015, over six million volunteers have signed up to assist blind and low-vision users.

Handiscover was founded by Sebastien Archambeaud after his son became a wheelchair user, and he was challenged to find accessible accommodations for their vacations. Leaning into his background in technology, Archambeaud built Handiscover, an accommodation booking website for travelers to search and select accommodations based on their mobility needs.

iAccess Life is a mobile app that allows travelers to rate and review locations such as restaurants, hotels and other attractions based on various aspects of their accessibility needs. Founded by Brandon Winfield and Sayeed Mehrjerdian, iAccess Life empowers travelers who are disabled to "know before they go" and feel confident planning trips to new locations.

Sociability is a mobile app that helps people who are disabled find accessible locations. After relocating to Oxford in the United Kingdom from Australia, Matt Pierri noticed the lack of centralized accessibility information and created an app that allows the community to find, tag and share accessible places so that others can enjoy them too.

Wheel The World is an online resource for accessible travel experiences, empowering travelers with disabilities and seniors to explore the world without limits. After his experience trekking Patagonia in a wheelchair, Alvaro Silberstein was inspired to found Wheel the World alongside Camilo Navarro, enabling everyone to travel the world - regardless of ability.

Story continues

Advancing travel equity

Flywallet is a digital wallet and savings account that makes booking travel more affordable, accessible and sustainable. Founded by Thomas Negrit and Alejandra Fernandez, Flywallet combines data, APIs, blockchain and Web3 to gamify budgeting and paying for travel, helping to reduce the financial burden and lower carbon emissions.

Green Book Global is a platform for Black travelers to share destination reviews and ratings, book trips and earn cash for travel. Lawrence Phillips founded Green Book Global in 2018 to inspire and empower Black travelers to explore the world. It rates locations on the experience of "Traveling While Black" to help its community feel safe, and works with destinations to become more inclusive.

Empowering women and LGBTQIA+ travelers

GeoSure combines data from tourism and travel alerts, health, economic and crime statistics to provide hyper-local safety data for travelers, especially women and the LGBTQIA+ community. In 2014, Michael Becker and Dr. Don Pardew set out to make travel safer and more predictable by offering real-time data and analysis on destinations across the globe. GeoSure is now available in over 65,000 cities and neighborhoods worldwide.

Greether is a travel safety platform that connects women travelers to local women guides so they can experience the destination's culture firsthand with peace of mind. An experienced solo traveler, Vanessa Karel founded Greether in 2021 after interviewing 500 other women travelers - 90% of whom identified safety as their primary concern.

misterb&b is an online platform where travelers can choose from over one million private rooms, apartments and LGBTQIA+-friendly hotels and connect with local guides. After experiencing homophobic discrimination during a private room stay, Matthieu Jost, CEO & co-founder, started misterb&b so that no travelers would feel unwelcome based on their sexual identity.

SoloTrvlr is a travel app for women to explore over 100 destinations, through the eyes of women that know it best. Kim Callender founded SoloTrvlr in 2021 so that women can plan trips with the input and experience from local women and make solo women travel accessible and safe for all, regardless of age, race or sexuality.

The passion and drive from these companies to create a more equitable travel experience for every traveler pushes the industry forward. On a personal level, I'm incredibly excited to work with the finalists and get to know each of the founders as we work together to make travel more open, accessible and inclusive.

View additional multimedia and more ESG storytelling from Expedia Group on 3blmedia.com.

Contact Info:

Spokesperson: Expedia Group

Website: https://www.3blmedia.com/profiles/expedia-group

Email: info@3blmedia.com

SOURCE: Expedia Group





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Dublin, Feb. 06, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "Denmark - Telecoms, Mobile and Broadband - Statistics and Analyses" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

This report introduces the key aspects of the Danish telecom market, providing data on the fixed network services sector as well as profiles of the major operators.

It also analyses market statistics and assesses the key regulatory issues including interconnection, local loop unbundling, number portability and carrier preselection. In addition, the market reviews the fixed broadband and mobile markets, including a range of subscriber forecasts.



Denmark connected to Norway via a new cable system

Denmark has one of the highest broadband penetration rates globally, with a near universal availability of superfast connections. Extensive cable and DSL infrastructure has been supported by a progressive regulatory regime which has encouraged operator access to both copper and fibre networks.

Fibre networks have a fast-growing footprint, while a number of community and metropolitan schemes have supplemented TDC's own commitments to build out fibre nationally. A number of wholesale fibre schemes have also added to the wider availability of fibre broadband.

The reach of LTE infrastructure is comprehensive, while the MNOs by mid-2022 also provided near universal population coverage with 5G. Services based on 5G were initially launched using trial 3.5GHz licences.

The multi-spectrum auction held in April 2021 has enabled them to improve the resilience and capacity of 5G. At the same time, all MNOs are engaged in closing down their 3G networks and refarming spectrum for LTE and 5G use.

Key developments

Havsil cable connecting Denmark to Norway is completed;

Telenor Denmark planning to upgrade an additional 1,400 base stations for its 5G SA network by end-2022;

Denmarks MNOs closing down 3G services;

Nokia Networks given five-year managed services contract for TT-Netvarket;

TDC expands NB-IoT across its LTE footprint;

AquaComms upgrades the Havfrue submarine cable;

Report update includes the regulator's market data update to December 2020, telcos' operating and financial data to Q2 2022, updated Telecom Maturity Index charts and analyses, recent market developments.

Story continues

Companies mentioned in this report

TDC

Telia Denmark

Telenor

MIT Tele (DLG Tele)

3 Denmark

Lycamobile

Tele2

Cibicom

Net 1 Denmark

Key Topics Covered:



Key statistics



Regional Europe Market Comparison

Market characteristics

Market Leaders

Market Challengers

Market Emergents

TMI versus GDP

Mobile and mobile broadband penetration

Fixed versus mobile broadband penetration

Country overview



Telecommunications market

Market analysis

Regulatory environment

Historical overview

Regulatory authority

Fixed-line developments

Mobile network developments

Mobile market

Mobile statistics

Mobile infrastructure

Major mobile operators

Mobile content and applications

Fixed-line broadband market

Market analysis

Broadband statistics

Government support

Hybrid Fibre Coax (HFC) networks

Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) networks

Fibre-to-the-Premises (FttP) networks

Other fixed broadband services

Fixed network operators

Introduction

TDC

Telenor Denmark

Telia Denmark

Telecommunications infrastructure

Overview of the national telecom network

VoIP

Next Generation Access (NGA)

Alternative networks

International infrastructure

Smart infrastructure

Smart cities

Appendix Historic data



Glossary of abbreviations



For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/x5zjuc

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Dermatology Devices Market Size By Product (Treatment Devices and Diagnostic Devices), By Application (Vascular & Pigmented Lesion Removal, Hair Removal, Cellulite Reduction, Skin Rejuvenation, Body Contouring & Fat Removal, Acne & Tattoo Removal, Wrinkle Removal & Skin Resurfacing, and Others), By End-User (Clinics, Hospitals, and Others), Regions, Segmentation, and forecast till 2030.

Pune India, Feb. 06, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The market has been studied for the below mentioned-segmentation and regional analysis for North America, Europe, Asia, South America, and the Middle East and Africa. These are the key regions where the dermatology devices market is operating and is predicted to expand soon. The manufacturers and suppliers involved in the dermatology devices market are present across various countries in the above-mentioned regions.

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The report provides a detailed understanding of the market segments which have been formed by combining different prospects such as the product, application, end-user, and regions. Apart from this, the key driving factors, restraints, potential growth opportunities and market challenges are also discussed in the below paragraphs.

The significant players operating in the global dermatology devices market are Alma Lasers GmbH, Syneron Medical Ltd., Cynosure, Inc., Solta Medical, Inc., Cutera, Inc., Aesthetic Group, Image Derm, Inc., Canfield Scientific, Inc., 3Gen, Bausch Health Companies Inc, Ambicare Health, Genesis Biosystems, Inc., Lumenis, Ltd., Heine Optotechnik GmbH & Co. Kg, Bruker Corporation, Carl Zeiss, Photomedex, Inc., and Michelson Diagnostics, Ltd. among other. To achieve a substantial market share in the worldwide dermatology devices market and strengthen their position, manufacturers are pursuing expansion methods such as current developments, mergers and acquisitions, product innovations, collaborations, and partnerships, joint ventures.

Story continues

Devices that can be used during surgery, for treating skin diseases, or for diagnosing them are used in dermatology. Dermatologists and surgeons can identify and treat skin conditions with the aid of dermatology equipment. Hospitals, dermatology clinics, medical offices, and academic research facilities are just a few of the places where these devices are used in the delivery of healthcare. The rising prevalence of skin cancer and other skin disorders is partly to blame for the increasing product demand. Additionally, due to people's increased appreciation for cosmetic benefits and technological advancements in dermatology equipment, the use of these devices is fast increasing. A rise in disposable income is one of the major factors promoting market expansion. Melanoma and other types of skin cancer are becoming more prevalent. According to the Skin Cancer Foundation, melanoma claims 10,130 American lives each year. Additionally, 91,270 new cases of melanoma will be found in the United States in 2018, according to data from the American Cancer Society. One in three Americans visit dermatologists each year, and one in four have a skin condition, according to the American Academy of Dermatology (AAD). As a result, there is a growing need for fast skin condition detection. The COVID-19 epidemic had a negative impact on the market. The market initially suffered as a result of the shutdown and the interruption to the supply chain.

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Scope of Dermatology Devices Market Report:

Report Metric Information Study Period 2022-2030 Base Year 2022 Forecast Period 2023-2030 Market Share Unit USD Billion Segments Covered Product, Application, End-User, and Regions. Regions Covered North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, South America, and Middle-East and Africa Major Players Alma Lasers GmbH, Syneron Medical Ltd., Cynosure, Inc., Solta Medical, Inc., Cutera, Inc., Aesthetic Group, Image Derm, Inc., Canfield Scientific, Inc., 3Gen, Bausch Health Companies Inc, Ambicare Health, Genesis Biosystems, Inc., Lumenis, Ltd., Heine Optotechnik GmbH & Co. Kg, Bruker Corporation, Carl Zeiss, Photomedex, Inc., and Michelson Diagnostics, Ltd. among other

Segmentation Analysis

Treatment devices are expected to be the fastest-growing segment in 2022.

The product segment is treatment devices and diagnostic devices. The treatment devices segment is expected to witness the highest growth rate during the forecast period. This is primarily due to the wide range of applications for dermatological treatments. The development of cutting-edge technology in the laser device category is another factor contributing to the market growth. Diagnostic devices have a small market share since fewer individuals are aware of several unique pieces of equipment. However, it is anticipated that the increasing prevalence of skin cancer will fuel category expansion in the future. Laser products, which accounted for the bulk of treatment devices in 2022, will see the fastest CAGR throughout the forecast period due to their extensive use.

Hair removal is expected to be the fastest-growing segment in 2022.

The application segment is vascular & pigmented lesion removal, hair removal, cellulite reduction, skin rejuvenation, body contouring & fat removal, acne & tattoo removal, wrinkle removal & skin resurfacing, and others. The hair removal segment is expected to witness the highest growth rate during the forecast period. The hair removal treatment market is expected to grow strongly throughout the forecast period, based on application. The segment for hair removal treatments includes body sculpting, fat removal, wrinkle reduction, tattoo removal, and skin rejuvenation. Laser hair removal equipment has been proven to be safe for all skin tones and hair colours.

Hospitals are expected to be the fastest-growing segment in 2022.

The end-user segment is clinics, hospitals, and others. The hospitals segment is expected to witness the highest growth rate during the forecast period. Because hospitals frequently utilise sophisticated dermatology technology. Because there are many different treatment options available, many people visit these facilities to diagnose and treat skin ailments, which in turn helps the segment's growth. Dermatology offices are clinics that specialize in the diagnosis and treatment of skin conditions. In dermatology clinics, board-certified plastic surgeons perform both surgical and nonsurgical procedures.

Regional Analysis

The regional analysis provides a detailed perception of the key regions and the countries. Some of the key countries analyzed for the dermatology devices market include the US, Canada, Mexico, Germany, France, the U.K., Italy, Spain, Russia, China, Japan, India, Brazil, Peru, UAE, South Africa, and Saudi Arabia.

The North America region witnessed a major share. This trend is anticipated to persist due to the increasing prevalence of skin cancer and other skin disorders including eczema and rosacea, as well as the approval of dermatological equipment and growing public awareness of aesthetic procedures. According to the American Cancer Society, the country would experience about 99,780 new instances of cutaneous melanoma in 2022. The majority of those cases42,600 cases in women and 57,180 cases in menwill be reported. As a result, an important element in the increased demand for dermatological devices, which is driving the market's growth, is the rising incidence of skin cancer and other skin disorders.

Country Analysis

Germany

Germany's dermatology devices market size was valued at USD 0.93 billion in 2022 and is expected to reach USD 2.23 billion by 2030, at a CAGR of 11.6% from 2023 to 2030.

One of the key factors driving the market for dermatological devices is the region's increasing prevalence of skin problems. The market is growing as a result of the preferred inventions of professionals in cosmetic enhancement, increased public awareness of aesthetic appeal, and technological developments in dermatology equipment.

China

Chinas dermatology devices market size was valued at USD 0.96 billion in 2022 and is expected to reach USD 2.34 billion by 2030, at a CAGR of 11.8% from 2023 to 2030. For cosmetic procedures, new technologies are being developed and launched to the market, including laser, dynamic pulse control, radiofrequency, and infrared technologies. For instance, a relationship between TMall Global, a division of the Alibaba Group, and the UK-based startup TensCare allowed it to join the Chinese market in October 2020. Among the aesthetic equipment offered by the cosmetics business, TensCare are lasers for cleaning nails. The market is expected to expand quickly throughout the forecast period due to China's rising demand for cosmetic procedures.

India

India's dermatology devices market size was valued at USD 0.74 billion in 2022 and is expected to reach USD 1.79 billion by 2030, at a CAGR of 11.7% from 2023 to 2030. Two significant aspects that contribute to the growth of the regional market are the rising incidence of skin cancer and other skin disorders including eczema and rosacea, as well as the expanding use of cosmetic procedures.

Covid-19 Impact

Covid-19 had a major impact on almost all industries, such as electronics, semiconductors, manufacturing, automobile, etc. However, several companies operating in the technology sector have seen increased revenue due to significant changes in consumer preferences toward technological services. In addition, the pandemic has led to significant growth in technology across developing and developed countries.

Furthermore, the growth of dermatology devices market is mainly driven by the increased prevalence of skin diseases.

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PMI

Diagnostic Labs Market, By Lab Type (Single/Independent Laboratories, Hospital-based Labs, Physician Office Labs, and Others), By Testing Services (Physiological Function Testing, General & Clinical Testing, Esoteric Testing, Specialized Testing, Non-invasive Prenatal Testing, COVID-19 Testing, and Others), By Disease (Cardiology, Oncology, Neurology, Orthopedics, Gastroenterology, Gynecology, Odontology, and Others), By Revenue Source (Healthcare Plan, Out-of-Pocket, Public System), and By Region (North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, and Middle East & Africa) - Trends, Analysis and Forecast till 2032

Covina , Feb. 06, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Diagnostic lab has become an essential component in healthcare system. Use of diagnostic test has become a crucial aspect of clinical practice as they assist clinicians in establishing whether a patient has or not has any particular condition. Diagnostic labs provides diagnostic services like serological test, urine analysis, semen analysis, MRI, X-Rays, CT-Scan and other molecular tests. Diagnostic test provides more accurate assessment of condition which is being investigated. Growing technological advancement has boosts the market growth. Rising prevalence of chronic diseases has given rise in demand for healthcare systems. Diagnostic labs play an important role in identification of disease and patient condition, which help doctors for giving further treatment to patients. Urbanization has given rise in pandemic which has fueled the market growth. Various seasonal flu diseases are also growing due to climatic conditions which has become a major factor in Global Diagnostic Labs market growth.

Changes in rapid weather variability increase the risk of infection like transmission of influenza. It was determined clearly that temperature and absolute humidity has given positive impact on growth of influenza virus. Influenza occurs more commonly in seasonal epidemics during winter, temperate climatic conditions. In tropical regions influenza occurs throughout the year. However, change in rapid weather variability has given rise in influenza virus which has enhanced the growth of target market. Influenza virus has become the most common pathogen which causes respiratory diseases in autumn and winter season. Rising infectious diseases has become a major contribution in Global Diagnostic Labs market growth. For instance in 2022, increase in urban population and immigrants started in 2019, activity of influenza like illness (ILI) has showed a sharp increase in 2019 at sub-center. It was determined that urbanization has shaping the intensity of influenza epidemics due to increase in population, population mobility, human contact, migration, etc. Urbanization has increased the possibility of incubation and transmission of virus from one person to another by human contact and population mobility. However, rapid growth in urban population and has led to rise in prevalence of infectious diseases which has fueled the Global Diagnostic Labs market growth.

Story continues

The report Global Diagnostic Labs Market, By Lab Type (Single/Independent Laboratories, Hospital-based Labs, Physician Office Labs, and Others), By Testing Services (Physiological Function Testing, General & Clinical Testing, Esoteric Testing, Specialized Testing, Non-invasive Prenatal Testing, COVID-19 Testing, and Others), By Disease (Cardiology, Oncology, Neurology, Orthopedics, Gastroenterology, Gynecology, Odontology, and Others), By Revenue Source (Healthcare Plan, Out-of-Pocket, Public System), and By Region (North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, and Middle East & Africa) - Trends, Analysis and Forecast till 2032

Key Highlights:

In December 2022, Lupin Diagnostics has launched new regional reference laboratory in Indore. Newly launched regional lab is equipped with qualified clinical experts & automated, streamlined processes. This expansion will improve access to reliable, high quality, advanced testing centers & home care collection facilities at affordable prices. Newly launched lab will offer cytogenetics, molecular diagnostics, microbiology, cytology, hematology, flow cytometry, immunology, serology, biochemistry, etc.

In August 2019, Exact Sciences has opened up new laboratory for increasing Cologuard Processing capacity. The company has opened 169,000 square feet clinical laboratory & warehouse in Madison. Newly developed facility will expect to increase companys total Cologuard processing capacity to 7 million tests per year.

In October 2018, Roche Diagnostics has partnered with DASA Group for creating worlds largest integrated core lab. This partnership will help them to uncover meaningful opportunities which will support top organizational goals by securing long term financial stability of healthcare institution, providing new business opportunities and for strengthening reputation and leadership.

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Analyst View:

Diagnostic has become an integral part of decision-making along each step of persons health, wealth and disease journey. Diagnostic labs provides services for determining cause of illness and condition of patient. Diagnostic labs has become important as they provide diagnosis services which help doctors for determining exact cause of patients illness & discomfort. Diagnostic services has played an important role in reducing widespread of tuberculosis and hepatitis diseases. Diagnostic services provides all types of serological test, urine analysis, semen analysis, MRI, X-Rays, etc. MRI endoscopy is performed which is higher level of tests. Crucial trends like adoption of biosensors, advanced analytics, technological advancement like artificial intelligence, adoption of liquid biopsies directly to consumer testing & automation will shape the future of diagnostics.

However, there is need for government & stakeholders to support and strengthen the lab quality system to avoid the misdiagnosis, false result, delayed diagnosis, during prevalence of pandemic. Thus, efforts for improving lab capacity and lab quality system in countries where resources are limited is highly recommended. However, rising prevalence of chronic, allergic, infectious, cancer diseases is expected to boost the demand for target market growth over the forecast period.





Browse 60 market data tables* and 35 figures* through 140 slides and in-depth TOC on Global Diagnostic Labs Market, By Lab Type (Single/Independent Laboratories, Hospital-based Labs, Physician Office Labs, and Others), By Testing Services (Physiological Function Testing, General & Clinical Testing, Esoteric Testing, Specialized Testing, Non-invasive Prenatal Testing, COVID-19 Testing, and Others), By Disease (Cardiology, Oncology, Neurology, Orthopedics, Gastroenterology, Gynecology, Odontology, and Others), By Revenue Source (Healthcare Plan, Out-of-Pocket, Public System), and By Region (North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, and Middle East & Africa) - Trends, Analysis and Forecast till 2032

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Key Market Insights from the report:

Global Diagnostic Labs Market accounted for US$ 354.3 billion in 2022 and is estimated to be US$ 919.4 billion by 2032 and is anticipated to register a CAGR of 9.4%. The Global Diagnostic Labs Market is segmented based on Lab Type, Testing Services, Disease, Revenue Source, and Region.

Based on Lab Type, Global Diagnostic Labs Market is segmented into Single/Independent Laboratories, Hospital-based Labs, Physician Office Labs, and others.

Based on Testing Services, Global Diagnostic Labs Market is segmented into Physiological Function Testing (ECG, X-ray, Endoscopy, CT, MRI, others), General & Clinical Testing, Esoteric Testing, Specialized Testing, Non-invasive Prenatal Testing, COVID-19 Testing, and others.

Based on Disease, Global Diagnostic Labs Market is segmented into Cardiology, Oncology, Neurology, Orthopedics, Gastroenterology, Gynecology, Odontology, and others.

Based on Revenue Source, Global Diagnostic Labs Market is segmented into Healthcare Plan, Out-of-Pocket, Public System.

By Region, the Global Diagnostic Labs Market is segmented into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, Middle East & Africa

Competitive Landscape & their strategies of Global Diagnostic Labs Market:

The prominent players operating in the Global Diagnostic Labs Market includes, Eurofins Scientific SE, Quest Diagnostics Inc., Exact Sciences Corp., DASA Labs, Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings, Sonic Healthcare Limited, SYNLAB International GmbH, Kingmed Diagnostics, BioReference Health LLC., Healius Limited, and others.

The market provides detailed information regarding the industrial base, productivity, strengths, manufacturers, and recent trends which will help companies enlarge the businesses and promote financial growth. Furthermore, the report exhibits dynamic factors including segments, sub-segments, regional marketplaces, competition, dominant key players, and market forecasts. In addition, the market includes recent collaborations, mergers, acquisitions, and partnerships along with regulatory frameworks across different regions impacting the market trajectory. Recent technological advances and innovations influencing the global market are included in the report.

Scope of the Report:

Global Diagnostic Labs Market, By Lab Type Overview Market Value and Forecast (US$ Bn), and Share Analysis (%), 2022  2032 Y-o-Y Growth Analysis (%), 2022  2032 Segment Trends

Single/Independent Laboratories Overview Market Size and Forecast (US$ Bn), and Y-o-Y Growth (%), 2022  2032

Hospital-based Labs Overview Market Size and Forecast (US$ Bn), and Y-o-Y Growth (%), 2022  2032

Physician Office Labs Overview Market Size and Forecast (US$ Bn), and Y-o-Y Growth (%), 2022  2032

Others Overview Market Size and Forecast (US$ Bn), and Y-o-Y Growth (%), 2022  2032

Global Diagnostic Labs Market, By Testing Services, 2022  2032, (US$ Bn) Overview Market Value and Forecast (US$ Bn), and Share Analysis (%), 2022  2032 Y-o-Y Growth Analysis (%), 2022  2032 Segment Trends

Physiological Function Testing (ECG, X-ray, Endoscopy, CT, MRI, others) Overview Market Size and Forecast (US$ Bn), and Y-o-Y Growth (%), 2022  2032

General & Clinical Testing Overview Market Size and Forecast (US$ Bn), and Y-o-Y Growth (%), 2022  2032

Esoteric Testing Overview Market Size and Forecast (US$ Bn), and Y-o-Y Growth (%), 2022  2032

Specialized Testing Overview Market Size and Forecast (US$ Bn), and Y-o-Y Growth (%), 2022  2032

Non-invasive Prenatal Testing Overview Market Size and Forecast (US$ Bn), and Y-o-Y Growth (%), 2022  2032

COVID-19 Testing Overview Market Size and Forecast (US$ Bn), and Y-o-Y Growth (%), 2022  2032

Others Overview Market Size and Forecast (US$ Bn), and Y-o-Y Growth (%), 2022  2032

Global Diagnostic Labs Market, By Disease, 2022  2032, (US$ Bn) Overview Market Value and Forecast (US$ Bn), and Share Analysis (%), 2022  2032 Y-o-Y Growth Analysis (%), 2022  2032 Segment Trends

Cardiology Overview Market Size and Forecast (US$ Bn), and Y-o-Y Growth (%), 2022  2032

Oncology Overview Market Size and Forecast (US$ Bn), and Y-o-Y Growth (%), 2022  2032

Neurology Overview Market Size and Forecast (US$ Bn), and Y-o-Y Growth (%), 2022  2032

Orthopedics Overview Market Size and Forecast (US$ Bn), and Y-o-Y Growth (%), 2022  2032

Gastroenterology Overview Market Size and Forecast (US$ Bn), and Y-o-Y Growth (%), 2022  2032

Gynecology Overview Market Size and Forecast (US$ Bn), and Y-o-Y Growth (%), 2022  2032

Odontology Overview Market Size and Forecast (US$ Bn), and Y-o-Y Growth (%), 2022  2032

Others Overview Market Size and Forecast (US$ Bn), and Y-o-Y Growth (%), 2022  203

Global Diagnostic Labs Market, By Revenue Source, 2022  2032, (US$ Bn) Overview Market Value and Forecast (US$ Bn), and Share Analysis (%), 2022  2032 Y-o-Y Growth Analysis (%), 2022  2032 Segment Trends

Healthcare Plan Overview Market Size and Forecast (US$ Bn), and Y-o-Y Growth (%), 2022  2032

Out-of-Pocket Overview Market Size and Forecast (US$ Bn), and Y-o-Y Growth (%), 2022  2032

Public System Overview Market Size and Forecast (US$ Bn), and Y-o-Y Growth (%), 2022  2032

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Explains an overview of the product portfolio, including product development, planning, and positioning

Explains details about key operational strategies with a focus on R&D strategies, corporate structure, localization strategies, production capabilities, and financial performance of various companies.

Detailed analysis of the market revenue over the forecasted period.

Examining various outlooks of the market with the help of Porters five forces analysis, PEST & SWOT Analysis.

Study on the segments that are anticipated to dominate the market.

Study on the regional analysis that is expected to register the highest growth over the forecast period

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CHICAGO, Feb. 6, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The drone inspection and monitoring market is projected to grow from USD 10.5 Billion in 2022 to USD 21.3 Billion by 2027, at a CAGR of 15.1% from 2022 to 2027 according to a new report by MarketsandMarkets. The market growth can be attributed to the increasing demand for safe and accurate inspection & monitoring.

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The drone inspection and monitoring market in Asia Pacific is projected to witness a high CAGR during the forecast period owing to the increasing demand for drones for various applications in the region. As the geopolitical situation in this region is unstable, several Asia Pacific countries are focusing on increasing their industrial prowess. The prevailing trend of drone procurement for civilian applications by emerging economies, such as India, China, and Malaysia, is expected to drive the growth of the drone inspection and monitoring market in Asia Pacific in the coming years. In May 2020, the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) of India launched a new online portal, GARUD, to provide conditional exemptions to drone companies. Such initiatives are expected to lead to the growth of drone service providers.

Based on solution, the service segment registered the largest market share in the base year

Based on solution, the drone inspection and monitoring market has been segmented into platform, software, infrastructure, and services. Among these, the services segment is projected to lead the market during the forecast period. The service segment of the drone inspection and monitoring market includes drone platform services, which have been further sub-segmented into flights (piloting & operations), data analysis, and data processing (deliverables).

Based on Mode of Operation, optionally piloted segment projected to hold leading share during forecast period

Based on the mode of operation, the drone inspection and monitoring market has been subdivided into remotely piloted, optionally piloted, and fully autonomous. Remotely piloted drones are widely used in the construction industry and for remote sensing-based ecology and conservation research. Optionally piloted drones find application in the agricultural sector, and autonomous drones are currently used for military, mining, oil & gas, and various other applications. Optionally piloted drones are anticipated to be soon substituted by autonomous drones as they have greater payload capacity, enhanced propulsion power, long endurance, and can operate without any human involvement. Also, optionally piloted drones would have the highest market share during the forecast period, whereas fully autonomous drones would have the highest CAGR during the forecast period.

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Asia Pacific Is Expected to Grow at Highest Compound Annual Growth Rate During Forecast Period

Countries such as China, Australia, India, Japan, and South Korea contribute to the growth of the drone inspection and monitoring market in the Asia Pacific. Political tensions in some Asia Pacific countries have led to the deployment of drones for border security in the region. This serves to be one of the most significant factors driving the growth of the drone inspection and monitoring market in the Asia Pacific.

The trends of automation and globalization in India, Australia, and China are also fueling the growth of the Asia Pacific drone inspection and monitoring market. UAVs are being increasingly used for real estate inspection, pollution monitoring, agriculture inspection, and asset monitoring in China and Japan. In 2016, three UAVs were deployed by China at its environment monitoring station in Hebei to help cut down on pollution.

The major players in the drone inspection and monitoring market are Intertek Group plc (UK), MISTRAS Group, Inc. (UK), Wipro (India), Lockheed Martin Corporation (US), and Intel Corporation (US).

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About MarketsandMarkets

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The B2B economy is witnessing the emergence of $25 trillion of new revenue streams that are substituting existing revenue streams in this decade alone. We work with clients on growth programs, helping them monetize this $25 trillion opportunity through our service lines - TAM Expansion, Go-to-Market (GTM) Strategy to Execution, Market Share Gain, Account Enablement, and Thought Leadership Marketing.

Built on the 'GIVE Growth' principle, we work with several Forbes Global 2000 B2B companies - helping them stay relevant in a disruptive ecosystem. Our insights and strategies are molded by our industry experts, cutting-edge AI-powered Market Intelligence Cloud, and years of research. The KnowledgeStore (our Market Intelligence Cloud) integrates our research, facilitates an analysis of interconnections through a set of applications, helping clients look at the entire ecosystem and understand the revenue shifts happening in their industry.

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An aircraft operating Buta Airways flight J2 9105 on the Baku-Istanbul route had to land in Ankara due to heavy snowfall, Azernews reports, referring to the press service of Buta Airways.

The plane landed at Esenboga International Airport (Ankara) at 2050 (GMT+4).

The plane will fly to Istanbul as soon as the weather conditions improve.
Public art installations inspired by Duke Energy's clean energy mission and reflect vibrant history of uptown Charlotte

Installation scheduled to begin this month

CHARLOTTE, N.C., Feb. 6, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Duke Energy today announced that three public art installations will be constructed at the company's new headquarters in uptown Charlotte  the Duke Energy Plaza  to celebrate the city and company's mission. The works of art will be freely accessible to the public and emphasize the company's commitment to powering the vitality of its communities.

"Our new headquarters will add to Charlotte's stunning skyline and be a place to connect, innovate and inspire as part of the city's vibrant uptown community," said Donna Council, senior vice president of Administrative Services. "We wanted to share Duke Energy's core values and clean energy mission in visually dynamic ways."

Passersby outside Duke Energy Plaza's main entrance on South Tryon Street will be greeted with two illuminated sculptures by Charlotte-based artist Ivan Toth Depena. The pieces visualize photons, the smallest particles of light not visible to the human eye and the basis for solar generation. Behind the sculptures  the larger of which is nearly 40 feet tall  the building's facade will feature a six-story panel with a silhouette of Depena's interpretation of a photon, creating a striking backdrop to the towering works of art.

Affixed to the Brooklyn Village Avenue-facing facade of Duke Energy Plaza will be a three-dimensional mural by Nigerian native and Brooklyn, NY-based artist Olalekan Jeyifous. The piece symbolizes the rich history and cultural heritage of the former Brooklyn neighborhood, a predominantly Black community in Charlotte's Second Ward that was razed in the city's "urban renewal" movement in the 1960s and '70s. While designing the mural, Jeyifous consulted with the Harvey B. Gantt Center for African-American Arts + Culture and met with civic leaders and former members of the historic Brooklyn community.

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An immersive installation by Chicago-based art duo Luftwerk will be inside Duke Energy Plaza's Experience Hall, an extension of the main lobby and casual gathering space during normal business hours. Titled Journey of the Sun, a sculpture of 85 colorful, translucent glass discs will be suspended from the ceiling in a slender, figure-eight curve representing the sun's path across the sky over the course of a year. The piece also features complementary motion graphic animations to be displayed along the space's nearly 60-foot-long AV wall. Together, the sculpture and video are designed to capture the movement of time and light, creating an immersive experience for employees and visitors alike.

The company worked with Hodges Taylor, a Charlotte-based gallery and consulting firm, to facilitate the search for artists whose practices and designs reflected Duke Energy's commitment to inclusion and a clean energy transformation.

"Not only does public art help a community build its cultural identity, it also helps residents build a sense of belonging," said Lauren Harkey, owner and director of Hodges Taylor. "I feel honored to be part of the Duke Energy team and witness their eagerness to provide a meaningful platform to bring these artists' visions to life, and to light, while adding to the dynamic fabric of the city."

Installation of the photon sculptures is scheduled to begin in early February and continue through March. The Brooklyn mural and interior Experience Hall are scheduled to begin installation this summer.

"We can't thank Hodges Taylor, the Gantt and arts community members enough for helping ensure these art installations are a meaningful reflection of our city and our company," said Council. "The Plaza represents a new chapter for Duke Energy, and these creative works will welcome the community for years to come."

Duke Energy

Duke Energy (NYSE: DUK), a Fortune 150 company headquartered in Charlotte, N.C., is one of America's largest energy holding companies. Its electric utilities serve 8.2 million customers in North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida, Indiana, Ohio and Kentucky, and collectively own 50,000 megawatts of energy capacity. Its natural gas unit serves 1.6 million customers in North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Ohio and Kentucky. The company employs 28,000 people.

Duke Energy is executing an aggressive clean energy transition to achieve its goals of net-zero methane emissions from its natural gas business by 2030 and net-zero carbon emissions from electricity generation by 2050. The company has interim carbon emission targets of at least 50% reduction from electric generation by 2030, 50% for Scope 2 and certain Scope 3 upstream and downstream emissions by 2035, and 80% from electric generation by 2040. In addition, the company is investing in major electric grid enhancements and energy storage, and exploring zero-emission power generation technologies such as hydrogen and advanced nuclear.

Duke Energy was named to Fortune's 2023 "World's Most Admired Companies" list and Forbes' "World's Best Employers" list. More information is available at duke-energy.com. The Duke Energy News Center contains news releases, fact sheets, photos and videos. Duke Energy's illumination features stories about people, innovations, community topics and environmental issues. Follow Duke Energy on Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram and Facebook.

Hodges Taylor

Hodges Taylor is Charlotte's longest-running gallery and consulting firm, founded in 1980. The women-owned gallery focuses on promoting Southeastern artists in a range of mediums and curating and presenting artists who share in common the power to spark curiosity, conversation, and collaboration.

The art consulting firm provides services to both corporate and individual collectors and develops projects that integrate works of art into every aesthetic, environment, and concept. Over its forty-two-year history, the company established an extensive network of relationships with artist partners, reliable vendors, and industry contractors and consistently partners with and supports the arts community.

About the Artists

Ivan Toth Depena

Ivan Toth Depena is an artist currently based in Charlotte, NC, after having lived and worked in Miami, FL and New York, NY. Ivan's commercial design studio is known as Airboat, Inc. With a master's degree in Architecture from Harvard University's Graduate School of Design, Depena's artistic production is informed by his experience in art, architecture, technology and design, and encompasses a range of media. Depena pursues the intersection between different disciplines with the aim of choreographing the moment when these aspects come together seamlessly. Using traditional avenues such as drawing, painting and sculpture then interweaving interactivity/responsiveness, video, light and high-tech methods of fabrication, Depena explores the fine line between chance and intention.

Olalekan Jeyifous ("LEk")

Olalekan Jeyifous received a bachelor of architecture degree from Cornell University and is a Nigerian-born, Brooklyn-based artist whose work re-imagines social spaces that examine the relationships between architecture, community, and the environment. He has exhibited at venues such as the Studio Museum in Harlem, MoMA, the Vitra Design Museum and the Guggenheim in Bilbao, Spain. In addition to an extensive exhibition history; he has spent over a decade creating large-scale installations for a variety of public spaces, including a forth-coming installation at the Charlotte Douglas airport.

Luftwerk (led by Petra Bachmaier and Sean Gallero; Experience Hall project in collaboration with Volume Gallery)

Petra Bachmaier and Sean Gallero met in 1999 while studying at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and soon discovered a shared interest in installations that transform and sculpt spaces using light, color, and texture, prompting them to find their own studio. Asked how they came up with the name Luftwerk, they reply: "We wanted to find a name that reflected how people experience our work." Luft (air) stands for the ephemeral, immaterial properties of light. Werk (work, artwork) alludes to the materiality of surfaces, structures, and methods, and defines the framework in which light, color and sound take shape. Their work shifts the viewer's perceptions of space and site and opens new conversations by inviting the public to experience the familiar transformed.

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According to a market research study published by Contrive Datum Insights, In 2021, the market in North America was valued USD 145.4 million.

Farmington, Feb. 06, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Global Electric Fencing Market Size Was Valued At USD 305.5 Million In 2021. The Market Is Projected To Grow From USD 321.1 Million In 2022 To USD 484.2 Million By 2029, Exhibiting A CAGR Of 6.04% During The Forecast Period. The COVID-19 outbreak has been frightening and unprecedented on a worldwide scale. In all locations compared to levels prior to the pandemic, there is less need for electric fence than anticipated. According to our analysis, the global market shrank by 14.99% in 2020 compared to 2019.

Electric fencing is lightweight, simple to erect, and capable of supporting more. It is connected to the fence energizer and contains several bare wire conductors and cutting-edge insulators. Additionally, ground rods and a power source are connected to it. As military forces utilise electric fencing to secure international borders, its use is only expected to increase. Additionally, a growing number of farmers are adopting electric fences to keep wild animals off their property by erecting a wall that protects the farm from intruders. The demand is probably going to rise soon as a result of this. Because more people desire to utilise electric fences to secure their farms, storage facilities, and warehouses, the market for electric fences is anticipated to expand.

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Recent Developments:

March 2022 - PetSafe, a global pioneer in pet product solutions, is expanding its line of pet restraint systems to include the Classic in-Ground Fence system. This is the first of a new line of PetSafe ground fencing. With personalized perimeters of up to 5 acres and compatibility with Pawz Away Pet Barriers, this system provides a containment and avoidance solution and added adaptability.

December 2021 - The Indian Air Force (IAF) has awarded Bharat Electronics Limited a contract to install the system at airbases across the country. The Government of India has approved the Integrated Perimeter Security System (IPSS), an integrated smart power fence system for 23 air bases.

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Segment Overview

Type Insights

Permanent fences made up the majority of the electric fencing market in the base year. This is because disputes between neighbouring nations are increasing, which makes maintaining international border security more crucial. A significant factor in the deployment of permanent electric fences for security purposes is the rise of unauthorised border crossings throughout the world.

Application Insights

The market is separated into sections for agricultural, wild animals, pets, security, and other uses. Agriculture is anticipated to be the largest segment over the projection period. This increase is most likely the result of landowners installing electric fencing to protect their crops and other goods from domestic and wild animals. The security segment is anticipated to have the greatest CAGR during the projection period. This is due to the military's requirement for more electric fences to prevent terrorists from operating in remote areas.

Regional Outlook:

In 2021, the market in North America was valued USD 145.4 million. Because the United States is focusing more on national security and erecting more electric barriers along its border with Mexico to keep Mexican migrants out, the region is in charge.

The market for electric fence in Europe is anticipated to expand significantly over the period covered by the projection. The increased use of electric fences for home security is to blame for Europe's expansion.

Asia-Pacific is anticipated to expand the quickest within the projection's time span. The reason for this increase is because China and India are increasing their defence budget, necessitating a greater need for concertina coils, razor wire, barbed wire, and chain-link fences. In order to maintain security along a 60-kilometer section of the border between India and Bangladesh and to track down any unlawful activity that occurs across the border, the Indian military deploys underwater and subterranean sonar sensors.

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Scope of Report:

Report Attributes Details Growth Rate CAGR of 7.39% from 2023 to 2030. Revenue Forecast by 2022 USD 321.1 Million By Type Permanent Fence, Portable Fence, Others By Application Agriculture, Wild Animals, Pets, Security, Others By Companies Dare Products (U.S.), Gallagher (U.S.), High Tech Pet (U.S.), Kencove (U.S.), Mpumalanga (South Africa), Parker McCrory Mfg Co ( U.S.), PetSafe (U.S.), Premier1Supplies (U.S.), Tru-Test Group (New Zealand), Woodstream (U.S.), Others Regions and Countries Covered North America: (US, Canada, Mexico, Rest of North America)

Europe(Germany, France, Italy, Spain, UK, Nordic Countries, Benelux Union, Rest of Europe)

Asia-Pacific (Japan, China, India, Australia, South Korea, Southeast Asia, Rest of Asia-Pacific)

The Middle East & Africa(Saudi Arabia, UAE, Egypt, South Africa, Rest of the Middle East & Africa)

Latin America(Brazil, Argentina, Rest of Latin America)

Rest Of the World Base Year 2022 Historical Year 2017 to 2022 Forecast Year 2023 to 2030

Trends:

The most recent technological advancement is a cloud-based Internet of Things (IoT) solution. A nimbus gateway connects the devices on the fence to the cloud router. Real-time alerts, an intuitive interface, and a sophisticated logging system are the major characteristics of cloud router technology. The cloud router is a highly developed gateway that links electric fence users and their equipment in their own fields with cloud router administrators. The management of warehouse security makes extensive use of cloud router technology. The industry is expected to expand as more American businesses utilise IoT-based cloud router technology to secure their warehouses.

Driving Factors:

Electric fences are a common tool used by armed forces around the globe to prevent border crossings. For instance, according to the Indo-Asian News Service (IANS), Indian forces would instal barbed electric wires in Ladakh in September 2020 to resolve the border issue with China. Additionally, electric fences have been erected along China's border by the Russian military. Normal wires are used to shut the 840 km long border between India and Pakistan in Rajasthan, India. Electric cobra wires will take the place of all other wire configurations in the upcoming years. An electric shock will be delivered to anyone attempting to cut the electric lines with barbs, alerting security. Due to the increasing demand for barbed electric wires among military personnel worldwide, the market is expanding.

Restraining Factors:

The expensive expense of updating and maintaining conventional fencing restricts industry expansion. Fences across international boundaries must be erected and often inspected to ensure they are being used as effectively as possible, which results in significant maintenance expenses. Because of the high expense of maintenance, end users are considering alternative solutions, such as unmanned systems. The market's expansion might be slowed by this.

Key Segments Covered:

Top Market Players:

Dare Products (U.S.), Gallagher (U.S.), High Tech Pet (U.S.), Kencove (U.S.), Mpumalanga (South Africa), Parker McCrory Mfg Co ( U.S.), PetSafe (U.S.), Premier1Supplies (U.S.), Tru-Test Group (New Zealand), Woodstream (U.S.), and others.

By Type

Permanent Fence

Portable Fence

Others

By Application

Agriculture

Wild Animals

Pets

Security

Others

Regions and Countries Covered

North America: (US, Canada, Mexico, Rest of North America)

Europe: (Germany, France, Italy, Spain, UK, Nordic Countries, Benelux Union, Rest of Europe)

Asia-Pacific: (Japan, China, India, Australia, South Korea, Southeast Asia, Rest of Asia-Pacific)

The Middle East & Africa: (Saudi Arabia, UAE, Egypt, South Africa, Rest of the Middle East & Africa)

Latin America: (Brazil, Argentina, Rest of Latin America)

Rest Of the World

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Electric Vehicle Market - The Global Electric Vehicle Market Was Estimated At USD 170 Billion In 2022 And Is Expected To Reach Over USD 1103.17 Billion By 2030, Poised To Grow At A CAGR Of 23.1% During The Forecast Period 2023 To 2030.

Electric Car Market - The global Electric Car Market was valued at US$ 124.33 Billion in 2022 and is projected to reach USD 358.77 Billion by 2030, growing at a CAGR of 14.16% from 2023 to 2030.

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Zion Market Research

The home health care market has been witnessing a significant growth in recent years, driven by the increasing aging population, technological advancements, and rising demand for cost-effective and convenient health care services. The rise of telehealth has also played a significant role in the growth of the home health hub market size. With the increasing adoption of telehealth services, patients can now receive health care services from the comfort of their homes, without having to travel to a hospital or clinic. This has helped to improve patient outcomes and reduce health care costs.

Houston, TX, Feb. 06, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- According to Zion Market Research has published a new research report titled Home Health Hub Market By Product & Services (Standalone Hub, Mobile Hub, Remote Patient Monitoring Service), By Patient Monitoring (High, Moderate, And Low Acuity), By End-Use (Hospital, Payers, Home Care Agency), And By Region - Global And Regional Industry Overview, Market Intelligence, Comprehensive Analysis, Historical Data, And Forecasts 2022  2028 in its research database.

According to the latest research study, the demand of global Home Health Hub Market size & share in terms of revenue was valued at USD 217.40 million in 2021 and it is expected to surpass around USD 987.9 million mark by 2028, growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of approximately 28.70% during the forecast period 2022 to 2028.

What is Home Health Hub? How big is the Home Health Hub Industry?

Home Health Hub Report Coverage & Overview:

The market for home health technology will include a larger share of the global home health hub industry. These gadgets and software programs employ Bluetooth communication to gather and examine data from a variety of home health monitoring systems, including connected blood pressure monitors, stand-alone fitness bands, linked scales, and sleep monitors. The capacity of the health hubs to transfer data to the cloud or an electronic health records system aids in analyzing the gathered data even for future applications. The increasing use of smartphones around the world, as well as the rising amount of life of luxury and infectious illnesses, are likely to have a substantial impact on the consumption of home health hubs over the projection period.

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The technology facilitates electronic health records, remote patient monitoring, telehealth, and virtual healthcare delivery. Wireless connectivity is used by the software and hardware in the home health hub to aggregate data from various sources, including wearables, independent health & wellness devices, and home monitoring equipment.

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Our Free Sample Report Consists of the Following:

Introduction, Overview, and in-depth industry analysis are all included in the 2022 updated report.

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(Please note that the sample of this report has been modified to include the COVID-19 impact study prior to delivery.)

Global Home Health Hub Market: Growth Dynamics

The use of home care hubs is becoming more popular among consumers. The global home health hub market is predicted to develop due to a rise in the number of chronic diseases and an increase in the elderly population. Furthermore, the growing demand to cut healthcare expenses and the expanding use of phones are factors driving the growth of this market. The limited bandwidth in several developing or rising countries, as well as the epidemic of Covid-19, have placed a significant load on the healthcare sector, resulting in a variety of market issues.

The home health hub market refers to the market for devices, systems, and services that provide remote monitoring, management, and support for individuals receiving care at home. This market encompasses a wide range of technologies and services, including telehealth systems, wearable devices, home medical devices, and cloud-based health data platforms. The growth of the home health hub market is driven by factors such as the increasing demand for home-based care, the need to reduce healthcare costs, and the growing availability of connected health technologies. The market is expected to grow rapidly in the coming years, as more individuals prefer to receive care at home and as healthcare systems look to improve the quality and efficiency of care delivery.

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Report Scope

Report Attribute Details Market Size in 2021 USD 217.40 million Projected Market Size in 2028 USD 987.9 million CAGR Growth Rate 28.70% CAGR Base Year 2021 Forecast Years 2022-2028 Key Market Players Qualcomm, Honeywell, Vivify, Lamprey Networks, AMC Health, health Lab, IDEAL LIFE, HI care, Med, and Nook Key Segment By Product & Service, By Type of Patient Monitoring, By End User, and By Region Major Regions Covered North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, and the Middle East &, Africa Purchase Options Request customized purchase options to meet your research needs. Explore purchase options

Home Health Hub Market: Segmentation Analysis

The global home health hub market is segregated based on product monitoring type, end-users, product, and region. Based on product monitoring type, the market is divided into low-acuity, moderate-acuity, and high-acuity patient. Among these, the high equity segment dominated the market in 2021. Based on end-user, the market is classified into homecare agencies, hospitals, nursing homes & assisted living facilities, and healthcare payers. Over the forecast period, the home care agencies market is expected to develop at the fastest rate. Based on product & services, the market is classified into standalone, smartphone-based hubs, and services. The smartphones-based hubs segment dominated the market in 2021.

The global Home Health Hub market is segmented as follows:

By Product & Service

Standalone Hubs

Smartphone-based hubs

Services

By Type of Patient Monitoring

High-acuity Patient Monitoring

Moderate-acuity Patient Monitoring

Low-acuity Patient Monitoring

By End User

Hospitals

Healthcare Payers

Home Care Agencies

Nursing Homes & Assisted Living Facilities

Browse the full Home Health Hub Market By Product & Services (Standalone Hub, Mobile Hub, Remote Patient Monitoring Service), By Patient Monitoring (High, Moderate, And Low Acuity), By End-Use (Hospital, Payers, Home Care Agency), And By Region - Global And Regional Industry Overview, Market Intelligence, Comprehensive Analysis, Historical Data, And Forecasts 2022  2028 Report at https://www.zionmarketresearch.com/report/home-health-hub-market

Competitive Landscape

Some of the main competitors dominating the global Home Health Hub market include -

Qualcomm

Honeywell

Vivify

Lamprey Networks

AMC Health

health Lab

IDEAL LIFE

HI care

Med

Nook

Key Insights from Primary Research:

According to the analysis shared by our research forecaster, the Home Health Hub market is likely to expand at a CAGR of around 28.70% during the forecast period (2022-2028).

In terms of revenue, the Home Health Hub market size was valued at around US$ 217.40 million in 2021 and is projected to reach US$ 987.9 million by 2028.

The increased usage of smartphones around the world, a rise in the number of lifestyle-related and chronic diseases, and an increase in the senior population are likely to drive the market.

By end user, the home care agencies segment accounted for the largest market share in 2021

By product monitoring type, the high equity health monitoring segment is expected to hold the highest share in the market in 2021.

The Asia Pacific dominated the global home health hub market in 2021.

Have Any Query? Ask Our Experts: https://www.zionmarketresearch.com/inquiry/home-health-hub-market

Key questions answered in this report:

What is the market size and growth rate forecast for Home Health Hub industry?

What are the main driving factors propelling the Home Health Hub Market forward?

What are the leading companies in the Home Health Hub Industry?

What segments does the Home Health Hub Market cover?

How can I receive a free copy of the Home Health Hub Market sample report and company profiles?

Key Offerings:

Market Size & Forecast by Revenue | 20222028

Market Dynamics  Leading Trends, Growth Drivers, Restraints, and Investment Opportunities

Market Segmentation  A detailed analysis By Product & Service, By Type of Patient Monitoring, By End User, and By Region

Competitive Landscape  Top Key Vendors and Other Prominent Vendors

Request for Customization on this Report as per your requirements - https://www.zionmarketresearch.com/custom/5413

(We tailor your report to meet your specific research requirements. Inquire with our sales team about customising your report.)

Regional Analysis:

The global home health hub market is divided into geographic regions: North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle East, and Africa. Asia Pacific grew at the highest rate in the market in 2021. Increased trends in health and wellness, as well as the growing trend of digitization & smart homes, are some of the factors responsible for the growth of this region's home health hub market. The healthcare industry in these countries still follows a traditional paradigm of healthcare delivery; however, this is increasingly changing as health awareness grows, demand for better healthcare services grows, and smartphone usage grows. As telehealth becomes more widespread in these countries' healthcare infrastructures, the demand for better remote health monitoring technology is likely to skyrocket.

The Asia Pacific regional market is expected to be the fastest-growing regional market during the forecast period. The changing consumption patterns, increased chronic disease instances, and high healthcare spending are all driving the home health hub market's growth.

By Region

North America U.S. Canada Rest of North America

Europe France UK Spain Germany Italy Rest of Europe

Asia Pacific China Japan India South Korea Rest of Asia Pacific

The Middle East & Africa Saudi Arabia South Africa Rest of the Middle East & Africa

Latin America Brazil Argentina Rest of Latin America



Recent Developments

September 2020, Sensate Cybersecurity Solutions launched a cyber-security program for critical access and rural hospitals. This program provides rural hospitals with an integrated security platform to the hospitals in the rural regions, which covers servers, networks, medical devices, and related devices.

March 2022, VEON Ltd. a global provider of connectivity and internet services, announces that its Banglalink mobile operator in Bangladesh has launched Health Hub, the country's first integrated digital health platform.

To know an additional revised 2022 list of market players, request a brochure of the report: https://www.zionmarketresearch.com/requestbrochure/home-health-hub-market

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Which key factors will influence home health hub market growth over 2022-2028?

What will be the value of the home health hub market during 2022-2028?

Which region will contribute notably towards the home health hub market value?

Which are the major players leveraging the home health hub market growth?

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ReportLinker

Global Semiconductor Market in Military and Aerospace Industry 2023-2027. The analyst has been monitoring the semiconductor market in military and aerospace industry and is forecast to grow by $5758.3 mn during 2022-2027, accelerating at a CAGR of 11.07% during the forecast period.

New York, Feb. 06, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Reportlinker.com announces the release of the report "Global Semiconductor Market in Military and Aerospace Industry 2023-2027" - https://www.reportlinker.com/p05483776/?utm_source=GNW

Our report on the semiconductor market in military and aerospace industry provides a holistic analysis, market size and forecast, trends, growth drivers, and challenges, as well as vendor analysis covering around 25 vendors.

The report offers an up-to-date analysis regarding the current market scenario, the latest trends and drivers, and the overall market environment. The market is driven by increased upgrading and modernization of aircraft, growing use of electronics in military, and rising military expenditure.



The semiconductor market in military and aerospace industry is segmented as below:

By Application

 Aerospace

 Defense



By Product

 Memory

 Logic

 MOS microcomponents

 Analog

 Others



By Geography

 North America

 APAC

 Europe

 Middle East and Africa

 South America



This study identifies the growing use of UAVs as one of the prime reasons driving the semiconductor market growth during the next few years. Also, increasing use of GaN semiconductors and growing focus on use of nanotechnology will lead to sizable demand in the market.



The analyst presents a detailed picture of the market by the way of study, synthesis, and summation of data from multiple sources by an analysis of key parameters. Our report on the semiconductor market in military and aerospace industry covers the following areas:

 Semiconductor market sizing

 Semiconductor market forecast

 Semiconductor market industry analysis



This robust vendor analysis is designed to help clients improve their market position, and in line with this, this report provides a detailed analysis of several leading semiconductor market vendors that include AKHAN Semiconductor Inc., AMS Technologies AG, Broadcom Inc., Digitron Semiconductors, Infineon Technologies AG, Intel Corp., KCB Solutions LLC, Microchip Technology Inc., Micron Technology Inc., Northrop Grumman Corp., ON Semiconductor Corp., Raytheon Technologies Corp., SEMICOA, Semtech Corp., Skyworks Solutions Inc., Teledyne Technologies Inc., Texas Instruments Inc., Toshiba Corp., Vishay Intertechnology Inc., and Xilinx Inc. Also, the semiconductor market in military and aerospace industry analysis report includes information on upcoming trends and challenges that will influence market growth. This is to help companies strategize and leverage all forthcoming growth opportunities.

The study was conducted using an objective combination of primary and secondary information including inputs from key participants in the industry. The report contains a comprehensive market and vendor landscape in addition to an analysis of the key vendors.



The analyst presents a detailed picture of the market by the way of study, synthesis, and summation of data from multiple sources by an analysis of key parameters such as profit, pricing, competition, and promotions. It presents various market facets by identifying the key industry influencers. The data presented is comprehensive, reliable, and a result of extensive research - both primary and secondary. Technavios market research reports provide a complete competitive landscape and an in-depth vendor selection methodology and analysis using qualitative and quantitative research to forecast accurate market growth.

Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p05483776/?utm_source=GNW



About Reportlinker

ReportLinker is an award-winning market research solution. Reportlinker finds and organizes the latest industry data so you get all the market research you need - instantly, in one place.



__________________________

Story continues

CONTACT: Clare: clare@reportlinker.com US: (339)-368-6001 Intl: +1 339-368-6001




Food Lion

First 100 Customers to Receive Free Mystery Food Lion Gift Card Valued up to $200 and Other Giveaways

New Inwood, WV Food Lion opens on Feb. 8

The new store is located at 130 Duella Dr., Inwood, WV 25428. Food Lion has served the community for more than 30 years.

SALISBURY, N.C., Feb. 06, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Food Lion has nourished the Inwood, WV, community for more than 30 years, and on Feb. 8, neighbors in the community will be able to nourish their families at their new Food Lion, located at 130 Duella Dr., Inwood, WV 25428. The new store will open to the public at 8 a.m. on Feb. 8, following a 7:45 a.m. ribbon-cutting ceremony. Afterwards, the first 100 customers in line will receive a mystery gift card valued up to $200 and free reusable shopping bag. The store will be open daily from 7 a.m. until 11 p.m.



Ive had the pleasure of serving the Inwood community for the last seven years and have appreciated the opportunity to meet many of our wonderful neighbors, said Jay Moaveni, Store Manager of the new Inwood Food Lion. Our neighbors have always trusted us to nourish their family, and my team and I are excited to bring them this new store to make shopping even easier. I think customers will be thrilled to see everything we have to offer!

The new store features an extensive product assortment, fresh sushi, in-store cut fruit and a wide variety of affordable and easy grab-and-go options to help make any meal easier. Customers have a large selection of organic, gluten-free and plant-based items to choose from, including Natures Promise-brand items, which are Food Lions affordable brand of wholesome and organic products made with no artificial flavors, preservatives or synthetic colors. Additionally, the store features a walk-in produce cooler, ensuring the freshest items available, and a self-service hot wing and Asian food bar.

To make shopping easier for customers, the store offers self-checkout lanes and the Food Lion To Go grocery pick up service. Online orders may be placed on the Food Lion To Go website or the Food Lion To Go app. The convenient service allows customers to place an order with the click of a button while experiencing the same low prices and fresh food items they receive in the store.

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The store is proud to also offer a wide variety of great local offerings, such as Custard Stand hot dog chili; in-season produce from Orrs Farm Market; and pepperoni rolls from Home Industry Bakery. A list of additional West Virginia-based suppliers that may be featured in the store can be found here.

Furthering Food Lions commitment to sustainability, the store features energy-efficient overhead LED lighting. Food Lion is the only company in the country to receive the ENERGY STAR Partner of the Year Award from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Energy for 21 consecutive years.

In another commitment to the Inwood community, Food Lion Feeds will donate 15,000 meals to Community Cupboard, an agency of Mountaineer Food Bank. Food Lion Feeds is the retailers hunger-relief initiative. The food bank will also regularly collect food from the store to distribute to neighbors in need through Food Lion Feeds industry-leading food rescue program, in which food safe for human consumption is donated to a local feeding agency before the food spoils. Food Lion Feeds has donated more than 1 billion meals to neighbors in need since 2014.

About Food Lion

Food Lion is an omnichannel retailer committed to nourishing its neighbors during the moments that matter most. More than 82,000 associates across 1,100+ stores deliver an easy, fresh and affordable shopping experience throughout 10 Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic states. Through its Count on me culture, Food Lion fosters a sense of belonging for all associates, promoting a diverse and inclusive environment that has supported LGBTQ+ equality for nearly two decades. Food Lion is the only company in the country to be named an ENERGY STAR Partner of the Year for 21 consecutive years. It also pioneered a food rescue program to support food-insecure neighbors. Through Food Lion Feeds, the retailer has donated more than 1 billion meals to individuals and families since 2014 and has committed to donate 1.5 billion meals by 2025. Founded and based in Salisbury, N.C., since 1957, Food Lion is a company of Ahold Delhaize USA, the U.S. division of Zaandam-based Ahold Delhaize. For more information, visit foodlion.com.

CONTACTS: Food Lion Media Relations

704-245-3317

publicrelationsteam@foodlion.com

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/9b8d7724-52fd-46d6-96b1-8b4bbed8e13e




Think On Inc.

TORONTO, Feb. 06, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Think On, Inc., today announced that CRN , a brand of The Channel Company , has recognized Greg Chappell on its 2023 Channel Chiefs list. Every year, this list honors the IT channel executives who work tirelessly to advance the channel agenda and deliver successful channel partner programs and strategies.



Greg Chappell is a business technology specialist whose industry expertise and experience has contributed to the evolution of the IT industry from hardware to cloud services. As a proud member of the ThinkOn leadership team, Chappell has been integral in the evolution of the company from a small start-up to an established brand employing over 170 Thinkers. Even with its substantial growth, ThinkOn remains people orientedwhich suits Chappells ideology. As Vice President of Global Sales and Partner Success at ThinkOn, Chappell leads a specialized team focused on enabling global and regional partners to be prosperous with ThinkOn solutions and services.

Greg has played a crucial role in driving the strategy and growth of the Partner Success team and the development of the newly refreshed ThinkOn Partner Program, says Craig McLellan, CEO of ThinkOn. We solely sell through the channel, so our recent recognition on the Deloitte Technology Fast 500 list and the 2022 Report on Business ranking of Canadas Top Growing Companies is in direct correlation to the commitment Greg and his team have to helping our partners succeedbecause we only win when they win.

With a focus on company-to-company and person-to-person relationships, Chappell focuses on working alongside partner sales, marketing, and leadership teams to enable them to be more successful in delivering value to their customers. Always determined to help people achieve their desired business outcomes in the most secure and straightforward manner possible, Chappell is gratified to be part of ThinkOns team of data-obsessed experts, helping to make customers data more resilient, secure, workable, and searchable.

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Chappells extensive career in technology industry leadership includes roles as VP and GM of HP Enterprise Solutionsthe largest by volume Enterprise Technology Business portfolio in Canadaand as VP and GM of HP Canada Channel Solutions Organization. He was also a business partner, taking on the roles of president and GM of a value-add reseller in Toronto.

The 2023 CRN Channel Chiefs were selected by the editorial staff based on their record of business innovation and dedication to the partner community. This years list represents the top IT executives responsible for building a robust channel ecosystem.

Once again, this years list gives well-deserved recognition to the IT Channel Chiefs who are dedicated to driving the channel agenda and advocating for the development of strong channel partnerships, said Blaine Raddon, CEO of The Channel Company. Under their exceptional leadership, influence, and innovation, the IT channel vendor community continues to deliver solutions and services that meet the rapidly evolving needs of their solution provider partners and their customers.

I am grateful to receive this recognition, says Chappell. My career is fulfilling because each day I get to work with an amazing team to help our partners achieve, sustain, and grow their business and give them the support they need to nurture long-lasting client relationships. CRNs acknowledgement is icing on the cake.

The 2023 CRN Channel Chiefs list will be featured in the February 2023 issue of CRN Magazine and online at www.CRN.com/ChannelChiefs .

About Think On, Inc.

Think On, Inc. is a 100% Canadian-owned cloud service provider dedicated to solving complex data problems, from infrastructure to ransomware protection, with its portfolio of innovative solutions. ThinkOns channel-only distribution empowers value-add resellers and managed service providers to service the data needs of businesses in commercial enterprise and public sectors across North America, the United Kingdom, and Australia. ThinkOn builds its solutions on industry-leading technology platforms engineered to make your data more resilient, secure, workable, and searchable.

www.thinkon.com

ThinkOn Contact:

Vanessa Grantcharova

Brand Marketing Manager | ThinkOn

vanessa.grantcharova@thinkon.com

About The Channel Company

The Channel Company enables breakthrough IT channel performance with our dominant media, engaging events, expert consulting and education, and innovative marketing services and platforms. As the channel catalyst, we connect and empower technology suppliers, solution providers, and end users. Backed by more than 30 years of unequaled channel experience, we draw from our deep knowledge to envision innovative new solutions for ever-evolving challenges in the technology marketplace.

www.thechannelcompany.com

Follow The Channel Company: Twitter , LinkedIn , and Facebook .

 2023 The Channel Company, LLC. CRN is a registered trademark of The Channel Company, LLC. All rights reserved.

The Channel Company Contact:

Natalie Lewis

The Channel Company

nlewis@thechannelcompany.com




GreyViews

Hospital EMR Systems Market Size By Component (Services, Hardware, and Software), By Delivery Mode (On-premise and Cloud-based), By Hospital Size (Small & Medium-sized Hospitals, and Large Hospitals), Regions, Segmentation, and forecast till 2030.

Pune India, Feb. 06, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The market has been studied for the below mentioned-segmentation and regional analysis for North America, Europe, Asia, South America, and the Middle East and Africa. These are the key regions where the hospital EMR systems market is operating and is predicted to expand soon. The manufacturers and suppliers involved in the hospital EMR systems market are present across various countries in the above-mentioned regions.

Get Sample Copy of This Report @ https://greyviews.com/reports/hospital-emr-systems-market/535/request-sample

The report provides a detailed understanding of the market segments which have been formed by combining different prospects such as the component, delivery mode, hospital size, and region. Apart from this, the key driving factors, restraints, potential growth opportunities, and market challenges are also discussed in the below paragraphs.

The significant players operating in the global hospital EMR systems market are Epic Systems Corporation (US), CPSI (US), NextGen Healthcare, Inc. (the US), Allscripts Healthcare Solutions, Inc. (the US), MEDITECH (US), GE Healthcare (US), eClinicalWorks (US), Athenahealth, (US), Cantata Health (US), MEDHOST (US), Intersystems Corporation (US), MTBC, Inc. (the US), Advanced Data Systems Corporation (US), CureMD Healthcare (US), among other. To achieve a substantial market share in the worldwide hospital EMR systems market and strengthen their position, manufacturers are pursuing expansion methods such as current developments, mergers and acquisitions, product innovations, collaborations, and partnerships, joint ventures.

Health-related information that was formerly recorded in patient paper charts is now digitally represented by hospital EMR systems. It can gather clinical data, facilitate searching, management, centralised control, and normalised transfer of medical data. The need for hospital EMR systems is anticipated to increase due to a number of factors, including more straightforward population health modelling, community health issue tracking, strict government regulations requiring the maintenance of patient data, increasing government funding for the adoption of software and solutions to maintain data, increasing patient volume due to a global pandemic, and improved patient quality care/rising trend of patient-centric hospital services. The hospital EMR is a component of the hospital management system, which assists in preserving organised clinical records. Such software boosts operational effectiveness by helping with patient registration, billing, workflow, and inventory management. The EMR contains data on the patient's weight, height, body temperature, BMI, and other measurements as well as emergency contact information, allergies, health insurance information, physician information, old prescriptions, notes on various medical progress over time, past and upcoming appointments, treatment plans, discharge summaries, and more. It assists efforts to make medical care operations go more smoothly by aiding in the keeping of crucial information. Important patient record data can be transferred between departments via the EMR. The capacity to store data digitally creates more room for the enormous patient population data collection.

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Scope of hospital EMR systems market Report

Report Metric Information Study Period 2022-2030 Base Year 2022 Forecast Period 2023-2030 Market Share Unit USD Billion Segments Covered Component, Delivery Mode, Hospital Size, and Regions Regions Covered North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, South America, and Middle-East and Africa Major Players Epic Systems Corporation (US), CPSI (US), NextGen Healthcare, Inc. (the US), Allscripts Healthcare Solutions, Inc. (the US), MEDITECH (US), GE Healthcare (US), eClinicalWorks (US), Athenahealth, (US), Cantata Health (US), MEDHOST (US), Intersystems Corporation (US), MTBC, Inc. (the US), Advanced Data Systems Corporation (US), CureMD Healthcare (US), among other

Segmentation Analysis

The software segment is expected to be the fastest-growing segment in 2022.

The component segment is services, hardware, and software. The software segment is expected to witness the highest growth rate during the forecast period. The number of people registering for care has increased as a result of the worldwide pandemic and other rapidly disseminating illnesses and disorders. EMR software helps departments communicate and share information more easily.

The cloud-based segment is expected to be the fastest-growing segment in 2022.

The delivery mode segment is on-premise and cloud-based. The cloud-based segment is expected to witness the highest growth rate during the forecast period. The surge in cloud-based EMR software being installed at new and multi-specialty hospitals is mostly to blame for this. Cloud-based EMR offers better capability for data sharing, data saving, and data presentation when compared to on-premise EMR.

The small & medium-sized hospitals segment is expected to be the fastest-growing segment in 2022.

The hospital size segment is small & medium-sized hospitals and large hospitals. The small & medium-sized hospitals segment is expected to witness the highest growth rate during the forecast period. Because smaller and medium-sized hospitals quickly adopt EMR. The benefits that EMR software offers over traditional patient data software, such as ease of deployment and patient data transfer, were the main driving force behind this procurement.

Regional Analysis

The regional analysis provides a detailed perception of the key regions and the countries. Some of the key countries analyzed for the hospital EMR systems include the US, Canada, Mexico, Germany, France, the U.K., Italy, Spain, Russia, China, Japan, India, Brazil, Peru, UAE, South Africa, and Saudi Arabia.

The North America region witnessed a major share. North America accounts for a sizable percentage of the global market for hospital EMR systems. When compared to other regions of the world, the North American healthcare IT market is one of the most developed due to the strict regulatory requirements that have spurred significant investment and the deployment of EMR systems in the majority of hospitals and clinics in the area. Due to the prominence of North American industry players in the market, the North American area also accounts for a sizable portion of the market for hospital EMR systems.

Country Analysis

Germany

Germany's hospital EMR systems market size was valued at USD 1.08 billion in 2022 and is expected to reach USD 2.02 billion by 2030, at a CAGR of 8.2% from 2023 to 2030.

This is due to the widespread adoption of electronic medical records (EMR), and the industry is expanding even more quickly in the area as technology develops.

China

Chinas hospital EMR systems market size was valued at USD 1.15 billion in 2022 and is expected to reach USD 2.2 billion by 2030, at a CAGR of 8.5% from 2023 to 2030. The growing use of electronic medical records (EMRs) in healthcare settings, the increasing number of product releases, and the advancement of technology are all expected to contribute to the market's substantial growth over the course of the forecast period.

India

India's hospital EMR systems market size was valued at USD 0.89 billion in 2022 and is expected to reach USD 1.6 billion by 2030, at a CAGR of 8.4% from 2023 to 2030.

Increased use of healthcare information systems and easier integration and sharing of patient clinical data may enable greater access to medical records.

Covid-19 Impact

Covid-19 had a major impact on almost all industries, such as electronics, semiconductors, manufacturing, automobile, etc. However, several companies operating in the technology sector have seen increased revenue due to significant changes in consumer preferences toward technological services. In addition, the pandemic has led to significant growth in technology across developing and developed countries.

Furthermore, the growth of the hospital EMR systems market is mainly driven by the rise in healthcare sectore.

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Contact Us

Rocky Shah

GreyViews

Pune India

Phone: (+44) 162-237-1047

Email: sales@greyviews.com

Web: https://greyviews.com/

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Allied Market Research

Increase in number of identity frauds and enhanced integration with IoT devices primarily drive the growth of the identity as a service market. By industry vertical, the BFSI segment contributed to the major share in 2021. By region, on the other hand, Asia-Pacific would showcase the fastest CAGR by 2031.

Portland, OR, Feb. 06, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- According to the report published by Allied Market Research, the global identity as a service market was estimated at $5.74 billion in 2021 and is expected to hit $53 billion by 2031, registering a CAGR of 25.2% from 2022 to 2031. The report provides a detailed analysis of the top investment pockets, top winning strategies, drivers & opportunities, market size & estimations, competitive landscape, and evolving market trends. The market study is a helpful source of information for the frontrunners, new entrants, investors, and shareholders in crafting strategies for the future and heightening their position in the market.

Download Sample Report at:

https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/request-sample/15076

Report coverage & details:

Forecast Period 20222031 Base Year 2021 Market Size in 2021 $5.74 billion Market Size in 2031 $52.99 billion CAGR 25.2% No. of Pages in Report 466 Segments Covered Component, Enterprise Size, Deployment Type, Industry Vertical, and Region Drivers Increasing number of identity frauds Enhanced integration with IoT devices Restraints Data privacy issues involving consumer information Opportunities Integration of evolving technologies to improve digital identities

Covid-19 scenario-

Around the world, business have been severely impacted by the COVID 19 outbreak. Because of the lockdowns imposed by various governments.

Enterprises all over the world are reconsidering their security arrangements due to the rise in cyber risk and new vulnerabilities.

The COVID-19 induced recession is having a significant impact on industries all over the world, but it had a much less impact on the technology industry than it did on the rest of the economy.

However, it has favorably impacted the adoption of Identity as a service industry. Customer feedback analysis using Identity as a service has gained significant popularity in this period.

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The global identity as a service market is analyzed across component, enterprise size, deployment type, industry vertical, and region. The report takes in an exhaustive analysis of the segments and their sub-segments with the help of tabular and graphical representation. Investors and market players can benefit from the breakdown and devise stratagems based on the highest revenue-generating and fastest-growing segments stated in the report.

By component, the provisioning segment held the largest share in 2021, garnering around two-fourths of the global identity as a service market revenue, and is projected to maintain its dominance by 2031. The audit, compliance, and governance segment would also showcase the fastest CAGR of 27.8% during the forecast period.

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By enterprise size, the large enterprise segment accounted for the highest share in 2021, generating nearly half of the global identity as a service market revenue. The SMEs segment would also portray the fastest CAGR of 26.2% during the forecast period.

By deployment type, the public cloud segment held the largest share in 2021, garnering around three-fourths of the global identity as a service market revenue, and is projected to maintain its dominance by 2031. The hybrid cloud segment would also showcase the fastest CAGR of 27.0% during the forecast period.

By industry vertical, the BFSI segment accounted for the highest share in 2021, generating two-third of the global identity as a service market revenue. The government and public sector segment would also portray the fastest CAGR of 28.1% during the forecast period.

By region, North America held the major share in 2021, garnering more than one-third of the global identity as a service market revenue. Asia-Pacific, simultaneously, would showcase the fastest CAGR of 27.8% from 2022 to 2031.

The key market players analyzed in the global identity as a service market report include CyberArk, Google LLC, IBM Corporation, Microsoft Corporation, Okta, OneLogin, Inc., Oracle Corporation, Ping Identity, SailPoint Technologies and Thales. These market players have embraced several strategies including partnership, expansion, collaboration, joint ventures, and others to highlight their prowess in the industry. The report is helpful in formulating the business performance and developments by the top players.

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We are in professional corporate relations with various companies and this helps us in digging out market data that helps us generate accurate research data tables and confirms utmost accuracy in our market forecasting. Allied Market Research CEO Pawan Kumar is instrumental in inspiring and encouraging everyone associated with the company to maintain high quality of data and help clients in every way possible to achieve success. Each and every data presented in the reports published by us is extracted through primary interviews with top officials from leading companies of domain concerned. Our secondary data procurement methodology includes deep online and offline research and discussion with knowledgeable professionals and analysts in the industry.

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Future Market Insights Global and Consulting Pvt. Ltd.

Adoption of Identity Verification Solutions and Services to Mitigate the Cyber Risks and Vulnerability: Market Anticipated to Rise at 13.2% CAGR. Canada's identity verification market is projected to attain US$ 2.4 billion by 2033. China's identity verification market is expected to attain US$ 3.1 billion by 2033, expanding at a CAGR of 12.6% from 2023 to 2033

NEWARK, Del, Feb. 06, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The global identity verification market is predicted to register a CAGR of 13.2% over the forecast period, as per FMIs analysis. The industrys market valuation is anticipated to increase from US$ 11.1 billion in 2023 to US$ 38.5 billion by 2033 end.



The identity verification industry is being positively favored by the heightened regulations and the compulsion to oblige with the industry standards across all sectors. The financial sector, especially, is likely to provide lucrative expansion opportunities to market players. In addition to this, the emerging trend of Bring Your Own Devices (BYOD) and enterprise mobility are the factors expected to propel market development further.

The adoption of upscaled identity verification systems, which include extremely powerful mobile devices with sophisticated cameras, GPS capabilities, and microphones, has boosted self-service identity verification to offer multi-factor authentication in different forms. The incorporation of biometrics in digital identification offers enhanced attribution to a person owing to its distinctive features. As a result, it is less susceptible to impersonation, given the means of acquisition are sternly regulated.

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Key companies are developing mobile applications and Software Development Kits (SDKs) to capitalize on this flourishing sector. Document verification tests, like nodding and blinking, enable the recognition and verification of driving licenses and passports. Additionally, key participants in the identity verification industry are constantly investing in research and development initiatives and introducing new products to combat security and cyber-attacks.

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Key Highlights of the Identity Verification Industry:

The United States is projected to be a significant identity verification market over the projected period as well. The market is estimated to attain US$ 12.4 billion by 2033, expanding at a CAGR of 13% over the coming years.

Within Asia Pacific, China is expected to be a dominant market. The China market is assessed to reach US$ 3.1 billion by 2033, registering a CAGR of 12.6%. Rising governmental efforts to avoid identity fraud and invigoration of e-KYC are pushing market expansion.

In the Europe region, Germany is projected to drive significant market growth. Germany's identity verification industry is projected to attain US$ 2.7 billion by 2033. The market is expected to exhibit a CAGR of 11.7% in the next 10 years. The demand for identity verification services is projected to surge due to the establishment of smart infrastructure, smart cities, and digital drivers licenses in the region.

Based on organization size, large enterprises are projected to dominate the marketplace over the forecast period. The segment is expected to display a 12.6% CAGR in the forecast period, rising from the 9.8% CAGR observed in the historical period.

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Latest Market Developments in the Market:

In November 2020, LexisNexis Risk Solutions introduced LexisNexis Fraud Intelligence. This tool assists businesses to mitigate the risk associated with account opening. This solution helps enterprises in reducing the new account fraud risk by clubbing identity events and consumer application activity to develop a robust and comprehensive score that delivers a broad picture of identity proof.

Financial Action Task Force (FATA) increased the scope of reporting entities in 2021, and motivated member countries to compel virtual asset dealers, legal professionals, and art dealers to perform anti-money laundering screening on their clients.

In November 2021, Experian Information Solutions, Inc. introduced Work Report, which is an automated verification solution that permits users to consent to reveal their payment details to another organization digitally. The solution links to an employers payroll information in a matter of seconds to check a consumers gross and net income, status, and job tenure.





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Table of Content

1. Executive Summary | Identity Verification Market

1.1. Global Market Outlook

1.2. Demand-side Trends

1.3. Supply-side Trends

1.4. Technology Roadmap Analysis

1.5. Analysis and Recommendations

2. Market Overview

2.1. Market Coverage / Taxonomy

2.2. Market Definition / Scope / Limitations

3. Market Background

3.1. Market Dynamics

3.1.1. Drivers

3.1.2. Restraints

3.1.3. Opportunity

3.1.4. Trends

3.2. Scenario Forecast

3.2.1. Demand in Optimistic Scenario

3.2.2. Demand in Likely Scenario

3.2.3. Demand in Conservative Scenario

3.3. Opportunity Map Analysis

3.4. Investment Feasibility Matrix

3.5. PESTLE and Porters Analysis

3.6. Regulatory Landscape

3.6.1. By Key Regions

3.6.2. By Key Countries

3.7. Regional Parent Market Outlook

4. Global Market Analysis 2017 to 2022 and Forecast, 2023 to 2033

4.1. Historical Market Size Value (US$ Million) Analysis, 2017 to 2022

4.2. Current and Future Market Size Value (US$ Million) Projections, 2023 to 2033

4.2.1. Y-o-Y Growth Trend Analysis

4.2.2. Absolute $ Opportunity Analysis

5. Global Market Analysis 2017 to 2022 and Forecast 2023 to 2033, By Component

5.1. Introduction / Key Findings

5.2. Historical Market Size Value (US$ Million) Analysis By Component, 2017 to 2022

5.3. Current and Future Market Size Value (US$ Million) Analysis and Forecast By Component, 2023 to 2033

5.3.1. Solutions

5.3.2. Services

5.4. Y-o-Y Growth Trend Analysis By Component, 2017 to 2022

5.5. Absolute $ Opportunity Analysis By Component, 2023 to 2033

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With a price-to-earnings (or "P/E") ratio of 5.1x Eupe Corporation Berhad (KLSE:EUPE) may be sending very bullish signals at the moment, given that almost half of all companies in Malaysia have P/E ratios greater than 14x and even P/E's higher than 26x are not unusual. However, the P/E might be quite low for a reason and it requires further investigation to determine if it's justified.

For instance, Eupe Corporation Berhad's receding earnings in recent times would have to be some food for thought. It might be that many expect the disappointing earnings performance to continue or accelerate, which has repressed the P/E. If you like the company, you'd be hoping this isn't the case so that you could potentially pick up some stock while it's out of favour.

View our latest analysis for Eupe Corporation Berhad

pe

Want the full picture on earnings, revenue and cash flow for the company? Then our free report on Eupe Corporation Berhad will help you shine a light on its historical performance.

Is There Any Growth For Eupe Corporation Berhad?

The only time you'd be truly comfortable seeing a P/E as depressed as Eupe Corporation Berhad's is when the company's growth is on track to lag the market decidedly.

Taking a look back first, the company's earnings per share growth last year wasn't something to get excited about as it posted a disappointing decline of 20%. This means it has also seen a slide in earnings over the longer-term as EPS is down 42% in total over the last three years. So unfortunately, we have to acknowledge that the company has not done a great job of growing earnings over that time.

Comparing that to the market, which is predicted to deliver 8.7% growth in the next 12 months, the company's downward momentum based on recent medium-term earnings results is a sobering picture.

In light of this, it's understandable that Eupe Corporation Berhad's P/E would sit below the majority of other companies. Nonetheless, there's no guarantee the P/E has reached a floor yet with earnings going in reverse. There's potential for the P/E to fall to even lower levels if the company doesn't improve its profitability.

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The Bottom Line On Eupe Corporation Berhad's P/E

Generally, our preference is to limit the use of the price-to-earnings ratio to establishing what the market thinks about the overall health of a company.

As we suspected, our examination of Eupe Corporation Berhad revealed its shrinking earnings over the medium-term are contributing to its low P/E, given the market is set to grow. Right now shareholders are accepting the low P/E as they concede future earnings probably won't provide any pleasant surprises. If recent medium-term earnings trends continue, it's hard to see the share price moving strongly in either direction in the near future under these circumstances.

Don't forget that there may be other risks. For instance, we've identified 2 warning signs for Eupe Corporation Berhad that you should be aware of.

If P/E ratios interest you, you may wish to see this free collection of other companies that have grown earnings strongly and trade on P/E's below 20x.

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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By Azernews

Qabil Ashirov

Speaker of the Milli Majlis Sahiba Gafarova sent a letter of condolences to Speaker of the Grand National Assembly of Turkiye Mustafa Sentop over the devastating earthquake in Turkiye, Azernews reports.

Sahiba Gafarova expressed her sadness at the news of deaths of people, injuries, and large-scale destruction in the Kahramanmaras, Gaziantep, and surrounding provinces. The speaker extended condolences to her Turkish colleague, to the fraternal Turkish people, on her own behalf and on behalf of the MPs, as well as expressed her deepest sympathies to the families of victims and wished them a speedy recovery to the injured.

The European-Mediterranean Seismological Center reports that on January 6, a 7.4-magnitude earthquake was felt in central Turkiye. The epicenter of the earthquake was 26 kilometers from Gaziantep, which has a population of about 1.06 million. The earthquake's epicenter was located 7 km below the surface. According to Turkiye's Disaster and Emergency Management Authority, three more earthquakes with magnitudes of 6.4 to 6.6 shook the province of Gaziantep in southeast Turkiye.
JLL's Hotels & Hospitality Group led the sales efforts for the 1,000-key beachfront resort in Hollywood, Florida

MIAMI, Feb. 6, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- JLL's Hotels & Hospitality Group announced today that it closed the sale of the Diplomat Beach Resort, an award-winning beachfront resort with 1,000 guest rooms in Hollywood, Florida.

JLL represented the seller in the transaction. A joint venture between Credit Suisse Asset Management and Trinity Fund Advisors LLC purchased the resort. The new owners also announced the signing of a management agreement with Hilton Hotels and Resorts to oversee the resort's operation under the Curio Collection by Hilton brand.

Extensively renovated and repositioned through a comprehensive $90 million dollar capital plan in 2018, the Diplomat Beach Resort is unrivaled as a world-class beachfront meeting and events-focused resort. The resort features 1,000 traditional guest rooms and suites and 200,000 square feet of integrated meeting and events space. The property consists of a twin-spired, 33-story tower housing the hotel rooms, a 14,000-square-foot spa, eight restaurants and bars plus multiple pools and cascading waterfalls. Additionally, the property is situated on 10 acres of Atlantic Ocean beachfront offering kayaking, paddleboarding and jet ski rentals.

The JLL Hotels & Hospitality team representing the seller was led by Senior Managing Directors Jeffrey Davis and Gregory Rumpel, Americas CEO Kevin Davis and Global CEO Gilda Perez-Alvarado.

"Over the last few months of 2022, U.S. group demand reached 93% of 2019 levels and we predict even further acceleration through 2023, driven predominantly by upscale and upper upscale hotels," Jeffrey Davis said. "The sale of the Diplomat was the third largest single-asset hotel sale ever in the U.S and it's truly a win-win for both the seller and the buyers."

The Diplomat Beach Resort is ideally located between the two most significant airports in South Florida, Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood International Airport (10 minutes) and Miami International Airport (30 minutes), affording the resort unparalleled access to guests from major markets throughout the U.S., Latin America and Europe. The resort is known for its extensive offerings and multiple award-winning recognitions and accolades, including being awarded 2019 Best Family Resort by Travvy Awards, One of the Top Resorts in Florida by Conde Nast Traveler in 2018 and is the recipient of the AAA Four Diamonds Award.

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The Diplomat Beach Resort represents the third largest single-asset hotel sale ever in U.S. history, making a strong statement regarding the durability and economic muscle of South Florida. The South Florida lodging industry saw a tremendous recovery post-Covid making it one of the best-performing hotel markets in the country, benefitting significantly from an increase in leisure travel, recovery of group demand and the significant demographic shift into South Florida supported this landmark trade.

JLL's Hotels & Hospitality Group has completed more transactions than any other hotels and hospitality real estate advisor over the last five years, totaling $83 billion worldwide. The group's 350-strong global team in over 20 countries also closed more than 7,350 advisory, valuation and asset management assignments. Our hotel valuation, brokerage, asset management and consultancy services have helped more hotel investors, owners and operators achieve high returns on their assets than any other real estate advisor in the world.

For more news, videos and research resources on JLL, please visit our newsroom.

About Credit Suisse Asset Management

Credit Suisse Asset Management is part of the Asset Management division of Credit Suisse Group. Asset Management manages assets worth over CHF 411.3 bn worldwide (as of September 30, 2022). Backed by the global market presence of Credit Suisse Group, Asset Management offers active and passive solutions for traditional and alternative investments as well as proven product expertise in Switzerland, EMEA, APAC, and the Americas. Great importance is attached to sustainability. We offer a broad selection of active and passive investment funds that comply with the Credit Suisse Sustainable Investment Framework or replicate a sustainable index. In doing so, we pursue differing approaches, in which environmental, social and governance (ESG) criteria are applied at various points in the investment process.

About Trinity Fund Advisors LLC

Trinity is a private real estate investment firm with a 26-year history of specializing in value-add opportunities. Based in Honolulu, Hawaii, with an office in Beverly Hills, California, Trinity focuses on unique real estate investments in world-class markets and has invested more than $8 billion in the United States, Mexico, Europe, and Japan by leveraging its deep institutional knowledge and longstanding local relationships. Trinity is based in Honolulu, Hawaii, with an office in Beverly Hills, California. For additional information, please visit Trinity's website at www.trinityinvestments.com.

About JLL

JLL (NYSE: JLL) is a leading professional services firm that specializes in real estate and investment management. JLL shapes the future of real estate for a better world by using the most advanced technology to create rewarding opportunities, amazing spaces and sustainable real estate solutions for our clients, our people and our communities. JLL is a Fortune 500 company with annual revenue of $19.4 billion, operations in over 80 countries and a global workforce of more than 102,000 as of September 30, 2022. JLL is the brand name, and a registered trademark, of Jones Lang LaSalle Incorporated. For further information, visit jll.com.

Contact: Cierra Lacasse, JLL Associate, Public Relations

Phone: +1 602 648 8701

Email: Cierra.Lacasse@am.jll.com

Cision

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SOURCE JLL
K92 Mining Inc.

VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Feb. 06, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- K92 Mining Inc. (K92 or the Company) (TSX: KNT; OTCQX: KNTNF) is pleased to announce the promotion of Chris Muller to the position Executive Vice President Exploration.



Chris Muller is a geologist with over 20 years of experience in open pit and underground mine, near mine, brownfields and greenfields exploration, in Papua New Guinea, Mongolia, China, Ghana, Indonesia and Thailand. He served as the Companys Vice President Exploration for over 5 years and has been with K92 since 2016. Mr. Muller has worked on a range of mineral deposit styles, including porphyry Cu/Au, epithermal and skarn precious and base metal, carbonate  base metal and Archean gold deposits. He has been directly involved in several important mineral finds during his career, including the discovery of additional porphyry deposits that led to the world class status of the Wafi/Golpu project in Papua New Guinea. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree (majoring in geology and geophysics), a degree with first class honours in economic geology and a PhD in plate tectonics in conjunction with molecular dating.

John Lewins, K92 Chief Executive Officer and Director, stated, Chris is one of the longest serving members of the K92 team, joining the Company in 2016 and has been a major contributor to K92s success. During his tenure, Chris and the K92 team have been involved in multiple discoveries including Kora North, which was awarded the prestigious Thayer Lindsley Award for Best Global Discovery in 2021 from the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada and the discovery of the Blue Lake Porphyry, initially recognized in 2017 and now Papua New Guineas 5th largest porphyry deposit. His passion, dedication, resourcefulness, hard work and track-record of discoveries in addition to his high potential and capacity to take on an expanded role was the driver behind the promotion.

From an exploration standpoint, we strongly believe this is one of the most exciting times for the Company, with plans to expand the number of drill rigs from 11 currently operating to 13 this year, focusing on resource growth from both porphyry and vein systems. Congratulations Chris  we look forward to your continued contributions, in an increased capacity, as K92 continues to create significant value for all stakeholders through exploration.

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About K92

K92 Mining Inc. is engaged in the production of gold, copper and silver at the Kainantu Gold Mine in the Eastern Highlands province of Papua New Guinea, as well as exploration and development of mineral deposits in the immediate vicinity of the mine. The Company declared commercial production from Kainantu in February 2018, is in a strong financial position. A maiden resource estimate on the Blue Lake porphyry project was completed in August 2022. K92 is operated by a team of mining company professionals with extensive international mine-building and operational experience.

On Behalf of the Company,

John Lewins, Chief Executive Officer and Director

For further information, please contact David Medilek, P.Eng., CFA, President at +1-604-416-4445

CAUTIONARY STATEMENT REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION: This news release includes certain forward-looking statements under applicable Canadian securities legislation. Such forward-looking statements include, without limitation: (i) the results of the Kainantu Project Definitive Feasibility Study, and the Kainantu 2022 Preliminary Economic Assessment, including the Stage 3 Expansion, a new standalone 1.2 mtpa process plant and supporting infrastructure; (ii) statements regarding the expansion of the mine and development of any of the deposits; and (iii) the Kainantu Stage 4 Expansion, operating two standalone process plants, larger surface infrastructure and mining throughputs.

All statements in this news release that address events or developments that we expect to occur in the future are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical facts and are generally, although not always, identified by words such as expect, plan, anticipate, project, target, potential, schedule, forecast, budget, estimate, intend or believe and similar expressions or their negative connotations, or that events or conditions will, would, may, could, should or might occur. All such forward-looking statements are based on the opinions and estimates of management as of the date such statements are made. Forward-looking statements are necessarily based on estimates and assumptions that are inherently subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, many of which are beyond our ability to control, that may cause our actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information. Such factors include, without limitation, Public Health Crises, including the COVID-19 Pandemic; changes in the price of gold, silver, copper and other metals in the world markets; fluctuations in the price and availability of infrastructure and energy and other commodities; fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates; volatility in price of our common shares; inherent risks associated with the mining industry, including problems related to weather and climate in remote areas in which certain of the Companys operations are located; failure to achieve production, cost and other estimates; risks and uncertainties associated with exploration and development; uncertainties relating to estimates of mineral resources including uncertainty that mineral resources may never be converted into mineral reserves; the Companys ability to carry on current and future operations, including development and exploration activities; the timing, extent, duration and economic viability of such operations, including any mineral resources or reserves identified thereby; the accuracy and reliability of estimates, projections, forecasts, studies and assessments; the Companys ability to meet or achieve estimates, projections and forecasts; the availability and cost of inputs; the availability and costs of achieving the Stage 3 Expansion or the Stage 4 Expansion; the ability of the Company to achieve the inputs the price and market for outputs, including gold, silver and copper; inability of the Company to identify appropriate acquisition targets or complete desirable acquisitions; failures of information systems or information security threats; political, economic and other risks associated with the Companys foreign operations; geopolitical events and other uncertainties, such as the conflict in Ukraine; compliance with various laws and regulatory requirements to which the Company is subject to, including taxation; the ability to obtain timely financing on reasonable terms when required; the current and future social, economic and political conditions, including relationship with the communities in Papua New Guinea and other jurisdictions it operates; other assumptions and factors generally associated with the mining industry; and the risks, uncertainties and other factors referred to in the Companys Annual Information Form under the heading Risk Factors.

Estimates of mineral resources are also forward-looking statements because they constitute projections, based on certain estimates and assumptions, regarding the amount of minerals that may be encountered in the future and/or the anticipated economics of production. The estimation of mineral resources and mineral reserves is inherently uncertain and involves subjective judgments about many relevant factors. Mineral resources that are not mineral reserves do not have demonstrated economic viability. The accuracy of any such estimates is a function of the quantity and quality of available data, and of the assumptions made and judgments used in engineering and geological interpretation, Forward-looking statements are not a guarantee of future performance, and actual results and future events could materially differ from those anticipated in such statements. Although we have attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking statements, there may be other factors that cause actual results to differ materially from those that are anticipated, estimated, or intended. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. The Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.




GreyViews

Laundry Detergent Pods Market Size By Product (Biological and Non-Biological), By Application (Household and Commercial), By Type (Fabric Softener, Detergent Powder, Laundry Liquid, and Others), Regions, Segmentation, and forecast till 2030.

Pune India, Feb. 06, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The market has been studied for the below mentioned-segmentation and regional analysis for North America, Europe, Asia, South America, and the Middle East and Africa. These are the key regions where the laundry detergent pods market is operating and is predicted to expand soon. The manufacturers and suppliers involved in the laundry detergent pods market are present across various countries in the above-mentioned regions.

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The report provides a detailed understanding of the market segments which have been formed by combining different prospects such as the product, application, type, and region. Apart from this, the key driving factors, restraints, potential growth opportunities, and market challenges are also discussed in the below paragraphs.

The significant players operating in the global laundry detergent pods market are Procter & Gamble, Unilever, Ecozone., Waitrose & Partners, ASDA, J Sainsbury plc, Morrisons Ltd, Tesco, MaddieBrit Products, LLC, Dapple Baby, Henkel Adhesives Technologies India Private Limited. among other. To achieve a substantial market share in the worldwide laundry detergent pods market and strengthen their position, manufacturers are pursuing expansion methods such as current developments, mergers and acquisitions, product innovations, collaborations, and partnerships, joint ventures.

Packages or tablets called laundry detergent pods are concentrated washing solution packets. These water-soluble pods with detergents and other ingredients are made to remove tough stains. Several softeners and detergent are measured out exactly into the pods. These detergent capsules are advertised as being incredibly convenient and user-friendly. Also eliminated is the possibility of using too much detergent, which could damage some fragile materials. Due to its convenience and time-saving qualities, laundry detergent pods are growing in popularity among millions of people all over the world, particularly among the working class. While using too much soap shortens the fabric's life and damages it, using too little detergent leads to clothing that are improperly cleaned. On the other hand, capsules of laundry detergent are pre-measured for normal soil and load sizes, ensuring consistent results. These elements reduce the likelihood of using too much detergent while shortening the fabric's lifespan. In contrast to normal detergents and bleach, laundry detergent pods soften the garments and leave a pleasant aroma. More frequently, laundry detergents are developed to effectively remove stains and condition fabrics. Due to the increased demand, laundry detergent manufacturers and distributors have begun to change their marketing strategies. Well-known companies emphasise their global, digital, and social presence in addition to their on-shelf presence. The skin is supposedly treated better by enzyme-free non-biological capsules than by their biological equivalents.

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Scope of Global Laundry Detergent Pods Market Report

Report Metric Information Study Period 2022-2030 Base Year 2022 Forecast Period 2023-2030 Market Share Unit USD Billion Segments Covered Product, Application, Type, and Regions Regions Covered North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, South America, and Middle-East and Africa Major Players Procter & Gamble, Unilever, Ecozone., Waitrose & Partners, ASDA, J Sainsbury plc, Morrisons Ltd, Tesco, MaddieBrit Products, LLC, Dapple Baby, Henkel Adhesives Technologies India Private Limited. among other

Segmentation Analysis

The non-biological segment is expected to be the fastest-growing segment in 2022.

The product segment is biological and non-biological. The non-biological segment is expected to witness the highest growth rate during the forecast period. In order to wash clothes with the least quantity of water feasible, which could leave detergent residue on the fabric, increasing water conservation measures are encouraged. Active residue can cause allergies and skin rashes, especially in kids and people with sensitive skin. The enzyme-free non-biological capsules are regarded to be better for the skin than their biological counterparts. Furthermore, it is anticipated that these products' easy accessibility and inexpensive cost in comparison to their biological counterparts will have a big impact.

The household segment is expected to be the fastest-growing segment in 2022.

The application segment is household and commercial. The household segment is expected to witness the highest growth rate during the forecast period. To increase the equipment's longevity, washer manufacturers such as IFB, Whirlpool, and Panasonic recommend utilising laundry detergent pods. The concentrated liquid is free of ingredients that take a while to dissolve since they could pile up and form a layer in various washing machine components, decreasing the efficiency of the machine. Celebrity endorsements and promotions via social media influencers have also had a favourable impact on the uptake of products in the household market.

The detergent powder segment is expected to be the fastest-growing segment in 2022.

The type segment is fabric softener, detergent powder, laundry liquid, and others. The detergent powder segment is expected to witness the highest growth rate during the forecast period. Growing concern about living in a clean environment free of germs, bacteria, dust, and filth is a result of the significance of leading healthy lifestyles and rising per capita spending on household cleaning goods, particularly laundry detergents. Consumers' growing preference for products with strong, pleasant scents has driven vendors to differentiate their goods, and fragrance has grown in significance in household cleaning products.

Regional Analysis

The regional analysis provides a detailed perception of the key regions and the countries. Some of the key countries analyzed for the laundry detergent pods include the US, Canada, Mexico, Germany, France, the U.K., Italy, Spain, Russia, China, Japan, India, Brazil, Peru, UAE, South Africa, and Saudi Arabia.

The North America region witnessed a major share. For instance, the American multinational consumer products company, Procter & Gamble, is one of the top household and personal care companies in the world. The business expects to generate over USD 26 billion in revenue in 2021 from only fabric care and home care items, which shows how lucrative this market is expanding. About half of Procter & Gamble's net sales come from North America. Under the company's fabric care and home care brands, Tide, Febreze, and Downy are household names in many American homes.

Country Analysis

Germany

Germany's laundry detergent pods market size was valued at USD 0.75 billion in 2022 and is expected to reach USD 1.12 billion by 2030, at a CAGR of 5.2% from 2023 to 2030.

Compared to other regions, the Germany region is expanding as a result of the use of cutting-edge laundry goods there. Demand for the European market is also anticipated to rise as a result of growing cooperation between detergent manufacturers and eCommerce companies to swiftly reach the biggest number of consumers and plan out new distribution methods.

China

Chinas laundry detergent pods market size was valued at USD 0.78 billion in 2022 and is expected to reach USD 1.20 billion by 2030, at a CAGR of 5.6% from 2023 to 2030.

Due to the growing amounts of money that detergent manufacturers are investing in R&D to develop and produce cutting-edge products for consumers, emerging markets, including China, are expected to experience rapid growth in the textile and service industries as well as a significant increase in e-commerce.

India

India's laundry detergent pods market size was valued at USD 0.60 billion in 2022 and is expected to reach USD 0.92 billion by 2030, at a CAGR of 5.5% from 2023 to 2030.

The tablet application works well, providing top-notch results and protecting the fabric. The packaging is recyclable and made of recycled materials. Celebrity endorsements aid in increasing consumer awareness in countries like India. The demand for the product is anticipated to rise as a result of this component.

Covid-19 Impact

Covid-19 had a major impact on almost all industries, such as electronics, semiconductors, manufacturing, automobile, etc. However, several companies operating in the technology sector have seen increased revenue due to significant changes in consumer preferences toward technological services. In addition, the pandemic has led to significant growth in technology across developing and developed countries.

Furthermore, the growth of the laundry detergent pods market is mainly driven by the rising innovations.

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My wife and I are 70 years old. We've paid off everything, including the house. Between my pension of $29,000 and Social Security, we're getting a gross of $99,000 a year in income, which is more than enough. Our current  Continue reading  The post Ask an Advisor: We Are 70 Years Old, Have $99K in Retirement Income, a $1.4M IRA and Other Investments. Is It Too Late to Convert to a Roth? appeared first on SmartAsset Blog.
Lexipol

Acquisition of NERPSC provides training for peer support team members and certification for clinicians working with first responders

DALLAS, Feb. 06, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Lexipol, the leader in policy, training and wellness support for first responders and public servants, today announced the acquisition of the National Emergency Responder & Public Safety CenterTM (NERPSC). The acquisition will expand Lexipol's existing wellness offerings by incorporating NERPSC's training for peer support team members and certification programs for first responder-focused clinicians.



Properly trained peer support members and mental health clinicians are essential to developing effective wellness programs and building trust with public safety personnel, says Dr. David Black, Lexipols president of wellness solutions. NERPSCs expertise in this area aligns with Lexipols goal to provide comprehensive, 360-degree first responder wellness resources.

NERPSCs first responder peer support in-service and continuing education addresses all levels of mental health and wellbeing. They also offer an Emergency Responder and Public Safety Clinician CertificationTM, widely recognized as the national standard of excellence for advanced knowledge and commitment to supporting public safety professionals. NERPSCs peer support and clinician courses and certification program will be incorporated into Lexipols award-winning online learning management system, which provides continuing education to thousands of public safety agencies across the country.

We are excited to join Lexipol and the incredible work they do to support first responders in myriad ways, including wellness, says NERPSC founder Dr. Jaime Brower. NERPSC will continue the important work of training people to provide critical support for those on the front lines every day.

To learn more, visit www.lexipol.com or www.nerpsc.com.

About Lexipol

Lexipol empowers first responders and public servants to best meet the needs of their residents safely and responsibly. We are the experts in policy, training and wellness support, committed to improving the quality of life for all community members. Our solutions include state-specific policies, online learning, behavioral health resources, funding assistance, and news and information offered through the websites Police1, FireRescue1, EMS1, Corrections1 and Gov1. Lexipol serves more than 2 million public safety professionals in over 10,000 agencies and municipalities. For additional information, visit www.lexipol.com.

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Media Contact:

Shannon Pieper

Sr. Director, Marketing Content

949-276-9938

spieper@lexipol.com








(Bloomberg) -- Microsoft Corp. unveiled plans for an event on Tuesday at its headquarters, leaving the subject open to speculation as the company steps up its bets on artificial intelligence  including adding OpenAIs ChatGPT bot into its Bing search engine.

Most Read from Bloomberg

The company didnt disclose the content of the 10 a.m. local time event at the Redmond, Washington, headquarters in an invitation to reporters, but said it will share some progress on a few exciting projects. Microsoft has been accelerating investments in artificial intelligence and competition in the field of generative AI  named for the ability to generate new content from digital troves of text, photos and art  is heating up.

Microsoft has been preparing to add ChatGPT to Bing to offer better, more precise answers to queries, rather than a list of links, in a yet another bid to take some market share from Googles highly dominant search engine, a person familiar with the matter said last month. Bing has about 9% of the global search market, according to analyst Statista.

The software giant also announced last month that it was making a multibillion investment, which a person familiar put at $10 billion, in OpenAI over several years. The two companies are growing closer with Microsoft providing cloud-computing power to OpenAI while blending the systems developed by the AI research lab into its own software. Sam Altman, the startups co-founder and chief executive officer, on Monday tweeted a photo with Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella saying he was at Microsoft headquarters and excited for Tuesdays event.

Alphabet Inc.s Google said Monday that it has released a ChatGPT rival, called Bard, for testing and the general public will be able to use the service in the coming weeks. Bard is based on LaMDA, a large language model developed by Google that stirred controversy in May when a Google software engineer publicly asserted that the AI was sentient  a claim that has widely been disputed. The chatbot aims to generate detailed answers when given simple prompts, such as what to make for lunch or how to plan a friends baby shower.Read more: Google Releases ChatGPT Rival AI Bard to Early Testers

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Google also offered a look at some AI-powered features that will soon appear in its search and are intended to offer users insights for queries where theres no one correct answer.

(Updates with Googles announcement in fifth paragraph.)

Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek

2023 Bloomberg L.P.
Receives regulatory approval from Health Canada to commence enrollment

PARADIGM topline read-out expected H2 2023

CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Feb. 6, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- NeuroSense Therapeutics Ltd. (NASDAQ: NRSN) ("NeuroSense"), a company developing treatments for severe neurodegenerative diseases, today announced that Health Canada approved the commencement of patient enrollment in Canada for the Company's Phase 2b PARADIGM study of its combination therapy PrimeC for the treatment of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Currently, over 50% of patients have been enrolled in PARADIGM with topline results expected in the second half of 2023.

NeuroSense Therapeutics Logo

Dr. Christen Shoesmith, Medical Director of the London Health Sciences Centre ALS Clinic and Principal Investigator of the PARADIGM trial in Canada, commented, "We are very pleased with Health Canada's approval to recruit and dose people living with ALS in the PARADIGM study. Canada is at the forefront of advancing promising treatments to provide much needed options for people living with ALS."

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) requested additional non-clinical data from NeuroSense to support the duration of the PARADIGM trial, as PrimeC is intended for long-term administration for the treatment of ALS. As a result, and following alignment with the agency on this subject, NeuroSense and the FDA have agreed that NeuroSense will withdraw its study protocol from the Investigational New Drug application (IND). NeuroSense is planning a formal meeting with the FDA to align its clinical and regulatory strategy for a potential pivotal Phase 3 trial that is intended to support a New Drug Application (NDA) submission, pending the successful conclusion of the PARADIGM trial.

"Our North American clinical development strategy got a boost from Health Canada, which approved our Phase 2b PARADIGM study to dose patients," stated NeuroSense CEO Alon Ben-Noon. "In the interest of treating and completing dosing of people living with ALS in an expedient and safe manner through PARADIGM, we've focused our North American recruitment in Canada. We look forward to working with the FDA on a path that includes clinical sites in the U.S. in a future Phase 3 pivotal study of PrimeC to address the dire unmet need of the U.S. ALS community who are eager to receive PrimeC for long term use."

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About PrimeC

PrimeC, NeuroSense's lead drug candidate, is a novel extended-release oral formulation composed of a unique fixed-dose combination of two FDA-approved drugs: ciprofloxacin and celecoxib. PrimeC is designed to synergistically target several key mechanisms of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) that contribute to motor neuron degeneration, inflammation, iron accumulation and impaired RNA regulation to potentially inhibit the progression of ALS. NeuroSense completed a Phase IIa clinical study which successfully met its safety and efficacy endpoints including reducing functional and respiratory deterioration and statistically significant changes in ALS-related biological markers indicating PrimeC's biological activity. Through a collaboration with Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston on novel Neuron-Derived Exosomes (NDEs), NeuroSense is working to further determine the biological changes in ALS-related pathologies and the effect of PrimeC on relevant targets. PrimeC was granted Orphan Drug Designation by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the European Medicines Agency (EMA).

About ALS

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is an incurable neurodegenerative disease that causes complete paralysis and death within 2-5 years from diagnosis. Every year, more than 5,000 patients are diagnosed with ALS in the U.S. alone, with an annual disease burden of $1 billion. The number of patients with ALS is expected to grow 24% by 2040 in the U.S. and EU.

About NeuroSense

NeuroSense Therapeutics, Ltd. is a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on discovering and developing treatments for patients suffering from debilitating neurodegenerative diseases. NeuroSense believes that these diseases, which include amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease, among others, represent one of the most significant unmet medical needs of our time, with limited effective therapeutic options available for patients to date. Due to the complexity of neurodegenerative diseases and based on strong scientific research on a large panel of related biomarkers, NeuroSense's strategy is to develop combined therapies targeting multiple pathways associated with these diseases.

For additional information, we invite you to visit our website and follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains "forward-looking statements" that are subject to substantial risks and uncertainties. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, contained in this press release are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements contained in this press release may be identified by the use of words such as "anticipate," "believe," "contemplate," "could," "estimate," "expect," "intend," "seek," "may," "might," "plan," "potential," "predict," "project," "target," "aim," "should," "will" "would," or the negative of these words or other similar expressions, although not all forward-looking statements contain these words. Forward-looking statements are based on NeuroSense Therapeutics' current expectations and are subject to inherent uncertainties, risks and assumptions that are difficult to predict and include statements regarding patent applications; the company's PrimeC development program; the potential for PrimeC to safely and effectively target ALS; preclinical and clinical data for PrimeC; the timing of current and future clinical trials; the nature, strategy and focus of the company and further updates with respect thereto; and the development and commercial potential of any product candidates of the company. Further, certain forward-looking statements are based on assumptions as to future events that may not prove to be accurate. Such risks and uncertainties include the risk that there will a delay in the timing of the report of topline results of PARADIGM and other risks and uncertainties set forth in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), including the Company's Annual Report on Form 20-F filed with the SEC on April 14, 2022. Further, certain forward-looking statements are based on assumptions as to future events that may not prove to be accurate. Forward-looking statements contained in this announcement are made as of this date, and NeuroSense Therapeutics Ltd. undertakes no duty to update such information except as required under applicable law.

Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1707291/NeuroSense_Therapeutics_Logo.jpg

Cision

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Nexans

Nexans enters into exclusive negotiations with Syntagma Capital for the sale of its Telecom Systems business

_PRESS RELEASE_

Nexans enters into exclusive negotiation s for the sale of its Telecom Systems activities to Syntagma Capital

This proposed transaction marks a new step in the implementation of Nexans strategy to refocus as a Pure Electrification Player

Paris, February 6, 2023  Nexans has entered into exclusive negotiations with Syntagma Capital, a Belgium-based private equity fund, for the sale of its Telecom Systems activity (The Business). This proposed transaction marks Nexans exit from the telecom and data activity in line with its strategy to simplify its activities and amplify its impact in Electrification markets.

The Business operates primarily in the design, production and commercialization of advanced solutions for telecom, LAN networks as well as datacentres and constitutes the main remaining part of the Telecom & Data division after the sale of Berk-Tek in 2020. It employs around 680 people and has a turnover of around 200 million euros in aggregate.

Christopher Guerin, Chief Executive Officer of Nexans declared: We are pleased that our Telecom Systems colleagues will join a strategic new home with Syntagma Capital to further invest and grow the business. This powerful combination will deliver meaningful opportunities to employees and customers. I would like to thank the teams for the excellent work they have done in the past, and I am confident in their future development.

We are pleased to partner with management to continue to grow the business. Providing the backbone for data management is an exciting prospect. This transaction represents our most recent carve out and reflects Syntagmas strategy to acquire businesses that will benefit from a new owner to drive the next area of growth said Sebastien Kiekert Le Moult, Managing Partner of Syntagma.

The proposed transaction remains subject to the fulfilment of customary conditions for this type of transaction, including the information and consultation of works councils and other regulatory approvals. The closing of the transaction is expected to be completed by the end of the first half of 2023.

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Following the closing of the transaction, the Special Telecom division, active in the production and installation of subsea telecommunication systems, accessories and services based in Rognan, Norway, will become part of Nexans Generation & Transmission business group enhancing the global capabilities and commercial offering.

About Syntagma Capital

Syntagma invests in companies that can benefit from hands-on operational expertise to accelerate growth and improve performance for all stakeholders. They are true operators with experience working in and managing companies on a global scale, leveraging our in-house resources to develop successful strategies, and execute them to realize their full potential and create sustainable long-term value. Syntagma invests and operates companies in a broad range of industries with a specific focus on the material, chemical, industrial, and business services markets and including manufacturing, distribution, transportation and logistics, equipment rental, metals services, and other industries. Syntagma is committed to high ESG standards across all its investments and is based in Brussels, Belgium.

For more information, please visit: https://syntagmacapital.com

Contact:

Marie Ciparisse

Tel.: +32 (0)2 315 70 12

mciparisse@syntagmacapital.com

About Nexans

For more than a century, Nexans has played a crucial role in electrifying the planet and is committed to electrifying the future. With almost 25,000 staff in 42 countries, the Group is driving the change towards the new world of electrification: a safer, more sustainable, renewable, carbon-free world, accessible to all. In 2021, Nexans generated 6.1 billion in standard sales. The Group is a leader in the design and manufacture of cable systems and services in five main areas of activity: Energy Production & Transmission, Distribution, Uses, Industry & Solutions and Telecom & Data. Nexans was the first player in its industry to create a Corporate Foundation to support actions that promote access to energy for disadvantaged populations worldwide. The Group is committed to helping achieve carbon neutrality by 2030.

Nexans. Electrify the future.

Nexans is listed on the Euronext Paris stock market, compartment A.

For more information, please visit www.nexans.com

Contacts:

Investor Relations







Elodie Robbe-Mouillot

Tel.: +33 (0)1 78 15 03 87

elodie.robbe-mouillot@nexans.com Communications







Emmanuel Guinot

emmanuel.guinot@nexans.com







Maellys Leostic

Tel.: +33 (0)7 87 04 96 58

maellys.leostic@nexans.com





Attachment




South Africa: SA records slight decline in rhino poaching

South Africas relentless fight against rhino poaching in the Kruger National Park and other national parks saw a slight decline in poaching numbers across the country.

Last year, 124 rhino were poached at the South African National Parks (SANParks) compared to 209 in 2021. This represents a 40% decrease compared with those killed for their horn 2021.

The steady decline in rhino poaching in national parks is related to the relentless war that has been waged by our fearsome anti-poaching machinery as well as a comprehensive dehorning programme. This years outcome shows that collaboration between conservation authorities, the South African Police Services, revenue authorities and international agencies works. We believe that if provincial authorities in KwaZulu-Natal follow our model, they will be able to significantly curb rhino poaching in their provincial parks before it is too late, Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment, Barbara Creecy, said on Monday.

A total of 448 rhino were killed in the country in 2022 compared to 451 rhino poached in 2021. Unfortunately, the poaching threat has shifted to KwaZulu-Natal, which lost 244 rhino to poaching last year compared to 102 in 2021.

In 2022, a number of successful arrests and prosecutions were recorded, which contributed to the integrated work of the law enforcement agencies, comprising of the South African Police Service (SAPS), Hawks, SANParks, Environmental Enforcement Fusion Centre, the Environmental Management Inspectorate or Green Scorpions, customs officials, provincial park authorities, and the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA).

A total of 132 arrests were effected during 2022 for rhino poaching: 23 in the Skukuza area in Mpumalanga, 49 in KwaZulu-Natal and the balance in Limpopo.

The recent focus on money laundering and international co-operation with other law enforcement authorities saw the arrest of 26 rhino horn traffickers and 13 people for money laundering and bribing of rangers.

To support anti-poaching efforts in KwaZulu-Natal, special interventions were introduced in collaboration with the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE), non-governmental organizations and the SAPS, which resulted in four key arrests of syndicate members who were focusing their illegal efforts in KwaZulu-Natal. These agencies will continue to collaborate this year.

The work of the Departments Environmental Enforcement Fusion Centre (EEFC) enables authorities to track information pertaining to wildlife crime at a national level and understand trends and changing modus operandi while supporting the investigative and tactical teams.

During 2022, the NPA in collaboration with the DFFE established a Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Environmental Working Group. The purpose of this group is to foster closer collaboration between the provinces working on wildlife trafficking cases and helps identify repeat offenders moving around the country, the department said.

As part of continued efforts to ensure the survival of the rhino species, SANParks, is in the process of identifying suitable safe habitat across South Africa for the introduction of new rhino communities.  SAnews.gov.za

This story has been published on: 2023-02-06. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
By Azernews

Sabina Mammadli

Azerbaijans Emergencies Ministry has dispatched rapid rescue forces to Turkiye following a presidential instruction, Azernews reports.

According to the head of the Special Risky Rescue Service of the ministry, Maj-Gen Etibar Ismayilov, 370 rescuers and eight trained dogs from the ministry's canine center will also be used in the quake-hit areas.

Meanwhile, Head of Azerbaijan's Republican Seismic Survey Center Gurban Yetirmishli stated that the earthquake in Turkiye lasted more than 9 minutes.

He stressed that it started from the territory called Muradli and stretched to Islamiye. The epicenter of the earthquake was in Turkish Kahramanmara? and it occurred at a depth of 8-15 kilometers.

"This is why more than 1,760 buildings were destroyed as a result of the earthquake," he added.

To recap, on January 6, a 7.4-magnitude earthquake was felt in central Turkiye. The epicenter of the earthquake was 26 kilometers from Gaziantep, which has a population of about 1.06 million. The earthquake's epicenter was located 7 km below the surface. According to Turkiye's Disaster and Emergency Management Authority, three more earthquakes with magnitudes of 6.4 to 6.6 shook the province of Gaziantep in southeast Turkiye.
Nokia Oyj

Press Release

Nokia introduces new Wavence microwave solutions to extend the reach of 5G deployments in both urban and rural environments

Nokia showcases new E-Band high-powered Ultra-Broadband Transceiver, the UBT-m XP, the latest addition to its award-winning Wavence portfolio of microwave radios with best-in-class energy efficiency and the highest transmit power

Nokia launches the innovative Nokia SteadEband  a stabilized antenna that combats common E-Band challenges related to antenna alignment, enabling multi-gigabit 5G connectivity over greater distances with the UBT-m XP

Nokia also introduces the Outdoor Channel Aggregator (OCA) which combines multiple UBT-T XP radios to support mobile operators looking to extend the reach and capacity of 5G networks deeper into rural areas

6 February 2023

Espoo, Finland  Nokia today announced the availability of the UBT-m XP, the latest addition to its award-winning Wavence product family designed to support mobile operators and enterprises with premium coverage in both dense urban and rural environments. Nokias newest E-Band radio is a high-capacity outdoor unit with a small, light form factor and the highest transmit power available on the market; ideal for urban microwave transport applications. It is joined in an industry first by the launch of the Nokia SteadEband, a stabilized three-foot antenna that combats common E-Band issues, which include tower vibrations and movements due to thermal effects. Combined with the UBT-m XP, it can increase the typical E-Band link distance by up to 50 percent, helping mobile operators deliver multi-gigabit 5G connectivity to their customers. These new products address all use cases for improving link distance as well as the energy efficiency of the Wavence portfolio.

Urban Coverage Boost

The UBT-m XP is a single ultra-broadband transceiver with an integrated modem and diplexer, offering best-in-class energy efficiency with twice the transmit power compared to the industry average. In recent tests, Nokia demonstrated a 12-kilometer-long link using the Nokia UBT-m XP and the SteadEband antenna.

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Rural Broadband Extension

Nokia also announced the launch of the Outdoor Channel Aggregator (OCA) to support mobile operators looking to expand the reach and capacity of their networks for rural broadband applications. The OCA aggregates multiple UBT-T XP radios, Nokias high-capacity, high-power, outdoor dual-band radio, for N+0 operations and allows for increased throughput with improved system gain of up to 10 dB compared with traditional aggregation methods. This is important in increasing the link distance or to optimize OPEX/CAPEX by removing the requirement for larger antenna or repeater systems.

Nokia is also introducing the Carrier Aggregation High Density (CAHD) card, which adds single pipe capacity to the backhaul to support the link distance. The innovative CAHD module enables 10 Gbps backhaul capacity over multiple channels and supports seamless migration from existing low-capacity backhaul to high capacity hence preserving an operators investment.

Impact at Scale

Nokias Simplified RAN Transport solution optimizes radio access base station and microwave radio transport hardware to the minimum. This provides enhanced serviceability and operations without the need for dedicated indoor microwave equipment. Nokias solution saves 30 percent more energy versus a traditional microwave site solution, due to a reduced number of units and less air conditioning requirements. Additionally, it also enables lower TCO and reduced site footprint.

Nokias comprehensive Wavence portfolio provides a complete microwave solution for all use cases covering short-haul, long-haul, E-Band, and SDN-based management both for mobile operators and Enterprises. Its zero-footprint implementation for full-outdoor architectures can be integrated directly with RAN and IP devices with common management. This contributes to an overall reduction in network energy consumption and its software features and automation help to achieve further energy-saving targets.

Its no secret that capacity and radio efficiency are driving the market, said Emmy Johnson, Chief Analyst, Sky Light Research. According to Sky Light Researchs latest forecast, the high-capacity E-band market is expected to grow north of 60 percent in 2023. Nokias newest products answer this call but with the added benefit of high power and energy efficiency. The sustainability and power metrics are impressive, as they not only lower TCO but also help meet climate change guidelines.

Giuseppe Targia, Vice President, Microwave Radio Links at Nokia, said: We are further strengthening our industry-leading Wavence portfolio with the addition of these next-generation products. The winning combination of the UBX-m XP and the SteadEband offers our customers a high-performance transport solution with leading capacity and coverage for both urban and rural environments. Microwave links are cost-efficient and fast to deploy, representing a robust alternative to fiber backhaul.

Resources

Wavence - Microwave transmission

About Nokia

At Nokia, we create technology that helps the world act together.

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According to a market research study published by Contrive Datum Insights, Asia-Pacific is the biggest market for OLED displays because that's where most of the big players, like LG and Samsung, have their factories.

Farmington, Feb. 06, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Global OLED Display Market Is Estimated To Be Valued At USD 48.76 Billion In 2022, At A CAGR Of 22.56%. The COVID-19 pandemic has been shocking and has never happened before. Demand for demand-side platforms has been higher than expected in all areas compared to what it was before the pandemic. Our research shows that the global market will grow by 21.8% more in 2020 than it did in 2019.

In the scope, we looked at demand-side solutions from large companies like Amazon.com, Adobe, The Trade Desk, MediaMath, and SmartyAds, among others.

OLED Display, or DSP, is software that lets advertisers buy advertising space for ad inventory. Agencies and trade desks use this software platform to buy advertising space through a real-time bidding system and an ad exchange.

Request Sample Copy of Report  OLED Display Market - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth Opportunities, Future Trends, Covid-19 Impact, SWOT Analysis, Competition and Forecasts 2022 to 2030 , published by Contrive Datum Insights.

Recent Developments:

In January 2021, Samsung Display Co., Ltd. manufactures and sells display products and develops low-power organic light-emitting diode (OLED) panels for smartphones.

In March 2021, Samsung Display, South Korea's largest display maker, invested $2.7 billion to build a new organic light-emitting diode (OLED) production line for small-sized panels used in smartphones and laptops.

In February 2021, Apple partnered with TSMC to develop tiny OLED displays for augmented reality (AR) devices.

Regional Outlook:

Asia-Pacific is the biggest market for OLED displays because that's where most of the big players, like LG and Samsung, have their factories. The Asia-Pacific region is also home to the headquarters of a number of companies that make TVs, signs, and other products.

Story continues

Due to the trade war between the US and China, a big chunk of the Chinese government's planned budget is going into the display industry. In contrast, the semiconductor industry, which is one of the industries that attracts a lot of investment, looks like it will have a lot of problems.

Even though South Korea is a small country, it has put money into academic research and development of OLED technology. Electronics giants like LG and Samsung are putting a lot of money into the country.

LG Display also said in August 2021 that it would invest 1 trillion won to make it easier to make small and medium-sized OLED displays. The company says that the investment will last until March 2024 and will be used to make sixth-generation substrates (1,500mm x 1,850mm) in South Korea at an OLED facility.

China is a global centre for making things. It is the fastest-growing consumer market in the world and one of the biggest exporters of consumer goods. The country has one of the world's biggest TV markets. For instance, LG wants to grow its OLED panel business with the help of Chinese retailers and TV makers. Sales of OLED display panels are expected to grow by a factor of ten in the area.

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Scope of Report:

Report Attributes Details Growth Rate CAGR of 22.56% from 2023 to 2030. Revenue Forecast by 2022 USD 48.76 Billion By Type Active-Matrix Organic Light-Emitting Diode(AMOLED Display), Passive Matrix OLED(PMOLED), Others By Applications Smartphone, Smart Watch, Wearable Device, Digital Cameras, TV Sets, MP Players, Radio Decks, Others By End-Use Residential, Commercial, Industrial, Other By Companies SMD, LGD, SONY, Futaba Corporation, Sichuan CCO Display Technology, RITEK, Visionox, JOLED, EDO Regions and Countries Covered North America: (US, Canada, Mexico, Rest of North America)

Europe(Germany, France, Italy, Spain, UK, Nordic Countries, Benelux Union, Rest of Europe)

Asia-Pacific (Japan, China, India, Australia, South Korea, Southeast Asia, Rest of Asia-Pacific)

The Middle East & Africa(Saudi Arabia, UAE, Egypt, South Africa, Rest of the Middle East & Africa)

Latin America(Brazil, Argentina, Rest of Latin America)

Rest Of the World Base Year 2022 Historical Year 2017 to 2022 Forecast Year 2023 to 2030

Drivers:

Over the next few years, the growth of the global OLED display market is expected to be driven by the benefits of OLED technology. OLED technology has a lot of benefits, such as clearer colours, better contrast, faster refresh rates, and sharper images. OLED displays are smaller, thinner, and use less energy because they run at the right amount of power. OLED displays also have better viewing angles, which is another benefit for customers.

Over the next few years, the growth of the global OLED display market is likely to be driven by more uses for OLED displays. Devices that use OLEDs are starting to be used in many different fields around the world. OLED technology is used in media players, digital cameras, cell phones, TVs, wearable devices, and other areas. Sony, Samsung, and LG, three of the biggest companies on the market, have all released products with OLED displays to expand their product lines and gain a competitive edge in the market.

Opportunities:

Falling prices for OLED TVs can present lucrative growth opportunities. Costly materials are needed to make OLEDs. When a display is bigger, it costs more to make. At the moment, OLED TVs are much more expensive than other technologies. Over the next few years, improvements in OLED technology and cheaper raw materials are likely to bring down the price of OLED TVs, which will drive the market. Also, the entry of new players into the market and the mass production of OLED TVs will help bring down the prices of OLED TVs and boost the OLED display market.

There are a lot of business opportunities that can come from the competition between OLED and LCD technologies. The main benefits of OLED technology are that it uses less energy and is better for the environment. Due to the fact that biodegradable materials can be used to make OLED displays, they are likely to become very popular in the near future. Due to the growing gap between how much power is needed and how much is available, OLED displays are also expected to use less power. Improvements include a wider range of colours, an increase in the number of times per second that the display redraws data, transparency, smaller dimensions, more flexibility, and better D adaptability. The global OLED display market is also likely to be driven by the growing market share and popularity of active matrix OLED (AMOLED).

Restraints:

Over the next few years, the growth of the global OELD displays market is likely to be slowed by the high cost of making OLED displays. Making OLED displays is a very expensive process. In fact, the steps needed to make OLEDs can make the cost of the final product much higher than it would be with other modern technologies like LCDs.

Over the next few years, the growth of the global OLED display market is likely to be slowed by the low use of OLED technology. Because OLED displays are so tall, they have a very low penetration rate compared to other technologies of today. Since LCD technology came first, customers often think that OLED technology is more complicated and expensive than LCD technology. This makes it hard for the technology to spread quickly, which means it can't produce as much as it needs to in order to compete with other leading technologies.

Key Segments Covered:

Top Market Players:

SMD, LGD, SONY, Futaba Corporation, Sichuan CCO Display Technology, RITEK, Visionox, JOLED, EDO, and others.

By Types

Active-Matrix Organic Light-Emitting Diode(AMOLED Display)

Passive Matrix OLED(PMOLED)

Others

By Applications

Smartphone

Smart Watch

Wearable Device

Digital Cameras

TV Sets

MP Players

Radio Decks

Others

By End-Use

Residential

Commercial

Industrial

Others

Regions and Countries Covered

North America: (US, Canada, Mexico, Rest of North America)

Europe: (Germany, France, Italy, Spain, UK, Nordic Countries, Benelux Union, Rest of Europe)

Asia-Pacific: (Japan, China, India, Australia, South Korea, Southeast Asia, Rest of Asia-Pacific)

The Middle East & Africa: (Saudi Arabia, UAE, Egypt, South Africa, Rest of the Middle East & Africa)

Latin America: (Brazil, Argentina, Rest of Latin America)

Rest Of the World

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Synthetic Rubber Market - The Global Synthetic Rubber Market Size Was Valued At USD 28.89 Billion In 2021. The Market Is Projected To Grow From USD 29.86 Billion In 2022 To USD 41.73 Billion By 2029, Exhibiting a CAGR Of 4.9% During The Forecast Period.

Disposable Gloves Market - The Global Disposable Gloves Market Size Was Valued At USD 23.03 Billion In 2021. The Market Is Projected To Grow From USD 26.82 Billion In 2022 To USD 44.64 Billion By 2029, Exhibiting A CAGR Of 7.5% During The Forecast Period.

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OTCGH PROMOTES SNEHA BAGRI, CHIEF COMPLIANCE OFFICER, TO SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT AND CCO AS COMPANY DOUBLES DOWN ON ITS COMMITMENT TO BEST-IN-CLASS COMPLIANCE

HOUSTON and LONDON and NEW YORK , Feb. 6, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Leading independent interdealer broker OTC Global Holdings (OTCGH) announced today the expansion of its Compliance department with the promotion of several employees and the addition of new hires. This announcement comes as OTC Global Holdings registered record growth in 2022 and prepares to continue its expansion over the next years.

Sneha Bagri, current OTCGH's Chief Compliance Officer, has been promoted to SVP & CCO.

OTC Global Holdings has become a commodity brokerage powerhouse covering financial and physical instruments globally. As the company continues to grow and the regulatory environment continues to evolve, OTCGH is committed to elevating the compliance team to a best-in-class enterprise. "Our record growth and the expansion plans for the next 24 months require us to double-down on our compliance capabilities," said Javier Loya, Co-CEO at OTC Global Holdings. "The need has emerged not only to service the regulatory commitments of OTCGH, but also to bring our compliance officers to the table before decisions are made to ensure and confirm all our operations are within regulation," he added.

At the helm of the Compliance Team overhaul, Sneha Bagri will serve as Senior Vice President and Chief Compliance Officer. In her role, Ms. Bagri oversees all of OTCGH's compliance and regulatory dealings, including four NFA-registered IBs globally. With 17 years of experience in the futures industry, Ms. Bagri has been managing the compliance program at OTCGH since 2015. Prior experience includes Goldman Sachs futures operations for nine years, where she led multiple risk review global initiatives including the Dodd-Frank conversion of OTC swaps to cleared futures. "It has been an honor to work along Javier, Joe, and the entire OTCGH team as the company has grown into the largest interdealer broker of commodities in the world. We have a great team with excellent experience, and the new hires and internal promotions will help us maintain a tough compliance department commensurate with the expansion plans of the firm," said Ms. Bagri.

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Today's announcement also includes the promotion of Jennifer Lauletti to Compliance Manager and Lavinia Nemer to Compliance Analyst. The company also announced the addition of Bill Phypers as Senior Compliance Officer overseeing OTC Europe and Lloyd Jensen as Compliance Officer for Oil Brokerage Limited, an OTC Global Holdings subsidiary in London. "We are delighted to add Bill and Lloyd to our UK compliance team," says Joe Kelly, Co-CEO of OTC Global Holdings. "They will work closely with our CFO to deliver all aspects of OTCE's and OB's compliance program, including stewarding and on-boarding brokers, AML compliance, market surveillance and general trade queries from exchanges and regulators."

Bill Phypers will occupy the position of FCE and NFA registered Compliance Officer and Money Laundering Reporting Officer for both OTCE and OB. He is a veteran commodities compliance officer joining OTCGH from TP ICAP, where he spent the past 10 years. Lloyd Jensen is a former commodities trader and compliance officer with more than 15 years of experience working with household names such as BGC, EDF&Man as well as PVM Oil Futures and Newedge Prime Brokerage Group.

About OTC Global Holdings

OTCGH is the world's largest independent institutional broker of commodities, covering financial and physical instruments from offices in Chicago, Geneva, Houston, London, Louisville, New Jersey, New York and Singapore. OTCGH has been awarded "Broker of the Year" by Energy Risk. With a portfolio of nearly 20 companies, OTCGH is a liquidity provider on CBOT, ICE, NYMEX, and NODAL. The company serves more than 450 institutional clients, including over 70 members of the Global Fortune 500, and transacts in hundreds of different commodity delivery points in Asia, Europe and the Americas. www.otcgh.com

About Oil Brokerage Ltd

Oil Brokerage Ltd. is a subsidiary of OTC Global Holdings. The London-based company has established as excellent operation brokering in, but not limited to, North West Europe, the Mediterranean, West Africa, the Arab Gulf and USA. Now in its 35th year, the company has established itself as a leader in the broking of Oil and Refined Products. Over the course of the last 10 years Oil Brokerage Limited has expanded its product offering from Gasoline and Naphtha across the barrel (to also include LNG) whilst increasing the geographical locations from which it provides its services. The recent addition of Physical Shipbroking to its portfolio provides the company with a sustainable competitive advantage through the next decade.

www.oilbrokerage.com

OTC Global Holdings (PRNewsfoto/OTC Global Holdings)

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SOURCE OTC Global Holdings
Strategic hires expand the Columbus-based firm's offerings to include medical malpractice and pharmacy liability defense.

Perez Morris

Perez Morris

COLUMBUS, Ohio, Feb. 06, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Perez Morris announced today that it welcomes four new attorneys to its Cleveland office. Myra Barsoum Stockett, Jeanne Mullin, and Christine Santoni join the Perez Morris team from Reminger Co., LPA, each bringing a tremendous amount of expertise in their fields of practice. Matthew Turkalj has also joined from Reminger as a key member of the group.

"We are pleased to welcome Myra, Jeanne, Chris, and Matt to the Perez Morris family," said Perez Morris' Managing Partner, Sarah Perez. "These strategic hires add to our ever-growing bench of accomplished women trial lawyers and is a significant step in our efforts to expand the scope of top-quality service for our clients."

These additions will bring medical malpractice and pharmacy liability defense to Perez Morris and greatly enhance the workers' compensation department in Cleveland. Mullin will chair the firm's medical malpractice department and will co-manage the Cleveland office with Barsoum Stockett, who will also lead the workers' compensation group in Cleveland.

"We are eager to get started and to build on the exceptional work being done here," said Mullin. Mullin, a Cleveland native, brings 23 years of medical and pharmacy law experience with her, along with numerous recognitions, including most recently being honored as Best Lawyers' "Lawyer of the Year 2022 - Medical Malpractice Law - Defendants - Cleveland. "Combined, Chris and I have tried over 100 medical malpractice jury cases, and we look forward to forging this new path together."

Barsoum Stockett likewise has over 23 years of experience and is highly regarded among her peers. "This move will provide an opportunity for me to build on the existing workers' compensation reputation of Perez Morris and to continue to grow this practice area in Cleveland," she said. "I am excited to not only focus on workers' compensation but also to expand our employment law group and help grow the Perez Morris footprint in Northeast Ohio."

Story continues

This latest expansion follows Perez Morris' acquisition of the Giffen & Kaminski firm last year, making Perez Morris the largest certified woman-owned law firm in the state of Ohio.

About Perez Morris

Perez Morris is a woman-owned business law firm headquartered in Columbus, Ohio, with offices in Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, and Massachusetts, and attorneys licensed to practice across the country. We guide our clients to manage their risks and make deals happen. We provide general counsel, business litigation, professional and general liability defense, and commercial transactional services nationwide with a focus on cost-effective, practical, industry-savvy advice that allows our clients to continue to grow and thrive.

Contact Information:

Lexi Sweet

Communication Strategist

lexisweet@gebencommunication.com

614-507-9517



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NOIDA, India, Feb. 6, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- According to a new report published by UnivDatos Markets Insights, the Pulmonary Edema Therapeutics Market was valued at more than USD 400 million in 2020 and is expected to grow at a CAGR of around 3% from 2022-2028. The analysis has been segmented into Drug Class (Diuretics, Opioid Analgesics, Vasodilators, Inotropes, and Others); Type (Cardiogenic Pulmonary Edema and Non-Cardiogenic Pulmonary Edema); Distribution Channel (Hospital Pharmacies, Retail Pharmacies, and Online Pharmacies); Region/Country.

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The pulmonary edema therapeutics market report has been aggregated by collecting informative data on various dynamics such as market drivers, restraints, and opportunities. This innovative report makes use of several analyses to get a closer outlook on the pulmonary edema therapeutics market. The pulmonary edema therapeutics market report offers a detailed analysis of the latest industry developments and trending factors in the market that are influencing the market growth. Furthermore, this statistical market research repository examines and estimates the pulmonary edema therapeutics market at the global and regional levels.

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Market Overview

A condition known as pulmonary edema is brought on by an accumulation of fluid in the lungs. The numerous air sacs in the lungs become blocked with this fluid, making breathing difficult. Supplemental oxygen is usually given as the first line of treatment for acute pulmonary edema through a nasal cannula, a flexible plastic tube with two openings that deliver oxygen to each nostril. Diuretics, blood pressure medications, morphine, and inotropes may be prescribed, depending on the severity of the condition and the underlying cause of pulmonary edema.

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Furthermore, it is anticipated that the global market for pulmonary edema therapeutics will expand due to the rising incidence of heart failure, a major cause of pulmonary edema. For instance, as per the Places for Infectious prevention and Anticipation, in 2020, around 6.2 million grown-ups in the U.S. had a cardiovascular breakdown.

Some of the major players operating in the market include AbbVie Inc., Apotex Inc., Bausch Health Companies Inc., CMP Pharma Inc., Johnson and Johnson, Lupin Ltd., Novartis AG, Pfizer Inc., Sanofi, Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd.

COVID-19 Impact

The pulmonary edema therapeutics market and healthcare systems have been moderately affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Abnormal alveolar fluid metabolism in the lungs, which causes fluid buildup in the alveolar airspace, is the primary cause of COVID-19 mortality. Infection with the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus is the cause of this condition, which is known as pulmonary edema. Identifying the pathways that may contribute to pulmonary edema in people with severe Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) may aid in the treatment of this condition. The global pulmonary edema therapeutics market report is studied thoroughly with several aspects that would help stakeholders in making their decisions more curated.

On the basis of type, the market is categorized into cardiogenic pulmonary edema and non-cardiogenic pulmonary edema. Among these, cardiogenic pulmonary edema to hold a significant share of the market in 2020. This is mainly due to the increasing rate of heart failure because it is one of the most common causes of cardiogenic pulmonary edema and it is one of the most common causes of death among adults globally.

Based on the distribution channel, the pulmonary edema therapeutics market has been classified into hospital pharmacies, retail pharmacies, and online pharmacies. The hospital pharmacies category is to witness higher adoption of pulmonary edema therapeutics during the forecast period. This is mainly due to the availability of skilled healthcare professionals & the safety & efficacy during the treatment procedures also rising hospital administration of pulmonary edema patients globally are the major factors for the growth of the segment.

Have a Look at the Chapters https://univdatos.com/report/pulmonary-edema-therapeutics-market/

Pulmonary Edema Therapeutics Market Geographical Segmentation Includes:

North America (United States, Canada, and Rest of North America)

Europe (Germany, United Kingdom, Spain, Italy, France, and the Rest of Europe)

Asia-Pacific (China, Japan, India, and the Rest of Asia-Pacific)

Rest of the World

North America is anticipated to grow at a substantial CAGR during the forecast period. The high prevalence of risk factors and the growing acceptance of medications to treat pulmonary edema are factors for the growth of the market in the region. In addition, the region's abundance of clinics and accessibility to technologically advanced instruments are further propelling the market's expansion. Additionally, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimate that heart disease accounts for 647,000 annual deaths in the US, or 1 in 4 deaths.

The major players targeting the market include

AbbVie Inc.

Apotex Inc.

Bausch Health Companies Inc.

CMP Pharma Inc.

Johnson and Johnson

Lupin Ltd.

Novartis AG

Pfizer Inc.

Sanofi

Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd.

Competitive Landscape

The degree of competition among prominent global companies has been elaborated by analyzing several leading key players operating worldwide. The specialist team of research analysts sheds light on various traits such as global market competition, market share, most recent industry advancements, innovative product launches, partnerships, mergers, or acquisitions by leading companies in the pulmonary edema therapeutics market. The major players have been analyzed by using research methodologies for getting insight views on global competition.

Key questions resolved through this analytical market research report include:

What are the latest trends, new patterns, and technological advancements in the pulmonary edema therapeutics market?

Which factors are influencing the pulmonary edema therapeutics market over the forecast period?

What are the global challenges, threats, and risks in the pulmonary edema therapeutics market?

Which factors are propelling and restraining the pulmonary edema therapeutics market?

What are the demanding global regions of the pulmonary edema therapeutics market?

What will be the global market size in the upcoming years?

What are the crucial market acquisition strategies and policies applied by global companies?

We understand the requirement of different businesses, regions, and countries, we offer customized reports as per your requirements of business nature and geography. Please let us know If you have any custom needs.

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Pulmonary Edema Therapeutics Market Report Coverage

Report Attribute Details Base year 2021 Forecast period 2022-2028 Growth momentum Accelerate at a CAGR of over 3% Market size 2020 USD 400 million Regional analysis North America, Europe, APAC, Rest of World Major contributing region North America to Dominate the Global Pulmonary Edema Therapeutics Market Key countries covered United States, Canada, Germany, United Kingdom, Spain, Italy, France, China, Japan, India, and Australia Companies profiled AbbVie Inc., Apotex Inc., Bausch Health Companies Inc., CMP Pharma Inc., Johnson and Johnson, Lupin Ltd., Novartis AG, Pfizer Inc., Sanofi, Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. Report Scope Market Trends, Drivers, and Restraints; Revenue Estimation and Forecast; Segmentation Analysis; Impact of COVID-19; Demand and Supply Side Analysis; Competitive Landscape; Company Profiling Segments Covered By Drug Class; By Type; By Distribution Channel; By Region/Country

About UnivDatos Market Insights

UnivDatos Market Insights (UMI) is a passionate market research firm and a subsidiary of Universal Data Solutions. We believe in delivering insights through Market Intelligence Reports, Customized Business Research, and Primary Research. Our research studies are spread across topics across the world, we cover markets in over 100 countries using smart research techniques and agile methodologies. We offer in-depth studies, detailed analysis, and customized reports that help shape winning business strategies for our clients.

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Experienced Executive with Decades Leading Transformative Change in Health Care and Education

MINNEAPOLIS, Feb. 6, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Rasmussen University today announced the appointment of John Lock as President. A healthcare and education executive with decades of experience leading transformative change, Mr. Lock will start on April 17th and report to the Rasmussen University Board of Directors.

Rasmussen University

"John's extensive knowledge of education and healthcareand his understanding of the unique needs of the students and programs in our sectormake him a perfect choice to lead Rasmussen at this moment in our trajectory as a leading provider of campus-based pre-licensure nursing and online career education," said Henry Bienen, Chairman of the Rasmussen University Board of Directors.

Bienen continued, "In addition to welcoming John to the University, the Board and I extend our gratitude to Acting President Javier Miyares, who has provided steady leadership to Rasmussen while we conducted our search for a permanent leader. Javier stepped in to lead the University during a pivotal time, and his presence has been invaluable."

Mr. Lock currently serves as the Chief Digital Transformation Officer of MedStar Health, a $6.7 billion integrated community health system operating hospitals and other health facilities throughout Maryland, the District of Columbia and Virginia. In this role, he has led strategic and operational oversight for MedStar Health's system-wide digital transformation and enterprise access expansion. Prior to joining MedStar Health, Mr. Lock spent more than a decade in education, holding senior roles at Kaplan, Inc., including CEO and President of both Kaplan Higher Education Campuses and Kaplan Virtual Education. Earlier in his career, he was CEO and President of the education non-profits Project Lead the Way, Inc. and Charter Fund, Inc., and served as Executive Director of and a teacher at the Environmental Charter High School in southern California. He has extensive experience in building teams, managing companies, and unlocking value as a senior executive and board member of numerous organizations.

Story continues

"I am excited to join the team at Rasmussen University in pursuing its mission of delivering career-focused education programs that offer opportunities for economic mobility. Given my most recent experience with a large integrated healthcare system, I am enthusiastic about Rasmussen's ability to help tackle the nursing and healthcare professional shortage that I have witnessed first-hand. I am looking forward to working more closely with healthcare organizations to find, train, hire, and advance the careers of professionals serving our communities."

With 22 campuses in six states and online, Rasmussen educates more than 17,000 students in career-focused education programs. The University is a leading educator of pre-licensure nursing in the U.S., with more than half of its students enrolled in its PN, ADN, and BSN programs. Beyond pre-licensure education, the University offers a full nursing education ladder, including MSN, FNP, and DNP degrees as well as 15 health science and healthcare administration programs. The University works with health systems nationwide to transform the relationship between nursing education and employment. Additionally, Rasmussen's online education platform and degree programs are poised to support the growing demand for online education from the national student population.

Rasmussen specializes in serving first-generation, under-represented populations and adult learners returning to collegepopulations that traditionally has been underserved by U.S. higher education. Eighty-six percent of its students are women, 40% are persons of color, 75% are over 25 years of age and 60% receive Pell Grants.

Mr. Lock is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service, with a bachelor's degree in international finance and commerce.

ABOUT RASMUSSEN UNIVERSITY

Rasmussen University, a university accredited by the Higher Learning Commission, an institutional accreditation agency recognized by the U.S. Department of Education., (www.hlcommission.org), is dedicated to changing lives and the communities it serves through innovative educational programs. As a pioneer in career-focused education since 1900, the University is defining a new generation of higher education that focuses on competency-based education, technology and transferable skills. Rasmussen offers undergraduate and graduate programs online and in person at 22 campuses around the country. The University is designed to lift and support its students every step of the way, from each student's first credential to their last. Rasmussen is dedicated to global enrichment, serving the underserved and meeting the evolving needs of diverse students, communities and economies. Rasmussen encourages its students, faculty and staff to strive for academic excellence, community enrichment and service to the public good. Rasmussen is a wholly owned subsidiary of American Public Education, Inc. (Nasdaq: APEI). For more information about Rasmussen University, please visit www.rasmussen.edu.

CONTACT:

Molly Andersen

903-920-4366

mandersen@apei.com

John Lock, Incoming President, Rasmussen University

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SmartAsset: how to report foreign income without w2

As a U.S. citizen or legal permanent resident, the IRS is in charge of collecting a cut of your income. Even if you work or live outside the U.S., Uncle Sam will want its rightful share of your earnings because youre a citizen. Taxpayers typically use a W-2 to declare earnings. While some foreign companies provide a W-2, others may not. If you work for a company that doesnt provide this formal documentation, you might wonder how to report foreign income without a W-2.

A financial advisor can help you determine what your tax obligations are, and they can be especially helpful if you have a complicated situation.

What Is a W-2?

Employers use the W-2 Form to report employees earnings and salary information to the IRS. In addition, the W-2 Form includes taxpayers tax withholdings (federal, state and local), employer benefits like your health insurance, health saving account contributions and more pertinent tax information.

Generally, if you work for an employer in the U.S., you will receive a W-2 the following year. Therefore, your W-2 is extremely important when filing your taxes.

Are You Required to Report Foreign Income?

When looking at what to do with foreign income, keep in mind that individuals who qualify as U.S. persons and have sufficient income to report must file their taxes annually using a 1040 Form. The IRS defines a person of the U.S. as either a:

Legal Citizen

Legal Permanent Resident

Foreign National who spends a significant time in the U.S., pass whats called the substantial presence test.

Since the IRS follows a worldwide income model, the IRS requires taxpayers to report both domestic and foreign income. So, in addition to reporting income from U.S. or foreign employment, taxpayers must also report income like retirement income, investments and foreign life insurance policies.

Standard Foreign Versions of W-2 Form

SmartAsset: how to report foreign income without w2

When you work for a foreign company, youll want to determine if that country has a form similar to the U.S. W-2. Typically, countries that charge an income tax will have a form that can take the place of a W-2. Here are some examples of countries that have a form like the W-2 include:

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Canada : T4 slip

Mexico : Form 37

Great Britain : Form P60

Japan : Gensen-Choshu-Hyo

Singapore : IR8A

Germany : Ausdruck der Lohnsteuerbescheinigung

Switzerland : Salary Certificate

Philippines : BIR Form 2316

France : Code General des Impots

Australia: PAYG payment summary

Therefore, if you work for a country with an applicable tax form, you can usually use it when preparing your taxes. Remember, some countries have varying tax years that may not align with the tax year in the U.S. In this case, filing your taxes might not be as simple as copying and pasting your income. You may need to request the year-to-date information on your pay stub. This way you can accurately report your income for the U.S. tax year.

How to Report Foreign Income Without a W-2

So, what happens if you work for a country that doesnt have a foreign version of the W-2 Form? In this case, you will typically have to calculate your income independently. You must look at your paystubs, bank records, investment reports, travel receipts and other relevant information to calculate your income and taxes owed to the IRS.

From there, you can calculate your exclusions and tax credits. The IRS provides tools to help you avoid paying taxes twice: Foreign Earned Income Exclusion (FEIE) and Foreign Tax Credit FTC. The FEIE helps taxpayers identify if their income qualifies for the foreign income exclusion, which may allow you to exclude your foreign income from your taxes.

To determine if you qualify, you must fill out Form 2555 for the FEIE and Form 1116 for the FTC. Youll include both forms when you file Form 1040. Depending on your situation, you may need additional documentation to report your income. For example, the IRS may require copies of statements from foreign accounts even if you can provide a W-2. In addition, additional documentation will be required for taxpayers who own an international company (or a share of one) or hold investments like mutual funds abroad.

The Bottom Line

SmartAsset: how to report foreign income without w2

If you earn any income from a foreign company and are a U.S. citizen, you must report your earnings to the IRS. For a taxpayer that doesnt have a W-2, you can provide other documents such as bank statements to report your income. However, the tax code is highly complicated and ever-changing. For this reason, its wise to have a tax professional on your side who can help you navigate the process, so you dont encounter surprises along the way.

Tips for Tax Planning

A financial advisor could help create a tax strategy for your international investments and foreign income. If you dont have a financial advisor, finding one doesnt have to be hard. SmartAssets free tool matches you with up to three financial advisors who serve your area, and you can interview your advisor matches at no cost to decide which one is right for you. If youre ready to find an advisor who can help you achieve your financial goals, get started now.

Some taxpayers are confident taking the DIY approach and filing their taxes using the instructions from Form 1040. At the same time, others choose to pay for a tax prep program to simplify the process. Because of the complexities of the ever-changing tax code, using tax prep software may make filing your taxes less complicated. Check out our roundup of the best tax software to see which service is suitable for your tax-prep needs.

Photo credit: iStock.com/Prostock-Studio, iStock.com/bymuratdeniz, iStock.com/Charday Penn

The post How to Report Foreign Income Without a W-2 appeared first on SmartAsset Blog.
DelveInsight Business Research LLP

The global opioid use disorder market is being driven by the rising cases of opioid addiction. The number of individuals suffering from Opioid addiction has substantially increased, which has led pharmaceutical companies to develop novel therapies. Pipeline therapies focus on reformulations and novel mechanisms of action to combat opioid addiction.

New York, USA, Feb. 06, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Rich Insights into the Opioid Dependence Clinical Trial Analysis Featuring 25+ Companies and Therapies | DelveInsight

The global opioid use disorder market is being driven by the rising cases of opioid addiction. The number of individuals suffering from Opioid addiction has substantially increased, which has led pharmaceutical companies to develop novel therapies. Pipeline therapies focus on reformulations and novel mechanisms of action to combat opioid addiction.

DelveInsights 'Opioid Dependence Pipeline Insight  2023' report provides comprehensive global coverage of available, marketed, and pipeline opioid dependence therapies in various stages of clinical development, major pharmaceutical companies are working to advance the pipeline space and future growth potential of the opioid dependence pipeline domain.

Key Takeaways from the Opioid Dependence Pipeline Report

DelveInsights opioid dependence pipeline report depicts a robust space with 25+ active players working to develop 28+ pipeline therapies for opioid dependence treatment.

Key opioid dependence companies such as Sen Jam Pharmaceutical, Mindmed, Emergent BioSolutions, Opiant Pharmaceuticals, ATAI Life Sciences, Aphios, Inventage Lab Inc., Trevena Inc., Foresee Pharmaceuticals Co., Ltd, DemeRx, AphioTx Inc., Lyndra Therapeutics, AstraZeneca, Orexo AB, Alar Pharmaceuticals, Ensysce biosciences, Gilgamesh Pharmaceuticals, Indivior, Cerevel Therapeutics, BioCorRx, Kinoxis Therapeutics, Aptinyx, and others are evaluating new drugs for opioid dependence to improve the treatment landscape.

Promising opioid dependence pipeline therapies in various stages of development include SJP 006, SJP 007, Zolunicant, Naloxone multidose nasal spray, Cannabidiol, Intranasal nalmefene, Morphine extended release, KUR 101, C4X 3256, APH-1501, IVL3004, TRV734, DMX-1002, FP-004, DMX-NB1, DMX-IB1, LYN-014, LYN-013, AZD4041, OX124, OX125, ALA-1000, ALA-1300, ALA-2000, GM-300X, SBS-226, CVL-354, BICX104, KNX100, NYX-783, and others.

In December 2022 , the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) accepted the resubmitted New Drug Application (NDA) for Brixadi (buprenorphine) extended-release weekly and monthly subcutaneous injection for the treatment of moderate to severe opioid use disorder in patients who have initiated treatment with a single dose of a transmucosal buprenorphine product or who are already being treated with buprenorphine.

Through a collaboration with the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) , Trevena is developing TRV734 for use in medication-assisted therapy for the treatment of opioid use disorder. Similar to current standard treatment options, it targets the mu receptor , but with an optimized mechanism of action that preferentially engages the signaling pathway responsible for therapeutic effect, with reduced activation of the signaling pathway responsible for mu receptor-mediated adverse effects.

LYN-014 , Lyndras investigational oral, ultra-long-acting extended-release weekly levomethadone capsule, is being developed for the treatment of people living with opioid use disorder (OUD). The capsule is expected to achieve this through a novel design that will provide extended gastric residence, controlled, steady drug release and timely passage into the gastrointestinal tract. In July 2021, LYN-014 received Fast Track designation (FTD) from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

In November 2022, Aptinyx Inc. announced the finalization of a grant, issued to researchers at Yale University School of Medicine, funding the research and development of NYX-783 for the treatment of OUD. The $5.6 million grant was awarded under the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Helping to End Addiction Long-term (HEAL) Initiative, administered by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA). The first clinical study funded by the grant will be a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, Phase I drug-drug interaction study to assess the safety, tolerability, and pharmacokinetics of NYX-783 in combination with oxycodone in individuals who use opioids.

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Request a sample and discover the recent advances in opioid dependence treatment drugs @ Opioid Dependence Pipeline Report

The opioid dependence pipeline report provides detailed profiles of pipeline assets, a comparative analysis of clinical and non-clinical stage opioid dependence drugs, inactive and dormant assets, a comprehensive assessment of driving and restraining factors, and an assessment of opportunities and risks in the opioid dependence clinical trial landscape.

Opioid Dependence Overview

Opioid use disorder is defined as the chronic use of opioids that causes clinically significant distress or impairment. Opioid use disorders affect over 16 million people worldwide, including over 2.1 million in the United States, and opioids are responsible for over 120K deaths each year. In the United States, there are as many opioid users as there are patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder, psoriatic arthritis, and epilepsy. The American Psychiatric Association DSM-5 defines opioid use disorder as the desire to obtain and use opioids despite social and professional consequences.

Heroin, morphine, codeine, fentanyl, and synthetic opioids such as oxycodone are examples of opioids. Opioid use disorder is characterized by an overwhelming desire to use opioids, increased opioid tolerance, and withdrawal symptoms when the drugs are stopped. Opioid use disorder includes both dependence and addiction, with addiction being the most severe form of the disorder. The disease is treated with opioid replacement therapy, which uses buprenorphine or methadone to reduce morbidity and mortality.





Find out more about opioid dependence treatment drugs @ Drugs for Opioid Dependence Treatment

A snapshot of the Opioid Dependence Pipeline Drugs mentioned in the report:

Drugs Company Phase MoA RoA OX124 Orexo AB Phase III Opioid mu receptor antagonists Intranasal Cannabidiol Jazz Pharmaceuticals Phase II Antioxidants; Cannabinoid receptor CB1 inverse agonists; Cannabinoid receptor CB2 inverse agonists; Serotonin 1 receptor modulators; Transient receptor potential channel modulators DMX-1002 DemeRx/ATAI Life Sciences Phase I/II Excitatory amino acid antagonists; NMDA receptor antagonists; Opioid receptor antagonists Oral KUR-101 ATAI Life Sciences Phase I Opioid receptor modulators Oral INDV-2000 Indivior Phase I Orexin receptor type 1 antagonists Oral LYN-014 Lyndra Therapeutics Phase I Nicotinic receptor antagonists Oral AZD4041 AstraZeneca Phase I Orexin receptor type 1 antagonists Oral SJP 006 Sen Jam Pharmaceutical Preclinical NA Oral FP-004 Foresee Pharmaceuticals Preclinical Opioid receptor agonists Subcutaneous GM-300X Gilgamesh Pharmaceuticals Preclinical NA NA

Learn more about the emerging opioid dependence pipeline therapies @ Opioid Dependence Clinical Trials

Opioid Dependence Therapeutics Assessment

The opioid dependence pipeline report proffers an integral view of opioid dependence emerging novel therapies segmented by stage, product type, molecule type, mechanism of action, and route of administration.

Scope of the Opioid Dependence Pipeline Report

Coverage : Global

Therapeutic Assessment By Product Type: Mono, Combination, Mono/Combination

Therapeutic Assessment By Clinical Stages: Discovery, Pre-clinical, Phase I, Phase II, Phase III

Therapeutics Assessment By Route of Administration: Oral, Intravenous, Subcutaneous

Therapeutics Assessment By Molecule Type : Small molecule, Cell Therapy, Peptides, Polymer, Small molecule, Gene therapy

Therapeutics Assessment By Mechanism of Action: Opioid mu receptor antagonists, Excitatory amino acid antagonists; NMDA receptor antagonists; Opioid receptor antagonists, Alpha3beta4 nicotinic receptor antagonists, Opioid receptor modulators, Orexin receptor type 1 antagonists, Nicotinic receptor antagonists, Opioid receptor agonists, Antioxidants; Cannabinoid receptor CB1 inverse agonists; Cannabinoid receptor CB2 inverse agonists; Serotonin 1 receptor modulators; Transient receptor potential channel modulators

Key Opioid Dependence Companies : Medicenna Therapeutics, Tarveda Therapeutics, Sen Jam Pharmaceutical, Mindmed, Emergent BioSolutions, GW Pharmaceuticals, Opiant Pharmaceuticals, ATAI Life Sciences, C4X Discovery, and others.

Key Opioid Dependence Pipeline Therapies: SJP 006, SJP 007, Zolunicant, Naloxone multidose nasal spray, Cannabidiol, Intranasal nalmefene, Morphine extended release, KUR 101, C4X 3256, and others.

Dive deep into rich insights for new drugs for opioid dependence treatment; visit @ Opioid Dependence Medications

Table of Contents

1. Opioid Dependence Pipeline Report Introduction 2. Opioid Dependence Pipeline Report Executive Summary 3. Opioid Dependence Pipeline: Overview 4. Analytical Perspective In-depth Commercial Assessment 5. Opioid Dependence Clinical Trial Therapeutics 6. Opioid Dependence Pipeline: Late Stage Products (Pre-registration) 7. Opioid Dependence Pipeline: Late Stage Products (Phase III) 7.1 OX124: Orexo AB 8. Opioid Dependence Pipeline: Mid Stage Products (Phase II) 8.1 Cannabidiol: Jazz Pharmaceuticals 9. Opioid Dependence Pipeline: Early Stage Products (Phase I) 9.1 LYN-014: Lyndra Therapeutics 10. Opioid Dependence Pipeline Therapeutics Assessment 11. Inactive Products in the Opioid Dependence Pipeline 12. Company-University Collaborations (Licensing/Partnering) Analysis 13. Key Companies 14. Key Products in the Opioid Dependence Pipeline 15. Unmet Needs 16. Market Drivers and Barriers 17. Future Perspectives and Conclusion 18. Analyst Views 19. Appendix

For further information on the opioid dependence pipeline therapeutics, reach out @ Opioid Dependence Treatment Drugs

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Opioid Dependence Market Insights, Epidemiology, and Market Forecast  2032 report delivers an in-depth understanding of the disease, historical and forecasted epidemiology, as well as the market trends, market drivers, market barriers, and key opioid dependence companies, including GW Pharmaceuticals, Opiant Pharmaceuticals, ATAI Life Sciences, C4X Discovery, among others.

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Executives at ChatGPT creator OpenAI think educators should think twice before writing off artificial intelligence. Sopa Images/Getty Images

OpenAI's CTO shared her thoughts on ChatGPT's place in education in an interview with Time magazine.

Murati said she believes generative text can offer a "personalized education" to its users.

Several school systems and universities have banned ChatGPT for fear of academic dishonesty, reports say.

As schools across the globe express growing concern about the rise of artificial intelligence bots, a ChatGPT executive says the technology can be useful in the classroom.

In an interview with Time magazine, Mira Murati  chief technology officer at OpenAI, the company behind the buzzy AI chatbot ChatGPT  said schools shouldn't rush to ban the technology on their campuses due to concerns over cheating. Instead, Murati said ChatGPT "has the potential to really revolutionize the way we learn," particularly in settings where not everyone has the same learning preferences or abilities.

"With tools like ChatGPT, you can endlessly converse with a model to understand a concept in a way that is catered to your level of understanding," Murati told Time. "It has immense potential to help us with personalized education."

So far, public school systems in New York City, Los Angeles, Seattle, and more have banned use of the bot due to concerns over plagiarism and cheating.

Still, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman echoed Murati, stating he also believes ChatGPT has a place in schools and considers it a more engaging way to learn. In an interview with StrictlyVC, Altman likened the use of generative text to a calculator and encouraged schools to adapt to its existence.

"I have used it to learn things myself and found it much more compelling than other ways I've learned things in the past," Altman told StrictlyVC. "I would much rather have ChatGPT teach me about something than go read a textbook."

However, Altman asserts it'll be nearly impossible to detect AI plagiarism 100% of the time, and Murati said she isn't surprised that academic honesty has threatened schools as ChatGPT grows in its popularity and capability.

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"When you open it up to as many people as possible with different backgrounds and domain expertise, you'll definitely get surprised by the kinds of things that they do with the technology, both on the positive front and on the negative front," Murati said.

Despite many schools placing limitations on AI use, there are educators who agree with Murati and Altman and use generative AI as part of their lesson plans. A digital-media lecturer at the University of Leeds, for example, told Insider she's used AI in her classroom since 2018.

"We're getting our students to critically think about these tools," lecturer Leah Henrickson said.

She continued: "As long as we're focusing on education as outputs, the GPTs and AI will be a threat, but it can't replace the process of problem-solving, which is the real way to learn."

Read the original article on Business Insider
NEW YORK , Feb. 6, 2023 /PRNewswire/ --

Technavio has announced its latest market research report titled Global Sensitive Toothpaste Market 2023-2027

Sensitive toothpaste market insights -

Vendors : 15+, Including BioMin USA, Church and Dwight Co. Inc., Colgate Palmolive Co, Coswell Spa, Dabur India Ltd., GlaxoSmithKline Plc, Group Pharmaceuticals Ltd., Henkel AG and Co. KGaA, Lion Corp., Optima Naturals S.r.l, Oriflame Holding AG, Patanjali Ayurved Ltd., Sheffield Pharmaceuticals LLC, Splat Global UK Ltd., Spotlight Oralcare EU, Sunstar Suisse SA, The Himalaya Drug Co., The Honest Co. Inc., The Procter and Gamble Co., Vicco Laboratories, among others

Coverage: Parent market analysis; key drivers, major trends, and challenges; customer and vendor landscape; vendor product insights and recent developments; key vendors; and market positioning of vendors

Segments: Distribution Channel (Offline and Online), Application (Low sensitive toothpaste and Highly sensitive toothpaste), and Geography (Europe, North America, APAC, South America, and Middle East and Africa)

To understand more about the sensitive toothpaste market, request a sample report

In 2017, the sensitive toothpaste market was valued at USD 2,112.26 million. From a regional perspective, Europe held the largest market share, valued at USD 785.27 million. The sensitive toothpaste market size is estimated to grow by USD 1016.81 million from 2022 to 2027 at a CAGR of 6.87% according to Technavio.

Why Buy?

Add credibility to strategy

Analyzes competitor's offerings

Get a holistic view of the market

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Sensitive toothpaste market - Customer Landscape

To help companies evaluate and develop growth strategies, the report outlines 

Key purchase criteria

Adoption rates

Adoption lifecycle

Drivers of price sensitivity

For highlights on customer landscape analysis, download a sample!

Sensitive toothpaste market - Vendor Insights

The growing competition in the market is compelling vendors to adopt various growth strategies such as promotional activities and spending on advertisements to improve the visibility of their services. Technavio report analyzes the market's competitive landscape and offers information on several market vendors including 

Story continues

Church and Dwight Co. Inc. - The company offers sensitive toothpaste called Aim Toothpaste with cavity protection and sensitive gum care.

Colgate Palmolive Co - The company offers sensitive toothpaste under its brand called Colgate Sensitive Pro Relief whitening toothpaste.

Dabur India Ltd. - The company offers sensitive toothpaste called Dabur Meswak with herbal extract.

GlaxoSmithKline Plc - The company offers sensitive toothpaste under its brand Sensodyne for teeth sensitivity and gum protection.

Sensitive toothpaste market  Market Dynamics

Major Drivers 

Innovations and product line extension

Growing awareness of oral and dental health

Increase in demand for natural and organic oral care products

KEY challenges 

High adoption of homemade remedies and alternative products

Availability of counterfeit products diminishing the brand value of genuine products

Increasing demand for secondary oral hygiene products

Drivers and challenges have an impact on market dynamics and can impact businesses. Find some insights from a sample report!

The sensitive toothpaste market report provides critical information and factual data, with a qualitative and quantitative study of the market based on market drivers and limitations as well as future prospects.

What are the key data covered in this sensitive toothpaste market report?

CAGR of the market during the forecast period

Detailed information on factors that will drive the growth of the sensitive toothpaste market between 2023 and 2027

Precise estimation of the size of the sensitive toothpaste market size and its contribution to the market in focus on the parent market

Accurate predictions about upcoming trends and changes in consumer behavior

Growth of the sensitive toothpaste market industry across Europe, North America, APAC, South America, and Middle East and Africa

A thorough analysis of the market's competitive landscape and detailed information about vendors

Comprehensive analysis of factors that will challenge the growth of sensitive toothpaste market vendors

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The teeth whitening market size is expected to increase by USD 941.51 million from 2021 to 2026, and the market's growth momentum will accelerate at a CAGR of 4.21%. The emerging consumerism through digital and social media is notably driving the teeth whitening market growth, although factors such as counterfeit goods may impede the market growth.

The floss picks market size is expected to increase to USD 173.22 million from 2021 to 2026, and the market's growth momentum will accelerate at a CAGR of 4.77%. The increasing recommendations from dental experts to maintain oral hygiene is notably driving the floss picks market growth, although factors such as the availability of substitute products may impede the market growth.

Sensitive Toothpaste Market Scope Report Coverage Details Page number 162 Base year 2022 Historic period 2017-2021 Forecast period 2023-2027 Growth momentum & CAGR Accelerate at a CAGR of 6.87% Market growth 2023-2027 USD 1016.81 million Market structure Fragmented YoY growth 2022-2023 (%) 6.55 Regional analysis Europe, North America, APAC, South America, and Middle East and Africa Performing market contribution Europe at 34% Key countries US, China, UK, Germany, and France Competitive landscape Leading Vendors, Market Positioning of Vendors, Competitive Strategies, and Industry Risks Key companies profiled BioMin USA, Church and Dwight Co. Inc., Colgate Palmolive Co, Coswell Spa, Dabur India Ltd., GlaxoSmithKline Plc, Group Pharmaceuticals Ltd., Henkel AG and Co. KGaA, Lion Corp., Optima Naturals S.r.l, Oriflame Holding AG, Patanjali Ayurved Ltd., Sheffield Pharmaceuticals LLC, Splat Global UK Ltd., Spotlight Oralcare EU, Sunstar Suisse SA, The Himalaya Drug Co., The Honest Co. Inc., The Procter and Gamble Co., and Vicco Laboratories Market dynamics Parent market analysis, market growth inducers and obstacles, fast-growing and slow-growing segment analysis, COVID-19 impact and recovery analysis and future consumer dynamics, and market condition analysis for the forecast period. Customization purview If our report has not included the data that you are looking for, you can reach out to our analysts and get segments customized.

Table of contents:

1 Executive Summary

1.1 Market overview

2 Market Landscape

2.1 Market ecosystem

3 Market Sizing

3.1 Market definition

3.2 Market segment analysis

3.3 Market size 2022

3.4 Market outlook: Forecast for 2022-2027

4 Historic Market Size

4.1 Global sensitive toothpaste market 2017 - 2021

4.2 Distribution channel Segment Analysis 2017 - 2021

4.3 Application Segment Analysis 2017 - 2021

4.4 Geography Segment Analysis 2017 - 2021

4.5 Country Segment Analysis 2017 - 2021

5 Five Forces Analysis

5.1 Five forces summary

5.2 Bargaining power of buyers

5.3 Bargaining power of suppliers

5.4 Threat of new entrants

5.5 Threat of substitutes

5.6 Threat of rivalry

5.7 Market condition

6 Market Segmentation by Distribution Channel

6.1 Market segments

6.2 Comparison by Distribution Channel

6.3 Offline - Market size and forecast 2022-2027

6.4 Online - Market size and forecast 2022-2027

6.5 Market opportunity by Distribution Channel

7 Market Segmentation by Application

7.1 Market segments

7.2 Comparison by Application

7.3 Low sensitive toothpaste - Market size and forecast 2022-2027

7.4 Highly sensitive toothpaste - Market size and forecast 2022-2027

7.5 Market opportunity by Application

8 Customer Landscape

8.1 Customer landscape overview

9 Geographic Landscape

9.1 Geographic segmentation

9.2 Geographic comparison

9.3 Europe - Market size and forecast 2022-2027

9.4 North America - Market size and forecast 2022-2027

9.5 APAC - Market size and forecast 2022-2027

9.6 South America - Market size and forecast 2022-2027

9.7 Middle East and Africa - Market size and forecast 2022-2027

9.8 US - Market size and forecast 2022-2027

9.9 China - Market size and forecast 2022-2027

9.10 UK - Market size and forecast 2022-2027

9.11 Germany - Market size and forecast 2022-2027

9.12 France - Market size and forecast 2022-2027

9.13 Market opportunity by geography

10 Drivers, Challenges, and Trends

10.1 Market drivers

10.2 Market challenges

10.3 Impact of drivers and challenges

10.4 Market trends

11 Vendor Landscape

11.1 Overview

11.2 Vendor landscape

11.3 Landscape disruption

11.4 Industry risks

12 Vendor Analysis

12.1 Vendors covered

12.2 Market positioning of vendors

12.3 Church and Dwight Co. Inc.

12.4 Colgate Palmolive Co

12.5 Coswell Spa

12.6 Dabur India Ltd.

12.7 GlaxoSmithKline Plc

12.8 Henkel AG and Co. KGaA

12.9 Lion Corp.

12.10 Oriflame Holding AG

12.11 Patanjali Ayurved Ltd.

12.12 Sheffield Pharmaceuticals LLC

12.13 Splat Global UK Ltd.

12.14 Sunstar Suisse SA

12.15 The Himalaya Drug Co.

12.16 The Honest Co. Inc.

12.17 The Procter and Gamble Co.

13 Appendix

13.1 Scope of the report

13.2 Inclusions and exclusions checklist

13.3 Currency conversion rates for US$

13.4 Research methodology

13.5 List of abbreviations

About Us

Technavio is a leading global technology research and advisory company. Their research and analysis focuses on emerging market trends and provides actionable insights to help businesses identify market opportunities and develop effective strategies to optimize their market positions. With over 500 specialized analysts, Technavio's report library consists of more than 17,000 reports and counting, covering 800 technologies, spanning across 50 countries. Their client base consists of enterprises of all sizes, including more than 100 Fortune 500 companies. This growing client base relies on Technavio's comprehensive coverage, extensive research, and actionable market insights to identify opportunities in existing and potential markets and assess their competitive positions within changing market scenarios.

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Global Sensitive Toothpaste Market 2023-2027

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Belarusian and Russian Presidents, Alexander Lukashenko and Vladimir Putin, have agreed to appoint a date for their meeting soon, the Belarusian presidents press service said on Sunday after their telephone call, TASS says.

"They agreed on the following: to appoint a date of their meeting soon. Its key goal will be to control the implementation by the two governments of the instructions issued by the presidents earlier. First of all, in the sphere of import substitution in all areas of anti-sanction cooperation," it said.

The presidents also discussed preparations for a session of the Supreme State Council of the Union State of Russia and Belarus scheduled for April-May. "The presidents discussed preparations for a meeting of the Supreme State Council. Since it is planned to hold a meeting of the Union States Council of Ministers, the session of the Supreme State Council is preliminarily scheduled for April-May," the press service said. "The meeting is expected to formalize the existing document and the sides are expected to sign corresponding documents".

Apart from that, Lukashenko and Putin exchanged views on possible further steps within the Union State to ensure their countries security. "The presidents discussed the common agenda of cooperation in the spheres of economy and politics, as well as security issues. In particular, the spoke about further actions within the Union States to ensure Belarus and Russias security," it said.

At a meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in Minsk on January 19, Lukashenko said he plans to meet with Putin "more often" this year. Last year, the two presidents had ten personal meetings and several telephone calls.
DUBLIN, Feb. 6, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Research Report on Southeast Asia Construction Industry 2023-2032" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

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With the development of Southeast Asia's economy, the infrastructure construction and real estate sectors continue to grow, contributing to the growth of the construction industry.

The construction industry in Southeast Asia will continue to grow from 2023-2032. Relatively cheap labor and land costs have attracted a large number of foreign investors to shift production capacity to Southeast Asia, foreign trade has expanded, and the development of industrial real estate, commercial real estate and infrastructure sectors has boosted the construction industry. On the other hand, with the economic growth in Southeast Asia, the real estate industry is also growing rapidly, promoting the development of the construction industry.

The development of the construction industry in Southeast Asian countries varies greatly, such as Vietnam and Indonesia, where the construction industry is growing rapidly. While the construction industry in countries such as Myanmar and Cambodia are relatively backward.

Southeast Asia in this report includes 10 countries: Singapore, Thailand, Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam, Myanmar, Brunei, Laos and Cambodia. With a total population of over 600 million by the end of 2021, Southeast Asia has an overall economic growth rate higher than the global average and is one of the key drivers of future global economic growth.

The economic levels of the 10 Southeast Asian countries vary greatly, with Singapore being the only developed country with a per capita GDP of about US$73,000 in 2021. While Myanmar and Cambodia will have a GDP per capita of less than US$2,000 in 2021.

The population and minimum wage levels also vary greatly from country to country, with Brunei, which has the smallest population, having a total population of less than 500,000 people in 2021, and Indonesia, which has the largest population, having a population of about 275 million people in 2021. The most economically advanced countries in Southeast Asia do not have a legal minimum wage, with the actual minimum wage exceeding US$400 per month (for foreign maids), while the lowest minimum wage level in Myanmar is only about US$93 per month.

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Topics covered:

Southeast Asia Construction Industry Status and Major Sources in 2018-2022

What is the Impact of COVID-19 on Southeast Asia Construction Industry?

Which Companies are the Major Players in Southeast Asia Construction Industry Market and What are their Competitive Benchmarks?

Key Drivers and Market Opportunities in Southeast Asia Construction Industry

What are the Key Drivers, Challenges, and Opportunities for Southeast Asia Construction Industry during 2023-2032?

What is the Expected Revenue of Southeast Asia Construction Industry during 2023-2032?

What are the Strategies Adopted by the Key Players in the Market to Increase Their Market Share in the Industry?

What are the Competitive Advantages of the Major Players in Southeast Asia Construction Industry Market?

Which Segment of Southeast Asia Construction Industry is Expected to Dominate the Market in 2032?

What are the Major Adverse Factors Facing Southeast Asia Construction Industry?

Key Topics Covered:

1 Analysis of Singapore's Construction Industry

1.1 Singapore Macro Environment

1.1.1 Geography

1.1.2 Population

1.1.3 Economy

1.1.4 Singapore Manufacturing Minimum Wage

1.2 Singapore Construction Industry Overview 2018-2022

1.2.1 Supply

1.2.2 Demand

1.2.3 Sub-Industry Analysis

1.3 Analysis of Major Construction Companies in Singapore

2 Analysis of the Construction Industry in Thailand

2.1 Thailand Macro Environment

2.1.1 Geography

2.1.2 Population

2.1.3 Economy

2.1.4 Thailand Manufacturing Minimum Wage

2.2 Thailand Construction Industry Overview 2018-2022

2.2.1 Supply

2.2.2 Demand

2.2.3 Sub-Industry Analysis

2.3 Analysis of Major Construction Companies in the Philippines

3 Analysis of the Philippine Construction Industry

3.1 Macro Environment of the Philippines

3.1.1 Geography

3.1.2 Population

3.1.3 Economy

3.1.4 Philippines Manufacturing Minimum Wage

3.2 Philippine Construction Industry Overview 2018-2022

3.2.1 Supply

3.2.2 Demand

3.2.3 Sub-Industry Analysis

3.3 Analysis of Major Construction Companies in the Philippines

4 Analysis of the Malaysian Construction Industry

4.1 Malaysia Macro Environment

4.1.1 Geography

4.1.2 Population

4.1.3 Economy

4.1.4 Malaysia Manufacturing Minimum Wage

4.2 Malaysia Construction Industry Overview 2018-2022

4.2.1 Supply

4.2.2 Demand

4.2.3 Sub-Industry Analysis

4.3 Analysis of Major Construction Companies in Malaysia

5 Indonesia Construction Industry Analysis

5.1 Indonesia Macro Environment

5.1.1 Geography

5.1.2 Population

5.1.3 Economy

5.1.4 Indonesia Manufacturing Minimum Wage

5.2 Indonesia Construction Industry Overview 2018-2022

5.2.1 Supply

5.2.2 Demand

5.2.3 Sub-Industry Analysis

5.3 Analysis of Major Construction Companies in Indonesia

6 Vietnam Construction Industry Analysis

6.1 Vietnam Macro Environment

6.1.1 Geography

6.1.2 Population

6.1.3 Economy

6.1.4 Vietnam Manufacturing Minimum Wage

6.2 Vietnam Construction Industry Overview 2018-2022

6.2.1 Supply

6.2.2 Demand

6.2.3 Sub-Industry Analysis

6.3 Analysis of Major Construction Companies in Vietnam

7 Analysis of Myanmar's Construction Industry

7.1 Myanmar Macro Environment

7.1.1 Geography

7.1.2 Population

7.1.3 Economy

7.1.4 Myanmar Manufacturing Minimum Wage

7.2 Myanmar Construction Industry Overview 2018-2022

7.2.1 Supply

7.2.2 Demand

7.2.3 Sub-Industry Analysis

7.3 Analysis of Major Construction Companies in Myanmar

8 Brunei Construction Industry Analysis

8.1 Brunei Macro Environment

8.1.1 Geography

8.1.2 Population

8.1.3 Economy

8.1.4 Brunei Manufacturing Minimum Wage

8.2 Brunei Construction Industry Overview 2018-2022

8.2.1 Supply

8.2.2 Demand

8.2.3 Sub-Industry Analysis

8.3 Brunei Major Construction Companies Analysis

9 Analysis of the Construction Industry in Laos

9.1 Laos Macro Environment

9.1.1 Geography

9.1.2 Population

9.1.3 Economy

9.1.4 Laos Manufacturing Minimum Wage

9.2 Laos Construction Industry Overview 2018-2022

9.2.1 Supply

9.2.2 Demand

9.2.3 Sub-Industry Analysis

9.3 Analysis of Major Construction Companies in Laos

10 Analysis of Cambodia's Construction Industry

10.1 Cambodia Macro Environment

10.1.1 Geography

10.1.2 Population

10.1.3 Economy

10.1.4 Cambodia Manufacturing Minimum Wage

10.2 Cambodia Construction Industry Overview 2018-2022

10.2.1 Supply

10.2.2 Demand

10.2.3 Sub-Industry Analysis

10.3 Analysis of Major Construction Companies in Cambodia

11 Southeast Asia Construction Industry Outlook 2023-2032

11.1 Analysis of Factors Influencing the Development of Southeast Asia Construction Industry

11.1.1 Favorable Factors

11.1.2 Unfavorable Factors

11.2 Southeast Asia Construction Industry Development Forecast 2023-2032

11.3 Layout of Chinese Companies in Southeast Asia Construction Industry

11.4 Impact of COVID -19 Epidemic on Construction Industry

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GreyViews

Specialty Paper Market Size by Product Type (Printing Paper, Decor Paper, Thermal Printing Paper, Kraft Paper and Others), By Raw Material (Coatings, Fillers & Additives, Binders, Pulp, and Others), By End-User (Printing & Writing, Building & Construction, Packaging & Labelling, Industrial and Others), Regions, Segmentation, and forecast till 2030.

Pune India, Feb. 06, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The market has been studied for the below mentioned-segmentation and regional analysis for North America, Europe, Asia, South America, and the Middle East and Africa. These are the key regions where the specialty paper market is operating and is predicted to expand soon. The manufacturers and suppliers involved in the specialty paper market are present across various countries in the above-mentioned regions.

Get Sample Copy of This Report @ https://greyviews.com/reports/specialty-paper-market/528/request-sample

The report provides a detailed understanding of the market segments which have been formed by combining different prospects such as product type, raw material, end-user, and regions. The key driving factors, restraints, potential growth opportunities and market challenges are also discussed in the paragraphs below.

The significant players operating in the global specialty paper market are ITC Ltd., International Paper Company, Sappi Ltd., Glatfelter, Mondi PLC, Nippon Paper Group, Inc, Fedrigoni and Munksjo Group, Domtar Corporation among others. To achieve a substantial market share in the worldwide specialty paper market and strengthen their position, manufacturers are pursuing expansion methods such as current developments, mergers and acquisitions, product innovations, collaborations, and partnerships, joint ventures.

Paper of particular properties and characteristics is called specialty paper. This paper is designed for a variety of uses, including water filtering, etc. When the paper is heated, the coating provides a clear and high-definition image. Several industries utilize specialty paper because of its properties, including packaging, labeling, healthcare, construction and laundry care. Moreover, specialty papers are impacted positively by the increase in e-commerce and logistics activities in the global economy, since the product can be used in a variety of ways, including packaging, storage, and transportation. As e-commerce grows across multiple countries, specialty papers for packaging and labelling are in high demand. In the next few years, the need for packaging and labelling of delivery goods is expected to increase substantially as home delivery services continue to become more popular. Among the fastest-growing segments in the e-commerce industry, consumer goods account for the largest share. This, in turn, is increasing market demand, since packaging and labelling generate the largest amount of revenue. The market is witnessing immense growth in the construction sector but there are some factors which are hampering the market growth. Factors such as rising concerns about deforestation, carbon dioxide emission etc. The market is growing because people prefer electronic communication over paper-based communication due to the growth of digitalization. Other factors hindering market growth include carbon emissions from paper manufacturing and deforestation, which harms the environment.

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Scope of Specialty Paper Market Report:

Report Metric Information Study Period 2022-2030 Base Year 2022 Forecast Period 2023-2030 Market Share Unit USD Billion Segments Covered Product Type, Raw Material, End-User, and Regions. Regions Covered North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, South America, and Middle-East and Africa Major Players ITC Ltd., International Paper Company, Sappi Ltd., Glatfelter, Mondi PLC, Nippon Paper Group, Inc, Fedrigoni and Munksjo Group, Domtar Corporation among others

Segmentation Analysis

Kraft paper is expected to be the fastest-growing segment in 2022.

The product type segment includes printing paper, decor paper, thermal printing paper, kraft paper and others. The kraft paper segment is expected to witness the highest growth rate during the forecast period. During the forecast period, the Kraft segment is projected to grow relatively faster, with wrapping and packaging as subcategories and sack kraft as subcategories. Due to its extensibility, printability, and strength equivalent to plastic or synthetic materials, Sack Kraft contributes significantly to the revenue growth of this segment. There is a wide range of uses for it in the construction industry.

Pulp is expected to be the fastest-growing segment in 2022.

The construction material segment includes coatings, fillers & additives, binders, pulp, and others. The pulp segment is expected to witness the highest growth rate during the forecasted period. Using mechanical and chemical processes, the pulp can be produced by separating the cellulose fibers from wood or waste paper. Various applications such as paper manufacturing, printing, and construction offer a rising market for pulp products. It is expected that the demand for pulp will increase in the forecast period because of its high processability, toughness, and stiffness.

Building & construction is expected to be the fastest-growing segment in 2022.

The end-user segment includes printing & writing, building & construction, packaging & labelling, industrial and others. The building & construction segment is expected to witness the highest growth rate during the forecasted period. A major consumer of specialty papers is the building and construction sector. They are widely used in wallpapers and decorative papers. During the forecast period, aesthetic products will be increasingly adopted in the construction sector, particularly in commercial and residential buildings. Furthermore, increasing innovation by market players in order to gain competitive advantage and expand their footprint will further drive market revenue growth.

Regional Analysis

The regional analysis provides a detailed perception of the key regions and the countries. Some of the key countries analyzed for the specialty paper market include the US, Canada, Mexico, Germany, France, the U.K., Italy, Spain, Russia, China, Japan, India, Brazil, Peru, UAE, South Africa, and Saudi Arabia.

The European region witnessed a major share. A growing number of online shopping portals and surging home deliveries in countries such as Germany and the United Kingdom are driving the growth of the European market, which accounts for the largest percentage of the global market. In addition, Europe is one of the world's largest paper processing and export markets, so it contributes significantly to its growth.

Country Analysis

Germany

Germany's specialty paper market size was valued at USD 3.5 billion in 2022 and is expected to reach USD 5.09 billion by 2030, at a CAGR of 4.8% from 2023 to 2030.

A growing number of product developments will spur market growth and expand the industry. Advancements in technology of specialty paper are a substitute for increasing specialty paper market demand. As a result, manufacturers are developing more efficient, reliable, and convenient products to help drive market growth.

China

Chinas specialty paper market size was valued at USD 2.44 billion in 2022 and is expected to reach USD 3.5 billion by 2030, at a CAGR of 4.7% from 2023 to 2030.

Among the consumers, there is a huge demand for specialty packaging, and the rising demand for specialty paper as an ingredient in various packaging papers boosts the demand for specialty packaging.

India

India's specialty paper market size was valued at USD 1.8 billion in 2022 and is expected to reach USD 2.5 billion by 2030, at a CAGR of 4.6% from 2023 to 2030.

During the forecast period, the region offers cooperative conditions for healthcare product development and commercialization with minimal barriers. Government research funding in this sector would drive demand for healthcare products.

Covid-19 Impact

Covid-19 had a major impact on almost all industries, such as electronics, semiconductors, manufacturing, automobile, etc. However, several companies operating in the technology sector have seen increased revenue due to significant changes in consumer preferences toward technological services. In addition, the pandemic has led to significant growth in technology across developing and developed countries.

Furthermore, the growth of this market is mainly driven owing to the rising demand in the building and construction sector.

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GreyViews

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(Adds new tankers; revises arrival date of BW Pavilion Aranthera; removes Alicante Knutsen after it changes destination; shows tankers which are docked; removes tankers which have left ports) Feb 6 (Reuters) - The following liquefied natural gas (LNG) tankers are expected to arrive in Britain, Belgium and the Netherlands in the coming weeks. Estimated arrival dates, often revised by port authorities and AIS Live ship-tracking data on Refinitiv Eikon, are updated below. Some tankers heading for Belgium and Britain may be loading at the terminal. Those expected to load are indicated with an (). Those likely to perform ship-to-ship transfers are indicated with (STS). Tankers that have docked are indicated with (A). Floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU) terminals are added to the table when they near deployment. As of Dec. 27 2022, this includes the Eemshaven terminal in the Netherlands, the Wilhelmshaven and Lubmin terminals in Germany. For the Reuters LNG guide, click here: LNG TANKER CAPACITY in EXPECTED ARRIVAL FROM PORT cubic metres BRITAIN Orion Bohemia 171,000 Feb. 4 (A) Peru Dragon LNG Endurance 174,000 Feb. 5 (A) United States South Hook Arctic Voyager 140,000 Feb. 6 Norway Isle of Grain Global Sea Spirit 171,000 Feb. 8 United States South Hook Gaslog Hong Kong 174,000 Feb. 10 United States South Hook Gaslog Westminster 156,000 Feb. 11 United States Isle of Grain Santander Knutsen 170,000 Feb. 13 Peru Milford Haven Marvel Pelican 155,000 Feb. 14 United States Isle of Grain La Seine 174,000 Feb. 18 United States South Hook BELGIUM SCF La Perouse 174,000 Feb. 4 (A) Britain Zeebrugge Georgiy Ushakov 172,000 Feb. 7 (L) Russia Zeebrugge Lena River 153,000 Feb. 8 (L) Russia Zeebrugge Clean Planet 159,000 Feb. 9 (L) Russia Zeebrugge Energy Integrity 170,000 Feb. 9 (L) N/A Zeebrugge Vladimir Voronin 172,000 Feb. 10 Russia Zeebrugge Al Deebel 143,000 Feb. 24 Qatar Zeebrugge NETHERLANDS Energy Universe 165,000 Feb. 5 (A) United States Gate Marvel Swan 174,000 Feb. 5 (STS) (L) (A) United States Gate Sonangol Etosha 158,000 Feb. 8 Angola Gate Rioja Knutsen 174,000 Feb. 9 United States Gate Hoegh Galleon 170,000 Feb. 11 United States Gate Gaslog Seattle 155,000 Feb. 13 United States Eemshaven Onaiza 206,000 Feb. 16 Qatar Gate Vivit Arabia LNG 171,000 Feb. 17 United States Gate Grace Freesia 171,000 Feb. 19 United States Gate GERMANY BW Pavilion Aranthera 171,000 Feb. 7 United States Wilhelmshaven Sources: Ports, AIS Live ship tracking, Refinitiv Eikon data. (^) Partial unload (*) Arrival date estimated based on flows data (Reporting by Nina Chestney)
Chris Johnson will join the performance advertising platform as VP of Technology

NEW YORK, NY --News Direct-- tvScientific

tvScientific, the first and only CTV advertising platform built for performance marketers, today announced its appointment of Chris Johnson, as the companys first VP of Technology. This expansion of the leadership team further demonstrates the companys commitment to driving sustainable growth in performance advertising today.

Chris brings an extensive amount of leadership expertise to tvScientific, from successfully scaling infrastructures to building out robust and talented teams, said Jason Fairchild, CEO at tvScientific. Our mission at tvScientific is to push the boundaries of whats possible with CTV advertising, and we have set ambitious 2023 organizational goals to continue to drive product innovation in the space. Were proud of the engineering culture were building at the company and value the type of visionary tech leadership Chris will bring in this new role.

As the new VP of Technology, Chris will be responsible for overseeing teams under tvScientific's technology umbrella, including software engineering, data science, DevOps, and IT. Prior to joining tvScientific, he served as VP of Engineering at Infillion  a full-service media solutions provider, housed of leading adtech companies true[X] and Gimbal.

Looking at where the industry is headed and how performance advertising fits into current trends, Im so grateful to be a part of the tvScientific team, trailblazing the future of CTV advertising, said Johnson. This is an organization that has shown immense growth and traction within the industry. tvScientific is forging a new path forward for performance marketers, one in which they can get to a place of radical transparency and unlock a new level of real-time and granular CTV measurement that wasnt possible previously.

ABOUT TVSCIENTIFIC

tvScientific is the first and only CTV advertising platform purpose built for performance marketers. tvScientific offers a self-managed solution that leverages data and cutting edge science to automate and optimize TV advertising to enable massive growth for businesses of all sizes. Our solution combines media buying, optimization, measurement, and attribution in one, efficient platform. Our data science driven attribution technology and automated campaign optimization work together to drive strong business outcomes. The platform reaches 95% of AVOD inventory using proprietary, deterministic ID technology to measure ad exposure to outcome in an approachable, radically transparent and scalable way. tvScientific was co-founded by senior executives with deep roots in programmatic advertising, digital media, and ad verification. tvScientific is backed by some of the worlds leading tech investors and media companies, including Norwest Venture Partners, NBCU/Comcast, Hearst Ventures and Idealab. Today, the company continues to make strategic alignments with key players  the most recent being NBCUniversal  to advance CTV performance advertising forward. The company is headquartered in Pasadena, California. For more information, visit https://www.tvscientific.com.

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Contact Details

Kite Hill PR

Julia Worthington

+1 973-722-7881

julia@kitehillpr.com

View source version on newsdirect.com: https://newsdirect.com/news/tvscientific-announces-new-leadership-addition-expanding-world-class-technology-team-697859992
LITGRID

LITGRID AB, company code 302564383, registered office address Karlo Gustavo Emilio Manerheimo str.8, Vilnius, Lithuania, is publishing results of the Company for the twelve months of 2022.

Key financial unaudited indicators in 2022:

 Revenue: EUR 420.3 million (EUR 270.6 million in 2021).

 EBITDA: EUR -36.5 million (EUR 46.2 million in 2021).

 Net loss: EUR -49.4 million (Net profit EUR 20 million in 2021).

 Average annual return on equity (ROE): -25.5% (9.1% in 2021).

The adjusted financial indicators in 2022:

The adjustment of regulated income, costs and profitability indicators is carried out due to temporary regulatory difference from the regulated profitability approved by NERC. The indicators are adjusted by the correction of income, which has already been approved by the decision of NERC when the regulated transmission service prices of the reporting period were approved. Also, the indicators are adjusted by the deviation of the NERC-approved (regulated) and actual profitability of the reporting period, which NERC will evaluate when determining the transmission service prices for the coming period.

 Adjusted EBITDA: EUR 33.5 million (EUR 38.5 million in 2021).

 Adjusted net profit: EUR 10 million EUR (EUR 13.5 million in 2021).

 Adjusted average annual return on equity (ROE): 4.5% (6.2% in 2021).

Attachments:

1. Unaudited financial results of the Company.

2. Press release.



The individual authorized by LITGRID AB to provide additional information:

Jurga Eivaite

Communications project manager

tel. +370 613 19977 e-mail: jurga.eivaite@litgrid.eu

Attachments




Company Logo

Dublin, Feb. 06, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "Uruguay - Telecoms, Mobile and Broadband - Statistics and Analyses" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

The report includes all relevant research data and analysis. Covering trends and developments in telecommunications, mobile, internet, broadband, infrastructure and regulation.

Uruguay gets closer to mobile number portability

Uruguay's mobile market is among the more advanced in the region, with the mobile penetration rate being the second highest after Chile. There is effective competition in the market, and although Antel retains a commanding lead in terms of the share of subscribers this has fallen steadily since 2016. The chief beneficiary of this decline has been Claro, while Movistar has held steady.

Claro in early 2019 appealed to the government to introduce mobile number portability, noting that Uruguay was one of the few markets in the region without the facility. Since then, the regulator and government have endeavoured to implement MNP as a way to encourage competition and improve quality of service for subscribers.

Law 19,889/2020, enacted in July 2020, stipulated that access to MNP was a right for mobile telephony customers. The facility is usually undertaken by a third-party company, and the government recently selected a consortium comprised of Cleartech and Cietel to administer the database through to 2026.

More recently, the MNOs signed contracts with Cleartech and Cietel in preparation for making use of MNP. The benefits to subscribers should begin to be felt soon into 2022, as the operators compete to retain their subscribers.

Key Topics Covered:



Key statistics



Regional Latin America Market Comparison

Market characteristics

Market Leaders

Market Challengers

Market Emergents

TMI versus GDP

Mobile and mobile broadband penetration

Fixed versus mobile broadband penetration

Country overview



Telecommunications market

Historical overview

Market analysis

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Regulatory environment

Regulatory authority

Fixed-line developments

Mobile network developments

Mobile market

Market analysis

Mobile statistics

Mobile data

Mobile broadband

Mobile infrastructure

Major mobile operators

Fixed-line broadband market

Market analysis

Broadband statistics

Digital economy

Internet of Things (IoT)

Electronic payments

Fixed network operators

Antel

Telecommunications infrastructure

Overview of the national telecom network

International infrastructure

Infrastructure developments

Wholesale

Appendix Historic data



For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/tbxgs9

About ResearchAndMarkets.com

ResearchAndMarkets.com is the world's leading source for international market research reports and market data. We provide you with the latest data on international and regional markets, key industries, the top companies, new products and the latest trends.

CONTACT: CONTACT: ResearchAndMarkets.com Laura Wood,Senior Press Manager press@researchandmarkets.com For E.S.T Office Hours Call 1-917-300-0470 For U.S./ CAN Toll Free Call 1-800-526-8630 For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900




POLAND - 2023/01/18: In this photo illustration a FTX logo is displayed on a smartphone with stock market percentages on the background. (Photo Illustration by Omar Marques/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)

The U.S. Trustee overseeing FTXs colossal bankruptcy case is asking a Delaware judge to appoint another layer of oversight for the companys new management team.

Juliet Sarkessian, an attorney for the Department of Justices U.S. Trustee Program providing oversight on the case, argued in court Monday that an examiner must be appointed to investigate the facts and circumstances before and after FTXs bankruptcy filing in November of last year.

Mr. Ray was appointed by Mr. Sam Bankman-Fried, Sarkessian told the judge about the company's new CEO John J. Ray III, who is not required to file a public report on his findings. He is not independent  not like an examiner.

An examiner, Sarkessian argued, would be better suited than the companys current management to look into illegal transfers of funds, including more than $400 million that its current managers say was withdrawn from FTXs coffers before they gained control of company assets.

John J. Ray III, CEO of FTX Group, testifies during the House Financial Services Committee hearing titled Investigating the Collapse of FTX Part I, at the US Capitol on December 13, 2022 in Washington, DC. Ray took over the FTX after the resignation of Sam Bankman-Fried. (Photo by Nathan Howard/Getty Images)

An examiner, she said, could not only investigate the use and misuse of customer funds, but also what FTXs entities and employees knew or should have known about that misuse, and whether any former employees involved in misuse are still serving in roles within the company.

Who turned a blind eye? Sarkessian asked. Who was responsible for preventing the hacks? Whether they were negligent?

The Texas State Securities Board and more than a dozen other U.S. state agencies have supported the U.S. governments motion.

FTX contested the Trustees request, arguing that under Mr. Ray  who also testified during the hearing  the company and the government have already begun investigations to recover company and customer assets.

Ray, who previously managed energy giant Enrons outsized Chapter 11 bankruptcy, testified during the proceedings that he is independent of the companys prior management and that his team helped stop more crypto from being stolen.

Immediately on the filing, we had an issue of crypto being stolen, Ray said, describing the corporate environment that he took over as pure hell and lacking in integrity. The hacks went on virtually all night longwe had over 100 people on the phoneyou have no passwordsyou dont know where the wallets are.

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Ray also told the Trustee he charged FTX $690,000 from his appointment on November 11 to the end of the year. Previous court documents show Ray bills $1,300 per hour for his services.

FTX attorney James Bromley said more assets would have been lost if not for Ray and his round-the-clock efforts. Bromley also told the judge that an examiner could extend the duration of the bankruptcy proceedings for months, if not years.

Who bears that cost? he asked. The creditors.

FTX logo displayed on a phone screen and representation of cryptocurrencies are seen in this illustration photo taken in Krakow, Poland on January 29, 2023. (Photo by Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

To investigate FTX, Judge John T. Dorsey also noted that an examiner would need to hire its own experts, including financial, cybersecurity, and crypto advisors.

"It's going to be in the tens of millions, if not hundreds of millions of dollars to do that investigation. he said.

The Joint Provisional Liquidators and counsel for FTX were in agreement that creditors would bear the brunt of the cost of an examiner.

It's simply going to be a duplication of effort and an enormous amount of expense, Bromley argued.

FTX has $5.5 billion in liquid assets, including $1.2 billion in cash, but Bromley reiterated that the sum doesn't cover the shortfall of what's owed to creditors. He said the examiner motion was a waste of the company's resources for the pure purpose of public policy.

The judge chose not to rule on the motion Monday. He will give all parties time to convene privately, putting the matter "under advisement" for the time being.

The next hearing for the bankruptcy of FTX (Case No. 22-11068), which will include a status update on the examiner motion, is set for Wednesday, Feb. 8.

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From 2023 to 2033, Asia Pacific Vodka Market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 6.4%. he category for flavored vodka is likely to grow more quickly, with a CAGR of 4.5% during the forecast period

NEWARK, Del, Feb. 06, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The vodka market is anticipated to reach a value of US$ 39.96 billion in 2023 and is expected to expand at a CAGR of 5.5% between 2023 and 2033. It is projected that the vodka industry would be worth US$ 68.25 billion by 2033.



The use of high-end vodka cocktails has increased in developed economies, which can be the cause of this. Sales of vodka are being helped by the rising popularity of flavored vodkas including cranberry, lime, and raspberry. The rise of alcoholic beverage offline commerce is anticipated to speed up market expansion throughout the projection period.

An Increase in Demand for Premium Vodka



Global consumers today have more discriminating tastes than they did five years ago. To enhance both their overall appeal and functionality, premium vodkas go through numerous stages of distillation, setting them apart from more common variants.

The popularity of healthier alcoholic beverages, which feature a blend of natural ingredients, reduced calories, and sugar-free formulation, is being encouraged by the rise in health consciousness. Due to rising consumer interest in living a sustainable and healthy lifestyle, the premium vodka category has better possibilities, particularly in the foreign market.

As consumers continue to demand flavored, light beverages like hard seltzers, RTD vodka innovation is rising in developing nations. This is projected to fuel the expansion of the vodka market throughout the forecast period.



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Customer Preferences have Changed Favoring Alcohol-free Drinks



The vodka market expansion is anticipated to be constrained by the increasing consumer influence of craft beer and the accessibility of substitutes. The government's stringent regulations and high taxes are preventing the global vodka industry from growing.

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Despite this, the worldwide vodka industry is likely to have considerable growth throughout the forecasted period due to consumer trends and numerous developments, such as fruit-based healthy vodka. In contrast, non-alcoholic beverage substitutes are putting pressure on the vodka industry, which is challenging the market significantly.

North America has Remained the Main Market



Sales of flavored vodkas including Texas Grapefruit, Blood Orange, Bartlett Pear, and Sun-Riped Watermelon are gaining in popularity in the United States The sector is expected to develop as a result of Canada's rising acclaim for sweet citrus flavors coupled with acidic cherry and limeade vodka flavors.

The vodka market rise is also anticipated to benefit from alcoholic beverages such as Pyat Ozar, Svedka, and Hlibny Dar. Market expansion is projected to be sparked by the Canadian government's help in improving the premium white spirits distribution system.

To foster more innovation, broaden customer choice, and foster trade in the developing spirits industry in Canada, Marie-Claude Bibeau, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food, revealed in 2019 to 2020 that the compositional standard for vodka had been amended.





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Key Takeaways

From 2023 to 2033, offline trading provided more than 75% of the total market revenue.

With a CAGR of 4.4% throughout the projected period, online trading is anticipated to develop the fastest.

The category for flavored vodka is anticipated to develop at the quickest rate, with a CAGR of 4.5% throughout the projected period.

With a market share of over 35% through the projection period, North America is anticipated to contribute the most to the global market.

The CAGR for the Asia Pacific vodka market is expected to be 6.4% between 2023 and 2033.

Through 2033, Europe held the major market share, accounting for 38% of the total.

Competitor Analysis



Due to the existence of numerous regional and multinational firms that offer a wide variety of vodka variants with cutting-edge flavors while competing to preserve their dominance in the industry under study, the global vodka market is highly fragmented.

Several of the market's top participants include Diageo Plc, Brown Forman, LVMH Mot Hennessy Louis Vuitton, Pernod Ricard, and Constellation Brands Inc. These companies, along with others, are implementing business strategies such as product innovations, partnerships, and expansion of online and offline distribution networks to improve brand recognition and the portfolio of products they offer, which will ultimately spur market expansion.

Recent Development

Brand Authorization Agreement





Leading beverage alcohol manufacturer Constellation Brands Inc. signed a brand permission deal with The Coca-Cola Company in the United States in 2022 introducing the FRESCA brand to beverage alcohol.

Partnership





With the help of young businessmen Stas Karanikolaou and Zack Bia, Global Brand Equities debuted Sunny Vodka in March 2022 as the newest addition to their lucrative liquid portfolio.

Collaboration





One of the top vodka makers, Roust Group, announced its collaboration with Beijing Soko in October 2020 to introduce Russian Standard vodka to China.

Buy Complete Report: https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/checkout/16624

Given Below are the vodka Market Segments

By Type:

Plain Vodka

Flavored Vodka

By Quality:

Average

Premium

Ultra-premium





By Distribution Channel:

Off Trade

On Trade

By Region:

North America

Europe

Asia Pacific

Central & South America

Rest of Central & South America

The Middle East & Africa

Table of Content:

1. Executive Summary | Vodka Market

1.1. Global Market Outlook

1.2. Demand-side Trends

1.3. Supply-side Trends

1.4. Analysis and Recommendations

2. Market Overview

2.1. Market Coverage / Taxonomy

2.2. Market Definition / Scope / Limitations

Read Full TOC of Report @ https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/toc/rep-gb-16624

Check Our Related Food and Beverage Research Reports:

India Alcohol Market: The India alcohol market is predicted to record at a CAGR of 7.4%, amassing US$ 68 Bn by the end of 2026. Andhra Pradesh and Telangana have strengthened the market significantly, for these two states have the highest number of alcohol consumers in the country.

Gin Market: The gin market is projected to grow at a modest CAGR of 3.5% during the forecast period. The global market value is expected to increase from US$ 23 billion in 2023 to US$ 28.27 billion by 2033.

Cocoa Market: The global cocoa market is likely to be valued at US$ 15,156.7 million in 2023. Total cocoa sales are forecast to surge at 4.7% CAGR from 2023 to 2033, taking the market valuation to US$ 23,981.1 million by the end of 2033.

Cocoa Liquor Market: The cocoa liquor market value is expected to total US$ 6,317.37 Mn in 2021, according to Future Market Insights (FMI). The overall market value is expected to reach US$ 8,656.3 Mn by 2031, growing at a CAGR of 3.2% for 2021-31.

Powdered Soft Drinks Market: Powdered soft drinks market was estimated at USD 12.0 Bn in 2022 and is expected to expand at a CAGR of 3.0% to USD 16.2 Bn by 2032. The rise in a number of trekking, walking, travel events, and camping has resulted in the shoot up of demand for packaged refreshments, therefore, boosting the powdered soft drink market, globally.

About Future Market Insights, Inc.

Future Market Insights, Inc. is an ESOMAR-certified business consulting & market research firm, a member of the Greater New York Chamber of Commerce and is headquartered in Delaware, USA. A recipient of Clutch Leaders Award 2022 on account of high client score (4.9/5), we have been collaborating with global enterprises in their business transformation journey and helping them deliver on their business ambitions. 80% of the largest Forbes 1000 enterprises are our clients. We serve global clients across all leading & niche market segments across all major industries.

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ABC's Shark Tank Season 14 Episode 14 will air on Friday, February 17 at 8pm ET

DANA POINT, Calif., Feb. 6, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The women entrepreneurs behind FunkkOFF! are thrilled to announce they will be pitching their FunkkOFF! TeethRefreshers to the Sharks Feb. 17 on ABC's Shark Tank. A pocket-sized, dental beauty accessory, FunkkOFF! was created to make you live boldly and laugh loudly with gorgeous white teeth and refreshed breath any time, all the time.

FunkkOFF! image

"We are thrilled to present our discreet, simple solution to fresh teeth on Shark Tank. As longtime women in business with families and vibrant social lives, we know firsthand how useful FunkkOFF! TeethRefreshers is. It's a must-have for any situation, from dining out and date night to enjoying drinks or making a big work presentation. It's hard not to need the product once you've tried it. Plus, sharks have a lot of teeth!" said Certified Women-Owned FunkkOFF! Inc. Founder, Joelle Flynn.

"So many people are whitening their teeth and improving their smiles with treatments like clear aligners. Until now there hasn't been a product that you can use easily during the day when you're eating and drinking to keep your teeth white and fresh. Now there is and it's so easy and fun to use, especially the mirror on the bottom so you can check your teeth!" said FunkkOFF!  Inc. Co-Founder & Co-CEO, Sonia Hounsell.

The women behind FunkkOFF! TeethRefreshers are no minnows. Flynn, a serial entrepreneur and the youngest stockbroker hired at Bank of America, created the first prototype upon returning home from a wine tasting in Napa, California. After carrying around a full tube of toothpaste and toothbrush to use after each vineyard, Flynn had a revelation when pulling out her lipstick tube: She needed a teeth refresher the same compact size, so she began inventing one! Joelle reached a point where she needed an experienced partner to launch and knew who to call, her dear friend from 7th grade, Sonia Hounsell who had vast experience launching new consumer products and brands. Sonia and Joelle formed FunkkOFF! Inc. and charged forward on the venture of creating a seamless solution to getting the "Funkk" "OFF!".

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FunkkOFF! TeethRefreshers is an award-winning, multi-patented, self-care invention you won't believe you ever lived without. The tube looks like lipstick, but on the inside, it contains 100% Natural and Vegan tooth gel and is reusable about 30 times. Twist the bottom like you would lip balm and the gel pushes up through soft bristles on the brush head. Then, just brush, rinse and SMILE. The cap is even aerated to keep the bristles from getting bacteria or "Funkky" as the brand likes to say. Plus, there is a mirror on the bottom of FunkkOFF! TeethRefreshers so you can check your smile! This is ideal for quick, on-the-go use  clean, refreshed teeth and an irresistible smile.

To learn more about FunkkOFF! TeethRefreshers, visit them online , on Instagram , Tik Tok , Facebook or Twitter .

EDITOR'S NOTE: For more information about FunkkOFF!  and to arrange to speak with a company spokesperson, please contact Nancy Trent or Pamela Wadler at 212-966-0024 or pam@trentandcompany.com .

Cision

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SOURCE FUNKKOFF!
By Azernews

Sabina Mammadli

Azerbaijans Digital Development and Transport Ministry revealed that a total of 506 trips have been carried out to Shusha and Aghdam since the launch of such trips back in January 2022, Azernews reports.

According to the ministry, a total of 21,015 people traveled to the mentioned areas last year, out of whom 17,021 people visited Shusha. Of these, 11,905 people took the Baku-Shusha-Baku trip, and 5,116 people took the Ahmadbayli-Shusha-Ahmadbayli trip. Besides, a total of 3,994 passengers traveled to Agdam throughout the year. Of these, 2,013 people took the Baku-Aghdam-Baku trip, and 1,981 people took the Barda-Aghdam-Barda trip.

Azerbaijan launched regular bus trips on January 24, 2022.

The movement of passenger buses through the liberated territories of Azerbaijan is being accompanied by police. Passengers must return back on the day of departure. The Azerbaijan National Agency for Mine Action (ANAMA) has conducted mine safety training for drivers.

Those wishing to travel to the liberated territories can purchase tickets electronically. For this purpose, the portal yolumuzqarabaga.az has been created.
WESTBOROUGH  If you're at a brewery or beer event during Mass. Beer Week next month, there's a good chance you'll drink your fresh IPA or dark stout from a glass containing a logo designed by Shawnna Lyons-Dambeck.

Lyons-Dambeck, 35, of Westborough, won a competition sponsored by the Mass. Brewers Guild, a trade group formed to protect the interest of and promote Bay State breweries, to design the artwork for the upcoming celebration of Massachusetts beer.

Her design will be featured on glassware available at dozens of Massachusetts breweries, and will be on promotional material for Mass. Beer Week, which runs March 4-11.

The 2023 Mass. Beer Week logo was designed by Westborough artist Shawnna Lyons-Dambeck.

Lyons-Dambeck said her design was meant to represent the entire state, thus featuring a lighthouse and sandy shore for the coast, a skyline for Boston and farmland for the western part of the state.

"I wanted to celebrate everything about the state, not just the city, not just Boston," said Lyons-Dambeck, an artist who works mostly in textiles. "I just wanted to celebrate the whole state."

Beer here:As luck would have it, Clover Road Brewing Company opens doors in Hudson

The Leominster native got interested in beer while living in Milwaukee, where she worked as an in-house artist/designer at Kohl's Corp. Before they were married, she and her husband visited breweries in the city, she said.

When she returned to Massachusetts, she worked at TJX Companies Inc. in Framingham, and began to explore the local brewery scene. She is now a freelance artist and does contract work for TJX.

"We started visiting breweries around Framingham  Jack's Abby and Exhibit 'A'  and then visited Redemption Rock (Brewing Company) in Worcester," she said.

It was at Redemption Rock that she found out about Mass. Beer Week, as she was served a pint in the 2021 Mass. Beer Week glass, Lyons-Dambeck said. When the competition was announced, she decided she had to enter. She bested 12 other competitors.

Where to drink:List of every brewery and winery in Central Massachusetts and MetroWest

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"It was a good challenge for myself, and I thought it was a good way to get exposure if I did win," Lyons-Dambeck said. "As an independent artist, any exposure is good."

With the win, she earned a cash prize and a case of the glassware.

Westborough's Shawnna Lyons-Dambeck

The glasses themselves will be available for $6 apiece at 54 breweries throughout the state. In MetroWest, the glass will be available at Clover Road Brewing and Medusa Brewing Company, both in Hudson; Exhibit 'A' Brewing and Jack's Abby Craft Lagers, both in Framingham; Flying Dreams Brewing Company, Lost Shoes Brewing Company and Tackle Box Brewing Company, all in Marlborough; and Start Line Brewing Company in Hopkinton.

Its incredible to have my design be a part of a celebration thats all about supporting local breweries, she said. As a local artist trying to support myself, I get the need to contribute and support local. Whenever we buy a four-pack, we make sure its Mass. made.

For a calendar of Mass. Beer Week events, visit massbeerweek.org.

Norman Miller can be reached at 508-626-3823 or nmiller@wickedlocal.com. For up-to-date public safety news, follow him on Twitter @Norman_MillerMW or on Facebook at facebook.com/NormanMillerCrime.

This article originally appeared on MetroWest Daily News: Mass. Beer Week glassware art, logo, designed by Westborough artist
If youre looking to the economy to strategize your career moves in 2023, you might be better off dusting off that old magic eight ball you had in middle school.

There are continued mixed signals about the health of the U.S. economy heading into the new year.

On one hand, inflation is still high and the Fed continues to raise rates to combat it, which in turn squeezes budgets for both workers and businesses. One consequence of this has been the tech industry, which has been roiled by layoffs and posted disappointing earnings.

On the other hand, the overall job market is still topping expectations by huge amounts and the economy as a whole expanded in the final months of 2022. Heres what these mixed signals could mean for your career goals this year.

Keep a healthy emergency fund just in case

My first tip is a personal finance one. Even though many jobs are hiring today, businesses could very well pivot later in the year if the economy shows signs of impending recession. Focus on paying down debt and saving money, so you can bounce back from any bouts of unemployment.

Focus on your specific sectors job growth

The likelihood of finding new opportunities in your field depends heavily on which sector you work in. According to Layoffs.fyi, tech companies have cut 68,149 jobs since the start of 2023. Some notable ones include Amazon laying off 18,000 employees, Microsoft letting go of 10,000 workers, and Alphabet reducing its workforce by 12,000. Although the tech sector is still hiring, workers will have to compete with thousands of colleagues who were also let go.

(Photo: Getty Creative)

Dont jump ship without asking the right questions

The national quit rate ticked up at the end of 2022, increasing to 2.7% in November where it stayed in December from 2.6% in October.

Make sure any new opportunities that you take work well with your long-term career goals and don't just jump ship for a higher paycheck. Ask questions during the interview process about the company's plans for future layoffs or how they have made adjustments and pivoted in the wake of economic challenges in the past to get a sense of what you might be walking into. If tough times are still to come, it can be reassuring to work for a firm thats demonstrated strong leadership during downturns in the past. Ask if a severance package will be offered if you are laid off soon after joining, or if youll be able to keep your signing bonus.

Story continues

Negotiate cash sign-on bonuses vs equity

With equity grants, you typically must wait a few years before youre fully vested. If you get laid off before your vesting date, youre out of luck. For that reason, consider asking for the value of the equity as a cash signing bonus instead. Youll get a lump sum payment that you can invest now.

Don't be afraid to ask for a raise if you stay put

The beginning of the year is prime time for annual performance review conversations and compensation discussions. Don't miss an opportunity to make a case for higher pay or a promotion, especially if your duties and responsibilities have increased over the past year. The labor market is still tight and companies will want to retain their top talent.

Two young won are sitting in a business meeting in a modern office. (Photo: Getty Creative)

Prepare for a rude return-to-office awakening

Despite the fact that research shows productivity improves with more remote work, business leaders still prefer to have employees in office. According to a survey of 1,000 business leaders by resumebuilder.com, 90% said they were planning on requiring workers to return to the office at least some of the time in 2023.

The good news there is that companies are offering incentives like free meals and commuter benefits to lure workers back to the office. But for many workers who have grown accustomed to the flexibility that remote work offers, it could very well be a deal breaker.

Remote roles will become fewer and further between as more companies move to fully in office or hybrid work schedules. It's going to make it harder for workers who are looking for exclusively remote roles to find those opportunities, and when they do, the competition will likely be more fierce.

Mandi Woodruff-Santos is a career coach, award-winning cohost of Brown Ambition and founder of the MandiMoney Makers, a one-of-a-kind career coaching community for women of color.

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Fremont Police officers were dispatched Feb. 6 to the 1900 block of Morningside Road in reference to a physical disturbance.

A press release stated officers observed two male individuals physically fighting in the middle of the parking lot. After the two individuals were separated officers identified the individuals and both were arrested.

Harry Armstrong, 26, of Fremont and Kaier Benedictos, 38, of Storm Lake, Iowa, were both charged with third-degree assault, disturbing the peace and quiet, and obstructing a police officer. Both were transported to the Dodge County Booking Center.
A life-threatening cold spell began to ease its grip on the northeastern United States on Saturday, but only after a new national windchill record was set in New Hampshire.

The record was set at Mount Washington Friday night when it felt like minus 108 F thanks to a temperature of minus 46 F and wind gusts of 127 mph.

Wind chill records are not historically tracked as closely as temperature records, but the mark would beat what most meteorologists believe to be the US record (minus 105 F in Alaska). The prior record for Mount Washington was minus 102.7 F in 2004.

Early Saturday, about 15 million people in the United States were under wind chill alerts, but that number dropped to less than 1 million by midday as the extreme cold began to wrap up. The majority of the remaining wind chill alerts will end by 7 p.m. ET Saturday as temperatures begin to stabilize and winds die down.

Temperatures will rebound 5 to 10 degrees above normal on Sunday.

Several daily low-temperature records were set across portions of the Northeast on Saturday morning, according to local National Weather Service offices.

Boston hit a morning low temperature of minus 10 degrees Saturday morning, breaking its previous daily record of minus 2 degrees. The weather service also tweeted that it is the first double-digit negative temperature recorded since 1957.

Worcester, Massachusetts, hit minus 13 degrees beating the previous daily record of minus 4. Providence, Rhode Island, recorded minus 9 degrees beating the previous daily record of minus 2. Hartford, Connecticut, hit minus 9 degrees, beating the previous daily record of minus 8.

Government leaders urged people to stay inside if at all possible.

"Our state is facing dangerously cold temperatures & extreme wind chills today & tomorrow," Gov. Kathy Hochul said Friday morning on Twitter. "We are coordinating with local officials to ensure they have what they need to keep New Yorkers safe. Please limit time outdoors, wear layers, & use caution with alternative heat sources."

departure from average temperature

Northern Maine feels the freeze

The dangerously cold winds are descending on the region from Canada, putting entire states at risk. The worst impacts are expected in northern Maine  where about 70,000 people in Penobscot and Aroostook counties are under blizzard warnings through Saturday evening, according to the National Weather Service.

"Ground blizzard conditions in heavy blowing snow are expected today through Saturday across open areas. Please to not drive if you don't have to!" the weather service in Caribou, Maine, said.

Maine State Police shared photos of deteriorating road conditions in Aroostook County on Friday and warned drivers that any area across the state with open fields and snow can expect periods of "blinding whiteouts."

"One of the beauties of the County is (its) open fields and views but on days like this they become a hazard. Drive safe. What looks like safe and normal driving conditions quickly deteriorate into almost zero visibility stretches of roadway," Maine State Police said in a Facebook post.

In addition to the blizzard conditions, parts of northern Maine on Friday night felt as cold as minus 69 degrees, with many other areas seeing their winds feel as bitterly cold as between minus 35 degrees to minus 50 degrees, according to the weather service in Caribou.

The local weather service also reported some power outages in Maine, where water inside trees froze, expanded and caused trees to snap and knock down power lines  though impacts did not appear extensive or widespread Friday.

Freezing temperatures this week have not only affected the Northeast. Farther south, severe cold weather also led to ongoing power outages across Texas and Arkansas as an ice storm lashed the region, killing at least eight people.

About 130,000 homes and businesses in Texas were still in the dark early Saturday stemming from multiple rounds of ice, sleet and freezing rain that made roads deadly and weighed down trees, also causing them to break and take down power lines. In Arkansas, more than 36,000 homes and businesses were experiencing outages early Saturday, according to the tracking site Poweroutage us.

Aid to those experiencing homelessness

Amid the ongoing dangerous cold in the Northeast, New York City issued a "cold blue" Friday evening, the city's Department of Homeless Services said on Twitter.

The designation generally indicates temperatures have reached an extremely low threshold that requires them to make resources available to the public. Under that code, people may use the city's homeless shelter system on an emergency basis and directs New Yorkers to report people on the street as a safety measure.

"No one who is experiencing homelessness and seeking shelter in New York City during a Code Blue will be denied," a spokesperson for the department said.

New York City is forecast to see single-digit temperatures, with the coldest point coming Saturday morning at 8 degrees and winds could feel as cold as 7 degrees below zero.

"Homeless outreach teams will be talking to any New Yorker on the street and offering them warm shelter," the city said Friday in a tweet.

In Erie County  home to Buffalo  officials also issued a "code blue" and opened three overnight shelters in the county and daytime warming centers.

Warming centers have also opened across Connecticut, Maine, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Massachusetts and Vermont, officials said.

In New Hampshire, where the coldest winds could feel as low as 40 degrees Fahrenheit below zero, Cannon Mountain Ski Resort in Franconia and Wildcat Mountain in Gorham have closed due to the severe cold, according to their Facebook pages.

Similarly, several ski areas turned away customers and shut down operations in Vermont on Friday.

___
Colorados second-highest court last week reversed a mans convictions after finding a Denver judge forced him to choose between postponing his jury trial if he wanted a lawyer or continuing to trial as scheduled, but with no attorney.

Aurelio DeSantiago opted to represent himself and a jury convicted him of multiple assault charges. He received 13 years in prison.

A three-judge panel for the Court of Appeals ruled that DeSantiagos decision to give up his constitutional right to counsel was not knowing, voluntary or intelligent. He only did so after then-District Court Judge Lisa Teesch-Maguire pressured him to postpone his trial, despite no request for a delay from either side.

The district court, without sufficient cause for doing so, forced DeSantiago to choose between his statutory right to a speedy trial and his right to counsel, wrote Judge David H. Yun in the appellate panels Feb. 2 opinion.

Prosecutors charged DeSantiago in May 2020 with several domestic-violence related offenses. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, his trial date was pushed back multiple times. He remained in jail until approximately February 2021, when he was able to post bond.

Because he no longer automatically qualified for representation from the public defenders office following his release, DeSantiago needed to reapply for legal assistance. DeSantiago attended a court hearing in April, where he indicated he wanted a public defender. At that point, the judge set DeSantiagos trial for July after instructing him to reapply for public defender representation.

At the next court date, May 17, 2021, DeSantiago still had not applied. Teesch-Maguire was substituting for the regular judge assigned to the case, Eric M. Johnson. A lawyer from the public defenders office was present and indicated DeSantigo would apply for representation soon.

Instead, Teesch-Maguire told DeSantiago his speedy trial is running, a reference to the deadline in state law for the government to bring a defendant to trial. In order to give his defense lawyer more time to prepare, she explained, I would want you to waive your right to a speedy trial.

After DeSantiago declined, the judge said, OK. So then you can proceed by yourself.

She then began to read the standard advisement given to criminal defendants when they decide to represent themselves. DeSantiago asked why he needed to agree to a trial beyond the legal deadline  which was not for another three months  in order to keep his public defender.

Because, sir, you had an obligation to apply for the defendant  the public defenders office months ago. All right? Its not the (prosecutions) fault that you have failed to follow through, Teesch-Maguire told him.

I am saying that you should absolutely have an attorney, she continued. I fully believe that. But its also not the governments fault that you have failed. Youre the reason that you do not have a public defender.

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Teesch-Maguire said she was not going to enforce an arbitrary speedy trial deadline because of DeSantiagos own actions.

Youre facing a ton of time in prison, sir, she added. But you need to be fair to the (prosecution) and let them have enough time to bring you to trial.

Although neither the prosecution nor the defense indicated they would not have enough time to prepare if DeSantiago applied for a lawyer, DeSantiago agreed he would proceed to trial without one. Teesch-Maguire clarified that if DeSantiago applied for the public defender the next day, Judge Johnson might reconsider. Nevertheless, Teesch-Maguire deemed that she had given DeSantiago all of the legally-required warnings to enable him to represent himself.

On appeal, DeSantiago, now represented by the public defenders office, argued there was no reason for Teesch-Maguire to tell DeSantiago he needed to hold his trial beyond the legal deadline. On the other side, the Colorado Attorney Generals Office insisted there was no forced choice between DeSantiagos constitutional rights.

The advisement was not an ultimatum  either waive the right to counsel or waive the right to speedy trial  but a precaution so that the defendant knew what the consequence would be if he did not obtain counsel by his trial date, wrote Assistant Attorney General Jaycey DeHoyos.

The appellate panel sided with DeSantiago. In order for a defendant to give up their constitutional right to an attorney, it has to be knowing, voluntary and intelligent. The panel found no indication DeSantiago clearly knew about the nature of the charges against him and the allowable punishments. Teesch-Maguire had only told him he was facing a ton of time in prison.

DeSantiago was facing a maximum presumptive sentence of forty-nine and a half years. A ton of time in prison does not convey meaningful information about the period of incarceration he faced or a realistic picture of his sentencing exposure such that his decision to proceed could be made with eyes open, Yun wrote, finding DeSantiagos waiver was not knowing or intelligent.

Yun added that DeSantiago had also not voluntarily relinquished his right to counsel because Teesch-Maguire made it seem as if he had to choose between that right and his other right to a speedy trial. It did not matter, the panel decided, that DeSantiago also failed to apply for a public defender after Teesch-Maguire claimed his regular trial judge might allow DeSantiago to have a lawyer after all.

With such ambiguous language, Yun wrote, and having already been forced into a choice between the right to counsel and the statutory right to a speedy trial, it is no wonder that DeSantiago did not pursue the mere possibility that another judge might potentially reconsider this judges decision.

The panel ordered a new trial for DeSantiago. It did not address his other argument on appeal, that Johnson, who presided over the jury trial, committed an error when he instructed jurors that reasonable doubt is what the jury says it is.

Judge Jerry N. Jones authored a one-sentence concurring opinion. He agreed DeSantiago did not knowingly or intelligently waive his right to counsel, but Jones did not join the part of Yuns opinion finding the waiver was also involuntary.

The case is People v. DeSantiago.
Social-emotional learning has taken root in classrooms across the country as schools commit to teaching not only standard reading, writing and arithmetic, but also emotional well-being.

Education professionals say student achievement excels when SEL is built into the school day to help students learn how to regulate their emotions and communicate what theyre feeling with staff and each other.

You cant learn if youre not regulated, Wilson Elementary School counselor Cassidy Bristol said. Thats just the truth. You cant.

As schools expand their instructional focus, however, SEL has earned the ire of some critics, who say the programming is an overstep at best, or indoctrination at worst.

SEL focuses on educational equity by helping students develop healthy identities, manage emotions, and achieve personal and collective goals, feel and show empathy for others, among other objectives, according to CASEL.org.

Proponents say SEL is a positive way of developing people skills and managing ones own feelings, thus decreasing violent behavior, depression and anxiety among young students. At Colorado Springs District 11s Wilson Elementary, suspensions have decreased and academic success has improved since the school bolstered SEL programming and counseling in recent years, according to Bristol.

Wilson builds SEL into the schedule so Bristol can make classroom visits to teach on a given topic, such as building healthy friendships, or students can meet with her in her office for more personalized counseling. Teachers also use the time for Random Acts of Kindness lessons, which helps schools create a culture of kindness, according to the curriculum website.

Bristol was named the 2022 elementary school counselor of the year by the Colorado School Counseling Association. District 11, which Bristol said embraces SEL and supports its counselors, swept last years awards with middle school and high school recognition as well.

Neighboring School District 49, however, has weathered a more tumultuous relationship with SEL as some community and board members criticize the programming as dangerous and agenda-driven.

The hot topic issue came to a head at a December D-49 board meeting, in which a divided school board approved SEL curricula in a contentious 3-2 vote. The vote solidified a list of 18 programs already in use at district schools.

We dont need to teach kids to be victims who look for the ill of society in this great country of ours, said board member Ivy Liu, who has taken the mantle of opposition in a passionate effort to preserve kids innocence and can-do spirits. I think thats what some SEL programs are pushing toward  not I think, I know based on the website description.

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Liu and like-minded individuals say emotional development is best left to parents rather than teachers, who are overburdened as is. If an instructor lacks proper experience or training, she said, the programing could veer into critical race theory teachings on social justice and equality. Liu further described SEL as a behavioral psychology tool to transform childrens core values and attitudes.

Sarah Clapham, another of D-11s award-winning counselors at West Middle School, said lessons do sometimes tackle topics like race or difference. Discussions are driven by what the students are asking for, she said, not by an agenda.

If we choose to avoid those conversations because of the controversy, then we really lose out on knowing who our students are and responding to their needs, Clapham said. We really dive into those conversations and try to create an environment where we can have those real, really rich conversations, and people can share their experience and feel safe enough to share those experiences.

The tenets of SEL are nothing new in concept. Educators for decades have managed the emotions of their students in some form, whether that be a restorative conversation in lieu of punishment or encouraging kindness among peers. This approach only developed into a formal curriculum in the 1990s, when the term SEL was officially coined.

School counselors say SEL programming has only become more important since COVID-19 sent kids home for extended periods of time, depriving them of socialization skills that typically develop at their respective stages in life.

A lot of them came back with super low compassion, Bristol said, citing survey data collected from students after returning to in-person instruction.

Students had for more than a year been taught to avoid touching others. Masks further complicated matters by obscuring a persons face, making it hard to interpret what emotion they might be feeling.

That was a huge developmental time where they didnt learn, Oh, you feel sad? I should probably ask how you are feeling or whats wrong, Bristol said. Its kind of teaching what you would think are the basics. Thats something kids just dont know.

Bristol teaches children how to identify and label their feelings rather than using nonspecific terms like weird or off. This way, staff can best understand how to help each student based on their emotional needs.

Kids who dont know how to calm down are going to grow up to be adults that dont know how to calm down, Bristol said.

That, Bristol said, is her motivation to teach SEL now, for a more peaceful future.
A large trash fire was reported at a waste management facility Sunday night, according to a tweet from the Colorado Springs Fire Department.

Firefighters worked a fire at the Waste Management building located at 1965 Commercial Boulevard in southeast Colorado Springs. The fire was knocked down just before 10 p.m.

Officials said there were no injuries, and fire crews will remain on the scene awaiting heavy equipment operators to assist them with overhaul.
The Lynx Crossing Building at 318 Walnut St. on the Auraria campus in Denver was evacuated Monday due to a reported bomb threat.

As of 3 p.m., the building was reopened and Auraria Campus Police reported there was no ongoing threat to the public. Prior, police were conducting an investigation and asking students to remain away from the building.

Lynx Crossing is housing for students attending the University of Colorado at Denver and Metropolitan State University. It is operated by CU Denver. The bomb threat lasted just over an hour before police allowed students back into the building.

Authorities issued the evacuation just before 2 p.m. Monday and asked anyone in the building or immediate vicinity to leave the area.

Only the Lynx Building was evacuated, according to the alert. People in the area were asked not to cross 5th Street.

Updates were posted to Metropolitan State University's emergency notifications website and posted via social media.
Two verified online fundraisers and one fundraising event have been set up in support of Fountain police officer Julian Becerra, who was critically injured after falling from a bridge during a pursuit last week.

Becerra was listed in stable but critical condition after falling 40 feet from a bridge south of Colorado Springs while attempting to apprehend a carjacking suspect last Thursday. Officials late last week said Becerra was at a local hospital with his family and other Fountain officers by his side.

Fountain Police Department spokeswoman Lisa Schneider confirmed two verified fundraisers: Southern Colorado Law Enforcement Foundation and a GoFundMe set up by Becerras brother-in-law.

Also, Fountain VFW Post 6461 is hosting a benefit steak dinner at 5 p.m. Friday with 100% of the proceeds going to the Becerra family.

The driver who allegedly led Colorado State Patrol and police on the chase, 31-year-old Devon Bobian, and passenger 32-year-old Anthony Vallejos, had felony arrest warrants, officials said. The two men, plus another passenger, 28-year-old Danisha Pacheco, are facing numerous felony charges after being arrested on the bridge, police said.

All three remained in the El Paso County jail on Monday morning.
Beyon Money, a leading mobile wallet operating in Bahrain, has announced a partnership deal with TerraPay, a leading global payments infrastructure company based in UK, aimed at enabling swift, secure and affordable network for real-time payouts from Bahrain across key international corridors, including India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Philippines, Kenya, Uganda, Cameroon, Ghana, Thailand and Indonesia.

As the digital remittance market continues to grow in the Middle East region, customers demand an agile infrastructure to drive boundless small-value, large volume payments, globally.

As per the deal, TerraPay will empower businesses with innovative and simplified payment solutions to bring the world closer, while Beyon Money propels the region's digital transformation by addressing access, reliability and affordability needs to enhance the customer transaction journey.

The Beyon Money Super App enables consumers to connect to local bank accounts to review all transactions in one place, access financial insights to observe transactions and spending habits, spend with their Classic or Platinum Prepaid Card and send money abroad to many countries around the world.

This collaboration with TerraPay will complement the Super Apps existing remittance services by enhancing its international reach.

On the key partnership, TerraPay Co-Founder & COO Ram Sundaram said: "Our advanced payments system is designed to make digital transactions seamless, transparent and affordable which is also at the core of Beyon Moneys commitment. Together we will make digital transactions more secure and faster for customers in Bahrain. This association will further enhance interconnectivity, interoperability, and financial integration between domestic and cross-border digital payments."

Beyon Money CEO Roberto Mancone said: "We are delighted to collaborate with TerraPay to enable acceptance of real time payments across our network. Our partnership will allow money to move into the region with TerraPays unique technology platform, with interoperability at its core, backed by our strong customer network which can facilitate easy and quick transfer from Beyon Money to Bank Accounts, cash Pickups & Mobile wallets, serving consumers seeking secure contactless payments options."

Mancone pointed out that the partnership with TerraPay enhances the financial services already offered to its customers and supports the group with the expansion plans across the GCC and Mena regions.
Bahrain Airport Services (BAS) has completed the work related to the modernisation of cargo cooling units at the Bahrain International Airport. The move is aimed at meeting all storage requirements of goods imported via airfreight into the kingdom.

BAS had initiated the launch of a project to modernise these refrigeration units for air cargo parcels and goods located on the western side of Bahrain International Airport following instructions from HRH Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the Crown Prince and Prime Minister, regarding the participation of all sectors in advancing the achievement of the provisions of the recovery plan.

It is in compliance with HRH Prince Salman's directives focusing on developing promising sectors in the kingdom, including the logistics sector, said a statement from BAS.

BAS worked to enhance and expand the facilities of the refrigeration facility to meet all the storage requirements of goods imported via airfreight in Bahrain, it added.

This comes as part of Bahrain's national strategy for the logistics services sector, and in pursuit of providing the best solutions and services contributing to its role in achieving the most effective customs practices in the field of freight, and consolidating joint relations within the field, said the statement from BAS.

A joint co-operation customs agreement was signed by Bahrain along with Saudi Arabia in 2019. This entailed a mutual recognition of the Economic Operator program approved by both parties, which creates a single-entry point that enhances intra-regional trade through coordinated and sustainable custom procedures.

BAS Chairman Nabeel Khalid Kanoo said: "In compliance with the companys fulfilment of the national plans related to the development of the logistics services sector, as well as the mutual agreement with the KSA, the company went about the idea of modernizing refrigeration units at BIA."

This was mainly to keep pharma products at these cooling units with utmost quality due to the reliable storage unit/method," noted Kanoo.
As we celebrate Black History Month throughout February, race dominates the national news, as it has for several years. From George Floyd to Tyre Nichols, senseless tragedy has forced race into the national conversation.

Carter G. Woodson, the Father of Black History, felt black Americans needed to remember and celebrate their heritage. In 1926, at a time when Jim Crow prevailed and Blacks were not valued, he developed Negro History Week, which evolved into Black History Month. Woodson famously said: "If a race has no history, if it has no worthwhile tradition, it becomes a negligible factor in the thought of the world, and it stands in danger of being exterminated.

Over time, there has been much debate about the usefulness of Black History Month. Some say it has outlived its purpose. Some say the years shortest month is not enough. Some say why define history by race. But regardless of the debate, we know that history is crucial to any culture and any country. The past can determine the present and the future.

From the arts to medicine, education, music, inventions, entrepreneurship, etc., Blacks have played an influential role in shaping America.

How else will we remember the journeys of Harriet Tubman as she guided slaves to freedom on the Underground Railroad? Or explore the many contributions of African-American creativity known as The Harlem Renaissance in the 1920s. Can we afford to forget innovative inventors such as George Washington Carver, who developed hundreds of products from peanuts, or Garrett Morgan, who first patented an electric automatic traffic light? How would we learn about Lewis Latimer whose invention of a longer-lasting filament for the light bulb helped Thomas Edison?

Recent racial tension and division make it even more important that all Americans know our countrys history and the contributions many diverse groups have made to it.

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Celebrating Black History Month allows us to pause and remember the stories, so we can commemorate the historic achievements.

We hear about the horrors of slavery, the poverty rates, incarceration rates, and inner-city black-on-black crime. We are bombarded with images of misbehaving athletes and out-of-control Hollywood stars. We see all the bad news and not enough of the good. For that reason it is important to know of Black individuals who have made positive contributions to our nation and continue to achieve.

For example:

Georgia-based teenagers Charlie and Hannah Lucas launched a mobile app called notOK that makes it easy for youths in crisis to ask for help. The app sends a message to five pre-selected contacts in a phone if there is an issue. The app can be used by those with mental or physical problems.

Vanessa Wyche became the first Black woman to lead a NASA center when she was appointed the director of the Johnson Space Center in Houston last year.

Tony Hansberry II at 14 years old developed a stitching technique, called the endo stitch, that can be used to reduce surgical complications, as well as the chance of error among less experienced surgeons.

These are just a few examples. They represent positive change and innovation that can and have changed American history. After all, American history is a compilation of individual stories  for Black Americans, as well.
Neglect in assisted living

I was terribly saddened to read the story about the negligent death of Hazel Place at an assisted living facility in Grand Junction. I would like to say that I was surprised that this happened, but I am not.

I have had a complaint into the state involving the assisted living facility my mother lives in. This complaint was five pages and was sent to the State in January 2022. Nothing has been investigated. I have followed up with CDPH several times, with excuses of not enough staff, to busy with Covid. I quit following up with CDPH and started contacting the Governors Office, only to have the staff tell me to contact CDPH.

No one on Governor Jared Polis staff cares or even wants to hear about the issues in the long term care facilities in Colorado. As long as there is no involvement from the State, these large corporate facilities will continue to push boundaries as they know that the State will never hold them accountable.

The people who work in these facilities for the most part are doing the best the can with the resources that the corporate office is giving them, but bottom line is that it is about the executives lining their pockets. The elderly in these facilities need to be given the same care and respect that the homeless and illegal immigrants get. This is not happening. There will be more unfortunate deaths due to Governor Polis and his partys lack of action.

Sharon Solheim

Palmer Lake

Controversial curriculum issue

This letter is in relation to the Gazette article LGBTQ references reinstated to social studies standards that reported the State Board of Education had on a 4-3 vote elected to fully incorporate references to LGBTQ issues at all grade levels of social studies instruction. That vote was by a committee of 4 Democrats versus 3 Republicans appointed after passage of House Bill 19-1192 Inclusion of American Minorities in Teach Civil Government, which arbitrarily included LGBTQ individuals within the traditional minority definition of American Indians, Latinos, African Americans, and Asia Americans.

The bigger controversy has been at what grade level any LGBTQ-related content should be included. The committee in April 2022 had backed down from their original all-grade level and revised it to not grade 3 and below.

The issue became very political when the committee announced in September 2022 that they would reconsider the grade-level issue at their November meeting, which was after the midterm election, and of course the decision was to return to all-grade level.

My first point is that what is taught in Colorado schools is constitutionally a local issue to be decided by the elected School Board. Thus the membership of the committee should have been reflective of all of the School Boards in the State  not by the numbers of Democrat and Republican Congressional representatives. It was the Assembly that included LGBTQ individuals as minorities in House Bill-1192.

Should the new Assembly (and Gov. Jared Polis) be required to vote approval of that State Board of Education guidance to the School Boards, and especially the all-grade level inclusion of LGBTQ-related content? The committee chose to make it political, so let the voters know where the new Assembly and Gov. Polis stand on this controversial issue.

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Russell L. Elsberry

Colorado Springs

Dont need projects

Speaking as a proud Libertarian, in typical idiot liberal fashion, always looking to duh gubment to take care of them, Denver is determined to recreate the same square wheel which has repeatedly been shown will not roll in every single city where it has been tried. Theyre called the projects and their failures are legendary.

Would it be faaar too proactive to consider alternatives BEFORE they go charging off to the races?

Are there citizens statewide who own residential property, are no longer using all the square footage in their homes, and would welcome some extra income? Could their seldom or unused garage be easily repurposed into living space with a separate entrance?

Are there gubment zoning, permitting, regulatory, obstacles which render such repurposing unrealistic? Are there general contractors who, unshackled from regulations, could easily repurpose living space cheaper and lightyears faster than Denver will ever get anywhere close to completing the projects?

The answer is no, and never will be, yet another governmental program (like Section 8) with vast myriads of rules, regulations, policies, procedures, administrators, consultants, accountants, auditors, required to create the projects.

Have you ever heard of a landlord who didnt have a horror story of unpaid rent, tenant destruction, insufficient deposits, sympathetic courts whose evictions take months and judgements that arent worth the paper theyre written on? Would it be far too proactive to consider alternatives like removing all the impediments to investors becoming (OMG!) landlords?

If you answered yes to one or more above, call duh gubment and tell them to let the market do its job and we dont want or need any more projects.

Gordon Carleton

Pueblo West
In his third bid for Colorado Springs mayor since 2015, community advocate Lawrence Martinez is running in the crowded April 4 race to become the city's next mayor, promising if elected to be a boots-on-the-ground leader focusing on housing affordability, homelessness and public transportation.

Martinez, who in the past has worked as a hospice home care specialist and as a business consultant, said he's again running to better represent the city's people.

"We have a great diversity here but we also ... need more representation from the minority community so as to have a better understanding of what their needs are," Martinez said Monday.

He is among 12 candidates running this spring to succeed Mayor John Suthers, who cannot run again because of term limits. Martinez will face some well-known names, including City Councilman and former Secretary of State Wayne Williams and former City Councilwoman Sallie Clark, El Paso County Commissioner Longinos Gonzalez and businessman Yemi Mobolade.

If elected, Martinez said he would develop "a more open-door policy" to hear from residents. Outside of regular council meetings and workshops, he plans to hold more public town halls and suggests the city produce a regular podcast where residents can call in to ask questions directly of the mayor and other city leaders, such as those in the parks department or at Colorado Springs Utilities.

A Navajo, Martinez has served 17 years on the El Pomar Foundation's Elevating Leadership Development program and serves on its Native American Advisory Council. The program's work with various cultural communities in Colorado Springs has allowed him to hear directly from local nonprofits about what people need most, he said.

City leaders must focus on making Colorado Springs more affordable so residents aren't forced to leave and so they can attract new people, he said.

If elected, Martinez said he wants to build more affordable housing units, particularly on the city's southeast side where many middle- and low-income earners live. The city could incentivize developers by implementing more tax-free zones, "especially in lower-income areas," he said.

"We've got to be able to encourage the developers to build for them, because we can't have an exodus of people going to Security or Pueblo," he said.

The mayor should also actively visit other cities, towns and states to promote Colorado Springs and draw more businesses, which creates new jobs, as well as attract new residents who can contribute to local taxes and keep the city's economy viable, he said.

Colorado Springs must do more to care for its homeless population, he said. The city should offer more opportunities to homeless people to expand their "workability," he said. Martinez wants to create a campus on the city's east side with a dedicated bus line where homeless people can receive medical, educational and housing services that aim to lift them out of homelessness, he said.

The campus could also provide automotive services to help people fix their cars if needed so they can get to and from job interviews and work.

"It seems like a lot of people, once their car goes down, their ability to have a job gets stymied," Martinez said. "And we don't have the best public transportation here. That affects us quite a bit."

The city should also work better with businesses and local schools to encourage more job training among school-aged children, he said.

As part of outreach efforts Martinez suggested, leaders too should connect with new businesses and employers outside the city and encourage them to build locally, then implement trade-specific bridge programs to train 11th- and 12th-graders coming into the workforce, Martinez said.

"The children are our future," he said.
Anxiety was rising among the sixth graders at West Middle School.

Do we have to do it? asked one student, squirming in her seat.

The Counseling Dawgs  counselor Alec Finley and psychologist Nick Haugstad  had just delivered a presentation on anxiety management. Now, it was time to put those teachings to the test. It was time to play BeanBoozled, a game of chance in which some jellybeans are classic fruit flavors while others, indistinguishable in appearance, are rotten.

This is Mr. H's and Is fifth time doing this, and Ive never gotten a good one, Finley said.

So were pretty anxious, to say the least, Haugstad added.

Bean in hand, students ran through the steps of anxiety management. First, they took two deep breaths to calm themselves. Then, they acknowledged the anxiety, sharing where in their bodies it manifested and how it made them feel: like butterflies, like they had legs of Jell-O, like they wish they had no taste buds.

Next, they considered the root of their anxiety. Why did they feel this way? There was anxiety in wondering what flavor they had, they said, and whether it would make them vomit.

And finally, they challenged those worry thoughts. Together on the count of three, they popped the jelly beans into their mouths, and quickly thereafter was a frenzy to the trash can.

I swear I got throw up or something, one student said of his bean flavor as he spit it out.

You just climbed that hurdle, man, and thats a big deal, Finley said. Its the same thing when trying something new, or trying anything else like tests, or tough conversations, or giving presentations or asking someone out. You can do all these things that seem really scary, but dont let your brain force you to avoid them.

Similar scenes are unfolding in classrooms in the Colorado Springs area and across the country as schools lean into social-emotional learning, or SEL. The seemingly innocent lessons have not received universal support, however.

To some, the BeanBoozled lesson on anxiety is a strong case in favor of SEL, which focuses on educational equity by helping students develop healthy identities, manage emotions, and achieve personal and collective goals, feel and show empathy for others, among other objectives, according to CASEL.org.

To others, its a subtle form of indoctrination earning the ire of critics, who worry education is venturing into territory it does not belong. Lessons on emotions and values are best left to parents at home, some say, because if handled incorrectly, those lessons can serve as pathways into critical race theory or socialism concepts.

Theres no good SEL, said Deb Schmidt, a School District 49 taxpayer and grandparent of six who says she has done extensive research into SEL programming.

Schmidts district serves as an epicenter of SEL pushback in the Pikes Peak region, where community and board members alike have clashed over the programming in a monthslong struggle. Caught in the middle of the debate are the counselors and teachers who carry out such lessons, saying critics are misguided in their cries of indoctrination.

In the community

Ivy Liu lived 60 miles from China when Mao Zedong began training Red Guards during the countrys push toward communism. She remembers stories of children being raised as soldiers to threaten and intimidate others in their own village, she said. Those memories have stuck with her as she fights to preserve American values in education.

Now a D-49 school board member, Liu has taken the mantle of opposition against SEL, saying she fears it is used as a behavioral psychology tool to transform childrens core identities. For her and others like her, like Schmidt, the battle against SEL is a matter of preserving childrens innocence and can-do spirits.

If they take away the individualism, make you a group, thats the collectivism that is the signature of socialism, Liu said. This whole victim mentality and the intersectionality, which is, as you go through life, look for everything that works against you. Can you imagine having that attitude?

District CEO Peter Hilts has said on numerous occasions that there has never been a parent complaint regarding SEL, which has been used in the district for about a decade. Nevertheless, the hot-button issue came to a head at a December D-49 board of education meeting, where a divided board approved SEL curricula in a contentious 3-2 vote. The vote solidified a list of 18 programs already in use in the district.

The vote made little sense to Liu, pointing to 2022 Colorado Measures of Academic Success test scores that show less than half of district students are performing at grade level in English and language arts. In math, that percentage is less than a third. These numbers are up 2 and 4 percentage points from 2021, respectively.

It is criminal, in my opinion, that we are focusing on anything other than academics, Liu said. Some claim SEL improves academics, but the CMAS scores disprove that claim.

Schmidt outlined her concerns with each of the districts SEL programs in a spreadsheet, highlighting excerpts from their websites and other program materials.

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Second Step, one SEL program, teaches "foundational skills essential for combating racism and promoting social justice, such as perspective-taking, empathy, and social connectedness," according to a program sheet quoted in Schmidt's spreadsheet.

Critics like Liu draw connections between SEL programs admitted missions and "critical-race theory," which teaches race is socially constructed and embedded in institutions. Theyre indoctrinating kids with liberal ideology, she said.

Schmidt worries the standards set by organizations like CASEL, to which several programs being used in D-49 align, are influenced by the politics of the organizations that fund them. Some of CASELs biggest donors ascribe to left-leaning ideologies, including the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the NoVo Foundation.

SEL is nothing new in concept. Educators for decades have managed the emotions of their students in some form, whether that be a restorative conversation instead of punishment or encouraging kindness among peers. This approach only developed into a formal curriculum in the 1990s, when the term SEL was officially coined.

Sarah Clapham, the 2022 Colorado School Counselor of the Year, concedes that SEL lessons do sometimes tackle topics pertaining to identity or difference, but thats not by design.

Counselors arent planning discussions on critical-race theory, or oppression, or social justice, Clapham said. Instead, discussions are driven by what students are asking for. Sometimes, they organically share pieces of their identity. Counselors are receptive.

If we choose to avoid those conversations because of the controversy, then we really lose out on knowing who our students are and responding to their needs, Clapham said. We really dive into those conversations and try to create an environment where we can have those real, really rich conversations, and people can share their experience and feel safe enough to share those experiences.

Despite classroom visits, Liu and Schmidt say they have not successfully witnessed problematic lessons firsthand, returning to the program descriptions as the source of their concern.

In the classroom

Faculty line the halls each morning at D-49s Ridgeview Elementary School, high-fiving and hugging students to greet them as they enter the classroom. A kid who feels welcome is more likely to stretch academically, Principal Kim Moore said. Morning welcome is her favorite time of day.

Next, students start the day by sharing good things in their lives with one another during a student-led conversation, in which one student calls on their peers and asks follow-up questions to demonstrate active listening and engagement.

Obviously, theres a lot of noise going on about SEL within our nation and within our district, but we just do what we know is best for our kids, and thats building strong relationships and supporting them in their growing process, Moore said. Not everything that a school does, whether its SEL or not, has an underlying agenda.

Ridgeview is a national showcase school for SEL program Capturing Kids Hearts, one of 14 in Colorado Springs recognized for its outstanding staff who produce exemplary outcomes with the program. Showcase schools demonstrate a correlation to academic growth via increased test scores.

The morning routine is just one example of how SEL plays out in schools. It can be as simple as a hug.

At neighboring Colorado Springs School District 11, where the temperature surrounding SEL programming is more tepid, schools devote a block of time in students daily schedules to counseling and SEL programming. The district last year swept all three levels of the statewide Colorado School Counseling Association's school counselor of the year awards.

I get a little confused on why schools would be hesitant, except maybe the argument that they need to focus on content, said Clapham, a counselor at D-11s West Middle School. Weve just learned in our school that when were not teaching these skills  just like a math teacher would teach the skills of math  if were not teaching the social-emotional skills, especially in middle school, then its really hard for the students to focus on that content.

The district has made a big push to bolster its SEL programming, said Clapham, who was hired five years ago after the district secured state funding to add an additional counselor to each middle and high school.

At the same time, district elementary schools began implementing Random Acts of Kindness as their universal SEL program, and middle schools implemented Second Step, both of which abide by standards laid out by the American School Counselor Association.

School data shows that students with multiple suspensions at West Middle have decreased by more than 80% since 2018, the year Clapham was hired to help launch SEL programming. Clapham says she believes there is a direct correlation between improved behavior and the layers of social-emotional support the school adds each year.

School counselors say SEL programming has only become more important since COVID-19 sent kids home for extended periods of time, depriving them of socialization skills that typically develop at their respective stages in life.

A lot of them came back with super-low compassion, counselor Cassidy Bristol said, citing survey data collected from students after returning to in-person instruction. Bristol, from D-11s Wilson Elementary School, was named the 2022 Elementary School Counselor of the Year.

Students had for more than a year been taught to avoid others. Masks further complicated matters by obscuring a persons face, making it difficult to interpret what emotion they might be feeling.

That was a huge developmental time where they didnt learn, Oh, you feel sad? I should probably ask how you are feeling or whats wrong, Bristol said. Its kind of teaching what you would think are the basics. Thats something kids just dont know.

Bristol teaches children how to identify and label their feelings rather than using nonspecific terms like weird or off. This way, staff can best understand how to help each student based on their emotional needs.

Kids who dont know how to calm down are going to grow up to be adults that dont know how to calm down.

That, Bristol said, is her motivation to teach SEL now, for a more peaceful future.
Two men dressed in suits sporting well-trimmed beards sat with their attorneys before a judge in the unaccustomed position of being accused of a crime. The fired sheriff deputies former colleagues guarded the doors of Courtroom C as they would for any other defendant.

Former Clear Creek Sheriff deputies Andy Buen and Kyle Gould landed on the other side of the law in November, courtesy of a grand jury called by 5th Judicial District Attorney Heidi McCollum. Buen was indicted on second-degree murder charges for what police bodycam video shows is him standing on the hood of Christian Glass' car shooting five bullets into the windshield, killing him.

Gould gave the order to breach Glass car over the phone from his home that night and for that, he faces a charge of criminally negligent homicide and reckless endangerment in the New Zealander's death.

Goulds attorney objected to the grand jury indictment, telling the judge his client was put in this position by a citizen panel that was only presented with one side of the case: the prosecution's.

A grand jury is like a sporting event with nobody opposing you, argued Christopher Broussard. There were seven police officers beside the road in Silverplume on June 11, 2022. Kyle Gould wasnt one of them.

A grand jury is shown only the prosecution's argument and asked to make a decision on charging a defendant on that information alone.

If a grand jury charges a person with a crime, they are charged by indictment. If the grand jury decides that no charges are warranted, then they give what is called a "no-true bill," and no charges are filed.

Broussard has filed a motion for a probable-cause review of the grand jury transcripts for those reasons, but Glass parents are horrified that the former supervisor could go free if the judge decides to dismiss his case.

Theyre belittling the grand jury process, but this is the process of the judicial system of America, said Sally Glass, who along with her husband, Simon, is from New Zealand. He (Gould) gave the advice to breach the vehicle which led to Christians death. If it wasnt for Gould, Christian would be alive because he was the one that said go-ahead.

Grand juries like the one in Clear Creek are being called upon more often in Colorado when it comes to investigating disputable high-profile cases involving alleged police misconduct.

Though there are no official numbers, the Colorado District Attorneys Council told The Gazette that more grand juries have been used in Colorado for police misconduct in the past 10 years.

In fact, there is so much interest among the states top law enforcement officers, the CDAC recently provided a workshop to spell out how to run them called "The Nuts and Bolts of Empaneling a Grand Jury." District attorneys have been asking for more training about the benefits of grand jury investigation, said CDAC Policy Analyst Tim Lane.

Colorados upward trend

Since November, four Colorado law enforcement officers have been indicted by grand juries for two shootings and one sexual assault in three separate districts. All four officers are now facing criminal charges as a result of the indictments, but theres no guarantee that there will be a conviction if any of those cases go to trial.

The Glass case is one of those three high-profile cases, two of which garnered national attention.

In December, a Jefferson County grand jury indicted Nathan Geerdes, a former Edgewater police sergeant, for allegedly sexually assaulting a female colleague in 2019 following a holiday party.

Last month, after 30 years of no such action, Denver District Attorney Beth McCann made the rare decision to put a police use of force investigation in the hands of a grand jury in the case of last summers shooting in Lower Downtown Denver. Five bystanders were injured by police bullets in the incident.

Of three officers who were involved in the controversial shooting, only former Denver police Officer Brandon Ramos was indicted. He is due in court at the end of the month on felony assault charges, accused of firing into a bar crowd in an effort to question 22-year-old Jordan Waddy, who had been pushing people around and brandishing a gun.

According to the indictment, he disregarded an unjustifiable risk of injury to the crowd behind Mr. Waddy.

Polly Baca, who has known Ramos since he was a boy, is a veteran Democratic Colorado lawmaker and lives downtown just blocks from where the shooting happened. She said she doesnt go outside after dark because of the crime in downtown Denver and feels Ramos was just doing his job.

He was doing what he was supposed to be doing to get drugs off of the streets and guns out of the hands of criminals, she said. There wasnt enough evidence to warrant a grand jury.

Others, like Bruce Brown, who was the 5th Judicial District Attorney before McCollum took office, say McCann's decision to use a grand jury was appropriate.

There were multiple civilians shot and they were all wounded from one firearm, said Brown. Each officer-involved shooting has to be weighed and each can be complicated. Twenty percent, its a good shoot. Twenty percent, its a bad shoot. That leaves 60% where you want to convene a grand jury.

Brown called on four grand juries to investigate officer-involved shootings and other police misconduct during his two four-year terms as the 5th Judicial District's chief prosecutor. He said it takes courage to investigate ones own police department because of the implicit alliance.

It doesnt make for cozy relationships and in the short term it degrades police and prosecutor relationships. But in the long term, it increases community trust in the justice system.

What some see as courage, others see as cowardly. Its political pressure," said Andy Buens attorney Carrie Slinkard, the founding member of Frontline Law, a firm that specializes in representing police officers. "District attorneys dont want to make the decisions, so sometimes they put it in the hands of civilians.

Grand juries are different from trial juries. A trial jury will decide whether a defendant is guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. A grand jury has a lower threshold and must decide only whether there is probable cause to charge a person with a crime.

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Slinkard said the Clear Creek grand jury didnt hear evidence that she believes will justify Buens actions. For instance, she said that if he goes to trial for Glass death, shell bring up the fact that officers who responded to the volatile scene were suspicious that drugs or alcohol were involved.

She submitted a motion for a probable cause review of the grand jury transcripts on Friday.

McCollums Clear Creek grand jury lasted two days and had one witness, Slinkard said.

In a press release, McCann stated that she presented 17 witnesses and used 140 exhibits to the grand jury in the Ramos case.

Grand juries are secret, and it's up to the prosecutor whether to divulge these kinds of details.

Officer's point of view

What it means to enforce the law in a community has been changing rapidly in the past three years. It's also been a huge part of the national conversation after five Memphis police officers were recently indicted in the beating death of Tyre Nichols.

Members of the Congressional Black Caucus left a meeting Thursday with President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris with an agreement on how to address the issue of policing in America in response to Nichols' death, and expressed that the solution will come with legislation other than "thoughts and prayers."

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., signaled an openness to discussing the issue.

So far, there has been little response from federal law enforcement.

People dont understand what its like to be a police officer, said former Aurora homicide detective Craig Appel. Appel led the Aurora theater shooting investigation and is now a private detective. People only call police when they are having a bad day and having a problem.

Appel and others say the George Floyd killing brought public pressure for law enforcement  some welcome and some not so much. He said as policies and expectations change, police often dont know what to do.

Back in the day, we were proactive. Wed arrest somebody for probable cause. Nowadays, its very reactionary, Appel said. Thats part of why the crime rate is so high.

Appel said that police departments are hurting for new recruits, so theyre hiring inexperienced officers who are sent out on critical incidents without proper training.

Police hiring is challenging today. Its a very rewarding job and challenging, but who would want to be a cop nowadays with the changes in our judicial system and society expectations?

Brown has also noticed a change as district attorneys who ran on police reform in the wake of the George Floyds death are holding police more accountable for questionable criminal actions. The era of progressive district attorneys really started around 2005, he said, when early trends toward criminal justice reform began.

John Kellner, the 18th Judicial District's chief prosecutor who oversees Arapahoe, Douglas, Elbert and Lincoln counties, said in an email that he uses grand juries when he needs help investigating a situation, but that we do not use the grand jury to make charging decisions when we have all of the information necessary to make that call on our own.

Defense Attorney Ryan Brackley, a former assistant district attorney in Denver and Boulder who was also a homicide prosecutor in the Manhattan DAs office, said that elected district attorneys who campaign on promises of holding police accountable often learn that investigations into alleged police misconduct are more complicated than they expected.

These cases are incredibly difficult, particularly those involving officers who need to make split-second decisions when confronted with a person they believe to be a danger to themselves or others, he said.

Some cases are clear-cut, but others may benefit from a grand jury to move it forward. Brackley cautioned the grand jury should not be used as cover to avoid making a decision that will invariably create political, personal or professional tension.

DAs are elected to make tough decisions. They should do so when the facts are there.

Currently, Kellner has three cases involving officers, including one of the first "failure-to-intervene" cases after Colorado passed sweeping police reform laws in June 2021. Former Aurora police Officer Francine Martinez was charged by Kellners office without the help of a grand jury for standing by while a colleague pistol-whipped a suspect in July 2021. Her trial is in April.

The 18th District also did not call a grand jury to investigate the March 3, 2022, shooting death of a man whom Arapahoe County sheriff's deputies found sleeping in the drivers seat of a car they suspected was stolen.

Officers woke a foggy Jamarian McGhee, who put his left hand out of the window at their insistence, but not his right. During the incident, McGhees car began rolling backward toward a law enforcement vehicle, where a deputy was standing behind an open door for cover. Deputy Daniel Willmott fired three shots, one of which tore through the seat and hit the 30-year-old in the back.

McGhee had a gun in the car, but officers didnt know it until they pulled him bleeding into the parking lot, where he died.

For McGhees mother, Jeanene, the loss of her son is so raw, she can barely talk. I feel for those police officers for what they did to Jamarian, she said, adding that she felt helpless when a critical incident response team decided that her sons death by a police bullet was justified.

But my son was on the ground for eight hours. Why would they want to do us that way? Why?
Skyrocketing energy prices prompted Gov. Jared Polis on Monday to direct Colorado's agencies and energy regulators to find ways to offer immediate relief to businesses and residents who have been groaning under enormous utility bills, particularly in the last few weeks.

Among other things, Polis, who touted saving Coloradans money in his reelection campaign last year, wants the Public Utilities Commission to "analyze ways to limit bill spikes."

In a letter to the commission, the governor said natural gas prices are imposing "terrible burdens on households and businesses," not to mention the "long-term consequences" of higher energy prices for Colorado's competitiveness as a place to live and work.

"I am calling on state agencies to work collaboratively with the states utilities and others to develop responses that can help reduce the energy cost burden," he said.

In particular, the governor wants energy regulators to look at using federal dollars to reduce energy costs. He lamented  again  that customers are bearing the burden of paying for "unexpected, exceptional costs without extraordinary efforts to reduce usage and proactive information sharing with customers."

Polis is referring to the regulators' decision to allow Xcel to recover $500 million from their customers to pay for the cost of buying natural gas during a cold snap in 2021.

But it's not apparent how the governor's instructions to state regulators and energy officials would translate to providing immediate relief to Coloradans, as the biggest driver of the sharp hike in energy bill is largely beyond the state's control.

More specifically, PUC chief economist Erin ONeill earlier presented to the commission four reasons for the soaring energy bills that customers saw in November and December last year. Atop that list is the cost of natural gas, which increased by 40% compared to last year. In addition, the use of natural gas also rose again by 30% because of the significantly cold weather in December.

O'Neil noted that compared to last year, a typical Xcel Energy customer in December faced an increase of 25% in their electricity bills and 75% in their gas bills.

But O'Neill also cited two other reasons that directly resulted from state actions.

In particular, Colorado's regulators allowed Xcel to charge their customers $500 million for the extraordinary fuel costs incurred during Winter Storm Uri, the four-day weather event in 2021 that hammered the United States, Northern Mexico and parts of Canada and which, in particular, wrecked havoc in Texas. In addition to Colorado, Xcel provides electricity to Texas, Michigan, Minnesota, New Mexico, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wisconsin.

The regulators approved the request even as they expressed misgivings at how Colorados biggest utility company handled the cold snap, a decision that frustrated Polis.

That cost made up 11% of Xcel's energy bills, according to O'Neil's presentation.

O'Neil also said the rate hikes that energy regulators approved also contributed.

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All told, these factors added an average of $87 to energy bills.

Bill Levis, a consultant for AARP Colorado, earlier said the fees that utilities added to customers' bills as a result of legislation passed by the Colorado General Assembly and signed by Polis amounted to a rate hike for ratepayers of more than 6%, plus a $0.50 charge.

In his letter to the Public Utilities Commission, Polis also asked energy regulators to:

Improve access to and capacity of bill pay assistance programs

Work with utilities to secure federal funding for programs targeting Colorado homes and businesses

Incentivize utilities to reduce customer costs

Identify potential utility actions on gas contracting, financial hedging, and gas storage, as well as on educating consumers on energy conservation

Figure out ways to support consumers in the most dire circumstances, including reaching out about payment options for those behind on their bills

Implement new approaches to increase public engagement with utility issues at the PUC

In addition, Polis directed the Colorado Energy Office to:

Expedite the creation of a federally funded home energy rebate and other programs

Identify new regulatory approaches and rate structures to align with customer and utility conservation incentives

Implement the states building performance standards, which apply to large multifamily residences to reduce utility bills

Consider establishing new statewide building energy codes and provide technical assistance to local governments that adopt the codes, in collaboration with the Department of Local Affairs, with the goal of reducing utility bills

Implement microgrid programs with state and federal funding

We must leave no stone unturned to save Coloradans money on utility bills," said the governor.

He added: "Coloradans need near-term and long-term relief on their energy bills and today I am laying out ways state entities and utilities can take action to help save people money on their energy costs, to identify and implement opportunities to protect Colorado consumers, lower costs, and avoid price swings like the one were experiencing now.

The governor noted that, at the start of the winter this year, gas bills jumped by 75% compared to last year.

Excel is offering a few programs to customers to help them handle the spikes, including averaged monthly payments, pay arrangements to spread balances out over longer periods, and several energy assistance programs such as income-qualified weatherization, discounts for low-income households, and some exemptions for special medical needs such as life-support systems.

Energy customers  many of whom say they are being crushed by gas and electricity bills that have doubled, tripled and even quadrupled in the last few months  gave Colorado's energy regulators an earful last week, some of whom accused the commission of favoring the interests of corporations.

Lakewood resident Eva Boyd, for example, excoriated the commissioners for what she said is their failure to look after the publics interests.

I've been living here for about 26 years, Boyd said. January 2022s bill was $124. December 2022 was $194. The next one that I'm going to pay in February is $295, which to me is absolutely mind-boggling.

Boyd added: You're supposed to be looking out for us. And somebody already said it here: You shouldn't be looking out for corporations.
The Colorado Supreme Court on Monday interpreted a gun safety law enacted after the Columbine High School massacre, ruling for the first time that the illegal transfer of a firearm to a prohibited person can encompass the shared use of a weapon in a household.

The court declined to say whether someone can violate the law on transfers by merely placing the gun in the household where a prohibited person may access it. Instead, the justices believed there was sufficient evidence to convict Sylvia Johnson of purchasing a gun in order to temporarily transfer it to her partner at home.

Following the Columbine murders in 1999, Colorado lawmakers enacted a "straw purchase" law, designed to prevent people from purchasing guns intended for use by someone else. The law makes it a felony to knowingly buy a gun "on behalf of or for transfer to a person" who is legally prohibited from owning one.

Adams County prosecutors charged Johnson under the law after the arrest of her partner, Jaron Trujillo. Officers found a gun on Trujillo, which he said belonged to Johnson. The two of them had shopped for the gun together at a pawn shop and Trujillo knew Johnson kept it in her closet. Trujillo had a prior conviction and was barred from possessing a firearm.

Johnson challenged her conviction, arguing a "transfer" to an ineligible person required more than making a gun available to the prohibited person. In 2021, a three-judge panel for the Court of Appeals determined the meaning of "transfer" encompassed temporary exchanges of a shared item. The panel believed the evidence supported a conclusion that Johnson bought the gun and kept it in a location where Trujillo would retrieve it.

"Johnson kept the firearm at a location where both she and Trujillo could access it; they shared possession of the firearm," wrote Judge Lino S. Lipinsky de Orlov. "Johnson and Trujillo 'transferred' the firearm by conveying, moving, and shifting it between themselves. Thus, a 'transfer' of the firearm occurred when Trujillo picked it up from the closet, where Johnson had left it."

The Supreme Court agreed to review the case, and held oral arguments last fall at Pine Creek High School in Colorado Springs. Johnson's attorney, Patrick R. Henson, attempted to draw the line between actively lending someone an item and simply enabling "unsupervised access."

"If you went to the mall and you purchased a shirt  and you know your sibling's gonna like it  and you put it in your closet," he argued, "did you buy that for transfer to a third party?"

"Shared possession isnt enough? It has to be an attempt to actually hand over possession to someone else?" asked Justice Monica M. Marquez.

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"I would agree with that 100%" responded Henson.

The prosecution suggested that all exchanges of firearms count as transfers.

"I buy (a gun) for the family and my 22-year-old son has access to it," said Justice Melissa Hart hypothetically. "Its there in the house. Did I transfer it to him?"

If someone in the household is ineligible to own a gun and the purchaser provides access, "you have problem under the statute," replied Assistant Solicitor General Joseph G. Michaels.

The Supreme Court ultimately decided that purchasing a firearm in order to "transfer" encompasses the shared use and temporary exchange of a gun. Buying a weapon "on behalf of" a prohibited person, as the statute also outlaws, is a permanent action.

In reaching its decision, the court did not address the concern from Johnson and some of the justices that providing access to the gun in a shared household would count as an illegal transfer.

"Perhaps," wrote Justice William W. Hood III in the Feb. 6 opinion, adding that the court could uphold Johnson's conviction without going that far.

"Not only does the video from the pawn shop suggest a de facto joint purchase, Trujillo told the police that Johnson let him borrow the gun when he was arrested with it," Hood wrote. Such evidence could support the jury's verdict that Johnson knowingly purchased the gun in order for Trujillo to possess it temporarily, he concluded.

The case is Johnson v. People.
Serco Middle East, an international public services company, has partnered with sustainable activewear and streetwear company The Giving Movement, to design eco-friendly workwear for its staff in the Middle East, with plans to expand globally.

With over 5,500 employees and partners in the region, the apparel has been inspired by the need for comfort, durability and fashion, Serco Middle East said in a statement.

The partnership is kicking off with the design of unique polo-shirts, and more designs are expected in the future. The polo-shirts have been specially created using sustainable materials such as bamboo fibre and are being made entirely in the UAE.

Dominic Nowell-Barnes launched The Giving Movement in response to his philosophy that small acts multiplied by many can transform the world. The major partnership with Serco Middle East was formed as a result of the shared values the two companies have towards giving back to the community, and operating with purpose.

With Serco Middle East making major commitments to lead with purpose, both companies have a series of synergies when it comes to operating sustainably, with Serco looking to bring its vision to the forefront as a trusted partner of governments, delivering superb public services, that transform outcomes and make a positive difference for our fellow citizens, the company statement said.

Announced at Sercos Leadership Conference, which took place at the Sustainability Pavilion in Expo City, the partnership with UAE-based The Giving Movement, which operates with a mission to put Humanity in Motion, is a result of the momentum the organisation is gathering in shining a light on the importance of putting sustainability at the heart of its business model. With Serco also having a goal to deliver positive change through driving Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) goals, the partnership is a natural fit. With thousands of employees across the region, Serco hopes that its uniquely designed purpose-driven work-wear will be worn with pride by its staff as it looks to support the drive to build a global community that gives back to the planet.

Through the uniquely designed polo-shirts, The Giving Movement will also donate proceeds of the sales to charitable initiatives it supports. Initiatives that will benefit from the order include Dubai Cares and Harmony House. Thanks to partnerships such as this, The Giving Movement exceeded its donation target in 2022 and recently hit over $4 million USD in donations, with plans to build on this in 2023 and beyond.

Commenting on the partnership, Phil Malem, CEO of Serco Middle East, said: Im incredibly excited to be working closely with The Giving Movement. Ive long admired their approach to inspiring change in behaviour when it comes to protecting our planet, through creating a positive impact on citizens lives around the world.

We share similar values to the UAE-born The Giving Movement at Serco, and as a business that works closely with governments and corporations across the region, it is our duty to do the right thing, and we wanted to show our commitment to operating with purpose at every level. Purpose is what is in our DNA, its what motivates us to deliver great work in a positive and sustainable way every day, and were proud to ensure our approach extends to every aspect of our business  even through our work-wear.

With the UAE leadership marking 2023 as the Year of Sustainability, we all have a role to play when it comes to impacting a better future, and at a pivotal time for the region, with COP28 on everyones minds, we are looking forward to working as a catalyst to help accelerate the regions sustainability goals.

Dominic Nowell-Barnes, CEO of The Giving Movement, commented: Sustainability lies at the very core of The Giving Movement, and though reaching the goal of being 100% sustainable is a continuous effort, we do the very best we can in contributing towards a better planet for our future generations.

It was exciting to partner with Serco  we looked to select the best sustainable materials and colours to create a design that was both fit for use, and one that was contemporary and on trend  fitting the ethos of the business. We hope the team are proud to wear their new polo shirts, and were excited to see where the partnership goes next.

Serco also plans to roll-out the sustainable work-wear beyond its Middle East operations, with plans afoot for the company to pledge orders across its international office footprint.--TradeArabia News Service
To support the dynamic growth of its users in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, global technology company SAP SE announced the launch of SAP Fieldglass at the LEAP technology event in Riyadh, today (February 6).

SAP Fieldglass would be available in the country, hosted on its data centers in Riyadh and Dammam, SAP SE said in a statement. SAP Fieldglass enables organizations in Saudi Arabia to use the leading Vendor Management System (VMS) while meeting the data sovereignty requirements within the country.

SAP Fieldglass is a cloud-based, open VMS that helps organizations find, engage, manage, and pay external workers anywhere in the world. Its availability in the Kingdom will help SAP customers, especially those operating in fast-growing sectors such as banks and financial services, utilities, transport, and telecommunications, to manage the external and contingent workforces supporting their sensitive and critical work in line with local data sovereignty requirements.

Ahmed AlFaifi, Senior Vice President and Managing Director, SAP Middle East North said, Given the growth in Saudi Arabias economy and its move toward digital transformation, SAPs customers in government and regulated industries have tremendous demand for highly-skilled external workers and increased workforce agility, while experiencing heightened scrutiny of supply chain assurance.

According to a recent report launched by the National Labor Observatory, Saudi Arabia ranked first in the labor force growth rate among the Group of 20 countries during the years 2012-2021, highlighting the dynamic shifts taking place in the Kingdom.

Hosted securely at SAPs data centers within the Kingdom, SAP Fieldglass addresses these challenges while delivering support for the goals outlined in the Saudi Vision 2030 strategy, reinforcing SAPs commitment to providing customers with the sovereignty, security, and confidence they need from their cloud products and services, AlFaifi added.

As the world of work rapidly evolves in Saudi Arabia and across the MENA region, SAP Fieldglass has been at the forefront of helping hundreds of the worlds largest companies transform and optimize how they find, engage, and manage external talent and contingent workforces.

SAP Fieldglass solutions help automate the end-to-end process of procuring and managing external talent, allowing customers to better manage costs by using preferred suppliers and adhering to market rates. The transparency into worker and supplier performance enables higher quality of work, enhanced supplier collaboration and improved talent decision-making overall.

As Saudi Arabia advances its roadmap for economic diversity, workforce management becomes a vital element and SAP Fieldglass is set to be a key enabler of developing and delivering talent for a diverse set of industries in the Kingdom, AlFaifi added.--TradeArabia News Service
Author and humorist Garrison Keillor wrote in his novel Lake Wobegon Days, "We'd all be better off if we all started the day by giving thanks for just one thing. I'm thankful for Norwegians."

Since I've spent my adult life in the midst of overwhelming amounts of Norwegianess, I can say with Mr. Keillor, Ditto: Thanks for Norwegians.

Through marriages immediate and far, and births close and closer, my Norwegian ticket got punched only recently as my grandson and granddaughter are both absolutely blond haired and blue eyed Scandinavians.

It's not easy making that club. It took me only fifty years. But you have to understand, or if you are married into a Norwegian clan, you already know, there are many things you first have to learn. Second, Norwegians are not the most sharing peoples when it comes to giving up their Norwegian secrets.

For example, as a newly minted son-in-law, I was certain that I had checked all of the Norwegianess boxes just by knowing that lefse is made from potatoes. This knowledge I shared at the first family feast as a son-in-law.

As I asked for some sugar to sprinkle on the butter swathed on the homemade lefse before I rolled it up for consumption, the table chatter ceased and nine sets of steely blue eyes admonished me as only Norwegians can; one step forward and five steps backward.

I never used the words sugar and lefse in the same sentence again; ever.

It was the Norwegian delicacies, unknown to me, that would continue to trip me up over the years. Not the pastries or the sweets, such sandbakkels, krumkake, skrouls, rosettes, smultringer, fattigmann or kokosmacroner, to name a few. My sweet tooth has always been Norwegian.

It's the things that are way worse than you can imagine just from the names. In fact the names ring rather poetic. Lutefisk (raw cod soaked in lye); Blodkake (pancakes made from pig's blood); Klub (pig blood cake with barley); Smalahove (baked sheep's head); Brunost (brown cheese); Finnbiff (sauteed reindeer meat with butter sauce); Torrfisk (freeze-dried cod), just to throw out a few.

If you can make your way through the Norwegian main course delicacy of the day, you will be rewarded with any number of a multitude of the aforementioned sweet delights and coffee.

About the coffee  The Germans I grew up around drank a lot of coffee. At least I thought they did until I became an honorary Norwegian. My German crew drank coffee several times a day.

At least that's what they called it. The recipe was one-half cup boiling water, one-half teaspoon of freeze-dried Sanka, and top off the cup with cream from the morning milking.

Yes, my people like a little instant coffee with their cream. Hey, I got to like it too at a very early age and never had to deal with insomnia or hyper-activity.

When I became Norwegian, it was clear that I had no relationship with, nor had I ever even been introduced to coffee. My first trip to Wisconsin to the farm of my wife's great-uncle and aunt, the kitchen of the old farmhouse was where you entered and the wood-burning kitchen stove was the center of the room and fired up regardless of the calendar season.

On the firebox side of that stove sat the biggest enamelware coffee pot I had ever seen. It had to have been two gallons and the chipping of the enamel chronicled the heavy use evident from generations of daily or maybe continual coffee boils.

First the Norwegian pastries came out of the pantry and then the old-school coffee mugs. No Spoons; No Cream; No Sugar. I was about to meet Mr. Coffee the Norwegian way and he was not Joe DiMaggio.

With two potholders, one on the bail and one on the bottom, the coffee was poured. The color was consistent with molasses or maybe sorghum, or as this farm boy saw it; creosote. There is no leaving the coffee pot on the table. In the Norwegian house the pot must be returned to the stove for more boiling or in the native tongue, Kokekaffee.

I made my acquaintance that day with how coffee is suppose to be made, taste, smell and savored. The sandbakkels were almost secondary  almost.

After a lifetime of being blessed with and surrounded by Norwegians and Norwegianess, I am here to tell you if you are not, you have really missed out.

And by the way, my one coffee etiquette compromise, although still disapproved of by those steely blue-eyed Norwegian stares, is a nod to my German grandpa who liked a little coffee with his cream.

Mange Takk!!
A Pittsylvania County Circuit Court jury convicted a Danville man this week in the killing of two brothers found shot to death in a burning Pittsylvania County home in 2021.

Omar Guevara-Rodriguez was was found guilty Wednesday of two counts of second-degree murder in the deaths of Onesimo Fermin Silva-Garcia, 25, and Victor Garcia-Mayorga, 33, on Dec. 12, 2021, according to online court records.

A jury trial started Monday and was originally expected to last four days.

It all started with a call to 911 on Dec. 12, 2021, by a neighbor reporting the fire, Pittsylvania County Sheriff Mike Taylor said in February 2022 when Guevara-Rodriguez was taken into custody in what was described at the time as a peaceful arrest, it was nothing out of the ordinary.

When firefighters entered the home at 152 W. Prospect St.  a property tucked away on a narrow dirt road off Old Mayfield Road in Pittsylvania County just outside the Danville city limits  to put out the flames, they discovered two bodies. Thats when the sheriffs office was called in and the investigation began.

The brothers, both from Mexico, were identified through fingerprint examinations. Both men died of gunshot wounds and the medical examiners office ruled the cause of deaths as homicide.

Guevara-Rodriguez was originally charged with two counts of first-degree murder.

The defendant also was found guilty of arson in the jury trial this week. Sentencing is set for March 31, online records show.

Bonita Troy told the Register & Bee in December 2021 that she knew something was wrong in her neighborhood.

I was in the kitchen and I pulled my blinds back and saw smoke, Troy said during an interview at the front door of her home a day after the bodies were found. Thats when she called 911.

I just knew something wasnt right, she said.

Neighbor Christopher Vaden said he was awakened by gunshots at around 4 or 5 a.m. Dec. 12, 2021, hours before the fire.

Neighbors who spoke to the Danville Register & Bee described a stable community.

There are a lot of older people, West Prospect Street resident Rhonda Bowman said. For the most part, its fairly quiet.

In addition to the local offices  including the Danville Police Department  a multitude of state and national agencies were involved in the investigation. Other agencies include United States Attorneys Office Western District of Virginia; Virginia State Police; Federal Bureau of Investigation  Richmond and Reno, Nevada, field office; Washoe County Sheriffs Office in Reno, Nevada; Drug Enforcement Agency; Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms; Homeland Security; Immigration and Customs Enforcement; and the Chief Medical Examiners Office in Roanoke.
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A delegation of business leaders from the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR), led by the city's Chief Executive John Lee and principal government officials, has arrived in Riyadh to explore collaboration opportunities with the business community of Saudi Arabia.

Several Memoranda of Understanding (MoU) were signed at the Investment Forum yesterday. These include Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited (HKEX) and Saudi Tadawul Group Holding Company.

The delegation paid a visit to The Line Experience exhibition to learn about the innovative urban designs of the futuristic city NEOM.

Over the past two days, the delegation discussed with Saudi government and industry leaders how Hong Kong can facilitate the Kingdom's strategic development via its role as a global financial hub and China's international gateway.

The 30-strong delegation includes senior executives from Hong Kong's financial institutions and regulator as well as major players in innovation and technology (I&T), sustainability and smart city solutions. Riyadh is the first of three stops on this week-long mission to the Middle East, organised by the Hong Kong Trade Development Council.

At a press conference followed by an Investment Forum and dinner officiated by the Saudi Minister of Investment Khalid Al-Falih and attended by about 300 Saudi guests yesterday, Chief Executive John Lee said: "Saudi Arabia is a strong economy of the Gulf region and a growing source of foreign direct investment. Driven by Vision 2030, the dynamic blueprint for the future, Saudi Arabia is destined to take its place as an economic powerhouse built on diversity, sustainability, and innovation and technology. Hong Kong has long been the Asia-Pacific region's multi-level bridge for foreign and Mainland Chinese businesses and investors. As integration with the Mainland continues to deepen, so too do opportunities for Hong Kong, and the economies and companies that work with Hong Kong."

Lee was joined by Deputy Secretary of Justice Horace Cheung, Secretary for Financial Services and Treasury Christopher Hui, and Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development Algernon Yau. Other business leaders from Hong Kong and Saudi Arabia also exchanged views at the investment forum yesterday.

At the forum, Al-Falih said: "This visit comes on the heels of numerous historic visits between our two countries starting with the visit of President Xi in 2016 following which the ties between the two countries deepened. Through this collaboration we aim at further developing various sectors whether it be asset management, private equity, wealth management - or in fintech, which saw an exponential growth of 79 per cent between 2021 and 2022."

He added:" Saudi Arabia has the largest regulated capital markets in the region, with the largest stock exchange in the MENA region. Due to evolving trends we are also making efforts to strengthen global supply chains and have launched a dedicated global supply chain resilience initiative. This will be a great opportunity for China and Hong Kong-based companies to use the KSA as a platform for adding value to products customised for the Middle East region and beyond."

Several Memoranda of Understanding (MoU) were signed at the Investment Forum. These include:

- Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited (HKEX) and Saudi Tadawul Group Holding Company

- SenseTime and King Abdullah Financial District (KAFD) (Letter of Intent)

- Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce (HKGCC) and Riyadh Chamber

- Templewater Ltd, Bravo Transport Services Ltd and Wisdom Motors (Hong Kong) Ltd and Nesma Holding Ltd

- SenseTime and Sela Company (Letter of Intent)

- Hutchison and King Salman Energy Park (SPARK)

HKTDC Chairman Dr Peter K N Lam said: "Saudi Arabia has an important role to play in the global economy, similar to China. And as a global financial hub, China's international gateway and a commercial hub for the Belt and Road Initiative, Hong Kong can facilitate opportunities to help drive development initiatives around the world. We are pleased to organise this delegation to come and discuss collaboration opportunities, not only in our traditional sectors of finance and trade, but also in new areas in tech and innovation, smart city and sustainability solutions. Creating opportunities has been the work of the HKTDC for over 55 years, and I am hopeful that we can continue to help Hong Kong businesses play a part in the exciting growth of Saudi Arabia and the regional overall." - TradeArabia News Service
A river cleanup series spanning four bodies of water in East Tennessee began Sunday at Watauga Lake.

The 3rd annual Cherokee National Forest River Cleanup Series, a month-long effort put on by Keep the Tennessee River Beautiful, will be held at a different location every Sunday this month stretching from South Holston Lake down to the Ocoee River.

Kathleen Gibi, executive director of Keep the Tennessee River Beautiful, said the four-part series takes volunteers by boat to hard-to-reach shorelines and coves to clean up litter in locations difficult to access by land.

We love to take people out on the water and show them the beauty of this river that is in their very backyard and then inspire them to take action and clean this gorgeous river system, Gibi said. Its the most beautiful river system in the nation.

Each of the past two years, the nonprofit dedicated to promoting and maintaining a healthy Tennessee River system has pulled more than 100,000 pounds of trash from its waterways, according to Gibi, who says that while some organizations around the country  like Living Lands & Waters  may be pulling out more by weight, any amount of trash recovered from water sources is significant.

Whether theyre pulling out millions of pounds a year  like Living Lands & Waters is  or peaking at 100,000 pounds a year like we are, or if theyre doing in the tens of thousands, everybody is making a difference all the way down to that individual River Mile adoptee who is pulling out several bags of trash a year.

In addition to holding volunteer cleanups along the 652-mile Tennessee River and its tributaries, Keep the Tennessee River Beautiful encourages people to participate in their other programs, such as Pledge for Rivers, where you can pledge to stop using a commonly littered item, like plastic straws or bags, for a year. They also do an Adopt a River Mile program where individuals or groups can take it upon themselves to clean up a specific stretch of water.

Keep the Tennessee River Beautiful also has 18 Seabin electric litter skimmer devices across the Tennessee River watershed, making it the largest Seabin network on any river system in the world, Gibi said.

While volunteer spots were full for Sundays cleanup, there are openings for the Feb. 12 cleanup at South Holston Lake. The series travels to Tellico Lake on Feb. 19 and concludes at Parksville Lake, Feb. 26.

To volunteer or learn more, visit www.keeptnriverbeautiful.org.
Receiving an award as a leader in dance education from one of the nations top tap companies would have been recognition enough for the Department of Dance at Hope College. Its next-level to have had students invited to perform during that companys 20th-anniversary celebration as well.

This is a huge and wonderful honor for our institution to receive, especially from such an internationally known dance company, said Matt Farmer, who is the Dorothy Wiley DeLong Associate Professor of Dance and department chair at Hope.

Chicago Tap Theatre (CTT) will present the college with the companys 2023 Inspiration Award during a dinnertime gala on Sunday, Feb. 19, for the departments legacy of continued support and advancement for the art of tap dance in America. The gala will culminate a two-day event titled Chicago Tap Theatre at 20: Tempo, Rhythm, and Time that will include concerts by CTT at The Den Theatre in Wicker Park on Feb. 18 at 7 p.m. and Feb. 19 at 2 p.m. The Hope students will be performing  and premiering  a piece choreographed just for them by CTTs founder and artistic director, Mark Yonally.

Join Hope in a celebration on Saturday, Feb. 18, from 5 p.m. - 6:30 p.m. at Standard Bar & Grill, Chicago, Illinois. Admission is free, please RSVP here.

As I sat down to think about this 20th anniversary season, I thought, This has to be big. Whoever were going to honor this year needs to be somebody or some entity that has really had a profound impact on our organization as well as on tap dance as a whole, Yonally said. And it was an easy choice. You know, as soon as I thought of Hope College, I was kind of surprised, to be honest, that we hadnt done it already, but it was also very fitting that we didnt do it until the 20th anniversary.

Hope College truly is one of the finest dance programs in the country right now, he said. Anybody whos looking for a university or college with a stellar dance department should consider Hope College. It is a premier institution. And the combination of the level of excellence, along with the kind of nurturing environment thats offered there, is very rare.

Reflecting on Chicago Tap Theatres specialization within dance, Yonally noted that Hope is particularly distinctive not only in emphasizing tap, but in doing so at a high level.

Hope believes in the art form, he said. They believe in tap dance.

That is a rare thing, he said. Ninety percent of dance departments dont even offer tap dance as an elective. And if they do, often its a little like one class a semester  you know, level one.

Yonally noted that Hopes commitment to teaching tap dance is all the more important because the art form developed in America, originating in the early 1700s as West African people were forcibly brought to this country and enslaved. As tap evolved, he explained, it came to include elements of other traditions, and it is foundational in most American dance forms including jazz, musical theatre and Hip Hop.

Yonallys relationship with Hope predates the founding of Chicago Tap Theatre by a year or two. He was teaching tap dance with another Chicago-area company when Rosanne DeVries, who was a member of the Hope faculty at the time, invited him to come to Hope as a guest instructor during the colleges May Term.

And I remember being struck by a few things, he said. One was that Hope was a college that cared enough about tap dance that not only did they have somebody within that dance department that regularly offered tap dance, but they brought in outside specialists in tap dance to come and teach. And, they had a performing dance company that specifically focused on American dance, on tap dance and jazz dance.

And then, the last thing that I distinctly remember, and that I would say has remained very true, is the level of kindness and sophistication of the student body, Yonally said. It really seemed like whatever I taught, they were hungry for it and were thankful for it. And they took it, and they internalized it and they worked on it, and they came in the next day and clearly had worked on what Id taught the day before, were ready to move on and wanted more. And that doesnt happen everywhere.

The relationship has continued across the 20-plus years since. Chicago Tap Theatre has performed at the college three times. Yonally has led a number of master classes at Hope, and graduates of the dance program have gone on to work with CTT.

Along the way, hes valued that Hopes emphasis on tap has even grown. Hes appreciated the continued advocacy as exemplified by current department chair Farmer. Among recent developments, Yonally singles out the creation of a new tap studio in the DeVos Fieldhouse, and the 2020 appointment of faculty member Heather Cornell, formerly of New York City, who he describes as a legend in the tap community and one of the most important pioneers of the last 50 years as well as a top educator.

Yonally developed the piece that the Hope students will be performing while he was on campus this past fall. It is named for its featured music, How Insensitive, the bossa nova and jazz standard by Antonio Carlos Jobim.

Any time I soloed in a show, it was one of my top five favorite songs because it just always really moved me, Yonally said. But I never choreographed to it for anybody, frankly, because I was very protective of it.

And when I realized the group of dancers I was going to get to work with, that the piece is going to have more importance, I thought it was time to do this: to take this song thats meant a lot to me for 35 years and finally put choreography to it, he said.

Following its premiere during Chicago Tap Theatres anniversary concerts on Feb. 18 and 19, How Insensitive will be featured at Hope during the departments annual major spring concert  Dance 49 this year, scheduled for Friday and Saturday, March 3-4, and Thursday-Saturday, March 9-11, in Hopes DeWitt Center main theatre.

How Insensitive is set on seven dancers, who will be accompanied by a live jazz band and Hope student vocalist. CTT is providing the band during its two concerts, but a Hope combo will be performing during Dance 49.

The student dancers are Paige Augustyn, Isabella Ensworth, Alexis Erickson, Josie Farrell, Sarra Lacour, Jackie Rivera and Chloe Yonkus, with Taylor Lee as understudy. Gretchen Woell will be the vocalist. When they perform at Hope, theyll be joined by Carlos Flores (drums) and Jacob Nowakowski (bass).

Farmer noted that tap has been a focus for the colleges dance program since it began. The department was established in 1974, has offered a major since 1984, and has been accredited by the National Association of Schools of Dance since 1985.

The dance department has always been ahead of the curve when it comes to the advancement of tap, Farmer said. Tap has been a required part of the curriculum since the departments founding, along with jazz, modern and ballet. Its been a part of our bloodline forever.

More than 250 students are enrolled in the departments courses in any given semester, including approximately 75 who have declared majors or minors. Many pursue double-majors, combining dance with programs ranging from chemistry, to economics and business, to engineering, to French, to psychology.

The department includes six full-time faculty as well as a variety of part-time, adjunct and guest faculty, with its coursework a combination of technique and theory. In addition to ballet, jazz, modern and tap, technique emphases include Hip-Hop, an elective for the past decade that will become a required part of the major beginning with the fall 2023 incoming class. Hope also offers a dance-pedagogy minor. The range of other courses includes composition; global and percussive dance; specialized topics such as sacred dance, dance therapy, and skills and preparation for dance careers; and more. The coursework is complemented by numerous performance opportunities, including of student-choreographed work, and participation in collaborative research with faculty. More information about the Department of Dance is available at hope.edu/dance

To meet the continued strong student interest, and to continue to meet NASD standards as they evolve, Hope is currently raising funds for a $6 million addition to the DeWitt Center  home of the colleges main theatre  that will feature a new dance studio for classes, rehearsals and performance, with a major renovation of the departments primary instructional space in the Dow Center to be next. Construction will commence when funding is secured. More information about the project is featured in the Summer 2022 issue of News from Hope College.

Tickets for Chicago Tap Theatres 20th anniversary concerts and for the gala are available through the companys website, chicagotaptheatre.com/events

The college will hold a celebration of its own before CTTs festivities begin. Hope is hosting a reception on Saturday, Feb. 18, from 5 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. at Standard Bar & Grill, located just across the street from The Den Theatre. Admission is free to Hopes reception and no tickets are required, although those planning to attend are asked to rsvp by Monday, Feb. 13, at hope.edu/tap, where more information is also available.
CABARRUS COUNTY  Weddington Hills Elementary IB World School has again been named a National Magnet School of Excellence Award winner by Magnet Schools of America  the national association for magnet and theme-based schools.

Weddington Hills Elementary will be recognized during an awards ceremony held at Magnet Schools of Americas 40th National Conference hosted by Dallas Independent School District, April 18-22.

Being the principal at Weddington Hills IB World School is an honor and a privilege, said Principal Chasity Dolan. Each day the students and staff of Weddington Hills live their excellence.

Through our IB program, we engage in innovative inquiry-based learning, celebrate language and diversity, and take action through service to others. For these reasons, the IB Primary Years Program at Weddington Hills Elementary has been nationally recognized by Magnet Schools of America since 2017.

We are proud to once again be selected as a National Magnet School of Excellence for 2023.

Magnet School of Excellence Awards are given to a select group of magnet schools. Schools of Excellence are eligible to receive monetary awards and are eligible to be named the nations top elementary, secondary, or new and emerging magnet school. One of the schools of excellence will also be selected to win $5,000 and the Dr. Ronald P. Simpson Distinguished Merit Award, which is considered the most prestigious magnet school award in the nation.

To receive a national merit award, members of Magnet Schools of America must submit a detailed application that is scored by a panel of educators. These schools are judged and scored on their demonstrated ability to raise student academic achievement, promote racial and socioeconomic diversity, provide integrated curricula and instruction, and create strong family and community partnerships that enhance the schools magnet theme.
include_once "/home/jwreview/public_html/$theme/includes/sidebar.php"; ?> Southern Democrats attacked the U.S Army at Fort Sumter, South Carolina, on April 12, 1861. Having ignited the Civil War, Southerners had the chutzpah to call it the War of Northern Aggression.

Likewise, Democrats unleashed today's War on Gas. Inspired by their Confederate ancestors, they then blame their victims who complain that the Left is stealing their natural gas and gas-powered appliances.

Democrats shot first. But when everyday Americans fight back, Democrats and their media bodyguards accuse conservatives of letting slip the dogs of culture war.

Tucker Carlson recently compiled a panorama of relevant Democrat-Left lies:

 "This is delusional drivel from the harem of the unhinged over at Fox News," State Representative Malcom Kenyatta (D - Pennsylvania) complained.

 MSNBC's Mehdi Hasan denounced "The imaginary ban on gas stoves they're all getting mad about over on Fox."

 "You have Ron DeSantis saying, I'm going to protect your gas stove,'" said Morning Joe host Joe Scarborough, "Gas stove. Gas stove.' It's so stupid."

 Beneath a graphic that read: "GOP distracts from unpopular agenda with culture wars," MSNBC's Ayman Mohyeldin said Republicans refuse "to have gas stoves pried out of their cold, dead hands  equating it with G od and country and what have you."

 Washington Post headline: "GOP thrusts gas stoves, Biden's green agenda into the culture wars."

Despite this parade of liberal lies, the Right is not hallucinating the Left's incoming regulatory fire. Democrats' unhinged, unprovoked, and unwelcome volleys in the War on Gas are real. Here are just a few:

July 23, 2019: "Berkeley became first US city to ban natural gas. Here's what that may mean for the future," read a headline in London's The Guardian. Susie Cagle wrote: "Natural gas, it seems, has become the new climate crisis frontline."

February 2, 2021: "Seattle bans natural gas in new buildings," KUOW radio reported. "The ban on appliances like gas furnaces and gas water heaters in new construction is part of a revised energy code," John Ryan explained. "The code proposed by Mayor Jenny Durkan passed Seattle City Council 9-0 on Monday."

December 15, 2021: "New York City Banned Gas in New Buildings. Here's What You Need to Know," The City posted above Samantha Madonado's story. She explained: "The City Council on Wednesday passed a bill making New York the largest city in the United States to effectively ban the use of gas in new buildings and to turn to electricity for power."

May 27, 2022: "L.A. is banning most gas appliances in new homes," the Los Angeles Times observed. "Get ready for electric stoves."

October 26, 2022: The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission's meeting minutes featured 15 different references to natural gas. The CPSC approved Commissioner Richard L. Trumka, Jr.'s Amendment 3A: "By March 1, 2023, staff will prepare and submit to the Commission a Request for Information (RFI) to seek public input on hazards associated with gas stoves and proposed solutions to those hazards."

January 11, 2023: "A US federal agency is considering a ban on gas stoves," CNN declared. The White House that day distanced President Biden from CPSC's gasophobia.

January 13, 2023: "Hochul wants gas stove ban for new homes in 2025," reported WRGB -- CBS' Albany, New York affiliate  about the Empire State's Democrat governor.

February 1, 2023: "Gas Stoves Are Back Under Scrutiny," Bloomberg titled Ari Natter's dispatch. Following CPSC's lead, the US Energy Department "sets first-of-their-kind limits on energy consumption for the stoves."

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This relentless onslaught against human freedom and consumer choice is a devotional exercise in the Left's Climatarian faith. Natural gas chops CO2 emissions in half, versus Democrats' much-loathed coal.

Never mind! To those who worship Saint Albert Gore and Saint Greta Thunberg, gas is the breath of Satan.

As a daily communicant in the First Church of Song, I describe conservatives' culpability in the Democrat-Left's War on Gas by invoking the gospel of Saint Billy Joel: "We didn't start the fire."
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Present-day advocates of reparations cite redlining and other 20th-century harms. But the heart of the argument has always been that Black Americans should be repaid for the 240 years that their forebears were enslaved in this land. That's far from a new idea. But it is also far from a sound idea.

The problems with reparations are both practical and ethical.

To everything there is a season, as sages from Ecclesiastes to the Byrds have observed, and the time for slavery reparations was when those who suffered enslavement could still be compensated. It is tragic that Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman's 1865 order to distribute 40-acre plots of land to the formerly enslaved was never implemented across the South. The collapse of Reconstruction a decade later in the face of massive Southern resistance is one of the bitterest calamities of American history. But no white American living today bears any responsibility for the cruelties of that era. No Black American living today suffered those cruelties.

For exactly that reason, the great civil rights leader Bayard Rustin  the organizer of the 1963 March on Washington and a close adviser to Martin Luther King, Jr.  rejected calls for reparations as "ridiculous." He regarded Forman's demand for $500 million as demeaning. "If my great-grandfather picked cotton for 50 years, then he may deserve some money," Rustin said, "but he's dead and gone and nobody owes me anything."

Reparations are equitable only when they provide redress to victims who suffered unjustly. In 1988, for example, the US government paid reparations to more than 26,000 people of Japanese descent who were incarcerated in internment camps during World War II. In the 1970s, the federal government agreed to pay $10 million to the surviving patients of the notorious Tuskegee Syphilis Study, who were deliberately denied proper medical treatment by doctors working for the US Public Health Service. But there is nothing equitable about paying reparations in the 21st century for wrongs committed in the 18th and 19th centuries.

"Reparations, by definition, are only given to victims," the contemporary Black writer and scholar Coleman Hughes told a congressional committee. "So the moment you give me reparations, you've made me into a victim without my consent."

Rarely do those who campaign for reparations acknowledge that for more than half a century, the country has made a concerted effort to provide Black Americans what amounts to reparations for historical mistreatment. Much of the War on Poverty was designed to improve the status of those who had been discriminated against for so long because of their race. President Lyndon Johnson didn't use the word "reparations," but in a major address at Howard University in 1965, he explicitly cast the government's vast new role in providing housing, health care, nutrition, and welfare benefits as a conscientious effort to address the heritage of African slavery and the century of widespread oppression and segregation that followed.

"You do not take a person who, for years, has been hobbled by chains and liberate him, bring him up to the starting line of a race, and then say, 'you are free to compete with all the others,' and still justly believe that you have been completely fair," declared Johnson. "It is not enough just to open the gates of opportunity. All our citizens must have the ability to walk through those gates."

To date the War on Poverty has spent $25 trillion (not including Medicare), and whether those outlays ultimately helped or hurt Black Americans has been widely debated. But there is no disputing that they were intended, to a significant degree, to redress the harms caused by the racist policies of the past  to give Black people "the same chance as every other American," as LBJ put it. That's even truer of affirmative action in all its varieties  the decades of racial preferences by federal, state, and local governments, the minority set-asides, the de facto racial quotas in hiring and contracting.

In short, there has been for years in America a considerable, well-funded attempt to make amends for the legacy of slavery and segregation. Those today who wish to argue that an outstanding debt is owed to Black America have an obligation to account for all that has been done, in good faith and at great expense, to pay down that debt.

That isn't what they are doing. As the reparations bandwagon gathers speed, the demands being made are growing increasingly extreme. In San Francisco, a commission tasked with drafting a reparations plan came up with one that would obligate the city to make a $5 million lump-sum payment to every eligible Black resident. In addition, the 60-page plan calls for a cornucopia of other financial benefits, including a guaranteed annual income of $97,000 for life, plus a "comprehensive debt forgiveness program that clears all educational, personal, credit card, [and] payday loans."

To implement such a scheme would obviously bankrupt San Francisco many times over. And yet there are city officials who insist it doesn't go far enough. All this in a city (and state) where slavery never existed.



As the clamor for racial reparations grows more aggressive, will it lead to healing and closure and reconciliation? Hardly. It will further inflame our already antagonistic public discourse and further widen our angry social divisions. Moreover, as John Murawski notes in a shrewd essay for RealClear Investigations, it will spur efforts to enact reparations for a host of other aggrieved claimants: "The causes include gay reparations, climate reparations, colonial reparations, university reparations  and Roman Catholic Church reparations for officially sanctioning colonization, slavery, and genocide in the New World." To Duke University economist William Darity, a reparations supporter who advises the California Reparations Task Force, such a development would be all to the good. "I would encourage the people who are concerned about these histories of injustice to do the work and make the case," he told Murawski. The scale of potential claims, he said, "could be immense."

When all is said and done, the reparations movement is grounded in a belief in collective racial entitlement and collective racial guilt. No belief could be more repugnant to America's ideals  however imperfectly realized  of tolerance, individual equality, and the right of each of us to be judged on our own merits, not by our bloodline or skin color or ancestry.

Perhaps reparations promoters mean no harm. What they are seeking would prove harmful indeed.

Jeff Jacoby is a columnist for The Boston Globe, from which this is reprinted with permission."
NEOGA  A fire destroyed two adjacent houses and displaced four residents early Monday morning on the east side of Lake Mattoon.

Chief Clint Willenborg of the Neoga Fire Protection District said crews were dispatched at 4:22 a.m. to a report of a single structure fire at 18 Hidden Acres. He said while firefighters were on the way, they learned that the blaze had spread from a smaller house to an adjacent larger house and to a detached garage on this same property.

Willenborg said the Sigel Fire Protection District already had been dispatched to provide mutual aid for the structure fire. He said Neoga then called in the Wabash Fire Protection District to provide extra assistance due to the size of the fire. He said there was little distance between the three burning structures.

"That was the biggest challenge. There was so much fire loaded into a small area," Willenborg said, noting that the flames also engulfed a vehicle in the garage and one in the driveway. "The entire property ended up being a total loss.

The fire chief said there were no injuries among the property owner and two children that lived in the larger house, the occupant who resided in the smaller house, or the emergency responders. The American Red Cross has been contacted to help the displaced residents.

Crews were on scene for approximately four hours. He said they had ample water supply to fight the fire from the city of Neoga's distribution system, which was recently upgraded with grant funding.

Willenborg said the Illinois State Fire Marshal's Office is set to help determine the cause of the blaze.

Close Charleston firefighters Jordan Philpott and Phillip Mazar conduct a vehicle extrication demonstration during the Charleston Fire Department's annual open house on Saturday. Charleston police officer Brandon Spindler portrays a suspect being detained by police K-9 Vito during a demonstration Saturday that was part of the Charleston Fire Department's annual open house. Charleston police K-9 officer Chris Darimont and K-9 Vito conduct a vehicle search demonstration during the Charleston Fire Department's open house Saturday. Five-year-old McKenna Lovejoy of Charleston crawls through a tunnel that was part of a kids' obstacle course at the Charleston Fire Department's open house Saturday. Rylan McSparran, 5, of Charleston gets help from Charleston firefighter Jordan Philpott trying out a fire house during the Charleston Fire Department's open house Saturday. Charleston firefighter Tom Chaney helps his daughter Myka, 8, get into kid's sized fire gear during the Charleston Fire Department's open house Satruday. Charleston Fire Department open house A variety of activities took place Saturday during the Charleston Fire Department's annual open house. The open house was in conjunction with Fire Prevention Week and took place at the department's station No. 2 at 1510 A St. Charleston firefighters Jordan Philpott and Phillip Mazar conduct a vehicle extrication demonstration during the Charleston Fire Department's annual open house on Saturday. Charleston police officer Brandon Spindler portrays a suspect being detained by police K-9 Vito during a demonstration Saturday that was part of the Charleston Fire Department's annual open house. Charleston police K-9 officer Chris Darimont and K-9 Vito conduct a vehicle search demonstration during the Charleston Fire Department's open house Saturday. Five-year-old McKenna Lovejoy of Charleston crawls through a tunnel that was part of a kids' obstacle course at the Charleston Fire Department's open house Saturday. Rylan McSparran, 5, of Charleston gets help from Charleston firefighter Jordan Philpott trying out a fire house during the Charleston Fire Department's open house Saturday. Charleston firefighter Tom Chaney helps his daughter Myka, 8, get into kid's sized fire gear during the Charleston Fire Department's open house Satruday.
A major earthquake of 7.9 magnitude killed scores of people in southern Turkiye on Monday and was felt in Cyprus, Lebanon and Syria.

Dozens of buildings collapsed and search for survivors under the rubble in snowy streets, Reuters said.

Turkish authorities scrambled rescue teams and supply aircraft to the region around the city of Kahramanmaras, while declaring a "level 4 alarm" that calls for international assistance.

Early statements by officials suggested the death toll was at least 78 in different provinces of Turkiye. South across the border in Syria, state media said 99 had been killed.

"I have never felt anything like it in the 40 years I've lived," said Erdem, a resident of the Turkish city of Gaziantep, near the quake's epicentre.

It was still too dark to see the nature of the damage, he added.

The tremor lasted about a minute and shattered windows, according to a Reuters witness in Diyarbakir, 350 km (218 miles) to the east, where a security official said at least 17 buildings collapsed.

The quake, felt as far away as Cairo, was centred north of the city of Gaziantep about 90 km from the Syrian border.
Chick-fil-A Inc. has set Thursday as the opening day for its first restaurant in King.

However, because of COVID-19 protocols still in effect, the restaurant at 549 S Main St. will not conduct the chains traditional First 100 customers giveaway event.

Instead, the restaurant is providing free Chick-fil-A meals for a year to 100 people who are making an impact in the King and Stokes County communities.

The King location will be open for dine-in, drive-thru and carryout from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m., Monday through Saturday.

Ross Parrish is the owner and operator of the independently franchised restaurant. The restaurant will have about 85 full- and part-time employees.

Parrish has worked for Chick-fil-A since 1993, starting at an employee at a High Point location. He has served as the top operating official for restaurants in Richmond, Va., Greensboro and most recently in Stanleyville in northeast Winston-Salem.

Chick-fil-A has been a part of my story for decades, and Im looking forward to extending into the King community, Parrish said.

The parent company said it will donate $25,000 to Feeding America on behalf of the new restaurant. These funds will be distributed to partners in the greater Winston-Salem area to aid in the fight against hunger.

The King location is opening shortly after the confirmed plans to open a location in Davie County as an outparcel at the Kinderton Place shopping center in Bermuda Run.

BC Wood Properties of Lexington, Ky., is the owner of the shopping center property at 242 N.C. 801, which has Lowes Foods as its anchor.

The outparcel that Chick-fil-A is taking is the former Rite-Aid drug store site, which neighbors the Lowes Foods gas station and Allegacy Federal Credit Union branch.

Hunter Porter, with BC Wood, said in December that the latest plan he has heard from Chick-fil-A is opening the restaurant in the early spring.

Chick-fil-A said in a statement that it projects opening the restaurant in mid-2023.

With the Bermuda Run location, Davie becomes the 11th county in the 14-county Triad and Northwest North Carolina region to have at least one Chick-fil-A location. Only Alleghany, Ashe and Yadkin counties dont have a location.

There are currently 37 Chick-fil-A locations in the region, including nine each in Winston-Salem and Greensboro, as well as three in High Point, two in Kernersville and one in Clemmons.
In a state government increasingly known for its partisanship, Medicaid director Dave Richard has been an authority figure both Democrats and Republicans have trusted to have North Carolinians best interest at heart.

Richard announced last week his plans to retire after nearly eight years as deputy secretary of the N.C. Division of Medical Assistance on Feb. 28.

Richard could not be reached for comment on his retirement decision.

Richard will step down after a 41-year career in public health, also serving as executive director of The Arc of N.C. and the states top official for behavioral health services for two years before become deputy secretary.

He served in the top Medicaid leadership role in both the McCrory and Cooper administrations, being a stabilizing presence as the state transitioned through four health secretaries.

During his time, the state Medicaid program grew from 1.9 million to 2.9 million beneficiaries and from a $14 billion to $21 billion program.

Few have done more to improve the health and well-being of North Carolinians, the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services said in a statement.

Dave made it his focus to improve our mental health system, increase community-based supports for those with disabilities, and partner with providers.

In Medicaid, he bolstered the financial stability of the program and worked closely with the General Assembly to shape the vision for managed care. Dave leaves North Carolina Medicaid stable and strong with a robust team of leaders to carry the torch.

Rep. Donny Lambeth, R-Forsyth, and the chief House health-care reform proponent, worked closely with Richard on pivotal Medicaid transformation reform legislation.

Dave has been a dedicated advocate for many Medicaid issues, including expanding care to citizens who need care, Lambeth said.

He has worked tirelessly with both parties and has been consistent in his advocacy. He is one of the longest serving state Medicaid directors in the nation, so his experience and history with this program will be missed.

I have found him to be fair in his relationships with legislators, as well as a variety of advocacy groups in North Carolina.

Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper said Richard has done good work managing a vital and challenging health insurance program that does so much good for North Carolinians.

I expect a smooth transition that will continue the efforts to provide health care for those in need and to expand Medicaid as soon as possible.

Tumultuous times

Richard took over in May 2015 during the tumultuous tenure of Dr. Aldona Wos as state health secretary, who was known for being a lightning rod for criticism and praise while wrestling with DHHS inefficiencies.

At that time, the state Medicaid program was running annual deficits that totaled in the billions of dollars in the early 2010s, much to the chagrin of increasingly irritated legislative budget writers asked to find money to make the program whole by the end of a fiscal year.

Legislators from both parties criticized DHHS and Wos for similar budget, financial and operational concerns.

Six state audits from January 2013 through May 2015 raised questions about DHHS ability to efficiently operate elements of the state Medicaid program in an efficient, transparent and timely manner.

Perhaps Richards accomplishment was helping shepherd Republican Medicaid transformation reform legislation into law, convincing both parties to embrace a you dont get all you want, but you get what vulnerable North Carolinians need perspective.

For five years, Richard worked and cajoled legislative health care proponents from both parties to embrace and pass a series of Medicaid managed care reform bills.

Those efforts culminated in July 2020 when Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper signed Republican-sponsored legislation that provided pivotal start-up funds for what could become a $30 billion Medicaid reform initiative  among the largest vendor contracts awarded in state history.

The managed care reform was a coverage game-changer for an estimated 1.6 million to 1.8 million North Carolinians.

It allows them to choose between four statewide prepaid health plans (PHP) for their physical and behavioral health coverage, or have a plan selected for them.

Richard said the transformation insures that Medicaid recipients will continue to see the same medical provider if available through the PHP, and that providers will get paid.

The transformation legislative and other reform bills  some bipartisan, some Republican sponsored  has led to the program staying in the black the past six state fiscal years.

Medicaid expansion

However, Richard will retire unable to get North Carolina to the finish line of an expansion initiative that could benefit between 450,000 and 650,000 residents.

Senate and House Republicans remain at an impasse over how to expand.

Senate leader Phil Berger, R-Rockingham, prefers to include several overall health care reform elements  most notably certificate-of-need reform to allow for more competition for hospitals  and House speaker Tim Moore, R-Cleveland, backing legislation without most of those reforms.

Cooper has indicated a willingness to compromise on either bill in order to make North Carolina the 39th state to expand its Medicaid program.

Dave Richard has been a champion for others throughout his distinguished career, said Steve Lawler, president and chief executive of the N.C. Healthcare Association.

As deputy secretary, Dave has been a roll-up-your-sleeves leader, committed to working with all to ensure that those under his charge and care had access to the very best health care and services.

He will be missed and we wish him well in all his future endeavors.

NCHA added that it remains commitment to advocating for Medicaid expansion and will work with the next deputy secretary.

Richard will also not be there for the launch of another key Medicaid transformation initiative in North Carolina  tailored plans for behavioral health recipients.

After what was set to be a July 1, 2022, launch, it has been delayed twice, first to Dec. 1, 2022, and now to April 1.

Individuals who need certain services to address a serious mental illness, serious emotional disturbance, severe substance use disorder, intellectual or developmental disability, or traumatic brain injury may be eligible to enroll in a tailored plan.

DHHS said in July 2021 that tailored plans could serve about 200,000 North Carolinians.

Sen. Joyce Krawiec, R-Forsyth, and a leading Senate healthcare proponent, said Richards retirement is a big loss for us and for DHHS.

There is no one who has more knowledge of our Healthcare system in North Carolina than Dave, and his shoes will be hard to fill.

As chairwoman of Health Care and Health Appropriations in the Senate, I have enjoyed working with him through the years and I will personally miss him.
The Lincoln Partnership for Economic Development on Monday named its five LaunchLNK grant recipients for this year.

The grants of $25,000 each go to five local startup companies that are considered to be scalable and have high growth potential. In addition to the grants, the companies receive other services and aid, connections to potential sources of additional capital and local mentors who may become early customers or partners.

The five companies chosen are:

* BovEye, founded by Andrew Minarick, which uses remote sensing technologies to help agricultural lenders assess and audit asset quality quickly and efficiently.

* Curbside, founded by Matt Secoske and John Meyer, which allows health care professionals to render files and share them with other specialists, alongside audio/video explaining diagnoses and recommendations.

* Nave Analytics, co-founded by Jessica Korinek, Val Kovalsky and Bradley Griggs, offers data-enabled digital tools for ag professionals to help advise farmers on efficient irrigation water use. They use a unique technology that fuses satellite signals with telemetry from pivots to deliver solutions that are scalable and cost effective.

* InforMedic, co-founded by Tan Phan and Pranav Rajan, is a platform that accelerates the life insurance underwriting process through medical record summarization and automated decision-making.

* Cattle Kettle LLC, founded by Brooke Bode, Seth Daup, and Jace Ruth, is a livestock management company that allows ranchers to effortlessly monitor and regulate the water temperature, inflow rate and level of their cattle tanks through a user-friendly app on their phone or a website on their computer.

The five recipients were chosen from a pool of 68 applicants.
Three student-run teams at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln are gearing up for a week of testing at NASAs Johnson Space Center in Houston.

The groups are a part of UNLs Research, Engineering and Design (RED) Teams, and the three teams are competing in two separate NASA-hosted challenges. The first team is competing in the NASA SUITS Challenge, an augmented reality design challenge.

According to Matthew Bigge, a fifth-year student at UNL who founded the SUITS team last year, the goal is to help NASA design a viable display system for moon-bound astronauts on Artemis missions. Similar to how sci-fi or action video games display a characters health on screen, NASA wants to design a video game-esque system that allows astronauts to check their biometrics in real time.

Things like how much oxygen they have left and battery temperature, their bearing and navigation equipment would have assistance through that, Bigge said. Along with things like mission objectives, and all sorts of other tools that could fit into that data stream.

The two other RED Teams are competing in NASAs Micro-G NExT Challenge. RED Teams president Isaac Regier says that the Micro-G teams goal is to help develop extravehicular activity tools for astronauts, or tools for activity performed outside the spacecraft.

When astronauts are not in the space shuttle, they have these big suits that are really bulky, pressurized from the inside and hard to use, Regier said. So were trying to develop regular tools that are compatible with extremely limited mobility and motor function.

Regier says that the two projects the Micro-G teams are working on are a zip tie installing device and a tool attachment device.

Bigge said the SUITS team currently has seven members, while the Micro-G teams are divided into a five-person senior design team and a nine-person second team  which Regier referred to as a club team.

UNLs RED Teams compete against colleges from across the nation for the opportunity to study at the Johnson Space Center, and acceptance rates are low for both challenges.

Regier said that NASA typically accepts 30 teams each year for the Micro-G challenge and that the SUITS challenge accepts 12 to 15 teams.

NASA announced which teams advanced to the next phase of both challenges in December, and all three UNL teams made the cut. The teams will spend the spring semester preparing for a week of testing in Houston this summer.

NASA sends the teams equipment that must be used in their prototype, but they're able to add other components as they see fit. For Regier and Bigge, the biggest task ahead is getting prototypes completed and ready for testing as soon as possible.

Fortunately, RED Teams have a solid home base. The majority of their work is done at UNLs Innovation Campus, where they have access to tools including 3-D printers, fiber laser cutting machines and computer-aided design software.

Its absolutely amazing having the Innovation Studio available, Regier said.  Here they have industrial-level equipment that youre allowed to run yourself after training.

All of their work will culminate in late May and early June. The SUITS test week runs from May 18-23, while the anticipated Micro-G test week is June 4-10, according to NASAs website.

And while teams will technically go head-to-head while testing their prototypes in an area of Johnson Space Center dubbed The Rock Yard, Regier noted that both challenges are less of a competition and more of a collaborative research effort.

NASA is very particular about not calling it a competition because you cant win when youre down there, Regier said. The goal is to develop the best tool with everyones concepts.  Success is getting down there and getting useful data back to NASA.
Mark and Cerice Cornelius and their son, Trip, started Cornelius Butchery in 2020. The business is on the family farm at 1296 E. Elm Road near Pickrell.

Mark said he grew up helping his dad, Ron, who had a mobile butchery.

We would go all over Gage County and do custom slaughter and sometimes bring the animals back to our farm to process, he said.

Mark had worked for several different processing facilities throughout the years.

Even when I was a kid I was always making my own smokers to do sausages and hot dogs. It was kind of my hobby, he said.

Trip graduated from high school in 2018 and was planning to go to Europe and study butchery in England. He was hoping to learn more about artisan butchery, however, with the pandemic plans changed.

We were raising and processing rabbits and selling them to high-end restaurants and grocery stores prior to COVID. We had a state-inspected kitchen, Mark said. We started doing a lot of processing in the area because people were trying to fill their freezers.

We were doing a lot and thats where Cornelius Butchery really started.

Cornelius Butchery is planning to expand in the spring with the help of a grant. The extra space will allow for the current facilities to be used as a retail space.

Weve had to be very creative with our space and were pretty cramped, Mark said. But this will allow for a brand new building. It will be about five times the size of our current building.

They hope to be able to hire additional staff with the expansion.

Mark had done poultry processing with his wife, Cerice, when his children were small, but found it to be very time consuming. He said his entire family had helped with that side hustle at one time or another and sons, Ronnie and Max, are still involved with the butchery.

People can bring their animals to the Pickrell location for slaughter and processing.

We do everything from goats, sheep, cattle, hogs and bison," Mark said.

Trip said they also do a lot of retail products including snack sticks, jerky, ethnic and regional sausages like head cheese and boudin. They also do hams, bacon, and dried beef.

We do all original recipes and have done a lot of research, Mark said. We have done a stick that came from a 50-year-old recipe.

Trip does all of the curing currently. They use locally sourced honey and Applewood in the process.

Cornelius Butchery has a vendor trailer and occasionally sets up in Beatrice, but plan to do more community events. Customers can call or visit the farm to purchase products. Delivery is also available.

They currently provide products at Ellsworth Crossing in Omaha which is a Farm to Table retailer. They provide to different concessions, as well.

Mark said he has always been interested in this line of business and loves what he does.

Ron Heusman was a mentor and always said 'Eat with your eyes first.' That has always had a big impact on me, Mark said. We can take a live animal and make something that someone wants to eat.

Our entire family are huge foodies and love to cook, Mark noted.

Trip said he likes the idea of serving his community.

Trip said his favorite item that they make is a jalapeno popper that he experimented with and feels like he perfected a recipe.

Thats our niche. We want to put things out there that people cant get there elsewhere, Mark said. We want people to remember our food. We try to do whatever the customer wants.
From the witness stand, Haley Grim lowered her eyes, reliving the trauma of that Sunday night outside Omahas Westroads Mall.

Her wails on the 911 call echoed off the walls of the snug fourth-floor courtroom at the Douglas County Courthouse.

Franco! she screamed on the call, while she winced on the witness stand. Francooo! Come on, come on!!

Frenetic, she shifted her attention from her boyfriend, Franco Vasquez, to the 911 operators, from pleas to him to stay awake to pleas to them to hurry up.

Hurry ... hes gonna die! she said. Hes shot! Theres a lot of blood!

At that, Grim, then 18, now 20, dabbed her nose with a tissue Friday. A juror blinked away tears. And the sobering contrast between adolescence and the very adult consequences of drug dealing and gun violence came into crisp view for the 12 jurors and two alternates gathered in Courtroom 409.

The Douglas County jury is tasked with the question: Was Papillion resident JMaun Haynie, then 19, now 21, responsible for the attempted drug robbery that ended with Grim shot and Vasquez dead?

Haynies defense team said prosecutors dont have enough evidence and urged jurors to acquit him at the end of the weeklong trial.

Prosecutors told jurors in opening statements that theyll prove Haynie is guilty of first-degree murder and three other felonies through surveillance video, text messages, phone calls and DNA found in Grims car.

Moments after the 11 p.m. shooting, paramedics, then police, arrived. As Grim was being loaded onto a gurney with a gunshot wound to her back, Omaha Police Officer Marcus Jensen asked a paramedic about Vasquez.

The paramedic had tried but failed to find a pulse. He looks like hes dead, the paramedic told Jensen, according to Jensens bodycam.

At that, Vasquezs mom shot out of her seat Friday and stormed out of the courtroom. They didnt try to resuscitate my son! she blurted at a sheriffs deputy providing courtroom security. She then whipped open the door.

Later Friday, Haynies attorneys, assistant public defenders Lauren Walag, Leslie Cavanaugh and Kyle Melia, told a judge that Vasquezs mother had threatened Haynies family. Prosecutor Brenda Beadle said Haynies family also had made comments to Vasquezs loved ones.

Judge Jim Masteller reminded the gallery to not make a peep or they would be escorted out.

Fridays testimony didnt need help from the crowd. Beadle and prosecutor Michael Murer took jurors through the twisted events of that Sunday in September. Prosecutors will ask jurors to find Haynie guilty under either of two theories: that the murder was premeditated or that Vasquez died during the commission of another felony perpetrated by Haynie.

Haley Grim had been with her boyfriend, Franco Vasquez, 18, on Sept. 12, 2021, when he planned to sell 1.5 pounds of marijuana for $3,500.

Grim testified that she never took part in the sales, never took a cut of the proceeds, but she drove him places where mostly low-level marijuana deals went down.

She testified tearfully, painfully, to losing her boyfriend, the boy she met in seventh grade. They began talking, which, as Beadle pointed out, is youth code for dating. They then moved on to Millard North High School. Sophomore year, Vasquez left Millard North for an alternative school before dropping out. Grim graduated from Millard North in May 2021.

Two months later, she moved out of her parents house to an apartment of her own. After that, she said, she occasionally would drive Vasquez to deals  most of which involved him slipping a baggie through a window crack and a customer slipping cash back to him.

She estimated that she drove him to these deals about 15 times.

That Sunday, Grim worked her job at a coffee shop, then picked up Vasquez so he could make a couple of deals, one in Benson, one near the Omaha zoo. They parted ways for a while, then Vasquez frantically called Grim to pick him up.

Omaha police had pulled him over, he told her. He took off running and needed her to pick him up by a former school near the zoo. When she arrived, he gave her a reason he took off running: He had CBD in his car, which would have been enough to violate his probation for an earlier offense.

He might still be alive if he had been taken into custody.

Later that night, she saw him sorting marijuana. It was more than he usually dealt  two large Ziploc bags full. He also was texting back and forth.

He said they needed to go to Westroads Mall. About 10:30 p.m., surveillance video showed Grims white Volkswagen Jetta in the lot north of Dicks Sporting Goods, not far from where an alternative carnival was taking place. Shortly before 11 p.m., a red Ford Fusion pulled up near the Jetta.

One young man with long dreads and a blue beanie got out and hopped into the back seat of Grims car, behind Vasquez. The man motioned for another man to come to the car. He hopped in behind Grim.

Grim said she acted like she always did, minding her own business, her foot propped on the console of her Jetta, her head in her phone.

Vasquez opened a satchel containing the marijuana. The two men pulled out guns.

Dont make me shoot you in front of your girl, the man behind Vasquez said.

Vasquez screamed for Grim to take off. She floored it. The man behind her struck her with the butt of his handgun. She testified she thought she was going to crash her car into Dicks Sporting Goods. She instead hit a pole between Dicks and JC Penney.

Both men fired. Grim was hit in the back. Vasquez was hit three times. The two men took off running and hopped back in the red Ford.

Not realizing she was hit, Grim frantically tried to stanch her boyfriends wounds, soaking her hands in his blood.

As Omaha police and paramedics arrived, they found Vasquez motionless. Paramedics discovered Grim had been shot in the back. Loaded into an ambulance, Grim screamed: Ow, it hurts, it hurts!

What about Franco? Grim wailed, according to an officers bodycam video. Is he okay? Is he okayyyy?

Officer Jensen couldnt tell her what he had been told, for fear that it would send her health into further peril. He didnt tell her Vasquez was dead. Instead, he asked for Grims parents numbers so he could tell them to meet her at the hospital.

No, my parents are going to kill me, she grimaced. Theyre going to be sooooo mad.

Theyre going to be more concerned that youre OK, Jensen reassured.

Crime-scene investigators found spent ammunition fired by two different caliber guns. The other alleged gunman, Izayah Mapp, is awaiting trial on similar charges.

Will the evidence be enough against Haynie?

Melia said no.

After you hear all that evidence, (it) will show that Mr. Haynie is innocent of these crimes, Melia said.

Murer said Grims description of the gunmans long hair perfectly matches Haynie. As Murer took jurors through that description, Haynie swiveled in the defendants seat, his long dreads draped over the back of the chair.

Murer said the texts are even more telling.

Vasquez and another man were texting about the price of the deal. The phone on the other end belonged to Haynie, he said.

And a few days after the shooting, Murer said, Haynie and a relative texted in code about how the red Ford Fusion needed to disappear. It still hasnt been found.

Crime-scene technicians also swabbed the rear-door handle of Grims Jetta. Murer said DNA tests will connect Haynie to that door.

The trial resumes Monday.
As the start of Saturdays ice carving inched closer, the crowd at Kenoshas Downtown Veterans Memorial Park grew larger.

Visitors from Kenosha County and beyond flocked to the site on a sunny, 33 degree Saturday and waited as sculptor Max Zuleta from Art Below Zero drew the outline of his design for the citys ice sculpture in the park.

The sculpture for the ninth annual Snow Daze Festival was going to be a dragon holding a City of Kenosha Snow Daze ice block  perfect for this years theme of Enchanted Ice Kingdom.

The ice sculpture demonstration was just one of many avenues of fun for visitors on Saturday. Dozens of Downtown businesses featured their own ice sculptures for patrons to view and enjoy, along with individual specials.

The citys free ice rink was up and running for visitors who wanted to glide on ice instead of taking pictures of it.

Im glad to see so many people come out and enjoy the event, said Kris Kochman, Kenoshas community relations liaison. And its good to see people out enjoying the free ice rink.

Patrons from across southeast Wisconsin and Illinois came to stroll through Downtown and enjoy the festivities.

Carole Turbitt, of Twin Lakes, admired the ice sculptures on Sixth Avenue with Jane Paley, of Pleasant Prairie. Both were enjoying their first Snow Daze Festival.

Its a beautiful day for an excursion, said Paley, an Illinois native. Kenosha has such neat things to do to get people out.

And what beautiful handywork, Turbitt, a Kenosha native, added.

Saturday was also Wendy Sobeckis first time at the Snow Daze Festival.

Its pretty neat, Sobecki, of Zion, Ill., said. I think its something fun to do.

Jerrie Koch, of Kenosha, also went for the first time after one of her sons found the event online while searching for something to do on Saturday.

We are looking forward to the ice carving demonstration, Koch said. Its nice to be able to do something in the city, and you dont always have to spend money to have fun.

For some in attendance, this year was not the first time seeing the magnificent sculptures lining the streets of Downtown Kenosha.

This is our second year, said Stephanie Shredl, of Franksville. We just like walking around Downtown.

Her daughter, Luna, 4, added that she likes to look at the sculptures.

Kenosha puts on great stuff to do, Shredl said.

Kochman said the other benefit to the outdoor fun is the opportunity for people to explore the businesses, such as the free hot cocoa bar at the Jockey Outlet Store, 5500 6th Ave.

Thats why we do it, Kochman said. To encourage people to see the Downtown businesses.
RACINE  Beginning in early February, the Credit Recovery Program of Racine Alternative Learning (RAL) within the Racine Unified School District will return programming to John XXIII Educational Center.

In a relationship that began pre-COVID-19 at the center, high school students who need an online option for credit recovery can come to the center for supervised study Monday through Thursday afternoons. Andre Bennett, RAL director, is pleased that another community based option will now be available for RUSD students.

We are excited to be returning to John XXIII this spring, said Bennett. Renewing our partnership is important to the work that we are doing at Racine Alternative Learning as it relates to developing alternative options to graduation. Students life experiences continue to put many of our children in situations that cause them to look for different options towards graduation. This partnership has allowed us the opportunity to present an after-school program in an alternative location within the community.

New coordinator

Alejandra Gutierrez is a new high school and middle school team member at John XXIII Educational Center. Gutierrez attended Walden High School and was a frequent recipient of the services of the center when she was in high school. A recent graduate of the graduate school of the University of Wisconsin-Madison in toxicology, she looks forward to assisting students as she was assisted.

I enjoy working with young people to help them to achieve their goals, said Gutierrez. I am happy to be part of a team that walks with youth at this time of their lives.

The tasks that Gutierrez will be responsible for include being a Spanish speaking resource for parents, the main contact with high school counselors and social workers, and one of the math and science tutors assisting primarily high school students. Communicating with families will be another important aspect of her role.

Holiday outreach

John XXIII Educational Center held its annual Christmas celebration Dec. 19 at the center. One of the highlights of the evening was the distribution of holiday gift boxes to three dozen families. These boxes were provided by Ronald Schumacher of Wheeling, Ill. In addition, 20 families received a number of gift certificates collected by four Catholic parishes of western Racine and Kenosha counties.

These long-time friends of the center from west of the interstate continue to support those who need assistance during the holidays. At the same time, the Knights of Columbus in Union Grove donated more than 140 coats, hats, scarves and sets of gloves to be distributed at the celebration.

Mitchell partnership

The centers role as community partner with Mitchell School continues to grow. In addition to the presence of center staff at Mitchell community events and the ongoing academic support services provided at the center for Mitchell students, the center initiated a new connection in January. Two groups focusing on the social and emotional skills began with center outreach coordinator Karla Gonzalez as the facilitator. Kira Munoz, United Way of Racine County community contact, has been a key person in helping the center to develop a growing relationship with Mitchell School.

Support

The center continues to be grateful for the support of benefactors from the local community, especially the United Way of Racine County, SC Johnson Co. and the Racine Community Foundation. In addition, other Wisconsin based foundations and groups have provided their assistance. Individual donors were particularly generous in the recently completed fall campaign.

Anyone wishing to contribute to the center or seeking more information about its services can contact Mike Kadow, executive director, at 1101 Douglas Ave., Racine, WI 53402, or via email at mike_kadow@john23center.org.
STURTEVANT  Getting married can be stressful, but an annual expo aims to help ease the pressure of the big day.

The 11th annual Racine Bridal Showcase took place Sunday at Fountain Banquet Hall, 8505 Durand Ave. There were more than 40 vendors, including venues, photographers, family planners and more.

The showcase was put together by Wisconn Valley Media Group and sponsored by Fountain Banquet Hall, Rasmussen Diamonds and the DeKoven Center.

Many brides-to-be took the floor of the event with their future grooms or best friends in tow to help ensure the wedding of their dreams.

Catharine DeRosa and Josh McGaughey, who were engaged in December, attended to get more ideas for their big day, which is coming up in July.

Lauren Prather and Jared Prost, owners and photographers for LAR Photography, were among the vendors at the event.

Lauren said that her favorite part of doing bridal photography full time is the people that she and her husband encounter on the job.

Just being able to meet with people and connect with everyone, she said. Helping them celebrate their story, their life and how they met each other.

This is the first expo the couple participated in as vendors.

Previously, most of their advertisement has been done through social media, but after moving from Illinois to Wisconsin, they felt like they needed to expand their client base.

Tonya Brown and Jill Waters attended the event to find inspirations for their weddings.

Brown and Waters are scheduled to get married a month apart and are each others maids of honor.

Brown is planning to have a destination wedding, so she mostly was helping Waters plan her big day.

This is good inspiration to see what I still need to get, Brown said.

Waters was preparing for everything that comes with married life.

Its the build up, its the journey, she said. Its the pre-destined journey. Like, youre gonna go through this life with your best friend and its gonna be a roller coaster of good and bad and everything in between, and thats what I love about this.

Bridal showcases also are planned for Kenosha and Walworth counties.

The next event is scheduled for 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Feb. 19 at Stella Hotel & Ballroom in Kenosha, and a third showcase will take place from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. March 5 at The Ridge Hotel in Lake Geneva.
RACINE  Voters had an opportunity to hear from the three Racine mayoral candidates on Thursday.

Jim DeMatthew, Cory Mason, the incumbent, and Henry Perez addressed voters at First Presbyterian Church on Collage Avenue during an event that also was livestreamed and translated for Spanish speakers.

The questions were prepared and given to the candidates in advance and covered a range of topics, from affordable housing to public safety.

The primary is Feb. 21.

Jim DeMatthew

DeMatthew, who is not currently in office, focused on his philosophy of governance.

He told the audience that it was time for new leadership that would encourage collaboration between government, schools and residents.

Our city is currently experiencing troubled times, he said. We have political games that are being played and, frankly, our citizens are tired of it.

DeMatthew said new leadership is necessary to settle the ongoing negotiations with public safety and to work with local businesses to transform the stalled economy.

I will be that leader, he said. Together we will build the best version of Racine.

DeMatthew also said that opening up the mayors office to be accessible to residents of Racine is his top objective.

When asked about education, DeMatthew said students should leave city schools prepared to pursue higher education or a trade.

He said that Racine Unified School District should do what he intends to do with the city  work with stakeholders to identify and address needs.

DeMatthew described the challenge of affordable housing as a symptom of a larger systemic problem, and said the key is ensuring that workers earn living wages and benefits.

To that end, he would support increased economic opportunities for residents because the city has been falling behind in providing tools required for success.

DeMatthew accused the current administration of ignoring the housing issues of seniors and veterans.

When asked what the city could do to better meet the needs of the growing Latino community, he said the city should remove language and social barriers and recognize the contribution the Latino community makes to Racine.

He praised the Latino community for the work ethic, family values, and tireless resolve that brings much-needed value to our city.

On the issue of crime, DeMatthew said he supports initiatives that reduce crime, such as the Community Oriented Policing program, by getting more eyes on the street to prevent neighborhoods from becoming hubs for crime and foster a sense of partnership between law enforcement and residents.

DeMatthew also said he supports programs such as Racine Vocational Ministries, that work with individuals returning to the community from prison to reduce recidivism.

Cory Mason

Mason used the forum to promote the programs he has initiated or supported during his time as mayor.

I ran for mayor five years ago to increase the opportunity for everyone in Racine to get ahead and enjoy a middle-class life, he said.

Mason cited some of the citys successes since he has been mayor, including the lowest property tax rate in a decade and an unemployment rate that is the lowest it has been in a generation.

He also said there is more development occurring in the city than there has been in the last 20 years.

In addition to multiple commercial developments, the city has been working to build a health clinic in the Lincoln-King neighborhood that would provide health, dental and mental services to residents who do not have insurance.

Neighborhoods also have received assistance through home repair grants, the citys first-time home buyer program and support from the Financial Empowerment Center.

When asked about the crime rate, Mason said safe neighborhoods are a priority for his administration, which is why he supported the Violent Crime Reduction Initiative, a partnership between the city, Racine County and Racine Unified School District.

On the topic of education, Mason said his administration has developed several partnerships with the school district and community centers to provide after-school programing.

To be clear, the future success of the city is tied directly to the future success of schools, Mason said.

When asked about affordable housing, Mason said that new development has added 200 units to the citys inventory, with more on the way.

He cited the Rental Empowerment and Neighborhood Tenant Services program, which he called a first-generational shift in tenants rights.

As part of the program, renters can have their units inspected for potential problems and are protected from retaliatory actions by landlords.

In regard to the growing Latino community, Mason said the city is committed to having diverse representation on its boards, commissions and committees, and cited the effort to ensure there are Spanish speakers in all city departments to assist residents whose primary language is not English.

Mason also said his administration has supported programs that provide small business loans to minority populations and that he is opposed efforts by those outside the city who want to make it harder for people to vote.

Henry Perez

Perez has been a member of the Racine City Council for 10 years.

However, during the forum, he focused on his personal background.

Perez said his family left Cuba and moved to Miami, but sometimes struggled with housing and food security.

However, through what Perez described as hard work  sometimes two or three jobs  he eventually became a member of law enforcement.

After retiring from law enforcement, Perez focused on a career education and is now employed by RUSD as a dual-language special education teacher.

He also is a pastor.

While Perez acknowledged that Masons programs have been good for the people, he said he is concerned about safety.

Perez said residents have told him that they are afraid to leave their homes, send their children to school or go downtown because of concerns about violence.

You deserve better, he said.

Perez cited his support of law enforcement throughout the forum, expressing concern that officers are working long shifts with little time off.

My number one objective is to make Racine a safe and welcoming place for all to come and play, to live and thrive in our community, he said.

Perez said that public safety is foundational to everything else that happens in our community, and he accused Mason of not caring about the police.

Dont be fooled by the double talk when he says he supports the police, Perez said. He does not.

Perez said the Racine Police Department is currently operating with 140 officers, when it should have 199 officers ready to patrol.

He also said he would support placing officers back into schools to deal with crime, and that if he is elected, he will settle the contract issues between the city and public safety.

When asked about affordable housing, Perez said the fees assessed to landlords need to be examined because the cost is being passed along to tenants.

He said he supports accountability programs for landlords, but that there also needs to be an accountability program for tenants.

When asked about the citys schools, Perez said he wants to see greater support for special education programs, that noting students with special needs require extra attention and instruction.

11 photos from the Veterans Day 2022 celebration at Memorial Hall Salutes 11:11 salute Veterans Dave, Krista, Zach, Matthew Smiling for the photo Dave, Matthew, Kaleb and Clyde Seats filled Dave Burgess's remarks Jenna, Natalie, Madelyn and Brooklyn Kaleb, Jaxon and Johnny The Gilmore Fine Arts Choir
CALEDONIA  A woman was impaled by a tree branch Saturday but sustained non-life-threatening injuries, the Caledonia Fire Department said.

Caledonia Fire Department Rescue was dispatched around 10:30 p.m. after a report of a snowmobile crash, according to a news release from the department. Units responding included Battalion 11, Engine 11, Med 20 and UTV 11.

The woman was found on the trail about one-third of a mile south of the intersection at 7 Mile Road and East Frontage Road.

The Caledonia Police Department and Battalion 11 made contact with the woman, and her condition was determined to be non-life-threatening.

Because of the location, the utility terrain vehicle was needed to move the woman from the snowmobile trail to an ambulance.

Speed or alcohol did not appear to play a role in the crash.

The CFD and CPDs utility terrain vehicle has been used twice since November 2022 to retrieve people from Caledonia recreational trails, the CFD said.

19 photos from Shop with a Cop 2022
SPRING GREEN  My wife and I stopped talking to each other two hours into our three-hour self-guided tour of the House on the Rock in Spring Green, a small town west of Madison. The displays had grown so large, elaborate and unexpected they shocked us into silence.

An hour later walking to our car I was first to speak. What was that about? I asked.

While I remain taken aback at what we experienced, I do believe the House on the Rock is perhaps the largest piece of outsider art in America. Outsider art is considered art created by someone untrained in the subject.

Moreover, it was masterminded by a man few people have heard of, and about whom little is known. Even Wikipedia begins the page about the creator of the House on the Rock with the sentence: Published information on (Alex) Jordans life is scant.

So, have you ever heard his name? Assuming the answer is no, you will be surprised to learn the House on the Rock rivals a Walt Disney creation.

Before I relate how this attraction slowly transforms from an actual house on a rock into a menagerie of unrelated displays in mammoth, dark cavernous rooms without explanatory placards, or directions where to go, or people to direct you, let me relate how it came about. Later I will get to the 218-foot long, all-glass Infinity Room, and the largest carousel in the world with 236 one-of-a- kind animals.

House on rock

First, though, the House on the Rock is, at least in part, a house on a rock. It began innocently enough as a personal retreat for Jordan in 1945. With an awe-inspiring view, the college dropout would picnic on top of what is still known as Deer Shelter Rock. Then he began camping there, but when his tent blew away in a storm he decided on a more permanent structure. Hauling stone and wood singlehandedly 45 feet up a ladder, he began building a one-room retreat.

With no training as an architect or builder, or job, his home slowly expanded to 14 rooms that from the outside resembles a Japanese-style residence. Inside, Jordan incorporated the natural stone formations of Deer Shelter Rock as walls and floors. Windows were built tilted outward for spectacular views of the forest floor, and in-room waterfalls were added. Huge fireplaces were built, although he abandoned plans for one where visitors could sit inside.

When people started hollering up from the forest floor asking if they could get a tour, Jordan began charging 50 cents, all the while continuing to build. Profits were put toward expanding the house and displaying his few collections that had long been a passion.

Visits by Jordan to tourist attractions like Disneyland and Knotts Berry Farm in California led to the idea of creating a separate building to house a main street of themed buildings. The store windows were a convenient way to exhibit the ever-growing collections he had hired buyers to search for and acquire from around the world.

Collections

As admission revenue steadily increased, his ideas jumped into the larger-than-life fantasy world. He began to employ skilled craftsmen to design and build creations he had sketched on paper, and that were then intermingled with the authentic collections he had amassed.

As with all his collections, he was determined each be the largest in the world, and he was tenacious in his quest to learn as much as possible about each collection theme.

That was his approach when he began to collect dollhouses. He read about dollhouses of note, studied dollhouse plans, and talked to collectors and hobbyists. Soon he determined a collection of at least 265 would be the largest in the world and that number became a goal.

But, as had become his style, he did not just buy dollhouses. He had his shop buy kits, and embellish them. Then he had his craftsmen build more from scratch to match what he imagined.

When the dollhouse collection was completed, each residence had been given appropriate architectural detailing, painting, wallpaper and electrification. Houses span the period from early American to early 20th century. For shock value he included a brothel. In another he added mice in the attic.

As is true with all the attractions in the House on the Rock, the dollhouses are displayed in a dark area, in this case lighted only by the miniature lighting inside each dwelling.

Music machines

The House on the Rock also includes an incredible collection of animated mechanical music machines that operate off compressed air. All are operated by visitors with purchased tokens. Housed in its own room it features over 40 mannequins playing their instruments on a stage with six levels.

While any of the collections would suffice as a standalone museum, they emerge unrelentingly as visitors wind their way along darkened corridors. Included are assemblages of mechanical banks, miniature scale-model circuses, model airplane and ship replicas, paperweights, replicas of the Tower of Londons Crown Jewels, stained glass lamps, suits of armor, antique guns and more. Much more.

The list goes on, and on until it is obvious this is a collection of collections of exceptional scope.

Some of what there is to see are not collections, but one-of-a-kind creations. Chandeliers Jordan designed and had built are made up of dozens of smaller chandeliers. He had plans to build a floor on top of one enormous light to use as his office where he could sit at his desk and observe and listen to visitors as they moved underneath.

Infinity Room

From the time Jordan began building his house in the 1940s, he had always dreamed of adding what he referred to as an infinity room. More than 40 years after the original idea, and after Jordan had sketched countless variations on paper, his dream project opened in October 1985.

When a visitor enters, the room is 30 feet wide. But at the end of its 218-foot length, the room has progressively narrowed to one inch in width. He constructed it to jut out over the valley below with no vertical support beneath, building in 3,264 windows and including a glass pane in the floor.

Carousel

And then there is the 236-animal carousel. First, Jordan began purchasing antique, finely carved horses to create a carousel that, like the Infinity Room, he had been designing in his mind for many years. But, after several purchased horses arrived, he thought he could do better. He wanted exotic animals and fanciful creations that were anything but a traditional merry-go-round horse, and he had his cadre of talented artists build them to match his drawings. What Jordan ended up with were fanciful centaurs, dragons, peacocks and mermaids pulling a royal carriage, all swirling in a dark room lighted by 20,000 twinkling lights.

At 85 feet in diameter, and 35 feet high, the revolving, never-ending parade of fantasy takes up a visitors entire field of vision as it revolves to an ominous orchestral soundtrack that seems to warn an impending crime is about to occur. Perhaps the music is so foreboding because it is a disappointment when visitors learn that no one is allowed to ride it.

However, as was Jordans custom, even the carousel was not enough for the room. Overhead, scores of bare-chested female mannequins with wings and scanty gowns hang suspended, while the walls are covered with the authentic antique carousel horses not used in his creation.

Still not satisfied, he had three giant steam tractors placed against a wall named Firefly, Snowflake and Buttercup. Other than their names, there is no explanation.

As is true with the entire experience of visiting the House on the Rock, in the carousel room there is plenty of wonder, and plenty to wonder about.

New owners

Jordon died of congestive heart failure surrounded by friends and associates in 1989. His final request was that his ashes be distributed over the House on the Rock, which was done in December 1989.

A year before his death Jordon sold the House on the Rock to a longtime business associate, Art Donaldson, a collector and businessman from Janesville. The Donaldson family still owns and operates the House on the Rock as a privately held family business.
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
Lotte Group Chairman Shin Dong-bin, front row left, inspects the construction of a petrochemical complex in Cilegon, Indonesia, in this August 2022 file photo. Courtesy of Lotte Group



By Park Jae-hyuk



Lotte Chemical still seems to be having a tough time settling a dispute with the residents of Cilegon city in Indonesia, where the Korean conglomerate has invested over $4 billion to build a giant petrochemical complex, under the project name, "LINE," which stands for Lotte Chemical Indonesia New Ethylene.



The Southeast Asian country's news outlets reported recently that over 5,000 residents in the city will surround the construction site to hold a rally from Tuesday to Thursday in protest against Lotte Chemical's breach regarding its promise to offer jobs to local residents and share the profits from the project with traders there.



The protesters also reportedly urged Lotte Chemical to dismiss a Korean public relations officer.



"We will contact our employees at the site to figure out what is going on," said a Lotte Chemical spokesman at its Korean headquarters, acknowledging the company's lingering disputes with Indonesian residents.



In 2019 and 2020, Lotte Chemical drew complaints from Cilegon residents, who claimed that the company's construction project caused floods and air pollution.



Although the Korean firm has emphasized its efforts to prevent natural disasters, the residents even held a rally last year.



Against this backdrop, the chemical company aims to complete the LINE project by 2025.



Lotte Group Chairman Shin Dong-bin also expressed his keen interest in the project, visiting the construction site last August.



The chairman had previously sought to start the project in the early 2010s and then begin operating the factory from 2016. However, his plan faced a setback, due to a delay in negotiations with the Indonesian government and the chairman's conflict with his older brother over control of the group.



The project was suspended in 2018 as the chairman was imprisoned for allegedly giving bribes to former President Park Geun-hye.



In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic forced the company to postpone the selection of the company to deal with engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) for the project.


Westby Snowflake Ski Club celebrated its 100th annual ski jumping tournament in a big way, Friday night and Saturday, with an estimated 3,500 people taking in the action both days.

Friday night featured the Snowflake Ski Jumping Tournament US Cup on the 90-meter hill, followed by live music by High Mileage at the Rod & Gun building in Timber Coulee.

Saturday began with the Snowflake Junior Ski Jumping Tournament, with around 85 entries. The young jumpers competed on the 5-, 10-, 20- and 40-meter hills.

The Big Hill Tournament was held Saturday afternoon on the 90-meter hill, following the opening ceremonies.

Saturdays opening ceremonies included 2017 Snowflake Queen Sharice Elbert singing the national anthem, following the presentation of colors by the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse ROTC.

Matt Keuler, master of ceremonies and announcer for the clubs large hill tournament, acknowledged ski club members who had passed away since the last tournament  Karen Ellefson, Luann Engh, Eleanor Bagstad, Matt Fauske, Gary Theige and Marilyn Bland. They dedicated their lives to the ski club, he said.

Westby mayor Danny Helgerson welcomed attendees and acknowledged the volunteers who have worked to put on the tournament for 100 years.

I hope you support the sponsors who help make the tournament happen, Helgerson said. A big thank-you the volunteers who have worked all these years all year long to make this possible. It wouldnt be possible without their dedication and work.

Rep. Loren Oldenburg, 96th Assembly District, and Sen. Brad Pfaff, 32nd Senate District, presented a legislative citation recognizing the ski clubs 100th anniversary to Tom Ellefson, club president.

The 2023 Snowflake Royalty  Queen Kenzie Morey and Attendant Madi Sloan  were also on hand to welcome the ski jumpers and spectators.

I wish the skiers great success, safe landings and lots of memories made this weekend, Morey said. Be safe, dress warm and have fun. Heres to 100 years.

The opening ceremonies closed with Morey reading The Ski Jumpers Prayer, a special plaque presentation honoring outgoing Westby Snowflake royalty advisers Terri and Dan Kotek for their 15 years of service and everyone singing The Ski Jumpers Song.

When the competition ended on Saturday, there was the traditional long standing jump. Athletes who participate in the long standing jump determine their own starting position at the top of the jump before going down the inrun. The athlete who jumps the greatest distance receives money collected from spectators by Snowflake Royalty. This years winner was United States of America ski jumper, Patrick Gasienica, who came away with $1,575.

There was also live music by Blue Collar 40 at the Rod & Gun Club building following Saturdays competition.

Twenty skiers, including three from Norway, competed both Friday night and Saturday.

In a telephone interview Monday morning, Scott Yttri, a director on the board, said the club estimates about 2,500 people attended on Saturday and about 1,200 Friday night, for an estimated total of 3,500 for the weekend.

Yttri said it was one of the best jumps in 15-20 years. Saturday was awesome, he said. I was working the gates and we sold out of buttons and tickets.

Yttri said feedback has been positive on Facebook. He said people have commented on the great weather and how much fun they had, whether they were first-timers or not.

Were looking forward to 101 years next year; itll be the same program, Yttri said. In the spring well start planning for next year.

Yttri said the club thanks all of the sponsors, those who hosted skiers, the workers and volunteers. He said the club appreciates them for what they did for the tournament.

100th annual Westby Ski Jumping Tournament results 2023 Snowflake Ski Jumping Tournament US Cup
Valentines Day is drawing closer, and our furry, four-legged lovers are still waiting to give you the best heart day ever. Stop by the shelter and find your match made in heaven, then grab a Valentine to determine your adoption fee. One lucky Valentine will even receive a FREE adoption! This special runs through Feb. 14!

Tabbies unite! We thought we would share a little bit more about three of our beautiful striped tabby cats. Meet Sedrick, Nordic, and Lilac:

Sedrick

Sedrick is a rowdy 5-month-old male kitten who is looking for someone who enjoys having a kitten that loves to play. Sedrick was shy the day he came in but is warming up nicely. He came from the home of an older woman, where his playful antics were just a little too much. Sedrick would do well in a home with another frisky playmate to tussle with.

Nordic

You will never meet a boy as sweet as 7-month-old Nordic! He adores human attention and loves his bed. He loves to be wherever you are. He is very spunky and would love another kitty in the home to play withperhaps Sedrick?!?

Lilac

Lilac is 5.5 years old with beautiful soul, penetrating eyes. She is nervous at the shelter, however; so it is hard to see her personality. She was an owner surrender, and they said she is super sweet and loving but gets nervous easily. The owners shared that, She really loves her cheeks pet, and right between her shoulder blades, but more like little scratches, not big pets. I swear once youre on her roster of humans, she wont leave you alone.

***

Sign up for the FUR-RAISER on Feb. 14. Jane Schmidt will be offering a fun, easy-to-follow workout that anyone can do. It will be in-person at Bethel Home or online through Zoom. The cost is a freewill donation to DHS and all money collected will go to help the dogs and cats in our care. Sign up at www.janesfitnesschoices.com/shop.

***

The Driftless Humane Society is located at 1150 Nelson Parkway, Viroqua. To find out more about the adoptable pets, visit www.driftlesshumanesociety.com or call 608-637-6955. The humane society is open Monday and Wednesday from 2 to 6 p.m. and Saturday 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.


Women in different parts of the state have expressed displeasure against the move and demanded release of their husbands.

Huneza Khan | TwoCircles.net

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GUWAHATI (ASSAM)  Continuing the statewide crackdown on child marriages, Assam Police have arrested a total of 2,258 people so far, an official said on Saturday.

Rajib Saikia, PRO of Assam Police, has said that the highest numbers of arrests were reported from Biswanath district where 139 people were detained and 97 cases were registered against child marriage.

Barpeta district has the second highest number of arrests, which stands at 128 against the total number of 81 cases lodged.

The Muslim-dominated district of Dhubri logs the third-highest arrests. Already 127 people have been arrested by the police here with 374 complaints of child marriages registered.

The arrests come in the wake of the Assam cabinets decision to book men who marry girls aged below 14 under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act. Those who marry girls in the age group of 14-18 years will be tried under the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006.

The offenders will be arrested and the marriages declared illegal.

Chief Minister Himanta Sarma Biswa said men marrying girls below 14 years of age will be facing non-bailable charges, while those marrying girls between 14 and 16 years of age will be charged under bailable sections. If the groom is below 14 years of age, he will be sent to a reform house.

Assam Govt is firm in its resolve to end the menace of child marriage in the state. So far @assampolice has registered 4,004 cases across the state and more police action is likely in days ahead. Action on the cases will begin starting February 3. I request all to cooperate. pic.twitter.com/JH2GTVLhKJ  Himanta Biswa Sarma (@himantabiswa) February 2, 2023

The move aims to curb child marriages and early motherhood in the state. According to National Family Health Survey, Assam has a high rate of maternal and infant mortality rates, with child marriage being the primary cause.

An average of 31% marriages registered in the state are in the prohibited age group, the NFHS had noted.

As per National Family Health Survey-5 (NFHS-5) 2019-21, around 11.7% of the women between age 15-19 in Assam were already mothers or pregnant at the time of the survey.

TwoCircles.net reported in May 2011 how ailing education system in Assam is one of the main causes of child marriage and early age labour.

Women oppose the move

The governments crackdown on child marriages hasnt gone down well with women in Assam, especially those from Dhubri, which has the highest number of child marriages in the state.

Scores of women descended on the streets in Dhubri on Saturday as police came to arrest their husbands and sons. Demanding the release of their family members, the women gathered in front of Tamarha police station.

Many women in different parts of the state have also expressed displeasure over the arrest of their husbands. They have been protesting outside the police stations against the crackdown. Who will feed the family if their spouses are jailed, they have asked.

Criticising the move, All India Majlis-E-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief Asaduddin Owaisi hit out at the Assam chief minister asking what would be in store for the minor girls, whose husbands have been apprehended and put behind bars. He slammed Sarma for being biased and said the move is an administrative failure of the state as the BJP-led government is taking such an action after ruling Assam for six years.

Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Saturday, however, made it clear that the police operation against child marriage will continue in the state.

People should not try to draw sympathy on this issue. This is extremely necessary to save the future generation, he said. (With IANS inputs)

Huneza Khan is a journalist from Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh. She tweets @KhanHuneza
Gov. Tony Evers was welcomed as the keynote speaker for the 51st annual La Crosse Area Development Corporation meeting.

Evers addressed the fiscal health of the state and highlighted aspects of his upcoming budget, including child care support, small business grants, addressing PFAS contamination and shared revenue for local governments.

I pledge to support a provision that will return 20% of sales tax back to local communities like La Crosse and the other municipalities here today, Evers said, so that those communities can meet the unique and basic needs for transit, public health, police, fire, EMS, you name it.

Evers noted that in the past decade the largest increase in shared revenue was 0.03%.

Ive always been someone who believed that most of the hard work that government does happens locally, Evers said. This is long overdue, and I believe that we have bipartisan support to do something.

Shared revenue between the state government and local governments has been a top issue for local elected officials, who have been working with limited revenue to fund public safety and education.

In October, municipal leaders from across the state met in La Crosse to advocate for an increase in shared revenue.

Additional items Evers highlighted in his budget proposal include $600 million in tax relief targeted for working families, including a 10% middle class tax cut. Another $100 million is proposed to be used to address PFAS contamination across the state.

Evers budgeted $50 million to continue the Main Street Bounce Back program. The program has led to over 8,500 businesses opening their doors or expanding in downtown areas across the state. More than 195 businesses in La Crosse county benefitted from the program.

Im also proposing major investments in attracting and retaining a skilled workforce, Evers said. Making sure that were increasing the opportunities for childcare for working families and growing job opportunities in our local communities.

The governor plans to propose continued funding for the Child Care Counts program and the Partner Up grant program to ensure child care is affordable and accessible for working families.

In regards to workforce development, Evers has proposed a historic $50 million to bolster the healthcare workforce and another $10 million to expand clean energy job training.

The event brought together community members of all types from business owners to local elected officials.

LADCO is a non-profit, economic development organization focused on the growth and prosperity of the La Crosse Area. LADCO helps existing businesses grow and expand, attracts new businesses and workforce to the area, and manages the areas small business incubator  the Coulee Region Business Center.
A proposed switch in Monona from the citys limited bus service to Madisons more extensive Metro Transit lines has become an issue in this springs mayoral election, a rematch between the incumbent and a recent City Council member.

A key dispute is whether a route should travel into the heart of municipal Monona and along part of Winnequah Road, which has homes near Lake Monona, significant bicycle traffic and no sidewalk.

Mayor Mary OConnor and challenger Kristie Goforth agree the city of about 8,800 residents should shift to Metro. The move would replace the citys commuter and shuttle service with three Metro lines, including two that already go through parts of Monona but dont stop because the city has no contract with Metro. City taxpayers could save up to $30,000 a year.

OConnor, who lives on Winnequah just south of the route proposed by Metro, said she supports the route but is open to changes. Goforth, who lives near Monona Drive, said the line should avoid Winnequah, stick on or close to Monona Drive  perhaps along Pheasant Hill Road  and be rerouted near businesses by Broadway and Monona Drive.

Hardly anyone who lives on or near Winnequah wants or needs the bus, and those who want to use it can walk closer to Monona Drive to catch it, Goforth said. I think we should really stick to the urban corridor, and then it really does serve the people who want it and need it, she said.

OConnor acknowledged that some people on Winnequah dont want the bus. But, I have heard from other people on Winnequah who are fine with it, she said.

OConnor, mayor since 2017 and a City Council member from 2012 to 2017, defeated Goforth in the 2021 mayors race, getting 57% of the votes. Goforth, a City Council member from 2020 to 2022, is executive director of Free Bikes 4 Kidz Madison and former executive director of the Monona East Side Business Alliance.

The citys transit commission, which meets Wednesday, is preparing a survey about the proposal, which is expected to be released to residents this month and be available until late March. The goal is to review survey results at the commissions meeting in April and make a recommendation in May or June, said Nancy Moore, a member of the commission and of the City Council.

The City Council will then take up the recommendation, likely at two meetings, before voting on it, OConnor said. A switch to Metro likely wouldnt happen until late this year or early next year. Three public information meetings were held last fall.

The election, including the mayors race and a City Council race in which Moore is one of four candidates for three seats, is April 4.

Three Metro routes

Currently, Monona Express runs weekdays during morning and evening commute hours, looping around Monona before going to Downtown Madison, UW-Madison and Meriter, St. Marys and UW hospitals. Monona Lift provides door-to-door rides on weekdays for seniors and people with disabilities.

Metro runs two buses along parts of Monona Drive, with one going across South and East Madison and the other going to the Dutch Mill Park and Ride, which links to regional buses, and East Towne Mall.

Under the proposal, those routes would become available to Monona riders. A third route would circle Monona every hour, going south on Stoughton Road, east on Femrite Drive and on Nichols Road by city hall, the library and the community pool before heading north on Winnequah to Dean Avenue and Monona Grove High School.

Those routes, and Metro Paratransit, would operate every day, including weekends.

The cost to taxpayers would be $78,000 to $86,000 a year, compared with $105,000 now, according to the citys website. OConnor said the cost of the Metro plan could be as low as $76,000.

Residents have shared a range of comments about the proposal, and many have signed a petition opposing it. Goforth said much of the feedback centers on whether a Metro bus should go along Nichols and Winnequah or stay on or closer to Monona Drive.

One concern is safety, as mixing bus and bicycle traffic on Winnequah could be dangerous, she said. OConnor acknowledged such concerns, saying maybe we need to talk about a sidewalk on Winnequah.

The topic has become such a hot-button issue, Goforth said. If we keep pushing this route that has been brought forward, it could cost us this (plan) altogether.

OConnor said the city has talked about switching to Metro before, but the move hasnt made as much sense as it does now.

This is by far the best proposal weve ever gotten from them, she said. I think its a really good deal for Monona.
Owner will be upgrading the electrical to a 200 amp circuit breaker in early March! Currently rented as a single family for $1,450 per month. Lease runs until June 30, 2023. May be able to have renter leave earlier if desired. Great north side location as it is close to schools, bus route and more. 2 car detached with alley access. Large mostly fenced in yard. 3rd bedroom is non-conforming. New carpet throughout! Bathroom was just recently updated with new shower, toilet. Plumbing updated from cast iron to PVC. Great single family rental or as your own home.
Israels Bennett Describes West Blocking Russia-Ukraine Peace Negotiations

Feb. 5, 2023, 2022 (EIRNS)In early March 2022, then Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett attempted to mediate a peace between Russia and Ukraine. His account appeared yesterday in a five-hour conversation with journalist Hanoch Daum, and posted to Bennetts YouTube channel and headlined Bennett Speaks Out. He included English subtitles.

Bennett says that both Moscow and Kiev had made important concessions and were close to a truce agreement. He claimed that Putin had agreed to forgo the demands for denazification and disarmament of Ukraine, and Zelenskyy had agreed not to seek NATO membership.

After Moscow, Bennett also went to Germany and met with Scholz. We updated the Americans and Macron, and Boris Johnson. ... Boris Johnson adopted the aggressive line, he said, describing the differences among the Western leaders. Macron and Scholz were more pragmatic and Biden was both. He repeated later, I dont do as I please. Anything I did was coordinated down to the last detail with the U.S. Germany and France.

So they blocked it? asked Daum.

Basically, yes. And I thought they were wrong.... I have one claim. There was a good chance of reaching a ceasefire. Had they not curbed it, Bennett replied

The former Prime Minister said that the reason given by the Western powers to end negotiations was complex, but that they had wanted to create a perception which would scare other thugs in the world, and mentioned that pressing against Russia reflects on other arenas such as China, Taiwan, and there are consequences.

Bennetts effort to achieve a truce was closed off prior to the late-March breakthrough at Istanbul, although he refers to a final end of negotiations as occurring with Kievs April 1 allegations of Russian atrocities in Bucha. Regardless, one should recall that the breakthrough in the Istanbul negotiations occasioned Russias gesture of withdrawing from Kievs suburbs. And overlooked by most is that, to do so, they deliberately did not make a case over the provocative videotape of Ukrainians executing captured Russian soldiers days earlier. Then after some days of Kievs irregulars cleaning out Ukrainian citizens whom they considered to have cooperated with Russians, Kiev loudly proclaimed its allegation that Russia had executed civilians in Bucha.

RTs coverage reported on Bennetts March 5, 2022 meeting with Putin in Moscow: Bennett described Putin as smart and sharp, and a supporter of the Jewish people. However, he said that the Russian leaders demeanor became cold when Zelenskyy and his officials were mentioned, with Putin describing them as Nazis and warmongers. 

Of some note is Bennetts report that his flight to Moscow was urged by Zelenskyy, who feared for his life. Even though March 5 was a Saturday, Bennett, an observant Jew, invoked the exclusion that he could fly on the Sabbath in order to save human life. Bennett says that Zelenskyy, who was still in undisclosed locations during this period, asked Bennett to secure assurance from Putin that he would not assassinate Zelenskyy. Putin had no trouble providing such an assurance, and Bennett immediately called Zelenskyy to tell him the good news. Within hours Zelenskyy resumed working from his own official quarters, where he made announced in a video recording that he was not afraid of being killed.

Unmentioned is that also on March 5, the Ukraine-Russia negotiations in Belarus that had started within two weeks of Russias military operation were disrupted when Ukraines state security apparatus, SBU, executed one of Ukraines negotiators, Denys Kireyev, identified by the Defense Ministry as an agent of its military intelligence. SBU insisted Kireyev was a Russia spy.
A powerful 7.8 earthquake struck large areas of southern Turkey and northern Syria early Monday. At least 2,300 people were killed. The number of dead and injured will likely increase as rescue workers continue to search through the remains of destroyed buildings.

The earthquake was centered 23 kilometers east of Nurdagi in the Turkish province of Gaziantep. It struck at 4:17 in the morning local time.

Many aftershocks have hit the area since the first quake. In addition, a powerful earthquake of magnitude 7.5 struck nine hours later a little more than 100 kilometers away.

On the Syrian side, the affected area includes rebel-controlled territory, where buildings have already been weakened from fighting in the countrys civil war. The opposition-held areas in Syria contain about 4 million people displaced from other parts of the country by the fighting.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said 45 countries have offered to help his country in the rescue efforts. He said that over 2,800 buildings in Turkey had collapsed.

Because the debris removal efforts are continuing in many buildings in the earthquake zone, we do not know how high the number of dead and injured will rise, Erdogan said.

A hospital in Turkey collapsed. And in Syria, patients including newborn babies were taken out of medical centers.

In Turkey, people tried to flee affected areas by car, slowing efforts of emergency teams trying to enter the areas. Religious buildings in the affected areas were opened to provide shelter for people unable to return to damaged homes in the cold winter weather.

In the Syrian rebel-held town of Jandaris in Aleppo province, a pile of concrete, steel rods and clothes lay where a building once stood. "There were 12 families under there. Not a single one came out. Not one," said one young man.

Mondays powerful earthquake was felt as far away as Cairo, Egypt. People living in Lebanons capital, Beirut, were awakened by the quake. And in Syrias capital Damascus, locals rushed into the street fearing the collapse of buildings.

The Syrian White Helmets is a rescue service in rebel-held territory known for pulling people from the ruins of buildings destroyed by air strikes. The group said they were in "a race against time to save the lives of those under the rubble".

Madevi Sun-Suon, is a spokesperson for the U.N. office for coordinating humanitarian affairs in northwestern Syria. She said, "We have been dealing with weather events and snowstorms but nothing on the scale of an earthquake of this magnitude. It just adds on to all the layers of suffering," she said.

Syrian state television showed images of rescue teams searching for survivors as icy rain fell. Syrian President Bashar al-Assad held an emergency cabinet meeting to go over the damage and discuss the next steps, his office said.

Turkey sits on top of an area of major fault lines. The country is often shaken by earthquakes. About 18,000 people were killed in a similarly powerful earthquake that hit northwest Turkey in 1999.

I'm Andrew Smith.

Andrew Smith adapted this story for VOA Learning English from reporting by The Associated Press and Reuters.

______________________________________________________________________

Words in This Story

magnitude -n. a measure of the amount of energy released by an earthquake

displace -v. to move people or objects out of one place and into another

debris -n. pieces or material from something that has been destroyed

______________________________________________________________________

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The Hindutva right-wing organization Bajrang Dal has reiterated its commitment to checking religious conversion and love-jihad at the grassroots level.

Sana Ejaz | TwoCircles.net

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PRAYAGRAJ (UTTAR PRADESH)  Right-wing Hindutva outfit Bajrang Dal has reiterated its commitment to check and end religious conversions and love-jihad across the country, IANS reported.

Love Jihad is a conspiracy theory disseminated by the Hindu right-wing in India alleging that Mulsim men are trying to lure Hindu women into Islam by way of romantic relationships and marriage. The Hindu right-wing claims that it [love-jihad] is part of a broader demographic war by Muslims against India and an organised international conspiracy for domination through demographic growth and replacement.

In recent years, allegations of love-jihad were frequently made against Indian Muslims accused of crimes.

In November last year, TwoCircles.net reported how the grisly murder of a Hindu girl allegedly at the hands of her Muslim boyfriend quickly turned communal with widespread allegations of love-jihad made. The case was yet another example of how an entire community was targeted for the crime of one and how easily polarized and communal the debates around the issue became.

To counter religious conversion, several states in India have enacted anti-conversion laws which its critics say is regressive and offensive.

Formation of Bajrang Dal in response to Jihad

Bajrang Dal, under its expansion drive, plans to reach out to every lane, locality, colony, village, block and city to protect and spread the Hindu religion, culture and tradition.

IANS quoted the National Convener of Bajrang Dal, Neeraj Doneria as saying, The formation of Bajrang Dal was done in response to jihad and the organisation would be carrying out its activities extensively and none can pose any sort of hindrance to it.

Bajrang Dal was the organisation to give a befitting reply to anti-nationals, he said.

Doneria said the organisation is working tirelessly to serve and protect the Hindu community. At a time when religious conversions and love-jihad are posing major challenges across the country, all the patriots are looking to the activists of Bajrang Dal to take up mass awareness and check religious conversions and love-jihad, he said.

Whenever there has been an attack on Hindu dignity and faith, the activists of Bajrang Dal stand like a rock. We have to play a major role to check religious conversion and love-jihad at the grassroots level, he added.



Sana Ejaz is an independent journalist from Bihar. She tweets @SanaEjaz
The Chinese balloon passed into U.S. airspace over Alaska on January 28. American officials at the time thought it would continue to travel over lightly populated areas.

But two days later, the balloon slowed down over Canada and headed south toward the American state of Idaho. A U.S. official told Reuters, Thats when we knew this was different.

U.S. military officials said other Chinese balloons had briefly entered American airspace at least four times. Three times under the administration of former President Donald Trump and once earlier during President Joe Bidens term.

Last Wednesday, the balloon flew over the western state of Montana, home to intercontinental ballistic missile silos at Malmstrom Air Force Base. U.S. military officials readied a plan to shoot down the balloon. But, the U.S. chose not to act since debris from the large balloon would have spread over an 11-kilometer area putting Americans and property at risk.

Balloon traveled over sensitive areas

The balloon went on to travel near other sensitive U.S. military areas including the U.S. Strategic Command in Nebraska and the Air Force's B-2 bomber airbase in Missouri.

One U.S. official told Reuters the balloon was able to stay over certain areas unaffected by winds. "We saw it do thatIt went left, right. We saw it maneuver inside the jet stream. That's how it was operating.

After public sightings of the balloon, U.S. officials admitted that it was over American airspace. And U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken postponed his planned weekend diplomatic trip to China.

In a statement last Friday, the Chinese foreign ministry said that the balloon was a civilian airship used mainly for weather research. The ministry said the airship had limited self-steering abilities and went far from its planned course because of winds.

Shooting down balloon

But after those public statements, the balloon gathered speed, heading toward South Carolina's coast. U.S. officials said it was not clear how much of the speed increase was caused by the jet stream or the use of the balloon's steering.

On Friday, Biden approved a plan to shoot down the balloon over water. The move could also help U.S. intelligence recover Chinese equipment for study.

At 1939 UTC on Saturday, a U.S. military jet fired a single missile. The shot punctured the balloon, and the payload came crashing down to the sea. The debris field extended for 11 kilometers, as predicted. Most landed in water just 14 meters deep.

"That will make it fairly easy," a military official said of the recovery operation in the Atlantic Ocean.

Defense officials told reporters that the U.S. was able to collect intelligence on the balloon as it flew over the country. They said the military decided that the technology on the balloon did not give China more intelligence than could have been gathered from satellites. The U.S. said it took steps to reduce the amount of information the balloon could gather as it moved along.

U.S. lawmakers from the opposition Republican Party accused Bidens Democratic Party administration of giving China intelligence. They said the balloon should have been shot down sooner.

Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky expressed disbelief. He said there must have been a place between Alaska and the Carolinas where the U.S. could have safely shot down the balloon.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer is a Democrat from New York. He said the full Senate will get a report next week on the balloon, including details about its spying abilities. He called Republican criticism political and added that the U.S. had sent a clear message to China that this is not acceptable.

Chinese reactions

Following the downing of the balloon, China sent an official protest over the U.S. attack on a Chinese civilian unmanned airship by military force.

The foreign ministry said the incident damaged both sides efforts and progress in stabilizing Sino-U.S. relations.

Balloons thought to be or known to be Chinese have been seen from Latin America to Japan.

Japanese Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihiko Isozaki spoke to reporters Monday. He said that flying objects like the one shot down by the U.S. have been seen at least two times over northern Japan since 2020. He said Japan continues to study the incidents in connection with the latest case in the United States.

On Monday, China confirmed that another balloon recently spotted over Latin America was Chinese. China described it as a civilian airship used for flight tests. A foreign ministry official said the balloon entered the air space of Latin America and the Caribbean Sea by accident.

Im Mario Ritter, Jr.

Hai Do adapted this report for VOA Learning English from Associated Press and Reuters sources.

______________________________________________________________________

Words in This Story

maneuver v. to move in a skillful or controlled way

jet stream v. one of several strong currents of air that travel around the Earths surface

silos n. an underground structure used for storing missiles

debris n. the wreckage of something that has been destroyed

steer v. to control the direct that something goes in

stabilize v. to steady something and prevent it from changing too much or getting worse

_____________________________________________________________________

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Local historian and Robert Henri Museum and Art Gallery Director, Peter Osborne, gives a presentation at the library on Monday, Feb. 13, at 5:30 p.m. at Wilson Public Library in Cozad.

Willa Cather: Writer from the Prairie and Enduring Gift to Our Country explores Cathers literary legacy. Cather is the author of the 2023 One Book One Cozad selection, A Lost Lady.

Born in 1873, Cather moved to Nebraska when she was eight, ultimately landing in Red Cloud. By the age of 19, Willa had graduated from the University of Nebraska and began as a magazine editor in Pittsburgh. She died in New York City at the age of 73. Willa Cather is considered one of the most noteworthy women authors of the 20th century.

Cather regularly returned to Nebraska to visit family, and those themes and descriptions of place featured prominently in Cathers writing. A Lost Lady, published one hundred years ago, is said to have influenced F. Scott Fitzgeralds The Great Gatsby, which was published in 1925.
Gregory Elinson (Northern Illinois University - College of Law) has posted Norm-Breakers, Rights-Makers: Legislative Norms, Democratization, and the Fight For Civil Rights on SSRN. Here is the abstract:

Norms, the conventional wisdom goes, help to keep our democracy stable. And breaking norms, scholars believe, puts democracy at risk of backsliding. This Article challenges that consensus. The original historical evidence marshaled here shows that norm-breaking by civil rights reformers in Congress was critical to jumpstarting the democratization of the United States in the mid-twentieth century, ensuring passage of both the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Voting Rights Act of 1965. Norm-breaking, the Article makes clear, is sometimes essential to democratic reform.

Leveraging these detailed case studies, the Article explains why. In preserving the status quo, norms protect existing power hierarchies. The values, ideas, and institutional arrangements that norms help to entrench are not there by happenstance. They reflect the will of the already powerfulthose individuals and interests with sufficient pull to impose their values and preferences on others through institutional practice. When we valorize stability and prescribe norm adherence as a treatment for our democratic ills we privilege (inadvertently or otherwise) the authority of those at the top over the fate of those at the bottom. In consequence, while norms may aid in protecting whatever level of democracy we have attained, that very quality renders them obstacles to further democratization. Indeed, the more work that norms do to preserve an imperfect status quo, the more likely it is that they will need to be broken to reach a new and better equilibrium. The politics of preserving democracy for some, the Article argues, are quite different from the politics of expanding democracy to others.

For these reasons, reformers today who seek to renew our democracy for a new generation cannot afford to accept the conventional wisdom that flouting norms is bad. They must instead embrace the reality that, as rights-makers, they will need to be norm-breakers. Accordingly, the Article concludes by identifying several specific legislative norms that stand in the way of expanding suffragechief among them the non-talking filibuster in the Senate and the longstanding tradition of deference to legislative parliamentarians. These practices must be changed if we are to continue to make good on our nations foundational democratic commitments.

Highly recommended. Download it while it's hot!
Daniel B. Rosenbaum (Michigan State University - College of Law) has posted Interlocal Power Roulette on SSRN. Here is the abstract:

Local governments inhabit a crowded ecosystem. Cities, counties, and school districtsand many moreshare overlapping territorial jurisdictions. Overlapping jurisdiction goes hand-in-hand with redundant local power, defined as a scenario where multiple governments hold independent authority to take the exact same action in the exact same territorial space. In Maine, for example, state law empowers three local bodies to operate the same sewer infrastructure. In Detroit, two separate entities are equally tasked with managing the citys streetlights. And in communities across the country, local governments are broadly authorized to own the same parcels of public land, including in Oakland, California, where public properties are splintered between a grand total of fifteen different government bodies.

How do localities navigate their shared powers in a shared governance ecosystem? In the absence of state guidance, local governments fashion ad hoc, largely circumstantial, and often informal regimes of interlocal power. Sometimes they compete with each other to control a public asset, while at other times they coordinate and exercise power in a joint manner. Sometimes they abstain from acting, on the hope or expectation that another local entity will take the lead, and at other times they bandwagon onto the governance decisions of another body. Rarely are these relationships set in stone. Instead, a relationship built on collaboration may devolve suddenly into competition, while even written agreements that delineate how two governments will exercise their redundant powers can prove illusory on the ground.

Uncertainty reigns supreme in this interstitial universe. Which locality should manage a contested or unwanted asset? When should ownership of an asset transfer between two governments? What is the optimal allocation of interlocal power in a given fieldand who should the public hold accountable? Local residents struggle to scrutinize local power amongst this mess. They particularly struggle to access questions of interlocal power that arise horizontally, and often informally, between government actors.

This Article aims to highlight and moderate this interlocal governance haze. It draws upon recent local government scholarship, local policy documents, and representative case studies, both historical and modern, to demonstrate why redundant and muddled power is so common, how it manifests in practice, and why state legislatures generally take a hands-off approach to the issue. Yet as the Article also demonstrates, legislatures sometimes do intervene, at times aggressively, to reorder interlocal power in pursuit of substantive policies or particular political goals. Intergovernmental power dynamics can thus lurch between the polar nodes of local indeterminacy and haphazard, state-imposed change.

To break the impasse, this Article considers a counterintuitive strategy for local government officials: proactively asking the state to limit their power by creating an administrative oversight framework where none currently exists. Such a framework would enhance local democracy by shedding sunlight on conversations that today often occur in the shadows. It could also carve a middle-ground approach between the well-trod and often politically-fraught poles of state fiat and local autonomy, one where, instead, local actors can pursue a procedural initiative today to ward off unpredictable state interventions down the road.

Very interesting and recommended.
If you take a fitness or dance class at the new building for Madison School & Community Recreation, prepare to be wowed.

The new facility is in half of the old Wisconsin Medical Society location next to Olin Park, and some of the programming space overlooks Lake Monona. One room has windows lining two walls.

The view is great, said Marilyn McCluskey, of Madison. The studio is really nice and modern.

Her 3-year-old daughter was taking a pre-ballet class in the studio with the expansive windows after first taking a class at MSCRs West Side location.

Lynne Cotter, of Madison, said she lives near the MSCR building and had walked past it. She enrolled her son, Kyrie, 2, for the dance class because he likes to move and he loves music, but the location is key.

Basically whatever class is here, he is doing it, Cotter said.

The new space, which opened to the public Jan. 19, is being called MSCR Central. It replaces the headquarters and programming space at Hoyt School, a former elementary school next to Hoyt Park on Regent Street. That space is being converted to Capital High, an alternative high school currently split between the third floor of an elementary school and a storefront in a strip mall on the citys West Side.

Mary Roth, operations manager for MSCR, said the building works because it is naturally divided into two wings that now house MSCR and the Madison Parks Division.

The new location 328 E. Lakeside St. has a lower level with an art studio, multipurpose room, office space and storage. The main level is all office space, and the second level has two program studios for fitness and dance and a handful of offices for some of the staff. Others will be located at the MSCR West location.

Everyone wants to take classes in the (studio) room with the beautiful view, Roth said.

The other studio also has a lake view, but its much less impressive.

Its a really nice office. Were excited to be here, Roth said. It was a really unique opportunity because the parks department is acquiring the other half.

Roth said the two agencies share a lot in common and partner quite a bit.

Its just a real natural fit, she said.

While the new location is further for some on the Near West Side, it is more more accessible in some ways than Hoyt, which was sort of tucked away in a neighborhood, Roth said. MSCR also is hoping that the new location is more accessible to those living on the South Side, and the department plans to work with those residents to develop some programming in the future, Roth said.

This first session is just working out the kinks and getting everything off the ground, she said.

Hoyt served as MSCRs administrative headquarters and a program center. While the building measures about 33,000 square feet, MSCR utilized about 14,000 of that for programming and an additional 11,000 for offices and staff space. Other square footage was common space or used for Madison School District programs.

The leased space for MSCR Central is roughly 18,000 square feet with about 4,100 of it for programming, 6,000 for offices and staff space. The remaining space is common areas or used for purposes like storage and mechanicals.

While MSCR lost some program space, especially larger space, with the move, it will gain some back when it relocates its West Side location. MSCR also will be moving from its current location on Odana Road to a spot further west near West Towne Mall.

MSCR West, which is under construction and slated to open over the summer, is nearly 31,000 square feet with about 20,000 square feet dedicated to community programming.

In addition, a facility called MSCR East is located on Cottage Grove Road, and the department also runs programming at the Warner Park Community Recreation Center on the North Side.

There will be options for people all over the city, which is a goal for us, Roth said.

Ying Thao, of Madison, whose fourth-grade daughter, Evanly, is taking a youth drawing class at the new location, said he was familiar with the area because he fishes near there. He said the new location is better than Hoyt, where traffic was more of an issue.

Its good, Evanly said about the drawing class.

Sixth-grader Liam Rowe, of Madison, said he looked through the MSCR catalog before choosing the drawing class, where he is learning more techniques for an art form he already liked.

Emma Towne, who is teaching the drawing class, said the room is big enough that the students can walk around if they need to, and there are also cabinets for storage.

I love this facility, Towne said. I love having this big room to teach the class.

School Spotlight: Adventures in learning, inside and outside the classroom Each Monday, the Wisconsin State Journal features a story about learning in Wisconsin. Here are School Spotlight stories from the past year.
Janesville police on Thursday arrested a suspect in a double homicide in Rockford, Illinois.

On Wednesday, Janesville police received information that the suspect, Shyron S. Henderson, 26, was in Janesville, Lt. Mark Ratzlaff said in a statement.

On Thursday, several places associated with Henderson were put under surveillance and Henderson was seen, Ratzlaff said.

The surveillance continued until Henderson got into a vehicle alone, the vehicle was blocked in by a marked police car and several officers conducted a high-risk stop. Henderson was taken into custody without incident and turned over to Rockford detectives for interviews, Ratzlaff said.

Henderson is facing warrants in Winnebago County, Illinois for failure to appear armed violent assault and murder with intent to kill or injure, Ratzlaff said.

Photos: Remembering horrific van crash that killed 7 young people in 1999
University of Idaho Extension is hosting a free, two-part virtual workshop introducing farm succession planning.

Transferring Land to a New Generation: Introduction to Farm Succession Planning sessions are scheduled for 7 to 8:30 p.m. on Feb. 21 and Feb. 28.

The workshop introduces participants to farm succession planning and the steps involved in a farm or ranch transfer within or outside of the family.

The first workshop session will provide an overview of getting started with farm or ranch transfer, including clarifying values, vision and goals and identifying the people who need to be involved in the transfer process. The second workshop session will discuss the importance of assessing your current financial position, future needs and the position and needs of other parties involved in the farm and ranch transfer.

The workshop will also cover identifying key professional service providers who can support incoming farmers and ranchers and exiting owners during the transfer process. Furthermore, it will offer tools and resources for taking the next steps to develop a farm succession and farmland transfer plan.

Other workshop sponsors include Idaho Women in Agriculture and USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture.

Visit www.idahofoodworks.org/intro-farm-succession to register.
As Valentines Day approaches, you can court your favorite trail in McDowell County.

The McDowell Trails Association will host an event called Make a Date with a Trail. It will take place Thursday at the Marion Community Building.

The event is part of the local celebration of the Year of the Trail in North Carolina. It is a trail expo highlighting the many pathways, greenways and outdoor recreation places in McDowell County and the region. The drop-in is a free event and open to the public from 3-7 p.m. at the Marion Community Building, according to a news release.

Everyone who comes to the event will come away with information about greenways, trails, and outdoor recreation in our region, said MTA President Steve Pierce. Four state trails located in parts of McDowell County will be represented, as well as a regional park, a state park, and a national park. There will be information about the sustainable trails program at McDowell Tech and the Old Fort Trail System being developed.

We have many miles of trails already on the ground in our region, but the demand and potential for more is there, Pierce added. Trails not only connect places, but they also connect communities and people. They provide solitude for those who seek it, a connection with nature, and when used by groups, trails bring people together.

Several nonprofit organizations will be on hand to share information about the work they do in planning, building and maintaining trails in McDowell County and the region and the outdoor recreation they provide. Groups planning to have displays are:

McDowell Trails Association

Friends of the Fonta Flora State Trail

G5 Trail Coalition

Lake James State Park

Friends of the Valdese Recreation Park

Overmountain Victory Trail

Foothills Conservancy of North Carolina

Old Fort Trails and Trains Festival

McDowell Technical Community Colleges sustainable trails program

Peavine Master Plan

Friends of the Mountains to Sea Trail

Friends of the Smokies

In addition to the information provided, there will be giveaways, drawings for door prizes, and refreshments. The MTA and others will share their Year of the Trail events planned for the year.

The door prizes include: GoGos Cinnamon Rolls gift certificate, Hydro flask bottle, pottery cup and water bottles, trail maps from Pisgah Map Co., T&S Headwear, Year of the Trail coffee, merchandise from Foothills Conservancy, MTA membership or renewal and more, according to the news release.

You dont need a ticket to attend, but through social media you can register, so the organizers have an idea of the number attending. More information is on the MTAs Facebook page.

The MTA looks forward to a good turnout for Make a Date with a Trail and the opportunity to celebrate trails, educate about trails, and advocate for trails, said Pierce.
The Ethiopian government announced on Saturday that it had begun sending the equivalent of about $90 million to the Tigrayan capital to restart banking services in the war-torn region.

In line with the decision taken by Prime Minister Abiy, the National Bank has started sending five billion birr to Mekele for distribution from Monday, tweeted Redwan Hussein, Abiy Ahmeds National Security Advisor.

He added that from Saturday, the national airline Ethiopian Airlines would increase the number of flights to the region from three to five per day.

Last Friday, the Prime Minister met for the first time with Tigrayan leaders since a peace agreement was signed in November after a bloody conflict between the federal government and rebels in the northern Ethiopian region.

The peace agreement, signed on 2 November in Pretoria, South Africa, provides for the disarmament of rebel forces, the re-establishment of federal authority in Tigray and the reopening of access and communications to the region, which has been cut off from the world since mid-2021.

Since the agreement was signed in the South African capital, fighting has stopped and aid deliveries to Tigray have resumed, as the region has long faced severe shortages of food, fuel, cash and medicine.

The war, which broke out in November 2020, has displaced more than two million people and put hundreds of thousands in near-starvation conditions, according to the UN. The US puts the death toll at 500,000.
The Nigerias National Elections Commission (NEC) organized Saturday tests on biometric identification before the presidential election of February 25, to avoid the previous failures and credibility of this election in a tense context.

Sample polling stations were used across the country, including several in Lagos, the economic capital, to test this biometric recognition introduced by NEC to end fraud noted in the 2015 and 2019 polls, with some failures.

Enthusiastic voters with their voter registration cards turned up for the exercise and their biometric data was taken by NEC officials who expressed hope that the test would improve their readiness for the elections.

Elections in Nigeria have been regularly marred by violence, fraud complaints and legal challenges since the return to democracy in 1999 after decades of military rule.

On 25 February, voters must choose a successor to President Muhammadu Buhari, who is ineligible for re-election after two terms. The main candidates are Bola Tinubu of the ruling APC, Atiku Abubakar of the main opposition PDP and the outsider Peter Obi of the Labour Party.

Governors and parliamentarians will be elected two weeks later. Nigeria, Africas most populous country with 215 million people, is plagued by corruption, gross inequality and widespread insecurity.

It has also been plagued by severe shortages of banknotes and petrol in recent weeks, which could threaten the election.
Angola and Spain have an increasingly close relationship in political, diplomatic and economic terms, which the visit of the Spanish monarchs will strengthen in institutional terms and which may tend to subordinate Portugals role.

The analysis is made by Eugenio Costa Almeida, Researcher at the International Studies Centre of ISCTE-IUL (CEI-IUL), about the visit to Angola of the kings of Spain, Filipe VI and Letizia, from Monday, on their first trip to a sub-Saharan African country.

There has always been a great rapprochement between Spain and Angola, the analyst said, recalling the stay of Jose Eduardo dos Santos, the Angolan president who died in July last year, in Barcelona, where he spent the last years of his life.

Jose Eduardo dos Santos, who presided over Angolas destinies for almost 40 years, died at the age of 79 in Spain, where he moved in 2019, distancing himself from the Angolan regime and his successor, Joao Lourenco, who has elected his children and closest collaborators as targets in the fight against corruption.

Madrid and Luanda have strengthened relations in recent years, in diplomatic terms, with visits at the highest level: Joao Lourenco, elected president in 2017, visited Spain that same year, still as minister of national defence, and repeated the passage through the country, already as head of the executive, in 2021, the year in which he also received Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez in Angola.

This visit will also have the function of institutionally and diplomatically affirming the good relationship between the Kingdom of Spain and the Republic of Angola, the researcher noted.

But the rapprochement is also evident on an economic and political level.

It is a Spaniard who currently heads the Angolan flagship airline TAAG, it was a Spanish company that was chosen to provide the electoral logistics for last years elections (despite opposition protests), and it was in Spain that the body of Jose Eduardo dos Santos was processed.

The death of the former president, on the eve of the 2022 elections, led to a large-scale Angolan diplomatic offensive, following legal proceedings brought by the former presidents eldest daughters, Isabel and Tchize dos Santos, who resorted to the courts to try to stop the transfer of the body to Angola as the widow and mother of his three youngest children, Ana Paula dos Santos, supported by the government of Joao Lourenco, intended.

A decoration ceremony and the signing of agreements are scheduled to take place at the Presidential Palace, followed in the afternoon by a visit to the Banco Economico building, where an exhibition of the Catalan painter Joan Miro will be inaugurated, and a meeting with the Spanish community.

The business forum, which brings together entrepreneurs from both countries, will take place on Wednesday.
Oil Company TotalEnergies has commissioned a human rights expert to assess the situation in Cabo Delgado to decide whether there are conditions to resume the gas exploration project it was building in the region.

The decision was communicated by the CEO of TotalEnergies, Patrick Pouyanne, to the Mozambican President, Filipe Nyusi, after a visit to the region.

During this visit, Patrick Pouyanne said he had entrusted Jean-Christophe Rufin, a Portuguese-speaking doctor, writer and diplomat, recognized expert in humanitarian action and human rights, with an independent mission to assess the humanitarian situation in Cabo Delgado province, reads a statement.

The mission will also assess the actions taken by Mozambique LNG, the consortium led by Total, and should propose additional actions to be implemented, if necessary.

The report of this mission will be delivered at the end of February and its findings will be shared with all partners of Mozambique LNG, which will decide whether the conditions are in place to resume project activities, the statement said.

The industrial perimeter under construction in Palma for liquefaction of natural gas from the Rovuma basin is the largest private investment in Africa, suspended since March 2021, following an armed attack by insurgents who have terrorized the region for five years.

Since 2021, the situation in Cabo Delgado province has improved significantly, thanks in particular to the support provided by African countries that have committed to restoring peace and security, Patrick Pouyanne said.

The leader of TotalEnergies noted that the resumption of activities requires the restoration of security in the region, the resumption of public services and the return to normal life of the populations of the region.

The mission entrusted to Jean-Christophe Rufin should allow the Mozambique LNG partners to assess whether the current situation allows the resumption of activities in respect of human rights, he concluded.

As a doctor, writer and diplomat, the chosen specialist has already held various positions. Representing the French state, Rufin was cultural and cooperation attache in Brazil in the late 1980s and 1990s, a country he wrote about in the 2001 novel Rouge Bresil (Red Brazil).

In the field of humanitarian action, as a doctor, he was on missions since 1977 to Nicaragua, Eritrea, Sudan and the Philippines, having been vice-president of Medecins Sans Frontieres (1991-92) and president of Action Against Hunger (2003-2006).

Cabo Delgado province has been facing an armed insurgency for five years with some attacks claimed by the extremist group Islamic State.
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Spectral power of fMRI signals differs significantly between anesthesia conditions. a Spatial maps of spectral power in 8 non-overlapping frequency bands, averaged across the s = 12 fMRI scans recorded under each anesthesia conditions and normalized by the mean power in sPM = 2 postmortem scans. fMRI recordings were recorded from n = 6 genetically similar female rats, each scanned twice in 3 anesthesia conditions (with isoflurane at 0%, 1%, and 3%. b Power in 8 frequency bands averaged across all brain voxels relative to the mean power in 2 postmortem scans. Dots correspond to the mean power in each scan and error bars represent the mean  standard error across the s = 12 scans. c Two-sided p-values obtained from 10,000 t-tests on randomly permuted data comparing the power in s = 12 scans over the 3 anesthesia conditions and in each of 8 non-overlapping frequency bands, reported with respect to the standard threshold of 0.05 and the Bonferroni-corrected threshold of 0.0021. Credit: Nature Communications (2023). DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-36025-x

Researchers at the Champalimaud Foundation and the University of Minho, in Portugal, have found evidence of resonant waves in rat brain activity using ultrafast and ultrahigh field magnetic resonance imaging. Their work demonstrates from simple fundamental principles how such wavesmuch in the manner of sound vibrations in a guitar chambercan form connections between distant brain areas, which are key for healthy brain function.

It's been over 20 years since neuroimaging studiesusing functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), a widely-used technology to capture live videos of brain activityhave been detecting brain-wide complex patterns of correlated brain activity that appear disrupted in a wide range of neurological and psychiatric disorders. These patterns form spontaneously, even at rest when no particular task is being performed, and have been detected not only in humans but also across mammals, including monkeys and rodents.

Although such spatial patterns of correlated activation have been consistently detected across neuroimaging centers around the world, the nature of these correlations was not clear.

"We do not yet fully understand how the brain communicates over long distances. We know that distant areas exhibit signal correlations, and that they are implicated in brain function, but we do not completely understand their nature," says Noam Shemesh, principal investigator of the Preclinical MRI Lab at the Champalimaud Foundation, in Lisbon, and senior author of a study published in Nature Communications.

"In this study, we wanted to understand what lies underneath those correlations and investigate the mechanisms involved," stresses Shemesh. The video shows that brain activity captured with fMRI can be reconstructed as the superposition of a small number of macroscopic stationary waves, or resonant modes, oscillating in time. Credit: Joana Cabral

A number of theoretical works had proposed that these patterns could be explained by standing waves (whose peaks and troughs do not move in space) resonating in the brain structurethat is, by waves analogous to the modes of vibration in musical instruments. But there was little experimental evidence to support this hypothesis due to the poor temporal resolution of fMRI, reaching only an image or two per second.

"If we could find that the spatial patterns oscillate, this would provide evidence supporting the resonance hypothesis," says Joana Cabral, first author of the study, from the Life and Health Sciences Research Institute of the University of Minho and a visiting scientist in Shemesh's lab since 2019.

So what the team did was to speed up image acquisition, and they discovered that the signals in distant brain regions actually oscillate together in time. "These oscillatory patterns look like a higher-dimensional analog of resonance modes in musical instruments; they are akin to reverberations, to echoes inside the brain," says Cabral.

"Our data show that the complex spatial patterns are a result of transiently and independently oscillating underlying modes, just like individual instruments participate in creating a more complex piece in an orchestra," says Shemesh.

"The distinct modes, each contributing something to the overall picture at different time scales and different wavelengths, can be added up together, generating complex macroscopic patterns similar to the ones observed experimentally [see below]. To our knowledge, this is the first time that brain activity captured with fMRI is reconstructed as the superposition of standing waves," he points out.

The new study thus strongly points to a key role for these resonant waves, or modes, in brain function. These resonant phenomena, the authors believe, are at the root of the coherent, coordinated brain activity that is needed for normal brain function as a whole.

Ultrafast MRI

The researchers detected the resonant modes in rats in the resting state, which means the animals were not subjected to any specific external stimulus. Indeed, no tasks were needed, for as already mentioned, even when we (and mammals in general) are doing nothing in particular, our brains continue to generate spontaneous activity patterns that can be captured by fMRI.

To visualize the oscillations, the researchers created "videos" of activity using the potent ultrahigh-field experimental MRI scanner in Shemesh's lab and performed ultrafast experiments developed some time ago by that lab for other purposes.

"Noam and I met in 2019, and we decided to obtain recordings of brain activity at the maximum temporal resolution we could achieve in the 9.4 Tesla scanner at his lab," recalls Cabral. "Noam designed the experiments, Francisca Fernandes [the third author of the study] performed them, and I did the data analysis and the visualization. Noam managed to achieve a temporal resolution of 26 images per second, and thus obtained 16,000 images per 10 minute scan (instead of 600 images at the typical resolution of one image per second)."

Like waves in the ocean

"When we first saw the videos of the recorded brain activity, we saw clear waves of activity, like waves in the ocean, propagating in complex patterns within the cortex and the striatum [a subcortical region of the forebrain]", says Cabral.

"And we found that the signals could be described by the superposition of a small number of macroscopic stationary waves, or resonant modes, oscillating in time. Notably, each standing wave was found to cover extended areas of the brain, with peaks distributed in distinct cortical and subcortical structures, forming functional networks."

The researchers experimented with rats in three different conditions: sedated, lightly anesthetised and deeply anesthetised. (In fact, the animals were lightly sedated in the resting state, to avoid any discomfort to them.) "The spatial configuration of these stationary waves was very consistent across rats scanned in the same condition," Cabral points out.

Shemesh adds, "We showed that brain functional networks are driven by resonance phenomena. This explains the correlations that are otherwise observed when you do slow imaging. Long-range brain interactions are governed by a 'flow' of information that is oscillatory and repetitive."

Pathological states

They also found that increasing the amount of anesthetic reduces the number, frequency and duration of the resonant stationary waves. As already mentioned, previous studies have shown that certain patterns of brain activation are consistently altered in disorders of consciousness. So this experimental design, says Cabral, was actually also meant to mimic different pathological states.

"Functional networks appear disrupted in several neurological and psychiatric disorders," she points out. If confirmed in humans, she speculates, their results could also lead to the use of resonant modes as biomarkers for disease.

"Our study also provides a new 'lead' in looking at disease," corroborates Shemesh. "We know that long-range brain activity is strongly impacted in disease, but we do not understand why or how. Understanding the mechanism of long-range interactions could lead to a completely new way of characterizing disease and hinting on the type of treatment that may be necessary: for example, if a specific resonant mode was missing from a patient, we might want to find ways to stimulate that particular mode."

More work will obviously be needed to confirm all these results, the researchers agree, and whether they are replicable in humans. But "once we understand better the nature of functional networks, we can design informed strategies to modulate these network patterns," says Cabral.

More information: Joana Cabral et al, Intrinsic macroscale oscillatory modes driving long range functional connectivity in female rat brains detected by ultrafast fMRI, Nature Communications (2023). DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-36025-x Journal information: Nature Communications

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Despite widespread chronic illness among the people that grow food in Californiamany struggle to access reliable healthcare.

A new study from UC Merced Community and Labor Center sheds light on the chronic health issues, healthcare access, and workplace conditions that impact the well-being of California farmworkers.

Researchers say in a news release that it's the largest-ever academic study on the "nation's most disadvantaged workforce."

"Agriculture is one of California's most vital and productive industries, yet many of its workers experience profound challenges in maintaining their health and well-being," Edward Flores of UC Merced Community and Labor Center, said in a statement.

One sobering finding of the study is that 49% of California farmworkers reported being without health insurance.

The UC Merced Community and Labor Center surveyed more than 1,240 California farmworkers in six different languagesEnglish, Spanish, and the Indigenous languages Mixteco, Triqui, Zapotec and Ilocanobetween August 2021 and January 2022.

A majority of the farmworkers surveyed were located in the Central Valley, a region that grows a quarter of the nation's food.

Researchers also formed a community advisory board of 26 farmworker-serving organizations, which informed the research. Ten of these organizations and two health clinics conducted data collection, including the United Farm Workers, Californians for Pesticide Reform, Central California Environmental Justice Network (CCEJN), Central Coast Alliance United for a Sustainable Economy (CAUSE), Centro Binacional para el Desarrollo Indigena Oaxaqueno (CBDIO), Lideres Campesinas, and others.

Flores, of UC Merced, said the data from the report "should inform policy development" related to the health and well-being of agricultural workers.

Lack of insurance, chronic conditions and mental health

Several generalizations about farmworkers' health and well-being have held true over years, yet UC Merced's researchers' findings provide a clearerand more alarmingpicture than the estimated ones in the past.

Among multiple health findings, UC Merced researchers report:

Nearly half of those surveyed said they didn't have health insurance at some point in the last 12 months.

Between one-third and a half of farmworkers reported having at least one chronic condition; 20% said they have diabetes and 19% have hypertension.

Women reported 14% of them had preterm births, and 15% had a baby with low birth weight.

Unchecked stress can contribute to many health problems like high blood pressure, heart disease, obesity, and diabetes, according to the Mayo Clinic. It can further intensify the risks of these health conditions because it triggers hormonal imbalances, and increases heart rate and sugar levels. Neither is beneficial for someone with diabetes, hypertension, or both.

"Agriculture is a demanding job, requiring working long hours under difficult working conditions," Paul Brown, UC Merced Professor of Health Economics, said in a news release. "Our study provides a snapshot into the health of these workers, as well as highlights the challenges that workers in California face in getting access to good, high quality, and affordable healthcare."

Adding to farmworkers' strained physical health, mental health struggles further hinder workers' well-being, according to researchers.

Out of the farmworkers polled, close to 20% feel nervous, anxious or on edge. About 10% are diagnosed with anxiety and another 7% are diagnosed with depression.

These findings estimate that almost a quarter of farmworkers are dealing with mental health troubles. Yet less than 7% are seeking mental health services, according to the report.

"These findings highlight high levels of underdiagnosis," researchers said in the report, "and underutilization of mental health resources."

Working conditions on California farms

The study also highlights both the health risks and labor violations that farmworkers face on the job.

Nearly half, about 43%, of farmworkers surveyed said their employer had "never" provided a heat illness prevention plan as mandated under law at a time that California has experienced its driest three years on record.

Workers that apply pesticideswhich are linked to a number of adverse health outcomeshad unique challenges. Among those who applied pesticides, 75% said they received training on the safe use of pesticides, yet 21% also said they did not understand the training.

Researchers noted that under state law, pesticide safety training "must be delivered in a language that is understandable to farmworkers" and as the report indicates, many farmworkers speak Indigenous languages, rather than Spanish or English, as their primary language.

Aside from the on-the-job health risks, farmworkers reported high rates of wage theft and fear of retaliation.

Almost one-fifth, or 19%, of farmworkers surveyed said they had not been paid earned wages by an employer at one point or another.

A majority of farmworkers, or 68%, reported that they're employed by farm labor contractors rather than by growers or farmers directly. Nationwide, farm labor contractors were found to be the biggest violators of federal wage and hour laws, according to a separate 2020 study conducted by the left-leaning Economic Policy Institute.

Despite these challenges, 36% of California farmworkers said they would be unwilling to file a report against an employer. Nearly two-thirds said they wouldn't file a report due to fear of retaliation or job loss.

Where can policymakers step in?

The UC Merced study highlights a number of areas where policy makers could take a closer look at existing laws and practices in both the agricultural workplace and other areas.

Some of the recommendations include:

Expanding farmworker access to the economic and social safety net. Last year, a coalition of Democratic legislators and community groups threw their support behind a bill that would have created a pilot program to provide undocumented workers with access to unemployment benefits. Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoed the bill citing the program's cost in his veto message.

Expanding farmworkers' healthcare access.California will be the first state to make all undocumented adults, regardless of age, eligible for Medi-Cal health insurance by Jan. 1, 2024

Investing public resources in protecting workers' rights.The California Department of Industrial Relations has a multilingual caravan that visits the fields to educate farmworkers on their labor rights

Invest public resources in agricultural development that raises industry work standards, particularly as it relates to technological development. A Central Valley coalition was awarded $65 million in federal funding to create an ag-tech hub, but some are concerned that such developments could hurt farmworkers without a strong worker and labor voice at the table.

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Hospices and palliative care are the final chapter of life, where people spend their final days, ideally in comfort and peace. The World Health Organization stresses it should be part of universal health coverage for anyone with a serious illness. Yet palliative care in Japan, until recently, had been reserved for cancer patients, and non-cancer patients have suffered as a result. A new study sheds light on this imbalance.

Palliative care aims to improve the quality of life of anyone who has a serious or life-limiting condition. As such, palliative care should be accessible to non-cancer patients. However, the reality in Japan still shows a wide imbalance between cancer and non-cancer patients.

"Non-cancer deaths account for about 73% of all deaths in Japan," explains Professor Jun Hamano, lead researcher of the study. "Despite this, only 15.2% of the inpatient hospice and palliative care facilities we surveyed had admitted non-cancer patients. Indeed, that's a huge disparity, though the overall health system and other factors provide some explanation for this status quo."

For one, a very different number, 59.1%, expressed willingness to accept non-cancer patients, but with a catchthe health insurance system must cover the costs at the same level as that for cancer patients. This is one area where Japan's universal coverage disadvantages non-cancer patients; only cancer patients, mainly those in the terminal stages, are insured for inpatient palliative care. This also means facilities have mainly been developed to care for advanced cancer patients. Caring for other terminal illnesses may be more complex and require different facilities and training.

Professor Hamano's study surveyed 264 hospices/palliative care units in Japan. These facilities were asked about their size and specifics, and the numbers and percentages of cancer and non-cancer admissions. They were also asked for their views on the need for insurance coverage and their willingness to accept non-cancer patients, as well as their support needs and conditions for non-cancer patients.

A total of 39.4% said they would be "very willing" or "willing" to accept non-cancer patients with insurance coverage. Add in the "somewhat willing," and the total reached 59.1%. Meanwhile, 75% of facilities stressed the need for insurance coverage, underscoring the present system's shortfall. More than 75% also reported needs such as "clarification of admission criteria" and an "education and training system." Thus, the disparity evidently owes in large part to finances and preparedness.

"We have to establish a health insurance system that delivers and supports palliative care irrespective of disease," Professor Hamano emphasizes. "The admission criteria need clarifying, and we need programs for educating the health care providers on palliative care for non-cancer patients, such those with chronic respiratory or hepatic failure."

Until these are established and clarified, especially insurance support, the disparity between hospice and palliative care in favor of cancer patients may continue.

The work is published in the journal Annals of Palliative Medicine.

More information: Jun Hamano et al, Current situation and support need for non-cancer patients' admission to inpatient hospices/palliative care units in Japan: a nationwide multicenter survey, Annals of Palliative Medicine (2023). DOI: 10.21037/apm-22-743
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A growing body of evidence suggests that the air we breathe could be affecting our mental as well as our physical health.

It has been clear for decades that pollution from cars, heavy industry and wildfires contributes to lung and heart disease. Death rates are higher on days when and where the air is at its worst.

But those same tiny particles also get into our brains, potentially driving up stress hormones and seeding inflammation that can lead to dementia, as well as mental health challenges.

Studies have linked short-term exposure to severe air pollution with an increased risk of outpatient visits or hospitalization for depression or anxiety.

New research out last week finds a link between these conditions and years of exposure to relatively low levels of pollution.

Pollution is "looking more and more like a contributing force" to mental health problems, said Marc Weisskopf, an epidemiologist at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, who was not involved in the new research but has conducted similar studies.

"Any one study I might not hang my hat on, but we're seeing it more and more."

What the study found

The study, published in the journal JAMA Psychiatry, examined health information from nearly 400,000, mostly white adults in the United Kingdom. It combined information about where they lived at the start of the decade-long study with medical records, lifestyle and air pollution data.

Researchers then broke participants into four groups according to their air pollution exposures.

They found that those exposed to the least amount of air pollution were least likely to be diagnosed with depression or anxiety.

The risk did not go up smoothly with an increase in air pollution. Instead, the group with the second-highest exposure saw the biggest increase in both conditionsroughly 15%.

Men in the study seemed more susceptible to the effects of small particulate matter than women. Animal research shows similar results; one study found that male mice are more likely to develop neuroinflammation than female mice after being exposed to diesel exhaust.

How big of an impact could air pollution have on mental health?

It's not clear how much influence air pollution might have on mental health. It's certainly not as big a factor as the coronavirus pandemic has been on increasing rates of depression and anxiety.

In an individual the effect might be small, but across a whole population, "you're talking about quite a large increase," said Dr. Joseph Hayes, a psychiatrist and associate professor at University College London, who was not involved in the study but does similar work.

Putting the study in context

No study can be perfectly designed to capture the effects of air pollution on mental health. Researchers can't separate people into two groups and expose one to air pollution to see if one ends up with more mental health challenges.

Urban living or access to green space rather than air pollution might be driving changes in mental health, Hayes said.

But many studies have found a connection between air quality and mental health, which makes the link more believable. "These studies all point in the same direction," he said.

In Hayes' own research, he used a phone app called juli to measure levels of air pollution and correlated that with the user's reports of mood changes. One not-yet-published study showed that as air quality declined, depression symptoms worsened.

Another study in the U.S. looked at the ability of people to make decisions after being exposed to smog. It found they were less likely to decide in their own self-interest after exposure.

Yale University health economist Xi Chen studies the mental health toll of pollution in developing countries, such as India and China, where the air quality is far worse than in the U.S. In his own research, he has found that high levels of pollution reduce short-term happiness and increase symptoms of depression.

Chen said he was surprised that the new British study detected a change in mental health with such a relatively low level of pollution.

"A lower dose of exposure but for a longer time period can still make a difference and may have an adverse affect on mental wellbeing. I think that's the key message," he said.

How you can limit your exposure to pollution

People can do a few things to limit their exposure to pollutants:

Know that being near cars raises your risk. Hayes relocated farther out of London for financial reasons, which helped reduce his exposure. An avid bicyclist, he also avoids riding to work because he'd have to take the busiest road in London. "It's the highest level of pollution you could be exposed to," he said. Jogging in a park is better than alongside a road, Weisskopf added, and "certainly, avoiding places where cars idle is a good thing to do."

Filter indoor air. Use high-quality air filters for HVAC units and make sure the air handling systems in apartment buildings and offices are well maintained, Weisskopf said.

Consider electric cars. Electric vehicles seem to be making a difference in pollution levels. A new study from the University of Southern California's Keck School of Medicine showed that for every extra 20 electric vehicles per 1,000 people, asthma-related emergency visits fell by 3.2%.

These individual measures will be financially out of reach for many people, though. And fundamentally, improving air quality has to be done through public policy, the experts said.

"You can try and limit it to some degree (through personal action)," Weisskopf said, "but it's the kind of thing at the population level that really needs regulatory action."

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A large study looking at the effects of fertility treatment has found no robust difference in blood pressure, heart rate, lipids, and glucose measurements between children conceived naturally and those conceived using assisted reproductive technologies (ART).

The University of Bristol-led study, published in European Heart Journal today sought to address concerns around whether fertility treatment leads to adverse cardiometabolic health in offspring. The data sample included 8,600 children from Bristol's Children of the 90s study, a world-leading health study which has followed pregnant women and their offspring since 1991.

Since the first birth of a child by in vitro fertilization (IVF), questions have been raised about the health risks to children conceived this way, however previous studies are limited by small sample size, short follow-up, and unsatisfactory comparison groups.

The study, led by an international research group from the Assisted Reproductive Technology and Health (A.R.T-Health) Partnership, looked at data from 35,000 European, Singaporean, and Australian offspring. It was large enough to study whether conception by ART affected blood pressure, pulse rate, lipids or glucose from childhood to young adulthood (up to early 20s).

The researchers found that blood pressure, heart rate, and glucose levels were similar in children conceived using ART and their naturally conceived peers. The team also found that those who were conceived by ART had slightly higher cholesterol levels in childhood, which did not persist to adulthood, and some indication of slightly higher blood pressure in adulthood.

Dr. Ahmed Elhakeem, Research Fellow in Epidemiology in Bristol Medical School: Population Health Sciences (PHS) at the University of Bristol, and lead study author, said, "This is the largest study of its kind, and could not be conducted without data from studies such as Children of the 90s. Parents conceiving or hoping to conceive through assisted reproductive technology and their offspring should be reassured that cardiometabolic health appears to be comparable in ART-conceived and naturally conceived children. Studies with longer follow-up would now be beneficial to examine how results might change across adulthood."

Deborah Lawlor, Professor of Epidemiology, MRC Investigator and British Heart Foundation Chair and senior author from Bristol Medical School: PHS, added: "This important research is only possible through large scale international collaboration and longitudinal health studies, where participants contribute health data throughout their entire lives. We are particularly grateful to the European Research Council, British Heart Foundation and UK National Institute for Health Research for making this possible and to all of the study participants and researchers."

Peter Thompson, Chief Executive, The Human Fertilization and Embryology Authority (HFEA), said, "Each year around 60,000 patients use fertility services in the UK in the hope of one day having a family of their own. Those patients should be reassured by this study which shows that the heart health of children born from assisted reproduction technologies, like IVF, are no different from children conceived naturally.

"Science and research move rapidly in the fertility sector but it is widely acknowledged that more large scale studies like this are needed to continually drive improvements in care. Health outcomes in children conceived using assisted reproductive technologies are a high priority for the HFEA and we monitor the latest research and provide information for patients and professionals. Anyone considering fertility treatment in the UK should visit www.hfea.gov.uk for high quality impartial information on treatment options and licensed clinics."

More information: Ahmed Elhakeem et al, Long-term cardio-metabolic health following assisted pregnancy: a pooled analysis in Europe, Australia, and Singapore, European Heart Journal (2022). DOI: 10.1093/eurheartj/ehac726 Journal information: European Heart Journal
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Studies showed the Autus Valve maintains the control of blood flow as it expands. Credit: Children's Hospital Boston

Clinical trials have started for the first prosthetic pulmonary valve replacement that is specifically designed for pediatric patients and can expand over time inside a child's anatomy.

Instead of having invasive replacement surgeries every few years, as is the practice now, a child can have the valve fitted to their individual body size and, if needed, adjusted for size through a minimally-invasive transcatheter balloon dilation procedure to help maintain blood flow. They potentially wouldn't need another replacement procedure until adulthood.

The device, known as the Autus Valve, was invented at Boston Children's. It was first implanted in a young patient at Nationwide Children's Hospital in late 2021 as part of a collaborative clinical study involving Boston Children's, Nationwide Children's, and New York-Presbyterian/Columbia University Irving Medical Center. "It's exciting and incredibly motivating that we're at the stage where we can actually see the device helping patients," says the device's inventor, Sophie-Charlotte Hofferberth, MD.

Boston Children's cardiac catheterization team has already made other significant advancements in transcatheter valve replacement technology, and the Autus Valve continues that pace of innovation, according to Christopher Baird, MD, director of the hospital's Congenital Heart Valve Program. The Autus Valves leaflets are made of a polymer with a long track record of use as a pediatric pulmonary valve leaflet.

Mimicking the design of human venous valves

An estimated 110,000 children in the U.S. have congenital pulmonary valve disease, which impedes the flow of blood between the heart and lungs. Pulmonary valves that are narrowed or leaking and can't be treated effectively with a catheter are usually replaced with a prosthetic valve. But existing prosthetic pulmonary valves are adult-sized and fixed in diameter, usually requiring a child to have these devices replaced as they grow.

Hofferberth was tasked with creating a valve that could accommodate the growth of a child when she joined the research laboratory of Pedro J. del Nido, MD, chief of Boston Children's Cardiac Surgery Department, in 2016.

Commercially available prosthetic heart valves have three leaflets that serve as flaps to control blood flow, mirroring the tri-leaflet structure of the human aortic valve. A device that mimicked the bi-leaflet function of a venous valve in leg veins showed promise to Hofferberth and colleagues. That's because a venous valve's two elastic flaps have the ideal geometry to maintain proper closure and one-way blood flow even when veins in the leg expand in diameter. Believing this process could also work in the heart, Hofferberth studied the geometric profile of the human venous valve and used this as the basis for creating a valve prototype.

The devices two leaflets are made of a polymer with a long track record of use as a pediatric pulmonary valve leaflet. Credit: Children's Hospital Boston

Designing a size-adjustable valve that will last

Hofferberth and her team collaborated with Elazer Edelman, MD, Ph.D., of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. They implanted prototypes of the replacement pulmonary valve in growing lambs, and those studies showed the device can be fitted and then expanded in sync with the growth of heart anatomy. The valve also maintained the control of blood flowwithout stretching and compromising the device's frame or material. The device's two leaflets are made of a polymer with a long track record of use as a pediatric pulmonary valve leaflet. "That gave us a lot of confidence, using a well-known synthetic material that has proven long-term results in children," she says.

Doctors can adjust the valve diameter to match a patient's heart anatomy before it is implanted. Once the device is implanted, cardiac catheterization specialists can use a catheter balloon to expand the valve if it becomes too small after a child's growth spurt. The doctors use an echocardiogram to assess the valve's integrity and how well it is controlling the flow of blood.

"If a valve expansion is needed after the device is implanted, we anticipate a child would recover from the procedure within a few hours," says Hofferberth, who is no longer with Boston Children's.

Aiming for children's long-term heart health

Boston Children's is now holding FDA-approved early clinical studies on the valve's effectiveness in children ages 2 to 11, along with Nationwide Children's and New-York Presbyterian/Columbia University Irving Medical Center. Since the initial patient, several other children received Autus Valve implants; Boston Children's had its first implantation procedure in late December.

Hofferberth intends to follow the initial study with a larger clinical trial, with the goal of seeking FDA approval to make the device commercially available.

"There is a huge need for better solutions for children with valve disease," Hofferberth says. "A pulmonary valve that can be adjusted for size could give young patients a bridge through childhood and have a huge impact on their long-term quality of life."
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Independent associations of behavioral score and medical score with all-cause (A), cardiovascular disease (B), respiratory disease (C), and cancer mortality (D): pooled results of three prospective cohorts in Chinese adults. The model adjusted for age, gender, region, marital status, education level, income level, occupation, and alcohol drinking, as well as behavioral score and medical score mutually. CI: Confidence interval; HR: Hazard ratio. Credit: Chinese Medical Journal (2023). DOI: 10.1097/CM9.0000000000002379

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is one of the greatest contributors to global deaths. According to the American Heart Association (AHA), ideal cardiovascular health (ICH) is determined by a combination of seven behavioral and medical factors, such as (i) no smoking, (ii) body mass index [BMI] < 23 kg/m2, (iii) adequate physical activity, (iv) a balanced diet, (v) total cholesterol < 200 mg/dL, (vi) blood pressure < 120/80 mm Hg, and (vii) fasting glucose < 100 mg/dL.

Although these factors have been linked to reduced rates of mortality, studies in Asian populations have been limited. Moreover, how the behavioral and medical factors interact with each other is also not well understood. As a result, intervention programs for CVD in Asian countries like China have been hampered.

A study published on January 20, 2023 in the Chinese Medical Journal sought answers to this predicament. To ensure adequate representation of the Chinese population, the researchers pooled data from three study cohorts encompassing almost 200,000 individuals and examined the association between ICH and death due to different causes.

Corresponding author Dr. An Pan, a Professor of Epidemiology at the School of Public Health, Tongji Medical College, explains, "To prevent premature death, it is imperative to identify population-specific determinants of health. The goal was to examine these factors in a Chinese population and provide an impetus for improving healthcare management in China."

In total, the study included 198,164 Chinese adults from the China Kadoorie Biobank study (20042018), Dongfeng-Tongji cohort (20082018), and Kailuan study (20062019). To remove possible bias, only participants without CVD and cancer at the start of the study were included. Each participant was scored based on their performance on the seven behavioral and medical parameters (poor performance being scores as 0; intermediate performance as 1; and ideal performance as 2).

Accordingly, the highest possible behavioral score was 8, while the highest possible medical score was 6. By adding these scores, a 14-point ICH score was computed. This ICH score was then weighed against death due to any cause (all-cause mortality), CVD, respiratory dysfunction, and cancer.

Through its large sample size and follow-up durations, the study achieved an overall follow-up period of around 2 million person-years. During this period, compared to those with an ICH score of 06, individuals with ICH scores of 1014 had an approximately 50% lower risk of all-cause, CVD, and respiratory mortality. This suggested that ICH is associated with lower all-cause, CVD, and respiratory mortality among Chinese adults.

Interestingly, although there was no interaction between medical and behavioral factors, higher behavioral and medical scores were both independently associated with lower rates of all-cause and CVD mortality. However, only higher behavioral health scores were associated with lower rates of death due to cancer and respiratory dysfunction.

Shedding light on the importance of these findings, Dr. Shouling Wu of Kailuan Hospital, also a corresponding author on this study, clarifies, "The results of this study are powered by a large sample size, the use of multiple patient cohorts, and the long-term follow-up. They are consistent with the results of previous studies from western populations and provide a much clearer roadmap for premature death prevention in the Chinese population."

Indeed, the findings show that both behavioral and medical health parameters need to be targeted in order to prevent premature deaths in China. Individuals should try to maintain healthy lifestyles and cardiometabolic conditions, and policies that aid this goal should be developed.

While additional studies are needed to validate the association of ICH with non-CVD mortality or mortality due to different subtypes of CVD and to explore unseen interactions between behavioral and medical parameters, this study attests to the power of individual lifestyle behaviors in prolonging one's lifespan and potentially one's quality of life.

More information: Yanbo Zhang et al, Ideal cardiovascular health and mortality: pooled results of three prospective cohorts in Chinese adults, Chinese Medical Journal (2023). DOI: 10.1097/CM9.0000000000002379

Provided by Cactus Communications
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Sex- and Age-Specific Incidence Rates of Frontotemporal Lobar Degeneration in Europe per 100 000 Person-Years. Estimates were derived from the fixed effects of a random-intercept Poisson model including age (cubic polynomial) and sex as covariates and a random intercept for residence area. Shading indicates 95% bootstrapped CIs. Credit: JAMA Neurology (2023). DOI: 10.1001/jamaneurol.2022.5128

JAMA Neurology has published the results of the first international population-based study on epidemiology of Frontotemporal Dementia (FTD) involving nine European countries and thirteen neurological research centers, each of whom have recognized expertise in the FTD field. Researchers from the University of Eastern Finland took part in the study conducted by the FRONTIERS consortium (FRONTotemporal dementia Incidence European Research Study).

While the annual incidence rate of FTD in Europe was 2.4 cases per 100,000 person-years, in Northern Savo in Finland it was approximately 7 cases per 100,000 person-yearsmore than twice the European average.

FTD is a rare neurodegenerative disease characterized by progressive atrophy of frontal and temporal lobes, determining a broad spectrum of heterogeneous clinical conditions, characterized by social and executive dysfunctions, personality changes, impairment of language, and deficits of motor functions.

FTD is inherited in nearly 30% of patients and several clinical variants have been identified, such as behavioral variant FTD (bvFTD), Primary Progressive Aphasias (PPAs), Corticobasal Syndrome, Progressive Supranuclear Palsy and FTD associated with motor neuron disease.

Thanks to the study carried out by FRONTIERS, today we know more about the frequency and the clinical features of the disease.

The publication in JAMA Neurology is a retrospective population-based study. All the new cases with FTD diagnosed between June 1st, 2018 and May 31st, 2019 were considered, with an overall survey population of about 11 million people.

The analysis of clinical and biological data on 267 cases revealed an annual incidence rate of FTD in Europe of 2.4 cases per 100,000 person-years, with a peak of 14 cases per 100,000 around 71 years of age. The incidence was higher among men, 2.8 cases per 100,000 person-years, than among women, 1.9 cases per 100,000 person-years. The frequency of the different clinical phenotypes was also described.

Contrary to previous knowledge, this study clearly shows that the disease can strike in advanced stage of life in a considerable percentage of casesabout 30%and not only in the presenile period. This result will allow researchers, but also health policy makers, to develop appropriate strategies to deal with FTD. Based on the results of this study, it is possible to estimate that the number of new cases of FTD per year in Europe will be around 12,000 cases. This is the first study to estimate the possible burden due to FTD in Europe.

More information: Giancarlo Logroscino et al, Incidence of Syndromes Associated With Frontotemporal Lobar Degeneration in 9 European Countries, JAMA Neurology (2023). DOI: 10.1001/jamaneurol.2022.5128 Journal information: Archives of Neurology
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Credit: Nature Biotechnology (2023). DOI: 10.1038/s41587-022-01558-x

In many ways, our intestines serve as the front gate between our bodies and the world around us. They help digest our food and absorb our medications. They send alarm signals when harmful bacteria, viruses, and allergens invade.

When the intestines malfunction, or fail to form properly during development, a wide range of gastrointestinal diseases can occur; such as inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE), and celiac disease. Many infectious diseases, ranging from mild to deadly, also start in the intestine.

Now, scientists at Cincinnati Children's report a significant breakthrough in a years-long quest to build a better model for studying gastrointestinal disease. They have succeeded at developing a complex, next-generation intestinal organoid that includes key elements of a functional immune system.

Detailed findings were published online Jan. 26, 2023, in Nature Biotechnology. The co-authors say this is the first in vivo organoid of any type (heart, liver, stomach, etc.) to incorporate a functional immune system.

"Not only does the organoid support the migrating immune tissuesrather than rejecting thembut those immune cells and structures go on to improve the development of the intestine itself, specifically its ability to recognize foreign antigens," says corresponding author Michael Helmrath, MD.

Five-year project blends 'humanized' mouse and organoid tech

Many of the experiments that helped confirm the new findings were led by first author Carine Bouffi, Ph.D., then a member of Helmrath's lab at Cincinnati Children's and now a senior scientist at the pharmaceutical company Boehringer Ingelheim. Overall, the work involved 20 scientists at five institutions.

The work started with growing intestine organoids following an innovative process created in 2011 by experts with the Center for Stem Cell & Organoid Medicine (CuSTOM) at Cincinnati Children's. That team was the first in the world to produce a functioning intestine organoid from induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs), a type of stem cell made from mature human cells instead of fetal tissue. The center has achieved several milestones since, including producing the world's first esophagus and stomach organoids.

After growing for 28 days in a dish, the tiny organoid spheres had reached a few millimeters in size. Then came the next crucial step: transplanting the organoids into an immunosuppressed mouse to avoid rejection of the human tissue.

In this study, to investigate the role of the immune system during development, the team used "humanized" mice that had been genetically modified to suppress their own immune systems, which allowed transplanted human immune cells to function instead. Many research centers around the world use similar humanized mice in their projects.

The team members performed delicate surgery to transplant the organoids into mice by placing them under a membrane surrounding their kidneys. There, the organoids continued to grow more than 1,000-fold to about 1 cm in diameter (about the size of a pea).

At 12, 16 and 20 weeks, the lab team collected organoids to analyze the types of cells they contained. They found that the organoids contained multiple types of human immune cells that migrated from the humanized mice, including CD45+ cells and important cell formations called gut-associated lymphoid tissue (GALT) structures.

"We saw that immune cells from the humanized mouse migrated to the organoid," Helmrath says. "We saw the same types of cells, following the same sequences of development, that we see in human development."

Importantly, the team further confirmed that functional M cellsa key type of immune signaling cellwere produced only when humanized tissues were exposed to specific bacterial antigens. Achieving this required exposing the inside of the tiny developing intestines to fragments of E. coli bacteria, a microbe normally found in human intestine. This triggered the organoid tissue to secrete antibodies in reaction to the exposure.

"When we started this project, we did not know if implanting intestinal organoids in humanized mice would work, since it had never been done before," Bouffi says. "When we got the first results, we saw the infiltration of immune cells in the organoids and I thought that the host mouse was rejecting the organoid. But after further analysis, we found that the immune cells were actually organized and later developed into an immune tissue comparable to a human intestine. Organoids are remarkable."

Potential uses for next-gen intestinal organoids

The first applications for these improved organoids will likely involve using them as testing platforms to learn more about the many immune-mediated diseases affecting the digestive tract, Helmrath says. Unlike animal models, organoids can be grown to more accurately reflect the genetic conditions of a common disease state or even to act as "avatars" that mimic organ tissue from a specific patient.

"There are broad potential applications to these findings, not just for intestine organoids but for all organs affected by immune-mediated disease," Helmrath says.

Longer term, scientists hope to replicate their success in mice with larger animal hosts that can produce larger volumes of human organoid tissue. If successful, lab-started organ tissues eventually might serve as living patches that could help damaged organs heal themselves before people require full-organ transplantation.

More information: Carine Bouffi et al, In vivo development of immune tissue in human intestinal organoids transplanted into humanized mice, Nature Biotechnology (2023). DOI: 10.1038/s41587-022-01558-x Journal information: Nature Biotechnology
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Scanning electron micrograph of Mycobacterium tuberculosis bacteria, which cause TB. Credit: NIAID

Scientists may have solved the question of why Ashkenazi Jews are significantly more susceptible to a rare genetic disorder known as Gaucher diseaseand the answer may help settle the debate about whether they are less susceptible to tuberculosis (TB).

In research published today (February 6) in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), Cambridge scientists, with colleagues in the Netherlands, Spain, and Pennsylvania, U.S., show that the same biological mechanisms that underlie Gaucher disease are also effective at clearing TB infection.

The discovery, made while studying TB susceptibility in zebrafish, suggests that genetic variants that increase the risk of Gaucher also protect against TB, giving them a selective advantagethat is, making the variants more likely to be passed down from generation to generation.

In 2021, an estimated 10.6 million people worldwide fell ill with TB and 1.6 million people died from the disease. Most people manage to clear the infection themselves, however, only around 1 in 10 to 20 people will go on to develop the disease.

Professor Lalita Ramakrishnan and colleagues from the University of Cambridge and the Medical Research Council Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Cambridge, are interested in what makes some people susceptible to TB while others appear to be protected. She uses zebrafish to model human disease as it is relatively easy to manipulate zebrafish's genetics, and their immune systems share many similarities with those of humans.

During their research, her team had previously found that zebrafish with mutations that impaired the digestion of proteins by lysosomes became more susceptible to TB. Lysosomes are components of our cells that break down unwanted materials, including proteins and fats, using enzymes. When a mutation affects the production of these enzymes, it can lead to a build-up of toxic materials.

One type of cell that is vulnerable to this build-up is the macrophage, a type of immune cell that 'eats' toxic material, including bacteria and waste products. In lysosomal disorders, the macrophages become enlarged because of accumulation of undigested material in their lysosomes and move slowly, hampering their ability to fight infection.

Professor Ramakrishnan said, "Macrophages need to move quickly to attack invading bacteria and viruses. Their name means 'big eater,' and this is exactly what they do. But with lysosomal disorders, they're unable to break down the food they eat, which makes them bloated and sluggish, unable to perform their duties."

However, when Ramakrishnan and colleagues modeled a lysosomal storage disease known as Gaucher disease, they found something unexpected: TB resistance rather than susceptibility.

Gaucher disease is a rare disease, affecting around one in 40,000 to 60,000 births in the general population, but rates are significantly higher among Ashkenazi Jewsaround one in 800 births. In most cases, the disease can be relatively mildwith symptoms including enlarged spleen and liver, and anemiaand around two-thirds of people carrying two copies of the most common genetic variant are unaware they are carriers.

When the researchers genetically engineered zebrafish with genetic variants causing Gaucher disease that are common among Ashkenazi Jews, as anticipated their macrophages became enlarged and unable to break down the toxic materials, in this case an unusual type of fat (called sphingolipids) rather than protein. But when the team exposed the fish to TB, they discovered unexpectedly that the fish were resistant to infection, not susceptible.

The reason for this resistance to infection was because of the fatty chemical that accumulates within the macrophages in Gaucher disease, called glucosylsphingosine. Glucosylsphingosine was found to act as a detergent-like microbicide that kills TB mycobacteria within minutes by disrupting their cell walls.

Professor Ramakrishnan added, "We'd unknowingly landed in a debate that's been going on in human genetics for decades: are Ashkenazi Jewswho we know are at a much greater risk of Gaucher diseasesomehow less likely to get TB infection? The answer appears to be yes."

The Ashkenazi Jewish diaspora has experienced centuries of persecution, often forced to live in ghettos and migrate from country to country. They would almost certainly have been exposed to TB, which spreads more widely among poorer living conditions and densely-populated urban areas.

Although this genetic mutation is associated with Gaucher disease, the fact that it makes people more resistant to TB would likely have outweighed the potential fitness cost of Gaucher disease. This would have increased the likelihood of affected individuals passing on their genes to future generations and therefore spread the mutation within the population. A similar phenomenon is seen among some individuals who carry genetic variants that protect them from malaria but, when more than one copy is present, cause harmful anemia or even sickle cell disease.

Unlike the example of sickle cell anemia, however, only individuals who carry two copies of the Gaucher genetic variantone from each parentare likely to be protected against TB. That's because the one "healthy" gene generates enough of the enzyme to clear the macrophages of their accumulating materialand hence gets rid of the antimicrobial substrate.

Professor Timothy Cox from the University of Cambridge, a co-author on the paper, added, "Our discovery may provide clues to possible new treatments for TB. Drugs that mimic the effects of Gaucher diseasespecifically the build-up of glucosylsphingosinemight offer antimicrobial effects against TB."

Several such drugs have already been designed by Professor Hans Aerts from Leiden University, another co-author on the paper. Because these drugs would only need to be administered for a relatively short amount of time, any side-effects should be limited and temporary.
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The effect of different DNA extraction methods on cccDNA quantification by qPCR and SB in HBV-infected USG mouse liver tissue. (A) Schematic presentation of the experimental design used for the cross-validation. (B) SB analysis on non-digested DNA extracts using HBV DNA probes in three of the labs. (C) qPCR measurements of total HBV DNA and cccDNA in the DNA extracts. Bars depict the median and range across all four labs. (D) qPCR measurements of cccDNA shown separately for every lab, relative to the amount in the +PK DNA extractions. Bars depict the mean of duplicate measurements. +PK, total DNA extraction with proteinase K digestion; PK, total DNA extraction without proteinase K digestion; cccDNA, covalently closed circular DNA; HBV, hepatitis B virus; Hirt, Hirt DNA extraction, which does not include a proteinase K digestion; qPCR, quantitative PCR; SB, Southern blot. Credit: Gut (2023). DOI: 10.1136/gutjnl-2022-328380

Approximately 300 million people are chronically infected with the hepatitis B virus (HBV), which can cause liver cirrhosis or cancer. Consequently, there is an urgent need for the development of HBV curative therapies. Due to the unique replication strategy of HBV, however, quantification of viral DNA in infected liver cells, which is essential in preclinical and clinical studies, is technically difficult and not standardized.

An international research consortium led by DZIF scientists has now developed recommendations for the optimization, control and validation of quantitative viral DNA measurements, which could be crucial for preclinical and clinical evaluation of therapeutic strategies.

HBV is a DNA virus that specifically infects human hepatocytes. After infection, the DNA genome of the virus is converted by cellular enzymes into covalently closed circular DNA (cccDNA), which forms stable mini chromosomes within the cell nuclei by association with cellular chromosomal proteins. In this form, the viral DNA then serves as a template for the formation of new virus particles.

A major limitation of preclinical and clinical HBV research is the lack of standardized PCR-based methods for the specific quantification of viral DNA present as cccDNA in HBV-infected samples.

As part of an international consortium supported by the International Coalition to Eliminate HBV (ICE-HBV), DZIF scientists at the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Heidelberg University and the Technical University of Munich worked together with the French L'Agence nationale de recherches sur le sida et les hepatites virales (ANRS) and colleagues at Gilead Sciences in the U.S. to compare protocols and develop evidence-based best practices guidance to quantify cccDNA by quantitative PCR.

"When comparing different protocols for quantifying HBV DNA in tissue samples, we found that the coexistence of different forms of viral DNA as well as conditions of sample preservation and treatment strongly affect PCR-based quantification of HBV cccDNA," says DZIF young investigator Dr. Lena Allweiss, who led the collaboration of the six participating laboratories. Based on the study results, the team developed sample type-tailored methodological recommendations for the optimization, control and validation of the quantitative measurement of HBV cccDNA.

"The study will assist the HBV cure research programs aiming at assessing the impact of therapies on the cellular HBV reservoir in preclinical studies and clinical trials," says study lead Prof. Maura Dandri, DZIF scientist at the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf.

More information: Lena Allweiss et al, Quantification of the hepatitis B virus cccDNA: evidence-based guidelines for monitoring the key obstacle of HBV cure, Gut (2023). DOI: 10.1136/gutjnl-2022-328380 Journal information: Gut

Provided by Deutsches Zentrum fur Infektionsforschung
MONDAY, Feb. 6, 2023 (HealthDay News) -- Female patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) have worse outcomes when receiving rituximab plus cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine, and prednisone (R-CHOP) in the morning, according to a study published online Dec. 13 in JCI Insight.

Dae Wook Kim, from KAIST in Daejeon, South Korea, and colleagues performed a chemotherapeutic analysis using two cohorts of patients with DLBCL undergoing chemotherapy. The effect of R-CHOP treatment in a morning versus afternoon schedule was examined in a survival cohort of 210 patients and an adverse event cohort of 129 patients. Circadian variation in hematologic parameters was examined in about 14,000 healthy individuals.

The researchers found that for female but not male patients, progression-free and overall survival were significantly shorter when patients received chemotherapy mostly in the morning (hazard ratios, 0.357 and 0.141, respectively). Female patients treated in the morning had reduced dose intensity (cyclophosphamide, 10 percent; doxorubicin, 8 percent; and rituximab, 7 percent). This finding was mainly due to infection and neutropenic fever, with a higher incidence of infections (16.7 versus 2.4 percent) and febrile neutropenia (20.8 versus 9.8 percent) for female patients treated in the morning versus the afternoon. Larger daily fluctuation of circulating leukocytes and neutrophils was seen in female versus male patients, which can explain the sex-specific chemotherapeutic effect.

"We conclude that female patients should, if possible, avoid receiving R-CHOP in the morning for optimal chemotherapy delivery with maximum response," the authors write.
In-person jail visits are resuming at the Missoula jail after a long break due to the pandemic.

Visits resumed on Monday after they were canceled for almost three years, according to the Missoula County Sheriffs Office. In-person visitation at Missoulas detention center closed in late March of 2020 when COVID-19 hit Montana.

In-person opportunities resumed briefly in June of 2021. But when another wave of COVID-19 swept through Missoula, they were suspended again in October 2021 and have been paused since, Missoula Sheriffs Office spokesperson Jeannette Smith said.

Video conference visits were offered in the interim, which are still available.

Public visits can be scheduled for Monday, Tuesday, Thursday or Friday, and must be scheduled a day in advance at ICSolutions.com.

Days and times are assigned based on where the person is housed at the jail. No visits are allowed within 72 hours of a person arriving at the jail.

Prison visitation allows inmates the opportunity to meet with family and friends, maintain connections and social supports, and reduce recidivism of individuals once they are released from incarceration, Smith said.

According to the Prison Policy Initiative, benefits of in-person visitation at jails nationwide have been documented for years. In addition to reduced reconviction rates, studies have also shown in-custody adherence with detention facility rules can be linked to accessible in-person visits.
All Montanans have seen the bumper stickers and heard the chatter warning potential newcomers against changing Montana. This proud defense of our state often emanates from folks a lot like me; from hunters, anglers  people who love to hike our mountains and camp in the backcountry.

Most of us have been quoting those bumper stickers assuming that any change would probably come from interlopers in rainbow-painted VW vans, or maybe from dangerously liberal urban yuppies with their shiny new electric vehicles and brand-new Montana plates.

Montanans like us put up with our jobs all week just so we can hit the river on the weekends. We wear camo to the grocery store and show up at the bar for celebratory beers because of the hard-won elk in the back of our trucks. And while weve been right to protect what we care about; weve been very wrong about which people are focused on attacking our way of life. We can now see that those attacks are coming from fellow Montanans who should know better: Governor Greg Gianforte and his loyal Republican allies in the Montana Legislature.

There is little debate about what makes Montana special.

They aint moving to Montana for our Wal-Marts, former Governor Bullock was fond of saying.

For so many Montanans like me, a huge part of what makes this place special is our equal opportunity to world-class hunting and fishing. We know it all relies on the resource management system that ensures equal access for everyone.

This is all worth protecting because we fought like hell for it. Generations before us re-established decimated wildlife populations and then insisted on management and conservation programs prohibiting what jeopardized them in the first place, namely commercialization and profit.

The system that our state perfected strictly prohibits special treatment for the rich. It places wildlife in a public trust equally owned by all. Montanans even wrote it into our Constitution:

The opportunity to harvest wild fish and wild game animals is a heritage that shall forever be preserved to the individual citizens of the state.

We went so far as to establish programs like Habitat Montana, which uses public funds to facilitate land purchases and perpetual easements, thereby ensuring access for everyone.

Thanks to our laws and these systems, which for decades were supported by bipartisan majorities, Montana has been a beacon for what is called The North American Model of Wildlife Conservation. The results of strict adherence to this model have created one of the most important places left on our planet. Our public lands belong to all of us, equally.

In fact, our state is one of the few remaining places where private-jet owners and billionaire media tycoons have no advantage over diesel mechanics, schoolteachers or farmhands. For my family, and for thousands of other Montanans, this is democracy in its most tangible form. We are right to be angry and fearful about losing it.

Beginning two years ago, Gianforte supported a myriad of bills and pushed FWP regulatory efforts aimed at privatizing our wildlife and awarding special preference to wealthy out-of-staters at the expense of ordinary Montana residents. If your elk spot seems crowded, well, thats because Gianforte approved more than several thousand new non-resident licenses at the behest of those who think our wildlife is just about money. They are doing the bidding of powerful forces who wish to sell our elk and other wildlife  sometimes for more than $10,000 per hunter.

It's now clear that it is Gianforte and his GOP allies who are changing Montana for the worse by insisting on pushing privatization schemes deployed in other states, especially Texas.

With our legislative session in full swing and a new Republican supermajority in place, there is a new wave of bills aimed at our iconic wildlife and conservation systems. Some propose selling more wildlife for profit. There will be calls for even more non-resident licenses and more handouts to wealthy landowners. Some Gianforte-supported predator management policies already in place violate the most basic tenets of fair-chase hunting. It's all part of the GOPs effort to remake Montana into one of those places we all say we dont want to be.

Out-of-state forces arent doing this; it's our own governor and Legislature causing these problems. They are the ones who have declared war on our Montana way of life, and it's time we stood up and redirected our warnings their way. We are all responsible for telling them: Dont you dare change what makes this state so special.
Berserk man halts Burke school bus (Tuesday, Feb. 6, 1973)

The Burke County Sheriffs Office reported no record of the incident, but a man from the Enola community of Morganton is reported to have held up a Burke County school bus Monday afternoon in the area of Watershed Road.

The man, who is believed to be a former Broughton Hospital patient, allegedly broke the windshields of two vehicles and stopped the school bus. Bystanders report hearing the suspect say he believed the vehicles had no business being where they were.

Deputies with the BCSO and officers the North Carolina State Highway Patrol were reportedly called to the scene. One trooper said he found the windshield to a panel truck broken, the driver claiming that the suspect threw a bottle at it. It is believed the man threw a rock at the windshield of the second vehicle. There was no indication that he had a weapon other than rocks.

It was reported that deputies apprehended the suspect.

Boy Scout volunteer honored (Monday, Feb. 5, 1973)

Bashie Crutchfield of Morganton will receive the Silver Fawn award, the highest award for a female volunteer in Boy Scouting, from the Piedmont Council of the Boy Scouts of America at its annual banquet Feb. 13.

Crutchfields service to Boy Scouting includes serving as a committee member of Troop 182 at the North Carolina School for the Deaf, where she teaches high school classes. Her husband, Paul Crutchfield, is scoutmaster for the troop. She also has served as den mother of Pack 180 at Grace Episcopal Church.

She has served as an interpreter at Boy Scout Courts of Honor and meetings for deaf scouts and leaders from 1940 to present day. She has provided immeasurable assistance to scouts by helping with the sewing of badges, written work and merit badge work.

Family pledges to care for abused, neglected children (Thursday, Feb. 8, 1973)

Any child placed in the United Christian Shelter is bound to soon adjust. The attractive surroundings and the presence of a vivacious little girl and her dog will help any child feel part of a family.

Cheryl and Rodney Kirk, their 14-month-old daughter, Heather, and their black poodle, Annie, cant miss in easing the trauma the children coming to the shelter have experienced. The young couple, in their early 20s, has definite ideas and enthusiasm about the program on which they are embarking. They both love children and feel they can associate with the young people.

Rodney is a Burke County native and graduate of Drexel High School. He currently works as a counselor at the North Carolina School for the Deaf. Cheryl said she was inspired by the example of her grandmother, who raised more than 200 foster children during her lifetime in Minnesota.

The couple has confidence that they will soon win the love of their charges and want to make them feel that they belong.

Burke native develops first Black studies program (Friday, Feb. 9, 1973)

Judith Hawthorne Washington, a Burke County native and graduate of Olive Hill High School, recently developed and taught the first Black studies course for the North Carolina Department of Corrections.

The six-week program was developed as part of Piedmont Technical Institutes outreach educational project. Washington taught the course at the Umstead Correctional Youth Center in Butner. The students were inmates between 16-22 years old. The course included segments on the contributions of Blacks in the areas of literature, art, science, education and sports.

Washington graduated from Johnson C. Smith University with honors and is currently a full-time student at North Carolina Central Universitys School of Law. Her husband is a professor of law at NCCU.

Among us Morgantonians: J. Gordon Queen (Wednesday, Feb. 7, 1973)

Come to think of it, the more we are driven out on Bethel Road to take another look at the housing projects, the better we like them. Here you will find residences, apartment houses and paved streets aplenty. This will be one of the prettiest residential sections of the city and will be proof positive that Morganton will grow whether we like it or not.

The next thing on the docket is the Easter parade. Buy your Easter togs in Morganton and help build a bigger and better trade center. And speaking of trade centers, we sho have the shopping centers here now.

We like the way a number of downtown stores have been facelifted recently. Lets always keep in mind that downtown Morganton has been here all the while and will continue to be here.
Morganton Day School sixth through eighth graders recently traveled to Raleigh to compete in the Future City Regional Competition.

On Saturday, Jan. 21, 29 middle school teams from across the state gathered to share their city models and innovative ideas for this years challenge  design one innovative and futuristic adaptation and one mitigation strategy to keep the residents of your city healthy and safe from one impact of climate change.

The students imagined what the world could be like in 100 years and wrote an essay describing their futuristic city. They submitted a project plan, created a scale model and developed a seven-minute presentation. On competition day, they spoke with 21 judges and engineers describing their fully developed solution and expressing plans for infrastructure and feasibility based on various locations in the world.

The three teams from MDS worked together, diligently speaking with engineers and periodically traversing the room to support each other and check on the progress of each team.

After lunch, all of the teams and hundreds of parents gathered to receive specialty awards and watch the presentations of the teams with the overall highest scores. MDSs NeonCity took the stage as one of the final four and, after an outstanding presentation and questions from some of the top engineers in the state, became the North Carolina Future City Regional Competition second-place winner.

Morganton Day School students demonstrated research skills, communication skills, social skills, thinking skills and self-management as they prepared for and confidently represented the school. Each team came home with a specialty award recognizing their innovation and commitment to making the world a better place.

Overall, the students were awarded $1,250, which will go toward MDSs STEAM program.

MDS won the following awards at the North Carolina Future City competition:

Best Use of Infrastructure: Shiade (sixth grade). This award was given for overall thoughtfulness in the development of utilities, public spaces, transportation, energy sources, waste management, special services and each element of the city that affects the daily lives of citizens. Shiade was well-rounded in accessibility, inclusiveness, and the development of all aspects of the city infrastructure.

Mott MacDonalds Purpose Award: Bon (seventh/eighth grade). This global engineering, management and development consultancy recognizes students who show potential for developing sustainability and innovative ideas to address climate change. This award was given for the development of ideas that could create lasting change and show commitment to the goal of a sustainable future.

Best Project Plan: NeonCity (seventh/eighth grade). This award was presented by the Future Cities Regional Director to the team who showed agency throughout their project and developed a plan to set and achieve their goals, solve problems, make adjustments as needed, and ensure they are including the strengths and ideas of each team member. These are life-long skills that are the underpinning of this extended project and help students understand the importance of planning, setting goals, and working collaboratively as a team.
If you can see the audience, they can see you. Be silent backstage. Dont touch props that arent yours. Dont touch or poke your head through the set wall.

Thirty-one Anaconda students ranging in age from 5 to 17 years old sat in the theater of Anaconda Jr./Sr. High School and listened to these rules Thursday evening, before their off-book rehearsal of Johnny Appleseed.

The two touring actor/directors provided by Montana Childrens Theatre made quick work turning the schools wooden stage into an apple-tree-laden backdrop, with soft fabric made in the image of blue skies above green rolling hills and treetops adorned with red apples.

This show marks the first MCT production to grace Anaconda since 2020 because of COVID-19.

Copper Village Museum and Art Center in Anaconda has brought MCT to the community 23 times since 1990, according to Dory Larew, tour logistics associate at MCT.

Each show can accommodate up to 64 kids, Larew said, and the group travels to approximately 120 communities in Montana and 1,000 communities nationwide from January to May each year.

The kids work hard for the week MCT is in town, rehearsing every day from 3:45 to 8 p.m. during the school week  except for Monday, when part of the time is devoted to auditions.

One of the touring actor/directors in Anaconda this week, Joshua Bennett, said the rehearsals go from 3:45 to 5:45 p.m. for the whole cast, which then gets a 15-minute dinner break. The younger kids, who play the apple seeds, then go home and the rest of the cast rehearses from 6 to 8 p.m., Bennett said.

Anaconda homeschool student Katherine Kellogg, 15, plays one of the shows leads, Younger Johnny, and said this was her first time doing MCT in several years.

In a week, they make pretty good progress with this many kids, Kellogg said. She said she feels about 75% ready for the shows Saturday, but with Fridays dress rehearsal left, she could get closer to 100%.

Ingram Swimley, 16, who plays Older Johnny and goes to Anaconda High School, said he was surprised to get the main part.

Its been a really good experience, he said.

The last time MCT came to Butte was in 2005, Larew said. Orphan Girl Childrens Theatre hosted the theater group from 1992-2000, she said, and Butte Central Catholic School hosted for a few years after that until the last time in 2005.

For a $3,000 base fee, MCT will send two touring actor/directors to put on a show, including an audition, five days of rehearsals, up to three workshops and two shows at the end of the week.

Larew said there are many reasons communities choose not to invite MCT back, including money and resources. She added that sometimes, communities will say that after doing the show with MCT for a number of years, they can do it on their own.

Usually its a matter of money or interest, Larew said.

Larew said most communities are trying to break even, and some do, some make money and some lose money. She referenced one community in Connecticut that makes money by bringing MCT down as a summer camp and charging attendees $300 a head.

Kim Lorengo, the music teacher at Anaconda Jr./Sr. High whos been the pianist for MCT shows for what she approximated was 20 years, said there were a lot of homeschool students involved this time around. MCT held one workshop in Anaconda this year; an acting workshop for homeschool students.

Its nice to see them and the kids we teach do something like this, she said.

The touring actor/directors who went to Anaconda, Bennett and Christian Watts, said this is their first year in the position at MCT, and Anaconda is their fourth stop this season.

They wanted to get involved in MCT, they said, to not only inspire students who aspire to be actors in the future, but also to give them and those who dont skills that help them in life.

A lot of schools dont have a good arts program, Bennett said. And so its nice to bring theater to kids who dont usually get to experience it  This helps to give them the tools and the knowledge to be able to do theater later and not only that, but just help them in life as well. It teaches them to listen and follow directions and be able to understand that if somethings not their prop, dont touch it. It teaches them to have fun and work together as a team.

The organization sponsoring MCT must provide housing for the touring actor/directors for seven days, whether that be a hotel or host families. The sponsor can also choose to charge admission or ask for donations to get into the show, and all the proceeds of that go to it.
A bill designed to rein in rogue bail bond agents and Wild West tactics sometimes used to capture fugitives has passed the Montana House and is now before the Senate, where state Sen. Ryan Lynch likes its chances.

I think the Senate will see the same wisdom in it that the House did, the Butte Democrat said Monday.

Republican Troy Downing, the states auditor and commissioner of Securities and Insurance, proposed the legislation in response to a bounty hunt in Butte that turned fatal and other violent incidents.

Republican Rep. Bill Mercer of Billings and Lynch are sponsoring the bill and it recently passed the House with strong bipartisan support on an 83-17 vote. Mercer carried it in the House, and Lynch will carry it in the Senate.

Fourteen Republicans and three Democrats in the House opposed the bill, but all House members from Butte-Silver Bow and six surrounding counties in southwest Montana voted for it.

They included Butte Democrats Derek Harvey, Donavon Hawk and Jennifer Lynch, and Republicans John Fitzpatrick of Anaconda, Marta Bertoglio of Clancy, Gregory Frazer of Deer Lodge, Tom Welch of Dillon and Ken Walsh of Twin Bridges.

Republicans control both chambers of the Legislature but the House vote shows strong bipartisan backing.

Our agency is proud that our ongoing discussions with stakeholders led to broad bipartisan support for our bill in the House, Downing said in a statement to The Montana Standard on Monday. It's clear we need to enact reasonable sideboards to protect public safety and the rights of defendants.

Downing thanked Mercer for carrying the bill in the House and said he looked forward to working with Lynch to get it through the Senate and to the governors desk.

The bill would require all bail recovery agents to be trained and licensed and in most circumstances, notify police of planned apprehensions.

They would have to be 21 or older, could not be convicted felons and must be instructed on procedures for detaining people, their civil rights, the use of force and civil liability, among other things.

Numerous bail bondsmen have opposed the bill, saying its restrictive and based on the misdeeds of a few bad actors.

The bill as drafted is a knee-jerk reaction to a few incidents that have occurred across the state concerning fugitive recovery, John Looney, president of the Montana Bail Agents Association, told a House committee in January.

Downing says there were abuses before he took office in 2021 but some recent cases led to demands for action. Mercer told lawmakers that a botched bounty hunt in Butte was a tipping point.

Prosecutors say on Dec. 19, 2021, bondsman Jay Hubber and another man, Nicholas Jaeger, barged into William Harris house in Butte looking for a bail-jumper. There were several other people in the house, too.

Hubber tased the bail jumper and during a struggle, Jaeger took a gun from Hubber and in the chaos shot Harris, prosecutors allege. Harris, 42, was dead when police arrived. Jaeger, a convicted felon, had joined Hubber to assist in the bounty hunt.

Jaeger and Hubber, both 33 at the time, were each charged with deliberate homicide and aggravated burglary. They have pleaded not guilty, and the cases are pending. Downing suspended Hubbers surety bail license last year.

Anything can happen in a legislative session and even bills with bipartisan backing in both chambers can get derailed, often during late-session political maneuvering. But Ryan said he likes this bills chances.

I think its long overdue and common-sense regulation, he said.
Butte police reports

Knock it off

Late Friday night, two people who apparently really dont like each other were both at the Pair-a-Dice Bar, 1653 Harrison Ave. One of the individuals was taking pictures of the other with a cellphone and that person reportedly got pretty agitated and called the police. Officers arrived and told the pair to knock it off.

Criminal trespass

A call came in about an unknown man entering a home from the back door in the 400 block of West Mercury Street and walking out the front door.

The man turned out to be Scott Daniel Hockaday, 45, of Butte, who was arrested for the misdemeanor offense of criminal trespass to property and an additional criminal contempt warrant.

While being booked into the jail at about 3:30 a.m. Monday, Hockaday reportedly was found to have a baggie of suspected methamphetamine and a syringe, so he was also jailed for felony possession of dangerous drugs and the misdemeanor offenses of possession of drug paraphernalia.

Sunday arrest

Jackson Brodrick Allen Holm, 18, of Butte was arrested Sunday night in the 1800 block of Massachusetts Avenue for felony probation violation.

Saturday DUI

Patrick Louis Sassano, 50, of Helena was turning into the Comfort Inn parking lot when an officer noticed he was driving a vehicle with expired license plates. Once pulled over, the officer reportedly also concluded that Sassano was intoxicated.

After going through on-site field sobriety tests, Sassano was booked into the jail just after midnight Saturday for the misdemeanor offenses of driving under the influence (refusal) and no vehicle registration.

Suspected drugs

While leaving St. James Healthcare Saturday night, Ryan Christopher McConnell, 38, of Butte was arrested on two misdemeanor warrants for violating a no-contact order.

A syringe of suspected drugs was found in his pocket, so he was also jailed for felony possession of dangerous drugs.

No contact

On Saturday night, officers arrived at a residence in the 600 block of South Jackson Street to investigate a disturbance between a man and a woman.

The man, Andrew Michael Cross, 27, of Butte was arrested for the misdemeanor offense of violating a no-contact order.

Pushed to the ground

A woman living in the 300 block of West Granite Street reported to police that Robert Mateo Rodarte, 33, of Butte had grabbed her by the neck and pushed her to the ground.

Rodarte was booked into the jail just before 5 a.m. Saturday for the misdemeanor offense of partner or family member assault.

Taken to jail

Late Friday night, officers were called to investigate a disturbance on Park and Main streets.

Joseph Abraham Brian, 43, of Butte was at the scene. He had several warrants out for his arrest and was taken to jail.

Felony warrants

Two Butte people, Alex Shane Hemphill, 24, and Keisha Joann Barnes, 35, were stopped by a Montana Highway Patrol trooper near the intersection of Front and Atlantic streets Friday night.

The car Hemphill was driving had a temporary tag that had expired. He had a felony warrant out for his arrest for parole violation and had a pipe allegedly used for drugs in his possession.

Barnes had a felony warrant out for her arrest out of Lewis and Clark County and was also arrested.

Stolen property

Amy Marie Myers, 50, of Opportunity was allegedly driving without headlights when stopped around 1:30 a.m. Friday near the intersection of Diamond and Excelsior streets.

Once the car had been pulled over, a man jumped out and took off running. Myers, who allegedly had stolen property in the car, was jailed for the misdemeanor offenses of buying or possessing stolen property and failure to have headlights on vehicle.

More weekend reports

A box of Christmas decorations was stolen Friday from a storage area in the 900 block of West Park Street.

On Friday night, a call came in that someone was spinning cookies out at Stodden Park, but when officers arrived, the spinner and car were long gone.

At around 2 a.m. Saturday, it was reported that someone in the upper parking lot at the Big M fired off several shots. When officers arrived, however, the shooter had left the area.

Just after 1 p.m. Saturday, two men got into a fight in the 1300 block of Harrison Avenue but quickly parted company when officers arrived.

A vehicle was broken into Saturday night while parked at Montana Tech, 1300 W. Park St.

A car stolen in Belgrade was retrieved late Saturday night in the parking lot of the Town Pump, 531 S. Montana St.

At around 4:30 a.m. Sunday, someone living in the area of Silver and Washington streets heard a single gunshot fired. Officers arrived, but the perpetrator was not located.

Two persons on four-wheelers attempted to steal a battery from a trailer at around 2 a.m. Monday in the 1400 block of Texas Avenue. The would-be thieves were confronted and took off without a battery.
Authentic food can often bring people and cultures together through its deliciousness, and recently, a newcomer to Muscatine has been using her cooking skills to bring a taste of Ukraine to the community.

For the past few months since arriving in Muscatine, Zhanna Slyviak and her mother, Maria, have been making and selling traditional Ukrainian-style dumplings, also known as Varenyky.

Back in her home country, Slyviak said she dreamed of having her own restaurant. Before she could try to make that dream a reality, however, war broke out and she and her family were forced to move to Muscatine in October 2022 to stay safe. But while she may be using a new kitchen, Silviaks passion for cooking hasnt waned.

Here in Muscatine, we started making dumplings that we want to sell to earn at least some money since there is no work at the moment, Silviak explained using a translation app. We also want people in America to know how delicious Ukrainian cuisine is and have the opportunity to try it without leaving America.

Silviak is selling both savory and sweet dumplings at 12 dumplings for $10-12 depending on the flavoring. These flavors include potato and onion, potato and butter, potato and ricotta, potato and cheese, ricotta and spinach, sauerkraut, pork, chicken, blueberry, cherry and strawberry.

Although she has been selling for only a few months, Silviak has gained quite a few fans of her cooking within the community, though she hopes to reach even more people as she continues her efforts to raise some money for her family and find full-time, long-term employment.

When we lived at Deb Heusers house, we had very good sales, she said. Then the holidays started and we stopped selling them. Now we moved here to a house we rent [506 Iowa Ave., which is the pick-up location for orders] and want to resume our sales, but some people are afraid to order because they think we are scammers. But there are those who are not afraid and order, and they write very good reviews.

Silviak said if anyone was looking to have Ukrainian cuisine for an events such as birthdays and family dinners, she would be willing to cater for them. She also offers other dishes such as different pies and Ukranian Borscht.

We are open to people, so if you are interested, then we are too! she said, encouraging the people of Muscatine to give her countrys dishes a try. These are very tasty dishes that the whole world knows, and it is better to try and be delighted than not to try and be sorry.

To order a platter of dumplings, residents can reach out to Silviak through Facebook. A post that features all the dishes available for ordering can be found on the Muscatine Community Chat 2.0 group.
Muscatine is featured as No. 5 in a Travel Awaits recommendation list: 18 Midwest Towns Our Writers Say You Should Visit in 2023.

Cindy Ladage, the writer of the segment on Muscatine, focused specifically on the communitys history while writing, citing locations such as the National Pearl Button Museum, the Pine Creek Grist Mill and the Muscatine Art Center.

I had always been fascinated when I first learned about the Pearl Button Museum history. Ive just been kind of fascinated about that whole story, so I always wanted to see that, Ladage said, recalling her first visit to Muscatine. I stopped there about five to seven years ago, and I was really taken by the statue down by the river and by the Pearl Button history.

It was this great first impression that made Ladage all the more eager to return several years later in 2022, where she had the opportunity to take a historical tour that included another visit to the Pearl Button Museum.

I write a lot about farming history, and the fact that the whole pearl button industry was there in Muscatine fascinated me, and I thought that the Pine Creek Grist Mill was pretty interesting, too, she said. I wrote a story about it for Farm World, and I thought that the old barn history was pretty cool too with some of the things that are on site there.

Other highlights of Ladages trip, she shared, were her stay at the Merrill Hotel and the experiences she had while shopping, dining and enjoying the public art that could be found in downtown Muscatine.

I had no idea there was so much to do," she said. "You could just park and spend the day just going around to different places.

Ladage added that she hoped to visit Muscatine again in 2023 to see more of the communitys various events. In the meantime, she also hopes that her segment on Muscatine will inspire others to visit.

I think sometimes Muscatine gets missed by people  and I think that Iowa is a hidden gem that people dont get to visit enough, Ladage said. People shouldnt overlook these places because there is a lot to do there.
YOUNTVILLE  Napa Valleys most accomplished pruners  106 of them  gathered Saturday morning at Beringer Vineyards Gamble Ranch to showcase their skills and compete with their peers amid one of the soggier vine pruning seasons in recent years.

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The annual Napa County Pruning Contest, hosted by the Napa Valley Farmworker Foundation, brought farmworkers and their families into the vineyard to compete for eight prizes, four each in mens and womens divisions. Upping the ante, the competitions prizes in its 21st year were the biggest in its history.

First-place winners among the men and women went home with $1,200 cash, $350 in gift cards, custom belt buckles, new pruning supplies and Napa Valley wine. But the day was about more than the prizes that would be awarded.

Look at all the people, the smiles, the environment now; theyre bringing their families. This is like a fiesta day, said Arnulfo Solorio, Silverado Farming Co. operations manager and a founding member of the Farmworker Foundation, who served as the events master of ceremonies.

Rolando Sanchez, general manager at Walsh Vineyard Management and member of the foundations education committee, has judged the event for a decade and noted ahead of the competition, which is timed, that results would be heavily weighted on the precision and quality of the cuts.

Were looking forward to some really high-quality pruning. Were excited about getting everyone back into the vineyards and cheering on our best pruners in the valley, said Sanchez, who emphasized the refined pruning skills of the farmworkers meant that this years competitors would have very little margin for error.

As weve been doing this the quality has really improved, he said.  The standard that theyre having to hold up to get into the top positions is really tight. Youre talking about the difference of a couple of points between first and fourth place.

Contestants had the opportunity to sharpen and oil their shears before entering the vineyards to compete in heats, in which they were timed while snipping across five vines. Upon their completion, judges would closely inspect their handiwork, looking to scrutinize every imprecise cut.

Salvador Rios of Usibelli Vineyards, a 2006 contest champion, and Matt Ward, winemaker at Pride Mountain Vineyards, who were two of more than 20 judges, meticulously examined the freshly pruned vines, probing for errors.

They walked down the rows exchanging observations of jagged cuts and uncut water sprouts. This one is a little too high, They left the spur but its broken, and Theres an extra bud here or They missed a mummy, they noted to one another, docking a point for each miscue.

Rios acknowledged that since he won more than a decade and a half ago, the judging has become stricter, with a firm emphasis on precise cutting.

Another previous winner who partook in this years festivities as a judge was Celia Perez, who won in 2014, the first year the contest included a womens division. That year there were 13 female entrants; this year, there were 29.

Pruning contest is no longer a mans game YOUNTVILLE  The snipping of vines at Thursday mornings annual Napa County Pruning Contest was a sight familiar in most ways save one  the a

Ive been working in the vineyards for a long time and I love these opportunities for women, Perez said in Spanish. There were hardly any women that competed (in 2014) and today there are much more. Women are becoming less scared to participate and do these kinds of things because of the momentum and everything thats been gaining for women.

This years winner of the womens division, Alejandra Mendoza from Trefethen Family Vineyard, was a first-time competitor.

Im so happy and surprised, Mendoza, who has 16 years of experience in agriculture and five years of experience pruning grapevines, said in Spanish. She said she didnt know what to expect before entering the contest and was nervous to participate, but now she is looking forward to being back next year.

Also hoping to return in 2024 to defend his newly won first prize was mens division champion Rene Alejo representing FARM Napa Valley. He has 18 years of experience pruning vines under his belt. This year marked his fourth time competing in Napa Valley, and his first time at the top of the podium  he placed third in 2020.

Alejo came into the Napa Valley event vying with 76 other men for the title. That is the mentality you have to come with today, to go for first place, he said in Spanish.

Its a great feeling and it really means a lot. Its a lot of joy, its the pinnacle of what we do.

Rounding out the womens podium were Reyna Hernandez of Walsh Vineyard Management in second place, Ana Mejia of Trefethen Family Vineyard in third and Irene Escoto of Trefethen Family Vineyards in fourth.

On the mens podium, Jesus Alejandro Contreras of Pearl Farm Labor placed second, Lorenzo Hernandez of Walsh Vineyard Management third and Sergio Melgoza of Rocca Family Wines in fourth.

PHOTOS: 21st annual Napa County Pruning Contest
Fire crews are currently mopping up the remnants of the Old Fire, which spread rapidly to 570 acres several miles northeast of the city of Napa on Tuesday and led to evacuation orders and a road closure, but was 45% contained as of Thursday morning, and 55% contained in the evening.

Thanks to the constant work of firefighters and favorable weather, the fire hasnt grown since Tuesday, according to Cal Fire, and conditions have swiftly improved. The road closure at Soda Canyon Road and Silverado Trail was lifted on Thursday. Evacuation orders  which affected roughly 100 homes in the Old Soda Canyon Road area  ended on Wednesday. The large plume of smoke that could be seen throughout downtown Napa Tuesday was nowhere in sight Thursday, and there were no obvious traces of smoke in the air.

Zero structures were damaged as a result of the fire, and no casualties have been reported, according to Cal Fire. The cause of the fire still isnt known and is currently under investigation by Cal Fire and law enforcement, said Erick Hernandez, a Cal Fire spokesperson.

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Hernandez stressed the importance of Napa residents practicing emergency preparedness at all times.

With the recent increase of fire activity, we want to remind our community members to stay prepared and not wait for Red Flag warnings to be issued, Hernandez said.

Napa Countys emergency response also included a call on two volunteer groups: the American Canyon Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) and the Napa Community Animal Response Team (CART).

Saanen Kerson, vice president of CART, said the organization  a group of volunteers trained to evacuate large animals and bring them into shelter  was activated by the Napa County Sheriffs office at about 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday, while the Old Fire was still growing rapidly. The American Canyon CERT team was activated at about the same time, to run a command post on Soda Canyon Road and coordinate communications, said Powell Helems, director of the groups advisory board.

Neither group ended up responding to all that much this time around, but they were ready for action. Kerson said CART volunteers put out the word that they were available to help area residents evacuate their animals, and they waited on calls for service. Only one call ended up coming in, and Napa Countys Animal Services Unit responded to it, Kerson said.

Helems said about 25 CERT volunteers set everything up for the command post. Both groups were deactivated by the county at about 10 p.m. on Tuesday, he said, at a time when firefighters were having greater success containing the fire.

It was a good exercise for us as far as deploying the assets and getting set up, Helems said. We put those in place and next time well be even better.

Kerson said she knows theres a lot of livestock animals in the hills near the Old Fire, and she saw several trailers area homeowners were using to bring their animals out of the evacuation area early on, a sign that people have become more prepared than in prior years.

I have a feeling that everyone in Napa County knows this is a possibility, Kerson said. Its always best when people can evacuate with their own animals and have a plan.

But, Kerson said, its not always the case that people can be prepared to move animals, and in those cases CART can step in.

Were just so glad to work in this county where theres such a priority for preparedness, Kerson said. And so being activated early on in an incident is extremely helpful to be able to open that shelter, have things ready to go and be able to respond quickly. We have a wonderful partnership with the county and were really glad to provide this service and we really appreciate the priority they place on animals.
As COVID-19 began to rip through California, hospitals were deluged with sickened patients. Medical staff struggled to manage the onslaught.

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Amid the new threat of the coronavirus, an old one was also quietly on the rise: More people have suffered severe sepsis in California hospitals in recent years  including a troubling surge in patients who got sepsis inside the hospital itself, state data show.

Sepsis happens when the body tries to fight off an infection and ends up jeopardizing itself. Chemicals and proteins released by the body to combat an infection can injure healthy cells as well as infected ones and cause inflammation, leaky blood vessels and blood clots, according to the National Institutes of Health.

It is a perilous condition that can end up damaging tissues and triggering organ failure. Across the country, sepsis kills more people annually than breast cancer, HIV/AIDS and opioid overdoses combined, said Dr. Kedar Mate, president and chief executive of the Institute for Healthcare Improvement.

Sepsis is a leading cause of death in hospitals. Its been true for a long time  and its become even more true during the pandemic, Mate said.

This setback can and must be temporary, said Lindsey Lastinger, a health scientist in the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Preventions Division of Healthcare Quality Promotion.

Physicians describe sepsis as hard to spot and easy to treat in its earliest stages, but harder to treat by the time it becomes evident. It can show up in a range of ways, and detecting it is complicated by the fact that its symptoms  which can include confusion, shortness of breath, clammy skin and fever  are not unique to sepsis.

Theres no gold standard test to say that you have sepsis or not, said Dr. Santhi Kumar, interim chief of pulmonology, critical care and sleep medicine at Keck Medicine of the University of Southern California. Its a constellation of symptoms.

Christopher Lin, 28, endured excruciating pain and a broiling fever of 102.9 degrees Fahrenheit at home before heading to the Kaiser Permanente Los Angeles Medical Center. It was October 2020 and the hospital looked surreal, Lin said, with a tent set up outside and chairs spaced sparsely in the waiting room.

His fever raised concerns about COVID-19, but Lin tested negative. At one point at the emergency department his blood pressure abruptly dropped, Lin said, and it felt like my soul had left my body.

Lin, who suffered sepsis in connection with a bacterial infection, isnt sure where he first got infected. Days before he went to the hospital, he had undergone a quick procedure at urgent care to drain a painful abscess on his chest, and got the gauze changed by a nurse the following day, he said. Such outpatient procedures arent included in state data on hospital-acquired sepsis.

Someone with sepsis might have a high temperature or a low one, a heart rate that has sped or slowed, a breathing rate that is high or low.

It can result from bacteria, fungal infections, viruses or even parasites  and the challenge is that when someone walks into the emergency department with a fever, we dont know which of those four things they have, said Dr. Karin Molander, an emergency medicine physician and past board chair of Sepsis Alliance. Treatment can vary depending on what is driving the infection that spurred sepsis, but antibiotics are common because many cases are tied to bacterial infections.

The pandemic piled on the risks: A coronavirus infection can itself lead to sepsis, and the virus also ushered more elderly and medically vulnerable people into hospitals who are at higher risk for the dangerous condition, experts said. Nearly 40% of severe sepsis patients who died in California hospitals in 2021 were diagnosed with COVID-19, according to state data. Some COVID-19 patients were hospitalized for weeks at a time, ramping up their risk of other complications that can lead to sepsis.

The longer youre in the hospital, the more things happen to you, said Dr. Maita Kuvhenguhwa, an attending physician in infectious disease at MLK Community Healthcare. Youre immobilized, so you have a risk of developing pressure ulcers  not just on the backside, but potentially on the face under an oxygen device  and the wound can get infected.

Lines, tubes, being here a long time  all put them at risk for infection, Kuvhenguhwa said.

Experts said the pandemic may have also pulled away attention from other kinds of infection control, as staff were strained and hospital routines were disrupted. California, which is unusual nationwide in mandating minimum ratios for nurse staffing, allowed some hospitals to relax those requirements amid the pandemic.

Nurses juggling more patients might not check and clean patients mouths as often to help prevent bacterial infections, Kumar said. Mate said that hospitalized patients might not get their catheters changed as often amid staff shortages, which can increase the risk of urinary tract infections.

Hospitals might have brought in traveling nurses to help plug the gaps, but if they dont know the same systems, its going to be harder for them to follow the same processes to deter infections, said Catherine Cohen, a policy researcher with the RAND Corp.

Armando Nahum, one of the founding members of Patients for Patient Safety U.S., said that pandemic restrictions on hospital visitors may have also worsened the problem, preventing family members from being able to spot that a relative was acting unusually and raise concerns.

Molander echoed that point, saying that its important for patients to have someone who knows them well and might be able to alert doctors, My mom has dementia, but shes normally very talkative.

Sepsis has been a longstanding battle for hospitals: One-third of people who die in U.S. hospitals had sepsis during their hospitalization, according to research cited by the CDC. But Mate argued that sepsis deaths can be reduced significantly with the right actions that we know how to take.

In Pennsylvania and New Jersey, Jefferson Health began rolling out a new effort to combat sepsis in fall of 2021  just before the initial Omicron wave began to hit hospitals.

Its system includes predictive modeling that uses information from electronic medical records to alert clinicians that someone might be suffering from sepsis. It also set up a standardized workflow for sepsis patients so that crucial steps such as prescribing antibiotics happen as quickly as possible, hospital officials said.

The goal was to lessen the mental burden on doctors and nurses pulled in many directions, said Dr. Patricia Henwood, its chief clinical officer. Clinicians across the country are strained, and we dont necessarily need better clinicians  we need better systems, she said.

Jefferson Health credits the new system with helping to reduce deaths from severe sepsis by 15% in a year.

In New York state, uproar over the death of 12-year-old Rory Staunton led to new requirements for hospitals to adopt protocols to rapidly identify and treat sepsis and report data to the state. State officials said the effort saved more than 16,000 lives between 2015 and 2019, and researchers found greater reductions in sepsis deaths in New York than in states without such requirements.

If your child gets sick, he said, you shouldnt have to wonder if the hospital on the right has sepsis protocols and the one on the left doesnt, said Ciaran Staunton, who co-founded the organization End Sepsis after the death of his son. His group welcomed the news when federal agencies were recently directed to develop hospital quality measures for sepsis.

Such a move could face opposition. Robert Imhoff, president and chief executive of the Hospital Quality Institute  an affiliate of the California Hospital Association  contended that expanding the kind of requirements in effect in New York was unnecessary.

I dont think hospitals need to be mandated to provide safe, quality care, Imhoff said.

State data show that severe sepsis  including cases originating both outside and inside hospitals  has been on the rise in California over the last decade, but Molander said the long-term increase may be tied to changes in reporting requirements that led to more cases being tracked. California has yet to release new data on severe sepsis acquired in hospitals last year, and is not expected to do so until this fall.

For Lin, surviving sepsis left him determined to make sure that the word gets out about sepsis  and not just in English. In the hospital, he had struggled to explain what was happening to his mother, who speaks Cantonese. After recovering, Lin worked with local officials to get materials from Sepsis Alliance translated into Mandarin.

I cant imagine if it were my parents in the hospital, he said, going through what I was going through.

Photos: Napa Valley Faces and Places, February 5, 2023
With the coronavirus pandemic emergency quickly winding down, California officials appear to have quietly backed away from plans to require COVID-19 vaccinations for K-12 school students, a move that avoids the prospect of barring tens of thousands of unvaccinated children from the classroom.

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The shift comes 14 months after Gov. Gavin Newsom visited a San Francisco middle school to declare plans to make California the first state to mandate COVID-19 vaccines for its more than 6 million students.

The vaccine mandate, initially expected to kick in last summer, was put off another 12 months amid flagging youth vaccination rates that opened a debate over how the requirement would disproportionately punish disadvantaged students already struggling to recover academically and emotionally from pandemic school lockdowns.

Now, with no announcement or explanation, the administration appears to be quietly dropping the COVID-19 immunization mandate altogether. The education news site EdSource reported on Wednesday that the state would no longer pursue it, citing unnamed officials. When the Bay Area News Group asked whether the state was dropping plans for the mandate, the California Department of Public Health would not directly answer but did not dispute the EdSource report, noting that emergency regulations are not being pursued.

The Legislature considered this issue last year and did not enact legislation mandating COVID-19 vaccines for K-12 students, the CDPH said in a statement. The states COVID-19 state of emergency will terminate later this month, and per the recent announcement by the federal government, the federal public health emergency will end in May.

Napa school board vetoes attempt to block future mask requirements NVUSD trustees unanimously blocked a motion that would have prevented the district from re-imposing a masking requirement it lifted in March.

Newsoms office did not respond to repeated requests for comment.

But school officials like Superintendent Eric Volta of Contra Costa Countys Liberty Union High School District werent surprised and didnt expect the mandate would ever materialize for logistical and practical reasons.

I would have been shocked had they kept pressing forward with it, Volta said.

Most childhood immunizations, Volta noted, involve a shot or two and thats it. But with the COVID-19 vaccines, whose protection has proven to be temporary, health officials have been urging boosters at least annually, if not more often.

I dont know how wed be able to track a vaccine thats given yearly, thats what it comes down to, Volta said. Its one thing to have vaccinations by eighth grade, but a yearly vaccination? Oh, that would be a challenge to follow up on. And not to mention families being told they cant come to school because you dont have this vaccination?

Newsom in October 2021 said his plan was for the mandate to begin with grades 7 to 12 in July 2022, assuming the Food and Drug Administration by then had granted full approval of the vaccines for ages of students enrolled in those grades. Mandates for K-6 students would follow once the vaccine was fully approved for those ages as well.

The FDA granted full approval for Pfizers original formula COVID-19 shots for ages 16 and older in August 2021 and for ages 12 and older in July 2022. But primary vaccines for those under 12 and booster shots are still given under expedited emergency use authorization.

Napa school district suspends COVID-19 worker vaccination deadline set for March 31 Napa Countys largest public school system has hit pause on an impending requirement that its employees receive full vaccination against the coronavirus by the end of March.

In April 2022, the state health department announced that the mandate would not be enforced for the 2022-23 school year. It was the Newsom administrations last announcement on the subject. That same day, state Sen. Richard Pan, D-Sacramento, announced he was pulling his bill that would have not only mandated COVID-19 vaccination to attend K-12 schools but eliminated personal belief exemptions, as hed done in 2015 for other required immunizations.

At the time, thousands of middle and high school students were still unvaccinated and in jeopardy of being disenrolled. And vaccination rates among school-aged children havent improved much since. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that 25% of California kids ages 12-17 and 60% of those 5-11 have not been fully vaccinated against the virus.

Pan has since left office, and there are no other COVID-19 immunization mandate bills for school kids in the legislative hopper.

Either way, the bills proved problematic. In cases where parents successfully sued to block district-level COVID-19 vaccine mandates, courts have ruled that the Legislature vested the state health department, not local school boards, with that authority.

In light of recent court decisions, several large districts that had moved to impose their own mandates, including those in Los Angeles, San Diego, Oakland and West Contra Costa counties, have said they are following the states lead.

Some school officials are frustrated with the administrations silence on a mandate that would require significant time to prepare for. If its over, just say it, Lucerne Valley Unified Superintendent Peter Livingston in San Bernardino County told EdSource.

Much has changed since October 2021. Though children continue to be least at risk from the virus, current Omicron variants have largely been mild for adults as well. Most Americans, vaccinated or not, have been infected with some version of the virus. Mask and social distancing requirements have been dropped.

And the state has ended its requirement that unvaccinated school teachers be regularly tested to come to campus, effectively eliminating the teacher vaccine mandate.

Health officials meanwhile are unsure how many additional vaccine boosters will be needed and what formula. Variants of the virus that were prevalent last year  and that the latest updated vaccine booster was based on  are giving way to newer strains, all of which complicates implementing any mandate.

If this was going to be something they were trying to push, Volta said, it would be interesting how theyd handle it.

Photos: Napa Valley Faces and Places, February 5, 2023
The bodies of the 14 of the 15 Armenian soldiers who died as a result of the fire in the military accommodation were found in different parts of the bedroom n, and the body of one dead soldier was found in the lobby of the accommodation, in front of the entrance to the bedroom. Arshak Martirosyan, the head of the supervision department of the Central Military Prosecutor's Office for the investigation of particularly important cases of the military service, announced these details on Public Television.

According to him, the version of Arsen Saroyan, a representative of the Rescue Service, voiced on Public Television, that the bodies of all servicemen were on the beds, was dismissed by the testimony. He stated in his testimony that he was not at the scene at the time of the incident, and he perceived differently the verbally reported information that the soldiers were found in the bedroom.

Also, the prosecutor's office is looking into the claims of the relatives of the dead servicemen that there were tense relations between Captain Yeghishe Hakobyan and the soldiers. According to Hovsep Sargsyan, Hakobyan's defense attorney, Hakobyan did not live in that accommodation, and he did not have the opportunity to communicate much with these soldiers.

Earlier, Armenian News-NEWS.am reported that at around 1:30am on January 19, a fire broke out in the accommodation of the engineering-sapper platoon of the military unit located in the territory of Azat village of Armenias Gegharkunik Province. Fifteen servicemen have died as a result of this fire, and seven others were injured. Four of them were discharged from the Vardenis town hospital after receiving medical treatment, whereas three others with severe burns were transported to National Center of Burns and Dermatology in the capital Yerevan.

Immediately after the incident, the commander of the 2nd Army Corps and seven other high-ranking military personnel were relieved of their positions.

A few hours after the incident, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said at the Cabinet meeting of the government that an officer had poured gasoline in the stove of the aforesaid accommodation. After which, when the fire had gotten to him, he had thrownwith a self-protective instinctthe 5-liter can of gasoline in his hand towards the accommodation, and this had caused the fire.

But later, the platoon commander told reporters that there was no gasoline in the accommodation, essentially refuting the PM. The Military Prosecutor also stated that it is not yet clear whether it was gasoline or diesel fuel.

Criminal proceedings have been launched into this incident along the lines of which there are two defendants: the head of the utility operation service of the aforesaid military unit, as well as the head of the rear of the military unit and the latters the deputy commander in charge of rear and utility operation service. They are in custody.
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The world's largest gold mining company, U.S.-based Newmont wanted to buy 100 percent of its Australian rival Newcrest for about A$24 billion ($17 billion), the Financial Times reported. According to financial markets platform Dealogic, the deal could be a record M&A deal this year.



Newmont had offered 21 percent more for the Australian company than its shares were worth at the close of trading on Feb. 3. But after news of a possible takeover emerged, Newcrest shares rose 9.3 percent in trading Feb. 6. At the same time, Newmont securities depreciated 4.92 percent on Feb. 3 and continued to fall 6 percent in premarket trading on Feb. 6.



If the deal goes through, Newmont would control 70 percent of the combined company and Newcrest 30 percent. If the takeover goes through, four of the five gold mines in Australia would be owned by one company.



Newcrest said it would consider the offer. The company recalled that it had previously rejected another takeover offer because its valuation was too low. However, Simon Mohinney, chief investment officer of Allan Gray (Newcrest's largest shareholder), has already said he would not support the current deal, as Newmont also too cheaply valued its Australian competitor.



Newcrest was founded by Newmont itself in the 1960s as an Australian division. But Newcrest was spun off as a separate business in 1990 after it acquired the gold assets of miners BHP and Australmin Holdings. A potential deal could reunite the companies more than 30 years later.



That said, there is a risk that Newmont's proposal would lead to a bidding war for Newcrest, whose shares nearly halved in price between April and September of last year, the FT notes. Other major companies, including Canada's Barrick Gold and Agnico Eagle, are also seeking to consolidate the gold market in Australia.
HK now wide open, CE tells Saudi tech conference

HK now wide open, CE tells Saudi tech conference

Chief Executive John Lee, who is visiting Saudi Arabia, has said Hong Kong is now wide open for tourists and businesses.



He told a technology exhibition in the countrys capital Riyadh on Monday that the SAR no longer has any Covid restrictions.



While Hong Kong has been troubled for three years by Covid-19, we have already opened ourselves up to connect to the world," he said. "And just today [Monday], we resumed normal travel with the mainland.



Therefore if you are wondering, you need wondering no more. Yes, Hong Kong is onstage again, here on the main stage of the LEAP conference, and on the centre stage of the global arena. We are back in the business of creating business opportunities for you.



Lee added that Hong Kong, with steadfast support from the mainland and with its high degree of connectivity to the world, is a critical gateway for the Belt and Road initiative.



The CE said the SAR has plenty to offer to the countries involved in the initiative, including Saudi Arabia, in terms of capital and talent.



One of the exhibitors in the LEAP event, China Mobile International, said its experience in smart solutions in mainland China and Hong Kong had helped the firm break into the Middle East market.



Kathy Han, a Dubai-based senior marketing manager with the company, said the Middle East market offers great potential.



People feel like the infrastructure here is still at a very preliminary stage compared to mainland China or Hong Kong. But what we see is the government really has put a lot of effort into the digitalisation and telecommunications infrastructure, she said.



She said the company was in the process of signing a memorandum of understanding with Zain, a Saudi telecommunications operator, in a bid to reach a collaboration agreement.



The CE also met the president and CEO of Aramco, the state-owned oil company in Saudi Arabia.



Lee wrote on his Facebook page that he had told Amin Nasser about the unique advantages Hong Kong enjoys and the services the city can provide for the group, including supporting its listing in Hong Kong, handling future funding arrangements and unlocking investment opportunities in the SAR.
Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India], February 6 (ANI/NewsVoir): BGS Gleneagles Global Hospital observed World Cancer Day with a number of new activities in honour of their cancer patients and as a step toward delivering a comprehensive approach to cancer treatment and rehabilitation. The hospital officially opened its newly renovated oncology department, which was designed with the requirements of cancer patients and their families in mind to provide them with a soothing and more revitalising environment while receiving cancer treatment. A waiting area with motivational literature for patients to read and take home, herbal tea, soulful music, and enhanced seating chairs are all present in the lovely place, which is packed with inspiring tales of cancer fighters. These elements help to lower stress and improve care. Dr Prakashnath Swamiji, Managing Director of the BGS & SJB Group of Institutions & Hospitals in Bengaluru, as well as doctors including Dr Monika Pansari, Dr Karthik K Prasad, Dr Rajeev Vijayakumar, Dr Govind Eriat, Dr Prerana S Nesargi, Dr Mathangi J, cancer survivors, members of the privileged community, corporate executives, and hospital personnel attended the department's inauguration. Speaking during the screening and film's premier, Biju Nair, Cluster COO at Bengaluru's Gleneagles Global Hospitals, remarked, "The bravery of our cancer patients and their families inspires us every day. Launching this short film is our attempt to recognise their fortitude and to convey the idea that we are all in this together during one of their most difficult phases. The battle against cancer is not only about one person; it affects the whole family. We are making every attempt to make their journey as comfortable as possible." Commenting on the significant advancements in cancer treatment and research as well as the advantages it offers patients, Dr Govind Eriat, Consultant Hematology, Hemato-Oncology & Stem Cell Transplantation, added, "Of all cancer subspecialties, the amalgamation of cutting edge molecular advancements and affordable Indian generics, has been most impactful in the realm of haematology, hematological cancers and immunology, as they have translated into bedside care, at an affordable cost. Stem cell transplantation is now more accessible to deserving patients, like leukemia and myelomas and refractory lymphomas, in addition to Thalassemia and sickel cell disease. Newer immunotherapy platforms like using genetically modified T cells called CAR-T cells are now a reality, which will help patients whose blood cancer has not responded to standard of care, in the high risk and refractory segment. The unfavourable side effects that an allogeneic transplant delivers have been minimised by T-cell-based graft management procedures, which are now commonplace. Although the price is prohibitive right now, in a few years it will be affordable for a lot more individuals. The enterprise of national and international bone marrow registries to help patients without a family donor, had already saved well over 10000 lives, giving their families a second chance. Mesenchymal stromal cells are being used experimentally to help neuroregeneration, to help patients with spinal cord injuries." A vigorous cancer detection and awareness effort is required due to the worrisome rise in cancer incidence. Although there has been progress in raising knowledge of the possibility of getting cancer, there is still a real gulf between what the average person knows about the illness and what can actually be done to screen or diagnose it in himself or his loved ones. Dr Karthik K Prasad, Consultant Surgical Oncologist, commented on the initiatives the hospital is taking to raise awareness and the role of each individual to support cancer patients, saying, "BGS Gleneagles global hospital takes this opportunity to make use of social media for closing the care gap in cancer treatment by emphasising on the collective social responsibility of the public towards this. Every individual in the society is encouraged to develop empathy towards cancer patients and help atleast one person close the care gap and reach out to appropriate cancer caregivers. Sharing of an individual person's effort on the social media would motivate a thousand others to do the same. We the oncology team at BGS Gleneagles global hospital encourage sharing posts on "how I helped a cancer patient" and share it on instagram with the #we closed the care gap." What if we tell you Cancer need not be the end of life? Cancer was never meant to be scary; it is the way we look at it. To view short film, click here. BGS Gleneagles Global Hospital at Kengeri, Bengaluru is one of Karnataka's most renowned multi-organ transplant and tertiary care multi-specialty hospital, with specialization in Gastroenterology, Cancer Care, Neurosciences, Renal Sciences and Cardiac Sciences. The NABH and NABL accredited hospital operates 450 beds. A modern Cath Lab, 6 operation theatres and advanced imaging services (Trubeam STX and Tesla MRI) offer cutting edge emergency and critical care management, in accordance with internationally approved clinical protocol. Over one and a half decades of clinical excellence has earned the hospital tie-ups with all major cashless health insurance players and is the preferred choice hospital of all major corporates in the neighbourhood. The hospital also offers Video Consult services to its patients in India, Africa, and the SAARC nations. BGS Gleneagles Global Hospital is a part of IHH Healthcare, one of the world's largest healthcare providers. With its full spectrum of integrated services, dedicated people, reach and scale, and commitment to quality and safety, IHH aspires to be the world's most trusted healthcare services network, united by a single purpose: to touch lives and transform care. This story has been provided by NewsVoir. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of this article. (ANI/NewsVoir)
Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], February 6 (ANI/BusinessWire India): Post the pandemic everyone has had their share of learnings and adjustments, some that need bouncing back and some that showed the importance of slowing down and appreciating what each one has. Thus, an emerging trend has been observed in the wake of the lockdown recently, wherein, the urban population, across all age groups has been taking time off from their routine to reflect and rejuvenate in the lap of nature, allowing mother nature to heal their core and feel a sense of calm. The birth of the Living Liberation series of Spiritual Retreats stems from the fact that one need not wait for feeling liberated in the later stages of their life. It is integral to learn how to live freely in the present by developing the ability to detach from anxiety, stress, depression or anything that does not aid in living a peaceful and happy life. This retreat will give each individual the necessary tools to alter habits at a deep level, release stagnant emotions, become aware of self-sabotaging subconscious beliefs, learn to trust intuition and strengthen the connection between the conscious and subconscious mind. The days will be focused inward, with the intent of strengthening the relationship between body, mind and soul. Rudra kickstarted this movement with the first retreat in Nepal where participants attended from all across the world including India, the USA and the gulf region. The journey that began with each individual coming in as a participant, ended with all feeling like one family that experienced healing, laughter, joy and togetherness. Upcoming Living Liberation Retreat at Rishikesh Rishikesh is a place where the body is said to meet the soul, leading to Samadhi. It is where one can easily connect to the deeper essence within, away from all the demands of worldly life outside. Holistic approach At the retreat the participants will go through a well-curated journey that involves healing at four levels of their being - physical, emotional, mental and spiritual. Commenting on the announcement of the retreat, Jagriti Kajaria, Founder of Rudra, shares, "I strongly believe that every breath is an opportunity to create a new experience and a new YOU. The new experiences must be in the direction of feeling free at your core." Highlights of the retreat: 1. Core Healing of past traumas and baggage with the healing energies of Mother Ganga. 2. Meditate in the serene outdoors, near the gushing Ganga and experience deep peace. 3. Activate Kundalini with meditations, kriyas, and fast-paced activity, & allow this to work on the stagnant energy stored in the body cells. 4. Experience self-awareness and self-reflection through fun group activities & discover the inner power. 5. Hatha Yoga sessions with an International expert. 6. A special gift of learning the Rudra Kriya and breathwork to enhance everyday performance and free the mind space to take a leap in the material & spiritual journey. 7. Awaken & stirring of the soul with the sounds of singing, flute, and hand pan during live sessions 8. Learn tools to empower oneself to enjoy the journey of life. To aid this experience the arrangements are made accordingly - Sattvic food, Comfortable stay in the lap of mother ganga, arrangements for participants to bond through various fun-filled games and activities. The whole team at Rudra has been striving to spread the message of spirituality in India and beyond. They believe that the retreat will be a space for learning, experiences, connections, and conversations, where spiritual seekers from around the world can gather. Embark on the spiritual pursuit to bring brilliance to light through the Living Liberation Retreat scheduled from 2nd to 6th March at Rishikesh. This story is provided by BusinessWire India. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of this article. (ANI/BusinessWire India)
New Delhi [India], February 6 (ANI/GPRC): Tycoon Global Media hosted the Grand Tycoon Global Achievers Awards in Mumbai on 31st Jan 2023 with glitz & glamour. Anupam Kher, Vardhan Puri, Bosco Martin, Darshan Kumar, Anees Bazmee, Neil Nitin Mukesh, Vishal Furia, Raaj Shaandilya, Warda Nadiadwala, Divya Khosla, Anil Sharma, Murad Khetani, and many others were among the B-Town giants who attended the event and received awards. Business tycoons Varun Chaudhary, MD, CG Corp Global, Shhyam Singhania, Chairman Enarr Capital and Jayesh Choudhary Director, Nakoda Group of Industries were present. Numerous Bollywood and television superstars, as well as socialites, were honoured with awards. The dazzling evening celebrations were graced by a galaxy of stars from the Film, TV, business & advertising fraternity. Farah Titina has done several noteworthy advertisements both for the print, electronic & digital media for Brands like Santoor, Reliance Jio, Renault, Nikon, Vedanta Group, Panasonic, Caratlane by Tanishq, Tata Salt, Godrej Interio, Flipkart, Ola, Jeevansaathi, Himalaya Kajal, Wai Wai noodles, Imagica; etc. Her upcoming projects include a Feature film and Music Videos.She has been conferred with the "Emerging Ad Queen of the Year" Award as she has acted in around 100 Advertisements in her career to date. The Founder and Editor, Sanjeev Jain states "Our mission is to touch and change millions of lives and their entrepreneurial journeys". Tycoon Global Achievers Awards was an effort to get much-deserved recognition for these stories of commendable grit and persistence. This story is provided by GPRC. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of this article. (ANI/GPRC)
New Delhi [India], February 6 (ANI/SRV): Zeblearn has been awarded the Most Trusted Sap & IT Online Training Edtech Company at the prestigious Education Excellence Awards 2022 awarded by Ameesha Patel. Additionally, being one of the best pioneering institutes in technical courses, Zeblearn has also been recognized as among the Most Promising SAP PU Training Proivders-2022 by the popular magazine Siliconindia. Zeblearn has been awarded both honors on account of its stellar performance and its relentless efforts to offer the most in-demand technical skills in the industry. Zeblearn is the most trusted brand in IT learning which is evident from the students' reviews. It is having 4.5+ star ratings on google. Zeblearn's feedback in the market confirms that they have groomed countless beginners into SAP professionals. Google reviews of Zeblearn only speak one thing-Zeblearn is the best training institute in technical courses. Zeblearn provides SAP & IT Training which includes multiple modules like SAP-FICO, SAP-MM, SAP_ABAP, SAP-success factor, SAP-MM, etc. Apart from the same, Zeblearn also provides training on include advanced topics such as Google Cloud, AWS Training, Cyber Security, Web Development with Python, Data Analytics with Python, Data Science, and many more. Thrilled by both awards, Bhupinder Kaur (Director) said, "Appreciations like this help us to stay motivated on our journey of making Zeblearn the most affordable technical course provider. Zeblearn was formed with the single objective of providing the best-in-class training facility to its students and we have maintained our focus on curating the most industry-specific technical courses and bringing them to our students at reasonable prices. The courses are curated with in-depth knowledge of the industry and are delivered comprehensively by industry leaders having more than 10 years of experience. Our differentiating factor is providing quality education at affordable prices." The team of industry specialists affiliated with Zeblearn has ensured that they inculcate their practical industrial experience at the time of delivering the classes to its students. All the trainers empaneled with Zeblearn have industry experience of 10+ years. They also provide their students with technology support so that they can practice the course content and the same is made available post-completion of the course as well. They provide after-course support in terms of clearing the doubts of students as and when they arise. With their online availability and pan India presence, they have ensured that their courses reach beyond geographical boundaries and the benefit of quality education provided by them at affordable pricing reaches all. For more information please visit: https://sap.zeblearn.com/our-customer/video-reviews.html, https://sap.zeblearn.com/our-customer/student_review.html This story has been provided by SRV. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of this article. (ANI/SRV)
India's leading digital and mobile payments Paytm has received positive commentary from the global brokerages' analysts after the fintech company achieved operating profitability with Ebitda before employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) cost at Rs 31 crore, ahead of its guided timeline of September 2023. Global firms such as Goldman Sachs, Bank of America, CLSA and Citi have raised their price target on Paytm by up to 119 per cent. Citi, CLSA, and Goldman Sachs have recommended to buy the share post-Q3FY23 earnings, while Bank of America (BofA) maintained its 'neutral' rating. Goldman believes that Paytm's current share price continues to offer a compelling entry point into India's largest fintech platforms. Analysts at the firm also said that they expect profits to sustain, with continued strong traction in disbursals, operating leverage, and unified payments interface (UPI) reimbursement in March 2023.Another top firm CLSA said that Paytm has over delivered as the company's revenue was largely in line and expects that the positive earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation (Ebitda) journey of Paytm is likely to be sustained. Paytm's strong performance was highlighted by global brokerage firm Citi, which said that Paytm delivered adjusted Ebitda before ESOPS three quarters ahead of guidance on in-line revenues, driven by resilient net payment margins, sharply lower advertising and promotional (A and P) spends and overall fixed costs controls. It added that Paytm continues to leverage its payments platform to drive lending distribution, with significant headroom for growth ahead. Most analysts also said that an important part is that Paytm's future growth might not impact its balance sheet. Bank of America analysts said that they see room for Paytm to scale up aggressively without taking any balance sheet risks. In its view, the lending business provides an upside optionality to fintech firm, giving Paytm room to scale up subject to execution. This was also highlighted in Dolat Capital's note which said that Paytm's strong outperformance and improvement in operating performance has reaffirmed its belief that the fintech firm can not only generate strong top line growth, but also achieve robust profitability through operational efficiency. It believes Paytm can sustain/accelerate its current growth momentum. (ANI)
Pune (Maharashtra) [India], February 6 (ANI/NewsVoir): Sany Bharat, a leading manufacturer of construction equipment & heavy machinery has rolled out its 25000th machine from the company's India facility this month. Staying true to its mission of "Quality changes the world", Sany Bharat continues to stride ahead on a growth trajectory both in terms of product offering and retaining market leadership position and market reach. With the evolving demands of the construction industry, Sany Bharat has been enhancing its product efficiency with cutting-edge technologies to meet customer needs. At present, the company stands tall with a growing network of 42 dealers and over 260 customer touchpoints in India and South Asia. Speaking on the momentous occasion Deepak Garg, Managing Director, Sany Bharat and South Asia said, "Crossing the 25,000 mark in sales is a gratifying moment especially since market conditions have been volatile in the last 2 to 3 years. This has been made possible with the unwavering dedication from our employees and dealers coupled with the steadfast trust placed by our customers in brand Sany. Here, I would specially like to applaud our R&D team who successfully customized global technologies for Indian requirements." Elaborating about their growth story, he further added, "Our 2 decade-long journey here is filled with several milestones and achievements. Moving forward, we will continue to deliver best-in-class construction equipment that will surpass the expectations of our customers and dealers alike. Having said that, I would like to mention that the growth potential in India and south Asian market is immensely high and we will leverage on it by unveiling a new range of products this year with a focus on sustainability and automation." The brand first started local manufacturing in the year 2009 and since day one localization has been a prime focus. Sany has also reached out to young Indian minds, who share the same quest and zeal to bring innovation in the construction sector. Thereby giving employment opportunities and localizing the manpower. It will be pertinent to mention here that Sany Bharat has also tied up with local vendors to procure parts for machines to boost the local economy. Sany Bharat has come a long way from inception and has now localised over 50 models of excavators, truck cranes, concrete equipment, crawler cranes, piling rigs, dump truck and motor grader in India. Sany Bharat has been offering end to end solutions for all infrastructure and construction needs with its advanced range of equipment and latest technologies. Committed to providing the best product to the customers, Sany invests conscientiously in R&D to continuously improve the quality of existing products, identify new technologies, and develop new products. To provide round-the-clock customer service, Sany India has also set up a toll-free number 1800209337 for all queries related to sales and services. This story has been provided by NewsVoir. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of this article. (ANI/NewsVoir)
"There is good demand for oil palm in the market. By cultivating oil palm, farmers are likely to get a net income of Rs 1,50,000 per annum per acre," said Telangana finance minister Thaneeru Harish Rao on Monday while delivering the Budget speech for 2023-24.

India is the world's second-largest consumer and number one vegetable oil importer, and it meets around 60 per cent of its need through imports.

"The moisture content in the air in Telangana has increased significantly following the construction of irrigation projects, renovation of tanks and construction of check dams. As a result, Telangana has become suitable for the cultivation of oil palm. Today, the country is importing palm oil on a large scale," the minister said.

"The government is extending incentives on a large scale to motivate the farmers to take up oil palm cultivation which yields high income to the farmers."

Overall, the amount proposed in the Budget for the agriculture department is Rs 26,831 crore.

This is the last state budget ahead of the Assembly polls to be held later this year

For 2023-24, the state government proposed a total expenditure worth Rs 290,396 crore, of which revenue expenditure is Rs 2,11,685 crore and the capital expenditure proposed is Rs 37,525 crore. (ANI)
New Delhi [India], February 6 (ANI/BusinessWire India): Haier, the global leader in Home Appliances & Consumer Electronics has been recognized as the World's No.1 brand globally in major appliances in 2022 for the 14th consecutive year in a row. The accolade was given by Euromonitor International, the world's leading strategic market research organization. The reputed research organization also recognized Haier as the world's largest household appliance brand in terms of retail sales in 2022. The position marks a new milestone for Haier in the global major appliances market and for the remarkable sales of its refrigerators, washing machines, freezers, and electric wine coolers securing the number one spot. Also, Haier has been acknowledged for disrupting the market with its innovation-led IoT-enabled ecosystem. As the world's first and only IoT ecosystem brand, Haier has continued with its mission to establish itself as a world-leading ecosystem brand, bringing premium-quality smart home technology to households around the world. According to the data released by Euromonitor in 2022: - Haier has been the No.1 brand globally in refrigeration appliances in terms of sales volume for 15 consecutive years- Haier has been the No.1 brand globally in-home laundry appliances in terms of sales volume for 14 consecutive years- Haier has been the No.1 brand globally in wine coolers in terms of sales volume for 13 consecutive years- Haier has been the world's No.1 brand globally of freezers in terms of sales volume for 12 consecutive years. Commenting on the achievement, Satish NS, President, Haier Appliances India said, "It is a moment of great pride for us, as Haier has been recognised as the No. 1 Global Major Appliances Brand by Euromonitor for the 14th consecutive year. As a leader in smart living solutions, this recognition only encourages us to take the next leap in to the future of Industrial revolution 4.0. With India making significant headway in digital transformation and facilitating 5G network, it opens a wide array of possibilities for AI and IoT capabilities. This will boost our endeavour in offering customer-inspired innovation making everyday life more comfortable, convenient, secure, and safe." Haier's commitment to producing innovative products for Indian consumers has remained at the core of the business, and the brand has constantly evolved to meet consumer demands for inspired living. Haier has been strengthening its focus on producing premium products through local manufacturing in India. Its state-of-the-art facility in Greater Noida, Uttar Pradesh, has continued to evolve the brand to innovate for Indian customers, especially with premium and high-end products. Recently, Haier has also been felicitated with 'The Most Energy Efficient Appliance' award by the Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) - Ministry of Power, Government of India at National Energy Conservation Awards (NECA) - 2022 for adopting sustainable and environment-friendly ways of manufacturing and delivering to ensure minimal impact on our surroundings and planet. With a focus on enhancing consumer experience and commitment towards the vision of "creating new growth engine in the era of IoT with Rendanheyi Model", Haier is committed to working with its world-class ecosystem partners to continuously build upscale brand, scenario brand and ecosystem brand, and to set up IoT ecosystems in clothing, food, accommodation, travel, health, elderly care, biomedicine and education, and to tailor personalized smart life for users around the globe. This story is provided by BusinessWire India. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of this article. (ANI/BusinessWire India)
Lauding the unprecedented possibilities in the energy sector outlined by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his address at India Energy Week, global energy CEOs on Monday said that India is emerging as the most attractive place for exploration of oil and gas with the country poised as a global bright spot. The leaders from the energy sector in India and across the world, as part of the mega event met PM Modi and said the Prime Minister appreciated the suggestions made by international oil agencies. PM Modi on Monday inaugurated India Energy Week 2023 in Bengaluru and launched several initiatives including uniforms under the 'Unbottled' initiative of Indian Oil. These uniforms are made of recycled PET bottles. He also dedicated the twin-cooktop model of the Indian Oil's Indoor Solar Cooking System and flagged off its commercial roll-out. Later in the day, the Prime Minister launched E20 fuel at 84 retail outlets of Oil Marketing Companies in 11 states and union territories along the lines of the ethanol blending roadmap. He also flagged off the Green Mobility Rally where vehicles running on green energy sources will participate and help create public awareness for green fuels. Anil Agarwal, Chairman, Vedanta Resources, said he had never seen such a presence concerning energy security, renewables, alternative fuels. "Today, amazing meeting with the Prime Minister who addressed and the world leaders - Shell, Total, OPEC chairman - I have never seen presence like this about energy security, renewable, alternative fuel. I have no doubt India is a most attractive place for exploration of oil and gas," he said. Ranjith Rath, CMD, Oil India, said there is huge interest in India's initiatives towards decarbonisation in its green growth march. "Leaders from the oil sector in India and across the world met the PM. He appreciated the suggestions by international oil agencies. Everybody focused on India's effort for decarbonisation. PM highlighted green budget for this year," he said. The three-day event will see the presence of more than 30 ministers from across the world. Over 30,000 delegates, 1,000 exhibitors and 500 speakers will discuss the challenges and opportunities of India's energy future. Tengku Muhammad Taufik, President and Group CEO at Petronas said PM Modi has sent clear guidelines concerning energy transition. He also referred to India's G20 Presidency. "It's an honour and privilege to be here in India Energy Week. No less than Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been sending clear and strong guidelines on how to navigate a difficult energy transition," he said. "Today, the session with CEOs were truly enlightening. I am awestruck... of his leadership, ability to sell the concept and fight for the principle of energy justice even as world struggles with energy security and affordability for citizens who need energy as they go," Taufik added. The three-day event has brought together leaders from the traditional and non-traditional energy industry, governments, and academia to discuss the challenges and opportunities in the energy sector. In his remarks at the inaugural event, the Prime Minister underlined the major role of the energy sector in setting the direction of the future of the 21st-century world. "India is one of the strongest voices in the world for energy transition and for developing new resources of energy. Unprecedented possibilities are emerging in India that is moving with a resolution of a Viksit Bharat", he said. Referring to the recently released IMF projections of India being the fastest-growing major economy, Shri Modi further added that India has continued to be the global bright spot in the world stricken with the pandemic and the era of war in 2022. He credited the internal resilience of India that enabled the nation to overcome any obstacle irrespective of external factors. Shrikant M Vaidya, Chairman, Indian Oil Corporation referred to green initiatives in the union budget presented on February 1. "The recent Budget has emphasized on the green economy, green hydrogen, biofuels and this is the way the Prime Minister has given push for net zero economy," Vaidya said. Pattabi Seshadri, Managing Director and Senior Partner, BCG talked about takeaways and described the growth and potential in the sector as the dawn of the energy decade. "It's great to be here in India Energy Week. In many ways it feels like dawn of India's energy decade. We just came out of a session with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Obviously a lot of discussions happened around India. I was looking what the government is looking at (in terms of) accelerating these technologies and came out with three takeways," said Pattabi Seshadri, Managing Director and Senior Partner, BCG. These takeaways, he said, are stable long-term policies, a whole-of-government approach and partnerships across value chains. "I am really excited to hear the government's ambitions also its move to action. Looking forward to a great India energy decade," Seshadri added. Rahul Dhir, CEO and Executive Director, Tullow Oil, said India is at the centre of the global energy markets today. "Its privilege to be here. India, of course, has seen tremendous economic growth under Prime Minister Narendra Modi and we are looking forward to continuing that impressive track record. Energy is very central to sustaining and enhancing India's energy growth. Also what we see is energy market globally, India is at the centre of the global markets today. The conference was a great opportunity for us to share ideas," he said. "Prime Minister Modi has a clear vision of where he is taking the country...He has a remarkable understanding and appreciaton for the challenges facing the energy industry and the relevance of energy to India," he added. Monica de Virgiliis, Chairperson at SNAM, said the main takeaways of the events in India Energy Week are need for new energy, tenacity of industry, local demand and attractiveness of India to rest of the world. "We're here to sign contract with Indian Oil to support them as technical advisors," Virgillis added. According to Vartika Shukla, CMD, Engineers India Limited (EIL), said PM Modi is leading from the front in the energy sector. "At India Energy Week, PM Modi leading from the front & guiding us & bringing global energy giants with their thought-process, & their solutions for India are welcoming where we need clean accessible energy to for." Octavio Simoes, President and CEO,Tellurian said India has done a tremendous job in creating a raodmap that tries to achieve sustainability. "By sustainability, it is sustainability to the economy in environmental performance and it is the critical recognition that there is a need for hydrocarbons to make energy for all in a just and affordable manner. It is commendable that India is doing this," Simoes said. In his remarks, the Prime Minister cited multiple factors for that, first, stable, decisive government. Second, sustained reforms, third, socio-economic empowerment at the grassroots level. The Prime Minister elaborated on the massive social infrastructure including, financial inclusion through bank accounts, free health facilities, safe sanitation, electricity, housing, and piped water that has reached crores of people and changed the lives of a number of people who are more than the population of many major countries. The Prime Minister noted the positive changes that have occurred in the quality of lives of crores of India where they have come out of poverty and reached the levels of the middle class. He informed that 6,00,000 kilometres of optical fibers have been laid in the country so that every village gets internet access. Throwing light on the developments in the last 9 years, the Prime Minister informed that the number of broadband users in the country has gone up thirteen times and internet connections have gone up three times. He further added that the number of internet users in rural regions is growing at a faster pace when compared to urban areas. The Prime Minister informed that India has become the 2nd largest manufacturer of mobile phones in the world which has led to the formation of the world's largest aspirational class. "The people of India want better products, better services and better infrastructure", the Prime Minister continued as he pointed out the significant role of energy in realising the aspirations of the Indian citizens. Emphasising the need and demand for energy in India in the near future, the Prime Minister noted that the rapid pace of development in India will result in new cities being developed. Quoting International Energy Association, the Prime Minister remarked that India's energy demands will be highest in the present decade which presents an opportunity for the investors and stakeholders of the energy sector. He informed that India's share in the global oil demand is 5 per cent which is expected to rise to 11%, whereas the gas demand of India is expected to rise up to 500 per cent. He underlined that new opportunities for investment and collaboration are being created by the expanding energy sector of India. (ANI)
Addressing a ministerial session during the India Energy Week which began here, Ghais said that while energy security is important, meeting growing demand is equally important.

"A balanced approach is right for energy security. When we speak about energy security, it is always about production, capacity and supply. However there is a situation of demand also," he said.

Citing example of India, the OPEC Secretary General said that it is a classic example of exponential demand as it's economy is set to double by 2030.

In this context he said that OPEC believes that all forms of energy are required for countries like India.

The OPEC, Ghais added, is not against energy transition, but it believes that transition should be done by reducing emissions.

"We need to work together to achieve this in a just manner," he said.

--IANS ans/vd

( 189 Words)

2023-02-06-19:42:02 (IANS)
With India making it clear that it will "play the market card and import crude from wherever it's available", OPEC Secretary General Haitham Al Ghais on Monday said that the grouping had "solid ties" with India, as it is ready to supply more oil and petroleum products to it. Talking to media persons on the sidelines of the India Energy Week, Ghais, asked whether OPEC feared loss of market share as India is buying a bulk of its crude from Russia, said that OPEC shares a diverse relationship with India which dates back to a long time. "Relationship between India and OPEC is solid and it forges ahead into other dimensions like investments," he said. Earlier, Petroleum Minister Hardeep Puri while addressing a ministerial session, said: "India will play the market card and import crude from wherever it's available." He said that while there have been nations who did not enjoy the luxury of not having to worry about meeting their daily energy needs, India has managed to ensure smooth supply of crude to its people. On fuel prices, Puri said that the government took a hit and decreased excise duty on petrol and diesel twice in the past 15 months to insulate people from high prices of crude and let go of its revenue. "Now we are taking steps to ensure that there is no repeat of an energy crisis, and therefore we are entering into long term supply agreements. We will play the market card and import crude from wherever it's available," he said. Puri further said that India is also increasing its transition towards biofuels and green hydrogen. --IANS ans/vd ( 290 Words) 2023-02-06-21:02:04 (IANS)
Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS), the Civil Aviation Security Regulator in India, after reviewing risk and threat assessments carried out by Central Security Agencies, issues Aviation Security circulars/orders for effective implementation of security controls at all Indian airports for the purpose of safeguarding civil aviation activities/operations from an act of unlawful interference, said Minister of State, Civil Aviation, V.K. Singh in a written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha on Monday.

The CISF apprises relevant authorities from time to time about Aviation Security in different forums.

The security system at airports is reviewed regularly and upgraded as per the requirement by the BCAS in consultation with concerned agencies and stakeholders, including CISF and Airport Operators, depending upon threat perceptions, and corrective measures taken.

For enhancement of security infrastructure at airports, some of the technologies deployed and proposed for deployment include Computer Tomography Explosive Detection Systems (CT-EDS) machines and Dual Generator X-BIS machines.

Besides, Automated Tray Retrieval System (ATRS) has been installed at Chennai, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Delhi and is under trials at Delhi and a few more airports.

Moreover, directions have been issued for the Minimum Technical specification for Perimeter Intrusion Detection System (PIDS). It has been installed at Delhi, Hyderabad and Bengaluru airports.

Full body scanners at all airports have been planned in a phased manner, mainly at all hypersensitive and sensitive airports on a priority basis.

Radiological Detection Equipment at airports is also planned in a phased manner.

Biometric Centralised Access Control Systems have been launched in 48 Airports.

--IANS kvm/pgh

( 302 Words)

2023-02-06-22:18:02 (IANS)
JUBA, Feb. 5 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) on Sunday condemned deadly violence in Kajo-Keji County in South Sudan's Central Equatoria State that left at least 27 dead and several others injured on Feb. 2.

Nicholas Haysom, the UN secretary-general's special representative in South Sudan, called on the authorities to urgently launch an investigation and hold perpetrators to account.

"This violence is unacceptable and was in sharp contrast to the message of the Ecumenical Peace Pilgrimage to South Sudan, which called for peace and reconciliation," Haysom said in a statement issued in Juba, the capital of South Sudan.

He said at least 2,000 people, mainly women and children, have become internally displaced, including 30 unaccompanied children.

The UN expressed concern about the resurgence of killings and violence stemming from long-standing tensions between cattle-keepers and host communities in Central Equatoria State and in other parts of the country.

Over the past two weeks, the UNMISS said, escalating violence has resulted in at least 45 deaths among unarmed civilians in Kajo-Keji and Mangalla Payam, among other areas in Central Equatoria.

Haysom urged South Sudanese leaders to encourage restraint and avoid fueling any conflict, noting that the UNMISS is increasing patrols to the affected areas, and engaging the authorities as well as community leaders, to end these hostilities and seek peaceful solutions.

The UNMISS said it welcomes the government's deployment of troops to the area to ease tensions and protect internally displaced persons. 
Cardi B looked like a vision to behold as she arrived wearing Indian designer Gaurav Gupta's surreal, sculpture-like couture in electric blue! The stunning gown featured pleated structural features that ebbed and flowed from her shoulders, over her waist and all the way to the top of her head. The unique dress also featured a sleek skirt and a dramatic train. Cardi B has not been nominated for an award this year but she will be presenting one. Coming back to the outfit, it's a classic Gaurav Gupta masterpiece. Also, this isn't the first time Cardi B and Gaurav Gupta have collaborated together. Earlier, she wore his design in her music video 'No Love'. In an endless field of poppy, Cardi represented the element of 'air' in the 'Gaurav Gupta Amorphous Shapeshifter Sculptural Outfit'. The brand's indigenous sculpting technique transformed into infinite shapes, which brought her cosmic character to life in the video. As far as Grammys are concerned, this year's award show is being hosted by Trevor Noah. Beyonce has won the Best R&B Song for 'CUFF IT'. The megastar now has 31 all-time Grammy Awards. According to Variety, Beyonce leads the 2023 Grammy Awards with nine nominations, and if she wins four trophies on Sunday, she would become the most-awarded solo artist in Grammy history. Three Grammys would tie her for the most awarded in Grammy history. She's up for record of the year, song of the year, album of the year, and other honours, including three of the night's top prizes. Kendrick Lamar comes in second with eight nominations, while Adele and Brandi Carlile both have seven. Future, Harry Styles, Mary J. Blige, DJ Khaled, and Randy Merrill are all nominated for six awards. Beyonce, Adele, Styles, Lamar, and Lizzo are expected to be the night's top contenders for the record, album, and song of the year. Bad Bunny also earned a name for himself with "Un Verano Sin Ti," the first Latin album nominated for album of the year. Anitta, Omar Apollo, DOMi and JD Beck, Muni Long, Samara Joy, Latto, Mneskin, Tobe Nwigwe, Molly Tuttle, and Wet Leg are among the best new artists. (ANI)
Robert Dalva, the film editor who earned an Oscar nomination for his work on the family adventure 'The Black Stallion' has died. He collaborated with director Joe Johnston on five films, including 'Jumanji' and 'Captain America: The First Avenger'. He was 80. According to the Hollywood Reporter, Dalva died on Jan. 27 of lymphoma in Marin County, California. Born in New York on April 14, 1942, Robert John Dalva booked movies for a film program while attending Colgate University. He took a film class most Fridays at Syracuse University, where he learnt how to run a camera. After he graduated from Colgate in 1964, he spent three years at USC, where his classmates included Lucas, John Milius, Caleb Deschanel, Walter Murch and Randal Kleiser. Right out of school, he landed a job with future Oscar-winning film editor Verna Fields (Jaws) at the U.S. Information Agency. Dalva attended USC film school with George Lucas and went to work with him and Francis Ford Coppola in 1969 as the pair launched their innovative American Zoetrope production company in San Francisco. The relationship paid off when Lucas hired Dalva to handle second-unit photography -- he shot the land speeder going across the desert -- on the original 'Star Wars' (1977), reported Hollywood Reporter. On the Coppola-produced Black Stallion (1979), starring Mickey Rooney in an Oscar-nominated performance, Dalva partnered with director Carroll Ballard, who also did second-unit work on 'Star Wars'. "We had almost a million feet of film," Dalva said in a 2012 interview. "A two-hour movie is about 12,000 feet. And the island section of the movie, which was about 37 minutes of the film, represented three-quarters of that million feet. So, the big battle was getting the island section down to a manageable length that made sense," reported the Hollywood Reporter. Later, Dalva recalled, he was walking down the street near Zoetrope when "Francis pulled up in a taxicab and got out. And he said, 'Robert if there's a sequel to Black Stallion, you want to direct it?' And I said, 'Sure, Francis.'" The Black Stallion Returns (1983), shot in Italy and Morocco, marked the only feature Dalva directed. (He did helm episodes of Crime Story and Lucas' Clone Wars for television.) In addition to Jumanji (1995) and Captain America: The First Avenger (2011), Dalva edited the Johnston-directed October Sky (1999), Jurassic Park III (2001) and Hidalgo (2004). Coincidentally, Johnston worked on Star Wars, too, as an ILM representative for the film's miniature and optical effects unit. Dalva's editing resume included Haskell Wexler's Latino (1985), Brian De Palma's Raising Cain (1992), Wayne Wang's The Joy Luck Club (1993), The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio (2005), Touching Home (2008), Immortals (2011), Lovelace (2014), Sweetwater (2015) and Heist (2015). Dalva is survived by his wife, Marcia, whom he married in 1964; son Marshall; daughter Jessica; grandchildren Nathan, Zach, Luellen and Calvin; and brother Leon. (ANI)
Amitabh Bachchan loves to treat his fans with anecdotes from his long film career. He loves to share meticulous details from the past. Taking to Instagram on Monday, Amitabh shared a black-and-white picture of himself from the set of his second film. He captioned the frame, "When I came to join films in 1969 all of them used to call me 'uuNtt' (unnt) ! .. so I thought I would justify that and mounted one. This is from my 2nd film 'Reshma aur Shera' .. location Pochina , miles into the desert beyond Jaisalmer ... Now fortunately they don't call me that ... the titled epithet has been usurped by several others ..." https://www.instagram.com/p/CoUFPTVhPJu/ Amitabh is known to be one of the tallest actors in the industry. But he jokingly said that the young breed of actors snatched the title from him. Fans flooded Amitabh's comment section with their observations. One fan wrote, "Yes, my uncle was Yousuf's (Dilip) fan and he would use similar phrase to describe you, and i used to fight with him. those were the days, different generation of hero." Another one wrote, "In Haryana's rural area they used to call you "Lambu" ... Lambu ki film dekhi kal... Bada mazaa aaya... Love you Sir." Meanwhile, on the work front, Amitabh was recently seen in the family entertainer film 'Uunchai' along with Anupam Kher, Parineeti Chopra and Boman Irani. Helmed by Sooraj Barjatya, the film got positive responses from the audience.' Amitabh will also be seen in the Netflix docu-series titled 'The Romantics', in which 35 eminent personalities of the B-town will pay their tributes to the legendary director Yash Chopra. (ANI)
Raveena's close ones threw a party for the actor. The occasion was not specified. But the 'Mohra' actor, dressed in a short white dress, enjoyed the evening to the fullest. The actor's daughter Rasha Thadani also attended the party. Neelam Kothari Soni was also among the invitees.

The 'Mohra' actor was recently chosen for the Padma Shri, the country's fourth highest civilian honour.

On the work front, she received a lot of appreciation for her performance in the blockbuster pan-India film 'KGF- Chapter 2'.

In the upcoming months, she will be seen rekindling her on-screen chemistry with Sanjay Dutt after a two-year gap in the upcoming romantic-comedy 'Ghudchadi'.

Raveena will also be seen in Arbaz Khan's production 'Patna Shukla'. (ANI)
Tollywood actress Rakul Preet Singh and film producer Jackky Bhagnani will headline a fashion show-cum-fundraiser for actor-producer Lakshmi Manchu's NGO, Teach for Change, which is working in the space of quality education for children from disadvantaged communities. The annual show will be held in Hyderabad on February 19. It promises to have a robust lineup of film stars from Bollywood and the South as well as sportspersons. Funds raised from the show will be utilised for Teach for Change's campaigns throughout the year. The stars will sashay down the ramp in designer Varun Chakkilam's outfits, a collection especially designed for the show. Started in 2014 by Lakshmi Manchu and Chaitanya MRSK, Teach for Change has created various winning modules, ranging from a flagship volunteer programme to creating an ICT infrastructure and smart classrooms in government schools. The organisation has so far worked with 432 government schools, transforming the lives of 42,608 students across Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. Speaking on the occasion, Lakshmi Manchu said: "This fundraiser is a platform that can help bridge their basic educational needs with our willingness to support their cause. I am so grateful to all my industry friends, family and colleagues who have time and again supported this cause for Teach for Change and have come together to support and celebrate." Designer Varun Chakkilam said: "Lakshmi is a powerhouse of energy and anything she touches is always the real deal. The show is just one evening but has a ripple effect round the year. It is really humbling to be a part of something that is larger than all of us." --IANS pvn/srb ( 288 Words) 2023-02-06-19:32:06 (IANS)
Mufti in her condolence message claimed that Musharraf was the only Pakistani General who genuinely tried to address the Kashmir issue.

"Deepest condolences. Perhaps the only Pakistani General who genuinely tried to address the Kashmir issue. He wanted a solution according to wishes of people of J&K & acceptable to India & Pak. Though GOI has reversed all CBMs initiated by him & Vajpayee ji, the ceasefire remains" she tweeted.

Musharraf was hospitalised for a couple of weeks due to a complication of his ailment, as per reports.

Musharraf had been living in Dubai since 2016 for treatment.

Musharraf was the tenth president of Pakistan after a successful military coup in 1999.Musharraf was Pakistan's army chief during the Kargil war between India and Pakistan.

He also served as the 10th Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee of Pakistan (CJCSC) from 1998 to 2001 and the 7th top general from 1998 to 2007. (ANI)
Ahead the forthcoming panchayat polls in West Bengal, the BJP on Sunday received a major jolt as another party MLA shifted to the ruling Trinamool Congress. On Sunday afternoon, BJP legislator from Alipurduar constituency in Alipurduar district Suman Kanjilal reached the office of Trinamool's national General Secretary Abhishek Banerjee in south Kolkata and joined the ruling party. Banerjee himself handed over the party flag to Kanjilal - the sixth BJP legislator and the third from north Bengal to join Trinamool after the 2021 assembly elections. With this, the total number of BJP MLAs in the Assembly has come down to 68. The Trinamool, in a statement. said that Kanjilal had joined them rejecting the anti- people policies of BJP as well as to be a part of the development activities under the leadership of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. Although Kanjilal himself had not made any comment on his action, his close associates said that his differences with BJP Lok Sabha member John Barla were the reasons for his decision to quit the party and join Trinamool. State General Secretary and spokesman Kunal Ghosh told media persons that Kanjilal was the beginning and more elected BJP representatives are keen to join the state's ruling party. "We have asked them to wait for some time," Ghosh said. BJP's state spokesman in West Bengal Samik Bhattacharya said that since Kanjilal's decision to join Trinamool was prompted by his ambition to be a part of the power centre, his defection will not make any difference for BJP in the days to come. CPI-M Central Committee member Sujan Chakraborty said it is unfortunate that the turncoat politics has become the culture of West Bengal currently. "Trinamool Congress has introduced this culture in the state and there is constant competition going on between Trinamool and BJP is taking place in West Bengal these days," he said. --IANS src/vd A ( 326 Words) 2023-02-05-19:30:04 (IANS)
In an attempt to bring the Muslim community in confidence, the Minority Morcha of Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) will organise Sufi and Ulema conferences in major cities and districts of the country. The conferences will be held in 100 Lok Sabha constituencies with Muslim populations to diminish the distance between the BJP and the Muslim community in the country. The party has appointed Maulana Suhaib Qasmi as the program coordinator. Convenor Qasmi said, "The Minority Front will hold Ulema and Sufi conferences in 100 Lok Sabha constituencies and major cities of the country in the coming days, through which the development work done by the PM Modi government for the Muslim community will be conveyed and the dialogue between the Muslim community and the BJP will be discussed." We will try to reduce the gap between BJP and Muslims, he added. These conferences will be held in 15 major cities and 100 districts of the country, in which efforts will be made to give the message of patriotism and peace. Earlier on January 17, Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the National Executive meeting called upon the party leaders to reach out to the minorities, including Muslims, without expecting votes. PM Modi also instructed BJP leaders to refrain from unsolicited remarks against any community, sources added. PM Modi said under the resolution of 'Ek Bharat Shresth Bharat', all states should cooperate with each other and be accommodative of each others' language and culture. Prime Minister Modi exhorted all BJP fronts to connect more with the villages in the border areas. He said BJP workers should play their part in the development of aspirational districts. (ANI)
On Friday, 12 students including eight boys and four girls complined of stomach pain, vomiting and fainting after eating lunch consisting of eggs.

Following that, they were immediately admitted to Paramakudi Government Hospital for treatment. Doctors said that consumption of undercooked eggs can be the reason behind vomiting.

The police also interrogated the students and teachers at the school and at the hospital.

Assistant Collector Abtab Rasool inspected the eggs, food items in the kitchen. Paramakudi City Council President Sethukarunanidhi, District Principal Education Officer Balamuthu and others were present during the inspection.

As per information, there is a total of 240 students studying in the school. The headmaster of the school is Vasanth. Muthukamakshi, the cook of the school prepares food for all 128 students. daily. (ANI)
Congress MP Manickam Tagore on Monday moved a motion of adjournment of the business in Lok Sabha to discuss the Hindenburg report on the Adani Group. "I hereby give notice of my intention to ask for leave to move a motion for the adjournment of the business of the house for the purpose of discussing a definite matter of urgent importance, namely:-It is a great blow to the public money followed manipulative attitude of the Adani Groups which has been brought to light by the Hindenburg research report," Manickam Tagore wrote to Lok Sabha Secretary General. In general, the LIC has invested a total of Rs 136,474.78 crore in the Adani Group and at the same time many banks including the State Bank of India have invested a sum of nearly 280,000 crores in the same, he said. "It is also informed that as much as 8 per cent of LIC"s equity assets under management, amounting to a gigantic sum of 274,000 crores, is in Adani companies. Therefore, the house should come forward to discuss the matter keeping aside other routine business, and should constitute a Joint Parliamentary Committee to investigate further in this matter. The House should also direct the Prime Minister to disclose the actual loss of public money to the nation through this House," the Congress MP said. Earlier on Friday, the Congress and 16 opposition parties demanded a joint parliamentary committee (JPC) or Supreme Court-monitored probe into the Hindunberg report against the Adani Group, alleging a scam. A report by a US-based Hindenburg Research surfaced on January 24, claiming that the Adani Group had weak business fundamentals, and was involved in stock manipulation and accounting fraud, among others. The report triggered a sell-off of shares of all Adani Group companies. Meanwhile, Congress will launch a countrywide protest in front of Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) offices and State Bank of India (SBI) branches today to protest against the alleged Adani scam. Congress MPs will protest near the Gandhi statue in Parliament House on Monday. Although the Congress is getting the support of other Opposition parties on the Adani issue, it has to be seen whether the parties such as the Bharat Rashtra Samithi, Aam Aadmi Party and Trinamool Congress, which are seen together in the meetings, will join the Congress demonstration or extend moral support. However, the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and Janata Dal (Secular) have kept their distance from Congress on this issue. It is being argued by the Opposition that the investment of the Adani group in public sector banks such as the SBI and LIC has had a big impact on the savings of the middle class.Opposition MPs said the government was not allowing the issue to be discussed in Parliament. After the uproar in Parliament, the proceedings of both Houses of Parliament were adjourned till February 6. (ANI)
Why did the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) negotiate a ceasefire and sign a joint statement with former Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf, if he was 'anathema to all patriotic Indians', Congress leader Shashi Tharoor said on Monday Tharoor's remarks came while hitting out at criticism from the BJP drawn at him after his tweet condoling the demise of the former Pakistan military ruler by calling him a "real force for peace". "Question to BJP leaders frothing at the mouth: if Musharraf was anathema to all patriotic Indians, why did the BJP government negotiate a ceasefire with him in 2003 & sign the joint Vajpayee-Musharraf statement of 2004? Was he not seen as a credible peace partner then?" Tharoor said in his tweet. Earlier, Tharoor had said, "I was raised in an India where you are expected to speak kindly of people when they die." "I was raised in an India where you are expected to speak kindly of people when they die. Musharraf was an implacable enemy and was responsible for Kargil but he did work for peace w/India, in his own interest, 2002-7. He was no friend but he saw strategic benefit in peace, as did we," Tharoor said. Tharoor on Sunday condoled the demise of the former Pakistan military ruler stating that though he was once an implacable foe of India, he became a real force for peace between 2002-2007. "'Pervez Musharraf, Former Pakistani President, Dies of Rare Disease': once an implacable foe of India, he became a real force for peace 2002-2007. I met him annually in those days at the UN and found him smart, engaging and clear in his strategic thinking. RIP," Tharoor said in a tweet. Tharoor's post brought fierce criticism from the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party. Union Minister Rajeev Chandrashekhar hit out at Tharoor saying his post "best describes Cong" (Congress). Chandrashekhar while taking to Twitter, slammed the party for finding peace in a person who "inflicted terror a backstabbing conflict and tortured our soldiers in violation of every International law". "Nothing like a proper military thrashing for Fatcat Pak Dictator Generals to become a "force for peace" and develop "clear strategic thinking". Not withstandng many lives lost n Intl laws violated n harm caused all around, these Generals will have their admiring fans in India (sic)," Minister of State for Electronics and Information Technology Rajeev Chandrasekhar wrote in his tweet. In another tweet, Chandrasekhar said, "That a former Cong Foreign Min (a party that refused to celebrate Kargil Vijay Diwas till 2010) wud think that a Pak General who inflicted terror, a backstabbing conflict n tortured our Soldiers in violation of every Intl law, wud be a "force for peace" - best describes Cong." Musharraf passed away on Sunday at a hospital in the UAE after a prolonged illness, reported Daily Pakistan. Musharraf was Pakistan's army chief during the Kargil war between India and Pakistan. The conflict between the two countries is believed to have been orchestrated by Musharraf without the knowledge of the then Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. Musharraf was the tenth president of Pakistan after a successful military coup in 1999. He served as the 10th Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee of Pakistan (CJCSC) from 1998 to 2001 and the 7th top general from 1998 to 2007. (ANI)
Congress MP Manish Tewari on Monday gave an Adjournment Motion notice in the Lok Sabha to have a detailed discussion on the border situation with China. In his notice to the Lok Sabha Secretary General, Manish Tewari urged the House to suspend Zero hour and other businesses of the day for having a detailed discussion on the border situation with China. "Since April 2020, China has engaged in what can only be described as a steady land grab. Till 16 January 2023, seventeen rounds of Commander level talks have taken place between India and China with little success. All the while China continues to build significant infrastructure, including bridges, roads and accommodation for its troops. China is attempting to unilaterally change the status quo," Tewari said in the notice. Tewari termed the clashes in the Tawang Sector in Arunachal Pradesh "another indication of China's steady aggression aimed at changing the status quo on the border". "What is more, such aggression is no longer limited in territorial scope as is evidenced by the clashes took place in Arunachal Pradesh, around 2000 Kilometers away from the place of previous clashes. There is growing concern that China is unwilling to restore the status quo ante, a situation that puts India at a massive disadvantage," he said. Despite this, Tewari said, "China''s large trade" surplus with us has continued to surge since the military confrontations began in 2020. "The trade deficit for India stood at USD 101.02 billion, crossing the 2021 figure of USD 69.38 billion," his notice to the Lok Sabha read, while urging the government to take this matter with utmost seriousness and have a detailed discussion in Parliament with regard to the border situation with China. In December 2020, a clash took place near Yangtse along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in the sensitive Tawang sector amid the over 30-month border standoff between India and China in eastern Ladakh. (ANI)
Opposition parties on Monday protested near the Gandhi statue outside Parliament and demanded a Joint Parliament Committe investigation or Supreme Court-monitored probe into the Hindenburg-Adani row. As per sources, opposition parties have decided that they will ask for an adjournment motion in both houses to discuss the issue. "Opposition parties have decided to discuss no business other than the Adani issue in the parliament," sources said. Opposition parties met in Leader of Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge''s Chamber in Parliament to chalk out a strategy on Adani-Hindenburg row and other issues. Those who participated in the meeting were Congress, DMK, NCP, BRS, JD(U), SP, CPM, CPI, Kerala Cong(Jose Mani), JMM, RLD, RSP, AAP, IUML, RJD and Shiv Sena. A report by a US-based Hindenburg Research surfaced on January 24, claiming that the Adani Group had weak business fundamentals, and was involved in stock manipulation and accounting fraud, among others. The report triggered a sell-off of shares of all Adani Group companies. Meanwhile, Congress will launch a countrywide protest in front of Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) offices and State Bank of India (SBI) branches today to protest against the alleged Adani scam. Although the Congress is getting the support of other Opposition parties on the Adani issue, it has to be seen whether the parties such as the Bharat Rashtra Samithi, Aam Aadmi Party and Trinamool Congress, which are seen together in the meetings, will join the Congress demonstration or extend moral support. However, the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and Janata Dal (Secular) have kept their distance from Congress on this issue. It is being argued by the Opposition that the investment of the Adani group in public sector banks such as the SBI and LIC has had a big impact on the savings of the middle class. Opposition MPs said the government was not allowing the issue to be discussed in Parliament. After the uproar in Parliament, the proceedings of both Houses of Parliament were adjourned till February 6. (ANI)
Both houses of the Parliament were on Monday adjourned till 2 pm amid heavy sloganeering by Opposition MPs demanding a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) probe into the Adani issue. Earlier in the day, Opposition MPs gathered at the Gandhi statue at the Parliament premises, to stage a protest. Discussion on Motion of Thanks to the President's Address is scheduled to be taken up in both houses today. This comes after the Budget Session was adjourned for two days till today after repeated disruptions following ruckus inside the Parliament with the Opposition demanding a debate on the US short-seller Hindenburg Research's report against the Adani Group and a probe by a JPC. The opposition parties have sought discussion over investment by LIC, Public Sector Banks, and financial institutions "in companies losing market value, endangering the savings of crores of Indians" following a report by the US firm Hindenburg Research. A January 24 report by Hindenburg Research alleged that the Adani Group had weak business fundamentals, and was involved in stock manipulation and accounting fraud, among others. The report triggered a sell-off of shares of Adani Group companies. Meanwhile, Congress will launch a countrywide protest in front of Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) offices and State Bank of India (SBI) branches today to protest against the alleged Adani scam. The first half of the Budget session will continue till February 13 and the second half will be held from March 13 to April 6. The budget session began with the address by President Droupadi Murmu to the joint sitting of the two Houses of Parliament. Union Budget was presented on February 1. (ANI)
Kerala Police have arrested 113 people who were accused in various criminal cases, under 'Operation Aag', police said. Thiruvananthapuram Commissioner of Police CH Nagaraj said the arrests were made on Sunday night. The raids are being primarily held to arrest those who were placed under the Kerala Anti-Social Activities (Prevention) Act (Kaapa). "Operation AAG is a 360-degree action against anti-social elements. We will collect their details, including biometrics, the latest photos, associates, vehicles, and family. Data collection and strengthening evidence against them is the key plan," said police commissioner Nagraj. "Last night we conducted a surprise raid all over the district and got about 113 people that included wanted people in various hard cases and also warrant execution under trial people who are wanted in various cases," added the police commissioner. Talking about the various initiatives to improve the law and order of the state, he said, "'Pink patrol' which is specifically for women's safety will do night patrolling. Surprise vehicle checking is to be done and 'Mufti' police(cops in civilian clothes) are to be deployed. Data on repeated sexual offenders collected and will be monitored." "Will start "Prasanthi "for senior citizens, categorising them into A, B and C. An able-bodied senior citizen,B bedridden and C concerned category who might need some help. MSW volunteers and 'Janamithri' police will look after them," he stated. (ANI)
Congress president and Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge on Monday said that the Opposition is ready to speak on President's address but the "first priority" is that Prime Minister Narendra Modi give a reply on the ongoing Hindenburg-Adani row. "We are ready to speak on President's address and we give it its due importance. But first priority is that Prime Minister Modi give a reply on the Adani issue," Kharge told ANI after opposition parties staged a protest near the Gandhi statue in the Parliament complex. Discussion on Motion of Thanks to the President's Address is scheduled to be taken up in both houses today. Leaders of Opposition parties earlier today met at Kharge's chambers to chalk out their strategy. Those who were present in the meeting included members from the Congress, DMK, NCP, BRS, JD(U), SP, CPM, CPI, Kerala Cong(Jose Mani), JMM, RLD, RSP, AAP, IUML, RJD and Shiv Sena. Accusing the Centre of avoiding a discussion on the Adani issue in the parliament, Kharge said, "They do not want this matter not to be raised or discussed". "They want to avoid it somehow and do not want to bring it to record," Kharge claimed. "We demand discussion on our notices (in Parliament). we're ready for a detailed discussion. We want it (Adani issue) to be taken up first," Kahrge told reporters. They demanded a Joint Parliament Committe investigation or Supreme Court-monitored probe into the Hindenburg-Adani row. KC Venugopal, Congress MP, said the central Government has been now exposed over the Adani issue. "Government wants to hide everything," he said. "We want a Joint Parliamentary Committee probe into the Adani issue and the Central government is not ready to have a discussion on the Adani issue," Venugopal said. As per sources, Opposition parties have decided that they will ask for an adjournment motion in both houses to discuss the issue. "Opposition parties have decided to discuss no business other than the Adani issue in the parliament," sources said. A report by a US-based Hindenburg Research surfaced on January 24, claiming that the Adani Group had weak business fundamentals, and was involved in stock manipulation and accounting fraud, among others. The report triggered a sell-off of shares of all Adani Group companies. Meanwhile, Congress is set for a countrywide protest in front of Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) offices and State Bank of India (SBI) branches today to protest against the alleged Adani scam. Although the Congress is getting the support of other Opposition parties on the Adani issue, it has to be seen whether the parties such as the Bharat Rashtra Samithi, Aam Aadmi Party and Trinamool Congress, which are seen together in the meetings, will join the Congress demonstration or extend moral support. However, the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and Janata Dal (Secular) have kept their distance from Congress on this issue. It is being argued by the Opposition that the investment of the Adani Group in public sector banks such as the SBI and LIC has had a big impact on the savings of the middle class. Opposition MPs said the government was not allowing the issue to be discussed in Parliament. After the uproar in Parliament, the proceedings of both Houses of Parliament were adjourned on Friday till today. (ANI)
Telangana Chief Minister and Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) president K Chandrashekar Rao, who is keen on expanding the party's pan India footprint has questioned the encouragement to "wars" between states over water when there was adequate availability of it to irrigate every acre of land in the country. Addressing a public rally in Maharashtra's Nanded on Sunday, KCR said, "Why water wars (between states) in India, when there is adequate water to irrigate every acre of land in India? There will be no shortage of fresh water in India for the next 50-100 years." The minister further asked how the country will compete with other nations when the average goods train speed is not fast? "The average goods train speed in India is 24 km/h, whereas China's average goods train speed is 120 km/h, how will we compete with them? In the United States, it is 78km/h, whereas in the United Kingdom, it is 75km/h," KCR asked. The minister also launched an attack on the BJP-led Centre stating that PM Narendra Modi government's flagship project 'Make in India' has turned out to be 'Joke in India'. KCR said, "Congress ruled the country for 54 years. BJP ruled the country for 16 years. Seventy years out of 75 years of India's independence, the country was ruled by these two parties. These two parties are responsible for all of these (problems). These two parties were busy only with speech games and scams." Targeting the BJP government, the BRS chief said the 'Make in India' campaign achieved nothing as Chinese goods continue to swamp Indian markets. KCR said, "Make in India has been the much-touted scheme of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. This 'Make in India' has turned out to be 'joke in India'. If Make in India had worked then there would not have been China bazaars in every town and village across the country." "From the manjha of kites, firecrackers for Diwali, colours for Holi to diyas and Ganesh idols for Diwali and eeven our Tricolour, everything comes from China. Where has the Make in India gone? Why are there China baazars everywhere instead of Bharat baazars?" he added. KCR also came down heavily on the Eknath Shinde government in Maharashtra over farmers' issues. "Even after 75 years of independence, many places in the country do not have access to drinking water and water for irrigation. It is sad that Maharashtra sees the most number of farmer suicides," the BRS chief said. In October last year, KCR launched the Bharat Rashtra Samiti (BRS), marking the first step toward becoming a national party to counter the BJP in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. BRS, after it got national recognition, held its first mega rally in the presence of leaders of other regional parties like the AAP, SP and Left in Telangana's Khammam last month. (ANI)
The Delhi High Court on Monday asked the Election Commission (EC) to decide the representation made by a petitioner seeking direction to ascertain the feasibility of conducting elections to the Lok Sabha and Legislative Assemblies simultaneously in order to save money and manpower and control election paralysis. The bench of Justice Satish Chander Sharma and Justice Subramonium Prasad on Monday said, "We know our limitation, the prayer sought in the petition completely falls under the Election Commission domain. We are not lawmakers." The Court asked Election Commission to decide the representation made by the petitioner before it. Appearing for Election Commission, Advocate Siddhant Kumar opposed the petition and stated that it is the Parliament, which is to look into and decide the matter. The Election Commission of India (ECI) is a constitutional body and established to conduct and regulate elections in the country, the EC counsel said. The petitioner Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay, a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader stated before the court that there are many advantages to holding the Lok Sabha, Assembly, Panchayat and Municipal elections together. It would reduce the time and cost involved in conducting elections in terms of using paramilitary forces, government staff on election duty and the Election Commission staff organising booths, electronic voting machines and voter slips etc, Upadhyay said. The plea further sought the court to direct the Centre and the EC to ascertain the feasibility of conducting elections on Saturdays, Sundays and Holidays in order to save valuable time for the schools, colleges, universities, service industries and manufacturing organisations. The petitioner has also sought the issuance of direction to the Centre and the EC to take apposite steps to implement the recommendations proposed by the Law Commission of India in its Report No-170, which stated, "We must go back to the situation where the elections to Lok Sabha and all Legislative Assemblies are held at once." The decision to conduct all elections together would save money as the cost of campaigning for parties would be less, the plea said. The imposition of the Model Code of Conduct delays the implementation of central and state government projects and welfare schemes and takes away time and effort from governance issues, it stated further. The need for simultaneous elections to the Lok Sabha, Assemblies, panchayats and Municipal bodies has been discussed and debated for a long time, added the plea. "As elections have become a big budget affair and expensive, the Law Commission of India in its 170th Report on Reform of Electoral Laws (1999) has suggested simultaneous elections to Lok Sabha and State Legislative Assemblies for the sake of stability in governance. But the Centre and ECI did not take appropriate steps," the plea read. The plea suggested that the elections to Assemblies, whose terms would expire in 2023 and 2024, be bunched up together along with the 2024 Lok Sabha elections by curtailing or extending the tenures. If consensus is arrived at among political parties, the Assembly elections in 16 states Meghalaya, Nagaland, Tripura, Karnataka, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Mizoram, Rajasthan, Telangana, Sikkim, Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Odisha, Haryana, Maharashtra and Jharkhand -- can be held along with the 2024 General elections, the plea proposed. (ANI)
Members of Congress in Telangana staged a protest outside the State Bank of India office in Hyderabad over the Adani issue.

The Congress also held a protest in Jammu over the Adani issue.

A video showed protesters clashing with the police, who were raising anti-BJP slogans.

A protest was also held by NSUI (National Students Union of India), the student wing of Congress in Delhi who were demanding a Joint Parliament Commitee probe over the Adani row.

Visuals emerging showed protesters holding placards scaling over barricades set up by police to thwart the demonstrations.

It is being argued by the opposition that the investment of the Adani group in public sector banks such as the SBI and LIC has had a big impact on the savings of the middle class.

Opposition parties on Monday protested near the Gandhi statue outside Parliament and demanded a Joint Parliament Committe investigation or Supreme Court-monitored probe into the Hindenburg-Adani row.

Opposition parties met in Leader of Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge's Chamber in Parliament to chalk out a strategy on the Adani row and other issues.

Those who participated in the meeting included Congress, DMK, NCP, BRS, JD(U), SP, CPM, CPI, Kerala Cong(Jose Mani), JMM, RLD, RSP, AAP, IUML, RJD and Shiv Sena.

A report by a US-based Hindenburg Research surfaced on January 24, claiming that the Adani Group had weak business fundamentals, and was involved in stock manipulation and accounting fraud, among others.

The report triggered a sell-off of shares of all Adani Group companies.

Although the Congress is getting the support of other opposition parties on the Adani issue, it has to be seen whether the parties such as the Bharat Rashtra Samithi, Aam Aadmi Party and Trinamool Congress, which are seen together in the meetings, will join the Congress demonstration or extend moral support.

However, the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and Janata Dal (Secular) have kept their distance from Congress on this issue. (ANI)
A same-sex couple has moved the Supreme Court challenging the Kerala High Court order directing one of them to attend counselling sessions with a psychiatrist. The Supreme Court agreed to hear the plea on Monday. A bench headed by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud asked the petitioner's lawyer to keep the brief ready and said it will hear the matter at the end of the board. Petitioner's counsel Advocate Sriram P mentioned the plea before the Supreme Court seeking an urgent hearing. The Petitioner challenged Kerala High Court's January 13, 2023 order whereby the High Court directed one of them to attend counselling sessions with a psychiatrist so far as her sexual orientation is concerned. In the petition, the same-sex couple said that they are female as per their gender orientation and they both wish to get married and be together. But the parents of the detenu have kept the detenu in illegal custody against her will so as to impede the marriage between the petitioner and the detenu. Advocate Sriram said that the petitioner sought to invoke the basic principle of Habeas Corpus and sought the detenu to be produced before the court physically. According to the petitioner, the detenu was present through video conferencing before Kerala High Court whereby she clearly told the High Court that she is in love with the petitioner and the detenu wanted to come with the petitioner and live happily with her ever after. "The High Court erroneously sought the detenu to be sent for counselling. The counselling impugned herein is obviously counselling to change her sexual orientation. It is most respectfully submitted that this counselling is proscribed under law and the High Courts of Madras, Uttarakhand and Odisha have specifically and categorically followed the law laid down by this High Court prohibited it," the petitioner said. The plea said the petitioner is in letter and spirit challenging the interim orders dated January 24, 2023 and February 2, 2023 all of which denied the petitioner her fundamental rights. These orders have denied the detenu safety and liberty for a long period from January 9, 2023 to the present day, the petitioner said. "The present Special Leave Petition carries a substantial question of law among many other. Whether the High Court ought to have allowed the detenu the right to be heard physically in the safety and security of the building of the High Court," the petition said, adding that the plea also raised the question of law as to whether "gender orientation counselling" is legal or not. (ANI)
Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM) Mumbai President Tajinder Singh Tiwana has asked Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Jitendra Awhad to apologise for his remarks on Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. BJYM Mumbai President Tajinder Singh Tiwana has challenged that if Jitendra Awhad does not apologize, he will be hit with slippers wherever he is seen. Senior NCP leader and former minister Jitendra Awhad is once again embroiled in controversy which erupted in the past few days, after a tweet by him. Now he has given a controversial statement regarding Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, Lord Ram and Lord Krishna. Jitendra Awhad said in his tweet that Lord Ram cannot be explained if Ravana is removed from Ramayana. Lord Krishna and Arjun cannot be explained if Karna is removed from Mahabharata. The history of Shivaji Maharaj cannot be explained if the Mughals and Adilshah are left aside, similarly, freedom cannot be explained if the Britishers are kept aside. Bhartiya Janata Yuva Morcha leaders and workers protested on Monday after Awhad's statement. They threw slippers on Jitendra Awhad's poster. Tiwana said that Jitendra Awhad should apologize and if he does not apologize, he will hit him with slippers wherever he appears. "We will not tolerate such a statement against Shivaji Maharaj, whatever it may be," he added. Mumbai Police detained 50 people from BJYM protesting. Earlier this year, on January 3, 2023, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) MLA and former Maharashtra Minister Jitendra Awhad, had stoked a controversy by stating that Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb was "not a Hindu hater". Awhad had said that in the earlier days, Maratha was not a caste but a "dharma that was followed" and taken forward by Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, after Pawar had in the state assembly said that the Maratha king (Sambhaji Maharaj) had never upheld dharma or religion in his life. "Sambhaji Maharaj laid the foundation of dharma and it was not a caste," he said. "He (Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj) was brought to Bahadurgad where his eyes were removed. Close to Bahadurgad Fort, there was a Vishnu Temple. Aurangzeb was cruel but not anti-Hindu. If he was anti-Hindu he would have demolished that temple too (Vishnu Temple)," Awhad said. He referred to history and said Aurangzeb had killed his brothers and father. He was cruel. However, he said regular historical references should be avoided. (ANI)
India on Monday said that it will despatch rescue and medical teams to Turkey following a 7.8 magnitude earthquake that killed over 500 people and toppled buildings in central Turkey and northwest Syria today. The prime minister's office (PMO) said that a meeting was held and it was decided that the search and rescue teams of NDRF and medical teams along with relief materials would be dispatched immediately in coordination with the Government of the Republic of Turkiye. Two teams of the National Disaster Relief Force (NDRF), comprising 100 personnel with specially trained dog squads and necessary equipment, are ready to be flown to the earthquake-hit area for search and rescue operations, the PMO said in a statement. "Medical teams are also being readied with trained doctors and paramedics with essential medicines. Relief material will be dispatched in coordination with the Turkish government and the Indian Embassy in Ankara and Consulate General office in Istanbul," the PMO said. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tzMLI6Jg6fI&ab_channel=ANINews P K Mishra, Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister held a meeting in South Block to discuss immediate relief measures. Medical teams are also being readied with trained doctors and paramedics with essential medicines. Relief material will be dispatched in coordination with the Government of Turkey and the Indian Embassy in Ankara and the Consulate General office in Istanbul. The meeting was attended by the Cabinet Secretary, representatives of the Ministries of Home Affairs, National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), NDRF, Defence forces the external affairs ministry (MEA) and well as the ministries of Civil Aviation (MoCA) and the Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW). The epicenter of the earthquake was near the city of Gaziantep in south-central Turkey. Earlier, Turkey's Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu announced a Level 4 alert, which includes a call for international aid. As per the latest estimates, in Syria, at least 237 people were killed and 639 injured, Syrian state-run news agency SANA reported, citing a Health Ministry official. One of the largest earthquakes to hit Turkey in more than a century, caused vibrations throughout the area, caused buildings to collapse, and forced people to flee into the streets. The United States Geological Survey has recorded 24 aftershocks in Turkey. Effects of the earthquake was felt in Syria, Lebanon, Cyprus, Greece, Jordan, Iraq and as far away as Romania, Georgia and Egypt, according to the European Mediterranean Seismological Centre, as cited by the Times of Israel. Condolences poured in from worldwide after reports of the massive quake hit Turkey claiming numerous lives. Earlier in the day Prime Minister Modi took to Twitter and condoled the loss of life in Turkey and the nearby areas. (ANI)
As part of an agreement arrived at between the MVA partners, the Conress will contest the Kasba Assembly bypoll while the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) will represent the Opposition alliance in the battle for Chinchwad constituency.

Congress state president Nana Patole said on Monday that the party has decided to field Ravindra Hemraj Dhangekar from the Kasba Assembly sagment.

"It has been decided that the Congress party will contest the seat of Kasba constituency while the Nationalist Congress Party will contest the Chinchwad constituency," Patole tweeted on Monday.

The Election Commission on January 25 revised dates for the upcoming bypolls in Pune to February 26, Sunday. The twin bypolls were earlier scheduled to be held on February 27.

"The District Election Officer of Pune, Maharashtra has reported regarding the clash of the date of the poll with the dates of the 12th Standard HSC exam and graduate degree exam to be conducted at various Polling Stations of the Assembly Constituencies where bye-elections are being held," the EC said in a statement on January 25.

"Consequent upon which, the Commission having considered the matter, ground situation and all other relevant aspects of the matter, has decided to revise the date of poll for bye-elections to Assembly Constituencies 205- Chinchwad and 215-Kasba Peth of Maharashtra," it added.

The couting of votes for the bypolls to the two Pune Assembly segments will be conducted on March 2.

The bye-elections to Kasba Peth and Chinchwad was necessitated following the death of BJP leaders Mukta Shailesh Tilak and Laxman Pandurang Jagtap, respectively.

Kasba Peth MLA Mukta Tilak died on December 22 last year while Chinchwad MLA Laxman Jagtap passed away on January 3 after a prolonged illness. (ANI)
He said that Brahmins made a significant contribution to the freedom struggle.

"Talking down about any caste like this does not bring glory to the former chief minister," he added.

Demanding an apology from the Brahmin community he said, "While It seems that he is speaking out of helplessness and frustration knowing that JD-S will lose in the next election. I demand that he immediately apologize to the Brahmin community."

HD Kumaraswamy on Sunday gave a new statement on Union Minister Prahlad Joshi. If the BJP comes to power in the state this time, "A Brahmin" will be the Chief Minister.

Speaking to reporters, he said that "if the BJP comes to power in the state this time, a Brahmin will become the Chief Minister.

"Prahlad Joshi will be appointed Chief Minister, and 8 people have already been appointed Deputy Chief Ministers," he added.

A meeting of RSS leaders was held in Delhi and the next CM was decided in the meeting and Prahlad Joshi will be the next Chief Minister, claimed Kumaraswamy.

Kumaraswamy appealed to the voters that the people of Karnataka "should not fall prey to RSS and BJP scams and false promises."

"The Brahmin CM (Prahlad Joshi) decided by RSS is not the Brahmin of our old Karnataka. He (Prahlad Joshi belongs to the Peshwas of Maharashtra who demolished the Sringeri mutt." He further attacked Prahlad Joshi.

BJP has demanded an apology from HD Kumaraswamy on the same. (ANI)
Congress leader Jairam Ramesh on Monday came down heavily on the central government amid the ongoing Hindenburg-Adani row, saying that the Central government is running away from answering over the Adani issue. In a tweet, Jairam Ramesh wrote, "For the third consecutive day, the opposition in Parliament was not allowed to raise the demand of JPC regarding the Adani scam. Both the houses were adjourned till 2.00 pm. It is clear that the Modi government is running away." Both houses of the Parliament were on Monday adjourned amid heavy sloganeering by Opposition MPs demanding a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) probe into the Adani issue. Meanwhile, Congress has launched a countrywide protest in front of Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) offices and State Bank of India (SBI) branches today to protest over the issue. Earlier in the day, Opposition MPs gathered at the Gandhi statue on the Parliament premises, to stage a protest. Discussion on the Motion of Thanks to the President's Address was scheduled to be held in both houses today. This comes after the Budget Session was adjourned for two days till today after repeated disruptions following ruckus inside the Parliament with the Opposition demanding a debate on the US short-seller Hindenburg Research's report against the Adani Group and a probe by a JPC. Notably, the Opposition parties including Congress, DMK, NCP, BRS, JD(U), SP, CPM, CPI, Kerala Congress (Jose Mani), JMM, RLD, RSP, AAP, IUML, RJD and Shiv Sena also constituted a meeting in LoP Mallikarjun Kharge's chamber in Parliament to chalk out a strategy on Adani-Hindenburg and other issues. Congress President and Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha, Mallikarjun Kharge said that the opposition will raise the Adani row in the Parliament as the government especially Prime Minister Narendra Modi is silent on the issue. "We will raise Adani issue in Parliament. Government is silent on such a big issue, especially PM Modi," Kharge said. Congress Lok Sabha MP Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury on Monday said that the Opposition will make a strategy for Parliament over the Adani row. Speaking to reporters here, the Minister said, "We will have a meeting now. The entire Opposition will come together; the discussion will be done and a decision will be made. It's not an issue of Congress only, but that of India's common people." The opposition parties have sought discussion over investment by LIC, Public Sector Banks, and financial institutions "in companies losing market value, endangering the savings of crores of Indians" following a report by the US firm Hindenburg Research. A January 24 report by Hindenburg Research alleged that the Adani Group had weak business fundamentals, and was involved in stock manipulation and accounting fraud, among others. The report triggered a sell-off of shares of Adani Group companies. The first half of the Budget session will continue till February 13 and the second half will be held from March 13 to April 6. The budget session began with the address by President Droupadi Murmu to the joint sitting of the two Houses of Parliament. Union Budget was presented on February 1. (ANI)
Union minister G Kishan Reddy on Monday hit back and accused Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao of consistently lying through his teeth, and drew an analogy of CM with that of a "habitual liar". Speaking to reporters outside the Parliament, Reddy said "Whether it is the family of KCR or himself, everyone is lying to the people of the state. He is running the BRS party through a web of lies". The attack comes a day after Telangana Chief Minister and Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) president K Chandrashekar Rao, who is keen on expanding the party's pan-India footprint attacked the BJP-led Centre, and said the Modi government's flagship project 'Make in India' has turned out to be 'Joke in India'. "People in the state are not going to tolerate KCR anymore. That is why he is meeting national leaders of different states to project himself as a national leader," Reddy added. The leaders of BJP and K Chandrasekar Rao's Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) are engaged in a war of words with state assembly elections scheduled for later this year. The BJP is looking to wrest power from the K Chandrasekar Rao-led BRS, earlier known as Telangana Rashtriya Samiti. "He is a self-proclaimed national leader," Reddy said after KCR changed the name of Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) to Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) in October last year. Addressing a public rally in Maharashtra's Nanded on Sunday, KCR said, "Congress ruled the country for 54 years. BJP ruled the country for 16 years. Seventy years out of 75 years of India's independence, the country was ruled by these two parties. These two parties are responsible for all of these (problems). These two parties were busy only with speech games and scams." Targeting the BJP government, the BRS chief said the 'Make in India' campaign achieved nothing as Chinese goods continue to swamp Indian markets. KCR said, "Make in India has been the much-touted scheme of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. This 'Make in India' has turned out to be a 'joke in India'. If Make in India had worked then there would not have been China bazaars in every town and village across the country." "From the manjha of kites, firecrackers for Diwali, colours for Holi to diyas and Ganesh idols for Diwali and even our Tricolour, everything comes from China. Where has the Make in India gone? Why are there China baazars everywhere instead of Bharat baazars?" he added. In October last year, KCR launched the Bharat Rashtra Samiti (BRS), marking the first step toward becoming a national party to counter the BJP in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. Notably, BRS, after it got national recognition, held its first mega rally in the presence of leaders of other regional parties like the AAP, SP and Left in Telangana's Khammam last month. (ANI)
Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Monday said that Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ended the rule of 'cadre' and brought the rule of the 'Constitution' in the state of Tripura. While addressing the 'Vijay Sankalp Yatra', here in Agartala, Amit Shah said, "The Congress, Communists and Motha are all together. While the first two are in coalition publicly, Motha is in alliance with them 'under the table'. Tipra Motha wants to bring back Communist rule." "So, if the vote is given to Motha or Congress, it will be a vote to the Communists. So, if you want development and peace, press the 'lotus' button," he added. Shah said that the largest vaccination drive was carried out in the country under the leadership of PM Modi. "Earlier, for every petty job, whether ration card or cheap grains, people had to go to the cadre of the Communist party. Our government has ended the rule of cadre and brought the rule of Constitution," he said. Further attacking the two parties, Amit Shah said that Congress and the Communist party ruled Tripura for 50 years but didn't do development in the state. "Once Tripura was famous for drugs, human trafficking, Bangladeshi infiltration, corruption and atrocities towards Adivasis. Under BJP rule, roads are being built, people are getting drinking water, organic farming and mainly Adivasis are enjoying their rights," he said. The Home Minister said that the state is progressing under the slogan of 'HIRA' - Highway, Internet, Railway, Airport, given by PM Modi. "4,000 people were killed in Tripura during CPI(M) rule and violence was all over the state. BJP made the Bru-Reang agreement and brought development here. In these five years, BJP has brought peace, and in the next five years, BJP will work towards making Tripura the best state in the Northeast," Amit Shah added. Earlier in the day, Tripura Chief Minister Manik Saha also addressed the event, saying that the country can't develop until there is development in North East. "In 35 years of the Left government rule, 69 people were murdered in the south district only. Today, they are again trying to come to the government. We are doing the work at a fast pace. Until there is no development in North East, the country will not develop," he said. Meanwhile, BJP is preparing itself to register another win in Tripura and has struck an alliance with its former ally Indigenous People's Front of Tripura (IPFT) which has fielded its candidates at five assembly seats. For the elections at 60 Assembly seats in the northeastern state, which are slated to be held on February 17, the BJP has fielded 55 candidates. The results will be declared on March 2. (ANI)
In a first-of-its-kind innovation, Drishti Marine, Goa's state-appointed lifeguard organisation, has introduced artificial intelligence (AI) in the form of Aurus, a self-driving robot and Triton, an AI-powered monitoring system, to augment its life-saving capabilities along Goa's popular beaches and water bodies. The incorporation of AI-based support follows an increase in beach-related incidents due to the rising numbers of domestic and foreign tourists flocking to the coastline. The past two years have witnessed over 1,000 rescue incidents along the coastal belt, which have required assistance from Drishti Marine's lifesavers, according to an official statement. Both the AI-monitored camera-based systems can monitor the surroundings, assess and detect risks, share real-time information with on-duty lifeguards so they may respond faster to avoid tragic incidents. Developed by Drishti Works, a division of Drishti, Aurus mans the state's expansive coastal stretch. The new addition will aid in increased surveillance and crowd management of beaches. Aurus is a self-driving robot developed to assist lifesavers by patrolling extensive non-swim zones and alerting tourists during high tide. It employs artificial intelligence to assist lifeguards in a variety of beach duties. Aurus will work alongside lifesavers in emergency circumstances, from patrolling to providing multilingual notifications. Furthermore, the AI bot bears a 100-kilo payload and hence also doubles up as a logistics support vehicle. Aurus has completed 110 hours of autonomous work along the coast, covering approximately 130 kilometres. Along with the Aurus, the Triton AI system's primary focus is to provide completely AI-based monitoring of non-swim zones, thereby, alerting tourists of the danger and notifying the nearest lifesaver. It will work in tandem with Aurus to provide comprehensive coverage of the beaches. Triton will patrol non-swim zones, identify and transfer information to lifesavers and help them identify tourists entering the water during high tide and in danger-prone areas. "The main reason is to incorporate new technology under the banner of lifesaving to help to mitigate risks while assisting the manpower to be more effective in ensuring the safety and security of individuals on the beaches. The inclusion of AI highlights the progress made in the department of lifesaving. As society grows more and more reliant on technology, it's only suitable to ensure it is appropriately applied in all sectors of life," said Navin Awasthi, Operations Head of Drishti Marine. Triton has so far completed 19,000 hours of runtime. Aurus and Triton are operated by 'tech lifesavers' who are located in the central control room. The team decides the areas that AURUS and TRITON will patrol. On-site lifesavers are given the training required to operate basic aspects of the two technologies. Aurus is currently deployed at Miramar Beach in North Goa for assistance in beach closure, while Triton is deployed at Baina, Velsao, Benaulim, Galgibag in South Goa and Morjim in North Goa. "Both Aurus and Triton are largely support systems. The device has the potential to save lives, especially during peak season when lifeguards must monitor and patrol wide portions of the beach that are swamped with visitors. The two AI-based systems have increased team efficiency and enabled wider coverage. We hope that as the systems improve, they will become an essential part of every beach, making our beaches the best protected in the world," Navin Awasthi added. Drishti intends to deploy 100 Triton units and 10 AURUS units on the beaches of Goa this year. (ANI)
The Supreme Court on Monday said it will hear a plea on Tuesday against the appointment of advocate Lekshmana Chandra Victoria Gowri as an additional judge of the Madras High Court. In the morning, a bench headed by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud posted the matter for hearing on February 10. The bench agreed to hear the matter tomorrow after senior advocate Raju Ramachandran mentioned the matter again for urgent listing in view of the latest development. Ramachandran told the bench that after the mention of the matter in the morning, certain developments took place and notification of the appointment of Victoria Gowri as Madras High Court judge has come. CJI said that Supreme Court Collegium has taken cognizance of the complaints about Victoria Gowri, which were received after her name was recommended for appointment as a judge of the Madras High Court. "We have seen the plea and we have read it. There are certain developments that have taken place. Collegium has taken cognizance of what came to our notice and it was after our recommendation," said the CJI. The bench said it will constitute a bench and post it for a hearing tomorrow. Victoria Gowri has already been appointed as an additional judge in the Madras High Court and the announcement had come minutes before the lawyer sought an urgent hearing in the morning. Minister of Law and Justice Kiren Rijiju today in a tweet shared a list of whose appointment for the judgeship was cleared by the Centre. A section of the Madras High Court bar had sent a representation to the CJI urging the Collegium to recall the proposal of appointment of advocate Victoria Gowri as a judge. The proposal regarding advocate Victoria Gowri became controversial after certain statements made against minorities surfaced in the public domain. (ANI)
Congress MP Rahul Gandhi on Monday alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi would make "all efforts" that "no discussion" is held in the Parliament over the Adani issue. Gandhi's remarks came after Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha proceedings on Monday were adjourned for the day following protests by opposition parties demanding a joint parliamentary committee probe into the allegations of stock manipulation against the Adani Group. The budget session of Parliament resumed on Monday, two days after both Houses were adjourned due to uproar by the Opposition over the Adani-Hindenburg row. Speaking to the reporters here, Gandhi alleged that the government will put in efforts to make sure that here is no discussion on the Adani issue inside the Parliament. "The government will try its best that no discussion takes place on the Adani issue in Parliament. The government should allow a discussion on this in the Parliament. You will see, all efforts will be made. Not the government, PM Modi will make all efforts that there is no discussion on Adani in the Parliament. There is a reason behind it. You know the reason," the Congress MP said. Gandhi said that the country should know which power is behind Adani. "I have been raising this issue for the past 2-3 years. I want that there should be a discussion on this and everything should be clear. There should be a discussion on the corruption of crores of rupees that have taken place, and India's infrastructure has been captured. The country should know which power is behind Adani," he said. Earlier today, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh came down heavily on the central government amid the ongoing Hindenburg-Adani row, saying that the Central government is running away from answering over the Adani issue. In a tweet, Jairam Ramesh wrote, "For the third consecutive day, the opposition in Parliament was not allowed to raise the demand of JPC regarding the Adani scam. Both the houses were adjourned till 2.00 pm. It is clear that the Modi government is running away." Meanwhile, Congress has launched a countrywide protest in front of Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) offices and State Bank of India (SBI) branches today to protest over the issue. Earlier in the day, Opposition MPs gathered at the Gandhi statue on the Parliament premises, to stage a protest. Discussion on the Motion of Thanks to the President's Address was scheduled to be held in both houses today. This comes after the Budget Session was adjourned for two days till today after repeated disruptions following ruckus inside the Parliament with the Opposition demanding a debate on the US short-seller Hindenburg Research's report against the Adani Group and a probe by a JPC. Notably, the Opposition parties including Congress, DMK, NCP, BRS, JD(U), SP, CPM, CPI, Kerala Congress (Jose Mani), JMM, RLD, RSP, AAP, IUML, RJD and Shiv Sena also constituted a meeting in LoP Mallikarjun Kharge's chamber in Parliament to chalk out a strategy on Adani-Hindenburg and other issues. A January 24 report by Hindenburg Research alleged that the Adani Group had weak business fundamentals, and was involved in stock manipulation and accounting fraud, among others. The report triggered a sell-off of shares of Adani Group companies. The first half of the Budget session will continue till February 13 and the second half will be held from March 13 to April 6. The budget session began with the address by President Droupadi Murmu to the joint sitting of the two Houses of Parliament. Union Budget was presented on February 1. (ANI)
The former minister had moved a petition before a special PMLA court in Mumbai seeking permission to visit Nagpur.

Deshmukh, who was booked in connection with an alleged Rs 100-crore extortion case, was granted conditional bail by the Bombay High Court on December 12 on a bond of Rs 1 lakh.

He was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in November 2021, which stated that he had misused his position as state home minister and collected Rs 4.70 crore from various bars in Mumbai through some police officers.

Earlier, on January 3, former Deshmukh appeared at the CBI office in Bombay Kurla Complex after being granted conditional bail by the Bombay High Court in the money laundering case on December 28.

Among the bail conditions imposed by the HC was that Deshmukh cannot leave Mumbai without the prior approval of the trial court and must cooperate with the investigation.

"In accordance with instructions given by the high court while granting bail, I came to the CBI office to register my attendance. I am following the instructions of the court," the minister told ANI earlier.

He had previous denied the allegations against him, claiming they were baseless.

"Param Bir Singh (then Mumbai Police commissioner), in an affidavit submitted in court, stated that the accusations against me were based on hearsay and that he had no evidence against me," Deshmukh said earlier.

He said, "Param Bir Singh and Sachin Vaze (Mumbai Ex-cop) made false allegations and I had to stay in jail." (ANI)
Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Monday came down heavily on the Communist Party of India (Marxist) and Congress in poll-bound Tripura and said that both the parties have discarded interests of the people and the state. Shah said that both parties indulged in scams while any allegation of corruption cannot be levelled against the BJP-led government in Tripura. "Communists are criminals, and Congress is corrupt, both have played with the people, the State. Analyze the impacts of around 30 years of the rule of Communists, around 15 years of the rule of Congress and just 5 years of the rule of the BJP, and you will get all the answers," the Home Minister said while addressing a public meeting here. Shah noted that the BJP has run a transparent government in the state for the welfare of the poor. "Leftists used to do scams and Congress used to do scams, today both have come together. At the same time, no one can level a single allegation of scam on the BJP. BJP has run a transparent government under the leadership of Modi ji, a government which has run the welfare of the poor," he said. Enumerating the work done by the BJP government in the state, Shah said that injustice against the tribals has ended. "Under the BJP government in Tripura, the crime rate in the state has been reduced by 30 per cent. We never targeted any CPM worker but more than 250 BJP workers were killed between 2016-18. I am standing before you after 5 years, I can say with pride that the BJP has changed the 27-year-long misrule of the Communists in the state. The orgy of violence was going on in Tripura for 27 years, BJP did the work of changing it. The injustice that was being done to the tribal brothers and sisters for 27 years, BJP worked to end that injustice," he said. "The work of making over 9,000 terrorists in the North East to surrender and affording permanent settlements to the Bru-Reang refugees has been done by the BJP," Shah added. Noting that the BJP rule in Tripura has brought peace to the state, the Home Minister said that the journey needs to be carried forward. "These 5 years have brought peace and prosperity to Tripura. But these 5 years are just not enough, the journey has to continue. If Tripura can develop, it can do so only under the BJP, under PM Modi," he said. "We not only worked for the welfare of the tribal people in the State but also brought the 7th Pay commission for the overall development in the lives of the employees," Shah added. He further highlighted the government's policies and said that the BJP government has ensured the social as well as economic upliftment of each and every section of society. Recalling the BJP's slogan 'Chalo Paltai' in Tripura in 2018, Shah said that it was meant to change the situation in the state. "In 2018, the BJP gave the slogan 'Chalo Paltai' in Tripura, and the people here have made this true by bringing the rule of BJP in the state by making it win with flying colours. Notably, our slogan 'Chalo Paltai' was not meant to change the government, but to change the situation in Tripura, for bringing development in Tripura," he said. Tripura will go to Assembly polls on February 16. The counting of votes will take place on March 2 along with the votes of Meghalaya and Nagaland. (ANI)
In an attempt to boost the food processing sector in the state, the Uttar Pradesh government headed by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has decided to provide upto 50 per cent subsidy to interested investors, according to a government statement. According to a statement, the decision assumes significance in view of the fact that the state is one of the leading producers of various foodgrains, sugarcane and several fruits and the Yogi Government since its first term has laid special emphasis on promoting agricultural products and food processing to increase the products' presence in domestic and foreign markets. The government has brought the UP Food Processing Industry Policy-23, providing many concessions and subsidies to the entrepreneurs in different segments in order to promote the products. Besides, the new policy also exempts investors in the food sector from paying stamp duty on setting up of a unit, Mandi Fee and Development Fee, while reducing the loss incurred by investors and using startups in production, the statement added. According to the statement, as food processing industries are typically micro and small scale, mostly located in rural areas, independent power industrial feeders for them would not be a viable option. The Yogi government has decided to give a 50 per cent subsidy to investors for setting up solar power plants of up to 75 KVA. The government has also decided to give a 90 per cent subsidy to food processing units owned and operated by women. Since Uttar Pradesh is a landlocked state, the government has also decided to provide, a transport subsidy of 25 per cent of the actual transport cost of exports of foodstuff to the entrepreneurs to make the food processing industry more competitive in the state. The transportation cost will cover the shipping of the food product from the place of manufacturing/production in the state to the port of the importing country. Besides, a 35 per cent capital subsidy will be given to entrepreneurs on their expenditure on plant, machinery and technical civil works for the establishment of food processing units in the state with a maximum limit of Rs 5 crores. Not only this, a capital subsidy of 35 per cent will be given on the expenditure related to plant, machinery and technical civil work for the expansion of the units with a maximum limit of Rs 1 crore, the statement said. According to the new UP Food Processing Industry Policy-23, if the Chak Road comes to the place where the food processing unit is set up, an investor won't be required to pay 25 per cent of the amount on the circle rate. Earlier, for this, the investor had to pay 25 per cent of the value of the land along with giving land at another place equal to the land on Chak Road. Similarly, earlier, entrepreneurs setting up the food processing industry on CLU (Conversion of Land Use), were charged a 20 per cent circle rate on the agricultural land, who will now get a 50 per cent exemption on this. The Yogi government has also announced a 75 per cent exemption in External Development Fees for entrepreneurs. Earlier, the External Development Fee, in most cases used to be more than the rate of the land. The investors have also been exempted from paying stamp duty for setting up a food processing unit. This will be reimbursed by the Food Processing Department through the budget. Furthermore, the Mandi fees and cess will also be waived on agricultural products brought from other states for processing as it would increase employment and the revenue tax, the statement added. (ANI)
The Supreme Court on Monday issued a notice to respondents on a petition filed by a girl in a same-sex relationship challenging the Kerala High Court order directing her partner to attend counselling sessions. The apex court stayed further proceedings in the Kerala High Court till the next date of hearing. Earlier, the same-sex couple moved the Supreme Court challenging the Kerala High Court order directing one of them to attend counselling sessions with a psychiatrist. A bench headed by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud asked the petitioner's lawyer to keep the brief ready and said it will hear the matter at the end of the board. Petitioner's counsel Advocate Sriram P mentioned the plea before the Supreme Court seeking an urgent hearing. The Petitioner challenged Kerala High Court's January 13, 2023 order whereby the High Court directed one of them to attend counselling sessions with a psychiatrist as far as her sexual orientation is concerned. In the petition, the same-sex couple said they are female as per their gender orientation and both wish to get married and be together. But the parents of the detenu have kept the detenu in illegal custody against her will so as to impede the marriage between the petitioner and the detenu, the plea stated. It further said the petitioner is, in letter and spirit, challenging the interim orders dated January 24, 2023 and February 2, 2023 all of which denied the petitioner her fundamental rights. These orders have denied the detenu safety and liberty for a long period from January 9, 2023 to the present day, the plea said. "The present Special Leave Petition carries a substantial question of law among many others. Whether the High Court ought to have allowed the detenu the right to be heard physically in the safety and security of the building of the High Court," the petition said, adding that the plea also raised the question of law as to whether "gender orientation counselling" is legal or not. (ANI)
The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on Monday filed a review petition in Supreme Court for rectification of the court's observation on Sikkimese Nepalis. The MHA filed the petition against some of the observations and directions in a recent judgement dated January 13 this year in two petitions of 2013 and 2021 filed by the Association of Old Settlers of Sikkim and Ors in the Supreme Court. The Home Ministry of India made the declaration through a series of tweets. "Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) files review petition in Supreme Court against some of the observations and directions in a recent judgement dated January 13 2023, in two petitions of 2013 and 2021 filed by Association of Old Settlers of Sikkim and Ors in Supreme Court," Home Ministry of India tweeted. The government of India reiterated its position about the sanctity of Article 371F of the Constitution that safeguards the Sikkimese identity, which should not be diluted, mentions further tweet. "Further, the observation in the said order about persons of foreign origin settled in Sikkim like Nepalis should be reviewed as the said persons are Sikkimese of Nepali origin." Two judges bench of Supreme Court where Justice MR Shah delivered the lead judgement but Justice B V Nagarathna chose to deliver additional arguments in support of the judgement was dealing with the vires of the provisions of Section 10(26AAA) as per which in case of an individual, being a Sikkimese, any income which accrues or arises to him-(a) from any source in the State of Sikkim; or (b) by way of dividend or interest on securities is exempt. Also as per the proviso, nothing contained in this clause shall apply to a Sikkimese woman who, on or after the 1st day of April 2008, marries an individual who is not a Sikkimese. The court noted the entire history behind the Kingdom of Sikkim which was formed in the year 1642 and until the merger with India in 1975 it was being ruled for 333 years by the Kingdom. At the time of the merger, there was a concept called the Sikkim Subject register which basically incorporated those names who were originally Sikkimese or those who surrendered their citizenship of other states and adopted Sikkim Citizenship. In the process, certain Indian families who were even though living in Sikkim did not surrender their Indian Citizenship and thus were left out of the Sikkim Subject register. As the tax benefits were made available only to those whose name was recorded in the register, the dispute went up to the Supreme Court on the grounds of arbitrary, unreasonable and ultra vires. The court upholding the arguments of petitioners declared the Explanation to Section 10(26AAA) as ultra vires and directed the Union of India to amend the explanation until which date all those who had settled in Sikkim before 26-04-1975 would be eligible to get the tax benefits u/s 10(26AAA) and also irrespective of a woman marrying a non-Sikkimese, she would be eligible to get the tax benefit. It appears that Justice Nagarathna being a lady judge was touched by unreasonable classification and she chose to write at length on this aspect. This judgement though limited in scope regarding those living in Sikkim will be helpful in dealing with vires of provision as well as interpretation of "proviso", observes the Apex court's finding. Political parties in Sikkim have voiced opposition to the court's finding that Sikkimese Nepalis are immigrants while granting income tax exemption (under Section 10(26AAA) of the IT Act 1961) to all long-term settlers regardless of ethnicity. (ANI)
Lashing out at the Opposition for spreading 'misinformation' about Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) in the past, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday said several false allegations were levelled against the government while precious working hours in the Parliament were wasted. PM Modi's remarks were seen as a veiled reference to the Opposition's allegations of corruption in the Rafale jet deal, in the run-up to the 2019 general elections. The HAL was allegedly not a part of the contract for the manufacturing of fighters for the Indian Air Force. The Congress had alleged that the Centre had pressurised Dassault Aviation, a French firm, to do away with HAL as its strategic offset partner. The Congress had also questioned the government over the offset partners for the manufacturing of 108 Rafale fighter aircraft in India. However, the Supreme Court, in 2018, dismissed the petitions against the Rafale deal and also rejected a review of its earlier judgment in November 2019. Invoking the Congress claims, PM Modi on Monday said the rising power of HAL will help unmask those who levelled false allegations. "We strengthened the working of the public sector defence companies in the last 8 years and also opened the doors for the private sector. We are seeing its benefits in HAL as well. Misinformation was spread about HAL and many false allegations were levelled against our government. A conspiracy was hatched to provoke people against the government in the name of HAL," PM Modi said while inaugurating a HAL helicopter factory in Karnataka's Tumakuru on Monday. PM Modi also recalled earlier Parliamentary sessions that were disrupted by the Opposition over the demand for a Joint Parliamentary Committee probe into the Rafale deal. "Many working hours of Parliament were wasted over it. Falsehood loses and truth always prevails. No matter how big the falsehood or how often it is said or whoever says it, the truth always shines through. HAL's helicopter factory and its rising strength will unmask those who levelled such false allegations. HAL is boosting Atmanirbharata (self-reliance) in defence," PM Modi said. Congress had earlier claimed that the previous UPA government had negotiated the purchase of one Rafale fighter aircraft, including the transfer of technology, at Rs 526.10 crore after a tender for procuring 126 aircraft. The BJP-led government later negotiated a deal to buy 36 Rafale aircraft off the shelf. (ANI)
Members of the Indian Youth Congress held a protest over Adani stocks issues at Jantar Mantar on Monday. Heavy security deployments were visible on the spot. Congress has launched a countrywide protest in front of Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) offices and State Bank of India (SBI) branches today to protest over the issue. Earlier in the day, Opposition MPs gathered at the Gandhi statue on the Parliament premises, to stage a protest. Discussion on the Motion of Thanks to the President's Address was scheduled to be held in both houses today. Both houses of the Parliament were on Monday adjourned amid heavy sloganeering by Opposition MPs demanding a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) probe into the Adani issue. This comes after the Budget Session was adjourned for two days till today after repeated disruptions following ruckus inside the Parliament with the Opposition demanding a debate on the US short-seller Hindenburg Research's report against the Adani Group and a probe by a JPC. Notably, the Opposition parties including Congress, DMK, NCP, BRS, JD(U), SP, CPM, CPI, Kerala Congress (Jose Mani), JMM, RLD, RSP, AAP, IUML, RJD and Shiv Sena also constituted a meeting in LoP Mallikarjun Kharge's chamber in Parliament to chalk out a strategy on Adani-Hindenburg and other issues. Congress President and Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha, Mallikarjun Kharge said that the opposition will raise the Adani row in the Parliament as the government especially Prime Minister Narendra Modi is silent on the issue. The opposition parties have sought discussion over investment by LIC, Public Sector Banks, and financial institutions "in companies losing market value, endangering the savings of crores of Indians" following a report by the US firm Hindenburg Research. A January 24 report by Hindenburg Research alleged that the Adani Group had weak business fundamentals, and was involved in stock manipulation and accounting fraud, among others. The report triggered a sell-off of shares of Adani Group companies. The first half of the Budget session will continue till February 13 and the second half will be held from March 13 to April 6. The budget session began with the address by President Droupadi Murmu to the joint sitting of the two Houses of Parliament. Union Budget was presented on February 1. (ANI)
According to the Army officials, Indian Army received a distress call from her family members at 11:00 am from Badakhet village of Kalaroos block, requesting urgent medical evacuation.

Seeing the woman's critical situation, the Army's rescue and medical team carried the woman on their shoulders for nearly 5km through a snowbound stretch and incessant snowfall. Near the Sumo Bridge, the soldiers found an ambulance standing to recieve the patient.

The woman reached the Primary Health Centre, Kalaroos safely and a healthy baby boy was born. The family and doctors expressed gratitude to the Indian Army soldiers for their support and timely assistance. The mother and baby are doing fine, officials said.

The family was in tears seeing the commitment and zeal of soldiers through laborious evacuation for 5 km. Any delay in evacuation would have endangered the lives of both mother and baby. The selfless act was widely appreciated by locals, and doctors and is a true testament to the strong 'Awam Jawan Connect' in Kupwara, they said.

Due to heavy rainfall, roads were slippery and completely blocked. Also since the roads were narrow, curved and dangerous, no private vehicles could reach the house, they said. (ANI)
Hajj pilgrims from India will have to pay less as compared to the previous year as the central government is considering to reduce the cost of the pilgrimage by Rs 50,000 per person, sources said on Monday. According to the sources, the application for the Hajj pilgrimage will be absolutely free which was Rs 400 last year. "Hajj application will be free this time. All Hajj pilgrims will apply free of cost. This time the cost of Hajj pilgrimage will be cheaper by about Rs 50,000 per person. No extra charges will be demanded from them for carrying bags, suitcases, umbrellas, or sheets. However, the Muslims who will undertake the Hajj pilgrimage will buy their goods at their own level. Elderly, differently-abled and women will get priority. Any woman above 45 years of age can now apply for Hajj alone," sources said. The sources further said that out of 1.75 lakh people apply for Hajj, 80 per cent of them will go through the Hajj committee while 20 per cent will go through private tour operators. "The health check-ups will be done only at government health centres. Private hospital check-ups will not be valid. The Ministry of Minority Affairs has contacted the Ministry of Health in this regard. An officer from the Hajj Committee of every state will also go on Hajj," sources said. There will be 25 points marked this time through which a pilgrim can proceed comfortably for his Hajj. Special arrangements will also be made for the children of single mothers, sources said. The 25 marked points include Srinagar, Ranchi, Gaya, Guwahati, Indore, Bhopal, Mangaluru, Goa, Aurangabad, Banaras, Jaipur, Nagpur, Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Kochi, Chennai, Vijayawada, Agartala etc. Earlier, the Uttar Pradesh Hajj Committee announced that a record number of over 30,000 Muslims from Uttar Pradesh will undertake the Hajj pilgrimage this year, adding that women pilgrims will be able to go without a mahram- a man who accompanies a woman on the journey for Hajj. "India has got a quota of 1 lakh 75 thousand pilgrims for Hajj 2023. And this time, a record number of over 30,000 Muslims from Uttar Pradesh will undertake Hajj pilgrimage this year," Uttar Pradesh Hajj Committee Chairperson and the Minister of State for Minority Welfare Muslim Waqf, Mohsin Raza, told reporters. The Saudi Arabian government, in October, announced that mahram- a male blood relative with whom marriage is not permissible, is no longer required to accompany a woman pilgrim from any part of the world. (ANI)
Three of five accused persons named in the FIR into the alleged lynching of a youth at Manjhi in Bihar's Saran district on Sunday were arrested, the police informed on Monday. A mob reportedly set the house and poultry farm of the village headman on fire on Sunday after the alleged lynching of the youth. "A murder case was registered against five persons in connection with the lynching incident. Three of them have been arrested," said ADG JS Gangwar at a press conference in Patna. "Many videos on the violence that followed the lynching incident are also on social media. We are in the process of registering a case in the matter," the ADG added. The police further informed that the situation in the area was peaceful and under control. "It has emerged during preliminary investigation mutual enmity and local politics might be behind the violence. The matter is being investigated from all angles," Gangwar said. "Raids are underway and the other accused persons will be arrested soon," he added. A sizable police contingent was deployed at the village in the wake of Sunday's alleged lynching and the violence and arson that followed. Locals erupted in anger at Mubarakpur village in the Manjhi police station area after a youth was lynched and two more were critically injured. Police said tension gripped the village after the incident as youths, belonging to a particular community, gathered at Mubarakpur village from across the district and barged into the house of the village headman, identified as Vijay Yadav. According to police, the protesters alleged that the village headman and his henchmen unleashed a brutal assault on three youths, killing one and leaving two others critically wounded. (ANI)
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has arrested the 7th accused in Bihar's Phulwarisharif Popular Front of India (PFI) case. Identified as Irshad, the accused was actively involved in PFI's criminal conspiracy to spread communal hatred and enmity. Continuing its crackdown on PFI activists who had conspired to carry out targeted killings in Bihar's East Champaran district, the NIA achieved success with the arrest of the accused on late Sunday from Jitaura village in Motihari district. A resident of Harpur Kahuni in East Champaran, Irshad had attended training classes held under the garb of Physical Education at Ahmad Palace, Phulwarisharif, Patna, said the anti-terror agency. The accused was also associated with PFI's Training Centres and activities. "A printed PFI banner and two iron swords have been recovered at Irshad's instance from a hideout in Parsauni village in Muzaffarpur district." The NIA had arrested four persons earlier, in this case, pertaining to PFI's unlawful and violent activities, undertaken in the wake of their gathering in Phulwarisharif area of Patna last year. The case was initially registered on July 12 this year at Phulwarisharif and re-registered 10 days later by the NIA, which took over the investigations. One person, identified as Yakoob, is still absconding. He had recently posted a derogatory and inflammatory Facebook video post, aimed at disturbing the peace and communal harmony. Many FB users had commented and trolled his post abusively. Earlier on Sunday, NIA had carried out extensive searches in the Motihari district of Bihar and arrested two people. Raids, which were conducted at eight locations, led to the arrest of Tanveer Raza alias Barkati and Md Abid alias Aryan, both residents of Bahadurpur, Mehsi, East Champaran. Multiple digital devices were seized during the searches. "Investigations have further revealed that the duo had arranged weapons and ammunition to carry out PFI's plan of targeted killings, for which the targets had been identified and recces had been conducted," said the NIA. "They had handed over the arms and ammunition to a PFI trainer, Yakoob, who had been conducting training sessions for PFI cadres." With the arrest of Irshad, a total of seven arrests has taken place in this case, said the NIA, adding "more arrests are in the offing, as further investigations continue." (ANI)
The Supreme Court on Monday stayed the Kerala High Court order directing a girl in a same-sex relationship to attend counselling sessions till further orders. The Supreme Court also issued notice to the concerned respondents on the plea filed by a girl in a same-sex relationship who claimed that her partner has been detained by her parents. A bench of Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud and Justices PS Narasimha and JB Pardiwala also ordered a stay on further proceedings in the matter before the Kerala High Court till the next date of listing. The petitioner, in her plea, filed through advocate Sriram P, said that they are female as per their gender orientation and they both wish to get married and be together. But the petitioner said that the parents of the detenu have kept the detenu in illegal custody against her will to impede the marriage between the petitioner and the detenu. The court directed the parents of the detenu to present the detenu before the family court at Kollam. The court said that the Principal Judge of the Family Court should arrange for an interview of the detenu with Ms Saleena V G Nair, a Member of the E-Committee of the Supreme Court, who is a senior judicial officer from the State of Kerala. "The interview shall be arranged in consultation with the Principal Judge of the Family Court," the court said. "The officer shall after interacting with the detenu submit a report after ascertaining her wishes and whether she is voluntarily residing with her parents or is kept under illegal detention. The Principal Judge of the Family Court and Ms Saleena shall ensure that the statement of the detenu is recorded in a fair and free manner without any coercion or duress from the parents," the court said and listed the matter for further hearing on February 17. "Report to be submitted in a sealed cover. There shall be a stay of further proceedings before the High Court till the next date of listing," the court said. The petitioner challenged Kerala High Court on January 13 2023, whereby the High Court directed one of the couples to attend counselling sessions with a psychiatrist so far as her sexual orientation is concerned. Lawyer Sriram said that in the present plea, the petitioner sought to invoke the basic principle of Habeas Corpus and sought the detenu to be produced before the court physically. According to the petitioner, the detenu was present through video conferencing before Kerala High Court whereby she clearly told the High Court that she is in love with the petitioner and the detenu wanted to come with the petitioner and live happily with her ever after. "The High Court erroneously sought the detenu to be sent for counselling. The counselling impugned herein is obviously counselling to change her sexual orientation. It is most respectfully submitted that this counselling is proscribed under the law and the High Courts of Madras, Uttarakhand and Orissa have specifically and categorically followed the law laid down by this High Court prohibited it. The petitioner is challenging the initial interim order dated 13.03.2023," the petitioner said. "However the petitioner is in letter and spirit challenging the interim orders dated 24.01.2023 and 02.02.2023 all of which denied the petitioner her fundamental rights. These orders have denied the detenu safety and liberty for a long period from 09.01.2023 to the present day," the petitioner said. "The present Special Leave Petition carries a substantial question of law among many others. Whether the High Court ought to have allowed the detenu the right to be heard physically in the safety and security of the building of the High Court," the petition said, adding that the plea also raised the question of law as to whether "gender orientation counselling" is legal or not," the petitioner said. (ANI)
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Monday said that the grand Global Investors Summit will open doors of new possibilities for the youth of the state by bringing in massive investments in various sectors. "The youth will no longer have to run after other countries of the world for employment, nor will they have to go to other states of India to find jobs," said the Chief Minister. Yogi was addressing the 11th convocation of GLA University on Monday, where he said that under the leadership of PM Modi, the National Education Policy has been formulated keeping in mind the bright future of the youth of the country and added that the youth should not confine themselves to procuring degrees only and should move beyond with a multidimensional approach. The Chief Minister also called upon the educational institutions to conduct research on the activities related to social, economic and traditions of their geographical areas to speed up development in those areas. Congratulating the students during the convocation, the Chief Minister said that educational institutions should give information about the schemes of the Central Government and the State Government in their syllabus, adding that schemes especially related to youth and students should be part of the curriculum. "If a student wants to start a startup, then information about PM Mudra Yojana and Mukhyamantri Yuva Swarozgar Yojana should be available at the level of educational institutions itself," he said. The Chief Minister also informed the students about schemes like PM Internship, CM Internship and Abhyudaya. Adding that Uttar Pradesh has the largest base of MSMEs, Yogi said, "We have to pay attention to the quality and packaging of our products. Had the previous governments paid attention to the field of technical education in UP, today, the state would have been a hub of technical skills." "Today, goods worth Rs 1.60 lakh crores are being exported every year in UP. There is a huge potential for startups in this field. But for this, the educational institutions will have to come forward and provide training. Educational institutions should enter into an MoU with another educational institution to exchange knowledge", he added. The Chief Minister informed that massive investment is on the anvil in 25 sectors of the state, which will create lakhs of jobs for the youth and urged educational institutions to prepare their students for this. At the same time, he also appealed to the students to achieve heights in life at every level, but not to break the relation with heritage. "We have to be ready for the new future physically, mentally and intellectually," he said. Referring to Ram Manohar Lohia, he said that the eminent socialist thinker considered Lord Krishna, Ram and Shiva as the three basic pillars of the public life of India. Krishna connected India from East to West, Ram from North to South and the cultural and geographical boundary of this country is determined by the 12 Jyotirlinga temples of Lord Shiva sitting across the country. Referring to Taittiriya Upanishad, the Chief Minister asked the students to follow the path of 'Satyam Vad, Dharmam Chara'. "We have to see how we can practice truth in our lives. When a person speaks something and does something else, then his credibility is at stake. If someone does not believe in himself, how will the society, the country and the world believe him." During the convocation, 47 students were awarded PhD degrees, 561 Masters degress and 2085 Bachelor's degrees. Cabinet Minister Chaudhary Laxmi Narayan, Yogendra Upadhyay, Chancellor Narayan Das Aggarwal, Vice Chancellor Prof. Durg Singh Chauhan, Vice Chancellor Prof. Falguni Gupta and a large number of students and parents were present. The Vice-Chancellor presented the Annual Progress Report of the University. (ANI)
Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Tripura Chief Minister Manik Saha on Monday held a roadshow from 'Ashram Chowmuhani' to 'Chowmuhani Mode' at Banmalipur in Agartala. Speaking to ANI during the roadshow, Shah reacted to the demand by the Tipra Motha Party for a Greater Tipra Land. "The demand for the Tipra land was raised when the Communists were being unjust with the tribals. The BJP has brought about inclusive development, which also includes tribal communities. Tribals have got everything under the BJP," he said. Shah exuded confidence in forming the government once again in Tripura saying the BJP will return to power with a bigger majority than 2018. "The double-engine government will return with a bigger majority than before," he said. The Home minister said massive crowd that turned up at his roadshow and public meetings shows the outpouring of people's support for the BJP. "Thousands of people are here. This shows that there is huge support for the BJP. Congress is a sinking ship and people have rejected violent Communist rule. BJP gave houses, electricity, drinking water, free ration and Covid vaccines to the people, across communities," the Union Home minister said. Earlier on Monday, Shah came down heavily on the CPI(M) and the Congress in poll-bound Tripura, saying that both the parties disregarded the interests of the people and the state. Shah said both parties indulged in scams while in power and no allegation of corruption cannot be levelled against the BJP-led government in Tripura. "Communists are criminals and the Congress is corrupt. Both have played with the people and the state. Assess the impact of about 30 years of Communist rule and 15 years of Congress rule and compare them with five-year rule under the BJP. You will get all the answers," the Home minister said while addressing a public meeting here. Shah claimed that the BJP has run a transparent government in the state and worked for the welfare of the poor. "The Leftists indulged in scams and so did the Congress. Now, the two have come together. No one can level a single allegation of corruption at the BJP. Ours has been a transparent government under the leadership of Modi-ji, a government which has worked for the welfare of the poor," he said. Detailing the work done by the BJP government in the state, Shah said injustice against the tribal communities in the state is a thing of the past. "Under the BJP government in Tripura, the crime rate in the state has decreased by 30 per cent. We never targeted any CPM worker but more than 250 BJP workers were killed between 2016-18. I am standing before you after 5 years, I can say with pride that the BJP has changed the face of Tripura after ending the 27-year-long misrule of the Communists. An orgy of violence went on in Tripura for 27 years and it wasn't until the BJP came to power that things changed for the better. The injustice that was being done to our tribal brothers and sisters for 27 years came to an end after we formed the government," he said. "Work on making over 9,000 terrorists in the Northeast surrender and providing permanent settlements to the Bru-Reang refugees was done by the BJP," Shah added. Tripura will go to Assembly polls on February 16. The counting of votes will take place on March 2 along with those of Meghalaya and Nagaland. (ANI)
Delhi Lt Governor VK Saxena has approved the filling up of teaching and non-teaching staff of government-aided schools through DSSSB as is being done in the case of Delhi government schools. In a far-reaching decision that will mitigate and curtail often flagged malpractices, that include subjectivity, favouritism, nepotism and unaccounted discretion in the recruitment/appointment of teachers and non-teaching staff of Government-aided schools in the Capital, official statement said. However, since this would require amendment in the Delhi School Education Rules (DSER), 1973 and the Delhi School Education Act (DSEA), 1973 that governs such provisions, the LG has directed the Government (Education Department) to follow the laid down procedure in this regard. At the same time, to ensure that the autonomy of such schools and their Selection Committees, tasked with the responsibility of making such recruitments is maintained, it has been decided that against every vacancy to be filled, the Selection Committees of the Government-aided Schools, will be provided with the panel of 3 names by the DSSSB, for them to make a choice. In the case of Government Schools, the DSSSB selects and provides one candidate for each vacancy.As per an official statement, there are about 8300 sanctioned posts in 207 Government-aided Schools against which recruitments are done from time to time. While the DSER, 1973 provides for a Selection Committee, with the nominee of the Director of Education, for such recruitments, the Rules are silent about the procedure to be adopted by these Selection Committees for selecting teachers and clerical staff. "This often leads to non-transparency, corruption, nepotism and undue influence/coercion by the Government nominee in the selection of the candidates, thereby putting deserving candidates at a disadvantage," it read.The said provisions shall be optional for Government-aided Minority Schools. (ANI)
Amid rising environmental problems, over 300 children from India presented their recommendations on the draft of UN General Comment 26 (GC 26) to Mikiko Otani, the United Nations Chair of the Committee on the Rights of the Child. The students from schools and NGOs across India representing diverse socio-economic-linguistic and regional backgrounds, as well as those from varied abilities and disabilities, had joined the fortnight-long 'Inclusive YoUth Negotiations' (IN-U.N) to unearth the evolving GC 26 which the world member states of the United Nations are scheduled to adopt in September 2023. The children as part of the national child-led advocacy initiative called NINEISMINE, consulted COP 27 participants, UN Officials, Earth and Child Rights specialists, and students from numerous schools to fine-tune the ADvocal charter. The charter was generated with the support of 3000 children who hailed mainly from vulnerable communities who are likely to be impacted more by the consequences of climate change and environmental pollution. Speaking about the same, Otani said, "I was greatly inspired and impressed by the children. I appreciate children: the knowledge each one of them has on GC26 and child rights which even adults lack." Otani further mentioned that all the recommendations proposed by children indicated what children actually want. She also stated that she would study all the recommendations carefully and submit it to the committee. Students also interacted with the UNICEF India Country office officials to design a new campaign on Climate Change where the children engaged with the team on various child rights and earth rights challenges at local and national level. The young earth citizens participating on this platform insisted on renaming this document as their ecological rights rather than their environmental rights towards the recognition of their status as interconnected members of the one big earth community. During the preparatory sessions, the students analyzed the draft of the General Comment 26 document with the help of multiple rights-based perspectives such as the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC), the UN Environment Framework Principles, and the Human Rights Criteria checklist. Kartik Verma (17) climate and child rights activist from Bhadohi district in Uttar Pradesh, the Child Advisor to GC 26 representing South-Asia and member of the NINEISMINE campaign will formally be taking these recommendations virtually to all the ongoing UN negotiations. Further, he will table the same at the Office of the High Commission on Human Rights (OHCHR) in Geneva this September when this document will be tabled on the ground and adopted by the Permanent Missions of all the member states. The final and formal statement of the IN-U.N. will be officially submitted to the OHCHR as it has announced a deadline of the 15th of February for all non-diplomatic submissions. Steve Rocha, the Director of PRATYeK and the NINEISMINE National convener said, "There was so much energy, enthusiasm and edutainment from the students who demanded that they and no other child be left behind in this dialogue around their ecological rights. It is important to recognize the innocent, innate, intuitive, and inclusive wisdom of child earth citizens that added valuable inputs into the draft GC 26 that even the Global experts, World leaders, and UN rapporteurs had overlooked." In June 2021, the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child decided to draft a General Comment on children's rights and the environment with a special focus on climate change. The Committee now invites all interested stakeholders to comment on its draft general comment. In October 2021, the Committee invited State parties to comment on the concept note of the general comment. The General Comment is being informed by the collective, from human rights institutions, Indigenous People organizations to United Nations agencies. Most importantly, it is being shaped by children and young people, especially from communities most impacted by the environmental crisis. (ANI)
In a major success for made-in-India weapon systems, Indian Navy on Monday carried out the maiden landing of homegrown LCA(Navy) and MiG29K jets onboard the country's first indigenous aircraft carrier INS Vikrant. The exercise also demonstrates India's capability to design, develop, construct and operate Indigenous Aircraft Carrier with indigenous Fighter Aircraft. Navy Vice Chief Vice Admiral S N Ghormade termed it as a big achievement for 'Make in India' in the defence sector, saying that it will boost indigenisation. "Indigenously developed fighter aircraft LCA Navy and the MiG-29K fighter aircraft today made their first landings on the country's first made-in-India aircraft carrier INS Vikrant in the Arabian Sea. This is a big achievement for the Make in India in the defence sector and will boost indigenisation," said Navy Vice Chief Vice Admiral S N Ghormade told ANI. The commissioning of India's first indigenous aircraft carrier is a momentous occasion during the 'Amritkaal' of India's 75 years of independence and signifies the country's confidence and prowess stated a government release. The indigenous aircraft carrier is proof of the country's technical acumen and engineering skills. This demonstration of India's self-sufficiency to produce an aircraft carrier warship will reinforce the country's defence indigenisation programmes and the 'Make in India' campaign, the statement added. The indigenous aircraft carrier is proof of the country's technical acumen and engineering skills. This demonstration of India's self-sufficiency to produce an aircraft carrier warship will reinforce the country's defence indigenisation programmes and the 'Make in India' campaign, the statement added. Built at a cost of around Rs 20,000 crore, the INS Vikrant successfully completed its fourth and final phase of sea trials last month. With the construction of 'Vikrant', India has joined a select group of nations having the niche capability to indigenously design and build an aircraft carrier. The ship has over 2,300 compartments, designed for a crew of around 1,700 people, including specialised cabins to accommodate women officers. INS Vikrant has a top speed of around 28 knots and a cruising speed of 18 knots with an endurance of about 7,500 nautical miles. According to DRDO, Indian Navy's Commodore Shivnath Dahiya, (IN) performed the flight test carrying out successful arrested landing, hot refuelling and launching from the Ski jump of the LCA Navy from the indigenous aircraft carrier INS Vikrant (ANI)
Union Minister of Education and Skill Development and Entrepreneurship Dharmendra Pradhan on Monday launched the Yuva Sangam portal. The Yuva Sangam will focus on conducting exposure tours of the youth comprising of students & off-campus youngsters from North Eastern States to other states & vice versa. It will provide an immersive, multidimensional experience of various facets-under four broad areas of Paryatan (Tourism), Parampara (Traditions), Pragati (Development) and Paraspar Sampark (People-to-people connect). Speaking on the occasion, Dharmendra Pradhan said that this is yet another initiative of Prime Minister Narendra Modi for cementing the bond between the northeast and the rest of India. "In line with the spirit of 'Ek Bharat, Shrestha Bharat', Yuva Sangam will strengthen people-to-people bonds, mainstream the vibrant culture of our north-eastern states and bring immense exposure and opportunities for knowledge exchanges, especially for our youth in the north-east," Pradhan said. He further said that Yuva Sangam will celebrate India's diversity, rejuvenate the spirit of oneness and highlight the strength of India's democracy as envisioned by Prime Minister Modi. "A unique initiative, Yuva Sangam will further strengthen the 'Spirit of India' in Amrit Kaal," he said. The Minister invited the youth to come forward, register themselves and also provide suggestions for the Yuva Sangam. The portal was launched in the presence of Union Minister for Law and Justice Kiren Rijiju; Union Minister for Culture, Tourism and DONER G Kishan Reddy, Union Minister for Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, Anurag Singh Thakur. To strengthen people to people connect and build empathy between the youth of the North Eastern States and other States, the Ministry of Education, Government of India has conceptualized an initiative of 'Yuva Sangam' under Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat in collaboration with various other ministries and departments such as Culture, Tourism, Railways, Information & Broadcasting, Youth Affairs & Sports, Home Affairs, Department for Development of North-East Region (DoNER) and IRCTC. Around 1000 youth will participate in the pilot of Yuva Sangam. While addressing the gathering Rijiju said that the initiative of 'Yuva Sangam' will inculcate the common spirit of understanding among thousands of youth participating in the program, which will resonate throughout the country and contribute immensely towards building a truly Shreshtha Bharat. He further said that in 2014, Prime Minister Narendra Modi envisioned a stronger and united India by launching several development projects and programs under the aegis of furthering the spirit of Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat. Addressing the gathering G. Kishan Reddy said, "To enable our youth to understand and identify with the diversity of India, YUVA Sangam tours are being organized for the youth of different states, with an aim to promote a sense of respect towards each other's heritage, culture, customs, traditions to further the spirit of Shreshtha Bharat." "Through the course of the program, students will interact with each other in the areas of language, literature, cuisine, festivals, cultural events and tourism. They will get a first-hand experience of living in a completely different geographical and cultural scenario," he added. Speaking on the occasion, Thakur said that India is a unique nation, whose fabric has been woven by diverse linguistic, cultural, and religious threads, held together into a composite national identity. He stressed that under Prime Minister Narendra Modi various initiatives such as National Education Policy 2020, Khelo India, Fit India Movement, increased budget allocation etc., have been taken to benefit the youth of the country. He further said that the idea of Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat, a sustained and structured cultural connection among people of different regions was also mooted by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. These initiatives will empower youth to take India from Amrit Kaal to Swarnim Kaal, he added. (ANI)
Vedanta Resources Chairman Anil Agarwal on Monday said India is the most attractive place for oil and gas exploration. As part of the mega event, leaders from the energy sector in India and across the world met PM Modi, saying that he appreciated the suggestions put forward by international oil agencies. "Today, amazing meeting with the Prime Minister who addressed the world leaders -- Shell, Total, OPEC chairman. I have never seen presence like this about energy security, renewable, alternative fuel. I have no doubt India is a most attractive place for oil and gas exploration," he said. Tengku Muhammad Taufik, president and Group CEO at Petronas, said PM Modi had sent clear guidelines concerning energy transition. He also referred to India's G20 Presidency. "It's an honour and privilege to be here in India Energy Week. No less than Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been sending clear and strong guidelines on how to navigate a difficult energy transition," he said. "Today, the session with CEOs was truly enlightening. I am awestruck... of his leadership, ability to sell the concept and fight for the principle of energy justice even as the world struggles with energy security and affordability for citizens who need energy as they go," Taufik added. Pattabi Seshadri, managing director and senior partner, BCG talked about takeaways and described the growth and potential in the sector as the dawn of the energy decade. "It's great to be here in India Energy Week. In many ways, it feels like the dawn of India's energy decade. We just came out of a session with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. "Obviously, a lot of discussions happened around India. I was looking at what the government is looking at (in terms of) accelerating these technologies and came out with three takeaways," said Seshadri. These takeaways, he said, are stable long-term policies, a whole-of-government approach and partnerships across value chains. "I am really excited to hear the government's ambitions and also its move to action. Looking forward to a great India energy decade," Seshadri added. According to Vartika Shukla, CMD, Engineers India Limited (EIL), said PM Modi is leading from the front in the energy sector. "At India Energy Week, PM Modi leading from the front and guiding us and bringing global energy giants with their thought-process, & their solutions for India are welcoming where we need clean accessible energy to for," he said. PM Modi on Monday inaugurated India Energy Week 2023 in Bengaluru and launched several initiatives, including uniforms under the 'Unbottled' initiative of Indian Oil. These uniforms are made of recycled PET bottles. He also dedicated the twin-cooktop model of the Indian Oil's Indoor Solar Cooking System and flagged off its commercial rollout. Later in the day, the Prime Minister launched E20 fuel at 84 retail outlets of Oil Marketing Companies in 11 states and union territories, along the lines of the ethanol blending roadmap.He also flagged off the Green Mobility Rally where vehicles running on green energy sources will participate and help create public awareness for green fuels. (ANI)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday praised the Union Budget 2023 as a "middle-class-friendly budget" and a a step in the direction of a prosperous and self-sufficient India. Prime Minister Modi said that the budget is all-inclusive and touches everyone. "This year's middle-class-friendly budget will give strength to everyone's efforts for the 'Viksit Bharat'. This budget is a big step in the direction of Samarth Bharat, Sampann Bharat, Swayampurna Bharat, Shaktiman Bharat, and Gatiwan Bharat. This is a popular, all-encompassing, all-inclusive budget that touches everyone," PM Modi said while dedicating the HAL Helicopter Factory in Karnataka's Tumakuru to the nation. Elaborating the benefits of the budget for the "deprived, youth, and women in agriculture", PM Modi said that all aspects, including their needs, income and assistance to be provided, were kept in mind were presenting the Budget. Throwing light on this year's Budget, PM Modi informed that the allocation under 'Jal Jeevan Mission' has seen an increase of Rs 20,000 crores from last year, adding that the biggest beneficiaries of this scheme are the "mothers and sisters who do not have to travel afar to fetch water for their homes". He highlighted that in the last three years, the scope of the project has increased from 3 crore to 11 crore rural families. "Rs 5,500 crores have been allocated for the Upper Bhadra Project which will benefit Tumakuru, Chickmangaluru, Chitradurga, Davangere and the drought-affected areas of central Karnataka," he said. PM Modi emphasised on the efforts of the government since 2014 to empower the section of the population for whom it was tough to avail government assistance. "Either the government schemes did not reach them, or it was looted by middlemen," he said. PM Modi said it is the first time that the 'employee-labour' class were granted the benefit of pension and insurance in the Budget. He added that the PM-Kisan Samman Nidhi was helping small farmers and also mentioned the loans availed by street vendors. PM Modi also weigned in on the tax benefits in the Budget. "There is a lot of enthusiasm in the middle class due to zero income tax on income up to Rs 7 lakh. Especially young people below 30 years, who have a new job, new business, more money will come into their account every month," he said. PM Modi said, "Financial inclusion of women strengthens their voice in households and increases their participation in household decisions. In this budget, we have taken big steps for our mothers, sisters and daughters to join more and more banks. We have come up with Mahila Samman Saving Certificates." This, the Prime Minister said, is a big initiative for the economic empowerment of women after Sukanya Samriddhi, Mudra, Jan-Dhan Scheme and PM Awas. PM Modi also highlighted the emphasis given on the production of millet in this year's Budget saying that it will greatly benefit the small farmers of Karnataka. Prime Minister Modi lauded the talent and innovation of Karnataka's youth, saying that the manufacturing sector's strength is manifested in a range of products -- from drones to Tejas fighters. "Double-engine government has made Karnataka the first choice of investors," PM Modi said. (ANI)
Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Monday chaired a meeting with senior officials of the government to discuss the state budget, State Road Safety Council and G20 meetings. While speaking to the press after the meeting, the Chief Minister spoke about sickle cell anaemia disease and informed that the central government has decided to screen people for this disease. He said, "Sickle cell anaemia is such a disease, which generally does not get the attention of the government. It is necessary to pay attention to this disease. Prime Minister Modi has decided that 7 crore people will be screened for the disease." The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader also spoke about the Ladli Bahna Yojana under which the Madhya Pradesh government will provide Rs 12000 annually to women who belong to the lower and middle class of society. "Ladli Bahna Yojana is not an ordinary scheme, it will improve the level of nutrition, improve health. There will be a big change in the rural economy. This scheme will make the state strong and empowered," added the CM. Under this scheme, the government will provide Rs 1000 every month directly to the bank accounts of underprivileged women, tweeted CM Chouhan. Attacking the Congress government, the BJP leader stated that there is a ruckus in Congress and their leaders are writing whatever they want. While taking a jibe at the Congress leader, Chouhan said, "Kamal Nath had written in the promissory note that 50 per cent subsidy will be given on agricultural machinery costing up to Rs 2 lakhs. But did not give even a single penny in his tenure of one and a half year. On the contrary, the grants of many schemes were stopped." Chouhan stated that as a leader of society, it is their responsibility to expose the truth to the public. "With this responsibility, I would say that Congress and Kamal Nath have lied to the public." (ANI)
The IFSO unit of Delhi Police's Special Cell has arrested an Italy-based Indian national, who was trying to cheat a senior bureaucrat by impersonating himself as the "Vice President of India", an official said on Monday. The arrested individual has been identified as Gagandeep Singh. One of his aides, Ashwani Kumar, was also apprehended. Gagandeep Singh, an Indian national based in Italy since 2007, created a fake WhatsApp profile with the picture of the Vice President of India to cheat the bureaucrat. Another accused, identified as -- Ashwani Kumar, was arrested for providing an OTP for the WhatsApp account to Singh, DCP, Intelligence Fusion & Strategic Operations (IFSO), Prashant Gautam, said. "The accused also used to send messages to other government officials," the police officer said. Singh, a resident of Jammu, was living in Offanengo, Italy. After his arrest, police recovered two mobile phones from his possession. He created a fake WhatsApp account using a photo of the Vice-President of India and sent messages to senior government officials, Gautam said. Police arrested Kumar first and Singh later, from IGI Airport. "An information regarding the creation of a fake WhatsApp account using the photo of the Vice president of India was received at IFSO unit of Delhi Police. Accordingly, a case was filed in this regard," the police officer said. The details of the WhatsApp profile were obtained and the IP address of the sender was traced to Italy. "The police team started working on all technical aspects. Immediately, raids were conducted and Kumar was apprehended," the DCP said. "After an extensive hi-tech investigation and analysing technical details, Singh, who was living in Italy, was arrested," he added. Before creating the WhatsApp account, Singh watched several YouTube videos and got the contacts of senior government officials online. Later, he obtained an OTP to create a WhatsApp account of an Indian mobile number from Kumar, the police said. "After creating a WhatsApp account, he put the picture of the Vice President of India and started contacting senior government officials and sought favours from them," Gautam said. Singh had been living in Offanengo, Italy since 2007 along with his family. He studied till Class 9 in India, and cleared the Class 12 exam later in Italy. He works as a labourer at a company in Italy. --IANS atk/prw/pgh ( 394 Words) 2023-02-06-19:16:03 (IANS)
The All-India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) is preparing to approach the Supreme Court against the recent crackdown on child marriages in Assam, a member of its working committee said on Monday. The decision was taken at a board meeting in Lucknow on Sunday, Guwahati High Court senior advocate and committee member Hafiz Rashid Ahmed Choudhury said. "I raised the issue, and there was a detailed discussion on this," he said. A case related to the minimum age of Muslim girls getting married is pending before the Supreme Court. "According to Muslim personal law, a girl belonging to the Muslim community can get married after she attains the age of 15. The High Court of Punjab and Haryana in a verdict, said that a Muslim girl can marry a man of her choice once she is 15 years old. These types of marriages are not illegal even as per the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006," said Choudhury. However, the high court judgement was challenged in the apex court by the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights. The senior advocate informed that the All-India Muslim Personal Law Board would appeal to become a party in the above case. "Although this case is not connected with Assam, both matters are related to the fixing of the minimum age of females for getting married. Therefore, we would like to be a party to it," he added. Choudhury alleged that the Assam government has not followed laws while arresting people on the child marriage issue. "Child marriage must be stopped, but before taking any such actions, the government should first spread awareness against it," he added. --IANS tdr/vd ( 288 Words) 2023-02-06-19:18:02 (IANS)
VCK founder-leader Thol Thirumavalavan has said that the "politics of hate" practiced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi must be opposed. On the occasion of the screening of the Tamil version of the BBC documentary on the Prime Minister at the party headquarter 'Ambedkar Thidam' on Sunday, Thirumavalavan said that Narendra Modi reached the top by spreading the politics of hate. He said that Modi has not come to the top by pursuing ideological politics or by fighting for the welfare of the poor and the working class. Thol Thirumavalavan stated, "Prime Minister Narendra Modi has grown and reached the top by spreading hate and letting loose violence claiming that only he has the ability to do such things. That's how he grew from a state-level leader to a national leader." He said that a few organizations like the VCK and the Dravidar Kazhagam (DK) were opposing the politics of the BJP and added that the discussion should be on what would happen to the country if Narendra Modi came back to power in 2024. The VCK founder said that many are opposed to the politics of the VCK and the DK and are critical of Periyarism. He said, "We are not saying that Dravidar politics or Periyarism are beyond criticism but at present, the biggest challenge before us is Modi's politics of hate." He asked, "How are we going to overcome the politics of hate practiced by Modi." The screening of the documentary by the Left activists was prevented in some campuses. This has led to the CPI-M Tamil Nadu state secretary, K. Balakrishnan issuing a statement calling upon the government to protect the basic rights of individuals. VCK leader and Member of Parliament from Villupuram constituency D. Ravikumar, Tamil movie director Vettrimaran, and Dravidar Kazhagam leader Kali Poonkundran were present at the screening of the documentary. --IANS aal/bg ( 322 Words) 2023-02-06-19:36:03 (IANS)
President Droupadi Murmu is scheduled to arrive here on Friday for a two-day trip to Odisha during which she will visit Lingaraj temple in Bhubaneswar, besides attending other programmes. The President made her maiden visit to Odisha on November 10 and 11 last year. Murmu would attend three public programmes during her second visit to Odisha after assuming the office of President, Cuttack-Bhubaneswar police commissioner, Saumendra Priyadarshi said. She would attend two programmes in Bhubaneswar and one in Cuttack, besides visiting the Lingaraj temple, he said. As per schedule, she would arrive here at Biju Patnaik International Airport on February 10 around noon and would proceed to Utkal Mandap, Bhubaneswar to attend the foundation day of Jnanaprabha Mission as chief guest. After lunch, she will attend the second convocation of Rama Devi Women's University. She will spend the night at Raj Bhawan. Next morning, Murmu is scheduled to visit Lingaraj temple and then proceed towards Cuttack to inaugurate the second Indian Rice Congress at ICAR. Then she will leave for Delhi from Bhubaneswar Airport on the same day. The state administration has geared up to welcome the President in her home state. A high-level meeting to this effect was held under the chairmanship of Chief Secretary Suresh Chandra Mahapatra on Monday. Mahapatra directed concerned officials to stay alert and keep strict vigil over the entire process meticulously so as to make the visit of Murmu free of any hitches and omissions. Officials said RT-PCR test of all staff to be deployed for the visit, dignitaries and appointees will be conducted 72 hours prior to the event. Use of face masks has been made mandatory for all who will attend the President's programmes. She visited Lord Jagannath temple Puri, her alma mater, and attended the civic reception and launch of an Odia textbook for engineering courses. --IANS bbm/pgh ( 319 Words) 2023-02-06-19:38:02 (IANS)
The Supreme Court on Monday slammed the Uttar Pradesh Police over the delay in lodging FIR in a hate crime, saying in a secular country, there is no space for such offences on the basis of religion. A bench of Justices K.M. Joseph and B.V. Nagarathna said that there is no space for hate crime on the basis of religion in a secular country and it is the primary duty of the state to protect the citizens. "It is said he was wearing the cap.... when such crimes are not acted against then an atmosphere is fostered which is a dangerous issue and it has to be rooted out from our lives," it said, warning the authorities if they ignored it, one day, it would come for you. The top court made these observations while hearing a plea by 62-year-old, Kazeem Ahmad Sherwani, who claimed to be a victim of an alleged hate crime at Noida in July 2021. The bench told Additional Advocate General Garima Prasad, representing the Uttar Pradesh government, that the incident cannot be swept under the carpet and expressed concern that the FIR in the incident was registered in January 2023, almost one and half year after the date of the incident in July 2021. The bench observed that the FIR was registered only after the last date of hearing in January, when it directed the UP Policce -- which denied the case being a hate crime -- to produce the case diary. In the previous hearing, the bench had expressed its discontent over the state's failure to lodge cases against those accused of hate crimes. The bench told the UP government counsel: "Will you not acknowledge that there is a hate crime and you will sweep it under the carpet? We are only expressing our anguish." It stressed that be it in minority or majority, certain rights are there which are inherent in human beings. "You are born into a family and raised in one; but we stand out as a nation. You have to take this seriously," said the top court. Senior advocate Huzefa Ahmadi, representing the petitioner, submitted that the state government had refused to acknowledge the matter as a hate crime and act promptly. Additional Solicitor General K.M. Nataraj, representing the Delhi Police, contended that there were injuries to the petitioner due to resistance. The bench replied that it should not be denied that there exists some in the country, who have communal attitude and they usually do it. Nataraj submitted that since the petitioner is from the minority community, the incident does not become a hate crime. The bench then said: "If you ignore this, then one day it will come for you...", and added that solutions can be found only when one recognises the problem. The apex court asked the Uttar Pradesh Police to bring on record within two weeks when the accused in the incident were arrested and when they got out on bail. The petitioner moved the apex court seeking action against the accused who tortured him and also police officers who declined to take action on his complaint. --IANS ss/vd ( 544 Words) 2023-02-06-21:16:02 (IANS)
Union Home Minister and senior BJP leader Amit Shah on Monday said that voting for the CPI-M and the Congress in the February 16 Assembly elections will facilitate the return of terrorism and violence in Tripura. Addressing election rallies in Satir Bazar in southern Tripura and Khowai in Western Tripura, Shah said that during the regimes of the Congress and the Left, corruption, militancy, violence, poverty, and misgovernance devastated the lives of the people. "If you vote for the CPI-M, it would help Congress too, or if you vote for Congress, it would go to the CPI-M. If you vote for CPI-M or Congress, it would go to Tipra Motha Party. All these parties are helping each other only to destroy the future of Tripura," he said. The former national president of the BJP, referring to some cases of corruption in education and rural development departments during the Left regime, highlighted corruption and misrule during the 25 years (1993 to 2018) governance of the CPI-M led Left Front. He said that the BJP government had accorded respect to the erstwhile royal family and renamed the Agartala airport after the architect of Tripura, Bir Bikram Kishore Manikya Bahadur. "Unfortunately, Tipra Motha Party leaders wanted to bring back Communist rule by misleading the innocent tribals. They forged a passive understanding with the Communists to defeat the BJP," Shah said. He claimed that the five-year rule of BJP had ended the "Cadre Raj' of Left parties and established the 'Constitution Raj' in Tripura. Highlighting the performance of the BJP government, Shah said that crime against women has reduced by 50 per cent while reservations for women in government jobs were ensured to 33 per cent. He said that the BJP government signed peace treaties with the militant outfit National Liberation Front of Tripura and provided settlement to 37,000 Reang tribals in Tripura. Shah said that Tripura is marching ahead with the development policies of the government and assured to keep continuing if the BJP is voted to power again. The Home Minister also participated at a road show in Agartala. --IANS sc/pgh ( 365 Words) 2023-02-06-22:06:01 (IANS)
The Delhi High Court on Monday, taking note of submissions of jailed minister Satyendar Jain's co-accused Ankush and Vaibhav Jain in the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) case, listed the matter for the next hearing on February 7. Appearing for Ankush and Vaibhav Jain, counsel Sushil Kumar Gupta said: "Satyendar Jain has nothing to do with the company. All the companies belong to us." Special Judge Vikas Dhull had denied the two bail on November 17. Gupta said: "We were having an effective position in the company. We had sent the money/cash to Kolkata-based companies." He argued that there are no "proceeds of crime" in the present case and according to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI)'s charge sheet, it is generated only at the end of the cheque period. "The whole fulcrum of a PMLA case lies on the proceeds of crime," he said. Gupta further argued that the present case uses a disproportionate assets (DA) case, which is a period-specific offence, but to establish an offence under the PMLA, the Enforcement Directorate has to establish "proceeds of crime". Earlier, Satyendar Jain's counsel senior advocate N. Hariharan asked where is the minister involved in the present case and how is he related to it as the money was Ankush and Vaibhav Jain's and it came back to their account without any premium. "My (Satyendar Jain's) assets before and after the cheque period remained the same," he had said. --IANS spr/vd ( 261 Words) 2023-02-06-22:28:04 (IANS)
Chinese Distant Water Fishing Fleet (DWF) vessels have been spotted fishing rare and protected species and disturbing the marine ecological balance. These DWFs are found in international waters near Japan and South Korea in the Asiatic continent and Ecuador, Chile, and Argentina in the South American continent, Geopolitica.info reported. Even after being 19,000 to 22,000 km away from China these DWF have been caught fishing near America's coastal regions. The report said that in early July 2020, the Ecuadorian navy reported the presence of about 260 fishing vessels at the edge of Ecuador's EEZ (exclusive economic zones). By the end of the month, the number increased to 340. These DWFs, according to the report, have been catching somewhere between 50-70 per cent of the world's total squids. The Galapagos Islands a part of Ecuador's territory, are the worst victim. The EEZ of Ecuador's mainland and the Galapagos do not overlap, thus creating an international corridor where any country can fish. In the area, the DWFs from China openly fish and turn off their identity transponders to avoid detection, Geopolitica.info report stated. These ships not only fish rare and protected species like sharks and turtles but also dump a huge amount of waste into the ocean. The report said that experts estimate that almost 30 per cent of the garbage collected on the shores of the Galapagos Islands comes from Chinese fleets. This includes bottles, containers of marine oil, Chinese-labeled jute bags and waste generate overboard the ships. Argentina a coastal country in the South American continent is the second-largest squid fishery in the world which makes it an ideal location for these DWFs. Argentine authorities have taken strict measures and even sunk a fishing trawler flying the Chinese flag after being caught illegally fishing within the country's EEZ. Their vessels have spent close to 600,000 hours 'dark-fishing' in the area. In Uruguay country located on the southeastern coast of South America caught a Chinese-flagged vessel within their EEZ, carrying 11 tons of Squid. These vessels are causing a lot of concern for Uruguayan authorities as well as locals as they are not only present near the EEZ but also dangerously close to their land boundary. In Peru, the local fishermen have complained about Chinese overfishing of giant squid, which is the country's second biggest marine resource after anchovies. And because of this locals are also losing their jobs and the fishing industry of the area is on the verge of being wiped out. Moreover, the Chinese presence has completely derailed Peru's thoughtful sustainability program for the squid population in the region. And there are legal protests are erupting all through the continent of South America against the Chinese DWF fleets. The report claimed that these fleets are often linked to illegal activities such as encroaching on other nations' territorial waters, abusing workers and catching protected and endangered species. Although Shark fishing is banned throughout Central and South America, Chinese communities consume it as a delicacy. These DWF vessels are not only disturbing the local marine ecosystem but are also disturbing the local fishing industry. The local fisherman then after losing their jobs in the fishing industry subsequently have to engage in illegal activities to make ends meet. (ANI)
Twitter and Tesla CEO Elon Musk on Sunday said that the past three months have been "extremely tough" as he "had to save Twitter from bankruptcy" while also fulfilling his duties in Tesla and SpaceX. Taking to his official Twitter handle, Musk said that the microblogging site continues to have challenges. Elon Musk tweeted, "Last 3 months were extremely tough, as had to save Twitter from bankruptcy, while fulfilling essential Tesla & SpaceX duties. Wouldn't wish that pain on anyone. Twitter still has challenges, but is now trending to breakeven if we keep at it. Public support is much appreciated!". He tweeted in response to The Wall Street Journal's news article. Musk lamented the company's "massive drop in revenue" just one week after closing the USD 44 billion deal to buy Twitter in October, which he attributed to "activist groups pressuring advertisers," Fox Business reported. Since then, he has made a number of changes on Twitter, as per the news report. Elon Musk has reduced about half of Twitter's staff, introduced a revamped microblogging site Blue subscription service and even auctioned off memorabilia from the company's San Francisco headquarters, Fox Business reported. He defended the Twitter layoffs in November, stressing that the company was losing USD 4 million a day. Recently, Twitter announced that it will start charging a fee to access its API, which developers use to create third-party services, as per the news report. Earlier on January 13, Musk revealed some of the changes that were set to be introduced in the microblogging platform from next week onwards. He wrote, "Bookmark button moving to tweet details page, fixing image length crop & other minor bug fixes next week." (ANI)
Commemorating the Ghulja Massacre, people took to the streets in huge numbers in Istanbul and held demonstrations against China's atrocities towards Uyghur Muslims. The International Union of Eastern Turkistan NGO Organizations organised the protest demonstration on Sunday. The organization held a massive anti-China protest demonstration followed by a press conference at Saryer, in front of China embassy in Istanbul. Saryer is the northernmost district of Istanbul, Turkey, situated on the European side of the country. President of the International Union of Eastern Turkistan NGO Organizations, Hidaytullah Oguzkhan, during his speech, said, "The blood of martyrs will not go waste and asked Muslim Umma (community), especially OIC country members to take note of china's atrocities in East Turkistan and declare the act as genocide of Uyghur Muslims." During the speech, protestors raised anti- china slogans and paid homage to those killed in the Ghulja massacre. Deputy chairman of the organization in his speech in the English language also reiterated the government of Turkey and other OIC countries to shun the dual standard policy and expose China's Uyghur Muslim genocide on all international platforms. Transportation was also made available for the people of Safakoi, Zeitinburnu, Basakh city and Salim Pasha. Meanwhile, a series of protests were held across Bangladesh to mark the anniversary of the Ghulja Massacre, the local media reported, adding that activists highlighted Chinese atrocities and ongoing genocide against minorities, predominantly Uyghur Muslims in Xinjiang province. It was the 26th anniversary of the Ghulja Massacre that took place in 1997 when Chinese forces allegedly killed and imprisoned thousands of innocent Uyghurs while they were participating in a peaceful demonstration in Ghulja in Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR) demanding religious and cultural freedom and equal rights. Various NGOs and civil societies, Ulemas, and other organisations observed the 26th Anniversary of the Ghulja Massacre to support the legitimate demand of Uyghur Muslims and other ethnic minorities being suppressed by China through various events. Protesters expressed solidarity with the Uyghur Muslims and condemned China for adopting its double standard on minority issues and committing genocide on innocent Uyghurs. Protestors were carrying banners and posters highlighting Chinese atrocities on Uyghurs. (ANI)
At least 76 people have been killed across seven provinces in Turkey and 42 were reported dead in Syria in initial reports after a deadly earthquake struck 23 kilometers (14.2 miles) east of Nurdagi in Turkey''s Gaziantep province on Monday, Anadolu Agency reported citing disaster management authorities. "At least 76 people killed, 440 injured over seven provinces as 7.4 earthquake hits southern provinces of Turkiye," Anadolu Agency tweeted citing The Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD) of the country Meanwhile, Syrian state media SANA reported that close to 42 people lost their lives in the earthquake in Ankara and nearby regions, including the Syria-Lebanon border. Exams scheduled for Monday in at least two Syrian universities have been postponed, SANA said. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Twitter that "search and rescue teams were immediately dispatched" to the areas hit by the quake. Multiple aftershocks followed the quake. Social media videos showed multiple collapsed buildings and in Turkey and Syria with terrified locals huddling on the streets. "At least 6 people killed, 79 injured, 6 buildings destroyed in southern Diyarbakir province as 7.4 earthquake hits southern provinces of Turkiye: Diyarbakir governor," the Anadolu Agency tweeted. Southern and central Turkey have both experienced powerful aftershocks. According to CNN, the strongest aftershock, measuring 6.7 in magnitude, struck around 32 kilometres (20 miles) northwest of the original earthquake''s epicentre about 11 minutes later. The governor of Malayta province in Turkey said that at least 23 people were killed in his province, and 420 were injured. 140 buildings were destroyed, he added. Similarly quoting the governors of Sanliurfa and Osmaniye provinces of Turkey, Anadolu Agency reported that 15 and 5 people were killed in the provinces, separately. The toll of the injured also remains high. Several provinces in Southern Turkey also reported loss of lives. There were reports of destroyed buildings in Turkey and Syria, where tremors also were felt.People took to social media to post footage of the destruction, including collapsed buildings and people trapped under the rubble. The casualty count is further expected to rise. (ANI)
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar met with the science and technology minister of Argentina Daniel Filmus on Monday. Dignitaries during the meeting discussed bilateral cooperation in atomic energy, space, digital, defence & biotechnology. Jaishankar also stressed upon expanding trade investment and collaboration and serving as an example of South-South cooperation. EAM Jaishankar in a tweet said, "Glad to meet Minister of S&T and Innovation of Argentina @FilmusDaniel. Discussed our cooperation in atomic energy, space, digital, defence & biotechnology. Underlined the potential for expanding trade, investment &collaboration and serving as an example of south-south cooperation". Earlier the EAM had met with Argentina President Alberto Fernandez in August last year. During that meeting, both leaders discussed strengthening bilateral cooperation, including making trade levels more sustainable and ambitious. He also met with the Minister of Economy Sergio Massa and appreciated his positive outlook towards expanding our economic cooperation. At that time India had also acknowledged Argentina's interest in the made-in-India Tejas fighter aircraft for the Argentine Air Force. The two sides also explored expanding the scope of their partnership through, inter-alia, and the conclusion of further MOUs/Agreements. The talks on fighter aircraft come as a number of countries including Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines have shown interest in the Made in India jet. India's indigenous aircraft in the defence market has caught the eye of several nations for its superior flying ability, manoeuvrability, and ease of handling. The Indian Air Force had recently equipped the Tejas with the French-origin Hammer air-to-ground stand-off missile along with the indigenous Astra indigenous air-to-air missiles.Indian armed forces have extensively utilised the delegated financial powers granted to them in different phases by the government to equip themselves with the necessary weaponry to handle any conflict or aggression by enemies on both sides. The Indian Air Force is strongly supporting the indigenous LCA Tejas fighter aircraft programme by adding more and more capabilities to the aircraft. The IAF has already operationalised two of its squadrons in the initial operational clearance and final operational clearance versions while a contract has been signed for the 83 Mark1As set to be delivered a couple of years from now. The IAF has also its eyes set on the LCA Mark 2 and the AMCA being developed by the DRDO for it. (ANI)
It is ironic that a balloon has so severely deflated relations between China and the USA. The American shoot-down of that high-altitude balloon on 5 February represents a hammer blow in bilateral relations, but the blame rests solidly in China's corner. An F-22A fighter of the US Air Force's 1st Fighter Wing, taking off from Langley Air Force Base, splashed the high-flying balloon with an AIM-9X Sidewinder missile after it had crossed the coast of South Carolina. The balloon was flying at between 60,000 and 65,000 feet. This whole episode of this surveillance balloon that overflew the continental USA has raised important questions about nefarious activities of the People's Liberation Army (PLA), the risk calculus of Chairman Xi Jinping, communication levels between the PLA and China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA), and just why China is floating sensor-equipped balloons all around the world's atmosphere. Firstly, was it a Chinese balloon? There is no question, for China itself admitted its ownership. Secondly, what kind of balloon was it? China's MFA stated "the balloon in question is a Chinese unmanned civilian airship used mainly for meteorological research purposes". One wonders why it is only "mainly" for meteorological purposes, and not fully. Naturally, China rolled out puppets such as Hu Xijin, former Global Times tabloid editor, to reinforce its stance. Hu argued: "Stratospheric airship is a new technology. It should be an airship tested by a Chinese private company, but it got out of control. Flying over the US is clearly not within its design. It is round, not boat-shaped, indicating that its mission does not include long-distance flying." The MFA also stated: "China will resolutely safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of relevant companies, while reserving the right to make further necessary reactions." That China will not even reveal the name of the "relevant companies" tells the world everything it needs to know. ANI believes that the most likely source of the high-altitude surveillance balloons is the Special Vehicle Research Institute (SVI), a subsidiary of the Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC) that is based in Jingmen, Hubei Province. In its catalog, SVI (also known as No. 605 Research Institute) offers a range of remote- controlled airships, manned blimps, beyond-visual-range airships and aerostats suitable for various missions. In fact, SVI performed its first demonstration of a stratospheric airship back in 1995, and it advertises airships for both surveillance and communication relay. China has invested heavily in the aerostat market, with an aerostat essentially a lighter-than-air balloon that is tethered to the ground so it can perform persistent public security and surveillance when fitted with communication equipment, infrared cameras and synthetic aperture radar. For example, at the Zhuhai Air Show in China in November 2014, ANI witnessed the first Chinese aerostats displayed by two state-owned companies: AVIC and the East China Research Institute of Electronic Engineering (ECRIEE), which is a division of the state-owned China Electronics Technology Corporation (CETC). ECRIEE's aerostats range in size from 120m3 to 8,000m3, and they were used at such events as the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation (CASIC) is another entity investing in airships. It is therefore likely that the recently downed high-altitude balloon came from an entity like AVIC, ECRIEE or CASIC. All these defense-related conglomerates fall under the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council. They are most definitely not private companies. So this represents another black mark against China's desperate explanations. It is unable to name which private company made this balloon, thus unwittingly confirming it came from a state-owned corporation. Incidentally, Western countries may have unintendedly helped China with its balloon program. For example, New Zealand allowed Chinese companies Shanghai Pengxin and KuangChi Science to test a near-space balloon on 6 June 2015. Flying from a farm near Ashburton, the 40m-diameter balloon soared high into the sky. Even more bizarrely, Zhuang Guota, head of the China Meteorological Administration, was fired because of this international incident. This was a cynical move by Chairman Xi Jinping, clearly designed to deflect blame onto a scapegoat. After all, if the balloon were from a private company, as some argued, why would this civil servant be fired? As the Pentagon rightly stated, "We spoke directly with Chinese officials through multiple channels, but rather than address their intrusion into our airspace, the PRC put out an explanation that lacked any credibility." All this flapping around in China indicates that the communist hierarchy was caught red- handed. Thirdly, why was the balloon flying over the USA, especially where sensitive military nuclear sites are located in places like Montana? China's MFA said the object "made an unintended entry into US airspace due to force majeure, namely the westerlies and the airship's limited self-steering capability". The balloon, about the size of three school buses, entered the Alaska Joint Operating Area, north of the Aleutian Islands, on 28 January. It appeared in Canadian airspace on 30 January, and then re-entered US airspace over northern Idaho the following day. Yet the balloon was not a mere victim of nature, for the USA observed a surprising degree of maneuverability. The duration of its stay over the USA was also significant. The truth is, the sheer size and altitude of this balloon would make it unsuitable for meteorological purposes.Nor was this an isolated incident to be blamed on force majeure. Such balloons transited the USA at least three times under former President Donald Trump's watch, but none for the sheer duration of this latest one. In fact, identical balloons have shown up over multiple continents so far. One crashed into the Pacific off Hawaii four months ago, and another has allegedly overflown Guam. One balloon flew over India's Andaman and Nicobar Islands in January 2020, another was spotted over Hachinohe City, Japan on 17 June 2020, and over Miyagi Prefecture on 3 September 2021. Currently, another Chinese balloon is transiting over Central and South America. As the Pentagon noted, "These balloons are all part of a PRC fleet of balloons developed to conduct surveillance operations, which have also violated the sovereignty of other countries. These kinds of activities are often undertaken at the direction of the PLA." The Pentagon pointed out that five Chinese balloons are known to have circumnavigated the globe, conducting some 20-30 missions over the past decade. Admittedly, though, it can be difficult to predict where a high-altitude balloon will go exactly.In other words, this balloon over North America fits a pattern of Chinese behavior that goes back years. It is undeniable that these are surveillance balloons. These flights are obviously purposeful, and the logical explanation is that the PLA has been running a deliberate program of surveillance inside foreign nations' airspace for some years. This revelation may be mortifying for China's MFA. You see, China likes to spit vitriol against the USA for what it sees as obtrusive military surveillance near its own borders. There is no disputing that the USA conducts intensive reconnaissance operations against China, whether by satellite or aircraft near China's coast. Yet, Chinese government protests about the USA have been popped all in one go. The USA abides by international conventions and does not transgress into Chinese airspace, which is something this Chinese-owned balloon blatantly did. What China is doing is far more egregious, as it transgresses international law. China has overstepped the mark and greatly escalated the situation with its actions, doing something that not even the USA would do. Fourthly, what would China learn from this balloon operation over the USA? This is one of the most vexing questions, since it is questionable whether image intelligence picked up by this balloon would be of any better quality than a satellite in low-Earth orbit. There might some advantages for a balloon. Camera resolution from 20-40km should be better than from a satellite 200+km up. Balloons also have greater persistence, since satellites are orbiting and thus only conduct regular passes. Unless a balloon has been tracked, it is more difficult to know when it will be overhead, and this may give an element of surprise. This balloon had solar panels, so it was obviously designed for long-endurance flight. There is presumably satellite communication so that data can be transmitted back to Chinese ground control stations. Yet there are questions. A balloon can carry a payload of only a few thousand pounds, whereas a satellite can carry tons, including large camera lenses and the ability to rapidly transmit encrypted data. Or was the device collecting signals intelligence? Yet such radio-frequency transmissions could probably be just as easily obtained by satellite. One cannot jump to premature conclusions, for there is not yet any specific knowledge of what payloads were aboard the balloon. That will change, however, as the USA recovers wreckage from a 7-mile debris field in the Atlantic Ocean. Its remains are in water just 47 feet deep, which will make recovery straightforward. A senior American defense official would only say that the US believed the balloon had "a broad array of capabilities. We're going to learn more as we scoop up the debris." Furthermore, the balloon's overflight "was of intelligence value" to the USA. "I can't go into more detail, but we were able to study and scrutinize the balloon and its equipment, which has been valuable." Thus, it was necessary to pop the balloon in order to neutralize any Chinese intelligence collected, as well as to enable the USA to recover any sensitive Chinese equipment. Given all the foregoing, this was likely a probing effort as much as a spying effort by China. It could even form part of its psychological pressure on others, where Beijing feels it has the upper hand in coercing others. Indeed, China did not use shaping to reduce the balloon's radar cross-section, and instead it seems to have relied on others opting not to shoot it down. Doctor Euan Graham, a senior fellow supporting the Shangri-La Dialogue, also assessed "the intelligence risk to be comparatively low". But for him, "The bigger consequence, in my opinion, is the mounting outrage the overflight brought. Big win for US China hawks overall. Likely to be seen as a watershed in public opinion." The US government has been acutely aware of the growing strategic threat being posed by China. Yet there is a gap between what Washington DC is saying, and how the American public perceives it. This has led to a more concerted campaign by officials to inform the people. In this regard, the simple balloon saga has been a godsend, since it has gone a long way to waking up the American public. This episode has been very visible, very public, and is like a slap in the face that shows a more menacing China. Where US governments failed, Beijing was able to achieve in one fell swoop! This balloon news was on all the front pages and garnered huge attention. Whether this is just momentary, or there will be greater political support for American policy against China remains to be seen. However, it could turn out to be a pivotal movement in public thinking. In some senses, China put up a trial balloon, and it turned out to be a blunder. It is presumed that Xi authorized such overflights and intelligence collection of the USA and other countries several years ago. But now that decision may be backfiring. Perhaps his advisors and the PLA did not appreciate the risks of such violations of others' sovereign territory, and wrongly briefed Xi that there would be no blowback. The fact that President Joe Biden's administration so publicly highlighted the presence of the balloon, and then shot it down as soon as it was safe to do so, is noteworthy. Trump, for all his denials, did not do so during earlier incursions. US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin commented: "Today's deliberate and lawful action demonstrates that President Biden and his national security team will always put the safety and security of the American people first while responding effectively to thePRC's unacceptable violation of our sovereignty." Diplomatic relations have been harmed. A reset, slowly picking up momentum since last November, has been derailed. Secretary of State Antony Blinken canceled his visit to China, and it is difficult to see it being rescheduled anytime soon. Senior Colonel Tan Kefe, China's defense spokesman, complained on 5 February: "The US used force to attack China's civilian unmanned airship, which was an obvious overreaction." Overreaction? Ironically, China has taken identical actions before. In 2019, for instance, a J-10C fighter of the PLA was sent aloft to intercept a high-altitude weather balloon. The fighter shot it down since it was considered an airspace hazard. Tan also warned: "We solemnly protest this move by the US side, and reserve the right to take necessary measures to deal with similar situations." This promise does not augur well. China, instead of admitting responsibility and apologizing, has come out fighting. Indeed, American military assets flying over the South China Sea, East China Sea and Taiwan Strait, particularly unmanned ones, are now at risk from Chinese malevolence. China claims such areas as its sovereign territory, despite having no international legal right to do so, so it may well retaliate in kind by downing an American or other allied drone. Unfortunately, the possibility for a Chinese tit-for-tat action is shaping up in the Taiwan Strait or somewhere else. Lu Xiang, a Chinese expert on US studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, warned that the American action, by not differentiating between civilian and military aircraft, "has made a very bad precedent". He asked, "If the US does not make the difference, should China make a difference? Should China also take reciprocal measures? The US must carefully consider the consequences." In one sense, the beauty of unmanned systems is that their destruction brings no loss of life, but nor does anyone encourage the wanton shooting down of drones, as this could lead to escalation and miscalculation. The conclusion is this. China sent out a spy balloon, probably to watch US nuclear sites, even though it never represented a significant intelligence threat. Therefore, China may just have scored an own goal without gaining much advantage in the process. What it also amounts to is this. China demands that other countries' military aircraft desist from flying in international airspace -all must do what it demands. And then China goes and flies military surveillance balloons in the sovereign airspace of others - and all must accept what China does. It is hypocrisy of the highest order. (ANI)
As condolences poured in from world leaders after a deadly earthquake shook Turkey and Syria on Monday, claiming more than 500 lives, a level 4 alert was declared in Turkey as the country issued a fervent appeal to the international comunity to rush aid. The 'level 4' alarm includes an international call for assistance. Turkey's Disaster and Emergency Management Agency (AFAD) called upon the international community to mobilise urgent relief and assistance after the earthquake of magnitude 7.8 left a trail of death and desvatation in its wake. AFAD said in a statement that it needed international help "in the field of urban search and rescue," CNN reported. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi led the world leaders to condole the loss of lives caused by the massive temblor in Turkey and Syria on Monday. "Anguished by the loss of lives and damage of property due to the Earthquake in Turkey. Condolences to the bereaved families. May the injured recover soon. India stands in solidarity with the people of Turkey and is ready to offer all possible assistance to cope with this tragedy," PM Modi tweeted. Nepal Prime Minister Prushpa Kamal Dahal aka Prachanda condoled the deaths caused by the massive temblor in Turkey and Syria on Monday. "I am deeply saddened by the death of dozens of civilians in the devastating earthquake in Turkey. On behalf of the Government of Nepal and the people of Nepal, I express my deepest condolences to all the bereaved people while paying emotional tributes to the deceased," the Nepal PM tweeted. The US National Security Advisor also took to Twitter to assure Turkey of timely assistance. He tweeted, "The US is profoundly concerned by today's destructive earthquake in Turkiye & Syria. I have been in touch with Turkish officials to relay that we stand ready to provide any & all needed assistance. We will continue to closely monitor the situation in coordination with Turkiye." Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky also took to Twitter to extend his condolences to the kin of the earthquake victims. "We stand with the people of Turkey at this difficult time. We are ready to provide the necessary assistance to overcome the consequences of the disaster," Zelensky tweeted. Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif also tweeted his condolences to the people of Turkey and Syria in a series of tweets, according to CNN. Israel President Isaac Herzog also condoled the loss of lives in Turkey and Syria on Twitter. "The State of Israel always stands ready to assist in every way possible. Our hearts are with the grieving families and the Turkish people at this painful moment," Herzog posted. Israel's Defense Minister Yoav Galant said the country was prepared to provide emergency aid to Turkey after it was jolted by one of the most powerful earthquakes in over a decade. The 7.8 temblor and its aftershocks also severely damaged Gaziantep Castle in Turkey, which ranks among the UNESCO World Heritage sites. (ANI)
Pope Francis, on Sunday, said that he is planning to visit India next year and is also expected to take a trip to Mongolia later in 2023, as per Vatican News. Pope Francis outlined his upcoming travel schedule during his flight back to Rome from South Sudan. While addressing the presser, the Pope said, "I think India will be next, next year. On 29 September I will go to Marseilles, and there is the possibility that I will fly to Mongolia from Marseilles, but it has not yet been decided. It's possible. I don't recall another one this year. Lisbon." Founded by Pope Francis, Vatican News is a Catholic news website to provide multimedia pertaining to the global Catholic Church and the operations of the Holy See. While answering a query about whether he is expanding the circle of his trip, the supreme pontiff of the Roman catholic church said, "I chose to visit the smallest countries in Europe. People will say, 'But he went to France,' no, I went to Strasbourg; I will go to Marseilles, not to France. The little ones, the little ones. [The criterion is] to get to know a little about hidden Europe, that part of Europe with so much culture but is not known. Accompany countries, for example, Albania, which was the first one, and is the country that suffered the cruellest, the cruellest dictatorship in history. Then, my choice is this: try not to fall into the globalization of indifference," Vatican News reported. On Friday, Pope Francis reached South Sudan, fulfilling a long-time wish to visit the war-ravaged country, currently in the midst of a major humanitarian emergency, reported CNN. In the first, the Pope is undertaking the trip together with the head of the Anglican Communion, Archbishop Justin Welby, and the Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, Rt. Rev. Iain Greenshields, represents the three Christian churches that make up the majority of the population in South Sudan. In April 2019, the Pope held a spiritual retreat at the Vatican for political and religious leaders in South Sudan, and in an unprecedented gesture he knelt down and kissed the feet of President Kir and Vice-President Machar, reported CNN. (ANI)
Demanding peace, thousands of people in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa came to the roads on Sunday against the resurgence of militancy in the region and condemned the recent brutal attack on a mosque in Peshawar's Police Lines area, Pakistan based Dawn newspaper reported. The peace rallies were held in Mohmand, Malakand, Lakki Marwat and other areas under the slogan of 'Ulasi Pasoon' (public uprising). Leaders who participated in the Mohmand rally included Pashtun Tahaffuz Movement (PTM) leader Manzoor Pashteen and Awami National Party provincial general secretary Sardar Hussain Babak. Those participating in the rally were mostly youngsters who were holding white flags, placards and banners, demanding the government eliminate militancy and ensure sustainable peace. A huge contingent of police was deployed to avoid any untoward incident on the occasion. Pashtun Tahafuz Movement (PTM) leader Pashteen, while addressing the rally, said that militancy and worsening law and order situation had affected every segment of society, including children, women, senior citizens and tribal elders. "Workers of every political party have sacrificed their lives during the war imposed on the Pakhtun region," Pashteen said as quoted by Dawn. Pashtuns were divided under a conspiracy, said, urging them to show unity in the larger interest of their community. "Only in Momand Gat area of the Mohmand tribal district, at least three dozen people have been killed," he said. Meanwhile, the restive Khyber Pakhtunkhwa police on Wednesday staged a protest against the rising incidents of terrorism in the province. The local police force staged a protest in front of the Peshawar Press Club. It was the first such protest by the police in the history of the province.Videos shared on social media showed groups of police officers raising slogans against rising terrorist incidents. On January 30, a suicide bomber blew himself up in Peshawar's Police Lines mosque, a heavily guarded facility at about 1 pm during 'Zohr' prayers, resulting in a portion of the roof caving in on devotees offering prayers at the time. The death toll from the blast rose to 100 as the rescue operation to retrieve bodies from the debris of the mosque concluded last Tuesday, Geo News reported. The count of the injured from the deadly suicide blast reached at least 221. (ANI)
US President Joe Biden on Monday expressed grief at the loss of life and devastation caused by an earthquake in Tukey and said the United States will provide all the needed assistance. "I am deeply saddened by the loss of life and devastation caused by the earthquake in Turkiye and Syria. I have directed my team to continue to closely monitor the situation in coordination with Turkiye and provide any and all needed assistance," President Biden tweeted on Monday. The deadly 7.8 magnitude earthquake that hit southern Turkey in the early hours of Monday has claimed more than 500 lives in nearby regions as well as in Syria, CNN reported. At least 1,498 people have been killed and close to 2,300 people have been injured in Turkey, the American broadcaster reported citing the country's Vice President Fuat Oktay. According to Oktay, more than 1,700 buildings have been damaged across 10 Turkish cities. The quake, one of the largest to hit Turkey in more than a century, caused vibrations throughout the area, collapsed buildings, and forced people to flee into the streets. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Twitter said that "search and rescue teams were immediately dispatched" to the areas hit by the quake. Following the earthquake, condolences poured in from across the world. Prime Minister Narendra Modi took to Twitter and condoled the loss of life. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar also tweeted and expressed grief over the loss of lives in the tragic earthquake that jolted both Turkey and Syria. "Deeply distressed by the loss of lives and damage in the earthquake in Turkiye," he wrote on Twitter as he conveyed his support to his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu. The US National Security Advisor also took to Twitter and assured Turkey of timely assistance for the quake-hit country to cope well. Videos circulating on social media showed multiple collapsed buildings in Turkey and Syria with terrified locals huddling on the streets. Several provinces in Southern Turkey also reported a loss of lives. Two other quakes of magnitude 7.5 and 6.0 have hit Turkey after the initial 7.8 magnitude earthquake. (ANI)
Foreign Secretary Vinay Mohan Kwatra participated in the India-France-UK Trilateral Dialogue and discussed taking the cooperation forward in the fields of defence, energy and environment, innovation and people-to-people exchanges, according to the statement released by the Ministry of External Affairs. The three countries agreed to remain in touch and regularly review progress on the trilateral roadmap. "Foreign Secretary @AmbVMKwatra participated in a meeting of focal points of the India-France-UAE trilateral dialogue and discussed potential cooperation in the fields of defence, energy and environment, innovation and people-to-people exchanges," MEA said in a tweet. Kwatra, who is on an official visit to France, also held the Foreign Office Consultations with Secretary-General Anne-Marie Descotes of France. "Foreign Secretary @AmbVMKwatra held Foreign Office Consultations with Secretary-General Anne-Marie Descotes of @francediplo_EN," MREA tweeted. This meeting came as the follow-up after the Foreign Ministers of India-France-UAE adopted a roadmap during their telephone call on February 04, 2023. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, France Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Foreign Minister Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan held a phone call in which they discussed collaboration in areas such as education, business, maritime and green energy. "Discussed convergences and further collaboration in education, business, maritime, culture and green energy for a stable peaceful and prosperous Indo-Pacific," Jaishankar said in a tweet. The three foreign ministers had met for the first time in a trilateral format in September last year on the margins of the United Nations General Assembly in New York. They agreed to establish a formal trilateral cooperation initiative, with the aim of expanding cooperation in various fields of mutual interest in acknowledgement of their shared desire to promote international stability and prosperity, and to further build upon the constructive and collaborative ties that exist between the three countries. It is in this context that a phone call between the three Ministers was held on Saturday to adopt a roadmap for the implementation of this initiative. During the phone call, the three sides agreed that the trilateral initiative will serve as a forum to promote the design and execution of cooperation projects in the fields of energy, with a focus on solar and nuclear energy, as well as in the fight against climate change and the protection of biodiversity, particularly in the Indian Ocean region, a joint statement said. For this purpose, the three countries will explore the possibility of working with the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) to pursue concrete, actionable projects on clean energy, the environment, and biodiversity, a statement said. It said the trilateral initiative will serve as a platform to expand cooperation between the three countries' development agencies on sustainable projects. The three countries agreed that they will seek to ensure greater alignment of their respective economic, technological, and social policies with the objectives of the Paris Agreement. "In support of these endeavours, a range of trilateral events will be organized in the framework of the Indian Presidency of the G20 and the UAE's hosting of COP-28 in 2023, respectively," the statement said. The three countries also agreed to expand their cooperation through initiatives such as the Mangrove Alliance for Climate led by the UAE and the Indo-Pacific Parks Partnership led by India and France. (ANI)
According to Focus Taiwan, national councilors Fabian Molina and Mustafa Atici of Switzerland's Social Democratic Party arrived at Taoyuan International Airport just after 6 am and were greeted by officials from Taiwan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA).

The delegation's other members, national councilors Nicolas Walder and Leonore Porchet of the Green Party and Yves Nidegger of the Swiss People's Party, are expected to arrive on later flights.

Molina and Walder also serve as co-presidents of the Swiss-Taiwan parliamentary friendship group.

In a statement issued last week, MOFA welcomed the delegation's visit, which it said would include meetings with Tsai, Legislative Speaker You Si-kun, Foreign Minister Joseph Wu, and Control Yuan President Chen Chu, Focus Taiwan reported.

The group will also visit the Ministry of Health and Welfare, the National Development Council, the Mainland Affairs Council, and the National Science and Technology Council, as well as the Hsinchu Science Park.

According to MOFA, the Swiss politicians will also travel to the outlying county of Kinmen and visit the sites of historical battles between mainland China and Taiwan, before departing on Friday this week.

China recently condemned the nearly week-long visit of British lawmakers to Taiwan.

The delegation met high-level officials, including Taiwan's foreign minister, Joseph Wu. The committee also met Taiwan's Premier Su Tseng-chang.

The Chinese embassy in the UK said the MPs' visit to the "Taiwan region of China" took place despite Beijing's "firm opposition".

"This is a flagrant violation of the one-China principle and a gross interference in China's internal affairs," a Chinese spokesperson said.

Taiwan is self-ruled but China sees it as a breakaway province that will eventually unite with it.

Beijing's statement added that any moves to undermine China's interests would be met with 'forceful responses'. (ANI)
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and his Canadian counterpart Melanie Joly on Monday deliberated on deepening the bilateral partnership between the two countries by focusing on trade, investment, mobility, education, and security. "Good discussions today with FM @melaniejoly of Canada. Deliberated on deepening our bilateral partnership, focusing on trade, investment, mobility, education, and security. Recognized the centrality of people-to-people ties to the expansion of our cooperation," Jaishankar tweeted. According to the external affairs minister, they exchanged views on the global situation, in particular, the Indo-Pacific and Ukraine conflict. "Exchanged views on the global situation, in particular the Indo-Pacific and Ukraine conflict. Welcomed Canada's Indo-Pacific Strategy. Appreciated Canadian support for our G20 Presidency that will address challenges of economic growth and development," the minister tweeted. Jaishankar, and Joly during the India-Canada Strategic Dialogue today, expressed interest in deepening collaboration across domains and looking forward to the Early Progress Trade Agreement (EPTA), according to a release by the Ministry of External Affairs. Jaishankar on Monday met Joly in New Delhi's Hyderabad House. Taking to Twitter, Jaishankar said, "Welcomed Foreign Minister @melaniejoly of Canada today in Hyderabad House. Look forward to productive discussions." Prior to her visit, the Canadian press release said that this trip would advance the country's engagement with India under the Indo-Pacific Strategy, and create opportunities for growth and prosperity for the two countries. Both ministers will identify areas where Canadian and Indian interests converge and where the two countries could further collaborate on global and regional issues, especially as India holds the presidency of the G20 this year, added the release. Minister Joly will also engage with key stakeholders in India's business and civil society communities regarding Canada's robust agenda with India under the Indo-Pacific Strategy. She will seek to generate momentum for a stronger, more open, and more prosperous partnership between Canada and the Indo-Pacific region that firmly supports regional peace, stability, and the rules-based international order said the release. Earlier, Minister Joly had held two bilateral meetings with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar. Canada and India have deep ties built on shared democratic values and a long-standing friendship. The wide-ranging bilateral cooperation between Canada and India spans the fields of science and technology, finance, education, defense, and security. The deep people-to-people connections between Canada and India are at the heart of our relationship. There are 1.8 million Canadians of Indian origin in Canada, and India is the primary source of new immigrants to Canada, the release said. (ANI)
Union Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways (MoPSW) Sarbananda Sonowal on Monday held a meeting with Qatar Minister of Transport Jassim Saif Ahmed Al-Sulaiti in New Delhi and held a discussion on strengthening maritime cooperation between the two nations, including the interaction between Indian and Qatari ports. Taking to his official Twitter handle, Sarbananda Sonowal stated, "Glad to meet Qatar Minister of Transport HE Jassim Saif Ahmed Al-Sulaiti in New Delhi. Had a wonderful discussion on strengthening India-Qatar maritime cooperation including the interaction between Indian and Qatari ports." Jassim Saif Ahmed Al-Sulaiti is on an official visit to India from February 5-8 and this year marks 50 years of the establishment of full diplomatic ties between the two nations. Sonowal and Jassim Saif Ahmed Al-Sulaiti held discussions on various policies and programs initiating progress in the transportation facilities between the two borders, according to the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways press release. Sonowal in the press release said, "Fruitful discussions were held on commitment to strengthen the bilateral maritime cooperation, including interaction between Indian Ports and Qatari Ports to share best practices in areas of port operations, logistics, supply chain management, and digitalization." Union Minister of State for Ports, Shipping & Waterways Shantanu Thakur, Sudhansh Pant, Secretary (PSW), Rajesh Kumar Sinha, Additional Secretary (PSW), and senior officers of the Ministry attended the meeting along with Sonowal. "India-Qatar cooperation in diverse sectors has been steadily growing in an excellent framework led by historical close ties, regular and substantive engagement. The large, diverse, accomplished and highly regarded Indian model of international relations is making an important contribution to Qatar's progress," the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways said in the release. According to the press release, Qatar's key exports to India include LNG, LPG, chemicals and petrochemicals, fertilizers, plastics, and aluminum articles. Meanwhile, India's key exports to Qatar include cereals, copper articles, iron and steel articles, vegetables, fruits, spices, and processed food products, electrical and other machinery, plastic products, construction materials, textiles & garments, chemicals, precious stones and rubber. The press release said that India's bilateral trade with Qatar in 2021-22 reached USD 15.03 billion. India's export to Qatar was USD 1.83 billion during 2021-22 and India's export from Qatar was USD 13.19 billion. India was among the top four largest export destinations for Qatar in 2021 and also among the top three sources of Qatar's imports. (ANI)
Anandarajah Bremakumar, of Colindale in London, was sentenced to 30 months' imprisonment following a hearing at Wood Green Crown Court last week, the Metropolitan Police said.

He was found guilty of four counts of sexual activity with a child following the conclusion of a trial at the same court on December 6, 2022.

The court heard how Bremakumar carried out the abuse in 2010, targeting a young girl under the age of 16 who was known to him.

However, the police were not made aware of the incident until 2019 when a report was made to officers by a therapist. Police then spoke to the victim, who agreed to support the investigation, according to a statement by the Metropolitan Police.

"This young woman has shown immense courage in speaking to the police and supporting this investigation. I hope the fact that Bremakumar has been found guilty gives her a sense that justice has been done," a Met Police spokesperson told MyLondon.

Further evidence was gathered by the police from those who knew Bremakumar at the time of the incident.

Bremakumar, who was arrested on April 30, 2021, denied the allegations but he was subsequently charged on December 16, 2021.

--IANS mi/vd

( 234 Words)

2023-02-06-21:12:05 (IANS)
Two fentanyl dealers accused of being involved in as many as 10 overdoses of North Texas middle and high school students, three of them fatal, have been federally charged, authorities said.

Luis Eduardo Navarrete, 21, and Magaly Mejia Cano, 29, are charged via criminal complaint with conspiracy to distribute fentanyl, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Leigha Simonton announced. They were arrested at Navarretes home in Carrollton on Friday and made their initial court appearances Monday afternoon.

To deal fentanyl is to knowingly imperil lives. To deal fentanyl to minors  naive middle and high school students  is to shatter futures, Simonton said in a news release. These defendants alleged actions are simply despicable. We can never replace the three teenagers whose lives were lost, nor can we heal the psychological scars of those who survived their overdoses. But we can take action to ensure these defendants are never allowed to hand a pill to a child again.

According to the complaint, Navarrete and Cano are accused of dealing fake Percocet and Oxycontin pills laced with fentanyl, commonly known as M30s, to multiple juvenile drug dealers, mostly students at R.L. Turner High School. The teenage dealers in turn sold the drugs to their fellow students at R.L. Turner High School and to younger students at Dewitt Perry and Dan F. Long Middle schools, authorities said.

Nine students at those schools  ranging in age from 13 to 17  suffered 10 overdoses, three of which were fatal, between September 2022 and this month.

One victim, a 14-year-old girl who overdosed twice and suffered temporary paralysis, told law enforcement the pills she ingested came from juvenile dealers who obtained the drugs from Navarrete. She also confirmed she had purchased pills directly from Navarrete in the past.

Selling drugs alone is a serious transgression, but to sell deadly fentanyl to a juvenile is one of the most shocking and callous ways to hurt a community, said Eduardo A. Chavez, special agent in charge of the DEA Dallas Field Division, in the release. DEA Dallas and our partners from the Carrollton Police Department will work to identify and hold accountable every individual who thinks they can profit by exposing our neighborhoods, and our children, to this deadly substance.

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Law enforcement conducting surveillance at Navarretes home saw him engage in a hand-to-hand transaction with a 16-year-old dealer on Jan. 12, according to the release. Officers followed the teen into a bathroom at R.L. Turner, where he holed up in a stall to snort the drugs. He later admitted that hed obtained the pills  which he called perc pills  from Navarrete.

If convicted, Navarrete and Cano each face up to 20 years in federal prison.

The Drug Enforcement Administrations Dallas Field Office and the Carrollton Police Department conducted the investigation with the assistance of school resource officers from the Carrollton  Farmers Branch Independent School. Assistant U.S. Attorney Rick Calvert is prosecuting the case.

I am very appreciative of our partnerships with all federal agencies, Carrollton Police Chief Roberto Arredondo said. I am proud of the Carrollton Police Departments work in providing the necessary evidence to the DEA. We continue to work with the DEA and other federal partners to rid our great community of this poison. We take this very seriously; there is nothing more precious than our children.

Illicitly produced, fentanyl-laced pills often look similar to legitimate prescription pills like Oxycontin or Percocet, but can pose significantly more danger, federal authorities said. On the street, these pills are often referred to as M30s (a reference to the markings on some of the pills), blues, perks, yerks, china girls, or TNT. DEA research shows that six out of 10 pills laced with fentanyl contain a potentially lethal dose. For resources, visit dea.gov/onepill.
Its been 13 years since a 2-year-old Kentucky boy was killed and his mothers boyfriend was charged with murder in the childs death.

After more than a decade of court delays, the victims family is calling for justice while the defendants family insists that the man charged with murder is innocent.

While both families want a resolution in the case, the effort has repeatedly hit a wall for a myriad of reasons: recusal of judges; the pandemic; motions filed by both prosecutors and the defense team; and an investigation into the countys former prosecutor, Ronnie Goldy Jr.

Disputes over what actually happened to 2-year-old Nathaniel Jones have left both the victim and the suspects families hoping the case will reach a resolution soon.

13 years of court proceedings with no resolution

According to doctors, Jones died from blunt force trauma injures to his stomach he suffered while in the home shared by his mother and Brian Gallagher, his mothers boyfriend at the time. Since the beginning, Gallagher has said that a calf kicked the child causing the injuries that ultimately resulted in his death. Gallagher is charged with murder, child abuse and being a persistent felony offender.

Kentucky State Police arrested Jones mother, Tiea Jones and her then-boyfriend Gallagher in 2010.

Jones entered an Alford plea in August 2016 to a charge of second degree criminal abuse. Pleading guilty via an Alford plea indicates that the defendant still denies committing the crime but admits there is enough evidence to convict them in a trial.

Over the course of 13 years, a trial for Gallagher has been scheduled  and delayed  more than five times.

The case was scheduled for a trial to begin in January 2023, but that was again put off when the defense made a motion for Judge David Barber to recuse himself in late 2022.

When he didnt, they made another motion for recusal in 2023, which again pushed back the proceedings. If the recusal is granted, this will be the second time a judge has left the case at the defenses behest.

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The cases original judge, William Lane, recused himself in 2019 after Gallagher made claims he was denied a reasonable bond by the judge in 2010. Gallagher also claimed the judge had personal knowledge of disputed evidentiary facts concerning proceedings.

Aside from the circumstances surrounding the pandemic, the Rowan County courts faced another uncommon situation which has prolonged the process: an investigation into county prosecutor Ronnie Goldy Jr., whos accused of soliciting sexually explicit photos and videos of a woman in exchange for helping her resolve her court cases.

Goldy is the commonwealths attorney for Bath, Menifee, Montgomery and Rowan counties. The issue arose after a former boyfriend of the woman took screenshots of Facebook messages between her and Goldy from her phone and turned them over to a Louisville attorney.

Goldy was the second prosecutor to take on the case after the first one retired. Special prosecutor Brandon Ison was appointed to the case in 2019, making him the third person to prosecute Gallaghers case.

Suspects father: I want the truth

Clarence Gallagher, Brian Gallaghers father, said their team is steadfast on a trial for his sons freedom and they want the truth to come out surrounding what happened to Jones.

I am doing this to obviously give Brian a voice, but I want to give the children a voice too, he said. This shouldnt have gone on as long has it has, and this has been a messed up deal from the start.

He and Brian Gallaghers attorney, Mike Curtis, said they believe Brian Gallagher is 100% innocent. Curtis admitted that his team has made several motions which have delayed the trials proceedings.

Clarence Gallagher suggested that key evidence is missing or being withheld which could speak to his sons innocence.

In addition, Clarence Gallagher said the childs autopsy says the manner of death was undetermined, and questioned how the state can allege abuse, or murder without a more specified manner of death for Jones.

He also alleges his son and his former girlfriend both passed polygraph tests when they stated they had nothing to do with the death, or any abuse of Jones  and were expected to be cleared as suspects.

This is just crazy, and it has gone on for 13 years  I want the truth, he said.

Family of victim wants to see some justice

Taylor and Don May, the father and sister of Nathaniel Jones, said they dont want people to forget about justice for their loved one.

Before the January trial was canceled, they said they were hopeful it would happen, but were cautiously optimistic.

We cant lose hope ever that somewhere, someday there will be some justice for him, Don May said. We cant lose hope for that, but we have to be realistic about how the court system works and they have failed to work in this case. I am sure they are doing the best they can, and sure there are extenuating circumstances, but I just want to see some justice for (Nathaniel).

The May family said it has been difficult to get updates from prosecutors on the status of the case. The family said it was hard to get in contact with the prosecutors early on, but they eventually stopped returning calls altogether.

We tried to make contact with anyone, and the case just had gone cold for a while, Don May said.

The family said communication about the case has improved since they became aware that Ison was appointed special prosecutor.

Ison said it is uncommon to not have contact with the victims family considering the nature of the charge, but the situation is more complicated because the mother of the victim was involved.

Ison said his team is just now getting to the prospect of a trial where they would get input from the father of the victim.

My time so far in the case has been mainly about making sure we had all the discovery and that the defendant had a copy of all of it, he said. I did not get appointed special prosecutor until I believe around August 2019, it wasnt long after I got appointed that a different judge was assigned, then Covid happened and we really werent able to do much up until this year, Ison said in an email to the Herald-Leader.

...It has been challenging to get up to speed on the case considering the lengthy history. It makes it harder because of the type of case where the discovery is a large amount of documentation.

After the trial was again delayed in January, Brian Gallagher is not expected to appear in court again until June. He has been out on bond since 2010.
If youre looking to bake something thats both shareable and impressively cute, Easter cupcakes are perfect for the springtime holiday. Plus, with the number of munchable motifs the holiday provides  from Easter eggs to Easter baskets and bunnies  pleasing a hungry crowd is practically a guarantee.

Thats because whether youre planning a casual Easter dinner at home with family or bringing something along to a church potluck, cupcakes offer the ease of a grab-and-go option combined with the simplicity of prepping ahead of meal time.

And, of course, cupcakes are just really darn fun to decorate and devour. Ready to bake? Were sharing Easter cupcake ideas that feature seasonal flavors like carrot cake and Meyer lemon, plus basics that can be enjoyed by most everyone such as vegan chocolate and  for the adults at the party  an Irish Coffee option.

If youre ready to bust out the piping bag or are just looking for a quick route to easy Easter desserts, these recipes are sure to impress.

Easy Easter Bunny Cupcakes by Checka Ciammaichelli

Are your kids beginning to help out in the kitchen? This recipe is perfect if the whole family wants to get involved, thanks to the fact that it calls for store-bought cupcakes. Simply gather a few ingredients for decorating (think: marshmallows, sanding sugar and jelly beans) and youre set for an informal DIY cupcake party.

Parsnip Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting by Lauren Salkeld

In this twist on classic carrot cake, an entire pound of parsnips are shredded for the cake batter. These cupcakes are rounded out by a supporting cast of ground allspice, cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg to warm up the flavor and sweetened with a dollop of cream cheese frosting.

Award-Winning Carrot Cake Cupcakes by Elizabeth Chambers

Is it even Easter without carrot cake? This award-winning recipe from the popular Texas-based BIRD Bakery delivers a fresh update, thanks to a combination of carrots, pineapple, raisins and shredded coconut. Together, they make for a perfectly moist cake batter that only gets better once baked and topped with a citrus-infused cream cheese frosting.

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Light and Fluffy Coconut Cupcakes by Elizabeth Chambers Hammer

If youre looking to really get a jump on your Easter baking, this recipe, which is another from BIRD Bakerys Elizabeth Chambers Hammer, can be made up to two months in advance (so long as you wait to slather on the frosting). Coconut lovers will adore the double dose of sweetness  coconut cream moistens the batter and buttercream while a duo of sweetened coconut flakes and toasted coconut are a lovely finishing touch on top.

Martha Stewart's Meyer Lemon Cupcakes by Martha Stewart

Baking for a big crowd? Then its time to call on this recipe from Martha Stewart, which asks you to fill 42 lemony cupcakes with sweet and tangy citrus curd. Of course, you can always cut the recipe in half to feed a smaller group.

Perfect Chocolate Cupcakes with Caramel Buttercream by Jocelyn Delk Adams

A fun twist on a basic but beloved treat, this recipe combines a decadent chocolate cupcake with a caramel buttercream frosting (plus, a drizzle of milk chocolatey goodness). Just remember to let the cupcakes cool before piping or swiping on your buttercream.

Carrot and Zucchini Cupcakes by Donal Skehan

Two seasonal ingredients are brought together in this undeniably delicious cupcake recipe. But the fun doesnt end there: Each one is decorated with a not-too-sweet rosemary and orange creme fraiche topping.

Peek-A-Bunny Cupcakes by Alejandra Ramos

You dont need to go all out to bake a one-of-a-kind Easter dessert. Combine box-made cupcakes with some marshmallow bunnies, homemade or store-bought frosting, shredded coconut and a little green food coloring, and youve got some cupcakes that are cute-as-a-bunny.

Upside-Down Caramel Banana Cupcakes with Vanilla Ice Cream by Andrea Tiffany Aaron

You know whats better than one dessert? Three! Ice cream, cupcakes and banana splits converge in this showstopper, which gets topped with banana slices and a caramel drizzle.

Vegan Chocolate Cupcakes with Chocolate-Peanut Butter Ganache by Vidya Rao

Avoiding dairy doesnt mean you have to avoid the sweets table. This vegan cupcake recipe, which includes a coconut milk-based chocolate-peanut butter ganache, will have everyone reaching for a second. While vegan baked goods have a reputation for being dry and bland, recipe developer Vidya Rao turned to a brilliant combination of ingredients that offer plenty of moisture  coconut milk, maple syrup and canola oil.

Irish Coffee Cupcakes by Donal Skehan

If youre hosting Easter brunch, these cupcakes are the perfect option for adults gathered round the table. Top each of the coffee- and whiskey-laced cupcakes with a chocolate-covered espresso bean for an extra zip.

Chloe Coscarelli's Creme-Filled Chocolate Cupcakes by Chloe Coscarelli

These cupcakes might look familiar, but there's a secret: Each one is vegan-friendly. A cup of coffee not only adds moisture, but enhances the rich, chocolatey flavor. Grab a piping bag (or try fashioning one on your own) to seal the deal with the cute curlicue frosting.

Sneaky Cupcakes by Joy Bauer

If youre looking for a way to sneak in some extra nutrients, try this recipe from Joy Bauer. She upgrades a box of cake mix by folding in pureed beans (white for vanilla mix and black for chocolate) for a protein boost and extra moisture. Trust us, youll want to try these before you turn your nose up.

Chocolate Cupcakes with Chocolate-Hazelnut Buttercream by Anthony Contrino

Nutella fans will love this classic combination of chocolate and hazelnut, with an option to add coffee for an extra kick (and we highly recommend that you do so). More of a Reeses person? Swap out the chocolate-hazelnut spread for peanut butter instead.

This article was originally published on TODAY.com
A 15-year-old is recovering at an Atlanta hospital after police said he was shot in the back over the weekend.

Investigators said they were called out for the reported shooting shortly before 8 p.m. Saturday along Habersham Drive in LaGrange.

When officers arrived at the scene, they found the injured teen and called an ambulance.

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The teen was initially taken to WellStar West Georgia Medical Center for his injuries but was later transferred to Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta.

Police said no suspects have been identified in the case at this point.

Anyone with information in this case is asked to call the LaGrange Police Department at 706-883-2603 or Troup County Crime Stoppers at 706-812-1000.

IN OTHER NEWS:
Siblings from Missouri who had been kidnapped nearly a year ago were found more than 1,000 miles away with their abductor in a Florida grocery store, police said.

Adrian Gilley, 12, and Brooke Gilley, 11, whom police say had been missing since March 15, 2022, were located by officers in a Winn-Dixie on Feb. 1, the High Springs Police Department in Florida said in a news release.

High Springs Police

Police located the children after a routine vehicle tag check indicated the owner was a fugitive.

They found the children grocery shopping under disguised identities with their non-custodial mother, Kristi Nicole Gilley, 36, who was arrested on a kidnapping warrant out of Clay County, Missouri.

Kristi Nicole Gilley (High Springs Police)

The children were put in the care of the Florida Department of Children and Family Services and will be reunited with their birth family, police said.

The High Springs Police said they worked with the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children to help bring them home.

This article was originally published on TODAY.com
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - FEBRUARY 05: (FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY) Harry Styles accepts the Album Of The Year award for Harry's House onstage during the 65th GRAMMY Awards at Crypto.com Arena on February 05, 2023 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by JC Olivera/WireImage)

In an unexpected turn of events for Canadians, the Grammy Awards gave a shout out to Sudbury, Ont., with a very special great grandmother who is a massive Harry Styles fan.

As part of the Grammys ceremony at the Crypto.com Arena on Sunday night, fans of each of the nominees for Album of the Year sat around a table to talk about their favourite artists.

Among them was Reina from the northern Ontario city.

"Harry's House by Harry Styles in the album of the year," she says.

In a pre-recorded video, Reina's granddaughter says the 78-year old is Styles' "number one fan," and they flew to Los Angeles together to see him in concert, both dresses in colourful boas and sunglasses.

"Aside form being good looking, .... I love everything about him," Reina said. "I love his outlook, his songs and with Harry he has that thing that draws people to him."

"If the Grammys did their job, he's getting that award."

The group of fans also got the attend the ceremony on Sunday. After Styles won the Best Pop Vocal Album award, Reina told host Trevor Noah she's "more than excited."

"I've been crying," Reina said live on TV.

At the end of the night, Reina got to present Styles with his award for Album of the Year, even getting a hug from her favourite artist.

Several people have taken to social media to celebrate the granny from Sudbury.

Omg! And the Sudbury fan announces the win! She should get tickets to every concert @Harry_Styles for b at album! #GRAMMYs  Be Kind  (@akrred) February 6, 2023

Is anyone watching The Grammys?



Reina is doing amazing representing Sudbury Ontario!



 Love that! She loves Harry Styles, just like us!



We would LOVE to chat with her when she gets back if you have the hook up! Email us! Morninghottub@hot935.ca pic.twitter.com/TNVBXhQOY1  The New Hot 93.5 (@TheNewHot935) February 6, 2023

Kudos to Trevor Noah for giving a grandmother from Sudbury, Ontario the moment of her life.  Dr. Tammy Landau (she/her) (@Dr_Tammy_Landau) February 6, 2023

Seeing a grandmother from Sudbury, Ontario cheering on Harry Styles at the Grammys is not something I expected to see tonight but it was incredibly awesome.   Tracy Noble  She/Her (@TracyVirtually) February 6, 2023

Whos this Reina from #Sudbury on the #grammys ?? So cool to see us represented!!  Johnny Sudbury #LeafsForever (@jerumball) February 6, 2023

The Harry Styles lady from Sudbury Ontario is great. #Grammys2023  Stephan Petar (@stephanpetar) February 6, 2023

GIRLIE FROM SUDBURY BEING THE HARRIE STAN IM SCREAMING  maddy HRAMMY DAY  (@_maddyb321) February 6, 2023

First and last time Sudbury, Ontario will ever be mentioned at the Grammys  Angelo Muredda (@amuredda) February 6, 2023
Earthquake in Turkey

The quakes hit the border area of Turkey and Syria in the province of Gaziantep, the first in the early hours of Feb. 6. Measured at magnitude 7.8, it was one of the most powerful in the last 100 years.

Read also: Ukrainian ombudsman Lubinets meets with his Turkish counterpart

The second earthquake occurred less than 12 hours after the first, and at magnitude 7.7, was almost as strong.

The Associated Press has reported the latest death toll from the quakes to be more than 2,300.

No information about Ukrainian casualties has been received so far.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba has taken the issue of providing assistance to Ukrainians in Turkey under his personal control. An operational headquarters has been set up at the Ukrainian Embassy in Turkey, and resources at the Consulate General in Istanbul and the Consulate in Antalya are also being deployed. Search and rescue operations are ongoing.

"Currently, we have 24 appeals about a lack of communication with Ukrainian citizens living in the disaster area, said Nikolenko.

All information was promptly relayed to the Turkish side. The whereabouts of our citizens are being established.

Read also: Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast struck by 9th earthquake this year

To get help, please contact the hotline of the Embassy of Ukraine in Turkey (+90 539 550 98 98) or the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine (+380 44 238 15 88).

Across the border from Turkey, at least 592 people were killed in Syria (mainly in the areas of Aleppo, Hama, Latakia and Tartus). The White Helmets (Syrian Civil Defense) reported at least 221 casualties in opposition-controlled areas in northwestern Syria. More than 7,000 people have been reported as injured in both countries.

Hundreds of people may be trapped under the rubble. More than 45 countries, including Ukraine, have offered to help Ankara. Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba announced his readiness to send a large group of rescuers to eliminate the consequences of the disaster.

Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
In this article, we take a look at the 25 least developed countries in Asia. You can skip our detailed analysis of uneven economic development in Asia and go directly to the 10 Least Developed Countries in Asia.

Asia is one of the fastest developing regions in the world, and is widely regarded as the manufacturing hub of the world, with the most developed countries on the continent being Japan and South Korea. Much of the GDP of Asia is concentrated in China, Japan, South Korea and India.

However, there are many countries in Asia that lag behind in financial independence, rule of law, political stability, financial transparency and GDP growth. These are primarily situated in South Asia, Central Asia and West Asia.

Asian Development Dynamics: Why Did China Develop Faster Than India?

The two countries that are the easiest to compare in terms of socio-economic development in Asia are China and India. China is the second largest economy in the world, behind the US, while India is the fifth largest.

China had a head start of 12 years in market reforms compared to India. However, the latters market reforms were also slower to implement and lacked comprehensive coverage. Both countries have become outsourcing hubs for different reasons, with China leading in manufacturing and India making progress in services such as information technology.

The share of services in Indias GDP as of 2021, is 47.5%, while that of the manufacturing sector is only 14%. On the other hand, for the past decade, India has had a trade surplus in services but it covers only 20% of its deficit in manufacturing.

Indias services-oriented trajectory was set by government policies and investments, but the country lagged behind in infrastructure, that is critical for manufacturing, such as power plants, ports and roads.

This is where China had an advantage, as the manufacturing sector is crucial for growth acceleration in developing economies, with its importance over services for developing economies grounded in sound empirical data. Capital accumulation is an aggregate source of economic growth and it is much lower in services, while its positive effects are far more pronounced in manufacturing sectors of developing economies.

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Manufacturing is also far friendlier to economies of scale relative to services, due to cost advantages in labor and productivity. Further, foreign investment in the manufacturing sector has greater technology-transfer effects, due to the industry being more labor intensive.

Therefore, China developed faster than India, owing to a head start in market reforms, low-cost labor and the expansion of its manufacturing sector, despite the potential for economies of scale in both countries due to huge population sizes.

Why Are So Many Asian Economies Still Underdeveloped?

Several factors keep many Asian economies underdeveloped. These include corruption, poor state of rule of law, political instability, violence and lack of comprehensive market and labor reforms, among others. The least developed countries in Asia are also trailing the more developed Asian economies in formulating policies to attract Foreign Direct Investment (FDI).

The above factors lead to self-reinforcing feedback loops. For instance, least developed countries of Asia lag far behind more developed Asian countries in technology-transfer from international companies, perpetuating underdevelopment.

By contrast, relatively developed Asian countries like Thailand and Indonesia have been far more active in incentivizing production links via subcontracting arrangements between domestic companies and foreign companies.

Many high tech companies like Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG), Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) and Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) have a presence in developing Asian countries like India.

Lets now move on to the 25 least developed countries in Asia.

25 Least Developed Countries in Asia

Copyright: leungchopan / 123RF Stock Photo

Our Methodology

We have defined least developed countries in Asia as ones that have low human development and GDP per Capita. In this regard, weve selected Asian countries from the Human Development Index (HDI) of 2021-22 with the lowest scores. We then took into account their GDPs per Capita and then assigned each country two rankings based on their HDI scores and GDPs per Capita.

Finally, weve ranked them based on the average of the two rankings and listed them in a descending order of low development. For countries with the same averaged-out values, weve used their rankings in GDP per Capita as the tiebreaker.

Note: North Korea is a rogue country, with the UN lacking data on their human development but we do have credible estimates of their GDP per Capita. For this purpose, we've ranked it based on its GDP per Capita.

25. Mongolia

HDI Ranking: 22

GDP Per Capita Ranking: 24

Average Ranking: 23

Mongolia is located in Central Asia. The country has a GDP per Capita of $4,566 as of 2021 and an HDI score of 0.739. The countrys economy is mostly reliant on the mining industry, leaving little room for appropriate market diversification. In addition, Mongolia also has a shortage of skilled workers.

24. Iran

HDI Ranking: 26

GDP Per Capita Ranking: 20

Average Ranking: 23

Iran has vast reserves of fossil fuel but the country suffers from resource curse, due to the same oil wealth. Further, the country has been adversely affected by Western sanctions.

23. Sri Lanka

HDI Ranking: 27

GDP Per Capita Ranking: 16

Average Ranking: 21.5

Sri Lanka is one of the least developed countries in the world, primarily because of factors like corruption and political instability, combined with an economy that lacks diversification. Sri Lanka has further spiraled down after the country defaulted in May, 2022, leading to economic collapse.

22. Jordan

HDI Ranking: 20

GDP Per Capita Ranking: 21

Average Ranking: 20.5

Jordan is located in West Asia, and has a GDP per Capita of $4,103 as of 2021. The main issues with the Jordanian economy is that it lacks diversification in the economy, with the countrys infrastructure also being outdated.

21. Indonesia

HDI Ranking: 17

GDP Per Capita Ranking: 23

Average Ranking: 20

Indonesia is located in Southeast Asia, with a GDP per Capita of $4,333 as of 2021. The country is far better-off than most other countries on the list. The human capital in the country has attracted companies like Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG), Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) and Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT). However, it still lags far behind the more developed countries in Asia.

20. Lebanon

HDI Ranking: 18

GDP Per Capita Ranking: 22

Average Ranking: 20

Lebanon is a West Asian country with a GDP per Capita of $4,136 as of 2021. The country has one of the highest levels of public debt in the world, averaging 155% of the its GDP in the past two decades. Another huge problem in the country is corruption; Lebanon ranked 154th out of 180 countries on the Corruption Perception Index of 2021.

19. Iraq

HDI Ranking: 13

GDP Per Capita Ranking: 25

Average Ranking: 19

There are a number of reasons why Iraq is one of the most underdeveloped countries in Asia. The country has been mired in internal violence since the US invasion in 2003, as well as government corruption and income inequality. Moreover, it has one of the most oil-dependent economies in the world. As the World Bank notes, oil comprised 99% of the countrys exports, making up 42% of Iraq's GDP over the past decade.

18. Palestine

HDI Ranking: 19

GDP Per Capita Ranking: 18

Average Ranking: 18.5

Palestine is located in West Asia. A number of factors like restriction on trade, poor infrastructure, political instability and occupation by Israel has left Palestine underdeveloped. Palestine has a GDP per Capita of $3,664 as of 2021.

17. Vietnam

HDI Ranking: 16

GDP Per Capita Ranking: 19

Average Ranking: 17.5

Vietnam is located in Southeast Asia. The country has been underdeveloped due to income inequality and political instability. However, Vietnam has massively leaped forward in recent years in its manufacturing capacity, adding 1.5 million jobs in the sector between 2014 and 2016.

It is also the hot new destination for US supply chains, with 20% of them having shifted to Vietnam, from Chinas share in 2019, due to the US-China trade war. In this regard, Vietnams development outlook is expected to significantly improve over the course of the next decade.

High technology US companies like Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT), Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) and Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) also operate in Vietnam.

16. Philippines

HDI Ranking: 15

GDP Per Capita Ranking: 17

Average Ranking: 16

The Philippines has a GDP per Capita of $3,460 as of 2021. A 34% of the countrys economy is estimated to be informal, shaving off much of the potential for economic growth.

15. Uzbekistan

HDI Ranking: 21

GDP Per Capita Ranking: 10

Average Ranking: 15.5

Uzbekistan has a GDP per Capita of $1,983 as of 2021. The country has been underdeveloped due to the Soviet legacy, which prevented it from liberalization even after independence.

For instance, in 1996, Uzbekistan went on a planned-economy drive, with measures like regulation of commodity prices, high taxes, high government spending and establishment of artificial monopolies through favoritism, among others, that created huge unemployment, misery and low economic growth rate.

14. Bhutan

HDI Ranking: 11

GDP Per Capita Ranking: 15

Average Ranking: 13

It would be unfair to characterize Bhutan as backward as other underdeveloped countries, since Bhutan has willfully foregone much of the economic development for environmental conservation.

As part of its Gross National Happiness philosophy, its constitution mandates that 60% of the countrys forest cover is preserved. This has resulted in much of the economic underdevelopment, which leaves it far behind many Asian economies.

13. Bangladesh

HDI Ranking: 10

GDP Per Capita Ranking: 12

Average Ranking: 11

Bangladesh is one of the least developed countries in Asia. It has a GDP per Capita of $2,458 as of 2021. The low development is driven, in part, by low urbanization, with only 40% of the countrys population urbanized.

Bangladesh also has one of the biggest informal economies, with 89% of its workforce employed in informal sectors, according to the estimates of Asian Development Bank.

12. Timor-Leste

HDI Ranking: 7

GDP Per Capita Ranking: 14

Average Ranking: 10.5

Timor-Leste is located in Southeast Asia, and it is one of the least developed Asian countries in 2023. Its GDP per Capita, as of 2021, is $2,741, with 60% of the workforce in the country employed in informal sectors, stunting much of its economic-growth potential.

11. Laos

HDI Ranking: 8

GDP Per Capita Ranking: 13

Average Ranking: 10.5

Laos is underdeveloped for several reasons, including political instability and economic dependence on neighbors like Thailand and Vietnam for trade and investment. However, things are changing fast for the country. The World Bank identified Laos as an integral link in the regional value chain.

From 2010 to 2017, Laos export revenue from manufactured goods increased from 12% to 17.3%, with the share of electronics and telecom-products export increasing by 35% during the same period. The country remains behind the more developed Asian countries but its outlook is expected to greatly improve by 2030.

Click to continue reading and see the 10 Least Developed Countries in Asia. Suggested Articles:

Disclosure: none. 25 Least Developed Countries in Asia is originally published on Insider Monkey.
Bill Gates had a lot to say about AI's progress and ChatGPT in a new interview with Forbes. zz/PBG/AAD/STAR MAX/IPx

Bill Gates told Forbes that AI's progress in the last year, including ChatGPT, makes him "excited."

Gates said its use as a math tutor or to give medical advice to underserved regions would be "fantastic."

The Microsoft cofounder said he "often" uses ChatGPT "for fun things" like writing poetry.

Bill Gates is "excited" about ChatGPT and all the progress in the last year in the field of artificial intelligence, he told Forbes in a recent interview.

The Microsoft cofounder highlighted some potential use cases for AI-driven technology, whether it's ChatGPT or its rivals, and revealed how he's been experimenting with the popular chatbot himself.

Gates told Forbes it's "pretty fantastic" to think that AI could be "a math tutor that's available to inner city students," or have "medical advice that's available to people in Africa who, during their life, generally wouldn't ever get to see a doctor."

There aren't enough white collar workers for "worthy causes" like those, Gates said, and AI could help fill that need.

Gates said he likes to use ChatGPT, the conversational AI chatbot, for "fun things," including writing poetry when he's with his friends, even though his primary reason for experimenting with ChatGPT has been "for serious purposes."

"The fact that you can say okay, 'write it like Shakespeare' and it does  that creativity has been fun to have," he sai, adding that after he reads ChatGPT's poems, he admits that he couldn't have written them himself.

Despite leaving Microsoft's board of directors in 2020, Gates said he still spends time with the tech giant's product teams talking about AI. Microsoft recently announced a multiyear, multibillion dollar investment into OpenAI, the AI research lab behind ChatGPT. The investment was reportedly $10 billion, and follows its other investments from 2019 and 2021 into the company.

Gates said he's been interested in AI since he started learning about software, and said AI is just as historic as the PC and the internet.

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"The idea of computers seeing, hearing and writing is the longterm quest of the entire industry," he told Forbes.

Despite being impressed by ChatGPT's poetry, Gates called it "truly imperfect" and "not very intuitive." He also said he's seen ChatGPT "be completely wrong" about math problems.

"AI is going to be debated," Gates said, adding that it will "be the hottest topic of 2023," and has the ability to "change the job market," but it could get out of control or go in the wrong direction.

Read the original article on Business Insider
Being caught off guard by an effected twist is a cinematic joy like no other.

Over the years, writers and filmmakers have dreamed up fresh ways of keeping audiences on their toes. Some remain astonishingly bold by todays standards, while others have had the gleam worn off by the movies theyve gone onto inspire.

There are some filmmakers who have attempted to make the twist their trademark (M Night Shyamalan), then there are others who have impressively shaped a film around its rug-pulling denouement (Christopher Nolans magician drama The Prestige was essentially one giant magic trick).

Either way, they make for memorable viewing. Intriguingly, twists are mostly prevalent in horror films, which is what makes it so breathtaking when they show up mid-way through a drama  or, even rarer, a comedy.

To mark the arrival of Shyamalans new thriller Knock at the Cabin, weve compiled a list fewaturing 35 of the greatest twists ever, from Planet of the Apes and Spider-Man: Homecoming to The Others to Oldboy.

Read on to see what has made the cut. Naturally, spoilers abound  and dont go ruining the surprise for those who havent seen any of these films.

Arrival (2016)

Arrival (Paramount)

The set-up: The services of linguistics professor Louise Banks (Amy Adams) are called upon when aliens arrive on Earth. While experiencing visions of her daughter, who we learn died from cancer in her teens, Louise attempts to communicate with the race in a bid to discern the purpose of their visit.

The twist: Louise deciphers the language, which gives her the ability to see into the future. What we thought were flashbacks are, in fact, flash-forwards  her daughter is yet to be born.

Atonement (2007)

The set-up: Briony Tallis (Saoirse Ronan) falsely accuses the housekeepers son (James McAvoy) of raping her cousin when she becomes jealous of his relationship with her older sister (Keira Knightley). Hes sent to prison, but is eventually freed to enlist in World War II  and the audience is told that he eventually rekindled his romance with Cecilia and lived happily ever after.

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The twist: Only, they didnt. We learn that this is another lie from an older Briony  both Robbie and Cecilia died in the war.

Chinatown (1974)

The set-up: Having been hired by Evelyn Mulwray (Faye Dunaway) to investigate her husbands death, JJ Gittes (Jack Nicholson) discovers the existence of someone crucial to the case: Evelyns sister, Katherine.

The twist: After being confronted by Gittes, Evelyn reveals that Katherine is also her daughter  and the result of being raped by her father when she was 15.

Dark City (1998)

The set-up: Having awoken in a bathtub, and discovering he has telekinetic abilities, John Murdoch attempts to find the truth behind a dystopian world thats inhabited by an evil group who can stop time and implant memories.

The twist: His search for meaning sees him reach the end of the city. With nowhere left to go, he breaks through a wall and finds the city is actually an island floating through outer space.

The Departed (2006)

The set-up: Cop Billy Costigan (Leonardo DiCaprio) infiltrates the organisation of gang chief Frank Costello (Jack Nicholson) at the same time that criminal Colin Sullivan (Matt Damon) infiltrates the police force  and both soon suspect they have spies in their midst.

The twist: Both end up dead. A shocking sequence sees Sullivan kill Costigan who believes he's got away with it. Sergeant Sean Dignam (Mark Wahlberg) sees to that in an equally as shocking climactic scene.

Les Diaboliques (1955)

Les Diaboliques (Rex)

The set-up: A woman named Christina is enlisted into murdering her husband by his mistress. However, once the deed is done, his body disappears.

The twist: Her husband faked his death with the help of his mistress. The pair wanted to make Christina believe she committed the murder in an attempt to destroy her.

The Empire Strikes Back (1980)

The set-up: Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) is trained by Obi Wan Kenobi and Jedi master Yoda to defeat the evil Darth Vader, leading to the showdown of all showdowns.

The twist: Skywalkers delivered a blow after making a pretty huge discovery: the villain is his father. Cue shock and awe.

Fight Club (1999)

The set-up: The world of the films insomniac narrator (Edward Norton) collides with that of Tyler Durden (Brad Pitt) as they start an underground club that permits ordinary people to have fistfights with one another.

The twist: The narrator and Tyler are dissociated personalties  AKA they are the same person.

The Game

The set-up: Nicholas Van Orton (Michael Douglas) flees after agreeing to participate in a twisted "game" that sees him  among other things  buried alive and contemplating suicide after accidentally murdering his brother.

The twist: It really was just a game the entire time, set up by his brother who wasn't killed at all.

Get Out (2017)

The set-up: Rose (Allison Williams), a white woman, brings her Black boyfriend Chris (Daniel Kaluuya) home to meet her family. Chris soon becomes convinced they bury a dark secret and attempts to convince his girlfriend they should leave.

The twist: Hes not wrong  only Rose is in on the conspiracy. After uncovering photos of Black men shes had prior relationships with, Chris is abducted, realising that hes been lured to her cult-like family who want to implant their loved oness brains into the body of younger Black bodies.

Gone Girl (2014)

The set-up: When Amy Dunne (Rosamund Pike) goes missing, her husband Nick (Ben Affleck) becomes the prime suspect behind her disappearance.

The twist: Mid-way through the film, all becomes clear  Amy faked her abduction and spent months framing her husband in revenge for his extra-marital digressions.

Goodnight Mommy (2014)

Goodnight Mommy (Ulrich Seidl Film Produktion GmbH)

The set-up: Brothers Elias and Lukas (played by real-life siblings Elias and Lukas Schwarz) believe their mother to be an imposter after she returns home having had her face reconstructed due to a car crash. They take (rather disturbing) matters into their own hands.

The twist: One of the twins actually died in the crash. The other, unable to accept his brother's death, has merely imagined him to be alive the whole time and exacts revenge, blaming their mother for his death.

Identity (2003)

The set-up: As a convict awaits execution for several murders, 10 strangers find themselves stranded in a rainstorm at a remote Nevada hotel. Soon, they start getting killed off one by one.

The twist: The strangers comprise the split personalities of the convict. The motel is a fabricated reality via which doctors are attempting to find out which one is causing his murderous tendencies. They zone in on limo driver Ed (John Cusack) without realising they've selected the wrong one: the murderous personality is a nine-year-old kid named Timmy.

Iron Man 3 (2013)

The set-up: Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr) must track down and stop a terrorist known as the Mandarin (Ben Kingsley) who has launched a series of attacks on the world.

The twist: He succeeds  but learns that the Mandarin is actually a British actor called Trevor Slattery who has been hired by the actual people responsible.

Kill List (2011)

Kill List (StudioCanal UK)

The set-up: Two contract killers are given a list of people to dispatch of. Their journey leads them to a cult ceremony where one of the men, Jay (Neil Maskell), must kill one final victim known as The Hunchback.

The twist: The Hunchback is actually his imprisoned wife with their son strapped to her back. After he kills them, he is crowned by the cultists.

Memento (2000)

The set-up: Leonard (Guy Pearce) is tracking down the man who raped and murdered his wife. However, his search is stunted by his short-term memory loss. Throughout the film, he tells the story of Sammy Jankis, a man who accidentally killed his diabetic wife; she kept requesting more insulin as she didn't believe he had memory loss.

The twist: The man responsible raped his wife, but didnt murder her, and Leonard killed him years ago  he just can't remember it. His wife's actual killer is... himself. His real name? Sammy Jankis.

Million Dollar Baby (2004)

The set-up: A grizzled boxing trainer seeks atonement by helping Hilary Swank's underdog amateur boxer, Maggie, achieve her dream of becoming a professional.

The twist: Mid-way through the film, Maggie breaks her neck after being sucker punched during a fight. What was a feel-good underdog story swiftly turns into a hard-hitting drama about euthanasia.

The Mist (2007)

The Mist (Dimension Films)

The set-up: Helping several others dodge the monsters lurking in the mist, David Drayton (Thomas Jane) leads the escape from the supermarket theyve been holed up in. They reach a car and drive away, but soon run out of gas and realise theres no hope. David loads a gun and, as the camera cuts away, shoots the survivors, including his young son.

The twist: As hes gearing up to put the gun to his own head, shadowy figures roll toward him. Hes devastated to learn its actually the military who have combatted the mist creatures. He killed his son for no reason. Talk about awful timing.

Oldboy (2003)

The set-up: Oh Dae-Su (Choi Min-sik) is kidnapped and held in captivity for 15 years. When he's finally released, he exacts revenge with the help of a young girl named Mi-Do (Kang Hye-jung) whom he falls in love with.

The twist: The girl is actually his daughter. His captors orchestrated their meeting.

Orphan (2009)

The set-up: The plot centres on a couple who, after the death of their unborn child, adopt a mysterious nine-year-old girl named Esther (Isabelle Furhman) who starts displaying some disturbing behaviour.

The twist: Esther is actually a 33-year old murderer who has a condition stunting her physical growth.

The Others (2001)

(Dimension Films)

The set-up: Nicole Kidman stars as Grace, a mother who tries to protect her two children from supernatural forces in their Victorian mansion.

The twist: In a spin on the ghost story, it turns out it's Grace and her children who are the ghosts: she killed them  before turning the gun on herself  in despair over the presumed death of her husband in World War II.

The Prestige (2006)

The set-up: The film tracks the rivalry of two magicians, Alfred Borden (Christian Bale) and Rupert Angier (Hugh Jackman), who go to extreme lengths to outsmart one another, each pulling off tricks the other considers impossible.

The twist: It emerges that Fallon, the bearded carer of Bordens children, is actually his twin (hes also played by Bale) while Angiers technique is far more disturbing: each night, using Teslas technology, he sends his clone plummeting into a water tank.

Planet of the Apes (1968)

The set-up: Three scientists wake up hundreds of years after being launched into space to discover theyve landed on a planet where primates rule over humans, who are their prisoners.

The twist: As Charlton Hestons character escapes his cell, he eventually finds the Statue of Liberty protruding from sand. Turns out its not just any planet  its Earth.

Primal Fear (1996)

The set-up: A defence attorney (Richard Gere) has a strong belief that his stuttering altar boy client (Edward Norton) is not guilty of murdering an influential Catholic Archbishop. He's later found not guilty by reason of insanity after being diagnosed with multiple personality disorder.

The twist: He faked the disorder. The film's closing moments see him drop the stutter and reveal his guilt as his attorney looks on, disturbed.

READ MORE: 34 actors who regret big roles

Psycho (1960)

Psycho (Getty Images)

The set-up: What viewers initially think is a film about a theft committed by Marion Crane (Janet Leigh) turns out to be something far more darker. On the run, she arrives at a motel owned by Norman Bates (Anthony Perkins) and is swiftly murdered by his mother.

The twist: Only, it's not his mother  its Norman. He killed his mother years before and has since developed a split personality.

Saw (2004)

The set-up: Having been chained up by the Jigsaw killer in a dilapidated bathroom  which has a corpse lying in the middle of the room  photographer Adam (Leigh Whannell) overpowers and kills his captor. He rummages through his pockets, looking for the key that will unlock the chain around his leg, convinced the nightmare is finally over.

The twist: Instead, he finds a cassette recorder that reveals his supposed captor was, in fact, another victim of the Jigsaw killer who was merely following his rules in order to obtain an antidote for a poison in his body. Cue a corpse in the middle of the room rising to reveal himself as the real Jigsaw killer. He was there the whole time.

Seven (1995)

The set-up: David Mills (Brad Pitt) and William Somerset (Morgan Freeman), a detective on the cusp of retirement, have closed in on serial killer, John Doe (Kevin Spacey), who has been using the seven deadly sins as inspiration for his murders.

The twist: He has one final murder left to commit  only hes already committed it. We discover Doe has killed Millss wife (Gwyneth Paltrow), which prompts Mills to complete Does plan of fulfilling all sins by murdering him out of revenge.

Shutter Island (2010)

The set-up: US Marshal Teddy Daniels (Leonardo DiCaprio) and his partner (Mark Ruffalo) arrive at a centre for the criminally insane to find an escaped killer who drowned her three children.

The twist: Teddy is actually a patient, and his partner is his doctor. He killed his wife after she murdered their three children and the elaborate ruse is an attempt to bring his repressed memories to the surface.

The Sixth Sense (1999)

The set-up: A young boy who can see dead people encounters a child psychologist named Malcolm Crowe (Bruce Willis) and attempts to discover the reason behind his disturbing ability.

The twist: Crowe is, in fact, dead all along. He got killed during a robbery that we see in the films opening scene.

READ MORE: 37 horror films that will actually scare you

Sleepaway Camp (1983)

The set-up: The introverted Angela (Felissa Rose) becomes terrified when a murderer wreaks destruction at the same campsite where her brother Peter was killed eight years before.

The twist: Angela is the killer. She's also not Angela at all, but her presumed dead brother Peter, who was raised as a girl by her aunt following Angela's death.

The Skin I Live In (2011)

The set-up: Skilled plastic surgeon Dr Robert Ledgard (Antonio Banderas) tries to develop a new skin that could save the lives of burn victims after his wife, Vera, is burned in an auto accident.

The twist: The Vera we're seeing is not wis wife, but a young man whom Robert abducted and subjected to a vaginoplasty six years before.

Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)

The set-up: Peter Parker (Tom Holland) takes a break from trying to stop the film's villain, the Vulture (Michael Keaton), to go to his school's Homecoming dance.

The twist: He shows up to his date's house, knocks on the door... and comes face to face with The Vulture. He's her father.

Unbreakable (2000)

Samuel L Jackson in Unbreakable

The set-up: David Dunn survives a train crash that kills 130 passengers, and begins to believe he may have special powers. His life soon collides with comic book store owner Elijah (Samuel L Jackson), who has a rare bone disorder, and helps David discover he has the ability to see the criminal acts of those he comes into contact with.

The twist: Elijah is the biggest criminal of them all. When David shakes his hand at the end of the film, he sees that Mr Glass is the mastermind behind numerous terrorist attacks  including the train crash he survived.

The Usual Suspects (1995)

The set-up: Verbal Kint (Kevin Spacey) reveals a criminal plot concocted by the notorious Keyser Soze. He's eventually set free.

The twist: He made the whole thing up  Kint is Keyser Soze.

The Wicker Man (1973)

The set-up: A sergeant is sent to a remote island in order to investigate the case of a missing girl.

The twist: The girl was never missing  it was just an elaborate hoax to lure an out-of-towner so the island's residents could sacrifice him to their Sun God.
cutest yoga mats

Were always on the lookout for the latest, cutest yoga mats to take our yoga practice to the next level. There is nothing like a new yoga mat to inspire you to take things to the next level. Aside from cuteness, there are other things to consider when choosing a yoga mat such as comfort, thickness, lightweight options, and eco-friendliness. We kept this all in mind when creating our round-up. Whether youre joining Black yoga classes in the park or enjoying a stretch at home, you deserve to be proud of your mat.

Whether youre into hot yoga, yin yoga, or something between the two, we know how hard it is to choose the right mat. Ditch your old, dull yoga mat and get ready for a mat that has you excited to roll it out each day. Read on to discover five of the cutest yoga mats going.

Related: The Best Yoga Positions To Improve Your Sex Life

Cutest Yoga Mats You Need In Your Life

POPFLEX by Blogilates

POPFLEX by Blogilates

$59.00

Buy Now

This mat screams cuteness. It is definitely the ideal mat for those who want to indulge in some comfort while having their own style. This unique mat is unlikely to get mixed up with anyone elses in yoga classes. It will also transport you to a dreamy place and invoke all the mindful thoughts you need while in practice. This is also a non-slip mat and ideal for hot yoga.

Gaiam Yoga Mat

Gaiam Yoga Mat

$27.99

Buy Now

Gaiam is a huge brand for yoga lovers so this mat had to make the list. With various designs and styles, this classic mat offers everything youd need for a great yoga session. The Gaiam mat is a non-toxic & 6P-free PVC mat. It is durable and lightweight, the go-to combination for non-fuss learners.

Retrospec Laguna Yoga Mat

Retrospec Laguna Yoga Mat

$49.99

Buy Now

We love a long-lasting mat and this Retrospec yoga mat doesnt disappoint. Those who want a thick mat and the utmost comfort should opt for the Retrospec mat. Doing yoga on a pillow is the best way to describe the experience. Melt into your downward dog knowing that this mat has you covered. Additionally, this mat is an eco-friendly product, which gives it that extra 10/10 feeling.

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Manduka PROlite Yoga Mat

Manduka PROlite Yoga Mat

$95.00

Buy Now

There is no doubt that this premium thick mat will be the motivation to get up and get grounded in the morning. Yoga on the Manduka PROlite mat is an extraordinary experience. If youre looking for extra support and stability then youre in luck. A bit pricier than the other mats on the list, this is certainly an investment. Consider it the mat for those wanting to take their practice to the next level. It is also great for yogis who tend to practice rigorous heat-building forms of yoga; the sweat resistance is a huge plus.

Mat Block Torin

Mat Block Torin Yoga Non Slip

$33.29

Buy Now

One of the prettiest yoga mats going, the Mat Block Turin mat is a top contender. For a yoga session that requires lots of versatility, go for this treasure. First thing to note is that it has reversible sides and exceptional resilience. For traveling yogis, this would also be a great choice. The portability is an attractive aspect as well as the easy care guaranteed. The mat only needs to be wiped down and hung out to dry. There are currently four colors to choose from to brighten up your time on the mat.

Related: These Black Woman Yoga Practitioners Are Taking Over The Yoga Scene

Our editors love finding you the best products and offers! If you purchase something by clicking on one of the affiliate links on our website, we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.

The post 5 Of The Cutest Yoga Mats To Start Your Day Off Right appeared first on 21Ninety.
PeopleImages / Getty Images

Valentines Day is coming up and Cupids arrow has officially been drawn  and its aimed not just at the hearts of many an ardent lover, but at their wallets. According to a new survey from the National Retail Federation, consumers are expected to spend $25.9 billion on Valentines Day this year, up from $23.9 billion in 2022. More than half (52%) of Americans plan to celebrate the occasion and will spend an average of $192.80. The top gifts are candy (57%), greeting cards (40%), flowers (37%), an evening out (32%), jewelry (21%), gift cards (20%) and clothing (19%).

Costcos Best Deals? Employee Reveals 10 Standout Buys for Your Money

See: 3 Ways Smart People Save Money When Filing Their Taxes

Shoppers will find no shortage of hiked-up prices on these in-demand goods, as retailers know that theyll be in a rush to buy them (and willing to spend), but experts say that one can also find savings.

Heres a look at five items you can find on sale for Valentines Day.

Flowers

What says love more than a bouquet?

1-800-Flowers is offering a new Deal of the Day for Valentines Day, where you can get up to 25% off flowers; as well as other offerings for up to 30% off, said Rebecca Gramuglia, consumer expert at TopCashback.com. UrbanStems also offers 10% discounts on their larger bouquets.

Chocolates

Another Valentines Day staple? Chocolates.

You can shop stores like Godiva and take advantage of offers like a box of 8 chocolates added on for just $15 with any order, said Julie Ramhold, consumer analyst with DealNews.com. Or you can look to stores like Costco, where you can still buy Godiva chocolates (or other brands) but typically for a much better price. For instance, I saw a 36-piece box of Godiva chocolates at Costco for $44.99  at Godiva itself, a 22-piece box of chocolates is around $43 right now. If your valentine really loves chocolate, you can get multiple gift sets from Costco to really treat them  think 3 boxes with each containing 15 milk and semi-sweet truffles in the shape of diamonds from Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory for $43  thats 45 truffles total and a great deal.

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Take Our Poll: What Are Your Financial Priorities in 2023?

Cozy Items

A big theme of Valentines Day tends to be gifting cozy items because its pretty cold in a huge chunk of the U.S. in February, Ramhold said. If your valentine suffers from anxiety, they may appreciate something like the Hug Sleep, which is currently up to 20% off or you may be able to snag a BOGO 50% off deal with them while supplies last. Hug Sleep is meant to swaddle you, so its a good alternative to weighted blankets, especially if your recipient is a hot sleeper; however, other cozy items will be on sale as well; look for things like throw blankets to be around $20 or so at stores like Costco and Target, but if you want to splurge, UnHide blankets are amazingly cozy and live up to the hype. Shopping at Target with a RedCard will save you 5%, while shopping at Costco with a Costco Visa will earn you cash back. Currently UnHide is running promotions that offer up to 20% off too, so if youre interested in those blankets, its a good time to check them out.

Spa Gifts

Think things like robes, bath bombs, skin treatments, and diffusers  all of which will likely be on gift lists for the holiday so you should have plenty to choose from, Ramhold said. If youre putting together a spa gift basket, Amazon is a good one-stop shopping store to keep in mind, but if youre looking to branch out, I highly recommend sites like Olive Young and Masksheets for affordable Korean and Japanese beauty items. One of my favorite things to buy from Masksheets is the cult-favorite Laneige Lip Sleeping Mask, as its $13 through them rather than the $24 Id spend at stores like Sephora. The one thing to remember about these is that sometimes shipping can take a bit because it has to come from overseas, so be sure to order quickly or be prepared to tell your valentine the gifts are in the mail. The great thing about these sites is that they often have sales, too. Right now Masksheets has up to 80% off and Olive Young has a number of different deals going on, including up to 50% off.

Candles

This is one of those gifts that may not fall on the traditional list of items people think of when they think of the holiday but as long as the recipient isnt scent-sensitive, then they can make really excellent gifts, Ramhold said. Plus, plenty of stores will be offering them on sale for Valentines Day, including retailers like Target which have a selection of scents from Homesick available including things like Date Night and Lets Toast. Look for candle containers to have cute sayings related to love scrawled on them or other Valentines signals like hearts. Target has prices for $5 or less in some cases, but note that for Valentines Day, many will start closer to $10; that said, if youre a RedCard holder you can save 5% on your purchase, which can make these already reasonable prices even better.

More From GOBankingRates

This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: 5 Items You Can Find on Sale for Valentines Day
An 82-year-old woman wrongly believed to be dead was found breathing at a funeral home in Long Island, New York, according to police.

The woman was pronounced dead at about 11:15 a.m. at the Waters Edge Rehab and Nursing Center in Port Jefferson on Feb. 4, the Suffolk County Police Department confirmed in a statement to McClatchy News.

By 1:30 p.m., she was taken to O.B. Davis Funeral Home in Miller Place, about 5 miles away from the nursing home, police said.

Shortly after, the funeral home realized the woman was alive and breathing at 2:09 p.m., according to authorities.

The womans condition and identity are unknown, and police didnt release further details as they investigate.

They referred the incident to the New York State Attorney Generals Office.

A spokesperson for the office confirmed in a Feb. 6 statement to McClatchy News theyre looking into the matter. An update on the womans condition wasnt provided.

This is an awful situation that has caused unnecessary trauma for the impacted resident and her loved ones, the spokesperson said.

McClatchy News contacted the nursing center for comment on Feb. 6 and didnt immediately receive a response.

In Iowa, a hospice care facility was fined $10,000 after a report found employees wrongly pronounced a 66-year-old woman dead on Jan. 3, McClatchy News previously reported. Two hours later, the woman was found alive inside of a body bag at a funeral home.

When employees at the funeral home unzipped the body bag, they discovered her gasping for air, according to a report from the Iowa Department of Inspections and Appeals.

She was ultimately returned to the hospice facility where she died two days later, McClatchy News reported.

Grandson discovers wrong body in grandmothers casket, New Jersey family lawsuit says

Doctors pronounced NC dad brain dead. Then his family saw him moving, wife says

Moms funeral interrupted after wrong body placed in casket, NJ familys lawsuit says
(Reuters) - Abbvie will lift a self-imposed $2 billion limit on acquisitions and mergers placed following a $63 billion deal for Botox maker Allergan in 2020 that shot up its debt, the company's chief executive officer told the Wall Street Journal.

Chief Executive Officer Richard Gonzalez said the company now has the capacity "to do more", in an interview with WSJ that was published on Monday.

The comments come at a time when the drugmaker is beginning to face U.S. competition for its blockbuster rheumatoid arthritis drug, Humira, a major revenue driver for years.

The company did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

Abbvie is hoping to replace the loss of revenue from Humira through its newer immunology drugs Skyrizi and Rinvoqn, and has forecast sales of over $21 billion from the two products in 2027.

(Reporting by Nandhini Srinivasan in Bengaluru; Editing by Shinjini Ganguli)
Republican Sen. Marco Rubio. Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call via Getty Images

ABC's Jonathan Karl called out Sen. Marco Rubio during a tense exchange about the Chinese spy balloon.

Rubio said Biden should not have "waited so long" to tell people about the balloon.

But Karl said Trump did not disclose three balloon sightings that happened during his term.

ABC anchor Jonathan Karl called out Sen. Marco Rubio during a tense exchange on Sunday about the Chinese spy balloon.

During Rubio's appearance on ABC's "This Week," the Florida senator was asked if President Joe Biden should have acted against the military's advice and shot the suspected spy balloon down over the US mainland. The balloon was spotted floating over Montana, near a nuclear missile base.

Rubio conceded that falling debris from the balloon "could hurt, harm, or kill people." But the senator also hit out at Biden for what he said was weakness in the face of China's provocations.

"I don't know why they waited so long to tell people about this, and they knew the trajectory that it was on it seems from late last week, or early last week," said Rubio, the vice-chairman of the Senate intelligence committee.

In response, Karl said former President Donald Trump did not disclose three different sightings of Chinese balloons during his term.

"And we're also told, by the way, that this happened three times under the previous president," Karl said. "Obviously, there were no public notifications there."

Rubio did not respond to Karl's rebuttal on-air and thanked Karl before the segment ended.

The Chinese balloon in question was shot down by the Air Force over the Atlantic Ocean on Saturday. And while Republicans have argued that Trump would have shot down the balloon sooner to send a message to China, senior Pentagon officials said on Saturday that balloons from China moved into US air space at least three times during Trump's term. The officials did not say if these balloons were shot down.

"PRC government surveillance balloons transited the continental United States briefly at least three times during the prior administration and once that we know of at the beginning of this administration, but never for this duration of time," a senior defense official said at the Pentagon's news conference.

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The Trump administration might not have known about the three previous instances of balloons crossing into US airspace. Senior defense officials told both The Wall Street Journal and The Washington Post that the sightings were only discovered "after the prior administration left."

Trump has denied that any balloons crossed into US airspace during his term.

"It never happened with us under the Trump administration and if it did, we would have shot it down immediately," Trump told Fox News Digital. "It's disinformation."

Trump has also been ranting about the Chinese balloon on his Truth Social page.

"The Chinese would never have floated the Blimp ("Balloon") over the United States if I were President!!!" Trump wrote on Sunday night.

Representatives for Rubio and Trump did not immediately respond to Insider's requests for comment.

Read the original article on Business Insider
NEW DELHI (AP)  Hundreds of demonstrators from India's main opposition party turned out Monday in India's capital New Delhi and other cities demanding an investigation into allegations of fraud and stock price manipulation by Indias second-biggest business group, headed by coal mining tycoon Gautam Adani.

The Adani Group said Monday that its major investors, known in India as promoters," had pledged to prepay $1.1 billion in share-backed loans due for repayment by September 2024. The repayments include shares in Adani's ports business, Adani Green Energy and Adani Transmission.

Shares in Adani Ports & Special Economic Zone jumped 9% after the announcement.

Members of the opposition Congress party have been urging Prime Minister Narendra Modi to order an investigation into Adani Group companies after a U.S.-based short-selling firm, Hindenburg Research, accused them of various fraudulent practices. The Adani group has denied any wrongdoing.

In New Delhi, Congress Party workers threw fake currency notes in the air and chanted slogans. Some burnt a suitcase plastered with images of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Adani. Some protesters scaled police barricades and were detained and taken away in police vans.

Opposition party workers in the financial capital, Mumbai, and in the southern city of Chennai gathered outside the offices of a state-run bank and the country's largest insurer, which known to have investments in Adani shares.

So far, there is no sign the fracas was spreading across Indias financial sector and the protests are more a reflection of political theater rather than spontaneous public outrage. Lawmakers disrupted Parliament proceedings for a third day on Monday as calls mounted for Indias market regulator to look into Hindenburgs claims.

Adani and his companies have lost tens of billions of dollars as investors dumped their shares. Last week, the Adani Group cancelled a $2.5 billion share offering, promising to provide refunds to investors.

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The billionaire's fortune had swelled by more than 2,000% in recent years. Critics say he has benefited from strong relationships with Modi and his government, while others point out he also prospered under previous administrations.

What action has been taken, if ever, to investigate the serious allegations made over the years against the Adani Group? Jairam Ramesh, the Congress Partys general secretary, said in a statement issued over the weekend. Is there any hope of a fair and impartial investigation under you? he said in a reference to Modi.

Shares in Adani Enterprises, the group's flagship, wobbled Monday and were down 2.1% by mid-afternoon Monday. Its market value has shrunk by more than 50% since the Hindenburg report. Stock in five other Adani listed companies fell 5% to 10%.

The move by Adani to repay share-backed borrowing early addressed one of the key concerns raised by Hindenburg: heavy borrowing using group shares as collateral. Adani said in a written statement that the pledge by major shareholders to repay that debt was in continuation of promoter's assurance to prepay all share-backed financing."

The wild swings in share prices have highlighted concerns over corporate governance, especially as the country tries to woo foreign investors.

On Saturday, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) issued a rare statement seeking to calm investors.

During the past week, unusual price movement in the stocks of a business conglomerate has been observed, Indias market regulator said, without naming the Adani Group. It said mechanisms were in place to deal with volatility in specific stocks. The SEBI would examine any information before taking appropriate action," it said.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday dismissed concerns the controversy would alarm global investors, saying India's financial markets are very well regulated.

Hindenburg's report said it was betting against the seven main publicly listed Adani companies, judging them to have an 85% downside, purely on a fundamental basis owing to sky-high valuations.

Adani built a fortune in trading and in coal mining and then branched into construction, power generation, operation of ports and airports, manufacturing defense equipment and running a media company.

Before the latest troubles, Bloomberg's Billionaire Index listed Adani as Asia's richest person and the world's third wealthiest. Bloomberg's rankings now put him at 21st wealthiest after his net worth sank to $59 billion from $120 billion.
Aiden Fucci entered a plea of guilty Tuesday morning in the 2021 killing of St. Johns County 13-year-old Tristyn Bailey.

Judge R. Lee Smith accepted Fuccis plea to the count of first-degree murder.

Fucci made a very brief statement, saying, Im sorry for the Bailey family and my family.

Fucci will appear in court again on Feb. 23 for a status hearing and Smith said a sentencing date will be chosen then.

Read: Prosecutors: 14-year-old Florida boy stabbed 13-year-old girl 114 times, now being charged as an adult

The sentencing is expected to take two days.

Fuccis defense team filed a motion Wednesday morning requesting the trial be pushed back. Smith denied that motion.

Fucci is being charged as an adult with first-degree premeditated murder. Jury selection in his trial was set to start Monday prior to his guilty plea.

Read: Crystal Smith, mother of 13-year-old accused of murder, arrested for tampering with evidence

Last month, Action News Jax told you when Smith agreed with the states motion for a six-person jury. Prosecutors argued there is no constitutional right to a 12-person jury. Thats because Fucci is a minor and cant receive the death penalty.

Fucci is accused of killing Tristyn on Mothers Day in 2021. Investigators said he stabbed Tristyn more than 100 times in Durbin Crossing, less than a half-mile from Fuccis house in the neighborhood where they both lived.

St. Johns County Sheriff Robert Hardwick released the following statement about the plea:

Aiden Fuccis decision to enter a guilty plea today is nothing more than a testament to the hard work and dedication of the exceptional men and women of the St. Johns County Sheriffs Office (SJSO). This was an allout agency effort.

This was also an incredible community effort. The citizens of St. Johns County always show up and this case was no different. The immediate assistance from our community reaffirms the partnership we have with our citizens. The support they showed the Bailey Family was something special to witness.

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The trial preparation process is just as tedious as the investigation itself. The detectives have not stopped working this case since the initial call we received. The State Attorneys Office immediately went to work upon Fuccis arrest and has put forth countless hours to prepare for today. SJSO has worked hand-in-hand with the State Attorneys Office and we couldnt be more appreciative of the partnership. Additionally, Id like to thank the Jacksonville Sheriffs Office for their unwavering assistance since the start of this case.

Lastly, the cooperation between our agency and the Bailey Family has been unparalleled. Their strength and grace throughout this case has been incredible. This agency will forever be connected to the Bailey Family and this community will forever be #BaileyStrong.

Channel 9s sister station, Action News Jax, compiled this report.

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.
An Akron woman pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter Friday in the shooting death of her boyfriend last January.

Princess Fitzgerald had been scheduled to go on trial for murder Monday in Summit County Common Pleas Court.

Fitzgerald, 35, instead accepted a plea deal that allowed her to avoid a potential life sentence.

Summit County Common Pleas Judge Tammy O'Brien

Judge Tammy OBrien will sentence Fitzgerald on March 23.

Were pleased that the state took the time to analyze this case in depth and were further thrilled that we were able to come to a resolution, said Jeff Laybourne, Fitzgeralds attorney.

Fitzgerald was arrested in the shooting death of Lacey Claxton, her on-again/off-again boyfriend with whom she had a volatile relationship and a child in common.

Claxton, 47, was found unresponsive Jan. 30, 2021, with a gunshot wound in the 800 block of West Thornton Street in Akrons University Park neighborhood. He was later pronounced dead at the scene.

Police said detectives quickly gathered information that identified Fitzgerald as a person of interest. Detectives also found that Claxtons car was stolen and issued a warrant.

More:Woman accused of shooting man in Akron has been arrested

The U.S. Marshal Service arrested Fitzgerald at few days later in Columbus. She was returned to Akron and booked into the Summit County Jail.

Claxtons car was found, police said.

Fitzgerald pleads guilty to manslaughter and other charges

Fitzgerald pleaded guilty during a video hearing Friday morning to voluntary manslaughter, a first-degree felony, with a three-year gun specification; and tampering with evidence and having weapons under disability, both third-degree felonies. The weapons charge means a person was prohibited from having a gun because of a prior conviction.

Fitzgerald also pleaded guilty to an unrelated charge of having weapons under disability and a probation violation.

Prosecutors agreed to dismiss the other charges against Fitzgerald, which included felonious assault and domestic violence.

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Fitzgerald faces 11 to 16 years for the manslaughter charge, three years on the gun specification and possibly additional time on the other charges. With no agreed-upon penalty, the attorneys will be free to suggest what they see as the appropriate sentence.

OBrien ordered a pre-sentence investigation by the probation department of Fitzgeralds background and a victim-impact statement.

Had the case gone to trial, Laybourne planned to argue this was self-defense.

We felt strongly about the validity of the claim, Laybourne said. In an effort to mitigate the risk, she accepted a plea to the reduced charge.

Stephanie Warsmith can be reached at swarsmith@thebeaconjournal.com, 330-996-3705 and on Twitter: @swarsmithabj.

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Akron woman pleads guilty to manslaughter in shooting of boyfriend
A judge ruled Monday he will allow jurors to hear evidence that disgraced South Carolina attorney Alex Murdaugh was stealing money from his law firm and clients and committing other financial crimes long before his wife and son were killed in 2021.

Prosecutors have said those witnesses are key to their case in Murdaugh's double murder trial to show he was worried his alleged crimes were about to be discovered and that Murdaugh killed his family to get sympathy and buy time to cover up the missing money.

Murdaugh, 54, is standing trial in the shootings of his 52-year-old wife, Maggie, and 22-year-old son, Paul, on June 7, 2021, at their Colleton County home. He faces 30 years to life in prison if convicted of murder.

The defense argued that prosecutors want to smear Alex Murdaugh with details of his finances because they have lots of evidence he stole money but none on the killings. Murdaugh's lawyers said it is ridiculous that a lawyer would think scrutiny into his life would be diminished by the brutal deaths of his family.

In explaining his ruling, Judge Clifton Newman said the jury is entitled to consider whether Murdaugh's apparent desperation and dire financial situation resulted in the killings of his family.

Newman said he didn't think the financial crime evidence alone would persuade the jury to convict Murdaugh of murder.

The decision means jurors over the next several days will hear from witnesses who testified previously before a judge about how Murdaugh secured $4 million in settlements for the family of the longtime Murdaugh housekeeper who died in a fall. He allegedly kept the money for himself.

Other testimony includes the office manager confronting Murdaugh over almost $800,000 in missing law firm fees the day of the killings and how a key hearing in a wrongful death lawsuit that might reveal the true condition of Murdaugh's finances was scheduled for three days after his wife and son were shot. The hearing was cancelled.

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Early Monday afternoon, the woman taking care of Alex Murdaugh's mother testified about how he stopped by to visit her the night of the killings. Murdaugh said he found the bodies after seeing his mother, who has dementia.

Shelley Smith testified Monday that was the first time she saw Murdaugh visit his mother during her 8 p.m. at 8 a.m. shift, although during cross-examination the defense brought up a statement Smith previously made to a state agent in which she said Murdaugh has visited late at night before and was the most frequent visitor among his siblings.

Alex Murdaugh stayed about 20 minutes or so, laying beside his mother and holding her hand, Smith said. She didn't notice any blood on him.

Smith also testified that Alex Murdaugh visited nine days after the killings at 6:30 a.m. and was carrying a blue tarp. In their opening statement, prosecutors mentioned a blue rain coat with gunshot residue on it. Defense attorney Jim Griffin spent several minutes getting Smith to say the item was big, like a tarp, not a raincoat.

The defense then asked Judge Newman to prevent any other witnesses from testifying about the raincoat, but Newman initially refused. A state agent testified Monday afternoon that a blue poncho was found in Murdaugh's mother's home by agents looking for a blue tarp three months after the killings.

Before a state agent could testify about whether anything was found on the garment, the defense asked again for the judge to prevent the witness from testifying further. Newman adjourned court without a ruling.

They have no evidence connecting Mr. Murdaugh to that rain jacket, Griffin said.

Newman's decision to allow evidence of Alex Murdaugh's possible financial crimes came after hearing from a potential witness Monday  a lawyer representing a family suing Murdaugh over a boat crash killed 19-year-old Mallory Beach in 2019. Alex's son Paul Murdaugh was driving the boat and faced a felony charge of boating under the influence at the time of his death.

When Alex Murdaugh called 911 and first spoke to investigators after his wife and son were killed, he mentioned people who knew Beach being angry with his son.

Beach family attorney Mark Tinsley said Alex Murdaugh and his lawyer were working hard to keep his financial information out of Tinsley's hands when the killings happened.

Pretty quickly I recognized, the case against Alex, if he was the victim of some vigilante, would in fact be over, Tinsley said.

He said Murdaugh's lawyer told him Alex Murdaugh was broke, but Tinsley didn't believe it given what appeared to be a successful law practice and his family's generational wealth. He said justice called for damages from Murdaugh because they could not bring Beach back.

The Beach family stood on the causeway for eight days while their daughter's body was in the water, Tinsley said. "I dont know there is any amount of money somebody would willingly take to go through what they went through.
Target 11 has learned Allegheny County police will assist Pittsburgh police with downtown patrols.

Allegheny County Superintendent Chris Kearns confirmed the department will coordinate with the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police and Port Authority Police.

Breaking: Target 11 has confirmed that Allegheny County police will begin assisting City of Pgh police with downtown patrols to help with a recent uptick in violence. #wpxi  Rick Earle (@WPXIRickEarle) February 6, 2023





Uniformed officers in marked patrol cars will work in the central business district, Kearns said in an email.

The schedule and number of officers will vary.

TRENDING NOW:

Urgent evacuation order issued in East Palestine, explosion possible at train derailment site Grammy Awards 2023: See the complete winners list Person found shot inside car in Pittsburghs North Side dies at hospital VIDEO: Norfolk Southern sets up assistance center for people displaced by East Palestine train derailment DOWNLOAD the Channel 11 News app for breaking news alerts
Vice President Harriss allies rallied around her on Monday in response to a New York Times story in which Democratic officials, many anonymously, questioned her work in office thus far and whether she could be the standard-bearer for the party moving forward.

The Times reported that dozens of Democrats in the White House, on Capitol Hill and around the nation  including some who helped put her on the partys 2020 ticket  said she had not risen to the challenge of proving herself as a future leader of the party, much less the country.

The piece included an on-the-record quote from John Morgan, a Democratic fundraiser, in which he suggested Harriss readiness to serve as president would be a major attack line against President Biden in the 2024 election cycle.

Theres no shortage of people willing to throw shade anonymously and seemingly no shortage of publications willing to write it up and recycle beltway gossip, tweeted Kirsten Allen, Harriss press secretary, in response to the article.

Those still questioning the VPs role and impact are choosing not to see what is right in front of them, she added.

Allen went on to link to roughly a dozen news articles highlighting Harriss work in the administration over the past year, showing how the vice president has led outreach over abortion access after the fall of Roe v. Wade, spoken about efforts to replace lead pipes in water systems, promoted the Biden agenda around the country and abroad, and most recently spoken at the funeral of Tyre Nichols, who died after being beaten by Memphis police last month.

Symone Sanders, who previously served as Harriss press secretary and now hosts a show on MSNBC, suggested Harris is facing a fresh set of challenges because she is a historic 1st with historic outside expectations, but works within the reality of the vice presidency.

Sanders argued it was laughable for political sources to suggest they were unaware of Harriss work.

Story continues

I think people should just be honest and say they have chosen not to follow her work closely, she wrote on Twitter.

Rep. Robert Garcia (D-Calif.), a longtime Harris ally, added that he was tired of the BS criticizing Harris and offered to vouch for her for future stories.

Harris has been dogged by similar news stories throughout her first two years as vice president, with reports focusing on her frequent staff turnover, dysfunction within her office and her difficulties handling complex issues like voting rights and migration from Central America, a matter for which she has been tasked with leading the administrations response.

A new book by Chris Whipple titled The Fight of His Life about the Biden White House further detailed tensions between the presidents staff and the vice presidents team.

Harriss defenders argue some of those stories have been elevated because she is the first woman and first woman of color to serve in the role, and that the criticisms are rooted in sexism and racism.

But Harris holds a prominent place in Democratic politics as the potential heir apparent to Biden, who was the oldest president to be sworn into office in 2021 and would be 82 at the start of a potential second term. Biden is expected to run again, but it is unclear if Harris would clear the field of challengers if he ultimately decides not to.

Democratic National Committee chairman Jaime Harrison came to Harriss defense on Monday.

I am proud of our Vice President, and my friend, @KamalaHarris. She has worked tirelessly to deliver for the American people in the Senate, across the country, & overseas, he tweeted. She is always there when we need her!

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
The search for a killer continues as family and friends are mourning the loss of a well-known club owner.

Michael Gidewon was an impactful person in Atlantas night life industry.

Police found him shot to death in front of one of his clubs in midtown Saturday morning.

Channel 2s Tyisha Fernandes was outside of the Republic Lounge on Brady Avenue Monday, where there was a growing memorial for Gidewon.

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Fernandes talked to celebrity radio host Frank Ski, who called Gidewon a friend and colleague.

He was just such a great person, Ski said. Who would do something like that? Truly, it was shocking, like impossible.

Police are still working to determine who the shooter was, but a witness who works at the club said the gunman was a man Gidewon had kicked out for being too drunk.

Ski said Gidewon exuded calm and treated everyone with respect.

Mike Gidewon had this calm about him. He was cool and collected, Ski said. He was extremely brilliant and smart. he treated everybody like they were equal.

TRENDING STORIES:

Ski said the violence in Atlanta is out of control.

What Ive been seeing really on social media thats really gotten to me is how many people say they dont like this new Atlanta. Like, this new Atlanta is evil, Ski said. Its something about it. Theres something happening in our city thats not why people moved here.

Gidewons family are from Eritrea, a small country in Africa. Theyre a tight-knit family that came from humble beginnings and they own several businesses in Atlanta now.

Simon Guobadia, husband to Real Housewives Porsha Williams posted this on social media writing in part:

Shocking on the news of your passing is an understatement. As a family man, your loss touches me to my core.

Story continues

Channel 2 Action News reached out to Guobadia who provided the following statement:

My family and friends are devastated by the loss of Michael Gidewon. He was one of my friends. We jointly owned The Republic Lounge. He operated the lounge on a daily basis.

Celebrity fashion stylist Jeremy Haynes posted on Instagram:

My brother, My friend, My role model. God please watch over my family as we morn the loss of an amazing father, brother, friend & most importantly husband.

Loved ones told Channel 2 Action News Gidewon was originally from the east African country Eritrea and family held a private gathering at Eritrean - American community center Sunday.

Olga Rodriguez told Channel 2 Action she heard the gunfire.

We heard the shots 6:30 in the morning sounded like five of them honestly and when I came to walk my dogs everything was blocked off and its just scary you know, she said.

There are surveillance cameras outside but police have not said if they have video of the suspect.

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IN OTHER NEWS:
Hanoi-Quang Ninh railway project under reconsideration

The Ministry of Transport is going to reconsider the Yen Vien - Pha Lai - Ha Long - Cai Lan railway project in 2024 after it has been suspended for nearly 20 years due to investment problems.









The Yen Vien - Pha Lai - Ha Long - Cai Lan railway project in 2024 after has been suspended for nearly 20 years due to investment problems.

The VND7,665 billion (USD326.30 million)-government invested 131-km project started in May 2005, running from Yen Vien Station in Hanoi through Bac Ninh, Hai Duong provinces, and ending at Cai Lan Port in Quang Ninh Province.



About 43 kilometres of the 131 km rail track was planned to be newly built while the remaining 88 kilometres would be upgraded from the existing Kep - Ha Long railway line.



The project was expected to become a key component in the development of the northern economy, particularly in connecting two corridors and an economic belt between Vietnam and China.



Although scheduled to be put into operation in 2011, only a third of the project had been completed and the transport ministry explained this was due to a shortage in investment.



Many of the constructions are now covered in moss and badly deteriorated. Local residents have complained about their lives being badly affected by the sluggish project.



The ministry recently asked the Railway Project Management Board to look into the project again and make a new construction plan for approval in 2024.
Save big on last-minute Easter chocolate at Amazon Canada.

With Easter just a few days away, the clock is ticking if you still plan to pick up any sweet treats. In case you still need some last-minute gifts, Amazon Canada's latest sale on Easter chocolate has you covered.

Shoppers can score a selection of Lindt and Hershey's chocolates on sale in time for Easter, which falls on April 9 this year. You'll find everything from classic chocolate bars to decadent truffles and mini chocolate bites  perfect for filling those Easter baskets with treats.

Your favourites are up to 35 per cent off as part of this limited time sale, so be sure to stock up and save on these chocolates before they're gone.

REESE'S Foil Wrapped Solid Bunny. Image via Amazon.

Peanut butter lovers will be sure to love this delicious chocolate and peanut butter flavoured solid bunny.

$3 $5 at Amazon

Lindt LINDOR Egg Hunt Size Assorted Chocolate Eggs and Mini Eggs. Image via Amazon.

It wouldn't be Easter without eggs, and this large bag of assorted chocolate bites are a must-have.

$17 $20 at Amazon

Lindt GOLD BUNNY and LINDOR Milk Chocolate Easter Eggs. Image via Amazon.

This Easter gift set includes a classic milk chocolate gold bunny, plus four Lindor chocolate truffle eggs.

$12 $14 at Amazon

HERSHEY'S Assorted Chocolate Candy. Image via Amazon.

This bulk bag of candy includes 1.5kg of Reese's, OH Henry! & Cookies 'N' Creme snack sized bars to share.

$13 $21 at Amazon

Lindt Lindor Milk Chocolate Collection. Image via Amazon.

For a luxe gift that's sure to please, this boxed set comes with four Lindor milk chocolate bars, two Lindor milk chocolate sticks, plus your favourite Lindor Milk chocolate truffles.

$25 $38 at Amazon

Lindt Gold Bunny Milk Chocolate Gift Box. Image via Amazon.

Spoil your loved ones (or yourself!) this Easter with this gift box that contains Lindts signature gold rabbits  one large and five minis.

$18 $24 at Amazon

Lindt Swiss Classic Assorted Mini Chocolates 2 x 500g. Image via Amazon.

For the ultimate chocolate fans, this assortment of two bags of mini chocolates works out to a whole kilogram of tasty treats.

$36 $50 at Amazon

Hershey's Full-Size Chocolate Bars - Assorted. Image via Amazon.

Chocolate lovers can indulge in this gift box filled with Reese, Oh Henry, Hershey's Cookies n' Creme, & SKOR bars.

$15 $20 at Amazon

Lindt LINDOR Deluxe Assorted Chocolate Truffles. Image via Amazon.

This boxed set of truffles includes a mix of creamy milk, rich dark, irresistible white and crunchy hazelnut chocolate flavours.

$21 $26 at Amazon

Lindt Lindor Milk Chocolate Heart. Image via Amazon.

This adorable gift box contains nothing but milk chocolate hearts  perfect for sharing with a loved one.

$11 $20 at Amazon

Lindt Lindor Milk Chocolate Mini Easter Eggs. Image via Amazon.

This bag of mini milk chocolates is the perfect addition to any Easter basket this season.

$10 $12 at Amazon

Let us know what you think by commenting below and tweeting @YahooStyleCA! Follow us on Twitter and Instagram.
By Anshuman Daga, Scott Murdoch and Svea Herbst-Bayliss

SINGAPORE/NEW YORK (Reuters) - Hindenburg Research's spectacular short bet against India's Adani group could lead other investors to consider using similar strategies in the South Asian nation but regulatory hurdles and shareholding constraints will make them tough to implement.

U.S.-based Hindenburg revealed a short position last month in the ports-to-cement conglomerate, alleging improper use of offshore tax havens and stock manipulation by the group, which Adani denies.

The report and its aftermath wiped out $110 billion from Adani's listed stocks in slightly more than a week, and its flagship Adani Enterprises was forced to abandon a $2.5 billion stock offering.

Short sellers typically sell borrowed securities and aim to buy these back at a lower price. Opaque corporate ownership, poor governance and weak regulatory oversight make Asia, including India and China, a tempting opportunity for short-sellers, said analysts and investors.

Hindenburg's bold bet against Adani could be seen as a template to its peers, as short-sellers look beyond the traditional markets for new targets that have seen a meteoric rise in stock values in the last few years.

"The report and subsequent media coverage means that a variety of investors who haven't been present in India may start looking at India," said Shriram Subramanian, founder of Bengaluru-based corporate governance and proxy advisory firm InGovern Research Services.

It is rare for investors to take short positions in securities of Indian companies. New York-based Hindenburg's position on Adani is the first such high-profile case in the last few decades.

"Many companies are promoter or founder led companies and they hold a high percentage of the shareholding," said Sharmila Gopinath, specialist adviser to the Asian Corporate Governance Association.

"And while short selling is a way to keep a check on controlling shareholders, companies with a good story would always be able fend them off."

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CHALLENGES

Most regulators in Asia take a dim view of short attacks by foreign companies in their respective markets, at times accusing them of manipulating markets and trying to engineer a crash for their own monetary gains.

"We see this time and again in developing markets that the local culture and rules of law are far from what western investors are used to," said Carson Block, founder of Muddy Waters Research and a prominent short seller.

In India, for example, naked short-selling, which involves selling shares without first borrowing them, is not permitted. Such positions are possible in some developed markets.

Securities rules in India also make it hard to quietly build short positions. Institutional investors are obliged to disclose their short positions upfront and there are other restrictions and registration requirements on foreign investors.

"The key for short sellers to earn profits depends on how capably they can establish the short position before others are aware of bad news," said Rencheng Wang, an associate professor of accounting at Singapore Management University.

Other major challenges for short-sellers in India include very high founder ownership, resulting in fewer investors available to borrow shares from, and very few companies having a deep pool of offshore securities, analysts say.

In Adani, for example, Hindenburg held the short positions through U.S.-traded bonds and non-Indian-traded derivatives.

"Because India, like many other emerging markets, constrains short selling, this limits the incentives for short-sellers to engage in public short campaigns in these markets," said Herve Stolowy and Luc Paugam, professors of accounting and management control at business school HEC Paris.

As a result, short-sellers have had limited success in Asia.

China's strict investment rules make it all but impossible to take short positions in domestic-listed Chinese stocks from overseas. Hong Kong shares which are targetted in short attacks can request a trading halt, limiting the potential damage.

Referring to the Adani development, Andrew Left, founder of U.S.-based short-seller Citron Research, said India now needed to decide whether it wanted to be like China or the United States.

"If it is China, then they will pursue Anderson and investigate him for wrongdoing," Left said, referring to Hindenburg's founder Nathan Anderson. "If it is the United States, regulators will look at Adani."

Left himself was banned from Hong Kong's market for five years in 2016 after he was found culpable of market misconduct related to the publication of a critical research report on property developer China Evergrande Group, whose liquidity troubles two years ago fuelled a property sector crisis in the mainland.

(Reporting by Anshuman Daga in Singapore, Scott Murdoch in Sydney, and Svea Herbst-Bayliss in New York; Editing by Sumeet Chatterjee and Muralikumar Anantharaman)
By John Revill

ZURICH (Reuters) -Switzerland is close to breaking with centuries of tradition as a neutral state, as a pro-Ukraine shift in the public and political mood puts pressure on the government to end a ban on exports of Swiss weapons to war zones.

Buyers of Swiss arms are legally prevented from re-exporting them, a restriction that some representing the country's large weapons industry say is now hurting trade.

Calls from Switzerland's European neighbours to allow such transfers to Kyiv have meanwhile grown louder as Russia's assault intensifies, and parliament's two security committees recommended that the rules be eased accordingly.

Lawmakers are divided on the issue.

"We want to be neutral, but we are part of the western world," said Thierry Burkart, leader of the centre-right FDP party, who has submitted a motion to the government to allow arms re-exports to countries with similar democratic values to Switzerland.

Under Swiss neutrality, which dates back to 1815 and is enshrined by treaty in 1907, Switzerland will not send weapons directly or indirectly to combatants in a war. It operates a separate embargo on arms sales to Ukraine and Russia.

Third countries can in theory apply to Bern to re-export Swiss weapons they have in their stocks, but permission is almost always denied.

"We shouldn't have the veto to stop others helping Ukraine. If we do that, we support Russia which is not a neutral position," Burkart told Reuters.

"Other countries want to support Ukraine and do something for the security and stability of Europe... They cannot understand why Switzerland has to say no."

Increasing numbers of Swiss voters agree. A survey by pollsters Sotomo published on Sunday showed 55% of respondents favour allowing weapons re-exports to Ukraine.

"If we had asked this question before the war..., the response would have probably been less than 25%. Talking about changing neutrality was a taboo in the past," Lukas Golder, co-director of pollsters GFS-Bern, told Reuters.

Story continues

MONEY TALKS?

The government - under pressure from abroad after rejecting German and Danish requests for permission to re-export Swiss armoured vehicles and ammunition for anti-aircraft tanks - said it would not prejudge parliamentary discussions.

Bern "adheres to the existing legal framework.. and will deal with the proposals in due course," said a spokesman for the Department of Economic Affairs, which oversees arms-related trade issues.

Burkart said he had received positive signals on a law change from other parties in the fragmented legislature.

The left-leaning Social Democrats say they are in favour of changes, as are the Green Liberals, although the Greens remain opposed.

Green MP Marionna Schlatter said allowing weapon deliveries to Ukraine risked a "slippery slope" towards ending all restrictions, and was incompatible with Switzerland's neutrality.

Meanwhile the right-wing Swiss People's Party (SVP), the lower house's largest party and traditionally staunch defenders of neutrality, now appears divided.

"Allowing arms shipments to a country involved in an armed conflict is ... destroying the basis of peace and prosperity in our country," said SVP lawmaker David Zuberbueler.

SVP member Werner Salzmann, who sits in the upper parliamentary house, disagrees, raising concerns in the Aargauer Zeitung daily about collateral damage to a Swiss defence industry that also backs the campaign for a law change.

The sector, which includes multinationals Lockheed Martin and Rheinmetall, sold 800 million Swiss francs' ($876 million) worth of armaments abroad in 2021 according to government data, putting it in the global top 15 of exporter nations.

Having a strong arms industry has gone hand in hand with the tradition of neutrality, but the balance of this duality may now be under threat, industry association SwissMem said.

"Some of our members have lost contracts or are no longer investing in Switzerland because of the current restrictions," said SwissMem director Stefan Brupbacher.

"Our current situation weakens our security policy..., hampers the credibility of our foreign policy and damages our companies," he said. "It's time to change."

($1 = 0.9132 Swiss francs)

(Reporting by John Revill; editing by John Stonestreet and Hugh Lawson)
A Missouri angler could become a world-record holder after reeling in an unexpected catch during a recent fishing trip, state officials say.

Travis Uebinger, of Auxvasse, was casting his line from his friends new boat back in January, hoping to snag a walleye or white bass from the Osage River, the Missouri Department of Conservation said in a Feb. 3 release.

We were really targeting a whole bag  anything that would bite, Uebinger said.

Something bit and Uebinger reeled it in, revealing a pale blue-gray fish he didnt think much of at first.

It was a blue sucker  a bottom feeder found in rivers across much of the U.S.  that weighed in at 11 pounds and 5 ounces.

I didnt know what it was, a sucker or a carp, he said. It was my friend who said it could be a state record.

Uebinger took the fish for a weigh in using a certified scale and it has been verified by Missouri officials as a state record, outweighing the previous record of 9 pounds and 14 ounces caught in 1997, the Department of Conservation said.

It could also be a world record, officials said.

The current blue sucker record is currently just 2 pounds and 12 ounces, as the organization that catalogs world records has specific rules for catches to qualify, officials said.

Uebingers blue sucker, which he caught using the pole-and-line method, should meet that criteria.

That would be amazing to have a world record, Uebinger said. Especially on a fish you werent targeting.

Despite the unappealing name, blue suckers taste good, officials say. But theyre quite bony compared to other fish and take more effort to properly prepare.

Uebinger wants to preserve his prized fish, not dine on it, he told officials. He plans to have that sucker mounted.

Pack of 20 bull sharks spotted on the prowl in heart of Australian city, video shows

Fish record stood for 32 years in Indiana. Its now been broken 3 times in 2 weeks

Crazy-looking cat caught by Missouri farmer is wild African animal, rescue group says

Rare ocean creature caught on video swimming sluggishly off Japan. See the encounter
Anthony Joshua will face Jermaine Franklin in London on 1 April, as AJ attempts to bounce back from two straight defeats by Oleksandr Usyk.

In falling to Usyk on points last August, Joshua failed to recapture the heavyweight titles that he lost to the unbeaten Ukrainian in 2021, when he also suffered a decision defeat.

Now the Briton will look to rebuild towards a world title shot, and his first hurdle will be a clash with Franklin at the O2 Arena in April.

The American, 29, was undefeated until he suffered a controversial, majority-decision loss to Dillian Whyte at Wembley Arena in November  as Joshua watched on at ringside.

Prior to that contest, Franklin was 21-0 with 14 knockout wins. Meanwhile, 33-year-old Joshua is 24-3, with 22 of his victories having come via stoppage.

Joshuas last win came in December 2020, when the Olympic gold medalist beat Kubrat Pulev via TKO in the ninth round at Wembley Arena.

He then took on Usyk in September 2021, surrendering the WBA, WBO, IBF and IBO heavyweight titles with a decision defeat at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London. Eleven months later, in his most recent bout, Joshua was outpointed by the southpaw in Jeddah.

Joshuas only other professional loss came in 2019 against Andy Ruiz Jr, who shockingly stopped AJ to end the Britons first reign as unified heavyweight champion. Later that year, Joshua beat the Mexican-American on points to regain the belts.
Some puppies purchased from commercial breeders were lethargic and sick, former employees told anti-puppy mill activists.

We told you so.

On May 19, 2016, then-Gov. Doug Ducey signed into law Senate Bill 1248, giving the state control over cities to regulate puppy-selling pet stores.

In doing so, Ducey was mighty generous to Companion Pets, Inc. (CPI), the operator of Arizona pet stores Animal Kingdom and Puppies n Love. But he and the Legislature majority harmed Phoenix, Tempe and Tucson, which had anti-puppy mill ordinances in place.

This strong-arming shunned local voices and adoption-only models that would have given rescues and county shelters promising, desperately needed opportunities to adopt out homeless animals within communities.

That decision still hurts consumers and facilitates animal cruelty.

$120,000 is not much of a 'penalty'

In a December announcement from Attorney General Mark Brnovichs office, the state and CPI President Frank Mineo entered into an Assurance of Discontinuance  in plain speak, I promise to stop what I have been doing  after the state investigated CPI over alleged violations of the Consumer Fraud Act.

CPI agreed to pay $120,000 in restitution to compensate affected consumers. The order also mandates actions designed to better protect customers where SB 1248 has failed  for example, in the origin of puppies, claims made about identity and designation of breeders, and the severing of ties with breeders cited by the USDA for direct violations under the Animal Welfare Act.

In 2020:Rescue groups try to undo 'puppy mill' law

Conservatively, it takes the sale of about 40 pet store puppies to offset a $120,000 penalty." CPI reportedly sells 6,000 dogs annually, mainly from brokers and out-of-state breeders.

According to The Humane Society of the United States, Suppliers of pet store puppies are largely puppy mills  commercial facilities that mass-produce puppies for sale without adequate attention to their physical, behavioral or psychological needs.

Best Friends Animal Society states, When you buy a puppy from a pet store or on the internet, youre most likely supporting a puppy mill, which is a factory farm for dogs.

Story continues

Let cities regulate pet dealers again

So, why does Arizona allow these operations?

Our lawmakers bowed to CPI, the National Federation of Independent Business and their lobbyists.

In his May 19, 2016, letter to Secretary of State Michele Reagan in which he touted his signing of SB 1248 and its banning of humane local ordinances, Gov. Ducey wrote, I would never, ever support any business operation that would endanger dogs and subject future generations of puppies to health risks and defects. That is not a business model welcome in the state of Arizona.

Well, Mr. Ducey, that is precisely the model of cruelty and fraud you gave us. But House Bill 2340, introduced by Rep. Amish Shah, can fix this error and help homeless animals.

It would repeal the state preemption of local ordinances regulating pet dealers.

We are now telling the Arizona Legislature yet again.

Pass HB 2340 into law.

Don Scott, a communications professional and certified change management practitioner, served as the state council chair in Arizona for The Humane Society of the United States from 2015 to 2021. Reach him at don.l.scott@sbcglobal.net.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Arizona forbid cities from stopping puppy mills. Then this happened
The Atlanta Police Department is asking for your help to find a missing teenager.

Officials say 15-year-old Clevan Aguilar had an episode before leaving his home in the 400 block of Pierce Avenue in Northwest Atlanta around 8 p.m.

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

Police said Aguilar is schizophrenic and got into an argument with his mother before disappearing.

Aguilar is six feet and three inches tall, weighing 150 pounds and was last seen wearing a black shirt, black pants, sandals, and a white & black Jordan book bag.

TRENDING STORIES:

Anyone who sees Aguilar or knows of his whereabouts is asked to contact APDs Special Victims Unit at (404) 546-4260, or Crime Stoppers at (404) 577-8477.

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IN OTHER NEWS:
If you're not sure where to start when looking for the next multi-bagger, there are a few key trends you should keep an eye out for. Firstly, we'd want to identify a growing return on capital employed (ROCE) and then alongside that, an ever-increasing base of capital employed. This shows us that it's a compounding machine, able to continually reinvest its earnings back into the business and generate higher returns. So on that note, Atlantic Navigation Holdings (Singapore) (Catalist:5UL) looks quite promising in regards to its trends of return on capital.

Return On Capital Employed (ROCE): What Is It?

If you haven't worked with ROCE before, it measures the 'return' (pre-tax profit) a company generates from capital employed in its business. The formula for this calculation on Atlantic Navigation Holdings (Singapore) is:

Return on Capital Employed = Earnings Before Interest and Tax (EBIT)  (Total Assets - Current Liabilities)

0.098 = US$11m  (US$154m - US$38m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to September 2022).

Thus, Atlantic Navigation Holdings (Singapore) has an ROCE of 9.8%. On its own that's a low return, but compared to the average of 3.4% generated by the Energy Services industry, it's much better.

See our latest analysis for Atlantic Navigation Holdings (Singapore)

roce

Historical performance is a great place to start when researching a stock so above you can see the gauge for Atlantic Navigation Holdings (Singapore)'s ROCE against it's prior returns. If you'd like to look at how Atlantic Navigation Holdings (Singapore) has performed in the past in other metrics, you can view this free graph of past earnings, revenue and cash flow.

What The Trend Of ROCE Can Tell Us

Shareholders will be relieved that Atlantic Navigation Holdings (Singapore) has broken into profitability. The company now earns 9.8% on its capital, because five years ago it was incurring losses. While returns have increased, the amount of capital employed by Atlantic Navigation Holdings (Singapore) has remained flat over the period. So while we're happy that the business is more efficient, just keep in mind that could mean that going forward the business is lacking areas to invest internally for growth. After all, a company can only become a long term multi-bagger if it continually reinvests in itself at high rates of return.

Story continues

Our Take On Atlantic Navigation Holdings (Singapore)'s ROCE

In summary, we're delighted to see that Atlantic Navigation Holdings (Singapore) has been able to increase efficiencies and earn higher rates of return on the same amount of capital. And since the stock has fallen 52% over the last five years, there might be an opportunity here. So researching this company further and determining whether or not these trends will continue seems justified.

One final note, you should learn about the 3 warning signs we've spotted with Atlantic Navigation Holdings (Singapore) (including 2 which are significant) .

For those who like to invest in solid companies, check out this free list of companies with solid balance sheets and high returns on equity.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.



This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.

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Arif Qazi/Insider;

A record number of attacks on electrical grids plunged thousands of Americans into darkness last year, as authorities worry neo-Nazis are targeting critical infrastructure

On the evening of December 3, the lights went out in Moore County.

For tens of thousands of central North Carolina residents among the Piedmont hills west of Fayetteville, electric heaters became useless against the cold, the internet went dead, and refrigerator fans spun to a halt. Traffic lights went dark at intersections, and cellphone batteries began to dwindle. Local authorities declared a state of emergency and, fearful over the prospect of unrest, enforced a curfew.

The outage was no accident: Attackers had rained gunfire on two electrical substations, the facilities that regulate and distribute electricity across the power grid, and knocked them out of operation. Law enforcement estimated millions of dollars in damages, and it took days for repair crews from Duke Energy working around the clock to finally bring everything back online. A federal investigation is underway.

As dramatic and costly as the Moore County power outage was, it wasn't an anomaly. An Insider investigation has found that attacks against the electrical grid nationwide are at an all-time high  and experts say the greatest threat comes from right-wing extremists seeking to sow chaos and accelerate the devolution of the social order. The investigation, which includes an analysis of newly released Department of Energy data, visits to substations, a review of law-enforcement records from nine jurisdictions, as well as neo-Nazi propaganda, and interviews with six power industry and extremism experts, found that attacks on the grid spiked dramatically last year, with a 72% increase over 2021.

According to Department of Energy statistics, human attacks were responsible for 171 "electric disturbance incidents" around the country in 2022, compared with 99 in 2021. (Insider's review of the data counted incidents that the Department of Energy labeled as the result of vandalism, sabotage, actual physical attack, cyber event, and suspicious activity.)

Story continues

The motivation for attacks on substations can vary wildly and usually remains unknown, as most perpetrators are never caught. But law-enforcement officials and researchers who study extremism say far-right zealots are increasingly intent on targeting the grid under the banner of neo-Nazi "accelerationism," or the theory that chaos and destabilizing violence will help bring about a race war. And despite the rapidly growing threat, experts say, efforts to secure the grid against attack are lagging, leaving huge swaths of our electrical infrastructure vulnerable to attack from a white supremacist movement looking to take advantage.

In the past year, the Department of Homeland Security has repeatedly warned of threats to critical infrastructure posed by "lone offenders and small groups motivated by a range of ideological beliefs." There are "continued calls for violence directed at US critical infrastructure," the agency warned in February of last year, "as a means to create chaos and advance ideological goals."

Though many disturbances at substations may be the result of petty vandalism or attempted burglaries, authorities are concerned about a more concerted targeting of critical infrastructure. Law-enforcement officials in Washington state warned utilities last year that white supremacists were plotting to take down the power grid, according to a December summary of two interagency task-force memos that Insider obtained through a records request.

Groups targeting electrical infrastructure "are connected with accelerationism," an emergency-management director at the state's Department of Commerce wrote, "and their goals are to increase social disruption, violence, and gain support for the superiority of the white race."

Attacks on a vulnerable critical infrastructure

The Moore County attack, the biggest of its kind last year, led to scrutiny of what law enforcement and power companies were doing to prevent similar attempts to take down the grid. A raft of disturbances in the Pacific Northwest that caused millions in damages further highlighted how substations appear to be a soft target.

In spite of years of warnings from the security community about the vulnerabilities of electric infrastructure to attack, the reality is that much of it remains relatively unsecured. Some substations don't even have video surveillance.

Two workers repairing one of the Moore County substations that were attacked in December. Photo by Peter Zay/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

The vast majority of attacks and vandalism on power stations in 2022, including the high-profile attacks in North Carolina, remain unsolved, according to an Insider analysis of the Department of Energy's database of such incidents and police records. Attackers are often able to cause damage and then flee well before utilities call law enforcement to the scene, according to police records from nine attacks obtained by Insider.

Insider visited four Pacific Northwest substations that have been attacked in the past three months. At each, there was a noticeable lack of security: Only one was patrolled by a guard. An Insider reporter walked around the perimeter of the others for 10 minutes each. At one substation, the hole attackers had cut into the fence nearly three weeks before had been repaired with plastic zip ties.

One substation that was attacked on November 28, just outside Portland, Oregon, neighbors a sheriff's station.

Virtually under the nose of the police, someone cut a hole in the substation fence, entered the control room, and slashed power to a wide swath of the suburbs east of Portland  including offices of the utility company and law enforcement, 911 audio shows.

"We have a huge power outage," the 911 dispatcher who took the call about the attack told a utility employee. "We're tired of this."

It's no wonder the dispatcher was tired: Just four days earlier, in the same county, two people had "used firearms to shoot up and disable numerous pieces of equipment and cause significant damage" at another substation, according to an internal memo from the utility obtained by Oregon Public Broadcasting and KUOW. The police took four hours to respond to the 911 call for that attack, according to records obtained by Insider.

Two hours after initially phoning the attack in, an employee for the utilities company again called law enforcement to ask when officers would be on the scene.

"This is critical infrastructure," they reminded the dispatcher, sounding exasperated.

An FBI representative declined to confirm the existence of an investigation into the two attacks near Portland, but the sheriff's office said it was cooperating with a federal investigation. No one has been arrested.

At four substations in Washington state's Pierce County, attackers broke into substations on Christmas Day and tampered with equipment, leading to arcs that cut power to 14,000 customers and caused approximately $3 million in damage.

It wasn't difficult for attackers to breach those substations, which are on suburban streets and protected only by a fence, with a pair of bolt cutters. Nor was there much surveillance. Two had signs advising that the station was being surveilled, but the police didn't take any footage into evidence, according to records obtained by Insider. At one of the stations, a camera was pointing directly at the electric panel, but it wasn't active, according to a police report.

The camera "used outdated 3G cell signal" and "no longer worked," utility employees told an officer.

Two suspects in those attacks were later charged based on an FBI analysis of cellphone records that found two devices were in the vicinity of each of the four substations when the attacks occurred, according to a charging document. After his arrest, one of the suspects told officers that they had cut power to rob a local business. He was later released from custody on orders to enter a substance-abuse program.

But most of the attacks in the past year remain unsolved, leaving a lack of data for researchers to determine the motivations behind them. Local law enforcement may also miss the signs an incident is ideologically motivated, some extremism experts worry, and not flag attacks to federal investigators.

"There is a dearth of knowledge within local and regional law enforcement to understand the early warning signs of more advanced terroristic threats," said Matt Kriner, a far-right researcher and managing director of the Accelerationist Research Consortium.

In Lewis County, Washington, 7,500 customers were knocked offline in June after an attacker caused a power arc at a substation located next to the utility's offices. Surveillance footage captured from a building next door shows a white pickup truck drive by, then a flash of the power arc. The police found a crowbar on the scene that someone had apparently used to break a lock on the fence, according to investigation files obtained by Insider. No arrests have been made, an FBI representative confirmed.

In Kern County, in southern California, someone fired a gun into a PG&E substation last July, leaving 1,100 customers without power and causing $3 million to $5 million in damage to the station, according to a representative for the utility and police documents obtained by Insider.

The police still have no suspects in the case, a representative for the sheriff's department said. "There have been no eyewitnesses to come forward," the person added, "if there are any."

Law enforcement and utility companies, though, say they're working to resolve the open cases and prevent further attacks. In an emailed statement, an FBI representative said the agency "remains vigilant" but had "not determined that a single individual or group is responsible or that incidents in different cities are linked."

"We're not sitting on our hands on this," said Brendan Armstrong, a security specialist at Seattle City Light. "We've all increased our security posture."

Extremists target the power grid

Extremist groups have targeted critical infrastructure for decades. In the 1970s, the anti-capitalist New World Liberation Front carried out more than 20 bombings on California's energy facilities. After 9/11 there was a surge in concern over Islamic extremist plots to target power, water, and transportation infrastructure. Ted Kaczynski, otherwise known as the Unabomber, explicitly called for targeting the energy sector in one of his essays. White supremacist propagandists have done the same, viewing it as the most effective way to cause chaos.

Conspiracy theorists and extremist movements abroad have also found critical infrastructure an appealing target. During the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic, a wave of arson attacks across Britain targeted cellphone towers based on the falsehood that 5G technology was somehow spreading the coronavirus.

But despite the long-standing relationship between a variety of extremist movements and critical infrastructure, four extremism researchers who spoke with Insider all agreed that the far-right had become the dominant player in targeting the grid. A study released last year by George Washington University's Program on Extremism found that as Salafi-jihadist plots from Islamic State supporters began to wane in about 2017, neo-Nazi attempts on infrastructure grew.

Researchers, law enforcement, and security experts say US neo-Nazi groups pose a growing threat to electrical infrastructure. Spencer Platt/Getty Images

"We saw a huge spike in white supremacist cases starting targeting critical infrastructure between 2020 and 2022," Ilana Krill, a research fellow at the Program on Extremism who was one of the study's authors, told Insider. "A disproportionate amount of these cases focused on the energy sector and substations."

The targeting of critical infrastructure has also coincided with a resurgence in one subset of the white supremacist movement: neo-Nazi accelerationists, a largely decentralized community of people who believe that through violent attacks such as bombings and shootings they can collapse society as we know it and build a white ethnostate in its place.

Multiple countries have designated accelerationist groups, such as the now-largely-defunct Atomwaffen and The Base, as international terrorist organizations. The ideology has inspired mass killings such as the 2019 Christchurch attack in New Zealand, which killed 51 people at two mosques, and is linked to several murders and mass shootings in the US.

A joint investigation last year from Insider, Welt Am Sonntag, and Politico that reviewed nearly 100,000 messages from encrypted neo-Nazi chat groups found accelerationists from across North America and Europe sharing information on bomb-making materials and discussing carrying out terrorist attacks.

Members of accelerationist groups have been charged with several plots in recent years to attack critical infrastructure. Brandon Clint Russell, a founder of Atomwaffen who kept a framed picture of the Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh on his dresser, was sentenced in 2018 to five years in prison for possession of dangerous explosives after discussing attacks on the energy sector. Five men, including three US Marine veterans, were indicted in North Carolina in 2021 and accused of plotting to use homemade thermite bombs to blow up the power grid. Three men from Ohio, Indiana, and Wisconsin pleaded guilty last year to conspiring to blow up electrical facilities in an attempt to further their neo-Nazi beliefs and instigate a race war.

"The critical-infrastructure element has become one of the core components of neo-fascist accelerationist movements in the US. It's become one of the targets du jour," said Jon Lewis, a researcher at the Program on Extremism who studies accelerationism.

In July, a 250-page online magazine began circulating through neo-Nazi channels on the messaging app Telegram. It was a work of accelerationist propaganda that looked like a mix between the glossy publications that ISIS distributed at the height of its insurgency, but filtered through the aesthetics of "Call Of Duty" and 4chan. Numerous sections, which Insider reviewed, contained calls for attacking critical infrastructure and instructional guides for how to knock out the power grid  claiming that "during a long-term outage, the masses will crumple and eat one another."

Even when it doesn't appear that white supremacists are behind certain outages, such as the botched burglary in Pierce County, accelerationist groups celebrate and sometimes take credit for attacks. Part of the movement's goal is to push the idea of targeting critical infrastructure further into the mainstream discourse, hoping to inspire lone actors to attack the grid.

"They don't really care who is doing the violence, who's doing the critical-infrastructure attacks," Lewis said. "They just want to be the spark that starts on fire."

The electric-industry response

Recent attacks in Washington, Oregon, and North Carolina aren't the first to raise hackles in the electric industry. A 2013 gun attack on a substation in Metcalf, near San Jose, was a major call to action.

In that case, saboteurs cut a fiber-optic cable to try to knock out communications and spent about 20 minutes shooting transformers from a short distance away in the middle of the night. Thousands of gallons of cooling oil leaked, causing the transformers to overheat, but no one ended up losing electricity.

The perpetrators left no fingerprints and were never caught, despite a $250,000 reward. Their professionalism put a chill into regulators like Jon Wellinghoff, who led the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission at the time. His team directed NERC, a self-regulatory group, to come up with reliability standards for critical substations  and looking back, he wishes it went further.

The standards didn't instruct utilities to follow a point-by-point checklist and instead simply stated they had to conduct risk assessments and come up with plans to protect their critical facilities, Wellinghoff said. The result was that relatively few substations received security improvements.

"A utility may have 100 substations in its territory and decide only two of them are critical," Wellinghoff said.

As a result, the overwhelming majority of America's more than 40,000 substations are like the ones Insider visited in Oregon: largely unguarded, barely surveilled, and protected by little more than a chain-link fence. That's partly because most of them can be taken offline without posing a risk to the broader system.

"Putting in a somewhat simplistic camera system and two-way voice communication could be $75,000," said Kevin Perry, a substation security auditor who retired in 2018. "When you start replacing chain-link fence with 10-foot-high or 12-foot-high solid barrier walls that are embedded 36 inches into the ground, that's a pretty big chunk of change."

Utilities would have to convince state regulators that passing on the cost of those investments to ratepayers is worth it, and there are only a few states where legislators have tried to mandate stronger defenses.

North Carolina and South Carolina lawmakers have proposed bills that would boost security requirements for electrical systems, and Arizona lawmakers have proposed upping criminal penalties. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission ordered NERC, the self-regulatory group, to consider creating new security requirements.

There have always been threats. Perry said frustrated or bored hunters had long been known to shoot at substations and other electrical infrastructure. Copper thieves  some of whom have been killed or injured  have also been a problem, he said.

There are also signs that extremists don't have detailed technical knowledge of the grid's weak points. Wellinghoff reviewed several pages on sabotaging electrical equipment from the accelerationist online magazine at Insider's request. He said he wasn't concerned.

"This is not really very sophisticated info," he said in an email. "Pretty rudimentary."

One issue that grid-security experts said they felt didn't get enough attention is the long lead time required to replace bulk power-transmission equipment. Utilities often build their substations according to custom specifications, and replacing a high-voltage transformer that is damaged beyond repair can take five years, said Perry. He said Russia's attacks on Ukraine's electrical infrastructure were adding to the demand.

The industry has responded by forming equipment-sharing pools. Richard Mroz, a former New Jersey utilities regulator who now works as a lobbyist and advisor to the group Protect Our Power, said he'd been heartened by the willingness of some state regulators to allow utilities to bill their customers for the cost of membership.

"Whether it's a terror cell or other domestic disgruntleds or someone who's just had a bad day, it doesn't matter," Mroz said. "We should take protective measures against threats."

Read the original article on Business Insider
By Renju Jose and Lewis Jackson

SYDNEY (Reuters) -Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will push for bipartisan support on a referendum that aims to set up an Indigenous consultative committee in parliament, when it meets on Monday for the first time this year.

The landmark referendum, to be held later this year, will establish an Indigenous "Voice", that can make representations to parliament on policies affecting them.

If passed, that would add language to its constitution - which cannot be amended without a referendum - to recognise Australia's Indigenous citizens for the first time.

A poll by The Australian newspaper released on Monday showed 56% of voters supported the change in the constitution, with 37% opposing it.

Australia is seeking to give more recognition to its Aboriginal people, who have inhabited the land for 60,000 years but track well below national averages on most socio-economic measures.

"I believe very firmly that Australians should take the opportunity that they'll have in the second half of this year to cast a vote for yes, to cast a vote to walk upon the path of reconciliation," Albanese told reporters in Canberra.

"It might just make some people's lives, some of the most disadvantaged people in our country, their lives better."

Albanese, who has staked much of his political capital on the referendum in a country that has only passed eight of them since becoming an independent nation, said he wanted to get "as much agreement as possible".

"This should be above politics," he said, adding he hoped to introduce the legislation in the current term of the parliament.

The federal opposition Liberal Party has not yet backed the referendum but a group, which includes some prominent Indigenous Australians and lawmakers, have launched a campaign against it.

They say it will not resolve the issues affecting the country's roughly one million Indigenous citizens.

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Opposition is also forming among progressives. A Greens party senator quit the party and moved to the crossbench on Monday because of concerns about to the Voice proposal. She first wants a treaty between the government and indigenous people, similar to what exists in New Zealand and Canada.

"Greens MPs, members and supporters have told me they want to support the Voice. This is at odds with the community of activists that are saying treaty before voice," said Senator Lidia Thorpe at a news conference on Monday.

Her exit complicates the passage of legislation through the senate, where the government is in minority. A combination of independent crossbench members and the Greens are needed to pass non-bipartisan legislation.

(Reporting by Renju Jose; Editing by Alasdair Pal, Stephen Coates and Michael Perry)
Law enforcement officials have identified the woman who was fatally shot by a police officer during a wellness check at home in Easton on Sunday.

Officers conducted a well-being check at a home on Spooner Street around 11:30 a.m. after receiving a 911 from an Ashland resident who said his mother, 56-year-old Marianne Griffiths, was inside and attempting to commit suicide by injecting herself with a dangerous amount of insulin, according to the Bristol District Attorneys Office.

Upon arrival at the home, officers encountered Griffiths, who ran downstairs and threatened to shoot the police and herself, the DAs office said. The officers inside immediately evacuated the other people in the home and exited the residence.

Griffiths then ran back upstairs, approached the front entry way to the home, and allegedly pointed what appeared to be a rifle at the officers, who were standing outside the home. An Easton officer then reportedly fired one shot, before retreating to cover.

Griffiths was struck once in the chest and pronounced dead at the scene.

Once police went back inside the home, they secured the rifle Griffiths was holding, which turned out to be a pump-action BB gun, according to the DAs office.

In a statement, the DAs office noted that a preliminary investigation indicated that Griffiths suffered from long-term mental health issues and suicidal ideation.

The police officer who fired the shot has been placed on paid administrative leave pending the results of the investigation.

State police detectives assigned to the DAs office are investigating the incident.

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

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

Follow Boston 25 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch Boston 25 News NOW
Baltimore Police have arrested two teens in connection with a Jan. 6 shooting outside South Baltimores Benjamin Franklin High School that injured a 16-year-old boy and a 15-year-old girl.

A 16-year-old boy was arrested Jan. 11, and a 17-year-old boy was arrested Friday in connection with the shooting on the 1100 block of Cambria Street in Brooklyn, where police said the suspects shot into a group of kids without warning, causing the two Benjamin Franklin High students to suffer non-life-threatening injuries.

Both suspects are charged with attempted first-degree murder, police said in a news release.

The shooting at 2 p.m. stopped the schools dismissal, and the school briefly went into lockdown as officers searched the area, according to school officials.

Both of the teenage suspects are being held at Central Booking and Intake Facility in Baltimore, according to police.
Photograph: David Dee Delgado/Reuters

The bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange firm founded by disgraced entrepreneur Sam Bankman-Fried is demanding refunds of donations made to politicians before its spectacular collapse last year.

In confidential messages sent to numerous political figures and action groups, FTX and its debtors are backing up their demand for the return of money donated by Bankman-Fried prior to the companys bankruptcy in November with the threat of legal action.

A press release from FTX dated Sunday states that any politician or group that does not make a voluntary refund faces the prospect of a bankruptcy court lawsuit to recover the money, plus interest accrued since the start of any action.

The company first announced its intention in December to try to claw back hundreds of millions of dollars in political donations to celebrities, charities and Republican and Democratic politicians.

Bankman-Fried, who has pleaded not guilty to criminal charges that he defrauded investors in FTX, is in detention at his parents home in California on $250m bail for now. The former billionaire, who conducted what prosecutors say was one of the biggest frauds in American history, was extradited from the Bahamas in December.

As well as political causes, Bankman-Fried and other members of FTX leadership donated large sums to charities, endowing the FTX Foundation and FTX Future Fund to promote his interests. The FTX Foundation had given away $140m, the organization reported in October.

The US attorney for the southern district of New York, Damian Williams, said Bankman-Fried and his colleagues siphoned off billions of dollars in customer funds from FTX to spend on luxury properties, other investments, political contributions and to prop up a hedge fund also set up by Bankman-Fried.

Presumably stung by the association with the failed company, many politicians, including several high-profile Democrats, have already either returned money they received or have set it aside to await further guidance.

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Beto ORourke, a Democratic former candidate in US Senate and gubernatorial races in Texas, sent back a check for $1m from Bankman-Fried in November, one week before FTX imploded. His campaign said at the time it was taken aback at the size of the unsolicited donation, the Texas Tribune reported.

The Democratic National Committee, and the partys senatorial and congressional campaign committees, have said they would return donations.

Experts say recovering payments to politicians and charities is likely to be one of the easier parts of the bankruptcy process for FTX.

Under US law, payments or transfers made within 90 days of bankruptcy are presumed to be preferential if they result in a creditor getting more than it would have been entitled to at the end of the bankruptcy process, and a clawback can attempt to recover the difference in the payments.

Despite making numerous sizeable charity donations of its own, FTX is warning those from whom it is seeking refunds that they may not give away any of the money.

Recipients are cautioned that making a payment or donation to a third party (including a charity) in the amount of any payment received from a FTX contributor does not prevent the FTX debtors from seeking recovery from the recipient or any subsequent transferee, the press release states.

FTX, once valued at $32bn, said last month it had recovered $5bn, not including assets seized by the Securities Commission of the Bahamas. The full scale of the losses, however, has not yet been calculated.
A Baton Rouge man has been identified as a suspect in the death of an Alexandria man last month, and police are asking for the public's help to find him.

The Alexandria Police Department named Desmond Lamonte Clowers, 45, as the suspect in the Jan. 20 shooting death of 34-year-old Alfred Jerome King.

Officers had gone to the 12th and Magnolia streets area around 1:22 a.m. after a call about someone being shot. They found King on the ground in front of some apartments in the 500 block of Magnolia Street.

Alfred Jerome King death:Alexandria man dies after being shot Friday morning

Invited by Rep. Troy Carter:Ronald Greenes mother will attend State of the Union address

He later died at a hospital. An investigation is continuing.

Anyone with information on the shooting or Clowers is asked to call detectives at 318-441-6416 or dispatch at 318-441-6559. People also can call CrimeStoppers of Cenla at 318-443-7867 or use its app at www.p3tips.com/community/mobile.

This article originally appeared on Alexandria Town Talk: Baton Rouge man named suspect in shooting death of Alfred Jerome King
Vancouver, British Columbia --News Direct-- Battery Mineral Resources Corp.

Battery Mineral Resources Corp. (TSXV: BMR) (OTCQB: BTRMF) (Battery or BMR or the Company) is very pleased to announce that it has completed agreements with the Comunidad Agricola Potrerillos Alto (Potrerillos Community) and the Comunidad Agricola Punitaqui (Punitaqui Community).

The Potrerillos Community is nearest in proximity to BMRs Cinabrio mine assets and the agreement will allow for surface exploration consisting of a ground magnetic survey, geological mapping, and sampling to identify potential new targets on grounds for which the Potrerillos Community has surface rights to. The agreement gives BMR personnel and its contractors the permission to access and conduct agreed upon surface work. The agreement also allows BMR to drill the potential targets to be defined within the first stage of exploration. These areas to be explored have not been previously examined, and ground magnetic surveys have been successfully used in the area as a first step to locating possible new target mineralization. Battery will hire members of the Potrerillos Community to assist in these endeavours at market rates of remuneration. BMR will now be able to follow up on any encouraging exploration results.

To support aid and improve the local community, BMR has also agreed to fund the construction of a water well for the people of Potrerillos. The well will directly benefit the people of Potrerillos for many years to come. Water sourced from this new well will be solely for members of the community for personal usage, replacing the current situation of water being trucked in to supply their community water reservoir. This new well will not only increase the amount of available water, but also lower the costs by eliminating the trucking of water that is currently taking place.

In addition to these new endeavours, BMR will continue to support the payment for the services of the individual in charge of the school nursery of the Cordillera de Potrerillos Alto School as it has been doing since September 2022.

Story continues

BMR is in the process of establishing a community engagement and meeting office at the Punitaqui copper processing plant site to be staffed by individuals at the expense of the Company. The office will allow for all persons in the direct area of influence of our operations to liaise in-person with Battery, at their convenience. The company hopes to have this new office in place in the coming weeks.

Other Agreements and Community Items

As previously reported, BMR has been working closely with Integratio Mediacao Social e Sustentabilidade (Integratio), a socio-environmental management, strategic relationship, and stakeholder engagement consultant group operating for over 17 years and based in Belo Horizonte, Brazil. Integratio and BMR have jointly completed a policy and strategy report that includes guidelines and standards for future social and community engagement and reporting. This policy is the foundation for positive, proactive, and mutually beneficial engagement and partnership with the local communities.

In addition, the company has agreements in place with the Punitaqui Community for surface right access to the Punitaqui copper processing plant and tailings areas and also the Dalmacia copper deposit to the south. Further to these surface rights agreements, BMR has agreed to a specific schedule with the municipality of Punitaqui regarding ore haulage from Cinabrio to Punitaqui copper processing plant. Out of an abundance of caution and for the safety of all concerned, the company agreed to limit the ore haulage from the Cinabrio and San Andres deposits to our Punitaqui copper processing plant to certain hours of the day and evening, and to reduce the frequency of trucking prior to and after school hours to minimize traffic in the area. This agreement was accomplished in collaboration with both the Chilean Environment Assessment Service (SEA) and the people of the Punitaqui Community during the submission of the Companys Environmental Impact Declaration (DIA).

Battery CEO Martin Kostuik states: We are delighted to have reached these mutually beneficial agreements with both the communities of Potrerillos and Punitaqui. The agreement with the community of Potrerillos emphasises the strong regard we have for our neighbours nearest the Cinabrio mine complex and our commitment toengage constructively with all the Companys stakeholders. This agreement will also allow BMR to potentially discover new mineralized areas on our claims near the Cinabrio mine complex. The agreement with the Punitaqui Community is very important because it succinctly addresses their main concerns surrounding the re-start of operations at Punitaqui. BMR strives to develop productive, ethical, and transparent relationships with our surrounding communities, and we view it as our duty to our shareholders and communities to promote sustainable growth supported by safe, and socially responsible business practices while developing long-term resources. We look forward to greatly advancing our relationships with the people of Potrerillos and Punitaqui as we continue working diligently to restart our Punitaqui copper mine in the coming months of early 2023.

Details of the Agreement with Potrerillos

To complete the geological tasks described above, the company will have a period of up to 12 weeks from the commencement of work. In addition to the surface geological work to be completed by BMR on the ground held by the Potrerillos Community, the Company funding is specifically for the exclusive construction of a well for the collection of groundwater for the use of the Potrerillos Community. The construction and operation of the well will be at the exclusive expense and risk of the Potrerillos Community.

Upon completion of the exploration work described above, BMR shall identify an area of interest within the Potrerillos Community land, which will be the subject of a possible lease for the purpose of continuing the exploration work. The Potrerillos Community shall assess the proposed area and may exclude parts of the land selected by BMR, which shall accept the exclusion of the areas designated by the Community. Once the surface area of interest has been agreed upon, the parties will sign a surface rights contract with a rental price per hectare, for each year of lease. The lease term will allow for five years for BMR to carry out exploration work and rent will be paid monthly. At the time of signing the lease, BMR will pay advance rent. This advance will be deducted from the monthly rent resulting from applying the value of the annual rent by the final number of hectares that BMR will require. The Community will allocate the upfront payment to the purchase of equipment for the water well referred to above.

About Battery Mineral Resources Corp.

Battery Mineral Resources is a battery minerals company providing shareholders exposure to the global mega-trend of electrification while being focused on growth through cash-flow, exploration, and acquisitions in favourable mining jurisdictions. Battery Minerals mission is the discovery, acquisition, and development of battery metals (namely cobalt, lithium, graphite, and copper), in North America, South America and South Korea, to become a premier and responsible supplier of battery minerals to the electrification marketplace. BMR is currently pursuing a near-term resumption of operations of the Punitaqui Mining Complex, a past copper-gold producer, in the Coquimbo region of Chile. BMR is the largest mineral claim holder in the historic Gowganda Cobalt-Silver Camp in Ontario, Canada, and continues to pursue a focused program to build on the recently announced, +1-million-pound high-grade cobalt resource at McAra. In addition, Battery Mineral owns 100% of ESI Energy Services, Inc. (including ESIs wholly owned USA operating subsidiary, Ozzies, Inc.), a profitable mainline pipeline and renewable energy equipment rental and sales company with operations in Alberta, Canada and Arizona, USA. Battery Minerals Resources is based in Canada and its shares are listed on the Toronto Venture Exchange under the symbol BMR and on the OTCQB under the symbol BTRMF. Further information about BMR and its projects can be found on www.bmrcorp.com.

For more information, please contact:

Martin Kostuik, CEO

Phone: +1 (604) 229 3830

info@bmrcorp.com

Mars Investor Relations

Phone: +1 (604) 335-1976

bmr@marsinvestorrelations.com

Harbor Access Corp.

Phone: 475-477-9402

jody.kane@harbor-access.com

Neither the TSXV nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSXV) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this press release.

Forward Looking Statements:

This news release includes certain forward-looking statements under applicable Canadian securities legislation. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Forward-looking statements reflect the beliefs, opinions and projections of the Company on the date the statements are made and are based upon a number of assumptions and estimates that, while considered reasonable by the Company, are inherently subject to significant business, economic, competitive, political and social uncertainties and contingencies. Many factors, both known and unknown, could cause actual results, performance, or achievements to be materially different from the results, performance or achievements that are or may be expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements and the parties have made assumptions and estimates based on or related to many of these factors. Such factors include, without limitation, the ability of the Company to obtain sufficient financing to complete exploration and development activities, the ability of the Company to secure the Advances under the Loan Agreement, timing of the completion of the Companys audit, risks related to share price and market conditions, the inherent risks involved in the mining, exploration and development of mineral properties, the ability of the Company to meet its anticipated development schedule, government regulation and fluctuating metal prices. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Battery undertakes no obligation to update publicly or otherwise revise any forward-looking statements contained herein, whether as a result of new information or future events or otherwise, except as may be required by law.

Contact Details

Martin Kostuik, CEO

+1 604-229-3830

info@bmrcorp.com

Company Website

https://bmrcorp.com/

View source version on newsdirect.com: https://newsdirect.com/news/battery-mineral-resources-corp-announces-community-and-social-initiatives-at-the-punitaqui-project-in-chile-554090198
Bed Bath & Beyond is spiraling toward bankruptcy. Michael Santiago/Getty Images

Bed Bath & Beyond's spiral toward bankruptcy is the result of four big missteps, Bloomberg reports.

The company missed out on the e-commerce boom and made its customers dependent on coupons.

But it also bet too big on private-label brands and initiated a too-ambitious stock buyback program.

Bed Bath & Beyond is spiraling toward bankruptcy, and it's the result of years of missteps and bad bets, according to a new Bloomberg article.

The housewares retailer recently missed payments on roughly $1 billion worth of bonds and is closing nearly 300 stores nationwide as it barrels toward a likely bankruptcy filing. But its challenges began years ago, with four key decisions leading to its financial woes, company insiders told Bloomberg.

Bed Bath & Beyond did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.

Here are Bed Bath & Beyond's biggest missteps over the years:

Missing out on the online shopping boom

Bed Bath & Beyond's success in brick-and-mortar retailing meant that it was slow to recognize the importance of e-commerce and invest in selling goods online.

One of the company's founders admitted as much during a recent interview with The Wall Street Journal.

"We missed the boat on the internet," cofounder Warren Eisenberg told the Journal, later adding: "We didn't realize fast enough how the internet would have such a major effect on retail."

Getting customers 'addicted' to coupons

Bed Bath & Beyond is famous for its "big blue" coupons, which are sent to millions of households and offer shoppers 20% off their purchases. And while those discounts drew customers into the stores and lifted profits in the short-term, they were a bad long-term strategy, the company's former president, Arthur Stark, told Bloomberg.

Stark likened the promotions to a drug and said that the company wasn't able to reduce its couponing programs without blowback from customers.

"Once you're addicted to it and your customer is addicted to it, it's a very difficult thing to wean them off of," he said.

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Betting big on private-label brands and cutting back on name brands

The company announced in 2020 that it would launch ten private-label brands as part of a three-year "transformation strategy" under then-CEO Mark Tritton. The goal was to have a third of its product assortment be private-label products within three years  Tritton wanted to launch six new private-label brands in the first five months of 2021 alone, Bloomberg reported.

But the new brands didn't resonate with customers, and supply chain snarls made producing the products a challenge. At the same time, Bed Bath & Beyond was low on cash and struggling to pay the vendors who supplied name-brand products, resulting in bare shelves.

By October, 40% of the company's inventory was out of stock.

The company announced in August 2022 that it would axe a third of its owned brands and reduce the amount of private-label products in its inventory by 20%. During a financial-update call at the time, the company said it would liquidate the remainder of its private-label products through sales and promotions, handing them off to third-party sellers, and canceling orders altogether.

"Our customer has communicated clearly that national brands are a really important part of their shopping experience with us," Mara Sirhal, Bed Bath & Beyond's brand president, said during a financial-update call.

Repurchasing too many shares

Beginning in October 2022, Tritton pledged to use company cash on stock buybacks, eventually to the tune of $1 billion shares within roughly a year.

But according to analysts who spoke with Bloomberg, the repurchasing program was too aggressive and was based on a faulty assumption that strong pandemic-era spending on housewares would continue long term.

Dennis Cantalupo, CEO of consulting firm Pulse Ratings, told Bloomberg that putting the money in the bank rather than initiating the buybacks would have allowed the company to survive for another six months at least.

Read the original article on Business Insider
BEIRUT (Reuters) - The judge investigating the deadly 2020 Beirut port blast said he had postponed interrogations of senior current and former officials that had been set to begin on Monday until a legal dispute over the extent of his powers can be resolved.

Last month Judge Tarek Bitar resumed his inquiry into the disastrous explosion that killed more than 220 people after a 13-month suspension caused by legal wrangling and high-level political pressure.

He issued charges against some of Lebanon's most powerful figures, including top prosecutor Ghassan Oueidat, who in turn filed charges against Bitar for allegedly exceeding his powers and ordered security forces not to obey Bitar's orders.

Bitar, who denies the accusations, had set interrogation sessions for about a dozen current and former officials in February, beginning with former ministers Ghazi Zeaiter and Nouhad Machnouk on Monday.

He had also set sessions for former prime minister Hassan Diab and the intelligence chief, Major General Abbas Ibrahim.

But Bitar told Reuters that he had indefinitely postponed the hearings until the dispute between his inquiry and the public prosecutor's office could be resolved and the investigation could "proceed in a proper manner".

Some 40 Lebanese lawmakers and groups representing judges and lawyers have called for Oueidat to reverse his decisions and allow Bitar to resume his investigation.

For his part, Oueidat has the support of Lebanon's long entrenched establishment, including the powerful, heavily armed Iran-backed Hezbollah group, which has fiercely opposed Bitar's investigation and accused him of bias.

The judicial stand-off has left little hope among many Lebanese of justice being served over the 2020 blast, raising concern the case will go the way of countless others in a country where impunity has long been the norm.

(Reporting by Timour Azhari; Editing by Mark Heinrich)
Were barely two months into 2023 and a new Ben Affleck meme has already dropped.

In case you missed it, Ben Affleck was spotted at the 65th annual Grammy Awards on Sunday 5 February looking like hed rather be, well, anywhere else.

The Gone Girl actor attended the 2023 Grammys with wife Jennifer Lopez, who presented the award for Best Pop Vocal Album. The newlyweds were seated towards the front of the stage, which allowed cameras to catch their every interaction and memeable expression.

In fact, the Massachusetts-native inspired yet another meme when he was seen at the Grammys wearing a blank expression and seemingly staring off in the distance as his wife danced in her seat to Stevie Wonders hit song, Higher Ground.

Unsurprisingly, Afflecks less than enthusiastic reaction to the Berry Gordy and Smokey Robinson musical tribute inspired thousands of memes, with Grammys viewers sharing their amused reactions on Twitter.

Ben Affleck looks like hed rather be at Dunkin, read one apt tweet from journalist Philip Lewis.

Ben Affleck looking miserable with J-Lo at the Grammys is giving me life, said another Twitter user, while one person wrote: However bad of a day youre having, I promise youre not as miserable as Ben Affleck at the Grammys right now.

im crying why does ben affleck look like hed rather die than be there, said someone else.

Ben Affleck looks like hed rather be at Dunkin #Grammys pic.twitter.com/tpRxT3x4ZJ  philip lewis (@Phil_Lewis_) February 6, 2023

Ben Affleck looking miserable with J.Lo at the Grammys is giving me life. pic.twitter.com/hMdhLnQLst  Jacqueline (@jacquelinejoyn) February 6, 2023

however bad of a day youre having, I promise youre not as miserable as Ben Affleck at the Grammys right now pic.twitter.com/OQxA54H9P1  Spencer Althouse (@SpencerAlthouse) February 6, 2023

im crying why does ben affleck look like hed rather die than be there  t (@dereonjean) February 6, 2023

Others found Afflecks deadpan expression to be quite relatable, as some people compared the Grammy Awards to any other work event.

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Ben Affleck is every guy at his wifes work party, one user tweeted, while another wrote: Ben Affleck at the Grammys is me any time I have to be on a zoom call.

Ben Affleck is every guy at his wifes work party #Grammys2023 #grammys pic.twitter.com/ge0X0IiKnC  Jeff Dwoskin Has A Podcast (@bigmacher) February 6, 2023

Ben Affleck at the Grammys is me any time I have to be on a zoom call. pic.twitter.com/V2eZZ14qos  jennifer (@themissjenn) February 6, 2023

For those who are unaware, Ben Affleck first achieved meme status in 2016 with the infamous Sad Affleck meme. The meme in question was taken from an interview he gave alongside Henry Cavill, in which the pair were asked how they felt about the mixed reviews of their film, Batman v Superman.

Although Cavill eventually answered the question, Affleck sat by his side in silence looking dispirited. The snippet was edited into a viral video, which zoomed in on Afflecks face, as Simon and Garfunkels Sound of Silence played in the background.

Affleck became a meme once more in 2020 when he was photographed struggling with his order of Dunkin iced coffees and Munchkins delivered to his door. Not to mention the iconic photograph of Affleck despondently smoking a cigarette thats now a popular meme.

During his (first) honeymoon with Jennifer Lopez in July 2022, Affleck inspired yet another meme when he was photographed mid-nap on a cruise of the Seine River.

Ben Affleck really endured years of memes and spilled Dunkin Donuts to come out the other side, passed out on a boat married to Jennifer Lopez, said one fan at the time. Incredible.

Follow here for live updates from the 2023 Grammys.
Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck at the 65th Grammy Awards at Crypto.com Arena on February 05, 2023 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo: Getty Images for The Recording Academy)

Don't let Ben Affleck's face at the Grammys fool you. According to Jennifer Lopez, they had the "best time" celebrating music's biggest night.

Affleck went viral for his facial reactions during the telecast as he looked "miserable" most of the night. At one moment, cameras may have caught Bennifer in a tiff. Neither Lopez nor Affleck has responded to speculation by strangers on the internet, but the Shotgun Wedding star may have subtly chimed in.

Lopez posted an Instagram Reel featuring several BTS shots from Sunday night, including some moments with Affleck. "Always the best time with my love, my husband," she captioned the post.

Affleck was trending during the show with people commenting on the multiple instances he seemed rather blase about the star-studded event. It was impossible not escape the headlines about him on Monday morning.

however bad of a day youre having, I promise youre not as miserable as Ben Affleck at the Grammys right now pic.twitter.com/OQxA54H9P1  Spencer Althouse (@SpencerAlthouse) February 6, 2023

Ben Affleck would rather be anywhere else than front row at the #Grammys2023 watching Stevie Wonder crush Higher Ground pic.twitter.com/82GwqZneNW  Matt Wilstein (@mattwilstein) February 6, 2023

Ben Affleck's face knew we were talking about it, and it looked right at us and spoke  pic.twitter.com/sd5yLQJI3V  Ben Affleck's Mood (@PetitPoulet75) February 6, 2023

What is J Lo saying? Jlo and Ben Affleck at the #GRAMMYs Where are my lip readers at?! #jlo #BenAffleck pic.twitter.com/NVJt3yQpFL  A M A N D A (@BasicCaliBetch) February 6, 2023

In the actor's defense, these awards shows can be really long and boring at times.

This isn't the first time Affleck's face has gone viral. In 2016, "Sad Affleck" became a meme after he was rather quiet during a junket interview for Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. There's also the "Ben Affleck Smoking Meme" that frequently pops up on social media, which stemmed from a paparazzi shot. The Oscar-winning actor opened up about the public perception of him and how the memes could impact his children.

"I think when I was young, people saw me as somebody who had too much or was successful too easily or looked like some kind of cavalier, insincere, callow frat guy. That was nothing like how I felt. I felt like this sort of insecure, anxious, overly verbal kid from Boston who had tried to break into this business and was dealing with his own stuff. But there is an interesting thing about how we come off versus who we are," Affleck told the Los Angeles Times last year.

"I got to a place where [the public perception] was so different from who I am that I just stopped reading and stopped caring," Affleck added. "But then, as my kids got older and started seeing the internet themselves, that's the difficult part. Even the 'Sad Affleck' meme  that was funny to me. I mean, there's nobody who hasn't felt that way at a junket. But then my kids see it and I think, 'Oh, are they going to think their dad is fundamentally sad or they have to worry about me?' That's really tough."

No word yet on if Affleck finds the Grammys memes amusing.
President Biden is set to deliver his second State of the Union address this week to a divided Congress, as the new House GOP majority seeks to stymie his agenda and investigate his family and administration.

The speech  before a joint session of Congress in the House chamber  is scheduled for Tuesday at 9 p.m. Eastern time. It will offer a preview of how Biden will seek to push forward his legislative priorities given the new power dynamics, and whether he will try to find common cause with Republicans in some areas.

The GOP majority will press ahead this week on some of its hot-button issues, with two House committees slated to hold hearings on the southern border, alleged Weaponization of the Federal Government and Twitters decision to limit the spread of a New York Post story in 2020 pertaining to President Bidens son Hunter Biden.

Fallout from the downing of a Chinese spy balloon will also be on full display this week, as lawmakers gear up for a classified briefing later in the month.

Biden to deliver State of the Union

With a GOP majority in the House, Biden is unlikely to see significant legislative success in the second half of his term. House Republicans have vowed to investigate the president, his family and members of his administration, seeking to put him on the defensive amid an uphill legislative push.

Those two dynamics will be on full display when the president delivers his State of the Union address on Tuesday, putting him face-to-face with the lawmakers staunchly opposed to his agenda, and the GOP investigators probing his administration.

This weeks speech  Bidens second State of the Union and third address before a joint session of Congress  will mark the first time Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) is seated behind him, taking the spot Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) held the past two years.

The speech comes at a particularly important time for relations between the White House and Capitol Hill, as Washington works to create a path forward on raising the debt ceiling.

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The U.S. hit its debt ceiling last month, prompting the Treasury Department to implement extraordinary measures. Those measures are expected to keep the U.S. from defaulting on its debt until June 5, giving lawmakers about four months to come to a consensus on the borrowing limit.

Biden is likely to renew his call for a clean debt ceiling increase during his speech on Tuesday, using his time on the dais to directly address House Republicans who are pushing for spending cuts tied to their support for raising the borrowing limit.

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg sought to highlight the differences between Democrats and Republicans when previewing Bidens speech on Sunday, noting that wages were up at the same time that unemployment was at record lows  the U.S. added 517,000 jobs last month.

And part of what I think youre going to see on Tuesday, when you see the presidents addressing the nation and the Congress in the State of the Union, is a reminder that this successful approach stands in stark contrast to a strategy that  that would focus on things like preserving tax cuts for millionaires and billionaires, looking at cutting Social Security and Medicare, which were hearing about from a lot of House Republicans, Buttigieg said during an appearance on ABCs This Week.

Biden on Tuesday will also likely discuss police reform, following the death of Tyre Nichols in Memphis. Nicholass parents will be at the speech after accepting an invitation from Rep. Steven Horsford (D-Nev.), the chair of the Congressional Black Caucus.

House hearings on Hunter Biden, Twitter, the border

The House is set to hold a trio of high-profile hearings this week, zeroing in on the situation at the southern border, Twitters role in suppressing the New York Post story about Hunter Biden in 2020 and alleged Weaponization of the Federal Government, as the newly minted Republican majority wields its investigative powers.

The House Oversight and Accountability Committee is slated to hold a hearing on Tuesday titled On The Front Lines of the Border Crisis: A Hearing with Chief Patrol Agents. Gloria Chavez, the chief patrol agent for the Rio Grande Valley Sector, and John Modlin, the chief patrol agent in the Tucson Sector, are slated to appear as witnesses.

The hearing marks the second in two weeks focused on the situation at the border.

On Wednesday, the Oversight Committee will come together for a hearing on Twitters decision to limit the spread of a New York Post story about Hunter Bidens laptop in the lead-up to the 2020 presidential election. Republicans have accused the social media platform of censoring the story for political purposes.

The hearing is titled Protecting Speech from Government Interference and Social Media Bias, Part 1: Twitters Role in Suppressing the Biden Laptop Story. Three former Twitter employees are slated to testify: Vijaya Gadde, who served as chief legal officer, James Baker, who was the companys deputy general counsel, and Yoel Roth, the ex-global head of trust and safety.

Finally on Thursday, the newly created Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government will hold its first hearing. The House passed a resolution in a party-line vote last month to create the panel, which is chaired by Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), who also leads the Judiciary Committee.

The select subcommittee is expected to probe investigations underway at the Justice Department and FBI that focus on former President Trump. It was created in response to calls from some Republicans for a Church-style investigation into the FBI, based on the 1970s probe into civil liberties violations by the intelligence community that was led by former Sen. Frank Church (D-Idaho).

Fallout from downing of Chinese spy balloon

The U.S. shot down a Chinese spy balloon off the Carolina coast on Saturday, capping off a days-long saga regarding the balloon that had been floating over the country. A recovery effort began shortly after to gather the remnants of the balloon.

Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) announced on Sunday that the full Senate will receive a classified briefing on China on Feb. 15, and a spokesperson for Schumer told The Hill that the Biden administration will brief the Gang of Eight next week on the balloon.

Democrats largely commended the Biden administration over the weekend for its efforts in shooting down the balloon, while some Republicans argued that it acted too slowly  a situation that will likely continue this week.

As usual when it comes to national defense and foreign policy, the Biden Administration reacted at first too indecisively and then too late, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), a member of the Gang of Eight, wrote in a statement Sunday. We should not have let the Peoples Republic of China make a mockery of our airspace.

This was a reminder of the [Peoples Republic of Chinas] brazenness and President Biden missed the opportunity to defend our sovereignty, send a message of strength, and bolster deterrence, he added.

Alex Bolton contributed.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
President Biden on Monday said hes deeply saddened by the destruction and loss of life in Turkey and Syria, where a massive earthquake has killed more than 2,300 people.

Jill and I were deeply saddened by the news of the devastating earthquakes that have thus far claimed thousands of lives in Turkiye and Syria.  Today, our hearts and our deepest condolences are with all those who have lost precious loved ones, those who are injured, and those who saw their homes and businesses destroyed, Biden said in a statement.

Biden spoke with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan later on Monday to express his condolences to offer help with recovery from the disaster.

He reaffirmed the readiness of the United States to provide any and all needed assistance to our NATO Ally Turkiye in response to this tragedy, according to a readout of the call released by the White House.

Biden also noted that U.S. teams are deploying quickly to support Turkish search and rescue efforts and coordinate other assistance that may be required by people affected by the earthquakes, including health services or basic relief items.

The president had authorized an immediate U.S. response and has been working closely with Turkey, a NATO ally.

At my direction, senior American officials reached out immediately to their Turkish counterparts to coordinate any and all needed assistance. Our teams are deploying quickly to begin to support Turkish search and rescue efforts and address the needs of those injured and displaced by the earthquake. U.S.-supported humanitarian partners are also responding to the destruction in Syria, Biden said.

A powerful 7.8-magnitude earthquake hit before dawn in Istanbul on Monday and was followed by intense aftershocks, some still above a 7 in magnitude  the most powerful shake to hit the region in decades. Hundreds of buildings were downed, trapping many in the wreckage.

The death toll has already climbed rapidly in the hours after the quake, and the number is expected to continue rising as rescuers comb the rubble in the coming days.

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National security adviser Jake Sullivan early Monday had said Biden directed the U.S. Agency for International Development and other government bodies to assess U.S. response options to help those most affected, Sullivan said.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Monday also expressed a deep sadness at the reports coming out of the region.

The United States expresses our deep sadness at the tragic loss of life and destruction across Turkiye and Syria from todays earthquakes. We extend our condolences to the families of those affected and are assessing our comprehensive response options, Blinken said in a statement.

The secretary said hes directed his team to stay in touch with Turkish allies and humanitarian partners to determine what the region needs.

Turkey houses a high number of refugees, who are expected to be among those most impacted by the earthquakes damage. Neighboring Syria has been plagued by an ongoing civil war for more than a decade.

Our initial assistance response to Turkiye is already underway, and U.S.-supported humanitarian organizations in Syria are responding to the earthquakes effects across the country. We are determined to do all that we can to help those affected by these earthquakes in the days, weeks, and months ahead, Blinken said.

Alex Gangitano contributed.

This story was updated at 6:24 p.m.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
The seriousness and sweep of an Erie-based international drug ring is becoming increasingly clear as the first of the 25 defendants in the case plead guilty and head to federal prison for dealing cocaine, methamphetamine or fentanyl.

Even the defendants accused of operating at the mid- or low levels of the massive case  one of the largest of its kind prosecuted in U.S. District Court in Erie  are getting exposed to lengthy prison terms.

The defendants charged in the highest levels of the case are accused of trafficking in as much as 220 pounds, or about 100 kilos, of powder and crack cocaine that originated in Costa Rica and was shipped from Puerto Rico to Erie from January 2020 to May 2022. The conspiracy also stretched into Florida, according to the government.

Cases advances:First guilty plea entered in 25-person Erie-based drug ring; 15,000 fentanyl pills mailed

The U.S. Attorney's Office put the street value of the cocaine at as much as $3.2 million and said gangs distributed the drugs on Erie's streets. The investigation started when postal inspectors intercepted packages of cocaine bound for Erie, according to court records.

The lead defendants  they include Eric Suarez Robles, of Orlando, Florida, and Victor Felix Ogando DeLeon, of San Juan, Puerto Rico  are still being prosecuted as some of the lesser defendants resolve their cases. The lead defendants, if convicted, would face maximum sentences of life because of the amount of the drugs involved.

The latest defendant in the case to get a better idea of his fate is Dante L. Husband, a 31-year-old Erie resident who played a limited role in the drug operations.

The federal courthouse in Erie has been the scene of guilty pleas and sentencings connected to the May 2022 indictment of 25 defendants on drug charges.

He pleaded guilty on Thursday to a felony county of possession with intent to distribute and distribution of about 4 ounces of methamphetamine, about 108.2 grams, in March 2022. It was the only charge that Husband faced in the case.

Husband is listed as the 22nd person on the indictment in the drug case. He is facing a mandatory minimum of five years and a maximum of 40 years in federal prison at his sentencing on May 25 before U.S. District Judge Susan Paradise Baxter, who accepted his plea.

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If Baxter decides to go beyond the mandatory minimum sentence, she will rely on the recommended federal sentencing guidelines, which take into account a defendant's guilty plea, prior record and other factors, she said in court. Husband has a prior record, and is being held in the Erie County Prison on a parole detainer related to a prior drug case, he told Baxter.

In the federal case, Husband pleaded guilty to selling the meth for $1,200 to an FBI "confidential source" in a sting at a residence in the 1900 block of Prospect Avenue in Erie on March 24, according to information the prosecutor, Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul Sellers, presented in court.

The government accused Husband of having something of a tangential role in the overall drug case. He was not charged with conspiracy  as were many of the other defendants  but was charged with dealing meth on his own. He nonetheless faces a significant sentence.

15,000 fentanyl pills leads to a sentence of 10 years

Another significant prison term was already given to the first defendant who pleaded guilty in the case. He is Vincent A. Feliciano, 32, an Erie resident. Baxter sentenced him on Wednesday to 10 years in prison and five years of supervised release for dealing in fentanyl, the highly addictive synthetic opioid. The indictment lists Feliciano as the 11th-highest defendant of the 25.

Feliciano pleaded guilty in October to being part of an operation in which he traveled to Arizona and helped mail 15,000 blue fentanyl pills from there to Erie between Feb. 28, 2022, and March 3, 2022. The pills were worth a total of about $75,000 on the street  $5 per pill  and weighed a total of about 4 pounds, or 1.7 kilograms, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.

The pills, known as "blues" because of their color, were disguised to look like legitimate oxycodone pills, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.

Feliciano pleaded guilty to the only two charges against him: one felony count each of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute illegal drugs, and use of mail in interstate commerce in aid of a business enterprise involving illegal drugs.

The charges against Feliciano carried a maximum sentence of life due to the amount of drugs involved. Under the plea deal, the U.S. Attorney's Office and and the defense recommended to Baxter that Feliciano get a sentence of 10 years in federal prison and forfeit $8,826 in cash  a recommendation that Baxter followed. The 10-year sentence represented the mandatory minimum sentence in the case and also was a term that fell within the recommended federal sentencing guidelines, according to the plea letter.

At the sentencing, Sellers, the prosecutor, highlighted the recent spike in the trafficking of fentanyl pills in Erie and how the pills have become more lethal for the users but more profitable for the dealers, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.

Feliciano's court-appointed lawyer, Michael DeRiso, of Pittsburgh, said the 10-year sentence was appropriate given the recommended sentencing guidelines, Feliciano's guilty plea and his difficult childhood, according to a sentencing memorandum. DeRiso in the memo said Feliciano's mother raised him as a single parent in a "low-income environment."

"Mr. Feliciano dropped out of high school in the ninth grade, resulting in his turning to the streets and criminal conduct and subsequently, periods of imprisonment," according to the memo.

Feliciano started using drugs at 13 and was addicted to fentanyl at the time he was charged in the federal case, according to the memo. It also states "it is beyond discussion that the offenses for which Mr. Feliciano stands convicted are serious."

A guilty plea for cocaine and fentanyl in Erie case

The other defendant in the drug case to plead guilty is Peter D. Gambill Jr., a 25-year-old Erie resident listed 16th in the indictment. He pleaded guilty on Dec. 6 to the only charge against him: the felony of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute cocaine and fentanyl in Erie from February to May 2022.

Gambill admitted to trafficking in cocaine totaling 4.4 pounds, or about 2 kilograms, and about 5.7 ounces of fentanyl, or about 160 grams, according to the plea letter in his case. About 1,000 fentanyl pills were involved, according to allegations in court records.

U.S. District Judge Susan Paradise Baxter is handling the case of 25 defendants indicted on charges of related to drug trafficking in Erie.

Gambill faces a mandatory minimum sentence of five years and a maximum sentence of 40 years, the same range as Husband. Gambill's sentencing is scheduled for March 31 before Baxter.

Gambill remains detained at the Erie County Prison. In ordering him detained, in June, Chief U.S. Magistrate Judge Richard A. Lanzillo noted in his detention order that Gambill has a prior record for violent behavior and is accused of trafficking in "up to 1,000 synthetic fentanyl pills."

"Fentanyl of the nature allegedly distributed by the Defendant is strongly associated with the death of countless individuals, including numerous members of this community," Lanzillo wrote in his detention order.

Contact Ed Palattella at epalattella@timesnews.com. Follow him on Twitter @ETNpalattella.

This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Fentanyl, cocaine, meth: Big Erie drug case yields more guilty pleas
Iparraguirre Recio via Getty

Tech companies worked to maintain their hold on foreign talent, but recent layoffs leave the future of visa holders uncertain.

The last update to H-1B visa availability was nearly 20 years ago despite the massive changes in industry.

Employee sponsored-residency binds many immigrant workers to their current employers.

For nearly a decade, Silicon Valley has worked to sway the political pendulum of immigration policy.

Since 2013, some of the highest-valued companies in the world have pumped millions of dollars into lobbying efforts, including immigration policies that support their dominance over the limited number of "high-skilled worker" visas in the United States.

The H-1B visa category was introduced in 1990 as a way for employers to advocate for foreign-born professionals to occupy "specialty" positions in emerging industries like engineering and medical sciences. At the time, the cap was set to 65,000 visas for employment that required at least a bachelor's degree, or the equivalent. The H-1B visa cap has remained relatively the same aside from an additional 20,000 visas allocated for master's or doctorate holders in 2006, despite massive changes in labor market and industry demands in the decades since.

With an increasing population of prospects and a stagnant number of available visas, the battle for international labor became especially fierce and Big Tech worked to maintain their top spot in ensuring global talent.

A reliance on global talent

Google, Meta, Apple, Amazon, and Microsoft spent nearly $70 million in federal lobbying in 2022. That number isn't so surprising as the past year set a precedent in Big Tech pushback with emerging legislation that proposes increased privacy protections, content moderation, and retribution for corporate infringements. Lobbying groups like the Computer and Communications Industry Association (CCIA), which represents corporations including Meta, Alphabet, and Twitter, ramped up its highest spending in the past 7 years in 2022.

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Big Tech has not only relied on global talent to maintain their demanding business endeavors but dominates the majority of the skilled-labor allowed into the country. In 2017, Amazon, Microsoft, Intel, and Google were in the top 10 employers for approved H-1B visa petitions, according to a National Foundation for American policy report. In 2021, nearly 70% of H-1B visa petition approvals went to "computer-related" occupations. With enough resources and access to top immigration lawyers, Big Tech has been able to receive approvals for nearly all of their H-1B visa petitions in past years, monopolizing most of the foreign-born technical workers.

Leaders of tech corporations have historically critiqued efforts to curtail H-1B visa distribution, calling the 2020 Trump-era visa freeze "incredibly bad policy." In the tech sphere's decade of exuberant growth, specialized and international labor appeared to be integral to their business models.

The limitations of the H-1B process

The recent waves of layoffs, however, have disparately impacted some of the immigrants recruited by these corporations. Laid off immigrant workers on H-1B visas have a 60 day grace period to secure another sponsorship or leave the country.

Sumeru Chatterjee, a former customer success manager in San Francisco, had been working in the United States for nearly a decade and even began to call it home. "I had a comfortable narrative in my head that this would continue to be my life. But the economic ripples of the COVID-19 pandemic made me realize the limitations of the H-1B process."

After he was laid off in 2020, Chatterjee also realized the 60 grace period wasn't as graceful as it seemed. "It's a pretty arbitrary number and during that time, you can't work part time, freelance, or pick up any gigs for extra income. Any future sponsorship must be of similar occupation and salary. Otherwise, you are deported at the end of your 60 days."

Many H-1B visa holders are stuck  yearslong delays and unprecedented backlogs to apply and receive Permanent Residency Cards leave workers precariously bound to their employers and new obstacles are erected with each wave of layoffs. Notably, many visa holders file the Program Electronic Review Management (PERM) through their employers as the first step to move from visa holder to permanent resident. However, after recent mass layoffs at Google, the company is pausing any future PERM applications, further entrenching visa holders in uncertainty, distress, and consequential loyalty to the corporation.

'You see the clock ticking'

Chatterjee, like many other former tech workers on work visas, relocated to Canada shortly after. There, he pointed out the vast differences in work immigration policy  workers who are laid off have until the duration of their work permit to find new employment, are able to access unemployment benefits, and have access to the national healthcare system. Most notably, the application for permanent residency is not tied to an employer, solving for the power imbalance many companies have over their H-1B visa holders in the United States.

The beginnings of many H-1B holders' 60-day sprints were marked with viral social media posts in search of new, sponsored employment. The response has involved a number of databases and resources like stillhiring.today that provide daily-updated information on hiring opportunities.

"Everyone is frustrated and nervous during times like this with mass layoffs," said Hannan Yunus Syed, a H-1B visa holder and former senior software engineer who was impacted by layoffs in January. "But H-1B holders are in a race against time  you see the clock ticking and you have 60 days to find your next gig else you see your dreams crumbling in front of you."

Read the original article on Insider
A desert bighorn ewe, left, and a bighorn lamb stand on rocks on North Soda Mountain along Zzyzx Road in Baker, Calif., in 2021. (Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times)

To most travelers on Interstate 15 between Barstow and Las Vegas, the Mojave Deserts jagged Soda Mountains rise above a seemingly lifeless wasteland of hellish sand dunes, lava flows and vast flatlands.

But scientists say the scorched terrain just half a mile north of the Mojave National Preserves aptly named Devils Playground is a deceptively delicate and vital ecosystem rich in wildlife: tortoises, foxes, badgers, bobcats and bighorn sheep.

Now, proposals to build a high-speed electric rail linking Southern California to Las Vegas and revive a long-dead solar project in the area have triggered a clash with conservationists over how best to ensure that bighorn sheep populations do not become genetically isolated  or wind up as roadkill.

Of particular concern was a recent announcement that the California Department of Fish and Wildlife is reviewing a revised version of the controversial Soda Mountain Solar Project that includes requests for permits to take, or fatally injure, desert tortoises, and alter desert washes during construction.

We cant let this solar project happen, said Chris Clarke of the nonprofit National Parks Conservation Assn.

The value of this landscape and its habitat, he said, far outweighs the value of energy the proposed project would generate.

Chris Clark of the National Parks Conservation Assn. walks along a trail in an area of the Mojave Desert that environmentalists say is threatened by proposals to build a high-speed rail linking Southern California and Las Vegas and a controversial solar project. (Louis Sahagun / Los Angeles Times)

For Mojave watchers, the situation is a crucial test of state Fish and Wildlifes ability to mediate compromises among the developers while also planning a sustainable future for complex and fragile ecological networks across the desert.

Critics worry that the solar project could jeopardize negotiations among federal rail officials, Caltrans, state wildlife authorities and the rail developer, Brightline West of Miami, to include three wildlife overcrossings in its $8-billion project, which would occupy the center divider of Interstate 15.

Zglobal, the Folsom, Calif. renewable energy company backing the Soda Mountain Solar Project, and Brightline were unavailable for comment.

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But Christina Aiello, a biologist at Oregon State University and expert on bighorn sheep along Interstate 15, said, Its a bit of a shock that this zombie solar project has reemerged from the dead.

In the worst-case scenario, it could lead bighorn sheep populations to avoid the region, which would render wildlife overcrossings a huge waste of money, she said.

It would also amount to a slap in the faces of all those whove poured labor, money and years of their lives into local bighorn recovery efforts, Aiello said.

State wildlife authorities will evaluate the projects environmental impacts, as required by the California Environmental Quality Act.

Lets all take a deep breath, said Chuck Bonham, director of state Fish and Wildlife. The desert is an invaluable landscape, and any proposed solar project has got to go through a public process.

If we need to make changes to avoid conflicts, well do that. But there will be a way in which everyone can accept and embrace connectivity for the bighorn populations  it just makes sense.

Traffic on Interstate 15 motors past the North Soda Mountains, home to desert bighorn sheep. (Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times)

Desert bighorns once thrived in serrated mountain ranges across the Mojave Desert, where they formed a metapopulation of groups connected by ancient trails. Today, their survival is threatened by disease, drought, interstate highways and renewable energy.

The development of solar-power facilities in the desert has ranked among the most pressing federal priorities since the former Obama administration announced plans to ease the nations dependence on fossil fuels and curb global warming.

Prospective solar energy developers have long regarded the site, roughly seven miles south of the community of Baker, as a high-quality resource.

Thats because of its proximity to existing infrastructure, including Interstate 15, two transmission lines, a distribution line, wireless cellular communications towers, a fiber-optic line, a fuel pipeline and a telephone line.

The city of Los Angeles in 2015, however, dropped plans to buy electricity from the 3-square-mile project after a review found that other proposed renewable energy projects would charge the city less for electricity and would have fewer challenges in delivering the power to L.A.

A year later, the project was rejected by the San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors because of the potential effects of its wells on underground aquifers, delivering a serious blow to one of the most controversial renewable energy projects in the state.

The revised proposal, however, aims to resolve that obstacle by eliminating groundwater wells from its plans.

And there's something else about the project that has apparently changed: Los Angeles officials say they would be interested in receiving proposals for buying power from the 300-megawatt project "as part of the competitive procurement process."

The project would operate year-round and deliver solar-generated power to the regional electrical grid through an interconnection with the existing 500-kilovolt transmission line co-operated by the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, officials said.

But sandwiched between Interstate 15 and the Devils Playground, Clarke suggests, are desert scenes that are unlikely to appear in a renewable energy company's pitch to potential investors.

Striding along an arroyo lined with creosote brush, smoke trees and countless out-of-sight animal burrows and washes, Clarke said, We favor renewable energy but not here.

This land is a crossroads of paths and volcanic outcroppings that help sustain the gene flows of native wildlife, he said. To the south is the Mojave National Preserve, which covers 2,400 square miles.

Pivoting full circle on his heels, he then gestured toward the north and said, Over there, beyond Interstate 15, are protected habitats extending 100 miles to the boundaries of Death Valley National Park.

The idea of sacrificing this beating heart of the Mojave for more solar panels makes no sense.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Chris Helgren/Reuters

Banking heir and billionaire Alberto Safra has sued his mother and two of his brothers amid a dispute over his late fathers fortune.

Safras suit, filed Monday in New York State Supreme Court, accuses his family members of purposely diluting his stake in the holding company for Safra National Bank of New York in an effort to push him out of the family banking empire.

Safra and his family have for years been involved in a battle over the fortune of his father, Joseph Safra, formerly the richest person in Brazil and director of banking behemoth the Safra Group. After his fathers death in 2020, Alberto contended he had been wrongly written out of the will and his fathers $20 billion-plus empire. (A spokesperson for the family denied this.)

Mondays filing concerns just one of those companies, SNBNY Holdings, the holding company for the Safra National Bank of New York, which has more than $9 billion in assets. Safra alleges that in December 2019, as his fathers health was deteriorating, his mother and brothers conspired to convince Joseph to pass resolutions that could dilute his shares in the company from 28 percent to 13.4 percent.

Safra contends that his father was incapable of understanding, planning, or carrying out the sophisticated dilution transaction at the time due to his health condition, and that his family abused this in order to force their wishes through.

The billionaire further alleges that his family members doubled the reported value of the bankincreasing it by $870 million in 2019in order to set off the dilution of his shares, then substantially wrote down that value the following year.

Finally, he claims his family has failed to recognize his pick for board director, which he claims the companys articles of association entitle him to appoint.

The conduct alleged in this action was part of an ongoing, coordinated effort by the Family Defendants to dilute Albertos ownership interests in businesses owned by the Safra family around the globe, for which Alberto is seeking relief in multiple jurisdictions, the complaint states.

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Lawyers for Safra said in a statement that he was compelled to file a lawsuit in New York State Supreme Court to protect his rights and interests.

It is unfortunate that David and Jacob Safra chose to take such improper actions against him, said attorney Michael Carlinsky.

A spokesperson for the Safra family pushed back in a statement claiming Joseph Safra willingly wrote his son out of the will. The family said Safra was angered when Alberto left his position at one of the family's banks and started a competing company, taking some of the bank's executives with him.

Now Alberto promotes a dispute against the whole family, saying that his father would have no reason to do what he did, claiming it was a conspiracy to harm him, the family's spokesperson said.

The family regrets the path taken by Alberto, who first attacked his father while he was alive and is now attacking his memory, and refutes his allegations.

The dispute between the family members started in 2008, when David joined Alberto at the Brazilian-based Banco Safra. Alberto claims his younger brother embarked an a campaign for power at the company, leading to disagreements between the two that their father often had to smooth over. When Joseph became too ill to ensure a unified working environment, Alberto claims, he was forced to leave the company and form his own asset management group.

As Joseph's health continued to decline, he says, the family pushed him out of a group text concerning his father's condition, creating a separate electronic chat message group in order to exclude Alberto from discussions about Josephs health and treatment. He also claims they hand-picked a doctor to examine Joseph and declare him mentally fit to make estate planning changes.

The Family Defendants kept secret from Alberto that they had hired [the doctor], depriving Alberto of the opportunity to have a doctor of his choosing examine Joseph or otherwise assess Josephs mental condition or capacity, the lawsuit claims.

It was then that the family convinced Jospeh to change his will and reduce Alberto's shares in SNBNY to 13.4 percent, he claims. He alleges the move also reduced his voting rights from approximately 15.5 percent to approximately 7.4 percent, which caused significant repercussions for Albertos level of control and oversight over the affairs of SNBNY.

Bloomberg reported last year that Safra was planning to sell his stake in the family businesses to his siblings in order to fund his new investment firm. But his complaint asks the court to restore the shares he says were taken from him and force the family to acknowledge his pick for director of the company.

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By Humeyra Pamuk

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken told his Turkish counterpart to "pick up the phone and let us know" what the United States can do to help after a huge earthquake hit the country on Monday, State Department spokesperson Ned Price told reporters.

The Biden administration's top diplomat spoke to Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu by phone following the earthquake that killed more than 2,700 people across a swathe of Turkey and northwest Syria.

It was so important for the secretary to speak to his foreign minister counterpart, Foreign Minister Cavusoglu, in the first instance to offer condolences and to make clear...that anything Turkey needed that we could provide, they should pick up the phone and let us know, Price said.

Blinken asked his senior staff on Monday morning to identify what funding might be available to help Turkey and NGOs working on the ground in Syria, Price said.

Washington has deployed a Disaster Assistance Response Team and is in the process of deploying two urban search and rescue teams from Virginia and California that are expected to comprise 79 people each, the U.S. Agency for International Development said.

The U.S. consulate in the southern Turkish city of Adana would also host others working on rescue efforts, Price added.

(Reporting by Humeyra Pamuk, Rami Ayyub, Daphne Psaledakis and Simon Lewis; Editing by Chris Reese and Hugh Lawson)
A Boston man has been charged with distributing fentanyl after he allegedly sold the drug in a street deal, U.S. Attorney Rachael Rollins said Monday.

Csean Skerritt, a/k/a Shizz Grimmy, a/k/a Black, 34, was arrested Sunday and charged with one count of distribution of 40 grams or more of fentanyl.

Skerritt appeared in federal court in Boston on Monday, and was detained pending a hearing scheduled for Feb. 14.

According to court documents, on Feb. 1, 2023, Skerritt agreed to sell 50 grams of fentanyl to another person for $1,500. Prosecutors allege that Skerritt then met the individual in the individuals car and exchanged approximately 55 grams of fentanyl in exchange for the cash.

The charge of distribution of 40 grams or more of fentanyl provides for a sentence of at least 5 years and up to 40 years in prison, at least 4 years of supervised release and a fine of up to $5 million.

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Feb. 5At the start of Joycelyn Fankhouser's shift at a recreation center in Denver, she watched as another volunteer grabbed a whiteboard, pulled together chairs and began teaching English.

He wasn't a teacher, nor was it his job to teach a new language to native Spanish speakers. It was however, his job to help, and that's exactly what he was doing, Fankhouser said.

Joycelyn Fankhouser, an emergency manager with Boulder County, helped the county and city partner with Denver to send employees to Denver to help support the influx of migrants in the city. (Joycelyn Fankhouser ??

"There was 40 people out of the 300 residents there that sat and rotated," said Fankhouser, an emergency manager with Boulder County. "Every chair was taken in that room all day (by) people trying to learn English. I thought that was really cool."

Fankhouser  who organized a volunteer partnership between Boulder, Boulder County and Denver  recently spent time at one of Denver's makeshift shelters that are housing migrants  many of whom are from Venezuela and other Central American countries.

Fankhouser began speaking with Denver officials about how Boulder County could help support the city following the emergency declaration issuance in December in response to the surge of migrant arrivals. Initially, Denver requested to bus about 100 migrants to Boulder County, but after conversations continued, officials landed on a different plan: Boulder would come to them, Fankhouser said.

"It's just us offering our expertise from all of the disasters we've been through," she said. "It makes more sense for us to go and support them, so that those who are working can get back to their day jobs."

On Jan. 13, City Manager Nuria Rivera-Vandermyde sent out an email alerting employees about the volunteer opportunity. Boulder hourly workers who complete a 12-hour shift during the work week receive their normal pay plus a $50 stipend for a day shift or a $200 stipend for a night shift. Staff who work outside their normal work hours earn their usual pay plus a $150 stipend for a day shift or a $300 stipend for a night shift.

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Cots are set up in an emergency shelter for people arriving from the southern U.S. border, set up at a Denver recreation center in December. (Kevin J. Beaty ??

Salaried employees earn their usual pay in addition to a $150 stipend for a day shift or a $300 night shift stipend. The stipend rate is the same for salaried staff who volunteer outside their regular work hours.

Fankhouser said the county is not offering stipends to its participating staff.

Employees can work a total of three shifts, and as of Friday, Boulder staff had worked 44 shifts in Denver, and county workers had worked nine shifts, Fankhouser said. She did not know the total number of workers who have signed up. Both the city and the county will continue offering support as long as Denver is in need, Fankhouser added.

One concern both the city and county addressed at the start of the process was to ensure departments had the bandwidth to allow staff to spend the day, night or weekend volunteering.

Both Boulder and Boulder County made sure supervisors were aware of the volunteer opportunities and spoke with staff who were interested in participating, said Elizabeth Crowe, deputy director for Boulder Housing and Human Services.

"It takes a toll, and people can feel very burned out," she said. "We just want to be aware of that and truly enable people to tap into that compassion and be sure we are really doing this in a way that is mindful of the existing work," she said.

Although Megan Newton did go back to her normal day hours after volunteering overnight Jan. 22, she was able to work remotely and was primarily on call, to ensure that she was able to rest after her shift at the shelter, she said.

In Denver, Newton assisted during the shelter's "quiet hours" and fielded questions from migrants.

Newton said she has volunteered at organizations in Denver that support people experiencing homelessness. But the work with migrants was new to her.

"I do have a tangential experience, and so it can be helpful," she said. "(This) is something new and different, and I always want to give back."

Ingrid Castro-Campos and Lynette Badasarian both volunteered at the same location Jan. 25, but were assigned different duties. Castro-Campos worked the front door of a shelter and checked people in. Badasarian helped with inventory  making sure people had warm winter clothes and other essentials. She also did laundry.

"We had to haul a tremendous number of bags for the laundry service to pick up, and we worked with two men (who were migrants) who worked alongside us and just helped us transport them across the gym," Badasarian said.

"It was wonderful  the help that we received from them and the kindness that we received working with them  you could see that they just wanted to help. They just wanted to give back, and we appreciated that."

Castro-Campos said for her, the most important part of the role was being able to treat each person with dignity and respect.

"They have come through so many countries where they have endured tremendous hardships  being robbed; corruption; being stopped and questioned; being cold; hungry; hot," she said.

"They've been through jungle (and) desert. The human component is there, and for volunteers like us, (we) really carry those values and offer that in these settings."

In the coming weeks, Fankhouser will also be coordinating a debriefing session and will have a counselor who specializes in trauma speak with city and county employees about any second-hand trauma they may be experiencing as a result of their time volunteering.

"I feel it's really important to make sure that we have that available through this," Fankhouser said.

Information on Denver volunteer opportunities and needed donations is available at bit.ly/3wUIhzZ.
A man was arrested after a 10-year-old boy was shot and killed during a dispute Sunday evening in rural Northern California, authorities said.

Deputies responded around 7:40 p.m. following reports of shots fired in the area of Alicia Avenue in Olivehurst, the Yuba County Sheriffs Office said in a news release.

A boy was found inside a home with a single gunshot wound and transported to a hospital where he was pronounced dead, the Sheriffs Office said.

A suspect, identified as 31-year-old Juan Martin Ortiz of Olivehurst, was arrested in connection with the shooting. Ortiz was booked into the Yuba County Jail on charges of homicide, shooting at an inhabited dwelling and possession of a firearm and ammunition by a felon.

The sheriffs news release described the shooting as a dispute among families.

An involved party returned fire at Ortiz during the incident, the Sheriffs Office said Monday evening in an updated statement. Ortiz suffered non-life-threatening injuries and was able to drive away before being apprehended by deputies.

The Sheriffs Office in the updated news release described Ortiz as a known gang member and said it has received numerous calls for service in the past at the residence on Alicia Avenue.

Homicide detectives continue to actively investigate the shooting.

The victims identity will not be released because he is a minor, the Sheriffs Office said.

Ortizs bail is set at $1 million, jail records show.
RICHMOND, Va. (AP)  A 6-year-old Virginia boy who shot and wounded his first-grade teacher constantly cursed at staff and teachers, tried to whip students with his belt and once choked another teacher until she couldn't breathe, according to a legal notice filed by an attorney for the wounded teacher.

The incidents were described in a notice sent to the Newport News school district by Diane Toscano, an attorney for teacher Abby Zwerner, informing the district that Zwerner intends to sue. The notice of claim, which was obtained by The Associated Press through a public records request, outlines prior behavioral issues the boy had at Richneck Elementary School and troubling interactions he had with teachers and students.

Two days before the shooting, the boy allegedly slammed Zwerner's cellphone and broke it, according to the claim notice. He was given a one-day suspension, but when he returned to Zwerner's class the following day, he pulled a 9mm handgun out of his pocket and shot her while she sat at a reading table, the notice says.

It is a miracle that more people were not harmed," Toscano wrote in her notice. The shooter spent his entire recess with a gun in his pocket, a gun that was loaded and ready to fire ... while lots of first-grade students played.

The details in the notice of intent to sue, including the allegation that the boy attempted to choke another teacher, were first reported by the Daily Press of Newport News.

The choking incident described in the notice was confirmed by the teacher. She said that in 2021, the boy came up behind her as she sat in a chair in the front of the class, locked his forearms in front of her neck and pulled back and down, hard. She said a teaching assistant pulled the boy off her.

The teacher requested anonymity because she fears potential retaliation from the school district. She said she reported the incident to school administrators, but did not receive the kind of supportive response she had hoped for from them.

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I didn't feel safe the rest of the year because I knew if they didn't protect me when he choked me and I couldn't breathe, then they wouldn't protect me, my kids or my colleagues if he did something not as harmful, she told The Associated Press.

The boy was later moved into another class in another school.

After the shooting, police said the boy was taken to a medical facility where he is receiving unspecified services.

The legal notice sent fleshed out Zwerner's allegations of negligence at Richneck on the morning of Jan. 6, which Toscano had first outlined last month at a news conference.

A detailed timeline describes how Zwerner, three other teachers and a guidance counselor were involved in airing concerns about the child possibly having a gun.

If Assistant Principal (Ebony) Parker had acted on the information she was provided, then the shooting of Ms. Zwerner would not have happened, the notice stated.

Zwerner went to former Assistant Principal Parker's office at about 11:15 a.m. to advise her that the shooter seemed more off than usual and was in a violent mood." It also says the boy had threatened to beat up a kindergarten student and angrily stared down the school security officer in the lunch room.

At about 11:45 a.m. another teacher learned that the boy had told students he had a gun in his backpack, the notice stated. The teacher searched the backpack at about 12:30 p.m. but found no gun.

The same teacher was made aware that the shooter had taken something out of his backpack right before she searched the shooters backpack, and the shooter put it in the pocket of his hoodie before going out to recess, the notice stated.

When that teacher raised concerns to Parker, the assistant principal said the student had small pockets, insinuating that he could not possibly have a gun on his person, the notice of claim stated.

Assistant Principal Parker should have called police, the notice stated. Instead, she did not follow proper protocol and chose to do absolutely nothing.

Shortly after 1 p.m., a third teacher learned from a student in Zwerners class that the shooter showed him the gun during recess and threatened to shoot him if he told anyone, the notice stated.

That teacher called the schools office and shared what she knew with a fourth teacher who picked up the phone, the notice stated. The fourth teacher relayed the information to Parker, who said she was aware of the threat and that the students backpack had been searched.

The third and fourth teachers conferred again. And the fourth teacher returned to Parker's office, where a guidance counselor was raising similar concerns about the student having a gun, the notice stated.

The guidance counselor asked if he could search the child for a weapon, to which Parker said no because the childs mother was arriving soon to pick him up, the notice stated.

Then approximately 45 minutes later Ms. Zwerner was shot in her left hand and upper chest by the shooter, the notice stated. Ms. Zwerner was sitting at her reading table when the shooter, who was sitting at his desk, pulled the gun out of his pocket and shot her one time.

Parker, who resigned from her position last month, could not immediately be reached for comment. A spokeswoman for the school district said she did not know if Parker has retained an attorney.

Len Wallin, director of legal services for the school system, said in an email that its standard practice for the school division to forward notices of intent to sue to its insurer, which handles such litigation.

Wallin said the districts insurer will handle decisions regarding whether it will represent Parker or not after consultation with the school board, if that is necessary.

In the meantime, Toscano wrote in her notice that Zwerner's is continuing to recover physically and from psychological wounds that cut deeply and remain fresh.

It is my hope that the school district will not want to drag Ms. Zwerner through litigation after the trauma she has sustained, Toscano wrote.

The response from the school district is going to be very important and will shed light on how it views its teachers," Toscano continued. I hope that the school district will not send a message that being shot while teaching a lesson in class by a student is merely a hazard of the job.

____

Finley reported from Norfolk, Virginia.

____

For more coverage of the shooting: https://apnews.com/hub/newport-news
A fight erupted near the jet bridge at the Philadelphia International Airport between a mother and daughter and Spirit Airlines staff after they were told their carry-on luggage was too large to bring on the plane.

Parts of the encounter were captured on video.

The footage begins with a pair of travelers, a mother and daughter, swiping at Spirit Airlines gate agents near the entrance to the terminals jet bridge, which connects the airport to the waiting airplanes.

The pair was leaving Philadelphia for Fort Lauderdale, Florida, when the scuffle broke out.

The younger traveler grabbed the dreadlocks of one of the Spirit Airlines staffers, prompting another staff to slap her on the back of the head yell for her to "get off."

She eventually let go, after which the Spirit Airlines staffer punched her several times in the face, even as the girl was being restrained by others.

The womans mother, who somehow lost her shirt and shoes in the fight, continued to battle with the gate staff. A bystander could be heard in the background of the video asking "where the f*** is security?"

A little boy  who may be a part of the same family fighting with airline employees  then began hitting a Spirit Airlines employee before running off in tears and collapsing to the floor.

The fight appeared to be calming before the mother rushed to the gate kiosk and grabbed a keyboard. She was retrained and punched by another staffer.

By the end of the fight the only injury sustained was a cut near the eye of a 24-year-old woman involved in the fight, according to the Philadelphia Police Department.

Police said theyve spoken to all involved but have not made any arrests resulting from the fight.

A passenger who witnessed the fight told The Daily Mail they were shocked at "how violent" the fight got and "how long it went on for."

The passenger said they were unsure who escalated the fight, but turned after hearing screams and saw the fight already had started.

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Mother and Daughter Engage in Wild Airport Brawl with Spirit Airlines Agents Over Oversized Carry-On Fees pic.twitter.com/OXJRaiAaor  Frisch Report (@FrischReport) February 5, 2023

The scuffle resulted in the flight being delayed for an hour but ultimately continued to Florida without further incident.

The Philadelphia police described its understanding of the event in a statement.

"On Monday, 30 January, 2023, at approximately 7:29 P.M. police received information that several passengers were pulling apart a 24-year-old female complainant and a 17-year-old female along with her 39-year-old mother during an argument over additional baggage fees," a statement said. "At this time, the 17 year old female attempted to access Jetway and was halted by the 24-year-old complainant when she was punched/hair pulled by the 17-year-old female being assisted by her 39-year-old mother."

The statement goes on to say that a "24-year-old female sustained a minor eyelid laceration" and that "all participants were advised by police in reference to private criminal complaint documentation."
Breef, a platform that allows brands to manage and service marketing agency projects, today announced that it raised $16 million in a Series A round (an undisclosed portion of which was debt) led by Greycroft with participation from BDMI, UTA.VC, Afterpays Touch Ventures and UC Berkeleys The House Fund. The new capital brings Breef's total raised to $21 million, which co-founder and CEO George Raptis says will be put toward continuing to develop the company's product and growing the size of Breef's workforce from 30 people to roughly 60 by 2024.

"Breefs latest funding will be used to continue to evolve the product offering -- a new 'from the ground up' platform is being launched with the funding announcement -- and grow its global team, announcing its first international bases in the U.K. and Australia," Raptis told TechCrunch via email. "The company will also invest further in its payment infrastructure, allowing structured payments for brands looking to 'grow now, pay later.'"

Breef was co-founded in 2019 by Emily Bibb and Raptis. Bibb previously worked in marketing and in-house ad agencies as well as startups such as PopSugar and VSCO. Meanwhile, Raptis helped to launch Credible.com, the online loan marketplace that was acquired by Fox in 2019.

Both Bibb and Raptis attribute their wanting to start Breef to a shift in the way of agency work. Full-time hires and the "big agency" model were no longer flexible -- or affordable -- enough to service the demands of todays brands, they felt, while the challenges around outsourcing were steeply increasing.

"The agency space has traditionally been a relationship-first business. The nature of work is long, with brands embarking on a search process spanning months despite inaccurate 'scopes of work' and often no guidance -- hence the emergence of the 'boutique agency,'" Raptis said. "But the technology had not been created to vet and centralize agencies and give brands confidence throughout the search ... In short, if someone could centralize agencies and help brands move faster, then the old way of working with agencies was ready to be replaced."

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Breef

Breef's online agency-finding marketplace. Image Credits: Breef

Breef, Raptis claims, achieves this by offering a way to kick off agency search, contracting and payments in one place. An "agency marketplace," Breef lets brands plan, scope and post projects for digital marketing, social media, PR campaigns, web and app development and branding to get pitches from agencies on the platform. Brands can select a team and kick off projects, managing contracts and payments from a dedicated dashboard.

Raptis claims that more than 10,000 agencies and thousands of brands are on Breef, with turnaround times for pitches ranging from a couple of days to around a week.

"For brands and agencies alike, using technology as a way to qualify and connect the right partners is a game changer," Raptis said. "Breef also levels the playing field for companies who otherwise may not get an opportunity to work together -- often a point of contention for smaller agencies, minority-led agencies and up-and-comers -- who now have an opportunity to work with some of the biggest brands in the world."

Certainly, Breef appears to be gaining traction (at least the way Raptis tells it), with brands like Netflix, Heineken, Spotify, Pantone and Free People recently joining the platform. Toward the end of 2022, the company achieved a major milestone -- $100 million in projects created on the platform -- and inked partnerships with spend automation platform Ramp, venue rental marketplace Peerspace and business marketplace Newity.

Raptis wouldn't answer questions about Breef's revenue, save that the company grew "10x" last year -- a vague figure to be sure. But he expressed confidence in the startup's growth trajectory, despite competition from startups like BizBulwark (which offers a similar marketing marketplace) and Agency Spotter (an ad agency search tool).

"For marketers, Breef means ease of planning, scoping and outsourcing -- at the speed modern brands require. And more importantly, access to diverse talent, with innovative ideas," Raptis said. "For CFOs, it means centralization of marketing spend through market transparency, payment flexibility and contract standardization. For the creative and boutique agencies, it means the opportunity to work with leading brands without needing an internal sales team. It also means safety and transparency around payments and contracts."

Greycroft investor Ali Schleider -- not the most unbiased source, granted -- agreed.

"The amount of demand we are seeing from brands and agencies flowing through the platform shows companies are looking for a new way to get creative work done," she said. "Our belief is that Breef is not only repositioning marketing spend, but creating an accessible solution for quality talent -- no matter market conditions.
By Elizabeth Piper

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain must set out a new strategy to boost military production and overhaul wasteful procurement to better support Ukraine and signal to Russia that things can only get worse, opposition Labour's defence policy chief said on Tuesday.

With Labour commanding a healthy lead over the governing Conservatives, its top team of policy chiefs, who "shadow" their equivalents in government, have been setting out their plans if they win power at an election expected next year.

John Healey is the latest shadow minister to make his pitch, saying Britain needs to step up its defence production and end cuts to its armed forces to not only support Ukraine but also to fulfil its commitments to the NATO military alliance.

"What is required now from the British government ... is not just the ad hoc announcements of military help ... but a longer term plan that takes us through 2023 and beyond for the military, diplomatic, the economic, the humanitarian help that we are willing to provide Ukraine," Healey told Reuters.

"These are decisions for now. These are decisions for next month in the new Integrated Review and in the spring budget," he said in an interview, referring to a review of Britain's foreign and defence policy. Healey added that a Labour government would "always spend what is required to defend Britain."

Ahead of a speech to the RUSI think tank, he urged the government to make it clear to Russian President Vladimir Putin that "things will get worse", warning Moscow's ambitions "won't stop at the Ukrainian borders".

He urged Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to adopt a new approach in the foreign and defence policy update. It is expected to come out in March and gauge the challenges Britain sees from nations such as Russia and China.

First written in 2021, it has been overtaken by Russia's invasion of Ukraine and growing fears over China, becoming a focus for those who seek more spending on defence and want London to take a stronger line on Beijing.

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Defence minister Ben Wallace told parliament late last month the country's armed forces had been "hollowed out and underfunded," later saying that defence should get "a growing proportion of spend" over the long-term.

At RUSI, Healey described Wallace's words as a "frank admission of failure over 13 years of Conservative government" and called for more, and wiser, spending on defence.

He said he could not put a number on how much more Labour would spend without seeing intelligence on the status of the threats Britain faces.

But he said the Ministry of Defence had wasted more than 5 billion pounds ($6 billion) in "bad procurement decisions".

"Next month's Integrated Review and budget together will show whether this government has the strength to secure the countrys future or whether they'll fudge the finances and delay major decisions until after the next election," he said.

($1 = 0.8339 pounds)

(Reporting by Elizabeth Piper; Editing by Kate Holton and Tomasz Janowski)
Getty Images

None of the members of BTS made the trip stateside for the 2023 Grammys.

The superstar K-pop group was unaccounted for at music's biggest night this year, skipping the ceremony for the first time in three years. Ahead of the awards, members of their fandom ARMY were hoping that one of the members would attend on behalf of the group, but the group remained in South Korea.

The seven membersRM, Jin, Suga, J-Hope, Jimin, V, and Jungkookwere up for a golden gramophone in the categories of Best Music Video for "Yet To Come," Best Pop Duo/Group Performance for their collaboration with Coldplay "My Universe," and Album of the Year as featured artists on Coldplay's "Music of the Spheres."

The Pop Duo-Group award ultimately went to Sam Smith and Kim Petras for "Unholy," while Taylor Swift took home Best Music Video for "All Too Well: The Short Film."

Last June, the septet announced that they would be focusing on solo projects and other activities over the next two years, during which time all seven members will complete their mandated military service. Jin became the first member to enlist last December. As for solo works, both J-Hope and RM have released their debut albums this year, with Jack in the Box and Indigo respectively.

"My Universe" marks the first collaboration between BTS and Coldplay; following its September 2021 release, the two beloved groups performed the Korean-language track for the first time together at the 2021 American Music Awards. The British rock group later worked with Jin on his debut solo single "The Astronaut," which was released last September.

In an interview last year, Coldplay frontman Chris Martin opened up about working with the group, saying that the success of their collaboration was "surprising even for us."

"The journey from the first time it was mentioned  I was just like, 'How could that ever work?'  to the song itself arriving and me thinking, 'That could be for BTS'  to now it feeling like the most natural collaboration in the world," he said. "It's an amazing lesson for myself in keeping an open mind all the time, because you just never know what life or music is gonna throw you."

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A 3.8-magnitude earthquake struck Monday morning near Buffalo, New York, the strongest recorded in the area in 40 years.

The quake hit 1.24 miles east-northeast of West Seneca, New York, with a depth of 1.86 miles, around 6:15 a.m., according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz said no damage had been reported so far in West Seneca, a suburb of Buffalo near the U.S.-Canada border.

He said he had spoken with the deputy commissioner of the Erie County Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Services, Gregory J. Butcher, who said a confirmed quake was felt as far north as Niagara Falls and south to Orchard Park.

It felt like a car hit my house in Buffalo. I jumped out of bed, Poloncarz said.

Yaareb Altaweel, a seismologist at the National Earthquake Information Center, said Northeast earthquakes happen all the time and quakes can strike anywhere at any time.

Since 1983, there have been 24 earthquakes above magnitude 2.5 in the West Seneca region, with Mondays being the largest so far in the area.

Altaweel said another 3.8-magnitude quake took place in 1999 in western New York.

On a scale of earthquakes, 3.8 isnt that big. But the crust in that region is old crust. Its old and cold, and the efficiency of transferring the seismic waves versus sedimentary areas  thats why people can feel it more. Thats why earthquakes can be felt even at 1.0 in some places, he said.

Altaweel said a 3.8-magnitude quake is not a big earthquake that youd expect damage from.

Existing fractures and fault lines can cause earthquakes to hit so far inland, he said.

Altaweel said there was nothing abnormal about this shock.

Id say its very normal. There was one, a 2.6, in March 2022. There was another 2 in 2020. These keep happening in this region at low magnitude, he said.

Around the globe, an initial 7.8-magnitude earthquake in southeastern Turkey was followed hours later by a 7.5-magnitude quake that shook buildings and killed more than 3,600 people in the country and neighboring Syria. The toll is expected to rise sharply on both sides of the border.

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
A train derailed near East Palestine, Ohio over the weekend. Gene J. Puskar/AP

A train carrying toxic chemicals derailed over the weekend in Ohio, causing a fire to burn for days.

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine ordered a mandatory evacuation for nearby residents.

Officials are warning of an explosion that could cause "deadly shrapnel" to fly up to a mile.

A 50-car train carrying toxic chemicals derailed near an eastern Ohio town on Friday, and the governor is warning of a possible "catastrophic explosion" that could send "deadly shrapnel" flying through the air up to a mile away.

The train carrying highly flammable hazardous materials like vinyl chloride derailed on Friday night, sparking a massive fire that continued to burn through Sunday night, CNN reported.

"A drastic temperature change has taken place in a rail car," Ohio Governor Mike DeWine wrote on Twitter. "And there is now the potential of a catastrophic tanker failure which could cause an explosion with the potential of deadly shrapnel traveling up to a mile."

DeWine ordered a mandatory evacuation for thousands of residents of East Palestine, a small village in Ohio near the Pennsylvania border, but more than 500 people have refused to evacuate, according to the governor's statement.

The county sheriff warned in a Facebook post that anyone who refuses to evacuate could be arrested and charged with "a first degree misdemeanor if children are in the household."

"There is a high probability of a toxic gas release and or explosion," Columbiana County Sheriff Brian McLaughlin wrote on Facebook. "Please, for your own safety, remove your families from danger."

The potential for toxic fumes was so dangerous that even the East Palestine Police Department evacuated, according to a Facebook post from the department. The department said 911 service would not be affected.

Schools and businesses in the community are closed at least through Monday, the BBC reported.

Authorities are most worried about the chemical vinyl chloride, which was present in 5 of the derailed train cars, CNN reported, citing the National Transportation Safety Board and East Palestine Fire Chief Keith Drabick. The Ohio Department of Health says that breathing high levels of the chemical can make you dizzy and sleepy or cause you to pass out if you don't get fresh air.

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"You can die from breathing extremely high levels of vinyl chloride," the Ohio Department of Health said.

State environmental officials told the BBC that they have not detected harmful levels of vinyl chloride in the area.

Read the original article on Insider
ahirao_photo / Getty Images/iStockphoto

According to the California Franchise Tax Board (FTB) site, the state has already issued $7,508,156,450 billion in Middle Class Tax Refunds (MCTR)  6,956,431 payments via direct deposit and 6,856,281 in debit cards. However, some Californians have thrown out or destroyed debit cards after receiving them, mistaking them as junk mail or scams.

See: Didnt Get Your State Stimulus Check? Heres Who To Contact for Information

Learn: With a Recession Looming, Make These 3 Retirement Moves To Stay On Track

Find Out: Manchin Proposes Easiest Social Security Fix In Response to Debt Ceiling  Would Biden Agree?

According to ABC7, part of the problem comes is in properly identifying the debit cards as real MCTR payments. Fortunately, any cards lost or ruined in haste can be replaced by contacting Money Network, which is coordinating the debit cards.

The FTB site has created a page to help eligible MCTR recipients accurately identify their debit card payments. MCTR debit cards will come in an envelope that states, Not a bill or an advertisement. Important information about your Middle Class Tax Refund. The return address on the envelope will be a post office box in Omaha, NE and the card itself may or may not have an EMV chip.

The State of California FTB started sending out MCTR payments of up to $1,050 to approximately 23 million of its eligible residents on Oct. 7. The 18 million total payments, totaling $9.5 billion, is the largest relief program of its kind in California state history.

Eligible Californians who have yet to receive their MCTR payments will get them soon either by direct deposit or by a debit card coordinated through Money Network.

Who Will Receive Their MCTR Payment Via Debit Card?

Per the California Franchise Tax Board website, eligible residents will receive their MCTR in the form of a debit card if they:

Filed a paper tax return

Had a balance due

Received your Golden State Stimulus (GSS) payment by check

Received your tax refund by check regardless of filing method

Received your 2020 tax refund by direct deposit but have since changed your banking institution or bank account number

Received an advance payment from your tax service provider or paid your tax preparer fees using your tax refund

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In general, Middle Class Tax Refunds are tiered based on a residents adjusted gross income (AGI), with larger payments going to those with lower incomes. The maximum rebate of $1,050 is possible for married couples with multiple dependents who earn less than $150,000 per year.

Single filers making up to $250,000 and couples making up to $500,000 qualify for at least a partial payment but individuals with a 2020 adjusted gross income of $250,001 or higher, and joint filers with an AGI of $500,001 or higher do not qualify for the MCTR.

How to Replace Your California Middle Class Tax Refund Debit Card

If you have lost or ruined your card in error, you can get it replaced by calling Money Network at 1-800-240-0223 and pressing option 3 for card replacement.

For any questions regarding the MCTF and activating your debit card payment, contact Money Networks customer support at 1-800-542-9332 or via the online chat at mctrpayment.com.

Take Our Poll: How Big of a Sign-Up Bonus Would It Take for You To Change Banks?

Eligibility for the MCTR is based on 2020 state income tax returns, filing status and dependents. To determine if you are eligible and to see how much of a rebate you may receive, use the estimate tool at taxrefund.ca.gov.

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This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: California Stimulus: If You Lost or Threw Out Your Middle Class Tax Refund, You Can Have It Replaced
Social media users largely sided with the camel.

A Russian who decided to punch a camel didnt land the same knockout blow that Arnold Schwarzeneggers famous barbarian character managed in the classic 1982 sword and sorcery movie.

Read also: Artificial intelligence draws animals threatened with extinction due to the war in Ukraine

In fact, the end result was more like an 80s horror movie.

Netizens are in equal measure disturbed and in awe at a video of the camel, which took savage revenge on an aggressive Russian who decided to punch the beast  apparently to demonstrate his "dominance."



WARNING! GRAPHIC CONTENT!



But in the end it was the camel that proved itself to be the higher animal.

In the video clip circulating on social media, which was filmed in Russias Omsk Oblast, and which first appeared on Feb. 4, a man approaches the animal and hits it on the nose.

The camel at first seems shocked, and then it launches into an unexpectedly brutal retaliatory attack.

Read also: Stepan the Cat from Kharkiv raises $10,000 dollars to help animals in Ukraine

The animal is seen grabbing its abuser by the arm and hurling him from side to side like a rag doll. It then tramples the man, before picking his now limp body up again, hurling it around some more, and then trampling him some more.

The attack ends after a white SUV drives into view, and the camel leaves the lifeless-looking body of the man.

The human attacker died as a result of his injuries, but despite this, social media users appear to have largely sided with the camel.

Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
By Amindeh Blaise Atabong

YAOUNDE (Reuters) - A Cameroonian businessman was arrested on Monday in connection with the murder of a prominent journalist, Martinez Zogo, whose mutilated remains were found near the capital Yaounde last month after he was abducted, the national radio station CRTV said.

The case has roiled the Central African nation, with some government and security officials cited by media as suspects. The president's office said last week that several suspects had been arrested, but gave no details.

Zogo, the director of private radio station Amplitude FM, was kidnapped on Jan. 17 by unknown assailants after trying to enter a police station to escape his attackers.

His body was found on Jan. 22.

Zogo had recently reported on air about a case of alleged embezzlement involving a media outlet with government connections owned by businessman Jean Pierre Amougou Belinga.

VIBRANT MEDIA

Belinga's company L'Anecdote Group, which owns businesses including a private television station, confirmed his arrest in a statement on Monday. His lawyer told Reuters that his client had not been charged.

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) said in a report on Friday, citing a written confession of someone involved, that Zogo was apparently taken to a construction site that belongs to Belinga. The businessman's lawyer declined to respond to the allegation, saying they will wait for the charges.

The RSF report said over a dozen members of Cameroon's intelligence service had been detained, including its senior leadership, one of whom provided the written confession.

Spokespeople for Cameroon's government and the intelligence service could not be reached for comments on Monday.

Zogo's killing was the latest in a string of attacks against journalists in Cameroon, which has a vibrant press but where President Paul Biya has a decades-long record of repressing opposition.

The media watchdog Committee to Protect Journalists on Thursday urged Cameroon authorities to be transparent over Zogo, and also account for the death of another journalist in government custody in 2019.

(Reporting by Amindeh Blaise Atabong; Writing by Bate Felix; Editing by Andrew Cawthorne)
A Canadian man pranked his French girlfriend by asking her to open a bag of milk in a video that is resurfacing from 2021. While bagged milk isnt uniquely Canadian (its used in several other countries like China, Russian and South Africa) its certainly not the norm to plenty of people around the world.

That was clearly evident in a TikTok video posted by Canadian Jack (@ruesaint), in which he documents his girlfriend, @laparasian, attempting to tackle a pouch of milk.

"My girlfriend doesn't know milk in Canada comes in bags," the text and voiceover on the video reads as it shows the befuddled woman examining the milk.

"Where's the box?" she asked. "You know in France this doesn't exist, huh?"

The confused woman puts the bag of milk in an empty jug and, instead of snipping the corner, she cuts across the top with scissors, much to her boyfriends dismay.

Why is this such a mess? she asks, foreshadowing.

Next, the woman unsuccessfully tries to tug the opened bag of milk out of the jug, which has formed an air-tight seal. Once she manages to free it from the plastic container, the struggle continues, as the woman fumbles the bag while attempting to pour it into a mug.

Many in the comments could relate to the womans flounder.

But seriouslyhow are you supposed to pour milk out of a bag, one asked.

Its way too confusing likewhy? another commented. What is wrong with a box or a bottle?

Bagged milk isnt found in all parts of Canada. Many in the comments point out that milk in a bag is not a thing in provinces like B.C. and Alberta.
A fidgety Alex Murdaugh showed up at his sick mothers house for a brief 20-minute visit on the night of his wife and sons murders  before later claiming he was there double the length of time and offering to pay towards the wedding of the caretaker who could refute his version of events.

Muschelle Shelly Smith, who had been working as a caregiver to Mr Murdaughs mother Libby from October 2019, gave emotional and at-times damning testimony in Colleton County Courthouse in Walterboro, South Carolina, on Monday.

Ms Smith told jurors about Mr Murdaughs unusual behaviour both on the night of the murders and in the days that followed, revealing that he made the uncharacteristic move to visit his sick mother late at night on 7 June 2021.

In the aftermath of the killings, he then appeared to try to align her account about his visit with his  offering to help Ms Smith both financially and with her other job  and then brought a mystery blue item to leave at his parents home.

Ms Smith, who broke down in tears describing Mr Murdaugh and his family as a good family, told the court how she always worked the night shifts caring for Libby who has Alzheimers from 8pm to 8am.

On the night of 7 June 2021, she said that he showed up at the home sometime between 8.30pm and 9.30pm and called her to say he was outside. She let him in and he sat on his mothers bed.

She testified that it was unusual for the disgraced attorney to show up his parents home during her shift but he told her that he had come to check on his mother because his father Randy was in hospital. Randy died three days later on 10 June.

When asked about Mr Murdaughs demeanour, Ms Smith told the court that he was fidgety.

He was fidgeting, she repeated.

Ms Smith told the court that he was dressed in shorts, a t-shirt and cloth-like shoes similar to Sperrys with no socks.

He stayed only around 20 minutes before leaving again, she said.

Prosecutors claim that Mr Murdaugh shot dead his wife Maggie and son Paul at around 8.50pm that night.

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Ms Smith grew emotional and fought back tears as she went on to reveal the events in the aftermath of the murders and said she believes the Murdaughs are a good family and she is sorry this happened.

A few days after the murders, she testified that Mr Murdaugh spoke to her about his visit to the house that night  telling her that he had been at his parents home for 30 to 40 minutes when it had only been around 20 minutes.

I was here 30 to 40 minutes, she said he told her.

Ms Smith told the court that this was incorrect, confirming that he was there for just 20 minutes.

The conversation left her feeling nervous, she said  so much so that she called her brother who is a police officer to relay what he said to him.

I was nervous, she told jurors.

A key part of Mr Murdaughs alibi for the murders is that he was visiting his sick mother at the time.

He claims that he was napping at his family home when Paul and Maggie went down to the kennels. When he woke, he claims he went straight to his mothers house to visit her.

Days after that conversation, the accused killer spoke to her again, she said.

This time he asked her about her upcoming wedding  something he had never done before  and offered to help her out with paying for it, she said.

Under cross-examination, she said that she believes Mr Murdaugh was just being a good person.

As well as offering to help with wedding expenses, she said that he also offered to pull strings to help her secure a better job at the school where she worked.

Days later, she told the court that Mr Murdaugh showed up at his mothers house again at 6.30am in the morning  a time that he had never come to visit before  and dropped off what looked like a blue tarp.

Ms Smith said she couldnt recall whether or not Mr Murdaugh checked on his mother during the brief visit.

He was cradling a blue something in his hands  something that she insisted was a blue tarp and not a raincoat  and took it upstairs and left it in his parents home, she testified.

She noticed for the first time that he had a cut or bruise on his forehead.

After taking the mystery item upstairs, she said he left the house before returning sometime later in a white truck.

He left the white truck there and switched to a black truck.
Two men walked into a Michigan bank in June 2018 and demanded money, but they were unable to get to the tellers area where cash had been put on the counter, according to federal authorities.

They decided to leave the bank in Dearborn, then one of their wives drove them to a second bank in Taylor that same day, authorities said. The towns are part of the Detroit metropolitan area.

Those two men told everyone to get on the ground and give them the money as one of them held a shotgun, according to court records filed in the Eastern District of Michigan.

They got away with $4,686 during the second June 18, 2018 heist, officials said, then escaped in a getaway car driven by the wife.

But the money was immediately thrown from the getaway cars window after red dye packs placed in the bags by tellers exploded while they were driving, authorities said in a Feb. 3 news release.

The trio was arrested that same day, officials said.

Now one of the men has pleaded guilty to bank robbery by force or violence and using a short-barreled shotgun during a crime of violence, records show.

(He) has accepted full responsibility for his offense, the mans defense attorney said in a statement to McClatchy News.

The mans wife told authorities it was an exciting bank robbery, and she compared herself and her husband to Bonnie and Clyde, according to court records.

Her husband faces at least 10 years in prison for the shotgun charge, officials said, and a maximum of 20 years in prison for the bank robbery charge.

His sentencing is scheduled for May 4.

The mans wife died in May 2022, months after she had pleaded guilty to two federal charges, according to court records. The other man was sentenced to 20 years in prison.

Bonnie and Clyde couple took over peoples bank accounts after stealing mail, feds say

Man uses birth certificate to rob Missouri bank, then throws cash out window, feds say

Brinks driver used clear lunch bag to steal more than $1 million from banks, feds say
Charlotte-based packaging company Sealed Air has finalized its $1.15 billion purchase of a Virginia company.

Sealed Air completed the acquisition of Richmond, Virginia-based Liquibox on Feb. 1, accelerating the companys growth in flexible packaging, Sealed Air said in a company news release.

Liquibox makes Bag-in-Box packaging for dairy, coffee, wine and other beverages. The 62-year-old company has over 1,400 employees in 17 locations around the world. Last year, Liquibox reported $362 million in revenue.

The deal expands on Sealed Airs fastest-growing, most profitable business Cryovac, or vacuum-pack impermeable plastic wrap for food, according to the company. The Bubble Wrap maker plans to expand its packaging for condiments and sauces in food service and restaurants, combined with Liquibox Bag-in-Box for soda fountains, dairy, urn liners and to-go liquid box packaging.

Charlotte-based Bubble Wrap maker Sealed Air Corp. announced a $1.15 billion acquisition of Liquibox.

About Sealed Air

Sealed Air, founded in 1960, makes Bubble Wrap and padded envelopes to shrink wrap for food products. In 2014, Sealed Air moved its headquarters from New Jersey to Charlotte. The 32-acre campus is off West Tyvola Road.

Last year, Sealed Air launched at least two new products  a Bubble Wrap brand fiber-based padded mailer that can be recycled and the smart packaging brand Prismiq. And last February, Sealed Air acquired digital and graphics packaging company Foxpak in Ireland. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Sealed Air generated $5.5 billion in sales in 2021 and has about 16,500 employees in 114 countries and territories. About 860 people work in Charlotte, Sealed Air spokeswoman Christina Griffin said Monday.

The Liquibox deal was announced in November. Sealed Air will discuss the closing of the sale during its full-year 2022 earnings call Feb. 9, which will be webcast live at 10 a.m.
(Bloomberg) -- Advanced artificial intelligence systems are expected to eventually replace some jobs in the financial, media, legal and technology sectors, according to the latest MLIV Pulse survey.

Most Read from Bloomberg

What's more striking: More than two-thirds of 292 respondents, predominantly in the financial sector, didn't view their own jobs as being at risk any time soon.

Artificial intelligence has been in development for decades. But in recent months so-called generative AI  most notably OpenAIs ChatGPT and DALL-E products  sparked widespread excitement among investors who believe it could also generate massive financial rewards.

MLIV Pulse survey participants were split almost evenly on whether these kinds of technologies were worth investing in. Investors appeared to not use any kind of artificial intelligence, with only 12% saying they used one and just 27% saying they planned to. More than half of all respondents said they arent even considering using AI to help them invest.

This contrasts starkly with recent rallies seen in the market for companies connected to advanced AI, in part fueled by the widespread publicity of ChatGPT and Microsoft Corp.s $10 billion investment in OpenAI, its developer. Companies such as BuzzFeed Inc., C3.ai Inc., SoundHound AI Inc., and BigBear.ai Holdings Inc. are among the stocks that have all seen massive jumps in volume, along with dizzying swings in their share prices.

Read more: We Asked ChatGPT to Make a Market-Beating ETF. Heres the Result

Businesses and investors are in a race to become go-to names for technology that can create media such as text and pictures from simple prompts  or hold human-like conversations on a wide variety of topics, from whether a cat would win a fight with an eagle, to practical considerations about world events or school projects. Microsoft is up against the likes of Alphabet Inc., Meta Platforms Inc. and Amazon.com Inc. in working to offer the smartest AI tools to the greatest number of people.

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Still, the promise of tools like ChatGPT leaves room for some investors to desire, with only 49% of respondents saying they planned to buy stocks with exposure to such generative AI tools. Overall, about 41% of all respondents said they intended to increase exposure to tech stocks more broadly, while 38% said theyd hold steady over the next six months. This is despite their expectations for the Nasdaq 100, which closed on Friday at 12,573.36, to fall to 12,000 by the year-end, according to the median forecast.

Its likely that investors are waiting on a final selling frenzy to buy.

Even before the current wave of interest in AI, the question of whether smart automation will create more opportunities than it displaces has been a topic of great interest to workers and businesses alike (not to mention the Pentagon and the UK government.) Many of the companies now cutting jobs are also the ones investing billions in building their AI capabilities.

In January, Alphabet announced 12,000 job cuts globally while Chief Executive Officer Sundar Pichai singled out AI as a key investment area. Similarly, Microsoft announced its $10 billion investment in OpenAI just days after saying it would lay off 10,000 employees. Neither company is unique in this regard.

Dell Technologies Inc., facing plummeting demand for personal computers, said on Monday that it will eliminate about 6,650 jobs.

It appears that majority of investors surveyed by MLIV Pulse believe that those layoffs are too small or just right. Very few respondents, or about 11%, think those cuts are too big. Similarly, only 13% see them as premature.

There are very interesting AI wars coming up between the tech companies, University of Southampton Professor of Computer Science Wendy Hall told Bloomberg TV.

This week, the MLIV Pulse survey focuses on real estate. Do you think the price of your house will go up or down this year? Share your views here.

--With assistance from Alicia Diaz, Tomoko Yamazaki and Ritsuko Ando.

(Adds Nasdaq 100 forecast in seventh graph, Dell layoffs in 11th.)

Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek

2023 Bloomberg L.P.
ChatGPT logo on a phone (left) and Asian girl studying with laptop in library (Photos: Getty Images)

SINGAPORE  A variety of strategies are adopted by Singapore schools and institutes of higher learning (IHL) to detect plagiarism in assignments, and this includes technological tools to detect content generated by artificial intelligence (AI) technology.

This is the assurance given by Education Minister Chan Chun Sing in Parliament on Monday (6 February) as he responded to questions by Members of Parliament (MPs) on the possible abuse of intelligent chatbots such as ChatGPT in schools.

ChatGPT has made headlines in recent months for its ability to produce essays and solve mathematical equations in seconds, leading to international concerns of plagiarism and fraud amid learning institutions.

"Schools and IHLs adopt a range of practices to guard against misuse of this technology," he said.

"In their daily work, students are taught the importance of integrity and the harmful impact and consequences of plagiarism. In addition, teachers use multiple modes of assessment to gauge students proficiency and detect uncharacteristic responses that could be AI-generated content.

"IHLs have varied modes of assessment - including examinations, presentations, and projects - that require analysis, field notes and observational details that cannot be generated easily by AI technology."

AI technology needs to be embraced in education: Chan

Mr Chan also stressed that the rapid advancement of AI technology also presents opportunities for Singapore's education system, and there is a need to embrace AI technology and its increasing pervasiveness in society.

The Ministry of Education (MOE) will provide resources and guidance for educators to effectively harness AI tools such at ChatGPT to enhance learning. Courses are being conducted to educate the educators on the potential and challenges of using AI technologies.

Educators will also be tasked to help students understand how AI tools work, to prevent over-reliance on technological tools. AI tools will serve as supplementary add-ons, only after basic fundamental concepts and thinking skills have been mastered by students.

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"Just like how a calculator supports students capacity for learning mathematics, but does not replace the need for them to first master basic mathematical operations, ChatGPT can be a useful tool for learning only when students have mastered basic concepts and thinking skills," Mr Chan said.

"In an uncertain world, we must also teach students to embrace and learn to work with tools in the new normal that have a range of outcomes. As ChatGPT can provide inaccurate or biased output, students need to be discerning and critically assess its output for accuracy and objectivity."

Cheating is 'evergreen challenge' for educators

Responding to Sembawang GRC MP Lim Wee Kiak's supplementary question on whether the policies regarding the use of AI in cheating are clearly spelled out and communicated to students, Mr Chan said that cheating has been an "evergreen challenge" for educators, and it is a "cat-and-mouse" game to detect dishonest deeds until a new technology arises to counter detection.

"Cheating is cheating. (It) is not tolerated in any of our education institutions," he said.

"The more important aspect is how we educate our people to hold on to the fundamental values of education, how we impart them the values such that they understand why they are doing what they are doing."

Mr Chan added that while technology may be able to help some better derive their answers, students are expected to declare truthfully their sources of information.

He stressed that importance of instilling the 3 D's - discover, distill and discern - to the current student generation in navigating AI technologies in education.

"Our value add today is not about trying to answer yesterday's problems with yesterday's answer. Our value add is how to create tomorrow's solutions for tomorrow's challenges ahead of time," he said.

Do you have a story tip? Email: sgnews.tips@yahooinc.com.

You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and Twitter. Also check out our Southeast Asia, Food, and Gaming channels on YouTube.
A Cherryville man pleaded guilty Friday to a felony charge of assaulting police for his actions during the breach of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

The actions of 23-year-old Grayson Sherrill and the actions of others disrupted a joint session of the U.S. Congress convened to ascertain and count the electoral votes related to the 2020 presidential election, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia.

Grayson Sherrill of Cherryville shown here inside the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. Sherrill pleaded guilty in the District of Columbia Feb. 3, 2023, assaulting, resisting, or impeding law enforcement officers on Jan. 6, 2021. A sentencing hearing is scheduled for May 1, 2023.

Sherrill pleaded guilty in the District of Columbia to assaulting, resisting, or impeding law enforcement officers on Jan. 6, 2021. A sentencing hearing is scheduled for May 1, 2023.

According to court documents, in preparation for his travel to the Stop the Steal rally, Sherrill purchased a Faraday bag in an attempt to prevent the government from tracking his location. On Jan. 6, 2021, before the rally ended, Sherrill and his co-defendants walked toward the U.S. Capitol Building.

As Sherrill approached the Capitol, Sherrill saw downed metal barricades and broken fencing around the Capitol building. Sherrill and his co-defendants made it to the West front of the Capitol, where Sherrill observed other rioters climbing scaffolding, scaling walls, and fighting with the police, including spraying chemical irritants and throwing objects at police officers. Sherrill witnessed police officers retreating from the rioters.

Sherrill and a co-defendant each picked up a metal pole that had been broken off from a metal bicycle barricade. They carried the metal poles with them throughout the remainder of their time on restricted grounds and inside the Capitol building, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.

While standing in the crowd of rioters, a platoon of officers from the Metropolitan Police Department Civil Disturbance Unit, attempted to make their way through the crowd of rioters to the front of the crowd to protect the Capitol building. A mob of rioters initiated violent confrontations with those officers.

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While other rioters pushed, struck, and wrestled with MPD officers, including MPD Officer D.H., Sherrill stepped toward Officer D.H. and swung at the officer with the metal pole, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.

The officer attempted to catch his footing and adjusted his equipment after the contact with the rioters. While still carrying the metal pole, Sherrill entered the Capitol Building through the Senate Wing door eight minutes after the initial breach of the doors. He walked throughout the building, including in the Crypt and Rotunda. Sherrill and his co-defendants climbed on statues in the Rotunda while taking photographs of one another using their cellphones. Sherrill exited 34 minutes after his entry, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.

Two family members tipped off authorities that the Gaston County man was at the Capitol that day. They provided the FBI with screenshots of Sherrill, who wore a red Keep America Great hoodie participating in the insurrection, according to early reports.

After Jan. 6, 2021, Sherrill deleted videos from his cell phone that he took while at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

Sherrill was arrested on March 1, 2021, in North Carolina. He faces a statutory maximum of eight years in prison for assaulting law enforcement officers, as well as potential financial penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

This case is being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorneys Office for the District of Columbia and the Department of Justice National Security Divisions Counterterrorism Section. Assistance was provided by the U.S. Attorneys Office for the Eastern District of New York.

In the 24 months since Jan. 6, 2021, more than 950 individuals have been arrested in nearly all 50 states for crimes related to the breach of the U.S. Capitol, including more than 284 individuals charged with assaulting or impeding law enforcement. The investigation remains ongoing.

Anyone with tips can call 1-800-CALL-FBI (800-225-5324) or visit tips.fbi.gov.

This article originally appeared on The Gaston Gazette: Cherryville man pleads guilty to breach of U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6
A14-year-old works in an ice cream shop.

*This story has been updated to reflect amendments to the child labor bill as well as the updated the bill number and link.

A new bill introduced in the Iowa Legislature would rewrite Iowa's child labor law to allow teens to work in previously prohibited jobs so long as they are part of an approved training program.

Here are some highlights of Senate File 542, the successor to Senate File 167.

List of prohibited jobs for teens remains

As with the existing law, the bill outlines the jobs that 14-17-year olds can do, like bagging and carrying groceries to cars, clerical work and preparing and serving food.

The bill also maintains a list of jobs kids under 18 can't hold, such as working in slaughterhouses, meatpacking or rendering plants; mining; operating power-driven metal forming, punching or shearing machines; operating band or circular saws, guillotine shears or paper balers; or being involved in roofing operations or demolition work. It makes a few modifications, such as removing a prohibition against 14- and 15-year-olds working in freezers and meat coolers.

In-depth:Amid a massive labor shortage, Iowa businesses push for a bill to loosen child-labor laws

New section allows for exemptions

In an entirely new section, however, the bill would allow the Iowa Workforce Development and state Department of Education heads to make exceptions to any of the prohibited jobs for teens 14-17 "participating in work-based learning or a school or employer-administered, work-related program."

It says those asking for exceptions must demonstrate "the activity will be performed under adequate supervision and training;" that "the training includes adequate safety precautions;" and that "the terms and conditions of the proposed employment will not interfere with the health, well-being, or schooling of the minor enrolled in an approved program."

More:'What is the value of life?' Iowa bills to cap lawsuits pit Republicans against Republicans

Lawmaker removes language shielding businesses from liability

Republicans amended the bill so that it no longer exempts businesses from civil liability if a student is sickened, injured or killed due to either the student or the company's negligence. The bill allows students who are hurt or injured to claim benefits under the state's workers compensation program, which also allows benefits for parents whose child dies in a work-related accident.

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A business still would be free of civil liability if a student is injured traveling to or from work, but the amended bill says a business would be liable if a teen is hurt while driving for work.

A company could face fines of up to $10,000 for violations under the bill, but the state's labor commissioner could reduce or waive the penalty.

More:What does Iowa's $107M funding increase really mean for its public schools? What we found:

Serving alcohol, driving to work, late hours

The bill in addition would allow 16- and 17-year-olds with the written permission of a parent, legal custodian or guardian to serve alcohol to people who are drinking it on the premises of a business.

It would some children under 16 to drive themselves to work-based programs. The Iowa Department of Transportation says online a student must be 14 1/2 years old to obtain a special driver's license.

And it would let kids under 16 work until 9 p.m. instead of quitting by 7 p.m. And quitting time would be extended to 11 p.m. from June 1 through Labor Day.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Key points of bill to change Iowa child labor law
By Fabian Cambero

SANTIAGO (Reuters) - Chilean firefighters were battling to hold back forest fires on Monday as authorities said hot and dry weather would continue this week, potentially exacerbating what are already the deadliest blazes in the country's recent history.

The fires, which have consumed 270,000 hectares (667,000 acres) of land, have killed 26 people so far in south-central Chile, and already made 2023 the second worst year in terms of hectares burned after the so-called "fire storm" that hit the country in 2017.

The state National Forestry Corporation reported that as of Monday morning there were 275 active fires, of which 69 were currently in combat.

"Unity to face the tragedy, unity to rebuild ourselves," President Gabriel Boric wrote on Twitter.

Chile is in the grip of an over decade-long period of dry weather, which the World Meteorological Organization called a "mega drought" last year, adding it was the longest in a thousand years and marked a major water crisis.The heat wave and strong winds have caused a rapid spread of the flames during the Southern Hemisphere summer season.

The country's interior minister said on Monday that 11 people so far have been arrested for actions related to the fires, without providing details the nature of the suspected crimes because of ongoing investigations. On Friday, Boric pointed to signs that some of the fires may have been started intentionally.

Between Sunday and Monday, aid arrived in Chile from Argentina, Spain and Mexico, while the authorities said they expected to receive new support from Brazil, Colombia, Paraguay, Peru, Portugal and Venezuela.

The fires have not affected the mining industry in the world's top copper producing nation, with mines located mostly in the north of the country, but they have hit Chile's agricultural and major forestry sector.

The Chilean Wood Corporation, an industry association, told Reuters on Monday that its partners are currently focused on the emergency and do not yet have a preliminary assessment of the impact.

Chile wildfires https://www.reuters.com/graphics/CHILE-FIRE/akpeqmeyjpr/chart.png

(Reporting by Fabian Andres Cambero; Editing by Caitlin Webber)
CHILLICOTHE Every segment of Ohio  businesses, communities, individuals and families  benefits from public transportation. It is an essential service that enhances economic development and insures sustainable lifestyles and a higher quality of life.

The Chillicothe Transit System provides over 100,000 trips each year helping to create and maintain jobs that are essential in keeping our communities strong. It connects friends and neighbors to jobs, schools, medical appointments and much more. Chillicothe Transit provides a lifeline for many in the community.

We have worked hard to provide a transit system that supports the needs of the community, from allowing seniors to age in place and maintain their freedom to supporting local businesses by ensuring transportation is not a barrier to the workforce they need," said Mayor Luke Feeney. "Our redesign of transit last year has allowed us to provide reliable, accessible, and convenient transportation options that our community wants, needs, and deserves.

The agency works to ensure all citizens have access to the transportation services they need to remain an active part of the community. It continues to meet the daily mobility needs of Ohios growing senior population as well as keep up with the capital need to move workers, students, and those without access to their own vehicles.

Transit drives the economy, with statistics showing that every $1 invested in public transit generates $4 in economic return. Whether getting to area shopping centers, local airports, libraries, parks, bike trails or countless other destinations transit will get you there.

From Feb. 5 through Feb. 11 the Chillicothe Transit System will celebrate elected officials and stakeholders as well as the communities and riders during Ohio Loves Transit Week. The sixth annual Ohio Loves Transit Week will include activities with transit customers all week, peaking on Ohio Loves Transit Day on Tuesday, Feb. 7.

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The community, whether a first-time rider or transit regular, is encouraged to utilize Chillicothe Transit next week for a chance to play Transit Trivia with Ross County Health Districts Mobility Manager, Traci Harris. Whether riding fixed routes, using an on-demand ride, or jumping on the trolley, riders will have an opportunity to answer trivia questions for various prizes.

During the week riders are also asked to share why they support public transit and why our state and federal leaders should too.

Ohio Loves Transit Week is hosted by the Ohio Public Transit Association (OPTA). OPTA is the primary advocate for public transportation in Ohio. Now over 500 members strong from 67 transit agencies across the state, the association provides leadership, resources, training, support, technical assistance, media outreach, public engagement, and governmental relations services to public and private transit agencies.

This article originally appeared on Chillicothe Gazette: Chillicothe celebrates 2023 Ohio Loves Transit Week
China's real-estate sector is mired in debt woes. Xu Jinbai/VCG/Getty Images

The IMF said in a report on China's economy that the country's property crisis remains "unresolved."

But China's hit back at that, saying its property market "has been operating smoothly in general, and is not in a 'crisis' situation."

China's real estate market has been mired in debt woes for the past few years.

China's property market woes may be well-documented  but Beijing insists there's no crisis.

And that's clashing with the International Monetary Fund's, or IMF's read of things. The IMF released its annual review of China's economy on Friday, in which it said that the real estate crisis "remains unresolved" and that the country's growth remains "under pressure."

But China's taking a contrarian view, saying in a January 12 response to the IMF, included in the Fund's report, that the country's property market "has been operating smoothly in general, and is not in a 'crisis' situation."

"The authorities are aware of the risks and are working to address them," said Zhengxin Zhang, China's representative to the IMF's executive board, and Xuefei Bai, a policy adviser at the IMF. "It is inappropriate to overstate the difficulties in the market and potential impacts to the financial sector."

The IMF says China's property crisis "intensified" in 2022

The IMF said in its Friday report China's property crisis "intensified" in 2022.

"Accumulating pressures from the unresolved property crisis could trigger a sharp retrenchment in aggregate demand, with adverse macro-financial feedback loops and potentially large external spillovers," the IMF said while calling for "further action" at the national level by increasing funding for the completion of stalled projects.

This might help lead the way to market-based restructuring, and contain financial risks, it added.

Despite China's efforts to reassure investors about the health of its property sector, more than half of 60 mainland China-listed developers are likely to post losses for 2022, per Bloomberg calculations which used public data. And on top of that, investment into China's property fell 10% in 2022 from a year ago, according to official data released on January 17.

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The average net-debt-to-equity ratio at the country's top 80 real estate companies rose to 152% by the second quarter of 2022  twice what it was in mid-2020 before debt restrictions on property developers were introduced, Reuters reported, citing analysts from the state-owned Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

China's Zhang and Bai acknowledged in their January 12 response China's real-estate market entered "a new environment" in 2022 due to various factors, such as shrinking demand, weaker market expectations, the pandemic, and liquidity issues at some developers. But the balance sheets of listed developers showed improved liabilities to assets ratio in the first half of 2022, they wrote.

Chinese authorities are also supporting "reasonable market financing," they said, adding: "the current development of the real estate market is a natural evolution of 'deleveraging and destocking' in the past few years."

"The related risks are local and only concern individual firms, and their impact on the rest of the world has been relatively small," they added.

Beijing started clamping down on excessive borrowing in 2020

The sharp exchange comes amid an ongoing debt crisis in China's property sector after Beijing started clamping down on excessive borrowing in 2020, which contributed to the debt troubles at major property developer Evergrande.

The cash crunch led to stalled construction, spurring worries that buyers may never see the apartment they have been paying for.

Banks also tightened lending to the entire property sector amid Evergrande's liquidity crunch, leading to concerns of a domino effect on China's financial sector  and the rest of the world.

The debt crisis also had a deep social impact. Chinese millennials, for instance, are grappling with an existential crisis over home ownership due to concerns over whether developers will be able to deliver apartments buyers have paid for, wrote Insider's Cheryl Teh in October 2021.

"The real problem is that many developers simply do not generate positive cash flow and that the funding model of unfettered pre-sale receipts is broken," Andrew Lawrence, TS Lombard's Asia property analyst, wrote in a January 12 note seen by Insider.

Read the original article on Business Insider
Chinese spy balloons entered US airspace on three occasions during Donald Trumps presidency, defence officials said.

The announcement came after US fighter jets destroyed a suspected spy balloon belonging to China over the Atlantic on Saturday. Teams are searching for the debris.

In a statement, the Defence Department said: Chinese balloons briefly transited the continental United States at least three times during the prior administration.

Mr Trump appeared outraged at the statement, responding on his Truth Social on Sunday morning that the Chinese balloon situation is a disgrace, just like the Afghanistan horror show, and everything else surrounding the grossly incompetent Biden Administration.

The US believes the balloon was monitoring sensitive military sites and its discovery sparked a diplomatic crisis, with US secretary of state Anthony Blinken calling off his trip to China, branding the incident an irresponsible act.

China denied claims the device was used for surveillance and insisted it was a weather ship blown off course.

The US has disputed this claim, adding the device could not have blown away, as it was manouverable and it has propellers on it.

Donald Trump said the balloon situation was a disgrace (AP)

Chinas Ministry of Foreign Affairs has hit back at the shooting down of the balloon.

It said: China will resolutely uphold the relevant companys legitimate rights and interests, and at the same time reserving the right to take further actions in response.

China had clearly asked the US to handle this properly in a calm, professional and restrained manner, it added. The US had insisted on using force, obviously overreacting.

China strongly disapproves of and protests against the US attack on a civilian unmanned airship by force, the ministry said according to the South China Morning Post.

The ministry said The USs use of force is a clear overreaction and a serious violation of international practice, adding China has the right to make further responses that are necessary.

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The balloon after it was struck by a missile on Saturday (Chad Fish)

The Republican chair of the House intelligence, Mike Turner, said: Clearly this was an attempt by China to gather information, to defeat our command and control of our sensitive missile defence and nuclear weapon sites.

Before the balloon was shot out of the sky, top Chinese diplomat Wang Yi said that China has always strictly followed international law.

He said: We do not accept any groundless speculation and hype. Faced with unexpected situations, both parties need to keep calm, communicate in a timely manner, avoid misjudgements and manage differences.

Members of the public spotted the balloon on Thursday as it flew over Montana, home to one of Americas three nuclear missile silo fields at Malmstrom Air Force Base.

President Joe Biden said on Saturday that he was alerted to the presence of the balloon earlier in the week, although this was not disclosed at the time.

On Wednesday, when I was briefed on the balloon, I ordered the Pentagon to shoot it down, on Wednesday, as soon as possible, he said.

The decision was made not to shoot the balloon while it was over ground, to avoid falling debris causing a safety risk to the public.

President Joe Biden speaks with members of the press on Saturday (AP)

Pentagon officials say an F-22 fighter jet fired a missile at the balloon at 1440 local time [GMT 1940] on Saturday, puncturing it while it was off the coast near Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. The navy is taking the lead in an operation to recover the remnants.

They successfully took it down and I want to complement our aviators who did it, Mr Biden said after getting off Air Force One on his way to Camp David, reported Associated Press.

Mr Blinkens trip to China, which had been agreed upon in November, was seen as crucial to stabilising tense relations between the US and China.

On Saturday, after Mr Blinken called off the trip, Mr Wang claimed that it had never formally been confirmed anyway.
(Bloomberg) -- China replaced its national weather chief just after the US revealed the balloon was flying over its territory, fueling speculation that the move was connected to Beijings claim it was a climate research vehicle.

Most Read from Bloomberg

The State Council, the Chinese governments cabinet, made the announcement involving Zhuang Guotai on Friday, though the statement didnt give a reason for his dismissal.

China said hours after announcing Zhuangs removal that balloon traveled into US territory by accident. The China Meteorological Administration didnt name a replacement for him.

Its unclear whether the decision was linked to the balloon, which China said was gathering climate data and the US later shot down. The Chinese government is reshuffling key personnel in departments across its vast bureaucracy before a meeting of the National Peoples Congress in March, when the process should be completed.

See: China Moves From Contrite to Confrontational Over US Balloon

Zhuang is 60 years old, typically the age when Chinese officials move into roles in the legislature or political advisory bodies before retiring at 65. He was named to an advisory position in the northwestern province of Gansu in January.

Still the timing of the dismissal is curious. It came just after the US Defense Department said it was monitoring a suspected Chinese surveillance balloon over sensitive nuclear missile sites in Montana.

Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said Monday at a regular press briefing in Beijing that she had nothing to add to the announcement that Zhuang was dismissed. Repeated calls to the nations meteorological administration were unanswered.

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Also: US Moves to Recover Chinese Balloon While Weighing Retaliation

The uproar over the balloon flying across the US prompted Secretary of State Antony Blinken to postpone a trip to Beijing, one that would have been the first such visit in more than four years.

Blinkens trip could have included a meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping, whose talks with President Joe Biden on the sidelines of the Group of 20 summit in Bali in November led to an easing of tensions.

(Updates with comment from Chinas Foreign Ministry.)

Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek

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BEIJING (Reuters) -China's commerce minister Wang Wentao said talks held on Monday with Australian counterpart Don Farrell were a key step toward bringing bilateral economic and trade ties back on track, with relations improving after being strained in recent years.

The virtual meeting "represents another important step in the stabilisation of Australia's relations with China," Farrell said after the first talks between the trade ministers of the two countries since 2019.

Last month, Chinese officials relaxed import bans on Australian coal as both countries work to improve diplomatic relations after more than two years of Chinese trade restrictions on a range of Australian exports including barley, lobster and wine.

Wang said China is willing to restart the mechanism facilitating dialogue with Australia on economic and trade issues and to expand cooperation in emerging areas including climate change and the new energy sectors.

"At present, the economic and trade relations between the two countries are facing an important window period... the meeting is a significant step to push China and Australia economic and trade relations back on track," Wang said in a statement released by his ministry following the talks with Farrell.

China's top economic planner in May 2021 suspended all activity under a China-Australia Strategic Economic Dialogue which was an important forum for Australia and China to work through issues relevant to bilateral economic partnership.

The Chinese statement said Australia was also willing to work with China to enhance mutual trust and resolve differences through candid dialogue.

In addition, China attached great importance to the Canberra's security review of Chinese companies' investment and operations in Australia, expecting Canberra to provide a fair, open and non-discriminatory business environment for Chinese firms.

Wang described China and Australia as important economic and trade partners, with a highly complementary economic structure, making cooperation mutually beneficial.

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The exchanges between the two ministers were "professional, pragmatic and candid", according to the statement.

Farrell said had agreed to an in-person meeting with Wang in Beijing in the near future.

(Reporting by Ellen Zhang and Ryan Woo; Editing by Christopher Cushing and Simon Cameron-Moore)
(Reuters) -China's finance minister and its central bank governor will attend a roundtable with other creditors and some borrowing countries in February in India, IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said in a CBS' 60 Minutes interview on Sunday.

"China has to change its policies because low income countries cannot pay," she said.

"What we are working towards is to bring all creditors, the traditional creditors from advanced economies, new creditors like China, Saudi Arabia, India, as well as the private sector, and put them around the table with the debtor countries."

Georgieva said last month the first such gathering will take place on the sidelines of a meeting of Group of 20 finance officials in India.

Georgieva, the first person from an emerging market economy to head the International Monetary Fund, has said debt relief was critical for heavily indebted nations to avoid cuts in social services and other repercussions.

"China is going to participate at the level of minister of finance and the governor of People's Bank of China," she told 60 Minutes.

(Reporting by Costas Pitas in Los Angeles and David Lawder in Washington; Editing by Christopher Cushing and Tom Hogue)
People gather together to enjoy food, company and activities as part of the Chinese Faculty and Scholar Association's celebration of Lunar New Year at Iowa State University on the evening of Jan. 21, 2023. (That was Jan. 22 in China, this year's date of Lunar New Year, which is based on the phases of the moon.) It was the association's first such celebration, though maybe not the first on campus to recognize the important holiday that's celebrated in many countries in Asia.

The Chinese Faculty and Scholar Association at Iowa State University recently came together to recognize a holiday that's important to many families but has been recently difficult to celebrate. So for the first time, the association held its own celebration.

The celebration of Lunar New Year is another large in-person event this year on campus to observe Asian American and Pacific Islander heritage in the community.

Shan Jiang, an associate professor of materials science and engineering at Iowa State, said the celebration of Lunar New Year in China involves huge festivities  combining the revelry, reflections and well wishes of a new year's beginnings with one of the few times in the year all family members come together to share a meal.

About two billion people across the world celebrate Lunar New Year, especially in many countries in Asia including China, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, South Korea and Vietnam. The name for the holiday and specific traditions, including how many days it lasts, varies by culture.

More:Lunar New Year 2023: When is the holiday and what does the Year of the Rabbit represent?

The exact date of the new year also changes depending on the year because the calendar involved is based on the phases of the moon.

The COVID-19 pandemic cut families' connections, Jiang said. He said many Chinese Americans have been wanting to travel to China to celebrate, but could not because of restrictions.

"You really miss your family most during the festivals," he said.

The Chinese government only recently scaled back its pandemic lockdown and travel restrictions that had been in place for years  doing so in response to protesters venting their frustrations on the streets but sparking a surge in COVID-19 cases. The U.S. Department of State continues to urge people to reconsider travel to China, despite the country's welcoming back of tourists.

The U.S. and other countries' requirements for COVID-19 testing of travelers from China has led to diplomatic tensions and renewed fears among Asian community advocates of increased anti-Asian hate and bias  which has been an increased problem during the pandemic.

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More:COVID tests for US travelers from China spark fears of new wave of anti-Asian hate

Jiang said the pandemic and all the isolation people in the community have had to endure reminded them of the importance of celebrating Lunar New Year.

"It gives hope that things are getting back to normal," he said.

He also said it's important to give friends who are not from China an opportunity to see the culture and promote understanding.

Even without a pandemic, Jiang said not having time off during Lunar New Year makes travel difficult, given the distance to China. So, organizers got to thinking about a gathering in Ames  "'Why dont we just come together as a big family?'"  to pay respect to the culture.

People gather together to make dumplings as part of the Chinese Faculty and Scholar Association's celebration of Lunar New Year at Iowa State University on the evening of Jan. 21, 2023. (That was Jan. 22 in China, this year's date of Lunar New Year, which is based on the phases of the moon.) It was the association's first such celebration, though maybe not the first on campus to recognize the important holiday that's celebrated in many countries in Asia.

What goes into a good Lunar New Year celebration?

Jiang said students have organized Lunar New Year celebrations on campus before, but this year was the first time faculty and scholars had put something together.

He said the Chinese Faculty and Scholar Association has been around for a little more than a year and is different than the Chinese Students and Scholars Association on campus.

Enrollment at Iowa State by international students who are from China has dramatically fallen in recent years, which began well before the pandemic. China is still the second-most represented nation on campus after India, however, followed by South Korea and Malaysia.

More:Iowa State's international student office prepares to reinvigorate student match program

Jiang said about 140 or 150 people attended the Lunar New Year celebration that was held Jan. 21 in Howe Hall. He helped to organize the event with about eight other people over two weeks. He wanted to make clear he was not in charge, however: I like to show this is a team effort.

He said the association also received funding from the university's diversity, equity and inclusion office.

A key thing to get for the celebration was dumplings  which people made themselves and stuffed with vegetables, pork or shrimp. Jiang said the restaurants Wok N Roll, Szechuan House and Little Taipei all contributed food including dumpling fillings and dessert.

There was also a chance for people to create their own Chinese calligraphy. Jiang said the ornate writing basically conveys wishes for health and good luck at the start of the new year, and he put some on his own home's door.

It was also his 5-year-old son's first ever Lunar New Year celebration, which added to the specialness of the occasion.

Dafang Zhang works on Chinese calligraphy as part of the Chinese Faculty and Scholar Association's celebration of Lunar New Year at Iowa State University on the evening of Jan. 21, 2023. (That was Jan. 22 in China, this year's date of Lunar New Year, which is based on the phases of the moon.) It was the association's first such celebration, though maybe not the first on campus to recognize the important holiday that's celebrated in many countries in Asia.

He said the faculty and scholar association does host other events during the year, including lectures on Asian American history and U.S.-China relations that are open to the public, and a summer barbecue.

Jiang said if the association hosts a Lunar New Year celebration again next year, they want to make it even more inclusive and include more people who are interested in learning more about Chinese culture.

But people won't have to wait that long for another opportunity to celebrate Asian American and Pacific Islander culture. Chunhui Chen, a physics and astronomy professor at Iowa State, said Chinese, Indian and Korean Americans and others are working to bring back on May 6 an in-person event celebrating Asian American and Pacific Islander cultures during the month dedicated to that heritage.

Chen said last year's inaugural event had more than 300 people attend, and more details about the upcoming celebration would be shared as they're available.

More:Ag innovator celebrated for humanity, wisdom on Iowa's first George Washington Carver Day

Phillip Sitter covers education for the Ames Tribune, including Iowa State University and PreK-12 schools in Ames and elsewhere in Story County. Phillip can be reached via email at psitter@gannett.com. He is on Twitter @pslifeisabeauty.

This article originally appeared on Ames Tribune: ISU Chinese faculty association celebrates first Lunar New Year event
US-Chinese-Balloon-Watching-The-Sky (ASSOCIATED PRESS)

US officials said Monday that improvements ordered by President Joe Biden to strengthen defenses against Chinese espionage helped identify last weeks spy balloon  and determine that similar flights were conducted at multiple points during the Trump administration.

White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said Monday that after Biden took office, the US enhanced our surveillance of our territorial airspace, we enhanced our capacity to be able to detect things that the Trump administration was unable to detect.

Speaking at the event hosted by the US Global Leadership Coalition, Sullivan added that as part of those efforts we were able to go back and look at the historical patterns" and uncover "multiple instances during the Trump administration in which Chinese surveillance balloons traversed American airspace and territory.

Several Trump administration officials have have said they didn't learn of Chinese surveillance balloons during their tenures.

Before Monday, US officials had said that at least three times during the Trump administration and at least one other time during Bidens time as president balloons have crossed American airspace, but not for this long.

Sullivan did not explain what specifically allowed the US to detect and track the latest balloon where the previous administration might not have. Officials have said, without elaborating, that China has flown similar balloons over parts of five continents in recent years.

Sullivan defended Biden's decision to wait until the balloon was off the Carolina coastline before shooting it down, saying military advisers assessed that downing it over water created a greater possibility that we could effectively exploit the wreckage than if it were shot down over land. Some GOP lawmakers have criticized the president for not shooting it down sooner, though Pentagon officials also warned of a potential risk to Americans on the ground.

Sullivan said the US was "still piecing through which Chinese officials knew what about the balloon when in Beijing and would not speak publicly yet about U.S. assessments about China's intentions flying it over the U.S.

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Separately, White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters on Monday that the US military has begun collecting debris from the balloon.

He also confirmed that the White House has offered to brief key officials from the Trump administration but declined to name any that have been briefed.

Kirby firmly rejected Beijing's claim that the US violated international law by shooting down the balloon.

The United States, under President Bidens authority and orders acted in accordance with international law and in defense of our homeland and our sovereign airspace, Kirby said. "We were absolutely within our rights to bring down that balloon.
U.S.-listed Chinese stocks dipped on Monday as tensions between the U.S. and China have grown in recent days over a suspected spy balloon that was shot down over the weekend.

The NASDAQ Golden Dragon China Index (^HXC), which tracks Chinese firms listed in the U.S, fell as much as 2.3% Monday, while the benchmark Hong Kongs Hang Seng Index (^HSI) fell over 2%.

Some analysts believe a lack of dialogue between the worlds two largest countries could lead down a dangerous new road.

There are bigger issues in play where the U.S. is drawing the line on, for example, outbound investment restrictions, China Corporate Advisory Director Reva Goujon told Yahoo Finance Live on Monday (video above).

Some market experts, however, see rising tensions potentially working to "draw investors toward the safety of the U.S. dollar."

"This trend could exacerbate if tensions flare up," Daniel Takieddine, CEO of BDSwiss MENA, wrote to Yahoo Finance in a statement. "The U.S. and China have already been at odds during the last few months while the U.S. tried to limit Chinas access to cutting-edge chip technology."

The dollar index added nearly 0.8% on Monday to trade near $103.67.

On Saturday, U.S. armed forces shot down the balloon off the coast of the Carolinas, a move that followed Secretary of State Antony Blinkens visit to Beijing being abruptly canceled last week. Chinese officials have claimed that the balloon was used for weather research.

Ships scan the sea during efforts to retrieve and recover the Chinese spy balloon after Chinese spy balloon was shot down in Myrtle Beach SC, United States on February 05, 2023. (Photo by Peter Zay/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

Each side will spin its own story around this, get what it can out of the moment and then move on, Goujon added. However, China will likely have a strong desire to get Blinkens visit back on track.

In reality, though, these high-level interactions are about managing escalation in the competition, which is critical because you don't want it to go off the rails, you don't want to turn this into kinetic conflict. But we certainly are in an escalatory phase, Goujon said.

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On Tuesday, the House Financial Services Committee will hold a hearing on Combatting the Economic Threat from China," in the wake of a political and diplomatic fallout.

Dani Romero is a reporter for Yahoo Finance. Follow her on Twitter @daniromerotv

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Chris Brown reportedly threw a tantrum after losing out on the Best R&B Album Grammy to pianist Robert Glasper.

The ceremony was held at the Crypto.com arena in Los Angeles on Sunday (5 February), with Trevor Noah returning to host the show for the third consecutive year.

Brown, 33, was nominated in the R&B category for his 10th studio album Breezy, featuring collaborations with Jack Harlow, H.E.R., and Anderson. Paak.

However, Glasper ultimately won the prize for his record Black Radio III.

Brown reportedly reacted to losing the award in a series of since-deleted Instagram Stories.

Who the f*** is Robert Glasper, he allegedly wrote, as seen in screenshots posted to Twitter by HipHopDX.

Ima keep kicking yall a** respectfully, Brown reportedly added.

I gotta get my skills up...Ima start playing the harmonica, the rapper apparently also said, sharing a photoshopped picture of himself playing the instrument.

The Independent has contacted Browns representatives for comment.

Chris Brown reacts to Best R&B Album Grammy loss  pic.twitter.com/aXqgXx2lIr  HipHopDX (@HipHopDX) February 6, 2023

Accepting the award during the Premiere Ceremony, Glasper quipped: My safety pin busted out of my pants, as I was running so...

In the run-up to the awards ceremony, Glasper wrote on Instagram: Man its been a long ride!!!!

Congratulations and Good Luck to everyone at the Grammys!

Other nominees in the category included Mary J Blige, Lucky Daye, and PJ Morton.

Follow live updates from the Grammys here.
For travelers with disabilities, trips are made so much easier when accurate information about accessibility is available.

With that in mind, The Valuable 500  a collective of CEOs dedicated to disability inclusion  conducted a survey this past fall asking disabled travelers which destinations they found most accessible globally.

"It was super important for us to go from anecdotal evidence and what we're hearing day in and day out from the community to actually launching empirical research on this," Rhiannon Parker, Valuable 500's chief innovation officer, told USA TODAY. "What the disability community is asking for in that report (is) to just be treated with kindness and dignity and understanding."

Tell us your story: Mobility device lost or damaged by an airline? USA TODAY wants to hear about it

Las Vegas, New York and Orlando, Florida, were deemed the most disability-friendly cities in the U.S. by the survey's 3,500 respondents (along with international destinations including Amsterdam, Tokyo and Sydney) and The Valuable 500 plans to release more research on traveling with disabilities.

What the survey looked at

"It's really important to acknowledge that disability isn't a monolith. There's a wide continuum of disability, so those needs being met are specific to each community," Parker said.

The Valuable 500's survey asked respondents to consider a city's transportation links, proximity of accommodation to cultural attractions, shops and restaurants, and the availability of information about accessibility in their answers.

Wheelchair travel: An airline damaged this passenger's wheelchair. It could easily happen again.

Many disabled travelers told USA TODAY that the last category is especially important.

"It's great to show (photos of) that beautiful vase that sits on the table and the amenities and those things, but that's not what they're interested in. They need to know, is there a lip that prevents me from going from the hallway into the bathroom?" Parker said. "What are the barriers that I'm going to face there?"

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Every place has its own challenges when it comes to accessibility. Old cities like New York or London can be difficult to retrofit to modern accessibility standards, while places like Orlando, where the tourism industry is heavily theme park-dependent, have a different (and often more easily controlled) landscape.

Las Vegas: 'They just seem like they've got it down'

Las Vegas Strip on Nov. 11, 2020.

Like most Las Vegas locals, Raquel and Ryan O'Neill aren't visiting the Strip every weekend. But they say the times they do go out, they have been met with accommodating service, especially when compared to other tourist destinations.

Both of the O'Neills are blind and work at Blind Connect, a nonprofit that offers life skills and employment training to people affected by vision loss. They said most of the shows they've attended on the Strip offer audio descriptions, and live performances like the Marriage Can Be Murder dinner show arent afraid to incorporate them into the act.

"For us, it's been pretty positive," said Ryan, whos lived in Las Vegas since 2002. "In our experience, it's the best place for at least blindness disabilities because they just seem like they've got it down."

Disabled travel tips: What people with disabilities and their families wish fellow travelers would know and do

Compare that to other destinations like Utah and California, where hotels have tried to charge them for bringing in service dogs (which goes against the Americans with Disabilities Act) or a stop in Mexico on a Carnival Cruise trip that wouldn't let them take part in a horseback riding excursion.

"People will try to stop us and think they know what's best for us. That's not necessarily the case," Raquel said. "I think that's the biggest thing about traveling as a blind person. You can't let other people's low expectations stop you from (doing what you want to do)."

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Raquel added that she's had positive experiences with staff and visitors alike in Las Vegas.

While finding a restaurant or show inside a casino can be challenging, the couple said concierge desks and security guards are always willing to lend a hand, and they've never had an issue bringing their service dogs into a Strip venue.

That's not to say that there's no room for improvement. Raquel noted that some design choices can be disorienting, like an abundance of mirrors lining the inside of casinos, or walkways on the Strip that shuffle tourists in and out of shopping centers.

"I get it, the mirrors probably make it look bigger and it brings in more light," Raquel said. "But I've heard from a ton of our people that we train at our center that those mirrors really mess with people with low vision."

New York: 'They haven't put a lot of funding where their mouth is'

A commuter walks on a nearly empty subway platform in New York, Monday, June 8, 2020. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

Gaelynn Lea, a musician and disability rights advocate from Duluth, Minnesota, has visited New York City numerous times since her first tour in 2016. Lea has Osteogenesis Imperfecta and uses an electric wheelchair for mobility. She said things in New York have improved over the past seven years, but the city could be doing more.

"More businesses have permanent ramps or portable ones they'll bring out," she said, but these one-off solutions at individual businesses don't necessarily make the city accessible as a whole.

"For a place with so much culture and such progressive values, they haven't put a lot of funding where their mouth is."

In particular, Lea said, the city's subway system and Broadway theaters have a lot of room for improvement, especially when it comes to accommodating wheelchair users.

"We use buses a lot when we're there because pretty much all the buses are accessible, and a lot of the subway stations aren't," she said.

Accessible parks: What national parks can do for visitors with disabilities

Hiking while disabled: How one disabled hiker is charting a path for others

When Lea was invited to previews for Macbeth on Broadway after composing the show's music, she said she wasn't even sure she'd be able to get a seat.

"I had one of the three wheelchair-accessible seats in the entire 900-seat auditorium," she told USA TODAY. "During one of the dress rehearsals, we got four tickets, and I invited three people who had wheelchairs, and they had to do major troubleshooting to make sure I still had room to see the preview."

In the end, Lea said, New York is a relatively accessible city, but a combination of businesses adopting some simple best practices and targeted policy improvements could make it even better.

"Some of the simple solutions are: start having the conversation with disabled people, your disabled customers or whatever, (about) what you can do better, and start implementing them," she said. She added that making accessibility information prominent online can save a lot of strife for tourists.

Orlando: 'They will one-up themselves'

Magic Kingdom Park at Walt Disney World Resort in Lake Buena Vista, Florida, on April 18, 2022.

Bethany Hildebrandt's family has found a lot of destinations aren't as accessible as they claim to be, but one place they return to regularly is Walt Disney World in Orlando, which offers numerous accommodations for people with disabilities.

Her eldest, Kaylee, has cerebral palsy, among other conditions, and uses a wheelchair full-time.

'We take care of family': When accessible travel is hard to find, families forge their own paths

"Usually, they not only are accommodating, but they will one-up themselves. Like, 'We want this for you, but we can't make it happen, so we're going to make it even better for you instead.' " Hildebrand previously told USA TODAY.

Across Facebook affinity pages, there is big praise for Walt Disney World's DAS: Disabilities Accessible Services. DAS, Disney states on the website, "is intended for guests who have difficulty tolerating extended waits in a conventional queue environment due to a disability."

This pass doesn't get guests onto rides immediately, or on all rides, but allows users to return at a time that's comparable to the current standby wait. Guests using DAS can then "enjoy other experiences in the park instead of physically waiting in the standby line."

All major Orlando theme parks  Walt Disney World, Universal Orlando, SeaWorld Orlando and LEGOLAND  offer accommodations for disabilities, not just those required by law but ones that make for a more inviting experience.

Contributing: Britt Kennerly, Florida Today

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Best US cities for disabled travelers: New York, Las Vegas, Orlando
The city of Perry has named Chris Cohea as the new marketing and engagement coordinator.

The city of Perry has named Chris Cohea as the new marketing and engagement coordinator.

Cohea brings more than 16 years of communications experience to the position. He most recently held the role of program director at KDLS (94.3FM / 99.7 FM / AM 1310) in Perry, part of the Raccoon Valley Radio Network.

Cohea is originally from Elsberry, Missouri, but has lived in Perry for the last nine years. He is a graduate of Southeast Missouri State University in Cape Girardeau, Missouri, and holds a bachelors of science degree in mass communications, with a minor in human resource management.

I am incredibly grateful for the opportunity to not only work for the city of Perry, but help to grow a brand new position," he said. "Perry has so many things to offer its current and future residents, and with the marketing and engagement coordinator position, I have an opportunity to help the city showcase itself to people who have yet to set foot in this wonderful community.

We are happy to have Mr. Cohea as the marketing and engagement coordinator for the city of Perry. He will work collaboratively with all departments to achieve strategic communication goals and provide exceptional, personal customer service to our community members, City Administrator Sven Peterson said.

Cohea will be playing a key role in supporting and promoting the communication goals of the city by performing a range of activities including updating website content and social media platforms, writing/editing and producing both written and graphical content for a variety of print and digital projects, developing and implementing a marketing and engagement plan and developing and managing special events.

This article originally appeared on Perry Chief: City of Perry names Chris Cohea as marketing and engagement coordinator
The white 'bathtub ring' around Lake Powell, which is roughly 110 feet high, shows the former high water mark. AP Photo/Rick Bowmer

As Western states haggle over reducing water use because of declining flows in the Colorado River Basin, a more hopeful drama is playing out in Glen Canyon.

Lake Powell, the second-largest U.S. reservoir, extends from northern Arizona into southern Utah. A critical water source for seven Colorado River Basin states, it has shrunk dramatically over the past 40 years.

An ongoing 22-year megadrought has lowered the water level to just 22.6% of full pool, and that trend is expected to continue. Federal officials assert that there are no plans to drain Lake Powell, but overuse and climate change are draining it anyway.

As the water drops, Glen Canyon  one of the most scenic areas in the U.S. West  is reappearing.

This landscape, which includes the Colorado Rivers main channel and about 100 side canyons, was flooded starting in the mid-1960s with the completion of Glen Canyon Dam in northern Arizona. The areas stunning beauty and unique features have led observers to call it Americas lost national park.

Lake Powells decline offers an unprecedented opportunity to recover the unique landscape at Glen Canyon. But managing this emergent landscape also presents serious political and environmental challenges. In my view, government agencies should start planning for them now.

A tarnished jewel

Glen Canyon Dam, which towers 710 feet high, was designed to create a water bank account for the Colorado River Basin. The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation touted Lake Powell as the Jewel of the Colorado and promised that it would be a motorboaters paradise and an endless source of water and hydropower.

Lake Powell was so big that it took 17 years to fill to capacity. At full pool, it contained 27 million acre-feet of water  enough to cover 27 million acres of land to a depth of one foot  and Glen Canyon Dams turbines could generate 1,300 megawatts of power when the reservoir was high.

Soon the reservoir was drawing millions of boaters and water skiers every year. But starting in the late 1980s, its volume declined sharply as states drew more water from the Colorado River while climate change-induced drought reduced the rivers flow. Today the reservoirs average volume is less than 6 million acre-feet.

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Nearly every boat ramp is closed, and many of them sit far from the retreating reservoir. Hydropower production may cease as early as 2024 if the lake falls to minimum power pool, the lowest point at which the turbines can draw water. And water supplies to 40 million people are gravely endangered under current management scenarios.

These water supply issues have created a serious crisis in the basin, but there is also an opportunity to recover an amazing landscape. Over 100,000 acres of formerly flooded land have emerged, including world-class scenery that rivals some of the crown jewels of the U.S. national park system.

Bargained away

Glen Canyon made a deep impression on explorer John Wesley Powell when he surveyed the Colorado River starting in 1867. When Powells expedition floated through Glen Canyon in 1869, he wrote:

On the walls, and back many miles into the country, numbers of monument-shaped buttes are observed. So we have a curious ensemble of wonderful features  carved walls, royal arches, glens, alcove gulches, mounds, and monuments  past these towering monuments, past these oak-set glens, past these fern-decked alcoves, past these mural curves, we glide hour after hour.

This side canyon emerged in recent years as Lake Powell shrank. The white bathtub ring on the rock wall shows past water levels. Daniel Craig McCool, CC BY-ND

Glen Canyon remained relatively unknown until the late 1940s, when the Bureau of Reclamation proposed several large dams on the upper Colorado River for irrigation and hydropower. Environmentalists fiercely objected to one at Echo Park in Dinosaur National Monument on the Colorado-Utah border, alarmed by the prospect of building a dam in a national monument. Their campaign to block it succeeded  but in return they accepted a dam in Glen Canyon, a decision that former Sierra Club President David Brower later called his greatest regret.

New challenges

The first goal of managing the emergent landscape in Glen Canyon should be the inclusion of tribes in a co-management role. The Colorado River and its tributaries are managed through a complex maze of laws, court cases and regulations known as the Law of the River. In an act of stupendous injustice, the Law of the River ignored the water rights of Native Americans until courts stepped in and required western water users to consider their rights.

Tribes received no water allocation in the 1922 Colorado River Compact and were ignored or trivialized in subsequent legislation. Even though modern concepts of water management emphasize including all major stakeholders, tribes were excluded from the policymaking process.

There are 30 tribes in the Colorado River Basin, at least 19 of which have an association with Glen Canyon. They have rights to a substantial portion of the rivers flow, and there are thousands of Indigenous cultural sites in the canyon.

Another management challenge is the massive amounts of sediment that have accumulated in the canyon. Colorado means colored red in Spanish, a recognition of the silt-laden water. This silt used to build beaches in the Grand Canyon, just downstream, and created the Colorado River delta in Mexico.

But for the past 63 years, it has been accumulating in Lake Powell, where it now clogs some sections of the main channel and will eventually accumulate below the dam. Some of it is laced with toxic materials from mining decades ago. As more of the canyon is exposed, it may become necessary to create an active sediment management plan, including possible mechanical removal of some materials to protect public health.

The creation of Lake Powell also resulted in biological invasives, including nonnative fish and quagga mussels. Some of these problems will abate as the reservoir declines and a free-flowing river replaces stagnant still water.

On a more positive note, native plants are recolonizing side canyons as they become exposed, creating verdant canyon bottoms. Restoring natural ecosystems in the canyon will require innovative biological management strategies as the habitat changes back to a more natural landscape.

Finally, as the emergent landscape expands and side canyons recover their natural scenery, Glen Canyon will become a unique tourist magnet. As the main channel reverts to a flowing river, users will no longer need an expensive boat; anyone with a kayak, canoe or raft will be able to enjoy the beauty of the canyons.

Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, which includes over 1.25 million acres around Lake Powell, was created to cater to people in motorized boats on a flat-water surface. Its staff will need to develop new capabilities and an active visitor management plan to protect the canyon and prevent the kind of crowding that is overrunning other popular national parks.

Other landscapes are likely to emerge across the West as climate change reshapes the region and numerous reservoirs decline. With proper planning, Glen Canyon can provide a lesson in how to manage them.

This article is republished from The Conversation, an independent nonprofit news site dedicated to sharing ideas from academic experts. The Conversation is trustworthy news from experts, from an independent nonprofit. Try our free newsletters.

It was written by: Daniel Craig McCool, University of Utah.

Read more:



I know many of the people involved in the controversy regarding the future of Lake Powell and Glen Canyon.
A Columbus police officer who shot a man in the back Sunday following a traffic stop also shot a teenage male during a traffic stop in August, police revealed Monday.

Officer Joshua Ohlinger, a member of the city Division of Police for five years, has been identified by police officials as the officer who shot 66-year-old Michael L. Cleveland in the back. Columbus police Chief Elaine Bryant said during a press conference Monday that Ohlinger's status at the division is pending a psychiatric evaluation.

Ohlinger was previously placed on leave for nearly three months after he shot a teenager with a gun during a traffic stop in August.

"I'm concerned for his well-being and I'm concerned for the community," Bryant said in response to questions about whether she was concerned that Ohlinger has shot two people in less than six months.

Body camera footage shows a brief vehicle chase following a traffic stop around 3:05 p.m. Sunday in the 1000 block of Wilson Avenue on the South Side. Bryant said it was not clear what led to the traffic stop because Columbus police cannot interview Ohlinger since the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation is investigating the shooting.

Bryant said Cleveland did not have any outstanding warrants for his arrest, although he had an expired license.

Cleveland eventually pulls his black pickup truck over in an alley behind some residences, exits the vehicle and flees. Ohlinger chases Cleveland, initially pulling out his stun gun as he chases Cleveland from behind a rear courtyard off of Wilson in between two residential buildings.

Columbus police were on scene Sunday at Wilson Avenue on the South Side after an officer, identified Monday as Joshua Ohlinger, shot and wounded a man, identified Monday as 66-year-old Michael Cleveland, who fled from a police traffic stop with a gun.

In the bodycam video, Cleveland can be seen running as Ohlinger orders him to stop and put his hands up. Cleveland appears to throw a firearm aside as Ohlinger fires his weapon at Cleveland's back six times while Cleveland continues to flee.

Cleveland falls to the ground and Ohlinger then holds a position at the end of the alley while he continues to order Cleveland to show him his hands and asks where the weapon is. Cleveland eventually responds that he threw the gun he had. (That gun was later recovered.)

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Body camera footage shows Cleveland was treated by officers on scene before he was taken to a hospital in critical condition, which was upgraded to stable.

Multiple officers were on scene, but Ohlinger was the only one who fired at Cleveland.

Columbus police have charged Cleveland, whom court records indicate has had a lengthy criminal history  including felony convictions involving drug possession and receiving stolen property in the 1990s  with being a felon illegally in possession of a firearm.

Same officer shot teen in August

Previously, on Aug. 27, police say Ohlinger wounded a 17-year-old male during a shooting on the city's Near East Side. The shooting occurred following a traffic stop around 3:30 p.m. in the area of East Main Street and Seymour Avenue.

Columbus police said the teen was one of two males who got out of the back of the stopped vehicle with firearms, leading Ohlinger to fire at least one shot that struck the teen. The teen was rushed to OhioHealth Grant Medical Center in stable condition.

Ohlinger was taken off street duty for 89 days following that shooting and the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation was called to investigate, Bryant said Monday. That shooting is still under investigation, she said.

Bryant said in the past, some officers have returned from critical incidents just days afterwards, a policy she said she has tried to change.

"Based on what we knew (in 2022), we thought 89 days was a good amount of time (to remove Ohlinger from the streets). Sometimes these investigations take two to three years," Bryant said.

Sunday shooting happened near church's street parade

During the pursuit that preceded Sunday's shooting on the South Side, footage from the dashboard of the cruiser shows Columbus police officers pass a nearby march reportedly held by Ministries 4 Movement and Family Missionary Baptist Church, in which people are walking along the sidewalk banging on drums and calling for an end to violence in the city.

Later, during the shooting, a handful of people can be seen in bodycam video across the street in the direction Ohlinger was shooting toward Cleveland. The people in the background scatter at the gunfire.

Bryant said she "cringed" when she saw the march in the footage and said that police were grateful nobody else was injured in the police shooting.

"Sometimes we don't have control over where, when and how incidents occur," Bryant said.

David Foster, 47, who lives on Wilson Avenue, said Sunday that he initially thought the gunfire was drums from the parade.

"I'm sad, I'm scared  I'm mad," Foster said of the police shooting's proximity to a parade of what he said was mostly children.

Dispatch reporter Jordan Laird contributed to this report.

@Colebehr_report

cbehrens@dispatch.com

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Columbus police release footage from Sunday police shooting
David Pippenger begins to put gas into his rental car at a Mobil gas station in Westchester in May, when prices were skyrocketing. Gov. Gavin Newsom has urged state lawmakers to slap oil companies with a windfall profits tax for high gas prices, but so far there's been little action in Sacramento. (Al Seib / For The Times)

Since early fall, Gov. Gavin Newsom has been loud and adamant about punishing greedy Big Oil for its windfall profits. But talk is cheap. He still hasnt produced a detailed plan.

And the Legislature, which must approve any plan, hasnt shown much enthusiasm.

Newsom dramatically called a special session of the Legislature in early December to slap oil companies with a windfall profits tax. The T word ultimately was switched to penalty to make it seem more like a fee.

A tax would require a two-thirds majority legislative vote, and that would be practically impossible to obtain. Regardless of their supermajority and liberal bent, even Democratic legislators in blue California are leery of anything dubbed a tax increase.

A fee  called a civil penalty in this case  requires merely a simple majority vote.

One bill, SB 2, has been introduced by Sen. Nancy Skinner (D-Berkeley). It currently contains only language denouncing the oil industry and expressing the Legislatures intent to empower the state Energy Commission with more regulatory authority over refineries and the ability to fine them for excessive profits.

Under the bill, the state would establish an annual profit cap  a maximum gross gasoline refining margin. Refineries that exceeded it would be socked with a civil penalty. The money would go into a price gouging penalty fund and refunded to California residents, including presumably people who dont own a vehicle.

Thats really about all we know.

The purpose of a special session  usually run concurrently with a regular session  is to cut corners and expedite action on legislation. But there hasnt even been a committee hearing on SB 2. The Senate Energy, Utilities and Communications Committee, however, intends to hold its first hearing in a week or two.

Hopefully by then, Newsom will have crafted a specific plan  he promised one months ago  and Skinner will have added some details into her bill. But dont count on it.

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Neither the governor nor the Legislature has been rushing into this, despite Newsoms oratory.

While Californians were being ripped off at the pump last year, Big Oils bottom line ballooned to levels never seen before in history  making record profits off the backs of hard-working families, Newsom said in a recent statement after oil companies reported making more money than ever in 2022.

Theyre ripping you off. Thats why, with the Legislature, were going to pass a price gouging penalty to hold Big Oil accountable.

If they can figure out how to do it.

The inaction is not because the Legislature is beholden to the oil industry for political favors, although some lawmakers are, undoubtedly. Its because neither the governor nor any legislator has figured out exactly how to punish the industry.

How do you determine whats an excessive profit?

How much do you penalize the profiteers?

This can be called a penalty, but how do you craft the thing so the courts dont see it as a tax?

Whats to prevent gas stations from raising prices at the pump anyway? They wouldnt be penalized.

Is it really a good idea to tell a business how much profit it can make? A utility, OK. The government grants it a monopoly. But oil companies compete against each other. If we penalize them, when do we start taxing drug companies windfall profits?

Newsoms aides have been meeting with Democratic legislators in an effort to agree on a plan. The staffers have been soliciting ideas from legislators without much success. Lawmakers have listened but arent inspired, Im told.

This whole thing, after all, wasnt their idea in the first place. It was dumped on them by Newsom.

The governor has been doing a good job reaching out to the Senate. His staff is very engaged, says Sen. Anthony Portantino (D-Burbank), chairman of the Appropriations Committee that eventually will consider the bill.

But I dont think the governor has landed yet. This hasnt been one of those things where the governor walks into the room and says, Take it or leave it.

Assembly Appropriations Committee Chairman Chris Holden (D-Pasadena) says: As far as any chatter around the issue, its not there. It hasnt risen to anyones consciousness at this point.

Hes referring to lawmakers. Theres lots of chatter in the oil industry. Its waging an all-out opposition campaign, hiring political consultants and running TV ads.

Meanwhile, Newsom faces a new potential hurdle besides the Legislature and inevitable lawsuits in his attempt to punish oil profiteers. Its an anti-tax initiative that qualified last week for the 2024 ballot.

If it passes, the measure will require voter approval of any state tax increase enacted after Jan. 1, 2022. That could include the refinery profits penalty, depending on court interpretation.

The windfall profits tax is a tax. We along with everyone else in California know its a tax, says Brooke Armour, executive vice president of the California Business Roundtable, a co-sponsor of the initiative.

We think a penalty on profits is not going to stand up in court either, says roundtable President Rob Lapsley.

Another measure qualified for the 2024 ballot last week that affects Newsoms anti-oil war. The oil industry-backed referendum would repeal a 2022 state law that bans new wells within 3,200 feet of homes, schools, parks and other public facilities.

Big Oil knows that California is moving beyond fossil fuels, so on their way out these corporations are doing everything they can to squeeze out profits as they pollute our communities, Newsom declared in a prepared statement.

Were not standing for it  and it starts with passing our price gouging penalty to prevent extreme gas price spikes.

The governor keeps promising that. But he hasnt figured out how to deliver.





This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Peter Tokarz of Worcester with some of the awards and certificates presented to him for his 50 years of aviation and military experience.

WORCESTER  After 50 years of experience in aviation, traveling the world and working for the U.S. government as an aviation expert, 75-year-old Peter Tokarz still tears up thinking about the moment when he made the decision to become a pilot.

Wearing a beige suit and flashing a clean and welcoming smile, the Jefferson native recalled his service in the Vietnam War that began with his Marine Corps training in Parris Island, South Carolina, followed by his jungle training in California before his deployment.

In April 1968, the 21-year-old Tokarz was a Marine sergeant stationed in Vietnam as part of Operation Kentucky, an American push of almost two years against an offensive by the Northern Vietnam army known as the Tet Offensive.

Because of the immediate and brutal contact with the enemy, Marines who were part of that operation came to be known by a pejorative nickname as The Walking Dead.

In a jungle in Con Thien, Vietnam, thousands of miles away from his Central Massachusetts home, Tokarz said he was faced with many unknowns.

Peter Tokarz was featured in a Telegram & Gazette article in 1993.

We got out of the trucks, and you could tell these Vietnamese women were counting us (while) selling Cokes and water, trying to be friendly, he said. When we went out for our mission to take about four clicks (a distance of four kilometers,) we were ambushed.

There was a 50-caliber machine gun on a high hill, so we had to call in the Marine Corps jets to drop napalm.

Overrun by the Northern Vietnamese forces, Tokarz and his battalion kept getting wiped out, unable to neutralize the machine gun on the hill.

What followed choked him up. With glazed eyes, he resumed.

One fighter pilot made about 16 runs on the enemy, and on his last run his aircraft got hit, Tokarz said. "It all went silent.

Thank God he parachuted and was picked up by a helicopter unit.

Feeling thankful for the aerial help that the battalion received, Tokarz made a lifelong promise to himself.

After that I swore that (if) I ever came home alive, I'm just going to learn how to fly, said Tokarz.

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Tough return home

Throughout 1968, Tokarz was part of 17 combat missions. At the end of his service, he was honorably discharged from the Marine Corps as a sergeant E-5  a rank that he ascended to in less than two years.

He credited the relatively short promotion time to the vacuum in the ranks created by the high death rate in combat.

Peter Tokarz sits in a military vehicle in 1969 at Marine Base Camp Lejeune in North Carolina.

During Operation Kentucky, 520 U.S. Marines were killed in action.

Tokarz did not share much from his experience with his family upon returning home, as his youngest of three sisters, Theresa Timura, remembered.

When he first came home, he rocked in a rocking chair in silence for so long, said Timura. He had a big rucksack. He had everything in there and it just went in our attic space and he didnt talk about it to anyone.

I really can't understate how difficult it was for Vietnam veterans coming back.

Discipline, said Tokarz, was the only thing that took his mind away from the terror of his memories.

Drive to become a pilot

A strong work ethic was instilled in him since the age of 11, when he started working after school at a Rexall drug store and cleaning Friendlys Restaurants with his uncle to support his family after the death of his father.

Donna, his wife whom he met during their years at Wachusett Regional High School and later married in 1976, says that the ethic was visible during the time that they were nothing but classmates.

Peter Tokarz and Donna Erickson, whom he would marry, in a 1967 yearbook photo at Wachusett Regional High School.

He was also very friendly and upbeat, Donna remembered.

While studying civil engineering nights, Tokarz worked days as a civil engineer for 10 years at the Metropolitan District Commission in Boston.

On weekends, he learned how to fly planes as a hobby in Tewksbury, soaring on two- and four-seaters such as Cessnas and Cherokees starting in 1972.

By 1977, he had earned a bachelors degree in liberal arts from Framingham State University.

I was a hermit, no exaggeration, Tokarz said.

Peter Tokarz was a commercial pilot during the 1980s.

The promise made to himself in Vietnam pushed him to delve further in the field of aviation, starting a short-lived flight school called Worcester Flight School Inc. at Worcester Airport.

Throughout the 1980s, Tokarz worked as a commercial pilot, flying F-27 planes out of Manchester Airport in New Hampshire, and later as chief pilot and director at Parker Manufacturing in Worcester.

In the 1990s, he also returned to Worcester Airport as the owner and chief pilot of the Corporate Flight Department.

An Army aviator

During that time, he joined the Army Reserves serving in the aviation department and also the National Guard Reserve Unit, where he was an officer. He was honorably discharged from both services in 1997.

It wasnt until the later part of the decade that Tokarz ascended to working for the Federal Aviation Administration. There he was an aviation safety inspector, often also working with helicopters.

Peter Tokarz in the cockpit of an Army helicopter in 1983.

Until 2001, Tokarz also worked for the FAA as an aviation inspector in Saudi Arabia, Dubai and Tanzania among other countries, where he worked with their governments to elevate the countrys aviation quality.

Those countries really did care and really wanted to bring up their civil aviation up to standard and I was here to help their system, said Tokarz, and they were very thankful and grateful for that.

The military years knocked on Tokarzs door again in the early 2000s, while he worked in Boston for the FAA. Following a eulogy in 2002 for a commander from his service in Vietnam who had recently passed away, he ran into Ken Cook, an Operation Kentucky veteran who had served at the same time and at the same place as Tokarz.

When I found out, I told him my story, said Tokarz, referring to the story about the pilot he credited with coming to the battalions aid. That Monday, he came in with his logbook. It was me, he said.

I hugged him and said, Thank you for saving my life, you son of a bitch.

Even though his voice trembles, Tokarz laughs. He says that after everything he has experienced, he found strength in his family the most, his wife and his daughter, now 40 years old, for whom he was often not present due to the nature of his work.

Federal, state recognitions

In the latter years of his career, Tokarz continued working as a safety inspector at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City, at the FAA headquarters in Washington, D.C., again in Saudi Arabia, and in Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives, Mexico and other countries.

The Wright Brothers FAA Master Pilot Award presented to Peter Tokarz in October for his 50 years of service to aviation safety.

In October, he received three awards for his experiences, retiring after exactly 50 years and 30 days after flying his first aircraft in October 1972.

Tokarz received the Wright Brothers Master Pilot Award by the FAA for his 50-year experience in aviation safety, and was also honored by the Gov. Charlie Baker administration in October with a citation for his aviation experience and another for his military service.

He attributed the state recognition in part to his friendship with former Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito during his time as a Republican state delegate.

Karyn came to the (Wright Brothers Master Pilot Award) ceremony and stayed there the entire time, said Tokarz. I then got a call from her secretary, saying that they wanted to give me the citations.

After a long career that was mostly spent above the clouds, Tokarz, who now lives in Worcester, said that he has yet to get used to the slow pace of retirement.

On any given afternoon, he could be seen eating dinner at Vals Restaurant in Holden along with his wife, where they seem to have picked up a new pastime as regulars at the establishment.

Upbeat, and with a smile, just like his wife remembered him from high school years, Tokarz still rocks a strong sense of humor.

After going many miles an hour all the time, traveling all these countries, helping them out, I really want to do something because I dont like being idle, said Tokarz.

I can always just fly again.

This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Peter Tokarz of Holden and Worcester received state and federal recognitions for his work in aviation safety and military experience
GENEVA (Reuters) -The World Health Organization (WHO) expects a significant jump in the death toll following a major earthquake and its aftershocks in southern Turkey and northwestern Syria that reduced many buildings to rubble.

The magnitude 7.8 quake, which rattled southern Turkey early on Monday, was the worst to hit the country this century, killing more than 900 people there and about 550 across the border in Syria, according to officials.

It was followed hours later by another large temblor of magnitude 7.7.

"I think we can expect the death toll to increase significantly," Rick Brennan, the WHO's regional emergency director for the Eastern Mediterranean, told Reuters.

"There's been a lot of building collapses and it will increase more significantly around the epicentre of the earthquake."

Brennan said WHO was boosting its staff in the southern Turkish city of Gaziantep, the epicentre of the earthquake, and exploring its options to send emergency medical teams to the area. He said rescue efforts were being hampered by aftershocks from the initial quake.

"It's harder for the rescue teams to get in there to extract people," he said. "Buildings that may have sustained some damage but remain functional can then get another insult and they can collapse."

Syria, already grappling with a years-long humanitarian crisis, major economic woes and a cholera outbreak, was in a "perfect storm" in the wake of the deadly earthquake, according to Brennan.

"The convergence of all these crises is leading to enormous suffering," he said.

(Reporting by Emma Farge and Cecile Mantovani; Writing by Gabrielle Tetrault-Farber; Editing by Bernadette Baum)
The debt ceiling has put Social Security and other programs in the crosshairs of Congress.

The U.S. reached its $31.4 trillion debt ceiling on Jan. 19, and the Treasury Department has warned that America may not be able to pay its debts past early June  unless the debt ceiling is raised or suspended.

Take Our Poll: Are You Concerned the U.S. Debt Ceiling Issue Will Endanger Social Security?

Democrats and Republicans are approaching the problem from different angles. Some House Republicans reportedly want to explore spending cuts to Social Security and Medicare.

Although House Speaker Kevin McCarthy last month said the GOP wont touch Medicare or Social Security as part of the debt ceiling discussion, the GOP reportedly has proposed the Trust Act and the Bipartisan Social Security Commission Act to review Social Security and Medicare as part of any debt solution.

McCarthy and President Biden are discussing a resolution as well. Also, Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.) and Josh Gottheimer (D-N.J.) suggest a debt-to-GDP ratio to control spending. Fitzpatrick told CNN, We have a fail-safe option in the backdrop that will be ready to go to make sure that we get this job done.

Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin has suggested that Congress alter the way Social Security is funded, forcing the highest-earning people to contribute more. Social Security reserves are on track to run out by 2035 unless more funding is found, but the debt ceiling issue raises new questions around the program.

Are You Concerned the U.S. Debt Ceiling Issue Will Endanger Social Security?

This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: Are You Concerned the US Debt Ceiling Issue Will Endanger Social Security? Take Our Poll
GOMA, Democratic Republic of Congo (Reuters) - Congo's government on Monday blamed M23 rebels for an attack on a helicopter that killed a United Nations peacekeeper, as hundreds in the eastern city of Goma demonstrated over spiralling insecurity in the region.

Militia violence has racked Democratic Republic of Congo's vast mineral-rich east for two decades despite local and regional military interventions and U.N. peacekeeping efforts.

A helicopter operated by the peacekeeping force MONUSCO came under fire on Sunday after taking off from the city of Beni. A South African peacekeeper was killed and another one wounded.

Neither South Africa nor MONUSCO said who might be responsible, nor what kind of weapon was used to target the helicopter or what caused the casualties.

The Kinshasa government blamed the M23 in a statement on Monday. The group, which launched a major offensive last year, denied the accusation.

With around 18,200 personnel, MONUSCO has been deployed in eastern Congo since taking over from a previous U.N. operation in 2010. Its mandate includes supporting the Congolese government's effort to stabilise the region.

But it has been the target of several sometimes violent protests against insecurity that have broken out in and around Goma over the past year.

Demonstrators accuse MONUSCO and a regional force set up in April last year of not doing enough to protect civilians and end bloodshed.

Hundreds took to the streets again on Monday, denouncing M23 advances which threaten Goma, despite a deal brokered in November under which the rebels agreed to a truce and to withdraw from recently seized territory.

In a separate incident on Monday, armed men suspected to be from a local Mai-mai militia killed a ranger and wounded two others in Virunga National Park, the park said in a statement.

Virunga, a sanctuary for endangered mountain gorillas around 300 kilometres north of Goma, is caught in the middle of militias fighting for control over land and natural resources.

Story continues

More than 200 rangers have been killed in past attacks that were frequently blamed on various rebel groups.

The park warned that such attacks, which waned in 2022, had become more frequent again in recent months.

(Reporting by Stanis Bujakera, Sonia Rolley, Djaffar Al Katanty and Paul Lorgerie; writing by Sofia Christensen; editing by Mark Heinrich)
Photo: File photo

A federal judge in Oklahoma has ruled that a federal law prohibiting people who use marijuana from owning firearms is unconstitutional, the latest challenge to firearms regulations after the U.S. Supreme Courts conservative majority set new standards for reviewing the nations gun laws.

Lawyers for Jared Michael Harrison had argued that their client's Second Amendment right to bear arms was being violated by a federal law that makes it illegal for unlawful users or addicts of controlled substances to possess firearms.

Harrison had been charged after being arrested by police in Lawton, Oklahoma, in May 2022 following a traffic stop. During a search of his car, police found a loaded revolver as well as marijuana. Harrison told police he had been on his way to work at a medical marijuana dispensary, but that he did not have a state-issued medical-marijuana card.

His lawyers had argued the portion of federal firearms law focused on drug users or addicts was not consistent with the nations historical tradition of firearm regulation, echoing what the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled last year in a case known as New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen. That case set new standards for interpreting the Second Amendment.

Federal prosecutors had argued that the portion of the law focused on drug users is consistent with a longstanding historical tradition in America of disarming presumptively risky persons, namely, felons, the mentally ill, and the intoxicated.

U.S. District Judge Patrick Wyrick in Oklahoma City agreed with Harrisons lawyers, ruling on Friday that federal prosecutors arguments that Harrisons status as a marijuana user justifies stripping him of his fundamental right to possess a firearm ... is not a constitutionally permissible means of disarming Harrison.

But the mere use of marijuana carries none of the characteristics that the Nations history and tradition of firearms regulation supports, Wyrick said, adding that under Oklahoma law, marijuana can be bought legally at more than 2,000 store fronts in the state.

Attorneys for Harrison, as well as the U.S. Attorneys Office for the Western District of Oklahoma, which was prosecuting the case, did not immediately return emails seeking comment Sunday.

The ruling came a day after a three-judge panel of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans on Thursday ruled that the government cant stop people who have domestic violence restraining orders against them from owning guns. The panel referenced the Bruen decision in its ruling.

The Justice Department has said it will seek further review of the appeals courts decision.

In September, a federal judge in Midland, Texas, ruled that a firearms law that bans those under felony indictment from buying guns is unconstitutional. In that case, U.S. District Judge David Counts also echoed the Supreme Courts language in the Bruen case, saying there was little evidence the ban related to being under indictment aligns with this Nations historical tradition.
Oleksii Reznikov, Minister of Defence of Ukraine, has said that the enlistment campaign in this country is taking place within the framework of the outlined plans.

Source: Reznikov in an interview with Ukrainska Pravda

Quote: "Nothing extraordinary is happening. We announced mobilisation when the act on martial law was approved by the parliament. There are certain standards that are specified in terms of numbers; the General Staff is aware of them and we work within these norms.

There is systematic and planned work going on, [as well as] replenishment of reserves, and recovering the losses, because our guys and girls are dying, and there are also wounded. But we don't have any sort of woes that Russia has."

Details: When asked whether it is appropriate for representatives of recruitment centres along with police to hand out conscription notices in shopping malls, city streets, cafes, and stop cars across the country [in order to hand out conscription notice], Reznikov explained that many people have moved and changed their place of residence without reflecting this in their military records. At the same time, the minister acknowledged that sometimes, the problem is caused by poor communication or a lack of it.

Quote: "You see, they [territorial recruitment centres] have a task set by the General Staff in terms of the number of troops [recruited] in a given period of time.

They see that, for example, there was a certain number of people registered in oblasts before the invasion, but many have moved away [since then].

If you are fit for military service, lived in Kyiv, then moved to Uzhhorod, Lviv, Ternopil, Chernivtsi, or wherever you are now, [then] you have to get registered. And hardly anyone does this.

So, they [territorial recruitment centres] have to do something. If they see a man of conscription age, safe and sound, they give him a conscription notice and he is obliged to come [to recruitment centre]. This does not mean that he will be enlisted the next day. He has to show his documents, and there has to be communication. He may say: "Yes, I'm of conscription age, but I have some special reservations" or "I have 4 children." Okay, just come and show [the necessary papers], and that's it.

Story continues

It is a road with oncoming traffic. The bulk of the volunteers were there in February and March, but the Constitution of Ukraine exists, we have mentioned it, and it establishes the duty of citizens to defend their country.

And if you are fit for military service and meet the criteria, the security and defene sector has the right to call you to the ranks...

And again, we go back to the beginning of our conversation, and sometimes the cause of the problem is poor communication or a lack of it.

Now the Defence Ministry employees, the media, and the security and defence sector have created a single media hub, and we are working to make it one voice.

And now, as far as I've been told, there are promotional leaflets, billboards and videos that will promote such things."

Journalists fight on their own frontline. Support Ukrainska Pravda or become our patron!
Rep. Cori Bush (D-Mo.) has invited Michael Brown Sr., the father of a teenager who was shot and killed by a police officer in Missouri in 2014, to the State of the Union, Politico Playbook reported on Monday.

Browns son, Michael Brown, was a Black teenager who was fatally shot in an encounter with police in Ferguson, Mo. The incident sparked national outrage and protests across the country, including the Black Lives Matter movement.

The ex-police officer who shot Brown was not charged in connection to the shooting.

The police killing of Michael Brown in 2014 is what propelled me and many others into lives dedicated to building a world where Mike would still be here with us  a world where his life could not be taken from him, Bush told Playbook, before mentioning the recent police killing of Tyre Nichols in Memphis, Tenn. A world where Tyre Nichols and the thousands of other Black people killed by police could live long, healthy lives full of joy.

Nichols, a 29-year-old Black man, died last month as a result of his injuries from being beaten by a group of police officers. His death has pushed many lawmakers and officials to renew calls for police reform as thousands of protesters took to the streets in Memphis to advocate for racial justice.

Nicholss parents will also be in attendance at President Bidens State of the Union on Tuesday at the invitation of Rep. Steven Horsford (D-Nev.), the chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus.

Biden met with members of the Congressional Black Caucus last week and has called on Congress to pass a police reform bill, which may be echoed in his State of the Union speech on Tuesday.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) on Sunday accused President Biden of delaying his decision to take down the suspected Chinese spy balloon to salvage Secretary of State Antony Blinkens trip to China.

I do believe the administration wanted to salvage the Secretary of States trip on Friday night, and they got through Thursday afternoon, he told Shannon Bream on Fox News Sunday.

Blinken postponed his trip to Beijing on Friday over the unacceptablesuspected surveillance balloon. He was supposed to leave Friday evening for a visit to China, coming after Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping met at the Group of 20 summit in November.

Cotton said that the Chinese balloon should have been shot down before it entered U.S. airspace. He said the Biden administration has a lot of explaining to do to the public regarding the incident.

The balloon first entered U.S. airspace in Alaska on Jan. 28, and traveled through Canada before reentering the U.S. through Idaho on Jan. 31. U.S. defense officials confirmed the balloon on Thursday after it was spotted in Montana on Wednesday.

Biden said he ordered the U.S. military to shoot down the balloon as soon as possible on Wednesday, but that officials waited until the aircraft was over water to make sure there was no risk on the ground.

What began as a spy balloon has become a trial balloon testing President Bidens strength and resolve and unfortunately, the president failed that test, Cotton said. And thats dangerous for the American people.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
New York City employees will no longer be required to receive a coronavirus vaccine, ending a policy that has been in place since October 2021, Mayor Eric Adams (D) announced on Monday.

With more than 96 percent of city workers and more than 80 percent of New Yorkers having received their primary COVID-19 series and more tools readily available to keep us healthy, this is the right moment for this decision, Adams said in a statement. I continue to urge every New Yorker to get vaccinated, get boosted, and take the necessary steps to protect themselves and those around them from COVID-19.

Citing the high rate of vaccination among city staffers, Adams and other city officials touted the policy as a lifesaving measure that helped protect workers throughout the pandemic. The mandate shift is a major step in the city drawing back its coronavirus protections and is expected to be adopted at a Board of Health meeting this week.

Its clear these mandates saved lives and were absolutely necessary to meet the moment, said New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene Commissioner Ashwin Vasan in the statement. Were grateful that we can now, as we leave the emergency phase of the pandemic, modify more of the rules that have gotten us to this point.

Officials also pointed to the broad vaccination of all city residents, noting that more than 80 percent of New Yorkers have recieved their initial two vaccinations.

The decision from Adams comes as the Biden administration is set to let the federal governments public health emergency for COVID-19 expire in May, marking a new turn in the countrys fight against the disease.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
BOULDER, Colo. (AP)  Tristan da Silva scored a career-high 25 points and KJ Simpson added 21 points to lead Colorado to a 84-64 win over Stanford on Sunday night and snap the Cardinal's five-game win streak.

Da Silva, who has scored at least 20 points in five straight games. shot 9 of 14 from the field, including 3 of 4 from 3-point range, and made 4 of 5 from the free-throw line. Simpson made 11 of 11 from the line, grabbed seven rebounds and had four assists.

Colorado (14-11, 6-8 Pac-12) has won back-to-back games following a string of five losses in a six-game span.

Stanford missed its first 10 second-half field-goal attempts and went scoreless after the break until Spencer Jones made a layup with 12:46 to play. Da Silva scored six points before Julian Hammond III and Luke OBrien made back-to-back 3-pointers to cap a 16-0 run to open the second period and take a 55-39 lead.

Brandon Angel led Stanford (10-13, 4-8) with 14 points and Jones fouled out with 13 points and two steals. Maxime Raynaud and Michael Jones added 10 points apiece.

Colorado scored 10 straight points, including five in a row from Wright, in a span of 81 seconds to take an 11-point lead with about eight minutes left in the first half but the Cardinal scored 10 of the final 12 points before intermission to make it 39-all at halftime.

The Buffaloes shot 53% (29 of 55) from the field, made 9 of 19 (47%) from 3-point range and hit 17 of 18 from the free-throw line while outrebounding the Cardinal 38-24. Stanford was 5-of-23 shooting from 3-point range.

UP NEXT

Stanford plays host to Arizona State on Thursday

Colorado hits the road to play Thursday at Utah

___

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
Oleksiy Danilov rarely cracks a smile.

The gruff-looking 60-year-old National Security and Defense Council secretary doesn't have much to smile about.

One year after their botched attempt to dismantle Ukrainian statehood, Russians are expected to launch another major offensive in an attempt to turn the tide of the war.

The next few months will be decisive in bringing Ukraine closer to victory, Danilov told the Kyiv Independent during an interview.

"We want 2023 to be the year of victory, but we are realists, and I think that the West doesn't know what to do with Russia," he said.

Ukraine's strategy is simple, he said: Ukraine needs more weapons, and it needs them as fast as possible to "liquidate Russians."

"We need tanks to defend ourselves and develop counter-offensives," Danilov said. "We need cannons, shells, tanks, rockets, planes, and we needed them by yesterday."

Reznikov, who took his position in November 2021, said he was ready to resign if Zelensky made such a decision.

Ukrainian newspaper ZN.UA released a report on Jan. 21 that the Defense Ministry was purchasing some food for the military at inflated prices, citing the ministry's food procurement contract for 2023.

Ukraine's parliamentary committee on national security, defense, and intelligence have summoned top ministry officials to address the allegations.

Ukraine's military faces a dilemma when it comes to revealing corruption and full transparency.

The topic of defense procurement during the war is sealed, Danilov said, calling it a "very complicated question" while being confident Reznikov would take the steps needed to tackle corruption.

While Reznikov called the report false and asked the Security Service to look into the people involved in spreading the information, Danilov defended Ukraine's freedom of speech, saying it guarantees a healthy society.

"If the freedom of speech disappears, then society disappears as well," he said. "That's what happened in Russia."

Story continues

He cited the kidnapping and murder of Georgiy Gongadze, a Ukrainian journalist killed near Kyiv in 2000, allegedly after then-President Leonid Kuchma gave orders to deal with him. Kuchma denies it.

"The case of Gongadze should be a warning for anybody who wants to shut the mouths of journalists," he said. "Sooner or later, everybody will know everything."

Note from the author:

Hello, this is Alexander Query, thank you for reading this story.

Im incredibly lucky to have been working with the Kyiv Independent team since day one and before, a team thats working 24/7 to bring you the latest news and in-depth articles to understand the situation in Ukraine and the region.

These are troubled times, but we keep hope, and we will prevail, thanks to our readers. Let us be your eyes and ears on the ground by becoming our patron on Patreon.
Dave Chappelle Shannon Finney/Getty Images

Grammy voters are standing by Dave Chappelle.

Chappelle won the Grammy for Best Comedy Album on Sunday for his controversial Netflix special The Closer, which sparked backlash over its jokes about transgender people.

Released in 2021, The Closer featured Chappelle saying that "gender is a fact" and joking that he is "team TERF," meaning trans-exclusionary radical feminist, while defending J.K. Rowling, who has been criticized for anti-trans tweets. The special was accused of being transphobic at the time, sparking backlash and an employee walkout at Netflix. "Dave Chappelle's brand has become synonymous with ridiculing trans people and other marginalized communities," GLAAD said. Chappelle also defended DaBaby in the special after the rapper made homophobic comments.

But Netflix's CEO defended Chappelle, and the streamer later released a speech he delivered where he blasts his student critics as "instruments of oppression."

This marked Chappelle's fourth Grammy win for Best Comedy Album. It was also the second consecutive year that the Grammys awarded Best Comedy Album to a controversial comedian. In 2022, the winner was Louis C.K., who admitted to allegations of sexual misconduct in 2017. C.K. was nominated again in 2023.

"We won't restrict the people who can submit their material for consideration," Recording Academy CEO Harvey Mason Jr. told The Wrap in 2021 after criticism over the nominations for C.K. and disgraced musician Marilyn Manson. "We won't look back at people's history, we won't look at their criminal record, we won't look at anything other than the legality within our rules of, is this recording for this work eligible based on date and other criteria. If it is, they can submit for consideration."

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Watch: David Carrick - rapist Metropolitan Police officer jailed for life

Former Metropolitan Police officer and serial rapist David Carrick tried to kill himself while he was in custody, a court has heard.

Carrick, one of the worst sex offenders in modern UK history, was jailed on Tuesday for at least 30 years after he was given 36 life sentences.

The 48-year-old, who carried out a number of rapes and sexual assaults on 12 women over a 17-year-period, was described as a "monster" and "evil" by some of his victims.

He carried out a catalogue of violent and brutal sex attacks between 2003 and 2020, Southwark Crown Court heard.

Passing sentence, Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb said Carrick had made a "committed attempt" to kill himself while on remand at Belmarsh prison last February.

Former Metropolitan Police officer and serial rapist David Carrick has been jailed for a minimum of 30 years. (PA)

As a result, he was moved to Rampton psychiatric hospital but was not found to be suffering from any mental disorder.

The judge told him: You were driven to try to commit suicide as a self-pitying reaction to the shame brought on you by these proceedings rather than remorse.

Carrick, who joined the Met in 2001 before becoming an armed officer with the Parliamentary and Diplomatic Protection Command in 2009, used his position to gain the womens trust and scare them into silence.

During the hearing yesterday, the court heard he held a handgun to the head of one of his victims as he raped her and sent another a photograph of himself with a work-issue firearm, saying: Remember I am the boss.

The court also heard that Carrick used cameras in his home to monitor his victims and shut one woman in a small cupboard as punishment while whistling at her as if she was a dog.

Judge Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb during a live broadcast of the sentencing of David Carrick at Southwark Crown Court on Tuesday. (PA Images via Getty Images)

Sentencing Carrick, Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb told him: These convictions represent a spectacular downfall for a man charged with upholding the law and empowered to do so even to the extent of being authorised to bear a firearm in the execution of your duty.

Behind a public appearance of propriety and trustworthiness you took monstrous advantage of women.

Story continues

You brazenly raped and sexually assaulted a number of women, some very brutally and you behaved as if you were untouchable."

Carrick sat in the dock with his eyes closed and head bowed during the hearing in a packed courtroom, including some of his victims, and showed no emotion as he was sentenced.

An artist's sketch of David Carrick, right, appearing at Southwark Crown Court in London on Monday for sentencing. (PA)

Carricks crimes were all carried out while he was a serving police officer.

He passed vetting checks to guard sites including embassies and the Houses of Parliament and completed training courses, including one on domestic abuse in 2005.

Carrick faced no criminal sanctions or misconduct findings and police chiefs across England and Wales have since been asked to have all officers checked against national police databases by the end of March.

The cupboard beneath the stairs in the home of David Carrick. (PA)

David Carrick: Key points from the sentencing

Full story: Rapist Metropolitan Police officer jailed for life over abuse of 12 women (Guardian)

Carrick victim: 'I was put in boot of police car and driven around for hours' (The Telegraph)

Hundreds of UK officers should never have been appointed (The Independent)

Pictured: Cupboard where rapist police officer David Carrick kept victims (Evening Standard)

Rape victim told by nurse to 'put it behind her and move on' (Yahoo News UK)

Timeline of 17-year campaign of violent and brutal sex offences (Independent)

David Carrick's offences



Carrick, from Stevenage, Hertfordshire, had pleaded guilty to 49 offences spanning two decades:

His full list of offences were:

24 counts of rape

9 counts of sexual assault

5 counts of assault by penetration

3 counts of coercive and controlling behaviour

3 counts of false imprisonment

2 counts of attempted rape

1 count of attempted sexual assault by penetration

1 count of causing a person to engage in sexual activity without consent

1 count of indecent assault

David Carrick posing with a police firearm. (SWNS)

Carrick, who served in the army before joining the Met, admitted 49 criminal charges, but some of the attacks are multiple incident counts, meaning they relate to more than 80 sexual offences, including at least 48 rapes against 12 women.

David Carrick's methods



Carrick, nicknamed "B*****d Dave" by colleagues, met some of the women through online dating sites such as Tinder and Badoo or on social occasions, using his position as a police officer to gain their trust.

Carrick admitted raping nine of the women, some on multiple occasions over months or years, with many of those attacks involving violence that would have left them physically injured.

Watch: Prime minister says David Carrick's abuse of power 'truly sickening'

Some were locked in a small cupboard under the stairs in his Hertfordshire home for hours without food or forced to clean his house naked.

Carrick whipped one woman with a belt, urinated on some of his victims, and told them when they could eat and sleep.

Read more: David Carrick case - is the Metropolitan Police damaged beyond repair?

He called women fat and lazy or his slave as he controlled them financially, isolated them from friends and family, and forbade them from speaking with other men or even their own children.

Chief Crown prosecutor Jaswant Narwal said: This is a man who relentlessly degraded, belittled, sexually assaulted and raped women."

David Carrick carried out dozens of rape and sexual offences against 12 women. (SWNS)

He denied a further count of rape in September 2020 relating to a 13th woman, whose allegation triggered the investigation, and the Crown Prosecution Service decided it was not in the public interest to proceed to trial on the charge.

On 4 September 2020, Carrick told her he was a firearms officer nicknamed B*****d Dave, showed her his warrant card and boasted of meeting famous people, including then-prime minister Boris Johnson, in the course of his work, a court previously heard.

How did David Carrick evade capture?

Carrick came to the attention of police over nine incidents  including allegations of rape, domestic violence and harassment  between 2000 and 2021.

But Carrick, who joined the force in 2001 before becoming an armed officer with the Parliamentary and Diplomatic Protection Command in 2009, faced no criminal sanctions or misconduct findings.

The Metropolitan Police has apologised for its handling of the David Carrick case. (Getty Images)

Police chiefs across England and Wales have since been asked to have all officers checked against national police databases by the end of March.

What has the Metropolitan Police said?

On Sunday, Metropolitan Police assistant commissioner Barbara Gray repeated the force's apology to Carrick's victims.

I am truly sorry for the harm and devastation he has caused them," she said.

We let them down and we failed to identify a man in the ranks of the Metropolitan Police Service who carried out the most awful offences.

He should not have been a police officer."

What has been the fallout from the case?

Last month, Metropolitan Police commissioner Sir Mark Rowley said that two or three police officers are expected to appear in court each week to face criminal charges in the coming months as the scandal-hit force attempts to reform.

Metropolitan Police commissioner Sir Mark Rowley appearing before the London Assembly Police and Crime Committee to answer questions about the David Carrick case. (PA Images via Getty Images)

After Carricks guilty plea nearly three weeks ago, home secretary Suella Braverman said more disturbing cases involving police officers could be uncovered in the short term.

Following the sentencing, Braverman said: The crimes of David Carrick are a scar on our police, and it is only right that he now faces at least 30 years behind bars. I pay tribute to the brave women who have come forward to hold him to account for his vile abuse.

It is vital we uncover how he was able to wear the uniform for so long."

Mayor of London Sadiq Khan said: My thoughts are with Carricks victims today. I want to pay tribute to their bravery and courage. By coming forward they have helped to protect the public and rid the Met Police of a dangerous and prolific offender who abused his position as a police officer in the worst possible way.

This should never have been allowed to happen and must never happen again."

A new Met Police integrity hotline has received tens of calls a week, leading to new investigations, Sir Mark said, a third of which relate to other forces.

In the wake of Carricks conviction, about 1,000 previous cases involving Met officers and staff who were accused of sexual offences or domestic violence are being reviewed to make sure they were handled correctly. This is expected to be completed by the end of March.

Watch: Met Police chief says rooting out corrupt officers 'will be painful'
Photo: Park Board/Twitter

The Stanley Park Ghost Train was cancelled at least five days before the Vancouver Board of Parks and Recreation made a public announcement on Sept. 20.

Internal email obtained via freedom of information shows the week after a Technical Safety BC [TSBC] inspector failed the parks two-kilometre miniature railway, Park Board managers already shifted gears to planning Bright Nights in Stanley Park, despite problems with the rolling stock experienced in early summer.

The locomotive called Red A7737 developed an air leak a day before a July 3 email from railway sub-foreman Krista Moyls. She put Green A7739 on-duty, but at least one of the brake shoes locked and had to be put in reverse to correct the problem. Unit A7740, the replica of the Canadian Pacific Railways historic transcontinental Engine 374, was a backup locomotive, but it runs very hot and would like to avoid it during the summer, Moyls wrote. She added that one of the carriages, named for Hallelujah Point, was making a weird groaning noise.

Moyls was all aboard for planning the Halloween and Christmas events in an Aug. 14 email, but conceded two locomotives were out of service and there was a lengthy list of repairs needed, from failing airline valves and starters to the carriage making a creaking noise.

The manual from Wichita, Kansas-based manufacturer Chance Rides said locomotives needed servicing for every 50 hours they are operated, which meant once every 10 days during the Ghost Train and once every six days during Bright Nights in Stanley Park for the two locomotives in regular operation.

Im sure [TSBC] will have a list of non-compliance issues that I will have to have rectified before the festivals, Moyls wrote, in what turned out to be an understatement.

Time was of the essence. The Ghost Train ticketing website was scheduled to go live Sept. 12, but the mood turned sour on the day the safety inspector arrived.

Our sub-foreman Krista has just informed me that we dont have a single locomotive that is operating right now, said train operations team lead Rosemary Yip on Sept. 7. Though we are temporarily closed, we need a functioning engine soon as we have rehearsals for Ghost Train coming up the third week of September.

TSBC safety officer Dave Lywak ordered the railway shut down in his Sept. 8 report. There was rust and corrosion on the tracks lower surface, rot and decay from heavy moss-growth on the trestle, branches obscuring the conductors line of sight.

Lywak found multiple rotten ties and loose spikes marked with flagging tape. Spike heads were not contacting the track, allowing movement as the train passed over. Multiple brakes were not functioning and horizontal and vertical axle play was noticed.

There was excessive wear in the undercarriage of passenger cars and mechanical troubles in each locomotive, such as brakes that didnt release, overheating, and oil leaks that posed a fire hazard during operation.

Trains not permitted to operate for public until full condition report has been reviewed by TSBC safety officer and re-assessment has been completed, Lywak wrote. All equipment is to meet manufacturer minimum safety requirements.

A team of four mechanics came to work on the locomotives Sept. 24 and began to order parts and send components out for repair. Managers were tasked with identifying five carriages that could be serviced without extensive work. Bright Nights was still scheduled, but a one-week delay was proposed.

You wont be surprised to hear that Chance [Rides] is saying any out of stock parts are eight-to-16 weeks delivery at this point, while delivery would be two weeks for any in stock parts, Yip wrote on Oct. 4. "Ive reached out to Richmond Country Farms, who have offered to help by lending anything they have that we might need.

Then another surprise, when a crucial Oct. 19 visit from a consultant was derailed. Jim Sturgill Jr. of Pacific Northwest Railway Services told Yip on Oct. 17 that seven underwriters refused to provide him a $5 million insurance policy.

They feel there is possible entanglement that any advice/consulting provided to repair a train to carry passengers has the potential to carry massive liability risk and transfer liability for the safety of the mechanical state of the train to myself, wrote Sturgill, who said he was talking to a lawyer to find a workaround.

Yip conceded Oct. 31 that manufacturers werent responding and the train was unlikely to roll for Bright Nights.

I take that to mean that Chance is more interested in selling us new trains than helping us fix our old equipment and Industrial Engines must have a lot of work and aren't looking for more right now, she said. Or that this project is too low value to be of interest.

Yip was already working with the BC Professional Fire Fighters Association Burn Fund on a lights-only Christmas event. She conceded that Park Board crews were understaffed and didnt have the expertise to satisfy the safety officer.

Given that the pressure is off to get a train ready for the end of November, we have time to figure out a plan for how we're going to get the trains operational again.

Fleet and manufacturing services superintendent John Pezzolesi replied: Dealing with Chance Rides has many disadvantages because of U.S. location, exchange rate, cost of parts and availability. As with most shops locally, we are all having mechanic shortages.

Four days later, on Nov. 3, the official announcement: The railway would not open for the 25th anniversary of Bright Nights.

As the drama unfolded behind the scenes in late October, the Park Board was advertising for an engineering consultant to help electrify the train and source necessary parts. That is now on-hold while staff figure out how to get the railway back on track. A report from Burnaby engineering firm Hedgehog Technologies is expected later this month.

In the meantime, Park Boards proposed $154.8 million operating budget goes before commissioners on Feb. 6. It contemplates spending $1.425 million to operate the train in 2023  2.5 per cent less than in 2022. But it also projects $1.885 million revenue.
Former Metropolitan Police officer David Carrick is being sentenced for a series of rapes and sexual offences. (SWNS)

One of the rape victims of a former Metropolitan Police officer was advised by an A&E nurse not to report him, a court has heard.

David Carrick, 48, from Stevenage, Hertfordshire, is being sentenced after pleading guilty to dozens of rape and sexual offences against 12 women over an 18-year period.

His sentencing began on Monday and is taking place over two days at Southwark Crown Court.

It heard that a woman raped by Carrick was told by a nurse not to report the incident.

Watch: Serial rapist David Carrick sacked by Metropolitan Police

Prosecutor Tom Little KC said the woman, known as victim one, went to King's College Hospital in London with external and internal injuries after being raped by Carrick.

She had bite marks, bruising and clumps of hair missing, the court heard.

She was asked who had raped her and she told the nurse that it was a police officer," said Mr Little.

(The victim) told the police that the nurse in A&E told her that she needed to be ready if she was going to complain about it and that even if she did it might not go to court.

She said as she was young, she might be better to try to put it behind her and move on.

As a result, (the victim) did not report the matter to the police at the time.

The court heard that she had met Carrick in a London bar in 2003.

He told her he was "the safest person that she could be with" before taking her back to his flat nearby, Mr Little said.

An artist's sketch of David Carrick, right, appearing at Southwark Crown Court in London on Monday for sentencing. (PA)

Once there, Carrick held a black handgun to her head and said, "You are not going", before repeatedly raping her, the court was told.

Mr Little said: She bit his arm and he put his hand behind the bed. He searched for something and then put a black handgun to her head, which was the item he found behind the bed, and said to her you are not going.

She froze. The prosecution does not contend that it was a real firearm. (The victim) couldnt say whether it was or not.

Read more: David Carrick case - is the Metropolitan Police damaged beyond repair?

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During the attack, Carrick put his hands around her throat and said he would be the last thing she saw.

Mr Little said they then went to his sitting room where he talked to her about her parents as if nothing in the last few hours had happened at all, before raping her again.

The court heard later that one of Carrick's victims said an A&E nurse had told her it wasn't the first time she had heard that a police officer had raped somebody, and unfortunately didnt think it would be the last.

The victim added that the nurse had told her the law tend to protect their own.

The court heard that Carrick carried out "a catalogue of violent and brutal sexual offences".

Mr Little said the women were "vulnerable", with some appreciably older or younger than Carrick.

He used security cameras in his home to monitor his victims, one of whom was shut in a small cupboard under the stairs as punishment while Carrick was whistling at her as if she was a dog, the court heard.

The cupboard beneath the stairs at the home of serial rapist David Carrick. (PA)

He also sent one of his victims a photograph of himself with a work-issue gun, with the message: Remember I am the boss, the court heard.

One woman was left feeling suicidal and physically and mentally exhausted after dropping from dress size 14 to size 6 in the six months after meeting Carrick on dating app Tinder, the court was told.

He would watch her remotely using cameras installed at his home, cut her off from friends and family members and control how much she ate and when she slept, the prosecutor said.

Carrick's crimes were carried out while he served in the Met, which he joined in 2001 before becoming an armed officer with the Parliamentary and Diplomatic Protection Command in 2009.

The officer, who guarded sites including embassies and the Houses of Parliament, took training courses, including one on domestic abuse in 2005, the court heard.

Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb is expected to sentence Carrick on Tuesday after he previously pleaded guilty to 49 charges relating to 12 women between 2003 and 2020.

They include 24 counts of rape, nine counts of sexual assault, five counts of assault by penetration, three counts of coercive and controlling behaviour, three counts of false imprisonment, two counts of attempted rape, one count of attempted sexual assault by penetration, one count of causing a person to engage in sexual activity without consent and one count of indecent assault.

Some are multiple-incident counts, meaning they relate to at least 85 separate offences, including at least 71 sexual offences and 48 rapes.

Protesters outside Southwark Crown Court where serial rapist David Carrick is being sentenced. (Getty Images)

He denied a further count of rape in September 2020 relating to a 13th woman, whose allegation triggered the investigation, with the Crown Prosecution Service deciding it was not in the public interest to proceed to trial.

The Met was forced to apologise and admit Carrick should have been rooted out earlier after it emerged he came to police attention over nine incidents  including allegations of rape, domestic violence and harassment  between 2000 and 2021, with all but one of the incidents relating to his behaviour towards women.

Carrick faced no criminal sanctions or misconduct findings and police chiefs across England and Wales have since been asked to have all officers checked against national police databases by the end of March.

He was finally sacked from the force last month after pleading guilty and being unmasked as one of the countrys most prolific sex offenders.

Carricks crimes are set to form part of the independent inquiry looking at the murder of Sarah Everard, who was raped and strangled by then-serving Met officer Wayne Couzens in March 2021.

Watch: Prime minister says David Carrick should never have been a police officer
Carrick poses in uniform with a rifle - SWNS

Serial rapist David Carrick repeatedly used his status as a police officer to attract, abuse and then silence his victims, convincing them they would never be believed if they came forward, a court has been told.

One victim described how she was too frightened to report him after he drilled into her that he was the police, he was the law.

Another, who suffered a violent rape at his hands, recalled how she was told by a nurse in Accident & Emergency that there was little point in lodging a complaint because the law protects its own.

Last month it was revealed how the police missed at least nine opportunities to identify Carricks offending.

In a series of heart-rending victim impact statements almost a dozen women  two of whom were serving police officers  described how their lives had been torn apart by Carrick who spent 20 years in the Met.

Many said their ordeal had left them unable to trust police officers, with one describing how she now froze every time she heard a siren.

The details were set out at the beginning of Carricks two day sentencing hearing after he pleaded guilty to 49 counts covering more than 70 sexual offences last month.

The 48-year-old is expected to be jailed for much of the remainder of his life when Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb, the judge presiding over the trial, passes sentence on Tuesday morning.

Opening the prosecution case against him, Tom Little KC told Southwark Crown Court that Carrick had been responsible for a systematic catalogue of violent and brutal sexual offences perpetrated on multiple victims.

The prosecutor said it did not matter to Carrick who the victims were, adding: Where he had the opportunity he would rape them, sexually abuse them, assault them and humiliate them.

The court heard how Carrick often used his status as a police officer to impress and attract his victims, deliberately targeting vulnerable women.

Once he had lured them into a controlling relationship he would use the fact he was a Met officer to intimidate and silence them.

Story continues

Mr Little explained: He frequently relied on his charm to beguile and mislead the victims in the first place and would then use his power and control  in part because of what he did for a living  to stop them leaving or consider reporting him.

He was no doubt aware that they would conclude they would be unlikely to be believed if they were to come forward on their own and claim that a Metropolitan Police officer had raped them.

He targeted his first victim in 2003, meeting her in a bar and telling her she would be safe with him because he was a serving officer.

Carrick then invited the woman back to his south London flat, where he repeatedly and violently raped her.

The court was told that as she tried to get away, she had bitten his arm and Carrick had put a black handgun to her head telling her: You are not going.

He then put his hands around her throat and told her that he was going to be the last thing she saw.

Woman stands outside Southwark Crown Court with a sign reading: 'Police everywhere, safety nowhere' - Yui Mok/PA

In her moving impact statement, the woman said: That night I felt I had encountered evil, for the past 19 years Ive been lost in my own life mainly due to this one event.

I distinctly remember his words, Come on, you can trust me I am the safest person you can be around. I am a police officer.

I honestly thought he was going to kill me that night, I thought he was going to rape me and kill me and that my life would be over.

The woman suffered numerous injuries in the attack and the following morning went to Kings College Hospital, where she told a nurse she had been raped by a police officer.

She explained: The nurse told me that it wasnt the first time she had heard this and unfortunately, she doubted it would be the last.

She told me it would be very hard getting it to go to court as the law tends to protect their own and that it is also likely that he would know it was you and could make your life hell for doing so.

Another of Carricks victims, who was subjected to almost two years of degrading sexual attacks, described how he threatened her with his police baton and sent her a photograph of his work-issue firearm saying remember I am the boss.

Police baton in bag

The woman confided in a friend that Carrick had raped her and was advised to report what had happened.

But she said she was too frightened, thinking nobody would believe her as the defendant was a police officer and very powerful.

Fear of not being believed was a theme that ran through many of his victims testimonies.

One woman who he sexually assaulted in 2009 said she had considered reporting Carrick, but had decided against it because she doubted anyone would do anything if she made a complaint.

In 2015, Carrick told a woman he was a Met officer before raping her. She told her sister what had happened around three years later but thought she would not be believed if she reported the matter because he was a police officer.

In 2018, Carrick met a victim on a dating site, telling her what he did for a living in order to win her confidence.

Following the attack, she said her trust in the police had been shattered: I dont trust the police anymore, if anything went wrong I dont know whether I would want to call the police as Id worry that they would send a male officer like him.

The thought of being alone with a male officer makes me very anxious. I wouldnt want to be in a room with a male officer or even any of my friends or family.

Another woman he abused between 2018 and 2020 said she was scared of him because he was a police officer who liked to control her.

In her victim impact statement, she said: I was too frightened to go to the police to lodge a complaint as the defendant had drilled it into me that he was the police, he was the law and he owned me. I was convinced the police would not believe me and would not investigate my complaint.

The Met failed to take action against Carrick despite numerous complaints being raised about his behaviour.

He was finally sacked from the force last month after pleading guilty and being unmasked as one of the countrys most prolific sex offenders.

Carricks crimes are set to form part of the independent inquiry looking at the murder of Sarah Everard, who was raped and strangled by then-serving Met officer Wayne Couzens in March 2021.
Love is in the air at a Central Florida courthouse.

Couples can get married with a Valentines Day themed-wedding at the Osceola County Historic Courthouse.

The Osceola Clerk of the Circuit Court and County Comptroller Kevin Sotos team will host a group ceremony and reception.

Read: Clerk to offer special Valentines Day wedding ceremony at Orange County Courthouse

Registration will be open until Feb. 10 or until each ceremony reaches capacity.

The courthouse encourages couples to sign up for a marriage license appointment as soon as possible so they can participate. The office will offer two ceremonies, one at 10 a.m. in English and another at 2 p.m. in Spanish.

Read: 9 tips to keep yourself healthy during American Heart Month

For $50, there will also be a reception compete with cupcakes, beverages and music.

Couples will receive a decorative certificate and a printed photo.

Read: Orlando celebrates Lunar New Year with annual Central Florida Dragon Parade

What better time to celebrate love than Valentines Day, Soto said. We will provide a memorable setting for our couples to get married.

The courthouse is the oldest Florida courthouse still used today.

For more information about appointments, click here.

See a map of the location below:

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.
DARKUSH, Syria (AP)  A steady stream of injured flowed into an overwhelmed hospital in the town of Darkush, in rebel-held northwestern Syria on Monday, after a deadly earthquake struck the region. Mothers hovered over crying children.

Amid the chaos, one man sat with a dazed expression, his face covered with abrasions.

The man, Osama Abdul Hamid, barely made it out alive with his wife and four children from his apartment building in the nearby village of Azmarin. Many of their neighbors were not so lucky.

The building is four stories, and from three of them, no one made it out, Abdul Hamid said, breaking down in tears. God gave me a new lease on life.

At an equally overwhelmed hospital in Idlib city, Shajul Islam, a British doctor who works with several non-governmental organizations, was having the worst day of his seven years working in Syria.

Im literally taking a patient off a ventilator to give another patient a chance, having to decide which patient has more of a chance of surviving or not, Islam said.

The hospital, already struggling with weak health infrastructure and funding cuts, he said, was particularly overburdened after the earthquake because other hospitals in the area were out of commission.

Weve got quite a lot of hospitals that had been previously hit in the war. So they had already the foundations, everything had already been weakened, he said. With the added blow of the earthquake, he said, "Weve had at least three or four hospitals that I know of that have been put out of service."

The powerful 7.8 magnitude quake that struck before dawn on Monday wreaked new damage and suffering in Syrias last rebel-held enclave after years of fighting and bombardment.

Hospitals and clinics were flooded with injured people. The enclave, centered in Idlib province, houses millions of displaced Syrians who had fled their homes during the countrys civil war. Many of the displaced live in dire conditions in makeshift camps. Many others there and in neighboring government-held areas are housed in buildings weakened by past bombings, leaving them even more vulnerable to shocks from earthquakes.

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The quake caused total or partial damage to buildings in at least 58 villages, towns and cities in northwestern Syria, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based war monitor.

More than 4,000 people were killed in Turkey and Syria, with the toll expected to climb. In the opposition-held territory in Syria, at least 450 were reported dead, but hundreds more were believed be buried under the rubble of their homes.

This disaster will worsen the suffering of Syrians already struggling with a severe humanitarian crisis, Carsten Hansen, the director for the Middle East at the Norwegian Refugee Council, said in a statement. Millions have already been forced to flee by war in the wider region and now many more will be displaced by disaster.

In the hospital in Darkush in western Idlib, Abdel Hamid said his family were sleeping in their apartment when they were roused by powerful, prolonged shaking. They ran from the apartment, but before we reached the door of the building, the whole building came down on us, he said.

A wooden door shielded them from the worst force of the collapse  they all got out alive. He and his wife and three of the children suffered head injuries, but are all in stable condition.

The scale of the casualties quickly overwhelmed the hospitals resources, said Majdi al-Ibrahim, a general surgeon at the hospital.

We need urgent help. The danger is beyond our capacity, he said.

The Syrian American Medical Society, which runs hospitals in northern Syria and southern Turkey, said in a statement that its facilities are overwhelmed with patients filling the hallways and called urgently for trauma supplies and a comprehensive emergency response to save lives and treat the injured.

The opposition territory in the northwest corner of Syria has held out for years even after Syrian government forces retook most rebel-held areas around the country.

Fighting still flares from time to time with Russian-backed Syrian forces nearby. Parts of the territory are run by rebel groups, including a dominant al-Qaida-linked militant faction, while parts are under a Turkish-backed administration known as the Syrian Interim Government.

The disaster came on the heels of severe winter storms, further adding to the misery of those left without shelter.

There is rain and the weather is very cold, there is snow in some of the areas, Abdel Hakim al-Masri, economy minister with the Turkish-backed regional administration, told The Associated Press. He noted that some of the displacement camps in the area had been decimated by the quake.

Al-Masri said that efforts have begun to find temporary shelter for the people now doubly displaced by the earthquake, but that the magnitude of the response required is well beyond the local resources available.

There is a huge amount of suffering, and this will increase it, he said. "This matter calls for rapid action by all countries of the world.

___

Sewell reported from Beirut.
Authorities responding to a hit-and-run at a McDonalds restaurant found a pedestrian struck in the parking lot, according to a Pennsylvania police department.

The Bucks County Rescue Squad rushed the man to a hospital, where he died of his injuries, according to the Bristol Township Police Department. The driver was already gone when police arrived.

Officers investigating the fatality learned the pedestrian was struck shortly after 4 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 5, outside of a McDonalds in Levittown, police said.

He was hit by a gray Chevrolet Silverado pickup truck, officials said. The four-door truck is believed to be a 2013 model with two 4x4 stickers on the truck bed, black rims and a vanity license plate on the front.

The truck may be missing an oval shaped black plastic trim piece that may cover a fog lamp opening, police said.

A homicide investigation is ongoing.

Anyone with additional information is asked to contact Detective Patrick Kitchenman at 267-812-3056 or pkitchenman160@bristolpd.org.

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Two progressive Democratic House freshmen from Florida and Texas invited parents of two victims of school shootings as their guests for President Bidens State of the Union address on Tuesday.

Rep. Greg Casar (D-Texas) invited Brett Cross, whose son Uziyah Garcia was one of the 19 schoolchildren who died at Robb Elementary in Uvalde, Texas, on May 24, 2022; Rep. Maxwell Frost (D-Fla.) will host Manuel Oliver, the father of Joaquin Oliver, one of 17 victims of the 2018 Stoneman Douglas High School shooting in Parkland, Fla.

I think theres power in that were both from the South, were both Latinos, were both from states that are controlled by Republican legislatures and governors who have not acted on gun violence  in fact, not just not acted, theyre actively passing legislation that will cause more gun violence, Frost told The Hill.

And were taking two fathers who have lost children at school, and were bringing them to the Capitol to hear from the president and were going to talk about ending gun violence and what we think needs to happen.

A spokesperson for Casar told The Hill late Monday evening Cross would not be able to make the trip to Washington, but did not state a reason.

Frost, 26, currently the youngest member of Congress, and Casar, 33, both grew up and attended school in an era when school shootings proliferated in the United States.

In a joint statement, the two lawmakers said they chose their guests to highlight the continued need for gun reform and gun violence prevention.

As candidates, both were endorsed by the Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence, a nonprofit organization that was renamed in honor of former Rep. Gabby Giffords (D-Ariz.), a survivor of gun violence.

Frosts political career started as a teenager, as an organizer focused on gun violence prevention at March For Our Lives in the wake of Parkland and the 2012 Sandy Hook shooting.

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Im a survivor of gun violence and gun violence was the reason I got involved in politics in the first place 10 years ago when I was 15 years old, because I didnt want to get shot at school, said Frost.

Before I even launched my campaign, I promised Manuel Oliver that I would bring him to my first State of the Union. He supported me a lot, not just in the campaign but just in general.

Oliver, a vocal advocate for gun safety, was escorted out of the White House last July after interrupting Bidens speech on the issue.

Frost said he didnt expect any interruptions if Biden addresses the issue, but repeated his plea for the executive to act more aggressively on gun violence.

I do believe that the administration needs to do more in way of ending gun violence and using executive action to do so. But I think that the president has a great opportunity to lay that out tomorrow night, said Frost.

Casar and Frost first met as candidates in early 2022, and have remained in touch since, but the joint statement on their State of the Union guests is their first official collaboration.

Both lawmakers are members of a record-breaking freshman class of nine that joined the Congressional Hispanic Caucus this year.

Casar represents San Antonio, the closest major city to Uvalde.

Cross, Casars would-be guest, has also become a voice for the families of victims of gun violence following the Robb Elementary shooting.

Brett Cross has been such a powerful voice for his son and for all Americans, said Casar.

No child, no parent, no community should have to go through what Texans suffered in Uvalde. Im joining with Brett to honor his son, Uziyah Garcia  and to call for ending assault weapon sales, passing red flag laws and universal background checks, and ending permitless carry.

Updated at 10:06 p.m.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.